Starship Battlefront Remix

I[][][]II[][][]I[][[]II made his way to the lower levels of the abandoned facility as the building ground beneath him and the ceiling above him rattled and shook. The humans must have discovered us here. They must be battling with my comrades above ground. I have to hurry. This place could cave in at any moment. The alien soldier from beyond the stars kicked open a decrepit door and quickly made his way down a flight of stairs. He heard the sound of debris falling onto his helmet, but he didn't let that shake his nerves. He was on a mission and despite what the consequences he faced were, he would succeed. Failure was not an option he ever allowed himself to select. The building shook once again, he stopped moving, standing still to keep his balance. Once he felt the ground under him stabilize, he moved forward finally reaching the level he was looking for. This door creaked as he pushed it open.

The room he entered was wide with many dirty tables and various types of machinery littered across the floor where tiny creatures crawled over them then somewhere else in the darkness. He was sure that this was the facility where the humans experimented with different energy materials to develop the power cores for their war machines. He waved his flashlight that was situated atop of his rifle at the end of the room where two steel doors were bolted shut over and over and over again. As he neared the doors he saw that a hand print scan was necessary to unlock it. This facility was probably created before he was born, there would be no way his hand print would open the doors. Not that he even considered the prospect. He took a few steps away from the door, aimed his weapon and fired several times until all the bolts had been blown off. He smirked, too easy. I[][][]II[][][]I[][[]II grabbed the handles of both the doors, pulling them open with painfully loud screeches.

Once the doors were open he felt himself bathing in blue light. Behind the steel doors was what he was looking for. An extremely dangerous and unstable energy mineral sitting on a blackened pedestal. He picked the mineral up, his body suit protecting him from the radiation, then placed in a silver padded suitcase. The entire place shook again. "I've obtained the object," he announced to his squadron through the microphone inside his helmet. "I'm heading back, now."

"I wasn't meant for this, you know!" Grumbling into the com inside her helmet, Coruith Yerick turned to face forward again. The rest of her grew had split up, leaving her alone since the hall had caved in a few minutes ago, the shaking of the place almost sending her to her knees. Like a scene from some horror vid-cube. You know the kind, where the characters all end up alone in some abandoned relic of a place and the alien from who-knows-where eats their brains, or hearts, or whatever... The noise from the battle above sounded like rumbling thunder to her, and down here in the cavernous underground halls, she was isolated from where she could be doing the most good.

Coru wasn't trained for heavy battle, but surrounded by the regiment she was part of, she'd been brought to find her way through whatever computer systems might be salvaged and used. If there was any information to be had, this geek could find it...and help anyone in medical need along the way. That is, until they'd been separated. Exploration got her attention, interesting her enough to push her fear to the back of her mind. When it came time to descend to the planet face, she went with little more than a pounding heart, and that she chalked up to excitement. Who knew what could happen?!

"Not this..." Squinting through the darkness, she rummaged for the flashlight switch on her helmet. The instant light made her squint even more as it lit up the darkness around her, bounced off the iridescent-pink of her bio-suit. Behind the red rims of her glasses, her blue-green eyes scanned for something beyond the corridor, anything. A control room, a command office, something... So far, she found nothing except the collapsing interior and crawly things that now inhabited the building. Those, she avoided, like any female. Her natural curiosity didn't make her a biologist in the sense of bugs.

The whole of the place shook again, making her squeak and lean against the wall. One of the crawling things mimicked her sound and ran for cover...away from her. "Ugh!" Sprinting, she dashed through the semi-darkness, the light of her helmet bouncing off the walls and floor, the debris that fell, as she went. Rounding a corner, she heard something else...and stopped. Screeching. Awful screeching. "Do you hear that?" Waiting for reply, she slowed her breathing. "Anyone? Can you read me?" Her voice rose. "Hello?!" The fact she was getting no answer wasn't reassuring. It was probably some kind of interference because of the depth, or...something. Damning her lack of experience, she moved forward as silently as she dared, heading for the sound...and now toward an odd, blue light.

What she'd heard had been those doors opening! But who could have pulled them open?! Her heart tripped. Nooo... She could have groaned in her dismay. She'd come down to the planet in hopes of finding computers to toy with, or to be useful in some medical situation...or even to possibly have the chance to fly one of the fighters (fat chance)... And now she faced her worst nightmare. She was separated from the rest of her group, with no communication, and one of the enemy stood casually in the room as if they owned the place!

Swallowing heavily, Coruith fumbled with the latch, pulled the blaster from its holster on her thigh, and held it out with both hands. Taking her stance in the doorway, she prayed she could make a convincing stand. "Don't move. Slowly, drop everything you've got...and turn around."

A human? I[][][]II[][][]I[][[]II wondered how many human soldiers had their weapons aimed at him. He couldn't let himself get captured. His grip on the silver suitcase tightened. He had a mission to complete,, but he wasn't sure what to do. He thought for a few more seconds thinking out a simple plan. He turned around with no intention of dropping his belongings to discover that there was only a single soldier wearing a helmet and a military body suit which was similar to his. Only one? he thought to himself. "No problem"

He pulled the trigger, shooting several laser beams at the enemy soldier as a distraction and dived behind one of the tables, sliding into a pile of rusted mechanical parts that rattled on impact. In an instant he was on his feet again, aiming at the human seriously this time, when the entire room shook like it was at the center of an earthquake. He found himself rocking and fighting for stability once again.This time was more violent than the previous ones. Then in a split second his fears were met as the ceiling cracked and large shards of plaster and cement came crashing down, blowing an enormous hole in the center of the room. I[][][]II[][][]I[][[]II was thrown forward by the mini quake causing the suit case and his rifle to disappear into the black abyss.

No problem?

That was the first thing that made Coru wonder. But it wasn't enough to make her think, nor did she have enough time to do so, before all hell broke loose. Stupidly, there was a part of her actually awed by the fact she now stood face to face with one of the Mu, and that he was cooperating so well. He had to understand they were both screwed down here. She knew it, having no communication, no real supplies, and no arms beyond the blaster...which looked like a toy compared to the rifle he carried. Damn.

For a moment, when he turned, she half expected some kind of specter face to fill the inside of his helmet. The fact that he seemed as human as she did was unsettling...to a degree. She didn't have a chance to debate whether or not this was really the case because he fired off several shots and sent her reeling. Not literally, but it took her so off guard that she panicked. It was more distraction then he'd need, her scream small but more then enough to be heard even with the rumble above them. She actually ducked her head, arms brought up, her stance changed to that of the universal 'protect yourself but get nowhere doing so' pose. He was already aiming for her and she was still in this position! A second cry was let loose as the room shook, rumbled again, and the place crumbled all around them. Coruith didn't even have a chance to think of the horror that had opened up in front of them before it swallowed her, too. Debris followed her in her descent, her blaster lost from her grip, the light from her helmet now dimmed from the dust.

"Yerick! Yerick, do you read me? We got through, we're com--"

Just in time. Nothing like having communications come back up when you've been knocked off your feet by a room caving in and having it all go down again when your hopes should be high that you'll be saved. When you've got an enemy almost in your grasp (okay, not exactly, but close enough) and possibly with something very much worth while to the entire crew aboard that cruiser up there. Nothing like it all going to hell...because a space geek found it first instead of the regiment in charge of the mission.

She prayed something soft would break her fall.

I[][][]II[][][]I[][[]II found himself falling in the darkness and flailing his arms around for something to grab onto, he finally hooked on to a jagged edge with one hand. He began to grab onto another with his free hand so that he could begin climbing back up, but was knocked off by a silhouetted figure. He cursed screaming into his helmet for help. The radio came back on with his superior yelling at him. Before he could respond his head hit another ledge cracking the helmet and shutting the communicator off.

Before he knew it he was splashing into a deep pool of water. Which was bad because like the rest of his kind, he couldn't swim. He struggled, kicking his legs and reaching for something to pull himself up with. There was nothing. He was sinking like a stone.

A second cry was loosed when she landed...and hit something. Not hard, but certainly not soft, either. It wasn't rock, wasn't flooring or concrete or...well, anything she could seem to place in her mind. Whatever it was, it had form that was something other than slabs of sharp angles and-- Dear God! She'd prayed for something to break her fall, but she hadn't meant to fall on the Mu soldier who had fallen with her!

Communication was lost in her fall, the depth cutting it off as the signal died. The voice of the officer was suddenly gone and her hopes were dying as well. But...she hadn't even gotten that far yet. When she hit the man and sent him plummeting again, she fought to keep from following him. It was a narrow escape. Gasping, Coru held onto the narrow space, which allowed her just enough area for her thin form. Once she was steady, with a gloved hand on closest vertical surface, she started looking around, with the now-dim light from her helmet.

He was gone.

Her eyes darted everywhere before she remembered to look down...and found him struggling, sinking. Reaching. He was drowning. Without hesitation, she dove, jumping in after him, pulling herself down into the water smoothly, reaching out as her light found his form un the dark depths. Fumbling, she grasped for some part of his suit to haul him back to the surface before it was too late...

Whereisitwhereisitwhereisit!? I[][][]II[][][]I[][[]II panicked. As he sunk all he could think about was the suitcase that slipped out of his hand. If he'd fallen this far, he figured that it must be down here as well. He could only make out vague shadows, nothing distinctive, but that didn't stop him from trying to grab at everything that slightly resembled a rectangle. It seemed the gods of fortune were smiling down upon him as his hand brushed against something with the same texture as his suitcase. He reached both hands out to grab it, but found himself drifting away from it. Someone had gotten a hold of him and was pulling him away. He fought off his savior, finally grabbing hold of the suitcase. At the same time his lungs were burning, he couldn't hold his breath any longer. His moment of triumph had suddenly turned into the moment of his demise as his lips opened up praying for air, but only receiving water. The water rushed down his throat and his vision grew dim until there was just darkness.

Was he insane? Why was he fighting with her?! Whatever he'd had in that case must have been important, because he was obviously fighting to get to it. It took her a moment to figure out that this was what he was doing, but when she did, she struggled with him. He was stronger, pulling away from her...and this left her rushing for the surface. She gave herself a moment to breathe, wild-eyed, but even then, Coruith couldn't leave him down there. Again, she dove, searching. Where are you... Even the voice in her head sounded panicky. The light on her helmet dimmed further...and then found him, sinking. Was he unconscious? Oh God, no... It was only by a miracle that she reached him, grabbing for him as she did before, under an arm, pulling for the surface, desperate for a breath.

She used everything in herself to make the surface, pulling him with her. From there she began the frantic search for someplace solid and dry. Quickly, Yerick... She was wearing out, and fast. Barely able to tread water, she moved slowly, praying he'd come to on his own, but if he'd swallowed water, her slowness might cost him his life. Her prayer was answered in the form of a ledge, a walkway of some kind, where she found she had to heft him up. She didn't have the strength! She could do no more than push him against it...

Trying to hold him steady, she began pounding his back.

I[][][]II[][][]I[][[]II awoke coughing up miniature waterfalls from his mouth. He continued hacking until his lungs had emptied then he was left coughing aggressively. All of a sudden he was aware of his surroundings. He was kneeling on solid ground. he was no longer drowning in the large underground lake. But how, he questioned. The alien soldier jumped up alarmed. And turned to face the human soldier sitting on the ground apparently exhausted. His reflexes screamed for him to attack, but he was frozen in place. He was stunned, by the human's appearance. It was a female with a thin seemingly frail body. Her facial expression seemed as innocent as a child's. She gazed back at him with warm blue eyes.

Did this small one save me? It was the only explanation, but why would she? They were bitter enemies of war. Why would someone aid their adversary? He didn't understand. What did she want from him? He stumbled backward slightly, dizzy from jumping up so quickly and nearly falling back into the lake. Fortunately, he caught himself. Using his telepathic abilities he reached out to touch her mind not enough to read, but enough to analyze. Then in a deep yet steady human voice he spoke. "Why?"

Oh, thank God! Coruith was finally able to draw a breath of her own in relief once they were both out of the water and he was finally coming around. She was still shaky from the exertion, but it was well worth it now. True, she was now trapped down here with...an enemy soldier...but they were both alive. She'd not intended to pray for a soft landing at the expense of someone else's life! These were the musings in her head when he turned on her so quickly she gasped, both hands up in alarm. He looked pretty much like she felt!

He really did look...confused. That made her tilt her head a little. Until he stumbled. Then she was on her feet, hands out toward him. "Hey hey! Careful, there! You almost...drowned..." Her words trailed off, her expression probably one that looked a little quizzical. She had the weirdest feeling...

Blinking, she shook her head, lifted her helmet off. "What? Why did I save you?" Her shoulders rose and fell, her eyes trained on the dim light, as though she debated how to fix it. Absently, she did, but... Well, wouldn't it have been better to let him go? After all, they were at war with one another! But...it just didn't seem to make sense to do that, since they were both alone down here. And Coru had never been, for lack of better words, trained to kill. She'd been trained with technology and medical-- That's it! Her eyes rose to his.

"I'm in medical training. I save lives, I don't destroy them."

She's not a killer. I[][][]II[][][]I[][[]II wasn't sure what to make of the girl at first, but he concluded that she was not a threat. His question had a double meaning, that she of course didn't pick up. He didn't understand why she saved him, but he also didn't understand why he couldn't feel her. "No, you don't understand." he uttered clearing his throat. He walked up to her until they were only inches apart. His crimson eyes gazed down into her bluish green eyes searching for an answer. He couldn't feel her when she ambushed him before the big fall either. "I have abilities. One of them is what you Earthlings call Empathy. Even though I can't read your thoughts, I'm able to feel them and I can't feel yours...." It was baffling and strange. using that ability was how he was able to detect indivduals who were closing in his surroundings. Is this soldier even human?

The Mu warriors thoughts were interrupted by a sound. He wasn't hearing it through his ears, but it was more like a vibration that reverberated through his entire body. Like an enormous heartbeat. Before them was what seemed to be a cramped tunnel filled with darkness. I[][][]II[][][]I[][[]II stepped away from the human and closed in on the tunnel. The closer he came to it the louder the vibration became. He turned his head back towards the human soldier. "Do you feel that?"

Personal space! Dear God, did he not know anything about personal space?! She stared at him through huge eyes when he came in close. Of course...how could she not? He was...oddly handsome. For an alien.

She had to have hit her head on something. Maybe she'd held her breath too long underwater...

Head tilted, brows drawn, upper lip curled in an expression that was nothing but confusion, she stared back. One hand rose to push back tangles of dark red hair that had come half undone from her ponytail. "I don't under--" What did he mean, she didn't understand? She'd answered him, hadn't she? "I... I don't know." She hadn't undergone any training of any kind to avoid her thoughts being...felt. "Maybe it has something to do with...the fact you nearly drowned? Maybe stress?" She was actually mentally searching for other possible answers when he moved away from her. "Hey..." When he turned back to question her, Coruith made that face yet again.

At this rate, he was going to wonder how in the world anyone allowed her to serve with the military at all!

She was shaking her head as she came toward him, did so until she stood beside him. Listening, standing perfectly still, she strained to feel what he felt. There... The tunnel! Her head tilted up, a single nod given in answer to his question. And, taken by curiosity, she started forward. Her steps were slow, her whole look like one drawn to something unnamed but calling to them. She slowly lifted her helmet to train the light toward the tunnel to light the way.....

The Mu soldier entered the cramped space. The human soldier lit the way ahead of him with the light from her helmet. Which was better than feeling his way through a dark space. He continued forward crouching. The top of his hair brushing against the cold wet ceiling sending goosebumps running down his spine. The vibrations were becoming louder and more intense the farther they proceeded.

The light crawled across the tunnel floor until it climbed a wall of rubble. "It's closed off...." I[][][]II[][][]I[][[]II rushed to the wall, gliding his finger tips over it's abrasive surface. "This wasn't here before. It must have come down during the after shocks." A few pebbles bounced off and rolled onto the ground. He felt a menacing force permeating through the cracks. I[][][]II[][][]I[][[]II turned to the human and spoke. "There's something behind there. Something alive." He reeled his right leg back and stomped it against the wall of rubble. Some rocks came loose. He pulled his leg back for a second kick, but he was thrown off balance as the tunnel began to shake.

He bumped into the human soldier, then was thrown against the wall and back against the other side. He looked like the humanoid form of a ping pong ball. This quake was more violent than the others. It was different. Chunks began falling from the ceiling, slamming down into the floor. He looked up in time to notice the ceiling breaking up. It was coming down over the human soldier's head. Without thinking he launched himself forward landing on top of her.

The debris of various sizes pounded against his back like a rain of stones as he covered the female with his body. He felt an intense pang of pain at the back of his head as a stone smashed into his skull. Blood trickled down as he closed his eyes and gritted his teeth trying not to bite his tongue. When the rumbling of the tunnel finally calmed, he opened his eyes to discover the entrance of the tunnel had now been blocked off as well. They were caved in.

Like the Mu, Coruith felt the intensity of the vibration grow as they proceeded. In the back of her mind, she knew it hadn't been smart to simply head forward without checking the safety, but...how could they just sit there? Now, she realised she'd taken a little control. It felt good. But the problem there was that it was getting them nowhere. The space was dwindling.

She opened her mouth to speak the same time he did, but it was his words that were heard. A concerned look fixed itself on her face as she watched him slide his fingers over the surface. This is bad. This is really bad. This place could come down on itself. You need to turn back and-- "Alive?! That's impossible!" She nearly dropped her helmet in her scramble as he began his kicking. "Wait! St--" She didn't even get the protest out of her mouth before all hell broke loose. His collision with her sent her reeling, just enough to throw her off balance. Her hand shot out against another surface to push her back onto, hopefully, steady feet...just in time for him to come flying at her and flatten her on the ground.

Coru didn't think, she huddled, taking refuge in her protector. She tucked her head in, trying to draw her body in as much as possible. Even so, she felt rocks hitting her legs, one grazing her shoulder. The sound was awful...especially one thump that sounded a little different from the others. Her helmet had fallen from her hand and now lay a few feet away, half buried, barely allowing any light to escape. Trembling, she didn't open her eyes until several long moments after things seemed to have calmed. She found herself looking at...his suit. Blue-green eyes slowly travelled upward.

"Um..." Should she point out that he was on top of her? He didn't seem happy about it.

She had yet to realise he was actually injured...

The two were almost completely buried under a mound of loose dirt until I[][][]II[][][]I[][[]II shifted pulling himself off of the human. The dirt fell off of both of them and he sat back on his back slumping against another mound of dirt. The path that led to their only exit of the tunnel was now closed off by new a wall of rubble while the one opposite had become reinforced.

They were now trapped. Alone. Together.

I[][][]II[][][]I[][[]II reached a hand up to the back of his head. It stung. When he pulled his hand back, there was blood on his finger tips. He closed his eyes, Inhaled then exhaled. He had to stay calm. Not only did he fail his mission, but he was also stuck in this small space with an enemy soldier who happened to have saved his life. If there was a chance that his comrades would come for him how would he explain his situation with the human. They would kill her on the spot. Was that something he could allow? No, it would be wrong. He owed her. That is, only if they came for him.

"Are you hurt?" he asked. His genuine concern was blinded by his lack of expression. He probably came off insincere, which didn't matter to him.

They were utterly screwed. Coruith knew it before her fellow-in-captivity rose from his place over her. when he did, she slowly sat up, surveying the place before realising she wouldn't see anything decently without the help of the light. Grumbling, she dug it out of its semi-grave and shone it about the cave.

No 'doorway' 'remained. Indeed, they were closed in with nowhere to go. She swore under her breath and looked toward the Mu. He was looking around like she was. "Looks like we might as well get comfortable." Not that she sounded pleased with the idea. How long would they end up here? And what would happen when they were found? Dear God, if her regiment found them, they'd likely take him hostage, looking for information about the attack going on. They might even kill him! If he fought them, and she was sure he would, they'd certainly kill him, without hesitation, in order to protect themselves.

Brave soul that he is, he'll give up his life before being hostage to us.

She found she couldn't blame him. But it wasn't right, to have him die or end up in some cell somewhere. He didn't deserve it. He was doing his duty, like she was, like they all were. Had any of them really asked for this war? Well, maybe some, but those people were higher up the ranks of the worlds than the two who now sat in their rubble prison. Coru raised her eyes toward the Mu, training the light on him as he spoke. His voice seemed almost flat. At first, she kind of felt offended. After all, she'd saved his life and he'd just thrown himself on top of her to keep her from being injured from the worst of the fall around them. Now he sounded as if he didn't care at all! It was confusing. But... Then, it also seemed as if maybe that was just the way he spoke. And so she moved her legs, then her arms, stretching everything major. Bruises were the worst of it. Her shoulder and her legs seemed to have taken a few hits. "I'm fine. Nothing that won't heal on its own."

This she gave with a half smile, to prove she meant her words and wasn't trying to placate him. Reaching out, she grasped for his hand. "Thanks to you." It was an impulsive move, and after a moment, she blinked and pulled back, cheeks bright red. Looking down, she fumbled with her helmet, intending to fix the light. If she could, it might be brighter again. But when she did, she found red streaks on her fingers, and looked them over...then up at him. Blood... "You're bleeding. You should have said something!" The helmet was lifted as she scooted closer. "Will you let me look? I can see how bad it is..."

She touched his hand. It was such an endearing approach, I[][][]II[][][]I[][[]II wasn't sure how to react. So, he just sat there staring back at her. In the dimness of the tunnel he could only clearly make out her eyes. They seemed to sparkle ever so gently in the darkness. The human then let go of him and began fumbling with her helmet.
Her hands were stained with blood. At first he thought it was her own, but then realized from her reaction that it was his. She seemed to be upset about it.

"No." he said grabbing the wrist of the hand that was reaching up towards his head. "I'm fine." Suddenly he found it hard to look her in the eyes, but he did so unwavering.

The hold on her wrist was firm, and it shocked her. She hadn't expected it. If he was going to deny her the chance to look him over, she thought he might duck away from her or simply tell her off. She didn't think he'd grab hold of her and physically stop her. She was hardly a threat. He'd already seen that the moment they met. He'd had that rifle and she with her blaster... Such a pitiful thing by comparison. He'd immediately taken the opportunity of trying to overtake her! She couldn't blame him. But now...

She stared right back at him, but her eyes were huge, her expression stunned. Her jaw worked a moment as she struggled to find something to say to convince him to change his mind. But her inner voice told her he wouldn't. Without fighting to free herself from his find, she finally sighed. "It wouldn't kill you to let me check you. You're obviously not fine if your head's bleeding--" Her words cut off as she realised she had no name for him. If he wasn't going to let her look him over, he wasn't going to give her this information, either.

Instead, her head tilted, her look almost disapproving. "Do I really look that dangerous?"

God help her if she gave away anything that showed that his hold caused her insides to jump, and his gaze, direct and commanding, was something she wouldn't forget once they were rescued from this place.

Even if they lost their lives.

I[][][]II[][][]I[][[]II held the human girl's gaze. Her sturdy assault made him feel somehow at fault. He released her. Dropping his hands to his side and shifting his eyes away from her. He was skeptical only because of the distrust he held for all of humanity. From word of mouth and his own observation they were deceptive. They refused to allow his people to join them on this planet after they had spent decades drifting through space. To him humans were selfish creatures that were unable to care for anything, but themselves. That's when the war began. Though everything he believed about the race of his enemies were being challenged in this moment of isolation. "Do whatever you please."

"Alright then."

He had every right to go along with what he believed. After all, they'd both been fed propaganda about each other's race for years. From the beginning of time, it felt like... But what they both needed to realise was that this situation changed everything they'd been trained to understand and take as truth. And that they needed to forget truth, honest truth. The things both sides had done to each other during this war. All they had now...was each other.

There was a hint of pouting child in his voice...unless it was something her ears wanted her to hear. And when she replied, she nodded, her lips curling at the corners. From her position, she shifted, placing her helmet on her head. The light was dim, but it would have to do for now. She couldn't take time to fight with it before looking him over. "I'll be careful. Just...try and hold still." Her hands were light but firm as she felt for the wound, moving through his hair until she found the laceration. That in itself wasn't too bad. Like any other scalp wound, it had bled heavily because of the numerous blood vessels in the skin. This she explained to him before going on, her helmet shifted downward for more light, even if it partially obstructed her vision. "The problem is that it was a good hit. It may do nothing more than bruise, but without being able to scan your head, I just don't know. There's risk of a concussion, maybe a fracture." Sitting back, she pushed the helmet back on her head, fretting further. "I can't even clean or stitch this properly, which means a chance of infection."

Sighing in irritation, she plopped her helmet in her lap, turning it so she could toy with the inside of it, trying to get at the workings of the light. "I'm sorry..." Again, she stopped. Without looking up, she finally gave in to curiosity. "What do they call you?"

"What do they call me?," he repeated. "On Earth you human call me 'monster', but in the colony I am I[][][]II[][][]I[][[]II." he sung a soft hum when saying his foreign name. He couldn't help, but smirk at the human's expression once he spoke his true name in his native tongue. "There's no word in the human language to describe my name. All of my people's names are..." he paused to find the correct word. "unique." He assumed that his name was difficult for her to say. So, he decided to do her a service. "Though you may call me by another name of your choosing."

Let him smirk. He had every right, because she had to look pretty confused at the sound of his name. It didn't sound like he'd spoken a name! However, despite how odd the sound was, the fact it was supposed to be a name, it had a decidedly, weirdly beautiful sound to it. Not the type of beautiful most humans would think of. But it was so different, and in her ears, the unique sound was new and fresh. It was enough to make her color at the word 'monster'. He was no monster. Indeed, from what she could see, he'd done nothing more than his duty...as she was doing. It made her feel ashamed, and it was a strange feeling.

"I like the sound." It was a simple thing to say, but it was she could think of to offer that might not get laughed or sneered at. Prying off the backing of the light's compartment, she narrowed her eyes and poked at a button...and the light went out, plunging them into darkness. "Damn." Feeling her way, she found the opposite side and the button there, a reset. One might think she'd reset an entire computer, the sigh of relief she let out when the light came back at full strength. Smile on her lips, she peered up at him. "My name's Coruith Yerick." The plate of the compartment was shoved back into place. "Or just Coru, I guess."

Helmet set aside, she gave him a long look. Again, the word 'monster' bothered her. He was strangely handsome. Those piercing eyes... They were like gemstones. The word stuck in her head, but it didn't suit a man. Geodes... But not something ruby-red. Her head tilted, eyes narrowed thoughtfully behind the frames of her glasses. "Geo." One corner of her mouth turned up. "I'll call you Geo."

Geo. He liked the name it was interesting.

"You have an interesting name Coruith Yerick." His gaze softened on her eyes. The cold demeanor that the newly dubbed Geo maintained on a daily basis felt as if it was slowly melting away every second he spent in that tiny cramped space with a living contradiction to everything he'd come to know. He had learned humans were selfish, unfeeling and destructive beings, but here sitting before him was Coruith. A human who was polar opposite of all those things. She was caring, quirky and full of emotion. Again he had to ask himself what he would do if his comrades came for him. Would he surrender Coruith over to them? Could he even allow that? Were there more humans like her? If so, knowing that may make it hard for him to continue his part in the war....

The ground rumbled beneath them. Another tremor was tearing through the place. Geo braced himself. Though the tremor wasn't as aggressive as the others and surely didn't last as long, but he heard the sound of something crumbling. He turned to see the fortified wall of stones that blocked off the way where he felt that menacing aura was falling apart and thinning out. Geo pulled himself up from where Coruith was examining him and limped over to the wall. His ankle felt as if it was twisted, but he ignored the pain. Once at the wall he put his hands on it. He could feel the menacing aura racing through his finger tips set a blaze all the nerves in his body. The stones on the wall were loosened. He began pulling them from the wall. As he did so more rolled out of place. "Do you mind giving me a hand, Coruith Yerick?"

The fact he didn't protest the name she'd chosen for him seemed interesting in the way that it was accepted. That alone started the color in her cheeks, and his comment about her name deepened it. The way he looked at her held her gaze. No one had ever looked at her like that before! This strange man, who seemed more human than Mu, who was so willing to learn what she offered to him despite his stubborn attempts to hold onto his learning and training...was nothing like what she'd been told to expect of his race. He was an enigma, and she might still feel uncertain of herself, absolutely shy to a great degree, but she was beginning to like being in his company.

It was a truly odd feeling.

She didn't get to revel in it long. When the rumbling began again, Coru tensed, watching Geo as he eventually rose and began heading for the wall. "Wait!" Yes, she heard the sound, too, but it wasn't safe to simply head for it! Still, she couldn't let him go alone, seeing him limp like that, with his head in the condition it was in. She nodded at his request, was already following, and reached out to begin hurriedly pulling stones from their loosened places. In the middle of it, she hissed a breath, her knee aching. It was obviously bruised badly. Nothing she couldn't handle, but it made itself known. Regardless, she worked as doggedly as Geo did...and then paused, hand on his arm. "You're working like a madman, and it's not just to get us out of here. You sense something."

Coruith took a step back. "Geo... What's out there?"

Geo paused at Coru's question. He was wondering the same thing. The feeling he was getting from the other side was something dark. Something he'd never felt before. It was clear to him that it was calling out, but he also knew he was drawn to it by something else. His own curiosity.

"I don't know." he admitted. "But whatever it is...it's alive." His mission was to retrieve the energy mineral from this old decrepit facility where the human's were supposedly conducting some type of research. It would be obvious that the place would be dripping in radiation, but for some reason it's radiation levels were extremely low. The mineral he located was shut off behind steel doors even though it was lost to him now. To create the minerals would have been extremely dangerous to do. Bringing an unstable one anywhere close to fifty meters below ground would risk the radiation seeping to the surface and spreading. He wondered if it was a coincidence that there was such a large cavern below the building. His expression changed as a new thought dawned on him. "Coruith," he began. "Were the researchers working here only focus on energy minerals...or were they working on something else?

It was an interesting thing to see, that they were working together easier, a little at a time. Yes, there was still trust to be earned, and a lot to learn about each other and their races, but Coruith could see there was some easing between them, and learning each other's names seemed to make a big difference.

Perhaps identity made a bigger difference in things than she'd realised in the past.

His thoughtful expression had her attention, despite the fact she was still pulling rocks from the half crumbled wall. When she'd stepped back, she held one in each hand, and slowly, those were dropped to the ground. The light from her helmet, brighter than before, cast harsher shadows, making his ivory-white skin appear paler still, making the angles of his face sharper. For a moment, while he thought over her question, she wondered if others of his kind could be anywhere as handsome as he was. Many human men weren't.

She also wondered about her sanity.

Blinking, she shook her head to clear the frivolous thoughts as Geo spoke to her. Pushing a few strands of red back from her face, she slowly shook her head again, thoughtful now, trying to find an answer to his question. "I..." It was irritating that she had nothing to give him, but finally, she had to shrug. "I don't know. Someone like me...I didn't need to know that." Brushing her hands against her thighs, she went on. "I was sent down here to see if any of the computers were workable enough to cough up data we could use. No one told me why or what they were looking for, just to see if anything could be gotten and to bring it back. Every time I asked questions, they shut me up." Her heart sank. The very idea that secrets were being guarded made her feel like part of some monstrous plot. Just another of her people, mindlessly destroying this race with no idea why.

"What if they were working on something? Some...weapon or biological means of fighting your people?" Her blue-green eyes widened, hand lifted to reach out for his arm. "Geo...what if going on, finding the source of this, could hurt you? Or kill you?"

Was Geo too arrogant to realize the danger that could be lying in wait on the other side of the wall?

The Possibility of his imminent death as a result of this venture they he was compelled to accomplished hadn't crossed his mind. He stopped and stood in place with his hand still on a fist sized stone sitting against the thinning wall. "That would be...unfortunate." he responded. "My superiors are the same. They issued the order for me to retrieve the energy mineral, but they didn't tell me why they needed it. I assumed it was to take away anymore energy sources that could be used against us, but I could be wrong. Apparently, it's a military custom to leave the details for certain missions out of the explanation, huh?" he was trying to joke with her and he was doing a rather bad job. Although it was good effort for him.

Without thinking Geo removed the stone from the wall. It was the center key piece holding up the many stones atop of it. A small avalanche followed it's departing revealing a sliver of soft blue light. Geo was taken aback. Before he could peak through an intense pain that could only be described as a high-pitched wail ripped through his mind causing him to fall to his knees. The faint vibration that he felt before suddenly turned into a racing heart beat. Geo cupped his ears with his palms, but that did him no good until the pain subsided and the vibration returned to normal. Sweat dripped from his forehead. He stared at his palms with disbelief. They were trembling. His whole body was shaking.

"You're right...We shouldn't advance any further..."

Actually, his attempted joke was rather well done. It was the situation that kept Coruith from laughing. She did, however, allow a small smile. He was right. They'd both been sent on their missions with little information to go on. The 'Need To Know' circle apparently hadn't extended widely enough to include these two, and now, they had to find their own way to what their superiors already knew.

Or else possibly die.

She was musing on this, and how his death would be far more than 'unfortunate', when he freed the rock that pulled down so many others and let in that light. Her voice was a squeak--so girlish!--as she tripped backward. Her mortification was nothing compared to what she felt when she watched Geo fall. Dropping to her knees at his side, her hands on his shoulder and arm, she spoke his name several times. He didn't seem to hear her. How could he? Stupid Coruith... It rattled her, seeing him like that. Yes, that vibration seemed to have returned, in full force, but it didn't have the same effect on her. "Geo...?" Swallowing slowly, she reached out to a trembling hand, only daring to touch him, but not quite making it. An odd reaction when her other hand smoothed against his hair and back, as anyone would to comfort a friend.

"What if--" It seemed a long shot, but she leaned in to look into his face. "What if I went alone...?"

"Alone?!" Geo repeated exasperated.

She couldn't feel what he was feeling. So, she couldn't possibly have understood his fear, but hearing her volunteering herself to go ahead was almost as crazy as her volunteering to do it alone. He looked at her incredulous eyes and arched snow white brows. It was either an unbelievably brave choice or an incredibly stupid one. He stood up with slight trouble and looked ahead at the small sliver of blue light. Though he was wary of it, his curiosity was intense. Whatever was behind the wall, he was sure it could kill him, but he was certain that he'd die in this underground prison one way or another. Limping forward, he announced. "We'll both go."

He sounded as if he thought was either crazy or stupid.

Sad thing was, Coruith agreed that she might be a little of both. More likely a lot of both. But she really didn't see much choice unless they simply didn't go forward. The problem there was that they had no other direction to go. If they didn't take this chance, they'd be stuck in this cave until someone found them, and that meant taking a chance that one of them might be taken hostage by an enemy group...or worse. And there was the possibility they might not be found at all! Which meant eventual starvation, if they weren't crushed should the cave collapse completely.

She returned his look and simply shrugged. She really had nothing else she could offer in the face of the expression he wore. He really had a point, and more experience than she did, considering she wasn't trained for any of this. But...she didn't see a reason why he should risk his life, especially when his condition was already compromised. As he stood, she was reaching out again, hand cupping his elbow lightly, and her eyes followed his gaze. She knew there was no talking him out of going ahead. "Geo..." She spoke his name softly, as if she wanted to try and reason with him, but knew her best option was to simply go along.

Besides, she wanted to know what was out there, too. She just...didn't want to find out at the expense of someone else's life. She didn't think, but when as they advanced, she slipped her arm around his, her hold light. Whether it was for her reassurance or his, she didn't know.

Together they moved to the wall. The stones were loose and the rest came tumbling down in seconds after a few key chunks were removed. The soft blue light washed away all the color and darkness around them. Geo squinted his eyes to get a better look. Slowly, they walked into what seemed to be another cavern that was a bit smaller than the one they entered through, but much roomier than the tunnel they just exited. The light seemed to be emanating from a somewhat large pool of water at the center of the cavern.

The echo of the heart beat vibrations seemed to become stronger the closer they came to the pool.

Geo looked around the room. There was some kind of machine hooked to the wall with extremely thick black pipes jutting from the bottom of it running across the cavern floor and down into the pool. "Let's get closer to the water." When they reached the brim, Geo was sure that whatever was living in this place was inside of the pool. He narrowed his eyes and peered into it. There were small pebbles the glowed inside of the pool. They were probably the sole source of the blue light. Suddenly Geo was smacked with a realization. "Energy minerals! Thousands of them! What-" He looked back over at the machine on the wall. It was a bit too sophisticated be human made. He left Coruith were she was standing and hopped over to the machine.

Definitely not human technology. It was more advanced than Mu technology.

"Coruith......this technology is alien...."

It was as creepy as it was beautiful.

The blue light might have been something ethereal were it not for that damn vibration, the strange rhythm that never ceased as they moved further into the new cavern. The fact that it was there at all took away all sense of wonder or awe from the appearance of the place, especially what beauty might have been found in that pool. Even with the pipes, the machine... The light and water cleaned the look of that! But the sound!! Maybe it reached deeper into Geo than it did her, but it was still there. And it ruined everything. It brought a kind of darkness to everything, a foreboding feeling.

Coruith stared down into the water, standing at its edge in silence. The glow was incredible. Slowly, she knelt, her feminine side drawn to the color and light. Her weariness was drawing on her, too. But that was easily shaken when Geo left her side. Over her shoulder, she followed him with her eyes. Eyes that narrowed with his words. That was when she got up and came to stand next to him. Leaning in, she scanned the surface in front of her...and was amazed beyond words. The geek in her was practically dancing, but outside, she was straight-faced. "I've never seen anything like it", came her agreement. Slowly, she lifted a hand, the tips of her fingers moving ever so lightly over a touch pad, blue-green eyes taking in the markings and symbols.

And then it began to light up. Everything she'd just touched lit up as though she'd just booted up a massive computer. Holding her breath, Coru stepped back and looked at Geo.

"What did I just do...?"

Geo exchanged a glance with Coruith. "I don't know.." Geo's gaze went back to the machine. A small circle on the mission glowed and right beside Coruith and Geo appeared an hunched over old man. He appeared human, but the elongation of his ears inquired that he was something entirely different. He wore what seemed to be a lab coat. Geo came close to speaking out to the man when his image blinked. It was a hologram. Geo stood frozen. Holding his breath. Waiting for something to happen.

The man opened his mouth and began to speak. His words were as foreign to Geo's ears as the tone he spoke them in. He spoke for a few minutes with an unreadable expression. Then suddenly he did something that shocked the Mu soldier down to the core of his heart. The strange man opened his palm, curled his fingers back and slammed it against the right side of his chest.

"That's a Mu covenant salute...why would he.."

The man's solemn expression was wiped away by a malicious grin that exploded on his face revealing a disgusting set of teeth then disappeared as if he was never there. A moment of solitude settled, but was interrupted by the rumbling of the cavern. Another tremor? No. Ihe shaking became so violent, Geo was thrown back falling against the wall. Before he could pull himself up an inaudible scream tore through his mind causing him to writhe in pain.

The water in the pool started boiling, splashing back and forth, spilling out when an enormous hand, bigger than both Coru and Geo emerged from the pool and slamming into and practically destroying the cavern floor.

The cave wall burst sending stone flying in all direction. Geo turned his back to it, holding Coruith in his arms and protecting her from being mercilessly pelted. His head snapped back around and he came face to face with an enormous metallic jaw with huge razor sharp teeth protruding from it's mouth. A crimson red Iris came to life staring him down. With bulging eyes, Geo held it's gaze. His mouth parted wide open. What is this creature!?, Geo wanted to know.

The ground continued to rumble. The metallic organic creature mouth opened and let out a deafening roar. Coruith screamed covering her ears with her hands. Geo was simultaneously hit by an inaudible shriek that tore through his brain. It was similar to the times before, but this time was so ten times worse than the others. The sound of the heart beat reached the same height. He fell to the ground with his hands over his ears kicking his legs and yelling erratically.

This MONSTER!!!
WHAT IS THIS MONSTER!!!
THIS NOISE!!!
MAKE THIS NOISE STOP!!!!!!!!!!!!!
MAKE IT STOP!!!!!!!!

An unfathomable ball of dread exploded in Geo's chest spreading to the rest of his body. Geo knew. It was all coming from the monster. The oblivion of pain was coming from the monster.

"Geo! Geo!" Coruith screamed as she hugged the Mu warrior. "I'm with you! I'm here!" More rock fell from above pelting Coruith who had multiple streams of tear running down her cheeks. "Please, Geo!"

Blood seeped from Geo's ears staining his white hair red. "C-Coru-" he forced still writhing and yelling from excruciating pain.

Corutih eyes moistened feeling powerless to do anything. She did her best to hold him close to her. "Geo..I-I-" She aligned her lips with his a split second before the monster shifted again pulling itself out of place. The whole of the ceiling came crashing down. The cavern floor collapsed on impact, burying the two under ground as the metallic beast climbed upward, digging it's massive fingers through sediment and minerals, finally emerging to the surface.

Beam tanks and flight cruiser paused, watching this creature with awe. A flight cruiser flew past it's face. The monster snatched it from the sky and crushed it with it's bare hands. The monster then roared so loud that it could be heard miles away. A luminous orb of red light appeared in it's opened jaws and then blast all the beam tanks on the ground turning them to ash. A pair of see through wings grew from it's back as it lifted into the air.

Flying off into the skies, toward the north.