Celestial Seeker | The Stolen Artifact

Chapter 3 | Chaos

The crew was heading towards the planet of Palmoa, a sight that usually meant safety, given its within the Orbit's heavily guarded territory. Below them, the sparkling oceans of Palmoa shimmered like a set of diamonds, illuminated in the radiant glow of the colossal blue giant star, a celestial spectacle that painted the entire Proxima Centauri system with an ethereal light.

"This entrance never gets old. That huge blue star, combined with Palmoa's greenery, is just beautiful. All we have back on Hentoxa are rocky deserts and seas," Cole remarked.

"It's often called a paradise. We're lucky to see it so often," Meeko added.

"They even have this island, named after some place on Old Earth, Hawaii, we should defi-"

Boom!

Cole's words were suddenly cut short by an intense electromagnetic force that struck the Star Runner. The ship vibrated immensely, as if caught in a spaceborne earthquake, leaving everyone disoriented and shook.

"Wha- what the hell was that?" Meeko stammered while holding onto his head

Glancing to his right, he saw Cole, looking like someone hit him in the head with a bat, slowly regaining consciousness.

"Cole, get up, man!" He shook him urgently.

Meeko then noticed Styx lying over his chair, unconscious with blood pouring from his nose. Ricard and Natalia had fallen but were now scrambling to their feet.

"I'm alright, I'm good. Meeko, get on the comms with the Cosmo military, now! We need to find out what just hit us," Cole instructed, regaining his composure.

"Wait! Someone take care of Styx! He looks dead!" Meeko yelled, pointing at him.

Styx laid motionless, blood covering his face, his eyes rolled back, making him look lifeless at first sight.

"I'll handle it! Focus on finding out what hit us!" Natalia called out, rushing to Styx's side with Ricard.

"Come on, man, wake up! Natalia, grab the medical supplies from the wall, quick!" Ricard urged, trying to revive Styx.

Meanwhile, Meeko attempted to contact the nearby Cosmo military security, but it seemed all their electronics were disabled, likely by an electromagnetic pulse attack.

"Hello, Cosmo security? Nearby Orbit security? Can anyone hear us? What's going on?!" Meeko shouted into the communication system, only to be met with static.

"Damn, our comms are down, and so is our TWDS handler. This must have been some kind of EMP attack," Meeko realized.

The Star Runner drifted slowly through space on minimal thruster power. The expected Cosmo security ships were nowhere in sight from the cockpit. Just then, as Meeko and Cole scanned the front windshield, a Cosmo ship sped past them, its lights flashing urgently.

"There! A ship signaling us! We need them to dock with us," Cole pointed out.

"Holy shit!" Meeko gasped in shock. They just witnessed the Cosmo ship that signaled them erupt in a fiery explosion, debris pelting their windshield.

"This is chaos! Where's the Orbit's security? Styx isn't responding; he needs medical help now! And we have to check on the other passengers!" Natalia shouted, her voice tense with madness.

Meeko attempted to access the ship's inside communication systems, but with no success, he turned on and activated the emergency protocols.

Abruptly, a Cosmo government official bursted through the door into the cockpit.