Two Rimmers

Prelude Part 1 :Beginnings don't come easy

Gun fire and screams coated the air as the Ionian people tried to get to places of safety. The simulants had come to attack them once again. This war had been going on for 7 long weeks. The streets, once a place of peace and friendly meetings were now a place of death and flames; a living hell. On each street, at least one building had been hit or on fire. The inhabitants raced around like headless chickens in search of shelter. Many people glanced up to the sky when they found their safe place, hoping someone up there would stop the war. The space above was crammed with Simulant Ships and laser fire, several smaller ships darted around to take down the larger ships' weaker areas. The people of Io hoped that they would not become slaves to the simulant army; hoping they could still be free.

A heavily pregnant woman ran through the streets, trying to find a safe place to give birth to her child. She managed to avoid the falling debris and laser fire as she clenched her stomach painfully; contractions starting already. She was determined to get to the place she knew, and without her determination, she knew her child nor her would survive. Her unborn child hurt more as she ran blind through the smoke; not looking back at the place of ruin which was once her home. Her memories of happy times, especially her childhood, flooded her brain and she ran towards the special place. She got to the gate and sighed happily, catching her breath before walking through them. This place hadn't been touched by war; a lake surrounded by trees which she had visited as a child. She staggered over to a tree nearby the lake and breathed heavily; her child preparing for release. She supported her back against the tree and after a long count to three, ran into the opening of a simulant ship which had fallen from above.

The insides of the ship seemed like a medical bay; two dead simulants lay lifeless on the floor. A helmet from one of them lay below one of the medical bay tables. She examined it and was thankful there was no head still inside. The pain surged through her stomach as the child's birth was coming nearer. As she sat and breathed, she wondered what kind of life her child would have. Would the war be over? Would they be free? She became scared for her child. She then remembered the fear which came over her when she realised she was pregnant. She was not promiscuous, but did wonder who the father was. She hoped that the person she wanted to be the baby's father wouldn't die in the war and could help her raise the child. Time came nearer as her contractions worsened. She placed a hand on her stomach and spoke to the child in between breaths. "Don't worry little one, whatever happens, mummy will always be here."