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.