[ Warning. ]

[ Warning. Intrusion detected. Exterior barrier breach. Neutralizers deployed. ]

[ Barrier breach sealed. Intrusion neutralized. ]

[ Error. Neutralization failure. Intrusion approaching interior barrier. ]

…

[ Warning. Interior barrier breach. Pacifiers deployed. ]

[ Barrier breach sealed. Intrusion pacified. ]

[ Error. Pacification failure. Intrusion approaching site GD528C3. Notifying administrators. ]

…

<Well hello there. Hm? Aren't you an odd one. Tore through two obstructors and shrugged off neutralizers and pacifiers. This may be a new zone but that's still impressive.>

…

<How rude. Now hold on there. Where do you think you are going?>

…

<Dirt? No? Soil? Still no? Oh! Earth. That's its name? Wow, how unimpressive. Hm? Yes, in fact, that is a problem. You see, GD528C3 has been integrated.>

…

<What does that mean? For starters it means that travel is restricted. Especially extraterritorial. And even approved interterritorial passage has a long queue.>

…

<Residency? Well it is a gray area but, sorry, still no. Oh? And bringing contraband too? Well that's gutsy. Very gutsy. Unfortunately, for you, I am not in a forgiving mood. So… die.>

<Annihilators deployed.>

…

<By the codex. That is a truly ridiculous amount of shielding. Someone really wanted you to get there in one piece.>

…

<Really? On your own? Most impressive indeed.>

…

<Now there's no need to be rude. I am just doing my job. Or, in this case, not doing. Hehe. Bit of administrator humor there.>

…

<Well I thought it was funny. Hm. Might as well check your destination. Oh my, but that is unfortunate. A new integration and an unavailable vessel? Wow. Yes. Playing it extra safe was definitely the right call on your part.>

…

<Sorry, no, displacement is not an option. Been too long. Yes, you did a magnificent job on yourself. Really. But the barriers weren't included in the calculation. So your aim is still a little… off.>

…

<You really should do something about that mouth of yours. And you will still reach GD528C3. Cause a right mess of things though. Coming in the way you are. Last thing the site needs is another apocalypse.>

…

<What what? Now I may not be able to stop you. But I can tweak your trajectory a bit. And with your attitude? I am very tempted to shove you into a class one form. But you would just overload it. Causing even more damage. And I would like to keep my job, thank you very much.>

…

<Again with the language. Vessels suitable for a soul as big as yours aren't on the market all the time you know. Ugh. Will have to be a class four-no, five, in order to meet safety guidelines. But a champion grade doesn't just vacate every-eh? Huh. What do you know? One just did. Pretty banged up though… yikes.>

…

<What? Oh, nothing, nothing. So let's get this show on the road. Ready?>

…

<Wow. Aren't you being a tad bit too paranoid? Trust me, hehe, this will be fine.>

…

<No, sorry, new vessel manifestation is above my paygrade. Listen, again, I cannot stop you. Not sure if even tier two or three can against that much horsepower. But you'll just be routed into the next suitable vessel. And I can guarantee that it will not be your template. Want fins instead of an arm, I mean, arms? A beak instead of a mouth? Thirty eyes instead of none, uh, two?>

…

<That's what I thought. Templates exist for a reason. And the last thing your Earth needs in phase three is a genuinely berserk class five.>

…

<Okay, let's do this thing. You are going to play hell with categorization though. Put a major strain on adaptation too. But, fortunately, neither of those are my jobs. So they're not my problem. Ha!>

…

<When something is funny, you should laugh. Maybe try turning that frown upside down?>

…

<Bet you're a lot of fun at parties. Wow. Well, good luck. This will be a ton of paperwork for me to fill out. And management will get to them, eventually. And I'll get right on filling them out, at some point. So expect them to contact you to resolve this, also eventually. Though the heat death of the universe may come first.>

…

<Now you laugh? Sigh. At least try not to die, okay? Since, as an extraterritorial, that would require even more forms. Goodbye, and remember, we’re here for you. As long we don’t actually have to be, you know, here for you.>

…

<Enjoy your stay. Asshole.>

… … …

[ Error. Unregistered soul detected in class five object 71C77A329VC55. ]

[ Override authorization received. Integration initiated. ]

[ Error. Template failure. Template incomplete. Only partial repair possible. ]

[ Override authorization received. Integration continued. ]

[ Error. Parameter violation. Alteration initiated. ]

[ Error. Alteration failure. Unable to alter. ]

[ Override authorization received. Integration continued. ]

[ Error. Categorization failure. Override authorization received. ]

[ Error. Adaptation failure. Override authorization received. ]

[ Error. Unregistered objects transportation. Override authorization received. ]

[ Integration complete. Welcome, participant, to site GD528C3. ]

…

*GASP*

Lungs claw for air. For oxygen. The mother of all migraines wracks my brain. Feel a heart begin beating. Slowly. Like starting an old diesel engine on a cold day. Bones are icy. As if I was frozen from the inside out.

Memories flood my mind. Someone else's life. Their joy. Their pain. For some reason it's even more disorienting this time.

Where am I? Where is this?

Scan the former occupant's past.

Earth? Good, at least the douchebag wasn't lying about that. Wait, New Amster? That's over a thousand fucking miles from home! That motherfucker!

No, stop, calm, gotta keep it together. Okay, should at least be in the same week. And if I haul ass? Can be back in a day or two. Body will probably be at a hospital. Bet they think I'm in a coma. Though I'll have to figure out how to swap bodies. Let's see… What?!

…

Five… years?! No, no no no. Can't be. The calculations were gods damn perfect this time! Had triple checked everything! My god, how can I be five years too late?!

Jules, Alan, Marc, Isaac… I… I'm sorry.

Fuck! Even Isaac will have graduated by now. Missed Marc and Isaac's graduation. Are they in college? Married? What happened to Alan? He was engaged. Did they get married? Am I now a grandfather here too?

And Jules. Baby, I'm so sorry. You put up with so much of my shit. We were so close to the finish line. So close to just us. Focus on fixing us. And I disappear again. Really disappeared this time.

Did… did she… move on? Does she even miss me?

Son of a bitch. A century. One hundred fucking years of blood, sweat and tears. All the killing. All the fucking.

But I… failed.

Despair. Grief. Anger. Rage. Wells up from the bottom of my soul. Burning through new veins. Scorching new sinew. Boiling up from new lungs. Until all that pain unleashes into the air.

"AAAAUUUGGH!!!"

Welcome home.