Chapter 12: The Long Haul

Derek stared out the open air window at the group moving toward them. So much had changed since he had been put into a coma. So many event he was furious that he had missed. Escaping with the computer, meeting the Shadows, allying with the Romans, his son... That last one made him the most angry... and the most proud. If only he could have seen it...

Kimberly, and many others, had done their best to catch him up once he regained consciousness. It was a lot to take in, but Derek tried to take it in stride. He was still amazed Kimberly had managed to save him. From the rumors he had managed to overhear, most thought he was as good as dead. But Kimberly had performed a miracle and Derek was more than grateful.

Technically, Derek should still have been recovering, but he couldn't just stay in bed when the entire city was being attacked. Besides, he felt fine, hell more than fine, and his skills and experience were badly needed. And it let William focus on other projects now that Derek had taken back his position as Second-in-Command. He just wished his son ha-...

Derek shook those thoughts away as their guests arrived. Terence, leader of the Roman military, lead the way while his three surviving Captains followed behind. A small detail of Roman guards, who had escorted their leaders, moved to join the Phoenix troops guarding the Phoenix HQ. With the courthouse still in shambles and no longer considered secure, both sides had agreed these meetings would be better held in the Phoenixes' base.

Darius was already seated at the table as the Romans entered the briefing room. The work detail had done some good work with the HQ building. The first floor had a small guard room at the entrance which lead to the logistics center. The room was always busy as managing the Phoenixes various needs was a full-time job. Past it was the conference room that they were using and the constant drone of noise from the center would keep anyone from being able to hear anything being discussed. The second floor was completely dedicated to Command and Control with radio stations, maps, and all the other things an army needed to keep organized. Darius spent most of his time there.

"Derek Carlson, it's good to meet you under less... hectic circumstances," Commander Terence said as he offered his hand. Derek took it into his larger hand and gave it a respectful squeeze.

"The same to you, Commander. From what I have heard, I will enjoy working with you," Derek said with full sincerity. It was rare that Darius had more praise than criticism for anyone, yet Terence had managed it. Add in the obvious love and concern the Commander had for his people and Derek was more than happy to have him as an ally.

"Indeed, I feel the same way," Terence said before releasing Derek's hand and moving to motion to his subordinates.

"This is my second, Captain Dixie. Captain of our reserves, Freeman, and Captain of the River, Waring. Sadly, Captain Fletchett, who used to command our Norther approach is no longer with us," Terence said, though his voice didn't seem totally sincere in that. Considering how many people the idiot had cost the Romans, he could understand Terence's... mixed feelings on his death.

"Pleasure to meet all of you," Derek said as each shook his hand in turn. Derek did his best to stay civil, but knowing something they were going to go over soon made it difficult. Thankfully, Darius bailed him out before he said something improper.

"That is enough pleasantries, I think. Let's get the meeting started," Darius said with a slight annoyed look. The Romans returned it, but did as he suggested and took their seats. Derek did as well and the meeting got underway.

"I suppose the best place to start is with our losses. Dixie," Terence said once everyone was settled. Dixie nodded as she flipped through a rough notepad she had on hand. She stopped after a second and started her report.

"Currently, our casualty count is somewhere in the mid 200s. It is hard to get an exact number with the prison being nearly destroyed and the Reapers causing such... damage to their victims," the female Captain said, suppressing a shudder at the last bit. Derek could well understand why. The poor boy who had saved William's life had gotten off easy compared to some of the things the "Reapers", a nickname some of the soldiers had given the cyborgs, had done to others. That was little consolation to the poor boy, or Gabby...

"Turret 3 is, unfortunately, a complete loss. Kenny Poole inspected it earlier and agreed with the repair crews. We do have another rifle in storage, but building another turret for it will require him to cancel a number of other projects. The upgrades to the platform being the most critical one," Dixie continued causing some mumbled curses from the others. Derek hadn’t been around long, but Darius had brought him up to speed with how critical the turrets were. And how devastating losing one was...

"We need the platform if we ever want to launch a counter-attack, but leaving a section of the line weakened like that is far too dangerous," Terence said as everyone nodded in agreement. Derek glanced over to Darius and was glad to see him tapping his chin in thought.

"Let us move Pyrrha and Sanders to that area. I think the two of them could make up for the lose of a turret and having a close at hand in case of another such attack would be ideal," Darius suggested. Terence took a moment to think before nodding.

"Yes... yes I think that would work well," he agreed with a satisfied nod.

"Also give the troops there a morale boost having the “Hero” with them. They need it after this," Captain Freeman added with a sigh, though he didn’t look pleased to call Sanders Hero.. Morale had taken a hit thanks to that surprise attack, but Sanders’ fame had only grown.

"Crazy bastard is earning that hero title, I'll give him that," Waring added to mumbled yeahs. Even Freeman had nod in agreement.

Derek had heard of the "Hero of Rome”'s latest impossible feat: storming a turret that the Reapers had took and, single-handedly, killing them all. Some even said he didn't have his machine gun to help him. Derek was sure it was a gross over-exaggeration, but couldn't disagree that his actions had saved Rome. Well, him AND Samantha, a fact that made him swell with pride. Samantha wasn't his daughter, but she was close enough as far as he cared.

"Speaking of the line, Major Conrad and most of his command staff were killed in the attack. With them dead, there is no one qualified to remain in command of the line. The highest ranking survivor is a Comm Lieutenant who has expressed no interest in being in charge," Dixie said, getting the conversation moving again. This brought frownes back to everyone, but Derek's thoughts gave him a quick answer.

"Why not let Samantha stay in charge?" he suggesting causing everyone to snap to him. Save Darius, who seemed to suppress a smirk. He must have had the same idea, but was hoping someone else would bring it up. Derek wasn't a fan of Darius' schemes, but in this case he didn't care too much.

"That gi-... soldier isn't even an officer and has no experience leading soldiers!" Freeman said in objection to the idea. Derek turned a slight glare toward him.

"Except when she took command of a defensive line in utter chaos with a severed command structure. A command structure she rebuilt, revitalized, and lead to reestablishing order. Order that keep our loses to a minimum and only let one turret get destroyed," Derek fired at Freeman causing him to wither under the barrage. He was not about to let him question her capabilities after managing such an impressive feat.

"I think we can all agree she has proven herself capable. And.... and being part of the Phoenixes is an advantage in certain areas," Terence said, but like a man admitting a truth he despised. Derek could well understand why... The other Captains deflated as well at those words and Derek couldn't help but feel sorry for them. He had never been more grateful for the work William had done back in Hope than he was now.

"I think, then, we can all agree she should remain in charge of the line for the foreseeable future," Derek said, punching right through the lingering miasma to the issue at hand. Terence sucked back in some of his confidence and nodded in agreement. Derek couldn't help but smile.

"That still leaves us with a major hole to fill in our own command structure, Malcolm," Darius said causing Derek's smile to vanish. Derek hadn't been able to meet Malcolm, but he'd heard only good things about the man. Losing him was nearly as bad as losing that turret, worse in many ways. The turret could be replaced, but a good leader...

"Have the Shadows picked a replacement for him?" Terence asked, doing his best to hide his own sorrow, and failing. Darius shook his head.

"Not yet, though it is possible they are purposely not telling us if they did. Malcolm's death has caused them to be less... open," Darius said, in the understatement of the meeting. The Shadows had, practically, severed all ties with the Phoenixes and had even gone so far as to move out of the Phoenix's  base, preferring to go deeper into the woods of the field. A few still reported their findings and some scouting info to them, but it seemed more like a token effort than anything else. There was even some rumors of them trying to find a way to slink out of Rome...

"I thought the Shadows were under your command? Can't you just order them to get back in line?" Freeman asked, looking a bit annoyed with this situation. Spoken like someone who didn't understand how the different Resistance groups worked...

"It's not that simple. The Shadows were never a part of the Phoenixes, only allies. And that alliance was more out of convenience than complete trust. Malcolm being killed while helping a Phoenix operation, at a Roman facility, by Society forces that shouldn't have known he was there, has caused more than a few to question that alliance," Darius summarized before sighing at his own words.

"In there place, I can't say I wouldn't be doing the same," he admitted. Derek and the others all slumped a bit as they, too, had to admit Darius was right. If either Darius or Terence had died in a similar manner... well the alliance becoming rocky, and not outright broken, would be about the best any of them could hope for.

Dixie, suddenly, cleared her throat and the sad acceptance was dispelled for a moment. She took that moment to speak up.

"Speaking of Malcolm, we still need to discuss the traitor issue," Dixie said, causing ther air to be cleared with a fresh wave of anger.

"Of course. Did the workers find anything of value at the prison, Captain Freeman?" Terence asked as he pulled himself straighter in his chair. Freeman did the same before flipping through a notepad of his own.

"Sadly, no. Almost all the notes and transcripts were either destroyed in the explosion or burned away in the fire after. The few that survived are too fragmented to get anything out of them," Freeman said with a sad frown. He flipped a page in his pad and raised a finger to motion there was one other thing.

"Oh yes, one of our doctors, an ex-crime scene investigator, did notice that the killing blow given to Malcolm was made by a bullet and not an arrow like we thought. The arrow that was left in his head was shot in AFTER he was already dead," Freeman reported with a grim look. Derek openly swore, as did Terence, while Darius simply closed his eyes for a moment.

"The damn traitor was there. They were FUCKING there..." Terence said before slamming his fist into the wood. Derek was glad he had, cause he would have otherwise. Darius, though, keep his face neutral and passive.

"If nothing else, this proves Malcolm was on to whoever the traitor was. They would not have risked themselves otherwise," Darius said, his finger steepled in front of him.

"But all his notes are gone and everyone who was with him is dead.... we're back to square one," Captain Waring said making Terence slam his fist down again. Derek, though, had to put his acting skills to the test as he tried to look as furious as the Romans. After all, he couldn't let them know that someone HAD survived that attack. A female Shadow who was under the very watchful eye of Kimberly. She was still in a coma and there was no telling when she would regain consciousness, but when she did...

"Not entirely. We now know that whoever the traitor is is high up. Very high up. Getting into the prison, knowing exactly where all of our weakest points were, and knowing how close Malcolm was, all  that points to one conclusion," Darius said as his eyes moved between each of the three remaining Captains. Derek watched each closely, but none of them seemed to look guilty...

"Regardless, we need a new person to lead the traitor investigation. I will pick someone from the Phoenixes this time. I must insist, however, that their identity remain with us," Darius said, turning his stone cold eyes to Terence. The three Captains tensed at that, but Terence gave a reluctant sigh.

"It seems the most prudent course..." he admitted with a sigh. The other Romans looked less that accepting, but keep quiet. Darius nodded before leaning forward a bit.

"I believe the next order of business is who we are pulling to reinfor-..."

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Sanders stood motionless as he was paralyzed with anticipation. He had stared down killer cyborgs, ravenous catgirls, and even psychopaths the size of skyscrapers. And yet, the entrance to the hospital gave him the most pause he had ever had. His face must have been grim indeed for everyone to steer clear of him, despite his only growing reputation...

Finally summoning his strength, Sanders headed into the hospital thanks to a tiny door carved out of the original glass sliding door. The lobby of the building had been completely transformed from its original purpose. Now, it served almost as the entire hospital itself.

The greeting desk had become the foundation for a Roman-made building that served as the main wing of the new hospital. Next to it were a number of full-sized medical equipment. Walkways and other modifications covered the machines and each had become a pseudo-specialist building for whatever function the machine served. Behind all of this, where the old Emergency room had been, was where the Intensive Care Unit had been set up. They had much the same set up when it came to the various machines, but these were at the beck and call of the doctors running the ICU. The rest of the lobby had been converted into an actual waiting area and some resident areas for those staying at the hospital or the various workers who were on call.

The area had calmed down noticable from a few days ago as most of the wounded from the attack had been seen to. There were still a few people in the waiting area, but most looked to either be sick or injured from something unrelated to the war. Even in a war, the various accidents and ailments didn't take a break...

Sanders moved past the waiting area and to the reception desk. The lady behind it was scribbling a few notes onto a pad and glanced up at him. She did a quick double take before shoving the pad aside and giving him a bright, but nervous, smile.

"M-Mr. Cutter! W-What can I do for you?" she asked, trying to keep her nerves in check. Sanders would have chuckled at her performance, and been rather pleased with how cute she was, if his mind wasn’t occupied by...other thoughts.

"I'm here to see Doctor Hambly," Sanders said, forcing himself to give her a smile. The lady nodded and rolled back to a telegraph machine. Rome must have decided that a telegraph system would work better in the hospital rather than tying up channels by using the radio.

A few seconds later saw a stream of response clicks. The lady translated it with the speed of long practice and turned back to Sanders.

"She is in the ICU, Mr. Cutter. Just head straight down the hallway," the lady unstructured. Well that was one good thing about being the resident "hero", no need to send someone along with him because no one was going to say he couldn't go somewhere. Sanders gave her a nod of thanks before heading into the hospital.

The hospital proper was a bit busier than the waiting area. Doctors and nurses moved about the area, either looking over notes, checking on patients, or moving supplies around. The place still looked a bit chaotic thanks to all the wounded that had flooded the place during the attack. Some of the clutter and trash from grabbing what was needed and letting clean-up wait was still around, but janitors were starting to get things back in order.

Surprisingly, few of the doctors or nurses paid him much mind at all as they moved about. Those few that did only spared him a smile and a nod or a quick handshake before heading off. It was a relief if Sanders was honest as the last thing he wanted to do was cause delays in people getting the help they needed.

Reaching the ICU, Sanders found it guarded by some very grim and well-armed Romans. It was a reasonable precaution considering some of the best doctors the Romans had were inside, along with other VIPs. None of them smiled as Sanders approached, but they did move aside to let him in without a word. Sanders gave them a nod before heading in.

Despite being the area where the most critical of patients were put, the ICU was almost unnaturally calm. Beeps of monitors, hisses of equipment, and the soft murmur of various people were the only sounds that broke the silence. Sanders gulped down another lump of fear and apprehension as he moved to the main desk. The man behind it seemed rather puzzled why Sanders was just allowed in, but a quick adjustment of his "glasses", they were closer to bifocals, got him to recognize who Sanders was. He stood from behind the desk and offered his hand to Sanders.

"Mr. Cutter, a pleasure to meet you. I'm Dr. Edmund, the chief Physician," Dr. Edmund said as Sanders took the offered hand.

"Likewise, Doctor. Is Doctor Hambly available?" Sanders said, trying not to sound rude for wanting to avoid a long conversation. If the doctor was insulted, he hid it well as he nodded.

"Yes, she is- ahh, she is right there," he said as Kimberly appeared from out of one of the rooms. She turned toward them and gave Sanders an... odd look. Their relationship had been strained, to say the least, but recent events had forced both to push such issues aside. Still, the animosity between them hadn't been completely forgotten.

"Mr. Cutter. You're here to see them?" Kimberly asked as she moved toward them. Sanders nodded and she let out a sad sigh.

"Follow me then," she said before turning to head back into the ICU. Sanders gave Edmund a nod of farewell as he fell in behind her. They passed by a number of rooms, most with a patient in various states of... unwellness. Finally, Kimberly came to a stop next to the entrance of a room. Sanders gulped as he turned the corner.

In the bed was the form of young Roan, his back still a mangled mess of bandages and stitches.  Tubes and wires covered most of his face and a host of machines were lined up next to his bed. Next to his bed was a slumped figure that looked to be teetering on the brink of tears. William glanced up as Sanders entered the room and a sad smile formed on his face.

"How is he?" Sanders asked as he moved closer to Roan's unconscious form. William gave a long sigh before he answered.

"Better than I feared, worse than I hoped. His chances of surviving are looking up now that he has stabilized. But..." William trailed off. He looked to try and say something, but tears prevented him from saying it.

"But he will never walk again" Kimberly finished for him, her face a mask of stone. Sanders' heart dropped into his feet as his mind processed her words. Never walk again... and in a world where fleeing was necessary to survive... Roan, the boy who had been an almost constant smile when Gabby was around... would be bound to a chair for the rest of his life. Never again to dash off to carry some message or run up for another training mission from Gabby... And Gabby...

"This is my fault. I should have dodged faster, made it more obvious I could avoid that blade..." William said, as he ran a hand through his hair. Sanders turned back to him and put a hand on his shoulder.

"It's not your fault. Roan would have moved to push you even if he knew you could dodge that attack. That's just the way he is...and the way he was taught," Sanders said as his despair returned. William didn't seem too consoled by those words, but Sanders was too busy thinking of someone else who should have been here.

"Does...does she...?" Sanders asked as he glanced back to Kimberly. Kimberly shook her head as a small fracture formed on his mask. Sanders nodded in understanding. That.... was for the best.

"Can I see her?" he asked and Kimberly gave a short nod. Sanders gave William one last pat, before following Kimberly deeper into the ICU. It wasn't long before they arrived at a rather sturdy door. A small slit allowed people to glance in, but not much else. Kimberly stopped next to it, but didn't unlock it.

"I'm going to need you to give me anything you have that could be a weapon. Pens, threads, anything," Kimberly said. Sanders narrowed his eyes at her and frowned.

"She isn't going to hurt me, Doctor," he said with an annoyed tone. Kimberly, though, shook her head and waved as if he misunderstood.

"I'm not worried about her hurting you. I'm worried about her hurting herself," the Doctor said. Sanders anger was doused immediately and he opened and closed his mouth in embarrassment. He blushed a bit before nodding and handing over the things she asked for. Kimberly laid them on a table nearby before unlocking the door. Sanders headed inside and the door was quickly shut behind him.

The room was bare of nearly everything. A simple cot with no sheets or pillows was all that was in the room. Along with a figure huddled in the corner. Sanders moved further into the room and could hardly believe that it was Gabriella huddled in that corner. The nigh-indestructible woman he remembered was nowhere to be seen. Instead, a broken shell consumed with despair was all that was there.

"Gabby... Gabby," Sanders said as he moved closer. Gabby's tear streaked eyes glanced at him for a second. But they moved away shortly after as she huddled further into the corner. Normally, someone who was suicidal wouldn't be left in the ICU, but with the prison in ruins there really wasn't anywhere else TO put her. And after nearly blowing her own head off with her gun...

"Gabby, please. Just talk to me. What happened? Why did you try to kill yourself?" Sanders asked as he sat down next to her. Gabby flinched at the last words and she heaved a bit as fresh tears began to stream out. Sanders cursed himself for the words and struggled to come up with something better to say.

"You... you don't have to tell me. Le-Let's talk about somethin-...." Sanders trailed off as Gabby didn't even so much as look at him. Was she really gone? Had the Society, truly, found a way to break her?

"Roan-Roan is doing better. Th-they th-" Sanders started to say, but stopped as Gabby turned to him. She stared at him for a second, her eyes barely focused and full of sorrow.

"He's dead, isn't he?" she said. It wasn't a question, it was a statement of fact. Sanders was taken off-guard by her saying something like that so...impassionately, and struggled to get his tongue working again.

"He is... I failed him... just like I failed Richardo... and Isabella..." Gabby said before huddling back into her corner. Sanders shook his head and moved closer to her.

"He is NOT, Gabby. I just saw him and he is still alive. And you didn't fail Isabella, you co-"

"I DID!" Gabby yelled, stopping Sanders mid-sentence.

"I knew something was wrong. Knew she was going to do something... stupid. But I didn't help her... Just like Richardo..." Gabby said before tears began to stream from her eyes. There was that name again.

"Gabby...who is...Richardo?" Sanders asked, hoping knowing more might let him help her. Gabby was silent for a long couple of minutes as she keep crying. Finally, though, she took in a wheezing breath.

"He...he was my brother. My little brother... He was always getting into trouble, always messing with the wrong crowd, alw....," Gabby trailed off as she rubbed her eyes.

"He was thinking of joining a gang when I left for the Marines. I thought he would listen... but he didn't. I was coming home to get him out when..." she shook her head. The Disaster...

"I tried to find him, I tried SO HARD. I looked everywhere, even left Isabella and Atlanta to look, but... I hoped...I hoped that making Atlanta safe would bring him there, that he would find his way to us," Gabby stopped as she fell in on herself and started to cry.

"He did... he found the Society...and they turned him into a monster. And I stopped the others from putting him down, so he could go on to cut Roan down... I couldn't protect Richardo...or Roan... He would have been back with the other refugees if I hadn't..." Gabby couldn't fight it any longer as she began to openly weep. Sanders stared at her in a mix of horror and worry as he processed her story. Her brother... a cyborg. The very cyborg that had put Roan in the ICU... Worse, it was a brother Gabby felt she had lead right into the Society's twisted hands. That last one was unfair, but fair was about the last thing Gabby had any interest of being to herself...

"You couldn't have known. And you know just as well as I do that Roan was so ha-"

"HE'S DEAD AND SO SHOULD I!" Gabby said before grabbing Sanders' arms. She pulled them toward herself, trying to force Sanders to strangle her. Sanders swore as he spread his hands wide to keep her from doing it and tried to fight her off. But even overcome with despair, Gabby was immensely strong.

Suddenly, the door was flung open and both Kimberly and Doctor Edmund rushed in. Edmund helped Sanders keep Gabby from hurting herself as Kimberly injected her with something. Gabby's panicked screams and cries died away as her eyes lulled to the side. She flopped back into her corner as the drug knocked her out.

"You alright?" Edmund asked as he helped Sanders up. Sanders nodded, numbly, but was still in shock of seeing Gabby like this. Kimberly and Edmund began to do a few checks on her as Sanders, unconsciously, stepped back to give them room. He hadn't believed it, hadn't even considered the story was true. But now... now there was no denying it. Gabby was gone...

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Kenny Poole rubbed the temple of his nose as he, finally, finished. These last days had been more hectic than any he could remember. Between overseeing the cat-monster's platform upgrades, repairing the damaged line equipment, pumping out new weapons to replace the ones lost, and just general management issues, Kenny couldn't say when he had last got a full eight hours of sleep. And this little side project wasn't helping...

But that, hopefully, was coming to an end now that the side project was nearly finished. And the morale boost it would give the troops should make his sleepless nights worth it. The only thing left to do, before turning it over to the workers, was to get a second opinion on it. Kenny could only think of one person he wanted that second opinion from.

Leaving his office, Kenny headed to the construction yard. While most of the small works:  rifles, armor, ammo, etc... was taken care of in the factory itself, the larger constructions were done outside. The upgrades to the Phoenix platform was one such construction.

The project had been going well and was on schedule for completion this week up till the Reaper attack. With their threat suddenly added to the equation, some of the upgrades had to be changed or scrapped altogether. That had forced the completion back by another week, probably more. Of course, the delay would have been even worse without Jimmy and the other Phoenix engineers.

Kenny had known he would like Jimmy the moment they had meet. He was a bit shy around new people and tended to keep his ideas to himself for a bit too long, but his skills were first-class and the simple solutions he could come up with... He might not have a proper education in engineering like Kenny did, but Jimmy did have a degree in experience. Being a military engineer and an engineer for the Phoenixes had given him a near sixth-sense for what could and couldn't work. A trait that was a god send when going over plans or running into unforeseen complications. He did lack imagination when it came to planning and his solutions sometimes were a bit TOO simplistic, yes just adding some machine guns to the side of the platform would help against the Reapers, but there were better ways to deal with that issue that didn't involve more ammo and more gun maintenance. Thankfully, Kenny DID have an imagination to help balance him out. Which was why Kenny was seeking Jimmy out. Jimmy was a good balancing force for him, as well, since he could see things that were a bit TOO imaginative to be unrealistic.

It took a few minutes of wondering through the construction area, and asking a few workers, before Kenny managed to find Jimmy. He was busy making a few adjustments to one of the Typhoons they had added to the deck, but stopped as Kenny approach.

"Kenny, something you need?" Jimmy asked as he stood and wiped a bit of grease off onto his fur clothing. The two had gotten onto first name basis rather quickly.

"That I do. Would you mind looking at this and... keeping it to yourself for now," Kenny said, whispering the last part. Jimmy raised an eyebrow, but gave a hesitant nod. Kenny handed him the blueprints he had been working on and Jimmy gave them quick look over. His eyebrow raised higher as he looked at it, but it lowered as realization came over his face. And then big smile spread over his face.

"I'm not even going to ask where you found the time to think this up, but it is a great idea. Something we really need after that Reaper attack," Jimmy said approvingly. Kenny smiled back and nodded.

"Yep, that's why I've been working on it whenever I had a spare moment. But I didn't show it just to get yer approval," Kenny said with a slight chuckle. Jimmy smirked and nodded before looking at the plans again. He studied them for a few seconds, running his finger along them and tapping a few places. Finally, he turned back to Kenny.

"For once, I can't see anything that really needs changing. Save one thing, I wouldn't bother with the chest piece."

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"How do you expect us to keep supporting this war when you can't keep the Society out of the city?! And where is the Commander?!" Representative Paine demanded as a large amount of the crowd yelled their agreement. Jody waved his hands down and tried to get the crowd to quiet down so he could answer.

This was, by far, the worst state of the city address he had given as Mayor. War fervor had been easy to maintain before the Reaper attack, before the civilians realized they were in danger... Now that the Society had shown they could, and would, attack the civilians just as quickly as the soldiers, approval of the war had dropped like a rock. The Representatives for each of the houses demanded a meeting and, smelling a chance for a power grab, were doing their best to smear Jody. It was stupid, it was a waste of time, and it was Jody's jo- no, his responsibility, to make sure it didn't interfere with the real work to keep Rome save. It was the least he could do to make up for helping to cause this disaster.

"Pl-PLEASE calm down. I can't answer your questions if you keep yelling over me," Jody said as the yells, slowly, died down. Jody took the moment to try and think of a way to spin this favorably. He wished he could just tell them the truth, that Terence had better things to do than hear them complain about problems he already knew about, but that would just piss them off more... And if the Representatives got enough support to unseat him, the election for who took his place would only cause more chaos. Chaos the Society would use...

"This was an unprecedented attack which even the Phoenixes and Shadows had never imagined. The Society used forces we could not prepare for because we did not know they existed. Now that we know of the threat, we are taking all necessary steps to make sure this never happens again," Jody said, trying to appease the angry crowd. Sadly, his words did not stop another Representative from standing. This time, Representative Hausman.

"And what steps are those? All we have seen for the last few days are more soldiers moving AWAY from the city! AWAY from protecting us!" the man yelled causing the crowd to go back to their angry yelling. Jody swore as he fought back a glare. Hausman you fucking selfish, CUNT. He had always hated the man and his damn ambition, but never thought he would let it cloud his judgement this much. Was he really suggesting the soldiers going to keep the line intact were NOT protecting Rome?!

"Those soldiers, THOSE SOLDIERS," Jody yelled to be heard over the crowd, "are going to reinforce the line that is keeping the Society from invading the city. They are not moving away from protecting us, they are moving to where they can better protect us."

"And it did such a good job of it when the Reapers tore through our homes, slaughtered our families, devastated the courthouse, and destroyed the prison!" Hausman fired back causing the crowd to roar in approval and anger. Jody gripped his lecture tighter as he swore at walking into that trap. Damn it… There was no good way to answer that, not in a way that would please this crowd. Anything he said could be thrown right back at him and if he took a few more hits...

Jody looked out into the crowd, at the angry faces yelling at him. At Hausman's smug face, Paine's cold and emotionless one, and then his eyes settled on a familiar face. Melissa, his chief of staff, was in the middle of the crowd. She wasn't dressed in her usual official clothing, which helped her blend in, but she still stood out thanks to a sign she was holding. Once she saw he had noticed her, she turned it around.

"The truth" was all that was written on it. Jody stared at it, remembering the conversation they had had moments before. He shook the memory away as he came back to the here and now.

"A-Again, this was only... only a one time thing that will not happen ag-"

"Can you guarantee that, Mayor?" Paine interrupted as the crowd yelled in agreement. Jody couldn't, of course, and the people knew it. The yells were getting louder and a few people looked on the verge of throwing whatever they had on hand. Hausman was about to go for the killing blow and suggest a new election, Jody could see it in his smirk. Jody had a few seconds to do something and... He glanced back at the sign... closed his eyes, and sucked in a deep breath.

"No, no I cannot. But, but I CAN guarantee something!" Jody said, causing the crowd to quiet down a few octaves. Angry yells and jeers still came in, but Jody ignored them as he looked at the sign again.

"I can guarantee, that if the line falls, if the Society defeats our forces, we will all die. I can guarantee this because....because..." Jody had to paused as he swallowed a sudden lump of fear.

"Because I worked for them. Because I was one of their spies," Jody admitted, and despite how horrid the truth was, it felt like the best thing in the world to admit it. Gasps and curses took over for the jeers and yells. Everyone stared at him in shock, even Hausman and Paine, as they waited to see if this was some kind of sick joke.

"When I ran to be this town's mayor, it was my choice. I wanted to do my part to keep this place safe. To make sure the mistakes of our past were not made again. And that Rome would survive to be a beacon of civilization in a sea of barbarism. But the Society had other plans..." Jody said, memories of that horrid night flashing before him.

"They threatened, not just myself, but our entire town. Told me if I did not do as they said, they would make sure nothing remained of Rome...." Jody said as he lowered his head in shame.

"If they had just threatened me...I wish I could say I would have said no, but... But they didn't... and I believed their threat was real. How could I not? They had gotten to me and had a near army of giant women. What could we have done to stop them, then? Hell, we have barely stopped them now..." Jody admitted as he shook his head. He didn't dare look up, sure the faces were all furious with him, that thousands of Terence's would be looking back at him, ready to choke the life out of him. But still he keep going.

"And it is because I believed that threat, that I beli- no, KNOW, they will murder us all if we do not fight them. They were willing to exterminate us all like an infestation before we knew the truth of the Shrink Disaster. Now that we do, they have every reason to make sure not one of us leaves here. Our lives depend on our soldiers. And it is for that reason that I will not allow this....STUPIDITY and selfishness to interfere with their work! They know what happened, they know the new threat that has appeared, many of them DIED learning of it, and they are doing what they can to protect us! But questioning them, demanding they come to meetings like this and being angry simply because they are not guarding YOU personally, will only doom us all. And I will NOT allow such selfishness to damn us, I will NOT!" Jody finished before snapping his head up. To his shock, however, angry faces didn't greet him. Instead, it was ones of shame, embarrassment, and defeat. Hausman's smirk had vanished and he was doing his best to hide a glare while Paine simply sighed and leaned back in her chair.

The crowd looked between each other and were silent as they all felt shame wash over them. Jody was stunned to see that none of them were calling him traitor, demanding his head, or...or doing anything. Jody looked out and saw Melissa, a smile on her face. Jody had to fight not to return it as he gulped down his fear and drew himself up.

“I understand how you all feel. I understand that you are all sc-, no terrified of what is happening to our city. But our children’s futures depend on our actions in this war. Whether they will live in constant fear, or know the freedom we all took for granted a decade ago. I’m not asking you to not be angry or to not be afraid. I am asking you, to be angry at the Society, to not be paralyzed with fear, and to let our brave soldiers do their work while we do ours. Let us make sure the future they are giving their lives for is one worthy of their sacrifice!”

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Things had changed so much... and so fast. Less than a week ago, she was just another soldier. A riflewoman who's only claim to fame was being involved with the second-in-command's son. And saying that was famed would have been up for debate, as well. Now... now she was a Major and in charge of the defensive line keeping Rome alive.

Samantha shook her head and had to fight not to flop to the ground. The crushing weight of responsibility was just... Taking charge during an emergency, when there was no one else TO do it was one thing, but to be in charge permanently? To wake up each day to know that the survival of thousands of people, and the hope of ending the Society's tyranny, rested on her shoulders... It was almost too much and Samantha found herself up on the HQ's roof more and more now.

"Ma'am," a voice said from behind Samantha, pushing her worries aside for the moment. Samantha glanced back and saw Lieutenant Charles and Sergeant Graves standing behind her. Both looked in far better shape now that they had a few days to recover from the disaster. Charles had his hair well kept and straight while Graves' just hung around wherever it had wound up. Their uniform were much the same with Charles' looking cleaned and prim while Graves' was messy and unkept.

"The briefing is about to start, ma'am," Charles said as he put his hands behind his back. Graves simply crossed his arms and looked to her expediently. Samantha turned back to look out over no-man's land again. She had almost forgotten about the meeting. If she was honest, she had WANTED to forget about the meeting. She wasn't ready for this, wasn't the right person for this...

"Don't want to go, do ya?" Graves asked. Samantha turned to look at him and Charles gave him a scowl. She glanced down at her feet before shaking her head.

"No... I don't. I'm not good enough for this, not skilled enough to be the leader of something so important," Samantha admitted as she turned back around. She looked out at the now complete wall the Society had made. They had been pinned in now, pinned in to await the, inevitable attack. And that attack would hit here. She wasn't the one who should be in charge of this place.

"That's not true!... Ma'am. If you hadn't been here then the HQ and me... This defensive line wouldn't even exist anymore if it wasn't for you," Charles said with all the sincerity he could muster. Samantha couldn't help but smile at his words, but they were just words. And he wasn't exactly the most impartial judge of her skills.

"He's not wrong, ya know. Oh sure, Sanders and that beas-," Samantha whirled to give Graves a glare, "large friend, of his helped, but they couldn't be everywhere at once. And they sure didn't rally our boys and girls to pullin up their pants and fightin back. You did that, Major." Samantha's glare faded as she sighed to herself. She couldn't say he was wrong... hell part of her knew he was right. But still...

A welcome and familiar rumbling drew Samantha to turn to the side. Jessica was moving along the front of the line, patrolling the area and stopping to sniff every so often. She glanced over the Samantha and gave her an odd smile. Was that...pride? She turned away rather quickly as she went back to her patrol.

Samantha glanced down and bit her lip. Jessica was... proud of her... She was pro-...

"You're right... You are very right, Sergeant Graves. Which means we have a briefing we need to get to. So stop standing there and get moving, we've got a lot of work still to do," Samantha said as she moved between her two subordinates and toward the stairs heading down. Both gave stiff salutes before falling in behind her.

Enemy Report on Society Cyborg units. Code-named: Reapers

Perhaps the most shocking of the Society's "weapons", the cyborgs, nicknamed Reapers by the troops, are a sign of a change in tactics by the Society. Unlike all their other monsters, the Reapers are not much bigger than ourselves. Their average height is only a few inches taller than a typical shrunken human and their weapons are, likewise, made for shrunken use. However, their innerworkings are far from typical.

Our preliminary autopsies have revealed that the outwardly noticeable mechanical parts are only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to their modifications. Most have skeletons that have been heavily reinforced, making them nigh unbreakable, and many of their internal organs have been either replaced or heavily enhanced. Worse, their muscles have been laced with some kind of muscle-like fiber the likes of which we have never seen. Tests on it have shown the material to function nearly identically to muscle, only with far greater strength and durability.

Taking all of these into account, it is this team's belief that a "Reaper" is nearly three-times stronger than a human and easily twice as durable. Thankfully, this durability is undermined by their lack of protective armor and the sheer lethality of our own weapons. And it is unlikely the Society will address this issue for fear of the armor falling into our own hands. This would, also, explain why the Reapers use such archaic gear.

Studies of their weapons and various gear has shown most to be simple and archaic. Their swords, axes, etc... are made out of reinforced steel, making them immensely strong, but they are not in great enough quantities to make much of anything out of. Their bows are even less useful as the plastic they are made out of has little to no use and the string is, like the steel, in too small of quantities for any major projects.

Their last piece of gear are the charges they attempted to use to destroy Turret 2. After being disarmed, the charges were found to be small bits of C4 and CLASSIFIED.