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All I ever wanted was to go into outer space.

It's all I ever wanted ever since I first saw the live broadcast of our first mission into outer space. Those three men, in their bright orange suits, white fishbowl helmets held under their arms, waving one last time before riding the elevator up the platform to the very top of their rocket. I watched as they were strapped in, the pod door was locked and the countdown began. Those were the second-longest ten seconds of my entire life, watching with open mouth as they reached zero and the rocket erupted into life, shaking for a few moments before overcoming gravity, slowly rising, gaining more and more altitude, more and more speed until it vanished into the skies. It was a short mission, they only spent a few hours in orbit, but it was all the proof we needed that it could be done.

After who knows how many years of being stuck on this world, we finally knew we could reclaim the stars.

It was on that day, as they touched back down and were hailed as heroes, that I decided then and there that I would become one of them, that I too would go into outer space. I was only seven at the time, but at that point I knew what I wanted to become when I grew up. I had never deviated from that path, not once. When others of my age were playing with dolls, I was running around with a bucket on my head pretending to float in outer space, or writing letters to my heroes, eager to find out as much as possible about how follow them in their footsteps and to tread where they had before me.

As one of them told me, getting into space would be a tall order, but with the right set of skills, determination and a bit of luck, anything can be achieved. It was with this mindset that I worked hard towards achieving my dream and almost twenty years after I first saw that live broadcast I myself became part of a crew of specialists that was to be sent to into outer space, to inhabit our very first, state of the art orbital station. After I found out I made the final cut, I grinned like an idiot the entire way, riding that high at every press conference, for every photo shoot, I kept grinning. That was until that day of days arrived. For the first time in a long time I was nervous again, as we were being suited up, made to ride the elevator up towards the top of the rocket, where we too were strapped in and had the pod locked tight on us.

The countdown began, those ten simple seconds, but they were the longest in my life, as if every second lasted hours. As the countdown reached zero and the rocket roared into life, we felt ourselves being pressed into our seats, feeling the rocket slowly gaining altitude and speed. Someone was laughing the entire way as we rode that rocket into space towards our new home away from home.

Only later did I find out that it was me.

The first thing I did when we reached the station and had settled in was to strap myself into E.V.A. gear and head out for my first spacewalk, to properly experience zero gravity, to glide through space unfettered and to go where my heroes went before me. It was out there, standing on our space station, looking down on our world, when it happened: that view will always be with me for the rest of my life as a reminder that it was all worth it. Also, it was at that point that I had something of an epiphany, as it was the first time something made me feel not just very humbled, but also very, very small. I always knew that the galaxy was big, but looking down onto your world of birth, seeing it peacefully rotate below you, it made me think and appreciate all life and my profession all the more.

Our mission while onboard the station was simple: to see how long we could last in a zero-gravity environment before we went crazy, an accident happened, or more realistically, our allotted time of half a year in zero-G was up. This was mainly to see how well the human body would cope with prolonged periods in space, as the data gathered there would be useful for the next step of our space program. To give us a further sense of purpose we would run little tests with samples of plants and insect life we brought along, to see how well they would do in a zero gravity environment for prolonged periods of time. While it kept us busy, on top of the usual battery of medical tests and routines, it was anything but exciting. But at the very least we were allowed to take the E.V.A. gear outside and inspect the station, or more often, I'd just float around, anchor myself to the station and spend hours just looking down at home. It was something I would thankfully never grow tired of.

Another bright side was the team I was stuck with for the duration: I got long with more or less most of them, it was a good group and we meshed together well enough. No horrible tension or anything like that, just getting along together as best we could.

It was around the fifth week of our stay, when we had more or less settled into a steady routine and had all gotten fully used to these zero-gravity conditions, when IT happened. That was when things got interestingly weird all of the sudden. We didn't know what it was at the time, mission control was deliberately being extremely vague about it all.

The day started like any other, I did my morning things into a sucking hose, grabbed a pair of bags containing our disgusting breakfast and brackish water, then made my way over to the command module, where we would gather every morning to listen in on what was happening back home and to receive our daily assignments. Our team leader, commander Lowe, was as always, already present. He was a good man, not to mention an experienced astronaut, he had partaken in several missions already and was what one would call a proper veteran. Though he preferred to call himself a seasoned space tourist. I liked being around him, he always had good stories to tell and was full of funny little anecdotes about training or previous trips.

I always came in a bit early, just so we could have some quiet time to ourselves before the rest came in for our daily briefing. Only this morning I found commander Lowe already by the radio, the headset firmly pressed against his head. He looked over his shoulder for a moment, gave me a quick nod, then returned his full attention back to the device.

'I copy,' he said as he signed off, letting go of the headset again. Before I could even ask him what that was all about he kicked himself off the wall towards the small supply locker opposite, pulling out two sets of binoculars, tossing one to me. He told me to join him by the viewport, to keep an eye out for anything out of the ordinary. I have to admit, it felt weird, scanning the reaches of space with binoculars and the good old eyeball mark one, especially when we had powerful telescopes back on the planet and several satellites capable of scanning the outer regions with their radars much more effectively than we ever could.

'Long range scans picked up something on the outer edges of the system, something they couldn't explain. Normally we'd have a probe or two send us back the data but so far, nothing from those aside from a garbled reading that something suddenly appeared there, out of nowhere. So, we're practically blind there for the time being, we're the backup.' He let out a snort. 'Pretty damned silly if you ask me.'

We spent all of the morning and most of the afternoon glued to our binoculars, scanning the darkness of space for something, anything out of the ordinary. He told the others that we had a new experiment to conduct, that they would have to get through the daily battery of tests without us for a change. I found it a bit weird to keep the real intent of this all a secret from the rest of the crew, but I have learned to trust Lowe's judgement.

'Probably nothing,' commander Lowe said with a sigh. 'I'm willing to be they just made something up about an anomaly to keep us on our toes. I remember-' He was about to tell another one of his funny anecdotes when he was interrupted by the loud beeping of the radio. We both shared a look. It was an urgent message from down below, using the priority frequency. He opened the channel, not even bothering with the headset this time round.

'Have you spotted anything yet?'

The way our controller started the conversation, without the usual greeting and questions about the well-being of us and the station immediately made me suspicious.

'Nothing but the usual tapestry of dots. Care to explain what's going on?'

'It.. it doesn't matter! Listen Lowe, we have been prepping the retrieval pod for an immediate extract, we want you and your crew out of there as soon as possible.'

'Why?' Commander Lowe asked.

'We got encrypted scans from one of our long-range probes. It's messy and vague, but it looks like something big is heading this way. It could be a meteor shower or a big one. We are not taking any chances here. You copy?'

'I copy...' I could hear that he wasn't happy about this.

'Expect another transmission with more precise instructions soon, command out.'

So, it was decided that the station would be evacuated, because for all we knew it could really be something dangerous heading our way. The only catch was.. the retrieval pod had place for four and there were six of us, so two of us had to stay behind while the rest went down ahead of them. Commander Lowe, despite his protests, was to be on that pod, no matter what. So, it was decided to draw straws to see who would go back first. I don't know why, but I opted not to partake in this and simply volunteered to go last. Maybe it was because I wanted to make the most of this before it would be denied to my for who knows how long. The other person to stay behind until the next retrieval pod came was sergeant Lars Johansen. Johansen was a military man, perhaps a bit high-strung at times, he clung to the daily routines like it was the only thing he had to go for while out here, that should have been enough of a warning as it was that he was perhaps a bit ill-suited for the mission, he never did seem to settle in quite right and towards the end, he always seemed fatigued and unfocused. Perhaps he found it difficult to sleep in a zero-gravity environment? Or the maybe the so-called impending doom as he called it was too much for him to handle?

We shall never know.

To make matters worse our own retrieval was delayed several times and finally put on hold as the rocket containing our pod exploded in mid-air, delaying our retrieval by weeks as they rushed to get another mission sorted out. When news of the incident reached us it made Johansen even more of a wreck than before. He did pull himself together a bit when decided to I talk to him as if I were a superior officer, not asking him, but ordering him to keep himself together by sticking to this daily routines. I like to think that helped the man cope, though perhaps taking strength from my own lack of fear and boundless optimism may have also helped a bit.

Personally I had taken to sleeping in the command and control module, finding the soft sounds of our devices set up there a soothing background noise, more so than the weird mutters of Johansen. I remember dreaming of eating a lovely cake, which I had never done before, but after several months on disgusting freeze dried rations and fluids so treated with preservatives, one does miss good eating. I was about to take a big bite of it when a device started to beep, loudly. I flailed around for a moment upon hearing the noise, momentarily forgetting that I was floating in space and not falling. It was for me always the waking up that got to me for some reason, no matter how many times I told myself, I always woke up like that, feeling like I was falling. Rubbing my eyes I turned my attention to the offending device.

It was the long range radar and it had picked something up. I muted it.

Odd.

The retrieval pod wasn't due for who knew how long, so what could it be? Clumsily I made my way over to the observation port, staring out into that starry space with bleary eyes. It took me a moment to realize that there was something out there in the distance, not unless stars could blink in and out of existence at regular intervals.

'Oh..'

Not even bothering to get dressed I kicked myself off the wall and floated towards the equipment locker, throwing it open and pulling out a set of binoculars. Back at the window I focused the binoculars and looked at the thing. It was.. was it a ship? It looked nothing like one, or at least nothing like how I imagined a spaceship to look. The size of it was also off-putting. It had to be massive.

Along the spine there were many towers, masts and other crenellations, giving more the idea that this was building somehow thrown into space than a vessel. Along its flanks there were gargantuan gun turrets and batteries, all simply massive in size. A shudder ran down my spine, why would you need all those big guns? My eye was drawn to the prow though, it looked like that of an ocean-going vessel almost. At the top of that massive blue prow was an eagle, wings spread wide.

'Majestic,' I whispered to myself with a smile. There was something about the prow that made me ignore the rest of the ship, it filled me with, hope? Optimism? I wasn't sure then, but there was something about that, it spoke to me.

With a sigh I lowered the binoculars, I would have to report this, though I was pretty sure that they would've seen it down below by now as well. I turned to the radio, activating the emergency channel. As it crackled into life, a series of simple beeps filtered through the headset, followed by a thick static.

'Control,' I started, dismayed to hear that there was nothing but more static in return. Was this a malfunction? Or were we being jammed? Maybe I could work a way around this somehow. As I looked about the command module for an answer I noticed that the radar light was still winking. I tapped the display for a moment, not sure what to make of it. It occurred to me that our radar was short-ranged, that massive thing out there could never have triggered it, unless..

I looked outside again, into the general direction the radar was blaring about. That's when I saw it, their craft, silently flying towards us. It was an ugly thing. Incredibly small, stubby wings, oversized engines, a large bulbous cockpit up front. Simply ugly. I thought I could see someone in the cockpit, which looked awfully fragile with all those windows. Yet, despite lacking good looks it moved with a surprising grace and ease, belying its hideous design, easily coming to a complete stop a few metres away from the station with careful blasts of its thrusters, gently rotating to reveal its rear. This was a ramp, that smoothly opened itself up, several shapes jumping free of its interior, all expertly landing on the outside of our space station. The suits they wore didn't look anywhere near as advanced as our own spacesuits, they didn't even have E.V.A. equipment. I had always imagined alien life to be more advanced than this, not casually jumping out of an ugly small craft wearing these primitive spacesuits that appeared to be made up of simple suits and plates of metal. At least they appeared to be human. Despite it being zero-gravity they moved with the swagger of having lived in space their entire lives. They also stuck to the hull of our station with ease. Interesting, did they have magnetic boots?

It was at this point that Johansen joined me, immediately alarmed by our lack of communications and the discovery of the vessels and the visitors on our station. It was weird, all he could think of was the threat to our station, being the military man he was, while I, while frightened by this sudden event, felt my curiosity more and more take hold of me. 'We should meet them,' I decided. I want to meet them, I added mentally. 'Stay here Lars, I'll go and see what they want from us.'

I know, it sounded weird, but if you were in my place, wouldn't you have done the same?

Johansen however refused to stay put, insisting on coming along. Was this military training finally kicking in, or was it something else? We suited up into our E.V.A. suits, though he insisted we also took along our gyro-pistols, which I had objected to, but he did not want to leave without them, even going so far as threatening me with physical force to give him the keys. It was with great reluctance that I unlocked the munitions locker with the key I had been given by commander Lowe and loaded mine. It felt wrong somehow, to greet these visitors with weapons armed and at the ready. As Johansen geared up I held my own gun in my hands, staring at it. These were bulky guns that fired rocket powered rounds, made for emergencies (what kind though?) and experiments involving the destruction of annoying objects for kicks. I had never thought that we'd use these for anything other than making pew-pew sounds while floating through the station, chasing one another as if we were children. With a sigh I put mine back into the locker, drawing a look from Johansen.

'I'm leaving mine here,' I simply told him. He looked like he wanted to argue, but decided against it. He simply patted his own gun, strapped to his thigh, and gave me a stern nod.

We slowly flew towards them, keeping an eye out at all times. The moment we flew into view I immediately regretted leaving the gun behind, as five of them had in their hands what appeared to be black, bulky rifle of sorts, with large silver muzzles that looked more like thrusters than actual gun barrels. I knew little about weapons, but these appeared to be ill-suited for the firing of projectiles. Taking my eye of the weapon I studied the men's suits. They were all identical: grey suits overlayed with panels of bare metal and bare cables hooked up to their gloves and boots, their helmets were also metal, a slit visor providing them with vision. A curious box-like contraption perched over the left shoulder, seeming to follow the movements of the users head. Sticking out over the right shoulder were a pair of chains, slowly moving on circles, attached to some sort of device on the back. Was this how they kept breathing in space? I turned to look at what I suspected was their leader, who stood apart from them. He wore a more fancy suit, decorated with blue panels lined with what appeared to be gold instead of bare metal. His shoulders had golden epaulettes and his helmet had a golden ridge on top. I stared at him for a few moments more, not quite sure what to make of the outlandish outfit he was wearing. Unlike his men was unarmed, keeping his arms at his side.

No wait..

At his belt he had a holstered pistol and a.. was that a sword? Who would use a sword in this day and age? Perhaps it was a ceremonial item? To go with the rest of the weirdly official, but so out of place uniform he wore.

We halted about ten meters away from the leader, regarding one another for a few seconds, perhaps both unsure of what to do next. I was trained for a lot, but this..

Thankfully, slowly their leader raised his right hand and across our radio frequency a foreign voice speaking a weird language started to speak. I could not make out any of what was said, though he did say "terra" and "sol", which sounded an awful lot like what our legends and ancient history spoke of, that mythical place we hailed from, or so the legends told.

I probably should have pointed out earlier that we aren't exactly sure of our origins. Shocking, isn't it? All we have to fall back on is that there are legends that we came from another world on a massive ship and landed here who knows how many years ago, only to be cut off from our home world by something only known as "the Long Darkness" that also plunged us technologically backwards, forcing us to rediscover everything from scratch. Many hold the believe that we are native to our world and that the legends are nothing more than that: legends. Many had also long believed that we were alone out here.

'Did you hear that?' I gasped. 'Could they be from Terra? I mean-'

Johansen cut me off angrily. 'Terra is nothing but a myth! A bedtime story meant to put children at ease. All lies.'

Leave it to Johansen to be one of those people who didn't believe.

The man opposite us probably listened in on us somehow. He patted his chest and said "TERRA. TERRAN. SOL." Emphasising each word with a pat, though he accompanied the last word with a clenched fist over his heart. This seemed like an odd gesture to me at the time.

'Lies.' Johansen repeated. 'They are lying, Terra is nothing but a myth, a lie for the children. We were created here.'

'How can it be a lie if outsiders know of our myths? Maybe.. Maybe there is truth to this fable after all and we share a common ancestry with these men?' I regarded the leader again. He simply stood there, motionless. Waiting for us to do something. Anything.

'They are liars,' Johansen flat out stated, almost sounding like a petulant child not getting his way. Or.. a man who finds out that something he never believed in may be true after all.

'Liars or not.. This is amazing! Can't you see that we are not alone,' I said with realisation, it all finally sinking in. 'This.. this is monumental.' I raised my dark glare visor to better look at the men opposite us. I noticed the leader turning to regard me, the small device on his left shoulder doing likewise. Was he studying me, like I was him?

Without even thinking it through I slowly nudged myself forward with a gentle thrust, slowly gliding towards the leader.

'WERNER!' Johansen shouted behind me. 'Stay away, they are armed and hostile!'

'Calm down,' I sussed, motioning for him to stay there. 'Nothing is going to happen, I'm sure of it.' Besides, I mentally added, if they wanted to start trouble, they probably would have done so already. No, they were here for a reason and it wasn't to kill us.

As I closed in I got a better look at what the man was wearing. This wasn't so much a space suit, it was a suit of armour worn over the suit itself. I could make out the scratches and dents on the panels, this man had probably seen combat, a lot of it. There was an icon on his chest that struck me as odd: a golden skull with wings sprouting from it. I stopped in front of him, for a moment not sure what to do.

I decided to simply raise my left hand in greeting. 'Uh, hello?'

'Melody,' Johansen hissed over the radio, using my first name for the first time ever. 'Get back here right now, they're up to something.'

The man opposite me repeated the gesture with his right without hesitation, he kept quiet though, keeping his gaze on my face.

'Get. Back. Here. NOW.' Johansen said more sternly.

Ignoring Johansen I pressed my hand against that of the man, our digits touching. I wasn't sure what I was expecting with the gesture, but it felt reassuring somehow. Here I was, actually touching another human being from who knew where. For a brief second I wondered if this would make for a good statue back home.

'Terra?' I asked once more, strangely needing to hear the confirmation again.

'Terra,' the man replied with a stiff nod of his helmeted head, he had shifted his hand slightly, interlocking our fingers. He said something else in his language that I couldn't make out, it was a single word, but it was spoken with a content sigh.

I don't know why, but that answer confirmed for me personally all I needed to know at that stage: we were not alone out here, there were more of us out there. WE ARE NOT ALONE. It made me feel even smaller than before. I could feel tears roll down my cheeks at that revelation. I thought I could hear the man softly laugh as he moved his left hand to my shoulder, I couldn't help but laugh as well. Maybe this wouldn't-

Before I knew it the man was pulling me aside, his right hand letting go of me and going for his belt. Something slammed into me from behind, the impact shoving me into him. Several warnings started to flash inside my helmet: I had lost power of my E.V.A. thrusters and the heating element was damaged as well. Also winking at the edge of my vision was a red light, I gasped as that was the one light you never wanted to see flashing: the integrity of my suit had been compromised, it was venting air. I let out a cry of panic, frantically trying to reach behind my back in an attempt to find the hole, not wanting to die like this. I thought I could also hear Johansen scream over the radio but my own panicked screaming drowned out his. I was grabbed by the man once more, this time by the seals of my neck and expertly thrown aside, where two of his subordinates stood ready, quickly grabbing an arm each and forcing me onto my knees. By the time I looked up I saw Johansen was working his pistol, trying to reload it. He was screaming an incoherent rant about treason, lies and doom. The man advanced on Johansen, his left hand raised in what appeared to be supplication, the other on the hilt of his sword. He was calmly speaking over the radio, I couldn't understand his words, but his voice was steady and yet, commanding. Johansen would have nothing of that and brought his pistol up again, the red aiming laser painting a dot across the faceplate.

'DON'T!' I screamed.

It fell on deaf ears as Johansen fired it at the helmet of the man. In space one couldn't hear a thing, but a panicked mind made for a vivid imagination. The gyro-projectile left the barrel of the pistol with a pop and screamed into life, streaking towards the man's head. It impacted with a clang but did not explode, instead it hit the faceplate at just the right angle and spiralled off into space harmlessly. I could hear the man grunt over the radio and utter something under his breath as he pulled his sword free, the blade of the weapon starting to glow a bright blue. I wanted to close my eyes as the man ran towards Johansen as he reloaded the pistol again, but a morbid curiosity kept me from looking away as the man slashed once, the weapon cutting through the E.V.A. suit and Johansen with frightening ease. His death scream was blissfully cut short and I hoped his demise was instantaneous. The man looked at Johansen's body for a moment as it slowly floated away, bits of torn suit and flecks of viscera floating between them. He stowed his sword again and turned to face me, watching for a moment as I sat there in their grip, my air supply decreasing more and more every second.

'Please..' I pleaded, noticing through tear-blurred eyes that my air supply was below 30% now. 'Please don't let me die like this!'

I was abruptly pulled to my feet and turned around, a few moments later the warning stopped flashing from the edge of my vision. Had they plugged the leak somehow? Before I could even attempt an inspection I was dragged along towards their waiting craft, its hatch silently dropping open, revealing the interior bathed in red light, bare except for a pair of simple benches lining each wall. As I reached the foot of the ramp I was pushed into the shuttle, gliding in and coming to a halt against the bulkhead opposite of the ramp. One of the men quickly followed me in, making me sit on the deck of the shuttle, then looming over me as he secured my bulky backpack to the bulkhead with some sort of restraint.

The leader and the rest of his men then entered and sat down as the hatch slid shut again. After a minute the overheard a red light turned green and one by one they snapped their helmets open and hinged them upwards, revealing human faces. They all looked scruffy, haggard, pallid, some even had horrible scars across their faces, but they were human, one and all. Perhaps most interesting was to me at that time that they all wore padded crash helmets, not much unlike what I was wearing myself. Were they perhaps astronauts as well?

The one closest to me caught my eye and motioned with a gloved hand to his lower face with a waving motion, miming the act of sucking air in and out. With some reluctance I slowly undid the clasps of my own helmet and pulled it off, breathing in stale air. Some of them must have noticed the face I made as I took in that first gasp, they laughed and chatted amongst their selves in their strange tongue as they regarded me, pointing at my suit several times. I tried to listen to them, but all I could hear was static in my ear, were we out of range of the station already? Clumsily I pulled off my crash helmet as well with the massive glove of my EVA suit, so I could better hear them.

I still couldn't understand a word of what they said.

The man closest to me started to talk to me, though it was all gibberish to me. I hung onto his every word though, hoping to catch something familiar. He ended his story with a sigh and a shrug, reaching behind him for something. It was a canteen. He unscrewed the top and offered it to me. I accepted it hesitantly, not sure what to make of it. He gave me an encouraging smile, so I took a sip. Much to my surprise it was fresh water, not the brackish excuse we had on the station. I smiled and gave an approving nod. He said something to his comrades, who chuckled in return. As I made to hand it back I paused for a moment, my eye drawn to the symbol embossed onto the exterior of the canteen.

I wasn't sure what to make of it, it was a winged circle pierced by a spear, a pair of lightning bolts coming from its bottom. The man saw what I was looking at. 'Saturn,' he simply said. Several softly repeated the word, as if it were some sort of mantra. He patted his own chest for emphasis with a gloved finger, drawing my eye to the exact same symbol on his chest. I noticed they all had the symbol across their chests.

'Saturn,' he repeated with pride. He tapped his chest again. 'Solar Auxilia. Veletaris. Saturn.' Several other words followed that I did not know the meaning of.

I struggled to pronounce the foreign words. 'Solar? Auxilia? Vele.. Vel..'

'Veletaris,' he said encouragingly, sweeping his hand across the hold where the rest sat, one of his comrades nodded with a smile. He then made a gun with his gloved hand, his index finger pulling an imaginary trigger. Someone else made a sound that sounded like an explosion, drawing the laughter from the rest. The man opposite of him started to whistle something out of nowhere, the other men tapping an armoured glove against their armoured thighs automatically. It almost sounded like marching. Then they started to hum and sing. I couldn't make heads or tails from any of it, but it probably was a marching song, so they could be singing about past glory or how much they missed the girls back home.

'I guess you really are soldiers then,' I remarked, more to myself than anyone else. So much for an age of enlightenment then without the need for their sort. Perhaps the dangers of space were more than just a faulty suit seal or the biting cold.

I noticed that their leader had not joined in on the singing, he sat all the way by the ramp, his head cocked to one side, intently listening to something, giving a few short words every now and then. He abruptly got up and the singing stopped as well, all men looking at him intently as he made his way over to me with what appeared to be a receiver in his hand. Without a word he handed it to me and sat down at the end again.

I stared at it for a few moments, not sure what to make of it. The man closest to me whistled once, drawing my attention. He made a flapping motion with his hand, miming that I should talk into the device.

'Uh, hello?' I heard nothing on the other end, was this a joke? I looked at the man again and he simply gave an encouraging nod, motioning for me to continue. I wasn't sure what to say. 'I uh, wow. Yes, my uh, name is Melody Werner and I am, uh, an astronaut of Coreldal, that's the name of the world we're orbiting. I'm uh, not sure what just happened, but I guess I have been taken prisoner by these men? Though I'm not sure if that's the right word, as they are very friendly right now, despite killing my fellow astronaut. Why did you have to kill him?' I turned to look at the men now, who were all looking at me. 'Why did you kill Johansen? Why didn't you kill me?'

Suddenly it felt like there were rocks in my gut as it all sank in.

'What are you going to do to me?'

I wasn't all that talkative any more after that. The man nearest tried to encourage me to talk again, but I refused, angrily tossing the receiver away. For a moment I considered donning my helmet again and pulling the glare visor down, but that would be childish. Instead I kept my mouth shut and directed my eyes at my feet. We all spent the rest of the trip in an uneasy silence until at some point my suit suddenly weighed me down. Somehow gravity had asserted itself and the sudden return from zero to proper gravity kept me pinned on the ground, unable to properly move with the bulky E.V.A. suit on.

I could feel the shuttle set down with a thump, the ramp going down in an instant. The men all got up and made their way to the ramp, except for one, who motioned to me to follow him. I tried to get up, but found I couldn't. The suit was simply too heavy to wear under normal gravity conditions. Perhaps getting impatient he stood looming over me, his arms planted in his sides, giving me a questioning look. I tried to rise again, but again found I simply couldn't. Another of them joined in, saying something in his strange language. He too motioned for me to get up.

From by the ramp their leader called out something. The two of them made an understanding "oh" sound, almost as if their leader had shared some hidden insight with them. They both slung their weapons over their shoulder and grabbed an arms each, effortlessly pulling me upright and dragging me out of the shuttle into a..

'Whoa,' was all I could manage as I craned my neck left and right.

It was a hangar bay, it had to be. Massive, noisy, full of activity and it certainly smelled like one as well. I tried to walk on my own, but I stumbled and fell backwards onto my rump. Any shame it may have given me was instantly forgotten as I got a good look around. Overhead hung several fighters, or at least those looked like fighters to me. Looking to the left and right I saw row upon row of the ugly little shuttles, each in the same boring grey as the one that took me in. Swarming over several of them were what appeared to be technicians in coveralls, performing maintenance and other routine checks, assisted by what appeared to be.. robots? They looked awfully human, aside from their massive manipulator arms. Maybe they were made like that for a reason? In the distance I could see bigger ships yet, with massive ramps deployed like gaping jaws of leviathans. These looked big enough to carry entire armies of soldiers.

Looking to my front though, I saw open space looming ahead, my homeworld also hanging there, the only thing keeping us from being sucked out a thin blue sheen of sorts. Despite their primitive looking equipment, they were well beyond us.

'An energy field..?' I ventured quietly, despite knowing nobody could understand me. 'This day keeps getting weirder and weirder still.'

I was snapped out of my reverie by the stamp of boots ringing across the deck as the men who brought me in stood to attention. I looked around and found what appeared to be a small delegation heading my way, led by a woman in a strange uniform. She was their commanding officer then? If the suits of armour worn by the men seemed primitive, the uniform worn by the woman was something from another era altogether. As I swept my gaze over the rest of the delegation, I found that the woman was the least strange of the bunch, as she was flanked by two robed shapes, one in crimson, the other in green. The prior carried a large axe of sorts and what appeared to be a robotic arm sprouting from its back, while the latter was blindfolded and leaned heavily on a staff of its own. There was something about those two that sent a shiver down my spine. With a shudder I focused my attention on the woman again.

She strode up to me with confidence, poise and grace. Polished black leather boots, white riding trousers with a red line running down each leg, a blue uniform jacket with plenty of gold braiding and a red sash. Across her left breast the jacket proudly displayed a two-headed eagle clutching a pair of lightning bolts. With a nod to the men standing to attention she knelt down in front of me, smiling warmly, and extended a hand towards me. Hesitantly I took it with my own oversized E.V.A. glove, not sure what to expect.

'Hello Melody Werner, welcome aboard the Praetorian of Saturn.'

I did not expect that.

I was expecting a Trek/Heresy crossover but wasn't disappointed.

I love 40k tales from an alternative POV and its a nice touch with a relatively modern protagonist remarking on the seeming crudity of the technology she is seeing for the first time.

Really enjoyed this one, and always nice to read a 30k story

Thanks chaps. No crossovers here though.

This is more or less the first part of it all, as the second part and the culture shock takes a bit more time to get around to.

 BrookM wrote:
Thanks chaps. No crossovers here though.

This is more or less the first part of it all, as the second part and the culture shock takes a bit more time to get around to.

Looking forward to it.

Just makes sure to have a lot pewpew at some point

 Trondheim wrote:
Just makes sure to have a lot pewpew at some point

While I do plan on showing off conflict at some point, I'm not sure yet as how to best put it in there, as the protagonist is anything but a warrior herself. But no worries, war is an integral part of Imperial society, even pre-Heresy it was very much so.

Pretty cool, I don't think any gunfights are really necessary though. For myself, I think it would of worked better without Lars derping out. Maybe if he'd been left on the station and is met later on again on the planet as some sort of antagonist or part of. Could of had something like Warner not allowing him to come out as he's so unsound and its a delicate situation.

But yeah, nice

Of all the things to expect, I didn't expect that.

For several seconds I simply looked at her, my brain still processing what she just said, despite understanding her perfectly. 'Uh,' was all I could manage. She gave another smile and turned to the men who brought me in, telling them something in their own language. They saluted with a clenched fist over their hearts once more, then marched off. She turned her full attention back to me again.

'You are looking a bit pale. I guess this is all a bit too much to take in at the same time. It might be a good idea to continue this elsewhere. Can you walk?'

'I uh, I uh,' I stammered, cursing myself mentally I closed my eyes for a moment, took a deep breath and tried to empty my mind. I couldn't, there were too many questions I wanted to ask, but I had to get my priorities straight first, at least I felt a bit more coherent now. I opened my eyes again. 'No, I cannot.'

'Is it because of the suit?'

'Yes.'

The woman let go of my hand and took a step back, giving me a quick look-over. 'Will you require assistance in taking your suit off?'

While these were designed to be put on and off on your own, taking them off again would be really time consuming, especially under regular gravity conditions. I meekly nodded, not happy to admit it and was about to say where to begin, but before I could answer the woman had turned to the person in the red robe, saying something in that strange language of theirs.

The red robe, for the lack of a better descriptive name at that time, was tall and from what I could glimpse sticking out of the robes, clad in a suit of metal armour. It was, just like the armoured pieces of the soldiers who had brought me in, bare metal and had seen a lot of use. Even the hand effortlessly holding the massive two-handed axe was encased in an armoured glove of sorts. I couldn't see a face, that was too far hidden into the folds of the hood. My eyes were drawn to the blade of the axe, noticing that its blade was shaped like a cog, with an all too human half skull in its centre. What did it mean? Then there was the robotic arm sprouting from the back, with a simple, but overly large manipulator on its end, there were faded yellow and black warning chevrons stencilled across its length. I wonder what it could be used for? What was this man? Something of a technician maybe? The robes were stained with what appeared to be oil and from its waist hung several strange objects that could perhaps be tools.

I was snapped from me thoughts with a startle as the red robe advanced on me, several metal tentacles silently appearing from the folds of the robe, moving seemingly at random, with a mind of their own. Each ended with a small claw of sorts, snapping and clicking as they came forward one by one.

My initial startle was replaced with one of shock, fear and revulsion, a strange mixture I would experience more than once to varying degrees over time, as I frantically tried to move backwards, away from whatever it was and what it wanted to do to me. The uniformed woman knelt down beside me, putting a comforting hand on my shoulder. 'I am sorry for her appearance, but do not be afraid, she means you no harm. You have my word.'

With a whimper I sat there, reluctantly letting one of the tentacles approach. Trembling I raised my left arm and held it out, looking in horror as it took hold of my wrist, delicately turning it this way and that for a moment, as if studying it. A strange sound emanated from within the robes, it sounded like a blast of static, to which the woman besides me answered with a curt answer in her own strange tongue. Effortlessly the "she" in the red robes had the tentacles move in on me, undoing the safety latches and seals of my glove, removing it with surprising ease. The rest of my E.V.A. suit soon followed, "she" having no problem whatsoever lifting the heavy pieces away and effectively stripping me of my equipment in less than ten minutes, leaving it all in a neatly sorted pile besides me, as I sat on the deck in my jumpsuit and socks, slightly shivering from both the experience and the sudden cold of the deck itself. I noticed that the red robe had all but ignored me now, "she" inspecting my gear with great intent, letting out strange bursts of noise as it handled my suit in its tentacles.

I was glad that the thing in red no longer paid any attention to me, whatever "she" was (I had a hard time identifying that thing as female), it was a nightmarish thing. Averting my gaze I discovered something else to worry about. I don't know why, but I was annoyed to discover that one of my socks had a hole in it. It felt a bit embarrassing to sit there with a hole in your sock, while you're representing your people for that first meeting with others. Then again, had I known that this would happen, I would have been better prepared. I would later laugh at that thought, there was no way I could have every been prepared for this any of this.

I tried to stand up, but found my arms unable to hold my weight. With an embarrassed look I sat down on the cold deck again, though the woman was quick to kneel down beside me again, a friendly look on her face once more. The patience and understanding she displayed was extraordinary and something I was quietly grateful for.

'This is purely conjecture on my part, but please be aware that there may be a temporary weakness of the body due to the sudden return of gravity after prolonged stays in space, your muscles may have atrophied somewhat. But rest assured, it will pass soon enough, you strike me as a young and healthy person. Your muscles just need some time to adjust, to get used to being utilized to their full capacity once more. Please do not overexert yourself, a medical officer will be here shortly to help you.'

She was nice, really nice. I wonder if she was their public relations officer or something along those lines, maybe even an ambassador proper? Still, I wanted to be less of a burden and show them what we were capable of, because by now they've seen nothing good yet. I tried to rise once more, ignoring the weird strain in my limbs and the thump of my heart as I unsteadily rose to my feet, swaying slightly. There, that wasn't so bad now was it? I tried to give the woman a smile but instead I felt my legs wobble like noodles and my head go light. The last thing I remembered was that I saw the deck rushing towards me and that was that really.

As far as first impressions went, I probably botched it good and proper, though commander Lowe would probably chalk it up as a learning experience and say that it would make for a fine anecdote later in life.

+ + +

I could not recall if I dreamed or not, all I remembered was coming to on a bed, with a machine beeping somewhere and a screen overhead displaying my vitals. I lay there in privacy, a screen pulled around me, leaving me in a pleasant twilight that didn't hurt the eyes. As I carefully rose I noticed a pair of needles in my arm, no doubt hooked up to the machine. I immediately lay back down again, as I am not afraid to admit that I could not, never would be able to stand needles, especially when they're stuck into my own flesh. I could already feel the hyperventilation set in, the machine increasing its beeps in time with my suddenly accelerating heartbeat, which added to my unease. I felt myself let out an involuntary whimper. I could handle anything and the training I went through to reach this moment in life had been anything but easy, but I prepared me to handle anything. Anything but a simple needle stuck into my arm.

I heard someone move behind the screen, which was slid aside a moment later. A young man in white scrubs looked at the monitors for a moment, before looking down at me, surprised to see me looking back at him, no doubt looking very miserable. He called out for something or someone, then gave me an assuring shake of the shoulder with his latex blue hand followed by a thumbs up.

He stepped aside to be replaced by a middle aged woman, who was hopefully a physician, because judging by her strangely armoured uniform and nurse's cap, she was sending off strange signals to me. What stood out the most to me were that her torso was encased in weird segmented armour shaped to follow the contours of her body, which struck me as odd, and her pallid face. Her face displayed a fair few scars, but nothing too sinister. They looked like old scars though, faded, but still present. She checked the display as she snapped a blue glove over her right hand, then her left before sitting down beside me.

'I,' the woman started to say in my own tongue, pausing for a moment, quietly mouthing several words to herself before continuing. 'I not speak good you talk. No worry, lady along short, she know talk. You then talk.'

I simply nodded, looking at my arm again, instantly regretting it.

The woman noticed my glance and tapped the arm. 'Bad?'

'Yes,' I admitted quietly.

'No look.' She said as she leaned over me. I closed my eyes and felt her remove the intrusive needles from my arm, putting something else over the two tiny holes. The machine made a sound much like a warning or the like before it was shut off by the woman, perhaps thinking that I had flat lined. 'Better?'

'Yes, thank you.'

With an affectionate smile she put a gloved hand on my forehead for a moment, brushing away a few strands of hair. 'Easy,' she said with a nod as she walked away again.

I reached up to my head, feeling the bandage wrapped around it. Gently probing the sore area I could feel that it probably was quite a bump under there. That or a fine impression of the mesh of the deck.

'Inspecting the damage?' It was the woman from earlier, once more speaking my own language. Perhaps slightly accented, but clearly. I was strangely relieved to see her again, it felt assuring to have someone around who could understand me. 'You made quite a tumble, scared us all for a moment, but thankfully my personal physician was almost there when it happened.'

'I made quite a scene didn't I?' I tried to sit up, but found it hard to do so.

'Allow me,' she said as she walked to my bed and pressed a button on its side. I felt my head and upper body slowly rise as a small motor softly purred somewhere, folding the head side of the bed upwards. When I levelled out she stuck her hand out once more, which I took. 'I am Josephine Beauchamp, I never did get around to properly introduce myself.'

'Thank you, miss.' I decided not to try and pronounce her surname, lest I butchered it like I did with the names of those warriors in the shuttle.

'The least I can do after all of this today. And what a day it has been,' she added with a sad look. 'You must understand, we came in peace. We still do. Prime Vorr had been left with no choice but to act out of safety for himself, his men and you. While I deeply regret the death of your colleague, I do hope that you understand that he left my men no other choice.'

At that point I still was not quite sure what had happened out there or what made Johansen do what he did. I wish commander Lowe had been allowed to stay behind, not Johansen, it would have been so much easier then. I was pulled from my thoughts by the lady Beauchamp putting an assuring hand on my own.

'You're looking a bit pale, would you like some tea and maybe something to nibble on?'

Before I could answer the doctor produced a pair of plastic cups and put them on the night stand, then produced a ceramic or porcelain teapot, it's exterior decorated with blue flowers, boats and tall mill-like buildings. I smiled at that, it looked so out of place around here. It was followed by a small tin with something written on the side, inside were biscuits.

'I apologize in advance if these make you sick,' the lady said with a smile. 'Some worlds develop interesting diets over time, becoming allergic to certain foodstuffs one would normally be able to eat without problem. Though a cup of boiled water with some herbs and something as bland as a biscuit shouldn't be too harmful I think.'

The doctor stood behind her, her hands obediently folded in front of her, as if awaiting an order like a servant. Her strange sense of dress and her scars were distracting though, as I kept glancing at her as I sipped the tea, wondering what they were.

'Does she unnerve you?'

'Is she really a doctor? Why the weird suit of armour and where did she get those scars?'

She turned to the doctor and said something, who bowed in return and left us, taking the young man with her. The lady patiently waited until both had left before talking.

'Valeria is, like many on my ship, a veteran of a brutal war against a foe best left unmentioned. What she wears is not so much a suit of armour as it is a sophisticated life support system designed to keep her alive. It is all very hard to explain to someone who has lived in blessed ignorance for all her life, but many years ago she was captured by an enemy most foul and suffered greatly at their hands. When she was rescued there was little of her left that wasn't tainted by vile poison or the torturer's blade. Yet, she was determined to continue serving alongside us and thus, they remade her body into what it is today.'

I looked at her in stunned silence, my mind not quite sure what to make of all of this. If anything, it produced more and more questions. The woman opposite me seemed to catch onto this quickly.

'I'm sorry, we have been monitoring your people as we made our way in and we have come to understand a lot of this may come across as gibberish, or something only dreamed of right now by your people. Culture shock can be a frightening thing, especially when confronted by things that would be considered a theory or nothing short of science fiction only dreamt of before.'

We sat in silence for a few more moments, enjoying the hot tea and the biscuits, both of which were like a five-star banquet after the months of bad food and water I had to endure. It also gave me a moment to try and get my thoughts sorted, set some priorities.

'Miss, how do you speak my language so well?'

'I speak many languages, it is but one part of the reason why I was selected for this task. Your language is one I know well though, it is still spoken in some places on Terra.'

It amazed me that my language was not as unique as I moments before thought it to be. Though as I mentioned before, it was assuring to have someone around who could understand me. Or would that have been cheating? I decided to focus on the bigger picture though.

'You mentioned that this was your task. What is this task?'

'It is my duty to discover new worlds and see if they are willing and able to rejoin the rest of mankind.'

'The rest of mankind?' This took me quite by surprise, but then again, just about everything I learned that day did. 'You mean that there are more of us out there?'

'Yes! Many, many millennia ago we took to the stars in great fleets of colonisation and seeding ships, sent off to distant worlds to expand our reach. Each ship was outfitted with our best and brightest people backed by the most advanced technology we could conceive at that time, to help set up colonies for when they would arrive. Many vessels did not arrive, others did, but stumbled upon dead worlds, or made it, but were unsuccessful in sustaining their colony. Then there are the worlds, such as yours, who have, against all odds, managed to survive and thrive in isolation for millennia.'

'Isolation?' I pondered the word for a moment, thinking of our own legends. 'You mean like the Long Darkness?'

It was an old legend, going hand in hand with the one that we hailed from Terra originally. We were supposed to remain in contact with our home world, but all contact was lost, the stars appeared to vanish and all that was left was a millennia spanning darkness.

'Yes,' the lady simply said, smiling at my questioning look. She explained. 'Your world is not the only world to have been cut off all those years ago, forced to struggle alone in the dark, fighting to survive in an unwinnable war against the unending tides of aliens and things best left unmentioned. That is why, whenever we come across a world such as yours, we rejoice, for it means that mankind has endured once more where before the darkness prevailed.'

'Why such a big ship though? Why so many soldiers?'

The last part was a wild guess on my part, but from what I had gathered from that massive hangar bay I was in, they must have had quite an army onboard.

She let out a sad sigh. 'Because not everybody joins us willingly in our quest for galactic enlightenment or because other things now reside on those worlds that rightfully belong to us. Things that have no right to live or breathe the same air as us.'

This first sign of xenophobia, or hatred for the alien, came as a bit of a surprise to me. I had thought that the lady would welcome both man and alien into their fold with open arms. It wouldn't be until much later that I learned that what I at first thought was a hatred for the unknown, was a hatred for an enemy that was completely justified.

'The legends speak of us possessing advanced technology at one point, many years beyond what we have now. They spoke of machines that could fabricate anything from clothes to tools and massive weapons of war needed to tame the lands. All that is lost now.'

'Some of it is lost forever, yes. However, we have rediscovered so much and are discovering so much more with each world we reclaim. We are also willing to share these miracles with you, propel you and your people into a new golden age of prosperity.'

There it was. It caught me unaware, but in hindsight I should have seen it coming. But I never was a diplomat or an ambassador of my people, I merely was an astronaut. I couldn't speak for my people, but what she was offering was too good to be true. I decided to be honest with her on that.

'I'm not a leader of any sort, or even someone who should be left in charge of a group of toddlers, I'm just an astronaut who was supposed to spend half a year in space to see if we could do it.'

The lady laughed at that. 'Have no fear Melody, we will merely educate you in our ways and hope that through you, the rest of your world will join us in our grand endeavour. I cannot and I will not force you into becoming something you are not.'

She got up and patted down her jacket, brushing aside any crumbs that may have fallen there.

'I must be off now, this ship won't run itself. And I think you should get some rest, I have a feeling the following days may be quite taxing on you as you recover.'

'Miss? Before you go, one final question: Am I your prisoner?'

She studied me for a moment, her arms crossed as she seemed to consider the reply.

'No, you are something of a rarity in my travels thus far, something I do not wish to ruin. While I understand why you may feel like you are a prisoner, you are not. Perhaps you should see yourself as a honoured guest of us, with the right to go about my ship as you see fit, but within reason. I will arrange for someone to accompany you wherever you go and show you around, so you can see as much of our world and society as possible.'

She shook my hand again. 'Melody, talking to you has been a pleasure.'

And with that she was off, leaving me with a tin of biscuits that I am not ashamed to admit I had devoured by the time I fell asleep, along with several more cups of the tea she had brought along. I should have been afraid, I should have been worried, perhaps I should have been thinking about a way out of this all, but instead I felt quite excited to find out all I could about these people. I took off my jumpsuit and socks, then crawled under the blanket, finding the sensation of sleeping in an actual bed, without needing to strap myself in first, amazing. I let out a content sigh as I curled up and let sleep claim me, mentally going over our conversation one more time.

Wait, did she say "my ship" just now before she left?

People who desire stories to be violent, rest assured, it will happen later down the line, because it is more or less the way things inevitably go with the Imperium and newly discovered worlds. It is just going to take some time to get there I suppose. Can't rush into a fight without some context I suppose.

Sleep finally came, but was filled with nothing but the most horrible of nightmares.

I dreamt of the cold vastness of space and the corpse of Johansen even now silently gliding through it, heading towards destination unknown. His dead eyes may yet gaze upon sights that nobody else will ever see.

That thought made for a rude awakening, tapping into some primal fear that I did not even know I possessed. Looking around I saw that I was still alone and the lights of the room were dimmed. I had no idea for how long I slept or what time it was onboard the ship, but despite the abrupt awakening I felt rested enough to take on whatever the day would put up against me. I also had no desire to try and sleep again, for fear of dreaming that same dream once more.

Sadly, the first challenge of the day was getting out of bed and remaining upright, as my limbs still felt like wet noodles incapable of being much use to me. I spent who knows how long that first morning flopping around in bed, pathetically trying various types of workout to get things going again. Had I been back home this all would have been a treasure trove of valuable data for the technicians and medical advisors to pore over, devising new ways to speed up recovery.

Thankfully, I did not have to suffer through their experiments to see what would be the best way to recover. As I was to find out, my hosts were well prepared for just about any serious medical contingency. Valeria, the personal physician of the lady, came in some time later, trying her best to hide her laughter as she saw me trying my best to do some crunches on the floor. All I could was laugh along with her as I tried to get back onto bed again. She effortlessly picked me up and put me back, telling me to stop, which I interpreted as meaning I should wait for a moment. Humming a quiet tune she busied herself across the room, pulling a strange hand-held device from a locker that she hooked up to the monitor overhead.

The device whined into life like an old electronics device, seemingly struggling to remain active, if the sounds it made were anything to go by. Valeria carefully twisted the knobs on the side, the sounds of the device shifting in pitch as she did. Pleased with whatever the thing told her she turned her attention back to me. She told me to keep an eye on the monitor as she passed the thing over me a few times. I saw myself on the monitor, without a skin, my muscle groups displayed in a strange spectrum of colours. She went deeper and deeper with each pass of the device, peeling away more and more of me until there was just a skeleton laying there. She muttered to herself several times as she did so, no doubt making personal notes.

I was not paying too much attention to Valeria, I kept my eyes glued to the monitor. The technology they had in use was simply amazing. It looked archaic, barely functional in some cases, but did it ever work! In a few minutes she had performed several amazingly accurate scans and from there in a few broken sentences told me that I would be up and running again in a few days with a little help from her. She did warn me that the help would come in form of several injections of something she couldn't explain in her own words, but what I later correctly presumed to be some form of stimulant or steroid designed to help accelerate the recovery from this all. The injection was done with some sort of scary pistol-like contraption and while I didn't have to hold out an arm, she did instruct me to turn over, jabbing it into my left buttock without any preamble or warning. There was a hissing sound as the entire ampoule was emptied into my body in an instant. As I rubbed a sore buttock she told me that I would also receive special food meant to strengthen my bones again.

The thought of food made my stomach grumble, the few cups of tea and more than a dozen biscuits now long digested and gone.

Valeria presented me with a bowl of.. I almost wanted to call it slop, or to be more polite, some sort of semi-liquid paste. As she handed me a spoon she tried to explain what it was, but ended up throwing her hands up in despair, merely stating that I should eat all of it. Much to my surprise it tasted not all that bad, after all, I had much worse back on the station. I washed it down with a strangely flavoured orange fluid, which I was told also contained medication meant to help me recover as quickly as possible. I liked the fluid, it was strangely fruity. I missed fresh fruit.

'You,' Valeria said, holding her nose and pointing at me. I suppose I could use a quick freshening up. Again she expertly helped me up and half-carried me to a door opposite the bed, which opened the moment we approached. Inside were a shower and a toilet. Strangely I could wax lyrically upon seeing those two simple things, but suffice to say, I was quite pleased with those appliances. Valeria carefully let me stand on my own two feet and as best she could explained how to lock the door behind me. Then she left me to my own devices. I almost laughed as I went over my options, take a shower first, or make a contribution to the porcelain throne? Yes, it was made of some sort of stainless steel in this case, but let me have my moment.

Either was equally tempting until I noticed that there was also a mirror there, where I could get a good look at myself for the first time in ages. Perhaps much to my surprise I looked like crap. I felt a lot better than I looked, that was for sure. I thought I had a good look about me, but the months spent in orbit on the station had not done me any favours, turning me into something pallid and nowhere near as healthy as I was when I was back home again. At least my eyes were still the same. I ran a hand through my hair, dismayed to find that it had grown quite a bit in the meantime. I didn't have hair this long in well over a decade now, but that was something I would worry about at a later moment. Instead I started slowly peeling away the bandage wrapped around my head, revealing a nasty bruise that was a bit sensitive to the touch, but I could live with that, it was nowhere near as bad as I had initially thought. Slowly I pulled off my t-shirt and underwear, careful not to suddenly keel over again. I tried flexing my arms, strike a pose in front of the mirror, but for some reason I just started laughing at the absurdity of such a thing.

So instead I shuffled under the showerhead, waiting, perhaps expecting it to automatically start. After a few moments of just standing there I decided to press the rather obvious big button in front of me and braced myself for the rush of cold water. I was pleasantly surprised to have warm water come out of the shower instead. Like the simple sensation that was sleeping in a bed after months of floating around, warm water running over me was something I had long yearned for without even really knowing it. I lost track of time as I simply stood there for a long while, simply enjoying it for what it was. I also discovered that there was some sort of soap dispenser present, which produced something jelly-like that I hoped acted like soap. It did its job and after a lot of scrubbing I certainly felt a whole lot cleaner.

As weird as this may sound, I also welcomed the toilet with open arms, so to say, because I never much liked the sucking hose on the station, or that I had to do my other business in a plastic bag. No more floating bags of turds to worry about. That was one thing I could most certainly do without. Another thing I could have done without was the cold spray of water shooting upwards afterwards, no doubt meant to clean you, but I could have done with water a little warmer, or at least a fair warning before getting a spurt of cold surprise up the butt.

With those two things done I gave myself another look in the mirror. I still looked like crap, but at least I looked like a clean piece of crap now. Now that I was studying myself more intently, I discovered that I also looked a lot thinner as well, the rations we had to make do with did not go down well with me. I dearly hoped that the food I would be getting here was of a better and more fulfilling quality than what I had before. Then again, at that stage anything was better than the freeze-dried junk I had to make do with on the station.

I saw a grey robe hang from a hook by the door, which I decided to put it on instead of my old and dirty clothes again, leaving them where I had dropped them. I mused to myself that the only things missing were a pair of matching fuzzy slippers and embroidered towels, which would have made the hotel experience complete. With a last glance at the strange person in the mirror I thumped my fist against the locking mechanism of the door and let it quietly slide open again.

As I slowly exited the bathroom I saw that Valeria had left, leaving me alone with a visitor waiting for me. Though it probably should have been the other way round, as he sat slumped in a seat, soundly asleep, his hands folded across his chest. I would later find out that he had spent the entire night up and about preparing as best he could for this monumental moment, admitting that he spent most of it actually fretting about how it would go. I quietly shuffled over to my bed and sat down on it, the bed ever so slightly creaking. The man awoke with a startle, saying several things in that strange language of theirs before noticing me. He immediately shut up, his face reddening as he struggled for words for a moment. I couldn't help but smile at that.

He shot to his feet and snapped to attention, 'Felix Richter,' he said as he extended his hand. 'I would like to say that it is not only a honour to meet you, but also a pleasure to meet someone so far removed from home who speaks the same language as that of my mother.'

It delighted me as well that there was someone else to talk to. He had something of an accent, but he could easily pass off as a native of my own world. I studied him for a moment, trying to figure out what he was, as his uniform, if I could even call it that, was not exactly military, but rather.. utilitarian? He wore dark green coveralls with reinforced knees and elbows, a name tag on his chest and an arm patch on his left arm, displaying the same symbol as the soldiers had on their canteen and chests. He also wore sturdy leather boots, looking a lot like those worn by military personnel. Maybe he was a technician of some sort? He appeared to still be a young man, unlike the soldiers from the shuttle. His face was also pristine and devoid of anything indicating he had a harsh life. The only other thing really standing out was something tattooed across the inside of his right arm.

Before we got properly started he held up a sheet of paper with several scribbles on it, stating that they were notes from Valeria that he was tasked with sharing with me. In short, I would receive special meals three times per day, consisting of the paste and fluids I had earlier, along with several more supplementary shots in the posterior (such a polite way of saying I would get stabbed in the butt a few more times). Also, starting tomorrow Valeria would take me through simple physical exercises to judge how far along my recovery would be progressing. If all went well, I would be back to normal in a week or so, standard time, whatever kind of timeframe that was.

With that out of the way Felix wasted no time in getting down to business. 'I understand that you were told that I would be your guide around the ship. Seeing as you are still recovering from your injuries we will have to focus on other things until then. So, for the time being, I will be less of a guide and more of a ah.. source of information I suppose. Ah, and your gateway to our language and written word as well!'

Yes, he was not just a guide, but also my tutor for the lack of a better word. The lady had decided that the best way I would learn about this all, was to speak their language and to read their written word. Seeing as those first few days I couldn't even leave the room, I would spend the time not just recovering my strength and stamina, but also learning as much as could be crammed into the hours as possible about the people he worked for and their language. Felix was nice and forthright, plus I was glad to say that we had an immediate click, which made the whole process of "picking each other's brains for all that they're worth" as he so enthusiastically put it, all the easier. He was honest about his intentions, he wanted to both enlighten me (his words), which I most certainly welcomed as an opportunity to learn as much as I could, while at the same time wanting to learn as much as he could about my own world. This I was somewhat apprehensive about, as anything I divulged could be used either against me or my own home should anything bad happen. Thankfully I knew next to nothing about our military or anything crucial like that, though that didn't stop him from bombarding me with questions about religion, our seats of government, currency, economy and general state of welfare.

He also took copious amounts of notes throughout our sessions, recording them all on a curious electronic device the size of a small book with a pen of sorts. After I expressed curiosity he showed it to me, explaining that it was called a data slate. There was still a need for physical books and actual paper in day to day life, but for his profession, which he did not tell me about until much later, he preferred to use this electronic device. It not only acted as a means of recording his thoughts, it was also a repository of information and depending on your rank and standing within the hierarchy, a handy tool that allowed one to exercise an awful lot of power. He promised me that I would also receive one, for that was the best way to learn both their tongue and their words.

He also went into great detail regarding the history of his people, as he was more than willing to educate me on what he felt I had "missed out on" while I was separated from the rest of mankind. Though from what I've been told, I am glad I wasn't around, as Terra had been plagued by nothing but war for thousands of years, nations and empires rising and falling several times until HE came along.

"He?" I asked, though I could see that Felix was something of a storyteller who had probably done this all before a time or two, setting me up to ask the obvious questions. Felix seemed to relish telling the history of his people and I will willingly admit that I was drawn in completely by his recounting of the history of Terra.

At that time I came to the initial conclusion that this so-called "He" was something of a weird central figure. The way he was described almost made him a religious figure and the title he had adopted certainly didn't help things either, especially with him banishing all forms of religion, as they got in the way of progress and holding humanity back. But, he was the one who rose from the ashes of the many wars that plagued Terra with an army of unbeatable warriors of great power and reunified Terra under his vision. And with Terra under his control, he could focus on reclaiming the rest of galaxy in the name of humanity.

"So, who is this he?" I asked almost impatiently.

"Why, the Emperor of course."

It was dropped casually, but for me this was the first time I had heard of this so-called Emperor and I didn't know it yet, but he was a pretty big deal. I also came to find out that voicing such things out loud were a pretty serious offence in the presence of some people. Felix showed me an image of his Emperor on his data slate, intently looking at me to see what my initial reaction would be. Oddly enough, the first thing to come to mind was divine, that was certainly the first thought that came to the fore upon seeing this Emperor. Perfection itself maybe even? Regal, commanding, yet also handsome and yes, perfection itself was most certainly part of the description. He somehow managed to look perfect without any flaws whatsoever. Felix then started to describe his Emperor, that he was not just a great warrior, but also a great statesman, a scientist and many things besides. I was a bit sceptical about all of those achievements, but he was quick to back these up with examples: a slew of famous (they were to him) battles that he had led, several important treaties that he had signed with other nations and worlds and so on. He made a special note of mentioning that the Emperor was also responsible for the creation of the Adeptus Astartes, the super-human fighting arm of the Imperium. Felix said that this fleet also contained a company of these warriors. It was a bombardment of information, but it showed that Felix was someone who was well prepared to hold an argument and win it. Maybe he was a lawyer? Felix concluded the introduction to his Imperium with a simple and to the point description that he himself firmly believed in: The Emperor was their benevolent leader and all he asked in return was that you swore fealty to him.

Though interestingly enough I would later find out that while everybody on board this vessel had sworn fealty to this Emperor, many were all very much loyal and faithful to someone else altogether.

I want to pick your brains and gain your knowledge.

The days I spent cooped up in that room Felix decided to mostly keep it to things historical and of a more general nature concerning their society, promising to answer any questions regarding the ship we were on and its occupants when I was able to move more freely. "Show, don't tell," as he would say more than once.

If I were honest, the history of his Imperium did not do much for me, I never had much of a stomach for bloodshed and conflict. It saddened me to hear that the world where we came from all those millennia ago had suffered so much. The talk about their technology however, that had been most rewarding to me, not to mention eye opening and mind boggling. Another subject I was eager to talk about of course was space travel and the galaxy at large. While I was still bound to this room Felix was well-prepared to answer my many questions, his curious device pre-loaded with an answer to just about any question I had.

I should probably point out that on the third day I got a recording device, or data slate, of my own. I actually still have it to this very day and I fondly remember receiving it, as Felix pulled a wax paper wrapped parcel out of his satchel and presented it to me. Fresh from the store rooms, he told me, never used before. I quickly got the hang of it, using it for my own notes, soaking up as much as I could, revisiting those notes when Felix had left, pondering them, or thinking of new questions to ask Felix.

I may as well go by my own notes here and start with something of a genesis to our world, where we came from and how we ended up there to begin with.

Many millennia ago my ancestors departed from Terra on massive colony ships, its occupants put into cryo-stasis whilst the ships undertook their century spanning journeys into the unknown. It was at that point the only way we could traverse space. This led to the colonies being forced to fend for their selves, seeing as help was many hundreds of years away from reaching them. Sadly, this also meant that when the darkness fell across the galaxy, we had no way of keeping in touch and knowing what happened to our distant neighbours.

When the darkness finally lifted, it was that a solution was presented: Warp travel. Felix tried to explain this as best as he could, but it was something that was completely beyond me. From what I gathered each ship had the ability to make a tear into reality and through that tear enter into another realm, which allowed for faster travel. To protect the ship from being torn apart by the strange energies of this realm it could erect a special bubble around itself, designed to keep it safe. Making things even more complicated was that a ship could not travel through this realm conventionally, it required a special breed of human to fly them: Navigators. Felix told me that we would probably never see one, for they were a breed apart, but he did tell me that they were mutants, sporting a third eye on their forehead, with which they could see into this other realm and guide the ship through, hence their title. Flying into the unknown was easy enough, but one also needed a beacon, or a fixed point, so one could always tell where one was. This was a device on Terra called the Astronomicon, which served as a focal point that somehow shines brightly in the other realm.

I had a hard time grasping this all. It was common enough knowledge to Felix, but I had a hard time not just understanding it, but also believing it all. Here we were still trying to master getting into orbit with rockets, we haven't even considered any form of faster than light engine or craft yet and here we have our.. distant cousins? Who were leagues ahead of us. Part of me was happy though, it meant that exploration of space was within our grasp and certainly within my lifetime.

The use of technology within their Imperium also fell within strange realms. A great red planet known as Mars has been turned into a massive factory of sorts, completely dedicated to the creation of weapons and machines the Imperium would need in its conquest of the galaxy. Orbiting the planet is a great, big ring of metal, from which ships could be built, repaired and resupplied. This ring was connected to the planet at several points via massive towers. To this day I still cannot comprehend how such a thing could exist.

Mars is also home to the Adeptus Mechanicus, whose "adepts" were recognizable by their red robes and the many, many cybernetic enhancements they sported. The red robe who stripped me of my E.V.A. suit was one of them it seemed. It was weird to hear that this secondary empire within the Imperium had a monopoly on all technology, though Felix was quick to point out that this was mostly to prevent a repeat of mistakes from the past, whatever those may have been. Machines were to be kept under close control at all times, the adepts treating them almost reverently and with a certain mannerism approaching that of religious cults.

It felt weird, to have a completely different organisation, dare I say, empire, within the Imperium deal with all technology. All in all, a lot of our talks regarding the Imperium left me with more questions than before, but I took it in stride and after a while just decided to go with it, if I were to question everything we would never get anywhere.

I was also happy to notice that I was indeed improving physically with leaps and bounds every day, feeling my strength and stamina return more and more. It wasn't long before I started each day with a few pull-ups, followed by crunches, push-ups and squats. Maybe it was my ego, but I felt stronger than ever.

Felix was not the only one to bring me things. Valeria brought me new clothes and several pairs of boots in varying sizes. I was about to ask her why she didn't ask me about my shoe size, when it occurred to me that maybe they used a different measuring system. The clothes consisted of several simple, blue coveralls, socks, white shirts and drawstring boxers, more or less universal one-size fits all clothing that I could wear without too much hassle. My old jumpsuit would be kept in a kitbag until such a time as I needed it again. I did remove the velcro mission patch from the arm, affixing it to the sleeve of my new jumpsuit. It looked awfully out of place, but I wanted to proudly show off who I was and where I came from when the time came for me to finally get about the ship.

That glorious moment came on the fifth day, when I was given one last shot, a final meal and a final check-up, after which I was deemed fit and free to go by Valeria. Felix was there to usher me along, helpfully carrying the kitbag I had been given for the spare clothes and my old jumpsuit. Our first stop would be my new quarters, which were a few decks below. It was a good thing that Felix was there to guide me, as I couldn't read any of the signs on the walls as he took me through corridor after corridor until we reached a series of elevators. We seemingly took one at random and rode it down. I noticed that the elevator had several posters attached to the walls, their meaning I could only guess at, though judging from the images shown, they weren't official warning posters, but of a more entertaining nature. I asked him why we were going down.

'You will learn more from the running of this ship at this level, then you will up top. Besides,' he added with a wink. 'Only posh people or those of blue blood go up top. You are neither.'

The doors hissed open and I was momentarily stunned by the crowd looming in front of us, going about their business. I had some vague ideas of how big the ship was, but to see its crew move about like that, it felt more like a small city than a starship.

We plunged into the crowd, Felix dragging me along by my hand, deftly navigating the crowds until we reached a stairwell by the wall of the square, would that be an apt description? We ascended three of them, coming onto a landing lined with simple doors. He let go of my hand and told me to follow him. As we passed the doors he quietly hummed to himself, then suddenly rapped his knuckles against a door. 'My place,' he said as we passed it. A few doors and a turn to the right later we came up to my door. He handed me a piece of paper, on it a six digit security code. I had to enter a combination of my own after I entered that one. I decided to go with my name, a bit unprofessional maybe, but it would be easy to remember.

The door silently slid open and revealed a simple living unit, with a small alcove that no doubt housed a sanitary unit. In comparison to the quarters I spent the last five days, it felt spartan and a step back from that. So, this would be home then. It wasn't bad, I certainly had worse. I tossed the kitbag into a corner and turned to Felix, deciding to leave the thrilling exploration of my new quarters for the end of the day.

'Now then,' Felix said with a clap of his hands, having sensed my intent. 'Where would you like to go to first?'

I've been waiting on this update, thanks for sharing.

It took way longer than I wanted to, but work had me bogged down quite a bit.

+ + +

I should have taken a Stormbird.

I really should have, that's what I kept repeating in my head as I hid my discomfort as best I could. The Aquila was nice enough, certainly an above standard transport meant to convey important dignitaries across the fleet, but it was a bit on the small side for me. Though refusing the offered transport may have been seen as an insult by my hostess. At least my two escorts did not seem all that bothered by my presence, they merely sat in the seats closest to the ramp, their helmets snapped open, one checking his data slate, the other merely looking at his boots with a bored expression. They weren't nervous though, or trying to hide any unease through their actions, they simply did not care who was with them. I studied their faces for a moment, they looked young enough, though their eyes betrayed that they had received rejuvenat treatments, meaning they were both probably veterans of the wars fought on and around the rings of Saturn. Fair enough, they had seen a lot by the time we came around and helped them out. It was a nice change, to not be treated like an oddity for once.

I sighed, annoyed to be stuck in this shuttle. There were important preparations that had to be made, I shouldn't be here. Of course, these preparations were already being enacted by my command crew and other senior members under my command and they were more than competent in their own right, but it felt wrong to not be there, personally overseeing it all. But, an order is an order, even if it wasn't really an order to begin with.

It was an invitation really, one I had been putting off for far too long now. At this stage it was something I could no longer avoid. Three campaigns under the belt and I still had not formally dined with the expedition leader? We had met before of course, before we set out, then a time or two on the battlefield, but mostly we communicated through envoys. I wonder what she thought of me? Aloof maybe? Or perhaps a monster who had little time for formality, instead preferring to bathe in the blood of the enemy?

I would find out soon enough..

We landed without incident and much to my genuine surprise there wasn't a delegation or even a honour guard awaiting my arrival. I almost felt insulted, but then this was probably my own doing. I followed my escorts in silence through the ship, suppressing the urge to smile as some of the people we passed stopped to turn and look at me, some gazing at me with a slack jawed expression. I was wondering when that was going to happen.

We reached my destination I suppose, a pair of massive double doors, decorated with the aquila clutching a pair of lightning bolts in all its splendid glory. My escorts opened the doors and motioned for me to enter, revealing a lavish dining hall all but empty except for the hostess. She did not wear her usual uniform, instead she wore black dress, simple in execution, unadorned by jewellery aside from an ugly metal locket she wore around her neck. She would be beautiful I suppose, though such an emotional thing was beyond me now. There was something about her.. She still looked young, but had about her the feel of someone old, perhaps even older than I am, whoever did her rejuvenat treatments was an artisan of the flesh, for there was no trace of age on her. The only thing that really stood out was a single lock of hair painted red against her raven hair. This struck me as odd, perhaps this was a tradition from wherever she came?

She made a polite bow, I put a clenched fist across my heart in return, careful not to slam it across as I usually would, I wasn't here to impress or instil fear upon my host.

'Centurion Dacabe, I am honoured by your visit.'

'The honour is all mine,' I replied politely, inwardly groaning at this pointless display of formality. I shouldn't be here. No.. It's not that. Let's just be honest about all of this for once: I really don't want to be here, paraded around like some oddity or conversation starter to the inbred nobles that no doubt made up the command echelons of this fleet.

She smiled, as if reading my mind, but kept silent. Instead she motioned for me to follow her, directing me to the head of the table. Interestingly enough, it was reserved for me. I regarded the seat they had appointed to me. It was made of metal, reinforced to hold my weight, it even had a large opening in the back to allow for my power plant. Despite myself I couldn't help but smile. They had prepared well for my arrival.

'I had the adepts throw something together that would be better suited for your ceramite wearing ass,' the lady said with a laugh. 'Because I knew you'd be attending in full armour.'

The informality of her reply caught me off guard. I had been around Terran nobility before, but they never talked like that. Before I could reply the first other guest quietly entered, saluting first me, then the lady. I returned the gesture, fist over heart, but the lady did not.

She merely stood there for a moment, smiling at the young woman before embracing her. The young woman was somewhat reluctant at returning the gesture, she tensed up considerably before relaxing somewhat. This was the daughter of the lady then, torn between adhering to the command structure and that of blood ties. No, not blood ties. They did not look alike one bit. Perhaps she took more after her father?

'I missed you at lunch today little star.'

'Motherrrrr,' she hissed. 'Not in front of the Astartes.'

'Nonsense, you are my precious little one and you will always be so.'

The lady pinched the cheek of her daughter, whose face reddened. I suppose this was motherly affection, I wonder if I received this as well in a previous life. Would I also blush as much as the girl? It doesn't matter, it was a lifetime ago.

Before anything more could be said between the two another guest entered, loudly, male this time. His uniform was more garish and loud than that of the girl. Unlike her he embraced the lady immediately, loudly kissing her on both cheeks. Only then did he turn to me, dipping his head in greeting.

Interesting, this was the son then. I had been told he was something of a wild one with little respect for authority, but his lack of diplomacy skills were also on prominent display. Were Heracles, my equerry, present he would no doubt loudly gnash his teeth and at an opportune moment berate the man for not showing me the proper respect I am supposedly due. Now that would be entertaining.

I was spared another potential display of affection as two more entered, one an adept of the priesthood of Mars, the other the senior Navigator of the fleet. They did greet me properly, if in their own way. Interestingly enough, they did greet their mistress first, though I suppose that is to be expected, as this was her ship.

We were instructed to take our seats and a toast was proposed, dedicated to the prosperity of the Imperium and the everlasting success of the great crusade.

The food was good. Not as extravagant as what we were served on Terra by the conquered nobility, but it was good nonetheless. We are taught to do without luxuries and the so-called good things in life, but good eating every once in a while, there is nothing wrong with that. I must confess that the wine that was served alongside the meal was also good.

In between courses there was the polite and pointless conversation about the status of the fleet, until the son asked me about my past campaigns. It didn't come as a surprise, it's the one question an Astartes can always expect to be asked in this sort of company. So, almost as easy as it was for me to heft a blade or shoot a bolter I slipped into that of a story teller, telling them of the wars on Terra, simple anecdotes about engagements with the techno barbarians and the degenerates of the wastes. I noticed the girl in particular hanging onto every word, whereas the son was more interested in stuffing himself as much as possible while the others were distracted by my tales.

Perhaps the oaf had some skills after all.

Once the dinner ended the lady thanked us all, then told everybody but me to leave. I was expecting this, following her across the deck to whatever destination she had in mind. We ended up at a study. Or perhaps private retreat would be a more apt description? It held a wooden desk, antique no doubt, along with several cases full of books, old and musty, I could smell their age all too easily. If I were to hazard a guess I would say that she read none of them and merely put them there as a decoration of sorts, or to pass herself off as a learned sort.

My attention however was drawn to the other wall, where a large collection of pistols hung, along with a delicate sword. I had seen the blade before, it was strapped to her hip whenever she took to the field. The pistols however.. she had several, some appeared to be more fanciful standard pattern designs, while others I did not recognize. Some were ancient, others looked strangely baroque and outlandish. They were almost all fashioned for her hand though, I could never use one, even if I were to undo my gauntlet.

'Rest assured, I know how to use each and every one of them.'

She stood beside me, having removed her heels and holding a crystal glass of some fancy drink in one hand, looking over the collection. She ran her hand along the long, slender barrel of one pistol, it looked like some sort of laser weapon not much unlike those used by the Auxilia forces.

'This was my sidearm during the wars for Saturn. It was with this pistol that I ended the life of the hated traitor Sartain. The look on his face upon seeing who was his executioner was quite.. rewarding.'

She pointed to another energy weapon, a bulky model that looked like it was designed to discharge its power cell in one or two shots.

'The infamous blast pistol of taskmaster Sebastian Hofft. He killed more of his own men with that pistol than the enemy ever did.' She sighed at the memory. 'He was a horrible influence on the Imperial Army units attached to our expedition. I ended up killing him myself, strangled him with his own prized golden sash after hacking off both hands in a so-called honour duel.'

I had heard the stories, one of my men was present at the time, acting as liaison between our contingents. There had been.. altercations between the two before, but it finally came to a head when he entered her command centre screaming threats with his sword drawn. To the surprise of my warrior present over two dozen gathered soldiers had their weapons out and pointed at him, the loyalty of her men was admirable. Only she told them that she'd do it herself, with my man acting as arbiter for the duel, because an Astartes was supposedly an expert on those matters. It was a short fight, the idiot was well out of his league, as she deftly lopped off both his hands with one strike, the stumps cauterized by the energy field of her blade. She didn't give a speech, she didn't say anything, she simply removed his sash and strangled him with it. After that she continued her briefing as if nothing had happened.

'Care for one?'

I looked besides me in surprise, the lady standing there with a box held out to me, containing row upon row of thin cigars. I politely declined, I wasn't a smoker, never was, never would be most likely.

'Good choice,' she replied with a chuckle, taking one for herself. She deftly snipped off the end and lit it, contently savouring it for a moment. She gestured for me to follow her, leaving the study for the adjoining room, one wall dominated by a large window. Outside I could see the world. We stood there in silence for a moment, regarding our target.

'You may be wondering why we haven't attacked yet.'

There we go, finally..

'It crossed my mind.'

'Call me sentimental, or weak, but not every world we discover has to end on its knees, drenched in blood and gore.'

'I agree,' I said as evenly as possible.

'Liar,' she said while regarding me evenly. 'Be honest with me please.'

'I feel that we are wasting time here. At this rate the auxiliary fleet will probably reach us and decide to proceed without us.'

'Ah, heavens forbid that the Imperial Army overtakes us!' She with a laugh. 'We are talking with the locals though.'

Ah yes, the void traveller from their station. She had yet to yield any useful intelligence. A wasted effort if there ever was one.

'Rest assured centurion, we have been talking with the locals, soon we will be at the stage where a decision must be made.'

We both knew what that decision was: join us or die.

Deep down I hoped that they would resist. That I would be able to do what I was created for. Despite being taught to uphold the ideals of an open hand before a closed fist, I confess that I much prefer the fist. I was itching for a fight at this point.

'They will join us or perish in their folly,' I stated as I looked at the world slowly rotating in the distance.

I wondered how much of a fight these would put up for us.

Fantastic, keep it up