Alpha, Meta, Does It Really Matter?

Can't Deploy A Ghost

Hargrove must think the whole thing entertaining. Alpha was constantly running drills. Constantly running around the track. Running drills. Running with equipment. running without it. Running with the speed enhancement. Running the other units. Alpha was getting sick and tired of running. So when they signed him up for active duty it was odd. Hargrove said they would send him field side soon and while the news of no more running drills would good the idea of active duty was not.

Alpha had quickly taken notice that they liked to run maintenance on his body after they shut him down. Whether he felt better or worse was really up for grabs. They would shut him down and restart him at all times of the day. It seemed that nothing was off limits for these losers. Alpha still isn't even sure if he knows this guy. The man calls himself Chairman, had given his name as Malcolm Hargrove. Even his name sounded like it was made for a douche. At least that's how Alpha thought of it. 

It was always weird when he was shut down as well. He could feel the hands of whoever ghosting over his body. It didn't feel unpleasant as is, but it didn't feel good when he woke up feeling grimy and like he just took a shower in nope. The changes were weird, brutal almost. Sometimes they would help him walk better but it would be in a new way, whether by pace or just how he walked. They messed with his HUD a few times. Changing it as they went along in training and drills. It honestly scares Alpha how much access they have to his body. They rummage for hours if the clock in his head is anything to go by. They ruin him from the inside out. Only to put him back together like nothing happened. No one consults him. No one acknowledges his pain and his pleadings to leave him alone. Deep down he knows why it bothers him so much. Alpha doesn't remember everything due to his missing piece. The tiny pieces he does remember scare him. 

He doesn't like to bring it up. Nor does he appreciate The Chairman bringing up like it as a casual day for him at the beach. Alpha doesn't appreciated his prying or his over stepping or really anything the old man has subjected him to. So when The Chairman tells FILLS to tell him that they're finally deploying him, He's pissed beyond words. SO he stands there fuming at the tired sounding AI. Alpha knows her from somewhere, he can feel it in his bones, but placing it was an entirely different story. The voice tells him he's deploying to a planet called chorus a tiny planet in the middle of nowhere. She tells him they need help clearing out equipment and for scaring off visitors. Alpha's not really sure what they really want from him. Sending an AI in a completely decked out suit of armor to be doing the same job as a bouncer at the club does not sound the least be appealing to him. The moving things around doesn't sound like fun either. While Alpha is thankful to be alive, he really thinks this is a dumb reason to revive someone for. Like "Hey move my stuff cause I'm an old man also can you look mean while doing it, I love it when people look scary har har" Alpha says rolling his eyes. He really does truly consider himself the master of under the breath talk, and high fives himself mentally when he gets away with it.

The pelican arrives the next day to take him into the atmosphere. Alpha thinks the whole thing crazy still. The planet sounded worse and worse every time they mentioned it. Next thing he knows they'll be saying it's another active war zone they'll be sending him in. That's the last thing he needed honestly. Alpha complies because whatever Hargrove does to him is inadvisable and he really doesn't need it to continue any longer. So he gets on the ridiculous pelican and moves on with his life.

When he finally touches down, it's far from the base he assumes he needs to be at. It's already looking bad from the way the armored men stare him down. Alpha would say by body posture that they looked terrified. He looks behind him at the retreating pelican to find what they were scared of. He doesn't see anything worth while and continues to what he assumes is the base of operation for extracting whatever he was intended to carry. Thinking that doing what ever The Chairman wants might give him enough time to fix whatever was pulling his nerves when The Chairman would hit the button. It at least had been giving him something to think about recently. Wanting to get out of here was top priority. It was now that Alpha realized why these dudes were probably scared of him, he was still as tall as Maine if not taller. Still 6"7' at the least it would seem that's what their problem was. 

The planet was dusty and dry. The green and white he had seen above in the pelican showed not here. The planet would have made a nice vacation spot if it wasn't so deserted. It probably had radioactive lakes and Alpha wasn't even gonna try to see what the rest of the planet had. The strange planet was a lot nice than Blood Gulch. The air seemed fresher, but it was probably more likely due to a better air filter. He was introduced to a couple of the men he know worked for? or at least he figured he worked for them? He worked for Hargrove but did he work under these men or along side them? The question invaded Alpha's thoughts for a long while. Long enough that he didn't see the two mercenaries approach him. The foot falls getting faster and if Alpha was paying them any mind he would have felt the absolute rage coming from them both.