Yay! I'm back!! And i have to say that i am really excited about this story :) I tried and failed to write it all out before posting though, so i wouldn't expect regular updates. But you know what makes me write faster?! REVIEWS!! :-D
Notes: This story was inspired by the band Rise Against ( i was listening to their new CD while coming up with this) So if you want to thank somebody you can thank them for helping me thing it up :) I also like constructive criticisim (it helps me become a better writer) and if you flame me for a stupid and/or irrational reason, i will laugh. That is all. OH! And there will be a few OCs in here. They won't be huge characters in the story (well some may be) but they are necessary. And i shall try to make them as loveable (or hateable) as possible :)
Disclaimer: Ugh...fine i don't own Teen Titans...
Now that the introduction is over...on to the story! :-D
"Before we packed our bags and
Left all this behind us in the dust,
We had a place that we could call home
And a life no one could touch"
-Rise Against (Prayer of the Refugee)
Prologue
Space. A halcyon, living beauty and hell all in one. Its vastness has driven many beings to explore it's mysteries and fly to the deepest depths of the black nothingness to look for something they could call their own. The word 'space' itself seems to draw on as it rolls from one's tongue and into the ears of another. Stars of any shape, size, color, or name clump together as far as the eye can see, and different planets, along with their moons, are set in the large gap of emptiness between them.
Suddenly, the loud, roaring sound of an engine could be heard in the emptiness, the sound waves disturbing the peaceful silence and distorting the view a little from the engine's heat. It was a small grey and black ship slowly coasting across the universe as it made its way towards its destination, which it was a few days away from. The name Athena's Soldier was clearly printed on the smooth grey metal in bold white letters on the ship's side and wings.
The inside was empty, silent except for the occasional creak of metal or a small thunk from a space rock hitting the outside layer of the ship. In the control room machines beeped and little lights flashed in correspondence to the ship's condition. All in all, it was a medium sized, light, and healthy piece of machinery, made to withstand years of floating through the largest amount of empty space God has ever made.
In the middle of the space ship, was an enclosed circular room with long metal rectangles welded to the wall. They were a solid white color with steel hinges on one side, and a latch and code box on the other. Each were tall enough and wide enough to hold a human body, and had pipes shooting out from the tops which pumped oxygen into the interior. These 'Shells', as the crew called them, were made for astronauts who had to go into hyper sleep on long missions. Once one was in a Shell, a special gas was emitted into the airtight chamber, sending the astronauts into a deep sleep, almost like hibernation.
And inside the third Shell on the left, one person was waking up, about to experience the grenade-sized headache everyone received after their first hyper sleep.
Inalen groggily pried her copper eyes open, finding it very difficult to register where she was. She blinked rapidly, and rubbed her eyes to get all the sleep out of them. The air surrounding her was thick and humid, making breathing a little hard for her. Inalen's registering screen that showed her pulse and brain activity, which was slightly increasing, showed that she was alive and awake. Inalen smiled, finally remembering where she was. Oh yeah! Pejite, now I remember the Australian thought to herself.
Inalen was one of four teenagers that had been given the opportunity to go on an outer space mission to the planet Pejite. Apparently they were the only four teens in the world that managed to qualify for this trip. They were all smart beyond average, their achievements were thought of as 'none other than extraordinary' to their teachers and parents. They were the smartest teen from their country, which was probably part of the reason of why they were picked. The other reason was for their personalities and interests. Of course they all loved space, and they all had the qualities they needed for each of their positions as pilot, geologist, engineer, and medical doctor.
Inalen started when she heard a computerized voice from above her say, "Good morning Inalen. Sleep: undisturbed. Dangers detected during hyper sleep: none. Minutes to planet Pejite: two hundred…"
Inalen flipped the volume level to mute and the computer's protocol turned into silence once more. She didn't like computerized voices, it made her feel inhuman. Blowing a strand of fiery orange hair out of her eyes, Inalen punched in the numbers on the screen that would open her Shell's door. There was an audible hiss as the door opened and let clean air flood into the compartment. Inalen quickly undid the long, black Velcro belts that secured her to the soft padding of her Shell, and landed on the metal floor with a soft thunk.
When she gazed at her teammates Shells , which were set up all around the walls in the same room, and she found that they were all still closed. Smirking, Inalen closed her own and tiptoed towards the door. Only after she softly closed the door behind her, she allowed herself a little victory jump and raced towards the kitchen. Finally I'm up before the boys! Food here I come! She screamed excitedly in her mind. She ran faster at the prospect of getting to eat before the boys woke up and ate everything…again.
Inalen finally reached the kitchen door, yanked it open, and immediately scowled. There at the small, round table were her teammates Malcom, Amora, and Danil, as well as their supervisors, Mr. Jim and Ms. Sandra. All of whom were smirking at her frustration.
Inalen glared at Malcom and Danil, "How is it you guys are always up before me?!"
Danil and Malcom shared a knowing look before Danil shrugged and answered, "Ve just like ze food."
His Russian accent made Inalen grin a little, she always loved the way he spoke. Mr. Jim looked up from his newspaper, which was probably from five months ago when they first took off, and smiled at her, "Ah, Inalen. How nice of you to join us. Come sit down and have some breakfast."
Inalen couldn't keep the smile from coming up at the old man's suggestion, and sat down in the unoccupied seat between Danil and Amora. Mr. Jim always reminded her of Dumbledore from her Harry Potter books. Except for the fact that his hair and beard were short, and he wasn't magical. Amora handed her a glass and passed the jug of ice water towards the Australian, giving her a small smile.
Amora had been the first picked out of all of them. She was from South America. Her mother was Hispanic. Her father, American. She lived in the USA most of her life, but after her dad died she and her mom decided to go spend some time in her birthplace, Brazil. She was a very sweet, very kind person. She usually was a babysitter back on Earth, but here she was a pilot. She could steer a sip through a meteor shower or sling-shot around a planet with expertise. While she was nice, as well as quiet, she could also take charge if the situation called for it. Especially if the boys got into trouble.
Malcom was from America. He was African American, born in Texas, and frankly, he was just about the coolest person Inalen has ever met. He originally worked in his dad's auto shop whenever he wasn't bull riding or breaking a new horse. She also considered him one of the greatest paintball players of all time. It wasn't much of a surprise when he was assigned to be the Engineer. All of those years helping his dad fix cars had definitely helped.
Danil was from Russia. While he appeared to be shy, he was actually a pretty outgoing person once you go to know him. He had told them of his mom who was a famous doctor back in his hometown. The blond spent a lot of time reading some of her medical books on his days off of school, and even helped out around the hospital whenever they were short on staff. So, after years of researching and practice, he was here serving as their Medical Practitioner.
And Inalen? She came from deep in the Australian outback. Her house was built on the side of a mountain, and her parents knew their way around it like they were made to live on it. The same went for Inalen. She lived on that mountain all her life and was fascinated by the mountain's structure. She would hike for hours just to look at the different rocks that made up the huge monument. She would always come home with a geode or arrowhead of some kind when the day was over. Her love of rocks lead her to reading books and watching documentaries on anything related to the hard material. She handled each stone with care, as if it were made of glass. She always went mountain climbing or cave diving when she was bored and developed a sort of respect for the Earth. So here she was, serving as the geologist that was sent to study the structure of the planet Pejite.
Malcom snapped his fingers, and Inalen blinked, her deep thoughts abruptly halting at the sound. She glanced at her friend and he chuckled, "Just because your body's in space, it doesn't mean your head should be."
Inalen rolled her eyes in annoyance, "Yeah, yeah, can I just get some food? Or did you blokes eat it all?"
Malcom scoffed and threw her a package of dried 'astronaut's food'. "Here ya' go Princess."
Inalen tore off the plastic packaging and took a bite. Hmm tastes like dried apricots. She then looked at the packages label which clearly read out 'apricot'. Oh duh.
Inalen looked around the kitchen and noticed someone was gone. She swallowed and asked her supervisor, "Mr. Jim, where'd Mrs. Sandra wander off to?"
The white haired man glanced at the Australian, "Oh she went to see how the ship is function."
Malcom looked up, "Isn't that my job?"
Mr. Jim nodded, "Yes, but she figured she'd give you one free morning before the real work begins." He sent the young American a knowing smile.
BANG!
All humans started at the loud, echoing noise that had come from somewhere else in the ship.
Shocked and worried, the four young astronauts ran towards the banging, which sounded like it had come from the control room. Amora and Inalen got there first, and when they looked upon the room, they screamed. There was their teacher, Mrs. Sandra, dead and lying in a pool of her own blood in the middle of the floor. There was a bullet hole in the middle of her forehead. The boys had heard their scream and suddenly appeared behind them. Danil's frantic voice called out, "Girls! Vat's wrong in…"
He and Malcom stopped dead in their tracks, gasping at the sight of their guardian's body. Malcom stared wide eyed at Mrs. Sandra's lifeless form, "What the…"
But he was cut off as a giant, read beam shot towards them. They felt a electrical shock run through their veins and as they lost consciousness, they couldn't help but think.
What the hell just happened?
Yay! Prologue done :) It's okay if you're confused, it'll be explained in the next chapter! I'll get Chapter 1 up soon!
~Oliver
