Pilot Sun: Episode One – Attack on Asmar

Pilot Sun never was one with luck. Now, he must face a Space Pirate general. Will he survive?

Pilot Sun awoke from his slumber, worn from a battle that lasted what seemed like an eternity. He was called upon by the Unity Allegiance to find and capture a Space Pirate General, and as he already knew it wouldn’t, it didn’t go very well. He had been training to fight Space Pirates since he was but the age of six. This was the time when his life changed forever; a band of Space Pirates attacked his hometown on Saturn and killed his parents. The incident also resulted in the burning of his face. One of the Pirates, a Captain, attempted to kill him too with a flame-thrower. Pilot thinks of that moment every day, refusing to forget and let go of his urge for vengeance. Every day he tries to think of new ways to get back at the pirates, but almost never succeeds. His mind wandered as he examined the room he was concealed in. Then, suddenly, he formed the master plan, one better than anything he had ever created before. He had to return to the General, and he had to defeat him. But first, he must escape.

            The day before at approximately 1900 hours, Pilot arrived at his destination, the construct of Asmar, Jupiter. As he landed his spacecraft, he looked around the cabin, attempting to observe what was outside. “Nothing but a barren wasteland…” he said to himself. He put on his gas mask, not only to allow him to breathe in the hazardous gasses outside the craft, but also in shame of his scars. He walked to the door of his ship, slipped on his trench coat, and tightened his utility belt. With the press of a button the door slid open, and a staircase slid down onto the surface of the planet.

When he stepped out, smoke billowed around him, and he wasn’t entirely sure what could be dwelling in the darkness that lingered beyond his field of vision. Being born on Saturn, his body could handle the many hazards of the planets of the Solar System. He pulled out a device gifted from the Unity that had a small screen with a map layout of the area around him. He turned it on, and it showed a winding path, with a green dot on the end. He touched the screen, and beside the green dot appeared the words, “Target’s LKL.” LKL stood for last known location, so Pilot quickly sped down the path. He wanted to get this job done quick and over with. He knew he didn’t have much chance against such a target, but there was an enormous bounty waiting for him if he finished the job.

            At the end of the path sat a bunker, abandoned and covered in sand. He approached it and noticed a door. It was odd; everything else surrounding the base was covered in muck and sand, except this door. It was as if someone had been using it recently. In curiosity he approached the door, and to his surprise, it slid open. He slowly entered, drawing his PT-400 laser pistol and pointed it forward. The bunker evidently still had power, as the lights were still on, and there was the hum of electricity that could be heard through the walls. He walked down a few more corridors, attempting not to make a sound. The metallic walls absorbed not the slightest sound; any noise made would bounce from wall to wall, and echo throughout the whole complex. As he turned a corner, he began hearing something. It sounded like chatter, but it was in a language he did not understand. He walked towards the noise and found it was coming from one of the rooms at the end of the hallway. He approached the door at the very end, and readied himself. He pressed his body against the cold, metal wall, and began nervously devising a plan. If something dangerous was in this room, he had to be ready. Before he could move, two scrawny Space Pirates walked out of another room, and luckily, they began walking the opposite way. He ran into the room before they could see him. When he looked around, the room looked empty, except for a few tables. He couldn’t tell exactly what was in the room, darkness filled the space entirely. It seemed like a rather useless space. He decided to wait to make sure the two pirates had time to leave. Then, he walked up to the door, and pressed the “Open” button on a console to the left of it. Nothing happened. He pressed a few more times; still nothing. Unable to control his frustration, he punched the button, breaking the panel it was on. The door slid open, revealing one of the most horrific sights he had ever seen. Right before his very eyes stood the General, and what seemed like an entire army of Space Pirates, lining the walls of the corridor.

The General laughed at Pilot’s dismay and looked down at him. The alien’s skin was blue and its body shape resembled nothing that Pilot had ever seen. He stood like a human, but had a severely hunched back, and his arms were oddly skinny. His hands only had three digits, and his face, that was what horrified Pilot the most. His face looked like something out of a horror movie; it was covered in scars, and it was lopsided, as if some of it had been removed at some point.

Pilot spoke first, timidly “Put down your gun, come with me, and nobody will have to get hurt.”

He was referencing the General’s huge laser rifle, which he had drawn previously before the door opened. The General laughed again, and this time his comrades joined in. Pilot took a step back, and pointed the gun at the Pirate’s face.

“Put. The Gun. Down.”

He put emphasis into each word, trying to show the alien his bravery.

The alien spoke this time, slowly, “Ra Zaur’ac never back down. Never surrender.” He did not seem to understand the English language, which Pilot couldn’t help but smirk at.

Pilot spoke again, “Well then, face the consequences.” Pilot attempted to pull the trigger, but before he could, the General smacked the gun right out of his hands. Pilot put up his fists, ready for a fist fight. The alien laughed again. To Pilot’s surprise, he walked away, leaving him there, fists raised. But then, Ra Zaur’ac put his hand up, and every alien lining the hallway pointed their guns at him.

“You filthy coward!” Pilot yelled.

Just before the shooting started, Pilot leaped for his gun, which was lying in the dark room, and jumped behind a table. Lasers ricocheted all over the room, streaking colors of green and blue across the walls. Pilot did all he could to hold back the line of Space Pirates. He popped his head up and shot down as many aliens as possible. But to much disappointment, he couldn’t hold them back. One by one, they began to fill the room. Pilot looked up just in time to see the butt of a gun as it slammed into his face.

Not long after, Pilot found himself disoriented and left alone in the dark room. He tried standing up, but found his ankles had been chained to the ground. To make things worse, they took his gun, too! He knew he had to escape; who knows what they might do to him? Then he remembered the device given to him by the Unity. He reached in his pocket, and it was still there. He pulled it out and turned on the screen. A map showing his location popped up. He could see the room and a maze of hallways. Just outside his room were two red dots. In the floor above him, there seemed to be about 20 red dots, and one green dot. Pilot knew what this meant: there were two aliens outside his door, and his target, Ra Zaur’ac and his guards were on the floor above him. He scrolled through the devices options, trying to find something useful. He found an option entitled, “Plan B.” Out of curiosity, he pressed it. A timer suddenly appeared, and the device shook in his hand. He looked at what he was holding, unsure of what was about to happen. The timer continued to count down, 20 seconds left now. Out of instinct, he threw the device across the room, and it slammed against the door. The device began to beep slowly; it beeped faster and faster. Pilot slid back against the wall; he knew what was about to happen. With a flash, the device blew up. Smoke filled the room, blinding Pilot. His ears were ringing, and he could not hear a thing. His vision was blurred and the world seemed to spin around him. As the smoke cleared, he noticed the door had been completely torn off in the explosion, and there lay two Space Pirates outside the room. As his sense of hearing returned, he began to hear the faint sound of alarms going off. They got louder and louder, until finally that was all he could focus on. He stood up and began to walk towards the door, when suddenly, something constricted him and he fell flat on the floor.

Still chained to the floor… I need to escape, Pilot thought to himself.

He looked around and found a tool similar to a hammer just an arm’s reach away. He reached forward and grabbed it, just in time to see Space Pirates filling the hallway, running towards him. In an enormous effort, he slammed the hammer onto the chain. It cracked, but did not break. He tried again, this time yelling and using as much force as he could muster. The chain broke; he was free, but the Space Pirates were coming. He ran towards the two Pirates lying on the floor and found a rifle, almost as long as his wing span. He held up the gun and pulled the trigger. The gun began to shake, and a blue light formed at the end of the barrel. The light got bigger and bigger as he held the trigger. Confused, he let go, and suddenly a massive blue orb shot from the gun. The force was so huge, it sent Pilot flying backward. When he looked back at the hallway, it was as if the Pirates were never there. Black ash filled the place, and the walls were streaked in blue and orange.

He knew the only way he was going to survive was if he found and defeated Ra Zaur’ac. He pulled a small battery-powered flashlight from his utility belt and shined it around the room. Metal crates were everywhere, but one in particular stood out to him. It was longer than the rest and had the shape of a rectangle. He kicked the latch and flipped it open. Before him sat one of the biggest shoulder-mounted guns Pilot had ever seen. It took all his strength to pick up the thing, and he hefted it over his right shoulder. The device made a strange noise. A piece of metal came out from under the gun and grasped his upper back and side. The gun had automatically adjusted to the shape of his figure and had become easier to hold. Pilot knew this was no toy.

He walked out of the room and down the hallway, through the ash. He remembered the map that the device had shown, and made his way up a flight of stairs. When he reached the top, he noticed how different this floor was from the last. Instead of one long hallway, there was a huge door, twice as tall as him, right at the top of the stairs. He approached the door and it slowly slid open, revealing Ra Zaur’ac, sitting upon his makeshift throne. Pilot couldn’t help but laugh at the alien’s surprise. The sirens were going off, but none of his minions reacted fast enough to find him. The General immediately looked at the gun mounted on Pilot’s shoulder. The gun itself was red and emitted a red glow. Pilot recognized this technology; it belonged to the Unity!

How did a small band of Space Pirates get ahold of top-notch Unity weaponry? Pilot thought.

He pressed a button on the side of the weapon, and a small aiming reticle slid out, allowing him to aim at the now frightened general. It would seem the tables have turned. Before Pilot could pull the trigger, the alien pulled out his own gun and pointed it at him. The gun charged its bolt and released. The bolt flew at Pilot with lightning-fast speed. Pilot tucked his gun to his chest and rolled forward, barely evading the shot. On one knee, he remounted the gun on his shoulder and pulled the trigger. A huge blue electrical rocket shot from the gun and soared towards the general. Pilot did not see it hit him, but only saw a flash of light. When his vision returned, a huge hole had been torn into the wall, exposing the outside world. Nothing was left of the general, not even a pile of ash. Sand and gas from the outside world slowly drifted in. Suddenly, from behind him, aliens ran into the room. Shock and fear filled the eyes of most of them, but the brave ones pointed their guns forward. Pilot used the initial shock of the situation as his chance to escape. He ran forward and leaped out of the building. He hit the ground and rolled, but used the momentum to jump up and continue running. The gun detached itself from his arm when he rolled. As he ran down the path, lasers shot and hit all around him. Pilot weaved to the left and right, attempting to become a harder target.

He continued down the path and his spacecraft became visible. Adrenaline filled him as he realized he might actually make it. He ran faster than ever before and reached the ship. He slid the door open and ran to the cockpit. He flipped the ignition switch to the “On” position and pulled the accelerator lever all the way to the highest setting. Flames erupted from the engines under the craft, and the ship began to take off. Pilot looked out the window. A burly alien holding the same gun Pilot had held before stepped from behind a rock. He pointed the gun at Pilot’s spacecraft and shot at him. A rocket spiraled at him, getter closer by the moment. Pilot pushed forward the “Thrust” lever, shooting him forward. The rocket barely missed, as he rapidly exited the planet’s atmosphere.

Pilot sat in his chair, gazing into space, wondering how he escaped.

I shouldn’t be alive, he thought, I need to think more before I jump into these jobs… or I’ll end up like Ra Zaur’ac.

Pilot drifted away from the planet, unable to think about anything other than his recent adventure. He knew he’d have to face the Pirates again, but he was already dreading the idea. He slowly drifted to sleep, resting his sores away, unaware of what happened while he was knocked out before. Unaware of what they did to him while he slept. Unaware of the tracking device implanted in his neck.

Author's Note

This is a story written for school a while ago and has been edited for this site. Enjoy!

Reviews

[Izabe143]

Wow. This is extremely amazing. This much detail into one short story. Job well done.