OOC:

While technically a story that deals with an event in Kilroy's past.  People are free to join in the story as well since there are going to be a significant amount of characters, including one shots, so feel free to put a younger version of your own in if it is plausible

“Medical Officer Flores, report the simulation deck immediately.  I say again, Medical Officer Flores…”

The message continued to repeat over the com system as Dr. Elizabeth Flores woke up as fast as she could. Not even 2 hours of sleep and they’re calling me already.  What is it this time?  She thought, barely noticing another doctor in time before he ran into her.  Wide awake, after having her cup of ice cold water spilt onto her from the collision, she turned to find out that her fellow medical officer was none other than a combat medic.

“Sorry ma’am, allow me to assist.”  The man said, offering his gloved hand to her.  The fact he was still in his armor didn’t faze her at all.  Flores had often seen and worked with combat medics enough times to know not to question their initiative in various situations.  What caught her attention however was the look on his face, as if something very wrong was about to or had happened.

“Thank you Mister…”

“Cipher, call me Cipher.  You’re welcome but we have to go now.”

“Y-yes, yes of course.  Lead the way Cipher.”  She said, surprised at just how quickly Cipher got them to the lifts.  I’ve never seen anyone run that fast; let alone drag another person.  The older, and less fit doctor thought, panting as she tried to catch her breath before the lift doors opened.  Curiously, she noted that her more combat oriented counterpart, was frantically searching his pouches, as if his own life depended upon whatever he was looking for.

“What could get a battle hardened vet like you so scared?  It’s in the sim-deck, nothing could possibly occur in there to be that bad.”

“Oh yeah?  Then what simulation were they running at the time and why wouldn’t those on deck be able to solve the problem without a doc?”

“Hmm, I believe they were running a new one, based off an old operation.”  Flores mused, her mind turned inward as she took account the various programs that have been recently added into the simulation scenarios.  Something about quarantine gone horribly wrong….Ahh that one! She reflected, not realizing the full extent of the nightmare.  “Operation Blackwatch!  That’s what the scenario is based off of, why?”

The reaction Elizabeth Flores got out of Cipher was so surprising, she wasn’t even sure she actually saw it.  It was as if the medic saw a ghost, the skin on his face became so pale and white that it nearly looked like marble.  She never got a chance to ask why her counterpart turned like that, for soon she could hear the cries of a mad man coming from the simulation deck.

---

“EVERYTHING MUST BURN!!  NOTHING IS SACRED, IT ALL HAS TO BURN!!!”

Oh Throne above, I recognize that voice.  Cipher thought, horrified at the fact that his old friend had succumbed to nightmares long since gone.  In his long tenure as a medic for both the Vast Empire and within the Cadian Shock, he had only experienced one such event that could have driven even the most hardened soldiers mad, and that was Kasr Vallock.  Vallock…where not even the Kasrkin and ARC’s were able to come out unscathed.  He reflected, passing several injured troopers before he came across his very terrified comrade.

“John! JOHN! Calm down! Everything is going to be alright!”

“A-Antioch?  It can be!  I saw you die!  I killed you myself!”  The panic showing clearly in Kilroy’s eyes.

Just how far back are you man?

“No John, it’s me, Cipher.  Antioch or the others aren’t here.  We’re in space, onboard the VSD Sabaton, within a simulation deck.  You’re having a nightmare.”

Cipher could see the pain and confusion on his fellow man’s face; the horrors and despair of ancient memories clashing with reality as the Cadian did his best to calm down.  Taking a sedative, Cipher slowly approached his friend, not wanting to drive the man deeper into the past in his attempts to help him.  I have to do this carefully; one wrong move and we’re as good as gone.

“I’m going to give you a sedative John, to help calm you down.  You can get me for this later.”  He said, slowly inserting the needle point into his fellow Cadian’s neck.  Releasing the contents of the vial, Cipher watched as peace gradually came over the once broken trooper; a sense of calmness that he himself didn’t have, taking over as Kilroy finally fell asleep.  “Rest easy, old friend.  You’re safe now.”

---

Flores had watched a video recorded from the incident for what could have been the tenth time in a row.  Despite her best effects to find out what exactly went wrong, all she could come up with was a complete psychological breakdown; in other words, the trooper snapped.  Barring the slightly elevated heart rate and shallow breath shown, nothing happens until the spore burst.  Then everything just spikes.  She thought, pausing the video one last time to finish writing her report.

“It is my belief that John ‘Kilroy’ Varl be given a medical discharged and p- Excuse me one moment.  Who is it?”

“It’s Cipher ma’am.  May I have a word with you?”

“Sure thing, come on in.  I was just about to ask for your opinion on this matter.” Flores said, opening the door despite the interruption in her account.  In her opinion, it would be good to have a fellow doctor’s view about the incident before she sent her report in.  It was not, when said counterpart comes in and closes the writing program before she even had a chance to save the file.  What the hell is wrong with you?!?  She thought, furious at the Cadian medic over what he just did.

“Before you even think about rewriting that testimony I want to know three things.  First, what the hell is wrong with you people?  Second, how did none of you notice what was going on?  Finally, why Vallock?”

“I have no clue what you are talking about; all that was done was a training simulation. How the hell were we supposed to know what was going to happen?  I’m not psychic.  To answer your final question, Vallock was chosen because of the unique situation it presented.  Besides it’s not like the poor bastard was there when it all happened.”

The long silence from Cipher, and the way the medic shook his head, proved to her just how wrong her last statement was.  Feeling lightheaded and sick, Flores began to sit down, watching as her entire world was flipped upside down and spun in circles.  “How…How could he have been at Vallock?  All the reports I’ve seen about that campaign have stated that there were no survivors.  Even the holo-films show that they glassed the damn place!”

“What you’ve seen and read was based off of unclassified reports and testimonies.  I know that because I was there myself, serving in the Cadian Shock right alongside Kilroy.  What my friend just went through earlier wasn’t just a bad case of some poor sap facing a breakdown.  John was suffering from PTSD and the moment that sim-spore engulfed him, he wasn’t freaking out from panic but from pure unadulterated fear.  Hell, I was fething reliving the past when watching that video, I’ve seen the results of those damn spores first hand.  They aren’t pretty. ”

“So you mean to tell me there was more to this?”

“You want the entire story?  Then watch this and tell me what you think before you start your report up again.  Do note that I am showing you something that is highly classified so anything you say or do after this will go through me or the proper channels.  One wrong move and I will have you shot.  Are we clear?”

Taking a quick gulp of air, Dr Flores nodded, knowing full well that what she was about to see wasn’t going to be pretty at all.  It wasn’t long before the room darkened and all she could see was what appeared upon the holo-screen.  This is going to be a long night.

---


///message begins
To: MG Gerard Bergen, 412 Cadian Shock Division, Rhyzan 5th Army Corps “Rolling Thunder”, 18th Army Group Invictus
From: GA Eisenhorn, 18th Army Group Invictus, Kasrkin Home Guard High Command,
Code: Vermillion

Forward: Gerard, I know it’s been a rough time for you but the analysts have finally put together a useable and functional video using the feeds of several cross-cams from various personnel that were there.  I need you to hand this out to any of the surviving medical and field officers; including any non-com above the rank E-6.  This is Vermillion level material, I trust you’ll make the right decision.


///video begins in 3…2…1

Sub-Sector: Crux
System: Aurelia
Planet – Strangereal
Relief Campaign 14101: Blackwatch
Status of Operation: Nominal
Day: 1

Spaceport Merlin, a vital component to Strangereal’s trade prowess for the past 500 years, was now the central hub to the planetary relief force that had recently entered the system.  Ideally situated on a plateau overlooking the capitol city of Vallock itself, it held the perfect position in terms of strategic value being one of the few sites that was outside the range of a local Excalibur system.  Capable of holding hundreds of various civilian space craft over a 10 kilometer area, the current traffic ranged from the lowly yet humble Orca/LAARTY drop ships to awe inspiring but fearsome Imperial Star Destroyer and Anima-class Battleship. 

Due to the highly defensible nature of the architecture and the vast amount of resources provided that would normally go towards maintaining countless pleasure or commercial flight schedules, Merlin had become the headquarters and main staging area of the 18th Army group known as Invictus.  Within the walls of the main terminal were some of the most experienced and harden officers that the sector had to offer.  Under the flag of common defense and aid, most if not all of these men belonged to an alliance of several significant political organizations otherwise known as the Strategic Integrated Coalition of Sub-sectors (S.I.C.O.S.) or more commonly called Psychos for short.  Currently, members of the Kasrkin Home Guard and Vast Empire, the two strongest if not influential benefactors in terms of military might, were in the process of finalizing the details of Campaign 14101; a procedure that often took hours if not days to complete.

---

Why the hell does the refresher smell like bacon?  More importantly, why the feth is that Ewok staring at my stuff?  Major General Gerard ‘Kingmaster’ Bergen of the 412th Cadian Shock Division thought as he relieved himself in one of Merlin’s several public restrooms.  Standing at just over six feet tall and still well built despite nearly reaching the age of 50, the good general found it rather odd that the small furry creature was looking rather intently at him.  The experience was something he would prefer to not let continue all things considered.

“What do you want fuzzball?”

“Paano ninyo makakuha ng iyo kaya malaki?”

“My what now?”

“Ang iyong prut salad.Ito ay kaya malaki.”

“Ahhh.  Welp, it helps that I’m a bit bigger than you and have served quite a bit.  So it comes with the territory you could say.”

“Ganoon pala”

I bet you do ya little bastard.  Bergen thought, idly wondering just how far the two had gotten past the radar.  After finishing up the awkward scenario that occurred in the restroom, he decided that it would be best to head to the war room where the final briefing was about to take place.  Briskly walking down the hallway, the Cadian met one of his Imperial counterparts, a Chiss general that went by the name of Riddhe.  Seeing the man’s face sent shivers down his spine, something that often happened when something very wrong was going to happen. 

“Bergen.”

“Riddhe, whatever did I do to get stuck with you again?”

“Loose at sabacc…But enough pleasantries, Overlord is waiting for us and we mustn’t keep the old wolf waiting.”

---

Ivan Eisenhorn, General of the 18th Army Group Invictus, was not the sort of person to cross paths with.  Known by both friend and foe alike as a father to his men, he was also one of the most ruthless commanders when it came to war and was fully capable of ensuring that nothing remained of his enemy.  Such was the folly of the United Citizens Federation whose leader he personally killed to conclude Operation: Hell’s Wrath, a military campaign of total annihilation done solely by the Rhyzan Armored Fists after UCF had murdered both ambassadorial parties that the KHG sent to their system on live holo-feeds.  With his Fenrisian heritage, it was quite common to mistake him for a dire wolf; an appearance that even in his old age, was not hard to keep up.

“All corps and divisional commanders are present and accounted for sir.  They await for your orders.”

“Thank you captain, you may leave now.”   

Turning inwards a motley crew of senior officers, Ivan began the final pre-campaign briefing in earnest.  With the wave of his hand, a map of Kasr Vallock expanded into a holographic view, completely broken down into colored zones so that the status of the city could be seen clearly by all.  Currently over 50% of the total number was colored green, indicating that the zones were clear of any infections or unrest, with another 40% in yellow to show that they were under quarantine and martial law.  The last 10% were the red zones, areas devoid of law as they were completely overrun by the virus.  Only a privy few knew that the reason they were kept under control was due to the relentless and somewhat unethical methods used by some of the more unconventional forces under Eisenhorns command.

“I’ll spare you all the semantics since by now you should know why we are here.  Currently the main objective of all S.I.C.O.S forces is to aid the local populace and not scare them into submission.  As such, the Jennen Air Corps alongside the Belkan Air Forces will continue to provide support to local relief efforts while the Phantine and Imperials carry on with ensuring that the No-Fly-Zone’s are in place as well as combat operations.  Ground operations are to be carried out in the green zones by VE Stormtroopers and ISAF Mobile Infantry, KHG Elysian Drop Troopers and AREF Vanu Light Calvary in the yellow, and finally KHG Rhyzan Armored Fists with the Imperials patrolling and if necessary salting areas within the red zones.  Cooperation is vital here ladies and gentlemen; everything that happens inside and around your AO’s will affect how this campaign goes so there will be no fucking around.  General Bergen, General Riddhe?”

“Yes sir?”

“We have unconfirmed reports that Kane’s faithful servants are operating in the city itself.  I want the Cadian 412th to commence raids on suspected hideouts across the city with the Imperial 252nd on reserve.  Get Colonel Radec and Vinnermen to choose some of their boys for HAZOPS in conjunction with Imperial ARC and Kasrkin Ghost teams.  Is that understood?  Good, dismissed and get to it.”       

OOC:

Can anyone guess where some of the names come from? As well as what the Ewok is staring at? XP

"Crew, we've got ourselves some easy pickings."

Those were the softly spoken words of Captain Julion Han as he stood before his crew in the small lounge of the Echelon. He was a tall man with heavy black eyebrows that occupied his broad forehead. He wore his regular combat suit which never seemed to leave his body, and he had several pistol holster in an easily reachable location.

His crew were a ragtag group of hardened mercenaries from various backgrounds. You had Yeret, a sneaky bothan who could pick any lock. Broads, a huge veteran soldier who could mow down an entire army with his arsenal. Eric, a small, lean man who had his glory days smuggling spice. And finally you had Finbar. A young fourteen year-old boy who had an exception skill with piloting.

"A plague has struck the planet Strangereal in the Aurelia system. In one city in particular, thousands of homes are abandoned, and you know what that means!"

The crew exchanged grins and chuckles. Everyone loves a good treasure hunt! This was how they made their money. This was their profession. Pirating, smuggling, looting. You name it.

"We're to go their and find any valuables. Remember boys, this is a rich planet, and I expect we should make a good bit of credits off of this mission. Any questions?"

Yeret, a bothan with a coat of light brown hair, stood up and asked, "You mentioned plague. What kind of plague and should we be...cautious?"

Han nodded. "You know, that is a good question. I've had no reports of what kind of plague. The city is in so much confusion and what not. Luckily we still have those gas masks from the incident last month. What I'm not sure of is if they'll filter out biological material, but we'll find out soon." I just hope I'm not the one we find out on he thought or you. He looked at Finbar. He was so innocent. So young. He was so small when the group found him. He had been taken by Tuskien Radiers and was scared to death. It was almost a disservice to him to have him be in combat, yet he said he wanted to do it.

His thoughts were interrupted by Eric, the small, gangly one.

"Sir, c- c- can I talk to you for a moment?" he asked in the weaselly voice of his. Whispering now he added, "I- I've been to this planet before...and I've heard of the disease their...they've had it under control for awhile, but-b-but its a nasty disease...it turns people into mon...monst....mon...monst..." He never finished his sentence but Han knew what he meant to say. Though, Eric was crazy and he had been wrong before.

"No. We'll go there anyway. Besides, we've got Broads to protect us," he replied. Though that decision couldn't have been any more wrong.



The ground shuddered as the massive frigate landed in the center of one of the cities parks. Smashing trees and statues the ship made it's own landing pad. Around the park were massive skyscrapers that went on into oblivion. Normally, there would be speeders and ships lining the streets and skies, but the plague had ended any sign of humanity. And the effect was excruciatingly dreary.

An access ramp fell down and the crew stepped out. Hitting the aura of despair, they slowed their advance and stopped to take it all in. Finbar especially was disturbed. The place was completely silent. No sounds. No movement. No smells. Actually, if they thought about it, there was a smell. A smell they unfortunately knew too well. Blood.

"We better move on," Han suggested, and they continued on forward. They made their way out of the park and on to the streets. The park, surprisingly, looked pretty green and nice if you didn't mind the big frigate that was parked in the middle. The streets were another story. Speeders lay scattered about, and a fire was burning. Glass littered the streets as windows sat empty.

"This is the commercial section," Yerek stated, "we would have better luck going for the financial section."

Finbar chuckled. "Finance does mean money, after all," he replied.

Suddenly, a roar sounded out in the distance. Not an animal roar but a vehicle's engine. As soon as it sounded, 4 mechanized vehicles came around the corner toward the mercenaries.

"Duck for cover!" the captain shouted, and the crew dived behind several busted speeders. The vehicles came to a stop in front of their cover, and a female voice shouted.

"Show yourselves! You're outnumbered!"

With a sigh of disappointment Han said, "Alright boys, let's not get ourselves into trouble." He stepped out first followed by the others, and they were extremely surprised with what they were facing. In front of them were 4 four wheeled armored vehicles surrounded by a squad of heavily armored soldiers.

"Let's hope you're not here to arrest us."

OOC:

The name of the ship is where Echelon gets his callsign. The post sucks but it gets the message through.

Sub-Sector: Crux
System: Aurelia
Planet – Strangereal
Relief Campaign 14101: Blackwatch
Status of Operation: Nominal
Day: 5

Zone 1013: Green
Whiskey Corridor

Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep Beep Beep! Beep Beep Beep!

Who the hell is calling?  It’s….0300 over here.  John ‘Kilroy’ Varl grumbled, doing his best to stifle a yawn that was about to form.  The young specialist had spent a better part of yesterday bunkered down in a wrecked APC within a red-zone before his squad was able to be evac’ed by an ORCA drop-ship.  Since then, they had to go through multiple decontamination protocols as well as a debriefing for the battalion commander which seemed to take forever.    Fumbling for the mini holo-com, he was able to find it despite the fact he had only slept for about an hour.

“Hey Johnnie, how are y….Nevermind, looks like you just woke up.”

“It’s O’dark thirty here dad, of course I just woke up.  Anyways what’s up?  How are things back at home?  Mom still worried about all three of us being active and no one home to comfort her?”

“Funny you should say that, but I actually called to tell you that your sis just arrived home.  [She] Was given an honorable discharge after four years of service and a medal of commendation to boot.  I already told your brother in DTOS about the news.”

“Did you wake him up too?”

“Very funny smartass, I can see that your time as a soldier has given you a better grasp of sarcasm.  Speaking of which, how are the new members of your squad doing?  And don’t try to feign ignorance; there’s not much you can hide from a retired intel officer that still has his connections.”

Welp, so much for OPSEC, crazy bastard is gonna get me killed someday doing that.  He thought, touched at the fact that his dad was able to keep tabs like that.  Shaking off a bit of his mental sluggishness, John gave a brief description of the three members that had been folded into Bravo squad.

Up first was the youngest, Pvt James Lew, a 15 year old that had just finished his training.  Both highly inexperienced and naïve in comparison, Kilroy couldn’t help but make an offhand remark about how the young private had gained the nickname ‘Noob’ after asking a stupid question if things were going to be like that one game Corona, or Halo, or whatever.  Next was PFC Tange, a young Fenrisian” girl that was one of the quietest, if not charming, characters he has ever met.  In comparision to Sergeant Kuugen, the two where on near opposite ends of the spectrum; considering the fact that the sarge was a very confident and warm tomboy of sorts.

“Sounds like you got some good greenhorns to look after.  Now what about this Lenck I’ve been hearing about?”

Lenck, that bastard, there’s really nothing good about him. John sneered, aware that any thoughts of that particular man being a decent person were thrown out of an airlock a long time ago.  While Lenck was approximately Kilroy’s age and formerly a corporal, rumors had it that he was demoted for going AWOL and was found off in a ditch drunk off his ass.  In the short time he had spent getting to know the guy; John had found it very hard not to believe the rumors and had often wondered why the S.O.B had not been given a Section 8 already.  If it was, in his opinion, that Felix Lenck was ganger scum to the core.

“I see, well there is nothing I can do on my end of things about that, so you’re just gonna have to suck it up and work with it Johnnie.  In the mean time, try to get some rest.  I’ll see ya around son and it’s been good seeing you.”

“You too dad.”

Click.

---

Four hours later

“Wakey wakey! Eggs n; bacy!”

“Bwuah?  Oh what the feth?”

“That’s for moving our ship without our knowledge!”

And you just had to hit me….with a trash bag.  Grudgingly, the specialist woke up due to the fact that getting smacked with a trash bag was not the best way to wake up from a nap.  Rising up slowly, he wiped up the last remnants of sleep as he laced his armored boots.  Once he had done this, John walked out of the prefabricated barracks and out into the coming day.  The cold breeze felt refreshing as dawn broke in the desert.

Let’s see, if the barracks are here, then the motor pool will be….that way.  Turning towards the sun, John began his long run to Jericho battalion’s Crusader class drop-ship, The Harbinger, a process that took the better part of an hour to do.  Once there, the specialist entered the spacious hangar bay, which was currently being used as the battalion’s motor pool and repair shop.  Walking towards the practically wrecked fastback that was once Track 2-4-2, his thoughts were quickly broken by someone calling him from across the bay. Oh goodie! RnD toys!

“Hey Brains, what’s up?”

“Not much; just thought I’d get someone to test out this new bike brought to you by Mospeada Defense Corporation.  MDC and FERDC have been working on this baby for some time now and it is a beauty.”

“Yeah?  That why it has a modified set of armor as well?”

“What you’re looking at is the latest product of Variable Robo-Technology, VRT for short. This machine right here is a two in one package my friend, and from what I’ve heard the spooks love it.”

“That so?  And what do ya mean by two in one package?”

“Watch this.”

Click. Vvvrrrrrrrrrrrrrm!

“Holy shit that was awesome….Can I keep it?”

“She’s all yours my good man.”

In a small overgrown forest, birds flee in every direction, trying to outrun a non-organic being, hacking it's way through the brush. Following the droid, are two teens, one Human, the other, Chiss.

"Hey Iggy," the human shouted over the din created by the droid's saws. "How close are we?"

The droid kept hacking away at the annoying growth. The Chiss chuckled and jumped a log in his way.

"Listen Maroni," he said, ducking a low branch. "Maybe he didn't hear you the first twenty times. Try it again, just louder."

Faska Maroni rolled his eyes and shook his head. The Chiss, still laughing to himself, almost ran into the droid, when it suddenly stopped and powered it's cutting tools down.

"What is it?" Therex asked, trying to look over the 2.2 meter tall droid.

"Wait here." Silently, IG-88/E slipped into some brush and disappeared into the forest. Therex turned and shrugged at Maroni. Sighing, Faska placed his bag next to a tree and started to walk off.

"Hey," Therex yelled after him," Where you going?"

"I have been walking for two hours straght," Maroni said, still walking. "I have to pee. Don't worry I will be fine."

Shrugging again, Therex slumped against the nearest tree and stretched his legs out.

They had come to this planet shortly after Faska and IG had busted Therex out of prison. He was only 15 but even teens were imprisoned for murder. He hadn't even gotten out with the plea of insanity. While it was true, he was mentally unstable, the justice system said that multiple personalities wasn't an excuse or a scapegoat.

The brush behind Therex began to stir and he jumped up. The only weapon he had was a knife. Unsheathing it, he spun it around and extended his arm.

IG-88 came crashing through the brush dragging two men. They were gagged and bound. Sighing in relief, Therex re-sheathed his knife.

"What is this," Faska asked, coming from around the tree.

"I found these two further up the path. When I approached, they both opened fire so I defended myself. However they wouldn't stop screaming so I had them silenced."

Therex reached down and ungagged one of the men. Immediately he began screaming.

"SAVE YOURSELF! GET OUT OF HERE! NO ONE IS SAFE!"

Therex sat down next to the man and looked him in the eyes. Faska watched his mouth open like he was gonna say something but he stayed silent.

"This man isn't crazy," Therex said after about two minutes. "It is more like a trauma induced insanity."

Replacing the man's gag, Therex stood back up.

"Look I know it was my idea to hide here," Faska said, scanning the area around them, "but I am seriously starting to rethink that idea."

Everyone else nodded in approval. Faska grabbed up his bag and they all turned to leave when the muffled yelling from behind them stopped. Both of the men had gone limp.

"Ok," Therex said, his voice shaking, "We really need to get out of here. Now!"

Titan slammed his fist down on the button to accept the call.

’bout time, Shazack! I’ve been calling for the last hour!

Shazack’s hologram slowly materialized.

“Shazack? You going to explain why the hell I’m being re-routed away from Bestine and to this... Vallock? We’ve got a new squad, Ares, and they do need to be trained.”

“Because this is an urgent deal-”

“So? Send one of your diplomats. Why your second-in-command?”

“Will you listen for a sec? Alright, we’ve got a very, very special deal. A company, Horizon, is promising us a highly destructive bio-weapon, for a considerable amount of credits. A very considerable amount of credits. I don’t want a diplomat’s second-rate opinion. You go there; you figure it out. If you think it’s workable, I’ll authorize the credits faster than you can blink. Got it?”

“Yeah, I’ve got it.”

“And, I’ve already routed your personal guard, the Praetorians. Last thing, if they turn on you, you are authorized to do anything, but get out of there. You hear me? Anything at all, though if you can grab anything on the bio-weapon, I’d appreciate it.”

“Copy that; I’ll get it done.”

Shazack’s hologram nodded once and dissipated.

--------------------

“Suit check, Praetorians!”

The armored, elite, four-man guard jumped at Titan’s command in unison. They ran through the checks and responded as one.

“Check!”

“Let’s move! Lower the ramp, pilot!”

The ramp slid down, and the sharp click-clack of the armored boots emanated. The Praetorians flanked Titan, two on each side of him.

On the far end of the wind-swept pier, one lone, richly-attired man stood quietly waiting for the five.

“Couldn’t he come out a bit more to receive us?”

Titan gave the newest Praetorian, Vomer, a look of understanding.

“Would you come out any further than you had to, though?”

“No...”

“That’s what I thought.”

Titan and the Praetorians sharply marched up to the lone delegate. As they reached a distance about two meters, the delegate slowly pushed himself off the wall.

“Shazack’s delegate?”

“Yeah, you Horizon’s delegate?”

“Yes.”

“Let’s get going. Your credits and our weapons aren’t coming any faster with us standing here.”

The delegate nodded, ready to showcase his deadly weapon.

--------------------

The gleaming white lab made a mockery of the sterile labs that created those blissful antidotes. The delegate quietly picked up a vial and turned around to face Titan and the four Praetorians.

“This virus is an engineered version of an natural, mysterious version of a deadly spore-carried virus. It is a trikiribonuc-”

“Spare us the long, boring, and useless scientific names. Get down to the practical scientific stuff and effects.”

“Fine. We’ll start off with the practical demonstrations.”

The delegate punched up some codes, and a sealed holding cell that contained a beautiful, young female came up. The delegate walked over and inserted the vial into a hole labeled Injector. A cover flipped off, and a red button lit up. The delegate unhesitatingly pushed it.

The green spores filled the cell. The woman screamed, and tried to run away...for half a step. Her skin withered away, revealing all the bones and muscles. The internal organs vanished. Blood was suspended in mid-air as the blood vessels vanished... and then splashed down, splattering the floor and walls of the cell a ghastly crimson. The monster howled and ran at the wall of the cell. She smashed into it, and the cell diagnostics screamed out that a two-hundred-fifty-kilogram force had struck the side. But the wall held, and the monster exploded, creating a horrific re-painting of the cell.

“You just witnessed the utter digestion of an organism’s body... from the inside out. The virus forces every cell to essentially eat itself and convert itself completely, excluding the mitochondria, into ATP. This creates a living monster and bomb, which holds at its command roughly the equivalent of a turbolaser blast from an ISD-II.”

Titan had watched the entire specatacle in fascination.

“Good demonstration... but how does this virus perform when deployed in large quantities in open areas?”

The delegate gave a grim smile.

“You’ll see soon enough.”

OOC:

The Praetorians and Titan are wearing this armor

Status of Operation: Fluctuating/Nominal
Day: 14/15

Zone 372: Red
Historic District

"Brother-Captain! Brother-Captain we need reinforcements and we need them now!"

"Calm yourself brother, what's going on over there?"

"The infidels, nay, the infernal plague is here and it's worse than we thought.  It has a mind of it's own, half of my men are under it's thrall and the others have gone insane!"

"Brother Saul,  what has happened?  What in the name of Kane has this plague become?!?"

"It LIVES Peter....It is intellige- No...Get away from me! GET AWA-..."

"Brother Saul....come in....respond brother sergeant......Saul, come in!  Respond damn it!"

---

He always hated the waiting; the part right before a drop where one's life depended on the skills of the pilot of that particular flight.  Listening to the hum of the engines, as they soared through the night sky, didn't help to calm his nerves either.  Despite having done countless drops before, both in combat and training, Specialist Alan 'Roach' Rochester could never get over the pre-drop shakes.  It was as if he was a horse locked in a starting gate, ready to run at a moments notice.  The flickering of the red light just barely helped things.

"Get ready!!!.....Stand up!....Hook up!....Equipment check!"

Briefly patting down the cap trooper in front of him, Roach checked to see if the troopers grav-chute as well as the secondary vernier thrust pack were attached correctly.  Roach could feel the same being done to him as his fellow Elysians went through the procedure behind him and further up the line.  It paid to have such attentiveness when one was about to willingly jump out of a fast moving aircraft such as the likes of a C-25 Alesia-Class transport.

"Sound off for equipment check!"

"Ten ok!"

"Nine ok!"

"Eight ok!"

"Seven ok!"  He shouted over the roaring engines as the list continued to go down.  Once it had reached the stick leader, all that was left was to wait for the green light and then the drop could truly commence.  If things went according to plan, his platoon and two others would be landing inside a large open lot inside the space elevator security walls, reinforce a group of combat engineers, and help secure the area before the HRT group, bunch of zero-G drop troopers, got their chance to play.  Easy as pi-Green light.

"Go! Go! Go!"   

Shuffling towards the open door, Roach barely noticed that his shakes had stopped.  Didn't really matter in the large scheme of things as he was soon at the mercy of the night sky, falling downwards towards the planet.  A little while later his grav-chute opened, slowing down his speed so that his thrusters could properly fire later.  And then, the fun begins.

OOC:

Gonna be a short post for this one. Next post or the one after will signify the end of phase 1 for the story as things will soon start to break down as quarantine fails and the situation destabilizes rather rapidly.  Yes, Dr Flores will be seen again.