Return To The Past

Delithita

Sitting inside of her Shephard, Del gazed upon what used to be the primary colony of the Antipode region. She engaged the cloak on her Shephard, and set the ECM jammer to full. And wept. All of the memories flooding her with powerful emotion. She had not felt this way since she first arrived to the Antipode fifteen years ago as a mere waif. A child hopelessly lost in space, trying desperately to reclaim some sense of 'home' that had been savagely taken from her by the arrogant Knights that had brutally murdered her parents.

-----

Disembarking from the transport crawler she was greeted by a gloomy domed facility that appeared about as well cared for as a child's doll. People hustled about on business all their own. Never once sparing a glance at the newcomers that flowed into the colony like water.

Tears ran down her face. She had been crying since she had heard the crawler's driver announce his 'welcome to the Antipode' message. nearly two hours, silently crying inside her space-suit.

Suddenly she realized that she was alone. All of the newcomers evidently having a destination. She did not. Now she was truly lost. There was air here. But she left her suit on. Better to stay inside the suit, so that she could perhaps hide from the reality of her situation. Finding a quiet corner, she sat heavily on her bottom and began to sob. Why had this happened to her? What had she done? Why had mom and dad been killed? I HATE the KNIGHTS! she screamed in her mind. Eventually her crying demanded sleep. And the world went dark as she cried herself into slumber.

Someone was shaking her. I am in a bad mood, lost on a naked planet, miss my parents, been orphaned, and someone is bothering me?! "Go away," was all she managed to say.

More shaking. Persistent person, she thought, fully meaning to open her eyes and give the annoyance a once over about disturbing the tantrum of a lost little girl all she could manage was to sit up and start bawling some more.

A pop, and fresh air penetrated her lungs, and someone grabbed her, and wrapped their arms around her. Grief-stricken all she could do was cling and cry. Sleep overcame her again as crying seemed to take a lot of energy.

-----

~Energy Low~ her computer chimed. Glancing at the reactor power level, she grimaced. She had forgotten to have Maria drop in an auxiliary battery. Oh well. Checking her radar she killed the cloak. And let her reactor catch up. Once it reached full power she engaged it again.

----

A soft bed. Home?! Opening her eyes all she saw was steel walls, with a futile attempt made at making them suitable for a girl. A few stuffed animals surrounded her. Tear soaked, she grinned a bit at that. A grin? Thinking back, yes, she had grinned. And she felt a whole lot better too. Sitting up, she regarded her new surroundings. A soft comfortable bed, a pastel pink carpet, a desk in the corner, a lamp atop the desk, and a door opposite the desk. Checking herself she wore a tan bed-shirt. And also realized she had to pee, bad. Getting off the bed, (my this thing was tall!) she scampered to the door. (Yes, scamper is the right word she thought, being only five the door was incredibly farther away than it appeared.) Grabbing the door, she opened it slowly. The main 'house' if you will, was sparsely decorated, with the exception of plants being literally everywhere. They lined the walls, hung from the ceiling, and in a few cases, blocked her path. These things were huge! Oh well, bathroom first exploration later. Grabbing the first door she came across discovered a closet that contained various garden care tools. "Nope," she mumbled. Jogging down to the next door revealed yet another closet containing yet more supplies for garden care. "Nope,". Glancing about her only other choice was past the huge plant in the middle of the road. Ok, fine, I will just move it. Approaching it, she attempted to push it. It did not budge. So she put her butt to the floor, her feet against the plant, and tried it that way. Nope, no good. Getting a bit annoyed at this, she tried squeezing past the plant. She had forgotten one thing, this plant had little hooks that snagged her shirt and her hair. How dare it?! Squealing with frustration she continued to squeeze to no avail. She was stuck, she had to pee real bad now, and did not foresee any way out of this situation.

"Oh you poor thing!" glancing to her right a lady came and picked the large plant up rather easily and moved it. However the plant was not done embarrassing Del, it took her bed shirt with it. Almost as a taunt. Glancing down, she was not wearing anything. Not even panties. Her face went beat red as the lady came back, regarded her, and then looked at the plant and guffawed laughter at Del's plight. Laughing she went into the room Del had just left, and came out with another shirt of similar color, and dropped it over her head.

"Potty." not potty you fool, restroom. She scolded herself.

"Oh bless your heart, here." the lady took her out of the hall and past the plant. Del stopped, and looked at the plant. "I get you later meanie," and let herself be guided.

-----

"Del." Her intercom said as it came to life.

"Yes Maria?"

"Icey says he's got something on the colony's LR sensors. I'm sending the coordinates now, you’re closest."

"Ok."

"Call if you need help, I'm sending Xenogears out but she's a bit away, she'll join with you ASAP."

"Okay."

"And Del."

"Yes?"

"Remember, that is why we fight. For what we lost, we fight. To avenge our families."

"Yes, I know."

"Don't forget that then." A chuckle. "You'll have to tell me how you came to the Antipode one day."

"I will." With that she engaged her engine and took her Shephard off to the north, towards the coordinates.

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