In a universe teeming with danger, opportunity, and corruption, a mismatched crew of misfits just wants to survive. Judah, a former gladiator with a penchant for violence; Angelia, a brilliant but withdrawn mechanic; Ryan, the strategist always looking for the path of least resistance; and Jamie, a laid-back joker hiding deeper scars. They've made their way through alien landscapes, lawless planets, and intense battles, scavenging and scheming to stay afloat.
But their latest escape, a peaceful refuge on a remote planet, shatters when the International Space Police intervene, forcing them to flee once again. After a narrow victory with the help of local villagers, they drift to a sprawling metropolis, hoping to blend in, find work, and live low.
As they settle into quiet lives, unbeknownst to them, a determined officer from their past-hell-bent on vengeance-begins hunting them down, one by one. What begins as an attempt at revenge reveals a larger conspiracy within the ranks of the intergalactic police force. When Jamie uncovers the officer's plans, he offers a truce: help her take down the real villain, her corrupt commanding officer.
Now, with their fragile peace upended, the crew is thrust into a high-stakes game where survival means facing the past and an enemy they can't outrun. It's a battle of wits, brawn, and everything in between-and the galaxy is watching.
"Those aliens are not my concern, the Earth and her populations are. Now, Callisto of the Scout Regiment to Salutem, as a citizen of this planet and a soldier under my command-"
"I stopped being a soldier a long time ago. And those aliens have done nothing to you, you didn't even know they existed until I told you about them. I joined this mission not because I was ordered to, but because I wanted to carve my name in history. But I will not mark my namesake as a murderer of the very first species we have found that is on par with human intelligence! If my legacy is to be the protector of those you refuse to acknowledge, then so be it." The room hissed and flowed with whispers and gossip between the different board members, like a waterfall being heard through thick earmuffs. The only voice to be clearly heard was Director Striker himself.
"You are rooting for a lost cause, soldier. It is the manifest destiny of us humans to reach out and touch the stars. And if the only way to touch those stars is to sacrifice a few savages, then that is what we must do." Callisto felt her anger towards a man she once admired swell in her chest and wash through her veins with a burning fire. He was proposing mass genocide simply because he wanted what belonged to them. The wheel of history turns, but nothing is ever new it seemed.
"Have you read a history book in your life, Director Striker? Manifest destiny is used a mere few pages before a genocide. It's not a motivation, it's an excuse."
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Fair warning: this is my very first original story so please be kind to my baby, she is a lifelong passion and a labor of love.
•••COMPLETED•••
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