02

Prologue

As Gabriel and his two companions traveled through the desert, his eyes scanned the shimmering horizon. Instinctively, he was looking for anything of note; buildings, people, other dangers, or interesting things. Though they had traveled this way many times, they always had to be on their guard. As they did, his mind drifted to how the world got to be this way and how they found themselves here.

It all started 20 years ago when the medical and engineering world started to intertwine even more than before. New Biotechnology developed, leading to new cures to ailments that previously had no treatment. It began with innovations in medicine during a global pandemic that took hundreds of thousands of lives. Unable to produce a long-lasting and effective vaccine, medical professionals turned to bioengineering and robotics companies to help solve their problems.

Working around the clock, given unlimited funding for their research and development, the first nanite-infused vaccine was deployed. As the vaccine reached more and more people, even those in underdeveloped places, the request for more types of these technologies surged.

Thus began the new age of bioengineering.

As new advancements came, more people flocked to test, buy, and help develop them. Neural cybernetics were the first to hit the market, allowing people afflicted with illnesses like dementia, Alzheimer's, and brain damage to recover and return to normal life. Then came cyber optics, changes to the optic nerves and eyes themselves to better aid people with impaired vision. Then fully functional robotic prosthetics, and cardiovascular implants. The list continued to grow until the world became like something out of a video game or movie.

Within a decade, the majority of the middle class and higher were augmented with these marvels of bioengineering advancements. Then, as one would expect, the world militaries started to implement this vast array of technology to their soldiers, bringing about augmented units. Some resembling more metal and wire than the flesh they were born with.

This led to new kinds of warfare and rules of engagement. And soon, police forces too, were augmented. Eventually, more fighting broke out around the world than ever before. Riots, public demonstrations, wars, rebellions, insurgencies...death. All this violence had a severe negative impact on the world around them. Nature began to retract, wither and die. Buildings were either severely damaged or completely erased from existence. And Gabriel was one of these soldiers.

A decade after the first wave of augments and new medicines were created, barely anything of the old world existed. Now, most of the world was nothing but a wasteland. Or rather, many different types of wastelands.

Chapter I

June, 2046

Reflection of these things caused Gabriel's fist to clench, suddenly he became more aware of his body. Despite being about 50, he still looked like he was 24, even after 20 years of service and hard battle. He stood now at 6'8" and weighed around 400-480lbs. Strength, speed, intelligence, agility, stamina, all drastically increased to make him a ruthless soldier.

It's been about 5 years since the world devolved into its current state, and Gabriel and his friends were determined to die comfortably. Not in the hot sand that almost drowned them on a daily basis.

"Hey," one of his friends, Matt, said. Trying to get his attention.

"We're only about one klick out from base. Better keep an eye out man, especially after what we saw back there."

He was referring to a location they assumed to be someone's hideout. It looked like the people there got ambushed and slaughtered when they returned home.

"Yeah, it'd be a shame to have survived this long out here and then to get killed because we were lazy," said his other friend, Tony.

All three of them served together in the same Marine unit. The three had known each other long before that though. Matt knew Gabriel before Tony did. They had become brothers before they even put the uniform on. Being best of friends for many years before Matt's family moved back to Kansas. Shortly after, Gabriel met Tony at school and the two of them were on the same soccer team. Eventually, all three of them found their own way into the Marines at separate times. It was pure luck that brought them together again in the service. Since then, they've spent almost every day of the better part of the past two decades together. Especially in the past 5 years, since the world was basically destroyed.

They got closer to their base, a run down gas station that really only served as protection from the sun and harsh sand storms that regularly rolled through. Matt took point up in their makeshift watch tower, unslinging his rifle from his side and keeping careful watch on the two down below.

Gabriel and Tony drew their weapons, Tony wielding a type of energy pulse shotgun that fired either intense heat or cold, and Gabriel wielding a handmade scrap shield and one of a blade extending from his right metallic arm. As they drew closer to their base, the sand beneath them started to stir.

WOOSH!!

A large scorpion the size of a car erupts from the sand beneath Gabriel, a figure mounted on top of it. Two other figures climb out of makeshift foxholes under the sand too, a man and woman.

"Julia?" exclaims Gabriel up to the figure on the scorpion that towers over him. The woman scours down at him, then urges her beast forward, almost crushing him with its massive pincers.

As Gabriel rolls out of the way of the beast's attack, he reaches out to his comrades through their neuro-link; a network that connects them through their neurologic implants.

"Don't shoot to kill, just disarm and subdue them. Do with the Serqet what you will," he tells them.

CRRRACK!

A large electrified metal spike is fired from the watchtower, striking the Serqet, in the base of its tail pinning it to the ground. As it struggles to get free, the woman riding it is flung from her saddle, landing 20 or so feet from Gabriel. Looking over his shoulder at Tony after hearing him engage the other two combatants with his bolt pistols, Gabriel turns his attention back to his quarry, the one he calls Julia.

Someone he knew from before the military, and someone he used to be friends with before he moved, he had no intention of killing her. Or any of them for that matter. Though he knew better than to get rid of his best defensive tool, he still decides to toss his shield to the side. He had a plan and the hunk of scrap was going to get in the way.

Squaring up with each other, Julia and Gabriel began to circle each other. Confident his friends could handle the Serqet and the other two, he focused most of his attention on her, and hers on him.

After a couple of seconds, she lunged at him, pulling a piece of jagged metal from under a leather bracer. Gabriel quickly grabbed the arm she wielded the knife in, turned his hip into her, and pulled her across himself, flipping her onto her back. He turns around just in time to see her kick herself up onto her feet with such grace it entices a gentle smirk from him. This time, Gabriel is the one to strike. Making a low feigning jab with his blade towards her stomach,which she blocks.

Exactly what he wanted.

He pivots his left foot in front of his right, once again grabbing her by the arm, and thrusts his blade into the side of her throat, careful not to go too deep so it doesn't hit her spine.

Gabriel moves behind her and pulls her backwards into him, wrenching her weapon from her hand. Julia, now starting to slowly bleed from the wound, begins to fall down, grasping at the hand that holds the blade in her throat.

"You and your friends made a big mistake trying to ambush us," Gabriel says in a low, gruff tone in her ear, his throat dry from the heat and sand.

A gurgling comes from Julia's mouth as she tries to respond, only blood coming from her mouth.

"Sshh, don't try to speak. I will give you and your friends a chance to redeem yourselves. You must swear complete and total obedience to me, and only me. If you agree, pat my arm."

At that moment, without hesitation, she furiously taps on his arm, fearing for her life. Gabriel keeps hold of her arm but withdraws his blade from her throat slowly. He then places his hand over her throat and a slight glow emanates from his hand and a pleasant warm sensation washes over her. She feels her wound close up and she sucks in a breath of hot, dusty air.

Still holding her back to his chest, Gabriel speaks again, but in a softer tone, "You will not tell anyone what I just did. Keep it a secret, and maybe I'll teach you some of the things I know." He releases her and pushes her onto the ground and kneels next to her. He pulls something from a pouch that hangs from his tactical vest, a large strip of a nanite infused bandage, and places it around her throat where her wound once was.

"Now, tell me out loud that you agree, let your words be binding," he says, standing up and drawing his blade once more, pointing it in her direction.

Looking up at him through eyes starting to swell with tears she speaks, "I yield to you and promise to obey your every command." As she speaks, his violet robotic eyes flash red, and she feels something in her chest, no, her soul, acknowledging the words she just spoke.

"Very well, in return, you shall be under my protection until the end of your life. Your basic needs such as food, water, shelter, etc., shall be taken care of by me." He motions for her to rise, and she does so. As Gabriel moves towards her, he pulls a pair of strange handcuffs from a side pocket, ones she has never seen before. He places them on one wrist, pulls her arms behind her back, and places the cuffs on the other.

The sounds of fighting start to quiet. Gabriel turns to the 2 on 1 fight that was taking place behind him, holding Julia by the arm, her head hung low. The other two combatants engaged with Tony stop as they see their leader captured yet unharmed. They drop their weapons and lower to their knees, raising hands behind their heads.

"Your leader has accepted a deal with me; obedience and service for protection and all her needs taken care of. I extend the same offer to you two, you will not be harmed under my watch, and you will only be punished if you violate this agreement. What do you two say," Gabriel calls out to the other two.

Taking a closer look at the two figures kneeling, the male wears a face mask that covers his mouth, parachute pants like bottoms, and a loose nylon muscle shirt, bearing many tattoos and scars. The woman next to him is clothed from head to toe and wears a pair of dark tinted goggles over her eyes, the only indication of gender being the way her clothes hug her body tightly, accentuating her curves.

The man is the first to speak. "I will NEVER be a slave to freaks like you," he shouts. Lunging from his keeling position at Tony, he extends his fist out revealing a hidden blade between his fingers. With a loud CRACK! An electrified bolt slams through his chest and sends him spinning across the sand, lying lifeless as smoke rises from the wound.

"No!" A shout rings out from the other woman as she clambers over to him. "Damnit, why do you always have to be so stupid! You've gone and gotten yourself killed because of it," the woman says through sadness choked words as she tries to shake her companion awake, but to no avail. Her head hangs low and she begins to sob.

Gabriel approaches her, handing Julia over to Tony. He kneels down next to the crying woman and speaks softly to her.

"I'm sorry, it was not my intention for any of you to die. He was to be let go with a week's food and water if he did not want to stay." He places a gentle hand, as much as a large gloved metal hand can be gentle, on her shoulder, doing his best to comfort her.

"I submit, do what you will with me, I do not want to die alone like he did. Just please allow us to give him a proper send off," the woman says through her crying.

Gabriel nods his head. "Very well, please stand and put your hands behind your back, I will make sure your friend's body is taken care of until you can see him off."

The woman stands, doing what is asked of her, as these strange metal cuffs are placed on her wrists and the two women are led inside the building

***************

Blinking as her eyes adjust to the darker interior, Julia starts to take in her surroundings. The main area inside the door looks like a kill box. Makeshift barricades and razor wire are placed with what seems like the intent to guide any intruders through a certain path. The barricades are only about waist high and covered with the razor wire and other bits of metal spikes. With a clear view of the other end of this room, she could see a very intimidating looking stationary machine gun aimed right at the front door.

'This place is ridiculous,' she thought. 'They're clearly military trained, but these guys are next level. And this guy seems to know who I am.'

Looking over her shoulder at the man behind her who is leading her through this deathtrap maze, she notices how heavily augmented he is. Though, his face seemed to be left mostly unaltered.

He was tall, taller than her. He sported dark brown hair that was shaved close on the sides but kept rather long on the top, but combed back. He had a very stern and contemplative look on his face, like he was thinking. All in all, he wasn't that bad looking. She could tell he was quite built underneath his gear, though she couldn't tell how much of it was man or machine.

As she looked over at the other two men that accompanied him, she noticed similar things. All three of them were tall, strong, and pretty decent looking. The one with the large rifle looked Asian-American, and the other she knew was definitely Puerto Rican, her step father being from there himself.

"Hey," she felt a nudge from her left that brought her attention to her friend that was being led next to her.

"You okay, Jewls," the woman asked, sounding very concerned. she seemed to have noticed the thick bandage on her neck.

Julia just nodded and gave her friend a reassuring look. They passed the machine gun emplacement and moved into a new room, it seemed like a bunk room. Six beds with curtains, hanging around the left and right side as well as at the foot of each bed, were placed on the left and right walls, three on each side. Large lockers were next to each bed with a small screen on the door of each. And a poker table with eight chairs surrounding it sat in the middle of this room. Everything looked to be kept in pretty good condition, which was an unusual but pleasant sight. Julia was used to the rundown shacks made of scrap corrugated metal and rotting plywood. This seemed like a palace to her.

The man behind her led them over to the poker table, pulled out two chairs, and had them sit down.

"Don't move, we'll get to you two in a minute. Just let me put my gear up," the man said. He seemed like the leader, but they all seemed to treat each other as equals.

Julia observed the man as he moved over to a locker, placed his hand on its screen, and then it clicked open. He started taking his gear off and hanging it up in his locker. She could just barely make out a picture on the inside of the locker door, but it was too small for her to make out any details.

Now that his shirt was off, she could see that his metal arms stopped at his shoulders, the metal a dark onyx black with green and purple paint. He had a large tattoo on his back, what looked like a sword, blade down, along his spine. Chains wrap around the blade and reach up and out to either side of the sword to two different wings, chains wrapped around them as well. One wing is a feathered angel wing, and the other is what looks like a demon wing with bone spikes protruding from the tips. She also takes note of the many scars that cover both his front and back, not so many that it would look painful to move, but enough to tell that this man has been through hell and back.

As he turns around, she notices a strange mark above his left pectoral. It looks like a brand of a symbol she's never seen before. As her eyes travel along his body, she feels a gaze upon her, and quickly realizes she's been staring at him for a good couple minutes and he's taken notice. Blushing, she turns her head and stares at the ground. The man just lets out a deep chuckle and goes back to his business.

After about 5 minutes of silence, the leader comes over, grabs a chair and sits with his chest in the back of it.

"Sorry for the wait ladies, we have a routine that we stick to. Old habits and all that," he says, giving a chuckle and a slight smile. "Now, let me introduce ourselves. My name is Captain Gabriel. That one over there is Leutnant Matthew and the other is Leutnant Anthony." The one named Matthew being the Asian American one and Anthony being the Puerto Rician one.

'Well, at least they have normal names. Unlike some of the guys we're used to,' Julia thinks, letting herself have a slight smirk on her face.

"And what might your names be," the man, Gabriel, asks the two of them, giving Julia a knowing look.

"Katya. My name is Katya," her friend says.

"Huh, that's strange, I used to know a Katya," Gabriel claims. "Do you mind if I reveal your face, miss?"

Katya doesn't even get a chance to say anything before he starts to take her hood and goggles off.

"My my, that is one nasty scar," he says, gently running a finger over Katya's face.

Three years ago, their camp was attacked by bandits and Katya suffered a severe burn across the left side of her face. Her boyfriend at the time left her, calling her "too ugly to be proud of anymore" and he wasn't the only man in their settlement that showed disdain towards her for it. That's when she and Julia started to become close. She took notice of Katya and became her friend, tending to the burn and making sure she recovered properly.

However, this man didn't seem put off by her scars. Infact, he seemed intrigued by them. Perhaps because he has his own.

"Ah, you've changed, but I still recognize you from before. No doubt neither of you recognize me, given I've...changed quite a lot since we last saw each other," he says, closely looking at both of them. "And you, Julia! You seem to have changed as well. Definitely grown into your natural beauty, I see." He lets out a gentle laugh. Despite him having optical implants, she could see a calm and gentle genuineness in them. He seemed younger than them by about 20 or so years, but she knew that some augments slowed a person's aging process.

"Well, no doubt you two would like a nice cool shower, some decent clothes and a good meal. After that, we can talk more about the specifics of our agreement." He stood and motioned for them to follow him. They both stood and followed him past the bunks to two doorways. The right one seemed to lead to a kitchen that was well stocked and equipped. The left one led to a large bathroom with a shower room beyond that. It had two toilets, two sinks, and two mirrors above the sinks. The floor was a white tile floor with black rubber matts leading a path to the sinks and toilets and further back towards the showers. Gabriel moved behind Katya and removed her cuffs, then did the same with Julia.

"There are towels outside of the shower, there's a dispenser for different scents of both body wash and shampoo, and we have both hot and cold water. I'll put new clothes on each sink for both of you. Hope you don't mind wearing boxers for a bit." He smiles at both of us and then turns to leave, then stops before saying, "We are a team here, and now you're part of that team. You're gonna have to help each other a lot, and that starts now." He turns back around and walks into the kitchen.