Another set of claws swiped horizontally through the door, slicing out a small part of it. The claws retracted and a fleshy tendril probed through the opening instead. An eye blinked open at the end of the limb, taking in the sight of the panicked humans.

The monster roared an unearthly sound.

Then there was a loud bang, a swoosh of energy, and the fleshy tendril blew apart, spraying blood and gore at everyone in the bunker.

A woman screamed.

“Hey, anyone still alive down there?” A man’s muffled voice sounded from the other side of the door.

“Ye-yes?” Richard answered with a quivering voice.

“You can come out now,” the man said cheerfully. “It’s safe.”

The survivors looked at each other, then as one, they rushed up the stairs. The heavy door banged open, finally letting in some fresh air.

As Richard blinked in the dazzling sunlight, he saw a grinning man holding a futuristic looking pistol in one hand. Two armored vehicles were parked behind him, and above them … Richard rubbed his eyes in disbelief.

Hovering a few meters above the vehicles was an honest-to-god alien spaceship.

The man holding the pistol followed his gaze and chuckled. “Yeah, it can be a bit overwhelming. Just me and my crew, doing the good Samaritan thing.”

“Who are you people?” Richard asked with an awed voice.

The man held up his hand. “The name’s Martin, a Justicar. Earth Force’s special unit. Welcome to the new world.”

***

Back on Unity’s bridge, the captain operated her light console and the freighter gradually picked up speed, putting distance between her and the space station.

Earth appeared in all its splendor on the main viewscreen, the sun illuminating its upper half.

They spent a few seconds in silence, watching the blue and brown orb shrinking away.

“Do you think we’ll make it?” Lana asked quietly. “Rebuild and save everyone, I mean.”
“We will,” Nori said confidently. “We are not alone anymore. We have people who stand with us and who rely on us to succeed. We are all Earth Force now.”

Lana nodded and then smirked.

“And I’m the Expert.”

AUTHOR’S NOTE

Thank you for reading Earth Force - the first book in the new ‘Relict Legacy’ universe.

Earth Force is my first attempt at writing gameLit sci-fi and I hope I did it justice. I was aiming for a slow progression story that showcases a new galaxy - along with the main characters as they explore and discover more about the truth of their existence. I hope I succeeded in conveying that feeling.

If you have read my previous work, you’ll note this book contained a bit more profanity - I wrote as I felt real people would have talked - and let’s be honest - most of us are a bunch of rude bastards :)