Upheaval - The Brieder War (Reloaded)

[LDR]

"No...I don't. Why didn't you think it was funny?"

 

"Because it's not.", said Jacob, in a stern voice, "I find nothing humorous from that wannabe joker."

 

"When battle is upon you, I am afraid that I won't be able to help, I've never used any kind of a weapon in my life, except my tongue with its sharp words. However, if you keep me relegated to the rear of the fight, and retreat there if you're wounded, there I might prove of significant use. When I'm not doing lab work, I'm studying to be a medic. Not a doctor, mind you, but someone who might be able to turn the tide against injuries on the field of war. In this particular capacity, I'm willing and able."

 

Jacob turned in Mio's direction after hearing this, putting his face into his palm. He spoke up, addressing Mio.

 

"With all due respect, ma'am, but having a civilian on the team is just going to slow us down. Not only that, it'll make our job on the battlefield a little more difficult - having to worry about protecting her all the time."

[Ping]

"I find nothing humorous from that wannabe joker."

 

"Look, lighten up a bit. You aren't helping anyone by acting like there isn't anything to laugh about." Gao said, allowing a twinge of annoyance to show through his voice. He then addressed Andrew. "For the record, I thought it was pretty funny. No offense, ma'am." Gao had added the last sentence in a bit more quickly than he would have liked. The last thing he wanted was getting on his CO's nerves.

 

"When battle is upon you, I am afraid that I won't be able to help, I've never used any kind of a weapon in my life, except my tongue with its sharp words. However, if you keep me relegated to the rear of the fight, and retreat there if you're wounded, there I might prove of significant use. When I'm not doing lab work, I'm studying to be a medic. Not a doctor, mind you, but someone who might be able to turn the tide against injuries on the field of war. In this particular capacity, I'm willing and able."

 

Gao bit his lip in thought. There were several pros and cons to this, but he wouldn't mind having a field medic in combat. Kaivon was saying how he could protect Cadice, but Musto didn't even want her with them. Gao decided to keep quiet for now; he trusted Sgt. Mio to make the right choice, and he didn't want to cause too much friction between everybody.

[Shana]

"Of course, you will most likely have to check with your superior officers to see if they will allow me on the mission. They probably won't." With a wink, Cadice continued, "That doesn't mean I won't try."

 

She was about to answer to this when Mio heard the guys speak up in reply to what Cadice had said earlier, she wasn't aware that her slightly private conversation was being overheard.

 

"You soldiers don't know that it's rude to eavesdrop on private conversations?", Mio said and she then turned to both Kaivon and Jacob.

 

"While I do appreciate the help Kaivon and I do see your point Jacob, I do believe that the final word does not even rest with me. Command will have to decide wether or not Doctor Marin will join us. IF she is given a green light, WE will have to do what we can to protect her and get our work done. Failure is not an option in this unit, not with it's composition. Think of it as an added challenge if, and only IF it does happen", Mio said.

 

She then took Cadice from her arm and pulled her gently away.

 

"I will try to speak to the brass about this and request a field medic by using your name directly. I don't think they will deny my request after all the concessions I've made. Even so, you might have to fill some paperwork to get the acceptance", Mio said.

[MsFicwriter]

"That will be fine," Cadice answered. "As excited as I am for a chance to encounter Brieders up close and personal--with entire bodies instead of sample microsections of tissue--I have no wish to endanger you, your squadron, or your mission. If I cannot accompany you, then I wish all of you the best on the battliefield. One word of advice: don't inject more than four stimulant doses apiece before the fighting starts. War is hell, but the hyper-stimulation..."

 

I've said too much already. "NaxaPharmaceuticals does good work. That said, their products are of such quality and intensity that overuse is not good."

[Master_Archon]

"Welcome Shade, while I do consider your presence an overkill in my squad, I do welcome you into the unit. Be at ease and if you need anything just make sure you let me know. I always seek harmony in my unit, as long as we're comfortable and content, we should work to our fullest," S202A heard the Sergeant say as she saluted back with a simple yet dainty smile. He'd already been moving to the wall by that time but had noticed both actions before turning away; he gave her a nod in response to the smile, as he'd already saluted her.

 

The Shade brooded over the look the woman in the black duo had given him. She'd seemed pleased, if he could gauge anything from her reaction, but he didn't grasp it. He'd thought she'd be more wary, or intimidated, or angry, but what did he know? His own understanding of emotions and reactions came from his experience with others, not his knowledge of them on his own part. He tilted his head to the side as he thought on this; he found her....Interesting? No, intriguing? Same thing, right? Maybe. He was uncertain, his head swam for a moment and then he shook it, glancing over at the man in the duo once more.

 

The man had proven different, he felt something from him that reminded S202A of the Brieders to some degree: A malice, maybe? Most certainly superiority, he recognized that well, regardless of his emotional standing. The change in body-language was the primary tell, not the information he read from him, though he sensed a threat in this one that did not even so much as make an inkling of a sign of surfacing within the other one. He would have to watch this one - with a knife in hand.

 

He was in this squad to ensure that both parts to the mission got done.....No matter the cost. Shades often were in squads for that purpose, though surprisingly few of the common soldiers knew it, or at the very least acknowledged it as truth, after all, who could believe everything you heard about Shades? There were so many rumors after all. S202A knew that if this man put the security of the mission at stake, and even that of himself or the others, the Sergeant especially, then he might have to follow through with that overlooked little code the Shades so fervently followed.

 

S202A decided to listen in on the conversations around him, only to find that the Sergeant was discussing private matters with the civilian scientist, and the other soldiers were arguing with themselves and haranguing her about the decisions she was making in her private conversation; though he himself had already deduced most of what they had been discussing, he was still a man of protocol, and the others were not showing their due respects for her position as Commanding Officer.

 

The Shade very, very, rarely ever pulled rank, but he'd heard and gathered enough information to do so now. He stepped up and cut the view off between the Sergeant - as she proceeded to speak with the scientist - and the other soldiers and spoke up, "That's enough! Butting heads and questioning decisions made on a private matter is over! You're soldiers, we're on base, and preparing for deployment, act like it! Now follow the Sergeant's orders and get your gear in the armory...And leave personal matters amongst others personal! Understood!?"

 

S202A looked around at everyone, then glanced at the Sergeant Major. He knew his....Disposition, as well as rank, might cause a problem with those orders, but then again, they were (in a sense) equivalent in rank, so it all really mattered upon him and his attitude. S202A had the advantage of being apart of a separate covert branch of the military and thus being on a different ranking ladder from that of those in other branches; so it was an order either way.

 

S202A looked over his shoulder at the Sergeant and the civilian woman, and then stepped aside a bit, but stayed in relatively the same spot to ensure his words were not met with defiance.

 

((Hooray for random rank-pulling! Hey, I had to do something other than stand in front of a wall!))

[Cyborg Ninja]

Onyx heard the chatter between a few of his fellow soldiers, but didn’t comment on it. From what he gathered the Sergeant was speaking with a scientist in private. He didn’t comment on the matter as he didn’t want to be rude, especially on the first day.

"That's enough! Butting heads and questioning decisions made on a private matter is over! You're soldiers, we're on base, and preparing for deployment, act like it! Now follow the Sergeant's orders and get your gear in the armory...And leave personal matters amongst others personal! Understood!?"

 

Onyx jumped up in surprise, not expecting someone to speak that loud. Onyx turned to see that the intimidating voice belonged to a fairly armored man. Onyx eye’s were now fixed on this armored being. He began to study each piece of his armor, completely fascinated. This wasn’t standard issue stuff, that much he knew…could it be an H.E.S? The Shade has just given an order...but he needed to do this.

 

"Sir, yes sir!" Onyx responded.

 

Onyx then took a step forward and saluted the Shade. So many questions were racing through his head. He had heard about them, but he knew very little. He was interested in what they were capable of, and what their suits allowed them to do in combat. He heard a rumor that they could go completely invisible, or lift almost ten times their own weight.

 

“Excuse me, sir? I may not get this chance to ask again, but I was curious about your suit. I hope don’t come off as rude, but what exactly does it let you do?” Onyx asked, trying to hide the excitement in his voice…but failing.

[Master_Archon]

"Sir, yes sir!" S202A heard the quick response from one of the soldiers...The Winston fellow he surmised.

 

The man approached and saluted him, the Shade returning the salute but saying nothing, not even a simple "'At ease.'" He felt the soldier was in need of something, and a feeling of overwhelming desire washed over S202A, the Shade twisting his head a bit as this...Thing smacked into the walls of his mind.

 

"Muh..." He grunted quietly with very slight displeasure at these constant, and somewhat strange, assaults on his psyche.

 

But through all the overwhelming.....Thing....Ness, that this soldier was exuding he could tell the man had questions.

 

“Excuse me, sir? I may not get this chance to ask again, but I was curious about your suit. I hope don’t come off as rude, but what exactly does it let you do?” Corporal Winston asked with the strange 'thing' coming out in droves from his voice, like the feeling of a consistent echo.

 

A breath of fog, and silence. He straightened out his thoughts before contemplating the question the young man had asked. He stared slightly down at the other man and just stood there breathing in slow, deliberate, shallow breaths as he analyzed and scrutinized from under his own mask. Then he broke his silence, releasing the tension that had built between them.

 

"I can't answer that question fully I'm afraid," he said quietly so that no one would overhear; in his same cool, empty tone. "It's a 'Prism' grade and issued Hostile Environment Suit, or H.E.S. for short. It is interwoven with an advanced circuitry system that covers the body apart from the head, which is to prevent it from interfering with my abilities, thus the pulsing lights. It has an adjustable temperature setting which allows it to mask the wearer from heat detection equipment, or more importantly, organs. It provides some limited protection from small arms fire, has a Shade issue E-Comm unit, while the helmet acts as a chemical agent mask and the suit features full life support and limited N.B.C. shielding...." He paused. He knew there were some other specs, like the goggles, the stim-ports, and other smaller functions he could mention, but those hinted at the more lucrative functions that he couldn't talk about, and he feared he'd already said too much, seeing as he'd mentioned the suit's circuitry system and temperature augmentation system. Though those weren't secrets (anyone who knew anything about any form of H.E.S. unit knew about those), they hinted at other systems the suit had that were tied in with those.

 

".....N.B.C. shielding stands for nuclear, biological, and chemical protection, just in case you didn't know." He finished, deciding to leave it at that.

 

Another breath of fog, and silence.

[Cyborg Ninja]

Onyx felt a bit uneasy as the Shade just stared at him. This would be scary if he didn't think this armor was so cool. He eagerly waited the shade's response, hoping he'd get some information from him.

 

"It's a 'Prism' grade and issued Hostile Environment Suit, or H.E.S. for short. It is interwoven with an advanced circuitry system that covers the body apart from the head, which is to prevent it from interfering with my abilities, thus the pulsing lights. It has an adjustable temperature setting which allows it to mask the wearer from heat detection equipment, or more importantly, organs. It provides some limited protection from small arms fire, has a Shade issue E-Comm unit, while the helmet acts as a chemical agent mask and the suit features full life support and limited N.B.C. shielding...."

 

Onyx cocked his head to the side as he took in this information. This suit was...incredible! It was a technological wonder for those like Onyx. Advanced circuitry, the special comm, the mask, and the ability to adjust the suits temperature. This guy sounded like he could be a one man army. This was probably why Shade's were so mysterious. They could easily handle anything on their own. Still something felt a bit odd. He got the feeling there was more to the suit, but he guessed it was simply something he wasn't allowed to hear. Well he still got some information.

 

".....N.B.C. shielding stands for nuclear, biological, and chemical protection, just in case you didn't know."

 

Onyx nodded his head at this. He knew what it stood for, but didn't want to be rude about it.

 

"Thank you for the information. If any of your suit's functions fail you on the mission, don't hesitate to contact me. I might be able to fix them for you...but I understand if I'm not allowed to see how it works. I figure I should still give you the offer. It will be an honor to fight along side you," Onyx said in his friendly tone.

[LDR]

"Look, lighten up a bit. You aren't helping anyone by acting like there isn't anything to laugh about."

 

"That's because there isn't anything to laugh about. What? You think I came here to make friends?", he replied to Gao. He crossfolded his arms across his chest when he heard a booming voice address him and Onyx.

 

"That's enough! Butting heads and questioning decisions made on a private matter is over! You're soldiers, we're on base, and preparing for deployment, act like it! Now follow the Sergeant's orders and get your gear in the armory...And leave personal matters amongst others personal! Understood!?"

 

Jacob nearly jumped when he suddenly heard the Shade scream at him.

 

"Actually, I barely even cared about what they were talking about. I didn't hear most of their conversation, nor would I have wanted to. When the words 'never used a gun in my life' crossed my ear, I decided to speak up and give my two cents. Sorry, Shade.", he said bluntly, saluting him. He said the last two words slowly, scoffing.

 

Jacob soon realized that he was creating tensions within the group. Especially between himself and Drew. He didn't care. This isn't school, as he's not here to make friends. But with what few people he talked to in boot camp those few years ago, they knew him with his sheer logic, and bluntness. Not only that, peer pressure never affected him, as he always acted, and wore (clothing), differently than many in his boot camp or in school. He isn't known as being a relatively ...happy... individual. But soon, the group shall learn that he doesn't speak with emotion bending what he says. He speaks clearly, bluntly, and truthfully, with nothing influencing what he says.

[MsFicwriter]

Even though the Shade was addressing himself to the soldier known as Onyx, Cadice Marin hung on his every word, absorbing them like drops of fresh water. Her brain was a sponge, and there was no way she was going to miss out on learning about the Shade's suit of combat armor. Even though she dared not interrupt, Cadice still wanted to ask him several questions. That can wait, however, she thought to herself. The mission comes first, and my suspicion is that it's going to be...quite unexpectedly...moved ahead.

 

The doctor wasn't a so-called "psychic", even though she had studied psi phenomena extensively in graduate school as part of her research curriculum. She considered most paid practitioners to be fraudulent, merely telling their customers whatever they wanted to hear, or repeating their very words in different terms. Nevertheless, her intuition served her well, and was almost never wrong in situations of dire importance such as this one. She knew that a person in a white lab coat was almost always expected to have a mind like a machine, processing information and doling it out at lightning speed. No matter what, however, humans aren't computers. We still have a soul.

 

She snuck cursory glances at everyone in the room. Cadice instinctively trusted Mio the most, not only as the commanding officer of this mission, but as the one who had suggested she come along. That signified implicit confidence in Cadice's abilities, which none of the other workers she'd met so far at the command center seemed to have. Onyx and Kaivon also ranked high in her estimation, because they had immediately offered to protect her once she said she'd never used a weapon. As for Gao? She couldn't "get a bead" on him, as the old expression went, except that he was uneasy about having a completely inexperienced civilian accompany them on a military mission.

 

Drew and Jacob seemed to be at odds; she'd simply wait and see if their tensions either escalated or dissipated. If they escalate...bad news.

 

Cadice's spine stiffened when her eyes fell upon the Shade. Out of all the soldiers here, the military personnel, only that one--he--would possibly take me out if I failed in my capacities as a field medic. He does not suffer fools. Not only that, but she sensed the Shade had slaughtered thousands before. For honor? For glory? For justice? No. Such patriotic platitudes were beyond him. A Shade was created to kill, if that was the correct term, and kill he would. Whether she went on the mission or not, he still frightened her.

[Ping]

"That's because there isn't anything to laugh about. What? You think I came here to make friends?"

 

Gao had opened his mouth to respond, but the Shade then caused him to jump.

"That's enough! Butting heads and questioning decisions made on a private matter is over! You're soldiers, we're on base, and preparing for deployment, act like it! Now follow the Sergeant's orders and get your gear in the armory...And leave personal matters amongst others personal! Understood!?"

 

Gao jumped to attention immediately. He then made a mental note to never get on the Shade's bad side; those guys could be pretty nasty. Gao certainly did not want someone as cold and calculating as a Shade, for lack of a better term, losing it against someone, or anyone on the squad. Right, should probably get my gear..." he thought to himself, as he walked toward the armory. Once there, he went up to the requisitions officer.

 

"Sir, I'd like to be given a SMG, a pistol, and incendiary grenades, please." Gao realized that requesting a pistol as a back-up weapon might seem a little odd in this day and age, considering that guns could be recharged on the spot, though he wanted to be prepared for everything. He remembered his primary weapon had actually overheated while he was fending off hordes of Brieders, so he felt secure in taking a backup weapon. The grenades were probably a little bit of overkill, but then again, they had a Shade on the team, so Gao felt as if he was well-prepared for things to come.

[Master_Archon]

"Thank you for the information. If any of your suit's functions fail you on the mission, don't hesitate to contact me. I might be able to fix them for you...but I understand if I'm not allowed to see how it works. I figure I should still give you the offer. It will be an honor to fight along side you," the Corporal finished.

 

S202A just stared for a moment, not many soldiers actually said that it was an honor to fight with a Shade, only that they were grateful for the extra firepower that they brought to bare on the battlefield.

 

"You wouldn't know how..." Was all the Shade said in response after the long pause.

 

S202A heard soldiers snapping to attention around him, noticing one of them heading into the armory as instructed, he caught some words from the Sergeant Major off to the side.

 

"......The words 'never used a gun in my life' crossed my ear, I decided to speak up and give my two cents. Sorry, Shade." The sour man saluted with a sense of something less than respectful coming off of his personage. The Shade simply looked at him, without care, and without feeling; he felt no contempt, nor hatred, nor pity, nor sorrow for him, S202A was simply getting everyone straightened out and on task for the sake of order, which was something drilled into all in the military, even the Sergeant Major with all his 'opinions', and 'two cents' and lack of care or concern (not that the Shade had any). Not that opinions mattered in the military, because when you were in the military, the military owned both you, and your opinions; you had no say, and you had no choice, you did what you were told, or you faced discipline and consequences, something the Shade felt that the Sergeant Major had gone without. He'd have to look into why.

 

'Another General's child?' He questioned in his mind as he glanced over at the Sergeant. He looked back over at the Sergeant Major and spoke to him finally, "I'd take those two cents back. You'll need them to buy yourself enough motivation to get your equipment like both the C.O., and I, ordered."

 

Shade humor...Was not funny. Especially coming from a Shade.

 

He hoped mentioning the fact that the order to get equipment had been given twice would be enough to get him, and anyone else still idling around, to actually do it. He glanced down at the Corporal who was still standing in front of him exuding the same feelings off of himself, as he stared at S202A's H.E.S. unit, "That goes for you too, Corporal."

 

S202A felt eyes settle on him, and a wash of information come over him, one in particular he recognized as something he'd actually felt within himself, but only at the thought of his own 'retirement'; though it's sensation was enough to remind him of it, and bring the feeling to bare. Fear.

 

He felt more questions tickling his mind from someone other than the Corporal, and a sense of......Inspiration? No, awe? Yes? Not quite. A flash of a thought, 'Enamored...'

 

S202A lifted his head up slightly at his detection of these things, he was trained to be keenly aware of those who's minds were focused on him. It was a trigger sense that told him: Danger!

 

Just because everyone was fighting one menace together did not mean they didn't see it in others. The thought of Shades often brought about the ideas of Brieder supremacy in people's minds, and how the Brieders (or more exactly, their leader) made this their excuse for war, and the conversion and destruction of mankind. Who was to say Shades didn't feel the same way? But people often forgot, or more exactly, they chose to forget - simply for the sake of prejudice - that Shades were made not to feel.....At all. But people would fear what they felt was dangerous, what they didn't understand; who was more unknown, and more threatening than a Shade?

 

So trigger senses were embedded into Shades for the sake of their own safety.

 

S202A swiveled his head ominously in the direction of the trigger, only to find that it was the scientist who had been speaking to the Sergeant. She seemed enraptured with his presence almost as much as the Corporal had, though in a minute and lingering sense. No, she seemed more intimidated than enraptured. There was the reaction he'd been waiting to feel from the woman in the black duo, only, it was coming from a common civilian scientist.

 

He knew that looking at her right as she was analyzing him in such a manner might frighten her even more, so to prevent an unnecessary panic he decided to initiate, rather than react to her study of his personage. He glanced at the Sergeant next to her and another sudden flash of memory came to mind.

 

"Contrary to popular belief, I don't bight.....Much," he reiterated the Sergeants own words in his cold empty voice.

[LDR]

"I'd take those two cents back. You'll need them to buy yourself enough motivation to get your equipment like both the C.O., and I, ordered."

 

"Shade humor. Not very funny.", Jacob replied, glaring at the Shade.

 

He walked towards the armory to grab the necessary equipment. He walked up the the requisitions officer.

 

"Give me a FAL rifle with an ACOG scope, Striker shotgun, and a few frag grenades.", he said bluntly to the officer.

 

He couldn't help but feel worried about the Shade. Sure, few things could instill fear into him, but Shades are on the border. He thought that showing them that he had no fear would allow them to respect him, but he's doubting himself. But he was not sour, he had no attitude, he was only bitter.

[MsFicwriter]

Cadice had heard the American saying "to jump out of one's skin" before, but never had she felt that particular desire--until now. Before, she had thought this figure of speech to be absolutely ridiculous. Now that the Shade had spoken, however, it wasn't so ridiculous after all. Even though her skin and skeleton continued to remain fused, she suddenly felt as startled as if they were not.

 

"I--certainly hope not!" she cried, trying to mask her apprehension with a chuckle. Humor was one of her strong suits, though she only used it when she thought it was most appropriate. She was not a 'joker' by nature, as some of the soldiers in this present group had accused one another of being. Against all odds, the scientist found her tongue becoming untied. "When you do bite, however, the Brieders will start screaming." She fell silent. This I know.

[Cyborg Ninja]

"You wouldn't know how..."

 

Onyx frowned a bit at that. His frown quickly turned into a smile as that meant his suit was really advanced. He wasn't one for bragging but he was pretty good when it came to what he specialized in. He couldn't wait to see this Shade in action. Another thought popped into his head. They were all calling him Shade, but what was his name? Did he even have a name?

 

"That goes for you too, Corporal."

 

Onyx shook his head as he stopped day dreaming. He saluted again and made his way to the requisition's officer. He got himself a sniper rifle for long range, an assault rifle for medium to close, and a few grenades. He also requested a pistol, which wasn't for him. The corporal walked back after getting his weapons and slowly approached the scientist.

 

You can do this Onyx...she's just a girl, she won't kill you...I hope.

 

"H-Here...for when we go out there. I uh...I can show you how to...how to use it," Onyx said to the scientist as he held the pistol out to her.

[MsFicwriter]

The scientist took the proffered pistol into her hands as if it were a dangerous biological specimen. From what Cadice knew of firearms, one should always assume they are loaded. Therefore, she treated the weapon that Onyx handed her quite gingerly. "I would appreciate that very much, sir," she answered, although a bit apprehensively. "In my home as a girl, we never kept weapons. If there were burglars, our family figured that the SecuroTech Advanced alarm system we had installed would keep us from any harm. Thankfully, the one robber that dared invade our house had his eardrums damaged due to the high-frequency signal, and that's that." A slight blush came to her cheeks. Ah! I sound like a complete idiot. This man knows guns, and I'm babbling inanely!

 

Clearing her throat, she continued, "I presume that if we're going to try this out, it will not be here, in a room full of innocent bystanders." Here I go again...

[Cyborg Ninja]

"I presume that if we're going to try this out, it will not be here, in a room full of innocent bystanders."

 

Onyx nodded his head. "That would be bad," he said.

 

Onyx seemed to calm down a bit when she started talking about her family. Of course the seconds she mentioned the SecuroTech Advanced alarm system he perked up again. That one counter to him getting nervous...tech talk.

 

"Yeah, our family had one as well. We never had any robbers, but better safe than sorry. Oh...I forgot to introduce myself. Corporal Winston, but I prefer Onyx."

 

Onyx held his hand out to her. He would have gone into detail about his name, but decided against boring her...and the others as well.

[Master_Archon]

"I--certainly hope not!" the scientist said to him with a small laugh, he simply stared. "When you do bite, however, the Brieders will start screaming." She continued, going quiet.

 

'This I know,' came a small whisper in his mind, though, it was not from his own.

 

"Indeed..." Was all he iterated to her remark as he stared at her.

 

Moments later the Corporal returned, handing the scientist a sidearm. S202A would have reacted sooner and far harsher but he saw the Sergeant wasn't overreacting, so he kept himself from taking too strong of an initiative towards the situation.

 

He gently reached out and took the weapon away from the woman with practiced delicacy. He noticed how his - to his own mind, and compared to some other soldiers - own small gloved hand could easily encroach her own, and found this sudden and inane interest in hands a complete surprise. He cocked his head slightly but proceeded to remove the weapon from the civilian.

 

"Corporal, she's not assigned to the squad yet, or at all for that matter; she needs no guns at the moment. Besides, civilians aren't allowed to wield military firearms," he told Corporal Winston. S202A stared at the Corporal, and then glanced at the scientist, then back to the Corporal - the Shade wasn't stupid to the situation and handed the gun to the Corporal.

 

"Just keep it with you for now, and that's an order, understood?" He said as he looked back over at the scientist and then to the Corporal once more and shook his head and stepped back. The Corporal better have realized how easy he got off, and why he had been given that order, and be grateful for both.

 

'Courtship....' The Shade thought to himself as he just stared at the two with both he and the Sergeant off to the side, as he shook his head ever-so-slightly.

 

'.....I don't get it.'

[Cyborg Ninja]

"Corporal, she's not assigned to the squad yet, or at all for that matter; she needs no guns at the moment. Besides, civilians aren't allowed to wield military firearms,"

 

Onyx looked to the Shade, completely confused. Of course his mask and glasses hid this look, he was still quite confused. She wasn't part of their squad? He was under the impression that she was, that's why she was here...right? He suddenly got very nervous after taking the pistol. What if the Sergeant got angry with him?

 

"Yes sir. Sorry sir, I thought she was with us....I guess I should have eavesdropped to have known that information, huh?" Onyx asked jokingly.

 

On that joke he quickly turned to look at Sergeant Kobayakawa. He chuckled now even more nervous then he was before.

 

"Not that I should have, I mean its rude...very very rude. I wouldn't want to hear the conversation anyway. I mean I would, I don't mean you two are boring...no I meant...sorry ma'am," Onyx said, cutting himself off before any more damage was done.

[Chevron 7 locke]

"That's enough! Butting heads and questioning decisions made on a private matter is over! You're soldiers, we're on base, and preparing for deployment, act like it! Now follow the Sergeant's orders and get your gear in the armory...And leave personal matters amongst others personal! Understood!?"

 

Kaivon stood straight up and saluted. "Sir yes Sir!" He said as he stared straight ahead. "I apologize for my behavior sir!" He said again as he turned and headed for the armory. Kaivon was already wearing his Titan12 suit but he always thought it was a good idea to carry a few extra firearms around with him when going on missions or even when going outside. It was better safe than sorry when it came to possible Brieder attacks.

 

I think I need to make a better impression on these people. He thought as he continued to walk towards the armory. Apparently I didn't make a good first impression.

[MsFicwriter]

When the Shade removed the pistol from her grasp, Cadice was flooded with mixed emotions. Above and suffusing all of them was naked fear, even though the mysterious myrmidon had quipped that he didn't bite. Beneath the fright, however, were several layers of feeling stacked on top of one another like strata melting in a gooey birthday cake: disappointment at possibly losing her first chance to use a weapon; embarrassment at the Shade (correctly) revealing that she was not officially part of the squad; anxiety at the friction between the squad's members; and, below all, something deeper. Desire. The researcher wondered what kind. Do I want to kill, or to heal? When I held that pistol for the very first time, I felt a huge rush! I could be a soldier, even though I was never trained to be. All I need is the right tutelage.

 

Then she shuddered. I'm a Ph.D. biological researcher, not a warrior! I'm supposed to want to help, not harm! I've taken an oath to be ethical in my studies, endangering no more living beings than absolutely necessary in my attempts to discover the roots of Brieder biology. Why did I wind up here, in a command center full of those who fight on the war's front lines? Blast it...

 

Whenever Cadice wanted to conceal her emotions, she took a deep breath and mentally recited a list of ingredients for a serum of her own invention: Norepinephrine. Adrenaline. Serotonin. Ethylhexylcenterol. 2-methyl-serathrin. Perastatate hydrochloride, to serve as a catalyst. Submerge all in a ferrous polymer. This was a recipe for the wounds of war, but not the physical ones. The serum was an amnestic, that would erase memory of mind trauma without endangering other and more precious reminiscences in the brain. In high doses, Cadice knew, it would prove lethal. Closing her eyes, she imagined taking such doses when her bodily functions failed her.

 

I've only tested it on myself. I've already forgotten whatever happened on a certain date that I can no longer recall. In this war, the soldiers here might need my secret formula. However, I will not make them my guinea pigs...

[Writer]

Drew watched all the chatter with an amused grin. When the Shade took the weapon from the doctor, his grin grew even wider and his eyes locked on the doctor. He tapped into the power he and his sister shared and listened in on her inner dialogue. Grimacing, he realized that, for all her attractiveness, the woman had little in her head to hold his interest.

 

Erica, who'd entered the armory to pick out nothing more than a simple handgun took a few seconds to realize her brother was up to something. The armory doors slid open and she stared at him with a suspicious frown. Then a flicker of disgust flitted across her face and she crossed the hall, slapping the backside of his head sharply.

 

"Behave!" she growled.

 

Rubbing his head and shooting Erica an angry glare, Drew withdrew his mental touch from the doctor's mind and swaggered into the armory.

[Shana]

Mio watched as the soldiers infront of her exchanged words, all started with Andrew's usual attitude but escalating on what she thought had been a private exchange of words with the Doctor. Mio sighed. This wasn't exactly what she hoped for so soon in the game, all the tranquility she hoped for or at least camaraderie she hoped for was mostly gone. She took a deep breath and then looked at all of them.

 

"Alright, enough of this. You don't have to like each other but you will respect each other. Act like soldiers goddamn it! You're like boys fighting over toys, now I will meet all of you in the hangar bay at 1300 hours. Dismissed!", she said and left the room without so much as a second thought.

 

She walked right across a hall and turned on a corner. She pressed herself on the wall and just sighed deeply. Any hope for this going smoothly went down the drain fast...

 

She shook her head a little, tapped the wall and went on her way. She filled a report to her father, the General specifically discussing the young Doctor and her desire to come along, emphasizing her thirst for knowledge and her research value. But she only obtained from her father a small reply. "I'll look into it".

 

She sighed once more and lay back on her chair in front of her desk in her quarters.

[Cyborg Ninja]

Onyx stayed silent, a bit in disbelief on everything that had happened. He looked around at everyone else for a few seconds while he gathered his thoughts. Perhaps he would check up on her...later though...he feared she might kill him for speaking up. She was still right, even if he was certain he hadn't done too much to contribute. Sure he gave a civilian with zero combat experience a weapon, but at least he didn't bicker with anyone yet.

 

Drew seemed to be confrontational, but Onyx truly didn't mind his cocky nature. In fact he somewhat found his attitude welcoming. His sister seemed nice too, but he had done enough damage talking to two females already. There was no need for him to butcher his sentences in an attempt at a conversation with her. The other large armored guy didn't seem too bad. He was just a bit on the quiet side, not that there was anything wrong with that.

 

Onyx stopped going through each and every squad member that was on this team. Hopefully they could all get their act together before they actually left, him included. He turned to the Shade once more, a look of worry slowly forming on his hidden face.

 

"Sir? We're screwed...aren't we?" Onyx asked.

[MsFicwriter]

Cadice was both puzzled and frustrated by this exchange. Clearly, there was already a conflict of personalities among the assembled soldiers, but weren't trained members of the military supposed to put such things aside? Secretly, she was glad that Mio had the sense to remind everyone of how they were meant to behave in this situation. Sighing, she decided to leave the room and locate what she had originally come to find: the Brieder tissue sample.

 

Remembering Mio's instructions, the researcher made her way to the shipping department at the command center. After giving her name and the serial number of the parcel she was to receive to a cooperative desk clerk, Cadice waited as he punched several series of keystrokes into his console.

 

"I...I'm sorry," the baffled clerk said, "but there seems to be no record of such a package in our S & R system. Are you sure it was to be shipped here?"

 

"Actually, it wasn't," Cadice answered. "I've already been to the facility at Cretia, where the package was supposed to be delivered, and it's not there. One of my colleagues suggested it was probably at this command center. If it's not, then do you have any idea where it could be?" Her mounting feeling of unease grew. "Any idea at all? This parcel is vitally important to me."

 

Feeling his stomach flip a little, the clerk made several more network queries. Not only did he re-check the shipping and receiving logs at the command center, but also the Cretia database and incoming shipments in both. Nothing. It was as if such a package had never existed at all--so much the worse for Cadice. She had come to believe that this particular 'catalogued' Brieder tissue sample could be the most important "missing link" in her project!

 

"Nope. Nothing. Hey--!" He leaned forward. "My screen's reading 'Access Denied'. I'm supposed to have full clearance in this part of the network, which means only one of two things: this system is having serious technical difficulties, or it's been hacked." His face was as pasty-white as a corpse. "All the other packages we've sent and received today are fine. They're all here, or on their way 'there', wherever 'there' is. It's only your package's serial number that's displaying this reading in the Cretia database, although not in the database of our shipping department. What on Earth?!"

 

"It could have been stolen. Is that what you're thinking, sir?" Cadice asked.

 

"W--we prefer the term 'misdirected' or 'compromised', ma'am, but yes."

 

"I have to leave. Thanks for your help!" Without another word, feeling her bowels turn to liquid, Cadice bolted back down the hallway and into the nearest restroom. She had been seconds away from soiling herself outright.

 

"This can't be happening," she murmured softly, sinking her face into her hands after flushing the toilet. She continued to occupy the seat, squinting her eyes shut against sudden tears. It's not simply that Brieder tissue samples are classified, meant for the eyes of only the finest researchers. Their cell tissue does not 'die' as ours does: that's why it has to be frozen in liquid nitrogen. Brieders are mortal, but unless they're 'dealt with' using lethal, unconventional weaponry, their bodies might regenerate. Very slowly.

 

If someone unfreezes that vital sample, whoever they are, and studies it improperly, the 'graft effect' might take hold. Who could have stolen it?!