"Is it really this easy?"

Trent was smoking a Yeheyuan, one of the few remnants of his already tenuous former life. He was somewhat surprised at how easy it had been to simply become another man. Much of it he knew resulted in the support from ONI, but still...had he really been so isolated that he could simply disappear and no one would notice? Well, apparently. His family was long dead, Veronica was gone and she might ask questions...and Enzo had come with him. Everyone from his past was either dead or gone, it seemed.

Except for Lindsay.

Childs had said that she was alive...Trent knew now that he was lying when he said they didn't know where she was. Everything about the way he had said it to the absurd idea that anyone could hide from ONI, especially a civilian, pointed towards it. But, now that he knew the truth about her, did he really want to see her?

"Is what really so easy? Gimme one of those," Melissa replied. Trent handed her the one he'd already started smoking and lit up a new one. Among the things he'd thrown into the crate had been a carton of smokes.

"Getting laid." Melissa laughed, a loud and pleasant sound in the living quarters. They both lay naked in the bed, the sweat still cooling on their bodies.

"Well, isn't it? We're in the military, STDs are no longer a threat, haven't been for a while. The option to prevent pregnancy is a shot in the arm and boom, you're set for five years. And if you want to get off of it at and time, boom, another shot and you're set for kids. I know there's still some moral debate over casual sex but," she took a puff and blew a perfect smoke ring. "Whatever. Like it matters. Sex is sex. And besides, you're hot and pretty good at it. So yeah, it is this easy...but you ask that question like you don't already frequently do it."

"I..." Trent closed his mouth, uncertain of how to go on. He took another puff. Melissa rolled over suddenly, staring at him.

"Do not tell me I just took your virginity," she said. "Because I refuse to believe that."

Trent laughed and shook his head. "No, no. Nothing like that. It's just...well, I lost my virginity to a girl in high school, and we ended up getting engaged. But that...fell through, when I was nineteen. And then...well, I didn't do it at all for about five years."

Melissa's eyes widened. "Five years!? You're shitting me."

"Nope," Trent held up his right hand, cigarette stuck between to fingers, palm out. "I swear it."

"Holy god. No wonder you went so hardcore."

Trent laughed again. "Did I really?"

"Yeah."

"Well, anyway, I finally broke my long no-sex policy back in October. That was...wait, what month is it now?" Trent asked. He was surprised at how utterly he had lost track of time.

"It's March."

"Okay, so, yeah, from October to just about a week ago, I was getting pretty regular sex from my girlfriend, and then I slept with a stripper a couple nights ago...and now you." Trent flicked some ash into the square black ashtray he'd packed away in his crate.

"So...wow, you've had four sexual partners your entire life. And you're an ODST?"

"How'd you know I was an ODST?"

"You wouldn't have chosen that armor if you weren't an ODST. Or that tat. And besides, you've just got an ODST feel about you. All Helljumpers do. I've had a few of them." Silence fell on them and Trent felt himself tempted to take Melissa for another ride. He stuck his cig in the ashtray, then stood up.

"Come on, we should shower and then get ready. Whatever this thing it...it's going to be coming around in seven hours."


Trent managed to get a small group of technicians and Marines together to help his core group of Survivor Initiates. He had all the others but Enzo and Melissa out in the woods, scouting the area. Trent stood in the hangar and stared at a holographic map set up on a foldout table. The map was of the outpost and a quarter mile of forest surrounding it. The Marines and technicians swarmed around him, a hive of activity, gathering the appropriate supplies.

"So this is where they were taken?" he asked, staring at a pair of red dots on the map. They were both on the eastern side of the base.

The tech who'd provided the map nodded. "Yes."

"And you said you checked the cameras? Which ones showed static? Feed the information into the holographic map." The technician consulted a datapad for several seconds, then fed the data into the holographic display.

"I thought so," Trent muttered. The cameras on the east side of the compound all registered static and interference. He sighed quietly, contemplating the situation. Finally, he nodded to himself. "I want work-lights up on the eastern side of the base, as many as you can spare, full power. Throw as much light onto that area. I also want everyone to have nightvision goggles."

The tech frowned. "Why?"

"For if and when the work-lights fail. And everyone needs to have on armor with helmet mounted cameras that are consistently transmitting to a feed back in the security center. I want that being recorded and at least five personnel watching it live. Make sure we're all routed through the same channel."

"Anything else?" Trent thought for several seconds, then shook his head. "All right, I'll get right on it."

"Thanks." The technician disappeared into the shifting crowd of others. Trent resumed staring at the overhead map of the compound and the forest surrounding it, further contemplating the situation. It was going to be a long night.


Time passed. Sunshine faded into twilight, then into a star-stained darkness as the sun disappeared behind the horizon, fading into memory. Brilliant lights penetrated the darkness surrounding the compound and heavily armed and armored men and women moved about in the woods. Trent had everyone split up into groups. He split the base personnel into groups of five and his own team in even smaller groups.

He and Enzo were presently making their way through the forest. Trent had a silenced SMG slung over his shoulder, safety off and ready for action. Enzo had taken a shotgun, which surprised Trent, as he always thought the Elite favored his own species' brand of weaponry. They were both decked out with gear and outfitted with cameras recording across all possible spectrums. Trent was hoping to pick up something, anything, but his gut told him that this night was going to end in misery for everyone. Wasn't that how most of his nights had been going lately?

Trent was just finishing up checking in with the team leaders.

"Echo Team, report in." There was a pause that lasted just long enough that Trent began to repeat his request. He felt himself tensing.

Something had gone wrong already. He could feel it.

"This is Echo Team Leader, one of our men are missing. We're in Grid Six. Christ, he was here just one second ago..."

"Who's closest?" Trent snapped, already making his way towards their present location.

"I'm on it," Stone replied, his voice cold and deep, much resembling his name.

"Baseplate, give me some answers. What's going on with the missing man?" Trent said as he and Enzo began jogging through the brilliantly lit forest.

"This is Baseplate...Private Sanders' feed is dead. No life signs. It cut off almost instantly. Nothing on the video unit, either. It's all dead."

"Shit!" Trent growled. He and Enzo raced on, rushing between the trees and through the underbrush. The sound of others could be heard, spread out through the forest. It was as bright as day out and Trent continually scanned the area for any sign of threat. Something was wrong, he could feel it. The cold prick of eyes, inhuman eyes, were on the back of his neck. They were being watched, all of them, by...something.

Trent stopped as he ran into Echo Team. He blinked in surprise when he saw only three men standing there, weapons raised.

"Where the hell's your fourth guy?" Trent asked.

"He's...shit! Where the hell's Baker?!" the team leader cried.

"Everyone zero in on grid six perimeter, it's in grid six. Baseplate, tell me you got something!"

"I'm sorry, Sergeant Temple, there's nothing! The feed just went dead. There was some static, then dead."

"How much static? How long?"

There was a pause. "Interference ran for approximately seven seconds."

"The second you start seeing any other interference, warn the person in question and inform me. And no one goes off on their own! Everyone watch who you're with!" There were a series of affirmative responses. The sound of others closing in could be heard, and before long the area was crawling with Marines. Trent felt somewhat out of his element. He was used to fighting an enemy he could see, not something that could apparently hide in plain sight. He kept a close eyes on the trees around him, remembering the unsettling picture from before.

After nearly fifteen minutes of nothing, a loud screaming and gunshots abruptly cut through the air. It was from far off, near the edge of the grid they'd established.

"Who is it?!" Trent cried as he began rushing through the trees once more.

"Sergeant Stone! There was no static this time! It just...went dead!"

Trent cursed and hurried. He could hear as much as sense Enzo running beside him. The big Elite began to pull ahead of him and Trent fought to keep up. Within seconds the gunfire and screaming had ceased, but there was a sound of underbrush being disturbed. Trent kept going, but stopped abruptly as something incredibly strange caught his eye.

There was a pool of what appeared to be pure darkness lying on the ground. He stared at it for several seconds, his mind working furiously, as the others swarmed around him.

"What is that?" Enzo whispered.

Trent's gaze snapped up, suddenly. "Everyone fall back to the compound! I repeat, fall back to the compound now!" The men seemed to have no problem complying with that, and began to retreat. The other Survivors, however, gathered around him as he knelt and pulled out his knife, scraping up some of the liquid darkness.

"What the hell is that?" Melissa asked.

"It looks like blood...I think Stone wounded it. Come on, we need to get back inside," Trent replied.

"But what about the creature?"

"It's going to have to go free for another night, but I've got a plan."