Xero Chronicle

by Ross Buzzell

  A soft rustle catches his attention; quickly Xero opens his eyes to see a fuzzy face starring at him eye to eye. Icey blue eyes gaze at him quizzically as a grayish green fur dances in the wind similar to the grass. The creature had a short snout and a cute little pink nose, small tufted ears stand at the top of its head which follows down the length of a long slender body about the size of Xero’s forearm. Four pairs of short legs protrude from its sides and each foot had fingers similar to a gecko with tiny, harmless claws at their tips. The long animal keeps eye contact with Xero for a moment before letting off a soft coo, leaning towards the prince and placing a velvety lick up his cheek before scampering off, disappearing into the grass. A huge smile forms on Xero’s face as he retrieves a swab from one of the packs he, E and Ja had taken from the ship on their way out. He wipes it against his cheek and places it in a sealed case before returning to his group.

  “This planet is beautiful; we need to look at setting up an outpost here.”

  Xero hands the swab to E, neither woman seems to have noticed the creature that had just licked his face. Ja nods in approval as she adds to Xero’s thought.

  “I could stay here forever. It is a paradise!”

  Xero begins to walk back onto the ship. E turns to look at him in protest.

  “What are you doing? We just got here?”

  “I know but we have a mission. Our scans should be enough to merit a more detailed expedition here but I am afraid I agree with Ja’Sanfur. This place is perfect and if we do not leave now I fear that none of us would want to.”

  There is a brief moment of hesitation between the two women. E is the first to start to make her way back onto the ship.

  “I cannot argue with you there.”

  Ja follows suit. Xero sits in the pilot’s seat and begins the lift off sequence. Ja and E both strap in as well as the back door of the ship closes. As the pod begins to lift off of the ground, leaving no evidence it had ever been there, Ja’Sanfur’s scanner beeps loudly.

  “The background energy signature got cleared up… by the Creator.”

  her voice is soft; her face turns white as if she had just seen a ghost. The pod flies through the cloud cover and the brilliant blue sky slowly turns black as they enter space once more.

  “What is it Ja?”

  Xero asks inquisitively as he soars out of the planet’s gravitational pull and back toward the other two pods. Initiating docking procedures. He effortlessly fuses the ships back together as Ja addresses her prince.

  “The background signature… it matches something on Boron that gives off the exact same kind of energy!”

  “And what is that?”

  “Starfall.”

  Xero begins to lock in on the next planet for their scouting, his mind still on the planet they had just left behind. The further away from it they travel the more prevalent the itch becomes in the back of his mind.

  “How is that even possible?”

  E’mellor was more distracted by the finding than the fact that Xero was locking in the coordinates of the next world. He sits down and straps himself into the chair.

  “I don’t know but something tells me that we will find the answers sooner than we think. Strap in, we are flying out.”

  Xero ignites the engines of all three pods propelling the team forward to their next goal.

  Chapter: 6

  The ships begin to slow down as they approach the new planet on the far side of the local star system. Immediately both women begin to scan the planet. A red light begins to flash on Ja’Sanfur’s screen.

  “We have a minor problem Xero… This atmosphere is far denser than the typical planet. We will need to enter the atmosphere with all three pods so that the energy absorbers do not get overtasked. It is going to be a rough landing.”

  Xero glances over at her as he brings the ship to a stop in orbit.

  “Understandable, anything about typography or oxygenation?”

  “Atmosphere is barely breathable. It has a similar density to Boron with a large part of the planet’s crust being comprised of smithite and carbon elements set in crystalline structures.”

  “There are also multiple readings of sentient life all over the planet. It appears to be some kind of nomadic tribal community; at the same time their technology is off the charts, possibly comparable to ours.”

  Xero turns and looks at the information provided by each scan that has been displayed on either side of him. The soft blue light entices his eyes as they skim over the information presented. After a moment of silence the warrior prince turns to Ja’Sanfur. He flashes her a flirty smile.

  “Why don’t you go prepare the ship for entry.”

  he flashes her a playful wink before turning to face E’mellor.

  “I am not seeing anything that shows they are a violent race. There are a few standing bounties for individuals matching their descriptions but they do not seem to be a warring race. Should we observe them from afar or initiate first contact?”

  E swipes her hand over the briefing. The information skims as she reads it so fast that Xero can hardly keep up. As she reaches the base of the briefing she shrugs.

  “Honestly I do not see any indication as to why we cannot make first contact. I will need a few moments to cycle their radio transmissions through the universal translators in our suits but it should be ready by the time we make planet fall.”

  Xero nods in approval as he places his attention forward once again. Getting on the intercom he calls out to Ja’Sanfur.

  “How are we looking back there? Are we good for entry?”

  There is a momentary pause. He hears E give off a stifled snicker before shooting her a side eye and cracking a smile himself. Xero shakes his head as Ja’Sanfur responds a few moments later.

  “Ready when you are sir. I will keep an eye on absorption rates.”

  After a few more moments Xero double checks the readings that show the ship is primed for a rough planetary entry.

  “Roger that, we are beginning our descent. Everyone strap in. This is going to be rough. Adjusting shielding and angle of entry to compensate for denser atmospheric pressures. E keep an eye on those cross winds. I don’t want to get slammed into a mountain side once we get lower.”

  With a nod E immediately begins to calibrate the lateral shielding to compensate for any cross winds they might encounter on their descent, her algorithm for the translator running in the back ground. The second they hit the exosphere the ship rocks violently. Xero looks over at E, a mild look of concern is on her face as the ship rocks back and forth. The ship continues its descent, Xero controlling it to the best of his abilities, fighting against the violent dispute of the planet to their entry.

  “We are way too high for this to be starting!”

  E calls out as she continues to calibrate. Ja interjects with an update.

  “This planet’s exosphere is as dense as most planets’ mesosphere. At ground level atmospheric pressure will feel like a dragon sitting on your chest. Strain levels at five percent and rising.”

  Xero attempts to pull back on the descent a little more in an attempt to slow them. A red sign begins to flash in front of him. Quickly glancing down Xero notices that the ship is stuck in an aggressive gravitational pull. The ship begins to turn nose side to the planet. Xero continues to pull up on the ship as it enters the thermosphere and the air in front of the ship begins to glow a bright red as the ship increases speed.

  “Twelve percent and rising fast Xero. At this rate we will not be able to make it planet side.”

  Xero looks at the readings as he continues to try and right the ship but the force being exerted on it from the outside is just too great. He scans the various readings and meters that are all beginning to turn red before an idea strikes him.

  “Ja, return to your pod and seal it off, E you do the same!”

  “I am not leaving you!”

  E yells to Xero as the inside of the ship begins to heat up while they pass into the
mesosphere.

  “Ninety eight percent and climbing!”

  Ja yells out over the intercom.

  “Get to your pod, Ja. Divert the absorbed energy into a rapid shielding burst for each of the pods. We need to break apart willingly or we risk being killed. We break apart; the rapid shielding protects us during the separation…”

  “And as smaller pods we create less friction, copy that!”

  E yells as she gets up and dashes to her pod closing the barrier between her and Xero upon entry. After a moment the other barrier closes as well.

  “We are in place Xero; shielding primers are set for your go!”

  Ja yells out to Xero, without hesitation. As all of the gauges are blinking red, Xero slams his hand on the emergency release button. The display before them is overcome by blue light as the shield becomes visibly bright before them. Xero feels his pod shake as Ja’Sanfur and E’mellor’s pods break off. The shield wears off as the ship enters the stratosphere. With drag greatly reduced, the ship begins to handle far more responsively as Ja’Sanfur crackles over the intercom once more.

  “I am getting a reading of what looks like a good landing field two hundred kilometers to our left and is within hiking distance to the largest settlement.”

  “Roger that Ja, you take the lead. We will follow!”

  Ja’Sanfur’s ship veers sharply to the left followed by E’mellor’s. Xero takes up the rear, struggling with the controls as every second of flight time in the dense atmosphere makes the landing procedure a struggle. As the landing zone falls into view it gets highlighted on Xero’s display. He follows a similar descent trail to Ja and E as their ships skim the jagged surface beneath them. The landing site is long and narrow, enough for two ships to set down side by side. Xero gradually lowers his altitude in order to land behind them as the jagged rock spires begin to come to an end. A violent shake rocks the ship sending it off course slightly, ‘Too low, just a little higher.’ The warrior thinks to himself as he rights against the shaky controls. He is hardly able to right his ship as the make-shift landing strip appears below them. With more concern about causing harm to his team, Xero throws all thrusters forward causing his ship to come to a dangerously rapid stop. The prince is thrown forward, with only an automated magnetic field holding him in place. Everything else in his craft lurches with such violence that he feels even his seat begin to break away from the fuselage of the craft.

  The tail of his ship begins to raise forward, nearly flipping over but Xero’s mind processes faster than most. Throwing his hand up the warrior prince forms a large shield on the outside of his ship, the HUD extends backwards to follow his line of sight as he ensures the placement is perfect. As the ship continues to tilt forwards it comes in contact with the shield. A violent shudder courses throughout his ship before it is bounced back down and slams into the ground. Breathing heavily, his heart races with exhilaration Xero puts his attention forward to see Ja and E both landing their ships safely not far ahead of him. A sly grin forms on his lips as he releases the automated field and stands to his feet brushing himself off. Xero activates the armory causing a munitions rack to slide from the floor.

  “Computer, run diagnostic, is this ship still space worthy?”

  Xero begins to walk over to the rack, grabbing a rifle, which he magnetically locks to the back of his right side for easy access, a side arm, he attaches to his left thigh and a helmet.

  “Diagnostic run complete, minor damage within ship, microscopic stress fractures detected on hull, is not space worthy.”

  Xero places the helmet on his head, as he does the HUD calibrates itself, his armor flickers from visible to camouflage and a scan of his ship forms in the corner with red highlighting the damage.

  “How long will it take for automated repair?”

  “Two hours, repair initiated.”

  The back of the ship slides partially open as the lights within the ship darken and the repairs begin to take place automatically. Upon exiting his ship and entering the planet’s atmosphere Xero feels a massive weight being pressed down upon him. The prince catches himself as his body, armor and weapon weights all increase by what feels like eight fold. Xero stops for a moment, his boot crushing the small stones beneath his step under the immense pressure. The heads up display in his suit begins to blink red as a diagram of a body shows up, the entire thing blinking with a warning of rapid strain being put on the body. A hiss begins to escape Xero’s armor as the Energynium begins to change around him to better fit the environment. The red warning gradually turns to yellow and stops blinking as he begins to right himself.

  As Xero takes his first step in the newly calibrated armor he feels that it is heavier and a bit stiffer than usual. He rotates each arm to ensure full range of motion; he has it but at minor cost to dexterity. As he passes by the base of his ship, small sparks jump from its hull as micro welding begins to take place over the entirety of the ship. Xero makes his way towards E and Ja only to see that they are already armed, out of their ships and their armor is bulkier, thicker and appears to be heavier than usual. In his HUD, E and Ja’s faces are pulled up as communications is established.

  “Environmental additions are holding strong and vitals appear to be stable.”

  E calls out as her eyes dart from side to side clearly looking at a display Xero could not see.

  “All systems are functional, scanners are on auto and it looks like our presence has been noticed. The primary camp we picked up on entry has sent a contingent our way.”

  Ja sends the data to Xero’s display. The visual highlights the landscape between the two and zooms in on a massive clearing half way between them.

  “In case they are hostile we cannot allow them to see our ships. We will meet them half way and put a cloak on our craft. Let’s hope they are peaceful but be prepared for anything.”

  The other two nod as Xero walks past them. The long narrow flat land with walls of jagged dark crimson and shiny black rock on all sides provide a natural cover for the ships from the ground. In a flutter of light, as if having a glitch, the ships camouflage themselves as Xero sets his sights on the only opening in sight, a narrow valley wide enough for them to pass through only one at a time. This does not sit well with Xero. A knot sits in the pit of his stomach; it is a tactical nightmare. True the jagged surface of the planet means that there will not be an ambush from above but there is no cover, being in a single file line and only having three against who knows how many. Even with their superior skills and weaponry, it is likely that should an all-out fight break out nothing good would come of it.

  The three march in silence. Xero’s eyes jump from the scan showing the two parties closing in on one another, the other keeping a weathered eye on the ridgeline. E standing behind him is undoubtedly keeping an eye on the scans of the planet and any life forms in the area. And Ja, being a woman after his own heart is more than likely keeping an eye on their flank. The thin trail is narrow enough that if Xero stoop straight up his shoulders would scrape either side. It does not take long for the trail to gradually begin to widen. At its mouth Xero can see the clearing, something similar to the landing strip not far behind them but only circular and only two to three hundred meters from one end to the other. As soon as the three enter the clearing, Xero looks back and waves the two forward. They take their positions, Ja on his right and E to his left. Xero glances either way, first to E then to Ja. Both are strong women for whom he would sacrifice his own life in a moment’s notice. Each nod to him as they take their rifles from their backs and hold them across their breast in a standby formation.

  “Regular rules of engagement are in place here. Remember do not fire unless fired upon… let’s try to be diplomatic.”

  The ground begins to rumble beneath Xero’s feet as a cloud of dust pushes its way into the clearing like a smoke screen. A loud screech fills the air, reminiscent of the Nidhoggs cry all those years ago. Xero holds his ground, as does his team. His eyes focused like lasers in the
dark cloud that has formed before them, hiding those inside like a terrible gift waiting to be unwrapped. Xero’s fingers tighten around his rifle as he slowly places a finger on the trigger, something every soldier was taught to absolutely never do until they were ready to kill.

  Clenching his jaw, Xero keeps his eyes forward as the dust begins to settle. His HUD begins to pick up movement and highlights shadows that menacingly move towards them and out of the cloud. The first thing the warrior notices is their size, even for him they are not small. Standing not much taller than Xero himself, they were nearly twice as wide, brick walls of muscle covered by the glinting sight of metal. Two arms sit at the base of their neck on the end of shoulders, just like Xero. But not far below the first pair Xero notices a second pair of arms. The battalion becomes visible as the cloud dissipates. Two massive tanks on a single thick tread sit behind them with their cannons aimed directly at Xero and his team. Xero feels a cold chill make its way down his spine.