[[ So you can't sleep either? ]]

The indigo text appeared on his screens unexpectedly, starling Amazigh out of his anxious reverie. He hadn't realized he'd left his messaging program open and was momentarily aggravated by the intrusion. But when he saw the senders name at the top of message he began choking out a response.

[[ I barely slept ]]

His fingers were soft on the keypad but the noise echoed in the silent room. He turned his gaze away from the computer screen and the clock which flashed 5:12AM, incessantly urging him to try and get some sleep. Of course that time was completely arbitrary, set within the Empyreus main computer hundreds of years ago. There was no true night in space; that was reserved for the blue and green ball which spun lazily beneath them. Of course these days it was looking more green than blue. His eyes found the single window of his small room, a circle 24 inches in diameter and reinforced with six layers of transparent hull. Beyond it was a sea of wispy green clouds and, above them... the pure void of space. Empyreus was very low in its orbit today, skimming across the upper troposphere of the Earth to gather hydrogen particles from the atmosphere, which would be funnelled into the engines and converted into energy to power the station. This happened every four days or so and he often used the closer proximity to try and study the planet beneath them. But even with the most powerful of telescopic lenses there was no penetrating the ichorous green clouds; what lay beneath was still a mystery--

[[ I can't stop thinking about what we have to do today. I'm... terrified ]]

The latest message brought his focus back to the screen in front of him. He leaned back in his chair, hesitating a moment before responding. Even with this informal messaging Su-Dani was his ranking officer and he had to be careful what he said to her. His eyes narrowed, distantly resenting the fact that his lifelong friend was no longer his equal in Hisakata... and the reasons for her promotions made things doubly worse. Shaking off a string of haunting mental images he found his voice via the rows of keys.

[[ I've been waiting for this my whole life. I'm not scared - I'd rather die down there having known some semblance of free will than spend the rest of my life rotting in this tin can ]]

[[ Harsh ]]

The reply came back to him almost instantly - evidently Su was less distracted by her own musings than he was. It was hard to even consider what was about to happen, given that it had been an event almost three hundred years in the making. Just the idea that they might finally get to explore something beyond the station which, though almost fifteen kilometers in diameter, had become exceptionally claustrophibic--

[[ Are you dressed and ready? ]] Her incessant prodding continued.

[[ We don't launch for another four hours ]]

[[ You should get ready, just in case ]]

Amazigh shook his head; commanding officer or no he still had a very hard time seeing Su as his superior. It wasn't that she wasn't capable, or even deserving of the rank... it was just....

[[ Who else is coming on for the initial investigation? ]]

He forced himself to return to the task at hand. He'd been anticipating this day and this mission for almost half his life; Su's personal life should've been a distant secondary by comparison.

[[ Almost all of Hisakata is involved. There's really no reason to keep anyone back - there's never been any sort of threat made against Empyreus in all our recorded history. I think we're splitting into teams though, I'm not sure. Iori won't tell me anything =( ]]

Amazigh grimaced and sighed, the mere mention of Iori's name rattling him. Iori Chiaski was the commander-in-chief for the entirety of Empyreus' armed forces, such as they were. Iori didn't bother him, at least not from a chain-of-command point of view; he was capable, and an excellent leader. In fact, he shouldn't have been troubled by it at all... but try as he might he couldn't escape the fact that his relationship with Su bothered him. It wasn't right for a man in his mid thirties to be involved with a twenty year old. And it wasn't fair that Su received constant promotions, considerations and preferential upgrades to her NEXT just because she chose to sleep with their commander--

[[ I hope we're paired together. I know Iori isn't coming today... he wants to but the council won't let him. ]]

[[ Why not? ]]

[[ They don't feel comfortable risking him on the surface. They see us as expendable - he isn't, apparently ]]

[[ ...fantastic ]]

[[ No shit. You wouldn't believe the grief he's giving me, the jealous bastard =P I have to start getting ready, I'll see you later ]]

Without waiting for a response Su's client profile vanished from his screens, leaving Amazigh alone. He sighed and leaned back in the chair, resting his eyes on the inactive light that was bolted to the ceiling. The white-washed walls of Empyreus had truly been getting to him lately... and it wasn't just claustrophobia either. He had to get out of this place, this void-bound tomb. It'd never truly felt like home to him, even though he'd spent his entire existence inside the tiny orbital nexus. He knew every inch of it, had explored every room and corner. His military access permitted him almost no restrictions and he'd made full use of that. He'd even ventured beyond the walls into deep space... but it was all for naught. His senses were maligned into the subservient boundaries, and even his NEXT Neuromancer knew no true combat experience. Hisakata had spent countless hours training, refining their skills against one another and honing the combat potential of their NEXT frames... but for what? As Su had pointed out, Empyreus had never once faced a true threat in its entire existence. There was the odd civil disturbance, sure, but nothing warranting any real excitement; the NEXTs themselves were little more than expensive showpieces. This was the first time in three hundred years that they would serve a purpose that extended beyond the defense of the colony against non-existant enemies.

His eyes found their way to the gaseous orb that spun slowly just outside his window. There was no telling what lay beneath that mist and murk... but whatever it was....

...it's sure as hell better than here.

"There's no easy way to say this. If your watching this Chase. It means I'm dead."

Chase paused the video, a hand going to his eyes, a single tear leaking out from between his fingers despite his best efforts. He had thought he'd be able to face this now, it had been two weeks since the funeral, and a week again before that since his father had passed away. But watching this video will, hearing his voice, seeing his face, it was too much. He sat there quietly, the monitor the only source of illumination.

He didn't know how long he sat there, but finally he managed to control himself, and determined to finally see this through un-paused the will. He would not let his grief control him. His father would have been ashamed of him.

"There's no need to be sad, we both knew this was going to happen sooner or later." His father advised drawing himself back, running a hand through his gray hair. "According to the doctor I have about six months left, so I hope by now you've gotten over it, I certainly have." Chase just stared, eyes drying. Calm and in command, it was like his father was right here in the room.

"You know I never approved of your choice to follow your...mother's line of work." he continued, hesitating just slightly over the word 'mother'. "But it seems to matter less now, and I guess at this point there's no stopping you."

Chase's blue eyes blinked. When it became obvious he and his two siblings were interested in career's as NEXT pilots his father had grown incredibly distant. He had never been a loving dad, busy with work and leaving the raising of them mostly to the maid. But even the little affection he spared them then dried up as he caught on. His sister had frequently argued with him over it, telling him to stop living in the past. She thought the memory of their mom was the reason behind it all, he wasn't so sure.

"Anyway, I'll keep this short. Sanctuary's been my whole world since I was born Chase, I've never known anything else. Chances are I'm not going to see the colonization happen, but you can." Chase shook his head in denial, red and golden hair glowing unearthly in the half light. "Some might say I'm living through you, but frankly I don't give a crap. I want you to see and experience the earth I never saw." Chase spared a glance to the window of his small apartment, past the blinds he knew was the subterranean cavern which was his world. He wanted to see the world above too, but he would have sacrificed it all to have his father back.

"I pulled some strings and sold off some assets. When I'm gone you'll officially be attached to the Colonization project as a NEXT pilot, a basic unit will be assembled for you, it should be ready by then." his father announced. Chase blinked at that, he did what? His father, who had always hated the NEXT trade, had just bought him one and a promotion to boot?

"You've got everything you need, and I consider my debt to you for being such a horrible father to you squared and then some." his father added resolve filtering in through every word. "If your crying I want you to stop right now and go do something useful, you can't change the past. Make me proud son." and with surprising suddenness the message ended, returning to the flat gray menu, the icon of Sanctuary, a large curved S rotating in the middle.

Chase jumped from the lounge hand outreached as the video stopped, as if trying to stop his father from leaving, but it was too late, he was gone. He collapsed back into the chair, too tired to even think. This was too much, his father dying, the Colonization project, his own NEXT. He wanted to scream, and no one was more surprised than him when he did.

This message was edited by Bale Fire on Jul 08 2009.

The main reason for his assignment to the Empyreus mission was not that he had any particular interest in the planet which was referred to as the homeplanet. In fact his reason was very simple he wanted to leave the space station, to experience something new.

”Mark, you still up?” the female voice awakened him from his thoughts.
”Yes...yes I am Rebecca” he answered tiredly and sighed.
”Don't you need some rest? The group will need your full attention” the woman asked as she came closer to him where he was seated in a armchair.
”Rebecca dear, I think I am old enough to take care of myself” he answered her with a smile which quickly died away as he saw his sisters expression.
”And you want me to believe that? You who only eat crap food, except when you get some from me. You which doesn't clean, and you who oversleep...” They had been though this many times before and Mark knew that she could go on forever if he didn't find a way to slip away from this.
”Actually Rebecca I am starting to feel really tired now, I think I will get some hours sleep and maybe it is best that you go home now.” he broke her off in the middle of a sentence. Mark wasn't very fond of making his sister angry but he couldn't stand her ranting.

Rebecca was quiet for awhile then she said with a dejected smile.
”Okay, you win. If you want to sleep I won't disturb you, but remember young man that it was I who raised you all those years after the death of our parents.” She disappeared into the kitchen and he guessed that she was off to fetch her purse. Without another word she left the apartment, she was a good sister and Mark loved her but he couldn't stand her when she became to over caring. He sighed deeply and stood up from the armchair, after a quick visit to the toilet he felt like he really needed the rest his sister had been asking about. He decided at least one or two hours would be good not any longer because he knew he would oversleep then.

Amazigh fired the tiny pill down the back his throat, simultaneously relishing in the rapid sensations of rapture that enveloped his body and cursing himself for needing it. Getting booster pills was easier than easy when you were a NEXT pilot, the damned things being practically standard issue. And they did indeed enhance performance.

Of course, the addictive nature of said capsules wasn't typically discussed until... later... when the addiction had already set in. His body slumped against one of the glistening white walls of Empyreus, ignored by other denizens roaming the passageways. They knew better than to disturb a uniformed pilot on a day like this. The launch was less than an hour away; he'd already been briefed. He was indeed paired with Su on one of the forward teams. All of the squads would be touching down within a few hundred miles of each other along what had once been the Eastern seaboard of the continental North America. They were arrayed widely enough that their searches wouldn't overlap, but not so far that they couldn't assist one another if necessary.

He fought back the gag reflex that was inherent with the pills, forcing himself to focus. The entire thing was bullshit, pure and uncut. A fleet of NEXTs to explore a dirty old rock? Was this what he'd been waiting for his whole life? He wretched, desperate to avoid vomiting. Even if he couldn't know for certain what was down there, he knew it would never live up to any expectations he might have. It was just dirt and Kojima... nothing more--

"Shit. You just had to boost, didn't you?"

Su-Dani's voice was condescending but not particularly unfriendly; even so he found it accosting, and he pulled himself off the wall with a sneer. "Don't act like you haven't had two already."

"I don't turn into a gagging druggie like you do."

"Shut up Su... just... fuck off." He shook his head, pushing through the cottony haze and moving past her.

"Hey! We're not even down there yet, don't fall apart on me now."

Amazigh turned around, a half dozen brutally cutting remarks at the ready. But when he saw the concern written across her soft features he faltered. Her knuckles were white on her flight helmet, which was tucked under her arm. Slowly he sighed... she was just as nervous as he was. Why wouldn't she be?

Slowly his head turned, his gaze coming to rest on a large viewing window that looked out over the misty expanse of dirt and Kojima, spinning softly some hundred thousand feet beneath them. Their whole lives had been leading up to this. It'd been the constant drive in the back of both of their minds, fueling everything they'd ever done, defining who they both were. And now, with the moment finally so close....

He could just barely feel her arms gripping his shoulders and the vomit erupted from his stomach, spraying out across the pristine white floors of the corridor.....

The orbital bar was situated on a needle like protrusion from the the surface of the Empyreus space station. A large elevator carried patrons to and from the establishment. Light jazz music permeated through the air while Isaac sat quietly behind a pint at the counter, lost in his own thoughts. He quietly took a sip before leaning back in his chair. Although only 19, no one took a second glance at the boy. Drinking age was of little concern, especially now, with preparations being made for the long awaited return to Earth.

Isaac's eyes were fixed on the Hisakata launching platform, visible from the bar windows. Although not an officer of any sort, he still owned a NEXT, and had been invited to accompany the first landing groups to the surface.

"So, what do you think it's going to be like?" asked the bartender.

Isaac took a few moments to dwell on the question before answering. "Well before anything else, I want to stand on actual ground. From there on out, I'll just follow orders best I can."

The barkeep gave him a short glance of jealousy before continuing cleaning the glass in his hands.

"Well send me some pictures, kid. Sure wish I could see what it's like."

Isaac gave him a dry smile and got up from the bar and left for the door. He needed to start getting more sleep. The return to Earth was soon.

Sterile white walls surrounded a stainless steel circular window frame. Set in that window, was a field of stars as vast as the eye could see and below, a blue-green orb. As he was carried closer he pressed his face against the thick glass, staring in awe at the blue planet that floated in the black sea of space before him.

Suddenly, the planet grew larger and larger, filling the window. The image grew blurry then burned away into a bright red-orange glow. It was so bright he couldn't see anything else. There were screams. Warning sirens wailed.



*BEEP BEEP BEEP*



An arm stretched out from the tangle of bed sheets and limbs to swat blindly at the infernal noise that was polluting the silence of the room. Landing a hit on the clock, the arm knocked it from it's position on the bed side table, sending it tumbling to the floor still beeping incessantly.

"Oh for fuck's sake..." came a mumble from under the covers. Nineteen year old Riley Finnegan pulled the sheet from over his head, his shaggy brown hair sticking messily out in every direction. He cast an annoyed pair of brown eyes at the noise maker on the floor and leaned over the side of the bed to try and reach it. Failing that, he grabbed the power cord, pulling it toward him, finally bringing it close enough to turn off. He gave a slight smile as silence returned to the room. He could now go back to bed. That is, until he saw what time it was.

"Oh shit!" the boy cursed, frantically trying to free himself from the rest of the covers wrapped around him like some kind of ludicrous torture device. Just as he managed to free his legs from the tangle of sheets, an arm wrapped itself around his midsection. He grabbed it and threw it off, stumbling out of bed in the nude. He fell to the floor trying to pick his clothes out of the pile before him, barely noticing the disappointed whimper from the other person in the bed.

"Riley, what the hell are you doing?" voiced the other body.

"I'm running late! I was supposed to be up 20 minutes ago!" Riley shouted, trying to pull on his boxer shorts and jeans at the same time, to limited success. "Ow, Christ! Dick does not go there..." he grumbled, adjusting to put things in proper order.

"Late for what?" A blond boy replied, emerging from under the sheets.

"They're assigning us to squads today for the surface exploration." Riley replied, pulling a tight fitting olive-green shirt, displaying an intricate Egyptian hieroglyph, over his head. He stood for a moment, pulling the shirt up to his nose and giving it a sniff. "You got any cologne?"

"Over there on the dresser." the blond replied. "Use the Old Cajun body spray, it works best for situations like this."

"Right, thanks." Riley shot back, grabbing the red can off the dresser and spraying a cloud of the spicy fragrance anywhere he could reach. He put the can back down, rushing to the other side of the bed and falling to the floor. He collected his shoes and socks, shoving his feet into them and tying them as fast as he could. He stood up, moving to the bedroom door and then paused, turning back around.

"I’m sorry about all this. I should have though things through a little more last night."

The blond shook his head, "Don't worry about it. Not the first time I've had people rush out on me. They're usually crying about it being a mistake though." he added with a giggle.

"Well you are too sexy for your own good sometimes." Riley said, moving back to the bed. He gave the blond a soft kiss, "I can come back later tonight if you like." he offered seductively.

The blond smirked, "I'd like that."

"It's a date." Riley replied giving the blond another kiss before pulling away. "But, I have to go."

"Might want to fix your hair and use some mouth wash before you do." the blond suggested.

Riley brought a hand up to his face, breathing into it to test, grimacing at the results. He glanced into the mirror on the dresser, grimacing again. "Right. Thanks." he said, walking briskly into the adjacent bathroom to fix his hair and get gargle some mouthwash. He emerged, heading for the door. "See you later." he waved, sprinting out the door and leaving the blond behind. The boy sighed, falling back into bed.


Nearly falling down the stairs leading to the street from the old apartment building, Riley approached his car which was parked half on the sidewalk, illuminated by one of the many street lights. It was an old muscle car; an antique Chevelle 454 that had seen better days. He'd gotten it for a fair price and quickly realized why when it barely made it home. He thought of it as a learning experience however. The more he fixed it, the better he got at it, eventually starting to tear down and rebuild various bits and pieces. He approached the two tone front end, the car being a mix of frost green and primer brown at the time being, and removed a ticket that was placed under the windshield wiper. He rolled his eyes, not even bothering to read it, knowing what it said already. He stuffed it into his pocket and hurried to the drivers side, unlocking the door and getting in, shoving the key into the ignition and giving it a turn. The engine cranked but, failed to fire. He sighed, pumping the gas pedal and turning it again. With a thundering bang the engine roared to life, startling a few passers-by. Aside from paint he'd have to add mufflers to his list of things to do eventually, he thought to himself, switching on the lights and pulling out into the street. He hit the gas, peeling out and speeding away in a cloud of smoke and exhaust.

The Chevelle growled as it wove through traffic, Riley doing his best to make up for lost time. Traffic was pretty light, being around 10am or so. It was just after the morning rush hour, not that anyone could tell in the never ending darkness. The Sanctuary was buried within the bed rock under the North Atlantic ocean, somewhere off the cost of New England. The entirety of it's six massive caverns was illuminated only by man made light. The only semblance of real sunlight was in the agricultural zone which was more or less off limits to civilians. Most of the cities 50,000 or so inhabitants had to make do with street lights and a few overheads. The lack of light helped keep up the tone of general gloom the entire place had. Most of the residential areas were in disrepair, the walls stained with water from constant leaks and covered in graffiti, the streets cracked and crumbling. The industrial zone to the east was a maze of rusting pipes and dingy buildings. The rich folk lived a bit nicer in the far north cavern along side the agricultural zone and nature preserve. The central cavern was home to the governing body, military, and police force, as well as the only access point to the surface. That's where Riley was head right now as he entered one of the long highway tunnels that connected the caverns.

The Sanctuary had kept up a rather large force of NEXTs; the ancient war machines that helped ravage the surface nearly three-hundred years ago. They'd remained silent, kept in working order only through a rigorous maintenance routine. No one dared fully activate them within the confines of the Sanctuary. They ran on Kojima particles and Kojima is what had made the surface uninhabitable. No one really knew how it had happened anymore but, they certainly weren't going to take a chance on the same thing happening down here. If a threat arose that required a show of force, the Normals or MTs would handle it; not that anything really ever happened down here. Not until recently that is, Riley noted as he drove past a group of protesters on the side of the road.

Riley was part of the proposed surface exploration program. Scientists monitoring surface conditions through sensors in the "Highway to Hell" as it had been nicknamed, noticed a drop in Kojima levels over the last few years. They were rapidly approaching "acceptable" levels for potential repopulation. That opened discussions for breaking out the NEXTs, cracking open the road to the surface and sending out teams to investigate. Naturally, some people didn't like the idea and decided to protest against it, not that it would change the minds of the governing bodies. Some people had taken a more extreme approach, blowing things up and making a big stink. All they did was get themselves killed. Riley often wondered why people thought they could change things when the majority was against them. It made little sense to him.

As it stood, Riley was a good pilot and on his way into the history books as far as he was concerned. This was his chance at something big. This was the adventure of a life time. It went beyond parties, liquor, sex, fast cars, and guns. It was on the next level. It was something that only a select few would be part of, and he was one of them.

Provided he got to the meeting on time that was, he thought, glancing at the clock and cringing.

Mark read his note a second time; the group would land in the former North America then split up to extend the search range. Sounds okay, Mark thought, teamwork was perhaps not his strongest part but it had to do for now, he could at least finally leave the space station. The other pilots were hand picked by the leaders so he didn't have to worry so much about them.

He sighed and leaned against the wall, allowing reality to come back. It was not a welcoming sound though; at the end of the corridor he could hear two people having a discussion. A couple he thought due to the conversation, when it was a man and women. He listen for a while and recognise the voices from the meeting earlier, he frowned.

”They have to discuss now?” he muttered for himself and began to walk towards his Next to make some adjustment.

After a few hours the group had met once again to wish the others good luck and go through the last details, Mark wished the other good luck and entered his Next and went to his entry pod. He felt lucky; he would be the third man who would see the Earth close up. Hopefully they would not have to fight anyone, but why take any chances? The leaders must also have known this, or they wouldn't send Next as a search party, they were the elite of the elite but even them would not last with miles after miles away from reinforcement and a place to refill their ammunition.

One after another they had launched from the space station, and even after all training and exercise Mark was taken by surprise of the sudden pressure as they was heading towards their destination. He tried to stay awake for as long as possible but was finally forced to shut his eyes, however the Next had an automatic wakening system if the pilot would be unconscious.

Mark opened his eyes when he got a light electric shock, trying to stretch his arm he noticed that it was way harder then he was used to. He suddenly realised where he was and was going, he took his control lever and began the preparation to leave the entry pod. He had to stay concentrated unless he wanted to die when he landed, he would fall 12 000 feet at an enormous speed that his mecha never could achieve. His plan was very simply, he would use his boosters to keep him up in the sky allowing him to slowly slow down the speed.

The entry pods door opened and he jumped out of it, the sun now seen for the first time on a planet looked very beautiful however he had other things to think of. His plan wasn't working that well, if he would like to have any boosters to use on the planet he had to come up with another plan and that fast. It suddenly hit him that he had read about a sport that the former population had as a hobby that was quite like what he was doing now, he made some sudden moves with his controls and made the Next fall down like a huge X, that somehow helped him slow down enough to use his boosters.

When he was close enough to the ground he once again made some sudden moves, turning the Next back to its original position. He hit the ground with a huge bang, the stones and land around him flew away hitting trees. He looked around with his Next head, filming everything it saw.

”AC White Glint has landed. Starting the operation” he said over the groups talk-net.

He was falling, no rising, no falling. He was swept from one of the two extremes to the next, rising and falling, freezing and burning, screaming and laughing. It was as if his mind did not know which way to go, and the simple indecision of it all was tearing him apart. He could feel orange cracks growing at the seams of his being with each switch, each second of chaos. And when it all grew to be too much…he shattered.

Chase awoke with a start, panting as if he had a hundred miles on the treadmill, sweat oozing down his body. His skin, practically feverish slowly began to cool as calm took hold. He was in his chair, in his own apartment, in a city he knew very well, there was nothing wrong. He grinned at his own panic, but the smile slipped off his face as he saw the symbol of Sanctuary, the massive floating S still rotating on his big plasma TV screen. His father’s will had not been part of the dream; it was as real as the artificial light which was filtering in through the windows.

He gave a big yawn, trying not to concentrate on the will. That dream was a very accurate summary of how he was feeling right now, a mixture of happiness and sadness, joy and grief. On one hand he was finally going to see the surface, with his very own NEXT no less. On the other hand his father was dead, and would never see his son appreciate either of those things.

He looked at his watch, and saw with a hint of annoyance that it was 6.30am, too late to go back to sleep, but too early to really get up. He planned to just lie back down and have a little more rest, but the never ceasing rotation of the giant S on the screen finally annoyed him enough to get up. Every bone in his body seemed to crack as he rose, and his joints had a dull ache to them, his punishment for sleeping in the chair instead of his bed.

He turned off the screen, sombre as he saw the image fade. He needed to think positive, grieving wasn’t going to help, his father had said that himself in the will. Time healed all wounds, he could examine this whole episode later, what mattered now was getting ready, if that will had been accurate things would get very busy for him very quickly.

He used the bathroom, had a shave and shower, doing each slowly seeing as he had the time, working on the kinks in his bones and muscles as he did each task. He put on a good but casual set of clothes, jeans a black shirt and red jacket to be particular, and packed his old AC combat jumpsuit into a bag he planned to bring along. Being excluded from the higher ups, explicitly the NEXT pilots meant he had no info on what was going to happen over the next few days. The Military and Government were more than happy to preach and praise the efforts to soon retake the world above to the public, but they were being very hush hush about the particulars, keeping as few people in the loop as possible.

Being ready he surveyed the room one more time before he left. The apartment was practical and spacious, though hardly extravagant. It was a mixture of greys, whites and blacks colour wise, but overall it was very empty. He had only moved out of his father’s place two months ago, and with all the stress of his father’s passing he had yet to really lay his mark on the place. He promised himself to change that soon, he needed all the distractions he could get.

He left the apartment, locking the place down tight as he exited. He reached the ground floor via the elevator, and with a nod to the manager at the front desk in the main hall was out on the streets. The level of light was serviceable if not entirely cheerful, some smaller areas, usually those inhabited by the rich and powerful, (well richer than him anyway) had sunlight generators, bulbs which the scientists claimed generated an ultraviolet light extremely similar to that on the surface. Chase had witnessed such technology and found it doubtful. How could anything like that occur naturally?

He walked down the street, seeing with his watch that it almost 8. Some might think it odd that he had no car, but frankly he had never felt the lack. The train and bus system around the city along with an occasional Taxi worked fine for him. He grabbed breakfast and a coffee on the way, eating and drinking as he walked, taking the scenic route. He lived in the central cavern, close to all the major facilities and places associated with his job, there wasn’t much accommodation here which was little more than a box with windows, but he’d found one which wasn’t.

He was standing at the edge of an intersection in the road, waiting for the lights to signal him across when he realised he had an observer. Across the other side of the street, standing parallel to him was Logain, his younger brother, by about an hour anyway, they were triplets after all. Logain, all blond hair and scruffy clothes just stared, watching him silently. Chase gave a small wave, and his brother after several moments of stillness gave a small nod back. The lights gave the signal for him to cross, and as quickly as he had come he was gone, lost among the crowd.

Chase pondered his brother’s reaction as he walked, draining the remainder of his coffee from its cup before crushing and dropping it into a bin he passed. He and his brother had slowly drawn apart as they grew up for reasons Chase had never fully been able to explain or understand. They usually got on okay though, if not great, so what exactly had he done to welcome such a frosty stare? He could have almost sworn he’d seen…hate behind those striking emerald eyes.

Shaking his head he slowly made his way towards the centre of the cavern, where sprawled across the ground for kilometres and kilometres, almost a city in its own right was Central. It had a variety of bureaucratic and official names, but over its many years that nickname had stood the test of the time above all others. It sounded bland and grey, but most would argue that fit the complex well.

He reached the AC pilots gate, just one of over thirty different entrances for the thirty different kinds of personnel which were allowed access into Central. He met the MP’s with a smile, over the last year or so he had been piloting an AC he had grown to recognise a great number of the soldiers assigned to this gate. Today he only recognised one, a brown haired man named Luke, who returned his smiles with one of his own, he wouldn’t call any of them friends, he didn’t have many those, but he occasionally stopped to have a few words with them.

“Hello Chase, may I have your ID?” The lady in the booth to the right called, bringing his attention over to her. Unlike the rest she was a civilian, a compromise between the government and military, they were always arguing about jurisdiction in one area or another.

He handed her his ID, which she processed with the ease which told him she could have done it in her sleep. He stood there patiently, waiting for the confirmation *ping!* to come from the computer.

But it didn’t, in fact a very negative sounding tone reached his ears. He looked up surprised, the woman’s eyebrows and his own raising themselves simultaneously, both so used to the routine of cards being accepted that anything else was a shock. She looked up at him, frowning, and then slowly tried again, thinking she might have made some mistake in her haste. But nothing changed; the same tone came up again, a small red light flashing.

A few more seconds typing, and again came the tone, along with another red light. The woman read something rapidly, and then finally deemed to look up at him. “Sorry Chase, but there must be some kind of mistake, I can’t let you through this door.”

“What? Someone’s screwing with me aren’t they?” he demanded stepping forward angrily. “Who’s given the order? I bet it was Tallanvor; he always bore a grudge against my father, pity he never had the guts to do this when my dad was aliv…” He stopped there, clenching his fist as he regained control of himself. This wasn’t her fault, he shouldn’t be shouting.

“No, you don’t understand!” she exclaimed putting her hands up as if to ward him off “It’s not that there’s any problem with the card, but it says here you’ve been upgraded to a NEXT pilot. You’re supposed to enter here.” she clarified turning the computer around, showing a small local map. He stared, and slapped himself on the forehead; he’d jumped the gun, as usual.

The woman smiled good naturedly, taking his mental apology with good grace. She brushed aside a stray strand of hair covering her eyes and gave him a pass. “Here you go; the machine just spat this out then. Go to the left, you can’t miss the way in, they’ll upgrade your ID there.” He muttered his thanks with a lot of rubbing behind his head, messing up his red and blond hair. Another smile and he left, still berating himself inside for being a idiot.

It didn’t take long to find the entrance, and the lady at the desk had been right, he couldn’t have missed it, in fact his eyes lit up with an inner light just at the sight of it.

This message was edited by Bale Fire on Jul 25 2009.

Hours had come and gone and even if Mark wanted to get away from the space station, this was just to boring. He had hoped to sit on a rock watching the distant and the clouds. Instead he was flying along side a shore where perhaps people for along time ago fought to get a place to sunbathe.

He shut down the OB, and landed slowly on the ground.
”Much better then falling a couple of thousand of meters” he muttered for himself. They had split up after the awkward incident that happened, but he didn't blame Venus Arc they were all hyper some way or another.

He turned his head a bit to the right, expecting to only find trees and more trees. But instead his radar made a sound.

”Team, this is White Glint. Radar is making noise , going to check it out” he quickly said to the group, in case he would get into trouble. Hovering over the beach, his OB activates to its commanders wish taking of only a few seconds later, if there was people on the beach they surely would say it looked like an angel flying in the sky.

”This is more like it” he thought for himself, a little more adventure and he was once again glad he left the boring space station. He looked again at the radar, hoping it would show more answer now than earlier, and just as usual it didn't. He swore not choosing a radar unit in this mission.

He soon landed outside a old and destroyed city, he couldn't see any alive and didn't want to either. He walked towards the city, mild shivers swept through Mark as he thought of what might have happen to the town people.

”Okay people. Nothing to see, just some old house here” he said disappointed, looking around once again And again the radar made some noise, he sighed, would he see more destroyed house this time too? He didn't want that, but he didn't decided the order.
”Some noise again from the radar” he said and sighed, the other must think he was either bored or trying to tease with them. Either way he activated his OB once again and headed towards the new position, leaving the houses behind.

This time it wasn't some old houses, rather something about 350 m long and over 50 m wide ship.
”What the?” he said out loud, waiting for the computer to give him more information. He had landed 100 m away, just in case even the chances was very low that something would happen. The info came fast and Mark got more and more interested about the wreck, an upgraded Nimitz class aircraft carrier. Enough fire power to take down a smaller fleets, was the computers ending message. He looked at the ship wondering what it was doing there, suddenly he jerked. Did he just see something moving on the ship? He began to move towards the ship, keeping an eye on the radar still only one thing on it. No, wait. He stopped and made the radar search closer, and he then saw it was at least 10 moving things on it. Suddenly something hit the ground right to him, his reflexes made him move to the left and more explosions hit the ground where he just stood.

”This is White Glint, I'm under fire from unknown units. Might need backup” he said nervous over the radio. He activated his rail gun, aiming it towards the ship and began to move towards it.

The walk through the NEXT prep area seemed like a dream to Chase, an endless flood of people and tech passing by as he descended deeper and deeper into the labyrinth. The person at the desk had given him his new ID. Chase Tryphon NEXT pilot of Sanctuary. "I work here breathed." unable to believe his own words "This is my life now."

Of course there was lots of stuff to be done. He traded in his old worn combat suit for a shining new one, matte black and complete with his name on it. He had to provide the details for the armaments and parts he wanted for the unit being assembled for him, and paperwork, lots and lots of paperwork. He signed insurance forms, healthcare slips, legal wavers, statures of secrecy and many more, his signature so overused he probably could have written it out blind folded by the end of it. After that an assistant showed him to the lockers, and with a smile left him, informing that he should explore the area before the meeting at 10:30.

Leaving he leaned against his locker heavily, a giddy grin coming to his face involuntarily. He pinched himself, and then when that failed to work gave himself a good slap, blue eyes rolling but not fading into the soft warm blankets of his bed. This was real. Still smiling he turned around, and jumped back in surprise as he found out he was not alone.

"Hello, Chase." Valaith greeted smoothly, a small sensual smile coming to her dark thick lips. Chase stared, unable to believe his eyes. The last time he had seen his big sister had been at the funeral just two weeks past, standing over his father's grave, but the person standing before him was not the sister he had grown up with. Deep brushed back maroon hair now clung to her face in a black mess, covering her left eye. Valaith had always been pale and thin, but now she was even more so. He hardly recognized her.

"Um, hi sis." Chase replied finally recovering after several seconds of awkward silence, ruffling his hair as he failed to meet her eyes, trying to hide the startled expression on his face. Valaith just gave a tiny chuckle, almost unheard, was she enjoying his reaction?

"Congratulations on your promotion to a NEXT pilot." she finally responded, turning away from him, boots clicking on the floor. "I'm sure you won't embarrass me too much out on the field." and with that she talked away, black leather clothes clinging tightly to her bodice. Chase grabbed an eyeful, then caught himself. He was checking out his own sister? Gross. Not that she seemed like the sis he knew and loved.

With a start he realized he had lingered too long, a nearby clock indicating the meeting was just about to start. Shoving the rest of his stuff into the locker he ran into the hallway, glancing left and right, looking for a sign pointing to the briefing room.

This message was edited by Bale Fire on Oct 14 2009.

The missile flew past him as he dodge out of the way with only some inches, as he had done the last 5 minutes. He panted as more missiles and shots were heading towards him, he quickly pushed his boosters to the right so he didn't have to bother about the shots while firing a short burst from his rifles making them explode in their tracks.

He had tried when the battle started to move towards the huge battleship, but it had proved hard when short range gun batteries had started firing. His mecha could withstand that firing, but since he didn't know when they would get repairs or more ammo and had therefore retreated back to where he had started. If some of the other members would arrive it would certainly make things go more smoothly, but none of them had answered his calls and he started to think that he was being jammed.

He groaned for himself as he came to thoughts that they hadn't trained for situations like this, but that didn't really mean a thing to the elite since they had been told to use whatever tactic to succeed with their mission this made him smile. He had always liked to try other ways while the rest took the easy way to the goal.

He chuckled openly over the radio, finally coming up with a working plan. He stopped his AC after the bullets hit the ground he stood for just a few seconds ago, destroying the incoming missiles with some of his own rifle shoots he activated his back weapons. Carefully aiming he fired his Rail gun at the command tower on the large battleship, he then fire one missile hitting the were some short range gun batteries were placed the tower fell down on the deck also destroying some of the enemies who was responsible for the missile firing.

Now there was an opening which he could use, he quickly activated his OB and changed back to his rifles and headed towards the battleship. At his speed the enemy didn't have much time to react and he blast through them and landed on the battleship, smiling he started to take out the remaining enemies while saying to the others.

”This is White Glint to group, I have found and eliminate some of the enemies”