Deus Ex Universe: Children's Crusade Issue 1

Deus Ex Universe: Children's Crusade is a 5-part comic produced by Titan Comics in 2016. It follows the story of Adam Jensen as he adapts to his new role as a member of Task Force 29, an Interpol-sponsored anti-terrorist unit. The series is set just before Deus Ex: Mankind Divided.

In Issue 1, the Task Force must rescue a group of kidnapped children from a terrorist organization in Prague.

Synopsis
"With society still reeling from the Aug Incident - the Illuminati-orchestrated event which caused augmented individuals to mindlessly attack their 'natural' counterparts - anti-aug sentiment is at an all-time global high. Task Force 29 - an Interpol-funded coalition, created to quash the rising tide of terrorist activity - stands as the world’s main defence against total anarchy. In the city of Prague, where tension is especially high, the team’s latest recruit, Adam Jensen, readies for his first mission with the unit. But being augmented himself, how will the former SWAT officer handle himself when faced with the grim reality of the mechanical apartheid?"

Plot Summary
The issue opens in Prague. A helicopter flies over the city. Two members of a Picus News crew, Gigi and Ike, are somewhere out-of-frame discussing something that's about to happen. Gigi asks Ike if this is the right warehouse. She notes that the Interpol team has not arrived yet. Ike says that it is, but that they have arrived early to get as much candid footage as possible. They finish setting up the shot as the helicopter approaches the warehouse, and the news crew.

Meanwhile, in the chopper, Task Force 29 are being briefed on their mission. Jim Miller is explaining to the team that a group of pro-augmentation radicals is holding a group of children hostage in the warehouse that the team is about to raid. Alex Vega asks him why TF29 has been dispatched, implying that kidnappings are not serious enough to warrant their time. Miller explains that the group has kidnapped several children of government officials. As he finishes his explanation, someone named Change cuts in and informs him that Titus King, the reporter from the news crew, has just started reporting on the team's pending actions. Chang says that someone must have tipped him off. Miller curses the development and tells the team to play nice for the cameras. Someone asks Miller if they are going to abort the mission, but Miller does not want to risk the safety of the hostages just to stay off camera. Miller instructs the group's pilot, Elias Chikane, to land softly. Miller informs the team by radio that they have the green light to engage. The team leader, MacReady, acknowledges the order, and the op begins.

MacReady tells another team member, Vasquez, to accompany him out first, he assigns Niemi and Beafort to follow, and tells Jensen to hold the extraction point. Jensen begins narrating. He says that, being the new guy, the team does not yet trust him, and that the feeling is mutual, though Jensen cannot let his mistrust show. As MacReady and Vasquez break down the door to the compound, a radical shouts in German that the police have arrived. Jensen continues. He says that they are not the police, but rather a much bigger problem for the terrorists. Task Force 29 is the best counter-terrorist team that Interpol can put together. Inside the compound, the team is engaging the terrorists. Jensen explains that "a little shooting is just another day at the office." As the battle increases in intensity, Jensen notes that it is suddenly not just a little shooting. Chikane tells MacReady that he is ready to leave if he needs it. Jensen hacks the surveillance feeds to watch the team, because he know that they are doing poorly. Upon seeing the situation, Jensen rushes in to the building to assist the rest of the team. Chikane informs Miller, who orders Jensen to stay put. Jensen ignores him and continues to narrate. He explains that a tight-knit team like TF29 will not trust you until you prove yourself, and that this is his chance. Jensen says that he heard that MacReady does not like "augs," and that Vasquez does not either. He comments that he would try to convert them, were he the evangelist type, but that he will instead just save their lives and let them make up their own minds. Jensen encounters a strong, fast aug, noting the vast variety among augmented people. Jensen sees that the man he is now fighting is built for "ass-kicking," but that there is more. The man has neurological augments that fix a disorder that would normally leave him paralyzed or dead. The man suddenly breaks engagement and jumps to the second-story catwalk. Jensen again notes his speed, as the man escapes before Jensen can act.

The shooting in the warehouse has stopped, and MacReady chastises Jensen for disobeying Miller's order, threatening to kick him off the team if he does it again. Jensen retorts that if he hadn't disobeyed, there would not be a team left to be kicked off of. The team opens up a shipping container and reveals that the intel about the kidnapped children was good. There are dozens of kids inside the container; too many for Chikane to take in one load. MacReady finally concedes to Jensen that he made an impression, and welcomes him aboard.

Warehouse situation settled, Jensen's attention returns to the aug who escaped from him earlier. Jensen asks Chikane and Miller if they saw anyone exit from the roof. Chikane says that no one has come out since Jensen went in, and Jensen concludes that the man is still in the building. Jensen rushes back up to the roof, where Chikane reiterates that no one has come out that way. Meanwhile, from a circling helicopter, Titus King is asking his camera technician how much footage they got from the scene. The tech replies that they only really got audio from the gunfire, and King approves. Back on the rooftop, Jensen asks Miller if they can make King go away, but Miller replies that they can not do anything short of shooting the chopper down, and jokingly reminds Jensen not to get any ideas. Two stories below, Jensen's target bursts through a window and makes his escape down an alleyway. Miller orders Jensen not to pursue and return to the team and the hostages. He assures Jensen that they will track the escaped terrorist in due time. Jensen is about to return to the warehouse when King, who has just landed, jumps Jensen in an attempt to get a quick interview. Miller warns Jensen that he will be removed from the team if he gives an answer other than "no comment." King asks Jensen about the operation, wanting to know if there were hostages involved, and what the shooting was about. Jensen replies no comment, and King goes on to ask him if his loyalties are divided due to his augmentations. When Jensen once again refuses comment, King asks Jensen what his thoughts on Pavel Mikulski are. The question raises Jensen's ire, and he explains in narration that Mikulski is an "anti-aug zealot" behind numerous anti-augmentation pieces of legislation. Jensen narrates that, despite Mikulski's rhetoric about saving humanity, he really only wants augmented people "lined up against the wall and shot." Jensen is about to fall for King's bait and launch in to a tirade when Vega comes to the rescue. Vega reminds King that Jensen refused to comment, and tells him that, if he comes any closer to the entrance, he will be interfering with the Interpol investigation, and that "then [she] will have a comment, but it will not be verbal." This angers King, who starts to tell her that the people have a right to know what's happening, but she slams the door in his face. At that moment, the camera tech realizes that there is a problem with the camera feed. King wants to know whether they got the interpol team. The tech replies that they didn't, and King swears.

Back inside the warehouse, Vega asks Jensen if he got a good look at the runaway. Jensen tells her about the man's fighting augmentations, and also that his neural augmentations saved his life. Jensen asks why Miller kept Jensen from chasing after the terrorist, and Vega replies that Miller didn't want a news crew to see the scene. Jensen thinks internally that there may be more to it than that. MacReady orders a sweep of the building to make sure that there are no terrorists in hiding. MacReady compliments Jensen on the op again, but tells him that "It won't make [him] love [Jensen]." Jensen jokes that MacReady is breaking his heart, and the group fans out.