Off Topic: I hope you find this story acceptable. I put a lot of thought and work into this back story so far and would hate to not be able to use it. =/
Chapter I: Arrival
Sol, Shortly Before The Exodus
Mike Forge was never his real name, as what his supposed job. His supposed job was one of the many managers to oversee the construction of the Liberty sleeper ship. His real job in fact, was to see the complete destruction of that ship upon launch. Put simply, Mike Forge was a Coalition saboteur. No one knew this of course on the Alliance side. All they knew was that he was a 22 year old construction manager.
Mike was drafted into the Coalition at an earlier age. Taught to hate and despise the Alliance, Mike never really gave second thought or hesitation to his missions assigned to him. He had killed many innocent people. But he would finally realize his devils on this final mission. He had the opportunity to see the passenger list for the ship. Thousands of men, women, and children would all perish if he went forward with this mission. For once he questioned the Coalition's deceptive lies and false truths. He would fail this final mission.
Mike would have to work fast, as the Alliance would surely detect him eventually and the Coalition would not be in the slightest bit happy with his actions. The plan was to outfit a regular deep-space ship with sleeper capabilities just enough to fit one person and arrive somewhere near the other sleeper ships roughly 800 years after they do. He malfunctioned the memory restoration process on the ship, so that he would not have to live with knowing the deeds he had done. Now all he had to do is keep the Alliance guessing and the Coalition "up to date."
Sol, The Exodus
This was the day that he had be waiting for. Judgement day, the moment of truth. Everything that happened today would judge his entire future. The Alliance had found out about his true origin and was hot on his trail. They would not find him though. Even if they do it would be way too late. He would use the diversion caused by the escape of the sleeper ships to ensure his own escape. His ship was drifting in the asteroid belt around Sol. He knew how the Coalition would react and where which ships would go where. As the sleeper ships broke through the Coalition blockade, so did he. He plotted the coordinates to where the sleeper ships were headed and set his ship to auto-pilot.
Pennsylvania System, Current Time
Dazed and utterly confused, Mike work up from his sleep. He had no idea where he was or who he was. On a computer terminal next to the sleep chamber, a status message flashed red. It read "Memory Restoration Failure: Subject- MIKE FORGE." He muttered "At least I know my name..," shook his head, and headed towards the cockpit of the ship. He looked outside to behold a field of what appeared to be ice. In the distance there appeared to be a mining vessel.
He attempted to fire the engine back up. He wasn't planning on what happened next. The primary thruster exploded into a enormous fireball. The impact threw him on the floor. With fire quickly eating up his precious oxygen as well as consuming the ship, he had to get out of this deathtrap quickly. He made his way to the escape pod, got in, and blasted off. He looked back on the ship to find it completely engulfed in flames. An explosion, and everything went black.
He woke up to find himself in a medical bay. He looked around and saw a man in a lab coat, smoking a cigarette. The man turned around.
"Ahh, so our little friend is awake at last?" said the man.
"You know that'll kill you, right?" replied Mike.
"Oh? A sense of humor as well a sense of action, wonderful!" said the man.
"Where am I?" asked Mike.
"You're on board a helium mining ship in the Pennsylvania system." answered the man.
"Great, where can I get a drink around here?" asked Mike.
"As long as you have the credits, we can provide." answered the man.
"Credits, eh?" replied Mike.
"Yep, that's our system of money. Say, you're not from around here are you?" asked the man.
"I have no idea WHERE I am from, in fact." replied Mike.
"Well, good luck with that. But in the mean time you will be needing a job.." said the man.
"What are you proposing?" asked Mike.
"I'm proposing you work for me, here on this ship." replied the man.
"What? You're ship doctor AND captain?" asked Mike.
"Sure am. Someone's gotta play doctor on this bucket and it might as well be me. So, are you in?" replied the man.
"I don't have much of a choice do I? It's a deal." answered Mike.
"Great! We will make up your quarters, you start next week..." said the man.
It has been a few weeks since Mike started working on board the mining ship. It had been quite peaceful, until today. The alarms blared throughout the ship. "ACTION STATIONS, INCOMING ROGUE ATTACK PARTY" was announced over the intercom. Mike braced himself for an attack. It seemed like hours, he could hear as the ships defenses fired away at the invaders. Then it happened. Mike (and the rest of the crew around him) were thrown off their feet. The Rogues had launched a barrage of EMP missiles, effectively disabling every electrical function the ship had, except for some essentials such as life support.
The emergency lights kicked on. Mike could hear a loud thud as it echoed throughout the ship. A fellow crew member yelled "THEY HAVE SOFT SEAL, PREPARE YOURSELF." as he handed Mike a heavy wrench. They sealed the airlock door and waited. They could hear gunfire at the lower parts of the ship. Fellow miners screaming as holes were torn into them for resisting. It came closer and closer, until it suddenly stopped. There was a noise at the other end of the door.
Then it happened. The door's handle started turning. This would be it. The end of whatever meaningless life Mike had. The door opened.
Mike to this day isn't sure how it all went down. To him it was just a few mere flashes. But whatever happened, he woke up dazed with two dead Rogues at his feet and himself holding a bloody wrench. The miner he was with was in complete shock. He gazed upon Mike who had dropped two pirates with ease and without hesitation.
"How? WHAT did you just do?" asked the scared miner.
"I...I have no idea." Replied Mike as he dropped the blood soaked wrench.
"We're in BIG trouble now...you just killed two of their friends." yelled the miner.
Mike reaches for the two sidearms carried by the dead pirates. He picks them up and has a good feeling he knows exactly how to use them. "It's time to take this ship back. You stay here." demands Mike as he closes the airlock door.
Mike then makes his way for the bridge, where the pirates will most likely be. As he goes around a corner he is spotted by two other pirates. They don't wait around to ask questions and open fire on Mike. Mike takes cover behind a wall and mutters "Time to see if I'm right..." He shoots around the corner, and fires on the two pirates. The first one is struck in the head and the second is struck in the chest, multiple times. They only had time to get a mere 4 shots off before they were both dead. Mike looked at the two bodies for a few seconds but had to move on, after all, this is no time to be sitting around. He grabbed the mags on the bodies and headed towards the bridge.
He took cover behind a wall. He was at the hallway leading to the bridge. Outside the door were two guards ready to shoot anyone who came close. He saw a figure across the hallway that intersected the bridge hallway. It was another miner who had a pirate weapon. They signaled each other to take out each guard and rush into the bridge. The two dropped the guards and rushed into the bridge. The miners and captain took cover as the firefight took place. One pirate was struck almost instantly. Then the miner who was helping Mike was struck in the shoulder. Mike jumped around a console and returned fire, striking two more pirates. This left only one more pirate and Mike.
"I'VE GOT A HOSTAGE!" yelled the pirate.
Mike took a peak to see the pirate with a gun to the captain's head. He got up.
"YOU COME ANY CLOSER AND YOUR FRIEND HERE WILL BE ALL OVER THIS ROOM." yelled the pirate, with a slight mania.
"Yeah, but my bet is that you're not man enough to pull that trigger." said Mike calmly.
"REALLY, WHY DON'T WE SEE ABOUT THAT.." yelled the pirate as he shot at Mike.
This was the diversion needed. The captain and other miners quickly disarmed the remaining pirate and restrained him. Mike wasn't in sight.
"Mike?" yelled the captain.
"He's been shot!" yelled another miner.
One Week Later
Mike had been in the medical bay for laser burns for nearly a week, though he has almost fully recovered. The laser had struck his chest, missing his arteries and organs. The other miner hadn't been so lucky, though. One of his arteries had been shot, effectively causing him to bleed out, in the process killing him. The captain walks into the room.
"How have you been holding up?" asked the captain.
"Alright, I guess, though the food in here still tastes like dirt." remarked Mike.
"Heh, well I never really got to thank you for what you had done. So thank you." said the captain.
"It was no problem, I would do it again if necessary." replied Mike.
"I'm sure you would, that is why I am giving you enough credits for your own ship. It's not much, as it is can get you a simple Hawk, but I am sure you will make of what you have." said the captain.
"Wow...how could I ever-"
"You don't need to. I'm positive that you will do more good out there than you could ever do in here. I'll have you released today when we land at Erie. If you ever need a place to crash, we will always be here." said the captain.
Before Mike could say anything, the captain begins walking out the door.
"Thank you!" yelled Mike.
The captain shakes his head as he leaves.
Planet Erie, Pennsylvania System
"Congratulations Mike, you have bought your first ship! Here are your keys, and have a safe trip up in space." says the dealer as he hands Mike the fibre-encrypted key.
Mike gets into the Hawk, which isn't much, but will do for now. He puts the key into the ignition slot in the cockpit. Lights on the control panel light up and pre-flight checks automatically commence. He takes a seat in the pilots seat. He sits back as the lights glow in his face and smiles, the first time in a long time...
Chapter III: Close Encounters (Of a Blue Kind)
No more is the Hawk. By this time Mike is flying a fully loaded Nyx and is a freelance exploration pilot for the IMG. He is currently in New York, back from exploring around Kusari and the Tau systems. His com systems are open as usual. He picks up a lot of chatter. He listens for awhile, and finds that some of the pilots in the system are arguing with someone known as Zenon of the Oracles. Open-minded, he joins in on the debate, but in Zenon's favor. The others call him yet another fanatic and tell him to keep his trap shut. But he continues to talk in Zenon's favor. Zenon then reveals a riddle to Mike, which leads the way to a so-called "Shrine." Soon enough, another joins in on their favor. Known as Wolf, he calls the Nomads "Great Spirits" and so on. Mike has heard of the Nomads, but just from talk around the mining ship. He had never actually seen one or even knows what they look like.
He finally meets up with Zenon and Wolf. His radar picks up some unknown objects moving around with them. What he sees he will never forget. He sees two Nomad Fighters in the process of attacking some Junkers. Their grace possesses Mike for a minute, who has to knock himself out of the trance. After the battle is finished between the Nomads and Junkers, the Nomads approach the three. Zenon remarks how if you do not attack, they will do the same. The Nomads start speaking as if they are inside his ship. Mike cannot make out what they are trying to say, but it is very much interesting and extremely scary at the same time. The Nomads take off and the three follow. They get into a quick battle with many humans, causing them to have to flee.
Separated, Mike finds himself only with the two Nomads. He follows them through three different systems. He begins to have the feeling that they are leading him on a course to nowhere. This is confirmed when they insist that his presence is no longer wanted. They fire a few shots across his bow, causing him to flee to a safe distance. The two disappear off of his radar, lost to him for now..
Mike decides to start searching the systems around where they had left him. He finds many interesting things, including what appears to be an entire Nomad city and a Nomad-Human research facility. As he is searching one of the edge world systems, he is caught by a Corsair patrol, who fire on him. He manages to flee them and counter their missiles until his countermeasure dropper fails on him. His ship is struck by a missile, knocking him out, destroying a wing, and knocking his engines out. The Corsairs presume him dead and leave.
Unknown Time
Mike wakes up. He does not know how long he has been drifting, but that is the least of his problems right now. He spots a blue object in the far distance of the nebula he had been searching. He rubs his eyes and makes out that it is a Nomad ship, and it is getting closer. He is completely defenseless. He attempts to reset the engine. The ship gains emergency power and the consoles flicker. One minute until engine reset. The Nomad is right on top of him.
***Human***Alive***
Mike looks down at the console, 50 seconds. He begins to feel a strange sensation.
***Different***
Mike looks up to see what appears to be a lady walking on the unbroken wing of his ship. He blinks.
This figure he sees seems to be looking right into his very soul.
***History***Sorrow***
He finds himself in another place. He is looking up at what appears to be a gigantic sleeper ship. It reads Liberty on the side of it. He finds the lady standing next to him.
***This***Is***You***
"WHAT AM I?!" screams Mike.
He is startled by the engine, which is firing up. He finds himself in the real world again. The lady is nowhere in sight. He puts his engine to full blast, and activates the cruise engines.
***MUST***STAY***
The words sends shock waves rippling throughout his mind. It develops an intense burning sensation in his head, but the cruise engines have already come online, carrying him away from the pain. The Nomad takes chase. As the Nomad gets closer, the pain increases. He must stay away from the Nomad, or he will be consumed. He evades his way through the nebula. He makes his way to the nearest jump hole. He jumps. He continues to cruise away, but the Nomad has not followed any further. He makes his way to the nearest Freeport and docks. He rents a room for the night and sleeps. Three words continue to go through his mind: "Who am I?"
The next day, he gets into contact with Wolf, the one who has also been searching for the Shrine. While he does tell him about his findings such as the city, he does not tell him about the encounter. After searching many systems, Mike has a good idea on the path to this Shrine. They meet up in Liberty again. They are on the right track. But this is cut short by Wolf's duties. Mike knows he's close, he can feel it.
To be continued..
OORP: Cannot continue until Kansas is fixed, at least with the Shrine storyline that is. =/