Aurora's Craze

Wake up call.

Team Epsilon was in their living quarters. Their place of residence was not different from an apartment on Old Earth, it's only main difference being that it was on a space station. Their room had two bunk beds and a sleeping bag with a messy table filled with designs for bombs and other weapons. The five of them were lying in their beds when they were all woken by a digital alarm clock, the ringtone played some unrecognizable punk music, and all four were awake except for the young man in the sleeping bag.

"Hey, get up!" A nervous agent would shake him awake.
"W-What-? Okay- stop shaking me, Jonah." The messy-haired man would sit up from the bag and turn off the alarm.
"Hesperidium, you really need to change that ringtone. You don't even wake up to it." A short-haired girl suggested, sat on the bottom bunk of the first bed.
"But Sara, I love that song!" Hesperidium rolled out of his sleeping bag.
"You also have to clean up that desk, you're not the only one using it." A servo-headed girl added from the top bunk of the second bed.
"F-Fine! Was today 'Gang up on Hesperidium' day?!" He dusted himself off and sat down at the table and stacked the blueprints, he put on his earphones and hummed to himself.

Sara sighed and looked around and noticed someone was missing.
"Where.... Where is Abraham?" She mumbled and looked around again, "Sienna, do you anything about that?" She asked with anticipation.
"Um... I think I heard the door open when I was half asleep. He's probably in the range." She said in her robotic tone.
"Oh... okay." Sara got up from the bottom bunk and headed to the bathroom to change.

She changed from her agency-issued pajamas to her uniform, which was a wooly jacket with the agency logo. The agency logo was the letter 'A' surrounded by a snake eating itself, it was white and proudly stitched on the chest. She also wore combat pants with kneepads. She left the bathroom, and wore her boots and tied them before leaving the living quarters.

The nervous agent retired to his bottom bunk and the servo headed woman laid down on the top bunk.
"Sienna... is this mission really all good? I... I just.... I don't know." Jonah whined.
"Oh, don't sweat it... you're in good hands. I'm sure that we can trust our admiral on this one, right?" The servo-head spoke, her artificial voicebox modified her speech to sound hopeful.
"Um... really? I don't-"
"You'll be fine, Jonah."
"You sure? I'm just- fresh off of training and then-"
Jonah was interrupted by the sound of the blast door of the living quarters, Sara and Abraham stepped forward, Abraham wore a ripped up button down shirt, with bandages wrapped around his arms, gloves over them, he wore baggy cargo pants and white sneakers. After the two stood beside their beds, seemingly lining up, a third person slowly entered the room.

His dark plate carrier had a red patch of the agency's logo, his left eye covered by multiple rolls of blood-stained bandages, the stains have darkened over time.
The agents in the room lined up with the two others and saluted him, except for Hesperidium, who was still hunched over the table, scribbling on the blueprints. Abraham tapped him on the shoulder and Hesperidium quickly turned around and saluted the man.

"Here is the audio briefing." The fellow agent uttered in a cold voice, he saluted back and all the agents in the room put their hands down. Abraham received the tape, nodding with respect.
"Admiral Olga's waiting for you in the hangar, I suggest you don't keep her waiting. Dismissed."
The man left the room, and Abraham snatched Hesperidium's audio player.
"Hey!"
Abraham discarded the previous cassette, placing it on the table beside Hesperidium, and loaded in the one given to him by the man. He unplugged the headphones and started the briefing. The squad remained silent, except for Hesperidium, who seethed with mild anger.

The click of the audio tape echoed in the silent room as the admiral cleared her throat before calmly briefing.

"Agents, listen carefully. The situation has evolved since our initial briefing. You are still assigned to the crossroads zone in Eden 227, but your primary objectives have shifted due to recent events. Collect samples of the infection, secure the area, but most importantly, investigate the base raid and neutralize any threats."

"The inhabitants of Eden, as some of you may know, are afflicted by a viral infection called Aurora's Craze. Its symptoms begin with coughing and tinnitus. However, at later stages, it can escalate to white pupils, psychosis, and hysteria." The admiral audibly paused, her tone now carrying a sense of urgency. She cleared her throat once more before continuing. "Even if you are native agents, you must wear your respiratory gear at all times. We cannot afford any oversights."

"Your base of operations was supposed to be the blue warehouse in the south of the A.O. It is automatically sterilized and considered a safe zone. However, new information has reached us." The tension in her voice heightened. "The base was raided. Guns, food—everything's gone. Team Delta is lost. By none other than what seems to be AGENT Yosef of Team Gamma."

The weight of the revelation hung heavily in the air. The admiral sighed, she grappled the gravity of the situation.

"We cannot allow this to stand. Team Epsilon, this mission has been extended. Investigate the raid, secure the base, and KILL THAT TRAITOROUS S.O.B.! " She raised her voice and sighed. "Immediate action is imperative. The fate of the crossroads and it's inhabitants hinges on your success. Godspeed." She added calmly.

The audio tape clicked and the tape whirred slowly before it halted.

"Okay, everyone get changed." Abraham barked to the rest of the squad who soon followed orders. Jonah made his way to the bathroom in the living quarters and shut the door behind him.

Hesperidium snatched the audio player from Abraham and quickly discarded the old cassette and loaded in his punk mixtape again.

"Asshole." The frustrated man muttered, "Don't ever do that again!" He raised his fist at Abraham, who just stood there, taller than him.
"Or what?" Abraham would reply, unphased, his arms crossed as he stared the man across him down.
Hesperidium... giggles.
"Fuck you." Hesperidium playfully conceded and lowered his fist.
The two men laughed at the comedic nature of their interaction as Sienna and Sara awkwardly giggled.

Jonah walked out of the bathroom fully changed. He wore a navy-colored agency hoodie with a large print of the logo on the chest, and dark cargo pants. Hesperidium passes him by and closes the door behind him, shortly after he leaves changed. His drab was a worn, orange combat jacket, and hunting pants with bullets and a holster.

Sienna walked from her position in the line and did the same thing as the others, she stood a few inches shorter than Hesperidium, her servo head's lights were cyan just like her jacket, she also wore combat boots and dark jeans with studded knee pads. "I understand that we are... ready to leave?" Sienna asked the squad, and one by one they got up and left their living quarters.