Amelia took a deep breath through her nose, pressing the protective thin layer of scarf closer to her face. The desert winds howled around her, whipping the long strands of crimson hair the strong dry gusts had ripped out of her disheveled bun she had thrown up in haste earlier that morning to prepare for the desert heat. She squinted, knowing the main building of the military base she had just been escorted to was near, but for the love of her the sand the desert storm had kicked up made it near impossible to see. A hand came to rest upon her right arm, gripping her lower bicep with more force than necessary.

"This way, Miss Edson!" the man the hand belonged to called, close to her ear. He had his free arm upraised, trying to shield his face from the cutting sand. Several more forms appeared around her; two in suits, most in standard desert camouflage army uniform. The man holding her arm ushered her towards the base, and soon she found herself within its walls.

Glad to be finally protected from the vicious storm taking place outside, Amelia pushed the scarf from her face, a slightly irritated scowl having fixed itself on her features. She blinked, and sand fell from her lashes. She repressed a sigh, knowing she would be finding sand for the next two days.

"Good afternoon, Miss Edson. I hope you traveled well?" A man flanked by two soldiers addressed her as he walked up, a polite smile on his face. He was handsome, with an angular jaw and strong dark eyes.

"Ace, please. Good to see you in once piece still, Lennox." A small curve of her lips told him she was genuinely pleased to know her comment was true. The last time they had met years ago, aliens were unknown to the world they lived in. She had heard much though since then, and she always worried for her fellow soldiers.

"You know me, I'm a pain to get rid of," Will Lennox chuckled good-heartedly, his hand coming up. Amelia extended her own, clasping his forearm as he did hers.

"Ain't that the truth," said a voice behind them with a smile.

"And it is always a pleasure to see you, too, Epps." Amelia moved to stand so she could clearly see both of her acquaintances, crossing her arms over her chest lightly. "It has certainly been awhile."

"Indeed, Ace. To tell you the truth, I'm glad to see you're doing better than the last time I heard of you," Epps said, his dark eyes shifting ever so subtly to her left side, where her metal fingers tapped lightly at her right arm's forearm. Unabashed, and ever so proud at her latest improvement of her prosthetic arm, she uncrossed her arms and lifted the metal appendage, curling her fingers. The harsh lights in the unceremoniously small room reflected off the metal as she turned her wrist and stretched her fingers once more.

"Thank you. It is my latest design," she smiled. If it could be called 'latest', she thought. She had designed the arm, and most of her leg, years ago, with only miniscule upkeep tweaks since.

"Full mobility?" Lennox asked, his eyebrows raised in admiration and awe of the arm. It moved like a real arm, the bend of the elbow and flex of the fingers. It was beyond impressive.

"Yes, one would never miss flesh. I even have toes!" Amelia flashed a stunning smile, her teeth appearing almost blindingly white against her sand abused skin, her face haloed by a mass of tangled scarlet curls. To prove herself, she leaned over to raise the pant leg of her slacks, and lifted her left leg from the low high-heel to wiggle her metal toes.

Amelia Colette Edson, known by most as "Ace", was an engineering prodigy. As an only child, at home she had much free time to tinker with anything that crossed her path. When she got older, she breezed through her college's engineering program and joined the army as an engineer technician. Most of her work had been on the military vehicles, in between battles restoring them to their full functionality with little more than literally some string and camel patties once. Ace was in the army until one of her very few miscalculated steps left her without the entirety of both her left appendages, and scars raging up over her ribs and left shoulder blade almost six years ago.

But Amelia breathed machinery, and craved the fight almost as much. After her rehabilitation, she was contracted in an engineering research facility designing weapons for private groups of the military. Amelia had designed and built more classified weapons than even she could count. Her own work on herself had been a side project, though important people quickly caught wind of her impeccable designs. The commissions had flooded her facility from hospitals across the world. Her inventions had broken into an entirely new world for individuals like herself.

Proud of her work she was, however Amelia was not a woman who wished to spend her days cramped in a facility, no matter the size. She yearned for action, movement, new ideas, and challenges. Over the past few years, Amelia had begun to realize she had fallen into a rut of sorts, and although she enjoyed her work, when the summon came from a comrade she had not heard from in years for a new job, she jumped at the opportunity.

Especially because she would be working with them.

"Very impressive, Ace. You never cease to amaze," started Lennox, smiling still at her wiggling toes. "Now, let's get you settled in. Your bags have been taken to the barracks for you, where you'll be staying while you're here with us." Lennox smiled a toothy grin, noticing Amelia's emerald eyes spark with contained excitement as they began walking through corridors of the base. Occasionally, Lennox would have to swipe a key card and punch in a very long code to have the doors swish open.

"You'll be getting your own key card within the next day or so," he told her. She nodded absently mindly, unable to pay close attention to him because the latest door his trusty key card had unlocked opened a huge hangar.

AN: I know this chapter is outrageously short, but have no fear! This was just a "test the water" kind of chapter. They will only get longer from here on out.