Mist

Forever Changed

When I wake up, she's gone and my wounds are completely healed. The nice doctor creature takes me into a white room. A small bench is in the middle while white bulbs shine forward. The lights flash and I have no idea what happened coming out being told that I stayed in the room for six hours. I come out feeling stress free, but somewhat forgetful of the recent pass, as the previous battle just seemed like a memory that was taught to me.

It's a break day for me and I deserve it. I planned to try out a few activities like sports and hiking, but instead I'm laying outside, listening to music, and surfing the universal web. I overhear some human soldiers complaining about aliens and saying slurs against aliens. I was once like them. They'll understand someday.

Pulcra and Como are training and from their recommendation I'll be put in the same group as them. I can't wait to battle alongside them! I also learn from accessing the internet is news of a massive galaxy recently discovered by a human, one of the best findings humans have ever made.

Mist is the talk of the universe. A lot of the planets around Mist are having trouble because species from all over are traveling to the Mist area to get in the action. It's getting so much attention, we're a bit afraid of another Universal War. Most of species are on our side and will provide as many warships and reinforcements as needed. Even better is the arrival of the human fleet. Not the whole fleet, but a very small part of it is here providing reinforcements on the ground and in space as well as supplies.

Sadly, they called in a full retreat tomorrow because of how outnumbered they are, so they will pull out and wait until more fleets show up. To make matters worse, we have no leverage on the ground. From what I know, the Commander in Chief (whom I don't know the name of) wants us to stay and not die. Try to poke the giant fire beast with a small stick I guess. At least I like the food here.

The next day, I wake up as the first light of day appears. I just had the best sleep of my life. I jump out of bed and put on my under armor before walking to the armory. They have a variety of white suits, but I choose iconic Mist Planarian defense armor.

I stroll to the daily meeting where the leader of Squad Six talks about some stuff I already know. So, I crack a bunch of jokes about what he's saying to Como. They're mediocre, so we don't laugh or get in trouble. We dismiss into our groups and train. Training is simple, just workouts to stay in shape, which I hate. Then simulations, which I kind of hate, but it's better than working out.

During simulations, I have time to think about what I got myself into. It's crazy to think about how I moved to Mist only two years ago and a few weeks ago I was preparing to make a deal with some big corporations. I bet they canceled that deal a few weeks ago.

The mood in the group is what I call a neutral one because it's split half and half on believing whether the Service fleet will come quick enough before we all die. The optimistic half believes we will win in the end and love each other. I'm in the middle, like we might win and we might not. Who knows? At least I killed something.

Before I realize how much time has passed, everyone is called to go to bed. Me, Como and Pulcra head back to our rooms silently, knowing that we know the tip of the iceberg of eachother. I find my new room to be makeshift, but livable. At least I am not in the barracks. They gave me this room because I survived the attack from the city. The person who gave me the key said, "A whole bunch of officers died, so we have a lot of spare rooms... and we feel bad for you guys."

On top of the makeshift nightstand, I find a notebook and I write a story about a dude who doesn't like people with funny ears so he kills them all. After he goes on trial, he's let go because he fixed the ear problem in the human race and everybody loves him. Outside, I hear cheering and explosions. I grab the notebook and throw it outside the room, hoping somebody will read it later.

I slump to the window and behold several large vehicles with a bunch of humans dancing around, all with different armor ranging from Warriors to normal Mist armor and stranger ones I don't recognize. I run outside along a whole bunch of other confused people.

And that's I see him: a battered Redcoat. With a helmet that looks like a dragon that had a hangover. I stare at him and just clap my hands. He turns in my direction and takes off his mask. It's the exact guy I had no intention of seeing, but wanted to see just to make sure he's okay. He dashes over and hugs me, but quickly stops and pats me on the back. I gaze at his beautiful face and he smiles. Amicus is okay. (Along with like a lot of other people. That's good too.)

The group of humans settle into our base and it seems the whole universe wants to gather around and hear the stories of how these people survived so long without help from Service. The ones without interesting stories act like they weren't part of the group and listening to the ones with interesting stories. I sit by Amicus because I want to know his part of the story.

He tells everyone to quiet down, he clears his throat, and talks in a slightly lower tone than normal, "In the beginning of this war... we weren't prepared at all. But the one thing I was prepared for was a fight. I am a Warrior and I am a Redcoat, so I'm not used to defense tactics or defense at all, primarily terrorist tactics." He acts all cool for a couple more sentences and repeats training to me, so I don't listen until I hear about the battle.

Amicus continues, "After I gathered the squad together, we went into a building, just walking in with our guard down when suddenly I lost a soldier, which we presumed died by suicide, but is actually right here. Could you please stand up?" I stand up and wave my hand. I glance to the side and see another Redcoat also stand up and wave. Amicus and I look confused, and the Redcoat looks angry. Amicus looks at the Redcoat and says, "She was lost in a different place" The Redcoat laughs and points to Amicus and sits down. The crowd cheers at us and I sit down.

Amicus clears his throat again and returns to the story, "I sent the group outside around the battle to take down Unity from the side. We were all ready until we found out the Unity force was too strong for a group of 200, so we had our snipers just snipe the heck out of the army. When a large group of Unity saw us, they charged us."

"I quickly executed a plan with my troops to plant pregnant landmines and in a few seconds the Unity force was demolished by tiny fiery explosions. I heroically commanded all my troops to commandeer a missile launcher and launch it at the next advancing wave, again demolishing them. Unity sent a swarm of vehicles towards us, including a few aircrafts, but we dealt with them quick."

"Everything was good... that is... until the Vendetta force flanked us! I realized our group of 200 couldn't hold two fronts, so I ordered a regroup to the largest friendly force. I managed to lead us to a large group. But, as quickly as we got there, we had to retreat. I spotted a vehicle waiting for more people, so I jumped inside and helped more people get in before we left."

"We moved all around Mist, evading Unity and gaining as much intel as we could on the situation in space. After a few days, we meet a group of Unity soldiers and ran them over. We roamed the land for awhile until we found out about Service and made our way here." He smiles awkwardly as the crowd claps and cheers loudly, he changes his awkward smile into a full smile basking in the cheers while the room gives him a standing ovation. Service Soldiers take turns hugging him and asking for pictures. The other survivors also get some popularity.