Lights blurred to life, flickering briefly as if curiously testing those inside the stowed-away sleeping bags before lighting entirely. Yawns echoed throughout the zero-g environment and the sounds of zips broke the quiet background of whirring machines and beeping computers. "Rise and shine, princesses! You won't get a nick of sleep for the next eighty years but that's life!" The sound of groans followed as a team of astronauts untangled themselves from their sleeping bags and floated through the sleeping quarters into the general living quarter. Their suits were casual reminders of their home, of their mission and of those back on the ground who watched them with bated breath. Different flags were patched to their arms but the symbol of their agency seemed a constant between them.

They joked, shared what appeared to be some sort of breakfast but resembled a dark gruel before they floated off to their individual sectors. It was only a few hours after when the ground finally called up to them. "Argo 5, this is Darmstadt, how are we all feeling this morning?" The ships coms patched it through to the whole ship which was met with a partly-enthusiastic, partly-tired cheer. They were all picked because they cared but it was evident in their eyes that it was for another reason - they didn't have anyone on Earth, no one to live for, no one to cry for them when they never returned. Their's was a one-way trip and a silent ending in some far-flung corner of the Galaxy. To go where no man had ever gone before had its price, after all. "Excellente! We're currently coordinating with the other agencies. In the meantime, prepare the Argo 5's Warp Drive." Once again, they went about their work but now with some urgency behind it. It wasn't long until the voice started up again. "We're patching you through to Houston. Good luck, Argo 5."

At this point, the astronauts were already suiting up, their tasks and final inspections apparently completed as they made their way to the helm of the ship. Strapping in, the five chosen to pave the way for the European Exodus ship watched on, almost nervously as the ship revolved to show the expanse of Earth littered beneath them. A husky, American voice broke the gathering silence. "Morning, Argo ships! Sorry to wake you folks up already but we've all got a job to do! We're running through the preliminary tests now." The voice then proceeded to check off the activity of each of the several Argo ships. When those tests were finally done, the voice was replaced. "Argo Ships, I would give a speech but you must understand, mere words cannot possibly reflect what it is in front of you. Your task is not about exploration, it is not about the aquisition of knowledge, but of the survival of our species. I cannot engineer words to illustrate the sacrifice you all must make. Instead, allow me to use the words of another man, greater than I. 'But why, some say, the moon? Why choose this as our goal? And they may well ask why climb the highest mountain? Why, 35 years ago, fly the Atlantic? Why does Rice play Texas?

We choose to go to the moon. We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win, and the others, too.'" The astronauts shared looks as the original voice returned and did a final check before beginning a countdown protocol.

As the countdown tore downwards, each of the European craft cast their eyes around the ship and savoured the final glances of their home. The sun was rising and the large landmass of India shone gloriously. "Godspeed, Argo ships, Godspeed."

"Flight Engineer Berger." The commander spoke.

"Yes sir?" Came the almost timid voice.

"Activate the Warp Drive, Jay." And in a moment, the stars rushed towards them and consumed them entirely as they blinked away, their comms falling silent to the quiet Earth.

---

One by one, the fifty woke but it didn't seem like it was an accident as the lights that had previously lit up the ship when they first entered it were resuscitated. The glass panels still kept them locked away from the main part of the ship but the fact that they were sealed shut with each having their own oxygen supply alluded to something more than just fancy-looking sleeping compartments. Each of the fifty seemed to wake with their own response; some felt trapped by the glass coffin-esque trait to their entrapment and others simply kept quiet and waited until something else happened. It was hard to tell if they had just skipped from the frying pan right into the fire but after a few minutes of angered bangs on the glass and the most of the population of the ship waking up, a familiar voice played through the intercom. He had changed, undoubtedly, which was strange considering much of the fifty remembered only falling asleep for a few hours but he was a voice of reason in an increasingly chaotic situation. "Morning everyone. I apologise for the rude awakening and the pods but we needed to save as much energy as we could. I know you have a lot of questions and they will all be answered in due course but first, we have to ge-"

Without warning, the ship rocked violently and stuttered into a vicious spin as warnings blared throughout the expanse of the visible ship. "Merde! Putain! Fils de pute!" The normally calm voice of J suddenly filled with a nervous stress, as if his plans had been thwarted within an instant. "Listen; stay where you land! I repeat, when you land, DON'T MOVE! Go-" His voice powered down on the intercom and chaos ensued amongst the glass pods that were quickly becoming what most feared they already were. Another vibration reverberated through the ship but instead of the last time, this one felt controlled. Their spinning didn't halt but things became considerably more uncomfortable when the inside of the ship began to heat up quite a lot. Most of the fifty had grown up on Port Hope and never been to a Capital World so falling down to a planet surface was probably a first for them. The rocking only became more violent as thrusters fired off and the ships' velocity was reduced massively. The lights fused then powered down as a red blinking light kicked into action, illuminating the terror.

Almost as soon as it started, it stopped with a heavy thump which caused the most of them to bounce up and hit the roofs of their pods. With a final splutter, the ship gave out and the electrics flicked off entirely. The pods opened with a sigh and each of those who had been prisoners became free. Silence reigned over the fifty young souls as each took in their surroundings. The ship was dark, not a single window lighting their way but somehow, they found their way using the remaining portable lights of the pods. A metal causeway led them to the main bulk of the ship, the place where they had all fled up into when J told them to run back in the Port.

Each took a cautious look, fearing what it would be that they found on the other side of the heavy metal door. It wasn't long until they found the emergency switch for the door and within an instant, light filtered in through the ever-widening opening in the ship. The light blinded them momentarily before it took form, before green pastures and blue skies danced towards those who only knew steel and glass. The ship had crashed in a small creek surrounded by a clutter of trees but that fact was lost on them. Trees. Bugs. Real, painful, air. Party time, maybe?

Consciousness trickled back to Rae like drops of water from a half-closed faucet. And then all at once she was alert. She jolted in her pod, eyes darting, trying to take in and process everything. Her fellow delinquents were in similar pods, all in varying states of confusion and panic. A familiar voice rang through her ears - J. He sounded… different somehow. Then he sounded frantic.

Rae had been on enough trips with her stuck-up parents to recognize the atmosphere re-entry for what it was – and how it wasn't going the way it was supposed to. The urgency in J's voice rang in time with the pounding of Rae's blood in her ears. She squeezed her eyes shut as the pressure increased its tight hold on her body, forcing her breath to come out in shallow puffs.

Until finally they crashed into the planet's surface.

Rae was still trying to collect herself and her tattered senses when the pod opened like breath. She glanced around at the others as she tried to remember how to move. A shaky foot lifted. Pushed forward. Met the floor of the ship. Then the other. Rae stood in the ship with the others, trying to make sense of everything. Then the door opened.

Light poured into the hull like wine into a cup, intoxicating with its warmth. Rae pushed forward towards it, trying to see what lay beyond the door.

"Whoa," she breathed out.

It was a world, but unlike any she'd seen before. Wild and overgrown with every shade of green and brown, with visible insects crawling this way and that, it was an untamable vision, inviting and frightening. Her mouth was open slightly, a look of pure awe in her eyes. The sky above was as infinite as the view from a shuttle, but so much more blue, solid looking as though she could reach up and hold it in her hand. The air was thicker than she was used to, heavy and filling as she breathed it in.

Rae stretched a leg out. Burnished metal glinted between her prison boots and the thin material of her pants. She took one step out. Then another. A delighted smile lit up her face and she took another testing step. A laugh bubbled up in her chest, spilling out of her lips. Rae turned back to look at her fellow inmates. "Well? You coming out or what?"

---

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Abe stormed down the ramp of Cargo-A with nonstop grumbling. "I seriously can't believe you did this to me Mary-Anne I am literally going to kill you if you and I survive this." A voice interrupted his grouch, then a laugh, and he whirled to the right just in time to see a tiny figure of...a girl popping out of Cargo-B, 400 yards away from him. "Oh for the love of progress." He pulled his gun from the holster: luckily the thing hadn't broken in two when he landed.

Then he set off toward the girl, intending to give her a piece of his mind because she could have made life very difficult for him if he had gotten caught. The sentiment died instantly in his throat as he saw that she was not alone. More than that, she was positively swarmed by a big-ass group of kids. What the fuck was happening here? "Mary-Anne," he hissed, sliding behind a rock-face between him and the crowd. "Why are there a bunch of little children on my ship?"

"J told me to leave them be. I like him more than I like you."

Abe worked very hard not to throw the little shitbubble against the rock, and destroy her then and there. "You realize how fucked that would have made me?"

"If you had gotten caught. Why not go say hello?" Then Mary-Anne said nothing, and no amount of hissing and threatening could change that.

With a hell of a lot of cursing, Abe stood and stepped out from behind the rock, gun in hand as he approached Cargo-B. "Oy!" he said, approaching carefully. "Anyone want to tell me what you're all doing on my ship?" It was kind of a shitty was to introduce himself, but Abe really didn't care at this point. Auburn Liberty was down, Mary-Anne was alive and kicking, and he might never get to see his family again. What did he have to lose?

The whole thing was a blur. From the moment the breakout began, it was a cacophony of movement and sounds. Cody had moved on mostly instinct alone and by the time he reached the ship, his heart was pounding. It was exhilarating. Almost fun. Or it would have been, were he not afraid he would die any moment. There were other people running to the ship too. Some he recognized and some he didn't. They all slipped into their pods and Cody followed suit. Only then did he start to calm down and think about what had actually happened. What was still happening. He almost started to panic but remembered the breathing exercises his father had taught him earlier in life. That helped calm him until the sleep came.

When he awoke, he was confused and disoriented, much like everyone else. He slammed a hand into the glass on the pod but immediately realized what a bad idea that was. So instead he focussed on figuring out how to get out of this thing. He didn't have a chance though as all hell broke loose again and he was grateful that he hadn't escaped the pod when he realized the ship was crashing. It provided some form of safety, although he did smash his head on the top and he was sure a goose egg would form there soon enough. He squeezed his eyes shut and held his head as whatever was happening outside happened. There was a ringing in his ears that blocked out all of the other sounds around him. When it finally stopped, he realized that he had stopped too. Whatever was happening was over and the pod started to open. Cody practically fell out onto the floor but immediately scrambled to his feet. When he looked around, he noticed the others emerging too and was relieved to see them alive.

When the doors began to open, Cody was one of the first there to see what was happening. What he saw was jaw dropping. There was an entire world on the other side of those doors. A green world. He had always heard stories of worlds like this. Worlds not made of rock and metal. He didn't really believe it until he saw it with his own eyes. As he stared in wonder, he started to gently laugh in sheer astonishment. There was so much to see and he wanted to see it all. He followed a girl out onto the grass and stared down at it, noticing a line of insects pass by in front of him. He was so busy watching them that he didn't notice the older man approach. He jumped slightly when he heard his voice but didn't respond to his question. Cody honestly didn't have the faintest idea what was happening.

It had all been one big blur to her one moment Christine was waking up in her cell with her cellmate who she didn't even know her name yet, she had been led out of her cell with the other inmates all around her age and remembered lights going out and making a run towards a ship in the port. Then strapping herself into a pod and eventually falling asleep sometime after take off, she had no idea what was actually going on she simply just followed J's instructions. Then she woke up sometime later with a loud groan as she could hear alarms going off, and she looked around at her fellow inmates as they all either panicked or tried to stay calm through everything.

Then Christine had felt the ship suddenly and violently shake which had caused her to panic even more she started banging on the glass of her pod to try and get out until finally there was a very violent crash and the pods eventually opened. Still very confused and disoriented Christine slowly followed behind Rae and Cody out of the cargohold that they were put into. Christine winced as she felt the natural sunlight making her eyes water slightly, after going up in Port Hope all your life with artificial lightning all the time Christine wasn't even used to it or even the air which was also natural.

"Where are we?" Christine asked but to no one in particular as she looked around until she looked over towards Abraham and raised an eyebrow towards him, he was just as clueless as they all were it seemed. [color=cyan]"We were instructed by a person named J to get on.."[/color[ Christine said as she knelt down running her hands through the natural soil before standing back up. "What is going on?"

Oliver was rubbing the top of his head as he followed his sister out into the fresh air of this strange new world. The voice of someone, clearly someone older, seemed not to penetrate the bubble that had formed around his airs. It wasn't until he glimpsed the gun in his hand that he even spoke to him. "Fat lotta good that gun is gonna do you. There's fifty of us, give or take. Half of us have killed people, just cause we could. You'd be lucky to get five of us down before we overwhelmed you. So be smart and put it down," he said, his tone more condescending than harsh. He'd never liked authority.

Eliza was ignoring her brother's voice as she began to explore the crash site. She let the water from the creek gently splash her fingers, and took a deep breath of fresh air, air that was nothing like that on Port Hope. Most of all, she took a moment to savor her freedom. When J had sent them running to the Auburn Liberty, she'd thought it too good to be true. But thank God she'd followed directions because here she was. On solid ground, the breeze gently playing with her hair.

Standing up, the blonde spun around in the water, arms outstretched and she laughed, loud and hearty, like she had no cares in the world. "We're free bitches!" Her voice rang out, clear and loud, scaring brightly colored birds from the trees that surrounded them, and causing her brother to shoot her a disapproving glare. She strolled over and looked up at the man with the gun, leaning against her brother as she spoke to him. "Don't mind Oli here. He's not as scary as he seems. Not to say he isn't right. That gun there is a bad idea. You should put it down, or even better. Hand it over," she said, punctuating her sentence with a wink and a grin at the man, batting her eyes for effect.

---

A dizzying sense of disorientation washed over Isabel as she slowly regained consciousness. Her eyes fluttered open and in the next instant, she jolted wide awake. The glass pod made her feel trapped, no escape, and suddenly she felt very claustrophobic. Breathing short, quick breaths, Isabel looked around to find that she wasn't alone and there were others just as panicked. Some banged on the glass and shouted while others seemed to be very confused and scared. It was all very traumatic until a familiar voice, J, sounded through the intercom. Isabel sucked in a deep breath and then slowly exhaled to calm her nerves as she listened to him speak, eyes closed. But as soon as she began to feel slightly less frantic, her heart started to race once J began to sound nervous, panicked.

The ship vibrated violently, Isabel struggled to keep her balance and listened frantically for J to reassure her that everything was okay. But his voice was cut off mid-shout and another vibration rocked the ship. Isabel had spent most of her life on Port Hope and had never traveled too far from home so this was all new to her. Fear shook her body harder than the ship as everything began to heat up to the point where she could feel her heart pounding in her ears. A red, blinking light went off, illuminated horrified faces with each flash.

This is it, Isabel thought. We're all going to die. We're all going to-

Very suddenly, it all stopped with a thud, her head hitting the top of her pod with a loud thunk. Isabel felt momentarily paralyzed and all she could feel was the heavy thumping of her heart, her vision patchy as she blinked away the lights that danced across her eyes from shock. After a beat of time passed she slowly brought herself to her feet, taking a shaky step forward. Breathing through her nose, Isabel stepped out of her pod just like everyone else and also, just as confused as everyone else. A few people had already exited the ship so, rather than wait in fear, Isabel made her way out.

The air was so clear that it almost hurt to breathe as Isabel wandered out into the greenest place she had ever seen. Leaning down, she gently brushed the tips of her fingers along the cool grass with a curious smile on her face. Looking around at the others she could tell that no one else had expected this outcome either. She started to laugh quietly before bolting back up to a standing position the moment she heard an angry, masculine voice. Turning her head toward the source she saw a man with a gun pointed right at the group of teenagers.

Instead of feeling threatened, Isabel recognized the same look of confusion on his face that had been plastered on her own face as well as everyone else's. She nodded in agreement after hearing Christine respond to him calmly.

"It's true," she said. "How'd you miss a group of fifty kids on your own ship, huh? And could you please do yourself and all of us a favor and put the gun down? I'd rather not get shot today considering the fact that we are all unarmed and just as confused as you are. Which reminds me...where the hell are we?"

"Mary-Anne," Abe spoke under his breath. "Any thoughts?" Maybe if he asked nicely, she would behave herself. She'd already fucked this up for him once. She owed him and she knew it.

They are juvenile delinquents from Port Hope. His AI spoke through the earpiece he'd put in when he had retrieved her. Moved on board the Auburn Liberty while you slept. I was partially compromised during the affair. Apologies for the snark, earlier. It will not happen again. That was a big fat lie, Abe knew, but at least Mary-Anne was 'lucid' enough to behave as a normal AI. Charges range from deviant sexuality to manslaughter and murder. Ages range from twelve to eighteen. Names are not in my records. I estimate fifteen of them would attack if fired upon. Ten more would attack for survival. Others unsure.

God damn teenagers. Abe remembered being a teenager once. He'd stolen the Auburn Liberty, destroyed any possible relationship he might have had with his father, and become a fugitive. And shot a few people too: pirates, mostly. Marauders in space were rare, but if you traveled between the core worlds long enough, you ran into the pirates. Mary-Anne and the Auburn Liberty had been equipped to handle them.

And Abe himself had been equipped as well. In his hand was a Marco XFire3 Switch. Expensive, rare, probably illegal, and very useful in space. It had cost him two full shipments of cargo to purchase the damn thing, but after that botched run to Monardo, he decided it was worth the money. It was a machine-pistol with rapid-fire capabilities, though it was capable of semi-auto fire as well. More useful in space, however, was the second barrel above the first, where a Class 4 laser was mounted. It could permanently blind in an instant, cause searing damage to flesh as soon as it was turned on, and was considered a fire hazard to anything not made of metal.

In other words, Abe could mow down a hell of a lot of those kids easily. But they didn't need to know that, and he didn't like killing in cold blood on Tuesdays. He thumbed the DNA-lock back to the OFF position, and made quite the display of putting the gun back into its hip holster. It would take less than a second to get the thing up and aimed.

He looked up at the crowd. "Been a rough day. Ship was hacked while I was asleep, illegal cargo transfer. My ship is dead, Mary-Anne is driving me insane, and my ability to contact help is gone. Even if I could get help I would probably be arrested and killed."

Abe sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose between two fingers. "Look," he began again. "I don't particularly care that you stowed away. I get it. Inquisitors trying to kill all of you. Easy decision to run. No need to get snippy." He dealt with enough impudence from Mary-Anne. "Name's Abe Varker. I'm pilot, mechanic, and merchant to this hunk of crap metal." He turned to face one of the collapsed landing struts, and started walking under the hull of his battered ship to reach it.

"Y'all have fun with whatever," he said, muffled voice coming from under the ship. "Don't scratch the paint."

Consciousness didn't return to Cameron until after the crash, and by the time she got her brain running at speed, most of the other kids were already out of their pods and exploring their new environment. Cameron stumbled out of her pod into the cargo hold, jogging to catch up to the other former inmates. With every step, new questions formed, new logic checks that had no answers. They had escaped prison, but gone where? Onto a ship and into those pods. What were the glass pods? Likely some sort of stasis pod, judging by how long it had taken her to reboot once she woke up. (Stop that, you aren't a computer, you don't reboot, you wake the hell up.) Why did her head hurt? Likely hitting her head on the top of the pod during the crash. Why did they crash? Answer uncertain. Where did they crash? Answer uncertain. How long were they in those pods?

Answer uncertain. That one worried Cameron the most. If she was right, and those were stasis pods, then they could have been trapped inside for any variable amount of time. Too many answers uncertain, too many questions left without resolutions. That was unacceptable.

She found the rest of the group, all gathered in... what were those? Trees? Was that running water? In hindsight, crashing on a planet made sense, but planets were such an unknown to Cameron that the possibility of actually being on a planet hadn't even occurred to her. Were all planets like this?

A tear freed itself from her eyes, against Cameron's will to keep it contained. She clenched her fist, knowing that more were coming where that came from, knowing that she could keep it under control if she would just focus. Keep her brain moving and thinking about anything but the conclusion she had just arrived at in her head.

One man caught her attention: he was much older than the inmates, and from what Cameron could overhear, this was his ship they had just stowed away on. She watched as he holstered his gun, recognizing the model and make of the weapon immediately. XFire3 Switch, Marco. Her father had tried to rip its design once, to no avail. It was a weapon near unmatched in known space. (Best not fuck with him, then.)

Cameron heard numerous questions wondering where they were, bringing her mind right back exactly to where she did not want it. "We're on a planet," Cameron whispered, slumping over where she stood and sitting right there in the grass. "We're on a motherfucking planet." She repeated it louder that time, half as an answer to those around her and half as a reminder that this was a very real situation they found themselves in. Fortunately, Cameron held back her tears, but her shock was apparent; she stared emptily at the grass beneath, struggling to fully comprehend its existence.

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Cody watched intently as the others interacted with the older man. Upon seeing the planet for the first time, his attention had been split between so many things. There was so much to take in. But as soon as he spotted the man's gun, he focussed all of his attention like a laser on that. They were right, he probably couldn't mow them all down but he could probably take out quite a few of them with that thing. Cody didn't see any point in risking it. Yet some of his fellow inmates apparently thought it was a good idea to antagonize the one person with a gun. Cody felt his body tense until the situation seemed to resolve itself. He breathed a deep sigh of relief and noticed a few of the others do the same.

After the stranger calmed down and began inspecting the damage to the ship, Cody crouched down and ran his hand over the grass, smiling at the feel of it as it ran between his fingers. But then a thought hit him and an eyebrow arched. "Was this part of the plan?" he asked no one in particular before turning to the rest of the group. "Was any of this? Were we supposed to be here? On this planet?"

They were all questions that needed answered and Cody scanned his eyes across the group, looking for someone to respond. Did any of them know? Did any of them have a single idea what the plan for their escape even was, other than simply "Run"? Asking himself the questions only opened the floodgates of his mind to more but he restrained himself from asking them all at once and instead looked to the others for answers.

The funny thing about sleep is that it’s elusive when we want it and comes when we don’t need it. Even worse, our brains seem to see it as an opportunity to show us all of the subconscious shit that we store away without thinking about it, mish-mashing it together into a carnival of senselessness. Happy, sad, terrifying, whatever, but always senseless. Maybe he'd be able to ponder over it more if he had woken up in a more calm situation.

Gabriel didn’t sleep often, but he was a hard sleeper. He didn’t wake until the second tumultuous vibration rocked through the airship, eyes flying open as panic made his heart seize into his throat. Instinct told him not to move, despite the dizzying spinning sensation that pressed his stomach up against his spine and his brain to roll around in his skull. Sirens and lights were going off, and through the thick glass pane in front of him he could see others in their similar prisons looking just as terrified. What was happening? One moment they’d been fine, everything was running smoothly, and now this.

It occurred to him for the first time that it was entirely possible that he and everyone else were about to die. His throat and tongue went dry, his eyes squeezing shut. A litany of quiet Spanish ran out of his lips, as if he were trying to bargain with the universe to either make his death swift and painless or to at least keep most of his limbs when they inevitably crashed into something or the whole ship burst into flames. Maybe he already was dead and this was his own personal brand of Hell; spinning indefinitely through space and nothing he could do about it.

Then suddenly, abruptly, and painfully, it was over. Gabriel nearly bit the hell out of his tongue as his body was suddenly thrown against the ceiling of his pod as the ship seemed to make contact with something and come to a screeching halt. The electricity seemed to give out and triggered the pods to open, dumping him several other people into the floor. Save for the shuffling and groaning of his fellow inmates, the ship held a hollow silence. It was a rather stark contrast to the deafening cacophony that had filled the air only moments ago. Gabriel lifted a hand and grimaced as he rubbed the tender spot on the back of his head, desperately trying to hold his stomach within his body as he dizzily gathered his bearings. He carefully stood, gripping the sides of his pod. Dim lights flickered on as others found what seemed to be portable emergency lights inside their pods, gradually migrating towards the causeway. He groped along the inside walls of his pod until he found his own light, clicking it on with a small sense of relief. At least they wouldn’t be trapped in the dark.

Gabriel’s steps felt unusually solid as he followed along with the others searching for better things than the hold they’d just left. Feeling his own weight so densely against the floor was definitely a sensation he would have to get used to. The group seemed to reach a dead end, a heavy door standing between them and.. whatever was outside. Whispers of doubt circulated over the pairs and small groups of people who had clustered together, all their lights beaming around the sealed entryway. There was a sudden hiss in the air as someone seemed to have found the hatch release, and as it slowly creaked open Gabriel swore that maybe he really had died.

Light had never been so blinding and.. warm. Tentatively, those closest to the exit crept out onto an alien planet; the sky a brilliant blue and nearly everything else the lushest green he had ever seen. Awestruck, the dark-skinned man craned his head up as he looked up at what looked like and endless expanse of blue above them, his heart racing with nervousness and a foreign feeling of excitement. Where in the hell had they landed? He’d never seen or even heard of anything even remotely similar to whatever this place was. Other kids started to slowly spread out, tentatively exploring the nearby grasses and foliage. Some looked curious, others pale in shock and terrified. Some were even crying. He spotted one girl who was just sitting on the ground, staring at the grass and seeming to struggle to comprehend what it was.

Another slight commotion caught his attention, a man, much older than all the rest of them were, appeared. He seemed pretty miffed that A: his ship had crashed, and B:, he had a lot of.. unexpected cargo. Gabriel raised his eyebrows slightly as he watched two rather energetic slips of teenagers confronting the man about his gun. Wait, shit, a gun? His eyes locked onto the weapon nervously. Sure the lot of them could overpower the man with a couple of casualties, but the guy could also pick them off whenever he felt suited him. Gabriel turned his flashlight off and slipped the device into his back pocket, deciding to save it for later and let out a rather tired sigh. Realizing he’d been standing in the same spot for a few minutes, he slowly began walking in an aimless direction, trying to gather his bearings. They’d stowed away on a ship, and escaped their death penalties. Well, he definitely had. His trial had been lurking dangerously close. Okay, all of that was simple enough. Now, their ship had crash landed on a bizarrely beautiful and unknown planet. They had no resources that he knew of and it seemed like their only was off of the planet was basically a tin can for now. And all of them were criminals. Right, got it.

“Dios mío..” He sighed, running a hand over his face and scratching absently at his jawline. What were they all going to do? More importantly, what was he going to do? His dark eyes turned back to the ship, where the disgruntled older man had disappeared under the hull. He didn’t really know much about ships, but he knew how to work and fix metal. If the ship was even repairable, one guy definitely couldn’t do it by himself. In the very least it would give Gabriel something to keep busy with. And hey, it would be a good move to be on the good side of the guy with the gun.

Gabriel followed after the older guy, keeping a cautious distance to avoid startling the man and getting shot. When he found the man, who was muttering something he couldn’t hear, Gabriel lightly tapped a knuckle against the underside of the hull to get the man’s attention. “Oi, anciano.” he said. His voice was a rough tenor and slightly accented. “You need help with anything? I don’t know shit about ships but I’m pretty good at fixing anything that has to do with metal .”

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“It would appear that we have crashed-landed.” A flat, almost dead voice carried through the air from the interior of the ship, and 7872 stepped down the ramp, some of the others moving to give her a wide berth. “Given the violence of our arrival, it would have been either an equipment malfunction, or we were forced down by an outside party.”

Ignoring the others for the time being, she swept her eyes across the grassland. “Breathable atmosphere, no evidence of toxicity. Life-bearing, possibility of colonization or non-human sapients,” she muttered under her breath. Not the best place to land, all things considered, but it was far from the worst. “Water source, possibly contaminated from crash, will need to boil to destroy bacteria… shelter a non-issue. Food, unknown. Short-term survival, likely. Long-term, unknown.” Her eyes flicked to the sky. “Signal… none. Either out of range or no available network.”

She blinked, as though just now noticing the others, and her voice became more audible. “Still, it is doubtful this was our intended destination. It serves little purpose to have stranded us here.” She glanced towards the man who had questioned their presence and followed him beneath the ship. “What sort of supplies do we have?”

Throughout it all, her voice remained flat, almost monotone, and her expression remained unchanged.

Rae spun at the very disgruntled voice coming from her side. Her eyes widened as they landed on the piece this new man was carrying. She let out a long, low whistle. That gun was powerful. And Expensive. And illegal. Only the highest levels of Inquisitors were allowed to use it. Rae had been forced to practice with it once or twice, but had never had much opportunity to properly get the hang of one.

And he'd held that gun against a batch of teenagers before even knowing they were convicts.

Pragmatic. Suspicious. Possibly dangerous. More than likely involved in something shady. Rae would put money on this guy being some sort of pirate or smuggler. Maybe a bounty hunter. She raised an eyebrow as she saw him and a few others start trying to work on fixing the ship. Hadn't he been the one to declare it dead? What, was he a miracle worker? Gonna bring the dead back to life? Rae rolled her eyes and looked around as an idea popped into her head. She smirked when she spotted Isabel.

"Hey Iz!" she called as she trotted over. The older girl – and one of the few people she liked in juvie – was always a willing companion for mischief, even if she liked to pretend otherwise. Rae lowered her voice as she reached her. "How much you wanna bet there's some kind of supply stash in that ship?" Weapons, food, drugs… Rae wasn't sure what she expected to find, but there was bound to be something right? "Wanna scavenge what we can and explore a little?" Her smile turned teasing and she nudged Isabel a bit with her elbow. "C'mon, I know you're dying to check this place out."

---

Abe. Isabel was very wary of this man who claimed to be the pilot of the ship she and the rest of the juvies stowed away on. He had put the gun away but still, was he really prepared to shoot a bunch of kids so easily? She didn't care how clueless he had been of their presence, Isabel didn't trust this guy.

She perked up a little at the sound of a familiar voice calling her name. Isabel saw Rae walking towards her and smiled. Relief spread over her body as she realized that she had at least had one person she knew she could call a friend. No matter how much she disliked the Inquisitor's daughter at first, Rae had become a good companion to have in juvie and Isabel was glad to have her here while they were apparently stranded on a foreign planet.

"How much you wanna bet there's some kind of supply stash in that ship? Wanna scavenge what we can and explore a little?" Rae nudged Isabel with her elbow, a devious grin on her face. "C'mon, I know you're dying to check this place out."

Isabel's own smile had turned into a mischievous one as she raised her eyebrows. Isabel's curiosity would always overpower her sensibility as she had already thought about exploring the ship.

"I bet there's a bunch of stuff we can find on that big hunk of metal." She looked back towards the man who had pointed a gun at them earlier. He was still working on fixing the ship, his back facing the two girls.

"We better be quick and sneaky about it. Best not to anger the only guy with a weapon, huh?" She said, her eyebrows raised.

When Abe had said "y'all have fun", he'd intended it as a sort of 'go away and leave me alone' statement. So, naturally, it did not improve his ill humor when two of the teenagers decided to follow him under the ship. One sounded more like a robot than Mary-Anne...an actual robot.

The other...he had a slight accent in his tone. Technically there wasn't any particular 'accent' that was widely accepted, but it was different than his, and different from a lot of the prissy bastards he'd grown up with. But it wasn't the accent which got his attention, but rather the offer of help. Now that was the first good thing he had heard since this shit had started. A mechanist. Young guy, sure, but if you started young enough, that was enough time to build up some experience. Unlike engineering, which was a job that took months, years or decades of harsh training and review and practice, mechanics and machinists you could count on, even with a relatively short time of training.

He pointed at the guy first. "You. Yes, I would be happy to have some help from someone who might actually know something useful. The Auburn Liberty is an absolute monster for just me and Mary-Anne alone, but with another pair of hands we might have a bit more luck."

A shout caught his attention from behind him, and he turned to see two girls looking at his ship with far too much interest for innocence. "Oi!" He called, pointing at the two offending young women with no possible confusion. "You want something from the Auburn, ask me. If I catch anyone touching my shit without my express permission, I'm shooting them." He turned back to his the two kids he seemed stuck with. "Lord help me," he grumbled.

Now he whirled to put his finger on the girl. Weird bugger: she seemed unhinged. Not something he wanted to deal with now, or ever. "You. No supplies. I had just docked at Port Hope and was planning to restock before I was so rudely put on this rock." His mouth twitch in irritation. "So we're all going to have to find somewhere else to get shit from, because it ain't coming from my ship. Please spread the word to anyone who's thinking about raiding my boat. Thanks. Now, unless you're planning to help me, please let me work in peace."

Abe beckoned to the helpful kid, taking him away from all the others to talk shop. "The first big issue here is that all of the generators are shot. Here." He unplugged the earpiece from Mary-Anne's cylinder, and her cold, pseudo-friendly voice came to life.

"Correct. The Auburn Liberty's power was drained one-hundred percent through the landing process. Fuel reserves are entirely depleted, and with those reserves are the generators. I am powered separately, but I do not possess even the slightest amount of power required to charge any of the batteries. However, that does not mean we are stranded here without power indefinitely."

"I've got a few terrible ideas. See, the ship's got all the things we need to charge the batteries in an emergency, we just lack the power source. In space, it would be a very slow emergency charge from solar energy. Of course, since the entire world fucking hates me, Mary-Anne tells me that the digital solar panels were heavily damaged and corrupted in the fall, and were disconnected from the ship's grid. If we can connect those back up, we might have a chance there."

He smiled uncomfortably. "Or, we could rig up a lightning rod and charge the ship with a storm. Assuming this place storms, and assuming we can get a lightning rod up high enough, the energy would be easily enough to kickstart the generators, and that could then purge the solar panels. Digital solar panels are cool like that, and I don't really know how they work, but if we can get a surge, they can get themselves back to work." He pointed at the collapsed landing struts as well. "That's another issue there, but honestly I'm not going to worry about those for a while, because power is more important. There's a whole laundry list of problems to solve, but a lot of them are going to take power. You got any ideas yourself?"

Christine leaned herself up against the hull of the ship still taking in a deep fresh breath of air, it was a whole lot better then the recycled air back in Port Hope. She turned her attention towards Cody and shrugged slightly she hadn't the slightest clue as to why they crash landed on this uncharted rock so long as there was breathable air and they couldn't be found by the Inquisitors she was completely fine with that. I'm not sure, honestly we should just be happy that we aren't up for death anymore." Christine said as she started to think about medical supplies, she wasn't sure what was on the ship and decided to ask Abe about it. Christine walked under the hull where she spotted Seven her cellmate back in Port Hope and smiled towards her for a moment.

"Abe was it right?" Christine asked looking at the owner of the Auburn Liberty. "Do you happen to have medical supplies? I used to work at the hospitals before I was thrown into a cell, if we have any injuries I could try and treat them." Christine said as she looked towards Seven her nickname she called her cellmate because she didn't know her true name. "How are you feeling by the way?" Christine asked, she wanted to try and help anyone if they got injured here on this rock.

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. "DON'T MOVE!" 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. Most of the juvies seemed to be stunned, seeing shades of green which were thought non-existent to them before hand. A few individuals caught her attention. First and foremost was Princess Robo-Legs herself who appeared to have been preparing herself to board the ship with another girl. Athena liked her thinking but she was rudely interrupted by a gruff voice coming from the underside of the ship. Intriguing.

Stepping down onto solid ground, she raised a hand to shield her eyes before surveying the scene around her. The voice in question was a grown man who appeared to be in his thirties. Whatever he was, he seemed like he was in charge, and considering the weapon holstered at his side, Athena guessed he was in charge. That wouldn't do at all.

Turning to the Inquisitor Princess, she kept her voice low enough so as not to be overheard. "Listen here you shit, that one is bad news so we need at least a chance to fight back if he turns into a dickhead. I'll distract him, you find a gun. Also someone tell that mechanic to fuck off and stop repairing the ship!" Giving the girl a curt nod and not even waiting for a reply, she waltzed under the ship.

Upon closer inspection, it appeared that she may have met him before. The ship was a trading ship and considering the fact that he was heavily armed, he wasn't just carrying normal supplies. Chances were that he was trading illegal goods and if he sold at Port Hope before, it meant that he had gone through her father. She had a chance here.

Approaching him, she circled him before finally closing in and brushing her body against his, leaning over to inspect him while he attempted to repair the ship. "So tell me, what exactly does a guy with a merchant ship, an AI and a very expensive gun do for a living? You may be fooling them but you're not very different from us criminal scum, are you?"

---

His head hurt. Alex didn't remember much from the crash or even the events before it but he was very certain of one thing; his fellow inmates were quickly leaving the ship and he wasn't going to be left behind. The glass pod didn't give way for a full minute but after repeated attempts to jam it open, he finally succeeded and escaped onto the walkway. Almost immediately he could tell there was something up. The air felt... Different. The air he breathed on Port Hope was usually fairly clean but this was a whole new level. It was exhilirating.

One foot collapsed in front of the other and after a quick second, he was hobbling down the walkway. It didn't occur to him that blood seemed to be emanating from a small metallic shard in his leg, or even that he was limping and his leg felt like it was about to give up. To him, that was a small matter as he saw a sharp beam of light against the far wall. Frowning in stubborn willpower, he lumbered forward until he found the entrance and the sight took his breath away. Green. Too many shades of green. He was a farmer and he'd never seen anything like it in his life. The sky was a deep blue, clean and free. The hum of insects with the chirping of small birds formed an orchestra and together they made this new world seem like it was home already. Alex let out a shaky breath, a smile forming on his lips as he quietly limped down onto the ground. Everything just seemed to stun him even more and within a few moments, he found himself slumping down into a sitting position beside a girl on the ground. While she stared at the grass, he found his head drifting up into the clouds. He had always dreamed of walking on a planet but he never thought he would make it.

"You okay?" He managed to mumble, his hand finding the girl's back as his gaze finally dropped back down to the ground. She seemed to be in some sort of state and although she wasn't crying, he had a feeling she wasn't very far off. "I never thought I'd get to feel grass beneath my feet..."

Suddenly, the peacefulness was broken by a high-pitched scream that echoed around the small clearing, shutting down every conversation in an instant. The sound itself seemed to come from inside the trees but anyone with enough bravery to run to the source would have found a young girl, her uniform giving her away as one of the fifty, curling in fear. Over and over, her eyes seemed to dart to where the light darkened and the forest thickened and over and over, her words came to one solution. "Monster..."

It would be great if people would stop touching him so he could try and pick up the fucking scraps of his life's work. He unceremoniously straightened, ignoring the weird kid who'd just touched him who literally could not have even been an adult yet, and put his attention on the other girl. The newer one with the straight hair, who had at least been marginally cordial to him.

"Sorry," he grumbled--everything he said seemed to be grumbled right about now--"I was planing to restock on medical supplies as well, but that kind of fell through. You can not believe me all you want, but there's literally nothing on this ship that could be useful on the ground. It's a shell right now: electrics are fried, fuel is gone, food and medical are empty, and the mounted guns don't fire without power. You're welcome to look in the cargo holds: if there is anything useful, it'd be in there, but don't hold your breath." He sighed, as if to emphasize the statement.

---

Gabriel could feel the hair raising on the back of his neck as another girl approached and spoke, her dead monotone rather unsettling. She was like like one of those high functioning bots that some Inquisitors used for menial tasks. Yeesh. Not someone he wanted to hang around very long. He quietly busied himself with looking up into the landing struts. He let out a low whistle, “A lot of that shit is melted together. But you’re right, that’s not the important thing at the moment..” he mused, rubbing his fingers against his jaw in contemplation.

The old man had an idea about rigging up a lightning rod though. With a huff he jumped up the landing strut as far as he could, grabbing onto whatever ridge or bit of warped metal that he could to climb up the side of the ship. He had pretty rudimentary knowledge about conduction and electricity, but if they could put up their lightning rod in an optimal place to put some juice back into the ship instead of just creating one giant electrocution box, maybe they could get the systems back online. Would that mean they could be tracked, though? He had a feeling that Abe seemed like the type who liked to be.. off grid. He paused in his climb halfway up the side of the ship, spotting some sort of port that seemed to be a source point where the circuitry for multiple systems met. Gabe let out a contemplative hum, glancing up at the silent solar panels as the breeze whistled around them, then began his dissension back to the ground.

Gabriel dropped to the ground with a soft grunt, noticing a girl who was curling up to Abe in an.. uncomfortably suggestive manner. Like a cat at a milk saucer. He raised an eyebrow; she was obviously up to something, this wasn’t exactly the time to try and shag anyone, “Aye, mami chula, might wanna hit on someone who couldn ‘t be your dad.” he grinned, dimples flashing in his cheeks. “Anciano, I think your lightning idea is the best bet we have so far.” He shrugged, crossing his arms and leaning against the hull, “I spotted a place we could stick the rod that should work. If that doesn’t work then at least we’ll have a nice big ol’ fire going.”

Rae shared a wicked smile with Isabel at the other girl's words. Who exactly said tall and grumpy was the only one with a weapon? She still had a trick or two hidden between the plating of her biotech. That firearm was potentially an issue, though. He didn't seem all that trigger-happy, but it never hurt to be cautious.

The curmudgeon in question then had the nerve to actually call them out. Rae raised an unimpressed eyebrow as he turned back to the ship, annoyance growing inside her. Now she sure as hell was gonna poke around the ship. If he wanted to start something she could take him, illegal gun or no.

But before she could do more than narrow her eyes at his back, the prime bitch of juvie stomped her way over to Rae and Isabel. Rae was getting real goddamn tired of people barking orders at her. And where the hell did Athena get off? Rae would trust gramps with the gun over Athena any day.

But if the bitch wanted to get herself shot while they went exploring, then that was fine with Rae. She glanced over to Isabel.

"Come on." She started heading towards the ship, careful to stay out of the man's line of sight. Creeping onto the ship, Rae started looking around. Aside from the part where it'd gone barreling into the planet's crust, and how the outside was black and scorched after burning through the atmosphere though, the ship was in astonishingly good condition.

It wasn't long before they found what must've been the ship's cargo hold, and Rae's eyes lit up at the treasures hidden away there.

"Oooh," she cooed. "Hello, there." Her slender hands curled around a rifle. It was an older model, bolt action with a scope, black and clean. Rae brought the butt against her shoulder and lined up her eye to the sight. She hadn't used one of these since before her arrest. "Yup, I think we're gonna get along fine," she said to her new friend. She'd have to take it apart to make sure it'd been properly maintained, but it looked to be in good condition. Her mouth skewed though as she relaxed and looked down at it. Rae had used guns before, sure. But she'd never had to use one to survive.

She'd never been stranded on an alien planet before. Then again, not many had. At least, not many who went on to tell stories. For a brief moment Rae let the reality of the situation wash over her. Then she shoved it down.

Turning her attention away from the rifle, she started scanning the room for ammo. She'd just found a few boxes of it when the unmistakable sound of a scream pierced the ship's hull. Rae straightened to attention immediately.

"That didn't sound good."

---

Isabel was understandably irked when Rae and her were called out by the old man with a gun. It didn't matter much to her, however, because she would still get back on that ship with or without his permission. As a matter of fact, his response to the matter only made her want to see what he was hiding inside the ship even more.

When Athena came along, Isabel stayed quiet. She knew the girl, knew what kind of stuff she was about, and Isabel didn't want anything to do with her. But instead of asking her to kindly "fuck off," she opted to be silent. Better to keep a low profile with crazy bitches like Athena around. And if she wanted to take one for the team and risk being shot, Isabel had no issues with that at all.

She followed Rae onto the ship quickly without making a scene. It didn't take long for the two girls to find the ship's cargo and Rae immediately picked up the only rifle inside. There was a small rucksack with some basic medical supplies inside that might come in handy, and some clothes she assumed belonged to Abe. Isabel spotted a few pistols, and picked one up with a firm grip. She used to practice shooting on Port Hope but hadn't held a gun in quite a long time. But she was stranded on a planet with a bunch of delinquents and the man who crash landed them, so a weapon or two wasn't such a bad idea.

"We shouldn't let these other guns get in the wrong hands, if you know what I mean," Isabel said with caution. She grabbed the rucksack and shoved two pistols inside, placing the other at the back of her pants, hidden beneath her shirt.

She glanced at Rae, who had suddenly become alert.

"We need to get off this ship."