Rain.

Six months had passed since the tests of Doctor Vxu. SP 01/1116 awoke in his room. The graceful figure of the first being he laid eyes on entered swiftly. The being was tall with a long, thin frame. It's small, elegant head atop a very thin, stretched out neck. The arms were also long and wiry. Its voice spoke words in a loving tone as the being smiled, "Good morning little one. I hope you remember me. I am Lama Su. This is your first day. Today you will start your training. Now, rise and follow me." The little one stood and began to follow the long being's graceful movements. SP 01/1116 could now understand where he was with greater precision. The facility he was in had white halls. As he exited his room he could see on his right millions of the giant cylinder-vats grouped in threes or fours rotating around each other. Each with a creature quite different looking from Lama Su. They were smaller, they're necks were very short and they're heads very large. SP 01/1116 could not help but let out with tiny giggle as they turned away from the spectacles. The two continued to head down the bright, open halls. As they proceeded, another being passed them, this one much like Lama Su. It paused and greeted Lama Su, "Good day. Where are you taking this specimine?" Lama Su replied, "To the training room - this is his one-hundredth and eightieth day." The other being scowled, "What? He is an SP - he will not learn like the others. The neural testing is still in progress - we simply cannot know how he will react with the others." Rama Niu pondered for a moment, "I will put him with the independents - the Commandos." The second being responded, "At least there his skills may be put to good use. Very well." Then the being continued down the hall. SP 01/1116 looked up questioningly at Rama Niu, "Wha' Comman'o?" Rama Niu glanced at him with angrily curious eyes, "A question? Already? You are a strange one indeed. Come." As they progressed down the halls once more, a window came into view. Outside of the window was a darkness SP01/1116 only knew from his sleep. There were light streaks flowing downwards, also. The contrast to everything he had known before captivated the little one. A little falsh of light form outside iluminated the glass and a reflex in curiosity and fear; he paused. "What's wrong, litte one? Come. That's only the rain." Rama Niu gentley took the infants hand and led him onward, but his eyes still looked back at the amazing dark glass. Finally they reached a herd of slightly older variants of the wierdly shaped creatures he saw in the vats. They were in several long lines heading towards a creature that looked like Rama Niu who passing out bowls and cups. SP 01/1116 let out with a laugh at the sight of the spectacle. The others looked at him curiosly, and went back to their line as if nothing had happened. They then enerted the most open of places ever seen before by the little one. There were thousands of the strange new creatures. SP 01/1116 was now afraid of the masses. A group of four hundred were hooked via headgear into strange hologram projectors, with images flashing before them. Another horde was eating from the bowls and cups he had seen before. And yet another group was in the simulators. The two entered a large room with only fifty of the wierd beings. Rama Niu talked the largest one, who was clad in bright, reflective armor from shoulder to toe, "Master Sergeant Skirata, this is SP 01/1116. He is the last of his batch." the gruff sounding sergeant replied, "Very well. The others show great promise - let's hope this one can keep up.", the graceful Rama Niu replied, "I'm sure he can. His batch was very special. The fact that he survived will serve you well." The looked down displeasingly at the little new come, "Very well."

One.

Rama Niu walked off, bowing with a small courtsie at Sergeant Skirata. The Sergeant picked up SP 01/1116 and placed him into the small formation the others were assembled in. He grunted as he took a position in front of the assembly, "Welcome, Commandos. Welcome to the first day of the of the end of your life. I am Master Sergeant Kal Skirata and I will guide you through your training to make your the most fierce and effective warriors the galaxy has seen since the anient times. Upon your birth here at Kamino until yesterday night when you went to bed you were simply clones, bred to die for the Republic. Now you are Commandos. Bred to fight, bleed, and destroy the enemy in anyway neccasary to complete the mission." Skirata began to pace around as his speech went on, "You will call me sir, and I wil call you be the last two numbers of your name." SP 01/1116 had many questions at this point, but he realized that the sergeant's monolog should not be intereupted. It took several minutes, but SP 01/1116 suddenly realized as he was was the same as the freakish things he had laughed at earlier. Despair filled his heart. And his memory faded.

... To Be Continued...

Light.

The infant's eyes opened for the first time. The light was deafening. Sound permeated his tiny head. As his consciousness stirred, his birth-slumber faded, the little one tried to voice his opinion of the bright, ear pounding new world. His cries were silenced. As he tried to utter his first guttural sounds, he realized that he was underwater. Encapsulated in an inorganic, transparent tube. The liquid surrounding him was viscous and slimy. He then re-focused his eyes on the minuscule breath mask with air-hose leading to the top of the of his birth-capsule. Panic pounded in his intricate, infantile heart. He slowly struggled to free himself from his gooey chamber. His muscles surged with adrenaline, his mind quickened. Finally he swam his way to the cold, hard glass that confined him from freedom. Suddenly, hunger pulsed through his core as his consciousness began to fade again.

The infant awoke once again, this time to pleasant sounds drumming through his vat. As he once again opened his eyes, a sentient being appeared outside his glass womb. The being smiled as his eyes creaked. The flowing voice vibrated through the cage again, "Why hello, little one." the beings face sobered slightly, "We'd thought we'd lost you. You are special indeed. You are SP 01/1116. I foresee you will serve us well, should you live through training. We shall see." The being then resumed its neutral facial stance and gracefully moved to the cylinder adjacent to SP 01/1116's. SP 01/1116 could no longer make out all the sounds, but faintly detected, "... it is a pity..." only the sound of the liquid in his vat was heard for a short time, "... not survived, though you were the most radical of the SP series of experim..." the eerie, empty sound of the cylindrical, glass womb again made SP 01/1116 deaf to the outside, but he hardly noticed. His memory and consciousness faded.

Liberty.

Several days later, SP 01/1116 was released from his watery prison. His mask was removed and pure air filled his lungs, burning his air-chambers as it sliced through his being. At last he could make his discomforts known. He unleashed with a vicious battle-cry, expelling the hurtful fumes he had just inhaled. But suddenly, before he could begin to feel the satisfaction of being heard for the first time, he was violently struck across the pure white table onto the cold, light drenched floor. Pain exploded through his core. Blood oozed from his small, round nose. Anger, fear, and uncontrollable weeping leapt from his heart and filled the room. A harsh voice cracked at a painful volume into the walls, "Silence, larva!" A robotic voice, unlike any SP 01/1116 had ever heard then percussed into the scene, "Doctor Vxu, be more careful with the specimine. The larva are very delicate at this stage." A rather large, metal scoop gruffly lifted the new-born and dropped him on the table again. The first harsh voice arose, but less fierce and in a calmer tone, "What you experience in this room will only last a short time. You bred for this data and no other purpose. I need to know why and how you lived." A long syring entered the SP 01/1116's torso. Darkness again seized the consciousness of the infant...


... To Be Continued...

--<[Dust of Archæia]>--

Annalis Sparatæ: Eremus Archæiæ

--<[Dust of Archæia]>--
[Continued..]

Thirteen days had now passed after the expedition set out. Silence had befallen the ship. If not for their motion and idle twiddling, the Sævii was little more than a large rock, tunneling its way through the barrier with whatever energy it had left. Vræii, the ship's mechanic, wondered the halls aimlessly, anticipating a breach at any moment. Tavii spent most of his time in his bunk, sleeping off any uneasiness that consumed him. Cirii grew bored of constant display out of the command deck windows. The vessel would keep its current course, if the instruments were still working. The ship itself was sleepily cruising along - on autopilot, high throttle, and low lighting.

There was only one thing, one force, operating at its full, unadulterated capacity. Time was on its side and it was yet to be seen.

Day fourteen started as thirteen, twelve, and ten did: without any dichotomy between it and the last. The constant hum of the engines never ceasing, the scraping sand never halting, the ship never slowing. The morning drew on. Each man consumed his morning rations and each went about his business. As Sci began to climb the stairs to the command deck, an alarm sounded from the room ahead of him. Suddenly his feet no longer touched the floor, his initial step propelled him into the top of the corridor; his instinctive reaction movements flung him around in psychotic patterns, bouncing from the top of the corridor to the walls and off the floor. Vræii's voice rang out from the crew quarters, "Hast! The artificial gravity capaci..." his voiced drowned out as he swam his way to the ship's wired underbelly. The rest of the crew floated as best they could to their stations. Then, as abruptly as it happened, the gravity on the ship reappeared. The crew members who were still aloft slammed down onto the deck, and at the same time a violent vibration overcame the ship. The lights died and with it, any chance of finding the problem...