"Captain! There's been a breach at Section E-14!" Mark's voice boomed through Serena's communication device in her ear. "One of the scientists has been injured and three unknown beings have entered the ship."
Serena gritted her teeth, almost cursing out loud. Ever since they landed on Planet X-013, things had been going wrong. First, their radar and barrier systems had gone down.
And now there had been a breach at one of the ship's labs, one of the worst possible places for them. There were dangerous samples in the labs that definitely did not need to get out.
Especially in an environment they had no knowledge of. This was not how she expected her first major exploration mission as the leader to go. Something was definitely up.
Whether it was the planet's doing or something else was still unknown.
"Have all personnel leave the area and get the scientist to the medical bay! I'm coming to check damages." Serena finally ordered as she pressed her communication device. She then clicked on another button of her communication device to speak to everyone. "This is a Code Red. All units are to be on stand by and immediately report any suspicious movements."
She didn't bother waiting for a response, turning to the A.I. system integrated into the ship's command center. "Lisa, lock down Area E in two minutes time and prepare escape pods for sudden departure."
It was a worst case scenario, but she had to be prepared for it. The thirty people aboard the Delta Spaceship were all in her care and she had to make sure nothing bad happened to them.
If the intruders were hostile, at least she could be assured that her crew would be able to escape the ship and make their way back home safely.
"Understood." A robotic female voice responded. "Beginning lockdown of Area E…"
With that, Serena grabbed her gun lying on the chair next to her and exited the command center. She raced through the hallways of the ship, passing a few crew members preparing for a ship lockdown.
Red lights flickered overhead along with a wailing siren, alerting everyone of the possible danger within the ship. As she ran, her eyes scanned every inch of the ship, her gun raised into a firing position, ready for any possible attacks.
Within two minutes, she was in Area E just as Lisa had locked it down. The place was completely silent compared to the chaos a door away. All Serena could hear was the sound of her breathing and the pounding of her own heart.
This wasn't the first time she'd seen a ship breach during an exploration mission, but the same feeling stayed with her every time. The sense of danger and need to protect others gripped her.
Her mind was on overdrive as her eyes searched for any damages. But as she walked, there were no signs of intruders or forced entry.
Every section of Area E seemed to be perfectly fine as she checked each lab. Something gnawed at the back of her brain, telling her something wasn't right.
Mark had told her that three unknown beings had entered Section E-14. Yet there was no sign of movement into other sections of Area E. What was the purpose of the breach if not to get into the ship.
Or was the report false?
No, there was no way that could be true. Mark was her trusted first lieutenant, by her side since she had entered the space military academy fourteen years ago.
They'd been trusted friends for years, even taking another step in their relationship recently. Mark had even taken a bullet for her more than once, so why would he betray her now?
He had no reason to do that. They were each other's missing piece. Besides, the report stated someone was injured. There was no way Mark could fake that.
Serena shook her head, hand gripping her gun tighter, as she finally made her way to Section E-14. Unlike the dimly lit places of the other sections, this place was completely dark, everything pitch black.
Thankfully, her eyes were able to quickly adjust due to the night vision contacts everyone was required to wear. It meant wandering in the dark was a problem because she didn't want to alert the intruders by using a flashlight.
The scent of electricity and burnt copper filled the air as she carefully entered the area, putting her on edge. She glanced around the area finding a burnt wire on one of the counters.
Strange… Serena thought to herself. Why is there a burnt wire there?
As she mused to what could be the reason, she kept searching the lab noticing a small stream of light appeared from the corner of the room. The sight made her frown.
That was where the escape hatch was in this lab if she remembered the ship's blueprints correctly. Meaning…
Something tiny suddenly rolled towards her, making Serena point her gun at it as she checked what it was. Her eyes widened upon realization of what it was, but it was too late. All she could do was kick it away just as it exploded.
Bang!
Before she knew it, Serena was on the ground, pain ripping through her body. Around her the lab was in pieces, a few panels from the ceiling falling onto her broken body.
"ARGH!" Serena cried out in pain, blood leaking from her mouth.
Her blurry vision glanced over at the escape hatch, watching as someone stepped into the lab. The person looked over her with cold eyes, making her faint breath hitch for a moment.
She couldn't believe she was staring at her beloved Mark, his beautiful face twisted into something dark. He was no longer that sweet man she knew and loved.
"Seems that little bomb couldn't kill you." Mark muttered as he walked over to her. "You really are such a pest… Though those injuries might finally do it for you."
He smirked at the last part, crouching down to examine her broken body. The half of the right side of her body was burnt to the point her skin was almost gone, exposing muscle and bone.
Blood leaked from multiple cuts she'd gotten from objects breaking around her and almost every bone in her body was crushed or broken. There was no way she could get up. She was barely able to keep her eyes open.
Serena stared at him, her heart shattering upon realizing he had played her like a fool. The man she thought Mark was was completely gone, replaced by the monster before her.
"W-why?" Serena coughed out blood as she spoke.
She knew she wasn't going to survive this, even if she got to the medical bay. Her injuries were too much even with all their technology. So before she died she wanted to understand why Mark had betrayed her.
What had happened to cause him to create such a scheme to kill her? It was now clear to her he had messed with their systems and created that false report to lead her here.
Because he knew she'd be the first to check the area before sending in the swat team for safety reasons.
Mark frowned as he straightened himself up. "I took pity on a street rat like you and you repaid me by getting in my way. This mission was meant to be mine! So, now you'll die because of an accident and I'll get the glory I deserve by taking over as your second-in-command."
Serena closed her eyes, tears spilling out. When she had received this mission upon being promoted to Captain, Mark had acted happy for her. Who would've thought he secretly wanted her position?
To the point he would kill her for it.
It seemed she really didn't know the man before her. Serena's consciousness finally began slipping away with her life as she finally thought, If only I could get revenge for this betrayal.