While the shots did indeed cripple the Djinn, Packston's blow decked it, but did not kill it. The Djinn was for all purposes knocked out cold. Lee's shot did miss as the Djinn was decked. However, a horde of ten ghouls came around. To counter the attack, a drone airstrike countered the enemies, killing them all in one fell swoop. An Anthroid or SHANK unit was responsible for the drone strike, with the machine controlling the drone and sending it back to the base. The group was safe to meet in the Little Lady. Their new friend was coming along. Center radioed once again as the robot trooper took the unconscious Djinn in along with the weapons. "Don't worry, he's friendly! Meet our new ally, Unit AS-556J2K, or call him J2K for short." "Salutation: Greetings! I am one of the Anthroid units deployed for the purpose of assisting ParaCom in its many endeavors."

Once the Little Lady returned to base, promotions would be granted. "The mission was an exemplary performance! Everyone gets promotions. William, you are now Lieutenant for you working hard to protect the new meat. As for the rest except our unconscious cargo, Corporal rank! I'll take full responsibility from here on" J2K and Center hauled both the Djinn and the unconscious Xue Liu. Xue was to be reassigned to an upcoming ParaCom base in China, with China requesting that they build a ParaCom base there. The rational with Center's agreement was that one base was for West and the other for East.

"Make yourselves at home. Celebrate the victory." Center has a feeling that the new artifacts and materials would help in turning the tide against ParaCom's nemesis, the Head of Death. Miraculously, the Head didn't appear to hamper the mission. Center then focused with J2K to do research with the Head Scientist Dr. Semyonov. All weapons fragments were being recovered by the "clean up crews" responsible for after mission duties. From here, the group can get to know each other better if they so please.

Mission Accomplished.

The closing moments of the mission were probably the most confusing. The hectic dogpile on the djinn quickly subdued the creature, and for a few moments it appeared as though it was only a walk back to the dropship before everything was over. That was when Luc spotted movement to one side.

"Ghouls! A shitload, four o'clock!" Luc shouted into his radio before depressing the trigger on his weapon and spraying bullets in their direction in an effort to halt their advance. Anya tried to get into position to assist, but she hardly raised her sights before the roar of rockets reached a crescendo from above and forced her to go to ground. There were two explosions in all, both kicking up large clouds of dust. Once there appeared to be a lull, the twins surveyed the damage and found that not a single ghoul was left alive.

Nearby, some kind of humanoid covered in wires and armour jogged towards them. Anya levelled her weapon to the strange man, but lowered it on central's command. This guy was friendly? As it came closer, the humanoid was revealed to be completely robotic. Anya and Luc were uneasy about this 'J2K' robot, but he seemed keen on doing the heavy lifting. After reloading, the twins covered the squad's withdrawal and strapped themselves in to leave.

"Well, that wasn't edgy or anything," Anya commented to anyone listening.

Luc was in a good mood, for some reason. "Loosen up sis, no one died."

"Deux," Anya said, announcing what she believed to be her kill count.

"Deux," Luc said as well, though his kills were probably easier to confirm.

Back at base, things proceeded as if nothing had happened, apart from a communiqué from centre regarding their new ranks. For now, Anya was certain that she would have to focus more on providing covering fire for her team mates. Had she noticed the sniper before it hit Xue, he might not have been injured. At least in smoking the group she was able to prevent any other casualties. Luc's first stop was the armoury, where he had wanted to satisfy a curiosity that he had, but didn't get the chance beforehand to see. An attachment to his LMG, which he was able to get briefed on by the quartermaster, was a holo-targeting module. Apparently whatever he pointed and shot at would get an outline on any of his team mates' scopes or HUDs. Since pointing and shooting was something of a prerogative for him, it was a no-brainer to pick it up and make use of it.

Anya found herself without all that much to do one she handed her equipment back. She knew her brother would be skulking around the mess, telling stories of his previous exploits, and she wanted a break form dealing with his ego. Wandering around the base was a feast for her eyes in witnessing ParaCom's own in-house manufacturing suites. She was pretty sure that even car factories had less machinery than these guys. In satisfying her own curiosity, she talked to some of the engineers about the hulking exosuits that were being assembled off to one side of the workshop. In testing, they were incredibly strong, seemingly indestructible, and had a plethora of heavy-duty equipment available to them. Anya was at first immediately turned off by the idea of amputating her own limbs in order to pilot one, but she left the workshop feeling as though she had not entirely convinced herself either way.

On the other hand, Luc was quick to proceed to the living quarters with the others. He had read up a little information about his team mates, but apart from their names and specialities, he didn't really know much about them at all. He sought a kindred spirit in the other heavy in the team; the large African-American man, Packston. Luc walked up beside him and nudged his upper arm with the back of his hand. Luc of course spoke with his Belgian-French accent, but tried to be friendly, "Hey there champ. Packston, right? Good shooting out there. Call me Luc." Luc extended a hand to shake, "I was wondering, that shiny railgun you used, what's it like? I didn't get much of a chance to try it out before we lifted, so I stuck with what I knew. What's your opinion of it?"

The ending moments of the mission were panicky and hectic. So many things whizzing by, shouts, screams and gunshots. It was just a mess. If his mind wasn't an exhausted pile of shit, he'd reprimand the one who said to kill it instead of capture it, but he was exhausted. And his brain was a pile of shit. So his judgement wasn't exactly good. When they were transporting the Djinn, Will heard the familiar scurrying of feet trademark of ghouls and lots of them.

If Luc hadn't called out, he would have yelled the same thing. But as he got out his shotgun and Vibroblade, he saw one of the prototypes he'd heard about. An Anthroid. He nodded in thanks, mainly to himself, before boarding the Little Lady and flying home...Home. He pondered it for the flight. Was his home the base, now? It'd been his home for several months.

No.

His true home was in England, with his mum and dad. After all of this...He'd go home...Finally to see his dear old mother. A warmness spread in him as he thought of home and family. That's right. He'd come home when this was all over. When the war finished...He was snapped out of his thoughts as the Little Lady landed, and the feint ghost of a smile left his lips.

He left the ship and took off his helmet, entering the huge metallic doors into base. With a sigh, he went to the gym and started working on the treadmills before he was notified of a promotion. He attended the ceremony and then went back to the treadmills, working out, ever so silent, thoughts of home fueling his legs to keep on running. Keep on running...

The Djinn was captured. She let out a long and very loud sigh of relief.

Ezri glanced around at her comrades as they all boarded the ship. Never in her life had she been on such a mission. She was amazed, they knew nothing about each other, yet how they all managed to band together in the end. Looking at each of them, she was sure they each had their own story, and gosh was she interested to know them. But instead she remained quiet on the trip back.

She was a curious soul, through and through. When the ship returned, she returned her things and quickly left to wander the base. Such extraordinary things, such extraordinary people. She was still unaware of any promotions, and more or less just simply happy to be alive. She wandered past the medic's office, peeking her head in for a moment. It wasn't anything she hasn't seen, so instead she turned to explore more of the base and its operations. And then she found their bio labs, this she knew nothing of. Bleached white, bright rooms, men in lab coats. She had heard the rumors but never actually thought they were true. "Maybe they can make me not be such a clutz" she thought, chortling quietly. She almost went in when she heard something. Around the corner was one of the new robots. She saw one just before the ship took off for base, but never got a good look. "Science is such a wonderful thing she thought to herself. Peeling her attention from the robot, she went to further explore the base and see what else she could find.

April 9th, 2022

Meanwhile once the operatives were having downtime, the discoveries of the mysterious material made quite the excitement between science and engineering departments. Head Engineer Dr. Quincy was the first to make a suggestion and she smiled with confidence. "This can be used to augment our troopers. Sure our Anthroids can perform amazing feats, but the WREC trooper program has just as amazing potential. They would complement each other very well!" Head Scientist Dr. Semyenov suggested another idea with, "The human troops make a majority of our forces and it would be wise to augment their genetics. With the material, we can incorporate the most desirable traits of our enemies and put them in our troops. It would also serve some poetic justice to turn the enemy's abilities against them!" Center was intrigued with the possibilities. "I'm sure you two would agree on a name for the material we recovered. I suggest calling it 'CLAM' for Creative Life Application Material." Both Dr. Semyenov and Dr. Quincy readily agreed. The WREC trooper and Splice soldier programs were officially up and running.

One day later in the labs, the scientists were studying the captive Djinn. The Djinn felt undignified and attempted to escape the containment facility. Probes and other interrogation techniques were used for especially the defiant subjects. The Djinn was at first mocking the human scientists for their methods. "You call that breaking my limbs?!? You squishy humans can't break limbs if your l---AAH MY ARMS!" Through unpleasant and needed methods, the Djinn was able to yield more information, especially about the enemies' new plans and a few extra information that was gleaned. The gleaned information pertained to his weapons and armor, which would put the paranormal alloys to good use. The alloys in particular were by weight twice as tough as titanium at only half the weight. The super-alloy would be deployed in not just improved armor, but also weapons programs. The Djinn's fate was condemned as a prisoner of war and was powerless to escape for now. A scientist reported the findings to Dr. Semyenov. "Though it was less than savory, we got some useful information from our captive." Dr. Semyenov nodded. "Let's put them to good use!" Study regarding the Djinn's sword and ranged weapon begun a short time after the interrogation was done.

Packston and Lee sprinted back towards the ship side by side. Lee occasionally provided cover for the team be looking back and wildly shooting at the paranormals. After safely making it on the ship the team sat in the back and rested there. "That was good, good job guys." Lee said to the group.

After arriving at the base, Lee immediately left for his room, to tired to do anything else. Otto saluted the team and headed for the gym and for lunch. Packston was on his way to the armory when one of the agents nudged him.

"Hey there champ. Packston, right? Good shooting out there. Call me Luc. I was wondering, that shiny railgun you used, what's it like? I didn't get much of a chance to try it out before we lifted, so I stuck with what I knew. What's your opinion of it?" He said with an accent that Packston unfortunately could not place.
He took the man's hand and shook it firmly.
"You got that right, and your name us Luc right. You interested in the Railgun huh handles like a charm, it was my first time using its. It's high-powered, recoilless and can be fired in short bursts. You'll love it. He said kindly.

"Ah, so not quite so much spray-and-pray as the LMG? I suppose that's useful. Might suit better for when the bastards try to hide behind thin cover." Luc suggested, his half-smile turning into a full half grin. "You are from the US, right? You don't sound British." Luc secured his weapons and placed them where they belonged in the armoury. The small puzzle of undoing his equipment until he was in his fatigues carried some time for further discussion, though Luc seemed happy enough to do most of the talking. "I can tell the difference, you know. The accents, I know them from boarding school up in the UK, yeah? You've got some words that you say your 'r's more, and just to make it more damned difficult for us French speakers, you say your 'h's differently as well. Took me ages to spot..." and so on it went until Packston either left or Luc decided to stop by the living quarters.

A couple of days passed where no further alerts came in that warranted troop deployment. Luc easily talked anyone's ear off given the chance, and knew just about everyone by name in less than a day. Anya was a little more distant, but occasionally chatted to a couple of the other operatives.

On the morning of the ninth of April, a report that was released regarding the exosuits Anya had seen a few days prior. Reading it had given her a look of intense thought during the entirety of breakfast as she raked across her scrambled eggs with her fork idly. Among other things, the report detailed that the exosuits had become far more viable because of a piece in the jigsaw previously missing; building an interface between a human body and the machine itself. It made the viability of exosuits much greater, and also made the necessary surgery much safer. After mostly silence bereft of eye contact, Anya looked across the table to Ezri, both being the closest physical presence at the time and probably her closest friend in the facility. "Hey Ezri, did you hear that stuff the eggheads had found out about that CLAM thing we found? I was thinking, what's your opinion on those WREC suits? You think it's worth it?"

That morning, before getting breakfast himself, Luc decided to risk chatting to Sergeant Burkley. It was the second time they had coincidentally lined up their planned cardio on the treadmills, so surely they could break up the run with a little conversation, even if it was interrupted by their own breathing. "So, Lieutenant Burkley, sir, if you don't mind me asking, what's your story? Seen much action before we were all dragged into this hole in the ground?"

William, during his cardio workout as an assault on the treadmills, was confronted by one of the rookies that survived. Well, he was a corporal now. He looked at Luc, considering talking to the Corporal. It would be awkward to not talk after he'd been spoken to, after all. His story...Boy his story was old. He'd been in Paracom for so long, but memories of what he'd done flashed through his mind all the same.

"Yeah. I do have experience. One of the reasons I didn't die off when I started out with this place with one of the first batch of recruits." He stared into space as he continued running on the treadmill. "I was born and raised in England and that's as much personal detail you'll get from me, rookie. Battle experience, though..." Will chewed on the bottom of his lip, thinking of what to say.

"I was young at the time. First battle. Afghanistan." He changed the treadmill speed, running faster. "I was with a squad of a mixed bunch. Rookies mostly. I remember one guy, Richie. He was a nice lad. Potty mouth, but he was a soldier. Knack for explosives." He went quiet for a few moments. "He's dead now. Along with the rest of the squad." He didn't talk anymore, and just focused on running.

Hunched over his tray, David scarfed down his food, finishing it in less than a minute. Consisting of little more than a meager portion of what looked like meatloaf coated with gravy and a side of green beans, the meal itself wasn't all that much, though it was enough to satisfy the young man's worn stomach for a good hour or two. Pushing the dirtied metal plate aside, he raised his head, examining the expansive mess hall in all of its glory, if you can call it that. Lined with drab, gray walls paired with equally drab linoleum floors, the space wasn't all that exciting, though it was the most entertaining thing David had seen for the past six months.

Having been chosen to test out a variety of ParaCom's many technological marvels, thanks solely to the adept combat capabilities he displayed during his time in the USMC, David had been locked up for well over half a year in a testing facility somewhere out in the Mojave Desert. Acting as the test subject of numerous combat suit prototypes, he had become quite acquainted with the suits and their equipment, meaning he was planning on at least attempting to utilize one on each and every mission he had to undertake against the paranormal enemies.

However, that was all behind him now. It was time to marvel at the mess hall.

MEANWHILE in an unknown location:

"Sir, we have gotten reports of a debacle in Marrakesh. The advanced guard responsible for guarding our mined Azimuth has been bushwhacked! Now we have to perform a plan B!" The speaker also fiddled with a tie, nervous about what to do next.

"Looks like we'd have to step in for the next month. Our...good friend will not tolerate failure. Besides, you and I would not want to be on the operating table." The two speakers were quite nervous and frustrated at the same time. Though it was unknown what group they were from, but they knew better to dread the Head of Death.

"Great, I was late in signing up, as always, and now I have to start from the beginning as a rookie." Din whispered to himself walking towards the mess hall. He walked in and moved to where the food was located and grabbed something to eat at random. He sat at the corner where he felt most at ease. He began eating while rearranging his thoughts. 'Okay, I missed a mission but it might be okay, hopefully I won't get in any trouble. There are a lot of Soldiers that I passed by while on my way here, I guess ParaCom was in need of some soldiers. I saw some good soldiers...' Din began to chuckle a small devilish laughter which could've attracted attention if he had not covered his mouth sooner. 'So many fresh faces, full of fresh blood' That was the Psychopathic side of his MPD or Multiple Persona Disorder. He remained silent for the duration of the time he was eating, gazing around the mess hall

Center, Alina, and Farhad were discussing the influx of new people. Alina was the first to comment on the matter. "So many rookies from various backgrounds. Goliath Gath said it best as a rainbow coalition. I'll give my two cents on this: Quality over quantity. Some I'll have to discipline myself." Farhad interjected. "Keep in mind that human troops aren't as expendable. Sure we were seven milliard but we are facing extinction. It doesn't help that Kalleh-e Marg is actually slaughtering portions of our species!"

"You two settle down! Besides, we have the machines to fall back on as well as the CLAM initiatives our scientists and engineers picked up on." Center attempted to calm down the argument between Alina and Farhad, with J2K backing Center. "Because I have the Three Laws of Robotics installed for the rules of engagement, I can attest to what Center has stated. My kind can become humanity's last bastion if needed." This was neither the place nor the time to lose cool. Keeping calm would be the key to victory. Nobody truly knows what the Head of Death has in mind. Perhaps he can get some recruits gene modded for covert operations. He knew just the person for covert ops. Calling up Patrick O'Toole, Center has a plan in mind and would formulate it further once the candidate for covert operations arrived. Alina, Farhad, and J2K stuck around in case something happens. The three were among Center's trusted inner circle.

Ezri spent the better portion of her time by herself, exploring and reading up on things. But she did pop in every once in a while to see Anya.

Stuck in a daze, mulling over her oatmeal, she looks up at Anya "huh ... eggheads? OOOOHHH!" she seems to snap out of it. "I actually think it's an amazing idea."

She pushed herself up out of her chair, leaving the half empty bowl of oatmeal on the table. "If you would pardon me just a moment"

Anya waved Ezri off as she rose from her seat. It seemed as if the American sounding Russian was distracted by something herself. At least she didn't seem to find anything wrong with potentially lopping off one's limbs to be replaced by machinery. Perhaps Ezri hadn't really thought about it as hard. After all, she probably wasn't thinking about joining the WREC program herself. Anya, on the other hand, saw the potential to finally get a one-up over her brother after all the shit that went on in their lives. But was it really worth just that? It could be a chance to pioneer a new level of warfare, fighting for the good of all of humanity. How could Anya pass the opportunity up? She went back and forth in her mind while she finished her breakfast without any immediate conclusion. She decided to give herself to the end of the day to decide whether she wanted to volunteer. The new guy across the room had this weird look that was distracting her too much right now.

Over in the gym, Luc listened and nodded to Burkley. He expressed his sympathy in his own way, but probably not in the most sensitive way. He started by sucking in a breath through his teeth, "Ooh, losing your squadmates in your first firefight, that would have been rough as sandpaper. Well, you'd have to have survived for a reason, right? Just as well we have a survivor like you heading squads in this organisation." Regardless of Burkley not talking any further, it didn't discourage Luc from running his mouth like he normally did. "You know, I'm Belgian, but most of my upbringing was in Britain as well. Boarding school, you know? Didn't stop me joining the army. Had only one UN deployment to Africa, but it was a long stretch. People there don't give you much hope, so you just got to come out laughing, like I did. Haha!" Luc's tone seemed to give off an inhuman lack of empathy, but his past experiences were taken rather differently than most. "Lost a couple of colleagues as well. They were arseholes, mind you, but I wouldn't wish their deaths on anyone. One guy got surprised by an IDE, nothing could have saved him. The other guy was our mutual superior, he hung himself after a while because he adamantly refused to see a therapist or even so much as the damned chaplain about his survivor guilt." Luc sounded more annoyed than sorry, "He would have been kicked out of the army after a while with the way he went on. Gives you some perspective. Some wounds you just can't see yourself until you feel them rot. Knowing that is what makes real survivors, right sir?"

It was only at that point that Luc realised that Burkley wasn't listening and hadn't been for a while. Luc just nodded his head to one side and continued jogging. He understood when some people got fed up of talking.

Act 2, Chapter 2: Operation George's Glory

April 13th, 2022

After a few more days of research and inventions, it was found out that the power sources the paranormal use was called Cosmodium. It was a special kind of element described as similar to our nuclear material, but infused with magic. It was surprisingly stable and can be used as a new "gasoline" and fossil fuel alternative. The superalloy the paranormal forces left behind was somewhat difficult to re-purpose, but filled the roles well for each and every new idea. It seemed like a normal day until the monitors showed a new report via satellites.

A light "scout" dragon carrying troops and cargo for the paranormal was arriving to the continental United States! One of the purposes would be to knock down the satellite to make room for invasions. Fortunately, Center was prepared! He sent a team of two interceptors to flank the dragon. "Fangs out! Engaging bogey." The pilots confirmed taking on the dragon. Engaging with AMRAAM missiles, they were the "fire and forget" missiles. However, the dragon was swift enough to dodge one, but take the other hit! The duo jets actually formed a strategy for the engagement. While one fires and the dragon attempts the dodge, the other jet fires while leading the target to the missile! This would eventually pay off as the dragon got hit squarely in the face, crash landing into an area near Philadelphia. The monitoring staff applauded as the dragon was taken down. "Hoodoo 1-1 and 1-2, report status!" "Center, the bogey is down! We're coming home!" One employee zoomed into the area. "Center, we're reporting movement! Send a team quickly before they call backup." "Acknowledged."

The Little Lady was getting ready for another go. "New mission! Search, destroy, recover!" Center also was calling up all volunteers for the mission to Pennsylvania. Fortunately, the area was secluded and was not a landing. Not too much resistance, but the survivors need to be...taken care of.

Din Heard Center. He stood up and threw away his tray. A content smile appeared on his face with Dark Eyes. He equipped his armor and his Trusty Hecate II. On Route to The Little Lady he began to think what they would have to search and destroy he enjoyed the destroy part but the search, not so much. He believed he would have to fight at long range distance, since that was his specialty but he enjoyed some close range combat. He arrived at the Little Lady, and waited for the mission Debriefing.

After suiting and gearing up, Luc jogged up into the dropship, ready to kick some more arse. Now that he had some time to get better acquainted with the ParaCom armoury, he looked a few details different than before. Just like last time, he kept a rocket launcher over his shoulder for tough spots, but his primary was a ParaCom issue railgun. Testing the thing out on the range backed up Packston's review and Luc was well and truly sold. On Luc's harness was an HE grenade, just like last time.

Luc sat opposite where Angus was sitting as he inspected his own equipment. It was the same setup as Anya's when she headed out on the last mission. Angus wasn't looking too enthused. Luc double checked his holo-targeting module before he noticed Angus' face. "Hey Angus, getting nerves? You'll be fine, the people on this team are tight."

"I'm surprised your still chirpy as ever right now, Luc," Angus said, leaning forward in his seat and looking up at Luc.

Luc raised an eyebrow, "What do you mean? These things bleed and die. Well, some of them bleed, but they all die. It's nothing-"

"Luc? Luc! Shut up," Angus snapped his fingers loudly between them, then pointed his gloved hands around to the other seats, "Look, what's wrong with this picture? Don't tell me you haven't heard."

Luc was incredulous at this point. He looked around until his eyes found the Asian FNG with the sniper rifle. "What? We have a new guy? So what?"

"Try again."

It hit Luc like a cinder-block from the sky. He brought his hand to the side of his head and opened his mouth in realisation. "Ooooh, Anya's not here yet. Man, I was wondering why it was so quiet. Wait, she's always early, I never get to the party before her, what's up with her?"

"Fuck me, she didn't tell you, didn't she?" Angus said while shifting in frustration in his seat, "She went under the knife this morning, Luc. She volunteered for the WREC program. They're removing her limbs as we speak."

Luc stared back at Angus in utter disbelief. He didn't know whether he should be angry, confused, worried, surprised, or anything, really. All he could manage was three words in a slow and low voice. "What...the...fuck...?" He looked away and onto the floor of the dropshop, holding a hand over his mouth, "What the fucking fuck!? Why the hell did she do that?!"

"I said everythin' I could to try and convince her otherwise, but she's got the idea in her mind. She won't turn back 'till she's either in one of them suits or straight brown bread." Angus looked down, "You know how stubborn she gets."

Luc held one hand forward, pointing to Angus aggressively. "No, no, this cannot happen. She can't just-"

"It's happening, Luc. She's beyond the point o' no return." Angus was not at all fazed by Luc's protests. He spoke with authority enough to talk him down, "She'll be in recovery for the next few days."

"Fuck, this cannot be happening. Fuck, fuck, fuck..." Luc gave up and buried his head in his hands. Up until now, Anya had been annoying, but she was always clear-minded, sensible, not to mention strong enough to take care of herself without Luc interfering, but now she had made a decision that Luc could hardly justify under any circumstances. Why was she acting so rash all of a sudden? Luc realised that, for the first time, he was actually worried for his sister. The one time that something like this could happen, and he couldn't stop it. Why the hell didn't you tell me, Sis?

Angus, knowing a futile situation when he saw one, left Luc to calm down during the flight and decided to engage with the new guy. He looked over to him without any particular expression and addressed him. Whoever dyed their hair that silver colour had to have an attitude. "Oi, you're Mashiro, right? The rookie? This your first mission on the team? You killed paranormals before?"

William, once he had heard of the mission, practically sprinted into the Little Lady. His trusty shotgun was in his hands and on his belt was a Vibrating Knife, also known as a Vibroblade. These were practically mini-chainsaws as they, because of their movements and vibrations, could cause massive harm to a paranormal by cutting them up like a hot knife through butter. Except with more blood.
Lots more blood.

He got in first, as was standard, since sergeants and above had to help out the rookies, corporals and whatever were below their rank. Speaking of...
"Hey, rookie. Don't get us killed out there. If your multiple personalities fuck this up..." He said in a direct voice. As Luc and Angus came in, uneasy silence started.

Then, the silence was broken as Luc and Angus spoke. Will stayed silent throughout, only speaking when their discussion came to a close and Angus greeted the rookie. "...Hey, Luc. Look, kid, it was her own choice. She knew the risks and she still said yes, for all of us, so that she could be better on the field," he said. "Besides, the risks aren't high. She won't die. She might have a different body, but she'll still be your sister."

His sympathy and gentle tone of voice quickly left him. "So keep your chin up and focus on kicking some paranormal ass. That goes for all of you. We're going up against something Paracom has never seen." Will, living up to his nickname of 'Assassin', grinned. "We're gonna go up against a dragon."

Alina heard the commotion as she was observing the group. She then radioed to Lieutenant Burkley, "I hope I don't have to board the Little Lady. Also, handle this matter with discretion. Who knows if our nemesis is there?" She wasn't confident that the new batch would handle the dragon mission with discretion. Lieutenant Ivanova was also concerned that the Head of Death may return to hinder the mission, but not so much of Din Mashiro. Nobody can top the Head of Death in the matters of insanity, brutality, and depravity. She was a first hand witness.

Center and his entourage were witnessing the deployment getting ready. Fortunately, there was no need for additional reinforcements. Though the dragon wasn't completely dead, the paranormal can nurse it back to health akin to repairing a ship. Time was money, but it may not be on ParaCom's side if they dawdle.

Din lay the Hecate II on his side. He had heard William, he would have to try and keep sane during the mission, which would be almost impossible because his other side pretty much did whatever it wanted. He looked at his belt. 'Okay, Pistol, check, Flashbangs, check, small pocket knife in case close combat is utterly necessary, check. Okay I've got everything.' Once Din heard that they were going up against a living dragon, he began to laugh. A wide grin appeared on his face. "A live dragon. Well I think things might get a little interesting."