ALL STAR TEAM

(Spanish-Moroccan border, Spain, May 2134)

Just as the joint task force escaped, Vanguard terrorists reinforcements arrived through a teleportation portal, killing off the insurgents that had tried to double cross them, taking control of the area.

"Lord Vidar," greeted the terrorists at a Chryso that had stepped out from the portal. He is dressed in Draxian armour, the armour worn by the Sellardraxians of the Dynasty. It is forged with Draxian steel, a special mineral that is found exclusive on the Dynasty homeworld in the Alpha Centauri System. It is extremely light and excellent at energy dissipation, protecting the wearer from most plasma energy bolts, the mainstay ranged munition of the universe. It is also stab proof, able to withstand most blades attack and blunt force trauma.

That does not mean that it makes the wearer invincible. Draxian steel can be defeated by magic and heavy plasma bolts, and bullets if it is not thick enough.

Vidar surveyed the battlefield, kicking over the body of an insurgent. He spat at the body's human face.

"Inferior life forms," he sneered.

Hearing that a truck had escaped the area, he and his group of 5 from the Extremist faction converged their Cosmic Energy together, creating a giant teleportation portal.

They teleport themselves right behind the truck. Vidar laughed evilly, and he and his fellow extremists transformed into their "true forms", charging forward at the truck. The Vanguard terrorists that had followed them also transformed upon exiting the portal.

"ARE YOU F***ING SERIOUS NOW?" exclaimed Aya.

"Do we transform and engage too?" asked Nanami.

Aya shook her head. "We are all wounded, even if we were to transform we will not be match for them."

"Then what will we do?" asked Antonio.

Aya laughed. "They want to play knights and demons, that's what these Extremists are excellent at."

"You play your game, I play my game," she said, pointing up to the clear sky.

Getting her cue, Vasily immediately reached for his radio, ignoring the pain on his body peppered with injuries.

"This is Squad Artemis, we are requesting air support and med evac!" he radioed.

(Spanish air force base)

"Lieutenant Colonel! We have a contact from your men!" yelled a radio operator.

Xiao Tian looked at the screen. At Bryan's orders, he had headed to the Spanish Air force base to serve as UNSSD representatives on the ground.

"Relay the call to the nearest AEW," said Xiao Tian.

"Drone ETA 3 minutes," said he drone operator.

A surveillance drone appeared in the sky. Its cameras relaying the situation on the ground.

"My god..." muttered a Spanish soldier, seeing the Sellardraxian true forms rampaging. Their attack had disabled the cargo truck, and the members of the joint task force still standing are putting up a feeble resistance.

"Extremists," muttered Xiao Tian. "Prepare helicopters, I am going on board," Xiao Tian said, grabbing his helmet, rifle and body armour.

As he left, he made a call on his phone, the number he dialed belongs to Charlotte.

(Near the border)

"KEEP FIRING!" yelled Aya, just as a giant fireball exploded by her side, the shockwave throwing her off.

"We can't hold on for much longer!" radioed Vasily, his last rifle magazine exhausted, switching to his MP9 machine pistol. "WE NEED AIR SUPPORT, FAST!"

Frederica is swatted away by the 9 tails of a transformed Inari, the impact breaking her arm.

(Spanish AEW aircraft)

"This will be a danger close fire support," ordered the crew on board.

"Typhoons in position," radioed the squad leader of 2 Spanish Eurofighter Typhoon X fighter-bombers.

"Green heavy cargo truck, south of orange smoke!" said Aya, marking their position with an orange smoke grenade.

"Air support incoming, laser illumination!" ordered Nanami. All of the joint task force members on the ground raised the laser designators on their guns, illuminating their targets with lasers.

The 2 jets soon appeared in the horizon, dropping their payload of rockets and laser guided munitions on the targets below, enveloping Lord Vidar and his fellow extremists in an inferno.

'HELL YEAH! HIT THOSE MOTHERF***ERS HARD!" celebrated Ethan.

The 2 jets swooped off after finishing their payloads.

Most of the extremists and terrorists are dead, with the exception of Lord Vidar who remained alive using an energy shield he conjured using Cosmic Energy. The black, monster serpent like monstrosity that is his "true form" roared and moved, raining down magic attacks.

"No f***ing way..." muttered Electra.

(Spanish AEW aircraft)

"We need heavier firepower!" reported an operator.

"Where is the nearest friendly asset that can provide that?" asked another operator.

"There is a Bethorian heavy gunship in the area, it belongs to Spades International!" he replied, sending the message over to them.

(Bethorian gunship)

"Understood," replied Charlotte.

"Alright! Boys and girls listen up!" she yelled. "Squad Artemis and the Spanish GOE are our allies! Are we going to let them die?"

"NO MA'AM!" all of the crew operating the weapons replied in unison.

"Good, let's get dirty," she said.

"YES MA'AM!"

"Artemis 1, this is Spades Bravo 1," radioed Charlotte to Aya. "We are inbound."

The medium plasma cannon batteries revved, raining down bolts onto Lord Vidar. He tried to fly away, only to be hammered back onto the sand with the intense bombardment. The high energy bolts finally managed to do the trick, and when the bombardment stopped, all that is left is the charred remains of a Chryso's "true form". The sand around the body had been turned to glass.

"HELL YEAH!" screamed Nanami.

Soon, helicopters arrived. Xiao Tian stepped out of one that landed, gesturing to them.

"Took you long enough honey!" whined Aya, limping over to him.

(UNSSD base hospital wing, Tokyo, June 2134)

"How you feeling, son?" asked an old Scottish man dressed in a lab coat, pushing up his spectacles as he did so.

"Fine, Dr Allen," replied Sean.

Dr Sheldon Allen is the head scientist of UNSSD, and also one of the researchers in charge of Project Artemis.

True to the physique of Squad Artemis members, Sean survived what would have been fatal to normal people.

He had also made a complete recovery, quite literally reborn. His damaged body parts were replaced by new ones. Thanks to the advanced genetic technology involved in their creation, Sean and his siblings can literally just replace their body parts like parts in a car, since body parts can be 3D-printed effortlessly using their original DNA.

As long as a Squad Artemis member's brain remains alive and functioning, they can survive anything.

Dr Allen then handed him a medal. "The mission was a success, and the intel you all brought back are vital. Here is a commendation and bonus."

Sean chuckled. "I have a box full of medals."

Dr Allen grinned, drinking tea from his thermos. "Well, too much honour ain't a bad thing, right son?" he smiled, like an affectionate grandparent. Squad Artemis all see Dr Allen as their grandfather of sorts. 

Dr Allen then stepped out of the room. As he left, he playfully poked Frederica who had fallen asleep on Sean's bed. As Sean's partner, she had been the one who took care of him during his surgeries.

"Freddie, chill," chuckled Dr Allen as Frederica instantly snapped awake, reaching for the fork on the table, and raised it like a weapon.

Frederica then withdrew the fork, greeting Dr Allen courteously.

Sean then looked at his partner stretching. Her body sore from the position she had been at.

"Did you sleep well?" asked Sean.

Frederica pointed to the black circles around her crimson red eyes. She did not sleep well at all over the past few days.

Sean apologetically lifted up his blanket, pulling another pillow under his pillow, putting it beside.

"How about you sleep on the bed for a bit?" he asked.

Frederica immediately climbed onboard, lying down beside. Sean smiled, gently stroking her hair. Her white hair is silky and smooth.

"I miss you...a lot..." she muttered as Sean put the blanket back down.

"I am here. Frederi—Freddie," smiled Sean.

"I miss you too. Big Sis, and everyone," admitted Sean, shedding down his act and deliberate distancing towards his siblings after this near-death battle.

"Sorry for leaving..." apologised Sean, not expecting his partner to have been affected so much by his first retirement, which he had done unilaterally.

He wrapped a warm, water soaked towel around Frederica's gills. "I am your observer, I will never leave!" he grinned.

Frederica stirred in her sleep. "Stubborn," she pouted. "I guess I have to protect you for the rest of my life then."

Sean chuckled. "You better do! I can't ask for a better partner!"

Frederica is disappointed slightly. She knows that the only reason why Sean does not reject intimacy with her is simply because he does not give a damn. When they were little, she often requested Sean to stay with her in her bedroom, as she kept getting scared by strange nightmares that only stopped when she was 7. Her reticent nature was also developed during that period.

She is afraid that, if Sean were to know that she wants them to be more than partners, he will be scared away.

Sean quickly fell asleep, the after effects of the anaesthetics still strong.

Frederica turned to Sean. She inched forward to his face, her lips mere inches away from Sean's. She could feel Sean's warm breath against her face.

At the last minute, she controlled herself, resorting to just hugging Sean. Sean felt her hug, though he thought that she is simply cold.

(One week later)

"Good job, everyone!" commended Aya as they kept their equipment back at their dormitory. Squad Artemis had performed a hostage rescue operation on the UNSSD exchange programme with UNIFJ and the JSDF.

Maia helped Sean with his gear. After the battle in Spain and Sean taking a grenade that was due to her mishap, she felt super guilty for her actions. Hence, Sean is finally not bullied by the majority of his siblings, though an awkward dynamic still existed among them, causing Sean's relationship to the rest save for Aya, Frederica, Nanami and Vasily to remain professional.

Aya, however, is happy with the results. She is confident that with hatred gone, it's only a matter of time before the ice is broken.

And with that, they headed to bed.

That did not last long, as barely 4 hours later the emergency gathering whistle is blown. The 13 members quickly dressed, wore their gear, and dashed to the mission room.

Upon entering, Sean is surprised to find Franz, Bryan, and Xiao Tian there.

"2 Colonels, and 1 Lieutenant Colonel," he thought. "Something important is happening."

"Headcount!" yelled Aya as they fall in. "1!"

"2!" yelled Frederica.

"3!" yelled Nanami.

"4!" yelled Meari.

"5!" yelled Cameron.

"6!" yelled Liu Zhong.

"7!" yelled Vasily.

"8!" yelled Walter.

"9!" yelled Sean.

"10!" yelled Ethan.

"11!" yelled Maia.

"12!" yelled Electra.

"13!" yelled Atsumi.

"All 13 members present, awaiting orders!" reported Aya, stepping out and saluting.

The 3 saluted back, "at ease!" announced Franz. Aya returned to the formation.

Franz pulled out an order. "Under the direct order of Major General Wilson Ling," he read, referring to the commander of the UNSSD SOC, and also Harriet Ling's father. "Squad Artemis is hereby—"

"—disbanded!"

The order is like a bombshell, shocking all of them.

"There has to be a mistake!" protested Nanami.

"Yeah what the hell, sir?" asked Walter.

"If we made a mistake, can you please give us one more chance?" pleaded Aya.

All of Squad Artemis started protesting, even Frederica joined in.

Xiao Tian laughed, ordering them to quiet down.

"Relax, there's more to the order," he laughed.

Franz grinned, reading on. "In its position, a new unit, Task Force Prime is established!"

"You all have proven your capabilities as the tip of the spear of the UNSSD SOC's Tier 1 units, completing the most important missions at levels of proficiency unseen," said Bryan. "However, we cannot be settled with just 1 Squad Artemis. Our end goal, is for more Tier 1 units to be at your calibre!"

"Thus, we will be moving on to the next phase of Project Artemis, where you all will be mixed together with the conventional human and Sellardraxian Tier 1 units!" he said.

"There is more," added Franz. "Gold Squadron of the 814th Fighter Brigade has been taken out and placed under the direct command of Task Force Prime and the UNSSD SOC! Same goes for Amethyst Detachment from the Space Force, as well as some army aviation units."

"Together, they form the new 106th Special Regiment, one of the 5 component units of Task Force Prime!" finished Franz.

"All star team then," mused Sean.

"The 4 squad sized operation units go by Teams, and they are:" said Bryan, projecting 4 logos using the holographic projector.

"Team Zero, Team Phantom, Team Ion and Team Raptor!"