Crashlanded Phoenix

16th of June, Year 5563, Northern Imperial Fortress Abakon.

"Ring, ring, ring," went the alarm clock beside my bed that woke me up every single day and forced out of bed, so that I may silence it before going through my daily morning routine. It was just barely out of the reach of my hand, just enough to make me get up and prevent sleeping in; as much as it annoyed me, it was me who put it there on the nightstand for that exact reason. I stretched out my arms and legs and listened to the ever so satisfying sounds of bones popping back into place as I straightened myself out. I yawned and set off in the direction of my bathroom.

The autodoor swung wide open as I approached it, and I was immediately confronted by the tall mirror hanging on the wall right in front of me, compelling me to approach. My hand moved down its surface and I took in the feeling of its smooth and cold surface which reflected my visage as I gazed into it. I took a step away and looked at my whole reflection, sinking deep into thought as my eyes wandered up and down my exposed body. Sleeping in clothes was never comfortable for me and I tended to avoid it unless absolutely necessary like during deployments, when dressing and undressing wasted time.
The first thing that would catch a regular person's eye was the fact that I possessed, not two, but four arms, one of which was clearly cybernetic, namely the left upper arm. They weren't particularly muscular or out of proportion, the non-cybernetic arms fused seamlessly with the rest of my body as if they were always there and they certainly felt like it, though they were much stronger and tougher than regular arms, being able to effortlessly lift hundreds of kilograms of weight or throw people around like flesh puppets.

The cybernetic arm itself was as much, if not more capable than my other appendages. It was mostly there for utility reasons as it contained dozens of tools and devices, which one may find useful. Things like laser cutters, power drills, miniature scanners, geolocators and more, all of which was possible thanks to tiny nanobots which flowed through my veins alongside my blood, though it was impossible for me to turn my fingers into kinetic blasters or my palm into a plasma thrower, no matter how awesome it would be.

Contrary to what one may think, I didn't have four legs, instead I had two genetically enhanced legs which were far more capable when compared to regular limbs. Those two wonders of science could outrun even the fastest predator this world had to offer, even allowing me to race against some of the Imperial vehicles without as much as a single drop of sweat. The downside is that they took me a long time to get used to them and many painful visits to Mother Earth, even now it was hard for me to maintain balance when running at neck-breaking speeds.

I chuckled to myself as some of the memories of my less than fortunate attempts at running played back in my mind. In the corner of my eye I noticed my tail moving about, likely a result of my spontaneous laughter. I turned around, my back now facing the tall mirror which confronted me a couple minutes ago. My eyes wandered down to my rear and looked at where the tailbone in the human body was located. Normally humans don't have anything there, but the bright minds at the Department of Combat Augmentations of the Imperial Research and Development Bureau have decided to that it'd be a great idea if they installed a tail there, which they did. The metallic contraption attached to my body sometimes felt like it had a mind of it's own, though it was probably just my brain that spontaneously sent signals to it. Should be logical considering that I was able to control it quite easily once I focused a little bit on it.

The main reason for the tail being a thing in the first place was to help me balance myself and to have another limb to do day-to-day tasks with. Yet that wasn't enough, there was a medium-sized circular hole at the end of the tail, which contained a stinger that could puncture through flesh, bone and metal alike. Truly a marvel of science and engineering. Its structure resembled that of a feline tail due to their flexibility.
The same couldn't be told about the two small sets of white feathered wings implanted into my back. They were the result of an ambitious project to allow humans to fly, but the wings were made too small and weak for that to be possible. These ones were the fourth attempt at making them usable, which succeeded to a degree. They were still too small to allow people to take off, but now they were able to grow to eventually make it possible, albeit the process was quite slow.

I turned my attention away from the mirror and to the sink that was to my left. A small cabinet was located above it containing various hygiene products. I grabbed a tube of minty toothpaste and a toothbrush onto which I put the aforementioned toothpaste. I knew that I was running low on toothpaste and that there wasn't any left in the fortress supply depot, so I did my best to use as little as possible while brushing teeth so that I wouldn't run out of it before the next supply run.

I checked my teeth after I was done brushing them and left the bathroom, the autodoor opened as I approached it and then closed after I stepped through it. I made my way over to the wardrobe on the other end of my room and opened it, there weren't many apparel choices available to me as all the clothes had to be custom-made due to my very unique build.

My unique build also included a highly advanced exoskeleton seamlessly fused with my body, working to further enhance my already impressive capabilities. It was a relatively new addition, but it has by far exceeded the expectations of all engineers who worked on designing it. It made me even faster, even stronger than before and increased the amount of mechanites inside me, allowing for passive self-repair and regeneration. I grabbed then put on a plain white t-shirt and black trousers and left my bedroom once I was ready to go and do my duties for today.

I stepped out of my bedroom and into the hallway which stretched out as far as the eye could see, both left and right corridors were equally long for one reason or another. I turned right and began walking towards the next objective on my daily routine list, the cafeteria. The hallway itself was painted exclusively white including the floor tiles, additionally it was almost completely empty save for some potted plants on pedestals. These seemed to be the only things that weren't white in here. I walked past many doors, most of them locked and leading to empty bedrooms that were built for future personnel.

After minutes of mind-numbing walking I finally arrive at a set of closed double doors, above them was a sign labeled "Cafeteria". I put the palm of my cybernetic arm on a scanner by the door and seconds later a robotic voice came out of the scanner speaker. "Biometric signature recognised, access granted." I removed my cybernetic palm from the scanner and watched the doors to the cafeteria opening.

I stepped into the cafeteria. "Hey everyone," I said out of habit upon entering and to my surprise none of my compatriots were to be found inside. At this time of day they usually sat at one of the tables, talking about whatever came to their minds at any given moment. My tail twitched slightly as I walked further into the cafeteria. "I guess I will have to eat alone today," I said to myself after looking around the cafeteria again then opted to get something to eat.

A single nutrient bar dispenser stood by one of the cafeteria walls right next to a tray holder, which was next to a tray cleaner. Forks and knives were provided too of course. We rarely got any fresh food or actual meals here and most of the time have to eat these nutrient bars, anything else has to be requested at least two weeks before a supply run. This month's bar flavour choices were rather good compared to other months, we got the plain bars which tasted like generic bread at best and hardtack at worst and the unique flavours for this month are strawberry and beef, separate of course. I pressed the button for a beef flavoured bar...and got nothing.

"Out of stock!" A voice from the dispenser speaker said, making me groan because I wouldn't get my artificial meat flavour. "Strawberry isn't a terrible choice either I guess..." I thought when I pressed the middle button on the dispenser and hoped to see a red bar appear...to no avail. "Out of stock!" The dispenser voice said again, to me it felt almost like it was mocking me. Resigned, I pressed the button for a plain nutrient bar and finally got something that I could eat. I took a tray and put the bar on it alongside a knife and a fork then sat down at one of the cafeteria tables.

Several minutes and one rather unremarkable meal later I got up from the table I sat at and disposed of the tray and tupperware. Deciding that it was time for me to get on with my duties I approached a holographic display conveniently placed in the back of the cafeteria labeled "Imperial Orders". I traced my finger down the short list of fortress personnel, there were four of us here in total and we were all equally modified. My finger arrived at the bottom of the list and read the orders out loud to myself. "Object C-04 Codename "Rex", Order: Deliver monthly supplies from the capital to the fortress," being referred to as an "object" by the headquarters was nothing new, but it stung nonetheless.

I left the cafeteria through a different door and stepped into what one could call the exact same hallway I was in before, though this one would lead me to the residential complex exit. I began walking forward and turned right midway through my journey, a couple minutes later I arrived at a heavy steel door clearly labeled "Exit". My cybernetic palm touched the scanner by the door which unlocked and opened it for me. I went through the first door and into what I could simply describe as an airlock, the door behind me closed and I could feel the fresh arctic air pouring into the airlock as the second door opened.

I stepped out of the airlock and into the frozen snow-covered wasteland outside, I felt the fresh layer of snow underneath my bare feet and took a deep breath to take in the feeling of cold breeze gently blowing in my face. The cold, despite being several degrees under 0°C, wasn't an issue to me nor my body in the slightest. I set my sights on a different building a short walk away, a building where I could retrieve my equipment before moving on to do my job.

Once again I encountered a heavy door, this time leading into a different building. There was a sign built into the wall by the door labeled "Armoury" and a button right under the sign. I pressed it and the door opened in an instant, revealing a contraption similar to the airlock I went through to leave the residential complex though this one contained a full body scanner. I stepped inside and the door behind me closed with a heavy thud, followed by a robotic voice coming out of a speaker. "Biometric body scan required, please stand on designated spot." A circle on the floor lit up right under me as I already stood in that exact same spot and soon after an array of sensors and other equipment thoroughly scanned my body. "Access granted," the circular light went dark and I went through the now opened doors and into the armoury.

Far off in the distance, crates upon crates of equipment could be stacked on top of each other, all of them were out of synthetic materials and labeled with bold red letters. Closer to me were countless shelves full of armaments from big to small, from simple to complex, an old-school revolver right next to a state of the art plasma handcannon and so on. But none of these were things that I wanted or needed. I walked past the shelves and past the stacked crates up until I found myself at the end of the building and in front of four armour stands. Each stand had its own set of power armour and a number, I went to the fourth stand and approached it. The stand bursted into life upon detecting me being close enough and began assembling the armour around my body, meanwhile a hidden wall compartment opened which revealed a long green container inside. The armour restricted my additional limbs, but I got used to it over the years and simply ignored the discomfort. I stepped away from the stand after the process was complete and took the container out of the hidden compartment.

I left the armoury and headed towards my last destination on this base, the only landing pad we had there or rather it was the only pad that we actively maintained, other pads were buried underneath the arctic snow. A familiar aircraft greeted my eyes as I approached the landing pad, the pride of our tiny yet advanced fortress airforce, the "HIM Phoenix", a multipurpose VTOL that currently served the role of our cargo freighter. A two-engined beast running on what our scientists dubbed "stellar fusion cells", this vessel can fly for months without needing to refuel and it only takes a few hours to get from here to the capital at the allowed speed. It was the only thing resembling a vehicle that we had in the fortress and the only way of leaving it, other than running through the frozen wasteland for hours or even days without stopping.

I put down the green container I carried on the hard concrete landing pad and pressed a button in the back of the ship. The button quickly scanned my finger and shortly after I watched as the boarding pad came out of the ship and deployed itself with one end ending up on the concrete. I picked the container up from the ground and walked up the pad and went into the ship through a door that had just opened. Once inside, I stored the crate away in a secured lockbox then made my way over to the door leading inside the cockpit. My cybernetic palm touched the scanner by the door and a male robotic voice spoke. "Welcome aboard, Pilot Rex."

I stepped through the door which led me into the cockpit and sat down in the pilot's seat "MAI, proceed with the startup procedure," I said after sitting down and taking my helmet off. The voice or rather MAI, responded a second later "Vessel startup procedure initiated, SF reactor is being engaged. Incoming transmission for Pilot Rex from Flight Control Tower Abakon."

I wasn't surprised by the call at all, it was probably just one of my compatriots who had to double check everything. "Accept call," I responded to the Mobile Artificial Intelligence and turned my attention to the cockpit comms.

"Looks like you've finally hauled your rear to the plane, Rex," a female voice spoke to me through the comms console.

"About time really, those supplies aren't going to fly themselves here are they?" I said with a slight grin. "Either way, I just received meteorological prediction reports from some of our weather stations. Your flight path to the capital through the Arctic will be quite sunny, other stations will upload data as you pass by, like always," the female voice continued.

"You don't have to lecture me on this every single time Eve," I spoke into the comms microphone after rolling my eyes in annoyance.

"I know, but protocol is protocol. You are clear to take off, praise the emperor," Eve said to me through the comms before the transmission was terminated.

"Activate takeoff sequence 5-5-0, destination Wenkwort," I spoke to the ship's computer and took hold of the steering wheel.

"Initiating takeoff sequence 5-5-0, destination: Imperial Capital, Wenkwort Metropolis, estimated time until arrival: 5 hours at speed limit," the ship's Mobile Artificial Intelligence responded, the ship's engines whirred to life, the flight computer began displaying various data including the meteorological data from Abakon and the snow around the landing pad had molten rapidly. Within few seconds, the ship took off from the ground and I let go of the steering wheel after takeoff was complete and let the autopilot take over. I leaned back in the pilot seat, turned on the radio and relaxed for the time being.

Around two hours later, roughly halfway through my journey to the Imperial Capital, the vessel's MAI spoke through the speakers in its male voice once more. "Incoming video transmission for HIM Phoenix from Outpost Jhor."
I turned the radio off and sat down properly to avoid the unnecessary unpleasantries with outpost command and responded shortly after. "Accept call, enable video feed."

A holographic screen sprung up before me and I saw a man in his mid 50s on the other side, he cleared his throat before speaking. "HIM Phoenix, this is Comms Officer Jacob from Outpost Jhor," he glanced down at what I presumed to be his notes before continuing to speak. "We are uploading the latest meteorological data from nearby stations, your flight route will be calm and quiet with low probability of rain or snow. As always, remember that no weapons are allowed to be visibly holstered while in the capital and to wear your armour at all times so as to not scare the civilians. Once at your destination you may use landing pad 203. Praise the emperor," the man finished and I didn't have time to respond before the transmission ended, I shrugged it off and decided to take a nap.

I suddenly woke up to sirens screeching and heavy turbulences shaking the ship like a can of coke, I quickly scrambled to my feet and looked at the map. The autopilot changed course moments after I fell asleep and the ship was charging right through a storm. I began trying to turn the autopilot off to reverse the course manually, but was constantly met with a response from the MAI. "Access denied, access denied, access denied, access denied..." I couldn't turn the autopilot off which meant that I was locked out of being able to steer the ship. Suddenly my train of thought was interrupted by a flash of light. "Fucking hell!" I shouted after a lighting almost struck the vessel. I turned to the ship comms and began inputting all kinds of emergency codes, hoping that one of them would override the MAI or at least result in someone remotely turning it off. The sound of thunder filled the cockpit as a lightning struck my ship, causing various electronics to flicker on and off for a few seconds.

None of the codes worked and the storm only grew stronger the longer Phoenix was in it. The sounds of thunder became as loud as the alarm sirens themselves and together could deafen any regular person. I groaned in anger and desperation, trying to think of any possible way to get out of this situation, then the plane shook once more and I fell to the ground. I swiftly got up and saw that we were flying right into a flash storm inside the storm. Having a bad feeling about this I sat down on the pilot chair and strapped myself to it and soon enough the ship was assaulted by a barrage on lightnings hitting it. The sirens became distorted and the alarms stopped which indicated that electronics began to be fried and my worst fear was confirmed shortly after. A great explosion erupted, rocking the entire vessel and Phoenix began to descend at neckbreaking speeds. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" I screamed and watched as I could do nothing but witness the ground approach and the world fade away as the ship made impact with the ground and I lost consciousness.