Tension in the muscles of Dax’s arms was soon released as she stretched her arms as she closed her eyes from the morning sun, it was a fake sun, but it did its job.

It woke her up.

Letting lose a yawn she looked over at her clock her on messy nightstand. 09:31.

“Damn” she thought. “ It’s not even ten yet”.

Everyone knew that if Dax got up early on a day when she didn’t have to do anything, she would most likely to be in a bad mood. Dax threw off her blankets and sheets and walked to bathroom, there she did her morning routine of showing and so forth, then set out to change into her day’s attire. Since wandering around the system in her P.J.’s, which was basically just a large shirt with “ O-1 “ on it would not be a good idea.

Dax was now dressed. Her clothing was now her leather shirt, black Cargo pants and her amulet around her neck. Her amulet was from a sprite friend of hers, It was a copper Icon. A gift from her friend right before she left for the Academy. She promised to stayed in contact with her friend, and did.

“ Morn’s Hun," said Dax’s mother as Dax entered the living room.

Jenny was in the middle of the room in her workout clothes doing push-ups. A daily routine that Dax had grown uses to. Making her way into the kitchen, she only let out a grunt of acknowledgment to her mother, as she entered into the kitchen.

Jenny balanced herself on her arm as she reached for the remote and turned up the volume on the TV.

“Today.. Kathy Demar, CEO of ‘ MetaShip’ shipping will now be the standard shipping facility for all Guardian, Military and Government divisions for Metaverse Earth products. Here we see her and her assistant at the meeting…”

Jenny fell hard on the ground as she took a look at the assistant to Kathy Demar. She slowly slid to her knees and crawled to the TV. Placing her fingers on the holo-screen her mouth was wide open.

“Jeff…” She said silently.

A man, standing about 6’1 Jenny would have guessed, with dark hair and very demonic looking green eyes stood next to the women. He had a very bland expression on his face, like he didn’t care to be there.

“ Uh…. You ok mom?” asked Dax as she exited the kitchen and sipped her O.J.  As he mom now sat in front of the TV.

Jenny spun around, still in her daze state, but soon recovered.

“ Dax Alexandria Lockheart! How many times do I have to tell you not to sneak up on me!” snapped her mother.

“ Sorry… Geez…” she mummers as she sips her drink and begins walking up stairs.

“ Some people.. Catch them acting weird and they go all sections 8 on ya.. Geez’s….”

As Dax walked up-stairs, Jenny fell back on her butt and placed her head in her hands, and fought to hold back the tears.

Listen Crix.. I’m telling ya.. Mom’s gone like AWOL or something ever since she saw the news report.” Said Dax to her younger brother.

Crix looked up from his open laptop. In had fallen off his desk on to many times and now failed to work, he hoped he could get it running by the end of the month. The Mp3’s in the background, coming from his main computer had made Dax have to yell at him so she could get his attention.

“ And this bothers me why?” replied her brother.

“ Because….” Began Dax. Then with a quick movement, developed over years of torturing her sibling, got her brother in a headlock, making him drop his screwdriver. “ When Mom’s not Happy.. I’m, not happy.. And when I’m not happy, your less then happy, got it?”

“Got.. It”

“Good”

Jenny brushed away the salty fluid that was leaking from her eyes.

Jenny’s work laid in front of her, but having seen Jeff on TV, she knew it wasn’t a fluke, that was him, she knew it. But why hadn’t he tracked her down? Why hadn’t he show up in her window late at night and reclaimed the women he loved? Why had not even called? All these questions ran through her mind.

Jenny looked at the work in front of her, she would never get this done tonight. Then she thought over what had been running through her mind since she gave birth to her children, that she had to tell them the truth.

To bad for her, Dax and Crix weren’t in. She didn’t feel much like cooking, and those two could cook as well as a null. She looked at the clock on the wall, they should have been back over 20 minutes ago. She heard the front door open and heavy footsteps. She stood, thinking her children where back, the she stopped as she listens more closely. There were four sets of footsteps.

She cursed to herself for not keeping a weapon closer to her at all times, but the life she had lead for eighteen-year’s had somewhat soften her. The only gun she had in the house was locked away in her room, on the next floor.

Jenny slowly crept out of the den. Pressing herself against the wall as she walked as quietly as she could. She listen closely as she did, there was no sound of noise, other then the steps, which seem to have become lighter. If it were robbers, then they should have been all over the house. Peering around the corner Jenny saw who now stood in her house.

One of the figures turn, pulled his weapon and fired before Jenny had the chance to move. Jenny lay on the floor of the hallway, crimson liquid seeped slowly from her body, as she lay knocked out and dying.

Crix and Dax arrived home later then they hoped. There was a street fair and they had stopped to hear the bands play, But their happy mood soon faded as they saw the ambulance and two CPU cars at the front of there house.

Horror filled their veins as they dropped the cold pizza they carried and ran up the lawn to the house. A woman CPU stopped as they reached the door.

“ Whoa…hold it kid’s, ya can’t go in there…”

“ This is our house! What happen!”

The cop looked down at her data pad, tapped in a few things and held it out to Dax. Dax had been in trouble with the cops before and she knew what to do, pressing her finger on the small pad on the bottom, it scanned her. And the cop looked at the picture and information.

“ And him?”

“ He’s my brother.. No record…”

“Yet..” Crix muttered under his breath. Knowing very well that if the cops searched his room they would find more then one or two illegal programs running on his computers.

“ Well Ms. Lockheart. You mother was shot, we believe it was done by some robbers. She caught them and they shot her… That’s what we believe anyway.”

“Where is she?”

“ At the CMS Hospital on 24^th and 23^rd, she in EC at the moment.”

Dax closed her eyes and lowered her head. Crix on the other hand, was more interested on where they had found their mother.

“ Lower hallway.” Replied the officer and walked off to file the report from her car.

Crix placed a hand on her sister shoulder and led her inside the house. The flashing lights of the CPU faded away into the night, and Dax sat on the couch, tears in her eyes. Crix was walking down the hallway when he shouted for Dax. She slowly stood, brushing the tears from her deep green eyes.

“What.. is it” she asked, walking slowly down the hall.

“ Mom went for a walk…”

“What?”

Crix stood at the back of the hallway, next to the den, where the was a burn mark in the wall.

“ Cop’s said they found her in the lower hallway right?”

“….Yeah..” Dax manage to get out, she nodded towards the marks on the floor, from which a deep crimson stain was present.

“ But from the angle, It would suggest that she was hit over here and stumbled, to where she was found.”

“ What’s the point Crix?”

“Someone, or someone’s moved the body.”

“ Point?”

“ Don’t know yet, I don’t think this was a break in.”

“ Then what else is it?”

“ Well, don’t know yet… but I’m going to find out.”

“ You do that Sherlock, I’m going to pack some of mom’s things and head down the hospital.”

Dax headed off towards her mother’s room. Opening the door she stepped into the dark room, flipping on the lights is soon turn to day. Her mothers room always had a certain smell and feel to the atmosphere, one Dax felt both foreboding and yet, so comfortable.

Dax open the large closet door and walked into the closet. If it weren’t for Jenny work, she never would have such a need for so many clothes. Then again, she could never throw anything away. Dax looked around, more of the normal stuff she had always seen, but what she was looking for was in here. She had seen it when she was a child, she knew it was in here, but where?

Bingo she thought to herself. Atop a shelf barely peeking through a sweater, the corner of a box. Dax reached up, stretching the muscles in her legs and back to reach it, she pushed the heavy cotton sweater out of the way and grabbed the side of the box, sliding it forward enough so she could take it in both hands.

Walking out of the closet she set the medium sized redwood box on the bed. It was true what she had said to Crix, she was going to pack her mothers stuff, but she had a feeling that she needed what was in this box, she felt scared, she felt threaten. She felt like she needed more then just her abilities to fight what had attack her family.

Dax held the small lock in her hand and though for a moment, and decided she would take her mothers wrath on this one. Dax reached down to her side pack and unbutton it, removing a small file from it, it was a nail file but it would work. Placing the thin metal file between the bolt and the lock, she gave it a quick hard jab, snapping the lock and her file.

“ Ow!” Dax gave a small cry as the metal cut her finger. She sucked on it a bit as she removed the busted lock and opened the box she had seen so many times, yet never knew what was in it.

“Mother…what have you been hiding?” grinned Dax as she ran her hands over the black leather that was on top. The leather had been worn, it was still smooth, but only the smoothness you get from a long time of use. Dax pulled it out and let it unfold, it was a suit!. Not just any suit, a military under suit for a battle mech., late 2400’s Dax would have guessed. These suits were made to be worn underneath the control suit, they were made to take large amounts of punishment, and thus they made good armor. But why would a home decorator need such elaborate gear?

“ Mom a Dom.?… Nah…” Dax laughed to herself and set the suit on the bed and looked into the box. She pulled out a Data pad and turned it on.

“Enter Password” it beeped to her.

“ Password? Hmmm…” Dax thought to herself, and after trying one or two and getting no where, turned it off and tossed it on the bed.

Dax pulled out a pair of shades and then s small ring, she looked it over carefully, it was over elaborate, just a simple gold ring.

“Wedding band… Must have…” Dax began and then placed the ring down gently. That was not to be thrown about.

Finally, all that was left was a crimson velvet cloth that covered the bottom of the box. Dax removed the cloth and placed it aside, and there, at the bottom of the box laid what Dax knew had to been in there all along. She picked the object up and held it in her hands.

Dax grinned, she love the way it felt. The wood pressed in her palm, she could feel the ridges in it. The cool metal pressed against the skin between her thumb and index finger. Her senses seemed more alive, as if this thing gave her a new sense, she could smell the sent of metal and wood, and even the faint strange burnt smell discharged plasma leaves behind. She could taste the metal in her mouth. She knew she had met her new best friend. Returning her hand into the box she retrieved its friend and reunited the two.

The larger one hummed at the return of it’s companion, and Dax couldn’t help but giggle a little bit, she now held in her hand, something that seem to be a part of her, and she loved it. Why? She couldn’t figure that out, no.. Not quite yet. But soon.

Finding a spot on her belt she placed her new friend closed to her body, and began the packing her of mothers things.