Holycraptwoinaweek! I have no idea what it is, but something clicked. I can write again. It makes me happy. Enjoy it while it lasts!

Chapter 5 sees some revisions to ideas presented in the original, an earlier reveal of an important detail about Tiera, and a hint at a plot element revision.. :)

Tiera paused in her doorway and glanced back at Nathan, still fast asleep on her couch, it seemed at least the nightmares had stopped for now. She realized just how vulnerable he really was, he was smaller, weaker and slower than just about everyone else on the station, and unlike the rest of them he wasn't built to be a weapon.

She checked the time as she stepped out the door, which hissed shut behind her. 05:16, she had 45 minutes to get ready and be at combat drills. She sighed, tapping her wrist to activate her suits computer and dictated a report to send to Kilin as she jogged towards the armory. She hated to admit it, but her conversation with Nathan had been partially driven by a need for information, though she still enjoyed talking about Earth with him.

After a quick stop in the armory to get her combat gear, a few pieces of heavier armor to go over her uniform, a bolt rifle and two stun-knives, she broke in to a flat run towards the abandoned section of the station, where her team would be waiting.

“Thought we were going to have to declare you the first casualty," Aerix chuckled when Tiera reached the staging room, “really wouldn't look good for us to proceed without our commander."

“Hush." Tiera grinned, catching her breath, “I have two minutes to spare."

She surveyed her team, Aerix, on heavy weapons, was checking over his rail gun while a percussion cannon hung from his back, for anyone else either of those weapons would be too much to handle without a hard mount. Kasa, a black wolf a little younger than Tiera wore minimal armor, though Tiera knew she had a camouflage device, as she systematically assembled her rifle. Kit, a two-tailed fox with dark tan fur, sat cross legged working on three different computers at once. Ajax and Sophie, twin tigers equipped much like Tiera was, were bickering about something- they always did. Last, there was Ghost. A panther who wore no armor beyond his uniform and carried no weapons, he leaned against one wall, eyes closed, a picture of serenity.

“You're the one who always says we should be early," Kasa replied absently, “be ready to fight. Be free of distractions. But, I suppose you did have quite a distraction in your quarters this morning, eh boss?"

“Yes, I did have a conversation with Nathan this morning." Tiera rolled her eyes. “It is, in fact, part of my job to get to know him and verify his story."

“I'm sure you want to get to know him..." Kasa smirked, her comment earning chuckles from a couple of the team.

“Hardly an appropriate topic for the moment." Tiera replied, before adding “Besides, do you really think you have room to judge?"

Any response Kasa might have had was cut off by Tiera's comm chirping, the team's orders rolling in. Tiera read over them, relaying to her team as she did. “We've got a 4-way Capture the Flag match this time. If a team's flag is in an enemy bade for more than 5 minutes, that team is eliminated, victory goes to the last team standing or whichever team has the most flags in their base at the end of one hour. Doors open in 2.

“Kasa, find a defensive position with a clear line to our flag. Kit, work your magic and get us eyes. Ghost, scout and help Kit. Sophie, Ajax, fortifications and then defend the flag. Aerix, you're with me on assault." Her orders were met with a round of confirmations and the sound of gear being readied. She knew and trusted her team, they had never let her down- at least, not in training exercises.

* * *

The com chirped in Kilin's office, he opened one eye to see that it was from Command and growled, kicking his secretary away from her duty beneath his desk. “Always the worst time. Get out." The command was followed up by a growl as she reached for her discarded uniform, which sent her scurrying back to her desk naked.

“Fleshraker," Admiral Darkmoon spoke as the connection was established, the mouse looked irritated and tired, “I have some concerns regarding the reports on the human. They indicate that it is completely authentic?"

“So my expert tells me." Kilin nodded.

“You need to inform your expert that she is mistaken." The mouse's voice betrayed the rehersed lie, “The human is a dangerous spy with a very elaborate cover. She is to provide us with another report indicating this after the human departs for Lunar Prime."

“Sir," Kilin barely kept a growl out of his voice, “I do not think my expert will accept such orders, and why would the human be departing for Lunar Prime?"

“I have made arrangements for a job offer to reach the human, from an establishment here on Lunar Prime. Considering it's antiquated skills and physical inferiority I am sure it will not have many other job opportunities." The mouse paused. “Regarding your expert, will she at least accept our truth, or be silent about not believing it?"

“I do not believe so." Kilin shook his head, starting to figure out what the Admiral's game was.

“Very well," The mouse frowned, “a shame, she has a good record. Order her transfer to Phobos, there will be a terrible tragedy on her transport, but she will die a hero."

“I am sorry sir," Kilin reminded himself to be polite, the runt was his superior and could order him to Phobos, “but this is not a good idea. Do you know who she is?"

“No?" To his credit, the mouse would usually listen to reason.

“Tiera Gainsborough." Kilin replied, “Her mother has paid a substantial sum of money to keep her safe."

“Ah. This is a problem." The mouse nodded. “As the heir to Stellar being in the PDD is one of the few reasons we can be sure of Stellar being on our side when things get violent with Ion-Tech."

Kilin smiled, that was the last piece of the puzzle. Civil war, the mouse was playing a dangerous game, one he could take advantage of. “I take it you plan to incite said violence on our schedule, rather than theirs? … and, I would hazard a guess the human plays an integral part in said inciting?"

“Very perceptive, admiral." The mouse nodded.

“I think.. I have a solution." Kilin smiled, outlining a plan to accomplish several goals with one well placed asset.

“I like it. Make it happen." The mouse nodded before the screen went blank.

As the call closed, Kilin rose from his desk and stalked out to his secretary and grabbed her by the scruff of the neck to throw her back in to his office. There were calls to make, but first there was some unfinished business, and this time the bitch's mouth just wouldn't be enough.

* * *

Tiera sat in silence in the armory office, after finishing the morning's exercise she had to report to armory duty, which basically meant making sure no one took something they weren't authorized to, a job mostly handled by the computer anyways. So she found herself going over the reports from the exercise, again.

They had scored the quickest win on record, less than 20 minutes, but she had lost two men in the process. Ghost went down to a sniper he had missed, which would be a surprise except that it was Marko, the fox was the station's best sniper and could find nooks and crannies almost no one ever saw. Ajax went down near the end of the bout, when two teams allied to assault their base to reclaim their flags- Ajax's loss opened up a shot for Kasa to take down the heavy weapons officer on the assault, which turned the tide of the assault.

“Can't save everyone, dear." Kasa leaned over the counter, “Casualties are a fact of combat."

“Mrf. Not an acceptable one." Tiera grumbled, “.... what makes you sure that's what I'm looking at though?"

“Because I know you. I know how you think, you're more concerned about your pack than you are yourself." Kasa replied, grinning. “It's not a bad thing, although it leads to you taking risks you shouldn't like that move against Talia... it was impressive, but you should have let Aerix take the risk of taking her down."

“Calculated risk." Tiera replied, “She couldn't aim and fire the rail gun fast enough to hit a small moving target, but it would have gone right through Aerix's armor. So, Percussion cannon to throw her off balance and deal with the footman next to her, followed up by a close charge, blade in to the neck joint of her armor."

“Yeah, paid off this time." Kasa shook her head. “What if they had a sniper? Probably would have taken you out by the time Talia dropped."

“Ghost took care of their sniper early on."

“Still, shouldn't open yourself up like that." Kasa keyed in returning her rifle on the console, she had gone to range practice after the exercise. “Team needs a leader."

“I really don't think you guys do." Tiera smiled, “You work well together."

“ We work well together, Tiera." Kasa corrected, “That includes you, and you are a large part of the reason we work so well together. You remember what the team was like when you got us?"

“Yeah," Tiera laughed, “You were a smartassed little shit who let her amazing marksmanship scores go to her head and wouldn't work with anyone. Kit was so unsure of himself and terrified of messing up. Sophie and Ajax had eachother's back, but no one else mattered. Ghost refused to take orders at all. I was a young idealist who hadn't yet realized my position was bought and paid for by my mother.... and Aerix, probably the only worth while one on the team after a sudden transfer. Probably also bought and paid for by Stellar Industries."

“They gave you a team they didn't want to send in to combat. Most of us knew it, you didn't catch one because you were such an idealist." Kasa shrugged slightly, “I'm still not sure how you did it, but you turned us in to a top performing team... which means they're probably going to transfer us to someone else, and give you another shit team."

“Wouldn't surprise me." Tiera laughed, “No good deed goes unpunished."

“Exactly." Kasa smirked. “By the way, how is Ghost?"

“Nothing's broken except his pride." Tiera replied, “Banged up a bit, his leg will be sore for a while, but when you consider the speed he was moving when the bolt hit him right in the leg.. Marko swears he tumbled 15 meters."

“Marko is also prone to exaggeration." Kasa said, “But I know from experience how much the practice rounds hurt, Ghost is lucky his leg wasn't broken."

“I think Marko is the lucky on in that regard." Tiera smiled. “And.. thanks."

“..For?" Kasa tilted her head.

“Reminding me of what I do, and why I do it." Tiera grinned, throwing and exercise ball from the desk at Kasa, “And embarrassing me in front of the team this morning, twit."

“Not like everyone else hasn't figure it out already," Kasa laughed, snatching the ball from the air, “doesn't exactly take a genius to tell your fascination extends a little deeper than the history and culture."

“Still, wasn't nice." Tiera grumbled.

“So, how is he?"

“He's .." She paused a moment, “adjusting. I think. A lot has changed for him."

“Well, that's good, I guess." Kasa smirked. “But I what I meant was … how is he?"

“Wha-.." It took Tiera a moment too long to get what Kasa meant and shook her head, grumbling. “It's been a day. Humans aren't like that."

“All that media you're so fond of, that you love making me watch with you..."

“Hey, you enjoy it too!"

“Sometimes, but that's irrelevant." Kasa shook her head. “All that, and you really don't think that a human male wants to stick his penis in everything he meets with 2 legs and a vagina?"

“That's different." Tiera realized she sounded more like she was trying to convince herself. “That stuff isn't real, it's for entertainment.."

“It's a fantasy, Tiera. Something for people to live vicariously through- or so you always tell me. Doesn't that mean that humans wanted to have sex with everything in sight?"

“Maybe things that look human." Tiera shrugged, “Most wouldn't be interested in a creature that looks more like an animal to them."

“Well, true." Kasa nodded, pondering for a moment, “Didn't humans have a saying though 'any port in a storm'?"

Tiera shook her head, trying to decide if she was annoyed or amused, but settled on at least presenting annoyed. “Kasa, you've turned in your rifle, stop interrupting my duties, please."

“Yes, sir!" Kasa laughed as she sauntered out of the armory.

Tiera shrugged and closed the report, opening a novel on the tablet instead. She wasn't technically allowed to read while on guard duty, but, her connections had their perks. So, she spent her shift in the city of Chicago at the beginning of the 21 ^st century in the company of a professional wizard.

* * *

Nathan yawned and scratched the the stubble of not shaving for a few days as he put on the last of his clean clothes, idly realizing there were a few simple things he was now completely clueless on. He needed a shower, a shave, maybe a haircut, to do laundry... and really he needed some new clothes, the ones he'd taken with him were showing their effective age, if not their actual age. All things to talk to Tiera about, he supposed.

“Hal, any progress on the logs?" He asked the computer as he flopped back on to the couch.

“Not yet." Hal replied, “I am currently attempting to locate software designed to interface with this file type, so I can determine the extent of the corruption."

“Cool." Nathan nodded, pondering. “Hal, what level of access to do I have?"

“Define 'level of access'?"

“What limitations are on my interaction with you?" Nathan clarified.

“You are given civilian level access to the Net." The computer answered, his smooth voice was almost unnerving, “You will be unable to access any classified information, such as PDD records or logs. I am required to immediately notify Tiera if you attempt to access anything classified, and contact station security should you attempt to bypass my lockouts on said information. Further, I am also required to log and report all interaction. You also have limited access to Tiera's personal media collection, and I have been directed to inform you that there are additional media archives available on the Net."

“Makes sense." Nathan nodded, “Basically, don't try to find out how to take down the government, and don't look for porn."

“I am not required to block your access to pornographic materials."

“That's good to know." Nathan laughed, “How much Earth history survived?"

“Nearly all recorded information from prior to World War 3 and the extinction of humans is still preserved and accessible."

“Cool." Nathan nodded, “What about individuals?"

“It depends on the individual and the era." The computer replied, “I can find more information on famous figures, and individuals from the 21 ^st and 22^nd centuries. State the name and date of birth and I will search for information."

“Patricia Jackson, born January 13 ^th, 2036." Nathan replied. “Name was legally changed to Patricia Ericson January 17 ^th, 2054"

“You are an individual of enough note that you could have just asked me to search for your wife." The computer replied as the screen came on, with her history and family tree.

“No one likes a smartass, Hal." Nathan chuckled and rose to walk over to the desk, reading to see what had become of his wife and children, and grand children apparently. He had a bitter smile, wondering how many people outlived their great-great-great-great-grand children, becoming so engrossed in the history he failed to notice the passage of time, or the door opening.

“Something fascinating, Nathan?" A male voice made Nathan jump, and nearly fall off the chair.

“Er. Just family history.." Nathan turned to the speaker, the giant minotaur he had met the day before. He was just as big and intimidating as he had been. “Hi.. uh.. Aerix? Tiera isn't here."

“I know." Aerix nodded, “She asked me to stop in and make sure you hadn't turned in to a pumpkin."

“Turned in to a pumpkin?" Nathan raised and eyebrow.

“Her words, I figured you would know what she meant." Aerix laughed, “I gave up on figuring out her odd references a few years ago."

“She is a little strange, isn't she?"

“She is, it's part of her charm." The minotaur agreed, seating himself on the couch, which remarkably did not protest under the weight. “I also wanted to give you a piece of advice, Nathan. Get off the station as soon as possible."

“.. Alright?" Nathan tried to decide if that was a threat, or just advice. “Why?"

“You're in a lot of danger here." Aerix was obviously trying to be unthreatening, which did not work very well. “A lot of people want you dead, including a large chunk of the high ranking individuals in the PDD. Right now, they have a plan for you, I don't know what that plan is, but I am certain they wouldn't be welcoming you with open arms if they didn't have a concealed knife to stab you in the back.

“Once you have served your purpose, if you're still on this station, you are as good as dead." The minotaur frowned. “Tiera has some pull, she can protect you some.. but she will realize that you're bad for her career. She's a sweet woman, but she has aspirations... and I am sure whatever their plans for you are, siding against the PDD would be career suicide."

“I see.." Nathan frowned, he knew Aerix was right. Hearing it, however, was a whole different matter.

“Don't get me wrong Nathan," Aerix said, “she likes you, turning against you would probably break her heart. Right now, you align with her goals, and I think she's too excited to see past the short term."

“Any advice for where to go?" Nathan asked, “How to get there? What to do when I do?"

“I don't know." Aerix shook his head, “If I were in your position I would start by trying to get down to Lunar One, there's an old orphanage there and I think Mother would welcome you. You might have some luck finding employment from Ion-Tech. There's also always Freelancers looking for an extra set of hands, you might be able to find one that wasn't picky about the species of their crew."

“Freelancers?"

“Traders." The minotaur laughed, “At least, that's what they tell people, usually they are smugglers, pirates, mercenaries, bounty hunters.. basically, small groups of individuals who own a ship and don't like to follow societies rules, so they spend most of their time in the vastness of space where they can be free."

“I can see the appeal." Nathan nodded. “Thanks for the advice."

“You're welcome." Aeirx rose to leave the apartment. “Though I am primarily looking out for Tiera."

“Figured." Nathan chuckled bitterly as the minotaur left. “Hal. You mentioned media, how much music do you have access to?"

“How do you wish that answer provided?" The computer replied, “Number of songs, total bytes of data, linear time to play?"

“Do you have access to Kings of Rage?" Nathan sighed, he supposed that the computer taking him literally was something he should expect.

“I will assume you mean the thrash metal band which was active from 2045 to 2075." Hal replied, “I have access to their entire discography, as well as two unreleased singles.. additionally I can access the music from the bands which members moved to or came from."

“That's the band I'm looking for." Nathan nodded. “Play their discography, 110 decibels or the loudest you can without disturbing the neighbors, whichever is lower.. then show me information on Ion-Tech."

“Fetching Kings of Rage. Define parameters of search on Ion-Tech?" The computer asked, before filling the apartment with the cry of an electric guitar, and a drummer who couldn't have been human.

“Metal never dies!" Nathan laughed, for a moment losing himself in the beat of a long dead band reminiscent of Megadeath and Slayer. “Hal, give me a breakdown of what Ion-Tech does, for now."

The screen changed to a list of projects, as well as limited details on those projects. Ion-Tech, it seemed, was a multifaceted company whose work predominantly fells in to one of three categories; arms manufacturing, cyborg prosthetics, or domestic equipment. From there he began finding specifications and, where possible, schematics for their products and lost himself in the music, familiarizing himself with the technology of the day.

He preferred to tinker and work with physical pieces of machinery, but a 3-dimensional hologram he could manipulate and expand by hand was still good enough to let him become engrossed in the puzzle, studying a prototype stage armor suit Ion-Tech had scrapped and not bothered to secure the data from. As he was prone to do when working on a puzzle, he lost all track of time, and unimportant things like eating.

“Hal," Tiera's voice barely cut through the music, what seemed like only a few minutes later, “reduce volume to 60 decibels."

“Er, sorry Tiera." Nathan turned from his work to see Tiera standing in the doorway, her ears flat. “Hal, end playback."

“It's fine," Tiera nodded, flopping over on her couch, “you didn't have to turn it off, was just too loud."

“You still didn't seem too keen on it."

“It really isn't my style." Tiera touched two points on the neck of her suit, causing the front to come open and the rest of it to loosen. “I tend towards a bit mellower."

“Like?"

“Hal, play Origa." Tiera replied, the room filling with soft, almost haunting Russian vocals.

“Hm.." Nathan listened for a moment, “Sounds like something Trish would have listened to."

“Then she had better taste than you." Tiera grinned. “So, what's with the armor?"

“Yes, but her taste in men was terrible." Nathan smirked, turning his attention back to the hologram briefly. “It was a project Ion-Tech had been working on and scrapped, leaving all their work on the Net. I stumbled across it and, well.. I can't pass up a puzzle. Besides, familiarity with their projects could help if I go to them seeking employment."

“It probably would help, especially in demonstrating an ability to grasp modern technology." Tiera nodded, “They would probably be a good place for you, they're the least likely to have issues with you being a human."

“According to some of what I saw as well, the PDD doesn't hold much sway over them?"

“True." Tiera paused a moment, “I suppose it is too optimistic to think the PDD is playing nice because they've actually gotten beyond petty hatred."

“Hope for the best, prepare for the worst." Nathan shrugged, “I'd rather be off this station before they change their minds, too. That happens, this place becomes a vipers nest."

“It already is," Tiera sighed, “it's just hiding it at the moment."

“Yeah, kinda gotten that feeling." Nathan nodded, and found himself being reminded that he hadn't eaten anything yet. “So, subject change.. adapting to new technology is no big deal.. but what about more domestic and mundane things like food? Plus, I could really use a shower and a shave.. and to do laundry. Some new clothes, maybe..."

“I … really didn't think about things like that." Tiera laughed, “Food's easy, the mess is close by, I can go get food at any time. You probably can, too, but I really don't know how far the hospitality is extended... or if you would want to open yourself up like that quite yet."

“.. not alone, that's for sure." Nathan shook his head.

“As for the other things.." Tiera pondered, “I can probably get you a razor for shaving from medical, while we don't shave like humans.. fur can get in the way of tending injuries. Showers are limited use, generally for decontamination, medical, things like that... I'll talk to Kilin tomorrow and see if I can make arrangements for you, hopefully he'll understand humans have different hygiene needs. Laundry, I don't think your clothes would survive how we clean our uniforms... and new clothes are going to be expensive."

“... and I have no money." Nathan grumbled. “I thought I had escaped being too broke to even buy new clothes... Thank you though, for the rest."

“I'll see what I can do." Tiera smiled, “For the moment, that's going to be going and getting food. At least, I assume the sounds your body is making is an indication of hunger."

“Yeah. That would be awesome." Nathan nodded as Tiera left the apartment. The music changing caught his attention and he recognized the song as one from an animated show that Trish had loved, a sad smile crossing his face for a moment he could hear her singing along, butchering the Russian parts. Then it hit him, she was gone, he didn't just miss most of her life; there would be no catching up, no stories of alien worlds traded for stories of kids and grand kids. For the first time since the day he departed earth, he let himself cry.

As he sat there listening to the music, tears rolling down his cheeks, the single realization opened the gates and the flood of emotion struck, almost physically. Everyone, everything... it was gone. Not just Trish, his mother, his sons, his mentor- the closest to a father he ever had, Kelsey, his friends who would give him no end of shit if they saw him crying, his truck, even his ship was little more than a scrap heap now. Everything that had ever meant anything; gone.

“Hal, play Bloodlust by Hellbinder. 110 decibels, then resume current playlist." Nathan said as the song following Rise ended. He took a deep breath and composed himself, burying the pain and letting the music clear his mind. He may well be physically weaker than anyone else on the station, but he was not about to show emotional weakness on top of it.

By the time Tiera returned, he was focused on a different piece of Ion-Tech technology, a prosthetic spine. Half of it he didn't understand at all, but it was still a fascinating piece of equipment. The remainder of the night passed with nothing more eventful than a meal of bland nutritionally balanced bars, and idle conversation about Earth, Ion-Tech, mundane issues of modern life, mundane issues of life on Earth.