S1: The Unique IMC Pilot

by IMC Librarian

Michael W Johnson, found and raised by Spyglass unit #826591740-A, grows up to become an IMC Pilot, but soon discovers that he is more than that. More than a Pilot, more than a soldier, more than anyone knows, even himself. He is endowed with a destiny that will change his life and the lives of those around him for good.

114. CH113

S1-113
Test run

---

10:09 AM
03/19/3272

Yionus's moon, Zuter - IMC testing site Echo-918
Chamber 137

Music
Metroid Prime 3: Corruption - Briefing Room & Ambience Theme

In the IMC's testing facility on the moon known as Zuter, Michael had planned to see if his new machine was functional.

"After all this time, I didn't think you'd be doing something like this." Falco stated.

"First time for everything, am I right?" Michael had a point. A Marvin came by, holding a very strange object, then handed it to the Pilot. "Thank you, Marvin." He held the object to the round plate that was the back of the space for a portal. It floated into position and glowed. "Alright. Time Key in place. Chrono-synchronization matrices online... It's working." A few sparks seemingly manifested around the Time Key before stabilizing and forming a portal of green energy.

"{Energy readings are at safe levels. Chrono-synchronization matrices are performing at optimum efficiency.}" Rocco reported.

"We need to know if it's safe to cross."

It was then that a BRD-01 'Spectre' Combat Drone walked up and stepped through the portal. "{No temporal disruptions.}"

After a few seconds, the Spectre came back out. "Is it safe?" Mark-18 asked.

"The portal is stable, and analysis indicates that passage is safe. However, there appears to be something wrong with the destination. I was transported to an empty void, and I detected no time." The Spectre responded.

"That means we've got a Key that leads outside of time. We could probably get into those realms the Vex Gate Lords keep locked out. Then again, we might also discover the origins of the Exos." Michael stated. He could hear Hayden-10 chuckle briefly at this.

In case the portal ever needed to be closed, Michael created a device that could remove the Time Key from its place. He was already wearing the Chrono-Extractor on his Spectre arm, so he could simply reach for the Time Key, causing it to close the portal and zip right into his hand.

"OK, that might have been a glitch. See if anything went wrong, Rocco."

"{No glitch. The machine's stable.}"

Michael put the Time Key back, reopening the portal. The stationary circle in the center of the vortex of rushing green energy revealed what was on the other side. There was nothing but white. Not the white of snow, but the white of... paper? "OK, this is actually pretty strange."

It was then that Michael started taking a questionable move. He entered the portal, with his Spitfire in his hands, ready for anything.

Dimension 1
Timeless void

Music
none

Michael entered the vast emptiness, seeing that there was... literally nothing TO see. The only things he could hear were his own footsteps, his breathing, and the rushing energy of the portal.

"What is this place? HELLO?!" The sound of his voice didn't echo. It was as if there weren't any surfaces for the sound waves to bounce off of.

Deciding to go back and figure things out, Michael turned around and headed back through the portal.

Yionus's moon, Zuter - IMC testing site Echo-918
Chamber 137

Music
Metroid Prime 3: Corruption - Briefing Room & Ambience Theme

"MAN that was weird." Upon that detail, Michael closed the portal, with the Time Key returning to his hand.

"What did you see in there?" Samus asked.

"There was literally nothing TO see on the other side of that portal. Just an infinite void. Nothing to see, nothing to hear, nothing to go to. There was nothing, and at the same time, there wasn't even that."

"{Did you feel anything?}" Rocco asked.

"Yeah, does anything feel... odd?" Dane added.

"Other than feeling like I was in a sort of different reality, I didn't feel anything."

"We'll have to try this again later. Michael, let me take a look at the machine." The Shadow said.

---

Well, that was short, but intriguing.

The portals created by the machine are basically Storm Shocks from the old TV show Hot Wheels: Battle Force 5, but this one was green like the Ground Bridge from Transformers: Prime. The Keys actually have the appearance of the Battle Keys that appear in BF5.

Seems like Michael's machine DOESN'T travel through time.

I've made a sheet with all the Keys that will be used. They don't lead to different points in history, but they lead to... Well... I won't spoil it. You'll have to keep reading.

See you in the next one.