RRTS 6 walked through the halls of the base toward the upper tarmac. Each member was dressed in standard issue uniforms. Black long sleeves over shirts, black cargo pants, and Kevlar vest. Vera's vest was brand new, and desperately needed to be broken in. Though she prayed it wouldn't take a bullet to break it in. Sarge took lead through the halls, keeping in contact with the air crews preparations for their chopper. Duke and Destroyer came up next. Mira followed with Goat beside her. Portman and Kid took up the rear. Reaper was nowhere to be seen.

"Great vacation, damn they go quick." Duke said.

"Almost like we'd never been away." Destroyer replied.

Mira smirked and glance in Goat's direction. She was glad just to get one last gig before leave. She could go to hell and back and be happy for it if it meant a suspended leave.

They walked across the tarmac to the RRTS chopper. The chopper was already online, its rotor blades spinning around its body. Several flight crews were carrying out last minute flight prep items. Sarge stood by the troop bay door as his unit boarded the chopper. They entered the bay and took up their wall-mounted weaponry.

A female robotic voice responded as the weaponry was retrieved by each member.

"RRTS Special Ops Unit Verified. Handle I.D. Destroyer."

"Daddy's home." Destroyer took up a large chain gun. He hauled his machine gun over his lap as he took his seat.

"RRTS Special Ops Unit Verified. Handle I.D. Mac."

"RRTS Special Ops Unit Verified. Handle I.D. Goat."

Goat took up his single barreled shotgun and seated himself in silence.

"RRTS Special Ops Unit Verified. Handle I.D. Portman."

Portman dismounted his assault rifle and seated himself across from the door.

"RRTS Special Ops Unit Verified. Handle I.D. Duke."

"Say my name baby." Duke said. He took up his assault rifle.

"RRTS Special Ops Unit Verified. Handle I.D. Mira."

"Skol'ko let, skol'ko zim." Mira replied, handling her semi-automatic machine gun. Her weapon was nearly twice the length of her arm and nearly as heavy. She easily heaved the weapon onto her shoulder as she took a seat opposite of Portman.

"RRTS Special Ops Unit Verified. Handle I.D. The Kid."

"The Kid?" Kid asked. He took down his twin sub-machine guns from the wall. He sat down beside Mira. He had hoped the name wouldn't stick with him for long, but he was not so lucky.

Sarge climbed in and dismounted his heavy assault rifle.

"RRTS Special Ops Unit Verified. Handle I.D. Sarge."

Sarge moved to the door and took hold. "All set?"

"Yes sir." They replied.

Suddenly a hand shot into the bay of the chopper, stopping Sarge's motion to close the door. Everyone turned to see Reaper enter the bay, completely geared up for combat. He entered the bay and dismounted his assault rifle from the wall.

"RRTS Special Ops Unit Verified. Handle I.D. Reaper."

Reaper took the last seat available on the far side of the bay. Sarge sealed the door and took his seat across from Reaper. "Take us up."

The voice of the pilot echoed through their comms. "RRTS Six en route."

The chopper lifted from the tarmac, slowly rising above the California base. It veered in the sky toward their destination, Nevada. Mira watched from across the cab as Reaper searched his vest for gum. For some strange reason, childhood repressed fears or some psychological shit, Reaper wasn't too keen on flying. Somehow, gum helped him calm. Seeing him come up empty-handed, Mira reached into her vest pocket. As he was her partner in the field, it seemed only natural to lend as hand once in a while. Cold shoulder treatment or not, everyone needed to be on their A game for this op. Mira pulled out her last piece and flung it in Reaper's direction, tagging him in the arm. Reaper retrieved the piece on nodded in her direction. Mira turned her head from Reaper to more pressing issues, the slime ball sitting across from her.

"You know kid, it's funny." Portman snickered. "Couple days ago I asked Sarge for a little pussy. And the next day he brought you onto the team."

Kid frowned at Portman.

Mira fingered the trigger of her weapon. Oh, how tempting the thought was. And she knew she wasn't the only one thinking the fact.

"Don't give me an excuse, Portman." Reaper called. "No one here will miss you."

Portman smirked and sat back in his seat, leaving Kid alone. Mira nudged the Kid with her foot, offering him a sympathetic smile. She'd had her own run in's with Portman, frankly the Kid had it easier than Mira had faired. And so did Portman. That's what being a generals nephew got you in the corps.

Sarge rose from his seat and walked to the head of the bay. "Men, look in. This is what we got from Simcom. We have a quarantine situation on Olduvai. They sent this message when the research team stopped responding." He explained. He inserted a disk into the screen.

"Olduvai?" Goat repeated.

Mira turned back toward Reaper. He was watching the floor. His gaze slowly lifted and met her. She could see the haunted gaze clearly now. Years ago, Reaper had told her stories of Olduvai, his own personal hell that haunted him, much like how Russia had haunted her for most of her life. She turned from Reaper and watched the view screen as the transmission activated.

An older man's face appeared on the screen. His face was paling as he looked back form the screen over his shoulder. A loud, thundering echo sounded through the room. It seemed to be coming from behind the terrified man. There was no doubt that terror took top notion on his face. "This is Doctor Carmack at Classified Research, Olduvai. ID 6627." He paused as a loud thundering noise echoed behind him again.

"We have a level five breach. Implement quarantine procedures now. I repeat, implement quarantine procedures now!"

The screen went black as Sarge removed the disk. No one said a word as Sarge removed it. "UAC has shut down the lab at Olduvai. We need to locate the team, eliminate the threat, and secure the facility."

"What threat?" Kid asked.

Duke leaned over. "Goes like this see, if it's tryin' to kill ya, it's a threat."

Mira zoned out of the conversation. She knew the stories. An arc found in the Nevada desert that led to Mars. To this day very little was known about it and who built it. Reaper had told her about his family stationed there and what had happened. Mira closed her eyes. She'd never been to the Facility, which meant that she was going in blind just like the Kid. And if there one thing she hated on a mission, was going in blind on a mission. Given the facility was on another planet, within a contained facility, with an unknown threat, Olduvai was certainly looking more like hell already. What troubled her more was what had been behind the door of the Doctors lab that terrified him so?

Sarge walked back to his seat, messing Kids hair as he passed by. He took his seat across from Reaper, who was clearly lost in thought. Sarge wasn't one for small talk as he leaned closer to Reaper.

"How long has it been?" he asked.

Reaper hesitate slightly. "Ten years."

"You sure she's even still up there?" Sarge asked.

Reaper nodded slowly. "Yeah. I guess you gotta face your demons sometime."

Sarge frowned but was unable to reply. The lights switch to red, indicating they had reached their destination. Sarge slapped Reapers arm and rose to his feet again. He grabbed the support of one of the straps running along a rod above their heads and turned to his men.

"Look alive, men. Game time." He said.

The chopper landed with a slight jerking motion within it, but everyone was well ready for it. The moment the chopper touched down, everyone had snapped their restraints off, ready to move. The door swung open, sending a rush of cold air flooding into the bay of the chopper.

"Move!" Sarge ordered.

Reaper was the first man off the chopper. Mira followed closely behind him. Kid came staggering after Mira. Each man jogged off the chopper, moving into formation in the desert. They moved to the edge of the lit tarmac, taking up formation along the lit ground. Sarge took the head of the formation, corner point. To his left stood Reaper, Mira, Mac, and Goat. On Sarge's right stood Portman, Destroyer, Duke, and Kid.

They looked over the Nevada City. Small specks of the city lights danced through the black sky. But nothing lay directly in front of them. Suddenly the ground beneath their very feet began to shake, but like a California quake. Just several yards from their position, a large metallic structure rose from the ground. It opened up, revealing a clean, sterile elevator shaft with car. The team started for the elevator. Kid stared in awe at the sight, completely missing the team leaving him behind. He snapped back into his thoughts and jogged to catch up with the team, entering the elevator last.

Sarge turned to the Kid as the doors closed behind them. "You hesitate, people die."

The doors of the elevator closed and the elevator began its descent into the earth. The elevator was packed tightly. A unit of nine and heavy weapons took up plenty of space. Mira mused to herself about her size now, and thanking god she wasn't claustrophobic. From behind she sense Portman leaning closer to her. She resisted every urge and reaction to elbow Portman in the gut.

"Keep your appendages to yourself, Portman, or you're going to lose one." Mira warned. Mira could've sworn she caught Reaper glaring back at Portman from beside her.

Sarge turned his head a centimeter in their direction, but remained silent.

The sleek door opened to reveal a sleek lobby. The lobby opened into three directions, left, right, and dead ahead. Several UAC employees were walking about the lobby, carrying on with their work. Television screens baring the UAC logo flashed propaganda in timed intervals, keeping up moral. They stepped out of the elevator and filed into the lobby. A tall man stepped from the front desk and walked to meet them. He was dressed in a clean pressed UAC uniform. His hair was thinning at the top of his head and his round glasses only added to his suited appearance. He held out his hand as he reached Sarge. "Sandford Crosby, UAC Public Relations."

Sarge said nothing, but looked at the man.

Sanford didn't seem insulted or intimidated by Sarge's look. "Follow me, please." He lead them down the hall straight ahead of them. The walls were smooth. The lights were built into the walls, using a vertical fixture to illuminate the sublevel facility.

"How many people do you have up there?" Reaper asked.

"UAC houses eighty-five permanent researcher staff on Olduvai." Sandford explained, without missing a beat.

The hall opened up ahead of them. Sanford led them into the center of the facility. It was large and open. Two floor levels were outlined with large pillars and a spiral staircase. The center of the floor was slightly elevated from the rest. To one side, near a pillar, was the control panel. Several more workers stood throughout the room, including private security guards. Reaper shot one a dark look as the guard eyed Mira as she walked past. Private security or not, you treat a woman with respect. The guard caught Reapers look and matched him with a retaliation glare, daring Reaper. Reaper snorted and turned his head.

"Welcome to the Ark, gentlemen." Sandford said. It was then he caught Mira's position. He opened his mouth to adjust his statement, but Mira shook her head. Leave the chivalrous bullshit for a woman who wasn't a Marine on a mission. Sandford continued with his assignment. "Keep your distance from the core, or you may get sucked in."

A female robotic voice echoed through the room. "Initiating Molecular Mapping Drive"

"All Personnel prepare for activation."

The team walked around the raised platform, circling the liquid core. They maintained their distance. Those that knew what was about to come looked less than pleased about. Those that had no idea seemed...uncertain about what they stood around.

Kid leaned in near Goat. "You uh...you ever done this before?"

"Once." Goat answered. "A training mission."

"Hey, that's more than me." Mira chimed.

"Hope you had a good dinner Kid." Duke said.

Mira glanced to Kid. Neither one looked convinced.

"As soon as we're through, I need you to shut down the surface elevator here." Sarge ordered. "Make sure we get the standard quarantine of six hours."

Sandford nodded. "Ready to proceed."

"Ark travel, fifteen seconds, and counting."

A metallic silver orb of, what appeared to be, liquid emerged from the core of the Ark. It moved through the air like there was no gravity. It levitated at eye level and maintained its position. Sarge turned his head toward Reaper. Reaper didn't look pleased to be stepping through first, but he adjusted his weapon into his arms and stepped forward.

"Five...four...three...two...one."

The liquid engulfed Reaper whole and disappeared.

"Der'mo." Mira muttered.

yay chapter 2

translations

Skol'ko let, skol'ko zim-long time no see

der'mo-shit