Humans tried so hard and for so long to reach the stars, but were doomed to fail. Until the alien tribes came. Each alien race gifted the humans with a new Gene-Line, providing them with new powers and physical capabilities. And though the aliens soon vanished, travelling to distant fields, the humans spread far and wide. Using the power of their new Lines, the human race reached the stars of their solar system and far beyond, leading to a thousand years of exploration and change.
Laser fire scorched the ground behind Samantha's feet as she sprinted across the battlefield, one hand gripping her side, feeling her skin where the explosion had torn through her shielding and some of her top. Her other hand gripped her furry green tail, holding the edge out of range of the weapon discharge being aimed at her. Thirty seconds ago she had been comfortably sequestered behind a generous piece of rock. She hadn't expected the next set of rounds to obliterate her cover and send her sprinting for safe harbour.
She didn't even know where she was running at this point. The smoke and dust were so thick in front of her that she couldn't see her direction, and the laserfire at her heels prevented her from stopping to take stock of the situation.
Just as her breath was beginning to slow, just as the crushing weight of the exertion had reached her lungs, she heard a familiar voice cry out.
"Herren! Get down!" Samantha, by this point beyond used to being referred to by people screaming her last name, leaped forward and to the ground. She buried her face in the hard dirt and wrapped her hands over the back of her head as she heard the explosions. Her squad were using their L.A.D.R.s (large-area-discharge-rounds) to clear the area. Her's had been knocked off into the distance when the explosion had broken her cover.
Sam kept her head down and covered even after the exchange had been completed, the sounds of battle fading into the distance as the nearby threat was eradicated. She was tired, already she was so tired and they had barely begun. She could still hear the other sectors, where the rest of their forces were clashing with the enemy for control of strategic positions. The coming night would be long and there were no guarantees she would have a chance to sleep or rest, so just now, just in that moment, she kept her head down to try and rest.
Or she would have, if a boot hadn't kicked her in the side. It wasn't an overly aggressive kick, her attacker didn't mean to wound her. It was just a fairly painful way of grabbing attention. Which worked. Sam jolted onto her side and looked up, eyes wide and wild, to see Ashe Lafaen, her commanding officer, smirking down at her.
"Enemies in this area are clear rookie, get up." Ashe's smile had slipped away as she returned to business mode, stepping over and past Samantha to inspect the path ahead. Instead it was Ashe's second in command Haley who came over and offered a hand for Samantha, who gladly took it. She rose to her feet and turned to examine her surroundings. They had taken the immediate area, well, her squad had. But they still had the outpost to contend with.
Ashe fixed her attention on the small square building that peeked from around the corner. Sam couldn't see her face but she knew the shapes and patterns that were darting across the surface of her commander's eyes as she attempted to glean the secrets of the base and its surrounds. Ashe, like most of the battleground officers, was a Seer. They appeared human for the most part, but below their clothes lay skin and scales that marked their Line. Sam often looked on Seers with envy when she came across them. Not only did it mean an instant promotion for their strange and unusual powers, but the Seer Line was one of the more respected in the Helio sector.
Sam glanced down at her tail, singed at the edges during the fighting, that marked her Line as a Felai. She was common, widespread. Human but for that tail. A few years ago she had been so desperate for a sense of individuality that she dyed it a lightish green colour, just so she could stand out. She didn't even have the ears that Royal Felai had. That at least would have marked her as a little bit different. She sighed.
"We're clear for a moment" Ashe finally said, turning to face the squad and allowing her shoulders to relax. "I heard them speaking. There are a dozen survivors and they've retreated into the compound."
Haley breathed out a sigh of relief, sitting down on a nearby rock and rolling her shoulders back. "Good. Hasn't been ten minutes and already I feel like I've been working all damn day." She looked up at Ashe and cocked a brow. "They planning on mounting a counter attack?"
"Not happening" Ashe replied, "not until they get orders from their command and our signal jammers are still in full effect.
"Good." Haley said, closing her eyes. "Ashe, I can feel you standing up, sit down, you're making everyone else nervous."
It was true. Of the six people in their team, only Haley had sat down. Everyone else was nervously eyeing Ashe, as if they were waiting for their commander to bring more bad news raining down on them.
"Right, right" Ashe said, sitting down, but keeping a hand on the handle of her weapon, just in case. "Everyone please, sit. We've got a hard fight ahead of us in there and I don't want anyone wearing themselves out too soon."
With that, the group sat down, removing their helmets and stretching themselves out. Sam eyed the other women in her team. Aside from herself, Ashe and Haley there were three others that made up their merry little band.
First there was Zenobia, olive skinned, dark of eyes and of short cut hair. Her limbs were long and loose, seemingly able to bend at any point, the Line of Reptis. She had been transferred from five squads before now, always at the unanimous request of her squadmates. She hadn't spoken much in the time Samantha had been with this squad but she had already left an impression. There was an aggressive force that folded into all of Zenobia's movements and her eyes told the tale of a short temper and shorter fights.
Next was Sadie, a far more pleasant woman by quite a distance. She was the team's demolition expert and years of mistakes and explosions had wiped away any trace of her Line as she continued replacing the broken pieces of her body with bionic enhancements. The content, methodical red-head was supposedly more machine than woman by this point.
Finally there was Jean, an anomaly to Sam's eyes for certain. When Sam had first arrived on base and met her squad she was relieved, albeit not surprised, to see a blond tail protruding from Jean's suit. But then she had noticed the feline ears atop Jean's head, marking her as a Royal-Felai.
Jean rarely spoke and found ways of avoiding all of Sam's proving questions about her past. Royal-Felai were near worshipped in some circles and they never worked alongside the lower classes. But despite that, here was Jean, on the battleground. The questions were driving Sam crazy.
"What's the news of Hotel Squad?" Sadie was asking, her question breaking Sam's train of thought.
"Making good progress, not sure if they'll have their outpost locked down tonight." Ashe responded, causing Sadie to fall into a rare frown.
Hotel Squad was securing the outpost ahead of their own. If they sent word announcing a fortified position it would mean Ashe's own team could rest easy for the night, with that extra base between them and their enemy.
"Orgy tonight, orgy three nights from now when we take the region" Zenobia said, shrugging, "doesn't make much difference to me."
