Age Of Androids

[October Knight]

**AGE OF ANDROIDS**

5 Year prior to present date. April,13,2395ad

In a small tech support room deep within the bowls of sector 2, a short, slightly balding, programmer named Marcus Right stared at his Computer screen with a blank expression. He had read the information five times over and still could not believe it. During the wee hours of the night a major server had crashed, severing all communication with the other major links thus creating a major crash of all the mother computers. The crash was so sever that there was not even a protocol to follow in such an event, it was the "Perfect Crash".

Shortly after what would later be known to the Survivors as "The Great Crash" all hell broke loose on earth. Every thing, being controlled in one way or another by computer related devices, had gone south. Major forms of transportation were halted, Communication was blasted back to the twentieth century, and worst of all the Androids were all set haywire. Most of the Androids went completely insane and turned on their human creators in a most brutal manor. They killed humans by the hundreds. All hope was lost at regaining any type of organized control. And now, five years later, the remaining humans were forced to struggle day to day in an endless battle with the Androids and more importantly with survival.

Points of interest

The remaining Humans gave names to the vast areas of destruction created by the Great crash.

SECTOR 1 - What was once a thriving Utopia for the humans, where parks, stores, cinemas, and all forms off entertainment, shopping and living quarters were located now lays in a burnt out ruin. By far, sector 1 is the most infested of the three sectors and is avoided at all costs. It seems that the Androids flock to this sector more than the others. Anyone venturing into this area should be heavily armed if they wish to live. The worst part of all is that most goods foodstuffs and supplies are located in sector 1.

SECTOR 2 - The vast, ever expanding, mother of all computer link up and processing centers; Sector 2 is a 5 mile wide 5 story command center. All records, data and major communication devices were kept, stored and processed here. It had provided many jobs for the people of earth prior to the great crash. Now it is more or less abandoned, rendered more or less useless after "The Great Crash". Some survivors believe that the Key to setting right to the crises lies with in its huge steel walls.

SECTOR 3 - Sector 3 was the primary base of operations for the earth defense coordinated armed forces. It housed all the soldier as well as the weapons, equipment and vehicles used by the military. After a brutal year of war the overwhelming android masses defeated their human creators. Once the Earth defense space marines (E.D.S.M) were all but killed there was little hope for the remaining forces and they separated thus marking the defeat of earths military as we knew it.

BAD LANDS - Simply put, the vast areas surrounding the three sectors. Survival in this deserted wilderness is almost impossible and makes taking your chances in Sector 1 look like a good option. Although some have created routes of travel and small out posts in the Bad Lands it is more or less deserted.

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The Droids

Androids, prior to the crash, were heavily involved in all walks of life. They were our baby sitters, our service station attendants, our delivery men and women, our mail carriers and everything else that you can imagine. Along with the public service jobs they also were involved in public safety (Police, fire and rescue) as well as the armed forces. The Androids programmed to use weapons were by far the worst after "The Great Crash".

Although most went Haywire, killing everything that stood in their path, some just went insane. Often times these Crazy Droids could be found preforming meaningless jobs over and over, as if trying to revive some state of normalized life. Some rumors have spread through the small clusters of surviving humans that a few Droids were unaffected by the crash. It is possible that these Droids may hold the answer to "Fixing" the problem.
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And so, In the year 2400, Humans are on their own in the Epic battle for survival. Perhaps other "Alien" races will lend a hand to the dying planet but most just sit and watch the Humans die. And while all looks bleak and hopeless a few strong survivors stand on guard and fight the Vile Android masses that plague the planet.

((Interested ? Just post a Character sheet in the OOC, or not if you were already involved http://space-kitten.org/iwaku/showthread.php?t=8))

 

[October Knight]

Lance Silver sat high atop the second story of the small, abandoned, military outpost 9381 located on the out skirts of Sector 3. To the east were the desolate badlands and to the West Sectors 1 and 2. Lance brushed a rouge strand of his hair away from his face as he looked down upon the devastation that was now planet earth. As he was ,and had been for about two years, isolated at the outpost he often times spent hours just watching. Watching for anything. Be it androids or Lone Human scavengers of just the sky. It was quite lonely at the small outpost but at least he was safe here. The only draw back was that the food supply was running low and he knew sooner or later he would have to leave and hunt for more.

It was not uncommon for large explosions and small arms fire to be heard through out the land. And at night the many fires, that burned all the time, could be seen glowing brightly in the horizon. Over the last few weeks Lance had been preparing for his departure. He had a plan to venture into Sector one and attempt to secure supplies. Even though it was a near suicide mission it was better to take the chance than to starve to death, alone, in outpost 9381. Lance feared few things and a fighting death at the hands of the cursed Androids was not one of them.

Besides his weapons (and a wide assortment of ammunition) he had gathered all the food that was left, which really was very little but would have to last him until he found more. He also had some other basic supplies including a bedroll, a first aid kit and about three days worth of water. Outside of the outpost sat a fully armored Hummer that would serve as his transportation. He had spent the last few weeks customizing it for travel, gutting the back interior so he would be able to sleep in it when he had to rest as well as adding extra armor around the wheel wells. Finally, after over a month of careful planing, Lance was ready to disembark. Before he headed out the door he walked past a defective Android that had gone Insane after the Great crash. While It hadn't gone homicidal it had become worthless, cleaning the same 10 foot strip of floor for the last five years. It was rather unnerving to see it doing this day after day after week after month, so before Lance headed out the door he lifted his combat 12 gauge shotgun and placed the barrel to the Droids face. Being an Ex marine, Lance was hardly opposed to violence.

"See Ya in hell, you worthless man-bot." The droid almost seemed to cock its head in question just before Lance pulled the trigger, blowing its head clean off its shoulders.

 

[I Eat Brains]

Pluto Cox almost jumped out of her own artificial skeleton as she head something that sounded like a loud explosion or a gunshot ripple through the air around Sector 3. Her body shivered, though she wasn't cold.

She pressed her metallic fingers to her eyes, the artificial skin originally covering all of her mechanical limbs corroded away with time, leaving the flawless metal alloy visible to the naked eye; flawless except for a streak of blood dried between the grooves of her mechanical fingers. Her mother's blood.

Tears began to streak down as she recalled the events from a few months prior; the android ambush that her mother sacrificed herself in order to save her only beloved daughter from death. But what good was life when there was no one to share it with? What good was it to be fixed, to be able to walk again at the price of discarding a part of one's humanity?

Pluto let out a frustrated sigh and listened to the distant echo of the loud gunshot from before. Wiping her tears, she decided that hiding was no longer an option. It sounded quite close and if it was a gunshot from an Android, they would most likely tear her to shreds and if it were human, the reaction would be similar. She was part of neither, after all, and the thought, as well as the thought of her dead mother, made her feel even more alone.

She dusted the debris from her body and pulled the strap of her battered shoulder bag over her head. With extreme caution, Pluto peeped around the corner of the abandoned retail store door, her hiding place for the past few days. Gently tip-toeing over the crushed glass and battered mannequins, Pluto made her way as silently as she could to the Sector 3 exit.

One of the downfalls to her operation, other than the fact that it made her a freak, was that her heavy metal alloy limbs made it extremely difficult to move in stealth. Her every movement was tinged with a soft mechanical whine and she winced, and paused with every movement she made.

Another downfall was the fact that the mechanical limbs contributed to a significant increase in her body weight, a fact that she had completely forgotten as she stepped onto a crumbling piece of concrete flooring. As the floor gave way beneath her, Pluto automatically let out a loud scream and catch the edge of the flooring before she was about to plummet down into the abandoned building's basement carpark.

"AAAH!!"

Her scream echoed throughout the whole of Sector 3 and she immediately regretted the action, for whatever or whomever heard her cry would most likely not be a friend at all.

 

[Vay]

In high orbit a massive energy spike formed distorting space, bending it in on itself. The fabric of the universe was torn open and in the spit second before it slammed itself back together a ship appeared. The Scorched Earth, named after her target of her first mission and for the anti-surface guns she carried slid into orbit, silent in vacuum of space.

On board sirens rang out, amongst the noise and confusion every intercom blared "To all hands, Jump successful, drives at 100% operational capacity. All hands to stations. Repeat: jump successful. We have returned to normal space." A few seconds later when the post-jump confusion of crewmen running from their harnesses to their stations had died down. "This is the commander to all crew members. Congratulations, you have just set the speed record for an interstellar jump. By the time the transmission of your success reaches homeworld you should all be resting for the night."

The intercom fell into silence as the commander surveyed the bridge around him, this was HIS operation, even the captain had to listen to him. One by one the screens of the bridge crew lit up. Scan the surface, see if there is anything left down there." he said even though he didn't have to. This was a critical time for the operation, if there was nothing left they would have to pack up and go home and he would be in disgrace.

On the outside of the Scorched Earth's hull various parts that had been stowed to prevent damage from the high G-fores of the jump began to slide into place, scanning arrays weapons systems, and various other subsystems came online. "Put me on the baud band transmitter lets see if there are any humans left. The commander moved over to the communications terminal. He spoke in the interstellar trade language "People of the Human empire. This is the strike cruiser Karak Sia. He are in orbit and if you are able to respond please do so, he will be making planetfall shortly." he turned to the communications officer. "repeat that every ten minuets.

"Sir!" came the sensor tech's voice, "disturbances in the ionosphere will make communications difficult all we will be able to get from teams on the ground are beacons." Kralvok cursed, ok, if a beacon is set up send a dropship to act as a relay, if its human tell me before doing anything.

 

[Angel03]

Lilah Rihane Bayscott stood at the curb waiting cross but nothing to wait for. She remembered this place that use to be full of life and happiness but now it was nothing. It was all bleak and gray and they were to blame. This was single location was the place were they took her mothers life and so many others. She wasn't able to be here while her mother breathed her last breaths. She was able to hold her mother in her arms and be by her side as she entered into paradise leaving her only daughter to suffer in the desolate lands of sector 1. This was supposed to be a place were dreams came true and things seemed possible for those who were hopeless. It wasn't supposed to be a war zone for those tin can monsters!

clenching her fist she looked down immediately as tears trickled down her cheeks on on to the worn out sidewalk. "I hate you. I hate you." She said saying under her breath as she continued looking down with her eyes squinted shut. It wasn't just hatred to the machines that took her mothers life but to all who wanted and supported the creation of these demonic monstrosities. Why would they even think that machines could replace all human jobs? Where was the sense in that horrible idea. Oh yeah, create androids, and put the vast majority of the human population out of business. That was a brilliant idea because now they had androids on a killing spree and the vast majority of humans dead.

Lifting her head up she walked across the street just as a lone android swiftly ran past. Lilah nearly lost her balance as she immediately turned around and glared but the android was out of sight but clearly not out of mind. She wanted to scream and shout but figure that it wouldn't be such a good idea. She wasn't exactly well armed or equipped. She actually was planning on heading back home to raid the fridge and gather any remaining necessities and put it into the backpack she had purchased not to long ago. This was of course back in the day when she was looking forward to school and furthering her education. Now all she had to be concerned about was her survival. Ain't life grand.

 

[I Eat Brains]

Luckily for Pluto, there seemed to be no one around to hear her cry for she clung to the ledge with her mechanical arm for five or so minutes before hoisting herself up again onto solid ground. She was able to lift her own bodily weight quite easily, something she had realised after getting her new limbs and she was able to travel far greater distances since there wasn't a nerve setting for pain in her mechanical bodily parts.

Pluto looked down warily at the hole she had just created depicting a large black chasm below. It was only dark due to the lights being out but all the same, it looked endless and foreboding. The young woman turned away quickly and, this time, jogged toward the Sector 3 exit.

Once she was outside, she looked around at the desolate landscape before her. Barren, dusty and dead; the entire complex used to be hustling and bustling with activity but now, thanks to the Great Crash, was a ghost town filled with murderous or mentally broken machines. And Pluto didn't want to hang around too long in case she bumped into one.

She pulled the strap to her shoulder back tighter to her body and began jogging at a steady pace into the no man's land outside of Sector 3. Pluto's mechanical feet thumped heavily on the broken concrete ground, kicking up a wave of dust behind her and blocking her face partially with a mechanical hand to shield her eyes from the dust and debris.

As Pluto ran, she pulled out an old worn map; she had collected the several different pieces and managed to stick them together with carefully sewed thread. It was taken from the old Sector Maps she had found scattered around the area which used to show tourists the sights and important places of the block. It also showed parts of the surrounding areas, placed labelled with easy to recognise icons.

Pluto decided, since she was headed in a south easterly direction, she would take refuge at the Gas Station for the night, provided that it wasn't already infested by the Androids. Glancing up at the sky, she quickly calculated the amount of time it would take her to reach her desired position; forty minutes or so minutes of running.

It was times like these that she was thankful for sacrificing a bit of her humanity. She doubted that she would have survived for as long if it weren't for the surgery and wouldn't be able to travel long distances as she was now without any stops. Yes; this thought along with the feeling of leaving Sector 3 and all the bad memories behind, she finally felt just that little bit lighter and managed herself a small smile.

 

[October Knight]

Lance Silver Hopped in his armored Hum-V, fully armed and ready for whatever hellish onslaught the defective droids threw at him. A rouge bead of sweat ran down his cheek as he turned the engine over. The Hum-v thundered to life as he planted his foot on the gas peddle. Driving away from the deserted outpost, that had served as his home over the last few years, he couldn't help but cast a quick glance back in remembrance. He was now on a road into the unknown. A road into the Androids territory. It wasn't a path he wanted to take, but one that had to be taken to ensure survival.

After several long hours of navigating his way through the burnt out remains of sector 3, Lance finally made his way to the open highway. It had been so long since he had left his outpost that he had forgotten what the world out side had looked like. Rubble, destruction,slaughter and death littered the landscape. The Androids were like an infestation on the planet, it made Lance sick to think about it. He shot a quick glance out of the driver side window and saw a diner he used to frequent when he wasn't on duty. It was called "EDs Place". Over the top of the building was a sign that said "EAT AT EDS". The memories of a best left forgotten past swam viciously through Lance silvers head as he slammed his foot into the gas again. The massive Hum-v kicked up small rocks and dust as it shot down the deserted highway.

Just as Lance was reaching the outskirts of Sector 3 he noticed something very strange on his left hand side. It was a Young girl running at a very quick pace. Lance slowed down a bit and stared in awe at the sight. How on earth could a lone person, a female no less, have been able to survive out in this destruction? Lance then saw that she had Metal arms, Just as he thought, A Droid! But wait, upon closer inspection he noticed she had a Map in her hand. No droid would ever use a Map, there was no way she was a full Android......

Lance slowed to a crawl and lowered his passenger window. Being an ex Marine, Lance Silver always put himself out to help others, it was in his blood to do so.

"Excuse me, er, Miss......Are you ok?" His eyes glanced upon he partial robotics " If you need a Ride or something I'm heading out of Sector 3. Your welcome to come along." His eyes moved off her robotic limbs and fell upon her face. How beautiful she was thought Lance as he took a deep breath and said "My name is Lance Silver, by the way, I've just come from an abandoned Military outpost about three clicks to the south." By this point the Hum-V had come to a complete stop as Lance waited for her response.

 

[I Eat Brains]

"Excuse me, er, Miss......Are you ok?" His eyes glanced upon he partial robotics " If you need a Ride or something I'm heading out of Sector 3. Your welcome to come along." His eyes moved off her robotic limbs and fell upon her face. How beautiful she was thought Lance as he took a deep breath and said "My name is Lance Silver, by the way, I've just come from an abandoned Military outpost about three clicks to the south." By this point the Hum-V had come to a complete stop as Lance waited for her response.

Pluto had slowed to a complete stop just as the Hum-V did and eyed the stranger suspiciously. She never liked humans, not since the great crash greatly prejudiced them against android kind or even part thereof. Though, she thought distractedly, the fact that he had glanced at her hybrid body and didn't flinch was a positive sign.

But could she trust him to not shoot her for the half human she was? He was human, after all, and looked as if he had some military training. Lance, no doubt, would've experienced the murderous android rampage first hand; watching colleagues and friends around him being shred to pieces by the very machines that were created to protect and help them. Machines that made up 75% of her body.

A surge of hatred for herself rose within her chest but she managed to push it back down and swallow it. Now wasn't the time to punish herself with those kind of thoughts.

"I'm just called Pluto," She replied tucking her map tenderly into her shoulder bag in case it would rip. Her eyes warily glanced over the Hum-V. "Where out of Sector 3 are you heading off to? I... I was heading towards..."

Before Pluto could continue, the ground exploded near her foot, kicking up dust and rubble into the air. As the air quickly cleared, she could see the faint outline of several rogue robots making their way quickly out of Sector 3, their guns held up and aiming towards the direction of the Hum-V. Their bright red eyes stared menacingly from out of their sockets as they shot a few more rounds, though many of them missed since mother nature had worn down their navigational circuits and rusted their parts, preventing them from performing at 100% capacity.

"The androids!" Pluto gasped, then turned to Lance Silver, her previous woes and fears quickly disappearing from her mind at the approach of danger, "I'll go with you! Anywhere but here!"

 

[Vay]

The black ship lay in orbit, silently ticking away the minuets. The commander was inspecting his men: Seven elite shock troops, hand picked from thousands. Each one of them had had a small fortune in training, and valueless combat experience. He has confident each one of them could fight a war alone, and win.

"Right! Now that I have your attention. Let me point out that we have one HELL of a job to do. That planet....." He pointed a live feed if the surface below them taken from an external camera. ".... is overrun, and not by soft squishy humans, BUT BY COLD METAL KILLERS!" As he bellowed the last sentence even the hardened veterans before him blinked or flinched. "And its our job to take down the best of them and...." he stopped as a voice came over the intercom.

"Commander, sir. Gunfire has been detected, and there appears to be an active vehicle." the live feed zoomed in to show a hum-v and several androids. "GET SOME SLEEP!" he finished the briefing. Then spoke into the intercom. "Probe it." then he moved out into the metal corridor that lead to the bridge.

Out of the pale blue hanger a small unmanned probe slid out, it moved a few kilometers away before retro thrusters slowed its orbit bringing it into the atmosphere. A rapid shooting star sped across the sky before it decelerated into the lower atmosphere and deployed stubby wings and its super-sonic engines whined to life. Shrieking it turned its nose towards its objective and skimmed the rooftops building a wake of air powerful enough to leave a trail of dust on the ground. It came over the skyline and disappeared in the opposite direction in the same instant, then came the wind and dust, and finally the high pitched whine of the engines, like fingernails on a blackboard, only much louder. It only made one pass before it turned and turned its nose upward, punching a hole in the clouds as it returned with the data.

Human life detected: two units.

Vehicle: Hum-v class light transport. 89% functionality, combat ready

Civilian class androids: multiple contacts

Threat level: Nominal

 

[October Knight]

The Hot rays of the relentless sun poured down over Lance as he waited for the Girls response. Luckily, he had good AC in the hummer so he was quite cool despite the heat outside. He had to squint a little from the suns light that gleamed off of her metal parts as she spoke.

"I'm just called Pluto," She replied.

Lance smiled widely, exposing two rows of flawless teeth as he did so. Although he was a hardened Marine with many scars all over his body, he always took good care of his teeth. Like his mother always said "you can always tell where a persons been by their teeth" Lance never quite understood the saying, but nonetheless always kept his dental visits frequent and steady. Strange thoughts for strange times. Again he focused his attention on The girl, Pluto, who was looking a little hesitant in riding with him. Maybe she had suffered a lot of discrimination during the great crash due to her partial robotics, thought Lance. It was possible.

Just then, and apparently out of no where, the cold sound of close range gunfire erupted into the calm air. It thundered and echoed into the day like a wake up call, as if to say, GET THE HELL OUT OF THE ROAD. Lance didn't have to look to know it was Androids. Bullets hit the outer armor of the Hum-v as Pluto jumped in, saying that anywhere was better than here. Lance floored the Hummer with the deadly Androids in close pursuit. Lance knew that Droids that could wield guns could also run at great speeds, it was even possible that they would be able to catch up to the Hummer. Thinking quickly, Lance turned to Pluto and checked to see if she was buckled before whipping the large armored Hum-v around in a 18O. Now he could see the oncoming Droids. There Red eyes burning with pure hatred.

The closest Droid stopped, as if confused by Lances actions, this gave the Marine enough time to aim his weapon out the window and unload an armor piercing 12 gauge slug into the defunct bot. The blast blew it back about 10 feet, sending its metal parts flying into the air. Next Lance, with his sawn off shot gun hanging out the window, pumped the gas peddle viciously, speeding straight towards the other on coming Droid. Before he had left his out post he had equipped the hummer with a large steel plate in the front of his vehicle. At high speeds it would serve as a battering ram of sorts and thats just what it did in this situation. When Lance struck the Droid, head on, there was a tremendous SMACK that jolted them greatly, but sent the Droid flying into the air as well. without looking to see if he had killed them, Lance whipped the Hummer around once again and sped off down the highway.

"That was close, huh." Said Lance taking a deep breath while glancing in his rear view for any sign of them still being followed. "Well, I'm headed into sector 2 and then probably towards sector 1. Your welcome to ride with me as far as you want. By the way Did you hear something Like a super sonic jet of some sort fly over us just a minute ago?" Lance was so caught up in the moment that he thought he may have imagined it.

 

[Vay]

With a sharp clunk the probe was grabbed by the docking arm and began the journey to decontamination, the data downloaded wirelessly even before the clamps fastened on. Almost instantaneously imaged appeared on the consoles of all command staff. Two live humans, and a lot of androids, "Hum-v light transport," Kalvok breathed gazing at the video. He grabbed the intercom to the armory, "I want eight combat suits ready to go, 7 Pulse rifles and an AT." he then turned to the weapons officer. "Warm them up, We'll need to clear a landing zone." lastly he flipped a switch that triggered the barracks alarm to sound, It was time for his boys to wake up.

"WE WILL BE GOING DOWN FAST AND HARD." he roared at the squad assembled before him a few minuets later. "HERE." he said pointing to a location in sector 2, "Out new toys should make sure we don't have any surprises waiting for us, but I don't want anyone off tier guard. Our prey never sleeps, and they have a nasty habit of not dying. THESE!" he pointed to a rotating model of a repair android. "Are priority targets." he leered at the veterans before him, "Gear up, I'm going to have some fun. Hanger day in 20."

Sliding a hemet over his flat head the commander turned to a live feed of their chosen landing zone. "Hit it." he said into the microphone. The Scorched earth's main tri-barrel guns slid into position, and began spinning, a few seconds later the large lasers began tearing at the ground, leaving large craters and reducing an entire block into clear ground. But the commander wasn't around to see the end of the show, two objects fell through the atmosphere leaving behind contrails until they punched through the cloud layer. Breaking rockets fired as both drop-ships soft-landed in the cleared space, the ground still warm. Eight heavily armored figures jumped clear of one of them and six immediately began unloading supplies, another ran and opened the back hatch of the APC that was dropped by the second drop-ship. "Get those loaded, I want to get moving." the commander roared before boarding the transport. Finally, they where here.

 

[I Eat Brains]

As Pluto struggled to buckle herself in tightly into the passenger seat, she felt the car swerve violently around before Lance struck an incoming android with a devastating attack from his gun, shredding the crazed machine into a million separate pieces. Next, with a furious stomp on the peddle, Pluto watched as Lance drove the hum-v straight into another android, sending it flying high into the sky. Pluto poked her head out of the window just in time to see the android land in a puff of dust, twitching and sparking until Pluto could see it no more.

She became aware that Lance was speaking to her and pulled herself back in to look at the marine. One thing she noted about him was that his teeth were white, straight and perfect. This made Pluto become slightly paranoid about her own teeth which weren't as white or straight or perfect, so she refrained from smiling and kept her expression quite neutral. Not that she intended to be friendly straight away for, in reality, she was sitting in a car with a total stranger with a sawn off shot gun and if anything bad happened there was no one to help except for herself and she wasn't prepared to die just yet.

"I-I'm not sure if I heard something like that though it does sound familiar to me," Pluto replied in reference to the strange super sonic jet sound Lance had mentioned. "I only mostly remember the sound of bullets..."

Pluto managed a slight shudder at mentioning this before continuing, "I'm not sure what my plans are. I may stick with you until Sector 2 but we shall have to see."

There was a short moment of silence before she spoke again, feeling somewhat in debt of Lance having saved her earlier. He didn't deserve her cold attitude but could she really open herself up to a total stranger?

"By the way," Pluto said keeping her gaze upon the highway ahead, "Thank you for saving me earlier. If you hadn't come along... I'd..."

Her voice trailed off into silence, shaken at how close she had come to death; to joining her mother, her father, her first love and... the rest of humanity.

 

[October Knight]

As the thick, heavy smell of gun smoke drifted violently in the air, Lance thought about the times before the Great Crash. Before the crash Lance had worked first hand with brutal attack bots simular to those that had just attacked them. They had been very valuable to the earths defense, creating an emotionless fighting force that would never back down to any situation. Solders, like Lance, had often times referred to them as "The armored back bone of the Marines". That was before, however, everything went to hell. Now they were the enemy and would be treated as such.

Pluto Said that she may stick with Lance until sector 2, And Lance was glad to hear it. After spending years alone and isolated he really needed the companionship. He noticed that she looked a little timid, maybe from the gun battle that had just taken place, so as she thanked him for saving her he smiled and said that it was no problem at all. As the Hummer roared on down the abandoned high way that once served as a gateway between the thriving sectors, Lance tried his best to make Pluto feel better.

"Do you need some water or food? I only have a little but I'd be more than happy to share it with you.'' Said the Marine holding out a small canteen.

As his out stretched hand was extended towards Pluto it began to shake, in fact the whole Hummer began to shake. An explosion so violent was erupting near by that it was causing the very ground below the hum-v to jolt rapidly. Lance had just enough time to twist his head and see a powerful laser hitting the ground a couple miles away, it was cutting through the cracked earth like a saw through wood. Confused, and a little shaken Lance slowed the hummer down a bit. It was no doubt an Alien ship was causing that much destruction, but the question was why?

 

[Vay]

The crate where loaded, the dropships had departed for the Scorched Earth, visible only by the blue glow coming from their engine as they raced through the sky. On the ground the armored transport moved towards the end of the clearing, its tracks crushing rocks and the steady hum of its engine could be making silent movement impossible.

"Sir!" the driver said pointing to the movement scanner which had just flared to life showing dozens of approaching automatons. The commander's response was to tap the man closest to him on the shoulder and point upwards. The shock trooper stood and put his head into the small dome on the ceiling and thumbed the controls for the heave laser turret. The steady clatter of the rapid-fire weapon and the smell of scorched metal filled the clearing, but the androids kept coming until all of them where scrap.

The rear door opened and five of the soldier got out and moved over to the fallen androids. Four stood watch while the technician examined the bunt metal heaps. "None of these are usable, to damaged." he reported through the radio. "Alright moving on." They rushed back to the transport and the door closed before the engine revved and the transport continued its journey.

 

[I Eat Brains]

"Do you need some water or food? I only have a little but I'd be more than happy to share it with you.'' Said the Marine holding out a small canteen.

At the sight of the canteen, Pluto's mouth involuntarily began to water. It occurred to her that she hadn't had a drink in more than one day and that her lips were dried and chapped, and her temples were pounding against her brain from lack of hydration. She was beyond thirsty and took the canteen from Lances fingers, as slowly as she could without looking desperate, then chugged the liquid god-send down her throat.

"I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean to drink most of it... I-I know you don't have much," She stammered when she finished with a wipe of her mouth with her metal wrist. Pluto clasped the almost empty canteen and was about to say more when something seemingly alien penetrated the atmosphere and tore at the earth surface.

Pluto stuck her head out of the passenger window once more and squinted into the distance. Two objects had landed. Alien ones. Were they hostile? Or did they finally receive Earth's cry for help? She turned to the Marine for some insight into the matter.

"What's that over there? Do you think they've come to help us?" She asked hopefully then added with a slightly sombre tone, "Or are they here for another reason completely?"

 

[October Knight]

Pluto took the canteen and drank like she hadn't had water in a few days at least, the way that she drank brought a smile to the hardened marines face. when she said she was sorry that she almost drank it all Lance simply waved it off with a small laugh.

"Its alright, you can go ahead and have the rest if you want.....I've got more." He watched as the partial robotic girl stuck her head out the window, as Lance followed her line of vision he saw what she was looking at. It appeared to be two drop ships landing at the very place the lasers had hit only moments ago. The lasers must have been clearing a landing site for the drop ships, thought Lance.

Lance made a decision to locate the point of Impact. He wasn't sure what he would find there but one thing was for sure; nothing - android or human- could survive a blast like that from a concentrated laser beam. Whatever had been there prior to the blast was now destroyed and that meant no androids so in Lances mind it was as good a place as any to head. So with his ration gathering mission on hold for the time being, Lance got off of the main highway and headed down a small access road that would lead them to where the blast had hit and where alien craft were now landing.

"What's that over there? Do you think they've come to help us?" She asked hopefully then added with a slightly sombre tone, "Or are they here for another reason completely?"

"I'm not sure, but whatever they are doing it must be in someway related to our situation. I think we should go and find out." Said lance as he completed his turn onto the small access road. By this point the sun, which had been burning brilliantly, was making its turn in the sky towards the downward descent that would lead to night. It just occurred to Lance that he had been driving all day without a moments rest, he was getting very tired.

Although it had only been several hours since Lance had left the out post that had served as his home for the past few years it seemed like days, it was funny the way he felt slightly homesick for the outpost. In reality he had hated it there very much, but when he left it was like he was leaving all he knew so it in fact made him a little sad to think about it. He almost laughed out loud at the thought then thought better of it. Wouldn't want Pluto to think he was crazy this soon after they had met. He shot a quick glance over to the young girl. Her partial implants kept drawing his eyes to her, that and her beauty. She was a very attractive young women, especially to Lance who had been void of all human contact for years. He quickly turned his head back to the road so as not to be caught staring.

As fatigue over took the Marine he pulled over to a clearing at the side of the road, about a mile from where he thought the alien landing zone to be.

"I'm terribly sorry, Pluto, but I've got to rest for a bit. It seems that I was getting more tired than I thought. I've made the back of the Hummer up into living quarters, I'm going to have a little bit to eat if you care to join me." Lance lifted a small latch that gave way to a door of sorts that had to the back of the Hum-v. There he had two futons on either side that would serve as chairs and a little table in the middle. Before he left his outpost he thought he may have to use the Hummer as a temporary place to live so he did his best to make it comfortable. As he sat at the end of one of the futons he reached into a near by ice chest and pulled out another bottle of water and some beef jerky. It wasn't much, but it would do.

"So pluto, can I ask how you got all those Implants." He said bitting of a rather large piece of jerky.

 

[Vay]

Things had settled in to constant state of readiness inside the Klacton transport as it made its way through the desolated landscape. Driver keeping one eye on the scanners, every few moments the gunner would turn around to check for movement behind them, everyone else was trying not to be bored.

They made steady progress along one of the roads through the sector without encountering any more of their prey, the silence was only broken by some light conversation, until something was picked up on the scanner.

The commander immediately ordered the transport to halt, and the rear doors opened. In pairs six of the aliens felt the transport and took position in cover while the heave laser cannon of the transport sighted in, its optics allowing the vehicle to be identified.

"Light transport, in good shape too." the gunner called down, no sign of any crew though." a

"Signal them, If there are any humans I want them to know we're here, if there aren't, we just got our first prize."

On the front of the alien transport the headlights flashed twice, then the searchlight shone on the human vehicle, and the aliens waited for a reply, those outside the transport surrounding the hum-v.

 

[I Eat Brains]

Pluto felt a rare eagerness inside her as Lance announced that they should inspect the strange alien landing closer. She had never had any contact with any alien entities before, though her parents had a few times during their business trips but all that had stopped when her father died while she was very young.

Her gaze focused on the view outside the hum-v windscreen. It was a clear sky and the sun was beginning to dip into the horizon, casting shadows across the landscape and turning the light into a fiery orange. She hadn't realised how far they had driven. The incident with the android attack before seemed like such a distant memory. It was funny how such things seem so far away when you're surrounded by silence.

Pluto's reverie was disturbed by the slight sensation of being watched, though when she looked around, Lance was busy watching the road and looking increasingly tired as the miles ticked by. Her eyes studied him carefully from the spiky tips of his white hair, right down to his combat boots. She noticed for the first time that he had a scar travelling from the very top of the left side of his face right down to his chin from the side mirror. She wondered who - or what - had caused him to have such a horrific facial detail. It contrasted greatly with his perfect white teeth.

Quickly, to avoid being caught looking, Pluto looked away for a while but then slowly turned her head and studied him some more. He was rugged and worn; a man who had seen and fought many battles but had toughened greatly because of it. Though, Pluto thought she could see another softer side to the marine; a side that liked to nurture and care for those around him. Could she be truly safe with him? She wanted to believe it true but her inner instinct warned her. Had not her best friends abandoned her because of her change? Had not the neighbours that she grew up with most of her life threatened to dismember her because she had sacrificed a part of her own humanity to save her own life?

Before she could think any further, Lance slowed the hum-v down and pulled over to a clearing at the side of the road, about a mile from where he thought the alien landing zone to be.

"I'm terribly sorry, Pluto, but I've got to rest for a bit. It seems that I was getting more tired than I thought. I've made the back of the Hummer up into living quarters, I'm going to have a little bit to eat if you care to join me."

Pluto watched as Lance made his way for the far side of one of the futons in the rear of the hum-v. It was cleverly put together and looked comfortable too, a great change from sitting on pebbles, chipped rocks and cracked concrete. She followed him to the back, to sat herself opposite the marine and brought the almost empty canteen to her lips.

After several gulps she wiped her mouth and set the empty canteen on the table. She felt bloated but satisfied. Reaching her hand into her side bag, she pulled out a small candy bar and unwrapped it, chewing and savouring the sweet flavour as the chocolate and caramel slowly melted into her mouth. There was a time when she despised sweets but that was a long time ago. To find anything of the sort now would be something akin to winning a prize in the lottery.

"So pluto, can I ask how you got all those Implants." He said biting off a rather large piece of jerky.

Pluto looked at her mechanical limbs, her memories flooding into her mind like a tidal wave. She decided against a full explanation, perhaps later on when she was more emotionally prepared.

"I was in an accident that... that I barely came out of alive. I couldn't move for a while, only my head and a little of my shoulders but I was pretty much paralysed," Pluto began as she stared at the steel alloy parts that made up her forearm, "ExoCo made an offer to me that I couldn't refuse. They wanted to give me the chance to walk again and live a normal life but it was at the risk of implanting technology that had never been used before... I could've died on the operating table...

"But of course, as you can see, everything went fine," She looked up at Lance and managed a small smile, "I can walk and move about better than I could before..."

Just as Pluto was about to ask Lance about his strange scar, the landscape outside seemed to flash brightly twice, as if they were being signalled by something. Worried and beginning to feel frightened, Pluto looked to Lance for guidance.

"What was that?"

 

[October Knight]

As Lance chewed on a large piece of beef jerky, stopping only to fish another piece out of his small bag, Pluto recounted the tale of how she came upon her Robotic replacement limbs. He was amazed at what she had been through and really felt for her as many of his fellow marines had been multiple amputees. From what he could tell she was a solder; a person that had been to hell and back, and was still fighting to survive. Lance gained a lot of respect for the young girl and was very much glad to have meet her. Her robotic parts, that had bothered him at first, now seemed natural to Lance.

Finishing his light meal, Lance rose to his feet to load and clean his weapon. It was a ritual to do so for any marine after a battle. He ejected the spent shell casing and reloaded. The shot gun, which held five rounds, six with one in the hole, was now fully loaded and ready to go. HE began to reach for a lightly oiled cloth, that he kept for the cleaning of his many guns, when two bright flashes of light shown thrown the back windows of the Hum-V. After the flashes a steady beam, that Lance suspected was from a spot light, rested on the Hummer.

"What the Hell is that" Lance said,cocking the shot gun and turning to look out the window. Out side nothing was visible under the heavy shine of a powerful spot light.

"I'm going to check it out, Pluto. Come with me or if you want stay here. If you come with me let me go first." With that Lance swung open the back door of the Hummer, Holding his cocked weapon down at his side. If these "Spot lighters" were not enemies he didn't want them to get scared or hostel. Once out of the Hummer Lance saw that it was an Alien transport of some sort. Although they kept the spot light on, Lance didn't think they were here to attack. Standing in the bright light Lance stood fearless, waiting for the Aliens to exit their transport.

 

[Vay]

Around twenty meters from where Lance stood two Klacton stood, their bulky forms easily visible, another pair emerged on the opposite side as their transport, and two more close to it, one of whom was wielding a large weapon, that was obviously designed to penetrate armor. From behind the transport came another figure, dressed in the same body armor as the other but not carrying a weapon. He approached the marine at a steady pace and stopped a few meters away from him before raising a hand, as he did this all the other aliens lowered their weapons.