[center][url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NXuw35AjOfc][img]http://wallpapersonthe.net/wallpapers/b/3840x2160/3840x2160-firefox_planet_poker_cosmos_solar_system_fg_sunrise_sci_fi_sun_daft_punk_space_atmosphere_stars_viking_alien_nebula-13886.jpg[/img][/url] [sub][i]Click the image for music that I used while writing this[/i][/sub] [h1][b]I N T O T H E A B Y S S[/b][/h1][/center] [i]William lay on the tough Martian soil, the ground hard and the air cold though he couldn't be happier. Beside him lay the woman who was to be his wife, Amanda. The only thing more beautiful than the nights sky that he currently gazed up at. It was often lost on him, the beauty of the stars. When his entire life had him living among them, part of him wondered if ancient sailors felt the same way about the sea. Though now, in this moment it was as if seeing them again for the first time. Above him he could just see his hand, intertwined with Amandas as they held it slightly aloft towards the night sky. A sign of love? Togetherness? Defiance? It was impossible to tell. All he knew was that he never wanted this moment to end. It was just him, her and the universe as it was meant to be. "I really like you, you know that right?" William chuckled slightly as she spoke. Despite the humour the moment not broken, nothing could break this moment. "I believe I do." He used his other hand to point up towards the sky. "You missed another meteor by the way." She squeezed his hand tighter in mock anger, they had been trying to out eachother all night to see who out of the two of them would see more meteors. They weren't really keeping track, nor were they truly counting. "I was distracted." He squeezed her hand back. "I know I can do that sometimes." She nudged him with her elbow as he laughed. "Though seriously, do you think people used to sit on Earth and look up to the stars like this? Like we are now? Wondering about Mars. Madeline Ulrop was the first person to set foot on Mars but she can't have been the first to dream about it." He looked to her, barely able to see her face. At least nought but the perfect outline, but all he needed to know was that it was her. She could look one hundred years old but so long as it was still his Amanda. That was all he cared about. "You know, I think they did." He squeezed her hand back. "Probably like we are now, down there. Looking up, not just to view the stars but to view their hopes and dreams. We're with them now." He sat, letting silence engulf them. Not that either needed to speak to make this moment anymore magical. He took a deep breath and held solace, that no matter where life was going to take him. He and Amanda were going to share these same stars.[/i] [hr] William shook his head below the running water of the shower. Dwelling in the past wouldn't help him move forward, he had lost Amanda but he knew she was still out there in some form or another. After all energy was never destroyed, and that gave him some slight solace despite never being overly religious. He liked to think that the energy that had once been her had become one with the stars that shone bright during the nights on Mars. One that he had watched with her, dreaming off tomorrow. He sighed as he turned off the shower, so much had happened since then. The Genesis Project had enlisted him as Amara had grown up and moved away, he had met Rita and more recently abandoned Earth. Though he could never give up Amanda. He dressed on autopilot, the routine having been done so many times he barely had to look to pick out his uniform from the closet. Nor did he have to search for the eyepatch that hung on the closets door, hanging there waiting for him. Technically he didn't need it, as his real eye was still there. Simply many found the whiteness of his damaged eye disturbing, or distracting. He had even heard the theories that he had a weapon placed in the socket as an emergency backup or that he did have a cybernetic replacement but that it was designed for X-Ray scans and he kept it hidden. He did nothing to dispel them, rumours sometimes kept people on their toes if they were the right rumours. He chuckled slightly leaving his quarters, the on duty guard quick to following him on his journey. [hr] The command center was it's usual flurry of activity, it never slept after all. There was always crew present to monitor the status of the ship. If engineering were the ships heart, this would be it's brain. While a body couldn't live without a heart the brain was equally as important. For a body could not function without a brain, and just remain a husk. William smiled as he entered the command center. His guard, a man named Derek Lancer, remaining at the entrance. He had handpicked all of these officers, only accepting the best and brightest to become the brain of the [i]Vitae[/i]. Occasionally he had to scramble with commanders from other Arks attempting to snatch up people he was after, but in the end this crew was the best fit he could have hoped for. As he passed stations he looked at their screens, everyone knew their place. Their duty, and their importance. He may be the commander but he was nothing without these people. He decended down the stairs into the 'pit' where his holographic table and station awaited him. Down here he had much of the space to himself however the pilot and navigation officer also sat down here in close proximity to him, it was a request he had made when the construction was underway so that he didn't need to use comms to speak to them as he could just walk up to them if necessary. At this point everyone was at their stations and he nodded at Joanne. "Commander." "Admiral." He looked down to check his watch, eleven hundred hours on the third day of their journey. He had contemplated starting a new calender year though had decided against it. Those weren't decisions for him to make, for long. After all he had plans for the leadership style of the Ark. "Status report?" "Noah reports that we will drop out of hyperspace in twenty minutes as intended. All systems are operating at peak efficiency and all hands are standing by for hyperspace drop out, including medical personnel." The jump to hyperspace had been a little, rougher, than intended. As such he had made all Medical Staff all on duty in time for their drop out, it was always possible that he was pulling people from their rest when it wasn't necessary however he would rather play it safe than sorry. It was a big ship with a lot of people and the last thing he wanted was for more death early on in the mission. "Excellent, have three squadrons prepare to launch upon us dropping out of hyperspace and form a CAP. I also want Engineering to prepare both the Jump Drive and the [i]Nyx[/i] so we are ready for anything the moment we jump out of hyperspace if they haven't already." He turned to the table and after pressing a couple of keys the [i]Vitae[/i] appeared in holographic form before him, as he zoomed out the screen was full of static as the sensors struggled to read what was surrounding them while in subspace. It wouldn't be long though until it was filled with stars, foreign to their eyes. Likely never seen before by human eyes, or at the very least never seen from the position that they would be seeing them from. Part of him wished there was an observation deck, somewhere he could just lie under the stars just like the good old days. He could feel a tear forming just at the concept, however he quickly cleared his throat and shook the thought out of his head. [hr] [i]"Promise me something William?" He turned his head to face hers, despite the darkness he knew she was looking right at him. Though she just wasn't looking at him, but into him. He didn't know how she did it but she looked through into his very being. It's what made him love her so much that she saw so much of him, more than anyone else ever had and likely ever would. Which made this moment one that he would likely never forget as they lay together under the stars. "Anything." "If anything ever happens, never forget me." He choked slightly as she said this. "Well that's morbid." "I'm sorry just..." She sighed. "-I never want you to be alone if something does happen." She raised their combined hands up towards the stars. "It's just so vast and empty up there. I want to know that wherever you go, I go with you. As wherever I go I take you with me." She squeezed his hand tighter, though not in a painful way. In a way that made him never want to break the moment. "I promise you, that wherever I am. You are there with me, always-"[/i] [hr] William cleared his throat as he spoke through the microphone. "All hands, prepare for hyperspace drop out." He turned around the room, eyeing all the officers as he did so. Everyone was at their place, everyone was ready. He turned all the way around passing over the heads of Anderson and his friend, Jenkins, until he once again stood facing the hologram. Through which he could see the face of Joanne studying the hologram almost as intensely as he was. This was the moment they had all been waiting for, anything could happen in this moment. Despite rigorous calculations and approximations, estimations and equations, there really was no telling what was going to happen the moment they dropped out of hyperspace. They could drop out of hyperspace inside a planet or a star. Too close to a blackhole or in the middle of an alien fleet who could possibly take their presence as a threat or sign of aggression. All they could do was hope for the best. "All hands, this is the Admiral. I know some of you are still feeling the effect of leaving Earth, some still reeling from the battle with the Devastators. Though now is the time that we have waited so long for, that Admiral Constantine and his crew sacrificed everything to give us. We are about to enter uncharted territory with unknown treasures and unknown dangers, though as I have said before I have complete faith in this ship and this crew. We can do anything that we put our minds too. Together, we will make sure humanity lives another day." He looked up to Joanne as she nodded. "Prepare for hyperspace drop out in five... four... three... two... one..." The entire ship shuddered slightly, though not with enough force to knock anything from it's place, or even to hurt anyone. No, the transition was smooth or at the very least smoother than their entry into hyperspace had been. Immediately the hologram updated to a star system he obviously did not recognise. A star at it's centre with only three planets within its habitable zone. "Congratulations people. We made it, enjoy the view. Expect a status update within the hour, until then stand down from emergency stations." He nodded to Joanne who keyed the order into her console giving the civilian members of the vessel clearance to resume their lives, though he had no doubt most of the science teams aboard were far more interested in getting their hands on the data pouring in via the ships sensors than going to the [i]Hub[/i] for something to eat. "Commander." "Sir?" "I want your best pilot briefed and ready to launch for a scout mission." He placed his hands on the holotable as he looked up at the hologram of the solar system before him, data was being added to the hologram as it came in. They were in uncharted waters now, everything was new from here onward. He felt a well of sadness build up in him, but remembered his promise. Not just to the human race to see them to their new home, but to Amanda years ago. [i]"-No matter where I am. No matter what stars are in my sky, I will take you with me. Always and forever. That is my promise to you Amanda. Always, and forever."[/i] He would not give up, not now. Not ever.