Destiny Among the Stars - Scifi - LitRPG - Adventure

"He who fights monsters should be careful lest he thereby become a monster. And if you gaze long into an abyss, the abyss also gazes into you."
— Friedrich Nietzsche

His heads-up-display flared, screaming proximity alerts too late. He couldn't see his attacker, just faint edges, a blur of motion. He was stronger, faster and better trained.

I'm dead.

The blade pressed deeper, and he clawed desperately at the invisible arm around his throat. His vision started to blur as his air supply cut off.

A blur shot past his shoulder followed by sickening crunch. The weight vanished and Luca hit the floor hard, gasping.

Zoe stood over him, dagger dripping, her camo rippling off. The covert-ops Varnathi was twitching on the floor, a smear of violet-black blood across its neck.

[+17,145 XP]
[+6750 credits]

"Thanks," he said, his voice hoarse.

She offered a hand and pulled him to his feet. "Watch your six. They're hunting us now."

[Item acquired: Centauri Phantom PB-64 Silencer]
[Item acquired: Centauri Phantom Mk-64 Shin Guards]

He crouched beside the body, pulling the items from the loot box. A suppressor for the new plasma blaster and another piece of the Phantom armor set. "They're well-equipped," he said, handing her the shin guard.

The corridor stretched ahead into a wide chamber. Cool air poured out. The reactor room. In the center, a glowing core throbbed with a dull blue pulse. Two guards in reinforced armor paced near the control interface. Not Skirmishers. Heavier.

They split up without a word. Zoe took the left catwalk while he ghosted between coolant tanks on the right. She dropped behind one of the heavy guards, her dagger sinking in clean. The second one heard the muffled thud and turned. Too late. Luca slammed his tomahawk into the joint between its shoulder and neck. The guard collapsed.

[+22,860 XP]
[+9000 credits]

Zoe was already at the terminal. "I can cut the main feed from here," she said. "Emergency backups will last about twenty seconds, then total darkness."

He nodded. "How long until it reboots?"

"Five minutes. It's a failover protocol."

"Good. Once the power is out, they'll be blind, but only if we lock those doors first."

She met his gaze, her expression serious. "You better move fast."

"I will," he said. "Cut the lights on my signal. Not a second before."

"Understood."

He turned and sprinted for the stairwell, taking the steps two at a time. He hit the upper level, moving fast toward the first blast door.

His comms crackled. "Luca? You copy?" It was Ryan.

He tapped his side panel. "I'm here."

"Jesus," Ryan muttered, relief flooding his voice. "We lost your signal. Thought you were gone."

"Reactor room was deeper than we thought. We're handling it."

He reached the first panel and switched to Zoe's private channel. "In position."

Her reply was instant. "Ready."

He placed his hand on the panel. "Three. Two. One. Now."

The heavy bolts on the command center doors slammed shut. He heard a distant thrum as the reactor powered down. The lights went out. Everything went dark.

They reached the vent that overlooked the command center. He carefully removed the grate, peering down. It was dark, the only light from flickering emergency strobes and glowing consoles. The guards were still inside, their silhouettes moving restlessly.

"We have two minutes before the reactor reboots," he murmured, drawing his tomahawk.

Zoe made eye contact and nodded.

Luca activated [Ghost Protocol], forgoing the short burst of Active Camouflage for the long-haul invisibility this would require. Five minutes. It had to be enough, because the hour-long cooldown meant this was a one-way trip.

Zoe did the same, their armor's light-bending mesh engaging with a subtle shimmer. Because they were both in the same squad, his HUD showed him a slight outline of where she was, but that was it. They had five minutes.

Darkness was no obstacle now.

They dropped silently from the ventilation shaft into the pitch-black command center. The air was oppressive, thick with chemical haze and raw fear.

A burst of static filled his helmet, followed by Ryan's distorted voice. "-e losing -round here!-"

Luca activated [Heightened Awareness]. His interface now flooded with data, detecting dozens of panicked bodies trapped in the room with them. Officers and guards were stumbling blindly, their frantic, rasping breaths mingling with terrified curses.

Fifteen seconds. That's all he had to process it. Every angle and every threat.

A frantic burst of chittering erupted nearby. It was silenced by the wet, choking gurgle of Zoe's dagger finding its mark.

Time to work.

A guard stumbled past, waving his plasma rifle wildly. Luca moved, a silent rush of motion. He swung the tomahawk in an overhead arc. There was a sickening thud of steel meeting bone, a choked gasp, and a body hit the floor. No wasted energy or flashy moves.

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Twelve seconds.

Panic erupted like wildfire. The Varnathi scattered, bumping into consoles, walls, and each other in their frantic attempts to escape. They were rats trapped in a cage, clawing desperately at walls that offered no escape.

Another guard bumped into a console, cursing as he fumbled for a weapon. Zoe was there before he could even raise his rifle. A flash of her dagger, a gurgled scream cut short, and another body joined the growing pile.

Luca gripped his tomahawk tighter, muscles coiling as adrenaline surged. [Heightened Awareness] was still active, flooding his senses with brutal clarity. Every scream, every sob, every stumbling footstep echoed in his mind. His heartbeat thundered in his ears urging him forward.

The darkness amplified the sounds of the slaughter. The wet thwacks of their weapons connecting, the ragged gasps of the dying, the sickening splatter of blood. It was a mess of violence, and they were the conductors.

Ten seconds.

He surged through the chaos, his tomahawk sweeping in savage arcs. He felt each impact ripple up his arm, the blade biting through fabric, flesh, and bone. Blood sprayed warm across his armor. Each kill demanded exertion, his muscles burning with effort, his breath ragged as he pressed forward.

This is too easy. It's like they're lambs to the slaughter.

A young officer stumbled directly into his path, eyes wide with unseeing terror. Without hesitation, Luca swung the weapon sideways, right into his collarbone, feeling bone crunch under the blow. He screamed briefly and collapsed, convulsing weakly before falling still.

Eight seconds.

Even blind, they were dangerous. Plasma bolts lit up the room as they zipped through the dark. One hissed past his cheek. A Varnathi guard lashed out wildly, his clawed hands locking around Zoe's arm. He yanked her backward, bigger and stronger, raising an arm to strike.

No time to think.

Luca activated [Target Lock Assist]. The guard's heat signature flared, locking him in. Then, [Trajectory Focus]. His interface snapped the perfect throwing arc into place. He drew a sharp breath and released. The tomahawk tore through the air, burying itself into the guard's faceplate with a brutal, bone-crunching crack. The Varnathi crumpled.

Six seconds.

Zoe gave him a sharp, almost imperceptible nod before turning to the next threat.

The Varnathi were lost in their own fear, firing blindly. In the brief flashes of plasma, he saw the horror on their faces. This wasn't combat; it was a massacre. Nearby, Zoe moved with lethal grace, her face a dark mask of intensity, utterly merciless. Each motion was seamless, deliberate, deadly.

"-u- -oe, -atus!" The comms crackled, barely audible. He ignored it, his focus was absolute. Keep moving. Don't stop. Don't think. Just the two of them against a room full of enemies.

His tomahawk cleaved through armor joints into bone and flesh. Blood splattered against his suit, marking him. The metallic scent filled his nostrils, mingling with the chemical haze.

Two seconds.

His muscles screamed with exhaustion even as they moved. [Heightened Awareness] ran its course and started its cooldown. His HUD still had infrared and night vision. It was enough to finish this. He had to keep moving, for Ryan, Emily, Chris, Danny, and Joey, fighting for their lives outside and waiting for an opening.

A senior officer barked a command. Zoe silenced him swiftly, her dagger buried deep beneath his ribs. The guards' screams were deafening. From the corner, he heard frantic, pleading whimpers. A last burst of desperate chittering escaped one before his tomahawk silenced it forever.

It was pure, raw slaughter, devoid of honor. They were just terrified prey trapped with predators they couldn't see. His heart hammered painfully, each breath raw in his throat, his body aching yet driven onward by the grim necessity of the mission.

Finally, as the last cries faded, the reality settled with crushing weight. His chest heaved, lungs burning.

He stood amid the carnage, blood dripping from his weapon.

He flicked on his flashlight.

The command center was a scene of absolute devastation. Bodies were strewn across the floor, twisted at unnatural angles. It was a butcher's shop. And they were the butchers.

What the hell just happened? What did I just do?

Zoe stood opposite him, her chest rising and falling rapidly, her face pale in the beam of his light. Her armor was soaked in red.

Their eyes locked across the devastation. The silence was louder than the screams. He could still hear them echoing in his head. The pleading, the terror, the wet sounds of his weapon finding its mark. His throat felt raw, like he'd been screaming, though he couldn't remember making a sound. He was out of breath.

She spoke first, her voice tight and breathless. "Well…that was intense."

Intense didn't even begin to describe it. He swallowed thickly, tasting bile. His legs felt unsteady. "We need to get the others." He had to say something practical, anything to anchor himself back to reality.

Zoe nodded slowly, mechanically sheathing her blade. "Right. Let's finish this."

He looked at the body at his feet, a young officer. His eyes were still open, staring at nothing. Luca's stomach twisted again. "Fuck," he whispered to the silence. "What did we just do?"

[+194,310 XP]
[+76,500 Credits]
[Skill Level up! Ambush Tactics Proficiency Level 8 -> Level 9]
[Skill Level up! Close Quarters Proficiency Level 8 -> Level 9]
[Skill Level up! Silent Movement Proficiency Level 9 -> Level 10]
[Ability Unlocked: Silent Step]
Effect: Temporarily increases stealth by suppressing movement noise completely for 10 seconds.
Cooldown: 5 minutes, reduced by 10% per level after Level 10

Shit.

Emily's voice cracked in over comms, breathless and worried. "Uh… are you guys okay? We just got a shitload of shared XP."

The distant sound of combat jolted Luca from his stupor. The mission wasn't finished. His team was still fighting. The rush of responsibility cleared his mind, pushing back the encroaching darkness.

He turned to Zoe. She stood a few steps away, drenched in blood, her expression unreadable. But he saw the same hollowed-out shock in her eyes that he felt in his own chest.

"We should get the others," he said hoarsely. "Before reinforcements show up."

As if on cue, the reactor timer expired. The main lights flickered back on with a loud thud, revealing the full extent of the carnage. Even knowing what they'd done, he still flinched. Blood painted the floors, the walls and the consoles.

Zoe didn't say anything. She just sheathed her dagger with a mechanical motion and moved toward the door control panel. The unspoken horror hung between them, a heavy, suffocating weight.

He moved to the terminal, the system now rebooting. One by one, the armored door locks blinked green. He started working on the override, and Zoe slid in beside him, her movements economical and silent. He hit the controls, and the main doors slid open with a hiss.

Ryan, Emily, Danny, Chris, and Joey rushed in, weapons raised. They froze. Their movements faltered, their eyes widening in horror as they took in the scene.

The silence stretched. Ryan was the first to lower his weapon, his face pale, jaw working like he was trying to find words that wouldn't come. Danny, who'd seen his share of violence, looked sick. His eyes swept the carnage once, then fixed on the floor, refusing to look again.

Joey had gone completely white, his weapon trembling slightly. "Jesus Christ," he whispered, then immediately looked like he regretted speaking.

Chris just stared, his expression unreadable, but Luca caught him swallowing hard.

Emily's eyes, however, were fixed on Luca and clouded with concern and a definite hint of fear. She took a step towards him, her hand reaching out as if to make sure he was real, then stopped herself. Her gaze flicked to the blood on his armor, the gore clinging to his tomahawk, then back to his face.

"Luca," she said, her voice barely a whisper. "Are you... okay?"

He looked down at his suit, at the dark, viscous fluid that stained the fabric and the gore that clung to his tomahawk. When he looked back up, he saw something in Emily's eyes he'd never seen before. Was it uncertainty? Like she wasn't sure who she was looking at.

"It's not my blood," he said, his voice flat and distant. He met her eyes, and for a moment, he saw her recoil, just slightly.

"Command center secured," he reported to the room, his voice echoing unnaturally in the quiet. He had to focus on the mission. On anything else. "Get in here and lock this place down. We need to secure this room for ten minutes."

The team snapped back into motion. Ryan moved first, his eyes lingering for a half-second too long on the bodies before he crossed to the nearest console. Emily followed, quieter than usual. Danny, Chris, and Joey took up positions at the inner doors, shaken but falling back on their training.

Luca checked a monitor and saw the power levels stabilizing. Then he spotted the signal. "Shit," he muttered. "They got a distress beacon out. We don't have much time."

Just as he said it, a shrill alarm began to wail. Red emergency lights pulsed, and the low hum of machinery ramped up.