Boarding the carrier the next morning was surreal.
Definitely not his first time stepping on this ship, but it was as overwhelming as it could have been.
He waited in line with other recruited workers going for the expedition until it was finally his turn.
He stepped closer to the guard who mechanically pointed a scanner at him…
–—–
[Designation: OX-6002009
Occupation: Engineer – Systems Maintenance
Level: Junior (Tier-1)
Clearance: C-Grade (Technical Access Only)
Performance Rating: Satisfactory (4/5)
Assigned Division: Frontier Operations Support
Augmentations: None Registered
Notes: Eligible for hazard deployment / transferable to expeditionary service]
———
"Correct?"
"Correct."
And the guard nodded at him and motioned to him to enter.
The ship was massive, corridors buzzing with activity as engineers, pilots, doctors, soldiers and others moved with practiced efficiency.
Orion kept to the corners, studying every detail.
The hull plating gleamed under the harsh lights; the communal areas were crowded with crew members checking supplies, briefing each other, or arguing quietly over rooms and seating assignments.
Most of the soldiers were tall, imposing figures, armed and clearly unconcerned with social niceties.
Orion's gaze lingered on a few engineers huddled over schematics, and it wasn't hard to tell who was there by choice or force by their unfocused look while nodding along with something they obviously weren't listening to.
Others, he recognized in them the same hunger for advancement, the same cautious excitement he felt.
But for now, he planned to just observe everyone and gain as much information as possible.
Over the first week of the several months-long flight, he barely left his cabin.
Mealtimes were his only interactions.
Fortunately for him he wasn't assigned any type of assignment.
During breakfasts and dinners, he enables to mix with other engineers while taking note of titbits information that might improve his chances of survival.
The rest of the time he immersed himself in learning more about ruins and learning basic self-defence arts and watching tactical scenario he could find.
He also gained basic knowledge on types of space creature and the most likely race that might attack them from the Mind flayers to goblins.
He spent days memorizing manoeuvrers, imagining responses to attacks he had never faced.
Some evenings were spent walking slowly along the corridors, studying the crew, noting patterns, and imagining how he might move among them in case of emergency.
Though his lack of actual combat experience was unfortunate he didn't let that stop him.
The carrier slipped out of the dark stretch of space with a deep shudder, its massive engines winding down to a steady hum.
***
On the command deck, the sound was felt more than heard... a vibration through boots on the polished alloy floor.
Outside, the stars stretched, blurred, then snapped back into clarity as the vessel steadied itself in orbit.
"Stabilizers at sixty percent… bringing it up now."
"Gravity plates holding. We're clear."
From his vantage near one of the observation rails, Orion took it in.
Ahead, six destroyers flared into formation, bristling with gunmetal armour.
Twelve smaller corvettes slipped into their escort pattern like darting fish.
Together, they formed a steel phalanx around the carrier... and carried with them almost five thousand souls. Soldiers, pilots, ruin explorers, engineers, etc. All breathing in anticipation.
He was about to turn around when he realized that there was an even bigger force behind them... However, they were disorganized and the largest ship they had were cargo ships.
'Mercenaries... ' Orion thought before turning to the planet.
***
*Command Bridge*
The planet below dominated the view.
Roughly the size of Erythra-9, its surface was a patchwork of dense green jungles and fractured highlands, wrapped in fog where sunlight broke apart on tangled vines.
The real prize wasn't the wilderness. It was the ruin.
Even from orbit, you could see it... streaks of shattered stone and ancient alloy cutting across the landscape, jagged scars of a civilization most likely long dead.
Towers slumped in weird shapes; half-buried structures sprawled under roots.
But what unsettled everyone was the static.
"No readouts," muttered the sensor chief, swiping through a dead display.
"Planetary interference is scrambling all scans. Some kind of… residual field?"
"Residual field?" The commander's voice was sharp. "This isn't a battlefield, Lieutenant. Be precise."
"It's… layered interference, sir... Ma. Could be residue from the planets field or it could be mechanical. But whatever it is, it's masking the surface and preventing us from getting a read out on the planet."
Orders went out.