At first Cole felt the warmth of the afternoon sun. Next all he could feel was bitter cold as if he had just forcibly participated in an ice bucket challenge. As he shivered he heard an unfamiliar sound. After a few minutes pondering he realized it was an alarm of some kind. Cole’s first thought is to naturally turn it off but his hands swiped through the air at nothing. When swiping his arm did not produce the desired result it added to his further disorientation. What was worse was the sounds he heard below him. It sounded like a new voice. One he had not heard before in his life. Cole became aware of the fact that his body was only touching something small while the rest of him seemed to be floating. He became more alarmed. His mind was still swathed in fog as if waking from a deep sleep. “What the hell?” he replied groggily. A male voice spoke: “We don’t have time for this.” It growled. Cole’s first reaction was to object and demand answers however his mental malaise made it very difficult. A new sound gave him pause for behind he heard the sounds of many boots on metal sounding as if an army of soldiers. whose weapons seemed to fire lasers in their general direction. Cole’s only thought at this point was: How did I go from being fired to being fired upon? As he felt himself being placed down he slumped against what he was leaning against and passed out. 

 “L.A.D. Initialized. Subjects life functions appear normal and he is fully conscious.” The way in which the voice stated the phrases sounded almost artificial to Cole. When he opened his eyes this time it was more clear to him. The fog which enveloped him earlier was gone. Cole tried to sit up but hands reached out to him. “Careful.” A voice grunted. “Thanks.” Cole replied without thinking. He then looked to the source of the hands to find a large brute of a man standing before him. The only hair on his head was protruding wildly from his chin. Though his blue eyes indicated intelligence his body bore many scars. “Welcome.” The scarred brute answered. The reply made Cole recoil for he had just realized he had been staring. “Yes. Welcome!” It was the voice from earlier only this time it sounded warmer. “I’m sure you have many questions but may I ask one first?” Without thinking Cole shrugged. “May we have the pleasure of your name?” “Noble. Cole David Noble. Who’re you?” “We Mr. Noble are known as the Fallen. My name is Darwin Quinn, Captain of the ‘Spirit’, and their leader. You just met Mr. Roger Rigz or as I like to call him Rampage. He’s our resident gear head and as you can imagine quite beneficial when a battle is near.” Cole looked to Rampage who gave him a slight nod which he quickly returned. The last thing he wanted was a man named Rampage angry at him for ANY reason. “The first voice you heard is our ships computer and interface… I just call him Norman.” “Salutations Mr. Noble and welcome aboard.” Cole tried to find a face to reference the voice but could not. “Wow. Just like Star Trek!” Cole said aloud without thinking. Rampage tilted his head as if trying to understand. “It’s an old television show where he’s from Rampage. Nothing to fret.” “’Where he’s from’? Where am I now?” Quinn nodded. “Excellent question. Do you think you can stand?” Cole sat upright, avoiding the large lamp that lay close to him that Rampage wanted him to avoid earlier, and slid off the table. Glancing back at it he could only assume this was some type of medical bed like in a doctors office. Quinn motioned for him to follow so he did. Cole glanced behind him to see that Rampage was not following. “Don’t worry. Rampage has other things to take care of right now.” “Wasn’t exactly what I was worried about if I’m honest.” “Oh he wouldn’t hurt a Nanite so don’t have any fear there. Only reason he has to be violent is if violence ensued around him and his friends were in trouble. Trust me you’d have no greater man as a body guard then him. That is unless of course…” Without so much as a word a form in an olive drab colored jumpsuit was in front of him. Cole tried to reverse his course but his forward momentum propelled him onward and in between two of the largest mammeries Cole had ever laid eyes on. As quickly as he walked into them Cole reversed and was about to unleash a litany of apologies when he noticed a gun barrel pointed at him right between the eyes. “Best to keep your wits about you, boy. Other Space isn’t a placed to be walkin’ blindly!” “Cole allow me to introduce Amelia Claremont or Aim. She’s our resident soldier and head of security. She’s a cunning as Rampage is large.” “Again with the flirting, Quinn?” Quinn smiled pointing to her chest. “You started it with him!” The gun was gone as quickly as it appeared allowing Cole to see the tallest woman he had ever beheld in fact Cole could not help but notice her! Her black piercing eyes, her long straight hair tied in a pony tail and her skin was a chocolate caramel color. He doubted he had ever seen a more lovely woman. Time seemed to slow as he found himself entranced at her face. When she smiled and patted him on his left cheek it brought Cole out of his trance. “This one is as smart as you, Quinn. He kept his eyes up the whole time.” She then adjusted what she had been well endowed with. Cole felt embarrassed to the point of mutism. “Think that gun you had is a perfect motivator, Aim!” Quinn shouted as Aim vanished as quickly as she appeared. “She’s as ruthless as she is lovely and she’s been trained to use all of her… Assets… as it were to her advantage. As lovely as she is capable.” Cole nodded as Quinn continued down the narrow corridor. 

 The ship to Cole indeed felt alien but also felt lived in. In parts it looked as though dirt from other places it had visited had managed to smuggle its way aboard. It had a militaristic feel about it yet in some places felt homey. Cole followed Quinn to where the hall split into a hub with several doors. Quinn had turned right leading to a staircase going up. He followed to find the oddest sight yet. “This is what we call Other Space.” It was a panoramic view of the outside of the ship. It was a mishmash of colors and unfamiliar stars against a backdrop of pitch black. Cole had seen pictures on the television from when NASA had released them but this was beyond his imagining. Cole moved forward his mouth agape in awe at the expanse before him. 

“Welcome back, Captain. I see our new… Passenger has arrived.” The new voice brought Cole back into the moment. “Indeed. Cole allow me to present Sion. He’s our resident science officer.” Cole extended his hand but Sion merely looked at it with confusion. “What’s he doing? I don’t get it what is he doing? Is this a mating ritual where you’re from?” Cole spun to the new voice which oddly sounded like the clear and concise Sion but was more emotionally charged. “Who is that?” He asked. Sion shook his head as the new creatures body took a red hue. “You have to be joking! I’m someone else, is that it? Really?” Then Sion spoke. “Captain perhaps if you’ve had your fun at all our expenses you could explain to the newcomer the nature of my arrangement.” “Of course Sion. My apologies. Cole this giant humanoid of protoplasm is also Sion. You see Sion is a Projectionist. His race long ago evolved so that their emotions and repressed feelings have their own form and shape. This makes one being technically two. The main humanoid who is not distracted by emotion and their companion who does and expresses them.” Cole looked to the being with this new knowledge. The being looked to be chewed bubblegum smoothed out and given form. “My sincere apologies.” Cole replied. The being then turned a blue hue. “Do not worry about it.” Sion replied as he resumed his work. “Psh. Kid is weird.” Sion’s emotions grumbled. Quinn could not contain his amusement. “Where’s Elara?” He then asked. 

Sion pointed to the nearby strut. Cole followed it to see a small form was curled up and sitting on the beam just above the view. Before Quinn could make his introduction Cole saw the small form slowly stand and then walk back to where they were. “The winds spoke of a newcomer. I can tell my your chi you are indeed him. My name is Elara and I welcome you.” She was a small girl wearing drab comfortable clothes. Her auburn hair was tossed and tasseled but Cole could not help but find it adorable. She made a small bow which Cole naturally reciprocated. This caused Elara to giggle. “Where I’m from you would be mocked for welcoming like a female.” “Cole our Elara here is a Gaia-kid. She can commune with the plants and animals. Well nature in general.” “That’s not how you say where I’m from!” Elara pouted then stormed back to her view on the strut. “True but Sion isn’t a Projectionist either but I can’t pronounce properly where you’re from! Besides it helps him to better understand!” Elara merely ignored him and resumed her view of Other Space. Quinn sat down in the nearby chair. Cole found one nearby and sat in it. “As you can see we’re all like you Cole. Beings from other worlds and realities brought here either by another’s will or fate to the Other Space.” “What is the Other Space?” It was human Sion who answered. “It is the space between space, my friend. Here we reside between realities.” “Yeah. Whatever just happens to either arrive by mistake, get yanked through by accident or pulled on purpose ends up here.” Sion’s emotions concluded. “I think I understand but how did I get here?” “To understand that Cole we’d have to go back top the beginning…” Quinn said with a smile. 

 Back Track: Birth of Other Space 

 “See like you Cole..” Quinn began. “ I too am from another world and have had to learn how to survive out here. So I’ll tell you the story as it was told to me years ago.”:  

Long before the counting of time began there was a utopia at the very hub of realities. Trade routes were developed between the many universes and there was peace. Then greed’s grotesque pestilence infected many and together they sought to control rather than trade. To dominate rather than coexist with. Thus was born the Interdimensional Army. Beings from many cultures all holding one belief that the multitude of universes and realities should be conquered and ruled. One by one the Army began its systematic conquest of realities. With each new victory they added the newly acquired technology to their own and either pressed beings into their service by force or willing volunteers. When they felt they were strong enough the Army set their sights on the Hub of realities. 

 “The Hub of Realities?” Cole asked. “If you think of the multiple realities in existence as distant reaches of a giant wheel, this place would be at the very center or hub.” Quinn explained. Cole nodded his assent and Quinn continued. 

 The hub however is not so easily taken as the Army thought. For they met with heavy fortifications which could not be breached. Make no mistake the hub is indeed a center of trade however it is made so by the superior beings who made it so. Like closing a flood gate those routes could be shut off as well. Seeing the threat the Army could pose to other worlds and realities the hub closed off the gates leading to other realities and instead shunted themselves and the Interdimensional Army into a reality in between realities and sealed the gate closed behind them. Now tucked away in other space the hub began to fortify themselves and put in place their own army for peace and protection across the universes. They call themselves the Authority. Using their technology they dispatch agents from here to any reality as a way to fight back and stop the Army’s plans to continue their conquest. 

 End of Back Track 

 “The Authority Vs. The Interdimensional Army and the battleground is here in Other Space.” Cole summarized. “That is correct. Though make no mistake the Army is trapped here by the Authority. Though their forces both inside Other Space and outside have attempted incursions. The Authority operate here so as to keep tabs on me them and to stymie their efforts at every possible turn.” Cole nodded. “Still doesn’t explain why it is that I’m here.” Quinn sighed heavily. “Well I explained that to you so that you may better understand how you got to be here. You see Cole it’s the Army that brought you here.” “What?” “Yes. See the main forces at play here are indeed the Authority and the Army. But then there are others like us who are just trying to make the best of a bad situation and eke out an existence or chose to live out here. Those beings are just like us caught in the middle. For example Poor Elara took a wrong step in her world while searching for her brother Donovan. "

"Amelia was on a stealth sneaking mission to stop would be terrorists from using a new kind of weapon. She was successful however that weapon was an Interdimensional portal. She entered it without coordinates as a means to escape the blast and wound up here." 

"Rampage was on a battlefield about to die when the Authority saved him trying to recruit him. Obviously he declined." 

"Sion was a scientist on his world. Believe it or not he was trying to find a way to become invisible. He thought at first that it had worked until he soon realized he had merely shifted himself here. As for me? Well I was at the wrong place at the right time.” Quinn shook his head and chuckled at the memory. “We call ourselves The Fallen. Beings who have somehow slipped through the cracks of our respective worlds and are trying to make the best of it in this one.” “Mercenaries.” Cole nodded. “I prefer the term Malcontents without a cause to fight for. At any rate we came across Intel that an Army installation was working on a way to breach Other Space. Naturally Aim went in to verify and once she did we snuck in try and find a way to put a stop to it. Instead we found you. We were shocked at how much care they took with you upon your arrival. Almost as if you were fragile precious cargo.” This made Cole raise an eyebrow. “Before you ask no. We’ve no intention of selling you back to them to make a profit. That is not what we do. Once we realized they had pulled you from your world with intent we had to stop them, get you out, and sabotage their project. Which naturally we did. We then brought you back here to The Spirit in the Sky. Right Norman?” The familiar detached voice spoke again. “That is an accurate account of the facts Captain.” Cole frowned. “Norman? Spirit in the Sky? You from my world? Because that’s a song sung by Norman Greenbaum where I’m from.” Quinn shrugged dismissively. “Names were here when I got the ship, Cole. I had nothing to do with it. Now let me show you around.” 

After two hours of the tour Cole had beheld the massive cargo bay at the rear of the ship that held the magnetically levitated transport suspiciously named Marcy, the engineering section where Rampage worked to maintain the nova drive which propelled as well as gave power to the ship, the common area where the crew could dine or whatever suited them, until finally coming back to the main area with five corridors. “Here are the crews quarters.” Quinn pointed to each one noting a digital LED light displaying the names of each except Elara’s who instead opted for having flowers in bloom. “This will be yours for the time you’re here until we can get you home.” Cole’s face seemed to fall at the mention of home. “You okay?” Quinn asked “Yeah. Just tired is all. Been a busy day.” Quinn nodded and smiled. “You’ve been through quite a lot. We’ve provided some bedding and a change of clothes. Each room has running water so the showers and toilets will work. If you need anything just ask.” With a step on a nearby hidden plate a small shunt opened below revealing a small lift. “Until tomorrow.” Quinn stepped in and slowly disappeared into the lower deck below. Cole took this as his cue and entered the room.

 Once inside his own quarters Captain Darwin Quinn began to make himself more comfortable. Once the lights were on he noticed Aim was leaning on the dresser nearby. “Don’t stop on my account.” She joked. “I hadn’t planned on it.” As he continued. “That was a nice little tale you told him. Shame you didn’t fill in ALL the blanks…” “He doesn’t need to know everything just yet Aim. Besides I think his cup runneth over already. Not everyone adapts to environments like you after all.” “True!” She said with a nod as she began to eat the piece of fruit she’d brought with her. “I especially liked the part where supposedly the name of the ship is the one it came with. I distinctly recall this ship having a different name when I came aboard.” 

“Get to the point.” Quinn snapped.                                                               “My point is you can’t obscure the truth for long. It’s better he know what’s in store for him now rather than later. The fallout from that could be worse as time goes on.”                                                              “Speaking from experience no doubt.”                                                      “Quinn I’m not joking.”                                                                                 “Neither am I. We don’t know what they wanted with him and until we do he knows all he needs to know. It’s bad enough both sides are inevitably going to be looking for him. Anyway get some rest. Busy day tomorrow.” Quinn had his back turned as he had spoke yet when he turned around Aim was gone. Quinn chuckled to himself and turned off the lights.