Hangar 18

PROLOGUE

"You can't be serious... why scrap it now after all the time and effort we put into making the thing?"

A scratching sound of pen and paper filled the air. "Because," the word was almost drawn out- whether in irritance at the previous statement or frustration at the dilemma at hand. "Something went haywire in its system during creation." The aforementioned pen tapped on the edge of the clipboard held in hand. "'Brain' malfunction. Went a little too deep with that precision laser drill and one of the primary wires snapped."

It was almost a pleasant surprise to be able to hear the reply through the commotion happening around the area; the constant whirring of the vast supply of machinery and the constant array of voices reached everyone's ears in a cluster.

There was a sigh that sounded quite similar to a groan of exasperation. "So one little mishap came up. That's enough to trash the whole project after who knows how long ago we started it? Damn it, this is the fourth one we've tried to make!"

"That 'mishap' just so happened to tie into its primary purpose. With that particular point not in proper condition, we're not even sure if it'll stick to what we even created it for."

"The weapons aspect?"

The surrounding atmosphere was almost uncomfortably silent.

A blink, then a response. "...Exactly that."

Another pause. The tension could easily be cut with a knife.

"...Though, I believe you should be resuming your testing, correct? You've been away from your station long enough."

"Ah, yes, I suppose you're right," The resumed sound of synchonized footsteps clacking gently against the tile floor stopped once more after reaching a long, cluttered table. "Your directions, sir?"

The second set of eyes mused over the array of... "experiments"... that met his line of vision, settling on a cage to the farthest left. The response given to his gesture was a whimpering, incoherent mess of unintelligible babbles and widened eyes.

A syringe was placed on the table as a finger pointed at the deformed figure, an almost sick smile directed towards it.

"Start with this one."