Standing on the bridge of the military vanguard-class warship, I watched the stars streak past, endless lines of light blurring as the ship hurtled through space. The hum of the engines vibrated beneath my boots, steady and constant, a sound I was growing used to.
It had already been a month since graduation. The thought settled in my mind, distant, almost surreal. Strange. Most of my time had been spent traveling, not fighting.
"Pilot, I have information on your next mission." The familiar voice of Captain Guvec pulled me from my thoughts. I turned, stepping toward the terminal where he stood. He tapped the surface of the holo-table, sending a glowing file skimming across to land before me. It expanded instantly, a cascade of data flickering into view.
I scanned the contents in seconds, my brow furrowing. "...Where did this come from, Captain?"
"High Command. Just like your previous mission," Guvec replied, his tone flat.
I reread the brief, trying to make sense of it. Something about this didn't add up.
The captain must have noticed my hesitation because he continued, "I was surprised too, but the request came directly from the commanding officer on-site. An emergency reinforcement call. It's legitimate. Doesn't make sense, but it's real." He folded his arms, expression grim. "Even with a full squad of ten newly trained pilots, the regiment is losing ground. Badly. Heavy casualties."
I exhaled sharply. A desperate situation. There was no reason to refuse. "...What happened to my original second task?"
"Reassigned to other roving k-pilots in the area," Guvec said with a dismissive wave. Then, gesturing for me to follow, he led me toward the front of the bridge.
"This is a high-risk blitz operation," he explained. "You'll be dropped from orbit directly into the war zone, likely under heavy fire. We'll provide as much orbital support as possible, but our munitions are limited. Your objective is to hold the line—protect the retreating forces until the evacuation shuttles arrive. If you can, break the enemy's charge. Take out their command unit."
I nodded, taking it in. "Who exactly are my opponents?"
Guvec let out a slow, heavy sigh. "Dream Swarm," he said.
A chill ran down my spine. I had heard the name before—but only in passing, in rumours.
"They're an invasive alien species from the Obscure Quadrant," the captain went on. "Spread from planet to planet through meteor showers. Once they land, they terraform the world into their ideal living environment, erasing everything that stands in their way." His fingers drummed against the railing. "We have ways of dealing with them. Our reclamation methods work—usually. But sometimes..." His voice hardened. "Sometimes, among the hordes of mindless bugs, a commanding unit emerges. That's when things get difficult. One of those units—a KnightMare—is what caused the collapse of our forces on the ground."
I processed that for a moment before asking the obvious question. "Why weren't we taught about them in the training facility?"
Guvec shook his head. "Because the empire prioritizes training pilots for wars against humanoid and robotic threats—enemies that think, strategize. The Dream Swarm?" He exhaled sharply. "They're just fast. Breed fast. Die fast. You drown them in enough fire and toxins, and they stop being a problem." He paused, then added, "Unless a KnightMare or a LucidTail is in the field. Then everything changes."
Silence hung between us.
Ahead, the main viewport flickered, the ship dropping out of FTL as the planet Sorfex loomed into view. The sight of it made me pause. A world split in two. Half an endless navy-blue ocean, the other a barren wasteland of yellowed, lifeless sand.
"Captain, we've reached Sorfex!" a helmsman called from across the bridge.
I stared at the world below, unsettled by the sheer contrast.
Guvec let me take it in before speaking. "...Sorfex used to be pink and brown," he said, voice distant. "Decades ago, it was a paradise. Honeymoon destination. Couples' retreat. One of the most beautiful planets in this sector." His jaw tightened. "Now? Now it's a corpse. The Dream Swarm has been submerging it in their blood nectar. Trying to turn it into one of their own."
I glanced up at him. His face was cold, unreadable, but I could sense the disgust. The quiet rage.
If Sorfex really had been that beautiful once... then what the hell had they turned it into? A nightmare? Or something even worse? I would only know once I set foot on the ground.
"Get to the hangar and man your Knight, pilot," Guvec ordered, stepping away toward the command platform.
I hesitated—wanted to ask more—but he was already gone. Shaking off my thoughts, I grabbed my helmet from my waist and slid it over my skull, heading toward the rear of the ship.
The hangar was alive with activity. Engineers hurried to make last-minute adjustments, prepping Andromeda for deployment. The towering mech stood atop a sealed drop-hatch, his armour being polished and reinforced, his weapons reloaded.
As I approached, Andromeda's voice greeted me, his tone measured as his left arm was buffed to a fine sheen.
[Pilot, I have received the mission data from the main terminal,] he reported. [This operation will not be as straightforward as our last.]
His shoulders opened, revealing the railgun on his left and the longsword on his right. The massive weaponry locked into place as his systems whirred to life.
[Dream Swarm are vulnerable to extreme temperatures—fire and cold-based weaponry work best. We have the advantage with my heat arsenal. However, the KnightMare should not be underestimated. We may need to activate my Constellation Drive.]
I grabbed a rifle from the weapon rack, slinging it over my chest before stuffing spare magazines into the pouches of my leather jacket. "Good to know," I muttered. "I'll be manning you for the full duration this time, so I'll be relying on you, partner."
[And I you, pilot. That would be the safest course of action.]
Glancing up, I watched as the engineers secured mines into Andromeda's shoulders, affixing a set of rocket launchers onto his upper frame. He was being armed for total destruction.
A sudden jolt rocked the ship, making the hangar tremble. I caught my footing, but the turbulence faded just as quickly.
Distant explosions rumbled beyond the hull. The battle had already begun.
[We are nearing Sorfex's surface, pilot,] Andromeda announced. His chest plate slid open, revealing the cockpit within. He leaned forward, waiting. [Please board and prepare for orbital drop.]
***
Fleeing across the endless sands, the army of over 50,000 soldiers pressed forward, running for their lives. Some sprinted on foot, others crammed into battered vehicles, but all moved in the same desperate direction—away from the endless tide of creatures behind them.
Gunfire rattled into the air, bullets tearing into the waves of wet, slobbering insectoids. Yet the swarm never slowed. A tide of chitin and hunger, thousands of multi-legged beetles—spliced grotesquely with the form of a spider—poured across the dunes in pursuit, their sapphire shells glistening under the burning sun.
"Run! Break your lungs if you have to!"
"They just keep coming!"
"Keep retreating and firing!"
A piercing screech ripped through the yellow sky, louder than any gunshot, rattling the very air. Then, from the depths of the swarm, something massive surged forward—a titan of the Dream Swarm.
Forty feet tall, its elongated body slithered like a centipede, yet it moved with the swift, stalking grace of a spider. Long, segmented legs carried it high above the desert floor, each step carving deep trenches in the sand. Its body, lined with fuzzy, pollen-dusted fur like that of a monstrous bee, loomed over the battlefield as it bore down on the retreating army.
From the back of a speeding vehicle, Lieutenant-Colonel Briggs' face twisted in horror as he spotted the beast. He grabbed his radio and barked, "All soldiers, scatter! Knights—take up defence! Big bug inbound!"
A few brave souls turned their rifles on the creature, unloading their magazines into its furry hide. The bullets struck, but the damage was superficial—a few spurts of sickly blue blood, nothing more.
Then, from the dunes, a trio of mechanical Knights surged forward, skimming across the sand like war gods descending onto the battlefield. Their massive firearms whirred to life.
The centipede-bee screeched and opened its mandibles to swallow a transport whole— but BOOM of fire hit against its hide. Jerking its head the titan looked at the mechanical giants that attacked it and three rocket-propelled grenades shot into its gaping maw. The detonation cracked the air, sending a fountain of blue acid and shredded flesh spraying in all directions. The beast's towering form lurched, then collapsed in a violent crash, barely missing a scrambling vehicle before it swerved to safety.
"Dammit!" a soldier screamed behind Briggs. "Where the hell are our reinforcements?! They were supposed to be here two hours ago!"
"They'll be here!" Briggs snapped, whirling on the soldier. "In case you've forgotten, we had to abandon the trenches! We're nowhere near the coordinates we gave them!" Without warning, Briggs grabbed the man by his collar and dragged him toward the back of the transport. "Instead of whining, ensure your survival and fight, dammit!"
"Y-yes, sir!" The soldier scrambled into position, gripping his rifle and immediately opening fire into the swarm.
Briggs exhaled sharply, dragging a hand through his hair, his mind a storm of frustration and dread.
That damned KnightMare. How the hell did it find our ammo caches? Because of it, the least of my problems will be a demotion—if I even make it out of this.
"Sir! More big bugs spotted on the horizon!"
Briggs barely had time to turn toward the warning before a deafening explosion erupted nearby. A transport vehicle was reduced to a fireball, sending shrapnel and bodies flying as something barrelled straight through it.
A monstrous shadow clawed to a stop in the sand just behind the blazing carcass. And instinct told us all to run.
"KnightMare! The KnightMare is here!"
The words spread like wildfire, panic surging through the ranks.
From a distant military buggy, a woman manning a gauss cannon locked onto the humanoid insect charging toward them. She steadied her aim, charged her shot and a crackling electric beam lanced through the battlefield, striking the KnightMare head-on. The sheer force pushed the creature back—but then the energy harmlessly ricocheted off its chitinous armour, bouncing into the distance where it sliced through one of the towering bugs behind within the charging swarm's grotesque mass.
Unfazed, the KnightMare tore across the sand, moving faster than any of the military vehicles. It slashed through tires with razor-sharp claws, overturned transports with effortless swipes, and left a trail of bloodied slaughter in its wake.
Its target was clear. The woman in the buggy barely had time to react before the creature was upon her. Jaws snapped. Her head vanished between its fangs. A single swing of its elongated arm crushed the vehicle's driver into paste. "Kiiieeeek!!!!" Its war cry erupted from across the dunes paralysing all of the regular soldiers.
One of the remaining Knights—towering and battle-worn—charged forward to the giant insect, swinging a great hammer from its back. The knight lunged and brought the weapon down in a crushing arc atop the Knightmare and buggy it stood on.
BOOM!
The buggy's engine exploded on impact. Fire and smoke swallowed the battlefield, obscuring everything. For a moment, no one could see what had happened. Then, crawling out from the blaze the upper half of the mechanical Knight dragging itself forward, severed at the waist, its mechanical frame leaking fluid and blood.
And looming behind it— The KnightMare. Ripping the Knight's legs apart like they were nothing.
"Get away!" Another Knight charged in, throwing a metallic fist straight into the demonic creature's face. The impact made it lurch— but only for a second. Then, with terrifying speed, the KnightMare swung its arm like a scythe. The second Knight was sent flying, crashing into a distant dune.
With brutal finality, the insectoid stepped forward and drove its foot through the fallen Knight's back. A wet, sickening spurt of blood followed.
Then, strangely, the KnightMare paused. Its antennae twitched violently against the dessert's wind, as if sensing something.
Briggs clenched his fists, staring out at the burning battlefield, the corpses, the slaughter. Three Knights dead. A quarter of the army reduced to ash.
All by one monster. One nightmare. And no hope.
BZZZT.
The radio crackled. A voice coming through. "Lieutenant-Colonel Briggs. This is Captain Guvec of the Vanguard-class space cruiser Saint of Paradigm. Prepare for reinforcements."
A roar split the sky and everyone turned upward. An orange meteor blazed through the atmosphere, falling fast.
A beam of energy fired down from the meteor, streaking straight toward the KnightMare. The insectoid didn't move. Arrogant. Confident. It had tanked worse.
The moment the beam made contact, that confidence shattered. A shriek of chilling agony split the air as the monstrous aliens right arm and shoulder were engulfed in ice, frostbitten flesh splitting apart.
Then—impact. The meteor struck the sands, a violent shockwave lifting a veil of dust over the battlefield, blinding all who watched. The world became a hazy storm of golden fog, and for a moment, no one could see.
But they could hear. The KnightMare's screams. The crackling of fire. The thrumming buzz of electromagnetic energy and wind blowing.
Then— a young voice cracked through the radio again. Soft. Steady. "To all receivers. I am Pilot Firefly. Operator of Constellation Knight, Andromeda. The KnightMare is deceased. Continue to the evacuation point."
The sandstorm began to settle. The golden haze dispersed, revealing a towering metallic figure standing amidst a wreckage. The Knightmare crushed and reduced to much at its feet.
A dark-platinum Knight, adorned with gilded ornaments like a crown, its emerald-painted shoulders reflecting the dying light. Freezing mist curled from the longsword clutched in its hand, its blade still coated in frost. Jets of blue-green fire flared from its thrusters, crackling in the heated air.
Andromeda. The saviour.
The Knight's gaze swept over the battlefield, then its voice—calm, unwavering—echoed one last time. "I will... watch over you all."