The Last Age of Man

[Loading Personal Log # 8671]

Speaker: Captain Hao Tian

Current Designation: Leader of the Local Iron Wolves, 144th Battalion

Previous Designations: Served as second-in-command to the Late Prince Salahuddin during the Seventh Crusade.

Achievements: Recipient of 672 Military Accolades. Click to expand.

Physical Prowess: Multiple body modifications including but not limited to forelimb enhancements and organic blades.

Birth Place: Farm planet # 1,890,712

Current Age: 127 standard years.

Note: Barred from entering the inner planets due to a conflict with the son of Magister Lockheart that resulted in 32 major bone fractures in his son's body and the total loss of reproductive organs. All details were classified following a special request from the Magister.

______________________

*Voice Crackling*

'1-2 check, is this on? Oh great, still don't see the use of these things but here I am again. But I would still like to say on the record that this is a fucking stupid idea. Making all officers do these every single time is a waste of resources. And it's not like anyone even listens to them.'

*Sigh*

'Anyway, just started the return journey after the guard duty on the outer rims. There were 400 of us that left the outpost, only 260 returned including me. That new kid died too. What was his name again? Ah hell, I can't even remember their faces anymore let alone the names.'

'Every month we get new recruits, every month we lose almost all of them. I put in a request asking the higher-ups to train them a little more before sending them over but no one listens to little old me.'

'The main mission was to clear out an asteroid field of suspected gene-mutants. Their numbers were more than 3 times what the intel suggested. I'm guessing this is another of Lockheart's doings. If you're reading this you son of a two-bit whore, come fight me face to face and see what happens. God damn sellout.'

*Static*

'On the way back we got another request, on Ganymede, another of one Jupiters moons. There were reports of anomalous activity in a new civilian colony so the first squad was sent to investigate. And just like every other time, we found something.'

'The entire colony of more than 3,000 individuals had vanished. Not a living soul was left. At first we thought it was the cultist's doing, maybe another one of those god damn rituals but...it was strange.'

'None of the usual signs were present. Didn't find any drive signatures so no ship came or left. The satellites didn't pick up any spatial anomalies either, so there weren't any gateways that could have opened.'

'I can't really put my finger on it but this 'feels' a little too familiar. The last time I saw something like this was in the outer reaches during the crusade. I asked Prince Salahuddin about it but he told me to ignore it, that 'it happens' from time to time.'

'I knew he was hiding something and even seemed a little afraid, which was new. I had seen him take on two full-grown roach hunters without batting an eye, each one of which could cut someone like me in two with relative ease but...I don't know.'

'It's just weird is all. Actually....now that I mention it, it was right after that that it happened. Prince Salahuddin's battleship disappeared too. They told us it was swallowed by a wormhole but who would believe that? An intergalactic vessel housing hundreds of thousands was just swallowed?'

'If I wasn't sent away a day earlier by Salahuddin himself then I would be gone too. He gave me this bracelet and told me to deliver it to a guy named 'Baracus' who lived was a few systems away but I never made it there.'

'Now all that's left of him is this little trinket. These youngins don't even know the name of the youngest genius to ever grace the Roal family of Durand.'

*Static*

'What else...oh yeah! I had a dream a few days ago. It's been ages since I last dreamt so this was definitely a new development. I was back on earth, way before the Empire of Durand found us. When I was still living with my so-called family, those conniving bastards. As much as I hated them, wouldn't mind seeing their faces again...well, if any of them were still alive haha.'

*Static*Static*

'Come to think of it, all of that feels like it was such a long time ago, almost another lifetime entirely. Back then everything was normal until we found that crystal deposit on the moon and then all sorts of strange things started happening.'

'I remember the first time I saw a leviathan in person, sheesh. I can still remember how bad its breath smelt from a hundred miles away. And then the spatial gateways that opened in many of the continents, spilling out all manner of untold horrors. And then the Empire came to our 'aid' to take us in as a colony but...was that really the best outcome?'

'We lost more than half our population before the Empire even arrived, and what was left was taken in as the lowest tier of the labor force. No, it was because of the governments that sold us out. They hid everything from us until it was too late, and then they sold entire countries just for a small position of power in the Empire.'

'What fools. If they had stuck out a little longer, we could have gotten a much better deal. At the very least we wouldn't be homeless as we are now. Moving from one space station to another, one colony to another. No place to call home, no place to put down roots. If only I could change the past.'

*Sigh*

'But what can we do, huh? It's not like-'

*Static*

'Warning! Warning! Hyperdrive Disabled!'

'What the hell is going on?!'

[Second speaker detected: First Lieutenant Humphrey.]

'Cap'n! There is something onboard! We can't-'

*BOOM*

'What?! What the hell is it?'

'It- we don't know! I have never seen anything like it cap'n it looks like a demon! That's all it could be!'

'Get your shit together, Humphrey! There is no such thing as demons! Probably just a mutated werewolf or insane cultist. I'm coming to the deck, prepare for battle!'

*Static*

'Huh? Why is Salahuddin's bracelet shining? It never did that before. Whatever, I'll deal with it later, where is-'

*ROOAAAAR*

*Static*

'Well...I'll be damned, that looks like a demon alright!'

*Krerererere*

'Nothing is working cap'n! The bullets don't do anything against its hide, the explosives barely stagger it. The plasma weapons leave a few dents here and there but nothing worth mentioning. At this rate it will break through the pressure doors in less than a minute.'

'How the hell did it get here?'

'I think it snuck in when we landed. I suggest we evacuate while we can cap'n.'

'Evacuate where? There is nothing in range. The only option is to get it off...I'll go.'

'You'll go where cap'n?'

'I'll lure it towards the hanger. When we're inside, open the doors and flush the bastard out of my ship!'

'But-'

'Get me my blades!'

'Cap'n we should rethink this, let someone else-'

'No, you saw how strong it is. Only my armor might have a chance to hold it back long enough. Just be sure to time it right, understand?'

___________________

End of Logs.

"Hey, you still working? What are you listening to?" a man wearing a mechanical helmet walked up behind another.

Both of them were adorned in dark green robes that had insignias of an old book on the back. They were standing in front of an old and dusty screen in what appeared to be some sort of a library with rows upon rows of books, scrolls, and various other tools used for recording information.

The first man turned around to see who it was, welcoming the new arrival with a nod.

"Nothing much. Got a request from high up to delete some personal logs."

"Oh? Whose is it?"

"A space marine captain. His ship went down a few weeks ago, we recovered the logs recently. You know how it is, they want to keep it hush-hush. Can't have any explained deaths so close to an inner sector."

"Tell me about it. There have been a lot of those recently. I deleted like 10 of them in the last month alone. Someone should really take a look at them though."

"Someone will sooner or later. You wanna get some food?"

"Only if you're paying!"

"....forget I asked."

****

"Hao Tian! Wake up! It's almost time for school!"