I have never thought that one day I’ll be drowned in innumerable emotions, to the point my fingers tremble as if they’re not mine anymore.The last time I went through this feeling was the day Genvere opened for the first time, but it’s just nothing if I compare it with this moment. When aliens are attacking us with weapons that human beings don’t even know what they’re, the feeling of finding a way is unspeakable. I am overjoyed, blessed, shocked, and jealous at the same time, which combine into a sentence. “How can you do that?”But I don’t wait for Thuy’s answer, because I get my answer right after blurting it out. My brain suddenly works after the attack of adrenaline, allowing me to think again and leading me to the only possible reason for this. “Ah. I forgot that you’re the Queen of Luck.”Though it sounds like a funny nickname, Thuy’s title is real. Her extraordinary luck is absolutely miraculous and well-known in our school, and in this fucking era of multiple choices, Thuy i
At first, I didn’t recognize what it was.The first scene which catches my eye is a big room with a metal floor, and three huge glass-like cracked windows showing nothing outside. It is pure black, just like any normal scene coming from a science fiction movie. I am not attracted to this, because everything that draws my attention is the way to unlock the control panel. It’s the crucial part here. Nothing else.I’m trying to guess what the alien engineers thought when they created this spaceship. It’s time-consuming and patient-required. I have to make lots of ways, as much as possible, while the right arm—which is not broken—keeps on touching every single inch of the floating plate, to find something useful, shown clearly through lots of blood lines that my fingers left on the way.Where can the control panel be hidden?Aliens are not us. I have to forget all the usual methods of inference to think weirdly, as an alien does. Can this plate be the control panel? If not, why is it here
Wars follow humankind on their way to evolution.Before Christ, we had lots of wars in Egypt, Babylon, and the Hittite Empire, which were reflected in several famous comics which I don’t even read.The Roman Empire was in the spotlight for being involved in so many wars until the fall of the East Roman Empire in 1453 A.D.The Middle Ages was known for the Crusade.And the modern era shows us World War I and World War II, which everyone has already known after years in school.Differences and similarities are the main reasons that lead to wars. You’re afraid of something weird, ugly, unknown, and different from you, and then your instinct tells you to destroy that object to prevent any harm. That’s how war happens.No one wants war, or at least we ordinary people don’t. I am too.I don’t believe what the AI system’s voice said at first. I stand up again and look for a camera to check it out, thinking that it's just an error. I have a habit of taking photos of my opponents from behind,
Xeros 5M is never a good choice for face-to-face battles, especially for an unequal fight between a small spaceship and a huge battleship.Though its damage is perfect for long-range targets with a good motion detector, the cannon will break into pieces if we fire closer than the minimum distance. The weapon itself will become a disposable product—and it's a critical, deadly waste in fighting, which is usually prohibited (in Sky Force, at least).Because of that reason, not many players know that it was the muzzle that restricted Xeros' capacity, and it's just enough for an impressive headshot.First I move around the enemy battleship to check if it has anything related to my memories. Although it sounds ridiculous and crazy, I can't hold back thinking that this damn world might have some relation to Sky Force and… my spaceship design.We got a ship with all the functions of my Hurricane, now there is a battleship using something that looks exactly like the camouflage cover I have use
Actually I don't know what I'm thinking about, when I'm still lying on the metal floor and looking up at the electric sparks like a crazy guy.My head is aching, again.It feels like you met some fuckin' scary guys and they smashed you, at your head, with a hard brick. It was painful at first, but when they started changing their weapon into a block of metal, you…No.Now I just want to slam my head into something, or anything possible, to end this unbearable pain. I don't know if this pain comes from the weird substance which I got injected, but it is absolutely worse than the usual ones.For a moment my nervous system has stopped working. But just a second later, it starts, once again, thinking of some negative things like what I had to suffer in the past. They bloom in my chaotic mind as a call from hell, or an ugly hand waving me from the dark.The headache gets worse. Now it feels like someone is stirring my brain, and I can do nothing but bite the sleeve so as not to accidentall
Right after making a fragile bond between an unknown danger and a victim, that ‘danger’ picks me back to the control center because I can't walk.The lighting system couldn't escape the fate of being destroyed in the fight. We can't see light from outer space as well—maybe we have gone away from that cluster. The dim green light from the control panel is the only thing we can see in the dark, and it's obviously not enough.I slowly wave my hand on the floor to make sure that I'm not going to sit down on sharp metal pieces, then lean against the cold wall while Thuy comes closer to the control panel. Green light reflects her curious face when she stares at all the virtual keyboard, radar system, and the three-dimensional simulation—an expression which I can barely see on her cold face.“Looks great, right?” I ask her with a low voice but full of obvious pride. All the spaceships I designed in Sky Force follow the highest standards of aesthetics, so how could they be unimpressive?“Yeah
PART TWO: Not Home, No Home“Wake up already?”A morning light ray shines in my eyes at the same time I hear this voice. I'm confused for a moment, my sleepy brain hasn't started working yet. I just follow my instinct, turning my head at the place where the voice echoes. Sunlight goes across my skin, leaving some warmth, which makes me feel a little… unfamiliar?Huh?Why is it unfamiliar?“Why are you standing right there? Go and bring those trash bags to the outside. The garbage truck will be here later… Can't you hear me?” The voice appears in my ears again, bringing some anger as I don't pay attention to the content.I look up. My eyes open wide. And, though I don't know why, my mouth has opened and said what it wants.“Mom? Why are you here?”My mother is holding a handkerchief. It seems that she is going to clean the glass window which is covered with fog droplets. She looks back at me with a complicated expression, then she throws that handkerchief at me. That thin object doesn't
After that humanlike creature leaves, I look around the room and don't know what to do next.If describing my emotions now as something figurative, then I suggest calling it a mixture of an avocado, some pepper, and a cup of coffee. An inedible mixture, which is as weird as my emotions are.My situation may be the most hellish one ever in humankind's history. After being chased by drones, fighting against an alien battleship, I'm probably caged for the first time ever in my life.Yes, caged. No matter how prosperous my imagination is, I have never expected that one day I will be caught, or caged—if you prefer the second word.I have been a good citizen for eighteen years of my life. A really good one, I can swear on my honor that even if my three years old little brother was a criminal, I would never be. My body is just simply unqualified to be a criminal, so if I ain't the victim, then there's no way that I will be the culprit.Thinking again, the only serious crime that I have commit