The Time from Before

Celestial Threat

The sound of Allen's voice jolted Harper awake. "Harper! Up! Now!" He shouted, urgency in his tone.

She saw him scrambling to put on his gear, not wasting a second. She knew something was wrong, but she didn't ask. She followed his lead, grabbing her own gear and checking her rifle.

Marina heard the commotion from her room and came out, rubbing her eyes. She saw Allen and Harper ready to leave, completely decked out with combat gear, and fear gripped her heart.

"W-What's happening?" She asked, her voice trembling.

"We're leaving, and I don't know when we'll get back. Take care of the other two." Allen said, without looking at her. He opened the apartment door and ran out, Harper close behind him.

Marina stood there, stunned.

The silence was deafening.

Questions unanswered. Anxiety building. And nothing that can be done about it, at least, not by her.

Ange emerged from her room, yawning. She saw Marina's concerned look and sensed something was wrong.

"What's goin' on...?" She asked, still sleepy.

"I-I don't know. I don't know." Marina repeated, looking at the door.

"Alright, calm down." Ange's demeanor rapidly changed. Her voice became a little harsher, and her mannerisms shifted. "Allen isn't one to get himself killed so easily."

"Sorry, I just–" Marina sighed, frustrated. She wrapped her arms around herself, a nervous habit of hers. "And how would you know?"

"I've been on a few deployments with him." Ange said, placing her hands on her hips. She sounded confident, almost cocky.

Marina looked at her, and realized something. This wasn't Ange. This was Mel.

"Mel?" Marina asked, surprised.

"Yeah?" Mel looked at her, smiling.

"Good to have you back." Marina said, relieved. She liked Mel more than she did Ange.

"I didn't like the feeling of having someone else control my body. Ange's asleep for the time being." Mel chuckled. "Although not for long. I don't know what triggers the switch, but I can force it temporarily."

Marina nodded, trying to distract herself.

Not that she could.

*Boom*

A loud explosion, like a sonic boom, shook the sky above. Marina gasped, and Mel was quick to react.

She ran to the door and opened it, looking up at the night sky. She saw a red, fiery streak cutting through the air like an arrow. But it wasn't alone. There were more. Two. Three. Six. Nine. Fourteen. More and more streaks of red light appeared, falling from the sky.

What were they?

Marina joined Mel at the door, and looked up too. She felt a chill run down her spine. She had never seen anything like this before.

They weren't the only ones who noticed. The Dominion presence on this planet responded.

Six missiles, launched from a nearby Arctos installation, or maybe even the bunker, soared into the sky, intercepting the falling objects.

All six hit their mark, creating flashes of red and orange in the sky. The explosions were loud, but distant.

Two streams of red tracers, fired from the same installation, followed the missiles, aiming at the remaining objects.