Chapter 4 - Sepultus

August 3rd, 2544 (7:45 Hours – Military Calendar)

Epsilon Eridani System, Reach

Falchion Base, Csaba Mountain Region, Viery Territory

:********:

The UNSC flag in front of the Coronary flew at half-mast in the early dawn. It was in honor of the fallen, not only Bravo Company's, but also for Alpha Company who had similarly returned from a successful mission, although with a few dozen less within their ranks.

While most of their comrades' bodies were being returned to their homeworlds, if they had any to be spoken of, those that didn't were buried at a small gravesite at the base of Mount Csaba. It was an octagonal space a hundred meters in diameter surrounded by a wire fence. Scores of graves from 7th Battalion ODST's casualties taken over the years occupied the grounds. Their names, ranks, unit affiliation, time of birth and death were listed on their gravestones. Moreover, so were their places of both birth and death.

Thanks to the small memorial service being held early in the morning, Duncan had gotten to see a number of the graves. It was his first time being down here. He'd been told that if you got buried here, if there was a body to be spoken of at all, then chances were high that you were sent here because there was nowhere else to put you. He noticed that the vast majority of the dead were born on worlds that had either gone dark, like the distant Dwarka, or were confirmed glassed like Charybdis IX. It explained what Zack meant when he said that you only wound up here if there was nowhere else left to put you.

Duncan also noticed that the locations where troopers died were almost predominantly UNSC Defeats. There were few if any big victories anymore. He was hoping to see at least some, but there weren't any that he could recognize going through the rows of stones.

Then he realized that in truth, the fact there were even graves for these troopers was a victory in and of itself. Most UNSC personnel who fought against the Covenant and lost never had their bodies recovered. Yet even the deaths of these troopers attested to how good the ODSTs of 7th Battalion were in that they were actually able to recover their dead and give them a proper burial.

Then it made him consider something, a distinct possibility. His father had never had his body brought home. But perhaps…

He wasn't here. Despite his searching, he never found a stone marked with the name 'Noah Iris'. It was only a chance, he knew. Still, he wished he were here. The six-year-old deep down inside of him had hoped, if briefly, to see his dad again, even if it meant looking at a cold slab of stone in the place of a warm face.

The ceremony was simple yet respectful. A few squads offloaded the caskets from a convoy of Warthog transports. Platoons from Alpha and Bravo Companies looked on as they were carried while the slow notes of a bugle player gave a somber atmosphere to the occasion.

2nd Platoon had lost two of their guys, including one Corporal Rodrick Henderson, callsign Hotep-3. They recovered him after finding the sniper dead on top of the cruiser. He'd been impaled with an energy sword from behind. 1st Platoon also had its casualties. Lance Corporal Leona Harris and Private First-Class Thomas Boffa, Echo-4 and Eagle-7 respectively, had both gone down early in the initial fighting outside the ship.

Henderson, Harris and Boffa were among 27 others being buried today. Their squadmates stood the closest to their caskets. They watched them lowered inside, some with tears and others with quiet respect. No one ever cried outright, only looked on as their comrades were laid to rest. Each casket was placed inside their graves in such a way that the part where the dead's feet would be would touch the bottom first. Then they were rested down inside and buried.

"Once a Helljumper, always a Helljumper." The Staff had said when Duncan asked him about it. "It's a tradition that not everyone we lose gets to have done for them."

Duncan was quietly relieved that no one from his team had gone out. Epsilon had been lucky to reach cover in time during the ambush inside the ship. On the way back, the Staff had praised Duncan for pulling off a tactic that he'd used months earlier, throwing his frag grenades tactfully to use the Elites' limber maneuverability against them. Yet Duncan honestly felt the way they handled everything afterwards, especially Hector with his SPANKR, outshined anything he had done on the fly. He sufficed with the fact that he'd survived his first encounter with the Covenant alongside the rest of the team. However, that didn't stop him from acknowledging the loss of others. They stood at attention until the ceremony neared its end.

The Lieutenant Colonel concluded the occasion with a short address. It started with a single sentence. "Helljumper Helljumper, where you been?"

The ODSTs responded in unison. "Feet First into Hell and back again!"

He asked again. "Helljumper Helljumper, where you been?"

"Been out for a jump we'll jump again!"

Garrison nodded. "Helljumper, Helljumper, where you been?" He said it slower this time, almost pondering the question as he turned to the graves. "We know where they are, and we know where we'll be, sticking our rifle muzzles into the collective eye sockets of the Covenant for one more day. We only get one, troopers. Make it count."

The ODSTs of Alpha and Bravo Companies gave their leader a unified salute. Then it was over. A few stayed behind to pay their own final respects.

Eventually the 7th Battalion gravesite was left to itself. The wind travelling through the valley floor made the surrounding trees sway, casting dancing shadows over the faces of the gravestones, new and old alike.

:********:

1st platoon came back to the Dante building for some R&R. While everyone else went about their own devices, Duncan used the time to catch a shower in the communal bathrooms since he'd had to rush out to catch the funeral.

He rested his spare set of clothes on a rack and took one of the empty shower stalls. He twisted the nob into the red and let the warm water wash over his body.

It was soothing. His thoughts lulled in his mind as he relaxed. He thought about the gravestones and what was written on them. What caught his attention was where they were from.

His mind drifted to the rest of his squad, the very same persons he'd been fighting beside while never knowing a certain aspect about them. Specifically, where they came from. It was an unstated rule among UNSC enlisted personnel in every branch that you didn't ask a person where they were from. The reason for it was because ever since Harvest, more and more persons began hailing from colony worlds lost to the Covenant. For obvious reasons, a lot of people were private about that kind of information. Still, he'd known the others in the squad for more than half a year already. While they obviously knew each other for a lot longer, eight months had to count for something.

His thoughts were interrupted when the door to the men's section of the bathroom opened. Zack stepped in, already half-naked. Thankfully, it was the top-half.

He gave him a thumbs-up and got started in one of the showers further down.

Duncan thought it over and mentally shrugged. He might as well try it now.

"Hey Zack, where're you from?"

"Luna." Zack replied without even looking up or sounding like the question was a problem.

That was easy.

"So…what part?"

This time Zack looked up at him while lathering himself with soap. "Why do you care so much, Illinois-boy?"

Duncan laughed. "Well, I figured I'd known you guys long enough to ask. I only really know where Heck is from and even then, he only drove the limo on Tribute. Doesn't mean he's from there necessarily."

Zack eyed him for a moment then shook his head. "I guess you've lasted longer than the other 8s." He rung out his towel and started washing off. "I'm from Crisium City. If you want to know exactly where that is, we're based in Mare Crisium. Its five hundred kilometers of nothing but flat moonscape, interconnective ducts and vacuum sealed habitats. Home sweet home."

"Really, so you and me are from the same neighborhood then?"

"Give or take 380,000 kilometers, yeah, pretty much."

"Hmph, that's just spitting distance these days." Duncan also started washing off. He thought over his next words carefully, measuring them out and hoping he wasn't prodding too much. "Do you ever miss it, being back home?

Zack stopped for a moment and looked down at the shower floor. "Honestly…no." He dried his face then wrung his towel again, watching the water drain away. "I couldn't have gotten out of there fast enough. My folks? They told me I wasn't ready, that I was too young for the real world." He slung his towel over his shoulder. "Now I'm jumping down through the atmosphere of real worlds. Top that, am I right?"

He stepped out of his stall to catch the rest of himself with his drying towel. "Can I tell you something, Irish?"

There was that name again. Duncan figured it was okay once he was the only one consistently calling him that. "Sure."

Zack looked from left to right to make sure the bathroom was clear and the door was still closed. "I know this might surprise you, but as it turns out, I come across as annoying to some people."

Duncan stared at him with enough incredulousness in his gaze that it would've gotten the point across to anyone else. But whatever mental armor Zack was wearing proved invulnerable.

"I know right." He shrugged. "I can't understand it either. With my folks at least, I figured they probably wanted me out of their hair. I was what people called a 'troubled child', even though I was the one causing trouble for everyone else. As it turned out, I wanted to go just as much as they wanted me gone. Everybody wins that way. But what about your folks, man…I mean, if you've…"

Duncan nodded. "I've got an Uncle. He's a bit of a pain when he's ready but he knows how to push me out of my comfort zone. He always means well, he really does." He remembered their conversation on that Warthog after his mother's funeral. "Maybe your folks didn't want you gone, man. Maybe you just…figured it'd be easier to leave if you believed they wanted that."

He looked up at Zack who was staring back at him with a suspicious eye. He relaxed as he started putting on his clothes. "Maybe you're right man." He sighed. "I wouldn't worry about it too much though. I'm on good terms with them since we still talk. They feel okay once they see my face at least once a week. I swear I feel like a college-kid in a dorm room, only I've got a gun in one hand and a solid reason to be here."

"Ever been to College?" Duncan asked.

Zack shook his head as he pulled his shirt on. "Nah. Once I graduated high school, and really I shouldn't have but they just wanted me gone bad enough, I joined the ODSTs. You?"

"My wife did, I just went straight off to the Marine Reserves. Wait, question, you didn't join any other unit before the ODSTs? No Marines, Air Force or…anything?"

"Nope." Zack said frankly.

Duncan stared at him for a second. It was normal, if not customary for ODST cadets to come from other branches of the armed service so they had experience well in advance to build off of. While they allowed in cadets that didn't fall under that criteria, managing to pass the program with no previous training was almost unheard of. So, if Zack was a troublemaker, Duncan wondered what kind of trouble he might've actually caused.

"Okay…and why'd you join up exactly? Were you looking for an adventure or something like that?"

"Something like that." Zack affirmed. "The way I've figured it, I've got some years ahead of me. Look, I know I'm still a kid, alright? I thought that I might as well help fight so that I can actually live out the rest of my life. If I don't fight, I die anyway. So I might as well have some fun with it. I've got better chances in a burning pod than I do as a colonist on some world caught off guard by a Covenant fleet, am I wrong?"

Duncan remembered what his Uncle had told him on that day, more than a year ago. "No. But a Shock Trooper could amount to something, at least more than a charred body could that didn't try to do anything more than the bare minimum."

"No." He replied. "You're right. You're probably making more sense than people twice your age."

"I try, but no one likes listening to my wisdom."

Zack finished putting on the last of his clothes and made for the doors.

"Hey Zack?"

He stopped with his hand on the door handle. "Yah?"

"What if your folks didn't want you gone? If they wanted you to stay, would it have made a difference?"

Zack thought it over and turned back to him. "Nah."

Duncan nodded and let him leave. He was honestly surprised by the result of their little talk. Despite his regular demeanor, Zack actually seemed a decent deal more mature than he normally let on. And to an extent, he almost reminded him of himself.

It was a good start. He wanted to ask the others next so he finished up in the shower, got dressed and went back out onto 1st platoon's floor. He went over to Epsilon's bunks.

Nova was lying down on her top bunk reading a magazine about the latest model of SUV's from AMG Transport Dynamics. Rico was on his own top bunk adjacent to hers. He was finagling with a set of several firecrackers. Deaks sat at a chair in front of his bunk with multiple sets of teeth laid out across it. He used a handheld drill to put holes through them. Notably the Staff, Hector, Yuri and Zack were missing.

Since Rico was closer, he decided to try him out first. He didn't care for small talk after his conversation with Zack so he went straight for the jugular.

"Hey Rico, where're you from?"

Rico shrugged, still focused on examining the blasting caps of the firecrackers in his hands. "I'm from No Es Asunto Tuyo in the 23 No Voy a Decirte System."

"…Uumm, I-, I don't…"

"He's messing with you, Duncan." Nova said drily as she turned the page in her magazine. "I wouldn't pry any further on that front either if I were you."

"Got it." Duncan exhaled and went on his way. He stopped at Deaks. "Hey corporal, I know I never asked but where're you from man?"

Deaks didn't seem to even hear the question at first despite that his pen-sized drill wasn't loud enough to drown him out. He asked again. The sniper appeared to hear him that time and turned to face him.

"How much?" He asked.

"How much what?"

"Are you willing to pay?"

Duncan was dumbfounded. "I don't think I need to bribe you with credits, it's just a question."

"No, not your money." Deaks gave an uncomfortably toothy grin and pointed at his incisors with his drill. "Well?"

Duncan shivered. "Ugh, I'm…hey Nova." He walked over to her bunk, leaving the sniper to return to his work.

"Hungary, Earth, Sol System." Nova said in quick succession, not even giving him the chance to ask the question. "And that's all you'll get out of me so move along. I want to finish this article before Hector gets back."

"What, you borrowed it from him?"

Nova gave him a sidelong glance that made him realize 'borrowed' wasn't the right word for it.

"So, where's s everyone else anyway?'

Nova reluctantly pried her attention away from the juicy article about the newest line of AMG's popular Überchassis to face him. "The Captain ordered the Staff to help with the tour of the base for the newest batch of recent graduates coming to join the 7th. Yuri and Heck went with him. Zack said he was going to the cafeteria for some lunch. Is that good enough for you?"

"I guess." Then Duncan thought about the newly incoming group of troopers. There'd been a new batch sent to the 7th almost every month. It gave off the impression that they had infinite manpower. Then he remembered it was really to replace the near equal number of casualties that Bravo and other Companies were taking on the regular. The thought made him remember his conversation with Zack, specifically, that he'd lasted longer than the 'other 8s'.

"Um, one last thing?"

Nova sighed. "What?"

Duncan nervously scratched the back of his head. "Who came before me?"

Nova arched a confused brow at him. "What?"

"I talked with Zack earlier. He told me that there were other Ep-8s. I don't think you guys ever told me about them."

Nova swallowed and glanced at the others. Having overheard them, Rico stopped messing with the fireworks and returned an uneasy look. The whine from Deaks' drill filled the void of silence. He kept his back to them, focused on his work.

Rico put his hand to his forehead and sighed. "Why Zack, why?"

"What's wrong?" Duncan asked, looking between them.

Nova put her magazine aside, gazing at him with sympathy. "Just listen, Duncan. We had good reasons for not telling you, alright?"

"They're all dead." Deaks cut in. "Every last one of'em."

Duncan winced. "Huh?"

"Deaks, would you shut up for just two seconds." Nova hissed at him through gritted teeth.

Deaks went quiet then said. "That's two."

Nova huffed in irritation then exhaled to calm herself. She turned to face Duncan from her bunk. "We had…a few Ep-8s…before you."

"Five." Deaks cut in again.

Nova took the magazine and tossed it at Deaks. Without looking back, he shifted his head to the side just in time, allowing it to slam harmlessly against the window and fall to the floor. "Missed again."

Nova's hands clenched into fists. She forced herself to calm down. "Yes, we had five."

Duncan felt something heavy settle in his chest. "Five?"

His redheaded comrade gave a tentative nod in reply.

"Well…what were their names?"

"They were all privates. There was Markham. Then we had Bartley, Rosario, Benson and right before you, LaGrange."

"LaGrange the Strange, huh?" Deaks laughed. "I remember that guy. He was a Frenchy. He had the balls to make a bet with me with his molars. He actually won it too so I had to pay him 50 cred."

"Wait, wait, so how did these guys…go out?" Duncan asked.

Nova was too uncertain to speak so Deaks spoke up for her. "Markham got killed by an Elite. Here's a life lesson D, never take more than one needler round to the face. What comes next would make Picasso proud. Then there was Bartley. We're actually not certain about him. A Grunt shot a Fuel Rod Cannon at where we'd last seen him standing. We never really found enough of him to say what happened for sure."

"Deaks…" Nova said with threatening patience. He continued unabated.

"Rosario's pod ran into an asteroid. Benson, that idiot, tried charging at an Elite that had an energy sword." Deaks traced his hand down from the top of his head past his groin.

Rico shook his head and hugged himself a little at the memory. "I never knew you could get cut like that bro, seriously, I didn't. I still hope he didn't feel it."

"It was fast so I doubt he did."

"Deaks…" Nova began to growl.

"As for LaGrange." Deaks said regardless. "He ended up getting shot by New Alexandria Police. He went MIA for a few weeks then resurfaced on a police report. Turns out he went berserk and started beating up random people in the Magas Társaság Shopping Center. He refused to stand down when the police came and even started attacking them too, so they…put him down."

"Deaks." Nova hissed.

"What a Mad Lad."

"Deaks!"

The corporal finally turned around. He hadn't noticed that throughout the conversation, Duncan had started going pale. He was practically snow-white by the time he'd finally seen him. Deaks grinned and gave a slight shrug of his shoulders. "Sorry."

Nova glared at him until she found the willingness to look at Duncan. He looked shaken. In truth, he was. Now he knew that he was standing in the blood-soaked shoes of several others. He dared ask the question. "H-how, how long did they last?"

He hadn't thought it possible for Deaks' grin to widen, but it did. "Markham, two months. Bartley, two weeks. Rosario, three weeks. Benson, heh, about three seconds. LaGrange, three months." He cocked his head to the side and narrowed his eyes at Duncan. "Iris…" He stressed the 's' like a snake. "Well, we're still waiting on that one. And so help me God, I'm getting my money's worth."

Duncan felt his mouth go so dry that he barely had the strength to open it up again. "What're you talking about?"

Nova did a slashing throat gesture at Deaks but he ignored it. "We have a pool, or had one at least till almost everyone wussed out. It's a money pool with bets on how long you'll last. We started it the day after you got here. The Staff doesn't like doing it but Zack, Heck, Matchstick and even" He pointed to Rico. "Mr. Mohawk over there, they all pulled out of the bet."

Duncan looked at the ODSTs then back at Deaks, uneased but curious. "And why's that?"

"'Cause you're a hard-sell, Duncan." Deaks snickered. "You lasted too long. You outdid everyone's predictions so they pulled out of the pool. Thankfully, I saw it coming and highballed how many months I thought it'd take in advance. Now there's only two of us left to win 200 credits. Don't get me wrong D, I don't have anything against you, only the Covies. It's just a question of how long, and I'm still betting on you not making it past the year."

Duncan froze for a heartbeat. He looked at Nova and asked. "You're betting on me too?"

"She changed hers." Deaks sighed, sounding disappointed.

"What do you mean 'changed'?"

Nova was grim. Her face lightened up as she met Duncan's gaze. "I…bet instead that you'd outlast any bet we put on you." From her bunk she rested a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

"Was it after you found out about Erica?"

She shook her head. "No. I only really committed to changing it after you survived that encounter with whatever that Walrus thing was on Epsilon Eridani IV. That helmet-cam footage was priceless. The fact you survived it gave me some reassurance."

Nova squeezed his shoulder. "So, don't you go out anytime soon, alright? Because now you know that I've got good money riding on you."

Duncan nodded, then started laughing. He couldn't help it. He'd started out asking them where they were from and ended up finding out there was a bounty placed on his chances of survival. The whole situation was just…odd. They were all kind of odd once he thought about it. They definitely weren't the team he'd been expecting to work with, but they were nonetheless his teammates.

He turned to Deaks. "Just know you're not getting your money's worth." He said with unfounded confidence.

The sniper blinked, unamused. "Sounds like you want to join the pool too. How much weight are you willing to put behind those bold words of yours?"

Before Duncan could answer, the elevator door opened. Zack stepped out with a half-eaten donut in hand. They watched him intently as he floated over to them while nonchalantly finishing up the pastry. It caught him off guard once he finally realized that they were staring at him.

He swallowed the last of the donut and with glaze still covering his cheeks, he asked, "Okay, okay, what'd I miss?"

:********:

"Zack just can't help himself, can he?" Erica asked, shaking her head sympathetically on the other side of the display screen.

In his communication's cubicle, Duncan breathed out. "Nope, but at least I know now. And I also know I'm not about to give Deaks his money's worth."

"You better not." She pressed, jabbing a playful finger at him. "Or so help me I'll come out there after you and bring you back to life myself. You got it?"

Duncan chuckled at the threat. "Sure thing, cap."

Crying distracted Erica for a moment. She moved from the table in their apartment kitchen where her device was situated. She stopped to take a spoonful of the semi-liquid baby food from a container and brought it to Noah who sat crying in his feeding chair. She tried gently leaning the spoon towards his mouth but he batted her hand away, causing the food to spill over his bib. She peeked over her shoulder at Duncan, sighing. "A little help here?"

Duncan nodded. "Just get me in close."

Erica giggled. "Alright, Helljumper." She took the device and brought it to face Noah. Duncan opened his own mouth, saying. "Aaaaah, its like this kiddo, aaaaah."

Noah's tears slowly dried up. He started looking at his Father with awe-like fascination. He gradually opened his mouth and started giving off a low gurgle. Erica seized on the moment and took a picture on her phone with her free hand. She put the device down then took the spoon and slipped it in and out of her son's mouth. Thankfully, he took the food this time.

"Gotcha!" Erica cheered. "Now if he can just keep doing that without me having to call you."

"He'll figure it out."

Erica waited till her five-month-old swallowed before traversing another spoon into his waiting mouth. "So, how's O'Reilly doing?"

"I talked to him earlier today. He's not been able to call too much these days. He's handling himself pretty good though. He's going on missions left, right and center, about twice as much as me." Duncan looked around then cupped a hand to the side of his mouth. "And just between you and me, it looks like he's finally got a girlfriend."

Erica perked up and blinked at the screen. "Really? Who?"

"One of his teammates that he's been dropping off hints to for a while."

"Wait, was it the Bulgarian girl with the hazel eyes or the tall one with the braids from Tribute?"

"The Bulgarian." Duncan answered. "Of course, they've got to stay professional so they're keeping it on the downlow. Looks like they're really into each other too."

Erica folded her arms over her chest and put a contemplative finger to her lip with a scrutinizing gaze. "Uhuh, and how many times has she tried to kill him?"

"Surprisingly, none." Duncan laughed. "Remember, the tall one threatened to knife him in his sleep after he tried making a move. At least the other one was okay with finding a flower in her bunk."

Erica breathed out in relief. "That's good. He's making progress with the type of women he attracts. I'm proud of him. Tell him I can't wait to see him here in Chicago one day."

"I'll make sure to pass on the message." Duncan said.

"Oh, and what about Cosmo? Have you heard from him recently?"

"Nah, I was going to call him afterwards though to check-in."

Noah started crying again. Despite Erica's best attempts to placate him with another spoonful of mushy baby food, he wasn't taking the bait. She sniffed his pampers and figured out what the real problem was. "Okay, looks like the jigs up. I'll have to call you back later."

"A mom's gotta do what a mom's gotta do."

"At least until kindergarten." Erica said. They laughed a little.

Duncan waved. "I'll catch you later, mommy."

Erica took Noah's flailing hand and waved back with it. "You too, daddy."

With a satisfied smirk, Duncan ended the call. He had to admit, Noah was growing up pretty fast. Sure, he was still a five-month-old. Even so, he looked like he was getting bigger. Maybe it was the fact he only got to see him every so often that made it easier for him to notice the change. He figured that soon his son would be walking on his own two feet and going out to make a life of his own. He hoped he made it that far to see it for himself.

Duncan switched to Cosmo's number. Stanton's was already gone. He'd deleted it some time ago since the man linked to it was gone as well. It was hard. He skipped over the missing spot and pressed Cosmo's contact.

After a few seconds, the call went through. But it wasn't Cosmo that picked up. The image showed a slightly older man wearing an ODST T-shirt and standing in front of an open locker. He had a fist-sized burn mark on the left side of his face that appeared recent. He looked confused at seeing Duncan.

"Um, he-, hello?"

"Ugh, hey." The trooper answered. "…I guess you're a…friend of Cosmo's?"

Duncan felt something shrivel inside of himself. He slowly nodded.

The older ODST's face melted to one of deep sympathy. He looked at the locker then back at him. "I guess he left this thing in here before we last went out."

"Last, sir?"

"Oh, I'm no sir, I'm just a Private Second-Class. The name's Donavan. I was on the same squad as Cosmo."

Duncan knew he'd heard the name brought up before during some of his calls with Cosmo when he referenced his squadmates. "I'm sorry, you…'were' on the same squad?"

Donavan breathed out deeply. "Cosmo's gone. He died on our last mission two weeks ago. He was trying to drag a wounded member of his squad to safety when a Jackal sniper spotted him. We were able to send his body home…it was the least we could do."

Duncan felt the heaviness again. It settled on his head and worked its way down his body until he couldn't move. He felt paralyzed, glued to the chair he was sitting in.

He forced feeling back into his mouth, willing himself to speak. "Who, who did he, um…" He fought to gather his thoughts. "Did the guy he was trying to save make it out of there?"

Donavan nodded and looked like he was about to confess to an undesirable truth. "It was me, actually. He'd barely been with us for half a year. He was a cowboy that didn't know the ropes but still took them head-on as if he did. I told him to leave me behind back there. But if he hadn't been so hardheaded, he'd be the one here right now, not me…I'm sorry."

"No, it's a good thing you're alive." Duncan said. "It means what he did wasn't for nothing, it was worth something. And…I know he wouldn't have minded that." He felt like he was trying to assure himself of that more so than Donavan.

"Thanks." Donavan said, sending him a two-fingered salute. "Take care of yourself, um-"

"Iris. Private Duncan Iris."

"Keep on keeping on for him, Iris. You and me both."

Duncan returned the salute. "Will do."

Donavan ended the call, leaving Duncan to stare at the contact and the face of his dead friend on the profile picture. His hand shook as he hovered his finger over it.

In his mind, the image of his picture together with the rest of Charlie Team on Nassau Station had already burned to the point that Stanton was gone. This time it burned a bit more to the left, taking Cosmo next and blackening the image even more. Now him and O'Reilly were all that remained on it.

He forced himself to hold down the contact then, with a shaking finger, pressed delete.

Sepultus - Buried