Just another routine mission.

That's what we thought it was when we got a distress call from an uncharted part of the galaxy about ships disappearing without a trace in that area.

We answered the call and went to investigate the matter.

And now look where it has got me.

I am Commander Leeteuk of the Alliance.

I am 29 years old, though I don't think I'll ever be able to reach 30 now.

I was born on July 1st, 1983 on the Galaxia Space Station in the Eagle Nebula.

My parents were both faithful soldiers of the Alliance, now retired, and my noona is a nurse on the Black Widow, one of the Alliance's ships.

Let me tell you a little more about my Alliance days.

I enlisted at the age of 14 and have officially served the Alliance at age 16.

Let me tell you, training was literally hell.

40 push-ups a day, running 50 miles a day, lifting 50-pound dumbells 10 times a day, pull-ups 20 times a day, weightlifting 100 pounds a day, it was all pure torture.

The other trainees and I would call the first week 'Hell Week' because of the extreme training our coach put us through.

The first day I did it, I just wanted to break down and yell out all of my tiredness and frustration in front of everyone.

At the end of the day, my entire body was aching and screaming in pain. I was worn out and I felt like crying on the spot, but as a man, you have to it up and bear with it.

Finally, our training paid off and we were rookie soldiers, ready to learn the basics and advanced combat as well as controlling our personal powers.

My first ever mission with the guys was taking down Lee Chang Do, a dangerous criminal boss on Vocashi in the Teimonrus System.

He was hiding on the outskirts of Gurepas, the capital city of Vocashi, in a rundown shack from the authorities.

We trailed him to his hideout and shot him dead when he tried to make a run for it after slipping out from the back.

We were awarded and promoted to juniors for taking him down.

Our missions got more and more difficult as we graduated from juniors to middlers to seniors and before we knew it, we were all fully-fledged Spectres of the Alliance, the Council and the Sanctum, ready to serve and defend the galaxy at all costs.

I was what the Alliance would call "the best of the best", because I showed leadership qualities and courage on the battlefield.

The ambassadors were proud of me and decided to make me captain of the missions that came our way. I made sure we suceeded, every single mission complete and no one left behind.

Out of the blue, I suddenly became the commander of the Dauntless Star when the commander Han Jongki was killed in action.

I knew that being the commander was going to be an enormous responsibility and that it was going to be nothing like commanding a small team.

I tried to tell them that I was probably not the best person for the job and that there was someone better than me to carry out this big role.

But it seemed that everyone, the Council, the Alliance and the Sanctum and even the crew of the Dauntless Star as well as my own friends, had faith in my abilities.

They told me that I was the best of the best and that I was the right man for the role of the commander because of the many dangerous missions I was ordered to carry out.

And just like that, I found myself as the commander of the Dauntless Star.

I felt...

Exhilirated, nervous, uneasy, a whole bucket of emotions mixed into one.

Call it what you want, but I can tell you, I felt an immense burden on my shoulders.

Being the commander isn't easy as I had said before; you are leading a huge number of people this time and not just a small band of people you trained with from Day 1.

The responsibility of carrying out even more difficult missions weighs you down and you have, like, the entire galaxy counting on you to get the job done right for its own good.

The crew counted on me, the Alliance trusted me, the Council was certain about me and the Sanctum was watching my every move.

Knowing that so many people in the universe was depending on you and every decision you make is simply nerve-wrecking.

But knowing the important position I had, even though I had to take full responsibility for whatever happens, is an honor.

Serving the Alliance was my life. Being a Spectre means a whole lot to my entire life.

I wanted to make my friends proud. I wanted to make the crew proud. I wanted the Alliance, the Council and the Sanctum to be proud of me.

But, most importantly, I wanted my family to be proud of me.

My father, my mother, my noona; all of them.

Especially my father.

My father was my hero, my inspiration, my rolemodel.

I looked up to him when I was a young boy. I wanted to be just like him; strong, loyal to the Alliance and fearless.

But I was scared.

Scared that I would make one tiny mistake and let everyone's hopes down.

Scared of failing my team.

Scared of losing the crew's faith in me.

Scared of my father's disapproval...which has never happened to me ever.

These were the moments where I would just collapse at my workdesk and cry out all of my frustration and stress.

My crew would constantly stand by me and pick me up even at times when I felt like quitting because of the tense pressure in my heart.

Because of them, I was able to lead them to victory in our countless missions.

I was awarded with the top awards, but I made sure my crew was given the credit too.

They helped me immensely when I felt like giving up during my darkest moments.

But now, let's move on to my most notable mission of all time.

It was just another day in the Alliance. Crime-fighting, training, the usual.

That is, until a distress call came in.

It was from one of my friends, Gunnery Chief Jung Seung Hwai.

His team had landed on the planet Dusial to collect dangerous IFF from the most terrible creatures known in the entire universe: the Reapers.

The Reapers were thought of as monstrous creatures in myths that purged galaxies of all organic life to create something huge.

Something that would destroy all organic life off the face of the univ