Chapter 18. SCF-Academy mission. Arc 1 Space exploration.

Act 1 (Star of the Abyss) Origin galaxy.

I stood and carried Beckett off the floor, we still have a long day of work tomorrow and I don't want her becoming stiff. I took off the blanket Beckett placed on Reyes, she was still having sex in her dreams, I stopped it by placing a finger on her forehead.

(Abyss) Cleanse.

Steam came off her reddening skin, her breath once ragged turned steady. And she wasn't moaning like a branded sow. With a focused thought the entire bed burned of blue flames.

I placed Beckett next to Reyes, the flames engulfing her. That should clean both up and rid the room of the smell. . . I really don't know how they can enjoy sex while smelling so repulsive.

Once the flames did their job I extinguished them, and then started stripping Beckett down to nothing and then clothed her with her underwear. I did the same with Reyes, making her a little more decent.

Satisfied with my work, I placed them together so they could cuddle, I placed my hand on Beckett's head and gave her false memories that she can recognize as false explaining what we did tonight and what she would tell Reyes.

I then went back to the floor and meditated, placing a mental alarm that would go off a few hours before six, I do need to cook for the unit as promised. 

Act 2 (Star of the Abyss) Origin galaxy.

It was nearing morning, the harsh cold night thawing itself slowly yet noticeably, I was outside wearing the lower part of my HF-body-suit with SCF-Flak pants. 

I was doing stretches as I forced every muscle within me to awaken, by placing every group under pressure. And then I breathed out as steam left my skin and lips.

(Abyss) Sigh. . .that's good, time to collect some food.

I started walking, first I checked on the data collector's diagnostics, it finished a few minutes ago, there were some data corruptions and missing checks from hardware that might be offline, I'll add it to the report later.

They'll send a repair unit or orbital tow, after our mission or they'll finally do something to this virgin planet. that was my thoughts as I did a second data download into the memory tablet and then walked towards the edge of the perimeter.

But as I stopped at the lazer fence I held up my hand and focused on my memories of swinging my spear, the way it felt piercing and cutting through the plasteel of training bots, and its own memories of destroying flesh and shattering bones. . .In one word, I sent a command through the essence of this world.

(Abyss) Come.

My voice was barely more than a whisper but it was enough as one of my connections moved. "Tlap!" after moment later the sound of a heavy steel pipe, being caught with bare hands echoed.

(Abyss) Ha ha ha. . . You're eager, aren't you Fang? 

I questioned her, the ancestral war-spear given to me by a defeated warrior. She was twitching in my hand, she hungered for blood, to be used to end the living. . . yet I'm no grim-reaper. I sent through my essence through the spear, satisfying its need for blood, with the memories of harvesting the souls of the wretched bioforms.

I looked around the thawing forest, as I walked with a satisfied weapon. I saw a bundle of grass that smelled of soft sour sweetness. I took a tip of the grass-blade, sniffed and tasted it.

It smelled like mountain onions yet tasted of lemon grass, with a thought the grass was uprooted. Its roots had small bulbs that were filled with sulfuric sap, so I detached them with a cut. And then continued looking for forage.

The second thing I found was a flower that when I unrooted it was actually something like ginger. It was close to wild mountain ginger, a long thick root that tasted a little bitter with a wild spicy bite. Its root was orange tinted.

The next thing I found was black chilly peppers. They had a different kind of spice to them, it was actually milder than the orange ginger, and they were raspberry shaped.

The next was white mushrooms, sprouting at the base of a tree, took a bite but immediately burned it inside my mouth, it was very poisonous yet I felt the essence of animals eating it.

I uprooted it and then found what I was feeling: a large lumpy ball of white, black spotted mycelium brain. . . this must be the biggest truffle I've seen.

As I walked back to camp I saw a patch of what looked and felt like cabbage flowers, I took some leaves and it's unblooming reddish flowers. But as I did I felt a presence.

I looked to my side and saw a boar analog, it had elephant tusks, straight and pointed, it had six eyes, 4 main ones 2 smaller ones. It looked at me measuring me, but as it took a sniff towards me it started charging me.

(Abyss) It seems like we're having pork. . . may your next life be better. "Groink!"

My short prayer was masked by the loud war cry of a hundred kilo beast, of an alien world.

Act 3 (Star of the Abyss) Origin galaxy.

It's been an hour since my foraging and I was now cooking, gutted and bleeded the boar, and took some of its very fatty side meat. Roasting it over an open fire with barbeque sauce.

As I was steering a pot of pork and wild herb mixed broth, the first to wake and leave their hab was cadet Tibhs, he looked at the boar and pot and then me, very much wanting to ask me something but stopped himself, and went to the AT-carrier bringing back bowls and spoons.

As he was at the carrier I heard muffled yells, and then as Tibhs was coming back two red faced and hastily dressed cadets sat at the table, the last one that joined us was cadet-Umiko still sleepy, but properly dressed in her flak gear and body suit.

I was the only one under dressed as I floated cuts of roasted boar. As I carried a pot of thick broth I saw Tibhs already placed the bowls so I filled them with the broth and slices of roasted meat and then ended the spread with cheese vegetable bread loafs on the plates.

(Abyss) Breakfast, eat up, we have a long day ahead.

I said as I wore my upper body suit, and activated its magnetic pressurization and then put on a regular cotton shirt.

We were gathered, the two girls, just started eating after saying a quick thanks the rest followed.

(Cadet-Tibhs) Are we allowed to hunt sir?

He finally asked as he tested the broth and then the meat and lastly the wild vegetable and seemed to like it.

(Abyss) I asked the head researcher about it, and he said it was fine and that they do it during maintenance and we just need to log it.

He gave me a nod and enjoyed his meal. Well they said it's okay to hunt and eat the animals, not really the plants though, they haven't researched them as thoroughly as the animals yet.

Act 4 (Star of the Abyss) Origin galaxy.

(Abyss) see anything up there?

I asked in the coms, as I wrote the unit reports I looked to my side and saw Tibhs handling the driving station, at my back cadet Beckett the coms, cadet Reyes the scans, and cadet Umiko was sitting on the recon torrent rather than on top of it, like I did.

(Cadet-Umiko) All clear sir.

(Abyss) You know it's better if you're outside. Ha ha.

I said jokingly I heard her muffle her own.

(Cadet-Umiko) Maybe when I'm older sir!

She was cute, that was my thought as I logged her reply, and then sent pulses of my psionic essence through the ATC and the other cadets, feeling their emotions and knowing some of their thoughts and recent memories, and then detailed those in the log.

(Cadet-Reyes) Sir? I'm picking up a blind spot, a few clicks to our 2 o'clock.

(Abyss) cadet Tibhs, slow down to 20. cadet Umiko, release the bees!

I felt the ATC slowed, as the recon sent MA-drones to scout ahead towards the blind spot.

I looked at the monitor showing the views of the drones, and I saw it, a chunk of old burnt metal. It was inside a small overgrown crater. A crash site of an old unknown ship.

(Cadet-Umiko) Orders sir?

It took me a moment to think of my options and then chosen to be cautious.

(Abyss) Cadet Beckett, call this in. Handler, found un-Identified crash site, will move to the next data point to await for further instructions. Sending coordinates.

I looked at cadet Reyes with a nod, she answered and went to work recording the coordinates of the crash site.

(Abyss) Alright team, the site is old and we don't have the equipment to properly secure the area. Will wait for an hour for orders in the next data point, if they tell us to investigate we will, but if they don't we move on and complete the mission.

I looked around the carrier cabin, my team wasn't looking at me but I could feel their thoughts, and it wasn't procedure. . . Even Umiko feels like she'll do anything as long as everyone else does it.

(Abyss) Your thoughts?

I asked simply, I can read them myself but it's better I listen to them, rather than be a the stereotypical space wizard.

(Cadet-Beckett) I agree we should be cautious whatever it is, might have proximity alarms. That would activate a defense system or an unknown beacon.

That's surprising I would have thought she would at atleast ask for as to scout the area around the ship. But now I can feel she's suppressing her urge of adventure for something, probably her parents?

(Cadet-Tibhs) I agree with the action sir, we don't know anything about the ship and the unit is not prepared to deal with a dangerous outcome.

That was atleast not odd but from what I can feel he's reluctant to even come close to the thing even if we were ordered too.

(Cadet-Reyes) Let's leave it to the high command, we can't make the call even if we have the equipment sir.

She just doesn't care. . . and wanted to get brownie points from me? What's a brownie?

(Cadet-Umiko) Agree sir!

Without any more interruption we continued our route, and mission as cadet Tibhs drove back to 60 an hour.

Act 5 (Star of the Abyss) Origin galaxy.

We quickly finished our data collection in the second data point as a call from the research station asked me and my team to be present.

I was in an opening infront of the carrier as we linked its front windshield monitor to my unit's call beacon. What appeared was the professor incharge of this mission.

(Professor-Gamilo) Abyss, I am pleased that you stuck to mission.

Sir Gamilo was a Symiosse that had been living within humanity for more than a millenia he was our coordinator and head handler for this training mission.

(Abyss) Yes, sir we had. Has our mission been changed?

(Professor-Gamilo) yes it has, we had finished doing long range scans on your UGO and it's completely power drained, and from the images, the AI's had Identified it as an ancient human vessel, with oddly enough, vibranty engines.

That was curious, anything considered ancient needs to be atleast half a millenia old or older, that means this thing could be one of the first exploration craft of the early human space age.

(Abyss) Are mission sir?

I saw him cough, stopping himself from continuing on his teaching of the subject of early human spacecrafts.

(Professor-Gamilo) Yes. . . it is to explore the ancient space wreckage and then report your findings, but first finish your data collection mission, we will elevator you up next cycle.

I looked at my team they were nodding there acceptance some more eager than others.

(Abyss) Mission accepted sir.

(Professor-Gamilo) Good, good. Goodluck unit 3.

And then the monitor turned dark as the call ended, well that means another night of space-camping.