Project S.T.A.R. (2)
The old man seemed to look at each and every one of us. His piercing blue eyes felt like daggers in the heart. "My name is Dr. Kraken," he started as he paced back and forth. "11 years ago to the day, me and my colleagues started a research program titled Project S.T.A.R. CRIME is the #1 killer of Americans this day and age. We know how to stop it once and for all. Today 11 years ago, we grew 100 embryos at our head laboratories in Nevada. We grew these embryos, but not before installing microchips into their heads. The things you felt today inside your heads were the microchips, programmed to go off at 11 years of age. We made you for the sole purpose of getting rid of CRIME. No we are not the police. We will not attempt to stop small crimes. We are going for the big ones. Heists. Explosive threats. Hostage incidents. Espionage operations. We are going to crush the heart of CRIME starting at the top. You were born for the sole purpose of obeying our commands at Anthrax. There are twenty of you at this gifted school. There are twenty more at another, and another, and another, and another. You are the 100 embryos that we created. You are the first 100 of 1,000 advanced soldiers that we plan to create. The others are spread out over the entire 300 miles of the beautiful city of Antopolis. With our alien technology that we discovered at Area 51, you are going to be using the most advanced, superior, technological weapons and instruments that man is not going to discover for another 100 or even 200 years. You will be trained, you will be ready, and you WILL do it. If not, then your special microchip in your head will shock you at a Level 5 setting. This morning, when you microchips shocked you, that was only a Level 1 shocking. A Level 5 shocking will kill you and anyone else that is around in a diameter of 10 feet. So don't fuck with us." he said sternly. "Unlock the force field!" Dr. Kraken yelled to one of the operators. The blue haze suddenly disappeared. Behind it was an awesome full body suit and helmet. The suit had metallic colored chest-plates and the helmet was made to cover the head and neck. It had a silver and black tone. The sleeves and legs of the suit were both jet-black. The boots and gloves were both metallic. "This is the suit and helmet that you will be using. This is not an ordinary suit though. It is like a walking super computer. If a human is inside the suit, their microchip is tapped into the helmet. Kind of like the Internet. The human's chip acts as a modem. The suit acts as a server. All you have to do is think of a command for the suit, and it does it. I need a volunteer." he said. No one moved. "You come here now!" he yelled while pointing into the crowd. One of the guards came over and shoved the boy over to Dr. Kraken. "Get you ass over there!" he said angrily. It was Alex! Dr. Kraken touched him softly on his head. "Now my boy, I am going to open the suit and I want you to climb inside. Ok?" he said gently. Alex nodded fast because he was scared to death. What if this thing hurts Alex? I thought, afraid for my friend. Dr. Kraken pressed a button located under the breastplate of the suit and it opened with a hiiissssssssssss. Gas was released into the air and then the suit was fully opened. "Now my boy, get in!" said Dr. Kraken meanly. Alex shivered as he slipped inside the padded interior of the super suit. Dr. Kraken pressed the button and the suit closed in on Alex. "It's tooo big sirrr." said Alex with fear. "Not to worry. The suit will reconfigure to fit any one of any size." Sure enough, the suit started to shrink! It grew smaller until it was Alex's size and then stopped. Wow. "Can you move?" asked Dr. Kraken. Alex shook his head no. "That is where you put the helmet on. And I advise you, you will not be in control of your brain for about 10 seconds." Before Alex could reply, Dr. Kraken unhooked the helmet and latched it on Alex's head. Alex didn't move. After about 10 seconds, the suit shook and rattled. Then stopped. All of us gasped as the suit started walking. Alex was in full control of the suit. He moved his arms and legs. Dr. Kraken smiled. He had been waiting for this moment for 11 years. "Now, I want you to visualize yourself talking. Focus." said Dr. Kraken. Suddenly a soft "Hello?" echoed from our heads. Dr. Kraken smiled. "He is talking to you by using his microchip. Anyone with a microchip in their heads will be able to communicate this way if you are within a 5 mile radius of each other. Us here at Anthrax will always be able to hear what you say or pinpoint your exact location by using you microchip as a tracking device. Your microchips will be able to control anything we have created for you. Whether it's the suit or an advanced vehicle that we have created for you, your microchip will be able to control it. Now boy, I want you look at the lower chest of your suit. I want you to visualize the chest opening from the sides." ended Dr. Kraken. All eyes were on Alex. Then.....CLICK! Both sides of his suit opened to reveal two .45 caliber Magnums. I wasn't so scared now. This shit was cool! Dr. Kraken removed one of the guns. "These guns aren't just regular Magnums. They use bullets that are no bigger than the ball inside of a mouse on a computer. But they do double the damage. The can fly farther, faster, and their impact force is better than any other gun on the market. Once inside the body they ricochet through the victim. They can pierce almost anything." said Dr. Kraken. Suddenly he aimed the gun at Alex and fired! BLAM! BLAM! BLAM! The noise was deafening as Alex lurched and fell to the ground. I was horrified. My best friend had been killed in front of my eyes! I felt like crying, screaming, and fighting at the same time. But then, Alex struggled to his feet. Huh? "They can pierce almost anything....but not this armor. He is well alive. He might be dizzy, but alive." said Dr. Kraken. What have they done to us? I thought with confusion. "We will train you. You will fight for us. Your parents will think you are in school, but you will be out in Antopolis, fighting 4 days out of the week. You life is mine." he said with a wicked laugh as he signaled to two guards dressed in black. The guards walked towards Alex, with silver, small pipes in their hands. The pipes were attached to a tank on both of the guards' back. "NOW!" cried Dr. Kraken. The guards took aim at Alex and fired. FWOOSH! Flamethrowers! The heat was intense! Even though we were about 30 feet away, the heat felt unbearable. After about 15 seconds of burning Alex to a crisp, he remained standing. "See children! The suit is indestructible!" Dr. Kraken replied with a laugh. We all stared in awe. We would be in those suits. We would kick major ass. This might not be so bad after all. I thought excitedly. 3 years later.... VROOOOM! VRRROOOOOOOOOM! This was bad. I gripped the handlebars of my specialized Anthrax super-cycle as I ripped in and out of traffic. The suspects were ahead, dangerously speeding through the busy streets of Antopolis in a white van. These psycho-paths had stolen about half a ton of C4 and stashed it in their van. During the arrest, the police were killed and the suspects escaped in a van. The bad thing is, they were taunting us with their C4 and now throwing it into the street! "Take this bitch!" one of the bastards yelled as he tossed a bar of C4 out of the van! Someone was about to get injured very seriously. I contacted the other members in my squad. "Guys we have a problem! The assholes are now throwing the C4 out in the street! I need someone to neutralize it before people get killed!" I screamed to my other 4 teammates thanks to my microchip. "Alex and Tim, hang back and neutralize as many C4 explosives as you can. Felix, Taylor, you two follow me." said our squad leader Ray. BEEP! BEEP! BEEEEEP! Whoa! I narrowly dodged a package of C4 and a car. Behind me Taylor and Ray picked up speed. We flew through traffic in dangerous single-file to avoid getting hit. "They're coming! Throw more out!" screamed someone from the van. HISSSSSSS, THUMP! HISSSSSSS, THUMP! HISSSSSSS THUMP! Too many explosives were being thrown out! Tim and Alex couldn't collect them all! Then.......BOOOOOOOOM! A patch of cars exploded into a building. BOOOOOOOOOM! A crowded restaurant was reduced to rubble. They were killing innocents! People were lying on the ground burning with their skin melting off! "We can't let them just do this! I'm going ahead to shoot out their tires." I said. Ray had other ideas. "Felix, we cannot try anything right now! We are almost out of our zone anyways. Remember the rules, do not cross anyone else's zone!" he yelled to me. I hated Ray. People were dieing and all he could think about was rules. "Do what you want, I am not going to just give up on this. More people will die!" I said in disobedience. Disobeying a squad leader was against the Anthrax law. Who cares? BOOOOOOOOM! They continued to throw C4 into the crowd, buildings, and shops. As they roared past Oak Ave. we couldn't go any further. The other squad would have to capture them. I was mad with anger. "Stop your vehicle right now Felix! You are breaking the law by crossing the other team's zone and disobeying me! THAT'S AN ORDER!" screamed Ray with unmistakable authority. "Fuck you." I said as I roared the super-cycle into the other zone. I could hear Ray and Taylor try to command me to come back. But no. These terrorists were not going to get away. VROOOOOOOOOOOM! I accelerated to 120 mph and started to gain more ground on the van. I was all alone. No one else in my group or any of the agents had ever broken the sacred rules by going into another group's zone. They continued to throw C4 out and around me. HISSSSSSSS! BOOOOOOOOM! HISSSSSSSSS! BOOOOOOOOOOM! I dodged in and around them. CRUSH! A burnt SUV landed right in front of me! I couldn't slow down in time! The front of my super-cycle hit the car at about 90 mph. I flew through the air and landed roughly 50 feet away. A landing like that would have killed a human. But not an Anthrax agent. The villains yelled in triumph as the sped away towards Brooklyn bridge. I climbed to my feet in anger. They will not get away. I thought as I ran back to wreck. Burning debris flew all around me. I hoisted myself back on the super-cycle, which was still about 90% effective. Instead of trying to catch the criminals again, I drove over to a hill overlooking the bridge. I could see the van now, just entering the bridge. The Firebird squad was now on the other side of the bridge, waiting to intercept the criminals. They even had the bridge closed down. They were on the other side of the bridge, weapons drawn. But they would never catch the criminals. I wouldn't neither. I would kill them for all the killing that they had already done to who knows how many innocents. "Computer, open super-cycle defense mechanisms. Defenses open. Choose your weapon: (1)smart bombs (2) smoke bombs (3) missiles/ a. heat seeking b. regular c. nuclear (4) machine guns " I select 3a. heat seeking missiles." The sides of my super-cycle now opened to reveal two twin heat seeking missiles. Targeting on. And then a scope appeared on my face screen. I focused on the van, which was now in the middle of the bridge. "Fire!" I thought as the missiles propelled away from my super-cycle. SWOOOOOOOOSH! They followed the van. BLAM! BLAM! BLAM! BLAM! BLAM! The idiots tried shooting the missiles out of the sky, but too late. BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM! The C4 in the van counteracted with the missiles as one HUGE explosion sent shock waves throughout Antopolis. I was thrown to the ground by the sheer force of the blast. When I looked up, there was no Brooklyn Bridge. All that remained was a smoldering inferno now falling into the Hudson River. I looked at my handiwork, thinking that I had done a great job. The Firebird squad didn't look so happy though. Anthrax headquarters... I had done a good deed. I had saved lives. The death toll from the C4 explosions downtown was a staggering 29. And to think Ray wanted me to pull back! That death toll would've been much higher if not for me. But when I got back to headquarters, or my "school", everyone acted like I had committed murder. There was no one there to congratulate me on bringing the enemy down myself. No one said, "Felix! Great job!" or "That is the most courageous thing I have ever heard of." All I heard was the intercom blaring: "Felix Alvarado, report to the conference room for trial-and-error at 3:30pm." Oh, shit. Why the hell are they going to give me a trial for saving lives?! I don't know WHAT I did wrong! But I knew exactly what I did wrong. I disobeyed orders. I can't lie about it because the Anthrax operators are always monitoring our conversations through the microchips. We have no privacy at all once we were in the suits. It was about 3:15 as I sent my suit off to maintenance and dressed in my best. When I entered the room I shared with 4 other people, Alex was there, going through his drawer. "Hey man. I-" I started but he cut me off. "Don't you even try to talk to me. You're really fucked now, you know that? Don't try to get me on your good side." he said heatedly. I was stunned. Alex and I had never had a disagreement. Especially since these assholes started playing with our lives. "I guess you aren't going to congratulate me either." I said without looking at him. He stood up. "Taylor, Ray, Tim, and I are going to testify against you in the trial. We also have the Firebird squad here as witness' to you blowing up the van." he said plainly. I just stared at him, not believing my squad's betrayal. "This isn't a joke. The shits hit the fan now bro. I wish you luck." he said fakely as he walked out of the room. Conference room; 3:30pm... The conference room is like a very big hexagon. Imagine a basketball court. Now take that basketball court and imagine it as a hexagon. During trials, the defendant sits alone in the small section of the room. In the front of the room sits the plaintiffs. All the witnesses, officials, squads, and operators sit on receding chairs, one row above the other. The defendant defends themselves. This is impossible because of all the plaintiffs. So really, there is no way a defendant ever won an Anthrax trial. Right now I sat nervously as about 30 or so plaintiffs sat in front of me, reviewing their notes and occasionally pointing and looking at me like I was some kind of freak. I tried to get some kind of help from my squad-mates by staring into each of their eyes. Taylor turned away from my prying eyes. Tim was a friend but now an enemy as he flipped me off. I didn't even look at my ex-best friend Alex. Ray showed anger and disapproval in his smile. After all, he hated me. Suddenly the transparent door opened and "the Minister" and Dr. Kraken walked inside. There was no jury. "the Minister" and Dr. Kraken always carried out the sentences, which were always brutal. Without any haste and raise of his hand, Dr. Kraken signaled everyone to stand. This is it. I thought as I prepared to go before a cutthroat trial. "Felix Alvarado, Agent #27, you are charged of disobeying a commanding officer, illegally entering another squad's zone without permission, the deaths of 5 terrorists with the use of a deadly weapon, and the destruction of a hundred-million dollar bridge." said "the Minister" without any remorse. "Do you understand the charges?" he said. I nodded. "Then how do you plead?" he asked. I looked at everyone in the crowd. This was like a public execution. "Guilty, sir." I said as I let out a deep breath. Everyone in the crowd started murmuring about me. Dr. Kraken looked at me, studying me. As he stood up, everyone suddenly got quiet. He stared at me, unblinking. "Felix, I have never heard of you. What is your position on you squad?" he asked. I looked at the ground and muttered, "I am a follower." Gasps were heard from the crowd. A follower was just a low-level soldier that had never been promoted. I was the only follower in my group, and it had been that way for the past 3 years. I knew what everyone was thinking. How could a follower do something on his own? "the Minister" tilted his head suspiciously. "Followers are required by Anthrax law to obey all superior officers. It shows here that you are the only follower in your group. You should have been listening to each and everyone in your group, which you did not. Do you agree?" he said loudly. I kinda shook my head. "I don't remember any of them telling me to pull back except Ray." "the Minister" looked unsatisfied. "Run the tape!" he screamed to the operators. A screen was projected from the hologram interface and our conversation started from earlier: [starts tape] Felix: "We can't let them just do this! I'm going ahead to shoot out their tires." Ray: "Felix, we cannot try anything right now! We are almost out of our zone anyways. Remember the rules, do not cross anyone else's zone!" Felix: "Do what you want, I am not going to just give up on this. More people will die!" Ray: "Stop your vehicle right now Felix! You are breaking the law by crossing the other team's zone and disobeying me! THAT'S AN ORDER!" Felix: "Fuck you." [stops tape] I snickered a little bit on my last remark. "Do you find something funny agent #27?" asked an angered "Minister". What the hell, they're going to kill me anyways, why not be honest? I thought. "Well, to be entirely truthful sir, I have always wanted to say that to Ray." I finished. Laughter erupted from the crowd. Ray shifted in his seat and turned red with anger. Dr. Kraken showed not even the tiniest hint of a smile. Instead, he called on his next witnesses. "Squad # 4 a.k.a. the Firebird squad stand please." he asked. 5 other agents from another zone stood up. "May the squad leader step forward and explain the details that occurred earlier?" asked Dr. Kraken. A dark haired boy with tan skin stepped forward. "At about 2:47pm our squad was notified that a van filled with C4 was just about to enter our zone via the Brooklyn Bridge. We closed the bridge and waited on the other end for the van to show itself. Soon, the van careened through the bridge entrance and we got ready. Before the van was in the middle of the bridge though, two missiles hit the van, causing it and the C4 to explode. All that C4 blew off two-thirds of the Brooklyn Bridge. When we looked up, we noticed agent #27 at the top of a drop-off. He had just shot the missiles." ended the squad leader. "So, in other words, proof of the scam in progress." stated "the Minister". I started evaluating my sentences. They could give me a Level 3 shock, which would affect all my memory. When I woke up I wouldn't know who I was, what I was, where I was. I could be sprayed with a gas that would make all my bodily fluids seep through my pores, which was very fatal and painful so I've heard. I kept on thinking when suddenly, Dr. Kraken said, "Agent #27 it is time for your teammates to choose your fate." My squad talked in secrecy for less than a minute. Wow, after 3 hard years of sacrifice, they cannot even give me at least 5 minutes before I am found guilty. I thought, now hating all of them. Ray stepped forward to give the final word. "Through non-extensive research, my squad have all voted unanimously that Felix be charged with being guilty of all charges. As you can see, he is a lowly follower, he does nothing! We work better as a team with four agents instead of five. We want your respect when we say that he deserves the most intense punishment you are liable of giving him. That is all." he said, the whole time looking at me smiling. Dr. Kraken's officials talked to him and each other. "the Minister" and Dr. Kraken looked at me and went over a review of what everyone had to say. After about 5 tense minutes, I noticed a pallet of paper being passed around the crowd. After 5 more minutes Dr. Kraken stood up. "Agent #27, there are 30 people in this room right now. Everyone except me has voted on whether you should be charged or not. And everyone has voted that you should be charged of all accounts. No one voted for you. But, the sentence will be passed by me and me only. Do you have anything to say before I give you your sentence?" he asked quickly and sternly. I breathed heavily. "All I can say is, I saw people dieing. I could hear their screams for someone to help them even though they were not going to live another minute. I saw sidewalks, filled with people, go up in flames. And I saw the terrorists. Laughing. Enjoying all of it. I had to stop them. I couldn't let anything like this go on. No matter what." I ended and sat down in grief, unable to look in Dr. Kraken's tricking eyes as he passed my sentence. "Felix Alvarado, agent #27, on five counts of murder, two counts of disobeying orders, two counts of use of a deadly weapon in a pedestrian zone, and one count of reckless destruction, I charge you....... Everything seemed to go in slow motion. I could see everything. I could see my squad's impatience, waiting for Dr. Kraken to say the simple words "guilty" so they can celebrate. I could see all the officials, staring, watching. I could see it all, without even looking at their faces. ".....NOT guilty of all charges." he ended. People opened their mouths in awe. Faces lost their color as they watched with their own eyes, a murderer, a disobeyer, a mere follower escaped the great Anthrax law. "WHAT THE FUCK?!" replied an angered Ray. He stood up in anger. So did all my teammates. I smiled and stood up in triumph. "YES!" I screamed. I didn't care if anyone disliked me anymore. I was free to go. "But wait agent #27. I am not finished." said Dr. Kraken. I stood still in confusion. "Felix, you showed exceptional bravery and courage in a time of need. People were dieing and you felt touched by the criminals' ruthlessness. And you brought them down, hard. That is why I am willing to overlook your charges." he said. I blew out a deep breath. "But Felix, I am not done. I have never seen a follower with your kind of perpetual audacity. That is why I am demoting your squad leader Ray Kimble and promoting you to squad leader of your squad #5 a. k. a. the Green Daggers." I opened my mouth wide, unable to process what had just happened. Ray sat down hard in shock. I was squad leader. I was prime commander of my group. Everyone in my group now hated me but they had to listen to me. "Felix, I am doing this because I think you are special. You may be just the person we need to crack the heart of CRIME. I want you to do wonderful things Felix, or I am reversing the sentence. Court's adjourn." ended Dr. Kraken. As I walked back to my room I was still in shock. I walked over to the big computer screen that listed all the agents and their squads. I typed in [Squad #5] and listings popped up instantly. In the front after "squad leader" listed Felix Alvarado agent #27. Yes! It was really true! "ALRIGHT!" I screamed a little too loudly. Fellow students stared at me. All of them seemed very angry of the news that I was convicted not guilty. They should. After all, I was the first person to be convicted not guilty in Anthrax law. I entered my room in high spirits, only to have my happy mood come crashing to rock bottom. Someone had trashed my bunk. My dresser drawer was lying on the floor with all my stuff scattered or stolen. I silently prayed to myself in hopes that my clothes in the closet wasn't touched at all. When I opened the closet, I found all my clothes slashed and torn apart. "DAMN!" I yelled to no one. I had 4 other people sleeping in this room. None of their bunks were tampered with. None of their clothes were ripped. Their stuff was perfect, same as before. Someone intentionally did this to me! I thought angrily. But I couldn't come up with a suspect because now, everyone hated me.
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