Three Dots - S01Ep01

This is no ordinary patrol, again we leave the forward base behind in our drop ship, soon it disappears in the white mist made of countless spores. They are released by the major living bean in this planet, a gigantic white fungus that covers the entire surface of the planet. At its tips tiny spores are continually released in the saturated sulfuric atmosphere.

We have joined the other ships on the way; they left earlier from more distant bases. We were briefly informed that several keepers have registered the landing of four major enemy ships. All keepers in the area were destroyed, as well as the keepers present in the surrounding areas that dared to get near the drop zone. There will be a fearsome combat for sure.

But I’m tired.

My sight is lost in the thick white filaments as my mind visits another planet. I miss her warmth, is been for to long that I don’t see her, smell her, just her presence is for me overwhelming… In this torturing spiral of memories I just scream without even realizing, listening with surprised my grotesque voice echoing in the shell of the ship: Uhria! Immediately after, all the soldiers scream the same nostalgic scream in one single voice. Uhria! It’s so, we all miss our loved ones, those lost in the battlefield and those that are alive and were placed in other home planets. Some of them could be fighting right now. But not my dearest, she’s a high ranked officer, a Kastiorer_es. Her division is responsible to analyze our enemy’s technology and find ways to adapt their advances in our advantage, she is a creator. I’m so truly lucky, having a wife in such high rank allowed me to easily get in the first line glorious fighting force. This allows me to have the great honor of being fighting in the front line. And I am one of the very few that is the only husband of a Kastiorer_es. I would like to be fighting as a pioneer, but I already fought in hard scenarios. This is my time to rest a little. At least that was the idea. But I would like to gain lots more lines in my shoulder and have the greater honor of having her healing my wounds when I would return home, she would be so proud!

The voice of the first pilot sounds in our right ear, cold and professional: “reaching drop zone”. We know all what to do. Weapons are rechecked, and attention is doubled, the right and left jaws are clamped together. Although, even with all the home sickness, and all exhaustion, we are ready to fight. That’s our part. The main engines are shutdown; the ships enters a controlled free fall. All we can here is the wind, and those at the edge can see the ground getting closer at an alarming rate, as the first pilot exceptionally evades all major fungus filaments, while the minor ones bounce at our passage. Again we are lucky, she’s a great pilot. We all have our viscera pulled towards our mouth, but not even a sound is released. When we almost reach the ground the secondary lower engines burst a rich exhaustion. “My respect soldiers” both pilots say as landing impact shakes us. We jump in the huge white spore cloud screaming vigorously: “our respect pilots”. The secondary engines burst once more, as well as the main engines, all drop ships disappear in a glimpse. We are all in a defensive position, low, quite and alert. As the fog of spores slowly deposits, returning to the fungus soil. First we where alone in the white mist, but as time goes by, we start to see a comrade, and than another, and another. Fog is cleared, but the usual snow of spores persists. We hear our fighters’ ships flying by. So quick that we don’t even bother to look up, probably we wouldn’t be able to see them. Nothing happens. It is all silent. No enemy ships anywhere. We can even see were they, landed, the gigantic fungus filaments are bended but not harmed.

This is new. Usually we drop and engage immediately. The fighters fly above us in the attacking formation. Each fighter fly’s in a different direction and altitude at different times covering all our surrounding area, in a high speed dance, ready to drop their deadly load, and to control the sky above. The attacking formation is soon dismantled, probably they were ordered to patrol. Our group responsible speaks with the other responsible soldiers. One of them contacts the mother base: “as surely reported by the fighters, no enemies in sight. Waiting orders.” In the same instant innumerous balls jump out of soil, they were well covered by the ground filaments and by several layers of spores. Above our heads they all exploded at the same time. All the shrapnel’s trespassed easily our armor and even more easily our bodies, the shock wave turned our punctured body’s apart. I almost didn’t felt any pain, but our luck has ended.

I will miss you…



Continues…