[center][i]Released, finally.[/i][/center]

It took multiple months for Carol-Ann Keifers to finally obtain the white card for pretty much any activity regarding military activities. Until the end of the recent battle in Sovereign, she was kept secluded in a nearby underground base for initiation and examination, after all the division she was going to integrate and in which she'd lead a flock of highly trained individuals wasn't in any way a pushover. So the army had to be absolutely certain of her capabilities both in physical capacity and psychological prowess. She was undoubtedly effective in combat and her body was in peak condition, as we would expect from such rigorous training. As for her mind, she was determined to be the perfect candidate to carry out the most perilous of missions in the name of the military force. A person without the ability to feel remorse, that wouldn't hesitate to pull the trigger on anything without a single objection. It was finally time for the high officials to test out their new tool by launching a new Hunters program to replace the losses recently accumulated through the inevitable tragedies that occurred. 

Major Keifers was travelling to what was left of Sovereign's desolate field using the typical military shuttle. Normally a higher ranked officer such as herself would have a slightly different type of means of transport with a cabin reserved for the highest ranking, however given the many losses and the need to keep certain activities incognito, the Major had to do with sitting between two fully equipped cleanup soldiers. Most were armed with electrical devices, likely used to subdue the majority of prisoners captured during the great battle. In contrast, Carol-Ann wore a simple white attire that looked like any other higher ranking officer's, a black tie, golden buttons on the vest, a cross on her belt's golden broach, a perfectly matching white skirt, black stockings and finally fancy white boots going up to half of her lower leg. She wore white gloves and a black military cap showing Gaia's military emblem. She waited patiently, her leg astraddle on her opposing one, never addressing a single soldier until they had arrived. 

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Once landed, she was the first one whom the silhouette would appear as the shuttle's door slowly opened itself. Outside she was greeted by a group of soldiers saluting her accordingly as she stepped down and followed the commanding officer of the welcoming squad. Her blue eyes scrutinized the surroundings, and she couldn't help but giggle at the sight of all the destruction that had happened. She could only imagine the wonderful carnage that she had missed, the endless destruction she could have brought if the military wasn't so stubborn on their choices. It appears that the shuttle had landed in the North-East part of the gargantuan city, next to other parked means of locomotion. Not too far away were multiple unconscious individuals attached and supervised as if they were being prepared for something. One by one, Carol-Ann could see two or three soldiers carry one of these prisoners to shuttles. It smelled like war, like a year back where she felt more alive than ever. She felt bad for missing out on this, but she knew there would be more, it was inevitable, the rules of the game of life had changed drastically. 

After about five minutes of walk through many alleyways cleared and guarded by soldiers due to the streets being in complete and utter ruin, the Major and her escorting soldiers were a few steps away from the tactical camp set by the army. There Keifers was to get briefed on the situation at hand, receive definite orders and given the necessary tools to complete the objectives. There were about two hundred military members in the makeshift base/clinic they mad out of the damaged local clinic , surrounding it only with tents and checkpoint gates. Carol-Ann appeared very patient, or was it that she simply was grasping the air of destruction in the atmosphere of Sovereign, she could smell the blood in the air as if there was a haze of red similar to the way she'd turn flesh into an explosive material. It was soothing but dangerous aggravating at the same time. Before walking into the tents, she noticed her holopad watch vibrating ever so lightly. As she clicked unlock switch on the item, a small hologram formed to indicate the anomaly detected. It appeared that the shuttle she was associated to had left without her being on it nor her pilot actually notifying her. She was aware, however, that he'd be at the disposition of the other officers in need, but she remained the superior and she had to be notified of everything. Obviously something wasn't right. 

She grinned, completely halted in front of a tent. It wasn't uncommon for soldiers to have integrated cameras as would most peace keepers in cities in order to justify acts of violence toward civilians. In the case of soldiers, it was used not only for that but to also monitor their actions, that way there were little risks of betrayal within the lower ranks. By looking through the camera's lens via wireless connection, she could see that the corresponding pilot was downed along with the other solider present. To take down two trained soldiers, the individual piloting the shuttle was probably far from being some random amateur. Was he part of the group of fugitives? Or was he alone? Either way, chances were that it'd be useful to follow him and possibly obtain something. The silent Carol-Ann closed her eyes for a lapse of three seconds, enough time to release a weak chuckle of mockery, upon realizing how easy her job was getting with the targets doing such impulsive acts. 

"[b][i]Looks like someone is just begging for trouble. Will you show them your graceful dance, Carol-Ann?[/b][/i]" Asked the creature bound to the major's being, taking the form of a Blue Jay but only manifesting in her mind. 

"[b]Not yet, Morel. Why catch a single leprechaun for minimal results when it can just lead you to its stash? The soldiers are probably aware of the theft anyway.[/b]" She responded openly as she started walking again, entering the tent and subsequently proceeded to discover the filthy leftovers of what was once a local clinic. 

"[b]Pardon me, Major? Did you say something?[/b]" asked the officer who escorted the young woman down to this messy territory, not that it was any more orderly outside. 

"[b]I did not address you, Captain, consequently what I say is void to you.[/b]" She said oh so blandly, but her tone was barely hostile, almost seductive with stretched out words ike 'Captain' and 'You'. She had the talent to tic people off balance, especially when they knew what she could really do without a mere bat of an eye. Four soldiers stormed out of the building, running past the major, as they received a message of a stolen shuttle nearby. It was quite humorous, watching men bound to earth running to a remote distance in order to catch a flying foe. Carol-Ann's superiority complex stood stout. 

As she walked through a corridor in order to meet up with the conference room prepared for a special briefing, a doctor accompanied by two heavily armed men, and by heavily this wasn't an exaggeration. The doctor was pushing a hospital bed holding an apparently dead patient. It seemed like they had made multiple attempts to revive him as he didn't seem gravely wounded like the rest of the casualties found in this city. With a single peek at the man's face, the woman recognized that face. He was in the earliest footage captured by multiple functioning cameras but also by the various integrated cameras in nearby shuttles and soldier corpses. 

'[i]Hector Esteves, brother of Victor Esteves. Both crucial organs of the Golden Mercenaries and they're the one's that screwed over Nekros. Heh, what a waste.[/i]' She thought to herself, Morel was more than likely thinking something similar as well concerning the body they had just crossed. 

As she entered the improvised conference room, her mind brought back from her thoughts. She set on a chair and rested her arms on the wooden table before her. In the room, there were about thirty standing soldiers and ten officials siting around the set of tables. A hologram suddenly emerged from the middle of the amassed tables, forming what appeared to be a well dressed woman. She was one of the many secretaries transmitting information from the higher ups while they were occupied handling the current crisis. She started by exposing the recent events that happened in Sovereign with a multitude of images taken from the events as illustration. As she neared the end of the synthesized meeting of about ten minutes, she addressed the Major directly. 

"[b]Major Keifers. The Hunter Program has been launched since your arrival. Your objectives remain the same: Locate the fugitive hosts, capture them with any means necessary, lethal force is authorized, and the top priority stays at the confirmation of Victor Esteves' death.[/b]" 

"[b]Understood, investigation in sync with mass genocide does seem like the Sovereign way of doing things after all.[/b]" Replied Carol-Ann, her tone still as carefree as it was back then. She didn't consider the secretary of any importance to her, only the orders. She was purposely provocative too, as she was the highest ranked member in the room, making her word a lot more valuable than what the formalities could say in a situation like this. 

She stood up before the meeting as officially over, obviously she had grown in arrogance since the events of the Void Unleashed a year ago. Her confidence in her power was flabbergasting, almost intimidating. One could immediately notice her fearlessness in her eyes when she exposes her God complex either verbally or non-verbally. She walked out, on her own this time, exiting the building only to encounter an infantry transporter parked at the front of the clinic's gate. The symbol on the truck wasn't the same as the army's, it was something no one other than Carol-Ann would normally recognize. It was the Hunters' emblem, and as the machinery's trunk slowly opened, the major set her hands behind her back and tried her best to hide her smile. She was happy, happy to be able to lead individuals who would follow her orders not matter the situation. She was finally going to experience true leadership, the kind of thing she always visualized as playing God. She would decide who would shoot, who would kill, who would live, and who would die. Of course, most of these orders would be indirect, but depending on the tactic, she can easily decide who would be fodder and who would have the glory. All she could feel were the butterflies in her stomach, it was such a nice feeling...