Dave took Ellie's hand and looked into her eyes, and with a very unstable tone he said..
Well, all happened almost 9 years ago, when I was 20. At that age, my father suggested to enroll into the LSF. I did this and I begun training in the matter of days, after the trial, I was sent to a discovery team. I was very delighted to use my science knowledge into a more constructive activity. There I met, Ashley Foxx. She was 19. We were assigned into the same team. We liked eachother, it begin from a ... party *he then had an ironic laugh* something similar to this one ... * he looked very affected*. We were engaged, and about to marry in just 1 month. One day, we were sent for reconaissance into the Yukon system because of a strange space anomaly that was picked up by the LN's spy satellites. We head there, and from almost 500 K from the system there appeared in our scanners a very rare space phenomena, a Phased Jump Hole. We were scanning it when the impossible happened... we were sucked into it, and warped in a unusual star system, apparently away from Sirius. It's beauty was amazing... but that system was inhabited by some sort of, energetic creatures... like.. some flying particles with the size of a Bastet. We were very surprised. They tried to seize our ships, but we released an EMP pulse that was affecting them.. for a reason. We headed back to the Jump Hole that was subcollapsing... and when we were about to jump.. they.... *small tears appeared on his cheeks and were going on like a river* ... trapped her... into a ... stasis field or something like that... her ship was deactivated and she was taken from me... i was on the other part... back home... but she wasn't with me, and that's why I've lost her ... *with a deep tragic look* forever. *he then took his left hand to his eyes* From that event... I've quitted LSF, and went into DSE. I then studied these phenomenas, day and night, to develop a way to return to that ... star system. I have lot's of different datas regarding this rare space anomaly, but I can't figure out how can I control this... and to determine its destination... since it's a rather random jump,sending you to locations like a black hole's gravity well to an abandoned remote system. But the tragic thing is... with all of my knowledge, I couldn't save her...
*he was holding Ellie's hand so hard so she felt his affection*
He looked back to Ellie with his eyes a bit red because of the pressure...
Rudimentary creatures of blood and flesh, you touch my mind, fumbling in ignorance, incapable of understanding. - Sovereign
Dave found great compasion in Ellie's gesture, but inside he was crying for almost a lifetime...
"It's fine... time passed and I tried to forget it... But what hurt me even more, was the careless attitude of Liberty, and that's why I hate them so much. They never even cared about this, it was all tagged as .. "classified event". But you know the old say.. "Life goes on..." and that made me the man of today... "
Dave then took a long breath, and tried to burry the past memories...
He then looked into her eyes and kept her hand close and tight to his...
"You know... I appreciate a lot for being so close to me... this happens very rarely and I met you for a couple of hours, I think this means something, you are a very sweet women Ellie.."
And he kissed her right cheek gently and sweetly.
After some moments, he then remembered the word "cryo" that Ellie mentioned...
"You exited from cryo... ? Is this technology allowed now ? But when... and .. why ? " He looked a bit surprised...
Rudimentary creatures of blood and flesh, you touch my mind, fumbling in ignorance, incapable of understanding. - Sovereign
Ellie sighed. "Really, instead of 19, I should be late thirties-early forties. Same with Jeremy. Rika there? She should be twenty. We're like,this, and we don't care."
Ellie looked at Rika, who was asleep on Aqua's lap.
"She chose to stay with us. Honestly, that kid is as good at hand to hand combat is me."
Dave was amazed of their entire story. And again he had that typical "glare of the scientist"..
"You actually survived cryo-stasis, that's something unique, and also your biological rythm wasn't affected, it's something to be proud of Ellie. All of it doesn't change my opinion regarding you.. *he put a shy smile on his face* . And I am really shocked to hear that Jeremy actually was in the first line on the Nomad War events.. fascinating.. . *he then suddenly laughed* In 800-801 I was 11 and studying elementary quantum physics with my father. I was a small nerd... erhhh *again an ironic laugh came*. But regarding your age, for a lady at early forties, I can say you look very good *small laughs*. Let me show you something else *he then smiled with a glorious charm *
He then took out from one of his pockets, 3 small purple stones, in diamond shapes. He put them into a triangle form, and picked up his laser tool. Then he looked at Ellie with a very sweet smile, and he shot one of the stones with the small laser impulse. The 3 stones started a glowing effect, levitating in air. Then they linked up toghether through a beautiful purple beam, and immediately after, a huge projection was created in front of them. Some strange symbols appeared but for Dave were common because he studied the artifact for a long time. Then everything turned to be some sort of star map with explored and un-explored systems...
"This Ellie, is a very rare and unique Nomad artifact. I found it on a remote planet on Kansas by mistake, when the miners were trying to find Palladium mineral. This is something similar to the artifacts that triggered the ancient star map of the K'Vosh Empire, found by doctor Kendra Sinclair, almost 18 years ago. As you can see the center star is Sirius, there is Omicron 99, Iota, Minor, Major, Coronado, the Unknown system from Liberty sector... and some other unidentified systems. This symbols and words, are calculations to establish the links between the Hypergates. Coronado hides one of these hypergates, and apparently, when it was functional, it led to Proxima Centauri. Because this region, is far in the "outer rim" of the Sirius Sector. Our inhabited systems are cornered by ancient K'Hara and K'Vosh systems. And an interesting fact is that Sol, was near a major nomad world, and it presented a huge threat for the foreign K'Vosh territory, though we weren't evolved enough to face a 1 million years old galactic empire... or at least what remained of it. And one thing concerns me and feares me... the incredible connection between the Unknown System, and the Iota one. Take a closer look, Iota is like a highway of space navigation, because some other mysterious systems link with it. The nomad world from Liberty, is like a control point, because you can see on the map that there exists a direct link with Iota to... *and he zoomed into the Iota map representation* that space object, which I don't .. well I can't figure out its utility. My theory is *and he looks straight in Ellie's eyes* that .. the entire Iota system was an ancient ... not hyper, not super, rather an Intergalactic Gate for the easy-to-use way of navigation between the border sectors of the K'Vosh territories. Remember that the K'Vosh were fighting the ancient Crathygtan... or what ever they were called, so they needed fast movement for their defensive forces. But of course it's just a theory.."
He then moves the stones a bit...
"And it should be this..."
It was the system where Dave lost Ashley, 9 years ago...
"The system in where I've lost her... It's there, but ... can't figure out how to pass the electromagnetic barrier. But it's useless to think again. *this time he forgot about his emotions*"
He took the stones back into his pocket as the holographic starmap deactivated. He then looked to Ellie with a small but always charismatic smile.
"There are more to learn.. and more to see, but maybe I can show you in more detail in private sometime, even between friends and allies, there are things I don't want to show yet..."
He looked at her with a lovely smile...
Rudimentary creatures of blood and flesh, you touch my mind, fumbling in ignorance, incapable of understanding. - Sovereign
"Never put all your eggs in one basket. And thank you. I spend a few hours attempting to beat Jeremy. I get two Keyblades, he gets one, no telekenisis...he still beats me." She sighed. "Jeremy lost friends during then. He lead a wing in the defense of Minor and saved five Rhinos with his fighter wing. Though he wasnt a big part, he was one of the few pilots left."
Ellie took a drink of soda and grabbed a little sandwich. After taking a bite, she continued.
"Our mother commanded the Say My Name. It was in Alaska. One of those reamining Marduks were there. The Say My Name fell into the Ellesmere Jump Hole. It was az cting up that day, plus a sunburst. The jump hole sent the dreadnought...somewhere. The Hunter family has a thing were we are young but in command of big ships. She was physically twenty, but...well..her birth is a touchy subject. Anyways, she disappeared. She reappeared a few werks ago. The Say My Name is still missing."
Ellie paused.
"Artifacts...one artifact killed all those on freeport 7. How many will die for this one?"
Ellie looked at Dave and his charismatic smile.
"And if you think its amazing I survived, you should look at Rik as. Smarter th as n me, eleven years old, and she was in one since around the Nomad War..."
Ellie looked at Rika. Jeremy relieved Aqua and took his sister.
"Why do you fight? Why did you join the Order?".she pointed to Jeremy. "I know his reason. He's holding her."
"While the artifacts are in hands of Cerberus, no one will lose his life. Our methods are simple and efficient. Search. Discover. Extract. Disappear. No one will ever know we've even been there. Trust my knowledge, I never put someone in danger because of some relics..."
Then he took a serious look.
"Why do I fight ?"
He glared at Ellie and then continued.
"Because our lives are at risk. I knew my place wasn't in Liberty from the start. I took another challenge. Liberty casted me out. I found Jack. We went to the "unknown" Edge Nebulae. There we found the reality and the gravity of the situation. Since I've lost almost everything, I did want to make a change. A change in this world we live. So that's my purpose, to make ... a change. And because of my knowledge Cerberus evolved into a very advanced technological organization. "
" Humanity first ! And the progress of it at any cost ! "
But he again was more serious then ever...
"You need to know this... at various points in our life, we need to make some sacrifices even... very hard ones. And all from Cerberus know this very well."
Dave looked at Ellie with a very serious look.
"The Order is obsolete. Because they fought a glorious battle against a major threat, that doesn't mean they are supreme protectors. Never. They are just concerned and feared of Liberty. The fools forgot about the major threat ! *rising his tone with an amazed look on his face* They are coming again ! Why they even ignore this ? *lowering down* We found evidence all around Sirius, in Gallia, Liberty, Bretonia, Rheinland, Kusari all of the territories are attacked, slowly. And what is the Order doing at the moment ? Using their last resources against the savage Bounty Hunters, and the mindless Navy. The Order needs to change the perspective, and fight against the K'Hara and their infected allies. *and with a very relaxed tone* That's why I formed Cerberus with Jack , dear Ellie... that's why I keep fighting and struggle...."
He took a cup of Bretonian tea, drinking it very gently, and gave her a look of trust.
Rudimentary creatures of blood and flesh, you touch my mind, fumbling in ignorance, incapable of understanding. - Sovereign
"If we lose hope, Dave...then we already lost. I agree, focus on the K'Hara. But with the Guild Core on our hides, Loberty our enemy, we,have little choice. Liberty wants the Osiris and all our intel before they make peace. Thier problem."
Ellie pauses.
"You fight to preserve humanity. But not at any cost. If we sacrificed our humanity to preserve humans, then we would,be no better off than if the,Nomads had taken us."
Ellie doesnt return the glare, only looks,at him.
"When we lose faith in what we joined, then how would we win? I lost face with OHC, but not the,Order."
Ellie points to Rika.
"Choose your words carefully. If humanity must progress at any cost..."
Ellie looks Dave in the eye.
"Would you sacrifice her, right now, to 'progress' humanity? To perserve it, hard choices must be,made, but would you sacrifice a life so young for progress? Choose your words carefully. They determine whether I stay...or stand."
Ellie was saddened her question into his past had led to this. Behind her wall, she wept and raged at her curiosity, her idiocity. Her body had aged...but not her mind. Mature as she was...she was still a little girl. She had screwed it all up because she wanted to know more.
After dinner, Ellie silently promised herself she would grab Aqua and ask her to talk with her.
Ellie clutched Dave's gift as tears welled up. Nevermind the look of trust. She perfered the charismatic smile.
Dave looked at Rika as Ellie pointed to her. And he thought very well, he remembered about his loss, about his past...
"I didn't mean to... all I want to say was.... *he looked again at Rika, then at Ellie with a deep regret* damn it... i blew it..."
He shaked his head..
"We need to assure the evolution of humanity by disposing ourselves of certain obstacles. A human's life is more pretious then any technological advancement we can get, especially the innocent lives. I am not a soldier, I am scientist, I go after my logic, but I have emotions... personally I couldn't sacrifice an innocent for what ? New toys we can play with ? Never !"
"Faith dies the last... true, but in these times, faith hardly prevails, and why ? Because of what we do... conflicts after conflicts... But that's why we all exist, to make "order" in Sirius."
He stands silent... then he saids with a sad tone...
"Each time Cerberus does something, I always think of my parents... If they will be in danger because of what I do ... That means sacrificing them for some principles. I couldn't accept it.."
He looks in the ground, very serious and a bit sad. He was wondering...
He noticed Ellie was crying, he forgot about everything and went to her.
"Hey what is it ? It's a difficult matter but..."
He put his hand on her shoulder.
"Oh come here..."
Then he gently took her hugging and patting her.
"It's ok... I'm here... take it easy."
Rudimentary creatures of blood and flesh, you touch my mind, fumbling in ignorance, incapable of understanding. - Sovereign
"That is all I wanted to know." She hugged him back. "Words are powerful. Words are what ultimately start wars. Your words..."
Ellie dried her eyes. "I thought I blew it. I try and ask harmless questions, but they always screw me over. I am sorry... I screwed up...the curse of the Hunter family... I should never have implied anything..."
![[Image: jeremy10.png]](http://i40.servimg.com/u/f40/16/80/35/65/jeremy10.png)