I was enjoying a steaming cup of Ocha when I heard a knock. Hyrax walked in briskly. He jumped straight to the point, "Are you Nox?" I stared at him, "Are you high on Spice or Cafe?" He stared angrily, "Yes or no" I looked him in the eye as I answered, "I am not Nox. Who is he?" Hyrax shrugged as he walked away. I smacked him on the back of his head. He turned around to explain, "She is a masked figure with unusual abilities. One we can't replicate. This war is taxing and we want to end it quickly. The only way to do it is to copy her gifts into soldiers." I shook my head, "The evolution project was axed because everyone died. Why are they trying to kill more people." He stared blankly before sitting down. He gave me my next assignment. I was sent to Alpha Prime where I was to negotiate terms to recruit the knuckle walkers as soldiers and scientists. In exchange for their help they will be given anything within reason. I reminded him of my meager negotiation skills. He flipped the screen to search for another assignment. The next one would land me in Arcan where I will be part of an escort ship traveling to Hae. I agreed to the assignment. The general came in and requested I go to Terra terrain. I reminded him that the place is a restricted space. It was done to grow rare medicinal plants which are highly beneficial to the medical industry. The galactic law forbids any regiment from entering the space unless they are interested in staying in barracks for the rest of their existence. I double checked with the cartography department when I was trying to figure out places the bad guys were hiding.
Hyrax got a notification to find people for search and rescue. Hyraqul came asking if there was anyone who can fix machines. I volunteered. They followed me the entire time. Eyeing me with suspicion. I casually walked in and used a electrospanner, a wrench and a few wires to fix things. Both were impressed. I asked permission to switch to engineering since it was a safer bet. Hyraqul called it in before anyone else could do anything. I happily switched to heavy work clothes and walked into a destroyer. I was shown to the engine room. The others were friendly. We got along as the ship took off. We bumped into an anomaly and the artificial gravity generator glitched for ten minutes. We floated helplessly in the air. I search the generator and found a small micrometeorite had punctured the regulator. It took a while to fix it. I warned the personnel nearby as I flipped the switch. Once it stabilized everything not bolted, strapped or tied up came down with a crash. I sat down to drink Ocha and the nearest one asked me what I was sipping. I let him try it. He explained he prefers something stronger. He took out a thermos filled with high octane jitter juice. This brew was called a morning jolt. The smell was revolting. I wanted to vomit. I breathed slowly as I got up and walked away to check for defects.
The Sargeant came asking if any of us can fly a plane and I was amongst the few who said yes. We were taken upstairs to the hanger where the fighterships were kept. He gave us simple instructions on which button does what. He gave us a thumbs up before wishing us luck. We boarded the dual pilot fightership and stepped out into space. We followed the cruiser as a protection detail. My copilot fell asleep. I mentioned this to the supervisor and he had me land the ship to remove him. He was replaced by a trigger happy idiot. We travel through the asteroid field. As we got out of it. I saw a glint by one of the moons. I reported it and I was told to keep quiet. Debris of destroyed ships were everywhere. We reached the fourth planet when the hidden ships in the asteroid field came to life and attacked us. Then the glint revealed itself to be some sort of weapon. It was firing something at light speed. At that velocity everything it touched would vaporize. The debris was actually a mine field in disguise. The uneven bits and pieces of junk floating in space were magnetized so they could easily attach to the nearest ship and went boom. We maneuvered ourselves into a kill box.
I sent an encrypted message asking them to use the pulse. A moment later a burst of blue light shot out and most of the enemy ships powered down. Six shots later only a handful were mobile. The mines were analog so the pulse did nothing. The few surviving tiny ships started blowing up the surface canons. Me and a few others had to track down and shoot every one of them. Our main ship shot something called Atrophied. It was dark matter the size of a coin which created a singularity and everything on either side of it within the half mile radius got sucked in. They were prepping to fire their super weapon called Solaris Spear. They take energy from the sun and fire it at a planet. The planet in question and the ones nearby are destroyed. The destroyer called Vengeance Eternity sent one more shot of Atrophied. It wrecked the machine and it went haywire. Most after the machine went critical mass it imploded with a blinding light. Then the area shimmered for a few seconds before it went back to normal. The rest of them disappeared and their facilities all went boom. All we saw were crates. There was nothing we would reverse engineer or examine to understand the situation. After searching for an hour we boarded the ship and I requested to be transferred to a base where I can be part of the repair crew.
I was sent to Arcan as part of the escort to Hae. They knew Nox was from Arcan but the thing is they assumed she would have happy memories. I had nothing but contempt. So I just pretended I was a tourist so the ones spying on me had to report that I was not the one they were looking for. Hyrax got a report that I had hacked the Parthean national data base to dupe them to say I was a medical professional. The nurses all reported that the only thing I did was basic first aid. The more they dug the more they had to accept that I am not Nox. This made my life easier. I walked the streets like I had never been here before. To be honest the streets all look different. I guess the city had some serious reconstruction after the enemy demolished the city. I looked at everything like I had never known them. To be fair everyone I know has been dead for half a millennium. When I came back up the general asked me if anything looked familiar. I explained that I was born in a drifter colony. There were at least a dozen that I wasn't aware of. Hyrax had me scanned but there was no way to prove supernatural. He stared with rage but chose to suppress it. Both of them wanted to scream that I was Nox but they had no proof. I saw people running around but I didn't know why.
The general snarled, "Why can't the galaxy just give me exactly what I want?" I shrugged, "Because if we get everything we want then the galaxy would be in grave peril. People want the same thing for different reasons. Some good and some bad." I had learned the names of the drifter colonies so I won't get in trouble if interviewed. I should have had Sas write me up as one. In case they checked my records they can't prove I was Nox. Hyrax waved me off and I joined the mechanics going to the base in the Orion arm. There was a malfunction and I pretended to go and die. The general and the others were pissed. I opened the grate to the lower levels. I shut the grate for safety and kept walking. I looked at myself. I looked like anyone else around here. I remembered the army mainly recruited people who looked human so I changed my looks to resemble Sas. I made a point to ask Sas if I could get an identity from the drifter colony. So there will be no issues. My mind was racing as I tried to stay hidden as I reached the space port. My heart was beating in my ears. A ship resembling a double sided battle axe was seen preparing to take off. It looked like it was held together with determination and prayers. I quietly moved under it and got on the moorings that kept the ship standing while the power was switched off. The ship was a freighter that was taking broken machinery for repairs. I simply hid till it took off.