"People from the camp?" Leo thought as he wasn't even surprised that they're here as the explosion earlier was really powerful that it must have shook the entire mountain or least they probably got by the sound of the explosion and figured out that it came here.

Leo also felt very proud that they are able to manage to pinpoint the location but if Leo only knows that it was just a coincidence because his two women are causing a ruckus because he was "a bit" on their "date" then he would probably be puking blood right now!

Then Leo just ignored it and continued walking deeper, around him was a tunnel covered steel or maybe iron and there are also steel tubes probably connected somewhere around here and then three seconds later, Leo finally reached the end of the tunnel and what greeted him at the end was a huge surprise for him!

Because there's a freaking weird s.h.i.+p in front of him!

Leo with an excited smile on his face pointed at the thing in front of him with a trembling arm and yelled, "Uhh...what the heck is that~!?"

His yell echoed as it destroyed the stillness of the hideout inside the mountain.

*****

"What the heck is that~!?" someone's voice echoed through the tunnel and the the two soldiers cautiously walking through the pa.s.sageway immediately halted in their tracks and look at each other.

"There's someone inside" the soldier at the front whispered in a very low voice.

The other just nodded and when he was about to turn on his walkie talkie on his shoulder to make a report to their main team when suddenly his companion held his hand, stopping him.

"What are you doing?"

"Are you an idiot? The white noise of the walkie talkie is so noisy that it might alert the person up ahead especially in this place where its so freakin quiet" said Soldier One a bit annoyed.

"Right, so what do we do then?" said Soldier Two, finally realizing that the sound of the white noise would be amplified in this quiet and creepy pa.s.sageway.

"You go back and tell them that there is someone here" Soldier One said.

"Alright, but are you gonna be fine alone?" Soldier Two asked with a bit of worry.

"I'll be fine. Now, go" Soldier One said as he showed his companion a rea.s.suring look.

"Alright, I'm going then" Soldier Two said as he turned around and towards the exit and made sure to run as quiet as possible.

Not even a few seconds later, Soldier One started to become pale while he also started fidgeting around as his head would be looking from his left to right followed by the light of his torch light.

"Is it just me or this place is starting to get creepy...there's no ghost here that's just gonna pop out of nowhere, right?"

"Man..I should have just volunteered to be the one who went to make a report"

Soldier One said with a stutter as he started thinking about ghost and stuff.

"A zombie is fine but no ghost, please"

*****

Meanwhile.

Leo started circling around the s.h.i.+p while observing it.

The head of the s.h.i.+p looks like a triangle without its edges then it would become shorter in width in the middle and at the back of it looks like a car's spoiler with energy or something thruster within it and on top of the s.h.i.+p are two layers stack together that has the shape of triangle with no sharp edges. The top of the s.h.i.+p shorter and slimmer and the middle is a bit larger and the base of the s.h.i.+p is the largest.

The s.h.i.+p has a length between twenty and thirty meters with a width around ten meters or maybe less and the s.h.i.+p is painted full in dark purple.

"And it freaking floats from the ground!" Leo covered his mouth almost yelling in excitement.

"This s.h.i.+p looks more bada.s.s than my PELICAN!"

(ref: https://www.avpcentral.com/images/predator-s.p.a.ces.h.i.+ps/cold-war-s.h.i.+p.png)

Then Leo moved beside it and put his right hand on it and the moment he touched it an interface showing details above the s.h.i.+p appeared in front of him.

[Ding!]

[Octopi Stealth s.h.i.+p - the stealth s.h.i.+p is used to infiltrate a planet's defenses for reconnaissance, making way for larger invasion forces. Despite its limited weaponry and defenses, the craft uses active camouflage systems to render it imperceptible to any sensors, and visually invisible. It also possessed electronic countermeasures, which are able to interfere with the guidance systems of any kind of missiles]

"Holy! Is this the reason why the map wasn't able to pinpoint their location!? I thought the 'System' is omnipotent!" Leo subconsciously said in shock.

[There are no such thing as perfect in the entire universe. Everything has their own flaws just like how humans or any other species would always end up dead]

"You don't really need to explain anything, you know. It's not like I'm grumbling about" Leo rolled his eyes and sometimes he even feels like the "System" has showing a lot of human characteristics like it has its own consciousness and not just an emotionless A.I who just follow orders obediently.

[...]

"Enough about that. Now, can you tell me who or what the heck is an Octopi? I'm pretty the requirements to browse some information about them is sufficient now" Leo said as the details about the stealth s.h.i.+p literally just said that it is an alien s.h.i.+p and maybe this is only just one of vanguard s.h.i.+ps scattered across the globe, if there is more of them out there.

Suddenly, something flash in front Leo eyes and he suddenly found himself in an unfamiliar place but he felt like the place was very familiar like when someone who had been away from his hometown for a very long time then suddenly coming back to the place, that kind of feeling is what he is feeling right now.

Leo was currently on the side of a street and the place around him was a bustling city with buildings towering above the skies, cars or something flying above him and around the buildings and people moving to and fro around him.

"Who are they? They are clearly humans but why is their skins light green?" Leo said and he didn't know if the system would answer him right now.

[They are the people of the Gaia Race. The ancestors of you, Humans. The Gaia Race are most intelligent and the most powerful race in the entire universe but all of it change with the sudden appearance of the Octopi Race]

Then suddenly the scene change, this time Leo was floating in s.p.a.ce and at his right side was armada of s.h.i.+ps of different sizes! The largest of them is five times or maybe more larger and longer than the size of the largest cruise s.h.i.+p in planet Earth and this Armada is surrounding a planet in the middle of them that looks like Earth but three times bigger and he also saw an emblem at the side of the biggest s.h.i.+p! It looks like a man hugging a planet and in the middle of it are words in bold letters "G.A.I.A".

And on his left was also another Armada of s.h.i.+ps but the looks of their s.h.i.+ps is way different than the previous group but Leo immediately knew they are when he saw a familiar looking s.h.i.+p but way bigger than the one he saw before and this group are three times more larger than the Gaia fleet!

"Octopi Race!" Leo exclaimed in shock and horror.

Then the world around him blurred again and this time, he is inside of what looks like a command room and there is a man sitting on the largest floating chair in the middle of the room.

It is a man of huge stature wearing what looks like a military robe of their race with five stars decorated on both of his robe's shoulders. He is probably around later thirties or early forties based on his looks, he has striking and sharp eyes along with thick eyebrows and Leo could even feel the aura of a war commander surging at every inch of his body!

Leo knows that he was just watching a replay of an important even right now but still! He can still feel that suffocating aura even when he is just watching them!

'How oppressing!' Leo thought as he started breathing raggedly while also at the same time feeling amazed at how the others in the room aren't even showing signs like what he is experiencing right now!

"Grand Marshall! The Octopi have already fully surrounded us!" a man suddenly yelled beside Leo.

The Grand Marshall didn't answer him but instead looked towards another guy and ordered, "Open the World Channel"

"Yes sir!" the man nodded and pressed something on the desk full of screens in front of him.

The Grand Marshall stood up from his seat as something like a microphone slowly came down stopping parallel of his mouth.

"People of Gaia! This is your Grand Marshall!" his reverberated throughout the room, the docking bay, temp room and every Gaia s.h.i.+p including the people remaining at the planet that they are protecting and his voice even reaching the side of the Octopi s.h.i.+ps!

The scene this time changed again as Leo is again back at the streets of probably one of the cities in one corner of the world but the same street wasn't the same anymore that was once pack with civilians but this time, Soldier! Soldiers, wearing different kinds of armors! Leo even saw someone wearing the same armor as him! Some of them are preparing huge cannons directed towards the skies while some are boarding cruiser s.h.i.+ps heading towards s.p.a.ce.

"All of you already knows that the destruction of our race is almost upon us! But we are not afraid of death! Why!? Because we are the men and women of Gaia!"

"And the people of Gaia's are not afraid of death!" the people inside the room yelled at the same time!

"And the people of Gaia's are not afraid of death!" the people inside every Gaia s.h.i.+p yelled at the same time!

"And the people of Gaia's are not afraid of death!" the young, the elderies and every adult in the Gaia planet yelled at the same time!

"""The people of Gaia's are not afraid of death!""

"What are we known for!?" the grand marshall.

This time every Gaian's shouted at the same time as their voices turned sonorous.

""Our arrogance knows no bounds!""

""Our intelligence is unmatched in the entire universe!""

""And our courage is unmatched under the heavens!""

""URAAAAA~!"" ""URAAAAA~!"" ""URAAAAA~!""

Leo felt his blood boiling at the scene in front of him as he also started chanting along with them while repeatedly raising his fist in the air.

*****

"All hands to battle stations!"

When the soldiers who are already ready for battle heard that, they immediately boarded their own a.s.sault or carrier s.h.i.+ps as they flew out of their main s.h.i.+ps or mother s.h.i.+ps.

"This day we rescue a universe from mysticism and tyranny and usher in a future brighter than anything we can imagine. Give thanks men to our brother and sisters who had fallen in battle!"

"TO VICTORY!"

""TO VICTORY!!!""

The two sides then charge towards each other! The Gaian a.s.sault fighters started a dogfight with the Octopi fighter s.h.i.+ps as both sides also started exchanging plasma cannons!

Support s.h.i.+ps and even cargo s.h.i.+ps who doesn't even have that much attacking abilities started executing kamikaze attacks when they ran out of ammo as they started ramming the largest enemy s.h.i.+ps nearest to them and the smaller s.h.i.+ps that got in their way exploded!

And plasma beams coming out of the Gaian Planet started targeting enemy s.h.i.+ps and the place literally turned into a fireworks display with countless s.h.i.+ps exploding every second!

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Even though the Gains were really brave and unafraid of death, they still lost in the end with all their s.h.i.+ps going down.

Suddenly, Leo who was watching the event from afar is once again inside the same s.h.i.+p earlier where the Grand Marshall and at the same time the remaining last s.h.i.+p of Gaians.

Every single soldier inside are pale but their eyes never showed any trace of fear.

"Prepare the pulse array" the grand marshall still seated on his seat calmly said.

"Yes sir!"

Then multiple cannons started coming out of every part of the mothers.h.i.+p as they started locking on at their own targets.

[The attack will start in 10, 9 , 8...]

Then the grand marshall suddenly stop and looked at the men in the room and said..

"It is an honor to fight and.."

[7..6..5..4]

"die alongside everyone of you!" his voice echoed throughout the entire s.h.i.+p.

Then the people inside the command room and the remaining people inside the s.h.i.+p suddenly half knelt and bellowed, "It is our honor…."

[3...2...1]

*Buzzzzzt*

""To serve you, Your Majesty!""

Their voices and their last hurrah sounded at the same time as countless pulse beams flew out from their s.h.i.+p cannons and all of them accurately landed towards their targets in the enemy lines!

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

This last hurrah of theirs literally destroyed ninety percent of the Octopi's remaining forces!

Every Octopi s.h.i.+ps activated their s.h.i.+elds to maximum output but in the end, it was all useless as they still got obliterated!

But Octopi mothers.h.i.+p also retaliated immediately as they also sent a huge plasma beam heading towards the Gaian mothers.h.i.+p.

*BOOOOOM!* *BZZZZTTT!*

Leo heard the sound of explosion and the sound of white noise after that. Then everything returned to normal as he was back again inside the mountain hideout but this time there are Amanda, Mich.e.l.le, Austin calling out to him worriedly while the rest of the soldiers surrounding him looked on with worried faces.

But it seems like Leo didn't even notice them at all as he just stared blankly at the spot in front him then suddenly tears started streaming down his face.

Leo felt...no he saw that the person known as Grand Marshall was looking and smiling at him at his last moments while mumbling something towards him but because the blaring sound of the alarm of the s.h.i.+p kept echoing throughout the entire event. He wasn't able to hear him at all but he at least figured out his last message for him through reading the movements of his mouth.

[Now, our legacy rest upon you]

*****

This..is...Sparta!!!

Just kidding! - Apocalypse X.

Chapter t.i.tle - The Past