No Man's Sky - The Novel

Chapter 1

14 years later...

A dark jungle, even though it was midday no light penetrated the thick trees. A man wearing a helmet ran through the thick foliage, a crude sack over his shoulder. He sprinted, pushing small trees and tall plants out of his path. Suddenly ahead of him he saw a light shining through the dense forest; the edge of the jungle. He picked up speed, weaving through the trees until at last he emerged into the harsh light. Pulling off his helmet and gasping for air, he wiped his brow of sweat. The jungle had been hard to breathe in. The harsh light of the bright yellow sun shined on his blonde hair and white skin, glistening with sweat. His green eyes darted around looking for signs of movement nearby until he was sure the coast was clear. Slowly he heaved the sack off his back and set it down on the ground, the pink grass curled around his feet. Carefully, he took off the binding keeping it closed and began to open it, peering inside - "Stop right there criminal!" Not easily surprised, he looked up to see a man dressed in black and white shiny synthesised armour. A helmet covered his face and showed the letters S.E.R on top; an officer. He was on a ledge just in front of him, striking a pose with his foot on a rock, his hand held up in a 'stop' gesture. "You have violated protocol #357 and in doing so I must now place you under arrest-" A loud 'thump' interrupted his speech as he crumpled like a leaf. A man stood behind where the officer had previously stood; dropping a large branch and dusting off his hands. He had brown hair that was cut ragged but spiked at the front. Stubble covered his lower face as well as a white grin. His eyes, dark brown, shone even from his shadowed face and his skin was almost olive, obviously tanned by many suns. Both men had similar clothing; the blonde had dark blue and yellow armour, and the other man had the same kind of armour, except reddish-pinkish and white. The blonde grinned, picking up his sack. "I almost thought you weren't coming." He said walking over to the other man. "Oh come on, since when have I left you behind?" The blonde raised an eyebrow. "Uh, except for last time." The other man said, scratching the back of his head. "And the time before that?" The blonde questioned grinning. They both laughed, and offering his hand, the other man helped pull the blonde onto the ledge. "Well, thanks anyway Chris." The blonde said grinning at the other man who groaned. "Don't get all sentimental on me Adrian." He says rolling his eyes. Walking over the pink grassy plains they laughed and cracked jokes like the old friends they were.

Finally they came to the lake which they had parked their ships next to. Adrian's ship was dark blue and yellow, just like his armour. Chris's was the same model expect pinkish-reddish and white, just like his armour. Adrian walked over to his ship, opening the pod and tossing in the sack. He stretched and looked up into the sky, "Oh great," He said sighing, "someone's picking a fight with a few S.E.R." Chris groaned, "They couldn't have waited five more seconds?" . "I'll go look for an exit route," Adrian said, hopping into his ship "don't forget to turn on your comm this time!" He yelled as the capsule slid shut and clicked into place. "Got it?" His voice hissed over the intercom through the ship. "Aye aye!" Chris said giving a small salute, grinning. Adrian rolled his eyes, and pulling the throttle with one hand and the control sticks towards him with the other, he zoomed off and upwards in the blink of an eye.

Chris hauled himself onto the wing of his ship and looked up at the sky. Around 10 vessels were engaged in combat in orbit. As he watched, two S.E.R ships zoomed overhead to join the battle. It wasn't uncommon to see battles like this, they happened daily on most planets. However this was a S.E.R world, they had a base camp on the other side of the planet. You'd have to be crazy to pick a fight here, which apparently these guys were. The comm in the ship crackled to life, "Hey, think I found us a route. So hurry up before it closes!" . "Alright, alright keep your helmet on!" Chris yelled back as he jumped into the ship. He closed the capsule, pulled the throttle forwards and the control sticks backwards, and shot off into the sky all in two seconds.

He flew up beside Adrian's ship, his voice crackled over the intercom. "No time for chat, let's get out of here before our opportunity closes, follow me." Chris reluctantly followed as Adrian shot off. They turned their noses upwards, the clouds rushed past them blocking their vision and then suddenly they had broken through the planet's atmosphere. Turning they saw the giant orange-pinkish planet looming behind them, shrouded in clouds. "WHOOHOO!" Chris yelled punching the air, "we got out, and with the loot!" . Adrian's voice crackled on the intercom "Don't celebrate yet, we still have to get to Redymeient Alpha and sell this stuff." . "I can never pronounce that name..." Chris said frowning, "And stop being such a downer, we got off planet without being detected!" . "Yeah," Adrian said looking around, "I guess we are in the clear." Chris opened his mouth to reply when all of a sudden two S.E.R command vessels emerged out of hyperspace, hemming them in. A voice crackled to life over the intercom, "Halt criminals, you are under arrest for theft and harm of a S.E.R official. You will now be taken to S.E.R base prime where you will be assessed and then transported to a prison camp." . "Oh crap." Adrian groaned as Chris slammed his head onto the control panel.