My day had been going really well so far. I went out, got some lunch, actually remembered my sunglasses…

Of course, probability had other plans.

The cafe barista hands me my drink. “That’ll be three dollars even.”

A bit steep for a chocolate milk, but ultimately worth it. Best in Steel Valley, and all that.

“Thanks Ash!”

“No problem Nova! Come back soon!”

Drink in hand and wallet three bucks lighter, I’m about ready to head home when a massive explosion rumbles the ground below me, followed by the sound of something big and metal breaking in the distance. I don't get the opportunity to even consider what might've gone sideways over there before my ears are blasted by breach sirens.

The city’s PA system clicks on shortly after, “Attention! Wall breach; sector B! Calling for a full evacuation of sector B!”

I hiss through my teeth; my house is in Sector B, and hopefully still is by the time I get back.

The distinct feeling my day is about to be a lot less great increases as more tremors shake the city, soon followed by the sound of cannon fire.

The alarms finally stop as I cut through the central plaza from sector E to B and onto B street (sector B’s central roadway).

I’m almost to my place when I come across something big, metal, and on fire.

Ok, that’s… new.

It's massive; so massive that I can't think of what else would've kool-aid manned through the city wall. The external body is bracketed with heavy kinetic and blast damage, most likely from the city’s tower cannons.

To my delight, a sizable portion of the armor has been blown off, allowing me to look inside. It's a technological marvel. A rusty, bent, hole ridden, on fire, likely toxin filled treasure trove that I actively resist the urge to crawl into.

Given that that would probably lead to a very dead me, my phone buzzing angrily in my pocket is a welcome distraction.

Until I see exactly what my phone is displaying.

[8/12/2085: Destroyer-class Breach: See path below.]

I quickly scroll down the emergency alert and track the path of destruction carving its way through B Street. I trace a finger along the map until I spot a large red dot on one of the intersections up ahead.

“Ooooh shi-“

The air burns as I inhale smoke, desperately trying to keep up a run. Though I find it hard to care, as both the building and street are, well-

“TRASHED!!”

As my fellow evictee so concisely put, the place is in shambles. The entire street was torn apart, with large chunks of asphalt pulled out of the ground and overturned, bits of underground infrastructure exposed, and random material from the surrounding buildings thrown into rather interesting and distant places. 

My building has come out of this particularly messed up, as large parts of the lower floors have been partially carved away and scattered everywhere. The poor thing creaks and groans as the remaining superstructure fights to hold the weight of the upper floors.

Now! My brain doesn’t exactly run up to date software, so by the time the idea to stay away from the collapsing building comes to mind, it’s too late. Glass shatters and metal screeches as the staircase I was standing on not a second ago fails and falls away. With the “logic” center of my mind finally briefing me on the best approach, I come to the startling conclusion that running into an actively collapsing building likely wasn’t the best idea…

Even so, hesitating right now is something I can’t afford to do, so I shake it off and race up to the fifth floor. 

Getting to the door of my apartment, I fumble with the key (always trust mechanical!) and slam the door open. The scene inside is nearly as grizzly as the mess out front; windows shattered, walls straining, and a scattered mix of glass, steel, and concrete making the place a laceration minefield. Now above the smoke, I can take a (somewhat) refreshing breath of humid summer air and get to work.

I ransack my own apartment, grabbing anything important or valuable and cramming it all into a large bag.

A few minutes later, and I think I’ve grabbed everything important so I should probably-

Something deep below my feet finally gives way, sending a tremor through the building’s superstructure. The entire room shakes and lists forward, sending a small wave of sharp debris out the window before another section of the foundation can take up the stress.

Right, time is definitely up, I need to get out of here.

Desperately avoiding thinking about how stupid this whole plan(?) was, I fasten the bag to an experimental harness, which I then hurry to strap to myself.

After a few deep breaths, I urge myself into a run and leap directly out of the largest broken window I see. My senses lurch as I go weightless.

Really starting to panic now, I hit the ignition and throttle up. The liquid-fuel rockets on my back spool up (far too slowly for my liking) then thunder to life, slowing my free fall to a rough landing; one that still rattles my bones and takes the wind out of me.

Pure elation over the successful field test prototype is overruled in startlingly short order by the screeching groans of a collapsing building.

Right, imminent death, forgot about that.

In an instant, my body burns hot as a second dose of adrenaline overclocks my already stressed muscles, instinct driving me to hit a new personal speed record.

I pray to every mathematician and physicist I ever bothered to learn the name of that my rate of speed is high enough as the shadow of the building arches over my head.

Author's Note: 

Hello, and thank you for reading the new and improved first chapter of The Nebula Project! I am excited and ecstatic to finally publish a rewrite of my first chapter! I felt that the original version I uploaded didn't fit my vision of the introduction of Nova's story, so I went back and (after a year of work) kicked off the rewrite project. Over the next few months, I'll be reveiwing and reworking every chapter of this story to keep it up to date with both my writing style and new worldbuilding efforts.

All in all, this little work of mine won't have a defined release schedule as I tend write on and off over the course of months. Still, I hope you continue to read and support The Nebula Project as I do my best to write a fun and engaging story for all of you.

A Few Words from T.N.P's Cute and Amazing Co-Author:

Hey everyone, Co-Author here! I'm so happy that we've made The Nebula Project happen and we couldn't do it without your views, feedback and overwhelming support! We will do our best to make this story a smile inducing and unforgettable.