the Halleaux

Collection: Ages of Youth, the Halleaux - Chronicled by Valhel
“It has been four months now since our arrival here at Roanoke base.’ penned Petra, ‘Morale is holding, but I fear that will not last so long as our endeavors fail. You used to ask me what I would do once you were gone…I had all the answers then.
Mech continues to work with the professor, tinkering away in the labs with new time jump technology. Marius serves the community well, assuring the defenders of our cause and doing his best to encourage them. But things are not as well as some believe.”

Petra glanced over to a shield resting against the doorpost of her quarters, the once transparent face of which had become cloudy from use. Turning back to a small, black journal she continued.
“There have been…set backs. We had an intruder a few weeks ago. In the dead of night someone got in, somehow, and made their way to the armory and the lab. As far as we could tell nothing was stolen or tampered with. And according to your new friend this intrusion was not on the part of the Authority. But there was something left, a chest, black and cold, insi-”
“Commander!”
Petra whisked the book shut and spun around in her seat, “Yes, Marius. What can I do for you?” She leaned to rest her forehead in her hand, arm covering the journal upon the desk.
“Commander, yes, hi!’ said Marius, unsure if her should be informal or not, ‘I- I just wanted to check in on you. You haven’t been the same since…”
Petra met with an icy look of disapproval, “Lots of things haven’t been the same, Marius.”
“Right, yes. Well. I didn’t mean…’ Marius tried to recollect his words, stepping casually forward, ‘I didn’t mean since Valjean.”
Petra dropped her gaze to the floor, pushing aside the journal. Marius disarmingly knelt down to meet her eyes, “You were just trying to make sure that no one else had to get hurt.”
“Was I?”
“Commander, ever since that box. You haven’t been the same.”
Petra’s shame turned to retrained anger as she rose, “Will you be ready for your upcoming mission, Lieutenant?” 
“Petra, I, we-“
“Commander!”
Marius looked down before standing up again. In an effort to avoid Petra’s eyes Marius looked else where in the room, his gaze resting upon a dark and forlorn object in the corner, the chest.
“Commander…’ said Marius, returning his eyes to meet Petra’s, ‘we’re worried about you. You saw something in there and it’s changing you.”
“Will you be ready for your upcoming mission, Lieutenant?” growled Petra.
Marius looked back to the ominous chest, “Yes, Commander.”
Anger slowly began to give way to fear in Petra’s face before she turned away. 
“Marius, if we cannot return to the mountains. If we cannot support our allies there,’ Petra whispered, ‘then we may not have a future for Haven.”
“What’s in the box, Petra?”
For a moment she considered telling him, but could such horrible knowledge be safe with her friend? Would it not be better to shoulder the burden alone? Would she be able to evade the haunts of that terrible thing alone?
Static fizzled over a radio on the desk, “We found them!”
“Mech?” asked Petra, happy to have the change of subject.
“Yes, Commander!’ celebrated Mech, ‘A few more weeks and I believe we will have a new apparatus ready to jump and make contact.” 
Petra turned from the radio back to Marius, “You best begin packing.”
Marius forced a smile, nodded, and left without a word. Alone again, Petra slumped back into the chair at her desk, taking up the pen and black journal. 
“History has been written in blood, but are our battles really lost on the battle field? Could you tell what is, or what was, or what is to come? Will anything last?”

Part I of II