Kaboom—
Another explosion was heard, accompanied by a well-too-familiar engine sound—it was one of the New Eden warships.
"The recruiters are here. Fuck... I gotta tell them I'm an awakened!"
Trent quickly ran outside through the damaged wall as his exit, only to reach his backyard. He saw something massive—if not the most massive warship he had ever seen.
"Alien ship," Trent muttered, his mouth forming the letter "O."
As the black, humongous steel door of the warship began opening, smoke escaped from the interior of the ship. Trent quickly ran and hid behind a nearby dumpster.
The door gradually relaxed on the grass, resembling a smooth landscape. As the smoke dissipated completely, instead of squid-faced aliens, Trent saw a girl standing at the entrance.
She had a tall figure, wearing an exo-tech suit that wrapped tightly against her body, emphasizing her perky chest. She had a pair of slender legs and wore exquisite makeup that made her look beautiful and elegant with her long red hair.
"That's no alien, and if her ship crashed here, something this massive will invite the aliens... Shit, I gotta get out of here."
Like the squid aliens' bee device did before, a robotic red cheetah came into view and scanned the area.
"She hasn't detected any life forms around... I think we're safe to find supplies while I try checking what's wrong with the ship," said the girl.
Having heard that, Trent thought she was talking through her comms or giving a report to someone.
But then, he saw four more beautiful girls walk out of the ship.
"Could it be a ship full of females?" Trent asked himself. "That's definitely not a ship from Eden; it doesn't have the Eden symbol."
Trent knew what the recruiters' ships looked like. He had seen them a couple of times when they recruited Awakeners.
There was a symbol of a lion's head on fire, signifying Earth's rage, as the government had described it.
It was a really sad thing to watch all his friends awaken and leave him all by himself... but he would have done the same as well.
But he had finally awakened, and he wasn't going to miss the last Eden recruit ship or lose his life the next moment after awakening.
---
[Eden Reporter: Attention to all survivors on Planet 23BDA4 (Earth): The last Eden recruit ship is now leaving sector DF34CG with only 10 new Awakeners on board.]
The moment Trent heard the reporter on the radio, his heart pounded, and he freaked out of his hiding spot, not giving a fuck if a bunch of beautiful war girls saw him.
"No, no, no... They can't leave me here!"
---
[Those who are left on Planet 23BDA4 (Earth): We apologize for your misfortune and inability to enter New Eden... Be safe, godspeed.]
After the announcement, Trent saw the Eden recruit ship floating in mid-air. No matter how loudly he shouted and waved, the ship's engine was a million times louder.
The rustling wind the ship caused was enough to silence his voice. After gaining the latitude they wanted, the ship's thrusters gathered energy and—boom.
At light speed, it sped out of Earth's night atmosphere in a matter of seconds. Trent could only see the stars.
Trent couldn't believe his luck. He fell to his knees, feeling disappointed and wanting to cry again.
He was never going to enter Eden, and he had already awakened.
However, all that was in the past the moment a green light blade was placed on his throat.
"Drop your weapon, or I'll cut you down," said the soothing voice of the female.
Trent didn't mind her. Honestly, the atom gun was already slipping off his grip anyway, so he was just going to let it fall.
'Wait a minute... There's a wrecked ship behind me, and I'm a mechanic... I could strike a deal with these chicks,' Trent thought and gripped the atom gun tightly.
"I can help," said Trent, wanting to propose a negotiation.
"Drop your weapon, or I'll cut you... Last warning," she repeated.
"Say, anyone ever told you a pretty voice doesn't really strike fear as a threat?"
Immediately after he said that, Trent felt the light blade heating up, and without further words, he shot the ground beneath them—boom.
"Star Gazer!!" the four girls yelled in unison.
The explosion was so loud and powerful that it took half of the backyard's ground, creating dust and a deep, large crater nearly eight feet deep.
---
"Hump... I'm a mechanic. I can tell when a weapon is about to be used, and you were about to slice my neck off."
As the dust settled, Trent had stood up without wasting time, leaving the hot chick's face to mop the dirt.
Meanwhile, the other four girls quickly skidded down the circular crater to help Star Gazer.
"Star Gazer! Are you okay?" said one of the girls. This one wore a similar exo-tech suit that set her bum very nicely carved, and she had short white hair.
"I'm fine, Moon," Star Gazer replied. With little effort, she stood up, but her light blade was far from her, and Trent was already pointing the AG at her.
"Star Gazer? Moon? Such names. By the way... I'm the one with the gun," Trent said, grabbing all four's attention. "Wait, there's five of you. Where's the—"
Kweuk. Trent spat out saliva as an invisible person landed a knee attack on his abdomen and swept him off his feet.
Bam. Landing hard on his back, Trent coughed. As if a load was on top of him, something sat on him, preventing him from moving or picking up his AG.
After tackling Trent to the floor, the invisible girl turned off her cloak. She had short light green hair, and her exo-tech suit wasn't much.
She wore shorts that exposed her white, elegant thighs and a sleeveless top that hinted at her perky nipples. She also had a single eyeglass scanner and a gauntlet.
Of all things, the chick's bum was resting on Trent's little P.
"Nice move. You can remain on top of me if you want, and I could also show you a move of my own."
"Well done, Bella. Get off the pervert before he takes advantage," said Star Gazer.
"Ah... Too late," said Trent. His palm was already feeling her well-maintained buttocks, causing a red flush on her face.
Bella quickly performed a backflip, landing with her group. Before Trent could lean back up, Star Gazer had already placed the blade on his throat.
"Look, relax... It's partly your fault I missed Eden's ship, and yours is already damaged. I can tell by the sound of the engine that its battery core must have overheated, and your thrusters are no longer functioning well."
Having said all that, the four girls were surprised. Astonished was the word, and they were all looking at Trent in awe.
"How do you know?"
"I'm a mechanic," Trent replied.
"But you haven't had time to check my ship's condition."
"Because I'm a mechanic. The ship told me," Trent replied, now slowly getting the light blade off his throat.
"As long as it's metal and wires, I can tell the condition by their sounds. That's a mech's only language: sounds. I can also tell when a weapon is about to get used."
Trent said the last words, staring at Star Gazer's light blade, which was heating up and giving off sounds. In all honesty, she was impressed.
"Okay, you'll repair my ship, or I'll cut off your head," Star Gazer ordered, placing the blade on his throat again.
Trent rolled his eyes. He felt relaxed because he knew none of them were mechanics or knew anything about it. Also, now that he had displayed a bit of talent, there was no way they would kill him so easily. He was their only hope of getting that piece of metal running.