Cerberus Sergeant Randall Ezno, sat in an examination room. He sat in front of his handler and close friend, Inali Renata. She was taking a picture of his eyes with an image intensifier camera. His eyes glowed slightly blue under the camera, but appeared normal otherwise.

"Well, Ran, it looks like you're adapting really well to these new biotic implants," said Inali. "Any headaches?"

"No," he replied.

"Vertigo? Hallucinations, strange voices, vivid dreams, anything like that?"

"No, no, no, and no. Next?"

"Any feeling that you might be possessed, like there's a little devil on your shoulder telling you what to do?"

Randall laughed. "Is that a serious question?"

"Well, actually, I came up with that one. But I'm serious. You should see some of the effects that these implants can have on a healthy mind, let alone somebody as crazy as you."

"All right. Well, not a headache, not even a hangover," said Randall. "I had some vivid dreams involving my handler, though."

"Smartass," she said, without looking up from her note pad. She brushed some of her auburn hair aside, and Randall could see that she was smiling. "I'll make you deliver on that. Just don't say that too loud around the other handlers."

It was the 22nd century, and Randall and Inali were members of Cerberus, an organization dedicated to defending humanity against alien races. Most non-humans, and even many humans, would have called Cerberus a terrorist organization. Inali, and especially Randall, would have said that "one man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter." Cerberus was very well funded, with secret bases on several planets and space stations. Space station Ares, where Randall and Inali were located, was so new that equipment was still arriving, and unpacked storage crates could be found in labs and corridors. The setting was utilitarian, and most people simply called it "the Barn." The chaos hadn't stopped the scientists on Ares from jumping into their work improving human technology, stealing from other races, and studying alien races and their physiology. Cerberus was a like an invisible nation-state, willing to ensure humanity's place in the galaxy by any means necessary.

Randall Ezno was an infiltrator, a special operations soldier trained in stealth technology and tactics, and trained to hack networks to beat electronic defenses and penetrate secure areas. He could kill quietly with a sniper rifle or omniblade, or if things ever got crazy his weapons pack would allow him to switch to an assault rifle or even a shotgun. It also included a cutting beam, because if you couldn't get around an obstacle, you could always go through it. His biotic implants allowed him to attack targets with dark energy harnessed by his mind. For defense, Cerberus provided enhanced body armor that gave him stealth, allowed him to carry heavy loads, and fight with superhuman strength and speed. His medical gear could save a soldier's life from battle wounds that would've been lethal only a few years before, and

Randall had grown up on one of the outer colonies, hearing stories that taught him to distrust non-human races. He eventually began to see recruiting posters left by Cerberus sympathizers, and would quietly read pro-Cerberus literature on his parents' computer. Cerberus' promise to protect humanity, his family and other colonists like them, sounded like a cause that he believed he could be proud of. One day, he and his friend Jordan Jensen had joined several others to leave their colony and join Cerberus. The decision shocked his family and they begged him not to go. That was five years ago. Randall had made his way home twice, and his parents, though overjoyed that they had seen him, had quickly learned not to ask him what he did for Cerberus. They just didn't understand. He was proud to do what he did, even if it wasn't easy.

Inali Renata was the handler for Randall, for Jordan, and the newer members of Randall and Jordan's infiltrator team. Cerberus handlers like Inali were experts in bioelectronics, and helped the Cerberus scientists while they managed the introduction of the new implants to the soldiers. Inali also served as an electronic warfare specialist, and could help Randall and his fellow soldiers hack networks remotely during combat missions. On a few occasions, she had even joined the team in the field, and was one of few handlers who could say that she'd fired a weapon in combat.

Like Randall, Inali had joined up because she believed in Cerberus' cause to protect humanity, and felt as though the Alliance didn't look out for humanity enough. The soldiers and their handlers were forbidden from having relationships, and they'd been told that it was for their own protection. Cerberus probably wanted to make sure they were concentrating on their missions, and not on anything personal. Security was another reason, because the handlers always had higher security clearances than their soldiers. Inali and Randall had become close anyway, and did their best to keep it a secret. She had medium-length auburn hair, blue eyes, and a medium athletic build. She had a sarcastic sense of humor that cracked Randall up from the first day he met her.

Inali took out a stop watch. "All right. See that equipment crate over there? Use your biotics and lift it. On my mark. And…go."

Randall focused his attention on the crate, which weighed a thousand pounds. After only a moment, it was as though an invisible hand effortlessly lifted the crate into the air, about five feet. He looked at Inali. "Come on, really? Give me a challenge. At least let me throw this thing."

Inali made another note. "You got it into the air immediately. The Director'll be impressed."

"The Director's an arrogant jerk," said Randall.

"You don't know the half of it. One time, I swear that creep was hitting on me. I'm the only handler that he calls by my first name," said Inali.

"I'll kick his ass if he ever tries anything." No one actually knew the Director's name, and they only referred to him by his title. It was the usual thing that you seemed to get at Cerberus. The more important you were, the more likely that they'd make your identity disappear and replace your real name with some type of title, iconic image or nickname. Most of the scientists on the station didn't mind the Director, who saw him as efficient and generally fair, if a little aloof. Some of the soldiers didn't like him because he would occasionally show up during training exercises and start to offer advice, even though he wasn't around them much day-to-day, and never said how much of a military background he really had. Randall's longtime battle buddy Jordan had said only a few days before that the Director was smug as hell and not nearly as smart as he thought he was. Jordan really wasn't the type to mince words, and she'd also said that the Director wouldn't know assholes from elbows when it came to battle tactics.

"I'd pay to see you kick his ass, Ran, I really would," said Inali. "Okay, you can put that thing down." Inali wrote down some more notes, frowned, and looked up at Randall. "You're my only soldier who keeps volunteering for more and more implants. What's the hurry? You're starting to weird me out."

"I like the power," said Randall. "I also like being around you, and hearing somebody call me 'Ran'." Inali would only use nicknames with her friends, and was the only person alive who Randall allowed to call him "Ran."

"I'm serious, Ran. Sometimes I think these scientists are trying to sprint ahead so fast with their research, they don't know enough about what these implants might do. And you don't need biotic implants to be around me, you know that," she said. "Besides…the last thing we need is to make out and then get caught because you got carried away and started moving the furniture with your mind."

"I can break into your quarters, you know. You're not the only one in this room who knows how to hack a network."

Inali blushed and made a shushing sound at Randall. "Easy there cowboy, we've got to finish up. I'm sick of this sneaking around though…I've been looking into transferring to some other department, someplace where there'd be no rule against me seeing you." She began to collect her notes as they headed for the exit.

"You don't like bending the rules, Inali? Really? That'd be too bad. I'll take that risk. I like the challenge of staying under the radar." Randall was blatantly lying though; he was already sure that meeting Inali was one of the best things that'd ever happened to him, and there was no way he'd risk losing her.

There was no way that Randall and Inali could have known what was coming.