It was difficult to make long shots in the rain. The precipitation messed with the bullet’s trajectory, so the Pioneers with kinetic weapons martialed every scrap of training they had to wait for the enemy to close in on them before they opened fire. The Diaboco rushed out from the jungle and bore down once again on the encircled fighters, only to be cut down by disciplined fire.

  Every man’s heart had picked up when they heard those dreadful war cries, minds flashing back to their earlier battle with these beasts. But this fight was very different from that fateful night. Most of the Diaboco threw rocks instead of spears and they charged at the Pioneers in an unruly mob, trickling towards them in groups of four and five. They were far different from the coordinated fighting force that the Pioneers had seen before. Some managed to reach the Pioneer front lines, but they were cut down by Gulliman’s sword or stabbed by a recently summoned spear. Imperceptibly, the men began to relax a little. These enemies were a distraction, not a threat. In fact, the Diaboco attacking the Pioneers seemed more terrified than the explorers themselves.

  As Daniel watched them, however, something started to seem off. The Diaboco were too afraid, their offensive screams seeming more strained than scary. Daniel stabbed one of the monkey creatures and looked carefully into its eyes for just a few moments. There, he saw terror and another bizarre emotion, one that was a little hard to read. If Daniel had to put a name to it, he’d call it…

  Despair.

  The Diaboco looked between Daniel and the forest behind it with a combination of fear and despair in its last moments before its eyes rolled back into its head. Disturbed, Daniel brought back his spear and moved to defend against another attacker. But the gooseflesh that had broken out across his back never left him. What was that? What were the Diaboco so afraid of? These questions were a nagging feeling in his gut, and that feeling only grew worse as Daniel surveyed the battlefield.

  To his credit, Gulliman was taking much of the opponent’s fire onto himself. What rocks they hit him with mostly bounced off, and what few spears they sent at him were cut in half or dodged. The sergeant maybe seemed a bit more sluggish than usual, but he was still a dervish of destruction as he cut through the enemy ranks. And then, he stumbled.

  It was a minor thing, brought on by a well thrown stone that struck the CO right in the bridge of his nose before shattering. He paused, just a little, blinking sand and grit out of his baggy eyes. But a moment was enough. Daniel’s natural danger sense went off the charts in that fatal moment, and he yelled out his alarm. But it was far too late.

  One moment, the sergeant was standing there, tall and proud, the next he was on the ground in a scream of pain and surprise. Within the ranks of the attacking Diaboco, a large black form suddenly shimmered into existence and leaped onto the warrior sergeant, driving him to the dirt. To his credit, Gulliman raised his sword to block the creature’s claw strike, preventing himself from being slaughtered in the first moment. But the weight of the creature slammed him down, and when he raised his blaster to shoot back, the beast’s mouth opened wide and bit down, shattering the weapon and mangling the limb. That was the source of Gulliman’s haunting scream of pain and Daniel’s eyes widened as he beheld the monster attacking his CO.

  The creature had a long, narrow body, but with shoulders tall enough that they reached a man’s midsection. Black leathery skin and whipcord muscle stretched over the monster’s scaly frame, crowned by the spiny ridges that ran from the base of the creature’s neck to the tip of its lashing, bony tail. Its neck was short, and its head was long and thin, slightly too large for the monster’s body. The peak stretched well above the torso and the tip of its mouth extended all the way to Gulliman’s bicep. It’s pair of eyes were a glossy midnight, but they broke that color scheme with little pinpricks of amethyst light that served as pupils. The teeth mangling Gulliman’s flesh could be clearly seen, even as the monster bit down, triangular choppers white in the center but outlined in the same bright purple as the monster’s eyes.

  Daniel was the fastest to react to the CO’s plight, bringing his spear to bear and stabbing hastily at the enemy. The monster was forced to let go of the sergeant’s arm and grasp the spear in its mouth, tearing the weapon in half with a shriek of metal. Daniel stared dumbly at his shattered spear before he was woken from his shock by Gulliman, who let out a loud, desperate roar as he began to glow purple. The creature leapt off the downed man and whirled around, swinging it’s long tail like a club. The sergeant, who was getting up, ducked back down to avoid the attack, but Daniel wasn’t fast enough. He barely got the haft of his broken spear between him and the tail before it made contact. The metal groaned and bent under the pressure and only barely managed to soften the blow before it made contact.

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

  Daniel felt his ribs give way as he was launched into the air toward the river. He gasped in shock as he collided with the water, body wracked with suffering. His chest especially felt like it was about to burst from the blinding agony, but his Codex chose this time to hit him with another notification:

  “Warning: Enemy Detected. Calculating…”

  In a haze of pain, Daniel reflexively dismissed the message. What was going on with his device?

  Despite his injuries, Daniel fought to the surface, coughing up water and battling for air as he tried to get his bearings again. Then, he felt something slimy curl around his leg. Daniel didn’t get another breath in before he was pulled beneath the waves once again. A Harlac, lurking beneath the water, had grabbed the Pioneer and was tugging him inevitably towards its gaping jaws. Daniel struggled, but the beast’s other tentacles wrapped around his remaining limbs, locking him down. His injuries sapped his strength as the predator dragged him into the depths. Daniel’s thoughts slowed as his brain screamed for oxygen that he would not get. The world around him churned to a crawl as Daniel’s life flashed before his eyes.

  …

  Approx. 6 weeks before Planetfall on F2437

  The Pioneers and their families stood on a massive grey landing platform as they awaited transportation to the edge of the system. It would only be about a day to get to the edge of the Imperium’s demarcated territory, thanks to the Warp Gates. After that, the Pioneers going on the expedition would regroup at another, larger ship and fly to their destination under their transport’s own power. While the Horizon Drives of even the weakest Pioneer transport ships were pretty good, it would still take them around 3 weeks to get to the Pioneer Forward Operating Base on Planet Kirsk. There they would refuel and resupply before making the following ~3-week trip to the unnamed planet, simply designated ‘F2437’.

  Their families came to see them off, Daniel’s included. Marie and Lucy stood on either side of the younger man, the young girl holding Dio in her arms. That mangy furball never let Daniel do that, but he was as passive as a lamb in her grasp. Eventually, the trio saw Daniel’s ship break through the atmosphere and amble over, a pit of dread and nerves settling in each of their guts: “Looks like that’s my ride.”

  Daniel said, putting on a brave face. Marie saw right through him and gathered him into a hug: “Be safe, mon loulou.”

  Daniel returned the hug with a bit of surprise, but a lot of warmth. He couldn’t help contrasting the warm maid he had come to know and love with the prim and proper lady he’d met at the funeral all those years ago. Lucy let go of Dio to give Daniel a silent hug as well. When they broke it off, the Pioneer cracked a small smile at her: “Don’t spoil Dio too much, okay? He’ll get totally annoying if you do.”

  As if in confirmation, or rebuttal, the cat gave a stiff mrow and began scratching himself. Daniel gave the furball a mocking glare in response: “And you better be good, alright?

  “Mreow! (“I will defend the pack while you go hunting, subordinate.”)”

  “Yeah, you do that.”

  When Daniel turned back to look at Lucy, he saw tears tracing a few watery lines down her face, though she tried to conceal them. Heart breaking a little, Daniel knelt down to look her in the eyes: “I’m sorry Lucy, but you don’t have to worry. I’ll be gone and back before you know it!”

  She nodded, though she looked unconvinced. However, when she met his eyes again, he saw confidence and respect in those little silvery marbles, a steely eyed gaze meant to portray total faith in him: “’There and back before I know it’. Good. That’s a promise, right?”

  There were no such promises for these kinds of missions, but Daniel nodded anyways: “Promise.”

  With that, she threw him into another hug, squeezing harder this time. Into his shoulder, she muttered: “Be safe, Danny.”

  …

  Present Day

  Daniel began to shut down as the flashback ended, the edges of his vision growing dark. As he grew closer to death, he found himself awash in emotions big and small. Fear, regret, and anxiety all took over as he prepared to meet the end. He was so out of it, that he hardly even registered it when more golden text flashed across his vision:

  "Calculations Complete

  Risk: Acceptable

  Distance: Acceptable

  User: Acceptable

  Running Failsafe: Emergency 3

  Download request Initiated

  Download the Archangel System? [Yes] | [No]”