The morning light shined on Marcus's face. Normally he was up before the sun, but this was the weekend. He felt no rush to get up today. Even though he'd been sleeping in this bed for almost two years now…It still felt like the first time in eighteen years that he'd slept in a real bed. He was warm, comfortable, and happy. That thought alone woke him up. Marcus was happy, and it actually worried him. He'd spent his life in a state of rage, anger, and fear. And now he was happy. Marcus shook the idea out of his head. SO many people had fought and died for him to have this. He wasn't going to mope.

The fuss of the baby was pretty much the deciding factor in his rising. Anya sighed, and rolled over, but Marcus was already sitting up.

"Don't get up, I've got it," he said to her, and he put on a shirt. The baby's room was adjacent to theirs, and Marcus picked up the three-month old baby boy. He still didn't have a name, but they had time. Marcus looked to the fields, the cattle already wandering out of the barn. His father had told Marcus to live his life, so he'd chosen to live simply. Gardening has been Dom's thing, but ranching? Marcus could handle cattle, and there was a serious demand for things like milk and meat. They even had ranch hands. These lands had once been possible Imulsion fields, waiting to be harvested for the stuff beneath. Now that there was no Imulsion, the land was good for growing, and that was about it.

The baby clung to his father, knowing he was in safe hands. Marcus pulled one of the baby bottles from the fridge and placed it in the baby's mouth, and the child took it from there. Anya finally emerged from the bedroom, rubbing her eye. She smiled at the sight of Marcus holding the child, and started on the morning meal.

"You know, eventually we're going to have to get him schooling," Marcus said.

"Before we worry about that, we should worry about a name," Anya pointed out, "We can't keep calling him 'Boy' forever."

"That's true…Nothing's come to mind, though…"

"Well, we could name him after Dom, or your father," she suggested. Marcus was silent for a moment, thinking.

"Nah," Marcus sighed, "I don't want to dwell too much on the past. Naming him after them would be doing just that. We should think of something new."

Marcus took the bottle out of his son's mouth to get a better look at him. The boy didn't cry, instead he grabbed for the bottle in defiant stubbornness.

"How about Franklin? He looks like a Frank, don't you think?" Marcus asked.

"Franklin Fenix?" Anya asked, "Not as poetic as Marcus or Adam, but it's a good name."

"Franklin Adam Fenix," Marcus suggested, "How about that?"

"Remembering without dwelling?"

"Sure, I guess. It just sort of rolls off the tongue, you know?"

Anya set a plate of food in front of Marcus, smiling.

"Franklin," she agreed, offering to take Frank. Instead, Marcus re-adjusted the baby, so that he could eat with one hand and hold the baby in the other. Nineteen years of duty as a Gear, Marcus had the coordination for it. Franklin didn't protest. Anya felt a similar pang of sudden worry that Marcus had felt earlier, but similarly dismissed it. This was her tomorrow, and nothing would stand in the way of that, and she turned her attention to her own plate of breakfast. They ate in a comfortable, pregnant silence. About halfway through their meal, there was a knock on the door.

"I swear, if those knuckleheads broke another yoke, I'm going to break another one over their asses," Marcus promised, handing Frank to his wife and opening the door, planning an intimidating 'WHAT!' to his ranch hands. Instead, it was Baird, in full Gears armor. There was an awkward silence for what felt to be a year.

"WHAT?" Marcus barked.

"Good to see you too, Marcus," Baird sighed, "It's only been two years since we last saw each other."

"You call once a week. Carmine doesn't even call that often. You're more annoying than our whiny dog. What do you want, Baird?"

"The Gears have stuck around, Marcus. They've sent out a universal draft of all capable ex-members."

"Tell them to fuck off for me, then."

"I already did, but they wanted you and Anya. I told them that you've got a kid and a ranch, and that you're more productive this way, but the fuckin' brass said that I'd better get one of you, or they're knocking me down a rank."

"And why do I give a shit about your rank?"

"You don't. I told them to stick their heads up their asses, but then they gave me this."

He hands Marcus a datapad.

"They told me that they want you and Anya. One or the other if that's the least they could get. They're afraid that the Locust might be back. Just take a look, would you? At the very least, have Anya analyze it for us, I'll tell them that's all they're going to get. I don't want to pull you away from this, I really don't. But…"

Baird shook his head.

"Sam and I agree on this, and you know how often that happens. Something bad is happening, and the Gears are not going to just let it happen until it's out of hand. We're not the COG."

Marcus turned on the datapad, and took a skim, and sighed. Something was happening. From what he'd caught, people were starting to go missing, entire towns.

"All right, come on. You hungry? We've still got some eggs cooked up."

"Normally I'd be polite and refuse, but I've been eating Gear rations again, I could use some fresh food," Baird admitted. Marcus led Baird inside. Anya smiled at seeing Marcus, but the smile disappeared when Baird appeared.

"Hey, Anya," Baird gave a half-wave, and she nodded in reply.

"Marcus, what's going on?"

Marcus scraped the last of the scrambled eggs onto a plate, and handed it to Baird, who proceeded to attack it. Marcus sat, and followed suit.

"Something's going down. The Gears want us to help them work on it. I've no intention of getting back into uniform, Anya, but…You should take a look at this."

Anya traded Franklin for the datapad.

"Finally decide on a name?" Baird asked.

"Yeah. Franklin," Marcus replied.

"After the robot?"

"I like the name Frank," Marcus growled.

"Frank's a good name," Baird agreed quickly. Anya shook her head and sighed.

"There's no way there's not something going on," she agreed, "People are just vanishing. Signs of resistance, unknown weapons being used…No bodies except for humans that getting shot up. I don't think it's Locust or Lambent for that reason, I'd need more information to draw a real conclusion. What does this have to do with us?"

"The Gears want the best. You two are it. They want Delta Squad."

"Fuck you."

"That's what I told them. I said that I'd train and lead a new Delta Squad myself, but they wouldn't take no for an answer. At the very least they want you to read that. I've got Clayton, Cole, and Sam. I'm happy with that for a squad. But they just want to see if you're interested."

Marcus took the now-empty bottle from Franklin, and started patting him on the back.

"I've got a new life, Baird. I'm not giving it up. But I'll tell you what. Talk to our ranch-hands, and see who are willing to enlist. And I'm willing to sell to the Gears food. But I've got no reason to back to war."

"I think they'll be…Sort of satisfied with that. I'm sure they'll send some other asshole with some intelligence for you two to pick over whether you tell them to go to hell or not. Thanks for the eggs. Keep that datapad. We've been building them out of the wazoo nowadays. Let us know if you figure anything out, and…"

He took a device out from his pack, and handed it to Marcus.

"Whatever is going on, they're targeting remote areas. You guys are pretty remote. If something happens, anything, hit this button. We'll come running, and if we don't get here in time, we'll at least have gotten a notice. At least. Do you still have a Lancer or two? I've got some extra ammo for you."

"Do you want to use the barn as an ammo depot, too?" Marcus asked.

"I just want to be sure you guys stay safe. I'd hate to be the kidnappers if they're dumb enough to come after the Fenix ranch, but I'd also hate to see you guys undersupplied."

"We've got weapons," Anya promised him. Baird nodded.

"All right. Thanks for the eggs. Marcus, mind coming with me to talk to your ranch hands? I think they'd listen to you more than they would to me. I'm just some asshole…"

"Yeah. You got this handled, Anya?"

"Don't worry about it," she promised, taking Frank, "Go talk to the hands."

Marcus regarded his kitchen one more time, somewhat afraid that if he stepped outside, he'd never see it again, but followed Baird out anyway. Marcus only needed a single hand signal to tell his hands that he wanted to talk to them, and within a couple of minutes, they'd all assembled in front of the barn.

"Everyone, this is Damon Baird. He was one of my squadmates during the war. Delta squad. I've told you all the stories, so here's the man in the flesh and power armor. He's got an offer for you."

"Thanks, Marcus. Truth is, I came here to get Marcus back. I didn't think I'd be able to. And I was right. Marcus is staying right here. But command doesn't want me to walk away empty handed. Truth is, bad shit is happening, and we need Gears. I'm not a recruiter, I'm the leader of Delta Squad. All I'm going to tell you is that we need more Gears. I won't give you the bullshit. So if you've ever thought about signing up, now's the time, fellas."

Marcus said nothing, but he saw the faces of his hands. Two of them walked away and went back to their chores. Baird didn't even flinch. Another two said that they would sign up, leaving one undecided.

"I'm…I'm going to need to give it some thought," Theodore admitted, "Is there a way to contact you?"

"Fuck no, I'm going on a mission. You ever make up your mind, call the recruiter, they'll hook you up," Damon said. He motioned to the other two, "Come on, then."

Theodore couldn't look Marcus in the eye. He seemed almost ashamed.

"Come on, Theo, what's eating you?" Marcus demanded.

"Well…I've thought about it. But…" he shook his head, "I like it here, on the ranch, for one. I don't want to lose this, this…Ever since I was a kid, I've had nothing…This is the most I've ever had."

"Theo, if you get on that truck with Yassir and Rudy, and you come back, you'll still have a job here. I guarantee it. You won't lose this. I was a Gear. You know that."

Theo nodded, and bit his lip, "The other part…I'm…I don't want to die…I remember those stories about the Carmine brothers…"

"Listen to me, Theo. Ben and Anthony Carmine were Gears. Members of Delta Squad. And just because they didn't make it, doesn't mean their lives weren't worth anything. That's what service means. That's what it does."

Theo chewed on this in his head, and nodded. He looked towards Baird and his fellow ranch hands. He swallowed, and gave Marcus a nod.

"Thank you, Marcus. I'll do you proud."

"No need, Theo, you're a good kid. Go get 'em."

Theo chased after Baird and his friends, calling for them to wait up. Marcus smiled, and sighed. Now he was going to have to hire three new ranch hands.