Back to Basics

The Groups Back in action

Andrew woke up. The sun shone through the blinds of his room, the Summer was over. It was time to go back to school. Not just any school, Operation School. A Government project designed to turn children into soldiers. Andrew had willingly participated in it, and now it was time to return to school, for a whole new year.

Andrew walked downstairs, his friends Slosheey and Tim, were sitting at the breakfast table. Slosheey was an Alien. He had participated in an invasion of Earth, during which Humans and an Alien alliance, The Arc, fought. He had joined Andrew's side early in the Invasion, and his change of sides turned the fighting in the Humans favor. Tim was a 9 year old boy who had been orphaned in gang violence. Andrew and Slosheey had found him, and brought him into the fighting. Both of them now lived with Andrew and his Family, having nowhere else to go.

"Morning." Slosheey said, looking over at Andrew.

"Morning you two." Andrew sat down, and poured himself a bowl of cereal.

"You ready for school?" Tim asked.

"Are you ready for school? Your going into fourth grade and all." Andrew said.

"Why do I have to go to normal school? I'm smarter and more capable than the average kid, hell I fought with you."

"We've been over this. Me, Slosheey, Mom, and Dad all talked. This is what's best for you. Besides, your going to school with Hex"

"Isn't Hex like technically billions of years old or something?" Tim asked. Hex was a android built by a race of Humanoid Aliens. He was built to protect a young boy, Adrian, from harm. His home planet Sol was destroyed, and he ended up on Earth, which he walked and adapted to since before time.

"Well, he looks like he's 10. It's a good way to get him socially adapted."

Tim slumped back in his chair, "It sucks anyway."

"Don't say that, enjoy what you have now, for you might not have it later." Slosheey said.

Tim sighed, and began to clear the table, "Don't you two have a bus to catch?"

"Yes, they do." A female voice said, the holographic image of Cortana, Andrews cattle assisting Artificial Intelligence, rose out of a projector on the table, "And I would much appreciate it if they would make this bus. I want to get out of the house. I've been bottled up all summer."

"I as well." Delta, Andrew's second A.I, said, rising from a different projector.

"Look, we will get to the bus god. Everyone get off our backs."

After a short bus ride and a bit of a walk up to their classrooms, Slosheey and Andrew were finally standing in the hallways of Peakdale Middle School.

"Good to be back?" Andrew asked.

"It's nice to see the school re-built, but that is the extent." Slosheey answered.

"Always positive." Andrew said, as Nicole and Alex came walking up to them.

"And how are you two doing on your first days back?" Nicole asked.

"Already disappointed you?" Andrew asked.

"Mostly the same. But to get a conversation going, what do you think our first mission will be?" Nicole replied.

"Getting Eli back, who knows what happened to him." Slosheey said. There was an uncomfortable silence, and then the group moved into an empty classroom.

The room was empty and dark, perfect for this kind of meeting.

"Slosheey, it's not that simple to get Eli back and you know it." Alex said.

"Why? Just because John Boyd runs Operation School? He's working with the Special Operations, the enemy. We should at least be able to call for an investigation of Boyd." Slosheey said. 

Andrew smacked him, "You know Boyd is tying up loose ends. He got sloppy, we know he took Eli, we know he killed Charlie, we know he's working with the Special Operations. But we can't do anything about it. We confront him, and we'll have all of Operation School getting ready to kill us."

Slosheey pushed Andrew back, "That mean's nothing. We could easily fight back."

"Oh? And how would we go about doing that?"

"We assemble a team." Slosheey said "And then we go off the grid."