Notes.

Hi again.

Finally I've been able to post a new chapter without make you wait one month^^

By the way, with this we've probably reached 1/3 of the story. From now on, things will begin to change quikly, at least for the next 10 chapters.

Thanks as always to all of you for the time you spend reading and/or commenting this story^^

See you soon!^_^

Cj Spencer


10

Since they were taught to be multitasking squads assigned to long and usually risky missions outside Castria, the Falcon Units were generally made of soldiers coming from many different divisions, so as to provide every single team with the most complete training and preparation.

The Falcon-9 was the sole exception: all of its members were from the Alpini corps, and its main work was to provide surveillance in the mountainous region between the Arlea Forest and the impervious Mountain Range of Ice and Snow; they had been a unit even before being assigned to the Special Region, known as the Sixth Special Mountain Regiment "Valcellina", and its leader, Major Dante, was a decorated war hero with a great number of missions overseas between Afghanistan, Iraq, Lebanon and Kosovo.

Thirty-two years old Captain Arturo Santalba, a half-Austrian son of shepherds from Sappada, was the second in command, and in all his career as a soldier Dante had never known someone better than him in logistic and tactical maneuvers, while Lieutenants Marco Gazza and Elena Munaron, from Aosta and Brescia respectively, were the best among the best in mechanical and electrical engineering. The Senior Sergeant called Salvo Pasetti, and contrarily to the Alpini's tradition he wasn't from the massive northern mountains, but from the sunny and beautiful Matera, but despite this he was the most expert in mountain warfare of the entire squad, and he had spent in the Corps more than half of his life.

Other members worthy of consideration were Soldiers Betton and Sarpi, Dante's attendant and the explosives expert respectively, but the entire Falcon-9 in general was made of some of the best soldiers assigned to Operation Columbus.

The sole new member was Soldier Giorgia Mazzega, but it was a necessary addition: since the Falcon teams' work was to make contact with native populations in order to create links and bridges, it was necessary to provide to all of them someone instructed and trained to deal with such affairs, and in case there was no one in the squad to take such a role, the High Command had taken care to train and instruct a certain group of selected soldiers to assign to said units. Soldier Mazzega was one of them, but after a brief moment of adaptation Dante and his man had begun to appreciate and respect Giorgia's work and abilities, admitting her in their little group as a proper and true member of the Falcon-9. She had never seen a war scenario in all of her career, and someone could say that she was decidedly too kind to be a true soldier, but despite this her experience in diplomatic questions was absolute, and so she had quickly earned her teammates' respect.

A different situation was Zori's one. Like most of the Cobolds she was smart and really skillful in hunt and scouting, but always like most of the Cobolds the concepts of command chain, discipline and respect for the officers were completely meaningless for her: refusing to change in something more appropriated for a soldier she had obtained from the General to keep her skimpy, not to say provocative huntress outfit, and since she was the sole one to know the intricate net of paths, trails and streets along the mountains she had obtained to follow Dante inside the head jeep of the column which had left Castria before sunrise headed to the other side of the Mountain Range.

Since the VM-90 and the Pumas were too unwieldy to face the narrow gorges that cross the mountains to reach the Terminus Valley where the expedition was heading, for that particular mission the Falcon-9 had been equipped with four Iveco LMV provided with 12.7mm automatic turrets, the best of the best of the Italian light vehicles.

At midday the column had reached the far deep of the Mountains' forests already, following a road that hearing Zori and the guys of the intelligence was the most comfortable and safe to reach the Azingard Valley, where the first antenna was under construction and they were sure to find a place to rest during their journey: however it was necessary to reach it as fast as possible, since it was highly probable that with the first snowstorms all paths between Castria and the Valley were destined to remain closed for most of the winter, and judging by the great cold and the grey clouds above them it was just a matter of time before this would have happened.

All around them, the forest was a single, giant wall of pines, chestnut trees and oaks, and more than one time Dante, as the head car's driver, was forced to suddenly steer in order to avoid some trunk fell on the road.

«Can't you go a bit faster, boss?» Zori asked to Dante, which was at the wheel.

«Sorry if I try to be a bit cautious, this road is a goddam disaster.»

«It's not very used in this period. Most of the tribes which used to live in these woods escaped when Reich begun to attack the hills, the other ones instead probably have already migrated to the south because of the upcoming winter. I doubt we'll meet someone.»

But the truth was completely different, and thanks to her animal senses Zori was the first one to find it out.

A couple of hours later, just when she was about to enjoy a bit of rest, the young cobold noted a sinister shadow hiding among the trees not far from the road, which rapidly disappeared when she tried to look at it better.

«What the…»

However, it took her just a couple of seconds to find out others, many other similar shadows regrouped all around them, and when she noticed they were clearly following them, a thrill ran along her spine.

Given the period and the place where they were, there was just one hypothesis about their identity.

«Shit! Stop!»

«What!?» Dante replied in astonishment

«Stop this goddam car now!»

The Major obeyed, stopping the jeep so suddenly that the other cars behind him almost hit each other doing the same thing.

«What the hell are you doing, you goddam…» Dante tried to say.

However, less than a second later, almost twenty strange and massive creatures appeared from the forest all around them, surrounding the column and pointing any sort of weapons against the soldiers before they could be able to do the same: there were both male and female, the shortest one was eight feet tall, and even though they were humans from the waist up, apart from the pointed ears, the rest of their bodies had an equine form. They were…

«Centaurs.» grumbled Zori. «What are they doing here? They should've already migrated south.»

Their intentions were clearly all except friendly, and despite being armed only with bows, lances and claymores their attitudes and dimensions were more than enough to pursue the soldiers on the turrets to point their machine guns against them, and everything turned into a dramatic Mexican standoff.

«Orders, Sir!» Betton said from the third car «What do we do?»

«We're surrounded! We're surrounded!» Pasetti shouted from the second jeep's turret

«Get ready to fire!»

«No, wait!» Zori shouted. «Don't shoot! They're not hostile!»

«What means, "they're not hostile"?» Santalba replied. «Are you fucking blind?»

«Please Major, listen to me.» If they wanted to attack us, we would be already dead.»

The tension rose, and it almost seemed that any moment could become the right one for a massacre, but at the end, after countless hesitations, Dante ordered to hold fire.

«Let's suppose you're right. How do you explain all this?»

«We're in their territory. I thought they were already migrated south, but it's clear that they're still here. Centaurs don't like that someone enters in their land.»

«And this half-dog should be our guide.» Santalba sarcastically commented

«Leave this to me. I'll try to talk them. Maybe we'll be able to solve it with some apologies.»

The Major reflected for a moment, but at the end he found out that leave the problem to Zori was the sole possible solution.

«All right, try to explain the situation.»

«Aye aye, Sir.»

«Dante to squad, remain inside the cars.» he then said with the radio. «Zori will try to talk them.» but after that he looked at the cobold in a very threatening way «But if they'll do something strange, I'll immediately order my men to fire.»

«In this case, remember that I'm on your side. Shit, why did I accept this task?»

At that point, after having opened the jeep's door, Zori came out with raised hands, slowly approaching the centaurs in front of the column in the most absolute silence.

The centaurs' leader, a middle-aged warrior armed with a massive sword, ordered to his men to lower their weapons and reached Zori, starting to talk with her in the no-man land.

Since they were talking a local dialect no one in Dante's squad was able to understand what they were saying, but after almost five minutes of talks and judging from the young girl's tone, it was more and more clear that the situation was quite complicated, and that simple apologies risked being insufficient to solve it.

«This will be a real nuisance.» Dante commented, and Zori's expression when she came back was more than enough to prove it.

While the centaurs' commander left the no-man land Zori beckoned Dante to leave the car, and he obeyed after having said to his soldiers to wait for him.

«So? What did they said?»

«We have a problem. This is not just a simple centaur clan. They're Clan Reywlak.»

«Reywlak?»

«The most powerful and respected clan in the north. The warrior I was speaking with is their king, Kerion.»

«Did you explain them the situation?»

«I did it, but it's not enough.»

«What do you mean? Did you say that we're sorry for having entered in their territory?»

«That's not the point, Major. In fact, this is not their territory.»

«What!? And so, what's the problem?»

«They know who we… you are, Dante. And they saw what you've done to Reich's troops in the battle for Castria. Kerion's clan has lost more than half of its northern territory because of it, and they've lost almost one third of their warriors in the useless attempt to retake it. Then you've appeared from nowhere, and wiped away the most powerful army of this world in just a couple of days without one single lost. They're… scared.»

«Scared!? Of us?»

«They surveilled your troops' movements in the last months, and what you're doing on the other side of the mountains. That's the reason for which they're still here. They fear you're trying to extend your influence across the Range, threatening what remains of their territory.»

«We don't have such intentions. Our operations are absolutely pacific.»

«I told 'em, but they don't believe me. Not completely. They ask for a proof.»

«They can reach Castria and speak with General Pedersoli. I have nothing to prove we're harmless, apart for my word.»

«It's not so simple. Money and words have no use for the centaurs. Honor is the sole thing they recognize. They ask for proof of your honor to trust you.»

«What kind of proof?»

Zori hesitated for a long moment: it wasn't a good sign, not at all.

«They want a hostage.»

Hearing such words, even a trained and expert soldier like Dante couldn't do nothing but show all of his astonishment.

«What!?»

«It's an ancient centaurian tradition. The clans use to exchange hostages in order to prove their honor and the fact that they trust each other. They're ready to exchange one of their warriors with one of yours.»

«Absolutely not! I'll not play with the life of my soldiers!»

«In this case, they'll not allow us to go further. On the opposite, if we accept their terms, they swear to protect the hostage we'll please them with their lives, and return it when our mission will be over. Obviously at the condition that we'll do the same.»

Dante covered his face with the hands, not knowing what to do, while Kerion and the other centaurs followed to look at him waiting for his answer.

«It's not that I doubt of them. But I cannot entrust them one of my guys. I need all of them for this mission. But maybe… maybe we can come back to Castria, and ask for the General's help. There are other centaurs in Castria, and maybe if they guarantee for us…»

«I fear this is not an option, Major.» Zori replied turning her eyes to west. «Look.»

The Major then looked in the same direction, and what he saw in the sky was all but good: dark and menacing clouds covered in sparks were descending across the mountains, rapidly advancing against them.

«It's the Troll's Breath.» the cobold explained. «The winter is marching against us faster than expected, and will be here before the twilight. If we come back now, there will not be enough time to cross the mountains before the passes remain blocked by the snow.»

It was an ironic, but even dramatic situation: regardless of the choice, even considering a risky decision to force the blockade, it was necessary to make a sacrifice.

Since Dante was a soldier and an officer entrusted with a mission to complete, return to Castria and waste the opportunity to cross the mountains was not an option, but in this case it was necessary to make a dramatic choice.

Being the squad leader, he had the power to choose for himself, but he didn't want to take such responsibility before having talked with his guys.

«Tell them that I'm about to speak with my men.»

«Yes.»

Dante then called for a meeting with the entire squad, explaining them the entire situation, and receiving in exchange astonished glances and worried sighing.

«That's the point, fellows. We have no time to come back, and by evening we must be on the other side of those mountains. Our mission's success passes from here.»

«I say, no talks.» Pasetti said. «We tried to be diplomatic, but a mission is a mission. They say they fear us. Let's give them one more reason to do it.»

«I fear this would be a very bad idea, old fool.»

«How dare you, you little fur-girl?»

«Wait, Pasetti.» Dante stopped him turning to Zori. «What do you mean?»

«Not to mention that despite a certain victory two or three of us probably would not see the end of the battle. Despite this, there are not less than twenty different demi-human tribes between us and the southern front of the Mountain Range. If they'll think we're hostile, our journey could become quite… problematic. To be euphemistic.»

All the soldiers pointed their glances to the ground: that was not the first time that the Valcellina was forced to face a standoff situation, but that was the first time where it was asked to one of them to face such difficult task.

«I'm your commander, and I have the power to make a choice by myself. But before doing it, I want to ask it: is there a volunteer?»

No one spoke. In their long career as soldiers they had faced many situations involving kidnapped people or civilians taken as hostages in warfare scenarios, but that was the first time that they were asked to become hostages themselves.

«I'll do it.» someone suddenly said

Everyone turned on the same direction, finding themselves face to face with a frightened, but even determined glance.

«Mazzega…» Dante said

«I offer myself to do it. You're a close squad, and you have a mission to accomplish. I'm just a newbie. My exclusion will not be a burden for the unit.»

«But Giorgia, you're our guide.» the Major tried to object

«You have miss Zori.» she replied with a sincere smile. «She'll be more than able to do my job.»

A long silence filled the air once again, but at the end the entire squad accepted their young member's sacrifice, saluting her with respect.

According to the exchange's rules, to both hostages was allowed to keep its weapons if the other faction agreed, and much with Dante's surprise the centaurs accepted with no hesitation to let Giorga free to keep the rifle, the gun, the knife and some loaders.

«As I said, honor is important for the centaurs.» Zori commented. «Letting her keep her weapons, they want demonstrate that they consider her an honorable person.»

At that point Giorgia got up over one of the centaurs' back, and Dante approached to salute her one last time.

«We'll come back for you, soldier.»

«Thank you, Sir.» she replied with no apparent fear. «I'll be fine.»

«See you next spring.»

Then, finally, the centaurs left, leaving behind probably their youngest member, a young female with long and pale brown hair and blue eyes, which differently from Giorgia had been forced to surrender her bow and knife to her companions before their departure.

Dante and his members remained still to observe the centaurs till they finally disappeared in the forest together with their companion, then they ruefully returned to the jeeps to proceed with their mission.

«Do you understand me?» Dante asked in Ludorian

«Yes.» she answered with respect. «I'm the sole one in my clan to speak the human language. I suppose that's the reason for which they chose me.»

«In this case, let's try to get along. We have more than one mission to accomplish, and I have no time to be your babysitter. Come with us, stay in a corner, don't give us problems and everything will be fine. Am I clear?»

«Perfectly.»

«And for your own safety, pray that my soldier will be safe and sound when we'll meet with your fellows next spring, or you'll have to find a new clan.»


The next day, Reich's ambassador returned to Calibria, and as agreed he showed up in the throne room, where he found King Deiphobos and most of his advisors waiting for him.

At the throne's side there were the chests with the first part of the bribe used by the ambassador in the attempt to obtain the king's benevolence, but judging from his eyes he wasn't still sure if it should be considered a good thing.

Apart from the same Deiphobos, all the other advisors' glances were more than eloquent in testifying their opinion toward Reich and its ambassador, starting from General Aristhes, which seemed to the point of jumping against the ambassador and pierce him with his sword.

«Welcome back, Ambassador.»

«Good day, Great King. May Fuhrer bless your city and your people.»

«Don't dirt our soil with your false God, you Reichian beast!» Kleytos shouted in anger, only to be stopped by the King with a hand's movement.

«So, great king.» said an ambassador completely deaf to the insults. «I waited one day as you ordered. What's your answer for my blessed Empress?»

Deiphobos remained silent for a moment, then he ordered to a servant to give him a coup of wine, which he started to drink greedy wetting the rich vest with alcohol and spittle.

«Yesterday you said that you're here because your Child Empress ordered it to you.»

«I'm always happy to obey my Empress, Great King.» he answered trying with no success to hide his disbelief «She is our ruler, and, as much as your devoted servants, we too are ready to satisfy any request she makes.»

«Forget about her, my friend. Honestly, tell me: do you approve all this? I mean… are you happy to be here, on knees, to dirt my precious marble with your dirty vests, poison my room with your stinky perfume, to beg for something so unusual for your savage people like a simple right of passage, when you could simply put my city under siege and throw all of us among Emroy's arms?»

Once again the ambassador hesitated, looking the ground in the attempt to avoid the king's eyes.

«What I think has no importance.»

«Just pretend that is has. What do you think of me? And my city?»

After a couple of seconds, the light in the ambassador's eyes finally changed, and he returned to look at the king in the most contemptuous and disgusted way.

«I think that you are just a small, arrogant, fat pig, with no honor nor pride, king of a useless and stinky little city made of mud and dung, full of ignorant men and brothel's bitches, which I would be more than happy to burn to ash, before impaling your fat body on a pike as an offer of blood for our great God Fuhrer, for the glory and pride of the glorious Reich Empire, the sole ruler of this world.»

Even before the ambassador could end his speech all of the king's advisors had the hands already closed around the hilt of their swords, but surprisingly the king answered to that spontaneous and dramatic externalization of hate with a humorous smile.

«We accept.» he said after a brief moment.

The word astonishment proved to be more than an euphemism to clarify his advisors' state hearing such words.

«My king…» Aristhes tried to say

«We'll send an ambassador to Reich when we'll have decided the route your armies will need to follow across my land. For now, go back to your Empress, and say her that your sincerity has avoided a war.»

«But… but…» replied an ambassador in disbelief, which immediately after having finished talking had already begun to silently pray for his upcoming death.

«You've been honest. You said what you were thinking. If you hadn't done it, you would be already dead. I could never entrust my city's fate to a liar.»

«But, my king, maybe you should…» Aristhes tried again to protest, just to be immediately silenced by Deiphobos' icy gaze.

«Go, ambassador. Your work is done.»

«Y… yes. Thank you, Great… Great King…»

At that point, after having made a genuinely respectful bow, the ambassador left the room, and immediately after Deiphobos violently got up from his throne, tremendously hitting Aristhes in the face with a golden scepter taken from Reich's chest of tributes.

«I'll not say it again.» said the king while the young general was still semiconscious. «Don't object my decisions in front of others.»

«Y… yes… my King…» he barely managed to say while spitting blood

Then, Deiphobos turned to the other counselors, who remained in their place without doing or saying something.

«Prepare my chariot.»


«Ok guys, that's enough for today!» Lunardi said to his soldiers and the little group of locals which had offered to assist them in rebuilding the temple.

Both the inside and the outside were now finally free from any sign of debris, and the true works were able to begin.

«From tomorrow» Molteni said. «We'll be able to entirely dedicate ourselves to the renovations.»

«How much time you think we'll need to secure the building?»

«I made a primal checkup both to the basement and the supports: the damages seem much less serious than I initially expected. We'll reinforce the basement with a layer of bitumen and repair the damaged columns using our steel bars. I've already received the local quartermaster's authorization.»

«Why do you say "we'll make"?» Stefanini protested while drinking from her bottle. «You should say "You'll make", you goddam loafer.»

«If you have enough breath to protest, maybe you have it for some extra-work, or not?» the architect cheerfully replied, immediately avoiding the bottle thrown against him by the exhausted girl

«Ok guys, let's go back.»

However, while Lunardi and his men were crossing the city's market square, still full of people despite the sun had already begun to disappear behind the hills, a big parade of soldiers, chariots and triclinia appeared from the street which from the square headed to the palace, capturing the crowd's attentions.

«What's happening?» Niang asked

«I don't know.» Lunardi answered as surprised as him.

The soldiers surrounded the royal pulpit, and at the end king Deiphobos in person appeared aboard his golden chariot. The king stopped behind the pulpit, he left the chariot, then he climbed the stairs, appearing in front of all of his people while the notice of his arrival pursued more and more Calibrians to reach the square from every corner of the city.

Before Deiphobos begun to talk, Lunardi, blended in the crowd together with his men, noted with a bit of concern both the dark gaze and the big wound on Aristhes' face, confused among the other ministers, but like all the other ones he diverted once again his attention when the king finally started his speech.

«People of Calibria! Rejoice! Today, like yesterday, like tomorrow, like every single day in the past and future, our city shines in glory and might! We're the luckiest persons in the entire world, since we live in a city blessed by all the gods in earth, sky and sea! Our bodies will die, centuries will pass, but Calibria's glory will never end! And I say, it's time to celebrate our greatness like never before! Drink the wine! Eat the meat! Fuck your partners! Starting from now, and for seven entire days, I proclaim an endless period of festivities! Glorify ourselves with the blessing our Gods have put upon us! May your power live till the stones will turn to dust, our jewel! Our pride! Our Calibria!»

The square exploded in one single, astonishing cry, and all people applauded, loudly invoking their king with honey words, raising chalices to his honor, completely astonished but more than happy nevertheless for that unexpected gift.

«Long live Calibria! – Long live king Deiphobos!»

«We should propose him for a place in our government!» Torrisi shouted to be heard by Lunardi. «The ones like him are rare in Italy!»

Lunardi had not the same opinion on a first sight, but despite this the situation seemed to amuse him.

«Maybe a bit of fun will not be a bad thing even for us!» then he turned toward Niang. «Go call the others! For tonight, you're all free!»

«Of course, Sir!»


That evening, the entirety of Calibria turned into a giant, single carnival: thousands of candles, magic balls and other lights were lit in every room, every house, and every street; bards, minstrels and orchestras filled the air with the sound emitted by any sort of instrument, and by order of the king, which offered to personally cover all costs, all of the wineries, taverns and brothels opened their doors to let wine, food and whores flood in all city.

Even Lunardi and the rest of Falcon-1 let themselves transport by the festivities, and in the blink of an eye half of them were already drunk, dancing and cheering like children in the heart of all that madness.

Wang, which was with no doubts the weakest one in handling his liquor, begun to sing in Mandarin half-naked after barely a couple of beer chalices while dancing with three whores at the same time; Cassetti accepted a food challenge with a massive royal guard, managing to eat almost six entire chickens before running to the closest bathroom; Niang entered in an arm wrestle challenge, defeating every single opponent brave or drunk enough to face him.

Only Lunardi and a few others managed to remain sane, and in the middle of the party, not far from the market square, the Captain met Sadee returning from the academy.

«So you too know how to enjoy life!» the elf said with a smile.

«Did you have any doubts?» he replied offering her a glass of cider «Where are Giuseppe and Medea?»

«They're still on work! Giuseppe's presentation is three days from now, and he still has something to do! Medea offered to stay with him!»

«And you?»

«I did everything I could! Now it's up to him!»

«What will be the argument of his thesis?»

«It's a surprise! But trust me, if everything goes according to plans, it will be a great show!»

Then, both of them looked at the party in front of them.

«Not bad, don't you think?» she said

«It almost seems like my town's annual celebrations. But you're right, they're not even similar to these ones.»

«How much time has passed since you've been home the last time?»

«I don't even remember it. Two years. Maybe more. Me and my father are having some… problems since when they assigned me to the GATE's project.»

«And your mother?»

«They divorced when I was a child. I don't know where she is now. I lost contact with her even before I met you.»

«Doesn't your father miss you?»

«Sometimes. His father died when the gate has been discovered during the war, so he tends to have a bit… of a negative opinion about all this. He thinks that it's all a bit too much problematic to handle it.»

«He was a soldier like you, right?»

«Of course. But he left the Army longtime ago. Now he lives in his hometown, not far from the gate.»

«They never introduced us, but I know that he too was part of the project, right?»

«Yeah. We could call it a family tradition.»

«Why don't you introduce me to him when we'll finally have our free license? I would be happy to know him.»

Lunardi reflected for a while, then he smiled.

«I could. After all, we've been on the outs for too much time.»

Suddenly, Sagriph appeared above them, landing in front of the table they were occupying in front of a tavern.

«I finally found you, Commander! I thought you were at the tower!»

«Sagriph! Are you already here?»

«There were good winds! I've been able to return quickly!»

«Sorry, my friend! As you can see, something happened while you were far from here!»

«To be euphemistic! By the way, I have a new letter from your leader!»

«Really? Let me see!»

The Avion then took the letter from his travel back, entrusting it to the Captain.

«I fear this will be the last one for a while! The Troll's Breath is enveloping Arlea, and soon the winter will be upon them! We cannot fly on such a cold!»

«I understand! Thank you my friend! Now go have fun!»

«Sure! Thank you, Sir!»

At that point Lunardi reached a narrow and desert alley beside the tavern to read the letter, but briefly after having opened it every single trace of fun disappeared from his eyes, replaced by a pale, transfixed gaze.

A couple of minutes later, Sadee saw him run away from the alley, and she didn't need to ask it to understand that something terrible should has happened to him. She tried to run behind him, but the crowd along the street was so big that she wasn't able to reach him till the tower, when after having climbed the stairs she found him in the men's bedroom, sitting on his camp bed with his back to her.

«Flavio…»

He turned, slowly, and Sadee had a stroke when she saw his astonished eyes, completely deprived from any trace of light and turned into a couple of dark balls full of desperation.

On earth, in front of the door, there was a piece of paper with the Italian Army's logo impressed on a wax seal. She took it and read it.


My dear Flavio,

This is the letter I would never want to write you.

Last week, a strong earthquake has struck Central Italy, and the region of Civitella del Lago in particular has been severely damaged, and most of the town has been wiped away.

Your father, Major Erasmo Lunardi, was in his home when the quake happened, and I'm sorry to say you that they've not been fast enough to save him; but you can trust me if I tell you that they did whatever they could to save his life.

His body has been recognized by your sister Marta, and the funerals will take place next week.

Giving the circumstances, you could never be able to return to Earth on time to assist, but I've already asked a temporary license to go in your place. Erasmo was like a brother for me: your grandfather entrusted his life to my father when they were young, and we grew up together since childhood.

By the way, you can reassure your soldiers that no one among their relatives has been touched by the earthquake.

When this goddam mission will be finally over, I'll promise you that you'll be left free to return to Earth to have your well-deserved moment of mourning.

In the meantime, I must ask you to respect your duty as soldier and leader.

You can read the mission's details and the last news about the project for the communication system in the other paper.

Once again, I'm sorry.

Nicola Pedersoli


For countless seconds Sadee found herself unable to raise her eyes from the letter, managing to do it only when Fabio's sorrowful cry reached her in the darkness.

So, while entire Calibria followed to celebrate the longest party of its millenary existence, Sadee spent the rest of the night sat on that bed, in the dark, with a crying man destroyed by pain in her arms.