chapter 2: Moving forward

The military dropship descended through the darkness like a burning spear tearing through the void itself.

The ship shook violently as its engines roared against the moon’s weak atmosphere, sending deep vibrations through the steel floor beneath our boots. Every warning light inside the cabin flashed crimson red in repeating pulses, bathing the interior in a blood-colored glow that reflected off our armor plating and weapons.

Metal groaned around us.

Loose cables swayed overhead.

Somewhere deeper in the ship, machinery rattled like it was moments away from tearing itself apart.

Yet none of us spoke.

The silence inside the troop bay felt heavier than the weight of space outside.

I sat near the rear deployment hatch, gripping my rifle tightly across my chest while staring at the scratched metal floor beneath my boots. The weapon felt colder than usual in my hands. Maybe it was the temperature.

Or maybe it was fear.

Across from me stood Alara.

Even surrounded by flashing emergency lights and the chaos of descent, she looked completely composed. Her black combat armor was scarred from previous missions, thin white scratches running across the chest plating like claw marks left by something monstrous. A faded red insignia of the United Earth Defense Force rested on her shoulder pad beneath a layer of lunar dust from previous deployments.

Her expression remained sharp and focused.

Cold almost.

But not emotionless.

There was exhaustion behind her eyes.

The kind soldiers carried after losing too many people.

Beside her, Rayland casually cleaned the lens of his sniper scope with a small cloth while the ship rocked beneath us. His confidence looked almost unnatural considering the situation. The man acted like combat was just another routine assignment instead of a possible death sentence.

Vhal, meanwhile, looked seconds away from throwing up.

He leaned against the far wall, helmet resting in his lap while nervously bouncing one leg against the floor. Sweat rolled down the side of his face despite the freezing cabin temperature.

Finally the pilot’s voice crackled through the intercom.

“Approaching designated landing coordinates.”

Static interrupted the transmission briefly.

Then—

“Warning. Possible enemy presence detected near research facility.”

Nobody reacted outwardly.

But I noticed Alara’s hand slowly tighten near the pistol attached to her waist.

The dropship suddenly lurched sideways.

Warning alarms screamed through the cabin.

The engines roared louder.

For a moment it genuinely felt like we were going to crash.

Then—

THUD.

The ship slammed against the lunar surface hard enough to nearly knock Vhal off balance.

Dust exploded across the small side windows.

The engines slowly powered down.

Silence followed.

A cold mechanical voice echoed through the ship.

“Landing complete.”

For a few seconds none of us moved.

Then Alara stood.

The red warning lights reflected across her face as she looked at all of us.

“Mission objective remains unchanged,” she said firmly. “Secure the research facility. Locate Commander Leon. Gather any surviving data. We move fast and stay alert.”

She paused briefly.

“If the Xylar are here…”

Nobody needed her to finish the sentence.

We already understood.

This mission could go bad very quickly.

The rear deployment hatch slowly opened with a long hydraulic hiss.

Freezing air immediately flooded into the troop bay.

The cold hit like knives against exposed skin.

Beyond the hatch stretched the endless surface of the moon.

Silent.

Dead.

Ancient.

Grey dust rolled across the ground beneath weak currents created by the dropship engines. Massive craters stretched endlessly across the landscape under the black sky while distant stars burned brighter than anything visible from Earth.

And hanging above the horizon—

Mars.

A massive crimson world glowing silently against the darkness.

For a moment I forgot to breathe.

It felt unreal.

Like standing inside a dream.

Or a graveyard.

I stepped off the ramp first, my armored boots crunching against the powdery lunar surface.

The gravity felt strange immediately.

Lighter.

Every movement carried a slight unnatural float to it.

Behind me the others followed closely, weapons raised as we scanned the surrounding terrain.

Then I saw it.

The research facility.

Roughly two hundred meters ahead stood a cluster of connected metallic structures partially buried into the lunar rock. Blue security lights flickered weakly along the outer walls while massive satellite towers rose upward toward space like skeletal fingers.

At first glance the facility looked operational.

But the closer we got—

The worse it looked.

Blast marks covered entire sections of the outer walls.

One communication tower had completely collapsed.

Deep plasma burns scarred the ground near the entrance.

Bodies.

Human bodies.

Three researchers still lay frozen near the loading dock where they had fallen.

My stomach tightened instantly.

One of them couldn’t have been older than twenty.

His visor was shattered.

Blood floated frozen across the inside of his helmet.

Vhal looked away immediately.

“Jesus…”

Alara crouched beside one of the corpses silently for several moments before standing again.

“They were executed,” she said coldly.

Rayland scanned the horizon through his scope.

“Movement.”

Everyone froze instantly.

Near the main entrance, several tall figures moved between the shadows of the facility walls.

Xylar soldiers.

Even from a distance they looked wrong.

Their bodies were tall and unnaturally thin, with elongated limbs wrapped in dark armored plating that appeared fused directly into their flesh. Their blue-grey skin reflected faintly beneath the moonlight while glowing yellow eyes scanned the terrain with insect-like precision.

Each carried sleek plasma rifles emitting faint streams of blue energy along their barrels.

Rayland immediately dropped to one knee.

The man transformed completely the moment combat approached.

Every trace of humor vanished from his face.

Only focus remained.

He planted the sniper rifle firmly into the lunar dust and peered through the scope.

Steady breathing.

Slow trigger pull.

CRACK.

The sound shattered the silence of the moon.

The first Xylar’s head snapped backward violently before its body collapsed into the dust.

The others reacted instantly—

But Rayland was already firing again.

CRACK.

A second alien dropped.

The third barely managed to raise its weapon before a bullet pierced directly through its chest armor.

Blue blood sprayed across the facility wall before the creature crumpled lifelessly beside the entrance.

Silence returned once more.

Vhal stared at Rayland.

“How the hell are you that good?”

Rayland casually stood while slinging the rifle over his shoulder.

“Years of practice.”

Alara motioned toward the facility entrance.

“Luke. Vhal. Inside sweep. Me and Rayland hold exterior perimeter.”

I nodded immediately.

“Let’s move.”

The facility doors stood partially open.

Sparks rained from damaged wiring overhead while emergency lights flashed deep within the corridors beyond.

As soon as I stepped inside—

A horrible smell hit me.

Smoke.

Burned metal.

Blood.

The interior looked destroyed.

Research equipment had been overturned violently across the floors. Broken holographic displays flickered uncontrollably while shattered glass floated in tiny drifting particles due to the weakened artificial gravity systems.

Entire sections of wall paneling had been ripped apart.

Not blasted.

Torn.

As if something incredibly strong had forced its way through the station.

Vhal slowly raised his rifle.

“I really don’t like this place.”

Neither did I.

We moved deeper into the facility cautiously, our boots echoing softly through the dim corridors.

Emergency sirens pulsed faintly somewhere in the distance.

Then we entered the main research chamber.

And stopped.

The room was enormous.

Towering holographic displays projected massive blue planetary scans across the darkness while streams of glowing scientific data floated through the air in rotating patterns. Large sections of the moon’s internal structure spun slowly above a circular command platform in the center of the room.

The entire chamber glowed blue.

Beautiful.

And terrifying.

I slowly approached one of the holographic projections.

It displayed a deep geological scan beneath the moon’s crust.

But something immediately stood out.

Large sections of the interior weren’t natural.

There were shapes beneath the surface.

Massive geometric structures.

Artificial.

“What the hell…” I whispered.

Vhal approached another console nearby.

“Luke… look at this.”

I turned toward him.

A screen flickered repeatedly before displaying Commander Leon’s face.

Bruised.

Exhausted.

Terrified.

Behind him flashed distorted footage of something enormous moving through darkness beneath the moon’s surface.

Then static consumed the image instantly.

The recording cut out.

My heartbeat quickened.

“Play it again.”

Vhal typed rapidly across the console.

Nothing.

“No files remaining,” he muttered. “Someone wiped the system.”

I slammed my fist against the console hard enough to crack the glass.

“Damn it!”

The sound echoed through the chamber.

For a moment nobody spoke.

Then Vhal quietly said—

“The Xylar took him.”

I stared at the frozen holograms rotating above us.

Commander Leon was one of the toughest soldiers in the entire UEDF.

If he disappeared…

Something truly bad was happening.

Vhal activated his communicator.

“We found the research chamber. No Leon. Possible abduction confirmed.”

Static answered briefly.

Then Alara’s voice came through.

“On our way.”

Several minutes later Alara and Rayland entered the chamber.

Rayland immediately looked around the room.

“Well… this place looks cheerful.”

Alara ignored him, studying the holographic displays carefully.

“What were they researching?”

I pointed toward the moon scans.

“Something beneath the surface.”

She stared upward silently.

Then her expression changed slightly.

Concern.

Real concern.

“That’s impossible…”

Rayland crossed his arms.

“I’m not much for scientific theories, but if the Xylar hit this place that hard, whatever’s down there matters.”

I looked toward Alara.

“Kian’s pressuring command for answers. Daren wants results. And now we’ve got aliens ripping apart lunar facilities looking for something under the moon itself.”

Rayland smirked slightly.

“Welcome to humanity’s worst week.”

Vhal nervously rubbed the back of his neck.

“You know… I used to complain about paperwork assignments.”

Alara suddenly turned toward all of us.

“Listen carefully.”

The room fell silent.

Her voice became lower.

More serious.

“We are beyond normal military operations now. If the Xylar are searching beneath the moon…” she paused briefly, “…then humanity may already be losing this war without realizing it.”

A chill ran through my spine.

Rayland suddenly looked toward me.

“You know Luke… for a kid in his twenties, you handle yourself better than most veterans.”

I shrugged slightly.

“Doesn’t feel that way.”

Rayland laughed quietly.

“You survived Delta-9’s massacre. Half Leon’s squad got wiped out during that ambush and you still fought your way out alive.”

His expression hardened slightly.

“That takes guts.”

I looked down at my rifle.

“No.”

I slowly tightened my grip around the weapon.

“It takes desperation.”

The room went silent again.

Finally I looked back toward them.

“I’m not dying here. Not while humanity still has a chance.”

Rayland coughed awkwardly.

“Well… damn.”

Before anyone could speak further—

Footsteps echoed from outside the chamber.

Everyone froze instantly.

Heavy.

Multiple.

Coming closer.

Alara immediately raised her pistol.

“Positions.”

The lights suddenly flickered.

I moved behind an overturned research table near the doorway while Rayland crouched behind a broken console with his sniper rifle ready. Vhal took cover beside a shattered support beam while Alara positioned herself directly near the entrance.

The footsteps stopped outside.

Then came voices.

Strange clicking alien speech.

Distorted.

Mechanical.

My helmet translator activated automatically.

“Search remaining sectors.”

Another voice answered.

“Clean all traces. No survivors.”

My breathing slowed.

The Xylar were right outside.

Then silence.

A horrible silence.

One of them knew.

I could feel it.

Then suddenly—

“Lifeforms detected.”

Everything exploded into chaos.

Blue plasma bolts tore through the doorway instantly, slamming into walls and sending molten metal spraying through the air. Alara fired back immediately, her pistol flashing repeatedly in the darkness.

“CONTACT FRONT!”

Rayland’s sniper rifle thundered.

One Xylar’s skull burst apart.

Another rushed through the doorway—

I rolled across the floor as plasma fire exploded behind me, the heat nearly burning through my armor. I raised my rifle mid-motion and fired directly into the alien’s chest.

The Xylar screamed violently before collapsing.

More poured into the chamber.

Vhal unleashed bursts from his pulse rifle while screaming incoherently from panic.

The room became deafening.

Gunfire.

Sparks.

Explosions.

Alien screams.

Warning sirens.

At one point a plasma bolt struck a nearby holographic projector, causing massive blue geological maps to flicker violently throughout the room.

For a brief second—

I saw it.

Deep beneath the moon.

A colossal structure.

Ancient.

Impossible.

Then the projector exploded.

The firefight continued relentlessly.

One Xylar lunged over cover directly toward me, claws extended from beneath its armor. I barely blocked the strike with my rifle before driving my combat knife upward beneath its jaw.

Blue blood splattered across my visor.

The alien collapsed on top of me.

Heavy.

Twitching.

Dead.

Finally—

Silence.

Smoke drifted through the chamber.

Bodies littered the floor.

The remaining holograms flickered weakly overhead.

My chest heaved violently as I pushed the dead Xylar off me.

Alara slowly lowered her weapon.

“Status?”

“Alive,” Rayland answered.

“Barely,” Vhal muttered.

I wiped blue blood from my visor and looked toward the fallen aliens.

Up close they looked even worse.

Their skin carried metallic veins beneath the surface, glowing faintly like circuitry fused directly into living tissue.

Not fully organic.

Not fully machine.

Then I noticed something beside one of the corpses.

A thin black tablet.

Strange glowing symbols moved across its surface endlessly.

The writing looked alive.

Shifting.

Changing.

I slowly picked it up.

The moment my hand touched it—

The symbols rearranged instantly.

My blood ran cold.

“Alara…”

She approached carefully.

“What is it?”

I handed her the tablet.

Her eyes narrowed immediately.

“I’ve never seen language like this before.”

Then suddenly—

The screen flashed red.

A symbol appeared repeatedly across the display.

Warning.

Warning.

Warning.

Vhal stepped backward nervously.

“Tell me that thing isn’t tracking us.”

Alara looked toward the doorway.

“We’re leaving. Now.”

No arguments followed.

We moved quickly through the damaged corridors toward the exit while alarms continued blaring throughout the facility.

The lights flickered harder now.

Almost like the station itself was dying.

As we reached the outer blast doors, Alara slammed her palm against the green access panel.

The massive metal doors slowly groaned open.

Cold lunar darkness stretched before us once more.

The dropship waited in the distance beneath the stars.

But something felt wrong.

Then I noticed it.

Far across the lunar horizon—

Lights.

Hundreds of them.

Moving.

Ships.

Xylar ships.

My stomach dropped instantly.

Alara saw them too.

“Run.”