Main Compound: Level 1 Section

Hours yet from sunrise, Ian, Zira, Cade, Dog, the newcomer 'Moll', and a weak and broken Kimberly, gather secretly behind the barracks. Hunched in blankets, furtive eyes searching around them, these six souls find unity in one purpose.

They will escape the fiendish insanity of Nihalchi.

Though they don't know it yet, cannot be certain of it, help is coming. Drawing ever closer, howling through the Black, Kasern is searching for her family.

And even closer than Kasern, on the other side of the moon, a little Minnow is parked. It's strange sometimes, how in such a tremendous Universe with dozens of planets and hundreds of moons and populations skyrocketed into multiple billions, one tiny chance encounter through a borrowed cortex connection can later forge into a relationship between individuals.

Yes, in the Black there is help coming, but on the Darkside of Nihalchi, help may already be here.


ooc: In other words, kids, if you haven't been reading "Darkside of the Moon" in this forum, you might wanna catch up. ;)

Cade stared at "N", hardly believing she was the same young woman who had made a fourth of the group of super-sisters, or power chicas or best friends forever or whatever they were calling it these days.

"All leveled up..." N was.. No, not N. Kimberly. (She had a name. They ALL had names, Cade reminded himself.) was saying blearily, fingers trembling as she lifted the water bowl to her mouth again and again, taking tiny sips. "They all leveled up..."

Blue eyes larger than the distance moons on the horizon gazed towards the wall seperating the levels. "All gone."

Dog was hovering near her protectively, and it was easy to see that something, somewhere; maybe just her need? Or something more, some deep taste of the result of brutal inhumanity, had touched the cool former soldier's heart. Cade supposed he'd never really know which it was.

"Gone. What do you mean, gone?" Cade had retrieved their belongings from the pig sty only moments before, and he brushed the dirt from his clothes and tugged on his shirt with a grateful smile at Zira for her undercover work.

"Over the wall and they never come back." She muttered tiredly. "Not me...not me. Not me. I'm already all gone, all eaten up."

"No. No, you aren't." Cade answered her certainly, glancing to Dog, hoping he'd back him up on that. The kid was so messed up. Was Cassie so messed up? It was worse, so much worse than he'd imagined. Darkness shadowed the captain's heart as the possibilities rose from the depths of his new knowledge. Was she still alive? And even if she was, what shape was she in? No. No, he couldn't go down that rabbit-hole, not and stay sane himself. "We're gonna get you outta here, and you're gonna be just fine."

Cade glanced around him, "I'm guessing we've got two hours before first light, so we gotta move fast. Ian? Zira? Get that core-pad. I have no idea where we are or if we can get a message out, but we have to try."

"Moll? You're with me, if you're up to it." His gaze turned to the high wall and the heavy gate that divided the compound, his fingers finding his little .38 revolver among his possessions. Only six rounds made it a last resort, and his eyes were drawn to the line of crude hand-crafted hunting spears and knives in the rack by the barracks door, "We're going over that wall. Dog? You can come with us if you're up to it, but we'll have to find a safe place for Kim first. Unless anyone has a better idea?"

Claudia was shivering slightly, even with the blanket wrapped tightly around her shoulders and covering her knees. She was finding it hard to focus – her mind kept wandering off – and she had to pinch herself now and then under the cover of the blanket to pay attention to what was being said by the others.

"I'm guessing we've got two hours before first light, so we gotta move fast. Ian? Zira? Get that core-pad. I have no idea where we are or if we can get a message out, but we have to try."

Core-pad. That got her attention and she looked up, blinking a few times as she looked at the people she had allied herself with this night. All of them, except one girl who must have been here for a long time judging by her looks and manners, had changed into more normal clothes. Where had they gotten that from, she wondering and was about to speak up about her own belongings when their leader continued.

"Moll? You're with me, if you're up to it."

'Who's Moll?' she thought for a moment and realised it was herself, that it was the name she had chosen for herself in this place where real names had to be abandoned upon entry. She followed his gaze to the wall and swallowed, her eyes wide and frightened, everything inside her screaming 'no' to the idea of going over that wall. But she felt her head nod and then she looked back at the others – Ian and Zira, the leader had called them – her lips trembling as she spoke. “In my pack. There's a core-pad. They took it. My clothes too. Everything.” Her treasured leather jacket with the old patch that had provided her with her new name. Her core-pad. Other, well-hidden stuff, that she wasn't about to tell these people about, lest they leave her behind to rot in this place. “If... If you can find it, I'd... I'd appreciate it. There's a gun too. They took that too. I...” She blinked, unwanted tears coming to her eyes as the realisation hit and she bit her lip to stop them from flowing. “Nothing left.”

Ian had dressed himself, gingerly, in his suit.

Of all the things to bring on a camp out. he muttered as he tried for the second time to put his shirt on. The harsh material scratched his new cuts and caused a lot of pain.

He looked at his shirt, jacket and vest and opted for the vest. Its material was softer than his shirt. Once clothed he found himself with two articles that he didn't need, yet loathed to leave here, of all places.

He looked at Moll and Kim and sideways up at Zira.

He reached out his shirt to Kim, it wuld cover more than what she was wearing right now anyway. He also offered his coat to Moll. It wasn't much, but she looked cold and it would add some extra warmtn without getting in the way.

"I'm guessing we've got two hours before first light, so we gotta move fast. Ian? Zira? Get that core-pad. I have no idea where we are or if we can get a message out, but we have to try."

Ian's anger flared for a moment. Inside, his mind raged, It's Scar!! Scar is my na...

And just as quickly he was himself again. The only outward sign of anything being different was that he had clutched at his jacket in a near death grip for that second of time. Had Moll tried to take it? He didn't know. If she had, she would not have been able to pull it from him.

No worrys he whispered.

In a stronger voice he added. Zira gets me to that CorPAD, I'll ping us a location and get word out. I'll call in the Calvery.

He smiled, but it never reached his eyes before it died on his face.

"Zira gets me to that CorPAD, I'll ping us a location and get word out. I'll call in the Calvery."

"It's not far from here. Right in the command dome, actually. Don't think it's guarded, though I wouldn't know for sure. There was just one person in it before and he was talking on it."

Zira looked at the motley group. Then focused on Moll. "You said you had a gun? How good of a shot are you? And if we get it for you, are you willing to use it on others?" It was a hard question to ask, and a harder one to answer, but it needed to be asked.

With Zira's help, the engine whisper moved as quiet as he could in the darkness. Try as he might, he did bump into a few things. He was just not trained in stealth like he aught to be.

During his tenure in the Mines, stealth was something that wasn't in much demand. His time during the war was spent fixing engines and not sneaking around.

True, he did do his fair share of sneakin around to do the occasional "comshaw" or bartering of supplies. A can of coffee sure does buy a lot.

But, in the here and now, he was sorry for his shortcomings when it came to stealth. He marveled at how gracefully Zira moved from place to place, how she blended in the shadows almost at will.

Even in dark clothing, he felt he stuck out like a sore thumb.

Soon, they made it into the building with the CorTex connection. He didn't see anyone other than themselves as he powered up the unit.

His fingers moved quickly over the keys as he accessed the 'Versal mapping program. He did not waste time trying to cover his tracks, they would be gone before morning.

It was then that Ian saw the problem. He had been working so intently on getting the connection and finding their location that he didn’t realize until now that there was no actual connection.

“They musta had a relay or some’em in place, that’s not here now. Only thing I can do is send out a omni-directional burst and hope someone gets it.

He thought for a moment.

“This is Ian Dugan of the Kasern, we’re being held against our will. Call the Fed’s and tell them to home in on this signal. This message will loop every five minutes.”

He looked up an Zira.

"Well here goes nothin."

He hit send.

She saw the man named Ian – if that indeed was his real name – offer her his coat and she gave him an appreciative smile, but before she could extricate herself from her blanket to take it, he had clutched it close to himself again and she blinked, a brief expression of hurt and betrayal crossing her features. Her mind went down the dark alley that told her that maybe these people couldn't be trusted after all if they offered gifts only to take them away again at the last moment. But she thought she recognised the look on face and knew that his jacket might mean the same to him as her own leather coat meant to her. And she would never have offered her coat to anyone else.

Claudia... No Moll. She had to be Moll for the time being, at least until they got out of here. Claudia wouldn't survive here, wouldn't make it out, either. She was weak, scared and sick. But Moll. Moll was a survivor. She was a fighter and willing to do anything to get out. She lifted her chin a little, held back the tears and tried to set her face in a hardened expression and looked at the woman named Zira as she spoke.

"You said you had a gun? How good of a shot are you? And if we get it for you, are you willing to use it on others?"

She thought about the answer for so long that the woman and the man named Ian were gone before she could put it into words. Could she use her weapon against others? She'd never had to before, had never actually fired the thing outside the firing ranges and never at anything more animated than a paper target. But that was Claudia. Surely Moll would be able to fire a gun at a live target. Surely Moll was a stronger and more confident person than Claudia. Yes, she decided, Moll would definitely be able to shoot someone if she had to and she gave a nod to Zira, but Zira was gone, along with Ian, and the nod was instead directed at the remaining people. “Yes, I'll use that gun on someone if I hafta.”

Cade nodded to Moll, "Good to know. Let's hope we don't have need to." He lowered his voice, a taste of chagrin cold on his lips and tongue, "These folk, most of 'em I'm guessing are wrapped up in whatever lie is going on here. They weren't killers before they got here, and if these, " He hefted a spear from the rack, it's chipped steel tip bent and worn, "Are the best weapons they've got, then usin' lead against them..." He left the words hanging. He'd feel like crap about it. It was one thing to see Ian kill that girl earlier- it was him or her, but at least that was a fair fight.

The double gate was high and narrow, just wide enough for a truck to pass through if both sides were open. The center was latched with a thick steel plate and security lock.

Cade sidestepped along the high concrete wall, his hands loose sides, every nerve tense as he reached the gate. There was no sound in the compound. Even the animals seemed to be asleep. So far, so good.

Studying the lock in the pale yellow moonlight, he grunted. They didn't have the tools to open or jimmy it. The raw knife and spear he'd taken from the rack were jagged and primitive: He wasn't even sure if they would hold up in actual combat situations. Didn't matter. It was the best they had, and now it was time to improvise.

The wall was high flat concrete, but the gate was barred in cross-sections. Nodding to Moll to follow him, Cade shoved the spear and knife into his waist-band and scrambled up the gate. He was totally exposed here, to both sides of the wall, but in seconds, he'd reached the top and launched himself over.

In the darkness, his wide eyes shadowed the second half of the compound as he crouched down, the solid wall at his back. From what he could see, the section was empty. The bunkhouse doors were open, and although it lay in shadow beyond the door, it appeared empty. The yard was muddy and churned, and there was a brassy stench to it that Cade recognized from battlefields and slaughterhouses. Blood. Old blood, not fresh.

Glancing back, he withdrew his spear and knife, holding them at a ready while he waited for the others to clear the gate.

Control Dome

“This is Ian Dugan of the Kasern, we’re being held against our will. Call the Fed’s and tell them to home in on this signal. This message will loop every five minutes.”


Dolenz listened closely, one ear pressed to the thin dome wall behind them. They couldn't have known, these little chickees, that he slept so close by. That he slept not at night by Nihalchi time, but kept his body's circadian rythm on Standard Ship Time.

"Well here goes nothin."

In one smooth step, the burly bear of a man stepped around the partition, gun raised. Cold calculating calm was in his words as he primed the hammer, "You're right. There goes nothing."

A swift gesture with the gun and Dolenz continued evenly, "Drop it, and step towards the wall."

With Claudia securely barred at the back of her head, Moll got to her feet and selected a cloth-wrapped knife from the rack, its blade dull and rusty, but the point seemed capable of stabbing through flesh, more so than the other knives displayed where ninety-five percent had missing tips. She hefted the blade and suppressed a shudder that ran through her body, then stuck it in the waistband of the kilt she wore and turned to follow Cade to the gate.

She waited until the man was at the top of the gate, then started to follow, but found her make-shift sandals getting in the way. She kicked them off and climbed barefoot, her muscles protesting even after the first few feet. Once she reached the top of the gate, she was sweating bullets, she was out of breath and she swung a leg over the top and hung on for dear life, taking deep, ragged breaths that only shook her body even more than it was shaking in the first place.

'Ya can't stay up here ferever,' said a voice in her head that belonged to neither Moll or Claudia, but came from the past, from the dead. 'Now git yer scrawny li'l arse down 'fore yer spotted.' She couldn't recognise the voice, but knew that she knew it and knew that she had to listen to it and follow the order it had given. She looked down the way she had come for just a moment, then swung her other leg over the top of the gate, lowered herself until she hung with her arms stretched over her head, then let go and dropped down and fell to her hands and knees as she hit the ground.

The metallic smell mixed into the mud wasn't one she recognised immediately, but some primal instinct inside her did and got her to her feet, lessening the contact she had with the bloody mud. There was nothing she could do to protect her feet from that mud, having left her sandals on the other side of the wall, but she wiped the mud from her hands, then took the miserable excuse for a knife from her waistband, giving a glance at Cade. “Where is everyone?” she whispered, her gaze moving from the man to sweep around the empty yard and darkened bunkhouse. “You don't think they're...” She didn't finish the thought, didn't want to think the worst about the apparently deserted camp. After all, they could all just be in the bunkhouse, sleeping.

But neither Moll nor Claudia really believed that...

Control Dome


"You're right. There goes nothing. Drop it, and step towards the wall."

Well, Zira thought, there went that plan. She thought about reaching for her gun and taking a shot at the man, but was unsure if she would be quick enough to make it. Once, she wasn't sure if she could still draw that fast as she hadn't needed to since she was shot. Two, he was ready to shoot; all that was needed was to pull the trigger and she still needed to grab hers out.

Looked like it was better just to play along for the time being and hope to whatever deity might be watching that the message got out to Kas. Or anyone. She wasn't all that picky when a gun was being pointed at her.

There was a small smile that appeared on her face as she tried to repress a laugh. The thought had crossed her mind if the people she had pointed a gun at ever felt like she did right now.

Zira wasn't quite sure where that thought had come from, but people did always say that strange things passed through one's head when they were going to die. Or was it that their life passed in front of their eyes?

Either way, she was feeling strangely calm as she moved towards the wall, turning her back on the man. Maybe, just maybe and luck didn't desert them all for once, she would be able to draw and shoot him right back.

Control Dome

"You're right. There goes nothing. Drop it, and step towards the wall."

Ian was slightly surprised to see Dolenze. He was glad that the man had waited as long as he did to announce himself. Ian might not have gotten to press the 'send' button for the wave had the man come in sooner.

Ian turned his full attention toward the man, hoping to shift the others attention off of Zira. She was their best chance right now and Ian knew it.

"Well, well, well. What have we here? The man with the plan finally showin his face. But, surely, you're not the Wizard behind the Curtain. Word is you take your orders from someone else. Who is it?"

He had slowly taken his pistols from their place at his side and placed them on the ground, by his feet as he spoke.

"Take care of those, I'll be takin them back, ya hear?"

He stood to his full height and looked hard at the man with the gun.

"But, really Dolenze, whats goin on here. Humor me, I'm a captaive audiance"

Ian spread his hands wide, to let the man think he was defeated. Deep inside, Ian knew that would only happen when he was dead.

Level 2 Compound

Cade cringed as Moll made it over the wall in something less than record time, and landed beside him on all fours, panting heavily. Behind her, Kimmie wriggled through a wide spot near the top of the wall and slithered down to crouch beside them, a wide-eyed wild animal. Hadn't he told her to stay behind?

A crack team of invasion specialists they were not.

“Where is everyone? You don't think they're...”

Cade's hand reached out to Moll's shoulder, quieting her, but he shook his head. He couldn't believe that they were all dead. He couldn't even consider the thought. But the yard was inescapably silent and devoid of life.

Gesturing, he edged towards the doorway of the bunkhouse. A soft night breeze carrying forest scents of pine and loamy thick blankets of leaves whispered through the encampment and Cade raised his face to it, listening with his ears as his eyes scoured the darkness. It was incongruous, this sweetened breeze in this darkened place, and Cade felt his heart raise a little bit.

Weapons at the ready, Cade slipped through the doorway to the bunkhouse, his eyes adjusting to the gloom just enough to make out the rows and rows of empty pallets along the walls.

Level 2 Compound:

Trill stirred from her pile of leaves and furs along the back wall of the compound, sensing rather than knowing that there was an intruder. The others were gone, most all led away into the forest for the next level, for their freedom. Nearbye, only Rus and Idg also slept. They had abandoned the stink of the enclosed bunkhouses for the forest fresh scents near the back gates.

Tomorrow, they'd clean the bunkhouse, make it theirs until the new level-ups came.

Dolenz said that she wasn't ready to level-up. Dolenz said to stay behind and wait and teach the new ones. Dolenz said. Dolenz said. It repeated over and over in the back of her mind like a mantra, as if it kept repeating she would believe it.
Trill's faith was gone, long gone.

N was left behind them. Killa was gone away, gone ahead without her, but Trill didn't care. She had stopped caring about Killa a long time ago. It was survival here and to care was to die. Killa had told her that herself. To care was to die.

To care was to die.

But, Oh Lord help her, how she wanted to care again.

Shadows moved and she tensed, realizing that the wind had not just stirred her imagination. She was not alone. Crawling forth, she moved more out of curiosity than any interest in engaging the invaders. For all she knew, they were level-ups who'd been released for the dangers of entering at night, when Rus and Idg might take them for dangers instead of routine challenges.

Trill clenched her narrow leather-wrapped blade, more improvised shiv than polished tool, and crawled to the corner of the bunkhouse. On callous toughened bare feet, she stood and moved, ghost-like, her pale skin gleaming in the moonlight as her black hair floated behind her on the forest breeze and the rags that she wore rippled around her thin body like dancing prayer flags.

At the corner of the bunkhouse, she whispered a hushed warning, "Shhh... stop devils..."

"Well, well, well. What have we here? The man with the plan finally showin his face. But, surely, you're not the Wizard behind the Curtain. Word is you take your orders from someone else. Who is it?"

The crease of a smile never left Dolenz face as he listened without answer to the man.

"Take care of those, I'll be takin them back, ya hear?"

"Perhaps," was the only answer that Dolenz gave. He made no move for the guns on the floor, but kept his leveled.

"But, really Dolenz, whats goin on here. Humor me, I'm a captive audience."

"Scar, isn't it?" Dolenz smiled even more warmly, even as he shook his head sadly. His voice was rich and warm, and a friendly twinkle brightened teh corners of his eyes as he replied evenly, "What's going on here is whatever you make it to be, Scar. And you as well, Z? Is it?"

"This is a harsh world, my dear friends. And survival in it means you must shed the concepts of civility you may have come to embrace in your daily lives." Dolenz lowered the pistol slightly, but still held it to ready, his tones richly intimate, "You ask me what is going on here, and I must repeat, it is whatever you believe it to be. If you believe that it is a terrible conspiracy, that there is some dark secret ... What would yours be? Some kind of cult? Conditioning by aliens? Secret conspiracies to overthrow the government? Or maybe a government cover-up?"

"I've heard it all," Dolenz chuckled lightly, "And they sound more ludicrous each time, don't they?"

"This is a chance, my friends." He said softly, "A chance for you to become more than you ever have before. A chance at a new life, a new strength. All you have to do is believe. Believe, be strong, and all of Nihalchi can be yours! This is a huge moon, with much to offer. If you want a home, a community, a life, this is your chance."

He shrugged, a tender smile of regret on his lips, "You can take it, and make it your own. You're strong enough, I saw you today with Dree..." A momentary frown flickered across his broad friendly face, "Sad, so sad, but she never was going to be ready for the next level. Some never will be. It's in the attitude, you see."

Dolenz sighed, his tone fatherly and warm. "You kids have a choice, now, though. You can go back to your bunkhouse, start fresh, and work towards a new future. Or you work for me. Working for me means no Nihalchi. No level up. This compound and the community directly outside the walls becomes your home. It's a good life- far more comfortable than working towards a new future. Hot food, warm beds. And you are welcome, whichever you choose, but... working for me doesn't prepare you for Nihalchi. It doesn't keep you in the program. If you want a future here, the future you've dreamed of for yourself, then the program is only way through those gates back there."

He stared warmly into Scar's eyes, "As I said, the truth is whatever you make it out to be. You decide your own fate.

Level 2 Compound

When Cade's hand touched her shoulder, Moll felt something like a jolt of electricity course through her body. Even if it had just been to silence her, it was still the first human contact she'd had in what felt like weeks. She suppressed the smile that threatened to cross her lips, but she was unable to contain the shiver that ran through her body.

She bit her lip and tightened her grip on the make-shift blade in her hand, then followed after Cade, mud squeezing between her toes as she scurried from the wall to the bunkhouse. She heard the sound of rustling leaves made her freeze, then turn this way and that, trying to spot the source of it in the darkness, but since Cade hadn't reacted to the sound and she figured that he was far more experienced at this sort of thing than she was, she relaxed and followed him inside the bunkhouse, imagining that she'd heard a whisper nearby.

'Jus' th' bloody trees, city-slicker, jus' 'gnore 'em,' a voice in her head noted and laughed, and she shook off the feeling that someone was watching her and turned to look in the blacker darkness of the bunkhouse. It smelled human in here, smelled of sweat, blood and other basic human odours that she didn't care to think about. But she knew even before her eyes adjusted to the dark that the place was empty. The usual sounds of sleeping people were missing. No snoring, no shuffling or movement, nothing. She looked toward Cade, quietly waiting for him to make the next move.

Command Dome

"But, really Dolenz, whats goin on here. Humor me, I'm a captive audience."

The spoke, much to Ian surprise. He actually figure that the man would shot them, not answer his question. Even so, it was answered in a round about fashion.

"Scar, isn't it? ... What's going on here is whatever you make it to be, Scar. And you as well, Z? Is it?"

Ian narrowed his eyes at that. What is his game, he thought as he lowered his arms to his side. Dolenze continued on, not intemidated in the least. Ian shifted his weight. Ian figured Dolenze was about ten feet away. A wll made jup and roll would bring him up to striking distance.

"This is a harsh world, my dear friends. And survival in it means you must shed the concepts of civility you may have come to embrace in your daily lives." Dolenz lowered the pistol slightly, but still held it to ready, his tones richly intimate, "You ask me what is going on here, and I must repeat, it is whatever you believe it to be. If you believe that it is a terrible conspiracy, that there is some dark secret ... What would yours be? Some kind of cult? Conditioning by aliens? Secret conspiracies to overthrow the government? Or maybe a government cover-up?"

"I've heard it all," Dolenz chuckled lightly, "And they sound more ludicrous each time, don't they?"

Ian's thoughts went to Bit and how she at first thought of him as a god among the crew. He almost joined Dolenze with a chuckle of his own.

"This is a chance, my friends. ... A chance for you to become more than you ever have before. A chance at a new life, a new strength. All you have to do is believe. Believe, be strong, and all of Nihalchi can be yours! This is a huge moon, with much to offer. If you want a home, a community, a life, this is your chance."

Ian watched him shrug his shoulders, a sad smile on his lips. Ian started to relax. Something about what the man was saying made some kind of sense.

"You can take it, and make it your own. You're strong enough, I saw you today with Dree..." A momentary frown flickered across his broad friendly face, "Sad, so sad, but she never was going to be ready for the next level. Some never will be. It's in the attitude, you see."

Ian norrowed his eyes again. Dolenze almost had him. He sould not have brought Dree into it. Life was not about un-necessary killing. Dree's death had been just that. Ian centered himself again. Almost ready to make his move, trusting Zira to follow up with her own.

"You kids have a choice, now, though. You can go back to your bunkhouse, start fresh, and work towards a new future. Or you work for me. Working for me means no Nihalchi. No level up. This compound and the community directly outside the walls becomes your home. It's a good life- far more comfortable than working towards a new future. Hot food, warm beds. And you are welcome, whichever you choose, but... working for me doesn't prepare you for Nihalchi. It doesn't keep you in the program. If you want a future here, the future you've dreamed of for yourself, then the program is only way through those gates back there."

"As I said, the truth is whatever you make it out to be. You decide your own fate.

That last bit solidified Ian to his course. He leapt into a rolling jump, landing on the back of one shoulder and rolling up to a standing positiong in front of Dolenze. Ian's intent was to roll up and knock the gun from Dolenze's using his left hand and clutch the man's throat with the other. He was tired of this game and wanted real answers, If he didn't get them, Dolenze might find that he would never "level up" either.

If there was a shot fired, Ian didn't know, he had been too busy getting to where he was.

OOC: First, an out-of-character Congrats to Ian, soon to be second-time-grandad! Now do we getta call ya "Gramps"? ;)

Command Dome: Main Compound

Too gorramed old. Too gorramed slow.

Dolenz had barely swallowed the thought before Ian Dugan's hand slammed the gun from his hand. Scar had moved faster than he would have expected, the attack coming fast and hard. Even with his years, which weighed more heavily on his shoulders than on most others, Dolenz was still fit, still built of muscle.

A panicked blur of self-realization stripped him of the illusion of his power as Scar attacked. Still fit, yes. Still powerful. But his muscles had lost their flex, his sinews their speed. And it had been too long since he was challenged this way.

The gun clattered across the floor without a single shot fired and Dolenz felt his shoulders slam against the dome wall behind him. Cold fingers that still smelled of Dree's blood locked around his throat.

Dolenz stared deep into the eyes of the man who had killed that little street prostitute, a barren broken rat who had once carried the name Marilene Cataran: The eyes of a man neither afraid to die nor afraid to kill for the right to live.

And he smiled a bare-toothed grin as his hand fell to his waist, his words gasping out of his choked throat, "You actually think you'll win?"

Level 2 Compound:


Her hissed whisper seemed to have gone unheard. They were advancing now into the empty barracks, and Trill shadowed in their steps, a fluttering ghost on the night breeze.

Scooting closer, she ducked down just inside the barracks doors, completely hidden in shadow, and hissed out, "Devils... I can see you! I can hear you! Stop!"

The man whirled towards her, weapons out and the figures with him... boys? girls? women? demons ... were sheltered in his bulk. But he slowly lowered his knife hand, and shades of starlight caught the blond of his hair and the pale pitch of his eyes as he formed words and spoke them aloud.

"We're not devils. We're just people, like you. Why don't you come out where we can see you?"

His low and soft tones, reasonable and encouraging stretched through the darkness between them, brushing aside the demon-shadows in Trill's eyes, and she slashed her blade in bare air, challenging the voice, refuting the calm reason of his words with low hissing words, "No... I'll kill you... kill you. Go back where you came from... back to the forests. I'll kill you..."

Command Dome

You actually think you'll win?

Zira moved forward slowly towards Ian and Dolenz. She picked up the guns, refusing to kick the weapons away. It just wasn't how you treated something that your life relied on. She stood straight in front of the two and stared right at Dolenz, not showing any fear.

"You say it's our choice? Fate, I mean." Dolenz nodded. "Make you a deal. We let you go without maiming or killing you, you tell us what the rutt is going on here. And what the hell you were talking about. Give us the details. What exactly do you mean, we work for you?"

It might just be the best way out of here alive, she thought sadly.


OOC: And a big congrats from me as well!

Ian almost certainly vibrated with excitment as Dolenze rasped out his small words. He looked as deep into the man as the man had looked into him. Ian knew that this man's life was his to give or take. It was clear to them both.

It was then that Zira stepped up to them and Ian once again found himself. Stepping away from oneself did not always leave the best of tastes in ones soul.

"You say it's our choice? Fate, I mean." Dolenz nodded. "Make you a deal. We let you go without maiming or killing you, you tell us what the rutt is going on here. And what the hell you were talking about. Give us the details. What exactly do you mean, we work for you?"

Dolenze wasn't able to move his head much, as Ian pressed it back into the dome wall.

"Her name. What was it. The woman I killed. Dree. What was her real name."

He loosened his grip on the man but grabbed his shirt front, still expecting an attack of some kind, Ian was still ready to move, ready to strike, but also ready to let the man go. Zira's presence had calmed his soul once again.

Command Dome

"Her name. What was it. The woman I killed. Dree. What was her real name."

Dolenz' eyes widened in disbelief. The woman's questions made sense. What was his plan? What kind of 'work' was he talking about. The man was suddenly concerned with about a stranger's name? "What?" He gasped out, "Names are left behind here. She was just a street-whore, an addict." Spittle whispered over his lips as he gasped in air, "You did her a favor."

His gaze traveled back to the woman, "You want a deal? A second ago, I was all-in... Now..."

Dolenz hand raised, displaying a small black device, "Too late."

The black box dropped from his hand, his fingers triggering the release. Instantly, high pitched wailing alarms rang out throughout the compound and hot white halogen gleam flooding from the tops of the walls to illuminate every inch of the enclosure.

And Dolenz's personal body alarm on his belt screamed out in a distinct tone, alerting everyone within hearing distance to his location.

Level 2 Compound

"No... I'll kill you... kill you. Go back where you came from... back to the forests. I'll kill you..."

"No." Cade murmured very quietly, "You don't want to kill us."

The creature backed against the wall, her eyes shadowed, a tiny dark ghost, "No, no no. I won't listen to the demons. Lead you to hell... They all lead you to hell..."

"Jennifer?"

The disbelieving gasp cut through the silence as Kimmie stepped forward suddenly, her trembling stick-like hands raised, "Jennifer? It's me... it's Kimmie..."

"Kimmie's dead! You're dead!" The girl was raising her voice, waving her weapons, "WE'RE ALL DEAD!"

Suddenly the compound lit up in a flood of white light, and sirens screamed through the night.

"Welp," Cade groaned, looking over his companions, "NOW we're dead."

His fist landed at the apex of Jennifer's jaw, and the dark haired creature slumped silent to the ground. Scooping her up, he swung her over his shoulder, "Time to go. Now!"

Turning to run out into the open compound, Cade found his way blocked by the amazon form of a tall leather clad woman and beside her a smaller bulldozer shaped man, both carrying knife and spear.

He gently lowered Jennifer to his feet and dropped into a combat ready crouch, "Or not so much with the running then."

Idg's white file-sharpened teeth gleamed in the blistering light of the floods, "Drop your weapons, and surrender."

Her laughter was high but brief,
"And I'll only eat one of you."

"Devils... I can see you! I can hear you! Stop!"

Another whisper in the trees, only... The whisper carried words. Words that were clearly words, even if they made little sense. Devils? What devils? Moll's fingers clenched around the hilt of her make-shift knife and she backed away from the crazy-talking woman, her whole body shaking now and sweat pouring down her face.

And then everything seemed to happen at once; Kimmie trying to talk the crazy woman down, lights and sirens going off, hurting her eyes, her ears, her very brain. She saw Cade punch the woman, knocking her out before Claudia let out a scream and shrunk back into the bunkhouse's back wall, her knife dropped and hands clutching her ears to shut out the sound, while she squeezed her eyes shut to stop the light from blinding her.

"Or not so much with the running then."

"Drop your weapons, and surrender. And I'll only eat one of you."

Claudia reeled, trying to crawl further back into the shadows, while Moll fought tooth and nail to gain the upper hand again so she could help her new allies. She screamed again, but this time it was a warrior's scream, torn from deep in her chest as she pushed to her feet, fingers picking up the knife in the same move, and though she was still shivering and trembling from the physical effects of withdrawel, Moll moved forward with confident strides to stand beside Cade, a feral expression on her face. It was time to stop running, time to avenge the death of Molly Marie and her crew, time to... Live again.

“I will not die in this place,” she growled, the comment meant for both Cade and the one threatening to eat them. “Not here, not now. And you...” She pointed at the two standing in front of them with her broken blade. “Will not eat anyone.”

Command Dome

Hell had come to this back water place. Death had stood in the eves, watching, she now came forward and stood behind Dolenze. Ian could see her clearly.

Gone was the noise.

Gone was the pride.

Gone was the caring.

Death had come back to haunt his dreams, wether he was awake or asleep. She stood there, behind the fat, obnoxious thing that Dolenze had become. Her long black hair was darker then the Black of the 'Verse and moved as if it were caught in a breeze that only effected it. Her face was paler than alabaster, yet her eyes were a deep indigo blue. Her lips were full and red, like some cheap B holovid siren.

Her gossemer gown was cut in a deep 'V' that went down below her belly button and bearly covered her shaply body.

Ian felt betrayed. Betrayed by Dolenze and betrayed by Death; by seeing her again. He had thought that was all behind him now. He frowned once and looked back into Dolenze's eyes. The man seemed sure of himself.

Ian reached out again, quick as lightning and grabed the others throat. This time his intent was to pass the man over to his patron saint. This time he meant to kill him, with all due haste and without remorse.

Ian's face never registered any other emotion after the frown. His face and eyes were passive.

As far as he was concerned, he would not let go of Dolenze until one of them were dead.

He wasn't really sure if he cared which one died.

You want a deal? A second ago, I was all-in... Now..."

Dolenz hand raised, displaying a small black device, "Too late."

As soon as the noise started and Ian grabbed the man again, Zira walked calmly forward, pulled her gun and shot him directly in the stomach. He hunched over, providing a clear shot directly to his head, which she then shot at point blank.

Zira was cold and impassive as she turned to look at Ian. "Drop him. It's time we left". Zira the girl was gone and in her place stood Zira the Murderer whom her mother could never know existed.

She turned to go, then looked back at the corepad. "We bring it with us and chance tracing or destroy it now and hope to hell we don't need it?" she asked Ian. facing the exit once again, she began to walk out. "It's your choice. I'm going to try to hold ground here so we can get the rutt out. Come find the me when you're done. You'll know where I am."

Just look for the pile of bodies or the dead me, she thought morbidly.

OOC- Gm's without permission, but E says it's ok.

Death smile was not for him, he relized too late. He was not to be her Avartar, not yet.

He came back to the here and now at the sound of a gun shot and Dolenze's grunt of pain. He bacme like so much dead weight. A second shot was fired and Ian knew the man was dead, even if he had not seen the gray matter splatter against the back wall of the Dome.

"Drop him. It's time we left".

He did. The body slumped into itself then fell over on its side. Blood began to pool around the head.

Ian knew the voice, but not the way it was delivered. So much command with so little inflection. He actually had to look to see if it was really Zira that had spoken. He smiled as he saw her turn from him and caught sight of her back side.

She turned back to him and he saw the lightning flash in her eyes. This place and really messed them up. She indicated the CorPAD.

"We bring it with us and chance tracing or destroy it now and hope to hell we don't need it?"

She turned and started walking again, over the sirens she spoke as she went.

"It's your choice. I'm going to try to hold ground here so we can get the rutt out. Come find the me when you're done. You'll know where I am."

Still smiling Ian turned back to Dolenze. Death still stood where she was. She was looking at him now, as if to say Soon my love. Your time to help will come soon enough.

She faded withn his smile until they were both gone.

Ian looked back toward Zira and then toward the CorPAD. He quickly transfered the program into the terminal and plucked the PDA from where it was and placed it into his vest pocket.

He turned and left the dome with out looking back.

His pistoles were at the ready as he left the darkness behind.

The Shuttle Continues from Here


BEYOND THE FOREST:

The old rusty shuttle glided low over thick forest of pine and fir, it's engine-fire kept to a minimum to hide their approach.

Liberty stood, one hand hooked through a safety handle, the other touching her gun. Her gaze was on the night-scape before them, and the brightly illuminated compound ahead, but she found her eye straying time and time again back to the pilot's seat.

And the impish grin of Carter Goodspeed.

The roar of atmo splashed around the small forward screen of Kasern’s shuttle, causing the man at the controls to adjust his headset to better hear the chatter of vector information, streaming via scrambled pulse, from the larger ship’s sensor array. Altitude, speed, and all the other numbers of flight arrived in his ear courtesy of the deadpan voice of Kasern’s computer; all in an effort to avoid the need for any additional power consumption by the stealth rigged shuttle. As it stood only the absolute basic instruments of flight glowed along his control board…the shuttle held not one extra electron.

As it was with the shuttle, so too did the master thief strike the picture of silence. Covered from his muscled neck to his toes in his state of the art skin-tight Cool Suit, Carter looked like a ninja from an age long past, but unlike the silent masters of that time, he held not one weapon…no gun, blade or club. Instead pockets woven into the temperature dispersing fabric held items of singular wonders; any and everything that would allow Carter to get inside virtually anywhere in the ‘Verse.

”Thirty seconds,” he stated matter-of-factly to his companion, Liberty Quinn.

Slowing the old craft for landing, he spared a second to pull his Cool Suit’s full mask over his head and sealed the garment at his throat. A second after he brought the shuttle down, Carter Goodspeed, his face a blank landscape of the darkest cloth, turned to Liberty and whispered,
”Let’s get our treasure.”

Level 2 Compound

“I will not die in this place, Not here, not now. And you will not eat anyone.”

Idg cocked her head, her gnarled braids swaying across her face, and her long raw machete like blade spiraled in her hand, making whisking noises as she grinned a feral snarl, "I won't eat you ... Too thin...No meat."

She glanced to the man, knowing Rus would want him. Can't take it all. Her eyes narrowed, the stark floodlights bleaching her bone-white, the sirens falling silent, buried beneath the howling bloodlust in her mind. And without warning, she leaped forward. Her blade sliced first between the armed pair, forcing them apart, leaving the man to Rus.

Their line broken, Idg sidled towards her prey, further dividing them. With a swish, she raised the machete in a two handed overhead swing, diving directly at Moll, but at the last second, she whipped aside, whirling like a dervish, to redirect the swing towards the back of Moll's neck.

COMPOUND LEVEL 1:


Ian and Zira emerged from the dome into controlled chaos.

The courtyard was flooded with white halogen and sirens screamed. The front gates of Level One Compound had rolled open, and through them roared a cavalcade of low green camoflauge painted U-treks, each bearing four armed men and women. These were no misbegotten starving children of The Cult of the Primal man. Their weapons were ballistic in nature, their gear and their armor as state of the art as any Alliance Patrol.

They were the mercenary army of Unity Life, the tamers of Nihalchi. Eyes glowing with the light of faith, they leaped from their vehicles and scattered, taking cover amongst the vehicles and domes.

One man darted into the command dome, and in moments the lights crashed, the entire compound turning black. The mercenaries donned night vision goggles, and there was the resounding clank and whine of simultaneous weapons prime breached over the sea of sirens.

As blinding darkness overtook the compound the sirens still screeched, adding confusion and chaos and covering the movements of Unity Life's private army. And the first rain of gunfire spat from an automatic assault weapon, strafing the dome where Ian and Zira had emerged.

From the barracks had emerged the cult-keepers, raw chipped steel and wooden spear their weapons... The second line of defense.

Level 2 Compound

Moll barely had time to react as the sharp-toothed one lunged, splitting her and Cade apart. Bending at the knees, pure instinct took over and she slashed out with her own blade as the Amazon advanced, but by the time her knife should have met flesh, the woman was gone, whirled out of the way and all she cut was air. By no means a competent fighter – and certainly no expert with a blade – she tried to follow through, arm extended, by turning on her feet toward the woman, but the move made her stumble and almost fall.

The stumble probably saved her life as the machete came down and dug into her shoulder instead of her neck, tearing the thin fabric of her shirt and cutting a deep wound in her left shoulder from the top to the armpit. Had the machete been sharper, less rusty, it might have taken her arm clean off. As it was, it was still bad, the deep wound bleeding profusely, indicating that more than muscle had been severed.

She screamed from the pain and the fury, and slashed out with her right hand in an upward arch aimed at the Amazon's gut (the boys from Molly Marie had always said to aim for the guts or the heart) and just as the lights went out, the blade met flesh. But in the darkness she couldn't tell how deeply she had cut the other woman. Blind and deaf – or at least she felt deaf after the sudden disappearance of noise – she scrambled back, away from the Amazon's last known position, gasping from the pain in her shoulder, her left arm practically useless, dragging along like a piece of driftwood.

She felt faint, light-headed and knew it wouldn't be long until she passed out and then bled to death. Whipping her head this way and that, she tried to listen for the approach of the enemy, but all she heard was the phantom ringing of sirens and her own gasps for air. It hurt so bad! She'd never felt pain like this before, had never been injured so badly before and she just wanted it to go away. She wanted to give into the impulse that would take her into a darkness deeper than the one that had descended on the compound, just slip away and let unconsciousness take her, followed by death---

'No!' said that voice inside her head, firm and demanding, speaking in a tone that wouldn't be argued with. 'Get yer sorry pigu off th' gorram ground 'n defend yerself. NOW, gorramit!' And she did. Got back on her feet, with the knife still in her right hand, holding tight as she stood unsteadily in a crouched position, staring into the darkness and waited for the next attack.

ADMIN NOTATION!




Okay, Ian, this should answer some of your questions.
What you see here are ONLY those U-treks and mercenaries (the pink x's) that Ian & Zira might be able to see from their position. (Including some dubious ones.)

The entire compound just went from brilliant white lighting to stark darkness, and the mercenaries have night goggles, and automatic assault rifles.

NOTE: All the gates are locked with the exception of the one that the U-treks are coming through.

(I was gonna make little camo-designs on the U-treks, but really...overkill, much? ;))

Gorram ruttin pain in the Pi-Gu he thought when he heard the sound of the U-Treks.

"We're humped!" was what he said when he saw the men and women exit the vehicles and the lights go out.

He had the general lay of the land in his head, but with no lighting it would be hard to make it anywhere.

At least they aren't shooting ....

He broke off the thought as the crack of the first round fired struck home two feet from where they were standing.

"Ai-Ya!!"

He grabbed at Zira's shoulder to pull her back inside the Command Dome. The back door If we can get to it was closer to the a gate and the animal pens.

They might have a better chance to survive that way then a full on charge.

If he were something like a trained Spec Warrior he might have tried to charge the line, causing havoc long enough for Zira to get away, but he wasn't. He was more than just a mechanic, true, but far from anything so robust as Spec Ops.

No he thought, ducking back into the Command Dome was the best option I could think of.

As she was pulled back inside as bullets rained down on them, Zira couldn't help but feel that she had been the cause of all this. If she hadn't gotten caught. Still, they were safe for now.

And they did have a CorePad. Speaking of which..

She rapidly turned to face Ian. "Can you get a hold of Kasern or the shuttle on that thing? Or find a way to patch into the radios they're using out there? At least we can have an idea of what's going on then."

Command Dome

Ian thought hard and quick.

"I dont think I'd be able to get word off planet, but might be able to patch in to the goonies."

He holstered his pistoles and took out the PDA. He opened it and his fingers danced over the keys. If the PDA could pick up the transmissions of the goon squad, it would now. Ian felt sure of that.

"Sides, with the broadcast of our position already going out, if anyone were in the area, they'd have to hear it."


He scaned the interior of the Dome. It too was dark and they had their backs to some equipment. Light from the machines cast an errie glow in the area so that it wasn't as pitch black as it was outside.

That was how it seemed to Ian.

Rubin held still in the shadows.

He simply couldn't believe his luck. The pair didn't seem to have even noticed him.
At his feet lay horror.

The man who had salvaged Rubin from the darkness that had consumed his life, who had given him spirit and purpose beyond the addiction and search for cheap tricks that had eaten his time and commitment back on the Santo streets of his youth, the man who had saved him, lay at his feet.

Dolenz was drenched his own blood, his mouth gaped open in a silent scream. From his high forehead dark fluid eased from the bullethole.

Rubin would once have been eaten with rage at the sight. He once would have stormed and screamed. He would have totally lost his shit. The man Rubin had become under Dolenz' tutelage looked down at the body of his mentor at his feet, then glanced back across the room at the shadows near the back door, and cool rational calm soothed through his veins.

Focus on one goal, and make it happen.

Rubin dropped low, putting the computer bank between himself and the insects who had dared to slay Dolenz. He ran the barrel of his assault rifle between the equipment banks...

and opened fire.

The dome exploded with flashes of light and gunfire.

Zira leapt to the right and as far away from the source of the gun fire as soon as she heard it. She tried to drag Ian with her, but she wasn't sure if she had managed to grab onto him or just some of the random clothing that was laying about as she rolled to the side.

About to look up, the computers exploded and she saw stars.

Rom isn't going to like this, she found herself thinking as she felt a sharp piece of something wedge its way into her leg.

The piece of equipment they were standing behind exploded around him as the gun fire erupted. Ian ducked to the right and pocketed then PDA. He hit the ground hard and rolled to his knees, a dark smear on the ground where his skin had touched the ground. A bloody reminder of what he had lived through not more tham a few hours ago.

He came up in a croutch, weapons drawn and at the ready.

One of the goons were in the dome with them. Where there was more, there would be hundreds.

Ian saw the lighter opening of the back door, though he didn't know where Zira was, and he knew he couldn't call out to her until the shooter was delt with.

The goons outside had used Night Vision goggles, Ian assumed that the one inside did too. Taking a quick look over the back of destroyed computers, Ian saw where the muzzle flash was coming from, he also figured that as long as the man fired his weapon the flashes would render him blind, as long as the goon was wearing his goggles.

Staying low, and keeping one eye on the back doorway and the other on his target, Ian moved to the right, near the wall of the dome and crepted as close to parallel to the shooter as he could.

When he got into a position where he had some cover, yet a good line of sight to the shooter, he fired both weapons at the man and hoped he hit him.

Blam-Blam
Blam-Blam
Blam-Blam

He ducked behind his cover and waited. He still had an eye on the dome door from where he squated behind his cover.