System Change

Chapter 296: Unfortunate Return

Lieutenant Hobbs sat back at his desk with a sigh. The Planetary Battle on Planet A-37 was moving along nicely, especially considering its size. If things continued to go the way they were, Commander Kelvin would surely reward him with a promotion. Perhaps he would even get promoted to one of those comfy command positions back at base. A man could dream.

But soon, all his hopes and dreams were dashed by a blaring alarm going off on his bracelet. He had set that alarm around a year ago and hadnt bothered with it since. In fact, he had put it out of his mind. But the alarm meant one of two things. Either the commander was going to be extremely pleased, or he was going to be extremely pissed.

Praying for the correct outcome, Hobbs slowly raised his bracelet up and punched in a few commands. Then, all the air left him as his face fell into his palm and he began to shake his head. It was the wrong outcome-the one he hoped and prayed it wouldnt be. That bastard didnt die. He didnt die, and he was on his way back.

Just then, a quick series of knocks rang out on his door, causing him to sit up straight and swiftly fix his previously bedraggled hair before uttering, Come in! With his deep voice.

The door to his office swung open and a woman with dark skin and fiery orange hair strode in.

What is it, Sergeant Trusk? Hobbs asked.

Commander! There is a commotion at the east gates that may require your attention, the sergeant spoke.

Of course, he could already guess what sort of commotion she was talking about. The only person who had been exploring to the east was that man. On top of the alarm he had set to go off whenever that man entered a certain distance from the camp, Lieutenant Hobbs knew exactly who was the cause of the commotion. He only wondered what that man was doing.

Hobbs almost let out another sigh, but caught himself. He didnt want to look or sound defeated in front of one of his sergeants. So, instead, he stood, looked at Sergeant Trusk, and said, Very well, lead me there.

Yes, sir!

As Sergeant Trusk led him out of office and through the barracks, Hobbs couldnt help but think about the man. In around a year, nobody has heard anything from or about that man. Weve also kept soldiers from venturing out east, just because of him. But that area is full of the Obsidian Ash Panthers, including their leader. Did he manage to survive alone against them for all this time? I dont even think I would be confident to survive an entire year alone in that area without backup.

Just what is it with him? Did he hide for a year? Hobbs couldnt help but think. But hed met the man before sending him east of their camp. No. He didnt seem like the type of person who would hide. If nothing else, he was a fighter.

But I havent heard anything from any of the camps to the east of us, so he couldnt have made his way all the way through. He surely would have met other soldiers mapping out the forest to the west of them. So why hadnt anyone contacted him? Surely Hobbs would have gotten some kind of message from one of the other camp lieutenants.

Continuing to follow the sergeant, they finally arrived close to the east gate entrance. When they got there, they were met with quite the sight. All the guards and multiple soldiers were positioned around a man. They were ready to battle at a moments notice. Some used swords, some used guns, but all weapons were pointed at a man in the center.

A short walk later, and the three of them were standing next to the entrance of one of the barracks. Trusk had calmed down and followed as well.

Here they are. Im sure you can find the showers yourself, Hobbs said. When you finish, meet me at my office. There is a lot for us to discuss.

Jace didnt bother with a reply, and strode forward to the entrance to the barracks. But before he opened the door, he paused and turned back around, looking at Hobbs and Trusk. With a couple motions, he held his wrist out and nodded to the bracelet.

Understand what he was hinting at, Hobbs reached out and took the communications bracelet off of his wrist and moved back. Then, Jace pulled the other bracelet off and tossed it to him as well.

Theres your map. Sell everything in the other one for system credits. And have somebody bring me a change of clothes.

Hobbs looked down at the blood covered bracelets in his hand and nodded. The next moment, Jace disappeared into the barracks.

Is he really a soldier? Trusk finally asked, breaking Hobbs out of his thoughts.

Hobbs snorted. Only in the faintest sense. Hes someone the commander sent here to die, but apparently that didnt work. Now I have to be the one to report it to Commander Kelvin. The lieutenant shook his head and turned to go back to his command center.

Once back in his office, after giving Trusk the order to find Jace a spare uniform, he leaned back in his chair, deep in thought. Hes even less sociable than when I saw him last. And that bloodlust. What did he go through this last year? Finally, took the time to inspect the two bracelets Jace had tossed him.

First, he connected his own officer-grade communications bracelet to the one Jace had been issued and transferred all the data it had collected to his own. Without hesitation, he began his inspection. The more information he found, the more surprised he became.

He actually mapped every corner of the eastern forest. Almost up to the other camp, even. How did nobody see him? That was the main issue tugging on Hobbss mind. If a man like Jace got that close to another military encampment, surely someone would have noticed him.

But soon, he found his answer. At one point a few months ago, Jaces communication bracelet came into contact with three other bracelets. But just as they came into contact, those three bracelets disappeared. He killed them? But there arent any demerits. That means of course. The three soldiers who met Jace in the forest must have attacked the man first. Who wouldnt attack when meeting someone like that in the middle of a forest?

There really wasnt much Hobbs could do about it if the other three had attacked first. The best-case scenario was a light reprimand for not holding back in his attacks. But that wouldnt do anything. Finally, he finished going through all the new data collected by Jace. If nothing else, the man had been extremely thorough. He had collected as much information about the eastern forest alone as an entire squad would have.

Next, he moved onto the mans storage bracelet to see what all he wanted to sell. The number of Obsidian Ash Panther corpses was staggering. His eyes widened in shock when he found the queen and king panther corpses among them. He also sighed when he found the bodies of three soldiers, all neatly taken out with a single slash.

Once more Hobbs sat back and sighed. It was a rough day for the lieutenant. For over a minute, he fidgeted with his own communication bracelet. He had to make a report. I hope Kelvin doesnt take this out on me. With a deep breath, he finally made the call.