Prologue

The prickly snow fell on his helmet. The vizor was frozen and he could see the sky. It was orange, shining with the sun. He gave a short, sharp look at his hands, feeling the weight of the suit. The attack on Pripyat's mercenaries had failed. He lowered his hands again, the sun shining into his visor. He blinked and winced as he tried to move. The wounds hurt and soon the dogs would come to eat them. He had given the retreating order yet still, many of his men were there. He rose up, the pain in his chest deepening. The battle had been an ambush which the mercenaries handled well. They suffered heavy losses and so did his troops. He gave a look around. There were dead troops on the ground, some still breathing, some limp. There was one mercenary trying to get up, heaving himself on his friends. He then got up, looking back at him. The two stared at each other before they both spotted a gun. Just like the first time in Pripyat. He smirked at the man under his mask and ran at the gun, diving in the end to reach the gun. He grabbed it by the handle, firing at the man. He let out a groan before dying to his wounds. There was silence except for a heavy breathing. "Sergeant! Are you there?" The communicator in his helmet broke the silence. He raised his hand to touch the side of his head, before speaking with a rough voice. "This is Rockaheel." He heard a sigh of relief at the other end. "This is Beta 2, Sergeant. We discovered her." He rose, his heart jumping at the mention of her. "Where, Corporal?" The man didn't speak at first, before saying: "Inside the mercenaries' base." He turned the radio off and rushed to the old base. Was he really hoping she would still be alive? Yes, he assured himself as he reached the old base. He sighed, walking in. There she was, being treated to by Sencha the medic. Something was not right though. Her skin was cold and as Sencha rose, shaking his head sadly, the reality of the situation sinked in. She was dead. Sencha walked over, placing his hands on his shoulders. "Listen, Martin. The mercenaries killed her before we made it here and the base was abandoned. She died days ago, around the time we engaged the mercs in combat. You've already killed everyone responible and that's good. I'm sorry and i'm gonna call in the military to take her away to be buried. I however did discover her diary. It ends shortly before our fight with them. Please, Martin. Think everything through before making descisions." Martin sat down near her corpse, sighing, opening the diary at a folded page. The final hours before she died. He started to read:

"Day 35.

This is the last day, i can feel it. I hear them talking out there, arguing if to kill me or not. If my end truly comes, i'll embrace it with all my glory. Sergeant Rockaheel.. No, Martin. Yes, Martin has the command now. Here, in this diary, will be my access codes, so Martin can use them best. I love him. He won't know that until too late. They're coming. I wish to be buried in my hometown, alongside my parents. Now only my sister remains..

He closed the diary, nodding. He picked up her corpse, and gave one last look. Her eyes were open, yet, he could see peace reflecting back. Something Martin could possibly never achieve. He smiled and slid his right hand over her eyes, the emerald green eyes closing forever. He walked through the open doors to the helicopter outside. The helicopter was large, black and coverer in a shiny metal. Martin smiled and placed her corpse inside the heli. He gave a nod to the man inside and sat next to her. "Sergeant? Where to?" Martin looked back at the man. "To the hill. I'm going to get my stuff. And then it's back to the nearest base to get her home." The helicopter lifted off to fly across the half-snowed landscape. Martin peered out the window every once and a while until they landed. Most of his troops were there. Martin stepped out of the heli to go inside the building. He gathered some clothes into a backpack, put a notebook ontop of the clothes and threw the backpack over his shoulder. As he made his way back into the heli, he stopped near Sencha and said: " Corporal Sencha Vladimirevich Bandarov, you are the acting CO of this operation until i return. Make me proud, Sencha." Sencha hunched up and gave a salute to Michael. "Da, Comrade Rockaheel." Martin then walked into the chopper and before walking in, threw in his bag and turned around, saying: "That goes to all of you. We shall remain here as a foothold. Never lose sight of the Lookout Base, men!" He gave a salute and so replied all of the men inside the base. Martin walked inside and flew off into the setting sun. And somewhere in the Pacific Coast, a family would receive the sad news once again.