Interstellar Age

𝑜𝐯𝓁xt.𝑐𝑶𝓂

Another month passed since Erich’s training had begun, and during this time he had stealthily made his way through the woodlands, and scavenged for supplies. His goal at the moment was outright survival, and because of this, he eliminated patrols of star marines and stole their rations. 

If there was one thing keeping the man sane under such enormous pressure, it was the fact that he had recently acquired an adorable little sidekick: an artificial intelligence by the name of Tia, whose cute animations brought a smile to Erich’s face every time he felt down. 

After nearly two months of nothing but survival, Erich had become accustomed to the idea of being pursued by enemies on all sides. And though he stealthily made his way through the woodlands, Erich was starting to realize that there were far more Star Marines than he realized. And they were once more slowly, but surely, casting a net around him. 

With several thousand Star Marines, and a few dozen special operations soldiers searching for him, Erich was starting to feel that this small moon simply wasn’t big enough for him to evade his enemies forever. 

Yet no matter how much he tried, he simply could not come up with a solution to this problem. And that was when Tia finally made a suggestion. There was a curious look on her face as she watched her master’s troubled expression before asking about it. 

“Master, you look troubled? Is there something Tia can do to help?” 

Erich sighed as he thought about his current predicament before informing the artificial intelligence of the matter. 

“I’m not sure. I’m supposed to survive out here for another month, and yet I fear that is simply not possible with the ways things are headed. In at least two weeks, I will be surrounded on all sides by the enemy, and by then I will be forced to engage in a massive battle against my foes, one that will undoubtedly result in my death.” 

Tia looked at Erich with a funny expression on her face, as if she couldn’t comprehend his words, which prompted a weird reaction from Erich. The moment the adorable little artificial intelligence saw this, she posed the question on her mind. 

“Well, if you can’t survive for another month without a major battle, then why not just win already?”

This information stunned Erich, because as far as he knew, the only way to win was to survive for three months. Thus, he was quick to interrogate the little brat about just what she meant. 

“What do you mean? The goal is to survive for three months. How can I win a month in advance?” 

Tia looked at Erich as if he were an idiot before educating him on the actual parameters of his mission. 

“Master, judging from your expression, I can tell you weren’t properly educated on the scenario and how to win it. Sure, the most common way to achieve a passing grade is by surviving for three months against your pursuers.

But there’s another clause that would allow you to end the scenario at any time. If you manage to eliminate the commanding officer of the operation, destroy the command post, and extract yourself from the moon, it will be considered a success.” 

Erich looked at the adorable little AI as if she were playing with his emotions, when he then screamed at her. An act which caused her to openly cry. 

“Why didn’t you tell me this a month ago?”

Tia’s artificial tears fell from her eyes as she wiped them away. Her voice had suddenly become timid as she explained that it was entirely Erich’s fault. 

“You never asked! It’s not Tia’s job to inform you about the operation. You were supposed to have heard it from the commanding officer before it began. Did Captain Kuhne not inform you of this clause beforehand?” 

Erich immediately felt hateful towards Mirage, even more so than he had previously. She had deliberately neglected to inform him of this route to victory. Of course, it was not exactly Mirage’s fault. After all, nobody had ever succeeded in storming the bunker, eliminating the commander, setting the facility to self destruct, and then extracting themself from the moon. To do so would require one to defeat an army by themselves.

But then again, nobody had ever actually managed to eliminate a WRAITH and scavenge their power armor before. Thus, it was entirely possible, albeit improbable, for Erich to covertly infiltrate the facility, silently assassinate Mirage, and then set the command post to self destruct. All while making his way to the hangar bay and hijacking a shuttle which could take him off the moon.

However, despite knowing the odds of success, Erich felt as if he did not have much of a choice. After all, the more he succeeded, the more reinforcements Mirage would request. Which, while technically against protocol, was not forbidden. By now, five whole battalions of star marines were scouring the moon’s surface, looking for Erich. 

This was entirely unprecedented and was clearly an act based upon Mirage’s own hatred for Erich. But despite her heavily biased actions, Emrys still permitted it to occur. After all, he wanted Erich to live up to his full potential, and thus, he allowed certain things that anyone else in his position would have prohibited. 

Upon realizing that he now had a new route to success, Erich was quick to ask Tia for a favor, who was still crying over the man’s last rude remark. 

“Tia, is it possible for you to come up with a plan of attack, one that would allow me to infiltrate the bunker, assassinate mirage, destroy the facility, and escape the moon all while going unnoticed?” 

Tia gazed upon Erich through the slits of her fingers which poorly covered her eyes in an act that was just too adorable for Erich’s heart to handle. Upon realizing that her master was no longer mad at her, she sniffled one last time, before wiping the tears from her eyes where her mood suddenly shifted to being happy. With a wide, beaming smile, she nodded her head before confirming she was able to do such a thing. 

“Master, give Tia five minutes and she will not only have computed a plan of attack that meets your requirements, but one that is most likely to succeed!” 

Erich smiled he heard this and nodded his head. If Tia were a living girl, he would want to pat her head at this moment, but instead, all he could do was compliment her hard work. Something which caused the young artificial intelligence to blush, or at least Erich thought she had, because the next moment she was back to a normal, joyful expression. 

“Tia, you’re amazing! I don’t know how I ever survived without you before now. I think this is the start of a long and beautiful friendship!” 

Soon enough, Tia had finished her calculations, and informed Erich of a plan which was his most likely to succeed. Though it would be incredibly difficult to pull off, the risk was well worth the rewards. Because if he succeeded, Erich’s name would once more go down in history for being the first to achieve the impossible.