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UCAC Ch. 01

By: StillnessIsTheTruth



 So far, this is my favorite series. I hope you all like it as much as I do. I've taken special time to put some of my best writing in it. 

This story has a lot of ground to cover so please bear with the slow pace. I promise, the payoff will be grand!!

*****

The Finish foot hills were no joke. It was a very cold, rainy wet terrain with gusts of winds that often went past fifty miles an hour. There was little to no food and all the rations had to be imported. You had to be one tough bastard to make it in these parts and indeed I was! 

I have no problem with admitting it. I am the shit, will always be the shit and am nothing but the shit! Some say I'm obnoxious, conceited, arrogant, a douchebag... I just know my worth. The reason why? I'm a winged cyborg, one of few in the world and you had to be the best of the best to be able to wing with us. 

I go by the name of Merlin, as you'll soon learn why. My cybernetic suit was based upon the flight profile of a small robust falcon named a Merlin. Now, bare with me. It will get a little more in-depth as I go along. You think you can comprehend? Here we go!

An Illisian scientist named Dumir Aheem created this mesh suit, called Liquid Flesh. It is filled with gelatinous, electron-responsive fluid that acts like muscle when a current runs through it. Not to mention, it weighs virtually nothing but can increase human strength tenfold. This suit was wired into our nervous system, allowing us to to have the finest control over it. 

Why, you might ask? Because it was only one part of our suit. Our suit was covered in aerodynamic scutes and actuators that acted like feathers. Again, these scutes were wired into our nervous systems, having pressure, temperature and light sensitive receptors all over them. It made it so we could detect the slightest difference in wind pressure.

The reason for this was because we could fly. The science behind it got rather complicated but it's not impossible to digest. I stood around five foot eight inches. That means from fingertip to fingertip, I measured the same. At rest, each arm was about twenty five inches long. The primary flight scutes for the suit measured five feet long at their longest point. This means I had a total of sixteen feet of wingspan to work with for flight.

These wings were relatively high aspect ratio with a broad base. They were built for extreme speed. There also was a tail but it was stout and broad, much like the tail of an actual Merlin. It gave me enough agility at high speed and enough stability at low speed. However, I was all about the ambush, using the terrain to my advantage.

Probably the most important aspect of our suits were the foot geer. They were heavy duty, spring loaded mechanical talons that allowed us to have the ability to make vertical take offs and have astonishing sprint speeds. These talons also were our close quarters weapons during flight. We'd often use them to grapple targets which often was much harder than it looked.

You'd think it'd be easy to hit a target while flying, but no. Humans see the world at thirty to sixty hertz. When you commonly travel well over one hundred fifty miles an hour, it simply isn't fast enough. So, our brains and eyes were genetically and cybernetically enhanced to see the world at one-hundred twenty to two hundred-forty hertz. What did this do? It slowed down the world around us, giving us bird-like reflexes for flight. It meant we could see a lot coming and react to it faster. As a result, it made it much easier to grapple aerial targets with far more accuracy. It wasn't foolproof but did result in quite a bit more hit targets. 

We also had a ranged weapon, a system of momentum propelled darts called, quills that could be fired at targets at high velocity. It was a discreet weapon, relying on the hertz system as well as advanced computational systems to hit targets with extreme accuracy. Basically it was a cross bow on our chest that got a boost from our flying speed.

Today we had one of the more important missions. We were hugged the lower coastal valley, swiftly approaching an insurgent port. These particular insurgents, known as the Cobalt, smuggled the remaining weapons of mass destruction into Russia. We only had a limited amount of time before the weaponry would be smuggled through Finland's dense forests to the Russian border. We simply didn't have the clearance to enter Russian airspace which made this mission a really tight operation. 

The thing was though, we had just gotten from an extremely brutal mission old Venice. That mission lasted six damn months, two of the months being a back and forth between us and the Cobalt insurgents and we were vastly outnumbered. We lost someone valuable, our Second Wing who stuck his neck out for us forever and always. His death was responsible by a team member who simply could have opened his mouth. One word could have saved Second Wing's life but it was too late. Now the team member responsible for that death is the intermittent Second Wing and it truly revealed a lot about him. The entire thing had us shaken up and it'd be a blatant lie if any of us said we were fine after such a grueling and bloody mission.

Do you know what it's like to see someone blown up next to you, and there's little you can do about it? You're supposed to keep fighting and fight off the reality? Do you know what's like to be pinned down, not able to move for weeks with supplies running down? Do you know how helpless and frustrated that makes you? Do you know what it's like to think you're untouchable in a cybernetic wingsuit, only to be shot down out of your ariel domain by sharpshooters? Do you know what it's like to realize you're not invincible, that people will fight you will all they got? Do you know what it's like to not have the upper hand, come inches away from death? It's surreal and hard to cope with after the fact but you smile when it's over. You find reasons to be a changed person! You never view the people you love the same.

When it was all over, I couldn't stop thinking about him... my one and only. The man who made sure my head was screwed in tight for the past seven years. Watching so many people die around you made you realize that some things that are here to stay need to be cherished and I wanted to cherish him for forever. He was the reason I smiled, sitting on that cold and wet ship, contemplating our loses. When we got back to Finland, it hadn't even been a day yet, and we were shipped out to fight another battle. 

All I wanted to do was be in his arms, and tell him how much I love him, that I never want to let him go. I want to tell him about how so many of our comrades had died before us and we had to sit in their blood, pinned down under enemy fire. I wanted to apologize for being so naive when he was so open to me about the way he felt. I just knew he'd understand but it knew it frustrated the hell out of me not being able to see him, flying over the treetops on yet another mission that would prove to be more trouble than the debriefing suggested. 

We weren't really built for forest missions but the forest team had training mission further up the coast, since their team was still in its infancy. We were considered the Long Wingers, the high speed strike team that specialized in both pursuit and getting in and getting out. However with this mission, we'd be pushed to our limit. We were told that we simply were to kill the insurgents and let the UCMC handle the rest. 

Truly, I hated opening for the Marine team. That meant we had a small area to work with and we'd be the targets while they sit back and waited for the job to be done. They were the ones with the heavy artillery yet we were charged with doing their hard work. It truly was another thing that frustrated me.

"You ok Merlin?" Subbu asked. I looked over to him, seeing he was far more hesitant to hug the tree line. 

"Yeah..." I sighed.

"We're coming up fast on the river..." Gyr said.

"Way to state the obvious..." I said, truly hating him. He was such an obnoxious, debonair know it all, I couldn't stand it. After his stunt in Italy, I could never trust him again... 

"Ok, break off formation," Lead Wing said, "Merlin, Subbu and Tinnu will continue flying the canopy to the target. They'll be first to strike. Run the targets up the valley into Gyr, Lanner and Saker. Gyr and Saker will go for the vehicles. Lanner and I are going for the catalyst." 

"Yes sir." I said, turning east towards the bay. The quicker we could get this over with, the better. It was always us small guys charged with doing the heavy stuff. 

Subbu and Tinnu were based upon falcons as well, Subbu a hobby, Tinnu a kestrel. Subbu was relatively new, being apart of last year's batch of recruits. Tinnu on the other hand, has been enlisted since the birth of the program. They differed quite a bit in personas too. Subbu was a very...linear person, often succoming to his overreliance on what he found logical. Tinnu was a very meticulous person, taking the time out to look at every single detail in what he could discern. Then that little mind of his would get to calculating a plan that was normally fail proof. He was the brains of the team and the thing I liked about him was that he didn't let his brains get in the way of action. He always managed to be one step ahead of his enemies. 

The two could out turn me in an aerial acrobatics battle due to having about thirty percent larger tail area than me. Not to mention, they were far slimmer than me. I was considerably more bulky and muscular than either Subbu and Tinnu and had a lot or arm and breast power, power that gave me an acceleration and overall speed boost over either.

I powered over the tree tops, ready to sink my talons into something. My speedometer stated I was pushing one hundred sixty miles an hour and I wasn't even breaking a sweat yet. 

"Slow down..." Subbu said.

"I'm gonna go in low and fast, guys. You two stay behind me while I clear out the first boat." I said. 

"You are not a Forest Winger! Slow down before you crash!" Subbu advised.

I was never one to listen to advice, commands or any bullshit. I was here to get this over with so I could pick up where I left off with my love. Feeling the pressure, I sped up, pushing one hundred ninety miles an hour. As I flew closer to the targets, my active sights, a part of my head's up display, began calculating speed, trajectory and impact force. The targets stood on a ramp, toting heavy equipment from the barge to the docks. I definitely had the element of surprise. 

Entering a swift glide, I crooked my wings, letting my talons hang. I descended into the town, unseen as I geared to puncture an insurgent with my talons. Time seemed to slow down as I neared the unsuspecting man. Just as I was about five meters away, they took note of something approaching at extreme speed. However it was too late, my talons gouged deep wounds into the insurgent as the momentum from the glide sent him into the water. 

Ascending rapidly, I spread my wings and tail, letting the momentum dissipate on it's own. As I neared stall speeds, I dropped my tail to the right, entering a tight hammerhead turn. I descended on spread wings, this time not caring for speed. Within a fraction of a second I was back over the insurgents on the ramp. 

They obviously didn't know what was going on, this being easy pickings. I often forgot that I saw the world faster than normal humans, making them appear slow to react and often at their wits end. No, I simply was moving at speeds far too great for them to have normal reaction. 

I stretched out my talons, grabbing an insurgent and clamping down as hard as I could. I could hear the crunching of collar bones and ribs as I dragged him off the ramp. He fell into the water, drowning. I came around for another pass, this time, the insurgents being very well aware the were under attack. 

They began dragging the crate containing the catalyst back onto the barge, throwing the ramp into the water. Armed guards began firing at me, forcing me to have to fly behind a row of cranes. Tinnu and Subbu came swooping in, quick to fire their quills at the gunmen. I truly hated the usage of quills. They had perfectly good talons but refused to use them. 

Subbu banked and weaved through the high stacked crates, showing his great agility and control. It left the insurgents constantly twisting and turning to find his location. 

"There was a third!" An insurgent said, looking around the sky. Indeed there was. Tinnu simply kited in the wind above the docks. He scanned the boat with his infrared and biometric sensors, determining that there were over fifty men on the barge. 

His scan showed up on everyone's head up display, being very disconcerting. 

"Guys...this mission is a bigger scope than we thought." He said. He then inverted, wings tucked. He dropped out of the sky down towards the barge, spreading his wings and tail at the very last second, releasing hundreds of quills into every inch of the boat.

The insurgents fired at him, the nimble cyborg powering vigorously to flee the onslaught of bullets. He disappeared behind a row of warehouses. Seeing the three cybernetic raptors vanish from sight, made the insurgents even more jumpy. Their leader, a man with a black cap and dark sweater ran across the bridge of the massive vessel into the cockpit.

"Let's get out of here while we can..." He said, falling right along with the plan.

"Guys," Tinnu said over the radio, "We have a bit of a problem." 

"We know, Tinnu! Dozens of guys on a giant three hundred foot long ship that seven cyborgs are supposed to bring down..." I sighed.

"No..." He said.

"What?" 

"The barge is heading out the sea! There's no possible way that thing can head up the river being that size." Tinnu said.

"He's right. The naval forces will not engage the barge until we get the insurgents up river." Subbu responded. 

"What kind of bull shit is that? Are they too pretty to get their hands dirty?" I asked, angered by the fact. 

"And you need to stop diving in talons first! You have quills for a reason! You're not a Forest Winger, Merlin!" Subbu scolded.

I ignored him, beginning to circle high above the docks. What could possibly be done to stop this ship from leaving port? I could see the hundreds of quills Tinnu released on the boat as it began to pull out the harbor. The pulsated slowly with infrared LEDS. These were timed bombs! 

"Tinnu, I love you!" I laughed.

"Yeah, I've been taking some pages out of your book. If the Marines want it, let them fish it out of the bottom of the harbor..." He said.

"Really? And this is how the mission is supposed to go?" Subbu asked, not pleased with either of us.

"When will you realize we're handed a basket full of shit and expected to make miracles out of it... We'll we're going to make miracles today...big...fiery...miracles." I said, steadily rising on the thermal. 

"I'm kind of in agreement with Merlin this go. We're in way over our heads this time and the people that can help, won't help!" Tinnu said, rising below me on the same thermal. 

"Well, it looks like I'm going to have to take matters into my own hand!" Subbu said, diving down to the barge.

"SUBBU NO!!" Tinnu screamed.

"Ugh, he's gonna fuck up everything..." I sighed, diving after him. 

I caught him midway, forcing him out of his dive.

"What are you doing!" He asked, angered. 

"I need you to take a closer look at Tinnu's scan's." I said. Subbu, pulled up the images of the scans, seeing about fifty or so men loading crates onto smaller boats. Still, the armed guards stood like centuries on the bridge, looking around for any signs of us.

"We don't have much time, Merlin! They'll be in Danish waters in a matter of minutes!" He said.

"Subbu! They are boarding speed boats inside the ship! The Catalyst is going on one of these speed boats!" I said, hoping he'd see the grander picture.

"That is all the more reason to halt them!" He said, resuming his dive. 

"God, you're such an idiot!" I sighed, ascending back up to Tinnu. 

"I was just gonna let to barge get far enough out that I can blow it up without causing damage to the surroundings. Subbu is about to fuck all that up..." Tinnu sighed, entering a slow and shallow glide as the barge sped along. 

"Yeah, man... he's such a stickler for the rules it's fucking up the win by all means strategy we've been trained to incorporate." I sighed.

"Subbu," Tinnu said, making radio contact with him, "You're fucking up the plan..." 

"No, I refuse to be a part of your incompetencies!" He responded angrily.

"You know what, blow his ass up..." I sighed.

"Wait." Tinnu said, waiting for the barge to reach the center of the bay. 

Subbu would simply have to be in the blast radius. The idiot swooped out of his dive, firing quills at the gunmen scattered around the ship. He was so agile, capable of reversing over himself with bone shattering ease. If I tried to stay in those turns, I'd black out. I truly commended him for this ability.

Subbu flew around the cockpit of the ship, releasing a fatal quill that pierced the captain's chest. As the man fell, he grabbed the throttle, the ship coming to a controlled halt. The captain fell, bleeding out on the floor.

"This idiot..." I said, truly frustrated with Subbu.

"I guess I have no choice at this point..." Tinnu sighed. As Subbu flew around the ship, the ship blew up, destroying the bridge and starboard side. It was just enough of a nudge for the remaining crew to launch their speed boats off the sides of the ship.

"At this point, the Marines can take over..." I sighed, watching the dozen or so speed boats speed away in every direction.

Tinnu turned into the wind, hovering on stiff wing beats. He scanned each one of the getaway boats, the ones heading into the valley being the ones that had the catalyst. About four of them headed east towards the Russian border. 

"We need to destroy all of these boats..." Tinnu said over the air. 

"What the hell just happened?" Subbu asked. 

"The plan..." I sighed, diving after the four speed boats that that headed towards the Russian border. They were obviously a diversion but letting them get away was not an option. 

I sped past five hundred miles an hour as I ascended out of the dive. My silvery low profile prohibited me from being seen until I was mere meters away from the first boat. I reached out, grabbing the rear mounted engine with my talons. Using the momentum of my dive, I ascended, yanking the engine off the tiny boat. 

I turned around, diving on the second boat, piercing it's hull with my talons. By now, it was clear to them that they were under attack. With their mounted machine guns, they fired heavy slugs. I had to get away. I quickly inverted, sending two quills into the two remaining speed boats before returning to the coast.

One by one, the floating men were dragged beneath the surface of the sea. Shimmering darting blurs, grabbed the insurgents, yanking them down to the depths of the sea bottom. Not long after, the entire boats were pulled below the surface. This was the work of the Mers, the UCMC. They had ships, submersibles, cybernetic swimmers and all the heavy artillery. Their forces outnumbered ours ten to one but they never got involved with any conflicts. It truly was mind boggling because they could be a truly unstoppable force but they held back.

It was just strange. I continued towards the coast, looking for Subbu and Tinnu. 

"I'm in pursuit of the catalyst. Gyr and Saker, I'm heading your way." Tinnu said over the air.

"We see you..." Saker said, anticipating the pursuit.

"Sending you scans now..." Tinnu responded.

"I'm on my way!" I said. 

I quickly looked over to Subbu who fired a barrage of quills at the speedy vessels. He then turned towards the coast, speeding above the water at one hundred eighty miles an hour. 


UCAC Ch. 01



"Tinnu, Gyr, Saker...I'd advise you to keep a safe distance from those boats. They have some pretty deadly artillery on them..." I said.

"Affirmative, will heed." Gyr said.

"Did you get shot at?" Tinnu asked laughing.

"Hell yeah, I got shot it!" I responded, "I wouldn't be doing my job if a bullet wasn't chasing me!" 

"I think you signed up for the wrong division. You seem to thrive off close quarters action as though you're a Forest Winger! You need to realize you put yourself in more danger than is called for..." Subbu said.

"Just...Shut up..." I sighed. 

Gyr and Saker sat in two high firs on each side of the valley. They watched as Tinnu pursued the boats upriver. One of the decoy boats swiveled it's machine gun rearward, aiming at Tinnu. 

"LOOK OUT!" Saker shouted. The gunman opened fire on Tinnu. Someone how the boy managed to evade the stream of bullets, quadrupling his forty mile an hour pace as he weaved through the sky. He probably was just as agile as Subbu but you seldom saw Tinnu flying this way. He spread his wings and tails as he ascended to an altitude in which the bullets couldn't reach. 

"That's it..." Saker said, taking off from his perch.

Now Saker was like me on steroids... He was fast, one of the highest flat speeds of any of us, agile, having a long broad tail to perform the most daring of maneuvers and not afraid to get his huge talons dirty. He was just as notorious as I was for the low and fast strike. The difference was that Saker had a six foot, four inch frame with two hundred twenty pounds of muscle to back himself up, compared to my five foot eight inches and one hundred seventy five pounds.

He had twenty two feet of cybernetic wings and knew how to put them to good use. He steeply powered down through the valley, accelerating to nearly three hundred miles an hour within a matter of seconds. As he neared the rear boat, he tucked those long wings to the side, reducing his visible profile.

With those mighty set of talons, he grabbed the front of the boat. He spread those powerful wings, using the momentum from the shallow dive to yank the boat into the air. It jettisoned the pilot, gunman and third hand into the frigate water. The darting Mers yanked the insurgents below the surface. Saker released the boat from his grasp, the boat capsizing due to it's punctured hull. He ascended up to Tinnu, easily powering up to the correct altitude.

"You ok bro?" He asked.

"Yeah, I got a warning blip well before the gun sights set on me. I pretty much saw the bullets coming." Tinnu laughed.

"Well, now there are only two speed inflatables left." Saker responded. 

"Yeah, and I suggest we all focus attentions on the decoy boat." Gyr said over the air, listening to Saker and Tinnu's conversation. 

Now, Subbu was very uppity but he had nothing on the obnoxious excuse for a human being which was Gyr. Don't let his name fool you. There was nothing regel about this douchebag. He often silently judged others, moping around, wishing he was Lead Wing. His superiority complex could put mine to shame. 

He stood about six foot six, weighing in at about two hundred fifty pounds. He was the largest of the Long Wingers, having twenty four feet of wings. He definitely was the most powerful as well, having the best climb rate and being the second fastest of us all. He had been clocked at three hundred twenty miles an hour on the flat alone and god knows how fast he could dive. In a vertical setting, he was the best performer but he wasn't very agile. Compared to Saker who was virtually as agile as both Tinnu and Subbu, Gyr simply could not stay in those hard turns. 

Not to mention, his pretentiousness often left him at a disadvantage considering he generally underestimated his opponent. It was why he could never be a leader. He only cared about himself and everyone else simply was inferior. The way he treated us all outside of uniform made it quite evident how he truly feels about us. It's all high strung twoddle in the most snide of ways. 

He took off, quickly accelerating to his top speed. It pretty much was only for show, there being no need for him reach those three hundred mile an hour speeds. He swooped over the second boat, the gust of wind in his wake slamming the crewmen on the second boat hard. Gyr road his momentum to a safe altitude before diving in for another pass. 

His large wings produced the most terrifying boom as he spread them, pulling from his dive. Saker joined him in the high sped mobbing, followed by Tinnu. Subbu and I were last to join the fray, all of us producing strong winds that kept the riders at bay. The gunner couldn't even reach the machine gun, having to grab onto the the side of the boat or risk being carried off by the flurry of gusts. 

Our job was basically done. It left one last boat, the boat with the catalyst which was not our target. It was the Target for Lead Wing and Lanner.

"Lanner," Lead Wing said, "Take em out..." 

"Lethal force?" Lanner asked.

"Yes..." Lead Wing said. 

Lanner was the newest of us and was a pretty cool kid. He stood about six foot two inches high and weighed in at about two hundred. He had about twenty feet of wings and had a nearly identical build as Saker. All and all though, Lanner had the most to prove and none of us went easy on the kid.

He inverted, powering down swiftly before entering a screechingly fast stoop. However he was holding back, reaching just over five hundred miles an hour when, from his altitude, he could go much faster! Maybe he was still growing into those wings of his. We all watched, wondering was he going to do something interesting or take out the boat riders as mundanely as possible. 

Lanner suddenly banked to the right, still inverted with his wings deeply crooked. He didn't break in speed, this obviously being something he had planned. He tucked those mighty wings into his side as he dove towards the ground again, this time not bothering to throttle himself. His speed steadily increased, pushing the envelope of super sonic speeds. He spread those wings, keeping them crooked as he perpendicularly intercepted the boat. 

He careened into one of the men, knocking him into the water. Lanner ascended, spreading his wings and tail as wide as possible as his speed dissipated. Within the narrowest space, he inverted, entering a broad winged dive as he came down on the second person the boat. He brought those talons forward, grabbing the man from his gunner perch. He dropped the man onto the rocky riverbanks, leaving only the boat pilot who still was speeding up the valley. 

It was now Lead Wings turn. Lead Wing had a super sized build which mirrored mine, based upon that of a peregrine falcon. Just like the now extinct peregrine falcon, Lead Wing was the fastest of us. With a flat speed of three hundred sixty nine miles an hour and a dive that could carry him past mach one, he was definitely the most awesome to watch. He was fairly agile, but his agility or speed was not what made him special. It was his conning. He was ridiculously intelligent and the greatest leader we could have. His tactical knowledge was superhuman and his combat readiness was unlike anyone of us.

He and Lanner were virtually the same size, only having different physiques. Lead Wing had a shorter tail actuator, broader based wings and more pointed primaries. Lanner, Saker and Gyr essentially were relatively narrow winged with tapered primaries, having long broad tails which served them well for better agility...on paper. Gyr had a hard time in turns considering his size but he was very capable. 

Lead Wing tucked his wings to his side, entering a vapor inducing dive. He landed on the boat within seconds, the impact causing the boat to rock heavily. He grabbed the pilot with his talons, suspending the man high into the air. He began to strangle the man, gripping down with those talons. Within twenty seconds, the boat pilot was unconscious. Lead Wing then tossed him into the water, leaving him to drown. 

He walked over to the boat throttle, pulling the yolk back to rest. The inflatable speeder eventually came to a halt. Lead Wing pulled back bak the tarps in the middle of the boat, seeing a metallic casing. He disconnected his arms from the wings, the wings draping over his shoulders like a cape of shingles. He kneeled down, opening the case. 

Inside was a small lithium helicase rod, a very powerful catalyst for the rare earth metal uranium. If the two get into contact, it would result in a release of enough gamma radiation to be lethal to all those who are near. One milligram of lithium helicase on one gram of uranium can destroy a military base or a fleet of our ships. As for what the insurgents were doing with this, we had no idea but we had a tipster in the Caucasus...well I did anyways. He was...interesting, an easterner who simply knew everything...I don't know how but he contacted me a few days ago with this tip. I thought another team could have handle the mission considering it was on the water but no, we had to do it. After our recon wingers followed the tip, learning the lead was authentic. It wasn't even an hour before we got off the boat from Italy when we received the briefing for this mission. It was completely my fault so I didn't bother to complain about how exhausted I was. 

Lead Wing closed the case, reconnecting his arms to his wings.

"Time to fly boys..." He said. Gyr and Saker both dove down, using the wind in their wake to flip the decoy vessel. The three men on the boat were sent into the freezing water. They were yanked beneath the river surface by the Mers. 

"We're done here?" Lanner asked.

"We're done here." Lead Wing responded.

"So," I began, "Can I go?"
"Go where?" Subbu asked.

"Nah, Merlin, we got to head back to HQ and file these reports..." Lead Wing sighed, taking off from the boat, "And I got a bone to pick with the Coordinator..." 

"What's that?" I asked, zipping over towards him. 

"It's in full confidence. Sorry, Merlin." Lead Wing sighed. 

"Tinnu, download my visual feeds... I'll write my report later." I said.

"What trouble are you about to get yourself into, Merlin?" Subbu asked. I ascended up, banking over towards him, wanting my next few statements to be personal.

"Subbu, I don't know why the fuck you care so much about what I do but I can assure it will not be to your detriment. Don't question me any further..." I said plainly. 

"Stay safe, Merlin." Lead Wing said.

"So you're just going to let him go?" Subbu asked, surprised.

"We have very narrow guidelines here in the Air Core and I can assure you that Merlin has proven to be one of the hardest working, most resilient wingers in the entire fleet. You could learn a lot from him!" Lead Wing said. 

"I won't be long!" I said, ascending into the head wind. 

I flew northwest towards the boreal forests of central Finland. The wind was biting me through my suit but I didn't care. I had to push through it. Eventually, I reached the towering trees, landing on a branch. This was perfect! I was about half a mile out, bearing witness to a spectacle I truly loved. 

The Forest Wingers were doing a routine hunting expedition, hunting Irish Elk. It was one of the most breathtaking things one could ever see. The Forest Wingers were very anatomically different from us Long Wingers. They had short broad wings with extremely long and broad tails. It gave the the ability to fly at high speed through the dense forest without worrying about clipping their wings. 

Their hunt was just beginning. One incredibly small Forest Winger, codenamed Levant, made his way through the the canopy of the trees. He leapt from branch to branch, stealthily. Another Forest Winger, one my sized named Sparrow, sat in another tree. Lastly, there was a huge forest winger, even bigger than Gyr. He most likely was about six foot six inches tall and I believe he was based off a goshawk. He obviously had to be fresh out of basics...

"We'll lead them to you alright. You take out the one we isolate." Levant said. 

"Alright, sir." The giant cyborg said. 

It was now on. Both Levant and Sparrow took off, flying mere feet above the forest floor, weaving nimbly through the undergrowth. They differed in physique quite a bit. Levant had broad wings that came to a taper much like that of the majority of the Long Wingers. Sparrow on the other hand had very broad wings phalangeal primaries. Sparrow also had a much, much longer tail than Levant. 

However, they both obviously were equally as good at maneuvering which was confusing. For us long wingers, it could make or break whether or not we were agile flyers or not. I'm guessing that due to the short wings of the of the Forest Hawkers and their tendency to glide in an anhedral, they were less stable flyers. That meant they could roll very fast as well as yaw very fast. 

It gave me an idea. I often glided in an dihedral but I wondered if I brought my wings down into an anhedral, would it boost my agility. I couldn't wait to try it! Not to mention, I seemed to be much more agile at very, very high speeds rather than low speeds. That could have been due to the fact that at high speeds, we long wingers crook our wings. 

Now Levant and Sparrow flew at breathtaking speeds through the forest. Both looked like silver ghosts as they glided and maneuvered on refrained wing beats. I could see a grazing herd of Irish Elk, oblivious to the fact that they were being stalked. They were in a clearing on the valley floor. 

"Selecting target!" Levant said. 

"I see it." The giant said, still perched. 

I lost sight of Levant but I could see Sparrow erupt from the clearing. As soon as he became visible, the Irish Elks took off in surprisingly fast sprints. You'd think animals with an antler span of twelve feet would have a hard time getting to a high speed but no, these creatures were fast! The chase was on. 

Sparrow was holding back. He was obviously a very fast winger but he was maxing himself out at fifty or so miles an hour, flanking the Elks. He led the Elks up the valley, trying to keep them from scattering into the forest. Many of the Elks turned to the southern stretch of the valley, the portion I was situated in. 

Suddenly, Levant appeared, causing the herd to scatter in all directions. The largest Elk continued north followed by his immediate herum. Levant and Sparrow swooped down on the herd, causing the females to scatter, leaving the giant Elk alone. 

"Now!" Levant demanded. 

Suddenly the giant winger took flight, powering through the air on relatively narrow but short wings. The primaries had a very loose taper and boy was quite the flyer! He accelerated to a top speed of about two hundred fifty miles an hour in a fury of wing beats and wouldn't relent. His stamina was unreal, covering the distance to the Elk Stag in about forty seconds. 

The Elk, realizing it was being pursued from three angles began to make very sharp turns. Still, the giant winger powered along, calculating trajectory as it geared to strike the massive cervid. He tucked in his wings, stretching his long legs out with talons open. Just as he was about to grapple with the Elk, the giant deer leapt up causing the winger to crash on the ground. The spill was nasty, the winger tumbling and tumbling, not coming to a halt.

For a split second, I thought the winger was hurt until he used the momentum from the fall to spring himself up into the air. He continued to power along, pumping diligently through the air. A long winger simply couldn't take a fall like that. We're too fragile! It's why I wished I was a short winger like these boys.

"I got it!" Levant said, pursuing the stag as the creature banked and weaved through the grassland. It was trying to make it back to the forest but knew that traveling a straight path would mean that it would be captured.

Levant broke his pursuit, ascending before turning with the wind. He catapulted swiftly, doubling his speed as he seized the stag by its nape, between the antlers. The mighty creature went down, it's brain being severed from it's spinal stem by Levant's talons. 

"WHOOOO!" He screeched out, exhausted. 

Sparrow and the giant forest winger made their way over to Levant, landing before him.

"I tried to get him but he leapt out the way." The giant said, feeling like he failed.

"Ghost, that would have happened to any of us. I didn't expect this thing to leap out the way!" Levant laughed. 

So his alias was Ghost. It was appropriate, forest wingers having the tendency to suddenly appear out of nowhere.

"This was your first training exercise. You did well Ghost...better than most." Sparrow added.

"This was a first for us all..." Levant laughed. 

"Yeah that cloaker is awesome! I was wondering if you were gonna use it" Sparrow said.

That explains why I lost sight of him. He had some type of equipment that made him invisible. The things I would give to be a Forest Winger! It seemed they got the coolest tech! 

"So this is where you ran off too..." I heard someone say from behind. Startled, I turned to see none other than Subbu sitting on branch just behind me, "I should have known..." 

"Why are you here?" I asked, truly flustered.

"I'm just making sure you're not getting into any trouble." He responded.

"RARGH!!" I snarled as I took off, flying towards headquaters. 

"WAIT!" Subbu said, following me closely.

My patience with him was wearing thin... It was one thing to ridicule me over everything I did but it was another thing to follow me around as though he was some type of guardian of mine. We had the same rank yet he acted like a superior. It was truly making me angry.

"LOOK!" I said, spreading my wings and tail, suddenly breaking. I inverted grabbing Subbu by his talons. We spiralled out of the sky crashing down on the forest floor. I had him pinned under my mass, "I'm so fucking tired of you... Everything I do, everything I say you got to counter it. You act like you're so moral and righteous when you're not and I'm here to tell you I'm definitely not moral... You trying to add rules to something with no rules is frustrating, not to me, but to everyone! No one likes you and you need to fuck off..."

"Let him go, Merlin..." A familiar voice said.

It was Levant, he obviously hearing what I had said over the air. It was why I was silent in the beginning but of course Subbu had to ruin it. I stepped back, freeing Subbu from my grasp. The boy wasted no time in fleeing into the air. 

"It's not what it looks like..." I pled.

"You say that every time..." Levant said, sounding completely unenthused. He turned back, heading down the valley to the kill. 

"Great hunt!" I said, truly impressed. He said nothing, taking off on stiff wing beats. It was crushing. 

Things would never be the same between Levant and I. It saddened me to say but I was not really a good guy. I slept around a lot and I had a very dark past. Levant waited on me for so long but now, I think he's moved on. I couldn't say I had though. No person understood me the way Levant did and I'd do anything to win him back.He was my one true love and I may have fucked that up. 

I took off, heading back to HQ. The sun was beginning to set and the temperature was dropping from cold to freezing. I had to get back to HQ fast because this suit was not meant to be flown in too severe a cold. I reached the hangar, flying in swiftly. I landed on the platform, the augmenting arms, disconnecting my suit. 

One actuator took off my helmet, while another took off my chest plate. I stepped out of my launcher boots, instantly becoming considerably shorter. More arms came, taking my wings, black, plate and tail actuator off. I ran down the platform barefoot. 

"In a rush, Denver?" A technician asked.




UCAC Ch. 01



"Yeah!" I laughed, leaping down the stairs. I ran towards the inner gate, the door being incredibly slow, "Come on, come on!" 

The door opened, allowing me to continue down the hall. I entered the headquarters, making my way down to the cafeteria. There, my boys sat eating. I rushed over to them.

"Took you long enough..." Marcell laughed. You'd never expect Tinnu to look this way. 

He was about five foot ten, with rich southern italian skin. His hair was dark brown and mildly curly. He had two big brown eyes, a thin nose and juicy cheek bones. His teeth were perfect, so perfect. 

"Yeah, dude. Where do you always run off to?" Milan said. He was Marcell's little big brother...Saker. He pretty much was identical to Marcell, just stretched out on a six foot four frame. 

"Have you two seen Liam?" I asked.

"No he ran off after you! Don't tell me he hasn't come back yet..." Marcell said, growing worried.

"DENVER!!" A superior shouted.

"Aw shit..." I sighed. I got to my feet, heading out of the dining hall. I knew this had to be related to Liam. 

It was Captain Wallace, Lead Wing. He stood in the hall, not looking very pleased. He led me to his office, closing the door behind him. 

"I told you not to get caught..." Captain said.

"I was silent. Liam messed up everything...in fact where is the twerp?" I asked. 

"He's in his barracks...I sent him there. What did you say to him?" Captain asked, seeming disappointed in me.

"I told him how I really feel...how everyone feels." I sighed. 

"God, Denver what the hell is wrong with you? That is a fucking kid who you probably just scarred for the rest of his military career!" He scolded.

"He followed me... I'm sorry I lost my temper." I sighed, clenching my head, "I should apologize..." 

"Yeah you should... You're not the only one with secrets, Denver." Captain smiled. It caught me off guard.

"Wait, what does that supposed to mean?" I asked.

"Liam is gay too." Captain said, "And..."

"Oh my god...eeew." I squirmed.

"Boy..."

"I'm sorry, but he's so shrimply and...EEEEW..." I cringed. 

"God, you're terrible..." Captain said, astounded. 

"Why'd you even tell me that? Oh god, please tell me you didn't tell him..." I asked.

"No. I'm just saying look out for the kid because there are some not so nice people here who'll waste no time in hurting him..." Captain said. His tone made it clear that this was an order.

"Will do." I sighed.

"I know you're still in the closet, that this will be difficult for you but since you know the struggle...guide him through it." Captain said, obviously having very little faith in me.

"And what if he makes a move on me?" I asked, truly fearing it.

"Whatever you do... don't..."

"Oh god no!" I squealed. 

"Hmmmph..." Captain said, arms folded. 

"What, you don't believe me?" I asked.

"Just be considerate of the fact that he comes from a place of rules, doctrines and key principles... It will be hard for him to adjust to this freer more spontaneous lifestyle, especially within what is supposed to be a military group." Captain responded. 

"So what's going on with the Marine Core?" I asked. 

"I'm not at liberty to say...But I can say," Captain said guiding me to the door, "That I let them know how we all feel..."

"Well," I said leaving, "Thank you!" 

"You did good today soldier now go make peace with that boy..." Captain said.

"Al..." I began, only to have Captain slam the door in my face. I laughed, heading down to the barracks. It was fairly crowded in this stretch but we Long Wingers had our own area. 

I walked up the stairs, entering the long winger stretch. There Liam sat on his bed, reading a book. He looked up at me then back down to his book. I sat on the bed parallel to his. The boy paid me no mind. 

"You know," I began, "It's been quite frustrating having to do these missions... seem like their built to take us out. I'm sorry I took it out on ya..." He closed his book, looking at me, glaring.

"Don't act like it wasn't the truth. I see how everyone looks at me when I just show up. I know you all think I'm an aggravating idiot. I know none of you like me..." Liam sighed. It was jarring to hear him speak of himself this way. 

"Well I don't want to like to you, now. No one here likes you and truth be told, everyone thinks you're annoying and that you're a hazard." I said plainly.

"A hazard? You and Milan are the biggest hazards of us all!" He said defensively. 

"Eh, one thing you must know is that our cybernetic infrastructure is programmed to portray traits of the raptor it is based on. Merlins are very boisterous and so are saker falcons. It's simply the way we're wired." I explained.

"Really?" He asked surprised.

"Yeah..."

"I never would have known. It's so disorganized." Liam sighed.

"Ever since doctor Aheem died, this place has been falling apart at the seams. You just gotta bear with it." I said. 

"When did he die?" Liam asked.

"It's been about fifteen years." I said.

"Really? And they haven't found anyone to replace him?" Liam asked, startled.

"Nope. When he died, the Cybernetic Human project was lost. Apart from the information that could be salvaged, everything was lost. His biggest project was the Land Core...cybernetic humans that could be mobilized on land, however...he was assassinated before the ideas could be finalized. I think he knew he was going to die. They say he became very paranoid with the creation of the Land Core." I continued.

"How'd he die?" 

"He was so paranoid, he moved way across the world to a strange land known as Patagonia. Our main enemy faction, the Revivalists are said to have done him in but Patagonia is so remote...I'm not quite sure of that. I think that man wanted to die." I sighed. 

"Wait, why would he want to die?" Liam asked.

"His entire life's work was being weaponized and he bared the weight of the world on his shoulders. He had been working for over thirty years prior to his death and...maybe it drove him mad. I'm not sure..." I said. 

"So no one knows what really happened to him?" 

"Yeah, by the time they recovered his body, he had decomposed considerably." 

"Wow..."

"Yeah, some stuff I learned how to just not question and to simply coexist with. I can promise you if you start doing this, your experience here will be much better. When I was your age, I had no one to tell me that. You've been here for a good while now and I think it's time you heed to this." I advised.

"Thanks, will heed to this." He said, opening his book again.

"Sorry about earlier..." I said, truly feeling guilty.

"You already apologized..." He said, obviously growing tired of me.

"Come on, let's get some food. All that flying today, I know you're hungry as hell." I asked. 

"I can't leave...I've been ordered to stay here for the rest of the night..." He sighed.

"Well let me bring you up some food..." I smiled.

"Why are you being so nice to me? I mean you made it clear that you don't like me..." Liam asked. 

"No," I said, preparing to clarify, "I was angry and said some things I shouldn't. I've only been extremely annoyed by you and nothing more. What happened earlier was no exception. There is only one person here I know well enough not to like and that is Jarvis... You may think you're not liked but Jarvis is truly the epitome of universal disgrace. You're still very young and have a lot to learn. Jarvis...he's a bit of a lost cause at this point." 

"I remember when I said hi to him. He just walked past me as though he didn't hear it...so I said hi again. He turned and ask me was I talking to him. I said yeah and he said oh and kept walking. I was like wow..." Liam reflected.

"Yeah. He has already attempting to befriend Everette after the stunt he pulled today." I said. 

"Oh my god, Everette is awesome!" Liam said, obviously having quite a crush on him. 

"You like him?" I asked. 

"Yeah, he's an awesome Winger!" Liam said.

"No, I mean you must like him." I prodded.

"No...I don't like men. That's gross." Liam refuted.

"You're lying to me." I said. Liam sighed.

"Ok...ever since he showed up, I just wanted him!" Liam confessed. 

"You two are the same age...I see why not." I said teasingly, "You better pounce before Jarvis brainwashes him."

"God, I'd never. I'm too frightened to try anyone. I have a question though..." 

"What?" I responded.

"Why do you seem to have a fixation on the Forest Wingers?" He asked. I sighed, getting ready to tell him a long story. 

"I am... what you call a slut. I have slept around with every in the closet person in this base. I have slept around with the Finnish locals. I have flown hundreds of miles simply to sleep with people. It was all fun but I had this gem waiting on me for the past seven years and today was the first time we've seen each other in months. Today though, things just went differently and I don't think things can be the same. That is why I'm so fascinated with Forest Wingers." I said.

"That Levant Winger?" Liam asked.

"Yeah..." I sighed. 

"Who is he?" 

"His name is Raul Sion. He's the only person I ever think I can love." I said, truly flustered at the thought of him. 

"Well, what if he doesn't feel the same way?" Liam asked innocently.

"I don't know what I'd do." I sighed, truly and hopelessly in love.

Raul was the only person who dared to get to know this misfit. Of course I was dumb and stupid, too blind to see how great a gift he was. He'd always know what to say to make my shitty day special and I'd always know what to say to fuck up his day. My dumb ass would often ramble on about all the dudes I slept with, like Raul took interest. He only was interested in me. Seven long years passed by and I feared the utmost worst... His feelings for me may have dwindled when mine for him were at their most high. 

In this world of perils, where nothing was finite and everything changed, having some form of consistency would be great. Raul wanted to be that rock and I truly would do anything to get him to be. I just wanted to know would Raul still be there.

"So do you want me to bring you something to eat or not?" I asked.

"No..." Liam sighed.

"Fine, suit yourself...later." I sighed, heading towards the stairs.

"Later..." He said faintly, obviously diving back into his book. 

I headed back to the dining hall. Marcell and Milan sat, conversing happily to themselves. A few tables over from them, Jarvis and Everette were talking. I just wondered what Jarvis was saying to him... Whatever it was, he had the boy laughing which terrified me even more.

"That is some strange shit..." I said, sitting next to Milan. 

"What?" Marcell asked.

"The fact that Jarvis is all over Everette...that leach." I joked. 

"I shall refrain from commenting..." Marcell laughed.

"I just know Jarvis pissed me the fuck off with all that swooping. He'll do anything to show off some speed." Milan sighed. 

"I thought it was funny. He thinks showing his physical prowess is what makes him a great leader... He should be lucky he's second in command." I sighed.

"Yeah, I think you should be second in command." Marcell suggested.

"Hell no..."

"Why?" Marcell asked.

"Because, I'm not much of a leader. I don't have the patience." I sighed.

"Shitting me... You are a creative ass flyer and you often take sacrifices for the rest of us with your little ass. I don't see how you do that shit..." Milan laughed. 

"When I think back on it, sometimes I don't see how either." I sighed. 

"Where's Liam?" Marcell asked.

"He's in his room... had a long day. I went to talk to him...gave him some advice." I chuckled. 

"Wow...you've grown... Advice?" Marcell asked, shocked.

"About what?" Milan asked.

"It's in high confidence..."

"The mission in Italy seemed to have pulled a number on you..." Marcell teased.

"Man, I've never did something so challenging in my entire life. I'm so glad to be back on home soil though." I said thinking back to that dreadful suicide mission that took place in Venice. 

"I just still fail to see why the Marine Core didn't get involved until we fucking almost died trying to salvage the mission..." Milan sighed.

"I got a good feeling this is what cap's discussion with the general was about." I inferred.

"Most likely. When intel reviewed out footage, they were surprised to see the turn of events and weren't too pleased with Liam. But I told them to go easy on him since this is his first year. However, with Everette's great performance out there, Liam has some big shoes to fill." Marcell added. 

"He'll eventually get it. We just got to to get him to think more on the wing." I sighed.

"We?" Milan asked.

"Yes we! He's a teammate and we should put all differences aside." I said.

"See, leader..." Marcell teased.

"Eh...I'm serious." I said. 

"You're right. I'll try with the kid tomorrow..." Milan sighed. 

"You're going to the tournament tomorrow?" Marcell asked.

"Oh shit I forgot about it..." I said.

"Well the forest wingers just entered it. It's only three of them...I'm not sure how they'll do." Milan responded. 

As he said that, Raul, Leo and the humungous dude from earlier entered the mess hall. They look exhausted but accomplished. They got their food, sitting at a table near the door. Succumbing to my impulses I got up, walking over to them. Their conversation fell silent as they all stared at me. Not even a single hello from them... 

"Hey..." I said, truly hoping for the best. 

"...Hey..." Raul said back, after a long delay.

"Ya'll did great out there... I envy your gear!" I smiled. 

"I mean, it was a private training event that you didn't have clearance to witness." Raul said. It was a blow to my stomach, it was. We always used to watch each other train. Something was definitely different between us. 

"Well, sorry." I sighed, not really knowing how to respond.

"Yeah..."

"Can we, talk for a minute?" I asked. Raul sighed, getting to his feet.

"Sure..." He said. The huge dude, Ghost- I didn't know his real name yet- eyed me as though I was villainous. I truly feared the worst at this point. Still though, I had to be optimistic some how. After all, Raul was the only person who truly knew me. Surely he wouldn't walk away from me...right? 

"What do you want?" He asked, arms folded, eyes glaring.

"Whoa, why this?" I asked, not expecting him to be so defensive.

"Let's not act like you don't know why." Raul said, harboring some serious hurt. 

"Yeah let's face it. I'm the biggest idiot here..." I sighed. Raul simply stared at me.

"Why do you want to talk?" He asked.

"I missed you..." I smiled.

"All bullshit... You probably slept with all of Italy while you were on that mission..." He said, not believing me at all. 

"No, I can guarantee you I did not! You don't understand! That mission was hell...the most grueling bloodiest thing I've ever done. All I could think about was getting back home, I...It made me realize that life is so finite and it's much better to spend it with someone you care about..." I said. Still, Raul looked on unfazed. 

"Oh so you come back after six months, a changed man huh?" He asked, the skepticism ringing through his voice. 

"It definitely has changed me. I was up to my neck in blood and probably will be shipped off again to another stretch of Eurasia and be forced to do it all over again. I just need something to ground and root me because without it, I'll damn near lose my mind! Just pray you won't ever have to go out into the war..." I sighed. He gave a congested eye roll, processing all I said.

"I waited seven years for you to tell me this..." He sighed. 

"I'm so sorry about being so blind to it. I know I'm the dumbest, biggest idiot..."

"But I've moved on..." He interrupted, stopping me in my tracks. 

"You've... moved...on?" I asked.

"I only could have waited so long, go through so much heartache, lay so much on the line for you and you just step past it and sleep around with everyone I know. I hoped that one day you'd come to your senses but now... I don't fucking want to deal with you. I just can't come to trusting you, will never be able to do so." He said, walking back towards the mess hall.

"Come on, don't do this to me..." I begged. He stopped.

"But what about all you've done to me?" He said with no forgiveness in his voice. And he was very justified. I really treated him like shit over these seven years and this, this is what I deserved. I was left clenching my head, watching Raul walk back into the mess hall. It was not just mere walking. Raul was walking out of my life for forever and there was nothing I could do, only watch. 

I wanted to fight for him, fight as hard as I could but I was still in the closet. Not to mention, I didn't have the most reputable name. I've hurt a lot of people and Raul was just the person I never intended to hurt. If I could just run after him and drop down to my knees and beg, I would but I was still very deep in the closet! After what these grunts have done to other gays in this joint, I didn't want to risk it. 

It was such a helpless feeling. It probably was just how Raul felt over the past seven years. I really didn't know what to do. It felt like a huge cavity was being carved in my chest. I hadn't felt like this since I was a kid, since I watched both of my parents die. I had no one else left in this treacherous world, no one! I was alone again...



UCAC Ch. 02



I apologize in advance for the back-stories and slow pacing, but bear with the series until the real drama picks up. 

This is, so far, my favorite story... I hope it becomes a favorite to my loyal readers too!

*****

Most of my life, I'd been alone. I remember the day when the overwhelming feeling that there was no one left to protect me, came with the force of a gale storm. I was nine years old, me, my mother and father were on an ocean barge coming from the Americas to France. They never told me why at the time but I learned it had something to do with the UCAC and I was recruited from a very young age. 

So my parents did everything in their power to take me to France where I could then be sent to Finland. Things were going great until we reached the English Channel. It was a place where pirates were known to loot ships. Indeed, we got looted. That night, my parents fought with all they had to protect me, not knowing the looters only came for their rations. 

My mother and Father were both hardened people. Having grown up in Post War America made them hardened nonsensical behaviors and always about their business. That night, their toughness was their detriment, feeling the need to fight no knowing the odds. They gunned down before their only son, not knowing how this would inevitably scar me. It didn't dawn on me that they were dead until the ship crashed on the British shore. I crawled over to my parents, lying on the cold wet tarmac. 

"Mom.." I said, trying to shake her awake. She was as hard as a rock. I ended up flipping her over, mortified by her face. She had been stabbed in the temple and beaten so badly I didn't even recognize her. She was blue, having changed color due all the blood rushing to her face after lying there for so long. 

I fell back, screaming to the top of my lungs wondering what monster was this because it was certainly not my mother. I could see the corpse of my father hanging by a rail as the ship had capsized upon running aground. I crawled over to him, he too was stiff and mangled so badly I couldn't recognize him. 

I cried, and cried, not able to believe this was them. I waited inside that ship for hours, hoping they'd all come back somehow, not able to grasp the fact that they were dead. I didn't realize they were dead until, from hunger, I began exploring the ship. I crawled up to the cabin, reaching the cockpit. There the ship's Captain lay dead, bludgeoned to death, in equally bad shape as my parents. The more I searched, the more dead bodies I began to find. 

I'd go up to someone, thinking they were sleeping. 

"Hey!" I'd call out, but upon looking at their face, would realize there was something wrong with them. They simply didn't look human to me. Their faces were so mangled, I couldn't come to believing these slaughtered, dead people were humans. It was so disconcerting and frustrating to see what my mind perceived as sentient beings but not humans everywhere I turned. I cried so much, 

"I want my momma," I'd repeat. 

I was so hungry, eventually reaching the pantry deep within the ship. Upon opening the door, a dead body fell on me. I screamed and kicked, thinking I was being attacked. I pushed the the cook off of me and scrambled out of the ship. I hit the stony shore, scraping myself up badly. I looked back, seeing how it was riddled with so many dead folk...people that weren't responsive to the world around them... just gone. I couldn't quite grasp the concept of death then, but I knew these people were not themselves anymore... including my parents. 

I may was nine years old, but from the time I could walk and talk, my parents taught me everything they knew about survival. If I wanted food, I'd have to hunt and forage for it. If I wanted water, I'd have to dig and distill it. If I wanted to survive, I'd have to build shelters. But still, for a nine year old, that was too much. 

I eventually was picked up by some roving bandits, probably the same bandits that killed my parents. From then on out, I made my little niche amongst them and stuck with them until I was about eighteen. That is when the UCAC raided our stronghold and said I was one of theirs. Then I was forced to be a product of their military only to learn that it was for my greater good. Still though, I was a delinquent... Very, very hard-headed and was a lot more trouble than I was worth. I got beaten and shouted at so much, I was used to it. It all changed when I met Raul in the final stages of basics. 

He was a young Frenchman, the same age as I. He probably would have been my best friend throughout most of my life if events would have taken a right turn, but still I was grateful for him. He was a gorgeous, little something. He had striking blue eyes, fiery auburn hair and the greatest smile you'd ever see. He tended to be my voice of reason in this place, keeping me out of harm's way when I had a calling for some excitement. 

In turn, I provided him with excitement, he and I exploring our sexualities with each other. To me it was no big deal but I was the one to take Raul's virginity. Not only that, but I persisted to whore around while Raul only wanted one person and that was me. I often was sent on hit and run mission that carried me across hundreds of miles and back. Along the way, I'd fuck any and everything that was attractive and would go back and tell Raul about my adventures. He'd always smile and nod but deep down, it hurt so much. 

Then came the long a gruelling Italy runs. We had received a tip that the Revivalists had a major head of operations in old Venice. We Long Wingers were tasked with opening the door for the job and did so as planned. However it became quite evident that this was trap, to lure all of the UCAC into one area and lay waste to them. This was not a Revivalist nest but bait and lure from a massive Cobalt attack. The only one to figure that out was Tinnu as he saw insurgents surrounding the empty building we were in. However, he did not figure it out in time. 

Our second wing, Laggar, was shot by a high posted sniper and many of the Broad Wingers were gunned down too. We were left pretty much in an air versus ground battle that dragged out over the course of weeks as we were pretty much pinned down. What we needed were forces on the ground because us light weights in the air only were built to provide air support. But with the death of professor Aheem, we had to pull extra weight. 

The Air Core was known for it's hard work but the Marine Core, the ones with the firepower to stop this within a matter of hours held back, watching many of us die at the hands of the Cobalt Insurgents. It was so frustrating when they were the ones with the numbers, the weaponry and the intelligence. Maybe it was because they were the first team to be designed but didn't like that there was an Air Core? Who knows, but the man in charge of the Marine Core, General Harman was as twisted as a Chinese willow. 

What ever his end game was, he wanted to come out on top and quite frankly, we did not need someone like him in charge. He wanted death, especially if it could get him his way. Our General, General Aquil, often had to pull miracles out of his ass and this was no exception. He had to bring in a special team of Broad Wingers, the Roc Class. 

Basically it was a team of eight men, each over seven feet tall and over two hundred seventy five pounds, in cybernetic wing suits based upon eagles. The Roc Class all had wingspans well over twenty eight feet, each being platforms for powerful explosive weapons. His arrival turned the tides of this battle and we all fought our way out. 

The battle lasted two more weeks as insurgents kept pouring in, but under General Aquil's fist, no more Winger's lives' were lost and it truly was the first time General Harman's authority had been questioned. Of course, when all the bloodshed had fell, General Harman sent the clean up recovery crew to take care of the wreckage and the locals. 

The battle that lasted two months had an aftermath that lasted four more months. We couldn't leave until General Harman's work was done which was tough because, we didn't use the same resources as the Marine Core. Our rations were running low and we had dozens of mouths to feed. 

All I could think about was getting out of this hell hole and getting home to Raul, telling him about this shit! Upon doing so, I learned some very tough things. He had gotten over what we had, or what we didn't have. He was tired of the heartbreak and cut ties with me all together. We weren't even friends at this point and it felt like the little bit of life I did have was crumbling in my hands...it's particles being whisked away at the slightest breeze. 

I just wasn't my loud, brash and carefree self anymore. I just wanted that void in my life filled again and no one soul could replaster it except Raul. I loved him more than he could ever know. I just sat in my bed, thinking about him non stop. 

"DENVER!" A superior shouted. I sprung up to my feet, standing at parade rest. 

"SIR!" I shouted back unsure who it was. 

It was Captain Wallace, Lead Wing of the Long Wingers. 

"Everyone's looking for you! Go to the locker room and give your team a prep talk." He said, unsure why I was still in my barracks. 

"Will do sir." I said, making my way to the stairs. 

"And one more thing..." Cap began, "Don't come back here for the rest of the day...That's an order." 

"Captain..." I sighed, begging him. 

"What happened?" Captain asked. 

"Things are dead between Raul and I... I just don't know..." I sighed. 

"You're twenty four years old...take your mind off of love and think about the people who depend on you! Now, get down there and show them some love!" Captain said. He always could put a smile on my face. I nodded and headed down to the locker room. I walked past the Broad Wingers, the Roc Class and met my squad, all stretching for the long day of flying ahead. Marcell was the first to lay eyes on me. 

"Oh my God, why the fuck weren't you here?" He asked. 

"I guess I was a little bit more beat than thought I was." I laughed. 

"Wait," Milan began, "You're not flying with us?" 

"Not this time..." I said with a faint smile. 

"We won't need him..." Jarvis chimed in, not bothering to make eye contact. Milan turned to him, ready to give Jarvis a thorough tongue lashing. 

"Yeah you all won't," I began, "You have Everette and he's very, capable." Everette turned to me as he stretched. 

"You think so?" Everette asked. 

"Of course!" I smiled, "Just don't hold back kid! Not many Wingers your age can fly like that! You're a rare force!" 

Jarvis gave a quick glance at me, the brief eye contact speaking volumes. He was not enthused with what I was saying but again, held his silence. Everette too was surprised by my kind tongue, obviously hearing from Jarvis that I was not the nicest person. 

"Thank you and will heed..." Everette responded. 

Everyone was chattering, all except Liam who sat silently on the floor, stretching. I almost didn't notice him, there. 

"You alright back there?" I asked. 

"Yeah, I just want to get this over with..." Liam sighed. 

"Oh god, he sounds like you..." Jarvis murmured. 

"Well Liam, this right here will officially break you into the team. Don't sweat it. It's all fun and games, at the end of the day." Milan sighed. 

"We'll see when I get out there. I mean I am the smallest thing on two wings... If I get bumped out of the sky, I just get bumped out of the sky..." Liam said, sounding truly unenthused. 

"You realise you are the most agile flying Winger of us all right? If you don't want to be touched, no one can touch you. You also seem caught up on the fact that you're small. Well let me tell you something, us small guys pack the biggest punch! We can get into places bigger blokes cannot and get the fuck out just as easy. A bit of advice...don't be so linear when it comes to flying. Any and everything can work to your possible advantage out there. You just gotta keep that mind of yours open and learn to listen to Marcell! He won't lead you wrong... He's our intel for a reason!" I said. 

"Will heed..." Liam said. 

Jarvis looked at the little munchkin, spread out on the floor. He meticulously scanned him from head to toe with almost predatory intent. 

"Hmp," He said with a brief nod, before returning to being a douchebag. Something about Jarvis just made my skin crawl. He was the Starscream to Captain Wallace's Megatron, I swear!! I just hated that sleaze... 

"Ok," Marcell began, "At least be in radio contact with us!" 

"Nope." I laughed. 

"WHY NOT!" Marcell asked, growing frustrated. 

"I'm telling you, put a little faith in Liam and Everette. It could be kinda like how you and Milan have a big-little structure and use it well! The two are really young but I can promise you this! When they learn to work together the way you two do, they'll be a force unlike anything we've seen here at UCAC." I said. Marcell sighed, my words giving him something to think about. 

Jarvis eyed me threateningly, the statement obviously going against everything he was instilling in Everette. Everette turned to Liam who continued to stretch on the floor, giving him a brief nod and a smile. 

"Ok yeah, you have a point..." Milan chimed in, he too thinking about it. 

"In order for this to work, the two will at least have to have the same build mechanics and they simply do not. Subbu is built for aerial...meandering while Lanner is built for high speed coursing...much like Saker and I." Jarvis chimed in. This dude was simply nasty. How he was attempting to wedge barriers between the team made it clear he was here for his own agenda. 

"That's all science talk when I'm talking strategy. Milan and Marcell have very different builds but I can assure you that the two work together like butter on scones! What I'm saying is that teamwork is key to the success of anything we do, and that Milan and Marcell are testaments to that." I said back. 

"They also have seven years of experience together when Lanner went on his first real mission yesterday and Subbu has been attempting to be successful on these missions for the past eleven months." Jarvis said, throwing insults in as he nimbly learned how to do. 

"What you lack in agility in mid air, you surely know you make up for it with your smart as tongue..." Milan said, coming to Liam's defense. 

"Look," I said sitting between Everette and Liam, "Neither of you are going to get working together as a team right on the first try. But I can assure you that if you do try, you will grow as a team! Nothing is ever easy and nothing is ever concrete. But I'd recommend you pay attention to Milan and Marcell because they work in a way that keeps each other alive. Even on this team exercise, you will learn that there is no such thing as every man for himself. You are dependent on the man next to you and vice versa." 

"Yeah, I remember when Milan swooped down a flipped that boat when it was shooting at Marcell..." Everette recalled, warranting a snide look from Jarvis. 

"Not only that, but Marcell is our most valuable man on the field. If he's down, we're all at a disadvantage." I added. 

"Oh really?" Everette asked. 

"Yeah." I responded. 

"He's our intel. Without him, we know nothing, can do nothing and are fighting blind. I learned that the hard way yesterday..." Liam chuckled. 

"Yeah and mistakes are fine. As long as you recover swiftly and learn from them, it's all the matter. I know we can be a little tough on you but so is this world. We can't go easy on you and you get out there and ruin yourself... It has happened before..." I sighed. 

"What?" Everette responded. 

"You know the Broad Wing team is the biggest team... Well their training is a little lenient and they don't work on extreme variables. You were in basics at the time but this became all too evident when we have the Venice mission. Over half the Broad Wingers were out of comission over the course of the mission. We lost a man too...codenamed, Laggar. You are here to replace him..." I responded. 

"Well damn..." Everette said, taken aback. 

"I don't mean to scare you. And just so you know, you have no shoes to fill but your own. Laggar left a legacy behind but you must forge your own. Let this training exercise be the start!" I said, extending out my hand. He shook it, taking great interest in the words I said. I looked over to Liam, giving him a swift brow furl. 

I did the boy a grand favor, reducing the gap between him and Everette by a huge margin. Now, it was time for them to build a friendship that would stay with them for their entire military career. I did have my concerns though. Jarvis may have been defeated this once, but he truly had a gameplan. I bet it had something to do about concerns of losing his spot as Second Wing. All and all, Everette could rob him of it because Everette was a better flyer than Jarvis. 

Yeah I said it and will say it again! Everette was better on the wing than Jarvis and Jarvis knew this. Jarvis, though, had nearly a decade of experience over Everette which gave him the skill to combat Everette's talent. It was why Jarvis was attempting to get close to Everette. He wanted to get inside this boy's head, fuck around with him and eventually send him into ruin. Essentially, Jarvis was eliminating the competition. 

It was time for the team to be off. They stood up, all heading towards the hangar. As they left, I stopped Everette, grabbing him by his arm. He looked surprised, unsure what this would be about. 

"Hey..." I said. 

"Yeah?" He responded, full of uncertainty. 

"I want you to be careful around Jarvis. He's not a good guy at all and if you're not careful, you'll end up like Chance." I said. 

"Who's Chance?" The boy asked. 

"Laggar... Laggar died because of Jarvis. I'm warning you...steer clear of Jarvis." I said sternly. 

"That's funny..." Everette said. 

"What?" I responded. 

"He said you'd say something like this." 

"Look, if you don't believe me then fine. Jarvis will boil you so slow you won't even know the water's scalding until you're dead. I'm not here to scare you Everette but I do wish for you to heed my warnings. Stay away from Jarvis..." I responded. 

"He said that you only care about yourself," Everette said, snatching his arm away from me, "That you're not a team player, and that you'll do anything to get your way..." 

"He seems to have that mixed up with himself. Well as I said you were warned... Find out on your own, dammit and when you end up with talons in your back because you thought it was someone you can trust, I won't be there with an I told you so because you'll likely be dead...and guess who's gonna be responsible... Jarvis. The closer you get to him, the less likely you are to see it coming and quite frankly, he's clawing at your shins..." I sighed. 

"Well," He said looming over me with his chest puffed out, "Seems you're the one clawing at my shins. Jarvis was so right about you. He called you out so well..." The boy chuckled, walking away. 

"I'm sorry for you kid... You haven't even had a good run yet." I said, sitting down on the bench. 

"So now you're preying on the new grunts..." Someone said from behind. I turned, startled. It was Raul. 

"What? No..." I refuted. 

"Well it seems you just got shot down and took it up the ass..." He sighed. 

"Raul, that battle in Italy was no joke. We lost our second best flyer and it was no one's fault but Jarvis's. You weren't there! You didn't see what we saw." I said to him. 

"Wow..." He said full of skepticism. 

"Have I ever lied to you?" I asked, unsure where this lack of trust was coming from, "Have I ever told you anything that wasn't true?" He thought on it long and hard. 




UCAC Ch. 02



"...No." 

"So why is this so hard for you to believe?" I asked, truly growing frustrated. 

"I don't know, maybe because you're a slut. All you do is sleep around with any and everything... It's easy to see you saying things to get your way." He said. His words bludgeoned me. 

"You know damn well I'd never lie..." I said through the grit of my teeth. 

"I wouldn't put it past you at this point...six months? Six months you've been gone and you expect me to believe you haven't slept with anyone?" Raul asked, truly struggling to believe me. I hadn't been this frustrated since I couldn't wrap my head around the death of my parents. The same feeling of helplessness returned. I couldn't help it. Tears rolled down my cheeks as I stood here, pleading with someone so exhausted over me. 

"If I can bring you the live feeds we had from the six months we stayed there and show you proof that I didn't do anything..." 

"Six months worth of footage? I'm supposed to watch six months worth of footage? Are you out your damn mind?" Raul asked. 

"Raul..." I begged. 

"No, I told you. I've moved past you..." He said, walking back to the row of lockers. I was left pursuing him. 

"Past me? As in you've found someone else?" I asked, hoping this wasn't the case. 

"I'm sorry it happened, Denver. I didn't intend on falling for someone else but...you can't help who you fall in love with..." He said, not even bothering to look at me. 

"Who!" I demanded. 

He reached his lockers, where his tiny team of three were getting ready for the tournament. They all seemed very, very, very unhappy with my presence. 

"Just tell me..." I demanded, growing beyond anxious. Ghost, I still didn't know his name, turned to me. He was a gigantic wall of a muscle, one that loomed over me like an impenetrable structure for war. 

"Get...lost..." He demanded. It was then it hit me, he and Raul were a thing. I could say nothing more, only losing all hope of ever getting him back. This Ghost fellow was tall, dense and very well muscled. He had thick blonde hair, chiseled features and the most alarming grey eyes you could ever bear witness too. They could look through you, it seemed and that is what he did to me. He was just a gorgeous, tower of strength and impenetrability and truthfully... I knew I lost. 

There was nothing left to do but dry my pitiful tears and leave. It definitely hurt, but most things in this world did. I was down, but not defeated and things certainly would change. I had nothing to do but spectate the tournament, it being a raw blast of fun. It pretty much was a big ariel brawl: Long Wingers versus the Broad Wingers. The Long Winger's just dominated this match, despite there being twelve against five. I blamed it on the Broad Winger's lazy training. 

Then came the Long Wingers versus the Roc Class and it was an out of this world match. Speed unlike anything I've ever seen versus unparalleled agility. It was a close match but the Roc Class was defeated as well, just not able to keep a bead on the much smaller and more nimble Long Wingers. Even Gyr had an agility boost over the Roc Class. The thing with the Roc Class was that they were designed for land targets. Their massive bulk and ability to carry extreme loads made sure of this. It just didn't serve them well in a spiraling match. 

Then came the thirty minute break. The teams deserved it, having exhausted themselves on the wing. I ran down to the field to greet them. 

"Man ya'll did great!" I smiled. 

"I'm sticking out like a sore thumb out there. Everyone keeps trying to pick me off because I have no one to cover me..." Subbu said. I looked at Lanner who simply recalibrated his head's up display. 

"Cover him!" I said. He gave no reply, only a smug grin from under his helmet. 

"We are spread a little thin out here..." Tinnu said. 

"And I'm not at all fast. Those Roc wingers easily caught up to me..." Subbu sighed. 

"Me too..." Tinnu sighed. 

"Yeah, the difference is that you have Saker covering you. I don't have shit!" Subbu sighed, "I got grazed..." 

"Really?" I asked, concerned. 

"Yeah my back is about to have it..." Subbu said. 

"I'll be back." I said. Tinnu knew precisely what was about to happen. I ran all the way to the hangar, quick to suit-up. 

"OPEN THE GATE!" I demanded. The main hangar gate opened and I was off. I flew over to the field, landing with the Long Wingers. 

"Looks like they have a last minute edition to the team. Now it's six against three. The odds look slim for the Forest Wingers..." The radioman said. I then realized how bad this was going to make me look. I suddenly join in the fray to play against the opposing team that happens to have the person who just rejected me playing for it. Yeah, it made look like a fool but Subbu was injured and he needed some support. 

"This should be a breeze...three Forest Wingers?" Saker said. 

"Aye man, they got some crazy as tricks up their sleeves. What ever you do, don't count them out..." I advised. 

"Really like what?" Gyr asked, obviously prodding at how I acquired this information. 

"Cloaking fields..." I said. 

"Bullshit..." Gyr refuted. Subbu looked at me, knowing I was telling the absolute truth. He too saw Levant disappear from sight that evening and was just as amazed as I was. 

"You sure?" Tinnu asked. 

"I'm most certainly sure but I understand why you all are being skeptical. Just stay on your toes..." I warned. 

"How'd you even come across top secret information such as this?" Gyr asked. I didn't bother to respond. This was his attempt to villainize me. 

"You know what I'm lying... They will be easy to pick off. Don't mind a word I'm saying. I'm fucking insane!" I sighed, truly not wanting to engage with Gyr. Gyr said nothing, only sitting on the bench. Lanner stared at me for a long while, before his depth of field wondered off. Subbu eyed him with so much want and desire, I felt sorry for the boy. 

"Subbu, this is the plan of action," I said going over to him, "Forest wingers have the most explosive flight performance of us all. They are not faster than us but they are quicker than us and just as agile! They have great burst performance but lack power. The... 

"Can you speak up!" Tinnu interrupted walking over to me, "Why are you talking so soft? You scared we're gonna get mopped?" 

"Man..." I laughed. 

"Oh shit, you seriously think we're gonna get mopped!" Tinnu said, full of worry. 

"We've been winning this whole time. If we lose, it'll be his fault..." Gyr said. 

"Wow man..." I sighed, not wanting to address him more. 

"They can't be that tough..." Lanner said, walking his way over to us. 

"You see that big one right there?" I asked, pointing to him. 

"Damn he's massive..." Lanner said, biting his tongue. 

"I um..." I began, "He's completely crash proof... He can take a beating and probably give one too..." 

"He's slow..." Tinnu inferred. 

"Not at all, two hundred fifty mile an hour top speed and can get to it in a single burst." I responded. 

"Well can he turn?" Lanner asked. 

"Yeah, he's agile...more agile than his size leads on but I'm not quite sure how agile. I also don't know his vertical but Sparrow and Levant both have mediocre verticals but considering his size... I mean his stamina is top notch too! He flew a forty second burst at top speed." I added. 

"What?" Lanner asked, not being able to believe me. 

"He did..." Subbu added. 

"What about Levant and Sparrow?" Tinnu asked. 

"Their flight performance is in between that of a Long Winger and a Broad Winger: great agility at top speed and very low stall speed. What they lack though is a good climb rate due to how high a wing loading they have. But Ghost, the big one...I have my concerns. He's a fucking one man army." I responded. 

"Then I'll be sure to take him out first." Gyr said, so sure of himself. I looked at him, hoping he knew what he'd be getting himself into. 

"Tinnu, don't waste no time in getting scans. First thing you do when the match starts is go to a high altitude and scan. If not, we won't have a leg up on them." I advised. 

"Wait... they can cloak can they?" Tinnu asked. He knew I wouldn't be this concerned if they couldn't. All I could do was nod. 

"All I got to say is that this will be...fun." Lanner said. 

The Fog horn blew. It was time for the match to start. I was beyond terrified but I knew very well, if we followed through with the plan, this would work. We walked out to the center of the field where the official stood. I could tell even through Levant's mask, he eyed me with nothing but rage. We got into starting positions. 

"Hey big guy," Gyr said, "You and me will dance..." 

"I'm sorry I don't dance...just crush toes." Ghost responded. 

"You just couldn't simply let it die peacefully could you?" Levant asked me. It was quite clear he figured I entered this match simply because he did. I gave no response, only waiting for the match to start. 

The Fog horn blew for a second time. Now the match was on. Immediately Levant came for me, his short broad wings allowing him to get into the air much quicker than I could. I ducked down as he came forward with those heavy duty talons. He overshot but came back for another pass. I wasted no time in getting into the air, Levant already gaining on me. His current speed allowed him to nearly catch me but somehow I managed to roll out the way. 

My flight wasn't quite as stable as it usually was and I was nearly sent to the ground. Still, Levant close on my tail. Tinnu powered up vertically, Sparrow on his tail. 

"Someone get this thing off my ass!" Tinnu screamed. 

"I got em..." Saker said, swooping in to his brother's rescue. Now he and Sparrow entered a spiraling match, surprised by the little winger's ability to navigate these tight turns. 

Gyr went after Ghost, chasing the giant down with relentless aggression. He may have had a speed advantage over Ghost but Ghost could out turn him so easily. The two looked superficially similar as they banked and weaved at two hundred plus miles an hour over the field. 

"Subbu, get that Forest winger off of Merlin's tail. Lanner you'll stand a better chance at staying in those turns compared to Gyr. Go after the big one!" Tinnu said. 

"Alright," The two boys said, swooping down to join the fray. 

It was what Tinnu needed, as he kited above the ground. He began the long grueling process of scanning the broad spectrum array. He locked onto two of the targets, detecting a strange light bending particle. 

"I locked onto the two targets...sending data now!" Tinnu said. 

"There were three!" I said. 

"What?" Tinnu said, reviewing his scans. 

Suddenly an impact warning blared in his head's up display. Before Tinnu could react, Ghost appeared from a shallow angle dive, feet outstretched. He careened into fragile little Tinnu sending the boy in a spiral towards the ground. 

"NO!!" Lanner screamed, rushing over to his fallen brother. Before Tinnu could hit the ground, Saker caught him in his talons, both skidding to a halt on the ground. Tinnu was unconscious. 

"Forest wingers one, long wingers zero!" The official shouted. 

Saker got back on the wing, scanning the sky for the winger that took down his brother. The boy was angry. Suddenly, Ghost appeared again, grabbing Saker in his talons and hurling him like a ragdoll. Saker tumbled across the sodd, coming to a halt lying on his back. He had no idea what had hit him. 

Ghost disappeared again. I didn't know who he was going to target next, but I had to make sure I wasn't it. So I began ascending in loose circuits, making sure I reached my three hundred mile an hour top speed. I looked around, seeing the other two Forest Wingers had vanished too. Gyr, Lanner and Subbu hovered trying to figure out how on earth the forest team could have disappeared. 

"NO!" I shouted, "Don't stand still!! They'll pick you off!" 

It was too late, Ghost appeared out of nowhere, grappling with Gyr. The two were almost of equal size but Ghost overpowered him, sending him skidding across the ground. 

"Told you, I step on toes..." Ghost said before vanishing again. This time I saw him. He wasn't totally invisible, only bending the light around him. As long as I stayed above him, I could see him clearly as well as a faint shadow of his, passing along on the ground. 

Still though, within that same time frame, Sparrow grabbed Lanner by his mask and chest plate sending him in a dive towards the ground. I quickly flew over to him as he fell. 

"SUBBU, KEEP UP YOUR PACE AND LOOK FOR SHADOWS ON THE GROUND!" I shouted, grabbing Lanner in my talons before he hit the ground, releasing him in a gentle tumble across the sod. 

Then, my sensors warned me of a collision, blaring to my left. I was really low to the ground, but still inverted to evade the oncoming attack. Suddenly, Sparrow appeared over my head, shocked he missed me. I reached out, locking talons with him and inverting again. I slammed him into the sod, having only two attackers to worry about now. 

"Forest Wingers four, long wingers one." The official shouted. 

"Computer, scan for optical distortions and bring stereoscopic radar to my optics." I said. The head's up display began to change my surroundings until my optics began to display Ghost and Levant, both still cloaked. 

"Ok, update Subbu's!" I commanded. 

"Hey my computer's fritzing up!" Subbu said, breaking pace as a result. 

"Keep on speeding! It'll clear up!" I said, but it was too late. Ghost slammed into the frail boy, sending him in a spiral towards the ground. It truly pissed me off. 

Fortunately, Saker was unscathed from his crash and was well enough to catch Subbu before he hit the ground. Subbu was rendered unconscious from such a debilitating blow. He landed on the ground with Subbu, careful not to injure the boy any further. A field aid came with a gurney, picking the boy up and wheeling him to the infirmary. 

It was now Ghost and I. He surely was keen on using excessive force and I would be too in this instance. He knocked two of my friends unconscious and stole my man! I had a bone to pick with him even if that meant I had to break all of his! This meant it was time to do what I do best...stoop. 

Ghost had no idea I could see him. He struggled to keep pace with me as I flew up and up and up as fast as my wings could carry. I eventually placed a considerable amount of distance between us. When he was far enough away, I quickly rolled into a stoop, my three hundred mile an hour speed going to four hundred, four fifty, five hundred, five fifty! 

Ghost then realized something wasn't right. He reversed and began to flee in the other direction. His dive was fast too but I started mine sooner, thus having the advantage. I gained on him easily. The nimble winger turned sharply, hoping to out flank me, but I kept my wings close to my body and held them in an anhedral. It gave me the leverage to barely stay in the turn. 

My speed was so great I couldn't help but maintain instability. He turned again this time entering a hammerhead turn. He expected me to be on his back side, so when he turned around, I'd have a face full of talons. It was evident by his constant looking over his shoulder prior to entering the turn. But no, I shot right beneath his underside, inverting and powering down right onto the unsuspecting winger. 

I plowed into him as hard as I could, sending him into freefall. He was unconscious. I circled back again, plowing into the giant one hit after the other. I wanted to make sure he was down and out for the count. It was so invigorating watching him tumble through the sky. But still, I couldn't just let him crash into the ground. It would mean certain injury, possibly death for him. I swooped down, grabbing him in my talons and spreading my wings. I slowed down his descent to a hand full of miles an hour before releasing him to the ground. 

Suddenly, I was hit from the side. I crashed into the ground, something locking talons with me. When we stopped rolling across the sod, I was the one standing. Underneath the grasp of my talons was Levant, pinned. 

"Forest wingers five, long wingers three..." The official said, unsure who to label the winner. I was the last man standing on my team and managed to have downed the entire forest winger team but the forest wingers got the most points. I got off of Levant, disconnecting my wing and extending out my hand to help him up. 

"Congrats on winning." I said. He simply looked up at me, not bothering to take my hand. He got to his feet and dusted himself off. He walked away, leaving me with one of the most hollow feelings I ever felt. 

"We declare the winning team," The Official began, "The Long Wingers for having a man still standing at the end of the match!" 

The concessions roared out, adding to this very hollow victory. I walked back over to my team's side of the field. Everyone was there, treating their wounds. 

"You all ok?" I asked. 

"Yeah, we'll be alright. That Ghost fellow hits hard. He showed no restraint..." Saker said. 

"Yeah he does... But I hit him harder!" I smiled. 

"Are you alright?" Saker asked. 

"Yeah...I'm fine." I said, looking over to Gyr. His pride was definitely wounded from his defeat. However, he sat there as though nothing had happened. I wasn't one to prod or ridicule when it wasn't called for and this situation was no exception. 

"You were right! Them some tough sonsabitches!" Saker said, thinking back on it. 

"You know, I'm gonna go check on Tibbu and Subbu. They got hit the hardest..." I said. I walked off, the hollow feeling in my chest really being too much to bear. Where was my completion? It certainly was not here. 

"Hey!" I heard someone say. I turned, seeing it was Lanner running after me. 

"You kept me from crashing back there..." He said, sounding surprised. Truthfully, it sickened me to my stomach. He had this preconceived notion that I was some terrible person and quite frankly, I felt he was an idiot. If he wanted to be under Gyr's wing, so be it. I just refused to bail him out when Gyr's treachery decides to bare its head. All I could do was walk away, not bothering to acknowledge him. 

I took wing, heading back to the hangar. I hung up my suit and walked to the infirmary. There, Tibbu and Subbu lay in hospital beds, finally coming to their senses after being clocked from the sky. 

"What happened?" Subbu asked. 

"You got knocked out the sky." I laughed. 

"Shit, did we lose?" Tibbu asked. 

"No..." I smiled. 

"Oh my God, Denver what kind of miracle did you pull out your ass!" Tibbu said, shocked. 

"I crossed my suits passive radar scans with optical aliasing scans and pinpointed the Forest Wingers while they were cloaked. I tried to update Subbu's systems to it but I should have told you ahead of time. You getting hit was my fault." I sighed. 

"Whoa dude...I was trying to do the same thing but then I got hit." Tibbu laughed. 

"But you're both ok though?" I asked. 

"Yeah, I'm fine." Subbu said. 

"Yeah! Let's get back out there!" Tibbu said, leaning up. 

"No, no!" A practitioner said, "You have injuries! Both of you have mild concussions! No more flying for the day..." 

"Shit..." Tibbu sighed. 

"Don't be so down...you won three matches out of the entire tournament." I smiled. 

"Yeah, but I really wanted to participate in the race... Eh, I guess there's always next quarter. And by then we'll have new wingers coming in." Tibbu sighed. 

"I wish you could have saw Gyr go down. It was so damn funny. And his flunky was hit too..." I laughed. 

"Damn, all that bragging and he didn't do shit..." Tibbu laughed. 

"What about Lanner?" Subbu asked. 

"Man fuck that little dumbass! I say we let Gyr brainwash him... I don't have time for anyone who doesn't think for themselves..." I sighed. 




UCAC Ch. 02



"You sure you wanna do that?" Tibbu asked. 

"I bailed him out once due to Gyr's disregard and I'm not doing it again. By the time he realizes how fucking twisted Gyr is, he'll have a knife in his back." I said. 

"Yeah, I can't ever come to forgive Gyr for what he did to Chance... Chance was a good man, arguably the best flyer amongst us...and now... gone! Don't curse Everette like that, Merlin. I don't wish that type of deceit upon him... upon no one." Tibbu, reflected shaking his head. 

"You're right...but still though, I'm not helping him...not after what he said to me." I sighed. 

"Wait, when?" Tibbu asked. 

"I stopped him before he left for the hangar and told him to be weary of Gyr and he said Gyr warned him I'd say this to him. He then said something stupid and condescending along the lines of, I'm riding his shins and at that point I was like bitch fuck you...when Gyr kills your ass, I would tell you I told you so but you'll be dead so fuck you! So...I left it at that..." I sighed. 

"Aw man, he's already in the boy's head. Denver, you can't let anything happen to him." Tibbu said. I looked over to Subbu. A silent plea was written all over his eyes. 

"Ok, but if he doesn't get the bigger picture next time shit goes south for him, he's on his own." I said. 

"What are you lot talking about?" Someone in the doorway said. I truned, seeing it was Cap. 

"Nothing..." I sighed. 

"Well, General Aquil is pleased with your flying and quick thinking out there to score the win. He thinks you should be Second Wing." The captain smiled. 

"No..." I quickly refused. Captain was shocked. 

"No?" He asked. 

"See, I'm not trying to compete with Gyr... Not after...I just am not a good fit, sir." I sighed. He looked at me intently. 

"Not after what?" He asked, arms folded. 

"He killed Chance or his lack of action got Chance killed! I was there, I saw it with my own eyes and I refuse to be Gyr's next target." I sighed. 

"You know you can't say that to the General, right? He's adamant about you being my Second Wing..." Captain sighed. 

"So, he wants me signed up for suicide...I see..." I sighed, truly frustrated. 

"No...Denver... If you don't want to be Second Wing, just tell me. You don't have to blame it on something else..." Captain said. 

"I would happily be Second Wing but you think Gyr will take kindly to someone half his size pulling rank over him?" I asked. 

"You're overreacting. I know it's a big responsibility and all..." 

"Ok, I'll do it... When I die in battle, just know it was at the hands of Gyr... Tired of this fucking hellish life anyway. Maybe it is my time..." I sighed. 

"DENVER!" The Captain snarled. 

Tinnu and Subbu sat in utter shock. 

"My office now..." He demanded. We walked back to his office, he slamming the door behind us. I didn't bother to sit because I knew I was going to get an earful. I just looked at the floor. 

"This is a major step for you, for anyone! You'd be a fool not to take it." He said. 

"Well, I'm a fool." I sighed. 

"Did something happen?" Captain asked. 

"Of course something happened! Raul and that Ghost person are now a thing and I just destroyed them both in the tournament. You know how devastating it was to win, to defeat the person who always felt defeated by you? You know how hard he came for me when the tournament started and to have it end with me on top? He...hates...me!" I said back. 

"The general also was pleased by how eager you were to not only save your teammates from crashing into the sod, but the opposing team as well." Captain added. 

"What? The sod is hard! Someone would have done the same for me if I got hit." I said. 

"No they wouldn't!" Captain laughed before getting serious again, "You got the makings of a leader and one day you will be in my seat. I'm promising you that. Now, if you say you're not ready to lead, I believe you but General Aquil is...how you say...he doesn't take no for an answer." 

"Well lets see how well I can spruce up this no!" I said. 

"Eh, I wish you well boy. He's in his office..." Captain sighed. 

I'd be lying if I said I wasn't terrified. General Aquil was seven foot, two inches of three hundred pounds of brick wall. He meant business and was accustomed to getting his way. I entered his office, standing at parade rest, not bothering to sit. 

"Take a seat..." He smiled. I reluctantly did so, "So you participate in only one match, dominate and vanish?" 

"I um, my mates were struggling a bit after having to take on the Roc Class and one of them simply didn't have anyone to cover him so I had to step up." I said. 

"So you felt the need to step in at that time?" 

"I mean I have faith in my boys, it's just they don't work together as a team unless someone hammers them. Marcell and Milan are the only two that work together proficiently... The rest of them, I can't speak for as well." I sighed. 

"You seem to be a team player, taking care of your own as well as the ones who aren't. That is what we need here." He smiled. 

"I don't think I'm cut out for taking on a leadership role." I said. 

"Why not?" The General asked, not pleased with my response. 

"Well," I said trying to think of something swiftly, "I just have issues... I don't want to be a leader when I'm struggling putting my past behind me." 

"To me these are excuses. Everyone on your team looks up to you..." The General said. 

"That's not true. Jarvis and I don't see eye to eye over any matter and he often is the root cause over all the poor teamwork that occurs on missions." I refuted. 

"Jarvis...is a complicated fellow. It's why I want him to step down as Second Wing." The General said. 

"It's not going to happen. He won't take this lightly. The scary part about Jarvis is that he won't utter a word. He'll put a smile on his face but in his mind, formulate ways to take you out. Today was a prime example of this when he let Everette get plucked out of the sky. He knew better than to stay in one spot... I just don't trust him..." 

"So the reason you don't want to be Second Wing is because of Jarvis?" The General asked. 

"Partly..." 

"What else?" 

"Every time I go out on a mission, I hope it completes me, hope it makes me feel like I'm alive... By the time the mission is over, I'm left with this hollow feeling like I have more questions than answers..." I sighed. 

"That's not good, kid." The General said, sounding disappointed, "That's basically telling me you're out for the thrills and not for the success." 

"I mean, I take care of mine... I'm first to take the plunge and the last one to leave. I do care about the success..." I said in my defense. 

"Yeah but sounds like you don't care about you! That is both a good and bad trait... Are you out there to kill yourself?" He asked. 

"At this point, I don't know. I'm just tired of the same old formula, with the same old results, with the same function. I want something that'll make me feel alive!" I said, unsure what part was honesty and what part was me trying to squirm out of this. 

"That saddens me to hear this from someone so great on the battle field. I'll tell you what...I'm sending you west for six months...you want to feel alive, I got something for you. When you come back here, you'll wish you never left." The General said. 

"Ok, sir." I shrugged, unsure how this was going to be challenging. 

"But before that, your team will be heading to Spain... There's a mission that only your team can handle. However, considering the way the Venice mission went, I'm taking extra precautions and sending the Roc Class for added support if needed. Details will be given tomorrow. Also, don't tell anyone you're leaving. This is something between, you, me and your Captain." He said. 

"Yes sir." I said. It made me realize that Captain was going to chew me a new one. My mouth got me into something I definitely couldn't squirm out of, now. I feared for the disappointment I would bring Captain Wallace...



UCAC Ch. 03



I write 3 chapters at a time simply because with my ADHD, it strikes the perfect balance. 

I got all the boring stuff out of the way so now it's time to get to the real action. Chapter 4, 5 & 6 will be the craziest things I've uploaded to this website... 

I hope you all enjoy. Tell me which character you like the most, which character you don't, where you think the story will go... Please Comment!!!!

*****

I knew I had fucked up from the time I stepped out of General Aquil's office. All I could do was wonder what the hell I got myself into. As the next day arrived it became even more overwhelming. I had to keep a pretty serious secret from my team and quite frankly, it was eating up my insides. This is what I got for telling what I felt was a lie but was instead the truth. This is the turn of fate I had, to actually be assisted on my quest to feel alive. What if feeling alive meant a certain odd sensation only for a few seconds before my death? What if I go on this journey of self discovery only to find a certain demise? Was all of this worth it? After all, I was going through this turmoil over heartbreak and nothing more... 

It was about five thirty in the morning, no different from any other day. Grunts woke up early to race to the gym in a show of crude machoism. Others ran to showers to freshen up for the day while others waited for the mess hall to open. 

Some soldiers could sleep in today which they took full advantage of. However I never understood how anyone could sleep in when we're trained to get up at four thirty every morning. It simply seemed lazy to me. I was down in the archive, trying to find information on the Americas. I came across a book, one titled, The United States: A modern day Babylon. Upon reading, I realized this was some cultest book that specified nothing important about the Americas. It only talked about how the diversity of people led to it's downfall. 

I was looking for Climate, geology, topography, wildlife, inhabitants and whether or not it'd be a big adjustment for when I go. Truthfully, I was worried and I may had shot myself in the foot with this one. Honestly, I had no idea there was a UCAC in the America's. It was a big surprise... It definitely explained why Dr. Aheem was so overworked. It made me wonder if his progress was further with that region or was it further over here. Surely the Wingers across the pond had to be designed with the same level of skill as we had. 

I wanted to find the ancient bird species that flew across the skies of the United States. It would give me a general idea of what the wingers might look like. However, finding such resources would be tough. I inevitably was drawn back the modern Babylon book. It stated clearly that in the eastern United States, human populations dwindled due to the high count of anti-personnel mechs. These mechs were vicious, animalistic in nature and notoriously hard to take down. Of course, I've never faced one. Those were New World problems and quite frankly, I don't remember much about living in the Americas. I just remember I was raised between the Sonoran Desert and the Utah Badlands, the Swamps of the South, the Central Plains and the Caribbean. We moved around so much, I learned never to cling onto anything... including memories. Reading some of these tales, I had the sneaking suspicion that I'd have to face off with one of these machines. It was something I was not enthused about... at all. 

Still though, there was nothing on American Ornithology. This archive had to have something. If America was this badass, it had to have equally badass birds at one point in it's history. Knowing Doctor Aheem, those Wingers he designed will be ferocious little somethings. 

"What are you doing?" Someone asked. Startled, I turned, surprised to see Liam. 

"Oh, reading." I sighed. 

"Reading what?" He said sitting next to me. 

"I want to know more about the place I came from. All I gotta say is I see why my parents left." I laughed. 

"What is it like?" 

"It's um...huge... spans half the whole continent! One corner is marsh, swamp and coastal wetlands while to the west is desert, and canyon. In the center of these lands are rolling hills of grassland that go on for hundreds of thousands of miles. To the northeast are dense conifer forests and the Ruins of Giant Cities that lined the coast. To the North West you have rolling mountains called the Great Spine that Reach a temperate rainforest that goes even beyond the arctic circle. Truly, it's a vast place." I explained. 

"Would you ever want to go back?" 

"There's nothing there for me. Plus, based on this book, it is considerably more dangerous than all of Scandinavia could ever be. In fact, I don't think there is a place more dangerous than the Americas." I said back. I didn't really want to answer his question. Dancing around questions was pretty much all I ever did at this point in my life... 

"Well, I come down here all the time...never saw you here before." Liam said, getting to his feet. 

"Well, there's a first for everything." I said, quick to take advantage of this opportunity, "Help me find an American Ornithology book." He reached in his bag, handing me an Audubon Society field guide for American birds. On the front was some type of buzzard, similar to our common buzzard but with a rusty colored tail. The book seemed very old. 

"It's funny how this was the book I was reading the other day when we talked." The boy chuckled. It made me laugh a bit as well. Flipping open straight towards the raptors, I saw they had quite a bit of diversity in falcons. Not only did they have typical falcons, but another family of falcons known as Caracaras. They looked very kite-like in flight but had huge beaks and long legs for falcons. The true falcons were pretty...strange. They had peregrine falcons which was no surprise considering how widespread the bird was but also had a strange falcon which looked akin to a laggar falcon but with a more subdued plumage. It was called the prairie falcon. It looked about the same size as a peregrine falcon but the proportions were definitely more hierofalcon-like. It had a long tail and narrow wings that came to a taper rather than a point. 

They also had merlins, which again didn't surprise me considering merlins were very widespread raptors. They had the tiniest species of kestrel I've ever seen. It was about the size of a collared dove and very vibrantly colored. However the falcon which caught my eye was the one named the aplomado falcon. It was gorgeous, being about the size of a small peregrine, it's proportions were different from any falcon I've seen. 

In relation to its body size, the tail was very long. The same could be said for the wings which also were long. It almost looked like a hobby but was much larger. The wing tips were rather blunt, coming to a broad taper compared to a hobby and the secondaries were rather elongated. It had two very long legs for a true falcon, covered in ruddy feathers. The rest of the bird was striking, having black and white bars covering the entire body. It had the typical helmet and mustache of a falcon, making it easy to identify. However, it had orange streaks running from it's cheek to it's nape as well as a bright orange patch under it's throat down to it's breast. Ultimately, it was the most striking falcon I've ever seen. 

I wondered how it flew. Based on the wings, I bet it didn't like to dive much. It probably was a low altitude ambush and pursuit hunter, using those wings to power after prey. It was large enough to have impressive speed but had a body built for agility. This probably was a small bird, or insect predator. 

Flipping through the pages, I came across the buteos. They called them hawks rather than buzzards which was strange because buteos are not considered true hawks...accipiters were. They had, red-tailed hawks, red-shouldered hawks, broad-winged hawks, zone-tailed hawks, ferruginous hawks, rough-legged hawks,white-tailed hawks, swainson's hawks, and some other buteo like-hawks. These hawks ranged from small to large, the rough-legged hawk being the largest as well as the most widespread. In Eurasia, we called it the rough-legged buzzard. The hawk on the cover of the book was a red-tail, the most common in the Americas. 

These hawks had more variety than ours, from the wing shape to flight characteristics. The red-shouldered hawk was one that stood out to me. It wasn't too remarkable, only having a long tail, relatively narrow wings and very delicate build. It was one of the smaller hawks of the Americas. The swainson's hawk was another delicate hawk with long broad, pointed wings and a shorter tail. Its profile was vaguely-falcon like compared to other hawks, having a short tail and narrower wings than other hawks. 

Continuing to flip through, I found the kites. Now these kites were vastly different from the kites we had in Eurasia. You'd be hard pressed discerning them from falcons. There were three that looked similar to falcons: the Mississippi kite, the white-tailed kite and the swallow-tailed kite. All were delicate, having long narrow wings that came to a point, long tails and elegant bodies. The kites we had here were very buteo-like, having long, broad wings and tails. They just lacked the sleekness of the kites from the New World. 

Then came the accipiters, the true hawks. Like in Scandinavia, there were three species. There was the sharp-shinned hawk, the cooper's hawk and the northern goshawk. The sharp-shin and the cooper's were nearly identical but the cooper's could get fairly large. The sharp-shin was about the same size as a Eurasian sparrowhawk. This definitely had to be a team, considering how the team functioned here in Scandinavia. 

There also were more hawk-like raptors but they weren't worth mentioning. Well...maybe the bay-wing hawk. It was a very, very buteo-like raptor well known for it's ability to cooperatively hunt in groups. It made me wonder did Dr. Aheem build a team of this magnitude. If so, I'd be damn impressed. 

I closed the book, going to study it later. I didn't notice that Liam had a book devoted simply to New World raptors as he sat in a nook across the archive. 

"Hey!" I said, walking over to him. He looked up at me, unsure what this would be about. 

"Yeah?" He responded. 

"This book has all the raptors from the New World?" I asked. 

"Yeah, old and new." He said back. 

"What do you mean?" 

"It has the raptors from before the Great Fall and the ones after. There's a huge difference too! There are these giant silver caracaras that hunt in groups, giant vultures the same size of the Roc Class, giant ground dwelling raptors as fast as cheetahs, and giant sea-going raptors that never land...only to breed." He explained. 

"Wait...what stretch?" 

"The Patagonia stretch, not the Murica stretch." He clarified. 

"Oooooh!" I said, astounded. He closed the book, looking on very seriously. 

"I have a question..." He began. I sat on the nook next to him. 

"Sure." I began. 

"Has it...always been a struggle for you? I mean I'm struggling bad!" He sighed. 

"Not really. I never really had anyone to oppose me until I got to this place. Since you're young and not established, it's best you keep it to yourself." I recommended. 

"I don't want to keep it to myself. That is the story of my whole life. I came out to my parents, they said being gay was wrong and violated the natural order. They said people would look at me like a disgrace and that I'd bring shame to this family. So, I spent a long time hiding who I was, putting up this facade to appease my parents but it just didn't work as well for me as it did them. I was growing frustrated, bitter, reclusive...until this place happened. I was sixteen at the time and desperately wanted to leave. My parents were not happy but I had so much frustration pent up inside of me, it rekindled into anguish. I told them how I felt as well as a few spiteful things just to get under their skin and it worked. I was disowned and had no choice but to go into the UCAC. I never spoke to them again.." He sighed. 

"Well, I'm sorry to hear that. The thing is, you gotta think about your well being during your military career. The people in this base are ruffians and bigots from every back alley and boondock in Eurasia. I've seen what they do to people like us...gang up on us, tell us we're not natural, try to hurt us... They won't rest until they get a satisfactory result out of the torment. The thing is, they don't know what they want out of it. It's simply is male insecurities acting out on ignorance...a very dangerous combination! Do you want to wish that upon yourself?" I said. 

"No but..." 

"I'm telling you, don't blow it for yourself. I can't protect you from the persecution of an entire base. We're truly on our own, kid." I interrupted. He sighed, truly frustrated. 

"It's just this alone feeling, like I'm the only person in the world like this." He sighed. 

"You're not...many of the bigots who ridicule you in the daytime will have the wildest sex with you at night. Trust me I know...I've been there. It's just something about being open about it they don't like. If I had a choice, I'd be free of the social stigma too. But I must say this," I began, "You don't know what it feels like to be alone! Try having your parents, a ship crew, a Captain...everyone on a giant ocean voyager die when you're just nine years old, having to vy for survival in a foreign land for ten years, having to do things that make you feel less of a man simply to stay alive. I've been to those lows, truly have no one...while you, sitting here because your parents had a temper tantrum and temporarily cut you out from the trust fund, feel alone. I can assure you this...no matter how fucked up your day is, how much turmoil you have inside, something made you smile... Something temporarily pulled you away from what's bugging you. The thing is, when you spend time alone when you have certain issues, it gives your mind time to fester. Have you not heard of the saying an idle mind is the devil's playground?" 

"I've heard of the saying." He said. 

"Well, if I were you, I'd stop sulking in my frustrations and find a reason to be happy, no matter how minute. Any type of if, and or but is an excuse..." I said, sternly. 

"But..." 

"AH!!" I interrupted. 

"But!" 

"Nope!" I continued to interrupt. 

"I just wanted to talk about Everette." He laughed. 

"What about him?" 

"I don't know...like...is he...gay or something?" I asked. 

"Everette is a bit of a dumbass. He'll do anything someone who looks important or acts a certain way tells him. He may not be gay but he's definitely try-sexual... He just has that face. If you wanna have a wild fuck with the boy, you most certainly can." I laughed. 

"I don't want to have sex with him. I just want to get to know him, be something with him..." Liam said. 

"Child, I'd recommend you steer clear of love. You've yet to experience how beautiful this place can be, the highs it can take you. Everyone here goes through lows, it's part of the experience. But love...it'll fuck all that up either for you or someone else. You seem like a fairly straight-forward dude who doesn't like to hide anything...an honest youngman. Those are the type of young men that get hurt, stomped on and left crawling to finish last. I'm not trying to scare you. I'm just saying experience the highs and lows of this place, let it take you to new heights and make you grow before considering love..." I said. 

"How long did it take you to grow...?" He asked. 

"It took seven long years...I was so so stuck on my past, not even able to trust the one person who broke their back trying to help me keep my head on my shoulders and blew it. You're a very smart dude...how old are you? Eighteen, Nineteen?" I asked. 

"Twenty." He said. 

"Well, you're fairly mature compared to me when I was that age. I think you'll grow into something far grander than I'll ever be." I chuckled. 

"Eh, don't say that. It's like everyone here can see how phenomenal you are...but you can't. And you're twenty four... How will..." 

"The thing is, every six months is like a new chapter of your life...every birthday, you're an entirely different person than you was before. In this world, you change so fast, learn so many new things... It can overload ya which has happened in the past to some weak links. But to me, that is the most beautiful thing about this place... of course I can only tell you this stuff. It's up to you to heed." I interrupted. 

"I promise you I will!" He laughed. 

"Do people even know you're a prince?" I asked. 

"No. I think it'd skew people's perception of me... I want people to like me for me." He said. 

"Ah, so you don't want your title to dictate people's perception of you?" 

"Yeah... It won't be fair." He giggled. 

"Do you see the connection there? You don't care about people seeing you as gay not knowing the detrimental consequences but do care about these people seeing you as a prince which wouldn't be to your detriment... at all." I laughed. 

"I never thought about it that way but all things considered, I'm still technically disowned. My family wants nothing to do with me. My name is simply a title." He smiled. 

"Trust me...you're the one who hasn't come around yet. Your parents would probably do any and everything to get you back home and to continue being their little prince." I said. 

"Yeah, but I don't want that! I don't want to be who they want me to be! I want to be whatever fate has in store for me...good or bad." 

"You don't do that," I corrected, "You make the best decisions possible and hope fate shows you favor. You never make poor decisions in hope that fate takes you somewhere. That's so backwards, kid!" 

"Am I that wrong?" He laughed. 

"Yes! Only I'm allowed to be that stupid! I'm the one who can simply vanish without anyone caring." I joked. 

"Indeed you are." A snide voice said. It was Jarvis. His very presence placed tight knots in my stomach. Liam too shared these sentiments. Where I showed restraint, keeping a straight face, Liam scowled at the man. 

"Why are you here?" I asked, not wanting to engage a conversation with Jarvis. 

"I'm just looking for a few good reads..." He said snatching the book from my hands. Liam began to boil in his skin with Jarvis's actions. 

"I was reading that..." I sighed. 

"Audubon Society..." He said, throwing the book at me, "We need to talk... never got the chance to have a decent conversation." 

"And who's fault is that?" I asked, laughing. He shrugged, smiling. 

"Let's face it. We're both shitty people..." He said, walking away. He was right.We've both hurt people, had little regard for others and got our way by all means. The thing was though, his treachery left every single person hung high and dry during the last mission yet he managed to walk away from it without a trace...a true snake. He shook me up badly before and I realized I was like a miniature version of him, just only more boisterous. Who wanted to be that way? The Italy mission was simply that life changing. 

Not to mention, I did not trust Jarvis at all. I could tell this was some sick game to get close to me for some reason. He probably heard that I was offered a promotion and got threatened. If this was the case, I had to be on my toes. Jarvis was someone I didn't want to tangle with. I truly feared him. 

Both Liam and I watched as he left the archive. 

"Why do you take his shit?" Liam asked. 

"Some things are better to avoid and be silent over.." I sighed, picking the book up off the floor. 

"Don't tell me you're scared of him..." Liam asked. I looked at the boy. 

"Hell yeah, I'm scared of him. You saw what he could do in Italy..." I said plainly. 




UCAC Ch. 03



"You think he'd pull something like this again?" Liam asked, growing concern. 

"It's only a matter of time, really. I'm his next target..." I sighed. 

"Oh my God man... Ay, since you looked out for me on that field, I'll look out for you sevenfold!" Liam said, extending out his hand. I firmly grasped it. 

"This also means we're gonna have to look out for Everette." I added. 

"That's fine." Liam said. 

"Let's get some grub." I smiled. 

We got up, heading down to the Mess Hall which was packed to the brim with hungry soldiers. We fixed plates and sat down at a table. Not long after, Marcell and Milan sat at the table, Marcell looking particularly giddy. 

"Guess what!" He said, slamming his tray on the table. 

"What?" I asked. 

"I get to meet the new Wingers today! They'll be on their way being a part of our squad next quarter." Marcell said, full of excitement. 

"Cool! What do you know about them?" I asked. 

"There's gonna be another Kestrel Winger and another Hobby Winger." He said. 

"Really?" Liam asked, growing excited. 

"Yeah! I also heard that a third Hiero winger is being trained for our team...another Laggar Winger..." Marcell responded, not sounding unenthused. 

"Damn..." I said, it truly being a blow. 

"So we have, Saker, Lanner, Gyr and there'll be a new Laggar..." Liam said, trying to keep tabs in his head. 

"That places you closer to Per." Marcell said, pointing at me. 

"I'm not accepting Second Wing..." I said, arms folded. 

"Why?" Marcell asked, upset by this. 

"News has spread all around Base..." Milan noted. 

"Really?" I asked, mortified. 

"Yeah... Why don't you wanna be Second Wing. That means you'll be closer to Per's command." Milan asked, confused. 

"We know why I'm not taking the job..." I sighed. 

"I don't blame you but we need the organization, Denver. What if the mission is like the Italy mission and we won't have Lead Wing?" I asked. 

"I'm sorry..." I said, not cracking under the pressure. 

"What has happened to you? I remember you used to be the same person under the suit...now you're all soft and passive aggressive and shit with concerns for others. Why?" Milan asked, deeply concerned. 

"It was that last mission. I was right by Chance when he got shot to pieces... I still haven't gotten over that shit." I said. 

"Guys..." Marcell said, pointing to the table where Everette sat. He sat alone, constantly looking at the door for Jarvis's arrival. In fact, Jarvis was nowhere to be seen. All I could do was roll my eyes, knowing that it was only a matter of time before one of us got hurt. I couldn't shake the feeling it was going to be either me or Everette and Jarvis would be the cause. 

"Poor kid..." Milan sighed. 

"How fucking old is he?" I asked, truly frustrated with his naive actions. 

"He's," Marcell began not really certain, "Nineteen?" 

"Nineteen? I thought he was twenty one or twenty two. He's a fucking baby! That talent though..." Milan said, completely shocked. 

"Yeah, he and Liam are roughly the same age. And yeah," I said turning to "Milan, to be nineteen with that type of talent is unreal. You know we gotta watch out for him. Jarvis will eat him up alive..." 

"I just want to know Jarvis's game." Liam said, thinking deeply. I looked at him sternly, sending the message that he should not speak on the matter any further. He heeded it, not uttering another word. 

"His game...I don't know but be on your toes." Marcell advised. 

"So," I began, "You really think there will be a new Laggar Winger?" 

"I really think so. When I went back over the original team files, this is supposed to be a team of ten. Right now, we're at seven. The smallest team will be the Forest Winger team which is understandable." Marcell responded. 

"Any details on the stats of the dude who will be Laggar?" I continued. 

"Rumor has it that Cap has been overseeing his training. They're taking their time to cook him, but he's about six foot two, one hundred ninety pounds...someone from Burma..." Marcell smiled. 

"Oooou, he came a long way." I said astounded. 

"They say he's really young...like reeeaaaallly young! Like, sixteen or seventeen but from what I've heard, he's a rare talent, comparable to Everette." Marcell said. 

"Oh no way...Like, we're all kids but he's really a fucking kid then! Like a kid, kid!" I said. 

"Yeah... He may be good but they better let him bake for another year because I just don't trust anyone that age." Milan responded. 

Marcell's eyes wandered off, tracking something that hovered near me. 

"Hey guys." A shrill, youthful voice said. I turned, seeing it was Everette, obviously tired of sitting alone. 

"Hey..." Milan said back. I looked at the boy menacingly before deciding to pay him no mind. He sat down, making sure to put a body width of distance between us. I scooted over even more, making it clear that I planned on giving him wide girth...period. 

"So how are you all?" Everette asked with a smile. 

"Good." It seemed everyone said simultaneously. I remained silent. 

"Your boyfriend isn't here ain't he?" Milan teased. 

"Boyfriend?" Everette responded, startled, unsure what Milan meant. It warranted a look from everyone at the table. Milan shook his head. 

"Don't worry about it." He said hoping to reassure the dim boy. It wasn't that simple. Both Liam and I looked at each other knowing Everette's response was deeper than that. Of course the boy was dim, which made it obvious that he was harboring some feelings he had yet to address... However, it was not a concern of mine. He could struggle by himself. 

"So how've you been?" Marcell asked Everette, giving me some serious side eye. A thin smile came across my face. 

"I've been good. We never got a chance to talk about the tournament! I have some questions." Everette said. 

Everyone grew tense, especially me. 

"Ask away!" Marcell said, despite being nervous. Everette turned to me, nervous. 

"How'd you know those Forest Hawkers could cloak?" He asked. I looked at him my eyes searing him. 

"I know everything...everything!!" I said, eyeing him up and down. The boy grew nervous, unsure what I was hinting at. 

"Well, that's good to know." He said awkwardly. 

"Everything's good to know. It's how I stay one step ahead of everything..." I continued, resting my arms on the table. 

"In other words, he plunders!" Marcell teased. It made me laugh. 

"So did we cheat the win?"Everette asked. 

"No...I could have figured out how to sense the cloakers without knowing. What I did on the field was spontaneous anyways." I corrected, playing over my food. 

"I wish I wouldn't have panicked. That Ghost dude hit me hard as fuck!" Liam said, disappointed with himself. 

"You did good kid." I said ruffling his hair. 

"Why were you saving everyone out there on the field?" Everette asked with an innocent smile. 

"What kind of dumb question is that? Do you not know how hard the sod is?" I responded. 

"Yeah, but you even saved Ghost..." Everette said, completely stuck on the matter. 

"What part of the sod is hard don't you get?" I said back, not bothering to look at him. His eyes began to burn into my flanks, obviously frustrated with me being so difficult. 

"Not even gonna lie...I was surprised too." Milan laughed, easing the tension. 

"When I was chasing Ghost's ass, I wanted to knock the fucking wind out of him for each time he smacked into one of the little guys. But when I did, I just saw a helpless kid in free fall and I couldn't just let him crash into the ground. We were like three hundred feet high!" I said, finally giving an answer. 

"Was it the same for me?" Everette asked, this obviously being something that has bothered him. I turned to him, looking him in eyes. 

"You need someone to look out for your ass because you'll end up following someone blindly into something stupid...and die! ...And quite frankly, you did out there on the field." I said bluntly. 

"I need someone to look out for me?" He asked, surprised. He looked around seeing everyone had their silent opinions on the matter, written all on their faces. 

"Yeah, you kind of do." I nodded. 

"And what makes you think you can do such a great job?" Everette asked defensively. 

"You know what? I probably can't...I'm gonna fail because you're too damn big of an idiot to look out for. Youre like...six foot three, two hundred pounds and very talented... Ride that ship till it runs aland." I sighed. It definitely angered the boy. 

"Why are you so mean?" Everette asked. 

"You haven't seen mean. I'm just being blunt. I always say this time and time again... You might not like what I'm gonna say but it'll certainly be the truth." I laughed. 

"Yeah... As long as I've known Denver, he's never lied." Marcell laughed. 

"Really?" Everette asked, surprised. 

"I didn't want to say this because it is not my call to make, but PLEASE watch who you befriend here. This place will chew you up alive if you make the wrong friends." Marcell added. As he said that, Raul and his tiny entourage entered the mess hall. They took their platters to a table, sitting. Raul looked over to us, startled by the fact that Everette and I were sitting together. The last time he saw us interacting, Everette and I were having a nasty argument. He rolled his eyes, resuming to go about his business. 

It then dawned on me. He wasn't quite as over me as I previously thought he was. But still though, the damage was done. It had now been two days since the nasty...could you even call it a break up? I don't know. I couldn't say I was exactly over him but there was no turning back at this point. I had a team to look out for and I'd be leaving very soon. 

"You know," Marcell began, "The IT team is putting together a party for us..." 

"What why?" I asked, startled. 

"What's wrong with parties?" Everette asked. 

"I've had my fair share of parties...I'm done." I sighed. Marcell and Milan looked at me shocked. 

"Whoa, what the fuck is wrong with you?" Milan asked. 

"I just don't... I don't know. I'm turning into a crotchety old man! I just hate everything!" I said, shielding my face under my hands. 

Everyone fell silent. I then felt something shimmy in between Everette and I. Upon opening my eyes, I was startled to see it was Jarvis. 

"I've been looking for you!" Everette laughed. I was reduced to staring Jarvis down like the evil piece of shit he was! 

"It's about time we're dining together..." Jarvis laughed. It was all so unnerving to have him so... close... to me!! I was not the only one uncomfortable with his presence. Marcell looked on, fully questioning why Jarvis chose now to make an effort to be beyond cordial outside of the battlefield. 

"This can't be real..." Marcell said, clenching his head. 

"Well it is. It's about time I put in some effort to get to know you lot." Jarvis smiled. 

"Oh god, we're all going to die..." I murmured, almost inaudibly. Jarvis didn't hear it, thankfully. 

"Oh really huh?" Marcell asked, arms folded. 

"Yeah especially this little twerp..." Jarvis smiled, wrapping his arm around my shoulder, pulling me in close. I felt disgusted. Politely, I removed his arm, turning to him. 

"Jarvis," I began, "Never place your goddamn mother fucking hand on me again. Never come in my vicinity... I never hated a person before but you come close. We will never have a relationship beyond being platoon mates. As Second Wing, you shouldn't be interested in pursuing a relationship of this kind with your team. Quit while you're behind..." 

"I'm sorry," Jarvis said, "Did I do something offensive...?" It truly got my blood boiling how crafty he was being. 

"Just stay the fuck away from me... I don't care what you want!" I snarled, grabbing my platter. I got up from the table, sickened to my stomach by him. He shrugged, looking pitifully oblivious over what happened and selling the look well. This was one dude that could upset me beyond a doubt. 

I took my platter to the conveyer belt, getting eyed by all the platoons as I stormed angrily through the mess hall. 

"DENVER!" A superior officer shouted from the doorway. It was Captain Wallace. He looked furious. I knew precisely what this was going to be about. I walked to his office, closing the door behind myself. There was no point in sitting considered I was about to get chewed out. He just stared me down with those cold blue eyes. 

"...Is it really that bad?" He asked, breaking silence. 

"I'm sorry?" I said, unsure what he was asking. 

"I'm asking you is it really that bad being a part of my platoon?" 

"No!" I said, truly loving working with him. 

"Well you just broke up the damn team!" He said, holding back his true rage. 

"I'm sorry, I'll be back in the next sector..." I pled. 

"You really don't get it do you? Murica is ten times worst than Eurasia, Africa and Oceania combined! You leaving is certain death... You really want to die don't you?" Captain asked. 

"No, it's just that I really didn't want to..." 

"Be Second Wing? Do you have a problem with being my Second Hand?" He interrupted. 

"Yes... Jarvis..." I said. 

"You don't think we would have handled him?" He asked. 

"No... I wish I was told that! You know how I hate a lack of communication..." I said clenching my head. 

"If you knew how long it took to build this team, and for you to do something SO STUPID!!" He said through the grit of his teeth. 

"I promise you I will return! I need this..." I sighed. Captain simply shook his head, very disappointed in me. He wasn't as angry with me as I initially thought. This was more hurt than anything. He had so much riding on me. He pointed towards the door. 

"Get out..." He demanded. I did so, feeling like I failed him. It simply was a poor move on my part that could have consequences that reverberated across the nation...hell, even the globe. 

I just wanted to be alone. I headed to the hangar, walking up the platform. Sitting on the railing, some thirty feet above the tarmac, I watched as the technicians and engineers tweaked the suits and did advanced computer work. This was truly amazing work to appreciate. I wondered if these scientists knew just how great they were because without them, the world would be a very different place. 

Not only that, watching them was just entertaining. They often argued and squabbled over who got to do what task, and what experiments would work. They said so many words I never heard before, I couldn't follow their conversation. Still thought, it was beyond hilarious. 

"Denver..." Someone said, coming up the platform. It was Doctor Helm, a tall burly man with incredible intelligence. 

"Hey!" I smiled. 

"Weird seeing you here at random but I must ask you... what did you do to my suit?" He asked. 

"You mean the Merlin? I used the adapt tech in the Head's Up Display... I seldom use it. I didn't break anything did I?" I said back. 

"No but, the Subbu is having system response issues we're trying to kink out. It tried to update to your firmware but the system stopped mid-boot, change." He responded. 

"Oh yeah because Subbu got knocked out the air and went unconscious." I recalled. 

"Eh, we need to figure out a way to make the computers work beyond human consciousness. It could very well save a life in the near future." He said. 

"Yeah but," Someone else said, coming up the platform, "That violates protocol. It is already hard as hell making computer and brain work seamlessly together as one coherent item. To make the computers go beyond that would make the wingers less bionic and more machine. However, as a fail safe...it'd be great." 

"The Merlin has the most interactive interface, followed by the Kestrel..." 

"A big issue I have with the suit is the fact that it doesn't collect data on its own. I need this suit warning me of incoming bogies when we're in tight quarters or on the ground, because quite frankly we're easy targets. I need sensory data, more cyberoptic data, more auditory data...anything!" I sighed. 

"I'm sorry Denver, but for now we're limited to the current technology but we do have prototypes we can mount on your suit, that you can test for us. It'll be in your helm." Dr. Helm said. 

"You can't outfit it on everyone, I mean, on the team?" I asked. 

"Well these are prototype sensors. We only have a handful of the equipment built. Come one down to the tarmac," He said, "We can run tests." 

Dr. Helm's technician grabbed me by the hand, leading me down the stairs. Dr. Helm summoned the actuators that held my suit suspended in the rafters and grabbed the sensory helm. He too joined us on the Tarmac floor, connecting the helm to a computer. The technician, obviously Dr. Helm's most trusted hand, began giving me a physical. 

He was a very adorable young man, about five foot, eight with some very dark features. He probably was an Illisian like Dr. Aheem. The technician connected a long prod to the connectors embedded deep into my skull. 

"Your vitals are looking good. Your cybercytes are functioning normally and your cybernetic nervous system is...good. Only thing that is odd, is your stress hormones are relatively high." The technician said. 

"Is everything alright with you, Denver?" Dr. Helm asked. 

"Yeah..." I sighed. 

"I know you're leaving soon. You'll be impressed by the team you're being assigned to. The New World Cybernetic Air Force is a much, much larger sector than the Eurasian Sector. They also are a different breed of people. I got a feeling you may like it over there." Dr. Helm said. 

"All I've been hearing is that the place is very dangerous, far more dangerous than Eurasia." I said back. 

"It is, but we're not sending you over there unprepared. We're going to make your suit is advanced as the American Winger's suits..." Dr. Helm said. 

"Wait, the American Wingers have better equipment?" I asked. 

"Miles better...They have a larger sect, so more brains are working together. Right now, they have this huge recovery mission in Patagonia, trying to recover lost files from Dr. Aheem's huttle." Dr. Helm responded. 

"Why'd he even go to Patagonia?" I asked. 

"The man was going mad and felt like he was being targeted. So like a genius, he went alone to the most remote place he could." Dr. Helm said. 

"He didn't have family or anything?" 

"He had a son named Tanzanir Aheem Zaheed that he took to Patagonia with him but his remains were never found. Tanzanir is presumed dead at this point and all efforts to recover him have been gone. Tanzanir was cybernetic just like you all, was going to be a Winger in the Eurasian Air Core. He actually was supposed to be the first Levant, but his dad took him when he was five years old and fled the country. We could track both of them for a while but when they reached Patagonia, Tanzanir's signal disappeared and Dr. Aheem was found mutilated in his huttle. No one knows what murdered him..." Dr. Helm explained. 

"That's just..." I said, crept out by the story. 

"The American Air Force took over the case and found out that Dr. Aheem had been in communication with a faction known as the Ravagers. They found out he was the one who built the Naval fleet which stopped their coastal raids and that there was an air fleet being made. They threatened to kill him and his wife which prompted Dr. Aheem to move from the Americas to Europe. It didn't stop there though. Dr. Aheem finished his work in Europe, creating a humongous network of Wingers and Swimmers. It pretty much thwarted the efforts of the Revivalists, here in this stretch of the world. By this time, Dr. Aheem and his Wife, Formalda Zaheed, had their first son. The Revivalists and the Ravengers somehow joined forces and began to threaten Dr. Aheem, targeting him in isolated assassination attempts. Dr. Aheem was prompted to flee Europe and head back to the Americas where his family vanished but he ended up dead." Dr. Helm continued. 




UCAC Ch. 03



"And they still can't detail how he died?" I asked. 

"I personally think he built a robot to kill himself and sent it preprogrammed to sink to the bottom of the sea. I got reason to believe that Dr. Aheem's son is still alive and that he holds the key to finishing his father's work. Not only that, but the military forces have expanded considerably since their birth thirty five years ago and both the Revivalists and the Ravagers would have a hard time getting into our infrastructure the way they did before," Dr. Helm said, making his way over to me, "I did my own investigation and learned his wife, a medical aid in the Marine Core, was best friends with another nurse named Ophelia Logatti. Pulling her records, I found out that she is from Jeurridam, a city far to the western edge of Murica. Considering it is where Dr. Aheem would mine for gravitanium and neodymium, I could imagine it is where Formalda hid her son. Ophelia, right now is in a submarine in the Scandinavian sea. I would have investigated further, but I have obligatory duties here." 

"Wow..." I said utterly astounded. 

"I got a lot of pull... I can put you on a team and make sure you're the one investigating Jeurridam. There, I could make you Lead Wing, overseeing a team of Long Wingers. You'll have all the authority you need to investigate fully." Dr. Helm said.  

"I'd love to." I responded. He smiled, walking back over to the computer terminal. As he pecked away on the keyboard, arms came down, dismantling the helm. 

"In the West, you won't have to worry about many of the issues the Eastern teams have to face." He said. 

"Like what?" I asked 

"You'll be facing more human threats... Trust me, you want to fight humans." He chuckled. 

"I heard there were killer mechs to the east." I laughed. 

"You have no idea.." He said in sudden seriousness, "Like, mechanized monstrosities. You'd have to be retrained on how to deal with those and God knows, we don't have that type of time." He watched the helm slowly be reconstructed. 

"Are there flying mechs?" I asked. 

"Yes! There are giant mechs left over from the war that are built like dragons and pterosaurs. There also are giant mechs that resemble dragonflies and they are very dangerous as well." He responded. 

"And they can't be shot down?" I asked. 

"Shooting down a machine that thinks its a creature can be tough. Not to mention, these things have been operating for over seven hundred years, adapting to human countermeasures. The Cybernetic Force is something recent, a new counter measure that we're simply afraid to test." He said. 

"Damn, it must be terrible over there..." I sighed. 

"Yeah. But you'll be ready. I'm getting you some new tech for your suit." He smiled. 

"Can I get the cloaking stuff that's on the Forest Winger team? It is so awesome!" I asked. 

"No, it isn't compatible with your suits metrics. But the new sensors on your Helm will be quite sensitive. I'm also considering putting a pulse weapon on your Helm. It'd be good for targeting bogies while you're flying but not while you're on the ground. Your next mission will be a ground mission." He said. 

"Ground mission? You mean the Spain mission?" I asked. 

"It's not in Spain. It's in west England on the coast in a botany lab called Spain. It's gonna be very, very, very dangerous. You're retrieving a machine called a mallet. That's all I'm at liberty to say." Dr. Helm said. 

"Oh." I responded, "And please give me the pulse weapon... I hate the quills." 

"OK, but we can't test them in here." Dr. Helm warned. 

"It's fine." I reassured, "Am I cleared for a test flight today?" 

"No, there's supposed to be a surprise party for you today...well it's not a surprise anymore." Dr. Helm laughed. 

"Ew why?" I asked, bothered. 

"Because of all teams, you have the highest success rate." He said. 

"I'm not going..." I said. 

"You won't have much choice, I'm afraid." Dr. Helm laughed. 

"Oh so it's gonna be an order..." I sighed. 

"Your Helm's ready." Dr. Helm said, reaching to grab it. He walked over to me, gently placing it onto my head. My computational systems detected new components, syncing with them. I held up my finger. 

"It's updating." I said nervously. 

"Ok." Dr. Helm smiled. I watched anxiously as the computer reached the final stages of syncing. As soon as my HUD said one hundred percent, I squealed like a child with a new toy. I saw high and low frequency Sonar, advanced mapping firmware, new ISPs for the new sensors, as well as motion detectors, infrared detectors, ultraviolet detectors and an ISP that compiled the image feed into something called the ultra spectrum. Not only that but I had dual pulse lasers that shot from my optics. This was a complete overhaul considering previously, I only had a motion sensor, passive radar and cyberoptics. Even better, this tech was very discreet, the Helm only being minutely more bulky in the inside. 

"Activate ultra spectrum." I said. The Helm whirred and a fraction a second later, the compiled imaging activated. It basically made every shadow visible and every overblown light normalized with the surroundings. It pretty much was super advanced High Dynamic Range. It was an impressive setup. The ISPs had to be powerful to not only render such a detailed image but to be able to keep up with my eyes, refreshing at up to two hundred forty hertz. This could prove very useful in dark situations or when facing the sun. 

"How is it?" Dr. Helm asked. 

"It's pretty cool! I can think of a thousand ways I can use this." I laughed. 

"OK, turn of the lights!" Dr. Helm shouted. I waited for the lights to be turned off but it didn't happen, "How's the night vision?" 

"Wait are the lights off?" I asked. 

"Yes." Dr. Helm smiled. 

"It looks the same." I laughed. 

"Alright, try the stereoscopic sonar." He said. 

"Activate Ultra Sonar." I said. The Helm whirred and this white flash reverberated all around me. It startled me so bad, I jumped in my seat. The ping returned, sounding like a mix between a shrill squeak and a basey rumble. As it did, the Helm began calculating. It rendered a very accurate three dimensional map of the Hangar. It highlighted the exits as well as the organic matter in the room. 

"This thing is unreal." I laughed nervously. 

"Lights on!" Dr. Helm shouted. Again, I couldn't tell if the lights were on or off. I took the Helm off, handing it to Dr. Helm. 

"This thing is sick!" I smiled. 

"Everything that we talked about is of the highest confidence. Do not repeat any of this information." He said firmly. 

"Will heed." I said. 

As I said that, Raul walked from a cubicle behind our station and headed to the Main Sector. It was the strangest coincidence ever. What reason did he have to be here. 

"So how are things?" Dr. Helm asked. 

"They could be better. I'm still coping with the Italy mission." I sighed. 

"Man, I'm so sorry that mission took a turn like that..." Dr. Helm said. 

"It's not your fault. I blame it on Jarvis... His negligence was purposeful and because of something he did, well something he didn't do, it lead to the greatest winger of all time being slaughtered." I said. 

"I'm sorry but it'd be hard to trace him back to any deaths he didn't actively partake in. He wasn't Second Wing at the time of Chance's death. If someone dies on the current mission and it's in similar fashion to the way Chance got taken out, it still can't be traced back to Jarvis. However, if a second death occurs under his authority then he'll go under investigation." Dr. Helm said. 

"That's fucked up! Three people would have died before he goes under investigation... Even then, he probably would squirm his way out of it because he's just that type of a snake." I said, angered by the fact. 

"The rules are kind of fucked up, I know. But I can guarantee you! When you go to Murica, there will be far better organization and far better tactical information. You will fit into a well made system rather than a system being fit around you." He responded. 

"Well, that's certainly good. Just don't get my hopes exceptionally high..." I laughed. 

"Just stay safe, Denver. I'll get back with you soon." He said. 

"Alright," I responded, getting to my feet. I headed to the gate, entering the long corridor that led to HQ. There, Raul stood, pressed against a wall. This was beyond confusing. Nonetheless, I continued to walk forth, not acknowledging his presence. 

"So you're just gonna walk past me without uttering a word?" He asked. I stopped, unsure what to make of this. 

"You made it clear that we were done." I said, steadily walking past him. 

"So that Italy mission was grueling, huh?" He asked, arms folded looking as skeptical as ever. I was reduced to stopping, staring at him, wondering what this was about. 

"...Yeah." I responded. His gaze softened up a he geared to say something. 

"So you were telling me the truth?" He asked, eyes beginning to well over. 

"You know damn well I've never lied to you!" I said. 

"Why are you leaving?" He asked, it obviously bothering him deeply. 

"You were eavesdropping?" I asked, somewhat surprised. 

"I mean..." 

"I'm really confused right now, Raul. You made it clear that you wanted nothing to do with me and I respected that... Now you disobey that very boundaries you set???" I asked. 

"You can't just leave...you...you, you have a team, and people who you look out for...and...and..." 

"You know things could have been so different if I would have done something sooner or if you would have waited a little longer. We can point blame if that's what you wish, but there's still unrepairable damage done. I'm just as alone as the day you found me and it is a reality I... I can accept." I continued to interrupt. 

"Why though!?!?" Raul demanded. 

"Because I don't know why I'm here! I don't know what I want out of this place and I'm tired of this same old formula... wake up, shipped off to a foreign land and fighting a battle I don't understand. I go in thinking its gonna give me some thrill, some feeling of being alive but at the end of the day, I'm left feeling hollow and disappointed like it was all for nothing. I'm tired of that! I'm tired of hurting people here, I'm just tired..." I said, drawn to tears. Raul was reduced to staring at me. 

"Is this about me?" He asked. 

"Of course it is about you! I wouldn't be FUCKING leaving if it wasn't for you!" I snarled. 

"Oh my god..." He said, feeling overwhelming guilt. 

"Dude, chill," I sighed, "It's done now... We both fucked up royally... there's nothing left to do but move on... I thought you already had." 

"I thought I did to but you seemed different from before the Italy mission. Even though I didn't want to believe it, something pulled me to investigate then I found out you were leaving and fucking lost it..." He said. All I could do was stare at him out of frustration. 

"This isn't some little Easter Sunday scavenger hunt, Raul. I don't like to play games like this... Why do you think I want to leave... you think I could see you and your wall of meat be happy together while I'm miserably sitting somewhere, contemplating all that is wrong with my life?" I asked. 

"Wait, don't act like I didn't wait and wait and WAIT ON YOU!! You think I wanted to hear about all the dudes you slept with time, and time again? You say you don't like to play games but look at the one you played!" He snarled. 

"It wasn't a fucking game! I didn't know what the fuck I wanted! I was caught up on so much when I was nineteen and twenty and you know it! You know what I came from and how this place was a struggle for me! I'm sorry I didn't fucking grow up fast enough for you! I was busy trying to forget my past and learn how to trust again..." I said back. 

"You're not the only one who struggled, Denver..." 

"Oh really? Did you lose both of your parents? Did you have to forage, and survive on your own, be hungry and helpless in a cold wet place you've never been before? Did you ever have become apart of a group of bandits that did nothing but defile you from the first time they could? Not only that but they kept you around, simply so they could do it again, and again, and again! Have you ever had to have sex with someone you genuinely don't like because it'd keep you alive? Have you ever killed anything other than an animal before? Have you experienced death they way I have? Have you ever been handed an axle bar and forced to beat someone until they weren't recognizable? Have you ever seen people burned alive before? Have you?" I demanded to know. 

"No..." He sighed. 

"Then lets leave it at that..." I said, walking away. A firm hand grabbed me, keeping me where I stood. 

"You can't just walk away from this!" Raul said, not pleased with me at all. 

"What the fuck else am I supposed to do, sit here and argue? What do you want! I don't want to open wounds that are at least attempting to heal." I said. 

"You said you loved me!" Raul said. 

"...And I do... So what! I'm not going to be caught in the middle of some type of triangle. What has happened has already happened and I have no choice but to accept that. What ever the fuck happens man, just be happy now let me go..." I sighed, looking at his hand as he kept me from living. I was left hoping this wouldn't take an even worse turn. 

"So we finally come to terms with our feelings for each other and you simply want to walk away from it?" He asked, truly shocked. It made me so angry. 

"All I wanted was just to get back to you," I said through the grit of my teeth, once again drawn to tears, "The whole time, my team was pinned down, seeing people die left and right, people I was close to! I wondered if I ever was going to see you again because I made the realization that I was small, fragile, and very much touchable! Those suits are armors did not mean we were invincible and and it was such a loud wake-up call! I realized that I took you for granted and with my life clinging in the balance, I promised myself that I'd cherish you forever If I survived! Then when I came home and I needed you, your back was turned. You know how I HATE being alone and you did that to me! How could you?" 

"I'm so sorry," Raul said, pulling me in close, "It was just a misunderstanding... a big one..." 

"Don't touch me..." I hissed, snatching away from him, slowly backing away, "You know how fucking bad my life was, when I had no one... When everything I did was for my own survival, when I was all alone...I didn't know who I could trust and who would waste no time in taking me out... now look what doors you opened back up... LOOK AT IT!!" 

"Denver..." Raul said, the guilt beginning to consume him. 

"It took a long time before I could trust ANYONE and all of that has gone down the drain... But like I said... be happy! I wish you the best, and I hope you do the same... You'll get your initial wish... We're done." I snarled, leaving the isolated hall.  

I hadn't realized how worked up I got over him. I was fuming, literally having to sit to cool down and console myself. I had a serious headache, my stomach feeling knotted up. I just wanted to keep crying but not in this place. I sulked up these tears and forced myself to carry on. I went about my day, returning to the archive. No one was present, just me in an empty hall full of books. I sat at the most isolated nook in the rear, wishing that I could disappear. God knows how much time had passed. At this point, it probably was dark out. I just sat there with no clue of the time, reliving the altercation with Raul... 

After a while, tiny little Liam came across me sitting back here. He came to the rear of the archive with a wide smile. His smile diminished when he saw I wasn't too happy. 

"You ok dude?" He asked. 

"Yeah, just trying to come to terms with some issues... It'll be alright..." I sighed, swiftly trying to compose myself. 

"Is it related to Raul?" He asked. 

"Kind of. I just need to learn not to depend on people when I'm so fucked up..." I chuckled. 

"Dude," Liam said, "Why do you always talk about yourself like that?" 

"What? I am! I'm not going to lie..." I laughed. 

"What precisely is the issue?" He prodded. I looked at him, wanting to tell him all that has happened but I simply didn't know him well enough. I didn't know how he'd react. 

"It's complicated..." I sighed. 

"How complicated?" 

"Can I trust you, Liam?" I asked. 

"Sure, with anything!" He said. 

"I'm leaving soon." I sighed. 

"Wait what?" He asked, unsure if he heard me right. 

"I'm not supposed to tell anyone, but I am. I going to the Americas." 

"That explains your interest in American ornithology. Well damn, dude I'm gonna miss you!" He said, very disappointed. 

"I didn't even have intentions of leaving, it just sort of...happened. I was trying to squirm my way out of being Second Wing then before I know it, my mouth got me involved into something I simply didn't know what was. Somehow, Raul found out and shit got complicated real fast. All I got to say is that he pissed me off... bad!" I confessed. 

"Well I don't want to prod about you and his relationship, I just want to know will you be safe?" Liam asked, full of worry. 

"God, I hope so. It is what it is, man..." I sighed. 

"What will everyone else, think?" He wondered. 

"Captain chewed me up bad. He thought that I didn't like working with him but it wasn't that! It's just that I want to figure some things out and I can't do that here... I got so many inner demons and having to put them to the side to do this type of repetitious work had me just... I don't know. I don't want to talk your ear off about my bullshit excuse for a life..." I sighed. 

"I know that feeling of having to harbor something for so long because you have no one to pull you out of your funk. I seldom feel like I can talk to anyone about anything and quite frankly you and Captain are the only people. I at least can return the favor. When you need me Denver, I'll be all ears." He said. It made my stomach churn. That was precisely how Raul and my relationship started. It was how he got my trust in the beginning and then it turned into this mess. I didn't know how to react to Liam's offer. 

"Is there something wrong?" He asked. 

"No," I said, "It's just like deja vu. It's how Raul got me to trust him. He said I could to talk to him about anything and he didn't like half the stuff I had to say. Of course, the dude was in to me and I was a fucking slut so it...eh." I kind of lost all desire to talk. 

"Well, I don't know your dynamic," Liam laughed, "And if you don't trust me with information, it's fine. Just know that you've proven that I can trust you and...even though you're leaving, I'll never forget that! I do appreciate all of what you've done for me." 

"Eh, don't do that! I'm trying to be sad and miserable here..." I smiled. 

"You're the one who told me that there is always a reason to be happy! Take your own advice, dude!" Liam laughed. He was right. 

"You're a genuine kid, ya know..." I said. 

He slowly leaned in, our lips coming closer and closer. He kissed me, it sending a powerful charge through my body! It was so unexpected, the kiss and the energy present. I pushed him away, unsure what I could have done that led him to think I wanted to be kissed. 

"Dude..." I said, barely able to come to words. He then realized he went too far. 

"... I'm sorry..." He pled, unsure how I'd react. 

"It's fine, just never do it again... I like you, but not in that way. Besides, you gotta save that for Everette." I smiled. 

"I mean... He's nothing like you! I don't think he and I could ever be." He chuckled, sounding rather disappointed. 

"You never know... I'm one hundred percent certain he's gay. I can feel it in my spirit..." I laughed. 




UCAC Ch. 03



"How the fuck do I approach him?" Liam asked, almost frantically. 

"I don't know," I said thinking about it, "Maybe the same way you just attacked my face... I just have this feeling, that you two will be brought really close really soon!" 

"I hope your intuition is correct." Liam laughed. 

"It tends to be." I smiled. 

"About others here who are in the closet..." 

"Man, it is so under the rug it's not even funny..." I said, "It's a can of worms I hope I never dive back into. I had my fun...for the rest of my life..." 

"It's that bad?" Liam asked, astounded. 

"Even if you slept with someone, if word gets out that you're gay, everyone gangs up on you! I've seen it done before... You know our boy Chance? He was gay but died before he could earn everyone's respect. I admired him for his courage, but damn... it has me scared." I sighed. 

"So do they don't know that the man standing next to them is gay or...?" 

"Some do, some don't, but most don't. Not everyone here is gay but there are quite a few people who are and... The people who aren't gay really don't care about anyone's sexuality but the one's who lay down with the dogs, try to hide the fleas... It's sad really..." I explained. 

"Why would they do that to each other?" Liam asked. 

"It's a show of masculinity here and I guess two men having sex with each other doesn't cut the quota." I laughed. 

"That's funny..." Liam sighed. 

"It sadly is..." 

"You think America will be different?" Liam asked. 

"I hope so. Oh my god... What if it's awesome and I don't want to come back?" I asked, truly sounding worried. 

"Shit, what if it is! Shit, dude! You may have fucked up! What if you have the best time of your life?" Liam asked. 

"Oh god, I'm not ready..." I said clenching my head. 

"You gotta come back dude..." Liam said. 

"What if like... I belong over there and shit! What if I find complete and utter happiness!" 

"STOP!" Liam demanded. It made me laugh so hard. 

"I'm only fucking with you man..." I said. 

"There they are!" Someone shouted from up the hall. Armed men came rushing towards us from every angle. We were grabbed, thrown to the ground and handcuffed. Bags were pulled over our heads so we couldn't see where we were being totted off to. I had no idea what was going on and was utterly terrified. We were brought to somewhere dark, dark enough that light couldn't pass through the bag. Suddenly, the bags came off and the lights were on. A huge crowd of people stood before us. 

"SURPRISE!!" They all screamed. Looking around, I could see the entire team was here, Liam, Everette, Jarvis, Marcell and Milan. They all looked startled, not to pleased to be abruptly dragged the dining hall. I know I had no desire to be here.  

"Oh my god! Why?" I groaned. 

"This party is in honor of your team's excellent work on the field and rate of success! It will usher in a new era for our forces! We will put our forces through more vigors to get more results of the like... I want to say thank you for all who were apart of planning this and for you all to know that your hard work is appreciated. We seldom get a chance to let loose like this so cherish it but wake up tomorrow prepared for work! " General Aquil said, standing in the middle of the crowd. We were each uncuffed, allowed to stand. 

It left me wowed. This man literally stood in the midst of all these people and said that this is a party where we force our 'failures' to celebrate the only team capable of success, despite being the second smallest team on the force with some of the smallest and least threatening members... He pretty much was telling them that they were pathetic excuses for cyber wings and should pity themselves. This shit was crazy! 

"This was... sudden..." Marcell laughed. 

"Oh my God, where's the booze..." Milan, sighed, going over to the punch bowls. Milan hated being startled and this was no exception. Plus, alcohol was his favorite thing. He poured a cup of what looked like apple ale, only to be disappointed upon learning it was alcohol. He tried what was in the tall glass bottles, pissed that it was sparkling grape juice. He marched back over to us, trying to keep a straight face. 

"What the fuck is this? How are they going to throw a party of this scale with no alcohol?" He asked. 

"It might be better this way... Trust me Milan..." I laughed. 

Marcell and Milan looked back and forth between one another, then to me. 

"What do you know?" Marcell asked, arms folded. 

"I'm not at liberty to say, this time. Just know tomorrow we have one hell of a mission..." I sighed, walking over to a seat. 

"Eh," Marcell sighed, following me, "In typical UCAC fashion, party hard one night then wake up for the call of duty the next morning..." 

"Details?" Milan insisted. 

"I already told you I can't say much more." I said back. 

"Come on!!" He prodded. 

"OK, we're supposed to be getting a computer component that recently went online, from this greenhouse in Western England." I whispered. 

"What kind of mission is that?" Milan asked, disappointed. 

"Look man, I was told there was some dangerous shit in this greenhouse! I heard it was a labyrinth, one you can easily get turned around in! But that's all I know. I don't quite know what makes this place dangerous... We'll be briefed in the morning. I just doubt this mission will be as easy as getting in and getting out..." I sighed. 

"Hi guys..." Liam smiled, sitting at the table with us. 

"What's up?" I asked. 

"Not much... Some party, huh? I thought we were in trouble when we got snatched up like that..." He laughed. 

"Stuff like this is far more common than you might think..." Marcell laughed. 

"So what do we do?" Liam asked, obviously never having a party before. 

"Just have fun!" I laughed. 

"I mean..." He said, still unsure about what he should do. 

"UGH, come one kid!" I said, grabbing him by the hand. I dragged the innocent boy out to the dance floor. The DJ played some new and old dance music, all of them having infectious rhythms. 

Liam looked around daunted, the booming bass of the subwoofers, the flashing lights and the grunts losing their minds dancing just inches away from him, proving overwhelming. The boy was beyond adorable, a truly awkward mess. 

"Just groove to the beat, Liam..." I said. He shrugged, unsure what that meant. I was left demonstrating it to him, simple body and arm rolls, with some fist bangs and steps back and forth could fool anyone into believing you were suave and had finesse on your feet. 

The boy simply didn't have a rhythmic bone in his body. He twitched and jolted across the dance floor, making everyone laugh. However, it was all in light heart and high spirits. I looked back over to Marcell and Milan. They simply sat bobbing their heads to the deafening bass. It was starting to become fun. Shit, it was up to the individual to make the most out of it in this place and this was no exception. 

At an isolated table, Jarvis and Everette sat, snickering and pointing fingers at people. It was clear Jarvis was back to his harsh judgement games and Everette was along for the ride. The two, at this point, could become inseparable for all I cared. It was what Jarvis wanted... However, if anything happened to Everette, it'd turn everyone on the team truly against Jarvis and he would have to go. I just hoped it wouldn't have to get to that point. 

But that was too much festering over their relationship. It was time to join Liam in doing embarrassingly awkward dance moves in the center of the dance floor. Not long after, everyone shared their most cringe worthy dance move on the banquet hall floor. One of the engineers, a girl from the United States, brought back dance moves from hundreds of years ago, krumping and swinging her hair while she screamed and roared aggressively. She got into the face of one of the soldiers who returned the same favor, with equally hilarious krump dance moves. 

The two then kissed, laughing hard at one another, revealing they were a couple. Then came the Soca music... I lost my mind, truly I did. The subdued and playful dance moves were cast aside, time to get serious. I was not the only one here with a Caribbean heritage. A few other engineers a Harrier grunt and a Roc Class grunt met at the center of the dance floor, all doing some serious footwork. We all got cheered on by the party goers, despite the provocative dance moves. It was beginning to get physical, the dances becoming very close contact and very sexual. However, this was dancehall... nothing out of the norm... 

"WOOOOO!!" A cheering girl said. 

"MALCOLM!!" Another one shouted. 

"DENVER!!" Someone else screamed. I really didn't expect my name to be screamed. 

Not long after, I got tired...having to take a seat. I went back to the table where Liam, Marcell and Milan sat. All had hanging jaws. 

"What?" I asked. 

"You're a fucking slut!" Marcell said, truly shocked. 

"That's how people would dance back home!" I laughed. 

"The people back home are sluts!" Marcell laughed. 

"How can you make your body move like that...those little ticks, pops and rolls?" Liam asked. 

"It's called whining. It's for grown folks," I said roughing up his hair, "You'll learn when you're grown!" 

"I'm twenty!" He laughed. 

"Such a baby..." I continued to tease. 

"Nice dance moves..." Someone said from behind. I turned and it was Ghost, still hadn't learned the kid's name yet, "They really warrant your reputation..." 

"I haven't caught your name yet..." I smiled, not bothering to acknowledge his shady remark. 

"Call me Philip..." He said, standing their arms folded, expecting this to turn into verbal exchange of snide words. 

"Well nice to finally call you something other than Ghost," I grinned, before turning back to my table, "Well anyways, there's whining, stepping, grinding, rolling and popping. It all begins with using your core and your thighs... It tends to be a party showstopper..." 

"What is this music called? The rhythm is infectious but the singing is so throaty and punchy..." Liam asked. 

"It's called Soca. There's quite a bit more than this from the Caribbean." I laughed. Marcell's eyes wondered, following what was presumed to be Philip. A smile came across his face. 

"Did you fuck his girl?" Marcell asked. 

"He's just mad because I fucked him on the field and put a pillow under his head..." I laughed. Milan burst out laughing. 

"OK, because I thought he was going to snap you in half. He's one big ass bloke..." Milan laughed. 

"I know...he'd destroy me with one thump..." I chuckled. It was more so funny because, the two brothers didn't know the entirety to this story. 

"So like where exactly in Murica are you from?" Liam asked. 

"I was all over the place. Mainly between the swamps of the east and plains of the central plateau. Then we moved to the islands but still were back and forth a lot. It's kind of a blur. We didn't stay in one spot for longer than a year." I smiled. 

"That's crazy!" Liam said back. 

"You never told anyone that before..." Marcell noted. 

"Eh, why not?" I shrugged with a grin. 

"You're becoming..." Milan said with a gulp, "Compassionate..." 

"Ya'll my lil babies and I must take care of ya'll because ya'll might die and shit!" I teased. 

"I'll be alright if I don't get smacked out the sky by a giant metal goshawk..." Marcell joked. It warranted laughter from us all. 

"Why didn't you save me when I fell?" A familiarly sickening voice asked. I turned, Jarvis and Everette making their way over to the table. Jarvis sat next to me, smiling. It left Everette awkwardly scrounging for a seat on the other side of the table. He sat next to Liam, sighing, making it quite clear he didn't like the divided attention between him and I. He seemed perplexed as to why Jarvis was so adamant on holding a conversation with me. 

"You just insist on violating my personal space, don't you?" I asked. 

"Damn, no one can be nice to you!" Jarvis laughed. 

"OK, Jarvis..." I sighed, not wanting to engage in anything more than what was stated. 

"So," Jarvis began, "About those dance moves... Everyone's going crazy over you..." I felt a hand creep up my leg under the table. It startled me but went unseen by anyone else. 

"What are you doing?" I asked. 

"What do you think I'm doing... I like the way you move and I wanna learn how..." He smiled...devilishly. 

"You're not even social... no one likes you... Who'd want to dance with you?" I asked plainly. He sighed, leaning back into his seat. 

"Eh, there's a start for everything, right?" He asked. I scooted up as far forward as I could, supporting my throbbing head in the palms of my hand. Jarvis took his games to an entirely new level, one that I wasn't expecting. My fear for him was intensified, knowing he'd stoop to such a level to get what he wanted. Should it be called stooping though? Jarvis was the least known of us all, the most private and the most...alluring. Despite his wicked ways, I couldn't deny that Jarvis had a way he carried himself that made him appeal to so many. He was appealing to me too but I could never go to any depths with him. Jarvis was simply a danger... 

Everette sat there, boiling in his skin. He knew what was happening on this side of the table because it happened to him. Jarvis probably made the boy feel special, like he was the only one he'd do that to. I knew how berating it was and I did not want to be caught in the middle of it. If it was confusing to me, I knew it had to be very confusing to Everette. However, I couldn't feel sorry for Everette right about now. I just wanted Jarvis to get the fuck away from me. 

Jarvis was smart though... At a big social event like this, everything had to look good between us all. Considering General Aquil was here, making a scene would be a very bad move. I had to sit here and tough it out. It was just crazy how the people in this room were oblivious to what Jarvis was doing to me! It felt so blatant, so...good, but it was under the table where no one could see. I just wondered why he did this... 

The music began to wane as General Aquil walked up to the podium. He cleared his throat, gearing to speak. 

"All my Long Wingers come to the stage." He smiled. I didn't know why we had to come up on stage but I was beyond glad we did. I didn't know how much more of Jarvis's touches I could bear. We then lined up in height order, Liam, me, Marcell, Everette, Milan and Jarvis. One by one, a medal was placed around our necks. 

"This is for outstanding teamwork and diligence on the front." General Aquil said. It was truly a cringeworthy statement and prize. It was now clear that General Aquil knew very little of how we actually functioned, or maybe there was some deeper motive behind this. Maybe if we looked unified and polished enough, everyone would think we truly were and wanted to function the same way. 

General Aquil handed the microphone to Liam. The boy nearly shut down on stage, looking out that crowd him simply smiled warmly at him. 

"I don't know what to say! I've only been on two missions... It's been tough but I've learned a lot about my team and I've been taught that not everything is going to come out like a page in a book. Sometimes you have to write your own plan as you go and Denver was the person to teach me this." Liam smiled, handing the microphone over to me. 

"I just want to say that you all are successes and wonderful works of art! I would like to encourage you to build relationships with your team because these relationships will keep you alive in times of need. We may seem perfect on the exterior but inside we do have our quarrels. However, we put these issues aside and work as a unified front when the time calls! Everything we do is for each other and we make sacrifices for one another to push the next man forward. Even though this is for us, I must applaud you all for your hard work and perseverance because each one of your roles is just as significant as the next man!" I smiled, passing the microphone to Marcell. I began clapping, urging everyone on the banquet hall floor to do so. They did, cheering and hooting wildly. When the clapping died down, Marcell began to speak. 

"I um... God I don't know what to say," Marcell chuckled, "I wouldn't be here today if it wasn't for the heroics of Denver, Milan and First Wing. I often am the one hovering or kiting in mid air, getting detailed scans of surroundings and enemies. I'm put in harms way so the true heroes which are all these guys standing up here, can get the job done. I must say thank you to them because things would be very different without them." He gave the microphone to Everette. Applause erupted after his acceptance speech. Everette looked on, having the most nervous smile. The crowd fell silent. 

"I'm the newest member of the team. I still have a lot to learn and it's definitely has been tough. I've only had one mission so far and I'm thankful for teammates like Jarvis, Milan and Denver because they are not afraid to get their talons dirty and fight for what they believe in! I look up to them all and aspire to be great a great Cyber Winger just like them." He smiled. He gave the microphone to Milan. The crowd clapped for him, making the boy blush. They became quiet again as Milan geared to say his piece. 

"Speaking of getting talons dirty, I've yet to meet a Winger more fit for the job than Denver! He'll dive in headfirst and will be the last to leave. He's often the first to break through with the mission, paving the way for us to complete the mission. Marcell, my older brother, often is in harms way. In order to get data you got to seek data and that is what he does. So I cover him will all my might because without him, this team is crippled. If we lose any man, the team is crippled! It's why I'm thankful for new winger, Everette. He's some new talent with a great instinct and I want to see how he grows. Not only him, but Liam. Liam is also a new recruit and his flight potential is unparalleled by any of us and he's the one who asks the questions no one wants to ask! He makes us thorough and efficient and his position on the team can't be filled by any other soul. Then there's Jarvis, our most regal member. When anyone see's him and his white plume flying by, they know he's something heavy duty. He and I are the brawn of the team. The gist of what I'm saying is that, we're all different but come together to make one formidable unified force. Differences make the best unity!" Milan said, giving the mic to Jarvis. The crowd roared out at his speech. Milan always had a talent for speech. The roaring crowd made Jarvis even more confident. He stood there with that cocky grin, that grin that made me want to hit him... 

"Well, well, well," Jarvis smiled, making my stomach churn, "I am the Second Wing of the Long Winger Platoon. I am charged with the duty of keeping all of these guys kicking and thriving. I am responsible for each and everyone of them coming back home at the end of each mission. Denver is right... we make sacrifices for each other and I make the big sacrifices as a whole. After losing Chance, the former Second Wing, it's become my serial duty to make sure no one else on this team becomes a casualty on the battlefield. As you can see, it's been a big success..." He handed the microphone back over to General Aquil. Somehow, the crowd roared over his narcissistic statement. It truly boggled my mind. 

Hell, we all had to applaud Jarvis's bullshit this time. He was the only one of us all who made the speech about himself and not about the team. Not only that but he was lying... He cared not for any one of us, only about how he could rise in rank the quickest way possible. Jarvis seemed to be running away from something, fleeing from some deeply repressed fears. What was he harboring on the inside that sent him on this run for security? Why did he feel the need to so desperately run over others to get what he wanted? What was his true end game?



UCAC Ch. 04



 WARNING: This story gets very graphic at points and if you have a weak stomach, I do not recommend you reading it. 

After this chapter, things will change a lot. I'm aware of the huge cast of characters which I'm trying to whittle down or use more creatively. Chapter 5 and 6 are finished and will uploaded as soon as possible.

*****

Not just our team stood to be debriefed this early morning. The Roc Class stood with us, eager to learn their role in today's mission. We stood at parade rest as General Aquil took his stance at the podium. He looked at us proudly.

"This will be a swift mission. You are to be shipped to the western coast of the British Isles. There, you both will fly to the rendezvous point, grouping up outside of the Spain Botanical Facility. The Roc Class will set up a perimeter and secure the area around the facility for three square cliques. Your job is to make sure this isn't an insurgent trap and to focus on ground threats. Once you can confirm that the area is secure, the Long Wingers will enter the facility and retrieve this," The General said as graphic came up of a rectangular computer being displayed, "A machine called a Mallet. It houses some important secrets about biological engineering that will allow us to take the next steps in producing the second generation of cybernetic humans. Your role in this mission is for the future of mankind!! Each and everyone of your actions will dictate the success of this mission. This will be our most important mission to date. Any questions?" 

No one raised the hands, all except Liam.

"What if this mission is somehow an insurgent trap, like what happened in Italy?" Liam asked. Everyone looked at the boy in certain rage. Of course he would be the one to ask such a 'dumb' question but the question was a blatant concern of mine. 

"It is precisely why the Roc Class is here. I have taken into consideration that this could be a trap which is why the Recon Wingers have been surveying the region for any suspicious activity. The Roc Class will secure the area and maintain area security. They will provide air support if needed. They will be ordered to fly around the area of action for the entire duration of the mission. Is that all?" The General responded. No one else had anything to say, "Since no, grab your packs and head out to the hangar for transport..." 

We did so, swiftly rushing to the Hangar. There, an airship was ready to be boarded. We wasted no time in entering the ship's bay, sitting in the designated areas. Liam looked at me with a smile, sitting just before me. 

"You sure this mission will be dangerous?" Liam asked.

"I don't know. I was told it would be... I just don't know." I said, truly perplexed. 

"Well I'm keeping my fingers crossed," Marcell chimed in, "My stomach is jittering like a motherfucker, man..." 

"Mine too..." Milan added. 

"Yeah, as of lately none of these missions have been going according to plan..." Marcell sighed.

"It's not my concern... My main concern is that this is a mission without Lead Wing..." I said. The four of us looked at each other, knowing we were in Jarvis's hands. It sent shivers down own spine. 

The bay doors began to close as the ship's engines powered on. 

"OK, I was looking at the ordinance for this mission and they were packing some serious incendiary drop offs. Why do we have bombs if we're simply going to be patrolling?" A Roc Class Winger asked.

"Hell if I know... What's this, our second mission? Let's try not trying to go in expecting anything other than the success of the mission." Another Roc Winger sighed. 

A huge dude, about six foot eight sat next to me. He was at least two hundred eighty pounds, nothing but raw muscle. Like me, he was multiracial and covered in character rich freckles. If I recalled right, he went by the name of Malcolm. He had the most perplexed look on his face.

"So you only have one intel dude on your team?" He asked.

"Yeah but we have another coming..." Marcell said, turning to face the young man.

"It's just crazy to me how you all are able to turn out such a success rate being the smallest functioning team of us all." Malcolm said. 

"It's all about communication and quick thinking." I smiled.

"Well, hopefully on this mission we won't be put to too big of a test." Malcolm smiled, extending out his hand, "I'm Malcolm, by the way." 

"I know," I said shaking his hand, "All the girls were screaming your name last night...figured it was you. I'm Denver... What part of the Caribbean ya from?" 

"I'm from Trinidad but I haven't been in so long I just about forgot what it's like... What about you? You seem to know how to move..." He smiled.

"I'm not really from the Caribbean but it was the last place I lived before I moved here. I used to live in the Virgin Islands." I clarified. 

"Eh, small world." He laughed. 

"Got any extra details on the mission?" I asked.

"I um, apart from seeing the incendiary ordinance, no." He said, sounding disappointed, "You?"

"I heard it'd be dangerous but I can't put my finger on why. It seems like there'd be nothing to cause a threat on this mission but my source is very, very trustworthy... My issue is that this will be a tight quarters mission and we know damn well we're not built for that. That was how we got fucked over in Italy..." I sighed. 

"Yeah that Italy mission was no joke. I hate it for those you lost but this time I'm going to make sure there are no loses..." Malcolm said.

"Are you Second Wing for the Roc Class?" I asked. 

"No, I'm Steppe... I do recon, practically a supersized version of Tinnu." Malcolm corrected. 

"Oh!" 

"Boots and I are recon. Empire is Second Wing. The Gold Triplets, VV, King, Spots, Shortie, and White are pretty much heavy duty." Malcolm continued. 

"I thought you were a team of nine..." Marcell pondered. 

"We have three Golden Wingers... We're more than likely to bench one or two." Malcolm laughed.

"I really hate the naming system. It makes having multiple wingers of the same type of Cyber Winger very difficult." I said. 

"Yeah. You'll find a way to get around it... we did." Malcolm smiled.

"How?" Marcell asked. 

"Numbers..." Malcolm chuckled.

"Welp..." Marcell said, feeling he should have suspected the answer. He then turned to me, "How precisely did you get details on the mission?" 

"I was in the Hangar getting some diagnostics ran on my suit. Got into a conversation with Dr. Helm. He's the one who told me it was dangerous but he didn't give me any details." I explained.

"Wait, how long have you know about this mission?" Liam asked.

"Not long, about three days..." I responded. 

"So Dr. Helm was the one who told you about the mission?" Marcell asked. 

"No... How I acquired the information can't be disclosed. Sorry guys." I smiled.

"AH..." Marcell growled, hating when he couldn't learn something, "You know how I hate being in the blind."

"Well we're all in the blind, guys..." I sighed. 

"I um," Malcolm began looking around, "Trevor!" 

"Yeah!" Another dude about six foot nine said back. Malcolm waved him over.

"You think you can link yours, mine and Marcell's spectrum array and adaptive tech?" Malcolm asked. Trevor looked at us tiny folk.

"Sure..." Trevor said back, "Let me guess, you're intel?" 

"Yep..." Marcell smiled confidently. 

"Alright, come with me. I wanna see what you're working with..." Trevor said, ascending to the upper levels of the air ship. Marcell stood up, being completely dwarfed by Trevor. Trevor was nearly a foot taller than Marcell. I watched the two disappear up the stairs.

The airship began to take off. Liam rushed over to the window seat, looking down as the ship slowly rose off the ground. Everette watched him, looking at the tiny boy from head to toe. He gave an eye roll and sighed. It was not a good sign at all. The boy seemed to be very torn and after the events of last night, I'm not surprised. Jarvis had succeeded in getting inside the boy's head and for the sanctity of this mission, this was... discouraging. 

"Ya know," Liam began, "I remember my first time inside one of these things. I used to be so afraid of heights... can you believe that?" 

"Yeah we can believe it..." I teased. It made Liam laughed.

"I don't know what happened. I just woke up one day and was like, hey, it's not so bad... and loved it." Liam responded. 

"Truthfully, it's a surprise to me because you're the most agile flier period..." Milan chimed in. 

"Yeah, he has the highest G-force resistance of any Cyber Winger in the force." I smiled. 

"Yet I don't fly like it... I hold back so much on the wing it's not even funny." Liam sighed. I sat next to him, looking out a neighboring window. 

"Well, don't hold back this mission... Slay us!" I smiled. 

"Ya know," Liam began, "Everette..." 

"What?" The boy asked, sounding aggravated. Liam looked at him surprised, unsure where this angst was coming from.

"We don't know much about you... I just have a few questions." Liam smiled, looking innocently adorable and cute and shit. God, how could anyone ever be irritated by someone that sweet? It truly made me want to throttle Everette for being such a douchebag. 

Everette simply, shrugged not really caring to hear from Liam. Not discouraged, brave little Liam geared to ask him some questions.

"Ok," Liam started, "Like...where are you from?" 

"Burgundy..." Everette said, being as vague as possible. It now became evident to Liam that Everette was not in the best of moods. Still though, the boy wanted to try his luck. I tried to hint at him by shaking my head but it was too late.

"Cool, I used to go to France when I was younger," Liam smiled, though sounding less enthused, "So, what do you do in your free time? It's like you disappear..." Everette stared at the boy, his cold blue eyes penetrating deep. Liam knew now to backoff. He threw up both hands, vacating the area.

"Thank you..." Everette said, very frustrated, "...bugging the shit out of me." 

Everette had me boiling in my skin.I gave him the most scalding look I could muster. He looked at me, growing cautious. It was the first time I or anyone here for the matter had gotten angry with him. But being angry was a very clear understatement. Everette was being childish and a poor team player and I for one didn't condone it. 

Jarvis sat back, the evermost faintest smirk on his face, steadily silent. I had it... for the sanctity of this mission, I got to my feet, embedding my gaze forever in Everette's mind. I marched up the stairs where the cybernetic suits were. I looked out the window, watching as the ship flew out of the sunrise. The silence was pure bliss but the thing was, it wasn't quite as quiet as I thought. There was some choppy and disconnected breathing coming from one of the tuckaways. 

Curious, I went to investigate, walking stealthily towards the sound. Homing in on the noise, I realized it was two people panting. Reaching for the tuckaway, I opened it surprised by the sight. Trevor had Marcell hoisted up on his hips, pounding away at him. The two stopped at the sight of me, freezing in fear.

"Guys..." I said, truly astounded. Both boys looked terrified.

"Denver, please..." Marcell begged. 

"Look," I began with a smile, "Your secret, is my secret... finish up." I closed the door behind them. I resumed staring out of the window. It was truly a shock that Marcell was gay... or what ever he'd call it. He hid his urges so well, I never would have guessed. However, I'm glad I found out and not someone else. It could have been the start of endless persecution from fellow wingsuit pilots. Considering how easily I stumbled across the two in the act, I had to stand lookout or something. If Marcell knew as much about me as I did him, he'd definitely do the same... I think. Hell, I didn't care. I just wished him for him to be safe. 

Two powerful arms planted on the windowsill around me. Startled, I turned swiftly, coming nose to nose with... Jarvis.

"Hi..." He smiled biting his lip. He leaned in to kiss me. I ducked down, crawling from under the huge man. This was so out of the blue and completely random, I couldn't even do anything except retaliate with volatility. 

"You've officially lost your fucking mind..." I said in complete shock. Jarvis slowly walked over to me, seductive as ever. 

"What? I want to get to know you, Denver..." Jarvis smiled. 

"No," I said, "You're up to something and I'm gonna find out what! The stunt you pulled last night, the way you have Everette wrapped around your finger...how you got this team divided... you're up to something, I know. I will tell you this though. Let someone else on this team get hurt and you just stand idly by like you're oblivious to it and I will come for you...HARD!!" Jarvis pressed up against me, pinning me to the wall.

"I want you to come for me..." He said, his voice tingeing with lust.

"Trust me," I said, climbing up, digging my toes into him deeply. I grabbed him by his shoulders, getting eye to eye with him. He was now very top heavy, making it very easy to redirect his mass. I now had him pinned to the wall, "You don't want me come for you..." 

"Oh but I do..." He said, grabbing my thighs, spreading them, pulling me even closer to him. He pinned me to the wall yet again, planting his lips on my neck. I almost sucumbed to his seductive power but held resistance. I knew what he was trying to do. He knew he couldn't speak his way into my head so he tried to sex his way into it. Quite frankly, it wouldn't work. 

I pried him off of me, going back to the window. Now that I knew what Jarvis tasted like, I didn't want it. It was something about being a diabolical, malevolent sociopath that made the eel shrivel up.

"You failed, Javis..." I said not bothering to acknowledge his pompous stance behind me, "I'm not Everette, easy to succumb to some gentle touches, caresses and brainwashing. I've known you for seven years... He's known you for about two weeks."

"That's where you've mistaken," Jarvis said, warranting a look from me, "You don't know me at all..." He disappeared down the steps. He knew he could send chills down my spine. He was just one terrifying dude but I am not one you want to terrify. I respond in the most volatile when you try to strike fear in me. Jarvis had just better hoped no one got hurt because I'd end him... 

The furthest tuckaway slowly opened, Marcell sticking his head out.

"Is he gone?" He asked me. I nodded. He and Trevor left the tuckaway, both looking frumpy and embarrassed to be within my presence. 

"Next time though," I began, leaning on the railing, arms folded, "Play it safer and do not fuck on an airship. Neither of you knew I was even here!" 

"Thanks for looking out for us, man..." Marcell sighed, relieved to know I had his back. I looked at Trevor, another giant wall of meat. I pointed to the stairs.

"Get your ass down there!" I snarled. The giant did as was told, leaving me and Marcell alone. I grabbed Marcell by the hand, so he'd stand next to me, "Wow dude..." 

"You're not pissed right?" He asked.

"No, no!" I said, "Not at all! I just never expected it."

"Eh...I feel so guilty. I shouldn't have let him..."
"You feel guilty? Boy it's your natural right to be sexually attracted to who ever makes your dick rise up! Don't even give me that..." I snarled.

"I come from a really conservative Italian household..." He said.

"And, your point is?" I asked.

"I mean... I don't want my father to be disappointed with me." 

"I'm gonna tell you this much! You're going to have to start being honest with yourself and acknowledge the way you feel about your sexuality so you can embrace your sexuality. You're twenty five years old! This is not a way to live your life... in denial." I said. Marcell's eyes began to well over, overwrought with a mix of emotions.

"You're gay to?" He asked. I nodded.

"It's been a struggle unlike anything you know but I had someone to talk sense to me from a young age. I can atleast do the same for you, ya know...stick my neck out." I smiled.

"Jesus, man you don't know how much that means...to me!" He said, reaching to hug me. I squirmed away.

"NO!! If you don't stop with the eye faucets!" I demanded. Marcell laughed, wiping his tears. 

"OK, OK..." Marcell smiled before getting serious, "But what the fuck just happened between you and Jarvis... I heard the entire thing!"

"Man... He's been trying to get inside my head for a while now but failed...so now he's trying to get within my pants in an effort to work his way in my head. I don't know his end game..." I said, laughing nervously.

"Sounds like he's getting desperate. We got to keep three eyes open." Marcell said.

"It's our best bet..." I said walking over to the stairs.

We headed back to the personnel bay, Liam glued to a window on the other side of the ship. I looked at Marcell, pointing to Liam. 

"He's?" Marcell asked. I nodded, heading over to the boy. 

"You alright?" I asked quietly.

"I fucking blew it..." He responded, Marcell sitting next to me.

"Man, if I were you I wouldn't sweat it! Just please have your head on your shoulders when this mission starts..." I begged. Liam looked at me, unsure why I was emphasizing this so much.

"I will." He said, realizing something must have happened, "Wait..." He spun around looking at Jarvis, shrugging in confusion.

"He took it to a whole nother level..." I whispered to Liam, "And Everette is caught in the middle. It'll be best if you keep your relationship with Everette on a completely duty basis only... He could be a danger to us all." Liam shook his head beginning to sigh.

"OK..." He said with no counter at all, continuing to look out the window. I felt so bad for the kid, knowing he had some pretty strong feelings for Everette. But if it was one thing Everette was good at was sticking with the plan. I just hated seeing him so down. 

About two hours of flying later, we reached Eastern England. Liam steadily looked out the window, not uttering a word. Liam was known around the base as a chatterbox, but for him to be silent...even Jarvis was unsettled.

"Attention," An automated voice said, "Wingsuit pilots suit up... ejection in five minutes..." Everyone got up, Liam steadily sitting for some odd reason. He was deep in his mind. I snapped my fingers in his face.

"Hey!" I said, "Come on kid..." He snapped back into reality, getting to his feet. We walked up the stairs, getting into our docking stations.

"Eeeew, there's gunk all in here..." Everette said, in the same Tuckaway that Marcell and Trevor had sex in. I couldn't help but quietly laugh to myself. I entered my tuckaway, the actuating arms suiting me up swiftly. 

"Subbu deployed..." The automated voice said.

"What?" I said, being caught off guard. I hit the bailout switch, being transferred from the tuckaway into a cylindrical drop. The door opened and I was in freefall.

Diving above the Atlantic Ocean, I spread my wings, heading towards land. 

"Computers, locate Subbu!" I said. 

"Homing..." The computer responded.

"Subbu!" I said out, hoping to make radio contact. He didn't respond.

"Location found." The computer said, his location being homed in on my HUD. I began to power towards the location, reaching landfall swiftly. 

Subbu was soaring above a huge settlement on the southern tip of England. It was a very lavished region, a massive palace sitting in the center with scattered villages here and there. A massive grape orchard sat to the north and a moor to the south. This was his home... 

"Subbu..." I said, powering over to him. Spreading my wings and tail, I caught a ride on the same thermal he rode. 

"I had to at least see it before I go on this mission... like, what if I don't return or something?" He asked. 




UCAC Ch. 04



"You're coming back, Subbu! Like we promised each other, we'll be looking out for one another!" I said, hoping to reassure him. He didn't respond, seeing someone walking out of the palace. He chuckled a bit. 

"That's my mother." He said. She was a tall woman, taller than Subbu, with raven hair. She had a very chiseled face, high cheekbones and a thin nose. She wore a gorgeous mink coat that draped down to her feet. I don't blame her for wearing it either. It was very cold out here. She got into a SUV, heading out into town.

"I bet you miss her..." I said.

"I do but... It's just strange. This mission takes place forty miles north of my home... Like, my family won't even know I'm here." He chuckled. 

"Yeah, I see why it bothered you. I don't know how I'd deal if I were in your situation." I said.
"Bothered me?" He asked.

"Dude, it obviously did if you left the ship early to come see your family." I laughed.

"Yeah, you're right..." Subbu laughed. 

"Come in Merlin and Subbu." Tinnu said on the Radio.

"Here." I said.

"Where are you guys?" Tinnu asked.

"About thirty, forty miles out... Heading to objective now." I said.

"Hurry." Tinnu said.

I looked over to Subbu. He was steadily soaring on low held wings, circling on the thermal. 

"Race you!" I said.

"Sure!" He responded. The two of us got parallel to each other, descending into a glide. Once we were gliding at the same speed it was on.

"On your mark...get said...go!" I said.

We both accelerated from our shallow, forty mile an hour glide to one hundred miles an hour, one fifty, two hundred, two fifty, to pushing three hundred. We were neck and neck not really wanting to push our top speed until the final few miles. It took about seven minutes to reach the thirty five mile mark. With about five miles to go, we pushed ourselves to our top speed. I began to marginally outpace Subbu, having a top speed of three hundred twelve miles an hour. Subbu's top speed was about three hundred five miles an hour. 

Subbu did not take my gradual lead lightly. The boy stooped down, swiftly darting to four hundred miles an hour. There was a bit of a head wind coming from the sea to the north and Subbu was going to use this to his advantage. Not wanting to lose this, I dove too. I powered along my speed increasing drastically. I eventually began to catch up to Subbu. The boy began to ascend again veering northwest. As we came side by side, he banked northeast, descending again. He was catapulted by the wind, whipping past me for the second time.

This was a surprise! Subbu knew how to use these winds and he was placing considerable distance between us. This style of flight was known as dynamic flight, cutting through wind by rising with the head wind and descending rapidly when the wind conditions changed due to rapid ascension. In actuality, it could boost a top flat speed significantly. 

It didn't take long for me to catch up to Subbu. Despite being faster than him on paper, we whipped past each other constantly, there not being a definitive winner. 

"You guys are coming in hot..." Tinnu noted, "Problem?" 

"Yeah," I responded, "Subbu is winning!" 

"HAHAHAHA!!" Subbu squacked.

We came into visual contact with the other Wingsuit Pilots soaring above the hills. Nestled in the hills, connected to the cliffs of the coast was a network of giant greenhouses, overrun with plants. I mean they were huge, each one the size of a hangar. They were a frickin labyrinth, connected by long glass corridors and bridges. All of them seemed to connect to a massive dome, standing about three hundred feet at its highest. It made me grateful for the new advancements on my suits, particularly the mapping sonar. It would reduce the time we were in this place. However, we couldn't enter just yet.

"Patrolling the perimeter now. Broad sweeping scans..." Steppe said. His position as well as other Roc Wingers became visible on the HUD. Us Long Wingers circled above, waiting for a go ahead. There weren't any blatant giveaways that this mission would be dangerous. Tinnu looked down at the huge dome.

"I can feel the signature of electronics down in there but I can't see due to that overgrowth..." Tinnu said. 

"Ground Penetrating Radar scans," Boots said, sweeping low over the grounds at high speed. His search came up with nothing in particular, "Nothing suspicious..." 

"Well that's strange..." I said, "What about you, Steppe?" 

"Nothing so far," He said over the air, "I don't think there are any threats... Nothing escapes our radar detection, even bone matter..." 

"Strange," Tinnu said, hovering over the dome, "Boots, sweep the facility... I got a bad feeling about this place..." 

"Sure..." He responded. He flew over, using his ground penetrating radar to perform meticulous scans. The dense radio waves picked up nothing suspicious at all. The only thing odd that it picked up were dead bodies long decomposed, but all things considered, it was not worth mentioning. The humans that died here most likely were botanists and this was part of the written briefing that Boots had read. 

"Nothing..." He said.

"Well what makes this place dangerous?" Tinnu asked, perplexed.

"Yeah, I'm at a loss too." I sighed, unsure why Dr. Helm said that this mission would be extremely dangerous. It seemed it'd be very straight forward. 

"You have the go ahead..." Empire, Second Wing of the Rock Wingers said. 

"Alright." Gyr said, heading towards the ground.

We followed him, landing firmly on the ground at the old entrance of the Spain Botanical Facility. Still though, I couldn't help but feel that this mission would get grim.

"Let's get this over with..." Tinnu sighed, the first to walk into the building. We followed, the facility being incredibly dilapidated on the inside. Plant vines were everywhere, growing from the walls, the plant shafts reaching back hundreds of feet if not thousands. The tiled floors were shattered and the walls were molded. All and all, this place was incredibly erie. 

This was just an entry though, one of many, this being the closest to the core. As we descended further into the facility, the foliage became more and more thick. Broad leaves great for gathering light, did their job. They made it hard for anything beneath the canopy to see and it was getting dark fast. We all froze, daunted by the path ahead.

"How are we supposed to navigate through here?" Tinnu asked. 

"I um..." I began, "My suit has some new hardware. Tinnu set up a link between my visual feeds to you all, and I can map out the path ahead for you..." 

"Wait, when did you get new stuff?" Saker asked. 

"Now's not the time to ask... It's experimental stuff and I'm supposed to report if it works or not..." I said. 

"Sure thing..." Tinnu said, navigating his holowatch. He linked us all together, looking perplexed, "What now?" 

I navigated my Helm's HUD activating both pulse sonar and the ultra spectrum visual feed. It was then I recieved caution alerts. 

"Whoa..." Tinnu said, caught off guard, "What are these alerts?" 

"I'm not sure... I think my suit is acting up. It's getting countless motion readings but nothing is moving around us..." I said.

"Is it mistaking us for the motion?" Subbu asked.

"No... It's too many... The suit already is programed to ignore your telemetric feeds especially since we're not synced... Hang on..." I said, truly confused. I began to take detailed sonar scans of the place. It captured a radius of three hundred feet, rendering a map. As I did another scan, I noticed something strange. The giant vines were in a slightly different location than they were just seconds ago. Unsure what to make of this, I did another scan.

The giant vines were creeping along the floor of the facility.

"Why do you keep scanning?" Subbu asked.

"The vines are moving..." I said, "Look..." I pulled up a comparison of the three scans.

"Whoa..." Tinnu said, taken aback. 

"Tinnu, have it set up that the IPUs and shaders render a live 3D map responsive to your movements...I'll be sending live updates as we progress through here." I said.

"Will do." Tinnu responded.

"We got to make this standard on our suits..." Milan said, looking around at his environment as Tinnu punched in the updates. Not only could they see the world around them, they could see through obstacles. In addition to this, a map took up the lower left corner of their HUD. It made navigating this dark environment very easy. 

"You take the lead..." Tinnu said, "I got to write an auto patch so this shit will automatically know what the fuck to process when in close quarters, low light situations..." 

"Eh..." I sighed, knowing his efforts would be in vain. I was going to leave, probably tonight considering how things were run here.

Still though, I took the lead, everyone marching through the labyrinths of halls and greenhouses as quickly as possible. We turned into one of the more massive greenhouses, edging closer to the heart of the facility. The plant activity increased dramatically as we did. It was so fucking creepy. It's one thing to feel watched but it was another thing entirely to feel watched by plants. We didn't know if these things could sense us or not, but the way they slithered about made my skin crawl. 

Subbu walked right into something dreadful. A long decayed human body was suspended half-way in the air with a vine growing through the back of his skull, coming out of the eye socket. Subbu was face to face with this, scared shitless. 

"Man what the FUCK!" He shouted, stepping back. We all turned to see what had him so riled. Gyr walked over, shining his light on the carcass.

"That's not pretty..." He said, not unnerved at all. 

"How the hell?" Tinnu asked, looking at the strange sight. I was at a loss for words, this being one of the most bizarre things I've seen. 

"So," Saker began, "Was he dead before of after the vine punched through the back of his skull and started to grow?" I circled the site.

"I"m guessing before because he was still standing and technically still is..." I said.

"What the fuck does this mean then?" Tinnu asked.

"Just," I began, "Be on your toes..." 

"Keep moving..." Gyr commanded. It warranted a very concerned look from us all, "Let's get what we came for...and get out." 

Was I the only one that felt like this was a warning from these plants? It showed us that it has killed before and that we should turn back. Now that I paid closer attention, this entire greenhouse was riddled with dead humans.

"Guys..." I said, highlighting all the dead bodies on the map. Each one had a vine running through the corps, a quill launched through a skull or a the bones were partially dissolved, some even crushed. One giant vine lay atop a human carcass, obviously falling upon the person. It went from a bit unsettling to completely unnerving.

"Man, what happened here?" Tinnu asked, looking around.

"Let's not stick around to find out." I advised, making my way towards the upper bridge. We were edging closer to the heart of this facility. 

As we made it to the upper bridge, a giant vine darted before us, blocking the way. It startled us so bad we all jumped. 

"Shit, these things don't want us to go any further..." I noted.

"We got to." Gyr said. Of course this homicidal maniac would say bullshit along those lines.

"How the fuck are we going to get past this damn thing...?" Saker asked.

"Stand back guys..." I said.

They all looked at me, unsure what I had up my sleeve. They stepped back, stepping back even more as the dual pulse beams charged up on my helm. I fired a blast of concentrated light at the vine, singeing straight through it. We walked through.

"Whoa man..." Tinnu said, impressed. 

"Let's hurry the fuck up..." I said, a strange feeling of regret coming over me. It was not because of remorse of destroying the giant vine, but because I felt these vines were being kind... They weren't going to hurt us unless we hurt them. Maybe it was what they were waiting for.

We all marched through the upper bridge ready to get to the main dome. I took the lead, scanning the path ahead. Lanner, who kept quiet, was right behind me...to my left. Tinnu and Saker stayed together on my right, Subbu walking behind them. Taking up the rear, just behind Subbu, was Gyr.

"Um," Tinnu said over the air, "Long Wingers to Roc Class Wingers... It appears that the vegetation in this facility is dangerous. Several of the dead humans in this place seemed to have succumbed to injuries caused by the plants themselves." 

"You sure?" Empire said.

"A giant vine suddenly blocked our path and we had to cut through it... I'm most definitely sure. Please stand by and be ready to provide support air support..." Tinnu said back.

"Heeded..." Empire replied. 

The motion alerts now turned into warnings but I figured it was due to the extra activity of the plants around us. I had no idea that a vine was creeping in from a broken window frame...stalking us. But guess who knew and didn't utter a word... Gyr. He stepped back, wanting this thing to take one of us out. Giving the vine a wide girth as it continued to follow us, he watched the monstrosity. It crept closer and closer, it's pace picking up as we neared the end of the upper bridge.

Subbu, feeling something wasn't right saw the vine creeping along. It had picked out Lanner as its target since he was relatively isolated, walking by himself. The plant launched a vicious attack, Gyr watching in delight as the botanical beast went for Lanner. However, Subbu sprung forward. He stretched out his feet, knocking Lanner to the bridge floor as the vine wrapped him up. The boy screamed loudly, the vine bashing him into the glass and metal frame of the the bridge. Unsure what was going on, everyone ducked covering their heads as debris began to fall. 

Upon realizing what was going on, I was horrified.

"SUBBU!!" I screamed. The vine yanked the boy out of the tiny hole it came in from, knocking off a considerable amount of his armor. I ran after them, trying to see where the vine was dragging him off to. Wasting no time, I shattered the dense glass with my talons, slipping out of the bridge. 

Powering through the sky after the vine, I was almost paralyzed from horror seeing him yanked through a tiny hole in the base of the dome. Again, more of his armor was knocked off, including his Helm. I entered, not prepared for what I was going to see next. A giant botanical oral cavity, filled with giant hooked spikes was grinding Subbu up. They were piercing his armor...piercing his flesh. His screams made me feel so helpless as the massive plant continued to chew him alive. The boy reached out to me, as though I could help him. It was so heart breaking having to stand here to witness this. I screamed...

"LIAM!! LIAM!!" I shrieked and shrieked until the boy stopped moving... 

Blood trickled down through his armor, to his frail fingertips. He was dead. The giant plant had killed this innocent little being and there was nothing I could do.

The killer plant's focus shifted to me. Several vines rose up, ready to strike me. Concentrating on this opposition was damn near impossible. Everything grew into a silent roar, the air around me becoming still. A giant vine came down ready to strike me dead. As it did, dozens of quills embedded into it's fibers, exploding on impact. The boom rang in my ears...

"NOOO!!" Tinnu said, landing next to me. He trembled at the site of Liam. He turned to me, grasping me in his arms.

"Merlin!!" He said, shaking me, "MERLIN!!" I was still in shock... More of the murderous vines came down to strike, "SHIT!"

Tinnu firing instant explosion quills to buy is both a tiny window of time. Saker and Lanner arrived, floored by the sight of Liam dead in the jaws of this giant plant. Wasting no time, both of them began firing a barrage of explosive quills. I began to come out of my daze, having to gather my focus. Liam's death could not be in vain, it simply couldn't...

"Guys... " I said, "I'm going for the Mallet! Cover me!" 

"Ok..." Tinnu said.

I took off, shooting high energy beams at vines as I went by. It just didn't gratify me though. I dove in, firing several pulse beams at the jaws of the plants, causing serious searing damage. The plant roared out, angered... a plant...angered! The giant botanical beast spat Liam out on a new quest. It wanted me in it's jaws this time. The creature erupted from it's basin revealing a monstrous body. 

It was several dozens of feet long if not several hundred feet. It's body was covered in dense moss. It had six insect-like limbs that looked like tree trunks. On it's back were four massive leafy structures. From it's tail came several hundred vines, each one able to think independently as they still faced off with the rest of the Long Wingers. It looked like a giant wasp, a wasp made of plants. 

Still though, I was not fazed. I flew towards the control room suspended high above the facility. Crashing through the window, I landed on the control panel. The Mallet was connected to to the control panel by several wires. The Mallet itself being a tiny computer, could be folded and carried like a suitcase. I disconnected the machine from its ports and closed it. As I did, a vine came crashing into the control room. It knocked me down, wrapping me up with constricting force. I grabbed the Mallet in my talons as I was dragged out of the control room. 

The vine blew up, sending me falling to the dome floor. 

"THIS IS TINNU! WE'RE REQUESTING SUPPORT!!" Tinnu said over the air. Swooping down to my rescue was, Saker. He picked me up in his arms as a vine circled us. I was close to blacking out, the fall being extremely brutal. 

Just when it looked grim for us, Empire came crashing through the top of the dome, firing a barrage of rocket propelled explosive quills at the plant monster. It remembered in glimpses, the massive plant fighting back hard but fearing the flames. I temporarily blacked out. Coming to briefly again, the giant creature burst through the facility, the four leafy structures on it's back, acting as wings. Again, I blacked out. I woke up in a gurney several minutes later, inside the ship. I didn't know what the hell was going on. My team surrounded me, looking on in somber shock. 

"That thing took off and headed across the ocean. We were told not to engage... But still thought, you got the Mallet!" Marcell said, proud. I could care less... 

"Where's Liam!" I asked.

"He's gone..." Marcell said, his eyes beginning to well over.

"He's gone?" I asked, struggling to believe this.

"The Roc Class had to bomb that place to get us out." Milan sighed, shielding his face as he sat. I leaned up, looking around. Something wasn't right. 

"Denver," Someone called from upstairs, "You may want to look at this." I got up, very sore from the nearly three hundred foot fall. Thank God we had these suits because I couldn't have survived without it. Milan helped me ease up the stairs. 

"Over here..." Trevor said, looking very serious. I walked over to the computer terminal where a live feed of the footage our suits recorded was taken.

"What?" I asked. Trevor, Malcolm and many other Roc Winger's looked at me concerned with how I'd react. Trevor hit the spacebar. 

This was the feed right when the vine initially attacked. It showed that Jarvis was well aware of this vine twenty six seconds before it even attacked. 

"He knew..." I snarled.

"I can't believe..." Marcell said, shielding his face. I continued to watch, watching as the feed showed Liam being bashed so brutally, the scutes on his wings came loose, flying about in every direction. All I could do was get angry. I marched down the stairs to find Jarvis. He was sitting in rear near the bay doors, no concerns at all. 




UCAC Ch. 04



"You saw that GODDAMN VINE BEFORE ANY OF US AND DID NOT UTTER A DAMN WORD!!" I screamed ready to strike him with all my might. Before I could, I was hoisted off the ground.

"Whoa dude..." Milan said, carrying me over his shoulder.

"This was your fault! You SAW THAT DAMN VINE!!" I screamed as I was carried away, "I told you that if anyone got hurt, I was coming for you! Now, LIAM'S DEAD!! YOU BETTER HOPE AND PRAY THAT THEY KEEP ME AWAY FROM YOU!! BECAUSE YOU'RE DEAD!! YOU'RE FUCKING DEAD!!" 

"Denver!" Milan said as he took me to the upper levels.

"He killed Liam, man he killed Liam..." I cried, "This is the FUCKING second time...SOMEONE HAS DIED...because of THAT BASTARD!!"

"He'll pay Denver...He'll pay." Milan sighed, "Right now, we're going to have to restrain you for your and everyone else's safety... Do you understand?" 

"I understand..." I said, despite being irrate. This was a grim day, the grimmest day since I lost my parents. I can't say I ever cared for a soul the way I cared for Liam. He was a special kid, one whose friendship was very dear to me. He was beginning to wedge his way into being an important part of my life and now he was...gone. 

It was hard for Milan to handcuff me and strap me to the railing but he had to. If not, I would have ran off to try my hardest to fuck Jarvis up. Marcell walked to the upper level, angry too.

"That fucking snake... It was going after Everette! Liam jumped in the fucking way to save that little douchebag... I bet Jarvis wasn't expecting it... " Marcell said, furious. 

"What the fuck are we going to do man?" Milan asked. 

"Ya know, I was ordered to take care of Liam," I said, "He was my responsibility...and now I have to answer to Captain Wallace when we get back...and it's all...Jarvis's...fault." The hatred radiated off of me. Milan was left clenching his head, this being all too distressing.

"I'm so sorry, Denver..." Marcell said, fully sympathizing with me. He knew why Captain Wallace told me to look out for Liam and to lose Liam like this was devastating. 

"Why couldn't it have been Everette instead..." I said.

"Dude..." Milan said, surprised I'd say something so cold.

"I'm not going to sit here and act like I like the dude! He's fucking stupid and Liam did NOT have to sacrifice himself for that dumbass... no, not after the way Everette treated him. Now look where it got Liam...DEAD! And you know the funny thing...? Liam and I went to see his home before this mission started. He said it felt so strange doing a mission so close to home and that he felt he needed to see it before we began the mission. I didn't think nothing of it and now..." I said, "I shouldn't have blasted that first vine..."

"Dude, we had to proceed... Don't do that to yourself..." Milan said. 

"I just...FUCK EVERYTHING, MAN!!" I screamed, beyond frustrated. I don't think he could understand just how much I lost. This was just sombering, a blow I wasn't expecting. 

This wouldn't be the end though. I was going to fuck Jarvis up the first chance I got. I didn't care about the consequences. I didn't care if he was a superior and the grueling punishment I'd face after the fact. I just wanted to ruin him for destroying an innocent being who was just getting started in this world. I wanted to make him feel the amount of suffering Liam endured, to know how helpless he was, to have no one to help him! I wanted to get inside his head like he got inside of mine, fuck him over mentally, and physically. I wanted him dead!

"This mission better had been worth it..." Marcell said. At this point, I had fell silent...unable to find words to reply to Marcell. I just wanted to channel this destructive energy, God I did... 

"I hope so too." Milan said back.

"I got to go make my report..." Marcell sighed. 

He came back an hour later, still looking full of drear.

"Denver, since you're the one who got the Mallet, they want you to walk off with it first..." He sighed.

"That's fine..." I said still full of angst. 

"Just," Marcell began, losing his train of thought. He shrugged, heading towards the stairs. Instead of going down to the lower levels, he sat on the steps, "Don't do anything stupid when we get back to the base..." 

"I am." I said, being truthful. He had no response, only a saddened head shake. He got up, going down the stairs. 

It didn't take long before the airship was lowering into the hangar. Milan took the Handcuffs off my wrists, handing me the Mallet. He pat me on the shoulder, wishing me the best. The hurt was there in his eyes just along with everyone else. I walked down the stairs, everyone watching me tensely. The bay door opened, a crowd gathered around us. It was the entire fucking base. I walked out, seeing Raul and his boys standing in the crowd. 

They cheered as I stepped off the platform to the tarmac. They didn't know what we lost, or what I was about to do. I stood in the middle of the crowd, waiting for Jarvis to walk by. Seeing him out the corner of my eye, I struck him in the face with the metal casing of the Mallet as hard as I could. Jarvis fell, clenching his face. A loud gasp came from the crowd but I didn't care. I drew my hand back, striking him again with the Mallet. 

"DENVER!!" Marcell screamed, rushing over to me. I tossed the Mallet aside, grabbing Jarvis by his hair. I repeatedly struck him with a closed fist, trying to inflict as much pain as possible. Milan and Marcell tried to pry me off of Jarvis but I wrapped my thighs around his head, clenching tightly. I hammered him in the top of his head with fist after fist! They couldn't get me off of him.

It took half of the Roc Class, seven foot tall men, each weighing three hundred pounds, to pry me off of Jarvis. Still though, I landed one last kick to his head as I was dragged away.

"ROT IN HELL!! YOU SICK BASTARD ROT IN HELL!!" I screamed. They toted me off to the base disciplinary housing, tossing me into a cell. 

You'd think a violent outburst like that would fix the pain but no... It did nothing! I still was aching from the loss of Liam, probably now more than ever. The part that frustrated me the most was how little a difference it would have made assaulting Jarvis. Liam still would be dead and my chest still would be caving in. It was so frustrating! 

I began punching the wall, screaming, kicking, crying, none of it bringing Liam back. I was beginning to inflict harm on myself, my knucles begining to bloody. Guards entered the cell, restraining me. All I could do was scream as they put me in a straight jacket. It was for my own good, though. I was out of control... General Aquil stood, looking in the cell as I cried...trembling in rage on the floor. 

"Ya know," He began, "I opted this mission for you simply because I saw so much potential in you. I wanted to scare you, make you think that you'd be going so maybe you'd come to your senses and realize how great a leader you are. But now...I'm afraid I have no choice but to send you across the pond. Jarvis is insisting that you're punished for violating a superior..." 

"Great...He killed two birds with one stone, now. At this point, send me. I've lost too much to care." I said.

"Denver, you are an extraordinary talent and I refuse to let you ruin yourself..." General Aquil said, growing upset. I had no reply, truly broken. I hoped he could understand this because at this point, I felt no point in living. The last person I knew worth trusting was gone. 

General sighed, leaving me to my thoughts. It was the worst thing he could have ever done. All I could think about was how big a failure I was, how much I lost and how lost I felt. I leaned up against the wall, wishing that it was me instead of Liam who was dead. Truly, with all I've lost what point was there to live?

Captain Wallace came to pay me a visit. The sorrow and disappointment on his face made me break down. I shook my head, crying hysterically in the tight cell.

"I'm so sorry..." I pled, "I failed...I fucked up...I did." 

"Denver, you pulled off miracle after miracle today. Don't sit here and fester on what you lost..." He said.

"What am I fighting for?" I asked, "Because, I know damn well I'm not fighting for myself. Will I reap the benefits of any of this, any of the shit I've lost? All of what's been put on the line, is it really worth it? Because, I've been losing, and losing, and losing and you all keep telling me I'm making triumphs when I can't even tell. The line between tragedy and triumphs has become so blurred now... "

"You're strong... stronger than I am, Denver. I know you've lost a great deal but one day, you're going to look back at all of this and say this made you... you. You're going to have one hell of a story to tell and be an inspiration for those who'll go through equally rough waters. You may be down, Denver but you are NOT defeated!" He said. I couldn't even come to responding. He looked at me with so much sorrow, so much hurt. 

"I just want the kid back..." I sighed.

"I'm sorry he's gone. I saw you two were becoming inseparable... I hate seeing you locked up like this, man." Captain sighed, "Well, you're about to be a Captain soon enough. Just come back to us, man." 

I had nothing else to say. I just wanted to feel like the piece of shit I was. Captain left, leaving me sitting on the floor for the next few hours. It wasn't long before a guard opened the cell, releasing me from the straight jacket. 

"You're to go up the stairs and gather your stuff. If anyone asks you where you're going, you're saying to the Telc Asylum in Brussels." The Guard said. I nodded as he and several other armed men led me up to the barracks. 

It was torture seeing the Wingers who cheered me on, look on in confusion as to why I attacked Jarvis. Probably the most debilitating judgement of the all was from Raul. He watched silently as I was marched up the stairs to the Long Winger stretch. He wanted to know so badly but there was little I could say to him at this point. It was not like I wanted to anyway.

I reached the Long Winger stretch, Marcell, Milan and Everette simply sitting, the events of today fully sinking in. Everette was the first to see me as I walked over to my bed. I looked at the neighboring bed, it being Liam's and almost lost it again. I sighed, clenching my head, trying to keep the little composure I had scraped together.

"Whoa, they let you go?" Marcell asked. I didn't have a response. I just packed up my trunk, gearing for the grueling flight across the ocean. 

"I can't believe he sacrificed himself for me..." Everette said. It really pricked me.

"You know what," I said slamming my trunk to the floor, "You're a fucking dumbass Everette! You let Jarvis get inside your head and now you see for yourself how fucked up he is! He didn't utter a word when that thing tried to take you out... And you can see it on his face, he wasn't expecting Liam to be the one to die, he was expecting you! And you treated Liam like shit, today! He's the nicest person you'd ever meet and you treated him like utter SHIT!" 

The guards grabbed their shock n' drops, ready to immobilize me. I looked at them unfazed, giving them a disdainful eye roll. I picked back up the trunk, rolling it towards the stairs.

"Wait you're leaving?" Marcell asked, eyes tearing up. He grew frantic, feeling the losses of today were too substantial. I sighed, not bothering to utter a word. If I did, I'd break down right there... 

"No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no..." Marcell cried clenching his head, pacing back and forth. This was beyond heartbreaking to see him so distraught. I couldn't bother to look back. Tears rolled down my cheeks but that was the only thing that escaped. Everything else was pressed down deep... 

I was led back down the stairs, where the other Wingsuit pilots could see me. They were left to assume that I was discharged from the group. Even Raul's eyes lit up in horror, unsure what this meant for me. We continued on, through the facility back into the Hangar. Another airship was waiting on me. I boarded it, sitting down with the trunk beside the seat. At this point it was what it was... The wait was particularly long, the bay still being opened. I was beginning to lose my patience wondering what the fuck was taking so god damn long! 

Thundering footsteps on the walkway startled me. It was Malcolm, dragging a trunk behind him up the ramp to a seat across from me. He sighed, giving me a quick wave before his eyes veered off. He too was coming to America which was big news. What would someone his size be doing there? This was all so odd but vaguely exciting. Then the bay doors closed and I knew there was no returning. The ship began to hover and we were off.



UCAC Ch. 05



Who knows when I'd feel like myself again. Hell, thinking back on it, I didn't want to feel the way I felt before any of this shit, either. I wanted to feel new, just didn't know where to start, though. Seriously, who wanted to fester on why they were miserable but the simple fact of the matter was that we humans are fragile creatures with delicate ways of dealing with things. And when these ways shatter and it becomes evident that we're not indestructible, it requires as thorough a reevaluation on who and what we are as possible.

Despite the dressings of the cybernetic flight-capable armor, underneath it were us humans... Maybe I took it all for granted. I did, for a while, thinking I was invincible. It was when people started to die around me, I realize we're made out of meat which ya know, can be shot, cut up, seasoned and cooked. The thing was though, I made the realization we could die and took so many precautions but still, someone died... Maybe I just had shit for luck... 

Sitting here in this seat for hours though, eh, I was fine with it but Malcolm, not so much. Like a child with an attention deficit this order, he paced and prowled around the ship, looking for something to do. He wanted to break the silence but I probably was looking all kinds of 'not wanting to be bothered right now'. In all honesty, I had calmed down considerably since the rampage earlier. I mean, I was still very upset, but in an out of control rage? No... It then dawned on me, he and I were alone on this ship for the next six hours!! My stomach fluttered at the thought. 

He disappeared up the stairs of the airship for a long while. He came back down, nervously looking over at me.

"Denver?" He said hesitantly. 

"Yeah?" I responded. 

"General Aquil wants to speak to you." He said, heading back up the stairs. Sighing, I walked over to the stairs, ascending them. We entered the conference space where a virtual live feed was set up. I stood before the camera.

"How are you, Denver?" He asked. I didn't get the point of the question.

"Fine..." I shrugged. 

"I wanted to talk about your little friend." General said.

"Liam?" I asked. He gave a long pause, sighing.

"No, Jarvis..." 

"Wow..." I sighed, jostling where I stood.

"You must know he's... very like you in many ways. He saw his parents die from a young age, had to survive on his own for a long while much like you and face many of the same issues you had to face. Lucky for you, you managed to get past them in your late teen years while Jarvis is still very much haunted by his past. I'm not trying to justify your angst against him, I just want you to see the reason why he is the way he is." General sighed. 

"I mean, I figured he was...something was wrong with him but the last thing I want to hear is a correlation between he and I." I said, truly feeling my stomach twist into knots of disgust. 

"We interviewed him due to his request of wanting the highest level of punishment for you, simply to give him gratification and he um...let's just say we deem it necessary to give him a psychiatric evaluation. He said he was trying to get closer to the team because he felt he distanced himself and started to read each one of your detail sheets and saw that you and he had a very similar 'upbringing'. So, he started to gain a little soft spot for you and was appalled that you attacked him. As I said to you before, Jarvis is a very complicated person and his tendency to mix the truth with lies so seamlessly has us all worried. I don't think he's fit to be a Cyber Winger so I'm making sure he has a mental health evaluation." The General continued. He seriously was beating around the bush.

"Why are you telling me all of this?" I asked plainly, wanting him to get to the point.

"Because, I don't know what part is truth and I need your help to discern it. Has Jarvis taken any interest in you lately, trying to hold conversations of any kind?" The General asked.

"Sure... He's been trying hard to wedge himself in the midst of our relationships on the team and it was so sudden and out of the blue, I don't know... I just wanted him away from me." I said.

"So this tidbit may be true. Do you know his sexuality or anything that he could be struggling deep down with?" I asked.

The memories of the the sexual assault Jarvis inflicted upon me lurked close to the surface. It was something I wanted laced from my memories forever. I just shook my head.

"No." I responded. 

"Tisk... this is gonna be tough to cover up." The general sighed, full of frustrations, "I just hate there were so many witnesses. We can't sweep this under the rug so easily, Denver. We have nothing to build this case against him either..." 

"I'm sorry for that aspect... That's the thing about Jarvis. He always leaves destruction in his wake but you'll never find a trail to link him to it in totality. That's what I was trying to get you to understand all along and now look what happened." I said, arms folded. 

"You don't think I know that? I knew Jarvis was treacherous the moment he was enlisted. I feared the same for you! Both of you have undeniable potential and the same issues. Your issues just come to the surface in different ways because you two are very, very different people with two very different ways of dealing with losses. With you Denver, you fight...you put your all into it so you won't have to face destruction again. At the same time, it leaves you feeling less than complete, like you are not living life. Jarvis is different. He feels that the only thing he has left...is himself and he'd be damned if that's lost. So he sneaks and connives his way into places of security...by any means necessary. He's afraid..." The General said, full of sympathy. 

"And you're telling me this because?" I asked, truly not caring.

"Denver, stop being so difficult and listen! Now I must be a caretaker for all my men and even though Jarvis has done some wicked things, he's no exception. One day, whether you like it or not, you will be sitting right here! Who knows, maybe in a seat greater? My point is that I know people. I can tell when someone is not telling me something, when someone is harboring something. You most definitely are. I'm going to need you to put all angst aside and think for the greater good when I ask you this question again. Is there anything that you know that can help me build a case against Jarvis? It'd be for your benefit in the long run."

"No..." I said continuing to lie. I knew I was wrong but didn't care. I just wanted to stop being reminded of my losses and Jarvis was the biggest reminder.

"Eh, I guess I'll tell him you told us the entire truth and see what we can leach out of him..." I sighed. 

"Be careful what you may learn. Lying to get the truth results in a very bizarre truth." I advised. General Aquil looked at me intently, knowing I was lying through the grit of my teeth. He said nothing of it though. 

"Interesting advice from you... I want weekly reports from you, Captain. You're still under my command." The General said. I nodded, giving the weakest grin of my life. 

"Will heed." I said. The video feed cut out, leaving me with nothing to do and again, alone to this wicked mind of mine. 

"OK," Malcolm began, warranting a sudden turn around from me, "What the fuck happened in there? I mean in the dome?" 

"Basically, Jarvis let one of our good men get taken out when all he had to do was open his mouth. There was about twenty or so seconds of reaction space where he could have uttered something...a word. It's the second time he let someone die..." I said, walking back down the stairs.

"I mean," Malcolm said following me, "Did it really warrant that volatile of a reaction?" 

"It felt right at the time but I promised him that I'd fuck him up if someone else got hurt and I kept my promise. For that I have no remorse. I mean, I failed to keep my word on keeping Liam safe and..." I said, sighing.

"I see. You and Liam must were really close?" He asked.

"Kind of, but not really. Since it's just me and you, I'll tell you. Liam was gay, struggled a bit with his parents as well as many other things at the base and I was guiding him through it..." I explained, leaning against the window. I looked at the billowing clouds beneath the ship. 

"Whoa, dude..." Malcolm said, shocked.

"Don't act surprised. He was a teammate of mine that I truly was attached to because he invested every ounce of trust he could muster into me, and I held that bond sacred. He told me stuff I never would have known and vice-versa. Plus, he still was a kid... Didn't know much and was out in this world..." I said back defensively.

"No, I'm surprised more so at you rather than the fact that he was gay. I was under the impression that you were one of those types of people that put themselves first and everyone else came second..." He said. I turned to look him eye to eye. 

"Let's keep it that way... Keep your preconceived notions about me and I'll persist to not give a fuck about whatever the hell you are..." I said back, returning to stare pointlessly out the window. 

"Ok, that was my choice of poor wording." He laughed.

"It truly was..." I said.

"What are you being shipped overseas for?" He asked. I gave no response, steadily looking out the window. He sat down, sighing obviously have nothing to do but attempt at pointless banter, "Dude, I'm so bored... just tell me!" 

"Um, I have a mission but I think I might have to get Captain training..." I finally said back. 

"Wow, so you're going to completely outrank me, huh?" He asked, teasingly.

"I guess so." Silence descended upon us again. The boy began to get frustrated.

"So you're not going to ask me something in return?" He asked, laughing. I turned to him, taking a seat. 

"I'm so sorry," I said clenching my head, "But it's hard to care about anything right about now. I'm not my usual chatty ole' talkative self..." 

"Ask me!" He demanded.

"OK," I laughed, "Why are you being tossed across the pond?" 

"I am being retrained as a Stealth Cyberaeros... Of all the grunts in the Eurasian sect, I'm the only one who fit the bill..." He said proudly. 

"Oh really?" I asked.

"No... I was the smallest of the Roc Class and they said my physical stature isn't made to be a Roc Winger but don't I fret, there's something special for me." He laughed, sounding very disappointed.

"Cyberaeros?" I asked. 

"That's what Wingers are called in the New World."

"Oh god, that is so pretentious." I said, clenching my head, the very word making me cringe. 

"I think it sounds cool! Makes us sound fancy and shit..." He smiled.

"What are the Long Wingers called then?" I asked. 

"Cyberaeros Interceptors..." 

"Oh hell no..." I said, shaking my head.

"Dude, that sounds badass..."

"No it doesn't!" I laughed.

"God, you're no fun..." He smiled. 

"I can be fun." I said.

"Prove it. I remember those dance moves, boy." Malcolm said.

"Don't call me boy. I'm probably older than you." I said. 

"I'm twenty three!" He said childishly and challengingly. I smiled at him, having him beat.

"Twenty four..." 

"GAWD!" He growled, getting to his feet. He made his way over to me.

"Um..." I said, unsure what he was about to do. He bit his lip, coming closer and closer. Considering he was a foot taller than me and weighed one hundred pounds more than I did, it had me nervous. He then sat down on the bay floor, looking at me with those smoldering eyes and that boyish grin.

"I lied... I'm actually training to be a Captain as well. I'm going to be the First Wing of the Stealth Platoon... We're going to be training together for the next three months." He said. 

"Wow." I giggled. He reached forward, tugging on my leg.

"Come sit with me..." He smiled. I did so, getting on the floor with him, shrugging. 

"OK?" I asked.

"Tell me about you..." He said. 

"I um," I giggled, "I don't know what to say... Are you really going to be a Captain?" 

"Yes! I swear!" He laughed, placing a hand over his heart and holding up another hand to the sky. He seemed like nothing but a humungous, flirtatious tease. 

"So, this Stealth Platoon..." 

"I told you to tell me about you!" He said.

"I don't know what's interesting about myself..." I laughed. 

"Don't make me have to start asking the questions..." 

"OK, I have a question..."

"...Ask away!" He smiled. It left me laughing, considering how adamant he was on me not asking questions just a handful of seconds ago. But this was a rather serious question. 

"What happened when I blacked out?" I asked. 

"You mean when you blacked out in the dome or when you blacked out, attacking Jarvis?" He asked.

"Ugh," I laughed, amused by how he responded, "When I blacked out in the dome!" 

"Well, Second Wing bombed the creature and we swooped in to pull you all out. The giant plant thingy escaped and flew across the ocean. We all were like what the fuck but we had to get you all out. Then we bombed the fuck out of that place... Liam was lost under the rubble but all the plants were destroyed. I'm not sure if that's even a bright side to this..." He said.

"Awe, poor Liam... So they can't recover his body?" I asked. 

"I wouldn't be too concerned about that. The recovery team is second to none." He smiled. 

"How can I not worry?" I asked, laughing. 

"I saw how you and Liam would interact...like when you were trying to get him to dance and he wasn't all that great so you started dancing equally as bad...," Malcolm laughed, "...Until the thot music began. That's a topic for another moment, though. My point is that you were a great friend to him and I want you to think about what he'd say about you moping around right now."

"Oh god, he hated seeing me sad. He hated it! He probably would do something stupid to make me laugh!" I laughed. 

"Well I don't want to see you sad either." Malcolm said, smoldering me with those honey eyes, "Do I need to do something stupid to make you laugh? I really want to take your mind off of the miserable shit because it's harshing my feel goods and I feel really good right now." He put his hands behind his head, relaxing on the tarmac floor.

"I mean," I began, "I didn't know when the next time I would feel remotely well about anything but how you managed to do this... make me smile and shit... I think you have powers or something." 

"I don't know about that. But I tend to like to make people smile..." He grinned, still laying on the floor. I was left in a daze, staring at the boy. He was just a gorgeous being, not just physically with his custardy skin and short curly auburn hair. Not simply because he had immaculate cheek bones, a strong and powerful brow paired with juicy, full and supple lips, it was more than that.

It was who he was. He was this funny, genuine and passionate person who could so easily care for others. I tended to avoid people like this but this time, it was different! Maybe I had grown, not quite sure, though. I wouldn't mind having someone this pure in my life though. This felt like the birth of something, something grand... 

Sadly though, the inner slut was calling and I wanted him inside of me. I wasn't even a bottom but with him, I wanted to do it. I don't know, maybe it was how much bigger he was than I... I wasn't going to be the one to make the first move though. No, I was trying to change those slutty ways. I had to bring out the sluttiness in him. 

Not wanting the conversation to die, I had to think of something. 

"I still don't beleive you about being a Captian... You're really going to be there with me?" I asked, trying to sound as bubbly as realistically possible. 

"I'll show you..." He smiled, getting to his feet. He grabbed my hand, leading me up the stairs. We walked across the platform to the computer module. He began typing up some prompts. An actuator brought down a strange Helm, flat in the front with draping chainmail. On the ends were strange magnetic bearings that were meant to make a seamless connection with armor it connected to. It was gorgeous, white.

"My new alias will be Snow. I get to meet my new team who also are botched members from other teams. Details are limited though, but there's an ex Winger being retrained for a role... His name's going to be Bubo... that's all I know." He smiled.

"Bubo?" I asked, "As in eagle owls?" 

"Yep!" He said, giddy with excitement.

"And you're going to be a Snowy Owl?" I asked, completely astounded... 

"Yeah. My new armor is under construction," He said, returning the Helm to it's case, "But it is not why I'm excited about the New World though." 

"Why're you excited?" I asked.

"It's not like how it is over in Eurasia. In the New World, they accept you for who you are... No more hiding who I am because of ignorance." He said smiling, truly full of anticipation. 

"Interesting," I said, walking over to a window, "So what kind of acceptance you're looking for?" 

"You probably already can tell. I'm gay Denver." He sighed. 

"Welp, so am I. Quite a handful of the guys at the Eurasian Sector are." I chuckled. 

"Really? I was so hard pressed to tell. It wasn't like I could just simply ask or some shit!" He laughed. 

"I used to make my runs... When I got bored of them, I then started venturing off on missions to do it with the locals... It was all on some pointless quest for fulfilment. I was hurting bad over some stuff in my past, trying to find something worthwhile... Maybe to erase my past... I think I was under the impression that pleasure erases pain. No pleasure postpones pain, and only recently I was able to come to terms with that." I responded. 

"I was lucky enough to lose my virginity before I joined the forces. It's been a hard few years and being in a perpetual closet when you feel out is so fucking frustrating and I wanted to get away from it. Then this little blessing in disguise came along and I took the chance." Malcolm said. 

"I'm supposed to do this mission... and come back to Eurasia. Now that Liam's dead, I don't think I wanna come back. There's nothing for me there and I really want to taste new wines." I sighed. 

"So you're going to be heading back to Scandinavia?" Malcolm asked, sounding disappointed. 

"Yeah," I sighed, "I mean I don't want to get my hopes up for this place! I mean, I want it to be terrible! I want it to have me running back to Scandinavia but at the same time I want to know what it truly means to be happy. The Eurasian sect is just not healthy for people like us..." 

"You don't care about your team?"

"A part from Marcell and Milan, no. Jarvis can rot and so can Everette... I will miss Captain Wallace though. I can say he almost was like a father figure to me." 

"I understand what Jarvis did, but why Everette?" Malcolm asked.

"Everette was just dumb. Apart from being a gifted Cyber Winger, his head was filled with hot air. And he said some fucking hurtful stuff to Liam who really, really, really liked him. And to see Liam throw his life away to help someone who treated him that way... I don't know if I can forgive Everette." I said. 

"I understand. You and I are polar opposites. I'd probably cry my ass off into a coma if I've lost what you've lost. But you... you fight. I'm a big soft teddy bear. Despite literally being a brick wall, I can't come to hurting people unless I have to." He laughed.

"I mean, I felt pushed. A lot of stuff went on behind the scenes and Jarvis was one manipulative bastard. He tried doing the same shit to me that he did to Everette but the difference between Everette and I is that I've known Jarvis for the worst part of seven years. I know when something is up... Despite it all, I hope that Everette has waken up and he understands that Javis is not good for him." I said. 




UCAC Ch. 05



"What did Jarvis do?" Malcolm asked.

"He tried to seduce me, putting his hand here and there. But when he realized it wouldn't work, he tried to force me into sex. He wanted to get inside my head because he was threatened. I was inevitably going to be Second Wing and he didn't want to give up the position, not after the amount of pawing and climbing he had to do to get there. He was a scared kid underneath the perky, arrogant demeanor, a facade so people couldn't know who he really was and what he came from. If I didn't hate him so much, I'd almost feel bad for him." I sighed.

"Damn..." Malcolm said, appalled, "Sorry I asked..." 

"It's fine. He was just an under the rug type person and even then... I don't know. His nature ended up getting one of the sweetest most innocent kids killed and... I'm not capable of forgiving that. I simply am not." I said. 

"I understand. You sure you weren't romantically attracted to Liam in some kind of way? I mean, someone that nice, you couldn't just let them slip through your hands..."

"It's strange. Liam had a big crush on me for a long while and I simply didn't like the kid until I saw his little struggle and had to help him out. There were some feelings there but I'd never act on them. It'd feel damn close to incest..." I said. 

"So you'd never bone cute little Liam?" Malcolm asked. I turned to him, disgusted.

"No..." I laughed, truly astounded he'd ask something like that.

"God, I ask some terrible questions. I asked that because I would... He was so my type with his tiny awkward ass. I could just pick him up and tote him places and sit him on my lap and...GOD!!" Malcolm said, fantasizing over the boy. It made me smile.

"I would have loved it if Liam ended up with someone like you." I said. 

"I wish I could have gotten to know him better." Malcolm said, pondering on the past.

"You two would have gotten along great! You have virtually the same personalities." I laughed. 

"We do?" Malcolm asked, enthralled. 

"Yeah... You both are inquisitive little cunts, love to be silly, and are so down to earth. I mean, you're pretty far from the Earth," I teased, "But, Liam was kind of a stickler for the rules though but you, I don't get that from you." 

"Yeah, I'm not really one for the rules if I can help it any." Malcolm smiled. 

"You're not the only one. I often deviate from objectives...particularly the half assed shit they give us to perform." I sighed. Malcolm laughed at me, feeling it was the truth. 

"Now that is something I do all the time!" 

"I swear it's kept me alive." I smiled.

"You seem like a genius, dude. What you do tactically is impressive." Malcolm said.

"I am far from a genius. I fuck up so much... At least I'm able to come to terms with it... Also, I'm not the most reasonable person. Ask Raul..." I laughed. 

"Huh? Wait... You mean the Levant Winger?" He asked.

"It's hard to keep tabs on it all, I know but yes. He and I were a thing...a very complicated thing. But I fucked that up, made it so that I thought we were done. I was so spent on leaving that when all was said and done, and we could see what really happened, it was too late. I said somethings I thought were justifiable but truthfully, at this point... I'm not sure if I am as damaged from my past as I'd like to claim..." I said, truly wondering.

"You are so vague. Nothing you said offered insight into why...eh nevermind." Malcolm sighed.

"Well if you want to know everything, I'll tell you." I sighed, feeling I had nothing to lose, "As I said, I fuck up a lot and sometimes I do shit that... It tends to be very self centered and self-righting. If I could tell you why I did these things, I probably would be much better off right now...or maybe not. It seems when I act selfishly, shit like this tends to happen." 

"You're no good at this are you? Are you purposely going off on tangents or is it hard to talk about or..?" 

"It started in basics and I couldn't overcome this alone feeling. I tended to lash out on people, superiors and got punished for it. But I already was a hardened bastard from my hellish childhood so it didn't faze me. However, this one persistent little dude kept insisting I stop bringing harm upon myself. I was like why the fuck do you care and he never had an answer. I didn't have that much patience so after about a week of shit I don't feel like explaining, I decided to fuck his ass up. We ended up fucking and I didn't know he was a virgin... That aggravating ass kid was Raul. He was the person that kept me from feeling alone but not completed. Maybe I had to grow up a little bit and shit but eventually I did. I made him wait for far too long and he got tired. When he found someone else, I was crushed... Surprisingly though, I didn't want to fight over him. That feeling of being alone though, it came back full force and I...for a about two hours, felt like I had no one. OK, it was longer than two hours, maybe a day and a half... Raul caught me at a bad time though, after I had been chewed out by Captain and talking to Doctor Helm over some very, very, very dark shit. So he confronted me over leaving and I was like, you were eavesdropping! You are not over me! HAHAHAHAH! And he was like you can't leave. Being hurt still, I was like oh yes I can and you can't make me stay, so HAH! Then he brought up shit over how I said I loved him, and some other shit that made me very, very, very angry. The thing was though, he was not really wrong... but I wanted him to be. So I made him wrong and walked away. I regret it, but I can't change what I fucked up." I explained, trying to be as vague and thorough as possible. 

"Damn... Sounds like you two loved each other. If you could, would you go back to him?" Malcolm asked. 

"And be haunted by the fact that I hurt him so much? No, plus he has this new giant hunk of man cake and I'm pretty sure that was a big deciding factor in our argument, that day." I laughed. 

"Well, I'm pretty sure you will find someone here you like... Here's to ushering a new chapter." Malcolm smiled.

"I don't know about that. I mean, I love the idea of ushering in a new start in life but, finding someone else? I never thought I'd say this but I might just devote myself to my work and see where the experience takes me." I chuckled. 

"Well I wish you the best on that." He said sounding disenchanted, "What's your ideal type?" 

"I never put much thought into it really..." I said, thinking hard, "I don't care much for aesthetics. I do like a strong sense of adventure and I'd definitely need someone who can ground me. I am a bit crazy and denying this would be to my and their detriment! Um, a voice of reason to because as I said, I fuck up a lot and I need two heads on my shoulders. Oh, and someone who can cook good mushroom curry. I'd devote my life to them for that last one alone." 

"Mushroom curry?" Malcolm asked, disgusted.

"It was the last meal my parents and I ate together. I used to hate it, then when they died it was all I wanted to eat." I said, easing onto the floor. I don't know why but standing on this platform was not very comfortable. 

"Oh shit dude," Malcolm said, surprised, "Your parents are dead?" 

"Yeah," I said, forgetting that I was the only person who really knew, "Now that I think about it, I didn't even tell my old team this much about myself. Feel blessed..." 

"Man, I don't know what I'd do if I lost my parents..." He sighed.

"I lost mine when I was nine... If you lost them early on, you'd be as fucked up as I am," I laughed, "But I don't know how different I would have turned out if they were still alive. If it would be better than the way I am now, I truly wish they were still around." 

"God, so how'd you grow up without them?" He asked.

"I... I didn't have a very clean childhood. It involved me doing very grown up things before I grew the first hair on my ball sack. Now that is a portion of my past I am not really comfortable talking about. But I will say this. I had a strong will and was never discouraged..." I smiled. 

"Well, my life isn't all that interesting. I was born and raised in a village in Trinidad. My mom was a seamstress and my dad was a baker. I lived a normal village life until about fifteen which is when I was recruited, due to my size." Malcolm said. 

"I bet you had no worries or anything, growing up. The next day would come and you wouldn't be scared to wake up. I'm jealous of that." I sighed.

"Don't make me sad over my lame childhood." Malcolm laughed.

"I'm not trying to, it's just that...oh who the fuck am I kidding. I'm never having kids." I laughed. 

"You want kids?" Malcolm asked. I couldn't tell if he was asking in disapproval or out of inquiry. 

"Nah," I said, "I kinda want to be the last remnant of my bloodline. The idea of it, the fact that I could die any given moment, though it terrifies me... I don't know. It's something about the tragedy of it all that makes me feel alive. And plus, I'm the last person you want to trust with the life of kids..." 

Malcolm looked at me intently for a long while.

"You are one interesting dude, you know that?" He said. 

"The same with you. I hate the last I'll see of you is in basics." I said, wondering what it'd be like to spend the rest of my life with someone like him. 

"What do you mean?" He asked. It caught me off guard.

"I mean that after these three months, we're splitting ways. I don't want that..." I sighed.

"You're saying?" 

"I'm saying that when it's all over, we won't see each other again. We'll be in two halves of the world... I just... I don't know. It's gonna be hard not getting too attached to you. I tend to do that." I laughed. 

"You're nothing but raw passion. Someone will love you hard one day." Malcolm smiled, heading but down the stairs. I looked at him smiling.

"Yeah, but I want you..." I said, almost inaudibly. He couldn't have heard me. If he did, he would have frozen in his tracks, and quite frankly, I didn't know how he'd react. 

Maybe this was one of those things better left unsaid. I didn't want to ruin a friendship over childish attraction. Still thought, I couldn't help but fantasize about that fantastic frame of his. He was a lean wall of muscle and I wanted him to wrap me up in it all!. I wanted to know how those pink lips felt and how soft his skin was. I wanted to press my forehead against his and experience a chemistry in a new stretch of the world. 

Maybe it was too ambitious and I was being stupid for falling for the first person I'd met after all of what had happened. Hell, I even was developing feelings for Liam that I probably never would have came to terms with. Why would someone as gorgeous as Malcolm want a shitty person like me? I couldn't even come to telling him about the dirt of my past for fears that it'd skew his perception of me. It may be destined for me to be alone in this period of time. Perhaps this was some type of retribution for something I did in a past life or some convoluted as shit along the lines.

It didn't take long for Malcolm to make his way back up the stairs. He looked at me, wondering why I still was sitting on the platform.

"Why the hell are you still up here?" He asked. 

"If I told you you'd probably look at me a little differently." I sighed.

"OK...?" Malcolm said, making his way over towards me.

"I don't like harboring feelings because they tend to explode, even feelings of these kind. The thing is, I'm catching feelings for you..." I said, nervous about how he'd respond. He dropped to his knees in front of me, leaning forward. He placed a hand under my chin, bringing his lips closer to mine. He drew closer and closer... We kissed, it being the most electric thing I ever experienced. He sent excitement running through my body. I could no longer contain myself. 

I clambered onto him, wrapping my arms around him as I felt him bulging beneath me. The anticipation for this was beyond anything that had ever graced me before. I began to unzip his jump suit, wanting more and more. He then suddenly withdrew, looking at me with those big warm eyes.

"What?" I asked. 

"Let's save the moment until after we graduate. It'll be twelve times as gratifying..." He smiled. It was an odd request but one I was comfortable with. 

"You better not forget." I said.

"I won't." He said, kissing me again. It was then I realized the type of man he was. He was not some wisher of flings like I was. He was one who believed in the anticipation of the moment and the fact that he was this patient made me want him even more.

It was unreal how he could just withdraw like that, so easily. How could he deny me of this, I don't know but for him I would wait! If he said it'd be a decade, my ass would probably wait to. Of all the countless men I've dealt with, something was different about Malcolm and I was dying to know what. Now though, it would be a waiting game. 

He kissed me one last time before, I got off of him. He held my hand though, not wanting to let it go. It was a new type of connection I had never before experienced. It was so fresh and exhilarating, it left me in a daze.

"We're about thirty minutes away from the shore..." He said as we sat on the platform, "We might wanna get ready. The next four weeks are gonna be hell..." 

"I never thought I'd ever say I missed training... But I think I need a little hell." I laughed.

Genuinely, I felt I did. A little physical hardship was like washing your face with chilled water. Probably the hardest aspect though was learning a new group of people. I seriously hoped I wouldn't be introduced to my squad until my mission actually began. I didn't want to bond with any new people the way I bonded with my old team. The sheer heartbreak was overbearing and as a leader, I'd have to be strong. 

Malcolm got up, walking over to the window. A fleet of ships were near the Nova Scotia coast. There were Mers and Ocean Wingsuit pilots doing routine training drills. Ocean Wingers were some of my favorite wingsuit pilots to see fly. They were genetically engineered giant humans, some eight feet tall, some nine feet tall with wingspans over thirty feet. They were based upon albatrosses and petrels, capable of flying the length of the world without a single wing beat. 

As for the Mers, most were simply cybernetic humans with a mechanical fluke and incredible back and thigh muscles. It was so they could swim at the speed of a mad tuna! They ranged in size from tiny to huge, just like Malcolm and I. However the ones that were genetically engineered were menacing sights to behold, the size of pilot whales and as fast as speeding marlin. 

Since they functioned underwater, they've been wired to have incredibly long breath. They could stay underwater for fifteen and twenty minutes without having to surface. Their eyes could reshape to allow them to see in great detail under water. Their Helm contained an artificial melon that could produce some of the most detailed sonar technology would allow. It was truly wonderful. Not to mention, they had razor sharp scutes lining their tails so they can battle out against foes under water. 

Now I respect the Mers and the UCNC all together, but seriously? All that damn swimming and shit? I'd grow tired of it! Flying is where it is at, and I wouldn't trade it for the world!

"Come look!" Malcolm said. I got up, seeing a massive Ocean Wingsuit pilot gliding in close to the ship. It was huge, three times the size of the Merlin Suit. 

"Wow," I said, "It's crazy how something like that can even fly..." 

"It's in the wings and metal armor." Malcolm said.

"What?"

"Our armor is made out of a gravitanium-titanium aloe that when charged, repels gravity. You don't actually think we giants can get off the ground by actually flapping and being powerful enough?" Malcolm asked.

"I thought the liquid flesh contributed to our added power!" I laughed.

"It does; it's a major contributor. But the other major contributor are the gravitanium scutes which form our wings. When they are charged, they reduce our weight down to a meere thirty to fifty pounds. That makes our wing loading virtually none existent and for it to be very easy to pump lots of power into our flight." He said.

"Gravitanium... where have I heard that before?" I asked, trying to remember.

"You've heard it before?" 

"I think Dr. Helm may have mentioned it. I don't know...the past week has been the most dramatic of my life. So much has happened, it's hard to keep tabs on. I'm happy for this change of pace." I sighed. 

"I'm happy for you too." He smiled, continuing to look out the window. 

"Labrador, here we come..." I said, giddy with anticipation.

When the ship touched down in southern Labrador, my heart pounded. We stood by our trunks as the bay doors opened. A drill sergeant stood there, looking fierce.

"OFF THE SHIP!! OFF THE SHIP NOW!!" He screamed. We swiftly rolled our trunks down the ramp to the landing pad, "INSIDE THE BUILDING!" 

We hurried down the stairs, the drill sergeant staying behind us. We entered a set of barracks with other grunts standing at attention. There were only two beds left, at the far north corner of the building. Malcolm and I placed our trunks in front of the beds, standing at attention like the rest of the men. 

"Now that the two late comers are here, time for your debriefing," The drill sergeant said, prowling up and down the thirty something odd men, "Each and everyone of you will be our next leaders, the ones who take initiative to take charge on the battle field. Lives will be in your hands and you will have the power to command over large groups.With that power comes great responsibility and this is what this place is for... To break you down and make you anew. If you think you were already broken down in basics, you haven't seen shit! You will all wish you were in hell because this place will make you look at hell and say...damn. That's a fucking tropical island resort right there! You all may try to be friends in here, but I wouldn't recommend it. You're going to be so exhausted after each day, you'll look at each other and be like, fuck you... I'm sleeping. There will not only be controlled in the lab training, but there will be live training...on actual missions. As my leaders, you will need to learn to lead, to compromise, to support those who can't support themselves and learn to sacrifice what needs to be sacrificed. Some of you will crack under the pressure, while others will triumph. I'm just gonna be real with you, I already can tell who is going to crack and who isn't. I know who's soft and has no bone capable of trudging through a challenge. I will rule you out, and eliminate you from my force! You all better be ready, because I know I am! Do I make myself clear?"

"YES SIR!" We all shouted. 

God, this man was right! Right off the rip, we had to do a twenty mile jog. Then after, we had to do two hundred planks and five hundred pushups while he watched us. Not only that but we had so stand motionless in this cold, no shivering. This shit was so brutal and grueling, it lasted for three weeks. However, after about the first week, it was adaptable. 

On an early morning Jog, Malcolm lagged behind. There was no particular reason, he just was last because of the way we lined up. 

"What are you doing? You're getting weak on me boy?" The drill sergeant asked.

"NO SIR!" Malcolm quickly responded. 

"Get your ass to the front of the line, NOW!" The drill sergeant demanded. Malcolm quickly ran to the front of the group, returning to his pace. 

It wasn't the last time Malcolm was chewed out by the sergeant. He was the biggest toughest looking thing there. I know the drill sergeant wanted to see what he was made of. It was tedious watching because I wanted Malcolm to succeed as much as I wanted to succeed. Considering how we were trained to respond, it was hard to tell if Malcolm was taking it hard, any. God, it was nerve racking. 




UCAC Ch. 05



They called the time period for this segment of training, 'Three Weeks of Purgatory.' If hell hadn't started yet, I was very, very, very concerned over what hell was. Once the three weeks were finished, we could not sigh a sigh of relief. No, our torment had only just begun. We stood at attention out on the field, freezing but not shivering. 

"Now I'm surprised," Drill sergeant said, prowling around, "...That you boys made it through Three Weeks of Purgatory without me having to send one of you home. Now I will send you to hell for the next three weeks..." A malevolent smile could have came across his face, but no he kept the same mug he always held. 

"What you will be doing is surviving knife and hand out in the wilds for the next three weeks... No radios, no guns, no tents, no anything except a knife and a piece of flint. Not only will you face rainy, wet and sheer cold, you will face off against some of the most formidable creatures in the world. There are mammoths, wooly rhinoceroses, megaceroses, direwolves, cave lions, smilodons, and the oh so grand arctodus... all brought back from extinction to kill you! You are to travel from the south end of Labrador to the north... There'll be markers if you get lost...because you will. I have only one recommendation out there... Don't die! Oh, and I almost forgot," He said as he just began to walk away, "You will have partners... the first fifteen of you, go to the spinning barrel, pull the lever and let it dispense a name. That name will be your partner. Don't try anything funny because I will know. Do not make bands to try and survive because that makes you a bigger target for shit that wants kill you."

I was not the first fifteen. I stood there, very worried as the row in front of me went to the dispenser. I hoped that chance would allow my name to fall when he he pulls the lever. The thing was though, he was number fifteen in the first two row and I was number one in the last two rows. It was because we tried to walk together, not taking into consideration we were in the middle of the group. When we lined up, seven by eight, it had not dawned on us then...not until the drill instructor gave us the news.

The first dude, went to the dispenser pulling the lever. A strip of paper came out like an automated receipt. He pulled it, looking at the name.

"Daniel?" He asked, not sure who it was. The third guy over from me held up his hand. He hesitantly walked over to his mate, the two walking over towards the drill sergeant. He handed one a survival knife and the other a flint. The two young men looked at each other, obviously being the first time they met.

"GO!! The fuck ya'll just standing there for??" The drill instructor demanded. The two boys looked on lost, unsure what he meant. Nonetheless, the two headed towards the nearest woods within the restricted area.

"Those two are going to end up bear lunch..." The drill instructor said, shaking his head.

It had me lost. Where are we supposed to going? We're in the middle of base camp and not given any clues to what the fuck he meant. I looked around as another person dispensed a name. 

"Rafael?" He called out. The guy behind me ventured forth, he and his mate heading over to the drill instructor. He handed a machete to the one who pulled the lever and gave Rafael a flint.

"Let's see if you two get it right," He said, watching the two boys wander around, unsure what to do, "Nope..." He sighed, waiting for the next two.

"What the fuck are we supposed to be doing?" I heard someone whisper.

"I don't know." Someone said back.

Still searching around, I looked to the fencing several hundred yards away. The gate was opened but it wasn't clear why. I guess we were supposed to head out that way... I wasn't too sure. Another name was called and another guy came forward. They two disappointed the drill instructor yet again.

Then something dreadful happened. My name was called and it wasn't Malcolm calling it. It was some gross, hardened looking dude from...I'm guessing the Southern Remnants based on his accent. Seriously, this dude looked like he could chew me up and spit me out. We walked over to the Drill instructor. The ruffian was handed a stout blade and I was handed...not a flint but a scorcher... It may seemed that a scorcher was more useful due to how easily it could start a fire, but it was a trick... In a damp environment, a scorcher was useless and this place was fucking WET!!

The drill instructor looked a us, no faith whatsoever. My partner was as lost as everyone else. He ventured forth, heading where the other guys went.

"Dude..." I said, grabbing his arm. He looked down at my hand, appalled that I touched him. With my free hand I discreetly pointed to the east gate. He looked for a long while, his vision not being so perfect.

"Trust me, dude..." I said. 

He was full of reluctance. Still, I walked to the east gate, he having no choice but to follow. 

"Thank you! Thank you for being the first dumbasses to get it right... Don't die, now!" The instructor said, as reassuringly as he could muster. I looked back at Malcolm, wishing it would have been him I was partnered with instead of this mess... Malcolm gave me a discreet nod and it was all I needed. It just wanted to know he was fine with this. It felt strange, like I was cheating on him but...Malcolm and I weren't even a thing... yet. 

This gross looking dude and I headed towards the gate. Two armed guards gave us a nod. I was polite enough to nod back but not this dude. He was about my height, maybe a little taller. He was very, very bulky with broad muscular shoulders and an overly aggressive gait. His face was what I found gross. He wasn't by any means ugly, in fact he was quite handsome! He just had so many scars, cuts and scrapes, and a permanent scowl that showed he was one not to be reckoned with. 

As we passed the gate, he wadded up all the saliva in his mouth and spat on the ground. He put the stout blade in his pack and walked along, his fists clenched like he had something to prove. I didn't know what I was dealing with but something had to give. We were simply walking aimlessly east, when we should be heading northwest. 

"We're heading the wrong way..." I said. He looked at me, surprised I spoke... I didn't get it... 

I turned heading northward. He gave an eyeroll and followed. We walked for hours, the giant pine trees seeming to follow our movements as we continued along. It was foggy out here with very low visibility. It was then I noticed all had become quiet, not even a bird chirped.

"Hey..." I said. The dude turned to look at me, not pleased that I stopped. Again, he said nothing.

"Something's in these parts..." I said. He shrugged, unsure what the hell I was talking about.

"Something big and predatory is near us... I'm warning you that we need to be careful!" I said. He looked at me, unsure why I felt the need to tell him this, as if he already knew. He slowly turned back around, continuing forth. 

I sighed, hoping this fool wouldn't get us killed. I tuned in with my eyes and ears, for any sounds any possible threats. The dude simply meandered through the forest, making so much noise it wasn't even funny. Still though, it was too silent. Despite the excessive noise he made, I could hear the faint growls of bear cubs...close!

As we neared a giant pine with a massive root blocking the view of a sloping riverbank, I grabbed this idiot pushing him flush against the tree. As soon as we did, an eleven foot tall short-faced bear reared up. She sniffed, smelling the scent of humans. I looked at the dude, utterly terrified as he could see the bear but it couldn't see us. I grabbed his face, making him focus on me. I pointed up the tree, showing him that we needed to climb. I scurried up the tree, the boy following. We watched as the mother bear and her children fled the area, leaving an elk kill behind. 

I looked at the boy, stupefied by the fact that he was just walking blindly. 

"You're stupid..." I said plainly. He looked enraged, surprised by my nerve. 

"Excuse you?" He said, challengingly. 

"You walked right up on a mother short-faced bear while she and her cubs were feeding! Do you know how dead you would have been?" I asked. He was at a loss for words.

"Look," I sighed, "I'm going to need you to drop this bullshit attitude you're carrying and think about surviving! We have to walk two hundred fifty miles through taiga and tundra and I can guarantee you that this will not be the last time we run into some creatures..." 

I looked around for any signs of the bear and her cubs. It seemed they had disappeared. I climbed down the tree, looking at the elk carcass. The meat looked fresh enough... 

"Come on." I said. The boy followed me down to the river bed. I constantly looked around, not being a fan of being at the lowest point when there was so much high ground around. The dude stood at the top of the embankment, nervous.

"Bring me your knife." I said. 

"No, I'm not going down there!" He said.

"Do you want to eat tonight?" I asked. He said nothing, but I knew his obvious answer, "Well I suggest you bring me the knife so we can get the fuck out of here!" 

He reluctantly did so, quick to clamber back to the top of the embankment. I cut us some meat off the flank of the dead elk, placing them in resealable bags I snuck out of the camp. They would conceal the smell of the meat and keep the meat from spoiling in the air. I then washed the my hands and knife off in the stream, leaving no blood trail. I also put his knife in my pack, not trusting the boy with anything...even his own life.

"Come on..." I said, quick to make my way across to the other side of the embankment. He followed, constantly looking over his shoulder to make sure no creature was in pursuit.

We traveled quite far, eventually setting up camp on a wooded slope next to a large tree. Nothing could sneak up behind us and we could climb the tree if something menacing came our way. I started us a fire and made the dumbass collect bedding material so we could be warm. It was probably going to drop well below freezing here tonight. I hoped the other trainees were safe...especially Malcolm. 

"So," I began, "Where are you from?" 

"Southern Remnants..." The boy sighed.

"I figured..."

"What do you mean you figured?" The boy asked, offended.

"The way you carry yourself, like you're the shit... people from the Southern Remnants only do that." I sighed.

"What do you mean?" 

"Do you really want me to go there?" 

"You might as well! You've been talking shit to me all day!" He said, very upset.

"Awe poor baby. I didn't mean to make life and death seem so...ya know... seem so much of a priority! I'm just saying, this little attitude you carry is so pathetic... You realize not everyone you meet will be white, you superiors will not all be white, your inferiors will not all be white, and this world you live in is not white! I know people like you! You're from the Brunswick Confederacy. My mother was one of you and was shunned because she married a man of another race..."

"I don't care about your mother..." He interrupted.

"It's not about her... It was about you kid... I'm trying to be nice to you because we're going to spend the next three weeks traveling together and tell you what shit I will and won't tolerate. Your little meandering and shit almost got us killed today... I don't care if you are a racist... At least for the duration of this expedition, let's put our differences aside." I sighed.

"I'm not a racist..." He argued back.

"Keep lying to yourself..." I said, resting my head against the tree. He looked at me for a long time, obviously very angry. I thought it was because he was just as arrogant as I was why he spoke so little but no, he was a man of few words. I don't think he was all of that intelligent, and definitely not used to this climate.

"...Are you from here?" He asked.

"No..." I said, it catching me by surprise. 

"You have a funny accent. I just wondered where you're from?" He responded.

"It's hard to say. I was born in the Brunswick Confederacy... but quickly relocated to the Great Wind Fields, then to the Texas Swamplands, then back to the Wind Fields, then back to the Southern Remnants then to the Virgin Islands before I moved to the British Isles. The Caribbean and British accent stuck, I guess." I sighed. 

"Damn, I've only lived in the Brunswick Confederacy. I've never seen a person of another race. What are you?" He asked.

"Well... If you want specifics, Aryan, Semitic, North Mongoloid and Congoid. I know that's how you Americans like your race talk..." I joked.

"I didn't understand a word you said..." 

"Oh, God... White and Black..." I sighed.

"Why didn't you just say that in the beginning?"

"Why couldn't you have picked up a book and read this information for yourself? As a human, it's your duty to know about your species..." I said, sounding very disappointed. I wasn't really. He seemed fun to fuck with.

"I...I," He stammered, "I only recently learned to read...like early this year. My parents didn't allow books..." 

"Eh, sounds like a cult..." I sighed.

"A cult?" He asked.

"I'm only joking dude." I said, thinking he was getting defensive again.

"No, I mean what is a cult?" He asked.

"It's an extreme religious group that brainwashes others and tries to make everyone function the same, beleive the same and fall in line the same... Scary stuff really." I explained.

"That sounds exactly like what it is. My folks tried to kill me when I told them I wanted to leave. I told them I wouldn't go...but left anyway. Haven't spoken to them since..." He said.

"What's the family name?" I asked. 

"Cocovich..." He said. I smiled at him, surprised by the coincidence. 

"We might be cousins..." I laughed, jokingly.

"What?" He said, leaning up startled. 

"That was my mother's last name. It's not a very common last name down South... Her first name was Cynthia." 

"Cynthia?" He asked, seeming to come to a realization. 

"Ringing any bells?" I asked, laughing.

"Yeah... We definitely are related. My mother's blood sister's name was Cynthia and they said she was stolen by a nigg...um black person." He said.

"I wouldn't say stolen, maybe banished." I smiled. 

"I can believe that..." He sighed, ashamed of his grandparents, "What's your name though?"

"Denver." 
"Wow, my name's Dallas." He chuckled.

"That's just weird... So I really do have family?" I asked, this being truly shocking.

"Why do you...wait? What happened? Did something happen to your parents?" He asked.

"Yeah, they died when I was about nine." I laughed, not really sweating it.

"Awe, dude!" He said, full of sympathy.

"NOPE, don't do that! If it's one thing I hate it's being pitied!" I said, shaking my head. 

"What were they like?" He asked.

"Who?" 

"Your parents?" 

"Oh, they were tough. I thought they were super heroes growing up. They taught me survival stuff from the time I could walk and talk. My dad taught my sign language from the time I could sit up so we could communicate and I could learn. I don't know, I had to grow up fast because we never stayed in a place long. But I'm thankful for what they taught me..." 

"Man, I don't know shit! The only thing related to survival that I know is how to start a fire..." 

"We got three weeks. I can teach you all I know, starting with the fauna... The giant bear we faced, that's Arctotherium. It's the biggest land predator in the world and one of the fastest. Just because it's chubby doesn't mean it can't hunt you down! It can maintain a speed of forty miles an hour for an extremely long period of time. Your best defense, scoot up a damn tree and pray that son of a bitch is too big to climb. You have your cave lions, smilodons and dire wolves... fortunately we can outrun them, particularly the cats. The issue with the cats though, you never see them coming. The dire wolves can sprint for quite a distance and will not give up easily. Unlike most other creatures, they are not scared of fire and are attracted to the smell of something cooking. Fortunately though, we can scurry up a tree from all these creatures... It's best we stay in the forest and do not venture to the open grasslands unless it is of utmost necessity. In the event of this having to to happen, I want you to stay put. I'll come back for you. In the mean time, we're gonna have to make spears, maces and bows or whatever because that damn knife..." I sighed.

"Eh, OK..." He said, sounding daunted.

I didn't think much of it. I did so rightfully because guess what, this boy was so eager to learn. The next few weeks blazed by despite the...being chased down and almost killed by a short-faced bear a handful of time and having to shoot and kill some wolves to send a message to their pack. Even a smilodon gave us a fright when we disappeared up a tree due to the creature's twenty foot vertical. Probably the worst scare of all was when we got chased up a tree by a seven hundred pound lion. Fortunately our smaller frames fueled by cybernetic strength allowed us to climb out of reach of the massive ambush hunter.

When we reached the objective point, we were so relieved. To our surprise, we were one of the first teams to make it. Within the twenty four hours, nine teams had made it, some not unscathed. Each team had bows, clubs and other weapons built, the leading team having made pelts from wolf hides and blow darts from their bones. The six other teams were missing but thankfully, Malcolm and his partner made it. They were third, Malcolm having built a hatchet out of river stone and... mammoth bone? Eh, I don't know... His partner had a... yeah it was mammoth bone, club. They must have had to come across a carcass. Malcolm and I exchanged brief glances and smiles, not wanting to draw attention to our budding romance. 

The Drill Sergeant came with other grunts in the back of his Jeep. He parked it in front of us, picking up his megaphone.

"You are our elite few worthy to be Captains of the Cybernetic Militia. You have proven yourself in this chilly hell and now are ready for the next step of hell... Now get back to base...you have one week." He said. He sat back in the jeep, leaving us there in the wilderness, hundreds of miles away. 

"So he's just gonna leave us here?" Someone said, utterly flabbergasted. 

"I almost died!" Another trainee cried.

"We got to travel all that way in one week!" A grunt groveled.

"I don't even remember the way back..." Someone said, clenching their head.

The whole time, Malcolm and I looked at each other, smiling. I was so happy to see him with no restraints and regiments keeping is at bay. We may have been in a very dangerous location but it was nonetheless still nice. I walked over to him, unable to contain it. He wrapped me in a big hug, lifting me completely off the ground. He kissed me, obviously having longed for me this entire time. 

"Easy lover boys... We got a long walk back..." A trainee smiled.



UCAC Ch. 06



The remainder of us stood before the giant wind tunnel. It was about three hundred feet long and filled with plush obstacles. The drill sergeant stood before us. 

"You are to navigate the entire length of this course," The sergeant said, "...without Wingsuits." Everyone looked on in complete horror wondering how this was even possible. Not even gonna lie, I was wondering how the hell this could be pulled off too. 

The sergeant walked over to me.

"You're up boy..." He said, wishing my failure. My heart pounded so hard in my chest I could feel it in my throat. If I wanted to I could dance to the bass rich pound of my heart like it was a Soca rhythm, the beat was so loud. Nonetheless, I stepped forward, now or never. The sergeant opened the wind chamber door with this smile that was upsetting to my stomach. As he closed the door, the fans turned on eventually suspending me in the air.

Remembering what I learned during the free falling course, and the general dynamics of flight, I positioned myself so that I could catch as much air as possible. The little tick movements one made were really responsible for forward, backwards, sideways, roll, pitch and yaw. I tilted ever so slightly forward causing the air to blanket over my back to send me forward.

The amount of speed I gained frightened me. I eased out of it, not wanting to overcorrect. The next time, I made an even slighter tilt. This time, the speed was much more controllable and navigating the obstacle course was no different than riding an updraft in a Wingsuit and making slight variations in the wing and tail shape to allow for fine control adjustments. 

I reached the end of the course, still panicked. A grunt was there to open the door for me. Upon touching down with my feet, he smiled, patting me on the shoulder.

"You nailed it on your first try..." He grinned. I looked back at the course seeing the next trainee in the cage going into an uncontrollable spin. The fans turned off, sending him crashing to the floor. I cringed, hoping he'd get the hang of it. 

"Go line up on the wall." The grunt who opened the door for me said. I did so, standing at parade rest. I watched as the young man inside the windtunnel tumble and crashed, eventually making it to the end. He received a pat on the back, told to line up as well. He was very, very angry. 

The remainder of the guys performed a mixed bag of success as well. We all lined up, having to run the course again, and again, and again. It was exhausting. Some learned from their mistakes while, other's not so much. One guy, close to the rear was really down on himself.

"...The hell can I do..." He said to himself. 

"Try tiny tick movements. Think, riding an updraft." I said. The guy behind me just scowled, the one who struggled so much in the wind tunnel.

"You think you know everything, don't you?" He said. 

"I don't pride myself on it, but sure." I said back, hoping to strike a nerve. 

"Denver, you're up!" The drill sergeant said. I navigated the course, it becoming easier with every trial. I lined up in the rear, getting another pat on the back. The trainee before me turned, perplexed.

"How do you not lose control?" He asked.

"Try to move very slightly. If you tilt forward, you move forward. Tilt backwards, you move backwards. It's all fluid dynamics. Roll, yaw and pitch are a bit different than your Wingsuit. To go up, spread your surface area, to go down pull your arms and legs in closer. Roll is pretty much the same. Yaw is the trickiest....can't really describe it. I'd say your hands control it best, I don't know." I said, thinking hard.

"Really?" A dude listening further up the line asked. 

"Yeah." I responded.

"Oooou, he's up again. I hope he gets it this time!" The guy in front of me said. We watched as the dude failed the course once again, having to grab onto the obstacles to navigate it. 

"You'll do best to learn from what he's doing wrong." I said.

"What's he doing wrong in particular?" The dude asked.

"Thinking he's too good for advice and wanting to look like a fool." I sighed, shaking my head.

The dude came out of the wind tunnel, still very frustrated. Eventually everyone got it right...all except for him. It was clear that we'd stop when the rate of success was one hundred percent. As long as he failed, we'd all have to do the course over. I was growing more and more upset with this dude, the same with everyone else. I had to do something.

"Ya know, if you keep your body firm, you'll be more...." I tried to say, trying to at least help.

"I don't need your help..." The dude refuted, quick to shoot me down.

It was my turn to run the gauntlet again. My frustration was beginning to reach the point of no return. After receiving probably the twelfth pat on the shoulder, I had reached my fill. I went to the end of the line, waiting for this prideful fool to fail once again. He did so, having to start the line all the way over. Not a single soul was pleased, all except the drill sergeant who got off on this shit. 

As this frustration inducing fool received his pat on the shoulder, I eyed him scaldingly as he made his way over.

"Look..." I began, "I'm not running this course again because you want to be an idiot and flail and kick your way through it. You're gonna get this shit right..."

"You think you're better than everyone else here don't you," He said, getting face to face with me, "You're a fucking douche bag..." 

"I'm a douche?" I asked, "But am I the one keeping everyone else here because I'm too stupid to take advice?" 

"You have one more thing to say to me before I... " He began to say through the grit of my teeth. I gave him no time, drawing my hand back ready to test and see if he had a glass jaw. However, a firm hand grabbed my arm right as I was about to strike this fool. Startled, I turned to see it was Malcolm. The drill sergeant made his way down the hall, obviously pleased that there was an altercation but not willing to admit it. 

"There seems to be a problem?" He asked. 

"This idiot is the only one who hasn't gotten the form right yet! It's like he hasn't realized that he's messing us all up!" I snarled.

"Who'd want to take advice from such a douchebag knowitall? I sure as hell don't want to!" The boy retaliated.

"Well this douchebag knows when he needs help and isn't afraid to get it! The real douchebag is the idiot sitting here acting like he doesn't need any!" I fired back.

"You know what," The boy said angered, rushing me, "I'll knock all the teeth out your head! Keep talking to me like that..." 

"Nah, boy I'm done talking!" I said, struggling to get free of Malcolm's powerful grip. I could do nothing with this giant. He picked me up, turning me away from the aggressive idiot as he came within striking distance.

"Chill, Denver..." Malcolm advised. Those warm pools of honey he had for eyes know they could soothe me. I said nothing but still seriously wanted the beat that guy into a shitty pulp. I sighed, slowly beginning to come to terms with how immature I was being.

The drill sergeant walked back to the entrance of the wind tunnel. He stood at the door, looking at both me and the idiot standing at the end of the line.

"Denver, Chase...get here NOW!" He demanded. Malcolm and I looked at each other knowing this was going to get interesting... 

I walked towards the drill sergeant, Chase, the stubborn idiot followed. We stood before the drill sergeant waiting for the tortures he'd have in store for us.

"Both of you," He began, "Are horrible little shitty cunts who think that they are the best thing to grace this God forsaken world. You, Denver, need to understand that just because you master stuff quicker than most, notice stuff quicker than most and are an overall better performer than most of the excuses here, can't rub it in! The berrates and belittles the men you have to work with!"

"I didn't rub it in!" I said in my defense.

"Say another god damn mother FUCKING WORD and I'll take this shock 'n drop out this holster and taze your ass until you finally look like a black person. You did rub it in and there's no denying it!" The drill sergeant said to me, "Now for you Chase... I know you don't like any of these excuses here, don't want to interact socially with any of the excuses here and cringe in disgust at the excuses here, but you can NOT let it be to your detriment! You two have had the highest rate of success here... Why let this little task be the reason you fail?" 

"But I didn't fail it!" I said, growing agitated. The drill sergeant looked at me with those cold beady eyes.

"You really want me to taze you, don't you?" He asked. 

"No sir..." I said, frustrated. 

"Since both of you are two stubborn boulder-for-brain idiots, I feel that the only way you'll learn the important lesson is by a spontaneous team exercise! You two will navigate this course... TOGETHER!!!" He said. 

My heart sank hearing the news. 

"Get ya'll asses in there!" He said, opening the door. Chase and I reluctantly entered the wind tunnel. The fans started, lifting both of us off the ground. As soon as Chase's feet left the ground, he lost control. He slammed into me as he grasped for anything with leverage.

"DUDE!" I screamed. I was thrown all off whack, it taking every ounce of skill to regain balance. He clambered for any and every thing, tumbling wildly as though he was in free fall. 

"Shit..." Malcolm said, watching tensely as he hoped Chase and I could make it out of the tunnel. It was nerveracking.

I didn't want to proceed without Chase but he wasn't listening. He continued to tumble, over correcting trying to gain balance in the high windspeed. Suddenly a foot careened into my face. Everything became silent as the compressed frustration rekindled into rage. I lost every ounce of restraint I had left in my body. It was time to fuck this dude up! I ascended, grabbing the boy in my hands. Using every ounce of skill, I sent us both careening into the glass, the impact producing a massive thud. 

I whipped him away, both of us spiralling to the other side of the windtunnel. I slammed him into the hard metal grating ducts with a my might, producing a cringe inducing clank. We then tumbled into a plush coated pylon. I drew my fist back, ready to strike the disoriented boy. As I did, jolts of electricity ran through us both. It forced us to separate, ending the altercation.

"Work together!" The drill sergeant said into the intercom. I swallowed my pride, not wanting to spend another minute in this wind tunnel. Making my way over to Chase, I held his chest and back steady, stabilizing him. I positioned his arms and legs in the proper free fall position so the poor idiot wouldn't tumble anymore. 

"LISTEN TO ME!" I screamed, the roar of the fans beneath the floor combined with the buffeting winds wrapping us being nearly deafening, "IT'S THE LITTLE MOVEMENTS THAT COUNT! THINK UPDRAFT IN YOUR WINGSUIT BUT WITH MUCH, MUCH SMALLER WINGS!!!!" 

"OK!!!!" Chase said back, finally giving into the the advice I'd been trying to give him all along. I felt a sigh of relief. We navigated the course effectively enough, touching down on the other side of the wind tunnel in due time. The same officer who opened the door for us the previous dozen times, did it again. He pat us both on the back.

"Good job fellas!" He said.

Chase and I looked at each other. He gave me the most enraged gaze he could. He then turned his nose up, continuing forth towards the end of the line. I shook my head, sighing. We were met with applause but it felt so ill placed. Malcolm stood there laughing until he looked at me closer. 

"Shit, you got a shiner..." He said. He rushed over to me to inspect my bruises. He looked at my eye then grabbed my lower lip which stung a lot. I seized in pain, consequently baring my teeth.

"Oooou, you mouth is bleeding..." He said shocked. My gaze fell upon Chase, rage filling my body. Feeling I was about to do something stupid, Malcolm grabbed me. But it was too late. I had already closed the distance between Chase and I, landing one lucky fist on his jaw. The boy fell from the rattling blow.

"Glass jawed ass mother...."

"DENVER!!!!!!!!" The drill sergeant shouted as he rushed over. Malcolm already knew what was going to happen to me, wasting no time in letting me go. He didn't want to be ahold of me with what the drill sergeant was about to do. The drill sergeant took out his shock n' drop, not hesitating to send debilitating jolts of electricity up my spine. I fell to the floor, jittered by the shock. 

"Now that this little course is over, let's talk about it's purpose," The drill sergeant said, prowling around as he usually did, "When you get on the battlefield, sometimes your men will freeze, panic, not be of much use. Still though, you'll have to work beside him in the heat of the most intense moments. You, as our leaders, can not leave him behind. This was a test to show you that you leaders, innately want to help those you see struggle... help in your own poor excuse of a way, but help nonetheless. I am proud to see you all succeed this trial... despite complications," He looked directly at me, "Now for your next trial... I like seeing you all work together so I'm going to think of something very special."

Indeed the drill sergeant did think of something special. The fifteen of us stood in a big white training dome, terrified. We wanted to know what this wicked man had in store for us. The drill sergeant prowled amongst us, his gait methodical and as predatory as ever. It struck fear in us all.

"Surprise..." He said, "I was told not to do this because of how dangerous it is. But fuck it! I'm afraid I have no choice with you bunch. How are you going to be the leaders of this organization if you can't play nicely amongst yourselves? This is the zero gravity augmented reality room...." Everyone looked around, wondering how could such a drab white training dome make them break down into a poor, battered soul, wishing they never came here. I knew I was beyond terrified, "Today will be a trust exercise... Ten of you will be wearing gravity gauntlets while five of you will be wearing gravitational field generators. These five will be tossed back and forth between the ten, 'juggled'... Sounds easy right? We'll I'm picking the five trainees to get juggled. Denver, step forward; Malcolm, step forward; Hillshire, step forward; Jonathan, step forward; Chase, step forward..." 

Technicians came, strapping us in to the gravity vests. My heart pounded, this being probably the most terrifying trail we ever faced. The technicians handed out the ten pairs of gravity gauntlets, quickly fleeing the training space. The drill sergeant too left, fleeing to the control room overhead. This must was gonna be bad... 

Suddenly the floor began to quake, opening, the terrain turning into a cliff-like setting. I suddenly felt very heavy, it becoming increasingly hard to stand. 

"The exercise has begun." The drill sergeant said, as late as ever. Everyone looked panicked, unsure what to do. The environment continued to shift, more hills and gullies forming from the malleable composite floor. 

"Hey you..." I said, pointing at a trainee with gravity gauntlets. He stood there as the land rose around him. He turned, looking at me in terror, "Get to the top of that bluff! Dallas, get over here!" Dallas, the closest person I knew, ran over to me. He tripped over himself, the gravitational field around him losing density.

"Yeah?" He said. 

"Get me off the ground!" I said. He looked at me, lost, "The gauntlets!" 

"Oh" He said, aiming them at me. Suddenly, I was flung across the lab, tumbling to a halt. 

"Shit!" Dallas said, running over to me, "So sorry!"

"It's fine," I said, trying to get to my hands and knees, "Those gauntlets are cybernetic. You have precise control over them like you do your Wingsuit! Think..." 

He extended out his hands, aiming his palms at me again. I cringed, thinking I was going to get flung around the training room again. No, instead I lifted off the ground slowly. Dallas took several laboured steps back, clenching his teeth.

"Shit!" He groaned, this obviously being very strenuous on him. 

"OK, walk me back to the bluff." I said. Dallas did so, straining the entire way.

"This is heavy!" Dallas said through the grit of his teeth. 

We neared the base of the bluff. Dallas was exhausting fast, the gauntlets taking all of his strength. I looked at the dude standing lost at the top of the bluff.

"Hey," I said, "I have a plan! I'm going to need you to listen and listen closely! We are dealing with forces against and with gravity. Do not fight against the pull. Use inertia and momentum to aid you! Do you understand?" 

The boy stood there, absorbing what I said.

"I think I do..." He responded.

"OK," I said, looking at Dallas, "Stand stationary and swing me around. Toss me up to the guy up there!" Dallas stood there, thinking about it.

"Wow..." He said, seeing how the plan could work.

He planted his feet firmly on the ground as I hovered under the power of the gravity gauntlets. Like a tribal dancer, he began to wave his hands around his body in a circular motion as he squatted. I began to move around his ridiculous form, following the path of his hands. Not long after, I was traveling at quite a pace.

"Hey!" I said to the dude at the top of the bluff, "You see what Dallas is doing? He's going to toss me up there with you and you're going to catch me with your polarity! Keep me spinning to maintain the forward energy then toss me back to him!"

"Alright!" The young man said. 

"I'm going to toss you.... are you ready?" Dallas asked. 

"Sure..." I said, utterly terrified.

"Here...we..." Dallas said, spinning as fast as he could, "GO!" 

He released me, sending me hurtling inches above the cliff face. I screamed, thinking I would face plant into the hard synthetic limestone of the fake cliffs. But no, I was caught. The young man on the bluff top pulled through with his gauntlets, sending me around and around. 

"You ok?" He asked.

"...Yeah..." I said, finally realizing I was in good hands. 

"Alright, um..." The dude said with the faintest amount of strain in his voice, "Just toss you back down?" 

"Yeah." I responded, growing nervous again. 

"Ok, here we go..." The young man said, whipping me around. I was flung back to Dallas who had braced for the strong polarity this suit produced. With the added momentum from coming from an elevated perch, it took all of Dallas's strength to keep me from hitting the floor. I squealed, closing my eyes thinking I was about to crash.

Upon opening them, I was whipping around in circles, as though Dallas had an invisible rope around me. Now that I was getting more comfortable, I could say this was one of the coolest things I've done.

The two boys tossed me back and forth between each other like a giant game of tennis. Neither of them tired as they tumbled across the grounds to make sure I wouldn't crash. A crash at these speeds would certainly end my life. I truly was dependent on these two.

"Hey, how are you doing that?" A trainee asked Dallas as he anticipated me being slung back down to him.

"Just stand and watch... I can't speak!" Dallas said as he leapt to make sure his polarity field caught mine. He began whipping me around to build centripetal force before slinging me back to the top of the bluff. 

The guy watching, backed away, learning fast. He turned to Jonathan who was struggling to get above his hands and knees. 

"Pullock, stand over there!" The young man said, pointing to a ridge on the hill. The dude presumed to be Pullock did as was told, "Ok, JonJon, brace yourself..." 

"Alright, Tyson." Jonathan said back, full of strain.




UCAC Ch. 06



Unsure what he was doing Tyson extended out both of his hands, ever so cautiously. As he did, Jonathan began to rise off the ground. Jonathan looked on shocked, unsure why he was rising up. He looked up seeing Dallas and the young man on the cliff top juggling me. The sheer horror in his eyes spoke for his silence. The disoriented boy then looked around, wondering why he was hovering. He saw Tyson straining to provide lift. Tyson's face was flushed red, veins popping in his neck, arms and face. 

Dallas tossed me to the young man atop the bluff once again.

"Don't toss me back down this time!" I said.

"Ok...?" The young man said, unsure why I gave such a request.

"Dallas, go help out the others!" I shouted from the clifftop.

"OK!" Dallas yelled back, quickly running over to them. 

"You think you can keep me like this?" I asked concerned.

"No..." The young man said, sweating heavily, "...problem!" I sighed a sigh of relief as I continued to be juggled. 

We watched as Dallas reached Tyson and Jonathan.

"You got to use your weight to center yourself and use his weight to propel himself!" Dallas said, demonstrating. He sent Jonathan around and around and around. 

"WOOOOOOUUUAAAHHH!!!!" Jonathan screamed, tumbling over and over.

"KEEP YOUR BODY PARALLEL!" The young man juggling me shouted. Jonathan then began to correct himself as Dallas whipped him around. 

"Now I'm going to hand him to you. Your polarity will pick him up but the force will try and knock you off your feet," Dallas said to Tyson, full of concentration, "You ready?"

"Yeah..." Tyson said, planting his feet firmly on the ground. Dallas made Jonathan's arc wider and wider, giving Tyson the leverage to catch him. Tyson's polarity picked up Jonathan and he did what was demonstrated. He and Pullock got the hang of it rather quickly, tossing Jonathan back and forth between each other. 

The remaining guys had came to watch, learning quickly how to use the gauntlets and gravity vests. Not long after, everyone had gotten the hang of it. The juggling lasted for several agonizing minutes. Everyone grew frustrated.

"Why isn't the trial over?" The boy on the bluff top asked.

"Because, the ones in the vest are supposed to be juggled between all of those with the gauntlets..." I said.

"Man what the fuck? How the hell are we supposed to do that?" He asked, daunted by such a huge challenge. 

"I don't know, stand in a circle?" I said, perplexed as well. 

"Yes.... YESSSS!" The dude said. I was expecting him to send me hurtling towards Dallas but he kept arcing me around, "Dallas, tell everyone who is wearing a gauntlet to go to the flat area of the testing range and form a circle!" 

"OK!" Dallas said, with no question about it.

"Denver, you are a fucking genius you know that, right?" The boy whipping me around asked. I didn't even know his name.

"I just want this to be over..." I laughed. 

As he sent me circling around him, he began to walk down to the lower levels of the testing facility. We reached a flat area where the remainder of the guys eventually had flocked to. We were very spread out, some juggling a man, some not. The distribution of who was juggling and who wasn't juggling was not even. 

"Everyone," The young man juggling me said, "There should be one person in between a person juggling a person wearing a gravity vest. If there is not, get there!" 

Everyone conformed, steadily looking lost. 

"Now we're going to juggle everyone one around, counterclockwise! Concentrate on the man to your right when someone is juggling a vest wearer and concentrate on the man to your left when it's time to transfer the person being juggled!" He continued. The trainees did as was told with no fault. We, the ones in the vests, were sent around counterclockwise. Upon returning to our starting position, the gravity was completely turned off in the training yard. Everyone began to rise off the ground, those being juggled going on high speed trajectories.

"DA FUUUUUUUUCCCCCCCCCCKKKKK!!!!!!!!" I screamed as I tumbled over my self. This was getting crazier and crazier. I prayed for this to be over. 

Suddenly, the gravity was turned back on. Everyone was sent falling towards the hard training room floor. Just as I braced for the impact, the floor once again opened up. This time it formed a plush cushion that caught me, lowering me back down to the floor. I just lied there in shock. This really had happened. I just wanted this week to be over. It was too much torture. All of this weightless training made it clear we were getting our suits back. 

Indeed we were. By the start of the next week, we were in the main hangar, the Cybernetic Wingsuit hangar. The drill sergeant prowled amongst us, hands behind his back, the same sickening predatory nature. 

"Today," He began, "You will be reunited with your Helms. You will notice, things will be a bit different with them..." 

Technicians brought us our Helms one by one. I was number seven in the line so it didn't take long for me to get it. But it was different, painted over white with the mouthpiece being painted black. It used to be a very shiny gunmetal with a bright ruby mouthpiece. I didn't get this... 

Putting the Helm on led to more horror. The connection process caused me to jolt, understandably because it had been a long time since I connected with my cybernetic extension. However, this was no longer the Merlin I was connected to. The boot name was Elanid, the name of a group of raptors known for slow, wafting flight and hovering, not extreme speed like the falcons. That meant I didn't have the Merlin suit anymore and that I would have to adapt to flying in a new, different way. 

I was not pleased at all! Now I had to resync data and this was never fun. My internal servers had to be updated to this new Helm. Upon completion, I played with the interface seeing what horrors awaited me. To be honest, it was nothing too bad. I had a bigger more aerodynamic suit, upon detailing the schematics, one designed for great agility. It also detailed greater gravity countermeasures so my wing loading would be less. That mean I wouldn't even have to flap to stay aloft and had a very low stall speed. Not to mention, the entire plume of the suit was an elegant white with black primaries and over-wings. It was a big contrast to the silver of the Merlin suit.

There also were more changes in the HUD itself. I still had the dual pulse beams in the helm as well as the upgraded sensor array. But somehow, they managed to cram a new weapon in here, a sonic resonance buffet. It was a very deadly weapon, one that matched the harmonic resonance frequency of the matter it detected and blasts a deafening wave of sound at it, causing it to disintegrate. Even better, it was far more suitable for close range targets than the pulse weapons. 

Also, the quill launcher was now an explosive quill distributor. It was like what the Kestrel and Hiero Wingers used. Quills would come out of every opening in their armor, homing into pre designated targets. I couldn't say I was happy to have this, but nonetheless, it was a nice addition to the suit. 

It was quite a bit of firepower for such a relatively small frame. However, the lower wing-loading did allow for additional payload. Everything else was virtually the same as the Merlin. It made me wonder did they scrap the Merlin and make it anew. I hoped not because the Merlin had so much history and it was too beautiful to be dismantled and rebuilt for some new mission. I wanted to keep it the way it was. 

It was a problem that bugged me throughout the day. It wasn't made better when it came time for the first suit up. The drill sergeant stood on the end of the platform watching as the actuators swarmed each one of us. We stood with legs shoulder width apart, arms outstretched. The actuators placed rings on each of my fingers, tight wrist couplings and the spinal extensions. The robot then added on the two silver pectoral plates, plates I recognized from Merlin, before adding on the white, monopiece breast plate. I had to tell myself that the pectoral plates were simply modular and hot swappable between any Wingsuit, not salvaged from the Merlin. It would kill me to know otherwise. The pectoral plates, afterall, did have the majority of the electronics required for the Wingsuits. 

Then came the shoulder sockets which connected to the pectoral plates and a portion of the spinal extension. It connected the wings to the rest of the armor, right over my actual shoulderblades. The actuators then snapped on the black wing sheaths, made out of a very light weight, soft to the touch material. It was confusing, considering it clicked in place upon the actuator's pressure. The wing sheaths were what contained the liquid flesh, the bionic power.

The wing scutes came hovering in under their own power, connecting with the wing sheaths. They had tiny counter-rotating solenoids that charged the gravitanium alloy blades which was why these blades could fly under their own power. I never had seen anything like it, the wings of the Merlin being preconstructed and easily attachable. This had thousands of autonomous parts, each one intelligent enough to know which part of my body to attach to. I bet the rings on my fingers had something to do with that. 

Several white scutes attached to the very end of the spinal column, forming a tail. I opened and closed it like a fan, dropping one side then dropping the other. I could already tell by how this felt that the sheer amount of agility I had would induce a blackout. It made me excited. The actuator added more sheaths, this time encompassing my back, thighs and shins. The robotic arms brought down step-ins, placing them before each of my feet. It also brought down the gorgeous, white back plates which snapped seamlessly into place with the rest of the armor. I placed each foot into the step-ins, the plush material wrapping around my feat, merging seamlessly with the leg sheaths.

The robotic actuators dropped down two light weight boots, holding them open so I could step in. Then the machine brought the grappling gear, the heavy duty talons! I never thought I'd be so glad to see them but I was! This process of suiting up was more nerveracking than the old process and it felt like it lasted forever. Now that it was over with, it gave me time to appreciate the new suite.

I must admit, white looked good on me but white looked stunning on Malcolm. With his grappling gear on, her stood well over seven feet high. His armor had much more bulk than mine and his wingspan was twenty eight feet and were surprisingly high profile. To me though, those talons were no joke, huge and definitely the most lethal talons of all the other Winger's standing on this platform. 

Suddenly, the hangar's sky gate began to open. The trainees looked around, unsure why it was opening. 

"GO, GO, GO, GO!!!!" The drill sergeant said, pointing up to the sky. Everyone took off on powerful wing beats, flying out of the hangar. There were falcon based Wingers, buteo based Wingers and accipter based Wingers all around. I was the only one based upon a kite and and Malcolm was the only one based upon an owl. He also was the largest of us. There also was a guy based upon a harrier which I must admit was damn cool!

Considering we were flying for the first time, many guys went into tail chases, trying to see who was the most nimble and formidable suit of them all. I was having no part of it. I hitched a ride on the nearest thermal and circled above them all, just incase I had to drop out of the sky at a blinding pace. It was enjoyable cruising around in a circle at only thirty miles an hour. 

Malcolm began to ascend up to me. A private radio connection request was sent to my HUD. I accepted it, eagerly, glad to hear anything he had to say.

"So you're no longer Merlin?" He asked. 

"I will always be Merlin!" I laughed before getting serious, "No, I'm now Elanid... There are some pretty significant changes."

"I can tell. Merlin's primaries were slightly longer than his secondaries but now your primaries and secondaries are the same length. You also have a longer tail. You look...bigger." He said with a chuckle. 

"Yeah, these new wings feel too...light. I miss Merlin's heft." I said.

"You haven't pushed Elanid to the limit yet. Get down there and join the tail chase!" Malcolm said.

"I don't see the point." I laughed.

"Dude, don't be such a downer! I know you miss Merlin but Elanid probably has some cool tricks to test out." Malcolm said, trying to reassure me.

"No, I mean I don't see the point when at any given moment, we can be radioed a drill. I just wanna be ready." I said.

"Oh, well if that's the case, I'm with you." He said, circling below me. He had about eight more feet of wings than I did and about four more feet of length. He was just massive.

"So how do the new wings fly?" I asked.

"They're surprisingly powerful but it wofts too much. You're right, the frames do feel too light. I'm not to big a fan or narrower wings. It's very easy to go too fast with them." He said. 

"Well, both of these frames are built for hovering for extended periods so maybe we're being a bit too hard on em." I said. 

"How fast do you think you can push the new wings?" He asked.

"I feel like since there's less wing loading and a more aerodynamic frame, my flat speed will be near three hundred fifty miles an hour. Diving, I'm not so sure because this frame is so light. I doubt it can get above five hundred." I sighed.

"Still, that's fast. I pushed two twenty six in a flat burst. I can definitely go faster but this thing isn't meant to be pushed like that. I do like how it handles this wind though compared to Steppe... Very stable!!!! I can't turn worth a shit." Malcolm laughed. 

"Curl your wing tips down when you're trying to turn. It'll give you added agility."I advised. 

The boy entered a steep glide, his pace increasing substantially. He dropped his wings in an anhedral and began to bank. His turns were sharp, but it looked like his control was laboured. He was definitely not meant for extreme aerial maneuvers. He stopped quickly, ascending back up to me. 

"Nope!" He said.

"You alright?" I asked.

"Snow ain't built for turning." Malcolm laughed. 

"I see!" I said, "It's capable though..." 

"It's no more capable than Steppe. One thing Steppe had going for it was speed though. That thing could go three thirty and dive near supersonic. But this, it feels fragile, light... I'm scared to push it." Malcolm said. 

"What kind of weapons do you have?" I asked.

"Incendiary bombs, pulse beams, a strange sonic weapon and the ability to launch all my scutes in a furry, you?" 

"Explosive quills, pulse beams, the same sonic weapon and that's about it." I responded. 

"I saw how the scutes attached to you. You have the scute attack too." He said.

"Really?" I asked.

"I'm mostly certain..." He laughed. 

"Attention all trainees," A voice said on the radio, "The first one to bring down a mammoth gets the rest of the day off." 

Every single trainee below us began to power through the sky pushing their top speeds. The interceptors took the lead, getting to their top speed swiftly and able to maintain it. I looked at Malcolm who was waiting on me.

"You ready?" I asked. 

"Hell yeah!" He said. The two of us entered a steep glided, boosting it with a few wing beats periodically. We both pushed four hundred miles an hour, passing over the speeding trainees powering along below us. 

"What's the plan? We got about twenty miles before we reach the tundra." He said.

"I'm going through my interface. I found the blade barrage you were talking about. At the same time, we're taking down a mammoth of our own. We deserve this day off!" I said. 

"Ok." He said looking back, "We got a good start on everyone else." 

"Yeah! I don't want anyone to close the distance..." I said, scanning the horizon ahead. 

"Trust me they won't. I'll knock em' out the sky!" Malcolm said fiercely.

"Mmmm." I smiled, living his aggression.

We were fast approaching the tundra. I powered along on rowing wing beats, the sheer flat speed being unreal. Three hundred fifty miles an hour was just crazy to be traveling at, especially fifty feet above the ground. Surprisingly, Malcolm was keeping pace beside me. These new wings were no slouches.

We picked targets, two large bull mammoths equally far apart.

"You ready?" I asked.

"I surely am..." He said. As we neared the bulls, the scutes that controlled our flight, unmounted taking their own paths. The blades traveled at blinding speed towards the bulls. They pierced through the mammoths, connecting back with us before we stalled. The scutes formed wings again, allowing us to regain control. Both mammoths fell to the ground, their blood pooling around them. 

We circled around, dissipating our speed. We landed on our respective kills, standing triumphantly. By that time, the other trainees had arrived, very upset. 

"Thank you for slaying your dinner... You two have the day off." The drill sergeant said over the radio. 

"WOOOOOOOO!!!" I exclaimed, taking off in a swift vertical climb. I wanted to slowly loop around but forgot I had much more tail surface area to work with. Instead of gently looping, I inverted at a neck breaking force, spreading my wings and tail to catch myself. 

"Bastard!" A trainee said, probably jealous Chase. All I could do was laugh. Awards like this were commonly given out but Malcolm and I never took them, not until now. 

Looking over to Malcolm, he continued standing on the mammoth, looking down at his talons. They punctured deep into the mammoth's flesh under his sheer weight alone. He tried taking off but his talons were tangled in the creature's fur. 

"SHIT!" He said.

"I got you..." I said, flying by gracefully. I banked to the side, using the razor sharp wing blades to cut his talons free. He entered the air, quick to make pace with me.

"OK, I just thought about it," Malcolm said, "What the hell are we going to do here because this place is fucking too dangerous to go on foot and the base is simply a training facility. There's nothing fun to do..." 

"I was gonna go back to the barracks and catch some extra hours of sleep." I said.

"Sounds like a good enough plan to me." He said. 

By the time we made it back to the bass, it was noon. We unsuited and made our way back to the barracks. It was empty, we being the only ones free for the day. I guess I was exhausted because it didn't really connect at first. I just went to my bed, sitting there, staring at the ceiling.

"Man..." Malcolm begin.

"What?" I asked.

"We struck lucky didn't we?" He laughed. 

"I guess so... We got some alone time... finally." I smiled. 

"I just wanna kiss you." He said, looking over at me. 

"There are no cameras in here... The trainees won't be back four hours. We can do anything." I said. 

"Anything?" Malcolm asked, leaning up.

"Anything..." I said, lustfully. He crawled onto my bed. He spread my legs, climbing on top of me. Gently caressing me, those massive hands felt up and down my narrow frame. His lips came closer and closer to mine, finally until we kissed. It was like his lips were charged with cosmic energies because it got got me super heated. The energy began to spread through my body, his touches giving glimpses of his true power. I was getting more and more aroused and I wanted to take this further. 

I began unzipping his his jumper, feeling his muscular chest underneath. Slowly, I reached down, further and further. It was then I learned of the monstrosity between his legs. I couldn't even make my thumb and middle finger connect around it. That was scary... But if there wasn't something to place fear on my soul, then I wasn't doing something to challenge me. 




UCAC Ch. 06



I wanted to see this monster in it's full glory. As I whipped it out, Malcolm withdrew, shaking his head.

"We haven't graduated yet..." He smiled, teasingly.

"God, dude..." I said pushing him off of me, "You're a big ass tease, you know that..." 

"I just need to make sure you'll stick with me to the end..." He said.

"Of course I will!" I said, reassuringly. He truly didn't know what he meant to me. 

"I'm just asking because, this thing," He said looking between his legs, "Is no joke, and when it goes down... I'm going to fuck you like it's the last time we'll ever see each other because it probably will be. We have two different paths ahead of us and after the final test...we graduate." 

I walked over to him, seriously upset. He could tell it.

"Do you want me to rape you?" I asked.

"Rape me?" He asked laughing. 

"Yes," I said crawling back on the bed, "All you keep doing... is teasing me...and teasing me. And I want you... SO BAD!!!!!" He smiled, caressing my face. 

"And you will have me... just you wait!" He said. He kissed me again and again. I don't think he knew what he was doing to me. I was falling for him, faster and faster with each kiss. I didn't know if this was love yet but I did have some very strong feelings for him. 

He just held me against his chest, rubbing my head. I didn't have hair to play in since we had to be shaved bald for training. It was kind of funny.

"Denver..." Malcolm said.

"Yeah?" I responded.

"You're not afraid of it?" He asked.

"Do I ever run from challenges?" I asked in response.

"No but... I can't have nearly as much sex as I want because of it..." He sighed, "I had eventually given up when I came to the UCAC. I was lucky enough to lose my virginity at all." 

"Well, you're in my top three. Growing up, I've had similar.... It's been a while but...." I laughed. 

"I wish it was smaller..." He sighed, not pleased with his member.

"I say embrace it... One day you'll find the guy who can take a kick from a third leg to the ass and not claw your eyes out trying to get away from that ass lashing." I teased.

"Who?" He asked, knowing it'd be tough to find someone capable of taking it all. I know he was hinting at me. 

"America is a big place... You have a much better chance here than back in Scandinavia." I said. 

"Maybe so. Just don't be the only human in the world capable of taking this dick then leave me hanging when you have to be shipped across the country." He laughed. I could hear the concern in his voice, a hint that the feelings he shared for me were just as strong as what I was feeling for him. The realization would forever be engraved in my mind.

We truly had an odd relationship, made odder by the fact that we were now doing much more extensive field training. We both knew that the time we had with each other was winding down but treated what we had like we'd be with each other forever. It was the same old same old, the two of us seldom having time to see each other, cherishing the briefest moments we could have together. Maybe it was a way of coping with how things were never concrete in this world. I just knew we'd go out with a bang. 

We had to fly two hundred to ones which were basically flying two hundred miles within one hundred minutes. That meant each one of us had to cruise along at a minimum of one hundred thirty miles an hour and we couldn't glide at all... All and all, it was the equivalent of an effort felt jog considering how these cybernetic suits functioned. We did this extensive training for about a week before being sent on actual training missions.

With two weeks to go, we were shipped all about. Our first tactical training mission was in the ruins of Atlantic City. We were to lure out basilisk mechs that hunted down the locals. It would be my first time facing off with battle mechs. The beauty of this though was that we got the shittiest briefing ever. The drill sergeant simply said, "Go out to the Atlantic City, lure out the basilisk mechs, and destroy them." It seemed simple enough but there were no details given at all about this Atlantic City... 

Everyone just sat in the airship like this would just boil over, all except Dallas. Being from the Southern Remnants, I know he had quite a bit of experience with battle mechs. I looked over to Malcolm, summoning him over. We sat next to Dallas, the boy doing his best to hide his distress. 

"What can you tell us about mechs?" I asked.

"We have crab scorpions where I'm from. Basilisks are different...much faster and can fly short distances. They look like a cross between a chicken, a scorpion and serpent. They will spray you with caustic acid that will solidify you where you stand. We can't simply just do the drop without a plan. Someone will die..." He said. Everyone around us continued socializing, a little too complacent with how relatively calm things had been lately. 

"I can't believe these fools are just sitting around like this shit isn't real..." I said to myself, before voicing up, "You all do realize that despite this being a training mission...this is very, very real?" 

Everyone looked at me, wondering how I had the nerve to speak. They looked at me as though I was some arrogant and pretentious jerk. Despite their rightful feelings, I had a goal to keep the remaining fifteen alive. 

"Yeah, we know..." Someone said, before turning back to resume his conversation. 

"So what's the plan?" I asked.

"Every man for himself..." Chase said.

"That's so damn stupid!" I quickly retaliated. 

"That undermines the entire scope of the training ya know. You expect us to..." The young man who teamed with me in the gravity dome started. 

"Look, why don't you and your little boyfriends all work together while everyone else does what they think is best for them. It's not as big of a deal as you want to make it out to be..." Chase sighed. I shook my head, having nothing to say. 

"This is ridiculous. If we fail this mission we're gonna get so destroyed by Sergeant McKinney..." Dallas said, very worried. 

"Eeew you actually learned his name?" I asked.

"I try to learn as many people's names as possible." Dallas laughed.

"I don't." I laughed before getting serious, "So what does Swainson have?" 

"It's nothing spectacular. It's a recon specialist." Dallas said, shaking his head.

"Same with mine..." I sighed. 

"Well while everyone behaves on their own accord, you two survey the entire city. Get detailed scans, make maps and understand how these basilisk mechs function. We can't quite face off with a threat we haven't faced before without knowing it." Malcolm suggested.

"I know basilisk mechs..." The guy from the gravity lab said, sounding frustrated, "I'm with you guys...fuck the rest of these dumbasses..." 

"What kind of Winger are you?" I asked.

"Winger?"

"Cyberaeros, whatever you wanna call it!!" I hissed, growing agitated. Malcolm and Dallas laughed at me.

"I'm a Scout." The young man said. I shrugged, unsure what he was talking about. Malcolm placed a hand on my thigh.

"A Forest Winger." He laughed. 

"Oh..." I sighed, "What kind... Sharp-Shinned, Cooper's...can't be a goshawk because you're not too tall." 

"Cooper's..." He laughed.

"Good...We'll call you Coop. How ya doin' Coop?" I asked, being really obnoxious, I know. Sometimes I couldn't help it. I already was on a bad mood... 

"I'm fine with that." He said sitting down. 

"So...?" I began.

"Oh, um...I'm from Atlantic City. I grew up having to avoid basilisk mechs and I know how they work. They're very predatory machines but have a pack mentality. Alone, they're not much of a threat but you bring them together and they are lethal! They are very flight capable, very agile in the air but can't fly for too long. Not to mention, they are smart... They never fall for the same trick twice. Um... they do think they are creatures and not all get along. Some packs of basilisk mechs have territorial disputes with others... We could formulate a plan to lure them out to one area and bomb them." Coop said turning to a very small young man, sitting alone with his arms folded, "Shinny!" 

The young man came over, looking both unpleased and unsure. He stood before us with his arms folded.

"What?" He asked. I looked at him in disgust.

"Eeeew." I said, wondering why he was pouting. He looked at me menacingly, the little guy probably being toughest of us all.

"We got a plan..." Coop said discretely, grabbing his friend so he could sit among us, "Um...we're going to run decoy with the basilisk mechs... get them to meet all in one area then...boom!" 

A smile came across Shinny's face. This was a boy who loved danger, it was just plainly obvious. He was like me but only, smaller. 

"OK..." He began, nodding slowly with the same smile, "I'm in." Coop turned to me.

"So what shall we call you oh gracious white one?" He asked.

"Elanid." I said. 

"And you oh powerful white one?" Coop continued, not able to stay serious.

"Snow." Malcolm laughed. 

"What about you rugged warrior?" Coop asked, pointing at Dallas. It was hard to contain my laughter. 

"Swainson..." Dallas chuckled. 

We looked at the clock, it being about forty seconds before it was counted down to zero. We wasted no time in marching up the stairs, entering our designated tuckaways. The whole time, other trainees looked at us feeling we were being excessive and pretentious. We may have been but again, these dudes failed to see the true motive behind every mission so there was no point in sparing expenses. The point of this mission was to unite us without having to tell us to unite. I seriously hoped no one would get hurt. With so many idiots in one area, I'm pretty sure someone would get hurt. 

We suited up, ejecting from the chutes into the air. We fell into close formation quick to soar on a rising wind current. The Atlantic City ruins were grand, the biggest ruins I ever laid eyes on on. The red hues of the rust combined with the green hues of the overgrown vegetation made for a glorious sight. The pristine blues flooded the buildings lining the coast. The metal frames of the buildings were covered in white ocean salt, eventually fading to pink then back to the rusty reddish color. 

It was now time to get this started. 

"Snow," I began, "Armament ready?" 

"Yes." He responded.
"Swainson," I said, "Sensor array ready?" 

"Yes." He said back.

"Scouts," I started, "Stilts ready?" 

"Yes." The two boys said.

"Then let's do this." I said, "Swainson, you take the outer city I take the inner." 

I remembered from the Babylon book I read. Atlantic City became the biggest city in all the United States six hundred years ago. It was one of the vertical cities, along with Beijing, Shanghai and Tokyo. When too many people crowded the city borders and they couldn't expand out, they had nowhere to go but up. Some of the most impressive buildings were built in the wake of this expansion but now, the only thing left were ruins.

It was now time to put this advanced radar to the test. I flew well over the inner city, scanning in a wide arc as I quartered around. The return pings not only showed where the mechs were but allowed the IPUs in the Helm and pectoral plates to put together a cohesive three dimensional map of the city. The constant quartering was a tedious process but one that had to be done. It took about twenty minutes to finish an entire sweep.

Swainson and I reunited, linking our hardware wirelessly to combine the data. Snow and the Scouts flew near as well. I sent the data to them to review and it was daunting. 

"There are a lot of fucking basilisks..." I sighed.

"I see... There's no way we can take out that many." Snow said.

"I wouldn't count us out." Shinny said. I looked at him intently.

"How fast are you on those stilts?" I asked. Shinny and Coop looked back and forth between each other.

"We're pretty damn fast." Shinny replied. 

"And how much artillery do you have, Snow?" I asked. 

"I have enough bombs on me to knock down one of those rust towers." Snow said back.

"We can lure them to one area." Shinny said. 

"What area will that be? The city is flooded in this high tide." Snow said, unsure of the plan.

"The cast balcony on the northern side if the city." Shinny said, looking at the broad open space. 

"Ok." Snow said, comfortable with that decision.

The scouts were off, both boys heading in separate directions. They had a daunting task ahead of them. The sheer number of basilisk in this cities numbered in the very high hundreds, if not the thousands. They'd have to be quite some badasses to pull this off but I had faith in them. These two knew what it meant to be in a Cybernetic Wingsuit! You could tell by how they flew. When they flapped, it wasn't the endless rowing to accomplish command but the flicker of wing beats accustomed to changing variables, wings that knew how to cope with struggle. 

The first to land was Shinny. He perched on the beams of a tower, looking down at something. He and those powerful matchstick stilts crept along the beam, literally making him look like a giant mechanical raptor. He hopped down to a lower beam, vanishing out of sight. I ascended, wanting to see every moment of this.

He was stalking a pack of basilisk mechs, congregating on the elevated base of a ruin. They were oblivious to the threat above them. Suddenly, Shinny dropped down in the midst of them, stretching those legs out. With his talons, he grabbed a mech sending a jolt of electricity that arced through the buildings. The flash of light produced was blinding, able to be seen from miles away. 

I knew every single basilisk mech in the city saw it. It was Shinny's plan. He fled on foot, using those stilts to his advantage. He sped through the ruins with the nimbleness of an arboreal bird. Right on his tail were basilisks pouring in by the minute. Shinny kept running and running though, seeming without a path. It felt so frantic, as though escape was all he could think about. He headed deeper and deeper into the city... towards another pack of basilisks. It looked grim. 

"What is he doing?" Snow asked.

"He's trying to get as many on his tail as possible. It's part of his plan." I reassured, watching with my stomach in knots.

Shinny continued to run and leap nimbly through the city. He lept into a suspended building foundation, uprooted by the countless hurricanes that pounded this place. It was teeming with basilisk mechs. With those powerful talons, he attacked one, the attack being shielded behind arcs of light.

When the light died down, Shinny was being pursued by countless amounts of basilisk mechs. He was the real deal...

"How you holdin' up Coop?" Shinny asked, panting.

"Great!" Coop said, he too having countless amount of basilisks on his tail. 

"Ok, lets bring em' on home!" Shinny said. 

"Alright!" Coop responded, running through the ruins with the same agility as Shinny. The two scouts were based on the leggy accipiters, true hawks. These hawks were known to be capable sprinters amongst raptors, chasing down prey on foot if they had to. The UCAC spared no details, designing the scout suits to do virtually the same thing. Coop and Shinny utilized this to the finest of expertise. 

"We got to time this right!" Coop said.

"I got your location! I'm heading east and you're heading north. We'll converge just as planned!" Shinny said. 

"You ready up there Snow?" Coop asked. 

"I've been circling over this drop zone waiting for you guys..." Snow responded. 

Suddenly an explosion from behind Coop caught him by surprise. It was several Cybernetic Wingers shooting down the pursuing basilisks.

"WOOOOOO easy pickings!" One said.

"No, what the fuck are you're doing! You're gonna make them," Coop growled, watching as the chasing basilisks began to break away, "Scatter." 

The plan was foiled. More and more Wingsuit pilots flew in, shooting quills at the basilisks. It was infuriating to watch. 

"This is too easy!" Another pilot said. As more and more Wingsuit pilots began to destroy more and more basilisks, the machines began to take extreme evasive actions. They spread their wings, dispersing into the air. The interceptors wasted no time in picking off as many as they could, flying on pompous wings, swift and low.

"You idiots!" Coop said.

"You were the one being chased by a thousand of them!" A pilot said. 

"These idiots have fucked up everything... Snow, don't bomb these, I'm bringing them to Coop!" Shinny said, now running along the docks.

"Ok." Snow responded.

Suddenly the scorpion like tail of a basilisk mech whipped a pilot out of the sky. Blood curdling screams rang in everyone's ears peice as the young man was dragged along the boardwalk, swarmed by dozens of basilisks. 

"You idiot!" Coop said, finally taking wing. He came to the young man's rescue, diving in. He collided with several basilisks, frying their circuits in blinding arcs of electricity. 

"AGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Someone else screamed. Coop scanned the horizon, searching for who screamed.

"I got you..." I said diving in to free the young man. A basilisk had wrapped it's tail around his neck when he flew by, attempting to suffocate him. However, his dense armor prevented this from happening. It was crazy how these machines knew were alive. 

I charged up my pulse beam, frying the mech. The young wingsuit pilot was freed, quick to take to the air again. Coop, at this point was beyond frustrated.

"I was leading them to a converging point so we could bomb them without anyone being in any real DANGER!!!!" He said, full of fire, helping the young man up on the docks, "And you all just had to fuck that up!" 

"Get in the air now!" Shinny said. Coop looked back, seeing a surge of Basilisks coming down the docks.

"Oh shit, dude," Coop said, pushing the fallen pilot, "Get airborne, NOW!" The two took off just as the basilisk mechs converged into one mass on the docks. 

"Everyone clear out now!" Snow advised. He came in on a screeching dive, releasing his entire payload on the docks. All the basilisk mechs caught in the midst were obliterated by the flash fission bombs. Only a handful of dozens of basilisk mechs remained after the assault. Somehow this mess still managed to be a success. I truly didn't know how we pulled this out of our unified ass. It was surreal. 

"Is everyone ok?" I asked. There was a hesitation before a response was given.

"Yeah..." Someone finally said back, "Is it over?" 

"It's over..." I sighed.

We flew back to the ship, happy to take these suits off for the day. Upon entering it, we were horrified to see the drill sergeant waiting on us. He did not looked pleased. He said nothing, watching as we flew into the airship, walking up the stairs into the tuckaways. We unsuited and walked back down to the waiting bay. We sat, no one wanting to look at the drill sergeant.

"I think you all should count yourselves lucky you have pilots like Elanid, the Scouts, Snow and Swainson with you all. These seem to be the only five out of the entire fifteen of you who can actually make it as leaders...as tacticians." He sighed. It was then we realized he knew everything. This was all a test to see how well we played with others. As a whole, we failed. 

"I'm surprised," The drill sergeant said, beginning his infamous pacing, "No one died! I bet you think just because you have these suits now, that your life is guaranteed at this stage in your training. You may have one more week but that last week will rule out the weak. So I'm telling you all now, it won't be easy... The only way this mission was easy was because someone formed a plan. May I ask who formulated this plant?" 

No one budged, everyone sitting as still as a statue. Suddenly, Coop pointed at me. Then, Swainson and then Snow. Shinny continued to sit still, his eyes wondering what all this meant. 




UCAC Ch. 06



"It's not like I didn't already know..." The drill sergeant chuckled, "You seem to always be one step ahead. You think you'll be a step ahead on your last training exercise?" 

"I don't know. I don't really view it as being a step ahead. I view it as doing what I need to do. After you've lost so much, you learn how not to lose it and this is what I call NOT losing it." I responded. 

"Well I would suggest to you all that you take this as seriously as Mr. Elanid. He comes from a place where things aren't as cut out as they are over here. He has had to pave the way for himself and for others and has lost far greater than any of you all can imagine. He knows how perilous this world is and doesn't take it for granted, as if tomorrow is guaranteed. I could lecture you all on how you should take this serious, that you could all die. I'll just leave it at we'll see on this final exercise. We'll see who can truly be a leader and who can't." The drill sergeant said, disappearing up the stairs.

The loading bay fell silent. Eyes of frustration and rage constantly scaled me up and down. It was beyond a doubt one of the most intense moments of my life. Sitting amongst people who have worked hard to get to this point, only to have their credibility yanked from right underneath them. However, I didn't rob them of it. It made me realize I wasn't the only headstrong and arrogant person here. Everyone had a desire to be the top of the class but they didn't do what was required, the simplest task of it all...to sit and observe. They lacked an eagerness to learn, to gain information. That alone could make or break them.

Chase got to his feet, heading towards my direction. His fists were curled, face bloodshot red, scowling. I didn't know what this idiot was going to do. As he came closer, I could see Malcolm easing up out his seat, ready to pummel the idiot if he dare made the wrong move. 

"How do you do it?" The boy asked. 

"Do what?" I said back.

"How do you end up on top of everything! Ever mission we've had so far, you're the one who finishes first! HOW!" Chase demanded.

"I'm always sitting and watching, wired to spot anything out of the ordinary. I just," I said, shrugging, "I don't know, I just pay attention to everything around me...the slightest details." Chase seemed to calm down, but he obviously was still frustrated.

"So you just... watch things?" He asked.

"Yeah, I guess. I um... I try not to think anything will go one way, either. It keeps me on my toes. Not to mention, I am a big fan of research, so before hand, I try to learn as much about what I'll be dealing with as possible. I say the biggest mistake one could make is to limit themselves on what they could possibly learn. Never think anything will blow over smoothly or that you've learned all of what you possibly can." I smiled, not wanting to come across as condescending as I did before. 

"That's not the important question." Someone else said, coming over to both me and Malcolm, "How long have you two been together and how the fuck did you both manage to make it into retraining camp...like... really." 

Malcolm and I looked at each other, blushing.

"We're not really together," I said shamefully, "It's a long story about how we know each other but the gist of the story is that we both left a place that had us down for the count. This is pure heaven compared to where we came from." 

"Wow... So you two are not together?" The dude asked, confused.

"I mean, we live each day like it's our last...like tomorrow won't come. After this, we'll be splitting ways and will never see each other again," Malcolm smiled, "You just don't meet the person of your dreams and not pounce on the opportunity to spend all the time with them you can." 

"That's so sad! You two can't be together so you spend all the time ya'll can together." The dude, said. 

"This is so strange..." Malcolm said, looking at all the guys, "Back home, we could have never had a conversation like this with our comrades. They were too homophobic and too backwoods..." 

"Oh no, it's instilled in us at basics to embrace our brethren no matter what race, gender, sexuality, religion...etcetera. We never know who we may need so..." He said back. 

"Wait, gender? Are there girl Wingsuit pilots here?" I asked, astounded.

"Yeah, some total badasses too! But they're kind of stuck up... They don't deal with us men." Someone on the far side of the cargo bay chimed in. 

"I remember when I tried to ask this girl named Pamela out..." Dallas said laughing, "She shot me down so hard." 

"Welp, I have a girl. Candace, the Swallow-Tail." Chase said. I smiled at him.

"I wish you and Candace the best of luck." I said.

"Same with you two!" Chance said back, returning to his seat, "Oh and sorry for kicking you in the head a few weeks ago... I didn't mean it." 

"Eh, sorry about punching you out right after. I mean, I meant it but... I kinda didn't mean it but I did... nah mean?" I asked. Chase laughed, our conversation drawing to an end. 

Dallas looked at both Malcolm and I. I could tell he had a lot on his mind. 

"My parents sent my brother away because my grandparents wanted him killed for being gay. His lover wasn't so lucky and was beheaded for his 'sins'... Everyone in that town is fucking brainwashed... Count yourself lucky Denver...your parents got you out of the hell while they could..." Dallas said.

"What?" Malcolm asked.

"Ok," I began, "Check this out. Dallas's mom, is my mom's sister! That makes us... first cousins." 

"Wait, what?" Malcolm asked, laughing.

"My mother was from the Brunswick Confederacy, one of the many daughters of the founding family. His mother is another daughter of the same family..." I smiled. 

"Wait, so on your maternal side, you have an entire nation you belong to?" Malcolm asked.

"Yeah..." 

"So what about on your dad's side?" 

"I don't know. He never talked about his past much, always about the future... my future." I said. 

"Damn..." Malcolm said, sounding a bit disappointed. He probably wanted to know more about him. 

"Since my father was the second son born, he can't get the seat when my granddad dies. My eldest uncle will and he's a very corrupt man..." Dallas sighed. 

"God, I bet you're glad you left." I said.

"I am so glad I left! My parents were angry as hell though... well they fronted like they were. They eventually told me to get the fuck out of the city and make something better with my life." Dallas continued.

"DENVER!" The drill sergeant shouted from the top of the stairwell. Unsure what this was about, I got to me feet, heading up the stairs. He lead me into the conference room. General Aquil was on the live feeds, pleased to see me. Standing behind him was Captain Wallace, his face harboring no feelings.

"How're things?" General Aquil asked. 

"What happened to Merlin?" I asked. 

"Since you wanted to go so badly, I changed your wingsuit into something more...updated..." Captain Wallace said, still holding on to the feelings of resenting my decision to come across the pond. I was upset, not able to come to words.

"Well it's winding down. You have one more tactical training exercise to do before you graduate. We're both flying over to see you graduate... Afterwards, we'll have important business to handle." General Aquil said.

"How are Marcell and Milan?" I asked.

"They are coping. Things have changed a lot in the past three months. We'll catch up when I arrive in the coming weeks." Genera Aquil responded. It was such a vague answer, further fueling my upset. 

"...Alright..." I sighed, truly disappointed. The video feed ended. The drill instructor looked at me.

"A lot of strings have been pulled for you. They have things running like a shanty operation over here and it's all because of you. In my briefings, all I hear is, Denver, Denver, Denver, Denver," The drill instructor said, "And I see why! You're one rare Cyberaeros pilot. No one even comes close..." 

"Thank you." I said, before leaving.

"Don't thank me." He responded.



UCAC Ch. 07: Mid-series Finale



I had to upload this from my phone because my computer is being the spawn of Satan right now. 

I will be editing all the stories so far to make my them more coherent as a whole. 

Next on my roster is to complete Jeurridam as a whole. Also, the Jeurridam and UCAC stories take place at the same time to clear up any confusion. The stories are very intwined and can't function without the other. They will eventually tie into Dark Stag which will be the closing to it all... 

Dark Stag is further down the road than UCAC and Jeurridam and takes place about a year and a half after.

*****

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!!" 




UCAC Ch. 07: Mid-series Finale



"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. 




UCAC Ch. 07: Mid-series Finale



"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...