It was supposed to be a simple mission, a quick insertion to observe the increasingly peculiar behavior of the ever-evolving hive and report my findings back to HQ; they had even promised a small stipend of about forty thousand credits and a pat on the back for my troubles.

Had I known what had awaited me in this godforsaken hellhole, I wouldn’t have taken it for forty million.

The battered and beaten form of my, once venerable, Serco vulture guardian drifts aimlessly through the crowded sector, constantly avoiding asteroids, large pieces of debris and the occasional stray hive drone with a few micro adjustments from whatever thrusters remain undamaged from all the fighting.

The heavy power cell that keeps my ship running is functional, albeit heavily impaired, and maintains a slow but steady supply of energy, keeping the critical components of my craft alive.

I remain seated in the cockpit and carefully observe my surroundings with the help of the onboard sensor suite whilst simultaneously managing my ship's subsystems. My advanced cybernetics allow this by greatly enhancing my overall neural capacity and processing power, enabling far more efficient and effective piloting than that of a baseline human.

Genetic and cybernetic modification has always been a speciality of the Serco people, giving us an edge over our enemies in most encounters; something we Serco are rather proud of.

I target the nearest hostile presence and the IFF signature of an Aputech-17 guardian greets my sensors. I keep a baleful eye on the rangefinder indicating its distance from me: a solid two thousand meters.

A frown flashes across my face, under better circumstances I would have easily dispatched the drone and then some, but in my currently impaired state, I was in no shape to challenge even the humble Tycorp assault and so, I maintained my distance and kept a low profile.

Still, my kill count for the day was rather high this time: a respectable two hundred and twenty-three kills consisting of the many assault and guardian models that inhabit the sector.

I allow a small smirk of satisfaction to momentarily take over my features as I marvel at my own combative prowess, however, I quickly admonish my pride and focus on the steadily mounting task of keeping me and my ship in one piece.

I maneuver around a rather large asteroid when my PDA bleeps and a notification appears, My eyes flick towards the screen and a
With a push of my joystick, I steer my ship around, face the direction of my salvation and engage the turbo, all too eager to get away from this accursed place.

I occasionally check my radar for any drones stalking me, none so far, and continue on my course to the outer regions of the sector, weaving through rocks and debris alike with all the skill of a transhuman pilot; effectively dancing around them.

Even in my ship's currently damaged state, it’s still laughably easy to navigate the rather densely packed sector.

A wide grin replaces my otherwise grim visage and I laugh. A manic, wild and unhinged laugh but one of pure joy and hope, hope that maybe good endings do exist in this cold and indifferent universe that we live in.

My ship violently lurches to the front, causing my head to smash into the console, dazing me. Alarm klaxons blare in my ear followed by the quake of several impacts around the hull of my ship, jarring me from my brief state of delirium. I quickly check my radar and I am greeted with an entire swarm of hive drones, easily numbering in the hundreds, hot on my tail.

A trillion thoughts race through my head: How? How did I miss them? How did they find me? I file these questions away in my mind for later as the need for survival overrides all else.

I try my best to dodge and weave around the torrent of plasma but, ultimately, to no avail. I growl in frustration as a few glancing hits make their mark on the sides of my ship, scuffing the already tortured hull even further.

I give a quick once over of my weapons systems: a pair of neutron blaster mark threes and discovered that, through some cosmic miracle, they were fully functional and that there was enough energy left for a fight.

With a push of my joystick, I turn my ship around in a completely one-eighty to face the swarm and target the nearest drone

My training immediately kicks in along with a cocktail of adrenaline and combat drugs supplied by my enhancements that rushes through my bloodstream, making time seemingly slow down to a crawl.

I made first contact with a line of Arklan and Fennus guardians, along with a couple of Valent and Dentek assault drones. I initiate an attack roll and compress the trigger, keeping a special eye on the energy bar of my ship.

I gun down a Valent Assault with a couple of shots to its body sending it careening, to explode in the midst of its allies. I then gracefully dodge a string of shots from a pair of guardians emerging from my right and quickly check the energy bar. To my great consternation, I find out that the few shots I had let on, cost me an abnormally large amount of energy and I was down to eighty-six percent.

Worrisome.

Still, there was no turning back now.

A barrage of neutron and plasma rounds collide with my already smouldering ship and I back-roll a bit and strafe up and left to create some distance between me and a squad of assault drones that had tried to sneak up on me. I gun them down with a couple of controlled bursts and roll to the right again to dodge some more incoming fire.
I check the energy bar again and find out that it had depleted even further this time: seventy-seven percent.

Still no turning back.

I keep up a rhythm, shoot, kill, dodge, shoot, kill dodge, shoot, kill dodge all the while I keep on checking my energy levels.

77%
I spot a silhouette of movement and a brief flash of light, just quick enough to avoid the gauss round from a Fennus r18. I quickly counter with a shot to its abdomen, tearing a sizable hole through it, and finish it off with another blow to its ‘head’, putting it down for good.

65%
The imposing forms of two Arklans block the view in front of me and attempt to trap my ship, however, I’m much too fast for them as I quickly reverse and strafe away to avoid the incoming line of shots.

54%
Several shots ring out against the hull of my ship, revealing the presence of a few valent assaults that had tried to flank me. I flip my ship around in an impressive display of acrobatics and gun them down with controlled bursts

43%
I notice my ship becoming more sluggish as the power in my ship continues to melt away due to the continued use of my weapons, nonetheless, I push on and harass a few guardians before I boost away and down another valent assault with a few more bursts.

38%
My ship responds even slower now and perspiration beads on my forehead as I struggle to move about. I manage to heavily damage a Dentek assault drone before I’m forced to retreat, as a pair of Aputech-5s emerge from their hiding spot behind an asteroid to intercept me

21%
Movement becomes much more cumbersome now and even the simple act of rolling or strafing takes a strenuous amount of effort. The drones apparently notice my weakening attempts, as they attack considerably more aggressively now and swarm me from all angles, confident that I won’t be able to retaliate effectively anymore.

16%
I manage to get off another hit on an unfortunate valent drone before a plasma round pierces my hull and, through sheer luck, only hits the area behind my seat.

The luck didn’t last

8%
A flurry of condensed plasma further ravages my hull, gutting my already mutilated vessel even more.

5%
I try retreating only for a gauss round to completely erase the engines of my ship, rendering me incapable of movement.

4%
A flechette cannon shreds the cockpit, knocking me out of my seat and ruining the operating console, effectively killing the brain of my vulture.

3%
The onslaught falters and I feel a sudden decrease in the torrent of fire devouring my ship,

2%
All seems quiet, the drones ominously eyeing the now skeletal carcass of the vessel with an almost predatory gaze. They do nothing

0%
I wait for the inevitable and watch the drones parade around me, circling, like the namesake creature of my ship. They mock me now, they know that I’m weak and on my last legs
An idea suddenly crosses my mind and with no other alternatives left, I set it in motion. With a herculean effort, I manage to pluck myself off of the floor and limp away to the back of my ship, ignoring the stabbing pain that accompanies each step.

When I finally reach the reactor, I collapse on the floor, chest heaving and breath raspy as the strain of my efforts for survival comes crashing down like a tsunami.

As I lay on the floor, the prospect of sleep becomes a tantalizing offer and with my body screaming in pain, I am almost tempted to take it. However, in a display of incredible willpower, I get back on my feet and set the reactor to critical mass, causing a chain reaction to overload it.

I stumble my way to the cockpit, sit back down on my ruined chair and look out of the shattered windshield and rest my gaze upon the cosmos, admiring its beauty for one final time.

I watch the countless stars that shine in the galaxy, gently twinkling in the distance. I gaze at the asteroids lazily drift about and the clouds of dust and debris that blanket the sector. I see the massive galaxies looming in the background and the nebulae, like splashes of paint in the otherwise desolate and plain landscape.

I see the universe in all of its awesome and humbling glory and it's resplendent beauty

I exhale deeply and close my eyes, feeling truly restful for the first time in what feels like centuries, gently fading into unconsciousness.

I am dimly aware of the drones resuming their attack as the plating buckles and warps at the hundreds of guns hammering away at the hull and the reactor screaming in the back as it struggles to contain the surging energies.

The cooling blackness of the back of my eyelids is suddenly permeated with a blinding white light as nothing but searing heat douses my senses.

For all but a moment, I outshine even the brightest stars in the galaxy and a halo of fire forms around me, like a phoenix in its death throes.

(I am cringing so hard rn omg, please don't bully me >~<)

Thanks for writing this. We don't get enough RP fan fic submissions. No one will bully you.

So I guess we can settle on calling it græspace then?

PS: Thanks for the read.