I had been chased by soldiers of the North Nomad Army, and robots that were specifically made to counter my moves. Hell, there was one time that I had been Tiredisol-drunk and made to lead a platoon to defend against an ambush. What I was trying to say was that I never, ever! expected to be done by dogs.

Horrible howls were coming from every side. These rebels seemed like they had plenty of time to cross-breed different kinds of races to come up with a strong, fast, and highly efficient breed specifically for taking out Esuh. I had clearly underestimated them. I never expected they would be able to drive me so far into a corner. However, it seemed like they had also overestimated me as well.

The pack was trained to be able to track large numbers of Esuh, a small party at best. Since I decided to take up this mission alone, without help from my officers, it made them easily frustrated and slower at tracking me. That gave me the advantage of always being a step ahead and being able to set up a few traps on the way. Nothing too flashy, except for some ion grenades able to blow them all to smithereens.

I had to tear apart my battle suit and leave behind small pieces of poly-synthetic fabric carrying my scent. So, if even at least one of them was stupid enough to mistake them for my scent, they would die. But I knew this wasn’t enough. I was at least a mile away from arriving at the designated pickup spot. I had to run as fast as possible and make sure they didn’t knock me out in the meantime.

If not for me, then for Lenora. She would be devastated if she found out I died in action so soon after I had become a Prime Officer of the Esuh, seemingly miles away from danger.

“He’s there! We found him!”

Shit. Too late. They spotted me. I have to pick up my pace.

The thick forest was full of puddles of water that helped me erase my scent, at least temporarily, and wide leaves that allowed me to blend in. My silver skin wasn’t good for this kind of operations, but if I moved fast enough, it wouldn’t matter.

While I was in the forest, there were not many things they could do to capture me. They would have the upper hand in a glade, though. And, as my luck would have it, what suddenly appeared in front me seemed like a good reason of rethinking my strategy.

“He’s closing into the edge of the forest. Pick up your pace, noobs. We got him now,” a man screamed behind me.

He’s right. They got me.

Or so they thought.

The first explosion came from my left. It was not close enough to affect my movement, but it was close enough to make me lose hearing on my left side. The whistling noise coming from my ear made me slow down a bit, but I was not that worried anymore.

My chances of surviving had got significantly better; the cavalry had arrived.

Cries came from the side of the bombing now, cries and howls of pain. My men probably hit one of their groups. But the struggle was still not over, not before I was on my shuttle and heading to Atrapod, the dreadnought under my command. Only then I would know that I was safe.

The second explosion came from behind. This one was too close for comfort, though. The blast almost tossed me to the ground, but at the same time helped me accelerate. Unfortunately, I couldn’t say the same thing for the third hit. Once again, it came from behind, but this time, it erupted next to me, almost burning my limbs to a pulp.

“What the fuck?!” I screamed towards the sky while I rode the blast to a painful hit at a tree trunk.

I felt the bark breaking below me and for a moment, cold sweat ran down my back. I was sure that the sound came from one of my legs getting shattered by that last explosion. However, I was lucky. It was the fucking tree.

Splinters were flying everywhere around me now, but I couldn’t stop moving, not now.

The whooshing sound of the shuttle landing on the glade in front of me made me lose my breath for a moment. I was close now. I could almost touch safety at the tip of my fingers. I couldn’t give up now.

Her picture popped in my head. Her golden hair and platinum skin; her wide smile and soft hands. The thought of losing her burned me and almost made me give up. However, I was soon revived by a new goal in my mind.

“I have to return to her. I have to...” I repeated, again and again, praying to the unknown powers of the universe.

* * *

I couldn’t remember if I had passed out before or after getting on the shuttle. When I opened my eyes, I was lying on a bunk of the tight, medical room of Atrapod. One of my chief officers was standing above me with a wide grin on his face. I was safe

“Excellent job, sir! You managed to complete the mission and come back safe. I must admit, we haven’t seen a performance like yours on the battlefield for a long time. You really deserve to be called a Prime Officer, sir!”

This overly enthusiastic kid didn’t seem to know the etiquette for visiting a wounded person. He was all ‘sir that’, and ‘sir this’, and didn’t give a shit about my throbbing headache. Still, it made me glad I was able to return to Atrapod. He wouldn’t be an Esuh dreadnought without the loud voices and the military decorum.

I simply nodded and waited for him to go away. I would deal with this later. However, the man didn’t turn and walk away. Instead, he was standing there, grinning at me like I had become the proud father of a small, Esuh child. No, something else was going on.

“What is going on, soldier? Do you have something else to say?” I grunted as I made myself comfortable on the bed. This sounded like it could take a while.

“Sir, yes sir! A signal was sent straight to your terminal last night, sir. I don’t know the details, but your personal assistant asked me to inform you about that, sir.”

A signal? Could it be...? “Bring him here! Now!”

I was the one bellowing now, but if I was right, then this meant that Lenora’s first contact after six months undercover had surfaced. I couldn’t spend another moment on this bed. I had to go find her.