<blockquote><div><cite>Donta wrote:</cite>(anything inside &lt;&gt; is spoken in Nekan)<br/><br/>It was silent inside the cockpit spare for the random beep and the silent breathing inside the helmet of the floating, armored Nekan as he drifted above the pilot's seat. Dren had been cursing his luck and his lack of preparation for this life changing venture, having been in this quadrant of space for over a week now, alone spare for his AI company. Too bad he only brought enough food and water for four days....<br/><br/>His mind went back to the big event in both his life and in the history of Neka, his home world. He was given a brand new Mech, top of the line. A prototype in a long line of new models for the military. He knew the production models had some major upgrades and fixes, but if he survived this trip and found refuge on the other side, he planned on fixing those bugs and upgrading it himself.<br/><br/>He remembered when he was ready to launch, his Mech held in a launching clamp before a massive round gate. He remembered the cheering over the Com channel as people in the nearby space station congratulated him for his soon to be achievement. Zoning out the chatter, he focused on the gate before him as it activated, creating a large shimmering pool of what looked like water across the surface of the ring, then before he could rethink his decision, the launching apparatus flung him forward through the gate and out across the galaxy.<br/><br/>flying through a dark tunnel, he had his hand's full trying to not hit the walls. Energy bolts would criss-cross his path and he barely dodged those. What seemed like forever inside the dark tunnel, he was spat out the other end in a three axis tumble, which took him a moment to recover from, but from there, even the most extensive scans showed nothing on the other end.<br/><br/>A week later and he was ready to give up. Even with the vast collection of Nekan music and movies he had brought with him didn't hold his attention or help with his loneliness. Now he lay motionless and waited for his demise.<br/><br/>Below him, a blue hologram appeared above an orb in the console. A young, female Nekan looked up at him with a somber expression.<br/><br/>"&lt;Dren, I'm so sorry. If I had known this Quadrant of space was so desolate, I would have tried to convince you to stay in Nekan Space..&gt;" she said. Dren caught the corner of a console with the clawed finger of his glove and turned himself inside the cockpit to look down at her, the blank expression on his face hidden by the helmet he wore.<br/><br/>"&lt;No on had any idea what was out here. It's not your fault, Yuri.&gt;" he said, "&lt;Besides, I was kind of expecting this.&gt;"<br/><br/>"&lt;You wanted to die?&gt;" she gasped.<br/><br/>"&lt;I was bored. I wanted to see something new for once. And at the very least I came here and died, I would be with you again.&gt;" he said, then paused for a moment before adding, "&lt;The real you, I mean.&gt;"<br/><br/>There was a long pause as Dren closed his eyes and drifted in silence before Yuri spoke up again.<br/><br/>"&lt;How about we fire up the Hyperdrive again? One more shot at it? You could get lucky this time!&gt;" she said, trying to motivate him. Dren sighed and pulled himself into the pilot's seat again, pushing his back against the seat to connect the battery  over his shoulders and charge it. He lazily began pressing buttons to activate the Ether Generator and provide extra power to the Hyperdrive. Before he activated it, he took his hands off the controls and sighed, <br/><br/>"&lt;How about you pick the course.&gt;" he said, "&lt;I'm too tired.&gt;" Yuri nodded and set the course, then activated the Hyperdrive. The stars streaked by as they shot forward. Dren felt himself drift off to sleep when alarms began blaring in his ears and he woke with a start.<br/><br/>"&lt;Heat signatures ahead!&gt;" Yumi exclaimed. They exited Hyperdive and seeing a targeting icon on his screen for once was something he wasn't used to. There was a large ship on sensors, along with another small contact very near it. As they neared it, another Six in the distance lit up on his screen. Dren grabbed the controls and pulled, bringing his Mech to a halt.<br/><br/>"&lt;Make sure no weapons are active, Yumi.&gt;" he said, "&lt;I d-dont want them to think I'm a threat.&gt;"<br/><br/>"&lt;Dren, are you alright?&gt;" Yumi asked, hearing his shaky voice. Dren just nodded and leaned forwards in his seat, but under his helmet, he struggled to stay awake.<br/><br/>"&lt;Stay in beast mode for n-now.&gt;" he said.</div></blockquote>