[b]History Repeats Itself:[/b] [i]Earth, Sol System[/i] It had been a long time since Eric Cooper had been on Earth, and this time, he was alone. It had been 5 years since he had served on [i]the Alamo[/i], and since then, the teenager had turned into a young man. Short stubble had begun to grow on his chin, and well-maintained black hair sat on his head. He still maintained a youthful, handsome face, though his pale green eyes would always betray the wonders and horrors that he had seen. His prosthetic arm's holosight had projected onto his HUD lenses, which were essentially contacts with screens, and had taken aim at the leader of the raiders. Artemis, the ever-present AI in his mind, spoke softly so as to not disturb his aim. "[b]Take out the man in front, and then use those knives to root them out. [/b] Eric winked, the gesture for yes, and opened fire with his Gauss Cannon. The sonic boom stunned the men behind the first, who had since disintegrated under the Mach 40 tungsten round. Without hesitating, he pulls out a throwing knife, and swipes the toggle screen to select the mode. In a flash, he throws it, and it's buried to the hilt in a man's chest. The shaped charge travels through the hilt, and detonated, killing the surrounding men in a fiery explosion. Eric straightens up, and he points his arm into the heavens. With a crack, his coilgun fires a single shot into the air, leaving a trail that could be seen in orbit. That was the signal that it was safe for the NTR ships to land at the pad. He stood there as the ships began to land on the charred surface of Earth.