-- 16 years ago --

Gabriel Reyes strode through the demolished town, keeping his guard up, prepared for any form of attack. Talon spared no mercy on any who stood in their way, and this town had fallen like many others. As he crossed yet another street, he wondered why this town had been targeted, and why it needed this harsh a treatment.

He out a scoff. It didn't matter. Sooner or later they would find out, and rest assured Blackwatch would be there to deal with it personally. They always did. It's all they'd been doing since they made HIM strike commander. They'd been running around like his own pack of hunting dogs.

A scuffling sound to his left made him halt. Spinning around he readied his shot gun, preparing to level it at whoever or whatever was about to come. He winced at his actions when he saw who did come out.

A small child, only around six it seemed, slowly stepped out of the shadows, blue eyes large with fright. She was holding onto her left arm, which held several long scrapes that were bleeding lightly and covered in soot. Her tattered clothes had several cuts and scorch marks. Aside from the cuts and bruises, it was a miracle she hasn't been severely injured. The two observed each other for a long, tense moment. Finally, he broke the silence, crouching on one knee and setting his shotguns on the ground, he beckoned for her to come to him.

"C'm'ere kid. Let's see your arm there." He gruffly stated. She stayed put, not yet trusting him. With a cough, he tried again with a somewhat gentler tone. "I won't bite. I'm not the ones who did this to your town. I'm here to help." When she finally reached him, he carefully cleaned, applied anti-biotic, sprayed, and bandaged her arm. He checked over her to make sure she hasn't been hurt anywhere else. "They really got you, huh?"

She nodded. "I was in the park." Her voice was tiny from shock and fear, and she could barely get the few words out.

"Where were your parents?" He spread some cream on a small cut on her forehead.

"Home."

"And where is that?" By the time she finished telling him the address, he was satisfied that he had gotten all of her cuts. She looked up at him, a small smile forming.

"Thank you mister."

"Ah, don't bother." He stood up, picking up and holstering his shotguns. "What's your name kid?"

"Jamie." She took his outstretched hand, and the two headed off towards her home.

His stomach sank an inch or two when they eventually reached her street on the other side of town. It too had been hit just as hard as the rest of the town. He couldn't see a house fully intact, nor had they seen another living being in the wreckage. He stopped in front of seemingly, just another demolished home. She looked up at him confused, the light from the small fires causing her red-brown hair to shine like bronze.

"I thought we were going home?"

He looked at what he could of the address, and his stomach fell the rest of the way. "We are."

"Nnnno...?" She trailed off, scanning the ground for some proof that he was wrong. Her eyes caught on the shattered blue and pink bird house she had made on her birthday. She lunged forward, shouting for her parents. She started kicking when Gabriel crouched down, holding onto her tightly to keep her from running into the burning house to her certain death.

Eventually she turned around, throwing her arms around him and sobbed while he tried to comfort her. When her sobbs grew less frequent, he picked her up, holding her and walking to the pick up point as she slowly cried herself to sleep.

"I see you found someone." Moira blandly stated when he reached the hover craft. Everyone else had arrived and had been waiting for him for the past half hour.

"I found her in one of the streets." He explained, setting Jamie in a chair and making sure she was secure before heading to the cockpit. "Her home has been destroyed, she's coming with us for now." He closed the door, settling in the co-pilot chair as the real pilot looked over at him.

"You sure you know what you're doing?"

"I've been your co-pilot dozens of times."

"You know what I mean."

He remained silent. She sighed and soon they were on their way to the base.