ORIGINS

New hope research facility
seconds after full power cut of Niles system.   



"When we are fully cleansed and the truth comes forth, will we listen? listen .. listen ... listen!"

And just like that, Niles Samson or what was left of him, ended.

New hope would probably end up like most of the residences the cogs visited, shattered and forgotten and Niles would just be another lost voice in two soldiers head.  

Marcus let his hand slide of the obvious switch that had just made his miserable life a bit easier.

He rolled his head from shoulder to shoulder and sighed slightly.

"Rest in peace, nut job" Marcus spat out on the large black screen in front of him.

He grabbed his lancer and walked slowly towards Dom who seemed just as relieved as himself.

Neither Dom nor Marcus allowed themselves to think outside what Niles had just told them, it was too risky to reflect over what could have been done differently and why.

They just fed Jack the data they could find and focused on the rest of the mission.

Of course, it would've been easier without Baird barking about every leaf that touched the centaur.


"Let's head back to Baird and Cole. We've got what we came for," Dom almost suggested.
He always had that lack of confidence in his voice without anyone noticing except himself.

Marcus just gave him a nod and walked beside him towards the exit.

He slammed the gun in his hand to lose the dead meat off his chainsaw bayonet.

The only sound in the whole facility was their hard boots hitting the ground in a lethargic way almost like they were walking on the moon. But this moon was not deserted yet.

The sound of a screen powering up behind them put Marcus on the edge again.
He grunted, rolled his eyes and uttered with disgust "We powered you down, you sick bastard."

"Marcus, I-" Dom suddenly stopped and listened to the sound of footsteps. They both grabbed their guns and looked at each other.

"Wretch?" Dom whispered and Marcus shook his head as a negative response. The sound was
closer but more doubting than before.

"Show yourself or we will shoot." Dom spoke against the dark hallway. The sound was now retreating and moving further away from them, only showing that this was no foe they knew of.

The locusts attack you head on. No hesitation, no mercy.

Dom's heart jumped as Marcus took a shot at it and moved fast towards the sound.

He rounded a corner and Dom was just a couple of meters behind him before he stopped.

Dom wondered why and walked up beside him, facing the same as Marcus.


Red curls and a set of blue eyes staring deeply into him.

He was surprised by seeing another human being.
Especially around here, especially a child.

He lowered his gun fast and bumped his elbow into Marcus so he would do the same, but Marcus did not.

He held his lancer tight and observed the child in front of him with awareness.

He was going to say something but the kid stole the words from him and spoke freely with a raw yet childish voice.

"What are you doing here? Why did you power down the system?"

Dom looked at her a bit stunned. Then he watched as Marcus slowly digested the words that had been used against him and opened his mouth again.

"That's none of your business kid. Now, how did you get in here? Do you have family around or in this place?" Dom smirked a bit, stopped himself from laughing.

Marcus really had no idea how to act around kids. 

He smiled, but not for long as the red haired mystery child walked towards them.

He sensed how the tension tightened and he grabbed the lancer a little bit tighter.

Somehow, she felt almost supernatural.

Dom let go of his own fantasy and tried once again to picture her as his own race.

The curly hair on the top of a human body with eyes like himself and the inside was probably pretty much the same as other human beings.

In other words, he knew where to aim in case things got out of hand.

Marcus wasn't protesting as she stood up right before him and uttered bitterly

"I had. You just powered him down," and then walked past both of them towards the main switch.



She was wearing the sort of dress you get when you're in surgery.

Long in the front and open in the back.

As Dom stared at her open back, it exposed the fear he had been touching the whole time he had observed her.  

Two holes were gaping at them from her lower back and four more were climbing beside her spine.
Two or three of them even had hoses still attached.

She was another subject of Niles Samson.

He looked at Marcus, trying to catch what was going on in his mind.

He only gave Dom a quick look and then muttered silently "stay alarmed," as he followed the child to her residence.