Survival

Hey everybody got a new chapter for ya, hope you like it

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Steven knew the second he'd woken up that he was in the med bay. Not surprising considering the beating he and Richard took. Although he was happy to say they gave as good as they got but the fact that he wasn't in the Pit only ruined his mood. Sitting up Steven saw that the two guards at the door were carrying sonic rifles instead of shotguns. Looking to his left he saw Richard once again unconscious but his furrowed brows and pained face meant he was currently suffering through a nightmare.

Before he could get up to wake his friend the doors to med bay slammed open and a furious Elizabeth stormed inside. She didn't even look at him, she went straight to her desk and started sorting through the mountains of paperwork. Soon she pulled out two pieces of paper and walked back to the guards and started talking to them. Steven couldn't hear what they were saying but whatever Elizabeth had said caused the two guards to leave the room. She walked right up to him, stared him straight in the eyes and slapped him. Wincing at the pain in his cheek Steven was overcome with a sense of deja vu.

Turning his head back to face her Steven asked her "I take it you heard about the fight?"

Her glare didn't let up as she grounded out the words "Are you fucking insane? Or do you just enjoy getting a beating!" Walking around him Elizabeth started looking over Richards wounds, ignoring Steven. Steven heard the guards walk back into the room but he ignored them. "It was necessary" That was apparently the wrong thing to say as Elizabeths head whipped towards him with a look of disbelief.

"Necessary? You have been the cause of every riot since you got here! For gods sake you killed a man! Here" Elizabeth leaned over and gave him one of the sheets of paper "You're reward"

Scanning the paper in his lap he saw it was infact a map with green X in three different places. "Whats this?" She answered Steven in a grave voice "A map to the Pits. Its incomplete but those green X's are different places where food is stored. After all, the guards won't bet on people if they have no chance of survival down there" Elizabeth got up and walked out of the room with a sad expression upon her face.

Thousands of thoughts ran through his head until they rested on one thought 'I'll be home soon'

Terra Nova was a planet that had earned a place in history. It was the first planet outside of Earths solar system to be colonized, it's the current headquarters of the E.D.G.E the main headquarters of the scientific community and it was where the first wedding between a Human and Flist took place. A planet of massive cities with metal skyscrapers that stretched towards the sky and metal walkways between them miles the air. Blue kinetic barriers created roads in the sky with new ones forming whenever a traffic block occurred. All in all Mouse couldn't understand why he and Captain Hollister were here.

Walking past some street performers Mouse asked Hollister "Why are we here Captain?" Hollister didn't stop in his stride but his only answer was "You'll see"

Looking up Mouse caught sight of the Daedalus going into FTL before disappearing. Hollister couldn't just grant shore leave to the whole crew so he was forced to take some of his days off to come here and convinced Mouse to do the same. Alias had wanted to come with them and leave her kids with her mother for a few days but Hollister wouldn't let her. His reason being that if Alias came with them they'd never get the support they needed.

Right now the Daedalus was being Captained by a woman named Rapid, Hollister trusted her and the crew seemed ok with everything that was happening. Except for Hatic. It took a while for Mouse to convince her that another Doctor could take care of Carlos but the fact that this might be their only chance to get the support to rescue Steven seemed to convince her. Although Mouse couldn't help but feel sorry for the Doctor roped into taking care of Carlos. Hatic was very picky and tended to treat new faces with a lot of sarcasm and insults.

Breaking from his thoughts Mouse found themselves heading towards the red light district of Terra Nova. A quick glance at Hollister showed that this was where they were supposed to be but that didn't make him any less uncomfortable.

Going bright red when a hooker winked at him Mouse squeaked out "Captain!"

Hollister responded with a "This is the way Mouse" and kept walking. Mouse tried to ignore the men and women around and the sounds of moans coming from the buildings around them but he couldn't stop his face from going redder and redder.

Finally they stopped and Mouse walked into the Captains back. Stepping around Hollister he found himself infront of a theatre of all things, alot of men were going inside and there was armed guards at the entrance. Hollister walked inside and giving the guards a quick glance Mouse followed. Going through the foyer and into the stage room Mouse discovered that it wasn't a strip club like he'd expected. In actuality it was very nice. It was modeled after the older 18 century theatres with plenty of seats facing the stage. Hollister sat down in the middle row near the back and Mouse sat next to him.

The theatre started to fill up with people, all men, until it was standing room only. Mouse turned to Hollister to ask a question but the lights began to dim. Turning back to the stage Mouse watched as the curtain went up and a spotlight appeared. Into the spotlight walked an old bald man with a bandage covering his left eye. The men around them began to cheer and when they calmed down the man spoke.

"Brothers! Old and new! I welcome you here and hope that when I am finished those of you still uncertain will recognize the true path. I, Hui Lin, welcome you to Humanitus Primus!"

The sounds of cheering drowned out Mouse's shout of "What!?"


When Steven next awoke he felt the hard rock beneath him and thought for a moment that he was in his cell. Opening his eyes Steven was greeted with the sight of a grey ceiling that was a lot higher than the one in his cave. Eyes widening at his returning memories Steven sprang to his feet and looked around him, blocks at the ready.

The cold was the first thing he noticed but then again he was counting on that. It's not like they'd have any reason to set the artifical atmosphere down here to hot. Lights were buried in the walls around him and threw shadows that reminded him of the things he used to imagine lived in the darkness when he was a child. It was a massive cavern and everything looked the same. Hearing a groan Steven spun on his heel and saw a groogy looking Richard getting to his feet. Richard opened his eyes, took a look around and whispered "Holy shit! We're actually in the Pit!"

"I know. We actually did it" Steven whispered back before looking around for his map "You seen my map?"

"Map?" Richard asked "We got a map! And you lost it!" Steven gave him a glare before going back to scanning the floor "Well I can't exactly hold onto now can I! Check your pockets"

Richard dug around in his pockets and pulled out a scrunched up map and a test tube. "What the..." Examining the tube more closely Richard shouted to Steven "Hey Steven! We've got nanites!" Stevens head snapped up from scanning the floor and he surged towards Richard. "Theres some paper inside. Could you get it out but be careful! We don't know what those nanites do" Nodding Richard reached his finger in and slowly pulled the paper out, being careful to avoid the nanites. Unfurling it Richard read aloud

Had to pull a lot of strings to get these. This was the only thing I could sneak past the guards.

Use on the metal blocks.

Signed Elizabeth

P.S. Don't die!

Finished reading Richard asked Steven "When did she get the nanites in my pocket?" Steven gestured for Richard to put away the note before saying "Must have been when she was examining you. The guards weren't in the room at the time. Clever girl"

Holding out the metal blocks covering his claws Steven said "Alright, lets get this over with" Richard nodding and poured the grey sand looking nanites onto the blocks. They watched, fascinated as the blocks just seemed to melt away and form a puddle on the floor. Steven flexed his claws and said "If I didn't have a mate I'd marry that woman" Richard stared at the claws and breathed out "Kickass claws man, where can I get some?" Steven shook his head and then said "If you're ok with getting your hands sliced off then you can get them anywhere they make nanites"

Staring at his own hands Richard answered "You know what? I'm ok with the hands I've got" Steven smiled, walked over to one of the caverns walls and started to dig. When he finished digging he stepped into the small cave and sat down, Richard followed him "This caves tiny but it will keep us out of sight from any wandering Fleshrippers plus its got enough light to read the map"

Richard smoothed the map and asked Steven "Alright then, you mind telling me just HOW we're going to find this Locust ship?"

Steven nooded and pointed at the map "This maps incomplete which means these caverns haven't been fully explored yet so there has to be a Locust ship here somewhere" Richard interrupted "Why does there have to be a ship here?" and Steven answered "Because the Fleshrippers are alive" At the sight of confusion on Richards face Steven began to explain

"Fleshrippers are basically giant lizards and lizards are cold blooded. These caverns are cold, too cold for cold blooded creatures like Fleshrippers to survive which means there must be a source of immense heat that they can nest near. Locust technology runs off of a plasma based power source" Richard raised his hand and Steven nodded to him "Whats plasma?"

Steven explained "Ionized gas, which is gas that has a lot of energy running through it. A Sun is just a large ball of plasma. Friend of mine explained it to me when we were talking about Locust tech"

"So that means Locust tech gives off a lot of heat?" Steven nodded and Richard looked at little proud of himself for figuring it out.

"These caverns were made by the Locust to travel to and from the Harvesting Facility in ships. There is a Locust dock around here somewhere and the fact that the Fleshrippers are still alive means theres still a ship here too."

"Wouldn't it have run out of power by now?" Steven shook his head at Richards question "The Locust found a way to not only use plasma safely as an energy source but to also recycle it. Locust tech can't run out of power. The main problem we're going to have is tracking a Fleshripper back to the nest and sneaking past them to the ship. Can you lay down the map for me please"

Richard out down the map and Steven bent over it "Fleshrippers are predators and although their sense of smell isn't great, it's strong enough that they'll know we're here somewhere. They'll most likely head towards one of these food sources and wait for us since thats where everyone transported here goes." Poking his head out of the cave Steven took a look around him before heading back in "First thing we have to do is figure out where we are on this map. Any ideas?"

Richard poked his head out as well and looked around for a good 5 minutes. He went back in and pointed to a spot north of a green X "We're here." Seeing Stevens raised eyebrow Richard explained "I was a miner. They taught me a lot about maps, although to be honest I never thought I'd actually use it outside of my job"

Steven grinned and said "With my knowledge of Fleshrippers and Locust tech and your map and mining skills we may actually pull this off!"

"Only one problem. We don't know how to fly a Locust ship!" Richard slumped against the wall, depressed but Steven had an answer "I can fly it"

Richard gave him a look of disbelief "If people can fly Locust ships then how come I've never seen any" Steven sat down against one of the walls and explained "Locust ships use a neurotechnology that sort of... reads the mind of the one whos hooked up to it. You pilot it with your mind. Normally a non-Locust using it would be impossible since they don't know how to read the neurons in non-Locust brains, luckily I was a part of a trial run of some new nanites designed to translate our neural signals into something the ship can understand"

Richard perked up when he heard this "So you can fly it?"

Steven looked sheepishly to the side and said "Well, I sort of... crashed the test ship"

Richard sighed and whispered "We are so screwed" but Steven frantically justified himself "Hey the only reason I crashed was because they just took a Locust neuroscanner and shoved it onto a Human ship! The two technologies were too different so I should be able to fly a Locust ship without a problem!"

Giving the map a quick glance Steven crawled out of the cave and stood up "Alright, we know where we're going and we know what we have to do so we should probably get going" Nodding Richard crawled out of the cave in the cavern wall with the map in hand. Taking a quick look at the map to make sure he knew the way Richard pointed down one of the caverns and they quickly started running, not wanting to spend any more time in these caverns then necessary.

Back on Terra Nova Mouse sat in the theatre, his mind processing where he was. This was a Primus meeting! Hui Lin, the founder and leader of Primus was standing on a stage infront of him!. Reaching into his pocket Mouse casually pulled out his phone and started to dial the number for the Terra Nova police force. Before he could finish dialing the phone was ripped out of his hands by Hollister who put it in his right pocket, away from Mouse.

"This wasn't a mistake Mouse. I meant to take us here" Mouse opened his mouth to shout at Hollister but was interupted by Hui Lin

"Brothers! Please, calm yourselves. Your support is heartwarming but that is not why we are here! No, we are here to teach those amongst us in this audience, those who you trust enough to reveal all of this to the truth of Primus. The U.P. would bury us and forget we existed but that is something we will not allow! There was a time when Humanity praised our works, believed in our cause! But that time has past and any who showed loyalty were caged within Hells Kitchen"

Lin took a drink of water from a glass on the stage and continued his speech "Was this right? Did we deserve to be stabbed in the back? NO! But brothers do not hate the U.P. for they too are Human. Or rather, they were" Angry murmers filled the audience.

"The U.P. has been corrupted by the hands of the xeno! Once upon time, not long ago we ruled the galaxy! We destroyed the Locust and now we must share what we have EARNED with xeno who play us like puppets on strings! Have you forgotten what the Xenos have done to us?"

Lins voice became calm with a hint of sadness "How many of you have lost someone to the Xenos. How many lives must they take before their bloodlust is satisfied. The Daedalus crew meet the Locust with open arms and what did the Locust do? They ripped off those arms and ATE THEM!!"

Lin started shouting passionately and the crowd was loving it.

"HOW LONG TILL THE FLIST TURN AGAINST! HOW LONG TILL THEY DECIDE THAT THEY SHOULD RULE, NOT US! WE, OUT OF THE KINDNESS OF OUR HEARTS GAVE THEM A TASTE OF POWER AND NOW THEY WANT MORE?! THEY'VE ALREADY DESTROYED THREE REVIVAL STATIONS HOW LONG TILL THEY GET THE REST! WE NEED THEM AND THEY US THAT TO CONTROL US! WELL I SAY NO MORE!"

The crowd was going wild, people were on their feet cheering and roaring with praise.

"WE ARE THE ONES WHO DESERVE TO RULE! ONE DAY ALL HUMANS WILL CRY OUT IN JOY AT OUR MESSAGE AND PUT THE XENOS IN THEIR PLACE! THROUGH US BROTHERS, THROUGH US THE GLORY OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE WILL BE REBORN WITH A SWORD IN ON HAND AND BOOK IN THE OTHER! THE XENOS WILL SERVE US, NOT AS EQUALS BUT AS SLAVES BENEATH US! THIS IS OUR TIME! VENI, VIDI, VICI!!"

The crowd shouted back "VENI, VIDI, VICI!" and Hui Lin walked off the stage, accompanied by the sounds of applause and cheers.

Mouse couldn't believe what he'd just heard. "Quite the showman isn't he? Hui Lin is nothing if not persuasive" Hollisters voice cut through his thoughts and Mouse had to agree. Although he'd never admit it a part of him, that primal part of all creatures that screamed to dominate, to rule was echoing in his ears at the images Hui Lin had passionately weaved like a master craftman.

Feeling someone tap his shoulder Mouse turned to face a kind looking man holding out a pamphlet of all things. Taking the pamphlet from him the man smiled at Mouse before heading towards someone else. Giving it a quick glance Mouse shoved it in his pocket and stood up when Hollister stood. Following him down one of the isles Mouse glanced at the men around him. They were not what he'd thought they'd be, he'd always imagined the members of Primus as the types with more muscles than brains but it was not so. Hell, Mouse had even seen a Rabbi and a Priest laughing together!

Going around the stage they went into the back stage and walked past many people, all who seemed very busy packing up. Captain Hollister seemed to know where to go so Mouse just followed him. Coming up to a white door he saw a guard carrying a sonic rifle guarding the door but he simply smiled at Hollister and stepped out of the way.

Entering the room Mouse did not see the masterful showman on that stage or the ruthless monster the media would have you believe he was. Sat infront of a mirror sat Hui Lin, staring with a look of pure anguish at a picture of what Mouse guessed was his family. A sense of deja vu filled Mouse and he knew why. Years ago, before the Flist, before they had even met Mouse once walked into the mess hall and saw Steven sitting alone at a table, staring at a picture in his hand with the blank eyes of a broken man.

Shaking his head Mouse furiously reminded himself that Lin and Steven were nothing alike! But once Lin saw them that pained look faded and a fake smile appeared upon his face, just like Steven did when he noticed Mouse in the mess hall.

"Thomas!" Lin shouted out surprised and stood up "I knew you'd come back to your senses. Don't worry, theres no hard feelings between us. You needed time away from the Primus and I can respect that." holding up his hand Hollister shook his head and said "Sorry Lin but I'm not coming back"

"Really now?" Hui Lin turned towards the mirror and checked to make sure his bandage covered his eye "Then why are you here exactly?"

Captain Hollister took a deep breath and asked "We need your help. We've got a way to put Luna in Hells Kitchen but we need your help to do it" At the name Luna, Lin clenched his right fist and touched his left hand to his bandaged eye "Let me guess, Luna goes into prison and Commander Baker gets out of prison"

Hollister nodded and Lin sighed "Oh how I would love to put that bitch away but I'm afraid rescuing Commander Baker isn't enough of a reason to send my men to their deaths. No Thomas, you'll need something better than that"

"And I suppose you've got an idea of something to make it worth it?" At Hollisters question a cruel grin stretched across Lins face "As a matter of fact, I do"

Hui Lin walked over to one of the drawers and pulled out a diagram "Unknown to Humanity the Flist part of the U.P. has a team of scientists stationed on the moon surrounding the Flist homeworld. They found a Harvesting Faciity under its surface but its the contents that make it interesting"

Routing around in the drawer again Lin pulled out a photo and handed it to Hollister. Hollister gave the picture to Mouse and asked "The hell is this?" Mouse gave it a look over before saying "A Flist woman, currently in a Locust stasis pod by the looks of it. Huh, she has a metal sword in her hand... is this who I think it is?" Mouse whispered in awe.

Lin nodded with that same cruel grin across his face "Strider herself. The legendary Flist warrior who defeated a Fleshripper AND a Locust single-handed, and the only woman to earn a metal sword. Flist women have told their children countless stories about this woman, praised her as an example of womans equality to man. If the Flist figure out how to revive this woman it will be a major moral boost to the Flist women. But if something were to happen to her..."

Hollister glared at Lin and finished his sentence "It would demoralize them, weaken them. The perfect time for certain xenophobes to strike" Lin laughed and shook his head "You always could read me like a book. Heres the deal, You kill Strider and my ships are yours but I would hurry if I were you, the Raiders know about her too and are gathering their forces to get her. Good Luck"

Walking away from the theatre Mouse wondered if they would actually do it. Could he kill an innocent woman, a woman who dedicated her life to protecting her people despite the males hatred of her so he could free his best friend. "Why would the Raiders want her? They hate Strider" Turning to Hollister Mouse glanced at the picture in his hand again before answering him "Probably because shes the only woman left capable of giving birth to Flist men. They may hate her but she's their last hope to slow their extinction"

Hollister scoffed and muttered "Ironic"

It was ironic. Flist men taught their sons that Strider was only a legend, that no woman could do the things she had done. But now they needed her. "Sir" Mouse began hesitantly "Are we really going to kill her?"

Hollister didn't answer. In truth he didn't know what to do. Killing Strider means freeing Steven but if he found out they had to kill an innocent woman to free him, the guilt would consume him. The only thing Hollister said was "Either way we need to get to that moon and reinforce the science teams. If the Raiders get their hands on Strider they'll cage her and turn her into breeding stock and that is something I'm not about to let happen, no one deserves that fate"

Mouse agreed but kept his head down. This was a strange day to say the least, confusing at most. "He wasn't... he wasn't what I was expecting" He whispered causing Hollister to sigh, stop and look out over the city "Hui Lin is a very pained, very angry man. He lost everyone he loved to the Locust but the Locust are gone now. The only people he can turn that old anger onto are the Flist and all Xenos. I was a member as well but not because I really hated the Flist, but because I couldn't let go of my anger, my need for revenge. Don't feel sorry for him Mouse, he chose this path"

Mouse stood next to Hollister and whispered "Monsters aren't born, they're made" Hollister just nodded.

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I realise that this is shorter than my other chapters but I wanted to leave some stuff for the next one.

Steven and Richard journeying through the Pit. A big battle above the Homeworld moon and a look into what horrible thing made Captain Luna of the Valkyries into the woman she is today. The next chapter is gonna be sweet!