Zack White slouched in his creaky metal chair, the edge of his desk digging into his forearms as he scratched a rough starship outline with his thumbnail. The classroom in Korran's Reach School Block 7 was a squat, ugly box of patched plasteel and peeling paint, stinking of stale sweat, rust, and the faint tang of ozone from the mining rigs outside. The walls vibrated with a low hum, a constant drone from the shard quarries that kept this forsaken planet limping along. Mr. Harsk, a wiry man with a pinched face and a nasal voice, paced at the front, his boots scuffing the cracked floor. He was halfway through a lecture about VortexCorp's latest Volthar Shard quotas, gesturing at a flickering holo-board that listed numbers Zack couldn't care less about. He flicked his wrist instead, the chip implanted under his skin humming to life. A faint glow pulsed, projecting a small holo-screen above his arm. He scrolled with a twitch of his fingers, pulling up a message thread with Lila.
His little sister was eleven, all sharp elbows and sharper tongue, with a mop of dark hair she never bothered to tie back. She'd skipped school today, insisting on helping old Mrs. Krenn patch a leaking roof on their prefab block. Zack had argued with her that morning over their meager breakfast of synth-gruel, telling her to quit playing hero. "Someone's gotta look out for the old bat," Lila had shot back, smirking as she grabbed her tool pouch. He'd rolled his eyes but let her go. She was stubborn as hell, just like their mom used to be. The last message from her glowed on the screen, sent an hour ago: Roof's a mess, but I'm basically a pro now. Don't wait up. Zack snorted, typing a quick reply. Don't fall, dummy. See you tonight. He sent it, the chip beeping softly as it synced to the planetary net. Everyone got the implant at birth—comms, entertainment, maps, the works. Like a phone in your head, minus the hassle of losing it. Out here, it was the only tech that didn't feel like a hand-me-down.
He swiped the screen away, leaning back. His mind drifted to Lila anyway. She was all he had left. Their parents were gone, taken by the mines. His dad died four years back when a shaft caved in under Rig 17. VortexCorp called it a "structural failure," handed Zack's mom a pittance in compensation, and moved on. She'd died two years later, crushed by a drill rig that hadn't been serviced in months. "Unavoidable," the corp said again. Zack had been fourteen, Lila nine, when they buried her in the dusty graveyard behind the settlement. No one cared about miners on Korran's Reach. Not the corp, not the galaxy. Just the shards mattered—those glowing blue crystals buried deep in the rock, powering everything from ships to weapons. VortexCorp squeezed the planet dry and left the people to rot.
Zack shifted in his seat, glancing out the window to his left. The glass was cracked, spiderwebbed from some kid's rock years ago, but he could still see the rigs in the distance, skeletal towers piercing the yellow haze. The sky shimmered with heat, a dull smear of color over the endless dust flats. Same old day on this nowhere rock. He traced another line on his doodle, adding a cannon to the ship's side. Maybe one day he'd get off this planet, take Lila somewhere better. Somewhere VortexCorp couldn't touch them. A pipe dream, sure, but it kept him sane. He flicked his chip again, pulling up a junk trader's site he liked, scrolling pics of beat-up shuttles. One caught his eye—a rusted hauler with a decent engine. He saved the link, muttering, "Someday."
A shadow flickered outside. Zack paused, squinting. The hum from the rigs grew louder, deeper, vibrating through his chest. Other kids noticed too, heads turning. A girl across the room, Tani, whispered something to her friend, her chip glowing as she tapped it. Mr. Harsk kept talking, oblivious, until the floor jolted hard. Zack's desk tipped, slamming him to the ground with a grunt. A deafening boom split the air. The ceiling cracked, dust and plaster raining down as kids screamed. Zack coughed, scrambling to his knees, heart pounding like a hammer. He clawed his way to the window, peering through the shards of glass still clinging to the frame. The sky burned green.
Ships dropped from the clouds, jagged and glistening, like beetles carved from wet metal. Skrixx. He'd seen vids on his chip about them— insectoid aliens, raiders with claws and hive minds, tearing through fringe worlds for resources. Their hulls pulsed with a sick glow, and green plasma bolts tore into the mining district half a mile away. Smoke billowed up in thick, choking plumes, black against the fire. Zack's stomach dropped. Lila. She was out there, blocks away in their prefab cluster near the market. He tapped his chip, voice shaky. "Lila, you there? Answer me!" The screen flickered, then blinked red. Signal disrupted. His chest tightened. The attack was jamming comms.
"Get under your desks!" Mr. Harsk shouted, his voice cracking with panic. He waved his arms like that'd do anything. A second blast shook the room, rattling Zack's teeth. The window exploded inward, glass slicing across his arm. He hissed, clutching the cut, blood seeping between his fingers. Kids wailed, some bolting for the door, others curling up under desks. Tani screamed as a chunk of ceiling crashed down, barely missing her. Zack staggered to his feet, wiping dust from his eyes. "We gotta move!" he yelled, but the noise swallowed his words. The walls groaned, metal bending. A slab of plasteel smashed Mr. Harsk's desk, pinning him to the floor. He gasped, blood bubbling from his mouth, eyes wide with shock. Zack froze, staring. The old man wheezed once, then went still.
No time. Zack turned and ran. The hallway was a disaster. Lockers leaned like drunks, spilling books and bags. Sparks spat from busted overhead lights, flickering in the haze. He shoved past a kid slumped against the wall, crying, his chip glowing as he tried to call someone. Zack kept moving, shoes crunching glass and debris. His arm throbbed, blood dripping down his wrist, but he ignored it. The exit loomed ahead, a dented steel door hanging off its hinges. He burst through into the open air and stopped dead.
Korran's Reach was a warzone. Skrixx ships hovered low, their engines thrumming a bone-deep buzz. Green fire chewed through buildings, melting prefabs into slag. People ran, screaming, their voices lost in the roar of collapsing roofs and distant explosions. A miner stumbled past, his jumpsuit soaked red, one arm missing below the elbow. He tripped, fell, and didn't get up. Zack gagged, bile rising in his throat, and backed against the school's outer wall. Smoke stung his eyes, thick with the smell of charred metal and something sour, like rotting fruit. Shapes moved in the haze—clawed, skittering things. Skrixx warriors, six-legged and fast, darted through the streets. One grabbed a woman by the hair, dragging her toward a ship's gaping hold. She kicked and screamed until a claw silenced her.
Zack's knees shook. He pressed himself flat against the wall, breath shallow. The evac docks were half a mile east, past the market and the main strip. Lila's place was south, closer but cut off by the fighting. He tapped his chip again, desperate. "Lila, come on, pick up!" Nothing. Just that red blink. He couldn't reach her through this mess, not on foot, not without a plan. Another explosion rocked the ground, this one closer. A rig tower toppled in the distance, a slow-motion crash sending up a wave of dust. Something roared—a shard-beast, maybe, spooked by the chaos. The wilds were full of them, hulking things with Volthar Shards embedded in their hides, making them stronger, meaner. If they got loose in the settlement, it'd be worse than the Skrixx.
A chittering screech snapped his head up. A Skrixx drone leaped from the school roof, landing where he'd stood seconds ago. Its six legs clicked on the dirt, mandibles dripping black goo that sizzled as it hit the ground. Its faceted eyes, a dozen glinting dots, locked on him. Zack's chest tightened. He bolted, legs pumping, dodging a burning crate that had tumbled from some shop. The Skrixx lunged after him, claws tearing gouges in the earth. He risked a glance back—too close, gaining fast. His lungs burned, his cut arm screaming with every swing. The evac docks. He had to make it, find a ship, then come back for Lila. "Hold on, sis," he muttered through gritted teeth, veering around a pile of smoldering debris. The Skrixx clicked behind him, relentless. He wasn't fast enough. Not yet.