I didn't take Carrie straight to the Scourge infested areas still on the planet right away. There weren't many of them and each Scourge lost from them was one step closer to total freedom for Rallypoint; knowing that, I was trying to make sure I left some of them for a select few Nephilim to face in real combat. Knowing exactly what they were fighting, rather than relying on holograms and lectures, would help them effectively lead their squads into combat against the Nephilim. I wasn't planning to make Carrie a squad leader, a Paladin, but I still felt I owed it to the first human who had pledged to the cause, to give them the opprotunity to really see what she had signed on to fight with.

It was almost three weeks after her transformation when the Nephilim techs finished outfitting her armor for her. She and the twenty-five Nephilim that were the first batch of Paladins were due to set out for their first live Scourge encounter. I was going of course. I couldn't let them go out there and lose their lives because they panicked or they were overwhelmed by a pack of Hellhounds, the most any of them faced at a time was two, and there were almost no packs of two Hellhounds. I needed to be there to point out their flaws and pick up their slack.

Outfitted in our new armor, my twenty-six charges and I set out for the closest Scourge Zone. If all went the way I expected, we'd clear the entire zone of Scourge and more civilians could come down from the ships in orbit. If it didn't go the way I expected the same thing would happen, I'd just be taking at least one person home in a box.

The armor the tech team under Kiv-mel had done a fantastic job with our armors, I thought. Rather than the suits that barely qualified as armor like I woke up in, these were all outfitted with a set of boots capable of using anti-gravitational thrust to allow the user to hover slightly or to boost the jumping power, the boots could also magnetically seal themselves to anything with a high amount of magnetic conductivity, such as the hull of a starship. The last thing they could do was probably my favorite; they could mold themselves perfectly to the foot of the wearer and provide a much higher degree of comfort. The one's I'd woken up in were horrible, I had a new blister every other day it felt like.

From the boots you went up to the leg pieces. Each piece was outfitted with a similar armor plate set as the boots and offered total protection from everything that could be thought of, fire, ice, lightning, acid, Scourge claws or teeth, and even simple water. No wet feet for us thank you. Also in the legs were a pair of thrusters to aid in underwater movement and to help in the event of needing a much stronger jump or something to slow a fall much safer than just the boot thruster.

The torso pieces were divided into four pieces, upper front, lower front, upper back, and lower back; not imaginative names but I wasn't complaining. The upper front piece was plated like the rest with much less flexibility and a rigidness that lent an unisex look to everyone who wore them. They weren't the most comfortable for the girls who wore them, Carrie was always complaining about how tight they were and she had already asked me to look into having the tech team change that. It went onto a list. The lower front piece was again plated but was also much more flexible than the upper piece to allow as close to a full range of motion as possible. The upper back held a series of magnetically charged strips that would hold any weapons in place without a sheathe or other strap holding it down. It made running much easier. The lower back piece held more thusters to aid in jumping and more to allow the wearer to make a full jump insertion from orbit if need be. Using all the thrusters in the armor, the Cybers would activate them at a time that would allow them to take control of the fall and arrest any momentum without any injury. Because of that feature, the tech team had put a series of shield projectors throughout the armor that would help with any G-forces a nearly uncontrolled fall from orbit would cause, as well as providing a barrier from an atmosphere burn that would occur.

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The arms were their own pieces and they held the sensors that would allow the Cybers to scan for any lifesigns, Scourge or otherwise, and alert the Nephilim to their location. They also held any specialist equipment that could be requested, laser torches, flashlights, power chargers, or even side-arms like knives and pistols. I had the flashlight and laser torch with a set of throwing hatchets on my equipment rack.

The helmet was a thing of beauty, if I could brag a bit. Really the tech team had outdone themselves. Each helmet was equipped with a communications device that would allow short range communications over a two hundred mile radius. They also came with an emergency transponder device that would only activate if the Cyber accessed it; I wanted to make sure that I didn't leave anyone behind. A camera that would record anything the Nephilim saw before relaying it all back to a cental system in orbit would help to let us study any Scourge we encountered that had no records. The helmets were also equipped with total atmospheric filtering. That meant that no matter what environment we entered, we'd be able to breathe without any issues, even on a world with a hostile atmosphere.

While the shuttle was preparing for take off to drop us in the Scourge Zone I had picked out, I was briefing my Nephilim on what I expected of them.

"All of you will have at least one solo Scourge kill by the time this is done," I told them. "This is to prepare you for the reality of what you're expected to face. All of your Cybers will be in constant communication with mine so if something happens, I will be able to bail your asses out of the fire. If that happens I may just have to reconsider you for the position of Paladin. That said, do not hesitate to send for help if you feel that you are in danger."

I looked around at them all to make certain they understood. These were the people who had shown themselves to be the most capable of all their peers. They had applied for extra training and they had passed every test I put before them to make certain that they had what it took to lead a squad of Nephilim into combat with the Scourge. Even Carrie, though she was the odd one out due to her age.

"You've all spent the past month training to use your weapons. I've sparred with several of you and can confirm that you know what you're doing," I said. "Trust in your training. Knowing how to use a weapon automatically makes you all more prepared to face Scourge than I was. You also have the advantage of having the chance to group with other people for your first outings. You can do this."

"The first thing that we will do on the ground, is set up a base camp. From there we will begin daily patrols throughout the area and even on the first day of that many of you will find signs of or be attacked by the Scourge. You will be fine. Each of your patrols will be divided into groups of three exactly like your squads will be. That will leave an odd man and myself. Whoever is leftover will partner with me and we will actively hunt Scourge. If you cannot provide proof via helmet cam that you have faced off with a Scourge and finished it alone, I will use the opprotunity provided by having you partner with me to make sure you have the opprotunity to do so."

At that some of them looked sick and a few of them looked eager. I guess some people were in this to run from something, and others were in it for their own glory and dreams. I know which ones I'd rather have at my back and I'd have to make sure I watched it around them.

"Alright then," I said, clapping my hands together. "We're approaching the area we've decided will work best for a camp. Everyone put your helmets on and grab your shelters. We'll be here until all the Scourge in the area are dead."