When Hal awoke, he didn't know where he was. In fact, he barely knew who he was. All he knew was that he had a terrible itch in his chest. It was dark, and he was cold. Disorientation is not a nice feeling. Judging by the echoes, he would say that he was in a large, metal room with many other people. He could sense a faint glow from the stars. It was now only semi-darkness, and his eyes swiftly became accustomed to it. Hal realised that it was a barracks. All of the others were clad in uniform, with similar symbols etched onto the shoulders.

What do they want with me?

He lay on his back. Trying to remember...

He was finishing his prayer... Then a stranger came along. With a mysterious power...

He touched his chest. It felt rough, metallic even. There were no feathers on it at all. He glanced downwards. Even in the half-light, he could make out the shape of a cross. His chain felt heavy. He needed some rest.

Morning came. The building buzzed with energy. All of the soldiers woke and began stretching. The floor was lined with sleeping bags. The room filled with chatter. Although these looked like highly disciplined soldiers, they seemed to be in no rush. A particular conversation caught Hal's ear. A group of war-hardened pumas kept giving him suspicious looks. They made him uneasy. One of them started whispering something to the others, who grinned and nodded. They straightened up and walked over to where Hal was sitting.

"You're new here, right?" Said one of them.

"Maybe..."

"You can't hide it from us. And let me tell you something, kid. If you're new, and as weak as you are, there are going to be people out to get you."

"I appreciate your concern, but I can take care of myself." Hal sounded patronising.

"Impudent whelp!" And Hal was lifted off his feet. He found himself staring into the eyes of a cold, harsh, brutal marauder. "You have to know things to survive around here, and one of those things is that you should never insult one of the elites!"

"I don't care." Hal's voice was stifled, because he was being grasped by the face.

He dropped his chain to the ground and wove it between the puma's legs. He yanked hard, and the large cat fell onto his back. Hal landed on his feet. He shot out another blow, this time around the neck. He pushed the puma against a wall and squeezed his throat hard.

"I want answers." He held the spearhead to the cat's neck, but before the answers were received, he felt the other two grab his arms and restrain him.

"You're going to wish you never did that." The first puma raised his fist.

"Dazam!" Barked a voice from across the room. Every head turned to see who dared challenge this murderous assailant. "Lay off the kid." It was an ocelot. He was, unlike the rest of the soldiers, wearing full armour. He strode towards Dazam. The other two let Hal fall to the floor.

"Why do you intervene, Cole? It is not your place to challenge an elite. And nor is it his."

"I intervene. That's all that matters." Quicker than lightning, he pulled out a pistol and pointed it at Dazam's eye. "My squad accepts full responsibility for him. If you have a problem with that, you can take it up with the boss."

The elite growled, but slowly backed away. Cole offered Hal a hand, and pulled him up off the floor.

"Why did you help me?" The bird glared at him.

"Because I know how it feels." Cole brushed back his hair, revealing a massive scar across his eye.

"Well, I don't mean to sound ungrateful, so... thanks."

"Don't mention it. Like I said, if you do anything stupid again, I'll take the hit for you." He smiled.

"Thanks... I'm Hal by the way. Hal Ross."

"Ross... Ross...? Why does that name sound so familiar?" He shrugged. "Probably just a coincidence. I'm Cole."

"Cole? Cole... what?"

"No last name, no middle name. Just Cole."

"Sure." Hal was slightly confused.

Cole took Hal around the complex. It was enormous. Hal wondered what they did there. There seemed to be nothing to suggest they did anything but sustain the soldiers. At length, they arrived at a smaller building, somewhat secluded from the rest of the facility. Cole explained that these were his quarters.

"How come you don't stay with the rest of them?"

"I don't feel like it. Basically, I'm one of the best agents these guys have, and I get a lot of privileges that the others don't. Apart from having to share my place with three other commandos, it's almost complete privacy."

He pushed open the door and went in. It was spacious. There was a small kitchen, a large living room and several bedrooms. The other three all looked terribly bored. They were all lying on the couches, just staring at the ceiling.

"Having fun, are we?"

"Cole, we haven't had a mission for weeks. It's not much fun with nothing to do." A tall reptile retaliated.

"I know." Cole frowned. "That was sarcasm."

"Aren't you going to introduce us?" called an owl from the corner.

"I was getting to that." Cole and Hal went in and joined the others in their unstructured-doing-nothing. "Bissu, Umbra, Coo, this is Hal." He gestured to the reptile, a bat and the owl in turn.

"Hey," Came murmurs of approval from the perfectly still warriors.

"Hal, this is Bissu Komodo, Umbra McKnight and Coo."

"Another one with no surname?" Hal joked.

"Coo comes from a planet far outside the Galactic Federation. His customs and culture are different from ours. Don't make fun."

"And what about you? Why do you have no surname?" Hal raised an eyebrow.

"I'd prefer not to discuss it."

"Cole doesn't like to talk much about his past." Bissu raised from her seat on the couch.

"Why do you have a chain welded onto your arm?" Umbra asked suddenly.

"What? Oh.. Umm... Experimental curiosity?"

"You mean you were drunk?"

Hal stayed silent for a long while. "Yes..."