1 Into The Unknown

"It's over." The words I said after leaving the luxurious meeting room resonated inside my head. The princess remained inside the room, she was utterly petrified. "I'm terminating our agreement." I kept walking down the beautiful halls of the palace, it was indeed an architectural work of art. It still surprises me what can be done even with so little technology. "The trust we gave you has been betrayed." I turned my head, and I stopped to look outside the massive windows. The sky was getting darker, but there was still sunlight which gave it the sky a reddish tone, creating the illusion as if the heavens were bleeding. I could hear the sound of the wind hitting the windows, as well as that of distant thunder. "Our empire will not allow itself to be treated like this."

I knew what doing this would mean, but I was forced to. Beings die in war, that is the price that must be paid, but in the end, one will find there is nothing left to sacrifice. "We no longer agree to your terms…" Intense lights appeared on the sky. "From now on…" Our largest ships descended from the sky, their shadow covered the entire city and beyond. "You…" I heard the sound of the terrified civilians screaming as they watched our vessels descend. "Will agree to ours." My whole body trembled… I knew what was to come… for I had summoned… the apocalypse…

I remember the fateful day it happened, the day we entered the new world, it all started like it was going to be just another day of work, but I was very wrong. I woke up, as usual, cursing at my alarm. The curtains of my bedroom automatically opened, letting the sunlight to blind my golden eyes.

"Good morning, captain, I hope you had a productive night's sleep." The disembodied robotic voice of my A.I. servant who runs everything in my apartment said.

"Good morning, Nines, is everything ready?" I said as I stood up from my bed and stretched. I also made sure my synthetic right arm was working correctly by opening and closing my hand and making round motions with my shoulder to make sure everything was well adjusted.

"Yes, sir, just as you asked." The human yet still mechanical voice of Nines replied to me.

"Very well, then. Let's get this done."

I walked into the clothing chambers, the doors closing behind me and I closed my eyes and let the nanites do their job as they covered my entire body, and united the nanofibers that made up my clothes. After just a few seconds, the nanites then dispersed back to where they came from, and now I had my ceremonial blue navy uniform. The doors of the clothing chamber opened, and I stepped out. I took off my cap, and combed my black hair with my hand and then I put it back on.

I walked into my living room and just grabbed an apple that was growing in one of the plants that covered one of my walls. I took my E-Pad, and then I looked at my personal blaster. I stretched my hand to grab it, but I hesitated for a moment, my hand was shaking. After a few seconds, I finally took my blaster and placed it in its holder around my waist. It doesn't matter that I have been doing this for 30 years, it is still difficult for me to grab a gun after having spent some time away from the battlefield, but I always force myself to do it.

I stepped out of my apartment and walked down the halls of the residential arcology while looking down at my E-Pad, and before I knew it, I reached the elevator. I pressed the button and waited for a few seconds before the doors opened, and I stepped into the elevator. I glanced up from my E-Pad at the elevator's window as I descended. I will always be grateful to live on a less dense part of the Ecumenopolis that Terra has become, as it is certainly challenging to find much space for yourself in between 20 trillion people. I worry all the arcologies will not be able to hold us all for much longer, or that the atmospheric filters set in place will be no longer sufficient to maintain the atmosphere intact. Thankfully though, if anyone ever chooses to leave, it will be easy to do so, although one should be careful when choosing in between the thousands of worlds the Empire has control over.

The doors of the elevator opened from the windows' side, and I was allowed to step into a platform. I walked onto it, and I waited for a few minutes for the electromagnetic train to arrive. Once it did, I stepped into it. I looked around, there were very few people, which is to be expected, it is still relatively early in the morning. I managed to see two military officers when they realized I was there, they turned to me and waved at me, and I waved back, as we knew each other from work at Terra's Strategic Command Center. It isn't bizarre to see military officers just walking around, as our Empire was greatly militarized throughout the Infinite War, the bloodiest conflict our Empire and humanity itself have ever seen.

"I assure you that 15 billion casualties will not go unanswered!" I looked up to a screen in one of the walls of the train. In the assembly room of the Galactic Community, the representative from our Empire was speaking. "I believe it is time we impose sanctions due to their barbarism!"

"How dare you! We forged this galaxy, and we can melt it down just as easily!" The representative from the Infinite Empire, a purple humanoid alien, spoke up. I heard the news that the Infinite Empire had just wiped out a few primitive worlds near the galactic core, and when word reached our diplomats, they started to use it as an excuse to mess with the Infinite Empire, citing it as a violation of the Primitive Protection Act as well as the Warfare Regulation Treaty, due to their use of indiscriminate orbital bombardment.

"Majority in favour, the measure passes." The speaker of the Galactic Assembly, a female human, announced.

"Outrageous!" The infinite representative cursed as he slammed his hands in his podium while the rest of the assembly cheered. While I certainly was amused that they were giving the middle finger to the Infinites, I am worried about what the consequences may be, as I am confident, that our treaty with them at the end of the Infinite War was not one of peace, it was merely an armistice for twenty years, and twenty years have already passed…

The train stopped, and the doors opened. I stepped out of the train and looked up at the military complex that was in front of me. I walked into the facility, and the guards that stood guard at the entrance stood firm as I passed by, and I saluted them by nodding my head. I walked down the halls which were full of other officers either from the army or the navy, it was just another busy day. The officers were either walking with a pile of papers or talking with a partner while drinking coffee. The officers saluted me as I walked by; they pretty much all know me since I have worked with the officer corps since the end of the Infinite War, although from time to time they will assign me to more… fun assignments, such as the one I was about to go on.

I reached the hangar and my transport vessel, a small corvette type ship was waiting for me. I boarded it with a few other officers, and when we were all ready, the starship departed. I heard as its engines were turned on and the thrusters activated, startling me for a moment. I quickly calmed myself down, and then I rested my back against the comfortable seat and looked out the window. It may be weird for someone who travels a lot through space to get startled by the thrusters of a starship I guess, but I just can't help to remember… things… whenever I hear that sound.

I always enjoyed looking like the image of the planet-wide city slowly faded and transformed into that of the endless space void, it makes me wonder just how thrilled the first human was to leave Earth and venture into the next frontier. Through my window, I was able to see our moon as well as the red planet, along with all the other celestial bodies that make up the solar system humanity can call home. I looked down and saw Earth, with the orbital ring arcologies around it from a distance. I turned my head to the other side, and I was able to see my destination as at a distance, its figure started to form, the Strategic Coordination Center, a massive space station where the finest military officers in the Empire work to make sure everything is working as it should, as maintaining state cohesion as we venture into space is truly the most significant challenge there is. Even though I knew what was going to happen, I was still surprised by what was next to the Strategic Coordination Center. Dwarfing the space station like an elephant next to an ant, one of the most significant points of pride of the Imperial Fleet, the I.S.S. Juggernaut, a mobile fortress, and one of the most giant ships the Empire has ever built, spanning through almost 20 kilometres in length, indeed a force to be reckoned with, and a fear of our enemies.

My ship landed in a hangar bay of the Strategic Coordination Center after passing through the shields that prevented us from being sucked into the vastness of space. The doors of the corvette opened up, and all of us stepped out. I walked through the halls of the massive space station, in which people were constantly on the move, always busy, either planning the next campaign in the fringes of the Empire or discussing the best way to deal with the crime syndicates that rose up during the Great Infinite War.

I reached my office, and I looked around it, the lights activated the moment I walked in. It is not a big place, but it is quite comfortable, with just enough room for me to store everything I need, but not as big as for me to feel out of place. I walked past my desk, and I placed my hand on a scanner on the wall. A secret door that blended with the wall opened up, and I stepped in. The doors closed, and at the same time, grey goo started to cover me, as the swarm of nanites did their job in putting my armour on me. It lasted a few seconds, and then, I was fully ready with white armour.

Unlike the standard issued armour, this had much more unique features. It had the usual features of having an inbuilt computer in the helmet along with a body and environmental scanner, an exoskeleton as well as a nanite repair system, but unlike the casual armour, the one I use also has an inbuilt jetpack along with a projectile launcher in the back. It also possesses many features built in the arm, such as wrist blasters, wrist flamethrowers, retractable wrist blades, shield emitters, and grappling lines. Its exoskeleton and nanite repair system is also much more advanced. All of these features can make it overwhelming to use, and more so in the heat of battle, so only elite troops who have had intense training with it are allowed to wear it. I stepped out of my office and went to the hangar, which connected the S.C.C. with the I.S.S. Juggernaut.

"All troops assigned to go to Alpha Vortex, please make your way to the I.S.S. Juggernaut, departure is in 10 minutes." The voice of the station overseer resonated around the halls. Thankfully, I was already near the vessel. Everyone was hurrying into the ship, and I walked amongst the group of soldiers getting ready to enter it, but I was able to quickly arrive as the younger soldiers stepped away and saluted me, allowing me to pass through. I stepped into the massive hangar bay of the ship, it is so massive that it is even able to house battleships within it, along with smaller vessels such as cruisers, destroyers, corvettes, transport ships and strike crafts. Aside from there being a small fleet inside the hangar of the Juggernaut, it also housed multiple land vehicles. Among those vehicles, there were the IAV-9 armoured car, IAW-10 tank walker, which also serves as mobile artillery, ILT-7 light tanks, ILW-8 light walkers, the ISAA-8 self-propelled anti-aircraft and the ITT-6 turbo tank. I'm sure there are probably several others around which I am not seeing, after all, the hangar spans through several kilometres.

I walked to the middle of the hangar, were several electromagnetic trains were going back and forth at incredible velocities, transporting people from one end of the ship to the other. I waited for one to come and stop at the station I was in, which took a few seconds. I sat on the train for a few seconds, and when the doors opened, I was at my stop, the residential side of the ship, with the barracks and the officers' rooms. The residential sector also possessed a series of arcologies in it, where enough food to feed the entire crew and passengers is grown. Ships nowadays have this feature as a means to keep itself sustained in case the vessel is ever stranded for whatever, giving the crew a much higher opportunity of survival, unless the power source of the ship is compromised.

I made my way to the common area where the massive lunchroom is at, and it was big enough to fit at least 500,000 as it is comprised of several different levels. That number may sound huge, but that is only half of the people in this ship, as the total number of passengers is around 1,000,000, in between soldiers, pilots, droids, and crews, either from the main starship or of the several other vessels inside the I.S.S. Juggernaut. I pressed a button in my arm and my helmet retracted inside my armour. I looked around for a few seconds. I started to panic, but then, I spotted it, the coffee station. I thought they had forgotten to put it, but no, thankfully. No officer is crazy enough to go on a prolonged mission without bringing coffee, because that is the first rule of warfare.

I waited for my turn, and I pressed in the type of coffee I wanted and how much. I then extended my hand below where the coffee is served, and a swarm of nanites emerged from the machine and made its way to my hand, quickly assembling the parts of a recyclable cup and then dispersing back into the coffee machine. The station started to pour in the type of coffee I had selected and the exact amount I had inputted. When it was done, I turned around to walk away, and I was about to sip, but then I heard a voice I really wasn't expecting to hear.

"It has been a long time, Hex." I heard that voice, and I turned to my side to see a man, he had grey eyes and black hair, but it was seemingly starting to turn grey in some parts. I wasn't able to hide the small smirk that formed in my face.

"Well, hello there," I replied. "I am surprised you are not fertilizer by now," I said as I eyed my comrade.

"How funny." He replied as he rolled his eyes. "I see your sense of humour is still alive after all these years." He said as he walked towards me.

"About the only thing," I replied. He stood in front of me, and we looked at each other before a small smirk formed on each other's faces, and we fist-bumped. "How has time treated you, Vlad? I sure hope better than how it has treated your hair."

Vlad lightly punched me in the shoulder while he chuckled.

"Well, not all of us have had our vitality greatly boosted. You still look exactly as when you joined the military thirty years ago." Vlad retorted.

"It was you who decided to turn down the offer to join the program." I reminded him, and Vlad sighed.

"I know, but we have already had this conversation, I do not wish to artificially extend my life for so long, it's already enough with the vitality boosters they inject us when we are born," Vlad said.

"I understand, and well, I do respect your decision, though," I said, as to be honest sometimes also wished I had turned down the offer to join the program.

"And how are you? Have you been able to move past it?" Vlad asked me. My eyes widened, and I immediately looked down, knowing exactly to what he was referring too. I bit my lip, not knowing how to answer, to be honest. "When I was younger, I used to be indecisive," I replied.

Vlad raised an eyebrow and then he sighed. "And now?" He asked.

"I'm not sure," I said, keeping my head lowered. I heard Vlad sigh audibly, he probably got the message.

"Don't worry, I understand, the past is really an armour one can't take off." I raised my head up a little, and I saw Vlad had also lowered his head, it is quite ironic how they called it the Great Infinite War when there was nothing great about it.

"Lieutenant!" I heard a feminine voice coming from the side. I turned my head, and I saw a group of 4 soldiers coming toward us. They didn't have their helmets, so I saw it was two boys and two girls, all in their early twenties. I immediately stood straight and saw did Vlad. The 4 then stood in front of us in a line and saluted.

"At ease," Vlad said, and the soldiers all lowered their hands and placed them behind their backs.

"So, what do we have here?" I said as I turned to Vlad as I raised an eyebrow.

"My new group," Vlad said as a small smile formed in his face. "Troopers, I present to you, Captain Hex Colley, from the S.C.C., an old brother in arms, and a good friend."

"Sir!" They all said in unison and saluted at me once again.

"At ease," I said and all they obliged.

"So, what are you waiting to present yourselves?" Vlad asked as he eyed the young soldiers. They seemed startled and looked at each other, except for one of the girls, who stepped to the front, saluting. She had long brown hair and similarly lighted brown eyes, which made a great contrast with her white skin.

"Sergeant Eleini Warte, at your service!" The young woman said. Unlike the others, she didn't seem to be bothered by having someone of higher rank in front of her, and her eyes, I knew those eyes, I could already tell at that moment that she was going to be a great soldier.

It was now the turn for one of the males to step forwards. He was quite tall, he had short black hair and red eyes, quite the unusual sight to be honest. "Corporal Ahlex Derson, sir!" The young man said. He had seemed to have been caught off guard before, but he now had a much more severe and strict demeanour. Just from that, I could already imagine what type of soldier he was.

Then, the other girl stepped to the front. She was relatively small, probably having a height of around 150cm, but one shouldn't judge a book by its cover. She had short black curly hair that reached to her shoulders and also navy blue eyes. "Corporal Natlee Scarte, ready for service!" The girl said. I raised an eyebrow at her antics, not sure if she noticed or not, but the way she stood attention and the way she spoke, she was trying to impress, but who? Me? Or Vlad? In any way, that already gave me a small insight into her personality.

The last one stepped to the front, the boy seemed relatively young, and he had short blonde hair and light green eyes. Unlike the others, already from the way, he stood and his inability to even attempt eye contact already screamed volumes that he was insecure. "C-Corporal Zavis Aker, s-sir!" That small stutter was the last piece of evidence I need.

I eyed the four of them for a few seconds before turning to Vlad.

"They sure are rough around the edges, right?" Vlad turned to me with a small smirk on his face. From the corner of my eye, I looked at the 4 soldiers looking at each other in surprise.

"So you noticed?" Vlad said as I nodded at him. I then got closer to them, and I started to walk in front of them, observing their armour.

"Well, that is to be expected considering they are shinies," I said.

"S-Shinies, sir?" The boy who had previously introduced himself as Zavis asked. I turned to him, and I placed my hand on his chest.

"Yes, your armour is shiny and new, just like you." Hex replied and then walked back to his position next to Vlad.

"So, you were able to tell we haven't fought in a real battle because of our armour, but what if it was just that we had cleaned it?" The girl named Natlee said.

"No, that is not the only way I realized you were newbies," I said, and then I pointed at my face. "Your face talks volumes about a person and what is going on here," I said as I pointed to the side of my head. "But also here," I said as I tapped my chest. "Your face is a reflection of what is going on inside of you, and right now all I can see in you is naiveness, determination, and life…" I said although I muttered the last thing as for them to not hear it.

"I didn't know they taught soldiers to read facial expressions so well." The boy named Ahlex said as he raised a finger to his chin.

"The military doesn't teach about that," I replied. Sometimes it is for the better, as sometimes, you don't really want to know what might be going side someone's head or heart.

"I'm guessing it's all about experience then?" The girl named Eleini said as she looked at me and I nodded.

"Experience it's the most excellent teacher there is, and through it, you may even learn things you didn't want to know before, but in the end, experience will be your best friend in the battlefield," I said, trying to give them some advice in my own way, although I wasn't really sure if I was doing it well, it had been a long, long time since I had team myself after all, and there was a reason behind it.

"My father once said that experience can outrank anything," Eleini said as I turned my head and nodded at her.

"Your father was a wise man, it seems," I said to Eleini.

"Then, if experience outranks all, we should start getting some, right?" Natlee said as she cracked her knuckles. I raised my eyebrow at her, but I also couldn't help a small smile that formed on my face, her attitude sure brought me memories.

"Indeed." I heard Vlad saying. "That is why we are here. Today, you will go on your first mission. This will be nothing compared to what you will face in the real battlefield, but it is an advancement from the combat simulations, all of you better be prepared, I don't want any of you failing, understood?" Vlad said in a firm tone. I looked at the soldiers and at how they immediately stood firm.

"Sir, yes, sir!" They all said in unison.

"Now…" Vlad seemed to sigh. ��You better conserve energy and make sure to eat well, understood too?" Vlad said, though this time in a calmer tone.

"Yes, sir!" They all replied again.

"Very well, you are all dismissed." The four saluted at us, and we saluted back. They then turned around and walked away. Vlad turned around to look at me, and I did the same, our eyes meeting each other.

"What?" I asked him.

"You should try getting a new personal group, you know?" Vlad said. I immediately tensed at that and looked away.

"Having troopers to look after is like raising children," I said and looked back at him. "You spend the first two years teaching them how to walk and talk, and then you spend the rest of your life telling them to sit down and shut up. It is too much of a hassle if you ask me."

"We both know that is not the real reason," Vlad said, raising an eyebrow at me.

"I'll admit I am not brave enough for such responsibility," I said as I looked away.

"Then you should face the challenge head-on to get over your fears," Vlad said as he walked and stood in front of him. I looked up at him, my golden eyes meeting his grey ones.

"Like you have gotten over yours?" I replied.

"Touché," Vlad replied, I knew him enough to know he also still in a similar predicament as I am.

"Why did they even assigned them to you anyway?" I asked as I managed to look at the retreating figure of the four soldiers at a distance.

"The higher-ups are starting to want to rebuild the old commando unit program, as most of the commandos are veterans from the Infinite War, and most of them are already getting too old to serve effectively in the battlefield. They selected the bests from each academy and sent them to take commando training under an experienced officer," Vlad explained to me.

"Really? I wonder why I wasn't informed, I hadn't heard anything about it in the S.C.C." I said as I placed my hand on my chin, trying to recall if I had ever heard about the reinstitution of the Commando Program. "What about the Gene Seed Purification Program?" I asked as I turned to Vlad, maybe he knew something about it.

"That may be the next step after the Commando Program," Vlad said. "I've heard it being mentioned before."

The Gene Seed Purification Program, or the Gene Warrior Initiative, was a program developed in the last decade of the Infinite War by the government. With the Infinite Empire launching their so-called "Infinite Offensive" we had to take drastic measures. One million of the best troops the Empire had to offer were subjected to intense training to prepare us for the last part of the program, which was the modification of our genes in the attempt to create the perfect soldier. Needless to say, the program was a success, and I was in between those who participated, although now, our ranks have dwindled, and the Gene Warrior Corps has been effectively disbanded, as only a few thousands remain. Since we were always sent to do the most challenging tasks, it was to be expected.

Vlad's Team P.O.V.

Natlee, Zavis, Ahlex and Eleini were sitting on a table while eating the food from the military cafeteria. Thanks to the use of arcologies, they all had access to fresh food, and with robot workers on the kitchen, they were able to turn the new ingredients into delicious plates, rations were not an issue.

Eleini looked up at Natlee and saw she was trembling, and also had a smirk on her face.

"Have you finally gone crazy?" Eleini asked, amused. Natlee looked up at Eleini, a small blush had spread on her face.

"W-What do you mean?" Natlee asked as she looked the other way.

"Well, you were staring at your food as if you were crazy and trembling. Anyone would think you were high on Zro." Eleini said as she chuckled, causing Natlee to roll her eyes.

"It indeed was weird," Zavis said as he took a bite out of an apple. "Even for you." This comment causes Natlee to frown, and she turned around to kick Zavis in the head, making him spill the half-eaten apple he had on his mouth. Zavis fell to the ground, with the mark of Natlee's punch on his face.

"Who are you calling weird, huh?!" Natlee said as she raised her fist and glared at the semi-unconscious Zavis on the floor. Eleini covered her mouth to hide the fact that she was laughing, while Ahlex simply sighed and continued to read the E-book he had on his E-Pad.

Zavis blinked a few times and then rubbed his cheek. "For someone so small, you really pack a good punch." Eleini shook her head as she saw the scowl on Natlee's face grow more prominent. The next thing Eleini saw was Natlee jumping on top of Zavis, kicking him in the stomach with her feet and almost forcing Zavis to spill out the food he had eaten earlier.

Ahlex audibly sighed and looked up from his E-Pad. "Will you please behave? We are soldiers, not children, but if you continue with such irrational behaviour, they will surely punish us as if we were children."

"Oh, relax," Natlee said as she sat back in her place. "Nobody really cares what we do as long as it is not an act of treason." Natlee then pointed at her surroundings, showing that everyone was minding their own business. "Not even the officers are paying attention. Maybe you should just let the Zro into you and relax, that way the stick you have up your ass will stop bothering you and everyone else!" Natlee practically shouted.

"How dare you suggest doing such a heinous act, and with such vulgar vocabulary too!" Ahlex said with indignation.

"Oh, I do dare, want to test me?" Natlee said as she grinned and Ahlex glared at her.

"Now, now, that is far enough," Eleini said. They both turned to her and saw she was smiling at them with her eyes closed and her head tilted. They both quickly sat back in their place, they knew better than to make Eleini angry. They always say to fear those who are the calmest after all. Eleini stood up and went to check up on Zavis. She kneeled next to him and held his head. Zavis slowly opened his eyes and looked up at Eleini.

"Am I in heaven? Because I see an angel…" Zavis said with a smile. Eleini smiled back at Zavis, but then she quickly dropped him, letting his head hit the ground. Zavis grabbed his head in pain as he growled.

"I'm glad to see you are alright," Eleini said as she stood up and sat back on her place, next to Ahlex. Zavis stood up, shaking his head and then sat back next to Natlee.

"Anyways, after that small detour, are you going to tell me what was wrong with you earlier?" Eleini said as she turned to Natlee.

Natlee pouted and turned to her head to the other side. "There is nothing wrong with me!" Natlee said.

"That is why I used the past tense." Eleini retorted. Natlee grumbled and looked back at Eleini.

"Do any of you realize who even that guy who was with the Lieutenant was?" Natlee said as she looked at her three comrades, only receiving blank stares as an answer. Natlee growled and pulled her hair.

"Captain Hex was his name, right?" Zavis asked.

"Indeed, that is what he said," Eleini added.

"Is he well-respected?" Ahlex asked.

"You idiots!" Natlee said as she looked at them with her eyes narrowed. "Yes he is Captain Hex, and he was one of the members of the Thilivian Avengers!"

"That group of warriors from Thiliv, really?" Eleini asked.

"What? But that guy looked way too young to have been a member of the Thilivian Avengers!" Zavis said.

"Is your brain always on low power? Because that would explain a lot of things." Ahlex replied as he looked at Zavis with a small smirk.

"Hey! What is that supposed to mean?" Zavis asked as he turned to Eleini, who just chuckled in response.

"I would call you an imbecile, but that would be too cruel since you probably don't even know how to spell it!" Natlee yelled at Zavis.

"That I am clumsy sometimes doesn't mean I'm dumb!" Zavis retorted back at Natlee.

"Yeah, right, shut up, you mononeural monkey!" Natlee yelled back, causing Zavis to fall into a dejected as he rested his head on the table, causing Eleini to pat him in the back.

"You really like being mean to him, don't you?" Eleini asked as she looked at Natlee.

"If only he wasn't so damn annoying," Natlee said as she scowled.

"You know, they say those who fight the most often end up getting married," Eleini said as she looked at Natlee with a smirk. An image passed through her head, imagining Zavis and herself both in their respective wedding attire. Natlee's face turned completely red, both from anger and embarrassment, mostly because of anger though.

"I will never marry this otaku!" Natlee yelled as she punched Zavis in the face once again, sending him flying off the table. Zavis quickly stood up and grabbed his cheek, and he looked at Natlee.

"Hey! What was that for!" Zavis shouted.

"For getting into my head!" Natlee shouted back.

Eleini squinted her eyes and a mischievous smile formed on her face.

"But didn't you have digital manga downloaded in your E-Pad?" Eleini asked.

Natlee's eyes widened, and she turned to Eleini, her face was utterly red again, but this time from sheer embarrassment.

"H-How, W-When did you?" Eleini couldn't hold back her laughter.

"You should really be more careful when you leave your E-Pad unlocked on top of the table," Eleini said.

A small smirked formed on Ahlex's face too. "Well, this is undoubtedly an exciting development ."

Natlee lowered her head, her face was still as red as a tomato, her greatest secret had been revealed.

"So, you do like manga and anime?" Zavis said as he sat back on his place. Manga and anime had been one of the things that remained from the old pre-space era time.

Natlee placed her hands on her face, trying to cover it.

"S-Shut up! Why are we even discussing this?" Natlee said.

"Oh, right, we were talking about the captain," Eleini commented. Natlee perked up at this, and she took the chance to change the subject.

"Right! The Captain!" Natlee said as she regained her composure. "A-Anyways, he was a Gene Warrior, so he had all physical aspects completely enhanced, that includes his vitality, which is why the captain still looks so young as he has an even slower ageing process than us," Natlee explained.

"He looked even younger than us," Ahlex commented looking back at the encounter. He wouldn't have thought Hex was of higher rank if it wasn't because he was wearing the elite armour.

"Yes, that is because he joined the Gene Warrior Program at the age of 20!" Natlee said excitedly. "Only the best of the best were selected, can you imagine, being such a warrior at such a young age? He is also one of the few to have ever received the Corp's Heart, the Angel's Medallion, and the Soldier's Crown Order! The last one is only given to those selected by the Emperor himself! Tell me, when is it that you get the chance to talk to a living legend!" Natlee said with brightness in her eyes.

"I guess when you put it like that," Zavis commented.

"He must be an excellent soldier," Ahlex said.

"But, if he is so good, then why isn't he more well known?" Eleini asked. Her concern was valid, why had she never heard of Hex before, they had learned about many war heroes, but none seemed to come even close to what Hex had achieved if they were going by the number of recognitions.

"I don't really know…" Natlee said as she frowned. "It was tough for me to get that much information about him. And the records only mention him up to the Siege of Seninov, then, he fades into obscurity, along with any other description of the Thilivian Avengers. Now that I think about it, pretty much all documents stop mentioning anything about the Gene Warrior Corps as a whole after the Siege of Senivov. And there is very little information about the groups and individuals involved in the program."

"But, why would the government suppress history like that?" Ahlex said. "According to the Constitution of Humanity, it is forbidden to do so."

"You really are naïve, Ahlex," Eleini said as she sighed.

"Anyways, we can get answers from the captain later, can't we?" Zavis said.

"Yes, we can," Eleini said as she grabbed her cup of water. "Looks like our first mission is going to be much more interesting than we first thought. Until then, let's rest and be ready, shall we?"

Eleini then raised her cup. The rest looked at Eleini with a bit of shock at first, but then they smiled and looked at each other. They may sometimes argue, and they certainly have their differences, but they are without a doubt a united team, and through union, they get stronger. They all raised their cup and gave a toast.

"Four first mission!" They chanted and then drank, this was undoubtedly going to be interesting.

Hex's P.O.V.

I was currently sitting with Vlad as we both drank our coffees. We were doing old people's stuff, talking about life, our war stories and much more. As I finished laughing from Vlad telling one of his stories, a voice spoke through the intercoms.

"Captain Hex, the admiral requires you on the bridge immediately." The voice said. I sighed and stood up.

"Well, looks like I must go, I guess we are ready for departure," I said as I stretched.

"I can't wait to have a mission with you again, it will be just like old times," Vlad said as he smiled at me.

"Oh, so you mean all the times I went around saving you and preventing you from becoming swiss cheese?" I said, as a smirk formed on my face.

"Oh, you wished," Vlad replied as I walked away. "Tell Roi he still owes me that drink, will you?" I heard Vlad shout at me.

"Of course, anything to get him annoyed," I replied.

I entered the elevator and pressed the button to the highest floor, where the bridge is. It only took a few seconds before the doors opened again and I walked into the bridge. I looked around, seeing all the officers sitting in their positions as they made sure the ship was operating correctly. In the middle of the bridge, Roi, the Admiral, and a good friend of mine was sitting.

"Yo, Hex!" Roi smiled as he saw me, and he raised his hand to wave at me.

"Well, look at you, so they finally made you an admiral, looks like the navy is in a worse shape than I initially thought," I said as I smirked at Roi.

"Hey! What are you implying?" Roi asked as he sat back on his chair.

"Nothing, although, I am curious, how many boots did you have to lick to get this position?" I said as I worked toward Roi.

"Hey! I earned this position through hard work!" Roi retorted to me, faking indignation. We have known each other for years now, and this is how our friendship works.

"I'm sure you did, I wonder what would happen if the A.I. assistant was not working," I said as I stood next to him and Roi spun in his chair to look through the windows at the vast emptiness of space.

"Listen, the computer might be able to beat me in a game of chess or the likes, but it certainly didn't stand a chance when I challenged it to match of kickboxing," Roi said as a smirk passed through his face, I didn't even want to ask.

"So, what exactly are we doing?" I asked, maybe Roi had been given more information.

"To be honest, I don't know exactly, I just know we are going to travel to a recently discovered star cluster in the outskirts of the galaxy, and they decided to send the Juggernaut as it was the easiest way to transport vast amounts of supplies, ships and soldiers to a single location," Roi explained.

"Then, why are we going to Alpha Vortex? There is only a black hole there." I asked.

"Well, there is only one way to find out," Roi said as he smiled.

"The hyperlane suppressor has been removed." One of the officers informed.

"Initiate hyperjump!" Roi gave the order, and I saw as the officers pushed some buttons, and then, we entered the hyperlane. Hyperspace is a weird region of space which connects many different parts of the galaxy, it's basically a separate dimension, where distances are much, much shorter than in real space, so it allows us to travel much longer distances in real space in much less time, while still moving at the same velocity.

After a few minutes of travelling, we finally exited the hyperlane, and now we were in Alpha Vortex. I widened my eyes in surprise, I really couldn't believe what I was seeing. In front of us, a megastructure was engulfing the blackhole. It had a "claw with four fingers" I would say it's the best way to describe it that seemed like if they were grabbing the black hole, and then there was a connection, which connected to another claw like the other one, although this one was holding nothing. The entire system was also being guarded by several battleships as well as two titan type ships, which were the second most significant type of vessels, apart from the dreadnought types, of which the I.S.S. Juggernaut is a part of.

"What in the world is that?" Roi said in shock.

"Admiral, incoming transmission!" One of the officers said as he turned to look at Roi. "It is coming from that station."

"Let it through," Roi ordered.

From the main computer, a hologram as projected, showing a man in a lab coat, he was definitely a scientist.

"Greetings admiral, It's great to be able to meet you." The man said. "I am Doctor Rusl, and I am the chief designer and supervisor of the Event Horizon Offset Facility, which is what you have in front of you right now." The doctor explained.

"I am guessing you are going to tell us now what our mission is truly going to be, right?" Roi asked as he raised an eyebrow.

"But of course, but not here." The doctor stated. "Please, if you would be so kind, come to the facility, I will gladly explain everything to you here." The transmission then ended, and Roi turned to look at me.

"Come with me," Roi said as he stood up from his chair and I nodded, following him. We went to the hangar bay and took a transport vessel. We left the Juggernaut and travelled among the ships guarding the megastructure, I looked at the ships as we passed by them, and they seemed to be of the latest designs, so they were quite heavily armed, meaning that this must be quite the critical project if they were protecting it like this.

Our ship landed in one of the hangars of the facility. When we stepped out, we looked around, and there didn't seem to be anything peculiar about the facility. We then saw as one of the doors leading into the facility opened and Doctor Rusl came out, he walked towards us and saluted, we did the same.

"Admiral Roi," Rusl said as he nodded at Roi and then he turned toward me. "And you must be Captain Hex, I presume." I nodded in response. "Ah, it's a pleasure to meet you! I am honoured to meet one of the heroes of the Great Infinite War." I slightly twitched at the title, I didn't really like the title of hero. "Please, come with me, I will show you around."

The doctor took us around the facility. There wasn't anything extraordinary if I am being honest although there was a high amount of scientists, that is to be expected though. The incredible thing was when we reached the control area, and we were actually able to look out through a window. That was the closest I had ever been to a black hole. The control centre was also full of machines and scientists who were carefully observing them.

"So what exactly do you do here, doc?" Roi asked as I saw him glanced around the room, his eyes were also drawn to the black hole in front of us.

"History." The doctor said. "This is facility is the latest invention in the field of wormhole manipulation!" The doctor exclaimed.

"And what exactly does it do?" I asked as I looked at the doctor.

"This machine extracts from the black hole, something that was previously thought to be almost impossible, only existing in theories." The doctor turned to us and smirked. "Negative matter!" The doctor exclaimed. "Unlike all other types of matter, this one possesses negative mass, which means that instead of creating a gravitational pull, it creates a push, repelling gravity!" The doctor exclaimed. "We extract the negative matter from the ergosphere of the black hole, which is the only part of the black hole you would have the slightest possibility to enter and then come back. That wouldn't be a great experience though, since things don't really make sense in there, but that is the perfect environment for something like negative mass to be created, as all natural properties are distorted." The doctor explained to us.

"And then what do you do with it?" I asked.

"Due to the abnormal conditions of the black hole, there are a lot of vacuum fluctuations at the edge of the event horizon, which leads to the disruption of space-time itself. These spontaneous instabilities lead to to the creation of micro wormholes, which are then closed by gravity. We use predictive quantum mechanics to then predict when a micro wormhole is created, which is useful for when we need to reopen the portal, or else we would just be travelling blind. When we have all the calculations ready, we then inject a large amount of negative matter on the micro wormhole, allowing for the wormhole to be expanded to traversable size. We keep it open for long enough for a ship to travel, and then close it, as it takes an ungodly amount of energy to keep the portal open, although we are currently looking into ways to make the process much more energy-efficient, so we can keep it open for more extended periods." The doctor finished his explanation.

"And have you done this before?" Roi asked.

"Oh, yes, yes, yes!" The doctor exclaimed. "We first opened up the wormhole about a year ago, and we let a survey drone pass through it. It worked, and the drone was able to contact us from a star cluster outside the galaxy. We saved the data and then we opened up a second portal, six months later, and we allowed a science ship to go through, proving it is safe for living organisms to go through." The doctor said. "To our surprise, the science ship discovered an impossible planet." The doctor went to a monitor and showed them a photo of a continental-like planet with natural rings around it. "See that, it is the size of Jupiter, planets like that shouldn't exist naturally. We discovered signs of primitive life in there, but when our ship tried to land in there, it was immediately attacked by the dangerous wildlife of the planet." The doctor said.

"So you want us to help them set up a base there?" I asked the doctor.

"Exactly! That way we can actually start to get things done!" Rusl exclaimed.

"But 500,000 soldiers and an entire fleet seem a bit excessive for such meagre assignment, don't you think?" Roi voiced his opinion.

"Well, I guess its better to always come more than prepared," I replied as I looked at Hex.

"I guess so," Roi said.

"Well, we have already delayed this long enough, admiral, captain, you may go back to your ship," Rusl said as he saluted.

We saluted back, and then we walked back to our ship.

"This wasn't exactly what I was expecting," Roi commented as we were boarding the ship. "Do the higher-ups not trust me with much more vital assignments? I know I can be reckless sometimes, but my methods work!" Roi exclaimed in indignation. "Are they underestimating me?"

"Oh trust me, it is impossible to underestimate you, my dear admiral," I said as I walked into the transport vessel. Roi stood behind, he seemed to be analyzing what I just said.

"Hey! What is that supposed to mean?" Roi said as he ran into the vessel after me.

In short, we were back again in the bridge of the ship. Roi positioned the Juggernaut right in front of the E.H.O.F, where the wormhole was supposed to be open.

Third Person View

"We are ready, doctor," Roi said through his communicator.

"Very well." The doctor replied from the control centre of the facility. "Initiate the wormhole stabilization protocols."

The other scientists nodded, and they turned to their computers, making sure all the values were correct for one last time, and finally, they started the facility. The claw that was engulfing the black hole started spinning, while the other claw facing the Juggernaut began turning in the other direction. In front of the Juggernaut, a massive wormhole, through which the ship could pass through started to form. After a few minutes, the wormhole seemed to have stabilized.

"Greenlight, admiral!" Doctor Rusl exclaimed through his communicator.

"Forwards!" Roi gave the order and the thrusters of the Juggernaut were ignited, making the ship to start moving towards the wormhole. Just before the I.S.S. Juggernaut made it to the wormhole, something inside the facility went wrong. A scientist looked in horror as his computer started to release sparks and smoke.

"What is wrong?" Rusl asked as he looked at the machine.

"I-I don't know!" The scientist exclaimed.

Rusl immediately took out his communicator.

"Admiral! Admiral! Can you hear me? Pull back! There is something wrong!" Rusl shouted through his communicator.

On the outside, the I.S.S. Juggernaut was already almost halfway into the wormhole when Roi received the communication.

"Okay, I will see what I can do!" Roi replied. "Get us the hell out of here!" Roi shouted at his officer.

"S-Sir, we can't." An officer replied. "Something is dragging us in!" The officer said.

"How fantastic." Hex said as he sighed and shook his head.

"Admiral! Why aren't you pulling back?!" Rusl shouted through his communicator.

"We can't something is dragging us in!" Roi shouted back.

"What?! What do you mean?!" Rusl asked.

Roi looked up and saw that the bridge was now about to cross the wormhole.

"Oh no…" Was all Roi was able to say.

"Oh, no, indeed." Hex said.

The Juggernaut then completely crossed the portal, and just a few seconds later, the wormhole was closed. All the scientist were in shock, they had no idea what had gone wrong.

"Save the input values! I want all the data stored!" Rusl said, and all the scientists immediately went to work on saving the data, possibly so they could reopen the wormhole in the exact same way and see what happened. "How long will it take for the machine to cool down so we can use it again?" Rusl asked.

"With the latest advancements, we have made, maybe 5 months." One scientist said.

"That is not quick enough," Rusl said and then sighed. "I will speak to the higher-ups we must see if we can divert more resources into the project so we can get this thing working as soon as possible," Rusl said. "Hang in there, we are going to rescue you." Rusl thought as his eyes were filled with determination.

On the other side of the wormhole, everyone opened up their eyes as the brightness of the wormhole had blinded them for a few moments.

"Ugh… were are we…" Roi said.

"Not where we are supposed to be, that's probably for sure." Hex replied.

"Contact the facility or the coordination centre," Roi ordered one of his officers.

"Roger that sir." The officer spent a few minutes trying to contact anyone, but it was in vain…

"Sir, I am unable to contact anyone…" The officer informed.

"Sir." One of the other officers said, catching Roi's attention. "I tried to localize our position, but we don't seem to be in any location from any of the maps we have… I'm not sure we are in our galaxy or even our own universe…"

Roi placed his hand on his temples, trying to understand what had just happened.

"Sir!" Another officer said. "Our scanners are picking up something, something massive, and it seems to be coming from behind the nearest planet.

From behind one of the planets, something was emerging. Just as the scanners said, it was massive. It had a round shape, and it seemed to have an enormous cannon at the front, while it was being propelled by massive thrusters installed at its back. It seemed to be heading toward the I.S.S. Juggernaut.

"A moon?" One of the officers asked.

Roi stood up, a face full of panic, and horror.

"Not just a typical moon, an attack moon!" Roi exclaimed. "And it is heading towards us!"

"Well… Things sure have gotten interesting." Hex said as he rubbed his chin.

Little did they know though, that this was just the beginning.