Chapter six: Restoring the Earth

Scott Boone sat in the dining area of the deserted Resistance base. On the table in front of him were two objects: a bottle and a glass. Each few seconds he would pick up the former to refill the latter, and then empty the contents of the latter into his throat.

He had lost everything: his wife, his son… his self-respect was already damaged, but now it was as if someone dropped a weapon of mass destruction on it. He had been unable to keep his son from dying, to keep him from doing that idiotic suicide mission. It had only been a few days since Cody's death, and the fifty-year-old man had already become a self-hating drunk.

Of course, his son was known by most people as a hero: a man who ended the war and helped reveal the true nature of the Enlightened. Right after his death, the Resistance was able to show the machines which the Enlightened used to control the Exotic Matter to the public. They also cured the majority of the people of the mind-controlling effects that were used on them. These people were given back their humanity and opinion.

After that, the Resistance allowed every country to go their own way. The world was becoming what it used to be before the war, except that it was more… peaceful. Some countries that used to be at each other's throats beforehand were now discussing peace treaties and even alliances. It seemed that the war had proven to be a valuable lesson to everyone.

Of course some large parts of the planet were still battlefields and wastelands, but with the help of volunteers these areas were restored. Slowly, but surely.

Scott, however, couldn't enjoy any of it. Corporal Harry Foreman, a 20-year-old soldier of what used to be the Resistance Army and a good friend of Cody's, had made several unsuccessful attempts to get the general out of his depression. He was quite meek for a soldier, but he never gave up on a mission. He was young and gentle, but also a good Resistance member. He always wanted to use combat as a last resort, as he hated it to see others hurt – no matter how much of an asshole that other person was.

Cody had criticized the three-year-younger soldier for that more than once, but Scott knew his son respected the corporal as much as the corporal respected his son – and that was a lot. They rarely met, however, as Cody was a member of the Air Force: not the Army. Sure, he managed to stand his ground on the… well… ground, but his true domain was always the air.

Scott barely noticed the approaching footsteps. He knew it was Harry, probably coming to try to separate the general from his precious whiskey again. He poured some more of said whiskey into the glass and immediately into his mouth. As soon as the glass was empty, he swallowed. When he put it back down he saw Harry sitting across from him, giving him a disappointed look. This made the general sigh as he filled the glass with more of his liquor. Once he swallowed it, he spoke.

"Don't look at me like that." He proceeded to grab the bottle again when Harry suddenly snatched it away, angering his superior.

"Give that back!" he yelled as he stood up. The corporal stood up as well and took a step backwards.

"With all due respect, sir-," he began before being interrupted by the person he was talking to. "Don't give me that shit! Give. That. Back!"

"-I think you've had this for far too long!" Harry continued, walking backwards as the general advanced on him.

"I don't care what you think!" he retorted. "You're not the one who lost a family member!"

"Cody was like my brother!" the subordinate snapped. "I miss him too, but that's not an excuse to addict myself to alcohol."

Scott growled. "Corporal, I order you to give me that bottle!"

"You can't order me anything, sir!" Harry replied. "According to the rules, you are now relieved from command. You have allowed your personal emotions and your booze to cloud your judgement. If you continue this, I will have to report you."

Suddenly, the general jumped forward and tried to snatch his whiskey bottle back. His drunkenness, however, overwhelmed him and he fell face first on the ground before he even got close to his target.

He lost consciousness.

Harry quickly ran to the limp body of the fifty-year-old, and kneeled beside him. After a quick examination, he knew what to do. Fortunately, he knew that there was a phone somewhere around here. It was old, but operational. He looked to the spot on the wall where it usually hung…

…when he saw it was gone.

The corporal stood up and frowned, when he suddenly felt a strong dizziness set in. He staggered for a few seconds, until he fell down the same way the general had.

He lost consciousness before he hit the ground.