* Scene One ─ The Belden Base

> If their purpose is invasion, they have already failed.

  Pop… Pop…

  Small air bubbles burst near the water surface, creating rings and rings of ripples.

  The bubbles came from a petite body that was huddled in the bathtub. She wrapped her hands around her knees, and buried her face in between them, her teal-colored hair floated in the water. The girl could hear someone calling for her, the words came to her ears, but not to her mind.

  She stayed, still huddled, beneath the water. She remained to hide in her own world. There was no noise there, nor was there any annoying shouts from people. Being in her own world, she could deny everything from the outside world, she could even...

  "Hanister..." A hand shoved into the bathtub, through the still water, and on to the girl's shoulder.

  "Run..."

  "Hanister..."

  The girl poked her head out from the surface. At that instant, the world was clear once again. She started to hear voices, recognized the person, and smelled something.

  It was the smell of fear.

  She recognized the man who captured her, but his hands were covered in blood. The bright red liquid dyed the bathtub water to the same shade of crimson, and also left a hint of red on the girl's hair and body.

  "Leave me... alone..."

  "Hanister, I - " The man with his hand out spoke again.

  Gurgle ─

  Blood started pouring out from the man's mouth, a huge amount of blood.

  No...

  The girl in the bathtub's eyes widened.

  No...

  She wanted to scream and shout, but was unable to make any sound.

  Tentacle-shaped shadows started appearing behind the man, they were giant and terrifying. They effortlessly wrapped around the man, and began bending and tossing his body around as if it was a toy.

  Horrifying screams broke the silence, went straight to the girl's ears. It was clear and shrill.

  No... Don't!

  She quickly covered her ears, then closed her eyes. She buried her head into the water again, then attempted to go back to her own silent world.

  "Hanister!" Soon after, another voice called out from far, then got closer, with a set of hurried footsteps.

  Go away...

  The girl kept her eyes shut.

  How can I still hear it?

  Knock knock —

  "Hanister Dyner!" The same voice called again, accompanied by some rapid knocks.

  Wait a second... This isn't right...

  The girl's eyes fluttered open. At last, she realized her cheeks weren't deep in the water. Instead, what was hugging her cheeks closely were... pillows?

  Bang!

  The door swung open, and there stood a woman at the doorway.

  The sudden shock caused the girl to shoot up in bed, her shoulder-length teal hair ruffled.

  "Hanister, I've been calling for you a couple of times already." The woman stood with her arms akimbo next to the entrance. "Hurry. The people from Star Defense Alliance had arrived.

  "Star Defense Alliance?" The girl on the bed was dumbfounded for a second. "Ah!" She hugged her head and cried, then hopped off the bed swiftly.

  "No way..." Hanister then sprinted towards the window.

  On a field not too far away parked a gyroplane with the letters S.D.A printed on the side of it.

  "They sent a gyroplane?" She turned around and asked, flabbergasted.

  The woman next to the door did not answer, but shared the equally confused expression. The girl left the window, then hugged the woman who woke her.

  "Can you ask them to give me a second?" She said willfully.

  "Hanister, I can't tell what's going on with the little brain of yours sometimes." The woman hugged back. "Perhaps I should just invite them in for breakfast." She shook her head, then watched the girl dashed into the bathroom.

  The sound of water splattering came from the bathroom door soon after, and there the busy morning for the Gamond Region began.

  By the time Hanister was done with her shower, her mother had already gone downstairs. She could've sworn this was the fastest shower she had ever taken. The girl walked back to her room then sat down in front of her vanity. She took out a blowdryer and started working on her hair. Her hair was much longer before, but she had already gotten it cut. She was glad that she had done so, even though she still felt a bit of regret.

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  "Hanister!" Her mother called out once again.

  This soon?

  Her hands jumped a bit at the voice while she was tying up her hair, she had just finished drying it. Hanister pulled open her wardrobe, put on a short-sleeved shirt, a jacket and a pair of pants. She deliberately picked something plain and simple, as she knew where was going already. Technically, she wouldn't have to wear something too 'flashy' for that place.

  She spun a couple of times in front of the mirror after she was done dressing, then picked up the luggage she had packed the night prior.

  Hanister walked out, and took one final look at the room. She rarely tidied up her room like this, especially her desk, nothing was ever quite organized. All of a sudden, her eyes were drawn to a photo on the desk. The girl hesitated for a second, before she decided to turn back to the desk, and pull out the photo that was in the picture frame. A photo of her and her father when she was young. She carefully tucked it into her luggage bag, then hurried downstairs.

  Within a few steps, she was immediately hit by the mouth-drooling smell from the kitchen. Freshly-cooked pancakes, cereal combined with the smell of fresh milk, and some sizzling eggs and bacon that were still lying in the pan.

  "Mom!" Hanister said as she hopped down the stairs. "I'll just have a cup of milk. Not exactly hungry now." She continued, but no one answered.

  The girl frowned a little, placed her luggage down at the staircase, and then headed towards the kitchen.

  "Mom, I said I'll just have a glass of..." She wasn't able to finish her sentence, since there was a fairly well-dressed stranger sitting at the table.

  The stranger stood up at once when he saw Hanister. He wasn't exactly just 'well-dressed,' he was wearing the S.D.A's uniform.

  "You must be Hanister." He showed a slight smile, "Hanister Dyner?"

  The girl looked the man over. He didn't seem to be much older than she is, probably only around his twenties. The S.D.A's uniform was extremely recognizable. A big piece gray with black edges, and there from underneath the neck to around the breast area was a lighter shade of gray. The color stretched out to the sides, covering the shoulder.

  He even carried a gun?

  The girl hesitated a bit when she saw the holster on the man's waist before she stuck out her hand. She was starting to regret that she didn't dress a little more 'appropriately.' The man who shook hands with her wasn't exactly good-looking, she thought that his hair was a bit too short. However, his expression was relatively bright, and he was dressed in suitable clothing, which suddenly seemed like a big contrast to how she was.

  "Hanister, you took such a long time." Hanister turned around once she heard her mother's voice, whose hands were still busy with the frying pan.

  "I'm the recruiter of Star Defense Alliance. My name is Joe, Joe Harvis." The man in uniform spoke kindly.

  "Are you ready?" He dropped his hand and asked.

  "How about just another quick second? I'm almost done." Hanister's mother suddenly cut into the conversation.

  "Mom, I just said I'm not hungry." The girl responded, a little annoyed.

  Joe didn't say anything in return, but it didn't seem like he wanted to sit back down as well.

  "Misses Dyner." He picked up the beret on the table, "I don't think it's necessary for me to stay for breakfast. I can just wait outside if you need me to."

  "Nonsense. You don't have to be so polite." The girl's mother wiped her hands on her apron a few times, then served a freshly-cooked plate of bacon onto the table, next to a pile of pancakes, jam and butter.

  There was a bowl of cereal with milk, but it was clear that Hanister didn't want to touch the cereal. She walked towards the refrigerator, pulled out the carton of milk, then took an empty glass from next to the sink.

  "Would you like some?" She looked directly at the man standing next to the table and asked, but he declined by shaking his head.

  "Alright then... Give me a second, we can leave once I finish the milk." The girl answered, then went ahead to pour herself a full glass of milk.

  She genuinely admired the recruiter's self-control, since the whole kitchen was filled with the tempting, appetizing smell of food. If it wasn't because that she didn't quite have the appetite for some food right now, she would definitely reach out for the pancakes with seasames. Maybe this is how the S.D.A's training is? Hanister couldn't help but think, since how the organization operated was similar to the army, with discipline, compliance and living a fairly serious lifestyle.

  The girl drank up all the liquid, then put the cup back to the sink. "Let's go." She swiped her tongue across her lips to remove any milk residue.

  "Hanister, what are you in a hurry for?" The woman said with her back towards the dining table.

  "You spent such a long time in the shower, but wouldn't take five minutes to eat something?" She tossed a couple of tomatoes into the blender after she finished the sentence.

  "I did-" the girl couldn't help but retorted, but her voice was quickly cut off by the noise of the blending machine.

  "Whatever, we're leaving." Hanister said after the blending machine stopped, she nodded towards the man on the opposite side of the table. The man then put on his hat, walked out of the dining room and towards the door.

  Hanister didn't immediately follow up. Instead, she walked to her mother again. She was washing the frying pan in the sink.

  "I'm really leaving now." The girl hugged her. "I'm sorry... you prepared so much." She took another glance at the delicious servings on the table.

  "Come on, Hanister" The woman put down the pan and rinsed her hands. "These weren't for you anyway." She turned around and held her daughter tightly by the waist.

  Hanister and her mother stared into each other. She couldn't help but let a small chuckle slip through her lips, and soon her mother joined in as well.

  "Remember, don't starve yourself out there."

  "I won't." The girl promised. She looked at the pair of eyes similar to hers, she looked at Zoe, her mother. Hanister knew that she had gotten the toughness and boldness from her mother. Zoe wasn't born in the country, but she left her luxury and dissipated city life behind, and welcomed the simple, tranquil life at the crops area, Gamond Region. Even though the reason behind her doing so had long been gone.

  After Hanister's father had passed, her mother didn't move back to the city. Instead, she stayed in Gamond, continued on looking after the big fields of crops that belonged to them. At this moment, Zoe looked at her daughter's face. It was a face that was once crying nonstop, a face with naiveness only a child could have.

  Are you seeing this, Jim?

  She asked in her heart, at the same time trying to hold in her tears. She didn't want her daughter to carry hindrance with her on her journey.

  Hanister let go of her mother. In certain aspects, they were very similar. She had a really big fight with her mother when she first decided to join the S.D.A, but now she knew that her mother wasn't going to stop her. She'll never stop worrying, but she will be proud at the same time.

  At last, the girl turned around, then followed after the recruiter in hurried steps. Her mother followed as well, she didn't even bother to take off her apron.

  Hanister picked up the luggage she dropped, walked out the door, and saw Joe waiting outside.

  "Let's go." She said to the recruiter.

  Zoe stopped at the door, with a hint of a smile on her face. She waved without a sound, seeing the two of them off.