Chapter 3 - Agit
January 6th, 2544 (06:00 Hours – Military Calendar)
Epsilon Eridani System, Reach
In Route to Eposz, Viery Territory
:********:
"Who's Adrien Nemeth?" Duncan asked over team comm despite the drone of the nearby Falcon engine.
"Willy explained it in the debrief." Zack said. "What, you weren't paying attention?"
"No, I got the whole UEG thing. It's just that I've never heard the name before. Is he somebody important here?"
"Who knows. I don't do politics, Irish."
Duncan chose to accept that for now as he turned back to the open sea passing hundreds of meters beneath his feet.
Viery's western coast spanned out as far as the eye could see. The lush greenery of the mainland combined with the crystalline waters below gave off some sense of a peaceful vacation. But peace and tranquility were the last things on Duncan's mind. He wanted action. He knew it was better if everything went well on his first mission. Yet his pounding heartbeat, nearly outdone by the mechanical roar of the UH-144 Falcon's portside rotor, did little to convince him that that was what he actually wanted. His fingers eagerly flexed on the triggers of the massive M247 Heavy Machine Gun resting comfortably over his lap. The way its blue, circular targeting reticle moved across the landscape tempted him even more.
As if to alleviate his silent torment, the Pelican that 1st Platoon was currently escorting came within range. His Smartlink to the machine gun immediately recognized the contact as friendly and turned green. Duncan wished it were red.
Inside were multiple ODSTs protecting a single man. The UEG Representative to Reach, Adrien Nemeth, was on his way to an important meeting taking place on the continent of Eposz.
From what Duncan remembered from the briefing, 1st platoon would be escorting the Representative to the city where the meeting would be held. The event itself would bring about a renewed armament deal between humanity's major governing bodies and three parties: the greatest weapon's manufacturing company, Misriah Armory, the largest military vehicle developer, AMG Transport Dynamics, and the most expansive naval asset contributor, Sinoviet Heavy Machinery. To put it simply as to how influential they were, every UNSC-issued weapon Duncan had ever held and vehicle he had ever been transported in was made either by Misriah Armory or AMG Transport Dynamics. Even the armor he wore had Misriah's personal stamp of approval on it. Sinoviet also produced the bulk of UNSC Navy starships currently in service.
To top it off, UNSC High Command or HIGHCOM had sent its own representative in Fleet Admiral Lord Terrence Hood, the Chief of Naval Operations and Chairmen of the UNSC Security Committee. The man was essentially the de facto leader of the UNSC. In terms of power and authority, Hood was the closest quintessential comparison a human being could make to being God on Earth, or in this case, Reach.
Then there was the United Earth Government. The UEG had ceded most of its power to the emergency military government of the UNSC shortly after the Covenant came onto the scene in 2525.
That greatly diminished whatever presence Nemeth would have at this meeting. If anything, it was probably a political token or sign of goodwill from the UNSC to include the UEG. But it was just as likely that the latter had no hand in the actual negotiations behind the scenes and was simply here to save face.
The deal was being made in response to the unprecedented increase in servicemen joining the UNSC's ranks in the wake of Psi Serpentis. As news spread of Admiral Cole's legendary final stand, destroying over 300 Covenant ships in exchange for his one, it had an unexpected affect across human space. Millions were both moved by the magnitude of his sacrifice as well as the fact that a single man and his crew could do so much in the face of an unbeatable enemy. Cole had effectively taken a hammer to the Covenant's apparent invincibility and shown that they could be stopped, even by so few. That was enough to make men and women across UNSC-controlled space join its various branches in record numbers in what was recently being dubbed the Cole Effect. Duncan was a part of that, and though the Admiral was gone, Duncan and the millions of others he had inspired to take up arms would be his legacy.
However, the surge required an equal rise in equipment development. For that reason, HIGHCOM intended to make a new armament deal with the three major equipment production companies that had already been supporting men and women on the frontlines. This would effectively give humanity's war effort against the Covenant a second wind.
After the briefing, Harper worked with Squad Epsilon, Sergeant Joels' Squad Echo and her own Squad Eagle in assigning the necessary positions in the overall operation to each team. Epsilon and Echo would run air patrol in the 4 available Falcons and also set up overwatches in the 4 buildings designated by the Lieutenant Colonel. All the while, Harper and Squad Eagle would provide on-hand protection for Nemeth until they reached their destination.
Duncan and Zack were Side Gunners for a Falcon piloted by Yuri. The ODSTs had prepared throughout the night then flew to the city of Esztergom to pick up Nemeth from the local consulate building. They refueled at the spaceport there before setting out for Eposz in the early morning.
Tiredness wasn't even a consideration at the moment. Duncan was far too occupied with the thrill of possibilities that his first mission represented. To put it plainly, he was ready to kill something. Then an impulse came that made him shift his weapon sites away from the Pelican before it could manifest. Accidental friendly fire was one thing. Intentional friendly fire was something else. He forced his anxiousness to the back of his mind and tried focusing on the rest of the trip. They had at least another hour left to go, and the star Epsilon Eridani was already cresting the Southeast horizon.
Someone tapped him on his shoulder. He peered back to see it was Deaks. The Corporal sat in the single seat near the Falcon's rear with his sniper nestled in his lap. Nova and the Staff were in the two forward seats opposite him.
"Saw you about to get trigger happy over there. I know it's your first time and I'm not saying you can't shoot people, right?" He pointed to the Pelican. "Just not those people."
Duncan gritted his teeth in embarrassment. Deaks had seen his earlier action with the gun. Thankfully, he didn't see his face behind the visor. Humiliated, he merely nodded and returned to his vigil.
"Ep-8's got a point though, Ep-1." Nova said over comms. "Who even is this guy, Nemeth? We've got plenty bigshots coming and we have to escort some no-name UEG Rep halfway across Viery?"
"He's not a no-name." The Staff corrected. "He's a necessary piece to the puzzle. The only thing is we don't know where he fits. All we can do is follow orders. If HIGHCOM needs him there just to smile and take up space then it's our job to get him there."
"I don't mind." Hector comm'd from his gunner seat on the other Falcon. "Speaking from the standpoint of an ex-chauffer, if the patron's not complaining about the heat, asking for a refund or otherwise showing themselves to be a terrible human being, that's a win. If he's got nothing else going for him, we can at least say he's a decent passenger."
"How would you know?" Zack joined in. "He might be torturing poor Harpy and her guys in there."
"This is 1-Actual to Ep-1." Captain Harper comm'd.
The Staff gave Zack a wary glance. The young trooper probably looked like a deer caught in the headlights behind his visor. "Go ahead 1-Actual."
"Keep Ep-7 off the comms until we reach our destination, I don't want him distracting anyone from the mission."
"Copy that mam." The Staff cut Zack's link to team freq, leaving him to try and mime his apology at them for the rest of the trip.
"Silence is sweetness." Nova commented along the way.
:********:
Duncan had never seen so many white buildings in his life. It was almost blinding to look at thanks to the way the sunlight from Epsilon Eridani reflected off multiple windows, giving a person seeing it for the first time the impression of a city of jewels. Considering its actual worth, that might be exactly where he was.
The skyscrapers of New Alexandria towered overhead, piercing through low lying cloud cover that shrouded the lower part of the city. All the while the far outskirts were hemmed in by snow-capped mountains.
Nova had told him that when a person said they died and went to heaven, there were usually two possibilities. Either they actually went to the real deal or they somehow wound up in New Alexandria. The city itself radiated such an air of affluent elegance that it made it easy to understand the mix-up.
Further to the south, near the city center, there was a single dark monolith that stood out from the rest of the fold, like a literal black sheep. It was by far the tallest structure in the city, easily catching neighboring skyscrapers in its shadow.
The Staff patted Duncan on the shoulder and pointed it out. "That's Olympic Tower over there." He said, sounding like a local giving direction to a tourist. "Its part of FLEETCOM's Headquarters here in the city."
Duncan blinked a few times to make sure he was seeing what the Staff told him he was. If that was true, then that meant he was possibly looking at one of the most important structures in the UNSC upper echelon, likely within the top 5. Duncan caught himself. There was that feeling again, of standing in the throne room of giants, only magnified tenfold.
"I wouldn't go there if I were you though. Grunts like us want nothing to do with it.". Duncan detected a level of trepidation in his voice.
"Why not, sir?"
"Because Olympic itself also happens to be the HQ for a certain group of people that you and I are better off never meeting."
"We live longer that way." Nova chimed in.
"Amen." The Staff said.
The young ODST found himself a little confused by that last part. He didn't bother asking any more questions however as they flew across the relatively calm airspace over the city. It seemed as though local air traffic was reduced, likely to provide additional security for the meeting. They circumvented the Olympic Tower and headed further south.
About a minute into the journey Captain Harper spoke. "High Octavia is in sight. Everyone ready up. Once we start this, there's no stopping."
"This is Echo-1 to 1 Actual." Joels said. "My boys and girls are ready and waiting, over."
"Same here." Atell said.
"Good." Harper replied. "I'll keep in touch. Epsilon, Echo, you know what to do. Let's get this job done."
Up ahead, the High Octavia Hotel practically oozed the apparition of higher society with its bright white base color and blue and gold accents that striped it every 10 levels. Its platinum windows looked more like the facets of a rare diamond. While not larger than the Olympic Tower, it was taller than most buildings in New Alexandria, a jewel among jewels.
At least a hundred journalists from various news organizations were waiting on one of the Octavia's landing pads. Dozens of reporters stood before an equal number of cameramen as they broadcasted the sight of the newest arrival to the hotel.
At 100 meters distance, the two front Falcons broke formation and carried on to the north and south while the other two took up holding positions around the helipad. The Pelican slowed, rotated and descended on the pad. The journalists focused in on the dropship as its landing equipment settled and the rear door opened.
UEG Representative Adrien Nemeth was the first to step down the ramp. Nemeth was a pale man. He sported a black suit and red tie with a husky build and a balding scalp. He quickly smiled for the cameras as they recorded him while Captain Harper and her squad came up from behind.
The throngs of journalists were kept back by a platoon of Military Police as Nemeth and his ODST escorts followed him to the large double doors. They stopped and transferred custody of Nemeth over to a squad of MPs waiting for him there. The Military Police took him inside while Squad Eagle dispersed, taking up positions around the pad.
"Package delivered." Harper said. "The 3 Company Heads are here as well. Looks like Hood hasn't arrived yet. He's got five minutes to make an appearance before this whole thing kicks off."
"Actually, it looks like he's right on time." The Staff said as he looked out from Yuri's Falcon. "I've got eyes on a VIP with escorts coming from the east, over."
Duncan peered over to the east. At first, he didn't spot anything through the cityscape. Then slowly a trio of Pelicans came within sight, heading straight for the helipad.
When they were half a kilometer away Duncan spotted four more dots coming in just behind them. They, however, quickly resolved into the distinct mat-black figures of GA-TL1 Interceptors.
"Longswords incoming." Nova said.
The squadron of four Starfighters overtook the Pelicans, soaring past them until they reached the High Octavia. They broke into groups of 2 as they zoomed overhead, angling off to the north and south once they passed the hotel.
The journalists on the pad sensed the importance of the next incoming dignitary and began surging against the platoon of MPs struggling to hold them back.
"The media smell fresh meat." Deaks commented.
The trio of Pelicans came up to the hotel. Two of them broke off and began a patrol pattern around the structure while the third made a graceful landing on the helipad. The door opened and the man of the hour strode down the ramp.
He was an average sized man, but each step he took carried with it the weight of unspeakable authority. The bars and commendation medals adorning his shoulders along with the gold insignia on his cap paid testament to a lifetime of dedication to the Navy. His uniform was white as snow and easily outshined the buildings of New Alexandria. His aged face exuded a rocksteady confidence that had helped to hold hundreds of colony worlds together in the midst of the greatest crisis mankind had ever known, and hopefully, ever would.
Fleet Admiral Lord Terrence Hood stopped to observe the mass gathering of journalists, cameramen and reporters all crying out his name, begging for an interview. Though he had no time for such things, he gave them a curt nod and a kind smile as the platoon of Army Troopers he had come in with escorted him inside.
"That's one hell of an entrance." Nova said after the doors had closed.
"Honestly, we escorted the wrong guy." Zack said. "If you ask me-"
"But we didn't." The Staff replied, shutting him up.
"Alright, the first two Falcons have got their overwatches in place." Harper said. "Ep-1, Echo-1, your turn to setup your guys. Ep-1, you take the West, Echo-1, take the East."
"Copy." The Staff said.
"On it." Joels replied.
The two Falcons near the helipad broke off and headed in opposite directions. Duncan kept his M247 ready as they passed over the skyscrapers to the west of the Octavia. The further they went, the more he noticed Army Trooper platoons that had setup positions on the rooftops of passing buildings.
"The 27th?" He asked.
"Yeah." Hector answered over comms, observing the situation from the Falcon coming back from the North. "There's probably an entire battalion stationed in this block alone. That's more than enough not to warrant having a platoon of Helljumpers, right?"
Yuri snickered over team freq. "Sounds like you're getting lazy, Ep-4. It shows they need us despite security. Think of us as cherry on top of cake."
"And why don't you think more about flying and not so much about cakes, huh pal? Plus, I'm uncomfortable now. Thanks for putting that image in my head."
"Anything for you, my friend."
Zack grumbled. "Great, now I'm hungry."
They reached their target building in less than a minute: a regular sized corporate office. They flew in low until they were 2 meters above the rooftop.
"Guess this is my stop." Deaks said as he got up. He slung his sniper over his shoulder then came over and bumped Duncan in the arm. "Remember, don't shoot the civies. That's my job."
He leaped down to the roof and quickly ran to the edge. Sliding onto his stomach near the rim, he pulled out the rifle's bipod stand and shouldered the weapon, taking aim at the distant High Octavia. When his sites were right, he nodded at them.
Yuri piloted them away.
"We'll pick you up after lunch!" Zack said, waving goodbye. Deaks gave him a thumbs up before disappearing behind the urban jungle.
"Overwatch setup in the Western Sector, 1-Actual." The Staff said.
"Same in the East." Joels called in.
"Right on schedule." Harper replied. "Holding patterns people, let's get it done."
They all winked their acknowledgement lights, confirming the order. Yuri brought the Falcon within half a kilometer of the Octavia and proceeded into a holding pattern, travelling counterclockwise with the three other Falcons. Each was at least a quarter kilometer farther away from the Octavia than the other so that the individual aircraft could cover a different sector during their concurrent patrols.
It would be at least another forty-five minutes before the meeting was over. That meant forty-five minutes spent scanning the city below. Though Zack occasionally found something to whine about, the comms stayed mostly quiet.
That left Duncan with little to do except sit and think. As he swept his gun sites over the area a thought crossed his mind. It wasn't bad, but under these conditions it wasn't wise either. But his heated blood was cooling to a dull boredom. He decided his idea was better than watching the same buildings passing by every minute.
Unbeknownst to anyone else, Duncan used his technical know-how to try linking his helmet to the feed being broadcasted from Waypoint. It required a certain measure of finesse to manipulate the BDU's Basic Input-Output Systems or BIOS to access a civilian feed without being blocked by the armor's administrational software restrictions. After using his own neural interface to navigate through several backchannels he found the closest Waypoint Server and accessed it. A moment later the feed appeared in the upper-left corner of his HUD. He quickly muted his comms so that no one else could hear the broadcast.
If he was going to be out here then he might as well be informed on the major goings on.
The camera showed a large conference room somewhere within the High Octavia. At least a thousand sat in the audience seats surrounding a stage. On the stage itself was a table where five individuals sat with plaques baring their names.
Duncan recognized Adrien Nemeth sitting at one end. He especially recognized Hood who sat in the very middle. The other three he wasn't so sure about.
There was an older man with a lengthy beard, balding like Nemeth. His plaque read 'Clarke Richardson – President of Misriah Armory.' The second, a middle-aged Asian man whose plaque read 'Asashi Cassowari – President of AMG Transport Dynamics/Asklon'. Then there was a Slavic man probably in his 30s. His plaque read 'Dimitri Ivanov – President of Sinoviet Heavy Machinery'.
Each had a mic. Currently Nemeth was talking into his, giving the welcoming speech to the meeting. Well, it wasn't interesting but it at least gave Duncan something to listen to.
For the next forty minutes he multitasked. He scanned rooftops while simultaneously keeping abreast of the meeting. He listened as Company President Richardson gave his speech on the necessity of the deal, espousing his belief in its potential to turn the tide of the war on the ground. Cassowari and Ivanov delivered similar sentiments, Cassowari coming from the standpoint of more ground vehicles and Ivanov on that of new starships able to go up against the Covenant. Maybe they hadn't realized it until it was too late but each man took at least 10 minutes to complete their speech. And since Hood was going last, that left him with only 5 minutes. By then all the attention in the room was on him. Perhaps it always was.
Surely someone like the Fleet Admiral could go overtime with no issues. Even so, Hood didn't take longer than a minute.
"I am speaking to everyone in attendance." He began. "I'm not referring only to the people in this room, but to every serviceman that is or will ever fight within the United Nations Space Command. When you became a trooper, a Marine, an Airmen and Naval Specialist, by proxy you swore an oath that you would protect Earth and all her colonies. Over the past two decades you and I have both seen how hard that oath is to keep.
Its no mystery that we are in a different place than we were before this war began. We've lost much and gained little. It's also no mystery to me why so many of you joined our ranks after the Battle of Psi Serpentis. In Admiral Cole's actions, you saw yourself reflected. You learned that even a single man or woman can make a difference against the likes of the Covenant, even at such a cost.
Today, we will honor that cost with our own. Our intention is to provide you with the necessary equipment you will need to take the fight to the enemy, both on the ground, in the air, in space and wherever else this war may take us.
In the end, even though this deal will supply millions, it matters little. What matters is the individual decisions made by you who dawn the uniform, what you do with what's been given. My hope and that of everyone in this room, every colony world and even Earth, is that you will use it to stop what we now know is not an unstoppable foe. The Covenant are no longer an inevitability. We know this and so do they. And by the work of one Marine, one trooper, one airman and one naval specialist, we will show our enemies that mankind is not so easily trodden. Thank you, and Godspeed."
Duncan sat stunned for a few moments. The speech was unexpectedly honest. That and it had effectively captured the essence of the last six months of his life in sixty seconds. "I see why we love him so much." He said to himself.
Applause resounded throughout the conference room. Shortly after the end of his speech the signing began. The camera focused on the table as a folder was handed down, opened and given the signature of all five men. When it was done, it came back to Hood who stood up to show it to the crowd. Another round of lively applause filled the room.
Then everyone at the table stood in unison and walked off the stage to somewhere offscreen. A female reporter came in front of the camera and started commenting on the tremendous nature of what had just transpired, emphasizing how its historic importance would be remembered for generations to come.
"Hey Staff." Zack said. "Want to hear a joke?"
Duncan listened in. The Staff turned to Zack with a deliberate slowness.
"Remember the longswords from earlier? I guess you could say that Hood brought a 'sword' to a gunfight." Zack patted his Machine Gun for emphasis and cackled over comms. The Staff simply stared at him long enough for his humor to dry up. Beside him, Nova shook her head in disappointment. But Hector was laughing.
"You're so corny your blood's made of starch, man, I swear."
Zack engaged in another round of laughter. "Hey Heck, want to hear another on-"
Light.
Or maybe it was something else. Duncan could only describe it as such when the world around him lit up far faster than it should have, as if someone had taken the sun and put it right behind him at a moment's notice. A sudden BOOM reverberated through the air. He felt it in his body first as it rattled his bones. Then he felt it in the Falcon a second later as it reeled under the force of the pressure wave that followed, causing them to swerve left and right in a desperate bid to stay airborne. Emergency sirens came on and lights flickered. Duncan bearhugged his gun and refused to let go as the aircraft went into a tailspin.
Yuri must have fought hard to maintain control because they recovered after a few seconds but had lost 30 meters of altitude.
"Chto eto bylo!?" Yuri roared, his native tongue rising up as he seethed with rage. "YA chut' ne poteryal avioniku! Klyanus', ya kogo-nibud' ub'yu, yesli eto shutka!"
"Focus, Yuri!" Nova said, forcing herself back into her seat. "What was that!?"
"Look, in the southeast!" Rico said. "Is that…"
Yuri slowly brought the Falcon to bare. Then everyone saw it.
A mushroom cloud rose 700 meters high two kilometers away. It reminded Duncan of a fiery flower in full bloom. It took him a second to notice that all the nearby buildings had their windows blown out. Even the High Octavia hadn't been spared. The feed of the conference room showed scores of people in the audience screaming and running towards the exits. Duncan quickly shut it off.
"Ep-1 to Echo-1 and 1 Actual, do you copy!?" The Staff called in.
Static answered him at first. Then after a few seconds, Joels' came on the line coughing. "I copy, what just happened!?"
"We've got an explosion 2 clicks southeast of the Octavia. Looks like it took out a whole building."
There was a moment's hesitation on Joels' end. "Copy your last, Ep-1. What about 1-Actual, you heard from her?"
"Still nothing." The Staff reset his comms. "1 Actual, you there? Respond, over?"
There was more static. Then an answer came. "This is 1 Actual, I copy all. Whatever that explosion was, we need to investigate. I'm having Eagle work with the MPs to get our 5 VIPs out of here as quickly as possible. There's no telling what that blast did to the Octavia's structural integrity so we're moving fast."
There was a disruption and the sound of something crashing around Harper.
"1 Actual!?"
"Still here." Harper said. "Got debris falling on our heads in here. We're taking the VIPs to Lochaber Base."
"Requesting permission for Squad Epsilon to investigate the explosion." The Staff said.
There was another silence before the answer came. "Permission granted. Don't get too close. If you're avionics run into problems pull back immediately. Echo-1, I want your team providing escort for the VIP Pelican. We'll all rendezvous at Falchion later, understood?"
"Loud and clear." Joels said.
"Crystal." Atell added. He opened a direct line to Deaks. "Ep-3, you still there?"
There was another long silence. The ODSTs looked amongst themselves, concerned.
"Caught a little wind under my dress but I'm still here, sir." Deaks finally answered.
The relief was almost immediate. "We're picking you up then investigating the explosion."
"Copy that, already waiting."
At the Staff's behest, Yuri took the Falcon back to Deaks' position. They found the sniper sitting with his legs hanging over the lip, staring contemplatively at the distant mushroom cloud. They got close enough for him to jump onboard before heading straight for the site of the destruction.
The closer they got the hotter it became. It took Zack pointing it out for them to notice that the force of the explosion had actually removed the morning cloud-cover. It allowed them to see the crowds of morning commuters that had occupied the streets below just before the detonation. Columns of vehicles with blown out windows had stacked up into a blockage of unyielding traffic. People were running away in human tidal waves from the direction of the blast. Some didn't. They simply lay on the ground, unmoving.
Then came the blast site itself.
Whatever building had been standing there had already been obliterated down to its very foundations, leaving little but a tall pillar of smoke. Ash rained down from the cloud and covered Duncan's Machine Gun. He had to clear it away to keep it from building up every other minute. The other Falcon was already circling the mushroom cloud when they joined in.
Nothing but devastation stared back at them. The upper half of a neighboring building had been blown apart and another leaned slightly away in the direction of the pressure wave.
Duncan spotted dozens of bodies lying within the blast radius, some lying beneath debris. There was something surreal about the scene that made it almost dreamlike, as if he wasn't really here in this place at this time.
"Epsilon, we're heading down to assist." The Staff said. "Deaks, Hector, you're on lookout. Spot survivors and call them out. And keep an eye out, we don't know if this was the last of the attack."
Everyone's green acknowledgement lights winked on but there was a palpable hesitation from Duncan.
The Staff knocked on his helmet. "Eyes up, Ep-8."
Duncan nodded back. Still, worry burned in his gut at the fact that he was about to go down to ground-zero.
The Falcons descended to street level and the ODSTs leaped out. They began searching the rubble while their aircrafts took up a holding pattern.
They found bodies and their parts, the living and the dead lying together beneath piles of rubble. There were places they couldn't go thanks to raging fires and collapsing structural beams that glowed red hot. Deaks used his sniper rifle to find one person after the next, placing a NAV Marker over where people had been partially buried. They dug them out and carried them away. The wounded they placed near a community bus that had been torn in two where Nova did her best to tend to them. The dead they placed near a charred traffic light that had been bent back at an acute angle. The shadow of the smoke cloud was ever present.
Duncan found himself wandering into the twilight zone between shock and utter disbelief. This wasn't combat, not the kind he'd been expecting. It was destruction on a mass scale.
At one point he finished carrying the body of a woman with a bloodied shirt to the wounded group. He stared at the smoke column stretching towards the sky. None of the others sounded seriously affected by it, and it bothered him, because it made him aware of just how much of an experience gap there was between them and himself. Even Zack was quiet as he moved from rubble to rubble.
Then a thought crossed his mind that he wished hadn't. As bad as this was, it was virtually nothing, a drop in the bucket, compared to what the Covenant were doing and had already done to numerous planets in the outer colonies, and now increasingly in the inner colonies. One destroyed building was nothing compared to a burning world. Yet the destruction playing out before his eyes threatened to overwhelm him. He realized that he had understood what the destruction of an entire world meant theoretically. To see even a fraction of that up close was something else. The question left itself burning in his soul: how ready was he for this?
Duncan held down the sudden urge to gag. If he let himself go in front of everyone else, he would never live it down. For the time being, refusing to look bad in front of his comrades was the sole motivation that kept him moving from place to place and body to body.
Eventually the first wave of emergency responders arrived on the scene. Sirens wailed as New Alexandria Police Officers began cordoning off the area and setting up a perimeter. Firefighters came to shoot jet streams of water into the growing flames. Ambulances streamed onto the scene and paramedics flowed amongst the ODSTs, helping them remove the wounded on stretchers.
Still, more searching yielded more bodies, some charred beyond recognition. Most seemed like they hadn't known what knocked them unconscious or killed them outright. All they could do was gather them, sort them out then search again.
They worked for hours. Then Lieutenant Colonel Garrison contacted the Staff. He ordered them to return to Falchion immediately and to leave everything else to the emergency teams. Squad Epsilon returned to their Falcons and headed for the coast. As they left, the troopers stared at the thinning smoke cloud and the city growing further away.
Even after it disappeared over the horizon, Duncan continued to stare and wander as to what exactly he had spent the last six months getting himself into.
Agit -Deal