Evelyn Creed stumbled through the hellish wasteland of the desert planet, clutching at her side. She had certainly seen better days. She was fairly certain at least one of her ribs had cracked, and her ankle was almost, though thankfully not quite, sprained. She clenched her jaw and ignored the pain as she limped along the harsh landscape. Her left arm hung uselessly at her side, blood flowing slowly down from where the wound had reopened, dripping from the tips of her fingers onto the hot sand below.
She was making her way slowly towards a hut in the distance, the first hint of shelter she had seen in the three days she had been stranded on this god forsaken planet. The heat from the large red sun in the sky above her seemed only to increase in intensity as she made her way forward, soaking into the black material of her damaged armor. Sweat dripped down her face, sticking strands of waving brown hair to her skin where they had escaped from her ponytail. Hazel eyes dazedly took in the small building, if it could still be called that, in front of her. It appeared to be the only thing left standing, possibly on the entire planet. It was an ancient looking adobe house, almost the same color as the sand around her, with one wall crumbling away into nothing. There was no one and nothing on this planet, and Evelyn would guess that whatever built that house had left or died off too long ago to be remembered.
It seemed like an eternity before she finally stumbled through the entryway. It was one single room, no bigger than a shed and completely barren, just like the desert surrounding it. Evelyn leaned heavily against one of the three walls still standing, prying her helmet off with her good arm and letting it drop to the floor. Legs starting to feel unsteady, she slid down the wall, setting off a small cloud of dust as she practically collapsed to the ground. Her head fell back as she closed her eyes, just for a moment’s rest.
She could feel herself fading. There hadn’t been any food to begin with, and the small amount of water she had had on her ran out over a day ago, even with her sparing use. She’d last two, maybe three more days at this point, she figured. Even with shelter from the scorching red sun, a bit of shade wouldn’t keep away the dehydration she felt pounding in her head and leaving her mouth like sandpaper.
With her eyes closed, memories of the days leading up to this one flashed through her mind. If I hadn’t been on that damn mission, she thought, but no, she couldn’t pretend she regretted her actions. Evelyn may have been a mercenary, nothing more than a hired gun, but slaughtering children, no matter if they had biotic abilities or not, had never been a part of her job description. She could still see the raw terror on the kids’ faces when her company bust into their hideout. Most of them couldn’t have been more than fifteen, and many of them had seemed younger still.
She had hoped that after the mission had gone south, thanks to her actions, she would have been able to simply sneak off, find a new planet where no one would know her name or recognize her face, and start over. She’d done it before. With a small, bitter laugh she realized that in a way she had done just that. There was certainly no one to recognize her here, or anyone who even was here at all.
She opened her eyes, looking down at the armor she wore, now damaged and covered in dust. She could see the burnt orange markings of the Wraiths’ symbol on the side of her suit, still clearly visible through all of the dirt. She gritted her teeth at the sight, the bold design that had once brought her feelings of arrogant pride now leaving her with disgust. She could clearly recall the rage on Zoran’s face as he slammed her against a wall, once he knew what she had done. Zoran, she thought, furious hatred twisting her features at the thought of her now former boss. The bastard had beaten her and left her here with a smile on his face. If she ever got off this horrid world, she would find the son of a bitch and… but thoughts like that were useless. There would be no getting away now. She would probably die right here in this hut, body wasting away until all that was left her bones, dry and forgotten as the wasteland she had been left in.
She was making her way slowly towards a hut in the distance, the first hint of shelter she had seen in the three days she had been stranded on this god forsaken planet. The heat from the large red sun in the sky above her seemed only to increase in intensity as she made her way forward, soaking into the black material of her damaged armor. Sweat dripped down her face, sticking strands of waving brown hair to her skin where they had escaped from her ponytail. Hazel eyes dazedly took in the small building, if it could still be called that, in front of her. It appeared to be the only thing left standing, possibly on the entire planet. It was an ancient looking adobe house, almost the same color as the sand around her, with one wall crumbling away into nothing. There was no one and nothing on this planet, and Evelyn would guess that whatever built that house had left or died off too long ago to be remembered.
It seemed like an eternity before she finally stumbled through the entryway. It was one single room, no bigger than a shed and completely barren, just like the desert surrounding it. Evelyn leaned heavily against one of the three walls still standing, prying her helmet off with her good arm and letting it drop to the floor. Legs starting to feel unsteady, she slid down the wall, setting off a small cloud of dust as she practically collapsed to the ground. Her head fell back as she closed her eyes, just for a moment’s rest.
She could feel herself fading. There hadn’t been any food to begin with, and the small amount of water she had had on her ran out over a day ago, even with her sparing use. She’d last two, maybe three more days at this point, she figured. Even with shelter from the scorching red sun, a bit of shade wouldn’t keep away the dehydration she felt pounding in her head and leaving her mouth like sandpaper.
With her eyes closed, memories of the days leading up to this one flashed through her mind. If I hadn’t been on that damn mission, she thought, but no, she couldn’t pretend she regretted her actions. Evelyn may have been a mercenary, nothing more than a hired gun, but slaughtering children, no matter if they had biotic abilities or not, had never been a part of her job description. She could still see the raw terror on the kids’ faces when her company bust into their hideout. Most of them couldn’t have been more than fifteen, and many of them had seemed younger still.
She had hoped that after the mission had gone south, thanks to her actions, she would have been able to simply sneak off, find a new planet where no one would know her name or recognize her face, and start over. She’d done it before. With a small, bitter laugh she realized that in a way she had done just that. There was certainly no one to recognize her here, or anyone who even was here at all.
She opened her eyes, looking down at the armor she wore, now damaged and covered in dust. She could see the burnt orange markings of the Wraiths’ symbol on the side of her suit, still clearly visible through all of the dirt. She gritted her teeth at the sight, the bold design that had once brought her feelings of arrogant pride now leaving her with disgust. She could clearly recall the rage on Zoran’s face as he slammed her against a wall, once he knew what she had done. Zoran, she thought, furious hatred twisting her features at the thought of her now former boss. The bastard had beaten her and left her here with a smile on his face. If she ever got off this horrid world, she would find the son of a bitch and… but thoughts like that were useless. There would be no getting away now. She would probably die right here in this hut, body wasting away until all that was left her bones, dry and forgotten as the wasteland she had been left in.