Echoes of the Dead Constellation - Remembrance

Looking back now, it's a miracle I survived. Amid that endless barrage on the battlefield, as my comrades fell one by one, why did I make it out alive?

"Isn't that right? All of you?"

I asked the corpses around me.

There was no chance of dying cleanly on that field, so my comrades were all mangled horrors.

But no answer came.

Then one of the bodies spoke.

"Why only you!!! Why!!"

"Tell me about it. I'm wondering the same thing, Private Shta."

I gave a bitter smile and faced him from my memories.

[Private Kal. Don't get in my way. I'm not as nice as Corporal Beniel.]

Private Shta was always full of complaints. He'd gripe about tough training, curse late supplies, and badmouth superiors as a daily routine. But when battle hit, no one charged ahead and sprayed bullets like him.

That day was the operation to reclaim Sector 7. Xenoforms burst from their tunnels and overran our platoon.

Shta was crawling on the ground, his lower body torn away. Red blood mixed with the mud, making a sticky mess.

"Cough... This time I... got in the way."

Private Shta coughed up blood-mixed phlegm and grabbed my boot. His grip weakened bit by bit. His eyes had already lost focus, staring blankly into space.

I knelt and gently closed the wide-staring eyes of Private Shta.

"Rest easy."

"Kal. Is the corporal still alive?"

"Yes, thanks to you. Thank you, Medic Kaya."

The blue-haired woman was the most passionate medic in the company.

[Quit whining! Your guts aren't spilling out! This is just a light wound, so you don't die without my permission! Got it?! Open your eyes!]

Beside her were Medic Kaya and Corporal Din.

Corporal Din was the guy who always offered me smokes and rambled about opening a bakery back home after the war. Medic Kaya had a crush on him but acted prickly on the surface.

MH-08 city battle. Medic Kaya clutched Din's upper body, desperately wrapping bandages.

Her screams echoed across the battlefield. Her hands were slick with blood but never stopped.

"It's okay... it's okay, Din. Bleeding's stopped. Now we can go home. Open your eyes a bit. Ah, why are my eyes so heavy today... too many patients...."

Kaya's voice grew fainter. A deep gash from a Xenoform spike yawned open on her back.

To the end, she tried saving Din over herself, then breathed her last in his arms.

I laid them side by side.

Hoping they could finally open that bakery together.

"Sergeant ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Kal!! Care for a drink?" A booming voice rang out.

"Sorry. Should've taken that drink back then, Sergeant Graktaz."

And there, atop a mountain of Xenoform corpses, sat a massive man.

Sergeant Graktaz was a Draconian, 2.5 meters of brown-scaled reptilian muscle. A veteran among veterans, he wore his scars like badges of honor.

[Scars mean you're still alive. Come on, let's test how my scales hold against their teeth today! Kal! Cover me!]

When the final retreat order came, he volunteered for rearguard. His silhouette, swinging that huge cryo-weapon into the Xenoform wave, was burned into my eyes.

"Stay back, little one. If I'd been five years younger, I'd have made it, heh... Honorable hunt. Warm up some booze in my ancestors' hall and wait."

Sergeant Graktaz laughed even as a massive Xenoform jaw crushed his upper body. His hand still clutched a dagger that had gouged out its eye.

I recovered his body from between the Xenoform's teeth.

His eyes were open. A warrior's glare fixed on the enemy to the last.

I hated it.

This war that snatched lives so easily. Everything burned in its heat.

And my own powerlessness.

Just a pathetic kid who dreamed of being a TV hero out of mere admiration. No grand dreams grander than others, no family to protect.

That I survived...

"Damn it!"

I slammed the ground.

Back then, I wanted to spew out the thick, black emotions anywhere. If I didn't vomit the rage pooling in my chest, I'd go mad.

And the easiest target for that fury was the swarming Xenoforms before me.

When my mandatory service ended and discharge loomed, I didn't go home. I enlisted as a non-com and volunteered for the front lines, where death odds were highest.

Maybe that's when I became no different from those Xenoforms. Not living to kill for survival, but a monster living to kill.

My uniform chest was laden with medals.

I'd become the hero from my childhood dreams, shining on Federation TV. People and my unit hailed me as "war hero," "Xenoform slayer."

But the stuffiness in my chest never faded. Each new medal meant more comrades turned to corpses. Every one bought with thousands, tens of thousands of lives.

I was breaking down, bit by bit. Then one day, a new company commander arrived.

"Pleased to meet you! Warrant Officer Kal. I'm Major Lumina, newly assigned as 7th Assault Company commander."

She was dazzling.

White uniform and clear eyes that didn't belong amid battlefield dust and blood.

Fresh from officer academy, an elite. And a rare constellation even in the Federation.

"Sir. You don't need to use formal speech with me. I'm just a lowly non-com."

I answered curtly.

'Another greenhorn desk-jockey fresh out of theory class, bound to die quick.'

I didn't welcome Lumina at first. Better an incompetent boss than some arrogant constellation strutting around.

But she was different.

"First posting after academy, and you're famous across the legion, not just the unit. I'll show my shortcomings, so please guide me plenty—I'll stick to formal for now."

She smiled brightly and offered a handshake. Her hand was warm, soft without a single callus. The warmth unsettled me; I gripped and released roughly.

"If that's easier for you."

Major Lumina's power was blessing type.

Support constellation amplifying ship or gear output, strengthening shields.

I tried not to grow attached. In this war, "good commanders" died first or got their troops massacred.

But in our first battle, my expectations shattered spectacularly. Our squad was isolated deep in enemy lines. Comms dead, ammo gone. Xenoforms closing in.

'This is it.'

I resigned, pulling my last grenade. Then—shwoooong!—the sky split as a massive ship plunged down. Missiles from it melted the encirclement.

After the storm, it was Lumina's command ship. Instead of safe rear, she'd maxed her power to reinforce armor and boost engines, recklessly charging the front.

She bled on the bridge from overusing her power. But her eyes didn't waver.

That day, we all survived.

For the first time in ages, I saw a commander treat soldiers as lives, not expendables. The iron door of my heart cracked open.

Time passed, and Federation HQ launched a massive reclamation op. Lumina and I led the vanguard.

Success. We reclaimed three resource planets.

But the cost was horrific. 120,000 bait troops fed to Xenoforms. HQ ignored their pleas to ensure main force victory.

Furious, I stormed the briefing room. But the brass on-screen laughed, popping champagne.

"Operation's a huge success. Secured three resource planets. More budget from Congress now."

One general chuckled around his cigar.

"Casualties? Statistically under 3% minor loss. Replacements are endless. Toss families some medals, they'll shut up."

The others laughed along. Something snapped inside me. I clenched my fist, advancing on the pig. Rank be damned—I wanted to smash his face.

"Kal!"

Lumina grabbed my shoulder, shaking her head.

'Endure it. Mutiny here ruins you alone.'

'But... those bastards... our comrades...!'

"I know. I know."

Lumina's voice trembled. My rage-blurred vision refocused. She bowed her head, but blood trickled from bitten lips. Nails dug into palms, drawing blood.

She raged too. But as commander, she endured to protect her troops.

That's when I realized. Our enemy wasn't just Xenoform disaster. The humans crunching numbers, trading lives for digits—they might be the real foe.

I felt sick.

Months later, Xenoform planetary invasion hit.

Serenia Planet. Peaceful home to tens of millions of civilians.

Defenses breached, frantic rescue signals from habitats.

Meanwhile, elites and rich fled on private shuttles, begging escort.

HQ's order was merciless.

"Insane... Tens of millions of civilians left behind! You want us to abandon them?!"

I yelled into the comms.

Company Commander Lumina bit her lip. Her eyes sharpened.

"All fleet, listen. We reject HQ orders. We descend to habitats and rescue civilians!"

She chose mutiny. But the world wouldn't allow her justice.

Beep!

Ship alarms blared.

HQ remotely seized control, forcing the ship around.

"Release it! Now!"

Lumina pounded the console, screaming. But powerless without clearance, we watched the horror through viewports. Untimely, habitats swarmed by black Xenoform waves.

City lights winked out one by one. Lights of life.

Tens of millions of screams buried in cosmic silence.

"Ahh..."

Lumina collapsed, sobbing.

I punched the wall. Bone-cracking pain paled against heart's agony.

For this, Lumina lost command, jailed aboard.

Gazing through bars, I thought:

'We're not soldiers guarding the Federation. We're hounds protecting those pigs.'

Loathing for Federation elites turned to hatred.

Sector 11 outer defense. History's largest Xenoform horde invaded.

Monsters blotting the sky. Federation constellations fell one by one; legions crumbled helplessly.

HQ retreat order. But someone had to buy time. Bait to hold Xenoforms till main force warped safe.

Legion HQ picked Lumina. Her wide-area ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠blessings and shields perfect for last stand—pure efficiency.

Death sentence.

Released from brig, Lumina stood calmly on bridge. Eyes resigned to death.

"Warrant Officer Kal. Take your troops and board evac. I'll stay."

"What are you saying! We go together! Ignore that crap order! Just run!"

I grabbed her arm, pleading.

Federation? Humanity? Screw that. In this hell, Lumina was my only light.

Lumina smiled faintly, taking my hand.

"Warrant Officer Kal. No, Kal. Sorry."

Her hand was still warm.

"I wanted to show you a better Federation, a world without war... I wasn't enough."

"Don't say that! Please...!"

As she ignored my pleas, I resolved: drag her if needed. Save her, hated or not. I pulled hidden military sedative, aiming for her neck.

But she was a constellation. Beyond human; my move too slow.

She gently caught my wrist.

"Kal."

She took the syringe.

"Survive. Live... try a normal life without this damn war."

Pfook. She plunged it into my neck without hesitation.

"Lumina..."

Vision blurred. Strength fled. Her face receded. Last sight: her tears.

"Sorry, Kal. And... lo—."

Her final word lost. Consciousness snapped.

I woke in the medbay of a retreating Federation ship.

Lumina had forcibly evac'd not just me, but all subordinates.

"Warrant Officer Kal! You're awake?!"

A trooper rushed over, teary.

"The commander... Colonel Lumina?"

I demanded. He bowed his head.

"......Estella self-destructed in the Xenoform horde heart. Blast wiped their main fleet... Main force escaped safe."

"......"

Speechless. No tears. Something inside crumbled utterly.

Lumina's sacrifice saved the main force. Repaired, Federation reclaimed Sector 11.

But losses too great.

Capital victory parade and memorial drew millions to the plaza. Brazen generals on stage.

Federation commander read eulogy solemnly.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

"The noble sacrifice of the late Colonel Lumina preserved our legions, granting counterattack chance."

Lies.

You killed her—the most humane soul, who cherished soldiers most. You drove her to death for your safety, now packaging her corpse as hero for PR.

"To honor her, we award Federation's highest honor, 'Heart of the Nebula' medal, and exceptionally promote her three ranks to lieutenant general."

Roar of cheers!

Citizens cheered the hero's birth. To me, it sounded like demons shrieking. Medal. That vile word fully severed something inside.

No more rage, no tears. Just cold emptiness.

I unpinned my chest medals one by one.

Guardian Cross, Silver Star Meritorious Service, Red Nebula...

Cursed metal bought with comrades' blood.

I hurled them to the ground. Clink. Clink. Cheerful metal rang like my heart's door slamming shut.

"Warrant Officer Kal? What the hell?!"

A nearby officer yelled. I glared at him—at the Federation system—and growled low.

"Stop piling corpses beside me."

I turned.

"It's disgusting."

That was the incident that made me shed my uniform.