Sera walked through the hallway towards Dylan's room. After getting onto the base using a fake I.D. one of her new privates. She had the old marines whip those who had stayed ( just about everyone) into military order. They had repaired the neglect on the base and fixed the defenses. The rock face the outpost was built into could withstand a aerial bombardment. That was exactly what it had been built for in a time when hundreds of pirates roamed the sector. Sera came to the door that was labeled SGT. Crockten. While it required a authorized key card Sera had something better. She had a hand held hacker. A few seconds later she was in her room. A bed on either side and both had filled drawers and the covered had recently been done. The night echoed with the sounds of cars and a passing APC outside. Sera went over to the bed on the left side of the room over which there were a bunch of pictures. She saw one she recognized and picked it off the wall. It was the picture of the threes graduation from boot camp. Looking at the picture brought tears to her eyes. Her mind was filled with memories. She didn't hear the footsteps coming towards the door and grabbing the handle. She was torn from her memories by someone yelling "Holy SHIT."

14 Hours Earlier

Sera opened her eyes and got up from the bed she had moved into the study. She looked at the desk the clock reading 7:15. She laid her spikes flat on her back as she took a bra, shirt, and sweatshirt from her dresser. Taking off her sweatpants from the previous night she replaced them with a pair of jeans. Finally she laced up her combat boots then went outside through the office into the courtyard. The place had been reorganized the last few days. All the weapons were in the armory, the kitchens were stocked, and the 11 cars and 3 APCs the mob had just left all over had been placed in the far left corner of the base. The xenomorphs had made their den where the holding cells had been. Sera turned a corner into the mess hall bumping right into Steven the 25 year old tech specialist. " Whoa sorry Sera didn't see you there and damn when did you dye your hair." That confused her. "Steven I didn't dye my hair." He didn't seem to believe her"well why is it silver now. Yesterday it was brown now it's silver." Sera still didn't believe him. Going past him she walked to the nearest restroom. She looked in the mirror letting a gasp escape her. Her hair was a dark silver color now.

Dylan tossed the basketball to Sam as he dodged pass two of the opposite team. Sam tossed the ball mid court and scored three points. That was game. Every one headed to the showers and rinsed off. After that Dylan and Sam headed to the mess. for breakfast they were serving steak and eggs. Of course it was first come first serve. The two grabbed their trays and headed off for a booth near the tv. The news reported the disappearance of several high ranking members of Athenas only criminal organization. Officials believed they had been eliminated by a rival organization. About halfway through their meal the colonel came in escorting a young woman maybe only 26 along with several armed guards. Dylan choked as officer on deck was yelled around the room. "Aw crap it's my sister." Sam whispered back to him" What! She's not suppose to be here for another week!" The women must have heard them because she came over. "Sergeant what was so important you had to whisper while a commanding officer was present." Sam gave a salute "Miss Admiral I was telling my compatriot here about your arrival as he has just returned from shore leave Ma'am." Kara turned to Sam " what about you private?" Sam was scared shitless by the look in her eyes but he responded" Ma'am I am Private First Class Samuel Slotzkin. I am Sergeant Crockten's second in command Ma'am." The admiral turned away from both of them. " PFC I would like to speak to you at 21 hundred tonight am I understood." With that she and her guards left the mess. Sam looked at Dylan who relaxed after the door banged shut." Dude your sister is the scariest woman alive." Dylan returned his stare" No shit sherlock."

Sera walked into the armory in time to see two people running towards a tower of wobbling ammunition crates. She heard someone screaming out of sight, she started running towards the sound. A crate of ammo came off the tower and fell towards a teenage girl. Sera stepped in front of her holding out both arms upward. As the crate landed in the palms of her hands she was pushed down nearly to her knees. The two men standing off took the crate from her looking at her with amazement. The girl hugged her then walked out of the armory to the motor pool. One of the men only a few years older then her spoke up." Miss Hammeron how did you do that. This crate alone weighs nearly 300 pounds." He was pointing to the crate that had just fallen and was laying off to the side near the weapon racks. Sera just gave him a disbelieving look" that's impossible. The most I've ever benched is 75." The man shook his head" not anymore miss." They left her alone in the armory amid the guns and ammo. Sera raised her hands looking at them. "What's happening to me?"

Sera was walking towards the office when Steven stopped her" Hey Sera I got news on the people you asked about. I looked through the marines database. Nearly everyone in your old squad is alright except for the few who died. Here's more good news. Your two friends Samuel and Dylan are here on Athena. Their stationed at the Wind Fire base just outside the city." Sera laughed " That's great news but how am I gonna get on the base?" Steve pulled something out of the pocket of his cargo pants. "I've already got that covered. I made you a fake I.D. using" He handed the I.D. to her along with its lanyard. " Thanks Steve. I wanna ask you something. Why were you in the cells?" At the question Steve rubbed the back of his head " yeah that's a long story. Let's just say I did some hacking for Cappuino then when I was done he didn't wanna pay me so he threw me in the cells." His expression saying he was a idiot caused her to laugh. "Thanks again Steven if there's anything I can do to repay you just ask." He nodded." Don't worry about it, hey if you see any disks lying around the base that aren't music or movies can you grab'em for me Thanks." He patted her back then walked off. She had to get ready.

Around lunch time Dylan grabbed a meatball sub from the officers lounge. Heading to the command center he waved to some of his squad who passed him. He sat down at the communications desk. Nothing came through so he kept switching frequencies till he came across something interesting. On a unused channel someone was talking on a military radio and they hadn't even turned on the coder. He listened in on a conversation between a woman and a older man.

"Hey Gunman can you grab me a silencer for that 45 you gave me yesterday." Sera spoke to the older man who had been assigned as the head of the armory. The old Swedish man brought her the requested attachment. She didn't really think she would need it but she didn't know if someone in the city would jump her on the way to the base. They spoke about her plan to get in neither of them aware of the active radio near them.

Dylan wrote notes on the girls plan. She was planning to get into her room tonight but she didn't list what time. Someone named Steven had given her his room location. Dylan grinned. She was probably gonna play a prank on him but he would turn it back on her. He switched off the receiver and finished off his sub.

8 Hours Later 8:49 pm

Sera pulled the car through the gate after showing the guard the fake I.D. Pulling it around she parked in front of the entrance to the dorms. She showed it in front of the scanner and entered. She had to pass by a lounge where subs were being served and taking the opportunity she grabbed one as it was handed to her. Eating on the way she finished by the top of the stairs. She hadn't eaten since that morning and her appetite had grown. Turning right she checked the name on each door until she found the one she was looking for.

Dylan waited at the end of a hallway that branched off his until he saw a women pass by. He couldn't see her face since her hair covered it. He got off the seat and looked around the corner to see her enter his room. He crept down the hall, grabbed the door handle and entered the room. Letting out curse he stopped. He couldn't believe it. The girl gave him a quick look then started running towards the window. It was Sera. She had pulled down the picture of their graduation before he had spooked her. He attempted to grab her hand but missed and only ripped her jacket sleeve. She broke through the window and fell 15 feet to the ground.

Sera landed in front of the window to the lounge. People got up to see what was happening but no one got a look at her as she took off running. Tears welled from her eyes falling to the snow. Seeing Dylan had broken her heart. Running to the car she activated the engine and pulled out. She turned the corner of the dorms and as she was passing the alley between the main offices and dorms her side mirror was filled with light. Something slammed into the cars left side sending it flying. It rolled once, twice, and stopped halfway through the third roll. Sera pulled herself through the broken windshield. she tried to stand but couldn't as her left leg collapsed.

Dylan ran down the stairs and exited the building in time to hear the collision. Running towards the sound he stopped at the corner to see the car Sera had taken stop rolling. The apc which had collided with her stopped and its occupants exited. among them Sam. Both stared at the car as a figure began to hobble away. Dylan started running toward Sera while Sam stared. Her silver hair reflected the light from the light posts. She turned to look back and Dylan saw blood coming down her face. Her left pants leg was soaking in blood and he could hear her ragged breaths. He was 25 feet away when she started climbing the fence that lead onto the highway. She was nearly at the top when he called out "Sera wait" She fell onto the other side screaming when she met the ground. He started climbing over when a voice yelled at him" Dylan get down immediately. MPs train guns on that women." He turned around and his sister with 6 armed guards had trained their guns on Sera who was trying to get back up. Sam came up holding up a pistol. Dylan shook his head toward all of them" Kara don't its Sera" Sam lowered the gun" What?"

Sera managed to stand on her broken leg and began hobbling again while Dylan was distracting the MPs. Her ear piece turned on. "Sera keep running, I'll be there in a minute." A set of lights tore through the nearby brush and a black and green painted APC was heading for her. It stopped between her and the others. Two men grabbed her and pulled her through the door taking her to the back where Knight was waiting along with Steven. A old man who was a former doctor administered morphine and began setting her leg as her world began to fade. Knight hovered by her side ready to destroy any threat.

Dylan watched the unknown APC drive away. He turned back to his sister. She said one sentence before taking her leave" Tomorrow morning tell me what the hell is going on." Sam came up"That was Sera?"

The next morning Dylan was being scrutinized by his sister's stare. Kara sat in a chair on the opposite side of the table from him in her room. " Now Dylan tell me what happened last night and who that was or you are gonna regret it!" Dylan didn't look away from her as he spoke like most people would. "Last night I was headed to my room and when I got there she was inside." She paused him for a moment"Who is She?" The room was quiet as he selected his next words. " She was Sera. Everyone had thought she had died on the mission to Amazonia. She's the one who saved my life." Kara spoke quietly" how's is she alive and why is she here?" Dylan shook his head" I don't know. But there was something different about her. When I grabbed her arm she easily pulled out of my grip. I weigh 25 kilos more then her yet she was stronger then me. She jumped out a 2 story window and ran like it was nothing. She got away from the crash with the APC when she should have been knocked unconscious. The way she ran from us had me worried." That caught her interest "why does it worry you?" Releasing a sigh he responded" It looked like she was scared of us catching her for some reason. When she looked back I could have sworn that her sclera were black." Kara got up" Dylan the APC was tracked by air to the nearby mountains. There's an old outpost up there which their most likely hiding at." She was interrupted by his PDA going off. He had gotten a message from a unknown source. It read Meet me at the Holly leaf cafe a week from now. It was signed S. He pondered what that meant for a moment then figured it out. It was Sera.

Earlier that morning She had woken up in her bed to find her left leg in a cast, bandages on her head and on her hand where the glass cut her. Now she was sitting up in her bed with Knight on one side and Steven on the other sending her message to Dylan. Steven turned from the computer to her. "Sera how are you going to meet them. Your legs gonna take two weeks to heal and then your taking the super big risks." She sighed and lowered her head. " I know Steve but it's a risk I want to take."