22,300 miles above the Earth

Geosynchronous Orbit

SST-104 / Space Shuttle Enterprise

30th January 2000

0000 Hrs. MST

" Houston to Enterprise, calling Enterprise over. "

Colonel John Edinger, USAF, rubbed his eyes with his free hand. It was the start of his watch; the rest of the crew was still sound asleep in their bunks. He lazily keyed in a command on his touchscreen and was satisfied with the status indicators. Nothing was out of the ordinary. Absolutely nothing. Yawning, he signed off on the checklist on his clipboard. So far this trip is about as exciting as watching turtles doing the nasty, the astronaut thought to himself. Might as well see what the eggheads at Mission Control want. Probably want to put us through another freaking Chinese fire drill…

" Enterprise to Houston, we're all in the green. Over. "

" Roger that, Enterprise. Be advised of incoming flash message. Priority UMBRA. "

The colonel's eyes opened wide. Any message tagged Priority UMBRA meant it came straight from the White House. Did it have something to do with the new module and mission specialist they took aboard at the last minute? Now his interest was really piqued. Something big is going on and this crew was going to be an active participant. His hands began to sweat just like they did before he was scheduled to fly a sortie into combat.

" Affirmative, Houston. Standing by for incoming flash message. Transmit when you're ready. "

Thirty minutes later, Colonel Edinger typed in a receipt confirmation code back to Mission Control and printed a hardcopy of the flash message. Then he flipped a switch activating the shuttle's intercom. There's really something about being careful of what you wish for 'cause you might just get it. Right in the freaking keister.

" Attention crew, this is the commander. Dr. Chambers, please report to the cockpit now. Crew, prepare for immediate action! "

The mission commander rechecked all of the shuttle's vital systems and saw that everything was still in the green. He unbuckled himself from the seat's safety harness and floated over to the navigator's workstation. Colonel Edinger had just finished plotting the Enterprise's new course when the specialist floated into the cockpit.

Standing upright, she was only 5'2". Her hair was now worn shoulder length instead of the boyish cut she used to favor. Through the rigorous training she received in the astronaut corps, her small frame was now wiry and muscular. She greeted the colonel with a jaunty wave and held out her hand. The colonel returned her smile.

" I think this addressed to you, ma'am. " Then Colonel Edinger spun the hardcopy towards the other astronaut. It floated end over end until it crossed the length of the cockpit until it reached the outstretched hand of Dr. Rebecca Chambers, MD, a last minute addition to the crew of SST-104.

In the last couple of years, Rebecca had little to smile about. Her city was reduced to ash, thanks to the nuclear tipped cruise missile launched by the Umbrella Corporation. Her teammates in the RPD's S.T.A.R.S. Bravo Team were butchered in the Arkady Mountains during the Raccoon City Massacre. She still has a phobia of riding trains. She still had the nightmares to keep her up at night. The former medic first turned to working for Doctors without Borders doing humanitarian work in Third World nations. Then she worked for the CDC as a virologist and a consultant on biological WMDs. It was in that capacity that Chris Redfield found her and made her an offer. An offer that might just help her sleep at night.

She read the message.

TO: SURGEON

FROM: UNDERTAKER

FORECAST READS BLACK RAIN. WEATHERMAN APPROVES. INITIATE BLIND FURY. END MESSAGE.

Colonel Edinger watched the expression change on Rebecca's face. It became harder, more determined. He was about to reach out and comfort her when she spoke.

"Colonel, per Executive Order 5150 and the National Security Act addendum D this vehicle, its crew, and its payload are now under the direct command of the Biohazard Countermeasures Unit. Get your crew ready, sir. We're going to war. "

TO BE CONTINUED