[center][h1][color=cc0000]BEFORE DEPLOYMENT. Part I.[/color][/h1][/center]
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[indent][color=e6ac00][b]          L O C A T I O N:[/b][/color] Undisclosed Military Base
[color=e6ac00][b]          T I M E:[/b][/color] February: Four Months Prior to Hounds' Attack; 20:39[/indent]
          There have been worse rooms than the bare backbones of a little bedroom that they had given him. His dual colored eyes blinked in mild surprise, and his gaze swept over the militaristic, neat place. After a brief pause, he sat down on the "bed." With only a worn bed, a single metal nightstand with a yellowing lamp, an old drawer set, and a set of hooks on the wall, Jai Hale ran his hands down his thighs to his knees.

          Weapons of an unknown origin were taken from him, a "gift" given to him before his arrival to the military base. The only thing that he was allowed to keep was the small earpiece that was wrapped around his right ear, the same side as his blue eye. He blinked with the intent of changing his vision to heat, and his vision adjusted to view the two body heat signatures of the two officers who put him in the room. As he listened to the conversation outside, he noted that they still had no idea as to what he was truly capable of doing.

          "He's a danger. We've done all of the tests we could on him ever since he returned and it's as if someone's gone crazy on him."

          The other he was speaking with had gestured for him to follow. "Yes, but he could be beneficial to us later. Especially, if the results are what you say they are." There was a pause, and Jai blinked again to change his vision from heat to x-ray to watch as the person speaking started to flip through some documents held in his hand. He flicked the papers back into place before closing the folder. Handing it to the other, he continued in a manner-of-fact tone, "Have you tried testing his capabilities yet?" He straightened his posture, hands held together behind him.

          "No, sir, we haven't—"
          "Do it."
          "But, sir! He's—"
          "Did I ask for your opinion, soldier?" His tone was sharp.
          His shoulders minutely slumped before he squared himself and shook his head. "No, sir."
          "What'd you say?"
          "No, sir!"

	"Good." He turned and began to walk away from the bedroom and led the other down the halls that Jai had walked through prior. "Ready the testing fields and prep him for combat."

          "Yes, sir!"

          And the conversation ended. Blinking again, Jai switched his vision from x-ray to normal and glanced about the room once more. With a sigh, he set down the small bag of belongings they allowed him to have by the nightstand and shifted to laying down on the bed. With his fingers laced behind his head, he looked over the ceiling for a moment before closing his eyes. Tomorrow, he'll be fighting for the first time since he's returned, and Jai wasn't sure how his fellow brothers-in-arms would view him since who he once was is no more.

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[indent][color=e6ac00][b]          L O C A T I O N:[/b][/color] Undisclosed Military Base
[color=e6ac00][b]          T I M E:[/b][/color] Next Day; 07:00[/indent]
          As the Humvee came to a stop on the very outskirts of an expansive field, Jai was ordered to remain standing in the place marked. "Here," the driver said as he had his hand on the door handle, "they're going to give you your next orders through that so don't break it, you hear?"

          Jai nodded.

          "Remember, you need to show [I]all[/I] of your abilities. They're going to be watching so watch yourself, Hale."

          With a minute nod, he took a step out and took a quick look around to note the expansive space of the nothingness around him. When he spotted the marking on the ground spray painted with a red "x," he looked back to watch as the vehicle drove off in the direction of what he could only assume to be the base. However, even as his gaze flitted around him, he observed that there was nothing he could see in the distance. There were no buildings and no sign of life out in the middle of what he could only assume to be the desert. Temperatures were bearable, cold when the sun had yet hadn't entirely risen over the horizon, and it would melt what little of the chill that the desert would gather in the winter. With not a single cloud in sight, it was making to be a very clear day.

          And he could only assume what they were going to do.

          He flexed his fingers and placed the small radio into his ear. The range, he guessed, had to be no further than five miles, and was just out of his range. They were wary, that much was clear, and they couldn't find out any further information from him as to his whereabouts the last seventy years that had enabled him to have such advanced pieces of technology and abilities. Still, their concern was evident in even the soldier who drove him out here. Apprehension, suspicion, and fear were emotions that seemed to haunt each person he had interacted with since he arrived at this particular military institution. He didn't blame them, no, but rather understood on some level their concern. After all, he was mostly an alien with how different he had become.

          With the radio neatly placed in the one ear, he lifted a hand to press against the earpiece on the other. Immediately, in a shutter of blue angler lines of light, his head was quickly engulfed in a sleek black helmet. Warm, amber colored slim lighting lit up, and a cool blue HUD appeared. His radar blipped on screen, and it indicated a rapidly approaching object. Widening his stance, he shifted and turned to the approaching missile. The moment it showed in range, the cameras inside the helmet zoomed in on the missile, and a countdown clock appeared in the upper right corner of his interface of how soon it'd be before it collided with him. Without any information as to what he was supposed to do with the incoming missile, he changed positions and braced for impact.

          [i]Seven.[/i]

          His sensors began chiming more warning sounds as more missiles shot in his direction. Glancing at the radar, he noted two more projectiles headed his way. Jai leaned forward into a runner's stance, hands placed on the ground with practiced precision.

          [i]Six.[/i]

          He pushed off the ground and took off into a run before he jumped and effortlessly soared through the air for several long seconds before landing.

          [i]Three.[/i]

          Jai rotated and changed directions to the second incoming missile between where the other paths of the rockets would collide.

          [i]Two.[/i]

          They were in plain view now, missiles that were four times his size, and were a danger to him if they landed. Waste of ammo, if Jai had to say so himself, but he needed to show his superiors of the changes that had come about in the last seventy decades. While unpleasant memories threatened to surface, he pushed them back down and focused on the task at hand. There was no time to dwell on the past when he was finally back home.

          [i]One.[/i]

          At the very last second, he jumped high into the air and landed on top of the first launched missile and dug his hands into the metal cover that covered the rocket to keep himself steady as he flew straight. Breaking open the panel where he knew the computer hardware was for their guidance and flight system, his eyes glanced at the screen and the vast array of wires inside. The interface began to analyze the sneak peek he had at the hardware and began to break down each of its components while processing and eliminating the possible make and model of the missile within mere nanoseconds. Rearranging a few select wires and then breaking a few, the rocket changed its target from him to the second incoming missile. The missile continued to climb in elevation toward the second missile, and the ground soon became further and further away from view.

          Bracing himself, he jumped once more at the last second before the collision and was falling, propelled by the explosion. He turned mid-air as the previous missile came flying toward him as he rapidly fell. Jai pulled his left arm back and prepared for impact from both the ground and the rocket itself. When the missile drew close, he punched it to divert its path to space off to his right and exploded just as he landed with a resounding and explosive boom in the ground.

          Chunks and pieces of the ground flew outward from the created crater. Moments later, Jai rose to sit and shrugged off the stiffness that came from landing as roughly as he had. Dusting himself off as best as he could, he stood and shrugged his shoulders once more. His clothes looked wrecked with rips and tears from the crash into rock and the ground itself, but his helmet was unscathed as was the rest of him. He could still feel the faint tingling of his skin from being stitched back together that would have usually killed a human being.

          The radio crackled in his left ear. "Hale, we're going to send more missiles and droids your way so prepare yourself."

          [color=e1a900]"Sir, permission to speak?"[/color] Jai asked, rolling his shoulders as he made his way out of the crater.

          There was a brief pause on the other end of the line before he spoke again. "Go ahead."

          [color=e1a900]"Is there a purpose in doing all of this? You already have done all the testing you wanted on me, and there's nothing else I can give you."[/color] Jai mused that they wanted to get on video the level of prowess he had in combat and use it for later along with the other samples and tests they had done. However, there was something in the works that had his contracts changed, and he was being taken to work for another person. And it was someone who had wanted to keep him a secret.

          Jai understood why without even having to ask. After all, his mission had yet to begin, and he knew that when the protocol was activated, it would be the end for him.

          "Because you'll be leaving our service, Hale," the man said solemnly. "And when you leave, you'll be fighting a different kind of war."

          So, to memorialize him, hm? How unfortunate. Still, all of his friends and family that he had once upon a time, were now long dead and he was one of the few that had survived the war that had once haunted his dreams. With nothing left to lose, Jai continued to be the faithful and obedient soldier people had wanted him to be.

          "You understand?"

          Unfortunately, he did. But he had a feeling that his superior wouldn't get what he wanted and in the end, this would merely be a training exercise and nothing else.

          [color=e1a900]"Yes, sir. Now, send me everything you have."[/color]