The helicopter rattled and groaned as it cut through the night sky, blades thrumming like a relentless war drum above. The world outside was nothing but a sheet of black and white - the endless Siberian expanse swallowed in snow and shadows. Inside the cabin, the red glow of the interior lights painted the squad in harsh color, gleaming off weapons, armor, and sharp edges of faces weathered by years of service.

Zeus sat at the center bench, rifle across his lap, gloved fingers curled loosely over the grip. His yellow eyes, unnaturally bright against the stark planes of his scarred face, flickered briefly to each of his soldiers as the briefing replayed in his head. Siberian forest. Anomaly sighting. Priority retrieval. The Psychic Research Institute didn’t send Alpha-001-1 unless something - or someone - was worth the risk.

Across from him, Raven rested her head back against the vibrating steel, eyes half-lidded. A lean woman with cropped silver hair and a reputation for marksmanship that bordered on the impossible, she idly spun a knife between her fingers, blade flashing whenever the cabin light caught it.

“Feels like a waste of bullets if it’s just another frozen civvie wandering too far,” she muttered, though the flick of her knife never slowed.

“Then you’ll get to save ammo for once,” Bear rumbled, his voice low, chewing gum with the patience of a man who had seen too many missions to care. The massive machine gun strapped to his chest shifted as the helicopter jolted, but he didn’t bother steadying it.

Further down, Phantom checked the scope on his rifle for the fifth time, pale fingers running over the weapon with something close to reverence. He said nothing, but his silence earned a grin from Viper, who leaned forward with restless energy, drumming his cybernetic fingers against his knee.

“Relax, Phantom. Maybe we’ll finally get something interesting tonight. Not every day Brauer points a finger at the woods.”

Dog, the youngest, scoffed. His nerves showed in the sharpness of his voice, too eager to sound seasoned. “If it’s that important, why not send the H.O.U.N.D.S? We’re just mopping up scraps for the big dogs again.”

The pilot’s voice crackled through the comms before Zeus could answer: “Five minutes to drop.”

Zeus adjusted his earpiece, his voice steady, rough, commanding. He didn’t need to bark to be heard. The squad listened when he spoke because they knew better.

“We don’t know what we’re walking into. Capabilities unknown. Orders are clear - retrieve. Lethal force only if there’s no other option.”

Raven’s knife stilled. Bear’s gum clicked once between his teeth. Viper smirked, as if he’d been waiting to hear those words. Dog shifted, restless.

The red light above the hatch flicked on, bathing them in warning. The storm outside was thick, almost unnatural in its weight, as though the very forest they were descending into wanted them out. Zeus didn’t flinch. He never did. To him, it was just another mission, another anomaly, another night where the cold gnawed at bones and the Institute whispered its orders through blood and steel.

He rose to his feet, the cabin trembling beneath him, and motioned for his soldiers to ready themselves. Outside, the treeline waited, ancient and indifferent. Somewhere down there, in the frozen dark, was the reason they had been called - the anomaly that had caught Dr. Brauer’s eye.

And when Brauer wanted something, there was no such thing as refusal.