*In the air, above the now burnt forest*
"Commander Landon, the Tamarain ship managed to escape before we arrived. It seems they bombed the place."
A tall, well-built man was looking at the results of the bomb below him while sitting comfortably in his commander's chair. His name was Commander Joseph Landon.
He had a rough-looking face, and one of his arms was uncovered, letting everyone around see his lightning scars from fist to elbow. He had acquired those scars in a fight against a class B Tamarain fighter in the rough part of the war.
"I can see that, lieutenant. The question is, why? There are no bases in a thousand-mile radius, and the closest village is 50 miles west."
"We have no idea, sir. Detection arrays show faint remnants of Galvanic energy, which leads us into more confusion."
Who were the Tamarains fighting out here in the boonies?
"Sensors are picking on movement on the ground, sir! It appears to be... a man?" the soldier said in confusion.
Henry was finally coming to consciousness back on the ground, still stuck under the enormous body of Captain Thunder Punch, as he now called him.
He could smell the odour of burnt flesh coming from him, so he pushed him aside, only to resurface in the ghost of the forest that had earlier surrounded him.
Seeing the aftermath of the Tamarain bomb around him, he asked the System, "System, how the hell did we survive this?"
"Sensing impending doom, we decided to convert stored energy from lifespan to active energy to protect the body from heat and shockwaves from the detonating explosive."
"HOT DAMN! Great thinking. Was that very energy-consuming?"
"System calculates energy consumption at one year."
"WHAT!!??? Half our lifespan? FUCK!!!!"
Cursing at the Tamarains for their radical measures, Henry failed to notice the ship hovering high in the sky overhead. What snapped him back to reality was a loud voice coming from an onboard speaker from the ship.
"Unknown civilian on the ground. Identify yourself."
Looking up, Henry saw the ship hover over his head. He then looked around to see if there was anyone else.
Seeing no living soul around him, he understood they were talking to him.
"This is Commander Joseph Landon, Commander of the ESM Prometheus, frontline fighter ship of the First Response Squadron. I repeat, identify yourself."
As he heard these words, Henry saw the ship's weapon re-align and aim at him. Not seeing any signs of charging yet, he wondered if they were human or Tamarain and if he should take his chances running or do as asked.
Hearing a humming sound become louder, he knew the first option was no longer viable. They had started charging the weapons.
"This is your last chance. Identify yourself or die."
"My name is Henry Calvert. I am no one. Please, I ask for mercy; don't shoot," Henry said, not wanting to test out his resistance to what seemed like four plasma cannons.
"Human or Tamarain?" the voice boomed.
Henry did not know what species the man speaking to him belonged to, and the System had been unable to scan the ship due to an energy barrier surrounding it. Figuring he was better off telling the truth and rolling the dice, he answered, "Human."
As soon as he did, he heard the humming sound start to fade away, and the weapons shifted their aim away from him. He sighed deeply, relieved he could yet live another day.
What happened next took him by surprise, though, as the time he took to sigh with his eyes closed, he felt the ground under his feet change.
Opening his eyes, his jaw dropped. He was standing on a round metal plate, what he assumed was a warping pad, in what he believed was the ship he was staring at just moments ago.
He was also being held at gunpoint by four mean-looking men. Hearing heavy footsteps from the corridor outside the room, he knew he was about to meet his captor soon.
Moments later, Commander Landon entered the warping room on his ship, intent on meeting this fool, whom he had found in the middle of a blast zone. When he saw him on the platform, he was standing there, not a care in the world.
Four men were aiming at him, yet he looked around him curiously.
"Mister Calvert, if that is even your real name, you have some explaining to do. And it better be good," the Commander told him, standing behind his soldiers, arms crossed behind his back.
"About what exactly do you want explanations?" Henry asked.
"Don't play dumb with us, mister Calvert. You know what I'm talking about."
"Please, call me Henry. You look like a respectable man, Commander London."
"Landon. It's Commander Landon. And you 'Henry' are trying my patience. One more refusal to cooperate and my men will fill you with smoking holes. Again, what were you doing in that blast zone, and how are you uninjured?"
"Ahhh, that. Yes. A Tamarain scouting party caught me wandering. It derailed into a light skirmish and ended with a great bang," Henry said, smiling.
He was technically not lying, only hiding the true gravity of his situation. Only, he wasn't expecting what came next.
"Commander, our inspection party came back with answers."
"..."
"..."
"Give your report, soldier. I don't have all day," Landon said with exasperation and impatience all over his face.
"Ahh, yes, Sir. Sorry, Sir. The inspection team found what appeared to be eight Tamarain scout bodies and one officer. A Captain, judging by his uniform. They were all burnt to crisps by the bomb, but strangely, the Captain's backside was untouched."
Raising a brow and looking at his strange 'guest,' he wondered if he could have done that.
'Impossible,' he thought.
No single man alive, especially a civilian, could take out two scout parties, kill an officer AND survive a bomb of that magnitude. It was unimaginable.
Staring at his new burden, he noticed he was a little out of touch. Almost as if he was in another world.
Unbeknownst to him, Henry had been talking to the ACC since the end of the report.
"System, can I take them on?"
"We strongly advise against it, as the chances of success are close to none. The system can not scan human strength, as it was not programmed to do so. However, the status and rank of the man named Joseph Landon suggests strength of at least equal footing to class C Tamarain warrior."
"Shit! Could you hack into the warp pad's interface and leave then?"
"Hacking into the warping interface would require direct contact with the warping pad's control panel."
"DAMMIT!!! We'll have to go along with it for now, then."
Snapping back to reality, Henry could see the Commander staring at him.
Taking a fake face of worry, he asked, "Is there something on my face?" touching his face in a few places, feigning to check it out.
Seeing that, Commander Landon completely discarded the foolish thought of him taking out so many enemies alone. He had probably stumbled upon the battlefield amidst the battle and hid before the bomb landed.
Putting on a severe face, he snapped at the fool.
"You look like the right age to serve. You clearly haven't in the past, so I believe that will benefit you. Hell, you might even be a deserter! We're bringing you back with us."
Speaking into his com-link, he ordered the pilot to bring them back to base. Feeling the ship shake a little, Henry understood they had started moving.
He was stuck there.
"Ensign Duncan, Ensign Gamin, bring this fool to the brig and lock him up. I don't want him wandering the ship until we get to base."
The two soldiers took Henry away and walked him down to the lower level, where the brig was. It was basically a prison, but with a good bed and a toilet.
He hoped the travel would be of short duration, as he refused to stay locked up forever.
Being almost thrown into his new lodgings, he looked back and glared at his escort.
"Why, thank you for showing me to my room, guys. Now, if you don't mind, I'd like some privacy," Henry said with a cocky smile on his lips.
"Oh, you'll get privacy, you imbecile. Get comfortable; I'm sure you're going in one like this back at base." The first soldier said.
"Ahah, keep acting cocky, man. You'll get what's coming to you soon enough," said the second one.
And so, his journey to a blurry future started. Henry sat down on the bed, crossed his legs, and started meditating.
Nothing could be done now, so patience would be his only weapon.