Nina Sekova's Story

Chemo stood outside of the gated entrance to The Courtyard, firing blasts of energy from his palms at the approaching mindless cyborgs. He and the other Invictus, most firing from roofs and windows, were doing a good job at keeping the cybernetic zombies away.

The numbers would continue increasing, sooner or later there would be too many moving at once to effectively keep away from the front entrance. It helped that they didn't seem to be too smart, they wouldn't be climbing over the walls any time soon.

Nina stood in the fortified guard post just outside of the gate with a few members of Team Ripper, firing shots from their assault rifles to keep the zombies from getting too close to Chemo. "Sandman hailing Miss Balkan." Sandman said over the team's communication channel.

"Yo." Nina responded, "Contacted Arya Bones, she and her team are on their way to clear a path from behind for Preston and the others." Sandman told the woman, "Got it. We'll be expecting them." Nina said, "ETA on those assault vehicles? We can get heavy duty on these fuckers." Telford said over the same channel.

"I kind of want to see a tank run through those things." A Team Ripper soldier mused.

"To eat our brains?" Nina answered, "Sounds about right." One of the Team Ripper elites said, "It's like the husks from Mass Effect." Nina told Shavi, as if expecting the woman to know anything about video games.

"Apparently it's going on all over the city and spreading." Chemo said as he continued to press his attacks on the cyborgs, "We're trying to thin the heard around here so we can move freely in and out."

"What do you prefer?" Nina asked, "Home, this is Ripper-3, can you bring some weapons out to the gate?" Nina said over her communication device. "Just throw shit in a crate and bring it out."

The Serbian soldier looked up to Shavi, "As you've probably heard, bringing some weapons out for you to use. For now, though?" Nina slipped out her pistol, it almost resembled a Desert Eagle.

"This is a Jericho 941, it's Israeli." She told Shavi, "Had to it... Is-real. Get it? Like, keep it real?" Nina smiled, enjoying her little joke.

"You're actually pretty good at this." Nina told Shavi, "I'm guessing you don't slack off." The Serbian said to Shavi, firing off into the crowd of zombies.

"Damn it, where's Taco and the others?" Chemo shouted, "They should have been back by now. Just need to round up civilians and get them here or to the WCPD." The Canadian soldier said.

"Give them time!" Nina shouted.

"Ripper-3, this is Ripper-5. You guys might want to get the fuck down." Sandman said over the Team Ripper's channel. "What? Why" Nina asked, slipping a small earpiece from her pocket and extending it out to Shavi.

"Two of those things have fucking RPGs." Sandman answered, "Like... the weapons? I thought these were mindless zombies" Chemo said, "Yeah, I thought so too... you should get inside the gate... now." Sandman warned.

Chemo turned to the front gate to The Courtyard, barely waiting for it to open before he was squeezing through. "Take cover!" Nina yelled, three rockets flying towards the gate and walls.

Maybe they wouldn't go through, but the explosions would still hurt people who were flesh and blood. Nina was flesh and blood, she didn't enjoy being blown up.

Nina pulled herself up to her feet, looking around for Shavi. "Yo, old timer, you okay?" Nina asked, "Don't fall and break your hip or something." The Serbian soldier joked.

"The gate's falling!" Chemo shouted, he and several other Invictus standing at the gate. Their hands raised and dark blue energy forming a wall to keep the gate from falling completely.

Preston drove the Invictus van through the hordes of undead, it's cowcatcher making short work of those in it's path. "There's a lot of them, don't know about making it." Preston said, speaking into a communication device. "This is Bones, my team and I are right in the area. Let us clear a path."

"This is Sandman, I don't see you." The sniper said, looking through his scope for the team. Almost on cue Arya and her team charged through the hordes, two of her people in front projecting a wall of energy.

Arya raised her pistol, firing at the hordes as she shot electricity from her free hand. The rest of her team utilized their own weapons and abilities, seeming to make light work of the hordes. It was easy to tell that out of many of the Invictus soldiers on the street Arya's team had the most experience with things like this.

It was literally the only thing in their job description.

"Open the gate!" Nina ordered, Chemo and those holding the broken gate up allowing it fall. Preston drove the van right into The Courtyard, bringing it to an abrupt stop to allow those inside to join the fray or get medical assistance. "Winter is coming." Taco said as he stepped out of the vehicle, moving up to join the fight.

"He should really work on his catchphrases." Chemo said, "Where's Biohazard and Telford?" Nina asked Preston who moved to help Fahim out of the van. "They stayed behind." Preston answered, "Why? That's stupid. Why didn't you order them to get in?" Nina asked.

"I don't know. I agree. And, we didn't have time to wait. We had people to help, some of them being our own." Preston explained, "They're our own too! I'm going to go look for them." Nina said, heading off towards where she had parked her car.

"You have orders. I'll talk to Arya Bones and see if she can handle it." Preston called out, "Don't do anything foolish, Nina. You'll get hurt."

Natasha and several Invictus soldiers met the Joes on the roof, waving them over to the doorway they just stepped out of. "I'm Natasha Zolner, I'll be your guide down to Fatin's office." Tasha told the men, "Follow me." Natasha told the Joes, gesturing for them to follow her into the building.

Down in the lobby Sonia listened to Robert speak, "You can probably help on two fronts..." She told the man, "I've been needing people to test some experimental tech, people who aren't... squishy." The Englishwoman told Robert, "I could also more brains down in the labs. And... with your power, if anything goes south we can always throw you into the battle to handle it."

"What are your abilities, if I may?" Sonia asked the man, gesturing for him to follow as she walked away towards some seats in the lobby. "Like, how do you harness that power? Energy dispersion? Strength? Telekinesis? Psionics?" Sonia asked as she sat down, the scientist in her taking an interest in the man and his power.

Nina approached Gabriel and his men at the gate, gesturing for the other Invictus to let them through. "It's all Gucci." Nina told Gabriel, "You probably don't remember me. We met once in Gambit's." Nina told the man.

"Anyways, The Big Kahuna's up in her office, there are others showing up to meet with her as well, but she can speak to you all the same time. I think that was the plan in the first place." The Serbian-American soldier explained to Gabriel.

Will placed down his cards as he heard the squeal of the motorcycle. "Somethings up." He said to Yuri from the roof as he looked around for binoculars. He reached over and looked down as he noticed a limo pull up and a man escorted inside. "More guests I'm starting to wonder if Allen might need some back up in there..." He muttered as he holstered his pistol and straightened out his uniform to look presentable Yuri threw on his flight jacket and zipped it up.

Both men exited the Chopper and jogged to meet Allen and the other Invictus at the stairs.

Allen watched with a raised eyebrow as Will and Yuri joined him but shrugged it off, though he was sure nothing would go wrong it never hurt to have a few extra pairs of eyes and ears around. "Thank-you Ms. Zolner." Allen said as the trio followed her into the building.

Robert nodded to her request and sat in a seat next to Sonia. "Well you see, the same Super Soldier Serum used on Steve Rogers was later made thousands of times stronger." He explained.

"I stumbled upon this serum in a lab thinking it was drugs, and when I took it, I was transformed." He had no shame in his past, and often spoke of it openly. "Strength, speed, photokinesis. There are too many powers to list."

Though he hoped that a situation that required him to use his powers never arose, for fear of losing control again. "Though they come as a double-edged sword." Robert continued, "You see, using the upper limits of my powers causes a.. malevolent persona takes control of me.

"Nina?..." Mr. Ereb pondered for a moment. "Nina... Nina.... Ah, yes! Nina! The young lass from the Invictus group that patrolled the bar on occasion. Yes, I remember you. How have you and your posse been? I presume by 'Big Kahuna' you mean Miss Alfarsi. Very well, my associates and I shall remove ourselves to there post-haste!"

Mr. Ereb made his way through the building, flanked by the two Alpha Troopers, and eventually came to the door of Stryfe's office. Agares, the Alpha Trooper with the katana, knocked on the door.

"I see. I hope you can keep that in check, or at least maintain a balance when using your abilities. I've seen people like you, people with abilities. Calm like the rest of us, but there are things that set them off. PTSD, women being hurt, jabs at their egos." Sonia told Robert.

"Do you have a big ego, Robert? I ask because the Invictus pride themselves on no one person being bigger than the group." The Englishwoman said, "But, in this case, in the case of Terra, no one person is bigger than the planet. If you have a big ego, Robert. I ask you now, check that shit at the door or get out."

Natasha lead the Joes down to Stryfe's office soon after Gabriel arrived, the door swinging open to reveal Anodyne. The woman, clad in her usual orange armor and black jumpsuit, stepped aside for Gabriel and the others to enter.

"Please, take a seat." Stryfe said to Gabriel and Dave, gesturing to the two chairs in front of her desk. The Invictus leader leaned back in her own seat, watching everyone who entered the room who wasn't one of her people. Taking in as many details about them, where they stood, how they stood, how they walked.

"Let's get down to business, shall we?"

"I was never one to be hubris." Robert shook his head. "Many have gotten themselves killed because of their pride, or put others in harm's way. I don't intend to cause either of the two."

Robert folded one leg over his knee as he sat, glancing at the watch worn around his wrist. Wonder what's taking here.. Twas more than likely that she was already in a meeting. After all, the broadcast appeared on all working Terran stations. He expected more people to show up, honestly.

Allen followed the others in and then took a seat. "Miss Alfarsi, Mr. Ereb, It's a pleasure to be here." He said briefly before nodding in agreement. "Yes Business, I believe I have something that you might both like to hear regarding the Aschen, but I also wish to offer my resources to help your cause I am dissatisfied on how this government has been operating if something can be done to change the current government then I will be more than happy to support you and finally I have a warning but that will come in due time." He said with a nod as he tried to summarize his intentions to the others.

Will and Yuri remained by the door with the other "Bodyguard and official types." Will noticed Anodyne from the bar and gave her a nod and also nodded to the familiar Alpha Troopers unsure which of them was the "Security" He had seen in action at the bar before.

Mr. Ereb strode through the door with a tall stature. He gave a friendly smile to General Allen and Stryfe. The elderly businessman walked with a certain confidence refined by experience and success. His blue eyes, full of intelligence, liveliness, and benevolence, contradicted his aged and weathered face. Gabriel reached out to shake Stryfe's hand with a firm grip.

"It is good to see you again, Miss Alfarsi." replied Mr. Ereb. "And it is good to meet you, General Allen. As both of you may know, my company has researched, developed, and successfully tested some of the most advanced military, medical, and scientific hardware in this part of the galaxy. And, as a proud citizen of Terra, I have done what I can to assist in the reconstruction efforts by purchasing, rebuilding, and renovating property that was destroyed during the war. I will gladly supply what services Ereb Industries can offer in Terra's time of need."

Agares and Nikolai stood on opposite sides of the door with their legs shoulder-width apart and hands folded behind their backs. They kept a rigid soldierly discipline as they stood guard. Although Nikolai was rarely kept in Wing City, and thus had never seen any of these people before, Agares recognized most of them - including Stryfe, Anodyne, Sonia, and Will. The two Alpha Troopers were near duplicates of each other besides the vibroblade katana strapped to Agares's back.

"No threats detected, Shadow-Sabre." Nikolai said across their secure comm link.

"Acknowledged, Verhasst." replied Agares. "The Parcel is in the Mailbox. Are the Guard-dogs in position?"

"They've taken their posts. Everything seems quiet."

"Stay frosty."

"Fatin is in a meeting right now." Sonia told Robert, "But, I have something in mind for you to earn some points with her." The woman said, "It's good that you aren't one for hubris. Anyways, the Terrans could use someone like you. Someone smart, but at the same time strong." Sonia said, "I could also use someone like you around the lab, but..."

Sonia paused for only a second, "There's a lot of tech we need built and worked, myself and the Terrans, also a lot of heavy lifting that might need to be done, a lot of everything, really." Sonia said, "It's not my place to give you orders, so I'll just ask you what you have the most interest in doing right now and then point you in the right direction." She told Robert.

"Don't want to send you somewhere that'll end with you sticking your head into an oven." The Englishwoman joked.

Back in Stryfe's office the Invictus leader took Gabriel's hand with a nod. She listened to his words, nodding along with what he said to her before casting a glance to General Allen. Anodyne and Natasha standing close to their leader, not that they didn't trust Gabriel or the Joes.

But, who knew what enemies they had lurking around? If they had any and they were near Stryfe that meant Stryfe was in danger. Though it was easy to tell that Natasha was the one who really took it seriously, it was a formality to the ever stoic Anodyne.

"It's one thing to buy buildings and fix them as your property." Stryfe told Gabriel, "But, how would you feel about doing the same thing with government buildings? The police headquarters here in Wing City needs some fixing after the Taiyou attack." Stryfe said to Gabriel.

"We could use some rebuilding efforts in some areas of Main Street affected by the violence, the Government Center on main street could also use some reconstruction after the defector terrorist known as Whisper attacked. Possibly on orders from the Aschen." Stryfe told the man before turning to address General Allen.

"I'm going to make myself very clear. No more ordnance on populated streets." She said to the man, "You don't jump unless I tell you to and when I tell you to you will not ask me 'how high?'." The Invictus leader said seriously, "You will jump and you will jump as high as you can without questioning me if you would like a future on this planet." She said.

"Now, from you I need aid to civilians trapped or injured around the city. Support those who need support. If you find people out there fighting these things you put a bullet or fifty into the bodies of their attackers or you put a gun in their hands. You do what you can to help them with as little bloodshed on our part as possible."

"I'm willing to do anything you would have me to do, I'm just here to help." Robert replied.

"I do have some ideas that'd I'd like to see built, though they'd be designed for beings of my caliber." A big ol' training facility would be nice, something to keep him in the best physical condition, to help him find the upper limits of his abilities. Though, this could wait of course.

"I could help building any technology you plan to make, and do the heavy lifting and such.

"That shouldn't be a problem." Gabriel nodded optimistically. "My company has large reserves of revenue to work with. However, as you know, I am a businessman - an investor. While I consider my services to be an investment of good faith to Wing City, those below me expect a more... material reward. So I'm afraid I will have to ask for a modicrum of compensation for the rebuilding and renovations."

"Also..." the multi-billionaire continued. "I am sure you've encountered or heard of my Alpha Troopers. Sometime in the near future I plan to expand the program, and I would like to offer their services as peace officers - or to assist in special military operations. They were designed for just that."

Allen took Stryfes words carefully and the offer of Mr. Ereb to Stryfe, he knew the joes had made a massive mistake and something had to be done. "Yes and I take full responsibility for the accident. From now on troop movements will be grounded without full authorization from you or the TNG." Allen said.

"But You have only seen one side of the joes I wish to show the other side and if the people of Terra or yourself or Mr. Ereb are not pleased then we will leave if that is this planets wish." He said, "So here is what I can do, our base has undergone a renovation for those with homes destroyed we will open our doors and help those who need a place to live we have a large housing section above ground that is nearing completion but we have hit a slight snag in our operations, we have enough income but we need a supplier, we have decided to discontinue the services of Sullen Enterprises after we learned of a few startling developments in regards to his corporation." Allen said taking a pause,

"Luke Sullen Cannot be trusted I see him weaseling his way around Terra placing fleets near here he claims it's to protect his "suppliers" But as business leaders I'm sure you both know that's just a ploy. The man has committed genocide, he sells weapons to the highest bidder he has met with enemies of Terra." He said with a sigh.

"I have one final offer and then I will be done something political, it doesn't have to be done now call it an ace in the hole. During the occupation Our base was destroyed by the Aschen Nuked 400 personnel died along with over 100 civilian workers our base was destroyed and we hadn't even provoked and attack military action had not been taken against them. So if need be I will publicly speak about the event."

Nina drove her dark blue sedan up the street, seeming to be going with the flow of the general traffic. That was until a rumbling in the Serbian soldier's stomach sent her mind elsewhere.