1 The Valley

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"Terrace!"

I whirl around, eyebrows raised.

"Thirty percent charged!" comes the reply.

I grit my teeth. They hadn't told me that the power cell would take this long just to charge up. At this rate the outpost would be overrun before the cell was even at fifty percent. We would have to fight. I peer down from the lookout tower towards Danny, who stands bent over a monitor, it's soft glow illuminating her olive skin. "I have to buy more time!" I yell over the near deafening hum of technology. Danny turns to me, the roaring wind whipping the mouse colored hair about her blue eyes.

Shaking her head she yells, "Not yet! We have to stick to the method!"

I jump down from the lookout, my feet touching down lightly in front of Danny, forty feet below. "You know that stupid Krebbs' method never works! Especially not with this little time and this many Echoes!" I can almost hear Danny's sigh of exasperation as she looks toward the incoming assault.

"Fine," she decides, "what did you have in mind?"

A grin plays at the edges of my mouth. "I was thinking a split would do nicely." Danny nods and checks the monitor one last time.

I look down at the valley. It's small, only about half a mile across, with rocky mountains covered in half-dead trees rising up on either side. Despite this, it stretches on for miles in length. And seven miles away lies our objective: an enormous turret into which the power cell must be deposited. The only problem were the hundreds of Echoes.

The Echoes. For over a hundred years they had plagued humanity, their only goal to completely wipe us out. As far as we currently know, they don't need food, water, or even rest to survive. They are humanoid creatures, always adorned with a black armor lined with glowing turquoise streaks. They average about five feet eight inches, each with varying physical characteristics such as eye and hair color. Their only physical difference from humans: their impossibly wide mouths filled with two rows of jagged, razor sharp teeth. Their mouths are always stretched to within a couple inches of their eyes, in a demonic grin. The humanoid appearance of the Echoes is what got them their name; they seemed to echo humanity, but were never anywhere near being human.

Humanity was nearly wiped out when the Omegas came along. They were people with superhuman capabilities, with characteristics that made them the perfect predator of the Echoes. After identification, Omegas are trained from birth to be near invincible and highly intelligent warriors. At age five, they are assigned a partner. The assignment of partners is not taken lightly-each duo must be at least ninety-five percent compatible, to ensure the best outcome in every mission. By the time an Omega is seventeen they are nearly ready for real-world combat, and thus begin difficult simulation training. It is at this stage that I now reside with my partner, Danny Parrs.

Pulling myself out of reminiscence, I survey the incoming battalion of Echoes. They are approaching fast-if we are going to pull this off then we need to hurry. I turn to Danny and nod. Together, we step onto the railing of the outpost which overlooks the valley a hundred feet below. As one, we leap off the rail, splitting off her to the right and I to the left.

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