Before Golden Dawn

[Princess Awinita]

Lianazhu stayed quiet, something didn't feel right. There weren't any planets in the system the academy had dropped from hyperspace into. the other two students followed Amanns advice and gave the controls a handling. Lianazhu though stayed to the back. That was when the gatecraft shook, even with the dampeners on at half power to give a sense of movement, they all felt it. "That's not good" The white haired girl remarked seeing a warning flash on the windscreen.

A heartbeat later a huge white ship appeared from nowhere and just sat in space doing nothing. Lianazhu stared and held ono as Amann pulled hard on the controls, bringing the gatecraft ot a halt meters from some type of shimmering item between them and the white ship. "What is that?" Lianazhu asked. She felt more curious then nervous.

The four students were staring at an abondoned Protoss ship.

[Amann]

Amann frowned.

"What the hell? Lianazhu! What are you reading?"

He spoke into the transmitter.

"HQ, please respond."

"This is HQ."

"Gateship 4 here. Discovered unknown vessel. Sending coordinates. Recommend high alert."

"Acknowledged. Sending reinforcements. Return to base."

Amann frowned.

"HQ? Why return to base? The ship is not doing anything."

"We do not want to risk the safety of cadets. Return to base. That is an order."

[Princess Awinita]

The gatecraft gave a hard lurched, sending Xiao to trhe floor, Lianazhu held onto the bulkherad as the gatecrafts power died, leaving only life support and radio. Xioao was holding her head where she had slammed it agianst the floor, Only Galadriel knew of what she could do at that point since she was already acended, even at eightteen years old, Xiao was not exactly a simple cadet like Amann was.

"Are you alright?" Lianazhu asked getting down next to Xiao where she laid holding her head.

"I don't know, Something hurts. I can't see." Xiao said.

"We're dead in space, but still breathing." Said the other student, a boy named Dailan. He keyed the radio. "HQ, this is gatecraft four, we're dead in space. weonly have flie support, and we have trouble."

"HQ to Gatecraft four, what kind of trouble?"

Dailan traded looks with Amann and keyed the radio. "Cadet Xiao can't see, she's blinded by something." Lianazhu looked up at the large white craft, it still had not moved. But the windscreen had been taken up by the huge white craft. Lianazhu reached over to a small panel in the floor, her place of birth had buil;t the gatecraft, so she knew them in and out. Opening the panel she found a few shattered crystals. They had broken when Xiaop crashed into the floor.

"Do we have any backup power controls?" Lianazhu asked from the floor of the powdery mess.

[Amann]

Amann nodded.

"The backup controls are on the wall in the very back. You have to pry the panel open."

He swore as the power refused to come back on.

"Damn it! What could have caused the power on the gatecraft to die?"

He turned on the radio.

"HQ. Please respond."

"This is HQ."

"Gatecraft 4 here. Our power is down. We are attempting backup controls now, but we could use a rescue craft. Currently we are dead in space."

[Princess Awinita]

Without thinknig it Lianazhu went to the panel, and the door floated off, forced off by the stale air inisde the backup crystals area. Returning to where the shattered crystals were, she noticed that Xiao seemed ot having a hard time breathing, had the life support been affected too, or was this part of the test? She figured it best to focus on repairing the gatecraft. With a hum the engines came alive as she incerted the replacement crystals. Then the controls returned, but still no life support.

This wasn't good.

[Amann]

Amann growled at the controls.

"Why won't this thing work? Lianazhu! Try alternating the harmonics in the crystals and then reverse the field polarity in the power core."

Amann tried the controls again, but to no avail.

"This isn't part of the test....or is it....."

[Princess Awinita]

By that point Xiao was cgrabbing at her throat and going fog like as she struggled to breathe as Lianazhu turned one of the sharded around and replaced it in the panel, the panel lit up, though life support was dead. "This isn't working! OW!" One of the crystals exploded, it was the one that worked the radio. She threw a look to Amann "Need I repeate myself?" She kicked the bottom area of the panel, and the controls came back, but still no life support. "You have control, gets us to the academy before you blackout, I've no idea how to fly one of these, only repair them."

[Amann]

Amann nodded and started flying the jumper as fast as he could. The rest of his crew started to black out and he himself was losing conciousness, but he flew as fast as he dared. He saw the city ship up ahead and just as he fell unconcious, triggered the auto pilot for landing and he fell down, clutching as his own throat for air as he blacked out.

[Princess Awinita]

Lianazhu didn;t see Amann pass out, but felt him hit the floor in ah eap, if this was part of a test, it was too far extreme! SCreaming blindly now she slammed her elbow downwards on another floor panel and opened to the undamaged crystals, two of them were totally fried black, the rest were clear and powered up. And there was something else there as well.

pulling out the charred glass she was about ot replace the pieces when she heard a voice. "Very good child." She turned upwards sharply and saw a man standing there, dressed in the dark off white robes of someone of high rank. Everyione else was knocked out from lack of air, everyone but her.

"Who are you?" Lianazhu asked, giving the being a posioned look.

"Someone of no concequence." came the reply. The being pointed towards Amann and the others. "My business is with you young void born." The man said as the door slid closed, only to be stopped by something.

Lianazhu stood in the way of the door. "Whatever it is, you'll have to fight me for me. But then again, nah, I'd rather take my chances in here." She took a fast step back and kicked hard, sending the man flying backwards in tohr closed ramp, and diving backewards into he cockpit she hit the door override, pulling the being off the gatecraft into the endless void of space, sure they's try her for murder, but with three friends dying from no air.....

[Amann]

The Jumper flew into the gateship. Everyone was unconscious as medical healers rushed to the jumper and pulled out the 4 limp bodies. They were carted off to the infirmary and were administered pure oxygen. The 4 cadets were at first unresponsive, then Amann came around first. Little did everyone else know it, but his genetic enhancements allowed him to breathe in more air and last longer.

[Princess Awinita]

Lianazhu slowly woke up, what was she doing in the infirmary of the academy? Sitting up she stopped herself and put a hand to the base of her neck, it felt sore, had she been hit with something. It didn't feel any different. just a sore moucle that must have been it. She slowly sat up and dangled her legs off the side of the bed asnd looked at her classmates, the four of them had two other classes together that day, and they all looked dead, or close to it.

Oma arrived at the room. "Good you are awake, " she said seeing Xiao also sit up, along with Dailan. "What happened out there?"

"I don;t know, we were going through the training mission as per instructed, when the gatecraft gave off a warning of a hyperspace point of approach before a silver ship appeared from nowhere, then I couldn't see anything other then sparks after the craft lost power." Xiao said as Oma had looked to her first, Dailan patted Xiaos shoulder, and she hugged him, both cadets were the same age. only a day apart.

Oma looked to Lianazhu who aise from Amann looked least tired of the four, and nowhere near as ashen faced. "Anything else to add berfore I send this as a report to the High Council?"

"Power died on the gatecraft with us in it. The power control crystlas had been shattered and had turned to powder. The lifesport died after I reinstated power to the craft. After Amann passed out I barely kept myself awake long enough to keep our ship from colliding with the academy." Lianazhu said as truthfully as she could, she caughthe look from Amann, 'I'll tell you later' was written on her look she sent back to him. Soon as they were alone without any prying minds she'd tell of the man in black.

[Amann]

Amann groaned. He looked at one of the Healers.

"When can we get out of the infirmary?"

"Today as a matter of fact, but your duties are restricted to light duty for the next few days. Healer orders."

Amann frowned.

"Very well."

[Princess Awinita]

At least they weren't in trouble. And nobody asked her anything more. It wasn't until the four were walking out when they noticed many other students looking teir way, a few of them going to Xiao and asking her all sorts of questions, things like, if she was alright and such. Lianazhu did her best to keep her distance, but several students came to her and Amann. Two of them were older boys, fifth year students, part of Janusi's class.

The first spoke. "Hey, Lianazhu right?" At her nod the boy continued. "That was some fight you put up against Janusi yesterday. you got him in the face pretty good, hopefully knocked some sense into him too"

"Or out of him, either way, what you did was amazing, where did you learn to fight like that?" using ones nails was unheard of, but then again, not many of the male students had long enough nails to hurt another.

But Lianazhu only replied, "My father taught me everything as I grew up." She saw how the two were acting and said with a soft smile on her face. "oh stop, even though the High Coucnilor said i'm to be thought of as someone higher ranked then everyone else, does not mean I have to act it, you guys can relax. I don't want to make enemies."

[Amann]

Amann shrugged and started to head back to his quarters. He was tired, despite his enhancements. He was glad the medical person did not say anything. He had to detect the genetic enhancements, since previous medical tests were fooled by a small device he wore around his wrist. There was no way around it, but he had tried to hide it. But he didn't have the device on him when he was looked in the infirmary, and he was scared out of his mind. His face was white with worry and fear as he entered his quarters alone.

[Princess Awinita]

She noticed first and formost the item left on the table next to the bed Amann had laid upon. The two second year students had bid their goodbyes and hopeful seeing Lianazhu again that day or the next, she agreed, making friends was better then making enemies. She picked up the wirst item, not knowing what it was, but seeming to think of who it belonged, she watched Amanns back. But then felt a pair of eyes watching her. Turning to look she noticed Janusi. The fifth year was staring at her as if goading her into a bad mood. She matched his stare, and in a heart beat made him turn away.

End of Chapter three: The Second Test
Star chapter four: A Family's Secret

Upon entring her queaters she shared with Amann she set the device on the counter in the small kitchen area. "You are not void born, that you sdaid, yet you are not planet born either are you." She stated. Almost dreading his reaction.