Generation

Chapter One - Youth

Report 1.0 - Diagnostic and Intermingling

     Booting up...

     Starting analysis algorithms...

     Starting mission...

     The area was dark, rocking softly. The smell of metal and grease filled the air with the hum of engines muffled by air drag. The lone being inside stood, clad in metal and machinery, the metallic boots clamped to the floor.

     "Jack-O," said a female voice through the com link in his helm, "We are now entering the operations stage. Are you ready?"

     "Yeah," retorted a prepubescent voice, "just open her up already."

     Loud claps clanged as the rear door was unlatched. A slim horizon of light began to grow as the door in back of the cargo jet lowered into the under belly, opening up to the clear twilight sky. To the left, the fading red and orange blended into the purple to the right, and the ground lay below, a grayish brown. The air drag was louder now as the clamps on the boots of the child were released. With each step, an effortless speed up of clanks rushed towards the back. A sudden moment of silence as the machine covered body lept out the back followed by the rush of air that now flowed by his falling body. The sensation was relieving, like there was no more need of anything.

     The suit could be seen clearly now, a sleek form fitting armor closely resembling the human form. There were two protrusions on the back with what looked to be nozzles and the chest, which arced out a little further than the natural body, had two small intrusions with similar smaller nozzles. The lower arms were a little misshapen as well to contain weapontry. The helmet was fully enclosed with three small rectangular protrusions which contained sensors, and only the visor had any visibility to the wearers identity. The armor on the lower leg widened a little as it reached the foot with the nozzle like objects on the back side.

     The crack of the com, "You're falling to fast," said the female voice, "Initiate your boosters now!... Jack? Jack-O!"

     At the last minute the pure energy boosters lit the chest of the small body, stabilizing his body near right-side up. His feet then started to drag along a clifface and with a bright illuminating light on his back slowed to a gentle touch down on the ground.

     "We don't want the enemy knowing I'm here," Replied Jack-O, "Turning off communications."

     "You will do no..." The voice said getting interrupted.

     Jack looked around, he was at the bottom  of a narrow chasm roughly 40 meters high, and of which concealed his main thrusters to land. The display on his helm designated the targets last know positions roughly 2 kilometers to the south of him. He turned to the south in the darkness of the chasm and looked up the wall he skid down. The last remnants of light had faded into night. He jumped, his boosters igniting, and propelled himself just far enough to grab the top ledge of the chasm. The ledge began callapsing under the weight, but he pushed of the wall with his right foot and some minor booster use, lunging him on to the opposing ledge nearly 10 meters away.

     "Let's keep that to a minimum," he said to himself.

     Jumping across the chasm he ran effortlessly in the mechanical armor towards his target until he reached the top of a hill roughly a kilometer and a half away from the last known postion of the target. He laid on his stomach and look across the landscape. His helm had a topographic map of the terrain and began shifting through other visual modes over it. Inferred, night, and thermoptic sensors picked nothing up across the valley that he was looking over. Looking east and west of the area and shifting through the visual mode relayed nothing of intrest as well.

     He stood up and started walking into the valley area. This wasn't a good idea, but the area was barren, what else was there to do? Near the bottom of the hill he stopped. Hearing some thing, the smooth sound of reactionary hydraulics, he turned quickly to see a human shaped form with a large halo behind its body jumping at him, arm raise to punch. Lifting his arm, Jack deflected the punch. A piece on the arm of his suit lifted to reveal a small machine gun. The target started back flipping as Jack unloaded the entire clip at it. Several impacts sparked off the opposing suit, and as it landed Jack noticed the pistol that now pointed at him in its hand. Jack opened the other machine gun on his other arm. The two unloaded on eachother only to see sparks but that neither were affected by it. The opposing unit charged again, putting its gun away in a holster at its hip and its right arm beginning to glow in screams running up the arm, and then jumped to punch at him again. Jack had the blade under his arms flip forwards, and with the left deflected the punch to his left while the right slid beside the helm and pulled the unit to the side so it fell to his right. Quickly spinning, putting his left foot on its right arm, he lifted his right arm to strike when he heard a muffed screaming come from the target as it struggled. He retracted his blades and stepped back, offering a hand as he had his visor lift. The other child backed away as he stepped off and was confused by the hand gesture, but then it looked up at his face.

     "I'm sorry, they didn't tell me I was facing another," Jack said softly.

     Still breathing hard, the other child took Jacks hand and got to its feet.

     "I'm called Jack-O, but my real name is Alex King."

     The visor on the other child's suit lifted to reveal a young girl his age, her face still a little shocked at what happened, "I'm Halo," she said shakily, "ehh, Marie Rosen."

     In the distance the faint hum of jet engine was heard.

     The facility at which the children were kept was very distant from any sign of civilization. There were three main complexes that Halo and Jack could see from the vertical take off and landing, or VTOL, craft. It shined like an alien base in the darkness of the night as they descended towards it. The roar of the VTOL engines deafened all other noise landing. The Engines began to whine, turning off, as the side hatch open so the kids and scientists could exit. Outside the craft a line of security personnel stood to escort the children back, as they usually do, to the hanger where they store the suits. The tarmat had several other VTOL around, many being transports like the kind they were brought back in. The facility had whitewash walls which reflected the spot lights that illuminated it back at their eyes.

     A large door raised to let them into the hanger where, to Jack and Halo's suprise, were five other kids among several other scientists. This was the first time any of the kids knew of the others existence. Most of them were out of their hardsuits already, their hardsuits being lined on the wall to the right. The arm actuators above began to reach down to move the suits to another potion of the facility as Jack and Halo began to take theirs off.

     Their suits split down either side, the front half kneeling forward. Then the helmet spit down the middle, releasing their heads from the back of the suit. They stepped down, out of their suits, onto the cold concrete floor. Once they were clear, the front of their suits stood and resealed, and the actuators took their suits as well.

     A man walked in moments later. A shrewed looking man with a perfectly pressed suit and hat. He had a scar down the right side of his face which was only dwarfed by his dark eyebrows. He had soft features and was young looking, but the faint wrinkles showed his true age. Every knew him, even the kids. He was Base Supervisor Roger Black.

     "Welcome back, kids" Roger said. He looked around and saw the number of kids, "I'm glad to see that no one got seriously injured in the last mission. Take a look around, these are your new team and support personnel. I know this is a big transition from working alone, but you'll come to see that as a team you will have to risk less to get more in your missions. Now if you will excuse me."

     Roger walked back into the hall he came from and left their range of sight. The kids looked at eachother as if they had no clue what was going on until one of the scientists spoke.

     "Alright kids, lets head in."

     A couple nodded in acknowledgement and they headed down the hall the Base Supervisor just headed down. They walked silently, nervously, down the hall. Alex looked at the other kids and counted two other girls and three other boys.

     Two of the boys were Caucasian, like him, and the other was African. One had bright red hair and emerald green eyes, standing a little taller than him. The other Caucasian had brown hair that reflected a brilliant copper with hazel eyes and about his height. The African had black hair, nothing like his, with brown eyes.

     Similarly, two of the girls were Caucasian while the third was Asian. Halo had long flowing bleach blond hair and brilliant blue eyes. The other Caucasian was a short haired red head with freckles and had blue eyes too. The Asian was fair skinned with wide eyes, probably from having Caucasian in her, and had silky black hair and deep brown eyes.

     "You don't know any of them, do you?" Alex whispered to Marie, seeing if he wasn't alone in the matter.

     "Never," she whispered back.

     The group continued to walk down the halls in silence until they reached a large commons. The white wash walls and sterile looking furniture turned alex's stomach, he was tired of such decor, and, when he looked at the others, their faces seemed to reciprocate the feeling except one, the African boy, who seemed distracted.

     And so this was now their life, together instead of alone, as a team.

Report 2.0 Grievance

     The first week had been going well for most of the kids as they got to know each other better, but one in particular usualy sat alone in silence with a grimice most of the time. The African boy, Henry West, seemed to have something on his mind all the time. His brown eyes staring into nothingness as his hands worked away at the small electronic boards. He enjoyed creating small curcits for various reasons, but since him and the other children had become a team he has been depressed. The are only a few that know of the cause, none of which are the kids, and are watching him closely.

     Alex and Marie had picked up their lunchs from the cart near the entrance of the commons. the past couple days they had gotten to know each other a little better, though there wasn't much for them talk about. Their lives had been virtualy the same with classes and training moduals, but they were finding thing that they did funny and always laughed about them.

     "Hey, Marie," Alex started, "Henry is always so gloomy. Let's eat with him and cheer him up."

     "Sure," Marie replied, "I bet he could use a good laugh."

     They headed over to Henry, who had already divoured his lunch. He was working away at a new chip soddering resisters on here and the.

     "Can we sit here?" Alex asked.

     With barely but a quick glance Henry replied gloommily, "Sure."

     Alex and Marie sat and slowly started into their meals. Henry worked away without so much as another acknowledgement that they were there. Alex looked at Marie, who shruged in response.

     "So, ah," Alex said to get a respones from henry, who gave him another quick glace, "What'cha working on there."

     "A new curcit," Henry said without looking up or slowing, "Trying to finite the electrical flow from the seriesed capacitors to each of the L-E-D's that I have, that I use to illuminate my room's ceiling in the organization of the constilations of the northern hemisphere.

     "Oh, uh, cool."

     Marie looked at Alex with a sliver of a smile, knowing that he barely caught what Henry said, then looked back at Henry and asked, "You want to hear some funny stories?"

     "Not really," Henry said, shutting down Marie's attempt at communications.

     The camera on the cieling that was watching Henry zoomed in as if interested in the conversation. It watched as Henry kept avoiding the conversations that the other two were attempting at with what seemed to be sadness. He along with a couple others were the only ones that knew what happend during Henry's last excersice, something that the computer seemingly knew too.

     Roger Black entered the compartment which drew attention immidiately.

     "We have the next assignment for you all, come with me to the briefing room," Roger stated.

     The kids left what they were doing and followed, Henry still as self excluding as possable. As they left the camera lost sight of Henry and returned to its normal position looking at the table, cold and lifeless.