~A/N~ Now that Return of the Underdogs is drawing to close or finished at this point, I figure it's time to start a new big project to keep me writing, and what could be more unique than a Total Drama space opera! I've planned out the first act and can't wait to see how this idea develops, so hopefully you guys will stick around! ;)

Act I

Chapter 1: Rookie Mistakes

Smoke. That was all the trio saw before the explosion shot them back into the rubble of the former capitol building. The sharp, jagged boulders shredded their backs and crushed their flimsy armor upon impact, but they all stood up and wiped the blood and sweat from their greasy faces before diving behind cover. The leader of the group was a tall, muscular woman of about thirty years. Her face was covered by short, dirty-blonde hair and her cold eyes radiated with an icy glow. She immediately raised her weapon over the rocks and fired into the dusty clouds to the buzz of gunfire and rattling metal. Before she could take aim, a small chunk of metal flew over her head, the wind behind it blowing her hair back. She and the other two fighters gasped and leapt into the open as the explosive detonated, bringing more rubble to the ground.

"Run for the offices!" the woman shouted over the echoes of firepower. "Don't let up until we secure a safe zone, and if anybody says otherwise or tries to break this plan, I'll have your heads thrown into the waste chute! Got it?"

"Yes, sir!" the male solider saluted enthusiastically, raising his gun to his solider and getting ready to sprint.

The third solider nervously gnawed at her lower lip as she reluctantly agreed. "Sure thing, Jo!"

"Great," Jo exclaimed. "Now move it, sissies!"

Another grenade smashed into the wall behind them and the trio ran for it at full speed before the ground went up in a fireball. Jo led the way for her team and shot shadows in the dust as she came upon them, creating sparks of fire within the smoke that lit up the battlefield like an electric storm. The male soldier tripped and fell on the shards of rubble that lined the streets. The female gasped and tried to pull him back to his feet, but Jo wasn't too enthusiastic about taking him with them when enemies were closing in.

"Courtney, leave his ass or yours is getting toasted!" the grey-clad leader barked, letting her guard down for a few moments, enough to have a bullet graze her left arm. She fell back in pain, screaming and gripping her bleeding wound. However, she quickly got up and let out a barrage of shots across the field before she pressed on with her partners behind her, Courtney carrying the male to his feet.

After a minute of dodging gunfire, choking on smoke, and crawling through rubble-littered streets, the group dove into an office building and retreated into the maze of cubicles to treat their wounds.

Courtney laid her partner against the wall and touched his swollen ankle. "Does it hurt, Brick? Like... this?"

Brick whined as Courtney gently tugged on his leg. Tears began to leak from his eyes and he begged her stop by pushing on her shoulder. Courtney stopped and peeped over the top of the wall to check for enemies.

Jo pulled her sleeve up to her shoulder and growled at the gash in her upper arm. "Shit! That's a problem. Where's know-it-all when you need him?!"

"Uh, you told him to stay out of this one," Courtney hissed. "Remember, fearless leader?"

Jo glared at Courtney. "Yeah, because we need to learn to win our fights without the cruiser! And with Brick-for-brains' lack of skills and your incessant whining, our chances of victory are zero unless we buff up. Got it, maggots?"

Brick sat up and looked at Jo with tired eyes. "Sure thing, ma'am. But the cruiser is a weapon, no? If we need to use it, then for the sake of the team, use it."

"I don't need your input, soldier," Jo sneered. "Now get your weapons and prepare to open fire!"

Courtney lifted her machine gun and peeked around the walls of the cubicle as Jo did the same. Brick pulled himself around the opposite wall and used the floor as a shooting rest. Sweat and blood mixed as it dripped down their faces, pooling on the floor and on their weapons. Time stood still and the trio stopped breathing for a split second. The sound of buzzing and shuffling stood on the opposite side of the door at which all arms were pointed. The door exploded and a dozen human sized machines rushed inside. These robotic assailants were outfitted with guns and armor, but the shots fired by the trio mowed them down in brilliant flashes of smoke and sparks.

Seconds passed and the attackers were in heaps on the ground. Jo and Courtney emerged from their cover with Brick right behind them, hobbling on his sprained ankle.

"Nice work, team," Jo smiled wickedly. "A little rusty on the get-go, but a definite improvement over our last run."

"Easy for you to say," Courtney said, rolling her narrowed eyes. "You nearly left us for dead twice!"

"And I broke my ankle," Brick sighed. "Your wound is nothing."

"At least we won this round," Jo snarled. "If it wasn't for my commandeering of this squad, you'd all be full of holes before you even reached the capital building."

Courtney crossed her arms. "Well, fine, but I just want you to know-"

Something crashed in the distance and the group froze in shock as the entire building rattled to its core. Brick whimpered and slowly retreated into the cubicle. Jo and Courtney nervously raised their rifles to shoulder height.

Jo took a deep breath and turned to Courtney. "That better not be what I think it is..."

Suddenly, the entire side of the building was blown to bits with the trio trying to hold onto the nearest cubicle walls to avoid falling out of the office. Sounds of mechanical whirring rang through the morning air and berated their ears. Jo fell to the ground and came face to face with a metal monster. In front of the building stood a colossal machine covered in white armor. Its shape was humanoid, but the torso was thick compared to the skinny waist and short, yet fat legs. The head of the machine was a solid, red, glowing eye surrounded by a thick shell of metal. In all, the tank stood at forty feet and was an obvious danger to Jo and her troops.

"It's a Gargantuan!" Courtney squealed. "I don't remember one of those in the plans!"

"Well, fire at will!" Jo commanded, raising her rifle and shooting at the small head. Her shots missed and ricocheted off the hulking chest. The Gargantuan raised its arm and let out a massive laser blast from its wrist. The group evaded the blast and flew downstairs. Jo and Courtney carried Brick down the flight and laid him to rest at the bottom of the stairs while they both ran outside the building with the Gargantuan in hot pursuit.

Courtney and Jo dashed down the ash-covered streets and pushed each other into a back alley. The machine stumbled by and scanned the narrow path before moving on.

"Great. Now we need to find a way to take fatty down," Jo groaned miserably, gripping her bleeding wound. "Got any ideas?"

Courtney shook her head and slapped her neck from behind. "Not a clue. You're the leader; shouldn't you have some wild plan... like you always do?" She added a hint of disgust to the end of the reply, drawing a look of disdain from Jo.

"Yeah. Let's use Brickhouse for live bait. Maybe throw you in too," Jo grinned insanely.

"Not. Funny."

Another massive explosion rocked the city, but this time it was different. It was less intense and more contained. Jo and Courtney looked out of the alley to see Brick wobbling across the street with a grenade in his bloody palm and his gun under his shoulder. He tossed the device and the Gargantuan toppled back into the capitol building.

"What is he doing?!" Jo shrieked madly.

"Killing it, now move!" Courtney leapt into the open and raised her weapon, taking aim and firing at the beasts eye with precision. The lead bullets struck the red orb and the lights went out; the Gargantuan collapsed to the asphalt moments later, shaking the ground and storming up a cloud of black dust.

Courtney rushed to Brick's aid and embraced him in a hug. "You saved us, Brick. Well, somewhat, but you actually did it!"

"Yeah, by almost getting killed!" Jo growled, interrupting the duo and grabbing the rookie cadet by the collar of his armor. "Do you even know how fucking idiotic that move was?!" Her eyes were glowing with anger, her face beet red with blood both above and under the skin. "You almost cost us the mission!"

"Watch it!" Courtney pulled Jo off and the girls fell to the ground. The brawnier of the two pushed Courtney's petite frame off and rose to her feet.

"Don't. Try that. Again!" Jo bellowed. She pulled her sweaty hair behind her ears and looked to Brick. He was sweating profusely and avoiding eye-contact, but he still held his gun in his trembling arms. "Drop the rifle, rookie," she hissed, her eyes like those of a snake, focused on her prey.

Brick sniffled and stepped forward with the rifle extended towards Jo. She reached out to grab it when disaster struck. Brick's leg gave out without warning and he fell forward. His arms were still stretched out when he hit a piece of rubble, setting the rifle off with a flash and a bang.

Courtney yelped and covered her eyes, nearly falling backwards in the panic. She opened her eyes to see Brick and Jo on the ground. Brick stood up and turned to Courtney, his eyes wide and teary. "I... I didn't..."

Courtney looked closer and saw red stains on the ground. Jo was still, like the rubble around her. However, what was the most terrifying was the bullet hole in her head. Courtney sighed in frustration and shook her clenched fists by her side. "That's it! Noah, shut it down!"

The entire world crumbled to pieces in front of them as everything turned black before vanishing in a blast of white light.

Jo ripped her helmet off and tossed it aside as Courtney and Brick did the same, albeit with far less anger. "Way to go, rookie! Way to go!"

Noah turned around in his swivel chair and took a sip from his can of soda. In his lap was an old book with brown, torn covers and rotting pages. He was cloaked in a black jumpsuit with sky blue armor on his chest. "Ok, what happened this time?" he asked with a sigh, obviously uninterested in the issue at hand.

Courtney unwrapped herself from the maze of wires and belts on her chair while she spoke. "Brick killed Jo in the simulator again. As hilarious as it was, this is the third time he's done this."

Brick removed his wires and rubbed back of his neck. His eyes slowly traced around his eyelids and he gnawed at his lower lip, remaining quiet the entire time.

Noah took another sip and opened his book to a marked page. "Sounds like quite the adventure."

"No. Not at all," Jo growled, standing up and unzipping part of her suit. "We had it won until Brick-for-brains had to be hometown hero and 'save' us from that Gargantuan. And speaking of that, I thought I gave you explicit instructions to NOT enter one in the code. Care to explain, egghead?!"

"Nope." Noah rolled his eyes and turned his chair back to face the open window of space. Stars shimmered in the darkness. Faint traces of galaxies could be seen among the dots of light. Noah propped his booted foot on the control panel and leaned back in his comfortable seat. Jo quickly grabbed the top of it and flipped Noah back around, much to his annoyance.

"I said NO Gargantuans! We had it won until that son of a rust bucket showed up."

Courtney sighed. "Well, technically we beat that one too, but we would have passed the round had someone been a bit more careful with their rifle."

Brick wiped mucus from his nose and walked off through the dimly lit corridor.

Jo watched him leave and spun Noah back around. She walked past a peeved Courtney and into her room, slamming the door behind her. Within seconds, the sound of shattering glass was clearly heard.

Courtney approached Noah and sat down on the armrest of his chair. "Jo's just upset that Brick stole her thunder. It'll pass." She visibly cringed when something smashed into other side of the wall. "Eventually," she croaked.

Noah dropped his reading pose and looked at Courtney. "Well, he isn't the best soldier though. Remember how his militia didn't even want him around when we took him in last month? Yeah, he's not good for the team."

Courtney scoffed and pouted. "I say Jo's the problem; not Brick. She's always taking charge and calling the shots. The bad ones included. Honestly, she needs to get a grip on reality and realize that we are a team of mercenaries, not a gang. We don't need a kingpin."

"I don't have a problem with Jo," Noah told her in his typical deadpan tone. "She's crazy for sure, but in this galaxy, crazy's an asset."

"Yeah, but not when we're all going insane because of it," she snarled through her grinding teeth. She stood up and leaned against the wall. "I'm just sick of her attitude. This team would be better with me as leader."

Noah raised an eyebrow and slowly turned his seat. "Really? You think you'd be better than Jo in the long run?"

"Of course I would," Courtney snorted flamboyantly. She strutted to the main hall of the ship and turned back to Noah. "Anyone would be better than her," she whispered before retreating into her own room.

Noah rolled his eyes. The bookworm wasn't one to trust people for the sake of it, but he had been with Jo and Courtney for six years. The group was slowly getting more disjointed as time passed. Jo and Courtney started out as allies, always fighting their battles as a unit of power and brains respectively. Noah had never once set foot on the field, for he preferred the aerial type of attacking, but the stories of 'Jourtney' as he called them were quite interesting. Throughout the years, the group of three was tight and respectable, but the past year had been a living hell for everyone. Jo had started to become paranoid after so many months in the deep dark blackness of the open cosmos and Courtney and Noah were forced to live with it. The bookworm and star technician, pilot, and child prodigy was fine with cat fights and often recorded them, but even he knew something was building up. Something between Jo and Courtney was off, and the adoption of Brick from a desert militia on the planet Iophus only made the tension escalate to a dangerous level.

Simulations were the main source of this growing tension. Brick was definitely unskilled with advanced weaponry and couldn't pilot the Igneous, the team's cruiser, so his only saving grace was his heart of gold. While Courtney felt for Brick, Jo was less forgiving. Her rigorous standards kept Brick from making a lasting good impression on the leader, but he was always seeking to do better. Everything he did, whether it was taking out giant robots, aliens, or opening a soda bottle, went over badly with Jo. He had proved her wrong multiple times on many fronts, but she never seemed ashamed nor forgiving towards the rookie.

Noah sighed out of boredom and stared into the endless darkness. He closed his book and laid back, his eyes closing and his breath escaping.

Jo stood naked in the ship's showers, letting the lukewarm water run down her curves as she scrubbed her scalp. Her face was still contorted in scorn. Grumbles escaped her throat as her mind tried to stay calm and civil about the earlier fallout. She was soon alerted by the rustling of a jumpsuit outside the chamber and shrugged it off. She scrubbed everywhere, even on her neck and feet, to make sure she was clean. Jo wasn't afraid to get dirty and didn't think much of hygiene, but showers helped her think. They helped her relax and contemplate her entire world. Brick, Noah, Courtney, they all filled her thoughts while she relaxed, but her anger was far more restrained under the warmth of the water.

Suddenly, the door of the shower opened and Jo yelped in surprise, but quickly turned to anger and blind rage when she saw Brick, in the nude, standing outside.

"Oh, I-I... Well, I thought you... Courtney?" Brick shuddered in embarrassment as Jo's face grew red.

"Get. OUT!" she screamed like a banished, pushing the door closed and bashing her fist against the padded wall of the shower chamber. She took quick, shallow breaths and stared at her feet with wide eyes until she heard the chamber next to hers open. She snarled like a mad dog, but once she allowed the water to soothe her, she turned white again and looked up, staring into space.

"I'm sorry, ma'am," Brick said from his own shower. "Ma'am?"

Jo had no reply. She continued to stare and stare and stare until it became necessary to respond. "Forget it, Brick. Just... forget it."

"Do you want to talk about today?"

Jo's mouth twisted just a little. "No."

"But I think we should, for the sake of this squad, resolve-"

"I don't. Care," Jo said through gritted teeth. "Just take your damn shower and get out already."

The two stood in silence until Brick left minutes later. Jo walked out of the chamber and dried herself with a towel. She looked into the mirror and pushed back her bangs to reveal a scar about three inches long right above her forehead. "So. Close." She walked away and put on her lounging suit, a tight black jumpsuit like Noah's, and left the room.

Courtney sat in her room alone. Her bed was nice and tidy. Each sheet was evenly spread and not a spot of dirt was to be seen. She looked up at the ceiling fan and traced it's path, trying to follow just one blade. The lights flickered on and off again as she snapped her fingers. She eventually gave up her little game and pushed a small button on the wall above her cot. A panel on the metal wall opened up to show the young woman a view of space in its most wonderful form. A giant, spiraling galaxy with blue and purple rays extended its reach to her from afar. The wings of the Igneous blocked her view of most of it but it was just gorgeous no matter how one looked at it. Courtney sat on bed in silence, admiring the view.

Her peace was interrupted by a knock at the door. She snapped her fingers twice in a row and the door slid open. Noah walked in with his arms crossed. "S'up," said casually.

"Just admiring the view," she sighed. "What else to do? We haven't had a job in two weeks and our water and fuel are low. How are we going to keep this facade up?"

"Facade?" Noah asked, rubbing his chin suspiciously. "What facade?"

Courtney plopped down on her bed and let the yellow light of the ship illuminate her face. "The idea that this team has a chance. Face it, Noah. With President McLean in charge, there are ten times as many teams just like or better than us out there to compete with. Things were more dangerous under President Taballius, but at least we were kept busy. How many groups of smugglers would've tried to steal fusion cores from the interstellar storage base on Mutis? Not many, but now? Everyone! McLean has made the law a joke... and ironically we suffer even more without it."

"Didn't we fail that mission though?" Noah smirked. "Didn't someone else steal the cores before we could even sneak past the front gates?"

"Not the point," Courtney groaned. "All I'm saying is that our lives are going downhill faster than ever. Jo's insane. Work is scarce. We have to eat paste every day! Seriously! It's like our lives are... just so scripted. We wake up, we train, we fight, we eat, we fight again, and then we hit the sack. Every day!"

"I get you, honey," Noah smirked. "Paste is disgusting, but if we want jobs, we need to step up our game and get noticed. I've tried running by Jo the idea of a merging between our group and another band of mercenaries, but she rolled her eyes and ignored it. Now, I'm not saying that Jo is a bad leader. She's a great leader. However, I do agree that she's slipping. But trust me. If we get some credits flowing, then she'll lighten up. I've been in this exact situation before and so have you. Remember?"

Courtney turned over and rested her head on her hands. "Yeah. I remember, but Brick is a new variable. He's the ultimate button pusher in the galaxy, and even though I like the guy, he's just too much of a bad influence on the team."

Noah moved to stand over Courtney and their eyes met. "Look," he started, leaning in closer. "Just give it some time. I trust everyone here with my life, even you, and I think you should do the same. Just don't do anything stupid... Okay?"

Courtney sneered and turned on her back again. "Gee. Sorry I even opened the door."

"I like you, Courtney," Noah said with a straight face. "I respect you, and I'm not usually so open to people. Don't make me rethink that trust."

Noah walked outside and snapped his fingers twice, closing the door just as Courtney spoke up. "Wait! Why am I the problem? Noah? Noah?! Ugh..." She slapped her hands over her face and groaned to herself.

Jo opened her door just as Noah left Courtney's room and raised an eyebrow in anticipation. "So?"

Noah sighed. "She wants to work. Or at least that's what I heard in between the lines." He leaned in close to Jo and put his hand on her door frame. "Just... stay civil. Okay? We don't need any violent incidents on the ship. Keep it simulated if you want to bash her in... Not that you'll do that. Right?"

"As rain." Jo gave Noah an assuring smile. "Thanks for the having that heart to heart by the way. She'd never listen to me and take it seriously."

"Yeah, and the same goes for you, Jo." Noah backed off, but pointed his finger at her as he walked into the cockpit. "Just watch yourself. I won't be able to babysit this troop of buffoons forever."

Jo manually closed her door with a look of disapproval on her face. Noah returned to the cockpit to read his book. Courtney sat in her room, exhausted. Brick slaved away in the kitchen as he cooked a real dinner. Times were rough, but there wasn't anything a hot meal couldn't solve...

(BVMWYL)

~A/N~ And there's chapter one. As you can provably tell, it's more character driven than action driven, but trust me when I say we'll see some action. Plus, what we got in that first scene was awesome, right? Right. Hopefully you all enjoyed the start of this project, and if you did, leave a review and follow so you don't miss the next chapter whenever it drops.

Until next time, Foreseer... out! :)