Spring RTS Engine

You've been playing Metroid Prime haven't you?

Also: With all the nukes used up, what will they use against the Roger Young?

They still have their Guass/rail guns.


And besides, if they need time, maybe they'll produce extra... something?

wait, I thought Alexander was destroyed by the anti-matter bomb? Or what the hell happened?

They haven't launched it yet...

this is gonna be good

They did launch it!

Did they?

I stricly reamber Liz seeing something, then msging alexander, then their XO saying "target destroyed"..

Your memory is crap kixie :p

Zoombie wrote: Amber chewed her lip. She was detecting a slight magnetic field dropping towards them. It was barely noticeable against the background radiation, but the sensors of the ship were trained on the Enterprise's last know location and the focus allowed Amber to spot the mag field dropping to the Alexander.

She lasered a message to the Alexander inquiring if they had seen the field. She then notified Donahue. ├óÔé¼┼ôWhat could it be?├óÔé¼┬Ø Donahue asked, looking at the readings on Amber's console. Amber shrugged ├óÔé¼┼ôCould be anything, really. But the most likely options are well...the only real one i can think of is an anti-matter bomb├óÔé¼┬Ø. She trailed off and both of the women stood still. ├óÔé¼┼ôShit├óÔé¼┬Ø Donahue said ├óÔé¼┼ôLaser a new message to the Alexander and tell them├óÔé¼┬Ø. Amber nodded and let the needles stick back into her eye's.

It took the Alexander three days to respond. The distance between the ships meant a few hours, possibly a day if they were really busy on their end, but three entire days? It almost seemed like the Alexander was ignoring them. Then they received a message: ├óÔé¼┼ôTarget has been destroyed├óÔé¼┬Ø. Donahue chewed her lip ├óÔé¼┼ôWhat are they doing over there?├óÔé¼┬Ø she asked the air.

Amber messaged the Alexander and the Alexander crew said "Target Destroyed"

Maybe the Alexander shot the bomb as it came for them.

It doesn't say anywhere that Liz and Jason actually launched it, just loaded it.

I'm not sure what was going on there

I'm sorry for any confuzion i may have cause...it made sence in MY HEAD!

Explination:

The A/M bomb was launched, then the Alexander destroyed it.
No i never played Metroid Prime...
No I never played ANY Metroid game EVER!


Once again I apologice for any confusion I may have cuased...

ok that makes sense now.

The silence was almost as deafening as the sound had been. Tapp looked through the smoky air and hoped that the battle was over. She had received orders to stop firing ten minutes ago, and now the massive PD guns under her command were silent. She pulled her ear piece out and flicked it to vibrate, looking around. Her staff, two men who managed the ammo logistics for their artillery bank, both looked as shell shocked as she did.

├óÔé¼┼ôWhere is this smoke coming from?├óÔé¼┬Ø Her aid asked. Then the bulkhead exploded inwards, flying inwards on the wake of a massive fireball. The corner of the bulkhead caught Tapp's aid in his head, and blood splattered, his skull caving in. The fire ball ripped through the air and caught Tapp in the arm, her other aid in the face. He died silently, dropping to the ground as his face bubbled away under the head.

Tapp, her teeth clenching against the pain, reached for her ear piece and slammed it into her ear again. ├óÔé¼┼ôStatus!├óÔé¼┬Ø she shouted ├óÔé¼┼ôI need status!├óÔé¼┬Ø. The computer system started reading off a list of injuries and fatality's in her twenty man work force. Over half of them were either dead or unconscious, their medical implant chips non functioning. Tapp jerked her head to the left, transferring her ear piece from computer to squad relay. ├óÔé¼┼ôListen up├óÔé¼┬Ø Tapp said, taking her hand away from her injured arm and grimacing at the blood and skin that came off with it ├óÔé¼┼ôWe need to find what the fuck happen├óÔé¼┬Ø.

├óÔé¼┼ôSir├óÔé¼┬Ø One of her squad men said, his voice overlaid with what sounded like a fierce fire ├óÔé¼┼ôOne of the turret banks exploded, ammo and all├óÔé¼┬Ø. ├óÔé¼┼ôShit├óÔé¼┬Ø Tapp muttered, looking around her command room for a medical pack. The corpse's of her subordinates were harshly illuminated by the lights. Tapp looked away from them and spotted the medical pack for the room.

Chaos reigned near were the guns had exploded, a rent in the side of the ship that was letting air out almost as fast as a fire was eating it up. Men worked to close the breach, mostly by evacuating to the nearest bulkhead and closing it, letting the fire burn itself into a vacuum. After twenty minute the flames had burned out, losing the last gasp of 02 needed to keep them selves going. ├óÔé¼┼ôShit├óÔé¼┬Ø Tapp muttered, looking over a data slate with one hand, her other arm covered in anti-burn bandages, ├óÔé¼┼ôWe need some more crew down here├óÔé¼┬Ø. ├óÔé¼┼ôCan't├óÔé¼┬Ø The logistics officer above her said, speaking through his ear piece to hers ├óÔé¼┼ôWe need everyone on the left side. Battles been started├óÔé¼┬Ø. Tapp groaned as her medic peeled one of the bandages off ├óÔé¼┼ôWe'll manage best we can then├óÔé¼┬Ø she snapped, jerking her head to turn the ear piece off.

├óÔé¼┼ôYour going to need some new skin├óÔé¼┬Ø her medic said ├óÔé¼┼ôBut otherwise your arm will be fine. Nothing broken├óÔé¼┬Ø. ├óÔé¼┼ôIt doesn't feel FINE!├óÔé¼┬Ø Tapp snapped ├óÔé¼┼ôBut go check on the other injury's├óÔé¼┬Ø. The medic snapped a salute and walked over to the other injured in the room. The fire's had taken out Tapp's entire work area, leaving her and her work force nothing to work with. So she tried to relax as her arm burned with pain.

The battle had been rejoined, the Rodger Young and the Enterprise drifting within ten hundred kilometers of each other, firing full tilt. The Enterprise's flack field was weakening, but the Rodger Young was also receiving damage. ├óÔé¼┼ôDamn it├óÔé¼┬Ø Liz snapped ├óÔé¼┼ôThey are going to win if we keep this up├óÔé¼┬Ø. ├óÔé¼┼ôSir we've lost another bank of guns on our right side!├óÔé¼┬Ø. An explosion rent the side of the ship ├óÔé¼┼ôThat was an ammo dump├óÔé¼┬Ø Gideon said. The hologram of the ship flashed off and reformed with a largish chunk taken out near the back of the cone. ├óÔé¼┼ôFuck!├óÔé¼┬Ø Liz snapped ├óÔé¼┼ôBack us off, give our PD guns more time├óÔé¼┬Ø.

Maneuvering jets on the side of the Enterprise fired, and the ships started to slide away from the enemy. ├óÔé¼┼ôTake us above them├óÔé¼┬Ø Liz said ├óÔé¼┼ôAnd prepare some borders├óÔé¼┬Ø. ├óÔé¼┼ôSir├óÔé¼┬Ø Amber said ├óÔé¼┼ôThey are launching boarding pods├óÔé¼┬Ø. Donahue grinned ├óÔé¼┼ôBlow them away├óÔé¼┬Ø. ├óÔé¼┼ôWe can't├óÔé¼┬Ø Amber said ├óÔé¼┼ôThey are already here├óÔé¼┬Ø. ├óÔé¼┼ôWHAT!├óÔé¼┬Ø Donahue shouted ├óÔé¼┼ôHow?├óÔé¼┬Ø. ├óÔé¼┼ôI think they had stealth fields├óÔé¼┬Ø Amber said ├óÔé¼┼ôRerouting the marines to the infiltrated sections├óÔé¼┬Ø.

Marines ran down the corridors, D.U rifles at the ready. Their commander, a tall, lanky man named Rodgers, held up his hand to stop the squad. The floor was hissing. He flicked his overlay down, two eyepiece's snapping down from the bridge of his helmet, and he saw the infrared glow of enemy below the hull. He gestured to his demolition expert and made the finger sign for a bomb. The demolitions expert nodded and walked over to the circle of the floor that was hissing. He took out a flat, circular direction shaped charge.

Three bullets shot out of the ground, holing it. The bullets rammed through the demolitions expert and he fell backwards, his med link up whining as his heart stopped. ├óÔé¼┼ôFIRE!├óÔé¼┬Ø Rodgers shouted and the marines all fired through the floor at the enemy. The case less munitions rammed through the floor, only to have the enemy fire back, their D.U rounds ripping through the marines as easily as the marines D.U rounds were ripping through them.

Three men fell, holes in their chests and heads. ├óÔé¼┼ôBack off├óÔé¼┬Ø Rodgers said, and the seven remaining men fell back. The borders finished melting through the floor and chucked something into the corridor. Rodgers closed the bulkhead, putting reinforced metal between him and the enemy. D.U rounds could only go through so much. The thing the borders threw into the corridor unfolded, its many limbs flailing as it tried to find purchase on the ground.

Then it flipped right side up and scanned the area. Then it sent the all clear signal to the borders and they crawled into the hall way, rifles ready. The bulkhead cracked open and the marines fired through it with a heavy laser, sweeping it over the borders. The silvered armor of the borders reflected much of the heat and energy, but still some of it bubbled away. Two of them fired back, their D.U rounds bouncing off the bulkhead but some ramming through. A man screamed, collapsing as his shoulder was pulped by two D.U rounds. The heavy laser concentrated on one of the borders and melted through his helmet. The border fell over, his brains exploding as the laser boiled it in his skull.

Over the ship twenty boarding pods emptied their ten man squads on board. It was a doomed mission, and every one of the boarding members knew it. They died, one by one, cut down by fire power coming from all over the ship. Outnumbered, out gunned and out maneuvered, they died within three hours of boarding. But they bought the Enterprise time to flee, its A/M engine ramming it towards an asteroid field half an A.U from the battle area.

├óÔé¼┼ôWhat the fuck is that?├óÔé¼┬Ø Miles asked. His partner, a young man who only just joined the colony defense force, looked up from his mirror. He had been shaving with his knife. ├óÔé¼┼ôWhat?├óÔé¼┬Ø he asked. ├óÔé¼┼ôI think├óÔé¼┬Ø Miles looked through his binoculars again ├óÔé¼┼ôIts...a woman├óÔé¼┬Ø. His partner stood and grabbed the binoculars. ├óÔé¼┼ôI think├óÔé¼┬Ø he muttered ├óÔé¼┼ôyou might be right...but why is she in the flats?├óÔé¼┬Ø. The flats, an area left from the first mines of the colony, was a stretch of grassland that divided the north jungle and the west jungles. It proved to be a nice place to take your family out on picnic, as long as you kept in sight of the machine gun turrets.

Even at 10X power the binoculars could only make out the black silhouette of the figure walking inwards from the flats. She had long hair and looked to have no clothes. ├óÔé¼┼ôI'll go out├óÔé¼┬Ø the new guy said ├óÔé¼┼ôSee what the problem is├óÔé¼┬Ø. Miles nodded. The new guy started off at a jog his rifle slung over his back as he ran to the woman.

├óÔé¼┼ôMam!├óÔé¼┬Ø He shouted ├óÔé¼┼ôDo you need assistance?├óÔé¼┬Ø. The woman looked up from the ground, and he could see that she was...odd. Her face was pitch black against the Shroud and the invisible light that he knew was coming from the sun. She stopped as he walked closer. ├óÔé¼┼ôMam?├óÔé¼┬Ø he asked, looking at her. She was nude ├óÔé¼┼ôDo you need help?├óÔé¼┬Ø he asked, trying to keep his eye's averted, being a gentleman. That way he dint see when sixteen spines shot out of Prime's back. Miles, who was still looking through the binoculars, shouted ├óÔé¼┼ôJESUS! LOOK-├óÔé¼┬Ø.

Prime's left arm shot out and the new guy fell, blood spraying from his jugular. Prime curled her forearm blade back into her skin and licked the blood of her fingers, tasting it. She knelt down and rolled the new guy onto his back and felt his life ebbing. She rent his mind, taking in new experience's, new memory's. She slid the rifle off his back as he died, and felt it experimentally.

Miles grabbed his walky talky ├óÔé¼┼ôWe have a psychotic down here├óÔé¼┬Ø he said ├óÔé¼┼ôArmed and very dangerous!├óÔé¼┬Ø. ├óÔé¼┼ôSending a squad├óÔé¼┬Ø Police headquarters said. This had not been the first time they had a murderer, usually they didn't attack border patrol. But usually murderers wanted to live. Miles was about to respond, when. Prime swung the rifle up and fired off a single shot.

Miles fell backwards, the back of his exploding as a round meant to take down a Jumper or a Scale Tiger smashed into his forehead. Prime dropped the weapons, not likening the heft and continued to walk to the border of the colony. The machine gun turrets bounced lasers off her body, finding the range and other variables needed to hit a target. Then they sent a message to Police Headquarters for permission to fire.

The police squad arrived with Prime looking the turrets over experimentally. She had the memory's of the police officer she had killed, but expirencing first had was different. She ran her fingers down the turret barrel and felt the metal. ├óÔé¼┼ôStop where you are!├óÔé¼┬Ø The police captain shouted. Prime looked up. Five other men stood behind the captain, rifle's trained on her. The captain studied this alien, for that was obvious what Prime was. Her skin was pitch black, her hair writhed without even a light wind. Her body looked human in the sense of its musculature, but on her back sixteen spines shot out and flexed lightly in the open air.

Prime cocked her head, feeling the minds of the soldiers. The captain in particular was odd, as unlike the first police man she killed, he had no sexual desire for her. The others had some, buried under fear and anger, but they were their none the less. Prime stood straight and forced her spines back into her back. ├óÔé¼┼ôNow├óÔé¼┬Ø the captain said ├óÔé¼┼ôWe are going to cuff you├óÔé¼┬Ø. ├óÔé¼┼ôCuff?├óÔé¼┬Ø Prime asked.

├óÔé¼┼ôSecure you├óÔé¼┬Ø the captain explained ├óÔé¼┼ôand if you don't follow along we are going to blow your brains out├óÔé¼┬Ø. Prime nodded ├óÔé¼┼ôBut I don't wish to cooperate├óÔé¼┬Ø she said. ├óÔé¼┼ôToo bad├óÔé¼┬Ø One of the officers behind the captain said. ├óÔé¼┼ôI want to experience├óÔé¼┬Ø Prime said. ├óÔé¼┼ôWell you can't just murder people├óÔé¼┬Ø The captain said, not wanting to make this...thing angry. From the gun camera of one of the turrets she had shot a man through the forehead at a mile and a half. From the hip.

├óÔé¼┼ôMurder?├óÔé¼┬Ø Prime asked, calling up the memory's of the two people she had in her head ├óÔé¼┼ôBut they are not dead├óÔé¼┬Ø she said. ├óÔé¼┼ôYou killed them├óÔé¼┬Ø the captain said. Prime took a step forward, wanting to show him that she had their memory's. One of the police officers, jumpier then the rest, thought this was some kind of attack. He fired.

Prime stepped back, black grit flowing from a hole in her stomach's side. ├óÔé¼┼ôShit!├óÔé¼┬Ø the captain shouted. Prime's arms shot out to her side, flicking her forearm blades out. Her spines shot out and she ran forward. The officers fired, Prime, her mind operating at a level above their's, dodged and smashed into the first assailant and smashed her left arm into its stomach. She hoisted him up as he screamed, his voice gurgling as blood flowed from his mouth.

Prime drew her arm back, letting him fall and faced the other members of the squad. ├óÔé¼┼ôFIRE!├óÔé¼┬Ø The captain shouted. Prime, for a moment, was horribly disappointed. It was her first betrayal, from her perspective. She had killed the man who sought to kill her, but now the others were going to try and kill her. Prime frowned. She had liked the captain. She jerked her arm out and lopped his head off with her right forearm blade.

The three remaining members of the police squad fired, and this time Prime did not dodge. Black grit exploded off of her body, bullet ripping her flesh away. Prime collapsed to her left knee and the squad stopped firing. Prime fell face forward, her right arm's blade sinking into the soft loam of the grass land as she breathed raggedly. Pain was a new experience for her and she hated it.

├óÔé¼┼ôYou├óÔé¼┬Ø she said, her body convulsing as the black grit on the ground flowed back into her ├óÔé¼┼ôCan't kill me with those├óÔé¼┬Ø. One of the police officers started to reload his gun, but Prime leaped to her feet and her spines shot towards one of the officers. Two of them stretched and ripped the rifle out of his hands, and Prime plucked it from the air and fired, hitting him in the left eye.

The two other officers started to re lode too, but Prime shot one in the leg and hit the other in the mouth. The one hit in the mouth collapsed, blood pouring onto the ground as he opened his bloody mouth in a silent scream of pain. The one hit in the leg dropped onto his side as Prime walked over to him, dropping her rifle to the ground. She walked over to the man who had been shot in the leg, as his partner had died from blood loss and shock, and knelt over him.

Prime pulled his helmet off and looked into his blue eye's with her black one's. She blinked ├óÔé¼┼ôYou have blue eye's├óÔé¼┬Ø she said. The man jabbered ├óÔé¼┼ôWhat are you?├óÔé¼┬Ø, trying to back away from the alien . Prime slid her spines back into her back and blinked. When her eyelids opened again her eye's were blue. ├óÔé¼┼ôI am Prime├óÔé¼┬Ø she said, looking at his leg wound. She stuck her finger into it and the man whimpered, pain shooting through his leg.

Prime withdrew her finger and licked the blood off. She was surprised to learn that his blood tasted different. The man grabbed his crucifix, backing away with one leg. ├óÔé¼┼ôWhy?├óÔé¼┬Ø he asked ├óÔé¼┼ôWhy are you doing this?├óÔé¼┬Ø. ├óÔé¼┼ôI want to experience├óÔé¼┬Ø Prime said again, wondering why they were having such a hard time to understand.

She stood ├óÔé¼┼ôMabey you and I will meet again├óÔé¼┬Ø she said, smiling. The man whimpered, thinking she was mocking him. Prime wondered why. That was what Julia had said to Keith when she first met him. She shrugged and started to walk to the colony again. The police officer relaxed, his crucifix leaving a slight indent in his hand as he let go of it. He let his head rest against the ground and closed his eyes.

Prime tried reshaping her body, getting it to look more human. She got the skin color down, but the finger details eluded her. The memory's she had found were...spotty. Some of them focused more on somethings, less on others. Julia, for example, was worried about the size and shape of her breasts, and so they were more present in her memory's then, say, space travel. Keith was also present more often in recent memory's and not at all in distant memory's.

The police officer, on the other had, had been worrying about his beard. Would it impress Cindy? Prime wondered who Cindy was. The only relevant memory's she had was of a woman, with light red hair and a sad smile. The officer was also wondering why Mile's was so annoying. Miles looked somewhat similar to the man Prime had shot a while ago. But Prime remembered his face exactly down to a small scar on his chin. The officer just remembered his hair color, eyes and mouth.

Prime looked at herself in a mirrored surface, the water of the lake, and saw that she looked more human. But all the humans she had met wore clothes, and she was nude at the moment. Prime triad reforming her skin to act like clothes, but it didn't work well, even as just a camouflage. She let her skin revert to its tanned color and put her hand in the water. She cupped her other hand and drank some water. Blood was more tangy, had more flavor then this but the memory's she had had a lot of references to water.

Prime stood up and heard some thing. It was loud, whiny and went up in pitch then down in pitch. She searched the memory's she had for what it could be. She identified it as sirens. But Julia and the police officers thought of them differently, so Prime was unable to decide what to do based off of them. So she decided to ignore them. She rather started to walk towards the colony. Then she spotted a flash of color in the distance, between the colony and her.

She walked up to the patterned cloth on the ground. A small humanoid was sitting on it, eating on some material. ├óÔé¼┼ôHello├óÔé¼┬Ø Prime said, walking over to it. The child as the police officer called it, or youngin that Julia called it, turned around and looked at Prime. ├óÔé¼┼ôHello├óÔé¼┬Ø he said ├óÔé¼┼ôI'm Danial├óÔé¼┬Ø. ├óÔé¼┼ôI'm Prime├óÔé¼┬Ø Prime said, sitting down next to him. ├óÔé¼┼ôThats a funny name├óÔé¼┬Ø Danial said, looking at the odd woman.

├óÔé¼┼ôIt means first, and seemed appropriate├óÔé¼┬Ø Prime said. Danial laughed ├óÔé¼┼ôYou talk funny too├óÔé¼┬Ø he said. Prime was hurt ├óÔé¼┼ôReally?├óÔé¼┬Ø she asked ├óÔé¼┼ôI am trying├óÔé¼┬Ø. Danial took another bite of bread. ├óÔé¼┼ôCould I try some?├óÔé¼┬Ø Prime asked, looking at the bread. Danial handed her a small chunk of bread, tearing it off with his fingers. Prime took it and popped it into her mouth, chewing slowly.

├óÔé¼┼ôThis is good├óÔé¼┬Ø Prime said. ├óÔé¼┼ôDanial!├óÔé¼┬Ø someone shouted ├óÔé¼┼ôWe need to be going!├óÔé¼┬Ø. Prime looked over her shoulder, her head turning three hundred and sixty degrees. A human male was walking over a small hillock to the picnic site. ├óÔé¼┼ôRight dad!├óÔé¼┬Ø Danial said. Then he saw Prime's neck twisting beyond normal human ability's and screamed. Prime's head snapped back ├óÔé¼┼ôWhat?├óÔé¼┬Ø she asked. ├óÔé¼┼ôDanial!├óÔé¼┬Ø Danial's father shouted ├óÔé¼┼ôDon't talk to strangers├óÔé¼┬Ø.

Prime stood up turning to face the man. ├óÔé¼┼ôOh god!├óÔé¼┬Ø he shouted ├óÔé¼┼ôGet some clothes! And get away from my son!├óÔé¼┬Ø. Prime did so, running away, wondering why they always reacted badly. The man picked up Danial ├óÔé¼┼ôDid she hurt you?├óÔé¼┬Ø he asked. ├óÔé¼┼ôNo├óÔé¼┬Ø Danial said ├óÔé¼┼ôShe was nice, actually├óÔé¼┬Ø. ├óÔé¼┼ôRemember even strangers can SEEM nice├óÔé¼┬Ø his father said ├óÔé¼┼ôNow lets go home├óÔé¼┬Ø.

Prime walked through the jungle and heard something. She ducked into the underbrush, feeling the two minds of ├óÔé¼┼ôadolescents├óÔé¼┬Ø as the police officer called them, and ├óÔé¼┼ôteenagers├óÔé¼┬Ø as Julia called them. Prime wondered what they were doing, and experimental reached out with her mind. The man of the man/woman pair was holding the woman's breasts. Prime wondered what this accomplished. Humans seemed to do many things that didn't accomplish anything.

Then she understood, a memory of Julia's floating to the surface. Human sexual intercourse, unlike mitosis, was impractical and inefficient. Prime then felt the pleasure coming off of both humans and understood why such a process would be kept. She looked through the underbrush and found new details on the human body, and finally fleshed out her new body. Now she needed to find some clothes.

Prime crept around the clearing that the two humans had used and found the woman's clothes in a pile behind the tree they were using for support. She slid the cloths on, using the countless memory's of Julia's, and found it to be easier then it looked. She zipped the back of her new clothes on and stood, feeling more...relaxed now that she blended in with humankind. The two humans seemed to have reached a climax and were getting louder.

Prime felt a creature, a quadrupedal carnivorous animal, creep slowly up to the mating humans. Prime knew it would probably kill either one or both of them and thought about what she should do. She had some memory's of Julia and the police officer about heroism. An odd concept, but one that Prime could understand. Often times her spice's had to sacrifice some to save many, but the humans got it backwards. One doesn't CHOSE to be sacrifice, one is CHOSEN to be sacrificed.

One of the humans screamed as the creature moved into the clearing. The woman, turning to run to the cloth's pile, were her gun was stashed. Her boyfriend was grabbing for a branch when the creature leaped for them. Prime jumped and landed, hard, on the back of the creature. Its backbone broke with a wet snap and Prime shoved her forearm blade into the thing's neck. IT died, but not before Prime could reach into its mind and find some new emotions.

The emotions and memory's of the creature were short, violent and...bright. Pleasure, pain, hunger, terror. All of these emotions were crammed into an incredibly short life, and now its life was over. Prime snapped her blade back into her arm and looked at the naked humans. The man dropped the stick he had grabbed and gaped at Prime. ├óÔé¼┼ôThanks├óÔé¼┬Ø he said. Prime smiled, then heard some siren's. She turned and fled. The woman looked at her body friend. ├óÔé¼┼ôI think those were my clothes├óÔé¼┬Ø she said.

The chancellor of the colony, Rick O'Toole, rubbed his temples. ├óÔé¼┼ôSo├óÔé¼┬Ø he said ├óÔé¼┼ôWhat is it?├óÔé¼┬Ø. ├óÔé¼┼ôShe├óÔé¼┬Ø the police officer said ├óÔé¼┼ôIts definitely a her├óÔé¼┬Ø. Rick nodded ├óÔé¼┼ôSo what is she?├óÔé¼┬Ø. ├óÔé¼┼ôI don't know├óÔé¼┬Ø the officer said ├óÔé¼┼ôBut she is dangerous. Bullets only seem to slow her down. She killed four other officers in a few seconds. Barehanded├óÔé¼┬Ø.

├óÔé¼┼ôWith her...blades├óÔé¼┬Ø Rick said, looking at the picture his aid had printed out for him. ├óÔé¼┼ôYes├óÔé¼┬Ø the officer said. His leg was propped up, bound in a cast and he grinned. His friends had all singed it. ├óÔé¼┼ôSo├óÔé¼┬Ø Rick said ├óÔé¼┼ôWhat dose she want?├óÔé¼┬Ø. ├óÔé¼┼ôShe said something about...wanting to experience├óÔé¼┬Ø the officer said ├óÔé¼┼ôAnd I don't know what she meant by that├óÔé¼┬Ø. ├óÔé¼┼ôWell├óÔé¼┬Ø Rick said ├óÔé¼┼ôIts obvious. She wants to experience new things. She killed those people because it was new. She tasted your blood because its new├óÔé¼┬Ø.

The chancellor's aid walked into the room and handed him a new data slate. ├óÔé¼┼ôWhats that?├óÔé¼┬Ø the officer asked. ├óÔé¼┼ôNew reports about the alien├óÔé¼┬Ø Rick said ├óÔé¼┼ôAnd you can leave now├óÔé¼┬Ø. The police officer nodded and wheeled his wheelchair out of the room. Rick sighed and picked up his phone. ├óÔé¼┼ôUhh Cmd. Hudson├óÔé¼┬Ø he said ├óÔé¼┼ôwe need to put some warnings up├óÔé¼┬Ø.

Prime walked through the streets of the colony, looking around. There were four towers, made of metal and plastic, that towered above her. The middle of the colony was a park, and at the corners of the park were the towers. The rest of the colony was split between those towers, including some factory's and houses. Prime, noticing it was getting darker, even with the Shroud covering the sky, moved to a part of the city that was still brightly lit.

She walked into the area, seeing neon signs that proclaimed things like ├óÔé¼┼ôSex, Sex, Sex├óÔé¼┬Ø and ├óÔé¼┼ôGirls, Girls, Girls├óÔé¼┬Ø. Like any big city, the colony had grown a red light district. Prime found herself getting some looks from the people walking through the sparsely populated streets. One man called her a ├óÔé¼┼ôbabe├óÔé¼┬Ø, and gestured to his crotch. Prime ignored him, looking down ally ways and seeing people selling things to other people.

She got a lot of memory's from the police officer, all of them bad, about this area. She knew it was criminal, and sinful and should be whipped out. But she didn't know any of the reasons. ├óÔé¼┼ôHey, baby!├óÔé¼┬Ø the man who had called to her said, walking up behind her ├óÔé¼┼ôYou want some action?├óÔé¼┬Ø. Prime had no idea what he was talking about, so she ignored him and kept walking. The man followed her ├óÔé¼┼ôDon't you get my drift?├óÔé¼┬Ø he asked ├óÔé¼┼ôAre you retro or something?├óÔé¼┬Ø.

Prime looked at him ├óÔé¼┼ôWhat do you want?├óÔé¼┬Ø she asked. ├óÔé¼┼ôWhats with the accent, baby?├óÔé¼┬Ø the man asked ├óÔé¼┼ôYou not one of those...aliens are you?├óÔé¼┬Ø he grinned, apparently amused at his own joke. ├óÔé¼┼ôNo├óÔé¼┬Ø Prime said ├óÔé¼┼ôBut why do you call me...baby?├óÔé¼┬Ø she asked. ├óÔé¼┼ôWell its just my way of showing appreciation for your...assets├óÔé¼┬Ø the man grinned. Prime stopped and looked at him ├óÔé¼┼ôAssets?├óÔé¼┬Ø she asked.

The man grinned ├óÔé¼┼ôIf you want I could show you├óÔé¼┬Ø he said. Prime, not liking his behaviors, reached out and touched his mind with hers. ├óÔé¼┼ôYou want to have sexual intercourse├óÔé¼┬Ø she said. The man looked at her, frowning ├óÔé¼┼ôI suppose thats one way to put it├óÔé¼┬Ø. ├óÔé¼┼ôSorry├óÔé¼┬Ø Prime said ├óÔé¼┼ôBut I need...more├óÔé¼┬Ø she thought of her own body. It looked human but her anatomy was missing many parts humans had. ├óÔé¼┼ôExperience├óÔé¼┬Ø she settled on finally. ├óÔé¼┼ôYou can learn as you go├óÔé¼┬Ø The man said, stepping close.

├óÔé¼┼ôNo├óÔé¼┬Ø Prime said, stepping back ├óÔé¼┼ôI don't want to├óÔé¼┬Ø. The man advanced, his face angry, ├óÔé¼┼ôI don't take no for an answer├óÔé¼┬Ø he said. Prime shoved her forearm blade into his sternum, ripping the sleeve of her shirt's left arm. The man gaped as blood started to flow down his sternum. A scream rent the air as someone saw the blade suddenly sprouting from the back of the man. Prime slid her forearm blade back into her arm and licked blood off her fingers. She let the corpse fall to the ground and resumed her walk. A man stepped in front of her, pulling out a pistol. ├óÔé¼┼ôListen lady!├óÔé¼┬Ø he shouted ├óÔé¼┼ôI'm a cop├óÔé¼┬Ø. Prime stopped, cocking her head in uprise ├óÔé¼┼ôWhy are you angry?├óÔé¼┬Ø she asked.

├óÔé¼┼ôListen├óÔé¼┬Ø The police officer said ├óÔé¼┼ôYou just killed a man in cold blood and your asking me why I am angry?!├óÔé¼┬Ø. Prime frowned ├óÔé¼┼ôHe was propositioning me against my will├óÔé¼┬Ø. ├óÔé¼┼ôWhat?├óÔé¼┬Ø The officer said ├óÔé¼┼ôYou killed him because he wouldn't stop asking you to go with him?├óÔé¼┬Ø. ├óÔé¼┼ôWhy would I not?├óÔé¼┬Ø Prime asked. ├óÔé¼┼ôListen├óÔé¼┬Ø the officer said ├óÔé¼┼ôWe are going to arrest you and your going to jail. Then we can have a fucking philosophy discussion.├óÔé¼┬Ø

Prime looked at the ground and though. ├óÔé¼┼ôPromise├óÔé¼┬Ø she said. ├óÔé¼┼ôWhat?├óÔé¼┬Ø the officer asked. ├óÔé¼┼ôPromise you will have this...discussion and I will go peacefully├óÔé¼┬Ø. The officer lowered his pistol ├óÔé¼┼ôYes├óÔé¼┬Ø he said ├óÔé¼┼ôI promise├óÔé¼┬Ø. Prime nodded and held out her wrists ├óÔé¼┼ôCuff me├óÔé¼┬Ø She said. ├óÔé¼┼ôNever thought I would hear that├óÔé¼┬Ø the officer said, pulling out his hand cuffs. Then he saw the man on the ground and a flicker of recognition flashed over his face.

Prime felt the cuffs experimental and grinned. She could easily break them, but she would go along. After all this was a new experiences. ├óÔé¼┼ôThis is Rufus Valentine!├óÔé¼┬Ø The officer knelt down to the dead man. ├óÔé¼┼ôWho?├óÔé¼┬Ø Prime asked. ├óÔé¼┼ôHe's a drug lord. We've been trying to pin him down for years, before the thaw even!├óÔé¼┬Ø the officer said. ├óÔé¼┼ôDo I get a├óÔé¼┬Ø Prime asked, remembering something from the police officer ├óÔé¼┼ôA reward?├óÔé¼┬Ø.

So the Prime is no longer evil as such, just doesnt understand 'good' and 'bad'?

I would seem that way

I hope she dosen't go balistic and whipes out the colony. :/

And also, what is Liz buying time for? What do they need?

The Rodger Young is bigger AND shootier then the Enterprise.

I think buying time to think of some way to blow them up would be the best way to think about it.

The Enterprise entered the asteroid field running on silent. They were drifting slightly, and the light bounce off of their hull was practically zero. The only way the Rodger Young could find them would be if they ran a laser directly over their hull in exactly the right angle. Liz chewed her finger nails, looking at the hologram representing the battlefield and the asteroid belt. The Rodger Young had also gone silent.

├óÔé¼┼ôNow its a sub game├óÔé¼┬Ø Liz said. ├óÔé¼┼ôWhat?├óÔé¼┬Ø Gideon whispered. ├óÔé¼┼ôIn the second World War there were submarines that located the enemy with the use of sound. Now we use lasers, radar, gamma ray detectors, radiological scans and other interesting device's├óÔé¼┬Ø Liz said ├óÔé¼┼ôBut we still whisper. Even though sounds has next to nothing to do with it├óÔé¼┬Ø. Gideon grinned ├óÔé¼┼ôWell├óÔé¼┬Ø he said, not whispering anymore, ├óÔé¼┼ôI suppose we should talk normal├óÔé¼┬Ø.

A proximity alarm started. ├óÔé¼┼ôShit├óÔé¼┬Ø Gideon snapped ├óÔé¼┼ôAn asteroid ahead of us has exploded├óÔé¼┬Ø. ├óÔé¼┼ôFuck├óÔé¼┬Ø Liz snapped ├óÔé¼┼ôThey fired a silent shot, using a rail gun rather then a reaction gun, and blew an asteroid apart. Trying to get us to move├óÔé¼┬Ø. ├óÔé¼┼ôShould we?├óÔé¼┬Ø Gideon asked, his hand drifting to his control panel. ├óÔé¼┼ôNO!├óÔé¼┬Ø Liz snapped ├óÔé¼┼ôGet Killigan and Kalvin up here and start trying to find the trajectory of the shot that blew that asteroid├óÔé¼┬Ø.

Gideon nodded ├óÔé¼┼ôYes sir├óÔé¼┬Ø he said, his fingers flying over the keyboard. The hologram started to spin, drawing lines from the asteroid to possible trajectory's. Kalvin and Killigan arrive. ├óÔé¼┼ôWhat is it?├óÔé¼┬Ø Kalvin asked. ├óÔé¼┼ôBe ready to fire all guns on the trajectory we specify├óÔé¼┬Ø Liz snapped. Kalvin nodded and strapped into his chair. ├óÔé¼┼ôGot three possible one's├óÔé¼┬Ø Gideon said. ├óÔé¼┼ôFire at all three when I say├óÔé¼┬Ø Liz said, looking at the hologram. Kalvin and Killigan tensed over their keyboard, ready to go.

├óÔé¼┼ôwait for it├óÔé¼┬Ø Liz said ├óÔé¼┼ôWait for it├óÔé¼┬Ø.

├óÔé¼┼ôWait for it├óÔé¼┬Ø Donahue said ├óÔé¼┼ôWait for it├óÔé¼┬Ø. Amber blinked, feeling the needles in her eye's uncomfortably. ├óÔé¼┼ôNOW!├óÔé¼┬Ø Donahue said, looking at her hologram. ├óÔé¼┼ôNOW!├óÔé¼┬Ø Shouted Liz. The two ships fired at once, shells ramming into each other and exploding violently. Liz shouted to Kalvin ├óÔé¼┼ôPD GUNS NOW!├óÔé¼┬Ø she shouted. The two ships threw up flack clouds and battle started. After a few minute it was apparent that the Rodger Young would win.

The Enterprise was slowly dying, its PD guns getting blow apart by well aimed shoot from the Rodger Young. ├óÔé¼┼ôDamn it├óÔé¼┬Ø Liz shouted ├óÔé¼┼ôAim our nose straight at the Rodger Young├óÔé¼┬Ø she said. ├óÔé¼┼ôThe Rodger Young is moving to face us├óÔé¼┬Ø Amber said ├óÔé¼┼ôPossible intent to ram├óÔé¼┬Ø. ├óÔé¼┼ôNo├óÔé¼┬Ø Donahue said ├óÔé¼┼ôThats impossible. She wouldn't strand everyone in this system. Not even SHE is that crazy├óÔé¼┬Ø.

├óÔé¼┼ôRamming Speed├óÔé¼┬Ø Liz said ├óÔé¼┼ôAbandon ship├óÔé¼┬Ø. Gideon gulped and pressed the abandon ship switch. A klaxon started to flare, and the crew dropped what they were doing and ran to the escape pods. Liz looked over her bridge crew ├óÔé¼┼ôI know that I'm no captain├óÔé¼┬Ø she said ├óÔé¼┼ôAnd that we are really just a bunch of colonists and pirates playing at being a crew├óÔé¼┬Ø.

Gideon grinned at that. ├óÔé¼┼ôBut you still are the best damn crew I've ever served with├óÔé¼┬Ø Liz said ├óÔé¼┼ôAnd this is one fine ship├óÔé¼┬Ø. Killigan grinned, looking at Kalvin, who just frowned. ├óÔé¼┼ôNow...lets go home├óÔé¼┬Ø. She turned away and started to float to the door. Her bridge crew followed her. ├óÔé¼┼ôShe wouldn't├óÔé¼┬Ø Donahue said. ├óÔé¼┼ôShe would├óÔé¼┬Ø Amber said, pulling the needles out of her eyes and strapping into her wheelchair.

├óÔé¼┼ôWe should really abandon ship├óÔé¼┬Ø Amber said. Donahue grabbed her P.A mic, looking at the other members of her bridge crew ├óÔé¼┼ôAll hands...abandon ship├óÔé¼┬Ø she said. Tapp grimaced, still wishing they had enough pain killers to go around ├óÔé¼┼ôAll right men├óÔé¼┬Ø she said to the surviving members of her work force ├óÔé¼┼ôlets go├óÔé¼┬Ø. She started to walk down the hall, wincing as every vibration caused her arm to spike in agony.

The Enterprise's A/M engine flared to life, escape pods blasting out of its skin and flying towards the nearest habitable planet, Darkside. The Rodger Young's forward guns kept firing, ripping into the ice armor of the Enterprise, even as its escape pods fire off too. The entire surviving crew of the Enterprise escaped, all three thousand four hundred Navy officers. The crew of the Rodger Young was less lucky.

The Enterprise plowed into the ice armor of the Rodger Young, shattering it into millions of price's. The explosions from ammo dumps started, making the meeting point of both ships look like a wall of fire. The decks of the Rodger Young crumpled under the brute impact, and the Enterprise started to split down the middle. The vacuum around the two ships filled with O2 as the ships were rent asunder. Flames sparked all over both ships lit the smoke with a hazy red glow.

Then the antimatter in the fuel reserves went off and two suns lit the asteroid field. Escape pods that had not gotten far enough away were irradiated with deadly radiation or blasted apart by the sheer fury of the antimatter explosion. The ships continued to smash together, what was left of them crumpling together in a massive jumble of rock and metal. The battle for Darkside had ended in one way, and begun in another.

The escape pods hammered into the Shroud, many of them entering improperly, and burning up in the atmosphere. The survivors of the Enterprise lost five hundred people due to botched landings. The Rodger Young's escape pods were better made, and thus none of them burned up in the atmosphere. But the colony had more troubles then a rain of enemy's and friends.

├óÔé¼┼ôI'm getting mixed messages, here Daniel├óÔé¼┬Ø Rick said, looking over her desk. Daniel Colby, head xeno-biologist of the colony, was standing nervously on the other side of Rick's desk. ├óÔé¼┼ôSee is this alien good...bad...what?├óÔé¼┬Ø. Daniel frowned ├óÔé¼┼ôI'm going to need more study├óÔé¼┬Ø he said ├óÔé¼┼ôWe only know that its from a different planet and that its insanely dangerous. I think i definitely need more study├óÔé¼┬Ø. ├óÔé¼┼ôStudy as in?├óÔé¼┬Ø Rick asked.

Prime sat in her jail cell and looked through the bars. He had still not shown up, the police man who had promised her a dissuasion. She sighed and looked at her clothes. She noticed how humans seemed to make clothes less for practicality and more for accentuating what that horrible man had called ├óÔé¼┼ôAssets├óÔé¼┬Ø.

Then she heard someone approach and immideatly sat up. A man, wearing a white smock and holding a flat piece of plastic, looked in on the cell. ├óÔé¼┼ôHello├óÔé¼┬Ø Prime said. ├óÔé¼┼ôHi!├óÔé¼┬Ø the man said ├óÔé¼┼ôDo you mind if i come in?├óÔé¼┬Ø. Prime cocked her head ├óÔé¼┼ôWhy would you need my permission? This is a jail cell├óÔé¼┬Ø. The man nodded ├óÔé¼┼ôI'll take that as a yes├óÔé¼┬Ø he said, opening the door by pressing his thumb against a button obscured from Prime's view by a wall.

The door slid open and the man walked into the cell ├óÔé¼┼ôHello├óÔé¼┬Ø he said ├óÔé¼┼ôI am Daniel├óÔé¼┬Ø he reached out his hand. ├óÔé¼┼ôI met someone else named Daniel├óÔé¼┬Ø Prime said ├óÔé¼┼ôDon't you get confused?├óÔé¼┬Ø. ├óÔé¼┼ôWell we have two names, a first name and a last name. My last name is Colby. His last name is different, so i am Daniel Colby and he is Daniel...whatever his last name is├óÔé¼┬Ø Daniel grinned. Prime nodded, looking at his hand. ├óÔé¼┼ôWhat is that for?├óÔé¼┬Ø she asked.

├óÔé¼┼ôOh right├óÔé¼┬Ø Daniel said, dropping his hand ├óÔé¼┼ôI am here because I'm one of the best xeno-biologists in the colony├óÔé¼┬Ø. ├óÔé¼┼ôOkay├óÔé¼┬Ø Prime said ├óÔé¼┼ôWhat do you want?├óÔé¼┬Ø. ├óÔé¼┼ôWell I want to find out what you are, and...why you look like us├óÔé¼┬Ø Daniel said, reaching for something in his pocket. ├óÔé¼┼ôWell├óÔé¼┬Ø Prime said ├óÔé¼┼ôI...I don't really remember what I am├óÔé¼┬Ø she frowned ├óÔé¼┼ôBut I know I am the first. I am Prime├óÔé¼┬Ø. ├óÔé¼┼ôHence your name├óÔé¼┬Ø Daniel said.

Prime nodded. Daniel seemed to be the best human she had met yet. ├óÔé¼┼ôSo, why do you look like a human?├óÔé¼┬Ø Daniel asked. ├óÔé¼┼ôBecause├óÔé¼┬Ø Prime said ├óÔé¼┼ôI know that my spice's adapts to the situation. And this situation called for this form, as it seemed to be a good choice to blend in├óÔé¼┬Ø. ├óÔé¼┼ôSo├óÔé¼┬Ø Daniel said quietly, writing on his data slate with a stylus ├óÔé¼┼ôInstinctive camouflage...fascinating├óÔé¼┬Ø. ├óÔé¼┼ôReally?├óÔé¼┬Ø Prime asked. ├óÔé¼┼ôYes├óÔé¼┬Ø Daniel said ├óÔé¼┼ôNow...why did you kill those people?├óÔé¼┬Ø.

├óÔé¼┼ôWhy should I not?├óÔé¼┬Ø Prime asked. This was something that was confusing her, the objection to killing something. She knew that loosing part of her body didn't trouble her in the least, so why should losing a human hurt humankind. Daniel frowned ├óÔé¼┼ôBecause...├óÔé¼┬Ø he trailed off ├óÔé¼┼ôYour unique, right?├óÔé¼┬Ø he said. Prime thought about it ├óÔé¼┼ôI believe so├óÔé¼┬Ø she said ├óÔé¼┼ôThe first is always unique├óÔé¼┬Ø.

├óÔé¼┼ôSee each human is like you. Unique├óÔé¼┬Ø Daniel said ├óÔé¼┼ôNow├óÔé¼┬Ø he looked at his data slate ├óÔé¼┼ôYou have been reported to want to experience new things. Could you tell us exactly what you mean by that?├óÔé¼┬Ø. Prime frowned ├óÔé¼┼ôI want to live├óÔé¼┬Ø She said. ├óÔé¼┼ôDon't we all├óÔé¼┬Ø Daniel said, more to himself ├óÔé¼┼ôBut what dose that have to do with experience's?├óÔé¼┬Ø. Prime thought about it for a moment, trying to explain something she only understood on a instinctual level.

├óÔé¼┼ôI change with my environments├óÔé¼┬Ø Prime said ├óÔé¼┼ôBut if I stop changing and become perfected then...I will├óÔé¼┬Ø she searched for the words ├óÔé¼┼ôgo back to the beginning├óÔé¼┬Ø She said, frustrated at her limited vocabulary. ├óÔé¼┼ôGo back?├óÔé¼┬Ø Daniel asked, wondering what the hell that meant. ├óÔé¼┼ôWell├óÔé¼┬Ø Prime said ├óÔé¼┼ôYou started at the beginning, when you were...started├óÔé¼┬Ø. ├óÔé¼┼ôCreated?├óÔé¼┬Ø Daniel offered. ├óÔé¼┼ôYes├óÔé¼┬Ø Prime nodded.

Daniel nodded, trying to grasp what Prime was saying. ├óÔé¼┼ôIf I stop changing to my environment then I go back...back to my creation├óÔé¼┬Ø Prime said ├óÔé¼┼ôAnd I don't want to die├óÔé¼┬Ø. Daniel, looking at this creature sitting in the cell, had to force himself to remember it had killed seven people and left a eight in a catatonic state. ├óÔé¼┼ôWell├óÔé¼┬Ø Daniel said, standing ├óÔé¼┼ôDo you want to come with me. I'd like to run a few tests on your body├óÔé¼┬Ø. ├óÔé¼┼ôTests?├óÔé¼┬Ø Prime asked.

├óÔé¼┼ôIf i understand your biology better then mabey├óÔé¼┬Ø Daniel said ├óÔé¼┼ôWe can solve your problem├óÔé¼┬Ø. Prime brightened ├óÔé¼┼ôMabey├óÔé¼┬Ø she said, standing ├óÔé¼┼ôMabey├óÔé¼┬Ø. Daniel walked her down the corridor to the lab he had set up. First he took some skin samples off of Prime. ├óÔé¼┼ôthis might hurt a little├óÔé¼┬Ø he said, wishing he could use something other then a police scanner. The police scanner was made for I.Ding perps on site, and was not designed to be comfortable or noninvasive.

He placed the flat end on Prime's bare arm, after having her roll the sleave up, and pulled the trigger. A laser sharpened, sterile blade nicked off a very thin pice of Prime's skin. She winced, putting her hand over the wound. Daniel looked at the sample. The skin dissolved into black grit. ├óÔé¼┼ôWhat the├óÔé¼┬Ø He muttered ├óÔé¼┼ôWhat is this?├óÔé¼┬Ø. ├óÔé¼┼ôIts my base parts├óÔé¼┬Ø Prime said. ├óÔé¼┼ôIt seems to be a collection├óÔé¼┬Ø Daniel said, peering through his microscope ├óÔé¼┼ôof microbes. Very uninteresting├óÔé¼┬Ø.

├óÔé¼┼ôUninteresting?├óÔé¼┬Ø Prime asked ├óÔé¼┼ôHow could I be uninteresting├óÔé¼┬Ø. Daniel grinned, looking up at Prime ├óÔé¼┼ôWas that a joke?├óÔé¼┬Ø he asked. ├óÔé¼┼ôJoke?├óÔé¼┬Ø Prime asked. ├óÔé¼┼ôNever mind├óÔé¼┬Ø Daniel said ├óÔé¼┼ôDo you have any idea on how these uncomplicated, uninteresting and all around normal microbes can evolve├óÔé¼┬Ø. ├óÔé¼┼ôNo├óÔé¼┬Ø Prime said ├óÔé¼┼ôBut if you changed the environment around those microbes they would grow and evolve├óÔé¼┬Ø.

├óÔé¼┼ôHmm├óÔé¼┬Ø Daniel murmured, grabbing some tools ├óÔé¼┼ôSo your entirely made up of these things?├óÔé¼┬Ø. ├óÔé¼┼ôWell I have them formed in an appropriation of human anatomy├óÔé¼┬Ø Prime said ├óÔé¼┼ôBut its mostly surface looks├óÔé¼┬Ø She unbuttoned her shirt ├óÔé¼┼ôSee├óÔé¼┬Ø. Daniel looked away ├óÔé¼┼ôIn polite society├óÔé¼┬Ø he said, looking at his feet ├óÔé¼┼ôwe don't take our clothes off under normal circumstance's├óÔé¼┬Ø. Prime shrugged and re-buttoned her shirt ├óÔé¼┼ôVery well├óÔé¼┬Ø.

├óÔé¼┼ôNow├óÔé¼┬Ø Daniel said, looking back at Prime ├óÔé¼┼ôLets see how complete your anatomy is├óÔé¼┬Ø. Prime laid down in the X-ray scanner ├óÔé¼┼ôWhat is this?├óÔé¼┬Ø She asked. ├óÔé¼┼ôThis is an X-ray scanner├óÔé¼┬Ø Daniel asked ├óÔé¼┼ôIt will send X-rays through your body to pick up on what is dense what is not, that sort of thing├óÔé¼┬Ø. He flicked it on. Prime screamed, shoving herself out of the device, spines shooting out of her back. ├óÔé¼┼ôWhat! What?├óÔé¼┬Ø Daniel shouted. Prime backed away from the device, her skin rippling ├óÔé¼┼ôHurt├óÔé¼┬Ø she moaned. ├óÔé¼┼ôSorry├óÔé¼┬Ø Daniel said ├óÔé¼┼ôI didn't know X-rays would...effect you so much├óÔé¼┬Ø.

Prime stayed in that non-responsive state for a half hour. Daniel, after trying unsuccessfully to get her to say something, decided to see what he got with his very shot X-ray burst. He got a foggy outline of a woman, but it was clear through the through. That is the X-rays were stopped equally, with each part of Prime's body being equally...opaque.

├óÔé¼┼ôDaniel├óÔé¼┬Ø Prime said. Daniel looked at her, getting up. Her skin was darker, less pale now and she seemed to be a little inflexible. ├óÔé¼┼ôAre you all right?├óÔé¼┬Ø Daniel asked. ├óÔé¼┼ôYes├óÔé¼┬Ø Prime said ├óÔé¼┼ôI needed time to adapt├óÔé¼┬Ø. ├óÔé¼┼ôI'm sorry├óÔé¼┬Ø Daniel said, realizing his idiotic mistake ├óÔé¼┼ôI'm a moron├óÔé¼┬Ø. Prime shivered ├óÔé¼┼ôCan I go back to my cell├óÔé¼┬Ø She asked ├óÔé¼┼ôI don't really want to do any more tests for today├óÔé¼┬Ø. ├óÔé¼┼ôThats all right├óÔé¼┬Ø Daniel said ├óÔé¼┼ôYou don't need to do anymore tests├óÔé¼┬Ø.

The border patrol, now beefed up to full alert, watched the sky's. The rudimentary detection systems easily picked up the A/M explosion in the asteroid belt. Hell the naked eye saw that. But the main worry was from the escape pods that were dropping through the Shroud daily. Squads policed the jungles, picking up the escape pods that landed. Sometimes they had to shoot first, the enemy coming out with guns and ammo. Losses were racked up on both sides.

Tapp shouldered her way through the jungle ├óÔé¼┼ôBut what I don't get is why the hell would ANYONE├óÔé¼┬Ø She said to Tipp ├óÔé¼┼ôChose to live on this dirt ball of a rock├óÔé¼┬Ø. ├óÔé¼┼ôWe chose to join the army├óÔé¼┬Ø Her brother said, using a survival knife found in the escape pod to hack through the underbrush. ├óÔé¼┼ôYeah, but we had a reason for that├óÔé¼┬Ø Tapp said ├óÔé¼┼ôA fucking reason├óÔé¼┬Ø her arm was still in pain, but the escape pod had some painkiller and because no one else in their three man, or two man and one woman, group needed it, Tapp finally got it.

Michal hacked through the underbrush to the side, stopped. ├óÔé¼┼ôWhat you stopping for?├óÔé¼┬Ø Tapp asked. Then she saw the gun barrel pointing out of the underbrush at his face. ├óÔé¼┼ôDrop your weapons!├óÔé¼┬Ø A voice called out as border patrol members climbed out of the underbrush, rifles at the ready. Tapp dropped her gun. Tipp and Michal dropped their knifes. ├óÔé¼┼ôNow!├óÔé¼┬Ø the leader of the border patrol ├óÔé¼┼ôWhat ship did you serve on?├óÔé¼┬Ø

├óÔé¼┼ôThe Rodger├óÔé¼┬Ø Tipp started to say. Tapp elbowed him ├óÔé¼┼ôEnterprise├óÔé¼┬Ø she said ├óÔé¼┼ôWe served on the Enterprise├óÔé¼┬Ø. ├óÔé¼┼ôPull the other one├óÔé¼┬Ø The leader of the patrol said. ├óÔé¼┼ôEh?├óÔé¼┬Ø Tipp said. ├óÔé¼┼ôNever mind, just put your hands up├óÔé¼┬Ø the man said.

Liz kicked her escape pod open, swearing. Water poured in after it and Liz clambered out of the pod as fast as she could before it sank below the water. The edge of the door frame caught her foot, dragging her down, but Liz managed to jerk her way out before running out of air and burst at the surface of the lake. She swam to shore, swearing every time her head slipped below the water.

Liz clambered onto the shore lake, pulling out her pistol. She didn't know who was in control, who was in command and who was around her. After years of knowing who was who and what was what, it was incredibly irritating and frighting to learn that she was now in the unknown. Then she heard the buzzing of flies. Alien flies the size of tea cups, but they were familiar enough to send a shiver down her spine.

Liz found the corpse, a man, and winced. It had been dead for days, face shriveled and in pain. The corpse was slowly decomposing, and half its right leg had been eaten by carnivores. But the striking, and obvious, cause of death was a massive hole through his guy, punched their by some weapon obviously. Liz looked at the hole, trying to identify the weapon used. It might have been a heavy projectile weapon.

Then she spotted the black grit. Surrounding the hole in the man's chest was black grit. Liz, panic rising in her, ran her finger over the black grit and looked at it. ├óÔé¼┼ôOh fuck├óÔé¼┬Ø she muttered, rubbing her fingers together. S-02. Liz stood up, pulling out her second pistol and spotting the colony through the tree's. ├óÔé¼┼ôI've got to warn them├óÔé¼┬Ø she muttered and started to run.

Prime lay in her cell, looking up. A security camera was trained on her as she continued to stair. ├óÔé¼┼ôShe doesn't blink├óÔé¼┬Ø Rick said, looking at her through his feed. ├óÔé¼┼ôShe is not human├óÔé¼┬Ø Daniel said ├óÔé¼┼ôand I'm afraid she will die in at least three days time if we can't find some answer to-├óÔé¼┬Ø. Rick cut him off with a wave of his hand ├óÔé¼┼ôWell why didn't you say so?├óÔé¼┬Ø he asked ├óÔé¼┼ôLet her rot for those three days and we have six families that get their revenge without us having to do anything├óÔé¼┬Ø.

Daniel looked at him, shock and disgust evident on his face, ├óÔé¼┼ôYou would kill├óÔé¼┬Ø he said ├óÔé¼┼ôa woman in cold blood├óÔé¼┬Ø. ├óÔé¼┼ôShe's not human, as you yourself said├óÔé¼┬Ø Rick pointed out. ├óÔé¼┼ôThat doesn't mean she doesn't have feelings and emotions├óÔé¼┬Ø Daniel said. ├óÔé¼┼ôShe killed six people, in cold blood├óÔé¼┬Ø Rick said ├óÔé¼┼ôAnd those deaths have to be accounted for├óÔé¼┬Ø. Daniel shook his head ├óÔé¼┼ôShe...she didn't understand that what she was doing was wrong!├óÔé¼┬Ø he said, standing.

├óÔé¼┼ôDaniel├óÔé¼┬Ø Rick said ├óÔé¼┼ôShe may look pretty but-├óÔé¼┬Ø. ├óÔé¼┼ôI'm not sure I like what your suggesting├óÔé¼┬Ø Daniel said, his voice low. ├óÔé¼┼ôDaniel├óÔé¼┬Ø Rick said ├óÔé¼┼ôWe are going to let that alien bitch starve and that is that├óÔé¼┬Ø. Daniel threw his data slate over the desk to Rick. It knocked over his pencil holder, scattering them over the floor. ├óÔé¼┼ôDaniel wait!├óÔé¼┬Ø Rick said, standing. Daniel stalked out of his office, ignoring him completely.

Daniel walked into his lab, and started to type into his computer, trying to work out how to keep Prime alive. Perhaps minor variations in electrical impulses, mabey through the use of a collar. He realized that Prime would no doubt adapt to that, so he trashed it and started fresh. Realizing he still didn't have enough data to create such a device, Daniel scrapped his new idea and stood up, grabbing a blank data slate.

├óÔé¼┼ôDaniel├óÔé¼┬Ø Prime said, looking at him through the bars of her cell ├óÔé¼┼ôYou seem troubled├óÔé¼┬Ø. Daniel opened the door ├óÔé¼┼ôHow could you tell?├óÔé¼┬Ø he asked, walking into the cell. ├óÔé¼┼ôIts obvious to anyone who can touch minds├óÔé¼┬Ø Prime said, sitting up. ├óÔé¼┼ôWell├óÔé¼┬Ø Daniel said ├óÔé¼┼ôI have some questions about your ability's├óÔé¼┬Ø. ├óÔé¼┼ôWhy are you upset?├óÔé¼┬Ø Prime asked. ├óÔé¼┼ôIts nothing├óÔé¼┬Ø Daniel said ├óÔé¼┼ôNow about-├óÔé¼┬Ø. Prime turned to face him, swinging her legs over the side of the bed ├óÔé¼┼ôIt is something├óÔé¼┬Ø she said.

Daniel closed his eyes and wished that Prime would drop it. ├óÔé¼┼ôI'm having disagreements with the colony's administrator├óÔé¼┬Ø he said, wanting to leave it at that. ├óÔé¼┼ôOver me├óÔé¼┬Ø Prime said, either guessing or plucking it from his surface thoughts. ├óÔé¼┼ôYes├óÔé¼┬Ø Daniel sighed ├óÔé¼┼ôHe wants to well..he wants to let you die├óÔé¼┬Ø. Prime stood ├óÔé¼┼ôI will explain to him├óÔé¼┬Ø she said. ├óÔé¼┼ôNo├óÔé¼┬Ø Daniel said ├óÔé¼┼ôHe won't listen├óÔé¼┬Ø. Prime looked at him, slowly sitting down. ├óÔé¼┼ôNow if I can find out more about how you work├óÔé¼┬Ø Daniel said ├óÔé¼┼ôWe can try and keep you alive├óÔé¼┬Ø.

Prime nodded ├óÔé¼┼ôVery well├óÔé¼┬Ø she said. ├óÔé¼┼ôYou have the ability to shape shift, correct?├óÔé¼┬Ø Daniel asked. ├óÔé¼┼ôI believe that is the human word for it├óÔé¼┬Ø Prime said ├óÔé¼┼ôI will demonstrate├óÔé¼┬Ø. She concentrated, trying to alter the imitation pigments on her imitation skin. After a moment it darkened, turned black, then brightened to a deep red, then to dark purple, then back to normal. ├óÔé¼┼ôCan you do more then just skin color?├óÔé¼┬Ø Daniel asked.

├óÔé¼┼ôCertainly├óÔé¼┬Ø Prime said. She unfurled her forearm blade, snapping it out on a joint below her wrist. Daniel jumped back , away from the incredibly sharp, metal looking blade. ├óÔé¼┼ôIf you could do that then...why have it be a blade?├óÔé¼┬Ø Daniel asked, running his finger along the blade. It came away bloody, a thin cut down his finger tip ├óÔé¼┼ôWhy not shoot projectiles, or something├óÔé¼┬Ø. Prime frowned, curling the blade back into her forearm ├óÔé¼┼ôBecause when something disconnects from my body, it reverts to my base parts...like the skin sample you took├óÔé¼┬Ø.

Daniel nodded slowly ├óÔé¼┼ôI'm going to push for your release├óÔé¼┬Ø he said. ├óÔé¼┼ôWhy?├óÔé¼┬Ø Prime asked. Daniel smiled ├óÔé¼┼ôBecause I, as a doctor, have always believed that everyone has a right to exist. Crimes can be atoned for, and nothing, no matter how horrible, justifies taking another life├óÔé¼┬Ø. Prime thought about that as Daniel walked out of the room.

├óÔé¼┼ôYou want to keep IT alive?├óÔé¼┬Ø Rick said, jaw hanging open. It almost looked comical. ├óÔé¼┼ôYes├óÔé¼┬Ø Daniel said ├óÔé¼┼ôI think there is a lot of things we can learn from this alien, this extraterrestrial, and would you kill the most...amazing life form in the universe because it didn't understand the difference between right and wrong?├óÔé¼┬Ø. Rick shook his head ├óÔé¼┼ôI don't see what is so 'amazing' about this life form. God made man. Who made this thing?├óÔé¼┬Ø.

├óÔé¼┼ôDon't resort to rhetoric├óÔé¼┬Ø Daniel groaned ├óÔé¼┼ôThis is a scientific argument, not a theological one├óÔé¼┬Ø. Rick snorted ├óÔé¼┼ôTry explaining that to ninety three percent of the colony├óÔé¼┬Ø. He almost added an 'including me', but stopped himself. Daniel sighed ├óÔé¼┼ôI know├óÔé¼┬Ø he said ├óÔé¼┼ôtell the colonists we killed her. I'll take her into my protective custody. If I can't find a way to keep her alive then she will die and no trouble will come to you├óÔé¼┬Ø.

Rick chewed his lip ├óÔé¼┼ôCan you, definitively, keep her under wraps?├óÔé¼┬Ø he asked. ├óÔé¼┼ôY-Yes├óÔé¼┬Ø Daniel said, nervous that Rick had given in so easy. ├óÔé¼┼ôAre you sure?├óÔé¼┬Ø Rick said ├óÔé¼┼ôBecause I wont be able to help you if she proves to be a...threat to you├óÔé¼┬Ø. Daniel nodded ├óÔé¼┼ôI can study her and teach her├óÔé¼┬Ø he said. ├óÔé¼┼ôI'm going to assize a full contingent of security guards to your house, round the clock. You wont be able to go out for the first three days├óÔé¼┬Ø.

├óÔé¼┼ôTomorrow is Sunday├óÔé¼┬Ø Daniel said. ├óÔé¼┼ôI thought this was a...scientific debate├óÔé¼┬Ø Rick said, grinning viciously ├óÔé¼┼ôNot a theological discussion├óÔé¼┬Ø. Daniel frowned, picking up the data slat he had left their earlier and left. Rick frowned, grabbing a walky talky and clicking it on ├óÔé¼┼ôH.Q├óÔé¼┬Ø Rick said ├óÔé¼┼ôthis is O'Toole. I need to send twenty five men to Daniel Colby's house. If anything, even the good doctor, comes out of the house, nuke it├óÔé¼┬Ø.

Daniel stopped before arriving at his house, grabbing grocery's and supplies to keep him and Prime alive, and stopped his transit at his house. He led Prime out. She was covered in a trench coat and masked by multiple security guards. Daniel gulped, wondering if his crazy idea would work. It ran along simple lines. If Prime was a shape shifter and could control her body to the degree that she had shown, then If he could teach her to keep the human form indefinitely then mabey Prime could stay in her form for as long as she wished.

Daniel kept telling himself that this was in the case for science, but he was kidding himself. He was madly attracted to Prime. Love would be to strong a word to apply to his feeling. Lust mabey, but not love. Prime walked into the house and the guards started to set up shop around his house, creating small pre-fab bunkers to sleep in for the three days. Daniel, being a xeno-biologist, had a house on the very outskirts of the city. As such the guards only attracted some watchers, all of them staring at the guards and gossiping.

Prime looked around Daniels house. She expected something like her prison cell. A bed, wall's, door and such. Instead she saw a collection of rooms, scattered at seeming random patterns. Books lined the walls of some rooms, a big black square was set in the wall of another. One room had a bed, but it was a big comfortable bed, not the simple cot like in her prison cell. Chairs, all comfortable looking, were set around a wood table. ├óÔé¼┼ôWow├óÔé¼┬Ø Prime said, pulling off her trench coat ├óÔé¼┼ôThis is amazing├óÔé¼┬Ø. ├óÔé¼┼ôReally?├óÔé¼┬Ø Daniel asked. ├óÔé¼┼ôThis room├óÔé¼┬Ø Prime said ├óÔé¼┼ôI expected something more similar to my cell├óÔé¼┬Ø. ├óÔé¼┼ôWhy?├óÔé¼┬Ø Daniel asked ├óÔé¼┼ôYour cell was designed to make its occupants uncomfortable├óÔé¼┬Ø.

├óÔé¼┼ôWhy?├óÔé¼┬Ø Prime asked. ├óÔé¼┼ôPart of the punishment that people receive from being a criminal├óÔé¼┬Ø Daniel said. ├óÔé¼┼ôThese are books├óÔé¼┬Ø Prime said, pulling three of the thickest tomes off the shelf. ├óÔé¼┼ôThe Bible├óÔé¼┬Ø she read the biggest one's title ├óÔé¼┼ôI remember this...from the other memory's I have├óÔé¼┬Ø. ├óÔé¼┼ôCan you read?├óÔé¼┬Ø Daniel asked. ├óÔé¼┼ôYes├óÔé¼┬Ø Prime said ├óÔé¼┼ôBut I might be a little slow, as I'm extrapolating from the memory's of others├óÔé¼┬Ø.

She flipped the bible open and spun the pages bellow her finger, sending them zipping along until she got to the end. ├óÔé¼┼ôDone├óÔé¼┬Ø she said. Daniel starred at her. ├óÔé¼┼ôWas it that slow?├óÔé¼┬Ø she asked, worried.

Liz slammed her fist down on the desk ├óÔé¼┼ôYou let him WHAT!├óÔé¼┬Ø she shouted at Rick O'Toole. ├óÔé¼┼ôListen, it is going to die in three days├óÔé¼┬Ø Rick said. ├óÔé¼┼ôNo It is not going to die├óÔé¼┬Ø Liz said ├óÔé¼┼ôIt is going to revert to its component parts. Those component parts will then go on to evolve uncontrollably until they cover the planet in fucking black grit├óÔé¼┬Ø Liz leaned over the desk ├óÔé¼┼ôWe need to kill that fucking thing now and no later├óÔé¼┬Ø.

├óÔé¼┼ôThat can wait for the moment├óÔé¼┬Ø Rick said ├óÔé¼┼ôWe have the highest ranking member of the Rodger Young crew that survived reentry and escape from the battle├óÔé¼┬Ø Rick said ├óÔé¼┼ôAnd she had told her crew to stand down. But we need to find a lasting solution. There are over fifteen thousand of them and they have filled our prison to breaking point. People are going to DIE if we don't billet them somewhere├óÔé¼┬Ø Rick stood, staring Liz down ├óÔé¼┼ôThey can't wait. Prime can├óÔé¼┬Ø.

Liz ground her teeth ├óÔé¼┼ôFine├óÔé¼┬Ø she said ├óÔé¼┼ôIts your fucking planet. Who is the captain of the Rodger Young?├óÔé¼┬Ø. ├óÔé¼┼ôIts not her captain├óÔé¼┬Ø Rick said ├óÔé¼┼ôShe died in orbit. You will be talking to the Xo├óÔé¼┬Ø. ├óÔé¼┼ôFine, who is the Xo?├óÔé¼┬Ø Liz asked. ├óÔé¼┼ôA woman by the name of Amberly Wishbourn├óÔé¼┬Ø Rick said, reading off a data slate. ├óÔé¼┼ôAmber!├óÔé¼┬Ø Liz spun round ├óÔé¼┼ôAmber is here...right now? Alive?├óÔé¼┬Ø. ├óÔé¼┼ôMostly├óÔé¼┬Ø Rick said ├óÔé¼┼ôShe's one level below us and waiting to negotiate with another...astronaut├óÔé¼┬Ø. Liz laughed ├óÔé¼┼ôthis is the best damn news I've had all fucking day!├óÔé¼┬Ø she said ├óÔé¼┼ôAmber is alive, and kicking from the sound of it├óÔé¼┬Ø.

Liz walked out of the stair well, wondering why the colony's tallest building had no elevator. Then she saw Amber, sitting in a chair and grumbling at something on the ground. ├óÔé¼┼ôAmber?├óÔé¼┬Ø Liz asked. Amber looked up at Liz. ├óÔé¼┼ôLiz├óÔé¼┬Ø She said ├óÔé¼┼ôHow could you?├óÔé¼┬Ø. ├óÔé¼┼ôWhat?├óÔé¼┬Ø Liz asked, somewhat dumbly. ├óÔé¼┼ôIts just something I wanted to ask for...what...five years, subjective?├óÔé¼┬Ø. ├óÔé¼┼ôFive years sounds right...ten years EST├óÔé¼┬Ø Liz said, sitting down next to Amber.

It was then she noticed the wheel's on the chair. ├óÔé¼┼ôAre you all right?├óÔé¼┬Ø she asked. ├óÔé¼┼ôMy spine was severed, roughly a year and a half ago├óÔé¼┬Ø Amber said. Liz sucked in breath ├óÔé¼┼ôOh god├óÔé¼┬Ø she said. ├óÔé¼┼ôGod?├óÔé¼┬Ø Amber asked ├óÔé¼┼ôI guess the natives are wearing on you├óÔé¼┬Ø. Liz kept staring at Amber ├óÔé¼┼ôWe need to get you back to Homeworld├óÔé¼┬Ø. ├óÔé¼┼ôMight be a while├óÔé¼┬Ø Amber said ├óÔé¼┼ôWe have no ships├óÔé¼┬Ø. Liz frowned ├óÔé¼┼ôI did what I had to├óÔé¼┬Ø she said ├óÔé¼┼ôAnd also...how could I what?├óÔé¼┬Ø.

├óÔé¼┼ôHow could you run off with the Marshall├óÔé¼┬Ø Amber asked ├óÔé¼┼ôHow could you betray the human race like that├óÔé¼┬Ø. ├óÔé¼┼ôAmber├óÔé¼┬Ø Liz said ├óÔé¼┼ôthe Government lied to you. There was no alien attack. They blew Leviathan. Humans did it, to galvanize humanity into a new vigor├óÔé¼┬Ø. Amber was silent for a moment then shrugged ├óÔé¼┼ôAh hell what dose it matter anymore? What dose anything matter?├óÔé¼┬Ø. ├óÔé¼┼ôThat might be the best question I've heard in years├óÔé¼┬Ø Liz said, leaning back in her chair ├óÔé¼┼ôCan you promise your crew will be peaceful if we let them out?├óÔé¼┬Ø. ├óÔé¼┼ôPeaceful?├óÔé¼┬Ø Amber asked ├óÔé¼┼ôThey were going stir crazy in that damn can for years. Show them the lake, the new women and men and they will go absolutely nuts├óÔé¼┬Ø. ├óÔé¼┼ôReally?├óÔé¼┬Ø Liz asked, standing and walking to a window. She looked out, over the jungles and the unclaimed lands ├óÔé¼┼ôI have a plan├óÔé¼┬Ø she turned to Amber ├óÔé¼┼ôYour crew could be a new kind of trailblazers├óÔé¼┬Ø. ├óÔé¼┼ôWhat do you mean?├óÔé¼┬Ø Amber asked.

├óÔé¼┼ôSee they could go out and build new homes out in the wilderness├óÔé¼┬Ø Liz said ├óÔé¼┼ôAnd become a new settlement, outside this one├óÔé¼┬Ø. Amber thought about it ├óÔé¼┼ôIt will keep them out of the cites hair├óÔé¼┬Ø she said ├óÔé¼┼ôI'll talk to the members of my crew and see what they think├óÔé¼┬Ø. ├óÔé¼┼ôIs this a democratic organization, in your crew?├óÔé¼┬Ø Liz asked. ├óÔé¼┼ôYeah├óÔé¼┬Ø Amber said ├óÔé¼┼ôWe're not at war any more├óÔé¼┬Ø. Liz nodded ├óÔé¼┼ôThank God for that├óÔé¼┬Ø. ├óÔé¼┼ôAmen├óÔé¼┬Ø Amber said.

Daniel looked at his clock. It was one. In the morning. He looked back at his notes and realized why the words seemed to run together. He reached over and grabbed his cup of coffee and drank it in two gulps. That helped slightly, and he could now read what he had written on his data slate. The numbers on Prime did not make sense. Her cells were normal looking. They had no unusual features, other then the fact that they were all exactly the same. Now how did that work.

Daniel looked over his shoulder at Prime, who was reading through his books at a pace only met by computers. She actually had to read slower, as when she went at full tilt the page's tore. Prime looked completely normal. She had been reading his biology textbook and informed Daniel that she had gotten human anatomy down pat. He would take her word for it, not able to really use any of his scanning devices to find out for sure.

├óÔé¼┼ôDaniel├óÔé¼┬Ø Prime said ├óÔé¼┼ôJesus was very wise├óÔé¼┬Ø. Daniel nodded absentmindedly ├óÔé¼┼ôPeople say that├óÔé¼┬Ø He said, his voice scratchy from lack of sleep. Then he looked over his shoulder ├óÔé¼┼ôWhat are you reading now?├óÔé¼┬Ø. ├óÔé¼┼ôThe bible again├óÔé¼┬Ø Prime said ├óÔé¼┼ôIts fascinating├óÔé¼┬Ø. Daniel nodded, looking back to his work. He woke up with a start next morning.

Daniel looked around. Prime was still in her chair, reading books. She was onto his fiction. ├óÔé¼┼ôThese books seem...different from your other books├óÔé¼┬Ø Prime said. ├óÔé¼┼ôThey are false story's, told in different perspectives that are meant to entertain├óÔé¼┬Ø Daniel said. ├óÔé¼┼ôLike your Bible├óÔé¼┬Ø Prime said. Daniel shook his head ├óÔé¼┼ôWell├óÔé¼┬Ø he said, thinking about it ├óÔé¼┼ôIts complicated├óÔé¼┬Ø he said. Prime looked back to her book.

A half hour later Daniel was drinking his second cup of coffee, trying to wake up, when he realized something. ├óÔé¼┼ôPrime├óÔé¼┬Ø Daniel said ├óÔé¼┼ôHow much control do you have in your mutations?├óÔé¼┬Ø. Prime closed her book ├óÔé¼┼ôNone├óÔé¼┬Ø she said. ├óÔé¼┼ôWell├óÔé¼┬Ø Daniel said ├óÔé¼┼ôYou can change your shape, to some degree. So what if I changed the environment around you so you can practice keeping your form├óÔé¼┬Ø. Prime chewed her lip ├óÔé¼┼ôWhat do you suggest?├óÔé¼┬Ø she asked.

├óÔé¼┼ôThis will send a minor electrical shock through your system├óÔé¼┬Ø Daniel said ├óÔé¼┼ôDo you think that will register with your body?├óÔé¼┬Ø he asked Prime. She eyed the electrical wires running into her arm. Daniel had used the most noninvasive method he had, a suction pad stuck to the skin, and was now read to test this. ├óÔé¼┼ôNow├óÔé¼┬Ø Daniel said ├óÔé¼┼ôFocus on keeping your form, as it is now├óÔé¼┬Ø. Prime nodded, closing her eyes ├óÔé¼┼ôI am ready├óÔé¼┬Ø she said.

Daniel flipped the switch. Prime jerked, her spine arching, arms straining against the restraints that Daniel had thought would be necessary. Daniel reached for the off switch, terrified that he had hurt Prime. ├óÔé¼┼ôNo├óÔé¼┬Ø she said, her voice tight ├óÔé¼┼ôI can control it├óÔé¼┬Ø. Daniel chewed his lower lip as Prime slowly relaxed until she was lying normally in bed. After gathering some data Daniel switched the electricity off.

He unlatched the restraints and Prime sat slowly up ├óÔé¼┼ôThat hurt├óÔé¼┬Ø she said ├óÔé¼┼ôBut I think that I can keep this form with a greater change in the environment├óÔé¼┬Ø. Daniel grinned ├óÔé¼┼ôI think we should bring you up slowly├óÔé¼┬Ø he said ├óÔé¼┼ôLets take a break├óÔé¼┬Ø. Prime lay back down on Daniels table ├óÔé¼┼ôI will just rest here├óÔé¼┬Ø She said, closing her eyes. Daniel took a few moments to clean up the apparatus he had set up. Then he took a single moment to admire Prime's body.

Then he set off to the task of figuring out what the data he had found meant. Prime opened her eyes and grabbed for a book. She found, purely by accident, a romance novel. She started to read, but her eyes lingered on the words the heroin said to her lover, at the end of the book. She closed the book and leaned her head back, holding her arm up. She flicked her forearm blade in and out, experimenting with different shapes and forms. It was easier now.

Liz frowned. The xeno-biologist, Daniel, looked like a hopeless romantic. His hair was rumpled, glasses skewed, his shirt dirty and it looked like he had stayed up all night to keep S-02 alive. Liz wondered how someone so intelligent, intelligent enough to become head xeno-biologist of a colony of seventy thousand (Now, roughly, a hundred thousand), could be so incredibly stupid. ├óÔé¼┼ôYou made first contact with...Spices Zero Two?├óÔé¼┬Ø Daniel asked ├óÔé¼┼ôIt must have been exiting├óÔé¼┬Ø.

Liz smiled humorlessly ├óÔé¼┼ôThose things almost killed me and...Jason├óÔé¼┬Ø damn even about two years later she was still hung up on him ├óÔé¼┼ôAnd, believe me, if you had been there you would want to kill them too├óÔé¼┬Ø. Daniel's smile faded ├óÔé¼┼ôWell├óÔé¼┬Ø he said ├óÔé¼┼ôPrime is-├óÔé¼┬Ø. ├óÔé¼┼ôPrime?├óÔé¼┬Ø Liz asked ├óÔé¼┼ôIt has a name├óÔé¼┬Ø. ├óÔé¼┼ôIt...she├óÔé¼┬Ø Daniel said. ├óÔé¼┼ôShe?├óÔé¼┬Ø Liz asked ├óÔé¼┼ôIt is a she?├óÔé¼┬Ø. ├óÔé¼┼ôWell├óÔé¼┬Ø Daniel said ├óÔé¼┼ôApparently she chose that gender as part of her mutations to blend in with the human race├óÔé¼┬Ø.

├óÔé¼┼ôRight├óÔé¼┬Ø Liz said ├óÔé¼┼ôNow I have a plan to dispose of-├óÔé¼┬Ø. ├óÔé¼┼ôYou want to kill her too?├óÔé¼┬Ø Daniel asked. ├óÔé¼┼ôListen, Daniel, in about a day or so, it is going to revert into S-02 microbes and those are not going to be as controlled as it├óÔé¼┬Ø Liz said, pulling out a data slate ├óÔé¼┼ôNow the only real way to kill a S-02 is to dump antimatter on it and we need to find a way to make enough very fast├óÔé¼┬Ø. Daniel shook his head ├óÔé¼┼ôI won't participate in the murder of a sentient being├óÔé¼┬Ø.

Liz slammed her data slate back into her pocket, turning to face Daniel. She grabbed him by the lapels and slammed him into the wall. ├óÔé¼┼ôListen, Daniel├óÔé¼┬Ø she said ├óÔé¼┼ôWe are going to kill your little science project before it turns into something that will wipe out all life on this planet in a matter of hours├óÔé¼┬Ø. She let Daniel slid to the ground. ├óÔé¼┼ôI have a plan that wont involve murder├óÔé¼┬Ø Daniel said ├óÔé¼┼ôIf you would just come with me and meet with Prime├óÔé¼┬Ø.

Liz closed her eyes, wondering what she could do to get through to this man. ├óÔé¼┼ôI don't want to meet Prime├óÔé¼┬Ø she said ├óÔé¼┼ôI don't even want it to exist├óÔé¼┬Ø. ├óÔé¼┼ôHow can you kill something you never met?├óÔé¼┬Ø Daniel asked. ├óÔé¼┼ôI killed several thousand people without meting any of them├óÔé¼┬Ø Liz said, turning away from Daniel. ├óÔé¼┼ôPrime is a shape shifter├óÔé¼┬Ø Daniel said ├óÔé¼┼ôAnd I think she can hold that form indefinitely├óÔé¼┬Ø. ├óÔé¼┼ôSo it can also turn into other things. That makes me fell a Lot better├óÔé¼┬Ø Liz said, not turning around.

Daniel tried one last time ├óÔé¼┼ôPlease├óÔé¼┬Ø he said ├óÔé¼┼ôAt least meet with Prime before deciding anything├óÔé¼┬Ø. Liz's shoulders slumped ├óÔé¼┼ôI am going to spend the rest of my life on this colony├óÔé¼┬Ø she said ├óÔé¼┼ôAnd I don't want to spend all this time worrying about the possibility It will revert if its concentration wavers├óÔé¼┬Ø. Daniel walked over and turned Liz around ├óÔé¼┼ôPlease├óÔé¼┬Ø he said. ├óÔé¼┼ôFucking romantic├óÔé¼┬Ø Liz said below her breath ├óÔé¼┼ôFine├óÔé¼┬Ø she said louder ├óÔé¼┼ôI'll go├óÔé¼┬Ø.

├óÔé¼┼ôPrime├óÔé¼┬Ø Daniel said ├óÔé¼┼ôThis is our colony's new Military Administrator├óÔé¼┬Ø. Liz looked into his house. It looked like it might have been neat a few days ago, but now half of the living room was covered with books. A woman, with black hair, darkish skin and a rather trusting and innocent look on her face walked into the room from the bathroom. She looked at Liz and screamed, her hands flying up to her face and covering it. ├óÔé¼┼ôWhat the hell?├óÔé¼┬Ø Liz mutter.

Daniel ran forward, kneeling next to Prime as she whimpered, curling slowly into her self. Long spines sprouted from her back, sixteen in all, and curled around her like a protective bubble. ├óÔé¼┼ôShe's nothing├óÔé¼┬Ø Prime moaned ├óÔé¼┼ôShe's nothing!├óÔé¼┬Ø. Liz backed up slightly, looking at the woman. ├óÔé¼┼ôLeave├óÔé¼┬Ø Daniel said ├óÔé¼┼ôI have no idea what's wrong, but just leave├óÔé¼┬Ø. Liz nodded and walked out of the house, leaning against one of the billets that the security guards had set up. ├óÔé¼┼ôDamn thing├óÔé¼┬Ø she muttered.

├óÔé¼┼ôPrime! Prime!├óÔé¼┬Ø Daniel was saying. Prime felt his mind, a relief after touching...that...that thing. She looked up, and around ├óÔé¼┼ôShe's gone?├óÔé¼┬Ø she asked. ├óÔé¼┼ôYes, Elizabeth is gone├óÔé¼┬Ø Daniel said ├óÔé¼┼ôNow...what just happened?├óÔé¼┬Ø. Prime slid her spines into her back, stretching out until she could stand ├óÔé¼┼ôThat woman├óÔé¼┬Ø she said ├óÔé¼┼ôThere is nothing in her mind. Its cold. Dead├óÔé¼┬Ø she looked out the door, at Liz, then turned and walked back into the bathroom.

Daniel walked out of the house ├óÔé¼┼ôLiz├óÔé¼┬Ø he said, walking up to her ├óÔé¼┼ôIs there something you need to tell me about your brain├óÔé¼┬Ø. ├óÔé¼┼ôWhat?├óÔé¼┬Ø Liz asked. ├óÔé¼┼ôPrime said she couldn't detect your psyche├óÔé¼┬Ø. ├óÔé¼┼ôIts physic too?├óÔé¼┬Ø Liz asked ├óÔé¼┼ôRick did not tell me enough before sending you to me├óÔé¼┬Ø. ├óÔé¼┼ôDon't doge the question├óÔé¼┬Ø Daniel said. Liz frowned, looking down at the floor ├óÔé¼┼ôCan we talk somewhere private├óÔé¼┬Ø she asked.

├óÔé¼┼ôYou what?├óÔé¼┬Ø Daniel asked, looking at Liz ├óÔé¼┼ôDo you have any humanity?├óÔé¼┬Ø. ├óÔé¼┼ôMore then you can think├óÔé¼┬Ø Liz said ├óÔé¼┼ôJust because I think with something different doesn't mean I'm not human├óÔé¼┬Ø. ├óÔé¼┼ôBut the mind is the center of the soul├óÔé¼┬Ø Daniel said, utterly revolted ├óÔé¼┼ôHow could you replace it with a machine so readily?├óÔé¼┬Ø. ├óÔé¼┼ôIt was not an easy decision├óÔé¼┬Ø Liz said ├óÔé¼┼ôBut I needed every edge I could get. Both me and Jason needed it├óÔé¼┬Ø.

Daniel chewed his knuckles ├óÔé¼┼ôWell Prime apparently doesn't react well to trying to scan QuantCon brains├óÔé¼┬Ø he muttered. ├óÔé¼┼ôYeah├óÔé¼┬Ø Liz said, closing his eyes. That innocent face Prime had worn when she walked out of the bathroom. ├óÔé¼┼ôI'll let you run your experiment. But if Prime does anything, i repeat , anything that we find threating, we will nuke her. Even if you are in the way├óÔé¼┬Ø she turned away from Daniel to walk back to the city. ├óÔé¼┼ôThank you├óÔé¼┬Ø Daniel said. ├óÔé¼┼ôDon't thank me yet├óÔé¼┬Ø Liz said ├óÔé¼┼ôPrime is dangerous. Your going to understand that soon enough├óÔé¼┬Ø.

Daniel breathed a sigh of relief as Liz walked out of his house's lawn and into the city. He walked back into his house and found Prime staring out the window, holding a book. He had seen her with that book four times now, a rather silly romance he had bought a few months ago for the hell of it. ├óÔé¼┼ôPrime?├óÔé¼┬Ø Daniel asked. ├óÔé¼┼ôOh Daniel├óÔé¼┬Ø Prime said, looking over her shoulder. She opened her mouth. Then closed it, then opened it again. ├óÔé¼┼ôWhat?├óÔé¼┬Ø Daniel asked. ├óÔé¼┼ôNothing├óÔé¼┬Ø Prime said, sitting down and reading the book again.

Marcus walked through the central park. There were a lot of new people in this park, each with a badge saying ├óÔé¼┼ôParole├óÔé¼┬Ø on it. It seemed like the entire crew of the Rodger Young was using the park. Marcus thought he should tell the police too look out, as many members of the old crew looked more then willing to do...indecency's in public. He eyes a man and a woman who seemed like they had been making out for a half hour now.

As such he almost ran into two men who were walking past him. ├óÔé¼┼ôOh I'm sorry├óÔé¼┬Ø Marcus said. The taller man grinned, but offered no words. Must be someone who had not quite gotten English yet. His partner said in faltering, odd French ├óÔé¼┼ôIt is our fault├óÔé¼┬Ø he said. Marcus grinned and said ├óÔé¼┼ôI'm sorry├óÔé¼┬Ø in French. The man nodded and the two of them kept walking. Marcus noticed they were holding hands. He shrugged.

He kept walking through the park and stopped dead. Two men were sitting in a park bench. Kissing. Marcus starred at them for a few seconds. Then he turned around and walked straight of the park, not stopping till he got to his church. He had a sermon to repair for in a day, but he was only able to think about these new comers. Heathens and...deviants. He would have to talk this over with Rick.

├óÔé¼┼ôWhat is the problem?├óÔé¼┬Ø Liz asked. ├óÔé¼┼ôSee├óÔé¼┬Ø Rick said ├óÔé¼┼ôSome of our religious leaders are worried about well...the gays├óÔé¼┬Ø. ├óÔé¼┼ôThe...gays?├óÔé¼┬Ø Liz asked, not sure what he was getting at. ├óÔé¼┼ôThe...fagots. The queers├óÔé¼┬Ø Rick offered the different words. ├óÔé¼┼ôI'm still not following you├óÔé¼┬Ø Liz said. ├óÔé¼┼ôThe homosexuals├óÔé¼┬Ø Rick said finally. ├óÔé¼┼ôWhat?├óÔé¼┬Ø Liz said, incredulous ├óÔé¼┼ôWhat is the problem with them?├óÔé¼┬Ø. ├óÔé¼┼ôThey're...unnatural├óÔé¼┬Ø Rick said ├óÔé¼┼ôA dangerous influence├óÔé¼┬Ø.

├óÔé¼┼ôUnnatural? Dangerous? No!├óÔé¼┬Ø Liz said ├óÔé¼┼ôAmber, my friend, is a homosexual. Roughly thirty four percent of the crew of the Rodger Young is homosexual├óÔé¼┬Ø. ├óÔé¼┼ôDon't tell me you...associate with the likes of them├óÔé¼┬Ø Rick said, leaning over his desk. Liz laughed ├óÔé¼┼ôIts not a big deal. Its not like its contagious├óÔé¼┬Ø. ├óÔé¼┼ôListen├óÔé¼┬Ø Rick said ├óÔé¼┼ôWe left Earth to get away from...things like that├óÔé¼┬Ø. ├óÔé¼┼ôI thought you left to get away from religious persecution├óÔé¼┬Ø Liz commented. ├óÔé¼┼ôIts not...well...its complicated├óÔé¼┬Ø Rick said.

├óÔé¼┼ôI can tell├óÔé¼┬Ø Liz said ├óÔé¼┼ôWell I'll talk to Amber and see what she can do. If you want they could be a little less..rambunctious├óÔé¼┬Ø. ├óÔé¼┼ôThat will do, for now├óÔé¼┬Ø Rick said ├óÔé¼┼ôAnd let it be known that they have to adapt or leave. Or people wont tolerate them in these numbers├óÔé¼┬Ø. ├óÔé¼┼ôSo a few of them you can hide, but not a few hundred├óÔé¼┬Ø Liz said, a wry grin cracking. ├óÔé¼┼ôDamn it thats not what I meant├óÔé¼┬Ø Rick said. ├óÔé¼┼ôI know what you meant, O'Toole├óÔé¼┬Ø Liz said ├óÔé¼┼ôBut it still stinks like something Earth left behind a long time ago too├óÔé¼┬Ø

Well I spent half of my day trying to draw Prime in full battle mode useing a pencile and my limited knowlage and abilitys.

Now I have no way to put it on the internet. Damn.

Amber frowned at her crew leaders. She had tried to recreate the military hierarchy but, unfortunately, the survivors of the crew were a smattering of every rank. It was a horrifically shattered ladder, with only one member of the bridge crew surviving reentry and the mad dash to escape pods. Weinstein, the rat bastard, had been trampled underfoot but his accomplice, Kilgore had not. ├óÔé¼┼ôI want this man in prison├óÔé¼┬Ø Amber had said.

├óÔé¼┼ôWhy?├óÔé¼┬Ø The head of the colony had asked, a rather humorous man by the name of Rick O'Toole. ├óÔé¼┼ôHe and his friend tried to rape me, knifed me through the stomach and left me for dead├óÔé¼┬Ø Amber said. Rick nodded ├óÔé¼┼ôDo you have witnesses?├óÔé¼┬Ø. ├óÔé¼┼ôHell├óÔé¼┬Ø Amber snorted ├óÔé¼┼ôHalf the crew knew about it. The entire matter was forgotten because we needed both gunnery officers and there was no one else with their training within several light years├óÔé¼┬Ø.

├óÔé¼┼ôWell├óÔé¼┬Ø Rick had smiled ├óÔé¼┼ôWe have a way of dealing with...undesirables around here├óÔé¼┬Ø. Amber had been shocked when Kilgore was shot by a firing squad and rolled into a recycling vat. Now she was worried that the rest of her crew would be considered...undesirable. And it was not to far fetched, based off what Liz had just told her.

├óÔé¼┼ôSo├óÔé¼┬Ø Tapp asked, looking at the three other people in the room, ├óÔé¼┼ôWhat did you bring us up here for?├óÔé¼┬Ø . The other two, aside from Amber, were Justin and a rather portly man named Douglas. They had all been 'elected' by the different subsections of the ship's crew to represent them in the inter crew politics. ├óÔé¼┼ôI have some rather bad news├óÔé¼┬Ø Amber said ├óÔé¼┼ôEveryone who is of a homosexual bent has to stop practicing their carnal knowledge were the fucking normals can see them├óÔé¼┬Ø. ├óÔé¼┼ôWhat!├óÔé¼┬Ø Tapp almost shouted. The two men, both of whom were heterosexual, also made shocked expressions, though they were less pronounced as Tapp's.

├óÔé¼┼ôThis is a colony of old fashioned religious nut cases├óÔé¼┬Ø Amber put it rather bluntly. ├óÔé¼┼ôWell├óÔé¼┬Ø Douglas said ├óÔé¼┼ôI wouldn't put it like that. I've met a lot of people here, and they are nice and accepting├óÔé¼┬Ø. ├óÔé¼┼ôOnly so much├óÔé¼┬Ø Amber snapped ├óÔé¼┼ôNow that we are 'different' its going to get nasty quick├óÔé¼┬Ø. She grabbed a remote control and turned on the television. The 'television', as viewers were called by the colonist, flickered on.

├óÔé¼┼ôThis is a viewer program being run by one of the more outspoken clergy members of this cites council of Religious Thought├óÔé¼┬Ø Amber said ├óÔé¼┼ôAnd I recorded this to get my point across├óÔé¼┬Ø. The woman on the screen was old, her skin wrinkled and caked in a way that no one in SOL would be caught dead looking like. ├óÔé¼┼ô-ow we have some heretics running about this city. Some say they are newcomers and should be welcomed, but when have we needed newcomers? When have we needed deviation!├óÔé¼┬Ø the crowd listening to her cheered. ├óÔé¼┼ôAnd now these good, friendly, newcomers have brought with them the disease we had fled from a hundred years ago!├óÔé¼┬Ø. It was really only fifty. ├óÔé¼┼ôHomosexuals! Unnatural deviants!├óÔé¼┬Ø the woman's face was starting to go red as her voice raised.

Marcus turned the television off. ├óÔé¼┼ôDamn it!├óÔé¼┬Ø he shouted, throwing his remote into the wall. It broke. He picked up a phone and dialed Rosa's number. ├óÔé¼┼ôHi Marcus├óÔé¼┬Ø the old woman said. ├óÔé¼┼ôWhat the hell were you thinking?├óÔé¼┬Ø Marcus asked ├óÔé¼┼ôI just watched the recording├óÔé¼┬Ø. ├óÔé¼┼ôI don't tell you how to preach├óÔé¼┬Ø Rosa said, her normally pleasant voice hardening slightly. ├óÔé¼┼ôAnd I don't urge the masses to kill their new next door neighborers├óÔé¼┬Ø Marcus snapped. Rosa hung up.

├óÔé¼┼ôShit├óÔé¼┬Ø Marcus said. Usually he didn't swear, but this day seemed to be filled with exceptions. Normally he loved Rosa's speeches. He dialed Rick's number ├óÔé¼┼ôRick├óÔé¼┬Ø he said ├óÔé¼┼ôDid you just see Rosa's broadcast?├óÔé¼┬Ø. ├óÔé¼┼ôYes, I thought it was quite illuminating├óÔé¼┬Ø Rick said. Marcus closed his eyes ├óÔé¼┼ôThis will only breed madness amongst the more...angry inhabitance. Its hate mongering├óÔé¼┬Ø. ├óÔé¼┼ôI don't see a problem├óÔé¼┬Ø Rick said ├óÔé¼┼ôHave a good day Father├óÔé¼┬Ø. He hung up. Marcus turned his phone off and was tempted to throw that into the wall as well.

Prime had finished reading and was now actually doing some things that she had read about. She remembered detective Jasmine Phinklstine in Whodunit? A Mystery took a bath at the end of the novel, relaxing. So Prime was in a bath, Daniels bath, and trying to relax. The only problem was she was not so sure how to relax. She tried losing her muscles but that brought no pleasure. Prime looked at her feet through the water, glad that she had gotten the toe's right. She loved those little things about humans. Nipples and toe's were her favorite little eccentricity's about the human body.

Oh that and the way how the humans eyes were wired backwards. She loved that too. Prime wiggled her toes and realized that, without meaning too, she had relaxed. Fancy that. She let her head sink below the water and just felt the warmth. She fell asleep, breathing the water as easy as air. Then she heard a knock on the door, muffled through the water. ├óÔé¼┼ôPrime├óÔé¼┬Ø Daniels voice came through the door ├óÔé¼┼ôI need you├óÔé¼┬Ø.

Prime thought about the romance, Doctor, Darling that she had read ten times now. Mellisa had told Dr. Murry that she needed him before they made passionate love on the beach. She wondered if Daniel wanted to make passionate love on the beach. ├óÔé¼┼ôLet me get dressed├óÔé¼┬Ø she said, getting out of the bath and pulling the plug out. Water flowed back into the cistern under Daniels house to be recycled and reused.

Prime walked out of the bathroom, her hair still dripping and wet. ├óÔé¼┼ôWhat is it?├óÔé¼┬Ø she asked Daniel. Daniel was grinning ├óÔé¼┼ôIts been four days├óÔé¼┬Ø. ├óÔé¼┼ôWhat?├óÔé¼┬Ø Prime asked. ├óÔé¼┼ôIts been four days├óÔé¼┬Ø Daniel said ├óÔé¼┼ôWhen you went to sleep last night I didn't tell you it was the third day├óÔé¼┬Ø. Prime looked at her body ├óÔé¼┼ôI'm still here├óÔé¼┬Ø she said ├óÔé¼┼ôI'm still alive├óÔé¼┬Ø. ├óÔé¼┼ôI guess it worked├óÔé¼┬Ø Daniel said ├óÔé¼┼ôWe can leave the house├óÔé¼┬Ø. Prime was, for the second time in her very short life, afraid. ├óÔé¼┼ôI'm not sure├óÔé¼┬Ø she said ├óÔé¼┼ôThere are still so many books to read...├óÔé¼┬Ø.

├óÔé¼┼ôDon't worry├óÔé¼┬Ø Daniel said ├óÔé¼┼ôhumankind is a multifaceted thing. You need to see it for yourself├óÔé¼┬Ø. Prime nodded slowly ├óÔé¼┼ôBut whatever you do├óÔé¼┬Ø Daniel said ├óÔé¼┼ôDon't kill anyone. Don't fight anyone and try to be as polite as you can├óÔé¼┬Ø. Prime nodded ├óÔé¼┼ôI will try├óÔé¼┬Ø she said. ├óÔé¼┼ôNow├óÔé¼┬Ø Daniel said, grinning ├óÔé¼┼ôI'm sure some of my scientist friends would love to talk with you├óÔé¼┬Ø he said.

Prime knew that Daniel was mostly thinking about how now he could get her to a new lab, and was somewhat disheartened. However, unless she shredded a mind like she did with Julia, she would only pick up surface thoughts. So she didn't hear the conversation Daniel was having with himself. He was thinking about what to show Prime first, who to introduce her too. Should he act like a friend? Was she ready for a romantic relation?

Prime stepped out of the door and looked into the light, her eye's squinting at the Shroud. The colonists were used to a other wise sunny day having a beautiful mass of purple and violet clouds roiling around rather then the blue, or green, or red or whatever the planets natural sky was. Prime loved and feared the Shroud. Loved it for its odd gift of sentience, feared it for the nightmarish time she had spent in it, drifting between consciousness and unconsciousness, between life and death.

She walked down the streets of the city, Daniel providing to be a chattering encyclopedia about the city. ├óÔé¼┼ôthose four towers are the four different arms of our government. Administrative, Judicial, Legislative and Religious├óÔé¼┬Ø. Prime nodded. Then she saw a store, one of many that lined the central park. ├óÔé¼┼ôOh├óÔé¼┬Ø she said ├óÔé¼┼ôA dress!├óÔé¼┬Ø. Indeed it was a dress, one of the more extravagant in the colony.

├óÔé¼┼ôI'd buy it, but I have no money├óÔé¼┬Ø someone said from behind the two of them. Prime looked over her shoulder. A woman sat in a chair with wheels on either side, looking at the dress with a mixture of sadness and longing. Her skin seemed to be almost unnaturally pale. ├óÔé¼┼ôNice to see two...nice young people out├óÔé¼┬Ø the woman said, forcing the nice. ├óÔé¼┼ôHello├óÔé¼┬Ø Prime said ├óÔé¼┼ôWho are you?├óÔé¼┬Ø.

├óÔé¼┼ôI am Amberly├óÔé¼┬Ø the woman said, thumbing down the forward button on her wheelchair ├óÔé¼┼ôAnd its a lovely day├óÔé¼┬Ø. Daniel noticed the parole badge on her shirt ├óÔé¼┼ôYou served on the Rodger Young?├óÔé¼┬Ø he asked. ├óÔé¼┼ôI bear no grudge to you├óÔé¼┬Ø Amber said ├óÔé¼┼ôWell, I do, but for reasons that have nothing to do with the war├óÔé¼┬Ø. ├óÔé¼┼ôRight├óÔé¼┬Ø Daniel said ├óÔé¼┼ôI think we should be going├óÔé¼┬Ø he said to Prime. ├óÔé¼┼ôNo wait├óÔé¼┬Ø she said, looking at Amber. ├óÔé¼┼ôWhat?├óÔé¼┬Ø Amber asked ├óÔé¼┼ôYou never seen a cripple before?├óÔé¼┬Ø. ├óÔé¼┼ôNo├óÔé¼┬Ø Prime said ├óÔé¼┼ôI haven't. I have read though. Did you have a congenital condition, or were you in a debilitating accident?├óÔé¼┬Ø. Daniel bit his knuckles, but Amber seemed amused by that.

├óÔé¼┼ôThe latter├óÔé¼┬Ø Amber said ├óÔé¼┼ôCrushed by a bed in a hospital├óÔé¼┬Ø. ├óÔé¼┼ôI am sorry├óÔé¼┬Ø Prim knelt down in front of her, looking her in the eye ├óÔé¼┼ôIf there was a way I can help, then I would├óÔé¼┬Ø. Amber's eyes moisted slightly ├óÔé¼┼ôI believe you would├óÔé¼┬Ø she said ├óÔé¼┼ôGood day mam├óÔé¼┬Ø Amber said ├óÔé¼┼ôThat would be a nice dress├óÔé¼┬Ø she commented to Daniel and started her wheelchair. Prime watched her go and waved. ├óÔé¼┼ôPrime├óÔé¼┬Ø Daniel said ├óÔé¼┼ôI think you should try to be more...tactful in the future├óÔé¼┬Ø.


├óÔé¼┼ôNow├óÔé¼┬Ø Daniel looked through the window ├óÔé¼┼ôTry to keep your shape├óÔé¼┬Ø. Prime was laying in a bioscanner, one of the three on the entire planet, and was ready to be bombarded with every scan and test that science could cram into a tube. Daniel looked at his partner, a xeno-biologist by the name of Yolanda, who was ready for to start the test. ├óÔé¼┼ôI'm ready├óÔé¼┬Ø Prime said, her voice broadcasted through a speaker set into the desk.

├óÔé¼┼ôGo├óÔé¼┬Ø Daniel said. Yalonda switched the bioscanner on. A few moments passed as the scanning array started to move down the tube. The tube itself was rather scrofulous, as the scanning array could have easily been mounted in open air. But the scanner needed the occupant to be naked, and the tube was added in as a protection of modesty. Daniel had strapped a biofeedback to Prime's forehead and was now reading any and all electrical patterns he detected in her brain. If they spiked in a way that might denote panic or loss of control.

Unfortunately Prime's brain waves were, at first glance, wildly different from humans. It was more like a steady line of electrical impulses, with slight bumps in the flat line. But their were no spikes and Prime was not growing uncontrollably out of the tube, so Daniel let the bioscanner to keep working. ├óÔé¼┼ôDaniel├óÔé¼┬Ø Yalonda said ├óÔé¼┼ôLook at this├óÔé¼┬Ø. Daniel walked over to the computer part of the desk and tried to read the numbers being pumped out of the machine.

├óÔé¼┼ôOh god├óÔé¼┬Ø he murmured, trying to keep pace with the data that was appearing on the screen. ├óÔé¼┼ôIt looks like she's actually feeding data back into the scanner├óÔé¼┬Ø. ├óÔé¼┼ôHow?├óÔé¼┬Ø Daniel asked ├óÔé¼┼ôThats not possible├óÔé¼┬Ø. ├óÔé¼┼ôAnd she's also producing a radiation field, like...the magnetic sphere of the planet with her head being one pole, feet the other. The radiation is off the charts. Literally. We can barely detect it, and its beyond the energy of gamma rays├óÔé¼┬Ø Yalonda pulled up a second screen, displaying the outline of Prime. ├óÔé¼┼ôThis is the field├óÔé¼┬Ø she said.

It did look like Darkside's, and any planet's, magnetic field. But it was rotating faster then any planets. ├óÔé¼┼ôWhat the hell is that? And why hasn't it, well...killed any of us?├óÔé¼┬Ø Daniel asked. The scanner array had reached the end of Prime's body and switched off. ├óÔé¼┼ôThat was hard├óÔé¼┬Ø She said, her voice tired. ├óÔé¼┼ôPrime, you can rest in the waiting room├óÔé¼┬Ø Daniel said, looking back at the screen. The screen was playing back the data they had received ├óÔé¼┼ôI think that field might have something to do with S-02's ability to mutate so quickly├óÔé¼┬Ø Yalonda said, chewing her fingernails.

Prime slid out of the tube and walking into the waiting room, feeling her hair slicked down with sweat. She walked into the room, nodded to another woman there who was presumably waiting for the opportunity to use the bioscanner. Prime lay face down on one of the waiting bench, the cool plastic feeling good against her skin. The woman stared at Prime with a mixture of shock and disgust on her face. ├óÔé¼┼ôDoctor!├óÔé¼┬Ø She shouted.

Daniel looked up ├óÔé¼┼ôDamn that woman├óÔé¼┬Ø he muttered. She had complained when she was told she might have to wait to get her breast scan. Never mind there was a 0.002 percent of getting breast cancer with the Shroud in place. But some people. Daniel walked into the waiting room and saw Prime laying on her back, nude. ├óÔé¼┼ôdoctor├óÔé¼┬Ø the impatient woman said ├óÔé¼┼ôI demand you get this...this...this trash out of your office before someone less understanding comes in here and├óÔé¼┬Ø. Daniel cut her off there ├óÔé¼┼ôI'll handle it├óÔé¼┬Ø.

Daniel pulled Prime into the scanning chamber and told her to get dressed. Prime nodded, still sleepy. She bent over, grabbing her close. Daniel averted his eyes, despite all temptation. Prime walked back out into the waiting room and laid back down on her makeshift bed. ├óÔé¼┼ôNow├óÔé¼┬Ø Daniel said ├óÔé¼┼ôWe can scan you├óÔé¼┬Ø. The impatient woman frowned, still looking cross.

├óÔé¼┼ôSo this field├óÔé¼┬Ø Daniel said, showing Prime the readings ├óÔé¼┼ôDo you have any idea what that is?├óÔé¼┬Ø. Prime yawned ├óÔé¼┼ôIts twelve o clock├óÔé¼┬Ø She said, pointing to the clock in Daniel's house. They had been going over different data taken by the bioscanner. The X-ray had made Prime happy. She had gotten the organs and bone structure right. The data Prime had fed into the machine also baffled her. She had been concentrating on keeping the same shape. It had, in her words, felt like being slowly pulled apart by several different ropes.

├óÔé¼┼ôDid you just yawn?├óÔé¼┬Ø Daniel asked. Prime nodded ├óÔé¼┼ôI'm trying to get humanity down├óÔé¼┬Ø she said ├óÔé¼┼ôDown to sleep cycles├óÔé¼┬Ø she laid her head on Daniels desk. ├óÔé¼┼ôWell I suppose your right├óÔé¼┬Ø. He helped her to her feet and they both walked to Prime's bed room, witch was actually the living room with a bed added into it. Daniel laid Prime into her bed ├óÔé¼┼ôNeed anything?├óÔé¼┬Ø he asked. ├óÔé¼┼ôNah├óÔé¼┬Ø Prime said ├óÔé¼┼ôI'll read a book or two before I go to sleep├óÔé¼┬Ø she rolled over and grabbed Doctor, Darling again. ├óÔé¼┼ôStill reading that book?├óÔé¼┬Ø Daniel asked.

├óÔé¼┼ôYeah├óÔé¼┬Ø Prime opened to her favored page, when Dr. Murry was holding Cindy as she cried into his shoulder, finding out that her brother HAD been killed in that horrible car crash. After getting through half the book Prime was asleep. Daniel went back to his notes and started to work again, trying to unravel the mystery. It just didn't add up. He didn't notice when he fell asleep, head on the desk.

Prime tossed and turned in her sleep, her eye's darting as humans do in REM sleep. She was having what most people would call a nightmare. She rolled over, moaning softly in her sleep. Then an invisible pressure began to build in the room, tightening around her brain. It focused at her temples. Prime rolled back onto her back as her nightmare reached its terrifying climax. One of the coffee cups that Daniel never seemed to clean up shattered, spraying unused coffee over the room.

Daniel woke with a start, wondering what had woken him. He looked around and saw nothing wrong with the area around him, so he went back to sleep on the desk. Prime relaxed in her sleep, the nightmare at an end. She slept soundly and the piece's of the coffee cup stopped levitating, falling to the carpeted floor with a soft clink.

Liz looked over at the table at the priest. Marcus looked over the table at the woman. They were both silent for a few more minutes. ├óÔé¼┼ôSo├óÔé¼┬Ø Liz said ├óÔé¼┼ôLong time, no see├óÔé¼┬Ø. ├óÔé¼┼ôWar has a way of doing that├óÔé¼┬Ø Marcus said, drumming his fingers on the table. ├óÔé¼┼ôWhen will she get here?├óÔé¼┬Ø Liz asked, standing. ├óÔé¼┼ôIts a tall building at the elevators are broken down. She has to go up...what, thirty flights of ramps├óÔé¼┬Ø. Liz sat down and was relived that Amber rolled in a few moments later.

├óÔé¼┼ôI'm sorry I'm late├óÔé¼┬Ø She said, pulling up to the table ├óÔé¼┼ôNow what is this meeting about?├óÔé¼┬Ø. ├óÔé¼┼ôIts about the council meeting that was held only a few hours ago├óÔé¼┬Ø Marcus said ├óÔé¼┼ôIt had Rosa, Killigan, Kalvin and Liz as the advisor's to Rick. The mining cooperations have vetoed out plan├óÔé¼┬Ø. Amber sank back in her chair ├óÔé¼┼ôDamn it, why?├óÔé¼┬Ø.

├óÔé¼┼ôMines are profitable, and hard to come by now that the main corps have already grabbed most of the good ones. So the new sites we've spotted are being grabbed up by the smaller corps before we can get a government grant on them├óÔé¼┬Ø Liz said ├óÔé¼┼ôSo I think our resettlement plan has been pretty much blown to kingdom come├óÔé¼┬Ø. ├óÔé¼┼ôDamn it├óÔé¼┬Ø Amber muttered ├óÔé¼┼ôIs there any other way we can get our hands on a mine?├óÔé¼┬Ø. ├óÔé¼┼ôHostile takeover?├óÔé¼┬Ø Liz offered. ├óÔé¼┼ôNo├óÔé¼┬Ø Marcus said ├óÔé¼┼ôI think we should try and focus on a rather worrying trend├óÔé¼┬Ø.

├óÔé¼┼ôRosa├óÔé¼┬Ø Amber said. ├óÔé¼┼ôHer broadcasts, ever since I stopped making mine, have become very popular. And they have all been a rather...hate monger sort├óÔé¼┬Ø. ├óÔé¼┼ôWhat dose she have against homosexuals?├óÔé¼┬Ø Amber asked. ├óÔé¼┼ôWell├óÔé¼┬Ø Marcus said ├óÔé¼┼ôWe've all been taught that our founding fathers were fleeing SOL because of religious persecution and the growing...moral decline of SOL├óÔé¼┬Ø. ├óÔé¼┼ôMoral decline?├óÔé¼┬Ø Amber asked ├óÔé¼┼ôWe actually entered an artistic renaissance a few years after your founding fathers left├óÔé¼┬Ø.

Marcus grinned ├óÔé¼┼ôSome peoples trash is another persons treasure├óÔé¼┬Ø he said. ├óÔé¼┼ôWell├óÔé¼┬Ø Liz said ├óÔé¼┼ôWhat do we do about Rose's broadcasts? We can't just kill her├óÔé¼┬Ø. ├óÔé¼┼ôNo we can't├óÔé¼┬Ø Marcus agreed ├óÔé¼┼ôBut we can start speaking out against her├óÔé¼┬Ø He pulled out a data slate ├óÔé¼┼ôAnd I have a few ideas on how to do that├óÔé¼┬Ø he slid the slate over the table at Liz. She picked it up and read the first few pages. She grinned.

Just a question about Prime, if some of her base cells are detached, do they die, or continue to live, breed and evolve?

The second one. Once out of her control they turn into regular old S-02 cells.

Zoombie wrote:The second one. Once out of her control they turn into regular old S-02 cells.

Which can evolve, grow and possibly take over the planet?