Preface of a future war

"In the vast space, a lonely starship travels through the stars. The few passengers don't know what awaits them, neither the crew nor the captain.

The emergency sirens cried just as they were passing the vicinity of a small dwarf planet. A foreign ship is approaching with its guns ready. It's a Starship from 'The Empire'. And it shoots. As a passenger ship, the human spaceship didn't have any strong shields or resistance so it plummets to the dwarf planet pulled by its gravity…"

Rie was writing a few sentences for her new novel when the sirens really started to cry. - Shit! What's this!? - She cried startled. The empire couldn't attack this trivial transport ship. Or could they? Well yes, they definitely could. But they weren't remotely near their territory!

For her fortune, and all the passengers and crew, her story didn't come true. Not literally for a start. The sirens didn't sound out because of an attack but because of a technical fault in the engines. An announcement in the mechanical voice of the mainframe resonated through the speakers for all people inside the ship to hear.

- Dear passengers, please maintain calm. We have a technical issue so please take a seat in the nearby safety seat and lock the safety belt. We will make a stop in the nearby planet until the issue is set. - After that, the ship started to shake as it was pulled by the gravity of the planet, presumably because the matter with the engines didn't make possible for the starship to resist the gravity pull. Then the announcement repeated itself.

- Damn! - Rie almost fell for the turbulence but fortunately, she was already seated. She rapidly saved the archive and closed the hologram text editor before she pulled the safety belt and locked it securing her body, then she turned her head around to see the space through the window at her back. - What's with this damned luck!? - She cursed seeing how they were entering the dwarf planet atmosphere.

The small planet seemed inhospitable and lifeless. A mass of gray covered it, it seemed that there was no water nor vegetation. It must be safe to land for a short stop as it seemed that there weren't any inhabitants or colony in it. And most importantly, no aggressive life-forms. The captain and the crew of the ship must know better than her if it was safe or not. So if they decided to land in it instead of in a nearby asteroid it must be free from danger. Or maybe they will plummet and die in the crash… And if they have enough luck to survive, then they will be surrounded by enemies or monsters!

Well, Rie was at it again. Spiraling about some worst scenario scenes. Although in this case, the fast-approaching surface made a point about the crash thing.

That's why her stories aren't popular, all full of worst scenario tragedies but never a hero to save the day. 'Who needs a hero when there is a protagonist?' She believes that. But the protagonist isn't necessarily the hero in a story. And hers wasn't. So they where lonely stories full of tragedies and hardships, of lonely protagonists wishing silently for a hero, but their wishes were never written, they never become the hero and a hero never arrives. So they were stores full of crushed hopes and despair.

And truth be told, she loves reading the crying comments of her few readers.

And that's why she was here in this transport starship. They may not be bad stories in itself, but they don't sell well. And she lost her last job (again) because she focused a little too much in writing them (…again). And as it seems, she was going to be late to the contract signature of her new job at the next colony. (yes, again. But at least this time wasn't because she lost her time writing, she just happens to jinx the starship while writing.)

The rate of the fast in the fast-approaching surface decreased as they approached it and they started to land without any issue. Yet.

'Well, maybe the issue with the engines resolves quickly and I arrive in time to the interview?' She thought and a huge explosion occurred. The ship shakes and fell the few meters it lacked for a safe landing.

The sirens started to cry again and the voice of the mainframe of the ship was heard again. - "Please take an atmospheric adapter to disembark. Please maintain calm, take an atmospheric adapter and disembark in order. - There was a pause in the advice before it added - Then run in case the starship explodes. - And it repeated itself. - Please take an atmospheric adapter to disembark. Please maintain calm, take an atmospheric adapter and disembark in order… Then run in case the starship explodes. -

- Haha, cursed luck. - Rie laughed while unfastening the security belt. She grabbed her suitcase from one of the secure shelves in the wall of her tiny cheap room and made a run for it. Or so she wanted.

She didn't want to be here in case it all bursts to flames and as expected none of the passengers wanted it neither. There was chaos and screams everywhere outside the room. The poor crew members trying to control the situation were subdued by the rampaging passengers.

People. A crowd of crazy people.

A chill run down her spine as she murmured a decisive: - Nope. - And made a step back. The automatic sliding door closed in front of her.

Yes. She preferred to explode than to submerge in that hellish ocean of scary scared people.

----------------------------------------

"The hell began as the starship fell. There were fire and corpses everywhere. Some died by the shoots of The Empire's vessel, a lot more by the crash. A few crew members managed to salvage some passengers guiding them to the emergency capsules but even so, several emergency capsules were damaged by the assault and didn't manage to flee the starship in time.

One of the capsules landed safely on the surface of the small planet. The survivors in it..."

- Ah, I should introduce the protagonist soon, ¿Shouldn't I? Dammit. I didn't think any of it yet…

And there she goes again, in the danger of death she seated there in her tiny cheap room, opened the holographic text editor and continued her rave.

Contrary as her fiction in progress, her and the voyagers in the starship were lucky as the fire in the engine room of the ship was put out before anything more explodes. The unluckiest ones where the crew members who tried to control the commotion and some of the passengers, those who were run over by the crazy people. They suffered some injuries but fortunately nothing serious.

The mechanical voice of the mainframe spoke again through the speakers. - Pardon the inconvenience. The ship will not explode. Please maintain calm and exit the ship. The crew will set a temporary camp for the time being. - And repeated itself. Again.

The announcement shook her off her concentration. - Oh. We didn't explode? - At the time she was asking herself the door of the room slide open and a startled crew member replied. - No... We didn't. - Astonishment was written all over his face at the calm person seated inside. He shook his head to compose himself and took a stoic face to continue his job.

The crew member entered the room, opened a little shelve of the wall next to the door, he took a silver spherical object from inside it and extended it to Rie. - Please take this atmospheric adaptor and prepare to disembark. Leave the unnecessary things in the room. We're setting the temporary camp now. It'll be ready in no time. - He said mechanically like reading a to-do list.

- Oh, thanks. Is the crazy crow outside calm already? - She asked leaning to the side to peek at the hallway through the open door behind the crewman while reaching for the gadget he was handing off.

The man grimaced. - It's safe to go out now. - He replied.

- How long will it take for the ship to work again? -

- At least two days. - The crew member recovered his stoic face in no time.

Rie let out a sigh. - I will be fired again… Oh! But they didn't have the chance to hire me yet so they can't! - She smiled at the crew member like she discovered an awesome truth.

The man turned around and left to continue with his job.

- Ah, but I needed that job! - She lamented, discovering the not so awesome truth.