Alot has happened since the revolution; The Droid Wars, The Kalenian Civil War and now  the Black Moon incident. 
The life of one of the most greatest pilots and leaders was lost. 
Joseph strolled through the park. Ivarageva was covered in snow, 
it looked orange however because the streetlights were illuminating the world with their orange glow. 
The same lights also made the sky look orange, like the whole planet was covered in an orange blanket. 
He looked over the frozen river that made its winding path through the park. 
Life had been rather boring for Joseph, despite all the things that had happened. 
He had been a consultant for the TIR and hasn't seen any battle ever since. 
The funeral of Brenden was sad, it was heartbreaking to watch Keiran as she witnessed how the coffin was 
launched from the Nerevar. Though his remains were never send back to TIR space. 
He was still honoured with 2 minutes of silence and Rogue squadron flying the 'missing man'-formation. 
5 AR-wings flew through the system along one Phoenix, that broke the formation. 
Joseph sighed. He needed a challenge. A ship flew over him. Joseph looked curiously at it. 
It was a Galleon dropship. It turned around and stopped. It hovered over the frozen river. 
What was it doing here? A man spoke over the ship's outside-speaker system:"Joseph Varageva, Sir?" 
A searchlight illuminated the spot where Joseph was standing. "You have been ordered to report at once at the TIR HQ." 
The voice continued. 
"Who's asking?" Joseph yelled. "President Imir, Sir!" "Just wanted to know that, thank you!" 
Joseph turned around and left the park.  

.....::::.Space : Artifact::::.....

Being a consultant for a major organisation had its good sides. 
Joseph lived in a bulding with one floor just for him. The elevator led to the roof where a Valkyrie Heavy fighter 
was stationed. He had chosen this fighter, because he liked every chip, bolt and weapon-core of it. 
It flew like a dream, and it could reach speeds up to 2 times the speed of light. This had been a major breakthrough. 
Since people used to think that particle acceleration was alot slower than normal hyperdrive engines. 
But Skunk-Works managed to improve the particle accelerator. It was now far better than most of the other engines. 
He opened the cockpit by entering the code on his PAD. He climbed in and made sure he was comfortable. 
He started up all the systems, they came online and started lighting up the cockpit with their screens. 
Joseph checked all the systems. He made sure the cockpit was fully closed, and he started up his engines.
The ship lifted off, and slowly flew into the deep black space. He left the planet's gravitational field 
and punched in the co-ordinates of the planet the TIR HQ was located, Earth. He felt the ship tremble and 
the bright little stars transformed into long white stripes. The ship blasted of into hyperspace. 
The journey would take about 45 minutes, so Joseph inserted a small data-disc into the ship's control panel. 
Not long after that, music started playing through the ship's speakers. 

"Sir?" Marcus turned around."Yes, what is it?" He asked the officer that had spoken to him.
"Consultant Varageva has entered our system. He'll be arriving here shortly." 
"Good, good, thank you." He said. 
He left the Com-floor and entered his ready-room. The headquarters on Earth had been rebuild and he had his 
paintings transported here. It was something to get used to, the HQ on Earth. Marcus sighed as he sat down in his seat. 
It was dark outside, the night had shrouded Earth in complete darkness. Only the lights of the city and the stars would 
light up the world a bit. Marcus looked out of his window. He was looking at the stars. Beautiful tiny little 
white dots scattered over the sky. After all these years, Marcus was still amazed by the stars. He could watch them 
for over hours. He leaned back in his seat and sipped some of his tea that had been standing in his desk for over a 
half hour, it was still a bit warm. "Sir? Consultant Varageva has arrived, should I ask him to wait here?" 
His officer said through the intercom.
"No, sent him to me." Marcus answered. A minute passed before the door opened and Joseph entered the room. 
"Nice of you to knock." Marcus looked serious. "I just like to surprise people." Joseph replied with an even 
more serious look. The two men looked eachother in the eyes for maybe 10 seconds. Then they both bursted out in laughter.
"Joseph how are you?" Marcus said, catching his breath. "Fine, a bit bored, but yeah...fine." Joseph said, 
while taking a seat in front of Marcus. "You called me for something important?" Joseph asked, one leg over the other. 
"Yes, there has been a recent..." Marcus searched for the right word, "...discovery that needs special attention." 
Joseph raised his right eye-brow. "In other words: my attention?" "Indeed." Marcus answered. "Why me?" Joseph asked. 
"It's a long story."
"Marcus, if I didn't had any time to listen, I wouldn't even be here." Joseph wanted to know what was going on. 
He hated it if there was anything he didn't know about. Need-to-Know things were out of the question. 
"Well, after the Revolution we had to search through Augustus' files. It took some time to hack into it, 
but finally yesterday, we cracked the security-system. The files revealed something...unbelievable." 
Marcus stopped for a second, thinking, he continued his story: "It seems like Augustus was getting help from 
someone from a different tineline." Joseph looked sceptical: "R...ight...any proof for that?" 
Marcus backed his story with a few facts:" The Sphere had always been in the moon of Ivarageva. 
Scans of the debris revealed the Sphere was over 2000 years old." "What?" Joseph leaned forward. 
"Further study of Augustus his files revealed he also found somesort of temple on the mining-world Granah, 
he said in his log that the first interdimensional contact had been there between him and another person."
"In other words, he had contact with someone from another timeline?" Joseph asked.
"Yes." Marcus shortly replied. "Wait a second, let me get this straight: Someone from another timeline told Augustus 
that the Sphere was located IN the moon of Ivarageva and that he wanted to help Augustus to take over the galaxy and stuff?" 
Those last two words made the sentence rather comical."Yes..." "Ok, thanks for the information, but that's not the reason 
you have let me come here." Marcus laughed:"You're quite clever. I've called you for help because that temple has been 
discovered by a mining-corporation called Koblenz Mining Industries ." 
"Related to the Outer-Colonies?" Joseph wondered. "No, if it was..." Marcus looked outside the window, 
thinking about what might've happened if the OC had found the temple. "The boss of that corporation knows how important 
this discovery is to us, and he has asked specifically for you to take a look." Marcus continued. "The boss?" 
Joseph asked. Marcus handed him a PAD with intel about 'the boss'. "Intelligence says he's also known as The Russian. 
It's quite a lucrative business he has. Though it's not the only area he's active in."
Marcus said. "Smuggling?" Joseph guessed. "Bingo." Joseph studied the information on the PAD. 
"I'll keep this if you don't mind." Joseph said while getting up. He was about to shake Marcus his hand when a 
strange anomaly began to form in the room. Joseph looked amazed at somesort of hole that was forming in the corner. 
Marcus turned his head to see what Joseph was looking at. The hole began to get bigger. 
The blue-white glow coming from the hole enlightened the whole room. A figure seemed to be coming this way through 
the hole. It began to take shape. Finally it stepped out of the hole. The hole closed behind him and the blue-white glow 
disappeared. "Hello again."

.....::::: Chapter 1: Old (girl)friends:::::....

"So where have you been the last 6 months?" Joseph asked. "6 months?" Mario raised his right eye-brow. 
"I've only been away for a couple of..." Mario interrupted his own sentence. "But ofcourse..." He continued, 
"To you it seems 6 months, they retrieved me 6 months before now and they transported me back here."  
"What...?" Joseph couldn't exactly figured out what the heck Mario was saying. "Long story, maybe some other time, 
I believe we're short on it?" He turned to Marcus. "Well, yes," Marcus said, "there is a ship waiting for you two outside." 
The three men walked through one of many hallways, they stopped in front of a door. It opened and they entered the hangar. 
"What will happen to my ship?" Joseph turned to Marcus. "Don't worry, it'll all be taken care of." The answer pleased 
Joseph and the two men entered a Galleon that was reserved for them. It would bring the men to a Scimitar cruiser that 
was waiting in orbit. Marcus stepped back and the hatch closed. "This is G-043, we are ready for take-off." 
The pilot started up the engines. "This is Control to G-043, you are clear for take-off, have a save flight." 
The ship lifted off. Marcus followed the Galleon with his eyes. He smiled. 
"Finally some action." Joseph thought as he looked out of the window. The world began to get smaller as the ship flew away. 
It didn't take long for the ship to reach the Scimitar cruiser. "This is G-043 to Bay Control, requesting permission to land." 
A few seconds passed before the pilot's request was granted: "This is Bay Control, you are clear to land, glad to have 
you aboard." The ship flew through the force-field that kept the air in the ship. Joseph could feel the ship slow down. 
The engines turned into their vertical position and the ship landed gently. The hatch slowly opened and Joseph and 
Mario were welcomed by the ship's captain: "Welcome to my ship, the Red Ivory, it's an honour to have you here." 
Mario and Joseph shook the captain's hand. "Oh...Mario there is someone waiting for you in the mess-hall." 
"No she's not..." A female voice said. It was a familiar and warm voice. Mario turned around and there she was, 
barely changed. Lucy...Mario smiled, he hadn't seen her for days. Lucy smiled back, she hadn't seen him for months. 
They slowly walked forward, closing the gap between them. They stopped, centimeters apart. They were about to kiss. 
"First you're gonna explain some things." Lucy suddenly said. "I think I'll leave you two alone." Joseph was trying 
to hide his laugh. He eventually managed to swallow it. "Good idea, we'll be on the bridge." The captain left the bay 
followed by Joseph. "It is a long story you know." Mario said. "I've got plenty of time, I know you have plenty of it.
" Lucy smiled. 
After a short tour around the ship, the two men were shown to their quarters. Joseph used the free time he had to work 
out a few design-sketches. The only light in his room came from the light above his desk. It was quite a large room, 
a bed standing in the corner, and a red sofa that looked orange under the yellow light shining above the desk. 
Joseph leaned back, his thoughts were keeping him from his work. What was this discovery? What on Earth was Mario 
doing here and who was this Lucy? He got up and looked at the clock. The clock looked like any conventional holo-clock, 
but this one could show the times of more than 40 different planets. 2:31 in the morning...He could use a cup of coffee. 
He turned his light off and walked out of his room. Everyone was asleep so there weren't much people in the mess-hall. 
Joseph yawned as he walked up to the replicator. "Coffee, with sugar." He said. His request was replicated in the form 
of a black cup with the Federation Logo on it. He sat down at one of the empty tables. He looked around. The mess was quite 
large, the ceiling high above his head and four 'entrances'. All painted in the typical Federation colors. 
"Can't sleep?" Joseph turned his head to see where the voice was coming from. Mario was standing in the corner of the mess. 
"Hello to you too." Joseph replied. Mario sat down at Joseph's table. "Who is this Lucy?" Joseph asked. "She's...someone I 
met on Ivarageva."
"Right...She looks...nice." Joseph said after sipping his hot coffee. "Sure does...She was a sniper working for the NTA." 
 Mario said. "The NTA?" Joseph asked. "She was forced to."
"Oh..."Joseph was getting tired. "Well, I'll see if I can some sleep." Mario got up and exited the mess, leaving Joseph. 
Joseph sighed. He looked out of the window, white stripes streaking by. He sat there, thinking about what to expect. 
He knew he couldn't sleep anymore, so he got up and went back to his quarters to get his jacket. 
The first shifts had started so there were more people awake and walking through the ship. Some said "Hello.", 
others were too busy with the tasks they were given. He stopped in front of his quarters and entered the key-code. 
A beep indicated that the door was unlocked. He entered his room and grabbed his jacket from his seat. 
He was about to leave again when he noticed something. The desk-light, was still on. He looked around and saw 
a figure sitting on the couch. A shadow, lurking. The figure stood up and stepped out of the darkness. 
It was...it was...Augustus?!
Joseph opened his eyes. He blinked a few times. He looked around, he was still sitting behind his desk, 
with the sketches on it. There was no one in his room besides him. It had all been a dream. He looked at the clock: 2:31. 
Joseph sighed. He got up from his seat and turned the main light on. He cracked his neck and was about to put on his 
jacket when the ship started to shake. Joseph looked out of his window, the ship had dropped out of hyperspace. 
Something was up. A message sounded throughout the ship: "We are under attack by pirates, I repeat, 
we are under attack by pirates this is NOT a drill." But Joseph was already in the landing-bay when he heard the message. 

Chapter 2 : Battlestations !  

The crew was preparing a Viper for Joseph. Mario entered the bay. "I'm not letting you destroy those Pirates on your own!" 
"Fine by me..." Joseph said. "I've never flown one of these." Mario said while putting on his helmet. 
"Neither have I." Joseph closed his helmet and made sure it was airtight. The crew removed the hoses from the hull and 
the bay was cleared. "V-056, this is Bay-Control You are clear for immediate launch, go blast some Pirates!" "We'll do." 
Joseph replied. There were already several Vipers launched but they were severely outnumbered. 
The enemy was using Cutlass fighters. Big grey ships with 3 wings. They resembled the Vipers a bit, only in shape. 
"Okay let's see what this baby can do!"
Joseph launched his ship. Pushed back in his seat he searched for his first target. 
"This is Consultant Joseph Varageva, need a hand?" Joseph contacted the other pilots. 
"Thanks for the help." A pilot said. Joseph achieved a lock on a Cutlass, he released his deadly Class II rocket 
which blasted the Cutlass apart. Mario had also launched from the ship. 
He immediately began chasing a Cutlass. The Cutlass was going for the Scimitar's engines. 
Mario squeezed the trigger and fired a rain of lasers on the Cutlass. It's core exploded and the Cutlass broke in two. 
The cockpit crashed into another Pirate. "That's gotta hurt!" Mario yelled. "Mario, two Tangos on your six!" 
Joseph tracked two Cutlasses that were on Mario's tail. Mario rolled his ship to port. 
The Viper was much more maneuverable than the Cutlass, it's turning-circle was extremely small. 
It took mere seconds for Mario to come up behind his pursuers. He fired two rockets. Both blew the Cutlasses away. 
"Thanks Joseph!" 
Joseph squeezed his trigger, the rain of lasers hammered another Cutlass until there was nothing left but a flying heap 
of metal. Joseph looked at his right and saw the ship explode. Many fighters were destroyed and the tables were turned. 
"Drive them back from the ship. Mario, you on my 3." It sounded like Joseph was ordering the Vipers. "Back to old habits 
Joseph?" Mario joked. The Vipers chased the Pirates away from the ship. Several were destroyed in the process. 
"That'll show them, return to the ship." 
The Vipers turned around and headed back for the Cruiser. "Joseph aren't those...?" Mario looked at something. 
Something he didn't expect to see. Ships, but no ordinary ships. NTA ships, Destroyers. They were escorting Bloodsuckers, 
large grey ships designed to board ships. There were dozens of them, heading for the Scimitar Cruiser. 
"Vipers, arm your Rockets, aim for the Bloodsuckers." Joseph ordered. He turned the channel to contact the Red Ivory. 
"We've got incoming boarding-craft, take them out now." Seconds later, the ship's onboard cannons started spitting out 
their deadly lasers. "Vipers, on my mark..." Joseph waited a few seconds. "...Fire Fox-2...!" Joseph pressed the red, 
square button on top of his stick and the lethal rocket was released in the deep black. "...Fox-2....Firing Fox-2..." 
Messages sounded throughout the helmets of the pilots. Dozens of rockets were flying through space, 
closing the gap between themselves and their targets. Suddenly all of the rockets exploded. "They have APDs 
(Automatic Projectile Destroyers). Go in with your cannons!" Joseph said. The Vipers opened fire. 
The Destroyers charged in on the Vipers. Big, powerful ships, the lack of agility was compensated by the enormous 
amount of weapons. Joseph checked how many Vipers were left; only 25. The enemy had overpowered them with 37.  
"Get them into a dogfight, their agility doesn't match ours." Joseph knew a lot about the ships. The Destroyers 
opened fire, lasers pouring out of their cannons. The Vipers dodged them, but a few were pounded by the lasers and 
exploded into a big fireball. Joseph was having a hard time trying to get close to the Destroyers. He dodged numerous 
lasers and managed to fire a rocket. The rocket crashed into the cockpit of one of the Destroyers and exploded. 
The whole ship vaporated within it's own fuel. This offered Joseph and several other pilots to fly through the hole 
created by the explosion. They managed to get behind some Destroyers, they were destroyed under the rain of lasers 
and rockets. "Mario, you with me, after those Bloodsuckers." The two Vipers steered out of the dogfights and went 
after the Bloodsuckers. 3 had been destroyed by the Scimitar's cannons, but more were dropping out of Hyperspace. 
"I'll get those near the ship." Mario said. "Roger." Mario went after the 5 Bloodsuckers that were close to the ship. 
He squeezed the trigger and blasted one apart. The Scimitar's cannons also destroyed 2. The other two turned around and 
began retreating. "Joseph, how's it going." Joseph answered: "Picking off the last ones." Joseph dodged a few lasers 
and destroyed one Bloodsucker. He had already destroyed 2. "Looks like few Destroyers made it out." Joseph saw how only 
2 Destroyers were retreating. The remaining Bloodsuckers did the same "All Vipers return to the ship."

.....:::::Chapter 3 : Granah:::::.....   

Joseph sat on the couch in his quarters. Strange, how did the Pirates knew they were there? The route was secret and 
secured. And what on Earth were those NTA ships doing there. There were small groups left of NTA-followers that had ships, 
but not Destroyers. Strange indeed. His mind turned to other matters. What would he find on Granah, what was so important 
that Joseph was ordered to go there. What exactly was this temple. He stretched his back and got up from the couch. 
Yawning, he grabbed his jacket. They would arrive at Granah anytime now. Joseph felt a light shock. The ship had dropped 
out of Hyperspace. They had arrived. 
Joseph left his quarters and went straight for the landing-bay. Mario was already there. "Is Lucy not coming?" Joseph 
asked. "She told me she already waited 6 months for me, she could do a few days more. Besides, we did have some catch-up 
time last night." Mario explained while scratching his head. "Right..." Joseph laughed a bit. The two men said goodbye to 
the captain and stepped into the Galleon. The Scimitar would remain in orbit. Handy for any     re-inforcements. 
The Galleon lifted off and left the bay. Main thrusters were engaged and the ship propelled itself towards the planet. 
"Reaching planet's atmosphere in 5, 4, 3, 2...." The pilot counted down and the ship entered Granah's atmosphere. It was 
a big planet, almost 2 times the Earth. Most of the TIR's profits came from here too. Granah was filled with precious 
Trilinium. One of the most versatile and strongest materials found in the universe. The raw material was mined from the 
insides of the planet. Most of the planet was covered with industrial cities. The Galleon was heading for Sovograd, 
one of the major cities and home to the mining-corporation Koblenz Mining Industries. KM Industries, as it was called, 
was the largest mining company in the whole Terran sector and it was owned by The Russian. It wasn't the only operation 
the Russian controlled, smuggling weapons was also one of his daily activities. The Galleon landed on top of the main 
KM Industries building. A large, dark-brown office. The square sides were alternated with round roofs. The only thing 
flat on top of the building was the landing-pad. The hatch opened opened and the two men were welcomed by one single man. 
The hatch closed and the Galleon slowly moved away from the building, back to the Scimitar. The man was about the same 
size as Joseph. He wore a black, 3 piece suit, with a red tie. His face had an emotionless expression and he was 
completely bald. He beckoned the two men to follow him. A little unsure and hesitant, Joseph and Mario followed the 
strange bald person. They entered an elevator and the bald man pressed on the button with a 7. The elevator began to move 
and the three men were transported deep into the bowels of the building. The bald man still hadn't said anything. 
Joseph didn't know what to think of this and Mario was even more oblivious. The elevator stopped, the door opened and the 
bald man beckoned the two men to leave the elevator. They did and the elevator doors almost closed immediately. 
They were now on the 7th floor it looked sunny somehow although there were almost no windows. Just one big hallway 
leading to one door. The walls were a mix of white and a gentle yellow. Since there wasn't really much choice, the 
two men walked to the door. It was a simple white door. No automatic mechanism but a door with hinges. Joseph turned 
the doorknob and slowly opened the door. The room behind the door was furnished in a pseudo-Colonial style from the 19th 
century. Alot of wood and brown colours. There was a dark-brown desk that looked like it was made from very heavy wood. 
Behind that desk was a chair, with the back turned towards the two gentlemen. Smoke was coming from the front. 
Somebody was sitting in the seat. "Gentlemen, Glad yu kould join me." Smoke seemed to be coming from the front of the chair. 
Joseph and Mario sat down on the two chairs in front of the desk. "I thought yu wud come alone Joseph." The person said. 
"He kinda dropped by." Joseph explained. The chair slowly turned around. The Russian's face was revealed. He had a square 
face with short grey hair. His dark-green eyes were shielded by grey-colored glasses. He had a sigar in the right-corner 
of his mouth. "Then yu must be Mario." "Damn right." Mario replied. "How do yu like it here on Granah?" The Russian asked, 
while he leaned back in his seat. "I've never seen such a backwater planet, quite frankly." Joseph said. The Russian 
grinned: "The planet might not be much, but we do ghave trilinium, billions and billions of it." The Russian looked at Mario,
 seriously, like his eyes could see his thoughts. "Leave." The Russian suddenly said. "Excuse me?" Mario raised an eyebrow. 
"You ghave not yet gained my trust. So I should ask yu to leave." "And what about Joseph?" Mario asked. 
"Joseph has already proven ghimself in kombat." Mario sighed. "Fine..." He got up from his chair. 
"Just wait for me downstairs." Joseph said. "It might take a while." The Russian added. The door closed and the two men 
were now alone in the room. "Well let's get down to bizniz." The Russian pressed a few buttons on his desk and the light 
in the room changed. Apparantly he liked doing bussines this way. "I ghave sumthing yu want, and yu ghave sumthing 
I want right?" Joseph handed him a PAD. The Russian got up from his seat and began reading the PAD. 
"It's an interesting propostion." The Russian looked out of the window. Smoke was coming out of his mouth and his 
sigar was firmly held by his left hand. His eyes were overlooking his workshop. A Rydosk Atmospheric Fighter had 
docked and was being modified by his technicians. "You give uz trade-routes, we give you what we found." 
Joseph had a confident look in his eyes, but there was something else The Russian wanted. 
"What do you want besides the routes." He asked. "Yes, since the fall of the NTA the Federation has been watching my 
every move, I can still feel their breath in my neck."
"So you want absolutely safe trade-routes, where you'll be sure the Federation won't patrol and possibly intercept your...
merchandise?" Joseph asked. "Exactly...You and I...we think alike. Sigar?" The Russian offered. "Yes, thank you." Joseph 
took the sigar. "I never knew you smoked." The Russian sat down behind his desk. "There are alot of things you don't know 
about me." Joseph grinned. The comrade laughed. "Say, whatever happened to that Alex?" 
"Well, relationships that start in a dangerous situation never work out." The bussinesman smirked. 
"You think she's available?" The two men bursted out in laughter. 

.....:::::Chapter 4 : Third party:::::.....

Joseph and Mario weren't the only ones to arrive on Granah. The Outer Colonies, a mining-faction whose only desire was 
to gain independence from Earth, had also set their sights on Granah. And now that they heard something was going on on 
the mining-planet they had to sent a spy in to investigate. One of their ships had already achieved to sneak past Granah's 
defences. It now flew in a low orbit above the planet. The ship was not that big, but big enough to take on a batallion of 
tanks. It was grey with red and blue accents. It flew silently above the clouds. "30 seconds till drop-off point." 
A message sounded. "Outside temperature: -54 degrees" A man sat in the compartment at the back of the craft. The hatch 
opened automatically. "20 seconds till drop-off." The man put on his air-mask and opened up the valves. The gauges on his 
wrist-PAD showed the amount of air pumped to his mask. He looked outside. The sun reflected in his mask. "10 seconds till 
drop-off." Another voice sounded, the superior of the man. "Remember, this is just a stealth-mission. Stay out of the way 
of any hostiles." "We'll do." The man replied. "Good luck and godspeed my friend." A light above the hatch turned green. 
"Don't stay up for me." The man said and before his supervisor could say anything he jumped out of the ship. He rolled 
through the air. Then he stretched his body to catch maximum speed. He screamed down almost vertically. He flew through a 
cloud. For a few seconds it was white around him and quiet. It was almost like he was in heaven for a while. He cleared 
the cloud and saw the ground for the first time. He was right above his landing-zone. A small field in a forest, 
several miles from the mining-complex. He was ordered to infiltrate there and find out what the TIR wanted to have. 
A message bleeped in his visor telling him he had to open his parachute. Maybe an old-fashion technique, but 'beaming' 
him to the complex was impossible because of the electro-magnetic field around the building. He pulled the handle and the 
chute opened. A dark-green parachute was unveiled. It caught air and slowed the man down with a heavy jerk. The man glided 
gently through the air. It was only a few meters to the ground. He braced himself for impact and landed on the ground. 
He quickly grabbed his parachute and rolled it up. He pressed a button on his wrist-PAD and his backpack containing the 
chute fell on the floor. He removed the helmet from his head
and threw it on the ground. Barakith had arrived...
He was a Hydrakian. Though he didn't work for the Black Sun anymore. He now worked freelance. The Outer Colonies had asked 
him to work for them. He gladly took the job. 
The briefing didn't tell him much. He only knew he had to infiltrate a mining complex because there was something there 
that interested the Intergalactic Republic. That's it. Nothing more. nothing less. "Glad to see you're alright, had a nice 
flight?" His commanding officer asked through the the com. "Had a rough landing, nothing major." Barakith answered.
"Well, I guess the dropping was a succes. Remember, if anyone sees you take the person out right away. No witnesses." 
"Roger that." "Good, we'll establish radio-contact in 10 hours. Good luck my friend." "Thanks." The com went silent. 
He was all alone now. He hid his parachute under a bush. He checked to see if all of his equipment was intact and grabbed 
his weapon from his backpack. It was a bullet-fed silenced pistol. Crude, but effective. The OC also gave him another weapon,
 Wristblades. A typical Hydrakian stealth-weapon, how the Outer Colonies got their hands on them...He didn't bother to try 
them on. There was enough time for that. He entered the forest with his backpack on his back. The journey to the complex 
would take quite some time through the thick forest. Not that it mattered to Barakith. He had always liked nature. 
He spended a great deal of time in forests to clear his mind and to relax. But he wasn't here to relax. He was here on a 
mission. And that mission had already begun.

.....:::::Chapter 5 : The truth unveiled:::::.....

The two men came out of the room and stepped into the white and yellow corridor. Mario sat on a wooden seat. 
He got up and walked over to meet Joseph. "Had a nice chat?" He said with a tone that sounded like it was made from steel. 
Joseph didn't respond to that. Instead he signaled Mario to follow him. Mario sighed and stepped with the two men in the 
elevator. The elevator took them to a floor that wasn't mentioned on an of the elevator's buttons. The strange thing was 
that The Russian didn't even press any button. The elevator just moved all by itself so it seemed. "Where are you taking us?"
 Mario didn't trust The Russian. "Patience, my friend." The Russian said. The elevator came to a halt and the doors opened. 
The floor they stepped on, was the building's secret section. There were all kinds of machinery and people. Droids, 
mining-robots, scientists, all had a KM logo on their plating or jacket. "Let us go to the sickbay. We have a...special 
case there." The Russian pointed to a white door at the right of the elevator. The door opened as the three men neared. 
Perhaps it would've been better if the door hadn't opened at all. Because when it opened a horrific scream came out of 
the sickbay. The door quickly closed behind the three men. Like it would hide the screams from the outside world. 
A man was screaming. He was strapped to a hospital-bed. Joseph's breathing stopped. The man was mutilated. Large pieces 
of his body were missing. The rest looked like it was made from somesort of chemical fluid. Doctors were rushing to save 
the patient. "Oh my god..." Mario nearly choked in his own words. "Thiz is Vincent Relia. Or what's left of him." 
The Russian said with a certain tone of sadness in his words. "He was one of the miners that discovered the temple buried 
under our mining-complex." He went on. "Sumthing attacked him, and..."The Russian sighed, "...ripped him apart. 
This is the reason why you are here. You're here to investigate what the frell happened down there."
Suddenly Vincent began to cough and the hart-monitor was going haywire. It beeped like a maniac. Then the line went flat 
and a long final beep sounded through the sickbay. He had died. The Russian sighed, he walked up to one of the doctors: 
"Inform his family he's...dead."
A nurse turned the hart-monitor off and the long beep stopped. "Come, we have to get yur equipment." The Russian signaled
 Mario and Joseph and the three men exited the sickbay in silence. Joseph catched breath when the door closed behind them. 
"I'm not going to let you two walk alone in the complex," The Russian said, "you will be accompanied by three of my men." 
The three men walked into another section of the secret floor. Three men were sitting in what looked some kind of briefing 
room. The room was white with some black accents on the walls. A large viewing-screen filled the wall. In the middle there 
was a long, black table with 6 seats. Joseph and Mario sat down at the table. The Russian began to speak: 
"This is my special squad. My second that is." The Russian turned the screen on. "We ghave lost contact with my other 
squad nearly 2 days ago. They were also sent in to investigate. We think that they're wiped out as well." Mario knew what 
was going on: "And you want us to go and investigate?" "Why me?" Joseph asked, pointing at himself. 
"You know that one time I saved you at Balmora?" The Russian grinned. An image appeared on the screen. "Our orbital scanner 
picked up sumthing quite unique." The Russian pointed at what seemed to be ruins under the mining complex. 
"Our experts say the ruins are over 3000 years old." The Russian said while turning the viewscreen off. "That's it?" 
Joseph asked. "If we had more intel I would've told you." The Russian explained. "Who are they by the way?" 
Mario looked at the three men that were still sitting at the table. "Ah, yes. These are the men that will accompany you 
on your quest. This is Duncan 'Fuse' Rogers; demolitions." A bald man stood up, Afro-American, with brown eyes filled with 
confidence. He had battle scars all over his face. The Russian also introduced another man. Sam 'Ghost' McNeil, 
a stealth-expert. He was almost as tall as Joseph, had grey/black hair and blue/grey eyes. And last but not least; 
Ivan 'Sphinx' Volkovich; heavy weapons. A large Russian stood up, almost 15 cm taller than Joseph. Grey hair 
like a forest on top of his head, a big square face and emotionless dark-green eyes. "Let's get your weapons now shall we?" 
The men left the briefing-room and headed for the armory. 

"Thiz is the standard issue AK-87 Carbine, it's magazine-fed and fires 3 rounds a second." The Russian held a weapon 
in his hands. It was quite similar to an old AK-47, only this one was completely made out of shiny, light-grey Trilinium. 
It had a laser-sight and a square clip. "Thiz will be your defence to what ever walks that complex." The Russian added. 
A small pistol would also be be part of their inventory allong with frag-, flash-, and plasmagrenades. 
Joseph grabbed one of the AK's and loaded a clip into it. "Let's suit up."

Barakith knew he was getting closer to the complex. Not because he had seen it though. He could smell it. 
The forest was filled with a strange, thick aroma. Molten Trilinium no doubt. 
He stepped over a log and was nearing the border between forest and complex. He stopped for a second. He thought he 
heard something. A twig breaking, a small tree being disturbed. He grabbed his silenced pistol and aimed for a small 
branch on his right. "Don't shoot, don't shoot." A small girl came out from under the branch. Barakith lowered his pistol.
"What are you doing here?" He asked. "I'm looking for my little brother, Nick." She answered. "Well, he's not here." 
The Hydrakian answered, sighing. "I know that, I'm not stupid, I think Nick went into that complex." 
She didn't fear the Hydrakian although he was atleast a meter taller than her. Barakith was surprised that such a 
little girl could be so brave. "What's your name?" he asked. "Carrie." She replied. "I'll tell you what Carrie, 
if I find your little brother I'll bring him to you at once." Barakith promised. "That's fine, I'm staying at Main Avenue 49,
 with Miss. Evans." Carrie smiled, she turned around and was about to go home. She forgot something so she turned around 
to say "Thank you.". But there was nobody there. Like Barakith never crossed paths with her. Like he was a lost memory. 
Carrie blinked a few times. 
Strange...


.....:::::Chapter 6 : First Contact:::::.....

Metallic, that was the sound the suits were making. Metal boots on the floor. Joseph was already used to the sound 
beacuse he had worn military suits since he left the academy, but for Mario it was something he couldn't get used to. 
The whole HazMat (hazardous materials) suit was made of metal. He could hear his own breath in his helmet. 
It was irritating him. The group entered what seemed like a small corridor that leaded to an elevator. 
Ghost and Shpinx were holding a large box made out of Trilinium. They dropped it to rest their arms. 
The corridor was plated with metal all around. These plates created a cold and dark atmosphere that was even enhanced 
by the faint light. "What's in the box?" Mario asked. Nobody answered, as if they didn't notice him. He looked at Joseph, 
but he was as oblivious as Mario. The elevator display told Ghost that the elevator was coming up. 
"I thought this place was quarantined?" He said. All the men raised their weapons and aimed at the elevator doors. 
Ready to kill anything that was coming up. The doors opened with a typical bling. It sounded somewhat happy. 
The music coming from the speakers was even happier. There was nothing in the elevator. Everyone sighed, lowering their 
weapons. Suddenly the lights went out. "You got to be kidding me." Sam said. The red emergency lights turned on, 
creating an eerie glow. Like the hall had turned into a bloody vein. The team turned their flashlights on that were 
attached to their wepaons. A noise. Metal on metal. Sam aimed his light at a moving piece of metal plate. 
It seemed to be one of the elevator's ceiling. Something was dripping from the ceiling of the elevator. Red...blood. 
The team followed Sam's light glow with there eyes, to find out where the blood was coming from. 
Something sticked his head through the ceiling of the elevator. The team didn't know what to make of this. 
But the head showed eyes. 6 of them, lime green. The head began to scream. An eerie noise filled the corridor. 
It sounded like two or three animals were screaming at the same time, the same tone. The creature jumped on the floor.
It was big, several times bigger than any ordinary human. It screamed at the team, stepping forward with it's 6 spider-like 
legs. "Oh...crud." The team started firing at the creature. Short flashes of gunfire filled the corridor. 
Though they were aiming for the creature's head, it didn't seem to hurt it. It just screamed and began to run after the team.
 It raised its giant claw and smacked Sam against the wall. You could hear his spine break through the gunfire. 
Sam fell on the floor, limp like a ragdoll. Dead. The rest of the team retreated back still firing at the creature that just 
kept coming. Sphinx found the time to grab grenade and throw it at the creature. An explosion sounded and 
the team was pushed back from the force. It was quiet. Smoke filled the corridor. Shinx got up to see if 
the creature was dead. He walked near the smoke and stopped for a second to hear if there was any sound. 
He turned his head to the team: "I tink I got im!" He said in a typical Russian accent. He smirked. 
He turned his head to catch a glimpse of the body. But it wasn't dead. A humming, like a cat defending it's territory. 
Deep and threatening. The creature slashed right through the big Russian. There was nothing left of the man. 
The creature looked at the team that was stunned. They began running for their lives. There were wires spread out 
on the floor of the corridor, so they had to watch their step. Duncan didn't and stumbled over a thick black wire. 
It all seemed to go so slow. Duncan falling, his weapon touching the floor. He grabbed his pistol in a last effort 
to kill the creature. The beast didn't even seem to notice Duncan and stepped on his head, crushing his skull. 
Joseph and Mario were now on their own, 
pushed back in a little corner. They knew they were not going to make it. They were still firing at the beast. 
It prepared itself for the final blow. "Hey you!" The creature turned his head to see where the voice was coming from. 
A man ran up to the creature. Wrist blades unveiled, his speed was unmatched. He jumped up and seemed to hang still 
in the air for an eternity, floating. He slashed with his right arm and severed the creature's head. 
The head fell with a fleshy sound on the floor. The body lay there, spasms going through the limbs. 
"You should be more careful." The man wiped off the dark-green blood from his wrist blade. The voice sounded familiar, deep. 
"Barakith?" Joseph asked. "The one and only." The Hydrakian responded, helping Joseph up. "Thanks." Joseph said, 
wiping the blood from his visor. Barakith gave Mario a hand and the three men were reunited. "Just like old times huh?" 
Joseph smiled. "He's the Hydrakian that helped us during the Revolution right?" Mario turned to Joseph. 
"He sure is, what are you doing here actually, top secret Black Sun mission?" Barakith went silent for a second. 
Joseph reminded him of something. The Black Sun. He sighed and looked the other way. "You'd rather not talk about it?" 
Joseph asked, afraid he had said something wrong. "Not now." Barakith replied shortly. 
"That...creature, what the frell was it?" Mario asked. "I have absolutely no idea, but they seem to be quite resilient 
against weapons fire. Good thing they gave me these." Barakith looked at his wrist blades. Brutal weapons that could inflict 
deadly wounds. They were tucked away folded, and would shoot out in 3 short stages. "You have encountered another?" 
Mario asked. "3 of them." Barakith said. "And they're...dead?" "Pretty much." Joseph looked into the corridor. 
The lights turned on one by one. Joseph took a closer look into the corridor. His breathing stopped. 
Not because he saw something, but because he didn't see something. "Mario, where's our team?" 
There were no bodies on the floor. The only thing that was there was blood. Joseph sat down on the floor with one knee. 
"Footprints." But not just normal footprints. These were slimey and dark-green. "Aren't these prints from our boots?" 
Mario wondered. "No, look, they're leading to the elevator." Joseph followed the fopotprints with his eyes to the elevator 
doors. "Do you think that they...?" Mario couldn't even believe he was asking something like that. "Only one way to find out." 
Joseph said and he walked to the elevator. He looked through the hole in the elevator-roof. Dark green slime was 
dripping from the edges. He heard something. It sounded like a rope breaking or something. The elevator...
He looked at Barakith and Mario "Joseph!" The elevator fell down the shaft. Joseph was being pushed to the roof. 
The speed was enormous. It wouldn't take more than a few seconds before the elevator would reach the bottom of the shaft. 
So Joseph acted fast. He knew he would have a bigger chance of survival if he gou out of the elevator. 
Slowly he moved to the hole in the roof, trying to reach the edge. He grabbed the edge that was closest to him and 
swung himself out of the elevator. The gap between him and the elevator got bigger. The shaft itself was extremely deep. 
Joseph tried to reach the side of the shaft in his free-fall. He tried to grab one of the hoses that were hanging on the 
side. He grabbed one but because of the enormous speed he dislocated his right shoulder. 
Joseph screamed of the pain. Below him, the elevator collided into the floor. Joseph pulled himself up and was now holding 
onto the hose with both of his arms. "Joseph!" A voice sounded from far above. "Yeah!" He responded, half moaning because of 
the pain. "You still alive?!" Joseph could only guess where the voice came from. The whole shaft was one shadow, 
the only thing that brought a little light was from above, where Mario and Barakith were. The rest was shrouded in darkness, 
hiding something. Joseph breathed deeply. He knew he couldn't hold on much longer so he tried to climb up. This wasn't 
easy with the pain and the lack of vision. He was carefully making his way up. Touching the wall with his hands. 
He moaned every time if he tried to pull himself up with his right arm. It was actually quite impossible but Joseph wasn't 
giving up, not just yet. 
"How the frell are we going to get him out of there?" Mario looked down the shaft, into the abyss filled with darkness. 
It was like he was looking into the mouth of hell itself. Something wasn't right down there. But that didn't worry him 
so much. The fact that Joseph fell into there, that was his biggest concern. He looked at Barakith who grabbed somesort 
of belt out of his backpack. A belt. Barakith wrapped it around his middle. Barakith also got a robe out of his backpack. 
"Wait, are you planning to climb..." Mario didn't even finish his sentence because Barakith had already hooked himself to 
the floor. "Damn right I am. You just stay here and watch the rope ok?" Barakith began his descent. The shaft was deep. 
Barakith turned on the flash-light on his shoulder. That would illuminate his path. "Joseph! Stay where you are, 
I'm coming for you." Barakith shouted down the shaft. Several seconds later he heard Joseph responding: 
"And ruin my climbing-trip?" Barakith laughed as he slowly climbed his way down. The descent was long. Mario sat beside 
the hook. "Barakith, how's it going?" He shouted. "Fine, thank you!" Mario loaded a new clip in his weapon. 
So far the mission had been a drama. He was wondering what was more important now: Finding out what's going on here, 
or getting back alive. He closed his eyes and sighed. He thought of his first mission. Finding a traitor in the Rebel-group. 
He had successfully completed the mission and thought he had seen the last of Augustus Phillipus. Damn that man, 
if it wasn't for him, the three men wouldn't be in such a mess right now. He looked at his right and saw Barakith's backpack. 
Born curious, Mario couldn't stop himself from looking into the rugsack. A silenced pistol, food, a med-kit, binoculars 
and a data pad. He looked curiously at the datapad. He pressed a button and the screen flickered to life. Two letters 
filled the screen OC; Outer Colonies. Barakith worked for the OC? Mario was surprised, if not amazed. He had never heard 
of a Hydrakian working for another faction. Most interesting. Maybe he was banned from the Black Sun. Mario relayed his 
thoughts and looked down the shaft. 
Barakith was nearing Joseph. He carefully placed his feet and hands where it was stable. Cables and hoses 
were hanging everywhere, things were even more difficult because of the darkness. He looked down and with the 
light coming from his flash-light he could see Joseph holding onto a cable. "About damn time." He said. Barakith 
climbed down slowly. Until he was right next to Joseph. He attached a hook and a cable to Joseph's belt. 
"Can you climb?" Barakith asked. "Ofcourse I can climb." Joseph tried to reach a cable above him but he slipped 
causing him to fall a couple meters. Joseph grunted. "Ofcourse you can climb." Barakith repeated Joseph's words with 
a certain tone of sarcasm. "Everything ok down there?" Mario shouted down the shaft. "Never been better!" 
Joseph yelled back as he lifted himself up. The rest of the climb was slow, and hard, especially for Joseph. 
But eventually they managed to get to the top. Joseph was nearly exhausted because of the pain he had endured. 
Not only that, his arm was still dislocated, and that had to be fixed. "Mario, I want you to pull my arm as hard 
as possible." Joseph said, while sitting on the floor. "But... I can't." Mario hesitated. "Do it, I can't ask 
Barakith cause he'll rip my arm off." Barakith looked at Joseph, curiously. He knew what Joseph was doing: Mario was 
an able soldier, sure. But he lacked proper field-experience. This would be part of his training. Mario carefully 
grabbed Joseph's arm. "On my mark..." Joseph prepared himself for the pain. "Now!" Joseph closed his eyes, waiting 
for the pain to erupt.  Mario pulled as hard as he could and the arm was put back in it's original position. Joseph 
grunted and his breathing speeded up. "You ok?" Mario said, afraid he had done something wrong. "Never been better." 
Joseph replied. Barakith helped him up. Joseph moved his arm a bit. It was still a bit painful but he could manage himself. 
"Now," He said, "how the frell are we going to get down there?" Joseph stared into the gaping hole of the shaft. 
"With that rope?" Joseph pointed at the rope attached to Barakith's belt. "It's our only option I guess." Barakith said. 
"Guys..."Mario called the two men over. "What's actually in this box?" Mario kneeled next to the box that was still standing 
in the corridor. Sphinx and Fuse had been carrying it until the creature made it's attack. "Let's find out." Joseph sat down 
next to he box and prised it open with a blow from the butt of his gun. The box was now open and a strange beeping 
filled the corridor. Joseph slowly opened the box. "Oh crud..." It was a bomb. A bomb that was triggered after Ghost, 
Sphinx and Fuse died. Joseph could see this because there was a heart-monitor displaying the heart-beats of the three men. 
This had to be some kind of safety-devise. If the three men get killed...The Russian's men. "Bastard!" Joseph yelled. 
"What do we do now?" Mario asked, frightened. "Well according to this timer we still have 9 hours till detonation. 
I suggest we take the bomb with us." Barakith said. "You're right, we can't leave it here. If the bomb detonates here 
the surface would also get wiped out. We have to take it somewhere save." Joseph closed he lid. "No time to waste." 
He added, while picking up the box. He hooked himself up to the rope and went down the shaft, followed by Mario and 
Barakith, not knowing what waited ahead. Into the abyss.

.....:::::Chapter 7 : Into the abyss:::::.....

The descent was long and difficult. Though it did seem that it wasn't that hard. They had a mission and they were going to 
complete it. They finally arrived at the bottom of the shaft. The elevator's wreckage bashed the door. "That was quite an 
impact." Barakith joked. Joseph unhooked himself and kicked the remains of the door away. He set foot in a dark hallway. 
He turned his flash light on. "I think it's save." He whispered. The team carefully walked into the corridor. 
"Why do I hate corridors?" Mario said. The light in the room couldn't decide what to do, turn on, turn off. it was 
switching constantly. There was a tense atmosphere in the corridor. There were pillars on the sides of the hall. 
Behind them was nothing, nothing but darkness. But that was not the problem, anything could hide behind one of those 
pillars, that was the problem. Barakith was checking the left side of the hall. Illuminating every dark spot with his 
flash-light. Fearing what might be there in the next dark-corner. Strange, in his entire military-career he had never 
experienced fear. It concerned him. Mario checked the other side of the hall. He was also feared of what might wait in 
the next dark corner. Both men emerged from the side of the hall, safe. The men now walked into the next room.  Slowly, 
trying not to make a sound. There was blood all over the floor. Joseph looked up and saw what seemed to be the remains 
of the first squad the Russian send in. "My god." He said. The team was mutilated. And their skin looked like the skin 
of the man in the sickbay. "It seems they are mutated or something." Barakith said, aiming his flash-light onto one of 
the men hanging. There bodies showed signs of rapid growth, that would probably strengthen their skeletal and muscular 
systems. The men were still breathing. "But that would mean that the man we saw in the sickbay was also mutated, right?" 
Mario said, knowing the question was retorical. "I guess so...They must have been infected by one of those creatures 
"Joseph replied. "Yeah that would also explain the disappearance of our team." Mario said "Let's get going before these 
boys wake up." Barakith said. The team moved on. They entered the mine that would lead them to the ruins. 
They emerged from the other side of the mine. They entered a large cave, a large ancient tower in the middle and ruins 
scattered over the ground. There were voices. Human voices. The three men were surprised to hear human voices. 
They hid behind a rock to avoid detection. Barakith grabbed his binoculars from his backpack. He looked to where the 
voices were coming from. "NTA?" He certainly wasn't expecting to see NTA soldiers, not here, not now. 
The NTA had died out long ago, after the revolution. "Let me see." Barakith handed the binoculars to Joseph. 
Joseph looked at the men that were unpacking something. "They aren't NTA, look they're symbol is different. 
And their weapons, unlike anything I've ever seen." The NTA soldiers were holding some kind of advanced plasma-weapons. 
Round weapons, colored chrome with red and black accents. A light blue power-core glowing in the middle of the guns. 
"Strange...". Mario didn't say anything. He was briefed about this mission. But they told him it was very unlikely 
he would encounter this. "This can't be..." He whispered. Joseph heard the words : "What can't be..?" 
"Classified information." Mario said. "No, you're gonna tell me what's going on here." Joseph said, in an almost 
threatening tone. "Alright alright..." Mario calmed Joseph down and began explaining the situation: 
"My superiors told me that this situation might be the cause of a Timegate." "A what...?" Barakith interrupted. 
"A gateway leading to another Timeline." Mario explained. "What is a Timeline exactly?" Joseph demanded an explanation. 
"Hard to explain..." "Well spit it out..." Mario sighed and began telling the team about the Timelines. 
"A Timeline is something like another dimension, you're creating a Timeline right now." "What do you mean?" 
Joseph asked. "A Timeline is the result of a choice. What did you have for breakfast this morning?" Mario asked. 
"Eggs and bacon." Joseph answered. "What if you had cereal? If you would make the choice to take the cereal instead 
of the bacon, then you would create another Timeline." Mario explained. Joseph still wasn't too sure. Mario sighed.
"It's like driving on a road. There's a fork up ahead. You can take left or right. You take the right, but you could've 
also taken the left. Thus you create 2 seperate Timelines. Everything that happens then is affected by that choice." 
Everything became clear to Joseph. "So this Timegate is a way to travel from Timeline to Timeline?" He asked.  "Yes..." 
Mario answered. Joseph sighed. "That explains the NTA Destroyers that attacked us." "Look" Barakith pointed at the 3 NTA 
soldiers. They were yelling and shouting. Something was attacking them. The tower blocked the team's view so they 
couldn't see much. A NTA Soldier was thrown against the wall of the cave. And an eerie growl filled the chamber. 
"Must be one of those creatures." Barakith guessed. The team slowly advanced forward, hiding behind the ruins. 
Now they had a better view over the situation. They saw a soldier grabbing a grenade-launcher. He fired at the creature 
that blew apart. The explosion caused the whole cave to tremble. Green blood splattered on the walls. Dust and small rocks 
were coming from the ceiling. The fight wasn't over yet because the soldier fired another grenade. Another explosion shook 
the cave. The other fired a few rounds with his plasma-weapons. Blue flashes filled the cave. "What are they firing at?" 
The team moved forward. Finally they're question was answered. The soldiers were firing at what seemed like an  stream of 
mutants coming out a mine. Miners were blasted away."Look at that, the result of the mutation." The soldier fired several 
grenades, many miners were killed. The other blasted a few holes in a miner that fell to the ground like a puppet. 
Most of the miners were dead. One last grenade and 5 mutants splattered over the ground. The soldier grabbed a communicator 
and contacted someone. "Wait a second...those mutants were miners...without guns...your average person" Mario said, 
hesitant. "What do you mean?" Barakith asked. "What happens when that first team wakes up...?" "And what about our team?" 
Joseph was also worried. "They are stronger than the average person, plus they have weapons..." 
The soldier they were watching seemed to wait for something. Then the whole cave began to shake. 
A deep rumble seemed to come from underneath their feet. A light-blue stream of light shot out of the ground, as high as 
the tower in the middle. The stream widened until it was as wide as half of the complex. 
The stream was bright in the middle and blue on the edges. 6 soldiers emerged from the stream. Carrying heavy weapons. 
"Mario..." Joseph looked amazed at what was happening, " Is that the Timegate?" "I...I...guess so." 
Mario was already familiar with Timegates. The Denzi used them all the time, but this, this was unlike anything he had seen 
before. This was far more advanced than their Timegates. The box they were carrying began to beep. Joseph opened it. 
The timer had stopped. "Guys..." Joseph was looking at the heart-monitor displaying three heartbeats, a little fast though, 
but they were there. Their team...was supposed to be dead. This meant they were also mutated, and that they were now 
lurking somewhere...

End of part one...

Special thanks: Master Writer Brenden Wilson
                Obi-Wan Kanohi (for joining .SS)
                Kapola Nuva (for letting me take over)
                Silver Stingray (creator of the Barakith character)
                Dr.Swert (for letting me use his Denzi technology)
                Organic Matoran