Lost future

— 3:15 PM Earth time

— Location: Terrestrial solar system, Planet Earth, open area on south of Europe.

The site was completely destroyed by shockwaves, debris has covered large extensions of the zone.

From inside the shield, Jack smiled falsely as he broke away from the center of the shield.

On all sides they were surrounded by metal and concrete, on top of a practically invisible dome "Luckily the shield can withstand damage of this magnitude...".

｢On the other hand, will the power be enough?｣.

He laughed wryly inwardly, little less than absurd it was to observe how no one else answered the call of death.

After waiting for the debris to cement over the shield form, Jack turned off the device "It looks like the waves have stopped, and the debris structure is stable... let's get out."

Footsteps so heavy that they shook the earth were heard, one after another made the earth rumble and the rubble seemed capable of collapsing.

Pieces of concrete fell away as Jack held the device tightly, ready to activate it at any moment.

He could hear Beatrice's racing heartbeat, her expression losing color. She approached Jack and asked "Do you think it's safe?".

Jack sighed "I honestly don't know, those footsteps sound dangerous.... But little else, we don't know what made them."

Then he turned to the small crowd "If we want to get out, we have to create the exit. Help me remove the debris."

The crewmen reacted with different expressions, but each showing distress.

In fact most of them wanted to sit and wait, maybe some help would come? Maybe.

Jack laughed wryly "Naive those who doubt. See yourselves, lined up perfectly in a sardine can. Waiting to be found and serve as food."

Jack's words drilled into their minds like an inevitable warning.

The majority finally decided to take action "What death is more bitter than that which is not fought?" asked one of the many present.

Maybe their friends, maybe their family. Something motivated them not to abandon themselves.

One by one they confirmed themselves by saying "Yes, sir."

They immediately put on their emergency suits and began to excavate the rubble.

Twenty-five minutes passed like the blink of an eye, during which time numerous indistinguishable roars could be heard.

Wind currents, earth-shaking blows, creaking, explosions, strange and indescribable noises, all filled them with fear, some imagined scenes from plays they once enjoyed, others repeated their reasons to themselves and Jack simply ignored it.

His heart beats at an unsteady pace, his mind remained clear and he repressed his body's reactions.

Beatrice stopped her hands as she felt her personal drill overheat, she watched jack and sighed ｢Somehow he always does that｣.

As more time passed, the pace slowed... And fear in them only increased.

Jack sighed, he wasn't able to really understand the fear they felt at this moment, and his mind focused on his work.

The last five minutes there were no more rumbles or events that could hasten their death.

But the noises continued, even with all this happening, the fear faded and thanks to everyone's help they managed to make a path to the outside.

Jack emerged with a somber expression, dried blood painted the scene black, the corpses were not visible, but pieces of them decorated the rubble.

The scene was tetric, as expected, no insects approached the corpses.

As the others left, he saw some people vomiting as they witnessed the scene, including Beatrice.

Jack barely showed any change, unlike the previous event he was not surprised at all.

Shortly after, he rolled his gaze to the platform where the stage was located, with a face full of disbelief he said "Impossible... it's still working.... And the relatives of the guy who was on the stage are coming out."

Out of the engine came a variety of strange creatures some ranging from the disgusting to the unbelievable.

However, given the above Jack felt that that was the least dangerous and that the greater danger was long gone.

Looking around more, he noticed a small forest nearby reduced to ashes.

The ground filled with cracks and countless traces of fighting, from traces of molten earth, structures thrown and dragged, areas completely cleared of any life or debris, etc.

Beatrice did her best to endure seeing this landscape, it would be a shame to fall for something so simple.

It really wasn't that she hadn't seen dead before, she had killed before.

However, it was always in naval battles against bandits so she usually didn't see their bodies and even if she did see them she wouldn't even feel sympathy to them.

Then she raised her face and said "We have to destroy it but how?".

Before anything happened, a crewman approached and said "The easiest way is to use a plasma grenade, right?" this one by his clothing could easily be concluded that he is from the lowest echelon.

Jack had prepared himself, however he never expected this to be so serious so he didn't bring many weapons.

Much less a plasma grenade, which is quite rare in his circles of influence "True, but I don't carry one, do any of you have one?".

Beatrice was somewhat confused due to recent events, hearing his words she concluded that, Jack would be the one to detonate it and she didn't want him to do something so dangerous.

Looking at the big picture she realized that, time was what they had the least of. Evaluating her options she resigned herself as she handed the grenade into Jack's hands "I, however, only one... So you better aim well."

The grenade is nothing more than a small white sphere with a little, somewhat inconspicuous activation button.

Jack quickly turned his gaze back to the engine and said "Go now, find a ship."

It would be simple for anyone to assume that going back with them was not in their plans.

Beatrice with a hint of fear in her voice said "Promise me you won't die."

Jack said sure of himself "I don't plan to die yet, I still have to... never mind, quicken your pace".

Beatrice and the crewmen fled to the north where New Dawn waits.

Presumably, that explosion also contained an electromagnetic pulse and since new dawn was the oldest, it would be the least affected as it was core dependent.

In fact, it also has several defenses against electromagnetic pulses, so it is unlikely for it to have been damaged.

Jack took a deep breath as he watched them leave, whereupon he surveyed the area again.

The strange beasts covered a large area, but did not seem able to cooperate.

They are quite far away from each other and seemed to ignore each other, the rate of departure from the portal approached zero, from two minutes ago nothing came out, however, it is better to be safe than to cure the problem later.

Jack understands what he is about to do, he has to do it stealthily as he does not know the power of his enemy.

In addition, he would most likely not get there with them.

With that in mind, he stealthily sneaked next to the engine and placed the grenade, throwing it would be easier but also risk too much.

He then fled running towards a large piece of rubble for cover, this scene happened very quickly.

Not counting the time it took him to sneak away, the time between placing the grenade and hiding is three seconds, something that no normal person could do since the distance to be covered is twenty-two meters and the ground is covered in rubble.

The grenade exploded shortly after, destroying the engine.

Then, a great boom was emitted, a destructive wave. Driving some of the beasts into the grave, all the surrounding ones were alerted.

｢It seemed to have stopped.... Anyway the amount of beings that entered this planet and their capabilities are unknown, it is better to take discretion｣.

He took a breath, warned that no beast knows his whereabouts, he fled northward away from the beasts and hided his presence as much as possible.

If he had weapons he would fight, however, going into battle with his bare hands would not be the best idea.

｢I wish I had a portable cache, unfortunately they must have already left｣.

After an indeterminate amount of time he arrived where New Dawn was and watched the ship leave the planet.

｢I thought they would be faster... If I had known, I would have sped my way...｣ He doesn't need to look around to know that the beasts are approaching ｢Now it's impossible...｣.

Jack synchronized the signal from his armband to the ship's channel ｢Just in case｣.

Beatrice saw the radio transmission and quickly asked through the microphone "Jack?".

This one proudly replied "Himself".

After a pause he said "Before you think of coming back for me, the enemies are unknown in every applicable parameter. Even if I am in captain the risk is too great."

In Beatrice the previous desire to rescue him had welled up, however, his words were like a bucket of cold water on the head.

It was at that moment that she understood the real danger and wanted to resign herself, but a feeling made her ask ".... But what will you do?".

Jack was anxious too, but it wasn't because of fear, it was something else... he knew how to handle the situation better than she did and he said with confidence "I'll be fine, are you forgetting who you're talking to?".

Beatrice was still worried, still those words calmed her down and calmly said "Ok, we'll go but... Take care of yourself...".

Jack shortly after said "I'll contact you when I find a safe place, over and out" He cut the transmission.

He finally felt done ｢Although it's just a lie｣.

Beatrice thought as Jack cut the transmission ｢Received...｣ finally felt that he would be just fine.

She had the assurance that he would be okay ｢Even if it's just a lie...｣.

Before exiting the atmosphere, she said resolutely "Control, prepare the ship to exit the atmosphere, we have to report to the ogch."

Beatrice and the crewmen traveled on course for the terrarian solar system's orbital headquarters, while Jack was stuck searching for a way out.