17.06.2149. Guantanamo Bay detention camp of the System Alliance, Earth.

A tall, short-haired and sturdy man in the form of the System Alliance Orbital Droptrooper Corps with the insignia of a private sat on a metal bed of a solitary cell, staring thoughtlessly ahead of him. This fighter passed through a lot - at twenty-seven he had already managed to visit several local conflicts. Only a naive man in the street somewhere in Europe thinks that the world is limited to the System Alliance. Obviously not. Even on Earth itself, there are still places that civilization has not reached, and in which, as is always the case, crowds of people dissatisfied with the government of the United Earth lives. And, taking into account the almost medieval order prevailing in those regions of the planet, the population's discontent is not expressed in conversations with TV's. So it turns out that, despite the propaganda pouring from television screens and computer monitors and tinsel loud slogans that the Droptrroper Corps is created to protect humanity from alien aggression, in fact, they have to fight mainly with human brothers. Actually, it was this unfortunate fact that later brought him to this place.

It was in South America. There are generally hot places - despite the fact that Brazil, Argentina, Chile and Venezuela have long become members of the Alliance and civilized countries, the rest of the state remained a hotbed of crime. Many times soldier had to witness how the plantations of drug barons were burned by napalm, dropped from antique turboprop aircraft, which turned out to be unexpectedly effective in the conditions of the jungles of Colombia. And many times soldier, passing with his squad past the village, saw how the local units, without dismantling the right and the guilty, tritely put the entire population of the village to the wall. Then the first promotion, the second, and by his twenties, a young and still naive soldier became a sergeant. How proud he was of his appointment!

But disappointment came very quickly. And the point was not even that the sergeant now had to answer for his subordinates and think with his head — this did not frighten him. But the fact that some orders were contrary to his convictions was unacceptable for a young champion of justice. And one day something happened that had long been brewing. His unit came to the next suppression of the rebellion. All as usual - they came, burned the rebels and left. But then, to some officer from the local rush to show his coolness and to amuse himself's own importance, and he gave the order to the passing section to shoot the local workers at the plantation. His section, to be exact.

By that time, the sergeant had already realized that most of the locals works on the plantations not from a good life. Maybe they could find a job, but without a good education, no one could count on good money, and when you have five small children, you will bow to anyone to feed them. And in such places only the drug baron gives money in debt. And, of course, he forces them to work them out on his plantation, thus actually buying the whole family - children always want to eat.

So no wonder that the sergeant refused to shoot. Local, enraged by the answer, immediately grabbed a pistol and began to threaten the fighter with all the punishments of heaven.

ODTs was trained very well, but now it played a cruel joke. The body worked faster than the brain, and the sergeant, seeing a pistol in the hand of a neurasthenic officer, which was already aimed at him, raised his weapon reflexively and pulled the trigger. The heavy bullet of the rifle tore the officer half of his bad head. In fact, it was not even a bullet, but a rocket-assisted projectile, which was pushed out of the barrel with a small dose of either gunpowder or nitrocellulose, and after exiting the barrel, the main charge that actually delivered the projectile to the target ignited. The weapon was made specifically for space battles, and in the atmosphere it had an effective combat distance of about five hundred meters, but at this distance any target which was not protected by armor comparable to the IFV's was guaranteed to receive a deadly impact.
At the sound of the shot, the subordinates of the deceased immediately ran there, and, seeing the officer's corpse, opened fire. The Alliance ODTs did not remain in debt, and a shootout ensued. However, given the difference in equipment and training, it was a uniform slaughter for the locals.
Of course, after that there was a tribunal. The sergeant, as the squad leader, took all the blame at the trial. He understood that he was waiting for the execution, but unexpectedly for him, he was amnestied even left in the armed forces, deprived of his rank, awards and sent to the distant garrison on the southern border of the former Mexico.
In that garrison private spent five long years of his service, until Fortune smiled at him again. In fact, it was more a grin, expressed in a large and well-armed convoy carrying drugs across the border. No one knows, how much success was in that raid, or was that only the professionalism, but the fact remains that the command noticed the private soldier and transferred him to combat troops, despite on the graph in his personal file. The titles to him, however, have not been returned.
And now, at the age of twenty-seven, he returned to what was at nineteen when, in view of the demonstrated skills, he was transferred to droptroopers. And then this task - fly to Mars, to the UAC bases, and find out what happened there. Along the way, pull out the local egg heads. The soldier strongly suspected that the commanders were also instructed to find out exactly what they were doing at those bases. If the "Ares" base was still a well-known place, controlled by the UAC, first time soldier heared about the existence of the "Genesis" base was only at a briefing. It is good that not his squad was sent to this very "Genesis".
Bad foreboding flooded even when approaching. The soldier was used to trusting his instincts, and now they were yelling that they were going into a trap. What the soldiers saw after the landing only strengthened his suspicions. And then...
The sound of the opened door distracted the soldier from the surging memory.
- Private Taggart, - the escort called out, - without personal items, on the way out.
- "Standard phrase, - the sergeant grinned to himself, - "What personal items do you see on me, the rear rat?"
Taggart slowly got out of bed and walked out. The guard led him along fairly wide corridors of the base. Surprising, if you know its purpose. A couple of times other people came to meet them, with and without a convoy. In one of these people, Taggart unexpectedly saw a familiar face.
- Grimm? - the former sergeant thought with surprise, - how the world is cramped. First we fought on Mars together, now we are sitting in the same prison.
Grimm also clearly recognized his colleague, nodding to him very slightly. Taggart answered the same. Naturally, they were not allowed to speak - they were in military prison, after all.
Soon, Taggart was brought into the interrogation office. The situation was already familiar. Two chairs, a table, a big mirror and, of course, a bunch of sensors. On one of the chairs was already sitting a man with an inconspicuous face in the form of System Alliance Intelligence Service.
-Private Taggart, - greeted the military officer of the SAIS, - come in, sit down.
After waiting for the man to settle in his chair, the security officer continued.
- So, Private Flynn Taggart, the codemane is "Fly", - said the officer, twisting his fingers between each other and setting them so that they couldn't see the mouth, - The former sergeant of Orbital Droptroopers, had rewards until he was demoted for disobeying the order and the murder of an allied officer.
That was it. Although degraded Taggart precisely for the murder. By and large, the former sergeant, as a representative of the supranational structure, could ignore the order given by the officer of the territorial armed forces in a non-combat situation, and she, whatever one may say, was just that - the operation had already been completed. But the killing of the officer on the brakes did not lower, reasoning that it is easier to whip out the sergeant of the ODT revealingly, than to spoil relations with a relatively loyal government.
- So, private, - continued the interrogator, - we are interested in the circumstances of the death of your group during operation "Luminary". Tell us all. From the very beginning and as much detailed as possible. The stories of Private Sanders, sergeants Glazkov and Grimm, we have already heard, now it's your turn.
Taggart fidgeted a little on the chair, settling himself in, and folding his hands on the table — he was not chained, which was reassuring, and, as if reluctantly, began the story.
- It all started on the approach to the Ares base. Even then I began to attend bad presentiments...

From the report on the operation " Luminary ".

... Based on the words of the surviving Orbital Droptroopers, namely: Sergeant John Grimm, Sergeant Alexei Glazkov, Private Flynn Taggart, Private Arlen Sanders, as well as the surviving member of the UAC security service, the former major of the Orbital Droptrooper Corps John Kane, and data from the cameras the ODTs and the received documents of the UAC, the analytical department of the SAIS, concluded that the UAC at the "Ares" and "Genesis" bases conducted illegal and dangerous experiments for humanity. Also, the UAC has been studying untested alien technologies, which is contrary to the Convention on Technologies of Extraterrestrial Origin, the study of which resulted in the opening of a so-called portal to another world, populated by a race that is extremely aggressive towards humanity, conventionally called "demons" due to the characteristic appearance of some of its representatives. Moreover, it is this world that is the source of the famous energy carrier, called Argent-energy...

- Well, and how should I understand this?

A tall man in the form of the admiral of the fleet of the Alliance of Systems broke away from the report and added:

- Show me the addict who wrote this thing!

- The reports of my analysts are accurate, and you know that perfectly well, Hiram, - said the man in the black uniform of the SAIS, - they are really confronted with extraterrestrial life.
- And an extremely aggressive life, - added the elderly commander of the ODTC, - no requirements, no warnings. They just growl and spit plasma.

- Well, actually, not only with plasma - a balding wedge wedged in, but a vigorous old man in civilian clothes, - based on the report, your military also underwent a chemical attack in the form of nerve poison, corrosive and...

- Mr. Beck, - the admiral interrupted him, - we will listen to your calculations later, be sure.

- I am also worried about the fact, - said a forty-year-old man in civilian who was still silent, - that the UAC conducted forbidden experiments with alien technologies and explored extraterrestrial life, although, upon detection of such, it should have immediately transferred this case to the Alliance. Moreover, after the accident, their leadership attempted to silence it. As a result, we have more than sixty thousand dead and twenty-one droptroopers. This is not just a disaster, gentlemen. The UAC directly violated all the agreements between it and the System Alliance, hiding behind the fact that they, you see, are still ahead of the entire state in space exploration and energy.

- Mr. President, - took the floor of the SAIS officer, - I think we should not publicize the details of this accident. If people find out that next to them, on a neighboring planet, portals can be opened to another world, it definitely will not add people who want to colonize new planets. As for the UAC, we can say that the group sent found that during the illegal experiments on the creation of weapons of mass destruction based on argent-energy a catastrophe occurred, as a result of which the entire personnel of the bases was killed. And, especially, it is not necessary to specify exactly how the UAC received argent-energy.

- Do you really think that people will believe in this nonsense? - snorted commander of the ODTC.

- The people believe in what they want to believe, dear Marat Ignatievich. And the UAC, with their ambitions, has fed up with very many. Now, when it has lost its monopoly in space, the management of the corporation will want to recoup in another industry - energy. And here is the result. So this undeclared war with the UAC would still start, it is a matter of time. Now all the cards in our hands, you can make them move.

- Yes, and one more thing, - the admiral jumped up, - in the report on the operation I repeatedly encountered a certain "Doom Slayer". Can anyone tell me who this is and what he did on the "Genesis" base?

- Apparently, - Beck began to speak, - The Doom Slayer is another specie of unearthly origin. Judging by the UAC databases, Slayer was found during one of the expeditions to the alien world, - the old man was a materialist, and the word "demons" was avoided in every way, - Probably his appearance is hostile to the majority of aliens, and at least neutral in relation to us, Sergeant Glazkov spent some time with him and noted his professionalism in exterminating these ... creatures.

- Gentlemen, - the president took the floor, - I suggest we take a break. A similar amount of information requires reflection and careful deliberation. Everybody's Free. Break for an hour.
All those present in the office almost synchronously rose from the table and dispersed.

From various orders related to the Martian incident.

... To secret all that happened during the operation " Luminary ", with the survivors take a non-disclosure subscription ...

... Start an investigation into the activities of the UAC on the fact of numerous violations of the conventions of the System Alliance...

... To initiate a criminal case against the Director-General of the UAC, Dr. Samuel Hayden on the fact of conducting illegal research, negligence, which resulted in the mass victims of the station personnel ...

... For courage and professionalism, to award the next militaries of the ODTC of the System Alliance ...

... In view of the dangers of research conducted by the UAC, recognize the above corporation as uncontrolled by the Government of the System Alliance, and, in view of the dangers, launch the "AutoDafe" procedure for the UAC ...

... In view of the ineffectiveness of the current military training of the Armed Forces of the Alliance to repel aggression of an alien species, conventionally called "demons", create a military program, code-named "Nephilim" (for simplicity, program N), to organize the retraining of suitable soldiers of the Orbital Droptrooper Corps to repel possible alien attacks. Organize a comprehensive study in order to obtain information on more effective countering aliens and the use of Argent-energy ...

... Expand a military expedition to the former base of the UAC "Genesis" to search for and, if necessary, help the Domm Slayer object and its subsequent delivery to the scientific center for negotiations and, if necessary, for researching ...

The group under the command of Lieutenant Taggart moved along the abandoned complex. Even now, after several months, this place has retained its frightening appearance - besides them, several groups have gathered here, having collected information on the activities of the UAC at the facility.

The UAC ... the once powerful corporation, in which many people saw the future, is now collapsing before our eyes. The sea of litigation, revealed major violations - all this was hitting the company's reputation more and more. Already, the UAC is forced to reduce workers, which was not previously followed, and moreover, to give its assets to the state for a pittance. Although now the lieutenant was a sin to complain - the UAC got what she deserved.

But now Taggart was not thinking about the future of the company that built this complex. His platoon had a clear order - to find a man under the code name "Doom Slayer", who walked with a bloody whirlwind during the massacre in the complex. By the way, now all the Droptroopers who survived the massacre, including Glazkov, who witnessed the power of this warrior, were attached to the platoon. And if at least half of what Alexey told in a confidential conversation, is true, then this guy would be a great help if another war with hellish creatures begins.

- Lieutenant, - the voice of John "Reaper" Grimm sounded in his helmet, - I think I found an object that fits the description.

- "Finally, - thought Flynn, - soon we will pull out this super-soldier, wherever he is, and dump him from this goddamned planet."

The device that the squad was looking for was nothing more than a teleportation force. Judging by the records of Dr. Hayden, with whose filing all this fuss began, an experimental system was installed on the Slayer's suit that allowed him to teleport the warrior from Hell, activating a special portal. This is what the squad was looking for. In principle, it was possible to build another teleport, but the command decided not to risk losing another complex, using the old one. Any fighter was able to use the complex - the command was not fully aware of what the platoon was waiting for at the base, and, as a result, there was a non-zero probability of losing the installation operator during the teleport search.

After some time, the whole platoon occupied the space near the installation, taking a teleportation platform on the scope and getting ready to load any creature that would come out of it with a rocket-assisted projectiles. After that, one of the fighters went to the control panel, set up and launched the installation.

Installation started and buzzed. The rumble grew, until it turned into a squeak that was nasty to the gnashing of teeth. And when this sound had already become unbearable, the space on the platform flashed with a pale blue light, and a second later a tall humanoid appeared in the flash in a dirty green armor. He was clearly badly beaten - some of the armors were torn off, some of them were caked, and in several places holes were visible from which red blood, like in humans, flowed.

The newcomer, who had barely ceased to hold the force field of the platform, fell to his knees and mumbled something unintelligible, fell on his side. Waiting for Taggart's permissive nod, Lieutenant Glazkov approached the stranger and carefully, trying not to disturb him, examined him and, having connected a scanner, checked his vital signs.

- Lieutenant, - said Alexey, - this is definitely our client. True, he is barely alive.

Taggart did not hesitate for a long time.

- So, the group, attention. The object is found, ship it and leave. Our client is half-dead, and I do not want him to die in my arms.

- Don't worry, sir, not in our watch, - in response to the joke of an unknown wit, a wave of giggles passed through the platoon that defused the situation. Fly didn't react to this - it's understandable that people are on edge, in such and such a place.

From the report on the researcing of the artifact "Praetorian Armor" and the report on the negotiations with the alien "Doom Slayer".

... During the reseach of the Praetorian Armor, it became clear that the armor plates of the artifact are almost immune to any type of weapon known to humanity. In addition, the costume revealed additional functions: small gauges on gloves and a chest plate, which attracts the argent-plasma and distributes it to tiny tubes - capillaries, which makes it possible to judge that the armor suit was created with the expectation of an operator whose body is capable of no harmful effects. to react with the argent-energy ...

... The question of creating terrestrial analogues of an armored suit is still open, but the research team can already make several suggestions for improving the samples of an existing armor ...

... during the conversation with the Doom Slayer, it turned out that he is a representative of a kindred to humanity, whose paths diverged during the times when Mars was inhabited. Part of proto-mankind moved to Earth, where it supposedly merged with local life, and some, fleeing from a dying planet, opened a portal to the world of demons, where they lived for several thousand years ...

... to the question about the kinsmen Doom Slayer answered that he was probably the last man standing of his kind. In any case, he knows nothing about other relatives ...

... when asked about the relationship with the demons, the object said that their branch of humanity had long fought a war with the demons — approximately from the very appearance of his kindred in Argent D'Nour. The object itself was the commander of one of the units of the army, and in his time humanity had already lost the war to the demons ...

... According to the object, the proteans appeared on Mars much later than the Exodus, mentioned by the Doom Slayer, to another world. By that time, the Slayer had been lying in a sarcophagus for several centuries, maintaining him in a state of stasis, until the scientific expedition of the protean into the world of demons pulled him out ...

... the purpose of the protean in the complex studied by the UAC on the "Genesis" base was the studying of Hell and the searching for alternatives to the effect of mass effect technologies. In fact, this race made the same mistake as the UAC, starting to use the portal short-sightedly. According to Doom Slayer, in both cases, the demons managed to subordinate part of the personnel of the base to their will, and they, having made the necessary manipulations to open the portal, allowed the demons to enter the planet. The fact that the second protean complex was not touched, Slayer explained that the demons did not have time to get to the outpost before the evacuation. At the same time, the UAC managed to provide both complexes with teleportation devices, which made the task of demons much easier ...

... As a result of the interview, the Facility gave its consent to participate in the Nefilim project as a consultant on demonic technologies and the demons themselves ...

... As part of the conspiracy, I propose to give the Doom Slayer a biography and a name, as he refused to give his own name, justifying this with a religious vow: "... to be a silent weapon of extermination of the Pit Creatures until the last of the Abyss tribe expresses its spirit" (quote from the Slayer himself) ...

12.20.2149. Center for retraining of the Space landing Forces under the Nephilim program. Land, exact location unknown.

A tall man in the form of a colonel of the ODTC stood in front of the huge screens of the command center, watching the droptroopers training. Surprisingly, in just half a year the newly formed training center was rebuilt and received its first wards. The man smiled to himself - I remember when he met, as his new chief said, "the best soldiers of mankind," he said only one word:

- Not hopeless.

The colonel's skepticism could be understood - what the troopers showed was nothing compared to what he himself was used to. And, moreover, such methods of warfare were extremely ineffective against such an enemy as demons. However, the colonel was not much disappointed - the demons were too specific an enemy to just so easily change tactics. But, to the credit of his charges, they quickly learned.

His wards ... What would his ancestors say if they knew that he actually gave all the secrets to people? Nothing, guess. As it turned out, the demons became enemies and distant relatives of his species. To distant relatives ... The Colonel could not have imagined that he would one day encounter those who, for his own people, had long become a legend. And that now he not only teaches them, but also became part of their army.

- Colonel Todt, - came the sound from behind him. The man turned around. Before him stood a young, still soldier in a lieutenant's uniform.

- Report, - said the colonel.

- Sir, General Starinov wants to see you, - the orderly reported.

Todt mentally cursed. He completely forgot about the visit of the Commander-in-Chief of the ODTC. A middle-aged man who identified himself as the first meeting of Marat Ignatievich, evoked involuntary respect from the colonel. There was in him some kind of ... rod or something.

The thoughts of the colonel smoothly shifted to those days when he woke up in the infirmary of the military Alliance ship. Damned Hayden knew where to send him to take for a VERY long time. And after all, it took, which is characteristic - Todt would never have thought that he would cater to the realm of Abbad'Don, the Titan of Extermination. Actually, it was he who morphed Todt to a pulp. And, most likely, would have sent to the next world, if not the "safety system", with which he was sent into the mouth of the Titan. Only now she took advantage of its intended purpose. But in the best of times, Abbad'Don would rather be given the horns of a colonel, and not vice versa. Damned Hayden ...

Then there was the hospital, and countless inquiries. "Relatives" were literally interested in everything: from the technology of creating analogues of the Praetorian armor to the social structure of its people. Tod did not mind: he probably would have done the same if he were in their place.

And then he was suddenly given a name. His Soldier Roca forgot a few thousand years ago. For a long time, he believed that he was the only representative of his species, until a meeting with a lone paratrooper at the "Genesis" site convinced him to the contrary. Now his name was Michael Todt.
Apparently, the Alliance, unlike the UAC, decided to make more rational use of its strength and knowledge, putting it as a mentor of the center for retraining local warriors. The program "Nefilim", or simply N. And now, it seems, the commander-in-chief decided to check what his subordinate spent on the allocated funds. Rather, the result of these injections.

From the document on the program "N".

The Nephilim program (hereinafter referred to as the "N program") was created for the retraining of the WBC soldiers for alien-threatened battles known as "demons." The basis of the program is, in addition to the retraining of soldiers, an extensive program of genetic correction aimed at increasing the stamina, strength and dexterity of the soldiers, as well as a genetic modification that allows the human body to use Argent-energy for regeneration and resistance to aggressive effects. Thus, the goal of the program is to transform a person into the likeness of a resident of Argent D'Nur (whose representative is Michael Todt). Since argent-energy is extremely aggressive with respect to a living organism, not every person can be subjected to such a genetic correction, which precludes carrying out this procedure on the entire ODT Corps. At the moment, in program N, the division into seven categories is conditionally accepted.

N1: Recruit program, eligible for participation. A theoretical course was heard, gene therapy was not performed. Passed psychological testing for resistance to demonic stupefying.

N2: Initial gene therapy performed. As part of the group passed ground test against possessed animals.

N3: A qualifying test has been completed at the proving ground against those who are obsessed in the "one against the crowd" format.

N4: Conducted major gene correction. Passed qualification testing format "group against the lower" (a group of soldiers against the detachment of the lower demons to Revenant inclusive).

N5: Secondary gene correction performed. Passed test test format "group against the highest demons." To avoid significant damage, the test is conducted on a remote asteroid.

N6: Gene refinement was performed. Held a sortie to Hell in the group. Time outing - at least 24 hours / until the appearance of dangerous creatures of the highest category (see. Appendix)

N7: The final genotype refinement has been carried out (the gene therapy procedure is fully completed). At least five sorties were made to Hell. Passed a series of tests of the format "one against the crowd of the lower", "group against the higher", "command of the group." Also surely confirmed the murder of at least five demons of the class "Baron Hell" or fifteen opponents of the class "Knight of Hell". Also, a confirmed assassination of an opponent of the "Cyberdemon" class / Guardian of Hell / Duke of Hell (un-Cyborgized version of Cyberdemona) in a group or alone can be recognized as a score ...

Application:

... In view of the extraordinary success in the battle with demons, the N7 externally category was assigned to Flynn Taggart, Arlen Sanders, John Grimm, Alexey Glazkov, John Kane, and is retained for them in the event that it is impossible to pass the gene correction when N7GP is assigned (genetically pure, English genetically clean)...