The Ferals

Chapter One - Where Oceans Freeze

A pair of boots hit the icy metal surface as Hasan climbed out of the chopper, followed closely by Oblonsky, Cass and Lee. The three Ferals donned their blue berets as they stepped down from the cabin, symbols of their elite status. A thick blanket hung from Oblosnky's shoulders, which he clung to tightly as his eyes darted around, surveying his new location. The helicopter blades beating the air slowed to a halt, and the frost kicked up by them billowed around the soldiers like fresh snow. The base was busy with men and women from all units. Soldiers moved in and out of their stations, a sea of gray thundering over the slick tarmac. Some moved equipment to and from different buildings, others were coming back from missions, or embarking on them. Black and gray uniforms, heavy and wet with fresh snow moved across the fort. With rifles slung over their shoulders, the soldiers worked grimly in the frigid weather.

Cass and Hasan took Oblonsky by the shoulders and moved him along. Lee walked closely beside them.

"Oblonsky's fine, mostly superficial injuries. Needs a good bath to avoid infection, but otherwise healthy," he reported. "Hasan's clear too, but you have a wrenched shoulder that I want checked out."

"I'm fine. There's no need." Cass insisted.

"Tough. I want you in my clinic in an hour." Lee split from the group before Cass could protest. "And shower before you come."

Cass snapped his mouth shut. Hasan snorted in amusement beside him.

The Bering Strait was a cruel place to set up base, but nestling between Siberia and Alaska was a strategic move all the same. The small, isolated island on which they were stationed gave the soldiers easy access to both North America and Asia. Their center of operations consisted mostly of metal platforms and facilities tucked right between the gorge of three mountains, the peaks rising high above the base. The looming cliff they sat on opened up to the sea, and just to the east lay a beach that split into the valley. Without proper equipment, men were easy targets for both frostbite and hypothermia. Gloves, snow pants, and heavy coats came with every uniform on base. A fierce sea breeze didn't help with the cold. The climate coupled with the remote nature of the place made Phoenix a strange and lonely fortress, a place that felt disconnected from the rest of the world, where even the currents themselves shift and turn away. A base where oceans freeze.

The three men weaved between the crowds. Oblonsky trembled under Cass' grip. The poor bastard was freezing, and so was Cass, even with his coat from the gulag. He felt soggy, and disgusting on top of that. His mind wandered as he thought about the relief a hot shower would bring him. A group of operatives passed them by, and though most wore protective face coverings, Cass could see the squint in their eyes directed at them. Silent tension brimmed in the Phoenix ranks ever since Cass and Hasan were assigned to the Ferals Initiative. After all, it was a quick and easy way to jump the ranks. Cass had locked eyes with a particularly hostile operative for a moment too long before he was shoved aside by an oncoming troop. The soldier at the front cast a glare at Cass over his shoulder. Welling with anger, Cass stopped in his tracks, fully intending to go after the operative before Hasan grabbed his shoulder.

"Leave it."

Cass held his gaze on the departing troop before turning his back. "Let's just find Director Liu and get this over with."

The engineering sector always managed to feel unwelcoming to Cass; nobody in the Ferals unit worked there, and in his two years working for Phoenix he could count the number of times he visited the area on one hand. The assemblers and designers seemed to always be hard at work, so much so that nobody even lifted their heads to look at the two blue berets dragging a beat-up old man down the hallways. Oblonsky, however, was awestruck. His mouth agape, he turned his head back and forth to scope out all of the laboratories and workstations that they passed along the way. The trio reached the elevator at the end of the hallway and entered. Hasan hit the top button, and their ascent to the director's office began.