<span class="bbc_size" style="font-size: 1.45em;">Linco Rye had been Special Ops for twenty-five of his forty years. He was beyond ready to retire when the chance came to join the Novus venture he jumped at it with both feet and no looking back. It wasn't that he minded being a special ops assassin, just that it was time for him to retire. He wanted to start a family--settle down, the whole shebang. His place in SpecO. got him a guaranteed spot on the ship, luck got him the right escape pod, now what could he say kept him out of the notice of the ex-supercop Pat. Oh he knew the sort well, always pooh-pahing their power positions, but really deep down, they had to have em. He had to laugh to himself when she "tried" to offer someone else the position of leader. Her eyes not staying on their faces and her voice not giving them time to even foment an answer. Oh, yeah she wanted it alright. He bet she pooled between the legs just thinking about it. She hadn't even asked him if he would consider being leader. Linco banked on that. That's why he had been so great at his job. He had the kind of looks no one though much of, he wasn't ugly, far from it, but he wasn't handsome either. He was nondescript. Someone had once described his as brownish blendy. His hair and eye color matched, a neutral medium brown. His features were even and plain. Nothing remarkable. He wasn't tall, nor was he short. He wasn't fat, nor was he thin. Nothing about him stood out. He didn't go against the flow. How he looked made him a perfect recruit for SpecO. He was taught to blend his mannerisms and characteristics. <br/>He was also taught to kill in many different ways, by touch, poison, knife, gun. Oh, there were endless ways.<br/>Now here was this ridiculous colonel actually marching people in this heat and humidity? <em>Marching for fucks sake!</em> <em>Some people just can't let go of their past.</em> Linco grinned, and fingered the knife in his pocket. He knew he would kill again if he thought it necessary, and never bat at eye about it.<br/>He heard the one speak of the people who had left the group. <em>Funny, just to go off into the forest. Seems odd they didn't speak on it. Something stinks here.</em> Linco sided up to one of the newest members of the group. "Did you know who went into the woods? Linco asked, offering the hot, tired woman a drink of water. <br/>Accepting with a grateful smile," Yeah, I did. It was the captain and the Vet from my Pod, and another Lady besides. The Vet was wonderful helping all the wounded before herself, and the Captain and the Lady were kind helping with water." She told between mouthfuls of water.<br/>"They didn't take all your food and supplies?" Linco kept his face neutral, but his mind was working fast.<br/>"Oh, no. The Captain sent back a huge supply of meat to be tested for goodness. It was checked fine. He did take two small tents and a few supplies to sustain them through the night as they had a severely injured woman they couldn't move tonight, but nothing more than the absolute necessities."<br/>Seeing her empty cup, Linco thanked the woman and offered to get her more water. Walking to the water station he gazed at the colonel and wondered what the man was up to. His hand began to itch. That was never a good sign for the person he was looking at. They usually weren't alive long after his hand began itching.</span>