This begins the rewrite of Part 1 of this story, which is ~100,000 words in 12 chapters. I'll be fixing normal continuity issues and plot holes. My fellow writers know all about this. Chapters should be coming out fairly quickly. Once that's done, I'll start writing Part 2.

For my new readers, thanks for checking this story out. It was an idea I had for a while, and I decided to finally delve into it. I read every review and really appreciate the input, so please leave a few as you go through this.

*In size order: Company-Battalion-Brigade-Division

Hyrule: Year 3000

Chapter 1

Link

"Company command, I have eyes on the target." I whispered into my radio. "Requesting clearance for preemptive strike."

Once again, I was met with deafening silence. My initial fears that something had happened to the rest of the company were starting to become more believable. I had to continue to hold on to the hope that it was a radio malfunction on their end, though.

You know it's not a radio malfunction.

I ignored the voice, as I always did, and peered through the scope of my Supernova Model 4 sniper rifle. The captain of this cruiser was behind four walls, but I had come prepared with a magazine full of penetrator rounds. The multi-stage bullet would blast through eight individual walls, shredding off a piece of itself each time. I wasn't sure how the engineers had cooked this one up, but I had used it judiciously since its invention. The results were absolutely devastating on enemy morale.

The radio silence continued, so I decided to act on my own. The company mission was to take control of this King's Collective cruiser and transport it to a nearby Hylian Navy military checkpoint, where it would be repurposed. I was supposed to provide overwatch for the company that was raiding the vessel, but they were yet to be seen. I had heard a loud explosion several minutes ago, and I was beginning to worry that they had been ambushed. The plans for this raid could have been written up by a 10 year old, so it wouldn't surprise me.

I unloaded my rifle and took the penetrator round out of the chamber. Carefully, I pried off four of the explosive tips, and then popped the primer off the back of the cartridge. After pouring half of the gunpowder out, I put the primer back on and reloaded the round. The armorers back in the main force would throw a fit if they knew what I had just done, but I didn't particularly care.

Should leave enough energy to penetrate all four walls and then break the captain's ribs if he's wearing body armor. If not… Well, at least I tried.

I couldn't stand killing. It made me sick. Maybe it was because I had spent five years in some form of combat-arms jobs, but I had killed too many people. This was a civil war, and each time I pulled the trigger it was another Hylian life I was taking. These people may have had different ideals and beliefs, but we all grew up under the banner of the Hylian Empire. They didn't deserve to die for believing differently than me. They just needed to commit to peaceful solutions rather than violence.

Peace requires constant vigilance, I suppose. I thought to myself. But that doesn't mean I can't give this guy a chance.

I breathed in and out steadily, slowing my heart rate. There was more activity in the bridge now. People were running back and forth, but the captain remained still. That was how I had initially spotted him amongst the crowd of red blobs in my scope.

There wouldn't be this much activity in the bridge if they didn't know we were here. I need to take the shot.

I pulled the trigger slowly, feeling the first break and holding. Two stages, two breaks, and then the rifle would fire. I exhaled slowly, aiming a couple centimeters high of my center-mass target to account for the gunpowder I had poured out. It wouldn't matter much more than that at this short range, but I couldn't just ignore it.

Just over fifty meters. Too easy.

I squeezed the trigger.

Suddenly, the whole ship rocked, and a shock wave blasted down the hall. My shot was already away.

What the hell was that?!

Through my scope, I saw the captain soar several meters across the bridge and collapse in the corner. Whatever the explosion was, the Collective pilots obviously hadn't been expecting it, and my shooting of their leader further complicated their situation. Now was the time to act. I switched to my battalion-level radio frequency.

"Ghost to Hawk-6, all radio contact with company has been lost. I'm in a position to capture the bridge. Please advise."

It should have taken several seconds for battalion command to even receive my message, but they responded immediately.

"Hawk-6 to Ghost, the company was ambushed and vented from the ship. You're on your own in there. We'll stop firing until you figure out a way to get out of there."

Several thoughts went through my head at once. First, they thought that we had all been killed, but hadn't bothered to actually confirm that the amount of bodies being vented actually matched the number of Hylians on the Collective ship. Second, they had started firing on the ship that I was still on, despite the fact that they lacked that knowledge. Third, rather than trying to recover their ambushed sailors, battalion command had placed higher priority on destroying a relatively unimportant enemy cruiser.

"Ghost to Hawk-6, what the hell are you guys thinking? I'm going to take the bridge. Go get those sailors while they can still be recovered."

"Negative, Ghost. It's already past twelve minutes. They're gone. Find a way to escape."

I had gotten in trouble for debating the commander's plan beforehand, but it had been completely useless. He was keeping the whole company together rather than splitting into four platoons and raiding the ship from different points. That was the worst raid idea I had ever seen. Any officer worth his salt should have known that raiding a ship from a single entrance point was certain death. I could think of at least twenty different ways to stop the enemy from doing that on my own, should they ever be stupid enough to try.

I would have to save my reaction for later. The crewmembers were still reeling from the impact of the Hylian destroyer's main cannon, so I needed to clear the bridge now.

I waited in silence for a moment as a squad of infantrymen passed below me. My helmet kept others from hearing me speak, but I had never been able to completely trust technology if I couldn't confirm its effectiveness with my own five senses.

"Hawk-6, I need confirmation that the main pilot on these cruisers sits in the second seat on the port side of the ship." I said.

"Affirmative, Ghost. What are you planning?"

I was hoping to avoid this.

I sighed, knowing that the time to spare lives was over. I quickly scanned the bridge with my thermal scope, counting fifteen people including the downed captain. This was standard operating procedure for the Collective. I had ten rounds in a regular magazine. The captain was likely going to remain as he was, and I wouldn't be shooting the main pilot. That left thirteen people that I needed to dispose of before I could safely enter the bridge. If I left the bullet in the chamber and then added another to the magazine to replace the one I had just fired, that was eleven rounds total.

Thirteen people, eleven rounds. If I had to change magazines, people would slip through the cracks.

This could be interesting.

"Hawk-6, I'm moving into the bridge now. Stand by for confirmation of mission success. If ten minutes pass, assume mission failure and continue firing. Ghost out."

After that, I turned off my radio and screwed a suppressor onto my rifle's barrel. The rifle wouldn't have cycled properly if I had used it with the underpowered round a few minutes ago, but now I could go silent. I looked back to confirm that my optical camouflage was still working. There was a lot of commotion going on down the hall, which helped cover the sound of me unloading the magazine and replacing the round I had fired.

Back to front, left to right. I told myself. That was my system for clearing bridges. The guards always stood by the doors, so moving from back to front eliminated them first. Going left to right was just to make sure I didn't miss anyone. It was something I had been taught in sniper school.

The first two guards dropped so quickly that nobody had time to react. The third guard went down almost immediately afterwards, just as he started to turn around. I made a mental note of where the main pilot was.

Good, he hasn't left his seat.

These were well-trained sailors. If the pilot left his seat, the enemy ships would likely move in to attack.

I found my opportunity to save a round. The weapons system commander stood up and attempted to dive for cover, momentarily lining up with another crewmember who had kept his seat. I put a bullet through both of them.

I rapidly worked through the rest of the room. The assistant pilot made the same mistake as the weapons commander, and earned a quick death along with the life support commander.

When my magazine ran empty, the only two people still alive were the captain and the pilot. Furthermore, it looked as if my suppressed Supernova hadn't attracted any attention from the crewmembers scrambling around the hallways below me. I switched my radio back on, signaling battalion command.

"Ghost-five to battalion command, the bridge is clear. The pilot is alive and unharmed, and the captain is potentially mortally wounded. Will confirm momentarily. How copy?"

"Solid copy, Ghost-five. What's the status of the rest of the ship and its occupants, over?"

"They appear unaware of my presence. I'm going into the bridge now."

I leapt from my hiding position in the rafters and hugged the wall. The optical camouflage I had been provided with was nearly perfect, but couldn't help me if someone ran into me in the middle of the hallway.

The door to the bridge was sealed, as expected. I tied a small door breaching charge to the handle, and then stepped back. Five seconds later, the charge blew the door to pieces, sending an ear-splitting shriek through the corridors as it was forcibly ripped from its frame. I hooked my rifle to the magnetic strip on my back and unholstered my handgun.

I ran into the long hallway and shot the fire sprinkler on the ceiling, which automatically sealed the thick fire door behind me. It was a fundamental flaw in the system of the Skirmish Cruiser models, which I had long ago learned to exploit. The local fire doors were connected to the sprinkler system, rather than controlled by a "dumb" AI. Now nobody could get into the bridge without hefty explosives.

There was another door at the end of the hallway that I knew would open into the bridge itself. I placed another breaching charge and activated it, holding my handgun at the ready.

The door was blown off its hinges, and I stormed into the bridge. The pilot had finally stood up and taken cover, and tried to shoot me with his sidearm. I placed a shot across the barrel, disabling the weapon immediately.

"Sit." I said, pointing my handgun at his face. He looked defiant for a moment, but finally did as I instructed. I noticed that the cruiser was pointed at the Hylian destroyer, now visible as a dot in the distance.

"If you so much as think of sending a shot towards that destroyer, I'll make sure you die the slowest, most painful death possible. Open the hangar doors and step away from the console."

The pilot glanced at a rifle one of the fallen guards had been holding. I fired a round into its trigger group to make my point clear.

"You wouldn't make it halfway there before I shot out your knees." I said. "For your own sake, don't do it. I don't want to have to kill you."

He pressed a few buttons, and Battalion command came over the radio.

"That did it, Ghost. Get him to call a stand-down so we don't have to do a full scale raid of the interior."

I walked up behind the pilot, placing the warm barrel of my handgun against the back of his neck.

"You can spare a lot of lives today by making your crew stand down, or I can vent the entire ship. What will you do?" I asked, hoping he wouldn't call my bluff. I had no idea how to vent the cruiser's atmosphere.

I could feel his rage even while standing behind him.

"Piss off. You'll have to kill me before I order a stand-down." He growled. "The Collective will never surrender to the oppressors."

I sighed, wishing he would just cooperate for a few more minutes.

"You do realize that we don't torture Collective prisoners of war." I said, holstering my handgun. "I don't know what kind of propaganda you guys see, but I've been to the camps, and they're not what you're expecting."

It was the truth. Hyrule had made every effort to bring the King's Collective back under Hylian rule peacefully.

The pilot ignored me. He probably expected me to kill him. Fortunately, I had other methods, although I hated resorting to this almost as much as I hated killing people. I closed my eyes for a moment and extended my magical energy outwards, finding the pilot's aura. With very little effort, I overpowered his will, and took control.

"Order the stand-down." I said, my voice resonating throughout the bridge.

Like a zombie, the pilot turned on the intercom and spoke into the microphone.

"All crew members be advised, we are being captured by a Hylian destroyer. Initiate code white. I repeat, initiate code white. Do not attempt to fight." He said.

"Hawk-6, the crew should be standing down or in confusion. Now is the time to board."

"Roger, Ghost. You can meet up with one of our boarding parties to return home. Good work. Hawk-6 out."

I breathed a sigh of relief and let the pilot slip into unconsciousness. At least he wouldn't have to live with the guilt of making the decision to order his crew into surrender. I had forced him to.

I can give you more power than that. You need me. Let me show you.

I ignored the voice again and took a moment to reflect on the entire company that had just been lost because of a bad plan. Fortunately I hadn't taken the time to get to know any of them, but it was still a devastating loss.

The blame game would have to wait, though.

…

When the boarding craft landed back at home base, I was met by practically the whole division. I shuddered as I looked at them out the window. They always did this when I came back from a particularly close call.

I wish they'd just ignore me. I thought, putting my hood up. I wore a black cloak on top of my optical camouflage cloak simply because it had become a thing among the sniper teams. It gave us an air of mystery and a little bit of freedom to move around unnoticed once we uncovered our faces. As long as nobody saw us take the cloaks on or off, they wouldn't think twice about our uncloaked appearance. It had the added effect of preventing lone wolf Collective terrorists from identifying who we were.

The gathered crowd erupted into cheering and applause when I stepped off the ship. The on-ship press had completely blown my exploits out of proportion, and these men viewed me as a hero. I didn't want that title, but it was an unfortunate consequence of all the high stakes missions I had pulled off. To them, I was simply known as "The Ghost."

I hope they haven't forgotten what we lost back there. All of Alpha Company wiped out, and they're sitting here cheering for me like nothing happened.

The battalion commander was standing at the front of the crowd, smiling.

"Welcome home, Link." He said, shaking my hand vigorously. "Come see me in my office once you get cleaned up and have a meal. I need you to testify about the events of the raid so I can write the report. I also have a couple things for you."

I stared at him with open contempt, but shook his hand anyways. This wasn't the place for me to disagree with his approving this ridiculous raid plan. He couldn't see my face anyways.

"I'll be there in an hour, sir." I said, letting go of his hand and walking away.

The Navy and all of its damn paperwork.

He knew I was displeased, although I doubt he knew about what. Most good officers didn't bother questioning the snipers. They simply listened. The crop of idiots directly above me was a special kind of stupid, though. The fact that this moronic single-entrance raid had passed battalion without being questioned was proof of that.

I walked back to my room and locked the door. The bright side of being a sniper was that we all lived alone and could practically do whatever we wanted. If I lived in the barracks downstairs, I would have gone crazy long ago.

I threw my Supernova on the bed and took off my black cloak. It took several minutes, but I was able to remove my full-body TALOS exosuit. It was an old invention, but it worked well. The "Tactical Assault Light Operator Suit." It certainly lived up to its name. Something about an old Nordic god of war.

I put my cloak back on to hide my face and left the room again, listening for it to lock behind me. A quick trip to the cafeteria and a hastily eaten meal later, I found myself standing in front of the battalion commander's door.

Lt. Col. Breaker

Hylian Navy

Commander, 1-133rd Assault Battalion

How did he even make it this high in the ranks? I thought, baffled as I looked at the plaque outside his door.

"Link!"

I felt a pat on my back, and the commander walked around me. He put his hand on the door, and it unlocked for him.

"Please, come in." He said, holding the door open for me. "Do you like whiskey? You deserve some."

"No thanks. Don't use my name outside your office." I muttered, leaving my hood up as I passed him and entered the room. It was petty of me, but I wanted Colonel Breaker to know I was displeased with him. As the door shut behind me, I removed my hood.

"Well then, I suppose we should get straight to your account of what happened, but I'm already getting preliminary reports that you're responsible for the deaths of thirteen enemy officers and the capture of several hundred men, including the captain of the vessel. That's a damn good job, if I do say so myself. Especially given the circumstances."

I didn't respond.

"Please have a seat." The commander said, motioning to the chair across from his desk. I did as he asked, albeit slightly grudgingly.

"Look, I understand you must be upset." He said to me. "I certainly am, and I wasn't even on that ship. But I need you to talk to me about what happened while it's fresh in your head. I'm sure you know how important that is. Normally this would be the company commander's job, but… Well, I'm next in line."

"I'm well aware." I said. It only took several minutes, but I told him everything that happened from the time I boarded ahead of the company through one of the weapons systems. Once I had finished, he looked up at me.

"I think I've got everything you said."

"Good. Can I go now, please?" I asked, purposely not calling him sir. It was another small pleasure.

The commander looked at me for a moment, and then scratched the back of his neck. He was nervous.

"In a moment. I need to talk to you about a few things first."

"Yes?"

"Well, it's about PR." He started.

He didn't just say that.

"I just had an entire company wiped out during a simple raid and capture mission, save for one sniper. This is a career-ender for someone of my rank."

This is NOT happening.

"So what needs to happen is for your report to reflect that this was a complete accident. It was nobody's fault. After all, what I'm hearing is that there was an explosion in the large room that the company entered. Who knows what set it off?"

"Hell no." I said, staring him straight in the eyes.

"You misunderstand. This isn't a one-sided-"

"No. I'm not lying to cover for you." I said, cutting him off. "It was your incompetence that allowed this to happen. You were the one who approved the plan for an entire company to enter from the same spot on that cruiser, which set them up for a trap. It was likely that a fire was started and then the room was flooded with oxygen, which meant that the cruiser's officers knew they were being boarded from a central location and purposely blew up that room."

I could tell I was spot on with my guess. The commander shifted uncomfortably in his seat.

"The blood of Alpha Company is on your hands." I continued. "And you have the gall to bring me in here and ask me to cover for you? You think that even if I could pull that off in my report, I would? I have absolutely no obligation to do so. In fact, it's quite the opposite. I have an obligation to make sure that you never command a single sailor ever again."

"Well that's fine, but I have this stack of papers here." He said, keeping surprisingly cool. I looked down at the papers and scowled.

"Tear them up. I don't want that." I said.

"You know what this is?" He asked.

"Yes, that's a nomination for the Hero of Hyrule medal. Are you trying to bribe me into silence with a nomination for the highest award for valor in the Empire? As if I would even deserve something like that after submitting a false report."

"You could call it bribery, but I prefer to think of it as negotiation." The commander replied.

"I won't take your bribe. Not only is that illegal, it's immoral. I didn't earn that medal, and I could never take it in good conscience. Nor could I lie about your incompetence in a report to division. Furthermore, submitting this award would give away my identity to the masses."

"You'll be set for life. You won't need to be in the military anymore."

"Absolutely out of the question."

"Then how about you consider this an act of good faith?" The commander asked, organizing the papers and putting them in a folder. He opened a box on the wall and slid them into a chute. "Now they're submitted, because I think you deserve the award regardless. So does the rest of your chain of command. Give it some time to think about the report, and then submit it at your leisure within the next three days. I won't see it. I'm sure you know reports like this go straight up to the division staff, not me."

"You're a disgusting bastard." I said, standing up and walking towards the door. "And you're not going to get away with this. I'll report that award as fraudulent myself if I have to."

With that, I flipped my hood up and walked out, slamming the door behind me.

Sweet goddesses, a corporal swearing at the battalion commander and slamming the door in his face? What's gotten into me?

…

I gave up trying to sleep that night. As exhausted as I was, I couldn't stop thinking about the men in the company that had been lost. I supposed it wasn't entirely the battalion commander's fault. Maybe he was trying to show support for the company commander's idea, and didn't think the consequences would be as grave as they were. That being said, asking me to lie on a report was inexcusable. I wrote it and submitted it to the division commander the exact same way I had told it to Lieutenant Colonel Breaker. No padding, no missing details, just facts.

It's above my head now. I thought to myself, feeling like a burden had been lifted off my chest. I had even included a small part asking that my consideration for the Hero of Hyrule Medal be removed. I wasn't going to mess around with that.

As for what to do with the rest of my time, I had no idea. I had received an email notifying me that I had been granted a month of paid leave by the brigade commander due to the amount of time I had spent in combat during the past year. That meant that I was expected to leave the ship and chill out on a planet somewhere away from the chaos of space. But where could I go?

Early in the morning, there was a knock at my door. I woke up startled more by the fact that I had fallen asleep than anything else. I grabbed my handgun and hid it behind the door as I opened it. There was a private standing outside with a tablet in hand.

"Hi there, my name is Private Hedon. I'm with the 453rd Press Company. I was hoping you had a few minutes to talk about yesterday's events and your nomination for the Hero of Hyrule Medal."

"Do you realize how early it is?" I asked, realizing this private must be nervous to talk to me. I decided I didn't care, and the fact that he knew about the nomination pissed me off even more thoroughly.

"It's 0730." He said. "Muster was an hour and a half ago. I was expecting you to be awake. It's also when my platoon sergeant told me to come find you."

"Well do me a favor and wake your platoon sergeant up to interview him early in the morning next time he gets back from a combat mission." I replied.

"Corporal, I just have a few questions and they'll kill me if I go back empty-handed." Private Hedon said with a hint of desperation in his voice.

"Then buy a couple cups of coffee and hand them out to your officers. They'll spare your life." I started closing the door.

"You were approved for the award by the division commander first thing this morning. Are you aware of that?"

I froze with the door halfway shut.

"I…what?" I asked, dumbfounded. "How?"

"It was announced over the intercom this morning at muster." Private Hedon said. "It's going up to the Secretary of the Navy and then the Hylian Council. Do you have a few words you'd like to say about it?"

"No, absolutely not." I said, shutting the door in his face.

Goddesses, why me?

This wasn't what I wanted at all, and it was about to completely blow my cover and purpose for being in the military. I had goals that required me to remain completely hidden, posing as a simple sniper. Even if I didn't have ulterior motives to all this, I wouldn't want recognition. I was just doing my job.

But now even if the Secretary of the Navy disapproved the award, I would be receiving a Bronze Star. But he had never disapproved the award in the past. So once it cleared him, the Hylian Council would vote on it. If they struck the incident down as not deserving of the Hero of Hyrule Medal, I would get a Silver Star. If they passed it, the award would go to the Queen herself for final approval. She was quite selective, and rejections would lead to the granting of the Combat Cross, which was the second highest award in the military.

Regardless, now I would have to make a trip to the home planet, Castle, to attend Council hearings on the incident. If I were actually to be awarded the highest medal, I would receive it directly from the queen herself.

Oh no.

No.

This can't be happening. I specifically asked to not be nominated for this. The division commander doesn't even know me. Why would he do this?

I opened my emails to see if I had been sent anything about this. Sure enough, there were notifications from the brigade and division commanders.

From: Colonel Ozcar, Jackson

Subject: Hero of Hyrule Medal Approval

Corporal White

I have approved your nomination by your battalion commander for the Hero of Hyrule Medal due to your outstanding service, bravery in the face of death, and your determination to complete the mission, no matter the circumstances.

Best of luck to you!

Col. Ozcar

The second one was from the division commander at 5 in the morning.

From: Brigadier General Calrin, William

Subject: Hero of Hyrule Medal Approval

Corporal White

Your nomination for the Hero of Hyrule Medal has been approved. I am currently directing it towards the Secretary of the Navy. Please don't make plans for your month of leave. Come by my office near the bridge today for more info.

Brig. Gen. Calrin

This was like my worst nightmare. Except way worse.

…

"Son, I don't know what to tell you. The fact is that even up at my level, I've heard of your amazing accomplishments. Half of them I refuse to believe until I read the reports and watch the helmet cam videos."

The division commander was an older man. Probably in his fifties by now. Unlike my useless battalion commander, this man had clearly earned his position. He was an absolute brute, with arms nearly as big as my torso and a mind sharper than a razor.

"Sir, I don't want this. Is there any way you can rescind it at this point?"

"Absolutely not. And I wouldn't even if I could, because I've submitted five of these in my time and every single one of those guys gave me the same sob story. You're no different."

I sighed, but didn't let my frustration show. This wasn't just my battalion commander, and I would have my ass handed to me the second I showed him attitude.

"Furthermore, the Secretary approved the award a few minutes before you walked in. It's already sitting on the Council's agenda, and will probably be voted on within a week."

I closed my eyes and exhaled slightly, fuming to myself.

"Sir, really-"

"Your argument is useless." General Calrin said, cutting me off. "Now cut it out. What's going to happen is that you're going to Castle tomorrow. You can save your month of leave for later, and I'll even double it for you. But when that Council votes, you'll be standing there to receive the results."

I was baffled. This was all so sudden. Despite that, I couldn't show it, as a general had just all but told me to stop whining.

"Yes, sir." I said finally. I didn't have to be happy about this, but I would have to accept it.

"That's what I like to hear." General Calrin said, patting me on the back. "I know you don't believe it, but it's an honor for me to serve with men like you. When this happens… well, it makes it all worth it. I just wish every man in the Navy were like you. This war would be over in no time, and we could all go home."

I looked down at my lap. He was right; I didn't believe it all. I couldn't.

"Thank you, sir. I just wish…" I started, but cut myself off. I knew better than to complain about the lower chains of command to him.

"Go ahead. You've earned the right to say whatever it is."

I sighed.

"Did you read my report about my company and battalion commanders?" I asked, hoping I wasn't overstepping my bounds. Jumping the chain of command this far up was a bold, extremely rude step.

"Of course I did." He said. "I'm taking care of it. Don't worry, this won't happen again. And I certainly won't let it affect your award, although I feel certain that's not what you're worried about."

"Correct, sir." I said. "I just witnessed an entire company get wiped out by poor planning and leadership. I couldn't care less about how that affects an award."

The general nodded, and then motioned me to the door.

"Well, unfortunately I don't have enough time to talk with you more about this." He said. "You're free to leave for Castle anytime, as long as you leave now."

"Lastly, if you meet the Queen," He looked over the top of his glasses at me, "Make a good impression. She's single, and around your age. I've also heard she's partial to us Navy folk."

I chuckled a little at that.

"The dreams of an old man living vicariously through his younger sailors, sir?" I asked jokingly.

"Ha!" The general laughed loudly. "Get out of my office, you idiot. I should have you hanged for speaking of our queen so loosely."

I allowed a grin to creep across my face, and saluted. The commander returned my salute, and I left the office. Having received my task, I decided to waste no time packing and soon found myself heading down to the docking bay. Once there, I checked in to the front desk. Within minutes a friendly pilot who looked no older than myself greeted me.

"Corporal White, I'm your ride." He said, shaking my hand. "It's only a couple hours to Castle from here, so it won't be a rough journey. It's great to finally know who you are."

I privately lamented the fact that my cover had been completely blown, but I knew there was nothing I could do about it. The masses didn't know my true secret, and that was what really mattered.

I boarded the passenger ship he had flown down to meet me and looked around at my home through the window. Who knew how long I would be gone? This was such a sudden, abrupt turn of events that I couldn't quite wrap my mind around it.

"You ready to go?" The pilot asked. I nodded, and he pressed the launch button.

In just a few minutes, I found myself drifting away from the destroyer and into open space. The pilot gassed the engine, punched in a few coordinates, and before I knew it we were headed towards Castle at several hundred times the speed of light.

The real adventure was only just now beginning.

…

Please review! I'm always interested in what my readers have to say.

Updated Aug 14th, 2016