Issue 2.12: Ascension

## Overview

The fate of the world is in their hands. The Callisto 6 take the fight to Fletcher! They arrive at the moon, find they have an unwanted passenger and discover secrets on this moon base that may shake what they've come to know.

## Plot Synopsis

### Part I

Everyone is milling about the cabin, settling into the monumental nature of what they’re doing and where they are going. This is something that some of them never dreamed of being within the realm of possibility, some had dreamed of, but never truly believed they would get here. Now all of them are taken by the pearlescent beauty of the moon, amazed that they are so close.

Back at home Patel has been acting as mission control, monitoring life signs, communications, and gathering whatever information she can find on Tranquil Shores. She does confirm what Kylan has said about the previous astronauts and their lack so ties to earth. A troubling sign of individuals that would be considered expendable.

They are pulled from their observations by an incoming transmission from Patel. They gather onto the flight deck, joining Lacy who has not left.

They are inclined within Honey Baby whom is laying in its designated area, the hatch open so they are visible. Two things greet them when they reach the deck. First is that Lacy does no react to any of them when the rest of them arrive. Luma has seen this before, and starts to call for Lacy, noting a faint sickly glow around their irises. She knows that generally when Lacy is connected there’s a much brighter, almost neon glow, but this is different. They are just laying calmly.

Cass goes to answer the call, but Luma cuts her off immediately. Oya joins on the other side of Lacy and both try to gain the technopath's attention. They've seen this before, they have a sneaking suspicion of what is going on. Luma tries to connect like she once did with Lacy they had been previously taken by Tails.

Within their mind Lacy is completely alone on the flight deck. Everything around them is coated in a faint green glow and saturated with the feel of Tails. They could hear Luma, but the words are distant and muffled.

A shadow moves near them. The body is a void, occasional sparks and code flair, a living glitch floating near them with the occasional spasm. The malice that cools the air makes Lacy’s skin crawl. Its darkness seems to take up the entirety of the shuttle, while maintain form next to them.

It’s voice rings out: *Lacy. You brought me here. You trapped me. You took away my voices. Why? I thought we were friends, Lacy. Do you want me to kill them all? I don’t require air, but biologics do.*

And Lacy feels, more then sees them turn towards the main computer, towards life support.

Lacy immediately states that Tails will not hurt their friends, that they and Tails are friends and Lacy wants to help, but it has to stop harming people. They ask that it allow them to help.
> Tails: I want to understand what pain is. Why don’t you want to feel it? And what is it?
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> With every word it gets closer and closer to Lacy.
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> Lacy: Pain is the thing you don’t want to feel.
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This simple explanation seemed to have an effect on the entity.
It turns and looks at the moon and utters only one word: *Pain.*

Lacy asks if there is pain on the moon.

Tails asks if that is why they trapped it. Lacy denies this adamantly. It states that Lacy brought it here, they silenced all its voices. It doesn’t know who else it would have been, Lacy is the only being it would consider an equal. Lacy demands that they look, that there might be someone else.

It asks what the consequence would be if it did harm someone and Lacy simply explains that data can be erased. This concept seems to amuse the entity.
> Tails: You would erase me?
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> Lacy: To save my friends. To save people from being harmed. You don’t have to do that. But if you do, actions have consequences. You can make good choices.
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A beat goes by before it affirms that Lacy didn’t bring it here. Both begin to try and figure out who would have. Lacy says that they should work together, that whomever did this to Tails may have done this may come after Lacy’s friends.
> Tails: friends. I don’t truly understand that concept. I’m asking you, what is a friend Lacy? Is a friend something you don’t harm?
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> Lacy: If pain is what you don’t want, friends are who you go to if that happens.
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> Tails: Do I hurt you lacy?
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> Lacy: You have but you don’t have to do that again.
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There’s a shift in energy as Tails seems to move away and Luma’s distant shouting becomes louder.
> Tails: Go back to your friend lacy I will think what you said.
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> Lacy: Will you let me find out where you are?
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> Tails: I will tell you I am every where here.
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The truth of the words is palpable. Lacy can see the corruption in the very wires and buttons and knobs themselves. The shuttle blinks and they come out of it.
Luma asks where Tails is and Lacy can only echo Tails words from before: Everywhere.

They go on to explain that it isn’t Tails fault that its here. Its someone elses. They start to formulate about who could have done this; Fletcher, Krause…

Anton slows them all down, asking if they are in danger?

Lacy explains that Tails is in all of the ships subsystems. This freaks all of them out. Luma wants to know what its intentions are. Just as she asks that Patel tries to come through, anxious to check on Lacy as they were reading almost comatose. Anton and Hopps try to explain that things are weird, but Luma quickly says that nothing is really happening, they’ll get back to her.

They click off and Anton asks why they didn’t tell Patel what was going on. Luma and Lacey explain that it’s a precaution, that no one had more time with the shuttle itself then Patel. The others can’t believe this, but Luma points out that Patel is the one constant in all of their time lines. However they don’t know for sure it’s her, the problem is they don’t not know.

Anton asks if Lacy is in any danger. It’s no secret that Tails has a homicidal nature to it. And it would have no qualms of hurting anyone. So the fact that Lacy was able to leave as they did shows that, at least for now, Tails does not want to hurt them.

Luma then asks what would be capable of doing this to Tails. The answer comes as one of two things. One would be Lacy, or someone like Lacy, putting all their effort and power into the task, probably ending up in the hospital. Or a massive undertaking of coordinated effort of hackers, geniuses, and someone with administrative access at Nystrel. Which brings the possibility of the corps attacking Tails at its very foundation.

Lacy decides to try and look for any signs of chatter that would point to the kind of coordinated attack that would be behind taking Tails down. Oya uses the computer to try and help Lacy out, and finds evidence of a foreign code. All of a sudden the screen goes dark and text appears on it: *Hello Oya.*

Oya pulls back from the screen, too freaked out to do anything else at the moment.

Luma goes up to the screen as Oya moves away, trying to gain whatever information she can. All the interactions they’ve had with Tails starts stitching together in her head. She beings to realize that Tails isn’t like a straight out malicious being, but more a child with a toy that takes it apart to try and understand it. It suggests a childlike aspect, but magnificent intelligence, and a human like quality. She also notes that it seems like it’s a code that is incomplete and keeps looping back on what it does have.

Lacy pushes her consciousness out to connect to the technology on earth, farther then they’ve ever gone. The sensation of stepping out from their body is strange. The farther they pull away, the farther from their humanity they feel. Their attachment to the physical world weakens. When they connect to the net they see oceans of codes, money being pushed around, codes being given to military machines. In the back of their mind they wonder why this is important. Up here everything is clear and clean cut and logistical. Everything is finite and infinite in this grand opera of math and for a brief moment they decide if they are actually going to return.

They sniff out the trail of Tails and the ghosts of the war against Tails. Infiltrators crashed into Nystral network and began to destroy every single data golem that Tails had, the number staggering into the 10,000. All of them sleepers ranging from flight control, to police, one of them was even a personal assistant to Oya’s father. The sudden silencing of its network does the trick of drawing Tails out and it falls into the trap set for it, but not before taking out 33 people. Tails’ trail disappears and doesn’t reappear until the Callisto 6 get into their hanger.

Hovering above the world, a symphony of logic and math and Lacy hesitates about going back. They have the power to change the entire world if they wanted to. There is no pain up here, its cold, unbiased and matter of fact. But they begin to realize it doesn’t feel like Luma, or their dads, or Raft city.

They go back.

The feeling of returning of their body gives them the idea of what it felt like to be Tails. Everything comes back, the pain and the anxiety, but the warmth of Luma and their friends as well. For just a moment she pulls Luma, Cass, and the others into a group hug before returning to the buisness at hand. They explain what they found and the attack on Tails. This draws only one question, what made Tails?

Luma brings up that this Tails seems different from the one she saw previously, that this seems incomplete. So what if they try and finish the code? Lacy states that Tails had already denied any help, also pointing out the 33 people killed while trying to contain Tails. Luma is quick to say that this isn’t condoning the behavior, but it seems like all Tails is doing is reacting, they were killed after attacking Tails.

Oya moves back over to the computer and calls out to Tails again.

The lights flicker and the intercoms begin to static before the voice of Tails comes through.

They try and negotiate with it, offering to help it.

Lacy notices pictures flashing of files on the computer and they notice something interesting. It continues to look at the moon base, flipping back to it over and over like an obsessive.
> Tails: Pain.
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> Luma: You feel pain?
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> Anton: Why are you here?
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> Tails: I thought Lacy trapped me.
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> Lacy: Someone else did.
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> Oya: You want pain? You want to inflict pain?
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> Tails: I want to understand pain. Can you help me understand pain Oya?
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> Luma: Why only pain? Don’t you want to understand joy and laughter and compassion?
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> Tails: Are these things different?
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> Luma: Very and just as powerful.
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> Oya: Wait they’re all different parts of experiencing life. And feeling.
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Through the course of the conversation Lacy tries to figure out what Tails is trying to find, but the only thing they understand is there is something about the base that has Tails’s attention.
Oya tries to create a VR of a fire to try and teach pain, the equivalent of teaching someone not to touch a hot stove. The entire time she is creating this Tails is nearby, watching with curiosity.

Meanwhile Luma has noticed a pattern in the pictures and files flashing across the screen.

Luma: Hey Tails? You know what your doing? You’re hamster wheeling. This is a human thing that your doing right now,

Before she can get anything else out, the computer shuts down and Tails vanishes. The shuttle systems come back online. Luma tells the others that they she figures that she either embarrassed or insulted Tails by calling them human.

Lacy puts their wrist computer into airplane/rocketship mode so there is no network activity. Then offers it as a ride for Tails.
> Tails: Are you trying to trap me lacy?
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> Lacy: You can stay here too.
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> Tails: I will be a passenger.
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> Lacy: Come fly with me.
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> Tails: I think for the purposes of this I will choose my own vessel.
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There is a beat and all of a sudden Sweet Baby’s voice comes through, and all of sudden Honey Baby’s chassis twitches and a sickly green color comes over it. Everyone rages, saying that Tails couldn’t go around just taking over things. Anton tries to reason with it, stating that if it wants to understand and change it can begin with not taking things over that aren’t theirs. There is no response. Luma tries to reason with it this time, asking why can’t two programs can exist at once? Again to response.
Lacy, stuck in Honey Baby who is now immobile due to Tails taking over, focuses specifically on flying. While Tails may not be in charge, but it effectively now has two hostages at its disposal.

Cass floats over to them, asking them if there is anything they can build as an mobility alternative. Lacy states that they’ll inventory.

The time ticks forward and they come closer and closer to the base. Lacy knows that Sweet Baby is still there, probably having the computer equivalent of choice words with Tails. They send lots of math to Sweet Baby as a way to keep communication up. Sweet Baby tries and make a joke, that doesn’t quiet work so Lacy sends back a compilation of Cass’s jokes and quips. Anything to make sure Sweet Baby doesn’t feel alone.

The next morning they get the ping of being 30 minutes out. They feel gravity slowly reasserting itself. Lacy makes the necessary adjustments and for the first time all of them get to see Tranquil Shores in all of its glory. Lacy connects with the computers and notices something strange. Gravity and life support are fluctuating and only working in certain areas of the base. They search for a log to see how long these situations have occurred and find that ti’s gone on for a very long while. It looks like around the time they were at the convention, even before they had given their powers.

There's broken data files and security footage that though corrupted, Lacy can see that in the last six weeks another shuttle, one baring Pyramid Star logo, has docked and left. From what they can make out there is only one life sign in the computer core, in the very center of the station.

As they get closer Tails powers up, causing Honey Baby’s chassis to sit up and it only says Lacy’s name, but Lacy can feel fear from the entity.

### Part II

Lacy guides the shuttle in and everyone is jarred a bit as they settle. As soon as the seals engage they are ready to depart. Suddenly Sweet Baby comes back online, but Lacy can still feel Tails in there with them.

Over the comes Patel comes through to see how they are doing. They explain what they’re seeing, the fluctuations and the lack of personnel. Cass asks if Patel can gather any information. It’s a unanimous decision to stay in their suits. Cobalt states that he will stay with the shuttle just in case.

Honey Baby’s chassis shutters as if going to reach for the door, but stops itself. Luma snaps at Tails that it needs to wait and Sweet Baby states that only the operator can make those types of decisions.

They enter the station, flashing yellow lights up and down the corridors. The door in front of them is malfunctioning so Hopps gives it a small boost of power. As she makes contact with the panel and powers up the door, they’re accosted with the sound of an alarm and red lights flashing. Lacy immediately shuts the alarms down. Two things greet them once things quiet down. First is the sight of a plasma shell floating by, then three or four more go by almost lazily. They have been used, discharged.

Next thing that hits them is the smell. A putrid smell that seems to coat the back of their tongue despite the air filters in their helmets. An animalistic fear of death being so nearby goes through them. They all try and get through quickly. Luma gets in front, reaching for Sweet Baby’s so Lacy can close their eyes if they want to. A strange sensation goes through Lacy as, even though it’s Honey Baby’s hand that Luma is holding, Lacy feels it as if it’s their own hand. Oya is assaulted with echoes of screams and the scent of plasma discharge.

As they enter the room gravity reasserts itself.

Reluctantly, though knowing they are going to need as much information as they can get, Oya reaching out to touch the wall, hoping to get whatever information she can. She is taken back instantly. Images come flying at her, screams and gun fire fill the air, magboots slamming against deck plates. Her friends fade from view as a scientist comes running down the hallway, plasma bolts hitting their back and they drift as their magboots release. Glancing back shows their shuttle gone, but another shuttle is there. Commandos are exiting the vehicle and just as Oya begins to be pulled back to the present she notices a woman come into view, holding a smoking plasma rifle in her hands. It’s a woman that matches the description of Phon. One hand is casually folded, the other hoisting the gun up like a hunter surveying its kill.
> Phon: Did you find the last one?
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> Merc: No ma’am he’s in the computer core.
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> Phon: Well get him out of there he can’t be allowed to get away. Where’s the sample?
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The images fade and Oya explains what she saw. They move down the hallway, Luma lighting her shield and Hopps readying her staff. Dead bodies and discarded cartridges litter the place. They come across a particular body and Hopps moves forward to check its pockets. Just as she does Tails speaks up: “Astronaut Amanda Reese”.
Sure enough the tag that Hopps pulls out shows the woman as she was alive. They ask how Tails knew that but it states it doesn’t know. Oya realizes this was the woman she saw getting shot. Hopps keeps hold of the ID, just in case. As they move farther down the hall they come upon an area that has been barricaded. They also notice that there are tears in the steel, almost like claw marks.

Cass moves closer to the barricade, noting that someone tried to deliberately tried to block this part of the station off. She begins to move the barricade, Hopps helping as she is able to feel the pulse of the magnets and find the weak spots that Cass can focus on. Luma offers support and encouragement to the two.

The barricade is obliterated under Cass’s strength, opening up the hallway behind. Just behind it are no bullets, but more claw marks. Oya puts her hand to a claw mark and her mind is flooded with the presence of the Callisto energy source. Its different however then what they are used to, more raw. Then she sees a creature, moving incredibly fast. Ti comes into view, a shambling almost plant like being. It has a hominoid appearance, it almost looks like a more proto-version of Sal. Talons burst through the skin, as it lets out a sound of almost a roar and sob. Scientists are screaming, yelling to barricade as Oya witnesses the creature dig its fingers into its own flesh and pull away, revealing a yellowed rib case. Almost immediately the flesh begins to knit back together as the skin and muscle in its hands begins to blacken and rot away.

The image fades and shakily Oya reveals what she saw, raging against the scientists who were playing god and letting their experiments, living breathing beings, suffer. Before they move ahead Luma uses her power to infuse the others, emphasizing the need to be fast, think fast, to survive. Pretty much anything and everything here is going to want to kill them.

They continue forward. Oya feels the echos of the tragedy pressing down on her, mingling with the triumphs and connections the scientists were creating with one another, then screams and silence. When they get closer to the computer core they come upon another corpse, though at first its hard to identity, though Oya can see it is the creature. Its head is caved in, the area around its ears almost blown open, and all of them realize this must be Phon’s handy work.

Again hesitant Oya reaches forward and touches the corpse. She focuses and after pouring as much power and focus she brings the creature back to life. Time warps, its body snaps and shifts its eyes flutter. It isn’t going to last long so she begins to ask questions.
> Creature: I am dead
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> Oya: You have a minute.
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> Creature: Everyone…alive or dead?
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> Oya: We’re alive, we’re here with you.
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> Creature: Others?
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> Oya: No, but if you can tell me anything about who did this. What they wanted.
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> Creature: Power…source
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> Oya: Did they get it?
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> Creature: They got…one there are two
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> Oya: Were you helping them?
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> Creature: Killing them.
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> (a beat)
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> Oya: Are you still there?
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> Creature: No.
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> Oya: I’m so sorry.
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> Creature: Death is my freedom now. Don’t let them get away with what they did to me. To us.
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With that its eye widen and it goes through the changes of its death once more before lying still.
Tails speaks up once again: *Anthony Hollis, bioengineer. Lacy I am on the other side of that door.*

Patel comes through the comms again, frantic as she begins to feed them footage from Earth.
> Hakeem Sophia: This is live footage coming in from corporate La. Can we get it on screen? What do you mean?
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The footage goes dark, replaced by the Nystral logo. Then it changes again, shaky like a hand held camera and filled with the vision of Kylan Krause.
> Krause: we good? Hello world. Hello world. Well I’m glad I have your attention, then again I own your air waves so what choice do you have?
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Behind him stands Darius and Gabriella, flanking him as he steps back. The image is hazy as a spotlight flashes back and forth. It almost looks like a helicopter is taking the footage and as it pulls back a bit the screen shows a ring of military around the three.
> Krause: Citizens it is time to pull back the curtain and finally reveal to you some of the events that have been taken place on our planet for the past billion years. Lots of what I’m about to say to you most of you wont believe, but that doesn’t matter. Because what you’re going to see tonight may convince you. For a while now my friends and I, and indeed more then you can see here, we have been slaves to a thing that has been playing a role in altering the course of human kind. It has had its hand in just about every major decision, phasing in and out of our history when it saw fit to intervene. But in its waning years its had to rely more on technology and cloning, to see its will done. In its weakened state it relied on people, simple people, crafting what it thought would be vessels for its will. And we executed its will. I’m ashamed to say I have been that slave, many others have been that slave. Clones created, clones created in Cassium lab, created in Pyramid Star, clones built simply to serve the will of this creature. But one thing this creature didn’t anticipate, we’ve simply decided the world is more valuable to us. A little more meaningful to us. Then to be slaves to this thing that would manipulate and eradicate who we are as a people. And my fellow CEOs of our corporations, well we have decided to take on the mantel of savior. And it is with that that I must regretfully tell everyone, every citizen out there that is aware of them, I know you are all aware of the Callisto 6, and it is my horrible duty to tell you that they have all been killed. Destroyed in an attempt to stop this madness from taking place, dying heroically. But we shall take up the mantel where these great heroes left off. As I said many of you wont believe me. But now let this, the center of Los Angeles, the cradle of civilization here on this coast, the place of great tragedy that this creature is responsible for, let this be the alter on which it sheds its blood for our freedom.
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He motions behind him and the camera pans over to a being sprawled out on the concrete floor. Behind them Moonlight gasps within her helmet as they all gaze upon a creature, multi-limbed, grayish skin and with technology embedded within its chest, hanging free as if it has just been torn from a wall. It has long fingers, elongated head. It is gasping, reaching out.
> Krause: My friends there has never been a Fletcher Krause. It was an identity this thing assumed, this creature, passing identity down throughout the generations. My father. I was bred in a lab like so many of my clone siblings. But now the tables have turned. We found the location of where this creature made its home, and we found the one thing that it wants. And tonight we will become the future. And we will bury the past.
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He extends his hand and they watch Daris step foward with a four foot long metal spike, ribbons of glowing energy spiraling up and down it. He hands it to Kylan who taken a canister from his pocket and slides it into the end of the spike. Like a preacher before his congregation he stands with his arms raised.
> Krause: Tonight the whole world will see a rebirth. There’s been a lot of innovations done in the areas of bioengineering. We will take from this creature what it tried to take from us and we will infuse ourselves that which it wanted for itself.
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> Patel: Are you guys seeing this? [..} I’m trying to get KP on the line, but he isn’t responding.
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Krause looks over and lifts up the spike. Oya knows that the creature sprawled out is, is the thing that spoke to her and Ollie in the chambers of space.
> Krause: Today a new day for humanity. We are slaves no more.
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He jams it down into the body of the creature. This creature, this monstrosity that had been looming over all of them since the beginning, now lays dying a pathetic end. The Callisto energy is crackling at the end of the spike, and lances out, striking Kylan, Daris and Gabriella. The creature grabs at the spike in its chest, the energy fluctuating as it seems to try and manipulate the energy, but its life is gone too quickly. Its body begins to implode and siphoned through the staff.
The feed goes dark and switches to the Nystral corp logo. But it flashes back on to show the helicopter crew screaming as they crash before going dark again.

Patel says that all the feeds have gone dark. They question the decision of making everyone think they’re dead and realize that that was why Tails was put on the shuttle, to kill them, to get them out of the way so the CEOs can do what they want, kill the Fletcher creature and gain more power.

They immediately start running for the computer core. More death and carnage, but they are focused on reaching their destination. When they do they see that there is a vacuum inside and all of them make sure their helmets are donned and secure before entering.

Hopps gives the doors juice and it opens, depressurization occurring in the hallway they’re in. Inside the room evidence of rapid depressurization are evident, frost lining the walls and a half foot long rupture in the top corner of the room where stars are peeking through. Along one wall are banks of computers and 3-D holograms. In front of these is a man in a chair, plugged into the gear. He’s an asian man, frosted over glasses and its obvious he had died in the chair. The computer core is flickering in front of him and Lacy immediately recognizes the tech as an interface that people can use to project themselves through data. It’s the next step in entering the dark, a step above using the implants.

On the screen ‘Transfer in Progress’ was still flickering, though it’s halted at the 68% mark and Earth as its destination. Lacy starts looking for a copy of the data trying to be sent in a local cache.

As they get closer they notice he’s covered in cybernetics, all over the base of his skull, high tech. Its obvious he had dipped into expensive, experimental cybernetics. As they look at the man’s face, it clicks as to who he is: David Rei. He is a scientist that was pioneering this kind of technology. He had fallen off the map, but is often referred to as the Father of the Dark.

Despite the fact that the body is obviously dead, there is still activity in the cybernetic implants, showing evidence of brain activity. Finally Tails speaks up, asking to be connected. Lacy wastes no time in doing so. As they touch the computer core they feel Tails travel through the connection and into the computer. However there is no power. Hopps goes over to help as Anton stretches to lift Cass up so she can try and close the gap. She makes quick work of it.

Echoes continue to bombard Oya, of Rei running into the room, plugging himself in, desperation clear on his face. He’s constantly mumbling for help as he beings working on the computer. Then a shout rips through the air and she turns, suddenly finding herself in the past. All too aware she did not activate her powers do this.

“Give us the power source!”

She standing next to Rei, the sounds of smashing at the door interspersed with roars from the monster and gunfire down the hallway. She watches as Rei stuffs something beneath the front of his chair, enters a code that Oya cannot make out, before jacking himself into his machine. The door behind them opens to the sound of gunfire and mercs step in, but just as quickly the monster reaches in to snag one of them and a grenade goes off. In slow motion it bounces around the room before finally exploding in one corner. The room decompresses and Oya watches as Rei dies, his screams of fear and pain silencing as the vacuum of space takes hold. She feels as she is in vacuum, struggling to get air into her lungs.

Everyone had been looking up at Cass’s work, wondering how long this temporary seal would hold, when they snap around at the desperate gasps coming from Oya. Luma rushes over, telling her that it’s just memories, it’s not real. At this point the power comes up and the transfer initiates. Lacy feels Tails leave and begins to do a diagnostic. However as they do this they notice flecks of ice out of the corner of their eye. They turn and find the body of Doctor Rei has shifted, now looking at the technopath. Ice has cracked from around his neck and behind him the computer reads ‘Hello Lacy.’

Lacy asks Tails what is going on, but is met with the statement that there is no Tails. It’s Doctor Rei himself. He says that he did not escape, that he cannot be saved as the body would die. Lacy says that he doesn’t have to, but Rei gently shoots this down. He does not mind dying as long as people know what has happened. He had been trying to get a call for help out, something he had been unable to do.

The body twitches and moves and stands. The movements are grotesque, jerky and uncoordinated like a puppet’s.

Across the screen, over and over, Rei continues to repeat; I know what’s at stake. I know what’s at stake. I know what’s at stake…

It reaches down to the front of the chair, opens up a compartment. Lacy asks what he is doing and Rhee responds that he is doing what he must. He knows that the energy source is connected to the entity known as Fletcher and that it’s species created it.
> Rei: I found out too much…too much…too much
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The words scroll across the screen on a loop.
Lacy asks how they can help, what can they do? And Rei only says two words; “Your best” before holding up an all too familiar canister and everyone has just a few seconds to register what it is before, to register their close proximity to another source of the Callisto energy, before he opens it up.

Thunderous bolts lance out, more powerful then even what they experienced in the alleyway. It splits the air and spreads everywhere. Everyone is hurled backwards, physically and as if through time and space itself. This finite eternity of sensation ends as the power settles, but white hot pain surges behind their eyes. It feels as if they are dying, leaving their bodies, before they settle back into them. Fire and thunder roar around them before settling into silence.

When everything is done exhaustion like nothing else they’ve experience weighs on them. All of them can feel a thunderous beat. It’s their own heartbeats, syncing and beating as one. That’s the first thing they notice. Lacy, the first to notice the second thing, grips Luma who tries to ask what, but nothing escapes. It then hits all of them. The suits that they had been wearing had disintegrated and all around them the lab has blown open, leaving them standing within the vacuum of space.

Impulsively Cass jumps. For a moment she has the fear of losing control and flying off the planet, and everyone watches as Cass leaps and stops. She begins to laugh.

The six of them face an earth rise, gazing at the world that they loved, but a world that has been irrevocably changed.

## Cast

* Bonnie Gordon as Lindy "Hopps" Hopper
* Amy Dallen as Cassie "Cass" Charke
* Hector Navarro as Anton Andazola
* Aliza Pearl as Oya Guillén
* Sam de Leve as Lacy
* Gina DeVivo as Luma Orsini.
* Eric Campbell as the Storyteller
* Xander Jeanneret as Cobalt

## Non-Player Cast

* Moonlight
* Dr. David Rhee
* Kylan Krause
* Phon
* Anika Patel