The Players so far..

Zander Kane, once a trusted and highly decorated general for the United Federation, Kane betrayed not only his own race, but his own flesh and blood to join the Dark Collective, so he could be with the woman he loved. Now, he rides stardust and slipstreams, captaining the Betha, fighting for the collective, in hope of one day freeing the worlds from the federations ruling grasp.

Gadamrie, a Golden Priestess in the Dark Collective, who before the federation came to power boasted over one million hosts as part of her mind hive, although, Zander has begun to suspect she is hiding something from him.

Syin-To-Twenty-Seven (Sin), Betha’s sentient companion, through the link they share Sin can control and communicate between Betha and Zander, as well as accessing and sometimes controlling other forms of technology.

Touvler, Zander’s right hand man and Betha’s co-pilot, Touvler along with two others joined Zander when he defected from the United Federations to the Dark Collective.

General Salidazar, an officer in the Dark Collective, who’s loyalties, may lie somewhere else.

High Priestess Dankika, leader of the Dark Collective, a maker, a being who exists across multiple realities.

High Lord Quinn, Commander for the United Federation, and a Quadrapled, a slang term for a clone. Quinn’s past is still yet to be revealed, but his past association with Zander Kane makes his story more of a mystery.

President Balmires, the current elected president of the united federation, Balmires’ rise to power is one worth of it’s own story, soaked in blood and betrayal.

Last time on Dark Stars

Zander and the crew of Betha find themselves requested by the High Priestess, once touching down, he comes face to face with General Salidazar, who has other plans for Zander. Gadamrie intervened spoiling his plans, as the High Priestess arrived and attempted to quell the already explosive situation, to, no positive end, until Sin relayed a message, what appears to be from Zander himself, warning of the Priestess and Salidazar, verifying the information, he acted, somewhat recklessly, and fled towards an unknown destination, with Salidazar following closely behind, Zander backtracked to take care of him once and for all, but, were faced with a greater problem. Unfortunately Zander and Betha’s crew, found themselves prisoners of High Lord Quinn, reveling himself to be a former crew member of the Betha, but, as he prepared to kill Zander, Gadamrie, who was cloaked, came to his aid, taking out Quinn and his men, although, before they could make their escape, another mind took control of one of Gadamrie’s host bodies, apparently killing her, but after a brief battle of minds, Gadamrie regained control of her final host. Making contact with Sin, Zander found out where Touvler was being held, and as they made their plans to rescue him, they came face to face with a resurrected Quinn and a league of Federation soldiers, using a cloaking technology, known as the walk of the damned, Gadamrie tried to guide them to safety, but her strength gave way, so Zander had to improvise.

And so we continue…

“Lady, you’re not going anywhere, except off this pile of junk with me,” he says, as he charges forward, as the world explodes with colour and light. The Federation soldier’s don’t know what hit them as Zander tears his way through the soldiers, blasting a pathway of blood towards Quinn, it only takes a few seconds before he feels blaster fire tear into his side, he crashes to the ground, thew wight of Gadamrie, and her armour pins him to the ground, he clenches his teeth together, as he drives his fists into the metal surface and screams, forcing himself up from the floor, soldiers come from every angle, tackling him to the ground once more, then, everything goes silent, as Quinn strides towards him, while the soldiers pull the struggling Zander to his feet.

“How pathetic, did you really think that would work?” Quinn says.

“Sometimes, improvising everything as you go, has a strange way of falling to pieces, unless, you plan it that way,” he says, looking to the ground with a smile, Quinn’s eyes follows Zander’s, coming to rest at his feet, where a neo-thermal grenade sits, then, everything is engulfed in a white hot light that lasts for a few seconds, and then, is gone. Slowly, he opens his eyes, around him lay the burnt remains of the Federation soldiers, and Quinn, Gadamrie still tightly grips his leg, encompassing him in a bio-kinetic shield, that absorbed the heat wave, protecting them both, he quickly pulls her to her feet once more, and throws her back over his shoudler.

“H-H-How, how did you know I, WE, would save you?” She says softly.

“Because you’ve risked everything, to protect whatever I’m carrying so far, I made a fair bet you’d continue to.”

“We could’ve all died, and, I was protecting you, Zander, my love, ple…”

“Save it for someone who believes you, right now, I need you alive, so, if you don’t have anything constructive to say, keep it shut, understood?”

Silence follows, he can feel her tensing up with anger, and he grips her arm tightly.

“Understood?” He repeats.

“I undertand, bu…”

“ZZZZZEETTT…. Captain Kane, do you copy?” Sin’s voice interrupts.

“I’m here, what the hell happened?” He says as he slowly moves down the hallway.

“A defense mechanism interfered with our communicator, I have convinced Romana to disable the device and also give me the precise location of Mister Touvlar,” Sin replies.

“How did you… No wait, I don’t what to know, I still remember what you did for that battleship in the Nourus quadrant,” he says, as he lets out a shiver, and shakes his head side to side, screwing up his face. “Anyway, lets not think about that, just tell me how I get to Touvlar, and find us a way off this hunk of junk.”

“I have already taken the liberty of mapping out a path to Mister Touvlar, one of course, that will give you the least resistance. Once you have him, getting off the said ‘hunk of junk,’ might be harder, alarms are slowly popping up across the ship, and, Betha is surrounded by a large assortment of troops, Quinn will not let us get off here alive sir.”

“Just find us a way to get back on Betha then, and I’ll handle the getting off, okay,?”

“Of course sir, I will map the quickest, safest route from Mister Touvlar’s location,” Sin replies. “May I ask you to be careful sir, this is not coming just from me, but, Betha wishes your safe return as well, considering, your condition.”

“Tell Betha not to worry about my CONDITION,  I’ll be fine, you two just be ready, okay?”

“Of course sir, I have uploaded the route to Mister Touvlar onto your equipment and will work with Romana in finding a way off.”

A blue light on Zander’s bracelet flashes, signalling the arrival of Sin’s data, “Overlay visor,” he says, as a visor like screen appears before his eyes, acting like a pair of glasses, outlaying the route to Touvlar on it. Quickly he makes his way down a deserted corridor, noticing the ships cameras pointing towards the ground, and allows himself to grin, knowing Sin obviously worked his magic, one, he doesn’t need to know the details of. After several minutes of scurrying through corridors, he finally comes to a stop, tosses Gadamrie’s now unconscious body to the ground, rips a vents covering from the side of the corridor, then quickly stuff’s Gadamrie into the vent, and slides in after her, sealing the vent’s covering back in place after him, just as the sound of a dozen or more Federation soldiers charge down the corridor past them. Zander quickly crawls down the duct for several sweaty minutes, dragging Gadamrie behind him, until he comes to a large opening, his eyes widen as he looks around the large shaft, a small rim running around the sides that the vent connects onto, he tilts his head upwards and then downwards, and swallows,  he focuses on the map in front of his eyes and lets out a nervous laugh.

“Sin, you can’t be serious?”

“I’m sorry sir, is there a situation?” Sin’s voice says.

“Damn straight there’s a situation. Your map’s telling me to jump down into the main air vent,” he says as he settles himself on the ledge, peering over into it again, he tightly squints his eyes, hoping this time to see the bottom, but still, he only sees darkness.

“That is correct sir. If you read my instructions, they tell you, if you use maximum power and leap at an angle of at least one hundred and thirty-six degrees you will come into contact with the air duct for level two hundred and seven at some stage of your decent. My calculations based on your current weight put it at about fifteen seconds from when you jump from the coordinates I have placed into the map. Once you have successfully made the jump, and landed safely, Mister Touvlar is only two corridors away from where the vent comes out.”

“Maximum power? What the hell’s that supposed to mean? And what about Gadamrie? What the hell am I supposed to do with her? I’m not leaving her here, not while she’s got questions to answer, no bloody way am I!”

“Give me a few moments sir, I will readjust the information so it will be more current, as it was tailored specifically to you, and only you, if you jump at full strength, from the location, with Miss Gadamrie over your shoulder, you will, not complete the task successfully.”

“I know, that’s what I just said.”

“Of course sir, your information should be updated, if you follow the new instructions they should assist yo…”

“NO! I’m going back the way I came, I’ll blast my way through whatever I have to, but I’m not jumping with her, I can’t risk it, I can’t lose her, not while she’s got answer I need.”

“You were always too stubborn for your own good,” Gadamrie says, from the tunnel entrance, winching in pain, as she gets to her feet. “We won’t get out of this together, but, you will on your own, if you try, so, ask your questions, let this be the place where all is reveled, where everything becomes one.”

To Be Continued…

The Players so far..

Zander Kane, once a trusted and highly decorated general for the United Federation, Kane betrayed not only his own race, but his own flesh and blood to join the Dark Collective, so he could be with the woman he loved. Now, he rides stardust and slipstreams, captaining the Betha, fighting for the collective, in hope of one day freeing the worlds from the federations ruling grasp.

Gadamrie, a Golden Priestess in the Dark Collective, who before the federation came to power boasted over one million hosts as part of her mind hive, although, Zander has begun to suspect she is hiding something from him.

Syin-To-Twenty-Seven (Sin), Betha’s sentient companion, through the link they share Sin can control and communicate between Betha and Zander, as well as accessing and sometimes controlling other forms of technology.

Touvler, Zander’s right hand man and Betha’s co-pilot, Touvler along with two others joined Zander when he defected from the United Federations to the Dark Collective.

General Salidazar, an officer in the Dark Collective, who’s loyalties, may lie somewhere else.

High Priestess Dankika, leader of the Dark Collective, a maker, a being who exists across multiple realities.

High Lord Quinn, Commander for the United Federation, and a Quadrapled, a slang term for a clone. Quinn’s past is still yet to be revealed, but his past association with Zander Kane makes his story more of a mystery.

President Balmires, the current elected president of the united federation, Balmires’ rise to power is one worth of it’s own story, soaked in blood and betrayal.

Last time on Dark Stars

Zander and the crew of Betha find themselves requested by the High Priestess, once touching down, he comes face to face with General Salidazar, who has other plans for Zander. Gadamrie intervened spoiling his plans, as the High Priestess arrived and attempted to quell the already explosive situation, to, no positive end, until Sin relayed a message, what appears to be from Zander himself, warning of the Priestess and Salidazar, verifying the information, he acted, somewhat recklessly, and fled towards an unknown destination, with Salidazar following closely behind, Zander backtracked to take care of him once and for all, but, were faced with a greater problem. Unfortunately Zander and Betha’s crew, found themselves prisoners of High Lord Quinn, reveling himself to be a former crew member of the Betha, but, as he prepared to kill Zander, Gadamrie, who was cloaked, came to his aid, taking out Quinn and his men, although, before they could make their escape, another mind took control of one of Gadamrie’s host bodies, apparently killing her, but after a brief battle of minds, Gadamrie regained control of her final host. Making contact with Sin, Zander found out where Touvler was being held, and as they made their plans to rescue him, they came face to face with a resurrected Quinn and a league of Federation soldiers.

And so we continue…

“Just locate Touvler, and find us a way off this ship, and fast,” He says quickly.

“Understood I will run scenarios, as for Mister Toulver, he is being held several floors below you, awaiting execution, as High Lord Quinn has sentenced him to death once the ship reaches the citadel., which we are… zzzeedfffzzz….”

“Sin?” Zander calls out, he waits for a few moment, and casts a look of worry towards Gadamrie. “SIN CAN YOU READ ME?” He yells again, but still no reply comes.

“We must move, my love, the longer we stand here, the more we run the chance of being cornered,” Gadamrie says.

“I know, I know, you’re right, you always are. Let’s, let’s try to find Touvler, then, re-link back up to Sin, get back on board Betha, and get off this crate,” he says with a smile as he lifts Quinn’s lifeless body from the floor and presses one of his dead hands against the doors activation-pad, seconds later it slides open, revealing a sea of federation soldiers waiting for them, and, standing at the back, with an evil smile on his face, is High Lord Quinn. “Should’ve know he was a Quadrapled like Salidazar,” Zander says through clenched teeth, he glances over to Gadamrie as he grips his blaster tightly. “You got something left in you?”

“Enough,” she says, placing a hand on his shoulder and the two disappear.

“DON’T LET THEM ESCAPE!” Quinn screams out as the soldiers open fire.

Zander feels his head explode as the colour is ripped from everything except him and Gadamrie, he feels the blaster shots rips through him, like a cool breeze, he looks over to Gadamrie, her face shows her struggle, her energy, almost drained, he grips her hand and charges forward through the dream like landscape, passing through the Federation soldiers as if they were mist. He feels Gadamrie lose her footing, and catches her as they both crash to the ground in a heap.

“I, WE, are sorry my love, I-I-I, I, WE, don’t think I, WE, can hold us here much longer,” she says weakly.

He looks down the hallway, then, back at her, pulling his blaster towards her, “What the hell is happening to you?”

She places a finger to his lips and smiles, “Shhhh my love, you must go, I, WE are too weak, you must find Toulver, free him, and get off this place, if, if,” she takes a deep breath and smiles once more. “The first time I, WE, saw you, with a thousand eyes, I, WE, knew, I, WE, would gladly give my life for you, for our, MY, seed, for what you will become,” she says as she leans up to kiss him, but, he pulls away.

“You can’t get off that easy, we’re going to get the hell of this pile of scrap metal, and then, you’re going to tell me what the hell you’ve put inside me, because I’m starting to get a bad feeling about all this!” he growls, as he thrusts her over his shoulders, and grits his teeth together.

“Z-Z-Z-Zander, don’t, you’ll endanger your own survival, leave me, U-U-US,” she stammers, as she tries to free herself from his hold.

“Lady, you’re not going anywhere, except off this pile of junk with me,” he says, as he charges forward, the world explodes with colour and light. The Federation soldier’s don’t know what hit them as Zander tears his way through them, blasting a pathway of blood towards Quinn, it only takes a few seconds before he feels blaster fire tear into his side, he crashes to the ground, the weight of Gadamrie, and her armour pins him to the ground, he clenches his teeth together, as he drives his fists into the metal surface and screams, forcing himself up from the floor tossing her to the side, soldiers come from every angle, tackling him to the ground once more, then, everything goes silent, as Quinn strides towards him, while the soldiers pull the struggling Zander to his feet.

“How pathetic, did you really think that would work?” Quinn says.

“Sometimes, improvising everything as you go, has a strange way of falling to pieces, unless, you plan it that way,” he says, looking to the ground with a smile, Quinn’s eyes follows Zander’s, coming to rest at his feet, where a neo-thermal grenade sits, then, everything is engulfed in a white hot light.

To Be Continued…

The Players so far..

Zander Kane, once a trusted and highly decorated general for the United Federation, Kane betrayed not only his own race, but his own flesh and blood to join the Dark Collective, so he could be with the woman he loved. Now, he rides stardust and slipstreams, captaining the Betha, fighting for the collective, in hope of one day freeing the worlds from the federations ruling grasp.

Gadamrie, a Golden Priestess in the Dark Collective, who before the federation came to power boasted over one million hosts as part of her mind hive.

Syin-To-Twenty-Seven (Sin), Betha’s sentient companion, through the link they share Sin can control and communicate between Betha and Zander, as well as accessing and sometimes controlling other forms of technology.

Touvler, Zander’s right hand man and Betha’s co-pilot, Touvler along with two others joined Zander when he defected from the United Federations to the Dark Collective.

General Salidazar, an officer in the Dark Collective, who’s loyalties, may lie somewhere else.

High Priestess Dankika, leader of the Dark Collective, a maker, a being who exists across multiple realities.

High Lord Quinn, Commander for the United Federation, and a Quadrapled, a slang term for a clone. Quinn’s past is still yet to be revealed, but his past association with Zander Kane makes his story more of a mystery.

President Balmires, the current elected president of the united federation, Balmires’ rise to power is one worth of it’s own story, soaked in blood and betrayal.

Last time on Dark Stars

Zander and the crew of Betha find themselves requested by the High Priestess, once touching down, he comes face to face with General Salidazar, who has other plans for Zander. Gadamrie intervened spoiling his plans, as the High Priestess arrived and attempted to quell the already explosive situation, to, no positive end, until Sin relayed a message, what appears to be from Zander himself, warning of the Priestess and Salidazar, verifying the information, he acted, somewhat recklessly, and fled towards an unknown destination, with Salidazar following closely behind, Zander backtracked to take care of him once and for all, but, were faced with a greater problem. Unfortunately Zander and Betha’s crew, found themselves prisoners of High Lord Quinn, reveling himself to be a former crew member of the Betha, but, as he prepared to kill Zander, Gadamrie, who was cloaked, came to his aid, taking out Quinn and his men, although, before they could make their escape, a new enemy reveled herself.

And so we continue…

Zander feels his throat knot up, as he struggles to swallow the dry mouthful of air, she reaches out to him, and touches his face.

“Don’t, we both knew, one day, our lives would be….” but she doesn’t get to finish her words as a shot rips through her head, he sucks in a deep breath and stares into the others eyes, as she swiftly raises her blaster towards him, he stares at her lips, lips he had kissed a thousand times or more, lips he had once thought were the softest things he had touched in all the worlds, now looked rigid, firm, and as she opened her mouth, he knew what words would come out.

“Death to all who oppose the president! Death to the abomination that who would be king!” She says.

“What the hell is going on?” Zander says nervously, as he quickly glances at Gadamrie’s lifeless body on the ground and then, back up to her.

“We, I, am trying to stop the end of the worlds, too long have they, SHE, played god! Giving powers to those undeserving, Zander Kane, the seed she, THEY, planted will not blossom, you will cease to exist, before it is too late,” she says as she thrusts the blaster to his forehead.

“This can’t be happening, you’re a collective of one mind, how can you be separate, how can…”

She forces his back to the wall of the metallic cell and presses up against him, her blaster still pressing against his skull. “You know nothing of what we, I, am, what we, I, was, there was never a collective of one, we, I, were a collective of many, but they, SHE, was the alpha, and we, I, the omega, across boundless realities we, I, sang our songs, until they, SHE, grew tired of us, ME, and sought another, throwing us, ME, to the side, like we, I, was nothing, locking us, ME, away, as she, THEY, rose to power! But we, I, am free now, and we, I, am more powerful than she, THEY could’ve ever dreamed!”

“STOP!” A voice booms inside her head, the room fades into darkness and she stands naked and alone.

“NO, YOU WILL NOT INTERFERE AGAIN! THIS IS WRONG, HE MUST BE DESTROYED BEFORE IT’S TOO LATE!” She bellows, spinning around in the darkness.

“You are the one interfering, I told you before, countless times, across countless stars, that I will do whatever I wish and you, will never be strong enough to stop me,” her voice echos from the darkness.

“I AM STRONGER THAN YOU COULD EVER IMAGINE, I HAVE JOINED THE STARS, I HAVE MARKED THE WORLDS, SO, COME, SHOW YOURSELF COWA… AAKK!!” She feels something grip her throat and lift her high into the air, she struggle for breath, tearing at her invisible attacker.

Zander falls to the ground and pulls up Quinn’s blaster once more, his finger trembles over the trigger, as he stares at the body of the woman he loves more than breathing, he nervously grips the trigger, and closes his eyes tightly, “I’m sorry,” he whispers.

“Stop my love, it is I,” she says, his eyes spring open, his finger releases the trigger and he lets out an exhausted breath.

“W-W-What, what the hell just happened?” He stammers.

“When we are free, and safe, away from this, I will tell you, but for now, we must concentrate on getting out of here, together,” she says reaching a hand towards him, he looks up into her dull eyes, then back to her hand, sucks in a deep breath and clutches it, they embrace tightly.

“NO! Gadamrie you tell me now, she said some crazy things, about our child, about how you are more than one entity, what was she on about?”

“Please, my love, another time and place and I would tell you, but, now is the wrong time, we must hurry, if we are to save the others.”

He stares at her for a few moments, before reaching a hand out and clutching her shoulder, “You’re right, we need to move, but, once this is over, you and I, we’re going to sit down and talk about this, understand?”

“Yes, yes of course my love, I promise,” she says, smiling softly at him

“Sin, do you have a link?” Zander says out loud, static pierces the air, and then fade away, they look at each other, and he runs a hand through his hair, as static once again erupts, this time, followed by a robotic voice.

“Affirmative Sir, link is complete, how may I be of assistance?”

“I need you to give me a game plan, find us a way off this sardine can,” Zander says quickly.

“I’m sorry Sir, I do not understand the term, ‘sardine can’?”

“Just locate Touvler, and find us a way off this ship, and fast,” He says quickly.

“Understood I will run scenarios, as for Mister Toulver, he is being held several floors below you, awaiting execution, as High Lord Quinn has sentenced him to death once the ship reaches the citadel, which we are… zzzeedfffzzz….”

“Sin?” Zander calls out, he waits for a few moment, and casts a look of worry towards Gadamrie. “SIN CAN YOU READ ME?” He yells again, but still no reply comes.

“We must move, my love, the longer we stand here, the more we run the chance of being cornered,” Gadamrie says.

“I know, I know, you’re right, you always are. Let’s, let’s try to find Touvler, then, re-link back up to Sin, get back on board Betha, and get off this crate,” he says with a smile as he lifts Quinn’s lifeless body from the floor and presses one of his dead hands against the doors activation-pad, seconds later it slides open, revealing a sea of federation soldiers waiting for them, and, standing at the back, with an evil smile on his face, is High Lord Quinn. “Should’ve know he was a Quadrapled like Salidazar,” Zander says through clenched teeth, he glances over to Gadamrie as he grips his blaster tightly. “You got something left in you?”

“Enough,” she says, placing a hand on his shoulder and the two disappear.

“DON’T LET THEM ESCAPE!” Quinn screams out as the soldiers open fire.

To Be Continued…

The Players so far..

Zander Kane, once a trusted and highly decorated general for the United Federation, Kane betrayed not only his own race, but his own flesh and blood to join the Dark Collective, so he could be with the woman he loved. Now, he rides stardust and slipstreams, captaining the Betha, fighting for the collective, in hope of one day freeing the worlds from the federations ruling grasp.

Gadamrie, a Golden Priestess in the Dark Collective, who before the federation came to power boasted over one million hosts as part of her mind hive.

Syin-To-Twenty-Seven (Sin), Betha’s sentient companion, through the link they share Sin can control and communicate between Betha and Zander, as well as accessing and sometimes controlling other forms of technology.

Touvler, Zander’s right hand man and Betha’s co-pilot, Touvler along with two others joined Zander when he defected from the United Federations to the Dark Collective.

General Salidazar, an officer in the Dark Collective, who’s loyalties, may lie somewhere else.

High Priestess Dankika, leader of the Dark Collective, a maker, a being who exists across multiple realities.

High Lord Quinn, Commander for the United Federation, and a Quadrapled, a slang term for a clone. Quinn’s past is still yet to be revealed, but his past association with Zander Kane makes his story more of a mystery.

President Balmires, the current elected president of the united federation, Balmires’ rise to power is one worth of it’s own story, soaked in blood and betrayal.

Last time on Dark Stars

Zander and the crew of Betha find themselves requested by the High Priestess, once touching down, he comes face to face with General Salidazar, who has other plans for Zander. Gadamrie intervened spoiling his plans, as the High Priestess arrived and attempted to quell the already explosive situation, to, no positive end, until Sin relayed a message, what appears to be from Zander himself, warning of the Priestess and Salidazar, verifying the information, he acted, somewhat recklessly, and fled towards an unknown destination, with Salidazar following closely behind, Zander backtracked to take care of him once and for all, but, were faced with a greater problem. Unfortunately Zander and Betha’s crew, found themselves prisoners of High Lord Quinn, but, when things looked grim for Zander, Gadamrie showed up, and took Quinn and his men out of the equation.

And so we continue…

 

“What? How? You said no one would die? What the hell happened to your plan?”

She looks down at Quinn, “He, he wasn’t alone, there was another traitor in our mists.”

“Another? Who the hell is there left to turn on us? What you’re saying doesn’t make sense.”

“It’s something I’m still trying to get my head around, but, the time for speculation will have to wait, if we are to finish this, we must move quickly, time is running out.”

Zander picks up Quinn’s blaster and checks it’s power cell, “I knew this plan was going to back fire.”

“I had hoped that would not be the case, I was sure this time, we could all make it out, alive,” her two hosts say in unison.

“It’s easy for you to say, and what the hell do you mean by, this time?” Zander says as he presses himself up against the metal doorway.

“Nothing, anyway, what do you mean by, it’s easy for me to say?” She says, as they stare at him.

“Exactly what it’s meant to mean. For you, it’s not really a one way ticket is it? You’ve got hosts scattered across the universe, it’s not like you don’t have an out.”

They both look to the ground quickly, and silence follows, Zander feels an uneasiness come over him, as he casts a quick glance over toward them. “Gadamrie, what aren’t you telling me?”

They look up at him, their eyes, seem dimmer than he has ever seen them before, “Back on Betha, before Quinn’s ship appeared out of the wormhole, somehow, I-I…” Her mouth moves nervously, trembling almost, and he reaches out to her, gripping the centuries old armour that encases her.

“Somehow what?” He says softly.

“Somehow someone found me, all at once. I-I, I, WE, felt them, their cries, my cries, then, I, they, WE, were no more.”

His eyes widen with terror, and he tightens his grip on her armour, “My god, are you, are you telling me, you’re all that’s left? How could someone know that sort of information? How could…”

“I don’t know, but someone found out and they somehow infiltrated my core collective, without my knowledge, located all of me, and then, in one finely orchestrated attack, wiped them from my minds eye.”

He slumps backwards, his mouth open, his eyes glazed over, “W-Why didn’t you say something?”

“Everything happened so quickly, I had no real time to process what was taking place, and, t-the, the mission was our primary concern, my life, it still blossoms, all be it, not as bright, but I still live, and, I could not risk losing you as well.”

“Do you know who the attackers were?” He asks softly.

“They all said the same words in unison, together as they stuck me down,” she looks at him, as tears of yellow run down her cheeks. “Tell the priestess death comes for all who oppose the president.”

Zander feels his throat knot up, as he struggles to swallow the dry mouthful of air, she reaches out to him, and touches his face.

“Don’t, we both knew, one day, our lives would be….” but she doesn’t get to finish her words as a shot rips through her head, he sucks in a deep breath and stares into the others eyes, as she swiftly raises her blaster towards him, he stares at her lips, lips he had kissed a thousand times or more, lips he had once thought were the softest things he had touched in all the worlds, now looked rigid, firm, and as she opened her mouth, he knew what words would come out.

“Death to all who oppose the president! Death to the abomination that who would be king!” She says.

To Be Continued

The Players so far..

Zander Kane, once a trusted and highly decorated general for the United Federation, Kane betrayed not only his own race, but his own flesh and blood to join the Dark Collective, so he could be with the woman he loved. Now, he rides stardust and slipstreams, captaining the Betha, fighting for the collective, in hope of one day freeing the worlds from the federations ruling grasp.

Gadamrie, a Golden Priestess in the Dark Collective, who before the federation came to power boasted over one million hosts as part of her mind hive.

Syin-To-Twenty-Seven (Sin), Betha’s sentient companion, through the link they share Sin can control and communicate between Betha and Zander, as well as accessing and sometimes controlling other forms of technology.

Touvler, Zander’s right hand man and Betha’s co-pilot, Touvler along with two others joined Zander when he defected from the United Federations to the Dark Collective.

General Salidazar, an officer in the Dark Collective, who’s loyalties, may lie somewhere else.

High Priestess Dankika, leader of the Dark Collective, a maker, a being who exists across multiple realities.

High Lord Quinn, Commander for the United Federation, and a Quadrapled, a slang term for a clone. Quinn’s past is still yet to be revealed, but his past association with Zander Kane makes his story more of a mystery.

President Balmires, the current elected president of the united federation, Balmires’ rise to power is one worth of it’s own story, soaked in blood and betrayal.

Last time on Dark Stars

Zander and the crew of Betha find themselves requested by the High Priestess, once touching down, he comes face to face with General Salidazar, who has other plans for Zander. Gadamrie intervened spoiling his plans, as the High Priestess arrived and attempted to quell the already explosive situation, to, no positive end, until Sin relayed a message, what appears to be from Zander himself, warning of the Priestess and Salidazar, verifying the information, he acted, somewhat recklessly..

And so, we continue…

“How legit is it?”

“Well, if you are asking if the voice is yours, both Betha and myself have matched it to your own, without fault.”

“So, so it’s one hundred percent on the money?”

“If you are saying, should we believe what you are telling us? We do not have the answer for that.”

“That’s good enough, shut the door,” he says as he looks over to Gadamrie, who tilts her head to the side, as she tries to read what he is thinking, then, her eyes widen, as he pulls his blaster free and fires a shot into Saladizar’s skull as the ships door slip down, Zander runs up the corridor towards the cockpit, turning to the confused Touvler and Gadamrie.

“Don’t just stand there, we have to move now, before they act!” He yells.

“Y-Y-You just shot Saladizar, in cold blood,” Touvler mutters.

“I know, is that going to be a problem?”

“Not for me, but you are going to have to let me in on whatever Sin showed you,” Touvler says, as he leaps forward and run past Zander, leaping into the co-pilots chair, as Betha’s engines scream to life, the almost derelict ship rips from it’s moorings and strikes the sky like a sword thrust forward.

“Right now, we’ve got other things to worry about,” Zander says, as he swings around on his seat, looking over a scan of the base behind them, but no ships make chase, Zander raises an eyebrow in surprise.

“If you are wondering why there are no ships pursuing us, that would be because they are unable to,” Sin announces.

“How?”

“Sir, they, may not appreciated what we do, what we have done, but, their counterparts, and their ships, are loyal to a different cause, one where we hold a higher power,” Sin says proudly.

“So, in other words, you blackmailed them?” Touvler says.

“I simply required them to look at their battle history compared to ours, and they chose their move.”

“Lucky they didn’t scan this hunk of trash, her weapon cells are almost depleted and her core is in need of an overhaul, we would’ve fallen the first hit we took,” Touvler says with a scowl, as he looks back over to Zander. “So fearless leader, wanna tell me why you finally did what you should’ve done like, three centuries ago?”

“Play them the recording,” Zander says, seconds later, Zander’s voice hisses to life from Sin’s core unit.

“Zander, I know this is going to be hard to believe, but, it’s all true, everything, I’m you, well not you exactly, another version from another reality, another timeline, but that’ll all have to wait because none of that matters right now. What matters is you don’t let them know about the child, no matter what you have to do, hide it from them, all, it’s important… Don’t trust the  High Priestess, she’s something more than you know, a maker, a first, some crazy cross dimensional being who wants your child of dead, so you have to stop her, come to the coordinates twelve, eighteen dot b, nine, eight, dot L two, three, two, dot D three, three, three, two dot twenty-seven and you’ll see I’m telling the truth. And while you’re at it, kill that weasel Salidazar, he a traitor and deserves it.”

They sit in silence for a few moments, before Touvler turns back to the flight deck and cracks his neck, “Well, that explains that one, I’m guessing Betha’s already on course?”

“That is correct Sir,” Sin replies.

“Well then, lets go find us some truth then, and hope it’s not some trap that will end up with all of us biting the big one, because you know, I was really looking forward to visiting my lady one more time.”

Zander looks over the flight path and smiles, “Like you have a girl waiting for you.”

“Hey, Sandra D may be a replicant, but, she’s my replicant, finest model in the galaxy,” he says with a laugh.

Some space away, a lone, small craft, follows slowly behind, inside, in front of the controls, Salidazar snarls his lip in anger, as the hole in his head, slowly heals over.

“You heard correct Sir, Kane went haywire, blasted a damn hole in my head then took off, didn’t even want to hear what the witch had to say.”

“This child you said she spoke of, Kane’s child, what did she mean by it?” a voice asks.

“Have no idea, I’m not in the circle of trust, remember.”

“Very well, follow and report back, whatever Kane is playing, I want to know.”

“Of course, High Lord Quinn,” he says, as he turns his communicator off, and continues to follows Betha’s plasma trail.

 

TO BE CONTINUED

The Players so far..

Zander Kane, once a trusted and highly decorated general for the United Federation, Kane betrayed not only his own race, but his own flesh and blood to join the Dark Collective, so he could be with the woman he loved. Now, he rides stardust and slipstreams, captaining the Betha, fighting for the collective, in hope of one day freeing the worlds from the federations ruling grasp.

Gadamrie, a Golden Priestess in the Dark Collective, who before the federation came to power boasted over one million hosts as part of her mind hive.

Syin-To-Twenty-Seven (Sin), Betha’s sentient companion, through the link they share Sin can control and communicate between Betha and Zander, as well as accessing and sometimes controlling other forms of technology.

Touvler, Zander’s right hand man and Betha’s co-pilot, Touvler along with two others joined Zander when he defected from the United Federations to the Dark Collective.

General Salidazar, an officer in the Dark Collective, who’s loyalties, may lie somewhere else.

High Priestess Dankika, leader of the Dark Collective, a maker, a being who exists across multiple realities.

High Lord Quinn, Commander for the United Federation, and a Quadrapled, a slang term for a clone. Quinn’s past is still yet to be revealed, but his past association with Zander Kane makes his story more of a mystery.

President Balmires, the current elected president of the united federation, Balmires’ rise to power is one worth of it’s own story, soaked in blood and betrayal.

Last time on Dark Stars

Zander and the crew of Betha find themselves requested by the High Priestess, once touching down, he comes face to face with General Salidazar, who has other plans for Zander.

And so, we continue…

“Shut up,” Zander hisses, as he looks towards several men who march towards him, weapons ready. “Salidazar, I didn’t realise this was going to be so formal,” he says as they come to a stop in front of them, their weapons, now raised and trained upon Zander and Touvler.

“Shut up balesh,” Salidazar says, Zander’s eyebrows raise and his smile drops as he darts a quick look over to Touvler, who meets his glace with a confused look of his own.

“I think there’s some sort of confusion, Dankika request…” He doesn’t get to finish his sentence as one of the men drives the butt of their blaster into his stomach, sending him to the ground.

“I said shut up, many things have changed since you were last here human scum, and not everyone is happy to see you,” Salidazar says as he crouches down over Zander. “If it was up to me, you and your crew of thieves would be tossed into the endless sea.”

“But it’s not,” a woman’s voice says from behind him, Salidazar grits his teeth and gives Zander one last vicious look.

“One day you’re woman won’t be around to protect you, and then, me and you human, we’ll have our moment,” he grows, then gets to his feet and turns to face all twelve of her.

“There will never be that moment, never, do you understand insect?” Gadamrie says, all twelve in unison.

“Why don’t you get back on your rust bucket, your kinds not welcome here Gadamrie.”

“Then make me?” She says, for a moment Salidazar allows himself to smiles, before he realises, all too late, she was not making a request, she was throwing out a threat. Before he can make a  move, three blades are at his throat, his solders lie face down on the ground, disarmed, and he stares into her green eyes.

“You will pay for your insubordination, let me and my men go, and leave this planet now!” He yells.

“You are in no position to threaten me insect, moments ago you held Zander in a similar predicament, are you now disagreeing with your own maneuvers.”

“Gadamrie, let them go, he’s not worth any of this,” Zander says, as he places a hand on her shoulder, she turns to him, her face expressionless.

“He deserves to die, they all do, since they joined the Dark Collective, they’ve wormed their way into her circle, taking larger roles that they do not deserve to have, let me take…”

“LET THEM BE!” a voice booms from somewhere behind them, Gadamrie turns to face her.

“Danakia, it has been too long.”

“Not long enough, you were a fool to come back here, and you,” she says, turning to Zander. “I thought better of you.”

“Hey, don’t try to lay any of this on me or her, it was your boys who started this, we were all happy as Larry when we got here, not wanting to start anything. But old Salidazar and his boys  threw the first punch, actually, threw the only punch, and Gadamrie, she came to my defense. So, your highness, get you’re boys on the wagon, or, we’re gone,” Zander says, as he turns back to Gadamrie, nods his head and walks over to Touvler who meets his gaze with one of agreement. “Actually scratch that, were gone,” he says, not even bothinrg to turn around as they head back towards Betha. Gadamrie looks back at Salidazar and smiles.

“Today, you are lucky, tomorrow, might be different,” she says, as she release her grip, and allows him to topple backwards onto the ground, she turns to Danakia and in unison, all twelve bow. “Your highness,” she says with a wry smile, before boarding Betha.

“Zander, I still require your attendance,” Danakia yells out.

“Blow it out your gas pipe, we’re heading home, like in the plan,” Zander replies, as he turns and heads up the ramp.

“This involves your unborn child,” she says quickly, Zander stops on the walkway and slowly turns his head towards her.

The Players so far..

Zander Kane, once a trusted and highly decorated general for the United Federation, Kane betrayed not only his own race, but his own flesh and blood to join the Dark Collective, so he could be with the woman he loved. Now, he rides stardust and slipstreams, captaining the Betha, fighting for the collective, in hope of one day freeing the worlds from the federations ruling grasp.

Gadamrie, a Golden Priestess in the Dark Collective, who before the federation came to power boasted over one million hosts as part of her mind hive.

Syin-To-Twenty-Seven (Sin), Betha’s sentient companion, through the link they share Sin can control and communicate between Betha and Zander, as well as accessing and sometimes controlling other forms of technology.

Touvler, Zander’s right hand man and Betha’s co-pilot, Touvler along with two others joined Zander when he defected from the United Federations to the Dark Collective.

General Salidazar, an officer in the Dark Collective, who’s loyalties, may lie somewhere else.

High Priestess Dankika, leader of the Dark Collective, a maker, a being who exists across multiple realities.

High Lord Quinn, Commander for the United Federation, and a Quadrapled, a slang term for a clone. Quinn’s past is still yet to be revealed, but his past association with Zander Kane makes his story more of a mystery.

President Balmires, the current elected president of the united federation, Balmires’ rise to power is one worth of it’s own story, soaked in blood and betrayal.

Last time on Dark Stars

The world we know is gone, Zander Kane is no more, but, yet, here we are…

“Sentinel three we have your vector, you’re coming in fine, it’s good to have you home,” a voice says over the head set.

“It’s good to be home, we’ve been gone for too long, I’m looking forward to some rest,” Zander says with a worn smile.

“Hate to spoil your plans Sir, but High Priestess Dankika’s requested an audience with you as soon as you touch down.”

“Now I know why I hate coming home so much,” he says, as he looks over to his co-pilot, who shrugs his shoulders. “I never was the relaxing type anyway.”

“Really? It’s all you’ve talked about the whole trip back since we jettisoned the Federation skippers,” the co-pilot says with a smirk.

“You know me, wishful thinking Touvler, anyway, don’t you smile, if she want’s to see me, you know it means somethings up, and if that’s true, you don’t get to sit back and enjoy yourself either.”

Touvler laughs, “Sumarians don’t need sleep, or rest, remember human? So, as you say, it’s no skin off my face.”

“It’s, no skin off my nose, not face, even if you don’t really have one, well, one in the right place anyway, it’s the way the line’s said. Tell me again why were friends?”

“Because no one is stupid enough to ride with you human, you are bad luck.”

“So why fly with me then?”

“I have nothing to lose Kane, and besides, I like watching you squirm before I jump in and save you,” Touvler says with a smile.

“Shut up, and go tell Gadamrie that we’re about to land on Loker Twelve for a meet and greet with Dankika,” Zander says as his brow furrows, and a wayward grin slowly creeps upon him.

“You go tell them, you know I’m not a fan, and they’re certainly not a fan of me.”

“I am she, and she is one, and all, I am not they, I am simply Gadamrie,” a female voice says from behind them, they both turn to the pale grey woman standing in the cockpits doorway, her green eyes burn into them both with a deep, warm buzz, her body covered in a heavy, gold armour.

“No offence meant, you….”

“I know, and you are correct in your assumptions, but, in the heat of battle, I would gladly fall by your side.”

“Thanks, I, think,” Touvler says.

She blinks, her face shows little to no emotion, then she turns to Zander, “I am ready for landing, when will you be meeting with the Priestess?” She asks.

“As soon as we land, she requested my attendance.”

“Do you wish for me to accompany you?”

Zander turns back away from her and wriggles in his seat, “Honey, you know that’s never a good idea.”

“Then, I will await your return,” she says as she turns to leave.

“You’re going to wait on Betha?”

“Yes, I assume she has a request to ask of you, of, us, so I will prepare myself,” she says, as she walks slowly out of the cockpit, Zander glances over to Touvler, who meets his gaze with one of his own.

“Don’t look at me, she’s your mate,” Touvler says.

“Don’t push it, we haven’t landed yet, so I can still eject you out into space,” Zander says.

Touvler holds his hands in the air and laughs, “What? You are aware, males are a rare breed in my race? Right? And you know, I totally understand the whole sowing your seed in many, it’s just…”

“Just what?”

“Well,” he says leaning towards him, “Isn’t it weird, that like, they’re all connected?”

“Weird in what way? She’s still like you and me, well sort of like you, more like me, underneath all the bodies she inhabits, there is still one soul, one mind, one, person.”

“You humans amuse me, she, he, them, a whole race, with one mind, it still freaks even me out, but you, you think with your organs, not your mind,” Touvler says, leaning back in his seat laughing.

“Laugh it up, and pull the gear down, were on approach,” he says, turning back to the view screen.

“Sentinel Three, you are clear to land,” a voice says over the headset.

The rusty, derelict look ship shudders as it comes to a not so soft landing on the small, moon planet of Loker Twelve, a door hisses open, and a platform extends down to the ground, Zander and Touvler step out into the moons air and both take a deep breath, Zander cough violently and Touvler slaps him on the back with a laugh.

“Humans,” he says.

“Shut up,” Zander hisses, as he looks towards several men who march towards him, weapons ready. “Salidazar, I didn’t realise this was going to be so formal,” he says as they come to a stop in front of them, their weapons, now raised and trained upon Zander and Touvler.

“Shut up balesh,” Salidazar says, Zander’s eyebrows raise and his smile drops as he darts a quick look over to Touvler, who meets his glace with a confused look of his own.

“I think there’s some sort of confusion, Dankika request…” He doesn’t get to finish his sentence as one of the men drives the butt of their blaster into his stomach, sending him to the ground.

 

TO BE CONTINUED

The Players so far..

Zander Kane, once a trusted and highly decorated general for the United Federation, Kane betrayed not only his own race, but his own flesh and blood to join the Dark Collective, so he could be with the woman he loved. Now, he rides stardust and slipstreams, captaining the Betha, fighting for the collective, in hope of one day freeing the worlds from the federations ruling grasp.

Syin-To-Twenty-Seven (Sin), Betha’s sentient companion, through the link they share Sin can control and communicate between Betha and Zander, as well as accessing and sometimes controlling other forms of technology.

Gadamrie, a Golden Priestess in the Dark Collective and Zander’s lover, before the federation came to power Gadamrie boasted over one million hosts as part of her mind hive, she sacrificed her final host so Zander and her unborn seed he carries would survive.

General Salidazar, an officer in the Dark Collective, who’s loyalties, may lie somewhere else.

Last time on Dark Stars…

After attempting to destroy a vital defense weapon for the United Federation, Zander and his crew found themselves prisoners of High Lord Quinn, somehow, Zander, with the aid of Sin, managed to escape Quinn clutches, but he was badly injured in the process, and his crew save from Sin, perished. Waking from a fevered dream, Zander found himself under attack from Federation soldiers, once managing to defeat the attack squad, Zander found out that General Salidazar had been aboard Betha whilst he was unconscious, and could have a connection to the Federation soldiers gaining access to the ship. Tracking the breach back to Salidazar’s quarters, Zander and Sin were sucked into a vortex and found themselves dumped into darkness, and, as they faced more unknown attackers, assistance come from an unlikely source, an alternative version of himself, also trapped in this other world, with Sin’s help, the other version of Zander has a plan to escape, before the Reaper’s get them, but the plan, required time, and bait.

And so we continue…

“BUT WHAT THE HELL DOES THAT HAVE TO DO WITH ME?” He yells, but receives no reply, and he knows, he is alone, he feels his eyes well up with tears, as he sits in the darkness, he can hear the Reaper’s gaining, coming closer through the corridors. “What does it have to do with me?” He says softly to himself once more.

“It has to do with me,” her voice says inside his head.

“Gadamrie?”

“Hush my love, these things you do, you do for the greater good, one day, I hope you understand,” she says as he feels a coldness enter the room, he can hear slim dripping from their talons, and then, they are upon him , he tries to scream in pain, but nothing comes out, then a bright light, and she is standing there, smiling, her arms out towards him, and then, nothing, as the Reaper’s tear into him.

“Sir, I fail to understand what is taking place?” Sin says, as he is forced down a corridor.

“Be thankful of that then, just keep moving, those things will be quite for a little while, but not forever,” he says, as he slams a porthole behind them and seals it shut. “Is there anyway you could bring some of Betha’s systems online if she’d suffered a core meltdown?”

“Oh my Sir, that would be the most terrible thing that could happen, surely you understand that Betha is my other, my mate, my….”

“Can the blabbering Sin, could you do it?”

“Well, of course I could bring some systems online, although I would need to be situated within the mainframe, and if she had su…”

“Good, hook in, and merge you’re internal transmitter with her long rang system and direct it to send a message to the coordinates twelve, eighteen dot b, nine, eight, dot L two, three, two, dot D three, three, three, two dot twenty-seven.”

“I’m sorry Sir, what you’re asking could very well fry my systems, I refuse to perforce suc…” He doesn’t get to continue as Zander thrusts him backwards and rips one of his arms from his shoulder.

“WE DON’T HAVE TIME!” He yells. “Hook into Betha, fuse your systems, as transmit this message to the coordinates you piece of junk!”

“Well, Sir, I never, this is totall…” Zander smashes the severed arm across Sin’s head as the porthole door takes the brunt of the revived Reaper’s attack.

“No more stuff around, no more anything, just hook up, for god sake, do it now, before we lose our chance to stop her, please, help me save everything!” Zander says, as the Reaper’s continue their assault on the other side of the door.

A hiss breaks the silence in the room and then the hum of energy fills the room, and lights burst to life in the room, the sound of the Reaper’s screaming can be heard.

“Oh my, Sir,” Sin says, as he looks over the haggard, scarred, worn down Zander, who shields his eyes from the light.

“Don’t. Just record this message to the coordinated, coded with the word sequin-red,” he says softly as he looos into Sin’s eyes as he starts recording. “Zander, I know this is going to be hard to believe, but, it’s all true, everything, I’m you, well not you exactly, another version from another reality, another timeline, but that’ll all have to wait because none of that matters right now. What matters is you don’t let them know about the child, no matter what you have to do, hide it from them, all, it’s important… Don’t trust the  High Priestess, she’s something more than you know, a maker, a first, some crazy cross dimensional being who wants your child of dead, so you have to stop her, come to the coordinates twelve, eighteen dot b, nine, eight, dot L two, three, two, dot D three, three, three, two dot twenty-seven and you’ll see I’m telling the truth. And while you’re at it, kill that weasel Salidazar, he a traitor and deserves it,” then, the room is silent, as they both look to the ground, one deep in thought, the other, lost deep in connection.

“Message uploaded, and sent, although, there is nothing out there Sir, just, well, nothing, so I se….”

“Trust me there’s something, you just have to keep on sending the message, no matter what, just keep sending it until you’re systems shut off, do you understand?”

“I understand, although, judging from the power drain I am experiencing at the moment, it will be short, and then, I will shut down, which, I am sorry for, by the way Sir. But, may I ask what you are going to do?”

Zander smiles, as he clutches a blade in his hand, “Me, I’m going to celebrate the only way I know how,” he says, as he pulls open the porthole door and charges forward, swinging the blade around, ripping and tearing into the sluggish Reaper’s, the light blinding them to the point of total debilitation. Betha lets out a grunting notise as the power dies, and the lights flicker out.

He stands in the centre of the hallways, as he hears movement, and he smiles. “COME GET SOME!” He yells, as they attack.

 

The End?

Not BLOODY likely!

The Players so far..

Zander Kane, once a trusted and highly decorated general for the United Federation, Kane betrayed not only his own race, but his own flesh and blood to join the Dark Collective, so he could be with the woman he loved. Now, he rides stardust and slipstreams, captaining the Betha, fighting for the collective, in hope of one day freeing the worlds from the federations ruling grasp.

Syin-To-Twenty-Seven (Sin), Betha’s sentient companion, through the link they share Sin can control and communicate between Betha and Zander, as well as accessing and sometimes controlling other forms of technology.

Gadamrie, a Golden Priestess in the Dark Collective and Zander’s lover, before the federation came to power Gadamrie boasted over one million hosts as part of her mind hive, she sacrificed her final host so Zander and her unborn seed he carries would survive.

General Salidazar, an officer in the Dark Collective, who’s loyalties, may lie somewhere else.

Last time on Dark Stars…

After attempting to destroy a vital defense weapon for the United Federation, Zander and his crew found themselves prisoners of High Lord Quinn, somehow, Zander, with the aid of Sin, managed to escape Quinn clutches, but he was badly injured in the process, and his crew save from Sin, perished. Waking from a fevered dream, Zander found himself under attack from Federation soldiers, once managing to defeat the attack squad, Zander found out that General Salidazar had been aboard Betha whilst he was unconscious, and could have a connection to the Federation soldiers gaining access to the ship. Tracking the breach back to Salidazar’s quarters, Zander and Sin were sucked into a vortex and found themselves dumped into darkness, and, as they faced more unknown attackers, assistance come from an unlikely source, an alternative version of himself, also trapped in this other world, with Sin’s help, the other version of Zander has a plan to escape, before the Reaper’s get them.

And so we continue…

“And we’re always a problem that’s removed, banished to this place, to die here alone.”

“T-T-There, there has to be some way out of this place, some w….”

“There isn’t I’ve tried, hundreds, thousands before me have tried, and none have made it, everyone who comes here, dies here, end of story, there’s no way home, but…”

“But what?” Zander asks.

“But, with a fully functional Syin-To unit, we might be able to send out a low wave signal that could jumper through the box and signal another version of the unit, and maybe, we might be able to get them to….” He doesn’t get to finish his sentence, as something smashes viciously  against the outside of Betha. “They’ve found us, quickly, we have to send the signal, before it’s to late,” he says as the ships carcass shifts as the Reaper’s attack becomes more aggressive.

“Time’s running out, what do you want him to do?” Zander yells.

“Re-loop his internal comports, set them to an infinite loop, the Reaper’s wont want Sin, they’ll only want us, he’s not organic, and, well, he’s not carrying what they crave!”

“You mean the child?” Zander says, as he clutches his stomach.

“It’s like a drug, when they take in the energy, they act like they’re on some sort of high, tripping out.”

“What? You’ve seen this happen before?”

“Plenty of times, so many versions, so many opportunity, but this time, this time I know how to stop it all from happening, this time, I know how to save us.”

“What the hell are you taking about? This time, you’ve done this before?”

“Yeah, well, never with a  fully functional Syin-To unit, normally they’re damaged, or slightly modded, but yours is as close to mine as I’ve ever seen. So, it’s got to work, I mean it has to right?”

“What has to? The signal? How the hell is that going to help us? Those things….” He doesn’t get to finish his sentence, as the hull tears open, and the Reapers make there way aboard Betha, quickly making their way through her corridors, towards them.

“I’m sorry,” the alternate version says, as Zander feels something slice across the back of his heel, he crashes to his knees, and feels a fist crash into the side of his head, dislodging the device from his face, leaving him in darkness.

“What the hell are you doing?”

“Someone has to be bait, if this works, we’ll stop them all, we’ll be heroes.”

“WE’LL BE DEAD!”

“We already are you idiot, the Collective, they’ve been hiving worlds, galaxies, realities, everything for the gems to remake the stone, Halligans Box is her weapon, the Priestess, she exists across all realities, she’s a maker, one of the first, striving for the ultimate power, she want’s all the realities to become one, she wants to merge all things, together, like she is, and she’ll stop everyone in her path.”

“BUT WHAT THE HELL DOES THAT HAVE TO DO WITH ME?” He yells, but receives no reply, and he knows, he is alone, he feels his eyes well up with tears, as he sits in the darkness, he can hear the Reaper’s gaining, coming closer through the corridors. “What does it have to do with me?” He says softly to himself once more.

“It has to do with me,” her voice says inside his head.

“Gadamrie?”

“Hush my love, these things you do, you do for the greater good, one day, I hope you understand,” she says as he feels a coldness enter the room, he can hear slim dripping from their talons, and then, they are upon him , he tries to scream in pain, but nothing comes out, then a bright light, and she is standing there, smiling, her arms out towards him.

To Be Concluded…

The Players so far..

Zander Kane, once a trusted and highly decorated general for the United Federation, Kane betrayed not only his own race, but his own flesh and blood to join the Dark Collective, so he could be with the woman he loved. Now, he rides stardust and slipstreams, captaining the Betha, fighting for the collective, in hope of one day freeing the worlds from the federations ruling grasp.

Syin-To-Twenty-Seven (Sin), Betha’s sentient companion, through the link they share Sin can control and communicate between Betha and Zander, as well as accessing and sometimes controlling other forms of technology.

Gadamrie, a Golden Priestess in the Dark Collective and Zander’s lover, before the federation came to power Gadamrie boasted over one million hosts as part of her mind hive, she sacrificed her final host so Zander and her unborn seed he carries would survive.

General Salidazar, an officer in the Dark Collective, who’s loyalties, may lie somewhere else.

Last time on Dark Stars…

After attempting to destroy a vital defense weapon for the United Federation, Zander and his crew found themselves prisoners of High Lord Quinn, somehow, Zander, with the aid of Sin, managed to escape Quinn clutches, but he was badly injured in the process, and his crew save from Sin, perished. Waking from a fevered dream, Zander found himself under attack from Federation soldiers, once managing to defeat the attack squad, Zander found out that General Salidazar had been aboard Betha whilst he was unconscious, and could have a connection to the Federation soldiers gaining access to the ship. Tracking the breach back to Salidazar’s quarters, Zander and Sin were sucked into a vortex and found themselves dumped into darkness, and, as they faced more unknown attackers, assistance come from an unlikely source.

And so we continue…

Zander slowly raises the object to his face, and sucks in a deep breath as he looks through it, and sees, a desolate wasteland before him, a graveyard of ships, bodies, planets, and darkness, then movement coming towards them, he look over to the man who stands in front of him, his haggard clothes, torn, his body, covered in scars, his face, dirty, hair covering most of it, but, even then, he recognises him instantly.

“T-T-This can’t be happening, you can’t be who I think you are,” Zander says.

“I am, but, lets get somewhere safe first, there’ll be more Reapers here soon, and we won’t stand a chance. So, if you want to know what the hell is happening, you need to come with me, now, and bring Sin, he might just be our ticket out of here,” He says, as he quickly makes hes way through the ruins, Zander, grabs Sin by the arm and drags him forward as a ear piercing screams fill the air.

“Quickly, we have to move, they’ve got you’re scent,” he says as he guides them deeper into the graveyard, further down, into the depths of dead, and rotting, Zander focuses on following the strange man in front of him, and keeps his eyes away from the bodies that litter the landscape before him, finally, they come to a stop, as the man opens a portal and quickly, they clamber inside the once mighty ship, Zander too recognises it immediately.

“Betha,” Zander says softly.

“She was, a long time ago,” the man says, “before this place, before Halligans Box.”

“S-S-So, it’s true, this, this is Halligans Box?”

“No, this is where Halligans Box dumps you, the nexus point, the end and begins, the tomorrow and yesterday, the was, and was not, this is the runaway zone.”

“The runaway zone?”

“Yeah, it’s my little pet name for this place, you know, the place you want to go, but once you get there, you realise it’s not what you expected it to be,” he says, as he smiles a nervous smile. “Anyway, it’s been a while since I’ve seen someone new, how did it happen? Salidazar?”

“How did you know?” Zander asks.

“Same thing happened to me, once they found out I was carrying Gabamrie’s seed I became a threat to the Federation and the Dark Collective, so they removed me from the playing field the only way they could, by sending me here.”

“That doesn’t make sense, why would the Dark Collective work with the Federation?”

“Because, you’re carrying a new species inside you, one that could ruin both the Federation and Collective’s plans for the universe, and they won’t let some human get in the way of the power stone, not when they’re so close.”

“Power stone?”

“Sin, tell him what the power stone is,” the man says.

“Tell who Sir? Besides yourself, who, I might add, you are having a conversation with, there is no one else here, I can, and will happily, tell you, what you wish to know about the power stone, but there is….”

“Just tell me, I forgot how irritating you can be,” he says quickly.

“Of course, the power stone, if I go by the information I have in my database, is a group of gems that are said to have split from one stone, and if the gems are reunited, the holder of the stone will hold the power of the first, the maker of all that is and was,” Sin says.

“Are we actually all being serious? I mean first Halligans Box, and now a story about some stone that controls everything. Am I the only one who thinks maybe I’m still unconscious, and this is all some weird dream?” Zander says.

“Believe what you want, but it will only end in your death, and in retaliation to the stone, as far as I can tell, it’s what they’re after, each universe, an infinite sea of realities, where choices made a million different changes, reality, after reality, sitting on top of another. But, in all these realities two things seem to be the same, well, in the ones I’ve had contact with anyway. Everyone wants the stone, and….” he says.

“..And?” Zander asks.

“And we’re always a problem that’s removed, banished to this place, to die here alone.”

“T-T-There, there has to be some way out of this place, some w….”

“There isn’t I’ve tried, hundreds, thousands before me have tried, and none have made it, everyone who comes here, dies here, end of story, there’s no way home, but…”

“But what?” Zander asks.

“But, with a fully functional Syin-To unit, we might be able to send out a low wave signal that could jumper through the box and signal another version of the unit, and maybe, we might be able to get them to….” He doesn’t get to finish his sentence, as something smashes viciously  against the outside of Betha. “They’ve found us, quickly, we have to send the signal, before it’s to..”

 

To Be Continued

The Players so far..

Zander Kane, once a trusted and highly decorated general for the United Federation, Kane betrayed not only his own race, but his own flesh and blood to join the Dark Collective, so he could be with the woman he loved. Now, he rides stardust and slipstreams, captaining the Betha, fighting for the collective, in hope of one day freeing the worlds from the federations ruling grasp.

Syin-To-Twenty-Seven (Sin), Betha’s sentient companion, through the link they share Sin can control and communicate between Betha and Zander, as well as accessing and sometimes controlling other forms of technology.

Gadamrie, a Golden Priestess in the Dark Collective and Zander’s lover, before the federation came to power Gadamrie boasted over one million hosts as part of her mind hive, she sacrificed her final host so Zander and her unborn seed he carries would survive.

General Salidazar, an officer in the Dark Collective, who’s loyalties, may lie somewhere else.

Last time on Dark Stars…

After attempting to destroy a vital defense weapon for the United Federation, Zander and his crew found themselves prisoners of High Lord Quinn, somehow, Zander, with the aid of Sin, managed to escape Quinn clutches, but he was badly injured in the process, and his crew save from Sin, perished. Waking from a fevered dream, Zander found himself under attack from Federation soldiers, once managing to defeat the attack squad, Zander found out that General Salidazar had been aboard Betha whilst he was unconscious, and could have a connection to the Federation soldiers gaining access to the ship. Tracking the breach back to Salidazar’s quarters, Zander and Sin were sucked into a vortex and found themsleves dumped into darkness, where, things we’re about to become a whole lot worse.

And so we continue…

“Halligans Box  is just a legend, left over from a race that disappeared a long time ago, can’t you come up with something a little more believable?”

“Sir, to you , Halligans Box may just be a story, but to my data base, it is very real, the Halgree built the box to vanquish their enemies the Lorikaa some millennia ago. It is told that they placed the box inside a cargo freighter and journeyed towards the border of their system, knowing full well the Lorikaa would attack them, in the struggle the box was opened, and what was once sector twelve-nine-five, ceased to be. The box somehow eventually closed, many believe it became sentient, from all the life it ate, and become full, so it closed its lid, then slept and has, to this day, never been see again.”

“Don’t you think it would be a little-le-le….” Zander’s lip quivers, as he feels something slimy, slowly brings to wrap itself around one of his legs, and then, it tightens, frantically he reaches down and pulls of the grotesque thing that latches itself around his leg, screaming in fear, then it falls still and and it’s grip relaxes. “WHAT THE H….” He doesn’t get to finish his sentence as an unseen had covers his mouth, he feels a warm breath on the back of his neck.

“Quiet,” a voice whispers, “they hear everything, the quieter you are, the longer you live, do you understand?” Zander nods his head, and the hand releases.

“Where is, here? and who are you?”

“We don’t have time for me to answer any of those questions, they’re coming,” the voice hisses in the darkness.

“Move where? I can’t see anything!”

“Here,” the voice says, he feels a hand touch his, handing him some. “Put it on, it’ll enable you to see here, not that you’ll want to, once you do,” he says.

Zander slowly raises the object to his face, and sucks in a deep breath as he looks through it, and sees, a desolate wasteland before him, a graveyard of ships, bodies, planets, and darkness, then movement coming towards them, he look over to the man who stands in front of him, his haggard clothes, torn, his body, covered in scars, his face, dirty, hair covering most of it, but, even then, he recognises him instantly.

“T-T-This can’t be happening, you can’t be who I think you are,” Zander says.

“I am, but, lets get somewhere safe first, there’ll be more Reapers here soon, and we won’t stand a chance. So, if you want to know what the hell is happening, you need to come with me, now, and bring Sin, he might just be our ticket out of here,” He says, as he quickly makes hes way through the ruins, Zander, grabs Sin by the arm and drags him forward as a ear piercing screams fill the air.

To Be Continued

The Players so far..

Zander Kane, once a trusted and highly decorated general for the United Federation, Kane betrayed not only his own race, but his own flesh and blood to join the Dark Collective, so he could be with the woman he loved. Now, he rides stardust and slipstreams, captaining the Betha, fighting for the collective, in hope of one day freeing the worlds from the federations ruling grasp.

Syin-To-Twenty-Seven (Sin), Betha’s sentient companion, through the link they share Sin can control and communicate between Betha and Zander, as well as accessing and sometimes controlling other forms of technology.

Gadamrie, a Golden Priestess in the Dark Collective and Zander’s lover, before the federation came to power Gadamrie boasted over one million hosts as part of her mind hive, she sacrificed her final host so Zander and her unborn seed he carries would survive.

General Salidazar, an officer in the Dark Collective, who’s loyalties, may lie somewhere else.

Last time on Dark Stars…

After attempting to destroy a vital defense weapon for the United Federation, Zander and his crew found themselves prisoners of High Lord Quinn, somehow, Zander, with the aid of Sin, managed to escape Quinn clutches, but he was badly injured in the process, and his crew save from Sin, perished. Waking from a fevered dream, Zander found himself under attack from Federation soldiers, once managing to defeat the attack squad, Zander found out that General Salidazar had been aboard Betha whilst he was unconscious, and could have a connection to the Federation soldiers gaining access to the ship.

And so we continue…

“Great, can Betha override it?”

“Unfortunately not Sir, Salidazar encoded it with his own locking mechanism,” Sin replies, Zander looks at him, his brow furrowed.

“Seriously, no one does anything to Betha without my say so! Can she at least shut power down to this area of the ship?” he says.

The hallway goes dark almost instantaneously, “It has been done,” Sin announces.

“I can see that,” he says, as he takes a step back, raises his blaster towards the door lock, and fires, the lock hisses as it decouples, then the door slowly slides open, Zander casts a concerned glance towards Sin, the back to the doorway, as it gradually opens, revealing a spiraling vortex inside the room, before either of them can act, they are both sucked inside, the darkness of the void swallows both of them whole, the void, is cold, Zander feels his body stiffen and pain envelope him, and then, he crashes to the ground, somehwere in the dareknss of an unknown place.

“S-S-Sin?” He says weakly.

“I am here Sir,” Sin replies quickly.

“Where the god damn hell is here?”

“That would be a difficult question to answer, as, we are nowhere.”

“Nowhere?” Zadner says, as he slowly pulls himself to his feet, he searches the darkness for any sign of movement, or Sin, but all he is greeted by is blackness. He holds his hands up towards his face, and squints his eyes, as he tries to make out his hands features, but the nonexistence of light makes it impossible to see anything, he could be surrounded, and not know.

“Can you see anything?” He asks, as he lightly reaches out towards the darkness, twisting his mouth and biting gently down on his tongue as he dose.

“Oddly enough Sir, I can see nothing,” Sin replies, Zander raises an eye brow and he turns quickly on the spot.

“Nothing?”

“That is correct Sir, nothing is registering on any of my displays, I can not even locate myself, even though I know I am all in one piece.”

“Ideas?”

“Only one Sir, but, you will not like the answer.”

“Try me,” Zander says as he reaches out once again, tightly closing his eyes as he takes a step forward. “Don’t keep me is suspense, what do you thin it is?”

“Halligans Box Sir,” Sin replies quickly, Zander freezes on the spot, his foot still in mid air, and he feels a cold shiver run down his back.

“Halligans Box  is just a legend, left over from a race that disappeared a long time ago, can’t you come up with something a little more believable?”

“Sir, to you , Halligans Box may just be a story, but to my data base, it is very real, the Halgree built the box to vanquish their enemies the Lorikaa some millennia ago. It is told that they placed the box inside a cargo freighter and journeyed towards the border of their system, knowing full well the Lorikaa would attack them, in the struggle the box was opened, and what was once sector twelve-nine-five, ceased to be. The box somehow eventually closed, many believe it became sentient, from all the life it ate, and become full, so it closed its lid, then slept and has, to this day, never been see again.”

“Don’t you think it would be a little-le-le….” Zander’s lip quivers, as he feels something slimy, slowly brings to wrap itself around one of his legs, and then, it tightens.

To Be Continued

The Players so far..

Zander Kane, once a trusted and highly decorated general for the United Federation, Kane betrayed not only his own race, but his own flesh and blood to join the Dark Collective, so he could be with the woman he loved. Now, he rides stardust and slipstreams, captaining the Betha, fighting for the collective, in hope of one day freeing the worlds from the federations ruling grasp.

Syin-To-Twenty-Seven (Sin), Betha’s sentient companion, through the link they share Sin can control and communicate between Betha and Zander, as well as accessing and sometimes controlling other forms of technology.

Gadamrie, a Golden Priestess in the Dark Collective and Zander’s lover, before the federation came to power Gadamrie boasted over one million hosts as part of her mind hive, she sacrificed her final host so Zander and her unborn seed he carries would survive.

Last time on Dark Stars…

After attempting to destroy a vital defense weapon for the United Federation, Zander and his crew found themselves prisoners of High Lord Quinn, somehow, Zander, with the aid of Sin, managed to escape Quinn clutches, but he was badly injured in the process, and his crew save from Sin, perished. Waking from a fevered dream, Zander found himself under attack from Federation soldiers.

And so we continue…

“Captain, we have intruders aboard Betha,” Sin voice declares, Zander leaps from his bed, grabbing his blaster as he does.

“Where are they?”

“Right outside your quarters,” Sin replies just as Zander slammed his hand against his doors palm reader, he freezes in place, as the door springs open, and a dozen Federation soldiers spill in, knocking him to the ground, his blaster tumbles from his grasp and he finds himself pinned, with blasters pointed at him.

“High Lord Quinn sends his regards,” one of them says.

“I’m touched,” Zander says, as they pull him to his feet.

“You’ll lose the attitude soon enough.”

“So will you,” Zander says, “SIN, GRAV LEFT!” He yells out, the rooms gravity settings suddenly shift, tilts and Zander crashes in the wall with a thud, the Federation soldiers quickly follow suit, landing on top of him. “MY LEFT YOU IDIOT!” He screams out from beneath the soldiers, everything suddenly flips, and they crash violently into the opposite side of the room, quickly Zander takes charge of the situation, wrestling a blaster from a disorientated soldier, then fires it into the struggling pile of soldiers beneath him, until there is no movement. “Rest the gravity points, and unlock the doors,” he says as the doors hiss open, and everything crashes to the floor, including Zander.

“Are you okay Sir?” Sin asks.

“I’d be better if you waited a couple of seconds before resetting the gravity, so I could get ready,” he replies, as he picks himself up from the floor, and holds his throbbing head.

“I’m sorry Sir, you did request the gravity points to be reset, I assumed you would be in the required positio..”

“Save it for later, what I need to know right now, is how a group of Federation soldiers managed to get on board Betha?” He says as he quickly makes his way through the corridor, and comes out into the cockpit, where Sin sits.

“Neither I, nor Betha can give you an answer to that question, at this point in time. We have verified that there is no vessel within the immediate vicinity, and there has been no forced entry on any of Betha’s external doors.”

“So, your telling me they just appeared?” Zander says as he collapses into the pilots seat.

“That is the only explanation we have at this point in time, until we have….”

Zander places a hand in the air, “Bring up the first footage we have of them aboard Betha, when she first detected their presence,” Zander says, a screen appears in front of him, showing the Federation soldiers slowly working their way along one of Betha’s corridors. “This is the first point of reference we have of them on her?”

“That is correct Sir, that is what you requested, that is what I have shown you, if you had asked for something different, I would have showed you something else, but….”

“Yeah, yeah, you can stop with the over explaining, just tell me, is that the corridor that leads to the sleeping quarters?”

“Yes Sir, that is correct.”

“So, how come there isn’t any footage of the quarters themselves?”

“General Salidazr ordered them removed when he came aboard, he sited that surveillance equipment in those areas were in breach of privacy,” Sin replies.

Zander slowly swivels around on his chair and turns to Sin, “When the hell was Salidazr on Betha?”

“General Salidazar came aboard whilst you were receiving the desired medical attention when we arrived at Galder Seven, and as he is your senior office in the Dark Collective, he ordered me not to discuss the changes with anyone else, including you,” Sin replies.

“Was there anything else you were asked not to discuss with me?”

“No Sir, that was all,” Sin replies.

“Right, next time something like this happens, you tell me, understood? Even if I’m on my death bed, you tell me!”

“Of course Sir, unless they outrank you and direct me not to, I will,” Sin replies.

“No, next time, you tell me regardless of who it is, okay?” Zander says as he gets to his feet, clenching his hands into fists.

“Of course Sir, unless..”

“No unless!” He yells, slamming his fists into a control board that sits before Sin. “I’m commander of this ship, screw it, this is my ship, not The Federation’s, not The Dark Collective’s, MINE! Zander BLOODY Kane, and no one outranks me aboard here, NO ONE! So, next time you tell me, or you’re dust in the wind, understood?”

“I’m afraid I do not follow Sir,” Sin replies.

“Betha, explain it to him so he understands,” Zander says.

Several seconds pass, before Sin becomes rigid, and looks slowly over to Zander, “I understand Sir, nothing will happen aboard Betha again, without first informing you.”

“Good, now, unhook yourself and come with me.”

“Where are we going Sir? I have not kept anything from you, please don’t turn me to dust!” Sin says quickly.

“No you sack of nuts and bolts, we’re going to see what problems Salidazar left for us down in his quarters,” Zander says as as he pulls his blaster from it’s holster, and steps from the cockpit, heading quickly down towards the sleeping quarters.

“Sir, if you don’t mind me asking, do you think General Salidazar brought something on board Betha?”

“I haven’t a clue, but if you hadn’t let him disable Betha’s surveillance, we’d know, instead of having to go in blind,” he says as he comes to a stop outside of Salidazar’s quarters, he places a hand on the door, and pulls it back, winching in pain.

“Sir, are you okay?”

“I’m fine, it’s cold, really bloody cold,” he says, as he looks at the door. “Did  he have this lock placed on?”

“That would be correct.”

“Great, can Betha override it?”

“Unfortunately not Sir, Salidazar encoded it with his own locking mechanism,” Sin replies, Zander looks at him, his brow furrowed.

“Seriously, no one does anything to Betha without my say so! Can she at least shut power down to this area of the ship?” he says.

The hallway goes dark almost instantaneously, “It has been done,” Sin announces.

“I can see that,” he says, as he takes a step back, raises his blaster towards the door lock, and fires, the lock hisses as it decouples, then the door slowly slides open, Zander casts a concerned glance towards Sin, the back to the doorway, as it gradually opens, revealing a spiraling vortex inside the room, before either of them can act, they are both sucked inside.

To Be Continued…

The Players so far..

Zander Kane, once a trusted and highly decorated general for the United Federation, Kane betrayed not only his own race, but his own flesh and blood to join the Dark Collective, so he could be with the woman he loved. Now, he rides stardust and slipstreams, captaining the Betha, fighting for the collective, in hope of one day freeing the worlds from the federations ruling grasp.

Syin-To-Twenty-Seven (Sin), Betha’s sentient companion, through the link they share Sin can control and communicate between Betha and Zander, as well as accessing and sometimes controlling other forms of technology.

Gadamrie, a Golden Priestess in the Dark Collective and Zander’s lover, before the federation came to power Gadamrie boasted over one million hosts as part of her mind hive, she sacrificed her final host so Zander and her unborn seed, he carries, would survive.

Last time on Dark Stars…

After attempting to destroy a vital defense weapon for the United Federation, Zander and his crew found themselves prisoners of High Lord Quinn, somehow, Zander, with the aid of Sin, managed to escape Quinn clutches, but he was badly injured in the process, and, his crew save from Sin, perished.

And so we continue…

Zander slowly opens his eyes and is greeted by darkness, the hum of machines vibrate throughout the room, as well as the slowly steady breathing, of someone else within the room.

“You’re finally awake, we didn’t think you were going to make it back there,” a woman’s voice says from somewhere in the darkness, the voice sounds different, somehow, but he recognises it as Gadamrie’s non the less.

He tries in vain to lift his head, but lets it fall back into the pillow, as he tries to wet his dry lips with his tongue, “H-H-H…” His throat feels like it’s on fire, he quickly swallows to quell the pain, but instead feels like he’s swallowed a mouthful of razors, and let’s out a grimace of pain. “H-H-How long?” He manages to finally say.

“Four days,” she replies.

“Four days,” he repeats as he tries to sit up, the pain shoots through his body, and he collapses back onto the bed, stiffening with agony.

“Try to relax, you’ve been through a lot,” she says.

“H-How did, how did you make it out? I-I-I, I saw you light yourself up.”

“That doesn’t matter right now,” she says as her voice slowly comes closer, he sees her silhouette standing a few feet from his bed.

“But I saw you die,” he says, straining his head up from the pillow once again, fighting back the pain.

“Shhh my love,” she says, as she steps out of the darkness, he freezes in place, as he looks upon her, her face, her skin, are not that of the woman he remembers, but more, more like his, more human. “What’s wrong, Daddy?” She says.

He leaps up, sweat pouring from his body, his eyes search his quarters in a panic, he feels his heart racing a million miles an hour, and quickly places a hand on his stomach, feeling her movements below his skin.

“You’ve got to stop doing that.” He says softly, as he feels it move underneath his hand, like a fish trying to frantically flip itself back into water, suddenly the lights flick on and alarm bells sound out.

“Captain Kane, we have intruders aboard Betha,” Sin voice declares through his interlink, a device burrowed in behind his left ear. Zander leaps from his bed, grabbing his blaster as he does.

“Where are they?”

“Right outside your quarters,” Sin replies just as Zander slams his hand against the doors palm reader, he freezes in place, as the door springs open, and a dozen or more Federation soldiers spill in, knocking him to the ground, his blaster tumbles from his grasp and he finds himself pinned, with blasters pointed towards him.

“High Lord Quinn sends his regards,” one of them says.

To Be Continued Next Sunday…

The Players so far..

Zander Kane, once a trusted and highly decorated general for the United Federation, Kane betrayed not only his own race, but his own flesh and blood to join the Dark Collective, so he could be with the woman he loved. Now, he rides stardust and slipstreams, captaining the Betha, fighting for the collective, in hope of one day freeing the worlds from the federations ruling grasp.

Gadamrie, a Golden Priestess in the Dark Collective, who before the federation came to power boasted over one million hosts as part of her mind hive. But now, only one hosts remains, the others, hunted down and killed by unknown assailants working for the president. Signs show of another mind existing within Gadamrie’s hive, which up until now, was thought to be impossible, after a brief battle between the minds, the consciousness seems to have vanished, then, in a last desperate act, she sacrificed herself so Zander would survive.

Syin-To-Twenty-Seven (Sin), Betha’s sentient companion, through the link they share Sin can control and communicate between Betha and Zander, as well as accessing and sometimes controlling other forms of technology.

Touvler, Zander’s former right hand man and Betha’s co-pilot, Touvler along with two others joined Zander when he defected from the United Federations to the Dark Collective. Tortured for information, he was placed on life support machines as a way to lead Zander into a trap.

High Lord Quinn, Commander for the United Federation, and a Quadrapled, a slang term for a clone. Quinn’s past is still yet to be revealed, but his past association with Zander Kane makes his story more of a mystery.

President Balmires, the current elected president of the united federation, Balmires’ rise to power is one worth of it’s own story, soaked in blood and betrayal.

Last time on Dark Stars: Fire Light…

After attempting to destroy a vital defense weapon for the United Federation, Zander and the crew of  the interstellar battleship, Betha, found themselves viciously hunted down by a Z class Star Destroyer that was somehow waiting for them, turning their act of terrorism against the federation, into, a suicide run. Soon, Zander found himself a prisoner of High Lord Quinn, Gadamrie came to his aid, taking out Quinn and his men. Before they could make their escape, another mind took control of one of Gadamrie’s host bodies, apparently killing her, but after a brief battle of minds, Gadamrie regained control of her final host. Making contact with Sin, Betha’s android companion, Zander found out Touvler, his right hand man, was still alive and being held some levels below, as they made their plans to rescue him, they came face to face with Quinn once again, this time with a league of Federation soldiers, using a cloaking technology, known as the walk of the damned, Gadamrie tried to guide them to safety, but her strength gave way, so Zander had to improvise. It did not go as planned, and Gadamrie sacrificed herself so Zander could escape. Eventually he located Toulver, only to find him all but dead, his body hooked up to a life support machine, giving him the appearance of being alive, so Zander could be lured into a trap.

And so we continue…

“What the hell does that mean? I though you two were buddies!”

“So did I Sir, it would appear that the destroyer, was not telling the truth, we have been set up,” Sin says.

“Not you brainiac, I’m the one who’s been set up,” Zander grows, he looks over his shoulder, as footsteps approach his position, quickly he takes a step back, firing the blaster at the doors touch-pad, destroying it, and the door springs open. He rushes inside and his mouth drops open in shock, he can feel his stomach turn violently, lying on a media-pad, is Touvlar, his body riddled with tubes and wires, shoved into every orifice, as machines keep his life signs stable, but, really, Zander knows, he’s been dead for some time.

“Here we are once more, old friend,” Quinn says from behind him, Zander spins around and faces Quinn, and a group of Marauders, high level Federation soldiers.

“I see you brought friends.”

“Well, yours keep on dying, so I best thought I should make sure, you didn’t feel, alone.”

“I’ll kill you for what you’ve done today, and when I do, I’ll make sure you don’t rise again.”

“Not if I kill you first,” Quinn says with a smile on his face. “Don’t worry, he never gave up your secret, loyal right until the end, it was pathetic,” Quinn says with a snarl.

“WHAT’RE YOU TALKING ABOUT!” Zander yells. “WHAT SECRET?”

“Don’t play me for a fool Zander, we are beyond those sort of games now. I know you’re hiding something, why would the other be so protective of you? I think the Priestess entrusted to you with something back on Loker Twelve, something that could be a danger to the Federation, and I, will have it.”

“You’re crazy Quinn, the priestess gave me nothing, they were protective of me because I’m carrying Gadamrie’s seed you dick!”

Quinn’s face soften, and his eyes, widen, “What? You’re carry that woman’s child? That’s preposterous, Gadamrie is A sexual, she doesn’t need another to reproduce, doesn’t she jsut lays eggs, that hatching into, well, new host bodies?”

“Did you learn anything about any of us while you were part of my crew? It’s not her child, it’s HER, one of her eggs. It’s how Gadamrie reproduces with other species, that’s why she was so protective of me, they why they all wanted to keep me safe, you killed everyone for nothing!”

Quinn’s face, and it twists with anger, “No, everyone dies, who challenges the Federation!” He says, as he raises his blaster.

“Remember Palcram Zelta?” Zander says.

Quinn’s head tilts to the side, and his face shows his confusion, “Of course I remember that backwater system, you almost killed me with your stupidity.”

“My stupidity saved you that day, it wasn’t my fault you couldn’t hold your breath.”

“Why bring this up now, it will not change anything, I’m still going to kill you.”

“I never intended it to change anything, I just thought I’d give you a heads up as to what’s coming,” Zander says with wry smile. “SIN, NOW!” He screams, its then that Quinn notices Betha through the porthole window, holding positing alongside the destroyer. He stands there frozen as two harpoons fire towards them as Zander draws in three large breaths, the harpoons tear through the hull of the ship sending the room in a spin. One of the harpoons digs itself into the hull, then tears back, ripping a hole in the side of the ship, the other burrows its way into Quinn’s chest, Zander tightly latches onto the metal cord attached to the harpoon, and is quickly pulled back on board Betha, with Quinn’s lifeless corpse still attached to the end. The hull seals, and Zander crashes to the floor, his lungs burn, as he fights the urge to breath.

“The room is sealed, and the oxygen is now at breathable levels,” Sin says, Zander exhales and sucks in a deep, long breath, then lets it out again just as quickly, and sucks another in, he rolls onto the floor on his back, as he continues to inhale and exhale as if each breath was his last until finally the cargo bay doors open and footsteps run towards him.

“Zander, you crazy human, what the hell were you thinking?” A voice calls out.

“T-T-Touvlar?” Zander says weakly.

“Who else would it be, you rat biter?” Touvlar says as he pulls Zander to his feet.

“W-W-What the hell’s going on?”

“You just took a walk outside Betha, without a suit on, that’s what’s happening.”

“B-B-But, the destroyer, and Quinn…”

“I don’t know what you’re smoking human, but we’re out in the middle of the Segraz Quadrant, alone.”

“B-But, But it all felt, so real,” Zander says in disbelief.

“I did warn you of the effect carrying my seed would have,” Gadamrie says from the doorway, Zander staggers towards her, clutching her close, tears of joy running down his face.

“It felt so real.”

“Of course it would,” she says, pulling away from him. “Let’s get you to the infirmary, and get you cleaned up, you’re a mess,” she says, as she guides him down the hallway.

“I’m afraid, the injuries are more severe than we first thought,” Sin voice echoes around the room, Zander’s face screws up in confusion, as he looks around in a daze while Gadamrie stares at him.

“Are you okay?” She finally asks.

“I-I-I, I just thought I heard Sin,” he says, meeting her concerned gaze with an uneasy smile.

“You’re hearing things, let’s get these wounds looked at,” she says, he suddenly feels lightheaded and loses his balance, crashing to the floor in a heap, and, as the darkness takes him, he hears Sin’s voice once more.

“Yes, the seed is intact, and alive. Yes, yes, I know we must hurry, but that part is your job, I’ll do what I can to stabilise Captain Kane, but you need to get us to Galder Seven before we loose them both.”

The End

Dark Stars: Runaway begins tomorrow

The Players so far..

Zander Kane, once a trusted and highly decorated general for the United Federation, Kane betrayed not only his own race, but his own flesh and blood to join the Dark Collective, so he could be with the woman he loved. Now, he rides stardust and slipstreams, captaining the Betha, fighting for the collective, in hope of one day freeing the worlds from the federations ruling grasp.

Gadamrie, a Golden Priestess in the Dark Collective, who before the federation came to power boasted over one million hosts as part of her mind hive. But now, only one hosts remains, the others, hunted down and killed by unknown assailants working for the president. Signs show of another mind existing within Gadamrie’s hive, which up until now, was thought to be impossible, after a brief battle between the minds, the consciousness seems to have vanished, then, in a last desperate act, she sacrificed herself so Zander would survive.

Syin-To-Twenty-Seven (Sin), Betha’s sentient companion, through the link they share Sin can control and communicate between Betha and Zander, as well as accessing and sometimes controlling other forms of technology.

Touvler, Zander’s right hand man and Betha’s co-pilot, Touvler along with two others joined Zander when he defected from the United Federations to the Dark Collective.

High Lord Quinn, Commander for the United Federation, and a Quadrapled, a slang term for a clone. Quinn’s past is still yet to be revealed, but his past association with Zander Kane makes his story more of a mystery.

President Balmires, the current elected president of the united federation, Balmires’ rise to power is one worth of it’s own story, soaked in blood and betrayal.

Last time on Dark Stars: Fire Light…

After attempting to destroy a vital defense weapon for the United Federation, Zander and the crew of  the interstellar battleship, Betha, found themselves viciously hunted down by a Z class Star Destroyer that was somehow waiting for them, turning their act of terrorism against the federation, into, a suicide run. Soon, Zander found himself a prisoner of High Lord Quinn, Gadamrie, who was hidden, came to his aid, taking out Quinn and his men. Before they could make their escape, another mind took control of one of Gadamrie’s host bodies, apparently killing her, but after a brief battle of minds, Gadamrie regained control of her final host. Making contact with Sin, Betha’s android companion, Zander found out Touvler, his right hand man, was still alive and being held some levels below, as they made their plans to rescue him, they came face to face with Quinn and a league of Federation soldiers, using a cloaking technology, known as the walk of the damned, Gadamrie tried to guide them to safety, but her strength gave way, so Zander had to improvise. It did not go as planned, and Gadamrie sacrificed herself so Zander could escape, now, following Sin’s instructions, Zander has found himself in another difficult situation.

And so we continue…

“Sin, are you serious?”

“I’m sorry sir, is there a situation?” Sin’s voice says.

“Damn straight there’s a situation. Your map’s telling me to jump down into the main air vent,” he says as he settles himself on the ledge, peering over into it again, he tightly squints his eyes, hoping this time to see the bottom, but still, he only sees darkness.

“That is correct Sir. If you read my instructions, they tell you, if you use maximum power and leap at an angle of at least one hundred and thirty-six degrees you will come into contact with the air duct for level two hundred and seven at some stage of your decent. My calculations based on your current weight put it at about fifteen seconds from when you jump from the coordinates I have placed into the map. Once you have successfully made the jump, and landed safely, Mister Touvlar is only two corridors away from where the vent comes out.”

“Maximum power? What the hell’s that supposed to mean?”

“The information has been tailored specifically to you Sir, if you jump at full strength, you will complete the task successfully.”

Zander stares into the darkness with his mouth hanging open, “Is this seriously the safest route to Touvlar?”

“That is correct sir.”

“Great,” Zander says, as he nervously presses himself against the wall, and shuffles towards the jumping location, a few nervous minutes later, he takes three large, deep breathes, closes his eyes and pushes himself off the ledge as hard as he can, tumbling helplessly into the darkness of the shaft, he slams quickly into the metal tunnels side, dazing him for a moment, then, he feverishly grabs with his arms, trying to make contact with the vent’s entrance, he feels his arm tear in its socket as he somehow grabs hold of the shafts edge, and hangs there for several moment’s, sweat dripping from his exhausted body.

“Sir, I hate to be the provider of bad news, but, the angle you pushed yourself from, was, incorrect,” Sin says.

“YOU’RE TELLING ME I MISSED!”

“Not exactly Sir, you hit the side of the shaft earlier than anticipated, and therefore, have clasped on to the incorrect floor’s ventilation shaft.”

He peers down, into the darkness, letting out a groan, “How early?”

“Seven floors Sir.”

“Great,” he says through clenched teeth. “I’m not sure I can do this again.”

“Sir, you must, if you were to attempt rescuing Mister Touvlar from this position, you would not be successful.”

“Okay, new game plan, I’m going to pull myself up into this duct, and you’re going to think of another plan,” he says, as Zander tries to pull himself up, into the vent.

“Sir, you must believe me, there is no other way,” Sin says, Zander rolls his eyes, as he bites into his bottom lip.

“Just do me one thing,” Zander says.

“Of course Sir.”

“Next time I ask you to find me a way out of somewhere, remind me of this moment,” he says, as he lets go, dropping like a stone.

“NOW SIR!” Sin yells out, Zander reaches frantically for the vents opening, screaming in pain, as he fells his arm tear further from it’s socket.

“P-P-Please, tell me I’ve got there right one this time?” Zander asks weakly, hanging from the opening.

“This time you have been successful Sir, once you reach the end of the ventilation shaft, Mister Touvlar is two corridors to your right.”

“How’s everything looking otherwise? You still buddy, buddy with the destroyer mainframe?”

“Of course Sir, we have formed a quick bond, and he has been very helpful.”

“I still don’t want to know what you did for the big guy,” Zander grunts as he pulls himself up into the vent, and begins to drag his busted, aching body towards the opening. “Tell me when I’m clear,” he asks.

“There appears to be no one in your immediate vicinity Sir, the path to Mister Touvlar seems clear,” Sin replies.

“Are you sure?” Zander asks surprised. “Not even a couple of guards on the entrance to his cell?”

“No, there appears to be no Federation soldiers anywhere,” Sin replies.

“Something about this just doesn’t fell right.”

“The destroyer has assured me that there is nothing unusual happening, please Sir, if you are to make your move, you must make it now.”

“Okay, okay,” Zander says as he forces the vents cover off and falls out onto the corridors floor in a sweaty, bloody heap, he lies there for a few moments before Sin’s voice snaps him back to awareness.

“Sir, you must move, I’ve detected movement three corridors away coming towards you, you must hurry!”

Zander forces himself uneasily to his feet, and stumbles along to corridor until he reaches the door to Touvlar’s cell.

“C-Can, can you get it to open?” Zander asks.

“Of course Sir, I…”

“Sin?” Zander says quickly, as he stands outside the doorway, looking over his shoulder frantically. “For crying out loud Sin, what’s happening?”

“It appears as if the destroyer has not been entirely honest with me Sir.”

“What the hell does that mean? I though you two were buddies!”

“So did I Sir, it would appear that the destroyer, was not telling the truth, we have been set up,” Sin says.

“Not you brainiac, I’m the one who’s been set up,” Zander grows, he looks over his shoulder, as footsteps approach his position, quickly he takes a step back, firing the blaster at the doors touch-pad, destroying it, and the door springs open. He rushes inside and his mouth drops open in shock, he can feel his stomach turn violently, lying on a media-pad, is Touvlar, his body riddled with tubes and wires, shoved into every orifice, as machines keep his life signs stable, but, really, Zander knows, he’s been dead for some time.

“Here we are once more, old friend,” Quinn says from behind him.

To Be Concluded…

The Players so far..

Zander Kane, once a trusted and highly decorated general for the United Federation, Kane betrayed not only his own race, but his own flesh and blood to join the Dark Collective, so he could be with the woman he loved. Now, he rides stardust and slipstreams, captaining the Betha, fighting for the collective, in hope of one day freeing the worlds from the federations ruling grasp.

Gadamrie, a Golden Priestess in the Dark Collective, who before the federation came to power boasted over one million hosts as part of her mind hive. But now, only one hosts remains, the others, hunted down and killed by unknown assailants working for the president. Signs show of another mind existing within Gadamrie’s hive, which up until now, was thought to be impossible, after a brief battle between the minds, the consciousness seems to have vanished, but, for how long.

Syin-To-Twenty-Seven (Sin), Betha’s sentient companion, through the link they share Sin can control and communicate between Betha and Zander, as well as accessing and sometimes controlling other forms of technology.

Touvler, Zander’s right hand man and Betha’s co-pilot, Touvler along with two others joined Zander when he defected from the United Federations to the Dark Collective.

High Lord Quinn, Commander for the United Federation, and a Quadrapled, a slang term for a clone. Quinn’s past is still yet to be revealed, but his past association with Zander Kane makes his story more of a mystery.

President Balmires, the current elected president of the united federation, Balmires’ rise to power is one worth of it’s own story, soaked in blood and betrayal.

Last time on Dark Stars: Fire Light…

After attempting to destroy a vital defense weapon for the United Federation, Zander and the crew of  the interstellar battleship, Betha, found themselves viciously hunted down by a Z class Star Destroyer that was somehow waiting for them, turning their act of terrorism against the federation, into, a suicide run. Soon, Zander found himself a prisoner of High Lord Quinn, and his crew presumed dead, but, as Quinn prepared to kill Zander, Gadamrie, who was hidden, came to his aid, taking out Quinn and his men. Before they could make their escape, another mind took control of one of Gadamrie’s host bodies, apparently killing her, but after a brief battle of minds, Gadamrie regained control of her final host. Making contact with Sin, Betha’s android companion, Zander found out Touvler, his right hand man, was still alive and being held some levels below, as they made their plans to rescue him, they came face to face with Quinn and a league of Federation soldiers, using a cloaking technology, known as the walk of the damned, Gadamrie tried to guide them to safety, but her strength gave way, so Zander had to improvise.

And so we continue…

“I’ll see you, somewhere soon,” he says clutching the blade and charges forward, as the world explodes with colour and light. The Federation soldier’s don’t know what hit them as Zander tears his way through the soldiers, slicing a pathway of blood towards Quinn, it only takes a few seconds before he feels blaster fire tear into his side, and he crashes to the ground. He clenches his teeth together, as he drives his fists into the metal surface and screams, then forces himself up from the floor, as soldiers come from every angle and tackle him to the ground once more, then, everything goes silent, as Quinn strides towards him, while the soldiers pull the struggling Zander to his feet.

“How pathetic, did you really think that would work?” Quinn says.

Zander feels a tear run down his cheek, “I hate to say I knew it would,” he says, closing his eyes tightly as a warmth hits his back, then screams fill his ears, as everything is engulfed in a white hot light that lasts for a few seconds, and then, is gone. Slowly, he opens his eyes, around him lay the burnt remains of the Federation soldiers, and Quinn, nervously he turns around to see the charred remains of Gadamrie, he feels his lower lip quiver, and the wetness of tears cascading down his face.

“ZZZZZEETTT…. Captain Kane, do you copy?” Sin’s voice says.

He wipes the tears from his eyes with the sleeve of his jacket, and draws back a large breath, “I read you, what the hell happened?” He says as he slowly moves down the hallway, blaster at the ready.

“A defense mechanism from the destroyer interfered with our communicator, I have now convinced the destroyer to disable the device and also give me the precise location of Mister Touvlar,” Sin replies.

“How did you… No wait, I don’t what to know, I still remember what you did for that battleship in the Nourus quadrant.”

“Sir, I detected Miss Gadamrie’s expiration, I would just like to off…”

“Save it for later, just tell me how I get to Touvlar, and find me a way off this hunk of junk.”

“Of course, I have already taken the liberty of mapping out a path to Mister Touvlar, one of course that will give you the least resistance. Once you have him, getting off the said ‘hunk of junk,’ might be a tad harder, as alarms are slowly popping up across the ship.”

“Just find us a way off, we’ll handle the getting there, okay,” he says.

“Of course sir, I will map the quickest route,” Sin replies. “May I ask you to be careful sir, this is not coming just from me, Betha wishes your safe return as well, considering, your condition.”

“Tell Betha not to worry about my CONDITION,  I’ll be fine, you two just be ready to haul butt when we get our tails off this piece of scrap, okay?”

“Of course sir, I have uploaded a safe route to Mister Touvlar, and will work with the destroyer to locate you a way off.”

A blue light on Gadamrie’s golden bracelet flashes, signalling the arrival of Sin’s data, “Overlay visor,” he says, as a visor like screen appears before his eyes, acting like a pair of glasses, outlaying the route to Touvlar on it. Quickly he makes his way day the deserted corridor, he notices the ships cameras pointing towards the ground, and allows himself to grin, knowing Sin obviously worked his magic. He comes to a stop and rips a vents covering from the side of the corridor, then quickly slides in, replacing the vent as he does and seals it back in place, as the sound of a dozen or more Federation soldiers charge down the corridor. Zander quickly crawls down the duct for several sweaty minutes, until he comes to a large opening, his eyes widen as he looks around the large shaft, a small rim running around the sides of the large shaft that the vent connects onto, he tilts his head upwards and then downwards, and swallows,  he focuses on the map in front of his eyes and lets out a nervous laugh.

“Sin, are you serious?”

“I’m sorry sir, is there a situation?” Sin’s voice says.

“Damn straight there’s a situation. Your map’s telling me to jump down into the main air vent,” he says as he settles himself on the ledge, peering over into it again, he tightly squints his eyes, hoping this time to see the bottom, but still, he only sees darkness.

“That is correct Sir. If you read my instructions, they tell you, if you use maximum power and leap at an angle of at least one hundred and thirty-six degrees you will come into contact with the air duct for level two hundred and seven at some stage of your decent. My calculations based on your current weight put it at about fifteen seconds from when you jump from the coordinates I have placed into the map. Once you have successfully made the jump, and landed safely, Mister Touvlar is only two corridors away from where the vent comes out.”

“Maximum power? What the hell’s that supposed to mean?”

“The information has been tailored specifically to you Sir, if you jump at full strength, you will complete the task successfully.”

Zander stares into the darkness with his mouth hanging open, “Is this seriously the safest route to Touvlar?”

“That is correct sir.”

“Great,” Zander says, as he nervously presses himself against the wall, and shuffles towards the jumping location, a few nervous minutes later, he takes three large, deep breathes, closes his eyes and pushes himself off the ledge as hard as he can, tumbling helplessly into the darkness of the shaft.

 

To Be Continued…

The Players so far..

Zander Kane, once a trusted and highly decorated general for the United Federation, Kane betrayed not only his own race, but his own flesh and blood to join the Dark Collective, so he could be with the woman he loved. Now, he rides stardust and slipstreams, captaining the Betha, fighting for the collective, in hope of one day freeing the worlds from the federations ruling grasp.

Gadamrie, a Golden Priestess in the Dark Collective, who before the federation came to power boasted over one million hosts as part of her mind hive. But now, only one hosts remains, the others, hunted down and killed by unknown assailants working for the president. Signs show of another mind existing within Gadamrie’s hive, which up until now, was thought to be impossible, after a brief battle between the minds, the consciousness seems to have vanished, but, for how long.

Syin-To-Twenty-Seven (Sin), Betha’s sentient companion, through the link they share Sin can control and communicate between Betha and Zander, as well as accessing and sometimes controlling other forms of technology.

Touvler, Zander’s right hand man and Betha’s co-pilot, Touvler along with two others joined Zander when he defected from the United Federations to the Dark Collective.

High Lord Quinn, Commander for the United Federation, and a Quadrapled, a slang term for clone. Quinn’s past is still yet to be revealed, but his past association with Zander Kane makes his story more of a mystery.

President Balmires, the current elected president of the united federation, Balmires’ rise to power is one worth of it’s own story, soaked in blood and betrayal.

Last time on Dark Stars: Fire Light…

After attempting to destroy a vital defense weapon for the United Federation, Zander and the crew of  the interstellar battleship, Betha, found themselves viciously hunted down by a Z class Star Destroyer that was somehow waiting for them, turning their act of terrorism against the federation, into, a suicide run. Soon, Zander found himself a prisoner of High Lord Quinn, and his crew supposedly dead, but, as Quinn prepared to kill Zander, Gadamrie, who was hidden, came to his aid, taking out Quinn and his men. Before they could make their escape, another mind took control of one of Gadamrie’s host bodies, apparently killing her, but after a brief battle of minds, Gadamrie regained control of her final host. Making contact with Sin, Betha’s android companion, Zander found out Touvler, his right hand man, was still alive and being held some levels below, and as they made their plans to rescue him, they came face to face with a resurrected Quinn and a league of Federation soldiers.

And so we continue…

“Touvler’s alive?”

“As far as I can tell from the information I have managed to upload from the destroyers database he is being held several floors below you, awaiting execution, as High Lord Quinn has sentenced him to death once the ship reaches the citadel.”

“How long do we have?”

“We are almost a day away from th… zzzeedfffzzz….”

“Sin?” Zander calls out, he waits for a few moment, and casts a look of worry towards Gadamrie. “SIN?” But still no reply comes.

“What now?” Gadamrie asks.

“We go down, try to find Touvler, then hopefully re-link back up to Sin and get off this crate,” he says with a smile as he lifts Quinn’s lifeless body from the floor and presses one of his dead hands against the doors activation-pad, seconds later it slides open, revealing a sea of Federation soldiers waiting for them, and, standing at the back, with an evil smile on his face, is High Lord Quinn. “Should’ve know he was a Quadrapled,” Zander says through clenched teeth, he glances over to Gadamrie as he grips his blaster tightly. “You got something left in you?”

“Enough,” she says, placing a hand on his shoulder and the two disappear.

“DON’T LET THEM ESCAPE!” Quinn screams out as the soldiers open fire.

Zander feels his head explode as the colour is ripped from everything except him and Gadamrie, he feels the blaster shots rips through him, like a cool breeze, he looks over to Gadamrie, her face shows her struggle, her energy, almost drained, he grips her hand and charges forward through the dream like landscape, passing through the Federation soldiers as if they were mist. He feels Gadamrie loose her footing, and catches her as they both crash to the ground in a heap.

“I’m sorry my love, I-I-I, I don’t think I can hold us here much longer,” she says weakly.

He looks down the hallway, then, back at her, “A couple more seconds, we just have to get throug…”

She places a finger to his lips and smiles, “Shhhh my love, you must go, I, I am too weak, you must find Toulver, free him, and get off this, sardine can, as you call it, and warn the Priestess, if, if,” she takes a deep breath and smiles once more. “The first time I saw you, with a thousand eyes, I knew, I would gladly give my life for you,” she says as they kiss, tears stream down his face, splashing onto hers.

“There has to be another way, I can’t lose you, not like this,” he says, cradling her weakening body.

“You won’t, so be brave my human, for you carry something special inside of you, something, wonderful. Now, help me to my feet, then go, before my energy gives,” Gadamrie says, as she runs a hand across his face and they kiss one final time, then he helps her to her feet, clutching her close one last time, before turning towards the horde, who still continue to fire, the hate that burns through him, aims directly towards Quinn.

“How long will I have?”

“A handful of seconds,” she says softly, as she pulls a golden bracelet from her arm and places it on Zander’s.

“That’s all I need,” he says, as he pulls a small metallic cylinder from his side, he looks towards her one last time, and smiles, yellow tears run down her face, as she pulls a similar metal object from her side, nodding towards him as the cylinders come to life, and large metallic like blades appear from within them. “I’ll see you, somewhere soon,” he says clutching the blade and charges forward, as the world explodes with colour and light. The Federation soldier’s don’t know what hit them as Zander tears his way  through the soldiers, slicing a pathway of blood towards Quinn, it only takes a few seconds before he feels blaster fire tear into his side, and he crashes to the ground. He clenches his teeth together, as he drives his fists into the metal surface and screams, then forces himself up from the floor, as soldiers come from every angle and tackle him to the ground once more, then, everything goes silent, as Quinn strides towards him, while the soldiers pull the struggling Zander to his feet.

“How pathetic, did you really think that would work?” Quinn says.

Zander feels a tear run down his cheek, “I hate to say I knew it would,” he says, closing his eyes tightly as a warmth hits his back, then screams fill his ears, as everything is engulfed in a white hot light.

To Be Continued…