The deep silence of the ship was broken by the somewhat catchy beat of ‘Major Tom’. Slowly the lights of the many hallways of the EARTH II flickered on, the darkness shattered just as the quiet. If one were standing in the stagnant corridors and passageways of the massive station, they would notice how they could almost see the music bounce off the walls;reflecting and moving into every nook and cranny of the sheer emptiness.
There was a soft ticking noise on the edge of hearing, and then the air began to move. Hundreds of fans and filtration systems came to life. Everything seemed to be running perfectly, seamless interaction of different programs and protocols, the EARTH II had awaken from its deep slumber, and even now it was scanning its surroundings, making sure everything was as it should be.
In the sort of ‘town square’ in the center of the quarters, the fountain came to life. Water quickly filled and the calming water display began.
As everything came online, the crew was just beginning to awaken…
[ // RUN: “GOOD MORNING” ]
[ LOADING. . . ]
[[ COMPLETE ]]
[ CRITICAL ERROR !!: “GOOD MORNING” PROGRAM CORRUPTED ]
[[ VALKYRIE OVERRIDE ]]
[ // OVERRIDE: “GOOD MORNING” PROGRAM ]
[[ :) OVERRIDDEN ]]
The ice crystals on the glass of the cryostatis pods began to fade, trickles of water ran down the skin of those inside, and as each person began to slowly awaken from their deep slumber, the song that had been echoing in the halls faded away, giving over to the silence once more. There was a blast of warm air into the containment chambers, instantly drying off the people who were beginning to return to the world of the conscious.
Their dreams became less vivid; the faint hissing noise of the pod doors lifting open broke into their fantasies and nightmares.
Reality, it seemed, had caught up with them.
EARTH II
“Spooner get the hell out of there!”
The explosion had caught the two of them off guard, and Selene found herself diving for the red dirt of Mars as Private Spooner was blown to hell in a matter of milliseconds. She hated rebels, she hated this stretch of desert and she hated Mars. How the woman longed to be back on Earth, where peace had been reigning for some time now. Everything had fallen into place on the notable blue planet, but no, on Mars, or the distinctive redplanet, rebellions had been breaking out and revolutionists had been damning SUN.
She recovered, taking aim with her rifle to fire a burst into an oncoming melee fighter. They charged blindly, and the only thing threatening about these barbarians was their sheer numbers. Her visor kept track of the other three approaching, helping her take note of those who were dead and the few that were still standing.
“Riley we got a Spider closing in on our position-“ The radio seemed to fizzle and fade out at the perfect moment. The woman rolled her eyes and groaned within her armor, scanning her surroundings.
Behind her was the military outpost, something they couldn’t afford to lose, and in all other directions was red desert.
“Repeat that,” she growled, “spider approaching from which direction?”
“- o’clock-“
‘Helpful…’ She thought with a scowl, standing up as her gut told her to run.
“Repeat again, WHERE IS IT?”
“3 o’clock! Move Riley!”
She looked right and jumped back just as a massive metal leg slammed down where she had been. The thing was forcing itself up from underneath the ground, its low hanging head breaking through the surface and striking blue eyes focusing on the soldier. The machine in general was in disrepair, she was surprised the thing could even find the strength to move, let alone burrow towards the enemy.
“Jesus Christ!” she yelped, rolling out of the way of another swipe.
This all seemed so familiar.
‘Haven’t I done this before?’ The woman thought, her body turning to face it without her mind’s consent. She fired rounds, switching to full automatic in a desperate attempt to make it retreat. ‘Something isn’t right. I don’t want to fight, I want to run!’
But her body wasn’t listening, it avoided the next swipe but was caught by one from the left. She didn’t hear herself howl in agony, but she knew she had. There was basically a spear through her thigh, locking her to the ground.
“Riley-“
This all happened because she had gone to save Spooner. She had chosen to do the right thing, not the smart thing. Selene Riley Shepard, Sergeant in the SUN Ground Ops Military and First Class Airman in the SUN Ace organization, maybe the distant girl would’ve been able to move up higher in the ranks if she had listened to orders better, or if she had indeed picked which she preferred. Right now, she recalled wanting to fly.
It hit her then, as she remembered what she had thought at that moment, that this wasn’t happening. It couldn’t be happening.
It already had, three years ago.
* * *
The woman gasped, eyes shooting open before the inevitable happened. Her heart was pounding, and mouth felt oddly dry. Her leg throbbed where the mechanical monster had stabbed her, and her mind was quickly blurring the rest of the horrible memory. It was something she was meant to forget, she assumed, as her mind suddenly clicked that she wasn’t’ in her home on Earth. No, in front of her was a very bleak grey wall, a metal panel, actually, the floor was a tight steel mesh. Selene coughed, looking down to find herself wearing a white bodysuit.It was soft and warm, completely opposite of the floor she was stepping down onto.
This place was cold.
Cold and quiet besides the murmuring from the others awakening. She watched a few of them step down out of the cylindrical pods attached to the wall. None of them seemed panicked, and thankfully, due to her training, neither did she. Truth was, Selene couldn’t remember very much.Her dream was notably the most vivid memory she had. The rest were blurred and in pieces surrounding what happened afterwards.
‘Where am I?’ She thought distantly, following a few others out of the room into a large, stark white circle room with a strange sort of moving black ball on a robotic arm in the middle. It moved roughly, scanning those that entered quickly, making various beeps before going back to random movements. Large antennas were hanging from the high ceiling, all of the receivers different shapes and sizes. She had seen vaguely similar things in the Military Academy on Earth, though that version had been seamless and much more impressive.
After about forty people filtered into the room, the ball retracted as a much larger orb descended. Its black surface was blank for a moment before yellow-orange words appeared.
[[ Good Morning Passengers. My name is Valkyrie. ]]
A few people nodded, though the majority did nothing notable.
[[Due to the long sleep and as part of the refresher course programmed, I have to remind you that the same laws and regulations found on both Earth (Lune included) and Mars apply to your stay on EARTH II. ]]
‘Earth II?’ Selene raised an eyebrow. She only remembered faint whispers about the Earth II project, but nothing concrete. At least she knew she was on a space station.
“Isn’t there supposed to be more people?” Someone asked from behind.The majority of people began to mutter about the seemingly hundreds only being maybe fifty or so people.
[[ Currently EARTH II is running the “GOOD MORNING” program, you were all randomly selected as part of a test to ensure there are no glitches in the civilian section. If a critical mistake is found, regulation ensures that you will all be returned to your cryostatis pods and we will return to Earth for repairs and maintenance. ]]
“We’re guinea pigs?”
A couple of people glanced around; that term seemed to make them nervous.
[[ No, if you all recall reading the fine print of the EARTH II agreement act, you signed that you would willingly participate in the “GOOD MORNING” program. ]]
Valkyrie went on to explain that a few people were not as ‘randomly’ selected as others. Sergeant David Summers, Doctor Caleb Olson and Lynne Wright stood out. They had been selected from their ‘category’ (Security, Medical and Engineering ) to ensure that the sectors 1 to 4 (roughly equaling out to be a small town sized area) ran smoothly. Selene knew one of them, David Summers. Of course, most of the time she had been calling him ‘Sir’ or ‘Maverick’ (but mostly Sir) so the hear his real name was sort of odd.
She didn’t dare look in his direction though; it was weird seeing her old commander again.
[[On a final note, due to a slight malfunction in the randomizer program, Leonardo Angelo de Sario will be under the guardianship of Selene Shepard. ]]
There was a moment as the entire crowd (particularly the child) looked around, waiting for her to step forward. She held back a groan and stepped into the ‘limelight’. Eyes fell upon her and the kid gazed up at her, raising an eyebrow.
“Kay.” He smirked, and she noted how it seemed particularly devious.
“Surely someone else is better equipped to be the guardian…” she stated to the computer as she eyed the pregnant woman.
[[A final record of why you were chosen to be Leonardo’s guardian has been transmitted to your home computer. ]]
That was is then; she was stuck on some weird ship, with a cruel A.I and someone else’s kid to boot. Selene felt herself frown, it was ever so slight but the emotion managed to break her usually expressionless appearance. Directions were given as to where the quarters were, and she didn’t know whether she liked or hated the idea of being so close to the neighbours.
The only highlight she saw was the prospect of Leonardo toddling off to bother somebody else.
* * *
:3 Yay~ It's started, you can go really anywhere from here. Have fun guys, and let your imaginations take over. Just remember that currently were restricted to Sectors 1 to 4, meaning the big 'guns' (like Maverick's SCAR, Michelle's Sword) are currently unavailable. If you need a general idea of the layout or look of the sectors, they resemble Zion from the Matrix; levels on top of each other with bridges and platforms. They're also that sort of 'thrown together' metal mass idea. But the quarters themselves are quite nice and 'Earthy' XD
EARTH II
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