I hope you are all happy cause this nearly killed me writing this chapter _

Chapter 2

Giving a mix between a heavy sigh and a exasperated laugh, Lorena dropped her head into her free hand and began rubbing it as a headache started to form. 'Of all the things I have to talk about THAT is what I have to discuss! What is wrong with me?' she thought.

Sighing heavily, she let her hand slip from her face and shoved the tiny recorder she had received only hours ago, with instructions to do as she had just done, into the rut sack at her feet. She then stood, groaning as he unused muscles stretched in the tight space of the janitors closet. She jumped a little as cold metal met her heated skin in the center of her chest and she reached up grabbing it through the fabric of her shirt. A familiar twinge of loneliness hit her as she felt the oval shape of two dog tags and knew that if she looked one would bear her name while the other would bear that of her sisters.

"All personnel leaving for destination 227," a voice over the ships intercom said, making Lorena almost jump out of her skin. "Please report to the loading dock. Repeat, all personnel leaving for destination 227 please report to the loading dock."

Lorena dropped her hand to her side, sighing. She then bent over and gathered up her rut sack to throw it over her shoulder. Once that was done, she pressed one side of her face to the door, carefully listening for anyone in the hallway outside.

Once satisfied that it was all clear, she opened the door and peeked her head out. Seeing no one, she then casually strolled out of the closet, letting the door close behind her, as she made her way to the docking area.

It wasn't a long walk and soon Lorena could hear the bustling noises of the hanger. Approaching the heavy, whitewash metal doors, the auto detection system opened them, allowing her to enter without breaking a stride.

The hanger was one of the largest that the military could supply; it was three stories tall with about ten to fifteen openings on each floor. Dark green military hovercrafts were stored in each, some of them operational, some of them needing work from the lack of use. Sparks could be seen from those crafts as hard working men and women fixed them with blow torches.

In the small areas where there wasn't work or not occupied by metal crates, Lorena could see military men and women talking and laughing like long lost friends, when in reality most of them were probably complete strangers. 'But that's the life in the military,' Lorena thought. 'Make friends and hope you'll see each other again….'

Lorena looked away from the groups over to where a ship was on the launching pad. There, contrasting greatly against the green of the hovercraft, more men and women in white shuffled about to get inside. For the same reason she wore white, these people weren't part of the military personnel who wore green; these were the scientists of the trip. Protocol dictated that civilians, unless in a battle situation, would go before the military sent their own men and women. As a soldier, Lorena had never understood why, and, now as a civilian again, she still didn't understand. But she never questioned it and she wasn't about the start now; she just lined up with the rest of the scientists to board.

She ignored the little conversation around her and everyone else seemed fine with that because none of them spoke to her. It wasn't like she could talk to them anyway, she wasn't apart of their world not was she apart of the military world anymore; it actually hurt worse than her physical pain to try and talk to any of them as memories she had tried to bury would resurface.

So instead of trying to make friends, Lorena just kept to herself, watching everyone else until she boarded and took her seat in one of the corner sections. She placed her head back against the harsh metal after buckling herself, feeling her dog tags against her skin almost comfortingly.

'For you, Natalia,' she thought as a nostalgic feeling went through her as the hovercraft started. 'This is for you….'

It wasn't long until the ship touched the ground and the hatch doors opened, letting in the bright light of the outside world. Lorena had to put her hand up until her eyes adjusted, hitting the specialized mask that covered her entire face. The planets air, she had heard, was more nitrogen and methane gas than earth and a few of her planetary colonies; the masks were to help you breathe, though they weren't the most comfortable things out there.

Lorena paid no heed to it though as she started exiting the craft with the rest of the group. Outside, everything was a buzz.

The complex before Lorena was a very large complex with a metallic sheen from the sun. Various people in green strutted about in full military gear, bearing guns, while others were in exosuits of metal, helping lift various items that were too heavy for humans. Above them, various carrier hovercrafts flew about and Lorena couldn't help but think, as she looked at the contrasting heavily dense forest around the area, that it looked more like a military base than a place of science. Yet she gave no more thought to it as the group entered a large tube like room.

Once everyone was in the doors to the outside closed and the lights that were on shut off. UV lights immediately came on though as the air vents went to work, removing the native air and supplying their own breathable kind.

"Please remove you masks," an automated voice said over the speakers. "And please, calmly make your way into the building."

Following orders, Lorena grabbed the strap that held the mask to her face and pulled it over her face. She was able to take one good breath before being pushed forward to follow the rest of the crowd.

On the other side, everyone started splitting up, seemingly knowing where to go, down the many corridors. Lorena herself felt lost, and moved to the side to let the rest through. Soon, everyone dispersed; leaving Lorena alone and she started wondering it this was such a wise idea to come here now.

"Ms. Lazerman!" someone called, pulling her from her thoughts. She looked to see a young man with short hair running toward her. She stood a little straighter as he came to a stop in front of her, bending over once he did to catch his breath. Patiently she waited until he stood up, a little taller than her, and looked her in the eyes. Smiling, he held out a hand and said, "Hi there, I'm Jake Freeman. We'll be working together."

"Nice to meet you," she replied, offering a small smile, as she shook his hand.

"Well, welcome to KV I-54," Jake continued as he dropped his hand and turned to lead the way. "Follow me, I'll show where we're working." Lorena didn't say anything as she followed him down the hallway.

"How was the trip?" Jake asked.

"Boring but it was okay," Lorena said being polite. "But I was in cryosleep the whole time." Jake just laughed.

"Yeah it does get kinda boring but the sleep is nice. So you excited about the project?"

"I would be; if I knew what it was." Jake suddenly came to a stop, almost making Lorena run into him. He turned around to face her with wide-eyes.

"You mean they didn't tell you?" he asked in disbelief. Lorena could feel her face heat up in embarrassment and she cast her eyes away from him, saying,

"No, they didn't." Jake let out a low whistle.

"Man," he said. "Boss is SO not going to like this. Come on." He grabbed her right wrist and pulled her along the winding corridors. The leisurely pace they were once at seemed rushed and all Lorena could do was just struggle along.

Finally, they slowed down when they reached an area full of glass encased offices. Silently, Lorena glared at her "tour guide" before looking about. She was very curious at seeing many tools that as a young doctor she had used; others though she couldn't begin to imagine what they were used for.

"Impressive, isn't it?" Jake said as they went along. Lorena looked at the brown haired man and nodded in agreement. "Yeah, it's all because of the Company that we have this stuff."

After that they fell silent again, just walking past everything and everyone. At one point though, they walked past a rectangular window and Lorena couldn't help to peek inside out of curiosity. Abruptly she stopped and looked back through the window again, gaping and wide-eyed.

"What in the world are those!" she exclaimed. Jake stopped and looked back at her curiously before smirking.

"Our project," he said coming back to stand next to her. Both of them looked inside at the white, low built room. People garbed in white doctor uniforms flittered about the room tending to two occupants on the two different tables. One was male and the other female; each was rather muscular though the female was leaner, showing off a figure while wearing patient's garbs. Contrasting with the people around them, they were clearly taller and their feet and hands had sharp talons where toe nails should have been. Their skin was that a reptiles- coarse looking and yellowish with black spots- but what held Lorena's attention was their faces.

'They look like deformed crabs,' she thought, studying the outward appendages that framed an inner mouth with sharp teeth. Their foreheads were large, though the males larger and more pronounced. And instead of having silken hair like humans, theirs were thick black bands, reminiscent of dreadlocks. The male had tiny spikes running across his eye ridge while the females were just slightly more pronounced. "What are they?" Lorena whispered in awe, for even though they looked like they were asleep they still looked fierce.

"They're us."

"Huh?" Lorena asked, looking at the man beside her. Jake just smiled at her.

"Doctor Mandalio will explain it better than I can, so come on." Jake then left and Lorena cast one last look at the occupants in the room before following.

It wasn't long until they arrived at one of the offices full of desks and stepped inside. "Doctor Mandalio!" Jake called walking over to a woman at a desk who was reading a file. The woman looked up with hard light brown eyes as she brushed back her thick brown hair that was turning a little grey. Her eyes then traveled over to Lorena and, if possible, her eyes became harder as she scrutinized her.

The woman placed the folder on her desk and stood as Jake and Lorena stopped at her desk and she held out a hand to Lorena. "Doctor Jane Manadlio," she said stiffly.

"Lorena Lazerman," Lorena responded just as stiffly as she shook her hand. "Former doctor," she added.

"I know. I was just reading your records," Jane said casting a hand toward the file she had put on her desk. "I am also well of aware of your… condition. I hope that it doesn't affect anything with our project."

"No ma'am," Lorena said still confused on what the project was.

"Good. Are you ready to start then?" Jane asked though she sounded very reluctant to say it.

"Ummmm…," Jake said coming to stand beside Jane. He whispered something to her and Jane's eyes widen in surprise before filling with rage.

"They what!" she yelled. "God damn them!" She then stomped out from behind her desk coming toward Lorena before stopping. The woman was very formidable, glaring at Lorena as if this was all her fault. "They didn't tell you?" she hissed.

"No ma'am," Lorena said cautiously, trying to figure out if the woman before her would strike her. Instead Jane just cursed and began pacing. Lorena cast a look to Jake asking for some kind help but only received a sympathetic look for her efforts.

"Ok then," Jane finally said drawing Lorena's attention. "If they want to send me an incompetent doctor, fine! But I will not have this ruin my life's work!" She spoke more to herself, though Lorena stiffened at Jane calling her an "incompetent doctor". Jane seemed to ignore that as she looked over at Lorena.

"I know you're already here but let me ask you, how would you like to live again?" Lorena looked at her, rather confused at the question. "I'm not taking the question lightly," Jane continued. "But think about it; with you condition how would you like a NEW body, one that isn't dieing? I can give you that chance; the stuff here," she waved her hand around the room and to the outside. "Can give you that chance."

Lorena hesitated as she thought of the implications the Jane spoke of. 'A new body?' she thought. 'How can one do that? Does it have something to do with those two bodies?'

"How?" she asked hesitantly, afraid and eager for the answer. Jane didn't answer her at first as she approached her and grabbed her shoulders.

"You're going to have to trust me on this. What I'm about to tell you is research that's spanned over a hundred years, and I have to give you a very condensed version. But first, do you have your recorder?" Still confused, Lorena nodded her head. "Can I see it?" Jane asked impatiently. Lorena just shrugged off her sack and rummaged through her bag before locating the recording device and handing it to Jane.

With a brisk nod, Jane took it and walked away, leaving Lorena to catch up after her. They stopped at a nearby empty desk and attached the recorder to a miniature crane like device sitting on top of the desk. Instantly the monitor next to it flickered on, showing a mirror image of what the camcorder was seeing. "This," Jane said, pointing at the device. "Is going to be your new best friend. Everything that happens to you on a day to day basis must- and will- be recorded and will be stored in the main computers main frame." Lorena just looked between Jane and the camera.

"Everyday?" she asked.

"Everyday," Jane reaffirmed. "No matter what." Lorena just slowly nodded, still confused on what this had to do with the project. "Very good," Jane said. "Now leave your stuff here and follow me." She then turned and started strutting away. Hastily, Lorena did as she was told and hurried to catch up with Jane, feeling as if she was back in boot camp.

"Now then," Jane said, drawing Lorena's attention to her. "The things I'm about to tell you are top secret, understand? You can not tell anyone else who's not on the planet." Lorena could have snorted since she didn't really have people she wanted to talk to anyway, but she refrained and listened as Jane went on.

"For years, scientists have tired to figure out how the human mind works. Or better yet, can the human mind control something that is out side of its body just using his or her mind. That's what we've- my team and I- have been trying to figure out.

"To make a long story short, we've made a giant breakthrough a couple of years ago. We couldn't test it though, until now.

"We've created a machine that can transfer a human's conscious and put it into another beings body; only if they are genetically matched." Jane stopped at a pair of doors and looked at Lorena, coolly. "This is where your sister came in. About ten years ago, the Company found this planet and its unusual occupants. They were highly advanced and the Company wanted to learn more about them. Unfortunately, the natives weren't very receptive and after years of trying, the Company contacted me and told me of the situation.

"I, in turn contacted your sister because I knew her from previous work I had done with the military. She was very eager to join and she was about to ship out over here when her… unfortunate accident occurred. We're just lucky that she was a twin and we didn't waste any money on a genetic body." Lorena opened her mouth to say something nasty to the woman who just insulted her sister's memory when Jane turned away and opened the door.

Lorena's words died in her throat as she looked at the large circular room in front of her. At the center of the room was a central hub station full of monitors and people running here and there. Around it, lining the walls, were tanning bed like structures; some of them were occupied because the monitors nest to them showed their faces while others just lay open, waiting. Jane walked in and Lorena quickly followed her to one of the closest empty beds. Jane stopped at it and turned to face Lorena again. "You ready to live again?" she asked, nodding her head to the machine. Lorena visibly hesitated as she thought about what she was about to do.

"Hey, don't worry," someone said behind her. She turned to see Jake entering the room and he looked into her blue eyes trying to offer comfort. "It's harmless." To prove his point, he went by the next open bed near her and laid down in it. "I'll see ya in a bit," he said with a smirk as technicians gathered around him and closed the lid.

Lorena watched the bed for a minute before following Jake's lead. She laid down on the bed, pushing her black hair out of the way to rest her head comfortably on the offered headrest. Lorena found her heart rate increasing from fear and excitement; her breathing became shallow and she gulped to wet her now dry throat.

Jane came to stand over her. "You got anything metal on you?" she asked. Lorena nodded. "You have to take it off then; the metal could interfere with the connection." Lorena did as she was told, rather reluctantly though, and handed her dog tags to Jane. Jane cast a glance at them and her cold eyes softened slightly.

She then placed the dog tags on a table nest to the machine, saying, "They'll be here when you wake up. You ready?" Lorena gave a little nod but couldn't manage anything past that. "Just relax, ok?" Jane said. "Just imagine your going to sleep and wake up in a whole new world." She then closed the top and Lorena was immediately surrounded UV lights all around her.

"Alright Lorena," Jane said through the metal. "I'm going to say 'Go' and the transfer will start. After that you'll be in your new body…." Lorena waited a bit before she heard Jane's voice again.

"Okay here we go. Three…Two…One…GO…!"

Just a reminder: R AND R!