April 20, 2147 

Omega blacksite: n/a

Subject: Squad 131 Incident

Operative: Alana Theris (Clark)

"And that brings us to the beginning of the 21st century" a woman says using a stylus on the holo screen in front of her. *BRINNNG!*. She looks at the speaker above her sounding the end to the class period. "Before you go remember that you only have three days left before your report on the end of the Cold War is due! Dismissed!" she yells to the kids leaving. "Mrs. Clark?" a boy asks. The teacher looks down at her feet. A human boy is waving up at her. "Yes Duncan?" she said. "Can I talk to you for a second?" he asks. She bends down and wraps her fingers around the young boy to lift him up. She gently places him on her desk as she sits down. "Is something wrong?" she asked. "I'm having trouble getting started. I don't know where I should begin" he says. "Well you could begin on the fall of the Berlin Wall. Most kids do but it was more than that really. Economic policies and the Arm Race was the biggest things" she said. The boy looked puzzled. "Duncan you don't have to go into full blown details. This is 6th grade not college. Remember what we went through in class?" she asked. He nodded.

"Then find a starting point and write about that. It's the big details I'm looking for. The years. Leaders. The breakup. That's what's important right now" she said. "I think I get it. I can start on how countries wanted freedom like East Germany" he said. "Sounds good to me sweetie. Anything else?" she asked. "Nope. Thanks Mrs. Clark. You're awesome" the small boy said. She leaned in and kissed the top of his head. "You're awesome yourself Duncan but don't think you'll get extra credit for being nice to the teacher. Now go to your next class before you're late" she said picking him up and placing him in the protected human sized walkway. She smiled at him and went back to her desk. She typed on her tablet going over her notes for tomorrow. There was an electronically magnified knock on her door. "Come in" she said.

"Mrs. Clark I presume?" a human sized woman asked. "I am and you are?" she answered. "You can call me Artemis" she said walking closer. "That’s Greek isn't it?" she asked walking to meet her. The woman looked up at the giantess in heels. "It is. Just like alpha and omega is" she said. The giantess nearly dropped her tablet hearing that word. "Something wrong? Was it something I said? Was it alpha or was it omega?" Artemis asked. Mrs. Clark eyes the woman intently. "Your sign on the door said Clark. That's your married name right? What was it before? Theris?" she asked. Mrs. Clark bent her knees and glared at her. "I'm a patient women but you're pushing it. How about you tell me who you really are or better who you're with" Clark said.

"I think you already know who I'm with. I'm not here on a social call. This about the time you served with us" Artemis said. Clark picked her up and placed her on the desk. "This was a lifetime ago and I'm not proud of what I did. I'm going to give you five minutes to explain why you've shown up about something that occurred over a decade ago before I have you removed from here" Clark said. "Alana, we have a mutual problem. One of your old squad mates has took it upon himself to permanently disband squad 131" she said. "What are you talking about?" Alana asked. "I'm talking about Private Tsoni killing your old friends. We suspect you're on the list as well" Artemis said. "That's nuts. I remember Tsoni. Wouldn't harm a fly unless ordered to" Alana said. "Be as it may, two of your old squad mates died this week due to inventive circumstances" Artemis said. "Inventive?" Alana asked. "Inventive as a miniature plasma grenade killing one on the toilet and another having cardiac arrest during sex. Erophan levels was 10 times the recommended limit" Artemis said.

"I still don't believe it. Tsoni?" Alan said. "Believe it. We’re combing the net looking for him but so far nada. You were one of the best in the squad. We want you to help us find him before anyone else dies. You game?" Artemis asked.  "I haven't been in the field since the war ended" Alana said. "I doubt your skills got that rusty. Alana. We need you on this. It's only a matter of time before civilians get caught up...including you. Imagine him sneaking a bomb into this classroom and it goes off when it's full of kids just to get to you" Artemis said. Alana clenched her fists. "Fine. I'll do it but I want the old team to run this. I don't need outside interference" Alana said. "Deal. We'll handle just logistics and you guys can run the op" Artemis said holding out her hand. Alana eyes her and let her shake her finger. "I'm warning you Artemis. Omega better not try pulling a fast one" Alana said with her breath washing over the tiny woman. Artemis nodded. "Good. Have a transport ready for me in the morning. I need to prepare first. Don't know how I'll explain this to my husband" Alana said placing the woman back on the floor.

Alana headed back home. She didn't drive since she lived not far from the school. The walk rarely bothered her. Santa Cruz was a beautiful city to her. Remarkably untouched by the war. Her gigantic height gave her a view of the ocean and the mountains with just a turn of her head. Like many cities, it was remodeled to accommodate giants but there was just a handful of those here. Including her, there was 20 others. Either Ingress or hybrids. The school she worked at taught the larger hybrids that lived here and the surrounding areas.  Very thankful parents of those kids appreciated the gesture seeing not all schools could literally fit them. Of course there were parents that protested this action fearing that their human sized kids could be hurt or worse around kids 20 times their size. Money took care of that. Grant money to be precise. Ingress brought considerable wealth to Earth's economy and having Ingress living in the city made it eligible to get those grants. In a nutshell, the schools were rich enough to tell parents to accept the situation or leave.

Alana got her job especially because of this. A giantess teacher for giant kids. Made total sense. "Hi Mrs. Clark!" a woman yelled walking towards her. Alana knew her well. Her name was Elane. A member of the welcoming committee for the city and was the first person to be her friend after moving. She was Ingress like she was. Older though by a few years and on her shoulder was her son. "Hi Elane. Out to do some shopping?" Alana asked. "Yeah. Have to go get dinner. Brought my son to help me with the smaller stuff" she said. "Helping mom out? Good for you" Alana said smiling at the 15-year-old boy his on mother's shoulder. "No biggie" he said shyly. Alana wasn't a stranger to this kind of adoration. She turned heads with her firm and fit body. Large tits (larger after having two kids) and long flowing peppercorn color hair. Her eyes were a deep shade of blue like sapphire. This and being 190 ft. tall understandably.

"How's Mark and the boys?" Elane asked. "Mark's still doing his construction consultation job and Nathan just started kindergarten this school year. His older brother Jack just turned 13" Alana said. "How time flies. Seems just like yesterday you moved here" Elane said. "True. Doesn't seem like it was 14 years ago" she said with a sigh. "Everything okay? You seem troubled" Elane asked. "I'm fine...just a lot of work preparing for the last PTA meeting for the school year" Alana said. Elane nodded. "Well make sure to take some time to relax. See you around Alana!" she said strolling off. Alana enjoyed her company but today she had other things to think about. The thought of an old teammate coming to kill her made her jumpy.

"I'm home!" Alana said closing the immense door behind her. "Welcome home!" Her husband shouted. "Where's the kids Mark?" she asked unbuttoning her blouse. "Nate's watching cartoons and Jack is in his room. You look tired" he said. "Long day" she said walking to their bedroom. She kicked off her heels and slid off her pantyhose. She rubbed her sore aching feet before changing out of her clothes. She emerged wearing a tee and loose shorts. "What’s up?" she said opening the door to Jake's room. "Nothing. Playing games" he said sitting on the large bed with his back to her. Like her, Jake was giant sized but he did look more like his dad though. Alan hugged him from behind and kissed his cheek. "Mom! You gonna make me die here!" he yelled. Alana giggled and let go. "Make sure you do your homework before bed" she said. He nodded and went back to his shooting game.

She peeked into Nate's room. Nate was a normal sized 6-year-old boy. She always looked down at her feet by habit because of him. Once in a great while she would have nightmares of accidentally squishing the boy under her foot. It was worse now that he was at an age of being ranbunchous and running around. She chastised Jake for not showing the same caution. With her big toe, she scooted his toys aside. Didn't stop her from crushing toy cars and such with them being too small for her to easily see. "Watching cartoons?" she asked. Nate looked up with a childish grin seeing his giant mom home. "Yeah. Seen it though. Can you play with me?" he asked. Alana sat down near him and picked him up. She held the tiny boy in one hand and brought him to her face to see him better.

Just looking at him made her feel better. He had inherited her hair color and her eyes. She loved petting him as he slept. His tiny hands and feet made it like he was the perfect doll. A doll of her creation. One of love and hope. "I got time kiddo. What you wanna play?" she asked. "The giant and the hero!" he yelled. She knew that was the answer before she asked. Truthfully, she hated this game. It made her remember things from her old life but she didn't want to say no. "And who wins this time?" she asked. "Me! The hero!" he yelled. She placed him back on the floor and got on her hands and knees. She tossed her hair back and got ready.

Nate grabbed a toy sword. A tiny sliver of plastic to her but to him it was Excalibur. "I have found you evil giant! You will not hurt anyone again after I'm done with you!" he yelled. Alana wanted to burst out laughing. "Where does he get these lines from?" she wondered. "You will not defeat me little hero! I'm bigger than you!" she said growling. "Take this!" he said running to her fingers. The tiny child hacked and slashed his mother's fingers over and over with his sword while Alana made it look he was hurting her. "I'm weakening!" she said carefully falling to her side. "And now to end you giant! Die!" he said stabbing her in the throat. "I am defeated! Alana said lulling her head to the floor. "I win! The giant is dead!" he yelled. "Little did he know the giant was faking!" Alana said opening her eyes. She got up a little. The brave boy held his sword. "You look tasty and I love eating tasty heroes!" she said. The boy giggled and squealed as she playfully bit the air.

"I'm not afraid!" he said swinging his sword. "You should be hero!" she said grabbing him. He smiled and giggled as he wriggled in between her enclosed fingers. "Don't eat me!" he yelled. She flinched but his expression said he wasn't afraid. The opposite in fact. 

Two months prior, Alana happened to be passing by Jake's room and heard him talking. "Come on. It'll be fun" she heard Nathan say. "Only if you stop bugging me about it" Jake said. Being curious as to what her kids were up to, Alana opened the door. Just as she did she saw Jake toss his little brother into his mouth. A rush of panic took hold and she dashed to them. "SPIT HIM OUT THIS INSTANT!" she screamed loudly. Jake held out his hand and spat out his tiny brother. Alana snatched him up and looked to see if he was harmed. He wasn't. He was giggling at the whole thing. "He kept pestering me to put him in my mouth" Jake said defending his actions. "And what if you swallowed him?!" she yelled. "Then I'd just barf him up" Jake said. Alana raised her empty hand to slap him and stopped. Jake's attitude changed seeing his mother begin to cry. "It doesn't work like that. Especially when they're this small" she said walking out. Mark came to her wondering what the shouting was about. After explaining, he entered the room. "Pick me up son" he said.

"Jake picked up his small dad and placed him next to him on the bed. "You know you screwed up right?" Mark said. The giant boy nodded. "Your mother had a point. What if you actually ate him and we couldn't get him back? Would you like to live with the fact you killed your brother?" he said. The boy burst into tears. Mark knew he was heavy handed on that last part and gently stroked his pants leg. "You'll be 13 next week so it's time we had a talk" he said. "Dad I know the sex talk" he said wiping his tears away. "No, I mean the talk about mean people hating you for who you are" he said. "As you get older, people are going to treat you differently that others just because you're a giant. Some, hopefully many, are going to be okay with that but others won't be. It wasn't a big deal when you were younger. A young giant boy that watches cartoons doesn't come off scary but getting taller, manlier, that's another story."

"They'll be mean to you because they fear you.  They'll fear you thinking you'll do bad things to them" he said. "Like eating them?" Jake asked. "That and other things. My point is this. You must set an example for others. Be better than others. Work twice as hard to gain their trust. I want you to use that ginormous head of yours before you act. Like just now. If your brother asked you to do something like that you should've told us. He's six. He doesn't know how dangerous that is yet. He thinks it's fun" Mark said. "Okay dad" Jake said. "Good. You're grounded for the week by the way" Mark said patting his leg.

Alana held the hero in her hand. It was plain to see he wanted his mommy to "eat" him up. She brought him to her face...and kissed him. "I win" she said. "No! You can't kill the hero with kisses mommy!" he yelled. "In this story I can. Watch tv until it's time to eat" she said placing him back on the floor. The pouting child went back to watching cartoons.

"Kids alright?" Mark asked sitting on his couch. "Fine. Nathan wanted me to eat him. We really should consider a child psychologist" Alana said sitting on the floor next to him. "I don't know if that would help. I'm serious! A mixed family of regular and giants is still kinda new here. I think they have their hands full on anger management issues when your giant kids hits the terrible twos" he said laughing. "I'm glad one of us finds this amusing" she said. "Oh relax. It's probably a phase. He's curious is all" he said. Alana sighed. "I'm going to have to go out of town for a few days. You can manage without me right?" she said. "Yeah. Jake's old enough to take care of washing and clothing himself. What's going on?" Mark asked. "I...I got a teacher conference. It's out of town. They sprung it on me at the last minute" she said. "Must be important if they're sending you away on a moment notice in the middle of the week" he said. "Well I am one of the few Ingress teachers on the west coast. Guess they want my insight especially me being a parent of hybrid mixed size kids" she said. Alana knew she had to lay it on thick. Mark was no dummy.

"I guess so" he said getting up and crawling into her lap. Alana smiled at him and petted his back. "That's it baby. Work the kinks out" he said moaning. "Oh stop" she said. He chuckled a bit. She picked him up and gently kissed his face. She loved him very much. He always could calm her when she was upset. Cheer her up when sad. Use every bit of his body to make her feel good. "Later" she whispered after noticing his erection in his pants. "Don't keep me in suspense too long my goddess" he said. When he called her goddess it sent shivers up her spine. Every time. Mark knew what turned her on and roleplay was one of them. She thought she had the upper hand teasing him just now but with just a word he turned that around. Mark walked to the kitchen shaking his ass purposefully. "Bastard" she said.

They all ate dinner later like normal and watched tv as a family. Jake went to his room later leaving his parents and brother in the living room. Nathan had fallen asleep curled up on his mother's lap like a domesticated mouse. Her love for all of them made her feel so peaceful. Her fingernail gently touched his arm. She traced it along his entire body stopping after tickling his tiny feet. No matter how many times she did this she still couldn't believe that half her blood was in him. This tiny, fragile, infinitely precious being was created by her. She had only two regrets. One, she didn't carry him to term like she did with Jake. Pregnancy was very strange yet fulfilling to her. And two, she could never hug him as she did with Jake.  "Meet you in the bedroom?" Mark said. Alana nodded as she placed her son in her hand and carried him to his room. She bent down and placed him in his small race car bed. She gave him the gentlest kiss she could on his little body before using her fingernails to pull his covers over him.

A cold realization hit her. If Tsoni was killing her old teammates, then it was possible she could be his victim also. If so then this might be the last time she saw her family. She gasped at the thought and held back tears. She closed the door and went to Jake. He was sound asleep. His headphones had fallen off while the music player still played music. She turned it off and placed them on his nightstand. She watched him breathe as he slept for a minute remembering how she and Mark stumbled through raising their first child. Neither had living relatives except Alana who had a younger sister. Alana kissed his forehead before leaving his room.

"There you are. What kept you?" Mark asked as she stepped into the bedroom. "Looking in on the kids" she said. "Now that that's done why don't you take off those frumpy clothes and lie down" he said slapping the bed. " I think I'll take a shower first. I still smell of sweat" she said. "Aw come on. I like your smell" he said pouting. "Nuh uh. A little patience. I'll let you dominate me this time" she said whispering the last part. Mark quickly urged her to shower. The warm water felt so good on her body. The day's sweat just washed away but her thoughts remained. She finished her shower and dried off. "Finally! Now get on the bed!" he yelled. "Just a sec. Let me set my alarm..."

"I wasn't asking giantess slave! Your master said get on the fucking bed" Mark said. Alana smiled and hopped on the bed. The shaking literally threw Mark ten feet into the air before coming down with a bounce. She chuckled. "You think that's funny! Lay down! Yeah. That's it. Now put your feet together" he said. "Yes master" Alana said. She placed her feet together for him and he walked to them. Alana knew this was his thing for years. She didn't care he had a fetish for he showed he loved her more than just having sexy feet. Mark touched her rosy red sole towering over him. Her toes scrunched slightly from the touch. He climbed up her ankle and crawled up the top of her foot. Her heart beat slightly faster as her tiny husband used his strength to pull apart her second and third toes on her left foot. He stuck his head in and sucked and lapped at the space between. When he had enough he began grinding his small cock in there.

"You like this don't you slave? Your tiny master fucking your slutty toes" he said panting. Alana grinned at him. "No. Not going to waste my cum" he said sliding off her foot to the bedsheet below. "Spread your legs! Good. Now beg me. Beg me to fuck you" he said. "Please fuck me my tiny master. I need your semen. I need your human penis in me" she said with a begging tone. "Jesus she's good" Mark thought looking into her eyes. Truthfully, she wasn't playing. She needed to get fucked badly now. Her body craved his touch. Mark slammed his dick right between her folds. He brutally fucked as hard as he could. When it came time for both, she held him firm and squirted all over him. Mark fell back panting. "Christ Alana" he said blown away at the intensity of it. Alana positioned herself and nuzzled him to her face. Mark chuckled at her for she had a quirk about her. When she really showed affection like now, she made this weird sound. It reminded him of purring. "You still sound like a damn cat" he said. "And you like licking my toes" she said. Both laughed at one another.

She didn't notice it but Mark eyed something she was unconsciously doing. Her lower lip quivered...just slightly. Mark stood up and walked over to it. "Don't move" he said as she was about to. He placed his hand on her giant lip and sure enough he felt it quivering slightly. "What's got you so spooked?" he asked. She immediately pulled back in shock. "Nothing" she said. "Alana Clark. Don't lie to me. I know when something is upsetting you. Was it what I said earlier. Was I too rough?" he asked. "No! That's not it" she said. Aha! So there is something! Your lip always does that when something upsets you. Last time was when Nate went and hid in the house and we couldn't find him. What is it this time?" he asked.

Alana saw she couldn't play it off. He knew her too well. "I'm not going to a conference. Something...something from my past has come up and I need to take care of it" she said softly. "What is it? You never talk about the time before I met you" he said. "It wasn't the best of times" she said. "Yeah I get that and I never pressured you about it but you're my wife now. Mother of my kids. I need more than just a cryptic answer" he said. "An old friend is in trouble and I was asked to help. It's complicated. I wish I could say more but it's better if you don't know the details" she said. Mark didn't like that.

"It's dangerous?" he asked. She nodded. "Oh hell no. Get someone else to help your friend!" he yelled. "I would if I could!" she yelled starting to cry. "If...if I don't help it could be bad for me...for us. Please...I ask you not to pry any further. I'm doing this to protect all of us" she said. The small man was scared shitless hearing that. "Alright. Calm down. I won't ask further. I trust you. You wouldn't be doing this if you didn't have to" he said. Alana hugged him to her hearing that.

"One day I'll tell you everything. I promise" she whispered. Exhausted, Alana fell asleep first. Mark laid next to her just feet away from her exposed breast. He was scared for her. He didn't know what friend she could be talking about. He had known her since high school. Since she was 16. She, him, and many others were crammed into a refugee education center. Ingress and human kids went to the same classes. One of the first and it was rocky at best. Didn't help that soldiers constantly guarded the place. Hard to study with people with guns watching you. He first saw her one day enjoying the blue sky. Love at first sight for him. Long flowing dress that stopped at her calves. Simple sandals on her feet that showed off her giant toes (which knowing him sealed the deal). It was her face that caught his attention more than her feet. She looked so lonely.

He asked if he could sit next to her and enjoy her shade. A corny giantess joke to be sure but it made her laugh. Mark asked about her and learned some things about his new attractive friend. She had a sister that was 5 at the time and went to the nearby school. Alana told him that she became a soldier to provide for her as they had no parents. Mark felt for her. She told him she defected early in the war after seeing Leila do so. When he asked what fighting was like she didn't answer. She never did. When he asked it he saw it upsetting her when he did. Never asked since. Being Ingress, it was hard to make friends. A year hadn't even passed since the end of the war so the atrocities of the Empress wasn't forgotten. Alana was eyed with contempt, mistrust, lust, and scorn. Mark was the first to talk to her as a person. Not a refugee alien or giant ticking time bomb. Mark had no idea how much that meant to her at the time.

By the time they graduated, they were an item. By the end of the summer they were married. By the time she got her teaching certification, she was pregnant with their first child Jake.  Every day was better than the last for them and even with their differences they made it work.

He wanted to fuck her again as he stared into her sleeping face. Fuck her pouty, soft lips and cum in her cavernous mouth. No, she needed to sleep. She had hidden it well but her nerves were frayed. He settled for a wet kiss. He held her bottom lip with both hands and licked it. "I love you so much" he said to her. Mark laid down once again and drifted off to sleep.  

It was in the middle of the morning that Alana got the call. Artemis was sending a car for her and told the woman not to worry about her job. A few favors smoothed things over and Alana didn't ask what or how. She knew Omega well enough to know that they had connections all over. The kids had gone off to school. Watching them go was painful for her. Mark chose to go in late and sat at her socked feet awaiting her ride. "Decided on where to go for summer vacation yet?" he asked. "I'm thinking maybe Tahiti" Alana said. "Show off that giant figure?" he asked chuckling. "Something like that. Give some humans a good show" she said. "Then you should get a wax then bushy lady" he said. "Didn't hear you complaining last night" Alana laughed. "I was too busy breeding you like the prized pedigree you are" he quipped.

Mark stroked the soft warm cotton of her socked sole. Both were trying to alleviate their worries with small talk. "I was thinking about the old days last night. Remember when we first started dating?" he asked. "Of course. My little sister was so jealous. She even hid you in her room that time so we couldn't go out" she laughed. "Yeah. Damn I never heard anyone yell so loud when you found out. Had my ears ringing" he laughed. "And what did I do to make it up to you?" she asked. Mark blushed. "Painted your nails my favorite color. That shade of blue matched your eyes perfectly. Especially your toes" he said. "I thought you were so weird liking my feet!" she said. "And you know I like more than just that" he said. "Of course. That first night we had sex. Right before prom" she said. "You were the most beautiful girl I had ever seen in that dark red dress. I knew then I'd never let you go" he said quietly. Mark squeezed a bunch of sock in his grip. She picked him up and kissed him. "And you won't lose me now" she said. As if on cue, the doorbell rang.

"That's for me. I have to go. See you when I get back" she said walking to the door. "I'll hold you to that" he said watching her leave. It was hard for him to watch her go. Worse yet, she left with no change of clothes. Simply the shirt, jeans, and tennis shoes she had on. Alana got into the car and she gave a last look at the house as it pulled away.  "Everything is in order. We're heading to out transport" Artemis said sitting across from her in a tiny seat. "Where to?" Alana asked. "A listening post in the San Fernando valley. A place Tsoni doesn't know about. The others will meet us there" Artemis answered. Alana nodded and sat back in her seat. Within a half hour, they were airborne. She hadn't ridden in a military transport since the war. She didn't miss it. "Your team doesn't have a big file. Lot of what I did see was redacted even for my Pantheon class. I have to ask. How did an Ingress end up working for Omega?" Artemis asked.

"How do you think? Blackmail of course. Me and the others were assigned to quell Union attacks on Columbus Ohio. As luck had it, we were shot down and crash landed. Then you guys showed up in those weird stubby robot suits of yours. We were taken prisoners and shipped off to be experimented on. It was around this time that the Ark appeared. Next thing we know we're given a choice. Live and die in captivity or join a new squad made of Ingress. We chose the latter. You'd be surprised at how not wanting your bone marrow sucked out everyday influences your decisions. Our main job was infiltration, espionage, and sabotage. Being Ingress we'd blended right in. We were designated squad 131. The first and only Ingress squad in Omega" Alana said.

"That would explain why your records are so spotty. It would be problematic to have operatives know we cooperated with Ingress at that time. A moot point later on though" Artemis said. "That and the nature of our service. The Union would not have tolerated how they treated us during our service. Care to guess how they kept us in line? Why we didn't escape the moment we went on mission?" Alana asked looking out the window. "Bombs. Tiny surgical implanted bombs. Now you'd think someone who was essentially tortured wouldn't care about dying right? Those bombs weren't in our bodies. Too simple. They were in the bodies of family members. Omega hunted down our family members and placed a bomb about the size of a grape in their skulls. Bad luck that we had them come with us to enjoy this warm sunny world. The perk of being an Imperial soldier. First in line for relocation. Right now, my little sister is sitting in a college classroom with a bomb tucked neatly against her brain." Alana said coldly.

"Tsoni had family right? Why risk them now?" Artemis asked. "Maybe he found a way to block the signal or maybe his sister is dead. Either way it doesn't matter. What matters is why he's doing this and where he's at now" Alana said.

Not long after, the transport touched down and the two disembarked. "No reception?" Alana asked. "Only light personnel. This isn't a base. We didn't want to advertise having you all together to him" Artemis said. Artemis radioed for them to unlock the door and they stepped in. It was cramped for Alana. The post itself was barely the size of her house and was crammed with military grade comm equipment. "Well well. Look who just showed up everyone! How’s life treating you baby face?" an Ingress woman asked walking to her smiling. "Can't complain Tela. What about you?" Alana asked.  "Well I still get requests for video shoots at 35 so I guess I still got it" she said. "The glamorous life of a porn star" Alana quipped. "Can't help it if humans love big naked girls" she said tossing her silvery hair. "Hey Alana. Still looking pretty" an Ingress man said eating an Ingress grown apple. "You lost weight Dias" she said. "Have to eat healthier now I'm a family man" he said.

"Sup Alana" a mousy Ingress girl said looking away from a computer screen. "I didn't even see you there Seras" Alana said. The girl smiled and went back to watching the screen and typing. "The gang's all here except Fortain. Where is he?" Alana asked. "He's en route to us now. Want to contact him? He sounded excited hearing he'd see us again" Seras said. "Why not?" Alana said. The screen changed as it video linked a call. "Hello hello!" an Ingress man yelled. "Fortain! Good to see the years were kind" Alana said. "Kinder to you perhaps. I got my first gray hairs!" he said. "How far out are you?" Alana asked. "Ehhh...just passed the Rockies so maybe hour an half. We have to go out. Even with this crazy shit going on we need to go get a drink" he said. "Sounds like a plan" Alana said. "Still a lightweight I bet. I bet even Seras could...that's odd. A strange smell is in the cabin" he said.

Everyone looked at one another. "Seras. Link in to the onboard sensors. Tell me what's going on. Now!" Alana yelled.  Seras quickly typed away. "Got it. Let me see. There's...oh god. It's..." She was saying until the feed was cut. "Get it back!" Alana yelled. "Nothing. I'm...I'm retasking a satellite. Oh no" she said. On the screen was smoke from burning wreckage.  "Transport is down" Seras whispered. Tela looked away and held a hand to her face. Artemis went over to the comm station and typed in a series of commands. "Artemis to base 077. Respond" she said. "Code clearance requested" a voice responded. "Olympus 417 Charlie Delta 1" she said. "Verified. How can we assist you" the voice asked. "We...we got a downed bird not far from your location. Requesting a team to search for survivors and to see what brought it down" she said sending a file. "Coordinates received. We can have a team there in 20 minutes" it said. "Understood. Thanks" she said ending the transmission.

"You saw something just before didn't you?" Dias asked Seras. "Yeah. Just before I lost telemetry, onboard sensors detected a contaminant. A flammable one" she said. "Fuel leak?" Artemis asked. Seras shook her head. "No, this had a synthetic makeup to the chemicals. Won't know more until later. I'm sorry...I'm..." she said sniffling. "It's alright" Alana said touching her shoulder.

It was quiet for the next half hour. A lingering question was on everyone's mind. If Tsoni brought down the transport, how did he know his target was on board? "Incoming transmission. There's a file attached. "Scans complete. No survivors on board. Confirmed 3 humans and one Ingress onboard. Autopsy impossible due to damage to bodies. Partial skeletal remains for humans. Intact skeleton for Ingress male. Suspected high temperatures due to an air flash in destroyed plane in midair. Moving debris to base" she said. Artemis and Seras combed over the data. "Ilna Karunis" Dias said looking at it. "Yes. It has the makeup" Seras said. "What the hell is that?" Artemis asked. "Closest translation would be Foxfire. A chemical cocktail that glows blue when burned. Ingress used it as a thermobaric weapon during the war. Nasty shit. Burns at over 4000 degrees. Fortain knew more about the specifics of how to deploy it" Seras said.

"It was intentional. Tsoni used that because Fortain was an expert on chemical bombs. He's sending us a message" Alana hissed. "So is he targeting us by our expertise?" Tela asked scared. "I... I don’t know. It's not like Telos was an expert of toilets. It's something else to it" Alana replied. "You all were experts in something?" Artemis asked. "Well yeah. We were unique in being the only Ingress but like your squads, Ingress ones had experts in certain fields to carry out missions too" Seras replied. "What was yours?" Artemis asked. "Me? I was the tech expert" Seras replied. "And you Alana?" she asked. "Marksman" she replied. "Social Engineering" Tela said. "She means she used her body to extract information. I was the tactician of the group" Dias said. "And Fortain was the expert on heavy weapons and our leader...a rarity to have a male be leader. He...he was the best" Alana said quietly. "And I am hesitant to ask about Tsoni" Artemis asked. "Demolitions and sabotage" Seras said.

Artemis threw her tiny arms into the air. "Figures" she said. "Nothing is adding up. Tsoni looked up to Fortain. He was like a big brother to him. Taught him all he knew about bombs" Tela said slamming her fist into the wall. The vibration was felt even by Artemis standing on the makeshift table being used by Seras. "Do any of you know what set him off? PTSD?" Artemis asked. They all looked at one another. "We...we had to do some fucked up shit now and then but we had each other for support. We're a family. Like a talked to Tela about..." Alana said quickly stopping. Tela touched her shoulder. "Artemis. We all suffered from what we went through but we came out of this together. Tsoni had issues but nothing like incinerating people. His role was the quietest. Most easy" Seras said. "Apparently not. I get you don't want to talk about your old missions but you need to set that shit aside. What if Fortain was on a commercial flight?" Artemis said. "You're right. Absolutely right" Alana said sitting in a giant chair.