The Sapphire Navigator.

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Lance shot a small smile at Terra, "Yea, a weapon is always a good thing to have" He briefly thought back to the recent shot out at "God'd gift", it had been a bloody mess. Lance smiled wide at the memory, but quickly corrected himself. Why was he so happy with himself, what he had done was no less than cold blooded murder masked in self defense. Lance looked down at the tattoo on his arm, it stared at the very top of his shoulder with a red skull. Then under the skull were small black notches , 36 of them -soon to be 48 -, each on representing a dead member of the red fleet. Maybe they would have a tattoo parlor on the planet they were headed towards.

As the space station, not unlike a mobile monolith, moved across the sky, Lance thought about the planet they were headed towards. It was called Delkar 7, Delkar being the name of the solar system in which in was located, and 7 signifying that it was the 7th Planet in the solar system. It was a fairly new planet, only having been inhabited for about 300 years. Initially, it was a mineral and goods produce planet, only inhabited by androids. Where the Droids would havest various mineral from the planet and then ship them to the plaents to be refined. The only structures were Plants and factories that refined the many minerals and metals that were collected on the surface and shipped out to other planets, in fact the entire Delkar solor system was nothing more than a huge mineral processing plant.

However, over time, and as the minerals were totally stripped from the ground, Deltron 7 became a tourist spot. WHere people would come from all over to vacation there. You might ask yourself; Why would anyone want to vacation on an old, used up planet? Because the Giant factories were transformed into resort hotels and the over all layout of the planet was similar to the beautiful desert areas of earth, like Palm Springs or Las Vegas. Now, over one hundred years after the mineral harvest times, Androids still are the main inhabitants of the Planet, although some Humans live among them, they are the ones that run the vast majority of the facilities.

The Androids are of the Humanoid and worker type; Some appear to be human but are nothing more than metal and plasma underneath, and others are clearly robotic- their outer shells are metal- these ones are usually built to preform one or two specific jobs. They work closely with the humans, but are the ones who more or less run the planet. They work all the menial jobs, such as clerks at hotels, cashers, bell hops, cab drivers, janitors and even chefs at fancy restaurants. The only thing the humans do is over see the overall activist of the Droids. They also do some basic maintenance on the robots. Not much is needed of the Humans because the whole of the android population is actual controlled and regulated by a "Mother Computer", nicknamed "Mother Brain". Most of the time the Droids and Humans work well together, they compliment each other and complete what is more or less a "perfect society".

Lance stared out the window, in the distance was the looming mass of stars that made up the Delkar solar system, and in the center was their destination, Delkar 7. Lance had heard of its history as a mineral harvesting planet, that was now a resort. He was very interested in it. HE was also very interested in seeing a planet that functioned well with an Android over Human population. It fascinated him to no end; the way human technology could advance to the point of a planet that ran almost entirely from computers.

" Alright, Delkar 7 Terra" He noticed how quick his Navigator was at locating and finding planets and once thanked god that he had her. HE caught himself staring at he in a way that you might find a husband staring at his wife of 20 years; an unconditional love and trust that could only be formed through years and years of close contact. As it was, they spent most of their time in very close quarters. They knew each others movements, they could sense the way each other moved. Terra knew his faults and strengths and Lance knew hers. Lance quickly snapped out of his adoration of her and went to pack his things.

Little did either of them know that Delkar 7 was in chaos, and the majority of the Androids had gone insane. If any humans were left alive there, they were frightened and at this very moment being hunted down and killed like dogs.
 
Terra typed in the commands of the planet in a blur; her eyes narrowing just a bit as they usually did when she was focused. She felt just as strongly about Lance- as he felt towards her, yet she was sort of uncertain if it was even safe- to approach that subject. Besides, with all the danger the two of them were thrown in from seemingly every planet they've visited so far, wouldn't it be best to stay friends?- The station closed in on Delkar 7 and would arrive probably within a few hours at most. She set her laptop down and went to the rest room to shower, and get dressed in clean clothes. She changed out her bandages last, taking only one pill so she wouldn't feel anything for at least a day or so. She found a decent laser gun and tucked that in her belt. "We should arrive on Delkar 7 within two-three hours, Lance." She told him, having known him too long to go all formal unless they were in public. She was curious about this new planet as well as its inhabitants. Were they decent? Or would they probably have to hightail it back to their ship as she strangely suspected they would? Terra really wasn't looking forward to anymore unpleasant encounters. For once she wanted a nice quiet planet that offered good hospitality-- hah she could probably keep dreaming on that.
 
Lance , having packed everything he would need, paced in front of the huge window. He was thinking about Narbra, and how close they had some to getting killed. He was still worried about Terra, but he knew she wouldn't let him. He stopped and stared out of the window and into the never ending black and the tiny black stars that dotted the surrounding sky. Lance had an attration to space that bordered on being a fetish, his attraction to it was near to that of his attraction to sex. He didn't see it as a problem, but more of a thirst that needed to be quenched. The only was for him to do that was through space travel.

" Alright Terra, how you feeling? Cause if you want we can wait?" He took a step towards her and looked into her eyes, making sure she knew he was serious.
 
Terra blinked innocently as possible, showing neither pain or discomfort, though she felt a bit of both-like she'd admit that in a million years to slow anything down. "No need to wait. I'm fine for this expedition. Honest." She told him, knowing he was serious about this and knowing she had no intentions of slowing anything down.Little did she know it would have been a better idea to just pass this planet by entirely and -wait- a few more months as she was told, before any major exploring. But the small ship was already fueled and ready to fly towards Deltar 7. 7- that seemed to be an omen number for both of them lately.
 
Once the space station was close enough, Lance decided it would be best to board their small ship and take it the rest of the way. Since Delkar 7 was primarily a tourist resort now, there were no boarding protocol to follow, just land in one of the economy bays and depart. Once Lance had all his things together, including his .45 as well as the shot gun he had got at the Bar on Narbra, he and Terra headed down to the small ship. Lance had an old flyer for a famous pizza place that was on the Planet, it was called "Delkar delight pizza".

"Check it out, Terra, 2 for one all meat supremes. I want one of those" Lance had no idea that there was no pizza to be eaten on Delkar7 and as they started up the little ship and flew off to the boarding gates, not a single Human remained alive on the entire planet.
 
"You and your pizza cravings, captain." Terra chuckled. personally, she'd settle for some fresh fruit right about now, but as they stepped inside the gates, an awful feeling hit her from nowhere. "Does this place seem a bit. . .empty to you?" She asked, a chill going down her spine just then. She gazed at their surroundings, her senses suddenly on high alert. Maybe this planet wasn't such a vacation place as they first thought?
 
Lance was about to answer, his stomach taking complete control of him by this point, when he heard Terra speak. He looked up and saw that she was right. Just out side of the gates, where lance expected to see a whole assortment of touristy attractions, was instead a barren and desolate scene. Large buildings lined either side of the street, which was covered in twigs and tumbleweed. One of the largest buildings, had a a large, burnt out, neon sign that read " The palm outlook", no doubt a motel directed towards the large amount of tourists that had at one point visited here. Another thing Lance noticed is that there were no lights, all the street lights and all the light up signs were out, and the worst part was….it was getting dark. Just as Lance was about to grab Terra and run back to the Dock he heard a sound.

CUR CHUNK


It was the sound of the Dock bay doors closing for the night.


Lance looked to Terra, with a look in his eye that said. "Now what?"
 
"I think we should find somewhere more out of sight and less open for the night. I'm sure the doors will be open in the morning." Terra said, scanning the terrain and finding what looked to be a small cave by a lake, surrounded completely by forests. The cave was certainly in a strange area, but it oddly fit considering the weirdness of this planet in general. She started walking towards the cave, not seeing anything that looked any safer. She really didn't want to encounter anyone from this planet even if she did see someone. Or Thing.
 
Lance followed Terra towards the cave, once again trusting her keen ability to find the best places to go in any given situation.HE took noticed to the over all abandoned feeling of Delkar 7, it was as if everything and everyone had just vanished. There was no sounds at all; no humming of machines, no buzz from neon lights or sings, no motors of passing by cars -or cars at all for that matter, no nothing….just empty space. As they approached the cave, Lance noticed that the sun that lit the planet was quickly sinking into the sky. Soon everything would be dark, not dark like it normally gets in the city but Dark like it gets in the middle of the forest….complete darkness.

They got to the entrance to the cave, just as all the light was leaving the sky. Lance had long since loaded and cocked his weapon, holding it at the ready.

"I think we should start a fire"
 
Terra shivered, rubbing her arms as the air seemed to get colder the further they walked inside the dark cave. "Good idea. I'll go get branches and kindling for a big fire, then at least we'd be able to see inside this place." She agreed, walking back to a tree and quietly gathering as many bundles of sticks and branches mixed with leaves, even blades of grass that her two arms could carry, then using stones to set the fire in a circle, controlled area. She made the fire herself, using a lighter she had in her pocket for convenience. Hopefully they'd stay safe until morning, then hurriedly go back to their ship.
 
The fire burned brightly, illuminating the cave. It was no longer dark . It warmed the captain nicely as he leaned up against the cave all and stretched his legs out in front of him. Despite the fact they were trapped on a foreign planet, it was actually pretty nice. Lance, for a second, thought that if there was anything on the planet that was out to hurt them, it would have no problem finding them. Either way, at least for the time being, it was nice, warm, and cozy.

" You know you should really try to rest, Terra. I could have gotten the kindling." Lance didn't even know why he bothered, if she haden't started to listen by now she probably never would, he quickly added " But thanks, the firs is very nice" It seemed at times that there was nothing she coudn't do. Lance, at that moment, thought she was the most perfect girl in the universe.

" I wonder what happened here?" Said Lance, still hungry as ever.
 
Terra smiled slightly, curled up against the cave wall, watching the lake from the entrance. "No telling, what happened. And it's alright. I'm not hurting too badly right now. I should be fine for a few hours...besides we'll need to take turns watching for trouble. I volunteer." She even remembered how hungry he was and set up a decent packaged meal for him to eat. She herself wasn't that hungry. She took a long drink of water from her own bottle, then passed one to Lance. Yep, Terra was predictably good at leading expeditions like these. If their luck held out, both of them would be fine by the time they left. But both of them probably knew that was a very strong IF.
 
"Right, watch" Said Lance, becoming somewhat professional all of the sudden. He took the packaged meal that Terra had set up for him, it wasn't much, but Lance was so hungry that it was better than he could have hoped for. He devored it like an animal, as he did with all his food, then leaned back, resting the shot gun across his lap. The weight of the gun was nice, it made him feel at ease. While he rested, he thought about what the hell happened here? It was so deserted that it looked like no one had been here for years. What had happened to all the androids? It boggled his mind.

" Sure you got it Terra?, I am getting a little tired."
 
Terra nodded. "I've got this watch, Lance. You can go to sleep." She assured him, letting the fire warm her as she huddled closer to the entrance, just so nobody would walk in or surprise them without going through her first. She kept watch for several hours even after Lance dozed off. She felt wide awake tonight and very apprehensive. Anything this quiet in the galaxy was usually just trouble. But hopefully the two of them would have at least a few quiet hours. They'd figure out what happened in the morning if it was safe enough to, then go on their way.
 
Lance fell asleep almost as soon as his head hit the hard rock floor. One thing about Lance, he could sleep under almost any circumstances. Years and years of space travel in pressurized cabins are to thank for that. He drifted off to sleep as Terra sat watch, if he had any dreams he was unaware of it. He was also unaware of the approaching danger, just at that moment a horde of savagely defunct androids approached.

Although they had the human forms that their human creaters had given them, they were quite dilapidated. Certain parts of their "skin" had been torn away, leaving the metal under parts exposed. Some of them were missing eyes and pieces of their lips or noes, giving them quite a disturbing look. They were evil looking, and the fact that they had long since killed of and imprisoned their human creators years ago didn't help this image much.

They quickly zoomed on on the cave, they surrounded the outside and filled the interior. The fire burned brightly , but it offered little to no comfort in the fact that the two were about to be taken prisoner. Without a word, One Android delivered a savage blow to Lances skull, knocking him from sleep to K.o.ed in a matter of seconds. Another rushes onto Terra…….
 
Terra gave a startled scream, but automatically struggled to shove the creepy android masses off her. She had to reach Lance! She cussed so vulgarly it would make a sailor blush in shame, threw solid punches that only helped bruise her knuckles, and then she felt something smack against her skull so hard she saw red and white spots. She had been given a pretty severe concussion from that blow, and finally blacked out, ceasing all struggles though she could have carried on like someone insane if she'd been given the chance. She had no idea what was going to happen to either of them now.
 
The Droids, without uttering a word, carried the two through the forest and back into the main town. The Androids, shortly after the computer crash that drove them all insane, began to travel in packs. Its almost as if they were resorting back to some sort of primitive roots, which is odd because they really have no roots other than what they knew after being create by man. They were a savage Android clan hell bent on destroying each and every living thing they came in contact with.

As they were carried, Lance woke in a half dazed state for just a moment before passing back out. He didn't see much other than the ground passing by over his head. He was being carried upside-down. After an unknown amount of time, Lance woke. He was obviously in a cell because Iron bars incased the small room. To his right was a toilet and to his left, laying on the ground next to him was TErra. He thanked the god he didn't believe in; His Navigator was alive!
 
Though she still lived, Terra slept as if one falling into a coma. Blood trickled from her forehead, her stab wounds were starting to lose their stitching from how much she'd strained herself. However, even in her unconscious state, she sensed- a way out of that cell. It lay directly below them; under her back was a trap door even the androids had forgotten about. Apparently a near-century ago, refugees had built an underground tunnel that lead towards the docking bay. Oddly enough they'd found ships and flown out of the planet, but there were still some humans who hadn't been as lucky. A few rotted skeleton bones littered the next cell beside theirs. Terra gradually woke up, stiff with a massive migrane, and shifted just a little so she uncovered the door which was hidden by an old throw-rug. "If we can get this trap door open.... we can get out." She told him, trying to make her eyes focus. "are you okay enough to run, Lance?" She asked, wanting to make sure he- could at least escape.
 
Lances head swam. He could feel dried, slightly stick blood crusting on his forehead. His left eye felt more or less swollen shut as well, "I must look like rocky", thought Lance as Terra Spoke. It seemed that she had once again used her uncanny ability to save them. As she rolled over Lance, for the first time, realized that there was a trap door under her. How could the Androids forgotten about that? Was it a trap? He didn't know, but he did know that eh was going to pick up Terra and take her down there…and thats just what he did.
 
Terra would have protested against being carried- she didn't care much to hinder or slow anyone down, but so far no one seemed to know anything about this tunnel, since there weren't any androids or people around for miles in sight. And there was a clear shot right underneathe the docking bay. Could their luck get any better? She fell asleep without trying to, even though during concussions you were supposed to stay awake the whole time. She just didn't want to right then. At least not until they were safe on their ship and back to the station. She didn't want to explore planets that were hostile anymore.
 
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