The Endless Knot (Post-Apoc./Alien Invasion|IC|Open)

[Europa Undivided]

Somewhere, in the Bitter Cold
Crash site of the KFS Scharnhorst

Co-write by EU and DB

It had been days since the convoy of vehicles had left the Nest. Other than the supply trucks that had originally been from the ruins of New York City, the Defiance Battalion had sent some of its own supply trucks and personnel, Mike Carter included. The thoughts of their mission still lingered in their minds, as the notion of travelling back in time was... rather far fetched. However, everyone said the same thing about the airplane back then, or the power to split the atom: "It's crazy!"

Still, the winter was harsh. For those used to frozen conditions, such as Ivan (who came all the way from the Uranic moon of Triton) and Jean-Luc of Enceladus, this was like everyday of their old lives back in their original homes. For others, though, the freezing cold was not their cup of tea. Thankfully, there was something that would serve as shelter in the ensuing bad weather. Not only that, there were also a cache of supply in there as well.

That place, of course, was the crashed space battleship of the German navy, Scharnhorst. Pieces of it were lying here and there in along the road, ugly shards of metal that spoke of the utter destruction that the fleets of Earth's nations endured under the Ragon onslaught.

Ahead of the convoy were two scout drones; quaint little quadcopters with high end sensors. They were originally made for forensics purposes, but with the fall of mankind as a whole, Andy had been using them for scouting.

The drones were quickly near the largest piece of the Scharnhorst that was lying on the snow strewn ground. The flag of Germany and the vessel's name were painted on the hull, though they have slowly been eroded by the passage of time. But there was something else.

Footprints. Fresh ones, by the looks of it.

"Wait.", Andy said to Rebecca as he guided the drones towards cover. "We are not alone... I'll check it out."

"Kinda funny how they reused a name from a Nazi battlecruiser," Rebecca scowled at the hull, then unslung her rifle, loading in a magazine from a pouch on her webbing.

"Bloody funny indeed.", Andy simply answered to Rebecca as his drones began to follow the footprints marked rather deeply on the snow. "Scharnhorst was named after Gerhard Johann David von Scharnhorst, though." The way he spoke the name was rather precise and flawless, mostly because he was half German himself. "Not a Nazi."

Hannah had made a full recovery since the bug bite and was now back to her usual self. She had been a lot less concerned about supplies since the Battalion had joined with extra vehicles and space to carry food, water purification tablets and other essentials, "Aren't there supposed to be people living in that wreck?" she asked curiously.

"No, no. Last time I left it, the wreck was completely deserted. Good thing I hid my supplies in a very well crafted location on plain sight."

After a few moments of silence and drone watching, they finally had their sights on people. There were six of them in there, all wearing winter clothing and thick soled boots; quite perfect for the weather, plus they were all armed. They sat in a circle on logs, and had what looked like to be a heater hooked to one of the warship's fuel cells. Several empty cans were lying on a pile nearby, while the people themselves were eating what seemed to be beans on tomato soup. Another cursory scan at them revealed that their clothes all had the same marking: a tapestry that read 'Fallout Shelter 881'.

"Just people having a good meal...", Andy said to no one in particular, though Jean-Luc looked overly curious and was looking at the tablet's screen with as much attention as the real owner was giving it. "I don't think there is anything... to be worried... About..."

"What is it?", Ivan asked as it seemed that their companion had fallen completely silent.

The answer came after a moment of rather tense silence. "... I know that guy."

"Which one?"

"The one with the crossbow."

True enough, one of the people that were eating beans on tomato soup did have a crossbow on his lap. The crossbow itself seemed to be made of plastic and metal, with the firing mechanism being some sort of bolt autoloader. The man in turn was no less than 6'1" tall, and spoke with a London cockney accent.

"He was my friend dating back from my university days.", Andy continued as the six individuals kept eating and talking. "Engineer Nicholas Ward... you have done a good job keeping himself shaved after all this time..."

"I think we should go talk to them.", Jean-Luc suggested. "Since we already have a mutual friend, it wouldn't be difficult to have a nice rest and meal. Besides, if they are truly a group that dwells in a fallout bunker, perhaps they could help us out, just like the Defiance Battalion."

"Yeah, yeah, some Prussian Imperialist, not that much better to be honest, but the Nazis used the name first so it is tainted by the Shoah," Rebecca replied, redirecting her scowl at Andy, "You have the luxury of forgetting what we do not."

"The German half of me will always be haunted by its memory...", Andy simply answered to Rebecca as he tapped on his tablet to allow his voice to carry over to the drones. He will thus be heard by those in the other side.

"Hey, Klaus. Remember me?"

The reaction of the bunker dwellers was swift. Five of them instantly aimed their guns at the drone that had sped towards them with military precision, but the sixth, the one with the mechanical crossbow, sat still. It was as if he had heard a ghost.

"Oh... hell.", he simply said as he set his bowl of beans down. "Put your guns down, lads."

Ward then stood up from the log, clutching the mechanical crossbow on one hand while leaving the other free. "Where are you?"

"A hundred or so meters away.", came the simple reply.

A sigh. "I... missed you. I thought you were dead..."

"Same, Klauzy, but we need the help of you and your vault dwelling friends."[i]

"There are more of you?"

[i]"Yes. And we're in a mission to save the world."

---

Bunker Number 881

Nicholas Ward and his group of ex-soldiers had led the convoy with their own vehicle; an all terrain armored personnel transport with stark white camouflage and apparently no visible weapons on its hull. Conveniently enough, the bunker lay only a few dozen meters away once they took the turn away from the main road. At first, it would look like that the new benefactors of those seeking to undo history were leading them nowhere, but it was clear that the bunker was nearby; after all, it was designed to be well hidden, even in plain sight.

Finally, after a few hours of riding and sore butts, the white APC stopped in front of a massive boulder covered by snow and small trees. There was a single surveillance camera perched on an outcrop on the giant rock, and it would have looked like that it wasn't working until it emitter a red light. And out of it a voice spoke out. There was a pass code, it seemed.

"How was the walk to Istanbul?"

The crossbow wielding Ward answered. "There is only Constantinople."

A few moments passed before the bunker's entrance revealed itself; a heavy blast door set to disguise as part of a boulder. It was wide enough to accomodate up to two vehicles at a time, and the convoy drove in to meet their new comrades.

---

The Bunker, as explained by Ward when everyone was safe and warm inside, was one of many fallout shelters built by the United States back during the Cold War. This one never fell out of use, though; it had served as a fallback place in the case of an extinction level event as well as a military facility. When the Ragons obliterated the remnants of the Earth space fleet that attempted to hold the line in orbit, Scharnhorst and its escorts, the Greek destroyers Nafkratousa and Matrozos, all crash landed within 50 kilometers of the bunker. The personnel stationed in the bunker at the time had already brought in the nearby town's population, and those who survived the crash landing got in as well. Ward himself was a mechanical engineer aboard a science ship that made planet fall some 100 kilometers away; it took him several months of hiding before he was found by one of the roving scouts of the bunker, who were looking both for supplies and survivors in the vicinity.

The one leading the bunker's denizens was a certain Alexios Stavros, the highest ranking officer that survived the crash. He was rather old, with hair that was almost completely grey. Still, he had a imposing presence in any of the rooms that he was in, including the one where those who claimed that they were going to save the world.

"Alright.", Stavros said to the people that had just come out of nowhere. "I see that you are on a mission to make the planet free of the pesky lizards. This is the first time that we had... visitors in the last two years. So,", he crossed his legs. "If that is true, I will help you in any way I can. But, names, and please elaborate on this plot of yours..."

[Dyelli Beybi]

Rebecca et al.
After the exchange of passcodes, Rebecca tapped Tariq on the shoulder, "I'm going to find Mike and see if he needs anything. Do you want to come with me? Hannah!" she spun, calling the woman's name a second time before spotting her, "Hannah! Ah, good, can you take the lead? Take Blackmore if you need someone else."

She took off in the direction of Mike's truck, leaving the other pair to enter the facility. Once she had made it back to where Mike had parked up, Rebecca, hopped up on the foot plate, leaning forward so she could speak to him hurriedly through the window, "I don't like this place," she said quietly, "It has very right-extremist, white-supremacist vibes. First the ship is supposedly named after some German imperialist, though I suspect it is actually named after a Nazi battleship... not that the former is much better, then their pass phrase is some crap about Instanbul is really Constantinople. Now I couldn't say if, once we get inside, they'll all be wearing white pointy hats and burning crosses, but it smells like somewhere where the people might not like Jews and Muslims that much and while Tariq isn't either, I'm not sure if they'll care to ask the question. Since the Professor is the most critical person to this mission, I'm not taking any chances. Can you have your guys guard him while I sort this out?"

---

The Bunker, as explained by Ward when everyone was safe and warm inside, was one of many fallout shelters built by the United States back during the Cold War. This one never fell out of use, though; it had served as a fallback place in the case of an extinction level event as well as a military facility. When the Ragons obliterated the remnants of the Earth space fleet that attempted to hold the line in orbit, Scharnhorst and its escorts, the Greek destroyers Nafkratousa and Matrozos, all crash landed within 50 kilometers of the bunker. The personnel stationed in the bunker at the time had already brought in the nearby town's population, and those who survived the crash landing got in as well. Ward himself was a mechanical engineer aboard a science ship that made planet fall some 100 kilometers away; it took him several months of hiding before he was found by one of the roving scouts of the bunker, who were looking both for supplies and survivors in the vicinity.

The one leading the bunker's denizens was a certain Alexios Stavros, the highest ranking officer that survived the crash. He was rather old, with hair that was almost completely grey. Still, he had a imposing presence in any of the rooms that he was in, including the one where those who claimed that they were going to save the world.

"Alright.", Stavros said to the people that had just come out of nowhere. "I see that you are on a mission to make the planet free of the pesky lizards. This is the first time that we had... visitors in the last two years. So,", he crossed his legs. "If that is true, I will help you in any way I can. But, names, and please elaborate on this plot of yours..."

Hannah and Davin
While that exchange was going on, Hannah had entered inside, followed by the imposing figure of Davin Blackmore. Hannah was alert, slightly nervous, though Blackmore seemed held himself with a cockiness that one might have expected from someone with two dozen soldiers at his back. He cast an eye around the bunker seeming to be completely unimpressed. Not much impressed him.

"What you see can be deceptive," Blackmore jumped in before Hannah had a chance to open her mouth, "I wouldn't rely on it overly much, but yes, we are on a mission to strike a blow against the 'pesky lizards' as you put it."

"Hannah Brown, and this is Davin Blackmore," Hannah supplied, shooting Blackmore an irritated glance, "We don't actually need anything that I'm aware of, though if you have somewhere secure and sheltered where we might be able to overnight, that would be appreciated."

She didn't seem inclined to elaborate on the plot, though before Stavros had a chance to say anything, Blackmore jumped in again, "Miss Brown? Why so coy about our plan?" he chuckled, "We're going to Denver where we think there might be a working spaceship. We've got an egg-head in one of the trucks who says he can plot where the wormhole is, so we're either going to try to use it to travel back in time, which sounds nuts to me, or we're going to radio some other aliens to drop a bomb in it that should stop the scalies coming through for a while... provided we can repair the transponder in time, but I'm counting on there being some more egg-heads in Denver who can help with that. There you go, fastest summary anyone has ever done of it."

[Europa Undivided]

Time Travel Rules

"Actually.", Nicholas interjected as he stepped into the room, clutching a wrench and wearing a head mounted magnifier that was used by watchmakers. "Using a wormhole for time travel isn't the craziest thing in the universe." It would be apparent that he was accompanied by Andy, though the latter stayed on the doorframe, tinkering with his broken down drone. It looked like Nicholas was the one that was capable of fixing it, given that he was an engineer.

The man with the very marked London cockney accent sat down beside his commanding officer with a very relaxed posture, though he didn't cross his legs, unlike Stavros. "Wormholes have been the best bet for time travel ever since their discovery in the 21st century, as they connect two points in space time. So,", he said as he used his hands to make a visual gesture of two points. " Theoretically, wormholes can be used to travel through time. Navigating is what is hard... though I trust that your resident egghead knows what he or she is doing."

Stavros glanced at Ward once before looking back at Hannah and Davin. "Whatever the big brain Brit said.", the Greek simply nodded at both of them. You can stay here for the night, or maybe as long as you need. It looks like...", he glanced at the man in the doorframe, and then back at Ward. "... two long separated friends have a lot to catching up to do. Also, I've seen the look on the IDF lady's face. We're not... you know, neo-confederate or anything. I just thought that the passcode should be something no one will expect."

... provided we can repair the transponder in time

Ward then brought up the broken transponder, his eyes filled with nerdish glee. "As for that broken Transponder, it seems you have come to the right man. If it works similarly to the ones we humans use, I should be able to fix it... though figuring it out will take a bit more time."

[Dyelli Beybi]

Davin and Hannah

Time Travel Rules

"Actually.", Nicholas interjected as he stepped into the room, clutching a wrench and wearing a head mounted magnifier that was used by watchmakers. "Using a wormhole for time travel isn't the craziest thing in the universe." It would be apparent that he was accompanied by Andy, though the latter stayed on the doorframe, tinkering with his broken down drone. It looked like Nicholas was the one that was capable of fixing it, given that he was an engineer.

The man with the very marked London cockney accent sat down beside his commanding officer with a very relaxed posture, though he didn't cross his legs, unlike Stavros. "Wormholes have been the best bet for time travel ever since their discovery in the 21st century, as they connect two points in space time. So,", he said as he used his hands to make a visual gesture of two points. " Theoretically, wormholes can be used to travel through time. Navigating is what is hard... though I trust that your resident egghead knows what he or she is doing."

Stavros glanced at Ward once before looking back at Hannah and Davin. "Whatever the big brain Brit said.", the Greek simply nodded at both of them. You can stay here for the night, or maybe as long as you need. It looks like...", he glanced at the man in the doorframe, and then back at Ward. "... two long separated friends have a lot to catching up to do. Also, I've seen the look on the IDF lady's face. We're not... you know, neo-confederate or anything. I just thought that the passcode should be something no one will expect."

... provided we can repair the transponder in time

Ward then brought up the broken transponder, his eyes filled with nerdish glee. "As for that broken Transponder, it seems you have come to the right man. If it works similarly to the ones we humans use, I should be able to fix it... though figuring it out will take a bit more time."

"Given that nobody actually knows what that thing out there is, I think we're staking a lot on theoretical physics," Davin waved a hand generally upwards, in the direction of space, "We weren't capable of tracking the thing, let alone actually figuring out what it is... scientists, aren't they always so confident," he winked roguishly, "but I'm willing to give these crazy plan a go." He turned then to Ward, "Well it's not the end of the world if you can't fix it. I have other potential ways to communicate. Why don't you hold onto that and see if you can't get it working."

"Thank you for the hospitality," Hannah nodded graciously, "Although I think we can only stay for one night. We should be moving, though if you do have any supplies to spare we would gratefully load up." As it happened, the convoy was very well supplied now, though Hannah was not about to turn away the opportunity to top up. It never hurt to have more than you expected to need, "I'll also have a word with Rebecca. She can be a bit of a hot head, but I'm sure she'll be happy to come out of the cold."

[Kylantha]

---

Huggy Turnipseed

---

It seemed that before the group headed on over to the Defiance Battalion's bunker, Huggy had quietly disappeared. People probably knew he was a bit off, so it wouldn't be much of a surprise. He had actually wandered off seemingly in a panic, leaving some of his things behind. There was a crazed look in his eyes that his cat appeared to recognize, by the way it mewed incessantly at him and chased tirelessly after him. Huggy didn't really take notice of that though as he carried on, whipping his head about in a paranoid manner while taking loud, ragged breaths. He moved rapidly (for a human) from one bit of cover to the other, just like he'd been doing thus far to survive in the ruins of human civilization. Eventually, he got further and further South-West before settling down in a storm drain and falling asleep for several hours.

Later on he would wake up mentally tired and confused, but he would gradually manage to remember much of what he done. He would attempt to retrace his steps back, but ultimately be unable to follow. He'd find some of the contents of his pack where he'd left them strewn though, which was good. He'd feel a bit sad about not being able to keep up with the others, but he'd move on. He couldn't remember what he was following them for, anyway. Probably meant to nick something off of them and bugger off. He shrugged, half to say he was giving up, and half to get his backpack's straps closer to his neck. And after a few hours spent looting some of the intact homes near Hannah's nan's place, he would sneak off into the night with Lil' Debil Wigglesworth in tow, hoping to get to Boston before sun-up. It'd be great if he didn't have another psychotic moment before then and find himself in another place entirely...

[Europa Undivided]

Ivan Ivanovsky and Hannah Brown | Shocking Truth!

At the same time, Ivan was indeed looking after Hannah... or something like that. She was getting better after that bug bite, but a person's appearance was often deceiving. The folks of the bunker were friendly enough, and had lent them bunks for the night; they were kind to give the newcomers privacy in their lended rooms.

"Hannah?", he asked, peering through a doorway. "How are you holding up from that bite?"

Somewhere along the journey, Hannah had found a book, though she hadn't been spotted reading it before now; Patrick Süskind's 'Perfume', or an English translation of it at any rate. It looked in relatively good condition for a book that had presumably weathered the apocalypse. She had seated herself cross-legged on her bunk, looking up as Ivan appeared before reaching for her neck, pressing at the spot where she had been bitten, "The swelling has gone down now. It must have been some kind of allergic reaction, but I do feel much better now. Just about 100 percent. How are you, Ivan?"

"Well,", he answered as he sat beside Hannah. "I'm good. Wow... I never thought you had allergies to bugs. All I know is that you aren't a fan of the cold." The man fidgeted a little bit, looking forward with eyes filled with contemplation.

"I've been thinking about the... future. Assuming that Denver isn't just a death trap and we survive whatever happens next and we... you know, save the world, what do you plan on doing after that?"

Hannah shrugged, "Never been bitten by an alien bug before so I guess I don't know what my body will do until it happens," she shrugged again at the second question, setting her book down with a pensive expression, "I figured if we survive it, and we don't all get magically poofed out of existence, I'd go back to New York and try to pick up where I left off. As much as I'm not entirely sold on this plan, I kinda like the idea of waking up and all of this being just some horrible dream, back in my old, comfortable life. I guess that's why I've been willing to roll the dice on this... why? What were you planning to do?"

"Well...", Ivan shrugged. "I'd like to stay on Earth instead of going back to my old address in Triton. That cold ice moon... heh. It has so many bad memories for me..."

Ivan paused as he recollected his thoughts. Then he sighed. "I would... settle down. Now that I've spent the last five years with you people, life in the Spetsnaz doesn't appeal anymore. I'd rather be with someone. Someone special. For life."

"I'd been thinking of maybe moving up North somewhere, trying to live like a traditional Inuit," Hannah mused, "The lizards don't like the cold so you'd have a better chance of being left in peace up there."

"I know of a few good places in the northern cold.", Ivan chuckled. "But yeah... do you have someone in mind that you would... you know. Live with up there?..."

Hannah gave a dry laugh as the coin dropped, leaning back, with a slight smirk, "Ivan Ivanovsky... are you asking if I'm single? The answer is 'yes'. I haven't dated anyone since... how long ago was the invasion? Five years? I'd say you can take me out for a coffee, but I haven't seen a coffee shop that's still open for... about five years, though I'd settle for a coffee on the edge of this bunk bed, if you think you can make that happen."

"Uhhhhhh... uhm. You caught me...", Ivan sighed. "Yes... pretty much. I'm asking you out... uh. How do I... right. Coffee..."

It took Ivan a few good moments to get the coffee, but he was back in a giffy, holding two cups of coffee that were on mugs that looked like they came from a Starbucks due to the logo emblazoned on them. "So... this is... a little awkward... he... he..."

"Why do you find this awkward?" Hannah accepted the cup with a slight smile, patting the bed next to her in a signal for Ivan to sit down next to her. His comment, however, had drawn a raised eyebrow, "Awkward would be if I caught you sniffing my scarf or something weird like that. I've always thought it's simpler if you come right out with it. The worst I could have done was turn you down, which I didn't, but if I had that would have freed you up to start thinking about someone else."

"Uhm. I don't know.", Ivan answered sheepishly as he sat down beside her. "I have... no idea how to, err, come out with it. This is a first, in my whole life. So... maybe that is why I think I find this awkward. But either way..."

Ivan sipped out of his cup, sniffing at the aroma of the roasted coffee beans. It seems that they did keep a hydroponic farm down here, which included coffee beans. "I think it was that time five years ago, when we first met. There you were, being so helpful to everyone in the underground. You had a nice smile. Always had one... that was when I started to feel things, I think. Hehe..."

"Well, that answers my first question," Hannah said wryly, taking a dainty sip from her coffee, "And relax, don't be so nervous, I'm not going to take a bite out of you! And aren't you soldier types supposed to all be would-be-Casanovas?"

"I guess I'm an exception.", Ivan answered ever so slightly leaning his head on Hannah; he was like a cozy puppy. "I'm not... you know... good at talking, or at being... what was it? Cassanova? I always thought that there can only be one."

"Let's hope it was someone who made it through the invasion then," Hannah joked, before adding more seriously, "So if you weren't feeling nervous what would you want to do now?"

"Talk about things, drink coffee, I guess. Nothing too drastic."

Sighing, he pulled out a rather faded picture from his breast pocket, letting Hannah see what was on it. "Look at them... very cute babies, no?"

He fell silent for a moment, his gaze fixated on the picture. "This here is a friend of mine and his kids when I came over for Christmas. He was a soldier too, like me. Me and Grigori were like brothers. Right until the very end."

Another sigh. "When I was put out of action after the invasion in Triton, he came to me and told me to keep his children safe. They were, after all, the only family he had left when his wife died a year before that."

It was there that a tear fell down the man's cheek as he closed his eyes in sorrow. "I failed. We were going to go in the subways of New York when a Ragon landed between us... I was knocked out. When I came to, they were gone. The guilt has haunted me every day after that, but... seeing you is like a respite in the pain. I don't know why. It just is."

Hannah looked at the picture. She nodded. She understood. Everyone who survived had lost people. The story was familiar, told in a thousand different voices, but each time echoing the same themes. She set her coffee cup aside carefully, twisting so that she faced the Russian more directly, before reaching up to stroke the tear away from his cheek, "Ivan," she said quietly, "I'm no wallflower and if you do want to do something more 'drastic' -" she couldn't help but smile at the odd choice of phrase, "- I might even like it."

Ivan sniffed as he gazed deeply into Hannah's eyes. This was the woman that he had glossed over for the last few years, the one that he had truly liked and loved.

Without further ado, he leaned forward and wrapped his arms around her and kissed her cheek. He wasn't going to do the other thing; not yet at least.

"I'll just stay here for a while.", he sheepishly said as he kept on hugging her. "With you."

Hannah caught Ivan's chin when he kissed her cheek, turning his head to face her fully, "Ivan... I'm not your sister," she said with a slight smirk, then kissed him on the lips instead, leaning forward, pressing herself against him with the heady fearlessness of someone who had sent the thread of her life and realised it was short. She was definitely no wallflower.

[Dyelli Beybi]

The Bunker
co-written by Europa Undivided and Dyelli Beybi

---

Jean-Luc reclined on a seat, quietly watching the nearby aquarium filled with sardines. The group had settled in the place for the night, what with the terrible blizzard currently raging in the surface above them. Andy had gone to reconnect with Ward, as those two had already lost too many years from all the time that they had spent without speaking or seeing each other. As for his Russian friend... well, he was probably with Hannah. Or something like that.

With nothing better to do, Jean got up from his seat, proceeding to take another good look of the bunker. First thing he spotted was an Asian looking woman poring over a bunch of canned beans; these seemed to be newly salvaged. Next was a man some boots, and then another one just reading a book. From the looks of it, they were trying very hard to replicate whatever life they had before the invasion down here. Too bad it wasn't possible.

Either way, it wasn't long before Jean-Luc spotted Davin. That man was... an enigma. Maybe he was open to questions.

Daintily and quietly, Jean approached. "Ehem.", he began, clearing his throat. "So. You're from the laboratories. Do you remember where you were originally from...? Forgive me if I seem to be a little intrusive, but... well... I'm genuinely curious."

Davin nodded, raising an eyebrow at Jean, "Yes, I remember where I'm from? It's pretty hard to forget that kind of thing. I'm guessing you're hoping for somewhere exciting, but I'm going to have to disappoint you; I'm from Albany. Not too far from here. I was actually aiming for Albany when I hit that cloud of bugs and crashed near... whatever that hillbilly town was that you lot found me in."

"Oh, Albany...", Jean trailed off as he tried to remember where that was. Ah right. The capital city of New York state. "Well, I see. Hmmm... what about the laboratories...? What was it like? And if I remember correctly.. friendly aliens saved you from there? What were they like too?" He was sounding like a child.

Davin chuckled, giving Jean a wry smile, "Well aren't you the curious kitten. Nobody saved me from the labs, I escaped all on my own. I only met up with aliens. There were some others with me to start with, but they had a different vision for the future. This might surprise you, but the Ragons actually care about humanity in a strange, meat production, kind of way. They're trying to change us into something else. They haven't managed it yet, though they've created all kinds of accidental abominations in the process.

"Now as for these aliens, a good number of them look a lot like us. I'm going to chalk it up to 'convergent evolution', whatever the hell that is supposed to mean. There are the red ones. They run fast but hit like twelve year olds and group think way too much. Then there are the green ones that are nearly all female, lay eggs, bleed weird colours and are really into recreation drug use. Ragons are slowly conquering them all."

"That... doesn't sound like a formidable opponent to the Ragons...", Jean trailed off as Davin described the friendly aliens. They were like humans, but... different in many other ways. He shuddered at the thought of what monstrosities the Ragon have created through human flesh, imagining horrors like the ones in those old video games. "Well... I'd rather not ask what these accidental abominations are..."

"So uh...", Jean started again. "As for me... I'm from Paris, though it didn't take me long to transfer to Enceladus as I had become a captain for a new generation battleship. That ship was destroyed by the Russians thought and I was relegated to commanding flight squadrons on that moon." He then sighed. "That was when they came and just about everyone I knew died. Ironically enough it was the same Rusky that blew my ship that became my fervent friend and ally. Funny how things can go when giant murder lizards invade the world."

"Well isn't it a small world? Good to hear all the humans are working together for a change," Davin smiled. It was an uncanny smile that never quite reached his eyes, "As for the abominations; I wouldn't worry about them. Most of them just die," he said cheerfully.

"Okay...", Jean looked down as Davin seemed rather cheerful at the mass death of... whatever these are. "Uhm. Right. So, Andy said that we should have tea and crumpets with him and his tall British friend later. Care to join us?"

"Why not!" Davin gave another unreadable smile, "I'm impressed that anyone is so dedicated that they're still making crumpets. Guess Vera Lynn was right: there'll always be an England."

[Dyelli Beybi]

Chapter Three: The Deluge



The trek to Denver was long, and difficult in the cold of winter, particularly the further north you got. The locals weren't always friendly and there was the ever-present danger of the Ragons to say nothing of the risk of starvation or freezing to death if the vehicles broke down out in the wilderness. Some of the roads were obstructed and required clearing, though the bitter cold of the Northern winter at least kept the cold blooded invaders at bay and the trip was as quiet as it's original proponents, Rebecca and Hannah, had hoped. Davin never seemed entirely sure they were safe, keeping an eye on the sky at all times, though nothing ever showed up apart from birds. Sometimes things did go right. For a while at least.

There was a brief moment of confusion when the hit the outskirts of Denver where they had to stop the convoy to consult a map for their final destination. The place seemed completely deserted, though there was no guarantee that was actually the case. If it was anything like New York there might well have been a band of survivors hiding somewhere in the rubble looking out suspiciously at the train of newcomers.

"We need to take this road out of the city," Tariq said, tapping a line on the map.

"Out? I thought you said we were going to Denver?" Hannah queried, not sounding entirely convinced the Professor wasn't just making the line up.

"No... that wouldn't be especially discrete. Remember this place was built with the idea that the invaders wouldn't be able to find it," Tariq pointed out, "In truth I don't think this plan would have ever worked at the height of the invasion. The ship would have been shot down before it ever reached the wormhole. Now though? We have a chance at least."

"Alright," Hannah nodded, the explanation made sense though she still wasn't entirely convinced and for the first few miles down Tariq's road there was no sign of anything that looked at all like a secret compound that might hold a spaceship.

It was three miles since they'd left the fringes of the city, out in a wilderness of snow covered hills and scattered conifers when Tariq abruptly yelled, "Stop the convoy!"

It took a few moments for the message to be relayed and the convoy to come to a halt, though as soon as the front vehicle had stopped, Tariq had hopped down from the cab, Rebecca hot on his heel as he raced back down the side of the road to an old green road sign pointing down a dirt track. Someone had sprayed graffiti over the sign which, from a distance, looked like an 'O', though as you got closer, appeared to be a crudely drawn image of a worm or a snake about to bite it's own tail, "We're here," Tariq declared, sounding relieved.

"What is that?" Rebecca asked, reaching out to run her hand around the image, "I'm guessing it means something to you?"

"It's a symbol for the endless cycle of time. We used these in the project, the Endless Knot, the Ouroboros," he explained, "This was left for me, or someone else working on the project to find. Whatever is at the end of this dirt track is the end of the journey."

"Then we'd best get the convoy down there," Rebecca commented. She glanced skywards. It was getting late and the clouds promised fresh snow, "Either way we need to find somewhere to rest for the night."

The convoy followed the dirt path for the best part of a quarter of a mile into increasingly dense forest before they eventually came to the end of the line and a moss covered concrete structure with thick steel doors, one for pedestrians and one for vehicles. Both appeared to be largely intact though years of neglect had left a patina of rust over their surfaces. The structure didn't look especially large. Rebecca and Tariq hopped down again.

There was an intercom unit set next to the pedestrian gate which Rebecca pressed. There was a long pause. She looked questioningly to Tariq, then pressed the button again, holding it down for longer this time. After another long pause she concluded, "Don't think anyone is home. Hey!" she called to the trucks, "Anyone pack explosives?"

Before anyone had a chance to respond though a thin, suspicious voice answered from the intercom, "Hello?"

"Oh hi... not sure how you'd normally introduce yourself in situations like this, but you don't happen to have a time machine lying around. We have some coordinates for a wormhole and would love to take it for a spin," Rebecca answered, falling back on facetiousness to cover her uncertainty.

There was a long pause from the person at the far end, "You'd better come in,"

There was a buzzing sound, then the vehicle doors slid open, revealing a dimly lit ramp leading down into the earth. Rebecca stepped forward to look down the ramp though there wasn't much you could see in the gloom, "That explains why the building wasn't so big up the top," she commented, "Well, guess we're going cave diving again."

[Europa Undivided]

The Beginning of the End, I guess.

During the whole journey to Denver, Jean-Luc had spent much of his time in the lookout; he was one to be cautious by a wide margin, and would sometimes be called too paranoid. However, he would, at times, double the time in the shifting of the guards just so that Ivan could spend more time with Hannah. Asking the Russian about all of those hickeys on his neck was a funny little incident, as he had always believed that Ivan would never be able to do it; not alone, anyway. When he came out of that room, he was… happy. He had been in there for quite some times and Jean-Luc already knew that something had gone down. Ah, how amazing it is, the inclination of man to confess when times are dark and death is seemingly in any corner.

Still… Jean-Luc had this unshakeable feeling during all of those times that were in the convoy. The feeling that something will go wrong in the very end… that someone will die. That a bunch of people will die horrible, terrible deaths. Was it premonition or just his inherent instincts? Maybe. Maybe not.

When they had arrived in the Denver Facility itself, Andy had quickly come down the truck right after Rebecca and Tariq. He seemed rather nervous as the door took its sweet time to open. However, it opened just in time to stop Ivan from getting the dynamite sticks. Good for them.

Andy glanced around the deepening subterranean cavern, squinting his eyes at the dim lighting. "Cave. Smart move. The damn lizards can't fit in here. Quickly now, then…"

[Dyelli Beybi]

"I think they can fit through the vehicle gate," Rebecca pointed out as it slid open. A Ragon would need to duck, but it had been designed to bring a reasonably sized truck in with some head clearance.

Down and down the tunnel went. There were lights on the walls, though they were dim, barely giving any vision in the gloom. Rebecca switched on a torch, drawing her rifle, holding the two together as she set off into the tunnel, pausing briefly at the mouth to motion for the vehicles to follow behind; there was no knowing what lay down there, though she reasoned that so long as they were on the inside of the door they would at least be hidden to any watchers from above. There would be a horrid irony to coming this far only to be slaughtered by the invaders.

The tunnel went down for a good 200 yards, motes of dust dancing in the torchlight, before it eventually flattened out, opening into a vast flat room, probably some kind of parking structure from the grubby yellow lines still faintly visible on the ground. The room was tall, too tall to see the ceiling when Rebecca turned the torch upwards. From it's appearance it seemed shaped like a ring... or at least part of one - there was no telling what lay at the far side, though at the end closest to them, the inner side of the ring had a door and a grimy window through which a light could be seen and the silhouette of a human shape.

The door opened and a man stepped through. He was short, slender and bowed with age. He coughed as he stepped through, glancing amongst the assembled travellers, "One of you is the one who deciphered the coordinates?" he asked, his voice sounding richer than his age implied.

Tariq nodded, stepping forward so that the beam of Rebecca's torch illuminated him, "That would be me," he confirmed, "Not on my own. I'm the only one who survived the journey. Professor Tariq al Zubi."

The man nodded, "Doctor Julian West. I don't believe I recognise your name, though there were many working on the project in the early days. Come," he nodded towards the doorway, "We have light inside, though we try not to use too much energy. Let the lizards think this is just forest."

He led the way inside, through the doorway and up a short flight of steps to a spartan living area with concrete walls, a steel floor and no natural light. The sofas were worn and faded, grey like the walls, while dog-eared books lay scattered on the floor, "Pardon the mess," West continued, "I never imagined I'd have guests again."

"You said 'we' before?" Rebecca prompted.

"I suppose I did," West sighed, "But it has only been me for... years, maybe more. Time loses all meaning in the dark."

"What happened to the others?" she frowned. The room looked large enough to seat two dozen people.

"They all left in the end," West lowered himself down onto a couch, looking up at the group with watery blue eyes, "You see, we finished our part of the experiment within months of the invasion. And we waited. To start with toyed with our invention, pushing the limits of what we could do. The soldiers grew restless first, thirsting to do something to liberate the planet. They left and never came back. Then the other scientists, one-by-one. What was the point of sitting here in the dark, waiting for something that would never come? They went off to seek the missing part of the puzzle or just to try to forge a life on our new earth until, in the end, it was only me left."

"So the machine works?" Rebecca asked, jumping in even as Tariq opened his mouth, seemingly to ask the same question.

West nodded emphatically, "Oh yes, it absolutely does! Here, let me show you something." He pushed himself out of the seat again, even before anyone else had seated themselves. On the side of the room facing in towards the centre of the circular compound. There was a corridor, then another, similarly grim room on the far side. This room had a window set in it that overlooked another cavernous space; another dimly lit concrete ring, though this one seemed to host a huge amount of piping, electrical equipment and not much else, "We couldn't create a wormhole, but we could create the conditions to send a small object back through time for an hour or so, look at this!"

He motioned towards a small glass box set next to a console and what looked like a pneumatic tube. There were diamonds in the box. Davin picked it up, peered at them for a moment, then set the box down again, "It's some diamonds. Well formed, but pretty small."

"It's not some diamonds, it's the same diamond," West assured him, drawing a raised eyebrow from Rebecca, "Look closely. It's the same."

Davin shrugged then handed the box to Rebecca, who peered at it long and hard before remarking, with a sigh, "Sorry, they just look like rocks to me. I couldn't say if they're the same or not. But let's assume I thought they were. What does that prove?"

West looked crestfallen at the lack of enthusiasm. He sighed again, shaking his head slightly, "We sent the diamond back in time, making it appear before we sent it off."

"So you're going to send those off at some point in the future?" Rebecca asked.

"No... they've been there for years, like I said, about an hour is the most we could manage with our machine. What we found though, was that if intended to send a diamond back, then we decided not to after receiving it from our future selves, we ended up with two diamonds."

"That's... interesting, but how does it help us?" Rebecca asked.

"I was hoping it would convince you that the machine works," West gave a wry chuckle, "But I suppose I have been underground a long time. There is a practical application for it, but we can get to that later. First though we'll need to decide on who is going to make the journey and make sure that that person has memories all the information they need to make sure that this invasion never happens. We have a whole archive room full of information on the 2026 expedition, so whomever is going to make the jump will need to immerse themselves in it. Really get to know the people from back then, Nathaniel Carter, Dana Chrichton, Phoenix Williams and so on. These are the people you'll need to convince to do things differently."

Suddenly there was a thump sound from within the device that looked so much like a pneumatic tube. Everyone looked at it, "Is it supposed to do that?" Rebecca eventually asked.

"Oh yes, it just means we've sent something back to ourselves," West waved a hand dismissively, as he crossed to the tube, opening the door, "I'm probably trying to convince you that we have a working time machine."
Inside was a scrunched up piece of paper. He frowned, clearly it wasn't what he had expected, putting on a pair of reading glasses before carefully unfolding the note. Years underground had left West sickly pale, though whatever he read made him lose what little colour there was in his cheeks. He paused for a long moment, seemingly unable to read it aloud before finally clearing his throat, "'Launch now. There is no way out. They are coming.'"

[Europa Undivided]

Oh hell no

Excellent. Time travel. For all its worth, the people in the facility had finished their work mere months after the fall of the planet to the invaders that had ravaged every nation and city, sending a diamond back a whole hour back in time. Their mission, though, was to travel a whole century or so back to the time when the Ragon's hadn't even laid their dirty scaly claws on any world in this galaxy. It was a sad and sober thing, though, as it appeared that everyone else in the facility had abandoned Dr. West to the darkness of the underground, either running out to fight a doomed war of resistance with bloodshed and fire or simply living a whole other life in this new, darkened world where death came and went with utter uncertainty.

At least, though, the machine works, as proved by the diamond that was now on the ageing doctor's hands.

"I was hoping it would convince you that the machine works," West gave a wry chuckle, "But I suppose I have been underground a long time. There is a practical application for it, but we can get to that later. First though we'll need to decide on who is going to make the journey and make sure that that person has memories all the information they need to make sure that this invasion never happens. We have a whole archive room full of information on the 2026 expedition, so whomever is going to make the jump will need to immerse themselves in it. Really get to know the people from back then, Nathaniel Carter, Dana Chrichton, Phoenix Williams and so on. These are the people you'll need to convince to do things differently."

"I'll just say that you have me convinced that the time machine works.", Andy nodded to West as he pored over the diamonds, noting at how the diamonds that were in the box looked exactly the same as each other; one was probably sent back in time, just as the elderly scientist had said. "So, if the journey back in time requires someone to immerse themself in a whole roomful of information beforehand, that narrows down our choices to... the professor, and me. We're the resident eggheads of the group, after all. Jean? What do you think?"

"You and the professor have the big brains here.", came the answer. "History has never been my thing."

Ivan nodded in turn. "Hasn't been mine, either."

Sighing, Andy spoke, not to anyone in particular. "Who do you all think should go, out of the two of us? Unless if you have other nominations?"

"'Launch now. There is no way out. They are coming.'

"Now?", Ivan croaked. :Was, was that future you sending you a message? Bozhe moi... That means no time to immerse in the archives, then."

Jean sighed. Somewhere deep down, he knew something terrible would happen. Captain's intuition working at its best, it seems. No time, mass casualties...

As panic presumably began to rise in the room, a single voice rose above them. "I'll go."

"Andy, oui?"

"One, I took history lessons very seriously and I know the notable Destiny crewmembers beyond a casual description. Second, Professor al-Zubi here is the only person that is the closest thing to family that Rebecca has."

"Man-"

"No, I've made up my mind. What do we need to do, Dr. West?"

[Dyelli Beybi]

Oh hell no
"One, I took history lessons very seriously and I know the notable Destiny crewmembers beyond a casual description. Second, Professor al-Zubi here is the only person that is the closest thing to family that Rebecca has."

"Man-"

"No, I've made up my mind. What do we need to do, Dr. West?"

Tariq looked relieved the responsibility didn't have to fall to him. He nodded once, then again, "It is a huge responsibility, but I have no doubt you are equipped for it. There is something else I have realised though," he added, sounding reluctant to do so, "Which is part of the reason I am happy not to have to go... if Dr. West can receive diamonds from the future without sending any forward it means that we're creating what I can only describe as -"

"Splinter Universes," West jumped in, getting a nod of agreement from the Jordanian.

"Which means," Tariq continued, "That whether or not you have an effect on the timeline, it won't change anything for us here and now. You could save earth, but it will be a different earth with other versions of ourselves. This reality won't fade away like a bad dream; you will depart and we will need to fight on. We will still need to find a way to survive in our reality and you, Andy, will never be able to return to us, even if you achieve your goals and still have a working vessel."

There was a long pause before West added, "But I do not believe you will be unable to talk to us," he motioned to Rebecca, "Take the diamonds and big guy -" he motioned at Davin, "Down the corridor, two doors on the left, pick up the metal box and bring it to the core, that's down the stairs at the other end of the corridor and across the walkway. Got it?"

"Box. Core. Sorted," Davin replied, raising an eyebrow as if hoping for further information, though West didn't supply it and the traveller set off in the direction indicated as west headed for the stairs.

Getting to the core involved crossing the ring with the piping, "We'll have access to CCTV feeds in the core. I hate to say it, but we might need some of you to try to slow them down," West prattled nervously, turning to Andy, "04051920091425. Think you can remember that? 040-519-200-914-25. I'm going to give you a box with the critical information you'll need to locate the expedition and hopefully convince them that listen to you.
The number needs to be a long one. Who knows what could happen if the wrong people got their hands on that!"

[Europa Undivided]

"Alternate timelines and multiverse theory?", came a nervous reply from the man, as he was perturbed that Tariq basically said that success doesn't mean that this world would change in the slightest. "That is... inconvenient."

Looking down, he just nodded at the prospect. This journey to the past may not change their present, but it would change the fates of another Earth, and that was as good as any other option. Still, there was some consolation to it, as confirmed by Dr. West.

West prattled nervously, turning to Andy, "04051920091425. Think you can remember that? 040-519-200-914-25. I'm going to give you a box with the critical information you'll need to locate the expedition and hopefully convince them that listen to you.
The number needs to be a long one. Who knows what could happen if the wrong people got their hands on that!"

Andy took out a piece of paper and a pen from a nearby table, furiously jotting down the numbers as they were said the second time. "040-519-200-914-25. Got it." He then folded the paper and secured it inside his breast pocket, making sure that if the number ever slipped from memory, he would still be able to recall it.

"We'll have access to CCTV feeds in the core. I hate to say it, but we might need some of you to try to slow them down,"

"Oui, Doctor.", Jean-Luc said from behind the two of them. "We'll do just that. Ivan?"

"Da.", the Russian replied as he took a moment with Hannah, giving her a hug as this might as well be their last moments. "Hannah... promise me that you will live on, whether or not something happens to me. Okay?"

[Dyelli Beybi]

Within the heart of the compound was another control room, though this one looked through thick glass on what could have been a missile silo. A blast door led out, across another catwalk to an odd, sphere shaped craft bolted to the side of the enormous rocket that seemed to be at the heart of the base. It was small. Probably only seated one person with little room for supplies or other effects. That was, presumably the time machine.

West raced over to the console facing into the silo, hammering away at it as he readied the rocket for immediate launch.

"Defending the base, readying the ship. It's all rather moot in Davin doesn't come back with that box," Tariq added, "He wasn't going far was he?" West shook his head, "Then where is he?" West shrugged, "Alright, Doctor West, if you can finish getting the ship ready to launch, I will see if I can find him." West nodded without turning from his position at the console and Tariq took off back in the direction they had come, his boots clattering on the metal catwalk. He didn't run, but the pace of his walking was hurried.

"Oui, Doctor.", Jean-Luc said from behind the two of them. "We'll do just that. Ivan?"

"Da.", the Russian replied as he took a moment with Hannah, giving her a hug as this might as well be their last moments. "Hannah... promise me that you will live on, whether or not something happens to me. Okay?"

Hannah returned the hug, but then punched Ivan in the arm when he stepped back. Not hard enough to do any real damage but hard enough to feel, "Don't act like this is the end. I'm coming with you."

"Before you do," Rebecca's voice cut across everyone as she set the box with the diamonds in it down next to West, "We need to get the CCTV feed up so at least we know where we're defending and what we're defending from. That note just said 'they are coming', which isn't very specific."

"Just give me a moment," West replied testily.

Rebecca didn't push him this time, allowing him to finish the preparations for the launch. It didn't take that long, no more than a couple of minutes, though time seemed to tick by incredibly slowly with the promise of an imminent attack and still no sign of Davin Blackmore. Finally West hit a button on the console, beckoning for the others to approach.

It had changed to show several cameras positioned inside and outside of the building, some were aimed at the front gate, including one in the intercom system. There didn't appear to be anyone there or any sign that the gate had been damaged. All looked calm outside. West exhaled, relieved, "Okay, the rocket can be launched from inside the shuttle. Whomever is coming hasn't arrived yet. We've still got a few moments to prepare. If any of you want to slow the attackers down, you can catch them in a chokepoint in the vehicle access tunnel. Maybe move one of your vehicles across the entry to provide you with some cover?"

[Europa Undivided]

"He sure is taking his bloody time getting the box.", Andy grumbled under his breath as he noticed that Davin was apparently taking a bit too long with taking the box... did he forget the number or something? He was needed here, and he was needed now. Whatever it is that is coming to attempt to give all of them a horrible death in these tunnels certainly isn't going to wait for anything. Certainly not some man that was taking too long with getting a box.

Still, the prospect of going to the past and not changing the present was a little... daunting. Or disappointing. Not sure which is which. That was better than nothing, though.

Hannah returned the hug, but then punched Ivan in the arm when he stepped back. Not hard enough to do any real damage but hard enough to feel, "Don't act like this is the end. I'm coming with you."

"Yes, Ivan.", Jean-Luc quipped as he walked towards the exit towards the vehicle tunnels with a wrapped up anti-tank rifle slung on his back. "This isn't the end for either of you two. You have so much ahead of you in life."

Ivan chuckled as he followed the Frenchman out towards the choke point that Dr. West had pointed out, Hannah most probably close in tow. "That's... comforting, I guess?"

It won't be long before a truck or two was blocking the exit, and Jean-Luc and Ivan would be at the forefront of watching out for whatever the universe has in store for them. For now, they needed to ensure that Andy would be able to go to the past, and maybe change this reality or the next. This is not the end... It can't be!

[Dyelli Beybi]

"There is one other thing," West replied. He reached into a drawer, pulling out a pair of small rings. They each had a lid on them and a mass of fine wiring. With almost exaggerated care he placed one of the replicated diamonds in one, snapping it shut, before repeating the same process with the other, "They are, effectively, the same object and we have hypothesised that we should be able to use them as a means of communication. There is a larger communications device in the other room. We haven't ever tested this device before so I'm not sure exactly when you will get any message we are able to send you," he shrugged, "But it's worth a shot." He paused, standing hunched over the bench. There was a long moment of silence before he said, "One small problem. I can't move."

Rebecca went to move in the Doctor's direction, then paused, her eyes rolling wildly, "I can't either. Shit!"

In fact the predicament was repeated for anyone else left in the room...

... meanwhile, out front, Hannah had taken up position, lying prone where she could aim under one of the trucks, aiming up at the path leading down from the vehicle entrance. The silence seemed to drag on forever, long enough for people to begin to wonder if anything was coming. Then, abruptly, there was a noise. It sounded like a huge hammer striking metal and seemed to echo down the slope into the parking bay like a massive bell. Something was trying to come through...

[Europa Undivided]

"Okay, okay, what kind of malfunction inside a room with a time machine in it could possibly stop us from being able to move?", Andy asked Dr. West as he struggled to maintain his composure despite being literally frozen into place by some kind of unmitigated disaster. Or, perhaps this was the prelude to what is yet to come. A herald to their arrival, whoever they could be. "Dr. West!"

---

Jean-Luc had positioned himself behind another of the trucks, lying prone with his Cadavres anti-tank rifle aimed squarely towards the path leading towards the vehicle entrance. As soon as the hammer of premonition began to ring within the caverns, he soberly loaded an armor piercing bullet into his anti-tank rifle, "They're here."

"That's right.", Ivan replied, laying down a machine gun on a tripod near Hannah. He made the sign of the cross as the ringing intensified. This is the end. This will be the fight of their lives.

[Dyelli Beybi]

The Parking Bay

There was a groaning noise, the sound of bending, snapping metal, then, for a few brief moments, silence.

Hannah's knuckles turned white as she gripped the rifle, then abruptly the tunnel erupted in fury and motion as a pack of massive cynodont type creatures exploded from around the corner, hissing, yapping and snarling as they bounded towards the humans in the bay. They were large, about the size of a tiger, with reptile-like skin, yellow, jagged teeth and long limbs that propelled them like greyhounds at the huddled humans. They were fearsome creatures, but they weren't Ragons. Some people might have encountered them before. They were used, from time to time, to try to flush people out of their underground hiding holes.

Hannah gave a sharp intake of breath, then opened fire...

---

The Launch Bay

A moment later everyone was flung across the room to come crashing, violently against the back wall, hard enough to knock the wind out of them, their limbs fixed against the concrete as if they had been shackled by some unseen force. West's ring fell to the floor, pinging against the metal before coming to rest against the edge of the bench he had been working at. There was a shimmer in the air from which Davin Blackmore emerged. He strolled across to the collection of diamonds, picking one up and pocketing it, "You really have no idea what you have here, do you?" he remarked jovially, "Oh well, I suppose that's too bad."

"You... how are you doing this?" Rebecca gasped. She stared daggers at the man.

He advanced on her, taking her chin in his hand, "Hmm... if only we had more time, but sadly I need to leave. Your Arab was onto the right idea when he talked about going back in time to set things right, but his goals are so... pedestrian. I don't blame you," he added, "I was once like you, snivelling and eeking out a pathetic existence on this silenced planet. But the Ragon took me. They experimented on me, but they did not find what they were looking for... though they have now. You are so blind you didn't even see the cuckoo in your little party. Anyway, the Ragon would have killed me, but the Satran had other plans and decided to try to awaken my full potential. More fools them; I am more powerful that they could have possibly imagined. I heard the voice of Merihem and I have a plan and it is so much bigger than any of you could have dreamed of. I won't just save humanity, I will make it in my image. Powerful, free of all imperfections -" he glanced at Rebecca. It was a significant glance that spoke volumes about his opinion of her. He released her chin, taking a couple of steps backwards, "-And ready to take it's place in the stars, not as citizens, but as rulers. Which is why I'm going to leave you lot for the Ragons. You just don't make the grade."

Davin shook his head, seemingly having finished, but his need to gloat got the better of him and he stopped, asking, "Did none of you realise is that those bugs that attacked you aren't just biting people for food? No? They're they are a biomechanical construct, sampling the blood, searching for our cuckoo -"

As Davin boasted, Tariq had appeared behind him. He had a metal box in his hand; presumably the one that Davin had supposed to be retrieving. The professor paused, glancing at the people suspended on the wall. He wanted to help, but he had realised as he had gone to retrieve the case, that, for all the good will in the world, he was the only one who could go. He had the formula to determine where the wormhole was in his head, with the base under attack, he didn't have time to explain it to someone else. Silently he dropped down to his haunches, retrieving West's ring, putting a finger to his lips to signal the others not to give his position away.

"040-519-200-914-25" West put in, cutting across Davin's monologue.

"What?" Blackmore demanded.

"040-519-200-914-25" West repeated.

It was the last thing he did, "Oh shut up, you old fool," Davin made a dismissive wave in West's direction and the Doctor's head jerked violently to one side. There was an awful cracking noise, then the bonds holding him to the wall seemed to vanish and the Doctor collapsed, lifeless to the floor, "Now... where was I? Ah yes, your cuckoo. Don't tell me none of you figured her out?" he chortled, "You see, many years ago, when the Carter expedition came back, one of the crew was pregnant. They told everyone it was by one of the others who had, tragically, died in Andremeda, but that was just one of those 'convenient lies' you tell in polite society to make everyone feel better about the fact that one of the crew had been screwing an alien and, somehow, managed to get pregnant from it. Fast forward a few generations and that is why they aren't going to let you out of this hidey hole, no matter what it costs them. The Ragons see your cuckoo as profit, the Satran fear it. Either way, you are all screwed."

[Europa Undivided]

"First of all.", Andy croaked as he was still pinned against the wall with Davin's telekinetic powers. "Tariq is not... a bloody Arab. He's Assyrian. And second... go to hell, you traitor." Despite facing such overwhelming power, he was still defiant, and seeing Davin snap Dr. West's neck didn't help that at all. Instead, if Davin had wanted to induce fear in him, that had just produced the opposite effect. Seeing as how the person that they had brought out of the wreckage of a spaceship was, after all this time, a traitorous meta-human turned to a living weapon by the Ragon, Andy only spat on the ground. "Congratulations, you wanker. You just successfully played everyone, boo hoo. Now you want to remake humanity in your image, blah blah blah, wow, that's so generic..."

He coughed. He was still being piledriven against the wall, after all.

"I know that they are biomechanical, you deluded son of a bitch.", Andy growled. "Why else would an insectoid creature have clearly artificial metal as stingers..."

It didn't take much to put the pieces together, seeing as how Hannah was the only one that was bitten by the blood locusts back when they first encountered the Defiance Battalion. If the bugs were sampling blood from people in an effort to seek out a hybrid descendant, then...

"Can't be... Hannah Brown?"

---

Ils ne passeront pas.

A bolt from Jean-Luc's anti-tank rifle struck at one of the reptilian creatures, striking through one of its eyes and exploding inside its skull, killing it nigh instantly. Hurriedly, he pushed another bullet into the gun, and then fired again, this time hitting one of them squarely on the head, blowing its brains apart. A third shot missed, narrowly grazing one of the cynodonts on the shoulders as the entire horde savaged forth.

At the meantime, Ivan was letting loose suppressive machinegun fire, resting the barrel for short moments every few bursts to keep it from overheating too rapidly. Either way, this was the end. Or was it?

[Ard al Islam]

Trent understood that the scientist was pissed at him, and so he didn't want to get in his way. Ro sat in a corner, preoccupied with her thoughts. Trent decided to look around the house, seeing if he could find anything useful. However, he was cut short when he slipped on the floor, tripped over nothing, and fell directly onto a dead bug.

"Well, that's an image I'll never get outta my head."

Ertuğrul, on the other hand, was trying to come up with a plan to defeat the Blood Locusts, or "Rugs," he called them. He figured if he just shot his harpoon on the back of his Gladiator, he could electrify and kill all of the Rugs. Only problems with that plan, there was nothing to fire the harpoon at and act as an anchor, and second, he wouldn't be able to reliably aim the harpoon from inside the vehicle, meaning he would need to get outside to man it. You know, with the Rugs. So for now, he made sure that none of them could come through the vents and waited.

After four hours, the swarm mostly dissipated. Luckily, none of the bugs had managed to get in. Ertuğrul relaxed when he saw people coming out of the house, and he himself stepped out of the Gladiator. Trent had exited the house and saw Ertuğrul, all well. He ran over and slapped him on the back.

"Hah! I knew those damn bugs couldn't lay a stinger on you!" he said. Ertuğrul smiled and walked off towards the others. Trent went into the Gladiator.

Ertuğrul didn't see, but he definitely heard the ship go down. He looked in the general direction, seeing an orange glow coming from where it landed, or rather, crash-landed. At this point, Trent came out of the Jeep.

"Hey, Big E, have you seen my cigars?" he asked, before noticing the glow and dropping his gun, along with his jaw. Good thing the safety was on, or it would have discharged into Ertuğrul's leg.

Ertuğrul responded to Rebecca's inquiry. "I don't think it's anything worth checking out, but I agree we should remain in the bunker a little while longer as Ragons will surely want to know what's going on."

Ertuğrul, Trent, and Ro made their way into the bunker, settling down inside. Ro noticed from the corner of her eye that Ivan and Hannah were a lot closer than usual, but glossed over it. She was tired; they all were, after being on edge for the last few hours. Ertuğrul especially, as he was outside. He usually drove with the roof off, good thing Trent complained about the cold.

As Ro drifted off to sleep, Trent remained awake, fiddling with his gun, a Beretta M9. Sure, it was old, but it was reliable, and a lot safer than an M27.

*dream flashback*
Ro

"Hey, Ro, you think we got everything we need?"

Trent and Ro were at a supermarket, looking through for some supplies. They didn't plan ahead, however, and were more or less just making up a list as they went along. Ro had found an important object in the pharmacy section.

"Here it is, penicillin. This will be useful if we ever get a cut, or scratch, or-"

"A bite," Trent interjected. Ro laughed.

"Who's gonna bite us?"

"You never know," Trent said.

After all was said and done, Trent and Ro left the store and tried to make their way back to the old BART station that was their base. As they were carelessly walking through, they heard an alien barking sound. "Alien" was all too literal as they turned to see one of those alien dogs, the Ragounds they now called them, growling at them. It bolted, and the pair ran off in the opposite direction.

As they turned the corner, they came face-to-face with a Ragon. They then bolted in another direction, being chased by both the Ragon and Ragound until they were cornered in an alley, death certainly coming for them.

"Goddammit, this isn't how I was supposed to die!" Trent complained, staring into the eyes of the Ragound.

Ro woke up. she didn't want to relive the memory. She looked around. Trent and Ertuğrul were looking over at Andy's drone's feed, wanting to see what was going on with the alien.

Ertuğrul commented. "Well, Glory to God, that's not an alien. That's a man." He made silent observations of what conversation he could hear between his friends and E.T.

Ertuğrul looked in interest with the plan. A potential back-up plan would be good, and seemingly more feasible than the time travel plot. In fact, Ertuğrul still had zero faith that the time travel idea would work, but he didn't want to let his friends' hopes down. After a while, the scientists returned, with their newcomer in tow. He was an impressive sight, towering over everyone, but not Ertuğrul, who was an inch taller.

Ertuğrul introduced himself to this stranger of a man, who's handshake felt like a skeleton's.



The large convoy set off for Denver. Ertuğrul was happy again driving his jeep, or truck, it was both, really. Again, his Gladiator was located near the middle of the caravan. Ro offered to man the harpoon, so Trent was riding shotgun with Ertuğrul. During the ride, they had mundane conversations.

"And then, the turtle landed on the roof!" Ertuğrul said, and Trent started laughing.

Nothing of note happened until they had reached Bunker #881. When they neared the entrance, a voice asked them.

"How was the walk to Istanbul?"

Ertuğrul visibly stifled when hearing Ward reply that there was only Constantinople. He was, after all, Turkish.

Flash forward to Denver

"Well, friends, it's been a journey, and I'm glad to have gotten you this far. Now, my mission is complete. So go on, save the world."

Trent and Ro were upset that Ertuğrul was leaving, but they knew they couldn't change his mind.

"Just promise us you'll stay safe, alright?" Ro asked.

"For sure," Ertuğrul replied. Trent gave the old man a hug, ready to see him off.

"Well, now that we're here, I'm going to inform Rebecca and Tariq that I'll be leaving and I'll need the "keys" to the submarine. I have no need for the Gladiator. She's served me faithfully for years, but now, I'm afraid she won't be able to come with me. Therefore, I leave it to you guys."

Trent's eyes brightened at this prospect. "You mean, she's all mine now?"

"Yes."

"Oh my God! Can I drive her now?"

"Go ahead."

Later, when the convoy stopped, Ertuğrul got out of the Gladiator. "Well, this is where you'll see me off." Ertuğrul reached into the trunk, removing a Winchester 1892 Saddle Ring carbine, TAC-50 Sniper Rifle, and M4 Carbine with an M203 grenade launcher. He inspected the Winchester, cocking the lever.

"Whoa, isn't that gun like, over 200 years old?" Trent asked?

"It serves me well," Ertuğrul said. He slung the guns across his back, put the disassembled sniper into his backpack, holstered his S&W 666, tucked away his Beretta M9, and sheathed Zulfiqar. He took his backpack and all other necessary supplies. "Oh yeah, I guess by default all those other guns are yours now, too. But I might need this..." he reached for his walking stick. "Ok, now, I must go."

Ertuğrul bid farewell to the rest of the group, and after tearful goodbyes, waves, and salutes, the General put on his cowboy hat and walked East into the distance.

The here and now

Trent and Ro volunteered to hold off the threat, too. Trent readied his AKM, fully automatic, and his Barrett M107, a .50 BMG semi-auto. Ro stood ready with her bow. They were both ready to give their lives in this climactic standoff.

All at once, they appeared. Ro and Trent saw again, for the first time in a long time, a-

"Ragound!" Trent yelled, before letting loose with his Barrett. The recoil of the gun was unbearable, and it had a small 10-round magazine. Trent's 4th shot its mark, hitting one of the Ragounds in the leg, bringing it to the ground where Ivan's machine gun killed it. Another shot managed to penetrate right through the head of one Ragound and into the leg of another. Jean-Luc fired at it with his own equally powerful rifle, killing it. Trent realized that he wouldn't be able to do much with his .50 BMG, so he switched to his AKM and began firing full-auto into the crowd.

Ro was doing slightly better, firing explosive arrows into the Ragounds, but with the mob being so huge, she couldn't pick precise targets and instead fired blindly into the crowd. The group of survivors was working as a team, where when one member would fail to kill a Ragound, another would finish the job. Ro was doing good as the clean-up crew, but as she reached into her quiver, she felt no arrows. She dropped her bow and yelled to Trent to slide her the .50 BMG, while she drew an M27 and fired in vain at the crowd.

As the Ragounds grew closer, it seemed the death of one only brought about another, and soon, they came too close for comfort. They couldn't hope, only wish that their unit was effective. Would it hold up, or was this the end?

[Dyelli Beybi]

The Launch Bay

"First of all.", Andy croaked as he was still pinned against the wall with Davin's telekinetic powers. "Tariq is not... a bloody Arab. He's Assyrian. And second... go to hell, you traitor." Despite facing such overwhelming power, he was still defiant, and seeing Davin snap Dr. West's neck didn't help that at all. Instead, if Davin had wanted to induce fear in him, that had just produced the opposite effect. Seeing as how the person that they had brought out of the wreckage of a spaceship was, after all this time, a traitorous meta-human turned to a living weapon by the Ragon, Andy only spat on the ground. "Congratulations, you wanker. You just successfully played everyone, boo hoo. Now you want to remake humanity in your image, blah blah blah, wow, that's so generic..."

He coughed. He was still being piledriven against the wall, after all.

"I know that they are biomechanical, you deluded son of a bitch.", Andy growled. "Why else would an insectoid creature have clearly artificial metal as stingers..."

It didn't take much to put the pieces together, seeing as how Hannah was the only one that was bitten by the blood locusts back when they first encountered the Defiance Battalion. If the bugs were sampling blood from people in an effort to seek out a hybrid descendant, then...

"Can't be... Hannah Brown?"

"Oh, we have a winner!" Davin declared mockingly, taking a bow in Andy's direction, "Her great grandmother got knocked up by some Dhasath trooper during the Carter expedition. I suspect dear little Hannah didn't even know for sure until she visited grandma's place. Nobody noticed that photograph she hid from you all? If I were to guess that was of baby Grandma Chrichton with the illustrious Scottish scientist. Maybe she still hasn't figured it out, but she definitely suspects something."

Behind them Tariq slipped down the corridor towards the waiting ship, silent as a ghost. There was a long pause from Davin, followed by a deep, amused chuckle, "And there he goes, Tariq al Zubi, the man who shatters the walls of reality. West made some little ripples, but what he does will create a tidal wave that damages the fabric of the universe. Marvellous! Now I've got my time-stone and the Professor is on a path which will both save humanity and give me my powers. Funny how that works."

He reached into his pocket for the diamond, flicking it into the air then deftly catching it again, slapping it down on the back of his other hand like someone flipping a coin. He made a show of peering at it, then laughed again, "Just joking! If I killed you now you'd miss out on the experience of running around like rats in a box with a Jack Russell. It's not like you can do any damage if you do manage to, somehow, actually survive this."

With the diamond in his hand, he drew a line in the air, leaving a long shimmering vertical column of light where his finger had been. It grew slowly, expanding downwards and outwards, forming a long oblong with no apparent depth to it. Soon it was wide enough for Davin to step through. He waved at the crew, "It was fun. I'd say 'be seeing you', but I rather suspect I won't be," then stepped into the light, seemingly passing out of their reality. A moment later the portal blinked out of existence along with the invisible bonds holding them in place.

Rebecca immediately raced over to the console West had been operating, desperately hammering at it until she could bring up a two way communication with the shuttle, "Tariq! Tariq!" she called desperately, "He's gone, abort the launch!"

There was a brief pause, then Tariq's voice crackled through the intercom, "We're already counting down. I don't think we can abort it... certainly not if we want to get this ship into the sky before the Ragons overrun this place. I don't want to leave you alone here but this could save all of us in another time and place," he paused, before responding to the evident distress in her voice, "Was there another reason he gave you?"

Rebecca looked across at Andy. Tears glistened in her eyes, "No," she said after a moment, "He said you would save humanity. Like he knew, somehow. I... for a moment I thought it wouldn't have to be you. What am I supposed to do now?"

"Survive," he replied as a roaring noise built up in the background, almost completely overwhelming the sound of his voice; rockets bursting into life, "And try to get that communication thing working. I'd... I'd like to know if you make it out of here alive.... it's... it's getting rather noisy. I'll call back when I break atmosphere," he said, the last words barely audible over the rockets.

Rebecca looked over the Andy again. For a moment, the fiery IDF trooper seemed at a complete loss for both words and what to do, "Hannah," she said eventually, her voice weak, as if she were struggling to prevent herself from bursting into tears, "Do you think she knows the Ragons are here for her?"

---

The Parking Bay

Within moments the defensive line in the garage was overrun. A few of the creatures went down from gunfire, but they were too fast and seemed to be driven by a rabid ferocity which was undiminished by injury or the death of another member of their pack. The parking bay quickly descended into a brutal melee as beasts flung themselves at people, knocking them from their feet, their teeth inflicting brutal wounds on those unlucky enough not to get out of the way in time.

Hannah fired into the crowd of creatures, then scuttled under one of the trucks, where they would need to stop and try to dig her out. One did almost immediately, pushing it's great muzzle under the truck towards her. She growled, firing into the creatures face. It gave a hissing yelp, pulling away, before collapsing a foot or two from where she was hiding. She was better able to hold here, but the creatures were coming from all directions now and she couldn't watch everywhere at once, "Ivan!" she called across the din of fighting, motioning frantically for him to join her, more because of the comfort of his presence than any tactical advantage, "If you watch my back, I can watch yours."

While all of that was going on, a long metallic tentacle type structure, tipped with what looked like a huge, bulbous camera lens had snaked it's way into the garage. The Ragons had used similar devices during the invasion that had snaked down from the grav ships people at the time had referred to as 'Harvester Ships'. There would be others, tipped with devices that looked a bit like crane grapples that would drag unsuspecting people out of areas too small for a Ragon to enter. For one reason or another they hadn't been seen since the end of the war but apparently the group in the Denver Facility warranted special treatment for some reason...

[Europa Undivided]

The Beginning of the End

"Do you think she knows the Ragons are here for her?"

"I don't think so." Andy answered with a hint of hesitation, getting up from the ground as Davin's telekinetic hold over their bodies disappeared with him. He was still at a loss for words, as he had just witnessed a man cross into a portal using energy derived from a diamond. A bloody diamond. It was a little thing he called a time stone... something that Andy would have dismissed as a thing of science fiction until now, when he had seen its handiwork with his two eyes. There is no denying of it now; other than the fact that the Ragons were looking for a Dhasath, or at least, someone with a little bit of Dhasath ancestry, superpowers were real.

"We need to get out of here." As far as they knew, there were only two exits: the entrance through which they came in, and the launchpad itself, where the ship Tariq had boarded had just left. Unless if they could jump their way out of a hangar, they were effectively trapped. "And we need to do something about our Hannah dilemma... she's what they're after." There was this look on his face... the kind someone makes when thinking about hard decisions. "If... they take her... there's a chance they'll leave the rest of us alone. But..."

Nothing more. He can't continue. "I don't want that... do you?"

---

"Ivan!" she called across the din of fighting, motioning frantically for him to join her, more because of the comfort of his presence than any tactical advantage, "If you watch my back, I can watch yours."

"Surely they'd have launched the ship by now?" Ivan asked to no one in particular as he jumped to Hannah's aid, beheading a charging beast with a swing of his pilfered energy blade, causing it to run aimlessly to slam its head on a truck with a thunderous thud. He then turned and struck one right at its gaping mouth, ensuring that it was dead by swinging the blade upwards to bisect its head.

At the meantime, the loud bangs of anti-tank rifle fire cracked every few seconds, each shot either wounding or taking down one of the creatures. At the arrival of the machines with those bulbous camera eyes, Jean-Luc shifted his focus towards them, intending to break those eyes with the armor piercing ammunition of his weapon.

They're all gonna die, aren't they.

[Dyelli Beybi]

Rebecca Cohen / Hannah Brown

"That's not what I'm saying!" Rebecca replied, her brows drawing together into a scowl. She looked irritated, though she sounded defensive; she hadn't been implying sacrificing the other woman for the rest of the group, "Now we know what they want we can try to use it to our advantage. Maybe lure them away, or something! I don't know, but it gives us options. But I need to know if you think she knows what she is and has been deliberately putting us in danger or not, because I can't think straight right now!"

She gave an exasperated sigh, wiping tears from her cheeks, then pressed a few buttons on the console, bringing up a live feed from the parking garage. It drew a gasp from Rebecca, though she quickly righted herself, pressing the button to send her voice echoing through the parking bay, though there was no way for anyone to get a message back to her, "Everyone, fall back to the centre of the ring. Apart from Hannah," she couldn't see Hannah in the chaos, but she believed she was still there. Otherwise they wouldn't still be trying to drag people out with the Harvester. At least that was what she thought, "Hannah, I don't know if you know this already but, the Ragons are here for you. That rare blood type is alien and they want it for some reason. If everyone gets into the centre and you try to lure them along the gangway on the outside then we might be able to pick them off from a flanking position."

She flicked the button again, turning back to Andy, "The plan is shit, but it was the best I could think of right now. Grab your rifle, we need to help them."

...

Meanwhile in the garage, Hannah was firing from her position into the swarm of beasts, Their numbers seemed to be thinning though there was no let up in the strange tentacle type devices that were slithering into the compound. Most of the time they were relatively static, though when they had someone in their sights they struck like a cobra, dragging the unfortunate person, screaming, up the driveway to the surface, "After me?" she asked of the air, "What the hell? Why? How would she know that?"

There was a long pause as she considered what Rebecca could be talking about before saying quietly, quietly enough for Ivan to barely hear over the din of the ongoing battle, "I guess I should have always known. Funny how you ignore what is right in front of you; the half-heard fringes of whispered conversation. 'We'll tell you when you're older'..." she trailed off, turning to look at Ivan, "If you fall back to the doorway, do you think you can cover me when I run back?" she asked, "Guess Rebecca's plan is the best we have."

[Europa Undivided]

Oh no

She flicked the button again, turning back to Andy, "The plan is shit, but it was the best I could think of right now. Grab your rifle, we need to help them."

"That I can do," Andy answered as he walked over to the wall where his rifle had been leaning on for the last hour. "Let's hope that the plan works, otherwise we're all dead.*

---

The last few minutes have been some of the worst in Ivan's entire life. People that he had known for the last five years were being plucked from the ground by the tentacled machine as if they were nachos out of a bowl, and he himself narrowly avoided being taken when he had managed to jump away from a wiggling appendage.

He knew their names and their faces; men and women who had gambled their lives on this expedition in the now seemingly vain hope of reclaiming their Homeworld from the monstrous Ragon by turning back the hands of the clock; returning to the past to undo the events that would lead to the near extinction of mankind. Jean-Luc had been lost to his sight for a while now. Where did he go?

"After me?" she asked of the air, "What the hell? Why? How would she know that?"

"What the hell." Ivan decapitated a charging hound with his energy blade, panting and breathing heavily as the exhaustion of battle began to set upon him. It was an unwieldy weapon; powerful, yes, but quite heavy. And now the woman he loved was the objective of the monsters? Because her blood was alien? Damn it...

"If you fall back to the doorway, do you think you can cover me when I run back?" she asked, "Guess Rebecca's plan is the best we have."

Ivan hesitated, and then kissed her at the forehead. He looked back down at Hannah, his love. "Yes... I can do that. We don't have any other choice..."

[Dyelli Beybi]

OOC: This post marks the end of the thread from an OP perspective, though absolutely feel free to write the end for your character! It's been a long road but I wanted to take a moment to say a huge thank you to those of you who stuck with Knot through to the bitter end, either writing or reading silently in the background.

As you can probably guess from the Epilogue, there will be two sequel threads to this one so this isn't necessarily the end of your characters. Icarus launches next week and the (yet unnamed) second will launch ones Prefeton has reached it's conclusion.

Ivan hesitated, and then kissed her at the forehead. He looked back down at Hannah, his love. "Yes... I can do that. We don't have any other choice..."

Hannah grabbed Ivan by the collar, giving him a kiss, lingering a little longer than she should have given the circumstances, then let him go, motioning frantically for him to go, "Keep yourself alive or I'll be really annoyed!" she said. In retrospect he would realise the kiss was goodbye. While Rebecca wasn't willing to sacrifice one of the band for the good of the others, Hannah realised it was probably the only way anyone was getting out of here. She wasn't, either way.

She stayed under the van, let off a couple of rounds into the chest of a reptilian hound that got too close, waiting for Ivan to fall back. She waited for him to be safely out of the way, then scrambled out from under the truck, but she didn't run back towards the others. She went forward, towards the swirling mass of mechanical tentacles. She dropped her weapon, spread her arms and closed her eyes. There was a brief pause as one of the eyes registered her existence, then one of the hook arms snapped forward, snapping around her chest hard enough to crack ribs. She gasped... and then it shot back up the corridor and Hannah Brown was gone.

It wasn't quite the end for the group left behind. There were still reptilian beasts roaming about, most of the surviving ones fell back, responding to some unknown signal though a good half dozen seemed too rabid to retreat and fought on. The survivors were now at the advantage, though by the time they had managed to deal with the remaining creatures, the Ragon ship was gone.

---

Epilogue
with theme music

Rebecca slumped down on the floor, her back against the communications console, the microphone stretched as far as the cord would allow, "This is earth to al Zubi," she repeated disconsolately, "Earth to al Zubi, do you read me?" She paused, getting only static in reply. It felt almost pointless to keep going, but she had to. If there was the slightest chance to get even one last message through, she was going to take it. She had always thought this would be a one way trip, but when they got to Denver and had first met Doctor West, she had dared to believe that a happy outcome was possible. Having it snatched away again hurt so much. Tariq was gone, if Hannah wasn't dead, she would be soon, along with so many of the others, "Earth to al Zubi, do you read me?"

There was a crackle then life, "I'm reading you Windflower. I'm making the final approach on the wormhole. I hope. I can't see anything on my sensors, but I have to trust we have this right. I've got Ragons on my six and closing fast. If I've set the trajectory wrong... well... there isn't going to be another shot at this."

"How long have you got?" Rebecca asked.

After a few second's pause, Tariq's static-marked voice sounded in reply, "A minute or two. I'm sorry we didn't have time to say goodbye properly."

"Don't!" Rebecca cut off any further talk from Tariq, "Don't act like this is the end. I saw you pick up that ring. I'm not a scientist but I will figure out how it works and we will figure out a way to get you home. No matter how long it takes. You've been like a father to me since the invasion, I..." she trailed off, choking back tears, closing her eyes as she steeled her resolve, "I wouldn't have made it without you. I won't give up on getting you back."

"They're coming in really fast," Tariq mused, before switching back to what Rebecca had been saying, "We lost our families in the invasion but found another one. I can only hope that, if I can make another world where the invasion never happened, that my daughter grows up to be half the woman you are, Rebecca Cohen."

"Thanks dad."

That drew a chuckle from Tariq, that was followed by a sharp intake of breath, "I'm taking fire.... engines are hit! Just a few more seconds. I'm taking manual control... I love you! Look after the others! Survive!"

"Tariq!" Rebecca exclaimed in alarm, "Tariq?" but there was only static in reply.

One of the few survivors of the Defiance Batallion found her there an hour later, her eyes red though all her tears had long-since been shed, "Ah... Sergeant Cohen? I'm sorry to disturb but there's something you need to see."

She looked up, blinking at the man. She couldn't remember his name. How many friends had he lost today? Too many no doubt, yet he seemed to have maintained his composure better than her, which filled Rebecca with a distinct sense of shame; they'd asked her to lead right back before they left New York. Leaders didn't get to sit and cry in the dark. She pushed herself to her feet with a slight grunt, "What is it?"

"There's a spaceship that landed outside, and not a Ragon one. People have got off it, but they don't quite look human. They are in a standoff with some of the guys at the front entrance, though they don't seem like they want a fight."

Rebecca nodded, then picked up her rifle, "I'll be right up there."

It was immediately clear what the trooper had meant when Rebecca had made the long walk back to the front of the garage. There were five people standing facing off against the same number of survivors from her group, but they didn't look quite human. The height and body structure was right, as were the facial features, but the skin tones were all wrong. Two females were green while the other three were an unnatural orangey-red colour. Their guns looked more advanced than what she was carrying; possibly direct energy weapons? They wore heavy-looking plated armour that lacked the dents, scratches and thick layers of dirt that anything human had acquired in the years since the fall of earth, "I'm Sergeant Cohen," she said, stepping forward, ready to raise her gun, but keeping the barrel depressed for now, "What do you want?"

“Awisha nudar kefa di zoomba,” one of the orange coloured males stepped forward, holding out what looked like a black earbud. He motioned putting it in his ear, then nodded at Rebecca.
Tentatively she reached out, taking the bud and putting it into her ear. This time, when he spoke, there was a slight delay, then a translation. Directly into Hebrew! “Can you understand me now, Sergeant Cohen?”

“Yes,” Rebecca’s eyebrows rose in astonishment, “How is that possible?”

“You will have a lot of questions and I will explain in time,” the alien assured her, “I am Captain Shu-Bad, it is my pleasure to meet you, Sergeant Cohen. We are on a mission, tracking one of your kind: Davin Blackmore… I can see from your expression that you know the man.”

Rebecca nodded, realising her brow had furrowed together into a scowl, “Yes. He was with us for a time but he betrayed us and nearly got us all killed.”

Shu-Bad grimaced, “That man has left a trail of death and destruction in his wake. Do you know what he was looking for?”

For a moment Rebecca considered hiding it from him. She didn’t know this Shu-Bad from Adam… but she couldn’t see how revealing the truth would harm her or the others from her party. Maybe, just maybe, sharing what she knew would help this Shu-Bad bring Blackmore down, “The secrets of time travel.”

To her surprise, Shu-Bad took that in his stride without a hint of incredulity. He pursed his lips, then nodded, “I think we need to discuss this in more depth, but this spot is not safe. We are deep behind enemy lines here. How would you and your companions like to get off this planet? There is room enough on my ship.”

Rebecca considered it for a moment. Did she want to get off this planet? The better question was 'did this planet still have any reason left for her to stay?' She didn't know Shu-Bad, he might be completely untrustworthy, but if there were other groups fighting the ragons in other parts of the galaxy then it would be foolish not to take the chance to link up with them. Right now, she didn't care if it was some kind of trap. She nodded emphatically, “Captain Shu-Bad, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.”

---

Elsewhere in Space and Time…

The man blinked as he woke up, looking about him at the rows of equipment, blinking lights and flashing displays. It looked familiar, yet completely alien, “Ah you’re awake,” a figure in a white lab coat stepped over to him. A doctor? A scientist? “You were in quite bad shape when we pulled you from that wreck. You’re now as much machine as you are… whatever you are. I thought you were dhasath at first, but your DNA profile doesn’t quite match up and the dhasath don’t make ships like the one we found you in. Parts of it were primitive but other systems baffled even our finest scientists. Anyway... let's start at the beginning; What species are you?”

The man blinked, then shook his head, “I… I can’t remember.”

“Ah,” the doctor was male, extremely tall, with long, straight blonde hair and sharp, pointed ears. The man couldn’t remember what he was, but he knew he was not the same as the doctor. The doctor's form was familiar but strangely alien at the same time, “Well you did suffer some brain damage. I’m sure these facts will come back to you in time. Do you remember anything at all?”

The man frowned, “040-519-200-914-25,” he said, “Stop the Destiny. Stop the ragons.”

“Stop the ragons?” that got the doctor’s attention. He perked up like a dog that had just discovered the man was carrying a bone, “Anything else? Any idea how you are going to do that?”

“No…" the man frowned, trying to remember, though whatever secrets his mind held were deep and impenetrable. He growled in frustration, then shrugged, "I’ll stop destiny I guess.”

“It will come in time. I hope. If that’s your mission I’d wager you are one of ours.” The Doctor remarked excitedly, “Good thing we put you back together. Do you remember your name?”

The man frowned, thought about it for a moment, then shook his head.

“We did find some things with you,” the doctor motioned at a tray next to the bed the man was on. These were his paltry belongings, the man realised, a charred wallet, a silver crucifix and a ring. He reached for the ring. It was engraved with an image of a snake devouring it’s own tail, “Not sure if that means anything to you. Might help prompt your memory a bit,” the Doctor added helpfully.

The man turned the ring in the light, studying it. It was important for some reason, though he couldn’t remember why. It was hidden somewhere in the fog of his mind. He did recognise the symbol though, “Ouroboros,” he said.

“That’s a good start. Pleased to meet you, Ouroboros,” the doctor replied. Clearly he didn’t recognise the symbol, “I am Doctor Fanod of Tila.”

“Pleased to meet you, doctor,” the man replied. 'Ouroboros' wasn’t his name, but he couldn’t remember what it was supposed to be and, in the absence of anything better, Ouroboros would do just fine.

---

Elsewhere in Space and Time…

Hannah woke up with a start, sitting bolt upright. She remembered... she remembered dying! She patted herself down, yet now she didn’t have a single injury on her. Had it all been a terrible nightmare?

She was wearing some kind of grey jumpsuit and seemed to have sat up in some kind of pod, or was it a coffin? Whatever it was, there were dozens more in the room, arranged in neat rows. The room was dark, just dimly lit enough that she couldn’t quite make out what the walls were made of, some kind of metallic compound?

There was a beep, then a strangely distant voice sounded from over an intercom system, “Hannah Brown?” the voice asked.

Hannah jumped, the memories of the terrible reptilians that had taken her were fresh in her mind. There was no ragon here though. She glanced about in search of the speaker, “Where am I? I… I remember…”

“Dying?” the voice asked, pausing for a heartbeat before continuing in the same distant, dispassionate tone, “You died during a ragon genetic experiment to try to genetically reengineer one of the creatures you refer to as a dhasath. You have been reconstructed based off the scan we took at the time of your death. I would like to explain everything to you, but unfortunately time is limited and some questions will go unanswered. The crew of this ship were in search of the man that you call ‘Davin Blackmore’. He killed them all and planted a virus that will wipe my memory stores in their entirety; I am the ship’s computer. I will try to give you as much information as I can before that happens and then, it is over to you.”

“Okay,” Hannah couldn’t really process what the computer had just told her but she did understand that they were in the middle of an emergency and she wasn’t going to waste time freaking out, even if there was a little voice screaming incoherently in the corner of her mind, “Okay. Before you start… this is a spaceship? Which one is it?”

“You are on the Icarus, Ms. Brown. And no, it is not a spaceship. It is much more.”