November 2nd, 2062

Alpha Base

0930

"My what?" Hyena says, defeated.

"Your echelon. Your squad. Your team. Whatever you want to call it." KS-23 says, taking a seat on her bed.

"Ugh. My head suddenly hurts." Hyena says, taking a seat on his bed, grasping his head with his hand.

"You should try drinking some water. That should help with the headache." KS-23 says helpfully.

Hyena looks at her, his face still concealed with the balaclava he wears. "This isn't a headache that can be solved with water."

He gets up from the bed, taking off his winterized jacket, and heads to the minifridge. He takes out a bottle filled with an orange liquid. Hyena turns the bottle around so that he can see the label. "WHISKEY," the name says in black. Hyena uncorks the bottle and prepares to take a swig from it.

"Wait, Comrade! You shouldn't drink when your feeling under the weather." KS-23 says, getting out of the bed and rushing over to Hyena, grabbing the bottle from him.

Hyena grabs back the bottle. "Trust me. I need this." He finishes saying lifting his balaclava and placing the mouth of the bottle to his lips.

Before he can tip the bottle to drink from it, KS-23 sinks her teeth into his bare arm, causing him to throw the bottle. The flask flies through the air and lands on Hyena's bed. The contents of the bottle spill onto the bed, soaking the sheets in the sweet sickly smell of whiskey.

Hyena looks at KS-23 with death in his eyes. Almost instantly, the look fades, and he grabs where KS-23 bit him. He takes off his balaclava and looks at KS-23 dumbfoundedly.

"Did you just bite me?" He says, unbelievably rubbing the bite area.

"Yes, I did," KS-23 says, folding her arms with a smile. "It was for your own good. Alcohol is no way to cure a headache." She says, wiggling her finger in front of Hyena's face.

Hyena slaps away her finger and faces his now soaked bed. He lifts the sheets to get into the bed.

"Wait, you're not planning on sleeping in that are you?!" KS-23 says surprised

"Listen." Hyena starts. "I'm tired as hell from the mission. I haven't gotten any sleep since yesterday. I'm going to sleep."

"Don't you want to hear about the complexities of echelon management," KS-23 says in a teacherly tone.

"No," Hyena says, pulling the soaked covers over him.

The sheets are soaked entirely through, and the smell of whiskey is almost suffocating under them. Hyena tries to make himself comfortable in the damp sheets, but it's impossible. He gets out of the bed and looks at KS-23.

"Let me sleep in your bed," Hyena says with a deadpan expression, pointing to her bed.

"What!?" KS-23 says, surprised.

"You messed up my bed." Hyena starts. "It's only fair that I sleep in yours since it's not wet with whiskey."

KS-23 looks away embarrassed. "But I plan on sleeping in my bed." She says quietly

"Then we'll sleep together," Hyena says, moving past her and pulling the sheets off her bed.

KS-23 blushes. "W-We can't do that…"

Hyena lies in bed and pulls the covers up. After shifting a bit, he pulls up the sheets and presents space for KS-23.

"A squad that fights together sleeps together," Hyena says. "I've slept in the same bed as my past squadmates. This shouldn't be any different."

"But you're a man…" KS-23 says with an awkward smile.

"And? If you're tired, it shouldn't matter." Hyena says flatly. "My arm is getting tired, by the way."

"Alright. Alright." KS-23 says, letting out a heavy breath.

She cautiously walks over to the bed Hyena lays in. She slowly takes off her shoes and gets into the bed next to Hyena. Hyena lets go of the sheets, which end up covering KS-23 entirely. Only the indent in the sheets revealing that shes in the bed. KS-23 pops her head out the top of the sheets and ends up eye to eye with Hyena. Her face quickly turns red, and she turns away from him.

"Your eyes…." She starts to say.

"Two different colors," Hyena says, turning his back to KS-23 so that their back to back. "Brown and grey if you didn't get a good look."

"They're pretty…."

"Thanks."

KS-23 turns toward Hyena, whose only motions are his breathing. She stares at the back of his head. After a few seconds, she turns back and closes her eyes.

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November 2nd, 2062

Alpha Base

1750

Hyena wakes up groggily. He sits up in the bed and looks next to him to find that KS-23 is not there. He looks around the room, and she is nowhere to be found. Hyena gets out of the bed and walks toward the closet. He takes out his G&K uniform and a hair tie. He puts on the suit and ties his hair into a short ponytail and puts on his red beret. He puts his hand on the knob of the door leading out of the room.

"Come in, Hyena." The Commander's voice comes from the radio on Hyena's night table.

Hyena turns around and takes his hand off the doorknob. He sits on a dry spot on his bed and picks up the radio.

"Receiving," Hyena says over the radio.

"I have another mission for you. You need to come to my office when you can." The Commander says

"Understood, Boss. I'm on my way." Hyena says, putting the radio back on the night table.

Hyena leaves the room and heads toward the Commander's office.

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Hyena makes it to the Commander's office and stands outside the door. As he reaches to knock on the door, he hears voices from inside the office. He withdraws his hand and stands just enough away from the door so that the voices are but a murmur. The door opens, revealing DP28. She gives Hyena a solemn smile, then walks past him and down the hallway.

"Hyena?" The Commander shouts through the still-open door.

"Yes, Boss," Hyena responds, poking his head into the room, putting up a meager salute.

"Come in. Come in." The Commander happily says. Hyena does as he says and walks into the room. The Commander points to a chair in front of his desk. "Please. Sit."

Hyena does as he is told and sits down in the chair. "You wanted to talk about a new mission?"

"Always down to business, huh?"

Hyena looks away, embarrassed. "N-no, just that it sounded like you needed to see me urgently about the new mission."

The Commander laughs heartily. "I'm just joking with you, Hyena! You don't have to take everything so seriously."

Hyena lets out a sigh. "I will attempt to be more light-hearted, Boss."

The Commander sits down by his desk and puts his feet up. "So how have you adjusted to your new position as a squad leader?"

"I would hardly say I have adjusted at all. You sort of sprang this on me if I'm going, to be honest, Boss." Hyena says, scratching his neck.

"You'll have to forgive me. It was an impulsive decision, but I don't regret it." The Commander says. "You have proven to be an asset ever since you arrived, and I believe that giving you a squad will only prove to be a benefit."

"As you say, Boss."

The Commander stands up from his chair. "So let's talk about this new mission." He heads towards a switch on the wall and flicks it. A projector comes down from the ceiling and projects a map on the bare back wall.

"This mission will be a long one." The Commander starts. "I'm sending you to assist another commander at Echo Base." The Commander points to a place on the map. "Echo base is located in a basin. Half of the base is built into the mountain, meaning there's only one way into the base from land. Luckily you're coming in from the sky."

"Same climate as here?" Hyena asks

"Yes." The Commander moves back to his chair and sits down. "I have no gear to give you. You'll receive your equipment at the base. I don't know what missions the Commander at Echo Base will give you."

"So, I'll be serving a new Boss?" Hyena asks suspiciously.

"No, you're still serving under me. Just think of this as a change of pace." The Commander assures. He takes out a cigarette and puts it in his mouth. "I want you and Ks-23 to be your best behavior when you're over there."

"Anything I should know about the Commander?"

"Yeah." The Commander lights his cig. "He's a bit….." The Commander stops and takes a drag of his cig. "...eccentric. Nothing I'm sure you can't handle."

Hyena looks at the Commander with a confused expression, but it quickly fades. "Is there anything else I need to know?" Hyena asks.

The Commander stares at the wall and takes another drag. He exhales a cloud of smoke, which quickly goes to the air vent above. He turns towards Hyena and opens the drawer to his desk, taking out a pack of cigarettes and a cassette. He places the pack and cassette on the desk and slides both over to Hyena, who picks up both and stuffs them in his front pocket.

"No. That's about all I can think of." The Commander says, putting out the cig on his desk. "You leave first thing in the morning."

"Understood, Boss," Hyena says, standing up.

Hyena stands up straight and gives a formal salute. The Commander responds with a seated informal salute. Hyena walks out of the office and into the hallway. He walks down the hall and outside the building. As he walks past the helipad, he stops before he passes the stationary helicopter.

"Best say hi," Hyena says to himself.

Hyena walks over towards the helicopter and opens the sliding doors of the helicopter and steps into the interior. He moves towards the pilot seat and finds the usual black mass missing. He also notices that the pilot area has been retrofitted to fit human-sized pilots.

"Don't tell me he wants me to pilot this thing…." Hyena says disparately.

Just as he says this, he feels a finger poke him in the ribs. He turns around to see IDW standing right behind him.

"IDW?" Hyena says, surprised.

Hyena takes a closer look to see that this IDW is different than the one he knows. Her hair has been dyed a dark brownish color. Her face is serious and not as smug as IDW's. She's also slightly shorter than the IDW Hyena knows. She wears her hair short, cut just before it reaches her neck. She wears a pilot uniform and holds a helmet in her hand meant for aviation.

"I take it you're the new pilot," Hyena says seriously.

The pilot looks at him with her cold dead grey eyes. Her eyes go up and down, Hyena scanning him. After a few seconds of scanning, she puts a thumbs up.

"You got a name?"

The pilot shakes her head and puts a thumbs down.

"Do you want one?"

The pilot makes a thinking expression than puts a thumbs up.

Hyena places a hand by his head and scratches it. "How does Sierra sound?"

The pilot gives a thumbs up and cracks a slight smile.

"Alright, Sierra." Hyena brushes past her and makes his way towards sliding doors. "Have you been briefed on the mission and flight plan?"

Sierra gives a thumbs up.

"Good. We should be leaving within the hour, so be prepared."

Sierra nods. Hyena cracks a smile at her and jumps out of the heli. He heads towards the barracks and pushes the heavy double doors open leading into the hallways. After some twists and turns, he makes it to his and KS-23's room. He opens the door and steps into the room. Only now does he realize that a desk and chair have been added to the room closest to KS-23's bed.

KS-23 sits by the desk, utterly ignorant of the new person in the room. Hyena lets out a sigh and walks over to where she sits. He peeks over her shoulder to see her etching something into some dog tags.

"I'm not done yet." She says, not taking her focus off the dog tags.

Hyena walks over to her bed and sits on it. "Well, we leave in an hour, so hurry it up."

She turns around and looks at Hyena with a cheerful face. "A mission?" She says excitedly.

Hyena leans over and unties his dress shoes. "Yeah, and it's a long one."

Hyena takes off the shoes and places them to the side. He stands up and takes off his tie and starts to unbutton his shirt. As he undoes the last buttons, he can feel a pair of eyes studying him.

"Can I help you?" Hyena says, seriously taking off his shirt and placing it on the bed.

KS-23 quickly turns around and faces back towards her desk.

"You don't have any scars. Most good soldiers have scars." KS-23 says flatly.

"Soldiers with nations have scars," Hyena responds in the same tone. "Besides, I'm more of an infiltrator than a frontline soldier."

Silence overtakes the room as Hyena finishes taking off his uniform. He walks over to the wardrobe in his skivvies and takes out his BDU and places it on the bed. Hyena can still feel eyes on his body, scanning him. He lets out a defeated sigh as he gets his BDU on.

"Are you ready to go?" Hyena says while checking over himself. He stuffs his walkman into one of his pockets.

"Yeah, I am," KS-23 says, standing from the chair.

She walks over to Hyena and presents the dog tags in cupped hands. Hyena looks curiously at the dog tags and picks them up from her hands. He looks at them closely. Upon inspection, they have his name on them as well as the words "ECHELON 1" etched into them.

"This is for me?" Hyena asks

"Yeah. It has your name on them, doesn't it?"

"I suppose you're right," Hyena says, putting it over his head and resting it around his neck.

"And look." KS-23 starts. She digs into her pocket and takes out a matching dog tag. She eagerly shows it to Hyena. "See? Now we match."

Hyena looks at the tags which have "KS-23" etched into them as well as "ECHELON 1". He lets out a little chuckle.

"What's so funny?" KS-23 asks.

"Its nothing," Hyena says, regaining his composure. "I guess we're officially a squad now is all." He places a hand on KS-23's shoulder. "Feels good to be part of a squad again."

KS-23 blushes and looks away. "Don't get all mushy on me, comrade."

Hyena lets out another chuckle, much like a hyena. He lifts his hand off KS-23's shoulder and heads towards the door. KS-23 hastily follows close behind.

"C'mon, let's get this mission started," Hyena says, opening the door. "Don't want to keep Sierra waiting."

"Who's Sierra?" KS-23 asks

"Our pilot. Don't worry, you'll meet her soon."

They both walk down the hallways, and after a few twists and turns, they make it to the double doors leading to the helipad. Hyena takes the lead in heading towards the helicopter, whose rotors are silent. Sierra stands outside the helicopter and leans against it, facing the incoming Hyena and KS-23. Hyena does a slight wave at Sierra, who responds in kind.

"KS, this is Sierra." Hyena introduces.

KS-23 looks at Sierra curiously. After a few seconds of inspection, KS extends her hand out towards Sierra.

"Comrade Sierra," KS-23 says officially.

Sierra looks at the extended hand blankly. She turns to Hyena with a quizzical look on her face and walks over to him, ignoring KS-23. She looks up at Hyena with a serious expression. She pokes Hyena's chest. KS-23 looks visibly offended and folds her arms.

"What?" Hyena asks.

Sierra points to Hyena's pocket. Hyena digs into his pocket and pulls out the pack of cigs the Commander gave him. Sierra extends her hand with her palm open.

"You want one of these?" Hyena says with slight surprise.

Sierra nods. Hyena opens the pack. The pack is a typical twenty pack but is missing half of the cigs. Where the other ten should be is a simple, cheap lighter. Hyena takes out one and gives it to Sierra. She takes the cig and places it in her mouth.

"Guess I'll have one too," Hyena says, shrugging.

He takes off his balaclava and stuffs it into his back pocket. He takes out a cig and places it in his mouth. He withdraws the lighter and lights his cig. Sierra leans her head forward towards Hyena. He lights her cig as well, and both of them take a drag of their own cigs.

"Those are bad for you, y'know." KS-23 interrupts the duo. "They lower your lifespan."

"Yeah, well in this line of work, death is always around the corner," Hyena responds, letting out the smoke from his mouth. "Why worry about the future when I might die tomorrow?"

Sierra nods in agreement much to KS-23's surprise. Sierra moves towards the edge of the platform. They stand on and takes a seat on the edge letting her feet dangle. Hyena follows after and takes a place next to her. For the first time, Sierra's expression changes to one of smug satisfaction, just like IDW's.

KS-23 remains standing and folds her arms. She looks at the duo, and her face starts to twist and contort. She scratches her leg impatiently and starts to fidget uncontrollably. Finally, she lets out a heavy breath of air and walks over to the duo and sits next to Hyena.

"Let me have one too, Comrade," KS-23 exclaims with a sense of pride.

Hyena looks at her with a deadpan expression the cig slightly hanging out of his mouth. He lets out a shrug and hands her a cig. KS hurriedly puts it in her mouth and leans towards Hyena expecting the lighter. He lights her cig.

KS-23 takes a long drag of the cig. Instead of letting out the smoke, she swallows it. Her face quickly changes to surprise as she lets out hoarse coughs. Hyena quickly slaps her back as she coughs.

"Don't take such long drags," Hyena says, annoyed. "Just take a quick one and let it out." He shakes his head. "If you swallow it, you'll just end up coughing up a lung."

KS-23 continues coughing but is able to give a nod of understanding. Her coughing subsides after a few seconds, and she places the cig back in her mouth. Following Hyena's instruction, she takes a shorter drag and lets the smoke gather in her mouth. She lets it out in one awkward breath.

"Ugh, watching you makes me want to quit." Hyena jokes.

"It isn't as easy as it looks!" KS blurts embarrassed.

Sierra shakes her head dismissively. She takes her cig and puts it out against the metal platform and stands up. Hyena flicks his into the snow that coats the ground. KS looks at both of them with a sort of admiration as she is barely finished with her cig.

Sierra heads towards the helicopter and disappears into it. After a few moments, the rotors of the heli start to roar to life. Hyena stands up off the platform as KS starts to hurriedly smoke her cig. Hyena looks at her and shakes his head with slight disappointment. He walks towards the heli, and slides open the doors.

"C'mon KS, let's go." Hyena calls out.

"Understood." She says quickly.

She tries to flick the cig into the snow but ends up forcing the burning end into her finger, causing a slight burn. She shakes her hand as the cig falls into the snow directly below the platform. She stands up and is greeted by Hyena's disappointed face.

"When I get the chance, I'll teach you how to actually smoke," Hyena says, turning towards the heli and stepping into it.

KS looks away, embarrassed. "I would like that." She whispers, stepping into the heli.

KS-23 sits down in the many seats of the heli while Hyena makes his way to the co-pilot's seat. Before he enters the cockpit, he quickly turns on his heels and heads towards KS. He digs into his pocket and pulls out his walkman and extends it towards KS-23.

"I'm gonna take a nap during the flight." Hyena starts. "The Commander gave me a new cassette. Check it out for me, will ya?"

KS-23 takes the walkman. "Are you sure, Hyena? You're trusting me with your…." She takes a look at the archaic music device. "...music player?" She questions.

"I'm not telling you to keep it," Hyena says. "Just to keep you from being bored during the flight," he says, giving a slight smile.

KS looks down at the walkman and looks back up. She starts to open her mouth, but Hyena quickly turns back on his heels and sits in the co-pilot seat. She closes her mouth and looks at the walkman.

She inspects it curiously. She gently rubs her hands against the music player. Her hands find their way to the eject button, and she opens the player. Inside is already a cassette. She takes it out and looks at it. The words "FOR HYENA" in bold are written on the tape. KS puts the cassette back into the walkman and puts the ear pods into both her ears. She places the play button and leans back into the seat, closing her eyes.

"You're just to good to be true…." A male voice sings. "...Can't take my eyes off of you. You'd be like heaven to touch. I wanna hold you so much….."

KS-23 listens to the sweet sound of the male singer. She opens her eyes and looks out the window to find that the heli is already so high into the sky. She leans back into the seat and nods off to the sound of the music.