Hello all! Here is my fan fiction: Descent to Rykros, a story about a team of GUARDIANS exploring the dark planet and discovering its horrifying origins. Hope you all enjoy!
Prologue: An Adverse Decision
Lines of static plagued the weak transmission, the monitor seemed barely visible and the sound almost incoherent. All it displayed in a pale blue tint was the rough, weak outline of a person’s face. It was a sad expression, a look of defeat and regret. His ears, his eyes, they all resembled that of a Beast’s, and his mouth was moving but the words failed to match.
“…It was a mistake…” the sickly voice spoke, out of breath. The transmission hung on but a wire, the sharp sound of static hissed and buzzed, interrupting his words. “…We…we made it this far on the expedition, but failed to get out of orbit before it struck. Professor Tomrain was right, this place is…” His image jumped up and down on the screen rapidly, the interference masked his words beyond understanding. “A-Photons…building…remains of an old colony…” His words made no sense, they were too scattered to understand and too fragmented to use as any sort of evidence.
Laia ended the transmission and sat back in her chair, resting her head, and closing her eyes. The peaceful silence of the president’s office annoyed her, as did the thick tension that lingered in the air. It was a difficult decision. She knew it was risky, but she would have to send another team, she needed to know what Rykros was, what threat it would bring. She wanted to go herself, but no one would allow it. She was the president; she needed to be with the GUARDIANS. Still, was this information so important that it would force her to sacrifice another set of lives? There had to be another way.
Then the door to her office swung open and a female human with flowing blonde hair stepped in, giving a respective bow once she reached the edge of Laia’s desk. She wore a white sleeveless top with a photon buckler latched to her left arm and a pair of black shorts followed by tall blue stockings, ending with mid-calf white boots. The design of her armor caught Laia’s eye. It was an elaborate shape of a butterfly drawn in dark photon energy on the front and back of her shirt.
Laia leaned forward in her seat; her blonde pigtails slid off her shoulders and hung in limp suspension. She placed her elbows on the desk and set her chin over her folded hands. “So you’ve already heard?” she said in a neutral tone.
The young woman raised her bowed head, letting her ice blue eyes fall onto Laia, “Yes, Madam President. I was told by-”
The president raised her palm to the woman, “Please, it’s just Laia.”
“Very well.”
“How much do you already know about the mission?”
“Everything. So if this is a joint operation, have you decided what team to send with me? I’m going to need a ship as well.”
“I have. It’s an old acquaintance of yours actually. You’ll be going with Russell Dago.”
The young woman’s eyebrows raised in surprise. “Russell? I haven’t seen him since Shana instructed us, not since you assigned us a team of our own.”
Laia nodded and slanted back, dropping her arms onto the rests. “Yes, I’ve read the file. I wanted to team you up with people you are familiar with, Halley. I wanted to ask Shana but she is busy on a mission of her own. Do you accept Russell’s team?”
Halley shifted her weight onto her left leg, “I do. It’s just…”
“What?”
“Never mind, it’s nothing. I’ll gladly work with an old partner. When do we leave?”
“As soon as his team returns from Moatoob. He’s currently finishing a humanitarian mission, helping the survivors of the outbreak.”
“Doesn’t sound like he’ll be happy.” Halley crossed her arms, “He hates getting missions back to back without rest.”
Laia shrugged her shoulders, “We’re short manned. Everyone else is either too busy or not qualified enough.”
The tension was thick, uncomfortably thick. Laia hated it. Politics, office work, they were for some skinny, pencil whipping nerd or some loud mouth rich man, but not for her. That is what made the choice so much tougher, she knew what the field was like; so did her father. She asked herself what her father would do then shunned herself for not looking for her own strength. Regardless of her feelings, the decision had to be made. “So you accept the mission?”
Halley nodded, “Yes.”
Chapter I: Reunion
“Crescent Amber, you are cleared for docking at Docking Station Foxtrot.” said a man’s voice over the intercom. “Please allow Control to upload the data for your approach.”
Russell Dago – a male beast – briefly glanced over the controls with his maroon eyes to double check his docking preparations. After finishing the sequence, he looked at the overhead display, taking in the sight of his home he had been away from for some time. The GUARDIANS Colony or at least what remained of it after the attack from the Illuminus. It looked beaten, licking its wounds as it were, but it was rebuilding, reshaping itself slowly into its former glory. It was home and he was glad to see it.
The humanitarian mission on Moatoob proved more pressing then he originally thought. He went to the camps and did what he could, helped kill off a few straggling SEED on patrols, and overall did his best to keep his fellow Beasts in high spirits – but their melancholic glares never left his thoughts. Moatoob would never be the same, ever. He pressed the issue aside, trying to think positive. He was home now and it was time to rest.
He glanced over to his partner Tach – a male human – sitting across from the helm. Tach held his rifle in the lap of his tan cargo trousers torn apart to its bare frame. “Tinkering with that scrap again?”
“This scrap is going to usher in a new era of weaponry for the GUARDIANS,” snapped Tach with a quick retort.
“I’ve seen your ‘new era’ at work,” Russell teased, scratching his fingers through the rough of his short gray hair, “You nearly singed off half of your head last time you fired that thing, lucky for you it was only your eyebrows.”
Tach rubbed his thumb and forefinger over his thin eyebrows as if checking they were still there. The subject seemed to get to him; he did not reply or make a smart remark like he usually did. “Three steps forward, two steps back.”
A smile stretched across Russell’s face, “Let’s hope your next step doesn’t send you six feet under.”
The ship rattled as the docking clamps of Station Foxtrot clamped onto the Crescent Amber. The bulkhead doors of the station closed shut and the sharp hiss of air escaping through the openings of the vents outside filled their ears. The intercom buzzed again, “Crescent Amber, welcome home,” then ended with a sharp beep.
Russell climbed out of his chair and activated his nano-transformer to change his white undershirt into his brown vest decorated with a wavy line of red photon energy going from his hip to opposite shoulder. “I’m going to the debriefing. Watch her while I’m gone.”
Tach did not reply, he simply waved his hand to him as he left. Then a thought crossed his mind. “Take D.C. out with you,” he said.
Russell gave him a sidelong glance, “What? Don’t enjoy his company?”
“He’s your Partner Machine. Your PM, your responsibility.”
Russell shrugged his shoulder helplessly, “Sheesh, you act like he’s some sort of troublemaker.”
“Oh I won’t say anything else.” Tach then looked back to his rifle, installing the hub for its photon reactor.
“That’s fine.” Russell headed through the threshold of the door, “But at least take a shower before I get back!” His voice gradually faded with distance, “You need to learn to put those things down once and awhile.”
Russell walked into the ship’s living quarters, finding D.C sitting upright on the couch with his eyes closed. “D.C. We’re going out.”
D.C’s solid silver eyes sprang open. His short silver-haired head pivoted, directing his gaze at Russell. “I was having the most wonderful dream,” he spoke in a monotone voice, “You were there, Tach was there…wait no that was a horrible dream.”
“You can share the boring details later.” He then motioned for the airlock leading off the ship, “We have to go to the colony, and you’re coming with me.”
With his hands in his pockets, D.C. slid off the couch to a stand. “That sounds like a great deal of effort. Let me guess, Tach put you up to this? He can’t stand my company? Oh, and I thought we were getting along so well together.” Unlike the other male PMs, D.C did not dress as a butler nor did he have a mustache. In fact, he dressed more like a child, wearing a jersey and baggy pants. The only factor that showed he was not human aside from his eyes was the two black square devices that stood in place of his ears.
Russell shrugged his shoulders, “I couldn’t possibly understand why he couldn’t get along with you.” Turning on his heels, he faced the door and left, D.C. following behind.
“Anyways, so in the dream…”
Russell followed the path to the fourth floor of the GUARDIANS Colony and looked up the ramp to the entrance of HQ. A brief sigh escaped his lips; all he wanted to do was sleep. Standing next to him, D.C’s size made the PM look to be a small child, but this was what all Partner Machines were like.
The debriefing was necessary. Once over, he hoped to have a little peace and quiet. Russell walked up the ramp and into the headquarters to see the reception desk as well as the receptionist, Mina behind the counter. He approached her, greeting her with a lazy wave.
“Good afternoon, Mr. Dago.” Russell handed her his GUARDIANS’ license. Mina scanned it through the database and returned it to him moments later. “I’ve verified your GUARDIANS license. Congratulations on your return from Moatoob.”
Russell scratched the back of his head and yawned out the words, “Let’s get this over with.”
Mina nodded and looked to her monitor, bringing up his schedule. “Oh,” she muttered, “It seems your debriefing has been postponed. You are to report to the medical room to be briefed on your next mission.”
“N..Next mission?” An irritated sigh escaped him, making Mina feel nervous. “I just got back from a mission!”
Mina let his words settle for a moment before replying, “I’m terribly sorry, but this is ordered directly from the Madam President.”
“Directly from…the President?” Russell rolled his jaw, wondering what was going on. “Fine…then I’ll wait there.”
“Oh, before you do, please sign this.” Mina slid a piece of parchment across the counter. Russell eyed it with an intense curiosity.
“A non-disclosure agreement?”
“Yes, all assigned to this mission are to sign this.” She handed him a pen.
Russell snatched the pen from her fingertips and quickly scribbled his signature down. “Whatever this is about, it had better not keep me from bed for very long.”
Russell hated the medical room. Its off-white walls, the small table that casually sat off to the side, the cabinets full of weird instruments he was unfamiliar with. It always had that weird air about it, like he was exposed, vulnerable. The only breath of fresh air was the window that showed the view of Clyez City and the emptiness of space beyond that.
Ten minutes passed since he came into the room, and ten more minutes passed as he waited, impatiently. D.C. did not seem to mind, he never really cared about anything. When Russell could no longer wait, he started for the door but it swung open just before he came within reach of it.
His eyes widened.
Halley stood at the threshold of the door. She brushed her long blonde locks behind her shoulders and stepped past him, heading toward the window of the room. “It’s been a while, Russell.”
Russell gave her a sidelong glance, “Halley…” He turned to face her, “What are you doing here?”
Halley gave a short sigh and crossed her arms, “The President is too busy to give the briefing twice, so I’m to explain to you what the next mission is.”
“Not that,” he said, shaking his head, “I mean what are you doing here? Aren’t you supposed to be on Neudaiz for that operation with the Communion?”
Halley leaned back, pressing the heel of her foot against the wall. “That’s exactly what I’m doing. We can catch up later, for now I have to explain this to you. Both the GUARDIANS and the Communion of Gurhal are conducting an investigation on the newly discovered planet Rykros. Our scientists theorize that the SEED originate from there. We’ve been trying to scan the surface to find out what the environment is like, as well as to try to put evidence to our theory, but the radiation from all the damaged AMF Battleships in that sector is messing up our scanners. We need to take a ship to get in closer range so we can examine it.”
“That’s suicide,” exclaimed Russell, “Even with all the damaged ships, there are still AMF war vessels in the area infected with the SEED. They’ll blast us to photon debris before we get anywhere near that planet!”
“That’s where you come in, Russell. The mission is for you to take both my team and Faileaf’s team in orbit of the planet. The GUARDIANS will send a task force to distract the infected AMF ships long enough to slip by. Once we enter the radiation field we will…”
Russell interrupted her, “You’ll use it to fool them. If they can’t rely on their own scanners then they’ll have to search manually, which could take hours or even days. Yet there is one thing that bothers me: How are you going to scan the planet if the radiation is still there? I’m guessing this ‘Faileaf’ has something to do with it.”
“Exactly. The Communion have a new system unlike any scanning technology we currently have. They are going to use it to scan the planet without interference from the radiation.”
“This is too risky. I’m not up for getting both my team, my ship, as well as your people that deep into SEED territory.”
“Did you sign the non-disclosure agreement?”
“Yeah, what of it?”
“Then you have to accept. That agreement was written under the assumption that once you signed it you accepted the mission. If you drop out now, the GUARDIANS would be forced to arrest you.”
D.C. gave Russell a smug smirk and spoke in a mocking tone, “You didn’t read the fine print.”
Until next week!
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