The four soldiers that were forced to retreat reunited with the other two members of their squad. They spent a little over an hour resting in their bedroom before meeting with Lieutenant Williams. They had ditched their armor and stored their weapons.

"I'm truly sorry for the losses you've suffered," said Williams. "I would like to believe that Tanbur could still be out there, but the odds of him surviving are low. It would be a miracle if he somehow turned up. You've lost contact with him. We need to adapt now that we're down to six people and the Fire Nation has been getting bolder with their attacks.

"We have a second chance since you're all here and managed to retreat. You're alive, and that's what matters. Your priority was to retreat, and I only feel sad that some of the miners are still out there."

Williams projected a map on the big screen behind his desk. Using his laptop, he moved the map. He placed a red X where the Myrmidon squad had been assigned to.

"This place has now been taken by the Fire Nation," Williams explained. "The mine can be used as a meeting point where they could gather their forces. It will only be a matter of time before they find our base and gather at our doorstep, if that's their goal."

"Are we getting sent somewhere?" Kipmi asked.

"No," Williams answered. "It would be better if the six of you stayed here. Our forces are already stretched thin. We have Marines and Myrmidons at other mines, and some of those mines are bigger. Some of our troops are stationed at other facilities. We need every soldier we can get guarding this colony. We don't know how strong the enemy is or where their bases are located."

"Understandable, sir," said Kipmi. "Have there been any attacks at other mines?"

"None right now. In the biggest mine, some squads of Marines have been sent out on reconnaissance missions. They have reported seeing Fire Nation forces camping within ten kilometers. They had been gathering vehicles as well. All transports to our refinery have arrived safely."

Gabriel wondered if the Fire Nation found that big mine. Maybe they know where the mine is located but they just don't want to attack just yet. The detective part of his brain kicked in again. He thought there was something a little suspicious about the fact that the Fire Nation found the mine that he was guarding first. He chose to keep his mouth shut about any of his suspicions to most of the soldiers except for Siu. Kipmi thought he was a bit crazy, so Gabriel thought that his other superiors, Choi, and Williams, would think the same thing.

"It would be best if you just stayed at the base," said Williams. "The enemy could attack the colony one day or another. They're after our metal. All of you may go on vacation at the same time in July. Just stay in the colony. I mean, there's nothing much around here besides this base and the small city. Exploring beyond this place would be too dangerous and you could risk getting lost. There doesn't seem to be much here except for silence unless you happen to be found by the enemy. Once your vacations are done, you just stay here, as part of the reserve force and probably won't be deployed for a long time."

"And what about the lost miners?" Kipmi asked.

"I'll need to talk to the colony heads about it," said Williams. "I'll call you for another meeting once that's done. All of you just get some rest in your barracks. We've had quite a loss in that mine, and retreat was the only option."

"Thank you, sir," said Kipmi.

Kipmi and his squad turned and walked out. After changing out of their uniforms, everyone took their place in bed. Gabriel sat on his bed briefly. The evening was coming, and it was almost time for them to eat.

Once they were called for dinner, the squad put on their uniforms. Gabriel met up with Siu and walked beside her. They were a bit far from the others.

"Siu, I don't think our detective mission is over," said Gabriel.

"Maybe not," said Siu. "I'm willing to listen to any of your theories, no matter how crazy they may be."

"Well, Tanbur was quick to accuse me. But I don't want to play the victim and just assume that he hates me for no reason. It's either he sacrificed himself, or he's currently hiding. I think that will be something that's itching in the back of my mind."

"It's hard to see if there's even an impostor in the squad. It wasn't like I was paying attention at everyone and seeing who was killing Fire Nation soldiers. If there really was an impostor, they wouldn't have killed any enemies."

"The squad dwindles, and I don't want it to dwindle further."

"I highly doubt that the base would be attacked anytime soon."

"If the colony was found quickly, then I believe that someone on the inside led the enemy here. Well, I think that's everything I need to say. I was a little suspicious about everyone. We now know that it couldn't be Johnson, and I wish he didn't have to die to prove his innocence."

"Hoodman, if there's something bothering you, I'm here to talk to you about it."

"Thanks, Siu. I really appreciate it. I'm sure our squad really benefits by having you in it."

They then reached the cafeteria within the next minute. They all grabbed their food before taking a seat.

Gabriel was grateful that Siu was supportive. She seemed to have a caring heart. Although he wasn't too good at reading people, part of him said that she was genuine. There was still a part of him that was paranoid that she was just making him vulnerable while waiting for the right moment to strike. But over the months, since Kipmi had constantly paired them, they started to bond more and began a detective quest, as they both concluded that Rodrigo's death was suspicious. They also believed that there was also something suspicious about the recent Fire Nation attack on the mine. Gabriel was surely thinking that there was a mole working for the other side, either within the military or the company. He didn't believe in coincidences.

Gabriel strongly thought that Siu would be a great friend and she could be someone he could open up to more. He wasn't sure what to talk about yet. He could explain some of his personal struggles, whether they were problems caused by work or not. He probably wouldn't be ready to talk more about his personal life, but maybe he'll be more comfortable with her by the time they were allowed to go on vacation.

They then ate their food. Gabriel wasn't savoring it that much, though he was starving from the long fight. He had been worn out, as he had expended more energy than a normal human in a short amount of time, though he killed a lot of enemy soldiers in that time. It had been a long journey and a tough time, having seen one of his squad mates fall. It wasn't totally unbelievable for a Myrmidon to be killed in battle. If an enemy had enough bullets in quick succession, the super soldier was done.

It was still a little hard to believe that Johnson was gone, and the squad was dwindling in number. He would have to process that grief. Johnson was someone that Gabriel had fought effectively with, and he wasn't going to forget about him so easily.

It was soon time for bed. Although Gabriel had many emotions ranging from fear to sadness, his physical tiredness from the long battle and the ensuing retreat had overcome him.

The next few rotations weren't too exciting. Gabriel was determined not to replay recent memories, wondering what he could've done in that situation. Something in the back of his mind told him that there was a way to retreat without losing anyone, or that if they stayed a bit longer, there was a slim chance that they could've saved the miners and killed a lot of enemies, but that would probably cost them more lives, maybe his own as well.

He and the squad were just on guard duty at the base. They were going to wait for the enemy. Kipmi had told them about training drills that they were going to continue doing. The base was much wider and had more machines than the camps that the other soldiers were sent to. There was one big building in the middle where training simulations could be run.

For those next few rotations, there weren't a lot of interesting things happening, which made time pass much more slowly.

It had been a week since the squad retreated, and now it was time for another training simulation. On one floor of the building, there were tight hallways, and the lights were dim. Kipmi had gathered the squad to the hallway right outside the training room.

"If the enemy breaches our outer defenses and makes their way inside the main buildings of the colony, we must fight in the hallways to prevent them from capturing the whole city," said Kipmi.

He handed out training guns. Each gun had no ammo, though there was a counter, so the magazine could get empty, and people would need to reload.

"You will stay in the middle of the room while robots push in from all four corners," said Kipmi. "You must not go past the boundaries. You should just stay and fight and wait for the robots to come to you. This drill is all about angles. If you can get a good angle, you will be able to shoot the enemy before they can even see you.

"The robots are wielding paintball guns. Your goal is not to get painted. The paint washes off, though. The game ends when all the robots are killed. You will hear an alarm when that happens."

Everyone was wearing full armor as they walked into the training area. The middle of the training room had blue lines on the floor which were the boundaries where none of them were supposed to cross.

Kipmi had a tablet which he used to activate the robots and begin the game. The game counted the players' score based on their kills with their training guns. The members of the squad scattered right behind the blue lines, peeking from different angles.

Gabriel was standing in a hallway that was dimly lit with white lights. There was a blue line between two walls of one hallway. He was in charge of waiting for robots to walk down that hall, and he only needed to watch one side. He occasionally looked back in case a robot was flanking.

The hallway that he was watching was long, and Gabriel could see that there were two opposing sides that the robots could walk through.

He thought about the multiple training simulations he went through during the three months of basic training that he underwent when he had enlisted at the age of eighteen. This particular drill seemed basic and doable by regular soldiers, though Gabriel had the advantage of sharper reflexes. In some drills, the trainees would use real bullets, while in other ones, they would use lasers.

Gabriel breathed slowly, keeping his arm muscles a bit tense as he kept his rifle raised. He had to rely on his sight, as a person's footsteps were too quiet and were inaudible if they were far enough.

"Remember, always have multiple exit routes in case you get overwhelmed," said Kipmi.

Gabriel had no sense of time, and he wondered when the robots would come. He hoped that he was ready by the time they arrived. Maybe they would approach in droves, or maybe they were few in number whenever they approach, giving Gabriel enough time to shoot them and recover.

Once Gabriel saw movement, he went in for the kill. Aiming at one of the many targets scattered around the robot's body, he took a shot. The laser deactivated the robot and forced it to lie down. The robot was skeletal, though it had multiple circular targets all over its body.

He took out three targets. He counted a bit, before hiding behind cover. He quickly looked behind him. Seeing no one, he continued to look down the hall, managing to hit an enemy before it could aim its gun at him. He had an angle where he could shoot the enemy as it turned the corner, while he himself was covered, barely poking out of his corner.

The robots shot small paintballs, but they would always fly past him and hit the wall behind him. Not thinking about the time, he continued to shoot the robots.

A few minutes later, he was hit in the forearm and the paintball splattered, coating it in orange. Gabriel felt a bit bad about it, but he had to continue on with the drill.

Eventually, the hall was getting crowded with robots. Gabriel shot a pair but was unable to hide in time and two more robots were standing and ready to shoot. He was unable to roll sideways in time, and he felt something pop on his forehead. He had just been sprayed with a paintball on the head.

"If that were real, I'd basically be dead," said Gabriel.

He could see more robots behind the two that were occupying the hallway. Gabriel had to slowly walk backwards to retreat, keeping the path towards the center of the base clear by guarding it and making sure no robots were able to sneak through.

Gabriel continued to walk backwards, occasionally hiding behind walls. He had to reload by pressing a button and there was a timer. The cooldown lasted for 1.5 seconds, which was probably the average time that someone can reload their weapon.

He peeked and held down the trigger. The robots tried to crouch, but Gabriel managed to hit them both with a few bullets each. After that, he decided to just tap the trigger and aim for one robot at a time rather than spray bullets to force the robots to slow their advance.

Eventually, he cleared the hallway. He was slightly startled by the alarm that sounded a few minutes later. Everyone was called to the middle of the room. He saw that everyone had been sprayed except for Kipmi and Larsen. Some people were sprayed in places that weren't fatal, while others were sprayed in multiple places and their uniforms now had a range of colors, from orange, to yellow, to bright green.

"Well, that could've gone much better," Kipmi commented.

"Obviously," said Gabriel.

"Yeah, I'm basically dead if those were real bullets," said Siu, smiling. She had been sprayed on the shoulder with green paint, while her head and chest were orange.

They continued their next exercises in their painted uniforms. After more exercises and battle planning, everyone put away their uniforms to be washed, and they walked around in their sleepwear.

The day of training had ended, and Gabriel wanted nothing more than to sleep. He was laying in bed thinking about what had just happened and he was a little excited to do it again. The exercises were much more demanding, and a normal human couldn't handle them. He sometimes had to jump long distances and he was still surprised at what his body could do.

The hand-to-hand portion of the training had exhausted him the most. He was surrounded by enemy robots and his goal was to knock them all down and deactivate them with minimal damage to himself. He had to move his arms and legs quickly, with hard and precise strikes.

He also had a chance to utilize his knives. He was able to shock robots and destroy their circuitry with a well-placed knife in the small, unprotected areas. He carried six electrified knives in his pockets. Sometimes, he threw them, while in other times, he used them in close quarters. He also had a normal knife that didn't deliver electric shocks. He was able to throw them so that they zoomed through the air in a straight line.

The weeks kept going by, and Gabriel had focused on his training so hard that he was slowly forgetting and moving forward from the battles that he just went through. He had no choice but to work hard every day and make use of the time. It felt like it would cost him greatly if he lost focus for a bit. Sometimes, he felt like he wasn't training enough, no matter how hard he trained. He was a bit nervous about what was next, even though they would have a vacation and they won't be deployed for a while. That would give Gabriel and the Myrmidons some time to complete any advanced individual training courses.

Williams had also told the squad about what the colony heads had said. They had regretfully informed him that there were no plans of a search. Most of the senior officers in the military had sent scouting drones, but they weren't planning on rescuing anyone, as they couldn't risk losing soldiers. They all had the same goal of waiting for the enemy to strike first.

He was just thinking about the training and not much about his detective mission. There was a slim chance that something suspicious would happen again. He knew Rodrigo's death could only have been a murder, but he wasn't sure about the attacks on the mines. He couldn't occupy his mind with that, and he wasn't waiting around for something to happen. He hadn't said anything to Siu, as they were both just occupied by their training, and with each day that passed, they were inching closer to a vacation.

When three months had passed since the squad retreated, Gabriel seemed to have a stronger resolve. They weren't completely hopeless, and it still looked like they had a fighting chance. All they could do now is wait for the Fire Nation to strike them if they were after the colony. Maybe they would find it easily, or it would take them many more months to find and scout the area before launching an attack.