Water ran down, into the holed circle that was the bottom of a sink.
Naomi dried her face with a towel borrowed from this Lucy.
She had met her shortly after landing on Ivara, and it turned out she was Mario’s girlfriend.
The white, soft cloth was returned on the rack next to circular mirror.
  “All done?” Mario asked, sitting in the adjacent room.
She nodded, leaving the bathroom.
They had stayed at Lucy’s appartment for the last two days. 
It wasn’t all that big, but that did mean it had a more pleasant atmosphere to it.
Mostly thanks to the walls coloured in warm tones and the Colonial styled furniture,
It was calming, and reminded her of the old style back on Earth.
Though tension was still high.

[.Space Stories Proudly Presents]

The Federation had staged a surprise attack right at the core of Terran space.
The Terrans won, having the home field advantage and that would’ve left everyone certain of a better future.
Were it not for the Spartinians who had laid siege on the Federation world Emperius.
The invaders were defeated as well, but there was now far less hope.
The Sparts were surrounding the galactic core that was Terran space.
On top of that, the recent ‘illness’ of Marcus Imir meant that Earth was without a strong leader in desperate times.
Mario had that look in his eyes, like he knew more.
Sitting in his chair he wondered not if or when, but how things would go down.
A lighter moved between his fingers, and a pack of cigarettes was waiting to be opened.
  “Good.” He rose from his seat and went for Naomi’s suitcases.
  “Let’s go.” She said.

Naomi’s escape hadn’t gone unnoticed, and there were now forces at work to make sure she would be silenced.
Mario knew this, and he knew that Naomi knew. 
He had expected to find someone less… wary of her surroundings.
That was partly thanks to her relation with Robin. Where the other part came from, he could only guess.
Fortunately, they were now out of harm’s way, for the moment. And he didn’t expect a lot of trouble on their trip to Federation space.

[A Story By IXI]

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

[Log // Robin Nielsen]

We finished loading everything over last night.
The ship now carries over 300 people, along with a dozen of Craig’s men, to keep things as smooth as possible.
Not to mention he also supplied us a fresh stock of foor and water.
We still have to repay him, maybe that crate of ‘prose’ will suffice.

It now seems more alive here, a more vibrant sense.
It’s not a ghost ship anymore
And that’s a good thing.

Joe’s having a hard time fitting in. It seems he has fallen in an identity crisis.
The fact that he’s famous could cause some serious... well I wouldn’t call it ‘problems’.
But it would be very awkward. Even more than with me.

[Log // End]
 
[Based on the Background Scenario By Red Baron]

Robin shut off his computer, and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes.
It was early in the morning and he had quite a few things to wrap up today. 
Passenger IDs, ship documents, all with the help from Daniel and Craig fortunately. But still a lot of work.
The fact that he’s recognised everywhere has brought a couple of awkard situations the last few days.
Kids staring in awe, their parents shaking their heads, young women inviting him.
Robin didn’t know what the fuss was all about, he was just a man that flew ships, and he was good at it.
Good in an irresponsible, daring and risky way of course.
But that’s all he really was, a man, just another man.
Someone knocked on his door. He turned to see it was Mary.
  “Got a minute?” She asked.
  “Sure, what’s on your mind?” 
  “Craig is wondering if you’re interested in leading his pilots.” She decided not to walk around the subject.
  “I’m not much of a leader.” Robin said while Mary sat down on his bed, taking a liking in her straight forward attitude.
  “You are much of a pilot.” Her rebuttal was smart enough to make him silent for a while.
She looked in his eyes, which were good at what they did, mask the real man inside him. 
However, who that man truly was... was something she had to find out.
  “I’ll look into it.” His answer was neutral.
Mary expected something along those lines and smiled at his words.
  “Anything else?” Robin expected this was not all she had to say.
  “Well...” She said, followed by a moment without words.
  “Well...?” He wondered what would come next.
  “We’re a bit worried about you.” Mary chose her words carefully.
  “Because of, what...?” 
  “You haven’t said anything about... anything really, not mentioning Earth, Naomi...”
After those examples Robin who fell silent once more.
  “You must have a lot of things on your mind right now.” She clarified herself
  “Well, actually, not really.” He said, accenting the last two words. The answer surprised Mary.
  “I know... for sure... that Naomi is safe, she knows the same about me. She can handle herself pretty damn well.
    And Earth, I’ll worry about that when the time comes. I will not let ‘what if’s’ control my actions.” 
His thinking was strange, but somehow it fit his character.
  “I’ll admit,” he continued, “my social skills are...”
  “Lacking?” Mary’s guess was spot on.
  “And I don’t have a lot of...”
  “Friends?” She guessed again.
  “... Family,” Robin rectified her, “so that might strike you like I’m... keeping things inside...”
  “But that’s not the case.” 
  “Not at the moment, no.” 
  “Glad to hear that.” This talk certainly cleared a few things up for Mary.
She came to her feet, notifying Robin she had to get back to work. He gave a nod, doing the same thing.  

[Boundless]
[5 // End of Silence]

The temple had been left untouched by the new crowd, who were given ‘off limits’ warnings to cover up the many secrets that were held here.
But that didn’t mean the Mecha was unaware of the recent additions to the passenger list.
She was excited really, but she had been denied contact so far. An order difficult to follow when you’ve been alone for millenia.
Fortunately she had Sean and William to keep her company, while they explored her inner workings, both physical and digital.
These were busy times for them; A whole new ship packed with ancient technology, it was the dream of anyone even remotely curious.
A sudden power surge blasted out blue sparks. The side of the Mecha lit up for a moment. 
  “Son of a bitch.” And now, the dream was becoming a bit frustrating. William cried out another set of profanities.
  “Didn’t I tell you to reroute the power?” His voice was angry, obviously.
  “You didn’t exactly tell me where to...” Sean said from the other side, holding a portable computer.
Will sighed: “Obviously not to this panel.”
  “I didn’t switch it to that panel, but that panel.” Bennington pointed at an unopened one, 3 metres away.
Jones looked at him like he was talking French.
  “Then why the hell did I nearly get fried back there?” 
  “Not a clue.”
  “Are you saying you don’t know?”
  “I never really got a PhD in ancient Ilian technology.” Sean was getting somewhat tired of Will.
  “Sorry I asked...”
  “Guys?” A female voice cooled down the argument.
It was silent after that. Both men looked at the Mecha. Had they succeeded? 
Had they finally fixed the language system?
  “My... voice...” She spoke again, confirming what they thought.
  “Yes!” Sean’s voice echoed throughout the temple. His friend was happy as well.
  “Good job leaving the power on.” He patted him on the shoulder and returned to his work.
  “I told you, I didn’t!” Sean  followed him.

While everyone else seemed to had their work cut out for them, Joseph felt like he was being left out of the loop.
He figured it was normal in times like these, but that didn’t stop him from feeling this almost natural urge to explore the ship.
It was like his instinct told him to go somewhere, anywhere.
He had to get out, but since his bunk was smack in the middle of the civilian quarters, it wouldn’t be a walk in the park.
Atleast, that’s what Robin had told him. Joe was someone important, famous, a hero he said.
But Joseph didn’t see that man if he looked in the mirror.
He saw someone he didn’t know, someone who had been named by a ‘friend’ he couldn’t remember, who came  from a place he couldn’t remember. Everything before his awakening was one big blur in his mind.
He only held feelings, no facts, no memories. Why would he stay here? He wasn’t Joseph, atleast not anymore.
That thought made him cross the bounds set for him.
He walked up to the door and... hesitated before holding his hand against the DNA encoded lock.
One question came up in his mind: ‘What if?’.
The urge became more powerful, and convinced him to dismiss his wondering, and search for answers.
Answers for bigger questions.
He pressed his hand against the lock and the door opened silently.
The quarters were placed in the more friendly parts of the ship.
With corridors lined with pillars, all in the round motif that was the ship’s main design feature.
It was coated in an array of blues and purples, all lightly shaded, with some white popping up here and there.
Pleasant and friendly, not to mention the new crowd that gave the place something vibrant.
A young boy looked curiously at Joseph.
Strange that a man in robes would simply walk out of a room which was considered off limits.
Fortunately, he was too young to know about Joe’s past. So he continued his way, looking back one last time.
Other people were busy right now, moving into their new homes and unpacking things.
No one noticed Joseph as he moved through the crowd, and though he initially didn’t care about what everyone would think, he was hoping for a quick and unpaused walk.
He looked back at his room and memorized its place. But as he did he bumped into a woman.
She apologised, and Joe was about to do the same in his broken english.
But the look on her face made him unable to speak. At first there was disbelief in her face, but then her eyes began to sparkle with hope.
Joe backed off and left her lost in words.
She followed him with her eyes as he disappeared in the crowd.
Her pace picked up as her new home came into view. She would probably spread the word.
That wouldn’t be the last of Joe’s meetings.
Dozens of men and women stared at him as he continued his way. All this attention made him feel uncomfortable and his walk became a jog. This of course drew more looks.
  “Hey isn’t that...?”
  “That can’t be...”
Voices accompanied the eyes.
Joseph was relieved to see the temple doors.

Meanwhile, all the paper work received final touch-ups. Everything was properly ordered and documented.
  “Passenger ID numbers?” Captain Craig began summing up the checklist for the second time. His voice was the most prominent in the conference room.
The amount of work proved to be less than expected, but Craig’s desire for precision made this day very tiring.
  “Check.” Daniel said, clearly exhausted.
  “Rations and supplies?”
  “Check...” 
  “Weapons and ammo?” 
  “Check.” Cray shifted his hand to support his head.
  “Ship ID numbers?”
  “All check, do we really have to go through this again?” 
  “You’ll be surprised how easy it is to... misplace things.” Leymour argumented.
  “Alright, alright, are we done?” Daniel wasn’t in the mood for more boredom.
  “Yeah, I’ll run some more checks.”
Robin had dozed off next to him. He wasn’t to blame, the administrative side of flying wasn’t the most spectacular.
  “No time for sleep.” Daniel woke him by patting on his shoulder.
After a somewhat resistant moan Robin came to life. He let out a yawn and stretched his arms.
  “What time is it?”
  “Time for another talk.” Cray rose from his seat and made his way towards the double doors of the conference room. Robin wiped the sleep from his eyes and followed, leaving Craig with his PDA.
  “That was...” Robin searched for the right word as he put on his jacket.
  “Dull?” Daniel guessed.
  “I was thinking about something more colourful, so what’s next?”
  “We’re heading for an old Terran comm. buoy, we’ll try to get a link to Earth there.” Cray stepped into the ‘transporter’.
  “A comm buoy? And you haven’t told me because...?” Robin joined him.
  “You were sleeping.” Cray smiled as the doors closed. A bright light took them to the bridge.
  “I can never get used to this...”

...

Marcus woke up. The steel chair he fell asleep on didn’t feel as comfortable when he stretched his back.
His hands were tied behind him and there was this blur over his eyes that wouldn’t fade.
  “Morning, Mr. Imir.” A voice said, probably the dark figure that sat in front of him. He and Marcus were the only ones in the grey, empty room.
  “I trust you slept well.” 
  “Like a baby...” Imir taunted him. It was strange, he thought, how things went the last few days. He expected to be tortured for information. Instead they kept him alive, perhaps he was too important.
They had injected him with this serum that made his eyes unsharp and his muscles relaxed.
The figure chuckled: “You never cease to amaze me, your kind I mean.”
Marcus kept his silence, like he had been doing for the past few days.
  “I recently read a book, The Art of War by Sun Tzu, know it?”
The person didn’t get an answer.
  “I was especially intrigued by chapter 13 ‘Intelligence and Espionage’, how wars can be won by the use of one 
   who’s completely unaware...”
  “What do you mean?” Marcus finally spoke.’
  “Oh, this has nothing to do with you, but... more with me. Only I’m not unaware, atleast... not anymore.”
  “Who are you?” 
  “I’m...” He paused, thinking about his words probably, “a soldier, I fight, I make sure everything goes as 
    planned.” His words ended slowly.
  “In other words, I’m much like you, if you strip us down to the core.”
  “You’re nothing like me...” Marcus spoke again, this time with fire in his voice.
The man chuckled at first and bursted out in sheer enjoyment.
  “You have...” He stood up from his chair and pulled something out of his right pocket.
  “...absolutely no idea...” Marcus tried to move as he was approached by him.
His eyes could make out a needle, right before it was plunged in his right arm.
  “...how wrong you are.” His vision slowly sharpened, and he could make out the man that stood before him.
Marcus’ face went pale. The man who had been talking to him, looked exactly like him.
His voice was different though. Sinister, and with a somewhat Australian accent.
  “Undetectable active holographic camouflage, from your friends at Skunk Works.”
The serum he had given Imir was losing its effect.
Marcus saw his copied face disappear again in a big blur. 
  “Tell them I said ‘thanks’.”

...

Once again Daniel tapped in the codes for the network.
But like his last attempts, he couldn’t get access for some reason.
Robin sighed, his codes usually worked, and on top of that: Craig’s codes seemed to be denied as well.
  “Probably a network shutdown.” He suggested.
Cray cursed. Somehow he felt like he was pushed back.
  “Any luck?” Mary walked up to the two men. The look on both their faces made it clear what the answer would be. The shaking of Robin’s head confirmed it.
Daniel scraped his throat. Somehow he always felt different when she was around.
Still, he had his thoughts about the possibilities. Relationships at these times, wouldn’t last long.
  “Everything alright?” Mary asked, watching the troubled look on Cray’s face.
  “Yes, yes.” He seemed to be thinking hard. But he was actually trying to avoid her a bit, so he wouldn’t show any wrong signals.
  “So...” Robin somehow caught what his friend was trying to do. And realised he wasn’t very good at it.
  “...What do we do now?” Mary finished.
  “Looks like we’ll have to go to Earth without warning them...” Daniel answered.

Joe closed the doors behind him. He leaned with his back against the cold metal.
What was he thinking? Outside were people seeing him as their saviour. And he was foolish enough to walk right into them. He cursed something in  Ilian, already knowing he wouldn’t be able to convince them he wasn’t the man they thought he was.
Voices could be heard from the other side, calling his name. He had to get out of here. 
His instincts searched for options.
The Mecha...

  “You know, I think we should give her a name.” Sean suggested.
  “I know, how about ‘Metal Gear Rex’, or ‘Madcat’.” Will wasn’t in the mood for one of  Sean’s moments.
  “That’s very funny.” Bennington responded in the same manner.
Suddenly the cockpit lit up, an array of holoscreens turned on all over the cockpit. Beeps and clicks were telling all kinds of things Sean couldn’t nearly grasp.
  “Holy crap... did you do that?” The overwhelming feeling could be easily heard in his voice.
  “Did wh...” Will could see the light from the outside. He too wondered how that could be.
His eyes shifted to a figure standing at the Mecha’s knees. Joseph...
  “Hey Joe, aren’t you supposed to...” Sean showed his head outside.
  “Ainu, go.” Before being interrupted by Joseph.
The Mecha gently picked up Will from her shoulder, and let Sean out moments after.
  “Joe, where do you think...” Will protested, but the look on his face told him to back off.
He watched the man stepping into the cockpit, like it was his second nature.
The man did actually feel like that, he didn’t think about what he was doing, he was following his instincts.
His hands moved over the holographic controls, and the Mecha rose from her knees to her feet.
Blue energy passed between her limbs as she moved, checking all her systems.
Sean and Will looked in awe and surprise, not knowing something that big could move so smoothly.
The dark golden circle she stood on opened, and she descended through the hole. 

An alarm went off on the bridge.
  “What is it?” Daniel asked.
  “Unscheduled launch it says, from the temple complex.” One of his new men said, seing the message for the first time.
  “What the frap?”
  “It’s the Mecha.” Robin concluded.
  “Sean and Will are good, but not that good.” His friend said, chuckling at first, but his face changed to serious when he thought about the only other option. As did Robin’s.
  “Joseph.” He said.
  “Sean, talk to me... What’s happening?” Daniel immediately switched his radio on.
  “Well, it seems the Mecha is working, but not thanks to us.” Sean’s voice echoed in the gaping circular hole. He could see the bottom, and a tunnel leading to somewhere.
  “Joseph seemed to have activated it.” 
  “Yes we know.” Robin said, who was listening along. “I’ll try to find out what he’s doing

Joseph could see the stars at the end of the tunnel.
He liked it here in the cockpit, just him and the soft hum of the computers around him.
A double beep came from his right, ‘communications’ he thought.
He pressed one of the yellow buttons on the screen.
  “I’m leaving.” He said calmly.
  “Joe, you can’t.” Robin tried to talk him over, at first not knowing what to say.
  “Then tell me, tell me why I can’t leave from something I don’t know?”
Silence passed between the two. Robin looked at Daniel, and Mary. They too didn’t know any convincing words.
Even so, he held the ‘talk’ button, hoping he could improvise. 
  “Because...” Had he found something?
  “Because you can’t just walk out on us, you were sent back here for a reason.”
  “What reason? To fight in a war in a galaxy I’m not part of.”
  “Joe listen to me,” Robin’s voice broke out, “you are somehow bound to this galaxy, to this ship, to us...
   You’re the one who told me to come look for you. You’re the reason why we’re here... So you can’t leave.”
Joseph listened to him as he steered stopped his Mecha in front of the bridge.
They could see him through the glass. He turned around, and for a second there was nothing to be heard.
Only silence.
  “I’m sorry... I need some time alone...”
The Mecha’s shoulders opened up and the thrusters that were unveiled blasted Joe deep into space, until he was nothing more than a small flickering dot.

[End of Episode]