"Are you feeling alright General?" The voice asked behind him.
"I will not derelict my duties, it is not yet that perturbing." The General said, he sat up from the hammock that hung from the wall of the transport boat. He brushed off his green uniform and tugged at his abdominal region. I will gain my revenge on you yet . . .
The General got to his feet and made his way to the boats bridge. He walked up next to the helmsman. "What are our Coordinates?" He questioned.
The helmsman moved his finger across the greenish screen before him. "UMB-Zero-Zero-Five-Seven sir." Then the helmsman looked over his shoulder to The General. "Nervous sir?"
The General placed his hand on the helmsman's shoulder and squeezed it tightly. When the bridge officer began to wince The General spoke. "Do not ever try to evaluate me Ensign."
"Sir . . . I'm a Captain, not an Ensign."
The General leaned in close to the helmsman. "You are now, soldier." Then his eyes peered toward the security officer who had been watching. The General nodded his head and the security officer stepped toward the new Ensign and pulled him from his seat.
The demoted helmsman was 'escorted' from the bridge.
The General looked back to the helmsman screen. "Will they not be surprised?" He asked himself; then pondering it while he strolled to the opposite end of the boat. He examined every detail of Umbrella's plan, and the details he himself had added. They will be . . . He thought again, approaching a thick, rigid metal door.
He pressed his palm to the scanner placed in the wall and The General was granted access.
Inside the room four scientists – all in white lab coats – frenzied over the creation in the center of the large area. They had obviously been hurrying to finish it, as The General had commanded.
"It looks completed." The General said almost inquisitively.
One of the scientists turned around and faced The General. "He is sir, as per your instructions, we are nearly done programming him."
The General grinned at the accomplishment. "It my busy little bee, it." He walked in front of the creation.
'It' virtually leapt at him; incapable of controlling It's untamable fury. But the shackles that kept it secured to the wall snapped the creature back. It's light green skin was like that of a Tyrant; rigid, ripped, and externally organic. It jumped to It's feet, standing and leaning toward The General, screaming a terrible shriek. It's arms were chained behind it's back. The hands of the creature were sealed shut, also with chains. The creature stretched as far forward as It could.
Then The General leaned in as close to the creation as he could get without actually touching It's face with his own.
The scientist that had been speaking to The General became cautious. "Sir-"
The General stuck out his scarred open palm at the scientist without even looking at him; the scientist stepped back. He cocked his head, The General spoke. "And what is your mission my friend?" He said staring deep into the pupil-less eyes.
The creature looked as if it was trying to calm itself. It too cocked It's head. "S-TARS . . ."
The hall echoed with the sound of her boots hitting the floor. Claire threw her backpack over her shoulder and shoved one of the doors to the side of the hall open. The door led into a large garage; in the far corner Claire's motorcycle sat leaning on a wall. Claire ran to the bike, now putting her backpack on it.
The door opened again, another slender female figure emerged.
"What about Leon, Becky?" Claire asked.
"He'll have to stay here, there's nothing we can do about him."
"I mean what about when he wakes up?"
Rebecca stopped for a moment. "If he wakes up . . . we'll have to find him later."
"What if Umbrella gets to him while he's in the hospital?" Claire asked stepping forward.
Rebecca opened the door to the car, tossing the bag from her shoulder over the seat into the back. "They won't know he's there, they listed him as John Doe."
Claire ran back to the door to the hall. She stopped when she heard Rebecca's voice.
"We'll come back for him." She assured.
Claire looked to the ground, not saying anything, then opened the door back into the hall.
Rebecca walked around to the trunk of the car and used the key to open it. Inside was already all the ammo she could collect from around their hidden compound. The compound that had once belonged to STARS Beta team, until it –like all the STARS teams- disbanded. Like the domino theory, after Bravo was gone and Alpha quit, so did all the others. The STARS were a larger team of intertwined groups, one cannot function if another does not.
So that was the end of STARS. And the end of any career for Rebecca, she could no longer show her face anywhere, she –like all the other STARS- were branded outcasts, crazy men. No one believed what happened in the mansion. Nobody cared. They were all too busy being under the manipulation of the insane corporation that was the beginning of the problem. Umbrella. And we were trying to protect them, help those people in Raccoon, from Umbrella, and the city we saved took the side of the same people that killed our friends and labeled the STARS as 'mentally ill'. Rebecca felt a deep swell of anger for the once City of Raccoon. But they paid for it . . . we could not save them from their own mistake.
And now again Umbrella was chasing them from their home. The remaining survivors were in Jeopardy if they stayed in this compound. Umbrella found them once, they may find them again.
"How is the patient doing doctor?" Wesker asked, walking into the large metallic laboratory.
The man in the lab coat jumped upon hearing the voice. "I've completed the mandatory injections and surgical procedures. May I return to my requested operation?" He turned to Wesker.
Wesker looked back, then to the wall beside them, it read the numbers '02-251'. "I'm afraid you'll have to restore our first o-two specimen from suspended animation. Then you may return to whichever task you want."
Th lab coat man became slightly angry. "Sir, many of the effects on him wore off, we couldn't fully suspend all of his primary organic components or his main chemical spew gland. I'm sure by now he's reverted to some of his former state –at least as much as he could."
Wesker set his palm upon the wall, a tiny echo reverberated from the small room concealed within. "Then redo any work you completed on him. I want these two to be together again. Two bargaining chips are better than one."
"Sir," The lab coat man replied. "It's dangerous to work around such an unstable manifestation."
Wesker turned his attention to the lab coat man. He slowly removed his sunglasses, revealing his morbid soul-devouring mutant eyes. He stared stone like into the lab coat man's eyes. "Then it would not be wise to anger me."
The lab coat man stepped back.
"Continue your duties and then you may return to your personal issues." Wesker set his sunglasses back on his nose.
Ada sat there, her hands in her lap. She was very unsure of what she should do. Her orders were to terminate any of the Raccoon City survivors she encountered. She expected more from Wesker. These were her orders when she worked for Umbrella. Wesker was supposed to give her a new meaning.
Not that Umbrella didn't give her meaning. However, that meaning changed after her brief visit to Raccoon. Or rather during. Leon. She thought. He gave me meaning. He had saved her life, had taken a bullet for her. And she was forced to act as if it meant nothing. As if her own life meant nothing to her. As if his life meant nothing to her.
But he did matter. She was forced to make him think she was dead. Though she almost had died. It hurt her to hurt him. He was her reason. But at the end of the events, she had to choose between meanings; which one meant more to her. She chose her mission, her orders, Umbrella.
Her meaning with Wesker felt the same. Eliminate all that is not his. Including Leon.
Leon had been the only one to slip between Umbrella fingers and disappear. They knew he was alive, and had to be nearby. They just didn't know where. And Umbrella was too benevolent and clumsy to search the details. Leon would not be in plain sight as they (most likely) arrogantly assumed.
And now she had her chance again. To choose between her meanings. She had searched those details Umbrella overlooked. And had earned a second chance. She slipped the slender blade from her belt buckle and stood from her chair beside the hospital bed. Again she read the name on the chart. 'John Doe'.
Claire walked her motorcycle to the door leading to the drive away from the compound. She had all of her equipment packed and ready for leave. She only had to wait for the cover of darkness. At least that's what Rebecca told her. She spun on her heel and walked back inside the main compound hall.
Rebecca was there with her last bag, slung over her shoulder. "Ready?" She asked.
"As much as I can be." Claire replied. Looking down. She did not want to leave Leon behind.
Rebecca opened the door to the garage and took her bag to her car. A few moments later she returned. "Only an hour left." She said looking at her watch.
"Then we're in the clear?" Claire asked. "For sure."
"For the moment. They can't catch us if we're on the move." Rebecca hardly believed it herself.
Thud! Thud! Thud! From down the hall.
"What was that!?" Claire exclaimed.
Thud! Thud! Thud! Again.
Rebecca drew her Baretta from her side. She aimed down the hall. "Get behind me." She said to Claire.
THUD! The noise grew abruptly ample. Then silence, as Rebecca saw the compound door fly down the hall as if blasted from its hinges. Dust clouded the disturbed doorway. Then silence.
Rebecca stood unmoving, her pistol aimed directly into the dust. "On the count of three, make a run for your bike." Then, a figure began to take form from within the uplifted dust. "One . . ."
The figure took more shape, it was carrying something in its arms, though Rebecca could not quite tell what. "Two . . ."
"Becky!" A familiar voice screamed.
Rebecca froze for a moment. Then dropping her Baretta and bolting for the dust.
"Becky!" Claire screamed.
Then Claire herself could notice the form in the obscurity. The object the figure was carrying was no object, it was a woman. In blue.
"Barry!" Rebecca called.
