Author's Note: I really don't have much to say other than the obvious. This is a FanFic, if anyone disagrees and has nothing but insensitive comments, then don't bother to read. This is supposed to be fun...only it doesn't become fun when people start acting arrogant, inconsiderate, and down right nasty. With that said, this is a Gears of War fic. Aasera is a figment of my imagination and is NOT an actual character in the GoW storyline. She is, in my story, Marcus Fenix's sister. Separated at birth, yadda friggin' yadda. All those elements of the story will be described later. Until then, enjoy.

Disclaimer: I don't not own Epic Games, nor do I own Gears of War. This is ONLY a Fanfic. Strong Language used in this particular chapter.

Gears of War

Chapter One - Siblings

"I don't want you going out there!" Marcus spat, watching with furious eyes as his sister loaded up her gear and snapped in the heavy body armor, "You should stay where it's safe!"

Cole didn't help the situation any as he sat back, his buff arms crossed over his even buffer chest, "Sorry, sweetie…but the Train has to agree with your brother on that."

"Will you guys leave her the fuck alone! She's a big girl, she can take it!" Baird drawled in a rough voice, snapping a wink to the dark-haired female that smiled at him with thanks.

Aasera turned on her thick booted heels and narrowed honey-brown eyes at Dominic Santiago, just waiting for him to put his two cents in. But thankfully, he remained quiet, even though you could see he agreed with Cole and her brother Marcus. "I'm doing this cause I can…why are you guys fretting? It's an easy in and out mission, right? I mean, how bad can it be?" Fenix muttered in a small, gentle tone as she slid the Lancer into place on her back, "Can you hand me those frags, Damon?"

Baird made a grunt, feeling the eyes of his squad as he tossed her the grenades. She was the only one allowed to call him by his first name other than Marcus, but even he didn't use it much. After hooking them to her belt, she tipped her head up, ebony locks falling over her gentle looking face.

Aasera looked absolutely nothing like her brother. Whilst Marcus appeared rough, rugged, scarred even…she had a smooth pale face, no signs of scars…she had no appearance of weather-beaten, or that she had even been apart of this war. But she had, all along. She was nothing like the others, nothing like Anya who just sat back and watched through the eyes of Jack, the helpful robot. No, Sera couldn't just stand by and watch what was happening to the planet, her planet…what she was named after.

Marcus Fenix grumbled and smacked his head roughly against the wall, "Yeah, we've heard that before…haven't we boys?" he said in a drawling tone, "In and out, nothing bad could possibly happen. Then BAM! We get stuck and lose members of our squadron."

The little sister rolled her honey-brown eyes and finished grabbing the last of her weapons, a Torque Bow and a Snub Pistol. "It's got to be quick. Beside, I'll be with my own squad. I'm not going in alone, you know." she spat, pulling her long black hair up into ponytail to keep it out of her eyes. Fenix gestured for the others to leave, and one by one each walked past her and settled a large hand on her back…a farewell pat.

Finally, this left her and Marcus alone. The big brother stomped (not purposely) towards her and looked down, his gruff voice low and somehow softer than normal, "You better come back. And whoever these guys are…better watch your back. Got it?"

Sera rolled her eyes again, but nodded and leaned in to give her brother a large, meaningful hug, "I promise, I'll come back, okay? Now stop being so overprotective! It's bad for my image…" she sputtered lowly and laughed…turning her gaze up as there was a knock on the door. This was it…that was the signal. It was time to go. It was time to go down into the underground, it was time to see how much the Delta Squad had managed to take out. They thought everything was fine when the bomb had been detonated, but apparently…there were WAY more Locust tunnels then they expected. "Time…to go."

"Wait…I want to meet these squad members of yours."

This war, like all wars in the past and in the future was one of attrition. Yet the stakes were higher as the victor would be the remaining race alive to rule this mud ball called Sera. Humanity teetered on the brink of extinction, and it was up to the Gears to be their first and last line of defense before these homo sapiens ceased to be an extinct species. This worldwide battlefield engulfed this planet as humans and Locusts alike fought for superiority over the other. The actions of Marcus Fenix was NOT the turning point it was expected to be...but one that leveled the playing field. Whilst a major part of the enemy underground complexes were destroyed and a large part of it's population destroyed, the Queen was still alive and much more tunnels that still contained the foe. No, this war was far from over, but at least it was now on an even scale. It seemed for every battle COG had won, there was a loss and hopefully, humanity would achieve that decisive victory that it so desperately needed.

Yet while men and women donned on their battle armor and picked up their weapons to continue the fight there was hope. Humanity tended to be a tenacious race and while there is a will there is a way. The loses from one of COGs recent operations were being tallied as new replacements were being sent to fill in the shoes of the deceased. Sera's ( the Gear not the planet mind you) was one to receive a fresh batch of replacements. Her own squad would be accepting two fresh bodies fresh from Basic. Green, wet behind the ears and but eager to show their stuff.

Two of her subordinates were killed leaving that with her second in command and fellow trooper. Privates Nikolai Izograd and Jerome Bard stood at rigid attention as Sera Fenix entered the briefing room. Followed by her was her brother, a war hero of sorts, Marcus Fenix. The two "cherries" couldn't help but cast an awe struck look as this "celebrity" had just walked in. Anybody who was anybody knew who Marcus Fenix was. This WAS the man who played a KEY role in the war...and not to mention had been the one who KILLED General RAAM. Even so, perhaps they should fear his sister, for this one would make Marcus surely look bad. Just because she was sister to a now famed war hero didn't mean she hadn't earned her chops. Oh no, she definitely was one you respected 24/7 or else. Quickly, with rigid military discipline did they snap to attention and present arms.

"Ma'am! Private Nikolai Izograd reporting for duty!"

"Mam!, Private Jerome Bard reporting for duty!"

Both privates were almost stark contrasts of the other. Nikolai was slender and toned and almost engulfed in his combat armor, a light skinned man in his early thirties with blue gray eyes and golden brown hair. Bard was a massive brute, an ox that seemed to be almost busting out of his combat armor. Towering over Nikolai, he was dark skinned with his own black hair knotted into dreg locks that were pulled back and pinned to his skull. Each man carried the standard COG issued Lancer assault rifle and snub pistol with bolo grenade/smokes. As trained in Basic, the "cherries" remained still and rigid like statues...though one couldn't believe that Marcus Fenix was in their presence. Let alone...his very own sister was their new commanding officer.

The popularity her brother received made her chuckle, albeit a very low chuckle, but one nonetheless. Honey-brown eyes tipped up to see Marcus look at these men with skeptic eyes, his expression gaunt and uncertain.

"At ease, men." she said, trying so very hard to keep her face straight, despite the fact it was so damn hilarious. Then she remembered, she was a COG, a Gear, not some civilian that was careless and idiotic.

Clearing her throat, she returned her gaze to her new recruits and started out with the basics in a stern voice. "Simple enough. We go down, see how much damage was done…and see what we can do further in hopes to get this war over with. We want solace, we want peace, we want to live our lives without worrying where the next Emergence Hole will come from. But in order to do this, you must have your mind on the mission. Watch your back, watch your comrades back. If you don't…if there's no teamwork, you might as well take that pistol to your head right now."

Aasera wasn't trying to be harsh, yet…she wasn't trying to be nice, either. This was serious, as if things already weren't serious. Snapping a nod to Marcus, Sera Fenix gestured for the COGS to sit and pay attention to the projection screen that Jack provided.

"I'm sure they taught you specific classifications of Locusts, am I right? Or am I wrong?" the female expressed in question, rolling her eyes when her brother grunted.

"Yes, ma'am." they answered in unison.

With a stern nod, she continued, "11 classes of Locust, not including the Kryll. The only one that could tame the Kryll appeared to be General RAAM. And he's dead, thanks to Marcus here." There was a cheer, and Sera beamed at her brother even though he grunted and narrowed his gaze upon her in warning.

"Now! We have Drones. Watch for the Grenadiers with their Gnasher's, and…I can't stress this enough, their Frag grenades. They WILL tag you if you get too close! I've seen too many Gears go down because they rushed forward thinking they can throw them off. There's a REASON why Grenadiers storm in. They have practically no armor and they are relatively weak compared to all the other grubs. So sit back, keep in cover, and shoot from afar. If they charge, use the bayonet when they jump over barriers…and ONLY if they are reloading." she explained as she fingered her COG Tag.

"Jack, continue with the visuals. Anya…can you hear me?"

"Yes, Aasera." Anya said, via Jack and through everyone's radios.

"Take over…" Pulling Marcus aside towards the nearby shattered window.

It was still dark outside, but slight shimmers of light offered a little bit of relief. The Kyrll were out. She was lucky enough to get to headquarters while it was still dark. Dangerous, but a risk she was willing to take. Marcus, on the other hand, didn't like it.

"It was foolish, it was dangerous. What were you thinking?!" he snapped in his low, grumbling tone.

The Fenix sibling adverted her gaze to him and narrowed those honey-brown hues, biting down on her tongue in hopes that a rude comment wouldn't come out. Unfortunately, the Fenix family never had a problem expressing their thoughts via words, or actions for that matter. "Because you didn't do it? Oh, let's not forget you and the Delta Squad went into enemy territory KNOWING you might not come out alive! You still did it, though, didn't you? Why can't I? Because I'm a female?!"

"Because you're my sister. I already failed at saving our father. I don't want to fail you, too." Fenix expressed, for once his hardened features softening when he peered down at his sister.

Sera felt her heart go out to him. Marcus tried to save their father, Adam Fenix…but it was not meant to be. That didn't mean he had failed, though. He tried, he abandoned his post in hopes to rescue their brilliant father, and even spent four years in prison before Dom got him out.

"Just so you know…you didn't fail. You'll never fail me. But you need to trust me, okay? I've been in this war just as long as you have. I've been in and out through the Hollows plenty of times before you came into my life. I've killed more grubs than I can possibly remember. In fact, I lost count! So just…have some faith in me, okay? I'm flattered that you're playing the big brother role, and that you care…but I need you to trust me. And I need you to forget about me when you go out. Don't have me on your mind, or else…" she whispered, turning her sights on her new recruits to see them nervously shifting due to the sibling argument.

Coughing, she returned to them and popped her neck. "Hope you're ready, men. It'll take all day to get to our destination. Hopefully we'll have timed it just right to enter into the Hollows by night, so we won't have a run in with the Kyrll. Also, the Locust have been sending in their 'cannon fodder' aka Wretches, to distract us from them. Stay alert, and even though the screeching is annoying, it's essential to listen for. Alright…briefing's over. Make sure you're packed up and have ammo. We'll hit checkpoint one and fill up on ammo there, if we need to. Let's hope we don't need to. We'll leave at sun-up."