This story felt the most thought out of the others I have read (sorry, other stories). I don't usually like made up words, but these were easy to understand within their context, so it felt like the universe had a long history before I decided to read it. Like parwhelp, which could either be an era like prehistory, middle ages, modern era, or a planet, galaxy, or an important event. And, a rare resource like frickonium (kinda funny name).
I think in one way the story could be made more immersive was to describe the events as they happened rather than a recollection of them. So, instead of being told what was broadcasted in the transmission, we would instead hear the transmission as it happened. It could still be a flash back, but it could change perspectives to the past as if it's the present. Maybe, describe how the commander's voice sounded (was it trembling? Was it struck with fear? Was there heavy breathing as if they were losing oxygen?) or was any static coming through (as if they were currently in battle) which would bring life to what usually was a mundane thing. However, the contents of the message were exciting, and I think it would be even more exciting if we heard it rather than being told what was heard.
The second paragraph when Lefton bolts up was unfortunately the biggest perpetrator of telling instead of showing. I think telling is ok when describing the future or a 'what if?' Before that, when we were being described how Lefton would be with standard blood, was a 'what if?' moment. And, because of that, it was enjoyable to read. This could have been used later on in the story if it were a fully-fledged novel, or what it did in this case, it provided us with information on how the person would be if the story had gone down a different route. Which was not needed context, but it was still enjoyable to read because it expanded the universe to more than just this story. Also, the last line was good too because we got told what makes frickonium so valuable. One of its use was to reach further galaxies. Of course, if the word count was longer we might have understood more about this precious resource because it was described to be 'much-needed.' I could imagine all the other ways frickonium could be used, for better or worse. I would also like to know why frickonium was a rare resource? Does it take centuries to flourish in nature? Or does it require a particular type of environment to thrive in? The fact that I'm thinking about these questions means you did well with world building in only 500 words.