Smoke rose from every district of the city, turning the air a thick and impenetrable black. Every available Freedom League soldier was on the streets, battling with the fires and trying to aid the wounded.

The sheer scale of the destruction could clearly be seen from the boardroom window of Freedom HQ, where Ashelin now stood, head leaning against the glass. Her mind was spinning and her whole body felt heavy with shock and doubt, her feet anchored to the floor. Even from all the way up here in this building, the screams could still be heard.

But even louder were the angry and confused debates of the city officials and military commanders behind her. Several different arguments were shooting back and forth across the table all at once, and the room was awash with raised voices and boiling emotions. They all wanted to know how this could have happened, but there was one firm conclusion already on everybody's minds. Based on the story that Torn had told, it was very clear to them all that this was a blatant act of deceit and belligerence; the mysterious people of Idandi had gone back on their supposed offer of friendship merely to sow ruthless destruction, and many in the room now believed that this had been their intention from the very start. Thus, in the immediate wake of this ambush, many also believed that it could have been prevented, their suspicions and speculations now confirmed with violence. As a result, Torn now found himself becoming an unwilling target upon which the council cast their invectives, holding him responsible for this destruction.

"Why did you not see this coming?" demanded one of the angry councillors. "Look what they've done to our city!"

"I told you, they were the ones who wanted to start an alliance!" countered Torn, bristling with fury. "Why would they say that if they just wanted to destroy us?"

"It was clearly a manipulative trap!" someone else shouted him down. "I'll bet it was all a story just to make you feel sorry for them, and you believed it!"

These words stung Torn as he continued trying to defend himself, and describe how genuine the explorers he had met had seemed. He truly did not believe that this was what they had wanted, but the fierce arguments from the others were beginning to make even him see doubts. Something, somewhere, had gone horribly wrong, it must have done! He tried to argue this, but without proof nobody would believe him, no matter what he said.

"If you'd been there, you'd have said the same!" Torn shouted back at them, his anger growing with every retort they made. "They showed no intention whatsoever of causing all this! Just ask Jak, or any of the other pilots who came with us! They'll confirm this!"

"Jak's word means nothing!" scoffed one of the councillors. "That rogue's caused us too much trouble already, and he cannot be trusted!"

This was when Samos stepped in. "I will not accept this slandering of Jak's character!" he rumbled, dismayed that these ugly perceptions of Jak still lingered among certain members of the council, particularly those who had supported his unjust banishment to the Wasteland less than one year ago. The councillor who had just spoken up was one of those people; Samos remembered his face. "If it were not for him, Haven City would have crumbled long ago, and now he might be our only hope to save us again!"

"Samos is right," added Torn, thankful for the support. "Jak's saved our asses more times than you know. We owe him everything we've got, so lay off him!"

"But that still doesn't excuse what you've done!" continued the aggressive councillor, refusing to back down. "Stop dodging the real issue! You've brought death upon us! You led them straight here!"

"That is not true!" Torn yelled in outrage, slamming a fist on the table. "We didn't even tell them how to find Haven! We did not lead them here, and we sure as hell weren't followed!"

"Then why are they here?" demanded the councillor, and for that Torn had no answer. "You have no right to call yourself a commander of the Freedom League after your actions today! We should call for your immediate dismissal!"

Torn felt his face become even hotter at those words, and he snarled dangerously as agreement quickly spread throughout the room. Almost the entire council was turning against him, blinded by their rage, and he knew that he was fighting a losing battle. The painful truth was that a part of him agreed with them too, as even he could see, regardless of the truth, that his reputation as a competent leader was now irreparably damaged as a result of this disaster.

It was Samos who stood up for him again. "How dare you talk to one of your superiors in that way! Torn was trying to do the best for the city, just as he has always done!"

"You call this —" shouted the councillor, pointing sharply out of the window, "— the best for the city?"

"Enough!"

Ashelin's stern voice cut through the uproar. She had not even spoken that loudly, but she had succeeded in plunging the whole room into silence, and everyone now looked to her, still standing at the window looking mournfully upon the fires, her back to the room.

"Of course this is not what Torn wanted," she said, her voice distant and deep. "How can anyone possibly wish for this... this carnage? Don't you think we've had enough already to last a lifetime?"

Nobody dared to answer her. She ran her hand down the window, clenching it into a fist, and still everyone watched and listened in silence. Then she turned around, and slowly walked over to stand at the head of the table, not catching the eyes of anyone. She placed both palms upon the tabletop, and leant there heavily with her head bowed.

"The city is fragile," she continued emotionlessly without looking up, "And I honestly don't know what will become of us now. We have never faced anything like this..."

Torn stood there feeling a great weight of accountability. Only once had he ever heard Ashelin speak in this way before, as if she had given up all hope, and that was when the city had been almost overrun by the Metal Heads during the long, black war against them.

"But governor," said one of the councillors tentatively, "We can't just sit by and do nothing about this. We must take steps to ensure that this never happens again."

At that, he shot another threatening look at Torn, and Torn scowled back at him. Ashelin, her head still bowed, did not see this exchange, but Samos did.

"Pointing the finger of blame is a waste of time," he said warningly. "What's in the past is done. We should be turning our focus onto our present situation instead of looking back to our faults."

"But we cannot excuse this!" protested the councillor persistently. "Commander Torn is responsible for bringing straight to us a powerful enemy that only wanted to destroy us."

"That might seem like the most obvious explanation now," retorted Samos, "But we have no proof that that is what they were planning, and there are too many of us here who are thinking with their emotions. Torn's word is all we have to inform us, and there is no evidence that he has done anything wrong, so his word should stand."

"I agree with Samos," said Ashelin, pre-empting another debate. Though she did not directly show it, Torn just knew that she was trying to defend him, and he felt his admiration for her rise. Yet her eyes remained downwards and closed, as if she were ashamed to even look at him, and as a result, her defence seemed much less genuine.

The councillor looked put out now that the governor had ended his vituperations, and he no longer said any negative words against Torn, albeit reluctantly. The others too fell silent for the moment, including Torn himself, but he continued to receive resentful, untrusting glances from all across the table.

"We need to stick with the present facts," continued Ashelin steadily, making decisive motions with one hand. "Stay with what we absolutely know, little though it may be. We can try and understand things later, if there's time, but right now we have a city in flames and we need to act to save ourselves. That, I think, is the real issue, and standing here arguing over who did what will not help."

"Here, here!" said Samos in agreement, and many of the others in the room also expressed their accord. "I recommend we first get a global damage report of the city, and prioritise what needs saving."

"What about the civilians?" argued someone across the table. "Our top priority should be to save as many as we can."

"We can do both," said Ashelin, deftly preventing another argument from flaring up.

"What about the enemy jets?" asked someone else. "They could come back again at any moment to finish us off."

"Good point," said Samos. "Our defences must be repaired and ready. In the city's current state, we may not be able to withstand another attack, especially one as destructive as this."

"We should also try to discover more about our enemies," suggested a level-headed researcher, "And who they really are. I know, negotiation is probably out of the question now, but a lot of their aircraft were shot down in the fight, and their remains still litter the city. If we can salvage their weaponry and technology, my team and I might be able to find out how it works, and maybe even how to use it against them."

"That's a good idea," said a particularly aggressive commander, pounding a fist into the palm of his other hand. "Give them a taste of their own medicine!"

Several people agreed with him, but Samos spoke up wisely. "We must not let ourselves succumb to our own anger and lust for revenge," he warned. "Doing so would only make us reckless, and disregard safer and surer alternatives."

"It's what the people will want when we break the news to them," said the commander confidently.

"So do we!" echoed many of the other commanders and councillors.

"Alright, alright," said Samos with frustration, "But I think the citizenry will be wanting answers more than revenge."

Another momentary hush fell within the room, as all realised that the majority of Haven's people had still received no explanation for this attack.

"But what'll we tell them?" asked a milder councillor with worry. "And who'll say it?"

At first, nobody volunteered for this difficult task.

"I'll do it," said Ashelin. "Guess it has to be me. I'll make an announcement to the city soon."

Nobody questioned her choice, but all admired her for it, and the room finally settled into a mostly united entity.

"So," she continued, "We've identified several major priorities: we need to properly assess the damage to the city, save and protect the citizens, search for downed jets, and rebuild our defences. The question is, do we have enough man power left to get all that done?"

"I hope so," said one of the commanders. "Practically everyone we have available is out there already."

"We haven't all had the chance to count the casualties yet," said his comrade by his side, "But I think I've lost nearly half the men who were under my command in that last attack."

Ashelin grimaced as if pained. "OK, that's another thing we need to do: minimise further losses as much as possible, otherwise we're not going to see the other side of this."

Everyone fell into tense silence again, each looking to one another for solace as the human cost of this disaster sank in. Haven had already lost so many of its people in the constant wars that had plagued her; losing any more would surely spell out their doom.

"We might not be able to get through this alone," said Ashelin seriously. "Not if there'll be more attacks like this one. We're going to need help."

"But governor," said a councillor, "Where would we find such help? We're on our own here, just like in the Metal Head Wars, like we always have. There is no one else."

For the first time, Ashelin raised her head and looked down the table at no one in particular, but there was a hard stare in her eyes. "That's not true. There's the Wastelanders."

Nervous murmurs began to buzz around the room, and Ashelin caught the looks on everyone's faces, some of concern, others of bewilderment, and some even of hostility. The existence of Spargus still had not become common knowledge among Haven's citizenry; only a few knew, and those few who did also knew of the Wastelanders' dangerous reputation. Many of them may once have been citizens of Haven before their banishment, but Spargus and Haven were still two separate, very different cities, and not exactly on friendly terms with one another, not yet. But they could prove a valuable ally if they could find a way to work together.

"Would they even be willing to help us?" asked someone, and he was not the only one in the room with this concern. "I mean, they were banished from the city after all, and after the treatment they received from... your father, governor, would they even want to come back?"

Ashelin was reminded of her regrettable heritage, and the terrible things her father had done to seize and sustain his power, all the lives he had ended and split apart. Ashelin was still trying to repair the damage and hate he had caused, and cleanse the stain on the name of Praxis, the name that she also bore.

"He's right," said another councillor in response to the first. "The Baron banished a lot of people. They might still be angry with Haven, and calling on them to help us might be a bad idea."

"They're outcasts," said one of the commanders hotly. "There's a reason they were kicked out. We can't trust them."

"We might not have a choice," said Ashelin. "The Wastelanders are tough, and not all of them were exiled justly. Some might still harbour an allegiance to us."

"But how can we be sure?"

"I'll send Jak to go and speak with them," Ashelin continued. "He knows their mentality, and they accept him as one of their own. Besides, Spargus has a new king who knows what it's like in Haven, and he and Jak have shared in a few adventures, so I gather. He'll listen, and I'm sure Jak can talk him into lending us support."

"I concur," said Samos at once.

There were still many uncertain looks on the other faces in the room. All of them knew of Jak's exile from the city, still in recent memory. It was for crimes he had not committed, ones that had never even been definitively proven, but still there were stray rumours that dogged him, and despite all he had done for Haven City, there were those who still did not fully trust him. His connections with the Wastelanders didn't help matters. But they knew they needed the extra help, and if Jak could use those connections to get the Wastelanders of Spargus to co-operate, then it was worth the shot.

"If you say so, governor," said a councillor uneasily, and once he agreed, everyone else found it easier to do so as well.

Torn remained deliberately silent. No one seemed to be paying him any attention any longer, and for the moment, that was how he wanted it, taking a breather while the others sorted themselves. Besides, if he spoke up, even if he had a valid point to make, he felt that none would accept it.

"Alright," concluded Ashelin, standing up straight again, "That's enough to be getting on with for now. Commanders, organise among yourselves which of you will take responsibility for which task, and mobilise your men accordingly. And best of luck to all of us. We'll need it. Move out."

Everyone around the table saluted, and then the room gradually emptied. However, Torn hung back until he and Ashelin were the only ones left. He could not ignore the accusations thrown at hm by the councillors, even if they didn't truly understand events like he did, and they made him start to doubt himself. Had he misjudged the situation? Was he really responsible for putting the city at risk like this? Could he have been more careful? Whatever it was, he began to feel clearly that he had something to make up for, especially to Ashelin, but how would he possibly start?

Now in private, he approached her slowly. "Thanks, Ash," he began simply.

At last, Ashelin looked at him, but it was with a conflicted expression that was hard to read. Never had her sharp, green eyes been more penetrating. "I think you owe more thanks to Samos, not me," she said quietly.

It was true, as Samos had defended him well throughout that debate. But it hurt that Ashelin was flatly deflecting his gratitude when he wanted her so much to accept it, and to know that he meant it.

"Yeah... I'll speak to him later," said Torn, rolling with whatever Ashelin wanted right now.

"I had to say something," said Ashelin more calmly, looking away again. "That argument was getting too out of hand. We need to stick together as one united government, and arguing like that will get us nowhere."

"But you believe me... don't you?" Torn asked warily.

Ashelin's head dropped again, and she returned to her previous stance of leaning on the table, still not meeting his eyes. "To be honest, Torn," she said with a deep sigh, "I don't know what to believe right now. Nothing adds up."

This was not the answer that Torn had been hoping to hear. They each took their work seriously and professionally, and they had always mutually supported each other no matter what, but only in these rare moments when they were alone together did they allow their personal feelings for each other to be expressed. They could talk more freely with each other, unaffected by politics. However, right now, she was not showing any of her usual confidence in him, and she acted no differently to how she had done when the room was still full of people. It made him feel as if she was keeping her true thoughts hidden, and this only reinforced the feeling that he had seriously wronged her. Even the transgressions he had committed in the Krimzon Guard seemed insignificant compared to this. Today, he had done the one thing he had sworn to himself he would never do: he had let Ashelin down. He could tell.

"Ash, I'm sorry."

"Don't apologise," she said curtly. "There's no point."

Torn's mind still throbbed with regret. Now Ashelin was not even accepting his apology. What else could he do?

"We've got a lot of work ahead of us," continued Ashelin. "This isn't going to be easy, and I don't know if we'll even see the other side of it, but I'm sure as hell going to give it my all to make sure we do. I am not going to lose this city!"

Torn greatly admired her dedication, but he severely doubted his own resolve. He had only felt this close to giving up once before, back when he had sold out the Underground, but he had done it all to protect the woman standing before him right now.

"I trust you, Ash," Torn said, swallowing hard, "But I don't think... I don't think I can —"

"Don't even think about it," Ashelin ordered with a deadly tone, stabbing him with her sharp eyes again, and it froze the words in Torn's mouth. "I forbid you from resigning. You and I have come too far together to end like that."

She looked at him even more deeply, and Torn felt completely transparent for Ashelin to have known what he was thinking before he had even said it.

"This is a difficult time for all of us, and the last thing we need is you ditching us like that. We need you to help us get through this, Torn."

She spoke sternly but fairly, trying to motivate him back into action. It was partially successful, for her words stirred something within him, something that made him remember the duties he had sworn to the city, and to her, so long ago.

"Now come on," she said, standing up straight again. "We've got lots of work to do. Torn, I expect you to devote your full energy to helping the city. Is that clear?"

He understood the order, and was actually thankful that she was giving him something to do. This felt like she was granting him the chance to redeem himself, and he was sure to take it. He would do anything to have her trust back. However, he could still feel the disappointment radiating off her, the disappointment that he felt he had caused. He needed to show her that he could fix this.

"Yes ma'am," he said with a salute.