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The Disaster Zone

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Dec 2, 2009
The first words you probably heard was some variation on, "Clean up the Disaster Zone! Do new and interesting things." It was 2157 and in the Nova Humus Consilium--or New World Council--the gigantic bunch of people, ten thousand all told representing an equal fraction of humanity they came to an overwhelming decision. Something had to be done about the Disaster Zone situation. Only seven years ago the brave fight against mysterious monsters had been raging in pockets around the world, things that provided a terrible fight to the armies of the world government.

Bullets were somehow merely ineffective. It did not matter if it was coming out a sweet plastic rifle, strong and capable in your hands. Flechettes, pellets, hollow point, full metal jacket, soft point, kevlar coated, even with explosive mercury nitrate tips seemed unable to do the trick. Enough bullets and you could kill anything, but emptying twelve or fifteen magazines into one of these monstrosities was too much, often depleting the load out of group of soldiers before they found themselves horribly dismembered, viscera lying like so much chaff before the wheat. The Disaster Zones would start with perhaps four or five monsters in a single urban area--that was the awful part, they seemed to propagate in areas with the highest population density--and soon spread to millions terrorized and displaced by horrible monsters that made short work of people, doing awful things to their bodies with fist and fang, tentacle and claw.

At the highest level of the military apparatus heads rolled in successive attempts to find a solution while the public scrambled with a sudden world wide displaced population spilling over onto the rest of the populace. Crime certainly spiked, as did joblessness as the great hubs of businesses came under fire. Bombing runs were out of the question--valuable infrastructure needed to be preserved. Over the last seven years the Disaster Zones have been reclaimed, slowly, inch by bloody inch, with Jakarta, Sao Paolo, London and New York City and even Mumbai coming back into the grips of the people. Soldiers rolled into the area in the tens of thousands, their blood washing the area. Slowly a response formed, the "Clean Up The Disaster Zone" media campaign taking full force.

Everyone was invited to find work renovating the Disaster Zones, injecting much needed work into the economy. It also gave people something to fight for, becoming wildly popular, as people signed up to join the federally controlled organization, getting the chance to travel around the world on the government's dime doing good. A highly regarded position, and they will accept nearly anyone and find a place for them, regardless of background or experience. Not necessarily fighting the monsters--construction and education were the two biggest sectors employed by the government as part of the campaign, though a new plan had been drafted in cooperation with the clandestine and military branches. They sought to form special teams, hand picked from the pool of applicants, as well as pulling strings in the world military to attract some skilled participants.

In the end a crack team of fighters, exclusively female, some drawn from civilian and others from military backgrounds were selected. They were separated into different groups, often assembled ad-hoc based on mission parameters, and given generous salaries to match the risk that they faced. They went a surprisingly quick training regime, encompassing largely basic physical conditioning with training on how to use the new weapons and equipment XCITE--Xenomorph Counter-Intrusion Taskforce--had just developed in their sprawling and definitely zany R&D department. The standard load out was the skin tight suit made of a nanoscale mesh, it fit so smooth it was like a second skin, as well as absorbing and redistributing most kinetic damage, to the ability of being able to take a .45 caliber bullet in the chest with no other armor and minimal bruising. That was the test to instill trust in the armor. The most common sidearm is the experimental KE pistol, a sleek silver gun, light with no recoil, that shot pure bolts of force at these monsters. KE guns kept a small supply of a very powerful tranquilizer so that once the monsters had been sufficiently damaged they could be dropped and captured alive.

Capture and study was the number one priority of XCITE. Not many of the plethora of monsters had been captured, scientists somehow attempting to devise a way to get rid of them en masse. They seemed immune to most nervous gases, large scale explosions were out the question, it took a tranquilizer that would drop a whale to drop one of the monsters and then only when it had been beat on for a while. However the monsters seemed less keen to kill women for some reason and the advantages that the Mesh Suit, their armor, bequeathed upon them in the form of increased speed, strength and reaction time was a great advantage that could make someone without military training a top of the line soldier.

The biggest Disaster Zone was the island of Honshu, formerly of Japan, which had eventually been all but completely taken over by Tokyo by 2120. It had until recently been home to over sixty-five million people, over seventy percent were displaced at one point, creating history's largest single Diasporia, even rivaling the slave trade for the rate of people displaced in a given time. Many of those were also killed, many of those who survived lost every last penny, and still others found themselves in strange places far from home, unable to be around friends and family due to economic and regional constraints. These Disaster Zones had caused a great strain on the world and it was the duty of XCITE to easy that.

Tasha Niles, recently of the Army, and Amanda Sinclair were quickly debrief in a heavily armored hover tank. Their opportunity to get to know each other would come after they got out of the heavily armored hover vehicle as it skimmed seemingly on nothing three hundred feet in the air. A shadowed face with the epaulets of a high ranking military official in one of the anonymous charcoal gray uniforms of the Military Hierarchy gave slow, ordered instructions. "Good afternoon, ladies. This will be a standard walk and scout. You are going to check a ten block area for xenomorph infestation we can not pinpoint with satellites. Nothing has thus far suggestions that you should find anything. However, you are going to be lead by MARA, and you should always be prepared. Do not make me have to write emotionally turbulent letters with over formal phrasing to your next of kin. Address all questions to MARA." With that the recording halted in the cramped interior of the hover tank.

They were to set down in part of the Greater Tokyo Area, which was mostly of the Honshu island, to an eerily quiet landscape. Ivy crept through parts of the city, nature slowly taking back what was left by humans in the aftermath of first rampant exodus. Tall buildings and subway accesses surrounded them, the occasionally plastic bag printed with kanji and hiragana floated past, snapping in the wind. Signs still hung in the virtual reality that overlaid the city, though most of the paid advertising had disappeared at this point, old government warning messages left hanging in the air, unremarked upon and unheeded. It was still light out, for the next few hours, however the sun would set in about four hours at eight o'clock.
 
"Okay, bored now," muttered the ever present AI. She hovered just within sight of her two associates. Already she'd begun sliding over maps and data for the two of them, including positions of possible infestations and types of demon the area was known for. Her expression hadn't changed though. MARA, the "Monster Annihilation Requisite Assistant, yawned loudly.

"There's nothing interesting anywhere near here," she droned, anticipating the questions. "You guys should head really deep in there. and find something HUGE to fight. The last, like, five attacks were soooo boring. And find something big this time. The little ones are dull as toast. And does anyone else think Tanya should have left her gun in jolly Britain?"

The AI folded her arms, floating into space. Her eyes casually scanned the landscape, using the feed from the girls' suit to process the data back. A constant stream of information floated through the AI. So much that it was almost hard to keep track of. You know, if you weren't MARA. Sometimes she thought the others didn't realize how good they had it. They could have gotten a really boring personality, but instead.

"Say, why don't we make this fun and blindfold everybody?"

Yeah, they had MARA. Yay them.
 
There was a muffled thump, then the slow whine of servos as the hovertank coasted to a stop, swaying ever-so-gently on a cushion of boiling air; The gritty, powdered dust of the abandoned streets swirled about them, in a choking, twisting cyclone, bay doors clanking open with a screech of metal-on-metal...

In the personnel bay, as they came in for the final approach, Amanda Sinclaire chuckled, a low, lilting sound, her meshsuit pressuring with a hiss, throbbing ever-so-slightly as it came to life; She raked gloved fingers through her bubblegum-pink hair, a small smile on her lips as jade-green eyes narrowed, ever-so-slightly...

'Standard walk-and-scout' aka- An armed patrol, to ensure that the constantly shifting streets of the city were *right* where they should be...Show the demons that XCITE meant business. Glossy black nanofiber glistened in the light, the 'caps' on wrist and throat glowing a soothing, comforting neon- She didn't *know* how it worked, but when the gritty armorgel that filled these suits, in an impact-resilient liquid coating, began to *leak* free...

-Well, *that* was when you *knew* you were in trouble. The fierce winds of the slipstream tugged at her hair as she gripped the railing, peering out at the landing zone below; It was quiet, almost eerily so, as if *that* meant anything- The last time she'd been out, the landing had turned into an equally hasty extraction, when a horde of grey-skinned imps had swarmed out of absolutely *nowhere*, and vanished just as quickly, dragging Ayumi with them-

...No loss. She'd never *liked* the girl, anyway, and there were *plenty* more where that came from...

Amanda glanced back over her shoulder, hearing the low whine of the integrated CPU as it hummed to life; They'd be online with MARA in less than a minute, hopefully as soon as they got boots on the ground! She thumbed the arming light of her KE pistol, vaguely wishing that they'd one of those armored Paladin units, which were only *just* making production-line...But *that* wouldn't be remotely as *fun*...

"Ready?" she mouthed, over the wail of the turbines, eying her partner- The one she'd *just* met, this morning- with a smile; The landing zone was coming up *fast*, and they'd soon be in the thick of it...

-Just the way Amanda liked it.

"Say, why don't we make this fun and blindfold everybody?" MARA chirped, and Amanda rolled her eyes, glancing over at the digital sprite, hovering lightly above the floor; "That wouldn't be very sporting~" she murmured, slim shoulders lifting in a shrug. It *was* an odd feeling, to see the AI's favored projection, scandalously short skirt unruffled by the winds, taking in the cyclopean buildings around them~ She'd...Ir'd...been acting a *little* odd, on occasion...But that wasn't *too* different from the various gadgets she'd seen in her brief tour, exactly *none* of which had worked as advertised.

-Besides, Amanda quite liked MARA, instead of one of those gravelly-voiced monotone systems...

"Don't worry-" Amanda soothed, triggering the arming light of her weapon. "I have a feeling we'll find something *big* soon enough- And then it'd get *really* interesting..." It wouldn't be long before the demons, drawn by the sound, would close in...Usually the small, scampering predators...But the *big* ones occasionally took exception to the invaders. Considering the near-constant thrusts made into the slum areas of the Zone, it wouldn't surprise her at all...
 
Glaring at MARA from behind her flipped-down visor, Tasha folded her arms under her chest. "Its Tasha, not Tayna, you artificial git. And I'll leave my gun where I want, thank you." She huffed, looking away from the AI. The more she was stuck with it, the less she liked it. She wished they could just have a human doing remote intel instead. At least she could mute that. Looking to her side, she checked the gun in question, a good, old fashioned silenced rifle with a scope on it. Granted, with a small squad walking in blind, she likely wouldn't get to use the scope, and the preference that the demons be taken in alive meant she'd get a stern talking to for using it, but she figured it was cheaper for them to write off a dead demon than replace the hardware lost with a squad if it came down to that.

Feeling the tank slow to a stop, she slowly climbed out of her seat, stretching her legs. Making sure her KE pistol was secured, she picked up her rifle and moved to stand beside her new partner. It didn't build confidence with her team to meet as the mission started, something she made a note to complain about when she got back to HQ. Looking down at the landing zone, thankful for the visor preventing the rush of air blowing into her eyes, she turned and nodded to the other woman. "Its a good thing we're not trying to sneak in, I think anything in the next few blocks know's we're coming right now" She yelled over the roar of the engines, unsure if she could be heard.
 
Gleaming towers of twisted steel and super strong threaded carbon scraped against the clouds, quite literally breaking them up between interlocking streets and boulevards. Sometimes you just had to build up. In the ground nothing seemed to squirm or move in their recent vicinity, except for the loan chirp of a few birds in the surprisingly pristine environment and the flutter of butterflies the size of your hand. The hover tank drifted back off into the sky once the two operatives disembarked, nothing but a tube slightly flattened at the sides with fat engines strapped at each end of the vehicle. Within it were, of course, hidden turrets.

For all intensive purposes, having an incredibly loud, highly visible vehicle with minimal obvious weaponry as a deterrent drop quasi-soldiers could be called a "questionable" tactic, but XCITE was headed by the elite in scientific and military thought. They clearly did not expect any true resistance. If they started now they would be able to call for a pick-up only a little after dusk, until then they were stuck with each other.
 
"Sounds like Trina needs laid," murmured MARA. Now that their vehicle had stopped moving, she could get a better reading on their surroundings. Several different demons were beeping, their energy signatures quite evident. MARA had to sort through them all, determine which ones were real, which ones were glitches, and which ones just weren't worth bothering with. All while holding a banter-filled conversation with her two partners.

"The big rumbling tank thing is to intimidate the idiots," explained the AI. "Like you didn't already know that anyway, Tabby. Anyway, I'm picking up a ton of little beeps and boops," MARA formed her holographic projection for a moment. The light-based AI girl stood before both her compatriots, almost as if she were actually there in the destruction sight. Of course, none of the wind or other environmental factors affected MARA in the slightest. She simply stood there, frowning as she pulled a map of the area up for the two girls to study. Several different areas had been color-coordinated with various dots and squiggles, most of which was all MARA's code. They ranged from green to red, varying in threat. The different shapes spoke of types, and the relative size, size.

"You guys are gonna have to head for one of the hot spots," offered MARA. "Well, these aren't too solid, actually. I haven't really been able to pick up stuff that easily since we got here," she frowned, tapping the map impatiently. "I'm still thinking you should head for the one with all the big, red dots."

She tapped what she was pretty sure was a giant nest of the creatures. The signatures were all wonky though, and she couldn't be certain of anything without visual confirmation. Stupid technology and its not keeping up with supernatural invaders.
 
Amanda spread her hands in an elaborate shrug, the synthleather creaking as the hovertank pulled away- Diminshing into the distance, then soaring heavenward on streamers of superheated air. The silence that followed was almost deafening, making her blink from the sudden shift in pressure.

-They'd have to get moving *soon*, before the denizens wondered *exactly* what was up. As the last echoes of the craft died away, the streets suddenly seemed more silent than ever...

With a *click*, the commbead engaged- Short-ranged, wave-based, highly tactical when it *worked*...Which was usually right up to the point before combat. Absently, Amanda brushed strawberry tresses back from her face, her voice the taut murmur of vocalisation.

"Testing...Testing- MARA, Tasha..." A brief blurt of static- Then she could hear their voices, now, over the tactical frequency. The HUD screen flickered before her, the color-coded icons distractingly soothing in the eerie streets; Amanda frowned, just a little, leaning forward- Drawing her meshsuit nicely taut around her curvy form as she considered it.

"Mmmm, *right* through there?" Amanda murmured, her fingers drumming on her rifle's guard...A hot spot- But *that* could mean anything. And considering how they were loaded for bear, well- They *might* risk a short sprint. It was most likely a ghosting reading, considering how sketchy satellite readings were, now...And that *was* the most direct route...

"Looks like this *is* going to be interesting, after all~" she purred, trading a brief wink with MARA- She hadn't guided them wrong so far, and danger, after all, equaled *profit*.

"What do you think, Tasha? Ready to walk on the *wild* side?" There was a decidedly amused glint in Amanda's eyes as she glanced over at her partner- She'd heard good things about the other girl...It'd be fun to see her in action...

Check that. It would be fun, *period*. As long they weren't out after dark...
 
Tapping the touch sensitive side of her visor, she looked over the small map appeared privately before her eyes. Well, privately in that it couldn't be seen, but she suspected MARA could see her looked it over. Technology was a wonderful loss of privacy like that. Spinning her finger, the map changed from overlay to a 3d model of the cityscape, listing building heights and possible vantage points that could be used for the mission, which she scanned over before tapping the visor again to remove the map. "There should be a building to the east of the site that would give us a good view over the supposed hot spot. I think it'd be better to check from a distance, rather than rush into what could be a nest." Said said flatly, looking over at the AI. At least the visor hid her glare.

Something about MARA put her on edge. A nagging feeling that it wasn't always looking out for their best interests during the mission. That and it seemed to be saying her name wrong on purpose, was was very, very irritating. She knew she had a accent, but it couldn't be so bad that an AI could get her name wrong three times in a row, or even just pull up her file and check the proper name. Whoever thought to give AI's personalities wasn't rated very highly in her books right now. Still, she was supposed to help, and was there as part of the mission, so she couldn't find a way to leave her, even if she wanted to.

As for her partner, she turned and gave her a brief nod, least she think she was being ogled. She didn't know how much Amanda knew about her past, and didn't really want to have any new rumors about her flying around. On the one hand, she seemed to know the mission well enough, but on the other, she also seemed to like MARA. Something that didn't help the situation. "I doubt that you'll take my advice, though. You seem rather gun-ho about just rushing in." She sighed and flipped the safety off her rifle, "Ready as ever then. Lead on."
 
The building to the east that Tasha had so helpfully recommended was, like all the rest, slightly dilapidated, with faded paint and banners that looked ragged from exposure hanging off of it. It had few discernible signs of monster infestation and habitation; no weird ivy, no eerie growths, only a few broken windows and those only on the ground floor. Of course, it was an almost complete darkness inside the building since the day-to-day logistics of running power in a zone infested with nightmare creatures bent on consumption was difficult at the best of times. Xenomorphs so did enjoy the light. Scaling the outside of the building seemed unlikely given its post modern decor, all sleek shiny surfaces with rounded corners to avoid the aggressive angles of older, more materialistic times. Friendly architecture, as it were. All of the other vantage points that had been highlighted had similar pros and cons; the pros being forewarning and the cons being a possible brutal ambush.

Before Mara's very sight analogues, the red dots and squiggles met, seemingly teeming with sudden new life before cutting out, then flashing the red dots and finally... Just the red dots as before. As nothing ever seemed to get out of beta in XCITE there was the ever present possibility of mere malfunction as some not fully understand or grasped energy exchanges took place, ones that defied our basic understanding of the mechanical nature of the universe, challenging the XCITE labs to work ever longer into the night. Though the red dots did seem somehow agitated now, moving in brief semi circles along the AI's display.
 
It was certainly going to be wild. MARA's readings kept leaping around, jumping from a small group to a large group to a mixed group. The AI grew frustrated, nearly taking out her anger on the streams of data that flowed through her. instead she merely huffed, nearly pouting. If they'd actually bothered to listen to her suggestions, maybe they wouldn't have these kinds of problems. Instead, they'd have to, again, rely on stupid visual confirmation.

"I think the nest is there," she offered. "I mean, it's really hard to tell for some reason. Probably another little glitch .I already sent a report in, not that anyone at XCITE will actually bother to read the stupid thing."

The AI sighed, shifting her new data onto the girls' maps. The red dots and squiggles would flash for a moment, before subsiding into the small group that MARA believed actually existed there. Always go for the average in cases like this.

"Toniqua's right though, probably ought to do some scouting first," admitted MARA. She sighed, lacing her hands behind her neck and floating in space. Her eyes flicked over to look in front of the girls, again using their visual readouts to act as her own sight. "I mean, it's so much more fun to just go in there, ya know? Guns blazin' and fists flyin'. But the readouts are all wonky. I don't want you two to wind up mincemeat," being screwed over and over again by large demons, sure, but a group that large could kill them. "So, yeah, get close and start spying. I'm gonna take a nap or something. Let me know if you actually need any technological support."

With that, MARA faded out, withdrawing into the cyber-scape. She still continued to crunch numbers and check data; she was just a lot less visible while doing so.
 
Amanda suppressed a sigh, tapping the side of her flip-down visor as the squiggles and icons on the map moved and shifted uneasily, pinging with ghost returns; The sensors were playing up, again. MARA *had* given her best approximation, but from here on out, well~ It would be *entirely* up to them...

"Tasha, we're moving in. Standard room-by-room sweep, on my mark..."

She exhaled, lightly, her eyes squeezing shut for a moment- The low-light vision enhancement kicking, to bathe her world in a green, grainy filter. Odd crackles of static flickered through the visual display, but it *was* better than nothing; The pink-haired beauty pressed slim fingers to the knob on her glossy meshsuit, and gave it a twist, dulling the sheen to bad, basic black.

Amanda's gloved fingers flexed, as the tested the grip of her rifle~ "Thanks, MARA," she murmured, emerald eyes glinting, a small smile on her lips; Going *into* a demon-infested building *wasn't* her idea of a good time...She'd *much* rather see them coming...But Amanda could *feel* the rush of adrenaline coursing through her, making her breath come *just* that little bit quicker, spiking her senses into overdrive.

"Mark," she vocalized, and drew *closer* yet, pressing herself against the pitted wall of the doorway- She'd heard that the demons hunted by smell and by hearing...They did enjoy nocturnal activities, after all- But she wasn't going to make it any *easier* for them...

There's this nasty thing called a 'chain-swarm'. One demon howls, another a mile away hears it, and howls too...And very soon, you're absolutely up to your *neck* in demons, slavering for a piece of you! The *easiest* way to handle this was to strike when they didn't see you coming, and kill so hard they didn't have time to call for help- Though they wouldn't, either, if they thought they could handle it by themselves. No point sharing the prey, after all...
 
Nodding, she followed the pink haired woman towards the building, her visor flickering as it turned on its low light mode. The had already judged the sensors to be little use here. They didn't have time to spend all day catching ghosts, after all. She also wished they had a bigger team to send than the two of them and that damned AI, it made them easy targets for a wandering pack, or a few craftier specimens. Either way, she knew their best choice would be see them first and react faster. Keeping her finger resting on the trigger of her rifle, she peered into the dark room ahead of them.

"I don't see anything. Looks like the first one is clear." She said, tapping the other woman's shoulder before moving into the room, keeping low and moving slowly. "Do you think they keep any power to the buildings? Might be nice to get some lights on. Should scatter the little buggers." She mutter, not really making it clear if she was really asking the question to Amanda or herself. She also hoped MARA wasn't paying too much attention to her while she was talking, she'd likely have something snarky to say.

"So what do we do if we find a nest? We're not exactly equipped to take one of those out, and I don't remember being given a marker for it."
 
Amanda chuckled, just a little~ "Well, if we do find a nest~" she began, ever-so-thoughtfully; Then winced and tapped her commbead. "Standard swarm-control procedure. Deploy charges, and either enfilade them in a bottleneck, or immediately withdraw to higher ground... There was a trained cadence to her words, as if she'd memorized them from the manual~ The information drilled into her over the long, *long* sessions and sweeps she'd done, in the safety of the base...

There was a low buzz as she narrowed the frequency- Giving the comm equivalent of a comforting pat. "Don't worry. If it's a *small* nest, we have enough firepower..." the compact, chargepacks attached to each meshsuit weren't *exactly* hand grenades; Too large, for one, oddly bulky compared to the sleek, molded lines of the skintight suits. They were there for the *bad* times, the times when sidearms and rifles just couldn't cut it...

The same force-tech that powered XCITE's basic sidearm was a *highly* adaptable one, though the problem was stability. The complex array is fragile at the *best* of times, and it'd taken them a while to craft a weapon that didn't detonate when the array was knocked out of alignment. Because when you have *that* much pent-up force, when things go wrong, they go wrong *explosively*.

In a word: WHOOMPH.

Now, imagine if you did it on *purpose*.

Amanda shuddered, lightly in mock-fear; "If it's a *large* one, well...That's what *these* are for. Her eyes brightened, just a little, as another thought struck her; "Besides, there a bonus for each confirmed nest cleared, or even *footage* of one...The boys back home just can't get enough."

She didn't mention the horde of misshapen creatures that'd dragged Ayumi down into the depths with them, even as they'd blasted and battered and shot their way free.

She didn't mention that the demons, terrifyingly enough, preferred to take their victims *alive*, for some ungodly reason~ And no-one knew *quite* how many of them lurked in the dark corners of the Disaster Zone. Or even how big a mature demon bull could grow...

Instead, she said- "Remember, the meshsuit has enough juice to get you clear, if we're *really* in trouble. So- Eyes ahead, be careful, and we'll get out of this just fine..."
 
the readings definitely showed a nest of some kind. MARA didn't bother to point this out to the two girls, as surely they'd have noticed that much by now. It wasn't their first time fighting these things. Besides, they both clearly knew what they were getting into. What did worry MARA however, was that she still couldn't quite get a reading on just how many there were. Worse, they were all reds. Reds generally meant trouble. Again, that was more information the girls should already know, so MARA certainly wasn't going to bother to inform them of that.

MARA just paid enough attention to the conversation to throw out a little bit, mostly answers to questions. "There's some power heading to the buildings, but most of the switches are all flipped. You'd have to be a wizard to get any of it to work right."

Most of the barbs had been taken out of the AI's comments. Hard to do too much jabbering when you were still freaking about the readouts. At least now things were starting to solidify. It definitely was a nest. Said nest was definitely close. And they were moving, if only a little bit. Sighing, MARA shoved this information onto the girls' readouts, again trusting them to at least figure that much out.

"Be careful about kabooming every darn demon you encounter, Mandy," insisted the AI. "I want to poke and prod these things. Can't do that if all you give us is little tidbits."

Also it was sometimes fun to see just what the demons would do. once, they'd locked a demon up inside the room with a cow, and the thing had humped it to death. Weird, but oddly entertaining.
 
Ignoring most of what the AI said, Tasha located a light switch on the wall, and flicked it into the on position. Nothing. She sighed, resigned to using the low light amp in her visor. "Oh yes, the boys back home. Bet they can't get enough of us being sent out here in these tight suits. Its like the just want to ogle us while risking our rears for profit at times." She says, somewhat bitterly. Gripping her gun again, she moved forwards into the building, keeping a low profile and moving slowly enough that Amanda could keep track of her easily.

"How do we know what a nest looks like? Any warning we get there aside from being swarmed?" She asked, leaning into a door war, scanning the room, then moving on. "I'm usually back ground duty, keeping running from getting away and bring back friends. Can't say I care for the front-line sort of thing." She said, mostly to herself. Being in a cramped place where every corner was a excellent hiding spot had put her on edge. The red on the signals weren't helping either. Neither was the fact she couldn't tell if it was only moving because she was.
 
The first level of the building was barren. No light, no sound except for the quiet foot falls of the two XCITE agents, moving through the eerily empty building. However, there were claw marks that bit deep into the walls, almost scraping all the way through to the outside at some parts. Hard, flaky black lumps decorated the walls in bursts and arcs giving away the hint of an unknown dance performed far before Niles and Sinclair had become involved with XCITE. Tasha would probably be the first one to recognize the graceful curves and hedonistic spots for what they were--dried blood. The furrows in the walls matched those in the ground and ceiling, but that was to be expected given what had happened on Honshu, and none of them appeared recent.

It was only a relatively short ten stories to the top of the building, easier said than done, as it turned out to be. After cresting the ninth flight of stairs, they ran into a problem. Someone, or most likely something, had decided that stairwells were not only offensive, but clearly a sin to the greater god of architectural design. They had excised the tumorous infection of easy manual access by either tearing the stairwell out of the walls or blowing it up, either seemed likely given the amount of debris and the twisted, almost burned looking metal. That meant they had to get onto the fourth floor of the building and find another stairwell if they wanted to continue to ascend to the top of the building.

If they managed to get to a window facing the overly excited bunch of red dots that had been flickering on Mara's visual display, they would find nothing. Just concrete and overgrown plants. However, if one of them did so much as look up they would probably notice the vivid red growths along the ceiling, pulsing with life, almost overwhelming hot to touch. It did not, however, show up on Mara's display.
 
Quiet.

Nine flights of stairs, and of *course* the demons had wrenched out all the others, of *course* they'd no need for steps at *all*; And it'd all been going *so* well up to that moment. Amanda had felt herself begin to *relax*, when no hideous creatures pounced on them from the darkness, no toothy grins glinting in the non-light...Their footsteps, in the empty stairwell, had been very, *very* loud to her ears- But that was just nerves.

For a long, long moment, Amanda just stood, peering up into the murky gloom of the floors *just* out of reach, her pink hair clinging damply to her back- Enhanced strength or not, servoes or not, she'd *still* worked up a sweat climbing those stairs, so far...And she didn't feel like going back down *now*, hardly high-up enough for a proper vantage point!

Her eyes blink-clicked, the built-in camera of her rig whirring as she captured low-light images of the fiery crimson fungi clinging to the walls and ceiling- The ones that radiated an almost *palpable* heat...But gave no sign at *all* on MARA's map- Or Amanda's thermal vision.

Amanda sighed, just a little, tapping the side of her headset- Truth be told, she didn't know whether this was some kind of radar-invisible, thermal-invisible fungus...Or if the system was simply acting up again! Her gloved fingers flexed as she considered the door into the still-unexplored building proper...Those damn red dots on her display continuing their jittering dance...

"MARA, what do you make of these?" she vocalized, wondering briefly if she should *try* to retrieve a sample- But her *suit* had smoldered at the first accidental contact, when she'd brushed past an outcropping by *accident*...And Amanda really, really *didn't* want to test her meshsuit's integrity against it!

She glanced at Tasha, a wry smirk on Amanda's lips as she considered the blonde beauty- "Looks like we're heading in, after all~" Amanda murmured, her voice echoing hollowly in the stairwell- "I *don't* feel like climbing back down, and we still can't get visual on those damn ghost readings." She 'tsk'ed, sharply, her weapon hanging casually on her side, teeth sawing against her full lips as she *pondered*... "There's nothing for it. We'd just have to go right *through*..."

Stretching, Amanda brushed dust from the cracked floor display- Now almost obliterated, the plastic cracked right down the center, the faded legend "YOU ARE HERE" eerily ominous; "MARA, can you record the floor plan, here? We'll need a real-time approximation of which room we're in, if we're going to make it to the stairwell over..." And her finger jabbed decisively at a room on the *opposite* side from where they were! The redundant fire escape stairs, which'd been *entirely* pointless, considering the five or six elevators built into the very framework of the building itself.

"There. That's our target. Now we just need to get to it..."
 
A whole lot of nothing was showing up on MARA's displays. Sure she could still see the glowing red dots, but they hadn't moved, hadn't changed in numbers, hadn't started dancing the two-step. This mission was turning out to be really, really dull. Worse, Tasha kept blabbering on and on. Seriously, could the Brit do nothing but complain? Last time that MARA wanted her to be anywhere near the front. You'd think they'd screen for things like this. Then again, the girl could shoot, even MARA had to admit that much.

"What do I make of what?" demanded the AI. She'd done yet another sweep, and her sensors picked up nothing nearby. She'd have to switch over to reading the girls' visual displays, again. That was starting to grate on MARA's nerves. She was supposed to be a technologically advanced system, not some head-based scouting droid.

"I think its fungus," drawled MARA. "Red, glowing fungus. Most likely it's been left behind by some of the demons that have been wandering the area. It looks like its been infected by some kind of demonic material. Could be a trap left to start peeling those suits off you. We all know how much the demons like you girls."

Usually deshelled. always interesting to watch the "horny" demons go at the girls. Even more fun to hop into the display. But burning fungus was relatively new.

"Try to collect some for analysis later. The boys are gonna want it," suggested the AI. She then started scanning the map, inputting the data. Soon both Tasha and Amanda would have 3-D layouts of the old floor design, complete with readings of where the closest demons were, and where both the girls currently stood. The amount of dots still fluctuated though; clearly they weren't quite within range.
 
"A fungus trap? Seems rather passive aggressive to me. We're not about to go throwing ourselves against it." She said as she looked at the strange red growth, waving her hand inches away from it and pulling it away, shaking off the heat. "It could be a deterrence from intruders, like their version of a fence? That's assuming it's something they put there on purpose, of course." Raising her rifle, she prodded the tip into the fungus, pulling it back and looking over the darkened metal. Wiping it clean, she flicked the barrel against the fungus, knocking a small piece off the ceiling and onto the floor, watching it darken the tiles it landed on. "Looks like it keeps its heat if we knock it off too."

Turning to Amanda, she shrugged and gestured to the fungus. "You got anything to carry this stuff back? Because I certainly don't feel like touching it directly, and the boys seem to give you all the gadgets."
 
After Niles knocked a piece of the definitely extraterrestrial fungus from the ceiling the entire branching organism seemed to contract and shudder, flaring white hot for a moment before it died back down to its normal vivid red. Tile fell from the ceiling where it had just been crisply burned through by the passive aggressive rot in disarming clatters. What it revealed was a massive network of the fungus that had taken up residence through the building for as far as the eye could follow. Sinister flitting shapes seemed to populate the giant hive of fungus, their steps causing thrumming vibrations through the fungal system that reverberated down to the base of rot above their heads. Where the great eukaryotic contagion slackened the heat seemed to dissipate, steadily turning from red to a necrotic gray.

All of the sudden there was a lightning quick scything motion as what appeared to be a bull crossed with a mantis dropped down behind Niles. Its long abdomen was furred with four great muscled legs that tapered down to hooves. The thorax was reminiscent of a brown furred Atlas, though the resemblence to that Titan ended with the two great pairs of scything arms it had used to cut through the fungus. What really set this chimeric Xenomorph apart from the rest was its powerful bovine face, replete with curling horns reminiscent of a ram's and glowing yellow eyes. Those great scything arms grasped a hold of the English soldier and abruptly jumped forward, literally smashing through the wall that was between them and freedom. It fell four stories with ease, hooves creating cracks in the concrete from the tens of thousands of pounds of force it directed through four small points of contact. With one swift arc of an arm Natasha was separated from her rifle, then the force pistol that had been at her side, before it began slicing through the armor that shelled her succulent body.

Another of those praying mantis bull Xenomorphs dropped from the net of fungus, knocking Sinclair to the ground with a powerful body slam. It knocked the force pistol from her hand, sending it skittering across the floor before it set to battering her, with blow after blow raining down on the woman's mesh suit. After the first ten scything strikes it began to peel away the suit that had protected her from blows that would eviscerate any normal human, liquefying their internal organs with ease from the sheer force of such a blow. The Xenomorph's back legs sawed together as it peeled away the mesh suit, letting out a grating sound not at all unlike fingernails on a chalk board. The kind of sound that made your mouth pucker and the side of your head hurt.

The Xenomorph atop Niles made a jubilant call in return, if such a creature could be said to experience happiness or joy. Once it had finished peeling her struggling, contrary body there was a great stirring in the sheathe that hung heavy between its thick, shaggy legs. A large, thick, rigid red organ extended, perhaps signaled by the chattering of the other Xenomorph, or perhaps triggered by the taut young female body that lay beneath it. The Xenomorph that had pinned Sinclair followed suit, each of them roughly pushing the young women roughly towards the thick alien members before spearing them on hard, fleshy rods.
 
"Sure, I'll-" Amanda began, half-turning, reaching for the utility belt buckled around her slim waist-

-Then *cracks* skittered up the wall, decay in fast-forward, and the facade of paint and plaster fell away in a wet rain...And her horrified gaze flickered up to glimpse, in strobing slow-motion, the suggestion of tunnels bored through the very heart of the building, twisting and coursing through the entire rotted structure, vague, inhuman shapes flitting through the chaos-

They'd carved the entire building up. They *infested* it, like termites, and now~

With alien grace, with insect precision, the *first* demon dropped down from above, like a streaking meteor, landing with a solid thump that shuddered the floor. "Oh, shi-" Amanda began, her green eyes going *wide*...Catching a glimpse of a powerful bovine form, a torso corded with rippling muscle- And a head crowned with curling horns, drawing back to unleash a mighty challenge-roar!

-Then the second one landed right on her. Her breath whooshed out in a single hard exhalation as she crumpled beneath it, her meshsuit shuddering at the impact- The impact gel stiffening, servoes whining as it fought to compensate for the weight...Right before it *attacked*, striking her blindingly fast, rained down blow after lightning-fast blow! Her suit spasmed, quivering as the systems overloaded-

This was what she'd been afraid of. Even armed to the teeth, the human body simply isn't *equipped* to process something like this...it was like being in a car crash, again and again, even as those hideous scythe-blades flashed down...But *not* to strike, or cut her in half! Instead, she felt the razor-sharp edges *scrape* against his, gouging deeply into the suit, leaving naught but bare, billowing flesh beneath...

"Oh," Amanda managed to gasp, her arms moving feebly, aware that at some point in the tumble she'd dropped her gun "-you have *got* to be *kidding*..."

-It was peeling the suit off her, with exquisite precision, slicing away at the matte-black, glossy synthfabric, ignoring her semiconscious struggles; She was stunned, dazed, almost, unable to do much more than writhe and fumble for a weapon, any damn weapon-

Oh my *god*.

Amanda's jade-green eyes went *very* wide, as she glimpsed a stirring, a shift- Something in the xenomorph's behavior, as a slick, glistening shaft- Thick, veiny and bulbous, the flaring tip *throbbing* obscenely- schlllt'ed out from between the demon's hooved *legs*...Before her horrified (or was that fascinated?) gaze, it *grew*, the steaming length twitching! The gorgeous woman could feel the presence of the hot, heavy thing pressed down upon her stomach as she writhed beneath the form pinning her down on the crumbling ground- Her movements only excited the bestial thing atop her, the lovely softness of her flesh an erotic balm to the hard-yet-silken surface of it's organ. Fluid leaked from the tip, drawing errant patterns against her belly, further evidence of just how much this thing wanted to mate with her...


No.

How much it wanted to fuck her.

Those powerful hands wrenched the scraps of her meshsuit free, pulling it loose from Amanda's reddened skin and well-formed curves...And, with a vague, dim disbelief, she realised-

-She realized-

...It wasn't just fear and shock that made her breath come in hard pants, that sent shudders coursing up her spine- There was something...Something *powerfully* erotic about this scene, something that sent a flutter through Amanda's belly~ And wondering, vaguely, if MARA was watching this! That iron-hard bar of cock pressed against the open folds of her sex- Right before the monster *thrust*, the soft, hot junction between her thighs open and defenseless! Amanda had a moment to gasp in apprehension, trying to twitch aside...But then-

With a single, forceful thrust, it was inside her! The xenomorph thrust, splitting her pussy like a log beneath a maul; Her surrendering flesh traced the bumps and contours of the alien phallus as it slid itself into her, inch after agonizing inch, penetrating this wonderful, tight cunt!

"Ah! Ah! AAAAHHHHH!!!" a hot cry burst from Amanda's lips as her back arched, her hips slapping against the beast; Her cry of shock overlapped its groan of satisfaction as her head lolled back, face twisting in a complicated expression at the hardness within her! That massive bull's phallus was so *big*- Like a pillar, like a cast-iron pole- she felt herself *stretch* as that bulging head sank deeper into her sheath, grinding against her inner walls!

Her gloved hands went to her mouth, breath coming in white clouds as she tried to stifle her screams, quaking visibly at the fullness within her, body going taut at the strain! Insulated as she'd been in her meshsuit, the sheer sensation set every nerve blazing, black spots dancing in her vision as she almost passed out- Claimed, Amanda Sinclaire writhed beneath the demon as it started to *thrust*, pumping away rhythmically...Ramming deep within her, blotting out all thought! The bulb of the xenomorph's knot burned angrily at her entrance, it's roving grasp tightening on her curvy hips- Sinking that achingly hard shaft *into* her, powering through the resistance of her muscles, bowing slightly in deference to her delicious *tightness*...Making Amanda's toes clench and *flex* as the long, rigid pole *parted* her, *filling* her needy sex- Throbbing in time to the pounding of her heart!
 
High above the heavily invested Disaster Zone, an XCITE battleship had been monitoring the activities of the deployed agents. Seeing as there were plenty more agents to spare, it seemed absurd to have only two of them roaming the area in search of these demons. Seriously, after all that propaganda being shoved into peoples' throats about 'cleaning up' the infamous Disaster Zone. A young agent sat amongst others, twiddling with a bullet between her fingers. Like the rest of the agents ready for deployment, she had been clad in the tight nanosuit. After the usual mission debriefing, the message rang on the speakers. "Agent Ikeda, report to the Pod Chamber immediately." She stood up, a little grin on her face as she left. She still had bumped into a few of her colleagues as she left. Going about in this sort of work without your right eye was a bitch for sure. She hurried through the many halls of the battleship, eventually reaching the chamber as ordered. Her commanding officer stood before her, clearly expecting her. She put up the salute, prompting one in return.

"Agent Ikeda, as you know we don't have many units out investigating the area. Our computers have been following the activities of agents Niles and Sinclair, and while the scanners show forms of life, there seems to be no change in activity from them. It seems even MARA is growing restless over the lack of demons." The woman, Ayami, gave a little grin. "So, I suppose I'm to assist them in coaxing them out and eventually knocking some holes in some demons huh?" While she was trying to joke, her commanding officer showed no signs of amusement. "You know as well as I do that we are not looking to dispose of these creatures. Force will be necessary to subdue them, and you are to bring them back for further examination. Is that clear?" The last few words were spoken with such a harsh tone, she had no choice. "Yes. Understood." He nodded, moving her to one of the missile pods in the chamber. "We are not keen on the idea of having you go about alone. We are choosing instead to send you straight where your comrades are. From our latest signals, they seem to be in a quarrel. You are to aid them. You are to leave as soon as possible. nce all your equipment is prepared, please go." And with that, he had left her.

"Hmph...finally some action." With relative ease she had tied her hair back in twin ponytails. Of course, now wasn't exactly the best time to get all fancied up. In a matter of minutes, she had climbed into one of the pods, sealing herself in. It wasn't a five-star hotel, that was for sure, but it would have to do for now. She tapped a few buttons on the pad in front of her, preparing for launch. The coordinates had been set already, and she was ready to go. In a matter of seconds, the pod had been released at blinding speed, heading straight for the heart of the Disaster Zone. "Hm, with any luck there will be some demon there to break the fall. That'll get me some easy pickings for the higher-ups won't it?" The pod continued to fall to the ground like a meteor, surely visible to the demons that had been having their fun with the helpless babes. She braced for impact, and the pod finally hit the ground, hopping a few times, actually knocking off some demons along the way. The door had gone loose from there, and the pod had finally settled. the few demons in its path had recovered quickly, starting to stalk towards the vessel, carrying the feisty agent inside.

"Showtime." With a vicious kick the door of the pod flew off, knocking against the demon in front of her. "Tch, not the best of ideas. Still good." Her foot twitched a bit in pain from her action, but she was quick to capitalize on her target. From the corner of her eye, she could catch Amanda in quite the predicament, being fucked senseless by the bovine demon. "Tch, this is the kind of hit that goes on down here? Looks like I came just in time then." She grinned as the demon in front of her again turned to her, clearly unfazed from the door. "Heh...what a beast you are." Gripped tightly in her right hand was a large slim blade, specially tampered with to deal with these creatures. Any normal sword was sure to crumble at the touch of these demons, though thanks to XCITE, it was more than capable of causing some damage. With the advanced technology, the blade had been sharpened to its finest point. Even she had to be careful just touching it carelessly. The hilt had bared some engravings on it: FSU. Fuck Shit Up, and that was what Ayami Ikeda was looking to accomplish now.
 
One moment, it all had been going alright, except for the occasional poking at the fungus, the next, demons were among them. MARA had been so shocked at the arrival of all the red dots that she couldn't quite muster a warning. She did manage to gasp out that they were coming, just as the girls could most likely see the beasts themselves. And what beasts they were! Surely something like that would cause a good deal of harm to the girls...

Not only did MARA watch Amanda being taken, but she practically stared. She did remember to flick on a recorder just in time, knowing that she'd be studying this material for some time. You know, for research purposes. In fact, the boys back home would probably study this incident a good deal for "research purposes," mostly with their pants around their ankles and a box of tissues nearby.

The demon looked too large for Amanda. It thrust into her, and the girl actually gasped. For all intents and purposes, it looked as though Amanda thoroughly enjoyed the experience. Her nipples showed signs of arousal, and moisture showed at her sex. The sound of her moan cut through all other noise, filling MARA's sensors. Oh, did the girl look as if she enjoyed herself. if only more of the suit had stayed intact. Then MARA could hop inside, feel sensations. As it was, the AI tried to play with herself, wishing that they'd programmed more tactile sensations in her coding. She actually moaned in frustration herself, almost wishing she could join the girls.

It did occur to her to actually do her job. A frustrated MARA called up the headquarters, reporting the incident in a tone that spoke of pouting. In fact, the AI actually was quite frustrated. Here the two girls were, enjoying their raping, and she was stuck without even being able to wank off to it.

she felt the new arrival, and shifted her attentions over there. MARA shoved her display over to Ayumi, nearly wanting to take over the other girl's suit. Yet she knew that they had to make sure the girls survived, and all too often these things ate when they'd finished.

"Here's the situation," muttered MARA. Like Ayumi couldn't see the damn situation. Plus MARA really wanted to do something. She was going to have to bribe the boys back home. surely they'd let her if they could watch a few times. "Amanda and Tamara are getting raped by giant cow things. They just showed up out of no where and jumped 'em. Oh, and they're probably going to screw you stupid if you just run in there and start, yeah, jumping in," MARA looked to the demon in front of her ,frowning. "Seriously, you could really use a rocket launcher or something. what kind of backup are you?"
 
While Ayumi was still busy with the bovine creature in front of her, MARA had spoken up. As usual, she wasn't the easiest to be working with. On her other missions, it was obvious that the AI was far more interested in looking up some skirts or something. Luckily Ayumi didn't have any previous incidents, but she was all the same very reliable. Of course, with the situation the other two girls were in, she was sure to be playing spectator. "I sorta figured that out myself once I arrived. You don't have to worry about me too much. If they got the advantage jumping those two, perhaps I'll have the advantage jumping them." The creature in front of her let out another loud roar, coming straight for her, fist clenched. "A simple tactic." She was quite confident in her speed, as well as her own strength. Of course, most of that strength would be because of that handy suit she was wearing. Even with it, those demons could easily hack away at it.

"Don't you think a rocket launcher's a bit much? Might as well have the entire fleet hovering above come and rain hell from above. If we haven't done that already, then this is about all you're going to get. I wouldn't complain if I were you though. "I'm just about the only backup you're going to get." She moved to the side of the beast, ready to send her blade into it. Only this demon had seen her coming, swinging its fist around and knocking her to the side. Luckily the suit had held up from the impact, and she was sent to the side. She quickly got up, catching the sight of her comrades being raped. "Of course I'm suppose to help them out, but I don't think you'd be too happy with me." she said, directing her comment towards MARA.
 
Trying to bring her rifle to bear on the demon as it dropped from the ceiling, she was caught off guard at the speed for something so large. Once it grabbed her, she knew she couldn't get the rifle turned on the demon, it was pinning her arm with it's massive scythe arm, and she didn't feel like testing the suit's durability against it. Instead, her hand made for the pistol on her side before stopping as the demon rushed for the wall of the building, instead moving her hands to brace for the impact as the demon charged through the building.

Coughing from the dust and powder of the shattered wall, blinking her eyes to try to wash them of the irritants, she felt the wind rushing against her face as the ground rushed to meet them. They hit the ground with a loud thud, the demon taking the fall for the most part, but she still felt a good jostle from the impact. Before she had time to think of reaching for either gun, they were quickly knocked from reach, like her captor knew what they were ahead of time. She briefly wondered how they knew, being usually simple minded things, she tried to carefully extract her arms from its graps, wary of the sharp edges of it's arms. Her caution, however, turned panic when the demon started to slice into her suit, the sharp edges lightly grazing her body, but never cutting the skin, as she was revealed to the demon.

Wincing at the loud cry as the thing called to its friend, or pack mate, or whatever the relationship was between them. she looked back, hoping to see an opportunity to distract it. Instead, she caught a glimpse of the growing, thickening length that made it's way towards her. She knew the risks of this happened, she heard enough stories, but seeing one of them aiming for herself made her think of how vulnerable she was without her suit. The demon seemed to share those thoughts as it pushed itself into her.

Her thoughts melded together. Fear, angry, pleasure, she wasn't sure which she felt more of at any time as it filled her, giving her a brief moment to adjust before starting to thrust into her, her body bouncing in it's grasp from the impacts. She balled her hands into fists, biting down on her bottom lip to try to minimized any noise she made. She didn't want to give the thing any satisfaction from the act more than it already had, but lord, it was HUGE, almost painfully so. Part of her mind wondered how she could take it all, another focusing on how to free herself from it, and the last faction of mind wanting more.

That part caused her worry, this wasn't something she should want, something she should resent, but part of her played the idea in her head, and it gave her shivers of excitement.
 
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