I'm not sure if Outlaw star ever gave a year that it was placed...but it does anybody know, tell me (not sure they do though)
Aside from that, I apologize ahead of time for this first lengthy chapter. I wanted to explain and get everything out of the way so the rest of the story will flow along more smoothly and also so that you know exactly whats going on. Secondly...I set this as M because it will get to that point further in the story...no doubt. Probably. So I hope you enjoy this first chapter and the rest that follow! Thanks! And please review ^^ Those are MUCH appreciated!
prologue
There came a time when the race of man began to move out from its so-called home of earth and out into the galaxy. To try and remain such peace through-out the earth and the galaxy, four empires were created: The USSA, Einhorn, Piotor, and Tenpa. It was not long after that a project was designed to help stabilize the human body. But not just any person was able to compete or help design and take part in this so-called project. The project was called THRRE: The Human Reserve Research Experiment. Twins were especially chosen for this, but not just any set of twins. All around the world the governments help single out these twins for THRRE. Test scores were averaged out and physical and mental abilities were looked into as well aside from health and relationship statuses and ages 15-18. Within a couple of years only 300 twins from around the world were selected for this experiment. This is where our story begins.
Chapter one: Chance.
Linnet Dophenburg 17 years old and a JR in high school was racing her older twin brother, Tony to school in the morning while putting on her school sweater and holding a piece of toast in her mouth. "Git bok herr!" she tried shouting as she started to gain on him.
"What," said Tony, "I didn't hear you!" he yelled back, obviously making fun of her. He picked up his pace and left her to eat up his tracks. Linnet growled and finished putting on her sweater, took a bit of her toast that she so long to chomp down on and gobble up! Linnet was always second best when it came to her twin brother: His grades were always slightly better, he was physically stronger than her; always had good come-backs and usually had the best stories and jokes to tell. She felt more like his shadow than his twin but she wasn't about ready to let him know that.
Linnet stopped running for a moment and looked at the wall to her right. If I cut through here, I have a better chance at beating Tony! She said to herself. The wall though was at least 8 feet high and she only 5.5. Linnet slid off her back-pack, spun around a couple of times and tossed it over the wall. Now she really had to get over that wall. Linnet backed up all the way across the street. She stretched and then got ready for the jump of her morning. She took one big breath and let it all out before running. As she inched closer to the wall she picked her feet up higher this time and ran up the wall for a few short seconds. She reached her hands up to the top, her right hand clasped on but her left only nicked it, throwing her off she lost grip in her right hand and fell back. THWUMP! Linnet fell right on her back with a thud. She lost her breath for but a moment. She laid there for a minute or so, trying to gain some of her pride back and picked herself up off the cement. There was no way that she would make that wall now. She stood up and dusted herself off while she looked at the wall with disapproving eyes. This time she jogged the rest of the way to school and this time she was going without her back-pack.
Just as the bells were ringing she arrived to school and found Tony laughing with a bunch of his friends. When he finally noticed her walking onto the school grounds she gave her a great big grin and said, "What took you so long?"
Linnet shrugged her shoulders and grinned back. She wasn't about ready to let her brother know that his constant wins were annoying her. "Eh. Didn't feel like racing today." she lied.
Tony raised a brow and said whatever. "Did you try to jump the wall again?" he asked her.
"Shut up!" Linnet grumbled under her breath which made Tony only laugh at her so many failed attempts. The second bell rang and the twins ran to class as fast as they could with the remaining kids.
The school day went on as any normal school day until fourth period, right before lunch. Linnet walked into her math class suddenly remembering she had a test today. She rolled her eyes and sighed as she sat down in her usual seat. Her two best friends, Anna and Emily sat on either side of her. She acknowledged them and then went back to moping.
"I hope you all have your reviews to turn in today. After all, without handing in the review you may not be allowed to take the test." explained their teacher, Mrs. Lark.
Linnet face-palmed herself as she remembered that the review she had spent hours on late last night was in her back-pack and her back-pack was laying in a pile of grass, dirt and leaves on the other side of the wall. All the students took out there work and handed them to Mrs. Lark. When she came to Linnet's desk, holding out her hand realizing that Linnet had nothing to present to her she frowned. "No review Miss. Dophenburg?"
"No Mrs. Lark. I...I left it at home." Then suddenly she said, "But I promise you, I have it done! So you'll let me-"
Mrs. Lark stopped her right there. "No, Miss. Dophenburg. I cannot allow you to take the test without first handing in the review. I am sorry, but those are the rules. Also, it is a 20% deduction on any and all assignments each day that they are late. You'd do well to remember that, Miss. Dophenburg." Mrs. Lark walked away and picked up the rest of the reviews and then went back to her comfy looking desk. "You may begin." she said.
The students got out a small device and pressed the green button that was on it. A very light green flat scene appeared before the students that hovered over the device. Linnet sat there for a good twenty minutes sulking and tapping her fingers together before the door to the classroom swung open. The students stopped what they were doing and looked at the man who wore a dark blue suit.
"Excuse me? Can I help you? My students are taking a test right now." said Mrs. Lark a bit annoyed at this man's rude interruption.
The man did not seem to care though and flashed his badge at her. "I'm with the USSA federation. I have come here on behalf of a VIP. I've come to collect Linnet Dophenburg."
No more questions were asked; just a simple answer that escaped from Mrs. Larks lips. "Over there. Row three, seat four."
The man nodded and walked over to Linnet. "You are Linnet Dophenburg?" asked the man. His voice seemed to boom more to Linnet now that he was closer. She gave him a nod and he held up a mini circular device and lightly tapped it. A profile of Linnet popped up showing all her information. "Hmm," said the man. "Seems that you are. Miss Dophenburg you are to quietly walk out of here with me for a very important situation that is about to take place."
"What kind of-"
"NOW." the man interrupted her, startling her. Linnet quickly did as she was told and walked out of the classroom quietly. As the door closed behind her she looked up and saw Tony standing with two other men in the same dark blue suit as the man that took her out of class. They started pushing the twins right along and outside the school where a hovering vehicle was waiting for them. Linnet stopped for a moment. It was the first time that she had seen a hovering vehicle this close before. She had seen some on TV and heard about them all the time but never before had she seen one in person. And this time she was about to ride in one!
"Keep moving." one of the men gave her a nudge and she continued walking towards the hovering vehicle. "Get in." said one of the other men. Tony got in first and then Linnet. The rest of the men followed suit.
The interior of the vehicle was black leather with tinted windows and large drink holders were on either side and even a mini fridge was placed in there. One of the men opened the fridge and offered them a drink. Linnet reached out her hand but Tony pulled it back. "No. We don't need any beverages, thank you."
Linnet looked to her brother and then sunk back into her seat. Had she done something wrong she wondered?
When the vehicle finally stopped the men got out and then allowed the twins to get out last. They must have been driving for quite some time because Linnet's butt was numb from sitting for so long. She looked up to what appeared to be a small doctors office. She then looked around the area and realized that she was further into the city. Everything was much more cramped together. There were a lot of small buildings side-by-side and those that reached up passed the clouds took up a large amount of space for parking lots and there were hundreds of advertising billboards.
Tony and Linnet kept following the men that were from the USSA Federation and into the doctor-office-type-looking building. When they got inside it did look like a regular doctors office, only this time there was no waiting. The men led them through a door that held tight security. When they interred and the lights turned on the twins realized they were standing in an elevator. The man that had taken Linnet out of class pressed the very bottom button and the elevator quickly started shooting down and then with a sudden stop, Linnet felt the elevator change directions. Strange, she thought. Since when do elevators go right and left too?
When the elevator finally stopped and opened its doors the twins peered into what seemed just like an ordinary box room with two tables on either side. "Take a seat." said one of the men. Linnet sat down on the far left while her brother sat down on the table on the far right. In front of them laid a large packet of paper and several sharpened pencils. Just as soon as they sat down the men that had led them there left.
"Wait! Where are you going?" said Tony. "You can't just leave us in here! Hey!" Suddenly a red lined circle appeared on the floor in front of the twins. An older man, maybe in his mid fifties stood above that red circle. "Hello children. What you're probably wondering is, "Why am I here?" The answer to that is simple: You are being tested. But not for just any test. THRRE test."
"A what?" asked Linnet.
The old man ignored her question and continued talking. "It is short for The Human Reserve Research Experiment. All will be explained after you have completed that packed that lays before you. And then and only then will you be allowed to leave this room."
"This is just a recording." said Tony suddenly.
"Good luck to you twins!" it was the last of the old man's speech and he and the red circle quickly vanished after that. A loud beat sounded in the room just then and a woman with a soft voice spoke. "You may begin your testing now." it beeped again and the twins turned over to start testing.
The packet was not like any normal testing. linnet was used to using the flat screen on the devices they had at school. This was the first time she had ever taken a paper test.
The packet started off asking them the basic questions like: name, social security number, address, cell or home number, job or jobs, schools and family. The test only got more ridiculous the closer they got to being done. Finally, Linnet got to her last question and it involved a simple mathematical that threw her off a bit. "Two plus two?" she said quietly to herself. Because her brain was sorely lacking concentration she decided to give herself a boost with some enthusement and wrote down fish after the equal sign. She laughed at her own stupidity and flipped the packet back to the beginning.
After testing they were accompanied with the same men as before and taken back to the regular looking doctors office. "Take a seat over there." said one of the men. Linnet and Tony sat side-by-side next to a window and gazed out at the city. The people dressed and walked differently than those where Linnet and her brother were from. To think that this place was just a few hours away from where they had grown up.
An hour had passed and finally a woman in a tight lab jacket with her breast practically popping out, her black hair put in a bun and red glasses that shaped her face perfectly and red flats to match walked up to the twins. She carried with her a slate of papers and a pin in hand. The woman glanced at the twins and then at the papers. She did this a few times before handing over a large packet to the twins. When they looked down they saw that it was the test they had just taken. In great big red letters Linnet looked at her grade. Surprised at her grade she blinked a few times and flipped through the pages to make sure it was hers. "A 110 percent?" she said aloud. Tony glanced over at his sister and then back at his test that read 100%. The woman took back the tests and said, "Congratulations Tony and Linnet Dophenburg, you both have succeeded in this test. But now I am afraid to tell you some very bad news." the twins braced themselves. "Though you may see this as an advantage. You two have been selected as one of the few selected twins around the world to be part of THRRE."
"The Human Reserve Research Experiment?" said Tony. "But that's..."
"Yes," said the woman. "You both will be put to sleep...or rather frozen I should say."
"Frozen?" Linnet was taken aback.
The woman nodded. "Yes. You will be preserved."
Linnet crossed her arms. "What am I? Some kind of vegetable to you people? I want to go home! Now!"
"You can't go home." said the woman.
"This is bullshit!" spat Tony.
"No. This is science." the woman retorted.
"We won't go." said Tony. "You can't make us."
"Oh?" the woman quirked a brow. "We have already contacted your parents. They have agreed to sign you both over to the government. You are our property now."
"Property?" Tony was starting to get really angry. "Nobody OWNS us!" With that, Tony threw himself at the men. "Run Linnet! Get outa here!"
As shaken up as she was, Linnet burst passed her brother the men. She felt a tug on her arm. She looked back seeing the woman.
"Stop!" she yelled.
"Screw you!" Linnet hissed and smacked the dumb broad with all of her might. The woman let her go, falling on her ass and Linnet ran for it.
She ran out the building and down the street for a couple of blocks and then stopped, trying to catch her breath. She then looked back at the building realizing that one of the men Tony threw himself at was looking right at her. He was talking on his cell and it was then that Linnet knew she would be running again very soon. She looked across the street where more men were coming after her. Linnet started to run again, bumping into crowds of people as she went. She turned a corner and found herself in a dead end. "Oh great!" she breathed. She looked behind herself and saw that the men had finally caught up with her. Linnet looked forward again and saw an almost familiar wall from this morning. Can I make it this time? She thought. Linnet ran, getting ready to pick up her feet that higher step and get over to the other side.
3.
2.
1.
Linnet jumped and ran up the side of the wall for a few seconds, reaching for the top of the ledge. This time she got a strong hold with both of her hands and slowly started pulling herself over. She got one leg over before finally getting the other tugged back from one of the men. Linnet tried kicking them but his grip was too strong and she was slowly being pulled back over. "No!" she cried. And just like that she was taken down like a ragged ornament. One of them held her arms back while anther held her legs. The third man approached her with a white cloth and placed it over her nose and mouth. Linnet felt herself slipping and finally, within seconds, everything went black.
Linnet woke with a terrible headache. She was strapped down in what seemed to be some kind of pod. The lid was still open for she saw what was happening around her.
"W-where am I?" she finally said, hardly making a sound. A nurse a few feet away heard her and calmly walked over to her. Linnet must have had a very worried look on her face because the nurse quickly said, "Don't worry. If you are feeling any pain it is only the slight symptoms."
"Symptoms?" Linnet repeated the nurse's words.
The nurse nodded. "Yes. A few changes have been made to your body for the final stage of the experiment you are about to under-go."
"Experiment? Under-go?"
"Try not to think too much." said the nurse and she walked away. Linnets looked around a bit more. She saw more pods in the room, but one unparticular was still open. A blonde girl about Linnet's age, maybe younger, was laying in the same exact pod as she. She face the ceiling. No emotion shown upon her face.
"Hey! Psst! Hey!" Linnet whispered as loudly as she could to get the girl attention. Finally she turned her head, looking at Linnet.
"Where are we?" Linnet asked.
"Were about to be frozen." The girl replied with a mono-tone voice.
"F-frozen?"
"It is best to think of it as...a really long nap." said the girl.
"What's your name? I'm Linnet Dophenburg. Have heard anything on my brother, Tony Dophenburg?"
The girl shook her head. "No. Sorry. Males and females are kept separated. Your brother is probably in the next room over like my brother, Henry...And my name is-" before the poor girl could say her name a nurse stuck a needle in her neck and then walked away.
"What? What's your name?" But the girl did not reply back this time, she only looked at Linnet with dense eyes that quickly started to tear up. The nurse from before walked back to Linnet with a needle in hand with the same gold liquid that was injected into the other young girl.
"No. No! Don't! Please don't!" Linnet cried out.
The nurse looked at her with sorry eyes. "I'm sorry dear. This will help you sleep better."
"I don't want to sleep, you hear me? I DON'T WANT TO SLEEP! TONY!" and before she knew it, Linnet couldn't move, speak or even blink. Her whole body went numb and cold. It was then that the nurse undid the straps that held Linnet down. The nurse put her hand over Linnet's eyes and made them close. "I am truly sorry." said the nurse as she closed the lid to the pod. At that very moment everything went silent as Linnet's heavy breathing quickly slowed down to a calm state. It was dark and she felt herself slipping into a sleep. She fought with her mind to move her body but it was impossible. Finally, before slipping into her deep sleep, she felt hot tears roll down the side of her face.
She didn't know how many days, weeks or years that had gone by, but Linnet started waking up and making sense of the fact that she was still alive and now slowly gaining consciousness again. She placed her hands on top of the lid and pushed as hard as she weak bones could push. The lid popped open she saw nothing but darkness. She was hoping to find a blinding light and talking from the nurses and doctors, there was only silence. Linnet pulled herself out of the pod and slipped off on the cold floor. She patted around her area, trying to find a wall. Soon she did and she followed that wall as she picked herself up and leaned against it for support. She felt a small switch and flicked it. Linnet fell to her knees as a blinding light covered the room. She covered her face with both hands until she was ready to look around the room. She realized something about herself. Long brown hair hung over her shoulders. It was her hair. And her nails were an inch long. Her body was leaner and frailer looking and her skin more fair. Her breasts were a bit bigger and her feet were slightly bigger too.
When Linnet finished examining herself she looked around the room and gasped at all the other empty pods in the. The only one that had a faint glow to it was hers. Linnet picked herself up again and walked over to what looked like a door. She placed her hand on a square-looking button. A blue line shot down and a beeping noise came from the door. It opened with hushing sound and Linnet slowly walked out. Where the hell am I? She thought. The hallway she had interred was lighted by the moon and the stars. At first she didn't realize where she was and when she did she fell to her hands and knees, gasping for air. She held her eyes shut for a moment, trying to collect all her thoughts together. Linnet looked back up at the moon and stars and saw that she was in none other than space! How did she get there and better yet, how long had she been asleep? And what this fate that led Linnet in this condition? Or was it all just chance?