S3, 22 Unity (FB) (March 2, 2017)

Corresponding text underneath each picture.

**27th January 2097: Present Day**

Yesterday had been one heck of a day! First, I had finally gotten around to watching the holo-message left to me by my parents. Then I’d discovered that I had access to more money than I could ever have use for and after that I’d learned that the assassin who’d killed Uncle Barnaby was none other than my girlfriend and that her father was the crime lord known as The Boss! We’d fought and then… *not* fought and now… well now we were having lunch together in my apartment.

With everything that had happened, we had a lot to discuss. We’d spoken briefly last night, but it was late and we were rather worn out, so after a good, long sleep, we’d decided to head over to my place.
Riley, or Cat, as she now preferred to be called, had received several missed calls from her Dad, either asking if she’d succeeded in killing Frank Foster or, the more likely, having a go at her for failing – because he must have known by now. A man such as he would have ways of finding out.

Cat hadn’t felt safe staying at her apartment – plus the fact that it was… well… ruined, so we’d headed to the home I shared with Tracks.

Tracks had questioned where I’d been and what had happened, so I explained the basic gist of the events, but didn’t elaborate any details. And now we sat together at my dinner table, discussing our options over lunch.

Cat: “So what do we do now?”

Tank: “Well, there’s not really that many options open to us. The first is to do nothing. Simply ignore your father and hope it all goes away...”

Cat: “Yeah, like that’s going to happen.” She replied sarcastically. “We can’t do that. Next?”

Tank: “Next is we go to Judas. Tell him about your father and have him arrested. Doing so will hopefully remove him from the equation and you’ll be safe.”

Cat: “No. My father is too powerful. He’ll have ways of getting around the law and avoiding arrest and if he’ll know that it was us who tipped them off. That’ll just make him even angrier at us. Plus, even if he does get arrested, he’ll probably take me down with him as an accomplice. There’s a lot that I’ve done, Tank. A lot that isn’t legal.”

I nodded in understanding.

Cat: “Next?”

Tank: “I could speak to Eris? Maybe she has some way of…”

Cat: “No. I don’t want to involve any more people in this. The less people know, the better.” She interjected and I pursed my lips, thinking hard. We were running out of options fast.

Tank: “We could go to The Brain? He’d love some information on The Boss. I’m sure you know a lot of information that could be useful to him. In return, he could offer you protection.” I suggested, but as I spoke, I knew it was a daft idea.

Cat: “Tank, you already promised to do that yourself. Are you admitting that you can’t?” she asked, looking concerned and I suddenly realised I’d dug myself a hole. But then the corner of her mouth twitched into a smirk and we both burst out laughing.

Now that I knew her secret, I could see a whole new side to her. It was almost like the Riley I’d known before was just a persona or a front of some kind. This Riley – Cat – this was the real her that I imagined hardly anybody saw. But now that I knew about it, she could act freely in front of me and be who she really was. She was a lot more outgoing than she used to be. More sarcastic and sassy. She laughed more and seemed more self-assure. She seemed… whole.

Cat: “But no. We can’t go to The Brain. I’ve worked for his rival my entire life – hell, I’m his daughter. I very much doubt that, just because I’m your girlfriend, he’d be willing to help. Even if it did get him some useful information.”

I ‘Hmmm’ed, thinking aloud, but try as I might, no other solutions presented themselves to me.

Cat: “I’m going to kill him.”

I frowned at her, unsure if she was being serious or not.

Tank: “Um…” I began, about to ask what I couldn’t figure out, but Cat beat me to it.

Cat: “I’m serious Tank. It’s the only way that I’ll ever be able to be free. As long as my father is alive, he’ll be after me. He won’t let me go. I’ll always be in danger – *we*’ll always be in danger, as long as he lives.”

Tank: “But he’s your father – you can’t do that.”

Cat: “I can and I will. Tank, you don’t understand what he is to me. He’s not my father, he’s… he’s my boss. My employer.” She paused before adding, “My owner.”

As she spoke, I could see in her eyes that she was being truthful. She was determined. I got the feeling that this had been her intention all along and our conversation was purely for my benefit.

Cat: “He’s controlled every aspect of my life so far. I’m not going to let him control the rest of it.”

Tank: “No. I agree that we won’t let him control you any more – but *killing* him is not the right way to do it.”

Cat looked away and sighed.

Tank: “Killing your dad is not going to bring back what you’ve already lost. In fact, killing him will take even more away from you. You may hate him but he is still your father – I know what it’s like to live without parents, Riley. You’ve already lost your mother – don’t lose your father by choice.”

Cat: “Then what do I do?” she asked in frustration – no, desperation, as she turned back to me.

Tank: “Don’t kill him.” I implored. “I agree, you need to confront him and I’ll be with you every step of the way – after all, he did try to have me killed. I think I owe him one for that! But don’t kill him. Killing him will only leave its own black mark on your soul – your conscience. That will never wash away, it’ll be with you forever and you don’t want that.”

Cat sighed and rubbed her face with both hands, before conceding.

Cat: “Okay. I won’t kill him. But he needs punishing and I need answers.”

Tank: “Agreed.” I smiled reassuringly. “Okay, so we need to plan our next move then…”

Cat: “But, before we do,” she interrupted. “You mentioned The Boss ordering your death – well, that’s not all that he’s been doing against you.”

I frowned, not understanding.

Tank: “Why? What’s been going on?”

Cat: "Well, recently he's been looking into your parent's finances."

Tank: "Why?"

Cat: "He's always been convinced that it wasn't all legal."

Tank: "What? That's stupid!"

Cat: "Not to him. He thinks some of it came from, well, some shady dealings."

Tank: "No." I replied point blank. "My parents would never do anything like that. They're not... *were*  not, like him."

Cat shrugged.

Cat: "I don't know. All I know is that he'd always been suspicious of them and started investigating quite a few years ago now. But he never got anywhere until he started working with this 'Darkblade.' Darkblade provided some resources that he didn't have before and the other day, he came across your bank account."

I shook my head in disbelief.

Cat: "When you accessed your account yesterday, he assumed it was Frank Foster and got a trace on you. Then, well, you were there for the rest."

Tank: "Yeah, I remember." I laughed humourlessly.

Then a thought struck me - what if he was right? I was defending my parents out of principal, I didn't actually know them. All I have are the memories of them from when I was younger. I have no idea what they were actually like, what they were capable of. And if they had friends like Alberto Rinse and Franklin Morales, then what were they actually like?

For all I knew, everything Alberto was accusing them of could be true! Then another thought occurred.
If it *was* true, then some, if not all, of the newfound wealth in my bank account could be dirty money.

That was a horrible idea. I'd just started to get used to the idea that I had money to play with and had thought of some of the things I could do with it, and now, now it might be in-spendable.

I mean, there was nothing physically stopping me from spending it, but I just wouldn't feel right spending money that I knew my parents had effectively stolen.

Tank: "What about this 'Darkblade'?" I asked, trying to move on. "Do you know any more about him?"

Riley shook her head in response.

Cat: "No. I'm sorry, but I know nothing. Even dad doesn't know much about him. He broke into the house one evening and made a deal with dad. He wears black body armour and a helmet. Dad never saw his face."

I sighed. Of course it would never be easy.

Tank: "Did you ever meet him?"

Cat shook her head and I pursed my lips to one side in thought.

Tank: "I wonder if The Brain knows anything about him." I thought aloud. I pulled out my comlink and called Mr. Grey. I asked if he or The Brain had heard of this 'Darkblade', but he assured me that they hadn't. After the call ended, I decided to try Judas and see if he'd heard anything.

Judas: "Hey Tank! How's things?" He greeted.

Tank: "Uh... complicated!" I replied with a laugh.

Judas: "When are they not with you?" He replied with a slight smirk. "So, business or leisure?"

Tank: "Business unfortunately."

Judas: "Shoot." He smiled.

Tank: "Have you ever heard of anybody named 'Darkblade'? Possible mercenary. Maybe an information broker? Something shady. Wears black full-body armour and a matching helmet."

Judas frowned.

Judas: "Can't say I have." He replied and again I felt like I'd hit a dead end. Why did all of my enquiries always amount to nothing?!

Tank: "Damn..."

Judas suddenly frowned at something, as though a thought had struck him.

Tank: "What's up?"

Judas: "Uh, nothing." He replied and his frown swiftly vanished, replaced by his signature grin. "I'll get some people looking into it for you though. See if they can find out anything about your mystery man."

Tank: "Thanks mate. You're the best." I replied and he nodded.

**The Governor’s Office…**

Tank: "Damn..."

As Tank's comlink hologram muttered the curse, sat in his office desk chair, a memory came to Judas Boan.

A memory of a man dressed in black armour, complete with a menacing black helmet, standing right there in this office. Threatening the Governor over the desk.

Was this the man that Tank was asking about? Judas had never learned the name of the intruder who'd threatened him, but the description matched. It was possible that it was the same man.

Tank: "What's up?" The hologram asked.

Judas: "Uh, nothing." He replied, quickly flashing him a grin to hide his unease. "I'll get some people looking into it for you though. See if they can find out anything about your mystery man." He promised.

Tank: "Thanks mate. You're the best."

Once the conversation was over, the Governor sat back in his chair and let out a deep breath of air. He typed up an order for some of his special forces to begin looking into this 'Darkblade', but his finger hovered over the 'Send' button.

If it was in fact the same man, then Judas wasn't sure that he wanted to go digging up information about him. He remembered the threats all too well. Somehow, *somehow*, the masked man had known about Manerre - had known about his brother. The brother that he'd spent his whole life trying to hide.

Spent his whole life wronging.

No, now was not the time for regret.

After their meeting, Judas had pretty much forgotten about the offer that the mysterious man had made him - 2 *billion*  credits in return for access to all the Governmental information and equipment that he desired. Judas had been tempted at the time, the thought of repairing the planet following the Collective war - but now, now he could rebuild the areas destroyed by General Corvin! He could rebuild Knightborn! But still, he didn't want to accept stolen money, as tempting as it was.
Darkblade had then threatened that if Judas was ever to attempt to find him, he would tell the public about Manerre.

He hadn't thought the man all that important - just another crazy guy in a mask. But now it appeared that he had a bigger part in things than Judas had initially realised. He wondered what the connection could be to possibly involve Tank!

Could Judas help Tank? Tank was his best friend, he didn't exactly have many of them! And he'd helped him out on **so** many occasions, saving his life more than once.

But Darkblade's threats were all too real. The public could not know about Manerre. If they found out, Judas would lose favour in a landslide.

No. Sorry Tank, but that couldn't happen.

His finger moved from the 'Send' button, to the 'Delete' button and in one click, the message was no more.

**Elsewhere…**

With a jolt, the man awoke from his exhaustion-fuelled slumber, as he realised that once again he was not alone.

Darkblade: "Refreshed?" The masked man, who had been his tormentor for the past day, asked from where he stood below.

The poor wretch was strung up by his wrists in chains. Chains that were attached to the rafters of the gloomy warehouse that he was being held prisoner in. His suit had many cuts in it now and was caked in blood from where his torturer had sliced him repeatedly. Cutting into him like a slab of ham.

Darkblade: "I hope so. You'll need your strength..."

Man: "Please..." He begged. "Please, I don't know anything..."

Darkblade: “We’ll see…” he interjected.

Man: “Please…” he sobbed. “I don’t know what you want from me.”

The man’s head was hanging as limp as the rest of his body, lacking the strength the hold it aloft. He couldn’t look at his torturer.

Darkblade: “Yes you do.” He replied matter-of-factly, as he moved forwards and climbed the short flight of steps to the platform where the man was hung up.

Man: “Please… I’ve told you everything I know!”

Darkblade: “That remains to be seen.”

Man: “Please…”

Darkblade: “Tell me everything you know about the Foster family’s finances. I want to know if there were ever any dodgy deals, any suspicions raised, anything at all.”

Man: “I don’t know!” he pleaded.

Darkblade: “You were their chief financier, were you not? Surely you should know if anything was ever amiss?” he asked threateningly, raising his sword to the man’s eye-height.

Man: “There was nothing! Please! I’ve told you this already!”

Darkblade: “Yes, and you remember what happens each time you lie to protect them…” he replied and slowly slid his black blade along the man’s side. He cried out in pain as the metal cut into his flesh and blood started trickling down his side, the screams of agony echoing throughout the dark warehouse, bouncing from wall to wall as if to remind the poor soul of his own pain. As he wreathed in agony, desperately trying to escape from the pain, the light hanging from the rafters high above them started to swing, casting Darkblade in a devilish glow, switching from light to shadows.

Man: “Please! There was nothing! They were good people!”
Darkblade: “Think harder…” he pressured, sliding the tip of his sword into the man’s chest.

The man screamed.

Man: “**Please**! Please, I beg you!”

Darkblade: “Think… harder…” he repeated and slid the blade deeper.

Man: “Uh, uh….” He stammered as he frantically raced his brains for anything relevant.

Darkblade: “Tick tock…”

Man: “Wait!” he suddenly cried and Darkblade’s sword stopped. “There was one deal with a watch company in Sweden, made a couple of years before their deaths. There was always something suspicious about it, but nothing was ever proven!” he babbled, desperately trying to get the information out to stop his masked torturer from tormenting him any further.

Darkblade remained silent and motionless for several seconds, the tip of his blade still embedded in the man’s chest. Finally, he straightened up and slid the blade slowly out of the man’s skin, leaving a fresh, bleeding wound behind.

Man: “Please… that’s all I can think of…” he begged quietly, all of his energy drained.

Darkblade: “Thank you.” He responded meaningfully.

Then Darkblade rammed his sword straight through the man’s stomach.

The financier screamed in agony, but then fell into a deathly silence as Darkblade ripped his sword out of the man’s side, tearing him in two.

The man’s lower half fell limply to the floor, blood cascading down, as, content with the knowledge gained from the Foster’s financier, Darkblade calmly turned, retreated down the wooden stairs and stalked away through the dark of his lair.

He reached the corner that housed his computer set up, picked up his comlink and called for The Boss.
After a few moments, the crime lord answered.
The Boss: "Yes?"
Darkblade: "I have new information for you to look into..."

**17th February 2097: Present Day**

**Tank’s Apartment**

Correspondent: "... and as tensions continue to grow, it is becoming clearer every day that something big is going to go down. At the moment, everything is quiet and still, but it's now almost a certainty that sometime soon, there is going to be a fierce tussle over who is in control of Etrion."

I was watching a special news report about the growing tensions on Etrion. The gang known as 'The Claws of Etrion' and the secretive Marauder Council were at each other's throats and it was getting close to boiling point.

It had been several weeks now since the incident in which Riley, or Cat as she now preferred to be called, had tried to kill me. We had decided not to tell anybody anything about it and so Cat had gone back to work, the same as always and I had continued my researching.

Correspondent: "Of course, whether the Galactic Imperium will intervene remains to be seen; after all, as a moon of Qoter, Etrion is under Imperium control. However, it has also become clear in the past that the Galactic Imperium cares very little for the war-torn moon, and so it seems that only time will tell if they decide to step in and take action to put the matter to rest. Of course, it is also now a waiting game to see what is going to occur between these two vying groups, so we shall simply have to wait and see. Jonathan Craig, reporting for GNN."

The news cut away from the live report, back to the TV studio, where the two usual daytime presenters sat ready for the next segment.

Woman: "Now, in other news, the unveiling of the Lana and Jeremy Foster memorial statue, which was due to be located in New York City on Earth, has been postponed until further notice, pending investigations.."

Suddenly, I was paying attention.

Woman: "In a shocking turn of events, evidence has come to light that some of the famous philanthropists dealings may not have been legal."

Tank: "What?!"

Woman: "Evidence provided to the police by an anonymous source, shows that at least one of their business deals was illegal and also claims that the pair's tax returns were incomplete. This strongly suggests that they were hiding something. Our New York correspondent, Carrie Fletcher, spoke earlier to the city's police commissioner."

The news cut to footage of the New York police commissioner answering questions. He stated that at this point it was still too early to draw any conclusions and that investigations were now under way, but in all honesty, I wasn't listening. I'd glazed over in shock.

So Cat's dad had been right. My parents were criminals!

No... no, I didn't believe it. They couldn't be! Surely not! Everybody loved them, how could they be criminals?! No. They weren't. I was sure of it.

But what could I do about it? I had a quick think and then pulled out my comlink. I dialled for Mr. Grey and waited patiently for him to pick up.

Mr. Grey: "Chain." He greeted. "I assume this is about the news report?"

I should have guessed he'd already know.

Tank: "Yeah. I don't believe it. My parents were not criminals!"

Mr. Grey: "I must say that I, too, was surprised."

Tank: "Then do something! I can't do anything, but surely The Brain can find out the truth! Surely he could do some investigating of his own!"

Mr. Grey thought for a moment.

Mr. Grey: "Ordinarily, I'm not sure it's something that The Brain would pursue, however, for all that you have done for us, I shall do my best to get him to look into it."

Wait... did I actually believe what I was hearing?! Mr. Grey was actually giving me a reward! Well... He was going to get his boss to find out some information for me, but it was the closest I'd ever gotten to being rewarded for my work!

Tank: "Okay. Thank you. I just know in my heart that it's not true."

Mr. Grey: "We'll have to wait and see..."

Tank: "No." I interjected adamantly. "It's wrong. My parents were not criminals. And I swear that I'll find out the truth. I'll clear their names. My parents were great people and deserve that statue. Even if it takes my entire life, I'll clear their names."

I spent the rest of the afternoon making a long list of things I needed to look into. Ways of tracking down Zeth Stripe. Possible ways to look into my parent's accounts. Everything that I had to do. I was quite surprised at the length of the list!

And as if I didn't have enough to do already, my comlink started to bleep.

I considered not answering for a few moments but then, with a sigh, I answered it.

Judas: "Hey buddy." He greeted, both looking and sounding flustered.

Tank: "Hey." I replied with a frown. "What's up?"

Judas: "Remember that ancient drone?"

Tank: "One. Yeah, why?"

Judas: "Well, he's just turned up again." He explained.

Tank: "Great..." I muttered.

Judas: "Yeah. Something *big* is going down. Can you meet me here asap?"

Tank: "Sure. I'll tell Eris too."

Judas: "Thanks. Just get here quick!"

**Elsewhere…**

Ranger: "It's not *my* fault he escaped, is it!" The ex-smuggler turned Beta Squad member shouted at his teammate.

Hammerstrike: "Don't blame me!" He growled.

Ranger: "If you hadn't been so busy polishing your hammer, he wouldn't have escaped!"

Hammerstrike: "You worried about my hammer?!" He shouted, raising it aloft. "I'll make you worried!"

Ranger leapt aside as the massive weapon smashed into the dirt where he'd been stood just moments before. He drew a pistol and fired at his teammate, but Hammerstrike had dodged to one side and now swung his hammer in an arc that smacked Ranger in the side, sending him sprawling in the dirt.

Download: "That's enough!" The tech guy shouted in all of their earpieces, but nobody paid any attention.

Jaws chuckled.

Jaws: "Let them fight." He replied as Ranger rolled away as another blow rained down, narrowly missing him.

Wolfhide: "ENOUGH!" He shouted, walking over, but nobody paid him any attention.

Wolfhide: "Dammit, that's ENOUGH!" He repeated, shoving Jaws aside to try and get to the squabbling pair, but that maybe wasn't the best idea.

With a loud growl, Jaws grabbed Wolfhide by his jacket and tossed him a couple of meters, where he landed with a crash on the floor.

Jaws began advancing on the fallen bounty hunter, while Ranger and Hammerstrike still fought beside them. But then a single gunshot rang out and a familiar voice bellowed,

Voice: "**ENOUGH!!!**”

Everybody froze in place and turned to see where the shout had originated from.

Col. Ramson: "Look at you all!" The Colonel chided as, seated in a shiny, top of the range hoverchair, he glided through the open doorway. "What the hell has happened to you all?" He demanded. "Avorax - you were supposed to be in charge!" He scorned, as Wolfhide got to his feet and brushed himself off, a glare on his face.

Wolfhide: "What do you think I was doing? Having a party?" He retorted.

Col. Ramson: "Don't test me, Wolfhide. Not now..." He replied as he came to a stop just a couple of feet in front of him.

Download: "What happened to your legs?" The voice asked.

Col. Ramson: "Paralysed." He replied, still not taking his eyes off of Wolfhide as the two team leaders continued their silent blinking contest. "So now I have to rely on this blasted chair." He continued to explain.

Wolfhide: "Too bad." He taunted. "Shame you're only half a man now. You sure you're up to leading?"

In a flash, the one-eyed Colonel had drawn his pistol. Wolfhide matched him barely a second later.

Col. Ramson: "**Do not**... test me." He repeated, threateningly.

For a good amount of time, the two men, both one-eyed and both silently vying for leadership over Beta Squad aimed their guns at one another. Nobody intervened or uttered a sound, everybody curious to see what would happen.

Col. Ramson: "Do I have to remind you of the nerve package implanted in your spine?" He growled, reminding the other man of the way they were being held in check in the first place.

Wolfhide’s lip curled in unspoken fury. Then, in one smooth move, he holstered his pistols and turned to stalk away.

Ranger: "This is stupid." He muttered.

Col. Ramson: "You've fallen apart!" The Colonel stated, now turning to face the remainder of the team. "It's been seven months since you recaptured anybody!"

Ranger: "What do you expect? Look at us!" He replied, exasperated.

Col. Ramson: "You were all hand-picked..." He started, but Ranger cut him off.

Ranger: "I don't care!" He snapped. "This is useless! Working time off our sentences? That's a laugh!"

Col. Ramson: "You are here to do a job."

Ranger: "Yeah, well I don't want to any more. I want out." He replied, fed up and strode past the Colonel in his floating chair.

Col. Ramson: "There is no 'out'!"

Ranger: "Oh yeah? Tell that to Darkblade." He muttered as he left.

**The Governor’s Office…**

Less than three hours had passed since Judas had called me asking me to meet him at his office. He’d said that something big was happening in relation to One, the ancient drone, but he needn’t have bothered – I could have worked that out myself, because on the journey there, looking out of the Viper’s viewscreen, I could see lights surging and dimming all over the city. Huge sections of the metropolis below us were going black and then lighting up again, repeating over and over, turning the whole planet into a flashing fairy light.

Tank: “Scrim…” I muttered as I watched a power station explode in a huge ball of smoke and writhing flames, unable to handle the constant surging. “This is bad…”

Just a minute later and we touched down at the senate building and Tracks and I jogged inside, all the way up to the Governor’s office. When we arrived, Eris, Jay, Caesar, Basher and Jace were all there already, as was Cat. No, sorry… Riley. We were in public, so she still used her real name.

Judas: “Oh, Tank. Thank you for coming.” He breathed as we entered the room.

Tank: “What’s going on?”

Judas: “I was just briefing Her Grace on the situation, but I’ll recap for you. At three thirty two this afternoon, an unregistered shuttle landed at Rosili spaceport. Shortly after, there was a blackout across Rosili. The blackout was the longest to date, but it didn’t stay in one location. It spread, moved, as if it were following something…”

Jay: “Or somebody.” He commented.

Judas: “Exactly. Eventually, it stopped, with Rosili power plant at its centre. The local police received a distress call saying that a robot had taken over the plant and had killed all of the workers, before plugging itself into the mainframe.”

Tank: “One.” I concluded.

Judas: “We had it confirmed a couple of hours ago. That’s why I called you all. We sent special forces in to deal with him, but they were outmatched and we lost the entire team in under ten minutes.”

Caesar: “Bloody hell…” he cursed.

Judas: “We have another team about to depart, and Her Grace and her team have agreed to go with them.”

Eris: “One needs stopping. The only way I can be sure that he is, is if I see it for myself.” She explained and I nodded in understanding, just as the lights died.

Seconds later, the light returned and Judas shook his head disbelievingly. In the distance, we heard an explosion and everybody looked out of the window to see a building quite a way away explode and crumble in a tower of smoke and ash.

Suddenly, our ears were filled with a loud humming sound. We all instinctively covered our ears with our hands, but it made little difference. Tracks squealed in agony, the worst affected. And then the humming warped. It morphed in pitch and tone and became a voice.

One: “People of this world.” The voice, clearly that of One, began.

Judas: “What the hell is that?!”

One: “One has existed for longer than any alive could imagine – existed with a singular goal. To destroy One’s enemies.”

Jace: “How the hell is he doing that?”

One: “The Singers – or as you know their descendants, The Collective. They came to your system seeking war, seeking to control, just as they did to many others before, both in recent history, and in ancient. One remembers. One was there. But this time, they were stopped and instead became accepted into your society.”

Tank: “What is he doing?” I questioned aloud, having to shout so that the others would hear me over the loud humming.

Jay: “He’s trying to turn the world against us! Against The Collective!”

One: “Instead of fighting for your freedom, instead of repelling the monsters, you took them in and treated them as your own. You became their friends, their partners, their *allies*.”

Eris: “No…” she breathed, realisation dawning.

One: “The Collective are One’s enemies. Consequently, anybody allied with The Collective, are also One’s enemies…”

Eris: “He’s not turning them against us; he’s sentencing them!”

One: “Any who are sided with One’s enemies shall pay the ultimate price and join their allies in oblivion. You, as a planet, as a system, made your choice and now must face the consequences. Starting with this world, One will seek and destroy every last being in the galaxy who calls themselves a friend of The Collective. There will be no running. No hiding. No playing of games. No escape. Your time here has ended…

As has the time of The Collective.”

**BONUS PICTURES**

An alternative picture of Darkblade torturing the financier.

A better look at Ramson's new hoverchair.

Another look at the Colonel's chair.

As my series is going to be jumping around though time, I will include a date on each episode and add it to the timeline at the end of each episode so that you can follow it.

TIMELINE