The Time from Before

Forgotten Memories

Allen felt a wave of numbness wash over him as he sat on the edge of his bed, his eyes fixed on the screen of his PDA. The device showed a brief and urgent message, but the words had a paralyzing effect on him.

"All combat personnel are to report to their designated Cryo-Stasis Pod immediately. Tardiness will not be tolerated."

He knew what that meant. Project Orion, the last hope of the Arctos Dominion, had failed. The Arctos Network, the only link between the rest of the Dominion, must have been destroyed. He let out a weary sigh, tossing the PDA aside. He had no energy left. No motivation to care.

Then, a voice crackled over the intercom.

"All S_Units are Code Six. Report to your designated Blackout Stations."

Allen sighed again, but with a faint trace of anger. He forced himself to stand up and leave his personal room.

====

"You have tea?" Harper momentarily diverted her attention from the task at hand and glanced at Marina.

She had been busy mending a rip that she had discovered in her pants earlier that day, but since she didn't have any spare clothes to change into, she sat next to the couch wearing nothing but undergarments below her waist.

Marina nodded and held up a small cardboard box for Harper to see. "I do, but everyone I know thinks it's gross. How about the little one? Does she drink tea too?" She asked, opening the box and taking out a few bags of what looked like dried tea leaves.

Harper shook her head and resumed her sewing. "No, not since last time." She said, remembering an incident.

"Last time? What happened then?" Marina asked, curious. She looked at the label on the box, wondering if her preferences were weird; even amongst another species.

Harper finished stitching a patch over the tear and inspected her work. "Well, Allen made Sasha some tea using whatever we had at the time. Then, he forgot to tell her that the tea was scalding hot, and Sasha burnt her tongue. She hasn't touched tea since." She explained, feeling at least a little sorry for both sides.

Marina frowned sympathetically. "That's a little... Well, what flavor do you like the best? I got seaweed, salt, and a few others... Oh, I got Squid Breakfast." She read the names on the back of the box, looking up to see Harper's reaction.

Harper grimaced slightly. "Squid... right. I guess that's fitting. Well, what flavor do you recommend?" She asked, standing up and putting on the pair of pants. "Yep, I should ask Allen to find a new pair. These are falling apart."

Marina smiled and turned around, heading for the kitchen. "You know, I'm sure I could find something fresh for you to wear. That... pattern, I guess, doesn't really suit you. Oh, and maybe seaweed..." She suggested, grabbing a couple of mugs out of a cabinet.

Harper rolled her eyes. "Well excuse me for wearing this." She said sarcastically as she checked her equipment sitting on the couch.

*Click*

The sound of the apartment door opening interrupted them. Sasha ran inside excitedly, followed by a tired-looking Allen.

Allen let out a sigh of relief as he entered the apartment. He was exhausted from the looks of it. "I'm never doing that again. How the hell did you get her to sit still for longer than a few minutes?" Allen gave a passing welcome to Marina as he collapsed on the couch. "Sasha, hand me my sidearm."

Sasha rushed over to Allen, holding a pistol in her hands. Allen strapped a holster around her waist, but it was clearly too big for her. She handed Allen the gun with a pure-hearted smile.