Starbound Fox: Chapter 1

Present Day, Aboard the Herta Space Station

23:44:59 System Time

Vague memories had led me to Herta Space Station two cycles ago. Floundering after the death of someone that I’d come to care for immensely, I had chartered a voyage to The Blue in an effort to shake myself out of the funk I had found herself in. In a twist of luck, it worked. It had taken me out of the routine motions of hunting the targets I once hunted alongside that man I called dad and forced me out of my self imposed misery.

‘Of course’ I thought to myself, a dry sarcasm born from how interesting my life tended to get at times, ‘That couldn’t last.’

Those vague memories had also warned me about an invasion by the Antimatter Legion. I, because of course my luck demanded it, had arrived on Herta Space Station not even an hour before the invasion I only barely recalled was important had kicked off in earnest.

For fuck’s sake, I’d just wanted to relax after my long voyage! It wasn’t exactly comfortable taking an economy class starskiff anywhere in the galaxy! But noooooooooooooooooo. The universe and Murphy had laughed at my desires and sicced the goddamn Antimatter Legion on me! I hadn’t even made it to my temporary quarters before the bastards descended upon the station like a swarm of fucking locusts.

Aborting my internal rant for the moment, I scowled as another barrage of gunfire rained down on my position from the veritable tide of Void Rangers I’d been fighting for the past. Two. hours. Breathing deeply; more out of habit than as any sort of tool to calm myself, I took stock of my situation.

I was dangerously close to running out of ammunition.

I was the only remaining line of defense in this area. 

There were civilians behind me. Ones that would all perish should I not make my stand here.

There was a seemingly unending supply of small fry trying to take my position.

And I was really really hungry and tired.

It really was just another Tuesday, I considered wryly. Despite the situation, I couldn't prevent the sardonic grin that briefly slipped onto my face as I slapped a fresh magazine into Sasha. My inherited firearm clicked pleasingly, and I took a deep breath. Time to see if I was still worthy of walking the same path as my pops.

I burst from cover with my gun already raised, sighting on the closest Void Ranger. My brain flashed with a now far too familiar sight-picture, and I squeezed the trigger. A chittering burst dropped the servant of Destruction, opening a temporary gap in the incoming fire I had to deal with. Good thing too, I was committed now. There was another position in my line of advance, only a handful of steps really, but in this environment? It could well have been twenty miles. I kept my body moving though, racing forwards whilst I swept Sasha's barrel across the hall in a smooth arc.

She spoke four times more before I reached my destination, each defiant burst clearing space for my next step. Then I was sliding into cover again, twisting to take the force of braking on my back. A corner of my mind took some truly dark amusement in how the IPC's rigid standard for construction quality was actually helping me for once. Though that was banished quickly as the suppressing fire around me increased again. Shifting to glance around my cover as best I could, I swallowed a curse as I recognised why that was happening.

There were a lot of Void Rangers. Including the ones with swords as arms that were very rapidly approaching my location as ranged counterparts suppressed my ability to respond. Not even remotely close to ideal. I was… serviceable in a melee, but ranged combat was where I shone, and I didn’t exactly fancy my chances against five of the bastards at once. Especially not when I was severely limited in the amount of space I had to work with.

 Not counting the eight damned Rangers of the Antimatter Legion that would, no doubt, gun me down the moment I left cover.

A detached hollowness settled over me as I recognised the only realistic option I had in this situation. I’dnever particularly enjoyed using my inheritance from my found family. There would always be a part of me that mourned my second paternal figure in both of my lives and using the culmination of the legacy he had left behind stabbed at the emotional wounds I carried from his loss to this day. But I couldn’t just ignore it. Falling here wasn’t an option.

I squeezed my eyes shut and forced myself to focus. Time ceased to have meaning for a moment as my thoughts interfaced with the devices implanted within me. My bodysuit, designed entirely to support the use of my father’s legacy, hummed with power. Moments later, my eyes snapped open, my body thrumming with Imaginary Energy as I looked upon the world with new eyes. A myriad of fissures in realspace leading to the domain of Imaginary Numbers were laid out before me, all of them waiting for something to interact with them.

A memory played out in the forefront of my mind, images flashing before me in a way they never had in my other life.

“How do I make those portals? Well, brat, I make them by interfacing with fissures in Imaginary Numbers Space through the use of a nifty series of implants. The relic I use is a bona-fide masterpiece from my home, so you won’t find it anywhere else.” The man standing before her had stated, an almost fond look entering his eyes as he looked upon something I couldn’t see. He looked at peace, in that moment…

I snapped myself out of the recollection. Now was not even remotely close to the time to dwell upon the past. Reaching out towards the fissure closest to me, I tore it open with perhaps a bit more eagerness than strictly necessary, Sasha’s barrel immediately orienting towards the passage through Imaginary Space. This time, my left trigger finger did not only briefly feather over the trigger. This time, I squeezed it down firmly. It was only my stable position and years of practice that allowed me to keep the carbine that reminded me so much of an M4A1 steady. As soon as I had finished dumping the rest of my magazine into the gap in reality, I cut off the stream of energy keeping it open. 

My ears twitched as eight different bodies slammed against the floor, the last of the Void Rangers keeping me pinned falling like puppets with their strings cut as bullets scythed into their backs. The sound of feet drumming against the floor reached me moments later as the ones with blades for arms blitzed my position, throwing caution to the wind with the realization that their support was gone.

Another fissure was torn open with practiced ease as I threw myself through Imaginary Space. Emerging where my oh so annoying enemies had once been, O brought Sasha to bear once more, slamming a fresh magazine into the receiver with mechanical precision.

The remaining Void Rangers didn’t stand a chance.

As the last of my foes fell to the ground, very much dead, I took a deep breath. I closed my eyes. The fissures disappeared, the sixth sense that allowed me to perceive them through the medium of my sense of sight fading as I sent the mental shutdown command to my implants. The subtle thrum of power through my equipment and body ceased, and I took a moment to breathe a sigh of relief. It was, at least for the moment, over. The area I had been sent to secure was secure.

Of course, that didn’t mean much in the grand scheme of things. It wasn’t as if the space station proper was secure yet. It definitely was not. Nor would I get more than a few moments to rest before a familiar voice came through her communication device.

[Xiulan, have you secured the residential area?]

‘Wonder why Asta’s contacting me. It should be Arlan- Nevermind. He played rearguard. Poor bastard is either dead or injured enough that he’s resting.’  I mused to myself, right hand reaching upwards to gently key my mike, my left securely holding Sasha against my shoulder.

[Yes. All the members of the Antimatter Legion have been repelled or eliminated. Status update?] I replied softly. Asta wasn’t quite a friend, but I did trust her enough to drop some of my usual formalities. The defense mechanism wouldn’t help with someone that actually knew me at more than a surface level anyway.

[Members of the Express Crew have made their way to the Master Control Zone. If you could make your way to us as well, we can coordinate a counterattack.] The Lead Researcher replied immediately, the request that was an order echoing through my ears.

[Understood. I’ll be there in ten minutes.] I replied, my earpieces falling silent as the connection terminated. Taking one final look at my surroundings; more out of habit than anything else, I sighed harshly and began making my way towards the nearest staircase. The elevators were definitely still shut down, after all…

____________________________________________________________________________

“I’m back, Asta.” The words flowed from my mouth as I stepped into the Master Control Center, the sight of slightly panicked researchers and assorted members of security making rounds to calm down the aforementioned panicked researchers greeting my eyes. Taking a moment to nod respectfully towards the guard standing just inside the entrance in case the Antimatter Legion actually broke through, I quickly made her way towards the Lead Researcher.

Something akin to relief flickered across Asta’s face as I entered her sight. She appeared to have not heard my earlier greeting; more than understandable considering the general din of activity taking place all around her and how softly I’d been speaking.

“I’m glad you’re okay.” Asta began as I took stock of the familiar yet unfamiliar group of people surrounding the woman that was shockingly similar to me in some limited ways, “Where was I…”

One of the people surrounding Asta spoke up. A flicker of a largely forgotten memory tickled my mind as he spoke.

“The current situation of the space station.” He clarified, in a somewhat professionally detached sort of manner that tugged at said memories once more.

‘... I know you. But who are you? I know you’re important, but I don't remember why. Ugh, this is why I didn’t even bother to try and remember the plot of the story I played so long ago; it’s not as if I could remember the specifics by the time I realized I had to care anyway.’ I grumbled to myself, keeping my face carefully neutral as I continued to walk closer to the group.

“Right. The situation is under control for now. The damage to our security system was minor. The intruder only managed to alter a small amount of data, so it was easy to fix.” Asta said, eyes briefly closing as she took a moment to collect her thoughts, “The real problem lies with the researchers… They trust Madam Herta wholeheartedly and never thought that the space station would be breached by the Legion. A broken spirit is far worse than a broken body.”

Within the sanctity and privacy of my mind I snorted. There were definitely arguments for or against that specific statement. I’d seen the result of a broken body and a broken spirit and they tended to come hand in hand with each other. Nor did I particularly think the nerds that inhabited that space station were so weak willed as to break when threatened by imminent death. They were far too obsessed with their research to actually let this truly damper their curious spirit.

They’d bounce back. But they’d also probably require some degree of reassurance right now and in the immediate aftermath.

“Let’s go speak with the researchers.” A redheaded woman…

“This is my final lesson…”

The flash of memory crashed into me completely unprompted, barely recalled events slamming into my mind with the force of a sledgehammer. Wincing, I barely managed to master my features before anyone noticed. It only took me a few moments to wrestle the recollection away, blinking away the phantom mirages of fire and void.

“I sent multiple letters, all met with silence. You know her, Himeko, the space station is but a mere warehouse for followers and rare items. She doesn’t really care about it.” Asta continued.

‘I missed what Himeko was going to say.’ I grumbled to myself internally. It had definitely involved a suggestion to contact Madame Herta though, considering what Asta had said. Keeping one ear on the rest of the conversation, I let my attention wander, eyes briefly flickering over the forms of the three other members of the Astral Express. One girl with short grey hair. Covered by a coat of the same color. She definitely seemed rather fond of the color, and for some reason her mind immediately connected the girl with a raccoon.

A pang of loss shot through her at that, memories of someone she had loved and still loved briefly taking her attention before she continued her assessment. Another girl, this one with short pink hair, wearing an outfit of white and blue.

The final one and only male was-

That was definitely a Xianzhou native. The clothes, the posture, the hair. Everything about that man pointed towards someone from her homeland. Or another one of her homeland’s ships. I wasn’t particularly sure about that. Black hair, an outfit of white and jade with some degree of stylized armor…

Yeah. Definitely a Xianzhou native.

Shaking myself out of my brief inspection, I refocused my attention on the tail end of the conversation.

“That would be of great help.” Asta practically sighed out, the relief coming off of the heiress in waves practically palpable in the air, “Speaking of help,” She continued, her eyes locking with mine, “This is Xiulan. She visits occasionally and has been a great help in defending the space station from the Legion.” Her specific wording had me raising an eyebrow as Asta broke eye contact. Why the heck was the woman glazing me up so much?

The baffled looks from the members of the Astral Express (along with the flat out confused one from the grey-haired one) reminded me that I was, in fact, just a girl. Not a woman. A girl. A child. Someone that would not be considered an adult for a not insignificant amount of time. Ah. That would be why Asta was glazing me up a bit. Because if she didn't, no one would take me seriously.

“Isn’t she a bit… young?” The Xianzhou native asked plaintively, immediately giving credence to my prior thoughts, “She looks to be barely fourteen, if that.”

‘Well, that’s just rude. Given that I’m about 90% certain I’m finished growing, that's even more offensive! I can’t control the fact that I’m pint sized! Not that I actually mind being pint-sized. I’m rather fond of being smol.’ I ranted to myself, the only indication of my thoughts a small twitch as my right eyebrow briefly rose and fell. Breathing deeply, more to push aside the annoyance of the admittedly understandable doubt given my apparently physical age, I coughed.

“I’m standing right here, Benefactor. Normally, you’d be right. I’m only about sixteen years old, after all. But I’ve also been living on my own for two of those years, and I’m not exactly some sheltered princess with no idea how the world works. I haven’t set foot on my homeland for over six years now.” My words were eloquently put, the years of practice my birth parents in this life had drilled into me coming to the fore as I put on the mask of a perfect little Foxian princess.

That earned me a startled look from all but the grey haired one, who just continued to be confused. Vague memories of the girl… Stelle? Stelle sounded right, it rang a bell. Regardless, those memories did provide some degree of context. The poor lass had, if my generally shitty memory was right at least, had just woken up within the past hour or so and had become an amnesiac with essentially zero clue as to what was going on.

“Putting all of that to the side.” The redhead; Himeko, placated, a smile on her face as she smoothly changed the topic, “We should all split up and do our best to assuage the worries of the researchers here. It wouldn't be prudent to have problems from the inside while the Antimatter Legion is attacking.” She paused, taking a look around at all those present, “Miss Xiulan, are you willing to help us with that?”

I blinked slowly, mouthing the words to myself. Wrestling briefly with the prospects of being social with random people, I winced and shook my head. “I’m not the best at reassuring people, nor am I the best at being particularly social. I’ll stick to keeping an eye on everyone, if you don’t mind.”

Thankfully, there was no judgement in Himeko’s eyes as she accepted my request, though for the life of me I couldn’t recall why she cared. Not the exact reason, anyway. I could get snippets of a song I had used to listen to, something that had become ‘my’ song in the same way Last Stardust had. But why did I care so much about the opinion of someone I had never met-

‘Oh, duh. Final Lesson. It hit me like a truck and the approval of the ‘character’ behind that would matter to me. Stupid.’

With my conundrum answered, I made my way over to a little corner with good visibility over the whole of the Master Control Zone and settled in for a long wait. If my vague sense of impending danger was right, my life was about to get even more interesting in the next several moments. Which meant I’d need to take the time to assess my own condition and figure out what I could contribute against that danger when I was nearly out of ammunition…