Chapter VII

Chapter 7

Operation Achilles

August 1, 4030

1218 Hours

Lexus, Earth

The pod quivers in descent. The harness that keeps Jaycee in his seat tightens. Above the section, the red lights flash. An alarm comes on. I've heard horror stories of this—of pods colliding with buildings and exploding on impact. . . This damn harness fucking hurts. And god damn I can't hear myself think. And for that quick second of time—a flash of grey smoke through the cracked glass window. Training takes over. Jaycee and company cross their arms across their chests and dip their heads between their knees. Darkness.

* * *

Explosions. Gunfire. Flames. A smokey haze.

They've crashed into a building. A small glare of orange light creeps through the crack in the window. The pod, landing on its side, has lost all power.

"No,no, please," a low murmur. Female infront of him. Jaycee looks around the pod. He blinks a few times, turning his head towards the voice. He can feel the pull of gravity as he hangs in the air; held by his seat buckle.

Nicole? who she worrying about?

"Connor. . . C'mon Connor,"

Damn. He doesn't want to look. But it's the sudden crunch of reality. . . a dead man walking. It's one thing to talk about death. It's another, to see a person you've trained with for six months look back at you with still eyes.

Jaycee reaches towards his right shoulder and presses a clear squared button. Click. His flashlight ignites, the pod is filling with thick, dusty air. Nicole, with her indistinguishable long, goldilocks hair that sticks out her helmet, his shaking her fireteam partner, Connor over and over in his seat. Connor doesn't respond. Instead, with wide open eyes, he moves like a doll. She cups her hands over her mouth. A muffled wail. A cry. Nicole falls back into her seat. It's here, you can see Connor in full. A single line of blood from the crown of his helmet splits at his nose; down his cheeks, only to regroup and drip off his chin.

He feels a cold touch on his spine. A palm of reality. This isn't a simulation. The man is dead. All because of an unlucky landing.

Jaycee turns to Ealy who is beneath him.

Ealy's armour from the lack of paint, sparkles in the light as if a fictional vampire. He watches closely, as he pulls a pocket knife to cut his seat buckle. It appears the Captain is more intent on freeing himself than dealing with dead Connor to his right.

"One dead. Connor Rapport," Nicole whispers. Ealy stops for a moment, looks across Connor to Nicole and offers a subtle nod before returning to his seatbelt. He's almost cut through the thick fabric.

The seat buckle snaps.

"Everyone, Buddy checks," Ealy says as he returns his blade into his pocket.

Jaycee looks to his left and right. Tina and Kelly are moving without complaints; despite them hanging in the air.

"You gonna be good to stand up there Captain?"

"Give me a second, Tina."

To which Tina grunts; gnawing at her lip with impatience.

She doesn't like the idea of hanging in the air, waiting for someone else. Ealy crawls from out of his seat. Immediately, Tina unbuckles herself and falls to the would-be floor: the cracked window. Jaycee is next to unbuckle himself, landing impartially on the cracked window and Ealy's seat. Jaycee slings his weapon behind his back—Everyone their flashlight on now. It's blinding.

"Flashlights off," Adam orders.

Everyone follows suit. Darkness. Outside, you can hear the washed-out screams and the dozen of explosions, as one after another, Onyx pods drop into the fight.

It's getting warm.

Really. Fucking. Warm.

A few soldiers take the time to wipe their eyes and forehead of sweat. Their chests feel sticky.

"What next—"

"Shh," Ealy whispers. Everyone hushes, each looking into darkness with a confused, blank stare—of which only faint outlines of shadows can be seen.

"You hear that?"

The sound of a cracking eggshell.

"God dammit!" Ealy screams, diving towards one of the many seats. The section follows suit, with many limbs trying to grip whatever they can before—The pod drops again. And like a bunch of beads in a ball, they fall. BOOM. BOOM. Bodies collide against one another, over, over, and over again.

The fall felt like ten seconds no less.

Coughs. Movement. Crushed glass and powder. Stiff, sore bodies roll onto their stomach. Stiff, sore bodies attempt to stand.

"Is everyone alright?" Ealy asks, climbing up the wall with his free hand.

"Fuck, if you call falling ten stories and being able to stand alright, then yeah, I'm good. No broken bones in the old age. Yet." Adam chuckles: despite his need to shuffle his feet and climb the wall with his hands to stand. Explosions.

"I think I'm good," Kelly says, her voice wavering, unsure.

"My rifle?"

"Right here babe," Shawn says, standing up with a rifle in each hand.

"Jaycee?"

"I'm good, I'm good," Jaycee says, opening and closing his eyes. He's trying to feel if his head has cracked or it's just a throbbing headache.

Thank god for this turtle helmet. But fuck my head still hurts like a bitch.-

"Tina, Fen, Charles, Jordan, Nicole,"

"Sir!" They all answer in unison.

"Jaycee, get up, take point."

"On it," Jaycee stands, riding the wall of the pod as an aid. Once standing, he swings his rifle out in front, one hand on the pistol grip.

Approaching the half-bent door, he cocks and ready's his rifle, pulling back on the cocking handle slightly to ensure a round is chambered.

"You guys ready?"

Jaycee asks, turning to look at his section, and focusing in on his lover Tina.

They all nod.

Please be proud of me.

Jaycee swallows hard, clenches his teeth, turns, and boot fucks the half-bent door.

Smash! Immediately, dust and smoke rolls into the pod. Blurry vision. The temperature rises.

Hell this. . . this damn smoke burns.

In haste, Jaycee rubs his eyes with his sweat-soaked sleeve. He can feel the skin around his eye sockets tighten.

And above them as they walk, wooden beams burn bright red. Their surroundings; pulverized concrete, black ash, and smoldering flames.

"We need to move, now!" Jaycee calls inhaling a lungful of smoke thats bellowing upwards through the recently created chimney. This fucking air sucks. It tastes like I've been licking chalk my whole damn existence. Jaycee coughs, spits and wipes his mouth. Frustration fills his lips as he walks blindlessly through the smoke, waiting for a sign of the exit.

Come on. Come on. How big is this damn building? Gotta keep moving forward. Just like soldiers. A soldier—I am.

Jaycee scurry's forward. His lungs on fire as he inhales small pockets of oxygen. The section matches his pace. One after another, they follow him through a long, blue hall. He hits a metal door. He attempts to open it, yet it won't budge.

"Give me a hand!" Jaycee claws at the door, and nicole rushes up to his side.

"Three, two, one, push!" Nicole and Jaycee step back, and smash their sides into the double metal door. The door explodes open and they tumble through.

"Get in here!" Jaycee screams, hand on one knee as he rushes to the windows. With the butt of his gun, he smashes window after window, allowing the air to feed the flames--and their section of troops to breathe. Finally able to catch his breath, he turns to face the section. They're inside an office. Relatively untouched, except by the hand of time—blue carpet, dozens of cubicles, hundreds of computers and thousands of pages of paperwork.. Three chest thumping explosions. A torrent of gunfire. The building shakes. Jaycee eyes each section member as they enter the office: Ealy, Tina, Kelly, Shawn, Adam, Charles, Nicole—curdling screams of comrades can be heard from street. That's the sound of war no one care prepare you for

Is this what Chaos is like? when people say they've walked to hell, only to return? is this my ignorance, coming back to slap me in the face. My time on the moon, shielding me from the horrors of war; creating a barrier, pulling intimacy of the terror and the value of life over death. But now I find myself--a symphony of explosions. A massive body pounding wreck; the building shakes. Utter chaos.

What is this feeling? If only I could cherish it. Whatever's happening outside, I want to be a part of it.

A grin fills his face; an expression reflected by his comrades. "Adam front. Let's keep moving," Ealy calls. Jaycee steps back to the group, watching as Adam steps out from the rear and rushes to the front. He takes Adams place at the rear.

Quickly, The section passes through the office cubicles towards the end of the room. As a group, they can see the single door that stands between them and the outside blue sky and bright sun. Adam approaches the door on the side of the doorknob. Once his back is up against the wall, slowly, Adam opens the door, peeking out his head.

Satisfied of what he sees, Adam pulls his head out the door and turns to face the soldier behind him. It's Jordan.

"Skywalk ahead, five windows each side. Perfect vantage points of the East. Beyond the sidewalk, one door, no window."

Jordan nods, turns, looking at Ealy whom, with a thumbs up, acknowledges he received the information.

Adam nods, turns back to the door, and opens it wide.

Without thought, Jordan enters the hallway, rifle raised, ready for anything.

One by one they enter the door, funneling in at quick speed, each of them focused on one of the windows and what lies beyond. At the rear, Jaycee doesn't see much. But when he enters the room, he's last to receive an open palm, hand up signal—STOP!

Sure enough, a foot from where Adam stands is the end of the sky walk. Looking down, a fifty-foot drop to a large crater filled with black and blue metal machinery.

"Dead end," is all Adam mutters.

Shawn chuckles.

"What's the plan?" Adam asks.

All eyes fall to the Captain.

"Give me a moment," Ealy drops his rifle to his side and approaches the second window from the door. Jaycee follows to his Captains side, peering out to Lexus. His insides turn.

"Despite this chaos, I must say, it's a hell of a view. Isn't it Jaycee?"

"Yeah, I guess it is," Jaycee admits, not taking his eyes off the image that will forever be engrained in his eyes. Before him, the many buildings of Lexus engulfed in flames. Black smoke rises beyond the concrete walls, as dozens of explosions and the sound of steel hitting steel pierce their ears. And for the first time, with his own eyes, he can see the sliver of midnight black machines that pass between back alleys and collapsed buildings. Or the odd flash of midnight black melee weapons that rise above the closest buildings, only for the sword or ax to disappear.

He imagines each swing killing his comrades; and yet it still feels so foreign, so unknown. As if up here in the building, he can't be touched—he can't be hurt or killed—like watching a movie from a television screen. A spectator to the battle below.

"Captain?" Adam asks, Jaycee turns to see Mom and Dad in a stare off.

"You just have zero patience, don't you?" Ealy chuckles,

"I have patience, I just don't like watching as our men enter the fight while we watch like birds."

"Yes well dying aimlessly isn't very smart, either. Let's see. . . There is our objective," Ealy points at the single building that looks different from the rest. While most of the buildings are square, this one is like an oval; made of purple glass with a flashing red light at the top—the beacon­.

Everyone is looking now.

Except for--

"Jaycee, over here," Tina whispers, as she tugs at his arm.

Jaycee pulls back from the window. He looks to Tina, whom, like a toddler, pulls her over to the opposite side.

"Holy. . . shit." Jaycee swallows, his free hand gripping the windowsil.

"Look, look at them. . . they're going to engage a MechX,"

Just watching, he can feel his adrenaline spike. Below, there appears to be a group of soldiers, forty at least, as they hunker down behind a landslide of debris that acts as a ramp, into the third story of an old movie theatre. On the other side of the street, five soldiers are tactically plositioned behind a flipped over vehicle.

Three soldiers are pointing and directing the individual troops up the ramp into the third story building.

"They're going to actually do it." Tina whispers in awe; unable to pull her eyes from the scene. Down the street, out of view but not out of earshot, they can hear the large enemy machine as it slashes into the buildings; causing the whole street to shake.

"Captain, our west side is about to engage an MECHX. We need to get down there and support their hasty attack." Jaycee calls. And like impatient school children, the section all run to the windows Jaycee and Tina are at.

Ealy looks down at the group of soldiers. He rubs his chin.

"That's not a Hasty attack, that's an ambush."

"Well whatever it is, The privates gonna label it, he's right. Let's support our troops." Adam speaks above the group; the affirmation in his tone cuts a clear division between he and the Captain.

"I think you sustained a head injury their lieutenant. As let me remind you that I'm the Captain," Ealy begins, leaning forward, trying his best to observe the fight that's about to commence.

He takes careful attention to the five United Universe soldiers that are behind the flipped vehicle. He watches as they each pull out a steel rod the length of one's chest from their individual packs. The soldiers behind the landslide of rubble and debris split in half, one section staying, while the others climb into the old abandoned movie theatre. As the scene unfolds, the odd red flash of the United Universe uniform can be seen through the windows on the second, third, and even fourth floor. The soldiers at the street level disappear behind the building.

"It's getting closer and they're running away?" Kelly asks, her eyes fixating on the end of the street, waiting to see the MECHX for the first time.

"They aren't running away," Fen smiles, pressing his glasses up on his nose.

"They're using the tactical advantage. Look, the soldiers behind the car have drawn their totem poles from their packs. Once the totem poles have locked the MECHX into the Killzone; they will probably use the multi-story building to engage the MECHX from a multitude of angles with their EMP rounds. Simple stuff,"

Everyone looks to Fen now.

"Just watch alright. I guarantee they've unloaded their drop pods and are right now sitting pretty with a multitude of rocket launchers."

Two soldiers split from the group of five. They rush towards the debris, each with a totem pole in hand. One digs, the other places. Rinse and repeat. Once finished, the five soldiers scatter from the scene.

In the distance, explosions, and gunfire. And yet now, with the warm breeze on their face, the chaotic street has disdained to a silence. . .

Calm before the storm. Jaycee thinks; his eyes staring intently at the corner of the window, waiting for the MechX to cross into view.

CRASH! THUD! The sound of steel on concrete, as a midnight black MECHX emerges into view; it's chassis glimmers in the sunlight, while it drags its weapon of choice; a large one handed sword of across the city streets, while it holds a round spartan-like shield to its chest. Instinctively, the group of soldiers drop to a knee; looking like peeping toms staring into their neighbors masterbedroom window.

"That's, that's the MechX? It-it looks taller in person," Tina whispers,

"Thirty feet," Jaycee says, unable to glance her way.

Hell. He can feel her fear.

Or is that his own?

I have to say. It looks taller than thirty fucking feet.

"It walks way more advanced than the simulation," Fen says hoarsely—a hint of anger even.

"The way it moves with its sword and shield. Reminds me of an old knight in a fairytale. Not a metal machine."

Fen shutters at the word Machine.

Ealy opens his mouth to speak—only to close it at the sight of the MechX raising its shield to cover its lower neck . The MechX pulls his sword in tight to his side.

"It knows," Ealy licks his lips, drooling as the MechX side steps slowly, turning its heel—its eyes scanning the surrounding buildings.

"How does it know?" Shawn asks,

"I don't know, but be prepared to move,"

"Roger that," The section, most out of sync, answer.

"Now, I know we all want to get down there and fight, but by the time we get there, this battle could be well over. So everyone pay attention,"

And like tourists looking down at animals in a zoo; they watch. Impatiently. Their fingers itching to pull the trigger.

The MechX is roughly one hundred meters out; fifty meters from the ambush site. Across the street, troops move swiftly through the damaged buildings.

A fire base perhaps? That's a handful of soldiers on the second floor, but nowhere near the forty. Where are the unaccounted soldiers?

Intelligently, the MechX walks down the street, scanning left to right.

The machine tightens it's sword and shield to its chest, coming closer and closer to the kill zone. And then it stops, suddenly, the legs of the machine teetering on the edge of the trap.

It's so close! Jaycee feels like his emotions are about to boil over in anticipation. He can only imagine what the soldiers below are feeling, as they sit in the windows, waiting for the machine to move the extra meter.

The street remains silent, only the movements of the machine heard, as it turns to face the abandoned movie theatre and large ramp of rubble.

"It knows, it fuckings knows," Kelly whispers, her knuckles bone white against the windowsill.

"FIRE!" One of the soldiers screams. Immediately, the windows on the second and third story fill with red uniforms. The line of soldiers stands fast, clenching their cheeks to the side of the air cool rocket launcher.

Bright lights followed by a crack—the sonic boom. Two dozen rounds, chased by a tail of smoke, strike the shield of the MechX. The MechX shakes and stutters backward. At this instant, another volley of cracks. Immediately the MechX responds, turning left. The machine isn't fast enough as it drops to a knee and pulls up its shield. Six direct hits strike the crown of its head.

"Fuck," Shawn whispers. Down the road, Jaycee can see at least twenty bright red uniforms have formed a line.

The perfect flanking maneuvers. And yet it knew. How did it know?

"Fire!" Immediately, another dozen or so flashes of light fill the windows of the abandoned theatre. The MechX shifts back to the abandoned building. More rockets hit the shield, the odd one striking the exposed shoulder. The MechX, in haste, sprints forward, absorbing the rockets head on. Reactionary, the machine raises its sword and strikes the bottom of the building. The building groans, teeters forward, and gives way. The abandoned theatre collapses; a wall of dust fills the side of the street, burying the old theatre and MechX from view.

The firing base at the end of the street, still visible; exchanges rounds. One by one, the rocket launchers fire; a volley of smoke flies through the air—hitting into the cloud of dust. Empty, the soldiers toss the metal paperweights, pull off the line, and disappear. The enemy machine steps through the smoke screen and right into the--

"He's almost at the spot. The enemy think's they've fallen back. When in actuality, they're just around the corner about to spring the trap," Fen answers, leaning his head further out of the window than anyone else.

He wants to see. but even then, while I've been up here observing the fight, it looks like Fen has been in the fight the whole time.

Jaycee looks the totem poles placed earlier, right at the base of the clearing, ten feet shy of the machine that is unware of the trap.

These poles are two feet long, and eight inches in diameter. they weigh about 30lbs each, and due to the expansive foam inside; can cover a decent area and disable the biggest of machines.

The totem pulls engage, shooting up into the air like a bouncing betty and ejecting a blue magnetic, sticky, foam-like substance that covers the street—coating everything within a twenty meter radius.

"That was perfect, fucking perfect," Ealy smiles; and to Jaycee, if the Captain can get excited, then it's something to be excited about. Jaycee doesn't take his eyes off the machine, that's reacting like a humanbeing burning alive. Flailing it's shield and sword around. The machine strikes the buildings on both sides; and the bridge begins to shake. The legs of the machine struggle to bend and move, as the substance, acidic, erodes electrical components and absorbs lubrication—grinding gears to a halt. A smell of burning rubber fills the nostrils. It can barely move, if at all.

"It's trapped!" Fen cheers.

The United Universe soldiers emerge in full strength. Quickly, they retake up arms at the firing line, as well, those who commenced the ambush from the abandoned theatre.

The platoon command steps up to the top of the dirt mound; exposed to the machine. He raises a single arm up in the air.

"STEADY!" he yells, and cuts his hand down like a knife.

"FIRE!" Large blasts of yellow, followed by the crack of many EMP rockets breaking the sound barrier. In their path, created wind tunnels through the smoke. Each successful strike sends the machine backwards as it's dead weight for legs act as anchors. Quickly, the machine groans to a halt; falling backwards. The front line of soldiers, on street level, launches another volley of fire. A rolling thunder of musical drums as each round strikes and tears into the thick metal armor of the MechX. The machine pops and crackles with sparks of electricity visible from the joints. From the left hip, steaming black and purple fluid drip down the machines leg; while black smoke rises into the air.

"They're crushing it, they made it look easy! That was awesome!" Shawn says.

The commander, standing above the mound, removes its helmet for a moment of relaxation. a purple hair headed commander is quickly seen. and He, no She--briefly looks up. It's here, Jaycee and he, no--she, lock eyes. She wipes her forehead of sweat.

"Bro, it's a chick. the commanders a chick,"

"Yeah, a bad ass one," Kelly interjects.

"A bad ass one who's made a fatal mistake." Ealy interjects.

The soldiers at the base of the street cheer.

"What the fuck are you doing? Get your fucking troops out of here! And prepare for the counter attack!" Ealy explodes, his voice carrying into the street with such a thunder, the celebratory group halt their voices.

The Commander, not looking back to the bridge, quickly throws on her helmet, and orders her troops to move.

"Do not forget the basic principles of war, never!" Ealy turns, as he yells to his troops. Jaycee doesn't respond, his eyes focusing in on the battle space below. The Commander on the ground, quickly pulls her troops off the line, disappearing. From the abandoned theatre, they continue to make their way down the wreckage. Explosions, like clapping hands, continue to ring into the air. And suddenly, a rolling tsunami of pulverized concreting; blanketing the street.

"What the fuck was that?" Ealy turns back to the window as the brdige shakes.

"It's the theatre! The one's they were using as cover, it's gone!"

In its place, a MechX wielding a giant battle ax emerges from the wreckage.

"I. . ." Jayce halts his speech, as he see's Adam has already stepped back from the window, staring into Ealy's soul.

The MechX with the large Ax runs across the buildings next to the abandoned street, swinging like a lumberjack. More buildings fall; the odd red flash before disappearing beneath the white waves. Whatever advantage they had is now lost. The MechX paces now, swiping the smoke with a free hand; raising a soldier from the shroud. The soldier screams wretchedly as it bangs the steel fist that has grasped its body.

"Oh my god," Nicole utters.

The MechX squeezes.

Crunch.

The machine opens its hand, nothing but a head attached to a blob of guts smacks the pavement; like spitting wet, sticky gum. The veil of white thins to a curtain, and Ealy, along with his section, is frozen in fear, staring down at the ground that's slowly materializing into view, with the odd red uniform emerging from the debris. Along with screams. Many wretched screams by the unlucky soldiers impaled or crushed by pieces of fallen building. While most of the screams sound like cries in the wind, Jaycee tastes vomit as a bright red uniformed woman with long brown hair, claws her way across the street beneath him. A trail of blood follows her; her lower half attached by a thin piece of meat from her left thigh to her hip.

If Ealy didn't say a word... they'd all be dead. they'd all be like this girl right here.

Jaycee isn't the only one to have heard this scream; as the MechX, dragging its Ax behind, steps past the fallen machine and approaches beneath the skywalk. And it's here, for the first time, The MechX, looks up at their section and lowers its leg onto the soldier crawling away—crunch.

"MOVE! MOVE! MOVE!" Captain Ealy jumps from the window and turns; the section bolts out of the skywalk at lightning speed.

"Get down!" Charles screams as he shoves Shawn forward. Everyone hits the floor. CRACK!

Above them, the steel shimmer of large steel battleax slices through the building; lodged as if an ax stuck in a tree. The building moans and groans—shaking. Powder fills the air. The ax pulls away to a bright sky. It's here, the body of Charles splits in two at the stomach.

Shawn stands, wide eye'd the sudden realization, that Charles had saved him by killing himself in the process.

"Back to the Pod! Move! Move! Move!" Adam screams, pulling himself to his feet. And with every muscle burning in their body; they summon speed they didn't even know they could muster.

Back into the office from where they came, Tina, with her small agile frame, steps out from the group and takes the lead. Hearts pounding—CRACK!

And yet, this new found speed still doesn't feel fast enough. The metal support beams moan and bend under the structural damage as the MechX tries it's hardest to bring the building down.

This is fucking insane. But how did it know? The way it locked onto us like a target, was as if it knew we were watching the whole time—

From the ceiling, pieces of concrete fall, littering the floor scurry through the office, back towards the Onyx drop pod—a flaming hell.

Panic fills Jaycee.

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

This is not the time to be at the fucking rear.

The building moans and groans again—a multitude of strikes.

The Machine wants this building down.

"hurry up and move!" Jaycee screams, his hands close enough to knock Kelly down.

Into the hallway of billowing smoke and flames. The temperature is boiling now. The fire has engulfed most of the building; crawling up the walls, eating away at the ceiling. Hands over their mouths, the soldiers push forward, weaving through the room. Ignoring the pain in their lungs, nose, eyes, and mouth.

"This way! This way!" One by one they funnel past the onyx pod, deeper into the office building.

Get us out of here Tina. I know you can do it—you're a messenger. Keep us alive.

At the front of the hall, Jaycee can see Tina's flashlight that bobs up and down as she sprints.

The smoke is thinning. And in its place, utter darkness.

Quickly, they turn right, then left, then right again—Fen turns the corner sharp, hitting a garbage can. It falls. Shawn jumps over it; Kelly runs around it. Jaycee nearly trips. The walls around them start to crack. The ceiling warping inwards as if a branch on the edge of being snapped. Time slows.

This is it.

And from the rear of the group, Jaycee has a first-class ticket to the unfolding events.

He can see the old, faded green door that Tina kicks open. He can see the utter fear on his lover's face as she turns around and—

"HURRY UP!" Tina screams as loud as she can, with one hand holding a flashlight at the steps, her other free hand scooping outwards and into her chest. And all they can do is sprint—and pray. "This way, this way, this way!" Tina cries down the hall, watching as panic stricken faces pass her, into the stairwell. Ealy, Adam, Fen, Nicole—

And her goldilocks colored hair is hit with a large chunk of the roof. She stumbles forward, trips and hits the ground. Chunks from the ceiling falls. Hands overhead the soldiers continue to run. Kelly and Jordan taking up the left and right flank of Nicole; trying to avoid her so she can stand—except for Jaycee who—It's too late I CAN'T STOP!

Jaycee collides with Nicole, sending her forward and into the wall. Tina wide eye, watches as Jaycee, the second last to—No. He will be the last to enter. Jaycee hits the door and a wave of concrete follows; taking Nicole with it.