SET Initiative

Alex was the first to respond. He sounded choked, like he was still fighting to get his lungs to de-frost enough to breathe, but he sounded amazed. "Hell of a view.. haven't seen it from quite this high up before..Sammy, Mikey, Dave, wake the hell up, we got things to do."

One by one, the remaining siblings responded, all equally in awe of the view in front of them. It felt like it had been a lifetime since they had seen it last. Sam chuckled faintly in his comm, probably the first time Austin had ever heard the man make a noise even remotely resembling a laugh.

"Reminds me of my free-fall training right after I joined. Just..instead of people at the bottom, hell's down there instead."

Austin chuckled in response to Sam's comment. "My team and I used to joke about how our job is to make sure hell's crowded by the time we get there."

Enough small talk. Austin started work on making sure he had the right place on the map, and that he didn't burn to death on the way in. His HUD brought up a readout directing him on where the transmission came from, where the most activity was going on, and where the nearest cold LZ was.

"Alright, guys, we're gonna be heading in over Barcelona, Spain. Buckle up." In a few minutes, the pods hit the earth's atmosphere. The computers had done all of the work to make sure they weren't fried on the way in, but it definitely got a lot warmer.

Sam snorted slightly, and the other brothers snickered until Alex spoke. "Marines don't go to die, Austin. We go to Hell and regroup." The brothers chuckled a bit more before Sam cleared his throat. "Alright, shut up guys. make sure you're ready to move out when we get down there." As Austin worked on ensuring they were heading in the right direction, the brothers checked their own HUDs, occasionally speaking to double check this or that.

As the pods hit the atmosphere, they fell silent. It definitely got pretty toasty, and David just kind of grunted now and then. He hated the heat on so many levels.

The burning passed soon enough, and Austin looked over his instruments: Good. Everything was still functional. Austin watched the ground approach- They'd need to start up the re-entry system soon. A few minutes went by before Austin spoke up.

"Alright guys, start up your thrusters now, and open your air brake." He did so, and the top of the pod flew off, causing a plus-shaped piece of metal to fly out of the top. It was attached to a cable which ran through to the pod. The thrusters pushed backwards against gravity: They didn't successfully negate its effects, but it was enough to slow the pod's speed quite a bit.

A few more minutes before the pods hit dirt. They were slowed enough to not shatter on impact, but not even the experience of having it happen umpteen times helped prepare Austin for the impact.

After he relocated his jaw, Austin hit a button, causing the pod's front window to go flying off. He stepped out, slightly dizzy and disoriented, and looked around. The other pods were a few hundred feet apart from each other and himself. "Okay guys, we'll be hoofing it for a bit. We're looking for anything that isn't dripping with human blood and out to kill us without rational thought, copy?"

If there was one thing the brothers were good at, it was following orders. Or, in Sam and Michael's cases, as officers, giving them. They did as he instructed, and varying grunts and thuds could be heard as they crashed into the dirt as well.

One by one, the windows popped off, and out stepped the Scotts. They were intimidating by nature, with their height, and just larger sizes, but in the armor, they were just downright frightening. Before Austin had even finished his sentence, they all had their rifles in hand, nodding at him. Alex's voice was just too cheerful, as usual. "Copy that, lead on, oh fearless leader." He grinned inside his helmet. Sam waved his hand, and before Austin blinked, they were in a formation, likely learned in the Marines, but highly effective. Rifles were up, and ready, already scanning their environment while they waited for Austin to lead the way.

It was like a dream team for backup; Sam and Michael were tactics experts, not that the Infected really had a tactic besides killkillkill, David was an IT pro, and then there was Alex. The man was born to be a sniper.

Austin was much more casual in his manner- Not nearly as rigid as the marines were. He waved back at Sam with a small chuckle as he watched them get into formation, rifles in hand. Austin kept his rifle integrated into his suit for now- That's what that feature was for, anyway: To allow for quick and efficient movement along with easy access to a weapon.

As cheerful as Alex was, Austin just wanted to get in and out without much hassle. "Let me check in with our shuttle pilot before we do anything else. Miller, you copy, over?" A moment's silence before the response came. "I copy, Ross. I'm in orbit. Just let me know when and where, over."

Austin nodded. "Roger that. Over and out." He glanced over at the Scott brothers once more and shook his head. "You guys... It might look cool at the Super Bowl, but a formation like that out here is dead meat. Keep your weapons integrated and stay on your toes. If you need them in a combat situation you'll have them. Alright, follow me." His HUD told him that they were next to the marina (well, duh, Austin. The docks at the water could have told you that,) but more importantly that the transmission was coming from Sant Andreu.

"We'll be able to take advantage of the transit system here. If I'm right, it should be relatively clean. If not, well," Austin swallowed back his fear, "Free target practice."

Alex and the others didn't hesitate; they immediately put their rifles away, his comment about the Super Bowl earning him a quiet snicker from every one of them but Sam, of course. The eldest just glared at the back of his head, clutching his rifle like he was seriously considering shooting Austin for his snide comment before Michael kicked him in the back of the leg. Brothers will be brothers, of course.

David shook his head. "Thanks for sounding so confident, Austin, makes me feel loads better." He grinned. Once even Sam complied and put his rifle away, they started off.

Onward they went, the brothers constantly glancing around, pretty much the same as they were before, just rifle-less.

"If you came here to be reassured, you're on the wrong planet. I know a nice shrink who'll give you all kinds of confidence, though." Austin smiled- The banter was nice. Having a team was nice. He forgot that being a lone wolf was not the norm, even for a SET Operative.

They found a set of stairs leading underground soon enough: The city was littered with them. "Alright, so I'm assuming you know how to turn your night vision on. If not, your helmet's programmed to read thoughts. Just imagine your visor glowing in the dark and you should have it." Upon activating the night vision, their visors would have green seemingly slide over the naturally blue HUD. The readout was just the same, but now in night vision green.

The tunnel was dark. There was a ticket booth to their right, (abandoned,) and in front of them were automated rotating ticket gates. Austin just climbed over one, assuming the brothers would follow suit. His motion detector was a circle in the bottom left corner of his visor. It displayed four green arrows, each pointing in the direction that the corresponding Marine was facing. Red dots would represent enemies, and blue dots represented civvies. A purple arrow would appear in each one's visor at their goal: The exit near where they wanted to go. "There's our waypoint. Stick close." He began making his way down the tunnel.

David and Sam stepped down the stairs after Austin first, the green sliding ove their visors easily. Thankfully, the brothers actually knew what they were doing, unlike Addison. Michael and Alex brought up the rear, keeping an eye out behind the group as they headed lower and further into th tunnel.


Following easily after him, the brothers were silent now which was especially unusual for Alex. They stepped quietly, head constantly moving,even though any m movement would pop up in their visor. Old habits die hard, after all.

Austin's head turned like the brothers' did: The motion sensors' range only went so far and if he were to miss anything more than ten feet away, they would be screwed. The silence was heavy. Austin's thoughts kept him occupied.

He wondered how Addie was doing. Had they reached Mars yet? Had everyone been settled in yet?

This sucked.

~~~~

After a painfully long walk of silence, Austin noticed a set of numbers pop up next to the waypoint. They were getting close: Probably about halfway now. He relayed this information to the others accordingly. "Alright, halfway now. Almost there."

As Austin spoke, the brothers nodded and replied in turn, almost a bit comically. Alex sighed. "Peachy, ready to grab these kids and get back home.. if we take too long, dad and Addie may come and drag us back by the ears."

The others snickered quietly. It was true, their dad especially would probably come get them whether they liked it or not, if he could manage it. And with the influence he had...it probably wouldn't be too hard.

~~~~

Back on the cruiser, just days before they were to reach Mars, Addie had struggled through the week, trying to be positive. She didn't want to think the worst. It just.. kind of happened.

The nightmares swept in like a flooded river, and everything that she had been struggling to cope with, to understand and get past, came rushing back. Everything she had put aside to help Austin overwhelmed her. She couldn't sleep, barely ate, and she was barely able to get herself up in the mornings.

Austin chuckled along with the rest of them before he caught movement in his peripheral vision. "Get down," he ordered, crouching low and grabbing his rifle from the suit. "Three o'clock." There was a tense moment. Silence.

It wasn't long before Austin started to lose his grip. Was he just seeing things? No. It was real this time... It was real. This is real. He can't break down now.

The others would catch more movement. More than a few red dots appeared. "Shoot if they get too close." His voice was calm- They were a team now. No civvies. Just high powered combat armor and plasma weaponry. "Your armor should have a repellant function. It emits high-pitched noise and can get into their heads. They shouldn't bother us."

Sam snorted. "Shouldn't is the key word there, bud." Thr brothers followed his lead, though, rifles in their hands before he had finished the instructions. The red dots just kept moving closer, and there seemed to be more and more every moment. But, like Austin said, they seemed to suddenly keep their distance.

Alex kep closest to Austin. As if he just..knew, he glanced towards him. "Austin, you alright?"

Austin rolled his eyes. "I have confidence in technology I helped invent," he claimed, cockily. They walked a little ways before Alex seemed to know something was up.

He snorted, switching his comm to a private link. "You're just like Addie. Unfortunately, I'm not entirely sure if I am alright. It's been three years since I've been down here, but still.." He shuddered. "I can't shake the feeling that I'm not entirely... Fixed. You couldn't imagine what it's like, dealing with the kind of stuff we dealt with here..." He shook his head. "Anyway, bottom line: The faster we move, the faster we can retrieve the survivors, and the faster we all go home. I still can't believe that there are people still here that we left behind. That's just..."

He couldn't find the right word to say. He switched his comm over to public again. "See? No plasma fire yet, Sam. It works." Smug banter covered up the fact that he was very disturbed.

"You really are an arrogant little-" Sam was cut off by a swift kick to the butt by Michael, and the two went to their own private link for what seemed to be a very heated argument. It gave Alex the chance to talk to Austin.

"Well, we ARE twins, so it would stand to reason that we'd be alike.. she's just a short, red head me." He chuckled, but nodded. "Can't say I understand, but.. I get what you're saying. Just..keep in touch, yeah? Don't you lose your grip." He smacked his shoulder as they switched back.

At Austin's smug words, Sam just flipped him off.

Austin's visor's tint faded just long enough for him to turn around and grin at Sam. It tinted back to its regular blue and he continued looking forward.

Eventually, they reached a point in the tunnel where the waypoint started shifting to their left instead of being just straight ahead. Soon enough, the waypoint was at nine o'clock and so was the train platform. It was around six feet tall- Easily climbable. Austin made a running jump at it, pulling himself up easily. "Alright, there's still a bit of walking before we're out of the subway. Stay close, there may be more Infected and in the close proximity of these hallways, our repellant may not do much to deter them."

Onw by one, the brothers followed Austin up the wall. They had an even easier time of it, thanks to their height, and it was only a moment or two before they were all ready again.

At his warning, the siblings pulled down their rifles again. Ease of access or not, one usually felt better with a weapon in hand. Michael and Sam finally finished their argument, though it was likely far from settled. There was a better time and place for them to duke it out. David piped up after a few minutes, saying what was probably on all their minds.

"Seems a bit..quiet. I don't see anything."

It was dark.

Austin nodded as David spoke up. "Yeah, that'll happen. These guys think they're Xenomorphs or something." A beat. Then Austin suddenly crouched and shouldered his weapon. There was a loud screaming noise, like a woman calling desperately for help. Should anyone jump up to go and try to be a hero, Austin would grab them. And if not he'd speak before they do.

"Don't. It's infected. They know how to get people to-" He was cut off by the scream. It was louder this time, and it almost sounded like speech: "Please," and "help."

"... We need to keep moving." He stood up and began walking slowly again, trying to ignore all of the blood on the walls, and all of the stray things people left behind: Suitcases, purses, video games, little plush animals. Loose articles of clothing, musical instruments. This was once a bustling place of coming and going. Now there was nothing.

Hopefully they were all smart enough to just heed his advice and keep walking.

The brothers crouched with Austin, all of them ready. They knew it was a trap, but..Michael, though his face was hidden by the visor, had a funny look on his face, and for a moment, moved just slightly x like he was about to leap up at the cries for help.

Luckily, as stubborn as he was, Sam had a good head on his shoulders, and grabbed Michael by tbe arm, shaking his head. "Mikey, don't. C'mon, we gotta go." He nodded towards Austin as he stood to follow.

The brothers did keep walking, though it was clear the screams were really bothering Michael, and Alex ,surprisingly. Sam kept an eye on Michael, while David kept behind Alex, ready to grab him if he lost it.

The worst part about the Infected that screamed was that those were genuine cries for help. There was a person still in there. A fate worse than death.

The Disease had taken over the body. No sense fighting it- No matter how strong your will was, you had nothing but your sense of awareness left by the time it had completely moved it.

The screamers just let the vocal chords go. To the person inside, it seemed like a miracle. To the unfortunate noble soul trying to help, however, it was evil.

Infection took many shapes and sizes. Some had long claws and bodies, using their sharp fingers to slice through prey, like the kind Austin and Addie encountered in Fort Worth.

Others were big and tough. Hulking, charging, massive rhinos of men who crushed and smashed anything that stood in their way.

Still more learned to harness human technology. This lead to unfortunate chemistry accidents like an Infected who can breathe fire.

The Infected that got hold of Phoenix Infantry were nightmares to handle: Already trained killers, these were artificially enhanced kids in their teens. Their bodies still growing and developing, now adapting to accept the Infection as part of them even more than grown adults would. The Phoenix Experiments were kids who were no longer human, most times. Kids that could read minds, or kids that could breathe underwater. Kids with three sets of eyes, each with a different vision capability. Kids that had weapons growing out of their bodies like throwable spikes, or breakable bones.

All of them were still alive. That was what killed Austin inside the most: He was willfully leaving behind agonizing people. People with no control over anything but what they think. He was the only one who knew what it was like and able to tell about it. It didn't matter, though. A cure for a cure was impossible. The Infection was supposed to be medicine that seeks out and kills cancerous cells and then transfuses itself with the host's blood. When it reacted to the crystals that SET brought to earth to power things... It reacted.

~~~~

The hallways were short. Soon they arrived at an entrance to the subway. There was a set of stairs going upwards towards a ticket gate, followed by more stairs to the main platform with the ticket booth, and then an escalator leading up to the outside world.

No signs of Infected yet. Austin checked to make sure everybody was still with him. "Everybody's alright? I know the Screamers can be a little bit unsettling."