Chapter 1: Seemingly Peaceful
The holo-screens all around Haven City lit up as the remaining citizens either slowly crept out of their hiding, or lifted themselves from the dusty streets and overhead walkways. It was eerily calm, the chaos from before- the noise; it seemed to all but stop.
"Attention all citizens of Haven," The almost sultry voice of the read-headed woman on the screen spoke, "It should now be safe now to come from hiding and face this bright new day."
Silver-blue eyes opened slowly, but heavy with the weight of pure exhaustion. He heard the voice outside; muffled from behind the boarded windows and door but still recognizable, echoed within his head.
"That's… The Baron's daughter…" He whispered to himself, almost in some kind of shock. He listened for more words to ensure he wasn't losing his mind.
"Today, the long fought war, the reign of fear over this city and the repression of my father has come to an end."
The blue eyed man in hiding slowly and shakily brought himself to his feet, using the wall behind him for support. He pushed his hand back through the accumulated mess of long, dishevelled dark-brown hair to remove it from his eyes and face; he needed to see clearly what was going on outside his walls.
With an almost painful sigh, he brushed his left hand along the floor in search of something.
"There you are…" He whispered aloud, picking up a pair of thin, black framed glasses. He carefully adjusted them on his nose. He approached the window to his left and pulled back on one of the loose boards, nailed to the wall- the only things between him and the world for the past month. It was removed with ease and he peered out into the Industrial sector of the city- the place he did call home. His eyes widened and eyebrows rose at the sight before him. He thought it nearly impossible. Metal-head corpses lying on the ground- the skull gems dim and lifeless. Any others, twitching and dying; leaving his world and the people he knew in peace. He backed away, mouth open in near disbelief- unable to decide between shock and joy. It was then the new Baroness's voice washed over the city again.
"Today, Metal Korr, the leader of the Metal-heads has fallen at the hands of our hero, Jak." The screen switched to show the face of a young man with blond-green hair and facial hair; dressed in blue with eyes, though a bright shade to match his tunic- filled with something else behind them.
"That's the eco-freak renegade we were all supposed to be fearing for the past six months…" He spoke aloud again to himself, "Something seems… wrong…"
"With Korr dead and my father gone- I have taken over this City- and I refuse to let its Citizens suffer under a dictatorship with the constant threat of war. The people here deserve better. They deserve peace, a chance to pursue dreams, education and their true joys."
With nearly labored breathing, the dishevelled man unlocked his door and stepped outside. This was the first time in nearly a month that his feet had touched the streets outside his home. He looked around himself- and found he was surrounded by others in the same state as he; dirty faces, wracked with lingering fear and disbelief- finally seeing outside of hiding again after so long. He breathed in deep- taking in what felt like new air and a sense of calm washed over him. He stepped forward again, head tilted upward watching the holo-screen and listening intently for what words may follow.
"Starting today- myself and my organization; The Underground, are to begin working toward a new age. A golden era for Haven- to make this City live up to its name… To be a great Haven for its people; a Utopian society- with equal freedom and opportunity for all."
A clamour of sorts began- and cheering could be heard, arising from far away points of the city and spreading like wild-fire all around. A very small smile lifted the corners of the man's mouth- something that hadn't happened in quite some time.
"I am Ashelin; and I will lead you there so this bloodshed and these past atrocities are never witnessed by this society ever again…"
-SIX MONTHS LATER-
The workday was nearly done, the last runs of the early afternoon were just coming in for analysis and a short, blue-eyed young man couldn't be happier. His long hair he'd grown accustomed to pulled back into a loose pony-tail and the thin, black-rimmed glasses neatly shielded by a pair of large safety goggles. A gentle smile was settled on his face surrounded by a healthy amount of stubble. He was at peace, finally, or so he felt. A hand clad in green, fingerless gloves reached out and carefully grabbed one of the vials that had just arrived in the sample drop.
"Hey! Div!" A familiar and rather happy voice called out, "You get that new fuel sample in yet?"
The analyst called Div turned his attention from the sample drop, "Yeah! I think I just got it. Sample number SP-135-00?" He enquired.
"That's the one." The tall man emerged from behind a large console to the far right. He was a dark skinned man with short curly hair and an ever-present smile set on his face, framed by a thick goatee.
"What's it for?" Div asked, turning to face him.
"The new Freedom-League machine parts we were just wired the digi-prints for. They're supposed to be super eco efficient and light-weight for flight capacity." The man, Div's friend placed a hand on his shoulder, "Bet you're pretty excited about that."
"Yeah, sure... But this is the first I'm hearing about it. Wonder if it was my lab that synthesized the new fuel." Div quirked an eyebrow as he watched the colour shift in the vial, "This one seems a lot more dark-eco heavy than blue. That's a little abnormal for our standard flight machines in the FL, don't you think, Jin?"
Jin quirked one thick eyebrow as he looked down at his short, skinny friend and smiled, "I haven't been questioning anything lately with all the advancements that we've been making. Since Ashelin took over and Jak destroyed the Metal-head leader- things have been… well… calm."
"I don't believe we're completely out of the thick yet."
"Man, don't pick now of all times to become a pessimist." Jin laughed. "I have to live with you later- last thing I want is a mopey bro staggering around the apartment. Think about it. You've been given the opportunity to run an analytical lab- utilize your skills and abilities without question and continue to do so without the threat of conscription. Don't you think that's enough to be happy about?"
"I suppose you're right." Div replied as he poured the vial into a two-fifty mL volumetric flask, "What about you? I suppose there's no real point in asking," He smiled, "Are you actually happy- so sure you're secure?"
Jin sighed as he pulled the safety goggles off his face and smiled lightly as he leaned against the counter Div was working on. "I'm pretty sure I'm secure. Couldn't really ask or much more after all- I get to assemble some of the most advanced machines this planet has ever seen… all for the betterment and advancement of my fellow man. And nothing else is really asked of me."
"That doesn't really answer my question." Div chuckled as he pipetted 20 mL of the dilute solution into a beaker, readying it for titration.
"I just want one thing." Jin replied, somewhat serious.
"Oh, the great Jin doth long for something?" Div grinned as he finished the titration and lifted the now transparent, somewhat blue solution to his eyes to examine it. He then walked over the Eco-Spec instrument and prepared a transparasteel cuvet.
"I just want… a woman."
"A what?" Div looked up suddenly, overfilling his cuvet with the titrated solution. Jin laughed at him.
"A lady. You know… those beautiful creatures with the curves, and the skin and the hair… one of those lovely things." Jin chuckled. "C'mon; what about you?"
"N-no…" the analyst blushed slightly as he wiped his cuvet clean, placed it inside the sample holder and closed the lid with a little extra force. He turned to face his mechanic friend who continued to silently mock him.
"What?" Div asked seriously as he quirked an eyebrow.
"Nothing… "Jin chuckled, "Just… ya know, you're lying to me."
"Don't start that bullshit."
"Not bullshit, man. C'mon… don't you be lying to your bro. You know better."
"I'm not!" Div nearly shouted.
"So… what you're telling me is that you have absolutely no interest, at all, in that red-headed Synth-Tech in your lab downstairs… the one you talk about all the time in between game times?"
"I have no idea what you're talking about." Div grinned as he pulled the print out off of the Eco-Spec and handed it Jin.
"Here. I still say it's weird though… You've got a five-percent volume to volume blue eco in that fuel sample."
Jin took the print out from Div and eyed it, at first trying to make sense of it and then simply shrugging it off, "The new machines will be very efficient."
"Efficient, yes- but definitely not giving off the best emissions in the process. This seems a little odd for our 'Utopian' society, don't you think?" Div asked as he reached for the next sample vial.
"Maybe so… but, maybe it's a temporary thing- maybe they just need the extra sustained power for a new project." Jin replied.
"That seems pretty reasonable. Wonder what the new project is."
"Who knows… maybe we will in the next few days or so though. All that stuff comes through us first considering…"
Jin strapped his goggles back on to his head and headed off toward the assembly line facility.
"I'm gonna go run the programs on the new coms the guys just finished. I'll see you in… "Jin stopped to look down at his wrist communicator, "forty-five?"
"Yeah, about that... Just about done here." Div replied as he started the last run of the afternoon.
"Right. I'll order up some food- and you owe me a few rounds on Metal-Mania tonight. So going to kick your ass later."
"Like hell you will." Div chuckled.
"You watch yo. You watch…" Jin gave him the 'I'm watching you' signals before disappearing down the hallway.
Div stood deep in thought as he prepped the last fuel sample for the final analysis on the liquid chromatograph. As he pulled the right amount of sample up the syringe he watched the swirling iridescence of the mixture inside, he thought to himself how wrong it seemed. After he injected it into the sample loop and set it to run, he leaned back on the counter.
"I must be just paranoid." He spoke aloud, "Nothing could be wrong right now right? Both Korr and Praxis are dead. It's just… The long road to rebuilding now…"
Flashbacks of the beginnings of the war washed over him, nearly taking his breath away. The blood… the screaming… the pain of loss- the one he lost. He closed his eyes and whimpered quietly as it hit him all at once until the familiar popping sound of the valve switch pulled him back to his current reality. He breathed... deeply and turned around to pull the print out off of the integrator. Examining it, he quirked an eyebrow.
"What the hell is this?" He thought looking more closely, "A very, very large peak at 4.452… This is very uncommon…"
He pulled out his com-pad from under the counter and began a search through his files attempting to find the correlating compound for the solutions the lab dealt with. After a few minutes, he found nothing.
"Looks like work comes home with me tonight…" He sighed as he folded up with print-out and placed it neatly in a folder for take home. "This makes no sense… I'll re-run it tomorrow. Sample number SP-137-00…" He placed the sample in the cabinet with a label and left it for the night.
0o0
"Hey… Hope you weren't waiting long." Jin apologized as he slid his white racing coat on over his black muscle shirt.
"Nah. Just about ten minutes or so. What took ya?" Div asked as he wiped his glasses clean with a cloth from his pocket.
"Got a few odd pieces in, and some of the guys were having some issues with the computer programs. Kept blacking out the screens and auto-assembling before we could finish the C.C. tests."
"That's pretty strange. Are things functioning alright now?"
"Yeah… they seem to be. I let them know they can page me if stuff starts acting up again."
"Good… good…" The two began their short walk home.
"So… Did you talk to that red-head in the lab downstairs yet?" Jin chuckled.
"No!" Div replied, somewhat annoyed. Jin laughed at him.
"You had better get on that before someone decides to, ya know, move in on her first."
"Yeah… Sure thing." Div shook his head.
Suddenly, something caught their attention. There was strange, loud buzzing sound coming from above their heads. They stopped under a blinking red light in the industrial sector.
"Are you hearing that?" Jin asked as he began to look above them.
"Yeah… does that sound like… No…" Div stopped dead, the worst thoughts racing through his head.
"Shh... calm down, its fine… just stay low." Jin stated quietly, keeping his eye on the sky.
After a few moments, the buzzing sound grew louder and the shadow of a figure appeared above them. Div backed up against a nearby pillar and Jin took a few steps back. The figure seemed to hover there for a few moments as though it were watching them. The two friends remained silent as they watched it back, careful not to move a muscle. It was then, a loud bang was heard in the distance and figure quickly zoomed off in the opposite direction- disappearing in both sound and visual, and not a moment too soon it seemed.
Both Div and Jin released the breath they held in their instinct to remain completely still and silent. They both faced one another with the same things running through their heads.
"W-was that…?" Jin began, dazed by the thoughts in his head.
"I don't want to say what I thought it was…" Div stated, walking out from under the overpass, "I don't want to think about it."
"You don't think it was a-"Jin was cut off as his communicator went off; it was the facility. He brought it up to his face and clicked the receive button. Div watched intently, expecting the worst.
"Jin here… This better be good." The communicator echoed back with static.
"This is Jin. What's going on?" Still the communicator responded with static.
"What the hell is this-" Div started but was cut off by something finally responding through the static… But what came through was simply more cause for concern.
"J-Jin… The consoles… Auto-assemble and… And…" The voice crackled through.
"Who is this? Who am I talking to? What's happened?" Jin shouted through the communicator.
"K-Krimzon… G…G…" And then the line went dead.
Jin continued to stare down at his communicator in shock. Div approached him and placed a hand on his shoulder knowing what was to come next; sensing that this was going to end very badly. Jin began breathing heavily, his eyes wide and filled with mixed emotions.
"W-we have to go back." He gasped, "W-what the hell is happening?"
"… I have a few ideas… and unfortunately… none of them are good." Div replied, averting his gaze to the ground.
A/N: Well… I know it's kind of a boring chapter- but I needed a start with a little background and some character development. I am already working on the outline for my second chapter and plan on having it up relatively soon. Due to some of the developments such as some pretty intense violence, angst and possible sexual themes in later chapters- I might change the rating on this. But, for now… this should prove fine.
I like reviews… they make me happy. Tell me what you think, what you would like to see. It's all appreciated. Thanks a bunch :P