I eyed the various scientists and engineers arrayed before me with a neutral expression. Well, I tried for neutral, but Carrie's told me a time or two before that my 'neutral' is other people's 'disappointed,' so I may have failed at that.

"As I made sure all of you were informed before you set out from the Milky Way to here, your acceptance of this position is a lifetime position and you will be officially entering the Nephilim Army's Research and Development Department," I told them. "The reason that all of you have been asked to be here is to examine and study a relic of an extinct alien race that is responsible for more than you realize. This relic is a computer of sorts and the first task assigned to many of you will be to figure out how to interface our two technologies together."

"Before that," I continued, "you will all be given a demonstration of the security measures that will surround this relic and yourselves. Any breach of this security measure and the containment team in charge will respond. Please follow me."

I turned and began to lead the nearly fifty scientists as we left the theater they had all gathered in and were soon surrounded by the security teams that would trade off shifts overseeing their protection from anything and anyone that might mean them harm. I was impatient to leave Obelisk and continue the Scourge Extermination in Andromeda but there was always something that needed to be done and this was something I couldn't leave in the hands of anyone else.

"Please everyone stop here. Do not go over that red line there," I said while pointing to our feet.

"I'm sure that some of you know what the nanites do for us Nephilim," I began. "For those who do not know, I will explain a little. Our nanites induce massive controlled growth in us upon injection, this is why we grow to approach eight feet in height. These nanites also bond with the tissues and cells throughout our bone structure, strengthening it and allowing us to never have to worry about broken bones, cavities, or decayed cartilage from typical aging. These nanites do not simply disappear after our growth and the skeletal bonding process, they continue to permeate our bodies and now after fifty years with my own nanites, I can be stabbed with a sharp weapon and not have it break my skin, I can lift over twice the weight of a typical body-builder from before the Nephilim were formed and I can run as fast as a gas-powered car. Up to one hundred twenty miles per hour for a short duration with a cruising speed of sixty to seventy miles per hour for those too young to know. I tell you all this so you know what exactly you are about to see."

A small hatch in the ground nearly three hundred yards away moved and a stake with a dummy rose to stand out on the bare ground that was all around it.

"That," I said pointing, "is Bob. Bob was made with all the current capabilities of the older Nephilim like me in mind and is currently wearing armor that is typically seen on a Knight or higher-rank Nephilim. Bob is widely considered impervious to anything that the Scourge can throw at him."

I turned to look at the gathered people and could see that many of them were losing interest. Not for long.

"You are here to see the go-to reaction to a security and containment breach for this relic's housing," I continued. "This will be the only warning and I want you all to pay very careful attention as this will be the last time you are allowed to choose another destination within the Nephilim. Jinks, begin."

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With a nod to me, Principality Jinks stepped forward and pointed to Bob.

"Containment breach!" she shouted at the top of her lungs.

Immediately, every member of her current Order leapt into action and raised their mag-rifles. With soft hums, they ignited the magnetic charge that would propel the round through the barrel and duller, louder thuds sounded out.

I was still turned, watching the scientists, but I didn't need to look to see what happened to Bob the Demonstration Dummy. The poor thing was obliterated. The first round tore through approximately where the torso would have been located and the following rounds continued the work and each impact ripped a new hole in the mannequin and left pieces of it scattered across the area that it was located in.

Most of the scientists jumped and gaped at the sight of the small dummy being destroyed by the mag-rifles and the people that carried them. Two or three, I noticed, paled to a white color; impressive considering that one of them was of Hispanic descent.

"Like I said, that was a dummy with the current capabilities and armor of an older Nephilim in mind," I told them. "Think for a moment about what would happen to un-augmented humans like yourselves if this were to happen."

That got more of them to pale and I saw one turn green before moving to the side and vomiting at the idea.

"If you at any point feel that you might have accidentally broken containment with any part of the relic, or any set of data and findings; before you leave the building, alert a member of the security team and they will take you aside and conduct a search of your self and any items you may have to determine if your caution was right. Each of the exits of the building will be monitored by Cybers and scanning devices. This was the only warning you recieve, whether containment is breached accidentally or purposefully, I don't care. If any of you hear the sound of the mag-rifles firing or the words spoken by Principaility Jinks, know that it is not a drill or some sort of practice."

I looked around at them all and finally nodded.

"Now, who wants to continue with the reason I asked you all here?" I asked.

"That seemed a little brutal," Sarah said as she walked up to me with someone else in tow. "Perfect impression for our new squad member, though."

I eyed the young woman that had paled a bit as she looked at me before turning to look at Sarah.

"Is there a problem, sir?" she asked sweetly.

"No," I said. "Where's Carrie?"

"She said that she wanted to spend some time relaxing and unwinding from our trip back and forth," Sarah said. "Need anything?"

"I don't," I sighed. "Who's the rabbit beside you?"

"Rabbit?" she asked.

"She looks like a rabbit that's about to bolt," I told her. "Look at her, she's frightened for some reason."

"That may be because when Carrie and I recruited her, we didn't exactly tell her who was in charge of the squad she would be joining," Sarah said before continuing with a flourish. "Now, Rickshaw James meet Erica Swans."

"You didn't tell her that she was joining my personal squad?" I asked with raised eyebrows. "Bold and stupid."

"We had to," Sarah defended herself. "We had to go to at least four of the training academies and everyone we picked out got scared when we said that we were eyeing them for your squad. The last one, we picked up Bunny here and didn't tell her. I like that, I think it'll work."

"You think that not telling Cadets fresh from the academies what they're walking into is a good idea?" I asked her.

"No, not that," she said. "I know that's a bad idea, but we were getting desperate. I meant using 'Bunny' as a nickname. It even works with the way she fights."

"Anything you have to say about all this?" I asked the poor girl that still looked ready to bolt.

"N-n-no s-sir," she stuttered out.

"You sure?" I asked her. "Anything at all? I won't be offended."

"Yes, sir," she squeaked.

"Really?" I asked with a raised brow.

"I like b-b-bunnies," she said.

This was going to be difficult if she couldn't look at me without getting scared. Best try and fix that.

"Report to the training grounds at 0600," I told both of them before turning away. "Cai send word to Carrie for me. We're going to have to learn what each other is capable of."