Second Chances
#1 of Second Chances
Second Chances
"Neo Seeker this is Hotel Echo Echo! Requesting immediate evac in Quadrant 3 Sector 7, 87 West 21 North! Do you copy?" pleaded a voice over the radio, "we encountered hostile forces and need immediate retrieval!" Leaning out from the ditch he was in, he could see and hear the forest rustle as his pursuers close in on his position. Afraid of what was going to occur if he wasn't there to tell the story of what happened, he turned the radio on with his shaking hands and said in rushed whisper, "Do NOT go to war with them whatever you do, it wasn't their fau-" The line suddenly goes dead. Slowly looking up wishing instead he could close his eyes and make it all disappear; he saw the strange creatures surrounding him, one with the cord to his radio in its hand.
7 years later
"Passengers please prepare for landing." Rang a world-weary voice over the intercom. First Sergeant Shield's eyes snap open and his nerves tense ready to spring to attention. After several seconds spent regaining his bearings, Shields tries to relax and calm his pounding heart. For the first time he ignores the same adrenaline coursing through his veins that on many other occasions saved his life. "You're not in the Galactic Federation Army anymore" Shields repeats to himself. Finally calmed down, he looks out the window to see the city landscape fast approaching.
At twenty six years old, he was quite young for a 1SG.He signed up right after highshool, most likely due to the rumors of a new planet discovered, his need to escape his past, and his adventurous nature. Ever since the GFA deployed to Planet Arcania, there's been plenty of work to be done and that meant plenty of room to move up the ranks. Shields was one of the men that stepped up. A COMSEC (communication Security) Soldier, Greenhorn Shields was sent out with the recon unit to keep them connected to the Main Air Station. Their mission was simple; investigate the cause of radio signals received from Planet Arcania and report back to MAS. He was deployed in an elite 12-man HOVEX (Hostile Environment Exploration) unit. The unit consisted of four assault soldiers, two gunners, two medics, two cavalry scouts, a COMSEC operator, and lastly the squad leader. Most of these guys were seasoned veterans with enough accolades to earn them a spot, but Shields was an exception out of necessity. His generation was the only one trained with the next-gen com systems found on the HOVEX Humvees, Being the highest scoring individual coupled with his steel nerves on the mandatory psych evaluation and the cold efficient way he carried out his orders, he was the best candidate for the job. His past effectively iced his heart, and that made him the ideal soldier to explore distant planets. No other private had the nerves it took to do planet-recon. After being introduced to his new unit, they deployed on a three month journey to Arcania on the air ship Neo Seeker. There were roughly 1000 people aboard, but his crew would make first contact.
The weeks flew by as he got to know his unit. The day before they made contact his unit was briefed for the last time. "Alright everybody listen up", Squad leader O'Neal announced, "tomorrow we make contact with Planet Arcania and you know what to do. We go in, determine the cause of the distress signal, and get out. We have been chosen for our skills as elite soldiers to be the undetectable eyes and ears of the GFA. Let's not prove them wrong. Sound off!" Every soldier recited the motto handed down through their branch: "Rangers lead the way!"
As the Neo Seeker entered planet Arcania's orbit, the rangers were entering a small room with two HOVEX Humvees and two motorcycle-looking vehicles located inside. They were coated in a strange kind of black paint that seemed to bend some of the light around them, giving them a faded texture. Shields and the rest of HOVEX were outfitting themselves in the Nano suits built specifically for this mission. They were designed to be flexible and light enough to not be a hindrance, but also withstand any extreme conditions planet Arcania could throw at them. Along with their zirconium Filtration/oxygen masks and m16x pulse rifles, they looked ready for the apocalypse.
O'Neal began "Alright men, we're being dropped into a clearing a few clicks south of where the signals came from. Our satellite imagery shows some sort of jungle of vegetation on all sides, so be aware of your surroundings. The Neo seeker can't go any lower if the cloak is to continue working. We don't know how advanced this civilization is but we do know they have radar, so were doing a low orbit drop to remain undetected."
And with those words, O'Neal hit the vacuum lock button near the door which caused an eerie red light and siren to go off. A few seconds later, the entire crew and vehicles were sucked down out of the vacuum chamber to witness the entire planet in its beauty. One of the gunners, Humphrey, crackled over there connected radios, "That's an amazing scene boys." And it was. Shields was in awe at the scene, seeing his team speed down as the vehicles tumbled through the air down towards a round orb with a hazy pinkish-purplish sky separated by a large land mass of thick green vegetation near the middle and white towards the poles. After what seemed like hours, their stealth parachutes along with some massive ones for the vehicles finally deployed at a preset altitude. They were coated in the same stealth paint, giving them a see-through appearance. Looking down between his feet, Shields saw the clearing they were supposed to land on and began gliding toward it.
Upon landing everybody noticed how strangely different it actually was. The first thing noticed was just how cold it was on the ground.
The second thing they noticed was the cause of all the green they saw from the air, ten foot tall plants with large waxy leaves that were bunched together very similar to corn fields on earth.
And the third thing they noticed was the eight-foot tall wolf-like creatures that stepped out onto the edge of the clearing watching their every move.