Chapter 1: The Wanderer
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A fully armoured imperial soldier placed a bowl of muddy-looking soup and a black bread on the floor in front of her. The Soldier then mocked her when her head moved to look at the food before turning around and slamming the door shut.
Her name is Magenta Fair and she is the daughter of General Blau Fair, a general of the Confederation of Free Realms opposing the conquest and tyranny of the empire to the inter-realms of the Galactic Tree.
As to what brought her here, it was a trap and a betrayal from one of her closest aide who was enticed by the promise of riches and glory as long as he sold her off.
Her handcuffed hands then moved to pick the bowl and bread. Her blonde hair was already greasy and her face looked pale but the light in her eyes remains bright. Even if the soup is questionable and the bread is like rock, she wasn’t a bit remorseful. Being born and raised into this seemingly endless war, each opportunity to remain alive is welcomed even these foods of gross proportion. Losing a single life such as hers is also irrelevant for the bigger picture. If she fell into the clutches of the empire then that is just her fate as a part of the cause, but if she managed to survive…
A ferocious smile flashed across her face.
Of course, these are nothing but daydreams as her chances for freedom are slim. Although her father control a considerable force, she’d long been crossed to an imperial territory and charging here head-on would be suicide especially that it’s a rescue operation where everything must be done in a single, swift action. On top of that, they’d placed her into their cargo cruiser, a sub-unit airship, instead of the flagship as anyone would expect from a high profile hostage, making it harder to identify her status.
She mocked herself for entertaining the thought but she’s not losing hope. Having one is more than most people have these days. Thus, as long as she is still breathing, she will not give up the possibility of escaping before she’s delivered to the capital of the empire.
*Wooh! Wooh! Wooh!
Suddenly, her thoughts were interrupted by the sudden sound of the ship entering into a high alert.
Apparently, the ship is under attack.
◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇
Minutes earlier…
The sound was light, like the vibration of an insect’s wings. His gun within the darkness was seen by his first couple of targets and before either could react, *Pew! Pew!* two laser blasts were successively fired and with its superior piercing power, it shattered their protective helms and splashed their blood and brain tissues to the floor.
He’d announced his arrival.
“Intruder!” Another pair of patrolling soldiers, which were coincidentally passing and witnessed the former pair’s deaths, roared and dashed forward and engaged him, their ray rifles raised and steadied.
To this development, he turned his gun’s cylinder to load an alternative capsule.
A prompt rang in his head.
[TRACKER TEAL]
*Pew! Pew!
He fired two shots again and the laser blasts curved, guided to the right and brought the next two targets’ demise. He then resumed his progress and slipped into the shadows once again as per the distressed command from the ship’s bridge, more soldiers were deployed to track him.
“Find him!” The leader of the eight soldiers that had unknowingly passed him while he is blended motionless against the wall exclaimed.
*Pew!
After they’ve passed, still set to the same capsule, he destroyed the hall’s lights and surveillance devices before resurfacing and heading to the opposite direction. The inside of this massive Imperial Light Air-Cruiser is akin to a maze but for him who does not rely to the sense of sight, the intended destination is very clear.
*Ding ding!
To the next hallway, he confronted a group of four soldiers and his armour repeatedly vibrated as their blasts struck the steel surface. It didn’t leave a mark and despite the shock of seeing their shots being ineffective against him, their actions didn’t stop as one of them prepared a grenade.
Unfortunately for them, he was faster and with a single shot, he severed the hand holding the grenade and both the severed hand and the grenade fell right in the middle of them.
*Boom!
He turned his upper body, raises his arm, and took cover to protect his front from the flying debris. A soldier flew past him and some armour parts struck his back.
“Right over there!”
The explosion attracted the nearby soldiers and a total of ten gathered and charged to him. However, when their paths crossed, shooting him at first notice, he set the cylinder to the third capsule…
[BUSTER BLUE]
…and the shot he fired next charged against the muzzle of his gun into an energy sphere before launching.
*BOOM!
The shot shredded them to pieces. He then set the cylinder back to the second capsule and the curving shots shattered the heads of those approaching from both corners of the hallway ahead as he rushes forward.
Finally, realizing that his threat is something their current force deployment can handle, the airship entered into full alert. More soldiers and a greater reinforcement were deployed to his location which was his aim from the very beginning. Succeeding on that, he once again blended into the darkness.
◆◆◆◆◆◆
“What’s going on?” An imperial soldier that’d just exited the chamber, which is his destination, asked one of the soldiers that are rushing by. “There’s an intruder?”
The grabbed soldier responded, “A robber. He’s heading to the armoury.”
The empire and the confederation are two of the biggest powers in the Galactic Tree but there are also smaller groups like outlaws and mercenaries which are full of elites that can rival the best from the two mentioned. He is one of such people which is why the confederation commissioned his service for this mission.
When the passing soldiers left, he stealthily sneaked behind one of the two stationed guards and snapped his neck. Then the other, the one that had just queried, upon noticing this had also met his end when he shot him directly to the chest. The surveillance was taken down next before his frame could be captured which what he also did inside the chamber. That’ll give the imperials enough delay to favour their extraction maneuver.
Entering, Magenta Fair, the asset, is at the corner.
“Who are you?” She asked upon seeing him and he immediately made her catch a trinket her father entrusted to him to ensure her cooperation.
“I’m here to bring you back.”
“My father sent you,” she said, authenticating the trinket. Then when she looked up and registers his image, she exclaimed with widened eyes, “Holy molly, you’re a Wanda!?”
Wanda, short for the Wanderers, the league in which he’d sworn a creed. Real name long forgotten too, the nickname had also stuck as his de facto name. He himself and everyone he knows, both personal and indirect, would address him with the name. However, he didn’t waste time confirming or denying it to her and picked her to stand after cutting off her bindings.
“Let’s go.”
He then handed her a ray rifle he took from the stationed soldiers outside for good measures. As a daughter of a cutthroat military man, she surely knows how to use it. “Magnum, asset secured. Proceeding to extraction.” He spoke to his communication device.
“Okie-dokie, Boss!” Magnum replied cheerfully and not a moment later…
*BOOOOM!!!
…an explosion ensues, violently shaking the entire ship.
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