The stars. There was always something mysterious about them, even after everything scientists know. There was just something magical about those far away balls of light. They get wished on, have been used as beacons to guide travelers, signs for early farmers to start planting crops and some seek their future in the elaboroate pictures mankind has placed among them. But in truth all they really are are balls of hotly burning gas that has the possibility to spawn life if all conditions are met. Earth was a good example of that. Our star gave us life and was full of it and filled most humans here with curiosity about other life filled planets so it had to of worked on another ball of rock out there. Right?

Michelle herself wasn't sure if she should believe that theory. Heck she didn't know what to believe in anymore. Life, she decided, just hated her. Ever since she was a kid it had done everything it could have to make it unbearable to want to live. Molestation, being bullied as a kid followed by loosing her parents in a car accident because of a stupid drunk driver. Growing up had been even worse, rape that had gone unpunished because he could afford the better lawyer which had cost her her promising career, having to move in with her older brother and settle into a completly new area. Couldn't really expect to keep your job when it was your boss who did it and since she couldn't afford her own place anymore she had packed up her few things she wanted to keep and her pitt bull Sheeva and had traveled across the country.

Her brother Mark had been the only lifeline she had. Through it all he had been there for her, supported her the best he could, even if he was stationed at a military base across the country. He didn't even hesitate to offer her a room in his small house, if fact he insisted on it. She smiled at the memory of him going out to buy stuff for Sheeva shortly after her arrival. He had always loved dogs but was to busy for his own pet, so he spoiled her year old black and white pitt rotten. He had also helped her find a job at a nearby gas station. It wasn't much but it was work. She wanted to work, earn her own money. It was bad enough that she had to live with him, she wasn't going to mooch all of his money too. He was gone a lot, and often on very short notice, but here she felt safe, secure, knowing he was there for her until she figured out what to do with her life. For the first time in a long time she was actually genuinely happy again. Until today.

Now, depending on what you believed, he was up there among those balls of light. Tears filled her eyes as she sat ontop of the quiet rocky hill top. Just like everything else in her life that brought her joy, he was gone and she was now completely alone. She didn't even give the soldiers time to tell her what had happened, wasn't sure it was believable anyway since he never talked about what he exactly did on base, she had just took off in grief with Sheeva by her side. It was how she handled things, because she had been a loner most of her life it was the best way for her to deal with problems. Sit in isolation and think things through, then call Mark. Except this time she couldn't call him. This time she was totally on her own and that scared her. She didn't make friends easy, didn't really trust anyone enough to let them get close enough to be one. So she sat here in the chill of the night and looked up at those stars. "Mark, what do I do?" She asked him quietly, still hoping that he would somehow come out of nowhere and tell her it was all a big misunderstanding. "I have nowhere else left to go."

"Well, I can think of a place right off hand that's better than here." said a voice behind her and she jumped, almost losing her precarious seat on the rock she was sitting on and tumbling down the cliff. She hadn't heard anyone pull up and Sheeva hopped up to her feet just as startled as she was. Cautiously she turned around to see Maj. Lennox standing there next to his big black truck. She had only met him once or twice but he seemed to be a nice guy, but then again...so did her old boss. "Staying out here on the side of a cliff might not be the be the best thing in your condition."

She didn't say anything, just watched him with a suspicious eye. As long as he kept his distance she was alright. "How did you find me?" She asked finally as she got to her feet.

"Mark showed you this spot, didn't he?" She nodded her head as Sheeva went to go sniff his outstretched hand, then the dog looked at the truck curiously. "Who do you think showed it to him?" He gave her a soft smile. "He told me that you two used to stargaze a lot when you were smaller. I figured you might be out here." He looked up himself at the clear night sky. "I know I would be."

She let her guard down with him, just a little. Mark had trusted him, that she did know. Him and a guy he had used to call 'the big boss'. If he had wanted to hurt her she was sure he would have by now and she did trust Mark's instincts.

"It helps, a little." Here in the quiet she for some reason felt close to him, more so than in the house in the crowded little neighborhood below her. She looked at the lights below her as they seemed to outshine the smaller ones above her. When they were kids they would always sneak out of the house to find a spot similar to this and just sit for hours as the constellations moved slowly across the sky above them, joking about what aliens would look like or just wondering if anything was even out there to make fun of. Usually they would just fall silent after a while and just watch. She sighed as her eyes swept over the neighborhood below her. She wasn't sure if this could be her home or not, but for right now it was all she had. Mark had bought the house here and it was already paid off so at least she had a place to stay. She just didn't know if she wanted to anymore. She turned her gaze away from the lights below her, but not before she caught sight of two red balls of light in the trees below her. They were as gone as quickly as she seen them and she was wondering if her eyes were playing tricks on her.

She had to smile at her dog, who was seriously sniffing out the truck. Sheeva was a curious animal and something in that truck definitely had her attention. She went around to the other side to continue her sniffing, her new collar Mark had gotten her making a tinkling sound as her tags clicked together on it. Lennox was eyeballing his truck with an amused expression, as if there was something funny only he knew about. Then he turned back to Michelle. "Come on, I'll give you and your dog a ride home. Mark would haunt me if I let you stay up here like this." His amused expression suddenly turned into a full grin and he seemed to try and keep from laughing. Michelle was starting to wonder if maybe there was something wrong with the guy. What is so funny about offering someone a ride home?

She was about to decline the offer, she knew the way back good enough and besides he was still a stranger to her and she didn't trust strangers, when Sheeva came running around the truck to stand next to her. The dog had her black eye patched face staring down the cliff and she let out a frightening growl. Michelle looked at her stunned. Sheeva had never growled like that before and that made her very uneasy.

"Michelle! Get away from the edge!" Lennox suddenly snapped at her and she wasn't about to argue. Before she could back up there was a flash of light and the ground shook with an explosion that hit the cliff under where she was standing and she found herself tumbling down the cliff face. Frantically she tried to grab ahold of anything she could to slow her fall down the steep slope but wasn't having much luck. The only thing there was to grab onto on this side was rocks and they were all loose. She did manage to start a small avalanche around her but that really wasn't the idea. She looked down at the bottom and saw the red lights again as she fell, closer this time, before she slammed her head against a rock on the way down. As pain also erupted in her right arm from another bad slam against a rock she felt something wrap around her and this time two blue lights looked down at her before everything erupted into chaos with flashing lights and explosions. She could hear Sheeva barking above her before she just let the darkness consume her.

.

.

She was lying down, that she was sure of. Where she was, wasn't so certain. Why was the bed bouncing?

"Can't you go any faster!?"

"Not while dodging those slag blasted cons! And will you do something about that accursed beast!? It's noises are grating on my audio receivers!"

Suddenly the whole thing shifted and her right arm slammed into what felt like a padded wall. Her eyes shot open in renewed pain to see Lennox leaning over her but he was facing the front, talking to someone she couldn't see. She wasn't on a bed, she was in the back of his truck. Sheeva was sitting on her legs with her short hair raised on her slender, long legged form, unusual for a pitt, barking and growling at the back window. The truck swerved again as a light flared up behind them followed by an explosion. Sheeva stumbled around trying to keep her footing, digging her claws into the leather seats, but lost and fell to the floorboard. Lennox heard Michelle's pain filled gasp and turned his head back around to face her.

"If that infernal creature has damaged my interior I will use it's hide as a replacement!" Came the unknown voice again.

"Can it big guy!" Lennox snapped at him then directed his attention to her. "Don't move. You broke your arm in the fall and might have cracked your skull pretty good." He tried to hold her steady as the truck swerved again. He failed miserably as her head slammed into the interior wall and she was once again consumed by darkness.

.

.

She liked it here. It was peaceful, quiet. There was nothing, no one here to cause her any pain, any suffering. The darkness surrounded her like a warm blanket on a cold night and she embraced it. She wasn't going to leave if she had any say over it.

'That's the problem sis, you don't.' Mark? Was that Mark? Slowly his softly glowing frame appeared in front of her. She could see clearly his black curly hair, round boyish face even though he was in his mid twenties, his deep brown eyes that were now filled with love, and regret. 'I'm sorry, I didn't want to go. Didn't want to leave you. There is joy in life and I was wanting you to relearn that and help you to do so but it looks like I won't get the chance now.' She was stunned and couldn't bring herself to speak as he seemed to reach out a hand and brush her dark brown hair out of her face and smiled at her. 'I did make sure you wouldn't be alone if something happened to me. He's a grumpy ol' grouch but he owed me a favor, a big one. He'll take care of you, if you let him.' Then his face took on a more serious tone. 'Make sure that Sheeva doesn't lose that new collar I got her. It's more important than you know.' Then he started to fade away, she tried to reach out to him but couldn't find anything solid to hold on to anymore. 'I love you, Michelle.' Then he was gone.

Michelle snapped awake in unfamiliar surroundings. Everything was white from what she could tell in the dark room, the only lights coming from the medical equipment in the room. It was still night from what she could see out the window, how late she didn't know. What happened? She closed her eyes again, trying to figure out how she had gotten here. The last thing she remembered clearly was sitting on the hilltop talking to Lennox, everything after that was a blur in her pain filled head. Mark...had she seen Mark? Lord she was so confused, about everything. She just wanted to go home, wanted to be with her brother. And once again grief hit her as the tears began to roll down her face.

"Are you in pain?" Came a voice from the dark corner of the room and she jumped, then groaned in pain as her head protested the sudden movement. She could have sworn she was alone in the room. She didn't answer but instead glared at the corner from where the voice came from. "Are your...ears...not functioning? I asked you if you are in pain." Why did it seem like she knew that voice?

"Who the fuck are you?" She asked, once again fighting feelings of confusion, and fear. She was alone with a man she didn't know and she didn't like it one bit.

Quietly the owner of the voice emerged from the shadows he had been hiding in. Dressed in black jeans, boots and a black shirt he didn't look like he was a doctor or a nurse, so why was he here? "I'm the one who got stuck in this room watching over you. I will ask one more time, are you in pain?"

Well it wasn't the answer she was looking for. She kept her glare on him as he moved closer to the bed. "Get away from me!" She hissed at him and he stopped his advance.

He narrowed his blue eyes at her as he seemed to look her over. "Ungrateful femme." He muttered to himself then again spoke to her. "I am merely concerned about your well being."

"Why? I don't know you. Just stay the hell away from me." She looked around the room as she realized something was missing. "And where is my dog!?"

"The beast is being cared for."

"Where is she!"

He glared back at her. "If you don't quit screaming at me I will find something to secure your lips shut."

She blinked, but remained quiet. She still kept her glare fixed on his glare though.

"Well this is going better than I expected." Came an amused voice from the doorway and Michelle turned her head to the new voice. Lennox was leaning in the doorframe with a wide grin on his face and there was another man with him and he was the one who spoke. "It seems like you found someone who is as stubborn as you are." He grinned at the black clad man who just rolled his blue eyes and stomped back to his corner.

Lennox had moved in closer and looked down at her. "Everything is fine, Michelle. Your dog is being looked after by some friends of mine here on the base." Again confusion washed over her. Why was she on the base? She had never been allowed to go in before. She thought she was at a hospital. "These guys here are also friends of mine, they won't hurt you. Believe it or not they are nice guys." There was a snort that came from the dark corner and Lennox grinned again. "For the most part."

"You may call me Ratchet." The other man said as he also approached. "It seems to me that you are experiencing some pain. I'll take care of that right now."

Well that was a strange name. He seemed to know what he was doing so Michelle just stayed quiet as he worked but she did take the chance to look him over. Looked like your typical doctor, glasses, lab coat and all that blah blah. His eyes however were that same stunning blue as Mr. Black over in the corner. "I tried to get her to tell me if she was in need of assistance with the pain but the stupid femme would rather just scream at me."

Lennox chuckled. "She's been through a lot today. I'm surprised screaming at you was all she did." There was another snort from the corner.

By now Ratchet had finished checking her over and the painkillers he had given her were kicking in. "Rest now young one, we will talk more tomorrow." He told her as he walked out of the room.

Lennox was looking thoughtfully down at her as she started to drift off to sleep. "You don't need to fear him, Michelle. He'll watch over you as you sleep. If you need anything, just let him know." Then he too left the room.

"Why?" She whispered into the room, still very confused over it all.

Silence was her answer for a few moments. "Because I promised." She seemed to hear as she drifted off to sleep.