[i][u]Crux, Central Tower[/u][/i]
[b]After a few hours, a man called the attention of all the attendees.[/b]
"Thank you all for attending this summit. I, Senator Akens, along with Secratary Wince of the Union of Free States, and Representative Gail from the Alliance, along with others, held this gathering in order to affirm our friendship in the present, and going forward into the future. We have suffered much during the War, a loss of friends, family, entire worlds, destroyed. But, we have risen, stronger than ever , more united."
[b]The lights in the hall dim[/b]
"We have been through much. Our roots trace back to the founding of the Empire, hundreds of years ago. It was with this that humanity reached out into the stars, and created a place for itself. This ushered in a age of technological wonder, a galaxy-wide stability that still has not been met. But like all good things, they come to an end. The Empire fell, destroyed by the impending forces that it had fought for so long. In its waning days, it granted us on more gift... the Age of Exploration. Created in a joint venture along with other factions in the galaxy, the Empire lent some of its greatest heroes to join other galactic adventurers.... to form the Exalin Exploratory Crew. As a group, they protected the Milky Way from threat after threat, while trailblazing star maps and discovering new worlds. After they disbanded, they were followed by Fireteam Axion and the Federation's own Cyprus Unit. But unlike Exalin, its descendant teams did not meet a quiet end. No, they both were decimated in battles with the incursion force known as the Dread, which many times would have ended life as we know it. It has been 35 years since Cyprus ended the threat permanently, at the cost of their lives."
[b]A large star map of the Galaxy appears above everyones heads[/b]
"We have flourished, fought, lived, and died in the Milky Way, exploring its secrets, ans protecting it from harm. We have seen evidence many of time of the wonders the Universe as a whole has to offer, and now, it is time to see it for ourselves."
[b]The MIlky Way flickers and changes into a large space cruiser[/b]
"This... is what shall allow us to explore beyond the Universe. The [u][i]InterSec Infinite[/i][/u]. Carrying on the legacy that the teams of Exalin, Axion, and Cyprus had set, individuals who have shown outstanding bravery, intelligence, will, strength, and ingenuity have been selected from across our factions to form the Infinite Pioneers. They shall explore the cosmos in the name of the Milky Way, and expand our frontiers further than they have ever been."
[b]As he finished, a roar of cheering and applause erupted from among the attendees, and beyond, as the speech had been broadcast throught the galaxy[/b]
English
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"Heh. It's nothing just..." She trails off as a tear falls from her eye but she inhales and is back to smiling. "We can talk about that later. How have you been? Last I remember you were just a kid."
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"Uhh... Yeah, I fled serpent hyperes after I thought you where killed... And it seems something happened to you while I was gone, becuase you appear horribly distraught. Don't hide this from me Tara, you need to be honest with me."
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"I went back to the Astral plane as we had planned. They were all dead. Then I tried to find you and John but... you left. Then Nightmare found me again and I nearly died three times before finally destroying him." She sniffles. "I was so alone for so long, I just..."
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[b]guilt flashes in his eyes, true hate for himself and his idiotic actions. He hugs her again, trembling as a single drop of blood flows from his eye[/b] "I'm sorry..."
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She only smiles and hugs him back.
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"How could I let you go through that alone..."
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"I forgive you."
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"No... That's not okay, that's not something you can just shrug off..." [b]he keeps hugging her[/b]
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"How would you have known?"
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"I wasn't there... I left, like a coward rather than dying to defend you..."
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She smiles sadly. "I'm fine though."
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"I won't let it happen ag-" [b]the gut wrenching sound of a gunshot rings out behind him, he falls to the ground, a bullet through his lung. A familiar figure stands in the shadows behind him[/b] "[i]hey, Tara...[/i]"
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She stands frozen in a mix of sadness, disbelief, and horror. "No..."
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[b]shepard steps foreward from the darkness[/b] "TARA RUN!" [b]before he can follow he is tackled by a fear monger, who proccedes to rip his face apart right in front of Wheatley and Tara.[/b]
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She grabs Wheatley and sends a shockwave at the beast before running down the hall.
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[b]she is stopped by an arm. A large spider leg holds her in the air as a massive spider reaches into a portal, retrieving the corpses of both Lucas and John, as well as one for Wheatley, that periodically dissapears each time Wheatley pops back into consciousness [/b] "They died for you, Tara... They gave their species to save yours, and you have made their entire efforts in vain..." [b]he drops John and Wheatley, holding only Luke and a monger claw, streaking it across the corpses neck[/b] "Remember all they've done..." [b]he drops the corpse and picks up John, where he takes a knife similar to Shepards and slashes it down the middle[/b] "All all they've given..." [b]he finally moves on to Wheatley, which he holds a gun to the chest and fires. Wheatley stops breathing[/b] "All the time you wasted trying to save them, was it all that worth it? [spoiler]that was really long sorry... Also EVIL AF[/spoiler]
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She screams in unbelievable rage and pumps the gun full of magic before firing a bolt so ridiculously powerful it shreds the paint on the walls without even touching it.
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[b]the creature is sent flying back into a portal[/b] "YOU HAVE YET TO SEE THE ENDS OF THE POWER INVESTED IN THE HIVEMIND... I SHALL RETURN" [b]all three of them awaken, confused and out of breath.[/b]
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She runs over to them, both relieved and confused. "What the heck was that!?"
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Shepard: "w...where...no... NO! FACE ME AGAIN YOU BASTARD!!! AAAAAAAGHH!" John; "he's... What? Tara..." [b]wheatley just lays there, silent[/b]
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"Uh. I don't... What?"
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[b]shepard falls to his knees and claws away at his face, his and johns eyes drop, to be completely black with a deep orange dot as a pupil. They smile literally ear to ear as they lung toward Tara, waking her from some kind of trance[/b] "WAKE. UP! WAKE UP! HES TRYING TO CONFUSE YOU MAN!"
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She jerks into focus and puts a strong barrier up. "What the actual heck is going on!?"
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"Tara, calm down, it was a hallucination, probably from dimension hopping or whatever... I need to get you back to the oddessey..."
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She shudders and nods before mumbling. "He didn't mention that."