"UCAC: United Cybernetic Air Core" - Chapter 7 (Mid Series FInale)

It was all silent on the ship. Everyone sat still, the wait being incredibly ominous. None of us felt this type of daunting pressure since day one surgery, when we strapped to restraining beds and machines carved into our minds, implanting crucial cybernetic brain implants. Why was it all so tense? We were all about to take our graduation test and like all graduation tests in the UCAC, it was going to be brutal! The worst part about it, none of us knew how far this test would stray from the criterion.

“So,” Chase began, feeling the need to cut through the tension, “Tell us about the UCAC sect in Scandinavia.” The boy sat across from me with a smile, the two of us finally becoming friends after fighting so much! Hell, we were two boys and equally as immature… We were supposed to fight like brothers…

“I don’t know. It wasn’t very organized! It’s not like this place at all, with rules and shit that people had to abide by. We could get away with a lot, back home and the main reason was because we had more jobs than just being Wingsuit pilots. We were cooks, mechanics, scientists, strategists, all while having to be Cyber Wingers… As a result, many times we had to suck up our hard feelings and get the job done and resources were ALWAYS limited. Yet somehow, strings were pulled and miracles were forced out of our assholes.” I explained.

“Damn, that sounds tough…” Coop responded.

“Yeah but, it was like that from the time we got in. We were used to it.” I laughed.

“The Long Wingers often got it the worst. They are the oldest team, the team with the most experience, the most trusted team… just the all around go to team.” Malcolm said.

“Yeah we had a lot of drama on our team. A LOT! Were a damaged lot… I had trust issues and budding PTSD, our Second wing had very deep rooted issues and was a sociopath, our lead pursuiter was plain stupid, one of my closest friends died and one of my other friends was living a lie for fear of disapproval. I was trying to bridge all of it together and cracked under the pressure. It was a lot to bear, and it all ended up placed on my shoulders and I wasn’t much of a leader. I wanted nothing to do with leading, only caring about myself. Things happened, things I’m not proud of but I wouldn’t change for the glory of me, and I had to leave… It was abrupt… it was heartbreaking! Everything I knew got ripped apart… but it was all worth it. When I go back, I’m going to change so much...better so much. I’m just excited to see old faces again.” I smiled.

“Damn dude…” Chase said shocked.

“People died left and right in the Scandinavica sect. Since it wasn’t many of us there, we often got attached to a teammate...very attached. You should count yourselves lucky. You all have a big, organized operation with plenty of men to spare! We didn’t… We had to do the jobs for ten men...each one of us!” Malcolm said before turning to me, “I can’t believe you wanna go back to that.”

“I don’t know...feels like family is there. If it wasn’t for this place I wouldn’t be able to put my past behind me or hold it off or what ever the hell I’m doing with it.” I laughed.

“Wait,” Malcolm said thinking hard, “I remember you said the greenhouses were dangerous but didn’t know why! You said Doc Helm told you, right?”

“Doc Helm told me a lot of stuff, stuff he wasn’t at liberty to say. If Captain Wallace was like my dad, Doc Helm was like my great uncle. He looked out for me the best he could without it being a detriment to himself. I’m sure he has a valid reason why he couldn’t detail the greenhouse to us.” I said, truly confident in the matter. But I still had my ounces of doubt lurking in the back of my mind.

“Just telling us it was dangerous but not specifying why was no different from leading us in blind which is what basically happened.” Malcolm responded, truly suspicious of Doctor Helm.

“Doc Helm modded my suit just in time for this mission. He may have said very little but because of what he did, he saved all of our lives that day. Like I said, a lot of strings are pulled and a lot of times we got to suck it up and trudge through the water. Though I regret that day, how it ended, what I did… Doc Helm is the real hero there.” I sighed. Malcolm nodded, now seeing the full picture.

“Yeah, why would you wanna go back?” Coop asked, being very stuck on that.

“I don’t know… I kind of want closure because I left with so many doors opened. Every night I got to sleep, I keep thinking about my old team...even the idiots… But still, they were my team and I wouldn’t trade them for anything. And to think I’m coming over here, facing the most brutal training of my life only to get a new team and not lead the team I left behind… Eh. It’s just a lot to swim around in my head. I’d much rather have it the way it was when we were able to function remotely well as a team… than to deal with an entirely new set of wingsuit pilots whose real and codenames I’ll have to learn, whose purposes I’ll have to study and who I’ll have to make feel they have a sense of belonging. Like if I could bring my old team here, it’d be a world of difference...it wouldn’t be so daunting.” I said, truly torn.

“Ok, I get ya.” Coop smiled.

“God, I just hate having to learn all these aliases…” I sighed.

“I can tell.” Coop laughed.

“So it sounds like you leaving was a mistake.” Chase noted.

“It kind of was. It started when,” I said, realising how not talking about it for three months did nothing to erase the pain, “We had this mission in Southwestern England. We had to go retrieve a computer called a Mallet and we thought it’d be simple enough. It wasn’t… Giant killer plants inhabited the facility we were in and eventually, one of our men got killed. His name was Liam, someone I was sworn to protect. He got snatched right from under us and chewed to death by a giant...plant. A fucking flower with teeth took him out and it was shit I could do about it. I watched him scream out and call for me but I couldn’t do anything to help. So after the mission, which after that point...was kind of a blur, I reviewed the footage of the incident and Jarvis, the Second Wing, saw the entire incident unfold twenty whole seconds before we were attacked. It wasn’t the first time he let this happen. He got our old Second Wing, chance, shot to bits by simply not opening his mouth. He saw the gunners, the first to see them but all he did was back away as they took sights at Chance. After that, I promised Jarvis that if another person got hurt and it was his fault, that I’d kill him. When Liam got hurt, I came after Jarvis hard. I failed the first time but got his ass good the second time! I didn’t kill him though, I was dragged away before I could. It was then my superiors pulled a big cover up, told everyone I was going to Talc Asylum for PTSD when in actuality I was on my way to America. I did manage to tell my team to stay together no matter what, but still it felt like I was leaving behind the very people who needed me. All and All, General Aquil was pulling strings within strings. The man had so much stacked against him with the UCNC and their corrupt leader but he did me a big favor...getting me out of that toxic environment. I would have ended up hurting myself or someone else. I can’t thank him enough.”

“Yeah, General Aquil was a great man. He was involved with any and everything, knew everyone better than they knew themselves and just had a way of getting things done in that shitheep that would make the proudest general here look like shit…” Malcolm said.

“Wow, wait, so Jarvis was your superior… you attacked him, knowing the consequences. But General Aquil covered it all up and simply sent you away with no retribution… I like this man!” Shinny chimed in.

“I mean, my best friend had died! I felt like I had nothing to live for! I mean it was like ten minutes of questioning my purpose in life and feeling like a failure, the ultimate failure but I bounced back.” I laughed before getting serious, “And it wasn’t simply for Liam’s death. I beat Jarvis for hurting every man on the team. He...nevermind.” I stopped myself, not wanting to talk about how he tried to plunder deep inside me. I clenched my eyes, holding back the rage filled tears that wanted to cascade out. Malcolm looked at me intently, sensing my rage. He placed a hand on my knee biting his inner lip.

“Damn dude...didn’t mean to dig too deep.” Shinny said, feeling bad.

“It’s fine.” I said, “I haven’t dealt with any of this yet… I had to leave as soon as it got to it’s worst.”

“Well, where’d you grow up?” Chase asked, trying to soften the conversation. I smiled.

“If you really wanna see me lose my head, talk about my childhood. It was the most fucked up thing you’ll ever have to listen to!” I laughed, still my eyes watering.

“Oh sorry dude.” Chase said, feeling remorse for intruding. It put so much into perspective for him, why I was such a hard ole’ ass to be around.

“One day, I’ll have the balls enough to talk about it,” I smiled, “But I had to do some things a kid never should have to do… I had to survive, man!”

“Oh god…” Chase said, shocked. Even silent Dallas’s eyebrows were raised.

“My life was easy… I came from a settlement in the Potato Lands.” Jonathan chimed in, laughing.

“Also,” Chase said, “You don’t really have to know our personal names. Here Aliases are what you go by both officially and none officially…”

“Really?” I asked, “That takes the pain out of my ass.” Everyone laughed.

“So let’s get to the nitty gritty…” Malcolm said.

“Yeah, that just reminded me,” Jonathan said, looking at both Malcolm and I, “When are you two getting married?” He was the one always curious about our relationship. He was a pretty cool dude.

Malcolm and I looked at each other blushing.

“We would if we could but our duties placed us thousands of miles apart.” I sighed.

“And that’s reason enough for it not to work just because you all won’t see each other every day?” Jonathan asked, not like the way this sounded. Malcolm and I looked at each other, never thinking of it that way. His hand crept up to grab mine.

“I still haven’t learned the scope of my jurisdiction range yet. Who knows, maybe my entire team will encompass the arctic which would really make it much easier for us to be together.” Malcolm suggested.

“God, that’d be awesome.” I said truly wishing this was the case.

“You two should kiss now.” Jonathan said, teasingly but creeping everyone else out.

“NO!!!!” Chase quickly refuted.

“Please don’t…” Dallas begged, cringing.  It made Malcolm and I laugh.

“But seriously,” Malcolm began, “We’re about two hours away from our final mission… the only thing we’ve been told is that it’s a crab scorpion. Do any of you know what that is?”

Everyone sitting in the cargo bay shrugged, not knowing what they’d be facing...all except Dallas.

“There’s a crab scorpion on the mainland near where my home settlement is.” Dallas said.

“Well, describe it!” Malcolm said.

“I just know it’s one of the last titan class mechs. It’s as tall as the trees and heavily armored. We’ve tried bombing that thing and it just walks away. Also that tail is like sixty percent of its entire length and very reflexive. Plus, even though it’s different for each crab scorpion, it has a high density pulse beam as well as a skewer. It is no joke!” Dallas explained.

“So it’s too heavily armored to attack directly, it can shoot us out the sky and it can skewer us if we get to close.” I noted, thinking hard.

“Do you know any weak points?” Coop asked.

“The only thing I can think of are those retractile optical sensors. They are armored too and I don’t think they are linked to the sights on it’s tail.” Dallas responded, thinking hard.

“Really?” I said, intrigued, “What about it’s legs?”

“They are like metal tree trunks. You’ll hurt yourself going after them.” Dallas said back.

“Well boys, it looks like this final challenge… is well thought out.” I said, ready to face it.

“So, what do you have planned?” Chance asked.

“We’re going to scan the mech to get details on it’s schematics and work from there. We might not be able to destroy it, but we definitely can disable it.” I said.

“Well, that’s better than what I got.” Chance laughed. He’d usually just wing it on these missions and hope for the best. I didn’t blame him. He wasn’t much of a strategist anyways.

It came time to suit up. This time, the Aliases would stick with us, something I long wished for. We launched, entering the hot, muggy, southern air. We ascended up on a thermal, rising thousands and thousands of feet.

“Ok,” I began, “Swainson, Hen and I will locate and scan this mech. We will send you the details as soon as they render.”

“Alright.” Snow, and Bat responded, Chance being Bat.

Swainson lead the three of us over the swamps, knowing them well. He lead us right to the crab scorpion mech which sat, preening it’s long arms, thousands of feet below us. It was oblivious to our presence.

“Wow…” I said, “That thing is huge.” The machine suddenly became alert. It had radios… This thing was definitely built to sniff out humans. It looked around on ground level, not knowing the threat was above it’s head.

“I didn’t know that thing had radios…” Swainson said, startled.

“I’m getting in closer for a scan.” I said.

“Bare careful.” Hen, Jonathan, responded. He was that sole harrier wingsuit pilot, the ultimate Reconnaissance Winger.

I slowly circled above the crab scorpion, getting thorough scans. Swainson and Hen pieced together the scans into something cohesive. It was a massive, three dimensional render of the mech. Our database cross-referenced it and found a detail sheet about this type of mech. The render highlighted all the key points, knowing we wanted to take this mech down.

Ascending back up, I joined Swainson and Hen who circled above. We rejoined the rest of the trainees, miles out. The renders were sending as we flew back.

“So what’s the plan?” Bat asked.

“Swainson was right. There are more sensory equipment than just optics. There’s a radio receiver, and a strange light detection system on the tail itself. That light detection system is the very first thing that needs to be taken out. Shinny, Coop, can you cloak?” I asked.

“Yeah.” They responded.

“OK, I’m going to take out both the light detection system and the pulse beam. One of you will cloak and target the optics. You’ll only have one shot or this thing will be on to us.” I said.

“Then what?” Bat asked.

“We try to cut at this thing. It’s ranged weapons will be disabled so it can’t shoot us down. However, even the legs are heavily armored. The weak point for the legs are these exposed hydrocarbon cuticle joints right where the mantle armor meets the legs. It’s on the underside. It’d take a very nimble flying Wingsuit pilot to target those.” I said.

“I’ll do it.” Shinny said.

“Very well,” I responded, “I’m up!”

I tucked in my wings, entering a screeching dive. The dual pulse beams were steadily charging as my HUD locked onto the target. The Ultra Spectrum array Doc Helm outfitted on this suit proved it’s worth by normalizing the high contrast lighting under the canopy. With the target selected, I fired a concentrated laser pulse. The amount of energy the suit was outputting was heat inducing. With this very powerful stream of light rather than a quick pulse, I seared right through the tail of the crab scorpion, slicing off not only it’s skewer but it’s pulse beam and spectrum array system.

I ascended up from my dive.

“Scouts, do your thing…” I said.

“Okay…” Shinny and Coop said together. They flew nimbly through the forest, weaving between trees like the oversized hawks they were built after. They watched the mech silently through the overlapped spectrum feeds, edging closer and closer.

The machine sensed it was under attack but couldn’t sense from where. It spun around trying to get a bead on an attacker. Shinny and Coop sped closer and closer, the machine not sensing them until it was too late. Both scouts clenched down on the sensitive optical lobes of the mech with powerful talons. The mech was now blind. The scouts got out of dodge, not wanting to see what a bling mech could do. They rose back up with the rest of the wingsuit pilots.

“Now it can’t sense at all what’s attacking! Hammer it with everything you have! We need to get some of the internal electronics exposed…” I said.

“You sure that’s a good idea?” Bat asked.

“Hen…” I began, “Do you have EMPs…. hell does anyone have EMPs?”

“I can make a makeshift one… I’ll need the tail though.” Hen responded.

“Okay, Swainson… What is the area of armor with the highest tensile strength.” I asked.   

“According to the schematic,” Swainson said, reviewing the scans, “It’s where the the armor forms a crease on the center of the mech’s back! Why?”

“Everyone!” I said, marking the coordinates on the map, “Bomb this point with quills! Don’t time them to explode though...”

I pulled in my wings, entering an insane dive. The mech spun around, still trying to figure out what was attacking it. The only thing it had now was short ranged radar which was not very reliable. I screeched by, flicking the suit with a powerful roll. Dozens of explosives quills launched, embedding into the spine of the mech.

Wingsuit pilot after wingsuit pilot came down releasing more and more quills. The mech could feel the quills penetrate its body. It whirred out, spinning around wildly trying to locate its attackers the best way it could. It stood over the tail fragment Hen needed to get to, making it impossible for the young pilot to get to the ground.

“Hen!” I said.

“I can’t get in…” He said, circling around frantically.

“I got it!” Shinny said, landing directly in front of the machine. Its radar picked right up on him. It charged forth on those eight massive legs, crushing all in its path, “Shit!!!!” Shinny ran on those stilts making sure to keep distance between himself and the monstrous mech.

“SHINNY!!!!!” Coop called out, unsure what the boy had gotten himself into.

“Hen you better get in there!” Shinny said, fleeing the pursuing mech.

“Wait hang on, Shinny!” Coop said trying to get a bead on his partner. All on Coop’s sensors was the mech blazing through the forest, uprooting trees as it went. Little Shinny was obscured by the rubble.

“I’m alright Coop!” Shinny panted.

Coop landed too, rushing to his friend’s defense. He lept onto the mech, sending a powerful jolt of electricity through the machine. Its system locked up, causing the mech to fall. As it did, Coop took to the air. The mech landed on its back, the numerous quill embedded into the armor exploding. The nimble pilot barely was able to dodge the blast.

Despite the wide radius of the explosion, the mech was relatively unscathed. However, it was flipped onto its back exposing the less reinforced underbelly.

“Everyone bomb it now!” I said.

“Its not going to work…” Swainson said.

“Still we need to keep heat on that thing!” I responded, watching Hen land beside the tail. I swooped down beside him. Snow was right behind me, “No, you keep the heat on the mech! Keep it away from us!!!”

“Okay!!!” He said, circling around to the mech.

Every single wingsuit pilot made a bombing run on the exposed underside of the mech. Still though, very little damage seemed to be done.

“Do not relent!” I said.

“Elanid!!!!” Hen said. I turned to him, the boy struggling to move the tail, “I have an idea…”

“And the idea is?” I asked, helping him reposition the tail.

“Just bring the mech back over here!” Hen responded. It truly had me baffled as to why but Hen was incredibly smart.

“Okay, but the mech is immobilized…” I said, not quite sure what he had planned.

“It won’t be for long!” Hen responded, hacking into the tail with his helm.

Suddenly the mech whirred out, kicking its ten legs wildly. A bombing pilot was struck, knocked clean to the ground!

“Rusty!” Bat called out but he couldn’t land to aid his friend. The mech got to its feet, sprinting madly back over to the tail. The fastly approaching machine was the most terrifying thing I’ve ever seen!

“SHIT WHAT DID YOU DO?” I asked Hen, the boy steadily hacking.

“Elanid, Hen!!!! Get out of there!!!!” Snow said, swooping in. He dropped his entire incendiary payload on the mech’s legs, destroying several. The angry mech did nothing but jettison the damaged legs, continuing to sprint forth like it didn’t even happen!

“Hen we got to go!” I said as the mech came closer and closer.

“Just one more second!” He said, holding up the pulse beam of the tail.

A massive beam of light fired from the tail. It shot right through the mech’s hull! All core electronics within the mech was destroyed. The mech dropped down, tumbling to a halt right before my feet. I looked back at Hen who was steadily squatting on the ground with the mech’s severed tail on his lap.

“You FUCKING mad genius!!!” Laughed.

“I can’t believe this…” Swainson said, surprised by how easily the mech was taken out.

“Guys!!!” Bat said. We all rushed over to Rusty who was getting to his feet.

“I’m alright!” The gyrfalcon based pilot said. A considerable amount of his armor was knocked off but it was better he was alive.

“Man, if Elanid hadn’t severed that tail…” Swainson laughed as he swooped in.

“It was Hen’s quick thinking!” I smiled.

“But it was all your teamwork!” Drill sergeant said as his ship came in for a forest landing, “You boys, get to the ship, disarm and get ready for graduation!!! You are all our elite!!”

All of us cheered, rushing back to the ship. The past three months were some of the toughest of our lives but we made it! The week after was a drastic change in pace. No more nearly impossible challenges to face, no more grueling training apart from the twenty mile jogs and core activities… We were rehearsing for our graduation!

When it finally came, not a single trainee didn’t shed a tear. Each one of us walked across that stage proud, feeling like we accomplished a wonderful feat! Indeed we did! We took our diplomas, standing on the stage with chests puffed out. Filling the stands were many of the task force, all flown in from far and wide to witness this rare occasion.

“This day!” The drill sergeant said into the microphone, “Is one of the most momentous days in all of UCAC history! Never have we ever had a turnout rate as high as fifty percent for Captain trials! This day will go down in history as a grand milestone and a raise in the standards of the UCAC. Each on of these fifteen will be our elites, our leaders! They will take charge in the war against tyranny and lead to a righteous future! My trainees hold up your hands!”

We did so as supreme general walked on stage. All hearts pounded as we began the swearing in. It was the most beautiful moment of my life, the first time I was genuinely happy finishing completing something. The swearing in concluded and we all received our badges. We were now Captains of the United Cybernetic Air Core.

This all felt like a dream, like this couldn’t be happening? Was something actually going perfect in my life? No… I wasn’t used to this. The entire ceremony was me sitting and smiling uncontrollably, too damn happy! I had met my new team, a staggering twenty five wingsuit pilots, all under my authority! Like… twenty five lives were trusted in my hands? Still though, I couldn’t be worried or upset. It was Malcolm’s fault, the boy sitting next to me at the pre-banquet. The big tall bloke could just rob you of your misery with nothing more than a gleam from his eye.

“Denver!” A familiar voice called out. I turned, ecstatic to see General Aquil and Captain Wallace in person. I saluted them, Captain Wallace looking on lost. General Aquil gave him a disappointed look.

“Well, Wallace, he’s right!” General Aquil chuckled.

“Oh…” Captain Wallace said, having a temporary malfunction.

“Denver, meet your new General!” General Aquil said, pointing to Captain Wallace.

“Woah, what???” I asked, truly staggered by the news.

“We have a lot to catch up on! A lot!” General Aquil said.

“Okay…” I said, unsure what to make of all of this.

“Malcolm!” General Aquil called out!

We all made it to the suite we’d be at for the next few days until the ship date. It was time for some serious discussion. General Aquil prowled around the table, obviously having a lot on his mind.

“There was no reason,” He began, “The UCNC couldn’t have taken the Spain Botana mission… They knew the Eastern UCAC Sect was just getting off the ground yet still forced us to do things we did not have the men for… As a result, I disbanded the Eastern UCAC…”
“What why?” I asked, horrified.

“Because, we need a force… a force to be reckoned with!!! It’ll start with your return in the next three months. Oh, this sounds like bad news, doesn’t it? It’s not! After the Spain Botana mission, I had a very, very important meeting and made it clear that the UCAC couldn’t function the way it was functioning and the the UCNC was under corrupt leadership! So, another miracle was pulled out of my ass and now I’m the Interim Official of both the Eurasian UCAC sect and UCNC!!!! The UCNC are now covering where the UCAC once was and I’m going back to rebuild the UCAC with the American structure.”

“That is wonderful…” I said.

“I should also update you on your team.” General Wallace said.

“You mean…” I asked unsure.

“Your team back home,” He smiled, “Marcell and Milan are doing great. They have new Wingers to train and look after so they’re busy. Jarvis is on leave, going through therapy to deal with his past. We’re still trying to figure out if he’s suitable for the force. I don’t think so but he laid a lot on the table and it just turned… Anyways, Everette… kind of had a bit of a turn around! He’s been looking out for himself lately and less dependent on other’s approval. He and I had a long, long talk… And Liam…”
“What…” I asked.

“He’s alive and kicking…” General Wallace smiled.

“WHAT?????” I screamed, “How?”

“Everette wanted to give you something.” General Wallace said, handing me a video log.

“Wait…” I said having to gather my thoughts, “How…? I literally saw him die!”

“You literally saw his suit induce torpor, solder his wounds and cocoon him before releasing a distress beacon.” General Wallace chuckled.

“So my little buddy is still kicking it?” I asked.

“Yeah but he got really depressed when he learned you were gone… I mean damn destructive! I didn’t know that boy had that might fire!” General Wallace said, shaking his head.

“Lawd, the poor kid! Like, how is he! Is he flying again?” I asked.

“No, I won’t let him.” General Wallace responded.

“Wow…” I said this being so hard to believe, “And why did Everette give me this video log?”

“Let’s just say he’s your biggest fan, now.” General Wallace said, wanting to see my reaction.

“...Interesting…” I said, stroking my chin.

“Of course, I told him that the team should keep you lifted up while you’re going through Psych… He’s been the most dedicated followed by Marcell. Milan and Liam I think are too heart broken.” He smiled.

“Awe…” I said, the story pulling on my heart.

“So you’re ready for this mission next week?” IO Aquil asked.

“I mean...sure? It just seems like I’m going to be asking more questions than anything!” I smiled.

“Yeah, I’m halfway tempted to tell you how to do your job but the fact that you’re a Captain now proves I don’t have too.” General Wallace laughed.

“So how was it all?” IO asked.

“So much has changed while I’m still trying to be the same ole’ Denver… I mean I feel like I’ve come a long way in three short months but… I don’t know. It feels like my entire world has changed while I’ve only had a minor change for the better! Still feel like that rock headed kid you two used to have to beat up…” I smiled.

“And you still are!” General Wallace teased.

“Dr. Helm has come across information that the Ravagers and Revivalists are unified in West. Considering they have completely different agendas, it strikes us as odd but not impossible. The Deserts to the west are the least populated by UCAC forces and would be the region they would group to! Not to mention, Dr. Helm hasn’t been wrong before! I’m thinking it may be a race to get to this Tanzanir boy and we are terribly behind. We don’t know if he holds all his father’s secrets but his cybernetic brain implant is for more advanced than any other humans! Dr. Aheem said that himself! The Revivalists do have quite a technology presence and if they get a hold of him, it could spell doom for us!” IO said.

“So this is a race against time?” I asked, excited by the news.

“Yes… and considering how hands on you are, I’d recommend that you keep a low profile in the Jeurridam region with the suits! The locals do not like mechs!” He advised.

“And what will I be doing?” Malcolm asked.

“I was getting to you…” IO laughed, “You will be the spearhead to the first arctic team, built for low light, subzero climates. You’re going to start off in the Bering Strait, taking care of pirates who go after Gold Dredgers. You’re also are going to protect the local industries from raiders and local gangs which are becoming thick in the region. We can’t quite get a UCNC vessel up there just yet but one will arrive in the coming month so you won’t be out there on your own. They are known as the Seal team, filled with ex swimmers from around the globe. Together, your teams will hold down the the Alaskan coast and eventually spread to the Arctic when your forces get big enough. The first six months will be a bit of a pinch but within the year, both your forces will be strong enough to spread across the entire arctic. You may just be the fastest growing teams.”

“I’m still working on a criterion for a stealth team, like… what should be the physical requirements and training vigors.” General Wallace said, “Just expect a similar operation to Eurasia for a good while.”

“I’m fine with that.” Malcolm laughed, “That’s home anyways…”

“I want you…” IO said walking to the door, “To meet the Captain of the Seals.” He opened the door, a very tall man standing at salute.

“At ease, Captain.” IO said, “Come meet your new partner in crime… Malcolm!” Malcolm got up, walking to the center of the suite. He shook hands with the Seal Captain.

“Nice to meet you!” Malcolm said, looking at his name badge. The Seal Captain’s name was Hayden M. Guitierra.

“Nice to meet you as well.” He smiled. Hayden stood about six foot four, was well muscled and had some glazed skin. His black hair was cut very low. He had an incredibly chiseled face, with a thin nose, full lips and quite the stunning green eyes. He was covered in Polynesian tattoos, obviously a delinquent turned military deligator.

He was so my type… just looking like a complete and utter badass! IO, Malcolm and Hayden began talking about the plans for the arctic. I couldn’t help but stare. General Wallace bumped me on the shoulder.

“Kid…” He teased, “It’s rude to stare.”

“What?” I asked, snapped from my daze. General simply laughed.

“You had a moment.” General Wallace said. I clenched my head, staring at the table.

“That will not happened again…” I said, trying not to laugh at myself.

“You know Raul…”

“Oh my God, why would you mention him?” I interrupted.

“...Asked about you…” General Wallace finished. I just stared at him blankly, not truly caring.

“And?” I asked with a shrug.

“And? You two were perfect for each other! Right after you left he asked where were they taking you and I told them to Talc Asylum and...he...broke…”
“I don’t want to hear it!” I said shaking my head.

“That boy is hurting for you!”

“Let...him...hurt!” I said, not caring.

“Wow, Denver.” General said, truly surprised.

“He’ll get over it… just like I had too. He still has Ghost or what ever that boy’s name!!” I sighed.

“No, not after Ghost seen tears for you… They um… I had to reassign Ghost after that one. Raul’s blaming himself for your departure.” General said.

“Oh my God why? Is he stupid?” I asked.

“He feels like he wasn’t there when you needed him and he could have kept you from snapping the way you did. I tried telling him some things are meant to happen!” General sighed. A sickening smile came across my face.

“No, I promised Jarvis that I would fuck him up… it was written in stone! It would have happened regardless.” I laughed.

“Yeah you’re still all kinds of wicked…” General sighed, relaxing in his seat.

“That’s how God made me.” I said, prying for a reaction.

“God made a lot of things,” General began, “But if he made you wicked and you do what you do like that… man… there must be something I’m missing.”

“Nah! Wicked is just the new kind of driven.” I responded.

“Also… play nice with your new grunts…” General advised.

“I will!” I said to reassure him. He looked at me skeptically.

“I know damn well you’re gonna give those kids hell!” General responded, shaking his head.

“Wait… What’s your definition of hell? I think my definition of normal is your definition of hell!” I said. The General just looked at me before chuckling.

“You are something else…” He laughed.

“I know…” I said sounding a bit cocky before remembering something, “Wait, speaking of wicked, you’re not so high and holy and up in the air yourself! You know what you did!”

“Wait what did I do?” General asked.

“What the hell happened to Merlin?” I demanded.

“He went to a new recruit for the Eurasian Sector.” General responded.

“And you couldn’t give the new recruit Elanid?” I asked, truly missing Merlin.

“What’s wrong with Elanid?” General asked.

“Nothing, it’s just that Merlin and I were like conjoined twins and you just chopped us in half and blood and guts are everywhere!!!! Now I have to form this botched, Frankenstein relationship with Elanid and… it feels… so… different!” I elaborated. The General looked at me, upset with my unnecessary description of the suit.

“Well Elanid is better in every way than Merlin! Be thankful for the new suit!” General said, punching me.

“I promise you I am! Elanid is awesome…! Trouble just doesn’t feel the same in something so white and regal.” I laughed.

“Come one! Find your favorite thing about Elanid! I know there’s something you got to love about him!” General prodded. I thought long and hard.
“He’s… The suit just cuts through the air! I thought Merlin did but no, this thing is like a hot knife through air! And it can turn on a pin head! Also, the dual pulse is… let’s just say I like it much better than the quills. The quills are stupid!!!! Also, the detaching and reattaching scutes… Okay, that is my favorite part!! The scutes are just utterly unreal!!” I said. A proud smile came across General Wallace’s face.

“I designed Elanid and Snow!” General said. Shock spread across my face.

“WHAT?????” I asked.

“Yeah… Um, it was exhausting! I kind of knew there was a chance you would hate it but I knew you’d need it… and that I’d beat your ass if you talk shit about it…” He said.

“Wow… so those launchable scutes?” I asked, just stuck on the matter.

“The late Dr. Aheem’s designs, some of his more fancy stuff! There’s a big gap in his blue prints like a big chunk missing and no one knows where it went… We’re betting that where ever his son is, he has all the missing pieces… Anyways, I just used my imagination, thought about the suit’s already amazing gravity countermeasures and made a small nano-conduit for each scute. Again the nano-conduits were a design that Dr. Aheem spearheaded but led him to a dead end. It kind of was like the base circuitry for many new things he wanted to work on but didn’t, the most successful being the liquid flesh in the suits. I had most of the flight hardware. Dr. Helm built the new interface and supercharged the weapons.”

“That’s awesome…” I laughed before getting serious, “So when am I going to meet the new Merlin?”

“Soon, perhaps…” General responded.   

It wasn’t long before IO, General Wallace and Captain Hayden had left. Malcolm closed the door after them sighing.

“That was intense…” He said, locking the door.

“I really don’t want to go to this dinner.” I laughed.

“Why?” He said, turning to me. He was surprised to see me standing there with nothing but silk and lace undergarments on.

“I just don’t…” I said, taking steps forward.

“Where in the hell did you…” He asked. I pointed to my trunk sitting at the head of the bed.

“There’s quite a bit of surprises in that trunk.” I smiled, stepping forth. Nervousness spread across his face, “You didn’t forget, did you?”

“No...not at all!” He said, “But this dinner we can’t blow off!”

“HRAAGH! Fine…” I growled, going back to put on my clothes. Malcolm laughed, coming over to me.

“Someone’s happy…” He said, wrapping his arms around me. He kissed me on the neck, further frustrating me.

“Boy,” I said, fighting off the boner deep below, “Back off! I may be a foot shorter than you, a hundred pounds lighter than you, but don’t underestimate my raping abilities!”

“Wow!” He laughed, “I promise, when we get back up these stairs…”

“Ooou the stairwell…” I said fantasizing about kinky sex in the towering stall of the hotel stairs.

“Really Denver?” He asked, far too entertained with my antics.

“Shit, bruh… Hell, I wonder can we have sex on the wing…” I said, buttoning up my shirt.

“How the hell?” He tried to figure out, “Okay, not even gonna lie, I would try it to simply see if it’s possible!”

“I don’t think it is…” I responded, tucking in my shirt. Malcolm watched with a delighted grin.

“You’re so damn adorable!” He said, standing there like a parent over a child.

Slowly, I turned to him, giving him a menacing look.

“I… Am… a T-Rex… Nothing adorable about me!” I said feistily.

“More like a cute little dromy…” He teased.

“Well… yeah!” I laughed, “Ooooou, I think my spirit animal is a deinonychus!”

“I can seriously believe that Mr. Terrible Claw.” He laughed.

“And everyone must bow to that claw…” I said putting on my sunglasses.

“We’re off?” Malcolm asked.

“No…” I said looking around, “Where did I put my shoes?” Malcolm sighed, sliding my trunk over with those big powerful legs. There my shoes were, had fallen behind it somehow. He picked them up handing them to me.

“Here you go.” He said with this little gleam in his eye.

“Wow…” I said clenching my head, somewhat embarrassed. I slipped into the shoes and we were off.

We walked to the elevator, waiting for it to open.

“So,” I began, “This city is like the Jeurridam of the Southern Remnants?”

“Yes.” Someone from behind said, “But unlike Jeurridam, this city is monitored by the UCAC and UCNC.” It was another duo of Captains ready to make things happen at this banquette.

“You’ll find that New Atlantis is the closest thing to what life was like seven hundred years ago.” The other said.

“Sounds awesome.” Malcolm said as the elevator arrived. We entered the Elevator.

“Nice to meet you,” The first guy said, extending out his hand, “I’m Captain Sirius Dayne, but call me Swarm…”

“I’m Denver.” I said, shaking his hand.

“UCAC, UCNC?” He asked.

“AC.” I smiled, “And this big guy here is Malcolm.”

“Nice to meet you!” Malcolm said, extending out his hand.

“Are you two a tandem captain arrangement?” The other asked.

“No, just really good friends.” Malcolm said.

“Really good friends!” I said, warranting a head turn from Malcolm.

“We’re Naval. We’re going to be stationed in the Southern Caribbean on the Venezuelan coast.” Swarm said.

“Ooouuuu that’s nasty out there!” Malcolm said.

“You’ve been before?” Swarm asked.

“I’m from Trinidad so I know Venezuela’s terrain. It’s insane out there!” Malcolm said.

“How so?” The other Captain asked, entertained by someone else being familiar with the region.

“The jungle is thick and home to some wicked ass creatures! Go south to Roraima and the Lost World and it just gets weirder. The Tepuis are home to some of the most murderous raptor species ever. Not to mention the inhabitants… They do not play nicely with newcomers and there’s a massive underground industry connected with the Amazon. I just think Venezuela is the most dangerous place on the planet. It’s the creatures though…” Malcolm said, scratching the back of his head.

“Well the South Caribbean team is the spearhead to the great grand scheme of the Amazon in totality. It might kill us but Venezuela needs to happen…”  Swarm said.

“That sounds so much more fun than what I’ll be doing! I’d want some real action like that!” I sighed.

“Knowing you, you would!” Malcolm laughed.

“Really?” The other Captain asked.

“This dude,” Malcolm said pointing at me, “Will dive in a fucking volcano and beat the fucking volcano for being too hot!”

“Well damn!” The Captain laughed, extending out his hand, “I’m Straffe…”

“Nice to meet you Straffe.” I said, shaking his hand.

“So what kind of swimmers are you?” Malcolm asked.

“I’m a tuna fin… It sounds lame I know but I promise you it’s not! I control thousands of smaller mechs called rods and they are awesome!” Swarm said.

“And I’m a mako fin… Self explanatory…” Straffe said. The Straffe guy was the type of person I liked. He was short, sharp and to the point…  kind of rude, like myself! I nodded in approval.

“And what about you?” Swarm asked.

“I’m an interceptor wingsuit pilot with added intel equipment. My suit is basically new!” I said.

“Same with mine. I’m spearheading an arctic air fleet so my suit is thermal insulated and built to deal with arctic winds. I’m the first ever Stealth Cyberaros which is like a huge honor… I’m still trying to wrap my head around all these changes.” Malcolm said.

“Lucky you two! We still got the same suits!” Swarm laughed as the elevator doors opened. We left, heading towards the banquet hall.

“Nice talking to you guys.” I said as we separated.

“Same!” The two Captains said back. Malcolm and I walked together only to realize we were at two separate tables.

“See you later tonight…” I laughed.

“Most definitely will!!!” He said, hinting at his intentions. LAWD, he made me so hot. I walked to my table on an all time high. My subordinates were sitting, watching me as I approached. I probably looked like the biggest douchebag with these sunglasses on and this cocky little smirk but who cares! I… Was… HAPPY!!!!

I sat down at the head of the table, the twenty odd people looking at me with mixed expectations. I took off my sunglasses, looking at the lot.

“Hi!” I smiled. These kids were expecting someone much older than themselves not someone their age. They simply stared in disbelief, unsure of what I was truly capable of.

“Hi…” They hesitantly said back.

“I know you all were yanked from your teams and thrown with people you don’t know but… that’s my whole life story! The next three months will be the best hell of your lives!!!! We’ll be on crunch time and I’ll be the leader you don’t want to leave! What I tend to find normal, most people will find overbearing, burdensome, so you all will have to step up to the plate! I’m not easy!” I smiled.

“If you don’t mind me asking Captain,” A very, very tall raven haired girl asked, “But how… old are you?”

“I’m freshly twenty four! I know I’m young, not much older than many of you… maybe the same age as the majority of you but I’m good at this!” I said, warranting a smile from them all.

“How’d you end up a Captain so early?” A young man near the end of the table asked.

“It’s a long, long, long, long and sad story that you all don’t want me to explain. I want to keep you all in a good mood!” I said, popping my knuckles, “Call off names!”

“Ictina, Elaina, Snailtrail, Paddles, Pearls, Hellbat, Aplomado, BRT, Prairie, Whiterust, Screecher, Columbia, Sparvie, Micra, Buckeye, Minotaur, Galvanizer, Torque, Mirada, Plumber, Glean, Riot, Bombardier, Crio!” They said as I pointed to them.

“Woooo, a lot of you to learn…”  I said, “And all of you are Interceptors?”

“No the forest sextuplets are multirole.” Elaina said, looking at me intently. It was quite clear she was not bought by me.

“Are you the swallow-tail?” I asked her.

“Yes.” She said.

“Chase told me to tell you hi!” I smiled. She looked at me shocked before a thin smile spread across her face. She nodded.

“What about you sir?” Screecher asked.

“My suit is based on a kite… super, super agile flier!” I said.

“What kind?” Ictina asked.

“White tailed kite, I believe.” I responded.

“Wow!” Ictina laughed.

“We literally,” Columbia began, “Were yanked off our teams and flown here overnight. What’s this three month mission about?”

“We’re going to investigate this region to the West, locate an asset and bring him with us. It’s as simple as that but there’s a catch…. Jeurridam!” I said.

“Jeurridam? That place is Mech heaven!” Aplomado chimed in.

“I’ve heard. First thing first we’re going to survey the area… learn every single little detail about the terrain. Then we’re going to survey the people, learn who’s in charge where and how their power can prohibit our search. Third, we’re going to search for this asset by those who know him, first… people who’ve seen him, etcetera. Fourth, we pray the plan is as straight forward as that! In my seven years out here, nothing ever goes to plan!” I said shaking my head.

“Seven years? How old were you when you started?” Elaina asked.

“I was seventeen, eighteen… Went through basics for two years then hit the fields. Where I’m from is nothing like this place! Back home, I was taught to juggle the jobs of twenty men and do them each equally as well. You all are fairly specialized which I say be thankful for because you don’t know how hard it is being something so… generalized.” I said to them all.

“Damn! I bet you’re glad to be here then…” Aplomado laughed.

“Not really! It’s cool, it’s well structured, organized and all that good shit but I miss being on my wits end!!! I miss all the uncertainty from back home… It feels too easy to get complacent here.” I said back.

“Sounds like you like chaos…” Hellbat noted, “I’m with you on that one!!!”

“It’s more so about applying yourself even when you’re about to break. Before this, I was in a position where my team fell apart and it was nothing I can do about it! I tried to hold them together but I didn’t have the power. Now since I have the power, I’d be damned if anything like this happens again.” I smiled.   

All the soldiers looked on in approval. It was a nice dinner, filled with pointless banter and my forever dry, overly dark, brutal humor. It came to an end, Malcolm and I walking back to the room together. I had a big cup filled with frozen banana pudding. Malcolm just watched me as if this was some strange, unflattering show he paid cheap tickets for.

“Why?” He asked.

“I’m sorry?” I responded, halfway choking on the pudding.

“You were the only one to bring food out of the banquet hall… That’s like… not…” He said unable to find the right words, “And pudding of all things???”

“Look here boy! God put me on this Earth to consume my body weight in pudding now don’t question God! He’ll strike your ass down...reboot you and make you try again…” I said. Malcolm just laughed.

“I should have got something too! I was trying to be too regal and high and mighty for my team, food just escaped my mind.” He said.

“See… You should have just laid that ass out on the table… I did… Told them mother fuckers I was gonna brutalize them…” I said taking a big spoonful of pudding.

“Of course you would… Plan on getting to know them personally?” He asked. I looked at him with a furled eyebrow for that idiotic remark.

“Hell no! They’re nothing more than cherished interims as far as I’m concerned.” I said, taking another spoonful, “What about your team?”

“Man…  I love them! They’re all kinds of misfits and oddities… kinda like us! They’re just as excited for Beringia as I am.” He smiled.

“Well damn! Sounds like that team that will always be family. That’s what I miss about Eurasia. That was family! This shit… Well organized partners and associates! Who wants that???” I chuckled.

“Is it really so bad?” Malcolm asked.

“No, not at all!!! I’m enjoying the change in pace! It’s just too quiet! I want action! Violence…” I joked.

“So you can end up like how you were in Italy? I’m not having that!” Malcolm teased.

“Too soon, bruh!” I sighed. He looked on deeply regretting.

“Dude, I’m sorry!” He pled. A thin smile turned into hysterical laughter as I slid the key card over sensor, “You fucking little twat!” He gave me a push as we entered the room. I put the pudding cup on the desk ready to engage the boy in some rather serious rough housing. A look of apprehension spread across his face.

“Twat?” I asked, approaching him. He began to laugh nervously, backing up to the door. It was one of the most hilarious things seeing a man two thirds larger than I was in every way imaginable back away because I was crazy as fuck!

“I’m sorry!” He said, holding up a knee as he cowered, laughing. I just stopped, looking at him in complete wonder.

Suddenly the massive man grabbed me, picking me clean up off the ground! It was now on! I placed a foot on his knee, spinning around his massive frame. My arm wrapped around his throat as my mass brought us down to the floor. It didn’t take long for the powerful man to break free, not like I wasn’t letting him free anyways. He turned as I lay on the floor, quick to unbutton my shirt. I kicked off my shoes before wrapping my legs around his waist.

With a powerful twist, I was now on top of him. I began unbuttoning his shirt, Malcolm looking on with so much anticipation in his eyes. He bit his lip, staring at me seductively with those honey eyes. He thrusted his hips sending me hopping into the air. I came back down on a rock hard bulge, trying not to show my overwhelming excitement.

He did it again, sending me rocketing into the air with that powerful pelvis. I fell onto his chest, brought closer to those lips. It was like they were pulling me in. We kissed and kissed, slowly undressing each other. Soon were were down to nothing at all, just laying on the soft, freshly shampooed carpet. My hands explored his powerfully built chest, everything about him being perfect.

His pectorals were extremely defined, having definition I didn’t even know the muscles could have. They gave way to not just an eight pack of abdominal muscles but… ten! They were so sculpted, a deep crevasse divided each side. He jolted as my fingers ran down his belly.

“Ticklish…” He said. Still though, it wasn’t all! His obliques contoured into a tiny waist making his body the perfect triangular shape. The way it all moved as his lungs expanded and contracted excited me more than anything.

I couldn’t help but kiss him, going down from his neck, to his pecs to his abs then finally the behemoth between his legs. It was in the top three of cocks my whorish eyes have seen. He watched skeptically as I kissed the shaft, not bought by the smile on my face. It truly took him by surprise when I swallowed all nine and a half inches of it without a single tear. He gasped in shock, jolting from the hot, moist pleasure.

“You ain’t human!!!” He said. I smiled, stroking his member with a gentle hand.

“I surely ain’t…” I responded before taking every inch of shaft back into my mouth. He watched, no one being able to do this before. Slowly his hips started to thrust to the back of my throat, letting me know it was time to take this up a notch.

I took to whole shaft to the back of my throat, sucking on it tightly. It was a sensation malcolm had never felt before. I opened my mouth as wide as I could, inhaling sharply. Cool air rushed over his penis sending the boy into a trembling fit.

“Oh my God!!!!” He said, having to lay back on the floor. Again, I sucked it with as much pressure as I could, eventually tonguing the nerve-rich bottom of the head. His toes curled as he struggled to control himself. He gritted his teeth trying to hold in the pleasurable moans. I wanted him to let it all out. I began sucking all the life force out of that magnificent cock, the boy twitching like this was his first time. It didn’t take long for the sweet and salty spunk to end up all over my tongue. I swallowed every drop.

He looked on, unable to fathom what just happened.

“How’d you even…?” He asked, panting. I don’t get why he was panting considering I was the one who did all the hard work.

“How’d I even what?” I asked in response, climbing onto his throbbing dick. He looked forth as I placed the tip between my cheeks.

“You’re amazing…” He said, completely in disbelief.

“I…” I responded, pushing the tip in, “Know…” It was so intense! The feeling was like my insides were being stretched beyond their limits. I slowly worked my way down the shaft, Malcolm going utterly insane.

“Wait!” He said, suddenly rising up from the floor. He placed an arm on my back, nudging me to lean back. We changed positions, going from cowboy to old faithful missionary. He dropped a bit of spit for added lubrication, sliding his rail deeper and deeper into me. He looked down at his work, seemingly at a loss for words.

“When was the last time you had something up in here?” He asked.

“Probably when I was… It was before basics!” I said, not wanting to reveal the exact amount of time.

“Damn it’s, like trying to fit a chub of salami into an ear!” He joked sliding it in further. I couldn’t even laugh, the feeling was so intense.

Still though, the boy was gentle, acknowledging how long it had been since I was last penetrated. I moaned out, as his shaft hit every single nook and cranny on my insides. He kept it in deep, relaxing the walls of my insides to make this more comfortable for the both of us. I grabbed his shoulders, pulling him down for a kiss.

“I take it…” He said in between breaths, “You’re not a bottom?”

“I do what…” I responded, “Feels right… This ass… belongs to… you, though!”

It set him off! He began thrusting deep into me, the power causing me to slide across the floor. He held my legs, keeping me from being slid by the force. The way his body moved was beastly, his rock solid body pounding away at me like a hammer on very soft stone. It was so ethereal, like a god was doing this.

He brought down an arm, pinning one leg to my chest. His pounding somehow felt deeper, even more intense. We kissed, our tongues wrestling harder than the way he pounded my ass. My nails dug deep into his back, somehow trying to bring him closer to me. He bit my lip as though fighting back.

Suddenly, I was yanked from the floor and thrown to the bed. Malcolm spread my legs diving into my ass with his tongue. I moaned out as his wild tongue went from my delicate hole to the gooch of nerve filled skin between that and my balls. He was sending me into a state of euphoria I hadn’t quite reached before. He stroked my cock as he did, this being pleasure on the next level.

He pinned me up on my neck, my ass suspended in the air. I supported myself with my hands as the towering man stood over me. He slid his cock into my hole, holding onto my legs as he pounded away. He was fucking me senseless and I loved every waking moment of it. There was no thinking, just raw intensity and overwhelming sensation. They was he fucked me from above was like being dominated by a being with supernatural powers. Each one of those thrusts made my dick flop loudly against my chest. His massive ball sack slammed against my ass as the bed knocked against the wall.

All I could do was close my eyes, feel and listen. It wasn’t long before I was repositioned on my hands and knees, being chipped away at again, this time from behind. The amount of weight he put onto my shoulders made tremble. This dude was right! He was going to fuck me without relent! He sped up and sped up and sped up. Suddenly he roared out, his strokes becoming slower and slow. His shaft, throbbed inside my ass, pumping his second load deep within. I was expecting him to collapse beside me but no, he started up again.

He had energy to burn and I didn’t blame him! The amount of sexual tension we had built up couldn’t be burned out in just two rounds. We had to go until we just couldn’t go anymore! Indeed we did! I just remembered waking up curled up on his chest with his dick snuggled between the cheeks of my ass. I was sore and trembling, exhausted beyond comprehension, like I had the most intense workout. I looked at Malcolm who was sleeping deeply for busting several back to back nuts that night, smiling. He surely made it all worth it. I laid back on his chest, going back to sleep…