Fresh...fresh air? Rahul wandered down the corridor as instructed by the medical staff. Atlas itself felt cold, colder than ever before. Blackened by the starstruck awe of the awakening, he was left to his own devices to recover his physical strength in his legs once more. The slumber of seven centuries had taken its toll, forcing the technician to stumble down the simulation corridor. Everyone had to take this walk when they woke up out of cryogenics. A dark, screen-lit walkway that was surrounded by holographic screens three-hundred and sixty degrees around them. Circumnavigating their catwalk, everyone had to take the walk as it acted like a symbolic pasture of Andromeda's new inhabitants. These tunnels were more or less a masterpiece of information, providing information to the regular eye on the happenings of the Atlas' journey into the Andromeda Galaxy, informing the public on what needed to be said. Still dazed in the eye, Rahul looked upwards to the screen surrounding the tunnel, watching the lights and pixels flicker on in a tremendous gaze of nightly illumination. Shielding his eyes for a second only dampened the intense luminosity for a moment before he went back to the general gawping of the recently awoken man. Intoxication of the unknown, it was what drew every man, woman and other creature onto the frontier of this uncharted alignment of stars, systems and anomalies yet untold. Rahul coughed, staring at the now holographic image of the starlit sky around him.

"Where were you before you knew you existed?" The ever familiar tone of the guiding voice that led millions to Andromeda spoke out over the speaker. Dr. Arthur Henderson, PhD in Astronomical Exploration; founder and beacon of the Andromeda Project as everyone knew it. The name had garnered too much fame and notoriety over the course of the years preceding lift-off, and yet it always felt so familiar, familial and father-like to some. Even without the face known to many, if anyone, around him he held the hands of humanity in the now proceeding alignment of Coalition History. "Before any of us were aware, we were swabbled into the Milky Way, perhaps insignificant or unaware of the real purpose we all hold. Our duty, today, is to awaken and set the stage for what is to come. Welcome to Andromeda. This is where you exist. Not back in the Milky Way, out here. We are 700 years into the present. Let's keep things as they are...hopeful!"

The holographic material surrounding the catwalk vanished and dimmed, before whitening into a luminous floodlight that brightened the room. The hallway was now clearly visible, as was Rahul himself. He looked down at his hands, feeling a surge of strength in his legs as he continued to take his first steps in another galaxy. The floor felt cold and rough, yet comforting and almost welcoming. Rahul's eyes picked up the fact that he was of course still naked, straight out of the cryogenics sleeping cells. As he trudged along, letting his natural body waltz gently through the brightened tunnel, he emerged at the exist in a singular dressing room, showing basic fatigues personalised and retrofitted around his prior choice before the initial departure. He smiled, letting his hand encase itself within the sleeves of the underlining jacket. Seven hundred years it'd been since he felt that enticing comfort. Mustering the courage to calm his nerves, Rahul dressed himself slowly, covering up his naked awakening body as the first journey was afoot. He had no idea what was going on, but Rahul was only a Class 3 Participant of the Andromeda Project, so his priority was limited to when things were settled. Surely things were pretty good, and established into a loving and warming environment for him to be awoken as such. It must've been.

And yet, Rahul was very wrong.

"Mr Barrette, hello!" A far less recognisable voice suddenly filled the dressing room he'd wandered into. If it weren't for the majority of the clothing already plastered over his body, he'd have hidden behind any form of curtain to hide the vulnerability of his exposed self. Defensively, Rahul scanned the area, before a second door began to open slightly at the other end of the room. Stood lax, leaning against the frame of the sliding door, a Rateian woman smirked and stared at him with the upmost intrigue. No...wait...it wasn't intrigue, it was more a yearning to introduce and tell him something.

"Uhm...hello?" An awkward silence flooded the room whilst he put on the final parts of his dutiful clothing, clearing his throat and waiting eagerly for the Rateian to say something. She wasn't particularly tall, but she was rather elegantly dressed, even for her duty-attire. Her paler skin was a testament to her brightening eagerness to inform Rahul of...something? What was she doing there? Rahul took a slow step forward, clearing his throat yet again before standing even more awkwardly before her. "Can...I help you?"

"Oh, uhh...sorry. I blanked out. Do that a lot." Her witty smirk was met only with a thrust of the hand, gesturing a straightforward handshake right form the get-go. As charming as it was, Rahul was very confused. Procedures mentioned that a potential AI or something more orderly would open them up with a brief introduction before they were set to their induction duties, settling into the new galaxy as they saw fit. Well...apparently this wasn't the case. "Oh, uhh. Right, so would you like to come with me for a while, we're heading away to go work together. Well, I think. Someone hasn't exactly kept me in the loop too much but-"

"Woah, slow down please! I woke up like...fifty minutes ago, I'm not used to hearing this rambling. Can you please explain to me what you're on about?"

And just like that, his ears were showered with the knowledge of a cursed fate. The Rateian communications officer wandered before him, holding out a tac-pad she'd been given not too long after she was awaken supposedly. On it read some rather crude details, none of which made sense. Reports and saved data logs recognising and highlighting system failures in certain cryogenic bays made him feel queasy as he wandered the now open expanses of the Atlas decks. Where they were was packed with bustling and outrageously busy individuals, throwing orders to one another either over radio or via the shouting of their own booming voices. Rahul was just confused, entirely. What was happening? Why was he wandering around with this Rateian girl who seemed to have only the slightest clue as to where they were heading at that moment. Hal returned his gaze back down to the pad, looking through the logs.

For a while, he fumbled with the data presented before him. One caught his eye: The Traveller Dismissal. Lists of detailed ships already sent out two months ago, supposedly, were highlighted in the news outliers. Rahul was showered in the grace of their imagery, showing the URV ships in their entirety. Masking themselves in glory, the ships were a guiding beacon of the sorts. Whilst the officers and leaders of the Project administered the Atlas and kept the project in its checks, the Travellers were apparently the forefront of the entire exploration nature at hand. The last ship had departed two months prior. The URV-Howitzer. Out it went, into the nightly skies with the intent to find something for everyone. Its vague writing in the data-pad made Rahul's throat tighten. Why was there no real progress written down upon the pad? For a while, he began to feel an innate weakness in his legs, as if he were about to pass out from worry. Stumbling against the floor, the Rateian quickly turned around and picked him up quickly, as if to scold him.

"Hey! None of that, Barrette...We gotta get you up, ship and ready!" Rahul met her eyes with a confused and almost dumbstruck glare. What was she on about? Ship and ready? "Uhm...oh right, uh. Yeah I hope you like flying, apparently we're being called for an emergency, can't tell specifics because no one has told me, but they want us to arrive at the docking yard of the URV-Monolith, I think. It's not far from here apparently, just a few miles of walking and a lift or two. You okay with that?"

"I'm sorry, what the fuck are you on about?" Rahul said, rubbing his forehead with a strange distaste for what she was vaguely hinting towards. This was happening all too fast. He'd woken up, dressed himself and now was being taken to a place he wasn't aware of whilst some random Rateian girl ranted about gibberish he didn't understand.

"Oi, watch that tone with me!"

"Uhh...wait, sorry. I'm...confused a lot, could you please clarify on what you're talking about?" And just like that, she simply shook her head and shrugged her shoulders silently, walking on without waiting for him to recover from his slight collapse. Rahul cursed beneath his breath as he gasped for more air, taking the returning steps onto his feet and following suit. She was fast for her pacing, even early on. Perhaps she was awoken far earlier than he was. More or less, who exactly was she? She was not part of his department of course, as they'd never met. Wandering forward, Rahul was left on a journey.

A small group of people were beginning to form around the dockyard when Rahul eventually arrived. There was silence, a lot of it. No one really uttered any words at first, but instead stood facing the Monolith. The ship was there, right up close before them. Rahul hadn't expected to be shown it this early on, but he let his gawping mouth gape open as it did, watching its graceful stationary docking as if it were more than just a high-tech ship. On the inside, Rahul hoped to be able to go inside and check all of the things to find, little did he know that he was due to be boarding it anyway.

"Edalyt, you're here." Breaking the silence, a man dressed in familiar, basic navigation fatigues wandered out of the group towards the Rateian guiding Rahul forward, stopping the two in a neatly fashion with a formal handshake and a firm grip. As Hal took a few seconds to eye him up, the young and well-kept individual seemed just that more happy to be introducing himself to new people. It was almost as if they were going to be working together for life...or something. "Introduced yourself to this young man? Chief Technician, I presume?"

"Uh, no I'm just a Class-3 Technical Officer. Sorry, but hello. Rahul Barrette, here to...do whatever, I guess?" He froze, seeing the Rateian and Navigator stare at him with the kind of look that you'd get when telling a joke. A few seconds passed, and they soon realised Rahul wasn't joking. Entirely misled by the lack of a briefing, he turned to them with a confusing look. "Uhh...what is it?"

"You did brief the guy, didn't you, Leora?"

"What...oh...fuck."

And as soon as one of them opened their mouths a second time, finally opening up an explanation unlike any other, Rahul found himself stumbling back onto the ground with a light head. Fuck. That was the only word that came to mind, thinking this was some sort of strange joke that had gone over his head. It wasn't. And the next hour was spent talking to Rahul, convincing him that something here was not like what he expected. Welcome to Andromeda then...in some way.

Cold.
Everything was so unbearably cold. Like lying in a snow bank in nothing but your birthday suit as your blood turns into an iron-flavored slushie sort of cold. Bel tried to sit up but her neck creaked and her fingers wouldn't bend. She tried again, this time focusing on bending at the waist but just didn't have the strength. That was when it occurred to her she couldn't see anything and she knew for a fact she should at least see some glass in front of her.
"That's not good..."
Bel shivered as the cold slowly intensified and dug into her naked skin without much resistance. Her vision slowly returned and she couldn't help but feel that something was wrong as she looked down. The light coating of frost on her skin was thickening rapidly and she couldn't see through the cryopod glass through all the ice.

She was also vaguely aware of someone shouting far away and then everything came into sharp focus all at once. The cold intensified 10 fold and gut punched the air right out of her lungs. She was overcome with a sense of impending death for a brief moment before the crypod lid flew open. Bel sat bolt upright and she felt her throat burn as she heaved the contents of her empty stomach onto the floor. She stumbled to her feet and shoved someone in a lab coat out of the way, a doctor by the look of him. The medic collapsed to her knees and wretched a few times before she wiped her mouth with the back of her hand.
"Pete's sake, woman! I said wait!" the doctor shouted from behind her.
He helped Bel to her feet so she could move to sit on the edge of the cryopod. Her head was pounding, spinning and vibrating all at once.
"There. Now, as I was saying, you need to sit down for a moment and let your body acclimate. You don't just run a marathon not even 30 seconds after you've been through an emergency thaw."
"Emergency whatsit?"
"Emergecy thaw. Your cryopod malfunctioned. You're lucky I came back to get my coffee mug otherwise you would've frozen solid."
"How about that? My life was saved by a coffee mug."
Bel laughed and clapped the doctor on the shoulder and stood, albeit shakily, but by her own power. It was funny really how often lives hang in the balance and the tipping point between life and death can be something as mundane as a misplaced mug. Out in the field it often came down to something as simple as a garden wall being an inch tall enough to stop a coilgun round from giving you a surprise field lobotomy.
"Thanks, doc. I owe you a drink sometime."
She half strolled, half stumbled out into the hallway leading out of the bank of cryopods and into somewhere else away from the doctor's yammering. She wasn't sure where she was going, just that it had to be somewhere else, somewhere she was needed or useful.

Eventually she managed to locate her clothes and other gear in a locker on the wall. Now suitably packed, she made her way out into the main areas of the ship to find something to do. She hated not feeling useful



It took a great deal of asking around, but eventually she managed to locate someone who could both get her her gear and let her know where she was supposed to be going. A field medic is wasted sitting on a ship hanging in the endless void of space. She was rather pleased to hear that she would be assigned to one of the Travelers and had made her way to the dockyard to patiently wait for her commanding officer and or look for them. In all the chaos she hadn't even managed to get a name. She didn't take it personally that no one could spare the time to help her. Everyone had a job to do and she needed to find one somewhere in the dockyard.

As she waited for some sort of indicator, she stopped to think about where she was and what it all meant. She'd made it and it made her smile to think about how she was floating through a virtually untouched galaxy. She couldn't wait to get started. There was so much to see, so much to do, so much to explore. There was no telling what awaited them beyond the confines of the Atlas and that thought alone sent chills of excitement up and down her spine. The day was here and she was more than ready.

There were some that joked that waking a COVSPEC Combat Specialist, such as the Commandos, was safer when they were in cryostasis. At least there, they could be waken slowly under the power of the cryostasis operator, rather than being jolted awake by footsteps that the Combat Specialist could easily register as a possible threat. There had been times when an NCO had entered a Combat Specialist barracks and had guns from all angles drawn upon him. Thankfully, COVSPEC Combat Specialists were too disciplined and well-trained to actually fire, but the message-bearer always tried to leave as fast as they could.

"She's coming awake too quickly. Something could be wrong," A voice spoke. The woman in the cryopod could hear it, but couldn't quite see it just yet, as she hadn't opened her eyes. She felt the chill, an experience that was felt if someone was waking up too quickly in the 'defrosting' process. A few more moments passed, and the woman could see two cryostasis operators in front of her, one of them tapping at a blurred item that she knew was a datapad of some kind, most likely connected to the cryopod that she was laid within. She could hear them both talking about her awakeness levels, most likely devoid of the thought that she, as someone much more specialised was practically made to wake quickly, in case something was happening that urgently required the presence of a combat trooper, such as the surprise boarding of the ship. Her mind flashed to both the frigate UAF Antarctican Warmth and the carrier UAF Happy Hornet, where that happened in both cases. And in the reverse, she'd sometimes walked amongst the cryopods of an enemy ship, watching them enjoy their naps before the pods were opened one-by-one and the occupants captured.

It was seconds before the woman could see clearly, and one of the techs knocked on the pod. "You alright in there?" He asked. "Quick test; name and serial number?" The man got a roll of the eyes in response, before the woman gave the reply he was looking for. "Petty Officer First Class Kiviere Panthera, Serial Number Zero-Six-Nine-Two-Four-Eight, Two-Two-Seven-Nine-Zero-Seven, Kilo-Papa." She gave a moment's thought, before adding on, "Foxtrot-Uniform-Charlie-Kilo-Yankee-Oscar-Uniform."

The techs took a moment, before the one who had previously spoken frowned and the other one laughed. "I think she's good, boss!" The laughing one said. Of course they had been worried about Kivi's health after she had woken up a tad early. The lid of the pod slid open even as Kivi was still analysing the situation. There were several questions immediately popping into her head, and she turned her head about to look for the answers. It was odd that she was the only one getting out of the pod in her row; if they were under attack, more security would have been awoken. If the entire project was being awoken, having arrived at wherever they were going, then all of the other pods would be up and about. Instead, it was only her on this deck. It didn't fill her with confidence in that everything was going alright. She suspected that something was going wrong.

"What is the reason for kicking me out of cryo? I was having myself a well-deserved nap," Kivi asks, crossing her arms over her naked breasts. She didn't care much for the nudity of cryosleep, no spaceborn soldier did after training. It was only the implications of nakedness that effected her, such as the coldness. Otherwise, she had grown a little insensitive to the wolf whistles. In response, she was simply handed a datapad, which she began reading as she walked off toward the military lockers. Behind her, she heard the cryo techs mumbling about how she didn't even thank them or say goodbye. She smiled a little to herself at that, and waved a hand behind her lazily. She didn't even look to see if the techs had actually noticed.

At the military lockers, Kivi placed her hand on a scanner. She saw her identification appear on the screen; a picture of her, as well as her name and rank placed underneath it. Reaching up to the screen, she tapped in an eight-digit security code and then confirmed it. The screen turned off, and she was guided by a few lights over to the locker where her equipment had previously been stored. Normally, her full equipment would be stored at the armoury, but due to the fact that this was such a vital project her equipment was stored in her locker, ready to go. She had obviously told nobody of this arrangement, both for her equipment's safety and in case she accidentally trod upon some kind of regulation. Even if the latter had happened, there would be little caring from Kivi. She suspected something was wrong, it tugged at her mind.

Following the directions and information on the datapad that she had been given earlier, the newly geared and suited up Kivi made her way to the dock where the Monolith was stationed. On her way there, she finally saw some crewmen milling about, though of the lower and maintenance types rather than the hustle bustle she would typically have expected if everyone was up and about. Now that she was one hundred percent awake and a little happier now that she was in her gear, she gave them some nods, waves and most importantly for herself, some smiles. It felt good not to be asleep. That cryopod had been like one, long nightmare.

Once she arrived at the dock, Kivi put her head on a swivel, looking back and forth to find anyone. She immediately noticed the group that was gathering, and without a word, strode over to join them. Considering some were already asking questions, she stayed quiet, just taking inventory of her equipment and running a check on her augmentations. She hoped she would get the details during the briefing.

---

Varya’s final thoughts before going into stasis had been of her last trip home and all the goodbyes she had given. As the woman questioned herself for what she was sure was the tenth time if her choice was the right one. To give everything up to sleep for seven hundred years to try and make something in a new galaxy. To see new stars to see what she hoped what be something beyond her imagination. Still as Varya waited for a moment before her cryo pod was activated was the longest one she had ever had to endure. It filled with thoughts, mild regret and excitement. As she knew full well, she was abandoning everyone who cared about her. All for her own instable need to explore the stars. Knowing fully well when she was awoken, everyone would be long dead, but it would be a new beginning and chance to explore another galaxy. Even if she was not going one of the first to be awoken. She was excited, and it was only thing keeping her form bailing out. Although it was too late now as the cryo pod slowly placed Varya under its spell.


The next thing Varya knew is she was awake in her pod. Her senses dulled as heard a gentle hum as cryo pods hatch slid open and bright light was shined in her eyes. Make Varya try to turn her head away, but her body felt heavy and refused to obey. But a groan escaped, and the light was moved away. Varya mentally thanking whatever higher power may exist that the light was moved.

It took several minutes for Varya’s sense to focus, and in that time, she heard the sound of what she thought was someone talking. Although could not make out much of what was being said to her at first be slowly the sound came into focus
“… in there? Don’t tell me your brains gone to crap.” The voice spoke, Varya answering with a slow shake of her head.
“Good. Now as I was saying don’t rush. You’ve been asleep for seven hundred years. Your body will need time to readjust to being used.” The voice followed with Varya now able to tell it was a woman's voice. Something her eyes confirmed a couple of minutes later seeing an older looking female doctor, holding a large datapad.
“So we made it?” Varya asked as she slowly got herself to sit up, the doctor watching Varya closely.
“Yep, although not everything went as planned. But you’ll find out soon enough, for now. Get your shit together and when ready head out via that door. Someone meet up with you soon and explain everything. Welcome to Andromeda.” The doctor spoke before turning to leave in a hurry like she had much to do. Varya left to fend for herself.

It took a little time, but Varya slowly made her way to the dressing room and started to get herself dressed. Surprised to find the clothes in the locker was her work uniform. Making Varya a little confused, just was going on? Why had her work clothes been provided? As they were not ones, she had taken off before going into cryo. About half though getting dressed Varya heard the door open and was greeted to a young man coming in holding a datapad.
“Oh hello. I thought you’d be dressed by now … I’ll just wait outside…” the young man spoke doing his best not to look at Varya’s half-naked form. Before slipping out of the room. The woman giving a slight frown mildly annoyed by the intrusion but figured that young man was the person was here to meet with her.

Once dressed Varya made her out of the room was greeted to the sight of the young man standing by the door looking down at pad tapping on it with vigour. Varya seeing he was in the middle of writing something down. But stopped after the door closed to look at Varya.
“Hello again … Varya Moskvin. I’m Anthony Jenkins. Um sooo, I not sure if you’ve told I’m here to meet with you. That why I walked…”
“It’s fine, it happens, and I took my sweet time getting out of cryo. I was told someone would explain what going on? The tunnel told me nothing.” Varya stated plainly cutting the young man off. Who looked a little surprised but nodded, giving a small grin.
“Ah, yes! That! Right, umm here take my pad I’m not good with trying to explain things when I have to speak it... so I put it down on the pad. In the meantime I was told to you take to the ship, we have much work to do. Need to get the ship ready for launch tomorrow.” Anthony spoke, handing Varya the pad before he started to walk off.
“Come on! It’s a bit of a walk. But don’t rush if you not up to it yet. Need you able, not vomiting on the floor or falling over.”

Varya followed Anthony walking reading the pad as she went. Anthony, sure enough, having written out a very detailed explanation of what was going on. Along with having various highlighted. The chaos of the environment around her had not gone unnoticed as well. Although Varya ignored most of it as she focused on the datapad. Reading and rereading the information that had been prepared for her. Varya’s mind struggling to process everything at first. This was not what she was promised on the other side. But as she came to understand the situation. She could not help but feel like she was being given everything she wanted, and part of her could not help but feel just little bit happy about it. Even if the situation as a whole was concerning.

Upon arrival to the Monothlith Varya was quickly hurried inside. Not given a chance to look at the majestic ship. Only getting a moment as she was practically dragged inside on to an evaluator.
“So you understand? Right?” Anthony asked, looking at Varya with a hopeful expression.
“It’s a lot to take in. But yes, I get it. I’ve been assigned to this ship the URV Monolith. Ships been cleared to launch tomorrow and need to be checked to make sure it’s spaceworthy. You’ve already started, but issue with some of crew cryo pods meant not everyone made it. So you’ve been shorthanded?” Varya answered, earning a nod out of Anthony pleased Varya understood.
“Yes, I know. Shocked me too, some of those people lost where friends of mine. Sad really but we knew the risks. Anyway, what I didn’t put into the pad is. We’re headed to engineering. You’ll meet the chief he’ll give you the rundown what needs doing and then he’ll give you your assignment.”

The meeting with the Chief engineer was brief. Barely had entered engineering and given her name was she being told she needed to go to the med bay with Anthony to fix an issue with life support and the power grid. Before having a repair kit shoved into her hands and ushered out. The last words form Chief engineer to report in when done.

Form there, Varya spent the next day at work. Sure enough there was plenty to do. As every system had to thoroughly double-checked, and if there was even a minor issue it was to be fixed be for the system was again double-checked. Anthony explaining the Chief engineer want to know without a doubt nothing was wrong with the ship. Everyone micrometre had to be checked and until it was and he was satisfied the vessel was going to be their tomb. He would not let the Monolith leave the dock. After all it 700 years old and until everything was checked there was no knowing how time may have damaged the vessel.

Even if it was a lot of work as the Monolith had list of issue that needed addressing. Varya saw it get to know Monolith’s systems. Having never worked on such an advance ship before some of the systems where quite alien to her and it if hadn't been for Anthony to explain how some of the ship's systems operated. Varya would have taken a lot longer to get some of her work done. The pair talking. It also kept the woman mind of the thoughts of leaving everything behind that still lingered in her mind. The few time they crept up she had to remind herself that it 700 years had passed and there was no way back.

After a solid day of work. The Monolith was deemed spaceworthy. All its system were running within tolerances. The bulk of the engineers were allowed onto Atlas for a short but much-needed break. Varya merely opting to mill around the dock and admire the vessel she had worked hard to make sure was ready for its mission. Leaning railing near ship she could not help but being awe of the Monolith now able to get a proper look at it.

While admiring the vessel Varya opted to have something to eat. Having been given foul-tasting field ration several hours before. As she ate Varya mind wondered, now having to time properly think she could help but have mixed feeling about everything happening. Part of mind still dwelling on the questions she asked herself when had first climbed into the cryopod. Although it having now had a day to think about everything she was feeling a little giddy. She’d been given what she’d thought could be a perfect assignment. After all she would on a scout ship that would be charting space no one form the Milkyway had ever seen. It was more then she have ever hoped for.

Slowly, people started to fill the dock. Varya turning to watch them. Still leaning on railing she had no intention of moving until she was ordered back aboard. The woman wondering what these people were like. Partly hoping a handful of them. Could be something close to what she had back in milky way. Varya starting to feel the slightest pangs of loneliness. As it dawned on her everyone on the Omen was long dead. Varya trying to bury such feeling and force a smile.

There's a flash of light, I'm surrounded by my fellow members of the police force, the sounds of the room are loud and piercing for a moment before settling, I realise it's applause. I'm on a stage, medals are being pinned upon my chest by an old man in an officer's uniform, a rare sight for Nostramus. I glance to the side and see my squad-mates on stage with me, beaming pridefully as they join in the applause. I look forward into the dark of the audience, I can make out my father and even my two brothers, it's too dark to see their faces but I can hear them clapping loudest of all. I can't remember if this really happened or not.



Eddie's left eye fluttered open and immediately squeezed itself shut again as the sudden brightness assaulted its senses. His eye slowly opened once more and began acclimating to its surroundings, looking past the glass Eddie saw a man typing something onto a keypad, he looked up to see Eddie had awoken and raised his hand into the air, non-verbally telling Eddie to remain still. Eddie tried to at least move his head around but found himself to feel heavy and sluggish, it was with considerable effort he was managing to move at all.

With a sharp hiss and expelling of air, the door to Eddie's pod slowly raised itself, almost immediately Eddie attempted to take a step forward but found himself stumbling out, the doctor moved forward to try and catch him but Eddie had managed, through some sheer force of will, extend out his arm and wrap it around one of the bars on the pod, keeping himself semi-upright. Though his lower half was still very much numb it seemed Eddie was forcing his torso to start functioning little by little.

"Slow down there big guy, you might pull something if you keep forcing it like that." The doctor still seemed to hover close to Eddie, expecting him to let go and allow the doctor to guide him to the table that would let his body start waking itself up but Eddie said and did nothing, looking downwards as he kept his arm wrapped tightly around the bar.

The doctor shrugged and walked away, opening up a box that laid on the table and began searching through it. Eddie took the time to look over his scarred arm that still clung to the bar, his head movement seemed to be getting easier as he began examining the rest of his naked ruined body, even with seven hundred years on ice, Eddie could still felt a heat emanating from his charred flesh. He looked back at the doctor who was beckoning him to come forward. Even with his stubborn force moving him forward, Eddie gingerly made his way towards the table, wobbling in places but managing to keep vertical enough to make it next to the table which he immediately leaned on for support.

"Neither you nor you C.O told us of any medical precautions regarding... Well, you. So we took a few liberties to be on the safe side" The doctor laid out a few different coloured bottles of pain killers, disinfectants and other miscellaneous Eddie wasn't even sure he'd heard of much less take. Lastly the doc took out a pair of scissors, only then did Eddie realise the cloth like mask on the side of his face, presumably to protect his eye from any potential dangers in cryostasis. The doctor leaned up slightly to reach the strings holding the protective cover in place, snipping quickly and taking it off before placing it into a clear plastic bag.

The doctor looked up at Eddie, face now fully exposed, but said nothing. If there were one class of people Eddie felt at least slightly more comfortable showing his damaged side to it'd be people in medicine, invariably they'd at least have seen worse than him.

"Your gear's in a locker just down the hall" He said, handing Eddie a small piece of paper. "This'll be your code to unlock it all, not that they told me all the stuff that was in there. When you're done I think you're supposed to head down to the hangar, that's where everyone else is congregating anyway."

The doctor then picked his box up and left, from the tone of his voice it appeared he had several more people like Eddie to contend with today. Considering the hastiness and confusion he displayed and the fact that Eddie had a... Specific, type of skillset, him being woken up seemed to spell that things weren't going smoothly for the project.



Eddie walked down the almost empty halls to the hangar, his armoured footsteps echoing for several feet. Aside from the odd rushed looking official or android whizzing by he hadn't seen much of anyone, still he was armoured and armed, that was essentially all he cared about for the time being.

The hangar was indeed where it seemed everyone has made their way too, it offset the almost empty everywhere else by the volume of people present, talking incessantly among themselves, worrying openly about what had happened and what their duties were, asking others for answers they presumably did not have. Eddie can't say he didn't blame them, but he also didn't exactly see the point in shouting out into the void for answers, if they were all here, they'd find out soon enough.

He looked up at the ship, "The Monolith" and frowned slightly under his helmet. He had to admit, even his curiosity was starting to get the better of him.

Silence… cold and blissful silence. It was honestly a strange experience for the young soldier as he felt himself drift through an endless void within his mind. Why was he here again? For the life of him he couldn’t remember anything. Who was he? Who put him here? Was his body always so numb, so cold? He couldn’t feel an inch of his body, yet he could still feel a freezing cold spread through his existence and make his soul shiver. At first it was terrifying, but now his terror seems to have been replaced with an odd feeling of blissful peace. Being able to scratch his nose or stretch his legs would be nice, but he was honestly beginning to get used to this feeling of nothingness. Unfortunately the nothingness would soon finally fade as a small light flickered within the dark void of his mind, sending a wave of warmth through his numb body until he slowly began to feel his limbs. As his cold limbs returned to him he began to remember who he was. Sean… Sean O'Brien. That’s right, that was his name! As the light began to consume the void all of his memories began to flash back into his mind, every horrible memories along with the good ones. It was time, time to wake up and get to work.

With a gasp Sean awoke within his cryo pod and took in gulps of air as the pod door slowly opened. Everything was so blurry and muffled, but his only concern was his empty lungs as he concentrated in refilling them. Soon he felt a hand rest on his shoulder and felt his body relax a bit before finally calming down. Through his blurred vision Sean managed to see three dark figures in front of him and tried his hardest to understand what they were saying, but nothing but muffled chatter met his ears. Slowly the strangers gently helped him sit up before two of the figures left, leaving him and whoever was helping him alone. With a few calm and steady breath Sean slowly regained his senses. “...you okay?” were the first words he managed to hear before he looked to the figure with dazed confusion. With a few quick blinks his sight returned to him and the face of a young scientist met his gaze.

“I-I’m, sorry. What?” was all he could mutter before bringing a hand to his head. The scientist gave a small smile before chuckling and taking a step back to look at her tec-pad.

“I asked if you were okay, but since you’re talking I guess that’s a good enough answer,” she said with a bit of amusement before looking back at him. “Anyway, let me be the first to welcome you to the first step to our future within the Andromeda project. Now before I let you go I have a few questions, just to insure everything is still working upstairs. Do you mind?” she asked politely. Sean silently took in her words before shaking his head. “Perfect! Now, can you please state your name and rank?” she asked looking down at her tac-pad.

“Sean O’Brien, staff Sergeant within the U.A.F,” he answered quickly before looking around him to see plenty more pods gradually beginning to go through the same process as him. “Has it… has it really been 700 years?” he asked with a low voice. The scientist smiled and nodded.

“Yes it has, our 700 year long voyage was a successful one. We are now in the process of awakening a new wave of pioneers, such as yourself, to begin their own personal journeys within our new home. Now back to the questions,” she said before tapping on her tac-pad some more. “Are you feeling any discomfort?” Sean took a moment before holding the side of his head.

“Just a bit light head. My limbs feel a little like jelly as well,” he answered before rubbing the side of his temple with a low sigh.

“Well that’s normal, you have just awoken from a 700 year nap. I have to say though you’re doing much better than me when I woke up, took me a little while to actually get my thoughts straight,” she chuckled before turning of her tac-pad and holding up a single finger. “Now follow my finger without moving your head,” she requested before moving her finger from side to side. Sean followed her silently before she finally gave a satisfied smile. “Well Sergeant I say you’re good to go. Here let me help you up,” she offered before gently taking him by the arm and slowly helping up to his feet. Sean stumbled a bit before quickly catching himself with a low sigh. “Don’t worry, it’ll wear off in no time. Now I imagine you want to get straight to work so please make your way down the hall over there. If you want to collect your gear it should be in the locker room at the end of said hallway. Once geared up make your way to the docking station, there you’ll be briefed of you new task,” she finished before giving a brief goodbye and quickly leaving to continue her work.

Sean gave a small sigh and rotated his shoulder before slowly making his way down the long hallway, his mind finally beginning to take hold of the situation. This was it, they were finally here. It all seemed so unreal to him that they’ve actually been asleep for 700 years, but here they were. With their voyage finally completed, it was time to get to work. Sean soon reached the locker rooms and glanced around to see a few more people getting dressed and suited up. Wasting no time Sean located his locker and began to collect his gear. They could be jumping straight into it so he began to put on his suit, securing his light armored pieces over his camoed clothing with a few hisses before it felt studying his helmet with interest. To make sure everything was functional Sean activated his tac-pad and soon enough his suit came to life, his helmets single eye coming to life with a golden glow. After a quick run through of his life support systems and jet packs boosters Sean gave a satisfied nod before he collected the rest of his gear. A standard issue assault rifle provided by the U.A.F, his trusty thermal knife and finally his old mentors revolver.

Sean held the revolver with care, inspecting every inch of it with a small smile before holstering it to his hip. With a low sigh Sean rose from the bench and made his way out of the locker rooms, his helmet at his side and his eyes directed at his tac-pad has he made some final adjustments to his suit. A few seconds after exiting the locker rooms his attention to his tac-pad was soon disrupted as he felt a small force bump into him, forcing his helmet from his grasp and hearing a small 'oof' before a soft thud to his right. Sean glanced over to his helmet with a small frown before looking down to his right to see a small red figure on the ground next to him. After getting a good look at the figure he recognized it to be a female Lorin, a scientist from the looks of her uniform. She winced in slight pain as she rubbed her head and gave a small sigh.

“Oh for goodness sake, how could this day get any more irritating?” she questioned to herself before looking up to Sean “I’m terribly sorry sir, I wasn’t paying attention and I was in such a hurry. I hope I didn’t hurt you,” Sean arched a brow and looked down at the Lorin with an expressionless gaze before offering her a hand.

“I think I’ll live,” he said with a slightly amused tone. The Lorin smiled softly before accepting his help and rose to her feet with a sigh.

“Well that’s good to hear. Again I’m sorry, I’ve only been awake for an hour or so and I’m simply too eager to think straight. I’m usually more composed than this. It must be the after effects from the cryo chambers,” she rubbed the temple of her head in slight embarrassment before looking down to Seans fallen helmet. “I hope I haven’t damaged your helmet,” Sean glanced over to his helmet and shrugged before scooping it up.

“It’ll take more than a small fall to break this thing,” he assured her before looking back to the Lorin. “Why in such a hurry anyways?” he asked, his curiosity growing.

“Oh, well as I said I’ve been awake for sometime now and I was supposed to make my way to the docking area, but I’ve let my curiosity and excitement get the better of me, so I have been delaying my duties to examine some of the equipment in the cryo chambers. I simply didn’t want to be late for whatever it is they’re briefing us on,” she said before looking to her tec-pad with slight worry.

“Well I doubt you’ll be late. I’m heading there now so maybe we should go together, that way you’ll have a better chance of not running into anymore poor people,” he said with a small smirk coming to his face as the Lorin seemed embarrassed.

“Well I wouldn’t want that, I don’t think stepping on a few toes will be a good start to the project,” she said with a small chuckle before looking to Sean and extending a hand. “Apologies, I’ve forgotten to introduce myself. Aliza Tera, U.G.C science and research branch,” Sean gave a firm nod and accepted the gesture with a hand shake.

“Staff sergeant Sean O’Brien, U.A.F,” he stated before gesturing with his head for them to continue on. Quickly the two began to make their way towards the docking area, moving along in silence before they reached an elevator. As they began to ascend Aliza seemed to have finally composed herself and gave a small smile.

“Amazing, isn’t it?” she questioned allowed as she examined their surroundings. Sean glanced over to her with an arched brow. “We’ve made it, we’ve done the impossible. A 700 year long journey to distant stars and now we, a chosen few from our people have the opportunity to build a new home,” she said with a soft and happy tone before looking to Sean. “I honestly had my doubts, but here we are,” Sean looked to the Lorin with a bit of curiosity.

“If you had doubts then why come along?” he questioned with slight confusion. Aliza chuckled softly and rested a hand against the elevator walls.

“How could I possibly not take the chance? To explore new worlds and discover so many new things? Just imagine the knowledge awaiting us here,” she said with a slight glimmer of excitement in her eyes. ”Besides, I spent seven years aiding in the construction of the Atlas. I wanted to see if our hard work was worth it. So far I say it all paid off,” she said with pride in her voice. Sean chuckled a bit.

“Well we’re here, now we need to get to business,” Aliza gave a firm and confident nod before the two fell back into silence. Soon their elevator reached its destination and the two exited before quickly making their way towards the docking area. A group of people seemed to have already arrived and were waiting for the briefing to begin. Sean examined everyone around them, his wandering eyes noticing a few COVSPEC’s in the mix and silently wondered what they were going to be tasked with. With an emotionless expression Sean stood silently near the back, his new Lorin companion near his side as she began to tap away at her tec-pad. Now all there was to do was wait. What assignment awaited them all?

Randy Sumpf

Randy laid there in his pod as it was slowly being decompressed and opened, air flooding to him as the seal popped open and the door opened in front of him.

"Welcome Mr.Sumpf to your new home. While you take time to acclimate to your new environment from being in that pod so long, I will be getting your PDA all together sir." Said a doctor as she was getting his records and things ready to go, and proceed from the point he was currently at. Randy just laid there staring up at the ceiling and slowly squirming around on the slowly warming bed.

"I was wondering what a caveman would feel like if he was being unfrozen." the man said kinda ignoring the woman as he just wanted to lay there.

The doctor would smile softly,"Well, you look like one since you haven't shaved in many years." the woman remarked as he placed the PDA on his chest, "Right out that door with the others sir, you'll be in line for a little while so I'd say you should just stay in that pod a few more minutes until you feel like you can stand for a few hours. She soon left him to help with the next person that was needing to be opened in the civilian sector of work.

"I wonder how long that line is going to last." Randy mumbled as he did just what the doctor ordered and he didn't move for maybe ten minutes until he had enough of the still cool pod and he decided to proceed out into a new life. He exited the room out into the nice galleria for those who weren't that involved in the military stuff. It looked nice and fancy, but he noticed there wasn't a lot of people. "Well... I'm awake, there isn't a lot of people, so thankfully I can get through this quickly. He said before going to stand in so he can get his things back, and so that he can find out where in the hell he is going.

A few hours later, he found where he was going indeed, he had retrieved his items. They weren't much but they were his and able to be held in just three cases, two of which could be carried on top of the first one as he pushed it around.

He had found a way to find out where he was going, the 'monolith', he mainly found out he was going to be apart of this crew as he was the best at what he did, well besides drinking.

"That better be it, she looks like a god damned beauty!" he yelled out joyously behind the slowly growing crowd as he smiled at the ship, "Is that the monolith?"
___________________________________________________________________________________________
Gothic Paul Verran Hessen

Gothic awoke in a more simple manner, of shooting straight up as soon as he felt the life come back into him, he hit the door of his pod before it could fully open.

"Slow down there Ensign, or well.. Lieutenant Junior Grade Hessen." an older doctor said smiling softly, "Welcome to your new home, once the door opens you can step out when you like and I'll get you looked over.

The LTJG nodded slowly as he held his nose, why was he so jumpy, at least someone else probably did that.

"You are youthful aren't you, normally as people wait a second before shooting up like that, or they just don't at all and I have to peer over to make sure they are alive." The doctor continued as Gothic stood from the pod and went over to a small table to sit on.

"You aren't very talkitive are you now, well don't worry, I'm sure a good shower and some warm cloths after an ice bath as good as that one will make you feel just as fine." He took his pen and knocked on Gothics knee as it shot up, and he began his inspection.

"I think once all the paperwork is sorted out on my end I'll make sure to do that... Maybe find a way to settle in and get some rest. I am supposed to be the night watchman for where ever I am being sent." The young officer stated as the doctor continued.

"I'm sure you'll be happy with where ever they put you, and I'm sure they made sure that you'll be taken care of. You are one of the first from your batch of new explorers and colonists to be awoken, so I think they have the best suited spot for your talents young man.

That was a boost of confidence for him, he looked around and noted that he was the only one in that cell that was currently awake, and he would have to wait to see if any of his friends had been sent with him from back home. After some time and the doctors encouraging and hopeful small talk, he was released with a small box of items, a key, and a PDA. He had everything he needed, now it was just time to go do paperwork and enjoy the shift where everyone was asleep of what ever ship or station he would be assigned to.

Several hours later, he found his post, the 'Monolith', and was sent in a direction towards it.

Once he arrived, he checked his PDA, looked back up at the ship, and then he looked back down.
"I am sure someone made a mistake... I am to be on the darkshift of this?" he had asked himself as he took one last look at the ship and he started towards the ship slowly and hesitantly.

He listened to some idiot yell out the ships name, and then he took a deep breath as he entered the crowd, this was the monolith, well at least someone thought he was important enough to be on such a ship.

Cold. All she could feel was cold. Surrounded on three sides by the ice that had been keeping her alive for 700 years, the temperature was unbearably low. Without any input from her concious the animal part of Reti's brain recoiled violently at the notion of dying in whatever glacial prison she was currently held. Sharp cracking sounds made her ears twitch in discomfort as the thin layer of frost coating her naked body shattered and fell off like skin being shed from some groggy reptile. Almost as soon as her head was thrown forward it came to a stop, halted by the icy glass door of the cryo pod. Now she was panicking, breath fogging the glass as she began to hyperventilate. She could see various figures outside the frost glass, wandering around and checking instrument panels and talking. She had no idea who they were, no idea why they had decided to trap her. All she could think about was how awfully thin the air was getting.

With a grunt Dr. Kaatis pulled back her robotic right hand, synthetic fibers coiling up and launching titanium knuckles at the pane imprisoning her. The blow was nowhere near as strong as she hoped, the tendons having locked up due to exposure to the cold. She tried again, the next blow coming a little faster. The metaphorical (and maybe literal) rust was being shaken off, the third strike hitting hard enough to form a hairline fracture. Now she was getting somewhere, but she could feel the air getting thinner. She was running out of time! Reti redoubled her efforts, pounding against the glass with all her might. The enhanced strength of her arm was returning, hairline fractures growing into proper spiderwebs of cracks. A weak scratchy grumble coming from her fellow pod passenger on her stomach made her look down, Reti scratching under Little Kat's jaw. "Don't worry little buddy." She whispered, trying to sound calmer than she actually was. "Mama's gonna get us out of here."

But the captors had taken notice of the rapidly increasing damage coming from the inside of the pod, one of them rushing over and tapping at the control panel. The door to the pod popped open with a hiss, Reti and Little Kat stumbling out thanks to the moment of her swing already in progress. The Lorin bared her sharp teeth and took a step towards the human who had just released her, already winding back another punch. She might have been shorter than the man but she could almost guarantee her right hook was stronger. And he seemed to know it, shrinking back from all five feet of panicked red flesh. Now she was out of that tomb of metal and ice and in front of one of the people responsible for putting her in it she could get some answers. She would have to calm and methodical, carefully ensuring she choose the right words...

"Where am I?!"

Or she could scream three words like a monosyllabic Neanderthal, that was an option too. The modern cave woman looked absolutely frantic, her hair hanging down over her face in a messy black curtain as she hissed her inquiry. "Oh Jesus, fuck you're on the Monolith! You just got out of 700 years of cryosleep, calm down please!"

700 hundred years? Did he think she was stupid? That was the dumbest lie she had ever heard. She knew she shouldn't have been encased in icce, the last thing she remembered was-

The last thing she remembered was whispering good night to her lizard-cat as she carried him into the pod. She had really spent the last 7 centuries in stasis. "Oh. Sorry for the panic then." she said calmly, the shift in tone as sudden as flicking a switch. The good doctor whistled sharply for her pet to follow her, moving onto the checklist of problems. Problem number one was that she was naked. That was easily rectified, Reti making her way through the crowd of techs and recently awoken passengers to her storage locker. The small mirror she had attacked to the inside of it allowed her to see what she was doing as she tied tiny silver charms to her hair, scooping the mass back and tying it off with her scarf. The next article of clothing was her holster, Reti cinching it around her waist and tucking away her revolver before slipping on her robes. She didn't bother to put on shoes, preferring to be barefoot whenever possible.

Problem number two was the withdrawal. 700 hundred years was a long time for her to go without any of her stims and she was feeling the effects after waking up. She was dehydrated, throat parched and mouth unable to produce saliva. Her heart rate was unnaturally slow, especially for her, and her whole body seemed to ache. Even if she wasn't more or less addicted any competent doctor could recognize the symptoms of stim withdrawal. Luckily for her the solution was on hand. A handful of caffeine pills and an alertness patch on her stomach and she was already going back to "normal", heart rate spiking and the fog clearing from her head. A few more of those and she'd be back to two hours of sleep every couple of days. If she was lucky she'd even be able to cut that down. There was going to be a lot of work to do.

The third problem was her eye. The mechanical orb wasn't working, circuitry frozen over by the years on ice. The pill popping doctor carefully removed the thing from her eye, empty socket staring out at the world as she took out automated thermos from her belongings. The eye was dropped in and the container filled with water, a crimson finger flicking the dial up to boiling. As she waited for it to finish she listened to the briefing, taking it in silently. The news was bad, but not catastrophic. All it meant was she would have to work harder. The timer on her thermos dinged and she opened it, using her metal fingers to dig around the steaming water for her eye. Once it was retrieved it was just a matter of waiting for it to cool down before popping it back into her socket. The tiny hole in the back of the orb met with the thin needle connected to her brain, the two organs syncing up as her vision rebooted.

She was ready to go.

There was a faint, muffled hiss, as pneumatic cylinders activated and applied torque to the lid of the cryogenic tubule he could remember entering... well, it didn't exactly feel like yesterday, but not as long ago as it surely must have been. Cool air flowed over his skin and the frigid cold of the chamber began to fade as a voice came to him.

"Doctor Braun, can you hear me?"

"Yes, yes I can." He said, wincing as he leaned forward and the aches of thousands of years spent perfectly immobilised shot back all at once.

"Very good, now you might want to remain still for a moment and give yourself time to get your bearings back, your head might not feel quite right for a little while."

"No no, I'm already feeling much better, thank you." He muttered as he leaned forward to take a step out of the glass and titanium confines of the tube.

The doctor and his immediate assistant took a few steps forward, ready to catch the older, nude man, in case he fell - but Isaac had been in cryo a few times before, he'd gotten used to the disorientation; it still wasn't easy, and there was a moment where he wobbled, but he wasn't about to slip and fall in front of his comparative juniors.

"I see. You've done this before, Dr Braun?"

"Yes. Do you have a briefing for me?"

"Straight to the point, I see. As a matter of fact I do. Here you are." The younger doctor raised an eyebrow to the nearby nurse as Braun strode up to them after finally working the last of the cryo-drugs from his sense of balance. The nurse was overtly averting his eyes.

The datapad contained the most pertinent information only - the state of the crew, the events leading to their awakening, and their orders to crew the Monolith.

He nodded appreciatively. He was to crew it as a doctor, informally charge of a medical team responsible for planetside and operational care. Isaac looked over the names of his immediate colleagues, and made note of them.

Then, he went and got dressed.

There was work to be done.

With her blood system circulating the variety of stimulants Reti was already back to her old self, slinging her guitar over one shoulder and her rifle over the other and carrying her bags in her hands. She wanted to get a head start on setting up her quarters aboard the Monolith, straighten the place out and get her various awards and accolades all hanging on the walls. Something to remind her why she was chosen for this program, the excellence expected of her. And excellence was all she could give. She was more than two million light-years away from home, everyone she had known and cared for was long dead. All the papers she had written were gathering dust in some university library, the specimens she collected on display in a natural history museum. Maybe the scientific community still remembered her. But it was as least as likely that she was forgotten, a name cited in a couple bibliographies and nothing more. Dr. Kaatis hadn't spent her life persuing knowledge for her legacy to be left behind. The Andromeda project would make sure that she was a figure in every history book printed! Schoolchildren would learn about her, the Homefleet would celebrate the success of their greatest mind! She was intelligent, she was driven, she was experienced enough-

She was getting a message. Or rather, a message was just coming through after all these years. Her head was reverberating with a gentle buzzing sensation, the mechanical eye the epicenter. After a moment or two it stopped, only to start back up again. She had gotten a few. Reti tapped the lens of the orb twice, the needle connecting it to her brain retracting so she could pull it out. The holographic projector hidden in its pupil turned, displaying her inbox on an easy to see digital screen. Most of them where messages from loved ones, her siblings, her parents, Heskal. A sad smile played across Dr. Kaatis's face, a clawed finger marking them to be read later. But the most recent one (only 650 years old) was listed as an urgent notice from Russel Rotshield, the eccentric billionaire who had dreamed up and funded the project. The Demoness skimmed it, her good eye glancing at the first couple paragraphs of meaningless congratulations.

The third was when it started getting good. "As you likely know, you were selected for this expedition due to your background in the sciences, medicine and space exploration. Your achievements in the field and in academic settings are commendable. With that in mind you have been selected as the Team Leader of Group Tau (see the attached roster) and are a Class Four operative. This is the second highest class in the program and it comes with considerable privileges as well as responsibility. You have near complete autonomy to work with and use your team as you see fit in pursuit of the project's goals. You will receive further information once you have been settled in on the Monolith. Good luck."

She wasn't just a member of the greatest leap forward that the UGC had ever gambled on. She was one of the leaders. But there was no time to reflect on the momentous importance of her situation. The techs were already herding everyone onto the shuttle that would put them on the Monolith, their new home. A short jump and a couple hours of bureaucratic red tape and everyone was checked in. Reti spent the time familiarizing herself with the composition of her team. Barrette, Edalyt, Vex... It was going to take a bit of work to memorize them all. But she had the time to do it, as well as the space. The Monolith had a wing where Team Tau resided, a common area with sofas and seats where people could talk, watch holo-movies and play games, even a few ancient arcade cabinets and pinball machines (Rotshield had been somewhat famous for his love of the things.) A canteen was open 24 hours a day, a variety of food and drink available. And each team member had their own room lit a sterile white.

As Team Commander Reti had expected something better than that, but nothing lavish. Her room was three times the size of the ones she had seen, bookshelves pressed against the far wall and filled with a variety of literature. Her bed was a far cry from the cots she had used on her previous travels, king sized and covered with soft pillows and fluffy blankets. A personal holographic console stood at a desk set up within a few paces of the bed, framed paintings covering the walls and small sculptures scattered about. Considerable privileges indeed. But all the expensive furniture in the world couldn't compare to the diplomas and accolades she was already pinning to the walls. All that really mattered was whether or not Little Kat was happy and judging by the noises he was making as he tramped around his new home, he was.

Carys had lost herself in the art of decoration and personalisation. Already her quarters aboard the Monolith was starting to feel more like home! She rested her hands on her hips as admired her work. The walls were covered in an array of posters from her favourite movies, some of which had battered corners and creases from their time in her old room. She had hung a multi-picture frame above her bed. Some of the slots were already filled with friends and family but a few remained free for new memories.
Her terminal was on and currently playing through a playlist of bands from many years before. Well... It would be many, many years before now.

A pang of loss gripped at her and the sudden reminder that she would never see her family or friends again threatened to overwhelm her. Closing her eyes, she took a steady breath trying to calm herself before she had a complete breakdown. The last thing she wanted was for her new shipmates to see her crying and think she was some sort of liability.
Standing straight, she exhaled slowly and opened her eyes once more. This was a new beginning and something she was lucky to be a part of.
“I’m ok” She whispered to herself, nodding her head for reassurance.
In silence she put the last of her belongings in place, a few books and a tiny succulent the staff of Freeport 15 had presented her then sat on the bed.

She had been issued with quite a bit of paperwork upon being awoken and still hadn’t had much of a chance to look over it. Obviously the essential stuff she had been told.. And she’d signed some forms without really reading them. Now it was time to see if there was anything particularly interesting to her.
She flicked through a few pages, a large and fairly thick booklet detailing information about Atlas. This one she had read through at least a million times already back home. A folded and rather spartan pamphlet contained a map of the Monolith as well as safety information.
For a short time she browsed through the pages that caught her attention before finally tossing it aside and clapping a hand over the door release.

When she had arrived a couple of hours before she had seemed to be the only one here. Part of her worried that she had missed some kind of briefing or induction talk somewhere, though she pushed that thought to the back of her mind. The hallway beyond her was still empty though she thought she could hear movement somewhere nearby.

“Maybe I should have left the door open…” She murmured to herself as she looked between the identical other doors around her own. Not wanting to barge in on anyone, she lightly tapped a couple in case the occupants had arrived without her hearing. When no one emerged, she gave up and made her way back to the common area she’d passed through earlier.

The room was still deserted, though someone had been here fairly recently as the motion detecting main lights were already on.
This space at least made her more relaxed. Initially she worried she might be assigned to some militaristic ship where fun was forbidden but the presence of comfy chairs and even game machines gave her hope otherwise.
She flopped onto a sofa with her tablet and busied herself with whatever she could find to occupy her time as she waited for someone else to arrive.

Carys wasn’t entirely sure how long it had been since the first people had been awoken on Atlas. It seemed however, that those who were awake weren’t big on social networking. The huge temporary space colony did have a network for colonists to use and it did hold a large chunk of data from back home but it seemed nothing particularly recent had been added.

She created a profile on Andromesphere, the Atlas Social Network, flicked through a friendless feed of adverts for onboard entertainment and shops before quickly giving up. The news feeds also offered little of interest past a cheesy ‘Welcome to Andromeda’ section and a few articles on people of interest. She wasn’t exactly sure of who those people were supposed to be of interest to, but clearly she was outside of whatever demographic they were aimed at. Freeport 15 was very much a back end of nowhere kind of place and she had determined from the reactions of the few people she had met since leaving that her pop culture knowledge was at least a few decades behind.
Her eyes slowly drifted to the little digital time readout along the top of her tablet and she was surprised to discover just how much time she had wasted. Furthermore, she caught a movement out the corner of her eye.

Somehow Carys resisted the urge to make a sound of surprise and instead rather seamlessly lowered the tablet onto her lap as the rather imposing man sat opposite her on another sofa. She took in his appearance trying to determine what kind of person he was. A very large part of her was concerned that he was exactly the kind of no-nonsense military type she had been afraid of ending up with.

"Hey there uh my name is Rylex Soran, I guess.. we will be working together down the line. I shoot things for a living. It’s nice to meet you."

His short introduction concluded with him offering out a hand toward her. Carys managed an awkward smile in response. At least he seemed to be somewhat friendly even if his sense of humour was a little odd. She reached her hand out and took his, searching her mind quickly for something cool and smooth to say in response. This was a first impression, a chance to leave a lasting impact. She had seen in movies that military types often made fun of the scientists on their teams. She would not be one of those scientist jokes!

“Hi Rylex” She tried her best to ensure her hand shake was quite firm so as not to seem weak. “Carys Jones, I…”
Her mind failed to conjure anything. It was completely barren.
“...Like plants”
She closed her eyes a moment as she felt the warmth of embarrassment flood to her cheeks before quickly adding.
“I mean, I’m a botanist, I work with plants. That’s my field… I’m a scientist”.
She retracted her hand and instead awkwardly ran it through her auburn hair.
“Yeah”
‘Very smooth Carys’ she thought to herself as she forced herself to meet the mans singular eye.

Deciding that the best way to salvage the situation was to act as though it never happened she quickly added.
“Have you seen anyone else around yet? I was beginning to think I was the only one here.

---

It didn’t take Varya long to grow restless form watching the crowd gathered at the Monoliths docking bay and admiring the ship itself. Even if to her, it truly was a work of art and decided to return the Monolith. Wanting to walk in halls to better familiarise herself with vessel she was sure she’d be spending a lot of time on.

So she reboarded the ship and walked the halls. Stopping only to remove her boots. After they began to become notably uncomfortable. She had feeling the ships regs did not permit it. But Varya didn’t care in truth she wasn’t meant to be armed either. No one in authority had questioned her yet so assumed for some reason it was fine, or no one cared. Either way it worked for Varya, and frankly she’d never give up her pistol. It made her feel safe, and she knew if needed, it would keep her safe.

With he feet free of her boots, Varya gave a contented sigh. Wiggling her toes. She glanced down her pink painted toenails standing out against the dull background of the deck plates. The woman giving a slight smile as looked up and continued to walk through the halls of the monolith. Her mind drifting to the thoughts of the Omen. Varya unable to stop herself comparing the two ships. The Monolith while a work of art and surely very advanced. To Varya it was very clear the monolith was new. The vessel lack any character, the deck plates all matched and no had signs of wear. Varya hoped that would change.

Lost in her own thoughts in comparing the ships along with other thoughts about her family. Varya found herself in rec area. Varya a little surprised in herself. She was not one to lose her mind to thought like that. Still she was here and thought she’d make herself comfortable for a few minutes. Before she could get herself comfortable Varya got distracted by a noise coming from a maintenance open maintenance hatch on the far wall. Varya moving over and without much thought crawled inside to see what was going on. Crawling for about a minute before coming across a young engineer working on a primary power coupling. Who had not noticed she was there.
“Having fun there?” Varya asked giving engineer, making them jump.
“Who the? Don’t sneak up on people! I almost misaligned this coupling.
“Sorry I heard a noise in here and wanted to make sure everything was okay.”
“I knocked over my tool kit and something in That’s all. Now unless you here to help please go away I’m busy with making sure this ship is ready before it launches.”
“Alright no need to rude, you ass. I’ve been helping do get this ship ready as well. Now if you not going to be a dick, I can help. Otherwise, I’ll just crawl back out and leave you to your work.”
“Sorry I’m just tired. So You’re an engineer then? I could use a hand if know what your doing. This job easier with two sets of hands.” The engineer said earning a nod out of Varya who moved into a position to help the engineer finish his task. Which with pair of them did not take long.

Once done engineer offered there thanks. Before packing up and crawling into the depths of the maintenance tunnel. Varya slowly turning herself around and crawled back out to the rec room. Varya finding much to her surprise two people had shown up and where talking. Coming in as woman was asking if man if he had seen anyone else.
“Well the pair of you have seen me now.” Varya stated giving a small grin. Offering a small wave of her hand. Before turning around to close the maintenance tunnel hatch. It giving a soft click as it shut and automatically locked into place. With hatch closed Varya turned back around and approached the pair.
“Varya nice to meet the pair of ya.” She said offering a somewhat dirty hand to the pair for a handshake.