Chapter 1. 'Persephone'

Running, so much running, it felt like he'd been running forever... everything was dark he could barely see, suddenly he tripped in the blackness of the hall. Higgins stood up, he could feel something sticking to his skin and holding down his boots, he held his hand up to see but he already knew. The salty taste of blood saturated the air around him, and then he found the source, he found his friends.
Bodies littered the floor, they littered the walls and even the ceiling where they'd been hooked... Higgins running sweat now turned cold, his friends, the whole town, torn apart and devoured. Hands were nailed to the walls, jaws had been ripped off, skin had been flensed and there were bite marks everywhere. The sound of the pistol ecoed around in the silence as it hit the floor, he could not hold it anymore, Higgins fell to his knees... He could hear the screams, so many screams and they turned into a roar. Mouth's cried out in pain, he could hear them all, he couldn't stop them so he clamped his hands over his ears but they were so close now. The roar was defening, Higgins opened his mouth and joined in the resonating chamber as a dozen sets of clawed bloody hands reached out from behind him... They were all screaming... '...Captain.' ...Captain? 'Captain!' '...ARRRGH!!'

Higgins screamed, looking around terror in his eyes, there was no one there... he was alone in his room, shirt soaked and cold. 'Captain?' The voice came over the intercom was sweet and soft attempting to draw his attention, but he didn't care, Higgins got out of bed, went to his desk and started searching through bottles to no avail, they were all empty. '...Captain we're coming up on Persephone, and it sounds like someones stirred up one of the mercs in the dining hall.' Higgins groaned, then snapped to, the dining hall? The mess hall? He threw on his long coat and headed out the door at a somewhat overzealous pace away from the flight deck and down the corridor to the mess hall. The intercom crackled once more '...oh and Captain, that new officer arived by shuttle about ten minutes ago. He's still waiting in bay 2 with his escourt.' but Higgins was long gone.

As the door to the galley slid open on its pneumatic cylinders the full extent of 'stirred up mercs' could be evaluated, it was an all out brawl. Two of the ships crew had one pinned to the wall and were laying into him, another merc and a man called Gaia were engaging what could be described as a mock sword fight with a pair of brocken off chair legs and a rather skinny girl seemed to have two mercs on the run at once. The mess had been transformed into an arena, nearly a dozen men and women were throwing fists, bottles chairs, people and anything else they could get hold of.
The ear splitting crack of a bullet froze the entire party in an instant, Higgins stood in the doorway pointing the now smoking automatic at the roof. A dozen men men stood glued to the spot as Higgins scanned the room staring down a dozen men in the process and found exactly what he was looking for, an un-brocken bottle of clear fluid sat on the edge of a table and he grasped it as a blind man would his cane. As Higgins strode back to the door to the flight deck he took a bottle off one of the mercs who was about to use it to hit someone with, Higgins gave him a look of disgust. A quick glance around the room was all that came from the Captain as he went back up the hallway, the party stared a moment longer half expecting an 'as you were gents' before the skinny girl with the two mercs started the uproar once more with a swift kick to a man knocking him senseless...

Higgins walked into the flight room holding the fresh bottle to his lips, he only removed it when he started coughing. "Sounds like a gorram war goin on in there". Higgins recognised the girl in pilot seat, her voice soft, sweet little voice was carried over the intercom with regular updates to the flight plan. Vlaana sat one hand on the wheel and another fiddling with dails and switches as Persephone came into view through the windscreen, the tall muscular man practically standing over was Steve, Higgins' first officer.
Higgins coughed once more "Where are we?", "Oh hey Captain" Vlaana beamed, "We're about to enter Persephone's atmo". Higgin's groaned, "I told you not to call me captain..." "Sure thing Tony." "My names not Tony" Higgins scowled, "It's Anthony, and I told you not to call me that either before you say anything else". Vlaana pouted, "Well teasing you is all the run I get round here anymore, ever since you sent old silence is golden here to keep me company" she thumbed at Steve. "First officer Winters is there for your protection, and wether he enjoys it or not is irrelivant" Steve Winters gave a sly smile to the comment. "Who said he enjoys it? You should send him off for some more vital duty and leave me to enjoy my free time alone." "Oh he enjoy's it, you can tell by the look on his face and you're 'free time' is never alone. Hence Winters assignment to keeping you outa trouble, I need my gorram pilot flying my gorram ship!" "No ruttin way I'm flying the damn thing" Higgins muttered. "Not that I doubt you would shake me from my merry little nightmares just for a chinwag but I'd like to hear a reason now and then, so you got one or not?" Anthony raised an eyebrow at the girl waiting for a response. "That new officer just got in bay 2, he's still waiting down there with his escort." Vlaana watched as Higgins covered his face with his free hand. "Every gorram time I hire out a group of mercs... every gorram time! Why the hell does the 'Liance gotta check up on everyone that takes a group of well armed killing machines sight seeing? It's not like we're killin anyone they give two coppers about." "I'm sure it's just another weapons check Captain..." Higgins groaned and wandered off back down towards the mess, from there it would be down to the first floor and onward to the docking bays.

"Captain Higgins I presume?" The Fed looked over Higgins with a look almost of distain, Higgins stood holding his prized bottle, his tall frame hunched was still nearly a head over the officer. Higgins red hair had grown just past his shoulders and his dark hazel eyes stared at the Fed with look of annoyance, "What are you doing on my ship?". "We are here to search for illegal salvage and firearms, and any other illicit possessions you may have onboard." The man replied. "Well get on with it then." The Fed signaled to the half dozen men he had with him to begin their search while Higgins went to the intercom and instructed everyone to stay out of the way, the Alliance Officer then stared off down the hall toward the mess with two of his men and Higgins following.
The surprize on the Fed's face was almost worth taking a capture of as he assesed the damage to the mess hall, four men lay unconscious on the floor, one had been carefully layed on a table. Two mercs were sitting at a table across the room with some kind of alcohol, the merc leader stood in the centre of the room with a checklist and called out 'Sound off', three of the mercenaries answered, three were out cold and one was missing.
"What's going on here?" said the Fed after he'd picked up his jaw. "It's tuesday" Higgins replied "You searching the place or not?", "Yes very well" The Fed sent his two remaining men to search through the crews quarters while Vlaana called the Captain on the intercom. "What is is Vlaana?" "Higgins I had to postpone the landing and park it, someones jumped an escape pod." "...What?" "We're heading back to retrieve it now, it's not heading to Persephone so either it's damaged or someone rewired it." Higgins sighed, "Let me know when you pick it up". "Trouble Captain?" The Fed inquired. "You've no gorram idea...".
Not much time passed before the Fed's escourt returned with their report, "Sir, ship's registration checks out, an older model Patrol boat. It's got two ASREV's and two shuttles in the hangers, registration checks out for all of them, no contraband found onboard but we did find something by the hanger bay sir." "What?" "Locked storage room sir, we couldn't get in." The fed turned to Higgins "You will open all areas for inspection captain, need I remind you of the charges for hindering an officer of the Alliance?" Higgins groaned, "Just what I gorram need" and headed down to bay 1. There certainly was a locked door down there, and with good reason.
Several signs surrounded the door in hanger bay 1, many read 'beware' and 'danger', there was also a lot of warnings cut into the steel both on the door and around it 'Lust not ye' who want tife' 'don't go in their' and some as simple as 'keep out'. After reading a few of the warning signs on the door the officer once again turned to Higgins, "Open the door" "It's really not the best of ideas you got there Officer" "I said open it" "Fine but you're on your own if you go in there, I'm not coming in to fish you lot out if something happens" one of the more shaken looking escourts looked at Higgins and asked "What happens in there?" "Captain we're bringin it in now" the intercom announced as the bay's airlock opened and two crewmen in spacesuits dragged in an escape pod, Higgins gestured to the pod "...That happens".

Issabell slipped off her helmet and looked around at the room of Alliance soldiers, is this what it's like in the core? Alliance everywhere? She grabbed a blow torch from the shelf and inspected the pod, someone had seeled it shut properly. The captain stood next to an officer of some sort who had developed a look of frustration... "Open the door captain I am loosing my patience." "One second..." Higgins knocked on the door, and a few seconds later the bolt locking it shut slid open, a skinny blonde girl with deep black eyes emerged. "Captain?" ...The captain stood very carefully, making absolutely sure he didn't go past the door where the girl stood, then in a swift movement he grabbed the girl out and pinned her against the wall. "Okay you can you in now" Cindy you better have every gorram thing of yours in there stowed... The Fed glanced into the room but found very little, nothing more than a bed and a set of drawers. "Captain are you really leading me to believe that these signs are posted to ward of people for the danger of this scrawny little girl?" Higgins didn't reply but let go of the girl told her "Stay here" before wandering a short was over to Issabell. "Issabell let me know when you finish cutting him out of there" Then turned to the man in the other suit "Go and tell Richard we found his missing merc". Higgins came back to the blonde "Cindy you come with me" and began to lead her off which brought protest from the Feds. "Where do you think you're going Captain?" the officer demanded, "Officer I have a ship to command here and I've concluded that you have finished your investigation, so now you can get off my gorram ship". The fed sneered but went back to his shuttle without another word. "Captain?" Vlaana's voice crackled over the com, "Vlaana once those Fed's are back in the black continue planetside, that is all". Cindy was pointed up the ramp to the upper deck and Captain Anthony Higgins took a long swig from his bottle, "It's gonna be a long gorram day".