Laran Project

[The Sovereign]

LDF1Thirteen

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The boy couldn't have been more than 10 years old, and already had the cold eyes of a veteran. A by-product of the Laran Project. The Core had long ago realized that it was in need of a new edge to keep hold of its precarious position in the Omicrons, and that to survive they would have to push the limits in ways that had never been pushed before.

Which is why a number of children, ranging from 3-6 had been rounded up, tested for agreeable traits, and made to have never existed. Given numbers as identifiers, and treated as objects, they were subjected to training that would have been more suitable for the Core's commando units. As a result, dozens were deemed failures, and more still were quietly assigned an unmarked grave, the stress too much for their young bodies.

However, despite the setbacks, control group One had shown promising results. Compared to the 75% failure and casualty rate of the other control groups, group One suffered only 25% under the same conditions. The differences intrigued the trainers and scientists, who began to test just how far they could push the kids before they too began to break.

When initial efforts were hamstrung by physical abilities and youth, the Core substituted cybernetics and stimulants to make up the difference. As the tests became more strenuous and the children began to suffer, the Core learnt how to hone the intensity of the program to the point where results would be generated without loss of progress. By the time they had reached this point however, they had depleted all but 3 members of the initial control groups.

Given numbers instead of names, Thirteen, Five and Two-Seven were the benchmark that the Laran Project would strive to attain. The youngest of the group was Thirteen, taken when he was only four for the training. The other two were twins, and nearly a full year and a half older. Of the original 150 children taken to become the foundation of the Laran Project, only these three survived before the Core's scientists and commanders were satisfied with the attainable results.
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Which is why is why Nova Hawken found herself locked in a staring match with thirteen, his cold eyes drilling into hers. As the project head of part two of the Laran Project, her responsibility was to make sure that the surviving subjects were turned into deadly, flexible, independent and most importantly, loyal weapons for the Core to use.

They'd already been taught discipline, forced to endure arbitrary punishments for the smallest misstep and supposedly stripped of any defiance in the face of Core authority. Which is why Thirteen had caught her off-guard when he questioned a direct order. Granted they were taught to adapt and adjust based on evolving circumstances, but they had also been taught to obey the orders of a superior without question.

Another few seconds passed. Nova could feel the eyes of Two-Seven and Five on her, evaluating, judging. She was being tested. By children without names. She had been warned that this would happen, but hadn't expected it so soon. The way to keep Two-Seven and Five in line were by targeting their twin, but Thirteen was harder to reign in. A sigh escaped her lips as she entered a command on her wrist-mounted pad, and Thirteen's shock implant on the back of his neck activated, leaving his body writhing on the floor.