[Alpha]

He could tell she didn't like him...and unfortunately she had good reason to. She had picked up on it all: on his military past, on the fact that he was here for more than a "routine inspection", and perhaps even more.......How could she be this good? Did she have some sort of military training? I'm guessing so...at least for the fact that she worked enough with them. Oh well...guess I'll have to work a bit harder on this one than I'd hoped.

He walked off while looking around...for a base about to be completely packed up and moved, there doesn't seem to be much activity. Of course it was mostly packed up in terms of their equipment and the tents only had to be stripped down for transport. The MPs certainly seemed to be quite lazy...in fact, even given the lack of threats out here, it made him sick. He saw a pair of them off to the side, lazing around in the hot sun and decided that he would knock some sense into them. "Hey, you two idiots! What the hell do you lugs think you are doing?" They jumped a bit, furious and assuming an aggressive stance before noticing who it was. They just scoffed and blew him off...oh, they had earned this. He walked off and around to where he would come out behind them. As soon as he was, he flipped one of them then wrenched the other's arm behind his back. The first tried to get up, but Theron just placed his foot in the man's back, digging his heel in between the man's shoulder blades.

"Now, you two ladies want to tell me why this happened? Maybe the fact that you two were being lazy and weren't aware of your surroundings? Hm? Oh, what was that princess? Need me to let off your back a little so you can get your face out of the dirt so you can speak?" He laughed...perhaps he was enjoying teaching these two a lesson, but they deserved it.

[Tiva]

Ari ignored the noise from outside her tent, they could take care of themselves.... she just needed to wait it out... and create space big enough to hide a dragon in.... God she wished that this night would just end, Mohammed needed to hurry up so this whole camp could pack up and she could get out of here. This place of the dead that use to bring her fulfillment was suffocating her, Nero was suffocating her...

The ATV finally rolled in an hour latter, Mohammed going up to Ari's tent peeking in "Hey Girlie, you feeling okay?" the pile of brown hair and cargo pants grumbled waving at him "I hate MPs... they are fucking dumb asses, one tries to murder me and the other tries to rape me. Neither succeeded, not sure if I want to congratulate them or kill them myself." He chuckled running a hand through his shaved hair "Pascal... Pascal... if you killed them it would be a conflict of interest for me... my oldest friend and drunken one night stand or the law.... I don't know who would identify the bodies...." Looking down at her finished packs he remembered how much he still has strewn around his area "Look are you okay because if so I am going to go pack.. if not, well I guess i will have to carry you over to my tent so I can still pack." She waved him off with a mumble of "Stay away from the govvie, he is weirder than weird."

Artemis's head perked up as she heard the hum of people moving around the camp, it was time to move away from the warm tent and back to Momma's. Slinking out she sniffed the air looking at the man who wasn't quite the same as the others.. off smell. He smelled of heat and death, a dry heat not the wet heat that surrounded the others. Shaking her head she moved off to Momma's tent, this day needed to end, it was all ready dark.

[Alpha]

After teaching those MPs a lesson, he had gained a bit of respect from the military personnel here. Thye could tell he wasn't someone to be messed with now. Maybe now they'll cooperate a bit more when it comes to my questioning and investigation. He walked over to where the female MP was posted. Perhaps she can tell me a few things about Dr. Pascal...maybe what her deal is and a bit on her background beyond what her file tells me.

He made sure to make himself heard as he approached her. "Specialist Davis, may I have a word with you? It's part of my evaluation of the activities for this project." She turned around, at which time her weapon became visible in its holster on her right hip. "Yes? Oh, Mr. Hartan, my apologies. You said something about some questions?" He coughed, "Yes, I did. Now, tell me what you know about Dr. Pascal please. She seems to have had some kind of training...perhaps military or a government agency?" All of a sudden, he heard some rustling in the bushes in the direction of the female tent...What in the world is that?

[Tiva]

Artemis noticed a bug hopping by the tent, not thinking she chased off after it scales glinting against the firelight. Oh fun.... after all she was still a hatchling.

Ari stood up from her tent moving the flap aside to join the others around the campfire to get food. Looking over the fire she noticed Nero talking to her bunk mate, great hopefully he would leave when they left tomorrow. Sitting over beside Mohammed she spoke with him about where they were transferring the american bodies. Hawaii field base was going to take care of the identifications, but one of the soldiers had been identified all ready, his family was in Colorado and they wanted someone to come take the body to the family personally. "Military copter taking them to the family?" He nodded giving out a few more things about the arrangements. "I will do it, nothing like letting the family know by the person that found him.... Grandson right?"

[Alpha]

He walked over the brush, hearing it rustle more and more...like something hopping around or chasing something. After a minute of watching it, he decided it must be nothing more than a local creature doing a bit of hunting. He walked back over to the fire and sat back down. What little he had heard from the Specialist's responses hadn't been anything new to him. What is with this woman? On paper she seems like just another scientist, but in person she seemed like something more. Her stance was more aggressive, and it was familiar to him. He couldn't seem to place it though....of course! He had seen it in individuals trained as Special Forces operators. There was no way she was one...nothing else read military.

"So, when exactly will you be moving out tomorrow? Anything I can do to lend a hand? Oh, and I never did ask...the records concerning what all was found in terms of bodies wasn't given to me prior to my departure." He reached out as some food was handed to him. "Thank you." He started to eat, and couldn't place the taste..."What is this? What kind of meat?"

[Tiva]

Ari coughed "It is Tofu, we ran out of meat last week, nothing big enough out here to hunt otherwise we probably would have caught something. I would offer you jerky but I am out." She noticed a glint of silver scales and growled lowly shooing hatchling back to her tent, Davis was stationed for the first shift the dragon would be safe for now. She sighed looking at the paperwork, Captain Laurence was finally going home to meet thee son he never met and the grandson he never thought he had. It was going to be a bitter sweet reunion, but it was part of her job.

Artemis pouted puffing a tiny bit of fire before going back to the tent and curling up on the pillow. She was ready to leave and get to fly around...

[Alpha]

"Ah...okay." He chewed slowly...he never had been a fan of tofu. This wasn't too bad though...I guess if it's seasoned right it could be edible. "So, I noticed there was never an answer to my question...what did you all find out here? Any soldiers or other remains?"

His communicator beeped softly in his ear. "Excuse me, I think I shall head off and prepare myself for morning and head off to...well....bed I suppose." As soon as he was out of earshot of the others, he activated his comlink. "Yes? What is it? I haven't made any progress if that's what you are about to ask. Whatever it was that landed is definitely here...my scanner has picked it up intermittently. It is definitely mobile, but I don't know what it looks like."

"Well, just keep with it. We will be keeping tabs on all the members of the research team and the military personnel there as well just in case any of them are connected somehow. Do you have anything at all to report? Surely you must have come across something or had some sort of insight."

"Wait...I do have something. Can you tell me where Dr. Ari Pascal is headed to after leaving the site?"

"Hold on a moment....yes, I have it. Somewhere in Colorado. The travel request was filed for her so that she can escort the body of a dead soldier home to his family."

Interesting...I wouldn't have pegged her as the type to do something so sentimental. "I want an X-9 Transport ready for me tomorrow around noon. Stealth feature as well. I need to get there ahead of time...and I need another identity. One that will help me explain my presence in Colorado...preferably DoD related. Would help with some sympathy for a dead soldier." It pained him to use a fallen brother to this end, but it was for the greater good.

"It will be there waiting for you. Your scanner will guide you to it whenever you are ready."

"Roger. End transmission." He cut off the link and then went off to the tent they had set up an extra cot for him in. It certainly wouldn't be a five star hotel, but it was better than sleeping on the bare ground.

[Tiva]

She rolled her eyes at Nero, this was why she disliked the military. Her fiancee had been a solider, they had no respect for her work, it was all dead bodies to them. The fire died down and people started to disappear to go back to their tents. Deciding that she may as well go back Ari picked up some tofu to give to the hatchling and went back into her tent. The dragon was curled up on the pillow and as she poked it a small spit of fire came out before with a sudden clarity the words "Momma brought food?" Went through her mind before the hatchling jumped into her arms eating the tofu. "You can talk? Where in the hell was that all day?" she hissed looking down at the pest who was happily munching on tofu. "Yes I can talk... and I have a name you know it is Artemis... can't not be able to talk to my momma." Artemis nuzzled her waiting for her to sit down. "I am not your momma.... now what is with you?" The dragon tilted her head to the side before starting on a long talk about her origins, how dragons had once roamed the earth bonding with humans and sharing their powers with them as a thanks for protecting them. Some where on Earth there was an egg stash, and it needed to be shown to the world. The night bled away and before long it was dawn, time to finish packing and leave...

Ari stood next to the cargo plane giving Nero an odd look.... "Soooo how are you getting back? This plane is taking us to Hawaii.. then I am leaving for Colorado to deliver some remains. No other plane is scheduled to come here for months.... are you sure you weren't supposed to come with us?" She didn't really want the guy to get on the plane with her and Artemis, as the dragon was so rudely reminding her, but she didn't want to leave another skeleton on the hunk of rock.

[Alpha]

He laughed, She actually did care...at least to some degree. "No ma'am, my superiors arranged for alternate transport. There should be a helicopter here in the next few hours. In the mean time, I have a good supply of water and some sufficient reading material." He gestured to the file in his hand. "Now, is there anything I can do to help the final departure? Any remaining items, files, equipment, etc.? No. Well then, best of luck of to you Dr. Pascal. Give my condolences to the family...at least I assume you are delivering the remains to a family." He waved as the ramp raised and sealed, then watched as the cargo plane took off and faded into the distance.

After the span of about ten minutes, he wandered off to a bit of shade and read through the file, first looking through the reports he had received prior to his arrival on the island, and then on the personnel files...focusing on Dr. Pascal's in particular. He glanced through it, focusing on and committing to memory the important details...at least those his instincts told him he would need in the future. They have never failed me before...though it has led to some sticky situations.

After an hour had passed, he activated the scanner and followed its direction off into the distance and off to a secluded area out of sight by most means. Once it signaled he was there, he reached out a hand and felt resistance. He grinned, So they actually listened to me...normally Command would have just blown me off and given me an X-5 or X-6, something more simple and out dated. This must really be something serious...or at least they think so. He activated his scanner to send out the signal which would open up a door, and then out of nowhere one appeared.

He stepped in and it sealed behind him. Hmmm...this is nice. I could definitely get used to having access to this kind of resources. He walked to the cockpit and brought the systems online. He input the destination for a safe house the Agency kept out in Colorado. Thankfully, it was near where Dr. Pascal was to deliver the remains. Made it very convenient for sure. After programming the auto-pilot and activating the launch command, he pulled up the files on the on-board computer and accessed the identity they had formulated for him. Once he had it all committed to memory, he swiped it over to his micro-system which had the appearance of a cell phone or PDA. He then accessed the Sub-Net...the underlying network beneath the internet which was layered just beneath the internet and also on wireless networks across the world. It gave them access to any information they could ever want. A bit unethical, but certainly useful. He opened up the search program and entered the terms...Dr. Ari Pascal and then hit enter.

[Tiva]

Ari shrugged before getting on the plane settling down curling up around her bag and mummuring "Well Artemis he is gone.... and that is a good thing... hopefully he won't be asking any more questions..." She purred into her mind before gently dozing off as the plane took off only to be shaken awake a few hours latter when they landed at Schofield Barracks. She was ushered off the plane and onto another much smaller plane... oh joy from one base to the next... Fort Carson here we go! Hopefully luck was with her and her ex fiancee was no where near that base... but Infantry men could be anywhere...

She stepped off her plane shouldering her pack and looking at the MP in front of her... oh they actually cared here, this guy was an E5... "Hello, you ready to get this over with?" He nodded holding out a folded flag "It never gets any easier does it?" Ari smirked momentarily before letting her face drop and down trodden her eyes. "I don't think you want to know the answer... It doesn't get easier to give a solider back to his family, but when i look at a set of bones I see the facts first and the person second. I try not to do this but I found him, I found him scattered after being killed by enemy fire and then blown up by mortar fire. I thought he deserved to be delivered to his family by the person who can tell his dying story the best."

[Alpha]

The search didn't return much outside what he already knew, but one thing new was the fact that she owned two Glocks. I'm going to have to be careful...from what she's told me she definitely knows how to use them. Another result popped up as he went to close out the search. He opened it and was admittedly surprised. She was engaged? Well...that is a surprise. And to an Infantrymen...no wonder she hates military personnel. It made some sense now...why she had treated him the way she had. He closed out the search and pulled up his personal music library. He selected one of his favorite songs and proceeded to recline a bit and relax for the duration of the next few hours...all the while going over information in his head that he needed to remember.

A beeping woke him up and alerted him to the imminent arrival at the safe house. Well, that was quite the refreshing nap. Didn't intend to, but it helped to pass the time. He quickly ran over the details again and then proceeded to land his craft in the hangar attached to the safe house. Really, why do they even bother to make it appear normal on the surface when the majority of it is underground anyways?

He exited the craft and proceeded to take the elevator up to the main level. He found a new arsenal of equipment and "toys" in a secret locker for him to use if necessary. It was quite interesting....he had seen several of them before, but others he had only heard of from the techies. The rest of the items in there consisted of papers identifying him as a government agent investigating the director of the recovery Dr. Pascal had been a part of on the island. It wasn't much, but there was enough there to justify his arrival in Colorado to investigate and interview Dr. Pascal as part of it. This is definitely a burn identity...one time use. Oh well...thankfully the Agency doesn't have access to any of my multitude of covers and aliases otherwise they would use it as leverage on me to keep me in line. They haven't found anything to force my hand so far...

On that thought, he walked over to the garage and settled into the driver's seat of a standard gray Dodge Charger. Hmm...it's good to be behind the wheel of something like this again. Nothing like my baby though...'67 Shelby GT 500...so much power, especially after the tuning he had done. He drove off towards Fort Carson, taking the back routes away from prying eyes, doubling and looping some before hitting the major roads. This is going to be interesting...and quite an explanation for sure...

[Tiva]

She laid down in the back seat of the SUV "I am going to lay down, tell me when we get back to base...." It had been more emotional than expected... the son had sat there hugging her and crying. She had never been good with that kind of stuff... just too emotional. Artemis purrs from the back of the SUV trying to keep her mother calm. It wasn't a normal thing even she could tell her that. Ari slowly drifted off to sleep again, something about the movement of a rolling vehicle was just that calming.

Pulling up to base she groggily flashed her ID before starting to braid her hair so she looked at least half way presentable for the last few sign offs before she could go rent a room somewhere and a car. As the car pulled up she grabbed her bag and moved towards the building weaving through security and bodies getting towards her conference room. Ari opened the door stepping in and looking up. "Nero... well this is a surprise. Though I suppose that isn't your name any more is it?"

[Alpha]

He had to resist the urge to crack a smile when Dr. Pascal walked into the conference room. "No ma'am, it isn't. My name is actually Alex Halder, and I'm a Special Agent from the Department of Homeland Security. I've been working in a joint operation investigating different research and/or recovery projects outside of the nation's borders. We've had reports of individuals bringing back illegal "trophies" along with the possibility of drugs and illegal items. I can't go into much more detail than that, but I've come to you to discuss the project lead from your most recent recovery project."

This was coming easy to him, and this just reinforced his desire to "get back to himself" and spend some time in his own identity. "Now, I just have a few questions Dr. Pascal. All I ask is that you be honest and be as descriptive and clear as possible. First, did you notice your project lead acting suspiciously at all during your time in the field? Second, did he "acquire" any items that were not previously on the "compound"? Finally, did he seem to be in a rush to depart or upon arrival did he rush off to get away?"

[Tiva]

She turned around "Bull shit, and I don't have to deal with this. The military can burn my contract if they expect my IQ to be that low, I will go back to working in the UK. They at least give me the decency of respecting my field, my IQ is over 130 and I can tell that you are the same person as Nero. Would you like to go into how you can't change enough of your facial structure nor those unusually high cheekbones.. It is a one in 10000 chance to meet someone with your exact features in your lifetime... I just left your exact copy less than 24 hours ago. I am no idiot Sir."
Ari's eyes were wild, Artemis was in her pack right next to the door. If she could get out of her with Artemis... no lose Artemis in the building and meet back up with her outside the compound. She had to think of the dragon's safety, along with her own safety. A soft Momma went through her mind as the dragon felt her distress, she was feeding the plan to her on if this went badly. Ari herself had been in the building before much but hopefully the vents weren't watched and she could get to the roof and fly out of there. How they would meet back up... she didn't know, but apparently Artemis didn't worry too much about it.
One hand reached for her pack as the other went behind her back to get her Glock. "Now, are you going to be truthful with me or do I went to leave? And I will leave be it peacefully or by force." The two MPs inside the room tensed at the threat hands moving towards their weapons... this all waited on Nero's word or symbol.

[Alpha]

He backed up a bit, placing himself in a defensive stance that was natural from years of practice. "Ma'am, I think there has been a misunderstanding. I wasn't denying that Nero was me; he was one of my cover identities that was created as part of my investigation. I have access to some rather fast travel accommodations, so that is how I managed to make it here so quickly." He reached slowly for his own weapon, hand hovering just in case she decided to make this violent. Thankfully he had non-lethal rounds loaded at the moment, but that would only do him so much good when the two MPs were factored into the equation. Damn...I never thought she would act like this. Her profile and my interactions with her led me to believe she wouldn't be so quick to take action like this. I'm guessing it has something to do with the remains they recovered. "Now, if you will take a second and calm down, we can come to a mutual understanding. I still need to ask you some questions, and I would like to get my previous questions answered at some point..." He trailed off a bit, further evaluating the situation and making sure he had confirmation on all the available escape routes.

His communicator beeped softly in his ear, relaying the exact details about the remains that Dr. Pascal had returned to the family. He could tell that she had told them the story - as best she was able to determine - about how he had died. She really does care about these men and women that she recovers...she wants to tell their story and give some sort of closure to the families. "Now, what is it going to be Dr. Pascal? I know you've certainly had a stressful and emotionally draining day...what with delivering that soldier back to his family and telling his story to them."