_____[Sent Into the Field]

_____"I wish you didn't have to leave... But... I know that you need to... I want you to be safe... Don't get yourself hurt out there... I want you to promise me... That when you come back... That you haven't forgotten about me... And that we can be together for the rest of our lives... I'll be finished with college and you'll be back from your service... When you return... I'll be a woman... And you'll be a man... Promise me, Vincent... Please... I love you... And I want to be with you..."

_____Suddenly, the voice had disappeared, the darkness had faded away and the world had appeared before Vincent. He pulled himself up and sat up on his bed. He rubbed his eyes and let out a yawn, he wasn't used to being in a bedroom, he's been sleeping in his barracks with other Marines and their snoring, smells, and sometimes talking in their sleep. He stood up and walked over to his drawer, pulling out a new pair of breves and white tee-shirt. He took off the ones he was sleeping in and slid on the new ones.
_____ Vincent went into the bathroom and turned on the sink, the water was set to warm to help him wake up. As he waited for the water to heat up, which would usually take a minute or two, he walked over to the toilet and unzipped his fly, then proceeded with urinating. "I promised her... But, why does this dream keep haunting me...?" He thought, it was the fourth time this month he's experienced that dream, twenty-seventh time in all.
_____Vincent finished up at the toilet and flushed it, then turned away and went back to the sink, the water was now lukewarm, which was good enough to wake him up. He cupped his hands under the stream of water and splashed it in his face, now he was fully awake. Next to the sink was his toothbrush, which he grabbed and applied the toothpaste onto it. He stuck the brush into his mouth and started brushing his teeth. Once he was done, he spat out the foamy toothpaste and rinsed his mouth out. He dried his face and then stepped out of the bathroom.

_____And not a moment too soon, a PA in the room had sounded off and a female voice came out of the end. "Sergeant Vincent Lowe, Senior Airman Manuel Cloud, and Corporal Jack Gray, report to the debriefing room in five minutes." The voice had told Vincent and two other men who were in their rooms and then suddenly ended.

_____Vincent walked over to the closet that was in his room and opened up his door, his uniform hung right there. He grabbed his uniform off of the hanger and slid on the pants, then he put on the jacket. He looked in the mirror, the patch over the right side of his chest read 'Lowe' while the one on his left read 'Marines.' He walked out of the room and headed for the debriefing room.
_____He entered the debriefing room and found the two other men that were called were already lined up inside the room. Jack Gray, a tall blond with tan skin, stood in formation next to Manuel Cloud, an average height bald man with black skin, and Vincent, the tall, black haired, Asian who had lighter skin than Jack, walked next to Manuel and stood in formation with him.

_____An elderly gentleman came into the room and examined each of the three men standing in formation. He was General Porter, white skin, wrinkles, gray hair, a neatly groomed mustache, and his uniform was very decorated. "Gentleman, sorry to keep you in training for the past week, but we needed to check if you were healthy and take some tests before having you test this new equipment out in the field. After all the results, is appears that the four people we have chosen are all ready and fit to test the equipment. Any questions?"

_____Vincent raised his hand, the General mentioned four people, but only three were in the room. "Sir? I know that we have not seen each other until now, but you mentioned that there were four people. There's only three of us here."

_____The General chuckled, he expected someone to ask a question about that. "Because, Sergeant, she is on her way to the room right now. She was the one who gave you the announcement, but she's fully aware of what I have just briefed you men on."

_____The door opened and another person entered the room, a brunette woman with her hair tied in a ponytail behind he head. She saluted when she caught sight of the General in the room. "General, Petty Officer Second Class Jennifer Rowling."

_____"At ease." He told Jennifer and then she stood in line with the other three men. "Now that we're all here, it's time to show you the new equipment that we need all of you to test." Three different cases were brought in, each one was a different size. "Now, which would you like first? Tech, armor, or weapons? Who says armor?"

_____Vincent, Jennifer, and Manuel raised their hands to vote for the choice of viewing the armor first.

_____"Well, that was fast." Porter opened up the largest crate and pulled out the pieces of armor. "Here we go. Different pieces of armor, each of them are highly resistant to ballistics and explosives. Six pieces for your legs, one that goes between your ankle and knee, one knee pad, and one that goes between your knee and pelvis. And that is for each leg. Same plan is for the arms as well, and your vests are now improved. Made from one inch thick improved Kevlar and a material inside that breathes so comfortably. That will help keep your body safe and mind off of how much your body feels uncomfortable."

_____"Impressive." was Jennifer's thought on the new armor design. "Not only will my legs and arms be safe, but now I don't have to worry about the vest being uncomfortable over my chest."

_____Vincent chuckled, he found Jennifer's comment humorous, he wondered how a woman's breasts felt under a bulletproof vest.

_____Porter couldn't help but laugh at the comment as well. He put the armor back into the case and then pulled up the medium sized case. He pulled out a mask that looked like it would only cover the face under the eyes. "This mask, right here, can filter out any toxins in the air and give you pure clean oxygen. It can also work in water, takes all the hydrogen out and keeps all the oxygen in the mask. Good for up to an hour in the water, land is unlimited time. Also helps protect the identity." He put the masked away and waited before he pulled out the next item. "This is the future in tech." He pulled out a helmet that had a square screen that was held over the eye and a long visor that went over both of the eyes. "Integrated comms systems, minimap in the square screen, and night vision and thermal vision in the visor. The helmet has been reinforced internally to help protect from projectiles. The mask fits perfectly with this helmet, making you the ultimate soldier on the battlefield. We've also got something else." Porter pulled out a small rectangular device. "The foreign language converter. This device is able to translate any language into English. You can set it to whatever language, but if you don't know the language then they have given the option to set it vocally." Porter pressed the button and tossed it to Vincent. "Sergeants, please show us. Rowling, your profile says you can speak French, use a few words in French. Vincent, talk in English."

_____Vincent caught the device and looked at it. He didn't know what to do, only that he was told to speak English. "Ummm... Hello? I don't know what to say." As he said that, one of the slots on the screen turned read 'English.' "Whoa. Now that's cool."

_____"I guess it's my turn." Jennifer thought about what she should say. "Je m'appelle Jennifer Rowling."

_____As she said that, the second slot on the screen read 'French' which also said 'Francais' in parenthesis underneath, and 'Anglais' was read underneath 'English' in parenthesis. "My name is Jennifer Rowling." said the device

_____"Wow. That is cool." was Vincent's reaction to the voice of Jennifer coming out the device in English. He tossed the FLC back to Porter.

_____"Another thing to this device. It can also read. There is a scan option that will let you scan any type of text or writing and convert it into the requested language." Porter told the group, this really was a true advancement in technology. "Also, you can hook it up with the helmet, the microphone on your helmet will pick up any foreign language and play it back in the speaker. Not over yet. With the helmet, the FLC can scan from a bigger distance and display it in place of the minimap.

_____"Can't wait to try that s**t out." Manuel said in an excited tone.

_____"I bet you do." Porter put the device and helmet away and pushed the case aside. He pulled up the smallest case out of the three and opened it. "Now, you may be a little disappointed with what you've got for weaponry, but I'm sure you'll find them a little impressive." He pulled out a red cylinder that had a pin sticking out on top. "The pepper grenade. Instead of shooting people with pepper to detain them or to make them run, you can use this. Highly irritating to eyes, nose, and will cause coughing which will make any area you throw them in unbearable. The mask is able to filter this out, making you immune to the effects." He held up and then put it back into the case. He then pulled out a new firearm that was in the shape an size of a pistol. "Behold, the first electric gun in the world. Uses electricity to fire the bullets from its three barrels. Never jams, shoots three bullets accurately, but can also give a spread to act like a shotgun but bullets instead of balls."

_____"That is one kick a** sidearm." Jack said, he was impressed by something that small with all that power.

_____Porter put the gun back into the case and moved the case aside. "And that is all that you're going to be field testing today. This is going to be the gear everyone. Marines, Sergeant Lowe, Air Force, Senior Airman Cloud, Army, Corporal Gray, and Navy, Petty Officer Second Class Rowling. Good luck out there, I expect good reports when you come back. Am I understood?"

_____All four saluted him and yelled "Yes, sir!"

_____Porter folded his arms, he knew these people were determined and ready. "Alright. Head to the armory, your gear is there and you'll be leaving in ten. Dismissed."

_____The four walked out of the room and headed for the armory. "So, how long have y'all been in the military?" Jack had asked the group.

_____"Four years in the Marines." Vincent had told him.

_____"Three in the Navy." Jennifer responded.

_____"I've been in the Air Force for Three years." Manuel said.

_____"All been in longer than me. Only two in the Army." Jack had said to the group. "Y'all ready to try out the new s**t they gave us?"

_____"If we weren't ready then we wouldn't be here." Jennifer said.

_____"Alright, don't need to be a smart a** to me." Jack said, he didn't really like response, especially since it came from Jennifer.

_____They arrived in the armory, four cases were left in there in front of four racks, each of the racks had different weapons in them. Vincent walked up to his rack, sitting in there was a M4A1 assault rifle with an under-the-barrel shotgun attached to the gun. The rifle had an ACOG sight and a tracer laser mounted on the side. He opened up the crate and inside were the equipment that General Porter had showed them earlier. He put on the vest, which had all the pouches for magazines, radio, and miscellaneous items already mounted onto the vest. One the back was the camel pack which was also hooked securely on there, the bladder inside the pack was full. He grabbed the armor pieces for his legs. He slid on the knee pad first, it was the easiest out of all of them. He opened up the one that goes under his pelvis and above his knee and that clamped it on when he aligned it right. He grabbed the piece that went under his knee and above his ankle and clamped it on when it was aligned right. He did the same for his other leg and then stood up, so far the armor really felt comfortable.
Vincent grabbed the pieces for the arms and snapped them on, they also felt comfortable. "Looks a little bulky until you put 'em on. I kinda like these new armor pieces, though. Makes you look like a bad a**." He turned to the others to see how they looked in their armor.

_____"Fits like a glove." Manuel said about his armor. "May be a few extra pounds to carry, but it's all worth it when getting shot at." He laughed at it, he wasn't one to worry about running too much when he is the one in the air.

_____"He was right. The stuff inside breathes really well. I can get used to this new armor." Jack said about his armor. "I don't have to worry too much about losing my appendages."

_____"I like it, too." Jennifer said about her armor. "Really does feel comfortable over my chest. Time for the rest of the equipment." She reached into her crate and pulled out the helmet.

_____Vincent turned back to his box and pulled out his helmet as well. He put it on his head, the square screen and visor were both blank as the power wasn't on yet. He reached back into the crate and pulled out the mask. He put it over his face and it snapped in perfectly with the helmet. "This is awesome." He said with his voice being muffled by the mask. He turned to the others to see how they looked.

_____"Sergeant Lowe, turn on the helmet." Jennifer told him as she tapped her helmet, her voice was also muffled by the mask as well.

_____Vincent rubbed his hand around the side of the helmet to feel for the switch. He found it and turned on the helmet. The visor lit up and he could see everything in front of him brighten up a small bit and the other three in the room had their names floating above their heads. "This is crazy. I can't believe we get to test out this s**t." He said, his voice was still muffled through the mask but the microphone still got everything clearly. He turned on the mask and took deep breaths, the oxygen flowing through the mask was clean like how the General told them.

_____"Can y'all hear me?" Jack asked, he was tapping in his helmet to make sure that he turned it on. "Where's the mic on this thing?"

_____Jennifer laughed, she could hear him clearly but he was acting like an idiot with that helmet on. "The mic is hanging on the side like it would normally. But, since you are wearing the mask, it is transmitted through the mask's internal microphone and into the helmet. The helmet attaches to a radio, which will increase the transmitting and receiving radius, but you won't need that if you are only yards away from each other."

_____"You seem to know a lot about this, Miss Rowling." Vincent commented, he was impressed by her knowledge on all of the new equipment.

_____"I was informed on this stuff before the General showed it to us. Just in case we needed someone to explain how to work the stuff when putting it all on." She told him.

_____"I'm guessing that since the mask works in the water that it is waterproof." Manuel said, it was obvious, though.

_____"Yeah, but everything else is also waterproof. No need to worry about shocking your brains out." She told him.

_____"Alright, then. Time to hook up the FLC." Vincent felt around his helmet for a port to plug the FLC device into. He found it and then reached inside the box for the FLC. He plugged the jack into the port and waited for the square screen to change. "Minimap is gone and now it's loading the programs for the FLC." He said what he saw what was happening on his screen. The screen turned red and it was clear of everything, only the red tint now remained. He could still see the visor clearly through the square screen, nothing at all was blocking or getting in the way. "Looks like it's done. We all look pretty bad a** in all this s**t."

_____"I have to agree." Jack said.

_____"Four bad asses and soon the entire military will be wearing this stuff." Manuel was excited to know that he was going to be wearing this in the future.

_____"Now that is only if the tests are successful, which I highly doubt that they won't be." Jennifer told him.

_____"Well, we're all ready. Time to head out." Vincent told everyone. He turned around and grabbed the two last things inside the crate, the pepper grenade and electric pistol. He turned to the others to see that Jack and Manuel had grabbed the last two items and then grabbed their weapons off of the rack. Jack had the light machine gun that was famously named 'SAW' and a standard issue M1911, and that Manuel had grabbed the weapons that a pilot would have in case of a crash, an MP5 SMG and a standard issue M1911 like Jack. Vincent turned to his rack and grabbed his weapons, the M4A1 rifle with an under-the-barrel shotgun attached to it and a standard issue M1911. Two fragmentation grenades were sitting next to two flash grenades. He grabbed both of them and put all four into the special pouches made for them on his vest. He was now ready and started to head out. He turned around to realize that he was the last one two leave, the others have left. He just remembered that when he looked the other two guy, Jennifer wasn't there, her rack was already empty. He walked over to her crate and looked inside, her electric pistol and pepper grenade were still in there. Vincent decided to pick up both and take them to Jennifer instead of having her walk all the way back here. He took them out of the crate and left the room, he saw Manuel and Jack turning the corner and he followed after them.
He exited the building and looked around for Jennifer, she needed these two weapons for the testing. "Where is Jennifer?" He said to himself. Not long after he said that, the square screen turned from red to the minimap and started highlighting a small blue triangle, a name appeared above it saying 'Jennifer Rowling'. He followed his minimap until he found the Petty Officer, she was standing on a helipad where a helicopter was sitting, the one that they were going to be taking that will fly them to the city they will be field testing the new equipment.

_____"Finally you've arrived." She said as she saw the three walking towards her. She held her weapon in her hand, an ACR Assault rifle with a heartbeat sensor attached to the side and a red dot resting on the top. Her holster on her leg didn't have a pistol, but a grenade launcher the size of a pistol. Her pouch that was meant to hold the pepper grenade was empty and the holster mounted on her vest was also empty.

_____"Well, excuse us. I always thought that the women take more time getting dress." Vincent walked up to her and gave her the equipment she forgot. "You left your pepper grenade and electric pistol behind."" He held the two items out to her.

_____She grabbed the two items and put the pepper grenade in its pouch and the electric pistil in its holster. "Thanks. I knew that there was a reason I was able to leave faster than all of you."

_____"Now that you've got your stuff, I think we should leave now." Manuel said, he was getting a little impatient that they haven't left already. "I want to get flying this thing already." He was the only pilot out of the four so he knew that he was going to be flying it.

_____"Fine. I call shotgun." Jack said as he started walking towards the front of the helicopter.

_____"Just wake me when we get there." Vincent told them as he jumped into the helicopter and sat down in the seat.

_____Jennifer got into the helicopter and sat across from Vincent. "Don't worry. I'm gonna take a nap, too. Just lay back and relax."

_____Manuel jumped into the pilot's seat with Jack sitting in the co-pilot's seat. "Closing the doors. Starting up the rotors. Main and tail are working perfectly." He looked around for the headset until the small square screen had showed him he was already connected to the helicopter's radio. "That's convenient. And we're off." The helicopter started lifting off of the ground and flew out of the base.

_____Vincent laid his head back and looked at his visor. Everything on the visor had disappeared and the square screen had gone blank as well. 'Entering Sleep Mode' was read across the visor and slowly Vincent had fallen asleep.

_____[End of Prologue]