Lunar Port 1, the biggest and most active port on the lunar surface, everyone say's it's the first one built. Tiera knew better, but didn't care. Nor did she care about the surroundings, you seen on space port, you seen them all.


Nathan, on the other hand, was staring in amazement, like he'd never seen anything like it. Well, he probably never had.


"Wait, Coke is still around?" Nathan asked, sounding somewhere between shocked and amused.


"Yeah, they were one of the first companies in space." Tiera nodded.


"What other companies survived the war?" Nathan asked.


"A lot of the big names from the 21st century were out of business before the war." Tiera said. "Most computer and software companies went under in the early 22nd century, when Ion Tech dominated the entire computing industry. Ion Tech is still the system's foremost computer manufacturer.


"A single parent company that called themselves only ‘The Corporation' methodically took over every defense contractor in the US, and a large number of those outside the US. Almost every weapon used in the war was built by them, even most of the genetically engineered ones. They went down with Earth though.


"Beyond that it's just standard business. Most companies didn't want the hassle of moving their industry to space, while most of those who did went under after the war anyways, due to loss of earth support and resources. So all in all, there are very few companies you'd know of in business."


"And Tiera likes to show off her knowledge." Aerix said, snickering.


"Feh, hush." Tiera said.


"Well, I appreciate the amount of information she has." Nathan said.
"Sure, side with her." Aerix teased.


"Of course, without her I don't have a place to sleep." Nathan grinned "Man's got to have his priorities straight."


"If you children are done bickering, we have someplace to be." Tiera said, shaking her head. "And besides, Nathan is starting to attract a lot of attention, and not of the good kind."


"Why is there so much animosity towards humans, anyways?" Nathan asked, following Tiera through the crowded port.


"When we were created, we were considered property. No different really than a computer, car or the like. We weren't even actually classified as animals. We had no rights." Tiera explained. "Over time, of course this changed, it actually happened fairly fast by comparison to others who suffered the same kind of bigotry.


"But despite the legal changes, most of the human race had a problem with the idea of treating us as equals. We were used to build the space colonies, because we were considered ‘expendable', this is why after the war, we out numbered humans.


"Even then, they had a hard time considering us equals, and many of our kind refused to consider the humans as anything but inferior. As the human population dwindled, humans became the boogey man. Evil creatures who ate pups."


"Then, some pups fantasize about being eaten by a human." Aerix said with a grin, causing Tiera to blush.


"So generally speaking, it's the same idiotic racism that's weaved it's way through history." Nathan said, ignoring Aerix's comment.


"Yeah more or less." Tiera nodded.


"You'd think civilization would have learned by now." Nathan shook his head.


"Yeah, you'd think." Tiera said rather dryly. ".. Aerix, have you noticed that we're being followed?"


"Yep." Aerix nodded. "A fox and a panther, both suited up for riot control. Could be a coincidence, but I doubt it."


"Yeah, so do I." Tiera nodded, picking up her pace some to get through the crowd, and hoping to lose the pursuit. "Got a weapon on you?"


"Just my mitts." Aerix said. "But that should be plenty, you?"
"My knives." Tiera said. "Should we continue with the less populated route, or take the gamble of a crowd?"


"If it comes to a fight, I'd rather be isolated and not have to worry about innocent bystanders." Aerix said. "Or people deciding to join the fight."


"My thoughts exactly." Tier replied. "Nathan, can you fight?"


"Not very well in hand to hand." Nathan replied. "If I can get a gun, I'm a fair shot though."


"Well, if it comes to that, we'll try to get you a bolt rifle." Aerix said.


"They're not too different from gunpowder firearms." Tiera said. "Minimal kick, very silent. Biggest thing is remembering not to correct for the kick."
Nathan nodded. "I hope it doesn't come to that though."


"It's already been proven someone wants you dead." Tiera said. "So, nothing will surprise me right now."



* * *



Maximus sat quietly in the dark office, watching the mouse behind the desk fill out papers. He wasn't sure what had happened, but the jump pad had significantly increased their security since the last time he was there.


"Name?" The mouse asked him suddenly.


"Maximus." The lion replied.


"Date of birth?"


"March 18th, 2525."


The mouse nodded, writing his responses down. "Is your visit for business or pleasure?"


"Business." The lion said, amused. "Why else would someone come here from Europa?"


"What is your business here?" The mouse asked, ignoring his attitude.


"I'm here to deliver a message for my employer." Maximus sighed.


"Who is the recipient and who is your employer?"


"It is to be delivered to Nathaniel Ericson." Maximus said. "From Dr. Serge Redding, of Ion Tech's genetics department."


The mouse nodded. "And why were you sent armed?"


"That was my choice." Maximus said, "I prefer to keep my sword on me for self defense, ant sentimental reasons. It was my fathers."


"Job classification?"


"Official title is head of security."


"Why did Ion Tech send you to deliver a message?" The mouse asked, raising an eyebrow.


"Dr. Redding believed there would be an element of risk involved," Maximus replied, "due to the reaction many people have to the existence of a human. He opted to send someone who he knew he could trust, and could defend themselves."


The mouse eyed him for a moment, took a few more notes and then finally nodded. "Very well. I need you to fill out these forms, and stop by the weapon registration desk. You'll need to register your sword with security here."


Maximus started on the forms, covering all manner of mindless details. "I will get to keep my sword, right?"


"Yes, so long as it can be proven to be yours legally and has not been reported involved in any major crimes." The mouse replied. "Essentially, we record the appearance and style of the weapon, as well as any distinguishing factors. This along with a 3D scan of it, will allow us to examine a wound caused by the same style of weapon and reasonably tell if it was your weapon, or someone else's."


Maximus nodded. "Very well. Can I ask why all these increased security measures?"


The mouse thought for a moment before nodding. "We had an individual come in off a transport yesterday. Killed two of our men and seriously injured six others.


"The survivors all refuse to give any kind of description of their attacker, or why they were attacked. Study of the injuries lead us to believe it was a snake."


"Is this individual still aboard the station?" Maximus asked.


"We assume so."


"I'll be sure to be careful then." Maximus said with a smirk, and finished filling out the forms in silence.



* * *



Walking through the Lunar colony, Nathan found himself amazed at how much like a city it was. He had expected something much neater, and a much better use of space. He also found the fact that the primary form of transportation was waking.


He also found the sheer number of stares he got to be most disturbing, and as such was relived when then got to a much less populated area. A rather dingy, dimly lit section. He was about to comment on this when the trio found their way blocked by a pair of armed and armored soldiers. Nathan recognized their uniforms as those of the PDD.


One of the two stepped forward pulling a device that looked much akin to a PDA from a pocket. "We have orders issued and signed by Admiral Darkmoon, for the human, one Nathaniel A. Ericson, to be taken in to protective custody for questioning. You two are hereby ordered to stand down and not interfere, otherwise lethal force is authorized."


Aerix looked at Tiera and smiled. "Three on two. Odds are in our favor."


The officer chuckled "You might want to look behind you."


Aerix glanced back, seeing three more equally armed and armored soldiers, including a minotaur. "Looks like more fun. Five on three. Whatcha think Tiera? Should we let them have him?"


Tiera grinned, "I think fighting sounds like a lot more fun."


The surrounding soldiers readied their weapons, the speaker growling. "We're not playing games here. Hand him over or we will kill both of you."


Tiera shook her head, "You're not going to shoot us, not in the present positions at least. Too much risk of hitting your own men. Now why don't you save both of us the time, and just pretend we kicked your ass and be on your merry way, all bones still intact."


The commanding officer didn't even bother responding, instead the soldiers behind them immediately started to move. Two splitting to either side and advancing, while the minotaur charged towards Aerix. Two consecutive popping sounds indicated the commanding officer and soldier in front had fired their bolt rifles.


Tiera instinctively dropped under the path of the bolts as the advanced on the commanding officer, a pair of long knives slide out of her sleeves. She caught the commanding officers gun arm as he readied for another shot, twisting to position him between her and the other soldier while sliding her free knife in to his poorly armored armpit earning a howl of pain and causing him to drop his gun.


Meanwhile Aerix spun to catch the, much smaller, charging minotaur as it came at him, and use its own momentum against it, flipping it over his body and flinging it at the unprepared soldier ahead of him. The impact was not a pretty one, and while the minotaur got back up, the soldier didn't.


The two flanking soldiers took brief stock of the situation, and fired off their bolt rifles, falling back some.


Tiera spun the struggling commanding officer around to catch the bolt intended for her, kicking the dropped rifle to Nathan. "Try not to kill any of them." She said with a laugh, wrenching her blade free of the now-limp commanding officer. She continued to use him as a shield moving towards the closest of the remaining soldiers.


Aerix grunted in pain, the bolt catching him in the upper right arm. He didn't let it slow him down any though as he moved to intercept the minotaur once more, this time catching him in the gut with a solid uppercut, followed up with a somewhat weaker right cross in to the jaw.


The minotaur staggered and fell, struggling to get back on it's feet, before Aerix caught it by one horn and lifted it off the ground, flinging it like a rag doll in to the nearest wall, where it collapsed in to a heap.


Nathan recovered the bolt rifle, examining it for a scant moment, quickly figuring how it worked. He took careful aim at one of the two remaining soldiers, and fired.


Three shots rang off in quick succession from three separate bolt rifles. The first shot striking one of the soldiers in the shoulder and sending him sprawling. The second shot coming from that soldier's rifle, hitting the opposite wall. The third shot catching Aerix in the back of one knee, causing it to buckle and eliciting a string of expletives from Aerix.


As the three shots rang out, Tiera took that moment to leap over the commanding officers body, landing behind the last remaining soldier, sliding a knife in to the back of each of his knees.


The last of the soldiers collapsed, Tiera moving to kick the gun from his hand, followed by slamming his head in to the ground when he tried to push himself back up.


Tiera looked over the scene, none of the soldiers were moving. She suspected the one Nathan shot was faking, but she let him be. "Aerix, you okay over there?"


Aerix carefully stood back up. "Yeah, stings like a bitch, but I can walk. And I'm sure Mother will be able to patch it up." He added with a laugh.


"Nathan?"


Nathan nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine."


"Good." Tiera said, picking up one of the downed soldiers and activating his com. "We're under heavy fire here!" She sounded genuinely panicked, "Three men down already! There's got to be at least a dozen of them! We need a med-te-" She cut herself off, firing a bolt rifle and dropping the limp soldier to the ground.


"Now we have about a minute for them to pinpoint the signal," Tiera said, "two minutes for them to assemble a heavy combat ready med team, and a minute for them to get out here. Then about another two minutes to get his full statement, three minutes for them to start a search party, which leaves us with nine minutes to get away."


The three moved away from the scene as fast as Aerix could limp, which was considerably faster than Nathan would have expected.


"At least that lot didn't want me dead." Nathan said with a slight chuckle.


"That's slightly disturbing actually." Tiera said, shaking her head.

"Someone wants you, alive. But they're perfectly willing to kill you. So now there's at least two separate factions after you, likely for no reason beneficial to you."


"Probably wants him for questioning." Aerix said. "Most won't have heard or believe that he's from over five hundred years ago. Wants to find out where he's from and how he got here, so they can wipe them all out."


"Shoulda just let the ship crash." Nathan laughed. "Would have saved everyone the trouble of killing me."


"No one is going to kill you, Nathan." Tiera said. "Not if I have any say in the matter at least."


"You're going to need help." Aerix said, poking Tiera in the ribs. "It's a good bet both parties who want him, have a fair amount of clout in the PDD. You can't take on an army all on your own."


"You're right." Tiera sighed. "But who can we trust?"


Meanwhile, Nathan just laughed. "Ahh, nothing like being the target of a corrupt military's hatred!"


After that statement, they just walked on in silence.



* * *



A short while later found Nathan and Tiera alone, Aerix having left for his old home shortly before their arrival, standing outside of what was by far the oddest looking building either of them had ever seen.


Uncle Bob's Old World Curiosities seemed to be what you would get if you took the 20th century concept of a space station, a bomb shelter and a cybernetics lab, and threw them in a blender with at least seventeen different colors of paint. It also presently sported a closed sign.


As Nathan approached the door, a machine rose up to greet him, it looked to be some sort of automated ticket seller.


"We are sorry, but Uncle Bob's Old World Curiosities is presently closed." The machine said, "We will reopen tomorrow morning at 10:00. Our business hours are 10:00 to 20:00, open seven days a week. Private tours are available if booked in advance.


"If you would like to book a private tour, or purchase tickets for the museum in advance, please visit our Net sight. If you have other business with Uncle Bob, please state your name and business, and he will be with you shortly."


"I'm Nathaniel Ericson," Nathan said, "You contacted me about a job offer?"


The door swung open almost immediately, Uncle Bob's voice coming over the speaker this time. "Greetings, come in. Make yourself at home and feel free to poke around. I'll be with you as soon as my business is concluded."


Nathan glanced at Tiera briefly before entering. The entry area was obviously intended to look something like a living room from the 20th century, albeit one with a gift shop right in the middle of it. There were two couches, one looked like it belonged in the 1950's, the other rather plain, looking like it would be just at home in Tiera's apartment as a living room from his time.


One wall held a replica of a TV, from the 70's was Nathan's guess, playing an episode of Star Trek. There was also a video game console hooked up to it, though not one Nathan recognized. And a lava lamp sitting on top of it.


On the mantle over the holographic fireplace was an iPod docking station, playing an odd song that seemed to be about someone going insane and attacking a toy factory.


The most garish thing in the room though, was by far the disco ball that hung from the ceiling.


On the far wall, there were a series of doors, each indicating the theme of the room beyond. One in particular stood out to Nathan, a metal sliding door with black lettering that simply said ‘WAR'. Above the door was written ‘War, war never changes.' And next to it, ‘This room contains graphic content, and may be unsuitable for young children, or those easily frightened. Information in this room is taken from historical sources, and does not represent the opinions of the owner.'


The door slid open as Nathan approached. He entered, leaving Tiera to being distracted by old magazines, and found himself in a dark room, the first displays in the room were of medieval weaponry, armor and tactics. Then they progressed through the ages, always drawing correlations back to the medieval.


Nathan skimmed over the first half the room, only stopping to pay attention to details when he reached World War Three, the end of an entire planet. His planet.


There were detailed schematics for the Japanese's battle mechs, and the German's panzer mechs. Including the largest mech ever created. It was called Maus, a name dating back to the World War Two era super tank built by the Germans, it was the largest tank of its time, too large to actually be use.


The mech version however, actually functioned, and was reputed to be entirely unstoppable. It's believed that if the behemoth were uncovered, it would continue to function.


The Chinese favored genetic enhancement and cybernetic modification of human soldiers, and despite their lower powered techniques, the sheer number they were able to field caused them to be a force to be reckoned with.


By air and sea, the United States, which had by then annexed Canada, dominated. The Air Force and Navy had both progressed by leaps and bounds. Then he got to the land troops and was appalled.


‘Created by Gene-Warp, the ‘beasts' were the United States primary ground forces. Each species was created for a specific purpose, and all were considered "expendable".'


‘Wolves: The most prevalent of all species were interspersed in squads of humans, and eventually had entire squads made up of them. They while not as fast or as strong as the tigers, wolves were created for their pack mentality. A wolf would never willingly leave a member of its pack to die. Many human lives were saved this way. Many humans also risked their lives to save fallen wolves, as is a soldier's nature.'


‘Tigers: Swift and deadly, the second most common species. They were intended to take out enemy commanders. Tigers increased pain tolerance and running speed allowed them to slip through the ranks of enemy foot soldiers to lay waste to the commanders. It was not uncommon for up to ten tigers to be sent after the same target, and none to return.'


‘Minotaurs: The United States answer to mechs. Minotaurs were created to be able to survive in melee combat long enough to disable a mech. One minotaur for one mech, was the attitude. Otherwise, a mech might kill hundreds of soldiers.' Following this entry was a picture of a minotaur, either dead or dying atop a mech, a large sword impaling the cockpit.


‘Panthers: Stealth and speed. Intensive training and genetic modifications made panthers the second best assassin on Earth. No one ever survived a face to face encounter with a panther that wanted to kill them. It's believed that a squad of panthers is how Maus was taken down.'


‘Snakes: The serpentine killers, venomous, fast, agile and uncanny swimmers. Few snakes ever died on the battle field, their scales affording them better protection against glancing shots, and their speed making them harder targets. That paired with a better regeneration rate than any other species made them formidable opponents.


‘Further experiments with snakes created enhanced armored scales, heightened regeneration, augmented senses. There were even experiments in making their scales disperse electrical shocks, though it's unknown if that was ever a success.'


‘Foxes: While not intended for military purposes. Foxes proved invaluable to the army, their naturally keen senses and quick minds made them impressive snipers.'


For a moment Nathan stood staring, the displays following the species list were photographs, stories and relics from the war. He found himself unable to believe that it had been his country, the country that preached an acceptance of those who were different, that had used intelligent living creatures, people even, as expendable forces, just because they were not human.


He finally fully understood why they would want to kill him.


"Depressing, isn't it?" Tiera's voice broke the silence, startling him.


Nathan nodded, turning to her. He couldn't help but wonder why she cared for him. "I have a hard time believing the country that preached acceptance of other races and religions would be so calloused to send you to your death, simply because you're not human."


"It wasn't a new concept," Tiera said, "history shows it as a common theme. Sure we were the first intelligent non-humans for it to happen to. But all through history other races of humans were used as cannon fodder, because they were considered less than human, or at least a lesser breed of human."


"We were supposed to be more enlightened." Nathan said, shaking his head.


"Every culture in history has said that." Tiera laughed. "More enlightened, more intelligent than the cave man. Fact is, we're still just grunting and hitting each other with clubs. The grunts have just become more structured, and the clubs have become a lot more efficient."


"Truer words were never spoken." A third voice added. This voice belonged to none other than Uncle Bob. "I would take a gander that you are Nathaniel?"


Nathan nodded, "Just call me Nathan."


"Nathan then," Uncle Bob said and turned to Tiera, "You, however, I am not familiar with."


"Tiera," Tiera replied, "I'm helping Nathan get on his feet."


Uncle Bob nodded. "Well, feel free to poke around further. Nathan, if you'll follow me, there are things we need to discuss, yes?"


Nathan nodded, following Uncle Bob out of the room. "I'll see you in a bit Tiera."