[Marta Knox's Personal Effects – Post Glassing]
[Item 1 – Letter:
Dear Marta,
I know that by the time you receive this, you won't have heard from me in a few weeks. The innies took out the Com Buoy so the only communication in and out of the system are the locked-down ONI channels. I imagine you're going crazy right now. Last you heard, I was going into surgery. Perfect timing, right? I'm fine and I even have a bit of good news.
It turns out, I'm able to keep my leg. The doctors and I have been talking about it for hours now, but now that I'm writing it down, I can finally see how strange the conversation has been. At least I get to keep it. The doc said he'd rather amputate and replace it with a robotic one, but I've put some serious thought into it and decided against it. Even though it means I'll never see combat again. I'm sure you'll be thrilled.
The Corps will be cycling me back to Earth and sitting me behind a recruitment desk. Not exactly what I had in mind, but they're bumping me to E7 as well. Always gave the Non-Fleets a hard time, but now I'm one of them. I guess I can't be too bitter. I've still got my life, I've still got my leg, and I've still got you. I'm looking forward to this leave, so I can come home to Madrigal and see you and Isaac.
All my Love,
Steve
0745 HOURS, October 20th 2552 (Military Calendar)
Kazingo Boulevard, New Mombasa Kenya
Knox always hated the last hour of his shift. He could never keep from looking at the clock on his bus' dash, which only made the time seem to go by more slowly. It didn't help that traffic was terrible. They were creeping along Kazingo Boulevard slower than the pedestrians on the sidewalk. Quarter 'til 8 and the morning rush was already in full swing. At least in 15 minutes, he'd be able to relax.
He pulled up to his next stop and pressed on the brakes. He opened the door to a very tall, slender man with an overly happy smile on his face and an NMTA name badge on his shirt. The man stepped onto the bus and walked up to Knox's driver's seat. Knox turned to him and smiled to match.
"Do you want me to take over now, Steven?" the man said happily.
"That's alright Odikinyi [OH-dee-key-nyee], it's not like we're going anywhere." Knox chuckled as he looked back at the road. Odikinyi moved aside to let more people on, then sat down in the first seat next to Josiah. The two greeted each other as they did most every morning. Knox closed the door and watched as the other passengers took their seats, "Besides, I've still got 15 minutes."
"Are you sure?" Odikinyi asked, "15 minutes isn't a bid deal if you want to relax. It's not like I'm going to tell dispatch."
"So eager to work this early in the morning? You'd make one hell of a marine." Knox winked at him through the rear view mirror.
Odikinyi laughed, "I wouldn't say eager. Just concerned for my elder, that's all."
"I take it back. You'd make a terrible marine." Knox half smiled but kept his eyes on the road. Both Odikinyi and Josiah began laughing at Knox's remark.
Odikinyi was about the nicest person Knox had ever met. So nice, in fact, it often made him sick. Still, there was a sincerity to Odikinyi that commanded respect. He wasn't the brightest or most talented man that worked for the NMTA, but he always managed to brighten up Knox's day, and that was something none of his other coworkers had ever been able to do.
Knox was finally able to get around most of the traffic, allowing him to make up some time. He glanced at the map readout on his dash and turned his head slightly back to Josiah. "You're up, Joe." Josiah looked forward from talking with Odikinyi and nodded. Odikinyi got up to let Josiah out of the seat. "C'mon, Joe, I got a schedule to keep. You move slower than I do." Josiah grinned and was about to reply when there was a blinding flash followed by deafening crack that caused the entire bus to shudder. As the bus shook, Knox slammed on the brakes. The tires screamed until the bus finally came to a complete stop.
Ringing. That's all Knox could hear. That perpetually familiar ringing. The Goddamn Innies bombed New Mombasa. That's all he could think. They had gotten bold. Maybe they decided to hit us while we were distracted, fighting the Covenant in the Outer Colonies. All these thoughts raced through Knox's mind as he tried to regain his focus. He turned around to see his passengers screaming, though he couldn't hear anything. Josiah was on the floor with his hands over his head. Odikinyi's perpetual smile was nowhere to be seen. Instead a blank expression of shock occupied his face. The ringing began to subside and he started to hear the now-dwindling whimpers of his passengers. What building had been hit? New Mombasa had mostly financial buildings. The only two places with any strategic value were ONI Alpha Site and the Tether.
Knox was still looking at the surrounding buildings trying to determine where the Innies had attacked. Continuing to look, Knox turned his head to the side slightly, "Is everyone okay? Is anyone hurt?" Knox could still hear a child crying in the back, but everyone else murmured somewhat reassuringly. The child began to calm down, that's when he heard it. Distant screams. He looked ahead to the nearest cross street and saw tons of people sprinting past. He began to look in the direction the people were coming from. No smoke. No fire. He continued to follow the skyline in that direction until he found the Tether. That's when he saw it. He blinked. He wanted it to be gone when he opened his eyes again. But it wasn't. The Covenant Assault Carrier just hung there. The possibility Knox never wanted to consider was here. In New Mombasa. On Earth.
Knox stared at it, transfixed. His passengers must have seen what he was looking at, because they started to panic all over again. Knox turned to Odikinyi, who had an increasingly horrified look on his face, and said, "You still wanna take over?"