[IC] Fallout: Rebirth of the Enclave

[Pyro V]

Bear sat quietly as Devon and Tristan talked, sipping on his drink. Even with the newly trimmed mustache, some of the chocolate still managed to get lodged onto his upper lip. As he took the time to gently wipe away the mess, he glanced over to Lucy. Nothing could be gained from it, just a passing, bored look, then it went back down to his drink as he cupped the mug in both hands, the warmth seeping into his cold fingers. After a long moment, he said, "It is like you say, Tristan. But that does not excuse some of the things that are done in training. Ours, or theirs." He left it at that, falling back into silence as he took another drink.

Lucius, on the other hand, said nothing, only giving Lucy what one could assume was a glare, as best he could do with the featureless purple orbs that passed as his eyes. As he sat and shook hands with the squad, he took a moment to introduce himself. "Lucius Vaughn, though I'm sure you've all been told," he said, his voice sounding mostly human, but with a metallic undertone. Like he was speaking through a radio. "I am - or, I guess, used to be - Professor Romanov's assistant. I'm supposed to be your pilot, though I've been told to be a field scientist and backup support if needed." What he neglected to tell them was that he vastly preferred a lab, any lab, to the cramped up confines of a cockpit, or the gunfire of a firefight.

Nevertheless, he tried to make the best of the situation. "Oh, and you're former pilot's belongings were passed on to me. It didn't feel quite right, so I left them on the squad commander's bed." It wasn't much, just an old sword that could use some work and a dancing hula girl that had been taped down to the dash of the vertibird. But it didn't feel right to keep it, especially since he hadn't known her. After that, he fell silent, feeling an awkwardness fall over him. Good thing most of his face was metal, else he might look what he felt.

[Lucius Cypher]

Lucy finished her meal and was wiping her mouth when the new recruits arrived. Despite actually passing the Eagle Claw Test, she still considers them recruits; they haven't been bloodied and broken yet, so they're still fresh meat in her eyes. As she was thinking of the next test to put the recruits through, Devon growled out his displeasure at Lucy's methods. He wouldn't be the first, but like all the others, nothing he said was going to stop her. She had a goal and she was going to continue it. Devon would simply have to get used to it, or if he really wanted to stop what she was doing, he would have to get put down. Eagle Claw or not. When he asked about the possible wounded and dead, Lucy wondered if he meant that rhetorically, speaking out of emotions rather than actual concern. Still, someone does need to go out there and collect the bodies. "Assuming these two are the only survivors, there are seven corpses outside that need to be found. Six possibly, if one of the recruits managed to shield himself from the snowstorm. Number eight died on arrival." Lucy stood up to put away her plate, but that last sentence was directed to the two recruits. She didn't say anything to them, she didn't even look at them, but that statement "Number eight died on arrival." was her own way of berating the two that they could have saved Annabeth. They just carried her on their shoulders, exposing her to the elements when it was nature itself that was killing her. Perhaps now is not the best place to point out how the efforts of the two recruits where in vain, but if they have learned anything from their time training from Lucy, they should know that she was disappointed in them. But that's nothing new.

Before she did leave, Devon mentioned how she seemed to be giving the recruits her brand of training for some sadistic fun. She clenched her fist, but her voice was colder than the blizzard outside. It was as unemotional as the bullets she puts into the bodies of her enemies. "Eagle Claw is not for pleasure. If I can kill them with basic tests, they are not ready for a true mission." Although Lucy trains new recruits to the point of death, she was holding Eagle Claw to a high standard. A standard that was, perhaps, much higher than what everyone else held them to. She doesn't expect or want people to come to Eagle Claw because they had talent and potential, and only needed a place to master it; They should already be the masters of what they do, and they should already have something to give to Eagle Claw the moment they stepped into the camp. Their training just keeps their skills sharp; if they weren't already elites coming into Eagle Claw, they would be dead leaving it. And Lucy aimed to makes sure that was true.

After putting her dishes away Lucy headed towards her workshop. As the demolitionist on the team, she felt that she needed a heavier explosive power than merely her ballistic fist. It was good for small group encounters, but in light of news that the NCR has access to vehicles (Data was still uncertain as to what kind of vehicles) Lucy wasn't going to take any chances. Normally she wouldn't jump to conclusions, like the NCR having their own tanks, but she didn't expect them to have an air force either. So she was going to need to develop an anti-vehicle weapon. And inside her workshop was what was going to be used as the base; Esther, the nuclear weapon developed by the Gun Runners. Currently Lucy didn't have the clearances to take it out with her on field missions, and she had no intentions to either. Ammo was hard to secure not to mention volition. Plus, she had her own modifications she wanted to add to it. Starting with the Mini Nukes.

[Vash]

"We are the citizens of the state. We invite you, soldiers of the end war. Fight with us, or die beneath us. We, The Common Man, shall persevere through the darkness." - James Hemmingway

The rest of the night was spent talking and enjoying the time together, though heated at times. The food was glorious and the drink made more than one of eagle claw want to punch each other's lights out. In the morning, groggy and hung over, tablets were forced down their throats by the medics as they were called to the briefing room. By the time they got there, most of the hangover was gone and they were reporting for duty. They finally had a mission.

________

The commander of the base, Richard Hammond, Addressed them. Standing over a holographic Wargames projector. Showing what seems to be anchorage alaska, black markers all over it. "It has been a while, Eagle Claw." Richard said to them, his hands clasped behind his back as he stared the group down. Leinhart was not with them. "After nearly three weeks with no mission, we have one for you. We have been continuously pushing into old Alaska, the battlegrounds for the great war and where one of our forward bases has been established: Tesla Command. This base is the staging grounds for securing the region, over two hundred soldiers there. Up until about three days ago, everything was going according to plan, but then everything went quiet. No signals, no messages, nothing. We have sent scouts in to investigate, but none have returned. We will not risk a full scale search while the enemy is beating their war drums at our gates. I want you to investigate. Search the area and find out what happened to our troops.Thunder will fly you out as soon as you suit up and ready yourself. "

The team nodded and proceeded out the door, no questions needed asking this time, Alaska was a place that had been on the Enclave's list for a while now.

_______________

Dropping down to the earth in the frigid north, the team unholstered their weapons and let Thunder fly away to find a secure landing zone. It was frigid here, the cold being nearly as bad as Eagle Claw base. The wind biting into what parts of their bodies were exposed. A few of them had extra clothing on, scarves and gloves, an extra layer of clothing maybe. Shibuya had one of the new Plasma Sniper rifles in hand and would stick close to Andrew as his wing-woman. They had a half mile quickmarch through the canyons to the base, old world trenches that were carved to slow down the enemy. There were multiple paths and intersections for them to investigate. It was eerie here, the only sound was that of the wind whipping across the frost covered landscape. Snow crunched underfoot as they moved forward, the sound echoing through the trenches. They felt as if they were being watched, hair standing on end. Andrew stopped the squad before they moved on. "Alright." He addressed them. "Several trenches to comb through to find the two hundred soldiers that disappeared. Search for any clues to what might have happened. Footprints, drag marks, blood, bodies, bullets, casings. Anything. There has to be something. Bear and Lucy, take the tunnels there." He pointed towards a large tunnel entrance to beneath the trenches. They were built for war and were no doubt still standing. "Ginger, you're with me and frost. We'll be taking a look at that trench there." He pointed towards the left most trench, one that winded into the heart of the complex and to the base. "Venom and Whisper, take the right most Trench. We'll meet up in the middle and search it then. Keep your radios clear of chatter and report any movement. "

Taking Ginger into the trench with Frost at the rear, neither of them felt right as they walked, something was definitely watching them, waiting for the perfect moment to strike. As they looked, there was barely any trace of the soldiers that were here. Food and provisions were left on the table like they had simply gotten up and left. Footprints were covered up by snow, no signs of battle, no blood, not even a note. It was as if they all just disappeared. It made Andrew overly cautious and constantly watch corners and the areas above them. The wind itself even made him jump at times as it picked up.

Frost was uneasy, wanting to break the ice a little, she flipped off her radio so she could talk freely, keeping her long bright red scarf up to try and resist the cold. "I like your armor, Ginger. I've seen those patterns in old books. It suits you." Slowly and deliberately he turned his eyes on her with a frown. He glared at her for a few moments then shook his head and put his helmet on. "What did I say?" she said, her smile turning to a frown underneath her scarf. "What is your problem, Ginger? You've been in a pissy mood since you put on your armor." Said Andrew, whom had switched off his radio as well. He didn't bother to look at either of them. The helmet locked into place and let out a tiny hiss while the insides of the armor compressed. He checked a few things to make sure the displays were still working, "No problem." Andrew frowned, usually Ginger was more talkative. "Bullshit. I've fought for two months with you, you're not gonna hide it. What's wrong?" "Really?" Ginger shook his head, "You don't know what's wrong." Andrew looked at him, his eyebrow cocked. "Not really. No." Ginger ignored him and focused on checking his weapons and systems again. "So, as is quickly becoming the norm, you're going to hide inside of your armor instead of actually talking.", Andrew said to him. His temper being tested.

He looked up at Deathstroke for a few seconds, then looked down and activated the cloak on his armor. "Oh...so it's the armor." He ran at Ginger's last position and slugged him, his hand taking a bad hit, but so did Ginger's helmet. "Get over it." Still cloaked, he straightened himself and made sure nothing had been jarred loose and shook his head, "Do you want to finish the mission or not? Don't fucking touch me again." "Considering you're being a bitch and throwing a hissy fit over a recovering psychopath's reintegration into humanity via drawing on your armor, I'd rather you sat it out instead of bringing us all down with you." Andrew stood defiant against Ginger's attitude. "I'm not the one that's going to bring down this mission. I'm focused. Everybody else seems to be losing their shit over this stupidity now. It's done. It's over." Andrew crossed his arms, his face contorting in anger. "You're focused on killing, not being a human. Lose sight on being a human and what are you? Not a soldier, a damn robot."

"I don't need you to lecture me." Ginger said. "And I don't need you to treat a woman that looks up to you as a hero like she's less than garbage, Tristain." Meanwhile, Frost is just looking almost in disbelief at the drama that has unfolded. "Whatever... Let's just go already." Ginger continued to stonewall. " "Not until you drop this pathetic attitude of yours, Tristain." Andrew sighed, calming himself a bit. "It's dropped." A bit of relief overcame Andrew, even though he "Then next time you see Melanie in base, give the woman a hug and thank her for the armor." He stopped for a moment before continuing. "You did save her life before either of you were in Eagle claw, afterall."

"No I didn't... What the hell are you talking about?" Tristian said, his voice saying that he was truly confused. "I have to read the psyche reports from the psychologists when she goes in for a session. She's recovered memories from when Commander Hammond found her, you were there, one of the soldiers that guarded Hammond. Unlike the partner you were with, whom just wanted to fuck her, you comforted her. She looks at you like a hero, man." Tristain was quiet for a moment. "... I don't really remember that," his tone was less short now, "There were a lot of those." "She's the one that was in the cove just inside Washington." Again quiet for a moment, Ginger nodded. "Right..."

Their discussion over, with Ginger understanding what was happening to the people around him, they moved on. As they turned a corner, they froze as a howl shattered the silence, Andrew slowly turned to the alternate path behind them, leading to an officer's quarters. Above them, a Metal Monstrosity. They all raised their weapons and started firing. The only thing that was actually doing damage against it was Ginger's rifle, denting it a little. It sprinted at them after Ginger's first hit. Ginger's second created a small hole in the face, Frost took the opportunity to hit it with her own rifle and the super heated plasma broke through, melting it enough for the round to rip through to the brain. It wrecked havoc on it and it fell forward, sliding on the snow until stopping a few feet in front of Andrew. He went clicked on the comms then. "Contact, contact. Large steel armored bipedal beast. Very very tough. Two rounds with Gauss rifle, finished with a plasma round through the severe dent on the head. Think we found out what happened to the soldiers here." He approached the beast, the entire inside of the head was melted and destroyed, circuitry sparking. He looked it over for weaknesses and found several. "Completely robotic, legs are weak at the joints. Hydrolics suggest very high strength, has teeth and jaws, very very sharp...armor piercing. Shoot first, ask questions later."

[Lucius Cypher]

The night before did not end with a dull note. Lucy was rather proud of the advancements she made on the new mini-nuke which she christened the "Seraph". Only one prototype so far, and she doesn't plan to make any new ones until it's field tested. It took a notable chuck out of her resources, and she did not want to risk making copies if the prototype turns out to be faulty. Mini-Nukes were too delicate to mess up more than once. Additionally, Lucy had a few confrontations from those in Eagle Squad. None from her core team, though she had suspicion that they also had something to say to her. It was mostly the new recruits and a few of the older veterans who were not part of Eagle Claw, but still had some sway in the military. They had issues with her training methods, claiming it to be too harsh and ultimately pointless. Lucy didn't argue, but neither did she agree, and she refused to promise anything or do whatever it is they asked. One of the more promising recruits demanded to at least be given a heads up on what sort of tests she'd have in mind for them, and the option to refuse. She had one statement for that. "This is your option." And than she punched the recruit in the gut using her power fist, sending a glob of super-heated plasma that ate away his clothing, armor, flesh, and bones, leaving a green slag puddle. "Eagle Claw does not need any more new members. Those who think they do will have to prove one question to me: Do they believe that I cannot kill them?" She left the survivors in shock and awe, but mostly hatred. She already knew of many within the Enclave's standard forces who dislike their "Glorious Elites" who feast upon luxurious meals and gain the best that the Enclave can muster, while they take what is only required, and even less if need be. Sure, better than most wastelanders, but the elitism is there. Lucy actions perpetuate it.

The next day Lucy awoken from her sleep eight hours exactly after she laid down on her bed. Although Eagle Claw hasn't had many missions and are usually told in advance about them, she doesn't sleep in or sleep late, if she can help it. She still drinks her Black Coffee despite not really needing it; her cybernetics gives her all the energy and alertness she needs. It was mostly a placebo to remind her that she needs to be awake. And it taste good. Her breakfast was a Spartan but still high quality bowl of rice with a raw egg, Salmon Roe, and bits of leek. She even ate them with chopsticks, mostly because she wanted to ensure that both her robotic hand and non-dominate left hand were equally deleterious. She than went through her usual morning routine; One-hundred Situps, One-hundred Pushups, One-hundred Squats, and a 10 km jog. She usually can do this in about an hour, with the jog being what takes up the most time. Sometimes the whether makes her usual route difficult to take, sometimes she runs into wild life that she needs to take out, but usually she gets through it before too long. It helps that, since she augmented some of her organs and even her blood, her stamina is much higher than what most human athletes are capable of. But even her upgrades aren't as fully developed as some of the other members of her team, who could be capable of much more for all she knows. Lucy hasn't really spent much time with them before Idaho, and certainly has not put aside her scheduled for them afterwards.

Lucy returned from her job/patrol when she was called to the briefing room. The Commander wished to speak to the Eagle Claw. "It's time." She whispered to herself. Lucy changed out of her track suit and into her gear. Before leaving, she stopped by her workstation and added something to ADA's storage module. Than she followed the rest of the team to the briefing room. It's been three weeks since Eagle Claw had a mission, and even than that was only certain members. Lucy herself hasn't been sortied since Idaho. Richard Hammond stood in the briefing room, looking prim and authoritative as usual. Oddly enough, Leinhart wasn't here. Though she hasn't been on a mission with the Deathclaw since Idaho also, he's usually here anyways, being a member of Eagle Claw. Lucy did not think too much about it however once Richard began to brief them on the situation. The Enclave chapter in Alaska has gone quiet. Previously there was a steady stream of information, nothing of note to worry about aside from the usual supply concerns, weather, and locals, but they were as much of a threat as a soft spot on an apple. Three days of utter silence was discontenting however, as is the following unresponsive scouts. They weren't like the NCR or the Brotherhood; the Enclave does not need couriers to send messages. They had long distance communication spanning the entire American Continent. So the idea that the scouts couldn't make contact with any of the Enclave stations made her wonder what they would be dealing with. But that's why she was being sent.

---

The Eagle Claw landed in the frigid tundra of Alaska. There was some chatter on the Vertibird ride, but Lucy paid no attention to it. She was calibrating and programming some Recon Droids. They were small, no bigger than your average basket ball, but they could float up to ten feet above a solid surface and provide Archangel omnidirectional images and sounds. They lacked weapons, but they were fast and capable of cloaking for an indefinite amount of time (Though that would require them to stay in place). They would serve as her eyes and ears in Alaska where she otherwise wouldn't be. She was tinkering with at least ten of them before they had word that they would drop soon. Ada beeped a message to Archangel. "Yes. Momi-10 to Donation Box. Aya Global Asap. Maid 2cc; Plot or NG. No bombs." Ada gave Archangel another set of beeps, though she did not respond to these.

Soon enough Archangel and the rest of Eagle Claw were boots on the ground. Deathstroke gave them their orders; she and Bear would head into one of the center tunnels built from the old world; built to last. She wouldn't worry too much about firing her heavy ordinances here, but she was more worried about signal interference; that tunnel could go anywhere from ten feet below the ground to a hundred. Depending on what they could reach while in there, Radio Silence might just be the norm once she and Bear head inside. This would also mean that her Recon Droids, which she already deployed, might not be able to report to her if they're too far underground. But orders were orders. Archangel popped a new battery into her rifle and flipped on the Ghost Sight as she was expecting low-to-no lighting. Once things were settled she went into the tunnel with Bear.

Neither of them really made much conversation aside from pointing out certain details and maybe mentioning something to themselves. Archangel was paying attention, but so far neither of them seem to find anything of note. She was still picking up the signal from the others, which was good. They must have not gotten too far below. Her recon droids were also giving her feed back, though they had nothing substantial to note aside from vacant outposts and chatter from the others. She largely ignored the chatter, only listening in because it seemed that Deathstroke and Ginger where having a rather heated argument. When it turned out to just be Ginger's attitude, Archangel debated if she wanted to move on from the scene or not. On one hand, she needs to focus at the task at hand. On the other hand, this could prove useful later. She opted to allow the Recon Droid to record the conversation from start to finish and review it at another time. As she patrolled the tunnels she looked into the other information her droids had. The snow buried most of everything. It wasn't a thin coat either, suggesting that the entire area has been abandoned for at least three days or more. Archangel gave them the orders to search when one of the Recon Droids near Deathstroke's group suddenly reported screeching. Archangel had it go and report, giving her on-the-spot information. She saw Deathstroke's group battling the metal monster, while Archangel crouched down and raised her hand for Bear to stop. She watched the battle through the lens of her helmet and saw the beast go down. Deathstroke gave an after battle report, but she had the recon droid scan the machine and give her a rough outline of it's full capabilities. Nothing she couldn't break through.

Assuming that Bear also got the message, Archangel continued onwards. She set her sensors to pick up electronics, calibrated her rifle to overcharge in a tight cone, and loaded pulse rounds into her gauntlet. She had the rest of the Recon Droids search for the new threats as well, which she has labeled "Tank Dogs" for the purpose of identification. But there was one thing that worried her; while initially she thought of the various cyberdog upgrades that they had access to, none of that really compares to what these things were. Fully robotic, high tension steel, Hydraulic limbs. It wasn't anything the Enclave didn't already have know, so why has she never seen or read about one of these things before? It's not like there was anyone capable of matching them in an Arm's race. Closets people to that was the Brotherhood of Steel's Lyon's Pride, and that was on the Eastcoast before their base of operations were blown to bits. Maybe Big MT, but would they even have access this far north? Granted, with what sort of science goes on there, she would not be the least bit surprised that they would be capable of bringing destruction to every corner of the Earth. Than it only begged the question of why, if not for the simple reason of Science. Even so, there wasn't any concrete evidence that Big MT has anything to do with this. For now Archangel kept her silence and continued to search. Hopefully they could run into the remains of those stationed here. With any luck she'd get to run into one of the Tank Dogs so she could get a closer look herself.

[GranoxFirewind]

Devon had gone silent when Lucy had told him of the bodies, and the survivors. Unlike the rest of his squad, he seemed to be the only one who truly cared about the fates of the recruits. The rest seemed to think of them as just bodies, less than human. He could understand it though, the squad would fall apart if everyone was lunging at each others throats. Even he understood that enough to stop bickering for the moment, though it was far more than simple bickering. He disagreed with her very creed, and nothing she could say would convince him that it was necessary to kill recruits by the dozens.

Dinner was quickly over, and Devon trudged out into the blizzard once more. Alone, like before, he found the bodies that had been left out to freeze. Six corpses, just as she had said, and one survivor. He'd managed to find shelter under a fallen log, though ten minutes more, and the lad would've frozen to death. As it was, with the level of medical equipment at their disposal, he'd survive, with a few days rest. He injected the man with a stimpack, glad to have a few on him. Rule number one of being a medic; always carry medical supplies. He personally carried him, and the other six, back to base, trudging through snows and biting cold. He had to inject himself with a stimpack, as well as some of his stimulants, to be capable of doing the job, but no matter, it was done. He'd be sure to ask the survivor what Lucy put them through. Someone had to stop her.

Afterwards, he began to work on his toxins, putting the finishing touches on his latest. Corrosive, it wasn't necessarily a poison, but rather, an acid. Well, an acid when exposed to oxygen, otherwise it'd melt through the containment of each round he intended to put it in. A few tests were run, mostly putting it up against samples of body armor. Three rounds worth would eat through a suit of normal combat armor fairly easily, while an entire clip would weaken even power armor. A useful thing against heavily armored opponents, who he had no other way of dealing with. The acid was carefully loaded into rounds, five in total, ready to be used, with the supplies always present to make more. It was time for some field testing, as soon as their next mission came.

---

Waking up, he trudged out to the cafeteria, managing to force a quick breakfast of six eggs, multiple sausage patties, three biscuits, and fried potatoes, all of it cut apart or ripped up, and tossed into a bowl, smothered in thick white gravy, and devoured. For a soldier who spent most of his day training vigorously, protein like that was needed, afterall. Alongside that was a tall glass of sweet tea, a luxury to help wake him up in the morning. Like most, he was aided by caffeine to get started in the morning, and preferred it in the form of tea than coffee, enjoying the sweetness of the drink.

After the meal, he was called to the briefing room, and there was hardly the ability to resist such an order if he wished. Reporting in, he sat down to hear the mission, a trip to Alaska to investigate three days of radio silence, and the missing scouts. A routine enough thing he assumed, but then again, two hundred soldiers no longer making contact was a worrying thing. He supposed that's why they were being sent.

---

Touching down on the ground, Venom listened for his orders. On the trip he'd made small talk with Tristain, nothing major, just something to keep him occupied, before finally resorting to counting out bullets in his clips, checking medical supplies, doing last minute checks on his power armor, and ensuring all of his stimulant injectors were in place. The needles were slightly uncomfortable at first, until his body adapted to them, and it'd actually be the first time he'd be on a mission wearing the power armor.

The orders were simple, for him atleast. Look for signs of, well, anything, with Whisper. He walked down the trench, investigating it. He didn't get far, before the call came in on the coms. 'Contact, contact. Large steel armored bipedal beast. Very very tough. Two rounds with Gauss rifle, finished with a plasma round through the severe dent on the head. Think we found out what happened to the soldiers here.' Of course, it had to be armored. Something he'd be incapable of dealing with, considering his loadout. All ballistics, too low of a caliber to deal with a robotic foe like that. Atleast there was the weakness in the joints. Hopefully, his newest acid shots would be capable of dealing with them. Hopefully. He didn't have many, so the ammo would have to be conserved, as he started to move forward again.

[Pyro V]

The night went by quietly, at least for Alexander. The others, they got loud and proud with the help of alcohol, but the big man left the moment whiskey and beer began to flow. He wasn't a peaceful drunk, and he didn't feel like hurting one of them if his temper got out of control. Or them hurting him, for that matter. Nor did he trust what he might yell out in a drunken fit. And, on top of all of that, he still didn't really like them. He was not their friend, nor were they his. He trusted them all with his life, bar perhaps one or two, but he wouldn't be able to call any a friend.

He woke early in the morning, and eased out while the others were still in their liquor induced comas. He entered the training room, took off his shirt, and began to beat on one of the punching bags. Light jabs, a few harder punches, but nothing serious. Testing out the new arm. Wouldn't ever be able to call it his arm again, not for a while at least. Might be the same, just with some added wires and metal, but it may as well been a foreign object on his arm.

This kept up for an hour, at least, when a man came in looking for him. He was called to the briefing room for a mission that had just come up. Alexander merely grunted, through one last, hard, punch at the bag. There was a ripping sound, then the screech of metal as the thin chains that held it up snapped. He doubled back, and the bag fell on the floor, leaking sand like blood. His eyes turned down to his bloody knuckles. He hadn't expected too much more strength out of his upgrades, but this was more than he had asked for. Would have to get the other arm upgraded to even it out. He hated relying on just one arm, especially in a fight.

When he entered the briefing room, just moments after the others had arrived, he was topless, shoeless, and covered in sweat. He kept his arms crossed over his chest, and merely stared evenly at the base commander while they were given orders. Once that was completed, he headed out in front of the others to go prepare his equipment.

---

The Bear remained silent in the vertibird, carefully running a rag up and down the side of his gatling laser. A habit he'd formed, polishing it before use. His black armor had a few new splashes of white across it, in a sort of camouflage pattern. The black would still give him away, but he liked it. He'd be impossible to hide from enemies, just how he liked it.

Thunder remained quiet as well, keeping a respectful tone any time he was required to speak. And even then, he only spoke to Andrew. The others might had well not existed, for all he acknowledged them. When the virtibird landed, Bear was the last off and Lucius was quick to take the plane elsewhere. Bear went off as Lucy, as he was ordered to, keeping just behind her, weapon out and level. The tiny camera on the side of the his helmet recorded every sight and sound around him. Just as Dimitri liked.

When Archangel ordered him to stop, something in side of him twisted in annoyance. Possibly anger. Rather than listen like a sensible person might, he took a few extra steps forward down the tunnel, then paused and listened in on the after battle report. Before he could say anything, Thunder chimed in with that metallic voice of his, saying, “If it is possible, try not to destroy them too much. I'm sure the Professor would love to get his hands on some in tact robots.” Bear merely grunted over the comm, then continued on, this time a few steps ahead of Archangel.

His trigger finger itched. There was something definitely wrong here, but he couldn't place his finger on what it was. He would simply have to wait and see what became of this mess.