Alicia McBride's Story

A stone faced DAC grunt drove the jeep toward their destination. Modern military buildings tended to blend together in Elio's mind. One giant, grey metallic structure after another. Dome shaped, square, it did not matter. The archaeologist was left feeling a little naked. Felix, a retired US Marine, and Aster, retired US Air Force, usually accompanied him on all his missions. Both were fluent in multiple languages and more than useful in a fight. The important thing was, they knew how to talk and entertain. Elio had no clue what this squad was going to be like. He was sure the team leader got to look at their whole dossier, but Elio wasn't privy to that information. For all he knew there would be a bunch of boring fucks along for the ride. Scenes of Full Metal Jacket played throughout his mind; soldiers grabbing their junk and calling it their "gun". He hoped no Private Pyles were along for the ride

"How long you been with the DAC?" He tried one last time . . . nothing. The guard didn't even turn to look at him, no eye contact possible behind the man's thick sunglasses.

It seemed like an eternity a response came, "Three years. My orders are to drive, not to be a diplomat." Elio nodded, putting his ear buds in and selecting Happy Idiot by TV On The Radio. He let the tones drown out all the vehicles and shouts inside the complex. The plane ride down offered a lot of sleep, but he closed his eyes regardless. A few minutes passed and he felt the slight jolt of the car stopping.

Elio paused the music and hopped out, grabbing his bag from the rear of the jeep.

"Thanks man."

The guard nodded. "I'd show you in, but that's one of the team right there. Link up with her." The man pulled away in the jeep in a quick, gliding turn. A Caucasian female with dark hair was smoking a cigarette 10 yards from the main entrance.

Elio whistled a bit of Happy Idiot as he walked toward her, which seemed to catch her ear. "Alternative rock fan?"

He smiled, giving her a quick look over. Slim, but very athletic. From the looks of her she could put a hurting on any grown man with the right moves. She held her chin high with her shoulders back, a perpetually satisfied smiled on her face. "A bit. My driver wasn't the most chatty guy ever; had to do something to pass the time." He shrugged his shoulders, joining her at the front of the building.

"Meg Myers. I just saw her live in Kansas City last month." He knew of the artist, specifically her music video where she was submerged in water with no bra on under her t-shirt. Likely not a spot he should steer the conversation toward.

"Yeah, she's solid. I've got a bit of an eclectic mix on here, from Opera to techno really."

There was a long pause in the air. Without asking she offered him the smoke, which he reflexively took.

"I don't even smoke." The female raised an eyebrow at him. He put it between his lips, pulling in a drag. "Often that is." He took another long drag and handed it back. "Are we even supposed to smoke here?"

"I honestly don't care. What are they going to do, throw me off the mission? I'd like to see how long it takes to find a replacement who isn't ordered in." He chuckled.

"By the way, I'm Elio Reynolds." He offered his hand.

"Alicia." She shook it quick and polite, pulling back. "The maverick archaeologist. Since I'm part of your protection detail I have to ask; you seen any combat?"

"I was basic army, only a few brawls on base camp. As an archaeologist I had a couple of shootouts with street hoodlums, in Russia and Brazil. The worst that ever happened was one of them getting clipped in the leg." Felix purposefully shot to maim, as a team they decided leaving dead bodies in their wake wasn't a message to send the world. "Oh, but I did have a crazy ass homeless guy try to stab me in the heart." He lifted his shirt up, a ragged scar on his chest. "Shit got infected. I don't even want to know what all was on the knife." From the amount of attention she gave the scar, he could tell it was the most interesting thing about him so far.

"Well at least you aren't a pussy then. I see you have a sidearm holstered there." His hand went to the pistol at his waist. "Use it only if you absolutely have to. The last thing we need is a civilian causing a friendly fire accident." Elio's cheeks reddened, he had no rebuttal to offer.

He tilted his head up, looking at the sky. "You heading in soon?"

"Once I finish this." She puffed on it again, blowing smoke into the air. "Maybe someone else will get dropped off before we go in. At least two of them are in the quarters already. Once we're all together its off to the briefing." She offered the cigarette again and he took it, looking into the distance to see if another jeep was on its way.

Lucy stared out the window and ignored Victor. She didn’t want to be here with him. She didn’t really want to be here, in this vehicle either but knowing he was the supervisor, the one who was going to get first name on the report irked her to no end.

The man was smart and anyone who ready his stuff, which she had, knew he was smart but the things that came out of his mouth made every student and frankly every woman want to smack him. His ego outsized his body of work but only just barely.

“Well, as I said before I have to go. This is a once in a chance for me to get out of the university and get the recognition from the world that I deserve. Also, let’s be honest you just can’t keep up with me. As I stated in the email it is best that we part ways now, while you have some youthful charm. Any regular man would be lucky to have a woman like you. Oh and darling girl, do take care of your skin. I noticed the beginnings of crow’s feet the other night.”

Victor hung up his phone and made a tsking sound as he put the phone in the inside pocket of his jacket.

Lucy turned her head to stare at him for a moment. There was no point saying anything. He wouldn’t care what she had to say or what she thought. She was there as his caddy essentially. He had wanted Daniel, Lucy knew this from the way Victor had lobbied against her being on the trip to the board. This was to be her masters thesis, the basis for her doctorate. He didn’t think the task suited to a girl, he had called her. The board thought Lucy more than capable. She knew Victor was just being an asshole. She had the top grades currently in her department and Daniel was transferring to a new department because of Victor.

She wondered then if Victor wanting him was an attempt at torturing Daniel.

It didn’t matter. In the end she was here, eager to work and loathing her boss.

They were driving through a gate. Lucy frowned at the buildings that appeared. She knew this was a military thing but this seemed way bigger than that. Also, much more intimidating.

The vehicle stopped and Lucy hesitated. Victor exited. “Do you know wh-”

The driver pointed to where two people stood. “There.”

Victor nodded. “Why thank you. Hello!”

He cheerfully waved to the pair.

Lucy slowly got out and watching as Victor walked away, grabbed both of their back packs. The driver, a man in full uniform came around back. “We will load the rest of the equipment. Don’t worry.”

“Thanks..” She muttered and followed Victor.

“I am Victor McGuire. Head scientist. I am told you two are part of my team?”

Lucy rolled her eyes as he called it his team. They weren’t here to cater to him but Victor seemed oblivious.

She gave the pair a nod and fixed the packs on her shoulders.

“Shall we go in?” Victor gestured to a door.

Revan lounged in his leather chair as a newcomer walking into the Operator's Quarters. This man looked a bit on the taller side and wore some real thick-rimmed glasses. Revan was actually a bit surprised because not many soldiers he knew wore any glasses at all. Contacts sure but glasses were always a bit on the cumbersome side. But hey if this dude can shoot with them on then more power to him! "Hello there! You're the Team Leader, right? I'm Jimmy." The man walked over to Revan and thrust out his hand for a handshake. He continued,"I'll be your squad's medic in the field. It's a pleasure to finally meet you." Revan stood up out of his chair out of respect and took the man's handshake with a smile.[b][i]"Pleasure Jimmy, welcome to the Expeditionary Team. Make yourself comfortable as we wait for the rest of the team. No offense but I hope not to see what you can really do as a medic!" Revan chuckled, "The briefing will start up when the rest of the team gets in here, which will hopefully be soon." "

Shortly after a taller African-American entered the OQ. Without missing a beat she went straight to Revan and said,"Sir, Lt. Bex Taylor, Reporting, I believe I am your Number 2. There are men outside?"
Revan replied with a smile,"Good to meet you, LT. Looking forward to working with you. I'll go and check on the others."

Revan walked out of the OQ and out towards the entrance where a good majority of the team happened to be conversing. They all seemed to be there except for the Engineer. The Support guy just arrived and he seemed a bit on the tired side.

Revan tried to make eye contact with everyone and in a voice that wasn't quite yelling but just loud enough for everyone to hear he said,"Alright everyone! My name is Revan Steele, I will be your CO for this mission. I look forward to working with each and every one of you. Briefing will start soon, meet me in the Operator's Quarters and we will start from there. Thank yall!"

He smiled and turned around to walk back to the entrance as he held the door open for everyone.

The jeeped bounced along the road like a heavy set hooker trying to desperately earn a paycheck. The driver, a simple assistant with a military background possibly, sat stone faced through the entire ordeal as he glanced down every so often at the boots planted firmly on the cup holder between the seats next to him. Zachary Haringer lay sprawled out in the back, surrounded by so many duffel bags he looked like any white girl under the age of 25 going on vacation. Each one contained a myriad of explosives, explosive materials, or instructions on how to make even more complicated explosives. What could he say, he liked explosions. Despite being surrounded by enough explosive ordinance to make a tactical bombing look like a cherry bomb in a public toilet, or at least he liked to think so, a lit cigarette was dangling from his mouth as he gazed up into the sky from the open topped jeep.

There were no words from either of the men occupying the vehicle, not like Zack wanted to talk to the pansy assed bitch driving his vehicle anyways. Seriously, pissing your life away driving more important people than yourself around? Might as well put a bullet in your brain pan right then and there. There was a slight reduction in speed as they turned a corner,Zack moving slightly to make sure none of his bags jostled too much. To be perfectly honest, aside from the pay, he didn’t really know what to make of DAC at the moment. Sure, they were a large PMC and by the looks of it had a real amount of money under their belt, but he was worried about going soft. Prior to his job here, he would have been lucky to have been able to put together a barely functioning tricycle out in the jungles of South Africa, now he had a polished black Jeep being driven by the lower class soldier known quite crudely as Big Daddy’s Bitch.

There was a moment of deceleration as the jeep eventually came to a full stop. “We’re here. Your team is inside.” The driver stated, to which Zack only gave a small gruff grunt in response as he clambered over the side of the vehicle, taking his bags with him. The moment he was done, the jeep took off like a shot down the road.

“Aw, and I thought we had something special…” Zack stated as sarcastically as humanly possible. He turned around looking at the building he was supposed to enter and letting a long groan exit his throat. He had been mentally calling the driver a pussy the entire ride there, but now it felt like he was entering a doll house with it’s own barbie collection. He wasn’t proud about the fact that he could even think of that reference, let alone apply it to his current job. Sure, the method of transportation here had been comfy, but Zack had been waiting for a reality ball to drop at any moment, and apparently he would be waiting longer. He was a soldier, not a princess, shit like this was going to make him soft. With a sigh of resignation, he made his way inside.

The inside of the building did anything but allay his concerns about his ability to survive on a dew leaf and the blood of his enemies diminishing. Plush leather couches? Big screen TV’s? Why was everything so white and sparkly? Something was going to get splashed with pig shit at some point, even if Zack had to order the pig himself. As he made his way further in, he saw the rest of the people that he would be stuck with for the remainder of the mission, already partially going through the mission briefing. Honestly, if the pay wasn’t as good as it was right now, he would have simply turned around and walked out. He stopped in the doorway for a moment, smoke still glowing in his mouth as he brought his watch hand up to his face. “3 minutes late.” He stated quite loudly, already giving the impression that he simply did not give a single fuck what the others thought of him. He walked over to a nearby table, throwing his bags on it with more than a loud enough commotion to make people think he did it deliberately...which he did.

“3 minutes late and you guys start the pretty little princess tea party without me. You would almost think we’re military or something.” Zack stated as he took his cigarette and put it out directly on the table before casually flicking it across the room. He would make this place livable if it killed him. Zack made his way into the group of people, forcing his way in if necessary and standing with his arms crossed. He felt eyes upon him and he shrugged with a hand held out to the group in general. “Oh please, don’t let me interrupt your little pow wow session here, someone going to explain what the fuck we’re doing here...you know, aside from getting massages, cappuccinos, and possibly the occasional latino lover?”

Instead of moving in the small party exchanged the socially acceptable bare minimum pleasantries. More began to arrive and while Victor basked in the growing group Lucy tried to duck into the background.

These guys were a serious group of military personnel. She knew they were going with military but she hadn’t expected this.

The man who seemed to be in charge came out, asked them all to come inside. Victor tried to move, to lead the group but others already moved ahead of him and into the building. This amused Lucy. At least Victor seemed more out of place than she did.

Victor wasn’t overly impressed with any of these people. They seemed like they would do well enough at their job but none seemed cultured or refined. They were well mannered enough which was good, for the most part. A couple had proven rude but Victor was used to that. There were not many who could come close to his high level of wit and intellect.

He moved inside, beckoning to Lucy to follow him.

“I guess we have to trust that they will be careful with unloading and packing the equipment.” He made a tsking noise. “I do hope that they can understand what fragile means. It is not as if the cost would matter to them.”

Behind his back Lucy suppressed a groan of impatience and stared at his back. He wasn’t really looking for a reply and would take her silence as agreeing with him just as much as if she said something. Silence was better than him hearing the annoyance in her voice.

Once scanned into the room Victor found a seat and relaxed, legs crossed and arm out on the back of the chair.

Lucy moved to a far wall, put the packs down and then sat between them. Her legs were crossed and she felt a bit tucked away with the two large packs on either side.

Now she could take a breather and really look over the others. They were all athletic, strong looking in their own way. A few were slimmer than she had thought military might be but they had that lean slim where you knew they were likely all muscle. They all kept up training, obviously. They were all still active so they had to. Her own slim body seemed soft and weak. Really other than yoga classes she didn’t do anything active and she was weak. Healthy sure but not like these people.

She couldn’t help the feeling of foreboding that crept over her. What were they walking into that they needed a group like this? Even the guy who was the archeologist seemed to carry himself in a similar way to the rest. Were she and Victor the only ones without training?

Lucy frowned. She wasn’t used to being the weak link in a team and yet here she was. Well maybe not the weakest. She knew that if things went south Victor would actually be worse off than she was.

This made her smile.

Revan worked on entering the Operator's Quarters with the rest of the team. He was able to scan the predominately male group as he walked. There was the XO, Marksman and one of the scientists were female but fortunately it didn't look like they would slow down the team. There was really only one asset that didn't seem up to par with the rest, being the male scientist. He just seemed like one of those types that never committed to any hard labor in his life. He made a comment about the team being sensitive to the gear but his team was security detail, not personal servants.

An African-American man that Revan recognized as Jayden approached him, Operator's Quarters, got it. Hoping that room has got my bed, and a sandwich. - Jayden said with a nod as he passed Raven.

Well, you got the sandwich! Sleep might be something you'll get on the chopper ride. Revan replied.

Revan walked into the OQ and moved towards the entertainment section and prepped up for the briefing. Then a rhino walked into the room, or that's what it sounded like anyways. Revan looked up and witnessed a man throw his gear on the table. He then went off pretty loudly about being late and asked what they were doing, in a much rougher way than described. Jericho crushed a cigarette butt under his boot and smiled at the newcomer, Revan finally recognized him as Zack. A little Roomba type robot appeared out of nowhere and sucked up the trash and silently exited the room as if nothing happened.

Zack made his way into the group and thrust out his hand, “Oh please, don’t let me interrupt your little pow wow session here, someone going to explain what the f*** we’re doing here...you know, aside from getting massages, cappuccinos, and possibly the occasional latino lover?” Revan shook his hand and replied,"Well, I'm not 100% about the cappuccinos but we got your request about the massage from the Latino pool boy, Mario." He winked, let go of the hand shake and continued,Briefing is just about to start. Give me a second. Oh and by the way I will be your team leader for this contract. The name is Revan. Looking forward to blowing stuff up with you."

Revan then focused his attention to the TV screens and stood next to the low-standing table. He said outloud to no one,DACIA, load out the briefing please.

Revan looked at the group and asked,"Yall ready? Or do you need a few?"

DAC East Staging Area- Operator's Quarters

There was no objections so Revan looked at his watch and cleared his throat. It was just a few minutes after 1 o'clock which gave them plenty of time to get through this briefing and allow the men(& Women) to rest for a few before they went down to Mexico. Some of these guys really looked like they needed a few hours to get adjusted.

DACIA had set all eight the of the TVs to show pieces of the same image to create one bigger picture, which was a satellite image of Mexico. The low-standing table had four hidden projectors that revealed themselves at each corner, they all aimed towards the center of the table with a neon blue glow creating a three-dimensional holographic image of what seemed to be a Piasecki X-49 "SpeedHawk" helicopter. The Speedhawk is a very modern helicopter that was designed to be better than the current UH-60 "BlackHawks" in ever single way. They were designed to fly faster, longer, have better performance and include more options for any operation. Of course the Defense Applications Corporation had to have one, they were expensive and deadly.

Revan decided to go ahead and start the briefing, the quicker he finished the better.

"Alright Ladies and Gentlemen, on behalf of the Defense Applications Corporation I welcome you to the East Staging Area. Each of you have been chosen for this contract for your special skills and what you can bring to the table. This isn't the kind of work for green horns or Call of Duty players. This is the big leagues. There is some very classified stuff in this briefing, so if you want out then now is the time to walk away. No judgement from my side.

He paused for a few seconds and continued,Outstanding, now from the pre-mission dossier you got a vague image of the team and what we will be doing. First, Im going to introduce the team, there will be 10 of us in this Expeditionary Team. Each of us has a different job to do and I know there won't be any problems if we do that.

As Revan spoke the collective image behind him changed over to images of the Expeditionary team with their dossiers.

" First we have our scientific assets, Victor McGuire and his assistant, Lucy Workman. These two will be helping us study the anomaly that was found in Obsidian. Elio Reynolds is our sole Archaeologist of the group. He will be helping us understand what we will be seeing in Obsidian if there happens to be any ancient ruins there.

The rest of the team will be the security detail, essentially. First off, if you are dying or you feel like dying call out for the medic, Jericho Legs. Our engineer is Zack Heringer, if you need to remove something and be loud about it then you go to him. Long-range communications will be handled by Jayden Malenko. The resident marksman of the group is Alicia McBride, who I can testify can shoot the wing off a fly at 100 yards. Our snail-of-death, walking tank or weapons support guy is David Antonio. The XO will be held by Bex Taylor, meaning that if something were to happen to me then she would be officer in charge. Again, I will be your Team Leader. Let's play nice and do what we need to and we will be in and out of Obsidian within a few months.

The DAC has sent out a first-response team to lay claim to the area. This was a group of 4 that moved out in a FastHawk. Now we have currently lost comms with the FR team but they have orders to at least set up a small base of operations for us.

Revan paused for a second and observed his team as the TV screens switched back over to the image of Mexico. He raised his right arm and did a pinching motion with his index finger and thumb, which zoomed the sat image in over Obsidian. Using his index finger and middle finger he swiped down, switching from a normal view to heat signatures of the area.

"Before I switched over to thermal imaging you'll notice that all you could see was the tree tops, nothing looked out of the ordinary. With the thermal images we can definitely see that things aren't very normal. Here at the center of Obsidian seems to be, from what we can tell from the outlines, an undiscovered Aztec temple. Around it is an unknown amount of various heat signatures that was assumed to be wildlife at first but after closer examination we believe that an unknown party has set up camp around the temple. The signatures change in number constantly. Because of the thickness of the jungle canopy we cannot see what's really there to confirm speculation. Now there is one heat signature that is really blowing us away, this was taken a few hours ago...

Revan did a pinching movement again as the screens revealed a huge heat signature, he zoomed out to see the size in comparison with the other signatures. He swiped to the right showing that the heat signature disappeared.

"Now this Houdini is the size of a barn. Theories are that this is caused from the earth vents, hot gases rising from under the earth's crust. Now, I don't care too much of what it is because I'm pretty sure we can take care of whatever it is.

The images switched over to different view points of what seemed to be a military. Images of older helicopters and tanks filled the screens, as well as a few hundred well-equipped men.

"Here is something that we can really work with, known intel. We have learned through our sources that a Merc group coming out of Asia, called "The Jeonsa", is mobilizing and getting ready to move to Obsidian. We know there are about 100 riding in on 4 HIND helicopters with at least 2 BTR-90 Armored Personnel Carriers. For some reason these guys want the world to know they are going into Obsidian. I feel like the Jeonsa knows something that the DAC doesn't. For that reason we are going in pretty quietly. We will have support in case things get hairy.

Revan raised his right arm at the hologram and swiped to the right, changing the image of the FastHawk to a V22 Osprey. The latest in transitional tech, transforming from helicopter to airplane in a matter of seconds.

"The V22 will be our transport in and out. This guy has the capabilities to hover as well as fly, giving the pilot tons of options. This V22 has a M2 LMG in the tail and a GAU-17 mini gun in the nose. It also has long range capabilities as well as counter-measures for anti-air weapons. This guy will stay with us throughout the whole mission. Supplies and such will be dropped to us on a weekly basis.

Revan swiped again to reveal a heavily armored vehicle, the M-ATV otherwise known as the MRAP-All Terrain Vehicle.

"Finally you will have a ground vehicle, not just any ground vehicle of course because that's not DAC's style. We have the M-ATV, a vehicle designed to withstand most explosive blasts and protect the occupants to the highest degree. This beast will be outfitted with a CROWS system, an automated fire control unit with dual M249s and a Mk. 47 AGL. The only problem with this monster is that there are only 6 seats. I'm sure we can over come that if needed.

Finally Revan sliced the air horizontally with both hands, turning off the hologram and the TVs.

"That's it for the briefing, we are going to head out at 0500. Until then you are free to do what you need to. Just be sure to be locked and loaded by that time. If you have any questions then feel free to come and ask me. Thanks, guys! Stay frosty!

Revan smiled at the team and headed over to the bar, took a seat and ordered a water through DACIA.

So it began.

The handshake was firm and short, the sign of a trustworthy person had Zack been able to trust anyone but himself. In this sort of business, you had to understand that you were on your own. You may be paired up with other assets to get a job done, but end of the day ain’t no one pulling your ass out of the fire except yourself. Revan then went about introducing everyone around the table, but Zack had already decided that he hated everyone here. It had nothing to do with them personally, or maybe it did, he didn’t care. Generally the entire world was out to get you, and these people were here for the same reason he was: To get a paycheck. First, the scientific nerds of the group. At least one of them, the archaeologist looked like he was in good physical condition. Good, when the inevitable order to run was given he could get himself out of there rather than have one of them carry him out. The other two made Zack groan inwardly. White collar assholes with degrees in how to be superior. He knew he was going to hate interacting with them in any way.

Then came the actual team. The medic looked like some kind of D&D nerd, which wasn’t saying much considering he didn’t have a high opinion of anyone with glasses. The communications expert, most likely well versed in gang signs and lingo. Hah, that should be me actually! Zack thought to himself as he realized his own hypocrisy. The marksman, a stripper with a pole that doubled as a gun. Good to know. The heavy weapons expert, a walking tank of painfully evident overcompensation issues. The XO, a black woman, and already Zack was having trouble taking her seriously. Then there was the team lead, nothing outwardly wrong with him save the optimism of a marine grunt, not to mention the smell of one too.

As Revan continued with the briefing, Zack couldn’t help but sneer but luckily he was looking at the display during it, hopefully seeming like he disagreed with some of the information rather than the people around him. Fancy touch screens, thermal imaging, high tech gadgetry and a vehicle that doubled as a limo and a tank. Just a couple weeks prior Zack had been making a map on a rather large leaf using a piece of charcoal from a fire because he had been stuck in the forest for two weeks. All of this felt too...easy. Like the challenge had left the job, and part of him wanted to walk out all over again. He breathed a sigh, reminding himself that the money was well worth the over extravagance of this operation.

During the entire briefing, the only thing that even mildly concerned Zack was the large heat signature that no one could seem to identify. It was moving, eliminating any kind of gaseous expulsion from the Earth’s crust, and also moving too sporadically to be some kind of vehicle. It was large, and Zack couldn’t think of a single thing that would make that specific type of thermal outline. He didn’t bother asking about it though, considering that everyone here probably had the same amount of information he did. Once Revan was finished outlining everything and telling them that they had time to kick back and relax, Zack gave a grunt and walked over to where his duffel bags were.

Grabbing them, he moved to one of the spare cots and threw them in with all the ceremony of a mass grave, before reaching in and grabbing a couple of components and chemicals. He carried them to the table, splaying them across and effectively making at least half the surface his as he lit up a smoke from his breast pocket. Without anything further to add or say, Zack went to work splicing together some sort of IED. Probably not the safest thing to be doing in the middle of their barracks, but if you asked him if he cared you could guess what his answer would be.

Victor was bored. The technology was supposed to be impressive, he was sure but really he wasn’t here for a show. He had his own very expensive and far more impressive technology. He had to do a lot to get that equipment and he intended to profit from this little venture.

Lucy waited from her place at the floor. She already liked the archeologist even more. She couldn’t wait to see him bother Victor even more. He seemed like the sort that was used to men like Victor, the men in suits who liked to lurk over the shoulders of men like Elio. He was going to drive Victor up the wall just by being there.

As the leader, Revan started to name everyone Victor sat a little straighter, looked a little more smug when he was introduced.

Lucy gave a small smile and then looked at the ground for a moment. She was trying to make her blush disappear.

Victor only half listened to the other introductions. He really didn’t care what their names were. He didn’t make it a habit to learn the names of those he did not have to directly converse with and he highly doubted any of these...soldiers would have even the remotest chance of understanding the level of work he had to do.

As far as he was concerned Lucy barely could. Maybe the archeologist but really in the end he was just someone who liked to dig in the dirt. The chances of him actually understanding any of the scientific data were slim to none.

The more she listened the more afraid of the team Lucy became. These people were the sort you see in action movies. They were all highly specialized and not in the way she was. Her eyes lifted now and she marked each, trying to remember their names.

The thermal images appeared and both she and Victor perked up. He leaned forward, elbows on knees as his eyes raked over the images.

“That is huge..” Lucy whispered as the image focused on the larger of the signatures. Victor looked at her, shaking his head as if chastising a child who spoke out in class. Lucy glared but tempered it.

She grew slightly more nervous at the talk of a merc group. She looked around at the rest knowing that that was what they were there for. To protect her and Victor and Elio.

And just like that it was done. Victor had questions. He found this entirely unsatisfactory. Revan moved to the bar and others followed. Some milled about. Victor stood and moved to the bar. He listened to the archaeologist...Elia? Ernie? He didn’t really care, as he questioned Revan. The military man said he didn’t care what the signature was but Victor did.

Lucy had stood, avoiding Zack with the various chemicals on his cot and lit cigarette. She cast a wary eye on it all as she passed but said nothing. She stepped up beside Victor as Elio joked about not getting chased by boulders.

She chuckled. Victor frowned. “It is in reference to a movie...nevermind.” Things like that were wasted on Victor.

“I don’t think they are correct when they said vents. It did not flow like steam or heat rising and the way it filled the area...no there is something down there.” Victor was sure of it.

“Well we don’t know what it is but the temple...That is a major…”

Lucy’s words were cut off by Victor clearing his throat. “Now with the equipment we brought we should have no trouble figuring out what it is that is causing it. You have my promise that whatever it is we will figure it out before any other group.” There was a sneer in his voice.

“Tell me, do you think those camping and this mercenary group will give us much trouble? I am not the sort to use a gun. I have boxed but that was years ago and I do not think they will behave like civilized men. I was just wondering how concerned I need to be for the safety of myself and my equipment.”

“And the other researchers…” Lucy grumbled under her breath, her glance stealing to look over at Elio. She wondered what he was thinking of Victor’s ego centric bullshit right now.