"Fenix to Baird, do you copy?" Marcus Fenix tried to keep his tone of voice steady as static crackled in his earpiece. He'd given up trying to reach the group of gears patrolling offshore, and couldn't understand why the mechanic wasn't responding.

Unless…

He pressed it again, setting his jaw.

"Baird, come in! There's an unidentified craft offshore to the east."

Marcus listened hard. Nothing.

"The patrol boat on your side is non-responsive. What do you see? Come on, answer me, goddamnit! Where the hell are you?!"

The sergeant was about to pound his fist on the table in front of him before his earpiece burst to life. Baird's voice boomed over the comm., and Marcus flinched at the sudden noise.

"Marcus, it's an ambush! We're—"

"Baird! Baird, what the hell's going on?!" He heard muffled voices before the comm went dead again. He switched channels to Jace and Anya, who were already on their way to inspect the patrol boat. The blonde's voice immediately reached his ears.

"Marcus? Marcus, what's wrong?" She sounded flustered, and Marcus knew they'd found something they didn't like.

"Anya," Marcus' voice was a low growl now. "We've got company."

Baird didn't know where he was. It was warm, but his body felt cold as he began to come to, immediately feeling the effects of the stock of a Retro Lancer coming in contact with his skull. He didn't know how long he'd been unconscious. It was daylight, but it had been close to dawn before the lights went out, so he couldn't tell for sure. His eyes fluttered open, and began to focus on two familiar faces. But he couldn't for the life of him place their names. The blonde shifted against the ground as the muffled voices steadily became clearer, and he could make out Cole and Marcus—yeah, that's who they were—leaning over him, their faces contorted with concern.

"Baird," Marcus kept his voice low, almost gentle. "Baird, what the hell happened?"

The mechanic groaned as he tried to sit up. He reached to touch the gash on the back of his head, and cringed when he saw his fingertips stained dark red.

"Ughhh…Oh, shit..."

Cole eased him up slowly.

"You're alright, baby. Come on, easy does it."

The massive gear tried to stay positive, as always, but even in his disoriented state, Baird could tell he was worried. The blonde was about to get to his feet, but a wave of nausea took hold. His mind raced, going over all the symptoms of a concussion as he fought the urge to gag. Cole backed off a bit when it looked like he needed to puke, and Baird sat very still before rubbing his eyes. Ok, ok. I'm alright. God, why does my head hurt so much?

"C-Cole…?" He looked up, squinting at the early morning sunlight peaking through the trees. Cole managed a small grin and put out his hand, which Baird took, and hauled him to his feet. The blonde looked unsteady for a moment, but after a second, he planted his boots firmly against the ground.

"Marcus…What the hell…" Baird mumbled, clenching his jaw as his head continued to throb. He couldn't remember anything from the night before. He looked at his blood-stained hand again. How the f—

Oh God…

"Sam," Baird's eyes were frantic as he searched his friends' faces. Now he remembered. Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit…

He looked around, then back at Marcus.

"Where's Sam?"

"Baird—"

"Where is she?" Baird took a step closer, his eyes blazing. Blood had dripped from his wound down his neck, and he was pale. Marcus tried to keep his tone neutral.

"Baird, listen to me. I need to know what happened. Try to remember."

"Is she...?" He couldn't focus. Fragments of the scene flashed through his mind, but he couldn't put them together. His voice was raspy, and he suddenly realized how thirsty he was when his words got caught in his throat.

"They…took her…"

Baird's face went slack, and Cole reached for his arm, which he placed over his shoulder. The blonde looked like he was going to pass out.

"Come on baby, lets get that looked at." Baird simply nodded, excepting Cole's help. They took her…

"Anya to Marcus. Come in."

"I'm here Anya. What's going on?"

"They're...gone Marcus…" The dark haired gear's shoulders slumped. He heard her exhale slowly. "They're all gone…"

Marcus balled his fist. "Shit…"

"That's not all. There are two unidentified bodies here."

The group could hear Anya grunt with effort as she turned one of the dead men over.

"Looks like Stranded. Adult male, heavily armed…." Her voice trailed off as her brow knitted, taking in what she saw.

"Dressed in all black, light armor plates, face paint…"

Marcus glanced at Baird through the corner of his eye, and the mechanic nodded, fear in his blue eyes.

"We're on our way." Cole and Baird followed Marcus' lead as he started a fast walk towards the western shoreline.

"Did…Did you find Baird and Sam?" Marcus could tell by the tone of her voice that Anya was steeling herself for the worst.

"We found Baird. He's fine." Marcus glanced over his shoulder as he quickened his pace a tad. Baird was lagging behind a little, but he looked a bit better then before.

"Sam's…missing."

Anya didn't respond right away. Her throat went dry as she spoke.

"Marcus…is she…?"

"I'm not sure. Baird says she's been captured."

Anya tried to make sense of his words. Captured? But…why? She glanced over her shoulder at the two bodies on the floor of the patrol boat, covered in blood. One of the men had a bullet hole in his forehead, and Jace cringed before searching him.

"Who are these guys?" She asked over the comm., though the question wasn't directed to anyone in particular.

"I guess we're going to find out."

***Sorry for the wait guys! I'm going to try to update sooner ^.^ Thanks for reading! I hope you like so far :)