Mars City
January 22 year 2130

Hotaru sat upon a stool belonging to a noodle shop. It was amazing that these thing still existed and here on Mars as well. Yeah you heard that right, Mars. Who would have thought huh? Here it is the year 2130 and we have colonized it. Human's can only do so much with earth anyways and space was getting taken up rather quickly. Which was why the USC was put to the task of making places outside of earth hospitable. Mars was the second thing on the list to get just that, colonized. With the creation of atmospheric generators the planet was quickly made live able. By quick I mean two to three years but it happened. With the success of the moon it did not take long before eyes turned to the red planet. With that said a few more years and boom here she was in Mars City enjoying some uber udon soup. It had all that was needed in it including a boiled egg. She sighed as she looked into the bowl her reflection staring back at her.
"Something wrong with the soup? Miss Utada?" Came the voice of the owner. She looked up and shook her head.
"No, nothing is ever wrong with your soup. I just have a lot of my mind." She answered.
"It has to do with those weird uprisings don't it?" He asked. Not like it was secret,.. it was all over the news and radiostations. You would have to live underneath a rock to not know.

She nodded to him and picked up her spoon and began to tug at her noodles to get it all stirred. Once it was to her liking she put the spoon down and picked up the chopsticks and began plucking the soft noodles out and into her mouth. She looked up at the hologram display, this thing was like a television. She saw that it was some talk show host speaking about the uprisings. She moved a finger over to it and hovered her finger over the volume controls and raised it a little.
"This is the fifteenth time a attack has occurred, what is the government even doing about this? They sure clean up the messes quick but I don't see any attempts to end it for good." spoke the host.
"Well John,.. you know I don't think it is uprisings. Mostly just terrorists like back on earth. The groups still need to be stopped of course....."
The voices continued, spouting out their petty bull crap as if they knew anything. It wasn't that simple... the tech used in the attacks wasn't theirs. Plus... she saw claw marks as well. Not small ones like from a animal mind you.....

She sighed and hit another button and turned it off. "Idiots... if only it was that simple." She said. The owner smirked and snorted.
"You got that right... I trust if it was in your control it would be solved. Then again that's gossipers for you. They never really know anything about the situation. They only think they do." The man responded.

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

Mars City was not completely perfect. Even through mankind's advances there were still criminals.....
"Lady,.. I aint going to ask you again. Give me your purse or I will kill you." The man said. He was huge and what made him even more intimidating was that his eyes gave away what he was. They had saucer disk liked eyes in their place. He was part of the cyborg population. This woman however was still not having any of it. She shook her head at him and held onto the purse. He rose his gun and aimed it directly at her he pulled back the hammer and in turn she closed her eyes waiting for the inevitable... but something was wrong. No muzzle flash occurred.

She opened her eyes to see the man pointing his gun in another direction. Farther down the alley way. His body was shaking. Something was there that the man did not like. She followed his aim and what she saw gave her the chills. Red glowing eyes,..... their shape was inhuman but she could see no body to them, only shimmering.
"Reveal yourself you son of a bitch,... before I drop you!" He yelled. His paused showing he was nervous. The eyes narrowed as if glaring at him. It then emerged from the shadows and revealed it's true form. It was hideous and huge. A lot more huge then the man had expected. It had two sets of arms. Two were smaller then the others and held some sort of gun he never seen before. It was out of this world and had tubes connected right into the creatures arms making the weapons connected right into the being's body. This prevented other races from using the weaponry. It's other set of arms were connected to two giant cleaver like appendijes... "What the fuck are you?..." The creature didn't even answer or hesitate. It raised up it's rifle and light glowed from the weapon's cracks and a arc of energy shot out ripping into the mans body blowing a large hole into it and sending the thugs remains backwards. The woman moved to run but it's feet propelled it into the air to land in front of her causing her to trip. Before she landed on the side walk one of those cleaver like claws tore into her should and pinned her to the wall. What came next was it taking her head off...

.... This attack was short lived though for a gunship flew seemingly out of no where. It was fully automated and its turrets aimed at the creature and opened fire. While it did this men dropped down from the gunship's body. These people carried cases and bags. After the gunship had done it's job these people began to clean up the mess. Mostly the important bits they didn't want the public to see or Section 8 when they arrive.

The lab would be spacious if it wasn't so cluttered, a hundred meters by two hundred meters garage had an entire wall dedicated to organization by setting shelves two meters thick every two meters apart like a checkerboard that stretched out for ten meters. It was mathematically sound and efficient as long as everything was kept in its space. The shelves themselves were well lit with one meter bars spaced every other meter but the lights themselves were rather dingy since they were the original lights when it was installed. The shelves were only one part of the controlled chaos as machines hung from the ceiling like bloated bolted bats. A single car was seemingly forgotten in the middle of its automotive autopsy as a serriss of cerulean scanners were waving over an amputated automatic arm.

It smelled like a garage should smell, dirty and clean in constant battle with motor-oil being purged by cleansers then striking back with fragrant mystery stains. There was a rhythmic hum in the air from some kind of music made from industrial tools (think that chop shop song from robots) The air itself was thicker than most, between the air bound oil and piles of parts in various states of cleanliness with a shockingly port ventilation when the garage doors were down.

Michelangelo was tapping away at a keyboard with one hand while his prosthetic sat on the bench. He was running a diagnostic on the system and looking for ways to upgrade its performance. He had been in the middle of scanning the car he was working on with the diagnostic tools when he got the idea to scan his prosthetic as well. His first arm had been built in an auto shop out of car parts, what sorts of toys could he play with now that he had some black book funding?

Currently he was researching hydraulic options with variances to fluids and materials and making a spreadsheet of which ones had any determential interactions. Last thing he needed was a hose to spring a leak or a seal to fail in the middle of a mission. There was more to him than just physical strength and he was going to make sure to prove it to his team. As the scans continued, he got not one, but two interruptions as the music cut off automatically when the phone rang as a strobe light pulsed to silently alert him the front doot had just opened.

---

---

William looked at the dripping stains on the roof. It was odd, seeing it as it was, especially because of the Floor they were on was nowhere near the ascending peak of the Apartment Complex. It was a strange sight, and he kept his eye on it, notifying his Partner. Jason Ludwig, a former Military-Operator now turned Police. The two weren't like the standard stereotypical Partners against crime, and to be sure, they weren't far from different to one another. Jason was a tall lad as well, slightly more bulky and having battered features from the Office Complex incident that William's hand had suffered a fateful end in. The two had been struggling since that incident, as many of the survivors did. Speaking of many, there weren't too many left after that. Forty sent in during the Full-Raid, and only Nine returned. It seemed horrifying for the news, but in reality it was nothing but a nightmare to the involved personnel. It was known as one of the largest defeats in Recent Police Records, being flashed and frowned upon by the media as if it were only to be an easy task. Many consequences followed the defeat, which were then dealt with by such groups higher than the 4th's SCTO Operators.

Now, the two were sat in a stall-like beverage stand adjacent to a Noodle and Soup Bar, a Film Shop on the other side. They had been through a lot, that day, having dealt with numerous petty thefts and arrests that were enough to make an honest man tired. And so, now they were drinking. It was their time off, a time to call quits on their daily duties. Whereas they were still advised to be Armed, only William was the one who'd carry a weapon. The Standard sidearm listed in the Personnel Hand-guide, it was more for safety of the Officer themselves than to ensure the danger of any criminals. Having still been in the more Formal Inspection Uniform, a long trench-coat and under layers, William and Jason were prone to the petty thieves or citizen harassment. It wasn't anything out of the ordinary. For generations, many had criticized the roles of those Enforcing Law and have, if not physically, verbally risen against those within its structure. For William and Jason alike, it was just another day at the office. The two watched the screen, talking about the most recent of attacks.

"Pfft...they seem to be speaking rather loud-mouthed about our work..." Jason had always been a man against media, their ideas of spreading news and causing rumours were enough to damage an entire community within a city. At least that was his opinion.

"Well, just let them stop these Terrorists. And besides, they talk to against us when we aren't usually the one's put to use against them."

"It's Bullshit, I know! We haven't gone against a Terrorist Plot for at least 2 months now, and only criminal organisations are the greatest busts we can be provided with. It's all about these Groups that are taking over the roles, and apparently not having the numbers to fulfil their promise. Maybe if we were there to help, we'd have less of a problem." William grinned at the concern of his partner.

"So, what...are we better than whatever Groups are out there? Tell that to the Turnover Veterans..."

"No, if you were to listen to me, you Smart-Arse fuck, then you'd realise that I'm trying to hint about support. Every gun and handcuff is useful and makes a difference in whatever situation, and the more we have, the better transportation response times we can set loose! Think of how better off we'd be if cooperation existed between these high forces. It's not like we are just standard Police Officers, y'know?" William nodded. Well at least the day following this one was to be a grand adventure, if not life-threatening. With the discovery of Trip's Cult, a local band of murderers, there was something interesting hopefully about to go down...if they weren't to be interrupted by the upcoming terrors of the night.

The pounding bass of the club could be heard behind the sealed door, thrumming in Leon's ears. He and 12 other men, all wearing balaclavas, stood at the ready in a dimly lit employee hallway, waiting for their mark to enter. They worked for Hyperion Red Security and were members of the Emergency VIP Extraction & Protection unit, or EVIPEP.

"Everyone remember their role?" Leon asked, turning to look at his team. As always there were no questions or objections. He turned back around to face the door, his eyes flashing bright green. The blackness in the room he stood in quickly changed to a light gray as his eyes enhanced the illumination. "NVG's on. Team 2 are you in position?" He asked. Three computerized beeps replied. "Prepare to enter." He placed his boot on the synth-wood door and grabbed the metallic handle. There was a vibration in his ear and he moved forward quickly, twisting the handle and putting his weight into the movement and pushing the door open.

The flashing lights made Leon wince for a moment as his eyes quickly adjusted to the added brightness. The music, which was basically a form of blaring techno-trash, completely deafened the sound of the door slamming on the adjacent wall. He entered onto a circular balcony with an open middle - like a doughnut - looking down on the dance floor below. As they had been trained to do, the 12 men at his back split, six and six, and started their way around the balcony, keeping low to stay out of sight.

Leon shouldered his rifle and scanned for threats. The club had been mostly evacuated of civilians, but there could always be stragglers. And unnecessary casualties weren’t how Leon worked. He spotted two human figures directly across from him on the other side; they didn't seem to notice him or his men. He pressed a small button on his rifle, close to the end of his foregrip, with his left index finger and the two men were illuminated by invisible red outlines.

"Contact twelve o' clock. Two men. They're armed. Take them quietly." Leon said into his comm-headset.

Simultaneously, two shots were fired. Both rounds impacted at the exact same time and resulted in the same effect; two neutralized threats. Leon moved quickly around the left side of the balcony, checking individual booths for both threats and civilians. His team split again, this time into six two-man teams, and began clearing the upper level. Leon didn't like doing this but with the amount of exits and contact points for threats it was necessary.

He stacked up in front of a door directly across from the one they had all entered in with two other team members. “Breach and clear on my go.” He said calmly. The two team members nodded with approval. “Ready…”

“Go!”

---

The team exited out the front door quickly, VIP secured and safe; Leon in the lead. Police cars and strategic response units at the ready. The police screamed at them to put their weapons down and get on the ground. Just as things might have escalated, a Hyperion Red personnel carrier swooped overhead and hovered between Leon’s team and the police. A female voice boomed out over a loudspeaker mounted on the craft.

“Stand down! We are with Hyperion Red Security, a subsidiary of the United Science Division! You will lower your weapons and allow our employee’s to exit. We are not a hostile force!”

“Move!” Leon bellowed out and they began to move towards the slowly descending aircraft. “Becca, don’t land just hover, we’ll jump on!” He said over the comm-headset.

“Roger that. Maintaining altitude of 10 meters. You sure you don’t want me lower?” She responded.

Leon made a hand gesture to his men, signaling his intentions. Additional blood pumped to his leg muscles and he felt the synth-muscle in his calves, thighs, and glutes, expand and contract. While in a light jog, he dropped into a lunge position and sprang upwards, easily clearing the 10 meters and touching his boots to the metal decking.

“10 meters is fine.” He called up to the cabin, a small smirk on his face.

“Confident aren’t you?” Becca replied, leaning back to look at Leon, her fire red hair struggling to keep itself under her flight helmet.

His team followed in behind him, VIP in hand.

“Jack, how’s the package?” He asked the member carrying the VIP.

Jack ripped his balaclava off, revealing a young face and platinum blond hair. “Vital signs are good, sir. He’s going to have one hell of a hangover when he wakes up though; alcohol and sedative don’t mix so well.”

Leon nodded. “I think he’ll be okay with a hangover from hell to being dead any day of the week.” He responded as the last member of the team entered the vehicle and hit the button to close the cargo door. “Becca we’re good to go. Let’s head home.” He said, leaning back in the chair.

The aircraft hummed loudly and shook as it gained altitude, flying back to the HRS building. The lights dimmed for a moment but were suddenly replaced by blazing red security lighting. Leon pulled his balaclava off his head and dropped it in his lap, taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly. “Good work today, boys. Damn good work.” He said loudly, trying to be heard over the sound of the engines.

---

Once Leon and his crew were debriefed, he took a shower. He dressed himself in his three-piece suit that he always wore when he was in his office and sat down at his desk; it was his responsibility to do up an after action report after each contract they went out on. His office was very spacious, easily being 25 feet by 25 feet. Despite its size there was very little in it aside from a large work desk, a bookcase, and two modern couches and a small table in the corner. The most extravagant feature was the large ornate chandelier that hung from the ceiling. It was functional and minimalist and that’s all Leon needed. It was located just past the middle of the building and featured a massive glass window, easily 15 feet high, that overlooked the building’s lobby.

He had just about finished the report and about to send it off when his in-office phone beeped. Leon pressed a button on his desk and answered the call. “Commander Miller’s Office.”

“Leon. It’s Johnathan. Come up and see me please.”

“Yes, sir. On my way.”

Leon ended the call and practically jumped out of his chair. Johnathan Brooks was the CEO and President of Hyperion Red. He was the person Leon had to thank for giving him his life back. He was also someone that you didn’t keep waiting. He fast walked over to the elevator and hit the highest button on the board. The doors closed and his knees flexed as the velocity of the elevator hit him.

Leon meticulously went over everything that had happened on the contract that he could remember and nothing seemed out of place, so it couldn’t have anything to do with that. Could it? Everything about his recent and previous performance was near perfect so it couldn’t be a bad meeting and Leon knew that he wasn’t prepared to fire him because they had just accepted a huge workload from USD. What could it be?

The elevator dinged and the doors swished open, opening up to a hallway, about 20 or so feet, that led to a single door. Brooks’ office was the only one of this level. Leon began a trek that felt like it took forever. He clenched his fists and opened the door.

Johnathan Brooks was an older gentleman, around 50 or so, but he kept himself in incredible shape. He had short grey hair, blue eyes, and a gray beard that was closely cropped to his square jaw.

His desk was on a small riser, having to go up three or four stairs to reach it. “Commander Miller,” he said, standing from his desk, “come in. I’ll be right down. Have a seat.”

Leon closed the distance quickly; Brooks’ office was huge. 40-foot-high vaulted ceilings, a huge glass window that looked out onto the cityscape of Mars, beautiful synth-wood flooring, and a lounge area tucked away in the corner of the office. There was a hidden door, one that Leon had learned about through Brooks himself, that led out onto a retractable heli-platform for emergency exits.

Leon sat down on the couch facing Brooks. “You asked for me sir?” He asked.

Brooks walked down the stairs and towards Leon. “What do you know about the recent uprisings that have been happening around the city?”

Leon furrowed his brow, shrugging his mouth. “They’re caused by criminals, people not happy with how the system is run. They’re similar to the Wage Riots of 2025.”

“And you are very familiar with those aren’t you?”

Leon grimaced. “Unfortunately. But without the events transpiring the way they did, I wouldn’t be here today.” He finished strongly.

Brooks chuckled. “That’s true. What if I told you that the uprisings are not just about wages? Or discrimination. Or anything…human.”

“Sir?” Leon responded quizzically.

“Something has come down the chain from someone even higher than me. Someone from USD has passed along information that I am now passing along to you. What do you know about Section 8?” Brooks said, standing from his chair and moving towards a raised, circular table. Leon followed.

“Black Ops stuff, sir. It’s all covered in red tape and shadow. I’ve heard rumors though, from the employees.” Leon replied, walking towards Brooks.

“And? What are the rumors telling you?”

“They deal with things that aren’t normal. They’re a special task force that nobody knows about. Like I said before, sir, they’re Special Ops. That’s all I’ve heard.”

Brooks typed a few commands into the computer and a holo-screen appeared, displaying a portrait of a woman. She was probably the same age as Leon and a little bit taller. Being a cyborg himself, he could tell that she was the same way. “This is Hotaru Utada Usanagi. She is a member of Section 8. Myself and the, let’s just call them ‘the powers that be’, have arranged a meeting between the two of you.”

Leon looked from the picture to Brooks. “Permission to speak freely, sir?” He asked.

“You can always speak freely with me, Leon.” Brooks responded.

“I know I’m single but this seems like a pretty elaborate way to get me to go on a date isn’t it?” Leon said, his voice holding no humor.

Brooks leaned on the computer, his face illuminated by the blue glow of the machine. “I’m being serious. We are potentially facing something that is larger than any of us can even imagine.” He said, Brooks understood humor about as well as Leon did. “They’re looking for members to join their task force and I put your name forward.”

“What? Am I being let go?” Leon said, his mind started to race; it was one of the rare times that he was flustered.

Brooks shook his head. “Section 8 is a USD controlled group. And since 80% of Hyperion Red Securities is owned by USD, I’m technically promoting you.” Brooks pulled a tablet from underneath the computer they were standing beside. “You’ll still have your office, and you’ll still technically be employed by HRS, but you’ll operate with them. Your yearly salary will triple as well.”

Leon stood slack-jawed. “I…uhh…” He cleared his throat; he was certainly taken aback by this change of events. “EVIPEP. What about my men?”

“You’ll have to choose a replacement. Your pick.” Brooks smiled.

This strange deal was sounding more and more interesting and that was before he even factored in the money. Leon looked at the tablet in Brooks’ hand, his mind racing a mile a minute. This was one of those decisions that only came once in a lifetime. He took a deep breath.

“What do you need from me?” He asked.

Brooks held out the tablet, the screen glowing to life. “All I need is a handprint.”

Leon’s nose twitched, something it hadn’t done since the reconstruction. This was a good sign. He looked up at Brooks, striking a pose and saluting. He smiled.

“Right or left?”

---

Leon, freshly promoted, strode down the extended hallway to the elevator. He pulled his portable comm-set out of his jacket pocket, punching in the contact info that Brooks had supplied him with.

“Agent Usanagi? This is Commander Leonhard Miller of the Emergency VIP Extraction & Protection unit at Hyperion Red Security. I’m told you have a job for me.” He finished as the elevator doors closed in front of him.

Usanagi was still in the middle of her meal when suddenly a chip located with in parts of her brain that were completely cyberized. She then heard a voice in her head. Strangely it was a phone call she actually had been waiting for. “Agent Usanagi? This is Commander Leonhard Miller of the Emergency VIP Extraction & Protection unit at Hyperion Red Security. I’m told you have a job for
me.” The owner of the noodle shop couldn't even hear the message. She smiled and slid from the stool scooting it back and stepping away from the counter. Her voice then rang back through the chip and the device relaying it back to the young commander.

"I see you accepted our little invite, that is good Leon. From now on I am your commanding officer and I will...." She was a about to finish her sentence when she got another incoming message.

"Major Usanagi, it is urgent another incident has occurred. USD has already cleaned up most of the mess. Get over there quick. You know what to do." Came the voice. It was a message from her director. Her smile formed into a smirk. She then decided to finish her message.
"Good timing Commander, meet me at 5644 58th street. I will debrief you on what you will be doing there." She said. She then shut off communication and moved to the side of the street and turned her head to the right to see her motorcycle. It was a much more modern Yakazaki with a bit of a violet trim to it. She then moved over and swung her leg over. She looked over at the shop to see the owner poking his head out. "Duty calls, thanks for the chow old man." She said. She then kicked the bike to life and road off.

It did not take long before she could spot the gunship still hovering in case there was more hostiles unseen. These attacks where getting out of hand. She knew what it was but couldn't say anything about it to anyone. If people knew it would start a global wide panic. Funny thing was people where already panicking. As she road up she saw that they were still examining the bodies and the creature that caused it. She swung her leg over and walked over to the monster and then to the victims. "Leave them out for awhile. We just recruited a new member,... I want him to see these three. Easier to explain with the eyes then it is with the ears and mouth." She said. The crew members looked up and over and nodded. "I don't mean stop getting samples, just don't take the bodies away yet." She added and they went back to work. She looked over at the gunship and saw the little automated eye looking to her and then to other locations in the area. Mostly dark places that normal eyes can see.

"Ah, Major you arrived quickly!.." She heard and she looked over at a man in combat kevlar and a well kept hat. He looked to the bodies and then back to her. "Crazy isn't it... the USD is trying their hardest to fight these things and yet still some break through and attack us." She sighed and looked to the bodies and moved a hand up to her head and brushed them through her hair.
"No kidding Captain,... Has the gunship got any more readings?" She asked. The Captain shook his head.
"Not yet anyways... If they are out there they're moving past our sensors and night vision. Before you ask, yes we used Thermal as well. These bastards hide themselves well.. some kind of cloaking device." He answered. She looked over at him and could see he was nervous. She moved the same hand still located in her hair to his shoulder. "Relax,.. it will only get worse and keep that gunship hot and ready. Those things could have more around here somewhere." She ordered. The man gulped and nodded. Her attempt to calm him wasn't working to well. She couldn't blame him... this was the twentieth attack within two weeks. Yeah the attacks that were voiced on the news where just small portions leaked out from god knows where. The news only reported five or six, however the fights were getting much more thicker. This one was just a two man body count. The last couple attacks where much higher then that.

She sighed and looked around. "It's times like this I could use a cigarette. Problem is with this body,... there would be no point sense my body would just process the chemical's to the point I wouldn't feel the effects anyways." She said. The man looked over at and then back at one of the victims.
"He had almost a full prosthetic... perhaps if he had one like yours the creature wouldn't have blown such a huge hole through him." Was his response. She looked over at the man he mentioned. The victim screamed criminal. His prosthetic was probably not even legal or he didn't have paper work on it. Meaning it was likely given to him out of the black market. As for what if he had a full cybernetic body like hers?... nah that wouldn't have helped him. She wouldn't mention that she came across a scene with several cyborgs like herself ripped to pieces. She was just as vulnerable as a regular human.

For now she waited for Leon to show up. Judging from his reaction to the scene will depend on whether or not he would be reliable or not.....

It wouldn’t take long for Leon to get to his destination; the sound of his fancy car’s engine growled as he accelerated. It was getting late and the streetlights strobed his windshield as he drove, hurting his eyes. He reached into the side console and pulled out a pair of glasses, putting them on. He pressed a button on his steering wheel and a computer like interface lit up the surface of his car windshield with a dull blue light; it looked much like a flight-path on an aircraft.

“Computer,” he commanded, “take control and set destination as 5644 58th street. Quickly.” He removed his hands from the wheel and his feet from the pedals, flicking a switch on the centre console. His seat shifted backwards, almost like he was transitioning to the backseat.

“Certainly, Commander Miller. Estimated time of arrival is 15 minutes.” A female voice replied.

Leon pulled his pistol out of his shoulder holster hidden under his coat and ejected the magazine, then pulled on the slide to eject the round in the chamber, catching it in his hand. The bullet was big, easily longer than the previous generation’s .357 cartridge. He checked the feed mechanism, the barrel, and finally the trigger pull. He was meticulous; some would even say borderline OCD but he wanted to be sure that everything was going to work when it needed to.

The car’s acceleration slowed, causing him to look up. He saw what looked like government vehicles, although to anyone else they would just look like fancy cars; but in this neighbourhood? No way. The dead giveaway was the military style gunship hovering in the area.

“Computer, pull up to the curb and stop; keep the engine running on low power just in case.” He said warily. He didn’t like the feeling he was getting in his gut; and considering that his gut had been reconstructed along with the rest of his torso only added to his uneasiness.

He popped the bullet back into the magazine, reinserted it into the weapon, and cocked it. He made sure to flick the safety switch before re-holstering.

The engine noise slowly died as the car shifted gears to slow down, coming to a stop at the closest curb. The driver’s door opened and Leon stepped out. Immediately the smell of something awful found its way up in his nose. He fought the urge to grimace and walked towards the barricade that had been setup. Two guards had been posted and they looked in his direction as he approached.

“They’ve been expecting you. Head on back; you’ll know it when you see it.” One of them said, stepping out of the way. Leon nodded.

It was in the middle of an out of the way industrial park so there wasn’t much worry for people accidently stumbling upon the scene, but if that gunship kept hanging around people were bound to show up and be curious. He walked down the alley, trash littered either side and some sweet smelling chemical drained out of a pipe and onto the ground. He reached the end of the alleyway, opening up to a square, courtyard like area. Everywhere he looked there were people. Some were talking pictures, another was scrubbing something off the ground, another was carrying a human arm away; it was bad.

Nobody came up to ask him any questions as to why he was here, so he decided to use his anonymity to his advantage. He wandered around the site, taking everything in. It looked like one of the crime scenes of that murder cult that had been reported on the news lately. Leon knew that this wasn’t the case though.

Then he saw it.

The thing wasn’t human; nowhere even remotely close. It was big, what was left of it anyway.

“So this is why that gunship is still hanging around…” He said quietly.

He walked over to the creature and knelt down beside it. There was a weapon, nothing like he had ever seen before. Its face, if that’s what it could be called, was only slightly intact, having been blown away by the massive firepower of the gunship.

“What big jaws and sharp teeth you have. Two eyes on one side of your head, probably means you’ve got four eyes total. Why do you need four? Two compound and two simple? That either means you have incredible vision or you have terrible vision; my bet is on the former…” He said, rambling on. He had studied Biology 102 in Uni. so he had a decent understanding of how the human – and not-so-human – body worked. He stood up and walked around to the other side of the creature, eyeing up its choice of weapon.

“Are you an offshoot of some giant praying mantis?” He said, rubbing his chin. He tapped it’s skin. “Thick. It would take a lot of power to crack that shell. That gunship certainly had no problem…”

“Uhh…excuse me?” A voice said from behind him.

Leon turned around. A man in a white jumper stood with a large tray and a saw behind him. “I’m here to..uhh…take a sample.” The man said.

“Hopefully not from me.” Leon said, raising his hands and stepping back. “Can you point me to Agent Usanagi?”

“You mean Major Usanagi?” The man replied.

“I’m looking for whoever’s in charge.”

The man pointed over to a woman standing beside a man who looked like he belonged here. Leon thanked him and started to walk over.

“Major,” he started, “I’m interested.” He removed his glasses and put them inside his coat. “I’ll go over what I’ve seen so far: These things most likely have incredible vision, picking up on movement whatever it may be. If they have good vision it would be safe to assume that they have reflexes that are off the charts. They have a natural armor, could stop anything short of a rocket; or, in our case, a gunship. They’ve probably evolved from insects, all the clues are pointing in that direction. I can find out more but I’d have to see more than a blown apart husk.”

He looked down at the dead cyborg almost literally at their feet. “And judging by the wounds on this one,” he said gesturing at the body, “and the weapon on that thing, they’ve got us beat in the firepower game.” Leon looked back at Hotaru. “So? When do I start?”

---

---

William had the call last night. It had been the first one in a month. The Flashing symbol that had a strange aura to it. The logo of the SCTO Group. Cairo 3 were calling, and that usually came at a ridiculous cost. Something was always going down in the terms of non-planetside threats, yet these were surely plots targeted on a vast majority of the City. The main task of the 4th MTD's SCTO Force was to act as the first response. If things became far too hectic and beyond their control, they were to be pulled out, and one of the many infamous organisations would step in to finish what they were forced out of achievement. A call from them was more than alerting, even at this point in time. Not only had it only gone by 12:04, just peaking past Midnight, it was something that Local Authorities wouldn't be able to fully step up towards. Many terror-plots that were to happen in secrecy were largely due to Uprisings, but they were never publicised unless used to target the Citizens of Mars City. Those that were were always done during Rush-Hour times, or when large gatherings for celebrations were held. In all honesty, nearly everyone didn't feel complete security and safety now. It was never something anyone knew was going to be implemented at some point.

Jason and William had only a few moments to really finish their beverages. Taking larger gulps rather than smaller sips, they quickly threw the necessary money onto the Pub-Lord's counter, denying any need for the small change owed. They quickly moved past the Noodle-Bar and Adjacent clothing branch towards the designated vehicle that was used for street-ground patrols. Opening the door, both got inside sitting beside one another and beginning the drive to the Needle. Jason started to bring up the conversation. Briefing from personnel slightly further away was used by a Multiple-Link Online Video Call, used to transfer the necessary details to those receiving it in person to those arriving to the scene. Loading it up, he flickered the on-screen Display and listened carefully, William following his Partner's act.

"We have intelligence given to us by informants within the smaller ranks of the Criminal Organisation, simply known to us as Trip's Circle, that the locations of their plots are being uncovered. However, we've discovered a single way to demoralize all the attempts at future terrorism with a single stroke. If you look to your monitors, you'll see the building in question." And on the display, a 3D Image of said structure appeared, rotating and scanning each floor whenever mentioned by their Director. "This is Gatro Incorporated's latest structure gone wrong...It was an office complex, and still contains many of its furniture, but was abandoned after the apparent bankruptcy the company were facing, forcing them to sell it to the highest bidder. That Bidder is no other than Trip, bringing his morales into the building with him. We have two floors to go through, the only one's deemed safe for entry. The 1st and 2nd Floor. Ground Floor has been shown up on newly installed camera feeds as clear, but the upstairs is unreachable without arms. We don't want to take any chances. Trip himself will be based here, and you will be faced with overwhelming odds most likely. Your Training, as always, will be assessed by your performance out there. Do be warned that Trip's been known to hire Cybernetic Henchmen for guarding and escorting. If you were to encounter them, make sure you prioritise them as targets before considering everyone else as expendable. We want to shut this organisation down As soon as possible, and today we've been given that small window. Hurry up and get yourselves back to the Needle...We'll be going in only when 14 Officers are ready for deployment. Out."

---

All tightly packed, the 16 Officers from Cairo 3 were placed into Governmental Armoured Deployment Vehicles. Sitting around the middle, opposite one another, were Jason and William. The two were always sent together, as many were with partners. The trust level included between the force was immense, one difficult to break apart. Cairo 3 was being led in this Operation by a Gunnery Sergeant following the name of Howard Peterson. Howard was known for being a living legend amongst his men, refusing major promotions just to stay committed to fighting terror on the front, rather than behind the command table. His presence was always a godsend with the morale of those he led, having far more experience due to his previous job-title within the Turnover Force. Everyone in the craft remained silent, as they did normally. Conversation would mostly reduce concentration, and within tight spaces like these it was the key factor of defeating the enemy.

Suddenly, the vehicle decelerated to a slow halt. During the time of it slowing down, everyone briefly stared into each other's eyes, before doing the final equipment checks. Once everyone had seen the the kit as beyond standard quality, they set out. The back door swung open slowly, and the engine turned off. One by one, each of the Unit's Officers moved out. Howard leading, followed by Jason, Arthur, Lucinda, Franklin, Nemo, Isaiah, Jess, William, Brandon, Thomas, Katie, Michael, Pierce, Natalie and Louis...This was the team selected for the role. With the guidance of the cameras already placed and uplinked into the ground floor, they were assisted in a safe entrance. Opening the front door as carefully as possible, they all stepped inside, taking a knee behind the reception desk. Everyone would look around, before turning to Howard for the plan of action.

"Alright, so we have two stairways that lead to the upper floors." He began, keeping a low and quiet tone, just barely understandable for the team. "What we are to do is to split into the two standard teams. You know your divisions. Division A will take the flight of stairs ahead of us, Division B will take the emergency stairs to our left. The alarm won't be working, so it should be completely safe to use in terms of catching them by surprise. Make sure your Helmet Cameras are fully Operational, radio in when we are in position, and we'll get this over and done with without any losses. Got it?" With everyone nodding and appreciating the simple, yet highly successful plan, the two split into their teams. Everyone began to line up into their individual groups. William was 3rd in the Line for Division A, usually the one's who'd deliver the critical charge rather than the stealthy back approach. However, in this case, both divisions were to infiltrate with major force, hopefully charging them head on until there's little to nothing left. Division A and B split off, William's group heading upstairs. He felt his heart pound as something ever-so chilling showed up. The walls as they slowly ascended the stairs. They bared a new set of paint. Red, oozing as if fresh. It was the natural paint sprayed across the wall. Dripping, letting off a foul rotting smell. It sent shivers down nearly everyone's spine. This wasn't anything new, except the extremely huge quantity of whoever's blood was something beyond experience. As they ascended more steps, vigilant and cautious in their movement, the silence grew even more deafening. They came across what seemed to be more dribbles of fresh blood, and reaching the top of their flight...An Arm.

Everyone looked at one another, William especially. Just what were these terrorists actually doing? What were they trying to achieve that meant body deconstruction? It looked as if it were separated at the forearm, something ever-so...Chilling. Suddenly, they all jumped, at least inside, with the sudden cackle of radio communications.

"Gunny...We're in position...You seeing the stuff we are seeing?"

"If you count a severed arm and a shit tonne of blood...Then perhaps we might be seeing the same thing..."

"Shit, man...The hell are these terrorists planning? What are they really tryin-"

"Quiet down, Simmons, we're ready to push in...On my mark, take the door with single file. We'll push in, access the area. If you see anyone, only engage once spotted or your IC has given the indicated command. We ready?" Another confirmation of hand gestures through helmet cameras let Howard know that they were ready, and so, he called the mark...Everyone taking their first steps into hell.

As they entered, the office was a wreck. The only thing seemingly still in tact was...Something not mentioned in the plans. Directly at the end of the room, a large generator-kind of machine laid. It was buzzing a quiet aura, making confusion settle around. Everything seemed open, except from a few remaining office booths still set up. The roof to the first floor had seemed to have disappeared, moved for whatever this machine was. It had been collapsed, as if it were never there in the first place. William spoke up, seeing how open everything now seemed.

"Uhh...apart from whatever the hell that thing is, anyone notice something...off? Like...Where are the Henchmen?"

"Are they up a few more floors?"

"Why would they be up more floors? It's too structurally unstable to stand on, let alone set up an entire team. And shouldn't they be guarding this...This thing? This is some nex-" He stopped himself, as something caught his vision. In one of the booths, a pair of legs in the doorway. Lowering his weapon slightly, he moved quickly over to it, taking a knee inside the booth. It was a full body...Cybernetic Legs, human body...Or at least what was left of it. There was a line in the middle of the body, seeing to show the point of where a single swipe had torn the man into two. William's eyes widened. He poked his head from the booth, calling to Isaiah, who was standing in the centre of the nearly empty room. "We got a body over here! Come check this."

"Right, I'll be right ove-" And that was where it all descended. A sound, piercingly loud, echoed through the bowels of the room. A streak of light flashed down into the centre of the room, as if it were a fired projectile, and pierced its way into Isaiah's chest. He stood there, falling down almost instantly with no time to react. Everyone almost jumped from their boots, seeing him fall onto the ground and flop down. Everyone began aiming upwards, alarmed and almost completely shocked. Everyone took to the outer-rims of the room, hoping to escape any line of fires.

"Isaiah! I'm going to get you out of there! Just stay still!" Howard yelled towards his companion. He was still moving, but he was barely concious of what had happened. "Did anyone see where it came from?! What was it?! Dammit, Isaiah! Stop moving before you get see-" Suddenly, it happened. Between his shouts for his companion, a beast leapt down onto the position of the fallen comrade. Everyone fell silent, eyeing what they thought was just a part of their imagination. Four arms, large and beastly. Isaiah struggled, as his almost lifeless body began to crawl rearwards. His voice of panic was heard, seemingly developing into a scream for help. Everyone watched in complete terror and shock, not knowing what to do and how to do it...The beast drew nearer to Isaiah. As it reached only a few metres from his crawling body, Isaiah drew his sidearm, having left his primary behind. Only managing to aim it upwards and fire two single shots, he was soon cut off. The hands and arms grabbed the poor soul, holding him in front of him. He struggled, panicking and pleading in pain for his companions to do something. Within seconds, his pain grew silent, the arms ripping a hole into his chest, puncturing his body and leaving him lifeless. Everyone leapt back once more, Howard standing up slowly. The Creature noticed his movement, letting out a deep and deathly roar to his position. William was still peaking from his Office Booth, watching with his weapon aimed, his hand slightly trembling. More of the Unit began to stand up, taking aim at the creature. Seemingly noticing its surroundings, the creature stopped bounding towards Howard. It watched around, before using an act of drawing its weapon quicker to fire multiple shots off. With the first shot being fired, slamming into Natalie's skull and burning the mask she wore, everyone else began to fire in quick succession. Bullet after bullet was fired from everyone's first magazine, flinging projectiles into the now panicking creature. It flailed around with every shot, before dropping to the floor after the magazines became dry. Everyone stood in silence, before Division A, not including William, who was still pinned inside the Office Booth, rushed to the newly fallen comrade. As they reached Natalie's fallen corpse, burnt face and scolded skin, a scream and second wave of firing came from the opposite side of the hallway. Suddenly, a body, dressed in full armoured black, was thrown across the room and more shots were heard from Division B. Echoes of intense fire from the unidentifiable weapons held by these creatures scattered amongst the noises of the building. Division A held their ground, not knowing what exactly they could do. They couldn't see anyone but the one Officer flung out of cover, who was still in one piece, as it seemed. Everyone looked to Howard for answers, wanting an explanation and course of action. As the flung officer began to stand up, running for Division A's position, a creature of the same type brought itself into an immense appearance, leaping upon him as he ran. It stuck its teeth into the neck of the poor soul, letting his gargling scream echo out. More screams began to be heard from Division B, the centre beginning to flicker with the blood of the two fallen officers unfortunate enough to get caught in the centre of the room. Division A looked at one another, as more than just the single creature emerged. There were five, no wait...six...All of them looked and charged upon their positions. Firing what he had left in his first magazine, William panicked ducking down as one leapt towards him. It flew itself over the Booth, and stared immensely at him from the few metres away that it was. William's eyes opened widely, fondling with his vest to grab and refill the gun with ammunition. He frantically shook with every struggled movement, laid down against the desk in the booth. The creature crouched down, and prepared to charge at the almost doomed soul...

Henry was running through a dark valley, naked and out of breath. Something was chasing him, and it had a lot of friends. He caught only mere glimpses of them, but what he saw terrified him. Their bodies were twisted and misshapen, completely black except for their faces. Their faces, the terrified him.

He ran ass fast as he could, until he tripped over a small rock and landed on his face. He couldn't even shield his face, his arms refused to move for some reason. He turned on his back, and the creatures were on him. They tore into him, ripping apart his flesh, digging their claws in his stomach, chest, arms, legs and groin. He saw the blood fly, the chunks of meat and organ cover him and his assailants. He tries to scream, but nothing comes out.

Its not the pain, or the sight of his flesh being torn apart that make him scream. Its the faces. The faces of the dead. The faces of those he killed.

"Anderson. Yo! Anderson! We're here."

Henry roused himself from his nightmare and looked around. He was in the company car, surrounded by his team. They had arrived at their destination, some mom and pop operation. They owed his employers money, and he was there to collect.

They hopped out the vehicle and head towards the entrance, the lead man kicked in the door, eliciting shouts from the inside. The crew grabbed the family inside and tied them up. Henry walked up to the man of the family, a guy of about middle age, just a normal family man. Poor fucker.

"Mister Torres, you owe my employer a lot of money. We are here to take recompense for what is owed. Your buisness is worthless, as are you. So, we have no use for you other than to send a message. I am going to put a bullet in both your knees, then light this place on fire. Your wife and daughters will be taken and sold to the highest bidder, after they have been trained as good obedient whores. Your sons, we will do the same for a couple of them, one of them will likely end up on a table and have his organs removed, without anesthesia. You brought this on yourself, but you can avoide all this Mister Torres, if you accept my employer deal. So, are you willing to listen?"

Of course he is, they always are. Even if they didn't belive him, it was no matter. He never lied about how he would get the money back. The first few people never took him seriously, but once word got around about what happened to them, people start to listen.

Just another day of buisness.

She looked to Leon and then back at the creature. "Let me debrief you real quick,... During our space colonization as you know due to our technology not being good enough to conquer the strong gravity and storms of jupiter we skipped it. We moved on to the planet Saturn. What could go wrong right? I mean until then we believed to be the only people in the universe. We couldn't be more wrong. Saturn was already claimed by another... these things. For the first time in mankind we actually tried to negotiate first. We tried on several occaisions with talks of 'We can live together on this planet in harmony'. Problem was these things did not want to share. After the sixth failed attempt we were about to send a seventh but it was shot down. War broke out and not just on the surface of Saturn. We are fighting a war Commander Leon. The people of this planet don't even know of it's existence." she sighed and looked to him. " The USD is doing all it can to stop the fighting from reaching us here. Mars is the only bastion we have between them and earth. This planet falls, nothing will stop them from destroying us." She then smiled and looked back to the creature. "Even though outclassed in weaponry our weapons can still hurt them. They are not invincible and we can kill them. That knowledge alone gives us a chance." She pointed at the joints and weak points. "With low caliber weapons they can be taken down if hit in the weak points or at least slowed for those with bigger weapons to tear into them." She looked up at the gun ship.

"Major Usanagi, take the gunship to section b9 and quick. Our sensors indicate another incersion. The SCTO in the middle of a hit has found themselves in a ambush against six more abominations. Hurry quick Major... if you don't they will all be dead before they have a chance. Another Gunship is being sent to give aid but it wont be enough...." She heard within her head. She looked to Commander William.
"Have your car auto drive to the section 8 headquarters, it's time we see if you can handle the job..." She said. She turned and walked to one of the ropes of the gun ship and grabbed a hold and tugged. "Looks like the SCTO just got themselves caught up in a nest of them. We are going to go rescue them." She said and then the rope began to pull her up.

As soon as she did she began to pull off her casual clothes. Not even caring if she was naked. When seen you could see the cracks in her skin. Her cybernetic body wasn't just some civilian grade piece of trash, it was military grade. Better yet the top secret kind. She was built and designed to fight the enemies before them. She then began to suit up into her combat gear one piece at a time. She then grabbed forth from the wall a P90 far more advanced then the ones in it's earlier designs. It was a higher caliber and was suppressed. She checked the clip and made sure she had more. She would need them. The rounds where a good caliber but not even she thought it could pen their armor. She prayed that she was wrong and that it wouldn't take a .50 mg auto cannon from a gunship to take them down.

She waited for Leon to join her and arm himself with something better then a .357 caliber pistol. The bullets may be better but not good enough. Once he was done she slammed her fist into the wall and the gunship took off with the two towards the target location. "Hope your not squeamish Leon,... your going to see a blood bath. We won't get there in time to save all of them."

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

The SCTO division was getting cut down where they stood left and right. All seemed lost as one by one they lost a man. The squad's only managed to slow one down. The one that faced William snarled and drooled as it raised it's cleaver like appendiges ready to cut him down where he sat. All seemed lost for the doom souls of the SCTO division. Then a white light shinned against it's face and it turned to the source. In it's sight was a gunship on the nose of it was marked the infamous letter 8 signafying who it belonged to. The mechanized helicopter didn't even give it a chance to lift it's gun. The rounds from it's auto cannons ripped into it's thick armor sending it three feet away from William.

One of the monsters on the floor turned and turned to face the gunship but then something smashed through the window using a rope. The person was at first invisible due to a military grade cloaking device. This device deactivated the moment she had burst through it. She rolled towards the creature and leaped until she was no more then a couple feet from it. The abomination swung it's rifle at her but she ducked underneath it and countered the attack with one of her own leaping back with her foot hitting it's chin causing it's head to fly back. In mid flight she raised up her P90 and fired. The rounds hitting right into the weak spots under the chin. The monster hit the ground quick. She then stood and checked her clip and slapped it back in.

Her attention then went right for William hiding in the cubicle. She sprinted in his direction and once she reached him she reached down and grabbed him by the collar. "Get up damn it. Or do you want to die like the rest of them!" She yelled. It was obvious who she was. A Gunship with the number eight and a woman. She was likely section 8 just the same. There was only one woman so far who was recruited into the division and that was it's leader. The infamous Major Usanagi. At this close range he would be able to tell that some of the rumors where true. The cracks within her skin gave it away. She was fully cybernetic,.. well mostly. Parts of her brain and her organs were still human. "Your men are dying William... Do not forsake them by pissing yourself here. Get up on your two feet and fight them. IF you die, at least it will be going out and not hiding."

With that suddenly a red light went off at the right side of her eye and she looked just in time to see one of the creatures rushing right at her. It's cleaver like arms raised in preperation for a round of swings. She looked to her left and swung her foot around launching one of the office chairs into the air and then kicking it towards the creature. It hit it against the face and caused it to stumble. She then made a gesture and the gunship filled it with lead. The second gunship was sent to aid the other division seperated from the rest. If they were still alive they would be getting their second wind by now... or not. She looked back to William and crouched. "I aint got a time to tell you the big picture, but I will say this. You have just been exposed to the real war. A war that Section 8 and The USD have been fighting in secret. That said,.. I am recruiting you into my team. Along with any survivors of your division." With that said she stood up and looked at the scene before her. Three of the creatures were dead and there was still more in the area. The largest concentration she has seen so far... this was bad. It meant the USD was losing the fight to keep them off the planet. It won't be long before Mars becomes a battlefield.

Leon listened intently to Major Usanagi’s words. He knew about the failed attempts to colonize Saturn, but that had been chalked up to technical difficulties. At least, that was the “official” explanation. He instinctively brushed his hand against the firearm underneath his coat; it was good against lightly armored humans and cyborgs but that was about it. Leon made a mental note about getting some better firepower in the next day or so.

Hotaru cocked her head slightly.

‘Built in communication? Impressive...’ He thought.

“Have your car auto-drive to the Section 8 Headquarters, it’s time we see if you can handle the job…” Hotaru said, walking towards the gunship.

“What? Where are we going?” He asked following her. The gunship loosed ropes down on winches. Hotaru grasped one of the ropes and tugged.

“Looks like the SCTO just got themselves caught up in a nest of them. We are going to go rescue them.” She said. A second later the rope pulled her upwards.

Leon sensed that time was of the essence and that he wouldn’t have time to run back to his car to grab his gear, so he hoped that there was something of his size up in the gunship. He grasped the rope in his hand and tugged. Immediately he was pulled off his feet and rocketed upwards to the gunship. He kicked off the rope and touched down in the gunship.

He was greeted by Hotaru’s naked backside. He tried to make it seem like he didn’t notice but it was clearly impossible. He turned to the closest wall and started intensely examining the equipment on it. “I assume Section 8 is a coed institution?” He questioned, half sarcastically and half not. There was a plethora of Kevlar assault vests placed in storage drawers. He removed his jacket along with his shoulder holster and grabbed one, placing it over his head and tightening it securely. He strapped his holster to the vest and put the extra magazines in the pouches. There were several MOLLE pouches on the front and around the waist of the vest.

Leon felt the gunship lurch forward and its engines roar. He grabbed the running bar and straightened himself against the inertia. His head swiveled around. “I need a weapon. Something that packs a bit more punch than what I’m currently- Oh that’ll work.” He said, his mouth shrugging. He reached down, picking up a very capable looking sniper rifle. He slung it over his back and grabbed several 10-round magazines and stuffed them into his waist pouches.

“Hey, Major,” he started, “I’m not exactly equipped to take point on this one; not like you were going to let me anyway. Let me hang back, take up an overwatch position. I don’t feel like getting cut to pieces today.” He finished. He had a feeling that even if he was wearing his assault suit he would get cleaved in two if he wasn’t careful, but there was a measure of comfort in knowing that he wouldn’t bleed out if he was wearing it.

“Hope you’re not squeamish, Leon…you’re going to see a blood bath. We won’t get there in time to save all of them.” Hotaru said.

Leon tapped the side of his ear. “Computer, mark my position. Follow me but stay two blocks away at all times. Wait for my mark. I feel like we might need a quick exit.”

---

The gunship roared towards the destination. As they got closer Leon tweaked his comm-bead – hacking into communications was easy when you studied how they worked in University – to patch into SCTO chatter. He nearly ripped the bead out of his ear with all the screaming he heard. “Major we need to get there double quick, these guys aren’t going to last much longer.” Leon said, checking his rifle again for the hundredth time. He checked the chamber again, noting the high-powered APDS round; that should punch through whatever armor these things were built with.

He leaned towards the edge of the gunship and looked over the edge. The cityscape of Mars sped by beneath them; it was starting to get dark and that wasn’t good. His HUD lit up in his eyes, highlighting the building in front of him. Muzzle-flashes lit up the windows. “GOOD. AT LEAST THERE’LL BE CLEAR SIGHTLINES.” He thought. There were just about on it and Leon felt the gunship slowing down. There was a building across the street, directly below him, with a good vantage point on the office building. “Major, I’ll be close by. Just let me know what you need.” He said, stepping out into the air.

He was in freefall, about 60 feet. His muscles tensed, his heart beating faster. He impacted the building hard enough to crack the roof. He jogged to the edge of the roof, dropping to his stomach and popping the bipod out, lining up with the office structure. He aimed down the sight, spotting his targets. Screaming, gunfire, blood. More blood than he was used too.

“Officer McGregor this is Commander Miller. I’m on the north side of your building across the street. We’re here to help.” Leon glanced up from his scope and saw that Hotaru was in position and ready to move. He moved back down and forced his heartbeat to slow, counting his heartbeats. He lined up with one of the creatures…and pulled the trigger.

The rifle sent a shockwave out on either side of him, the sound of the rifle reverberating through the air. The high-powered round streaked through the air, the bullet’s sabot flying off in mid-air. The arrow like projectile impacted the glass, causing it to spider-web and crack. The gunship’s weapons screamed to life and tore through the windows a second before Hotaru landed inside. The bullet that Leon had fired impacted its target, entering through its left set of eyes and ricocheting down through its skull, knocking its jaw off in a spray of blood and muscle tissue.

“You’re still standing? My God…” Leon breathed, squeezing the trigger again. The second round slammed into its neck; that at least caused it to stumble. One more trigger pull and a bullet to where its heart should be finally brought it down. He changed targets and fired again, this time aiming for its heart. A disgusting spray of blood and viscera exited the creature. Strangely, the beast kept standing. “That was a heart shot,” Leon breathed again, counting his heartbeats, “let’s try again.” He fired in the same spot. His bullet ripped through the creature’s torso, nearly breaking it in half; it dropped.

Leon saw movement in the peripheral of his scope. He shifted vision upwards and had to fight to keep his heartbeat steady. At least a dozen or so more of the creatures were scrambling across the upper floors, nearly killing each other.

'No. They are killing each other.' There was a sick level of relief that he felt thinking that. He switched targets back to cover Hotaru, popping another two rounds into one moving to cleave her in half.

“Major, Officer, I don’t mean to alarm you but you are about to have a lot more company coming down on you. I count a dozen or so, three floors above your current position. At the rate they’re currently moving they’ll be on you in less than 30 seconds.” He explained, his voice calm as the dead. He reloaded his weapon and fired three more rounds into a creature ripping apart another soldier. He didn’t kill it but he managed to severely cripple it; shooting off its cleaver-like arms with one bullet, and blasting through its lower body with the next two. Even from the opposite rooftop he could hear its scream; one final bullet to the skull silenced it for good.

“There’s an elevator towards the back of the floor you’re currently on. If you’re lucky it’ll still be functioning. If you’re not,” he fired three rounds at the creatures on the upper floors, managing to slow them down slightly as they tripped over one of their dead, “well, then you’re not lucky. But you need to move. I’ll cover you as best I can.” He said.

This was turning into one hell of a day…

---

---

It was almost certain, his demise. Whatever was to happen was going to surely going to end with himself in two pieces, or more. Frightening, stressful. The thoughts flowed with anger and mixed fear to the point where he felt like his sanity was going to burst. From what looked as if he were hiding, he'd been spraying as much as he could until the point where the Beast was facing him. It's eyes were menacing, lowering its stance as it prepared for the charge, one that would destroy anything in its path. He continued to shake, with the stress and panic, as his hand fumbled about with the magazine. He muttered, cursing his luck as it didn't fit in straight away, he looked up once more, checking how close it was to ramming him straight to hell. As William turned back to the gun, a shadow emerged over him. Something grabbed his vest, yanking him greatly. Was this it? Was it his turn now?

"Get up damn it. Or do you want to die like the rest of them?" She yelled. Yes, she...Instantly he recognised the stance, the uniform...The Numbers of the now drawn in Gunship. Section 8, the infamous group. That meant he was face to face with one of the most Elite Units within the Peacekeeping business of Mars, Major Usanagi. At first, everything seemed to slow down. William felt a deep gratitude at first, feeling like this was to be his hope that he had wished for only moments ago. Then, a taste of infuriation kicked in. She was addressing him as if he were a Coward, hiding in the corner whilst everyone around him died. For an instant, it was down-right offensive, taking in that this was something completely surprising, and he was spoken to as if he were facing these things on a daily basis. It was the main problem with the Upper-Units. When augmented beyond comprehension, you start to notice their slight arrogance and misunderstanding of the panic they face. Sure, this might be her average life...Fighting beasts whilst William filled out Arrest Quotas, but this was taking the piss, in his mind. As everything seemed to speed up, taking reality back to its original pace, she let go, turning to assault the individual beast. Doing whatever she considered normal seemed more than unnatural to William, as it was literally nature's most treasured icon played by technology and advance Militaristic characteristics. William finally gathered his surroundings as she brought the behemoth down, finally finding a way to fit the jammed Magazine into the weapon. "Your men are dying William... Do not forsake them by pissing yourself here. Get up on your two feet and fight them. IF you die, at least it will be going out and not hiding."

"W-What...What the actual Fucking...Shit! This...You just swoop in, mid-slaughter...Fucking yelling at me?!" The pressure of the battlefield was clearly getting to him, especially as around him, man and woman after one another would fall to the might of the opposition. He even saw it, his own Superior go down. Howard, a piece of Shrapnel piercing his own armour and tearing a deep wound unfixable by any standards, laid dead against the wall. His helmet's visor was completely stained with the blood that had been tossed from his gaping mouth when it must've impacted him. Looking at that was even more pitiful to his mind, his concentration. Seeing it filled him with anger, even more that had built up from the previous encounter. Taking his now loaded rifle, he positioned it against the stall's flimsy walling and pressed the trigger, lining it up with one of the beasts. Supporting the recoil with the slightly strengthened hand he now had on his left arm, most of the bullets flung into a target already being apprehended by the very few survivors that Cairo 3 had to offer. When his magazine ran dry once more, the beast seemed to succumb to the bullets of a nearby marksman, who's bullets shattered throughout the building. That was when a second voice flipped into the view.

“Officer McGregor this is Commander Miller. I'm on the north side of your building across the street. We're here to help.”

"Oh, thanks for the bloody information! Good to see you aren't here to yell at us when we're being slaughtered like fucking pigs..."

At that time, he ran through the madness of gunfire and unknown projectiles, making his way to the rubble piles where Jason was supposedly pinned up. As he reached the area, an injured beast crawled its way over to the injured SCT Operator, who was laying still. Jess, as her name was. She was one of the newest additions to Cairo 3's Ranks, meaning she wasn't the most able unit, but was enough to handle herself. However, in this situation, training couldn't have meant any less to anyone. No matter how experienced you were, you were in almost complete danger of death, take Howard for example. Drawing his sidearm, William fired a few shots at the close range he was standing at, doing so until the beast had been put down. He saw Jess, injured, who was laid against the rubble-like walling. To her left, Michael laid there, practically decimated completely. Missing an arm, as well as certain chest and skin complexions, it was a sight that left Jess in complete and utter shock. It was clear now, he had to hold before finding Jason. When the panic would die down, he'd make his move, but that wasn't just the time yet. Taking a knee next to the fallen officer, as well as the injured one, he looked down. William looked around, seeing her lack of a weapon. His mind buzzed, thinking of a way to protect his own team-mate whilst ensuring he was able to make himself effective on this field. Un-slinging his Rifle, he gave her the weapon and loaded her a magazine. Notifying her that it was only to be used with complete necessity, only if her life was in the greatest danger. Exchanging gratitude, he returned to overseeing the fight, only a sidearm now in hand. He stood on top of the rubble, preparing to fire upon anyone who remained left that wasn't human nor cyborg...

---

Time passed. The onslaught of the Gunship and the monstrous and continuous fire from the deadly marksmen gave them a very slight chance of success to move away from the extreme danger. Now, there were a few stragglers left, only for the people willing to move, the marksman and the gunship to take care of. They were on higher floors, something no one wanted to trek up. Now being in a situation where two segments of the Building were controlled, they had breathing room and a chance to take rests, whilst the threat lurked only above them, saved by a few concrete floors. As everyone going began to set themselves up for the second phase, William prepared to hang back slightly. There was a wound on almost everyone but himself. As they prepared to move out once again, William placed a hand onto the Major's shoulder, obviously still quite shocked at the whole even that had just occurred. He turned her to the rear of the room, away from the mysterious generator. He spoke, his voice panting for air as he removed his helmet, revealing his bearded face.

"Y-You...Have explaining...to get over with...once you deal with the...shits...You have...a lot...T-to explain...Because your s-secrets..." He looked around, only seeing four survivors. Jason, who was lucky to still be in one piece, an injured Jess, a battered and angered Franklin, and himself... "Your fucking secrets aren't too P...Persuading for your fucking organisation...And f-for the record...When you said they were my men...You should've done your r-research, seeing as you k-know so much...They were his." He pointed to the rotting corpse. The one with the shrapnel dug deep into the neck of itself...

As things got less hectic she was already planning for their escape. The elevator was the first suggestion. With the creatures cleaver like appendiges though... once they got in all the creatures had to do was cleave the cables and they would plummet to their death. She listened to McGregor's words and she sighed. "I apologize,.. anger is the best motivation right now and it worked for the best." She then looked to the dead man he was referring to. "No I was correct,.. they are your men. Yes at one time they where his, but not that he is dead they are your men now correct?. Anyhow that doesn't matter right now." She looked back towards the windows where she had come from and then looked back to what remained. No that idea was not going to work either. Some of them were wounded to the point such a way would be impossible. What they needed was for the gunship to get close enough so they could just hop in which wasn't going to happen either. Perhaps the roof was a better choice. "Let's make way to the roof,.. via the stairs. These things are clever and will cut us off if we take the elevators."

She figured she would explain now what was going on. "William,.. unfortunatly your team got caught up in a war that section 8 and the USD have been fighting for the past year. Turns out we are not the only race that exists in the vast universe. Even better that those things had made home already on the planet of Saturn. Any rumors you heard about equipment malfunction or the like being the cause of Saturn's failed colonization is false. They where there... our planet would have been next eventually. Studies proved that these things have been moving from planet to planet taking anything they want. Anyhow,... long story short we tried to negotiate with them and become allies. Well it is pretty damn obvious how those went. The fighting started shortly after and escalated into space itself. The USD has been trying it's best to fight them back and keep them from Mars. What your seeing is those that broke through. The USD has been mostly covering it up, blaming it on terrorism or uprisings. Trying to keep it out of the eyes of the public to not start a panic... Pretty soon even that will stop because we won't be able to hide it anymore. The USD is losing this war and soon Mars will be the battlefield."

That was all she could tell him. That was all she knew and if there was more to be told the USD kept her out of the loop with it. It was people like William who suffered for it. She did not like it at all. "If I had my way the whole planet would know already. If they had told the public we could have prepared for such events and created defenses. Section 8 isn't as all powerful as some believe. We are just has much tied at the hands as any other organization that the USD controls." She said. She looked to the dead around her and sighed. All of them... they could have been used against the enemy instead of dead here. Well soon she wont have to worry and the USD will have to address the public about the threat.

---

---

He thought deeply to himself. William knew that everything here was indeed what governmental officials were keeping from them, their idea of Protection to the Public. At this point in time, part of him still had a deep grudge against the new Section 8 interferers, yet there was still a little sympathy. How can anyone have fought things like these for so long, and still not had the privilege of warning the Public, or other Military organisations, in order to prepare them for the worse? It must be painful, mentally, for someone to have to go about this on a day-to-day basis. But then, yet again, was there even a brain for the woman to have broken down? Her body seemed completely and utterly augmented, something William would refuse even in the face of death. It wasn't like he hated the idea of saving lives and upgrading peoples hope...It was just the pain that came with it. There was a feeling, a phantom limb where the replacement was fitted in. Take William's hand for example, he hated the feeling. Sometimes, through mental hallucination and delusion, he could swear sometimes his fingers would twitch, as if they were still there. The numb feeling of having that terrified him sometimes, and so to have more than just a hand replaced by things only to create similar experiences...It must be a trip of mental suicide.

His mind returned to what mattered. It trailed off from the sympathetic thoughts of his rescuer, the confusion of who the Marksmen was and the whole experience of his own issues. William brought himself back into the mind of an Officer. He had a task, a mission and information just given to him by whatever authority. This information was completely confusing...Anything could've been said other than that and it would've made more sense.

"Wait...So this wasn't some bloody Lab Creation? Nothing we've ever come across before?" William looked back at the four remaining comrades of his. It wasn't completely true, what the Commander had said about him. He shouldn't of been the next IC of the group. However, the hopes of the remaining looked upon him as if he'd always had led them. They were shocked, the lot of them. Jason, Jess, Franklin and Thomas...They were looking to him, completely disregarding any authority they would've had over him. He stared at their eyes, as their helmets were taken off. Each one of them, even Jason, looked traumatised...Mostly covered in blood, whether it was their own or someone else's, and unsure of what exactly was to happen next, they continued to stare back at William. William's head lowered; his breath drew colder and lower. "How...How can we go with you? What good are five...Five remaining Armed Police Officers...Practically betrayed by their authority...What use are we? Actually...I don't want an answer...Don't answer that." He continued to pause for a moment, catching his breath once more as he looked at the team. Through visual gestures, they were prepared to make their decision. "I...I don't...We can't just join...we...We can. If you truly need us...for whatever reason...We will try to make it happen, as our duties to the MCPD state...But we'll need something in return...and not just myself, but us all, know that you'll figure something out that'll actually make this tragedy worthwhile..."

[Usanagi]

She crouched down and placed her hand on William's shoulder. "Everything I do, everything that Section 8 does is for the survival of the human race. We learned these creatures aren't just stopping at humans like you and me, but on androids and synthetics. They want to destroy all of mankind and it's creations. Most of my body has been completely cyberized. Except for parts of my brain as well as my internal organs. A few artificial ones were added but I am still human. I still care about humanity." She said and then looked to his team. "Oh and the law you fight for did not betray you. The USD,... Section 8. We thought we could fight back the tide that is coming. If we do not put stubborn differences aside and join together to fight this menace... we will all die. Every death here will be in vain. As of now the human race is fighting for it's survival. The war will break out onto the streets of Mars like it already is but in much larger scales... Section 8 is understaffed for this and for the time being the USD is losing and right now Mars is the only obstacle in these creatures path." She sighed and closed her eyes and then looked to the opposite stairs going down. She knew more of the creatures were making up for them. With that she stood up and then looked to the group. "Also your no longer property to the MCPD. You belong to Section 8, whether you like it or not. Section 8 protocol dictates I take you in whether you like it or not. You will be taken to our facilities. You will be taken care of and debriefed. You will remain there for as long as it remains safe. How you decide to spend your time under Section 8 is dependent on you. Fight or don't. Either way we will all die when the time comes." She said. With that she looked to the other members of the division and then to the stairs leading to the roof.

'Leon, provide us cover to the roof. We aint got much time. I am ordering for a emergency evacuation. One of the gun ships will aid you in providing fire upon the enemy while the other lands on the roof. We will evacuate and then come pick you up.' Her next actions consisted of her pushing forward to the those stairs that made their way upwards. She was done talking and trying to explain to these people that she wasn't the enemy. Section 8 never was the enemy. The enemy was the things trying to kill us. If they didn't want to listen then so be it. They can die with their friends if they want or rot at the headquarters. Not even the Section 8 headquarters will be safe for long. When this war comes... no place will be. Then it happened.... A cleaver punched it's way through the floor and pulled with it a chunk of the floor causing her to fall with it. When she landed she landed with a thud her gun falling to the floor and sliding away from her. She turned over quickly to see the drooling monster hovering over her. It's weapon aimed at her and it's cleaver like appendages moving in place to strike. It hissed at her and then screeched as it swung. She moved her legs in time to dodge the first hit but then the second came down right above the wrist of her right hand. It may have been completely machine but the nerves where still there and she screamed. She reached to her side with her only hand left and grabbed her pistol and then moved it to shit at the creature through it's weak points.

It exchanged it's on displeasure of the act with a scream of it's own. She took the time to flip back up on her feet and move to her weapon. She holstered her pistol quickly and picked up her P90 and aimed and fired shooting down the monster with continued fire. Once it was dead she looked to where her other hand was and then the stump that was sparking and did ooze out some kind of fluid. She looked back up to the hole and positioned her self so she could make the jump. Sure enough she was able to make it back to their floor. She then bolted for the stairs. She knew after that event there the others were surely doing the same. "You people get moving!.. I will cover you from here. I won't be able to hold them for long." She hollered as blasts from the alien weapons started to pelt the walls around her. She exchanged fire with them. The creatures were beginning to learn from this as well and used their own cover.

[Meanwhile elsewhere @Catchphrase]

Alexander maybe surprised to know that he wasn't the only one who had it's eyes on the current population of the establishment. Only the things didn't have no intentions of getting money out of it or anything. The death of all humans.... and their creations. That was the goal of the hive. "Humans go inside building, not come out... shall we pursue?" One asked the other as they watched. "Proceed as planned. We kill them all... not just the hostile ones and their weaponry but the others as well. The only good human is a dead one." The other responded. The moved into position. The streets were quiet. Everything was ready... They raised their rifles and picked their targets and then they opened fire. Plasma particles ripped through the walls like paper towards chosen targets.

[Also Elsewhere@knighthawk]

The next attack was going to occur in a much more residential area. The fight will come upon all fronts. Soon the humans won't be able to hide it any longer and all will fight them. It was rather exciting for the hive. A race worth fighting for once. Something to challenge it. It was a solitude hunter though. It had no gun. Just two rather large pummels and two sets of smaller arms. It looked at the house and the one more target going through the door. It would have grinned if that was even possible. The human intended for it's prey had a large prosthetic though or some kind of powerful arm. Was it capable as its... we will see. It moved towards the home and in the process lifted a car from its parking spot and then threw it towards the home. It's intended target was no one at the moment. Just making a crashing entrance.

Henry was giving the sobbing man and his family some time to calm down and listen to him. If they were hysterical it may benefit his employer by making them make a decision while afraid, but calm people were less likely to act on emotion and think logically. Then he heard a noise from outside, and before he could even turn the entire building was lit up by weapons fire.

A round grazed Henry's side, but before anymore could hit him he dropped to 9 the floor as if he was dead. He didn't even throw up his hands to protect his face, which really hurt him when it made contact with the floor. He looked around and tried to take stock of the situation. The man and his family were all dead, they were already on the ground so whoever was shooting didn't have to compensate for them dropping to the floor to take cover. They just got chewed up. His men fared better, but not by much. Of the four that went in with him, two were wounded, one was hurt so badly not even doctors could save him if they could evac right then and there. And that was not an option.

His last man was quick to react. He ducked down behind a metal table and flipped it over. It barely held against the rain of fire being thrown at it, but it held none the less. The man took out his heavy pistol and fired back, shooting blindly over cover. He must of hit something, because a scream came from outside where the shooters were. It didn't sound like it came from any human throat, and if it was human. Henry shuddered at the thought.

Henry crawled towards a small ditch in the building. It wasn't a ditch really, more like a slightly lower part of the floor, but ut was the best cover he could get to without getting shot up. When he made it to the ditch, he drew his weapon and fired off a couple rounds. They were state of the art rounds, or at least state of the art years ago. The rounds buzzing over his hewd, those were state of the art. And yet the shooters weren't that great. Strange.

Henry looked around and saw another of his men go down. A round went through his skull. He was out of the game. The remaining two who could still fight were firing away. More screams were heard 3outside. But the weapons fire kept coming. Henry grabbed his radio and switched it on, hoping someone would hear him of the sound of fighting.

"EMERGENY! EMERGENCY! THIS IS DELTA TEAM OF CRIMSON BEAR SECURITY! WE ARE UNDER HEAVY FIRE FROM AN UNKNOWN ENEMY! THEY ARE USING UNKNOWN HARDWARE AND WE ALREADY HAVE CASUALTIES INCLUDING SOME CIVILIANS! IF YOU CAN HEAR THIS, SEND HELP TO MY LOCATION, IT IS BEING TRANSMITTED IN THIS MESSAGE! I AM SETTING THIS ON REPEAT, JUST SO YOU CAN'T IGNORE ME FOREVER! PLEASE HURRY!"

Henry rigged the radio to repeat and concentrated on firing back. If he was going to die, he wasn't going to lie down and do it quietly. He hoped somebody was listening to the radio. Otherwise the time to set it up was a waste.