Iter Per Astra: Volume 2 - Fearless Commando

Astral 11 - Starella City

Joseph, Rosalina, and Melody entered the old Xenohuman city.

The three of them walked in a single line trying to be as close as possible to the abandoned building in the city. Rosalina walked between Joseph and Melody. Melody was in the front of the group keeping watch with her near-instant reflexes thanks to her hyperspeed powers, using needles as her weapons. Joseph was on the back with the blaster that Melody had given him, while his reflexes were not as quick as Melody's they were still plenty fast for someone without powers at his disposal. Rosalina was in the middle as she had little combat experience, Melody didn't want her to get in her way.

"What building are looking for exactly?" Joseph asked Rosalina.

"We are looking for the biggest building in the entire city, which should be the grand hall where the mayor's office is."

"How come archeologists haven't seen this map?" He asked.

"The maps are not shown plainly, they are usually behind some sort of puzzle or riddle, while others require some power to open them. For example, the one on Elysium required my father to heat certain parts of the walls for it to show up."

"So, your father was a Xenohuman as well then."

"He was the most powerful of us at the time, he could manipulate fire."

"Interesting... One question, how do you know that we can open this one." He asked. "Or more specifically how can YOU open it."

"Well, um..." Rosalina thought for a second. "I assume that this first one has to be a puzzle of some sort as the Xenohumans for this time weren't as widespread yet, it was mostly one member of the family that had powers."

"So, you're telling me that the entire planet was filled with Xenohumans?" He asked.

"Just take the population of any planet and flip its Xenohuman to human ratio, I think it's better if you think of it this way."

"Keep quiet you two," Melody said. "If they hear us..."

"I know I know," Joseph answered. "Keep calm Melody this isn't my first stealth mission; I feel weird that I am not carrying all the usual gear that I carry on these types of missions."

At the corner of one of the buildings they were passing through, Melody overheard a conversation that belonged to the bandits living in the old city.

She lifted her hand behind her to tell Joseph and Rosalina to stop.

She quietly looked around the corner trying to keep her head as hidden as possible.

There were three old CRN military Jeep wranglers one with a heavy laser cannon and the other two with mounted machine guns, additionally, to the military jeeps there were also several trucks with loads of crates on the back, all of them had either a Coryzen Royal Navy insignia, the symbol of Intrepid Technologies, or the insignia of the Starline family which were the weapons developed by Marek Starline's daughter.

"Is that the building?" Melody asked as she moved back to allow Rosalina to look.

"It is." She answered. "That's the building."

"Son of a— why did it have to be that building!?" She said in a faint voice that sounded as if she was screaming it for the entire planet to hear.

"Melody calm down," Joseph said.

"How can I be calm!! That's their headquarters, and you want to enter there!? Do you want to be killed?!"

"Hey hey, there can't be many people there, right?" Rosalina said cluelessly.