Chapter 1: Rebirth       The shuttle door opened, revealing the vast interior of the hanger beyond. "Welcome aboard the Resolute III." announced the shuttle comm system. "All personnel should report immediately to their designated commanding officers." The passengers began to disembark. Among them was a tall, short-haired brunette wearing a blue and tan uniform. Most of the other passengers stared at her as she moved past. The rest pretended not to. While the young women was a attractive by most standards and quite obviously in great physical shape, it was not her pleasant face or muscular build that garnered all the attention. Instead it was her right arm, or rather the construct that now replaced it. Its polished metal surface gleamed under the bright lights of the hanger, making it all that much harder to miss.       Iris Janson took in a deep breath and released it. It was her first day back on active duty since the accident. She tried to remain optimistic, hoping that no one would make much of her bionic arm. But given how things were going thus far that just didn't seem likely to happen. Her personnel items had been shipped ahead of her, presumably to her new living quarters. Thus she carried nothing with her except a small slip of yellow paper. She walked calmly over to the nearest hanger tech and tapped him on the shoulder. "What is the easiest way to the bridge?" The tech snapped around, a bit taken aback by her appearance. "The bridge?" reiterated Janson. The tech snapped out of his momentary trance. "Uh right. Take the lift up to the sixteenth deck. There's an elevator a little ways down the hall from it. It will take you straight up to the bridge." "Thank you." she replied. * * *       "Wow." The Resolute III represented the very pinnacle of Exofleet ship design. It had the most advanced systems, the most powerful engines, cutting edge armament, and was the largest Exocarrier ever constructed. Lt. Maya knew all of these facts long before she set actually set foot on board. But the reality proved to be far more impressive than the mental conception. The ship was something, of that there was little doubt. Something huge. thought Maya. She stepped onto the lift and pressed the button for deck 6 - one of the hanger decks. The lift moved surprisingly quick. So much so that she felt a certain uneasiness as it descended. That will take a little getting used to. She grabbed her stomach as if to make sure it was still in place. The lift came to a fairly quick stop and the doors swooshed open. Maya stepped off and into the hallway beyond. She followed it until it began to split off into various hangers. Finding the one she sought, she peeked inside to make sure. Satisfied it was the right one, she entered.       What Maya found was not quite what she expected. Sure, her e-frame was there and so where the rest of the squad's. But she noticed something curious in the center of the hanger. There was a women in an orange and red pilot's uniform. She was on one knee with her weapon drawn. She seemed to be scanning the hanger in search of a target. Her weapon moved fluidly as it snapped to her left and fired. It hit the deck plates, causing no damage. Maya reached for her own weapon as she cautiously stepped toward her. "Its okay, she is using the stun setting." Maya spun on her heel to see another women behind her. She calmly raised her hands and explained. "My name is Nicole Sharp. I'm an exotrooper." Maya moved her hand away from the weapon on her hip. "I'm Lt. Maya. I've been assigned to this squad." Sharp gave a leisurely salute. "Its a pleasure to meet you." "Likewise." returned Maya. "So what is she doing?" Sharp pointed to the women. "You mean Merck? She and Lazine are engaged in some pointless macho contest." "Contest?" asked Maya. "Yes. Lazine was bragging how he can become undetectable with his cloaking armor. Merck doubted that it was possible. So she challenged him." Maya stared out towards the center of the hanger. "You mean there's someone out there with her?"       "Jaster Lazine. He's a full-blood. I don't know if you're familiar with the type."       "A little. When is this going to end?"       Sharp shrugged. "Whenever Lazine can get close enough to tag her or she can zap him."       "I see." stated Maya. She started walking towards Merck. "I wouldn't disturb them, Lieutenant." warned Sharp. But Maya ignored her, continuing onward.       "I know you're out there." muttered Merck. She turned thirty degrees to her left and fired. It seemed as if she hit nothing. "That's quite enough of that." Merck stood up as some...thing approached her.       "What the hell are you?"       "Excuse me?" returned Maya.       "I didn't know Neo's had hair."       "I'm not a Neo." growled Maya.       "Oh. So what's your beef?"       "My what?"       "Your problem."       "The shooting. Stop it before you damage something." ordered Maya.       "You an officer?"       "A lieutenant." stated Maya.       "You sound it." Merck's arm snapped up and she fired off another shot. "I said stop that!" ordered a now slightly irritated Maya. "Love to, but I can't. This uppity full-blood needs to be taken down a peg and I can't stop till that happens." Maya planted her hands on her hips and gave her an annoyed stare. "Careful. Your face might freeze that way." cautioned Merck. Maya signed. Then - in a lightening fast movement - she drew her own weapon, turned 90 degrees to her left and fired. The blast made it about 5 feet then splashed across something. A faction of a second later, a man fell backward onto the deck plates with a deep grunt. "I trust that will do?" Merck stared wide-eyed at Maya. "How did you do that?" Maya holstered her weapon and walked over to Lazine. She offered her hand. "Jaster Lazine I presume?" "You presume correctly." He disregarded the hand and got to his feet. "How did you do that?" repeated Merck. Lazine stood at attention as he said, "A most impressive display, Lieutenant." "You can stand at ease, Trooper." "Thank you, ma'am." replied Lazine. "Yo Neo thingie, how did you do that?" repeated Merck once more. Maya turned on Merck as Lazine slapped her across the back of her head. "Show the proper respect!" Merck spun on him, fists ready. "Hold it!" yelled Sharp as she stepped between the two. "Out of the way, Sharp. His butt is mine!" A streak of crimson energy zinged by her nose, warming the tip. Merck grabbed it with both hands, as if to make sure it was all still there. "Hey!" she protested. "Shut up! All of you!" stated Maya. She put her weapon away. "Lazine, apologize to Merck." Lazine clearly wasn't happy with the order but he somehow managed to swallow his considerable pride and say "I'm sorry." Merck seemed more than satisfied with the gesture. "And you Merck..." began Maya as she positioned herself in front of her. "I am Lieutenant Maya, Maya if you're in a hurry. You call me 'Neo thingie' again and the next shot won't miss. Understood?" "Yes ma'am." mumbled Merck. "What was that?" asked Maya, who had heard her just fine but obviously just wanted her to say it again. "Yes ma'am." Maya nodded and stepped away. "Good." * * *       The bridge of the Resolute III proved to be quite a spectacle. It was easily twice the size of the previous Resolute and thus had twice the crew to run it. But what truly captured a visitor's attention was the view. The main vid-screen provided panoramic scene that was nothing short of breathtaking. "Quite a sight, isn't it?" Lt. Janson snapped out of her reverie and noted the officer in front of her. "Sorry sir. Its just that I was..." "Taking in the view, I know. There's nothing wrong with that. If you don't stop every once in a while to appreciate the beauty around you, well, you're dead and just don't know it yet." Janson nodded. "A poetic truth, sir." "The subtle influence of my wife, I assure you. Orders?" Janson quickly handed a yellow slip of paper to him. He looked it over thoughtfully then looked her over. Concentrating on her face, it seemed as though he wanted to make sure he remembered her on sight. "So, you're the new squad leader." "Yes sir." The officer shrugged. He was a shorter man, ruggedly built, and appearing as if he were looking for trouble. His black hair was graying slightly and he wore it short and neat. "I'm Captain Remes, welcome to my ship." "Thank you, captain." He handed the yellow paper back to her. "The Admiral is waiting for you. I don't suggest that you keep him waiting." He pointed to her left, the door to the Admiral's office was clearly marked. * * *       Admiral Takagi sat quietly behind his desk but over to one side. There was glitch in his computer. That, of course, necessitated it be fixed. Engineering had sent someone to take care of it. That someone was Lt. Alex Camden. He had arrived fifteen minutes ago...fifteen long minutes ago. "Are you finished yet?" asked the Admiral. "With what?" asked Camden from under the desk. He had one of the service panels off and was poking around the computer's internal components. "The glitch. Did you fix the glitch?" Camden peered out from under the desk. "Oh yeah, like 10 minutes ago." The Admiral pressed both hands to his face while shaking his head. "Something wrong Admiral?" The Admiral took a deep breath and composed himself. "If you had fixed it that long ago, then why are you still working on it?" Camden went back under the desk as he replied. "I had this thought." "There's a surprise." mumbled the Admiral. "What was that?" "Nothing. Continue." replied the Admiral. "Well. I just thought that with a few minor adjustments to some of your sub-systems we'll be able to head off a couple of problems before they surface down the road." "I see." returned the Admiral, "And how long will these minor adjustments take?" "Almost done." replied Camden.       The door to the room made a subtle beeping sound. Someone was there. "Enter." ordered the Admiral. A tall, muscular, brown-haired women entered. "Lt. Janson, welcome." "Sorry to keep you waiting Admiral. Its just that you have a big ship and it takes a while to get anywhere on it." He dismissed the comment with a wave of his hand. "Don't worry about it, Lieutenant. Have you had the opportunity to meet the rest of your squad yet?" "No sir. I came directly here from the shuttle bay." "All done." announced Camden as he rose from behind the desk. "How fortuitous," stated the Admiral, "because I have here Able Squad's technical specialist, Lt. Alex Camden." Camden tilted his head to the left a little and stared at Janson intensely. It made her a bit uncomfortable. "Nice to meet you, Lt. Camden." He walked around the desk and over to her. It became quite obvious what captivated his attention. "Is that an Eltorian polymorphic replacement limb?" Janson eyed him uncertainly as she responded, "Yes." Camden whipped out a pair of magnifying specs from his pocket, slipped them on, and steadied her shoulder for a closer look. "Excuse me." stated Janson. Camden ran his fingers over the limb's surface, mumbling "fascinating" under his breath. "Lieutenant, please stop that." she asked. "Do you notice any reaction deferential between your biological left arm and this one?" Janson started to pull away as she answered, "No." Camden closed the gap, causing Janson to pull further away. The Admiral watched with amusement as Janson slowly sidestepped across the room with Camden in tow. "Lt. Camden." Alex's head snapped up and he removed his mag-specs. "Huh?" "I don't think Lt. Janson appreciates being manhandled like that." Camden blinked. "Like what?" The Admiral signed deeply. "Nevermind." He stood up and approached them. "Since you two will be working together, you should take the time to get to know one another and the rest of the squad." He began ushering them to the door. "Why don't you head down to the hanger and get acquainted with the rest of the squad? Lt. Janson, you can report back to my office in an hour." "Sounds good to me!" said Camden. He looked to Janson, "You can tell me all about your arm." Janson looked immediately to the Admiral, her eyes begging for help. "I can meet with you now, Admiral, and meet the squad later." The Admiral opened the door to his office. "No. I'd rather get your impressions of the squad. And I can't do that until you meet them, now can I?" Janson's face dropped a little. The only outward signal she wasn't too keen on the idea. With a not-too-subtle gesture, the Admiral moved them out of the office and swooshed the door shut behind them. * * *       "Using small weapons fire to end petty disputes is not a strategy I recommend, Lieutenant." Merck, Lazine, Sharp, and Maya stopped and stared at the large being before them. His size was impressive, even for his species. Maya carefully looked him over. Standing an easy 6 foot 6, he carried a large rifle over his heavily muscled shoulder. "I suppose it was inappropriate." Maya extended her hand. "I'm Lieutenant Maya. I'll be your Intelligence Officer, sir." The Eltorian's hand seemed to swallow her own as he shook it. "My name is Arsis. And I have been assigned to this squad as a Field Sergeant, not as a squad leader." Maya quickly apologized as he release her hand. "I'm sorry, Sergeant, I just thought...well, you know." "Understandable." replied Arsis. Merck immediately zeroed in on his weapon. "Nice piece of hardware you've got there, Sarge." Arsis lowered the weapon, turning it on its side.       "It is a double-barreled fusion rifle."       "Heard about them." returned Merck as she ran a finger over its polished surface. "Nearly unlimited range, penetrates most armor plating, one or both barrels can be fired at a time."       "You know your weaponry, Trooper Merck."       Angela arched an eyebrow. "How'd you know my name?"       "I've been waiting here for some time."       Arsis slung the weapon back onto his shoulder. "Mind if I give it a whirl?" asked Merck. "Yes." replied Arsis. Merck made no attempt to hide her dislike of the answer. "He's just looking out for you, Merck." stated Maya. "Am I?" asked Arsis. Maya nodded. "That model may be powerful, but its extremely heavy and it has a tremendous kick." She looked toward Merck. "If you fired it, the recoil would put you through a wall." Arsis smiled. "Very good, Lt." "It can't be that heavy." blurted out Merck. Arsis said nothing, he just held the weapon out to her. Merck took full advantage, grasping it with two hands. A fortunate happenstance, for as soon as Arsis released it the weapon dropped as if magnetically attracted to the ground. Merck struggled with it, not willing to give up. "Okay...*uh*...maybe it IS a bit heavy...*uh*...for me." Arsis took it from her, easily lifting it with one hand.       "Wow." said Sharp. "I always heard Eltorians were strong, but never realized... Pardon me for asking, Sergeant, but are you considered average among your people or exceptional?"       "Which are you?" asked Arsis.       Sharp blinked, indicating that she never thought about it before. "I don't know."       "Then why should I?" Lazine laughed. "Strength and wisdom, it will be an honor to serve under you Sergeant." * * *       "So can you feel this?" Alex Camden lightly ran a finger over Janson's bionic right shoulder. "Yes, Lieutenant." droned back Janson. She was a fair women, but Camden had been pushing his luck with question after question since leaving the Admiral's office. The lift doors opened allowing Janson a means of escape. Camden followed of course but was having a hard time keeping up. "You sure walk fast." observed Camden. "There is much to be done today." "You only need to ask." Janson halted, not sure what Camden was referring to. "What?" "If you want me to stop asking so many questions, you only need to ask." Janson stumbled in her speech a bit as she replied, "Wh-what makes you think I want you to stop asking questions?" Camden shrugged. "I may be a little slow on the uptake sometimes, but I know when people are trying to get away from me. I'm curious, its my nature. I really can't help it. But instead of confronting the issue head on, everyone just walks away. If people would just be a bit more honest with me maybe my only friends wouldn't be the machines I work on." Janson smiled and placed a bionic hand on his shoulder. "You're right. And I'm sorry." Camden nodded, then noted something of interest on her wrist. He opened his mouth to speak. Janson thrust a finger in front of his face, saying "Please stop with the questions. They're making me uncomfortable, okay?" Camden smiled and nodded. "Sure." * * *       Merck and Lazine had wandered off. To where Maya didn't know, and quite frankly she didn't care. Just as long as they weren't causing any problems where she was. Arsis was seated at a maintenance table near the entrance of the hanger. He was tinkering with his weapon. Maya had a seat across from him at the rectangular structure. She removed a datapad from her flight suit and began reading. "Something of interest?" queried Arsis. Maya looked up. "Uh? No. Its just...uh...nothing." "I doubt it, Lieutenant." replied Arsis. Finished with whatever he was doing, he turned his full attention to her. "Is it personnel?" Maya sort of smiled and put the pad away. "Yes." "A loved one then? Mother? Father?" "Boyfriend actually. He sent me this letter and I haven't had time to read it yet." Arsis nodded. "Do you mind if I ask you a personal question?" "No. Go ahead." replied Maya. "What manner of terran are you?"       "She's a hybrid." answered a voice from behind them. A slender man in a green flight suit approached, body armor covering most of his torso. "Half terran, half neosapian. Am I right?" Maya nodded as he extended his hand. "Lt. Doug Logan, I'll be the XO for this outfit." Maya and Arsis stood and saluted. Logan let his hand hang out in the open a moment longer, then returned the salute. "Sorry about that, I've been in deep space and military discipline is a bit lax out there." He focused on Maya. "I hope I didn't offend, butting in like that." "No not at all." replied Maya. "I was unaware that Neosapians could breed among themselves, let alone with a terran." stated Arsis. "After the Neosapian War ended they made one brood that could reproduce sexually. Then they outlawed the brooding process. That last brood had no brood marks or body hair. I had read about those Neos, but I never met one or a hybrid before." explained Logan. "How happy you must be." muttered Maya. "I'm sorry. Did I say something I shouldn't have?" asked Logan. "No sir. Its just that a lot of times, I feel like I'm on display for target practice." "Oh? How so?" asked Logan. "Well, for the longest time Neosapians were the ethnic group everyone dumped on. Then along came the Eltorians, and now that we've kissed and made up with them, they need a new group." "Hybrids?" proposed Logan. "Yes. I get stared at wherever I go, like I'm some kind of freak. The blue skin assures I'll never fit in with the terrans while my terran-like features guarantee a similar fate with the Neos. I mean, where am I supposed to go here?" "Where ever you want." replied Logan. "Huh?" said a confused Maya. "Terran, Neosapian, it makes no difference. We're all human, just like you." Maya paused to consider his words, liking the sound of them. "Yeah, I guess so."       "If I may ask Lieutenant, what were your parents?" inquired Arsis.       "Human, just like me." said Maya with a smile.       "True enough." stated Arsis. "But I was curious about your ethnic background."       "My mother is a Neosapian and my father is a terran."       "Do you have any other friends who are of mixed ancestry?"       "Not while I was growing up," replied Maya, "But once I got into the Academy..."       "Officer on deck!" shouted Jaster Lazine.       The trio rose from the table as two new faces entered the hanger. One of them introduced herself. "I'm Lt. Janson and I'll be your Squad Leader. This is Lt. Camden. He will be our Exotech specialist." She looked about her, taking in all the new faces. "I've read your files and I know you. Which is to say that I know who you are, but I hope to get to know each of you in the time ahead. Now, the first thing I'd like to do is-"       "Lt. Janson, report to the bridge. Lt. Janson, report to the bridge."       Janson signed, not at all thrilled by the interruption. "Lt. Logan, I leave them in your care until I return." * * *       Lt. Janson reporting as ordered, sir." "Stand at ease." ordered the Admiral. He was positioned by Captain Remes who was at the main console overlooking the bridge. "Come here and have a look at this." Janson peered at the monitor indicated by the Admiral. "Looks like one of our outposts." The Admiral nodded as he looked at the screen. "Its a station on the edge of our solar system, Deep Space Outpost 2. About a minute ago we received a distress signal from it. We tried contacting them several times but received no response. The Resolute is too far away to get an accurate read on the station's status." He turned his gaze to rest firmly on Janson. "So we're sending you in." On to Chapter 2 ->