Shiro groggily opened his eyes as a groan slipped from his lips.

As he sat upright he saw Yuki seated upright on the bed with her headphones on, staring straight ahead.

The moment she saw him moving she shook from her trance and laid the headphones across her neck.

"Is it time for breakfast?" She queried as Shiro slowly arose and stretched out his limbs.

"Well for me at least," He chuckled, "did you not sleep?" He then asked seeing her still in the uniform looking bed.

She shook her head in answer before standing.

"Let us 'chow down'" She stated in a monotone voice and gave a small nod.

Looking at her in confusion earned him no answer however, only causing her to walk out the door and lead on.h

. . . .

After fumbling through the vast maze that is the Daedalus the two found themselves within the mess hall.

The room itself was the size of Shiro's barracks in basic and was filled with soldiers dressed in the same uniforms as Shiro.

As the two sat in the long line reaching toward the food line he continued to scan the room, the faces, the feeling.

Despite the hundreds of men and women filling the vast space not a single voice filled it, no laughter nor conversation. The only sound was that of forks scraping the trays.

Each soldier's face was deeply laden with trenches, every soldier staring blankly as they fed themselves.

The air itself was heavy with an emotion Shiro couldn't even find the comparison for.

Before he knew it the two were up front filling their trays.

The choices were chicken with corn and broccoli, with a drink choice of water.

As he walked behind Yuki looking down at his tray he realized the food choice was that of a platoon in the field during war time.

"Where shall we seat?" Yuki's query snapped Shiro from his train of thought as he looked over to her.

"I'm sorry?" He asked with a confused frown.

"There are few seats, where is ours?" She attempted to clarify causing him even more confusion.

"Where is ours? I don't...oh! Where shall we sit?" She looked down with a frown obviously not understanding the difference.

"Uh well there's not really..." He trailed off as he scanned the crowd.

Suddenly he froze as he locked eyes with a soldier across the room.

The only soldier in the room not staring a thousand yards into their table.

Before him was an empty bench.

"I think I found a spot." Before she could so much as look over he was already moving swiftly toward the soldier.

The closer he got to the soldier the bigger the man seemed to grow.

Up until he stood before the soldier and saw how truly large the soldier was.

Even sitting he was larger than Shiro, standing Shiro guessed the man must be twice his height.

That was just his height the man's sheer muscles could make a second human being.

He was bulky until the point where it seemed he would have trouble putting his hands on top of his head.

His face was covered in scars and his eyes were a color so dark Shiro couldn't tell where his pupils started and his iris' ended.

The most prominent feature on his face, however, was three large gashes running diagonally down his face from what looked like a bear claw.

Glancing over the man's uniform he couldn't find any discernible rank however.

The only defining feature on his uniform was a patch on his right shoulder which Shiro couldn't get a good enough glance at.

"Mind if we sit here sir?" Shiro asked with a cautious sir at the end in case of him being a superior officer.

It caught the attention of the others seated at the table, who promptly turned and scanned the two over.

The giant man simply grunted and looked back down to his food.

Shiro glanced over to Yuki who was still glancing about the room.

With a shrug he sat his tray down and took a seat.

Yuki followed in tow, sitting beside him on the end of the bench, away from the others.

The others at the table continued to stare at the two, looking them over.

Taking his fork in hand he scooped a clump of corn and began to raise it up.

Just before it touched his lips, "You're new here." A girl who was seated next to him stated.

With a quiet sigh he put his fork down and looked over at her.

She had bright white skin and muddy brown hair down to her neck.

Her eyes were sharper than any one else Shiro saw in the room.

"On this ship yes, we just got back from a deployment." He lied to her face and waited.

She simply laughed as the giant man across from Shiro scoffed.

"She is but not you, you're green. You could've fooled me from across the room though. You scanned the crowd and were able to pick out the most potent threats and even put up a convincing facade. You can't fool us though. We've been on more Ops than days you've been alive." The sharp girl shot back after nodding to Yuki.

Shiro glanced at Yuki with a frown before looking back.

"What makes you say she's returning from deployment?"

"Because she's in our unit."

. . . .

"The giant of a man before you is Bear. She," the sharp girl nodded to Yuki once more "is Jackal. I'm Raven, and he," she then pointed to the skinny dark skinned man seated before her "is Tiger."

Tiger was a dark skinned man with even darker hair and the steadiest hands he'd seen on a person.

"So you're..." he glanced to Yuki then back to Raven "you're all a unit?"

"We are we've all got special roles within it too."

Carefully looking them all over once more he nodded to himself.

"I'm guessing you're long range support Raven, Tiger is explosives maybe? And Bear has to be heavy ordinance. Yuki...I mean...Jackal is...I can't figure you out." He muttered to himself causing a smirk to creep across Raven's face.

"You're spot on so far. I'm the steadiest sniper you'll ever meet." Raven replied.

"I can make an explosive out of anything on this table." Tiger quietly stated not looking up from his tray.

"I am strongest man." Bear grunted in an accent Shiro had never even heard before.

Yuki silently continued to eat her food.

"What about you...Jackal?" Shiro hesitantly queried.

She looked up to him and suddenly he could see a spark of disdain in her eye.

"I am a warrior."

With that she continued to feed.

Shiro looked back at the others and saw within Raven's eyes jealousy mixed with petty anger.

"Jackal is strongest woman." Bear suddenly chimed in and nodded to her.

"But what is her role within the squad?" Shiro asked and was greeted by silence.

"I give advice child. Every man in room seen very much bad. We are all warrior. All except you. You are small baby. Baby no ask questions until grown da?" Bear explained as he looked him in the eye for the first time since the two sat down.

"Wait...you mean every soldier in here has combat experience...except me?" Bear nodded causing Shiro to look down, clenching his fork in his hand.

"But...why?" The unit looked to Shiro as he stared down at the floor, clenching the fork tighter.

"Is it some kind of damn joke? Did he put me here to embarrass me?!" Shiro hissed to himself.

The Lieutenant-General's face appeared in his mind.

Bear took a breath before sitting forward causing the bench to cry under his weight.

"In mine village, put baby with warrior to help with grow. You maybe put here to grow da?" Shiro's eyes flicked up to lock with Bear's.

Bear's face was solid and resolute. There wasn't a hint of uncertainty.

"I...maybe so." He replied quietly as he sat his fork down, his appetite gone.

. . . .

The Daedalus landed much easier than it took off but they would only be landed for a brief moment while they loaded Yuki's LFO.

"Why wouldn't the Captain have us there to see your LFO?" Shiro asked as he looked to Yuki who laid flat on her bed, headphones laying beside her.

"I don't know." She quietly replied, not moving her eyes from the bunk above her.

"Yuki...I'm sorry if I put you on the spot during chow." She sat up on her elbows and stared at him.

"I don't understand." She replied with a straight face.

"Put you on the spot as in embarrassed you." He explained.

Upon seeing her nod he continued.

"I remember...when my father came back from his own deployment he just looked so...tired all the time. Just standing up seemed to exhaust him. So one day I asked him what happened. He looked down with so much anger in his eyes... he said 'Shiro you don't ask people what they've been through because you'll never understand.' I should've remembered that before and I'm sorry." When Shiro looked back over at Yuki she was now standing.

"I fear that you will understand Shiro. The Lieutenant-General sent you along with me so that I'll make you understand." A deep laden frown crossed his face as he turned to face her.

"What do you mean? Why would he want me to understand?" Yuki looked down a moment.

"I'm...sorry I don't know what words to use. He wants me to make you as I am. He wants me to make you a warrior just as I am." Shiro stepped towards her his frown only deepening.

"But I don't understand! Why me?! Why am I supposed to become a warrior?! Why not one of the other members of your unit?!" Yuki suddenly looked down at the floor. Silence filled their room.

"I...chose you." She quietly replied.

"Chose...me? I don't understand." Shiro shook his head as he reached out to her.

Faster than his eyes could even perceive she grabbed his outstretched right arm with her left hand and swiftly moved under it, wrapping her right arm around his torso and flinging him over her shoulder slamming him on his back, still holding his right arm with her left hand she pushed him on his stomach and wrapped her legs around his arm pushing it into a 90 degree angle and slowly pushing it unnaturally up towards his head.

When he finally processed where he was he began yelling out and vainly kicking his legs.

"I chose you because you are the only one who has the spirit for what I am Shiro! And now you will become a warrior or you will break!" She growled and pushed his arm slightly more causing him to yell louder.

She finally released him and stepped off him.

Shiro rolled over on his side whimpering and grabbing at his right arm.

"This is what a warrior is. And it's what you'll become. It's what I chose you for and what the Lieutenant-General wishes. Will you become a warrior Shiro?" She asked reaching down towards him.

He looked up at her, the light from the window shining behind her causing her to appear as a silhouette.

Her smile suddenly flashed before him as he looked down.

"I...want to learn everything you can teach me...Jackal." He replied as he firmly took her hand.

. . . .

The moment they were airborne the loud speaker crackled to life.

"The pickup is complete all crew report to your unit bays for debriefing."

Shiro followed Jackal down the halls until they came to a final door which opened to revel a room like theirs but filled with a bunk bed and one other very large bed.

Raven, Bear, and Tiger were within with Raven standing before the other two, a whiteboard to her back.

"Welcome Jackal and...Chick." Raven looked to Shiro with a smirk.

"What? Why am I a baby chicken?!" Shiro exclaimed causing Raven to cackle.

"You have to earn a title Chick." Tiger scoffed staring at the floor.

"Enough niceties, group up. We're en route to Ciudades del Cielo. One of the largest Vodarac cities and a well known stronghold for their main forces. The main force is going to attack head on here and here." She explained as she pointed at the illustration of the city.

"However, they're just a distraction. We're to infiltrate from the rear of the city and hit them where they're weakest. Bear, Tiger; you both are to open up a way through the wall here. Upon completion of the objective you're to draw enemy forces away. That's when Jackal, and Chick infiltrate through the opening and head straight to the barracks. I'll be running support from a nearby cliff. Once you're there it's search and destroy. Kill anything that moves. All civilians were evacuated a long time ago, any one in the city is hostile shoot to kill. Questions?" Raven finished and glanced around.

Shiro slowly raised his hand.

"Why is everyone charging in just so we can attack one building that we could just bombard from above?"

Tiger chuckled at the question.

"Because we're wiping out the city, no survivors. This will be the decisive blow to the Vodarac forces that leads to ending the war once and for all with this people. After you clear the barracks signal Bear and Tiger then ex-filtrate out the way you came. I'll rendezvous with you at extraction point. Bear, Tiger; you know what to do from there."

Bear and Tiger nodded, a wide grin spread across Tiger's face.

. . . .

After the briefing Jackal and Shiro went to the armory and armed themselves.

Shiro got the standard MP5 with an M1911, both of which Jackal had him get suppressors for.

While Jackal simply picked up an M1911 with suppressor and waited for Shiro.

The two quickly dressed in their infiltration gear then threw on their bulky black aerial deployment gear.

Hastily they met up with the rest of the unit in an abandoned hallway as the ship silently coasted through the air.

Raven had strapped to her back the largest rifle Shiro had ever seen with an even larger suppressor on the end of it.

Bear had nothing on him besides a mini-gun strapped to his back.

While Tiger had only a large backpack and a stand 12 gauge shotgun.

"Bear, Tiger; we drop first then upon completion of objective Jackal and Chick drop. Operation Shining Light commence...Now!" Suddenly Raven popped open the hatch causing the air to explode into the hallway knocking Shiro over and causing Jackal to raise her arm over her eyes.

Raven gave a single wave before the trio jumped through the hatch and plummeted toward the planet below.

Jackal sealed the hatch and waited.

Upon getting back onto his feet Shiro looked over.

"How exactly do they plan on surviving that jump?" She glanced at him and nodded to his shoes.

"Special to this unit. Reflective plates on the bottom similar to a ref board. These boots have an electric current that courses through and suppresses any trail that lifting might leave. Also, here." She outstretched her hand.

Shiro reached out and grabbed the four inch sheathed knife she gave him.

"We go in fast and we go in silent. We hunt silently and invisibly. We are ghosts to them understand?" She lectured and looked to him.

He gave a stiff nod as his heart began to race.

He reached down to attach the knife to his belt but Jackal frowned and shook her head.

"Where is your combat harness?" Only now had he realized she had a harness over her torso covered with pouches, a holster for her pistol on her left side, and her own knife that was the exact same as his strapped on the left side of her harness near her pistol.

"I...wasn't issued one." She gave a hesitant nod and grabbed the knife from him, strapping it to his left side, right before his own pistol holster, herself.

"Shir..." she caught herself mid breath, "Chick. You must always be prepared. You won't always have weapons and firearms but you will always have your mind. That is your most effective weapon."

Suddenly her earpiece chimed causing her to put her fingers up to it.

"Roger."

She replied and looked to Shiro.

"Deploy."

The hatch hissed defiantly as she threw it open and gave a final glance back at Shiro.

He nodded in return.

Without hesitation she leapt from the Daedalus and plummeted to the world below.

Shiro took a breath and nodded.

"I will see her smile again." He whispered and leaped out.

As he flew through the crisp midnight air he saw nothing but darkness below.

"Chick, you're too far from Jackal. Left 2 meters." Ravens voice whispered in his earpiece.

Ever so slightly he inched over and outstretched his arms for balance.

The wind roaring in his ears and biting at his face he continued to plummet.

"Distance to target 50 meters, engage boots."

Shiro flicked his radio on then off in affirmative and slowly began to flip forward until his feet were pointed down and speedily flicked them on.

His descent began to slow until his eyes could finally begin to adjust.

"Maybe next time bring your harness and night goggles Chick."

Tiger cackled over the radio.

Shiro growled but began to focus down at Jackal who was only 5 Meters beneath him and 1 meter to his left.

"20 meters. Brace."

Shiro slammed into the ground feet first and fell flat on his back.

"Get up Chick." Jackal hissed causing him to jump upright and quickly go down to his knees beside her.

"Strip aerial gear and prepare for infiltration." She whispered as she began pulling off her heavy black suit and boots.

Shiro followed in turn and stripped his off, throwing it to the side.

Jackal lit a match and threw on the pile.

The two suits went up instantly and without a flash.

Nothing was left.

Jackal and Shiro sat within the tall grass both wearing tight black suits which were designed to eliminate friction between sections and extra padding on the soles of the shoes rendered their steps practically silent.

Shiro tightened the sling of his MP5 which hung around his torso and sat at his right side.

The two sat and waited for their signal.

As Shiro stared at the rear wall of the city he only now realized just how massive it was.

The only thing taller than the walls was the absolutely massive tower which sprung within the center of the city.

"Zero hour, team 1 engage." Raven announced over the comms causing Shiro to jump lightly.

Jackal began reaching for her pistol so slowly it was hard to tell if she was moving especially in the darkness.

Pulling her pistol free, as she continually scanned the horizon, she slowly pulled back on the slide.

It was oiled to the point of silence as she pulled it all the way back and released it, loading a shot into the barrel.

"Locked." She whispered to Shiro who mirrored her.

"Locked." He repeated and continued to sit beside her.

Suddenly an explosion rocked the very ground the stood on, sending debris miles into the air.

Shiro glanced to Jackal who raised her fist and held it, staring forward.

Flashlights popped to life as men began shouting and shooting within the hole of the wall.

All of a sudden a mini-gun sprang to life, spitting shots at the men.

The lights began to fade as they chased after the intruders.

Jackal outstretched all her fingers on her raised hand and waved it forward.

The two sprang forward, keeping low within their crouches, and made a bee line towards the gap in the wall.

"Team 2 proceed."

Jackal flicked her radio and cut to the side motioning for Shiro to cut to the other side of the gap.

The two threw their backs against the wall, Shiro panting silently, his abs already aching.

Jackal slowly glanced in through the gap and waved her hand forward again.

Shiro nodded and mirrored her entry into the gap.

In sync the two began their journey through the rubble filled alley toward the seemingly abandoned building before them.

It stood at least twelve stories and sat completely dark.

The only noise was the distant popping of guns on the other side of the city accompanied by war screams in the night.

The two reached the front doorway and sat on opposite sides just as the breach in the gap.

Jackal peaked and waved forward.

Slowly the two began to open the front doors and step foot within.

The air was hot, heavy, and filled with dust.

The hard tile floor was littered with chunks off the ceiling which were displaced by the previous shelling of the city.

The inside was pitch black but Shiro's eyes had already begun to adjust to the lack of light.

The two began to explore the first floor and quickly Shiro began to realize it was no barracks, it was an old apartment lobby.

"Stairwell on your 6, 5 meters." Jackal whispered over the comms.

Shiro flicked his radio and slowly advanced toward the stairwell.

The two met up and began to slowly advance up to the second floor.

The whole building was silent.

Not even rats.

The two froze in the doorway as Jackal stared down the empty doorway.

"Check this floor I'll check 3." Jackal whispered beside him, keeping her weapon aimed down the dark hall.

Shiro tapped her shoulder in acknowledgment and waited for her to head off.

"Jackal advancing to 3rd floor. Chick, searching floor 2." Jackal reported.

Slowly Shiro began creeping down the hallway remaining crouched.

His heart seemed to race faster with each step.

His hands were shaking.

He wouldn't stop sweating.

Shiro came up to the first door on his left and stood to the left of it, placing his ear up to the crack of it.

Nothing, only wind.

He reached up and as steadily as he could he twisted the knob and slowly began to open it.

Within the room there was a single silhouette standing hunched over a table straight ahead of Shiro with his back to him.

Shiro's shaking only got worse as his heart pounded so loud he feared the person could hear it.

Left foot.

Right foot.

Left foot.

Right.

He stood a foot away from the figure, still hidden.

Slowly and quietly he lifted himself up, his pistol raised at the back of the figure's head.

He planted it against the back of the figure's head and firmly hissed, "Freeze!"

The figure did in fact freeze in place.

"You...how did you get in here?" The man's voice was deep and rough.

It was the voice of a seasoned warrior.

"How many others are here?" Shiro forcefully hissed as he pressed the pistol harder on the man's head.

"They send a child to do their dirty work?" The man scoffed as he began to straighten upright.

"F...Freeze!" Shiro tried to stiffen his voice but he stuttered weakly.

"I can feel you shaking boy. You're nothing but a child!" The man began to laugh as Shiro's shaking intensified.

"Quiet or I'll shoot!" He hollered at the man which only earned a laugh from him.

"Shoot? You've never even aimed at a human before, much less killed one. You haven't even noticed the gun in my hand."

Before Shiro could react the man ducked down and pushed Shiro's pistol up and away from the man's head.

The man then pressed his pistol against the right side of Shiro's gut and pulled the trigger.

The world began to ring loudly as Shiro felt himself scream but heard nothing.

He slowly began falling back as he dropped his pistol and reached toward his stomach.

It burned so badly, it felt as though something bit into him.

He landed on the ground and shakily laid both his hands on his gut hoping to somehow aid the stinging.

The man stood over him and raised the pistol at Shiro's forehead.

Before Shiro could blink the man was on the floor with a blurry black figure on his back with a knife against his throat.

The black figure was saying something but Shiro only heard the constant ringing.

The knife dug into his neck and swiftly was pulled out.

The figure came over and quickly pulled him up, dragging him over to the wall.

Once he was set against the wall he finally saw the figure was Yuki.

She placed both hands on his face looked deeply into his eyes, saying something.

She looked down, moving his hands then reached into one of her pouches.

She pulled out a pack and ripped it open.

Placing one hand on his shoulder she gave a single nod to him then shoved it into his gut.

The fire in his gut only worsened, all he could do was clench his teeth and groan as quietly as he could.

After rapidly blinking his vision began to clear.

"Shiro can you hear me?" She whispered putting her hands on his head once more.

He slowly nodded as he breathed deeply attempting to control his breath.

"You were shot in the abdomen however the bonding agent I inserted will seal off any bleeding until we finish the mission, can you stand?" He took a deep breath and shook his head, the pain was far too much.

She nodded and pulled a syringe out of her pocket.

She stabbed it in his thigh and shot the mysterious liquid into him.

"There take a moment, you'll be up."

Shiro nodded and continued breathing.

Suddenly the pain was gone and he felt full of energy, more than ever before.

He slowly braced himself and jumped up.

"Right I'm going to proceed to 4th floor." She replied and began to walk away.

"Yu...Jackal...thank you." Shiro called after her.

She stopped a moment before glancing back.

"Be careful Chick. Please." Then she was off once more.

He took another breath before walking into the hallway.

She had even cleared out the rest of his floor.

He flipped on his radio, "Chick proceeding to 5th floor."

. . . .

Jackal was on the 10th floor leaving Shiro to chick the 11th and final floor.

Immediately after opening the door he pulled out his pistol and readied it.

There was only one door on this level and it was straight ahead of him five meters away.

He silently crept down the hall until he was right before it.

Pressing his ear against the door he heard voices whispering on the other side.

He frowned as he slowly got down on all fours and peeked through the bottom crack of the old wooden door.

He saw a single candle flickering within and two men standing behind an overturned bed with rifles in their hands.

"I don't hear anything anymore it's been like ten minutes! Besides it was the Lieutenant! Whoever was in here they're dead by now so just relax." The leftmost man exclaimed dropping his weapon down and lightly holding it in his right hand.

The one on the right sighed and nodded.

"Yeah you're right."

Shiro stood up slowly and holstered his pistol.

He pulled up his MP5 and shouldered it, slowly breathing in and out.

"He's right, we can all rel..." Shiro cut off the man as he kicked open the door and immediately leveled his rifle.

The two looked over in shock, their rifles hanging loosely in their hands.

Shiro's mind flashed to the man who shot him.

Then to the briefing.

"Anyone in the city is hostile shoot to kill."

He snapped his rifle over to the left man and pulled the trigger.

Clean hit to the right eye.

Over to the right.

Pulled the trigger.

Jugular.

The man fell down gasping in vain as he attempted to grab at it and slow the bleeding.

Shiro stood with his rifle leveled.

He watched.

The man gasped and gasped.

His eyes held so much fear.

So much sorrow.

So much pain.

And Shiro watched.

Eventually it all went silent.

The gasping stopped.

Then a whimper.

Shiro snapped his rifle to the source.

It was behind the bed.

Slowly he crept over keeping the rifle level.

His heart pounding.

He got to the bed and looked over.

Everything froze around him.

Fifteen children sat huddled around the candlelight.

All of them began whimpering and clawing their way to the back, away from Shiro.

It was in vain, behind them was only a wall.

Shiro shakily reached up to his ear.

"Raven, I've got civilians." He shakily whispered lowering his weapon.

"That's a negative Chick, no civilians in hot zone." Raven replied.

"Repeat Raven I have civilians! I have children!" He hollered.

"Chick" It was Jackal's quiet voice "There are no civilians in the hot zone."

His arm fell limp at his side as he stared down at the children cowering before him.

"Chick, this is Raven. Exterminate hostiles."

Shiro looked down at the floor then at his two hands as he slowly raised his rifle.

He leveled it and his mind went to Yuki's smile.

All he saw was her smile.

No children.

No guns.

No war.

And as he squeezed the trigger unleashing the lethal spray all he saw was her smile.

As their silent screams fell on deaf ears there was only that smile.

The blood spraying over him fell on numb skin.

And their riddled lifeless bodies fell upon blind eyes.

As he turned and slung his rifle on his shoulder he turned and began walking out of the room.

He reached his hand up to his radio.

"Chick reporting mission complete. Hostiles eliminated and barracks are clear."

He grasped his radio and threw it to the ground and began stomping on it.

His endless stream of tears mixed with bubbling snot fell from his face as he continued screaming and stomping down on that radio.

His foot gave out causing him to fall down.

He began pounding his fists on the radio as his scream continued echoing throughout the empty building.

The blood soaked fists continued pounding down until Jackal came over and reached her hand down to him.

He looked up at her, nothing but darkness surrounding them.

"Warriors have nothing left in their heart but the will to fight. Will you become a warrior Shiro?" He shakily reached up and grasped her hand with his own blood soaked hand.

"You've had your first experience with war and it will never leave you, no matter how hard you try. You will become a warrior just as I am Shiro." She had no joy in her voice, no smile on her face.

There was nothing there for him to read.

. . . .

The unit all sat within the mess hall.

Shiro sat there staring down at his full tray.

Staring at a point beyond it not even he could see.

"Well Chick I found a title for you." Raven suddenly shook him out of it.

He looked over to her.

"I thought to myself what could I name you that your master would approve of. Then it hit me! You're a Hound!" He looked back down then to Jackal who simply ate her food staring down at her tray.

He was once again brought from his stupor by Raven.

Welcome to Joy Division!

Hound!