//------------------------------// // Intro: Nightfall // Story: A Grand Journey // by Reached //------------------------------// "Vitals Elevated. Seek medical attention at your nearest Medical Treatment Facility… Vitals Elevated… ." The muffled robotic voice abruptly ended with a soft thud. The Rookie groaned as his eyelids fluttered open, consciousness seeping back into his senses. His fingers instinctively found their way to his helmet, grappling with the clasp that held it firmly in place. Struggling against the fog in his mind, he finally managed to unfasten it. The heavy helmet tumbled to the cold, metallic floor with a resounding thud, releasing a gust of frigid air into his face. It stung, and he instinctively shut his eyes tight, a sharp headache pounding between his temples like an invisible dagger. After a moment, the pain began to recede, allowing him to cautiously pry open his eyes. The world around him emerged from the shadows, revealing the dimly lit interior of a military transport vehicle, unmistakably a pelican. He remembered. A faint sense of recognition washed over him. Along the wall were only five seats. This pelican was meant for transport of supplies, not people. Gritting his teeth, he pushed himself upright, wobbling on unsteady legs. His injuries seemed to recede with each passing second. Gripping a nearby crate for support, he labored toward the cockpit door. The pelican's incline gave the illusion of ascending a steep hill, every step a strenuous battle. At last, he reached the door and exerted all his strength to wrench it open. Moonlight poured in, casting the interior in an ethereal glow. A rush of emotions swept over him - a blend of appreciation, familiarity, and homesickness. "Luna," he whispered, his hand gently caressing the cold glass window as he approached the front. Home - that's what he remembered, but the surroundings weren't... right. Anxiety crept in as he scanned the unfamiliar sight of the moon. This wasn't Luna. The Rookie took a step back. His earlier suspicion was right - the pelican was askew, and as he staggered back, he lost his footing, sliding down to land beside one of the larger crates, a few feet from where he'd awakened. He groaned, his gaze settling on the crate he'd fallen upon - one marked 'Weapons.' He had fallen right near his helmet, the one he had thrown off just a few moments prior. He blinked, a strange play of light making it seem as if there was a hole in the middle of his helmet's visor. Squinting, he brought the helmet closer to inspect it. His eyes gazed at the middle of the visor. The moonlight seem to have healed the hallicunation, as the moment he looked closer, the was completely normal. Exhaling a frustrated sigh, he acknowledged his fatigue and confusion. He remembered. He remembered he was an ODST, but beneath that memory lay a deeper enigma, a mystery he couldn't quite grasp. Frustration simmered as he struggled to recall. He slid the helmet back over his face, and the visor blinked to life, casting a revealing glow on the crates that surrounded him, in various states of being. 'MRE,' 'DRONES,' 'CLOTHING,' 'MISCELLANIOUS,' 'ARMAMENTS,' 'COMMUNICATIONS,' 'MEDICAL' - these were the designations on various crates, each holding its own set of mysteries. Among them, a compact drone crate seized his attention. The Rookie stood up, and quickly approached. A quick, precise cut from his waist-mounted toolbelt's knife freed its contents. A brand-new drone, gleaming in the dim light, awaited him. A sencse of excitement coursed through him as he connected it to the modular attachment on his helmet, watching as the visor displayed the drone's status. Its battery life was optimal, ready for action. The map it presented was empty, devoid of coordinates or landmarks, leaving the land below a blank canvas. With this, he might be able to find out where he was, where anyone might be, where he could get help. Linked to the drone, he released it through the pelican's open front door, where it took flight. The drone hummed to life, embarking on its automatic survey mission. As the geographical map slowly filled in, the software crafted coordinates from thin air, effectively pinpointing his current position. The drone soared above a landscape - the pelican resting on an incline, facing uphill with a vast, dark forest sprawling around it in all directions. As the drone journeyed eastward, there was an eerie emptiness to the gloomy forest, devoid of life or signs of civilization. The rookie took a seat on the pilot's chair, watching the feed with some interest. With time, The Rookie's eyelids grew heavy, his chin dipping forward. His legs stretched out, feet resting on the dashboard, and his reclined position within the uncomfortable chair lured him toward slumber. Abruptly, a sharp noise yanked him back to reality. Though only half an hour had passed, it felt like an eternity. Blinking away fatigue, he focused on the drone's findings - a sight that defied logic. Before him lay the ruins of a castle, a sight he associated with Earth. It was decrepit, decaying. There was a sense of magic, almost like a tale of magical knights and round tables. Yet, the knowledge that this wasn't Earth pervaded his senses. Luna's absence in the sky confirmed it. Determined to unravel the mysteries of this strange place, he instructed the drone to continue in a different direction, maybe he could find out more. Turning his gaze upward, he locked onto the unfamiliar moon, its brilliance contrasting sharply with the darkness below. It wasn't the moon he'd known, and the realization added to his unease. With a sigh, he exited the pelican, landing on unfamiliar grass. His new surroundings offered the typical features of a forest, neither remarkable nor mundane. Yet, an indefinable aura of difference clung to the air, casting doubt upon his every step. As he contemplated the tree line before him, his visor detected a sudden burst of light. His eyes locked onto a pair of vivid green, malevolent eyes glaring at him, a mere fifty yards away. Squinting to discern more, he observed another pair, and then another, until a menacing pack of wood-like wolves materialized. The unnatural encounter triggered his instincts, and he reached for his sidearm, only to discover it missing. Panic set in, and he froze for a moment, defenseless against the approaching threats. The eyes vanished momentarily, only to reappear, closer and more menacing. In a swift, instinctive motion, The Rookie made a desperate dash for the pelican's hatch, determined not to succumb to fear. Opening the hatch and diving inside, he landed on his back with a heavy thud. He scrambled to secure the latch, fingers clamping onto the handle. But a sudden force pressing against his chest sent him sprawling backward, the latch still within his grasp. It snapped shut, imprisoning him inside, accompanied by one of the sinister wooden wolves. Gasping for breath, he lay on his back, now perched atop the same weapons crate that had cushioned his fall earlier. His eyes locked onto the wooden wolf, poised to strike. His outstretched arm sought a makeshift weapon, grasping a wooden crate beam he'd torn free earlier. He raised it, bringing the beam to bear just as the wolf lunged at him. The creature's jaws snapped shut on the makeshift weapon, but The Rookie's counterattack was swift. He delivered a powerful punch to the beast's face as they collided, sending it crashing onto its side. This provided a precious moment to regain his footing. His gaze shifted to the nearby weapons crate, its contents tantalizingly out of reach. A crowbar, conveniently perched atop the crate, called to him. He lunged for it, seizing the tool and swinging it to face the menacing wolf. The creature, however, had regained its composure and charged at him once more, its gnarled jaws threatening to tear through his makeshift weapon. The Rookie stood his ground, his heart pounding, and brought the crowbar down with all his might. The blows rained upon the wooden wolf's head, each strike chipping away at its eerie, bark-like exterior. The green light that animated it began to flicker, like a fading ember, until it finally extinguished, leaving only a lifeless husk. He stood still. He panted, looking at the lifeless wooden husk, in disbelief. It seemed to last an eternity. A sudden ping from his drone broke the eerie silence within the pelican. Breathing heavily, The Rookie glanced toward the closed cockpit door, the sounds of wolves scratching and clawing at the exterior echoing in the background. With some trepidation, he shifted his attention to the drone's findings. The display revealed the existence of a nearby settlement, just seventy miles to the northwest. Its architecture bore a human semblance, yet the designs were oddly archaic, harkening back to an earlier era of humanity. A renewed sense of hope washed over him, coupled with a fresh wave of uncertainty. There were strange train-tracks around the settlement, and in the distance, a mountain. There was a lake in between there and here. The sight proved too much. Clearing his visor, The Rookie found himself gazing up at the foreign moon. Its radiant glow bathed the surroundings in an otherworldly light, contrasting starkly with the threatening wolves outside. He knew he was far from home, far from any known civilization. Yet, this moon was... beautiful. It was enormous, it called out to him. As his mind grappled with the enigma of his surroundings, fleeting memories resurfaced. Battles, wars, enemies of note, and allies worthy of legend stood on the precipice of his recollection, but remained frustratingly out of reach. The persistent strangeness of this place, from the magical wolves to the alien moon, reminded him that he was an intruder in a world of mysteries, an intruder who was alone. Uncertainty and curiosity mingled within him, driving him to explore, to seek answers in the settlement that had appeared on his drone's screen. It was a journey into the unknown, a quest to decipher the unfamiliar and to unearth the secrets hidden beneath the alien moon's beguiling radiance. And yet... This moon was beautiful.