The Shadow of Sirius

[Crysis]

//OORP This is a backstory I wrote for my character, follows his life until present day in which ill keep updating the story.Aiming towards an SRP request.

Reiner Hetsau
The Shadow of Sirius


-796AS

Reiner Hetsau was found in a severely damaged black pod with distinctive silver markings defaced from the damage and impact found in a small crater on the outskirts of New London – Planet New London. A group of middleclass miners approached the impact zone to find the pod, which had missed their homes by a mere hundred yards or so, in a smoke filled crater surrounded by charred earth and ash with embers still flaying with the wind. They forced open the doors of the unusual crushed pod to discover a child, a mere infant of no more than a year of age. Accompanying the baby within the pod was a child’s ‘auto-feeder’ still full, and a solid rectangular slab of what seemed to be ordinary metal with four slits carved into it. The men stared into the pod in awe, a lot of the technology had been wrecked, the rest glowed red and faded out, some carvings they couldn’t make out. A man cradled the infant out of the pod and handed him to the arms of an elderly woman stood nearby. On removing the child along with the contents alongside him, a few shocks went off as the pod began to release a few potent electrical sparks on the inside and with a swift, thick, plume of smoke the interior was left a cauterized, unidentifiable mess. Everyone took a step back covering their faces. The old woman looked down, she noticed a pendant around his neck, a small green mineral, like a jade with a name engraved on it. She took it up between her fingers as she hushed the child;

“There, there… it’ll be alright, hush little one”

As she took the jade closer to her face in order to clearly see what was engraved on it, sirens appeared in the fog, the armed forces had arrived and before she knew it, they had snatched the baby out of her hands and the armed forces accompanied by the police had cordoned off the entire zone and taken control. The men who were still staring into the pod were shoved away and pushed back as a seizure took place from the unidentified aircraft entering Bretonian Airspace so close to the capital.

Reiner was transferred to a nearby hospital for a full health check which showed he was unharmed and in perfect condition despite his near death encounter in what must’ve been his first year of life, his blood identification however revealed a very odd DNA composition; Bretonian and BorderWorld DNA, which could possibly stem from a part Bretonian, part Outcast parent and well, a very rare stem, only observed a few times, it contained a stem only found on a wreckage of a deceased pilot from the Edge Worlds. There wasn’t much explanation to it, it was thought to be deep in his bloodline somewhere long lost, Reiner was taken into care at an Orphanage on Planet New London.

The young boy now living in Planet New London for a year or two had a knack for venturing off any chance he got, and it proved to be a very dangerous habit to develop in the dangerous abyss which is space. One afternoon Reiner ventured off out of sight from a carer when walking around town to buy groceries and commodities on the way to his carers’ weekend home, when he stumbled into a hangar, the dwarfed figure went unnoticed with amongst the loud sawing and clattering of the hangar as well as the gigantic figures which surrounded the child. Reiner clumsily climbed into a cargo pod on the side of a civilian transport train and glanced around walking and occasionally running in circles around a stack of light arms in the centre of the pod held down by chains. When his energy run out, down went Reiner, into a deep slumber, as a child does, with his thumb in his mouth, drooling as he lay spread at the back of the pod, his head resting on his little daypack and there he lay, in the awe of his dreams, free.

He opened his eyes, his vision was blurred, he was being dragged by two men in suits by his arms, his legs dragging across the dirt and occasionally lifting off the ground gawkily as they raised him with ease over an obstacles on the dirt track. One of the men smothered a cloth over Reiner’s nose and mouth knocking him out instantly as he inhaled the substance on it. The guards bound him at the hands and feet and lifted him into the back of a secondary, military freighter in which they transported him to Planet Honshu to a secure military institution out of sight or contact from any signs of civilization. Reiner awoke, he opened his eyes and rose in a panic, frantically screaming as he regained his eyesight, he began to cry, and then stopped suddenly. Odd for a young child of his age in such a situation to come to a sudden stop in an ordeal as such. He looked around, and other children lay on other beds in the room, around his age, some a little older, all in white bio suits. He looked in awe, he had never seen anything like this, in all honesty, he hadn’t really seen much, he lived a life of moving from home to home, not knowing where he came from, who he really was besides what was carved into his pendant and all he recalled owned was a solid metal slab with a few scratches on it, what was he? He was too young to question this at the time, but from that day on everything he remembers is pretty much routine, an educational, software based six hour session broken in three, three times a week, and physical and combat training session of six hours, four days a week. They were being built and ‘tailor-made’ but for what?


-808AS

Reiner had turned twelve years of age, what was known in the Shadow Guard Institution on Planet Honshu as the ‘Age of Trials’, it was the age in which the students were beginning to go through puberty and developing, both physically and mentally, for this reason, there was a test they all had to go through, all children within the age group. However this particular test was undertaken by all students aged twelve to sixteen. They entered the hall, boys and girls side by side, all from different corners of the Sirius sector, different ages, all dragged into the system with similar stories to Reiner’s, which knew himself at this stage as LD25(The letters identifying his dorm, and the numbers identifying his bed space). Abducted children at different ages, some sent here by their families when they were young and some abandoned at the gates to be taken in by poor families with no means of supporting a child. A handful to none of the children really knew their true names and identities, most had already fallen to the indoctrination washed out by routine methods, however Reiner remembered his, no one removed his pendant, he remembered what they called him when he was young at the orphanage, he did not forget the nap that cost him his freedom, the day it all took place. The children took their seats at their desk, a room now closed off on lockdown, masked guards surrounding every exit, the commander at the front giving the order to start. It was a logics test, with what is to be considered moderately complex software engineering tasks written down by hand, Reiner immediately got the hang of what lay before him and managed to break the situation down to simpler terms examining them at a much faster pace than his colleagues.

---

The Shadow of Sirius - (Reiner Hetsau Background Story)

[Crysis]

-810AS

He either aced this exam, or had failed it with a price he was going to pay with his life. It had been two years since the exam, an ordinary day sitting in the courtyard enjoying a snack, staring up into the vast expanse of blue in the sky, everything turned dark. He had a sack pulled over his head and was restrained and cuffed, he attempted to kick and scream but no one was going to move a muscle, who did he know here on a personal level? Nobody? He was carried off somewhere he was uncertain of, he had lost his bearings and was thrown into the back of a freighter, some other figures lay wriggling along his side.

"Hey?! Anybody else here?! Its LD33C!" the voice went off into a slight cough as he gasped for breath.

"Yea, yea, I can see, they’ve snatched eight of us, knocked the sack of my head when they tossed me in!" said another voice on Reiner’s right.

"Aaaaaa! What’s going on?! Help!?" came a whimpering cry from behind Reiner.

"Shut up!" This was the voice of the one with the eyes in the room, "Orite, there’s eight of us, like I said… Now, we’re definitely in the back of a freighter. Brilliant! Again?! Really, do they not get tired, remain calm guys there’s no use struggling, we’re being transferred again, standard procedure", he was wiser than the others, he had authority, or at least he was screwed on a little tighter above the shoulders.

Reiner remained quiet, the next thing he remembers was the clanking of the opening metal doors of the freighter and with a swift bump on the back of the head out of nowhere, lost from the conversation on the outside and sounds of engines, he awoke in a medical infirmary, wired up to monitors with beeping sounds and flashing lights taking information and scanning him by the second. A nurse appeared through the curtains.

"Your awake, perfect, LD25… Please remain on the bed until the lights turn off, it should only take half an hour or so, when it does so, everything shall release itself and return to its allocated position, remain calm and when it is complete make your way down the hall and to the left, there everything shall be explained and you will be able to enjoy your meal… you must all be so tired, I hate how they deal with this procedure!" the woman didn’t seem too enthusiastic about the method in which they were dealing with us nor what they were doing, however she was accommodating and informative and when she was done left quietly as if she’d never entered to begin with.

Within the hour, the lights dimmed, the beeping came to a halt and all of the cables retracted to their original monitor and machine, Reiner arose from the bed, he was still dressed the same, he felt a lump on his right pectoral close to the collarbone, it felt solid, he felt perfect, revitalized, however he was very confused. As the nurse instructed he walked down the hall, everything in these places seemed to be white, a white scheme of purity on everything, it gave it a highly sophisticated touch. Reiner opened the door to the right, beyond them there were the other eight, chosen from what it seems, sitting on sofas surrounding a hologram pad. One of the older children on the sofa signalled Reiner over and motioned him to take a seat and listen patting a hand on the seat and pointing his index finger to his ear.

The hologram appeared, visualizing to full opacity as it fuzzed in and out of function. A very hard faced, battle-weathered man looked on at the faces of every individual in the room, and we looked back, in total silence."Konichiwa my children, you are all definitely wondering what you are doing here? Why you? What is going on? Have we done something wrong? I ask you all to remain calm, you are now in the Emperors Elite Shadow Squadron, this complex is simply known as base ‘Kōtei shadō chūtai’(Emperors Shadow Squadron). You eight, have been hand selected from your exams, we have chosen you… You are all aware that you are now developing, we will build on this here, and everything that goes on here is for the greater good of the empire… You serve the Emperor, You shall be his Elite, his assassins, His shadows of the night! Tonight you shall be briefed, you shall spend the next six years in this institution, and you shall leave as the most honourable, deadly and secret squadron in the Empires arsenal, Understood?!"

So we were to be the Emperors Elite Assassins, now that’s doing some serious dirty work. No one spoke a word, everyone just nodded, their eyes encaptivated by the hologram, as it dispersed, we all looked at each other and conversation broke out slowly and escalated quickly into a light roaring of kids, looking for answers. Men entered the room from a door where the three sofas broke the square and approached them all, directing them to their new sleeping quarters, here they each had their own room, once again, with the basic necessities and surprisingly enough, a change of colour scheme, black and purple seemed much more fitting for this dark and mysterious enclave.

The next six years were to be intense; specialized assassin training, severely complex software problem solving and combat pressure engineering training was to be taken on, on a weekly basis alongside disciplinary studies and uniform work during free time, they were not training them, they were building killing machines.


-816AS

D-day, after all the hard training and tedious exercises, examinations, tests, beatings, disciplining and epic ordeal which seemed to have become their lives to date came down to this. The ‘Inpei no Shuraudo’ the Shroud of Concealment, the final test of their abilities which allowed them to prove, to its full extent, the worth of what had become their lives. LD33C approached Reiner just before they were being summoned from their rooms, his bedroom door slid open;

"Oi! LD25 is it?"

"Yes" nodded Reiner.

"Listen, I’m not saying I like you, but if I were to take my chances alongside anybody in here well… Anyway, I overheard the guards talking about drop points and knowing your location on the map clicks, so on dropping just stay put, we could facilitate this, after all…" He was interrupted.

"No, no, I can’t h…" Reiner tried to squeeze out that he wanted no part in the plot.

The older boy approached shoved Reiner back with his open hand onto his bed and stared over him. "Listen to me you idiot! Just trust me! I thought you were the only other one with some brains, you can wait or you can run, your choice… We have to work as a team despite what they say, I’m tired of this sh… and if they don’t think I remember every second of what they took me from when I was just a little one, they’ve got it all wrong…" His voice had changed, it now had a deeper man’s tone, the teen which walked in at fourteen was now twenty years of age, a lot had changed, Reiner now stood at six foot, aged eighteen, abducted aged four.

[Crysis]

Reiner stared into the eyes of the slightly taller, bigger built dark haired man which loomed over him, the other simply turning away and walking out of the room, the door sliding closed behind him.

They were instructed to gather their equipment, a knife, a length of rope cut at twenty five metres, and their GPS nodes instructing them where there destination is with a clear mapping of the surrounding geographical area, this was to be programmed for the test at hand before ‘drop-off’. Reiner’s heart was beating fast, he became aware when he felt a warm rush fill his cheeks, he quickly came to his senses; ‘Come on! You can deal with all of this, breathe, it’s what you’ve been born to do!’, he motivated himself and calmed down entirely, dealt with professionalism. He walked out of his room precisely five minutes before he had to and arrived firmly on time at the departure hangar, in his sleek black bio suit, as did all the other squadron trainees in the room, glistening at the grooves with purple neon lights which could be triggered on or off. They looked the part, now did they have it in them? They were handed pack extensions to wear like backpacks which allowed them to now have a parachute as well as the potential of a wingsuit extension to glide to their designated drop off spot.

The time was now, before they knew it they were up in a carrier, taken passed a vast archipelago into the mainland. Cruising above mountaintops into a narrow valley which opened up into an enormous snow covered forest, the drop offs began… The area we had to navigate was forty clicks in size, we had to make our way through a number of ‘checkpoints’ each doing our own specified task at the given location remaining undetected, yes, that’s the catch… We had to survive two weeks on a ridiculously long journey whilst remaining undetected, the price we paid was our lives, the inhabitants of the area were not instructed of our arrival or mission therefore their orders in this secure intelligence location is to shoot and kill on sight. In an instant, Reiner found at the back of the freighter, holding on to the banister waiting for the guard at his side to give the go ahead, looking down the vast valley beneath rushed passed like a blurred stream of green and white too quick to focus on the actual objects around. The light turned green above his head, the guard motioned and as free as he had felt since his arrival at the institute fourteen years ago, his leant forward and in a swooping motion was sucked out and swept passed the moving freighter. He glanced over his shoulder as he began his free fall at twenty thousand feet commenced and could see the freighter making off in a northern direction. He looked down passed his visor and angled himself, positioning his body for a dive to gain speed, he swivelled at the hips changing his direction through his legs and kept his arms steady at his side occasionally opening them into a ‘crab’ position to decelerate. He was flying, for the first time in his life, without the help of any machinery, manoeuvring through the skies, reaching speeds exceeding two hundred kilometres per hour, he was in paradise, a total euphoric feeling, a rush surged through his blood and Reiner shut his eyes to take a breath and appreciate the essence of freedom. He had no time, a small red light appeared in the top corner of his visor goggles, ‘DEPLOY CHUTE, DEPLOY CHUTE’ the words read as they looped each other, he had come within six thousand feet altitude and was just overdue on the eight thousand mark to deploy his parachute. With a quick tug out it came, being pulled violently to a halt by the parachute, he motioned his finger to the side of his helmet to unlock the visor and breathing apparatus which slid back into the helmet in a very smooth and discrete manner. Reiner smirked, he looked around at the surrounding landscape and remembered LD33Cs words, ‘wait at the drop off point’, he glided down to a patch of snow, an opening in the brush which was his drop off location, with a little lift of his legs down he came, to a skid as he extended his legs in an open manner, his right leg extended forward his foot angled inwards his left leg crouched behind him to absorb the drag.

Reiner unclipped the parachute rolling up into a quick ball which he then cut with his knife to collect extra rope, elastic based materials and part of the chute he could use for shelter and as a cover from the elements. He climbed the nearest tree, with a few snapping of branches as he stepped it was a fairly simply climb, Reiner glanced around, mountains to the south, mountains to north, many, many, trees. His GPS pointed west. Turning his head to face west, he noticed a glistening light in the far distance, it must have been around sunset, a small plume of smoke could be seen, it must have been at least six clicks, a good days trek perhaps, bearing in mind they were using no conventional method of travel neither were they using the footpaths, maybe it would take a little longer than that.

He lowered himself from the canopy and decided to walk a little uphill from his drop off spot, as long as he could keep it in his sight he could tell when LD33C would arrive, he could spot him. Reiner walked a mere thirty metres from his landing spot, with a rocky face to his back, some trees at his side and a very large log before him, Reiner wedged his parachute into the snow tethered it to the trees and clipped it at the front on the larger log which hid him from the open patch before him, he began to cover it all with snow. From the outside, it was practically invisible, just more snow from the mountainside to the trees, a small slit is all that could reveal Reiner, and this had already been taken care of with some leaves, meaning only he could see out. He waited.

Seven hours had passed since the start of the trial, Reiner had been waiting for LD33C, surely he could not be far, seven hours? It was pitch black, not a sign of life could be heard, it felt almost paradoxical in such a vast expanse of white, the darkness which consumed it. In his little dugout Reiner focused, staring into the abyss which was the forest beyond, he listened and held his breath, as a sniper would to increase his accuracy, the snapping of a branch on his left, treading in the snow, it was approaching fast, Reiner placed his right hand over his head and slipped it into the back of his neck where his blade was kept and held its handle tightly, gripping firmly down one finger at a time until it shut firmly. The silhouette became clearer rustling through the bushes falling metres from Reiner, he caught a clear glimpse of the figure as it straightened itself by a tree. Reiner smiled, he whistled like an owl placing both hands together in a cupping motion and blowing through his thumbs;

*Hoot, Hoot, Hoooot, projected from Reiner’s clutch as the wind whistled through his hands*

The man turned, it was LD33C, Reiner pushed the button by his goggles, a red light flashed and in an instant was gone, LD33C approached the crack in the ‘shelter’, he was panting and quickly slid in with both feet first replacing the hole he’d made in the leaves covering the entrance almost instantly and packing it with snow…

“LD..”

Reiner was cut short as LD33C shoved his forearm into his neck and shoved him into the side of the shelter motioning with his other hand over his lips to keep quiet, he then signalled up to his eyes with both fingers and pointed out of the crevice. Reiner was rather startled, however he asked no questions of the older boy who had taken so well to him, he listened and peered out. Moments later some men rushed passed the landing point, they looked around, all were wearing thick fur coats and were armed. They made off into the opposite direction calling at each other, ‘Find whoever that was and take care of him you fools!’.

“My name is, Erich… Not LD33C… Letters and Numbers, that’s what we are to them? After fourteen years? That’s what we’re worth…” Erich stared at Reiner looking at him square in the eyes.

“I’m Reiner, at least I think I am… So it says on this, and I’ve had this since I can remember… Since before I was taken…” Reiner replied in a calm tone, however there was an essence of grief in his words as he seemed brought down by the fact he wasn’t sure of who he really was. “I’m not even too certain.”

[Crysis]

“Reiner, humph, I would’ve never guessed, sometimes I tried to guess people’s names in the institute, no use, just a little amusement I guess from that routine, that damned routine…” Erich sounded agitated.

“Machines, that’s what they made us… They told us our purpose, they’ve trained us for it… I mean the others, they never seem to even attempt to make contact… Sure, we were never allowed to meet on a personal level or have any information about each other but still...” Reiner continued, something was on his mind. Erich nodded, agreeing with his every word. “They’re as bad as the drones and machines…”

“Do we really need this? Them? What life have they given us? We’ve been institutionalised our entire lives, like lab animals… I say, we make this ours, what do you think they’ll do with us if we slip, we know too much…” whispered Erich with a certainty in his voice which sent a chill down Reiner’s neck, death wasn’t something he usually put much of a thought on.

“Make THIS ours? Why not just make way with it all… There’s some sort of compound to the West, they must have some form of transport there or even so, it’s the direction the GPS points.” There was a slight uncertainty about it, but they had no idea where they were, there best bet was to follow the trials course until it was safe.

The boys held back a while, quiet, their night vision now perfectly adjusted, their ears almost seem to twitch slightly as they caught the sounds amongst the whispers in the cold winds of the forest. The smell of fresh pine in their noses, their senses fully attuned with their surroundings, they were one with the shadows. In perfect synchronisation, as the wind picked up once again and began its shrilling whistling like a banshee’s cry, they slid out of the crevice and began a steady jog alongside the trail in the foliage. Walking over the foliage avoided footprints, they’re constant pacing and GPS calibration kept them on track, their training was paying off, they functioned as one. Every fifteen minutes they would take turns at their calibration points to climb a tree and confirm they were on the correct path and also look out for any threats hidden amongst the night.

Day two had come upon them, they hadn’t slept yet but they had made it to the outpost they spotted. It was a stone shack built on a raised platform about ten feet off the ground, a satellite sat on the snow covered roof, it was a radio signal point. The boys watched it from a distance, from a slightly lower point on the mountainside, angling themselves slowly to get a clear view from above it. Erich took a pause as he lead the way crouched down, he looked over his shoulder, where was Reiner, he adjusted himself and looked all round as he raised his arm to the hilt of his blade by his neck. In an instant his arm was locked in a figure four locked in from behind, a deep grunt was let out as he was hurled into a bush at his side, his mouth covered by a glove pressed against it. It was Reiner, Erich let out a breath on the glove of relief.

“You idiot! Unnecessary much?!” whispered Erich as he panted lightly for his breath.

“Perhaps, but you were drifting off, focus… We are shadows, it doesn’t mean we can’t be seen, however we can disappear as quickly as we appear. Side-tracking… You missed the man smoking a cigarette on the corner of the porch…” he smirked, Reiner lay off Erich and they both lay in a prone position under the bush looking at any movement in their peripheral vision. Erich opened his eyes wide and rubbed them with his hand clenched in a fist, ‘Focus!’ he told himself. Reiner signalled to the Rock on the towers side;

“Mine”, Reiner waved his arm in front of him at a forty- five degree angle and shot it upwards, he then pointed towards the underside of the porch, then with a thumbs up motion raised his arm, “Yours”.

It was settled, with a quick tap, instigated by Reiner, the two made their ascent to the small station. Reiner took the upper route and climbed onto the rock which stood a few yards from the satellite and with a ghostly leap, jumped onto the roof of the structure, landing like a feather, weightless. He leaned over the edge, the smoke from the cigarette rising by his face, his looked down. Erich had already crawled and snuck himself under the staircase, the man’s boots knocked snow through the holes onto his face. Erich placed his hands as Reiner before him, clasping them together in a cupping motion and whistling a hoot. *Hoot, Hooooot* The man stared down leaning over the banister his cigarette in hand, his woolly hat on, in a split second Reiner had come down on him like a falcon with a swift strike on the back of the head, it knocked him over the rail and he fell limp on the ground beneath, a ten foot drop was not to be taken lightly either. Erich dragged the man towards him and lay him behind a small protruding rock from beneath the radio hut and covered it with snow, he made his way up to meet Reiner who had already entered and scoured the station and was pacing back outside, he crouched before Erich picking up the cigarette dropped by the man and tossed a loaf of bread at him.

“Smells funky” he said as he put it closer to his nose to take a whiff, whoa… He took a drag from it and puffed out.

“Hey?! We don’t do that! What are you doing?!” exclaimed Erich as he swiped at Reiner’s hand.

Reiner swung back his arm pushing Erich’s arm clear at the elbow diverting him away and into the room with his momentum. “Screw them, this is some of that dry herbal stuff those farmers smoked outside the institute walls, occasionally you’d get a whiff remember? By the windows on those evenings?” Erich nodded, “Not bad…” there was a pause, the two stared at each other. “Listen, we can’t be far from another hotspot, people have to be within walking distance, this guys all alone at here, now I don’t feel right about this whole system, this wasn’t our choice… They ‘created’ us… I say we make for it…” Erich looked back at Reiner, a smirk appeared on his face mimicking Reiner’s, however it turned to a grin as he pulled Reiner into the station room with him and closed the door. “What’s going on Erich?!”.

“Listen, I was hoping you’d say those words, we can’t be too sure you know, who’s entirely loyal to the Emperor and will have you ‘gone’ for speaking against him, and those of us with… our own brains… Now, you remember when you came? The lump?” said Erich still holding Reiner by the chest.

“Mhm, I’m glad we’ve found… Trust, good for us… Hah! What about the lump?” Reiner mocked Erich’s newfound trust in him however he had no idea why he was being asked this question.

“Well, clever one… That lump, it’s a tracker… Now we’re gonna have to get that out” He looked Reiner dead in the eyes as he unsheathed his dagger, its glinting silver blade hissing as it revealed itself.

“Shit!” Reiner nodded and unlocked his armour, he then opened his jacket to reveal the scar which marked the spot, he pulled off his glove and stuffed it in his mouth.

Erich drew the blade closer to Reiner, he stabbed the tip at the top of the scar, and with a swift downward swipe the incision was made, Reiner gargled as he clenched his fists, the veins in his neck showing clearly. Erich dug the blade in about an inch and used his index finger to pop out a small chip in the shape of a pill. “Done my friend… Now it’s my turn”.

Sweating, placing a hand on his shoulder, stared down at the table, a small pill before him… Reiner spat on it and wiped the perspiration from his forehead. He unsheathed his blade and the procedure was repeated in the same manner as the first. “Bastards!” Erich moaned for a few seconds before motioning Reiner to go outside. They gathered some firewood and using the poor dead man’s lighter started a small fire which they began to heat their knives over until the steel was red hot, one to the other then sealed the scar shut with the burning blade as it seared the skin shut and then put their armour back on.

[Crysis]

The pair sat for a quick few bites of the loaf before taking some water into their bio suit hydro-vascular system which allowed them to hydrate without having to drink over a longer period of time through a more efficient fluid release system. They left as quickly as they entered leaving the door tightly sealed behind them.

A day had gone by, trekking through the forests of nothingness, white… everywhere white… trees, more trees… It’s all the same, but the two know their way, it almost feels ingrained in their minds and bodies, one with the surroundings. They spotted an enclave with a number of guards in the morning, but they couldn’t approach just yet, it was too bright, they returned in the dark of the night. They were about to begin the events of the night before spotting a shadow lurking on the opposite side of the camp. The camp was built of three smaller huts with a fire outside in the snow accompanied by a parked SUV, seven men guarded the outpost. The shadows on the other side must have been the one of the others, they both climbed a tree and remained perched, watching. The next few seconds were like a third person view of what they had learnt being put to action and coming to a cold end moments after. The shadow crept behind the vehicle, with a whistle it had the attention of the men, the manner it moved, it was a girl, sleek and catlike as she rolled up the back of the SUV onto its top where she lay motionless and slid round the front now behind two of the men. In an instant she had sliced ones throat from behind her hand covering his mouth as she lay him down quietly, in a leap she was on the back of the man before her, laying into him with her blade into the back of his neck, his corpse lay still, bleeding out a dark red pool melting the pure white snow around him. She rolled under the truck and watched a third man approach, as he stood by the first man, he fell solid onto his knees she had sliced his Achilles tendon, his weight bringing him onto his back where he was swiftly finished with a stab in the throat. She made her way to the first hut, banging was heard, and gunfire, the two watched their hands dug into the branch beneath them, anxious. A fourth man pushed the door open enough for them to look in, he kicked out the corpse of a young woman, a number of holes placed in her head, he then dragged out a bleeding guard, a gushing wound in his ribs, he twitched violently before laying at rest. The snow was a bloodied mess. He called out as the other three approached their hands to their heads before quickly drawing their weapons looking out into the forest. Reiner and Erich dropped down, sinking into the snow softly, they parted ways. Erich signalled with a flash of his red light from his helmet from across the camp, the men turned in his direction immediately opening fire, before they knew it Reiner came silently from behind sprinting as fast as he could lowering himself to a slide on his left knee his right left stretched out in a skid as he sliced the first man at the back of the leg driving him to the ground, he then spun in a one-eighty as he swiped the second off to the ground with his arm striking the heel and driving an overheard strike to the chest, blade in hand finishing him before quickly making haste of the writhing, moaning guard at his side with a precise cut at the jugular bleeding him out in seconds. At the same time Reiner had gone forward and all three men had turned Erich too had sprung catching the last remaining man mid-turn to face Reiner being caught from behind. The massacre at the camp had them adrenaline filled. Reiner felt a warm rush within him soon turn cold as remorse left him entirely. They took the SUV and made up the road where they found a hangar and a freight train. Erich pointed at the craft as he looked at Reiner with a smile.

“Now or never mate, now or never…” Erich laughed as they approached it.

The two entered the craft, Erich took over the engineering and mapping, Reiner sat at the control seat. Ascending far too quickly, the pair launched the ship into an upward strafe smashing the roof of the hangar and allowing the mess of scrap metal out. They rose above the vast forest and found themselves hovering above the tree tops in the dark of night without a single signal light on risking a crash or worse death. Erich navigated them to the nearest refuel point where the two found a smuggler repairing a damaged thruster. It’s fair to say it was a clear method out of this place, and it was pretty undetectable, the pair had a lovely conversation with the owner and made an arrangement over the very dodgy civilian train as they made their way on their own for the stars.

[Crysis]

-819AS

Three years since their escape, the two had originally made for Magellan, touching down in Freeport 4 where they stayed the night before parting ways. Erich purchased some illegal identification off a freelancer he’d met at the bar that night, the conversation had a lot to do with smuggling and the Border Worlds, the man mentioned Planet Malta, about his little ranch, the two made off for the Rheinland in the morning. Reiner felt himself deserving of snatching a civilian eagle fighter from the hangar, it was just like the ones in the simulators at the institute, it felt right, and so he took it. He headed for New York in the early hours of the morning discretely evading the authorities and on a direct route to Rochester base.

Reiner’s future was to start in an unusual place, one he would return to in the near future, a tavern which was to him his doing and undoing, little did he know now. It at the Rochester Inn Bar where Reiner met the Mandalorians, a group of elite mercenaries playing a major role in both ‘peace-keeping’ and killing of many bounty targets across Sirius placed by their customers. He joined the group and within his first three days of service was summoned to the Mandalore’s Office, Mandalore William Bishop. He was astounded at the skills of Mr. Hetsau as is shown in the log kept of the meeting that day by the advisor at the Mandalore’s side, where he was handed the ‘Murcyur’, an ancient blade crafted for one sole purpose, as a token of respect and as a present for his amazing work. This blade was used on a number of occasions throughout the short life of service and Reiner vowed to bind his soul to it and make it a part of him.

There were certain encounters which changed Reiner, some experiences in the Bretonia Sector dealing with the Joker’s Gang sparked some unfortunate fuses in his mind. It was a calm morning, departing from California Minor after a nights rest, Reiner reported for duty once in space, he took a deep breath before stretching in his seat and exhaling loudly in a mid-yawn. He turned on his communication systems; ‘This is Reiner Hetsau, calling in’… *’Good morning Mr. Hetsau, there is trouble reported in the Bretonia Sector, -:[Threat Report Level: High – Bretonian Armed Forces Report]:-‘, the text which appeared on the screen got his blood pumping, it seemed like money was to be made today. In little less than the hour he had arrived at Leeds, he could see a firefight in the distance which he approached close to an asteroid field, it was the Jokers, and they outnumbered the armed forces, twelve cronies this lunatic had rounded up.

“Officer’s, I’m here on behalf of the Mandalorian’s, if I can be of assistance, I would be happy to help” Reiner smirked on the Comm. Channel, it gave off both a relieving ambience at the sound of backup, and a very sinister one at the eagerness to engage in combat.

“This is Lieutenant Commander Edward Doyle leading this defence team, I’m glad to hear the voice of a friend, your aid is greatly appreciated” His ship was hit by a missile, it spiralled out of control for a moment before stabilising. In an instant twelve of the Joker’s cronies were amongst them, they didn’t do much of the talking, they left that for their leader. In swooped Reiner, undertaking a number of evasive manoeuvres within the asteroid field dropping mines as he went, with a kill of the engines allowing him to turn at a quick one hundred and eighty degrees, he was now facing a trailing pack of enemies sat like ducks amidst his mines. Reiner opened his eyes and laughed manically, a train cruise disruptor was fired into the fray, the explosions and shockwave blowing up three fighters as they collided and exploded in the blast zone. He had one on his tail, his hands gripped tightly on the control sticks, Reiner pulled back killing the engines of his ship once again, with no counter propulsions and his thrusters off the momentum allowed it to flip at twice the speed re-engaging the thrusters driving him directly on top of his victim where he dropped a torpedo directly behind the engines blowing up the fool he even attempted those shots on his back and knocking his own shields of as he collided with an asteroid. Reiner clenched his teeth as he tensed up as hard as he could to keep himself steady in his seat as it was rocked, ricocheting off the asteroid it hit, the hull damaging slightly, the dogfights went on, they were winning but two of the three Armed Forces Pilots were down, there were two threats still alive, four had so far taken ten, the quality of training was really showing off amongst them. Commander Doyle’s ship challenger was out for the count, it had a damaged wing, no ammunition and was suffering from a fire on the secondary engine, Reiner engaged his warp speed and heading directly for Doyle collided with him wedging him into a crack in an asteroid as it spun round. “Sorry Officer, it’s for your own good” Reiner continued his charge towards the two targets unleashing hell with his guns before strafing directly at the target waiting for him to steer off. The two pilots stared each other dead in the eye as they approached, none wanting to give up their route and bail out, Reiner once again killed his engines spinning another one eighty now facing the same way as the pilot as who was about to joust him head on. The thug faced him looking confused, Reiner grinned as he rammed his opponent off a nearby wreck belonging to his ally and firing off the ships guns, before disabling its shields and thrusters, the man sat there, bleeding from the head, a gash caused by the impact, electrical sparks came off wires and panels which dangled from the cockpit. He could see through the corner of his eye the last and only remaining member of the thugs make a run for it, he knew he had no chance.

“Is it over? Mandalorian, is it done?” Doyle panted, he sounded peeved and hurt, he had been wedged here, useless and injured.

“Almost, just sit tight Commander… Please” Reiner sounded different, he seemed to smile a lot, it was rather uncomfortable in the given circumstance.

Reiner’s eagle closed down on the thugs sabre. He hovered above it before reversing and ramming his landing door into the thug’s ship. Reiner pushed the button to lower the back door, it creaked and banged as it did so grinding hard into the metal of the other ship revealing its interior before getting stuck. Reiner in a black bio suit with body armour, his dark black shrouded helmet, a purple light shining through the left eye could be seen approaching the door from the thugs’ cockpit. The thug attempted to free himself, but he his safety belts were jammed in combat mode locking him in place he wriggled before looking back with an uneasy smile to remain in role. Reiner approached the lodged door and kicked it hard with his boot twice until it wedged itself lower in, enough for him to fit through. He stepped in, the heavy sound of his boot chattering with the steel plates with covered the interior of the cockpit, his hand raised over his head and reaching into the scruff of his neck, his blade still retained its position, the seething of a perfected blade leaving the sheath created a distinct ghastly ambience in the room, the atmosphere was cold. Reiner stepped before the thug before staring him in the eyes taking hold of him by the throat before cutting him free from the seatbelts. Commander Doyle’s ship still wedged in the crevice of the asteroid had now turned to face the scene between Reiner and the thug. He could see the men through the cracked and damaged glass of the cockpit, like two shadows, he then lost sight of them as it spun once again, ‘What was going on he thought?! How did that happen?!’. Reiner holding a dangling, smiling thug by the throat lifted him with one arm to a standing position, before revealing his face pulling down his mask ‘The Murcyur’ held hilt in hand and blade against his forearm. The thugs smile dropped, he had never seen something so ominous, even in the eyes of his manic boss, it was a harnessed evil, and you could see a clear built hatred within, they looked thirsty, and he knew it was over. In a solid, punching motion across the man’s neck, blade held protruding slightly passed the outer forearm, Reiner had opened a large gash in the man’s neck, severing the carotid artery. A maroon red spray of blood gushed out, followed by thick warm crimson streams, it was a bloodbath, his face was dripping his armour covered, the cockpit a mess. In his blood fuelled rage, Reiner calmed himself as he crawled through the mess which was the door back into his fighter, he seemed to have quenched his thirst in the frenzy of battle.

He approached Commander Doyle, tractoring him into the cargo hold as he released himself from his ship. The cargo doors opened, the Commander stumbled out, weak and shaky and through himself on the ground behind the pilot’s seat.

“Thanks pilot, you saved us all out here today, I don’t know…*He breathed as he rested his hands beside him* how to repay you…” As his hands touched the ground he had placed them in a puddle, quickly pulling back at the surprise he looked at his hands. They were covered in blood, as a matter of fact, he hadn’t paid any attention when he tossed himself to the ground, he opened his eyes, there was a lot of blood everywhere. “Pilot?! What is this…?” He startled.

Reiner turned his head over his shoulder to face the Commander, his face a blood covered mess, dripping, a look fit for the dead, however he retained a smirk. “Firstly, it has been a pleasure… Hehehe, Secondly... Strictly dealing with business…” He laughed manically.

“Business? Explain yourself… What does this blood have to do with business? Is this the thug? No… No, that’s not how we do things around here Mercenary?!!” He sounded very annoyed and attempted to stand up, without a chance Reiner was already standing before him the stare alone forcing him back down to the ground.

“Listen, Commander… You have a problem, you requested our aid, I came forth, I dealt with it… How that is conducted is not your business, now I advise you to remain seated and rest until we can drop you off” Reiner shook his head, ‘Pathetic fool he thought to himself, never seen some blood or the extent of battle and rage’… He looked on, slouched in his chair, he was fed.

He remained loyal for a number of years before leaving the dispersing organisation, he was always a difficult individual with an intense lack of sentiment and emotion at times, it was almost as if it could be triggered at will. No one knew about his ‘psychotic releases however’ and those who did, never made it to tell the tale. He fell into hiding where he sought solitude in an attempt to find peace, in a universe where it was scarce.

[Crysis]

-822AS

The pair met back on Planet Malta at the Magellan smugglers little ranch, Reiner never forgot the location mentioned over a few drinks that night and he was certain it was in the ‘ranch’ where this was being manufactured for transportation, so one hot afternoon on a scorching field In the outer southern regions of Planet Malta, from the clouds descended the nightmare back into Erich’s life. With a rapid plunge the light fighter came to halt inches above the ground, its thrusters blowing away and flattening the grass covered earth beneath it before landing, the dust cloud it raised engulfed the ship from which a silhouette immersed. It approached Erich and the Farmer, the two watched, their hands at the hilt of their firearms, the figure was wearing a brown trench coat which hung down by his legs, his face was masked by a bandana like scarf which hung slightly lower as it came down from the top of his nose down to his ears. On his head, the man wore a black baseball cap, worn at a slight decline to prevent direct view of his face, he approached, a six foot three inch, athletic figure. All it took was a raise of the head for Erich to catch a glimpse of his eyes, the darkness, the focused look bordering on the fine line between being a genius or being insane. It didn’t take much for the two to start from where they left and hatch together a bigger business plan with a little deeper ambition driven by Reiner. He seemed different to Erich, he couldn’t put it together, it was in his eyes, he had a dark aura about him at times.

It is uncertain where he went, though as far as Erich could dig out of him about his whereabouts for the last three years, all he could pull together was his champion like work for the Mandalorians some talk of delving into the Edge Worlds and remaining in hiding anywhere he could scavenging wrecks and hiding around Planet New York occasionally, still avoiding detection like if he never existed. He mentioned gathering parts from dark web black markets and underground warehouses too, blueprints mainly on ancient equipment, ‘Antique junk’ Erich thought to himself. Erich had become a Cardamine smuggler in the Border Worlds occasionally meeting with some clients in Liberty Space to drop off and head back to his life of money making and luxury however after a flawed deal with a client, he was forced into bankruptcy and is now back to zero, through no other fault than a grass, dealt with accordingly (we know how things go).

-22/2/822AS

Reiner returns to the Rochester Inn, an essence of Déjà vu fills him. Erich begins to fund their cause by continuing his illegal trades by his own means and risk, Reiner his backup when available, his ship, The Siminot(The Si(See)Mi(Me)Not(Not) – See Me Not) at least he thought it was a clever play on words.

[Crysis]

-10/2/823AS

Reiner disappeared after his last visit to Rochester, word is he went over to speak to some Junkers, no body knows if much else took place... He just up and vanished after a few nights, in a Jackdaw from the hangar. He spent his days venturing further into the Border Worlds, The Outer Worlds had intrigued him now and he felt it best to return. He had to go somewhere far, where he could not quench his new-found thirst and remain safe and discrete in his work and business. Throughout his life and upbringing all he had known was to kill, they attempted to build a perfect assassin, and achieved something close if not very far, it had become... Fulfilling... to kill, that is... Reiner believed it best to entertain himself and find something to occupy his time in order to prevent being seen or causing a scene again elsewhere. To remedy this, he began a quest for knowledge to discover who he really was, with only the metallic, stone-like, fragment of rock which hung around his neck, what he believed his name, engraved upon it, to guide him on his journey.

Reiner had set off to the Omicrons, to Planet Malta, to visit his sickly friend, whom had been given an overdose of Cardimine in what was set to be a 'little beat down' by a rival smugglers group, as a sign and as a result he was left in a comatose state as he currently lies. Reiner made haste to his ship where he began to hack security cameras near the areas where Erich had been jumped, within a matter of minutes using his expertise in the field he had it revealed, the faces of four thugs who jumped Erich on the way out of the hangar as he locked up at night, they beat him down with pipes before smothering his face with a large powdered clump of orange from a handkerchief in an attempt to suffocate him before being alarmed by a shot at the wall from a security guard and making off into the night.

The ranch lay peacefully on a hillside, trees aligning the rocky paved road which led up to the home, a beautiful shade of gold lay softly over the land as the sun lay to rest and the moon awoke. With a large boom and a menacing wind which flattened some of the nearby crops, the Jackdaw made its appearance a few yards from the home in a rather hectic fashion as it then hovered softly to a halt as weightless as a feather, as if it had come in peacefully all along, and not destroyed it. The rancher who shared this home with Erich opened the door, his hat half flapped over his head in shock as he held it down. The Magellan Smuggler, Emilio, he stared at the ship for a moment, the hand which lay behind the doorframe clutching the hilt of a blaster pistol in case of emergency, Emilio was not one to be fooled, he was a sly smuggler... The landing gear at the back of the fighter came down with a large hiss and release of pressure as it opened, smoke engulfing the walkway and entrance disrupting all visibility. From the smoke, from the legs emerged a figure in a black bio-suit, it was very sleek and within the grooves it contained a neon glow which outlined certain parts of the man. On his head, a helmet, fashioned to perfection with a purple light on its right side by the eyes, which remained dark, it sat perfectly on his shoulders and followed the shape of his head in a manner in which it would not interrupt any movement, none of this man was showing. As he made his way to the bottom of the walkway and set foot on the ground, he drew back his helmet, which retracted into the suit as if it was never there, his hair hung loosely down, a dark black hanging halfway down his face and almost to his shoulders at the back, his face splattered in blood as was his suit, at the hands, the torso, the legs, the footprints which he left behind were also bloodied pools.

Reiner raised his head slowly to face Emilio, he opened his eyes looking furiously at the smuggler, now a more elderly farmer. Emilio stared back, his breath still held, he paused for a moment before exhaling and loosening his grip on the pistol before making his way out to Reiner with his arms spread as the plump man waddled over pulling up his trousers at the belt.

"Heya Boyo! It'sa been a' while, e!?" Emilio stared closely at Reiner and all the blood, as well as the trail he had left behind a stream from his cockpit to his pure earth "What is this e Reina'?! Wha' you do mang? I, I, Nevermain' boy! Come, we talk!".
Emilio never was one to ask many questions when it came to others business but he waved his arms around Reiner almost at a hover in order to not get himself covered in blood. Reiner smirked, he held the mans arm at the forearm in a shaking manner and simply nodded signalling to the ranch with his eyes. Emilio glanced constantly over his shoulder at Reiner on their walk to the home, it was curiosity.

The pair made their way in and over a drink, had discussed the ongoings of the past year, Emilio was the only person Reiner trusted, the Magellan Smuggler, an old man now turned farmer whom had proved very loyal and set his home as a safe haven for him and his friend, even setting up business with Erich, the very business which funded Reiner's crazed obsession and occasionally brought home some artifacts that Erich and Emilio could either take apart to rebuild or sell on the black markets. Emilio was very talented mechanic, a talent he kept to himself and a practice he enjoyed in the solitude of a secret shelter under his ranch, where he stored ships and parts he had collected throughout his travels over the years. Upon beginning their conversation, one in which Reiner did not disclose too much of his business Emilio noticed a green glow coming arising from Reiners' torso up his neck, it flickered then died down, Reiner caught the old mans eyes and began to explain...

Reiner stared down and reached into his collar before revealing the metallic, stone-like fragment to Emilio, "Hehehe, Well... I guess I could explain what I know..." he paused before continuing, his face seeming almost confused, "This, its's been with me since as long as I can remember, I was found with it as a child around my neck... Now you see its never done anything, but I managed to get word from some sources," he grinned menacingly "Now, they're not with us anymore, we can't have people knowing our business can we, hehe, well... Apparently its of some ancient craft... Similar to some of what has been found in the far reaches of the Omicrons... Now one evening I ventured out, I had been making 'camp'" he curled his fingers in the air, signalling his 'inverted comas' "In what is a wreck on an alien gateway in Coronado, and decided to venture further to Omicron-82, I had my supplies, everything was ready for a few days expdedition... I could see it through the stormy nebula which I sat in, The Temple... I began to approach it ina circling manner keeping my distance for life which is found scarce in those parts... Then it.." he paused and took a breath, his face mushing again, the angered confusion behind it, "Well, you are familiar with the 'Lights' are you not? You must be, from Malta, then ofcourse...Well, I felt it, it flashed me, I began to feel overcome, my vision blurring white before I felt at peace.. My ship at this point had spiralled out of control and collided off an asteroid leaving an engine with failure, I held onto the controls for a second to regain myself, I felt strange, through the corner of my eye I caught a light flicker past me, I felt a presence, but I could not move... I could not shrug the sensation off, the hairs on the back of my neck stood on end and I felt tingly, when I blinked I saw a vast expanse of colours, clouds, merging, certain sectors glistened... I could not make anything of it, but everytime I blinked, I could see it, the visuals dancing before me..." Emilio stared, looking at Reiner dead in the eyes, almost searching for a hint of doubt in my own voice, he found none. The old man listened carefully without interruption. " Well anyway, it wore off after a few moments, I didn't make much of it, tho everytime the darn thing glows it happens! I' thought i had a connection between the visuals and the Sirius sector going, but I cant make anything of it, anyhow, I continued my search, one engine down but I searched and searched, for wrecks, artifacts anything... There is some dark stuff going on out there, the curiosity drives me as does my passion and the thought of such power makes me thirsty, my thirst is bad old man... I shall return to the dark space, using this as my bound area of hiding, I am sure you will allow that?" The Old man nodded, "Ofcourse Reina', Aslong as you don't bring attention or trouble roun' hea" Reiner motioned with his hand as if to hold his tongue..."Emilio... Please... Don't insult me... I thank you for your loyalty, now I must go and take care of one thing for our friend Mr. Scheller, Erich, for his sake..." Erich finished his drink before making his way to the door and begin walking to his ship. "Goodbye, I guess Reina' I apolagais' boyo... You bring me anythin' you fain' nice down there eh, we make it work!". Emilio loved tinkering, and any chance of a deal he could strike outside too, with Reiner he knew better."Be caref'.... Agghhh Nevermind the boy doesn't need to and isn' goin' to... The people you meet Emilio... Aiiiii" He thought it best not to waste his words on the dark figure leaving, something was a little different in the young lad who approached so full of life with his friend those years back, something ghastly surrounded him.

Before entering his craft Reiner turned for a moment his suit now fully equipped and turned on, adding to the ambience of darkness he carried. He looked at Emilio before yelling; "Oi! Emilio, you wouldn't happen to have a barrell lying about and a nice scrubber?! This mess,I told you... I have a thirst, Hahaha" Reiner laughed it was uncomfortable..."Just a rogue pilot I dragged from Liberty space... I needed a quencher for the journey..." Emilio stared back, "I told you I didn' wana' know boyo! Your business, your business! Damnit!" The old man motioned Reiner who hurried back to gather what he had asked for.

Emilio had seen Reiners extensive work in the past years, his bloodthirst and abilities as well as his manipulative and imposing presence and the added factor that he was an expert with computers and intelligence meant he was always a step ahead of anybody he came across, Reiner never entered a fight he knew he couldn't win, however no one knew when that was. Reiner made off into the skies soon after, and it was only the next morning Emilio had heard on the radio channel that four men had been found dead near a storage facility on the outer reaches of town, all of their throats sliced, the scene a bloodied mess and no trail of who was responsible, it was believed it was a gang related homicide attack. Only two, knew better.