Centipede

Chapter 1 - RIC-14 (Blattella Germanica), 1st of January

The inside of the helicopter was as silent as the men and women within. The squad of four knew what awaited them at the landing site and there'd be no doubt as to their survival. Their heavily camouflaged body armor was untouched but their rifles told all. Another, however, the fifth man sat apart from them. He was covered head to toe in thick black plates of ceramics and kevlar, his advanced helmet glowed with cyan optics which burned as the armored figure stared at the dense woodland rushing by in the moonlight.

Corporal Adam Hsu, an older gentleman, would break the silence, his comms buzzing to life "We're going to drop sooner than expected. 14's been spotted on our route." He said, his aged voice cutting through the helicopter's ambiance before his comms died once again leaving the other three and the fifth with their eyes on him.

"Not good." replied one of the two women on the copter "Did it expect us or is it just moving?" she asked.

"We cannot confirm, Monroe. Though the report suggests it was heading in our direction. Make sure you're ready for anything. We could be landing in a kill zone." He grabbed his rifle and showed it to the group. The weapon bore innumerable scratches and dings. The butt of the gun was faintly darker at the edges but what none except the other man could rip their eyes from was two marks. A thick, jagged scar ran down the body of the gun and a simple tally was marked just below it reading 8 "The higher-ups will hate me for this but switch to your conventional ammunition at the first sight of something off." The squad all took a moment to make sure their red-labeled magazines were within easier reach than their green-labeled ones except, of course, the other man in the cabin.

His blue optics snapped to Hsu "That won't be necessary." The voice was a strange augmented baritone "I am here to ensure such a thing is unneeded."

"And how's that?" Monroe asked, "You ain't even got a rifle." she all but scoffed. Goddamn agent of the suits, wasn't he? Their supervisor?

"I don't have the clearance to tell you." He responded, his form unreadable.

Her blue eyes rolled sarcastically and she took a similar tone "Well ain't that just great, Spook. Are ya at least qualified enough to give us a name?" She said, her pale green eyes now locked on the bizarre individual. She'd get something out of him and if she didn't Hsu would.

Monroe's stare broke as one of her squadmates spoke up, A younger man, his lithe frame just barely covered by his black gear "Monroe, stop harassing the suit's pet. We can't afford a bad report." even through the comms he attempted an annoyed whisper.

"Fuck off, Dick." was Monroe's simple response "I hate suits and I especially hate not having a name or face to put to a suit." she said, nearly spitting the words.

"Monroe. Richards. Shut up. I'm gonna puke if you two keep flirting." Said Monroe's only feminine company, her tanned face twisted into a mocking smirk.

Monroe was about to snap back but the corporal slamming his rifle to the floor broke her train of thought. Once again "Ayad. Monroe. Richards. Save it for after the mission." to which the three could only reply with a disciplined nod before the elder man's face turned to the armored stranger "You. Give us a name. I'm sure you'd rather not be called 'Suit' for your time with us."

"My designation is SEp-Alpha. I am to assist you in retrieving the specimen." SEp-A replied. His voice, even through bassy warbles, had a strict professionalism.

"Welcome aboard then, Sep." He extended a hand which was swiftly taken by the bassy voiced mystery "Now, how're you supposed to help? I apologize for the bluntness but you don't have a rifle and our quarry ain't something to fight up-close." The older man said with an uneasy smile. What the hell was wrong with the suits? Were they that incompetent these days? They deployed a man without a gun for Christ's sake!