The next day, 5:01 am…

With his gear prepared and ready, Phrixus heads to the transport helicopter which will take him to the area of operation. He’s been told he’ll have a squadron to work with, but he doesn’t know who will be on the squadron.

As he gets in, he finds his unit to command to be unsurprisingly familiar…

“Check it out guys, Alejandro is the one who’s gonna send us to certain death,” says Floyd.

“I thought you would stay in your country, itching for more action, are you?” says Vincent.

“You wanted to get in the major leagues? So do we, huh, I can’t blame you,” says Sylviane.

“Now this is what I call a big coincidence, I believed you were scattered across the globe, any questions about this operation?” Phrixus says.

“No questions,” say the three in unison.

“Perfect, let’s wait for the green light.”

***

Libya, 11:12 am…

Flying at high speed and invisible to the naked eye, the helicopter lands in a military camp which is located in a VOA-controlled zone. The group disembarks while the chopper drops its optic camouflage and awaits its resupply. They head to the main tent to receive further instructions from the officer in charge who addresses them as they enter inside.

“Squadron Sierra-Two I see,” an officer says. “There is an MRAP vehicle which will take you near to your objective, from the intelligence we gathered the place is a fortified outpost which has an entrance to a cave network.” He gives them an unconventional pair of binoculars. “This gadget will provide you a one-use mortar strike to a designated area, it should give you a starting advantage when you begin the assault. Once you have the data and VIPs in tow, contact us for extraction to these coordinates, good luck.”

Once they are debriefed they head to the transport to begin their mission, it will be a long ride…

***

3 hours later…

“Alright lads this is it, take care out there and watch your six,” says the driver.

The squadron gets out of the vehicle and find themselves in a desert area. In the distance, they spot a distinctive hill they recognize as the enemy camp guarding the research lab. While taking the trip to the objective they talk about the battle plans.

“So,” Floyd says, “how it’s gonna be, storming the front together or split and flank them in different directions?

“I will be the long-range support,” Sylviane says. “I can snipe a fly from one thousand meters without a spotter and not miss by a chance. I will also take the gadget to call the mortar strike.”

“Your Omicron Star gave you unparalleled accuracy?” says Phrixus.

“Along with a superior sense of equilibrium, months ago I was sent for high-priority target assassinations from afar, I have racked up twenty-five effortless confirmed kills in a row even in the worst conditions, this is another mark.”

“Yeah?” Floyd says, “While you were shooting in the shadows I was charging forward to the enemy without hesitation, I may be the common breed of Superhumans but I get the job done in short order and efficiently, nothing fancy, what only matters are the results.”

“Well… I had my share of fights too,” Vincent says, “but I prefer secrecy and system hacking as my main weapons, I can also manipulate electronics components with my bare hands, call it sensitive-pulsing electricity in the body because I don’t even know what it’s called exactly.”

“Don’t try to fry the data we are going to retrieve then, Sparky-Hands,” says Floyd.

“We’ll have to see what we have on our plate once we get a clear picture of the camp,” says Phrixus. He is happy to be around people he knows again.

***

26 minutes of walking later…

Crawling from an elevated position far away, the group finds the lab’s fortified entrance. Using a pair of binoculars Phrixus analyzes the camp. There are approximately two-hundred soldiers, some light vehicles used as transport but armed with .50 caliber machine guns and crates with labels saying “Explosives, handle with care.”

“That is some serious security, whatever is inside it must be important,” says Phrixus.

“I see a bunch of artillery warheads piled up in a corner with a lot of traffic near them,” Sylviane says, “There is our sweet spot, anything else before we start?”

“As far as I can tell we have no cover available as we move forward to the camp, once the ordnance comes in we have an opportunity to rush forward before they realize we are coming,” says Vincent.

“Let’s make it worth it” Floyd cocks his light machine gun.

“Here we go,” says Sylviane.

The special binoculars have an integrated laser designator to mark the bombing area, and painting the warhead stock, the gadget confirms its target with a beep. After waiting many seconds they hear a whistling sound from the skies, the mortar shells rain destruction in the spot, a big explosion occurs which kills many soldiers in the process. With the encampment in complete disarray for a moment, Phrixus, Vincent and Floyd charge forward while Sylviane stays behind.

Once they are close enough, they open fire against the disoriented defenders, some of them die at once but others receive gunshots and manage to quickly take cover, meaning there are Superhumans reinforcing the place. The guards manage to regain their senses and begin the counterattack with everything at their disposal. Sylviane swiftly dispatches the gunners of the vehicles and recoilless rifle users with a shot to the head, the clash slowly turns in favor of the attacking group, who manage to cut down the numbers of enemies thanks to their exceptional tactics.

Suddenly a hostile transport helicopter appears from behind the mountain where the camp is. Instead of deploying reinforcements, it employs gunners mounted in the doors to attack the group. Without any means to bring it down the group is pinned down and unable to return fire.

“Any plan B!?” yells Floyd.

“I got this,” says Sylviane via radio.

Sylviane aims with her sniper rifle to the rotor systems of the helicopter and hits them many times at the same spot. Parts of the rotor go off and begin to expel black smoke, then suddenly the helicopter becomes unstable in the air and begins to spin uncontrollably to finally crash to the ground. The group resumes their attack and finishes off the remaining opposition.

“That was the last one,” Sylviane says. “On my way.”

The group rearms and checks their equipment, once they are done they focus their attention to a large blast door which is the entrance to the lab. It has a console panel next to it which requires a keycard and a password to open.

“Looks like we’ll have to check the bodies for the key?” says Vincent.

“No time to waste,” says Phrixus, realizing

it would take considerable time to find the keycard among the many bodies littered around the camp.

Sylviane arrives. “What are you doing, searching those bodies?”

“We need a keycard to get inside,” Floyd says. “Make yourself useful.”

***

3 minutes later…

“Here it is.” Vincent waves the keycard he just found.

“Alright, we have to check our fire since the scientists are high-priority, there could be more guards inside.” Phrixus inserts the keycard and password but waits to open the door.

“Hold it, I have to take a look at what’s behind there first,” says Floyd.

Floyd’s light machine gun has a small computer screen attached on one side of the weapon. Unfolding it, he can see some lingering heat signatures of people in the room through the door, shown as a static-effect outline. “I detect seven bad guys entrenched waiting for us, the place is a wide room.”

“As soon as I open the door, throw some flashbangs,” says Phrixus.

Taking a position to the side of the door, Phrixus opens the it and instantly they are received by enemy fire. Without moving from where they are, Floyd and Vincent throw the flashbangs. As soon as they detonate, they get inside and kill the guards while they are stunned. Once it is clear, they scan the place, they have three paths available to take.

“I’d say the one in front of us, the most important things are always straight ahead,” says Floyd.

“Let’s go then,” says Vincent.

It is a rather large corridor which takes them to some kind of repository, they see mainly chemistry gear and medical equipment. They scrutinize the entire room for anything important and after some minutes they drop the search.

“Huh… nothing of value here, looks like the main pathways aren’t always the best,” says Sylviane.

“Tough luck,” Floyd says. “Better for the eggheads to remain in the same place and not even think about escaping.”

Returning to the main hall they take the corridor to the left, the metal door is secured by an electronic lock.

“Better check on this one.” Floyd unfolds his scanner. “I see people but they don’t appear to be armed, there are five of them, we found the VIPs.”

“Nice and easy on this one.” Phrixus uses the keycard and unlocks the door.

As soon as the door opens they are assaulted by a horrid smell, a scent of decaying matter fills their nostrils as if hordes of animals were rotting inside, mixed with assorted chemical substances. Trying to ignore the stench they proceed forward and find themselves in a grotesque scenario.

“What in the name of God is this?!” Protests Floyd.

They find several human corpses, tied to metal beds, some of them have different grisly appearances as if wicked experiments had been performed on these unlucky people, but what kind of unknown, deranged method where they using? In the center of the room are the cornered scientists with hands up.

“I should blast you all right where you are, you demented bastards!” Floyd aims his machine gun at the frightened scientists.

Phrixus swiftly lowers his gun. “Settle down, Floyd, we have orders to take them with us.”

“Damn lucky you are, you God-playing worms.” Floyd ejects a bullet, to show his gun is loaded.

“Who are these poor people?” says Sylviane.

“They could be anyone… prisoners, volunteers of the reds or even civilians at the wrong place and wrong time, I’m not really sure, Hyeon is desperate to discover the secrets of the alien meteorites,” Phrixus says, having a hunch about these unfortunate victims.

“I don’t see any progress,” says Vincent. “This is just another form of slaughter, no wonder the VOA dropped any projects regarding the Omicron Stars.”

“We should focus on the mission. Vincent, Sylviane, check the last room, we will keep watch on the scientists in the meantime.”

“Right, we will notify you of anything of interest over the radio,” says Vincent.

Sylviane and Vincent head to the other room, Floyd keeps a sharp watch over the scientists while Phrixus inspects the failed experiments. Every metal bed has a console next to it, and as he checks the terminals, they reveal information about many test subjects. There is a query which redirects to the most recent study, which could be the body next to Phrixus. Opening the file, it shows in great detail the beginning and end of this unlucky person.

Top Secret

Subject Codename: Stingray

Method of “Substance WU-9” induction: Radiation Exposure

Day 1: Using contained traces of the alien mutagen codenamed “Substance WU-9” we have exposed the test subject “Stingray” to ionizing radiation over his entire body. 45 minutes later the test subject complained about an itchy sensation on his skin, so we continue to monitor him for any further reactions, for now, we have sent him to his chamber.

Day 2: We have discovered flakes of Stingray’s epidermis stripping out, also he has been complaining about light chest pains and difficulty breathing, we administered medicine to help his respiratory system, until then we will be keeping watch on him.

Day 4: Stingray’s skin condition is worsening, aside from the chest pains his skin is beginning to peel off, revealing his dermis, additionally the hair of his body is falling away. We are dosing him with painkillers this time.

Day 7: The test subject has fallen into a comatose state, his outer skin layer has completely stripped off revealing his intact muscular system. We are applying life support as his respiratory system is failing, other than that we are unable to provide further help for Stingray.

Day 8: Test subject Stingray has died of respiratory arrest.

Autopsy report: The test subject has developed an advanced form of pneumonia which is the cause of death. Analyzing a sample of muscle tissue it reveals it has gone into a form of hypertrophy which caused some degree of cut resistance. We will send the body to the Department of Metabiology for further study and learn how to replicate the muscle’s hardiness to be applied to our troops.

Phrixus makes another query which redirects him to a list of previous test subjects. Choosing one randomly, he reads another entry.

Top Secret

Subject Codename: Flux

Method of “Substance WU-9” induction: Injection

Day 1: Ionizing a special fluid with “Substance WU-9” we managed to create an injectable version of the mutagen, the test subject Flux has been administered a dosage to discover any alterations in her physiology. No perceptible changes so far, and she reports no reaction.

Day 4: Flux has acquired a noxious yellowish appearance and is suffering from acute hemoptysis, we have diagnosed her with a severe systemic infection. We are supplying her antibiotics to combat the illness, until she recovers we will keep monitoring her condition.

Day 5: The test subject has died.

Autopsy report: Blood analysis indicates an extreme form of sepsis. We did a full autopsy, using biohazard suits as a precaution as the body is showing an alarming rate of decomposition. During the initial Y-incision, we found the internal organs to be largely dissolved, the bones have a charcoal coloration and are brittle. We do not understand the nature of this infection. The body was incinerated.

Phrixus scrolls down the list to find several different test subject profiles stored in the terminal with the same method of documentation. Every entry is an ill-fated soul who ended as a guinea pig for the futile and implausible quest of the Red Confederacy to attain the perfect supersoldier.

“What a nefarious war crime…” Phrixus mumbles to himself.

“Phrixus,” Vincent says over the radio, “we found the lab mainframe here, as I can see here it shares a worldwide connection with other confederate research labs around the globe. They have all the data stored in the network. I’m downloading it now, it will be fairly fast so you should call our extraction unit.”

“The sooner we get out of this wretched place, the better,” says Floyd.

“HQ, this is Squadron Sierra-Two, we have the research data and the scientists are in tow, requesting evac.”

“This is HQ, rendezvous to the coordinates W12 S20 N1. Central Command orders you to destroy the lab before you leave.”

“How are we supposed to raze this place?” says Floyd.

“I have demolition charges with me, I will set them up.” says Sylviane via radio.

“Holy… listen to this, I found a hidden secure channel. I hacked in and found evidence of the disappearance and secret murder of five important Chinese officers and agents who found out they were experimenting with a few of their fellow soldiers without their consent,” Vincent says. “They were silenced to avoid repercussions. China is very opposed to the idea of playing around with the mutagen.”

“That could be a sucker punch against the Red Confederacy, it could cost them their allegiance with China,” says Phrixus.

2 minutes later…

“Charges set!” says Sylviane.

“I have everything, let’s go!” says Vincent.

“Alright, people, you come with us. Move!” Phrixus tells the scientists, making a gesture to follow him.

With the VIPs in tow, everyone leaves the lab. Once they are at a safe distance, Sylviane activates the detonator and blows up the entire place, a large explosion comes off at the lab’s entrance and then is sealed with rocks and debris. The group heads to the extraction point and wait for a few minutes, soon a military cargo truck and a few MRAPs appear.

“Get inside!” a soldier tells the scientists. “Now!”

Without hesitation, they board the cargo truck, while the squadron gets in a MRAP. It has been a hell of a mission…