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Jackson gray was a little bit hopeless.

Earlier that day, he had received a message from Archangel Initiative HQ that his fellow Archangel Hope Lavender had disappeared with only a few traces. The one thing left in her room was a string of hair that was caught in a crack of the open window. No one had reported to the room since the first investigation, and the hair was in DNA labs that moment. They were trying to dispatch a rescue team, but the only agents left in the base were the fourth batch. Poor kids hadn't even been on earth for ten days. Jack sighed and called in the high command.

"Commander, We have a problem. Have you seen these fourth batch kids trying to get ready?"

"Yes, I'm aware of the situation. They're the only ones in the base who are fit for duty... Unless you want to leave the desk for a few weeks."

"But sir! I thought I was on forced active duty leave!"

"Not right now. We have an Archangel in need of your help. How's the arm?"

Jack worked his arm. It was still injured slightly from the hostage situation from a month ago.

"I'm fine, sir. Just a bit hurt."

"That's a surprise. After a month, an injury of that degree would still be in the first phases of healing."

"You forget, Commander, that I'm an Archangel."

"Anyway, That's beside the point. I want to tell you something. It wasn't in the crisis memo to the base... I didn't want to scare anyone too much. Jack, Hope was working on project Om145. You know what I'm talking about?"

Jack paled visibly. "Sir, I understand. I think I need to take a break from my desk job for a bit."

"Good. The transport already has your armor and weapons on board. Just go to the newbies, relieve them of the job on orders of me, and take their place. Go. And godspeed, Gray."

"Thank you, Commander." Jack finished the comm. His commander was a brilliant man, but he was weary of the world, he was old, and he was a bit gruff at times. Jack walked out, working his shoulder slightly. The newbies stopped their prep as he walked past. After all, even they knew that Jack had helped to rescue Megan Searcher in the Fourth Shaolk crisis, and was instrumental in wiping out the Shaolk landing parties.

"Good morning, men. I'm here to tell you that your mission is off. Go back to your dorms, keep on with your training, and forget that your briefing ever happened. Orders of the Commander."

The kids complied, and Jack got on to his ship.

"Jack! One more thing," the commander's voice buzzed in his ear implant. "We figured out where Hope is... She's on Madagascar."

"The forsaken island? The one with all the zombies?"

"Yes. The same island used as a quarantine from the E. Necrisus virus. Apparently there's a IORS base there."

"Okay. If I meet any survivors?"

"Check them for the virus and try to take them home."

(Nice! Zombies! And I'll try to match your post length as best as I can.)

Madagascar. Zombie haven. Also known as man's personal Hell on Earth. That's where Abe was now. He was there on a personal mission to help clear out the zombies. He had a tree fort that spanned over a small lake with a waterfall into the lake on one side and a river leading away on the other. He had a pretty good setup going for him. He was washing his riot shield and short sword and daggers from the earlier sweeps that day. When he was done, he re-sheathed his weapons and looked out the window at the sky.

Through that same sky, Jack was flying in an Archangel carrier, alone with his suit of armor. He spotted the tree-fort structure and decided to check it out. First, though, he sent out green flares to let any survivors know that he was a friend. He touched down on the grass near the fort and donned his armor, stepping out onto the grass to meet a potential friend.

(Oh ok cool. )

Abe saw the green flares and a spaceship land on the grass. 'What could that be?' he asked himself, picking up his riot shield, heading outside. When he got outside, he saw a figure. He raised his shield and pulled out his short sword, ready to defend if needed.

Jack activated his speakers.

"Hello sir. Jackson Gray, Captain 3rd generation of the Archangel Initiative. I'm from the government, and I'm here to help. I saw your house and figured that there would be survivors. Tell me, are you the only one? Are you infected? I have more questions, but I think that this is more important."

"Yeah I'm the only one here. And do you think I would be here talking if I was infected?" Abe said. "I also didn't appreciate those flares and speakers. They could attract zombies." He lowered his guard a little, relieved that the figure wasn't a zombie.

(Oh ok. And that's fine.)

"No I haven't. Yours is the first I've seen."

"OK. listen, I have an idea. What if you come with me? I have more than enough room on my ship, and I doubt you want to stay. For the escape, I'll need some help from you in tracking down and rescuing my colleague. Sounds good?"

"I don't know... Would you help me set traps and bring me back after we find your friend?" Abe asked.

"no offense meant, but why would you want to come back to this wasteland?"

((The Mustache is now AFK))

(Ok.)

"None taken, I get that a lot." Abe said. "And I made it a personal mission. Helps that it's fun as well." He grinned.

"Okay. Would you like to come aboard my ship so I can brief you on objectives? Or would you like to get some gear before you leave? My ship is stocked with food, so don't worry about that."

"Yeah, let me go grab some things and arm the traps." Abe said, walking back into his base. He grabbed the rest of his daggers and flipped some levers before walking back out. "Ok let's go."

So they got onto the ship and started flying out over the dense Madagascaran jungle, watching the undead slip by underneath.

"YES!" said Jack. "I've got them! Traces of jet fuel leading north, further up the island. Obsidian?"

An electronic voice answered. "Obsidian Artificial Intelligence systems online. User?"

"Jackson Gray." answered Jack.

"Welcome, Jackson. What is your request?"

"Set ship to autopilot following the jet fuel traces at our 12 o'clock."

"Yes sir. Following traces at 12 o'clock. What would you like me to do until then?"

"I didn't know they programmed AIs with senses of humor."

"Apparently, you're wrong. Following course."

"Thank you, obsidian."

Jack clicked a button and his faceplate came up.

"So, how long have you been on this god-forsaken island?"

Abe shrugged. "Never bothered to keep track." he said. He then looked around. "Seems like a lot longer than it felt, what with this level of tech."

"Okay. Why did you come here in the first place? Did some agency send you, or were you going freelance zombie hunting?"

"I guess you could call it freelance." Abe said. "Though some could classify it as an agency..."

Jack's eyebrow cocked.

"Continue? Who is this sort-of-an-agency?"