Had Well, this is my last bit of writing on this planet.
I’m leaving Earth, along with thousands of others on one of many cruisers.
But before I set foot in one of those luxury liners, I will pay a visit to the IR Headquarters here in Tokio.
But not because I have some things to make clear about the ongoing war.
No far from it.
My fiancee is a pilot, flying for the IR. A famous pilot, not to mention.
And he and me are close friends of Marcus Imir, who just so happens to be in town.
I’m hoping Mr. Imir knows more about the whereabouts of him.
I haven’t heard from him in a while and I miss him, God how I miss him.
I sigh whenever I think of him. He has his own ways and he may seem completely free.
But under that heroic and iron mask, is a shy man. You have to dig,
 but once you fidn him, you can’t stop yourself from loving him. Atleast I can’t.

I dedicate this to everyone who has someone close fighting in a galaxy far, far away.
May your loved ones return to you.

-Jade

Naomi saved the file and sent it to HoloNet News.
Strange how things can change over times, and how they can stay the same.
About a year ago, she started writing small columns for the HoloNet News Service.
Her writings would always appear on the third page of the digital newspaper, and were always signed off with the pseudo-name Jade.
She smiled, thinking about how Robin always told he wanted to meet the person who would always fill the right-hand corner of the ‘Opinions and Backgrounds’ page.
He said it reminded him of her. Robin didn’t have a clue.
She put her PDA back in her purse as she felt the car she was sitting in slowing down.
  “We’ve arrived ma’am.”

[.Space Stories Proudly Presents]

  “Thank you.” She said, and the door opened automatically.
As she got out, she noticed something different about the day. Even her cat seemed nervous, not knowing how to sit in his box. Naomi held it tight though.
The wind was sporadic, as were the trees struck by it. Abover her was a sky filled with a wide array of colours.
But the grey of the clouds would soon dominate the scape.
Perhaps it was something symbolic, she did not know.
She could only feel, and the combination of everything made her feel uncomfortable.
Her instincts, a trait she shared with Robin, told her to make haste.
And so she did, she walked up the stairs, faster than usual, to meet up with Marcus.

The Tokio HQ wasn’t a building that stood out too much in the high-tech center of the city. 
But it wouldn’t go completely unnoticed either. Its combination of an almost white superstructure and 
nearly complete transparancy thanks to glass, made it a buidling worth having.
The building twisted around its Y axle in the middle, creating a unique though sublte sight between the more conventional skyline.
Naomi didn’t seem to notice though.

It was eight in the morning, and most of the city had awakened by now.
Marcus had too, nearly two hours ago. His face reflected in the office window as he drank 
his third cup of coffee.
He noticed his secretary on his right while staring at the cityscape.
  “Sir, Naomi Lee is here to see you.” She informed him.
Marcus turned around, nodding: “Send her in.”

[A Story By IXI]

Imir turned a few buttons on his desk and the lights were calibrated to a more comfortable setting.
The wooden door opened easily and with silence as Ms. Lee entered.
She immediately felt the change of atmosphere which was now one of trust, warmth and friendship.
Her cat seemed to calm down as well, who was getting in a more relaxed position.
  “Goodmorning Naomi.” Marcus welcomed her.
  “Hello Marcus, thanks for having me here.” Naomi sat down, putting the box on the floor, her cat meowing briefly.
  “What’s the name of the little fellow?” The old man asked, getting off the right foot.
  “I haven’t named her yet, but I was thinking about Aibo.” She replied.
  “Hmm, ‘friend’.”
  “Yeah.” Lee noticed she was distracted, so she was about to change the subject.
  “But that’s not why you’re here.” Marcus beat her to it, leaning forward on his elbows.
  “No,” Naomi turned away from her cat, “I was hoping you knew more about Robin.”
  “I expected you to come here, asking me.” He opened the console embedded in his desk.
The screen flicked on and with a simple click on a shortcut Imir had made for this occassion, he opened the file with every bit of intel concerning Robin.
He scrolled down until he found the last known location and trajectory.
  “Here.” Marcus turned the screen so Naomi could see.
It appeared Robin’s position was now somewhere deep in the Dead Zone.
If he was close to his fighter that is, as that was continiously sending out the signal.
But knowing him, he wouldn’t be too far off.
  “He’s not in the middle of it?” Naomi wondered.
  “Oh, far from it.” Was the answer
His words surprised her, perhaps he read the third page as well.
  “No contacts?” 
  “We haven’t had a single message so far.” Imir leaned back, countering the ache that was beginning in his back.
She sighed, but was relieved though. He wasn’t battling the enemy, atleast not now.
Somehow she knew Robin would be alright, but now it was confirmed.
Naomi felt calm now, much better than a few minutes ago.
  “Could I interest you in a cup of French Vanilla?” Marcus offered kindly.
  “No thank you, I have a flight to catch.” She got up, taking the box in her hand.
  “Thanks again.” 
  “No problem.” Marcus was glad he could help.
A nod was enough to say goodbye to Imir, and she went for the door.

[Based on the Background Scenario By Red Baron]

The sky had cleared once Naomi set foot outside.
Today seemed to finally start and she stopped for a second, breathing in deeply.
She would now take her flight off this rock, and go towards Federation Territory.
The driver of her car was kind enough to wait and he gave her a greeting signal.
  “To the spaceport ma’am?” He opened the door by remote, its black paint reflecting her and the stairs behind.
She noticed three men who seemed out of place. Lee knew the kind. They were here for business.
But she quickly dismissed them as a problem, knowing she was standing in front of an IR HQ.
  “Please.” Lee said, returning the nod.
Naomi stepped in, her cat and left leg first. She glanced over the door.
It was in that moment she saw three hovervans approaching. Black, but not the metallic type of her ride. 
The windows had been darkened and they lacked licence plates. She sat down and took 
one last look at the three men. They were all looking in the same direction, the approaching convoy.
The door closed and the car left the scene, Naomi following the three black vans with her eyes.
They seemed to stop in front of the building. What was going on?
She didn’t know, she could only feel. And this surely felt uncertain.
A truck moved behind the hovercar, blocking the view that captivated Naomi. Lee kept looking though,  thoughts crossing her mind.
The soft leather seats didn’t feel as comfortable when she got in the first time.
Looking out of the side window seemed to help her think things through.
  “Everything alright ma’am?” The driver looked in the rear-view.
She didn’t answer, and he knew he wouldn’t get any.
Silence would suffice for now.

[Boundless]
[3 // Rebirth ]

The van-doors slid open almost perfectly synchronised and out came a dozen IR Marines followed by one man.
He seemed civilian in his casual clothing, but you could already tell he was the one in charge.
Shades were covering his steely eyes and gave him something mysterious. He proceeded after his men, moving the way he dressed. Casual, but with a sense of efficiency and drama. 
A blonde haired woman joined him. She was smooth in every way, like she was walking on silk.
Her curly hair jumped up and down as she put one high heel after another. The clothing she wore seemed made for occassions like this, though the white and black combination had something fashionable.
Her sidearm bounced on her hip and she had several devices attached to her belt.
The display of power caused quite a stir among the people
  “No need to panic.” The leader started to explain.
  “We believe there is a wanted man hiding in this building.” He looked at the HQ.
It seemed to cool the crowd down, but that didn’t stop them from looking at the pack of soldiers.
  “Go.” And with one simple flick of his wrist he commanded his troops to enter.
  “You like power.” The woman whispered in his ear.
  “Like? I get off on it.” He turned his head, inches away from hers.
Their lips almost met and they looked eachother in the eye for a second.
It seemed to last an hour.
She smiled, satisfied, and left the intimacy first. He followed her into the building shortly after.

Marcus finished his cup and placed it on his desk, keeping the city in view.
He would need another, but that could wait for now. Now was the time to think.
His mind wandered, he was getting too old for this job. No one deserved to have a responsibility this great at his age.
His hearing was already artificial, who knew what could follow.
He sighed, knwoing he worried too much. Normally he wouldn’t look that far ahead, it wasn’t like him.
It was the age, he concluded.
  “Sir?” His secretary spoke before he could notice her in the window.
Marcus turned and fell silent before he could answer.
A line of Marines stood behind her. In came the woman, followed closely by the leader.
  “The girl already left?” He asked calmly, but somehow it seemed his voice could turn into a storm anytime.
  “What are you talking about?” Marcus didn’t like this invasion.
  “There was a gil here not too long ago, meeting you.” The shades were folded slowly and disappeared in a right pocket. Imir was now looking in the cold eyes that were covered a second ago.
  “Whoever you are, or whatever it is you’re doing, leave her out of it.”
The Spec Ops leader reached for his PDA and pressed the speed dial.
  “Too late.” He smirked, looking in Marcus’ old face.

The phone in the car went, and the driver picked up. He glanced at Naomi who didn’t seem to notice or care.
The call was ended with a “Yes.” Which was the only thing he had said actually.
That was one of the things that struck Naomi as odd.
Suddenly both back doors locked and that woke her even further.
The driver steered the hovercar out of the flylane.
  “Hey, what are you doing?” She leaned forward, into an invisible forcefield. It gave off a light shock and startled her.
The pilot seemed to ignore her.
  “Hey.” Naomi raised her voice, again no response.
  “Let me out.” She demanded.
He just kept looking at the alley they were now in.
Naomi sat back, knowing she couldn’t do more.
Aside from... She noticed a steel umbrella behind the driver’s seat, out of the driver’s view.
The metal was spray painted white and had a logo she had seen somewhere before.
Perhaps it was Denzi?

  “5... 4... 3...” A figure stood on one the the buildings that walled the alley. Counting down was something routine for him. His voice continued: “... 2... 1... ”
A black hovercar raced below him, and one of the windows broke just as he finished counting. 
He reset his Rolex watch to 27 seconds. His eyes followed the black car which seemed in turmoil.
It would all be over in... he glanced at his watch, 20 seconds and he began to slowly follow the trail.

Naomi cleared the remaining glass out of the rectangular hole she just formed with the umbrella.
The alarm began to roar and a female voice began to warn everyone the safety had been compromised.
The man behind the wheel wouldn’t let her go that easily and he greabbed his gun out of the glove-box.
  
  “3... 2... 1...” The roofwalker pressed the only button on his remote.
A bright blue flash bursted out of the EMP charges he had placed.

The driver pulled the trigger. The electric signal was went for the ionic pulse round in his sidearm.
The EMP blast engulfed the car and stopped the pistol from firing miliseconds before the signal reached the round.
The weapon short circuited and backfired the ionic round in his skull. The car shut down shortly after that.
He simply collapsed on the steering wheel, the horn sounding throughout the landing 
The emergency systems in the car made sure the car reached the ground smoothly.

  “Echo Base, this is Echo 3. Blue flowers deployed, recovering the rabbit.” The unknown person made his way down to streetlevel. 

Naomi climbed out the window, after not getting the door open. She came to her feet, not knowing what just had happened, and looked around. As if the explanation would simply walk up to her.
Lee grabbed her cat and purse off the backseat. The driver was dead alright. Empty eyes staring into no man’s land. The pistol between the two front seats. He resembled a bag of rotten apples, crudely tossed in the garbage.
A man emerged from a door not too far off. She noticed him while looking through the windshield.
He looked casual, but the way he walked towards her made her think he was one of them.
There was something different about him, but she couldn’t count on that right now.
Naomi grabbed her can of deodorant, the man unaware.
He was close now, and as soon as he opened his mouth, she emptied half the can in his face.
It worked immediately as the man yelled out in agony, every bad word he knew flying over his lips.
  “They never sad you had pepper spray.” He didn’t rub his eyes as that would only increase the pain.
  “They?” And that’s when she noticed the same logo on his jacket as the umbrella.
  “You’re Denzi?!” She was shocked, discovering she just got the wrong one.
But she couldn’t help herself from recognising the irony.
  “No kiddin’” The alcohol irritated his eyes. “Water, I need water.” He begged.
Lee rushed through her things and found something.  
  “I got catmilk...”
The pain seemed to pause, and the man looked up with his red eyes.
  “Catmilk?!”
  “Take it or leave it.”
He took the bottle out of her hands and soaked his eyes with it.
It tasted familiar, and when he had washed away every last bit of spray, he discovered he had been washing his eyes with Chincilla milk.
  “Thanks.” The man handed the bottle back to Naomi.
  “No problem.” 
He blinked a few times, certain his sight was normal again.
  “Sorry about that.” Naomi apologised.
  “I’ve had worse... I think.” His breath was deep, and he held his hands on his sides.
He let the shockwave clear for a moment, until his breathing normalised.
  “So...” Lee switched, “mind telling me who you are, and what you’re doing here?”

The dark ship sailed on between the stars, slowly but surely making its way towards normal space.
Another day had passed and another few key things had been uncovered.
They had now completely figured out helm, communications and sensors and were working on several subsystems. The two techheads Bennington and Jones were working side by side while the others of Cray’s team were exploring the ship.
Robin had stayed with the cryopod the last few hours and Mary got bored while waiting.
So she went to bed. There wasn’t going to be any action anytime soon.
Daniel entered the temple complex, finding Sean and Robin.
  “Yes!” It seemed Sean solved something.
He was tinkering with the Mecha’s system.
  “<Robin, you sure it’s safe?” She was unsure about Sean.
  “<He knows what he’s doing.>” Calming words from her friend.
  “So what’s today’s event.” Daniel joined the group.
  “I think I know why our metal friend here only speaks Japanese.”  The words left Sean with pride.
  “Tell me.” His boss was interested.
  “When we arrived here, she could only talk to us in Japanese, kanji to be precise. It turns out all her 
    subroutines weren’t fully loaded yet.”
  “Meaning?”
  “It seems we either arrived too soon here for the ship to fully adapt, or the ship’s internal clock was scrambled 
   by...”
  “... the NTA squad we found.” Robin stepped in.
  “Exactly!” Sean’s outburst opened a few seconds of silence.
  “So what happens now?” Daniel broke it.
  “We wait.”
  “We wait?”
  “Yes for the program to fully load.”
Cray looked at Bennington with uncertain eyes. Sean seemed confident though so he would trust on that.
  “What about sleeping beauty?” Robin’s turn to ask.
  “Oh, him.” Sean walked towards the pod, fingers pointing.
  “Well,” he started to explain,“ he has been out of it for 5678 years and 123 days to be exact.”
His watch began to beep, indicating it was midnight.
  “So it may take a while before he is fully ready to wake up.” Sean finished.
  “He’s waiting.” Robin concluded.
  “You’re getting good at this, though you are not entirely right.” Bennington had to give the specifics.
  “He’s ‘waiting’,” double fingers, “on  a subconscious level. Genetically programmed I think.”
  “Hmm...” And that’s all Cray had to say.
  “So when does he wake up?” The final question Robin would ask.
  “That may take a while.”
  “As in days, hours...”
  “Hours.” Sean chose the latter one. “Around 4  I reckon.”

Mary opened her eyes. She looked at the time, still half asleep.
The only source of light in the room told her it was about to turn 04:00 in a few minutes
She had fallen asleep on a couch, with the lack of a bed, and it didn’t feel quite as comfortable now.
So she didn’t hesitate to stand up. Mary stretched her back and let out a satisfied moan.
The clock ticked silenty to 4 in the morning and shut down.
  “Damn batteries.” Mary whispered and she flicked the lights on.
It stayed dark, nothing happened. She tried another few times.
  “What now?” Now she was getting agitated.
Surely the other light would work. But that seemed to have issues as well.
Mary opened the door to the hallway. Every other light went off as well. On her left and right was a trail of dead lamps. She head right, speeding up her pace, and following the beacons which turned off one by one.
She crossed half the ship, until she reached the temple room. The lights surrounding the door seemed to glow brighter than normal.
It opened automatically, as usual, and Mary met the white glow coming from inside.
  “Wow, what the hell is going on here?” She covered her eyes.
The three inside had gotten used to the blinding light now.
  “I think he’s waking up.” Sean replied.
  “Sir, we’ve lost all power here. What the hell’s going on?”
The voice of Cray’s man died away in the deep hum that was now emanating from within the pod.  
The white glow became even brighter than before and the sheer power of the sound made it seem everything was about to explode. And just when they were about to lose their hearing, the hum stopped.
The glow had taken over the room and Daniel, Robin, Mary, Sean and the Mecha were in an empty void.
There was no sound, only silence. But before Robin could say “What the...?”, the hum returned and seized. 
Taking the white with it. The high note in Mary’s ear disappeared and made way for her strong heartbeat and heavy breathing.
Lights were turning back on in the same order they turned off and pretty soon everything was back to clarity.
Sean went to investigate the pod, it had opened so it seemed, as the transparant cover was gone.
But there was no sign of Joseph’s awakening.
  “I don’t get it.” He said and he grabbed his scanner.
  “Brain activity... the same.” His voice sounded disappointed.
  “Well you got to admit, the Ilians sure know how to pull off a lightshow.” Daniel said ironic words.
  “What just happened?” Mary asked. She blinked a few times, the sleep was returning to her eyes.
Nobody really knew. 
  “The light show was probably some kind of energy surge, a pretty strong one. The whole ship shut down 
    practically.” Except for Sean of course.
  “Probably meant to wake Joe here up.” He added.
  “Whatever, I’m going back to my couch.” Mary sighed, too tired to fully understand right now.
  “I hear that, got a team to welcome back. Keep me posted, Sean.” Cray joined her.
  “Aye.” Sean answered without knowing what the question actually was. Once again he was thinking about an explanation. He leaned on the pod with his elbows. Perhaps he was wrong, and was all this part of... something else. Could be. No, not now. He was sure about it.
Robin came to his right to take a closer look at Joseph.
  “He’s sure buying his time.” Sean said to him.
  “Pod’s open, can’t we hold an alarm clock next to his ear?” Robin suggested boldly.
  “No, that could cause serious brain damage, or even worse.” 
  “Great...”
It was now quiet in the room and surprisingly, the Mecha hadn’t said a word so far.
Robin turned around and looked at her with questioning eyes.
Did she...?
His look changed as he realised.
  “<You knew this was going to happen, didn’t you.” His voice seemed angry, even in Japanese.
  “<Robin-san, please don’t be mad, I was instructed not to say anything.>” She seemed surprised by Robin’s anger. Sean turned as well, to follow this conversation. Even if he didn’t understood any of it.
  “<Instructed not to tell us? What kind of people were these Ilians anyway?>” In came hand movements on the human side.
  “<I don’t know, I’m only following my programming.>” The artificial engaged limbs as well.
  “<When does he wake up?>” Robin wanted to know right then and there.
  “<I don’t know, he has to do it by himself.” He got his answer.
Robin calmed down, closing his eyes. Perhaps he was too hard on her. She didn’t know everything.
She was just a pawn in this weird game of chess.
  “Gomenasai.” He apologised. The mecha seemed content with it.
  “You know,” and he turned to Sean, “I think we should do more research on her.”
  “I agree, even though I was completely baffled by what just happened.”
  “Us talking Japanese?” Robin wondered.
  “You arguing with an artificial lifeform.“

The scanner began to beep and both men turned their heads. Sean rushed to it.
He looked at the readings and his face turned bright.
  “Brain activity is going through the roof!” 
  “What what what?” Robin came in to look as well.
  “Do you know what this means?”
  “You mean he’s now...”
  “Yes yes!”
Sean greatest find, well actually Robin’s but turned Sean’s, was about to wake up.

Mary opened the door to her quarters. Her walk made it clear she was tired.
  “Thanks for walking with me.” She said to Daniel, who was right next to her.
  “No problem, long walks are shorter with company.” Cray leaned against the wall.
  “Hm, goodnight.” The last word she said before closing the door., with a puzzling smile.
  “Sweet dreams.”
A clank assured Daniel the door was fully closed.
He sighed and wrestled with uncertain feelings, feelings which involved Mary.
Was he getting a thing for her? This Earth girl he barely knew? He didn’t know.
A lot had happened the last few days, perhaps his mind was playing with him.
Daniel quickly turned to more pressing matters, still not knowing though.
He continued on to debrief his team.

It didn’t take long for him to reach the control center.
William and the rest of his squad were already there.
  “Welcome back.” Daniel said.
  “What the hell just happened?” William stood up and displayed his straight forward attitude.
  “An energy surge as Sean called it.” The explanation wasn’t fully satisfying.
  “From what?” William continued.
  “Joe’s cryopod.” Daniel answered shortly.
  “Something wrong?” Jones recognised the matter now.
  “Not that I know of.” Though Daniel seemed to think it wasn’t that important.
The sergeant would trust his superior and he sat down, taking of his weapon.
  “Daniel!” Robin’s voice suddenly came over the comm link. It sounded urgent.
  “But I’ve been wrong before.” Daniel sighed before answering the call.
  “Daniel here.”
  “You might wanna come over...”
Cray looked at his sergeant with a look that asked. William already nodded. 

Light filled a dark hall as a door opened.
The light was switched on.
  “Nice place.” Naomi commented as she entered. The walls were coloured in an off-white. A few paintings hung on them, giving it a crowded though comfortable feel.
The deep brown wooden floor and dark furniture gave it a stylish atmosphere.
  “It’s not exactly mine.” The man filled a small glass with whisky.
  “Drink?” He offered.
  “No thanks.” Naomi declined it.
  “Figured you would.”
  “You know, you haven’t told me who you are.”
His face turned a bit as he swallowed the drink.”
  “You might wanna sit down.” He guided her to the couch in the living room.
And so she sat down, putting the cat next to her along with her purse.
The man sat down in the chair across the coffeetable.
  “I am Mario, I work for the Denzi as an operative.”
So far he hadn’t said anything that surprised her.
  “So why are you here?” 
  “To keep... certain... individuals such as yourself out of harm’s way.” He refilled his glass with the bitter liquid.
Judging by this answer, Naromi figured she wouldn’t get more info about all this. She tried though:
  “Why?”
  “Sorry, can’t tell you, First Temporal Directive.” He placed the glass on the table and grabbed a few peanuts out of a bowl.
  “I can’t even know why you just saved my life back there?” She didn’t like the course of this.
  “Lady, I didn’t choose for this either. I did what I was supposed to do.”
Naomi went silent after this reply.
  “You must’ve been the most social kid in class.” She remarked.
  “We don’t have class where I come from.” He answered in a dry tone, and he offered the nuts to Naomi.

Daniel was uncertain what was now to come. It could be bad, or good. Probably bad.
It was bad 8 out of 10 times in his experience so he expected the worst.
William tried to keep up with his superior’s pace. They rounded a corner and entered the hallway that lead to the Temple.
The lights surrounding the door had turned to a shade of blue, Daniel noticed. 
What it meant was unknown, but there was only one way to find out.
He proceeded through the double doors, his eyes adjusting to the bright lights, and found three men.
Robin, Sean and another. Dark hair, cream coloured robe and two eyes. Eyes he would never forget.
His right was coloured a normal shade of brown, but his left was bright blue and featured a slightly more elliptical pupil. 
Joseph looked around, his head moving wherever there was something new to see. 
He looked at the group of men that was standing around him, his look requesting answers.
  “Ai nau iri?” He seemed to be asking something.
Daniel looked at Robin with a look that said ‘what the?’.
  “What?” Sean replied.
  “W...w...?” Joe seemed to try putting his question in normal english.
  “Who are we?” Bennington finished it for him.
Joe nodded.
  “I’m Robin, you know as in.... Robin?” The pilot came forward, unsure why Joe wouldn’t know him.
He didn’t seem to remember him. In fact everything about him made the impression the suffered from severe amnesia. His hand moved over the Pod, feeling the metal that was now warm. From the energy most probably.
He turned, again with the empty look. 
  “Sean?” Daniel turned to his scientist, who would always have an answer.
  “He appears to be...” Sean tried to finish, but even this baffled him.
Seeing Sean wouldn’t be their best chance of an answer Robin turned to the Mecha.
But he knew the answer before he could ask, as she shook her head.
  “Let’s check him out, bring him to medbay.” Daniel ordered.
  “I was just about to say the same thing.” Sean reached for Joe’s arm.
Joseph stepped back, uncertain about Sean’s motives.
  “It’s ok.” Sean assured him and Joe let him take his arm.
He walked with him out of the temple, followed by William who figured Cray would order him to go with them.
  “That was different.” Robin sighed, disappointed by the rise of his friend.
  “Somehow I think we’ve seen nothing yet...” Wise words from Daniel.
  “Beer?”
  “Sure.”

Another day had passed and the ship moved on to safer havens.

[Unscheduled Log Entry]

@#$%&&
...//
[anomaly_detected]
[receiving_datastream_from_unknown_location]

[Log // Unknown]

I know you’re there. You have to get me out. I... I feel... fear.

...// 

[unexpected_error]
[halting_all_datastreams]

[Log // End]

[End of Episode]