(Pulls nervously at collar) er, hi. before you read this Chapter,I should warn you that Daniel will...erm...well, mabye I'll explain at the end of the chapter.
read plaese...pretty please?

CHAPTER 8

THE SILVER GIRL

I opened my eyes, and realised the world looked normal.

No longer were there little targets floating around my eyesight. It looked as normal as it had before the 'accident.'

I tried to move my arm, only to find it caught underneath some tightly tucked in sheets. After much pushing and pulling I finally managed to get my right arm away.

I stared at it in surprise. It was…well, normal. No hint of Cybernetics at all.

Hardly daring to believe it, I gently moved my hand up to the side of my face, to find the plate gone.

I was human. Completely one hundred percent human.

As I sat up I took in my surroundings.

I was in a almost square room, the corners cut off, the walls a stone pink. The bed in which I lay was pushed into one corner, the sheets, a silvery grey.

In another corner was a small mahogany desk, with various bits and pieces, and a large vanity mirror along the back.

Around the room were things you would usually find in a bedroom: a closet, a small bookshelf, and other bits and bobs.

On the wall opposite me was a large window, directly in the centre.

My curiosity peeking I promptly got out of bed, only to find I had been stripped down to my underwear.

Wondering who in there right mind would actually undress me, I noticed that my uniform was hung over the back of a chair, neatly cleaned and repaired.

After donning my shirt, trousers and boots, I suddenly began to wonder.

"The last thing I remember was dying," I thought to myself, "Is that true though? Am I dead? Is this Heaven?"

While I wondered this, I walked over to the large window and opened it, looking out to the world outside.

In front of me was a large expansive meadow, flowing out into the distance. On the horizon was a range of mountains, their snowy peaks the most predominant thing in view.

The sky above was cloudless, the colour of an august sky, three solid green stripes, which I assumed to be rings, seeming to split it up.

The house were I was appeared to be slightly raised above the ground, added too by the fact I appeared to be on the 1st floor.

As I looked around, I suddenly caught site of the Legacy.

She looked a mess. Almost all the masts were gone, a few splintered remains near the deck was all that was left.

The once great ship now lay on her side, her Bow decimated, her aft nothing more then scrap wood, a large crack going almost directly down the middle of the ship where she had hit the rock.

Behind her was a large, muddy groove where the ship had gone, pieces of sail and mast littering the grassy meadow.

A piece of chaos amongst peace.

"No, I can't be dead," I muttered to myself, "I can't imagine the Afterlife to have that sitting in the middle of it."

"Then you are right," said a soft voice behind me, "You are not dead."

I turned around in surprise, as I gazed upon a woman I hadn't seen since my tenth birthday.

She seemed shorter then I remembered her, about a head smaller then I was now, but that was probably because I had only been a child at the time.

She was a petite and graceful figure who looked as delicate and tiny as a flower, and perhaps just as beautiful. And I had to admit, she was indeed breathtakingly beautiful. On first site she appeared to be only eighteen, but her eye betrayed the fact she was much more wiser. Her features subtle and delicate, her skin pale and milky. Her platinum blond hair flowed slightly down the back of her neck, but was separated into two locks at the front, framing her face. On either shoulder and on her forehead, were small, Q-shaped tattoos, which stood out against her pale skin.
Her clothing was comprised of a pure white dress that fitted her small form perfectly, and trimmed in gold along the edges. It had no sleeves or back, and was held up by a golden choker around the neck. Two more were found at the end of the separate sleeves, each decorated in strange circuit-like patterns, which could be found all over the dress. The sleeves only covered around three-quarters of her arms and appeared to be held up by a pair of simple silver bands. A small piece of triangular cloth had been cut out from the front over her chest, although it didn't show off anything. While the dress itself was went down to her ankles, it was slit up the side to her waist, clearly to help her move around better. Underneath it she wore a tight pair of white leggings, tucked into a set of ankle bracelets that matched her Chokers, finishing in white leather boots. A pale silver bracelet clung to one wrist under her sleeve , and two large, deep blue earrings dangled from her ears. Around her head was a golden headband, from which a slightly transparent white veil flowed down to roughly the middle of her back.

Her eyes were Aquatic green, the colour of an Earth ocean, on a summers day.

She smiled kindly at me. "Hello Daniel," she said quietly in her soft voice, "It's nice to see you again."

I frowned in confusion. There was no way she could be here. She wasn't real, she just wasn't…

"Why can't I be real?" she asked quietly as she crossed the room to the window, next to me, "Do you even remember who I am?"

I gazed at her for a moment as she looked out to the wreckage of the Legacy before answering.

"You are Fina Silvairian, the last surviving descendant of the Silver Civilisation. You are also the Keeper of the Moon Crystals."

She smiled lightly before turning to face me.

"I see you remember me,"

I shook my head.

"No, I remember what my Imaginary Friend told me. I imagined you up because people were picking on me at school."

She turned to me, her face sympathetic.

"I know this is hard for you to believe," she whispered, placing a hand lightly on my cheek, "But I was not your Imaginary Friend. I used the power of the Silver crystal inside me to conceal me from others so only you see me. I can see into the future Daniel, I knew I had to protect you as you grew up."

"But you haven't aged a day since I first saw you," I whispered, "How can I believe someone who has to be at least ten years my senior, yet looks eight years my junior?"

She smiled, but looked down at the floor as she took away her hand.

"Do you remember what I said, the day I left you?"

I tried to rack my brains, before it came to me.

"You said we would meet again. And when we did…you would do something that would make me believe you. Something that would feel…right to me."

She looked up at me and smiled, before gently going up onto her toes, and kissed me softly on the lips.

Her sudden action caught me by surprise. Her kiss was soft and sweet, not like Amelia's but like Amelia's at the same time. That same feeling of it all being very right came to me.

The feeling disappeared as fast as it had come as she pulled away, leaving me speechless.

She smiled, "Don't tell Amelia," she whispered, "She already knows I was going to do it."

I looked at her in disbelief. My gut was telling me she was right, everything she said was true, but my instinct was telling me she was wrong. I needed more proof.

"You want more proof?" she asked before pointing at the mirror, "Look in there."

My curiosity now reaching it's peek, I strode over to the table and lent down.

The person staring back almost cried out in shock.

I looked around six or seven years younger, the wrinkles of age completely nonexistent. My hair was completely dark brown, no hints of grey whatsoever, but it was my eyes that made me stare so hard at my reflection.

They were no longer the hazel brown I had known, but were now instead green. A sort of Moor green. Like the grass of Dartmoor during winter.

As I stared at my face, my eyes travelled up to my forehead.

Something appeared to be under my fringe.

As I lifted it up, it revealed a small Q-shaped tattoo, standing out against my pale skin.

I looked back at Fina, a look of utter confusion on my face.

"Wh….Wh…what happened?"

Fina smiled sadly, "You were almost right Daniel. No your not dead, but you did die."

"Then what am I?"

"Don't worry," she smiled reassuringly as she came up to me, "Your completely alive, just slightly altered that's all.

There is only two ways you can become a Silvite, like me.

You must either be born into it, or be infused with it. For the latter to occur, the person must die, and even then he or she must be infused the moment after death."

"What do you mean…infused?"

Without answering, Fina just smiled and closed her eyes and slowed her breathing.

Slowly and surely, out of her chest, where the small triangle of cloth had been cut out, came a almost clear crystalline formation. It was almost circular in shape and made a slight tinkling sound.

As I watched, I suddenly felt a feeling of numbness in my right hand.

As I looked down, I realised that another crystal similar to Fina's was beginning to emerge from my hand.

I gazed at intently watching as the Crystal sank back into my hand, the numbness slowly disappearing.

"Now do you understand?" Fina asked.

I looked at her, "What was that?"

"That was the Silver Crystal," she explained, "When you died, I split my Silver crystal in two, and infused you with its power."

"It has the power of Eternal Youth, telepathy, regeneration and immortality to name just a few, But before I explain anymore, we must join the others."

I nodded, my thoughts a mess.

Fina took my hand comfortingly, "Don't worry, I'll explain as soon as we find the others. You won't have long to wait."

I nodded wordlessly as she pulled me to the door, grabbing my coat and putting it on me, before pulling me through the door.

"Daniel! Thank God your alright!"

I hadn't taken two steps through the door when I was almost bowled over as Amelia pulled me into tight embrace.

"Amelia, Shh, it's O.K." I soothed.

"I almost lost you…again," she whispered in my ear, "Twice in two months. That can't be a good sign."

"Um, Excuse me?" Fina called as she stepped in front of the small crowd before I could reply, "It is fairly urgent that you hear this."

"Who are you?" I heard Volenski call out, "And how did we get here?"

"Please, I will explain all in just a moment," Fina appeared to have suddenly come over all shy. Clearly she wasn't a crowd person, "My name is Fina Silvairian, the last Silvite of the Silver Civilisation, the last descendant of the creators of the Gateway Stations."

"Gateway Stations?" Amelia called, "What do you mean Gateway Stations?"

"I mean stations such as this one and the one you called Treasure Planet," Fina replied, as Amelia raised an eyebrow to me, "I know this may be hard to believe, but you have all been brought here by fate, help save the very Galaxy herself."

"How can you prove this?" Peter spoke up.

"By telling you each you names, ages and occupation. That should be enough proof seeing only Daniel has met me before.

She went up to Silver and began:

"Jonathan Tobias Silver, Sixty-two. You used to haul junk before Procyon Bombers rigged the Enterprise II to explode, destroying you ship in the process. James Pleiades Hawkins, Twenty one. Rank of Lieutenant in the Royal Navy of the Terran Empire. Peter Neil Armstrong, Twenty-nine. Doctor of Astrophysics, formerly of the International Space Station. Jennifer Amanda Desoto, twenty-six. Former Commander in chief of the International Space Station. Mikhail Tomas Volenski, thirty-five. Doctor of Chemistry, again formally of the International Space Station. Susan Maria Walden, thirty. Former Second in command of the International Space Station. Amelia Dearing, Twenty-five. Former Captain of the Royal Light Ship Legacy."

She finally got to me, a large smile on her face, "Daniel Kennedy Dearing, twenty-six. Former First Officer of the before mentioned R.L.S Legacy. Father of three. Married to Amelia."

"How come she knows so much about you?" Amelia asked suspiciously as Fina left.

"Long story, tell you later." I replied as Fina began to speak again.

"As I said before, you have been brought together by fate. It is your destiny to wipe out the Procyon Fleet. If you do not, the Time-stream will be thrown into chaos."

"Why, what will happen?" I asked.

Fina looked at me with worry.

"If you do not, the Procyon Armada will take over the Empire and after that, the Galaxy itself."

There was a stunned silence after this statement.

"The Procyon Armada will take over the Galaxy?" Amelia scoffed, "I don't believe it. The Procyon's are advanced, but there is nothing in their Armada that could help them take over the galaxy."

Fina shook her head sadly, "You are wrong Captain. You see the Procyon Armada invaded the Terran system, partly because of it's closeness to Empire Space, but mostly because Earth is rich in a substance called Corerillium."

"Corerillium?" Volenski asked suspiciously, "No such thing."

"Corerillium is a substance created near the very centre of the Earth. It is a very rare substance, created by the intense pressure and heat produced by the molten core of the planet," Fina explained, "It can usually be found most predominantly in the cores of gas giants. But it is a extremely dangerous business extracting it, and so the Procyons decided to try and find a alternate source.

They found it in two places: the Moons of their home planet Laar, and the Core of your planet: Earth."

"But what do they need this Corerillium for?" I asked.

"To power a super weapon of massive proportions. A machine so powerful, it has the power to make the youngest star go Supernova."

"A black hole machine?" Peter gawped.

"To put it bluntly. Yes."

"How do you know this lass?" Silver asked, scratching his grey chin in thought, " I mean, the only way you could possibly know 'bout this is if you were there when they set it in motion."

Fina smiled, "Perhaps, Mr. Silver, It is time I told you my story."

(Cowers at evil stares) please, before you starting throtalling me i can explian!
(Sighes) Okay then. Just so you know, after this chapter, there will be one final enstallment after this one. This next ficitself will explain a lot, as well as begin an opening to a new set of fics i have code named: Channel-hopping.I won't say anything more, in case i ruin the plot, but all i will say is that Fina and Daniel have met before, and not just on Earth, that's allI can say...for now.
Keep reviewing. No flames!

Dearing.