0005 Acting Captain, Part 2

The dust storm parted like a solidified red sea, reality itself seeming to rend as the beast bore down on Ethan. He instinctively jumped out of the way. Its plated carapace clicked as it bounded past. He landed roughly, the padded suit taking the bulk of the fall, but vibrations still shot up his arms. His eyes widened as a limb the size of a tree trunk slammed into the ground where he had just been. He scrambled to his feet and ran.

The area was littered with loose gravel, and try as he might, lost in his fear, he just couldn't find his footing. This fall was much worse, knocking the wind out of him. He didn't have time to get back up, no time to move, no time to wallow. Using his hands to propel himself, he launched forward into a run directly from his prone position.

Behind him, the creature practically glided across the scorched wreckage. It all turned into a blur as Ethan bobbed and weaved, trying to stay one step ahead of the monster. His body was on fire, every part of him aching with exertion. But no matter how hard he tried, the monster was gaining. And then he spotted the AI Pod.

The med injector was in there, and maybe a weapon. There had to be something locked away for emergencies. Or maybe he’d find a broken shard of the ship somewhere he could turn into a makeshift weapon. He pushed himself harder. Almost there.

The creature lunged again, this time landing before him, barring his path. He jerked left, stumbling off course but staying just out of reach. It snarled, as Ethan backed away. He scrambled uselessly, mind blank with fear, forgetting how even to stand. And then, he found it: the metal bar his hand had brushed against earlier, the one he'd pulled out of the sand, but abandoned for being too heavy. Just what he needed. Its silver surface had a slight, angry red hue, a reflection of the beast as Ethan faced it. This was his chance.

He charged, the weapon held high above his head, and just as he was about to swing—

CelestOS: Reminder: You still haven’t completed your Customer satisfaction survey.

“What the fuck? Not now! Can’t you see there’s a horrifying monster?” He dodged around the HUD screen and swung, but the monster was quicker, bounding away from the makeshift weapon as Ethan hit nothing but air. The monster rebounded, and before Ethan could react, claws slammed around his torso and lifted him off the ground like he weighed nothing. His legs flailed, and pain exploded across his ribcage as the creature’s grip tightened. His HUD flared red as his vitals dropped again. The monster took off running as the weapon fell from his hands. It was running so fast the world seemed to collapse into a blur around him.

And then, CelestOS spoke through the noise.

CelestOS: REMINDER: You still haven’t completed your customer satisfaction survey. For your convenience, I’ll load it to your HUD.

Suddenly, Ethan’s vision filled with text.
[CELESTITECH CUSTOMER SATISFACTION SURVEY - EVACUATION MODULE]
[QUESTION: Rate your recent Celestitech evacuation experience!]
[QUESTION: How satisfied are you with your current mortality risk?]
[QUESTION: Would you recommend Celestitech to your friends or family?]

Fear rose in his chest as the psychotic AI drained away what little hope he’d had. “What the fuck? I’m being killed right now!”

CelestOS didn’t miss a beat.

CelestOS: “That won’t affect your score.”

Ethan screamed, though not because of CelestOS—instead, the claws punctured through his suit and into his skin. He could feel blood dripping down inside the suit.

“I won’t be able to answer your damn survey if this thing kills me! Do something!”

And still, the windows kept coming.

[CELESTITECH CUSTOMER SATISFACTION SURVEY - SUPPORT MODULE]
[QUESTION: Please rate the tone of your emergency response AI]
[QUESTION: Do you feel supported in this moment?]

“I feel like I’m dying, you glorified paperclip…”

The monster's grip became his entire existence as he started to answer the damn questions. He could see now why Patel hated the damn thing so much. It felt like it was literally trying to kill him. And there'd be nothing he could do to change things. His vision started to blacken as the questions scrolled by, Ethan selecting random responses, hoping against hope that appeasing the AI would get it to do something useful. He still couldn’t see clearly as he clicked through the seemingly never-ending survey as quickly as he could. But a question started to fight its way through his brain. Why wasn’t he dead yet? Apart from the puncture wounds, it was like the monster wasn’t trying to kill him.

The monster suddenly stopped, the abrupt deceleration nearly giving him whiplash. And Ethan was grateful as he finally clicked the last question and his vision returned. He half expected CelestOS to congratulate him on a survey well done or something stupid like that; instead, the AI remained silent. In fact, he shifted his head from side to side with what little leverage he could manage, but he couldn't see CelestOS anywhere.

Then, from somewhere beyond his line of view, a voice, weak and strained, almost too quiet to hear, vied for attention.

"Hey…. Ugly."

The creature froze mid-motion, its focus shifting to the source of the noise. Ethan flexed his neck, struggling for a view of whatever had made the noise. It was Reyes. The crazy bastard had fashioned a tourniquet around his bleeding, ruined leg and was dragging a trail of blood behind him as he moved forward. He held a gun in his hand and aimed it at the creature. He started firing, the bullets ricocheting off its hide in a shower of sparks.

But now was his moment. Clenching his teeth against the utter pain, he swung his makeshift club into the face of the monster with as much force as he could manage. The monster howled and dropped him as another hail of shots hit it. Ethan wasn’t sure how Reyes had survived, but he couldn’t have arrived at a better moment.

CelestOS: “Thank you for completing your Celestitech Customer Satisfaction Survey. As a reward, Celestitech has awarded you 30 Celesticreds usable at the Celestititech Virtual store. Would you like to see the available options?”

CelestOS didn’t even wait for his response.
[T1 Basic tools 15 CC- affordable]
[T1 Ore detector! 20 CC- affordable]
[T1 Oxygen Rebreather 25 CC- unaffordable]
[T1 Celestiforge model a3 45 CC- unaffordable]
[T1 Celestimed 55 CC- unaffordable]
[T1 Item Fabricator 100 CC- unaffordable]

His head spun from the options and the lingering pain, but he brushed aside the store display as he brought up the makeshift weapon again. Its outer shell was too protective; so he wouldn't try. Instead, when the monster was distracted dealing with Reyes' gun, he made his move. If its shell was too hard to break, then maybe it was protecting delicate insides. At what felt like the last possible second, he rushed forward and stabbed at the beast's mouth with his weapon, hoping against hope that his attack would work. It let out an unearthly shriek as the pointed tip of the weapon pierced through its tongue.

He pulled it out, and orange-grey blood exploded out of the new wound as he pulled the weapon back for another strike. This time, he aimed for the unprotected eyes. But, its reflexes were too fast, and the makeshift weapon bounced back. He jumped back as the beast swiped forward, sharp claws barely missing him. And then, the worst possible thing happened. So fast Ethan barely had time to register: the claws of the superhuman beast swung out, grasped the large piece of metal, and ripped it out of his hands. The sharp pull ripped skin from his hands, and he cried out in shock.

His hands were shredded and bleeding, with bits of the destroyed suit buried in the raw skin. He looked away quickly, not wanting the image to steal his focus. This wasn’t the end. Couldn't be the end. Maria was counting on him. He stumbled away as Reyes reloaded and got the attention of the beast again.

CelestOS: Vital signs indicate internal bleeding. Would you like to initiate a medical emergency protocol? Warning: no Medkits available.

“God damnit, can you actually be helpful? This thing is going to kill me and Reyes, and then you will be left by yourself for the rest of eternity. Doesn’t that bother you?”

CelestOS: Not at all.

Its voice said one thing, but its actions spoke volumes as it took its floating frame and dive-bombed the back of the creature's scaly head. It roared in frustration as an electrical shock blasted through the beast. It fell backward, and Ethan, not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, rushed forward looking for his weapon. It had clattered against the side of the escape pod, and he reached for it. It was damaged, likely beyond repair, but its sharp end was still usable.

“CelestOS, do that one more time, and I think I can kill the thing!” It shocked the beast again, and Ethan used the diversion to rush forward, weapon in hand. He reached the creature and, in its moment of weakness, he stabbed up through the belly and slashed out its bowels. Blood spurted from the wound like a grisly fountain. But it still wasn't dead.

The beast shook off the electric attack and roughly swiped Ethan aside, its sharp claws ripping through the other side of his suit now and shattering his arm. He cried out in extreme pain. His eyes filled with red, threatening to close altogether. But he had to see this through.

The guts were flying everywhere, and Ethan knew what he needed to do. He slashed at the organs, causing bile to explode everywhere, then he took the weapon and shoved it up through the exposed hole, deep inside the creature’s chest cavity.

It let out a guttural cry and collapsed onto the ground. Dead.

What the fuck was that? Ethan tried to lift his arm to wipe at sweat, but let out a shriek of pain instead. Not that he could wipe anything away with a shattered arm.

CeslestOS: Victory Achieved. Casualty probability 74% without immediate medical aid. Updating mission status: Survival Suboptimal. Celestitech points gained: 35.

[Skill Unlocked: Combat 0 → 1]

[Skill Unlocked: Resistance 0 → 1]

[Skill: Athletics 4→5]

Ethan couldn’t stop the grin from forming. The skill Module was an unbelievable boon, and while he felt exhausted, he also felt like he could still run more with the increase in athletics. He glanced over at the other, more injured man.

"Reyes," Ethan rasped, "you okay over there? Looking a little pale."

"Heard the noise from the fight," Reyes grunted. "Couldn't let you have all the fun. Crazy that my revolver couldn't pierce that thing.”
Ethan glanced toward the AI pod, and then back down at the injured man. He wasn’t sure how much longer they had. He knew he was bleeding out, but if he didn't get to the med packs, Reyes was a goner too.

He ran, forcing his battered body toward the AI pod. Every muscle screamed, every impact jarring, but Reyes needed him. Stress hammered in his chest, a frantic rhythm matching the pounding of his feet on the scorched earth. He crested the last rise of sandy dirt… There! The pod was in sight. C'mon, Ethan, almost there. Just hold on, Reyes.

One hundred feet... fifty... He practically fell against the pod's hatch, throwing it open and stumbling inside. The pain from the monster’s attacks was getting to him.

Thankfully, the pod was just as he had left it, or so it seemed. A ragged sigh of relief escaped him as he staggered to the secret compartment. He fumbled with the panel, squeezing his eyes shut as he reached inside, praying... His fingers met only smooth, empty metal. He opened his eyes. The compartment was bare. The medicine was gone.