Baric block

Present day.

"I have a little girl. I forgot. I really did; I forgot her for a while. How could I?"

-Dominic Santiago during the battle for Aspho

The destroyed and desolate buildings stood like the tombstones of civilization. Somewhere in the distance a hawk screamed, sending its echo through the streets. I shivered and clutched my gun tighter. I walked swiftly and carefully along one of the balconies, keeping my ears peeled for any danger. I found a small crevice and burrowed in, deep enough to hide my muzzle flash and so I could still see Echo squad three blocks over. I had been trailing them for a little over a week. Their mission was to clear out Baric block of any remaining grubs. So far it had been a cakewalk, nothing the squad couldn't handle on their own. They would be reporting back to command tonight.

I set my gun up, bracing it against my shoulder and laying it on a make-shift tri-pod that I had fashioned out of scraps of metal. The original tri-pod had broken long ago, a few months after I had scavenged the rifle. The gears where humanity's last hope, but they couldn't make a rest for a longshot for shit. I checked the chamber before sliding a tarnished bullet into place and letting the bolt slide home. I placed out a few more bullets alongside the gun for easy reach and fast reloading. I thumbed over the safety, making sure it was off. I looked through the scope, making a hasty head count. My boys were still there.

"Let's see if we can't keep it like that, shall we?" I murmured out loud to nobody. Sam whined quietly behind me; she hated not being part of the action. "Hey, what's your problem?" I asked her.

She crawled a few steps closer to me and wagged her tail. I patted her a few times, then pointed behind me, "Go keep watch." She turned around and sat up. She sniffed the air a few times then relaxed; her way of letting me know nothing was wrong. I smiled and took a second to admire her yet again. She was beautiful, part German Sheppard and part something else. I'd have to thank Momma again for giving her to me.

I turned back to my scope. Immediately my heart skipped a beat. They were gone. I twisted a dial on the scope to widen my picture. I was looking down a street that intersected into another, but they had both been reduced to little more than piles of broken concrete and shells of burned out cars. The scene through my scope was a standard city square, and the lower right quadrant all of the buildings had collapsed; leaving me with a window to watch Echo squad. I relaxed when I made out a gear's shadow just resting on my side of an old building. "There you are," I whispered and Sam grumbled in acknowledgement. "Let's see if we can get them home in one piece."I trained my eyes on that shadow, grumbling when it disappeared. If I was a certified gear sniper, they would have known better than to leave my line of sight. As it was, nobody knew where, or who, I was. Hell, they didn't even know I existed. They were walking in a standard five meter patrol march when they all ducked and fell into cover.

A sharp burst of fire dragged me out of my musings. "Shit!" I exclaimed and focused on the street where I had last saw my team. I could just see the reflected light of the gunshots on a broken window. I was too far away to have felt the grub-hole emerge. I put myself in Echo Squads place. The way I saw it, they had two options. They could stay put, which they would do if they had sufficient cover, or they could retreat out of the street in hopes of a better set up.

"Back up, back up, back up!" I repeated. If they retreated, the grubs would follow. They liked to get in as close as possible. It was purely a mental tactic; they had to know how grotesque they looked to humans. But more importantly, if they retreated, I would have a clear shot. It was torture to be able to hear the gun fire but not be able to see what was happening.

Finally a member of Echo Squad backed out of the street and took cover on the close side of the building. "That's right baby, keep 'em coming." I aimed my cross hairs about a foot over his right shoulder. The rest of the squad slowly worked their way out of the alley way and into the intersection, taking the grubs with them. I picked off one that was hidden behind the shell of an abandoned car, while another one charged forward and picked a chainsaw battle with one gear. I kept my crosshairs set on their duel, but there wasn't a way to get a clear shot. Out of the corner of my scope, I saw another soldier reach for a grenade. "Shit!" I said. With the years of destruction on the building's foundation, the blast from the grenade could bring the whole building down around their heads. I fired a few warning shots to make them back up.

"Sniper!" I faintly heard someone yell. They began to back out, but not before the rookie Gear let the grenade fly. I saw the blast, and the first few crumbles of concrete fall off of the buildings. The chainsaw warrior finally brought his blade down through the locust's body as half the building collapsed on top of him.

"Higgins?" I heard their sergeant shout, "Higgins, where are you?" The team started moving blocks of the fallen building, looking for their fallen comrade. The only benifit about the building's collaspe was that it appeared to have brought down the rest of the locust. Finally one of the searchers waved his hand, indicating that he had found something. They dragged out Higgin's body, and I let out the breath I hadn't realized I'd been holding when I saw him sitting up under his own power.

The team's self- appointed medic began checking pulse points in the lower leg, a sure sign of a broken bone. I saw their sergeant lift a finger to his ear, probably using his com-link to call in for a med-evac. I watched them through my scope until I heard the tell-tale whoop of the Raven's blades. I back crawled out of my hiding space just as they began to load their wounded onto the helicopter.

"Let's go home," I said to Sam. She got to her feet and stretched.


I jogged the way back home, keeping to tight alleys and backstreets. There was no telling what could take a girl down in these days, grubs, rapist, thieves…Hell, even a gear could take a shot at you if he was in the mood.

The familiar gates of the compound came into view. Sam trotted a few paces ahead of me and gave one short bark. I got closer I could see the gate-keeper getting to his feet from the watch post.

"Well…look who it is! You finally get back from baby-sittin' those gears?"

I glared up at him, "Just open the damn gates, Darvish."

"Yeah, yeah. I'll get to it." He leaned nonchalantly on the side of his post. "You know, word on the street is that Dix is lookin' for ya'."

Shit, I thought. Dix was the leader of our merry gang here. He wasn't the worst, as far as Stranded over-lords went. Rumors were that there was a stranded group up north that would move from abandoned city to abandoned city, taking over. What got everyone's attention was that they supposedly ate their victims, human and locust. Word was that the COG had put an end to them all, but that was all anyone had to go on. Communications had been almost completely wiped out after Emergence day.

"Well, if Dix is looking for me, he won't be too happy with you holding me up, now will he?" I called up to him.

He frowned, making his dirty face resemble the rats that ran around the compound at night. "Whatever…" he said dejectedly, unable to argue with my logic. He pulled on one part of the pulley and opened the gates just wide enough for Sam and me to slip through.

I murmured a 'hello' to the guards that were standing by, and one of them nodded at me. I stepped over one of the iron bars that criss-crossed their way through the camp. We had suffered a few attacks from grubs burrowing their way underneath the compound. As a result, Dix had ordered a nearby factory to be demolished and the iron bars spread out. I guess it worked; we hadn't had an attack since.

"So…" I muttered, "Dix wants to see me. How about we go and visit Mamma instead?" I asked Sam. She gave a happy bark before bounding down a nearby alley-way. She paused halfway through and turned with her head cocked, looking at me as if to say, "You coming?" I laughed before following her down the alleyway.

Sam plodded along ahead of me, and Mamma's shack soon came into view. The slab of wood that served as a door shifted to the side, and Momma appeared. She wasn't any one's mother per say, as her only children had died years earlier in a random attack. She was the camp's care taker. Sick? Go see Momma, she'd take care of you. Needing a place to crash for the night? Go to Momma, she'd hook you up. She even looked like a pre E-day grandmother, with wrinkled skin and kind eyes. The only compliance with reality was her unwashed body and too-big clothes that drooped around her body.

Sam trotted up to her and Momma gave her a few joyful pats on the side. Sam sniffed her pocket and Momma pulled out a slice of dried meat, which Sam immediately gobbled up. My stomach rumbled at the sight, but I refused to ask for any. I had taken more that my share of support from Momma in the past, and I didn't want to end up owing her any more.

"Hey Bri," she called out to me as I neared her shack, "You know that Dix is-"

"Lookin' for me, yeah, I know. That's sort of the reason I'm here. Just needed to unwind a bit before I head back into battle. You wouldn't happen to know what he wants, would you?" I asked.

She shrugged, "Something about giving you a job to do." I cocked an eyebrow.

"A job? Does it pay?"

She gave me a look, "It's more of those, 'We'll kill you if you don't do it' kind of things."

I frowned, "Ah. Never liked those."

She nodded slowly before gesturing inside. I ducked into her small place, forgoing the cot for a place on the floor. She followed Sam and I after moving the slab of wood back into place, leaving a small break between it and the door so a small sliver of light could enter. She shuffled over to the cot and Sam left my side to slump down by her feet. I narrowed my eyes. Traitor, I thought to myself.

"So," she began, "How'd it go with Echo squad?"

"Not as well as I'd hope," I said, and began relaying the story to her. She shook her head sadly when I got to the building's collapse.

"What a shame. I'll be praying for him," was all she said. I shifted uncomfortably, as I always did whenever she mentioned her religion. I didn't believe in a higher power, and thought that those who needed the comfort of doing so were weak. I had once asked Momma if He was a loving God, why He would leave her to rot in hell. She had simply smiled at me and said, "Because He needs me here."

Sam stretched her paw out, and I tapped her foot when one of her claws dug into my leg, and she moved it. Momma observed all of this before saying, "Dizzy was here earlier."

This perked me up. Dizzy had been a member of the compound before he joined the COG and moved to Jacinto. He said that it was so his daughters would be safer in the city, which was true. He was the one who got me into Dix's camp. He also told me which squads were heading out, and where.

"Cool. Did he give you any information for me?" I asked her.

"There's a squad heading out tomorrow. Delta squad. Ever hear of them?"

I thought for a second, "I've heard of them, but never met any of them personally. Rumor is that they have their own personal guardian angel looking out for them. Man, if Dizzy says that they need my help, they must be in some serious shit."

Momma frowned at me, "Watch your mouth."

I fought the urge to roll my eyes. Me going out to backup numerous Gear squads? No problem. Me saying a cuss word? It was the pendulum wars all over again."Whatever..." I said begrudgingly. "I should probably get going. Someone is going to tell Dix I'm here, if they haven't already."

She nodded, and rose to move the door out of the way. I started walking away, when I heard her call my name. I turned just in time to see a small bundle wrapped in a dingy white rag make it's way toward my head. I caught it just in time and one corner fell open, revealing the package. Jerky.

I snapped my head up at her and saw her laughing at me. She knew that there was no way I would have taken anything had she offered, just as I knew that she wouldn't take it back now that she had it in my hands."And don't hog it all!" she called after me, "Save some for Samantha!" She disappeared inside.

I scowled down at Sam and she wagged her tail hopefully. "'Save some for Samantha'," I quoted before stuffing the package into my pack. "Yeah right, She's the one whose most likely to hog it all." Sam, aka Samantha, whined softly and nuzzled my pack. She hung her head dejectedly when I gave her a firm 'No'. Momma knew how much I hated to be beholden to anybody, yet she insisted on giving me things that she knew I could never repay. I shrugged off my aggravation and headed off towards headquarters, where I'd assumed Dix would be lurking. Again I nodded at some of the guards before heading in. They just shifted their weapons uncomfortably, which did not fill me with warm and fuzzy feelings. I headed inside.

This building was mainly used for housing refuges and injured after attacks, or for Compound meetings. The fact that Dix's quarters weren't much bigger than the rest of ours earned him a few points in my book. The world had enough Slum-lords that held protection over people's heads, and in turn took everything from those they had sworn to 'save'. I caught a glimpse of Dix on the other side of the room. He stood about half a foot taller than me, with slicked back black hair, and a shadow across his lower face. He was built well, but he had nothing on a gear. He didn't have the same muscle mass of a fully trained gear, nor the weight of one, but he was still big enough to knock grubs on their asses. He was talking to some other guards, but when he saw me he sent them away.

"Ah...Bri. I've been expecting you," he said with his patented smile that only slightly lifted one side of his mouth.

"So I've heard. What's this about, Dix?" I asked him. Sam stood close to my side, watching Dix with untrusting eyes.

"A proposition," he said simply. He took his boot off of the crate it had been resting on and strode towards me. "You see, it's come to my attention that guardian numbers are dropping, and some are complaining about your babysitting adventures."

I stiffened, "Yeah? Well tell them to take their complaints and shove 'em up their ass, because I still gather more food then anyone else, and ordinance too."

He held his hands up in a placating gesture. "I know that, I know that. But think of how much use you could do for us, if you weren't caught up in playing hero for these gears of yours."

I glared at him, "If you've got a problem with me 'playing hero', you just say it here and now. I'll be out of here before tonight."

"That's not what I meant, and certainly not what I want you to do." He paused in his pacing when he came to close to Sam and she growled. He gave her a look and backed up before continuing. "Though I am curious as to why you insist on protecting them. Their not you responsibility, yet you take care of them as if you're one of them. Aren't you pissed after they turned you out on your ass?"

I bristled. "Of course I'm pissed. But it was some damn politics that threw me out, not the gears."

He shrugged, "One and the same."

"No its not!" I snarled, and Sam's growling increased in volume. "The COG isn't some soul-crushing machine, dumbass," I astutely ignored the fact that I just called our leader a dumbass. "It's society. I've never met a soldier who knew he was a hero. It's not false modesty. They simply decide to do something that they know they must do, because if they don't, people will suffer in some way. So yeah, I wanted to be a gear, and Prescott had some speech about 'protecting the future of humanity' and wanted to send me off to a farm to be a baby maker. Not the gear's fault. So no, I'm not pissed at the gears, I'm pissed at the damn politics of the whole thing. Two different things." Prescott was the chairman in charge of the COG, and a royal pain in the ass. At least in my opinion.

He held his hands up in a show of peace-making. "Alright, alright. Don't shoot me for askin'," he eyed my sidearm like he thought I might draw it at any second. "I've got a job for you."

I eyed him doubtfully. "What kind of job?"

He sat down on the crate, and motioned me over towards one. I remained standing. "As you know, locust numbers are dropping, thanks to the COG dropping the light-mass bomb in the middle of their base. I want you to keep a track of where the gears are moving, what areas their trying to take control of."

"I see. And remind me why the hell I would do this for you?"

He did his odd little half smile again. "I can be your best friend, or I can be you very worst enemy," his gaze traveled down my body appreciatively, and I resisted the urge to shudder. "I'd much rather us be friends." He clapped his hands together, "Besides, if the COG starts setting up shop in my backyard, I'd want to know about it, wouldn't you? I'm not asking you to betray your little Gear pals, or to give up 'playing hero'. I'm just asking for a little cooperation, and a little information."

I curled my nose in distaste, "Yeah, okay. I'll think about it." I turned to walk out of Dix's office.

"Remember who fills your meal ticket!" he called out to me as I left.

My pace didn't falter as I strode out of the common area and through one of the back areas near my room. The streets were abandoned; it was getting dark and anyone with any sense was seeking out shelter. Dix might be a lot of things, but for once he was right. I owed him a lot; probably more than I could ever repay. It wasn't safe out there for anyone, but especially not for a girl my age. He gave me shelter, but it was more than that. He gave me a sense of security, and in this world, that's nothing to take lightly.

I reached my room just as the sun was slinking down over the horizon. It was tiny, nothing more than a pre-war custodian's closet, but it was mine. I double locked the chain that held the door shut after Sam plodded in after me. I slumped down on the mat that served as a bed, and removed my sniper rifle's sling from around my neck and set the gun down, pointing the barrel towards the door. I pulled out two pieces of jerky and gave one to Sam, and I also poured some water from my canteen into her water dish. The wall to the outside had given through in multiple places, leaving just enough to keep me modest as I changed clothes, which was only whenever I had something to change into-which wasn't often, but enough to give me a nice view of my dying world.

Over the compound's gates and small river that winded it's way through the compound, I could just make out the top of Jacinto's skyline. The division between the two worlds filled me with a sense of anger and sadness, as it always did. It was so stupid to have this animosity between the 'stranded' and the 'COG'. It was more than stupid; it was suicidal. We should be focusing our efforts on destroying the locust, not fighting amongst ourselves. All my life I had wanted to be a gear, and when I reached the minimum age for them to take me, they gave me that damn ultimatum. So now here I was, on the outside looking in. It wasn't all that different than what I had envisioned for myself, tiny barracks, bad food, and a nights sleep before heading out on another mission in the morning. Sam laid her head down on my lap and I smiled. I couldn't complain about my comrades either. I sighed as I laid back on my mat, letting my eyes sink shut.

Get Ready, Delta Squad… I thought to myself, 'Cause here I come.

Authors Note-Finally, another chapter! I had this one typed up earlier, when my laptop went to the great computer shop in the sky. T.T It took me forever to get this re-typed, (Once bitten, Twice shy and all that,) But now that I've got this out, more chapters should follow quickly.

As always, thanks to my Gears beta, Kade Riggs. Go read her GoW story, Gears In Therapy. It's seriously epic, and what prompted me into writing GoW fics! (after wanting to for about a year now...)

And another shout out to rockforthecross74! I'm glad I turned you onto gears with this piece! Go buy the game! Seriously, it's epic!

And a huge thank you to all my glamorous readers. Hit that review button beneath my text and tell me what you liked, didn't liked, loved, or absolutely hated. Any and all reviewers get my eternal thanks, AND a preview of the next chapter! (I'm not above begging here people...)