For thousands of years, there has been a war raging across the galaxy. No one knows the origin or the goal. There is just war and war and the war.
My name is Lou and I am a doctor in the anti-terrorism branch of the peace corps. I'm dead now, but I can tell you the story if you would like. It all started on my first mission.
“Just an average day fighting space terrorists,” said Rex with a shrug. He had a sparkly smile that held secrets and a mischievous attitude.
It wasn’t normal for me, I saw most of the missions on a screen in the lab, but Rex knew that. He was just trying to calm my nerves.
“Listen up team!” Bellowed captain Jock Loughty from the deck, “This should just be an in and out job, but if our in-tell is right and there is a PD in there... we need to be extra cautious.” He said staring at Rex.
“Why do you look at me?” Rex asked in an innocent voice.
I muffled a snort behind my glove. The last mission ended with Rex behind bars on Parthenon for snogging a virgin priestess.
“Don’t worry cap. We got it covered” said our intelligence, Alliea. She was tall and muscular with brown hair always in a ponytail. She knew every form of combat known to man and was the coolest cousin ever.
She stood next to me with her arms crossed. “You don’t need to be nervous,“ she whispered, “I won’t let anything happen to you cos'.”
“I’m not scared of death,” I said, “I just don’t want to fail”
She laughed that light tingly laugh of hers. “You’re just like your brother” My brother Cal had died on the job shortly before I got there.
“Let’s go over the plan one more time, just to make sure there are no flaws” huffed Hagan. Hagen was our team's weapon guy. He could turn anything into a weapon. I once saw him kill a guy with a flower. He was from the war planet, Vassane, where humor isn’t excepted.
“Why must he take the fun out of everything” Rex muttered. He was the grifter, or actor as he preferred to be called. He could put himself in the criminal's shoes, so to speak, and know exactly what their next move would be.
“That’s a good idea.” Said Alliea a bit too positively.
“Bring up the diagram we have of the ship” commanded Captain Loughty, “As far as we can tell the PD is in the center, and as you know PDs give off a lot of radiation so go in wearing your suits. You will penetrate here,” he said tapping a point on the diagram.
PD’s were a type of bomb that could destroy a small moon. They were large blue orbs with a small count down on the side. Of course, we weren’t approaching an active PD. They give off enough radiation to kill anyone in a mile radius, even before they explode.
“Then,” Cap continued, “you will branch off into groups of two so if one group runs into problems, the other will stay secure. The groups are Alliea with Hagen and Rex with Lou”
“Cap’ I thought I was going with Lou?” Questioned Aliea
“No, I need you and Hagan to draw the guards away. Our main priority is getting Lou to the center so that she can disarm the PD”
Rex raises his hand, ”Yes Rex” said Captain Loughty patiently
“Not that talking about the plan for the eight millionth time isn’t fun, but we should get going before they know we are here. Besides it’s not like we won’t have communication if things change.”
“He’s right,” said Aliea with a sigh
After we suited up we loaded up in a small undetectable pod from the hanger. My gut churned as we launched off. Our pilot, Juno, was not the steadiest flyer. His job was to fly us there and back alive.
“Hello Miss Lou karish” he said in a strong Alvian accent.
“Hi!” I said blushing, not because of him but because I was nervous. He seemed to get the wrong idea and grinned.
After 10 awkward minutes, the ship was in sight. “I’m going to send out a scan-droid to make sure our blueprints are accurate,” I said as I released a small beetle-like robot into the space hatch. Then we all huddled around a screen to see what it would come up with.
It appeared our blueprints had been correct, but we saw something weird that seemed to spread throughout the ship and then pulse back to the center, and then out again. “Must be the radiation” I said. PD radiation can have awful effects on the body of anything alive.
After a few minutes of watching the radiation pulse on the screen hypnotically, we heard captain Loughty, “Enough standing around and wasting time! Get going!”
“Yes Cap,” we said in sync.
We left the safety of our pod and floated into the icy claws of space. We glided towards the side of the ship’s hull where we planned to enter. I pulled out an atomic door, a blue sphere about the size of my hand. I then split it in half which revealed a thin wire that connected the two halves. I stuck one to the hull then estimated the distance of a door and put the other peace where the upper right corner would be.
The metal in between the two halves disappeared and we crawled through the door. Hagen almost got stuck, but Rex pulled him in.
Once we got in we separated down the two corridors. I gave Alliea a pained look as we separated.
After a moment Alliea’s voice filled our ears, “Everything is fine on our end. How’s yours” She asked
“We are great. Just peachy” responded Rex. We both knew she had asked me, not him.
We got halfway down the hallway when something strange happened. A black substance started to pulse down the corridor. I frowned as it sped towards us, my heart beating rapidly.
“My Algorrian Lord! What is that!” Shouted Rex.
“You guys see it too?” Alliea said calmly “let’s head back, quickly. It’s coming towards us fast and we don’t know what it is.”
“So that’s why we haven’t seen any guards. Run!” Red commanded.
It was too late though. Rex and I heard Hagen and Alliea scream as whatever it was overtook them. Now that I was closer to it I could see it was like goo or slime, but it was pitch black and seemed to suck in the light from its surroundings.
I wasn’t as fast as Rex who had his speed enhanced after being in prison, but he wasn’t running his fastest because he was trying to help me.
I was panting with sweat running down my face. I spend most of my time in a laboratory, so I’m not in the best shape.
“Leave me... save yourself “ I wheezed between breaths.
“No!” He said and I saw for the first time his horror at hearing our friends scream.
“They may not be dead” I pointed out, but we both knew the chances were slim.
“Go!” I yelled pushing him ahead of me. We were almost there, but I knew there was no chance that I would make it. I fell and he stopped to help me, “No, go.” I ordered grinding my teeth as I pushed his hand away. He looked at me worldly and with one more look at the speeding goo he ran.
I felt a freezing liquid-like substance close over my legs and rapidly cover me. With tears in my eyes and darkness all around me, I welcomed a strange unconsciousness.

I awoke to find an abundance of blankets all around me. I sat up and knew I was in the Clinic part of our ship. It looked like any normal hospital room on any planet, but just outside the window sat the ship’s large right-wing. In a chair near the bed slept, Rex. I tried to get up, but I found my hand handcuffed to the bed frame.
Rex heard me struggling and woke up. “Lou, you’re awake. Are you... ok?” He said it weirdly almost like he was scared.
“I think so.” I tilted my head, “Where are Alliea and Hagen? His face darkened.
“they... we... Hagen is dead, and Alliea is...” he paused “She’s insane. She killed the doctor who she woke up too...” My face went pale. What? But I felt fine.
“What do you mean? How am I alive? How did they die? What... what was that goo?” I burst into tears and covered my face with my hands. Rex came over to comfort me but couldn’t seem to find anything to say.