2554CE

Magnus woke to the shocking news of Terra's surrender to the Affini Compact, Of course, he had always expected it with the speed at which the Affini had occupied Terran worlds but to hear that a treaty had finally been signed made both fear and relief run down his spine, Of course, the war had never really affected Magnus living in a small town of only a few hundred people but just hearing that there was a war on had of course been a cause of concern but the fear was everpresent, The war was over now but who knew what rule by the Affini Compact would be like in comparison.

Magnus listened to the propaganda the Affini had been putting out but it all just sounded unbelievable, No Capitalism or Terran Accord and these new xenodrugs and the odd Domestication program, It was all too much far too quickly but Magnus just suppressed his fear as best as he could and tried to keep living his life the way he had before, after all, he still needed a job and the Affini still hadn't arrived although Magnus feared that it probably wouldn't be long until they did.

He soon arrived at the local clinic, His workplace for the last few years, He wasn't really a fully qualified Doctor but he was the closest the town could get to one and so people from all over town relied on him, The day was mostly a blur, Just going through the motions of talking to people and proscribing any medication which seemed like it would help, Magnus had previously had some passion but that had mostly been drained away by the sheer stress and boredom the job seemed to bring about simultaneously but the recent news had prompted a lot of talk from his patients, A surprising amount seemed to be excited about the Affini's eventual arrival and encouraged him to tune in to Affini broadcasts, some even gave him small pamphlets about contacting the Affini but Magnus just shrugged them off and then let them talk. 

"These people are fanatics" a voice growled while walking through the clinic doors, The voice belonged to one of the few people Magnus spoke to on a daily occurrence a man named Ace. "I hope I'm not the only one here who hasn't gone mad" He continued in an angry tone whilst walking over to the counter. "Hi, Ace" Magnus responded rather meekly not really feeling in the mood for Ace's angry rants about the war. 

"Haven't you heard the news!" Ace practically shouted, "The Terran Accord has sold us out to these aliens" Magnus sighed to himself feeling resigned to having to participate, "I've heard," he said tersely. "And it gets worse" Ace stated barely even acknowledging his answer "These damn aliens want to fit everyone with a mind-controlling implant! They've already started to the people in the cities"  Magnus had heard the rumours but to hear it from another Terran did make him feel fearful but it sounded too much like fearmongering, surely such technology didn't even exist. 

"I've signed up with the rebels Magnus, I can't just do nothing while the alien's abuse people like this" Ace said sounding as if he was calming down, "And well... We'll be needing a Doctor for our ship so that's why I've come to you" Ace proposed with a hint of hope in his voice, Magnus considered the offer for a second, signing up with the rebels could be a way to finally get a bit of excitement in his life but it also seemed pretty dangerous given how powerful this Affini Compact purported to be and besides it seemed like an overreaction to go rushing to rebellion based on a few rumours. 

A few seconds went by which felt like minutes to Magnus before he finally decided "Well I'm flattered that you want me of all people but I can't accept I'm afraid" Ace looked down for a moment before adopting a more angry expression so Magnus quickly decided to try and add some context to his refusal "I'm worried about what the Affini will do as well Ace but I don't want to risk rushing to a rebel group right away without giving these Aliens a chance." Magnus quickly added "After all they must be doing something right to be able to bring down the Terran Accord so quickly" Magnus joked before quickly regretting it.

Ace seemed fit to explode into a rage at that comment but somehow kept it bottled up before responding calmly "I'd hoped it wouldn't come to this" Ace said as he quickly pulled out a gun and took aim "I've promised the rebels a Doctor, Magnus!" Ace stated furiously "So you're joining whether you want to or not!" Magnus was taken aback by the threat, Ace had always been something of a Terran Patriot but he never expected him to go to such lengths, He thinks about trying to calm the situation but finds himself lost for words.

Before either of them could continue another person loudly entered the clinic and shouts authoritatively "Put the gun down Ace, you utter imbecile" They walk over revealing themselves to be a woman wearing what seemed like military attire "It's not becoming of a rebel to run around threatening civilians... especially ones that you claimed would want to join us" Ace for a second let out an unintelligible stutter before lowering his gun.

"But don't mistake my meaning Doctor" She adds formally while turning to me, "You shall be joining us before these Affini arrive and make us all their pets!" She snarled out in calm but genuine seeming anger. She seemed to act much less violently than Ace but spoke with much more authority in her voice. My mind rushed with possibilities about how I could try to avoid this situation, These rebels certainly seemed to intend to force me to join them. 

With my hands laying on the counter I suddenly spied one of the Pro Affini pamphlets that had been given to me earlier in the day and I quickly grabbed it and placed it in my pocket before either of the rebels seemed to notice, The silence was then broken when a loud beeping sound occurred, The female rebel fished a small comm unit out of their pocket before putting it to their ear and their expression rapidly turned grim before they put it back "I'm afraid you'll be joining us quicker than expected Doctor" She finally said, "The Affini will be arriving quicker than expected so we'll have to go now!" She commanded. 

Magnus considered resisting and trying to wait out the rebels but with them both armed he figured they'd be no point anyway so he slowly but surely decided to comply for now internally praying that the pamphlet he'd grabbed had some contact details on it, Surely even these alien invaders would be better than being kidnapped into a rebel group. 

He walked with the two rebels out of the clinic and down the street for a few blocks in silence before reaching a small clearing of grassland where a corvette was waiting along with a small crowd, Ace was acting strangely as we walked over, He looked over at Magnus for second as if to say something before turning away with a quiet sigh.

The female rebel walked quickly ahead of Magnus and Ace straight into the middle of the crowd before seemingly starting a speech "Welcome Free Terrans! I certainly hope all of you are willing to fight and fight hard for the freedom of our species and if you are then I shall be your Captain, My name is Captain Celine Vita and this is my ship the Libertas! Now our ship may be small but a few strong people devoted to securing freedom can accomplish much I assure you and of course, once we have freed the Terran Accord you shall all be compensated for your efforts" 

Magnus groaned at hearing that part, bribing people to join the rebellion seemed desperate and exploitative and would probably put a lot of people off anyway with the Affini promising to end Capitalism entirely but despite his concerns, the crowd was quickly piling onto the ship as Magnus suddenly realized he had been left in the dust slightly as the crowd and Ace had rushed ahead of him to the Libertas as Celine looked at him her eyes shooting daggers "Come along now Doctor, You don't want to cause a scene" while gesturing for him to follow. Seeing no other option Magnus walks onto the ship, Celine pats his shoulder and then walks past him "I'll show you to your quarters and we'll be leaving soon after"

Magnus follows Celine through the small ship past various recruits who all seem to have a fearful yet determined look on their faces until he came to a spacious white room filled with several beds "This is the best we've got for now and we're low when it comes to actual medicine but you'll have to do your best with this" She said while walking over and gesturing to a small mostly empty cabinet with a few tiny bottles of various pills inside "I'll leave you to it then" She said as she left Magnus alone with his thoughts at last in these new medical quarters.

But Magnus could soon hear a lot of noise outside my room from the other recruits, They seemed to be singing some kind of song, Intrigued by this he opened the door and waited to listen to it for a while.

"And again in march trumpet calleth us.

We all stand in order,

And go to the holy battle.

We are all children of a great empire,

We all remember the commandments of our fathers:

For the Homeland, Honor, Glory,

Pity neither thyself nor the enemy." 

It seemed as if it were some kind of communal song for the rebels and it was sung quite well by these recruits but feeling awkward hanging around Magnus soon went back into my quarters and started to think about how he could turn this room into anything resembling a proper doctor's office. 

Magnus decided to start off by examining the medical supplies he has and starts looking through the bottles of pills when he accidentally knocks one off the cabinet hitting his shirt, The impact reminds him of the pamphlet he grabbed and he quickly grabs it out of his pocket and looks at it. Upon reading it, it reads how most Affini propaganda seems to, It promises to protect all Terrans and ensure that they have all they need to live a full and content life and it promises to bring to an end the Capitalism of the Terran Accord but at the bottom of the pamphlet something jumps out to Magnus, It provides a short list of ways to contact the Affini Compact from Cell Unit to Ship Communications and even Radio Frequencies.

Magnus thought for a moment, There's no chance that he'll be given access to ship communications and he doubts any old radios are stored here either but there was a cell unit left on a bed here presumably intended for him, and Magnus quickly grabbed it and began to fiddle with it, Magnus had never actually had a cell unit before and was unsure how it functioned but quickly got the hang of it, The pamphlet contained a link which once inputted took Magnus to a website where he could speak to an Affini in a chatroom of sorts and request aid. 

Magnus hoping to be rescued as quickly as possible and before any of the rebels noticed he was contacting their sworn quickly typed into the cell unit still hoping to make his request sound professional despite his panic  <My name is Magnus and I've been forced on a rebel ship called the Libertas and we're going to be taking off soon, I'd like to request a rescue from the Affini Compact> Magnus then sent the message and quickly put the cell unit down hoping that a response would be swift. 

Only a few minutes after laying the comm unit down a response came through <Poor little terran, I'm Exdela Rine Third Bloom, We'll be arriving soon and we'll see to it that you are rescued from those nasty rebels dear but in the meantime make sure you keep yourself safe precious one> Magnus had been expecting an equally formal message in response but the affection in the message made him blush unexpectedly before deciding to type back a very terse <Thank You> before putting away the comm unit for good in his pocket hoping that the Affini would rescue him quickly. 

As Magnus thought about it his anxieties only increased however, Sure the Affini might rescue him from the rebels but who knows how they'll treat him in comparison, especially as someone who had just sold out a ship full of rebels to them, Sure the Affini who had responded to him seemed nice but maybe it was just a facade to draw people in but Magnus conceded he was probably past the point of no return at this point, The Affini already knew where he was and were hopefully coming to free him soon so despite his fears he tried to feel more excited about the Affini rather than fearful.  

Magnus's thoughts were interrupted when a crackling sound came through what seemed to be speakers throughout the ship followed by Cecil's voice "This is your Captain speaking" She began in a sarcastic tone before laughing "We'll be taking off now and setting a course to Prometheus 4, It's an old comet mining facility where we should be able to resupply the Liberteras and in other news, you'll all be glad to know that we've procured the assistance of a Doctor for our ship but while we're low on supplies I'd encourage you not to seek any treatment unless it's absolutely necessary... and remember that all our suffering is for a greater cause." 

Magnus was familiar with the sentiment, The idea that pain is purifying in some sense or makes activities worth it had been pushed on him for a while yet he still found the whole idea difficult to believe, Surely there was more to life than simply pain in pursuit of some larger goal, something which is more pleasant for people, The Affini had certainly claimed to have that alternative Magnus thought and then as his thoughts drifted to the Affini Compact he pulled out his comm unit. He had the location the Libertas was heading to now, It would be easy to send it to the Affini and maybe speed up how quickly he was rescued. 

Magnus stood still thinking about it for the longest of times before deciding that while the Affini Compact may be lying in their propaganda they surely couldn't be worse than the dull life he led under the Terran Accord and so he decided to go all in and prepared a message <The rebel Captain has announced that we're going to be heading to a place called Prometheus 4> Magnus could easily have ended the message there but there something in him that just couldn't, he was still fearful of the Affini and at the same time he was still fearful of how the rebels would react if they ever found out what he was doing and right here was someone he could talk to about it, He barely knew them but they had been more affectionate and kind to him then any other Terran ever had so after a few seconds Magnus added to the message <I'm worried about what might happen if the rebels find out I've contacted you... But I'm also scared about how the Affini Compact will treat me> Magnus looked at the message for a second, He didn't really know why he was sending it, it seemed like just asking someone else to deal with his emotional problems for him but he hoped that maybe that Affini could assuage his fears.

Magnus waited for a response almost as if he was desperate to speak to this Affini but he found it impossible that he could have connected so quickly to an Affini so quickly, especially one he hadn't even met in person but he couldn't deny how he felt while waiting until he heard that all too familiar beep of the comm unit <Such a brave terran, that information will be very helpful dear and I can assure you precious one that the Affini Compact means you no harm and once we've rescued you from those mean feralists I'd like it if you allowed me the opportunity to show you that>

Magnus looked at the reply for a second before being interrupted as someone knocked on his door, he frantically placed the comm unit away and rushed to the door where he saw an unfamiliar rebel waiting outside "Can I come in?" They asked, Magnus wordlessly stood aside and allowed them to enter and watched as they walked in and slowly sat down on one of the many empty beds in the room. 

"So what's wrong?" Magnus asked the rebel as he sat down on the opposing bed, The rebel looked "Well... It's... Well, I don't really know how to explain it" Their attempts to explain were interrupted as Magnus's comm unit suddenly beeped while in his pocket, panic was immediately present on Magnus's face as he rushed to grab the comm unit hoping to be able to see more of the Affini's words but in his haste, the unit slipped from his fingers and fell in front of the rebel who with a sympathetic look on their face picked it up when suddenly their eyes lit up, they starred at it for a few seconds as Magnus froze in fear before unexpectedly rising up and throwing their arms around Magnus. 

Magnus still stayed motionless unsure of what to do with this rebel hugging them "You were forced here too huh," They whispered in Magnus's ear before moving back to the bed they were originally on and continuing to look over the comm unit, Magnus still in somewhat stunned silence tried to get some words out "Your... You support the Affini?" Magnus slowly asked, A smile jumped across the rebel's face "More than that, I'm a floret, or at least I was going to be until I was forced on here" 

"A floret?" Magnus asked "A pet" They translated before adding "I know it sounds strange but I had been talking to an Affini online for days in preparation for them arriving, I had lots of time to think about it and I just feel this connection to them you know? The idea of having a kind owner to always care for me who I can trust just sounds wonderful" As they were talking their eyes seemed to glaze over as if merely thinking about it was blissful for them "Anyway sorry I'm rambling, The Affini you've been talking to well... They were... hopefully, will be my owner" 

"Should... Should I tell them" Magnus asked and they nodded rapidly "My name is Mabel by the way" they added "Magnus" he responded before being handed the comm unit back and he quickly began to type a message into it <I've met a girl named Mabel who was also forced to come aboard, They say they were due to be your floret>

"Thank you," Mabel said somewhat suddenly "I thought that they might have forced you aboard but I was... well I suppose I was too scared to ask directly, these rebels can be so violent" 

"The Affini should arrive once we get to Prometheus 5," Magnus said in an attempt to reassure her "You should leave though, Make sure none of these rebels gets too suspicious," Magnus said in an almost commanding tone and Mabel quickly nodded in response before leaving.

Almost instantly after Mabel leaves the comm unit makes another beep and Magnus rushes to check it <You'll be safe from that ship soon enough little sophont and I do appreciate you assisting my cute floret to be precious Magnus, I can't wait to meet you in person once we've dealt with those silly rebels> The reassuring words of Exdela have an oddly strong effect on Magnus almost making his fears of being on a rebel ship vanish entirely. He is able to oddly relate to Mabel's choice to become a floret, The safe and warm feeling that comes from Exdela's words is easily able to ease any concerns Magnus had.

Magnus quickly snapped himself awake from the bliss-filled trance of sorts Exdela's words had brought him to and he walked over to a window he had only just noticed, He had never seen space before and for a while just stared out into the emptiness of the void, He certainly liked the feeling it had given him but he couldn't help but feel resentful that this was being forced on him to some extent and so while he did feel a certain longing for the same experience again he also felt a tingling of anger. It certainly felt to Magnus that the Affini seemed better than the Terran Accord was but Magnus felt a craving to know how much better it really was once he'd cut through the propaganda and was able to see life in the Affini Compact as it truly was.

After the day Magnus had gone through the shock of the events seemed to wear off and he found himself feeling weary and so slowly he decided to have a small nap hopefully to prepare him for when the Affini finally arrived, It probably wouldn't do to be sleep deprived when they rescued him and Mabel, As he began to lie down and assess his thoughts he felt a terrible singe of anxiety when thinking about what would happen to the actual rebels on the Libertas and so he just before he began to sleep he decided to post one final message to Exdela <What will happen to the rebels once you arrive? I should hate them for kidnapping me but... I just can't shake the feeling of anxiety over how the Affini will treat them> Magnus send the message and then almost instantaneously fell into the dark oblivion of sleep.

Magnus suddenly awoke to the blaring of alarms, he raggedly got up and looked around and saw a large plant-like ship through the window, "That's annoying" Magnus said to no one in particular realizing that he must have slept longer than expected, As he woke up more and regained his senses he began to hear a panicked voice outside calling his name that seemed as if it had been speaking without Magnus's recognition for a time "Magnus! Magnus! Magnus, it's me" He finally heard, It sounded like Mabel's voice and so Magnus rushed to the door to open it. Mabel almost fell into his arms as the doors opened "Oh thank you!" They hurriedly said. "What's going on" Magnus blurted out. "What'd you think dummy," Mabel said jokingly seeming to have quickly recovered from her panic "The Affini are finally here to help us"

"That would make sense" Magnus commented "We can probably just wait in..." Magnus was suddenly cut off by the sound of loud and frequent gunfire throughout the ship, He looked back and saw Mabel sitting on one of the beds she seemed to be slightly scared just like he was and so he almost shocking himself walked over and threw his arms around her Mabel quickly reciprocating his affection, They held each other together for almost a minute as the gunfire ceased and the alarms soon followed, There were a few seconds of silence until they heard another voice "Helloooooo cuties, please come out I promise no harm will come to you" It sounded like an Affini, Magnus felt hesitant to answer for a moment until Mabel shouted out "We're in here!" The Affini quickly responded and the door came open and their gaze seemed to grow softer as they saw Magnus and Mabel embracing each other "So you two are the adorable seedlings we're here to rescue" Mabel quickly chirped back happily "That's us"  "Oh you poor things" The Affini said as it slowly began to pet Magnus and Mabel with their vines, Mabel seemed to lean into the touch whereas Magnus remained awkwardly non-responsive to it as if frozen. 

The Affini then suddenly picked them both up wrapping them in their vines although carefully making sure that they didn't force them apart, Magnus felt a brief pang of annoyance at being grabbed so suddenly until the anxiety thought of having to walk out of the ship quickly convinced him that it was probably for the best "I'm going to give both of you precious seedlings of you a small dose of some Class Z and Class E Xenodrugs" The Affini announced, Magnus suddenly looked up at the Affini preparing an objection but before he could a vine was pressed to his lips "Don't worry little one, I'll keep you safe and you'll both stay together, it's just to keep you precious sophonts both happy and relaxed as we leave, You know Exdela is quite smitten with the both of you" Magnus's fears were eased by the soothing voice of the Affini and before he could think to question it further he felt an injection in his arm as calmness seemed to radiate throughout his body and he grew tired as he began to fall asleep in comforting vines "Thank y..." He barely managed to mutter out before totally conceding to his weariness and closing his eyes.