Interstellar Age

Erich immediately unslung his rifle, after realizing the grave situation he now found himself in. He was deep behind enemy lines, and roughly fifty kilometers away from his unit. The odds of him getting to the palace on foot by the time they had completed the objective were damn near impossible. 

Besides, his stealth generator had been damaged from the impact of the flak shell, which sent him off course. Which meant that if he did decide to take to the sky, he would become an immediate target of all the planetary defense weapons that existed. He had only one option: to skillfully make his way to the extraction point, and hope for the best. 

After all, the moment the Royal Palace was secured, and the Great Oni Emperor was a captive. It was believed that the Oni Loyalists would surrender, and thus, allow for the Rebel Forces under Yumi’s command to descend to the planet so that she may take her rightful place on the throne. 

Of course, Erich was supremely disappointed when he realized that his plasma rifle was damaged beyond repair during his drop. Thus, he now had to progress on foot, with only a plasma knife to keep him company.  𝑂𝓋𝓁xt.𝒸𝑂𝗆

Tia’s voice interrupted Erich’s thoughts of doom as she alerted him to the arrival of several hostiles. 

“Master, hostiles are inbound from your three, six, and twelve positions. We are about to be surrounded!” 

After hearing this, Erich did not hesitate to act. He unsheathed his knife and activated its plasma edge, while wielding it in preparation for combat. Immediately after doing so, a squad of Oni Infantry entered the area. After all, they had seen something falling from the sky at high speed and were sent to investigate. 

Imagine their surprise when they found a hulking figure, clad from head to toe in matte black power armor of an unknown design, standing there with a glowing knife in his hands. 

Naturally, Erich did not wait for these men to attack, and instead activated his foresight, which when combined with his hyper enhanced reflexes created an effect where time appeared to move slowly despite his body moving at regular speed. And thus, he managed to reach his first target before the man could even pull the trigger. 

Erich sliced at the man’s neck with such speed, precision, and power that it severed the man’s head from his body, leaving behind a cauterized wound. The head of the now deceased soldier flew into the air and landed in Erich’s hand, which he chucked at another hostile with such speed and force that it shattered the man’s rib cage. 

With two men taken out in an instant, Erich was quick on his feet, as the enemy fired their shots at his current location, narrowly dodging the line of fire, as he stabbed his blade straight through the chest of his next target. Normally the armor that these men would protect against blades. But when driven with the force of a Germanic super-soldier, there was no way it could properly defend against it. 

Not only did Erich’s blade go through the man’s chest, but so did his fist, where he quickly retrieved his bloodied plasma knife before deactivating the weapon and sheathing it. He then grabbed hold of the Oni soldier’s assault rifle and began to fire short contained bursts at the heads of the surviving targets. Taking them out in the blink of an eye. 

It had all happened so quickly that it took Erich a few moments to realize that he had single-handedly massacred an entire squad of the enemy in a matter of seconds. His sight was still adjusting to the passage of time, as he breathed heavily, not because he was particularly exhausted, but because he was shocked by how effective he was in combat. 

After undergoing the cybernetic augmentations that all Star Marines went, and by extension, special forces operators. Erich had only ever fought with men who were on his level. Aside from those anarchists, that is. But he was fighting those anarchists with primitive armor that did not enhance his body’s movement in any way.

With this advanced Mk 2 Power Armor, Erich was practically a god of war on the battlefield, especially when compared to weaker species. And it was only just now that he realized it. After taking a few seconds to get back to reality, Erich quickly realized that he needed to move, but more importantly, he needed to scavenge the corpses he had just made. 

So after spending only a minute to loot the supplies he needed to continue the fight, Erich departed from his slaughter, with Tia’s voice ringing in his ears. 

“Master has eliminated all immediate hostiles, but Master also needs to be careful, as there are a number of lifeforms converging on his location. And it would be unwise to face so many men at once. Tia suggests that you find some cover to hide behind while they investigate the battle just now.” 

Erich could not help but agree with Tia’s assessment, and thus he quickly found a pile or rubble to lie under. Immediately afterward, his helmet’s sensors picked up an armored column of troops entering the area, as well as their voices. 

“What the hell do you think it was that fell out of the sky? Some kind of orbital drop pod?” 

Another soldier shook his head as he marched towards the area where the quick reaction force had deployed, as he spoke of his thoughts on the matter. 

“Impossible. It was way too small to be such a thing. But the QRF has gone silent, which means whatever it was, it took them out. We need to scour the area, and find whatever the hell that thing is!” 

It was not long after this that the Oni loyalists spotted their QRF or what was left of it, where they were immediately shocked by what they had seen. And while they were calling for reinforcements, Erich had begun to covertly move away from the area, while doing his best to blend in with his surroundings. 

Erich silently communicated with his mind with Tia to ensure that nobody heard him, as he requested additional information on his extraction point. 

“Tia, how far away are we from the extraction point?” 

Tia calculated the distance, and then wore an adorable smile as she gave the information to her Master. 

“You are in luck, Master! The extraction point lies roughly halfway between us and the drop site. We should be able to make it in time, but we need to hurry. Still, if we are to avoid detection, we can’t move too quickly. Thus, Tia is now connecting the route which is most suitable to achieve both objectives.” 

With this said, a small glowing crimson trail appeared in Erich’s head’s up display, while Tia’s voice rang in his ears once more. 

“Tia will now be monitoring the path to ensure that Master doesn’t come across any hostile forces he won’t be able to handle. The trail will update if any changes need to be made!” 

Erich could only smile after hearing this, as he spoke to Tia once more, conveying his genuine thoughts to his adorable little artificial intelligence assistant. 

“Tia, you are a lifesaver!” 

Though he did not realize it, this remark caused Tia to blush in embarassment, as she averted her gaze before speaking her own thoughts on the matter. 

“Master is too kind…”

Having now calculated a route to the extraction point, Erich now needed to navigate the war-torn streets of the Oni Capital, all while doing his best to avoid detection from his pursuers. It was a dangerous task, but not an impossible one. And while Erich fought for his very survival, his team continued the mission without him.