The Defenders IC Act Two: Nothing to Fear

"If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles." -Sun Tzu



Location: Area 51, Nevada, United States, Earth. August 25th, 2154


Agent Myre stepped out of a pair of white elevator doors and into a bright long white room lined with tables. The room was about a hundred feet long and twenty feet wide, with a corridor going down the middle that was devoid of debris. Lined up around the perimeter of the room were white circular one-legged tables. On each of these tables laid a creature, some biological and some cybernetic, all asleep. Myre walked past each one, and surveyed them. There were a lot of people there, all warriors, mainly. He recognized one or two of them from past missions, but most were new faces to him. Myre walked down the white hallway to the center of the room, where the tables ceased momentarily and a circular console sat. Myre hit a button on the console's touchpad, and the image of a green human woman appeared as a hologram on it, about three feet tall. She looked around at the room of sleeping people, and turned to Myre.

"How long till they wake up?" Myre asked, scanning the room once more.

"It depends." Athena said, her feminine green face also looking around the room "Some will wake up momentarily, and others will take longer. Some may never wake up, unfortunately. That's the price of war, I suppose". Myre exchanged unimpressed glances with eachother, and looked over at the white elevator doors as they opened once more. A tall man in a suit entered the room, a pair of Oakley sunglasses on his face and a white earpiece in his right ear. He looked genuinely professional in an almost Film Noir way, as if he were a cop in a Mafia movie. Myre sized up 420 as he briskly walked down the hallway to the console. He curtly nodded to Athena, and then looked at Myre.

"Morning, Agent." 420 said, turning to face the same direction as Myre. "Has anyone woken up yet?"

"Nope." Myre said "Yet again, you have the code to deactivate their stasis".

"I know, Myre. Ms.Saybre just wanted me to check to see if the stasis worked. I'll deactivate the hypersleep now." Myre stepped aside, and 420 touched his hand to the console's touch screen, and Athena's form shimmered a little as the synthetic memetic sleep agent in each warrior deactivated, allowing them to awaken at any time. Some would wake up now, and some later, depending on how quickly the nanobots stopped working. Normally an EMP would be used to make sure every nanobot deactivated, but the number of robots in the room made EMPs extremely dangerous, so they'd have to use a kill code broadcast.

"Now what?" Myre said to 420.

"We wait for them to wake up." 420 said, looking around the room "And then we pray."

THE DEFENDERS ACT ONE: Pray

START UP SEQUENCE INITIATED.....
BEGIN SYSTEM DIAGNOSTIC:
REACTOR-FUNCTIONAL
CONSTRUCTION/CONVERSION CORE-FUNCTIONAL
VENT SYSTEM-FUNCTIONAL
ELECTROMAGNETIC DRIVERS-FUNCTIONAL
HYDRAULIC DRIVERS-FUNCTIONAL
NAVIGATION-FUNCTIONAL
REPAIR-FUNCTIONAL
MAGNETIC-HYDRODYNAMIC ACCELERATOR-CHARGING
SYSTEM READY...
SYSTEM BOOTED UP
Kraid's eyes went from black to orange as he started up. He sat up slowly and took in his surroundings. He seemed to be lying on a small table in a room filled with other similar tables, each with a being lying on them. Two living beings stood at a console, Kraid scanned them, searching for metallic objects, trying to pick out their weapons. When he was satisfied with the results, he swung his legs over the edge of the table and stood up. He then approached the two living beings

(on DSi since iPod is glitchy atm so this won't be very long)
Ketry's eyes snapped open, but she remained laying down for a few moments, testing her energy levels. Full energy... Excellent. She had on the outfit she remembered putting on last- a red plaid button down shirt that was completely unbottoned with a black tank top. She was still in some fadedblue jeans. Still in a pair of red sandals. She slowly sat up and looked around. Others were laying on tables much like the one she was on, though none were Yarksonian. She slowly slid off the table, making sure there was no one wishing to attack her. She was in a new place, which mainly worried her, though her face showed no signs of worry.

Ketryn saw the three at the other end of the room. She saw that they seemed peaceful- no negative words or movements. Ketryn's orange eyes watched them a few more moments before walking forward, getting within the range to carry on a casual conversation. If it were to end up as a fight, she could take them. She was probably stronger, could withstand greater amounts of pain... so it made sense. She opened her mouth, her voice ringing out plain and clear, "Where am I?" was the first thing she asked. It was the only question that needed to be asked at the moment. Many of the other questions she was curious about could be saved for later.

The moment the kill code was initiated, Jenny sat bolt up right and leaped from the bed. Her eyes filled with fire, hands clutched as if wielding a weapon. By the time she hit the ground, she had already taken stock of the environment change. Her hands dropped automatically to her sides.

She whirled around to face the other humanoids in the room. Some appeared to have just awoken, much like her. Another was standing over the beds, she focused her attention on the figure. She assumed that it was responsible for this. What in the world? She thought as she noted that it was clad in blue fur. She knew better than to say anything, she was at a disadvantage without her weapons. Jenny intended to find out exactly what was going on, and she figured it was best to be upfront about it. A girl on a table next to her's had the same idea.

She took a stride forward and spoke. "Jenny Talton, I'm with an earth special ops group. But you probably already know that. So why am I here?"

Exo woke up the second the kill code for the nanobots was entered, just in time to hear two voices it recognized;

"Now what?" Myre said to 420.

"We wait for them to wake up." 420 said, looking around the room "And then we pray."

Of course... who else would the IGIA inform weeks prior so all he has to do is arrive here on the correct day, tell me nothing about the mission and probably stop by Starbucks on the way in. Exo thought sarcastically, deciding at that point to pretend like it hadn't woken up as long as possible just to piss whoever arranged this off. So, while it was waiting for someone to yell thar they knew it was awake and to stop being a baby it was going to just lie there and listen to everything and hopefully figure out the nature of the mission so it could make them even madder by knowing the briefing speech before they gave it.

It could hear one set of metallic foot steps that only started moving a few seconds after it had woken up, indicating a robot of some kind. There was a slight pause in between each step that extended a bit longer than it would for an average sized individual indicating that the robot was either a bit taller than 5'7-9" or had slightly double jointed legs, although the extent of this feature couldn't be to great if it was tall, otherwise you'd also be able to hear a slight clicking sound and the extra joint fired a fraction of a second before each step.

So, robot. Possibly a military one as intelligence drones were never that large and the IGIA wouldn't have just a regular AI system shipped in like that.

So, the mission involved a dangerous antagonist that was both physically and mentally strong, the mentally because it was here. So, it was a threat that had a change to advance itself significantly before being detected. Good at stealth then. That out laws anything larger than a person as hiding a planet, filling it with war machines is virtually impossible when you need materials shipped in from elsewhere that can be traced. And if that were the case there would be more than one robot.

So, more listening to narrow down the possibilities even farther;

Almost immediately following the robot getting up there was the sound of two rubber and metal soled shoes hitting the ground at almost exactly the same time but in such a way that they didn't make a lot of noise despite the fact that this person had just woken from artificially induced sleep and was bound to be a bit groggy. So, specially trained military personal. This analysis was confirmed by a controlled feminine voice asking in a very professional manor;

"Jenny Talton, I'm with an earth special ops group. But you probably already know that. So why am I here?"

So, they need someone decently smart who is capable of both giving and taking orders without hesitation. Definitely a heavily military operation. But, the IGIA didn't know hardly anything about this force they'd be assigned to fight, thus why they brought in such a diverse group... interesting... they were stealthy then, and hadn't ever publicly attacked anyone but were large in number... only a few things that it knew of would fit that criteria.

Actually, only 2 things. One organic and one robotic and it would only take one more person to figure it out...

And that's when it heard another two heavy thunks followed by a series of very heavy sounding foot steps that had a significant pause inbetween each one as someone groggily slid off one of the tables and walked in the same direction as the two before them towards Myre and 420.

The heavy foot steps and the non-metallic sound they made as they hit the floor indicated ether a fat person or someone with a significant amount of metal inside them. Then the quickness and the length of the strides that followed as they walked towards Myre and 420 indicated it was the later and that the person was still both agile and rather tall so it was unlikely that they were ether robot or human so probably a cyborg of some sort.

Then, the cyborgs question asked in a dead pan feminine voice "Where am I?" Eliminated the organic option of the opposition being Mu-va-cha and left the infamous Mimic drone.

That would be the only reason why the IGIA would bring in a scientific experiment like that who was both organic and synthetic, but made from alien technology. They needed every possible cultural and technological viewpoint possible to be able to tell the difference between a mimic and the creature they're mimicking.

But that still did not explain why they couldn't have just told it to be here on whatever day it was and skip the whole drugging with nano bots bit. I did kind of work for the IGIA, and while the mimic infestation might be pretty far advanced there was no way one could have replaced it with a copy. It lived in a time machine and only ever came out when it had something do do and there had been nothing for weeks so it thus hadn't seen a single person in weeks and may or may not have thrown its phone off the Empire State Building and not replaced it.

With its analysis complete it sat up and swung its feet over the edje of the table but made no move to walk towards 420 and Myre, instead deciding to use the table like a chair since they hadn't provided any.

"Myre, there is something known as text messaging you know. You also know very well that a mimic wouldn't be able to mimic me because I havn't even been around people for weeks! I don't even know what timezone I last parked my ship in! So how the hell would a mimic? And... speaking of that do you happen to know what month it is? My phone stopped working so I don't have those reminder thingies that tell you that time stuff."

Soon, several people started to awaken from the tables and get up. Myre looked at each of them with curiosity, spending several moments concentrating on the rather attractive Jenny Talton. Athena made a noise as if she were clearing her throat from behind. Then Exo started barking his madness again, and of course somebody made it Myre's job to always deal with Exo. Yet again, he was the only one who could understand it. He was rather satisfied, however, that Exo knew who he was. He wasn't sure which universe or which time period this particular Exo was from. Such was a regular when your friend is a time traveler. Myre remembered one time when Exo had popped up at Myre's home and started blabbing about a mission that neither of them have been sent on yet.

"That's what I said!" Myre comically replied to Exo "But the IGIA is all paranoid now, so they wouldn't listen. Ever since the Mimic destroyed the Thanatans, the IGIA has been scanning every operative with some sort of magnetic frequency detector so that we can't get infiltrated". While Myre spoke with Exo, 420 decided to introduce himself to the other new arrivals.

"Welcome, Sergeant Talton." 420 said, walking up to her and extending a hand " This place is part of a military operation by the Intergalactic Intelligence Agency, and you have been recruited to assist us, as well as you, Mr.Kraid and Ms.Ketryn".




'Well what the 'effin 'ell is this place?" Someone obnoxiously yelled in a loud British accent. A rather shoddy-looking man in a Victorian-Era suit and a top hat sat bolt upright. He looked around a bit, his insane eyes plagued with a confused gaze as the man slowly got off of the table, adjusting his bow tie and top hat. He slowly walked across the room, pulling a gold pocket watch out of his pocket as he did so, as if to check the time. He looked at the other bodies around him, and then at the robots. Where in God's name was he?

"You thea!" the man said, pointing at Myre "Where the 'ell am I?"

"Oh yeah." Myre said, turning around "Exo, this is Jack the Ripper. I'm sure you've heard of him. The IGIA apparently thought it was a good idea to recruit a serial killer to help us fight an army of serial killers".

"Don' judge, mate." Jack said, flipping the lid on the pocket watch closed.

"I'll judge anyone who brutally murdered ten innocent women!" Myre spat, his demeanor quickly souring.

"Heh. You wish it was jus' ten mate! An' dey were 'ookas, anyways. Nobody missed 'em. An' I was more than just the 'effin Rippa, you know. Rememba the Long Island killa? Me. I was also Thomas 'Arris, an' wrote Silence a the Lambs!"

Ketryn looked blankly from Mrye to 420. She was just confused here. Recruiting her? The only people to ever recruit her was the Yarksonians because she was one. There may also be the fact she was the first model they had success with. Well, partial success. There was still the fact that she couldn't smile and only show when she's afraid or angry in this body. That wasnt the best trait for someone.

Ketryn's mind went back to the conversation when someone started yelling. Apparently the Myre fellow wasn't pleased with him- it seemed mostly because he killed some women. So Mrye has a soft spot for women, then? Not the best for someone in charge of a military operation. Ketryn listen quietly before speaking up. She was stil unsure about this military operation, which is all she was told it was. She didn't enjoy being volunteered in such a way.

Her voice came out flat and emotionless, "So you believe we will automatically agree to help? Also, there are Yarksonians with newer models with better upgrades then I that have been made in the past two years. Why exactly did you choose me, then?" By better upgrades Ketryn mainly ment emotion being visible. Before she was place in this body she was all smiles. When she asked for them to repair the part of the machine that read her mid, though, the company refused.

Kraid looked down at Myre and said in a cold mechanical voice "Perhaps you don't realize it, but my superiors never authorized you to recruit me, so why should I not kill now for kidnapping one of their soldiers?" He took a step forward menacingly, easily a foot taller than anyone else in the room. "And if I were to self destruct, I'm not sure it would go well for your base" he continued. The energy ports on his wrists glowed, striking home the point that it was serious.
As Kraid was saying this, he was also using his infrared vision on Myre and the others in front of him to see their concealed weapons. "And do not try to pull a weapon on me. I can burn you much faster than you can draw and fire."

420 scrunched his face up, as if in thought, and activated his neurochip. A screen popped up on the right side of his glasses. The screen began to run with code, and soon the nanovirus implanted in Kraid went into standby mode. If he tried anything, the viruses would go to work and shut him back down for a nice long nap. The one thing 420 hated about working with soldiers is that they were so goddamned touchy. You flinch and they draw their guns.

"Please, Mr.Kraid." 420 said, stepping between him and Myre "I assure you that everyone here is on your side. We are not your enemies. Your government knows that you are here and they know exactly why. Now please deactivate your weapons. This is a friendly zone. As soon as we have enough people, the debriefing will begin and all of your questions will be answered. Now please bear with me". Athena, meanwhile, decided to answer Ketryn, who seemed rather threatened by her new surroundings. Athena didn't blame her. If she had woken up in a mysterious white room she'd be disoriented too.

"Time will tell, Ketryn." Athena said, sitting down cross-legged in her hologram form "Let's just say you have... assets which we require to save our people".

Ketryn watched as 420 attempted to reason with Kraid, who was more against the idea of being here then she was. 420 seemed prepared for such threats and also for such accusations. He must be very skilled. It would be best not to get on his bad side.

Ketryn then turned her attention to Athena, who was answering her questions. Time will tell, huh? She never enjoyed the expression- she wished for the answer now. However, if time was what was required, then so be it.

Then it was mentioned that she had certain assets that could help them. Ketryn sighed. They were asking her to fight for them. To help protect them. This was a pretty big favor to ask. But... she might end up agreeing to it. Ketryn decided to first find out what she would be up against if she agreed, first.

"What exactly do you need our help for and what is the current analysis on the problem?"

"Then why the need for the stasis?" Kraid asked "If they had just dispatched me I would've been teleported here, like we always are." He leaned forward, giving 420 an up-close view of his teeth. "So yes, like I said, tell me why I am here, and don't leave out details" His fist clenched. "And for your sake it had better be convincing."

Jenny was not surprised when she was addressed by her rank. Or at least her old rank, she technically wasn't supposed to exist. It wasn't very hard to disappear after a brain duplication and synthetic body procedure. Which lead to the question of how exactly the Intergalactic Intelligence Agency managed to nab her. She would demand the answer later, right now she was more interested to hear what the man had to say.

When Katryn questioned her being here and asked why the IGIA chose her, Jenny began to wonder exactly what type of operation this was. I really hope its just the shock of the current situation. She thought to herself. It had been a long time, since her military days that she worked with anyone that asked questions like that. On the opposite spectrum boasting was also unheard of in her line of work.

As if on cue Kraid threatened to self destruct. Jenny didn't move a muscle, or react visibly at all. It would be sloppy of the IGIA to not install counter measures in case of such an event. She was not surprised when the... thing backed down. She had scanned it over, and it wasn't like any machine she'd encountered before.

When the situation was defused she waited with the others to be briefed.

Exo watched the chaos unfold before it with amusement treating it more like some kind of live performance comedy act than an actual event that could go south, which is supposed, was probably what happens when you've seen real things that look like they came directly out of a story book and story books that seem more real than reality. And then you have the alternate universes where the stories were real and the realities were false and then everything goes tumbling down the rabbit hole and everything becomes pure speculation in a world of lies disguised as truths and truths disguised as lies. So, Jack the Ripper being a quantum tunneling alien who owned a solar system sized particle accelerator in orbit around a black hole with a 4 way wormhole/white hole configuration allowing him to quantum tunnel without being killed by radiation as it was all funneled away into some kind of weapon or battery using a Higgs boson branal manipulation generator? Sure. Whatever. It had seen far crazier.

"Kraid you'd make a perfect Dalek if you make yourself just a little bit more childish." It stated abruptly before it paused for a second, as if formulating exactly how it was going to say something before stating pretty much at the speed of thought; "You are all here because -Myre, feel free to correct me if I'm wrong- the IGIA is facing a threat that it knows almost nothing about. Its known as a mimic drone and can copy a being visually down to a nano-fiber and can even simulate simpler personalities like your own that doesn't question everything. However because of the way a mimic drone copies a personality so completely by mapping the neuron to synapses relations and simulating that on their hard drives they can in affect make an exact copy of that person's brain and personality on a computer and turn that program on and off along with the disguise so that the robot itself believes it is that person. However so they don't have 2 of the same person running around ruining the disguise they simply kill the original and replace them exactly and go about exactly as the person they just killed would have unless there is an opportunity to affectively 'convert' another being into one of them in which case the personality program is shut off and replaced with the Mimic's true 'personality' or imperfect AI system. This does mean that if they try and mimic the wrong kind of personality, like my own, the personality program will realize it is a copy of the original and can potentially take over the Mimic entirely. So, they generally kill people like me and don't copy us if they have a chance to take a brain scan of us while we're still alive.

However, my point is, they drugged you because they had to. The nano bots wouldn't work on a mimic as they would break because of the electromagnetic field used to keep them together so its in effect a test to see who is a mimic and who is not. The reason why no one informed you or your commanding officers of this before hand is because they are probably already mimics and would target you and convert you if they knew the IGIA were seeking to recruit you. Similar to the Agents in Matrix. If they think you're going to escape their system, off with your head. Is that enough details for you or do I need to elaborate further?"

"That is enough. Although despite your conjectures, it would be....interesting for the Mimics to try to impersonate my superiors." Kraid stated matter o' factly. "However since they qualify as a threat, perhaps you can go ahead with that briefing you mentioned." The energy ports on his wrists lost their glow, and he stepped back from 420 and Myre. He looked over at Exo "You could stand to be a little less condescending as well." He said, leveling his gaze in its direction.

Ketryn heard the Exo being speak up before Athena could speak, answering both hers and Kraid's questions. Kraid was doing more demanding then questioning, though. After Exo finished explaining the situation (which she pretty sure was right) Ketryn sighed. So that's what the situation was. She had a feeling that she couldn't choose whether or not she wanted to help. Also if it were her planet she probably would have done the same thing.

"I suppose that answers all my questions," Ketryn said in the same flat tone as always, "I guess that I will help, then. There probably isn't a second choice in such a situation, anyways."

Ketryn looked around the room. So many beings and robots were still asleep, and oou of all of them she had to be with the first group. Perfect. The group with some overly-cautious Kraid who had threteaned to destroy everyone in the room, whether at fault or not. She hadn't been worried about that, in truth. If the IGIA brought them here they had to be prepared for anyone to fight back. Including her. Not that she was- it just felt strange to realize that the IGIA could bring her to her knees with nothing more then a push of a button. Ketryn made a note not to get on anyone's bad side.

420 was stunned. He scanned the room for possible espionage devices, but found none once more. Apparently Exo was all that he was cracked up to be. 420 had gone up against Exo before back when it and Myre had infiltrated Saybre-tech and stopped a series of serial killings done by Mr. Saybre and his lackey Nocturne. 420's chip was made after that event, and programmed into it was a built-in hatred for the frog-thing. Yet, Exo still amazed it; how a creature with no cybernetic enhancements was able to wake up in a mysterious white room and just...know things. Myre, however, had been friends with Exo for so long that he was no longer amazed by its ability to just sit there and...know things, so he responded by slapping Exo in the back of the head playfully.

"One of these days," Myre said "I'm gonna find something that you don't know, and I'm gonna rub it in your face frogboy". Athena rolled her eyes and her hologram disappeared as she decided now would be a good time to start the debriefing. The hologram projector filled the ceiling above the room with a massive orb, displaying the Milky Way galaxy in all it's brilliance and beauty. A few stars were colored a dark maroon shade that resembled blood. These red star clusters ranged from one or two stars near the galactic core to an entire chunk of the end of the third galactic arm which contained at least sixty star systems.

"Welcome to the American Department for Extraterrestrial Relations, codename ADER." Athena's voice said over the room's speakers "You have all been gathered here by the Intergalactic Intelligence Agency in a combined effort with ADER to combat a threat that is sweeping our galaxy. Starting about thirty years ago, a species of synthetic extraterrestrials known as the Mimic arrived in our galaxy and began to silently attack it, replacing all living things they came across with themselves. The Mimic have the ability to shape shift into any form they wish thanks to their body being made up entirely of billions of polygons of varying sizes. This, combined with the Mimic's ability to seemingly upgrade themselves to become immune to practically any attack has made the Mimic a serious danger to all life in the galaxy. We are here on Earth because the IGIA was sent a tip from what was left of the Thanatan Empire that the Mimic had arrived in human territory." The map now zoomed into the Solar System. Earth, Mars, Luna, Europa, Pluto, and several dots in the Asteroid Belt and Oort cloud were all highlighted yellow. In the bottom corner of the hologram the words "Solar System, 2154" appeared in large bolded letters.

"This is a map showing every human colony in existence in the year 2154." Athena continued from above "Yesterday, August 24th, satellites orbiting Mars picked up an electromagnetic frequency coming from the city New Washington. At the same time, similar spikes were recorded on Europa and Ceres. In effect, we have hypothesized that the reports were true and that the invasion predicted by the late Thanatans is happening. The Human Race is being invaded. Our job here is to combat this threat and prevent the Mimic from spreading or arriving within Earth's atmosphere. Before I continue, are there any questions?"

"Yea lady." Jack said, now leaning against the wall "Why the 'ell do I care if a buncha crazy robots wanna kill all the 'umans?"

"Because if you don't I'll put a bullet in your skull!" Myre snapped.

"Well I suppose you want this hidden from the public, so we are going to need a way to not be seen by the residents in the areas we are going to." Kraid paused, then continued "So this also probably means you don't want a lot of collateral, otherwise you probably would've used your own soldiers in small teams that are being carefully biometrically monitored and such. Unless of course you were trying to keep this a secret from the main military as well as the most of the government" he looked at 420 "Is that correct?"

"Correct." 420 said, leaning against the wall "In a nutshell, you cannot trust anyone who is not currently in this room unless ADER says otherwise. We can't even trust our own military at this point because the Mimic could have already taken it over for all we know. Our detection software has a rather low rate of success, so for now we have to take what we can get. This is why we outsourced to create this team."

"Plus 'uman militaries in gen'ral are 'effing terrible." Jack added nonchalantly despite the fact that Myre looked like he was about to jump across the table and strangle him.

"We didn't ask for your opinion, James Kelly." Myre snarled. Jack looked up, a violent twinkle added to his eye. Jack dropped his arms to his sides, and from the tips of his fingers came ten dagger-like claws. He slowly began to walk towards Myre with murder in mind until 420 put a very heavy hand on Jack's shoulder.

"If both of you don't calm down I'm going to kill you." 420 said emotionlessly.

"Fine, whateva." Jack sat down on an empty table, retracted his claws, and kicked his feet up as if relaxing.

Ketryn let out a dry laugh when 420 threatened to kill Jack and Myre. It was the only type of laugh she could make, but it was better then nothing. Thus it was impossible to tell whether the laugh was real or fake.

"That would prove the statement of being unable to trust anyone. Threteaning those who you are supposed to work with, whether for morally right or wrong reasons, is an action that isn't easy to trust. If that is what needs to be avoided, then I suggest no fighting, mister Mrye, Jack, and 420." Ketryn, even if she could show emotion, would have a strait face right about now. She meant business . If she was going to have to work with these various living beings she believed it would only be natural for them not to be at each other's throats. Such actions would end up with this being a suicide mission and everyone dead. And if they all die, so does the human race.

If this operation required stealth it was undoubtedly one of the reason she was brought on. It wasn't the mission that worried her. Many of the so called 'specialists'  were completely unprofessional. It hadn't even been five minutes since the beginning of the operation, and there was high cohesion within the squad. Her opinion of IGIA was quickly diminishing. They must be really desperate to attempt this sort of tactic. Still they were adamant that this was the best way to fight the mimic. She was in dark as far as Intel, so she didn't bother to argue. Since this is a learning a robot a diverse group may may some pros as well. Regardless cooperation is paramount in any case.

"This is a wasted effort if we don't work together." She looked around at everyone making sure that what she was saying registered. Jenny wasn't yet convinced that the galaxies best and brightest were up to snuff. If it's like this in the field, then I pray that I get a solo assignment.

"Agreed" said Kraid. He looked at everyone "So how tough are the Mimic to kill, and what material are they made out of? It might make detection a bit easer. This is already going to be difficult since we don't want to draw lots of attention to ourselves, although perhaps the Mimic won't want that either. Kraid said to 420. He then addressed the group"So if we are all specialists, what do you all specialize in? If we have to work together we might as well figure out how to optimize our strengths."

Exo smirked at Kraid's question, looking around from person to person verifying that it had everything correct before it said it out loud, seeing as people were quickly loosing interest in the operation. "Well, 420 is an analyst of sorts especially when it comes to computers a he can hack into pretty much all of them with that chip of his. Myre is also an analyst of sorts, although he's best when it comes to combat related espionage. Athena is his AI and prospective girlfriend. Kraid is a military drone and specializes, obviously in artillery related combat. Ketryn is cyborg and a civilian. She has no past experience with situations like this so her aria of expertise would still be largely undefined. Jack is a quantum tunneling serial killer. He's good at killing things and making a relatively clean getaway. He's also fairly good at writing horror stories if you like that sort of thing. Jenny is military special ops to the core, she specializes in giving and taking orders rapidly and getting a task done quickly and with little to no regard to her own personal safety. And me? Well, I think I've made my specialization quite obvious at this point."

"We do not know what the Mimic are made of." Athena said over the speakers "All we know is that it is highly magnetic, but only reacts to their own electromagnetic field. Any time a Mimic is killed, it self-destructs and causes all of its pieces to sublimate into some sort of highly toxic gas. The only way we have been able to detect Mimics so far is by their strong electromagnetic fields, however there are several other ways to spot a Mimic that the Thanatans discovered during their war with them". At this, a life-sized image of a Mimic appeared above the hologram projector. It was all white, its humanoid body made of billions of individual quadrilateral polygons (I'll post a picture later), and its head composed of three obtuse isosceles triangles. Between every piece of the Mimic was a slight bluish glow, and in the very center of the Mimic's chest, about where the heart should be, was an electric blue glowing orb which pulsated in a three-beat arrangement, similar to a heartbeat.

"This is what the Mimic look like when not disguised, their factory setting, if you will." Athena said, appearing in a holographic image next to the Mimic drone "Firstly, every Mimic weighs exactly 81.6 kilograms, roughly 180 pounds. Secondly, Every Mimic has a three-stage 'heartbeat' of sorts, so taking a disguised Mimic's heart rate can detect them, though any disguised Mimic seem to be polarly opposed to seeking medical attention. Thirdly, very sensitive equipment such as electromagnetic field detection software or, surprisingly enough, a compass can detect the Mimic's electromagnetic field". Before she could continue, Exo cut Athena off, and she made a sighing noise.

"Potential what?" Myre said, smacking Exo in the back of the head.

"Ow Myre! That actually hurt!" Exo complained, rubbing the back of its head where it had been smacked harder than usual. It looked him over incredulously already figuring that he would deny such a absurd thing out of embarrassment and that Athena would either admit to it or stay tactfully silent.

"You do notice that whenever you look at any of the female people in this room she does something to try and regain your attention? Obviously, your AI is in love with you. And, because you lashed out at this concept being aired in public one might think that you think the very same thing about her."

Ketryn was about to speak up when the Exo creature did for her. It was right- she had no expierience in the current situation. The way she was portrayed made her seem a bit weak, in her opinion. Ketryn sighed, slightly annoyed at it as she spoke up in the same flat, emotionless tone and expression as always.

"True, I have no expierience in these sorts of operations, but I believe I will do fine in this mission, however. I have above average strength, hearing, sight, and a large pain tolerance. My aiming abilities with long-ranged weapons is also very high." Ketryn stated every word that she had been told by engineers when she had woken up for the first time in her artificial body two years ago. She had tested every statement that they had told her, and every statement was correct. Of course, the engineers and doctors that worked on her had gone through well over 5,000 models- and, sadly, yarksonians, as well- so they were probably very sure of her abilities, anyways. Even so, Ketryn still added, "Testing for skills stll in progress." If possible there would have been a grin on her face, as Ketryn was mostly joking when she said the statement. It is Probably hard to tell the difference between her jokes and serious statements, however.