[center][h3]Awakening[/h3]
[url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oSCfu8L4lDo]♪[/url][/center]

A pair of aged blue eyes stared nervously out the side window of the colossal ship. It seemed as if were built by the Gods to escape incoming damnation. An unknown enemy which came with no explanation, only to deliver a sea of death and destruction. The dark humor of it was not lost on Dr. Ethan Phillips, the fact that humanity's last remnants were fleeing on ships named 'Arks' in a protocol called the 'Genesis Project'. He wondered what cruel god would allow this fate to bestow the human race, or at least 99% of it. If the universe had randomly spawned these monstrosities so appropriately dubbed 'Devastators' or if an intelligent creator made them. Both possibilities were endlessly terrifying to think about. So, the elder doctor tried to block out such answer-less questions, attempting to focus on the positives, the very, very few that existed in this situation that humanity found itself in. 

The admiral's inspirational, but deeply somber words seemed to enter into one of the scientist's ears, then slip out the other. His mind was clear, even as his eyes were towards space, where Mars was. Every single person that was left behind on that world was going to die. Then Earth would come next, even humanity's fleets assembled together in one colossal display of unity and strength would not be enough to stop or even slow down the alien foe. It was utterly cruel that humanity's first encounter with extraterrestrial life would be in the form of warfare. So much of their history as a species was drenched in war. It was just another bitter irony brought by the Devastators. He just wondered if anyone would survive on their worlds? The last ones breathing, stuck under piles of rumble that used to be breathtaking skyscrapers and cities. Like that Phillips once more found himself mulling answer-less questions. 

He tore himself away from the window, turning towards the science department's area behind him. Here his colleagues would work tirelessly, trying to help humanity's last survivors here on the [i]Vitae[/i]. Dr. Phillips hoped they weren't scared, though he knew every single one of them was. He desperately hoped they weren't in tears or praying to whatever Gods they believed in that they'd make it to the gate then through it in one piece. Praying that the Devastators would have a sudden change of heart, then turn back and forget the genocidal destruction they were going to deliver. He feared these prayers would go unanswered. He himself was scared, but he tried to banish those negative feelings, he had to set an example for everyone else in his department. Every person that looked up to him, or at least looked to him for guidance. The lead scientist walked calmly down a corridor to his right, alone in the hallways the only noises he could hear were his own footsteps. 

Dr. Phillips stepped through a door which was heavily marked with signage that it was only for designated personal only. As he went through that doorway he felt as if he had crossed an invisible barrier, like he was about to do something which could help save humanity. Following a short walk down another hallway he found himself before a second set of steel doors. On the right side of it, roughly at his eye level was an electronic device. A retina scanner, the only way to get the sealed doors to open. Dr. Phillips let out a deep breath, then stared briefly into the scanner. Inside the device wires, switches and gears activated, acting in turn as a minuscule low-energy infrared light emitted from it, casting briefly onto the scientist's open eye. The entire action took less than a second, then the doors came open slowly. Phillips stepped inside, finding only what he had expected inside of a otherwise empty room. At first it appeared to be a coffin, in shape and size, but rather it was more akin to something on the opposite spectrum of life. A being would be 'born' here.

"Greetings Dr. Ethan Phillips! Are you sure that you wish to activate unit MHSA276012?" Flashed across the top of the thick metal 'casket', on a hardy glass cover. Below it was an option to simply choose 'yes' or 'no'. What was inside of it was blurred by the glass, though Dr. Phillips was one of the few which truly knew was contained inside. The anticipation was starting to creep up on him, it was now or never.

He moved his hand carefully towards the screen, then pressed the 'yes' indicator with one finger. It read his fingerprint, then the glass screen cleared way any text. The front of the container slid to the side, as gas seeped out of it. Phillips waved some away from his face as the vents in the room inhaled them, clearing it as the smoke rose towards the ceiling. It was a preservative fluid designed to keep what was inside fresh and sterile. As his vision cleared the scientist gazed upon his creation as it awoke from its former slumber. It was a man, no, a synthetic being, an android. Convincingly human to an almost eerie degree, every single inch of the machine man was designed to be a perfect recreation of a human being. Dr. Phillips felt a tinge of pride flow through his bones as he looked upon the android Michael.  

Flawless pale white skin, medium length brown hair, currently shut eyes of ocean blue. Its facial features were utterly masculine, they reminded him of a face he had not seen in a very long time, though it still had a feel of difference to it. Cables ran through the inside of the case, locked onto sections of the android. Unit MHSA276012, or rather, Michael was a convincing creation indeed. As the container completely opened the cables seemed to shake lightly, one sent an electric shock right into the back of the android's head. A signal, like an alarm clock going off inside his mind. 

Life flickered into Michael, at first it came in the form of code which moved far faster than any human could comprehend. Then his synthetic eyes saw what the world around him looked like as they opened for the first time. The deep blue irises adjusted perfectly to the light, as gears turned and his systems initiated a heads up display appeared inside his head. In one corner the temperature was indicated, a comfortable 70°. As he took his first stare forward at Dr. Phillips he flashed through his data banks in a millisecond, perhaps less. He had just read the man's entire biography. Though he instantly recognized the man's face, he had been programmed to long ago. This scientist who had just awoken him was his leading creator. Michael briefly wondered where the others were, but his files gave him no information in this regard. He breathed in slowly, taking in air that he did not need to survive. As the breath entered his nostrils, the chemical composition was calculated. It was the ideal mixture for a human being: 78% nitrogen, 21% oxygen, 0.9% argon, and 0.03% carbon dioxide. With this breath he also noticed the bland scent of the room, the faint stench of contained chemicals on shelves to his side, Dr. Phillip's deodorant and the last bit of smoke dissipating that had filled his chamber.

"Hello." The android simply stated, a friendly smile creeping onto his face as he lifted himself up from his prone position inside his metallic case. On his fingertips he felt the cool, smooth steel, inside of himself his skeleton was made of a similar metallic composition. 

"Greetings, Michael. Do you know who I am? Do you know where you are?" The scientist asked his creation as he watched the machine man fully lift himself out of his casket, taking his first steps. Already clad in a sleek grey jumpsuit and white sneakers, Michael was ready from the moment he awoke to get to work on the [i]Vitae[/i]

"You are Dr. Ethan Phillips, one of my lead creators, you are one of the most acclaimed living scientific minds and were instrumental in my creation. We are aboard the Genesis Ark, [i]Vitae[/i]. It is the 21st of April in the year 2216." Michael replied, clearly and calmly stating all which Phillips had asked of him.

"Excellent, we ar-" The scientist began to reply, then paused as an alarm sounded loudly inside the room and throughout the ship. Michael stared curiously, a single eyebrow raised as the lights above them flickered a pulsing red. Phillips spoke again as he walked out of the room, Michael staying there for a moment, unsure of what to do. "What the hell?"

"Jesus Christ..." The scientist muttered as he approached the same window he had been at before. He adjusted his glasses, staring in disbelief at the enormous alien spacecraft which had appeared over Mars. For a brief moment Phillips believed he was hallucinating, the ship in sight was far larger than any of the other Devastator vessels. 

Michael approached calmly, glancing at his surroundings as he walked. Then his eyes too were drawn the alien starship hovering over the Martian planet. The android blinked, then moved closer to the window as he stared. He did not speak a word, instead attempting to analyze the ship's design from the distance they were from it. He pressed one of his hands against the glass, leaving false fingerprints as it laid gently on the window. Then Dr. Phillips turned turned towards him, a tinge of fear in his face. 

"Come on, we should get into the labs. They have everything under control, those monstrosities won't get to us." He stated with a cautious smile, attempting to ignore the massive ship that had appeared and slightly complicated the launch. He saw no fear in Michael's eyes, the android listened to his creator fully. He had been practically programmed to be positive. 

With one last glance before they moved away from the glass he stared briefly at Earth. It would more than likely be the last time he saw his homeworld, humanity's homeworld. The human race had beaten the world in the past, he wondered if the planet would survive this 'test'. If the Devastators would utterly annihilate the entire world with laser hellfire, leaving it as little more than a barren rock akin to the moon. Phillips took in the vast blue seas, the swirling white clouds and the natural green forests which covered much of the land. As they walked back into the lab he kept that picture in his brain. He'd try to remember the world as that, something of pure beauty and grace.