Titan

[K-NiGhT]

Chapter0: Prologue

Looking through the scope of his sniper rifle, the soldier kept a close watch on his comrades with enhanced vision. That was his special ability. Everyone on his team had a specific ability that assisted the team. Looking at the area ahead, he noticed one lone guard standing at the entrance. This could be a problem, he thought. He used the communicator he had been given to speak with the rest of his team.

"Lone hostile," he told them with his deep Russian voice. "Right in front of the entrance."

"One guard in the largest enemy compound in the United States?" the team leader whispered back into the earpiece of the sniper. "You'd think they'd be a little more heavily guarded."

"What do you want me to do, sir?" the sniper asked.

"Take him out," said the leader.

"Gladly," the sniper replied. He got the target in his sights, focused in on his head, and pulled the trigger. There was a loud noise, and the target immediately began to fall. Unfortunately for the sniper, the angle of the shot was just perfect enough to pierce straight through the target's head and hit the alarm button right behind him.

"WARNING," The pre-recorded voice blared as sirens went off behind it. "SECURITY BREACH. LEVEL ZERO."

"Well, shit," the sniper muttered to himself.

"So much for going in quietly!" the team leader shouted over the communicator. "Let's move, people! We've got hostiles inbound! Vlad, watch your shot next time!"

The sniper slammed his head to the ground in disgust.

[K-NiGhT]

Chapter1: A Summons

Marshal North had drifted off in Precalculus again. What else was new? Nothing about that 45 minute class period exactly screamed with excitement. The room was very poorly decorated, with only a smattering of confusing formulas scrawled on the board. The content of the class lesson alone was enough to make an ADHD kid on a sugar high fall into a deathlike trance. Worst of all was the teacher. She was a short and stout old lady with a vendetta on all of teenager-kind. One of her most shining features was her voice, which was equivalent to lodging a bullet into one's head- a quick, painless death, minus the painless part. She scanned the room with her beady eyes until she spotted Marshal, who was almost asleep sitting up in his chair, running his hands through his short brown hair.

"Pay attention, Marshal!" she screeched. "This next test could make or break your grade."

"Yes, ma'am," he droned, dismissing her. He did his best to pay attention to the lesson until the secretary came over the intercom.

"Please dismiss the following students to the office," she blared, not realizing that the intercom would pick up her voice just fine. She began reading off a list of names, most of which Marshal knew, including his own.

"Good riddance," his teacher glared at him as she pointed to the door.

"Same to you," he smiled back. He pushed up his glasses with his middle finger as he walked out of the classroom and shut the door behind him loudly. He waited in the hallway for a moment because he knew her name had been called as well. Pretty soon, a girl walked out of the Spanish room. She had long blonde hair that she kept up in a ponytail most of the time. She also wore glasses just like Marshal, and they both dressed fairly similarly with their hooded sweatshirts and blue jeans. It was like they were meant for each other, and indeed they were.

"Hey, Adelia," Marshal said, walking up to her.

"Hey," Adelia said back, smiling. They met with a hug and a kiss. Marshal was still trying to get used to the idea of kissing her. Their first kiss had just been a few nights ago at their junior prom. Marshal had been waiting to do it for the longest time, and he almost chickened out for the umpteenth time, but Adelia was there for him. She always was.

"Do you know why we're being called to the office?" Marshal asked her.

"No idea," Adelia admitted. "It seems kind of random."

Marshal nodded. "I agree, but it's getting me out of Precalc so I won't complain."

Adelia laughed. "She really hates you."

"It's okay," Marshal replied. "The feeling is mutual." They both laughed and took each other's hand as they walked down the hallway. Suddenly, Marshal felt a strange presence thundering down the hallway right towards them. He turned around and thrust his arms out to stop the boy charging into him, with little success.

"Ha!" the boy laughed. "I caught you off guard again, Marshal!"

"Actually, you didn't catch me off guard, Chris," Marshal corrected, picking himself up off the floor. "You merely succeeded in knocking me down."

"Eh, close enough," he said, waving off the correction. "Anyway, were you guys called to the office, too?"

"Yeah," Adelia answered. "Do you know what it's about?"

"My dad only said that some guy from a big company was coming to talk to some of us about something," Chris told them.

"Ah, the perks of having a parent as the superintendent of the school," Marshal sighed.

"Did Serena get called, too?" Adelia asked.

"Yup!" he said with a goofy grin on his face. Chris and his girlfriend Serena Carver had been together for quite a while. They were madly in love with each other, and they already fought like a married couple. "We should hurry and go." The three of them walked down the rows of classrooms until they reached the main office. They were greeted there by a tall girl with long blonde hair. She smiled at Chris as the three of them walked up.

"Hey, babe," she said pleasantly.

"Hey," Chris smiled back.

The girl turned to Marshal and Adelia. "Hey, guys," she greeted.

"Hey, Serena," Marshal replied. Adelia just smiled pleasantly. They were chatting as the principal of the school shoved all of the students that had been called into the office. There had to be at least forty kids crammed into the office.

"Thanks for coming," the principal said to the students. "We have someone here today that wishes to speak to you." A young man stood up out of an office chair behind the principal and everyone gasped.

[K-NiGhT]

Chapter2: Something New

"Oh my gosh!" a girl near Marshal squealed. "That's Walker Breckinridge!"

Marshal turned to Chris. "Who's Walker Breckinridge?"

"He's a really wealthy businessman," Chris explained. "He's only like, 26."

"That, and he's not too bad looking," Serena said dreamily.

"Should I be worried?" Chris asked, poking her with his elbow.

"Well, he's single," Serena told him. The four of them laughed. Meanwhile, Breckinridge began to speak to the group.

The young businessman fumbled with the cuffs of his expensive looking suit and began to speak. "Hello, Silver Springs High School!" he began. "For those of you who don't know, I'm Walker Breckinridge, owner of Breckinridge Industries. My company is based right here in the United States and deals with construction and military-grade weapons manufacturing. I'm here to strike a deal with you. My company is looking for something of great importance. It's something that could help our business expand even more. In order to do this, we're recruiting young people like you from all around the world to help us out."

A number of students interrupted with questions. "What is this? Why do you need us? What do we do?"

"Calm down, now," Walker said somewhat sternly. "I'll explain everything. My company is looking for an ancient artifact known as the Titan Orb. This artifact is believed to have a mystical power that would be extremely helpful to the operation of Breckinridge Industries. The problem, however, is that my entire workforce is too busy with our day-to-day operations to mount a search for the orb. That's where you all come in. We need young people such as yourselves to aid us in the search."

"What do we get out of it?" one of the jocks in the group asked.

"I'm not quite sure yet," he admitted, "but I assure you, the reward would be great if you should happen to find it."

"How dangerous will it be?" one girl in the back asked.

"Oh, extremely," Walker said, eerily calm. "I do expect a few casualties."

This caused a stir in the crowd. The entire group started heading out the door, not willing to listen to this psychotic man's idiotic dream any longer. That is, except for four people. For some unknown reason, Marshal and his friends seemed inclined to stay and hear this man out.

"Ah, well." Walker sighed, running his hand through his slicked back brown hair. "The cost for unimaginable wealth and power is not to be taken lightly, I suppose." He turned to look at the four that had stayed. "What's making you guys stay? Are you interested in my offer?"

"I'm not sure," Marshal said slowly. "I just have an odd feeling that I was meant to do this."

"I feel the same way," Adelia agreed.

"This could be either incredibly stupid, or totally amazing," Chris thought out loud.

"I could use the change of pace," Serena nodded. "Something new would be nice."

"Perfect!" Breckinridge cried out happily. "We'll have you sign the paperwork right away and contact your parents. You have until the end of the week to get anything you may need to take with you to the training facility. We'll provide a list for you, so don't worry too much about it. Again, thank you so much!" He turned to walk out the door, but suddenly he stopped for a moment when he saw Serena. He walked up to her curiously.

"Your eyes..." he murmured. "They look awfully familiar."

"Oh?" Serena blushed. Chris' face also turned a shade of red, but he was certainly not blushing.

"Oh, well, I'm sure it's nothing," Breckinridge sighed as he turned around once more. "I'll be back on Friday to pick the four of you up personally. I have a feeling that you four will be very...special." With that, Walker Breckinridge left the office, leaving the four of them alone.

"What do you think?" Marshal asked Adelia.

"I think I need to start packing," Adelia laughed. "I can't believe we're actually doing this!"
Serena and Chris weren't listening, because they were having a conversation of their own.

"What was up with that just now?" Chris asked, seemingly upset.

"What are you talking about?" Serena asked.

"You looked like you were getting really friendly with Walker Breckinridge, there." Chris accused.

"He was all up in my face!" Serena cried. "I got nervous." The four of them all laughed as the final bell of the day rang.

[K-NiGhT]

Chapter3: The First Step

One week after Walker Breckinridge had come to Silver Springs, it was finally time for Marshal, Adelia, Chris, and Serena to leave their homes and join the task force. It had taken Marshal quite a bit of convincing in order to gain his parents' consent, but as soon as he mentioned that his college education would be completely paid for when he was done (hopefully,) he was immediately out the door. Chris, Serena, and Adelia had all had the same discussion with the same results. They were all ready to go, so they met at the municipal airport where Breckinridge was waiting for them with a helicopter, wearing yet another suit.
   
"Great!" he exclaimed, pleased to see the four of them. "I'm really happy that all of you could make it. Do you have everything you need?"
   
"Yes, sir!" the four of them shouted, dropping their bags and awkwardly stumbling into a salute.
   
Breckinridge laughed. "Come on, now. You're not being shipped off to military school, so drop all the formalities."
   
Marshal raised his hand to object. "With all due respect, Mr. Breckinridge—"
   
"My business partners call me Mr. Breckinridge," Breckinridge interrupted, taking off his sunglasses. "You may call me Walker. Or, if that is too informal for you, I will accept Commander Walker. Just none of that, 'sir' bullshit. You guys are almost my age. That makes me feel old."
   
"Yes, Commander Walker," Marshal sighed. He had already patronized the commander of the entire task force. Things were not starting off well.
   
"Anyway," Walker said, putting his sunglasses back on, "we'll be arriving at the training base pretty quickly. Once we get there, I have a surprise for you all."
   
"I love surprises!" Adelia exclaimed. "What is it?"
   
The young businessman smirked. "You'll see." With that, he ushered the four of them into the helicopter while some assistants carried their luggage into a small cargo hold. Quickly, the helicopter turned on and the rotors began to spin. In a matter of seconds, the aircraft was rising up into the air, leaving the small town of Silver Springs behind it. Marshal, Adelia, Chris, and Serena looked down at their small hometown, knowing they'd be back someday.
   
Serena looked over at Walker and began to ask him something, but her voice was immediately drowned out by the helicopter. Walker held out his hand in order to stop her momentarily, and then reached underneath his seat. He pulled out a big black headset with a microphone attached to it. He placed it on his head and motioned for the rest of them to do the same, which they quickly did.
   
"Helicopters," his voice garbled through each of their headsets. "Great for transportation, not so much for conversation. What did you need, Ms. Carver?"
   
"I was wondering why you came to get us personally," Serena asked. "It seems a little bit overboard for the president of such a huge company to come out to a small town in the middle of nowhere, Colorado just to pick up four average kids."
   
Walker simply laughed. "Yes, I suppose it is. However, I have my reasons. Out of the one hundred young men and women I recruited, you four interest me the most."
   
"Why us?" Adelia asked. "None of us are exactly what you would call the picture of athleticism." She wasn't wrong. None of them were exactly in the best shape of their lives. Marshal couldn't run ten feet without getting short of breath, Chris was slightly overweight, Adelia had severe respiratory problems, and Serena could hardly manage a pull-up.
   
Walker nodded. "That's true. I pulled up your scores from your most recent physical fitness test, and they are certainly not the best out of what I had picked. Your saving grace for each of you was your academic scores. The four of you are all ranked in the top ten as far as intelligence is concerned. With the right training, the four of you could be some of my best soldiers."
   
All four of them breathed a collective sigh of relief. They at least had one redeeming quality about them. Feeling a little calmer, they sat in silence until the small helicopter began to descend in a small forest clearing in the mountains. Looking down at it, there didn't seem to be anything out of the ordinary. The calm, green grass waved gently with the wind until being flattened by the wind coming from the helicopter's spinning rotors. The trees around the area all seemed normal, their tall branches waving as if saying hello to the newcomers. Once the helicopter had made a smooth landing, Marshal and the others hopped out onto the clearing.
   
"Is the base somewhere around here?" Chris wondered. "Like, maybe there's a secret entrance nearby?"
   
"Nope," Walker answered, still inside the plane. "Which leads me to my point. This is your entrance exam."
   
"Entrance exam?" Marshal repeated, confused. "We didn't hear anything about that."
   
"That's the idea," Walker assured him. "None of the recruits were told about this exam. Basically, your test is to locate the task force's headquarters and get there from this location within twelve hours. Once you arrive, you will be ranked by your order of arrival and placed into ten-man squads."
   
"What happens if we don't make it to the headquarters in the time limit?" Serena asked.
   
"If you don't, you'll probably die out here," Walker said coldly.

[K-NiGhT]

Chapter4: The Entrance Exam

"Are you serious?!" Marshal cried. "You're crazy!"
   
"Nonsense," Breckinridge dismissed. "This test is really quite simple, with the proper tools." He snapped his fingers, and a worker jumped out of the helicopter holding four small cardboard boxes. Marshal and the others each took a box and opened it. Inside was a strange device that looked like a visor of some sort. It fit over each of their heads just like a pair of glasses. Marshal and Adelia struggled trying to fit the strange visors over their glasses until Breckinridge stopped them.
   
"You won't need those glasses anymore," he said, holding his hand out to take them.
   
"But neither of us will be able to see," Adelia told him.
   
"Of course you will," Breckinridge assured her. "What you hold in your hands is a Breckinridge Industries Class 9 Heads-up Display, or a 9HUD for short. It gives you detailed information on your current location, weapon status, and vital signs, among other things. It also functions as a pair of eyeglasses, which adjusts according to your needs."
   
"That's amazing!" Marshal exclaimed.
   
"Yes," Breckinridge acknowledged. "I was going to issue you all the 12HUD, but that series is a bit more...complicated. Anyway, I'll hold on to your glasses for the time being." Marshal and Adelia took their glasses off and handed them to Walker, who put them in his pocket.
   
He continued to explain the contents of the box. "Along with your 9HUDs, you've also received a Series 9 Magnum. This small pistol is compatible with the 9HUD and features a targeting reticle as well as a 2x zoom function. For now, these are loaded with paintballs, which you should only use if you find a group of hostile recruits."
   
"What's the point of that?" Serena asked, confused. "I thought all we had to do was find the headquarters as quickly as possible."
   
"Yes, your score is mostly based on your order of arrival," Walker confirmed. "However, we'll also be taking into account the amount of paint on your clothes. For example, if somebody shows up in first place, but the second place finisher has less paint on their clothes, then the second place finisher will end up being ranked first."
   
"Interesting," Marshal mused. "Then shall we get started?"
   
Breckinridge smiled. "Of course. Good luck to you all!" The young businessman signaled to the helicopter pilot, who turned the engine on. The helicopter slowly lifted itself off the ground as the rotors began to spin faster and faster. Soon, it was high up in the air and flew off in some random direction. Chris immediately turned around to look at the setting sun.
   
"He's heading northeast," he deduced. "The sun sets in the west, and the helicopter is flying at about a 135 degree angle away from the sun."
   
"He could be intentionally trying to throw us off," Marshal argued. "Let's see if he left a waypoint on these HUDs." Marshal touched the side of the strange visor. A display resembling that of a video game's pause menu showed up on his visor. Using the strange little buttons on the side of the 9HUD, he selected "Waypoints" on the menu. Suddenly, he smiled.
   
"What's up?" Adelia asked. "Did you find it?"
   
"Yup," Marshal grinned. "I'm sending the waypoint to you all now." A few taps on his visor later, and Marshal had managed to show the rest of them the waypoint to their destination. According to the waypoint, the base was about ten kilometers away from their current position, to the northeast.
   
"See?" Chris said. "Northeast."
   
"Let's go carefully," Marshal suggested. "We have a long walk ahead of us, and we don't want to run into anybody that we don't need to." With that, the four of them took off at a careful jog into the forest in front of them.

*   *   *

In a nearby part of the forest, a lone young man stepped out of a helicopter. He was rather large by anyone's standards, towering over the men that had picked him up from his home in Russia. It wasn't just that he was tall, though. He was also very muscular, his light clothing fitting very tightly over his large arms, legs, and torso. The worker that handed him his equipment trembled slightly, afraid that the man-mountain in front of him would decide to squash him like a gnat once he was finished, but the giant merely put the 9HUD on his melon-like head, grabbed the Magnum with his meaty hands, and walked off into the forest, slightly skewing the angle of his approach to the southeast.

*   *   *

After a couple of hours, Marshal and the others were beginning to tire. Their legs ached from the long walk they had endured, along with quickly ducking and dodging to find cover from hostile forces. The waypoint had been slowly getting closer until it showed that they were less than one kilometer away from their destination. Adelia, Serena, and Chris started running, realizing they were nearly there. Quickly, Marshal raised his hand.

"Wait!" he whispered, looking around nervously. "There's someone nearby." As if on cue, there was a rustling in the trees above them. Suddenly, a gigantic figure flew down onto the ground with a misleading amount of speed and grace. It whirled around and fired a few shots with a Magnum straight at Adelia. Adelia quickly rolled out of the way, causing the paintballs to splatter red paint all over the tree that was behind her. Adelia quickly drew her weapon and pointed at the huge figure, with Serena and Chris following suit.

Realizing he was in trouble, the figure turned around and started racing away, only to stop right in front of Marshal with a paintball Magnum pointed directly at his chest.

"Give me one reason why I shouldn't pull this trigger," Marshal said, attempting to be threatening to this humungous person.

"Good question," the figure said with a deep, Russian voice. "Maybe this will provide your answer." He quickly pointed his weapon at Marshal's chest before Marshal could even react.

"Do it," Marshal said, showing no fear. "If you do, I'll involuntarily pull my trigger and we'll both go down."

Adelia, Chris, and Serena were a few feet away, frozen with fear. "Is he crazy?" Serena whispered to the others. "He could cost himself a rank!"

The large man stared at Marshal for a moment, then sighed and put his weapon down. "Not bad," he said. "No one has ever stood up to me with such grim resolve. What is your name?"

"I'm Marshal North," Marshal told him. "Those three are my friends; Adelia Sinclair, Chris Harley, and Serena Carver." The three of them waved tentatively, still terrified of this giant man in front of them.

"I see," the man said. "My name is Vladimir Kozlov. I'm from Moscow, Russia. It would be a pleasure to work with you, Marshal North."

Marshal blinked a few times. "Excuse me; did you say you want to work with me?"

Vladimir laughed, his deep voice causing Marshal's chest to vibrate. "Of course. No one has ever earned my respect as quickly as you have. I would be honored to work under someone with guts like you."

Marshal was slightly taken aback. "I'm flattered. You're pretty awesome yourself, Vladimir."

"Please," Vladimir said, holding out his right hand for a handshake. "Call me Vlad."

"Sure thing, Vlad," Marshal smiled, returning the handshake. "Let's get out of here." The five of them holstered their weapons and took off for the headquarters.

[K-NiGhT]

Chapter5: Squad Four

Marshal, Vlad, and the others had finally reached the headquarters after a brisk jog for the last kilometer. It was a lot nicer than any of them had expected. A huge, white dome structure loomed over all of them. There seemed to be an outer ring inside the dome for walking, with windows allowing a look inside. Beyond the pathway, however, was unable to be seen. Connected to the dome was a large structure that resembled an apartment complex. On the top of the apartment structure sat a strange device that projected a beam of light up into the sky. Once the beam reached a point above the complex, it suddenly stopped and fanned out over a large radius around the whole building.
   
"A cloaking shield," Vlad observed. "Commander Breckinridge must be extremely cautious."
   
"Probably because people would cause an uproar if someone built such a massive structure in the middle of the Rocky Mountains," Chris suggested.
   
"Let's go inside," Marshal said, trying to move things along. The five of them walked into the dome's large automatic doors to find a sizeable amount of people standing around in the large lobby. At the front of the crowd stood Walker Breckinridge, who was talking to the boy that was standing at the very left of the front row. Marshal and the others began to walk in to join the crowd, but they were immediately stopped by a pudgy looking worker.
   
"Wait," he ordered them. "I need to count you and check your clothes for any paint." The five of them stopped and stood in a row as the rotund assistant circled around them. "Not bad. You're all clean. Great job! Now, which of you would like to be counted first?"
   
Vlad turned immediately to Marshal. "You should go first," he suggested. "You worked the hardest out of all of us today."
   
"Thanks, Vlad," Marshal grinned. He stepped forward in front of the employee.
   
"Alright," the fat man said, checking a clipboard, "you're number 41. Congratulations! You are the leader of Squad Four. You may take your seat at the very left of the front row."
   
Marshal stepped cautiously into the crowd. Was he really good enough to lead a squad? What if he wasn't able to lead his squad effectively? What if he got somebody killed? He steadily got more and more nervous as he walked over to his chair and sat down. Vlad followed closely behind and took the seat next to him.
   
"You look nervous," he said, furrowing his eyebrows.
   
"It's that obvious, huh?" Marshal chuckled, sinking down in his seat. "To be honest, I'm not sure if I'm up to the task of being a squad leader. I've never really led much of anything before, not even a group project for school."
   
Vlad's face softened. "Look, Marshal. I've only met you a little while ago, but I have complete confidence in you. On the outside, you may not appear like much to most people. You seem to be the type who rarely puts himself out there and takes charge of things. But when we had our little stand-off earlier, I saw what you are truly like on the inside. On the inside, you have a will stronger than that of any man I've ever met, and that's saying something."
   
"Thank you, Vlad," Marshal said, sitting up a little straighter. "You really know how to give a good pep talk."
   
"For a friend, I will do most anything," Vlad assured him. He turned in his chair to see who else was coming to sit in his row. Marshal craned his neck in order to see for himself. Chris, Adelia, and Serena had also come and sat down in the third, fourth, and fifth spots, respectively. After that, a few more people showed up. First, there were two boys who looked exactly identical, right down to the way they styled their blonde hair. Oddly enough, they even walked in the same fashion and took their seats without saying a word. Soon after them, a young girl with dark skin and long black hair came and sat down. She had a single paint splatter on her shirt. Marshal thought that she looked too young to even be in high school. After her, a boy and a girl came in. These two didn't appear to know each other at all, but the boy kept eyeing the other girl as if he wanted to tell her something. With the inclusion of those two, the fourth row was completely filled. Marshal and the others sat in an uncomfortable silence while the rest of the recruits shuffled in over the next hour.
   
Finally, once the final, paint-splattered boy trudged to his seat, Breckinridge walked up to the front of the lobby and stood at a podium. He had a piece of paper in his hands, and looked as if he was ready to give a speech.
   
"Congratulations to all of you for passing the entrance exam!" he began. "I am proud of all of you, regardless of what rank you received. Now, we will introduce the squads and each of their members by name. Can Squad One please come up to the front at this time?" The front row immediately stood up and marched to the front of the lobby. Breckinridge read off all their names and they sat back down quickly. He continued this with Squads Two and Three. Marshal was just about to fall asleep when the commander called to his squad.
   
"Now, let's introduce Squad Four!" Breckinridge called. The ten of them stood up and drug their feet to the front of the lobby, not showing as much enthusiasm as the other three squads. Who could blame them? They were all tired. After a few seconds, they were up to the front, and Breckinridge read off their names.
   
"Squad Four is led by Marshal North," he read. "Other members of the squad include Vladimir Kozlov, Chris Harley, Adelia Sinclair, Serena Carver, Ryder Urban, Travis Urban, Mia Luna, Aurora Kaiser, and Tristan Kane!" The other squads applauded as the new squad walked back to their seats and sat down. Marshal looked at the other five members of his squad, desperately trying to learn their names as quickly as he could. While he did this, the other squads were introduced one by one until Breckinridge had finished introducing Squad Ten.
   
"Now that we've introduced everyone," he continued, "I'd like to take the time to welcome you to the Breckinridge Task Force HQ. Our mission is quite simple, when you think about it. It's basically a scavenger hunt! Except for the fact that the object we're trying to find has been thought to be lost for thousands of years and almost no one has much of any knowledge on it. That's beside the point, though! I have absolute faith that all of you will do your very best and our mission will find success! Of course, there will be roadblocks on the way. I'm sure that there are other special interest groups that seek the artifact as well as us, so we'll have to be extra careful. That's why I've built this training facility. I will turn each and every one of you into a great soldier, the likes of which no one has ever seen before! I hope you are all ready for your training!" The crowd roared with cheers and applause. Breckinridge quickly calmed them down. "Training starts tomorrow. In the meantime, we will be showing you to your dorms in the housing complex. Each squad gets one floor to themselves, with Squad One staying on the top floor and so on. Each floor comes complete with everything you will need to survive here at headquarters, with five bedrooms, five bathrooms, a huge common area, and even a kitchen! Enjoy your stay! You'll be here for quite a while. Again, thank you and congratulations! I'll see you all tomorrow morning!" Applause rang through the lobby as everyone stood up and walked over to the apartment complex.

[K-NiGhT]

Chapter6: Meeting the Team

After a quick elevator ride up to the seventh floor of the housing complex, the newly formed Squad Four stepped out to find their new home. It was exactly how Breckinridge described it. They walked into a large common room, which had a few couches, a TV, and a coffee table. It looked like it could fit way more than ten people, which Marshal figured would be good for hosting meetings. There were two separate hallways leading out from the room. One of the hallways led to the kitchen, while the other held five doors, presumably leading to the bedrooms.
   
"Not bad," Chris commented. "I could get used to this!"
   
"It looks a little too comfortable," Vlad said.
   
"Well, we do need a comfortable place to rest from the brutal training we're sure to have," Marshal reminded him. "I think it's perfect. Before we assign rooms and everything, though, I think it'd be nice if we all got to know each other a little bit, first!"
   
"Great idea," Adelia said, smiling. "Let's go sit on the couches." All ten of them found a spot on the couches. Marshal and his group sat on the one, while the other five members took the other. They seemed to be nervous of each other for some reason.
   
"I'll start things off, I guess," Marshal said. "My name's Marshal North. I'm from Silver Springs, Colorado, and I'll be your squad leader. I don't exactly know a whole lot about what a squad leader is supposed to do, so you'll have to bear with me for a little while. I tend to be a little quiet at first, but if I get to know you better, we'll be the best of friends! It's great to meet all of you."
   
"I'm Adelia Sinclair," Adelia said after Marshal was done. "I'm also from Silver Springs, Colorado. I'm a lot like Marshal, I really have to get to know someone before I can be friends with them, so don't be afraid to come and talk to me!"
   
"I'm Chris Harley!" Chris said, hyper as always. "I'm yet another Silver Springs native. I've been told I'm kind of eccentric, but I just don't get it. I tend to have a temper occasionally, so try not to make me mad. Also, I'm a little smarter than I look, so don't try to play tricks on me."
   
"The name's Serena Carver," Serena told them. "I'm the fourth and final Silver Springs native here. I don't like to talk much, but if you ever need advice on something, I'm your girl. That's about it."
   
"Vladimir Kozlov," Vlad said bluntly. "I'm from Moscow, Russia. I've never really been around people my age before, so this will take some getting used to. Please try not to get in my way or annoy me and we'll get along just fine."
   
The other five members on the other couch just got more nervous, after being inadvertently threatened by the imposing man across the room from them. Eventually, the small, dark skinned girl sat up and introduced herself.
   
"My name's Mia," she said. "Mia Luna. I'm from Chicago, Illinois and I'm a freshman in high school. I came here to get away from my stupid town with its stupid people. That's all you need to know about me."
   
After Mia had introduced herself, the other girl decided to speak up. She had brown hair that was tied up in a ponytail. She wore a simple t-shirt that had an image of the flag of Great Britain. "My name's Aurora Kaiser. I'm from a small town near London, England. I've always been interested in American culture, so I definitely couldn't pass up the opportunity to come here and learn about it first-hand! You all should come and talk to me so I can find out what life is like here."
   
Immediately after Aurora finished, one of the boys spoke up. "My name's Tristan Kane!" he said, pushing up his glasses. "I'm from Omaha, Nebraska. I'm kind of a tech nerd, so if you have any questions with phones, computers, and the like, I would love to help you out!"
   
Lastly, it was the twins' turn, but they were silent. They both looked like they were staring off into space.
   
"You don't talk much, do you?" Aurora asked them.
   
"What was that?" one of the twins said. He shook his head and looked straight at Aurora. "Oh, I'm awfully sorry about that. I was talking to my brother. I'm Ryder Urban, and this is my brother Travis. We're from Davis, California. Something interesting about us is that we can actually communicate telepathically!"
   
A confused silence came over the room. "Wait a minute," Aurora said. "Did you just say, 'telepathically?'?"
   
"Yeah," Ryder confirmed. "Pretty neat, right?"
   
"Yeah, that's pretty cool," Marshal agreed, somewhat skeptical of the twin's claim. "Now that we've all introduced ourselves, we should decide who gets to room together. I'm sure there's a rule somewhere that says guys cannot room with girls, so we'll go off that. If there's anyone who wants someone specific, now's the time to say it."
   
"I'd like to room with Serena," Aurora said, looking at her across the room. "You seem very nice, and maybe you could tell me all about life here in America!"
   
"Sure!" Serena said, smiling lightly. "I would love to."
   
"Alright, there's one room," Marshal said. "Anyone else want to request someone?"
   
"Travis and I would prefer to room together, if that's okay," Ryder told him.
   
"Alright," Marshal nodded. "Any more requests?"
   
Vlad turned to him. "I'd like to room with you, if that works."
   
Chris turned to Vlad. "Hey, maybe I wanted to room with Marshal! He's my best friend, after all."
   
Vlad just stared at him with a steely gaze for a moment. Quickly, Chris looked away. "Fine, you can have him."
   
"I'm glad you see it my way," Vlad said, grinning smugly. "Is that alright with you, Marshal?"
   
"Sure," Marshal said. "That works for me. Alright, I think that's all the requests we can have. Chris, you and Tristan will have to room together, and Adelia and Mia will also be paired up. Any big objections?" Nobody said anything. "Good, then let's get settled in."
   
"One problem," Tristan said. "Where's our stuff?"
   
"Crap," Marshal muttered. "Commander Breckinridge's workers put our stuff on the helicopter."
   
"What do we do?" Adelia asked. "We need our stuff." As soon as she said that, the elevator door opened to reveal Walker Breckinridge. He walked into the room while a small horde of workers followed behind him, carrying a bunch of bags and suitcases.
   
"Hello, Squad Four!" he greeted. "And hello, my friends from Silver Springs! Glad to see you did so well today. I have brought all of your luggage for you. Don't forget, training starts tomorrow at 8 A.M sharp! We'll start off with squad workouts, and then break off into sections for more specialized training. Also, tomorrow you will be receiving your official 12HUDs after training. Now, these HUDs are a little more complicated than the 9HUDs you got today. The 12HUD is simply a tiny little chip that is surgically implanted into your brain. Now, before you freak out, realize that the surgery is extremely safe and there is virtually no risk involved. I have seen to that. Any questions?"
   
"No, sir!" they all shouted in unison, saluting in their seats.
   
"Again with the 'sir' crap," he said. "You still don't need all the formalities towards me. My only job is to oversee yours. I hope you all will get along well! See you tomorrow morning!" He snapped his fingers, and his workers quickly followed him out of Squad Four's apartment.
   
"Well, that was convenient," Serena said.
   
"No kidding," Marshal agreed. He looked at the clock. It was 11:30 P.M. "We should get to bed, guys. It's really late, and we don't want to be late for training on the first day."
   
"Yes, sir!" the squad shouted.
   
"Yikes," Marshal mumbled. "Now I know how Walker feels." He grabbed his luggage and walked to his new room, with the rest of his new squad following suit.

[K-NiGhT]

Chapter7: Training

Vlad's alarm clock blared throughout Squad Four's entire apartment, but Vlad was already awake. He ran into his and Marshal's room, turned it off, and shook Marshal awake. "Get up, sleepyhead," he grumbled, his voice even more gravelly than usual. "We have training to do."

Marshal groaned and sat up. "It's too early to be functioning right now," he complained.

"What are you talking about?" Vlad laughed. "It's 7:30. We overslept, in my opinion."

"Your opinion stinks," Marshal mumbled, sitting up in his bed. "We still have a half hour until we need to be there."

"Which gives us just enough time to have breakfast," Vlad reminded him. "Let's go get the team ready. I made Russian waffles."

"What are those?" Marty asked, still half asleep.

"They're like Belgian waffles, only bigger and better," Vlad explained. "Now, let's get going." The two of them got up, got dressed quickly, and went out into the kitchen. Soon after they got out there, the rest of the squad shuffled out, just as tired as Marshal was.

"Morning, all," Aurora mumbled. "Let's do great today."

"Yeah," Marshal agreed. "We have a lot of work to do today if we want to prove ourselves to the others."

"I'm more nervous about that surgery Mr. Breckinridge was talking about," Mia said, shivering. "I hate surgeries."

"He said that there was virtually no risk," Tristan reminded her. "Theoretically, all he has to do is implant a tiny microchip onto the surface of the brain. That just takes a small syringe at worst. The whole thing would probably only take about one to two minutes to finish, and you'd probably even be awake for the procedure."

"How do you know that?" Mia asked, unconvinced.

"I may or may not have hacked into the headquarters systems and found the files on the surgery last night," Tristan admitted, taking a huge bite of a Russian waffle.

"Just don't get us in trouble, Tristan," Marshal scolded him. "We don't want to start off our first day with getting in trouble for hacking Walker's computers."

"I never get caught hacking," Tristan bragged. "I'm the best hacker this side of the Missouri River!"

"Whatever you say," Marshal sighed, shrugging his shoulders. The squad quickly finished the rest of their breakfast and got ready to head out. They were all empty handed, except for Vlad, who carried a large bag on his shoulder. Marshal had no idea what was in the bag, and he wasn't sure rather or not he wanted to find out. They made the quick trek to the training dome and waited in the lobby, where other squads had already gathered.

"Hey!" one boy shouted, standing over by another squad. "What squad are you guys?"

"Squad Four," Marshal answered. "How about you?"

"Squad Three," the boy said, smirking. "It looks like you'll be our big competition. Not that it'll be a competition, what with us all being better than you."

"Excuse me?" Marshal asked. "Just because you got here before us yesterday doesn't mean you're better than us."

The boy walked up to Marshal. He was about an inch taller and a pound heavier, by the looks of things. His brown hair was perfectly moussed up, just like Marshal had always tried to do with his hair, but never could. "You're Marshal North, right? The leader of Squad Four?"

"That's right," Marshal confirmed. "Who are you?"

"Jack Martin," the boy said. "You'd be wise to remember my name. After all, it's the name that yours is going to fall under the whole time we're here!"

"Oh, yeah?" Marshal replied, his face turning red. "We'll see about that!"

"I suppose we will!" Jack smirked. "Don't be too surprised when I'm completely right, though! It happens all the time." He laughed snobbishly as he turned around and snapped his fingers to call the rest of his squad to him. The other nine members of his squad walked a safe distance behind him, seemingly afraid of their leader.

"Ooooh!" Mia grunted, watching the squad cower behind their leader. "That guy pisses me off!"

"Agreed," Marshal growled, gritting his teeth. "Let's do our best and show him a thing or two."

"Right!" the rest of the squad shouted together. They waited in the lobby while the rest of the squads wandered in. Finally, Walker Breckinridge appeared on the outer ring on the second floor.

"Good morning, everyone!" he shouted down to them.

"Good morning!" everybody shouted back.

"I love the enthusiasm!" he explained. "I hope you're all ready for the first day of training. It's gonna be a doozy! We'll start off with general weight training in the fitness center, up here on the second floor. Now, before you all dash to the elevator, don't bother. They're not working. You'll have to use the stairs."

A number of people groaned as all the recruits trudged up the stairs. Once they got up to the second floor, Walker led them into the door that led into the middle of the dome. When they got inside, they were amazed. The entire circular room as filled with different weight training equipment as far as the eye could see. Marshal looked over to see Vlad grinning ear to ear as if he had just died and gone to heaven.

"This reminds me of home!" he shouted uncharacteristically.

Breckinridge smiled. "Alright, everyone, go nuts!" The one hundred recruits dove straight in and attacked the training equipment in whatever way they knew how. Seeing an opportunity to show off his squad, as well as upstage his new rival, Marshal immediately took Vlad to the benches.

"Alright, Vlad," he said. "I'm assuming you've done bench presses before."

"Of course," Vlad scoffed, flexing his gargantuan arms.

"Alright," Marshal said. "Let's show everyone what you can do then."

"Gladly," Vlad acquiesced, winking. He proceeded to fill the weight bar with an obscene amount of weight. Several other recruits stopped what they were doing to watch the big kid do his thing. Vlad lay on the bench, grabbed the bar, and began to effortlessly lift the weights.

After a minute or two, Marshal looked down at Vlad. "You know you can stop sometime," he said.

"Oh, thank God," Vlad sighed. "I was starting to get bored." He set the bar down and it crashed into its holding place with a thud that shook the whole room.

"Good Lord," Marshal muttered. "You're an animal."

Vlad simply laughed. "I was called here from Russia for a reason, Marshal," he told him. "Now it's your turn."

Marshal's eyes widened. "You're joking."

Vlad laughed again. "Of course I am. You do what you're comfortable with. Of course, if I feel you can do more, I'll make you. I'm a pretty good judge of strength."

Marshal nodded and quickly stripped the weight that was on the bar. He then put a mediocre amount of weight on the bar and sat down to lift it.

"Not even close," Vlad said shaking his head. "You need more."

Marshal sighed and put more weight on the bar. It was closer to what someone of his stature would be able to comfortably do.

"Nope," Vlad said, standing up. "That's not enough." He pushed Marshal out of the way and loaded up more weight than some of the guys bigger than Marshal were doing. "This is about right."

"You've got to be kidding," Marshal groaned, shaking his head. "There's no way I can do that! That's more than what I weigh!"

"You won't do it with that attitude," Vlad scolded. "If you just sit down and tell yourself you can do it, then you will. Confidence is
key, Marshal. All good leaders must have confidence to be effective."

Marshal nodded. "Okay, I'll do it." He lay down at the bench and got ready to go. Vlad stood above him, ready to help if necessary. Marshal took a deep breath, mustered all his willpower, and lifted the bar off its support. He was surprised by how light it suddenly felt. He lifted it five times before putting the weight back down.

"What did I tell you?" Vlad said. "That was easy, no?"

"Yeah, it was," Marshal admitted. "You're really good at motivation, Vlad."

"I try to be," Vlad told him. "The morale of your comrades should be one of your top priorities."

"Shall we keep going?" Marshal asked him. "We still have quite a bit of time."

"Yes, sir," Vlad smiled evilly. "Let's move on to squats next."

"Oh, god," Marshal groaned.

[K-NiGhT]

Chapter8: The White Rose Blossoms; the Red Scythe Reaps

After an hour of training, Marshal was about ready to pass out. Vlad had absolutely pushed him to his limit. Every part of his body hurt, from his arms to his feet. He fell down on the floor, and Vlad walked over to stand over him.
   
"That was fun, wasn't it?" Vlad asked him with a malicious smirk on his face.
   
"I hate you," Marshal grunted.
   
"Come on, now," Vlad laughed. "It's only going to get easier for you from here." As he was talking, a timer went off in the room. The door swung open, and Walker walked into the room.
   
"Great work today so far," he said. "Now it's time to move on to the third floor. From there, you will have to decide what type of combat you want to specialize in. Your specialization will determine what weapon you use and how you fight when in combat. You will need to decide between your squad members as to what each one of you want to specialize in. That way, we don't have every member of a squad doing the same thing. One of my assistants will be around to pass out sheets explaining each of the specializations. You may begin to discuss as you're walking up to the next floor." Squad Four regrouped and followed the line of people out the door. One of the assistants was handing out flyers to each of the recruits as they walked out the door.
   
Marshal looked at the flyer as he walked. "Okay, so it looks like there are less than ten specializations. We've got snipers, weapons specialists, hackers, and a few others. What does everybody want?"
   
"I want to be a sniper," Vlad said bluntly.
   
"Okay, then," Marshal said. "There's one sniper out of the way. Who else knows what they want to do?"
   
"I'll be a hacker!" Tristan shouted, jumping up and down.
   
"I'm interested in the camouflage specialization," Mia said quietly.
   
"I'll do the medical specialization," Adelia said.
   
"I'll join you," Serena said to Adelia. "The more medical support we have, the better."
   
"I'll do the weapons one," Chris said.
   
"I'll go and study tactical maneuvers," Aurora said.
   
"We'll do reconnaissance," one of the twins said.
   
"Good, that's everyone then," Marshal said. "Let's review and confirm. Vlad will go to sniping, Tristan is on hacking, Mia will do camouflage, Adelia and Serena are medics, Chris is our weapons guy, Aurora is our tactician, and the twins will do recon. Are we all good?"
   
"Yes, sir!" they all answered.
   
"Awesome," Marshal said. "Let's go, then." They walked up the stairs to the third floor and waited until everyone else had made it up.
   
"What are you going to do, Marshal?" Vlad asked him, hefting his strange bag up on his shoulder. "Just about all of the specializations are taken."
   
"I'm not sure," Marshal admitted. "I'm not really a fan of firearms and all that stuff, so I'll go with the non-weapon specialization."
   
"Interesting," Vlad mused. "What don't you like about firearms?"
   
"I really don't know," Marshal told him. "I have terrible aim, for one thing. I'm also somewhat afraid of guns."
   
"That's an interesting phobia to have," Vlad said. "Especially considering the work you'll be doing here."
   
"Yeah," Marshal agreed. "I'm sure once we get started, I'll get over it. I have to lead my squad effectively, after all."
   
"That's the spirit," Vlad smiled.
   
Breckinridge walked up to face the squads. "Okay, I trust you all have decided what you're going to specialize in. The specialization instructors will be around waiting for each person that is interested. They will be holding up signs showing which specialization they are teaching, to minimize confusion." Just then, seven people walked up the stairs, holding pieces of paper in their hands. Each person located the person that matched their specialization and left with them.

*   *   *
   
Vlad felt a little out of place with the rest of the sniper trainees. The rest of them were all short, skinny, and easy to fit into small spaces. He, of course, was not. He knew, however, that he was one of the best at his craft, and he would show this "instructor" what he could really do. He followed the group into a large room with a lot of rectangular obstacles.
   
The instructor turned to face the trainees. She was a small lady with long raven hair tied up in a ponytail. Her pale face was free of any blemishes, and her eyes were covered by a pair of opaque, black sunglasses.
   
"Welcome to sniper training," the instructor said with a Russian accent nearly identical to Vlad's. "I am Anastasia Markov, and I will be your instructor as long as you're training here."
   
Vlad was very interested in this woman, and not just because of her accent. She also seemed very young, probably around eighteen, just like him. She also seemed to be pretty handy with a rifle, which pleased him. He reminded himself to talk to her after the lesson that day.
   
"Now," Anastasia said. "Who in here has had experience with a sniper rifle in the past?" Vlad was the only person to raise his hand. "That's interesting. Well, let me get this out of the way for all of you who enjoy playing first person shooter video games, it's not all quick-scoping and 360 no-scopes. Being a sniper takes plenty of patience, stealth, and self-control. I'm sure the man mountain over there would agree."
   
"Yes, ma'am," Vlad agreed, blushing a little.
   
Anastasia smiled. "Now, this room was designed with sniping in mind. This is the kind of thing snipers run into when in the field. You must keep a constant watch on your team from your position and protect them from any threats, when possible. Of course, it isn't always easy to do this." She looked at Vlad. "You seem capable enough," she said. "Would you care to help me demonstrate the role of a sniper?"
   
"Absolutely," Vlad told her, reaching for his bag. He unzipped it and quickly pulled out a huge sniper rifle. It looked heavily customized with a suppressor, a very big scope, and a couple of other interesting attachments. The most interesting thing on the rifle, though, was a pattern that seemed to reoccur quite a few times all over the body. It was a simple white rose, overlaid by a menacing red scythe resembling that of the mythical Grim Reaper. Noticing the symbol littered around Vlad's rifle, Anastasia gasped.
   
"That symbol!" she cried. "I've seen it somewhere before!"
   
Vlad just smirked and shoved his way to the front of the group. "I'm ready to assist you, Ms. Markov."
   
"Of course," she said, still fascinated by the symbol covering Vlad's rifle. "If you could, please take your position up in the sniper's nest to your right." Vlad did as instructed and walked up the incline on his right to a small square area above the whole room. It provided enough cover for anyone to take shelter from a stray bullet or two.
   
"I'm in position," Vlad told her.
   
"Good," Anastasia said. "Now, I'm going to walk through the course to the other side of the room. As I go through, targets will appear around the whole area. Your job is to take out all of the targets that pose a threat to me. Stealth is the name of the game, as I'm sure you know."
   
"Of course," Vlad said. "I'm ready to begin whenever you are."
   
"Alright then," Anastasia said, smiling a little bit. "Let's get started." She pressed a button on the wall next to the start of the obstacle course and started walking through. As soon as she got in, Vlad immediately spotted a target dummy coming around the corner of one of the rectangular obstacles. With a yawn, Vlad pulled the trigger without even looking through the scope of his weapon. His bullet went straight through the dummy's head, literally knocking the stuffing out of it. The dummy stopped right where it was. Anastasia continued walking through the course. Again and again, target dummies would pop up, and Vlad easily dispatched them all without hesitation. Anastasia got to the end of the course and pushed another button on the wall. All the training dummies returned to their original positions, and the rectangular obstacles sank down into the floor.
   
"Alright," she said calmly. "You can come down, now." Vlad packed up his rifle and walked back down to the floor.
   
"How did I do, Ms. Markov?" Vlad asked smugly, an obvious smirk appearing on his face once again.
   
"You stay here," she said sternly. "The rest of you, we're done for today." The other clearly freaked out recruits left the room while Vlad stayed behind. She walked up to Vlad and stood up on her tiptoes to get up in his face.
   
"What's wrong?" Vlad asked.
   
"What the hell is a member of the Crescent Rose Snipers doing here?" she asked him angrily.
   
"I don't know what you are talking about," Vlad said nonchalantly.
   
"Don't play dumb with me!" Anastasia shouted. "I know everything about the Crescent Rose Snipers. They're known as some of the greatest snipers in the entire world. Even I wasn't able to become one. Just who are you?"
   
"The name's Vladimir Kozlov," Vlad said, formally introducing himself to the young instructor.
   
Anastasia gasped yet again. "Wait a minute, you mean you're the Vladimir Kozlov? The child prodigy that became a Crescent Rose Sniper when he was just thirteen years old?"
   
"I'm still not sure I know what you're talking about," Vlad said, avoiding the subject. "Perhaps my memory would return if you accompanied me for lunch?"
   
"Fine," Anastasia grunted. "But only if I can get some information out of your annoyingly big head." The two of them left the training room together.

[K-NiGhT]

Chapter9: Bitter Rivals

Marshal arrived at the non-firearm training room. It seemed that he was the only one that was in that specialization. Even the instructor had managed to vanish somehow. Just then, Breckinridge showed up at the door with an annoyingly familiar face in tow.
   
"Hey, Marshal!" Jack Martin greeted him with an extremely saturated amount of sarcasm. Marshal just grunted in reply.
   
"That's kind of rude," Breckinridge scolded him. "You should be a little nicer to your only specialization partner."
   
"Him?!" Marshal screamed. "You've got to be joking!"
   
"He's completely serious, buddy!" Jack said, faking kindness towards Marshal. "We're gonna have so much fun together!"
   
Marshal turned to Breckinridge. "Walker, please, this guy has been nothing but rude to me since I met him, and I don't feel comfortable training with him."
   
"Nonsense!" Breckinridge said, dismissing Marshal's plea. "I'm sure the two of you will get along great! That being said, though, it seems your instructor left, thinking that there would be nobody taking his class. I guess that means the responsibility falls to me. Come on, you two. We've got some work to be doing."

*   *   *
   
Vlad and Anastasia had made the trek back to Squad Four's apartment, where Vlad had fixed her some authentic Russian food for lunch.
   
"I hope you like svitanak," he said sheepishly, placing a plate of delicious looking chicken in front of her.
   
"I do!" she cried. "How did you know?"
   
"Who doesn't love svitanak?" he asked jokingly. The two of them both laughed as they dug in to eat their lunch.

*   *   *
   
"You're here because you don't like guns," Breckinridge assumed. "That's perfectly fine! There's nothing wrong with that. Because of this, though, you need to figure out ways of alternatively taking out enemies. That's why we've also equipped the headquarters with a plethora of weapons besides firearms. They're all stored in this room!" He motioned to the walls, and Marshal and Jack looked around to see weapons of every shape and size adorning the big walls of the training room.

"Wow," Marshal said, gaping in awe. "This is incredible!"

"Yeah, yeah," Jack dismissed, "when do we get to start beating the crap out of each other?"

"Right now, actually," Breckinridge assured him. "The two of you have 30 seconds to pick a weapon off of the walls and start a mock battle. Go!"

"Yes, Commander Walker!" the two of them shouted. They ran to the walls and searched for a weapon that suited them the best. Marshal immediately set his gaze on an old katana that was set on the top of the wall. Jack picked up a set of steel battle claws and immediately ran towards Marshal.

*   *   *

"So," Anastasia began, "what is a Crescent Rose Sniper doing here of all places?"

"Walker called for me personally," Vlad told her. "Of course, I accepted. Breckinridge has done quite a bit for us in Moscow."

"But how did you get out of the Crescent Rose to come here?" Anastasia asked him.

"I haven't been in the Crescent Rose for quite some time," Vlad said. "It's been at least three years since I was last with them."

"I've never heard of anyone just up and leaving that group before," Anastasia mused.

"Well, my departure wasn't exactly what you'd call, 'official,'" Vlad admitted.

"You deserted," Anastasia answered for him.

"I almost had to," Vlad said, defending himself. "The ways they were operating before I left were...less than ethical, to say the least. So I packed up my rifle, and I quickly moved to Moscow, where no one would be able to accurately track me down."

"Wow," Anastasia said, in awe of the young man's story. "That's amazing. They never found you after that?"

"Oh, they looked," Vlad assured her. "They just weren't very good at it."

Anastasia laughed. "You know, Vlad, you're a pretty interesting guy."

Vlad laughed, finishing off his Svitanak. "Thanks. I'd like to get to know you a little better myself, Ms. Markov."

"Please," she said. "Call me Anastasia. And perhaps we could do this again tomorrow?"

"Just let me know what you'd like me to make," Vlad told her, smiling.

"I haven't had some good borscht in a long time," Anastasia said. "Maybe you can make that tomorrow?"

"Borscht it is, then," Vlad agreed. "I'll prepare it tomorrow. I'll see you tomorrow for class."

"Of course," Anastasia said. "Until tomorrow, Vlad." She got up and walked out of Squad Four's apartment.

*   *   *

Marshal had just gotten knocked down by Jack for the fourth time in a row. Frustrated, he got up and started swinging his sword at his opponent again. Jack quickly blocked all of Marshal's attacks with one claw and forced him down with the other.

"That's enough," Walker told them. "You two are done for today,"

"No!" Marshal adamantly refused. "I can beat him; just give me one more round!"

"Why don't you give up?" Jack asked him. "You should've figured out that you couldn't beat me by at least the third attempt."
In a fit of rage, Marshal ran at Jack and punched him square in the face. Jack stumbled back a few feet and fell flat on his backside.

"Maybe I just don't need a weapon to take you down," Marshal said, putting the katana back on the wall where he found it.

"That's enough, you two!" Walker shouted. The two of them turned to look at him, quickly stumbling to attention. He turned to Jack. "You're dismissed for today, Jack. Marshal, you stay here."

"Yes, Commander," Jack mumbled, walking out of the room. When the door closed behind him, Walker looked straight at Marshal.

"Marshal, I know it's disappointing to lose," Walker told him, "but you don't have to make things worse by getting violent. No matter what, Jack is one of your comrades. You need to treat him as such."

"You weren't there this morning when he insulted my squad," Marshal retorted. "I just wanted to show him that he was wrong about us. He's no better than us."

Walker stared at him for a moment, and then he smiled. "Tell you what, Marshal. Stop by my office here in the dome tonight after training is over for the day. I'll have something for you that I think you'll like."

"What is it?" Marshal asked him.

"It's a surprise," Walker said. "I can't tell you yet. Now, you're dismissed. Go get some lunch and report back to the fourth floor in an hour for the next activity."

"Yes, Commander Walker!" Marshal said, saluting. He ran out of the room. Walker sighed as he watched Marshal race back to his apartment for lunch.

[K-NiGhT]

Chapter10: Squad Battles

After a quick lunch, Marshal met up with the rest of his squad and they walked back over to the training dome. They made it to the fourth floor to find the rest of the squads standing around a huge course that resembled a map off of a first person shooter game. Props of all sorts littered the whole area, and a few structures appeared here and there. The whole course was only connected to the outer walkway by two metal bridges, one that was colored red and another colored blue. Above the course, there was a Jumbotron, not unlike those found at big sports stadium.
   
"This is incredible!" Tristan exclaimed.
   
"I wonder what we'll be doing up here," Ryder mused.
   
"Well it looks like we're about to find out," Aurora said, nodding over to the staircase on the other side, where Walker was just arriving.
   
"Hello, everyone!" he said, waving to the group. "I hope you all have been doing well today. Now, this portion of the day will be where we pit each squad against each other in a team death match of sorts. Only two squads will participate in a match per day, which means that you will only have to participate in a match once a week. The squads are randomly chosen and the map is also randomly generated, so you never know who you'll face or what kind of map you'll be playing on. The matches are conducted on a best two out of three round basis, which each round lasting twenty minutes. Kills are checked by a simple laser tag system. If you are killed, you must return to your team's respawn area and wait for five seconds. The winner of each round is decided by the total amount of kills earned by the whole squad. At the end of the week, all the kills will be totaled, and the squad that has the most points will win a prize! Any questions?"
   
"No, Commander Walker!" everyone shouted.
   
"Great!" Walker exclaimed. "Then let's get today's match underway! We have randomly selected the teams, and the two squads that are participating are Squads Six and Ten. Squad Six will take the red side, and Squad Ten will take the blue side. Please get ready to begin the match!" The two squads grouped together and took their respective sides. Waiting for them next to the bridges were some 9HUDs and Magnums, just like the equipment they had received for the entrance exam. Each team walked across the bridge onto the arena and the bridges retracted into the center circle. The Jumbotron turned on to reveal a scoreboard showing a red six and a blue ten, with white zeroes underneath them. In the middle, a timer showed twenty minutes, the time for each round. An alarm sounded, and the two squads began to prepare for battle. Within thirty seconds, the first kill had been counted for Squad Six. As soon as that happened, Squad Six went on a rampage, utterly decimating Squad Ten in the first round with a score of 67 kills to zero.
   
Chris whistled. "Wow, Squad Ten is not doing very well."
   
"Well, they were the very last people to show up last night," Serena reminded him. "Most of them were all covered in paint, if I remember correctly. We probably can't expect much from them to start off."
   
"Come on, Serena," Marshal groaned. "The entrance exam had hardly any bearing on skill."
   
"It may not have been the only factor," Adelia agreed, "but it still was a factor any way you look at it."
   
"Whatever," Marshal sighed. They all turned their attention back to the ongoing match, where Squad Ten had started doing better, only losing to Squad Six in the second round with a score of 49 to 13."
   
"That's it!" Walker shouted at the end of the round. "Today's match is over! The winner today is Squad Six!" Everyone clapped for the victorious squad as the two teams exited the arena. Squad Ten looked extremely discouraged as they left their gear by the bridge, where they had found it.
   
"Aw, man," one of the squad members said. "We got destroyed."
   
Marshal walked up to them. "Don't feel bad," he said, attempting to cheer them up. "That's what the training is for, right?"
   
"He's right," one of the girls said to the rest of them. She appeared to be the squad's leader. "We'll get better and hopefully win next week. Let's do our best!"
   
"Yes, ma'am!" the rest of the squad.
   
"Thank you," the girl said to Marshal. "What's your name?"
   
"I'm Marshal North," Marshal told her. "I'm the Squad Four leader. What's your name?"
   
"Karly Garret," she said. "Squad Ten leader. It's nice to meet you, Marshal."
   
"Likewise," Marshal said, smiling. "Good luck next week!"
   
"Thanks," Karly said, smiling. "Good luck to you this week!"
   
"Thanks, you too!" Marshal grinned. "See you around!" He walked back over to his squad, feeling like he had done his good deed for the day.

[K-NiGhT]

Chapter11: Emerald Flash
   
"Great job today, everyone!" Walker praised. "We're all done for today! You have the rest of the day to do whatever you'd like. Supper will be at 5:30 in the cafeteria on the top floor. Along with the cafeteria, the instructors' offices are on the fifth floor. If you have any questions, they will be available until after supper tonight. I do request that Marshal North comes to see me around 4:00." He looked at Marshal and winked. "That's all, then. You're all dismissed. See you tomorrow!" Everyone cheered as they dashed down the stairs to get back to their apartments.
   
Squad Four got to their apartments and crashed on the couches in the common room. Travis grabbed the remote and switched on the TV.
   
Marshal groaned. "I'm completely beat."
   
"Same," Chris agreed. "This whole 'training' thing is gonna suck."
   
"Nah," Serena laughed. "You just have to stop being such a wimp!" Everyone laughed while the TV provided some background noise. They all just sat there in silence for quite a while, desperately trying not to fall asleep, when Vlad decided to strike up some conversation.
   
"So, Marshal," he began. "What does Commander Breckinridge want with you?"
   
"No idea," Marshal admitted, shrugging his shoulders. "He told me after my specialization class today that he had a surprise for me and he wanted me to come see him after training. I have no idea what it could possibly be."
   
"Sounds odd," Tristan said. "Do you want me to see if I can find out anything?"
   
"That's okay," Marshal told him. "I appreciate the thought, but I don't want you to get in trouble. I'll just go check it out in a little bit." Tristan, looking a little discouraged, slouched back down in his seat and shifted his gaze to the TV."
   
"Speaking of which," Adelia said, "it's almost 4:00. You might want to get over there as soon as you can."
   
"Oh, crap," Marshal muttered. "You're right. Thanks, Adelia. I'll see you all later!" He dashed out of the apartment and took off through the stairwell down to the bottom.

*   *   *
   
Walker was typing a report on the first day's events on his computer when Marshal crashed into his office.
   
"Sorry, Walker!" he shouted, stumbling into his standard awkward salute.
   
"It's 4:01, Marshal," Walker told him. "Tardiness is not a quality that befits a squad leader."
   
"Again, my deepest apologies," Marshal offered. "It's been a long day so far."
   
"Understandable," Walker admitted. "Now, I have a surprise for you, as I said earlier. Did you take that katana you were using out of the weapons room?"
   
"No, I didn't," Marshal told him. "I figured it was just supposed to stay there."
   
"Well, I'm rather glad you didn't," Walker said. "Now I can justify giving this to you!" He reached under his desk and pulled out a long black box. He handed it to Marshal, who gingerly picked it up.
   
"What is it?" Marshal asked.
   
"Open it and see!" Walker ordered. "I really think you'll be impressed."
   
Marshal took the lid off of the box to find a brand spanking new katana, held by a sheath. The sheath looked like it could be strapped to Marshal's back. "This is a katana?" he asked.
   
"Yes, it is," Walker confirmed. "Not just any katana, though. This is the latest and greatest weapon our designers have come up with. Go ahead and unsheathe it."
   
"Okay," Marshal agreed. He took the sword out of its sheath and stared in awe. The outside of the blade was black, but a strip of it in the middle shone a bright emerald green. The guard was the same shade of green, and the hilt was made out of some kind of spongy, black material.
   
"What do you think?" Walker asked him. "That's the latest and greatest in sword technology. The blade is made out of a diamond and emerald composite, which gives it a superior amount of durability. It's covered by a layer of black carbon fiber to keep the interior protected and to make it look really cool. The hilt is also made out of specially designed foam to maximize grip strength while simultaneously providing comfort for your hands. I call it, 'Emerald Flash.'"
   
"I don't know what to say," Marshal said. "Thank you so much!"
   
"It's no problem," Walker assured him. "You're lucky you got one. I found out that Jack took that pair of battle claws out of the room after training today. That means he's kind of stuck with those. You, however, didn't take that rusty old katana. That was a good choice on your part. This sword has the potential to give you the edge over Jack when you spar against each other again."
   
"This is the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me," Marshal told him. "Again, thank you so much."
   
"It was nothing, really," Walker reminded him. "Just be sure you do your best from now on!"
   
"I will!" Marshal said, absolutely giddy with excitement over his present. He practically skipped out of the office back to his apartment. Walker laughed as the door to his office closed.

[K-NiGhT]

Chapter12: Serena's Secret

Marshal made it back to his apartment in record time. He walked in with a huge grin on his face.
   
"Well, look who's back so soon!" Aurora said. "What are you smiling about?"
   
"This!" he said, unsheathing his sword.
   
Everyone jumped back. "What the hell?" Mia cried.
   
"Walker gave me this katana as a gift!" Marshal beamed. "It's the coolest thing ever! It's pretty much indestructible, and look what happens when you swing it!" He swung the blade around, and a green trail of light followed it in the direction it traveled.
   
"Okay," Mia admitted. "That's insanely cool."
   
"I know!" Marshal shouted. While he was showing off his new weapon, the TV channel changed without anyone touching anything. The picture showed Walker in his office.
   
"Evening, everyone!" he said. "Supper will begin shortly. If you're eating in the dome with us, you should come at this time. I have a few more announcements to go over when everyone gets here, so please try to attend tonight." With that, the TV switched back to its regularly scheduled programming.
   
"That's pretty cool," Tristan said.
   
"Shall we go to supper?" Vlad asked.
   
"We shall," Marshal answered. The squad made yet another trek over to the dome and raced up the steps to the top floor. They got to the cafeteria before all the other squads, so they got food instantly and sat down. As soon as the other squads arrived and got settled in, Walker appeared, as perfectly timed as always.
   
"So," he began, "I forgot to mention a few things before we left training today. First off, after dinner you will all report to the medical ward on the first floor to receive your 12HUDs. Like I mentioned to you all, this hardly even qualifies as a surgery. The only thing that the nurse is going to do is take a small syringe and inject a tiny microchip into your head. The procedure is painless and takes all of about ten seconds."
   
Tristan looked at the rest of the squad as if to say, "I told you so."
   
"Also," Walker continued, "I forgot to mention a little detail of the squad battles earlier. Each team will be asked to come up with their own logo to represent them on the scoreboard, leaderboards, and other things. I ask that each squad get those to me as soon as possible. The deadline for these submissions is Friday. If you don't meet that deadline, I'll make you a logo, and trust me when I say that you won't like it." A few people in the cafeteria giggled, thinking of possible things the commander would make as logos. Walker continued on. "That's all for now. Enjoy your supper, and I'll see you all tomorrow!"
   
Vlad looked to the group while Walker left the cafeteria. "I have an idea for our logo," he told them. "Are any of you good at graphic design?"
   
"I can draw on paper," Adelia said. "I just can't draw on the computer."
   
"I can do that," Mia said. "We can work on it together tonight!"
   
"Awesome!" Adelia exclaimed. "All-nighter, here we come!"
   
"I'll help, too," Vlad told them.  "I should probably let you know what I'm thinking of doing." They quickly finished their dinner and reported to the medical ward to receive their 12HUDs. After a quick, painless injection, they all went back to the apartment.
   
"I don't see where this 12HUD is," Mia scoffed. "I think mine's broken."
   
"I'll do a little digging around," Tristan said. "I'll see if I can find some instructions on these somewhere."
   
"I'll allow that," Marshal said. "Just please be careful. I'm sure they'll be beefing up their security now that they are going to start having trained hackers running around the place."
   
"Oh, please," Tristan said, cracking his knuckles. "They have no idea what they're up against." He dashed into his room and shut the door behind him.
   
"Well," Serena said, "I don't know about you guys, but I'm going to take a shower and head to bed for the night."
   
"That sounds like a lovely idea," Serena agreed. "I'll get ready to take one after you."
   
"I think we all need to get to bed early," Marshal said. "We've got a busy few months ahead of us." Everyone went to their rooms and prepared for bed.

*   *   *
   
"You can go first," Aurora said to Serena when they closed the door to their room behind them. "You know, since it was your idea and all."
   
"Thanks," Serena said, lifting up her shirt. Once she had gotten it off, Aurora noticed a huge mark on Serena's left arm. Looking at it before, she had just assumed it was a trick of the light, but now she noticed that it looked more like a tattoo. A strange tribal pattern traveled the length of Serena's upper arm. It consisted of a single curving line that branched off into many other curving lines.
   
"That's quite the tattoo," Aurora said, complimenting her.
   
"Thanks," Serena said, "but it's not a tattoo."
   
"What is it, then?" Aurora asked, getting confused.
   
"It's a burn," Serena told her. "I've had it since I was really little. My mom told me that it just appeared on me one day without anyone noticing, but I don't believe that story for a minute."
   
"Doesn't it bother you?" Aurora asked. "That looks like a very serious burn to have to deal with for that long."
   
"It's pretty much healed," Serena dismissed. "I don't even feel it anymore."
   
"Probably because all the nerves in your arms are dead," Aurora said. "Let's go talk to Walker about this."
   
"Can't it wait until tomorrow?" Serena asked her. "I really just want to take a shower and go to bed."
   
"No," Aurora said. "This could be a problem, and I want to make sure you're okay. Plus, Walker needs to know about this."
   
"Fine," Serena groaned, putting her shirt back on. "Let's go." So the two of them quietly left the apartment and headed for Breckinridge's office.

*   *   *
   
Walker was just putting the finishing touches on the first day's report when Aurora stormed in, leading Serena by the arm.
   
"Ah, Ms. Kaiser," he greeted. "And Ms. Carver. What can I do for the two of you?"
   
"You can look at this," Aurora said, lifting up Serena's left sleeve to reveal the strange mark.
   
"Oh my god," Walker gasped. "I know this mark!"
   
"You do?" Serena said quizzically.
   
"Yes!" Walker confirmed. "It's the mark of the Catalyst!"
   
"What on Earth is a Catalyst?" Aurora asked him.
   
"The Catalyst is a person that can interact with the Titan Orb and make it work," Walker explained. "There is only ever one living Catalyst on the planet at a time! This is incredible! I knew you were special, Ms. Carver, I just knew it!"
   
"Thanks," Serena said, "but I don't see what's so great about this."
   
"You are the most vital component to my operation's success," Walker told her. "If you hadn't volunteered to be on the task force, we would've spent years after finding the Titan Orb just trying to find you! This is an extremely important discovery. If you don't mind, Ms. Carver, I would like to have some of my lab guys study you occasionally. Would that be okay with you?"
   
"You'll have to run that one by my boyfriend," Serena told him. "He can be a little overprotective."
   
"No worries," Walker assured her. "I can persuade Mr. Harley, no problem. I have a way with people. In any case, thank you so much for coming to me with this information!"
   
"No problem," she said sheepishly, putting her sleeve back over her mark. "We'll see you tomorrow." With that, the two girls went back to their room, leaving Walker to gush over his new discovery.

[K-NiGhT]

Chapter13: The First Mission

A few weeks had passed since Breckinridge's task force had begun training. Everyone was gradually getting to act more and more like a cohesive military unit, rather than a bunch of confused teenagers. Squad Four had shown the most improvement, overall. In the third week of training, they had scored the most points in the squad battles, outscoring every other squad by over 50 points. Individually, they had also undergone some startling changes, physically and otherwise. They were all in the best shape of their lives, and a couple of them had even developed some interesting abilities. For one, Mia had figured out how to camouflage herself just like a chameleon. She was also working on getting her power to take an area of effect. She was not alone, though. Aurora had somehow found out that she had a slight aptitude for telekinesis. She had been practicing with some smaller objects, and was slowly working her way up to bigger and bigger things. Even Adelia had shown some interesting abilities, being able to heal wounds with nothing but her hands.
   
Walker had definitely noticed the squad's drastic improvement in performance. He called them to his office one day after supper to speak with them.
   
"I am very impressed," he told them. "The ten of you have improved so much since you arrived here five weeks ago. I am so impressed, in fact, that I am sending you on your first mission."
   
The squad jumped for joy. They were finally putting all of their skills to the test. "What are we doing?" Marshal asked him.
   
"This is going to be a fairly simple job," Walker said. "As of now, we have little to no information on the location or origin of the Titan Orb. All we know is that it's really old."
   
"That's not a whole lot to go off of," Tristan scoffed.
   
"Yes, but that's where you come in," Walker retorted, glaring at him. "We want you to search the ancient Incan city of Machu Picchu. If anything, you may find some clues."
   
"Yes, Commander Walker!" the squad shouted.
   
"We have arranged for you to get there by helicopter," Walker told them. "You'll leave tomorrow morning, and you'll only have a few hours to spend searching. I trust that you all understand your mission, so you're dismissed." The squad saluted and marched back to their apartment.

*   *   *
   
The next morning came quickly, and Squad Four was ready to go for their mission. They had received their combat uniforms, a skin-tight black set of clothes with emerald green accents, reflecting Marshal's new katana. The accents were specially designed by Walker, and they were only able to be seen by people wearing a 12HUD linked up to the task force's network. Every squad had their own set with their own distinctive color, and by some stroke of pure irony, Squad Four managed to get the exact same color as the blade of Marshal's new katana. They cheered when they saw their helicopter waiting for them on the helipad behind the complex. It was decorated liberally with the squad's emblem, which covered many parts of the plane. The logo was perfect for their squad. Designed by Vlad, Mia, and Adelia, it showed the red scythe on Vlad's sniper rifle, with Marshal's katana crossing over it. The two weapons rested on top of a simple white circle.
   
"Alright, team," Marshal said to his squad. "This is our very first mission. Let's do well!"
   
"Yes, sir!" the rest of the squad yelled. They all piled into the helicopter, and Aurora took the controls. She hoped that flying the helicopter all the way to South America went as well as it had when she was learning how to fly. She started up the engines, and they were soon off to the ancient ruins of Machu Picchu.

*   *   *
   
After a few hours in the air, Squad Four had finally made it to Peru, where the ruins were located.
   
"Alright, everyone," Marshal said, calling his team to attention. "We're coming up on the destination. We have one hour to search, so look carefully."
   
"Yes, sir!" everyone shouted. Aurora landed the helicopter over the ruins of the city. It was very quiet; not a soul could be found there that day. The ten of them fanned out and searched the entire city. None of them could find anything. Finally, Tristan spotted something etched on the wall of a ruined building.
   
"I've found something!" he shouted. The whole squad regrouped around him and looked where he was pointing. They saw an old piece of art that covered the whole wall. It showed some ancient people throwing their hands up to the sky. At the very top, a giant man held a circular object above his head. The object gave off some interesting beams of light that came down to the ground, where the people with their hands up waited.
   
"This is interesting," Ryder said. "It could be a clue."
   
"Let's get some pictures and head on back," Marshal suggested. He used his HUD to take some images of the etching, and they quickly headed back to their helicopter and got ready to go back to base. As they were leaving, another helicopter was getting ready to touch down on the ruins.
   
"Who are those guys?" Mia wondered.
   
"Let's not stick around to find out," Marshal said. "Aurora, full speed ahead. Let's get home."
   
"Roger that," Aurora said, acknowledging that she got Marshal's order. She put the helicopter into overdrive and they sped back to headquarters as quickly as possible.

*   *   *
   
"This drawing could be an important clue," Breckinridge said, reviewing the squad's report. "The beams coming from the orb on the top seem to be doing multiple different things, so it can't simply be the sun. We'll look into this. Good work today, Squad Four. You are dismissed."
   
"Yes, sir!" they shouted, saluting.
   
"Enough of that," he said, his face turning red. "Just go back to your apartment." They all turned and walked out the door. Before he was out the door, though, Marshal turned and walked back up to Breckinridge's desk.
   
"By the way," he said, "before we left the ruins, we saw another unidentified aircraft touching down. Did you send another squad in after us?"
   
"No," Walker answered. "You were the only squad on an assignment today. That's very unsettling."
   
"So we may not be alone, then," Marshal guessed.
   
"It's very possible," Walker admitted. "There are many other companies besides mine that would probably love to have the Titan Orb in their possession. We'll just have to be more careful. Thanks for the information, Marshal. You're dismissed." Marshal saluted and dashed out the door after his team. Walker leaned back in his chair and sighed.

[K-NiGhT]

Chapter14: Grudge Match
   
Squad Four resumed training the next day, continuing as if nothing had happened the day before. The day was like any other, right up until the time came for the squad battles.
   
"Today's match should be very interesting," Walker previewed. "The two teams will not be going for most kills today. Instead, we are having a single round, single elimination match. That means as soon as you are down, you're down for the whole match. Now, as for today's competing teams, we have Squad Four taking on Squad Three!"
   
Everyone gasped and looked at the two squads staring each other down. Jack had his usual confident smirk on his face, while Marshal seemed to be attempting to shoot daggers out of his eyes at Jack. They had not yet faced off in the arena, so it was finally time to see who the better squad truly was. Marshal took the red side, with his squad following suit. They found a set of weapon modifications there waiting for them, making each of their weapons more suitable for a round of laser tag rather than a military operation. They fitted each of their weapons with said modifications, aside from Marshal who kept his blade.
   
"Let the match begin!" Walker cried, starting the timer. All of the squads cheered as the two teams ran into the arena. Today the map was set as an ancient city, closely resembling Machu Picchu.
   
"How fitting," Marshal said, smiling a little bit as he drew his sword. "Let's go, people! Get in cover formation 10 A!"
   
"Yes, sir!" the squad said. They fanned out and found cover behind some walls, just as Aurora had taught them. She had figured out an organized system that was easy for them all to remember what they were trying to do. Vlad and Mia ran off to a high point so Vlad could get in a perfect sniping position. Mia used her camouflaging power to hide both of them from enemy view.
   
"Tristan, get in their HUDs!" Marshal ordered.
   
"I'm on it!" Tristan confirmed. He opened up the menu on his HUD, and a holographic screen came up in front of him. He moved a few things around with his hand and smiled. "It's done! Their motion sensors are jammed, and their weapon status relays are offline."
   
"Perfect," Marshal said. He opened the communications line with the squad. "Vlad, what's your status?"
   
"I'm in position," Vlad told him quietly. "They haven't spotted me. Mia's on her way back to you right now."
   
"Copy that," Marshal said. He waited a few seconds as Mia returned to the rendezvous point.
   
"I'm back," she said.
   
"Well, you're going to be leaving again in a second," Marshal said. "Take Travis to the enemy side and let him do some reconnaissance."
   
"Understood," Mia said. She cloaked herself and grabbed Travis, causing him to disappear as well. After another few seconds, Ryder spoke up.
   
"They're all grouped together," Ryder said, "behind the building opposite us."
   
"Did you get that, Vlad?" Marshal asked.
   
"Yes," Vlad confirmed. "I have a clear shot of all of them."
   
"Take it," Marshal ordered.
   
"Understood," Vlad said. He pulled the trigger of his rifle, and a single laser managed to catch all but one of them, giving Squad Four nine points immediately. The remaining member disappeared from Vlad's view immediately after the shot was taken.
   
"I got all but one of them," Vlad reported. "Not sure where he is."
   
"Alright," Marshal said. "Let's split up and search." The rest of the squad got out of their cover, but they were all immediately taken down by a few quick shots from a pistol. Jack Martin stepped out into the open and laughed.
   
"That was too easy!" he laughed. "I don't even need the rest of my team for this!"
   
"Vlad!" Marshal whispered behind his cover, trying to reach his sniper. "Take the shot!"
   
"I can't!" Vlad cried. "He's not in my range!"
   
"Oh, I almost forgot," Jack said. He took a single shot with his pistol and took out Vlad. "Now it's just you and me, Marshal! Let's do this."
   
Marshal stepped out of cover to face Jack. "Alright," he said. "I hope you're ready."
   
"Of course!" Jack scoffed, holstering his pistol and grabbing his battle claws. "This is just like any other training session, which I always win!" He ran straight at Marshal and slashed at him with his claws. Marshal ducked out of the way just in time and circled around Jack, swinging his sword violently to take out his opponent.
   
Meanwhile, the rest of Squad Four exited the arena, disappointed that they had all been taken out so soon. "Man, I can't believe we lost!" Chris screamed, frustrated.
   
"It's not over yet!" Adelia reminded him. "Marshal is still in there!"
   
"Yeah, but he's fighting Jack Martin," Chris said, shaking his head. "You know, the kid he's never beaten in his specialization training matches?"
   
"There's a first time for everything," Vlad said philosophically. "We just have to place our trust in Marshal."
   
Back on the training floor, Marshal was having the fight of his life against Jack. The two of them had no way of getting each other out by the rules of the match, so they were locked in a true deathmatch. Jack blocked Marshal's katana with one of his claws and slashed at him with the other, just as he had done countless times in practice. Unfortunately for Jack, Marshal was expecting that. He ducked under Jack's claw and swept him off of his feet with a low kick. Jack tripped and fell on the floor of the arena, but not before knocking Marshal's blade out of his hands. Marshal stumbled over to grab the Emerald Flash while Jack got back up.
   
"Not bad," Jack said sarcastically. "You're really improving!"
   
"I've been working hard so I can wipe that annoyingly smug grin off your face!" Marshal shouted. He ran straight at Jack to attack him again. Before he was about to slice Jack's head clean off, Jack just simply disappeared. Marshal stopped and looked around to try and find him. Without warning, Jack appeared directly behind Marshal and kicked him in the back. Marshal crashed into the ground face first, coughing up a little blood.
   
"Like that?" Jack asked him. "I've been saving that little ability just for something like this. You weren't expecting that now, were you?"
   
Marshal stood up slowly, wiping off the blood that trickled down his mouth. "Not bad," he admitted. "Now I guess it's my turn!" He took one step towards Jack and was immediately in front of him somehow. Jack reflexively slashed his claws in a cross pattern to stop Marshal, but Marshal quickly ended up behind Jack. He hit Jack in the back of the head with the butt of his sword, and Jack crumpled to the floor, knocked out.
   
The crowd gasped, thinking that Marshal had just killed Jack. The clock stopped as medics rushed into the arena, hovering over Jack. In a matter of seconds, Jack was awake again.
   
"Get off me!" he screeched. He got on his feet, dusted himself off, and glared at Marshal. "You little prick! I'm going to murder you!"
   
"Come on, then," Marshal said, sheathing his sword and waving his hand at him. "See what happens."
   
Jack screamed in a fit of rage. The pure hatred coming from his eyes was visible even outside of the arena. He knocked all of the medics down and teleported straight into Marshal, jamming one of his claws straight into his stomach. Marshal coughed and spat blood onto Jack's face as he fell to the ground, bleeding profusely.
   
"Marshal!" Adelia screamed. She jumped across the gap to the arena and rushed to her other half's aid, but she was quickly stopped when Jack teleported in front of her.
   
"You're not going anywhere," he told her, getting ready to pounce on her. "He's mine."
   
"Move," Adelia ordered, her words laced with poison.
   
"I'm afraid I just can't do that," Jack sneered, almost ready to strike. He jumped at her, but quickly stopped when he felt the barrel of a shotgun press against the side of his head.
   
"I do believe she asked you to move," Chris asserted, pumping his shotgun.
   
Jack gulped. "You won't shoot me," he uttered nervously, his voice cracking a little bit. "You don't have the guts."
   
"I might not," Chris agreed, "but he does." He nodded his head to the right to turn Jack's attention to Vlad, who was preparing to shoot him straight between the eyes with a well-placed sniper round.
   
"Fine," Jack growled, gritting his teeth. "You can go. Don't think I won't forget this, you no-good, dirty little savages!"
   
"Good," Adelia said, smiling evilly. "See to it that you don't." She sprinted over to Marshal and placed her hands on his wound, just like she had practiced. She focused all of her attention towards healing Marshal's wound. Eventually, she could feel a cold sensation traveling down her arms and out through her hands straight onto Marshal's wound. After a few seconds, the gash in Marshal's stomach was completely closed, and he opened his eyes.
   
"Adelia," he groaned. "What happened?"
   
"You won," Adelia chuckled. "That's what happened."
   
"I don't feel like I won," Marshal croaked, clutching his stomach.
   
"You'll be fine," Adelia said. "Jack's going to be in for the punishment of his life once Walker gets ahold of him."
   
"Jack shouldn't get in trouble," Marshal argued. "We were having a match."
   
"Marshal, he stabbed you," Adelia reminded him. "If I hadn't been here to heal you, you could've bled out and died."
   
"I guess you're right," Marshal admitted. "I just wish he wouldn't get in trouble."
   
Adelia just laughed. "You're so weird, you know that?"
   
"Yeah," Marshal grinned. "I still don't know why you hang around me."
   
Meanwhile, Walker had rushed out onto the arena floor to check on Marshal. "Are you okay?" he wailed, fearing the worst.
   
"He's fine," Adelia reported. "No injuries."
   
Walker breathed a sigh of relief. "I'm glad you're alright, Marshal. As for Mr. Martin, however, he is in for the punishment of a lifetime!" He looked around for Jack, but he was nowhere to be found. Even Chris and Vlad looked confused.
   
"He was in my sights just a moment ago," Vlad insisted.
   
"He just disappeared again," Chris grumbled. "That's one really annoying ability."
   
"He can't have gotten too far," Walker surmised. "I want you to find him and-" He stopped what he was saying and immediately turned to the window, where a helicopter could be seen flying erratically just over the compound. It bore the insignia of Squad Three.
   
"He's got to be in that helicopter!" Marshal proclaimed. "Let's track him!"
   
"Wait," Serena said. "Something's wrong with the helicopter!" She was right, of course. Everyone watched helplessly as Squad Three's helicopter went down in the forest and crashed with a huge explosion. Panic ensued within the ranks of every squad. Even some of the instructors showed some signs of sheer terror. Marshal took off out of the compound to find where Jack's helicopter had landed, with the rest of his squad in tow.
   
"The helicopter didn't get very far," Walker reported to them through their HUDs. "I'm sending you a waypoint now."
   
"No need," Marshal told him. "We're here."
   
What lay out before them was a sight that none of them had wished to see. The helicopter was a total loss, with charred and burning parts strewn all about. Shards of broken glass and metal were scattered around the ground. The clean mountain air was distorted with the awful smells of smoke and burning flesh. Marshal treaded carefully to the remains of the helicopter's body to see if he could find Jack sitting there, but he couldn't. Jack was still gone. In his place, there was a singed set of steel battle claws sitting in the pilot's seat.
   
"He's gone again," Marshal observed. "Did he just fake his own death?"
   
"If he did," Mia said, "this is probably the worst attempt at faking a death that I've ever seen." The ten of them stood there as the burning sun set behind them.

*   *   *
   
Jack materialized outside of a bar in the middle of nowhere. He coughed smoke out of his lungs and looked around. He spotted a motorcycle with the keys still in the ignition. He jumped onto it, started it up, and sped away from the bar, where a window had just been broken. He rode down the long stretch of freeway for a long time until suddenly he felt his cell phone vibrate in his pocket. He picked it up and answered it. "Hello?"
   
"Quite an interesting performance, Jack Martin," said the voice on the other line. It wasn't a voice that Jack knew.
   
"Who is this?" he asked. "How did you get this number?"
   
"That's not the issue," the voice hissed. "The issue is that you did a terrible job faking your own death, and now your former comrades are looking for you. I can provide you with some shelter, assuming you can do some things for me."
   
"Why should I trust you?" Jack wondered skeptically.
   
"Because I know where your family is," the voice countered. "You do want to see them again, right? Your parents and your dear sister?"
   
Jack scowled. "Fine. Where do I need to go?"