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Poppy was hanging around, still soaking up the smells and sights of the new world she had found herself in with fifty or so of her fellow convicts when her attention was diverted elsewhere. The sounds of the insects, the running water and the leaves rustling in the breeze would have to wait. Now her attention was solely focused on two guys standing atop a boulder. One of the guys was a rather attractive looking guy with white-coloured hair. She wondered if the colour of his hair was natural, or if the colour was attributed to a dye. The first guy spoke, introducing himself as Charlie Arcadian and his friend, the white-haired dude as Tobi Valade. Hmm.. Tobi Valade. A name that she gotta remember. These two had taken it upon themselves to play leader and give them all a task to work towards. Poppy didn't have any problem with that, she was more than in one ways, completely lost.

The task that they were given was to go on a scavenging and salvaging run into the ship that they had all arrived in, picking it clean so that they could improve their chances of surviving when night falls. Poppy didn't intend on dying just yet, and she could definitely see the logic and reason in doing so. Any volunteers were told to approach Tobi and she was about to step forward when a snide remark from a girl not too far away from her stopped her in her tracks. Mocking them about having some election where they had been chosen to be the leaders of the group. Wow, what an asshole, was her first thought. What's with her?

The good looking guy she now knew to be Tobi didn't take too long to come up with a retort of his own. He called her an Inquisitor's daughter, and it was at that moment that Poppy spat on the floor near her general direction. Inquisitors. The very ones that had arrested and imprisoned her for the crime that she did not commit, the very murder of the parents she loved more than anything else in the world, while the real murderer got off scott-free. Now that the interruption was over, another brief one made itself known as a blonde girl came out with a package that looked like a first-aid package. Moving past others, Poppy came to the front of the boulder before she glanced up at Tobi with a smile. "I'll join you, doesn't seem like anyone else is gonna though."

@TheFourthIV

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The initial shock, the wonder of arriving on a new planet had faded almost as quickly as it had begun. Violet observed with everyone else a boy take his shirt off, idiotically, and light it on fire, cursing the Inquisitors. A girl jumped on his back, ready to follow his lead as everyone watched on with various expressions and reactions. She looked around to find some familiar faces, spotting her old cellmate, Avery, among the crowd not too far from her, and a few others she had known either before or after being in prison. She scowled at the people who seemed to cheer on the stupid boy burning his shirt, not too keen on the attitude it set for some in the crowd. Now was not the time to act impulsively.

Eventually Violet locked eyes with an unfortunately familiar, handsome face. Tobi Valade stared at her with his icy blue eyes, something that once made her heart flutter. Instead, anger began to bubble in her chest as she glared back, feeling contempt for the boy who had practically ruined her life. Tobi Valade. She had noticed him before but had no time to react with all that was going on. But he was the reason she was even here in the first place, with all these other juvenile delinquents. If not for him she might still be on Port Hope, back home. But now they were stranded, probably, on a foreign planet together.

Violet wanted to scream.

"Hey! Listen up!" Her attention was drawn to the bellowing voice of Charlie Arcadian, who was standing on top of a rock. She raised her eyebrows as he addressed the crow of juvies on the matter of salvaging the ship for supplies. The focus then shifted to Tobi, who was "taking volunteers" to help get whatever supplies they could find. Violet rolled her eyes at the two boys, but didn't argue. The last thing J said before they crashed was to head north. It made sense that they all, as a group, worked together to get what they could and leave. Who knew what else was on this planet? The sun wouldn't stay up forever and Violet didn't want to test her luck in the dark.

To her left, a girl she only sort of recognized responded with a salute, followed by an obviously sarcastic "Sir, yes, sir!" She then rolled her eyes.

"Please. I'm sorry, who exactly put you in charge? Because I must have missed it. What, was I passed out during the election you held while we were plummeting to the ground?"

Violet didn't like her attitude, but she grinned nonetheless. Tobi shot a snarky reply back at the girl about her being an Inquisitor's daughter. She noticed the girl's legs, obviously the kind of technology only the wealthiest and most powerful could afford. Violet also observed the irritated expression on her pretty face.

"I don't disagree with her, nobody put you two-" she looked directly at Tobi with narrowed eyes, "-in charge. But they are right. We have to be quick and we have to work together. Unless, you know, you have a better plan?"

Violet questioned the girl but didn't challenge her. As of right now, this group was alone. All they had was each other, and Violet wasn't going to try to make any enemies.

@c3p-0h@TheFourthIV@smarty0114

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Charlie's head turned as the one girl spoke up against him and Tobi, but just before he could fire off a response, Tobi took the words from his mouth. He went for the jugular, mentioning that her parents were Inquisitors, a seed that he assumed would take root in most of the Juvie's minds and lead to distrust between them and this Inquisitor's daughter.

As Tobi tore into the rest of the Juvies, Charlie stayed silent. For once he felt like Tobi could handle this crowd better than he could. After Tobi had finished Charlie began speaking again. "Look, if you all want to have a formal election while who knows what comes out of the woods to come fucking eat us or something, then be my guest. But for right now I think the more important thing is that we get the shit from the ship and go."

Charlie hopped down from the rock after that and moved over to where Tobi was talking to a girl who'd just come from the ship talking of supplies. Another girl walked up as well, offering to help with the salvage. He stood there silently, biting his fingernails as he thought about the predicament they were in. Leading a bunch of angry teenagers back on Port Hope had been easy. But these kids down here, had been screwed over by authority more times than they could count. He wouldn't be able to take charge on his own. He'd need people backing him, someone that was respected. He sighed. We'll be lucky if we survive past nightfall

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Ian's cheering stopped for a moment as another prisoner stood up and questioned his choice to burn his shirt. He paused looking at the kid. Then looked down to the burning shirt. Back again to the kid and then back once again to the shirt. Several times his head moved back and forth between the two before he asked, "So... does anyone have an extra shirt. It is getting a little bit windy now..." Although his words sounded a bit remorseful of burning his shirt a tiny smile couldn't be kept off his face. Inside he was laughing at the crazy predicament they were all in. It made burning a shirt seem a little bit less drastic, at least in the current situation.

Moving towards the opening of the ship, Ian quickly searched around for something that he could throw over his bare muscled chest. A few people had the same idea, or maybe they were just to scared of the big new world. He wouldn't know why they would be. So many opportunities. So many new things. It was like getting an entire world for christmas. Finally finding a locker in the back, Ian ripped open the door to find a grey long sleeve shirt. Throwing it over his head he looked down at himself. It was a little tight, but it would keep him warm. And at least he wasn't branded as an Inquisitor prisoner anymore. Looking through the locker for anything else that could help, he pulled out a knife about the size of his hand. Perfect. Just what he needed to start building doors. Or you know other important stuff like hunting... Eh.

Walking back out of the ship, Ian saw the same kid from earlier along with another kid with fluffy white hair standing on a rock. "Atta boy snowball." Moving through the crowd to the far side he stared off at the woods. "I'll keep it short. Now you all heard what J said. We need to head north." Turning around he faced the rock. Talking out loud though more to himself than anyone around him, "I think he said south. Yep definetly south. We should go south. I remember it clearly. Mind like a steel trap and all." He tapped his head knowingly.

Glancing back towards the woods, Ian could see a girl running away from the ship. She was already far away but it seemed as if she was geared up. And in a hurry, like she didn't want to be seen. "Look. She is going south too." He pointed, completely blowing her escape and also pointing in the northern direction. Looking back at them as if he was completely right, "Looks like I was right." With a shrug and a wink in their direction he sprinted off towards the girl running into the woods.

She was dreaming. Not one of those airy dreams where every wish seems to have bundled itself into one but the sort of dream in which it was hard to tell where reality ended and imaginary began. She was being dragged out to execution which was weird considering she hadn't reached the benchmark of eighteen yet but nevertheless, they had determined that she was to die. The weird thing about it was that she didn't seem to mind it whatsoever, she could even feel a smile tugging at her lips. She couldn't tell if it was brave insanity or mad courage but as the firing squads raised their rifles. Her eyes slipped closed and her breathing slowed. The sounds around her faded until all she could hear was her own breath. Just when she felt it was about time for it to end, a voice drilled into her head, reverberating into every crevice of her mind. "GO NORTH! Realisation dawned and she slipped from the dream, falling, falling endlessly.

Waking with a startled gasp, Athena stared around before sighing and cursing aloud. "Fuckity fuck fuck fuck!" She remembered where she was but one thing was missing - the other fifty that were ushered into the ship alongside her. The glass panel stopping her escape didn't seem to require much force to open but as it creaked to an open position, she narrowly slid out and stretched her legs. Everything felt unusually heavy but a quick squeeze of her stomach proved that she didn't gain any weight. Though, to be fair, everything felt weird, even the air she breathed felt... real. She had went to the capital worlds before and although their air was meagre, it was wonderful compared to the recycled shit of Port Hope. This was leagues better than the both of them which instantly set some alarm bells ringing in her head; or at least, they would have if she didn't catch her eyes on a bright shard of light. Stalking the light on weakened feet that were slowly growing stronger, she reached the door and even she was kind of impressed. "Well the shithead just went and sent us planetside. Fucking great."

Her eyes took a few moments to adjust to the self-imposing light. Finally, her stormy eyes focused on the scene outside. The fifty that had boarded the ship were scattered around the clearing between an impressively-built idiot who was burning his shirt and some dickheads who were trying to take the lead. That, in itself, wasn't on - how dare they leave her out!? They had hotties taking off their shirts and they didn't even invite her? "Cunts..." Still though, those politicians looked like bad news and she would have to step in sooner or later but to do that, she needed power. Pre-ordained power than even numb-skull juvies could understand.

Instead of skipping out into the glorious sunlight like the other inhabitants of the ship, she chose to press further into the belly of the beast. A quick exploration ended with her finding the cockpit. It had some interesting electrics in it but she was no engineer so she kinda had the desire to burn it all but that would just waste time. She needed a gun. Or two.

The guns, surprisingly, were found in the ship's small medical bay. Back when she was a freelance Criminal, Athena picked up quite a few skills on making improvised weapons and she saw a few tell-tale ingredients but she ignored them as she went for the pulse rifles. They were old, very old. Lost relics of a rebellion come and gone. As she remembered in history, there were quite a few failed rebellions in which the rebels lost sorely after the Inquisitors built armour to shield against the pulse weapons. They worked pretty well on unprotected flesh though so she was fine. Ignoring the "For emergencies" note, she took the smaller of the two weapons - a small rapid pulser - before wrapping the other heavier one around her body and slinging it around so it was on her back. Checking the smaller one, she flicked the safety off and checked the cartridge before standing. Weapon in hand, she saw no other reason to hunt through the ship and instead, made her way through to the outside of the ship. Pausing momentarily, she swept in a circle, looking up towards the sky. She had never seen a deeper blue in her whole life. She started to snicker, then she started to giggle until finally, her obnoxious laugh seemed to interrupt the serious goings-on of those around her.

They looked at her with annoyance until their eyes went wide with the realisation that she was armed. "Oh forgive me! Were you guys... talking? All I heard was bullshit rhetoric, to be honest, but my hearing has been going weird. So what do we have here?" She cast her eyes over the small crowd gathered, specifically those on the rock and the girl they were turning on. "The brains. The pretty face. And, let's not forget, the Princess. Quite the gang we have here." Wandering out, she casually swung the rapid pulser which earned a few restless shifts. She moved in a wide circle until she stopped right in front of a brown-haired girl who shuddered nervously when Athena pointed the gun into her stomach. The girl seemed to be holding some supplies which meant she was somewhat productive. Using her other hand, she casually raised her hand and took a gentle hold of the girl's chin. Turning, she gave her a devilish smile before turning away slowly.

"We're always so sympathetic towards ourselves, towards our plights. The poor are always crying with clamouring palms, begging for the power to be the masters of their own destiny. We've lied to ourselves. When we're down, when we're hurt and injured, we quietly tell ourselves that power does not belong to us; we tell ourselves that power belongs to the intelligent, to the beautiful, to those who were born into privilege. It is a lie we've lived with, a lie we have abided so long that it's become part of our nature to be weak, to be powerless." Turning in a harsh circle, she rounded on the three she had picked on before. "Power does not belong to them. Power doesn't belong to any of them. Power belongs to those who take it. To those who are sick of the lie."

Athena continued wandering until she was in between them and it was then that she chose to swing the heavy pulse rifle round and into her spare hand. Raising it, she looked around before dropping it on the ground. "You think these juvies give a shit about any of you? You rule by example. Make them give a shit and they will follow you. Brains - you can show them your strength, Princess Legs over there just spoke out against you. Punish her. Princess - show them that you're more than the Inquisitor scum everyone around here thinks you are. Show them you're one of them, you heard what they said about you. Teach them a lesson. Unless, of course, you want to wake up with a knife in your stomach some morning?"

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Genevieve had just opened her mouth to reassure the white-haired boy that yes, of course she was willing to show them, when a disaster masquerading as a human being came walking out of the ship. Ten minutes ago she would never have guessed anyone could be this aggressively anything, and yet, here they were.

She'd never had a gun held on her before. Not even when they'd come to arrest her after her father died. Then, the guards had been so baffled, so sure that there had been some mistake, that they'd treated her kindly; later, of course, they weren't nearly so forgiving, but even then, no one looked at her and thought 'dangerous convict—go get the big guns.'

Still, though, the cold barrel pressing into her stomach made her freeze solid, but she didn't cry out, didn't scream, didn't even flinch away. If she was going to be dead, she would be dead—no reflexes in the world would save her from a bullet or a pulser or whatever the hell this was. Instead, Ginny just stared wide-eyed into the other girl's face. She'd been waiting five years to die, she wasn't going to collapse in hysterics now.

When her chin was gently tilted upwards, though, and a sharp-edged smile was tossed in her direction by the same girl that had threatened her life, she was...admittedly confused. She stood there for a moment, mouth hanging open slightly, as a gauntlet was thrown down that couldn't be ignored.

Except—

"What is wrong with you?" Ginny demanded, shoulders hunched up but her eyes flashing with uncharacteristic anger. "Is this the first thing you think of? Killing each other off without a second thought? Regressing back to the Dark Ages?"

She turned to the crowd, eyes wide in pure disbelief that anyone could think this was a good idea. "This is—this is madness. Actually madness. Why do you think we're all here? We stepped wrong. Anyone who rails against the Inquisitors, who knows what they can do, who's seen what things are really like—they destroy people, they beat them, they kill them. Everyone up there who isn't on top lives in fear. Don't you want to be better?"

She wasn't an athlete by any stretch of the imagination but Velvet was hardened after years of living in the shadows of society an because of it a feral creature. She would survive and if her survival depended on sacrificing others she was conditioned to do so without reservation or hesitation and it was that conditioning that had driven her to do what she'd done.

She didn't run far instead going to ground in a well concealed hiding place where she could search the pack and do a full inventory about 200 meters from the ship.


It wasn't much but it would have to do she thought as she repacked the bag and slung the compass around her neck. She could have assembled the rifle but instead left it in the pack knowing that it's presence visibly might be useful as a threat but it's report would attract attention she didn't want.

Once she was ready Velvet took a compass sighting due north and headed off in Stealth in that direction till she was sure she'd covered about 1 kilometer where she went to ground in a secure hiding place near a stream at what appeared to be a shallow crossing.

Her plan was a simple one and involved a bit of waiting, she was going to use her Stealth to trail and observe any who made it this far. She was no fool to trust the others simply because they all shared a common fate, they were all criminals and their various crimes made them potentially rabid. Some could be budding serial killers and others rapists the breath of their crimes deadly to her survival an she was going to survive no matter what it required.

So while she waited she collected water in her canteen an treated it with one of the bitter purification tabs and munched on half a Ration bar.

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Irritation was quick to flare in Rae, a dozen retorts immediately jumping to mind as people – unsurprisingly – started to gang up on her. Like how she wasn't the only one with Inquisitors for parents here, and even so she'd still been thrown into juvie with the rest of them. Or how she wasn't trying to take charge. Or her favorite option by far, how she bet she could shove her fancy leg knee deep up Tobi's fancy ass, and golly gee, would he like to help her test that theory?

Then an actual lunatic appeared. Rae had to fight to flinch away from her because… seriously, something was just unnerving about the way this new girl was smiling and swinging around a gun, waxing poetic all the while. But Rae's fingers started to twitch with growing anxiety when the girl brought up her heritage again – and how just about everyone was already against her for it. For a single moment, the danger Rae was in seemed real and tangible. Her eyes flicked from the girl to the gun.

The moment was broken though, when the quiet mousy girl with the rations, the one who seemed oddly familiar surprised them all by having an actual backbone. Rae let her words sink in. She looked from Mousy back to Looney and to the gun. Her eyes lifted back up to the dark haired girl.

A saccharine sweet smile found its way to Rae's lips. Straightening up, she began walking towards Looney. Her fingers tapped a series onto her left thigh and the soft whirring and clicks of her biotech sounded under her pants. Rae stepped over the gun so she was standing directly in front of Looney. Her hand lifted to the band of her shorts and slipped under the elastic. Something clicked in her legs, and when her hand emerged she was holding a combat knife, the same burnished gold as her legs, by the handle – a fun little thing she'd illegally modded into her tech prior to her arrest. It wasn't the only one. The smile was still on Rae's face. She flipped the knife so she was holding it by the blade and held it out to Looney.

"Tell you what," she said, her voice all sugar, "I'll give you first shot at that knife in my stomach." Her smile fell and she glared at the girl. Her voice dropped its fake charm. Rae didn't take kindly to people telling her what to do. Manipulation, even less. "Better hope I don't wake up."

Rae dropped the knife at Looney's feet and brushed past her towards the ship. Her eyes met Tobi's and Charlie's only for her to quickly look away. It was the closest the two boys were going to get to any sort of deferral from her. She made her way into the ship to scavenge for supplies.

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Tobi smiled slightly when he noticed his remark towards Rae did exactly what he intended it to do. More and more people piped in, ganging up on the poor girl. For a moment he almost felt sorry for her, but remembered what the Inquisitors did to his parents and that feeling disappeared as fast as it came. Even Violet spoke up and kind or sort of sided with him but not really. Who knew, girls could confusing and shit.

Speaking of girls, a rather attractive looking one approached him. For a second he fantasized about the forest orgy mentioned before but shook that thought away. 'Focus Valade,' he thought to himself, now was not the time nor place. He made sure to keep his eyes on her face and actually listen to what she was saying. I digress but, deep down Tobi longed for an actual connection with a girl but at the moment it was much easier to well, connect his face with a nice pair of tits. So for now, he'd pick the latter, repeatedly...

"I'll join you, doesn't seem like anyone else is gonna though."

Tobi grinned, "thank you, at least someone has some sense. And you name is?" He asked, reaching out his hand to grasp hers. He had switched into his charming mode, a gentle handshake and a soft smile. Valade was interrupted by Mr. Shirtless calling out to him.

"Atta boy Snowball," the guy said randomly before sprinting off into the woods. 'Well that's a new one... Nice nickname though.' Tobi was just about to turn back to Poppy and enter the ship with his savaging group when a girl emerged from the ship.

At first Tobi thought nothing of her until he noticed she was armed and laughing like a maniac. 'Aw shit, this isn't going to be good.' He thought to himself warily.

Oh boy, was he right. The crazy girl mocked Tobi, Charlie, and Rae before pushing her gun against the stomach of the shy little brunette who had the first-aid kit. Tobi was just about to step in and hit that bitch over the top of her head when she pulled away and started a speech. Oh, it was beautifully crafted in the language of lunatic, filled with a perfect amount of ridiculousness. The girl was talking about the imbalance of power... While holding a fucking gun. Tobi actually face-palmed this time, it was too tempting to not comment, even if it got him shot.

"Holy fuck you are bat-shit bonkers. I'm sorry, but do you even hear the words coming out of your mouth? I don't know what kind of shit you're smoking but you need to take a lower dose or something, damn. You're talking about how we're trying to take control or abusing power or whatever while you're pointing a freaking gun on all these unarmed people. You're the type of person who should be the last person to get a a gun. I don't even know why you're getting all riled up in the first place. I don't know about you but I want to survive to fucking tomorrow so can you please just shut the fuck up and let us get the supplies from the ship? If not shoot me right here, the rest of these people will probably kill you. We might be criminals, but most of us don't enjoy cold-blooded murder. So here's what we're gonna do. I'm gonna take these people into the ship, we're gonna get the supplies. Then we're gonna evenly distribute the shit we find. After that I'm takin' whoever wants to come with me North, if you don't want to come that's fine I really don't give a shit. And for fuck's sake no one's in charge, it just so happened that Charlie and I somewhat know what the fuck we're doing. I'd say you can lead but we'd all be dead by tonight if that happened."

Tobi was really sick of people being uncooperative, they could all eat a dick as far as he was concerned. He just wanted to get some supplies, then head North, it wasn't that complicated. He didn't think that it had sunk in that they were on an unknown freaking planet. Anything could happen, at least they had an objective that could maybe help them in the end. Who knew, but it was damn worth a shot.

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Charlie had finally had hope that maybe they weren't all going to die. And then Athena came out of the ship. He knew her reputation well enough to know that she'd be trouble. And trouble she was. He clenched his fists as she waved the gun around. He was certain that she was unhinged or something, but before he could say anything, Rae, Tobi, and Genevieve got the first word in. Smirking as Rae dropped the knife at Athena's feet and as Tobi went off, he walked by the maniac on his way into the ship. "I think I'll take the nickname but as for your advice, I'm good. Huh, Brains. I think it suits me," he said as he moved into the ship.

He hadn't really noticed before, but the ship had gotten pretty dinged up in the crash. Pieces of the ship were lying everywhere across the floor, broken pipes and pieces of metal. He picked up a pipe and put it through his belt loop. With all that was going on today he figured having a weapon was a good bet. He moved throughout the room with pods, searching the linings for food. The smaller girl from before who'd about gotten shot by Athena was right. The pods were lined with rations, not a whole lot, but enough for a few days.

As Charlie continued walking throughout the ship, he turned to an old habit of his from back on Port Hope. When he'd been leading the teen revolutionaries, he'd assigned them ratings from 1 to 10 on their danger to him and his group. Some kids were a little to radical. He began doing that with the rest of the Juvies. Tobi was a solid 1. Dangerous to everyone else but not him. Inquisitor's Daughter was a 3. She seemed feisty but he figured not enough people trusted her anymore for her to have any backing, although he figured she could probably still stab him in his sleep. Shirtless Dude was a 1 although the girl he'd seen running off in the distance seemed suspicious. The girl who'd found the food in the pods was a 3. She seemed like she could snap and do some damage, although it appeared that her anger was more focused on Athena. Oh, and Athena. Athena was a 10.

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Avery listened as the battle for power was waged by some of the Juvies. While Rae tried to undermine the two boys' attempts at leading, Athena seemed to be lobbying for anarchy. Avery shook her head. She loved fun as much as the next girl but she figured it would have to wait. She spotted Violet through the crowd and made her way over after Tobi's rant had concluded. She figured Violet would have something to say about all this, maybe a decent idea as to how they should proceed even. Avery trusted Violet, and she didn't plan on surviving on this planet without her best friend. Wherever she went, Avery was sure to follow.

"So Violet," Avery said as she put her hair up into a bun, "Should we help your ex-boyfriend salvage supplies, or should we stay out here and get a bit of whatever Athena is on because I'm pretty sure it's really good." Avery smirked at her best friend and former cell mate as she took a deep breath of the new air that still seemed so sensational to the redhead. Well, everything seemed pretty sensational as of right now, what with seeing a real blue sky instead of the metal ceiling of her cell, and watching a girl who was probably clinically insane brandish a gun like it was nothing.

@PhunkyPhoebe

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Athena was a lunatic, that much Violet already knew for sure. Violet had worked for her in what Athena referred to as her "drug empire" and had spent enough time around her to determine that she was at least a little mentally disturbed. Yet she was intelligent, she wasn't as crazy as she wanted everyone to think. Athena was manipulative and she liked things to go her way, but she also liked to get reactions from others. Which is why, when she sauntered out of the ship with that insane smile and a gun in her hand, Violet had to guess that it was either to gain power or to get a rise out of everyone.

She watched as Athena shoved the gun into the kind girl's stomach, her heart momentarily stopping but quickly returning to normal as Athena moved on. It was then that she went off on a rant about power and how to gain it. It was crazy but it was also sort of charming. As soon as her speech concluded, Tobi went off on her, as well as the girl Athena had pointed her gun at. The Inquisitor's daughter seemed to almost threaten her but nothing actually happened. It was as if this crazy girl had knocked some sense into everyone.

Violet turned to Avery, "I don't think we want anything she's on, we might get put down due to insanity." She smiled at her best friend, but inside she was a little frightened. Violet heard that after she got busted, everyone else went down after her. Before she was thrown in prison, Violet was questioned about the people she got her stuff from and who all she supplied and sold to, but she didn't say a word. The authorities had probably tracked Athena down through Violet and then shut everything down, but it wasn't her fault. Violet's eyes slid over to where Tobi stood again. Maybe she could explain what had happened. Let Athena know that someone else ratted her out for reasons she still didn't know.

Violet grinned. And then we can both get our revenge on that bastard.

"C'mon," she said to Avery. "Let's go see what we can get from the ship before a bunch of crazies try to ransack it. Besides, we need to leave quickly. Who knows what kind of creatures are on this planet."

The thought of what lay ahead of them plagued her mind for a moment. There had to be some sort of life here, some sort of animals. Violet had never been on another planet before but she knew of the Capital Worlds, she knew people lived on them. So who was to say there weren't other humans here, too?

@smarty0114

Dee-Dee watched as all the other people argued among themselves. What a bunch of idiots, She thought. Still if she was going to survive on this unknown planet she may as well make some friends. At the moment though it seemed like she wasn't going to have any luck trying to convince these yahoos to do anything so she settled on gathering her own supplies and probably looking for somewhere safe to camp once night fell, assuming it did on this planet. A quiet looking girl mentioned supplies in the pods so that would be her first step.

She finally felt stable enough to get up and make her way back to the ship. Coming back on her pod, surrounded by the glass she busted to get out, she had somehow missed the bag of what she could only assume was a care package from their mysterious benefactor. Upon closer inspection she could see that it had enough food to last about three weeks if she stretched it out like she normally did, as well as a simple medical kit, a canteen for water, and an archaic but effective magnetic compass. She grabbed the bag and started to make her way back out but stopped for a moment.

It occurred to her that others might have different things in their bags. All the pods were open so it wasn't like there was anything stopping her from taking a look. No one else had caught up to her yet so she was alone in the corridor so she decided to look while she could. In the adjacent pod there was a bag that looked like hers. A peek inside revealed more of the same so she took a few of the medical supplies and stuffed those in her pack. Of all the things provided medical supplies were most important since she couldn't easily replace them. Food and water were probably abundant given how overgrown the planet looked and if all else fails she can steal from some of the idiots outside. She took small amounts from several bags so it wouldn't be blatantly obvious that someone had looted them and headed back out.

Keeping her head down she quietly made her way past the crowd of people who, even still, seemed to be arguing. A couple of the other teens noticed her before she got a few steps out. "Hey, where you going?" She gave him a look that said 'you're dumb'. "North, obviously. You got somewhere better to go? You can stay here and piss around with these tontos or you can get back to your pod, grab you pack, and catch up. Your choice." The group that listened ran back to the ship to grab their bags. Dee-Dee started slowly making her way north so the others could catch up once they grabbed their bag. She knew they were only following her because she was one of the scarier people in the prison. She had something of a reputation as a hard-ass when she was locked up so it made sense that some of the more submissive teens would listen to her.

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It wasn't long before Ian lost the girl he had tried to follow. She was fast, somehow faster than him. Maybe long legs. Or big feet. It couldn't be that he was out of shape. That wasn't really possible. He was the image of perfection. At least in his own mind. Yes, big feet were the only things that made sense. Had to be. After walking in the same direction for a couple minutes he paused by a tree. Catching his breath he realized that there was so much to hear out there. Looking past his breath, chirps, tweets, snaps, crunches. The world was filled with so much sound. It was all so different than what he was used to. In space everything was metallic. Machines whirled, gears clicked, and feet stomped around. None of that was present in the woods. It was beautiful in a way. You know, if you were a nerd and into that stuff.

Shaking his head, Ian reached up and wrapped his fingers around the rough bark of a branch. The feeling was strange in his fingers. Nevertheless he gripped it hard and yanked down, snapping it off. It was a very nice branch, straight and true. Not to mention sturdy so it wouldn't break. Pulling out the knife he had found in the wreckage, Ian went to work stripping off extra twigs and bark. Continuing to walk while he worked, he quickly whittled, leaving a trail of wood shavings behind him. Having a background in carpentry was extremely useful in the situation. Anyone observing would quickly be able to tell, from his quick sharp movements, that he was a master at what he was doing. when the stick was successfully stripped of bark, he began carving a dent in the top. It took a little while, because he was having to continually measure. If he had accidentally gone too far he would have to completely start over. Not that there wasn't an abundance of branches. But, eh, effort.

Forced to stop once again, Ian scavenged through the brush around him. It didn't take long for him to find what he was looking for. A vine, sturdy enough. Wrapping it around the top of the stick, Ian placed the knife carefully in the carved slot. It fit perfectly. The vine was pulled tight and wrapped several more times, securing the knife to the stick. Brandishing his new spear in his hands, he twirled it around, nearly cutting himself more than once. Grinning at his own masterpiece he stared into the woods daring some monkey thing to come out and try him. He had a fucking spear. Stupid ape.

While staring out into the woods, Ian became once more aware of the abundance of sounds. And with those abundance of sounds, a small burbling of a stream. Following the sound, he pushed his way under branches and bushes until he stood before it. It seemed like ages since he had taken a full bath. Even if the stream was freezing cold, you would have to shoot him to stop him from going in. Ripping off his shirt once again, he started on his pants and shoes. He was about to be the first man to skinny dip in this world when the feeling that he wasn't alone came over him. His fingers were looped in his boxer shorts at the time. Careful not to freeze up, Ian slid into the water, but slower than if he had been alone. He made sure to stay near to bank, spear close at hand, should he need it. Underneath the water, his body was completely still, but his eyes never stopped for a moment, looking for the source of the feeling.

---

---

Emerson thought color best represented the moments that made up her life.

The nine months she spent in jail was a dull gray with arbitrary specks of magenta that appeared when one of her fellow juvies wreaked some havoc within the prison cells. Such occurrences were rare, but definitely worth the wait. Getting enigmatic J's message was an exciting spike of cyan, bright and vibrant and full of possibilities. C'est la vie, J said. Emerson had no idea what that meant, but she knew then that she was going to say bye-bye to her prison cell.

She remembered the moments right after boarding the ship and right before being lulled into a deep sleep as a gentle blue, like how the sky was illustrated in Ryker's boring history books. It was soothing but somehow sad, and the dreams that followed left a bittersweet taste in her mouth. Maybe because she didn't get to say goodbye.

The blue was fleeting, though. She woke up after what seemed like an eternity crammed in a couple of hours and suddenly, there was green. Green of every shade, green that she never thought existed, green that told her she was no longer a prisoner.

Emerson wanted to cry, but she celebrated instead. Pleasantface McAbs over there started letting loose and what better way was there to revel in your newfound freedom? She joined him while everyone else was busy being sticks in the mud, fully intent on having the best fucking time of her life, but then she spotted a familiar tuft of black hair and shit.

Now she saw yellow. A glaringly bright warning yellow, flashing nonstop.

Begrudgingly, Emerson resigned to cutting her celebrations short. To her right and a little further away, a small group began gathering around Val and Charlie, and she didn't have to be there to know that tensions were sky high. She could hear dissention from the outspoken and judgmental murmurings from the rest. In other words, fun. Watching drama unfold would surely lift her spirits.

But before all that: she had to deal with the reason her spirits needed lifting in the first place. Emerson slinked away from Mr. Pleasant and stomped toward her stupid, stupid, fucking stupid cousin, huffing petulantly. He was smiling at her, but she didn't know why, because she sure as hell wasn't glad to see him.

"Why are you here?" she demanded, absolutely livid.

Her eyes flicked over the group caught up in drama then back to her cousin. Goody two-shoes Ryker belonged in Port Hope, with his mom and dad and his dorky friends, where he can be a teacher or a doctor or a saint or whatever. He did not belong here, wherever here was, surrounded by dozens of criminals who could easily take advantage of his goody two-shoesness.

"And how could you not tell me? You… you dick."

Like the mature young woman that she is, Emerson started picking up twigs and tiny pebbles and attacked Ryker.

---

"Em, cut it-- let me explain and--" Ryker shielded his face with his arm, but he stopped trying to talk her down. He knew better than anyone that there was no use, not when she was throwing a fit. Sure, it hurt a little—damn it, Emmy, can't you at least miss a couple of times?—but it didn't compare to his immense relief at reuniting with her. He let Emerson vent while he scouted the area, assessing what they can do now.

And that's when he saw it. Chaos. A girl with a gun. Genevieve (little Gen all grown up since the last time they played with her, four years ago) being threatened with it. Ryker hesitated only for a moment out of fear before he was hurtling forward, but Emerson was faster. Both of them reached her just as the gun-toting girl (fucking Athena went bonkers, muttered Emmy) finished raving about power and Genevieve burst out in anger.

Ryker approached his old friend tentatively, concern etched in his features. It didn't seem like she needed any help at all, but he still wanted to make sure she wasn't hurt.

"G-Genevieve?" Ryker wasn't sure if she still recognized him—four years was a long time. "Are you alright?"

Beside him, Emerson had made herself comfortable, sitting cross-legged on the ground. It seemed she was enjoying the tiffs a little too much, oohing when the girl he recognized vaguely as a Katona challenged Athena. He could feel her disappointment when nothing came out of the confrontation.

"You talk too much, Val," Emerson booed the boy with platinum blonde hair this time, the one he'd notice trying to stir the others into action, though she was more affectionately teasing than derisive. "Go get the supplies and feeeed me. I feel like I haven't eaten in years—"

Emerson stopped midsentence, distracted by a blur of movement in the distance. An oddly-shaped figure, one she probably wouldn't be able to discern even if she had seen it clearly, stalked between the trees.

It moved north, disappearing along the horizon.

"Huh. Wonder what that was."

Velvet had been waiting in her blind for some time when she heard a sound that was out out of place with everything else around her. She was as still and silent as the surrounding trees as she studied the source of the sound an quickly ascertaining it must be human judging the rhythm.

She flattened her body to the ground so she could see under the bushes an moments later she saw the legs and feet of one of the criminals as they headed to the stream. It was a boy she was sure because of the size of his feet and because of that deserving greater caution.

She inched her way into a position which eventually allowed her to safely observe Ian as he entered the water. She had to suppress the urge to laugh at his desire to strip an go swimming in an unknown environment alone but she also admired his bravado. She herself desperately needed to bathe after her long confinement but her training made her consider Stealth and safety over any other needs.

As he waded in the water Velvet used her skills in observation to try and judge if he would be a safe and useful companion in this strange place that made her senses go into overload. He was strong that was obviously by his build but he was also a risk taker which was both plus and minus in his favor as a survival partner but as a criminal his motivations were unknown.

Pulling back slowly to a better position for escape Velvet decided to test him.

"You do know that the water you're in could contain bacteria or even predators" she said in a normal an relaxed tone of voice moving silently away from where she'd spoken to another position.

---

The tall guy in the platinum blonde hair, so fair she initially thought was white finally responded to her offer in helping to salvage any potential supplies from the ship. He grinned at her while asking for her name. The girl thought that his gaze lingered on her a little longer than usual before she shook it off. It could be nothing. She gave him a similar grin back in return and introduced herself. "I'm Poppy. Poppy Blackburn." Seeing the outstretched hand, she reached out and clasped hers onto his, returning his handshake. And that was all the introduction was, before the flurry of activity that was the vicinity of the crash site interrupted them once more.

Then shit went down as a girl walked out with guns in hand. If they were just normal young adults, Poppy could simply rub it off as a mere show of power, but they weren't just your ordinary citizens. All of them here were criminals, wherther they liked it or not. She had no doubts that the guns were loaded and that their aggressor knew how to use them. The armed girl that went on about a long tirade of power, weakness and ruling by example. The girl with the first aid pack that was being harassed surprised her when she spoke up in fervor. Poppy was expected her to be display signs of weakness, but instead the girl spoke up for herself. Commendable indeed.

The drama didn't end there. The dark-haired girl that was revealed to be an Inquisitor's daughter earlier on threw in a challenge of her own to one with the guns. She retrieved a knife somehow from below her pants and offered it to their gun-toting agressor. Poppy thought, why would you hand her more weapons? She already has guns. The odds are not in our favour should anything happen. But, she would not speak these thoughts aloud, for the reason would soon be known, and she'll rather not be a fool if the meaning was something else altogether.

That wasn't all. Of course Charlie and Tobi wasn't just going to stand back and get insulted. The fair-haired boy launched a series of verbal assaults of his own similar to the scale of the numerous attacks on the beaches of Normandy in days long past. Poppy swivelled her head from side-to-side as she watched out from the reactions of those present after the verbal onslaught by the one known as Tobi Valade.

---

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Blearily Kal's eyes opened, his vision landing on a girl opposite him looking confusedly around herself. Waking up in an unfamiliar place was worrying, and surprising considering he'd been staring at the same four walls for nearly a year. His more recent memories quickly came to him though, and he remembered his escape and the subsequent blankness that followed boarding the rescue ship. He followed the girl's example and took stock of his surroundings, placing his hands on the glass pod and testing if it would open. In short, no. Even a quick search for a handle or switch turned up nothing that would help him. He resolved to simply listen and decide what to do then.

It didn't seem like they were prisoners again, but the glass cage wasn't a promising start. He thought it was rather clever, promising freedom and nipping resistance in the bud with false promises. Then again, it might still be true, so he didn't get angry, suspicious yes, but not angry. Then his calm self control was lost in the chaos of the imminent crash into a planet. Of all the outcomes crashing planetside was not something he expected. Fear sent his heart racing, his mind conjuring up scenarios resulting in a horrifically painful death.

The ship could rip open and he could be sucked out into the sky, with all related outcomes ending in his death; his neck could break from the force, he could splatter on the ground like an egg, or he could even be burnt up in the ship's re-entry trail. Maybe that wouldn't happen, maybe he'd survive the crash only to be trapped under debris and starve to death, or impaled by loose metal or cut by shattered glass and he would bleed to death, or devoured by whatever native scavengers lived on the planet- maybe the planet wasn't habitable! what if suffocated in a toxic atmosphere?! What if-?!

His spiraling thoughts, serving only to heighten his panic, were abruptly cut short by a jarring force and the sound of tearing metal when the ship met the ground. He was thrown forward sharply, his face bouncing off the glass as everything faded to black.

---

---

Kal didn't even notice he had been unconscious, his eyes opened slowly, and he felt as if he'd just blinked, closed his eyes for a second, but clearly that wasn't the case. The pod was open, the others were gone, and he had a new point of view, one much closer to the floor. He was slumped against the back, but he rose quickly, the motion forcing him to take note of a major headache. He clutched his forehead and winced, drawing his left hand away to look at it when it felt something sticky and painful. It came away bloody, sticky red contrasting against his fingers. He peered into the glass to see his reflection, taking in the trail of blood running from his forehead down the side of his face to his cheekbone. He cursed, "Fucking fantastic." He muttered to himself sarcastically, lamenting that he didn't have anything to wipe the blood off with. He didn't even think to use his sleeve, and if he had he likely still wouldn't have done it just to keep his clothes clean.

He glanced around outside of his pod, dismissing the thoughts of having been left for dead when he saw people milling about in the green room just beyond this one. A few were poking into the pods and retrieving small packages, following their example he searched his own and recovered a cache of supplies- a useless book, paste-food, and some kind of... tool? He hadn't the slightest idea what it was for, but he would keep it at least. He tore out a nearly blank page and used it to wipe the blood from his forehead the best he could, then shoved the bloody paper into the space he found the package. Out of sight out of mind. He still head a bit of a gash, it was still bleeding a bit, but not enough that he worried.

Pack in hand, Kal approached the large group of people in the green room, a slight smile growing on his face. People! He had missed people, just talking to someone, anyone, would be great. Until he stepped into the doorway and the great big fucking hole in the ceiling sent him reeling. He stared up at it, mouth slightly open. Then he was quickly backpedaling- right. Planet. Sky. "Fucking hell," he muttered, he had no idea the sky was so scary! He glanced back out at is, a sinking feeling in his chest. Logically he knew it was impossible, but he had the most nonsensical worry that he would fall up into space if he stood out there.

The absurdity of the thought broke the seriousness of it however, and with a half-aborted laugh at himself he stepped fully onto the green grass. He was saw taken by the appearance of the planet he forgot how excited he was to see people again. It was just so new, so green, so... alien. It was beautiful, but so different. The air seemed thicker, cooler, the light was warm and bright, and the grass was... it felt a bit like plastic, but it ticked and felt slightly wet.

He'd wandered a bit away from the others, staring at the burnt and disturbed gash that tore through the green where the ship had crashed. He was a dismayed they had ruined the greenery, but he was thankful he was alive to feel that way. Near the ship were shards, shrapnel and torn debris from the ship. He discovered a large piece of metal that was sharp on oneside by accidentally stepping on it. He thought it looked a lot like an axe-head, so he stashed it in his supply pack with the plan to make an axe with it if it came to that. He searched for another piece he reckoned looked like a knife and pocketed it, later he would think of using it as a spear head, but for now he thought a knife was a useful tool.

Tension was growing among the group, he could hear it in the voices that he could hear and the way they held themselves, eyes darting nervously and shifting from foot to foot as if getting ready to move if needed. He approached just as nervously, but hid it behind a half amused half concerned sort of grin. He seemed to have just missed a verbal throw down in a play for power by... someone, he wasn't sure who the players were or their role in it- except the girl with the guns, she was clearly an aggressor with designs on running things.

He didn't catch all of the conversation, but what he did see were accusations and a clear lack of anything helpful. Then again, he didn't no how to be helpful either, so kept his mouth shut. He looked around for someone by themselves, needing someone to just talk to, both to get another perspective and to just hear another's voice.

The more steps she took out into the woods the more she felt like she was being watched. She stopped and took a moment to assess her situation. She hadn't heard any indication of movement but that didn't mean no one was there. She had been caught by surprise too many times to ignore her intuition. It was unlikely that whatever was around was inqisitor forces. They were never quiet about anything, used to being in control and acting like they own everything. This was more subtle, much more like herself. Whatever it was it was moving slowly and being very careful not to sound out of the ordinary. It almost blended perfectly into the rest of the sounds produced by this strange planet but something in her gut just knew what she heard could be danger. Having spent her whole life outside the law she was ready for surprises, still it could just as easily be a harmless herbivore.

Suddenly she heard rustling behind her and immediately drew her shiv. She then realized she had told that group to catch up and that's what they were doing. They emerged out of the brush, just out of earshot of the main group, and greeted her. It seemed only five had joined her. "Yo, Mama Dee. We found some good shit, here." The one in front, named Virgil, tossed her a handgun which was both surprising and pleasing. "Good work, you're already proving yourself to be useful. Now let's get the hell away from this crash site before the locals come to investigate." It seemed that everyone who decided to join her was convicted of violent crimes like murder which meant she'd have to keep them in line or they might get stupid ideas. So now she had a group of three guys and two girls, all of which knew her from prison.

Virgil was simple enough to figure out, he was tough but always the right hand man, never clever enough to make his own decisions. He always backed her up until she had gotten put into solitary confinement. Marcus was a big bruiser who killed an inquisitor before he got locked up, good muscle to have on your team. Hung Lo was perhaps the most attractive of the men but more importantly he was a carpenter from a long family line of carpenters and there was plenty of wood to work with. Lucy was lithe, quick, and rumor has it she's a good shot, she would be a good lookout. Finally there was Ana, short of Anastasia, who could probably seduce the bark off a tree. She didn't really have any skills but she had stabbed two inquisitors, one of whom died, and that was good enough she supposed.

So Dee-Dee and her band of murderers started to make their way north. A few more seconds of walking and she noticed a change in the ambience, it was... quiet? Ever since they landed she was bombarded by the constant sounds of nature. It was a stillness, the kind you get right before an inquisitor raid party smashes through an entire business office to arrest one guy. Still, she couldn't just stay put. So she started to press forward again. She couldn't shake the feeling that something was going to happen. She kept checking behind her and around at the surrounding trees. It was finally starting to really settle in just how alien this world was. She had no clue what was waiting out there, for all she knew they were walking towards the nest of some enormous creature and they were minutes away from being swallowed whole.

---

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After concluding his rant Tobi was about to take his crew to get supplies when an old friend spoke up. "You talk too much, Val," Ah, Emerson, it had been a while since he had seen her. "Go get the supplies and feeeed me. I feel like I haven't eaten in years—"

Tobi smiled, flipped her the bird, and then blew her a kiss with his other hand. "Emmy, how about you get off you're lazy ass and come help us and I'll feed you like a queen, eh?" He didn't bother waiting and instead took the group into the bowels of the ship. He remembered someone saying that there were supplies in the pods lining the walls so he made sure to check those first.

"Hey Charles my man, I found of couple backpacks, thinking we could just put all our shit in their so we can keep moving, eh? Some of the more violent guys are getting rowdy outside and I don't want to stick around for much longer? How many people do we got now? Ten? Fifteen? Sounds like more than enough to handle whatever animals could be around right?"

Valade grabbed a bag and was busy stuffing it with anything he could find, the others were following suit. There wasn't much but it would have to do. He was delighted to find a knife, now that was something he could use. Tobi knew he would have to rely on something more than his strength. He couldn't bring his fists to a gun fight now could he? The bad part was that he never used, or even held a gun for that matter. Tobi hadn't even needed a gun to kill those two Inquisitors, surprisingly. He had snuck up behind the first and slammed his head into a wall, repeatedly. Then, when the second one turned round he used the first Inquisitor's armor to shield himself until he got close enough to take him out. It was brutal, yes, and very crude but it had worked. One of the younger looking guys came up to him with a pistol gripped in his hand. The boy held it out to Tobi like he knew what the fuck to do with it.

"Uh... Yeah, thanks..." He quickly took the gun and brought it over to Charlie. "You know I have no idea how to use this, take it." He insisted.

Once Valade had filled his bag and most of the others had too he exited the ship. Tobi waited 'till most had gathered and finally spoke up. "So yeah, we're leaving now," he said, looking over to Charlie to make sure he agreed. "If you haven't gotten supplies and want to come with us I suggest you go grab some shit quick. All of you who aren't coming with us... Try not to get yourselves killed okay?" With that he hefted his bag and slung it over his shoulders. He looked at his group of 15 or so teenagers. "You guys ready?" Most of them nodded and voiced their agreement. He looked to Charlie, "lead the way, my man."

---

---

Charlie looked up at Tobi as he brought up his back pack idea and nodded. "Sounds good, I'll tell people to start packing stuff away," he said, and began directing people to grab a backpack and start filling it with the supplies they gathered. He himself grabbed his own bag, a small black thing that just barely held everything he had gathered. He slung it onto his back and looked over to see Tobi walking up with a gun in hand.

"You know I have no idea how to use this, take it." his friend said before pushing the gun into his hand. Charlie nodded with understanding and stuffed the gun into his back pocket. He'd need somewhere better to put it but until he found a holster of some sort, that would have to do. He'd only used a gun a few times, at a shooting range with his father, but he'd taken them apart more times than he could count, so he had a minimal understanding of how they work.

Once Tobi had gathered everyone up he surveyed their group of fifteen or so. He saw a few kids he recognized and just as they were about to leave, Avery came running out of the ship, bag in hand. He figured that meant Violet was with them too, or at least would be joining them. Avery wouldn't have been likely to join them if Violet was staying here."Alright. Let's get going. Stay close, we don't know what could be out here," he said before heading off North, the rest of the kids following. In the distance he saw the other group of kids, led by another girl who's name he couldn't quite recall. Something with a D. He trekked on and turned his head to Tobi. "We're gonna have to figure out a way to get Athena on our side. She's to chaotic to leave alone. Eventually she'll convince some of the other crazies to join up with her and I don't know how well that'll go for us," he said, looking off into the distance.