-Chapter One-

-+-Thus We Begin-+-
Written by; Ren

Early one morning,
Down in the valley below.
A maid was singing sadly
"How could you leave me so?"

She looks up to see the sky slowly being swallowed by a midnight darkness but it isn't the night pushing away the day. It's something different, something evil. She stands on the edge of a cliff that overlooks the deep blue ocean; she feels the darkness drip into the calm waters. All around her the world begins to crumble as the blacken ocean touch the shores and the dark sky devours mankind, there is nothing she can do so she gazes towards the heavens and sees millions of tiny stars gazing back. Tears roll down her cheeks as the ground below her begins to fall apart. She can save the world and mankind if she falls but she has no choice but to. And as the darkness engulfs her, she awakes.

The bedroom lights blinded Annabelle as she awoke with a racing heart and a pounding heart. Had she been dreaming or facing a nightmare? She couldn't tell, traveling in deep space did that to you. Between being in cryogenic sleep and staring off into the emptiness of space, one's sleep and dreams would get seriously distorted. All Annabelle could remember was that she had been crying which also followed her into the real world.

Annabelle lay on her bed for a few moments as she wiped away the dreamlike tears that were far too real. She knew there was no time to dwell on a dream or nightmare she couldn't remember though. Being the Medical Support Officer of the Ishimura was a very demanding job, especially when the Commanding Medical Officer was always off sending Video messages/calls to her boyfriend.

As Annabelle was getting ready to rise from her bed, a shadow of movement caught the corner of her eye. On instinct she rose to face her... younger, twenty two year old sister.
"Good morning, Annabelle." Her little sister greeted her with a sly smile.
"Doesn't feel like morning," Annabelle commented as she watched her sister sway slightly with her ever-growing belly. "Where were you lastnight, Mary?" Annabelle questioned as she realized it was Mary who had turned on the bedroom lights.
"Otstoyaschy..." Away Mary said in her native Russian tongue as she shrugged and patted her growing belly.
"You were with that Hanz lad again, weren't you?" Annabelle questioned as she took in her sister's state.

Mary was almost nine months pregnant and her stomach was huge. Annabelle suspected that her baby sister was going to be a mother to twins. On one hand, Annabelle would soon be an aunt but on the other, she would only be a half-blooded aunt since Mary was only her half-sister.

Mary was almost the complete opposite of Annabelle. She had dirty blonde hair, dark blue eyes, and fair skin. Not to mention the blonde young woman was twenty-two years old with a marriage soon to come.

Annabelle though was much darker. Her normal hair color was a light brown but she had dyed it a blueish-black with two white streaks to accompany it. Annabelle's eyes were a dark almost black like brown while her skin had a light tan to it. She was twenty-nine years old and had barely experienced the ideal love affair. But Annabelle did love her work in the medical field; it helped her deal with the things she knew she was missing.

"He is my child's father," Mary groaned in annoyance as she faced her older sister. "And we are due to wed after the Planet crack..."
"Or so he promised," Annabelle gave her sister a joking smile. "But how's work in the kitchen? I don't want you stressing yourself out, you need to be relaxed. Take a break; it'll be good for the baby."
"I'll try," Mary shrugged as she got ready for an early morning nap.
"I need to change then I'm off then," Annabelle said as she gave her sister a quick hug and rushed off to change her clothes.

A few minutes would pass before Annabelle stepped outside her shared bedroom and made her way towards the mess hall for some breakfast. Even if Annabelle had wanted her own room, she'd still like to share with her younger sister. That's how they grew up together.

Annabelle had been five when her mother had a strange but serious fever and died not too long after it. A year later, her father remarried and had twins, one boy and one girl the following year. Never had she thought Elliot and Mary as something different or something horrible. It was understandable that her father would want to remarry and a year was enough for mourning.

About eight years ago, Annabelle's father and her step-mother perished in a space ship collision. Thus she was left to raise her fourteen year old half brother and sister and put herself through medical school. But nevertheless she made it through it all.

The mess hall was loud and busy with all kinds of people Annabelle could care less about. Hunger was quick to drive her towards the breakfast line.
"Hello, Annabelle Anezka." A deep, smooth voice said behind Annabelle as she entered the mess hall.
"That's Doctor Anezka to you, Mr. Justus Halo." Annabelle replied with an annoyed tone.
"Do you always need to be formal?" He grinned playful as he grabbed a food tray.
"Have you seen Crina this morning?" Annabelle asked as she looked at the morning's menu.
"You mean that girl with anxiety problem?" He questioned as he scratched his dark brown hair.
"There is quite seriously only one woman named Crina on this entire ship and you just had to point out her problem?" Annabelle signed knowing it was true.

Justus laughed heartily with a sly grin upon his lips. He was about to reply when both jumped from a loud crashing sound. Just past the crowds stood a young woman with loose black curls standing amidst broken plates and a silent crowd. She quivered quietly as a man slightly taller than her with dark auburn hair also stood quietly, traumatized by the loud events as well. Surely these two were the source of the sound for why else would there be all those broken plates? Annabelle and Justus stood in their spots as they watched what had been happening and sure enough, it was the two who were making all that noise.