Chapter Text
Waking up early is a very common occurrence for Technoblade. Having spent nearly his entire life in the military, it's almost a given, except it would be about 3 am back on earth and it is entirely absurd that he has woken up for seemingly no reason at this ungodly hour. Apparently, he still has to follow protocol even this far out in space - which is overrated - so he gets up to do his rounds, hoping for a long nap later.
Rolling out of bed with a particularly dramatic groan, he puts on his basic military outfit and pulls his braided hair into a small bun to be dealt with after he checks the ship's systems. He glanced in the mirror for a moment, seeing just how messy his pink hair had become in his fitful sleep. That's going to be an ordeal to brush, I feel bad for future me, he thinks to himself.
He stepped away and strolled down the small personnel stealth transport vessel he was given to use for his newest mission. The thing was small and only really designed for a few people who had no need of any personal space, but with just him on it, it was manageable.
Arriving at the ship’s cockpit, he checks all of the sensors twice - even thrice over - and sees nothing unusual that might have been his reason for waking. He opens the comm system and checks if Squidkid was still following him; he almost feels disappointed with that fact in the back of his mind.
The man assigned to the same mission but in his own vessel had been one of the many thorns in Techno's side over the last while. Having your biggest rival and possibly one of the loudest of the spec-ops division join him on an infiltration mission had to be one of the most headache-inducing things the commission's military officials had made, and that was saying a lot.
He sends several priority pings over to his companion’s ship just to annoy him more, and opens the comm. “Hey nerd, are you awake?”
“Yeah, woke up for some reason but can’ find anything wrong,” he hears the obvious exhaustion in the younger's voice by the slight slurring. “Have you got anything on your end?”
“Not at all, everything’s clear on my end,” Technoblade trails off, not having anything else to add.
“I'm not trying to talk about a conspiracy or anything,” Squidkid starts, unprompted.
“Bruhhhh, horrible start.”
“Did they give you any more info on what the colonists are doing on Mars?” He continues on, expertly ignoring the comment. “I mean, Omni-tech funded the whole project with a little of the international commission’s help, but it seems like something is sketchy.”
“Well I mean obviously, the whole reason the commission sent us is to check in on Omni-tech and make sure they’re working within the law. My guess is that they're not. ”
“Dude, I was trying not to go that far”.
“It’s well known that Omni-Tech wants to do some more than sketchy research on Mars, a place that can't be reported to the commission and a place where they can obtain more research in space travel without the paranoid commission getting in the way.
“Space exploration is highly illegal and Mars is the perfect opportunity to do that without getting caught. I mean, it's the perfect opportunity. I would have been baffled if they didn't take it.” Techoblade stated matter of factly.
“Not to betray the commission or anything, but I kind of side with Omni-tech a little. The technological advancements humanity has made have been astounding in the last few decades. I mean, look at the omni-tool.” The signature sound of Squid’s omni-tool being activated could be heard through the mic. “The thing is fascinating; a whole supercomputer at the tip of your fingers. imagine what Omni-tech could do if they decided to explore space. I’d say it would take only a few years to reach another planet we could colonize to help with overpopulation or food shortages. Think of the possibilities!”
“The company is ruthless with their research, and they don't care about ethics - only results. I mean, in 2150, they were caught genetically modifying humans for military use after failing to make bots that were good enough - that was only 25 years ago. Omni-tech believes in asking for forgiveness over permission and that has to be one of the most dangerous mindsets".
There was no response for a while; most definitely Squid feeling guilty about who he was enthusing about Omni-tech to.
Technoblade sighs and continues, “Don't feel bad about my creation. You didn't do that. But remember the things that company has done in the past. Take their word of reform with more than a grain of salt.”
“I forgot, I’m so-”
Technoblade stops listening as he looks out the front window of his craft and sees a spaceship - easily a hundred times the size of his own - appear seemingly out of nowhere. Technoblade was not naive to think there were no other forms of life in space; not so self-absorbed to think Earth was the only lucky planet to have been blessed with sentient life. However, that did not mean he believed he'd ever see any concrete evidence in his short life. He wrenched his thoughts back to reality and slammed the priority comm button.
“SQUID YOU HAVE TO ACTIVATE THE EMERGENCY FTL DRIVE AND GET OUT OF HERE!” He yelled as he tried to activate the heavily untested “faster than light” drive on his own shuttle. The alien ship continued to get closer to his own, the time he had left running out faster and faster as his clammy fingers typed in all of the extensive security codes and procedures. After what felt like an eternity, a big red button slid out of his console off to the side.
“Emergency drive ready to activate on your command, Tech!” He hears a response as his system pings a notification confirming what he just heard.
“Activate it immediately and get the hell out of here, space isn't as empty as the command had hoped.” He held his hand over the daunting red button and only hesitated a second more before he slammed his palm down on it.
For a second, it was entirely silent, scarily so, until it wasn't. Everything happened at once; the shuttle jerked violently as he heard several explosions, causing Technoblade to be thrown out of his chair, slamming his head on the interior of the ship. His vision blurred and he could have sworn he had heard someone screaming.
Heaving himself up a little, he looked at his ship's display to see the damage report, wincing at the loud alarm and the flashing lights. Cliche, he thought. It took a moment for him to wrap his head around the warning showing on the screen.
“Critical engine fault.” Huh, that's not fantastic.
He swipes up frantically, barely reading the long list of warnings.
“Large hull breach;” “emergency protocol activated;” “cockpit door sealed;” and then he finds it: “Unit “SQU-10” has activated the FTL drive successfully.” Technoblade sinks into the captain's chair as he feels the last bits of his energy drip out of him with relief.
Techno presses the comm one more time. “This is unit 07 of the spec-ops, Technoblade,” he groans as a massive headache seems to finally kick in. “If this message is received, assume my ship to be lost, space is not safe. Avoid space travel at all costs.” He coughs a little as his vision swims, “Tell Squid he's a nerd, Technoblade out.”
He knows there is no way out of this situation as he loses grip on reality more and more. Letting myself sleep with a concussion sounds like one of the worst ideas I've had. He ponders, but can't find himself to keep his half-lidded eyes open anymore.
He feels himself be moved with a very annoying chittering before he's consumed by black again.
He's being dragged through disturbingly white halls by beings with seemingly too many thin limbs. They seem breakable… like a twig? Or would a paper straw be more accurate? He feels his eyes slide close once more against his own will.
There's that very annoying chittering again that has woken him up and he groans at it. Some orphan is going to get kicked if it keeps making noises while he's trying to sleep. His threat seems to work, because it's almost immediately quiet and he falls back into sleep.
Technoblade comes back to proper consciousness in what feels like far too long with the only thing he is able to see being the walls of a small white room. He springs up, looking around frantically, trying to remember how he got here. Turns out standing up fast was a big mistake, as black spots consume his vision and he isn't sure he is even standing anymore. He grabs his head to try and soothe the pounding headache that seems to have gotten impossibly worse with his sudden movement.
After an indeterminable amount of time, his vision slowly goes from a nice static to actual perception. He stays kneeling to not upset his head more, and calmly assesses his surroundings. The only thing he can really see is a white box about 3m tall, 3m wide and 5m long with a seemingly large door at one end of the box. A prison cell huh? This is luxury compared to my old apartment, he ponders with a small snort, to try and lighten his mood in an attempt to not panic.
He gets up slowly and slides his hands along the wall to try and find any weaknesses or the like. The material feels like a strong metal that's somehow bone-white with every seam made by a master craftsman. He quickly gives up on searching for an exit on the account of thinking making his head hurt more than he's ever felt before. Techno settles farthest from the supposed door, sitting with his legs crossed and back pressed against the blessedly cold metal wall.
He examines himself to see if he has any injuries he hadn't noticed yet, finding that most of his hidden weapons are still on him. Huh, useful. He checks out his prosthetic arm and leg to find little more damage than some scuffs and scratches. Sweet . He hears the signature vibration of a notification on his omni-tool and checks it faster than he's ever done in his life.
Military resupply located:
34m away [cardinal direction unavailable]
Fully stocked and functioning.
Communication buoy unavailable
Current location: unknown.