Mae Dawkins's Story

Jacob sighed at the bed. Why did he have a king sized bed when everyone else have a pile of rocks? He walked outside, giving the guards a salute as he did. After taking a slight stroll around the camp, he then he saw Cinder. She looked uncomfortable as hell, with soot on her face. She was trying to sleep, but it wasn't working. He put his hand out. "your a sight for sore eyes" He said. "Come on, lets get you cleaned up, and maybe a bed too, no need to sleep out side a tent, now is there?"

Jacob sighed at the bed. Why did he have a king sized bed when everyone else have a pile of rocks? He walked outside, giving the guards a salute as he did. After taking a slight stroll around the camp, he then he saw Cinder. She looked uncomfortable as hell, with soot on her face. She was trying to sleep, but it wasn't working. He put his hand out. "your a sight for sore eyes" He said. "Come on, lets get you cleaned up, and maybe a bed too, no need to sleep out side a tent, now is there?"

Jacob sighed at the bed. Why did he have a king sized bed when everyone else have a pile of rocks? He walked outside, giving the guards a salute as he did. After taking a slight stroll around the camp, he then he saw Cinder. She looked uncomfortable as hell, with soot on her face. She was trying to sleep, but it wasn't working. He put his hand out. "your a sight for sore eyes" He said. "Come on, lets get you cleaned up, and maybe a bed too, no need to sleep out side a tent, now is there?"

Jacob sighed at the bed. Why did he have a king sized bed when everyone else have a pile of rocks? He walked outside, giving the guards a salute as he did. After taking a slight stroll around the camp, he then he saw Cinder. She looked uncomfortable as hell, with soot on her face. She was trying to sleep, but it wasn't working. He put his hand out. "your a sight for sore eyes" He said. "Come on, lets get you cleaned up, and maybe a bed too, no need to sleep out side a tent, now is there?"

Jacob sighed at the bed. Why did he have a king sized bed when everyone else have a pile of rocks? He walked outside, giving the guards a salute as he did. After taking a slight stroll around the camp, he then he saw Cinder. She looked uncomfortable as hell, with soot on her face. She was trying to sleep, but it wasn't working. He put his hand out. "your a sight for sore eyes" He said. "Come on, lets get you cleaned up, and maybe a bed too, no need to sleep out side a tent, now is there?"

Jacob sighed at the bed. Why did he have a king sized bed when everyone else have a pile of rocks? He walked outside, giving the guards a salute as he did. After taking a slight stroll around the camp, he then he saw Cinder. She looked uncomfortable as hell, with soot on her face. She was trying to sleep, but it wasn't working. He put his hand out. "your a sight for sore eyes" He said. "Come on, lets get you cleaned up, and maybe a bed too, no need to sleep out side a tent, now is there?"

Jacob sighed at the bed. Why did he have a king sized bed when everyone else have a pile of rocks? He walked outside, giving the guards a salute as he did. After taking a slight stroll around the camp, he then he saw Cinder. She looked uncomfortable as hell, with soot on her face. She was trying to sleep, but it wasn't working. He put his hand out. "your a sight for sore eyes" He said. "Come on, lets get you cleaned up, and maybe a bed too, no need to sleep out side a tent, now is there?"

Jacob sighed at the bed. Why did he have a king sized bed when everyone else have a pile of rocks? He walked outside, giving the guards a salute as he did. After taking a slight stroll around the camp, he then he saw Cinder. She looked uncomfortable as hell, with soot on her face. She was trying to sleep, but it wasn't working. He put his hand out. "your a sight for sore eyes" He said. "Come on, lets get you cleaned up, and maybe a bed too, no need to sleep out side a tent, now is there?"

Cinder looked up and took his hand, and for once, she looked vulnerable, not as tough as she had always seemed. She nodded silently, hiding the bruises and cuts on her arms and wrists.

Jacob sighed at the bed. Why did he have a king sized bed when everyone else have a pile of rocks? He walked outside, giving the guards a salute as he did. After taking a slight stroll around the camp, he then he saw Cinder. She looked uncomfortable as hell, with soot on her face. She was trying to sleep, but it wasn't working. He put his hand out. "your a sight for sore eyes" He said. "Come on, lets get you cleaned up, and maybe a bed too, no need to sleep out side a tent, now is there?"

Jacob sighed at the bed. Why did he have a king sized bed when everyone else have a pile of rocks? He walked outside, giving the guards a salute as he did. After taking a slight stroll around the camp, he then he saw Cinder. She looked uncomfortable as hell, with soot on her face. She was trying to sleep, but it wasn't working. He put his hand out. "your a sight for sore eyes" He said. "Come on, lets get you cleaned up, and maybe a bed too, no need to sleep out side a tent, now is there?"

Cinder looked up and took his hand, and for once, she looked vulnerable, not as tough as she had always seemed. She nodded silently, hiding the bruises and cuts on her arms and wrists

Jacob picked her up from the ground. She must have been working in the mines....not necessarily a clean job. He started walking with her back too his tent. "Soo, tell me. What have you been doing to get so...unclean?" he asked while trying not to be rude. He was wearing his tuxedo now, a black coat with a red tie. Standard of any Columbian politician. But he was different. He wasn't about to run from a fight, even if it was a bigger foe than him. "So, you don't have a tent?"

"I just got here from my home, far away. I don't have a house. Or a tent. Or anything, besides my guns and my clothes" Cinder admitted, looking down while he lead her back to his nice tent. Even the miners had better things than her, let alone the President.

The space in the area of the camp warped momentarily before letting out a sickly cracking sound as if Thor himself had hit the area with his hammer. The area that just warped and hissed with energy left four men standing their in a full tactical load out. Each of them in some form of desert camo and all looking around bewilderingly.

"Shit mate. Where in the ever lovin outback did we end up lasses?!" The distinct Aussie tongue of Aiden Martin was the first to shout.

"No idea lad. Doesn't seemt hospitable. Sure ain't Oiland" Kelly Ciar the Irishman chimed in as he took a swig from a flask marked with a Jameson logo.

"Ze weather ist very dry here, reminds me of Afghan......." The German known as Dierk Jung was quickly cut off as Aiden chimed in to finish it.

"The gas chambers right mate or were you going to say your sense of humor?" Aiden was already snickering at his own joke.

The four highly skilled men didn't come off as highly skilled minus the large imposing Norway man that stood quiet and threatening with his axe tucked in his belt and rifle in hand.

Jack was about to ask a question to Cinder, but it would have to wait. His radio went off. "Mister president, this is lion team 4, do you copy? Sorry to wake you, but we have movement. I repeat we have movement!" Jack stared at the radio. Movement equaled life. He grabbed his radio. "Get a squads of rangers to check I out, and don't attack unless attacked. Be friendly. Im Tired here, haven't slept since we got here" Jacob lead Cinder to his tent. "You can sleep here, just don't touch the armor. Its expensive." Jack said as he lead her to a guest bed, and he took his place on the king sized bed.

The scene changed to a Power Trooper ranger wearing a lighter model of the T-96g power armor. He didn't like the X-08 Tesla armor because of the heavier weight. His name was Kevin Brand. He had his radio up to his helmet, overlooking 4 new men, or at least, humanoids, since he couldn't see clearly. He said to the radio. "Roger that, sending in ranger squad delta." Well, he already took the liberty of gathering the troops, all wearing black X-08 Tesla power armor, and Wheelock assault rifles. Kevin turned to the group. "Ok, here's our orders, we greet the new 'guest', tell them our names, ask them there, treat it like a party. And keep guns holstered. No need for a intergalactic war." He said. The group of 4 powered armor men, stared at him, wondering if he was serious. Kevin gave them the dumbs up. Yeah, he was serious. The group holstered there weapons, and walked down to the 4 strange men.

"Thank you, sir. Of course, sir" Cinder nodded quickly, sitting down on the bed. She laid down and pulled the covers over herself, feeling warm for once.

"Oi mate it looks like we found a robot army." Aiden point out to the group approaching them.

"Lad, we're in the desert. There taint no way robots would be out here. I'd wager sand people over robots." Ciar broke in with his thick Irish accent.

"Nein, it must be ze Aschen. We're likely on one of their planets." Dierks voice broke in as well, the internal comms were off at the moment seeing as the group was close together.

"Let's see what they want before we start shooting this time." Torgers heavy voice made Ciar broke. None of the group was use to Torger speaking at all.

"Very well lad. No need to scare me like that. I still haven't had enough whiskey this morning." Ciar said.

The operators waited as the group approached they kept their rifles slung on the one point slings the weapons hanging out their sides. They stayed on the alert though as they waited for initial contact which they perceived as enemies but they would wait. Ciar continued drinking while Dierk pulled out a pair of binoculars to get a closer look at the group. All armored up exactly like various Aschen they fought in the past.

As the power troopers got closer to the group of people, they could see the group. Kevin looked torwd his comrades. "Keep you weapon's holstered. No need for a fight." He looked at the....soldiers? They had little armor on, but they had weapons. Maybe this place was like Dread, and blew it self up. He looked at the strange weapons. Nothing like the Flintlocks, Wheelock's, and Volcanics back on Dread. They were big though. They finally were about 10 feet away from the rag tag group. There armor wasn't much. Just old outdated Kevlar, or at least, Kevin thought it was Kevlar. Kevin walked up to the front of thee group. Sighed, and started talking. "Hi there. Greetings from the republic of the United Columbian Nation. Im Power Trooper Ranger Kevin Smith, this is my team, Jack, Blake, Helios, and Tank." He pointed too the 4 other troopers. "You see, were from the planet Dread. A world devastated by nuclear war, you see. We haven't seen any other civilization, and your the first we seen. In fact, this is the first time we left our home world. Being that rockets are expensive you see." Kevin was being as nice as he could. Never upset new people, or they get dangerous. Although, there weapons have thinner clips then what there used too. Kevin put out his hand for one of them to shake it. The other rangers looked at him weirdly through there helmets. Was he being too nice?

Mean while, back at the mining 'town', Jacob was woke to yet another nightmare. One that involved his assassination. By brutal dismembering. Brutally slow dismembering. He sighed. He walked to the guest bed were Cinder was sleeping, and gently woke her. He remembered when his wife would comfort him when he had those nightmares, back when he was first elected president, about a year ago. He had one more year left before he was out of office, but, he didn't mind. Beng president was stressful. He gently woke up Cinder. "I know this is a....um...odd request, but, would you sleep with me? Just sleep, of course, no funny business. I just had a...heart stopping nightmare, ok. It was fucking awful. Ill sleep on the opposite side of the bed, too." He said sheepishly, and quickly. Another day in paradise.

Cinder woke up, eyes full of terror. Her heart raced. She's just been dreaming that Carissa was coming after her, covered in blood. Again. Then Jacob was standing over her, asking to sleep. "I just had a...heart stopping nightmare" "Me too. Okay. Yeah. I could use that as well..." Cinder let her voice falter, still trembling in horror. She slowly got up and walked to his bed. "Are you sure this is okay? I wont be beheaded from getting soot on your satin sheets?"