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Andromeda Prologue
Somewhere deep in the Rocky MountainsThe light fixtures along the ceiling flickered sporadically. A lone man sat at a desk in a confined office space, hunched over and focused intently on what he was writing. He appeared to be around forty, with thinning dark hair combed over his bald spot. He wore a lab coat that was worn and covered in black smudges. Behind his glasses, his eyes were unblinking and weary with exhaustion.The lights flickered again over his head, followed by a rumbling that lightly shook the desk. The man glanced up at the lights with a look of hard suspicion. The rumbling ceased as quickly as it had begun, and the only sound to be heard was a faint buzzing coming from the fixtures. The man looked over at a landline phone that was sitting on the desk. Next to it sat a digital clock which read 3:17 am. The man winced as the exhaustion crept over him at the sight of the time. Everything was silent for a moment, but as if on cue, the telephone rang with a loud and pers
Andromeda Chapter One
One year laterAnna’s eyes flew open as she woke up with a start. Her bed was drenched in a pool of sweat. She groaned as she sat up and rubbed her head, which was throbbing lightly. Stranger than that was the numbing sensation in her right arm. She cast her eyes slowly around the dark room. What was once a dusty attic had been made up into a teenage girl’s bedroom. It had only been hers for a year, but it was the only bedroom she could remember having. It was the only place she truly felt safe and at home.Anna stood up and lumbered quietly over to the window at the end of the room. Normally, she would wake up to the sunlight rising over the flat Nebraska plains, but now it was barely the break of dawn. The sky was tinted a deep blue that indicated morning was not far away. Anna stepped over to a dresser that sat next to the window. She turned on a small lamp that sat atop the dresser and looked into the vanity mirror standing against the wall.The first thing she saw when she looked
Andromeda Chapter Two
The town of Meadowvale, Nebraska was the image of a small, country village. It was situated on the edge of Arthur County in the middle of a vast farmland. It was a tight knit community in which everybody knew one another, perfect as the only home Anna could remember calling her own. Despite that, as she sat in the passenger seat of her family’s Ford 150, driven by Lynn, on her way to her first day of school, it was still like stepping into a whole new world.Downtown Meadowvale was small, yet bustling. It only consisted of a handful of streets, but chief among them was Adams Street, which ran the full length of the populated town center and had a variety of markets, restaurants, and small town ma and pa businesses. Anna always liked coming down here. It was certainly a different environment than the countryside.There were only two school buildings in Meadowvale, both of which stood just beyond the far side of the town center. The first building they came to was the elementary school,
Andromeda Chapter Three
The morning sun cast its light upon the surface of the Potomac River, creating a picturesque yet imposing canvas of the capital city of Washington, DC. The helicopter flew over the vast river and touched down on the helipad on the northern side of the massive structure that was the Pentagon. As the propellers slowed to a stop, the rear ramp descended. From the interior of the helicopter, Dr. Park emerged. As he made his way down the ramp in an electric wheelchair, he was greeted by a group of armed soldiers. At the head of the party, a tall, burly man stood in contrast with the rest of the group. He wore an open leather jacket that billowed in the wind caused by the propellers and a pair of black sunglasses over his cold and solid expression. He seemed to be staring off into space until the wheels of Park’s chair touched the helipad, and then he turned his attention to him.“Dr. Park?” the man’s low voice called out over the roar of the helicopter.“Yes,” Park replied as he wheeled o
Andromeda Chapter Four
Several weeks had gone by since the first day of the new school year in Meadowvale, and Anna believed she was settling in well. Much of the stress and anxiety she brought with her that first day had been all but relieved, and her parents were proud to see her excelling so well in her classes. She struggled a little in her humanities classes, but she proved impeccable in courses such as biology and especially Algebra; in fact, she was performing so exceptionally in Algebra that she was promptly moved up to Calculus, but not even that was able to slow her down. She was learning almost as fast as her instructors could teach, and it was not long before she became something of a hero among her classmates who suffered a bit more at the subject and were constantly asking her for help. She had to admit that it was getting annoying to have the other kids approaching her the minute they did not understand something, but if there was one upside to it all, it had to be that she was in the same Ca
Andromeda Chapter Five
The remainder of that period was a haze. Anna did not return to class, still reeling from the humiliation of running out like that. Once the bell rang, she casually slipped into the crowds of students as they flooded the hallways, anxious to get away from classes and move on with the rest of their day. Anna kept her head down, trying not to make contact with anyone who might have seen her little episode.She wondered what she was going to say to her parents when she got home. They wanted to know every time she had a spasm, but at the same time, she hated the idea of making them worry, considering that this one had been the worst one to date. She sure as hell couldn’t let Abigail know about it. Abigail would never let her hear the end of it. Of course, Tamara was probably having a field day with her sudden departure from the classroom, but as far as she was concerned, that did not compare to what Jason must have thought.Anna struggled to put it out of her mind. Most days, she would sp
Andromeda Chapter Six
The events of that day were on her mind for the rest of the evening. As the sun set over the rural horizon, Anna sat in her room in front of her vanity mirror, aimlessly running a brush through her hair. She was thinking about straightening it from its usually wavy style for her date with Jason. She could not help but smile every time she thought about it, and she often wondered what made her happier: Jason asking her out or how much it bothered Tamara that he was showing an interest in her.She giggled at the thought but was distracted by what sounded like somebody pulling on the string to the attic door. Anna threw her brush down on the dresser and groaned in annoyance. “Go away, Abigail!”Just then, the attic door was pulled down and the ladder extended. Anna rolled her eyes as her unwelcome visitor began climbing up.“It’s just me, honey,” Lynn said as she appeared from below.“Oh! Sorry, Mom,” Anna replied sheepishly.Lynn walked over to sit on the end of Anna’s bed just across t
Andromeda Chapter Seven
Somehow, Anna had avoided waking anybody up with the outburst of her sudden nightmare, and she was glad for that. She was in no mood to receive another lecture from Lynn, or put up with the constant nagging and jeering from Abigail. Nevertheless, she carried the stress of the dream with her all the way to school the next day. She hardly said a word as Lynn drove the three of them to school, preferring to stare quietly out the window as they drove through the already busy town center.Lynn pulled into the circle in front of the high school where dozens of cars and buses were cycling through to drop off students. When the car came to a stop, Anna cast a quick sideways smile at Lynn before slipping out of the passenger seat.“Bye, Mom!” Abigail said as she exited the car behind her.“Abigail!” Lynn called after her. “Do you have your book report?”“Yes!” Abigail answered in an annoyed voice.“Ok, have a good day, sweetie!”Abigail waved as Lynn drove off with Daisy before running to catc
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- Andromeda
Chapter Sixteen
“Anna, stop!” Jason shouted. He grabbed Anna by the shoulders to try to pull her away from Abigail, but she only shook him off and tightened her grip around her neck. Abigail’s eyes were clenched shut and she could no longer breathe. “Please, Anna! Let her go!” Daisy squealed, tears falling down her face. Anna ignored their pleas. It was as though she could not even hear them. The only thing she could feel was the burning rage inside her. There were no thoughts, only anger. Jason wrapped his arm around Anna’s neck in a last ditch effort to pull her away. Anna suddenly whipped around to face Jason and Abigail collapsed like a rag doll, struggling to catch her breath. Jason was caught off guard as Anna tackled him to the ground. He was completely unprepared as she pinned her arm against his throat. He tried in vain to push her off of him. She was far stronger than he ever imagined. All Jason could do was stare up into her eyes of fury. “Anna,” he uttered feebly, the weight of her arm
- Andromeda
Chapter Fifteen
The doors of Fort Pershing military installation's command center flew open as a battle-hardened officer stormed into the room, a black-leaf insignia on his chest.“What’s going on?” he demanded sternly.“Colonel Conrad!” a young E-5 greeted him, a look of apprehension and uncertainty scrawled upon his face. “Sir, we’ve just been given clearance to mobilize by General Floring from Division. The Pentagon is reporting an assault taking place in Meadowvale and is requesting ground and air support immediately.”“An assault?” Conrad responded in disbelief. “From what? Do we have any eyes on?”“We have a Reaper inbound, sir.”The MQ-9 Reaper unmanned aerial vehicle was already in the air, traveling at over 200 knots across the barren rural landscape toward Meadowvale. In no more than seven minutes, the drone was already circling the small town and aiming its Multi-Spectral Targeting System down upon the small town that had been turned into a battlefield.The camera zoomed in on Adams Street,
- Andromeda
Chapter Fourteen
Nearly three miles outside of Meadowvale, Cerberus stood firm as a sentinel on the hilltop overlooking the small, rural village in the distance. The last few hours had been deathly silent since his team had begun infiltrating the town in search of their target, and all the while he knew that the Pentagon was eagerly awaiting his report more than a thousand miles away. It was only a matter of time.“Cerberus! Cerberus, come in! This is Nexus!”Cerberus raised a hand to the earpiece he was wearing as Nexus’ voice broke the intense silence like thunder. “Go ahead,” he said steadily.“I have positive locations on Andromeda and Ajax! Both are here right now!”“Ajax,” Cerberus muttered to himself as his eyes twitched in surprise. “He must be trying to reach her first.”“He is,” Nexus responded. “What’s the plan? Should we split up to take them both?”“No,” Cerberus answered. “Andromeda is the target. Once we take her, we’ll deal with Ajax. All units, switch to the uplink and converge on the
- Andromeda
Chapter Thirteen
Anna tried to ease her tension as she drove James’ truck into town, keeping no less than five miles under the speed limit so as not to become reckless and draw attention to herself. So far this venture was going smoothly, but she knew she was not out of the woods yet. The biggest hurdle she had to cross was the fact that the only way to get to the school was to go down Adams Street, directly through the town center where she knew her parents to be.The town center was always bustling with people swarming around the markets on Saturdays, as this was one of the last chances to acquire goods before the onset of autumn and winter to follow. She navigated the traffic slowly, holding her breath every time she stopped at a red light. Much of her refused to look around at the crowds of people coming and going, half afraid that she might inadvertently draw the attention of her parents. Her mind was racing as she sat at another red light that seemed to last for an eternity. There was so much ri
- Andromeda
Chapter Twelve
Anna hardly slept a wink that night. For one brief moment her life seemed to be going her way, and in the span of a few hours it had all been torn apart. She sat on the edge of her bed and watched the dark canvas of the predawn sky outside her room, which felt more like a prison now than a home.Abigail had not said a word to her the previous evening. It was quite unusual for her to not try teasing her in any way she could, and Anna guessed that she already knew what had happened and was told by Lynn not to speak about it. Despite her compliance, Anna still felt a twinge of anger as she wondered how Abigail would feel if she was taken away from them by the court. It made her want to punch a hole through the wall. Abigail had treated her like an intruder in her home for over a year, and the more Anna dwelled on it, the more she wanted to take her frustrations out on someone.The hours ticked by ever so slowly. Anna did not go down for breakfast, so Lynn brought her a dish which she lef
- Andromeda
Chapter Eleven
The entire day was as much a haze as it was a nightmare. Anna sat in the passenger seat of James’ truck and stared quietly out the window the entire ride home. The sun was beginning to make its final descent upon the horizon as she watched with eyes that burned with the residue of tears. The wind that whipped by bothered her eyes but she barely blinked, almost as though it was the only thing she could still feel.James and Lynn had taken her out of school immediately after their meeting with the police and the principal was over, per her suspension that was issued by Mrs. Hoffman. Tamara’s mother had gone on a loud tirade all the way out of the office, never so much as looking at Anna but spewing the worst names and accusations she had ever heard. Lynn had some less than godly things of her own to shout back. James was the most composed of anyone and had convinced the police not to cart Anna out of the building in cuffs. The rest of the day was long, quiet, and stressful to everyone a
- Andromeda
Chapter Ten
1,200 miles away, in the capital city of Lincoln, Nebraska, a black Ford Mustang sat parked on the side of the road just across the street from the Lincoln Police Department. Many cars whipped by along the busy, multi-laned road, but the man sitting in the driver’s seat remained undisturbed by traffic. He appeared to be in his thirties, wearing a black leather jacket and a pair of aviators over the cold and hardened expression of his face. In his hands, he was fiddling with a small Ridge wallet that contained only a handful of cards. He picked up a driver’s license sitting on the center console next to him, glancing briefly at the photo of himself and the name which read, “Shane Wilder,” before sticking it among the other cards in the wallet and slipping it into a zipped pocket in the right sleeve of his jacket. The last thing he reached for was a small manila envelope sitting on the passenger seat.Shane took a deep breath as he opened the door and exited the vehicle. He waited for a
- Andromeda
Chapter Nine
“Agent! What do you mean you’ve found her?” Park said as he followed Nichols out of the lab with Amelia right on his tail.“Melsom will provide the details for you,” Nichols replied. He led them through the halls in the lower levels of the Pentagon. It was just as this when Park was first brought in, and he followed the familiar path until they reached the elevator that took them down into the war room where Melsom briefed him on his present imprisonment. The elevator descended and opened as Nichols ushered Park into the war room, but this time it was much different. The room was filled with military officers and other high ranking government officials, all conversing amongst themselves. The large monitors on the far wall of the room were active and displaying various satellite images, and Park realized they all appeared to be focused on one particular location.“Nebraska?” Amelia said out loud, clearly thinking the same thing. “What’s in Nebraska?”“With any luck, our target.” Melsom
- Andromeda
Chapter Eight
“Here we go again,” Park muttered to himself.Several weeks had gone by since Park had been summoned to the Pentagon by the government heads behind Project Machina. The only upside to being held here against his will by both the military and the CIA was the living quarters. General Melsom had provided Park with a private lab space to continue his work with the M-Gene and assist with the efforts to track down the missing assets. Since he lived, slept, and worked in the same lab, he had yet to leave for any reason, and no amount of relative luxury he was given made it seem any less like a prison sentence.If it was not for the massive digital clock suspended on the wall above the door leading out of the lab, he would never have known what time of day it was since he had not seen the sun in weeks. Right now, it read, “19:26:45,” with the seconds counting up one after another. Sometimes he would just sit in his wheelchair or lie on his cot and watch the numbers for hours, as if to convinc
