Across the Stars

Part 2

The soldiers led Lyric through the concrete corridors of the base, past countless steel doors set into the tough material. Several other soldiers passed them, and all of them saluted the heavily armored commander. Lyric looked at the soldier on her left. "Where are we going?"

"Armory. Gotta get you a uniform." The soldier looked straight ahead, and barely acknowledged her, keeping step with his fellows.

Moments later, they stepped into the armory, to be greeted by another soldier. "Afternoon, Commander." He briefly inspected Lyric. "Another girl, eh? Have we run out of men?"

"Negative, armorer. She came by proxy." The commander turned to leave. "Get her outfitted. I'll wait." He and the other two soldiers stepped out the door, leaving Lyric alone with the armorer.

Lyric did not move as the armorer scanned her with his wrist computer, and selected a grey uniform from a rack. "Put that on," he said. "I'll even turn around if you like."

"Please." Lyric waited until he had turned his back before pulling her old clothes off, and replacing them with her new uniform. The plain grey clothes were form-fitting, and they were clearly intended to fit underneath the armor she would be equipped with.

The armorer turned around, and handed her the set of grey armor that was the uniform of all cadets. The armor was light infantry armor, made of composite polymer and ceramic plates. There was a place for a shield generator, but none was present.

Lyric put the boots on easily enough, and the armorer helped her connect the backplate and breastplate. The armor's leg protection was next, and Lyric got that on by herself. Finally, the armorer handed her a set of gloves. "These are your PSI blades. Be careful with them."

"What are PSI blades?" Lyric put the gloves on, and inspected them.

The armorer ignited his own blades. "These are PSI blades. Plasma Superconductor Induction blades. They can cut through solid steel like it was nothing."

Lyric ignited hers, and the armorer inspected them. "Hmm, yours seem to be set to purple. Make sure they're orange by the time inspection rolls around -agh!" He stopped as she drove the left blade through his chest.

"I like purple better." She pulled out the blade, and the armorer dropped to the ground, dead. Lyric turned off the blades, and tucked her long dark hair into a bun, before putting on her helmet. She walked to the armorer's corpse, and pulled his shotgun from his thigh holster. She checked the chamber, and walked toward the door.

It was time for revenge. Her mother would finally rest in peace.

A.D. 2198 - 3rd of June. Location: Falkonian Fighter Base, Moon of Earth

Nova and Noir Lime advanced slowly through the dimly lit corridors of the fighter base, weapons ready. They hadn't yet encountered any Falkoks, but one never knew. Neither of the two really wanted to fight anything at the moment.

Up ahead, they came to a large door, guarded by two Falkonian warriors, and two Androids. Just like the door to the main hangar in the primary base, there was a laser grid in place to stop intruders.

A well-placed grenade from Lime fried the laser grid, and the two Marines shot down the stunned enemies without hesitation. The plasma rounds burned through the Falkoks' armor and melted their flesh, killing them painfully, while the Androids, unable to feel pain, slowly had their internal components scorched and welded together by the intense heat. The door was now left unguarded.

Nova tried it. "Locked." He ignited his PSI blades, and stabbed at it, but the deflector shield was still active. "We can't force it."

"Blast." Lime looked around. "Wait here. I'll go find a control station and open the door, then I'll take a shortcut. The we can look for a ride." He turned back the way they came, and began to jog towards the control station marked on his helmet's map.