@#$%&&
...//
[ship_log_system_active]
[receiving_data_stream]

[Log // Daniel Cray]

Log system was out again. Sean managed to fix it though. Another strange log entry.
[...]
The awakening of Joseph has caused quite a stir on the ship.
In fact, the only one who’s not upset, thrilled or dumbstruck is Mary, and she’s asleep.
Though I think she’ll be surprised as well once she meets him.
Sean ran about every test on Joe there is, and it turns out our friend is more than he seems.
According to Bennington, the ‘abnormality’ in his genes caused Joe his discoloured left eye.
But his cell structure is also more dense. His brain activity is way above average, his physical condition top notch and there was something about his age. Sean wasn’t clear on that.
His amnesia might be a by-product as well, but somehow I think there’s more than that.
This man isn’t the one who gave the famous ‘Revolution speech’.
He looks like him, talks like him, moves like him, but there’s something I can’t place.
He’s different, and it’s not only because of his genes and amnesia. He’s something else.
His english seems to pick up fast though, too fast even.

And I don’t know if that’s a good thing or not.

[Log // End]

[.Space Stories Proudly Presents]

Daniel switched the console off. His thoughts were somewhere else, somewhere deep. 
Questioning Joseph no doubt.
Sleep was sneaking into his eyes. He hadn’t closed them for a full day, perhaps running a ship was a bit too much. Atleast this ship was, with everything that has happened on it. 
Cray got up, his body preferring the chair. He would say ‘goodnight’ and hit the sack.

The med bay was busier than usual. Sean cleaned up the scanners and samples, trying to keep his eyes open.
His hand ran through his hair and he let out a long yawn.
  “I could throw a melon in there.” Cray walked in.
  “Good... “ Sean checked his PDA, “morning sir.”
  “Find anything new.” Daniel got down to business.
  “Yeah, I still need to wrap up some scans. But I’m a bit tired right now.” The scientist was glad to see his superior in the same mood.
  “I’m calling it a day.” Cray yawned and looked around.
  “Where are Robin and Joe?” 
  “Oh, Robin suggested to take Joe through the ship. Might refresh his memory.” Sean answered, turning of various computers.
  “Is he armed?” Daniel’s question was marked with a moment of silence.
Sean faced him, not knowing what to say.
  “Sir?” 
  “It might be the greatest discovery we’ve made so far, but I still don’t quite trust this situation.”
Bennington nodded, acknowledging his superior was right.
  “He carries a sidearm.”
  “Good.” Daniel sighed.
  “Goodnight sir.”
  “Goodnight.”
Sean went back to his work and Daniel, Daniel was glad this day was about to end.
He wiped the sleep from his eyes, knowing it would be back in a few.

[A Story By IXI]

Joe moved his hand over the smooth walls that surrounded a circular room.
Its main attribute was an altar in the middle where a light was pointed at.
Strange symbols covered the walls, telling tales of the Ilians no doubt
Robin let him do his thing and watched. His friend looked around, perhaps he remembered more now.
Something activated as Joe passed it. Light and sound came from the middle. 
He stepped back, unsure what to expect.
The altar seemed to unfold in four different parts and up came a table from the floor.
A glass case was unveiled, standing on top of the table. In it were some kind of armguards.
They weren’t made of a metal, but more of a leather kind material,
 they were black and seemed to have scales on them.
The case opened as Joe approached. “Mail.” He spoke.
  “Mail? No not ‘mail’, ‘armguards’.” Robin corrected him as he came closer.
  “Mail.” Joe held the right piece and pointed at it.
  “Oooh.” The pilot understood.
Joe took of the coat of, revealing his muscular upper body and strange markings on his arms. Tattoos it seemed.
They looked like the symbols on the walls, and covered most of his arms and back in this long string.
Another tale perhaps. Joe slid perfectly into the guards and he seemed amazed by them.
He formed a fist with his hands and turned them. Robin watched him closely.
Joe’s eyes seemed to sparkle. Did he remember now?
He raised his arms, pointing to where the light came from. And swung them down. Energy blasted out of the guards and formed two blades alongside his lower arms. Joe held them up, his face reflecting in the razor sharp metal. He was now even more engulfed by this discovery.
Weapons, his weapons. 
They stretched well over his elbows and around two feet longer than his fisted hands. 
Robin stayed in the same position, leaning on the altar, but his face told he was amazed as well.
Joe focused his look, released tension from his arms and performed a few moves. 
His instinct seemed to take over when he told his arms to swing around.
He was skilled with the weapons, that much was certain. And Robin followed every perfectly executed move.
It was more like a dance really, a breakdance Robin’s seen so many times.
Move after move came out of Joe’s shoulders. Uppercut, stab in the stumach followed by a cut in the throat. 
All without breaking a sweat. A lash forward was the conclusion. Joe stood silent, a drop of salt running down his cheek. The blades disappeared to wherever they came from. And the wielder let out a deep sigh.

[Based on the Background Scenario By Red Baron]

Eagle eyes stared at an almost completely white screen. Atleast it seemed white for the tired pupils.
If they would focus they would see an seemingly endless waterfall of letters. 
Reforming a fleet wasn’t the best job in the known galaxy, especially now.
Admiral Grey had a long road to go, and a long list of ships to reassign. The first and third fleet on Emperius.
  “Sir?” His secretary came in, her hand knocking on the door.
  “Yes what is it?” The fatigue brought a hint of agitation in his voice.
  “We’ve been getting numerous requests here sir.”
  “Requests from who?”
  “Terran ships, asking for asylum on Emperius.” She held a PDA which probably had every bit of info on it.
Grey leaned back in his leather seat, contemplating. After a few seconds he let out a sigh.
  “You know the Federation won’t allow that.” 
  “So you’re not granting them refuge?” There was a brief moment of disbelief in both her face and voice.
  “The Federation... isn’t granting the requests, as far as I’m concerned you can let the people from the OC and  
   Golan in.”
She understood and her mouth turned into a smile. 
The admiral’s bird like face had a calming aura surrounding it.
  “I’ll get right to it.” The young woman left the room, closing the door.
Grey sighed, turning the chair and taking a more comfortable position in the soft leather.
His superiors wouldn’t go easy on him, if they ever found out.
But with the reformation, Spartacus’ promotion, and the overall shift of power, they would most likely not even bother to look what civvy ship would pass through.
The admiral closed his eyes, clearing his mind of all thoughts. There were more important matters at hand now.
He still had most of the third fleet to reorganize, mind as well get to it.
His eyes weren’t so sleepy when they returned to the screen.

A big blur formed into a ceiling, a familiar ceiling.
There was a sound coming from Daniel’s right, a muffled noise that seemed to call out his rank.
It took a few seconds before he realised it was his radio, with Jones on the speaker.
Cray nearly fell out of bed when he reached for it.
  “Daniel here...” His voice sounded somewhat awkward, was he getting a cold?
  “Sir, sorry to wake you.”
Daniel looked at the time, 3 hours had passed since he fell asleep.
  “Damn straight you are, what is it?” He wasn’t very happy with this early wake-up call.
  “We’re receiving a distress call, atleast that’s what I think it is.”
Jones pressed a few buttons on the communications console, hoping to find out more.
  “Thought you might wanna come here.”
  “Actually, I don’t really, but I guess I have no choice now.” Cray was already putting on his shoes.
  “Alright sir, see you in a few.” And with that, the link went out.
Daniel sighed. Running a ship was tiring, very tiring. Especially with a crew smaller than ten.
  
[Boundless]
[4 // Aliens]
[Special thanks to Red Baron]

  “Whatcha got for me?” Cray hopped on the bridge.
  “Signal, unknown, coming from...” Jones showed it on the holoscreen, “...here.”
A red dot indicated the source of the transmission, it was near the barren world Dawnstar.
  “And you ‘thought’ it was a distress signal?’ Daniel fished for more info.
  “It’s automated, Terran and military, that I do know. But it’s also encrypted.”
  “Doesn’t make much sense to encrypt your distress call.”
  “Unless you want the right people to find you.” William stated.
  “True.” Daniel agreed, feeling his chin. His beard had grown quite a few since last time he checked.
  “So...” Jones said, expecting to let Cray finish him.
  “You think it’s worth checking out?” Daniel said exactly what he wanted to hear.
  “It’s only a few lightyears off our current course...” Will said, before being interrupted.
  “Last time we met Terrans, they wanted to board us.”
  “That’s my point, if we come to the rescue that should boost our relations with them.”
  “It could also be one of those Fuji class destroyers that rips us apart when we drop in.”
Daniel’s argument silenced Jones for a moment. It was possible, all of it, but he kept positive.
  “I still think it’s worth it...” His final statement.
Cray sunk his mind into deep thoughts. His man did have a point, and if they were friendly they could accompany them on this trip. And that should increase they’re chance of survival.
  “Okay... we’re going to check it out.” The last three words carried the most clarity.
  “Right sir, thank you sir, plotting a course.” Will got right to it.
Daniel figured this would be another long day. So he went for the mess hall. 
Probably going for coffee, a lot of coffee.

Joseph looked up, sensing something.
  “Moving...” He said in broken english.
  “What?” Robin was a bit stumbled by Joe’s sudden words, until Daniel came through the speakers on his right shoulder.
  “Robin here.”
  “Just a head’s up, we’ve received a Terran distress call near Dawnstar, going to see if it’s any worth.”
  “’K thanks, I’m coming up, Robin out.” Robin switched off.
Joe looked at him, with that same curious look. Robin beckoned him to come.
A nod made a good substitute for a ‘yes’. 

Tokyo Starport, Earth. It was surprisingly calm there, the early time probably the cause of it.
Naomi hadn’t brought much, only her cat and two of her original four suitcases, which she was supposed to take off world yesterday. But since someone tried to kill her before she could even reach the port, that got somewhat delayed.
She was offered a flight by this Mario fellow. Lee didn’t trust him fully yet, but he had saved her life.
His motives were fuzzy, all a secret, though she did think he was a good person. He had even been kind enough to carry the two suitcases, fifteen kilos each and he hadn’t tried to kill her.
They traversed the civilian parking Dock, going for his ship.
Mario had been unclear about that as well, saying it was a small freighter, and nothing more.
That kept Naomi wondering, it could be anything really.
  “Here we are.” On her right was a silver shutle, the clear chrome colour reflecting everything around it. 
Its sleek design made it look fast and agile. The cockpit was a seperate section, though it flowed out of the hull and fit seamless in the overall form. Even the landing gear was a work of art.
  “Oh... err... this way.” Naomi was rudely awakened from her day dream. And was not happy with what she saw. Right next to the silver ship, where Mario was standing, was a dated, square, rusty freighter.
It looked in no way like its counterpart which amazed Naomi.
  “That’s your ship?” She had to ask.
  “Yes, this is my ship.” A fair answer.
  “It looks like a flying piece of junk...” Naomi wasn’t exactly positive.
  “This? No, this is a classic, 2220 Ford Transit Connect., Plasma Injected Ion Drive, Twin laser cannons.” Mario patted its paint shredded hull.
  “It looks... like a flying... piece... of junk.”
  “You’re right, it is, sorry. My superiors weren’t exactly keen on giving me something more... expensive.” 
And so her friend explained, opening the hatch to the cockpit by hand.
  “Why what happened?” She watched him loading in her two suitcases, he stepped in and beckoned her to come along.
  “I didn’t bring back my ship on my last mission.” Mario sat down in the pilot’s chair. 
He pressed a few buttons, starting up the ship.
  “What kind of ship was it?” Naomi closed the hatch, set down her cat and joined Mario in the chair left of him.
  “Skunk Works,” He pushed the big red button that said ‘go’, “R-Blade.”
Naomi knew what he was talking about: One of the most expensive spacial machines in its class.
  “That explains it...” She joked.
  “It sadly does.” Mario moved the controls up and the ship left the surface.
  “So where are we going? Emperius?” 
  “We’re going to Ivara first.” The pilot gently pushed the throttle forward.
  “Ivara? Why Ivara?” 
  “To pick up someone, and supplies. And we’ll be avoiding a lot of trouble.”
  “Trouble?”
  “You’ll see.” The ship began to make strange noises as it accelerated into the atmosphere.
  “Sure it’ll hold?” Lee doubted the ship.
  “It’ll hold...” Mario seemed to calm her, but he wasn’t really sure either.

Mary awakened, feeling much better.
She had slept well, given the circumstances, and it didn’t take long for her to stand up.
Casual clothes would do for now, she figured and she tied her hair back in a tail.
Breakfast was the first thing to come up in her mind, hearing her stumach asking.
So Mary went on her way to the mess hall.
  “Morning.” She said in her British accent as she saw Daniel sitting on his own.
  “Hey.” He finished his third cup of coffee.
  “Early day?” Mary sat down in front of him, holding a similar cup.
  “Very early, just picked up a distress call, going to check it out.” Daniel seemed very tired.
  “I see.” She looked at him with her big green eyes. Cray felt somewhat uncomfortable, but he did a pretty good job at hiding it.
  “Sleep well?” A quick question to cover things up.
  “Like a baby.” Mary felt the complete opposite of Daniel, fresh and relaxed.
Jones voice cracked over Cray’s radio, something Cray had gotten used to by now.
  “Sir, we’ve reached Dawnstar.” 
  “Alright, I’m coming up.” Daniel filled his cup with more coffee and went on his way, closely followed by Mary. 
On their way to the bridge, they crossed paths with Robin and Joseph.
Not knowing who Joseph was, Mary stopped for a second. As did Joe.
  “Oh right, Mary, Joe. Joe, Mary.” Daniel introduced the two to eachother.
Mary held out her hand, wanting to shake Joe’s. But he seemed unaware of what it meant.
A few moments passed before she realised Joe didn’t know what to do, so she retracted her arm.
  “He looks good for someone who’s a few thousand years old.” 
Robin scraped his throat, commenting on Mary’s words. 
  “Right, let’s continue.” Daniel tried to skip any misunderstandings.
And the group made their way to the bridge

  “Welcome back sir.” Jones had taken place in what was now commonly referred to as ‘the captain’s chair’.
So Will stood up to make clear it for his superior. Daniel didn’t sit down though, preferring to stand.
  “How did that bald guy say it... On Screen?” Cray said.
Jones reclaimed his seat and moved his hand over the small console in the armrest. The sensor schematics changed to an outside view of a medium sized Terran cruiser, a Sabre Class Destroyer.
  “It isn’t a Fuji, but it’s still dangerous.” Daniel concluded. “Make sure you keep clear.”
  “Sir, receiving transmission, audio only.” Jones notified.
  “Put it through.”
  “This is captain Craig Leymour of the Terran cruiser Galilei. Might telling us who you are?” A male voice said, He sounded in his late 40’s begin 50’s, and was caucasian.
  “This is Lieutenant Commander Daniel Cray, OC Spec Ops. Of the Ilian ship... err... we still have to name it.”
  “OC? You’re the last person we’d expect to come for us.”
  “Heh, well I’m not flying under OC banner right now captain. What seems to be the problem.”
  “Well to put it simple, we ran out of gas. We’re running on secondary power systems, essentials only. We’ve 
    been leaking fuel since we got shot up by the Sparts.”
  “Sparts? You mean the alien force that attacked us?” Daniel asked for clarification.
Mary wondered, if this Terran ship was attacked by these Sparts they must’ve dug deep into the galaxy, going for the core. The OC... her eyes widened. She looked at Daniel, who was thinking the exact same thing.
He kept his cool now though.
  “Maybe we can help eachother out, we’re low on manpower and have plenty supplies.” Cray offered.
  “Aye, you can come aboard if you want, we can talk things over then.” The captain seemed to like the deal.
  “Alright, we’ll do that. Keep your hangar open. Cray out.” 
Will switched the link off. Daniel stroked his chin. He didn’t say a word, not yet. Not when there were more important things to attend to. But you could see it, the disbelieve, the anger, all in his eyes.
  “Okay,” He sighed, turning to the group, “any volunteers?”

Practically everyone wanted to go, all craving for an evironment they knew. But only three were chosen to go.
Cray, because he was the commanding officer. Mary, since she was neutral. And Robin, since he was Terran.
They had taken Cray’s ship out of their hangar to meet the Terran captain.

@#$%&&
...//
[ship_log_system_active]
[receiving_data_stream]

[Log // Sean Bennington]

Heterochromia iridis, that is the name of Joe’s condition. His eyes.
I’ve heard and read about a few times, but I’ve never seen it in real life.
It’s because of his strange DNA structure, that’s for sure. 
His body seems to heal faster as well, after I gave him a few shots, the skin just ‘repaired’ itself on the spot.
I don’t know whether the same thing will work with anything bigger, not planning on testing it...
He was kind enough to stay with me here in medbay for further research. 
I told Cray I was about done... not really. 

Anyhow,
I hope there is some better equipment on that Terran ship.
That should really help my research.
Heck, there might even be more scientists there.

Sean out.

[Log // End]

The OC vessel landed gently aboard the Terran cruiser.
There was still enough room left for them, right in the middle of a wide variety of ships.
Civilian mostly, a few scientific craft could be spotted as well.
Air vented out as the door opened. The three exited and were awaited by Cpt. Craig Leymour and his crew.
  “Welcome.” He said.
  “Good to meet you.” Cray and him shook hands.
  “This is Mary Kingston and this...” Daniel pointed at Robin, “he doesn’t really need an introduction.”
  “Robin Nielsen.” The captain seemed hounoured to have him aboard his ship.
  “Pleasure’s all mine.” They too shook hands.
  “Only three? I had expected more, especially with a ship that size.” Craig wondered.
  “Yeah, that’s kind of a long story, shall we get down to business first?” Daniel wanted to skip ahead.
  “Alright, sounds good to me, come.” The captain beckoned them to follow him.

The group was invited to a meeting in the ship’s conference room.
The captain told how they had picked up quite a few civilians on their flight, providing a safe haven for those who couldn’t make it for any reason.
They had been operating completely cut from normal space, much like Cray, Robin, Mary and the rest of the Ilian crew.
But because of that, they’ve been relying on rations for the last few days.
The ship held more people than it could carry, around 400 too much.
  “We have enough room on our ship, I think, we still need to cover a few areas.” Daniel subtlely offered.
  “Good, and you have enough fuel?” 
  “Yeah, we took everything we had from the station to the ship: Food, fuel, weapons.” Mary told about how they got around the first few days.
  “I could add some of my men, to act as a proper crew, that would mean they would have to work together with 
    yours.” The captain offered in return.
  “We do have a problem now...” Robin came forward.
  “Why what is it?” Craig asked.
  “We have someone aboard that might cause some excitement.”
  “I hope it’s not someone dangerous.”
  “Not really...”
  “Well then, who is it?”
Robin looked at Daniel, Daniel’s look told him to go ahead.
  “Joseph Varageva...” It left Robin’s mouth without any hesitance.
The captain raised an eyebrow. Robin was one hell of a pilot, but to say such nonsense.
  “That was my first reaction too.” Mary replied on the captain’s look.
  “And kinda mine too.” Daniel added.
  “Let me get this straight. You’re saying you got one of the most famous people in there? The guy’s practically a 
    hero, not mention practically dead.” Craig pointed at where the Ilian ship must now be.
  “Oh, he’s alive, very. But he doesn’t really remember he is Joseph, so it seems.” Robin answered.
  “I see.” Leymour leaned back, believing them, for now.
  “Well we have somewhat of an issue here as well, not as big as yours, but still...” 

The medbay of the Galilei was much like its hangar. Crowded, despite its size, and with a wide variety of people.
Both civilian and military medical teams were working side by side. Most of the patients were civilian though.
Probably wounded during the flight.
In the middle of it all, lay a man, peacefully sleeping so it seemed.
The captain approached his bed.
  “This is Mike Wilson, and he’s why we’re here actually.”
  “How so?” Robin asked.
  “He’s a former Federation marine. When we returned to Earth my men found him sedated, a dart sticking in his 
    thigh. It was most likely a Denzi operative who put it there. But that’s beside the point...”
Craig paused for a second, seeking for words and air.
  “Because he’s ex-Fed, IR HQ thought he was a spy, and we were supposed to give him up.”
  “Which you didn’t.” Daniel concluded.
  “No, of course not. I trust each and every one of my men, especially my finest, and he...” Craig turned his look to the peaceful Mike.
  “... is one of my finest.”
He continued: 
  “We were banned from Terran space, marked as betrayers. We ran into a few Spart ships, and blind jumped   
    right into the Dead Zone.”
  “Earth kicked you out?” Robin was stunned.
The captain nodded, you could see it was tough for him.
  “Imir, what the hell are you doing?” The pilot couldn’t believe it.
  “Imir’s not in charge anymore.” Craig said, surprised his friends didn’t know yet.
  “What do you mean?” Daniel asked.
  “It was all over HoloNet.” 
  “Well we’ve been missing out on things the last few days.” Mary explained the situation.
  “Details are sketchy, and every story is different, but it’s clear the galaxy is no longer held together by Imir.”
  “Who is?” Short question by Robin.
  “No idea...”
Daniel took some time to think. The galaxy was changing, and it didn’t care if nobody kept up.
Even if the Sparts hadn’t attacked, it would be a mess.
But atleast his home would still be standing. His breathing caught Mary’s attention.
He was contemplating, again. Fury burned in his eyes.
  “Alright, first things first.” But again it was subdued, Cray switching the subject.
  “Right, we’ll sort everything out, I think we’ll have details ready by tomorrow.”
Craig went along, and so seemed the rest of the group.

@#$%&&
...//
[ship_log_system_active]
[receiving_data_stream]

[Log // Mary Kingston]

Well the first transfers have been made.
And suddenly this ship feels more alive, with more than ten people on it.
Robin had to make place in the hangar as well. He seemed content with it, for now. Heh.
Daniel however, he seems to be taking it all well. But, he’s hiding it.
And when that comes out...
I don’t know if he’ll be able to handle it. I hope for the best.

[Log // End]

Mary got up from her new seat. The captain was kind enough to supply the ship with new furniture.
So now she also had a decent bed. But she wouldn’t go to sleep just yet, not for another few hours.
She would first help some of the civilians find their spot. She put on her jacket and went out.

Sweat ran down Daniel’s face. Around his hands were boxing gloves and in front of him was one heavy boxing bag. His right came in hard and the hit made the bag swirl. Left, right, left. A fast combination followed.
It was a good thing they had this exercise area, thanks to the captain Leymour. 
The boxing let Daniel vent out some of his feelings, angry feelings no doubt. 
He didn’t notice, but he had drawn a crowd.
Mary, standing in the doorway. She watched Daniel landing punch after punch.
This was good, it let Daniel cool down, let it all out. 
She chose not to disturb him, and continued her way.
A few kids ran around, parents were telling them not to, and young couples were busy moving their things.
The atmosphere on the ship was changing, turning into a more pleasant direction.
There were still a few places off limits, like the temple and anything that wasn’t thoroughly checked.
But for now, it was good.

A door opened, the light coming from the outside should’ve unblinded Marcus.
But the blindfold made sure it didn’t
  “Where am I?” He demanded an answer.
  “Mr. Imir, welcome to TG-089.” 
A punch knocked him out, and he was dragged into the white light coming from the doorway.

[End of Episode]