Delta Force

Vol 1

Vol.1
"Hope at the end of the World"

Picture this, the year is 2051. Earth has just been invaded by a mysterious new alien race, slaughtered. No hope left. Billions die, the world burns, everything you love; gone. Just when you think it's over, three different people of different races set aside their differences and hijack an abandoned alien craft. They fly it across Galaxies until there's little to no power left, leaving their old home to rot and expire like unwanted food in a trashcan. They build a large space station using alien resources and begin repopulating in a replica of New York City. The main citadel is born. The three - now known as the "Superiors" - fight over their power and split up and two new Citadels are born. Everything sails smoothly for centuries until 2677 when New Earth faces a universal enemy. Wars are fought. Blood is shed. The year is now 2695. I don't know my name. I only have a code number. I was born in the main citadel and trained for the Military at the young age of 12 until today when I was chosen as an exceptional warrior to form a team known as the "Delta Force" with five other members. Well, four but we don't know where Delta 4 is. Allow me to introduce my squad. Delta 2, "Madeleine Liga", a nerd but heroic kind girl willing to sacrifice anything for her civilisations survival; Delta 3, "Stela Sixtine" a tough nut and violent girl outside but a soft and sweet girl on the inside; Delta 5, "Bruno Judoc" your average overweight dude, dating Madeleine and gives good advice. Finally, Delta 1, me, name is still unknown but my friends call me Mike occasionally. I'm your average crew captain: passionate, selfless, kind. As of right now...

"Are you still writing that diary shit?" Stela snaps at me while staring out the ship window. "It's not 'shit', it's history." I reply, "one day, the Delta Force will be remembered." I smile and imagine all the money and fame I could receive for my heroic actions. I notice Stela rolls her eyes and makes a 'tch' sound. Bruno and Madeleine pilot the aircraft and don't tend to converse much because they need to concentrate or whatever so our ship tends to stay quiet. As I look out, I notice the Citadel. It's a large glass dome essentially but has some fancy kind of glass to prevent damage from invaders. "Citadels' steamed up'' I remark, "expect some rain." No one talks or moves an inch. Sixtine continues to rest her chin on her palm and admire the endless void of Galaxtite 13. Galaxtites are basically just groups of galaxies in the universe. We group them to make universe travelling easier. Speaking of, Galaxtite 16 has supposed Majestic views of beautiful starlight and scenery. Ever since I met Stela, I've wanted to take her to see the stars, but she declined...and hit me as usual. But I know she has some feelings for me too, somewhere. Sometimes, she'll hit me and say things like "don't make me worry about you again, moron!" which she does for everyone else but I notice tears forming in her eyes; yeah, she obviously likes me. Mean girls are just difficult to figure out. Our ship hovers into the citadel and the wipers begin to slide across the main window as rain mercilessly beats down against it. "So it is." Stela sighs replying to my previous comment that I spoke minutes ago. Bruno yawns and speaks, "anyone for the cafe? We fought pretty hard today. Those battle-borns didn't stand a chance." He makes a reference to battle-borns which are clones bred for the sole purpose of fighting, they're mindless soldier freaks that get off to killing the enemy. Some claim that Sixtine is a battle breed which is not to be confused with borns as they are soldiers who are genetically modified to be war machines that feel nothing. I personally disagree. Anyway, Madeleine agrees, I agree and Stela finally agrees after I do. We leave our ship and are blasted by a winter breeze. Supposedly, the Citadel follows the same system Earth used to. It's atmospheric manipulation device allows it to replicate weather and temperature in the citadel which dictates what 'season' it is. I stuck my tongue out and tasted the air. Traces of hydrogen and oxygen in a more semi solid form, judging by the atmospheric temperature, it's sleeting. The steaming up of glass adds to the illusion of winter weather according to books I read in my old school - it's supposed to look like 'clouds' but I think they haven't discovered a way to prevent condensation. "Put your tongue away." Stela barked looking at me from the corner of her eye; I must've looked like an animal. I put it away and apologize, as per usual, she hits me and demands me not to apologize. As we enter the cafe, a warmer condition enlightens us which is contrasted by the miserable view outside. The pavement drowned in water, trees being battered and thrown around in the wind. Hovercraft speeding down roads and honking at nearby pedestrians who dare to cross the roads. Despite the chaos, it was relaxing. The four of us were sat by the windows and we ordered a few hot drinks [Bruno also ordered quite a bit of food - I don't know how but Madeleine finds it 'adorable']. We discussed our mission at the table. "Galaxite Dragons are such pains in the ass." Liga sighed, pulling the lid of her drink off and then lacing her drink with heavy amounts of sugar, "don't remind me that I have to pay for new paintwork." Bruno cried being a cheapskate as usual. "Tch." I reply, "seriously, you'd think they'd make that free considering how much we do for them." Sixtine was fiddling with her pocket knife and not engaging with us, which was strange as she normally was the star of the conversation. "Yeah, well, good luck complaining to the higher ups." He replied. I exhale and take a sip, it burns my tongue but I pretend to not be hurt. It's sweet cinnamon taste, though barely indistinguishable due to the heat, refuels me after a busy day. I turn to Stela and tap her hand, this makes her jump and her cheeks fade to pink. "Sup?" I ask while the other two conversed with each other about mostly uninteresting topics like how good the other was at piloting. "Yeah, just tired..." she stutters back giving a weak smile. I prod her playfully making her as red as a tomato now "are ya sure?" I keep bugging her until she gives in and shows me her hand which is painted with a large cut. "Does it hurt?" I ask her and she nods back in response. I turn to the other two "Alright me and Stela will see you tomorrow, we're gonna leave early". They look confused but still smile and dismiss us. Me and Stela begin to walk down the endless paths of New New York and I question her about it. "So, what happened?" I ask

37 minutes ago...
The Dragon's tail curled around the Delta Force space craft as they attempted to retreat, scraping the paintwork and causing serious damage. "One of us needs to go out there." Stela said bluntly as the other three frantically flipped switches and pushed buttons. She sighed and decided it would be best if she went out there, it wasn't like they'd do anything. She slipped on her armour, a large body set made of a strong metal known as Ethotal which is resistant to most attacks. It's shoulder pads are fitted with spikes and it's arms and legs are fitted with Ethotal pipes, making it easier to move. The main pads are located on the chest, stomach, head, feet and hands for maximum damage and protection. These pads are usually coloured for their respective owners. The helmet of the gear has a vizor which allows the user to see outside and is fitted with a User Interface for calculations and other important battle uses. Once she had the armour on, she pressed a button located at the back near the hatch of the spacecraft. It lowered and her eyes were exposed to the red, lifeless, endless sky. They were defending Min-02, a planet owned by New Earth for the sole purpose of mining and industrial production hence the name 'min' short for 'mine' the same as 'frm' being short for 'farm' and so on. They had been sent a distress signal by a worker on the planet about a Galaxite dragon causing them trouble so they responded as part of their duty. Only problem is, they weren't exactly geared for fighting such a creature. Their resources had been depleted on the battleground against Nilphils, an army with a strong vehicle force but a smaller soldier size. Stela knew she couldn't kill this thing but she could at least stun it for now. The planet was blanketed by a bland and orange sand field that stretched out for miles, occasionally with dead trees and bushes sticking out. In the distance, large groups of oil and ore miners stood tall causing colossal amounts of pollution to emit from them. The dragon instantly noticed her exit, uncoiling itself from the ship and dashed towards her. It threw itself at her aggressively, making Sixtine dive to her right to avoid being crushed to death. The last part of the tail smacked the ground causing a loud thud and shook the ground. "Computer, turn on fist spikes" She said as she hastened herself towards the beast. She dug the weapon (that came stuck out from her fist plate) deep into its body causing it to jolt and push her against a tree - far away - at full strength causing it to snap on impact. She closed her eyes quickly in pain and fell to the ground. As she opened her eyes again and got up, she noticed her blade was stuck in the creature. Her hand was exposed. Her oxygen levels began to deplete quite quickly and the dragon began to attack her again. The main characteristics of a Galaxite Dragon is it's deep, blood orange eyes which installs fear into its opponents; It's scales are made entirely of small spikes that cut through skin like butter; the oils on it's skin is infected with a horrible disease that can be fatal to humans as the bacteria eats away at anything in the body. A slash from such an animal could be fatal to a human. At this point, she was around 200 yards away from the ship with a monster looming in front of her - capable of ending her life in minutes. With oxygen depleting and danger looming, the only safe option was to run. She began to dash towards the craft, the dragon whipped it's tail at her causing her to jerk her body left to right - sand spewing up from the ground, making her armour dirty. 100 yards left. She began to slide down the hill and the dragon flew close, it's tail curling around in the air as if it were a snake strangling thin air. Fire exhausted from its mouth just about missing Stela. With only 40 yards left, the ship began to slowly rise as they got the engine working. 30 yards, would she miss the ship? 20 yards, is it too high? 10 yards, She can just about make it. As she jumped, the boots on her armour caused her to be thrown around 15 feet in the air, she was just about to make it. She managed to grip onto the open hatch. Her exposed hand dangling beside her. They were now around 200 yards in the air, her grip getting weaker but another threat was still around. The ship was fast, travelling around 20000mph but a Galaxite Dragon targeting its prey was faster. It was just about gaining on them. It was very close to her now. She turned on the spikes on her boots and attempted to stomp the creature but it saw right through her and dodge every attack. Finally, she hit the creature on the face. It cried in pain and turned abruptly to go back down to the ground. Its body scraped her hand, cutting deep into her. She watched closely. It dissipated, probably returning back to its nest. Stela sighed in relief and looked down at the wound. She shrugged it off and just about pulled herself up. She walked into the ship and closed the hatch, proceeding to take her armour off. After that, she entered the main cockpit. "You're telling me we left Stela behind!?" Delta 1 yelled, "we need to go back right now." He sat agitated, bobbing his knee and sinking his face into his palms. "Hey." Sixtine spoke weakly. He shot up and ran towards her, throwing his arms around her. "Are you hurt?" He questioned pushing her out of the embrace. "No..." She began being pulled back in, speechless from the affection she was receiving, "I'm fine." She knew he'd freak out if he found out what happened so she kept her mouth shut about it. She sat herself down by the window and looked out contemplating whether to mention anything.

"Ah." I say, "you should've mentioned something. I wouldn't freak out, I'd just make a fuss." She looked at me and raised an eyebrow. "Tch" we continue down the path and the rain begins to stop. The cold air still haunts us but conditions are made easier without rain. I can't help but shoot looks at Stela. She looks so beautiful in the rain. Her short, shoulder-length, jet-black hair; deep, black eyes that hold my attention for hours; her elf-like ears that stick out from underneath her hair. Her lips are small but shine a strong light pink and never look chapped - kissing her would be similar to that of living in heaven. She has quite a small build and she is incredibly small - at least compared to me - probably around 5'3". Her clothing style is quite casual. She wears oversized hoodies [usually black] and [also] black skinny jeans. However, her scarf is always the same white and worn out one. I'm quite similar to her. I have short hair too, except it's more of a rich chocolate brown colour and a fringe that reaches down to my nose - it's very messy as I don't care much about it and never style or cut it. My eyes are heavy and reflect the same colour as my hair. My lips however, are very chapped as I find myself regularly dehydrated. But, my clothing style is very similar to hers. We contrast the other two anyways. Bruno usually wears blank and white tops covered with any kind of shirt on top; blue jeans that look somewhat too short for him and he has messy, sandy hair in the same kind of style as mine but with more curls. Madeleine normally likes to wear yellow crew neck jumpers and - like bruno - blue jeans [that look a bit too short for her]. Her hair is long, wavy and blonde and rarely ever tied up. She also has black-framed, circular glasses on top of her bright, blue eyes. Anyway, we arrived at my apartment block. I ask her a simple but crucial question. "Is the wound infected?"

She answers with a slow nod.