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Amur Khan sat alone in the “kill” room. His senses were at their most alert. He was in battle mode. He was preparing himself for what must follow. Truth be told he was looking forward to it. There would be a hunt. The people who held them in bondage would die. There would be blood. It was going to be a good day. He grinned, which looked more like a snarl than anything else.
Through the link he had with his brothers, he knew that it was time. It was time to leave this place. He was almost sorry that he had to leave... almost. Slowly he stood up, and gracefully he moved to the door. On the other side of the door was the man that he must kill. No one else mattered to him right now, but his “handler.” He had ceded leadership to him, and now he must take it back. He had never seeded ruler ship to his “handler”, but he had let the man take command, now it was time to take it back. The rest only followed this man because Khan had told them to, now, that would change.
Khan pressed the button that would open the door, and waited. He knew the second he gave the command that all hell would break loose here, and he was concerned. Yes, they were better than those that held them, but it was still going to be a fight. A very short fight if “Father” has not done what he said he would. They would know shortly.
The door opened, and Khan saw his target. He was the man that had trained him, and helped hone his skills till he was nothing more than death on two legs. This would be the fight that once and for all proved that Amur Khan bent knee to no man.
Commander Tulaey looked up and saw Khan walk out of the practice hall, immediately the man knew what was happening. The way that Khan held himself, the snarl on his face, and the way his muscled rippled all told the man exactly what was happening, just as if the boy had told him. No matter what anyone else said, Amur Khan was still just a fifteen year old boy.
Tulaey stood up, and grasped the controller into his hand. He knew what the controller did to Khan, but also knew it was the only thing that would stop him. Khan slowly approached the man, and, even though no words were spoken, a conciseness was reached. They would fight.
Khan winced when the man brought up the controller. If “Father” has not taken them out, this would all be a moot point. He moved forward slowly, he knew that the other man was preparing himself. Tulaey was too good to rely on something else, such as the controller. What the man wasn't going to be prepared for, at least Khan hoped, was just how good Khan was. He had never let the man see just how good he was. Nor had any of the rest of his family. That was the lesson of their leader, their “REAL” leader, and one that they learned easily.
Tulaey pressed the little button on the controller and watched as nothing happened. He was expecting this, even though he was hopeful he was wrong. He knew he had trained Khan well enough, that he would never attack unless the one thing that gave him the undeniable edge was gone. Slowly he put the rifle down onto the table he had been sitting at, and drew his sword. All of his life, Tulaey had preached that when fighting in honorable combat, you never use a gun unless your opponent also had one. If he was going to die on this day, he would die with his honor intact. Khan stopped about ten feet from his teacher, wordlessly he bowed to the man, while bringing his own sword to the fore. Tulaey returned the bow, and with their Honors satisfied, there was nothing left to discuss. The dance was on. The two Samurai's started a dance that was thousands of years old.
Khan came in high and fast, and the swords sparked off of one another as the two battled for supremacy. Khan knew the man had more skill than he did, however, Khan was faster and stronger, and had a few tricks of his own. They were evenly matched to Khan's mind.
Around them the alarms started to go off, and Khan knew that his brothers had felt the combat begin. Now they would have their own enemies to deal with, but Khan had his.
Sparks flew time and time again as the two swords bounced off each other. Tulaey was starting to push him back to the wall, but Khan was not worried. Effortlessly he turned, kicked off the wall, and sailed over the man's head only to land on his feet behind him. The man had spun around, and Khan almost wasn't able to block the attack that came at him. Again the two found themselves in the middle of a very deadly dance.
Tulaey was both concerned and proud at how well his student was doing. He had guessed that this day would come, but the people in charge wouldn't even consider the idea that something could go wrong, and now they would pay for it. Tulaey would be happy to meet his end at the hands of this student, but that did not mean he was going to make it easy for him.
Tulaey fainted left, but swung around to the right, and caught Khan across the left arm, laying him open. Khan roared in pain, but it only made it re-double his attack.
The fighting was fast and furious for several long moments, and Khan knew that he was slowly wearing out the man. This was what he had hoped for, cause truth be told, he now has several cuts all over his body, and didn't know how much longer he could go on like this.
The swords crashed together like thunder rolling across the plains, the sparks like lightning. Both combatants were vaguely aware that they now had people watching them, but neither could spare the second it would take to look and see who.
They both parried, fainted, reposted, and thrust with all they had. Blood was running down both of their bodies in rivers, yet neither one would relent. Only one of them would walk away from this fight alive. Both of them were working hard to strike at the vital areas of their opponents, thus was how the Samurai's fought. Trying hard to disable their opponent so that the killing blow could be made.
Finally Khan gave a mighty roar of anger, and with all his might, he brought his down from a high guard, and Tulaey was barely able to get his sword up in time to parry the blow. It didn't help.
Tulaey sword shattered with the ferocity of the attack. With a swift change of direction, Khan brought his sword back, and thrust it deep into the man's chest. Khan pulled the sword back, and Tulaey slowly sank to his knees, his hands trying in vein to hold the blood inside. “Very good... my student.” He managed to cough out as he knelled in front of Khan. “Now... finish it... Let me die with honor.”
Khan nodded slightly, raised his sword, and with one strong swing, took the man's head from his body, then slowly, he sank to his knees.
Vishnu knelt down next to the slain guard, thankful, yet again for the claws they had given him. Slowly he stood up as more guards rushed around the corner. He gave them a feral grin, and charged. They didn't even have time to raise their weapons as Vishnu slammed into them, and before they hit the ground, all three of them were dead. The little boy waisted no time as he charged off down the corridor, there were others that needed to be rescued. His brother, Kartik, was right next to him by the time they got to where the rest were being held, and it took but a moment for the two of them to kill the guards and get the keys.
It took a bit of time, but finally they had unlocked the last of the rooms that held their family. They then took off and, with the rest following behind them, headed for the exit, and their freedom.
They were almost there, when they were met by a line of guards. Both Vishnu and Kartik took off faster, and slammed into the line of guards, and with in a few seconds, none of the guards were left alive to hamper their escape.
Kartik looked up to Vishnu with a mouth full of gore and grinned at his brother, “Hey, do you think we have time to stop for a snack?” He laughed “nah, we gotta get outta here. Maybe Khan'll let us eat when we get topside.”
“COME ON!!!” They both turned and saw Khan standing at the end of the corridor next to the room that held their gear. Soon it would really be time to play.
They all turned at the same time when they heard rapid footsteps coming down the other hallway. If plans worked out, it would be the rest of their family. And it was. At the head of the line was the only adult they really trusted.
“Dad,” as he had become called by almost all of them, was a man in his mid thirties, with graying hair, and bright blue eyes. He was carrying a rifle, and smiled broadly when he saw the rest of them. “I don't believe it... it actually worked.”
Khan spared him a quick smile as he was getting his gear ready, “Of course it did, Father, you made us, they trained us... what more could we have asked for.”
After that, everyone quickly got their gear ready, and into their body armor. They knew they would have to fight their way out of here, and while it would probably not be as bad as it was down here, it was still not going to be easy.
Ten minutes later, the first group was ready to go up the elevator. It could hold twenty people, but Khan was worried about what they would find up top, so he and his ten brothers went first. The rest would come up after they did, and hopefully they would all be able to make it to the helicopters and leave.
Khan, once again, was thankful that the military was so big on secrecy as he fitted the specially made helmet on top his head. With his full body armor on, no one could tell what he looked like, and he had to say they looked pretty intimidating with their full armor on, carrying all their weapons. Once the elevator reached the top floor, the brothers all crotched down readying for combat. They were not to be disappointed.
The doors opened up, and immediately the bullets started to fly. The kids body armor were able to handle all the incoming bullets. They all flew out of the elevator, firing as they went, and dropping the troops that were not as well armored as they were.
With in a few moments, they had cleared and secured the room that housed the elevator. He was really hoping that the people here had not alerted the rest of the base as to what was going on. He knew from what “Dad” had said that the base housed over one thousand people including military families, and Khan did not like the idea of having to kill innocent civilians, or even other military personnel that were not involved with what was going on down stairs.
The only good thing was, if the plan Khan came up with worked, they wouldn't have to deal with everyone else. The plan was a simple one, secure the building, and with snipers on the roof, they would keep anyone else from getting close enough. They knew that the helicopters were next door, and with everything going according to plan, they could get them, load them with what they want, and get out, all with out much of a problem. Hopefully, the hard part was over.
They waited till the elevator opened up again, and let out the next twenty kids, then started to move and secure the rest of the building. Everything went according to plan, and thanks to the intelligence team, everything that they had wanted was sitting nice and neat in the warehouse attached to the building. Khan had been a bit skeptical when they said that they could modify the orders that the base sent out for equipment, and have it waiting for their escape, but they had done it.
Lining the walls of the ground floor of their building was crate upon crate of military equipment. Khan smiled broadly at it, but didn't hang around long enough to go through it. There would be plenty of time for that later, for now, he had an escape to lead.
Once he was able to look outside, he was presented with something a bit unexpected. He looked around and spotted one of the youngest intelligence team members, and called him over. “What's in those?” He asked the kid, while pointing to four large cargo containers that were stacked side by side outside.
The kid just grinned and slapped Khan on the back. “That there is our computer equipment. We were about to change out the computers here with a major supercomputer. THAT is what is in those containers. We WANT them.”
Khan grinned and shook his head. He knew how to use computers, but he never understood the fascination that the Intel kids had with them. But... if they wanted it, and he could give it to them... they would get it.
By the time the last set of kids came up the elevator, they had the building secured, and the snipers in place. He could hear over the radio that was installed in his helmet that everything was going according to plan. The Intel team had reached the control room up here, and were activating their escape plans from there. The plan was to kill power to the base, and turn off all radar and guidance systems, essentially blinding the people in command. Thanks to the body armor that all kids wore, having had passive night vision installed in them, they could see better than the attackers.
Once the lights went out, Khan started to issue the orders to get them out of there. “Helicopter teams, get your birds ready... Grunts, get everything over to the doors to be loaded up. Intel, get your buts down here as soon as your done... Snipers, let me know if anything big starts coming our way... Everyone else, help with moving equipment...I want out of here in ten minutes.”
The grunts, helped by the “normal” kids, made short work of moving everything they wanted, into position, and once the helicopters were there, everything started to get loaded up. Khan couldn't help but think again that the Mi-26 was just one big assed helicopter.
They wheeled the helicopter so that the back of it was twenty feet from the doors. That was really closer than they should have been, but for what they needed to do, it would work. The two doors on the back opened wide, while the tail gate lowered to the ground. A few of the kids with guns took up position on either side of the doorway to provide cover while loading took place. It could take a little while to load it up full because of how big the damned thing was. The Mi-26 Halo, is over one hundred and ten feet long, close to twenty seven feet wide, and twenty six and a half feet in height.
They had four of them they were going to take with them. One of them was set up to be a cargo transport, which is the one they were filling up right now. A second one was being topped off with fuel. It was a re-fueling version of the MI-26, and could hold just over thirty seven hundred gallons of fuel.
The third one was set up as an aeronautical ambulance. That one would be loaded up with some cargo, but there wasn't really all that much room for extra cargo. The last one was the one they would all pile into. It could hold around eighty full equipped adult troops, so there shouldn't be much trouble fitting in the eighty some odd that would have to squeeze into it. If everyone made it out alive, they would have one hundred and two people leaving, thankfully they had all the room they needed.
Ten minutes later, Khan ordered the snipers down to the helicopters. With it being the middle of the night here, and the fact that they were in a remote part of the base, he hoped that the explosion they were about to set off would cover their escape.
The Intel kids were setting up a decoy as well. They had made a video of “dad” trying to set off the self destruct on the base while they were trying to escape. If things went perfectly, that will be the last video feed they get from the base. “Dad,” bruised and bloody, running into the control room, and activating the self destruct... then “BOOM!!!”
They had to wait as the helicopters got into the air, then they were able to hook up to the large containers on the ground. They were too big to fit inside, but the helicopters were big enough to be able to lift them, and tow them underneath.
They all loaded into the troop transporter after the other three helicopters took off, they flew low to the ground until the were far enough away for the explosion to go off. Khan was handed the detonator by one of the kids, looked around, and met the eyes of all of his family, for just a brief moment, then held the thing up high so everyone could see. He knew that his radio was being broadcast to the kids flying the other helicopters, so they would hear him as well. “Dad once quoted a movie to me that fits very well here. 'Every man dies... but not every man truly lives'. From this day forward, I vow to you, my family, that we will never live as slaves again, we will never live as “lab experiments” nor will we ever live to please someone else. From now on, we live for ourselves.” With his final words, he pressed the button on his detonator, and every single one of them could hear the explosion, even though they were miles away. The explosion, however, was quickly drown out with the cheers of one hundred and one children.
Adam snuggled down into Logan's arms and sighed. This was the life that he truly wanted. He was with his family in their pod, getting ready to watch some video's that Logan had downloaded off the net. In the room were his brothers, as well as Janet, and all the little ones. Jory has really gotten himself close to the really young kids in the compound lately. Jeremy and Tyler were also snuggled up together on one of the couches next to Bill and Will.
Jory had all the pillows and blankets pulled from his and Juan's rooms, and layed them out on the floor in front of the TV. All the little ones were sprawled out in the massive nest, getting ready for what was to come.
“So Kent, have you decided what were gonna watch tonight?” Janet asked as they had all agreed to let Kent pick out what they were gonna see.
“Yup, sure did Momma Janet. It's called Thunder Cats, and it's totally kewl.” He said in youthful exuberance. All the little ones, including Jory, chimed in to voice their enthusiastic agreement on how “kewl” the Thunder Cats were.
Adam knew what they were going to watch, and was kind of excited. He hadn't been able to watch cartoons in the lab, and Logan said that Thunder Cats was one of his all time favorites, so Adam was sure it was going to be good. Truth be told, though, he didn't care what they watched, he just wanted to enjoy time being with his family.
He didn't have to worry about it as minutes later he was wrapped up in a fantasy world were cat people ran around saving the world. More than a few times he was laughing as hard as everyone else was at the antics of some of the characters.
They took a break after the second episode so that the little ones could go to the bathroom, and get more snacks. Right before they were ready to start again, Kent wandered over to Janet. “Mama Janet? Are the Thunder Cats real?”
Janet smiled, reached out and ruffled his hair. “No honey, their just a cartoon.” Janet could see the disappointment in his eyes. “Oh, I was hoping I could meet the Thunder Cats someday.”
“Come on Kent, we're ready to start!” Jory said, and Kent immediately brightened up and scampered off to be with the other younger kids.
After about two hours of watching the cartoons, Janet stood up from her chair. “Okay guys, I think it's time for the little ones to go to bed.”
Of course that got many protests from all the young boys there, even though more than once they had to protest in between yawns. Finally Jory got them all to head to their rooms only after promising to read them a story before bed.
“You know, he really is good with them.” Janet said after Jory led the troop of little kids out of the room. They had only been there for about a week, and already they were following him around like the pied piper. “Now if we could only get him to stop giving out those damned teddy bears he gets.” She said with more than a hint of exasperation.
“Mom, I don't know why your so worked up over those bears.” Adam said turning to look at her.
Janet looked at Adam like he was insane. “Adam, those teddy bears are BOMBS!”
Adam nodded trying hard to suppress a grin. “Yes Mother they are, but Jory made the C-4 that the teddy bears are made of, and I know they're safe.”
“What do you mean Jory made them?” Janet asked, her eyes narrowing to slits. “I thought it was the explosive stuff you were having Logan order in.”
This time Adam couldn't help but laugh. “Mom, we haven't had to order any explosives, Jory makes them all. As he says, the military stuff ain't up to his standards. So he makes all his own down in the lab.”
Adam wasn't sure if Janet was going to explode, or pass out. She kept going from red faced to pale. Finally she just sank back into her chair. “Oh I give up. You boys are gonna be the death of me.”
Chang, showing one of the rare times that he joked with his brothers, walked over, and cuddled up in Janet's lap. “But you still love us... right Mommy?”
Janet just laughed and hugged him to her. Most people didn't really think of Chang as having a sense of humor. He did, he just chose his times very carefully to display it. Most of the time it was only when it would have a very big impact, like this time.
They all settled down again to watch one last movie before they went to bed. This time it was Juan who picked it out. When he asked Logan for a suggestion, Logan had grinned and said simply, “Die Hard.” Of course Juan loved the movie.
The helicopters finished the first round of refueling as they were over the high desert of Nevada. So far everything had gone according to plan. It had been just over an hour since they had escaped, and so far no one had noticed them. They were flying low and slow, and avoiding populated areas trying to make sure that they weren't detected.
Khan walked back from the pilots compartment, and sat down on the bench next to one of the youngest kids with them. Alvin was apart of their Intel team, however, of all of them, he was the most reserved and the most skittish. Something Khan had noticed about the Intel team was that they seemed to really have problems if they were separated from their brothers. Khan had seen Alvin and his two closest brothers in action. The three eight year olds made up the Intel Infiltration team, and they were very good at what they did. He remembered a time when they had been on a mission in South America...
They had been ordered to go into a hostile country, rescue some American's being held hostage, and kill everyone else. The orders also stated that they needed to leave no trace of their activities, and to make it all look like an accident. And if possible, they needed to extract some information from the computer systems.
Alvin and the brothers that were on his team went in first to disable their security. Not only had they made it in, and unlocked everything for Khan and his team, but they also made it in with out having to kill anyone. No one even noticed them until they had fulfilled their mission objectives.
The three eight year olds often said that there wasn't a computer system out there that they could not hack into. And so far they haven't come across one that even gave them difficulties. Including the one on the base they were in.
When he sat down next to Alvin, the boy jumped a bit, as his head shot over to see who was sitting next to him. “It's okay Alvin, it's just me.” Khan said in a voice as soft as he could while still letting Alvin hear him over the helicopter.
Alvin nodded with a look of relief, “What'da need boss?”
Khan shook his head, “nothin, just seeing how you were doing.”
Alvin smiled slightly, and Khan could see the worry in his eyes. “I... I don't know. I mean I should be happy that we got outta there, but... I guess I'm just worried.”
Khan patted the little boy's leg and tried to give him a reassuring smile. The boy cuddled up into Khan and both were lost in their own thoughts for a few moments.
Alvin pulled himself away from Khan, and looked at the man sitting directly across from him. “Uncle Tony... do you think our brother is gonna like us?”
Anthony Marcus Jr. sat there trying to figure out exactly how to answer that one. He knew exactly what the little boy was scared of, and knew why. Hell he knew better than they did about who they were, and why they should be scared. He also had to take a second and think about the dichotomy he was seeing. First off, there was a scared little boy sitting across from him who was worried about whether or not his brother will like him. That wouldn't make him think twice except that the eight year old was wearing full body armor, and carrying a rifle that was almost as big as he was.
“Yeah Alvin, I'm sure you'll worm your way into his heart, just like you did mine.” Tony said with a smile, and could see Alvin relax a little bit. He was definitely a kid that needed a lot of reassurance that people loved him for who he was... genetically engineered experiment and all.
Tony watched Alvin smile, then cuddle back under the huge arm of Khan. He saw the boy close his eyes, and heave a great sigh. Moments later, Tony could tell that Alvin had fallen asleep. How anyone could sleep with all the vibrations, and noise of the helicopter flying was beyond him. He reached down, and picked up the big brief case he had, and opened it up. Inside this case were most of the important documents that outlined project Genesis. He pulled out one folder, and started to look at it for the hundredth or so time. He ran his fingers over the picture of the boy in the folder. Soon he would finally get to meet his nephew.
“Attention on base, Alert plan Bravo, possible hostiles in bound, report to Bravo battle stations. This is NOT a drill. Repeat, Alert plan Bravo...”
Both Adam and Logan were down in the mess hall getting something to eat for breakfast, when the alert came across the speakers. Before Adam could do anything, Will was speaking to him through their link. 'Adam, Bill and I are up in the Black Hawk, we're about two minutes out from intercept...shit... hold on, getting something across the radio...'
Adam was already out of his seat and running towards the main cave entrance before Will could finish. He didn't even need to look behind him to know that Logan was right on his heals. They were both really glad to see Janet pass them by while herding the little ones into the mess hall.
If everything went according to plan, Janet and a few of the other adults would be barricading themselves as well as the little ones into the mess hall. That way if anything should go wrong, they can at least try and keep the younger ones safe. That was the biggest problem Adam had with this base. One way in, and only one way out.
'Adam, they say their friendlies, and to not shoot. Their asking for asylum... they... they say their part of Project Genesis.' The disbelief was clear in Will's voice, and what he said brought Adam up short. So much so, that Logan ran right into the back of him.
“What the... Adam... What's wrong?” Logan asked as he came around and saw the look of shock on Adam's face. It only took a second before Adam's mind snapped back to the here and now.
“Come on... I don't like this.” Adam said as he started running again. The whole time Logan could hear him muttering under his breath. He knew that Adam was talking to his brother's, and giving them orders.
“Will, I want you to tell them to land in the canyon we use for target practice. I don't want them anywhere near us till we know exactly who they are. I'll have one of the other pilots bring us there. Chang, Jory, meet me in the hanger. Juan get your ass up on the canyon wall and cover us.” Adam said all of this while running towards the elevator. Once they got on, he turned to Logan, “I want you in the command center. I want to know the second anything changes. I'll keep you updated. Once we're clear of the base, I want you to close the blast door, and not open it again unless I give the all clear. You remember the code words?”
Adam didn't really need to ask, as he knew Logan had a memory like his, but he needed to make sure that everyone know what they had to do. He gave Logan a quick kiss when the elevator stopped, and then he took off into the hanger.
Logan continued on to the command center, and when he got inside, it was bustling with activity. He came in just in time to hear Billy Collins, his second in command of Intel, giving a report to Jack who also just got there.
“Sirs, we got four helicopters inbound. They look to be Russian design MI-26. From what they've said over the radio they are project Genesis refugees asking for asylum. Viper Lead has intercepted them, and is escorting them to Baker's canyon. Capt Casey is going to meet them out there.”
Jack sat down in the main command chair, and nodded, “very good.” Logan for his part rushed over to his terminal and quickly pulled up what was known about the Mi-26. Quickly scanning the screen, he was relieved to see that, unless modified, the '26' didn't come equipped with weapons. However, he was surprised by how big the things were. He estimated they could almost fit the Chinook in it's hold.
Logan looked up from his screen to see the camera they had installed in the hanger show that one of the Hueys was taking off with Adam, Chang, and Jory inside. Juan, he could see, took off out of the hanger at a full run, and for a second, Logan was again shocked at how fast these kids could move when they wanted to. He watched as Juan scrambled up the cliff face that was at least one hundred and fifty feet tall in about a minute and a half. It was just simply amazing.
He shook his head to bring him back to the here and now, reached over, and hit the button that would close the blast door, essentially sealing them into the cave. Jack looked over in surprise, but then with a grim look, he nodded.
“Viper Lead to command.” Will's voice came over the radio. Adam snatched the radio up just as they got out of the cave entrance, and began to fly to the canyon they were going to meet at. “Go ahead Viper Lead.”
“Sir, Unknown aircraft are complying with hand signals, and are in formation to land in Baker's Canyon. They have gone radio silent as per regs, they said. Also I got a look at the pilots... they are kids, and every bird has got a sling on it with some type of cargo container under it... could be more troops in there.”
“Copy that Viper Lead, when they land, make sure you stay up to give us cover. Also, tell them to drop the container on the north side, and land on the south side. Only one helicopter is to land. Copy?” Adam said as he was going over in his mind everything that this could mean. 'were they really friendly, or was this just a trap?'
Adam's helicopter was almost to the canyon when will reported over the radio that the other helicopters were following the instructions exactly. He also heard from Juan that he was in place, and would be ready to cover them should it be needed.
Adam's helicopter turned a corner, and the four new helicopters came into view. “God damn, those are big fuckers.” He heard Jory say, and couldn't help but agree. They watched as the helicopter lowered it's cargo to the ground, then the cables holding it up were released, and the helicopter moved to the other side of the canyon, where they landed.
“Okay, take us down, Will, keep us covered, Juan, let us know if something happens.” Adam said into his mic as the helicopter came in for a landing a short way away from the other helicopter. Adam, Jory, Chang, Donnie and Emily got off the bird and ran over to a spot half way between the helicopters.
Three people disembarked from the MI-26, and jogged over to them. Adam eyes them suspiciously, the first two were kids, one about eleven, the other about seventeen. The third one however, was just a huge person. He, or she, as Adam couldn't tell, was completely covered in body armor, including a helmet.
None of the three had any weapons, as far as Adam could tell, and he was starting to relax a bit. The eleven year old took the lead when they got up to them.
“Captain Adam?” He said and Adam just nodded. All three of them snapped to attention and saluted. They held their salute until Adam saluted back then dropped his hand. Adam thought that this kid looked really familiar. Before Adam could ask what was going on, the boy continued.
“Sir, I am Private First Class Todd, this is Corporal Alex, and Sergeant Amur Khan.” He said as he pointed to the two other people with him. Adam was still curious as to why Amur Khan felt the need to keep his full gear on thought.
“Sir, on behalf on the survivors of Project Genesis, I formally request asylum.”
Adam nodded, “Granted private. Now, tell me something... how many of you are there?”
“Sir, there are one hundred and one Genesis survivors on board, and one doctor, that helped us escape.” Todd said, and everyone could see the pride he had that they had all managed to escape.
Adam though was stunned. 'Over a hundred, I knew there were more, but I never suspected that there were this many.' He looked back at the landed helicopter and saw that there were a lot of kids looking out of the windows and crowded into the door way. He knew that they were all watching what was going on, and he saw a common look of concern on all their faces. They weren't sure what was going on, and he could almost feel that they were worried about if he would accept them. If they were who they claimed to be, then they were family, and Adam would never turn away family.
“Very good private, please return to your helicopter, pick up your load, and follow us back to base. By the way, what's in the container?” Adam asked.
“Sir, the containers are full of equipment, as well as one of the helicopters is a cargo hauler. One of the birds is also set up for re-fueling, and the last one is set up for medical. We all figured you may be able to use it, so we brought it with us. And before you ask, we are positive we were not followed.” Todd said again Adam could tell he was proud of what they had done.
Adam smiled and nodded, “very good, follow us.” Adam watched as they ran back to the helicopter, then turned to everyone else. “Thoughts?”
The rest looked between each other before Emily started. “A hundred?!?! did you guys know there were that many.”
Adam shook his head, “we knew there were well over five hundred that were forced into the project, but we had no way of knowing who survived and who didn't. Logan hasn't been able to find out anything about the project other than that. Most of what we have is just what we THINK is going on.”
Emily shook her head as she looked back at the helicopter. She still couldn't believe that the military would do this kind of thing to children, but the proof was right there in front of her.
“Well lets get back.” Adam said and they all went back to the helicopter. Once they were back up in the air, Adam got in touch with Logan. “Command to base.”
“Go ahead Command.” Jack's voice came over the radio, and Adam could hear the strain and tension in his voice.
“Base, we are heading back to base with the four helicopters. So far everything is going well, however, I think it would be best to keep the base under lock down until we can appraise the situation more fully. Please have the other teams standing by, and keep the blast door shut. Keep an eye on us through the cameras though.”
“Captain, are you sure they should be brought here already?” Jack's voice was full of concern, and Adam took a deep breath.
“Sir, I can't explain it, but I am certain we are not in any danger. That being said, I would be foolish if I were not cautious.”
There was silence for a few tense moments, but finally Jack came back over the radio. “Very well Capt. Please keep us advised of the situation, and we will be monitoring you through the camera.”
Less than ten minutes later, Adam watched as the four helicopters swung in low, settled their load on the ground, dropped the cables, then moved off, only to land on the other side of the canyon.
Soon the final helicopter landed, closer to them with the back facing them. They watched as the doors swung open, and the ramp lowered to the ground. Soon kids were running out of the back of the helicopter, and lining up in front of Adam and his group in inspection style lines.
Adam waited for all of them to get lined up, and then watched as Todd and an adult walked up to him. Adam was still certain he had seen the boy somewhere else, and the man was really starting to look familiar as well, but he couldn't seem to place them.
“Sir, if it would please you, we are ready for your inspection. Also, I would like to introduce the doctor that helped us escape, and has become like a father to us all. Sir, this is Doctor Anthony Marcus, Jr.”
Adam's eyes flew open wide, and before he even knew what he was doing he had his gun out and pointed at the man. Dr. Marcus... now he knew why the guy looked familiar... he looked just like the Dr. Marcus that had tortured him back in the lab, only this man was much younger, must have been his son.
“Adam please, I know what my father did to you, and I can't stress enough that I'm not him.” The man said trying to remain calm.
“SIR!!! Please... he's never hurt any of us.” Todd said emphatically, trying to reason with Adam.
Adam, for his part, was shaking with rage as the memories of his time in the lab came flooding back to him. He struggled with his own inner demons for several moments before he slowly let the gun fall to his side. It would be wrong to blame this man for what his father had done, but that also didn't mean that Adam wouldn't watch him closely.
“Dr. Marcus, please forgive me..” Adam started to say, but the man quickly cut him off.
“No need son, I can only imagine what you had to go through. And I definitely don't hold it against you. Please though, allow me to fix my family name.” Dr. Marcus spoke softly, and Adam couldn't help but believe the man was sincere in what he said.
Adam nodded and turned back to Todd. “Okay Private, lets see this group.”
Todd started at one end of the line, and Adam was very glad for his photographic memory as there were a lot of kids here. First were the five different strike teams, and Adam quickly noticed a pattern.
“Todd, please tell me if I am right here. These kids were all born in the lab, right?” When Todd nodded in agreement, Adam went on. “They were born in batches too right?”
“Yes Sir” Todd answered, “First were the strike teams leaders, they are all seventeen now. Then come the second in commands, who are all sixteen. Those two groups were male, the next group, who are all fifteen and have been trained for intelligence are all female. The next two groups were born a few months apart and are all now fourteen, half were trained for medical, the other half for demolitions. The final group born were all females, and are thirteen now. They were trained for heavy weapons and sniper duties.” Todd finished and Adam simply nodded. “Very well, please continue.” Adam said and they moved on.
“This next group are children that have been recruited from all across the world. If you would like, I will go into details about that later...” Todd paused to see what Adam's decision was, and when Adam nodded he went on.
“They were brought to the Genesis base as the next group to be genetically altered like you were. The Doctors said they finally perfected it, and were ready to try again. All of them have the equivalent of basic training in the military, and have yet to receive any specialized training.” Adam knew he would have to learn more about this program later on, but for now he just let it go with a nod to Todd. He nodded back and started to lead them off to the next group.
“Captain?” Adam turned to Marcus with a questioning look. “Before you get to the next group, I think there is something you need to know.”
Adam was floored by what the Doctor had just told him, and if he didn't see the proof of it right in front of him, he would never have believed it. He knew that this was going to cause a few issues, and would have to be dealt with VERY carefully.
Adam still didn't know exactly how he was going to deal with it, when he was lead to the last group. He put all the concerns about the situation with the previous group out of his mind as he came to the very last group of kids. Every single one of them was wearing full body armor and helmets. Adam did a quick count and saw that there were twelve of these kids all together. He recognized one of them... the biggest one, as Amur Khan just as the kid went to a knee in front of him.
He pulled a knife from his side, and pulling it across his palm, Adam saw blood welling up. “My Blood, My Life, MY Honor are now yours Sir.” Adam heard the kid say, and it was quickly echoed by the other eleven kids.
Adam was momentarily stunned by the display, but he knew exactly what was going on. Twelve people who held strongly to the way of the Samurai, had just sworn fealty to him. Adam clearly remembered the day that Chang had done the same thing, using almost exactly the same words. He knew what he had to do, but there was one question left in his mind.
“I accept your oaths, please, rise, and let me look into the eyes of those who have just sworn to me.” Adam said formally, and watched as Khan got to his feet, slowly the kid reached up and pulled his helmet off his head. There were gasps of shook from all around him, as Adam stared into the face of... a cat.”