Project Otherworld (Story)

Jim was in a Tactical Squad consisting of 10
men, they where fighting valiantly, staring down there barrels at thousands of
Insectians.  Terrible creatures. There exact appearance varied drastically
however they where all vaguely insectoid in nature, hence the name.

So many variety existed that naming them all
with easy to remember names would be nigh impossible, thus scientific names
where more correct, though many had common names. Jim was staring down and
shooting Insector Bellator Communia Insectar, more commonly known as Insectid,
so terrifying, yet so beautiful in a strange way, a tenebrous mess of horns and
spikes and teeth and scales.

Jim opened fire at unto its gaping mouth
hole, bullets went straight through its head, and it fell into Jim, trapping
him, "I'm stuck!"  Another marine pulled the corpse of Jim, Jim
for up, before witnessing his comrade have his head torn off, spine included by
an Insectid that leaped onto his back, impaling it's spinal cord like tail
through his chest.

It made a cricket like hiss of roar, the
sounds they make indescribable in truth, Jim shot it, it died. More of them
just at the things body.

Jim throw a Fragment Grenade at them, he took
down 2 out of the 12 feasting on the fallen alien.

Several Makoid Armobore (Insector Bellator
Makovor Armordillo) came in, and assaulted Jims commanded, ripping him
apart.

Jim opened fire but it shrugged off bullets,
indeed, it's believed 70 percent ofits weight is pure armour. They clearly
adapted to the bullets being used against them. Jim then heard a dinosaur like
roar, Jim saw a 6-meter-tall Insectian that at the time didn't have a common
name, though its true name was Insector Titano Makutavore Gerosa.  It
looked like a giant triceratops from the front, just with a taller shield thing
on its head, which would block things from reaching its vitals, which where just
behind it, much of the rest of the body was fat, though it was held in as the
skin had bones that where highly rigid, highly rigid indeed.

Several gunships came in shooting at it and artillery
fired, it was not phased. Jim began to run.

Jim tripped over a mound of dead soldiers,
who where torn apart by the Insectians.

A Insectid cumbered on top of Jim and
attached him.

Jim awoke, he saw the skull of an Insectid he
kept as proof he had fought and survived the terrible Insectian menace had made
its way on top of him. Jim moved it, as it would make moving difficult to leave
it.

Jim lay back down, he was tired. He hadn't
handled the then several month old incident well, Jaina never deserved what had
happened, no matter how accidental and unintended it was a girl was killed by
someone she was technically supposed to trust, she didn't actually trust him
much mind you, but Spire was in command of the Enterio, Jaina was just a strike
craft pilot.

Jim was trying to forget her, this was not
easy obviously, as the two where inseparable, but what else was he to do?

Jim break from that chain of thought, and
closed his eyes, searching for something, anything else to think about that
isn't Jaina Donlo, he didn't find much other then the Insectians and a strange
beacon like pull he could feel in his mind, he couldn't explain it, a strange
inky blackness coming from somewhere light years away, as if something just
exploded releasing some kind of energy that he just couldn't put his finger
on.

Jim chose to just lay down and ignore
everything, he just wanted to forgot about the horror, the terror, Jaina,
everything. Yet he know he would be unable to.

That didn’t stop him from wishing to forget,
however.

### Marshal

Jim slid onto his feet, and got dressed. He did it rather quickly in an attempt to leave the room as fast as possible, the room itself reminding him of Jaina, who he was trying to forget.
Jim opened the Human sized alloy door and quickly got into the hallway before closing it.
Jim walked down the hall and then turned left went down the elevator and then went up the hall from there.
He was making his way to what was supposed to be a cafeteria, but since the Enterio was a rebel ship it has bassicly became a bar with some canteen like qualitys.
On his way he passed someone he knew, he knew a surprisingly small fraction of the ships crew, though this woman he did know, Cassie Marshal was her name.
"Oh, Hi Jim! How you doing?" She asked, Jim replied with a simple "I'm fine"
This wasn't necessarily true, as Jim was still quite distraught over Jaina's death.
"I don't think that's true, but I honestly don't have time, we can talk later, yeah?"
Jim had no objection to this, as he was rather fond of Cassie "Yeah, I'll be in the bar"
Cassie smiled and said "of course" and then continued walking down the hall.

Jim continued, after walking down the hall he turned towards the bar.

The bar was the shape of two soda cans merged together, all the lights where towards the ceiling and low powered, leaving the floor dark.
There where 4 small round tables with chairs, the floor was grated just like that of the rest of the ship, just it was a darker metal, and the holes where smaller.
Keep in mind, this is supposed to be a cafeteria...

Jim walked over the far table and sat down.

Jim got a drink of a Tarsonian beverage, probably some kind of beer, though it's uncertain.
Jim was siting there for some time, trying not to think about Jaina, he was starting to realise not doing anything probably isn't going to help.

Cassie walked in, she stoped and looked at Jim and began to stroll towards him.

"Hello" she said to Jim, who said the same thing back.

Cassie sat down next to Jim, and asked him "You alright?"
Jim answered honestly this time, "No".
Cassie then said "thought so"
"You know you can trust me, you don't have too lie like that"
Cassie was referring to there encounter in the hall.
Jim had no response to this.
Jim was aware she was trust worthy, she had proven that before, multiple times infant, Jim honestly wasn't sure why he hadn't told the truth, he couldn't remember why.
Interestingly Cassie didn't look that serious, though admittedly her being serious in a situation like this is a bit of an anomaly.
This was largely confirmed when she looked at her watch and said "I've still got some time off"
Jim looked at her, she still didn't appear to be taking herself that seriously, Jim asked "What are you suggesting?"
Cassie then stated "nothing, I'm just saying, your the one who applied any further meaning to it"
"Ahh-huh" Jim said, not really paying much attention, he was largely distracted by Cassie's eyes, he always thought they where pretty.
"Jim, why are you staring at my eyes?" She asked, Jim figured he at least he should tell the truth "because they're pretty"

Cassie smiled, she seemed genuinely amused by that statement, "someone's learned honesty!" She said that in a rather comical manner.
"I need to go" Cassie said, she was a fairly busy person, so it made sense, she left.

Jim was then sitting down alone, not really doing anything.
He ended up starting to think about Jaina again, he disliked this, he was willing to think of anything else but her, it hurt to think of her...

Jim heard some crashing above him, he was the only one to notice, then again he was in a bar, so most of the inhabitants where likely drunk.
Jim got out of his seat and left the bar to investigate, it reminded Jim of something he forgot about, though what he was unsure, he knew he found it and left it in the vents somewhere.

### Disk

Jim barged out the door and scaled the wall and crawled into the vents.
Forward, left, forward, right, up, forward, Jim wasn't really keeping track, eventually he realised he hadn't really thought this through, as he didn't really know the vents of this area at all.
He jumped down into one of the larger vents.
Interestingly the vents only exist for maintenance reasons, there are tubes that follow the vents that carry oxygen around and other tubes that vent carbon dioxide out and another tube for venting anything else out.
Of course sometimes these broke, the oxygen ones breaking wouldn't be much of a problem as it's just pumping oxygen into oxygen but one of the others breaking would be catastrophic, for example if large amounts of heated nitrogen where to react with the oxygen, lets just say there won't be much ship left and a lot of boom.
Anyway, back to the point, Jim was partially lost in all truthfulness.
Jim was following the sound of something moving near him...
Though it wasn't moving towards him, rather away, quickly as if just done a heinous action against the crew of the Enterio...

Jim continued down the vents until he reached a way up, he climbed up and went down the vent towards the source of the sound.
Jim crawled and crawled forward, it was pitch black by that point, Jim felt a round object, a small flat disk, he payed no mind to it.
Jim continued expecting to find something which never came, Jim fell out as he traded over a loose panel.
It was an empty room, fortunently, Jim got back of the barren floor and exited the room.

He was in one of the unused sections of the ship, he and Jaina often enjoyed looking around them in there spare time, though Spire wasn't too fond of the concept of people running about where he can't see them.

Jim was not familiar with these dark corridors, Jim was simple lost...

He began to wonder, to find somewhere he recognised, though after 10 minutes it still hadn't happened.
Jim began running, hoping to gain someone's attention, he in truth was getting further and further from areas where people actually went, it was just around the corner, and he took a wrong turn...

### Lost

Cassie was in the C.I.C centre, about 32 hours before was the last time Jim had been seen. Cassie was in fact extremely worried, she was intending to inform Spire about his disapearence, as the ship didn’t really have anyone skilled in tracking people down.
Cassie pondered wether it really was a good idea to inform him, he would probably not really care and the last person to speak against his ideas, namely Jaina, was beaten to death in his anger, though he probably had a lot of built up anger against her.
Cassie decided to ask someone else to inform him, she didn’t really want to get killed or grotesquely injured in any way.
“Hey, Elizabeth, can you do something for me?”
“Yeah, sure” Elizabeth said, she was of a below typical height and had brown hair, she was from Frexmore Prime, The planets low gravity due to its small mass resulting in her lower bone/muscle mass and hight.
“Can you please inform Spire of Jim’s disappearance, I’m the only one anyone seems to report to anymore, so I’m kinda busy”
Elizabeth then said “Your not wrong, I’ll tell him”
Elizabeth stood up from her chair and walked over too Spire, and informed him of Jim’s disappearance.
Spire, simply did not seem happy.
“WHAT!” He shouted, at Elizabeth was about to say something when Spire three a rather large punch at her, directly in her right cheek, she fell back and hit the back of her head on the grated flooring. Cassie came running to her and grabbed her. She quickly, almost choking on her own words said “I’m so sorry! I didn’t think this wou-“
Cassie then saw the side of Elizabeth’s face that was hit, it didn’t appear to be bleeding, though she had an absolutely huge bruise. She was not awake, the blow had knocked her out.

Cassie looked up and Spire, who didnt look perticulairly impressed with himself iether, infact he looked disgusted in himself. He had often apologesed for his uncomfortably common fits of anger but in truth that didnt really change the fact that his fits of anger where a bit of a problem, having killed Jaina and knocking out and potentially causing permanment damage to Elizabeth

"Just, take her to the Medbay and go find Jim, I need a break, I'm sorry" Spire said.

Cassie then blatently stated that she will go do just that, and went and picked up Elizabeth too take her to the Medibay.

Cassie carried Elizabeth into the Medibay, there was a brief exhange between Cassie Rictor and Cassie Marshal about what had happened, fortunently it wasnt fatal, but it could cause many serius problems in later life, as unfortunent as that was, it could have been far worse, far far worse...

Cassie then went to look for Jim.

She chose to start off by looking in the rooms that are actually being used, as apposed to looking in the dark and unused ones.

Cassie was looking for about an hour when she had looked through them all, and she was rather tired, she slid down the wall and sat down.

"Where was he" she though to herself, he had to be somewhere, hopefully.

This was almost the most negetive she had even felt in her life, only beaten by an incident at Terminus. She heard something crawling above her, Cassie jolted up, startled, she looked up and saw a vent hatch had opened and was now swaying from side to side...

It was closed when she entered the room...

Cassie unholstered her D-19 Heavy Pistol and was in a ready stance, she had absolutly no idea how to defend herself but Jaina had once taught her, she didnt really understand it.

It didnt take long for Cassie to quit trying to confront whatever it was, as something about the halls seemed strangely unsettling.

Cassie checked her pockets for a communications device to inform someone that something was going on, she found one, a G-Class WalkTalk, she activated it and tuned it to the channel of the Enterio, it wasnt working, she didnt know this but it was infact almost as if something was reflecting the radio signal off the very walls in such a manner that keep the radio signal from reaching further then 12 meters! This of course didnt make sense, but if someone of a more scientific background where to find this scenario this would be the only explanation!

Cassie panicked for a moment, before proceeding to calm down, thinking about the fact that atleast she had the communications device.

She thought for a moment, attempted to contact another nearby ship,specificly Harlecure, an escort ship, and also the nearest ship at about 120,000 KM, which was quite a short distance by space standerds.

She attempted to contact the ship, no result, Cassie meditated on the problem for a moment, trying to remember the basics of how modern telecomunications worked, she came to the conclusion that it could be the metal in the walls causing the issue, she seemed to recall once being told some metals when something is done to them (She couldnt remember what) being able to block electromagnetic waves, which she could recall Radio waves where a mild form off.

So she ran to the nearest window, figuring that they must be something other then metal as metal isnt see through.

She was incorrect in the composition of the windows, they were made partially out of metal as a hardener, however attempting contact near the window did indeed work.

She explained her sitation and how she was unable to contact her own ship, she got no response for about 1.4 seconds, as a distance in light seconds of 0.400277 (120,000 KM or 74564.5431 Miles) was required to be travelled by the radio waves, the response itself was that the Harlecure will attemped to contact the Enterio for her, and while there doing that Cassie should make her way to somewhere safer.

Cassie agreed, her response took some time to reach the target of course.

She began to make her way to out of the area, but she honestly didnt know where she actually was, the view from the window suggested towards the bow, as the engines where distant.

The view was none-the-less beautiful, and Cassie wished to admire it further someday, but that day was not now.

She thought for a moment but then chose to leave without further delay, she walked and walked, zero light after zero light, until she looked down a hall with light in it, Cassie headed hallward into it.

She had found her way out, Cassie ran down the hall, but tripped on the hightend part of the edge of one of the grating panels the entire floor of the Enterio is made up off, she fell and hit her left cheek predominently, but also hurt her hip, right foot, right wrist, and left arm.

Someone Cassie didnt know ran up, helping her up he asked "You okay?"

Cassie responded with a quick "Yes"

Cassie looked at her hands, feeling a sudden jabbing pain in both, it was nothing, Cassie figured she should go to the Medibay to get it checked out.

after some thought however, She chose to go in that exact moment.

She made her way to the medibay,it had turned out she had caused minor damage to her wrist, nothing too bad, however it may function at a slower pace.

She then moved both her hands in the same why and discovered everything beyond her right wrist had a 0.4 Seconds delay!

Cassie thanked them for the imput and left to the CIC, which stoof for Combat Information Centre, in order to make it known shes back.

She walked down the lengthy hallway, before turning right and taking the lift up to the CIC, and entered the bunker of a room.

"Im back everyone" She said quickly, Spire looked back and said "We're gonna launch an assault on an Imperial outpost"

"What? Jims still missi-" Cassie was interupted. "We found him without you..."

### More Terrible Then A Terran Empire

Jim Fawrk was in a Drop Pod, one of 4 to be launched to the surface of Vadel.

There was an Imperial Munitions Depot on the surface, a major one that supplys 3.5% of the Federate Sector, it was the first planet in the two planet system of Hermoroth.

The planet was tidally locked with the Star Hermoroth, resulting in one side being a scorched dessert, the northern hemisphere specificly, the southern hemisphere was colder, not frozen, but from orbit you could see a noticible bluish tint near the south pole.

The far south was near perfect for Human habitation, which is why the Empire had set up there, they had driven many of the planet as refugees to make wrong for there monoloths, though its likely some remain, hiding.

The Pods where launched from the Enterio at a 40 degree angle to the atmosphere, ideal for entry, it was entering at an extreme speed but not more then mach 7, as too keep the occupants from becoming organic sludge.

The occupancy where locked into the seats with bars of allumiunum, though most of the craft was made of an alloy of Titanium and the element Doxtrite, this was known as Titanium Doxtricide.

The 4 pods entered the atmosphere perfectly, Cassie was monitoring the Imperial radio chatter, it was as soon as the pods reached 30,000 KM above the surface that they where detected, Imperial Troops where mobolised across the planet, and a call was made too an unknown location, referencing something called The Project Otherworld Laberatorys,

About 30% of the troops where then recalled, as the Empire planned to deploy what they called one of the latest tools the Project had given them.

Cassie called all 4 pods over there very specific radio frequancy "Seems theyve got some new weapon out there, keep that in mnd"

Cassie then called Jims pod specificly and said "Jim, please be careful"

With a brutal thump the pods landed in the dust and muck that made up the surface in the area, the doors bursted open and the squads ran out and took cover, the coast was clear at that time, forunently.

Jim peeked out and was fired upon, Jim took cover again and proceeded to fire back, he had no clue of he had hit anything.

The Imperials had to be getting closer however, so something had to be done.

Jim fired aimlessly again, he managed to cripple one made that time, Jim ran back further and coninued to fire.

After some time the squad managed to get closer to the actual target, overall the whole thing was going not according to the original plan, by virtue of them being detected, the number of units sent was based on the assumption they would remain hidden.

Thats when a large low profile jetcraft flew over head, it was jew black, illuminated only by the exhaust of the propellent from the engines.

An object, shaped like a fat missile, was launched from it into the distance, about 13.6 KM away, it travelled at a fairly slow speed.

Shortly after the weapon hit the ground there was an unearthly, freakish squeall that could be heard for kilometers, it had elements of a lions roar, yet also had elements of a cricket sound, while sounding more like a squeall from a rude, and mean awakening then a roar.

A shockwave came from the blast site, and all communications and electronics ceased to function at once, they had overheated tremendously.

Imperial Troops seemed to be trying to escape, in a way that suggests this was not planned...

On the Enterio Cassie was trying to get into contact with Jim but failing, the ship could see what was going on clearly, it was terrifying in pure mass of scale...

The Hive...

Jim heard thousands of taloned graspers and feelings charge forward, all making that same inhuman squeall!

Jim readied his weapon, and took cover behind a colapsed cylindricle thing whose porpose Jim was unsure, the sounds became closer and closer.

The sounds of cluttering insectoid masses of random emassed biological matter, flopping, fluttering, jumping, screaming, and things there are no words in any Earthly langauge to describe, but the closest, might be warping and teleporting with visible motion.

With suddenty the thing Jim hid behind was torn and effortlessly thrown away as if trash, despite wieghing what could be tons.

Behind it, was the culprit of such a potentially impossible maneuver, a beast of 14 feet, with a ridgless head of 4 daimond shaped eye holes with eyes inside that can only be compared to that of a cat, though the difference is astronomical, the skin was like that of a scaled creuture, but no word truly exists to describe the rock solid, yet unbroken skin like material used as a covering of the internal functions of the Alien beasts that now had a member staring down at Jim gun, without understanding of what it was looking at, but with an understanding it was looking at a biological entity, and therefore biomatter, and therefore, something it must harvest for the betterment of the Hive, the hive needed biomatter...

The monster screamed, squelled, roared, whatever it did, it did it, and charged forward, slugishly, Jim was able to get out the way before its dug its oversized teeth into him, for harvesting for the production of further Beasts, for that is the nature of the Insectian Hive Minds...

The beast turned towards Jim once more, doing something akin to snarling, Jim aimed down its mouth, inside there was a drill like horn, in the exact centre of the mouth, around it where a tryptanophobia inducing circle of breathing and food holes.

Jim fired multiple times as too avoid simply hitting the drill horn, the beast fell over and died.

Jim then began to run, as in truth, there where many thousands of Insectian beasts.

He tried to contact the Enterio, nothing worked, Jim was now being chased bown by several Insectid (Insector Bellator Communia Insectar)

The ovloud scurrying Beasts had Fly like wings, and they often hopped in an attack.

Jim opened fire on them, but they just hopped out the way, though one was torn assunder by the fire.

An Insectid hopped onto Jim, it slashed a gash in his armor, he fell back, and fired at it, its head exploded into a heap of salt like goo, the Blood of an Insectian.

Jim saw in the heavens there where lights in the thick clouds, something was going on!

Imperial Drop ships came down with squads of flamethrower armed troops, burning the Insectian Menace.

Another Insectian hopped onto Jim, and cut into his armor, Jim fell back with the thing on it, He soon realised himself to be bleeding from his chest...

Jims eyes closed, though he wasnt dead, he was struggling to remain consious, an Insectians talons tend to be unpredictable, and it seemed these ones had some kind of venom smeard over them.

Little time passed, atleast it seemed too relative to Jim, his eyes opened, yet now it seemed as if 5 hours had passed, Rebel dropships where down and there was a medic over Jim, looking ectsatic.

He forcefully pulled Jim onto a dropship, which took off shortly after.

It was an Ahalbroor-3 Class Assualt Dropship, flying off at some speed, it was carnage, a Xe-H-P-7 Chaingun was being operated by a soldier in vandilized Imperial Marin Galacta Armor, the weapon was a large chaingun, it fired Xenon in Plasma form out using electromagnetic forces to keep it have perfect accuracy for the first 30 feet of the travel time, there where 12 barrels in total, 4 in the centre making a square, and the rest on the outer part surounding it.

The bolts of plasma were purple in colour and looked as if lightning, the weapon, of course, generated great heat, this was solved by a brutish coolent system, essentuly a storage of liquid Nitrogen in a canister that keeps the weapon extremely cold.

It made no real sound, this made it quite strange to witness at it tore the Insectians apart, them melting, and burning, as clouds of quickly cooling plasma and fire consumed the being hit location.

Jim heard the sound of something crashing through the clouds themselves, indeed, shortly thereafter, Insectian Flying Biomorphs of a form Jim had never seen, batlike, yet flylike while while also feeling as if a moth to the eye, where pulling an Imperial cruiser to the ground, flaming steel and titanium with it.

They buzzed around like bees and humming birds and birds of prey all at once, despite the logical contradiction that would cause.

One of these broke off and flew off in the direction of inward relative to the craft Jim was onboard.

Suddenly, the true nature of such things was revealed all too quickly, as a large black leathery bibedal mass of bony armored gelatonous exo-endoskeletonal strucutures, massive wings like that of a bat.

In its chest, a glowing orb, slightly transparent, inside, some form of smaller sphere, seemingly made of some kind of bone.

The soldier focused fire on the glowing orb in the centre, it exploded in a thunder like tone, such a vivid horrid tone, orange glowing liquid, fire itself fell from the now present crevise in the things chest.

The flittering maddening thing fell from the sky, dying, the doors of the dropship where closed as it was aproaching the outer atmosphere, Outsider there was vast Insectian biorganisms droping pods of spores, creating vast spires of matter and biological force, harvesting the ground for living matter.

The Dropship went into the Enterio's hanger, they where too flee to an adjacent system through the Jumpgate.

On another ship, General Wammy himself, ordered to destroy the Enterio at all costs, and leave none alive...

He was bring told he had failed once more, the extict Insectians returned, and the enemy escaping, he asked for acces to SubProject-77N, it was granted on one condition, the Wammy Campaign succeed...

The Enterio entered the Jumpgate, it fizzled with energys to mathematicly complex to understand, spacetime itself was expanded in the rear and compressed in front, tearing a segment of it off the rest and pulling along by force, spacetime itself was carrying a small segment of spacetime with the Enterio in it by itself, at great speeds faster then that of light its self. Complex mechanisms hold the warp field (The name applied to the part of spacetime that is moving) in a reasonable point in time, keeping it from breaking causality (Though there are records of this potentially failing, resulting in a man with a Skyhammer-3 Class Fighter being found in the year 3466, the Skyhammer was introduced in the year 7295, mind you the man was also dead and the ship was heavily erradiated by Hawking Radiation due to the ship breaking causality, though Jumpgates are mostly safe)

Jim exited the dropship, he was in considerable pain, due to the large chestal wound caused by the Insectians.

Before Long Cassie Marshal when to him, she looked inexhuastably relieved to see him alive.

Though she then noticed the injury and inquired into it "What happened? Are you ok?"

"Cassie its fine"

"No it's not, your bleeding Jim you need help, come on!"

Cassie was quite insistent, almost enforcive, but Jim could tell she had good intentions.

Cassie helped Jim out of the heavy bulbous armor his was wearing, it was damaged to the point of near defunctionality at this point due to the huge claw scratch that broke through, cutting Jim.

Jim was brought to the medibay by Cassie, who was in fact, quite worried for him.

In truth, it turned out all that was really necessary was to cover the wound up, as it in truth was fairly minor considering its length.

Afterwards, they both left the bay, and Cassie proceeded to look rather, embarrassed, is likely the best word to describe it.

Cassie spoke "Jim, I need to tell you something, I like you"

Jims first thoughts where that of the fact Cassie was already married, Jim enquired into that and Cassie stated that she was married, and she honestly hated herself over the complication caused by being in love with two induviduals at the same time.

Cassie grabbed hold of Jims hand, and in essence fell into Jim, in truth Jim had no objection to this, having the opinion that Cassie is quite a fine example of a Human Being, as rude as that may sound.

Cassie, after some time, removed herself from Jim and stated "I should probably go, bye Jim!' She smiled.

It seemed clear, that Cassie had these feelings inside her for qiute some time.

Jim, was unsure what to do.

### Terror

It had been three days, the Enterio was taking hide behind the planet Sephrazorah, due to the planet's heat, it masked the heat signature of the Enterio.

The main talk on the ship was about how the Insectians, who where supposedly made extinct by Mankind, had just assaulted the battle between Terran and Rebel.

Cassie and Jim had spent considerable time together.

Mind you, Cassie had little time to her self due to the importance of her role and the fact the Enterio's command crew suspected the Empire were just outside the other end of the Jumpgate.

Jim was, as Spire had commanded, ready for the potential event of an attack, but in truth wasnt that alert.

Indeed, at the Jumpgate, the space visible through the ring suddenly became invisible as if a black hole, before turning white as if a white hole, before some sort of wave of compression of light came out as Imperial ships warped in.

They knew not where the Enterio was, so they launched probes out, to scan the area from as many directions a possible to locate the target.

The Enterio noticed, and in truth, they had not planned for this.

The Enterio had been located in geosynchronous orbit around Sephrazorah, the Imperial ships burned there Pion engines until they accelerated at considerable speed, then turning them off.

The Enterio went on red alert, as they where located anyway, no reason existed to remain hidden, the heat from red alert would outline there shape in a thermal picture of Sephrazorah pretty easily.

The Imperial Ship fired its railguns at the Enterio, causing damage, hull plating flew off, revealing large amounts of empty space until the enterior.

Enterio fired its broadside weapons, causing extreme damage, though it took some seconds due to the extreme distance.

Then, Enterio fired its plasma weaponry at the target, after 24 seconds of travel time, the ship exploded.

In truth, there were more then a single Terran ship assaulting, Enterio knew this and focused fire on them, but they started fleeing unexpectedly.

After some time, 5 new thermal blips appeared, they had sent ships in with minimal system functions to keep heat signature to a minimum.

They flew in front of the planet, blending there low heat with the heat signature of the planet.

The new ships fired their broadsides, devastating the frontal weapons of the Enterio, rendering them defunct.

"Any slight movement on thermal mapping could be an enemy! Say if you see any movement in them AT ALL!" Shouted Spire, Cassie agreed, Enterio was in truth too large and generated too much heat to achieve what these smaller Imperial ships could, they where at a major disadvantage.

Enterio accelated, and began to porposly wobble to dodge fire, when its fired its based on the assumption that it will be on a flat course, changing it after fire is an effective dodging method.

An Imperial Cruiser turned around and burned its engines so it reached a reasonable, but not that fast, speed, the ship opened fire upon Enterio, the ship was damaged quite heavily by the pounding mass of the bricks of metal being flung at it.

Torpedos where fired out by the attacking ship, they where scanned, numerous bipedal heat signatures per torpedo...

Enterio used the opportunity to fire all weapons at the side of the attacking ship, causing critical damage, but the torpedos slammed into the hull, robotic arms extended and grabbed hold, a drill extended from the nose and drilled into the hull and break into the ship by force.

They broke in, marine forces scrambled to the effected locations, with suddenty the doors where kicked open as smokyness from the depressurization came out, as something with glowing red features in there heads came out, 10 per torpedo.

They fired at all marines in sight, it was a massacre, no remorse, no fear, could they even feel those things?

They stepped out with metallic thumping footsteps as if they were of they were somehow pulled down more then they should be with there wight and the Gravitron Generator.

The Brigands walked forward at a threatening pace, killing all in there way, finding no joy, or disgust, just, empty protocol and order, as apposed to feeling and personal opinion.

Soon another broadside was fired by the apposing ship, and it burned its side engines until it knocked Enterio and then flew back away,

The ship began to fall into Sephrazorah, it was going to crash.

An evac order was sent, all crew where to get off the ship, preferably via escape pods lining the edge.

Jim made his way down, he wished to find Cassie, however, he had no idea where she was, for all he knew she could be dead, though he desperately hoped not.

Jim started calling out for her, and he heard her call back, Jim ran in the direction and found her, she was directing people to the escape pods.

She planned to only get into one herself once everyone else is in one.

"Jim, go and get in one of those things! Ill get in soon alright and just dont want anyone more hurt then we all already are!" she said, seemingly almost slightly angry at Jim, in a this is the first real disagreement they've ever had sort of way.

" Cassie! I ran down her, somethings obviously onboard as people have clearly been shot! I dont want you to get killed! So just come on!"

Some strange, horrible, terrifying biomechanical screeching and cluttering sounds came from just beyond the hall..

"Jim, no, you go!

The two were arguing over this for a short while later until the android Jim had found some months ago fell down, functioning, looking almost as if it is of sadistic intent.

Cassie was terrified by the thing, her automanophobia was set of by the figure, whom to her appeared as if a somehow eldritch humanoidal abomination.

But suddenly, the thing was ripped in half with a grip of iron, its mechanoid spinal cord, floppy and lose dangling from its now disconnected torso, it twitched.

A Brigadier had killed the android, a knight like figure of metallic doom, it attempted to kill Jim with the force it can swing alone but Cassie got him out the way and they both ran for the escape pods.

It made the most disturbing noises, warped biomechaniod screechs and wierd gergles, the sounds of an alien langauge one cant even dream of desiphering as they come from another plane of existence and have no common words!

The sound caused pain to hear, made sense, there seem to be no words to describe it, scraping pincers and sounds almost like that of a zebra, poping, floppying gelatonous calls...

It was a horrible sound...

The Brigadier fired upon the two, and one bullet hit Jim, though in a none vital area, in truth he barely felt it, he was intent on getting Cassie and himself out of there.

The thing fired again, and 4 of the bullets hit Cassie, she almost fell forward, last time she had been shot she had indeed been hurt more than this, but it didn't hurt nearly as bad as it did, Jim was trying to pull her along but the Brigadier was catching up.

Jim quickly picked her up and ran to the pod, before gently putting her down in a seat and getting in himself, the pod's door was closed and it was flung out towards the planet.

Jim enquired as too Cassies status, and she said she struggled to move most muscles in her body, almost as if the bullets had some paralysis toxin inside them (They didn't, Cassie was just weak), Jim checked on her himself, he asked if it was okay to lift her shirt for the purposes of keeping an eye on the entry wounds, Cassie, was fine with it, seemingly feeling like her privacy was a trivial need compared to her life.

Jim did as he suggested.

She was bleeding considerably, but not to the point of bleeding out, though Jim didn't really know what bleeding enough to die from it looked like.

"I dont know how bad it is honestly, sorry," Jim said, Cassie proceeded to say "Didn't think you would"

She smiled, and almost choked on something in her throat, most likely blood.

The Enterio hit the atmosphere at a 90 degree angle relative to the bow, the now-defunct warship exploded in the middle, splitting the whole thing in two, it was as if the thing spat fire out every hole, the skies themselves glow amber with the flames of the behemoth of a warship, it seemed so tiny compared to most Military warships, yet as soon as you place it near planetary objects, one realises its immense scale.

The ships automated systems turned its wings out, from between the engines, the immense force from the great fall resulted in the wings breaking off.

The Enterio's bow section crashed into the muck and sand that the surface of Sephrazorah was made of, the aft part landed nearby.

The wreckage was a smouldering wreck, but recognisable as a Britannia 1 Class Battlecruiser, though identifying it as Enterio specifically, would be more difficult.

The escape pod landed, about 2.26 kilometres from the wreckage.

Cassie found the landing most unpleasant, as she was not used to such speeds, Jim however was.

"Jim, can you call the other pods?" Cassie asked she was well aware Jim was not able to help her, as such she wanted someone who actually understood medical science.

Jim tried to and succeeded.

Turned out several people had the same idea, those that made it of the ship where: Spire, Andrew Markiff, Elizabeth Harel'kül, Katie Jones, Cassie Rictor, Victoria Winslo, Magnip Yolis and Maria Fitzgerald.

Jim didn't actually know all those people, but that didn't matter.

Jim stated that Cassie was hurt, probably badly, and Cassie Rictor, whom was a medic, then asked Jim to describe it.

Jim did so, "She has 4 bullet wounds around her abdoman, I think, there bleeding, considerably, shes laying down at the moment so it's mostly pooling around the hole, I suspect she may be beginning to cough it up, she hasn't really been moving that much"

"Right, just, keep an eye on her, these pods have stuff on them allowing them to move, notable caterpillar tracks, they can extend out the side, press the big green button that says 'Cattrack activate' and make you way to our position, we are at 27.8554° North fou" The radio cut off, with static, and then there was a message "This radio broadcast has been ut by Terran Imperial Authorities for hostility against progress"

Jim couldn't see the connection, but it didn't matter, the point was that the Empire had cut their communications.

"Where are we?" Jim asked, Cassie, looked around and said "Looks like it says there"

She pointed at a panel.

On it, Jim read, it sad 26.4711° N- 42.6278 E-.

He pressed the button, and then asked: "Did you write down that she said?"

Cassie then stated, annoyedly "She said 27.8554° North, and for the south, she said 4, though it cut off. You dont know what directions that could be in do you?"

Jim said "No"

"Here, I'll drive"

Jim objected, stating Cassie was hurt, however, Cassie didn't really care, stating its probably a better idea then just waiting for someone who has no clue where they were to come.

Jim agreed, though wasn't too happy about it.

As Cassie got onto the chair, she hurt her self further, though she didnt really seem to care that much, Jim asked if she was okay, and Cassie said "You worry to much"

Jim began driving the vehicle, she was hoping she was heading in the right direction,

After some time she realised how slow the vehicle was and how desolate and looking-same-everywhere the whole region of the planet was, she grabbed Jims hand, who looked at her, she then explained "Im scared, thats al- ah!"

Her gunshot wounds were starting to become unbearable again, Jim asked: "You want me to drive?"

Cassie said "Yes, please, ah! Shit, cant move, it's inconvenient but just sit on my lap, ill move when I'm able to" she said this with minimal delay.

Jim got off his chair and sat on Cassie's lap, as soon as he did however, she made sounds suggesting herself to be in even more pain, Jim stopped, Cassie then stated "That hurt, fuck, just, pick me up, put me somewhere you cant see me, I'm not sure I'm going to make it, I dont want you to see me die"

Jim then said "Cassie, your not going to die!"

Cassie then exclaimed "Look, I dont wont to die! Alright? I just, it hurt so much"

She was starting to cry at this point, Jim picked her up and she curled into a ball somewhat, and he put her in the seat adjacent to that of the driver.

Jim then sat down and said "Look, just, dont think about dying ok?"

Cassie nodded, before trying to supress her hyperventalating from the stress caused by the pain in her abdoman.

"Jim, just, keep going forward, keep trying to reconnect to the radio channel, ah! I'm in too much pain to do anything, fucking ah!"

Jim didn't need to be told, Cassie looked to be in extreme pain aswell, it was almost as if her brain was ignoring the pain until recently, when she suddenly fell into pain.

### Stranded

Jim had been driving for 2 hours, Cassie was still in pain, but she seemed to have become partially immune to about 40% of it, though she still looked as if she was in immense pain.

It was bigining to get dark, and Cassie then said "Jim, we should probably stop, look out there, its already almost pitch black, and this things headlights where destroyed in the entry"

Cassie had a point, the top of the sun was only about 2 inchs from the horizon relative to Jim, and it was already hard to distinguish between floor and sky.

Jim looked towards the back of the pod, the whole thing was designed to land, find a safer position, and then hang out until rescue, it wasn't designed to do that, minus the rescue, so the resources where very limited as there was only likely to be enough for 2 weeks, about the longest amount of time a Jumpgate can take to get you from point A to B.

"I'll see if I can find you some bandages" Jim said, Cassie looked at him and said "Why didnt you think of that before!"

Jim had no answer, it was embarrassing.

Jim found some, and told Cassie to pull her shirt up a little bit so Jim can wrap the bandages around her waist in a way that keeps them around the wounds. Cassie then said "I can do it myself, just, help me up"

Jim helped her up and she slowly made her way to the pretty lousy medical cabinet, she grabbed some antiseptic fluid and put it over the wounds, she found it to hurt even more then she expected, almost falling to the floor in pain from antiseptic pretty much entering into her blood stream and whaever else the shots intecepted with.

Jim ran to her, but she said "Jim, it's just antiseptic, hurt more then I expected"

Cassie pulled her shirt up a bit and began wrapping a bandage around the wounds.

She seemed to find having bandages around the wounds to somewhat make her feel less worried, though in truth she still was in pain, the bandages just made it lesser.

Jim looked out the window, there was a distinct green haze or fog, though it was mostly just pitch black.

Cassie collapsed into the right chair at the front of the pod, she wasnt sitting in it properly, she was tired and it was the most comfortable thing in the pod, everything else being made of metals and metaloids.

Jim walked over to Cassie and asked if she was alright, before sitting down, Cassie responded with a quiet "I'm tired, and in pain, just, I need some sleep alright?"

Jim had no idea wether her sleeping was a good idea, he just said "Alright, you go do that" since he had no idea, and she did seem genuinely tired.

Cassie looked quite thankful, Jim then stood back up and chose to look around the pod.

He looked inside the medical cabinet and found there was a lot of stuff left, made sense if someones using an escape pod one can assume something that can cause injury had happened.

Jim closed it, and continued to look around, there was a large glass cabinet containing 3 space suits, Jim had no idea how outdated they where by now, the pods where from around the Second Nileth War, and at that time science in the Terran Federation had began to stagnate due to the lack of things there where not known, but now with the Empire it seems new fields of science are being found every second time, all manner of occult research, for all Jim knew there could be suits that wherned rather bulky (Not as bulky as the early suits of the 1960's to 2070's, those things where nightmarishly bulky, it was unclear to anyone who studied ancient history how anyone used those things)

The suits themselves where white in color, though they where weathered due to lack of maintanance, (Hopefully not to the point of none function) The helmet segment was just a simple full covering helmet that when connected to the main suit, pressurized, holding it down and keeping any possible lethal whatever out of the suit.It had a T-visor that lead into a snout around the mouth-nose area, where there was a large breathing/filtering system, it wasnt large due to the technology being underdeveloped, but it needed to be able to filter out just about anything imaginable, due to the sheer variety of stuff that could kill you in space, it needed several types of filter, resulting in a large size.

The main part of the suit was made mostly out of an alloy and an advanced form of fabric, the largest alloy part was a thing chest plate that made up the upper chestal region, before ending just before the abdomen.

The abdomen had a magnet on it, allowing for a cord to be connected for whatever reason may arise to do that, mostly in extreme winds or in low gravity.

In the hip region was another smaller metal plate, this was largely to protect the region and because it wouldn't obstruct any major muscles.

Above the suit was a backpack that was mostly a large storage tank, 2 in fact, both of the same size, one containing Oxygen, and the other, Hydrogen, allowing for a reasonably Earth-like breathable 'atmosphere' within the pressurized suit.

These gas's, where of course vented into the helmet for breathing.

These backpacks were magnetically attached to the back of the suit.

There where also a number of specialised accessories that to put on the vanilla suit would make it less effective in some environments.

There was a belt with whats known as a Belt-Capes around it, they where bassicly the lower part of a Trenchcoat (The part that covers the thighs), they where skirt like and are too be used in cold enviroments, as they trap heat under them, the heat is mostly generated by the Human body.

There was also a long Visor, that could shield the pre-existing T-visor from sunlight, that could negatively effect the eye, it looked like a topless cap (The ones with just a Visor).

There where many other gadgets and gizmos, such as an electromagnetic field generator (For keeping things like antimatter away), jet thrusters, acid proof raincoats, base proof raincoats, Earmuffs (To protect against potentially lethal sounds), flashlights, floodlights, blacklights, Magnetic Repulsion Field generators, and some others.

Jim stopped looking at the 3-5-year-old suits, and walked over to the door, it was a fairly typical door

Jim walked his way back to the frontal region of the pod where Cassie was sleeping.

He figured he should probably get some sleep himself, but what if something were to happen while he slept? He was well aware Cassie was still bleeding, though overall it seemed to be healing and that point.

Jim looked over at Cassie, she was quite pale and there was blood on the chair due to bleeding, though she seemed to have gotten used to it, or she wasn't feeling it, whichever.

Jim chose to just sleep, he lay down in a chair, the one Cassie was not sleeping in and closed his eyes.

Jim fell asleep.

Jim awoke as there was a distinct knocking, it failed to wake Cassie, it was pitch black outside and dark inside, Jim got up and walked over to it, and looked through a small glass hole allowing one to see the visitor.

What he saw, was something he had seen so many times, a black steel mask with Stahlhelm, large circular eye holes and a steel chestplate extending down with leather straps holding heavy pressurized trousers up, keeping them from falling, around that, a Belt-Cape, a large one that keeps stuff off the trousers.

Imperial Troopers, where at the door, a group of 3, two pointing their rifles at the door.

Jim made his way back to Cassie to wake her up, he shook her and she eventually opened her eyes.

"Cassie, you need to be quiet, there's Imperials at the god damn door right now!" Jim had whispered to her.

Her eyes opened wide, she had evidently forced herself to alertness. She began to get up but hurt herself around where she was shot, it still hurt.

Jim went over the guns and picked on up for himself and threw one to Cassie, who caught it, though she seemed to find it quite heavy.

Cassie looked out the frontal window, in the sky, there was an Extinct Class Star Dreadnought, vast and triangular.

Cassie activated a sensor that tested the composition of the atmosphere, to find out wether it was breathable.

It was not, it was mostly Helium and Argon, though enough Oxygen and Hydrogen existed to breathe for about 10 minutes.

"Jim, get in that space suit, we'd die if we tried to breath the stuff out there"

Jim obliged and got into a suit, though he needed help finishing up due to how difficult it is to move.

Cassie helped him out, and Cassie got in a suit and Jim helped her out, though the suit was a bit larger then Cassie was, making it very uncomfortable for her.

They both put on their helmets, Cassie's eye level was where the nose was supposed to be.

It was clear the suits where not designed for women, or atleast shorter people (Though Cassie wasn't short, she was average height for the time)

"Okay, here's the plan, Cassie, you drive, I open this door and shoot" Jim said, Cassie began to drive as Jim ran to the door.

Jim forced the door open and opened fire, killing one Trooper, though two still survived and called for backup.

Pods came out of the Extinct Class ship, and they crashed nearby, one of them landed right in front of the pod, Cassie shouted "Oh God, JIM!"

She tried to swerve out the way but the weaker gravity resulted in the pod just flying and crashing into the pod, as it landed. Cassie quickly put her back to the blast.

Jim got up, he was okay, though Cassie was not.

Her suit had broke in the back, she literally fell out, and she had been hit by pieces of shrapnel, she wasn't dead, but she was certainly dying.

Jim went up to her and picked her up, her suit was damaged well beyond repair, and her back was burnt, her face was scarred and part of her mantiple was visible, the area around it had burned of, the skin that is.

Cassie was horribly mutilated, but still recognisable, she seemed to have been blinded, her eyelids where gone, and her eyes where mostly black and bloodshot to hell, as apposed to her usual soft blue and not bloodshot at al, her eyes where so nice looking once.

Jim touched her face, and she smiled, though it was not a pretty smile, it was as pretty as you could look whilst smile if one was scarred like she now was.

Her breathing sounded horribly unhealthy as if her throat as lacerated.

She began to lean in close to Jim's chest, both out of knowledge of who it is and that person being trustworthy and, warmth.

It wasn't long before...

Cassie had stopped breathing...

She grew cold...

Cassie Janae Marshal...

Was dead.

Jim fell to the floor, he was disappointed, not that Cassie was dead, but in himself, he felt he could have saved her, if he had been driving instead of Cassie, she would still be alive, perhaps Jim wouldn't but, Cassie would.

And Cassie was a good person...

She never belonged on Enterio, it was full of bad people, she wasn't however, Cassie didn't deserve what she got, she truly didn't.

She didn't even die fighting, not that she would see that as honourable, perhaps she would, perhaps not, it didn't matter.

Jim carried Cassie out of the wreckage before digging a hole, he gently lowered Cassie into it, he wished he could close her eyes out of respect, but she had lost her eyelids...

Jim placed a small pistol next to her corpse, with a torn and burned Imperial Trooper Mask, not as a gift, the pistol was, but incase there is something beyond, she knows atleast those that caused her death has been dealt with.

Jim buried Cassie and grabbed two sheets of metal, both from the remains of the chair she had been sleeping on.

Jim then used the smaller of the two to scratch " Here Lies Cassie Marshal, Please rest in piece" onto the larger piece, and jabbed it into the ground where Cassie was buried.

Jim sat down, he had nowhere to go...

### Survive

Jim chose to get up and find some supplies, he figured he should make his way in the direction Cassie Rictor instructed them.

The sun was rising by this point and there was a huge green mist as if a fog.

Jim found some gear, ammo, weapons, grenades, rations and some other items.

Jim placed a sniper rifle in his backpack, he placed an assault rifle next to it, also placing a Plasma Marksman next to that, he replaced his old weapons with the new Imperial ones, his old ones where dated and often failed to function at times.

Jim looked at the direction of tracks on the ground and went in the direction the pod once went in, he set off to find Cassie Rictor.

He walked, not really having any other methods available, though he thought if he saw a vehicle he would use it.

Days of walking had passed before Jim saw a faint sphere on the horizon, similar to a pod...

Jim used the built-in binoculars of his space suit to zoom into the sphere, it was indeed a pod.

Jim made his way to the pod, as fast as he could without running, he needed the energy.

After 30 minutes he reached the pod, he knocked on the door.

It was opened by Spire...

He had let Jim in, Jim took off the helmet in his suit, now that he was somewhere he could actually breath.

There was also two others in the pod, Andrew Markiff and Elizabeth Harel'kül.

"Wheres Mrs Marshal?" He asked.

Jim was slighly put of by the use of the term 'Mrs Marshal', though it wasnt wrong, it was pecular, she always preffered her first name or just Cass.

Jim knew what he would have to say, she was dead, but, how the hell was he supposed to say that?

He just went ahead and said "She' shes in a better place, I hope"

Spire looked chilled to the core, terrifyed as too what could have done that, even.

Elizabeth looked at Jim, she seemed genuinely sad, "Wha, how'd she die? If you dont mind me asking, of course"

Jim answered "Not exactly sure, on the way to the pod she was shot, but she seemed to recover from that on her own, but while we where heading here we where attacked and a dropod hit us head on, I had asked her to drive while I shot" Jim was nearly crying at this point "And, and the dropod exploded on impact, she had turned her back to it to protect herself, but it didnt work, she was torn apart by the blast"

Elizabeth then said "Oh" Elizabeths tone turned from sad to angry "She deserved better, fucking Imperial bastards, she deserved fucking better then that!"

Jim then said "I know, I thought that too, I buried her near where the pod crashed, I gave her as much respect as I could"

"I think its about time we destroy this godamned Terran Empire! For Cassie." Elizabeth stated, before Spire said "Cassie did once tell me of a plan she had, I dismissed it at the time as we simply did not have the resources but, honestly we've got nothing left to lose now"

Elizabeth looked at Spire and asked "What was it then?"

"Liberate Dinadon, then use it as a staging ground to take down the entire goddamned Empire, it should work, Dinadon is the capital, so if we take it then the rest of the Empire should follow suite, but thats just the issue, we're talking about Motherfucking Dinadon here"

Andrew Markiff then spoke "Ah, but back when we had Enterio we would have had to assault the planet which is badshit insane, but its just us now, we could secretly infiltrate the planet and bring the Empire down from the inside!"

Elizabeth nodded in agreement.

"So we've decided then, so how do we reach Dinadon?" Jim said.

Spire then said "We'll think about that when we've left this position, we need to leave before the Imperials come back"

Elizabeth then said, "I'll drive forward until we reach about 40 KM from here, hows that?"

Spire then spoke "Will do, for now, go! do it!"

Elizabeth then sat down in the chair at the front and began to drive, Jim walked up to her and said "Elizabeth, just, be careful"

Elizabeth enquired as too why he told her to be careful, Jim explained Cassie driving when she was killed.

Elizabeth then seemed quite sad, but she seemed to then come out even more determined.

Jim walked over to a door towards the back of the pod, that was blocked by a gun rack on the pod Jim landed in.

"Whats through here?" He asked"

Andrew then said "Dont know, if you wish go and look, should be unlocked"

Jim opened it and found a small compact and claustrophobic room, there where 2 beds in the room, stacked on top of each other.

"Looks like we can sleep!" Jim shouted so everyone could hear.

"Only two at a time though!" he elaborated.

Elizabeth said "Jim, you just sleep, you probably need it more, you had to see what happened with Cass, we didn't"

She had a point, Jim then said "Okay, ill go do that"

He stepped into the room and went to the upper bed.

It was rather a small space, but it was workable, barely.

He attempted to go to sleep, trying to keep his mind from drifting to Jaina and now, Cassie as well. succeeding in going to sleep, and avoiding thinking about those two individuals.

He had a dream, it was back in the year 7216, early 7216, around February by the standard Terran Calander, it was not long before the founding of the Terran Empire. He was, however, not himself, he was seeing it through someone else's eyes somehow, the events of the dream, Jim had saw indirectly, but he was no seeing what one who could have seen them directly would have seen, just through a dream.

He was on a planet, he had never stepped on in his life, Dinadon...

The buildings seemed, poorly imagined, they where ridiculous spires going up impossibly high, the sky was cloudy in all places.

There was a huge military presence, Federate Soldiers all over, whole districts under martial law just to keep order after the Second Nileth War, it had tore the Federation apart, it was imploding, collapsing in upon itself, it was a failing system...

Soldiers quelled riots that took place in the streets, the Federation itself was breaking into separate Factions.

There was a large holographic projection to spread the news, and something major was about to come on...

"With the recent assasination of Prime Ministor Katie Hanytor and the later election of Draconius Mint, he has chosen to crack down on insurgency within the Federation with desperate actions. Mint himself, expained it perfectly in the initial anouncement."

The voice of Mint spoke "The recent revolts and terrorism against our fair peoples have been too much I'm afraid, the Federation is going to crumble if nothing is done about the issue, and as it appears, the source, is a not a lack of resources, or people just wanting change, no, but changes are not happening fast enough! Thus, as much as I hate to do it, I must reorganize our crumbling Federation into a New Order! Only like this can we prosper! The Terran Federation of Planetary Systems shall from hence forth be known and reorganised as, the Terran Empire, for the continued dominion of Man this is required!"

Cheers roared, and some, yelled and cursed at the hologram, Federate, now Imperial soldiers ended the protests brutally, they where given permission to use lethal force...

Jim awoke, he had been asleep for longer then the dream felt to have lasted.

Elizabeth had went into the bed beneath him, so it was likely someone else was now driving as Jim could feel movement.

It was very dark as Jim went down, he looked at Elizabeth, though he barely knew her, he didnt want another woman's death associated with him, he felt as if he could have saved both Jaina and Cassie.

Things moved slowly in that moment, as if some slow contrasted music was playing, like that of the 40's, in a classical style.

Jim exited the room and saw that Andrew was driving, Spire was siting silently, almost creepily.
"How much longer until where there?" Jim asked Andrew, Andrew then responded with "Dont know, I'm just driving this thing till someone tells me to stop"
Some hours passed until Elizabeth woke up, she fell over as the pod drove over a small rock, knocking it, she only hid her hand, no damage was dealt, though it led the four to learn of the hazard of uneven terrain.

Elizabeth got up and noticed a gunshot wound on Jims leg, and asked "Jim, you'be been shot"

"I know, its fine," he said.

"You sure?"

"Yeah"

Elizabeth looked at the wound once more, and then walked over to a wall and leaned on it, she seemed tired or bored.

"You okay?" Jim had asked, Elizabeth then said "No"

In truth, Jim would've had the same answer.

"Makes sense," He said.

Later, by several hours at the least, Spire said "Andrew, I think we've gotten far enough from where we where now"

### Horror

The pod stopped with suddenty.

Jim looked out the window, there was a large mountan some way out, with a cave.

Elizabeth saw and said "We should go into the cave, radar cant get in there I dont think"

Andrew drove into the cave.

Not much happened for the next few days, Jim kept watch with binocolurs, nothing seemed to be coming, days became weeks, and the food was running out. Elizabeth was eating less and less, overall, things were going downhill at considerable speed.

Everybody was asleep...

Spire and Andrew were in the beds in the back, and Elizabeth and Jim where just using the chairs as beds.

Before sleeping, Jim felt some terrifying presence of unknown strength, though certainly beyond that of Jim, some cosmic horror leaning over him without actually being there.

However, he ignored it and went to sleep, thinking himself paranoid, he was, correct maybe, or not, it was unclear.

Jim was in a deep sleep, and wasn't too wake up for some hours.

It was in fact Elizabeth that woke first, she could smell an awful deathly smell coming from the door leading outside.

She went and woke everyone up as too get everyone into space suits so they can safely investigate the awful putrid smell, Elizabeth lead the way, and she squealed in a way that could be described as if she was a little girl \*Despite being short, Elizabeth was not little in terms of age)

She ran outside after squelling, saying "Oh God, what the fuck!? This is fucking disgusting! What could have fucking done this!?"

Jim went outside and saw for himself.

Dug into the walls by force where 2 metal pins with hooks, rapped around them where old weathered ropes poorly put together with haste, these ropes wrapped around bare bone, with the skin removed, leaving just yellow bone and muscle, the hand was broken in such a way that it acted as a barrier keeping the rope from sliding off.

The torso was, much like the whole body, flayed to the bone, leaving some muscle, the ribs where torn apart is such a way that it made gender identification via rib number impossible, there was nothing beyond the ribs, it had been torn off by force.

Hanging by strands of bare flesh was part of a leg, similar characteristics to the rest of the rotting macabre radiating mess, on the ankle where some black rings of a soft material, though blood was on them.
The head was bare to the skull with mandible hanging out attached only on one swivel joint, the left eye had been torn out with extreme force, the right, oh God the right, could it be? No, the right eyeball was hanging out, other then that however it was in prestine condition, it was a light blue...

This, combined with the black rings with unfortunent being worn around the ankle, made Jim come to a abductive conclusion as too who it may be, he hoped to be wrong, as if he was right, then, well, the perpetrator must be devoted to the point one could liken to a religous zealot, though other then the hardcore devotion there is little similarity, that devotion is what seperates the zealot from the practitioner of religon.

Jim thought it to be the body of the late Cassie Marshal...

Indeed, Jim knew he had to voice his opinion, but, he didnt wish too, as he had a sweet spot for her in his heart, argueably more then he had for Jaina, but that could be untrue, he was trying to forget, to move on by forgeting any of this ever happened.

Things kept reminding him.
Spire looked at the brutalized body, and took note of the words "FEAR WILL CONSUME THE SUBHUMAN" written in blood on the pod, the blood was a deep crimson, similar to that of Cassie's blood.

Spire noticed the same things as Jim and, then said "Jim, I think, I think this is Cassie. I', I'm sorry"

Jim then attemped to remove one of the black rings around the ankle, in truth they where rubber bands more like, none the less Jim succesfully removed one, she was always pretty good with putting her name on personal belongings, and indeed, Jim could barely see the initials "CM"

Jim put the rubber band back, and then asks that someone digs a deep whole, deep enough for the body to be difficult to detect, this was done, Jim then untied the body from the hooks and ropes and lowered it down, she was reburied, in an unmarked grave, though not out of hate, but rather respect, as Jim did not want something like that to happen again.

"They must know where we are if they did this, we need to leave" said Elizabeth, no one disagreed, they all felt an eldritch dread coming, something of a crimson stone that radiates abominable energy as a syrup.

The four got back into the pod and began to drive.

This driving, went on for some 6 hours, not much happened until the end of the sixth hour, when the drive stopped suddenly. Elizabeth, whom was driving, felt a sudden doom or gloom of eldritch nature come over her, she could barely stand, as if something was playing dollhouse with her very soul, stripping it and breaking it and coloring it, all what a little girl does with dolls, if these dolls where sentient they would undoubtably rebel, Elizabeth just couldnt seem to however, the force pounding at her was becoming stronger and stronger in a multiplying fasion.

Jim ran to her eid but upon grabbing her he felt a sudden surge as if static elecricity, unpleasent and painful, Elizabeth's body was repeling aid, and letting in harm!

Such a terrible thing, Jim thought, he only wished to help her but some invisible repellent simply did just that, repelled him!

That's when a scraping sound came across the roof, like metal on metal, it pierced the ear.

Mechanical jolts like that of the uncanny Brigadier, just faster and less formulated, freerunning, rather then marching.

The sound of the first of the two doors that make the airlock door came across Jim, it then closed, Jim grabbed a gun.

Jim alerted everyone, he was unsure if Elizabeth knew, however, shortly thereafter she was beginning to regain control, but that was when Jim was near the door, ready for whatever was on the other side, if anything.

The door opened, and Jim opened fire, he realised soon after that he had just shot what looked like, Cassie, suddenly he was being shoved out the way, the resemblance to Cassie was all gone, a tall, slender figure of inhuman composure, standing at 8 feet tall and skeletal in appearance, made out of some kind of metal that scraped against each other with every movement, making ear-splitting noises...

Its hand had knife like appendages for fingers, they were soaked in blood, the whole thing was, blood dripped from it, the blood was a deep crimson...

Its chest had a small ribcage, inside it was a glowing red object, that looked to have veins, the thing screamed, its jaw opening wider then it appeared capable of at first glace.

Jim was feeling as if in a state of hypnosis, but not quite, he felt as if he should do, anything, though he still had control over himself.

The thing, threw itself at Elizabeth as if obsessed, almost hugging her in the most creepy and awful way imaginable. Jim looked closely at its right shoulder plate, and saw the inscription "Brigadier: Horror Class. 483 of unit 33" some other type of the things encountered on the Enterio.

Jim opened fire at the glowing red orb in the Brigadiers chest, it leaped up, and then proceeded to sprint at Jim, it touched him, he felt a feeling of intense euphoria, yet somehow, a feeling of overhanging dread at the same time, he felt as if going insane, visions of a vast crimson citadel, the term "Krakorihn", a vast crystal, a citadel, a black marker, yet crimson...

Andrew shot at the monstrous Brigadier, it leapt off Jim, Jim's vision was of put, and strange, weirdness along the outlines of all things, he could see Elizabeth was in clear distress as if she was seeing things no Human being should ever see.

Jim opened fire at the Brigadier, it began to retreat up the walls in the most monstrous manner.

Elizabeth's eyes suddenly turned a deep orange, and she charged at the Brigadier and did, something to it, what ever it was, it collapsed, it seemed, content, as if, it wanted this, in a more, it's dying for a cause way, rather then just being depressed...

Elizabeth, seemed in pain, her hands were bleeding, and she felt as if her muscles where contorted unnaturally, in the most strange of manners.

Jim started to feel a strange pull, towards Dinadon, Elizabeth felt the same thing, in fact both of them had similar weirdness with there vision and thoughts, it was most peculiar.

Andrew spent a lot of time making sure Elizabeth was okay, Spire was, not doing anything, in particular, it seemed.

### Wammys Iron Fist

Some days had passed, food was indeed, running out.

Jim had managed to get the radio working again, based of what Jaina had taught him, she would have been able to fix it far quicker then he did but atleast it was fixed. Spire used it to pick up Terranic Imperial radio chatter, and there was a large amount of it indeed, it appeared some kind of vast research complex had entered Sephrazoran orbit, and they wanted Jim alive...

The Extinct Class Star Dreadnought that had launched the pod that killed Cassie, was known as HMS Arkengicel. It was one of the original three, though due to monetary concerns its scale is smaller then that of the other two.

They had sent something known as Wammys Iron Fist to locate and capture them, but if that proves impossible, they are authorized to use lethal force, but they still want Jim alive, they seem perfectly allowed to kill everyone else, it seemed the Imperials wanted Jim, though there seemed to be no clear reason.

"Try to find out what the research complex is thee for, what it's studying, that could shed some light on some stuff" Elizabeth said, Spire silently agreed.

After about 30 minutes, it seemed as if the Imperials where avoiding bringing up the purpose of the facility, all they got was "If Jim is captured, bring him to the facility"

Suddenly Jim heard "We located them, we think, radar waves coming from the entrance of a small cave to the east"

"Shit, we need to move, NOW!" Elizabeth shouted, Andrew jumped into the seat and began driving.

It was too late, everyone got into the space suits and armed themselves.

2 dropships landed. figures came down...

The door was blasted open thunderously as dreaded black masked soldiers stepped in, wait.

They whee not in that set of armour.

They were different...

Jet black plates of armour interwoven with pure white ones, large bulbous insect-like eyes, it was far cleaner and well maintained then the more common Imperial Trooper armour.

Fire broke out, bullets with cartrages trialling out the side of the source, and shells and slugs of plasma whizzed passed at immense speed and heat and horrific deadliness.

Jim's leg was hit twice, it was torn apart and he collapsed in pain and his loss of balance, making him fall on his side.

Elizabeth was burned as plasma hit the walls and released all incinerating sparks and embers of scorched metal and paint.

She fell into the wall.

The soldiers ceased fire as a mechanoid voices sounded, making what sounded like "Ucht Ti Shro" a hulking armoured figure entered the pod, bulbous armour, but not huge, but it was still big, it did not increase the hight of the user hugely.

Spherical torso armour and should armour, with ovoid legs and arms...

Spherical head armour, immobile, with a red visor over it.

"Ugthf Hu Yth?" said one of the soldiers, the huge guy then said "Aythc Jarlg"

The hulking brute then spoke legible Terran "Surrender, or die! Subhuman scum!"

The voice was thunderous and sounded familiar, that of a general.

Everyone surrendered, but they all silently agreed that they were going to figure something out.

"Duhl Kajt Thyrj Grh!" said the General as he pointed at Jim, he then pointed to the others and said something else, also illegible.

The soldiers forced their new prisoners to there feet and began shoving them along,

They were forced into the dropships and the ships rose to the skies as the doors shut and the soldiers forcefully removed the helmets.

Andrew was attempting to break free, by wriggling his hands a whole bunch to break free, while this took place the General was receiving instructions.

Jim then heard very heavy footsteps, he looked to his right and saw that a massive 10-foot tall man had just entered the compartment, a massive hulking man, in very heavy armour, and a huge mask and helmet, a super soldier clearly.

It glanced down at Elizabeth and screamed "SUBHUMAN!"

It charged at her and the General into the compartment, clearly geniunely concerned, the supersoldier was about to rip Elizabeth in two, the General said something to it and it then went "Okay, I leave disgusting thing for Straken"

This was likely becouse of the fact Elizabeth was not strictly pure Human, she was from a world sufichently unEarth like to result in noticable change in her specific version of Human, not different enough to be another species, (The the Empire seemed to think so), rather just slightly different. She was shorter, much shorter, and had a slighy different skull structure and hip structure and foot structure, shorter fingers and longer toes and smaller lungs with a far smaller heart, all that due to smaller gravity.

The Imperials only regarded those from planets that were very Earth-like as truly Human, like Eden Prime, yet some worlds that had little in common with Earth where considered source of true Humans, such as Dinadon and Karsonis and Tarson.

Andrew was still attempting to break free, though he was failing still until he managed to break free, and assaulted the hulking the supersoldier, it was hopeless, it shrugged and he fell off and aimed his massive gun, an MG-17, at his head and opened fire.

Andrews' head was exploded, in a bloody mess, Elizabeth, who was the closest to Andrew, was covered in blood.

The supersoldier made an inhuman sound, akin to a moo mixed with a chirp and a roar.

Its faceplate turned luminous, a glowing crimson, it was terrifying, the physique of such a thing.

Eventually, the ship entered a moonpool (A sort of verticle hanger often used for raising and lowering equipment) and docked on the clamp to the above with a strong thud, Elizabeth, Jim and Spire where forcefully carried out by the Supersoldier, A terrifying figure, metal plating, awful smell, awful sounds, awful things!

Light radiated through the halls, everything, even the soldiers, were white, and bright, the opposite of the darkness...

The three were thrown into a dark room and a huge steel door was closed on them, it allowed no light in...

Jim was furious, he ran at the door and tried to ram it down, it failed, he cursed at it, he was angrier then he had ever been, he had lost so much, only to come down to this...

Elizabeth asked Jim to calm down, he was scaring her, Jim responded "JAINA IS DEAD! CASSIE IS DEAD! ANDREW IS DEAD! AND ALL THAT, FOR ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!"

Elizabeth argued "No, Jim, everything is going to be fine, we will get outta here, and they won't have died for nothing"

Jim then yelled, "HOW!?"

"I dont know! Alright!?" Elizabeth said, she was becoming fed up.

Elizabeth said down, Jim was pacing across the cell, Spire remained silent...

They remained in the dark and tenebrous and dark room for some days, it was highly unpleasant, due to how dark the room was, depriving the insiders of the sense of sight.

### Revinis

A day later, the door was opened by some soldiers, including two Brigadiers, looking like white versions of the standard ones that brought down Enterio, there were some notable differences, however, including the presence of belt-capes.

They grabbed Jim, no one else, and then shut the door gently.

He was forced through the halls, os many halls, all so bright to light and white!

Jim came up to a large door, it was opened, revealing a large reactor and a table with a body on it, with wires and tubes going into it, monitors, it was as if she was in hospital, though the monitors reveal the body to be dead.

A tall figure was in the room "I know who you are, and I, have a proposal, I have seen into your mind, you are still within grief, only now going into the 2nd stage, Jaina Donlo died tragically, and your angry about it, and took it out on my door... This, I can change..."

The figure turned around, his facial features where always obscured, he was tall and thing

"I am, Your Emperor, Draconis Mint, and you will obey..."

Jim ran at the Emperor, and attempted to punch him, he had taken so much from him, Jaina, Cassie...

The Emperor forced him to the ground and said "You fail to understand, I can help you, if you fall in line, if you dont, I can make what little time you have left, a living hell. I can bring her back!"

Jim was startled by that statement, "Who, bring who back?"

"Miss Donlo"

Jim then spoke loudly and quickly "How? How is that possible"

"I, will do it if you will obey our New Order, the Continued Dominion of Man!"

"Fine, anything if you'll bring her back, please, just do it" Jim said.

A machine flipped the switch, and red crystal and energy surged through tubes and the body of Jaina, cold and frozen, began to twitch, as electrical energy went through her veins, Nanomachines in such a tiny scale to small to even comprehend without being half machine yourself soured through her body, repairing what was lost with substitutes, glueing up cuts, repairing artery’s, adding lost matter to skeletal structures, fixing frost damage to the eye, attempting repair on neurons and other brain matters lost before the coldness of space effectively kept her on cryo freeze, but even then her brain was decaying slowly, many things where replaced. Jim didn’t know any of that...

Strange horrid sounds came from the mouth, sounds of horror, sounds of horrific eldritch tenebrous discourse, a ceaseless discharge, it appeared, it was perhaps working or at least stimulating the muscles responsible for sound.

The terrible animalistic alien sounds soon transitions into more Human sounds of pain, and monitors showed a heartrate, other ones showed brain activity.

She was alive!

The machine turned it itself off, Jaina was no longer frozen from her times in the depths of space.

She was not moving, but monitors proved her aliveness.

Jim walked closer, and eventually, he heard a faint feminine voice "Jim?"

Jim spoke "Jaina" He smiled...

"The last thing I remember is everything going black and now suddenly this just afterwards with no time in between, I dont understand whats happening?"

Jim spoke "I dont know how they did it, but they brought you back, you missed so much"

Jaina then spoke "Who? Who's they?"

"The Empire, they brought you back"

Jaina seemed startled by this concept, she thought of the implications, her heartrate went up tenfold, she obviously found the Empires involvement concerning. "How long has it been?"

"About a year"

Jim helped Jaina get up, she seemed tired and fed up, she needed rest, something she hadn't really gotten.

"Whos that?" She said, looking at the Emperor, "You dont want to know"

Jaina was then sitting on the table with Jim helping remove all the tubes and wired aparatus from her body.

The Emperor turned around and glanced at Jaina, he seemed almost, regretting the decision and now scared, his face radiating white light.

Jaina recognised him, and looked at him, in a furious manner.

She ran at the Emperor, and threw a huge blow at him with her fist, the white W-Class Brigadiers ran at her, making inhumane sounds that invoked terror, she looked at them, terrified, so was Jim, he didn't know why it was like the sound forced fear unto him.

The monstrous Brigadiers wrestled her to the ground, putting in barely any effort, there movement was not robotic, it was almost, as if they where thinking, it was the same with all the Brigadiers Jim had seen, it was strange.

They punched her, and she recoiled in pain, then they proceeded to stand up straight again and aim their weapons at her, ready to fire at a moments notice.

Jim knew attacking them was a bad idea, but Jaina was just brought back, somehow, and it was likely that could just be undone at a moments notice, he chose to atleast try to stop the Brigadiers.

He jumped on one and kicked it backwards, the Brigadiers separated but did not attack, as too not cause friendly fire.

Jim and Jaina ran for it, trying to make there way out, and hopefully to Dinadon as was originally planned.

The intercom sounded "All Stationed Officers and Soldiers, two high-value prisoners have broken free, they are too be exterminated"

Jaina and Jim kept running, she found a hatch leading into a vent and punched it open, before saying "In here, now!"

The two claimed into the vent, and the Brigadiers stopped in front of it, they obviously knew they where in there but where unable to reach them.

They made terrifying sounds, and the sounds of small drones was audible, the two made there way down the vent as fast as they could.

Jaina signalled to Jim that they should go down into the hall below, the drones would likely follow the vent, so they should stay hidden, Jim agreed.

The two jumped down, it was a storage unit, filled with wheels and empty storage tanks and cables, nothing special, the cables where to large and unwieldy to use as weapons.

Jim peeked through the door, a Imperial Trooper was patroling the hallway. Jaina opened the door quietly, it was evidently well kept, it was very quiet,

Jaina snuck up on the trooper and choked him out, before grabbing the bayonet of his rifle and stabbing into his ear with it, depressurizing the armour and fabric in the process.

Jaina picked up his fallen rifle, Jim quietly stated "Bit big to remain hidden with" Jim was correct, it was about 2.5 feet in length, Jaina then said "Hopefully the extra crap can be detached, these seem like more advanced versions of the ones I'm familiar with, So I dont know"

Jaina was right, she had never seen that specific version, it having replaced the older ones she had seen before, the new versions where better in every way.

Jaina managed to remove a large silencer and a laser-based scope and removed one of the two magazines.

Jaina then looked down the corridor, the was a T hall, down one end was two Imperial Guards.

One of the guards turned around and Jaina quickly hid herself.

The guard walked by and saw her, Jaina quickly opened fire, killing the guard.

She quickly then took aim at the other one and shot him down too, several Imperial Troopers and Guards came running in, Jaina threw Jim a rifle.

They both opened fire, almost enjoying kill Imperials together again, they made there way back to being hidden as soon as possible, hiding in another vent.

The two made there way deeper into the vent system, she casually kissed Jim, partially just in case something went wrong, and they dont get much of a chance to be together again, one of the two being killed seem quite likely, Jaina wasn't used to many of the Empires new stuff, and Jim is just one person.

Jim of course, didn't object to this.

The terrifying roar of a Brigadier was heard, weird mechanical scrapings sounding as if a zebra, in fact to describe it would be very difficult.

"What now?" Jim asked, Jaina then asked, "Did you have any plans?"

"Well, getting to Dinadon was considered ideal"

"Well, yeah I can see why, if it the idea is stupid," Jaina said, she then quietly said "We're probably gonna die anyway"

"Anway, let's keep going, yeah?" Jim asked, Jaina agreed.

They went deeper into the vents, it grew very dark, they had no idea where they where headed...

They found a downwards vent and jumped down into it, falling into a large hall, lined with terrific gargoyles, made of bronze and copper and stone, clashing with the metal walls.

They where like a Human Eagle caricature, and suddenly, there eyes flickered for a microsecond. And they played a short, looping piece of music.

A C A C

A A G F

Low-C A A C

The room was pitch black and silent aside from those notes, which soon ended as a loud footsteps sounded.

A terrifying roar, as if the sounds of zebra's, birds, crickets, and all manner of things where mixed into a stew and blended and then replayed as a jumbled mess.

8 lines of glowing crimson, 4 on each side of a set of 2 angles pannels, making a triangle. above it where two eye like glowing crimson holes.

The thing moved closer, towards Jim and Jaina...

It ran forward and almost crushed Jim, he managed to get out of the way, the thing turned around, it was a Brigadier, the type that brought down Enterio.

Jaina began to fire in the direction the Brigadier was in, she hit it many many times, but it didn't even acknowledge the presence of bullets hitting it.

The two ran towards the end of the door, soon enough the vast door opened with Imperial Troopers and Guards flooding out of it, the two opened fire and made there way through the massive oversized door, the Brigadier was gonna persue relentlessly, Jim knew that, Jaina didnt...

"We need to get outta here, you know where a hanger or something is?" Jaina asked, she was clearly becoming concerned.

"There are two others we need to get to first, should be through here" Jim said, motioning to a large sign that said Cell Wing.

"Who?" Jaina said, Jim was hoping she wouldnt ask that.

"Elizabeth Herelkuall and, uh, well, you'll see" Jim failed quite miserably at pronouncing Elizabeths last name, Jaina took noticed and told him.

The two ran down the corridor to the correct cell, which Jim remembered from memory, he glanced backwards and saw several Imperial Guards had tooken notice and where begining to open fire, Jaina fired back "You get thet damn door open, i'll keep them busy, K?"

Jim beganing trying to succesfully guess the pascode to the door.

0000

0001

0002

0003

0004

0005

0006

0007

0008

0009

0010

0011

It just went on.
The door to the back of Jaina opened as drones and a N-3-80 Class Quadro Droid  walked in, a gun with four legs attached, it was a sort of tannish metalic colour l, and. Walked with frieghtening speed.

Jaina opened fire at the droid, the bullets pierced the air, but where knocked around by electromagnetic forces generated by the droid.

A trooper ran up to Jaina in an attempt to kill her, Jaina just cut into his throat and took a hand grenade from his belt and threw it at the droid, making sure it lands before hitting the electromagnetic field.

The grenade went of in a firey storm, and the droid collapsed under the immense force of the blast, "Jim, hurry up!" she said, she was becoming inpatient.

Jim managed to crack the code (1737), "Come on! We're getting out of here" Jim said to Elizabeth and Spire.

Jaina had managed to clear out one end of the hall way, the 4 ran down the hallway, they made several turns to try and get away from there persuers, Jim and Jaina eventually hid in a locker, the other two did the same in a seperate one.

Jaina was quite scared, Troopers walked in front and passed by, Jaina held her weapon in front of her.

She was truly, quite scared.
It was remeniscent of something to once happen on Tarson. Jaina didn’t know that, it was like faint dream to her after what had happened to her, a faint dream that is forgotten upon awaking.

After the troopers passed the two hopped out, Jaina managed to find a floor plan, as that happened Jim got Spire and Elizabeth out of the lockers they hid in, Spire didn’t seem to impressed with himself.

As it turned out, there was a hanger nearby, so they should be able to got off the ship, or whatever that where onboard of, and reach there ultimate distinction, that being Dinadon of the Ender System.

The four made there way to the door, there was a guard, which Jaina killed ruthlessly, more so they she used to, infect, it was getting almost, strange.

The four entered and quietly made there way to a small Londor Class Corvette, it should suffice based on its size but Jaina and the others really didn’t know.

The actual entrance was guarded by too much for them to deal with, so they where forced to adopt a stealthier aprouch inside, which wasn’t too bad as the vehicle was in the corner of the hanger, near large amounts of stuff, unloaded cargo and things. Hiding was pretty easy. The group where getting lucky. Jim knew from considerable experience this was not a good thing and it would all plummet down sooner or later, it always did.

On the side of the ship there was a cylindrical thing jutting our, likely just an oddly shaped compartment, but on the outside there was lots to grab, including a man sized vent shaft that should lead inside.

Jim then looked towards the door to the hanger, and saw, the General who had captured them was walking with his men, a small part of his Iron Fist. Jim did not yet truly know who this man was, but it reminded him of a man he once knew, during the Second Nileth War, a horrible man to his enemys, a joking bloke to his allies, if this was who this General was, Jim was unsure if he was in his Allie books anymore...

Jim whispered “We need to hurry, it’s the General guy!” Jim jumped up first, being the strongest of the group, he then turned around and confirmed they could come in through that way. Not far into it was a large vent room that you could stand in, though it was full of cargo then looked years old. Jim extended his hand and Jaina grabbed hold and was pulled up, her hand was warm...
she got up held on both by holding Jim and a small handle looking feuture on the hull, likely for maintenance.

Jaina went into the vent, Jim asked her to stay there.

He then helped Spire up, he just went inside.
Jim then extended his hand to Elizabeth but found an issue. She just couldn’t reach, she tried jumping and and grabbing something but her hands where so small she just slipped, and she hit her arm on a fall and fractured it considerably, it became bright red and she let out a small “Ah!” Sound before suppressing it by force.
The Gereral and his man became coming over, they must have heard it.
“What was that recuss! We need to work double time here! This hanger, as with all the others, need clearing of vehicles capable of leaving this vessel, becouse if that doesn’t happen, we might have an escape on our hands, and we don’t want that! So who the hell made that noise!” The General seemed furious, his voice filled with little niceness.
“Dunno sir, sound came from behind those crates there!” Said a soldier, who pointed right at the crates, the General saw more then that however, he saw the tiny little leg sticking out from behind it...

The General ran to her and said “It seems we almost already did have an escape! This little girl appears to be reckless enough to attempt to escape! Now I would love to tear her pathetic gut out and feed them to whoever is in charge here to show why you need to work harder, but sadly, our resident Doctor hand picked this one for his tests! Perhaps that is a fate worse then what I would have given, eh! A fine Human specimen he says! Fucking bullshit, she’s weak and pathetic, I say! She can’t even land 4 feet without breaking her god damned arm! That pathetic doctor needs some real Human beings! Not invalid inbeciles from fucking Fringe Worlds!”

Jim managed to catch a short glimpse of the Generals face, it was torn and scared but it was who he thought irbid was. Wammy... and it seemed he had changed and now hated both allies and enemy’s, or just hated the Peaple working the hangers.

General Wammy used his walkytalky to call down this so called Doctor to, as Wammy put it “ collect his prize patient”, Wammy was disgusting Jim, did he really have these views in him this whole time? Jim couldn’t even tell what Wammys views where just that they where obviously extreme.
He clearly valued strength though, something Peaple like Elizabeth have none of by nature...

It was never her fault, she physically could Ned get stronger as her body physically couldn’t handle it, same with all Peaple from her planet, there hearts didn’t need to be as strong so evolution weakened them... now they can only support frail body’s which thrive on there homework’s but are useless almost anywhere else.

The Doctor came down, a man appearing to be in his 40’s, came down looking quite mad, and then saw Elizabeth and ran up to her with the biggest most disgusting smile on his face “ Oh yes! oh yes oh yes oh yes! OH YES! We finally have her! I can finally accomplish my tasks! I must thank you!” Wammy looked displeased at the doctors quite frail body, though he was in far better shape then Elizabeth could have dreamed off.
Elizabeth had her hands tied behind her back and was dragged off by the sickening Doctor...
Jim quickly made his was Int’l the compartment the others where in... looking, disheartend...

### Too Much

Jim crawled into the room despite looking in such a sorry state, Jaina was sitting on a crate and looked at him, and gently asked “ What’s wrong, wait, Where Lizy? Where’s Elizabeth?!” She seemed to be genuinely scared for Elizabeth, and Jim knew he had to tell her.
“I couldn’t catch her, I don’t think she’s died, yet, but she isn’t out there anymore or in here, she slid of as she tried to grab my hand and fractured her arm and made a small sound.”
Jim paused.
“She was found and taken away, I’m sorry Jaina, there was nothing I could do, interfering would have risked all of us, I’m sorry”

Jaina seemed saddened by the news, in fact her face collapsed into her hands, and you could see tears running down her hands. She was crying...

Jim walked up too her and attempted to comfort her, but Jaina Judy said “Why do these things happen, why is it she has to die because of us, she was a friend to me, and now she’s just fuxking gone, just like that, fuxking gone”
Jaina’:s worda where hard to understand over her tears, which where muffling her. It is true, Elizabeth and Jaina where friends.

Spire then got Jim’s attention with a simply tap on the shoulder and he asked the qeustion “Should we tell her?”
Jim replied asking “tell her what”
Spire answered with a simple, quiet “About Cassie”
“Not when she’s like this! You fucking insane!”
Spire sighed and said “Look, you have to tell her, or she’s gonna ask and it will be worse for her because she was thinking about it by virtue of her asking, so we should just tell her now and get it over with”
Jim then said “ No, I’m not telling her right now, I will when she is in a stabler mood”
Jim sat down next to Jaina and put his hand over her opposite should, rapping his arm around her back, Jaina leaned in onto him, she seemed to be slowly calming down. “Why Jim, why? Why did this happen?” Her voice sounded desperate almost, it was scary coming from her.
After 5 minutes Jaina has began to calm down. Jim choose to wait before telling her of what happened to Cassie however, it would just revert her back to her previous state of sadness.

After some waiting, stood up and hugged Jim in a way, likely as a means of comfort as she still had tears flowing from her eyes, but she then asked "Wheres Cassie?"

The dreaded qeustion...

Jim spent some time formulating his words, he knew he had to answer.

"I'm sorry Jaina, she's dead"

Jaina looked almost terrifyed by that prospect, she never really got in on the action, so if shes dead then its most likely everythings over.

"How?" she asked, almost crying, Jim responded "She was killed..." Jim then partially lied to try to comfort her "She was hit with Imperial missiles, she didn't feel anything I don’t think”
Jim knew he was lying through his teeth, he remembered perfectly in vivid detail that Cassie survived the initial crash, and succumb to the damage caused by the crash.
He just wanted to try and comfort Jaina, as far as Jim knew Cassie was her closest friend, and Cassie was dead.

“Why?” Jaina asked , “why’d she have to die?” Jaina was clearly not handling the news of Cassie’s passing very well at all.
In truth, Jim had no good response to the qeustion of why, “I don’t know why”
“It was the Empire wasn’t it.” She said, Jim responded “Yes”
Jaina’s face of sorrow changes to one of pure dedication, and determination.
“I’ll kill them all, every last one of them, I won’t stop until no one is left”
Jim spoke in response.
“Jaina, I don’t think that’s what Cassie wouldve wanted”
Jaina then said something “I DONT CARE! It’s what I want, they won’t see a fucking end to it until they drown in there own god damned blood!”

Jim was clueless as to what had gotten into her, she never used to be like this, she was merciless, and brutal, but she never did anything like this.
“Where are they?” She asked.
“Tell me!” She then snapped, it was clear Cassie’s death was taking a toll on her mentally.
Around that time the ship began to take of from the hanger to leave.
“Where. Are. They.” She then repeated.
She was committed at that point, after Jim trying to explain why now wasn’t the time, Jaina then snapped “Fine! I will find them my self.”
She picked up a rugged old piece of scrap metal, it looked like a composite of solid Mercury and Iron.
Jaina jumped into a vent and crawled into the darkness.
Then, silence...

About 20 minutes past, Jim then spoke “I’m checking on her, it’s been a while, I hope she hasn’t gotten herself hurt”

Jim crawled into the same vent Jaina did.

A horrible stench filled the ship, that of infinite’s gunpowder, wood burnt asunder, scorched metal, death...

Jim stepped into the light.

It was horrible.

Body’s with gaping wounds in there chests, with organs leaking out in some cases, many with throats cut from ear to ear, some beaten to death with the dismembered limb she of there comrades, eyeballs gauged out, burned corpses, a discarded flame weapon, weapons laying, discarded, overheated to the point of non functionality, so hot in fact that the (often wooden) stocks had became on fire, seemingly burning many to death.

The walls wheee just coated in blood.
So much blood...

There where destroyed pieces of Imperial Trooper uniforms on the floor, there masks broken, some smouldering, Pieces of burned trench coat...

Jim wondered until he found Jaina, with a sword from an Imperial Trooper, continuessly stabbing it into a dying officer.

Jaina was covered in vast amounts ignored blood, her hair looked like she soaked it in it, her face covered in it, there where few places it hadn’t gotten.
She noticed Jim due to the sound of his footsteps on the metal grates flooring.
She farted up, and looked at Jim, she dropped the sword, she looked like she wasn’t nearly satisfied.
What had gotten into her?
That’s when Jim noticed, she was bleeding!
She had several holes in her, from bullets by the look, and a huge slash across her stomach, there was a stab wound in her arm also, and a small portion of her left ear was missing.

She seemed to be ignorant to the wounds.

“Jaina” Jim said, his expression being pure shock and terror and what Jaina had just done.

"Why, Jay? Why did you have to do this?" Jim said.

"Because I said I will kill them all, these included..." She said.

"Just, dont do this again, please, its, its not good" Jim said.

Spire made his way into the room, looking, displeased...

"At least we can finally make our way to Dinadon" Spire stated whilst finding out where the nearest Jumpgate is.

Turned out the nearest one was attached to the ship they just excaped from.

They entered the Gate.

Without there knowledge however...

General Wammy noticed....

### Journey

Jaina decided she would go have a shower (The ship had a bathroom, which it should, it would be inconvenient if it didnt), she did ask Jim if he wanted to join her, but Jim declined, though part of him regretted it afterwards.

Jim cleaned up the huge mess she had left, in all honesty, the soldiers on the ship would have to be neutralized anyway.

Jaina got out of the shower after about 16 minutes and offered to help, Jim said it was fine if she didn’t but she did so anyway.
It didn’t take long for Jim to forgive Jaina of the mess she caused everyone, they still loved each other, despite everything that’s happened.

The ship was en route to Dinadon, it would take some weeks, but nothing can really attack whilst traveling through a Jumpgate, so theres that.

Both Jaina and Jim where tired, and Spire could tell, he allowed them to sleep, in fact he didn’t care what they did as long as it wasn’t a problem for him.

The two searched the ship for somewhere to sleep, having a preference for thing that are not the floor, and they found that the only actual beds on the ship where really small and not many where there, strange considering how many soldiers where onboard.

Jaina and Jim chose to lay down anyway, they both managed to fit on one bed. "I dont believe it" Jaina muttered, quietly, likely hoping noone heard her.

"Whats wrong?" Jim asked, Jaina seemed startled, and said "Nothing", after a sigh.

"No seriously, whats wrong?" Jim insisted.

"Nothing! Alright? Nothings wrong, I was just thinking out loud, alright!?"

Jim knew this wasn't true, but he chose to cease trying to find out what it was, as it seemed hopeless at the time.

Jim stayed quiet, so did Jaina.

She eventually rolled over and hugged Jim tightly, he could feel what seemed to be tears.

Jaina was crying...

Jim wrapped his arms around her and they fell asleep in eachothers arms.

Jim didnt have any notable dreams that night.

Jim awoke, Jaina was still asleep, and she was in a position that made getting up difficult, her pretty face was staring back at him, eyes closed, of course, she was asleep, after all.

Jim didnt want to disturb her, so he tried getting out of the bed without waking her but that proved impossible. So Jim waited, not wanting to wake her.

Eventaully she slowly woke up, rubbing her eyes and saying " Morning" quietly and slowly.

They where both unsure what to do. They still had some weeks in travel time to go until reaching Dinadon, or not, it was never really clear..
Sometimes this kind of travel took hours, sometimes years...

But at least it was safe, and even if it took mellenia, you wouldnt really age that much, the amount of time it took from the travellers perspective and the outsides perspective was often different..

For all anyone knew, they could arrive at a Dinadon from millenia ago... Though it was unlikely, for the most part they arrived roughly at the same time they set out.

Jim spent that day filling Jaina on what had happened in her absence. A lot had indeed happened, everything had started to fall apart...

2 weeks passed and eventually they reached Dinadon., or rather, they would be there withing a day...

###

Spire had called everyone into the main area of the ship, to discuss the plan once they arrive, for in truth they had none.

"So, uhh, any ideas?" Spire said unexpectedly, most often he just commanded things but it seemed he had no plan...

After some moments of unbelievably crappy ideas Jaina said "Actually, couldn't we, uhm, wear the armour of the soldiers who where on this ship? We should blend in."

Jim agreed, though stated the issue of the uniforms not necessarily fitting them and damage caused by Jaina.

Spire wasn't too fond of the plan, but no-one else had a better idea.

They proceeded to search for non completely smashed uniforms, and a couple where found.

The Unifrms where made up of many items in fact,a large trench coat, 6 pieces of limb armour, boots, a scary looking faceless ballistics mask, a stalhelm helmet, and a large armor piece to go over the torso that goes around both front and back. There was also a cloth to be worn over the mouth and 2 ear plugs that protect the ear from gunshot noises.

They where mostly black and grey, and was quite heavy all in all.

Jim was the quickest to put them on, placing them over what he was already wearing, Jaina did comment on how hot that would likely get. Jim didnt really care.

Jaina removed most of what she was wearing before hand before quickly putting the Uniform on, Spire walked to another room during that moment, Spire put it on as precisely as possible, and took the longest.

"Dammit, it doesn't really fit me right" Jaina said, indeed she wasn't lying, there was a small, very minuscule mid-rift showing, but nothing noticeably at first glance, only on close inspection.

"Its fine, Jaina, no one will notice" Jim said.

"You sure?" Jaina asked, Jim responded "Yeah, I only noticed it when you pointed it out"

### Dinadon

Eventually the ship reached Dinadon, and exited out the Jumpgate.

There was a Britannia 1 class Battlecruiser nearby, thousands of other ships thousands kilometers away.

A voice echoed through the command room as a he radio flickered on with a feminine voice, that of someone of 126 years. “You are required to state your business, so please do so”
Jaina then spoke, she was concerned “we have nothing to say, do we?”
Spire then spoken “Don’t say anything to her”

A small 40 meter long ship flew over head and everyone saw, a huge moon pool with cranes...

Spire swore under his breath and then ordered “get into the escape pod! I’ll stay here and keep them of your trail, just get onto the planet, I’ll try to stay in radio contact, but refer to my as Python, not Spire, can’t let them get our trail”
Jaina and Jim run towards the pod, and closed the door and it pressurised and Spire launched it as the ship was captured by the Imperials.

The pod flung out of the ship at immense speed, Dinadon was but a swirly orange and grey ball of blur.
It was going so fast it was making both Jaina and Jim feel sick, infact it was nearing speeds that could cause harm to a Human.
The two fell into an embrace about 200,000 kilometres above the surface. After about 2 minutes they where 190,000 kilometres above surface. The pods automated systems where desperately trying to slow down before hitting the middle sections of the atmosphere. At 140,000 km above the surface, huge skyscrapers where starting to become noticeable, the pod began to burst into flames as it passed the begging of the thicker parts of the atmosphere at 110,000 km above surface.
It became clear it was night time.
By 70,000 meters above surface Jaina and Jim had bee knocked out by the force.

Eventually, the pod crashed into a huge inland sea and began to sink, it suffered only minor damage from the crash into the water.

The ice cold water...

Jaina’s eyelids began to open up, and she eventually awoke.
She saw that Jim was still asleep and she began to slap him to shake him to wake him up, it did work, Jim then got up, he was just as dazed as Jaina, both of them suffering negative consequences form the descent.
After 2 minutes of silence Jim stood up, and slipped a bit on the rounded shape of the pod but regained balance quickly.

“You okay?” Jim asked, Jaina said “I think” and tried to get up but felt pain in her abdomen, and looked down and saw overtaken with extreme pain.
A long and narrow piece of metal was impaled into her abdomen, towards the left side, it was quite bloody, it went all the way in and poked out the other side....
“Shit” she said, far louder then she thought she was saying it, and Jim asked “ Whata wrong?”
“Jim y, you need to look at this”
He did and saw her wound “How bad does it look?” She asked, Jim reaponded with “Pretty bad”

“I, I’ll try to find medical supply’s, hopefully this pod has some hatch somewhere with it being stored”. Jim said, he was concerned, Jainas wound looked quite fatal.

Jim searched around the pod, and after quite some searching he concluded there really wasn’t anything, they would have to find midical supply’s somewhere else.

“Jaina, I can’t find anything, I can’t, I can’t find anything, we have to, search for something, shit”
He’s volume went down over time.
Jim later continued “Jaina, well have to search out something ourselves, can you walk?”

Jaina put her hands onto the wall behind her and tried to get up, but didn’t get far before the pain became too much, Jim then said “I’ll help” and grabbed her hand and her back and helped her get onto her feet, she shortly after stumbles into the wall and just leaned on it to make her life easier, it was clear from her face that she was still in a lot of pain.

“We need to get out of here” Jim statesman before helping Jaina to the door and nearly opening it before Jaina tried to be as loud as she could when she said “Jim! I looks like w, we’re underwater”, she gestured to the window and it did seem obvious the where under water.

“SHIT! Your not able to swim right now are you, you can’t walk without aid so you obviously can’t swim”

Jaina then said “I’m not great at swimming anyway, i’d liikely drown if I tried to swim out of here even if I wasn’t injured.

Jim knew what Jaina was saying to be true, she could swim but not amazingly, she’d certainly have issues in waters as deep as what the pod likely landed in.

After some time, which was spent panicking, there was a bang noise on the pods hull, it sounded like someone, or something, grabbing it and taking hold.

With suddenly what sounded like the outer door opening took place, before it closed.

The inner door then opened and Jim grabbed the only weapon he had acces to, which was a small pistol, a tall man walked in.

He was clean shaven and had hair tied into a ponytail in the back of his head.
He wore a long coat, orangish in colour, and long paints with rather large boots that looked extremely old fashioned to the point of looking ancient. These boots had spurs and appeared to be designed for riding something.

Jim quickly aimed the pistol at the mans head, and the man said "Now now, whats that for? I mean no harm! I merely came to investigate the crashed, well, I thought it would be a meteor and I wanted to snitch a piece before the Imperials take the whole damned thing! But looking at who you are, we, have similar ideas, I too wish the Empire crumbled, I'm Enigma Lancer, at your service"

Lancer extended his arm to Jaina expecting a handshake, he never got one.

"Whats your actual name, Enigma Lancer is an obvious code name" Jaina said, before Lancer said "I, am unwilling to give out my real name to anyone, and plus I prefer Lancer, so just pretend its my name"

Lancer then noticed Jaina's injury and said "Oh, I am so sorry I never noticed your injiry there, I have bandages, here"

Lancer was about to apply them to Jaina himself when Jim grabbed him and said "I'll do it"

Jim took the bandages and said "Jaina, this is probably gonna hurt bu-"

Jaina interrupted and said "Yeah I know, ive done this *Cough* myself enough times"

Jim then grabbed hold of the rod that impaled Jaina and tried to slowly pulled it out, Jaina screamed in pain, "AGGH, do it fast, please, just do it fast, just fucking pull it out in one go, just, be careful, be very careful, I really dont want, ah, just do it, but be careful"

Jim said "Okay, I will, but I dont want to see you like this"

Jim looked away before quickly pulling the rod out, more like tearing it out, Jim screamed louder then before and was twitching and her limbs where out of her control for a while, she was in even more pain now.

"You pulled it out, agh, slightly sideways, you made the wound bigger, *cough,* I know you didnt mean it, you love me but, I asked you to be more careful *Cough"*

Jim then spoke "I'm sorry, are you okay? I'll put the bandage over it now"

Jaina nodded in agreement, the pain making speaking difficult at the time.

Jim wrapped the bandage around Jaina's abdomen as many times as he could, that being 6 times before tieing it on the side of her abdomen that wasnt impaled.

"How is it?" Jim asked, Jaina responded.

"It still really fucking hurts"

She was still coughing, and then Enigma Lancer spoke " The bandage wont cut it, she needs at least basic medical attention, more then just a bandage"

"How will we get out of here then!?" Jim said.

Lancer then went towards the window and pulled a lever, water rushed out of the ballast tanks that where wide open causing the pod to sink so easily, the ballast where closed and having air pumped in and water pumped out to put it simply.

The pod hit the surface, and crashed into the shore, Jim made sure Jaina was hurt again, she hit her head, beyond that she was, indeed, fine, ignoring the wound and the extreme pain it was yet still causing.

Lancer opened the door and Jim asked Jaina if she could stand, she tried, and she just screeched in pain and said "Agh, no, I cant, agh, shit"

Jim thought for a moment and then said "I'll carry you then, hopefully this Lancer fella is trustworthy because I m gonna have to follow him"

Jaina looked disappointed but nodded in agreement.

Jim picked her up at thighs and back, holding her in front of him, it was nighttime.

Yet Dinadons lights still blazed...

"Follow!' Lancer said, and Jim followed with Jaina being carried, she was not heavy, but she was lighter then she looked, she was a somewhat muscular person, so one could expect her to be heavier but that wasn't the case.

After 5 minutes of walking Jim noticed Jaina was starting to bleed faster and faster, it was becoming worrying "Hey, where are we going!? I think Jaina is getting worse" Jim shouted, Lancer stated he had a cache of stuff and there are medical supplys in amongst the items.

Jaina turned her head towards Jims, she was extremely pale, far more so then usual. It was terrifying, she seemed to have lost so much blood that she was slowing down, her head at turned far slower then she normally would (Which is quite quickly for reference)

"Please stay with me, please dont, just stay with me!" Jim said to Jaina, she had no response other then what seemed to be a poor attempt at saying something, but it sounded like a pained groan.

Jim looked terrified...

Jim chose to avoid getting distracted and focused on reaching wherever he was headed with Lancer as fast as possible before Jaina bled to death.

Jaina soon went unconscious.

Jim found this concerning, and he placed his hand over her heart, she was cold and her heart beat violently .

Lancer was pretty sure she was suffering from class II blood loss, Lancer was pretty sure he had a simple solution that could help her, though he didnt quite remember.

He was pretty sure it was called Ringers Lactate Solution, that and her wound being stitched would hopefully increase her odds of survival significantly.

### Akadthoz

Jaina awoke in a trance like dream, that engulfed her relentlessly, it was a dark, strange feeling or pain, an inky blackness had engulfed her soul from top to bottom. It important to understand however, it was, indeed, a dream.

Jaina wondered down a hall, it was a horrid place, dark and monotonous.

She walked down these halls unflinching, she found the halls to repeat around every bend, with vines creeping up the walls of plaster, darkening them.

As Jaina stepped she eventually began hearing footsteps along with hers, she stopped, but opted not to gaze behind her.

She was, in a way, scared, not common for someone who has nearly died so many times but yet, she felt, scared.

Jaina heard a loud band behind her and out of habit quickly looked behind her as she grabbed something that could be used as a weapon of the floor and or nearby tables ect.

There was nothing there.

Then what had made the mood? She though, t was, indeed, a reasonable thing to compute as she heard a noise, looked at the source and found no way it could be made.

She heard marching and hid behind a dresser in the ceaseless halls, 3 Imperials Troopers where marching by, armed.

Jaina did her best to remain hidden, she succeeded, the soldiers were noticeably bad at there job but she still wanted to avoid detection in case they were just poor at spotting.

In truth, Jaina had no real weapons, all she had where her arms and legs, and a small plastic stick she had picked up shortly before.

Jaina crouch walked as best she could down the halls, she found the action uncomfortable and back braking, though it’s likely that she failed to do it correctly.

Jaina heard more marching and realised the troopers were cycling back on there patrol, Jaina his and looked at them as they came by.
There was something, off about them, but what wasn’t seen in the time she had to see as they went by en foot at notable, tremendous, surprising speed.

Something was clearly off, however, strange, ghastly, unnatural...

Jaina kept moving down the corridors, ceaselessly repeating, unnerving, it was putting Jaina on edge.

She felt some form of, heavy, perhaps a light or heavy, weight upon her mind, it was easy to dislike the situation.

She attempted to make her way out of the ceaseless looping corridors anyway, the furniture slowly became more absurd as she went, with dresser-table-shelf hybrids and all sorts.

The soldiers came back down the hall, Jaina once more hid, she discovered what was off about the soldiers, underneath the metal armour, the fabric, perhaps under the fabric, it glowed, it glowed red luminously as if something lighted it ablaze without it being of fire visibly, the glow wasn't intense but slight yet, it seemed as if ablaze. The fabric too, looked, to be a differing material, it looked like, a less synthetic and more, organic.

In fact, the whole uniform seemed differing, it looked more, advanced, far far more advanced...

The guns too seemed to impossibly more advanced.

Their masks, the eyes were too small, instead of goggle-like eyes they were, tiny horizontal slits, the mask also looked less, put together from many pieces and more, like it was always a mask, and never just a few sheets of metal. The helmet too, was, more covering, more protective...

Jaina then noticed, the fabric was far less visible, it was far more armour!

Something was far, far off.

Jaina found a hall leading down into a grated elevator eventually, she entered and activated it, and hid best she could as it ascended.

It reached its stop.

Jaina heard gunshots and creeped out before finding a window leading to a balcony of pure wrought iron, there was a battle...

Those strange Imperial Troopers absolutely massacring armed people, seemingly trying to rebel to absolutely no avail.

No Imperials littered the floor...

The walls reached high in the sky, so high one couldn't see beyond at all, and a banner hung from hinges, red and crimson, what looked like the Imperial Terranic Aquilla, just, different...

Also hung where, people and crimson banners with words Jaina didn't recognise, the words "Andro Sahl Preiade"\* Jaina had no idea what it said, but it looked kind of like Terran (The language most Humans know best, including Jaina) but it seemed, almost, different, evolved.

All the meaning she got from it was something doing something.

\*It means Order Shall Prevail, a common motto for the Empire even in Jaina's time, though in her time in Terran it was "Ondar sal Prevalide"

Jaina soon felt a pain as if a thin needle was being placed in her arm, at the vine, she looked at it, nothing was there...

Shortly after, she felt a similar, but more continuous, pain in her abdomen, like something, was doing something there, it felt almost as if, something was being threaded through.

She crouched along and accidentally knocked down a small piece of, something she didn't recognise.

She then realises someone heard her as hurried feet where heard, Jaina ran to hide.

it was to no avail as an Imperial Trooper came and saw her, before opening fire.

50 or so bolts of plasma shrieked at her, atleast 34 hitting her, many others hitting the walls near her and burning them, sending shards of burned material into her and everything else.

She fell back into a bench, and cut herself on it many times as she fell, what it was she didn't know, it was in her back, the cuts didn't feel too deep, however.

The points the plasma hit felt as if burning, in all but flames they were, Jaina was laying on the floor, in pain, too much to get up, she tried, oh she tried but she just fell back down.

The soldier couldn't jump to her and finish her off, but he stood guard at the window, he was going to shoot at her if he saw her.

He threw a grenade, it was poorly aimed and hit the wall before it entered the room Jaina lay In, it did, however, knock over the wall and it landed, many bits over Jaina, the floor too, collapsed under the new weight.

Jaina hit the concrete floor, and felt bones breaking, she couldn't move without excruciating, unbearable pain.

And even without movement, the pain was that.

Jaina lay there, in pain, for a long time, she tried to attend to the wounds herself but, she couldn't.

Jaina lay there, and died, unable to do anything about it.

### Waker

Jim was watching Jaina, for, hours...

Hoping she would awaken, hoping she wouldn't die.

After about 2 hours of waiting, Jim was thankful to witness her eyes open, and she said, softly, "Jim?"

Jim was the first thing she saw, and she was happy he was, he looked so happy to see her.

"Jainie" he said, that was a new one, and Jaina commented on it, in a soft, quiet voice, it was as loud as she could go at the time without hurting.

"What happened?" Jaina asked before Jim responded truthfully "You were bleeding, and you fell unconscious, we got you here, gave you some liquid medicine directly into your veins, stitched the wound, and the rest was just luck"

"Well that's" Jaina chuckled "Reassuring"

"Your alive, that's the thing, and I'm happy about it, you should be too" Jim stated clearly.

"Ha, I am, don't worry Jim" Jaina said, still quite but evidently happy.

Jaina sat up state, Jim aided her in accomplishing that, she successfully did it.

"Thank you," she said.

Jim held her hand, and Enigma Lancer walked in and said, amazedly "She lives! Unexpected! Well, I'm glad"

"Fuck off," Jaina said before Lancer glanced about and said "Just trying to be a friendly face miss"

"Jaina, just" Jim sighed "He is responsible for the fact your still breathing, so, cut him some slack"

Jaina asked, "How?"

Lancer spoke" Ringers Lactate Solution, only reason you're alive, excluding, Jim's care, of course, he was vital"

"Uh huh," Jaina said quietly, Lancer glanced at her, but soon ceased looking.

Jaina's vision was blurry since she awoke, but at this point in time, it was slowly becoming clearer, and she was looking around the room, crates piled high, and just, junk, everywhere.

Jaina was, also despite just waking up, rather tired, and Lancer, noticed when he glanced at her, made evident when he said "You should rest"

Jim nodded, noticing how tired she looked despite the fact she had pretty much been sleeping.

Jaina agreed to rest, personally knowing herself to be tired.

Jaina kissed Jim, before she went to lay down and slowly drifted off to sleep, though she was unable to go fully so, just partially, she was moving around a lot where she lay, the same place she had been placed down in fact.

Jim stayed with Jaina as she slept, more out of care than anything, he didn't want anything to happen to her.

Some 2 or 3 hours later Jaina awoke, and she felt considerably better, though her abdomen did hurt, which would be expected.

Jaina got up and sat down on the bench.

"You feeling better?" Jim asked, after turning around and looking at her.

"I think, yeah I think I am"

Jim stated "That's good"

Jaina stood up and stumbled for a bit before regaining her balance, and found herself perfectly stable.

She looked around and saw the large amount of things littering the place.

"Where am I?" she asked, Jim responded "Lancer brought you here, its some place in some vents that he found that he has filled with equipment"

"Oh" she said.

Lancer came in, stating that it would be advisable to see if Jaina's wounds have healed.

This was: Indeed, true, though Jaina wasn't amazingly comfortable with Lancer doing it.

She had Jim look, it was healing slowly, she would need to lay off for some time.

### To Force Revolt

Some months past...

Jaina's wounds had largely healed, though it was determined it would leave a scar, of notable size.

Many times when Jaina slept she experienced nightmares and didn't get any less tired upon waking, she got no rest, and was starting to sleep less and less.

A plan had been developed to get to the Emperor, and Jaina had begun to trust Lancer.

They were to initiate the plan on this day.

Jaina was putting on the uniform of an Imperial Trooper, the variant used on Dinadon, she was currently buttoning up the trench coat, which was a soft steel like blue rather than the almost black she had known to be common.

Just the coat was very very warm and she felt she was overheating, though the building was hot, to begin with.

She soon finished with the coat and put on the armour segment, before putting on the helmet and mask, which had some differences to that of an Dinadonian Troopers.

"Do I look the part?" She asked before Lancer said "If you don't talk, then yes, if you do talk, then it becomes suspicious, since females do not serve as what you're pretending to be, though they are in other military roles other then the Dinadonian version of the standard trooper"

"Then I'll try not to speak" Jaina then said, feeling kind of, worried, in truth.

"Here," Jim said as he threw a carbine to Jaina, it looked like a Gig-12LR. "Thanks" she said in return.

Jaina then picked up a small side arm.

The plan, or the first stage at least, was to cause an open rebellion on Dinadon, in an attempt to stretch the military of the world.

Lancer was part of a resistance group on Dinadon, as far as he knew, the only surviving, and it seemed that wouldn't last long, as they where, indeed, on there tracks already, if they didn't attack now they would be annihilated without doing anything.

The three then crawled out the vent, Jaina taking it the slowest on account of her technically still healing injury, and got to the outside.

They had crawled to a higher altitude in the vents before exiting, so they were high than when they entered.

Jaina's first sane impressions of Dinadon, where of its, overwhelming, coldness.

It was so very cold.

So much so, she commented on it, and Jim tried to stick near her to warm her up but it was hard without making them look suspicious.

Jaina also noticed the incredible hight of the buildings, so high, the overcast clouds where being split apart, like a knife on paint. The buildings blocked clouds as if the buildings were mountains.

Roads, suspending in the air, went around, and the air, felt heavy and different as if it wasn't what she were used to, it felt, almost, dead.

The architecture itself was of interest, a mostly mixture of Art Deco and nazi, incorporating many arcs to support the immense weight.

Not that far in the distance, was a huge pyramid, littered with spires,...
The Imperial Palace.
Jaina felt, almost in aw, that this existed, but tried to suppress her feelings for the marvel that was Dinadon.

After some travelling, they found the spot, and the first stage was almost complete, the forces were willing to attack.

The idea was that they use the force as a distraction to break past into the districted areas around the Imperial Palace.

Lancer, Jaina and Jim were near the gate when Jaina grabbed Jim, Lancer questioning, she said she needed to speak to him for a moment, Lancer waiter.

They went into a sort of back alley and a Jaina removed Jim’s helmet & mask, before removing her own, her face grew freezing without the conductive metal over it.

Jaina then kissed Jim, quickly and softly, and said “Just in case” with a cute smile, one such that Jim enjoyed seeing from her.

“Hurry!” Lancer said, and the two out each other's head gear back on and came with him.

Jaina saw, soldiers at the gate, they looked, futuristic (from her perspective, try to imagine what someone living in the 72ndish century would call futuristic)
Pearly white armour costing the vast majority of the body, a helmet, with two filters poking out the sides near the jaw.

A extended sheet of fabric coming down from the belt, they all too, looked elite, though one looked more so.

Jaina and the others had to keep going to avoid suspicion.
That’s when Lancer did the signal, and a bomb was set off as resistance troops attacked from the shadows, and corners.

The Imperials opened fire quickly, burst's of mostly plasma came against bullets, it was a massacre.

Jaina, Lancer and Jim ran through the gate, but they where perused!

3 soldiers chased them, and fired, one of them, the most elite looking, had a Sabre too.
Jaina grabbed her sidearm and opened fire back, there was no turning back now, no way to make it appear as a mere misunderstanding.

The three continued being chased, though the pursuers, they were fast, very fast, and over time they were becoming closer and closer.

A large unscalably wall emerged from the floor, a security measure, probably.

With a dead end, the three were forced to stop, due to said wall, they had been beaten...

Lancer, had infant vanished, bailing on them as soon as things went wrong it seemed.
Jaina and Jim dropped there weapons on request of the soldiers, who made strange sounds at each other, Jaina (and also Jim's) hands where tied before being Jaina's helmet was removed, none of the soldiers actually recognised her, Jim wasn't recognised either.

They where moved at gunpoint elsewhere, interestingly to a point beyond that wall and likely closer to the Imperial Palance.

Part of the journey was made by air vehicle of a class belonging to the local military.

However, when they arrived at the facility, one did recognise Jaina, and at that realization she was pu into maximum level custody, in an attempt to keep her in one place.

One Place...

### Prisoner

Jaina's haand where locked together with an electric handcuff, which themselves, where chained to the wall in such a fashion that you could'nt unhook it.

Of course she required to be fed, in which case she had to attempt to bend down to her side and eat it without use of hands, which was supremely difficult.

Jaina, should, have indeed, been able to force it off the wall with her own notably great strength. However, that strength was sapped away from her as they injected her with all sorts of hellish narcotics and drugs! Leaving her, most unfortunently, tired for hours, before she was re drugged and she became once more tired, if she had known what these drugs where it is more then likely she would have began to crave them, she has been known to be suseptable to a great extent to such things, fortunently, she had no idea what the drugs where and thus, wouldnt actually be able to seek them out if she where to ever leave.

So Jaina sat there, on her knees, that being the most confortabe position she could sit in whiles actually fitting in the room for her, unable to do anything. She tried to conjure images in her head but they where poor, as her imagination had always been limited, they where not clear or vivid and when they where; it was something she wished to forget returning to her.

She instead often thought, thought of how much she loved, adored, even, Jim.

Could that last kiss have actually been goodbye? It started of as genuine kissing goodbye before aything that could kell either of them, incase one of them does die, so that the other dousnt have to live with having never said goodbye. But it eventually turned into just a habit, a thing they do romanticly, how they showed effection.

Jaina was almost crying, without sound as she had taught herself to do years ago but crying non the less, why? Jim should bring her happiness but for some reason he was suddenly making her fall unto woe.

Her joints where in great pain & ached due to lack of use, and she suspected using them again would cause similar great pain & ache.

Weeks past, or where they, months? Jaina, she, she didnt know anymore, she had lost track of time. Jaina wasnt fed much and her position made eating much of it difficult and/or painful. She didnt know the full extent of it as she couldn't see herself, but she was becoming frail, she was starting to look less and less like Jaina, and more and more like a skeleton that the skin and a few muscles and fat's hadn't decomposed away.

Maybe an hour later, soldiers came and forced her up, they needed information from her it seemed, information such how she reached the planet, where the resistance (Or terrorist to some) cell is (or was) located, and other details they needed to maintain their order.

Her joints ached and she complained, but her whines went ignored.

She was forced ontop of a table , more a iron slab, not rusted at all, pure, well maintained iron.

A man walked in, darker in colour, looked serious, to the point of unpleasantness.

"What do you want!?" Jaina asked, in what would have been a loud and angry manner, however she just didnt have the ability to do so anymore.

"It is, just some information, if you answer us you will not be hurt, however we need the answers and, you see, we know your will to be to strong to just ask, and thus if you where to not answer us or tell obvious lies or contradictions, we will have to take potentially drastic measures."

Jaina saw above, hanging from the ceiling was a metallic sign with white brutalist text. "Order Shall Prevail"

The man continued "Now, how did you make your way onto Dinadon?!"

"On a ship" She said, not explicitly lying but she was aware it wasn't a satisfactory answer.

The man spoke, his voice louder "How did you get the ship!"

"Stealing it" Jaina said, she wanted to say more, she wanted to insult the man but, she just didn't have the breath to do it.

"Where is the resistant group?!"

Jaina responded "You, you killed them all didn't you?"

Saying something that lengthy strained her throat and she recoiled downwards, having raised her head as she spoke softly.

...

. . .

"Where. Are. They!?" The man said, being maddened now after Jaina's horrifically poorly thought out answer.

"Dead" she said, but the man then turned a switch and the iron slab heated up, Jaina was in extreme pain, perhaps beyond anything she had ever experienced.

"Why do you lie? A few escaped and certainly went somewhere! We do not know where they hid before so that is a likely place!"

Jaina then lied "In the sewers in this area, thats all I was told, non of them trusted me so I dont know where it fucking is"

"What is your name!?" The man said, the sun rising and light shining through the grated window revealing scars all over the face.

"Annabelle Fucking Rose" Jaina said, the man stated the rudeness was unnecessary but Jaina then spit in his face and called him the most horrible, terrible, unbelievable of insults, though her lack of volume diminished the effect, it was a bad enough insult to be insulting anyway.

He was furious, and ordered some soldiers to get out of his way as he prowled towards a shelf and reached for a small tube filled with a white liquid.

"Restrain her head, this going all over the place could be disastrous" The man said.

Jaina's head was forced still and she, closed her eyes, not wanting to look.

But she still felt the pain...

Her whole right side of her face went almost completely numb, and what she could feel, was a burning or melting sensation, infact she felt her right side of her face becoming lighter.

After some five minutes of a form of bubbling senstation, it had largely ceased and she opened her 'eyes'

She only saw part of what she could before...

Her right eye, wasnt functioning!

There was just a black smodge on the right of her vision!

"What the fuck did you do!?" Jaina said as loud as she could, but the man said "I wish you to find out for yourself, we're done here. Take her back to her cell!"

Jaina was chained the same way she was prevously, and this remained for some days.

She fell asleep, trying to ignore the pain she was feeling in her right eye, the extreme, unbelievable, unbearable pain. Her whole right side of her face infact! It hurt her so much.

She slept to attempt to escape it all.

It had been some more days, and she had no idea why her right eye was both not working and in so much pain, she didnt really have any clothes, leaving her very cold (It was freezing even with clothes)

She felt nothing in much of her right side of her face other then that pain.

After some time, perhaps days or more, Jaina began to notice a sudden lack of any gaurds.

She did her best to peek out, but really couldn't.

She saw, in one eye, her other one still being in pain and defunct, Jim and Lancer.

Jim saw her and rushed to her and unlocked the door, before he rushed in more and, suddenly looked shocked.

"Jim" Jaina said, softly, as loudly as she could.

"Jaina, you, no, you loo awful" Jim said, before walking up to her and un-shackling her .

"Ju, what did they do to you?" Jim asked

"Whats wrong?" Jaina asked.

"You look, starved and, you face. half of it, its gone, can you see?"

"I cant see in my right"

"I'm so sorry for not being sooner, are you cold?"

Jaina nodded.

Jim helped her up and asked "Can you walk?"

"I dont know"

Jim let her stand free for a second, and she nearly collapsed into a pile of skin and bone.

She looked, so different, almost unrecognisable.

She had no clothes, which explainsed her coldness, she would nee a blanket atleast.

Jim knew little of the medical field but he knew that she was on the brink of death by starvation or freezing or something.

"Lancer! Find some clothes!" Jim shouted, before continuing "Try not to look at Jaina! She isnt in a state she'd want to be seen in"

Jaina wanted to say she didn't say that, but she felt too weak to speak.

"Here, I'll carry you" Jim said before beginning to carry her.

Lancer passed Jim some clothes, and he helped Jim get into them.

"Thanks" She said, using most of her remaining strength.

"We need to get you somewhere safe" Jim said, before Lancer looked at her.

His eyes widened.

She looked awful.

Like a skeleton.

"Well, we're lucky they didn't kill her honestly, she's in bad shape but she's aiive" Lancer said, before Jim said "I think they *where* killing her..."

Lancer then stated it'd be best they get going, indeed, there most likely was soldiers in coming at that very moment.

Jim carried Jaina out, and she saw guards littering the floor, like dropped flies.

They left the structure and hid in an alley, it was dark out, and the lights of the city glew brilliantly.

Advertisments, they where so bright, like neon lights being shoved in ones eye, yet a significant portion of those lights was propaganda, still bright, however.

It hurt Jaina's eyes, the brightness was too much for her, and she turned her head towards Jim, and she was so, unbelievably, Unbearably, cold.

They walked down some 300 meters of alley before climbing a fire escape, shortly thereafter, "All citizens within vicinity of Sarkeleem Prison are now in a state of curfew under order of the Imperial Governance pending an ongoing investigation in the Prison. All citizens seen until curfew declared over are to be considered suspicious. Consider this a public warning."

That repeated maybe four times.

After some more walking, Jim laid Jaina on a bed, before saying "Don't rest yet. We'll get you some food first, then you can rest, you probably need it."

Jaina then quietly said "Not really, sleep was the only thing I could do"

Jim then said "Well,I guess we could talk if thats possible"

Jim brought the food, and it was a considerable amount, Lancer having assumed by Jaina's appearance she hadn't eaten anything for some time.

Jaina began to eat, and Jim left, stating he'll be back soon.

He was, Jaina was feeling much better, now being able to talk easily but by no means looking better mind you, and Jim needed to talk to about what had happened.

"Jaina, don't take this the wrong way but, what did they do to you?"

Jaina responded "They left me the way you found me most of the time, the only time I wasnt like that they needed information and tried to get it out of me by torturing me, so I offended one of their officers, and he then poured something down my face and the right of my face has hurt ever since, and my right eye hasnt been working either."

Jim then said "Jaina, you don't have a right eye anymore, infact the whole of the right of your face has been disfigured"

"What? Give me a mirror I've got to see this" Jaina quickly spurted out, Jim found a mirror in a drawer and gave it to her.

Indeed, the right of her face was red, and looked as if burned, the shape of the skull was easily visible as where some muscles, her right eye, was just, gone, the eye socket was there, infact that area was where the skull was most visible.

"You alright?" Jim asked, Jaina's brain didnt compute, all of the sudden her cheek, which where bruned off, ceased hurting, and the pain went into her jaw and teeth, her eye though, stayed hurting, it was like phantom pain, infact that would describe it, a non existent part of the body hurt, the pain was a phantom, a ghost, a memory.

Over time the wounds on her face healed somewhat, though not much, it was too much damage to heal to some level of looking undamaged.

Jim spent a lot of time with Jaina, and she enjoyed that, she didnt want to be lonely at the time.

In truth, her face simply couldnt be healed, Jim and Lancer didnt have the knowledge or equipment.

She would need to deal with it until they where no longer considered terrorists.

By the end of the month Jaina was able to walk safely again and looked starved no longer, she, stated dislike in looking the way she did, her being a woman, and naturally had a degree of care in that manner, Jim understood however, he, wouldn't have liked it either.

Jaina had gone to sleep, this being her first one where she wasnt hungry, and she hoped it to go uninterrupted.

### 7288

Jaina found herself in a trance like dream, she was on Dinadon, where exactly she was unsure, all the glowing lights where all around and no-one spoke a tongue she understood.

Infact, many looked at her as if she was speaking old English in the 21st century, when regular English was far more popular.

She chose to cease speaking, since it was going nowhere.

Jaina went down an alley, hoping for some solace in the dark and dank area the alleys often are, that being, shadowed and wet due to lack of care and light.

Jaina found it somewhat unpleasant but better then the barrage of unknown words of the streets, she turned around a bend and wondered into the dark.

As Jaina walked what she saw seemed to get older and older, until she saw something she understood. "Lu Ondar Prevalide! Jonlist Noda!"

It was an Imperial recruitment poster it looked like, and written in a language she understood, it said "Let Order Prevail! Enlist Today!"

She looked at the fine print for confirmation "Printed 7217"

As far as she knew that was the current year, she went and looked at the fine print on a poster she passed earlier.

"7236"

She went further back.

"7266"

Until she found one that said "7288"

That was as far forward as she could find, was that, the year?

She could only assume it was, but, how? It was 7217 as far as she knew, she was born in 7195, and her body was currently 22 years old, as far as she knew, but if it was indeed 7288, she would be 93, which is, at this point in time, that being the 73rd century, rather young, but its still quite a long period of time between her last memory and where she seemed to be.

Jaina heard footsteps and quickly spun around and heard speaking, she didnt understand it, but it sounded like someone was perhaps guiding someone.

A short man came around the corner, and pointed at Jain, a soldier, who as with him pointed his gun at her and said something.

Also with them, what looked like a Brigadier, huge and knightlike, also akin to a samurai, with clothelike padding running downwards, and an overall samurai like feel.

The man said something, and the Brigadier opened fire, Jaina was hit.

She awoke, finding what she just expierenced to be just a dream, she was glad of that, it was, just a dream.

Jaina slid up, widening her eyes, letting in the rays of light, they hurt, but she didnt particularly care.

She rubbed her eyes and stood up, leaning against the metal walls, to ensure she does not fall.

Now that she was coming back to her senses, she came to feel good, she enjoyed the feeling of standing without fear of collapsing to a bloody heap, she loved that feeling, it was like a drug, she could b-, she was, addicted to it. Tht feeling of abilty of self reliance, that amazing feeling.

Jim came, and he asked her how she was, she responded, claiming to be good, she was not lieing.

Jaina's face had healed as much as it would alone, without aid.

It was red, and one could see her jawbone and into her mouth, her teeth where blackened and her eye burned out, not gone, but as if flattened half way, with an uneven surface, a jagged surface.

"Jim, I just want to say now, thank you, for everything, I, just, I dont know, just thank you"

It seemed to come out of nowwhere, but Jim did, to an extent, understand where it was coming from, just the timing was strange, perhaps she suspected she was going to die, perhaps she just felt good, or perhaps, she just wanted to say thanks.

Or, perhaps it was a hybridisation of all of the above, whichever, Jim didnt really care, he was happy with the thanks, he would have been happy even without such.

They where too attempt to sneak towards the Imperial Palace, starting, perhaps, on that day, yes indeed, it was to be on that very day, Jaina needed to be brave, she was not at strong as she once was, nor was she as fast, she was becoming easier and easier to kill, and Dinadon just made her death ever more likely.

The three set off downwards, Lancer had a knowledge of the sewers and vents, which both spread all about, like a tri-dimensional maze of sorts, due to the city's eons of being built over and over the prevous.

They made there way downwards after packing gear for about a month, just barely, Lancer wasnt sure it would be enough, that caused much stress amongst the group.

### The Deep Checkpoint

The three spent perhaps hours walking, and climbing, and tried to avoid swimming, Jaina always had issues when it came to the water and her current injuries likely wouldnt help.

Though there where a few flooded tunnels, and getting Jaina through them was unpleasant, and they had just hit the 3rd they had encountered.

Lancer started to trod through it, it looked rather deep however.

"We, have a problem. This is deep water"

Lancer was not far into it, and it was up to his waist.

"Jaina, you may need to swim, this is the only way I am aware of to reach our destination"

"Fuck" she muttered under her breath, Jim walked into the water and came to the same conclusion, swimming was the only way.

Jaina then said "Well, fuck it, if I drown, then atleast someone will get what they want"

She was obviously stressed and not handling it ver well at all, one could tell in her voice, she paused often and was certainly anxious.

Jaina jumped in, and Jim stayed behind her, to keep an eye on her, where she was from, water was not exactly common, well water that one could swim in was not common, so she didn't really have a need to know how to swim, most people never leaving there home worlds.

She was keeping hold of a pipe that flowed along the flooded area of the sewer, and this sewers ceiling was becoming lower as they went along, maybe 2 minutes in, Jaina fumbled a bit as she swum and the pipe came loose and went to the bottom.

She, with great haste, grabbed hold of a bar on the ceiling, and said "Can someone push me over to where the pipe begins again? I broke it"

Jim gently pushed her along and she grabbed where a brace was, keeping the entire pipe from breaking, meaning she could once more follow the pipe.

They continued along, the water was like thing piercing ice on Jaina's soft, pale skin, it shrivelled up, and old wounds started to sting, she hated the cold, but this, this wasn't cold, this was death like.

They reached a point where the water went to the very ceiling, and they stopped.

"Fuck!" Jaina said, panicking, she was tired and struggling already but she knew that tunnel was a deathtrap to someone like her.

"We have to keep going" Jim said, looking at her, her skin was astonishingly pale, like snow, and her scars formed small shadows on her skin, opposite to Lancers torch, her hair was soaked and flowed down, and she was shivering, she looked like she was far colder then her body could actually regulate itself safely, in truth, she was probably slowly freezing to death.

Jaina had a sudden emotional outburst.

"I cant fucking handle this, its so fucking cold, I can't swim properly, and I have to go somewhere even someone who can fucking swim would consider a stupid place to fucking go! I cant fucking do this anymore!"

Lancer shouted at her "THERE IS NO OTHER WAY!"

He slapped her across her cheek, and Jim told him to stop, and Jaina looked even more angry after this incident.

"Jaina" Jim said, he flowed forward, towards her, until he was real close, so much so that only a lover could do it, and said to her "Jaina, listen to me, I , I dont enjoy seeing you like this, alright? I promise, I wont let anything happen to you down there"

Jaina was looking down towards the water, which rose up to her neck.

Jim placed his hands on the sides of Jaina's head, and said "Jaina, I promise, nothing will happen to you, and if something does, I will put you first, rather then myself"

Jaina wanted to smile, but was so cold that she couldn't without pain in her muscles, Jim kissed her, and his lips felt not warmth, but a deep, black, cold, and Jaina received no physical warmth either, she just felt, cold...

Jaina began to continue along with tears in her eyes, she was, doubtful, she would survive.

The three went under, and soon found no way to catch there breath, and soon, there was no turning back, it was dark, and terrifying...

With great urgency, Jaina tapped Jims shoulder many many times, she was out of air...

She was drowning...

Jim and Lancer scrambled, and found no random hole to make use of to give her air, Lancer tore a pipe of the wall, and held it like a spear, and lanced it into the ceiling, breaking it to pieces, the ceiling crumbled, and he was able to rid it off several bricks, and Jim shoved Jaina's head above, into the nearly created air-gap.

She breathed heavily and quickly, grasping for air, which she had full access to in that air pocket created by tearing into the ceiling, though the oxygen amount was limited.

Jim popped his head up "Are you okay?", Jaina responded after some coughing up water "I dont know"

Her hair was wet and flowed down smootly until hitting the water, when it did that it floated.

She looked absolutely freezing, and that she was, indeed, her body was beginning to fail, though she didnt know it yet, the cold was too much, if she stayed much longer she would die of exposure, exposure to the absolute cold, the freezing water.

Ice cold water...

"We must continue" Lancer said, Jim asked Jaina if she was able to handle it, Jaina claimed she would manage, but they both knew that to be a lie.

They dived under, and swam as fast as they could as too quickly get through, Jaina's body bucked under the immense cold, it was not used to it, niether where the others but, they had at-least been through extreme cold before but Jaina, she had grown up in heat, on a world in which it being cold was a cause for immense, undescribable concern.

The water was dark and full of particuletes, the floor, old things all over that floor, dating back perhaps to the year 5844.

Jaina's body was shrivelling up, and she was slwoing down, she ceased to be able to sense the temperature and lost feeling in her limbs, though they still worked.

After some time, Jaina's slowness was reaching was an extent that Jim had to begin pulling her along, eventully they reached a point that the water failed to touch, and climbed out of the freezing menace, Jaina crawled out, and lookd as if she could be dead, her skin, white as near snow, and her eyes looked terrible, she couldnt feel her limbs, and barely felt anything that ws not her head, she knew she was n por shape, and she new everyone else knew.

Jim removed his overcoat, and handed it to Jaina ,instructing her to put it on, what she was wearing at the time, until its no longer so wet and cold, would not help.

She stripped down to bra and underwear, and put on the coat, she found it quite warm.

Jaina thanked Jim, whilst Lancer found some ancient gasoline and created a pile of wood, and poured the gasonline all about it, before lighting it. Once it was lighted Jaina curled up next to Jim, in front of the new blazing fiery inferno, the warmth was refreshing for her, she enjoyed it.

It reminded her of her home, of Tarson...

Jaina tilted her head into Jim, using his shoulder like a pillow, she was tired and fed up, she needed sleep, she needed sunlight, she needed a great many things.

She asked if she could sleep, Lancer said only for a short time, staying in one place would be, inadvisable, as the Empire know they are on Dinadon.

Jaina laid down, gently on her side, curling into a ball in front of the fire, she just wanted to be warm, and she was heating up.

Jim said to her "Sweet dreams, Jainie"

Jaina smiled, saying "Never heard that one before"

She fell asleep with great ease, not letting go of Jim's hand. She was obviously extremely tired, her mind was, haply, for the first moment in some time at ease but, Jim, he didn't know with great certainty.

Jim silently wished her good night, sweet dreams, and gently let go of her hand, her face visually went slightly more pale, but not by much, not by much in the slightest, barely enough for one with good vision to see.

He wished to laud the achievement of her swimming to where she now was, even if she struggled so much so at the task.

Jaina's face however, looked as if under a malison, her face white, it looked as if she was having a horrid nightmare, of some deep abhorrence, Jim hated to see her like that, he wanted to awake her, but he chose against it.

Jim and Lancer discussed the finer points of the plan to reach the Palace of the Emperor, it was going to be difficult, indeed, it was not yet even the tip of the iceberg.

An iceberg of pain and death, of lies and deceit, of extinction...

Jim looked around the area, it was dank and soggy, old clothes where upon the floor and there was blood too, ancient, dried blood, the cold had preserved it.

The water was black, green, murky, and contradictory, on the shallow upper parts it was green but when you went down with your eyes it became as if shadow tenebrous, unclear, unclean...

Jim hoped it didn't make Jaina sick, if it did, that would be awful, for her and him.

He grabbed a rod and prodded deep, into the icky slimy sludge and, soon a corpse came up, partially decomposed, a pregnent woman, with the baby hanging out somewhat thtough a huge shotgun wound.

Her hands where tied, it looked like she had been executed.

Jim recoiled at the sight, and hoped Jaina wouldn't see it, she, being a she, was a woman, seeing such a sight my be particularly negatively impactful to her mind. Or not, Jim really did not know, he was, indeed, no expert, he only knew Jaina was a woman, women got pregnent, and protection of kids is often high on a woman's mind, in his, rather broad, experience, so it was a sound deduction. even if not necessarily true, it made sense, at bare minimum.

He noticed a name tag. "Alexandra Vovestog"

Sounded like a Russian name.

Jim saw, too, tattooed into the skin, an alphanumerical sequence, "G6U88K".

Jim tried to make the body sink but it just didn't do so, it was not sinking!

The horrible rotten mess remained afloat despite all nudging.

Jim chose to leave *it* be.

-It-.

After maybe four hours Jaina awoke from another nightmare, Jaina always described what seemed to be the future, but, with a different past.

She told Jim that, apparently, in her dreams realities past, Spire had been killed by Jim, Cassie had gained control of Enterio, and everything went progressively worse from there, oh, and Jaina apparently remained dead.

Jaina saw the body of it, her, it. She fell onto Jim, looking, unnaturally pale, and said "Jim, I want to go"

Her head was in his chest and, it was actually quite warm for a short time before the coldness of Dinadon regained control over her.

"We'll go, we have to keep moving anyway"

The three, Jim, Jaina and Lancer set of downwards deeper into the halls, Jaina disliked the wtness but she continued.

Jaina was struggling,

## Next

Imperial Gaurd

Krakorhin Chamber

Require suit (Current rather then outdated)

Battle With Wammy

Wammys death

Hideaway

Rest

ENDING:

Terran Federation is reformed over some months

Jaina asks for the location of Cassie's body

Jim says he is unsure, he buried her on Sephrazorah

Jaina gets people looking for her body, wanting her buried on Samoor, like what she had said to Jaina

Empty grave is dug in advance

Jaina visits it, with Jim

"your where the best friend I ever had" "I never got to say goodbye" "I know you can't hear me"

**Science Fiction Stories**:

**Cosmic Horror Stories**:

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<tabber> |-|Novels & Novella=

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Shown in Recomended Reading Order (Not necesarilly chronological)
**The New Order (Series)**:
*Until The End of Man*
**The Nileth War**: