Author's Note: This is me trying to get back into the writing game. The idea had been stuck in my head, wondering what would happen if I combined two rarely used crossovers as a basis for a new take on ME Humanity.

So, no Beta, no Editor, and an idea that I thought was really silly, but still tried to make it a bit more serious. Enjoy.

Author's Notes 2: I've modified a few paragraphs to keep the tech consistent from here on out. I also did some more minor editing work. Enjoy.

The shuttle doors slid open with an almost inaudible hiss, and a ramp extended toward the asteroid's surface. Mark Shepard stood still, taking in the sight before him. He had anticipated the near-complete darkness that engulfed the surroundings and horizon, given the distance from the system's star. It was intentional, allowing one to truly appreciate the beauty of the studded black sky in the current ambiance.

Despite his preparations, the vision of countless stars shining clearly through the void was truly mesmerizing. The person beside him likely shared the sentiment, evident in the soft gasp captured by her helmet's microphone.

"Beautiful, ain't it?" he asked, his gaze still fixed on the mesmerizing sight.

"Yes," came her hitched reply.

Grinning, Mark gently tapped her shoulder. "Come on. I'll secure the area; you prep the rover."

She gave him a nod and, almost hesitantly, retreated from his view as he walked forward toward the side. His left hand reached out to pick up one of the metallic spikes, the Graviton Pylons, hanging from a rack near the exit before stepping forward.

Walking down the ramp, his right hand brushed the butt of his blaster holstered on his thigh as he scanned the surface illuminated by the shuttle's lights. It was, as his AI, Eva, had said—relatively smooth, though with a peppering of fine particles that reflected only partially the harsh shuttle lights.

With every step, the blackness of his surroundings deepened. Despite the large star cluster in the sky, their light did little to stem the growing darkness. Even the shuttle's lights, as bright as they were, seemed visible only until the end of the ramp.

Mark unholstered his weapon, holding it steadily at the ready with just one hand. With his first step onto the rocky asteroid from the metallic surface, he could barely see anything in front of him.

The virtual display on his helmet came to life, suddenly illuminating everything as if a star had appeared nearby, its light chasing away the terrifying harshness of the void. The dull gray of the rocky surface now had new tones and splashes of color, with the sky painted like an Earth sunrise.

It was nothing but an illusion, something Eva had produced using data from his suit and the shuttle's scanners. This became more obvious with the data displayed on the edges of his vision—a mini-map at the upper left corner, a seismograph at the upper right, and visible yellow numbers at the bottom, presenting various data.

With the blaster readied, he checked his surroundings and found nothing threatening. Satisfied, he focused on the bottom of his view screen, and after a moment, the data enlarged into something easier to read.

The gravitational data remained consistent since his first visit—the asteroid's pull similar to Earth's moon. With careful consideration, he took a few gentle steps, adapting to the feeling of weightlessness. Hopping forward until he found a spot free of rock spikes or deep dents, he skidded from his last hop. Ready with the pylon in hand, he held it aloft, pointed end directed downwards, and said, "Standby."

The rod was encased in a gentle blue light, visibly pulsing at a very slow frequency. Carefully, Mark loosened his grip, and it stayed in place, suspended in space. With both hands free, he stabilized his hold on his weapon as he checked his surroundings once more before saying, "Deploy."

Then, as if weighed down by a hundred-ton weight, the spike slammed onto the surface of the asteroid, sinking deep into the ground. Mark could feel a slight shake; the seismograph in his display spiked once.

The entry was perfect, with just a few cracks around the impact area. A few seconds later, the ring atop the pylon separated from the rest, floating on the buried rod. It began to spin, oscillating faster until it became a complete blur. The blue light from the pylon expanded, forming a bubble that slowly grew until it covered a wide area, even reaching the shuttle.

Mark glanced at it, just to ensure it was working correctly, but mostly focused on his surroundings. His shoulders and arms remained locked in a stable position, blaster ready to be used. As the pulses of light turned into a dark violet color, he knew the process was nearly over and relaxed.

"Pylon deployment complete," a soft, synthesized female voice whispered. "Atmosphere and gravity: Earth standard. Temperature: sixty-eight degrees Fahrenheit. UVI sterilization complete; no exotic pathogens detected. The graviton shield has also been deployed."

"Thank you, Eva."

"My pleasure," came the answer.

He holstered his weapon, then placed both hands on either side of his helmet. He heard a pneumatic hiss and felt the headgear loosen from his head. With just a slight tug, he removed it and took a deep breath, savoring the fresh, ionized air that had been generated by the sterilization process.

Without his helmet, the virtual display vanished. The image of the warm sunrise was now replaced by the colder, harsher blues of the gravity bubble that kept the darkness at bay.

"Eva," Mark called. "Let's change the mood."

"Ultra Romantic Setting?" Eva asked, with a somewhat sardonic tone.

"Yes, please," he replied, rolling his eyes.

The bubble slowly lost its color, becoming more transparent every second. Along with it, the gloom of the void returned. Before everything around him could turn completely black, though, tongues of fire formed around him. They spread out slowly, gently illuminating the area in a warm tone reminiscent of candlelight that did not affect the visibility of the starry night sky.

"Wow."

Turning to the voice, Mark smiled as he finally saw his companion, also without a helmet. Her red hair flowed freely behind her, and her green eyes looked around in visible awe. The soft lighting gave her lightly freckled face a gentle glow as she walked with soft steps, while an automated rover moved slightly behind her.

"Told you I found a great spot, Hannah."

"I didn't doubt for a second," she said, before smirking as she motioned to the holstered weapon. "So, I'm guessing the area has been secured, sir Marine?"

Mark nodded in mock seriousness as he approached her. "Of course."

She giggled as he planted a gentle kiss on her lips before he walked past her, toward the rover, and opened its top, scrounging for whatever he needed.

"I'm pretty sure this asteroid is just teeming with dangerous alien life," she declared.

"Don't mock," Mark warned with a dry tone as he grabbed what appeared to be a rolled-up carpet. "For your information, I just fought off a Kaiju before crossing the Breach it came from, fought off an army of Precursors on the other side before blowing up their facility."

"Uh-huh," was all she said, observing Mark approaching with the roll under his arm. Once he returned, he held both ends, and with a flourish, unfurled the bundle with one quick motion, leaving a perfectly queen-sized carpet on top of the rocky surface. "You did all of that alone in a span of a few minutes?"

"The Precursor facility was orbiting a huge black hole," he replied, tapping the carpet twice, inflating it into a thick futon. He looked at her. "It took ten years. I've grown old, Hannah. Old enough to think we probably shouldn't be together, but I'm willing to give us a chance."

She looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "Wow."

"I know," he replied, winking as he walked past her again to rummage inside the rover once more.

She turned, arms crossed. "First of all, that's the inverse of how normal time dilation works."

With complete exaggeration, Mark replied mockingly, "Ackshually."

"Shut up. And second, you should have just gone with the Precursors having a chronosphere or something. It'd be more believable."

"More believable, really?" Mark asked, grabbing two rocks glasses and a very chilled-looking bottle of champagne. He glanced at Hannah, an eyebrow raised. "Rocks glasses?"

"Didn't want to bring something delicate like flutes on this trip," she replied with a shrug before sitting down on the futon. "And how is the idea of Precursors having a chronosphere unbelievable?"

"Because they don't," he answered simply as he walked back to her.

"But why not? The Breach is based on gravtech. If they can use gravity, they should have—"

"Hold these, please," Mark interrupted as he handed her the two glasses, a soft smile on his face. With both hands, he carefully worked on the champagne bottle. "If they had chronotech, we'd be extinct." He gently uncorked the container, a good sounding pop escaping from the pressurized bottle. Letting it breathe for a few seconds, he looked at her inquisitively as he poured out the contents onto the offered glasses. "Trust me, they may have some gravtech, but we are better at it than they are. They got us beat with cloning and organic tech, but gravity is humanity's."

Hannah stared at the glasses for a moment before saying, softly, "Yeah, probably."

"No maybes about it," Mark countered as he squatted down, gently placing the bottle in the sand, creating a small indentation. "So, what's the sudden interest in Precursors?"

Hannah stared at him carefully, retracting one glass and leaving the other within his reach. "What do you mean? You're the one who brought them up."

"As a joke," he replied gently, grabbing the offered glass before sitting down beside her. They stayed silent for a few seconds before he asked, "Is this about me applying for the Mobile Infantry? That I might go fight them?" He sighed, looking up. "I thought you were okay with it."

"I am," Hannah replied softly. "Your family served, and you want to follow in their footsteps. I get that. It's just…" Then, she mumbled something almost inaudible.

"What was that?" Mark asked.

"Babs wants to apply for Citizenship."

He blinked. "Wait, Barbs is also going to MI?"

"No!" Hannah replied, almost affronted, before looking apologetic. "No offense."

"None taken. Would have tried to talk her out of it too."

She threw him a grin. "Thanks. But no. I know her too well; she'll probably apply for the Navy."

"Look, just because she's a pretty good pilot doesn't mean the Navy will take her," Mark assured her. "Maybe they will find something else for her. Besides, even if she does get in, the Navy assets are mostly tied up in colonial space defense and escort. They don't really go out to fight the Precursors. She'll most likely be flying a frigate along with a large naval force, guarding planets or keeping the ER Bridges clear. Maybe fighting a few pirates on occasion, but no Precursors."

Hannah nodded repeatedly. "Yeah, probably." She sighed. "She asked me to join her. I… didn't know what to say."

Mark looked thoughtful. "Well, it's five years of service at the minimum," he said. "It can be a hefty investment in your life, but I think it's worth it."

Hannah formed a sardonic smile. "It's not the time spent. I just don't get it, you know? I mean, why would I even want to be a Citizen? My family has been Civilians for God knows how long, so...why would I take the extra steps for no real gain?"

Mark grinned. "Citizenship isn't for everyone. If it weren't for Gramps, I probably would think the same. So thank you for disrespecting his sacrifice."

"Shut up," she said with a roll of her eyes. "You know that's not what I mean," she added before sighing. "Maybe… maybe I just want to understand why Babs would apply."

There was silence, with Hannah looking forlorn, and Mark taking on a more contemplative expression, before he eventually broke the silence.

"Hannah," he began, "maybe it's not about understanding it. Perhaps one day, you will. But for now, why not just be supportive? Like how you are with me."

Hannah looked at him, then a small smile formed on her face. She raised her glass, and he met hers with a gentle clink. In sync, both took a sip, and as they did, the rover suddenly moved toward them, its top closed and flat, a tempting place to put down their drinks, which they did after finishing their tasting.

"I don't mean to sound unsupportive," she said. "I am. Maybe I'm just being overprotective as an older sister."

He blinked. "Aren't you twins?"

She replied with a grin, "I came out first."

Mark rolled his eyes this time before both of them went silent, hands reaching for their drinks once more, eyes at the sky.

"How did you find this place?" Hannah asked softly before taking a sip. "It's amazing. It has minimal light pollution, and at the right angle to view the star clusters in that galaxy far, far away."

Mark nodded absently. "Dave and I wanted to explore this place before Taiwan sent their exploratory party."

She blinked, before looking at him. "Is it official?"

"Well, it was official years ago, but yeah. Taiwan is about to start colonizing this system. Named it and its garden planet Shanxi. I guess they want to completely explore the outer edge of the system before they send in a Colony Station." Mark took another sip. "So I asked Barbs if she wanted to beat them to it and explore it ourselves before the fleet would arrive."

Hannah sighed. "Well, thanks for putting her in danger."

Mark kissed her cheek gently, making her smile a bit. "Didn't even get out of the asteroid belt. Mostly because I noticed this place, and immediately knew I found a great place for our date. I think I annoyed Barbs because I cut the trip short as we had to do some basic scouting, make sure this asteroid was actually gravitationally locked and that it wasn't going to wander off anywhere anytime soon."

"Well, that explains why she was quite enthused to bring us here and leave without any question." Hannah then looked apprehensive. "You don't think she left the system, do you? Go to unexplored space?"

"Come on, you'd really think she'd do that?" Mark asked. The only reply he got was an exasperated expression from Hannah, making him think twice. "Eva?" he called.

"Barbara Brenner is still within the solar system," Eva replied. "The corvette, Corona, is one-point-seven AUs away from our current location."

Mark turned to Hannah. "She's still in-system. A hundred and fifty-eight million miles away. Guess she's having fun."

Hannah sighed in relief before looking at Mark, a small smirk on her face. "Well, it wouldn't be fair if she had all the fun, would it?"

He smiled back. "No, ma'am."

They held hands, softly looking into each other's eyes. Mark moved first, and Hannah followed, their lips touching. Gently at first, then slowly growing into something more ravenous. Suddenly, they moved away from each other, their hands now free. For a few seconds, they stared at each other, before Hannah formed a wicked grin as her hands went for her wrist. With a hiss, her suit suddenly grew in size, losing its usual skin-tight quality. She grabbed the loosened part at the bottom of her neck, exposing her shoulders as she tried to shake her limbs loose from their confines. Mark followed, doing the same on his own. They had silly grins as their now exposed chests were in each other's view, arms moving in a hurry, as if it were a race of who got naked first.

It wasn't meant to be.

"Gravity tunnel detected," Eva announced, making Mark stop. "It's the Corona." He blinked before glancing at Hannah, who also stopped. She was probably informed by her AI, Riku, as well.

"Damnit, Babs!" she seethed. She looked at him. "I'm sorely tempted to ignore her and continue."

He raised an eyebrow. "And give her a show?"

Hannah looked at him for a moment before shaking her head. "Yeah, you know what? She'll probably enjoy that. Let's just get dressed," she grumbled as she reinserted one of her arms into the corresponding sleeve.

Mark chuckled as he did the same. Thankfully, putting on the suit was easier than getting out of it. "She wouldn't come back this fast without a reason," he said. "Eva?"

Eva replied, "No transmission detected. Last sent logs from the Corona indicate that it had circled a sizable gravity well for exactly three minutes before deploying its Urenbeck drive to jump back to this general location."

"How sizable?" Mark asked.

"Mass of a planetoid or moon," Eva replied. "It is moving relative to the gravity well of Shanxi's star." There was a pause. "While nothing seems anomalous, the lack of transmission has me forming an opinion."

"Let's hear it," Mark said.

"Whatever she found, it was worrying or exotic enough to return here and do it in silence."

Mark closed his eyes for a second before saying, "Well, shit." Placing his now gloved hand on his left wrist sleeve, he waited a few seconds before the suit hissed and hugged his body tightly. After doing a final check, he grabbed his helmet, shook the dust off, before tightening around his head.

Hannah frowned as she worked on her own helmet as well, securing it a few seconds later. "Precursors?" she asked, giving Mark the impression that Eva's data and opinion had been shared with Riku and Hannah.

"We've never seen them operate in space," Mark replied with a frown as he started putting the open bottle of champagne and glasses back inside the rover.

"Always a first time," Hannah countered, working the futon, flattening it with three taps on its surface before rolling it for storage.

"Eva, prep the pylon for disengagement," Mark ordered, and almost immediately, the warm lights were instantly extinguished. At the same time, the harsh blue light of the Gravity Bubble returned, though it was shrinking as the ring on top of the pylon began to slow down. "Helmet check."

"Everything is secured," Eva replied.

Hannah remained silent for a moment, then nodded. "Yeah, I'm good."

"Everything is secured," Eva replied.

Hannah remained silent for a moment, then nodded. "Yeah, I'm good."

"Good. Eva, complete the shutdown procedure," he said, and the ring stopped completely, his virtual display relighting the whole place as the Bubble disappeared, the harsh blue light vanishing with it. Unholstering his weapon with his right hand, his left held on the pylon, and said, "Disengage."

The pylon glowed orange, and with a light tug, he was able to free it from the surface, tucking it out of the way as he readied his weapon. He glanced back at Hannah, who was now guiding the rover back to the shuttle, and he shifted slightly, just to make sure he could secure their retreat.

Once they were inside the shuttle, he relaxed, returning the pylon to its holding position, while watching the door of the shuttle slide shut. When it hissed, the whole room was flooded with red light, and an artificial, androgynous voice was heard from the speakers of the ship.

"Airlock secured. Regulating atmosphere and gravity. Procedure complete."

Hannah removed her helmet, breathing out a sigh before saying, "Riku, how long until Corona arrives?" She paused for a few seconds before nodding. She then looked at Mark, who had also removed his helmet. "Come on. Let's go greet our cock blocker."

He chuckled as they went deeper into the shuttle; a sliding door opened to welcome them inside. The next room was as simple as it came—a short corridor with two seats behind a huge terminal at the end.

After securing themselves to their seats, Hannah hummed as she touched the terminal in front of them, bringing it to life. She then worked the keyboard in front of her. "Graviton shield powered. Booting up systems," she said. A few moments later, a holographic screen map appeared at the center of the terminal.

That was Mark's cue to work on his own keyboard in front of him. After a few seconds he said, "Star Map synced." And the hologram displayed the shuttle and the asteroid they landed on as well as their surroundings. However, he wasn't done yet. After tapping a few more keys, he added, "GRADR online."

"ETA of the Corona?" Hannah asked.

He looked at the holographic map, then touched it, using his fingers to zoom out of the map before noticing a small gravity tunnel moving quickly through the asteroid belt. He did a quick calculation and replied, "Twenty seconds."

"Powering up the AB Drive," Hannah said, and a soft thrum echoed throughout the shuttle.

"AB Drive system green," Mark said, eyes still on the holographic map. A few seconds later, it turned orange, a warning tone sounding as the gravity tunnel stopped moving and a new gravity well began to form. He took a breath before saying, "Brace for gravity pop."

A few seconds later, both of them felt a pull as the asteroid they were on shifted, attracted to the newly formed gravity dip. Then, the Corona blinked into existence, a gravitational wave pulsing out from it, pushing everything back to normal.

"Hannah! You won't believe what I discovered!" an excited female voice called from the speakers. There was a slight pause before the speaker asked, "You aren't naked, are you?"

"Why, would you like to join?" Hannah asked with a slight growl.

"Uh, yes? Have you seen Mark's abs? I can only imagine what the rest would look like."

"Sorry, Barbs, I can only take one girl at a time," Mark said with a soft chuckle.

"Sonova—"

"Thank you, though," he finished.

"Hannah, you didn't tell me Mark was listening in."

"Sounds like a 'you' problem," Hannah replied. "We detected your jump a few minutes ago, so we returned to the shuttle early. Hope you have a good reason for cutting my date short."

"Well, we stumbled into something odd when we were looking at a strange, isolated ice planetoid near the edge of the system."

"Strange, how?" Mark asked.

Barbara paused before replying, "The planetoid had a really distinct oval shape to it, with two large mountains sticking out on one side of it! So we went closer, started scanning it, and then we suddenly began receiving weird transmissions!"

Hannah frowned. "What kind of transmission?"

"Alfred, explain!" Barbara declared.

The polite cough sounded from the speakers of the shuttle. "Very well," an artificial masculine voice replied in a perfect posh English accent. "The signal was broadcasted in multiple frequencies, apparently not trying to hide itself. However, the signal was quite strong and broad enough that we could not detect from where exactly on the planetoid it was transmitting from. The data itself seems to be using simplistic binary values, so when I tried that as the base for translation—and mind you, I may be misinterpreting—it seems to be asking whether we want to turn it on."

Mark and Hannah turned toward each other in sync.

"Rest assured," Alfred continued, "we sent no response and I suggested to Miss Barbara to return and contact you, maintaining signal-silence in case our transmission could be interpreted as a positive response."

"Good call," Mark replied as he began to type on his keyboard, engaging the AB Drive, which began to manipulate the spacetime around the shuttle.

Hannah added, "Very good call." She then placed two of her hands on the spherical ends of her armrests, causing them to glow when touched. "Alfred, thank you."

"You are very welcome," was the reply before the transmission was terminated.

Hannah sighed then declared, "Prepare to engage Drift Connection."

Mark continued to type on his keyboard, declaring back, "Driftcon has been engaged. Neural handshake commencing. Upload in five, four..."

"Users' credentials confirmed," the androgynous voice of the shuttle spoke out. "Welcome. Logging in Hannah Brenner as pilot. Logging in Mark Shepard as navigator."

"One!" Mark finished just before he felt his mind turn inward, his body seemingly expanding before shrinking. When he recovered, there were multiple sensory inputs flooding his head. He could see everything around the shuttle, from the asteroids to the Corona, which seemed to be waiting for them. "Inputting pathway to Corona. Approach angle at fifteen degrees."

"Are the skies clear?" Hannah asked, her voice in his head.

"Confirmed. All is green."

Mark could feel the shuttle moving away from the asteroid they had been in only moments earlier. He took one final glance back at it before turning his attention to what lay ahead.

The small ship sped through the given vector without stopping, the path clear from any asteroids; though he noted a bit of dip and rise, probably stray spacetime fluctuations along the path. Though they traveled in comfortable silence, Mark noted a small tinge of fear emanating through the Drift.

Even if they had logged in separately, Hannah's emotions were still bleeding through. He understood and put a metaphorical arm around Hannah's presence, and the emotions eased slightly.

It only took a few minutes for them to come within visual range of the Corona. The corvette bore a striking resemblance to the water-based ships used by the pre-war Navy on Earth—an elongated structure with a pointed front and a curved bottom extending to a cylinder along its entire length. Positioned along the belly curve of the ship were point-defense blasters, while at the top, the Corona boasted modest armament with two gravcannons, each having two barrels. Additionally, a docking bay was situated at the rear of the vessel.

Mark extended his mental connection toward the corvette, sensing a reciprocal grasp and receiving a fresh stream of data.

"Tight-beam connection secured," he said. "Handshake complete. Requesting clearance for docking procedure."

"All protocols cleared," Eva declared.

"Opening shuttle bay," Barbara's voice rang through the Drift. "You are clear for docking.

"Confirmed," Hannah replied.

Mark waited a moment as the shuttle maneuvered carefully, inserting itself into the small docking bay of the Corona. It shook slightly as the magnetic clamps grabbed beneath it and the docking bay doors closed over them. At the same time, the vague feeling of connection he had experienced from the corvette now became infinitely more solid as the flow of data increased.

"Hardline connection established," Eva declared. "Syncing with Corona's Driftcon. Time dilation detected within the Drift. Compensating. Preparing for Deep Dive."

Mark's stomach took a leap off a cliff, but that feeling cleared away as he found himself in the lobby of Corona. It was a white room filled with blue lines, numbers, graphs, and images intermingled with one another. Standing inside the room with him were the avatars of the Brenner twins, and three other figures, colored blue and vaguely humanoid, each with their names written above their heads: Eva, Riku, and Alfred.

Hannah and Barbara were pretty much identical when it came to facial features, but the latter had her hair at shoulder length. Hannah's avatar approached her sister's, and they gave each other a hug, while the blue avatars began to manipulate the data around them with their arms.

"Sorry for ruining your date," Barbara mumbled.

"It's fine," Hannah replied before they separated. "So, what do we know?"

"Here's what we gathered so far," Alfred said. He was the most human looking of the three, wearing what looked like a butler's uniform and glasses. The mouth of his avatar glowed with every word.

At the center of the room, multiple pictures of what looked like a blurry, almost oval, ice ball with two protruding mountains poking out of its shallow end came to view. Mark had to admit, it looked very strange.

"We initially started with visual recordings from multiple angles. Upon making an approach, we activated Corona's wide-spectrum sensors. However, as we did so, the signal began to broadcast. Recognizing the potential link, I shut the sensors down, analyzed the data, and speculated that our equipment might have triggered it, advising a retreat."

"Eva?" Mark inquired, directing his attention to his AI, who now sported a more robotic appearance reminiscent of military dress blues.

"I'll need more data," she responded, her gaze fixed on the images as though capable of perceiving beyond the current display. "I cannot work with what we currently have. With the shuttle in place, we can combine the sensors of both ships to scan from a farther range."

Riku bore a visual resemblance to Eva, dressed in something closer to an office uniform. Her voice, less robotic than Eva's, carried a hint of a northern New Carolinian accent as she expressed her concern, "Should we, though? The signal began transmitting as a response to ours. We don't know how sensitive the sensor of whatever that anomaly is. Without knowledge of its location on the planetoid, we can't isolate it. It might be some sort of beacon signaling someone of our presence. We could be heading into a trap, for all we know."

Hannah sighed, nodding in agreement. "Riku's right."

"We don't need to use any active sensors, though," Mark said, right hand cupping his chin as he stared at the Star Map. "An optical one will work just fine. That shouldn't transmit any signal for that anomaly to detect."

"Sir Shepard," Alfred began with slight trepidation, "considering how far away the nearest star is, we need to be really close to capture clear images. And I'm quite confident it will detect us by our thermal signature alone if we do so."

Mark shook his head. "We don't need to get close to it either," he explained. Pointing to a position on the map, an AU away from the planetoid, he asked Hannah, "Can you check this area? From this position, we can deploy a gravity lens to—"

Hannah's eyes widened with comprehension. "Use Shanxi and neighboring star cluster's light to illuminate the planetoid! Yes, we can work with that. Riku?"

Her AI nodded. "I shall start my calculations."

Barbara grinned. "So we're going back!? Yes!"

"Not really," Hannah commented, a seat appearing as her avatar squatted slightly. "We're actually not going anywhere near it."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

Alfred, who was in contemplative silence, suddenly glowed. "Sir Shepard, that is inspired!"

Barbara looked at him, then at Mark. "What? What's inspired?"

Alfred then approached her, whispering something to her that widened her eyes and left her mouth agape.

Hannah, witnessing her twin's astonished expression, chuckled as she raised her hands. A holographic keyboard materialized, and she began typing at a speed unattainable in her physical body.

Riku announced, "Logging Hannah Brenner in as Corona's Navigator."

Mark followed suit, typing on the holographic keyboard that materialized in front of him. Then, Eva spoke up, saying, "Logging Mark Shepard as Corona's GRADR Operator."

In front of him, the enlarged Star Map of the system captured his attention. The GRADR was gradually filling it with data on asteroids and other debris it detected. Mark observed Hannah's work as she plotted the course. A flash of respect and a hint of jealousy crossed his mind as she crafted a pathway faster and more elegantly than he could have managed, especially given the considerable distance involved. Her navigation adeptly avoided gravity dips and promised a swift, smooth journey—unlike his meager efforts earlier with the shuttle.

Hannah did have a talent in data handling that translated well into navigation. The Navy could certainly use a talent like hers. Perhaps Barbara had a point in asking her to join up for citizenship.

"Wait, that's how our ancestors looked up to space from Earth?" Barbara exclaimed, looking unconvinced. "Concave gold mirrors? And we're about to do the same thing?"

"Same philosophy, different methodology," Alfred replied, his voice returning to its normal volume. "We're a bit more sophisticated and flexible now."

"Oh, this I gotta see," Barbara said as she sat down; a chair appeared behind her as well.

Riku announced, "Urenbeck systems are active; folding spacetime at the rear. Pressure building."

"Forming a gravity tunnel," Eva added. "Vector data logged."

"Nothing on GRADR," Mark commented. "Skies are clear."

"Launching in three, two…" Barbara declared, shifting slightly in her digital seat. "Launch!"

The only indication of movement was a slight tug, which quickly faded. Barbara scanned the screen in front of her for a few seconds before finally relaxing. "We've got about half an hour to kill in the Drift." She turned to Hannah, a grin plastered on her face. "So, how did the date go?"

"Thoroughly interrupted," Hannah replied flatly from her own seat, glaring at her twin.

"It seems I returned at a bad time, huh?"

"Yes," was the reply. "One day, if you get a man of your own—"

Barbara looked affronted. "What do you mean 'if'?"

"Did I stutter?" Hannah asked. The only reply she got was a raised hand with the middle finger extended. It got a laugh out of her. "So yes, if you get a man of your own, remember that what goes around comes around."

"Well, she might find a flyboy to hook up with during her service," Mark commented.

Barbara stared at him "She told you, huh?" When she got a nod, she continued. "What do you think?"

"I think it's great, and so does your sister."

That got her to raise an eyebrow. "Really?"

"Hannah had told me that she didn't really understand, but was quite vocal about her support," Mark replied in complete seriousness, before winking towards his girlfriend and giving her a supposedly hidden thumbs-up. She rolled her eyes in response.

Barbara stared at them, shifting between their positions, before clapping her hands once. "Goddamn, I did interrupt at a bad time." She looked at Hannah smugly. "How horny were you to give him that kind of bull? You should have just stripped naked and rode him like—"

"Okay," Hannah interrupted. "I'm not spending half an hour in the Drift with you like this. Riku, shift to real time."

"Hey, come on!"

"Time Dilation normalized," Riku announced. "We're arriving at our destination in ten seconds."

"What a killjoy."

"Shut it."

"We have arrived at our destination."

Hannah nodded. "Riku, how are we with the gravity lens?"

"All forward-facing gravity lenses are in place, capturing any reflected light from the planetoid and directing it to Corona's visual sensors."

As the image began to form in front of him, Mark leaned in closer. The image was a little dark, but he didn't say anything as Riku spoke up once more. "Forming gravity lenses on the port and starboard sides of Corona, focusing light from Shanxi's star and any light from the visible galaxy's star cluster onto the planetoid. Reflectivity at twenty percent."

Barbara whistled in appreciation. "That's amazing, considering the distance." As the image finally appeared before all of them, she exclaimed, "Whoa!"

It wasn't quite that exciting, Mark thought. In front of them was the image of the planetoid in the middle of the inky darkness of the void.

Well, not completely dark; the edges had distorted, stretched images of stars forming a circle around the planetoid—almost like it was taken with a fisheye lens. This effect gave the impression of the subject being completely isolated from the rest of the universe around it. Mark noted, however, that the details and vivid colors of the planetoid indicated this was likely the clearest image they could capture without additional sensors.

"Alright, let's zoom in and see if we can find any artificial structures on the planetoid," Hannah declared.

"Adjusting focus," Riku declared.

"Eva," Mark called. "Help me prepare another set of coordinates in case the anomaly is on the other side."

"Affirmative."

With a nod, he concentrated on the Star Map for a moment. "Check these coordinates. They seem viable—"

"What the hell is that?!" Barbara suddenly shouted.

Mark blinked, looking back at the image of the planetoid, only to feel his stomach drop. What Barbara initially thought were twin mountains turned out to be something much more. The icy surface, now transparent under the focused light, revealed blue, metallic, and undeniably artificial construct that reminded him of a tuning fork. The central structure, though, featured two gyroscopic rings nestling closely together, and what seemed to be something in the center, like a core.

"No wonder we couldn't pinpoint the signal on the surface," Alfred expressed. "The whole planetoid was the one transmitting."

"That's no planetoid," Mark countered softly, yet audible to the rest. "That's an artificial, alien construct covered in ice."

The Brenner twins could only nod.

"What do we do?" Hannah asked.

"Eva, get what we can," Mark said, still staring at the image. "Geometry data, infrared… hell, let's risk a complete EM reading. I want to know everything we can from it." He then looked at his girlfriend, still mesmerized by the construct. "Hannah."

She blinked, then glanced at him. "Yeah?"

"Once Eva's done, plot a course out of the Shanxi system back to New Carolina. Take the scenic route." He looked back at the image. "I don't want to give anyone out there the opportunity to follow us."

Hannah just nodded, while Barbara looked at him with a worried expression. After what seemed like an eternity, Eva spoke out.

"Data gathered."

Mark sighed. "Okay, let's get out of here."

Welcome to the United Systems of the Sol Federation Codex, Doctor Solus. What is your inquiry?

Precursor

Precursors are a race of colonizing aliens from another galaxy, dubbed the Anteverse, and the creators of the Kaiju. They opened a wormhole (colloquially called a Breach) to Earth during the Triassic period, which humanity was made aware of in 2023 when they sent Kaijus through as weapons to wipe out humanity. That era is known as the First Kaiju War.

The USSF and Precursors are still presently at war.

Kaiju

Precursors' main weapons against humanity. Fully organic, non-sapient creatures produced from cloning factories before being sent through the Breach, they were initially gigantic creatures meant to destroy highly concentrated population centers. Humanity developed Jaegers to counter them.

Currently, they are more modestly sized, but far more mobile and employed in higher numbers, most likely an adaptation after humanity replaced the Jaegers with Titans and Orbital Frames.

Jaeger

The pinnacle of robotics of the 2020s. Initially, robot technology was developed more for entertainment purposes, the most prominent example is Robot Boxing. However, once Kaijus began invading Earth, Jaegers were developed to counter them. Gigantic in stature, it was driven by two or three pilots, using the Drift System. They are now replaced by the smaller, more maneuverable Titans, and the far more advanced and flexible Orbital Frames.

Drift System

One of the cornerstones of human technology of the current era.

An evolution of FullDive technology, which was also an evolution of Virtual Reality technology, Drift Systems creates neural bridges from one subject to another.

It was initially used as a means to efficiently pilot Jaegers, usually with a partner to ease on the neural load.

While the system is still used in the regular military to pilot ships, Titans, and Orbital Frames, it has expanded into use for multiple applications, from normal everyday work, education, entertainment, social activities, and even for more personal and intimate use, such as sharing memories or emotions.

For more specific details of the Drift Systems, please visit here.

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Drift Systems

Medical Nanites

Graviton Technology

Medical Nanites

Introduced to humanity at large in 2110 after hundreds of years (Chronosphere Induced) of research, nanites allowed humanity to more easily adjust to the varying environments of the universe. Managed by personal AI, the internal nanite system enhances human physiology by maintaining and aiding in developing muscles, optimize metabolism rate, improve health of the organs to reduce and eliminate illnesses, and most recently, synchronize with Capsules to simulate kinesthetic development while in Drift.

External nanite usage also exists. The most recent example is Medi-gel from Sirta Foundation. It is an all-purpose medicinal salve combining an anesthetic and clotting agent used by paramedics, EMTs, and military personnel.

Graviton Technology

Graviton Technology (also known as gravtech) is one of the cornerstones of human technology in the modern era. It covers gravity, and everything else that branches out from it.

Graviton at its core centers around the Brand-Cooper Equation discovered in 2083 by Murphy Cooper, who completed the initial work from her teacher, Professor John Brand, after his death.

The equation allows manipulation of gravity without any then-called exotic material. With it, humanity had access to cheap, viable interplanetary travel, allowing survivors of Earth to escape extinction during the Blighted Era.

The Equation is also the heart of interstellar travel technologies, like bending spacetime (see Einstein-Rosen Bridge, Urenbeck Jump System, and Alcubierre Warp Drive), creating temporary atmospheric and livable environments (see Graviton Pylons), and even artificially create and manipulate non-Drift time dilation (see Chronospheres).

Blighted Era

Era covering 2040-2090 and considered the darkest time of humanity.

Five years prior to this era, Earth at large celebrated as the Pan Pacific Defense Corps and surviving Jaegers had successfully closed the Breach and, at that time, thought the conflict was over. However, in a year, it was discovered that Kaiju's toxic blood had spread all over the planet via air and ocean currents, and were not breaking down as fast as initially assumed. Soil toxicity reached critical mass and plantlife slowly began to die off.

The Blighted Era ended when Ark Stations, using Brand-Cooper Equation to create artificial gravity and atmosphere, and launched via Urenbeck Space Elevators, left Earth.

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