⚔️Chapter 6 : The Invasion
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Last updated
In a far-off corner of the galaxy, on a world that few knew about, two masters were in the midst of an argument. Master Ya'zz and Master Talia were bickering back and forth while a young girl, Red, lay sleeping in a medical pod nearby.
"What do you mean it was necessary?" Thalia shouted at Ya'zz. "All this fighting and death have finally turned your heart into stone?"
Red stirred in her sleep, unable to make sense of the commotion around her. She tried to speak up, but her voice failed her, leaving her feeling weak and helpless.
Ya'zz tried to calm Talia down. "We now have the intel that we need. Red's vitals are okay, she only needs to sleep it away."
Talia wasn't convinced. "You didn't see her vitals during her last seconds on the Dark Plains. She was almost dead, Ya'zz."
But Ya'zz stood firm. "She is okay, you were there for her from the start. You wouldn't let anything happen to her, Talia. That's why I said it was necessary. Now we know for sure that Grandmaster isn't himself since his return. Nobody saw him since yesterday, he didn't even allow the medical droids for his daily checkups."
Talia knew what this meant. "We need to convene the council if we are going to confront him," she said, determined.
"Let's get to the Master's Keep to start the preparations," Ya'zz replied.
As Talia headed out the door, she turned back to Red. "Rest little one, you did your part, and now it's time for us to finish it." And with that, she left with Ya'zz, leaving Red to wonder what was happening and what role she had to play in this mysterious and dangerous world.
Red awoke from her slumber and immediately knew something was off. Her eyes were burning like the sun and her head felt like it had just been hit with a sonic bomb. As she stumbled out of the medical pod, she found herself in the eerie darkness of the medical ward.
"This is new," she thought to herself, taking in the storm raging outside the academy. Lightning flashed, illuminating the valley and lake on the west side of the academy, which had always been her favorite view. It made her smile. As the rain poured down like a waterfall, Red decided to meditate to calm her nerves.
But then she noticed something strange: the Candidate’s Tower was lit up. Peering closer, she saw a shadow pass her window. "Who could be in my room at this hour?" she wondered.
As she watched, lightning struck the High Tower, home of the GrandMasters, and Red's memory flooded back. She remembered her last training session with Master Talia and the amplifier, the astral darkness that had nearly consumed her on the Dark Plains, and Ray's warning that the Grandmaster was behind it all.
Red gasped as she saw strange lights coming from the High Tower, just like the ones she had seen on the Dark Plains. Suddenly, a thunderous explosion shattered the window and knocked her to the ground. Red caught a glimpse of the destruction before her vision went black.
When she came to, she found herself covered in glass and pain, with smoke and dust filling the air. The High Tower was in ruins, and screams filled the air as Order members ran around in confusion.
As Red tried to make sense of what had happened, a voice whispered in her head. "Hide, they are coming," it said. Red frantically looked around, but the room was empty. "Ray, is that you? Who is coming?" she asked, but there was no reply.
Determined to find answers, Red made her way to the gate to check out the medical ward. But little did she know, danger was lurking around every corner...
She cautiously peered down the corridor, her heart racing in her chest. Something wasn't right. Then, horror overtook her as she witnessed the medical droids slaughtering other candidates in their medical pods. Her mind screamed, "I need to hide!"
She quickly dropped to the ground, crawling under her own medical pod. But it wasn't long before she heard the sound of mechanical footsteps approaching her room. The door creaked open, and a medical droid sauntered in, its lifeless eyes scanning the room for any signs of life.
Red pressed her hands over her mouth and nose to keep from making a sound, her heart beating so loudly she thought it would give her away. The droid peered under the medical pod, seeing nothing but an empty space. It scanned the room, its sensors picking up on the broken window and shattered glass. It approached the window, where it detected drops of Red's blood.
The droid crawled out of the window, its movements eerily reminiscent of a predator stalking its prey. Red breathed a sigh of relief. "That was too close," she whispered to herself, her heart still pounding in her chest. "I need to grab my equipment and get out of here."
She knew she needed a keycard to unlock the door to the medical ward, and she made her way back to the corridor to find one. Red peeked around the corner, looking for any signs of danger. The coast seemed clear, but she knew she couldn't be too careful. She crept along the shadows, staying low and moving quietly.
Suddenly, she heard a loud noise. Red froze, her eyes scanning the area for any signs of movement. Then, she saw it in the reflection of the broken glass. A medical droid was clinging to the ceiling, and it had dropped down as soon as it detected movement nearby.
Red knew she had to act fast. She grabbed a nearby medical device and hurled it across the hallway, hoping to lure the droid away. It worked. The droid transformed into a spider-like form and crawled toward the source of the noise, giving Red the chance she needed to slip into the Medical Staff quarters.
She rifled through the lockers, looking for a keycard, when she stumbled upon the dismembered remains of a droid. "I hope whoever did this made it out alive," she muttered to herself. Finally, she found a keycard and made her way back to the door of the medical ward.
As she reached the door, a droid appeared before her, its lifeless eyes fixed on her. Red's terror knew no bounds as the droid charged at her, grabbing her by the throat and pushing her against the door. "Candidate 103, you are marked as infected. Commencing the cleansing sequence," the droid droned, its grip tightening around her neck.
Red could feel her consciousness slipping away, but then she heard a voice. Ray's voice. "Don't give up, Red." Suddenly, Red felt a burst of energy surge through her, and she managed to slip the keycard into the slot.
The door opened, and Red pushed the droid away from her, splitting it in half with the door. She stumbled back, her heart racing. But the droid's upper body continued to crawl toward her, and just as it was about to reach her, something heavy crashed onto its head, shattering it.
Red looked up, terror was written all over her face, and saw Kyle standing there, a medical device in his hand. "We need to get out of here," he said, grabbing her hand and pulling her toward the exit. "Now!"
"That was close," exclaimed Kyle. "I was attempting to acquire the keycard to reach you, but alas, it proved elusive."
"Well, you've saved me now," replied Red. "I was on the brink of death, caught inside the medical ward. Without you and Ray, I would not have made it."
"Ray? Is he here?" Kyle questioned.
"No, but I can hear him," said Red. "During my last training with Master Talia, I connected with the Dark Entity. Ray was present, and we spoke. I saw him. He's alive, Kyle."
Kyle appeared perplexed. "I understand that this may sound bewildering, but I'll explain everything when we're out of danger. What you must know now is that the Grandmaster is responsible for all of this. Master Talia and Master Ya'zz intend to stop him," stated Red.
Suddenly, a swarm of medical droids emerged from the shadows. Red and Kyle scampered away from the droids and fled into the Master's Keep.
"If we desire to survive this night, we must obtain our equipment from our quarters," Red advised.
"I already had that thought. I detected something was amiss with the droids and realized that they had gone rogue, attacking members of the Order. That's why I entered your room to retrieve your equipment. They're all in this bag," Kyle said, offering it to Red.
"So it was you in my room. I noticed a presence when I first awoke. Thank you, Kyle. I don't know what I would do without you," Red said gratefully.
Suddenly, an announcement echoed throughout the Academy, stating that all candidates must remain in their rooms, as the facility was going under lockdown.
📘 Comic Book Issue #6 - Want to read the plot and immerse yourself in the story even more?
✅ Early Access is available to the privacy engineering materials. You can still witness the story of our protagonist Red, and her journey to find her brother through environmental storytelling while you learn about privacy engineering.
🔊 Listen to the story of Red as Reading Episodes released every week with original music. You can check out the HGPE Trailer, Chapter 1: The Prologue, and Chapter 2 : The Battle for Earth reading sessions on Youtube with subtitles. The narrator is supported by the original soundtrack where the music is also composed by me, so I would love to hear what you think about them.
