Richard watched Kikata's feet move around the floor from his little area beneath her bed. The past couple days have been strange for him. When he had entered Kikata's mind it felt as though he had spent weeks in there, sifting through her knowledge and leaning all of her past life. And then he found perfection. The room in Kikata's heart had opened their eyes to one another, he embraced someone with a love that he had never felt before. And in the heat of that moment, knowing that it was all just a dream, they followed though with their emotions. 

But Kikata doesn't know. She is curious as to what happened but Richard insists that it has turned to a blur in his memory. All of the events in her subconscious that might have made sense at the time were now too confusing to comprehend. But he wanted to tell her. He wanted to feel that love again. Richard had made a promise, however, that he wouldn't do anything to hurt her. Their love just did not seem to be meant to be in the real world. 

He waited until she sat down at the table before leaving his small area and climbing onto the elevator platform. 

Kikata smiled as Richard stepped onto the table, "Morning." 

Richard nodded towards her, "Hey." He slumped down onto the table, propping his weight up with his arms.

Kikata took a small bite from her breakfast bar, eyeing him curiously as she chewed. Something had changed between them. She could feel it in her chest when ever she saw him. He also acted differently towards her, he was more thoughtful when he went to speak and would seem uncomfortable at times. 

Richard shifted under her stare, "What?" He finally asked.

"Nothing." Kikata said with a smile. She took another petite bite of her breakfast, her eyes shifting away from him finally.

Richard laid completely onto his back, letting out a long drawn out sigh. The words to reveal the truth to Kikata were always rising in his chest, but he continued to regretfully push them away. "Any other planned stops?" He finally asked.

Kikata shook her head, "Nothing until about two weeks from now where we will make a quick supply stop." Her eyes fell back onto him, "So...you really can't just describe what the inside of my mind looked like? Even if it doesn't make sense?"

Richard sighed, "I don't know...it was just like a dream. What ever you were thinking just surrounded us. Until-" He cut himself off, not wanting to look as though he remembered more than he acknowledged. 

"Until what?" Kikata asked, leaning forward on her elbows, "You're not telling me something Richard I know it. Please, just tell me."

Richard sat back up, Kikata's golden eyes burrowing into his soul, "It was just..." He started, he ran his hands through his hair, "Alright. So it was like this..." He went on to explain the first few dream sequences. He figured there was no harm there.

Kikata nodded, her cheeks warming up slightly to hear so much of her life being spilled out by someone who clearly wasn't there. "So. My breasts grew and what? Pushed us back into the real world?"

"Well. No that was just the beginning. It took us to this place that was like your mind put into physical form. It was like a library or a museum."

"And what did it hold?"

"Just about everything." Richard chuckled. 

"More embarrassing memories?"

"A few."

Kikata nodded, perhaps this was the new connection they shared. Richard simply knew everything about her now. "So how did you get me out?"

"I don't know. We kind of just walked around looking at everything and then you woke up?"

"Richard...You are a terrible liar now just tell me."

"Is it all that important to you? I mean it is just a dream-"

"Yes! It is important! Look. I am glad you did it, I am happy that you saved me. I'm not angry at your or anything, so I don't see why you would keep a secret from me. When I woke up I felt different. About everything. I felt happy, which you probably already know that the past few weeks have not been very good for me. But suddenly, as if by magic, all of my problems didn't seem to matter anymore! I mean Runo is just nothing anymore."

"Well...you sort of trashed his room." Richard offered. 

"His room?"

Richard knew he was teetering on the edge of something problematic here. "You see, we found this room that must have been all of the emotions built up with him. And then you sort of just started breaking all of the pictures. I think you just needed to let all of your emotions out."

Kikata sat back in her chair, "I wish I remembered that." Kikata eyed him again, "So, you were just nervous to tell me that you know all of this stuff?"

"I guess so." Richard said with a shrug.

"Alright. But I was also wondering-" She was interrupted by a loud beeping noise.

Richard jumped onto her hand as it landed next to him, swiftly escorting him to his seat. They seemed to forget about their conversation completely as they fell back into the motions. "Alright, what do we got?" Richard asked.

"It's coming from another Hybrid City." Kikata said.

Richard nodded, knowing this was more than likely another attack. "Hey, just like last time, piece of cake right?"

"Yes. Hopefully-" She was cut off again as a voice broke through their radio.

"Attention all Guards." It began, "Every able ship needs to report to planet seven two four, eight nine five six..." The Message continued and repeated multiple times over, with no real explanation as to what the situation really was. Kikata quickly set the coordinates and set the jump, it was relatively close. 

Within minutes their ship arrived before a large green and blue planet. It was the perfect model for terraforming, a massive Hybrid city was the newest feature to the three hundred year old planet. It also served as the most remote planet so far to have a substancial human population. 

Hundreds of blue and white ships descended into the atmosphere, the radio was buzzing with chatter as they approached the city. Words like chemical warfare, monsters, dead city, were hot off the tongues of the nervous Guards. Even the Knights had been called in to...sweep...the streets. 

A blue diamond appeared on Kikata's hud, marking the area where she had to land...

Kikata carried Richard back up the stairway towards the ship. She retracted her visor, her face instantly cringing, "Oh god...what is that smell!" She gasped, covering her nose with her free hand.

Richard looked down to his still dripping armor, "What do you think?" He grunted.

She shook her head, "That was horrible." The violence of it all was just really start to set in, "And to think...just hours ago all of those people were still living normal lives." Her eyes narrowed as she stepped out into the daylight once again. The sky was filled with ships, all taking refugees to a near by base in the solar system. 

"You're going to want to head out quickly." The voice crackled through the radio again. "They are going to level the city."

"What??" Kikata questioned, "Level the city?! But what if there are still survivors left over? They can't just destroy it!"

"They also want me to tell you that there will be a special briefing for you."

"Special briefing?" Richard asked with a chuckle. 

Kikata shrugged, walking into the ship carefully watching where she stepped. She made her way into the bathroom, placing Richard down inside of the sink. "Take your armor off, we need to wash away that terrible stench. You should be safe for take off in there."

"Uh, alright." Richard said, pulling off his helmet. He watched Kikata's figure disappear from above him. He let out a sigh, the images from his ordeal flashing in his mind. For the first time he felt sick to his stomach, he felt as if at any moment he might burst into tears. He took his armor off slowly, letting it fall to the rounded plastic sink. 

~ ~ ~ ~ 

Kikata climbed from the pilots seat and back into the larger area of the ship. She paused in front of the crowd that surrounded their sleeping quarters, "We will be docking in about twenty minutes. From there they will inform you on what to do next. Is everyone okay?"

The crowd responded with low murmors. The single neko on the bed spoke up louder, "When will we get to return?" He asked nervously. 

The words stung, for Kikata knew that by nightfall the city would be completely destroyed, "I don't know." 

The man nodded slowly, leaning back against the wall behind the bed. 

Kikata removed her armor, frowning at the red stains on her breastplate as she pushed it into its case. Once everything was in place she returned to the bathroom. She closed the door behind her before resting her arms on the counter.

Richard looked up into the golden eyes that stared down upon him, "So?"

"We'll be in base in about twenty minutes." She started, she lowered her hand down next to him so she could lift him out of the bowl of the sink. 

"So, we'll drop the people off and then what?"

"Apparently they want us in for debriefing." Kikata shrugged, "Who knows what they want this time." She turned on the water, wincing as she gripped the sticky surface of Richards helmet. "How are you? By the way?"

"Me? Fine. A little emotionally scarred but otherwise unharmed." He ran his hands through his hair, "It's just so god damn fucked up, I can't even comprehend what would drive them to do that."

Kikata nodded in agreement, "Every last one of them deserves a fate worse than death if you ask me."

"And I want to be the one to give it to 'em." Richard added, "I was forced to shoot a child today..."

Kikata paused, looking towards Richard for a moment before returning her attention to cleaning his armor, "I couldn't imagine..." She whispered. 

They stood silently for a few moments before Richard spoke up, "You said you wanted to talk earlier?"

"Yes I did...but if you are not-"

"No let's talk. I need to keep my mind busy." 

"Alright." Kikata started, taking a deep breath, "I cannot help but think that...the reason you have been acting so differently towards me is that you must have discovered...that...there is more to our friendship. In my mind."

Richard rubbed his chin, his fingers pricking along the several day old stubble. "You could say that." He finally said.

Kikata nodded, "So?"

"So what?"

"Would you like to tell me what happened between us?"

Richard pinched the bridge of his nose and shrugged, "Alright. So that Runo room led me to a series of other rooms. They all seemed to be men that you had crushes on."

"Crushes?"

"Well, you know. That you liked."

"Oh." Kikata said, blushing slightly..."And then?"

"We talked about it some. It was a nice dream...but I guess we agreed that it wasn't very realistic in you know...the real world."

"I see." Kikata said softly, "I mean those sorts of feelings come up when you spend so much time with them." She smiled towards him, "Thank you for coming clean."

"What can I say, you figured it out mostly on your own." He laughed, "I guess it changes things, but it's not like we fell in love..."

~ ~  ~ ~

Kikata and Richard watched as the crowd left their ship to join the masses inside of the now bustling station. Once their ship was empty they made their way into the station. They followed the winding hallways until they reached the chambers where the General awaited them. 

Kikata took a moment to pat down her hair and take a deep breath before pushing her way into the room. 

"Sir." She said with a nod, stepping towards a long table, the old general sitting in front of her. Her eyes shifted over his shoulder, Kina stood behind him dressed in a familiar black, tube shaped dress. She forced a smile towards her. Her eyes fell to the table as she saw movement, she was surprised to see a human figure standing by the General's elbow. 

"Kikata, Richard. I would like you to meet General Marcus Carr."

"As in...the Marcus?" Kikata asked as she sat down.

The general laughed, "I suppose so yes. He has quite a bit of fame tied to his name."

The old man stepped forward, reaching out a sturdy arm as Richard was set down before him, "Richard Bromwell?" His gruff voice questioned.

"Yes sir." Richard said, taking the surprisingly powerful hand in his. 

"We have been following your progress back on earth, you are making waves son."

"Thank you sir." Richard said with a nod. 

Marcus looked up towards Kikata, "And this is our mans infamous escort?"

"Yes sir!" Kikata said with a bit too much enthusiasm. She was starstruck beyond reason, the idle of her childhood was standing within arms reach! And talking to her! She nearly trembled with excitement. 

"We had not planned on bringing a vessel out to this region, but recent events led us out here." Marcus continued. "After today's events we have decided to take the stranded humans from the crippled Hybrid City and take them where they need to go, most of them will return to earth unless they have somewhere else to go."

"Which means you have your ride home, Richard." The general added.

"My...ride home?"

"That's right. The people want to see you back home."

Richard glanced over his shoulder towards Kikata, "Oh...It's just so unexpected..." He said trailing off.

"Yes. And not exactly under the circumstances that we would have liked." Marcus added, "But we can at least get some good out of this situation and bring our lost solider home."

"But...shouldn't I stay until this blows over? I mean would it be right for me to up and leave?"

"Kikata is trained to function on her own. And the Guards will be stepping aside mostly for the Knights now as we are upping our efforts to put down this murderous group."

"I'll live." Kikata added quietly, "And they're right. This is what we have been waiting for."

"I suppose." Richard commented, "Who knows when the next transport would be ready anyway."

"A few more months probably." Marcus said, "So you have tonight to say your good byes, gather your things, and what ever else you need to do, we depart tomorrow morning."

"Yes sir."

~ ~ ~ ~ 

"I can't believe we really met him!" Kikata said, they were back on the ship sitting at the table as they did nearly every day.

"He's in pretty good shape for being over a hundred." Richard said with a laugh. 

"How old is he exactly?" Kikata asked curiously.

"Beats me. Some say he's immortal."

"I wish I got a picture..." Kikata mumbled.

"Hey maybe tomorrow?" Richard chuckled.

"Yeah." Kikata sighed, "I can't believe that this is our last night."

Richard nodded in agreement, "It's been fun, overall at least."

"Yes. It really has." Kikata said, her eyes brightened, "Oh! I've got just the thing." She jumped out of her seat, rushing to the cabinet. She returned with a tall blue battle, a grin across her lips.

"Oh no." Richard laughed, "This could only lead to trouble."

"Yeah I was saving it for something, but I guess this will have to do." She said as she twisted off the top.

Richard laughed again, watching as she poured some of the blue liquid into the glass, "So...a toast to our strange partnership?"

Richard nodded, "And all the ups and downs."

~ ~ ~ ~

A few hours later...

Kikata snorted, laughing as Richard stood in a small puddle of blue liquid. "Sorry." She finally panted.

"It's...uh...it's alright." Richard mumbled, sloshing out of the fruity smelling drink, "I think we've probably had our fill anyway." 

Kikata eyed the bottle, "Yeah. I suppose you right." She laughed again, "You're! I suppose You're right." She pressed her fingers to her forehead as she continued to giggle.

"Hey, after tonight you won't have to speak english all day anymore!" 

"Yeah. No more taking care of the little human." She cooed, poking at his stomach.

"Hey!" Richard yelped, "Easy there Ms. Drunkard." 

Kikata retracted her hand, though still smiled mischievously. 

"You know, this exact same thing happened with Kina." 

"Oh yeah? And then what did she do?" Kikata asked leaning forward on her elbows, "Lick all the drink away?"

"Actually-"

Kikata scoffed, "You just had to bring that woman up." 

Richard rolled his eyes, watching as Kikata lowered her head before him, resting it on her arm, "I still can't believe this is it."

"Yeah." They shared a long stare, the smile slowly fading from her lips. Richard wondered what thoughts ran through her mind as he stood before that giant golden eye. "You look beautiful..." He said quietly, hardly realizing the words even formed over his drunken tongue. 

Kikata blinked, the smile returning to her lips, "Oh...thank you..." She said softly. She felt an odd, excited rush form in her chest. A new desire to act impulsively growing within her. She lifted her hand behind Richard, suddenly pulling him towards her. 

Richard was shocked to suddenly find himself pressed to Kikata's lips. He enjoyed it, it was exactly what he wanted. But he felt a twinge of guilt rise within him, :K-Kikata, wait."

Kikata pulled away, "Sorry." She whispered.

"No...don't be." He shook his head, "I just don't think we should make tomorrow any harder."

She nodded slowly, "I suppose you're right. I just wanted to follow my emotions for once in my life." She sighed, "I think I need to head to sleep."

Richard dropped the heavy bag by his feet as Kikata set him down on the platform that would lead him to the human ship. Fisc and Prila stood by her sides, all coming to say their good byes. 

Kikata knelt down, "Well, this is it I guess." She said softly, "About last night...I don't regret what I did." She smiled warmly as he pressed his hand to her finger which gripped the edge of the platform.

"Me neither." He assured her. They all stood silently for a few moments, Prila and Fisc sharing a glance behind Kikata. "Hey look, it's a small universe, I'm sure one day down the line we will bump into each other again."

"That's the spirit." Fisc said with a grin.

Richard watched as Prila lowered her hand towards him, leaning into her palm as it swept behind him. He wasn't very surprised to see himself lowering towards her chest, "You take care alright?" He heard her voice say from outside of the confines of her hand and her chest.

"You know it." Richard said with a nod, "Though now I won't have a two hundred foot chick watching my back when ever I'm about to do something stupid." 

Kikata laughed, "How you made it this far in your life without me is a mystery." She sighed slightly as Richard was set back onto the platform.

"Alright, well, I guess I better get going. The ship leaves soon."

Kikata nodded, watching as he leant down to pick up his bag, "Oh what the hell." She laughed, quickly snagging his tiny frame and hugging him to her cheek.

"Oh...god you big baby." Richard mumbled as he was pressed against her. 

Though Kikata had to fight off the tears as she released him. She leaned forward, pecking his chest gently with a more friendly kiss, "Alright. You can go now, and don't forget to contact us from time to time like you so often forget to call your mother."

"Will do." Richard said with a nod. He gave one final wave before making his way down the platform, looking back once more before disappearing behind a door. He made his way down the wide hallway until finally pushing into the docking bay. A massive, dark gray ship stood in waiting. Large white letters on the side read, "Infinity". 

"Kikata? You alright?" Prila asked, looking down at her friend who still knelt by the platform. 

Kikata blinked, rising to her feet, "Yeah. I'm fine...still just a little surprised is all." She glanced between Fisc and Prila who were both giving her a sort of strange look, "What?"

"Oh...nothing." Prila said, placing a hand on her shoulder before turning and walking back towards their own ship.

"No! What? What was that look for?"

"I think that look was us saying that we know what happened behind closed doors in Nova Force." Fisc said with a grin.

"What do you mean?" Kikata asked, catching up to Prila as they walked.

Prila giggled, "She still kept the innocence of a virgin though." She winked towards Kikata.

"We did not do that! We only ever kissed once!" Kikata suddenly clamped her hand over her mouth as he revealed a bit of touchy information.

"And what did you do for the rest of the time?" Fisc asked with an even wider grin.

"Nothing! Nothing happened! We were drunk and it was just a friendly kiss, I mean you could hardly even call it a kiss!"

"No need to feel ashamed Kikata, Richard was a handsome man."

Kikata rolled her eyes, "Believe what ever you want. Though I'm telling you nothing ever happened between us."

"Fine, fine." Prila said throwing her hands up in the air.

~ ~ ~ ~ 

Richard was struck by an odd sense of culture shock as he walked through the corridors of the Infinity. The ship was one of the first of its kind, and was also one of the largest human based vessels ever built. It was responsible for not only military transports, but civilian as well. 

An older woman guided him to his suite, his apparent celebrity status earned him one of the finer rooms on the ship. "Thanks." He said, dropping his bags and watching as the woman left the room. He sighed, feeling as the ships engines ignited. "Back to life." He whispered quietly to himself. He was unsure how he felt, guilt for one. He felt guilty that he was leaving the conflict before seeing it all the way through. He felt guilty that he might have left his long lost comrades in harms way, if they were indeed taken prisoner. He felt guilty that he left Kikata as their relationship seemed ready to take an unexpected turn.

He sat down on his bed, still getting used to seeing so many things that were created for human use. And he was also not used to having a partner there to talk to. "I need a drink." He told himself, grabbing his room key and headed off towards the bar.

~ ~ ~ ~ 

Kikata walked back up the ramp into her ship, she could almost feel a cold spot on her shoulder where Richard normally sat. She wasn't sure what to do with herself, she heard the massive roar of engines as the human ship left the loading bay, "Good bye, Richard..." She whispered to herself before dropping onto her bed. Her eyes scanned around the room idly, her hands tapped away on her knees as she tried to think of something to entertain herself with. The general had given the guards a two day leave while the Knights started to crack down on the New Order threat. 

She rose to her feet and climbed up the ladder towards the cockpit, she brought up the computer display and started to scroll through her messages. She eyed Richards name in her contact list, wondering if he had internet access in his room. She selected his name and opened the message box. She sifted through the keyboard functions until she found the English alphabet.

She typed, "Hey, Richard, just checking in." She frowned, and deleted, "Hey, the ship is so quiet without you! Kind of nice! Just kidd-" She rolled her eyes and deleted again. She sat leaned her head back, "Why is this so hard..." She mumbled to herself. She closed out of all the windows and left the pilots seat. 

She felt tired so she returned to her bed. She slipped beneath the thin sheets and rested her head down on the pillow. Her tired body quickly shutting down her conscious mind and plunging her into sleep. 

~ ~ ~ ~ 

Richard sat with his arms folded over the bartop, for the first time in months he was drinking from a glass that didn't seem to resemble a bucket. His eyes stared off into one of the many television screens, his mind being overloaded with news that didn't seem relavent to him anymore. Earth politics, earth celebrities, he had never really cared for these things in the past but now they seemed so...alien. 

His brow condensed as two familiar faces popped onto the screen. It was his own and Kikata's. He leaned forward, laughing as he read the headline, "Wayward warrior on his way home!"  

"Hey, that's the guy!" A voice shouted from across the bar. 

Richard looked over, a group of four men looked towards him from a booth across the bar. Richard smirked, looking back towards the television where his image had already faded. A few seconds past and suddenly a hand clamped down on Richards shoulder. "I pull your ass out of there and I don't even get a thank you?" An oddly familiar voice asked.

Richard looked over his shoulder towards him, "That was you?"

"Damn right it was me, Mr. Prime time solider. How 'bout a little damn respect?"

"Uh...Thanks? Sorry if I recognized you I would have-"

The man threw his head back and laughed, "Nah, man. I'm just fuckin' with you!" He patted Richard on the back, "The names Nathan."

"So you're U.N.S.S?"

"That's right, so are my boys over there." He said nodding over his shoulder. "Come on, they're dying to hear stories."

Richard nodded, following the bald headed man from the bar and over to one of the booths where three other men awaited him. "Team, I would like you to meet the infamous Wayward Warrior. Otherwise known as Richard." There was a murmur of laughter, "Richard. These are my friends, four." He pointed to the man at the far right side of the table, and swept his hand towards the left, "Three, two, and they may sometimes refer to me as one." 

"What are you? Marcus "zero" Fan club?" Richard asked with a chuckle, taking a sip from the beer he had brought over.

"No sir. We are the real fucking deal my friend." Nathan said, "Each of us were hand picked by the Zero man himself."

"Oh." Richard said, "Hand picked for what?"

"To be the shining example of earths military force when we go in and help clean up that mess you just yourself out of. Barely I might add, why don't you tell these boys exactly what went down before I blew that oversized dog zombies head up?"

~ ~ ~ ~ 

Kikata gazed out over the sea of white eyes, all staring curiously towards her. An almost searing light burned down directly over her head, illuminating her in a vibrant pillar of light, highlighting her every feature. The small, alien woman watched with wonder as she gripped the zipper below her chin. Her eyes shifted down to her hand, where Richard looked up towards her anxiously.  

She smiled down towards him, no sense of worry or embarrassment keeping herself covered. She was perfectly happy to display her body for all to see. She cast her jump suit behind her, pulling it down over her knees after she momentarily placed Richard on the ground before her. She maintained a playful stare upon him, something about all of this felt so familiar. Once she was completely nude, her pale skin shining in the bright light and the large crowd colorful woman had fallen completely silent as they waited for what was to come, she took Richard into her hands and brought him to her face.

"Are you sure about this?" Richard asked, a sincere worry in his voice...he actually cared for her.

She nodded, "I feel okay about this..." She said, her own words seeming to spring a sense of deja vu. 

"Do you promise to never hurt me? If this memory fades from me forever?" She asked in a gentle whisper, her words seemed a bit out of place, but everything they said and felt made her feel so wonderful.

"Never." Richard assured her.

"I want you to take me now."

"Are you sure? I know how you feel about-"

"This is different." She said, gently kissing him upon his bare chest, "I am realizing how fast I can lose my chance to ever do it at all. I want to take this in the heat of the moment. I don't want to hold myself back anymore." With that she slowly lowered him down the long expanse of her body, the crowd gasping in excitement as she gently guided him inside of her. Kikata was overcome by a sense of euphoria, tackling her to her back as she writhed in the beautiful pleasure of their lovemaking. Her mind was filled with happiness and security...nothing could ever bring her down from his high.

"Oh...Richard!" She gasped, "I love you!"

Kikata gasped, suddenly rising from her sleep, her hand tightly clamped between her legs. The dream did not fade, it remained imprinted in her mind. She sat there for a few moments, a wide smile slowly fading from her lips as she realized that he was gone. Was this the dream? Is that what happened while she was unconscious? He had not told her because he promised to never hurt her? She rolled onto her side, gazing out into the ship that she once shared with him, the table where they played so many games and shared their first and only kiss. 

"Oh..god..." She whispered, the tears starting to flow from her eyes as she was overcome with a sense of terrible loss. She rolled to her stomach, burrowing her face into her pillow as she sobbed heavily. Before she knew what they really shared it had been taken away! How she wished at that moment that she never woke from that dream. To wake back into a world where her lovers are torn away by fate or by lost passion. A world where thousands of people are put to death over petty political disagreements! Suddenly she was a lost soul, with no one to come and comfort her in the emptiness of all this space. It seemed as though all of those memories of death and despair hit her with a new vigor, memories that she could handle when she had someone there with her that had gone through it...but now she was alone...like the small girl lost in the woods...

"You know what? This grunts not half bad!" One of the man laughed after Richard had finished telling them of his ordeals. 

"Yeah, hey thanks...I just sort of wish I could finish the job though. The shit that they put me through you know? And I mean killing all of those people over race..."

"Yeah." Nathan grunted, "Well don't you worry anyone worth dying is going to get whats comin' or worse when me and my boys get to 'em." There was a loud shout of agreement from the three men. 

"You guys are staying out here?" Richard asked.

"That's right. We'll split off sometime tomorrow. That's what we've been sent here for."

Richard laughed, "And I've been sent back to earth to do press conferences." 

Nathan shrugged, "Welp. That is the story of our work my friend. We're just the little chess pieces bein' moved along. We do what we're told, and we do what we have to do." He rose to his feet, "Now I've already about stayed over do here, time to go sharpen up the mind and ready up for battle." He said knocking his fist against his clean shaven head. "Enjoy the trip." He said, patting Richard on the shoulder as he walked by. 

Richard sighed, twirling his large mug around as he watched the four men leave the ships bar. He lifted himself up and walked back over towards the bar, "Yeah, another." He said with a nod, sliding the empty mug over towards the bartender. 

"You are Richard Bromwell, are you not?" A feminine voice asked from behind him.

Richard turned, his eyes falling upon a strikingly attractive woman. She seemed to be of a mixed asian decent, her long dark hair fell off of her head in a silky smooth waterfall. She took the seat next to him, placing down a delicate glass filled with a deep red liquid. She wore a dark black dress that clung pleasantly to her curves, and revealed just enough skin to get the imagination running. Her lips were painted a dark red, almost purple, and her eyes were deeply boarded by dark makeup. Though it gave her a sense of a more classy beauty.

"I am." He responded bluntly, thanking the bartender as he returned his mug, he twirled his finger in the thick head of the beer.

She smiled, "We have all been following you in the news, you must be excited to get home to all your fans?"

He laughed, "Eh." He shrugged, taking a sip of his beer, "To be honest I sort of dread it."

"Is that so?" She asked, sipping on her own drink, "A modest man even after all you have been through? Tell me, are all the stories true?"

"What stories do you know? I wasn't even aware that I was being covered."

"Did you really discover a new planet?"

"Two actually."

"Did you really fight off an army of monsters in an abandoned space station?" She asked again, swaying side to side in her chair, a playful glimmer in her eyes.

"Yeah."

"And you helped to defeat a hostile force in a Hybrid City, did you not? Not to mention the one in the solar system we just left?"

"You could say that." He said with a shrug, "But mostly I was just along for the ride. My partner did most of the work."

"Kitaka?"

"Kikata, but yeah." Richard laughed.

"Oh yes, she was quite the buz herself, all the teenage boys back home are just drooling over neko woman." She laughed, "She was quite beautiful though." She eyed him curiously, "So what was that about?"

"What was what?"

"You and Kikata, I mean surely it must have been as romantic as it sounds. A beautiful woman and a handsome man traveling together in space, alone...just the two of you."

Richard took a drink from his mug, "Tell you the truth, nothing became of it. Out of choice though, we knew there would be nothing permanent there and she is not one to go on a random fling." He shrugged again, "So it was better that we kept it professional." 

The woman giggled, "And how about you?" She asked, tilting her head, "Are you one to go on a random fling?" 

~ ~ ~ ~ 

Kikata finally lifted her head from her pillow, her throat throbbing her her eyes still fogged over. She rubbed her palms into her eyes and sighed deeply, "Dammit Kikata." She muttered, "Keep your self together." 

She rose to her feet and walked into the bathroom, splashing water into her face while taking a few more deep breaths. She could still feel the tears ready to burst from her eyes but for now she had herself under control. She decided that she needed to pour this out on someone, and Prila seemed like the perfect target. She made her way out of the ship and back towards the station, Prila and Fisc had snagged themselves a suite because of Prila's past experience working at one of these midway stations. 

She followed a short flight of stairs up and moved her way into a narrow hallway. As she walked she felt as though she was moving in a haze, her body felt heavy and her chest and throat suffered from a deep throbbing pain. She let out another shaky sigh as she approached Prila's room. She took hold of the handle and pushed her way inside, a little surprised to find the door unlocked. 

She pushed the door open and forze, "Oh my god!" She nearly shrieked, what she saw was overwhelming. Prila lay upon a broken bed, it's legs snapped under the enormous weight that stood on top of her chest. Her breasts were absolutely impossibly big! They stood much taller than Kikata, nearly grazing the ceiling. The massive balloons of flesh hung over the edges of the broken bed, Prila's face staring up towards Kikata upside down with an odd nervous smile.

"Oh..." She said, sounding out of breath, "Hi Kikata."

"Oh my god!" She said again, "Do you need help? Where are your pills I will-" She gasped as a familiar face suddenly squeezed between the hills of flesh, "Fisc? What are you....oh....oh my...oh...sorry...I will...come back...later..."

"No! No wait outside, we're done, right Fisc? Just hang on a second." Prila said.

Kikata nodded, awkwardly moving her way back outside and closing the door. She ran her hands through her hair and shook her head, "What the hell was that..." She muttered to herself.

~ ~ ~ ~ 

Richard followed the bouncy, dark haired woman through the halls. She was nice, and seemed rather intelligent, which is probably why Richard agreed to follow her. His mind had been so caught up inside of his own mind he felt he could use a release...and who knows maybe this woman could be someone. 

He followed her into her room, equally as lavish as his own, equipped with a full wall television screen, king sized bed, kitchen and anything else someone might need for a long journey. 

"So you have one of these rooms too?" She asked, throwing him a smile over her shoulder. 

"Yeah." He said, watching as she made her way over towards her dresser. She reached up towards her ears and removed her dangling ear rings. 

"Have a seat?" She said, nodding towards her bed.

Richard nodded slowly, sitting down on the soft bed, his hands gripping the edges tightly as he watched her. She strolled over towards him, biting her lip as she smiled. She placed her hands against his shoulders and gently guided him further onto the bed. She kneeled down in front of him, sitting her rear down on his lap as she pulled her dress up and over her head. She giggled playfully, as she leaned in for a kiss.

Richard closed his eyes, feeling the warmth of her body against his, the soft curves pressing into his chest. The sweet taste of her lips, but when he opened his eyes he did not see the woman he wanted to see.

"I'm sorry..." He said softly, "I can't do this."

The woman blinked, "W-What?"

"Sorry...It's just..." He started to stand up, the woman sliding to the floor, her cheeks reddened slightly as she fumbled to put her dress back on.

"Did I go to fast? Were you not ready for it?" She asked.

"No...no not at all...any other time in my life I would have jumped for it. You're a very beautiful woman and you seem nice, really...but..I can't give up now."

"What do you mean? Where are you going?" She asked, following him to the door. 

"I'm not sure....but I'm not going back to Earth." He said, "Sorry for leading you on, again, really your a beautiful woman."

"Oh..." He heard her say as he closed the door behind him.

~ ~ ~ ~ 

"So..." Prila said, stil laying upside down on the bed as she waited for the swelling to go down, "What's up?"

"I'm not sure where to begin..." Kikata said softly, though it was pretty clear from her voice that she was distraught. 

"Alright, let's start simple, how are you feeling?"

"Terrible. Depressed. Hopeless, the list goes on."

"Yeah? And why this sudden despair?" Prila asked, "Is it because of Richard leaving?"

Kikata turned towards Prila's face, a new wave of tears starting to build up, and nodded, "Yes." She whispered. 

Prila frowned, "There really was something there, wasn't there?"

Kikata nodded again, "I didn't realize it until I went to sleep and I had this dream..." She glanced towards Fisc who was standing by the door listening in.

"Alright, alright I get the hint." He said, opening the door and walking out.

Once the door shut she continued, "Remember how I told you about that planet? The one with those colorful women?"

"Yeah?"

"Well I had a dream that we were back there...and this time we really did it...and it was so wonderful and the last thing that I screamed out in the passion of it all was that I loved him. And when I woke up I realized it was true." She wiped her eye with the back of her thumb, "I realized that me and Richard had done something more when I was in that coma...and to protect me he kept it a secret."

"Ouch." Prila whispered.

"And the worst part is I wake up from this perfect dream to find myself in the middle of this killing, and just...terrible things and I have to come back without the man that I love!" She started to sob again.

"Oh...Kikata please don't cry. Come and give me a nice hug...I know it will make you feel better."

Kikata couldn't help but laugh slightly, glancing up towards the still rather monstrous bust, "Alright..." She whispered, rising to her feet and leaning against Prila's chest. She felt the warmth begin to seep through her skin, the soft surface cradling her gently.

"I mean...Like he said, it's a small world, maybe you guys will reconnect some day? And theres always the internet."

"But fate just seems to be pushing us away..." She said softly.

Prila sighed, "Remember that you have a say in your fate. If it tries to pull you away from someone there is always the option to wrap your arms around them and to hold on as tightly as you can."

Kikata nodded, falling back to her knees, "Okay...so...what exactly happened back there?"

"Oh...I guess there is no hiding it now..."

~ ~(Warning, this is explicit) ~ ~ 

About an hour ago...

Fisc shut the door silently, turning only to be met with a a weight crashing into his chest. Prila giggled girlishly as her legs wrapped tightly around her torso. Fisc stumbled slightly but managed to keep his balance, grinning as she leaned forward, engulfing his face against her chest.

"Hows that for a surprise?" She asked with another giggle.

"Very nice, thank you." Fiscs muffled voice said.

Prila laughed, sliding down slightly so she could kiss him. He went to engage her more intensely but she dropped back down to the floor and sat herself down on the bed, a small smile creasing her lips. Fisc grinned and unzipped his jump suit, starting to remove it as he walked over towards her.

"Ah ah ah!" She giggled, holding her foot out to stop his approach. "Remember our little deal? I do you while you pilot the ship and you promised to return the favor." She said with a grin.

Fisc nodded, "Worth it." He commented, dropping to his knees and taking her foot in his hand. He smiled towards her before kissing the top of her foot, causing her to giggle even more. He unlatched her shoe and slid it off, and did the same for the other foot. He tossed her small shoes aside before taking hold of the fabric of her pants. He pulled them off slowly, watching her face brighten up even more as he tossed them aside. She gasped as he kissed her ankle, and then slowly up the rest of her leg.

"Such a gentleman!" She giggled, "Oh you really know how to flatter-" She sputtered off as his head fell between her legs, "Oh...wow.." She gasped, "You really know h-how to..." She hummed in delight as he continued to work away, she felt a familiar tingling in her chest. "I didn't take my medication." She whispered.

Fisc pulled back, "You want me to go and get it?"

She shook her head, "I want to go with it...see how big I can get!" 

"You sure?"

She nodded, "Now, did I say stop?" She grinned, glad her little treat for him was starting to really pay off. She bit her lip as he started pleasuring her again, the rushing feeling in her chest really starting to escalate as the pleasure spread through her body. She leaned back on her hands and started to moan lightly. She felt as the weight started to rise, the flesh tingling as it pushed out against her tightly fitting upper shirt. She bit her lip as the tingling turned to a sort of friction that sent waves of pleasure through her body. The nano fibre fabric started to stretch towards its limits. She felt the fabric starting to tear across her back, a wide smile spreading over her lips as her nipples pressed even harder against the tight fabric. 

"Oop!" She giggled as her top suddenly tore in half, the loose fabric slipped off her large bust and fell onto Fisc's back. She reached her arms around them, still just able to tickle her nipples with her fingers, moaning loudly as she did. Slowly her breasts began to push her arms to the side, her fingers only able to grip the sides.

Fisc felt a warm pressure on the top of his head, he pulled back and his eyes widened as he saw the titanic breasts, "Oh wow." He said.

She grinned, struggling to push herself further back on the bed, "Come on and kiss me while you still can!" She giggled.

Fisc laughed, climbing up onto the bed after her, he was caught off guard as she suddenly jumped towards him. He coughed as her titanic breasts compressed against his chest, "gotcha' again." She whispered, lowering her face onto his as her hand slipped between them, taking his member in hand and guiding it inside of her. She gasped in delight as his powerful arms wrapped around her, rolling himself over so he would be on top.

She closed her eyes for a moment, feeling as he thrust himself inside of her, his hands exploring her ever growing bust, his rough skin sending shivers of pleasure over her sensitive flesh. His fingers began to play upon her nipples, causing her to shudder and moan in delight, "Oh...yes like that...." She gasped.

Fisc nodded, lowering his face into the expanding bust as he continued to drive his hips back and forth. He would kiss and even nibble on then playfully, much to the added ecstasy of Prila. Her chest continued to balloon upwards, soon he was able to lean his chest against it, serving as a soft cushion for him to press into. 

Prila's hands continued to grip the sides of her growing bosom, her flesh slowly pushing her arms to the side, eventually pinning them completely to the bed. She could only squirm with delight under the combined weight of Fisc and her breasts, her breasts soon growing enough to outweigh him! With every inch they grew the more sensitive they became to Fiscs massaging, and the friction caused as they spread across the bed.

"You alright?" Fisc asked, a little short on breath.

"Oh god yes." Prila called from behind the wall of flesh, "Keep going! This is amazing! Let's break this entire room down!" She gasped with pleasure even more as she thought of the idea of her bust growing so massive! She had to bite down on her lower lip to keep herself from literally screaming with pleasure...not wanting to cause a disturbance to the entire station. 

Before long Fisc hardly had any room as her chest spread down towards her abdomen. He pressed himself forward, sliding an arm between her breasts to explore the flesh within. 

"Go on in baby!" She panted, "I want to feel you squirm around in there!" 

Fisc grinned, reaching both arms froward to push away the mountains of flesh. Prila moaned loudly as his upper half squeezed between the two walls of flesh. And as they grew they engulfed him even more, though he managed to remain inside of Prila the entire time.

Prila squirmed as much as her body would allow her, almost unable to handle the insane amount of pleasure that rushed through her. Her ears faintly picked up on a low creaking sound, then suddenly a loud snap. The bed fell to the floor as it's legs broke under the weight. 

"What was that?" Fisc's muffled voice called from within.

"Nothing!" Prila gasped, "K-Keep going!" She was almost greedy for pleasure now. As Fisc continued to thrust his body back and forth her breasts as well swayed, now pinned to the bedside table, the wood groaning as it slid across the wall. She could hardly contain the euphoric shouts of pleasure as Fisc's entire body now plunged within her cleavage, every inch of their skin rubbing against one another.

~ ~ ~ ~ 

"And at this point I was soaking but let me tell you when I came-"

"Prila!" Kikata finally but in, "I really don't need to know that much."

"Oh...sorry." Prilla giggled.

"The General will see you now." An attractive blonde haired woman said from behind a desk.

Richard nodded, rising to his feet and approaching the wide double doors. As he neared they slid open slowly, revealing a dimply lit room filled with various hologram tables and displays. 

"Private Bromwell." A stern voice called from somewhere in the room.

Richard turned, scanning the room until he saw the General standing behind one of the computers, "Sir." He said, standing at attention.

"At ease." The General said walking away from the computer towards Richard, "You say you wished to speak with me?"

"Yes sir. I have a request sir."

"A request? Bringing you back to earth in one piece is not enough for you?" He asked with an arched brow.

"I am thankful for the effort sir. But..." Richard took a deep breath, "I would like to accompany the U.N.S.S. back into the fight, sir."

The General folded his arms, eyeing Richard for a few long seconds before speaking, "And why would you think that there are any forces returning to this conflict?"

"A hunch, sir." Richard said, not wanting to cause any troubles for the men by revealing that they told him information.

"A hunch over a drink, I imagine?" Marcus chuckled, rubbing his wrinkled chin thoughtfully, "And if our forces were returning to the conflict against the New Order, why would you want to go?"

Richard hesitated a moment, "Sir, I don't feel that it is right for me to return home. I feel that it should be my duty to stay until the job is done."

Marcus nodded slowly, "Though you know we are under strict orders to bring you home?"

Richard winced, "If it's any consolation, I believe that I am still on the Nova Guard payment roll."

Marcus laughed, "We handled that this morning marine."

Richard had to struggle to keep himself composed, "Please, sir. I could not live with myself if I went back now."

"So. You are willing to get yourself into a world of shit, accompanying the most highly trained servicemen in our military into a warzone that has not been entered before by our kind, in order to...uh...finish the job?"

"Yes, sir. I feel that I have the experience I need to handle myself in this conflict."

Marcus leaned back on one of the illuminated tables, "And what do I tell the U.N when the ship returns to earth and their missing solider is not on board?" 

"You can tell them I died, for all I care...sir."

Marcus laughed again, "No plans to return to earth any time soon then?" Marcus shook his head, "Alright then Richard. If you feel that you need this, and you are prepared, welcome aboard." 

~ ~ ~ ~ 

A few hours had passed and for some reason Prila decided she wanted even more exercise, so she dragged Kikata and Fisc along with her to the gym. She insisted that the exercise would help clear her head anyway, so Kikata agreed. 

A thin layer of sweat formed on her forehead as she jogged lightly on the resistance running machine, as hard as she tried her mind kept returning to the same old places. She sighed, wiping the back of her hand across her brow, she could only hope that she didn't have another break down in public.

She watched as Prila pulled Fisc over towards the mat, a playful grin across her lips. She laughed slightly, trying to imagine what excuses Fisc was trying to use to get himself out of another probable beat down by his own girlfriend. 

"Is this station taken?" A soft voice asked. 

Kikata heard the machine turn on before she even answered, "No." She said, glancing over her shoulder to see a familiar woman stepping onto the machine. She had to fight the urge not to grimace as she watched Kina smile towards her.

"Oh hey! Kikata." Kina said with a bright smile.

"Hi." Kikata responded, returning her vision back towards Prila and Fisc, who were just getting into their ready positions. She could feel Kina looking at her so she turned back with a weak smile, wondering what she wanted.

"You feeling good?"

Kikata shrugged, "Fine."

"You look a little tired, is all."

"It's been a long couple days."

"Hasn't it?" Kina asked, a sweet smile always across her lips. Though it only served to annoy Kikata even more. 

Kikata turned back towards Prila and Fisc, Prila had already pinned him, "You weren't even trying!" He heard Prila complain from across the gym. 

Kina cleared her throat, "So um. On your own now huh?"

"That's right." Kikata said with a slight sigh.

There was a short pause, "I'm annoying you...aren't I?" Kina asked, her voice softened slightly. 

"Of course not." Kikata insisted, still watching her friends roll around on the mat. 

"I'm almost certain I am." Kina continued.

"And how can you be so certain?" Kikata asked, now shifting her gaze back towards the Fela. 

Kina shrugged, "I can read people pretty well."

"Yeah? Try me." Kikata challenged with a shrug.

"You've cried in the past hour or so." 

Kikata turned back towards her friends, for once Fisc taking the upper hand with his weight. "Is that so."

"Yes. And also you wince every time you see me. It's subtle but you do it."

"Coincidence maybe?"

"I doubt it." Kina said, "But, still I try to be friendly. Thinking one of these days you might not want to tear my ears off."

"I don't think it's all that bad." Kikata muttered. "But why?" 

Kina shrugged, "I respect you. I think you are a good person."

"Oh yeah?" Kikata said, turning back towards Kina, who seemed to wince herself by her response..."Erm. Thank you."

"I mean I get it. Really I do." Kina continued, "You are a rather...reserved woman. And as you probably know I'm not as much."

"I suppose."

"I also...treaded on your territory a little."

Kikata shot her a glance, "Oh?"

"Well...you know going after Richard."

"I was engaged at the time. So I wasn't jealous."

"But, naturally he was still sort of your turf. It's just how we're wired."

"If you say so." Kikata said. The two walked quietly for a few minutes, Kikata couldn't help but start to feel a little sorry for being so cold towards Kina. After all, most of her feelings towards her were set before she had even spoke to the Fela. "So. What was it like?" 

Kina blinked, "What was what like?" 

"You know." Kikata hushed her voice, "Being with a human."

"Oh!" Kina laughed, "Well uh. It's different."

"I wouldn't know what was normal to begin with." Kikata said quietly.

"Oh that's right. You've never uh...well yeah. Well, how do I explain it." Kina thought for a moment, "Exciting for one. And...oddly intimate. Which is part of the reason I was so hesitant to really approach him again. I mean the sex was fun but I was getting too attached!" She giggled, "I sort of thought about going for it-" Kina noticed Kikata giving her a somewhat distasteful stare, "Oh...wait a minute." She eyed Kikata curiously, "Why do you want to know in the first place?"

Kikata sighed, "Oh, just wondering."

Kina smiled, and continued, "Well...if you really want to know. It's kind of bizarre at first. Like you feel him in there but you don't see him. And admittedly you need to help them out a little more than you would one of our men. But once you get the motion down and he starts to go deeper and deeper-"

"It feels incredible..." Kikata whispered.

"What?" Kina tilted her head, "Did you guys do it?"

Kikata blushed, "No. But I had a dream about it. And it was so vivid...I was just seeing if the real experience added up."

"Oh." Kina said, "You really liked him didn't you? Gosh I feel terrible for intruding..."

"No. Don't feel bad. We knew it couldn't be. Or at least we thought we knew." Kikata sighed, "I should have..."

"But then you might not have been able to let go." Kina offered with a shrug. 

Kikata nodded, "Tell me. Do you know the punishment for someone going off their designated route for personal reasons?"

Kina thought a moment, then smiled, "Well I don't know. How much time are we talking here?"

"Two days maybe." 

"No one has to know." She whispered with a wink.

A smile creased Kikata's lips as she hopped off the machine, "Hey. Richard was right, you're not so bad." Kikata said.

"Oh...thanks!" Kina said, a broad smile spreading across her face.

Kikata nodded towards her one last time before bounding over to where Fisc and Prila still wrestled, "Hey." She called.

Prila and Fisc stopped, turning towards her. "What's up?" Prila asked through heavy breaths.

"I'm heading out."

Prila's brow furrowed, "To where?"

Kikata kneeled down, a smile still creasing her lips, "I'm not letting go."

"Oh...well...go! What are you waiting for!" Prila said rising to her feet.

Kikata laughed, rising to her feet and making her way out of the gym.

"You get him, girl!" Prila called from behind her.

~ ~ ~ ~ 

Kikata hopped into her pilots seat, her hands quickly running over the controls. Within minutes she was in the air, her ship slowly rising out of the docking bay. 

"Hey, Kikata." A voice called through the radio, it was Kina.

"Uh, Hello?"

"Yeah, um. I went ahead and sent you the coordinates for the Infinity. That is the ship Richard is on now. Good luck."

"Thanks." Kikata said with a smile, she couldn't believe she was about to do this.

She brought up the coordinates, the Infinity wouldn't be making any jumps, meaning Kikata would be able to catch up to it easily. She readied the ship, placing her hand over the jump engager. 

But suddenly a piercing whine echoed through her ship. A warning signal. 

"All ships!" A nervous voice called through the radio, "W-We need help at station 2-2-3-" There was a pause in the transmission, "2-2-3-5-6-9. Please hurry!" 

Kikata looked towards her coordinates, she sighed deeply and re-routed her course. 

"All Guards." A more stern voice called through the radio, "Be ready to engage the enemy. This is not a drill."

Kikata's blood ran cold as she climbed out of her seat. She rushed to climb into her Guard Armor, the last defense in the case she was to be shot down. Once fully equipped she climbed back into the cockpit, her visors hud syncing with her ships to engrain her even further into the holographic combat and defense systems. 

She readied for the jump, taking a deep breath before engaging. The planet that arrived before her was a familiar one. It was the first station that she and Richard had stopped at, an ice planet. More and more Guard ships arrived by her side as they approached the planet.

"Anyone see anything?" A voice called through the radio.

"No." Kikata called back, her eyes falling on the empty seat where Richard once sat. 

They moved towards the atmosphere slowly, more and more friendly ships arriving, including a large calvary of Knight Fighters. 

Then, as if they had melted into existence from no where, a storm of yellow streaks bombarded the Guard ships. Kikata quickly inverted her ship to narrowly dodge a steady stream of burning metal. She fired a volley back blindly. 

"Target the ships!" A voice yelled.

Soon after a sea of green lines, each marking a new enemy vessel, appeared on Kikata's hud. Confident in her skills she pushed forward, emptying a barrage of swarm missiles into the oncoming ships. Behind those she unleashed some more powerful rockets that quickly found their targets in the horde of hostiles. It was hard to tell which hit successfully or which had simply been destroyed by defense systems. 

The quiet space was filled with light, the only sounds emanating from the radio or the clanking of weapons inside of the ship. 

"Watch out below." A voice called calmly into the radio...it didn't rise Kikata's concerns.

She screamed as her ship suddenly jolted, the lights of her HUD flashing bright red. "Shit!" She exclaimed, reading the status report. "They got one of my engines!" She started to panic, her hands feverishly working to steady her ship as it became hard to control. 

"Hang steady there." A voice called to her.

"I'm trying-" She screamed again as her ship jolted once again, "Fuck!" 

"They've got a scrambler on your bottom, I'm trying to get it off with small arms."

"Well hurry, I can't take much more!" Kiakta pleaded, her wrists aching as she tried to steady her ship. A blue streak caught her attention from the corner of her eye.

"I have to pull up! I'm sorry!" The voice called.

"N-No!" Kikata shrieked as the EMP crashed into her final remaining engine. Her ships hud went out, followed by the lights. The joysticks went stiff in her hands. "No. No. No, This can't be happening." Kikata groaned, watching helplessly as the white landscape came into view as her ship slowly spiraled out of control. 

The whirling motion picked up pace, her communications were out, her control was out. She was going to crash! Faster and faster her ship spun, until the stronger gravity of the planet took hold. Her ships systems suddenly flickered back on. "Come on! Come on!" She pleaded, her single working engine sputtering as an orange glow engulfed her ship. She tried desperately to reverse her decent, but she was going to fast! She screamed as she pulled on the joysticks, her only hope was to land on her side or rear, otherwise she would be crushed instantly in the crash.

Her stomach rose in her throat, her vision blurring as the ship was unable to protect her from the powerful force of the fall. Her hands fell from the joysticks as her vision suddenly went black.

Richard followed the general into a narrow elevator shaft. The two sat in a sort of uncomfortable silence as they made their way down into the deepest depths of the Infinity. When standing in the midst of Marcus "Zero" you were quite literally standing next to a living legend. The man has been actively serving since the age of eighteen, and has fought in some of the most key battles in human history. In his own life time he had seen himself portrayed in hundreds if not thousands of movies, television shows, comics and video games. 

The elevator finally came to a halt, the metallic doors opening to reveal the wide docking station contained within theInfinities hull. A large ship stood before them, a large crowd of military personel bustled around the ship prepping it for take off. The two men approached the lowered landing ramp, though Marcus stopped them before stepping foot on top of the metal ramp.

"You step foot in my ship and there is no turning back. Understood."

"Yes sir."

"You will be giving up your freedom to serve under me. Every move you make is under my direct order. And if not mine, then your squad leaders. Is that understood?"

"Yes sir." Richard said, nearly feeling his very soul melting under the old mans intense stare. He eventually broke it off with a nod, the old man turning towards the ship. 

"You will follow the first hall we come to all the way towards the end. You will find the other men there waiting for their briefing."

"Yes sir." Richard responded again, following the Generals orders just as he had been told. He made his way down the narrow hallway of the battleship until he entered a more wide open room. The room was lined with tall green lockers, each about two feet across in width. He saw some familiar faces from the bar.

"No fuckin' shit." The man he knew has Three laughed.

"Hey." Richard said with a nod, leaning back against one of the walls.

"Richard Bromwell what the hell are you doin' on this ship?" Nathan asked with a grin, approaching Richard and landing a heavy hand down on his shoulder. 

"I'm part of the team now." Richard said, "I had to do a little begging to "Zero" But the man saw the light."

Nathan laughed, "Got down on your knees and sucked the ol' mans dick just to get the chance to die an honorable death. I like it." 

"Yeah, well as long as he don't fuck up and cause me to die my honorable death too early." A rough voice called from the back of the room. A bulky man stood up from the bench he was seated on and walked over. Richard knew him as two from the bar. His green eyes stared down Richard sternly, his wide cheekbones clenched tightly. He had a short mat of red hair that sat atop his bulging head.

"Easy there, Bacon. The grunt may lack the training but he sure as hell has made up for it with experience. Aint that right, Richard?"

Richard nodded, "I hope." He eyed down the large man who had just been referred to as "bacon." "So uh...Bacon, is it?"

"That's right." He said with a wide grin.

"When he's on leave he's Bacon. When he's strapped he's two." Nathan said, "Just like right now you are Richard. When we get into the shit you are Six."

"Whose Five?" Richard asked, only recalling four members to the group.

"Five." The man known only to Richard as Three laughed. He was a rather handsome dark haired man with a sort of purposeful thicket of unshaven scruff on his cheeks and chin. "That dude is a case I tell you what. He is always in his gear. And if not the dude is locked up in his room, probably jerkin' it to videos of himself capping heads."

Nathan shook his head, "Five comes out of Japan. First of his class in sniper training, got one hell of an eye and from what we hear one hell of a set of balls. He keeps to himself, which is fine by me as long as he comes into the fight on our side."

"Don't speak a lick of english neither. Probably why he wears that damn helmet all the time, got some translator shit in it or something." Bacon said as he returned to the bench he was sitting on.

"Well he could be a robot for all I care, as long as he can handle that boom stick as well as his records say he does then I'm damn proud to have 'em." Nathan said with a nod.

"Speakin' of the devil." Three grunted, nodding his head towards the door. 

A rather short figure stood against the doorway, had Richard not known better he could have easily mistaken the dark, and armored soldier to actually be a robot. His suit was intricately designed and yet at the same time seemed as sturdy as a rock. It's heavy black metal hardly held a shine under the white florissant lights. The helmet was perhaps the most intricate of all, it consisted of a few segmented pieces that could be moved up or down. The visor pulled back on the helmet was designed almost like the curved beak of an eagle. Under the visor three circles peered out towards the five men with an almost cold teel glow. These were the snipers false eyes, for the targeting system was too advanced for a simple translucent visor to suffice. 

The mysterious figure, simply known to the men as Five nodded their head back towards the hall and joined them inside the room. Not long afterwards a heavy series of footsteps could be heard, the figure of Marcus appearing in the brightly illuminated room. Immediately the six soldiers stood at attention.

"At ease, men." Marcus grunted as he walked towards the center of the room. His old, yet surprisingly able hand reached up towards the wall and pulled away a wooden panel, revealing a wide computer screen. The U.N logo appeared briefly before giving way to the control panel. "Three hours ago, the New Order struck with full force at one of our Allies stations, here." He said, the star map zooming into the image of a white sphere. Richards brow narrowed as the identification number of the planet seemed to be oddly familiar. 

"Last thing we heard was that their defenses were weak, and the New Order was fixen to make the station their new home. Those were the last transmissions we heard from the ground. I think it is safe to say that our enemies have gotten themselves dug in deep with some fine new firepower to back themselves up with. And it wouldn't exactly take a genius for them to figure out how to revert the stations defense systems to work in their favor." A blue print of the station appeared on screen. "Now, our friends at the station are obviously seeing this as a great and utter defeat. A humiliating one at that. They see this as a god damn military catastrophe!" Marcus chuckled, shaking his head slightly, "But you want to know what I see? I see an opportunity. This is exactly the situation we have been training for, it is time to show this universe of ours exactly how big of a bite us little dogs can dish!" 

There was an excited cry of agreement from the men, including Richard. His heart raced as the great war hero Marcus "Zero" explained to them how these six soldiers were going to take down the New Order. The plan was to exploit their size. They would be dropped down into the combat zone under the radar, and from there they would be able to snake their way into the station. From there they would be able to disable the defense systems to open up the gates for the Knights. 

When Marcus left the room it was Nathan, now known as One, who took over. "Alright boys. Let's gear up." He shouted, his words met with another excited cheer from all but the silent number Five. "Six." He barked, "Your gear is over here."

"Yes sir." Richard said with a nod, falling into the old routine he hard learned in boot camp. He jogged over to the locker that Nathan had pointed towards and opened it. It was hardly the Nova Guard armor that he had grown accustomed to. Though because it was a one of a kind prototype he was not allowed to take it with him. His new armor was much lighter, held together my thick nano-fibre fabrics that had replaced the more standard teflon. The bulkier alloys and plastics of the U.N.S.S armored the key areas of the lower legs, thighs, groin, chest and shoulders and the arms. It was similar in fashion to that of number Five's armor, though just slightly heavier. Their helmets were thick and for the most part solid, the narrow visors would contain a HUD but not one nearly as advanced as that of the Nova Guards. 

Each man carried a similar weapon, a large three foot long canon with two barrels. One barrel was fed high calibre machine gun rounds through a large barrel clip that jutted out from the side of the rifle. The second barrel fired semi-automatic explosive rounds.

Five on the other hand carried a rifle that nearly touched the ground as it hung from his back. The clip was filled with extremely powerful armor piercing explosive rounds that could hit targets from miles away. On earth the weapon was known as a tank killer, but here in this new warzone it had already been dubbed with the name "Titan killer". 

Nathan tossed a pack to Richard, "Take one of these." 

"What is this?" He asked, pulling the pack over his shoulder.

"That would be your parachute my friend."

"Parachute?" Richard asked as they made their way down the hall. He had not even realized that by this point their new, smaller ship had left the Infinity and was about ten minutes away from their drop zone.

"That's right." Nathan called over his shoulder, there was a loud roaring wind blowing through the hallway now, the ship opened up to a larger area filled with large metal crates and some massive structure hidden beneath a heavy green tarp. 

"You mean after all these years we've got nothing better than parachutes to get us down to the ground?" Richard called over the roar of the wind, a white landscape slipping beneath the ship in a blur. 

A wide grin crossed Nathans lips, "What can I say? They wanted to save a little money!" He burst into laugher as he approached the opening with the other men, "Have you ever used one before?"

Richards blood ran cold, "No!" He shouted.

"Oh. Well. We sort of have to go now."

"What?" Richard nearly shrieked, "But how am I supposed to-" He yelled as Nathan grabbed his arm and practically threw him into the wide opening. The other five soliders were quick to follow. Richard screamed as he watched the ground race towards him, it was hard to tell how high they really were against the solid white backdrop. The air was perfectly quiet as they fell, he was completely unaware of the violent battle that took place just over their heads in the outer atmosphere. The white earth was littered with small black dots.

"Hey new guy." A voice called into his ear piece. "When I say go you pull that little orange ring by your right elbow."

Richard tried to nod as he lifted his arm, his eyes falling on the orange ring. He took a deep breath, his mind only just adjusting to the fact that he was free falling towards a hostile frozen tundra. He briefly reflected on what he left behind, a warm bed, a beautiful women. But he reminded himself of what he was after, "I'm comin' for you Kikata." He whispered to himself, unaware of the events that had taken place just a few hours ago...unaware that one of those little black dots in the white landscape was his old ship. 

"Now!"

A few hours earlier

Darkness filled Kikata's vision as she finally came to. She tried to move, finding that her body seemed to be compressed on all sides. The movement however was enough to reengage her hud, illuminating the white substance that encased her visor. "I'm alive." She whispered, her senses slowly coming back to their full strength. A throbbing pain pulsed through her right forearm, though other than that she seemed to be okay. As she continued to squirm the impact foam that the ship released during the crash started to give way, as it was designed to do. Eventually she was able to move her limbs freely, pushing away the sand like substance as it fell apart. 

She groaned again as she clutched her forearm, the throbbing pain worsening as her senses returned to her. A dark shadow suddenly loomed over the cockpit window, it's thick glass cracked down the middle. A figure appeared over her, it's masked face staring down at her before it lifted its large boot and crashed it down on the already fractured window. A few powerful stomps shattered the window, and to her further dismay a weapon was pointed towards her.

"Get out." It demanded, "Slowly."

Kikata was in no shape to resist, she put her hands up as her shaking legs lifted her out the shattered hole in her cockpit. Her eyes fell on a crowd of about ten similarly dressed soldiers, a mix of Neko and Marleks, all standing outside of a small black transport ship. 

"Move." The voice commanded again, swinging his weapon in the direction of the vessel.

Kikata had to fight the urge to not lower her hands so she could grip her pain stricken arm, her blood ran cold through her vains as she wondered what fate they had in store for her. She was roughly guided into the ship, a large marlek pushing her down into one of the seats. 

"Your helmet, remove it." He ordered with a snarl.

Kikata did so, eyeing the marlek bitterly. She followed his hand as it lowered towards his belt, his furred claw lifted a short black device. He reached it up towards her neck, a sudden shock filling Kikata's existence. She screamed in agony before falling unconscious once again.

~ ~ ~ ~ 

Richard tumbled around within a white canopy. "Son of a bitch." He grumbled, finally finding a spot where his feet touched snow. He pulled the parachute over his head and shrugged the pack off his shoulders. The five other soldiers were already busy collecting their gear from a large black crate that had been dropped with them.

"Here." Nathan called, tossing Richard one of the long weapons. "You will ride with me. Now that we are running with Six, Three you tag along with Five."

"Ride?" Richard asked, approaching the crate as the men pulled out three large, oval shaped containers.

"That's right." Bacan called over his shoulder. "These here are the Harley of the black ops."

Richard looked on as the containers were opened, the team quickly assembling what could only be described as two seated motorcycles without wheels. Within minutes the three ships were ready to go. Richard followed their lead and sat on the rear facing seat while nathan climbed onto the front seat, their packs touching as they sat down. The seats were comfortable, a gap was left in the middle of the back rest to allow their packs to squeeze through, so they wouldn't have to arch their backs forward and throw off their center of gravity. 

The engines ignited, a quiet hum filling the air as the metal frames lifted the six soliders a good two feet off the ground. 

"Alright. If we get into some shit I need you to lean with the turns, but not too much otherwise we'll get into a barrel roll that will probably end up getting us killed, you understand."

"Yeah." Richard called over the roar of the engines as they headed off towards the base. He watched as a narrow cloud followed their vehicles as they raced across the icy ground, the hot air of the engines scattering any loose ice or snow. 

A large black shadow raced across the white earth, a dark ship soaring over their heads. More and more of these low flying ships roared over them, they were getting close. A large mountain of white earth was soon just barely visible against the gray backdrop of the sky. The station was there, mostly under the frozen tundra. 

A map appeared on Richards visor, "Alright." Nathans voice called through the radio, "We are going to slip in right under their noses through the front entrance to the docking bay. We're not going to take any chances so we will take a sharp left, there is a small ventilation system that will act like our spiderweb to the entire station. If everything goes well we figure out where they are hacking the base computers from, revert the system to its original functions and we open the defenses to the big guys."

Richard arched his back so he could see the oncoming base, a large black rectangle growing in the distance. Waves of black ships were racing over head, all of them heading back towards the base.

"What the hell is going on?" A voice called through the radio, "They falling back?"

Nathan shrugged, "Probably. The reports say they are fighting with outdated ships, and probably limited ammunition. They are desperate, which makes them dangerous in a tight spot. Who knows what they will do once they are bunkered in."

"Well why don't we just blow the whole damn base up? It's theirs now aint' it?" Two pressed.

"They got hostages. Anyone trapped in that station before the attack is still there now."

The loading bay was soon looming over them, the structure stood a good couple thousand feet at its highest, and the station itself was dug in miles below the icy surface. As they neared a loud alarm echoed over the white landscape, followed soon by a thunderous grinding sound.

"Their shutting the gate!" Someone yelled through the radio.

Nathan ducked his head downwards, pushing his bike to maximum speed as he watched the titanic metal doors slowly lowering before them. "We'll make it."

The large opening filled their view, a massive dull gray door slowly descending towards the earth. The three vehicles raced across the frozen earth, their small size dwarfed even more by the sheer magnitude of the door they were racing against. There was a collective scream through the radio as they were encased by the titanic shadow, the riders nearly had to duck their heads as their vehicles slipped into the station. The massive docking bay made the humans appear no more than tiny insects zipping across the dull gray floors. Massive ships glided overhead while the mountainous creatures ran back and forth from the ships that had already landed. 

"Bank right!" Nathan shouted. Richard watched from his rear facing seat as the two other vehicles filed in behind them. Suddenly another ceiling passed over his head as they entered a small entry on the wall. The three vehicles came to a stop once they were about fifty yards inside the dark tunnel, a constant breeze blowing over them. 

"Alright." Nathan said once the two other vehicles pulled along side of him. "About half a mile down this line there is an up shaft. We'll take that up, and then cut along the top until we get to a down shaft about two miles deep, we'll drop down to where the control room is from there.

With the plan set before their eyes the party continued forward, the bright white lights of the vehicles head lamps just barely illuminating the wide tunnel of the ventilation system. It was a strange environment, the ceiling, walls and floor were all exactly the same, metallic shade of silver. 

~ ~ ~ ~ 

Marcus rubbed his chin as his eyes scanned the holographic display emitted by the one of the ships computers. 

"They made it inside, sir." A female voice said.

"Yeah, yeah I see." He grumbled. His old eyes flickered over towards his young assistant, she had recoiled slightly from his grumpy remark, her eyes downcast towards the screen. He sighed, he had no intentions of spreading his qualms to the innocent, but he was frustrated. He hated the desk job, he wanted to be down there in the fight. It had been a long time since he had felt the rush of battle, since he felt as if he was actually doing something. 

"Tell them to keep the ship over the base." 

"Sir?"

"Just do it." He continued.

The blonde haired woman swallowed nervously, but nodded, "Yes sir." 

Marcus smiled slightly as he watched her make the call in to the cabin. He glanced towards the screen one last time before making his way towards the hallway. 

"Sir?" A voice called from behind him.

"Yes, Mary?" Marcus asked as he strolled down the hall.

The woman, Mary, fidgeted in the doorway for a moment before following him, "Where are you going?"

Marcus shrugged, "Just taking a walk, you've got things under control?"

"Sir?"

Marcus sighed, "Yes?"

"Sir...you...you are leaving the station during the mission?"

"You are competent enough. Go on and take the head on this one."

"T-Thank you sir. But, I don't think that is a very wise move."

Marcus halted, "You second guessing me?"

Mary's cheeks ran hot as he eyed her down, "O-Of course not...s-sir...but...but.."

"Mary." Marcus sighed, "You are a smart lady, but uh...how do I say this...you need to grow a pair and stand up for yourself from time to time."

Marys cheeks grew even redder, "Oh..." She lost herself in thought for a moment, hardly realizing that the General was already heading back down the hallway. "Wait!" She called, running after him, "You can't leave me in charge. That would be against direct orders!" 

"And?" 

Mary huffed in frustration as her superior continued his odd stroll away from his station, "Sir! Please! We have men in the field!"

"Well you better go back and check on them." Marcus said as they entered the wide cargo bay of the ship. It's ceiling stretched high above their heads, a large mass stood at the far end of the room, covered by a green tarp.

"But sir. I am not yet ready to take command!"

"Can't know until you try." Marcus said approaching the tall green hill . 

"Sir. I am begging you. What are you even doing?"

Marcus gripped the green tarp with a grin and pulled it away. "Getting myself some action." He said, his eyes brighting as they fell on the massive piece of machinery.