[ 3#$#$@!@&^&^&^* ]

An indistinct ringing echoes in Julian's foggy mind.

'Am I… dead?'

With his eyes unpried, his head turns messier and his heart panics all over. His focus is disorganized and unclear, a pervasive sleepiness slowly overcomes his willingness to remain awake in fear. After a series of hard debates against himself, he breathes out and collects the events that had recently happened.

'I am… Julian Rogers… born Federal Year 2960… Galactic Terran Federation… Common Quarters…'

Pictures of fragmented memories flash through his mind.

'Star Sol… Imperial University. Star Graduate, Federal Year 2980.'

'Captain… of the 256th Reconnaissance Company.'

'Sector 10… Region 10.'

'Planet X10-254-L2… Hive Cluster activity… Investigate thoroughly.'

His body jolted when it found its way into the deepest part of his memories.

'I remember! The ambush! The Federation! It was a setup!'

'The damn Elite Quarters of the Federation! And their elitist political agenda! They cannot fathom a common man promoted to the special ranks of the Black Stellar Terran Unit! I was the hope of the Common Quarters to finally increase our prestige in the Imperial Terran Court! Because of me…'

'My crewmates, how… are they? Lieutenant Ming… Engineer Rosalia… A lot of time must have passed... Are they... still alive?'

[ #$#$^^&&#$@#$$!!! ]

The indistinct ringing continues, irking Julian's senses, 'What… is this sound?'

'Just where… am I?'

A weightless sensation crept up over him.

He was floating around something, parts of his skin being pressed from time to time. The sensation was so pleasant that it almost made him want to fall asleep again.

'Wait. Didn't I fall into a thick forest? What's going on?'

He attempted to move his limbs, but he was unable to do so for reasons unknown. His muscular fibers were severed, and most of his joints snapped out of place.

A wave of energy washes over him and his muscles start to twitch and violently churn under the process of healing.

Yet he did not feel pain, only comfort and assurance.

'Oh dear, I can feel my anger subsiding.'

'Thinking about it, I wouldn't have been able to reject the recon mission anyway. But to let myself slip in the direst of moments, this is unbecoming of a star graduate.'

The pervasive comfort spread from his feet up to his legs, upper torso, and finally his face. A mild explosion followed shortly, right above his head.

'Bubbles? I must be underwater. No matter where I am, the Federation won't be able to handle me for the moment. They are currently at war with the Hive Cluster in a different sector. This backward sector in a faraway region won't be in their sights for now. Unless they send another investigation mission soon...'

'Even if my pursuers were stubborn, they wouldn't be easily able to violate the Development Treaty of the Convention. They should have left the moment they saw our pods crashing into the planet's atmosphere, hoping that we would become food to the mouth of the beasts…'

'Or worse, the monsters of the Hive…'

The comfortable sensation flooded his brain non-stop, halting all his inner thoughts. He soon fell asleep and woke up after a long time.

"… condition has stabilized. Preparing body detachment from the lab tank."

A mild robotic voice weaving throughout the entire room rang in Julian's ears. He opened his eyes and noticed the reflection from the glass.

Golden eyes and hair and a slightly taller body. 'Is this… the new me?!'

He remembered having a set of deep-blue eyes and black hair. Was his body restructured by the tank?

After pondering for a while, he noticed the metallic cuffs restraining his hands while extending from some metallic rod. He closed his palms with ease and tried other sorts of movements.

The metallic cuff didn't hinder his movements and adjusted accordingly to his hands.

'A restraint that acts as a support to my body?' Julian marvels at the sight.

He tried to move his feet, but they were restricted after reaching a certain range. Down under was his lively little brother, showcasing his full nudity to the entire wide and empty laboratory room.

'Who is it? Who put me up here? A lab tank would be used if my body is unable to bear itself due to severe injuries. If that is the case-'

A creeping sensation fills up his heart.

There were various episodes in the Terran Federation where humans like them were captured by the natives of an exoplanet and experimented upon without reservations. Some died, others mutated, while the rest…

To think that the Elite Quarters despised him so much that they would result in this backward process of dealing against him. He had thought highly of them.

'Well, I would've been blasted by the cruiser if not for the recon ship's meticulous AI…'

He was too weak right now. How could he fight back against his captors? He still remembered the feeling of those white and purple insects entering his body and doing whatever they were doing. What if they…

Julian's emotions were stuck down his throat, 'I… don't know if this is a better outcome or not… Let's wait and see what happens then.' and prayed to the heavens, 'Major Edwards, I hope that damn 'mind indomitability training' of yours would finally become useful at this moment…'

Major Edwards. A common man who had taught him a lot of things during his reconnaissance training. The nostalgic experience almost brought Julian to tears, either because he was happy to know such a man, or maybe because he was tortured to the brink of unwillingness to live.

A long metallic arm almost twice the size of his chest appears from the top and grasps his frail upper body with ease. Julian shivers for a moment, allowing the metallic arm to suspend him in place.

The water was then drained, disappearing together with the nebulizer detaching from his mouth and nose.

His naked body was lifted out of the lab tank and both his feet into the ground. He secured his footing and found no problems.

As if reading his thoughts, the large metallic arm let go of him and retreated into the darkness.

'Strange, my body feels alive and full. I should be groggy and out of breath. No, not like this at all.'

Julian's golden eyes scrutinized the dimly lit white room filled with nothing but pipes scattered around.

"The successor has been detached from the rejuvenation lab tank. Preparing suits for the successor."

Several metallic arms appeared from the ceiling, carrying a set of white clothes.

'A successor? Is this a joke or a sort of act? And how are they speaking my language? Did they crack it perhaps?'

Julian grabbed the clothes and wore them to his slightly built body. The metallic arms returned with another set of protective spandex mecha piloting suits looking fit and thick to be worn.

'I'm going to use a mecha soon?'

His body trembles as the spandex suit transforms its structure into a practical combat suit fitted with a mechanical pressurizing system, small thrusters, and a light, ductile, and tensile metallic plate armor.

"The successor is now ready to meet Avina."

While he was basking under the impressive mysterious spandex suit, the silhouette of a large figure strode from the outside. Its sudden appearance together with the introduction spooked Julian, especially the glaring light beam on its head.

'An enemy?!' His instincts kicked in and started assessing the situation. 'No, that can't be. I would be flailing my arms on a bloody medical bed than this.'

'Or some creep in a white lab coat coaxing me before I find my organs hanging like the damn fishes.'

Steamy air gushed out of the vents, covering the huge figure that had just entered. It was now stuck in between the two double sliding doors and an almost indistinct robotic voice could be heard from the speakers on the other side.

"Disinfection in process. Please wait."

A familiar sight met Julian which made him stagger and fall, 'The purple mist! The voice clearly said disinfection! But didn't that thing eat me up from the inside…?'

Contrary to what he was expecting, the purple mist soon retreated into the vents.

The interior sliding door opens, and the huge figure approaches.

Julian examined the newcomer in interest despite his wildly palpitating heart. 'This guy's skin is too… shiny. Idiot, he's a freaking cyber!'

The floor trembled for each step that the cyber took. Stepping further into the light revealed the huge metallic body that overshadowed him.

It was a bipedal mecha suit donning a round metallic helmet with a flashlight fitted on its upper right. The sleek metallic luster shone upon every inch of its rectangular body shape. Its four limbs swayed and moved fluidly just like any other human Julian had seen.

The pervading light on its head before was just representing this hunky metal's eyes.

Now that he saw it closely, this self-operating mecha wasn't that dangerous at all.

Julian held in the fear in his palpitating heart, 'He has a cyber lock. He has a cyber lock. He has a cyber lock.'

The mecha suddenly knelt below him and introduced itself, "A pleasant day to the successor. I am Avina, an artificial intelligence construct created to assist the successor in his endeavors."

Her feminine voice was melodic to the ears, her tone turning apologetic. "Avina apologizes for the uneasiness that the successor is feeling right now. All of this is the result of an automated defensive process. Avina hopes that the successor forgives."

'Eh, it's… sorry?', Julian scratched his head, "Uhm… what are you again? Avina, right? Tell me what's going on here with that successor thing you keep blabbering about."

"The successor has landed on Planet X10-254-L2. The successor's pod was contacted with the zoning barrier set up by this probationary base of the Ancien Regime. Due to the nature of the zoning barrier, it vaporized the successor's escape pod and the successor's flesh was examined by the white proto insects to determine your genealogical relation to the Ancien Regime."

"The white proto insects found traces of Ancien Regime heritage in the successor, thus, rightfully appointing you the title of 'successor'."

"Avina has set out to recover the successor's injured body and put it into that lab tank for rejuvenation purposes. Avina hopes that the successor can forgive the purple proto insects for their rashness. If not for their hostile nature, the successor wouldn't have ended in such a precarious state."

Julian clicked his tongue, cursing. 'I almost died because of those damn insects!'

He eyes the kneeling suit of armor, helplessly letting out a sigh, 'I cannot blame them for that, can I? If I wasn't what she deems me to be a successor of this weird Precursor (1) civilization, I would've died out there.'

"There's… no need to worry." He reassured Avina. "That won't happen to me again...?"

"The successor can be at ease. The purple proto insects will not bother neutralizing the successor in the future."

The mecha remained in place and seemed to not be daring to lift its head.

"Tell me something about the Ancien Regime then."Julian could tell that this facility might belong to one of those Precursor Survivalists: ancient civilizations who had long fallen either due to self-destruction, or other tragedies unspoken or unknown.

To find one in a backward and newly discovered sector wasn't a surprise.

"The Ancien Regime is an ancient civilization of the observable Universe. Due to some unspeakable tragedy, it was forced to back down and has become like this in the present. This facility right here is only a remnant of its previous glory. And as the successor, the Ancien Regime might have a hope to be rebuilt once again."

Julian pondered on her words, "You're not telling me everything, are you?"

"Avina does not want to disrespect the successor, but Avina clearly cannot divulge any more information as there is nothing that Avina can gather from.", Avina responded, "This facility had recently just reoperated from hibernation and the data left from the databases are incomplete at best and worst."

"How can I trust anything you say? I haven't heard of anything like the Ancien Regime even in the darkest and most dangerous excavation sites. Don't talk about the Federation, even the Convention has yet to discover anything about you.", Julian wasn't swayed.

Avina was taking a long time to respond and her hesitance fueled the doubt in Julian's heart.

"Avina can only hope that the successor believes what this loyal servant is talking about.", Avina could only reply helplessly, "Nevertheless, the successor need not worry as Avina harbors no other intention but my undying loyalty and servitude. Doubts may arise in the successor's mind but in due time, Avina assures that all of this will be answered one by one."

Hearing her words, Julian couldn't help but massage his temples in distress, 'Maybe I can use this heritage to my advantage. I'll exact my revenge against the Elite Quarters later. I have nowhere else to go, and nobody else to depend on anyways.'

"Fine. Let's just say I trust you for now." Avina nods in understanding, his acceptance lifting off the great burden on her non-existent shoulders. "But rebuilding? Aren't we setting up an impossible goal here?"

"The Ancien Regime may have been powerful and all that, but that's not the case now and I'm just one man. Also, I am a citizen of a Type II civilization. If I do as you wish, we might find ourselves surrounded by my enemies. Or even those enemies from this unspeakable tragedy you keep not telling me off.", Julian exhausted every worry in his heart.

The current space civilizations would generally leave the Survivalist civilizations on their own, but even a small hint of aggression between the two parties would result in an apocalyptic war. The Federation would not take any chances when dealing with Survivalists lest they find themselves on the brink of extinction.

"If that is the case, then Avina will not pursue the matter of rebuilding the Ancien Regime unto the successor. Just as what the successor has said, the Ancien Regime is no more."

Julian pitied Avina's words despite her tone sounding uncaring, 'Hey, I'm just trying to survive here but now, you're making me look like I have aggrieved you…'

"It's not like I don't want to rebuild the Ancien Regime, but small steps one after another, yes?" Julian scheming on his mind. "This facility must have deteriorated after a long time. I guess repairs must be up and high."

"The successor has guessed correctly. Several buildings do require repairs and extensive rebuilding processes. It is one of the first steps in the successor's objectives in building a base on this planet."

The mecha stood up and presented its back to Julian, "In order to start the repairs, Avina invites the successor to enter and pilot the mecha suit, the EC-101."