𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝒄𝒂𝒏 𝒘𝒊𝒔𝒉 𝒐𝒏 𝒔𝒉𝒐𝒐𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒓𝒔...
𝑱𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒘𝒂𝒕𝒄𝒉 𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒍𝒂𝒏𝒅.
Drake Harker is plagued by darkness. Despite having a rare skin condition that prevents him from walking in the daylight, he t...
"Shit! Shit! Shit!" Captain Mortecus gripped the wheel of his spacecraft tightly, trying to avoid an onslaught of enemy fire.
Missiles screamed across the black void as his attackers closed in on him. In the vacuum of space, their trailing flames burned with an unnatural light. They radiated a foreboding violet aura, signaling the demise of Mortecus's prized Adventum.
He managed to dodge two or three missiles, but the maneuvers left him vulnerable to a second wave. It only took a single solid hit to knock his shields out and render the thrusters completely useless. The ship had already sustained devastating damage when it fled from the Lunatori Solar System. Now, with this final blow, it was mangled beyond repair.
The vessel lurched forward upon impact, causing Mortecus's body to jolt violently. He almost hit the glass viewport like a bug on a windshield, but his iron grasp saved him from an embarrassing splat. Although the inertia still jostled him out of position, he was uninjured by the blast.
After pulling himself back into the helmsman seat, Mortecus proceeded to assess the damage. "Solara, are you all right?!" he yelled over the sound of exploding metal.
"N-no," the ship's AI navigator replied sadly, "I'm d-d... dying." On the control panel, her holographic image came in and out of focus.
"Damn it!" Mortecus cursed the Repkonians for using such brutal force. But there was no time for anger and even less time to think. The Captain did the only thing he could to save his sole surviving crewmate. "Solara, while I back up your memory to my Star-Caller, prepare an escape pod."
"Y-y-yes, Captain." Her voice was distorted and close to fading out completely. Solara's blueish figure had always been obscure-as her programming lacked the coding for detailed facial features-but even her silhouette became nearly impossible to distinguish.
While the Repkonians readied their canons for the kill shot, Mortecus initiated an upload to his portable device. The battle was over and lost; now, it was a race against time.
"Status?" the Captain asked with nervous sweat dripping from his forehead. He knew that when the ship met its end, Solara would too. Saving her memory was the only way to preserve her life.
"Data transfer is at forty-nine percent completion," his loyal navigator answered, "and your escape pod is all set to go."
"Thank you, Solara." Despite falling into a dire situation, Mortecus remained polite and gentlemanly as ever.
Knowing that he was putting himself in danger on her account, Solara fought against her failing systems in order to communicate once more. "Captain, you should leave while you still can."
"Don't be silly, Solara," Mortecus scolded gently. "Not to worry; we are almost there."
"Famous last words."
Sternly, he answered, "I'm not leaving without you."
"I should have known that it was pointless to argue," the navigator remarked, trying hard to keep her artificial humor intact.
The numbers flashed across the monitor screen. Mortecus secured a portable device around his wrist and prepared himself to sprint towards the escape pod. Meanwhile, the Repkonians aimed their weapons straight at the helm.
"Those lizard bastards can obliterate my kingdom, they can destroy my ship," Mortecus said, gritting his fangs, "...but they are not taking Earth."
Ninety-nine percent.
The Captain threw a helmet over his head and used his supernatural speed to compensate for the heavy armor weighing him down.
One-hundred percent.
"Now, Solara!" he shouted, diving into the pod.
"Safe travels," she said before ejecting him into space. "See you on the other side, Cowboy."
While the small galactic vehicle sped across the stars, Mortecus looked through his helmet's UV light shield. He watched helplessly as the Repkonians fired their cannons. Less than a second later, the Adventum was blown to pieces.
Enraged, the Captain made a vow of revenge:
"Those cruel, cold-blooded barbarians shall rue the day they crossed the likes of Mortecus Dracul."
All he could do was leave his defeat in the past and look ahead to protecting the future of mankind. As he gazed upon the beautiful blue and green sphere in the far-off distance, an overwhelming feeling of nostalgia swept over him.
"I'm coming home."
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