Gears of War: Snowblind

Snowblind

Please note: This literature is rated M for language, adult themes and situations, sexual humor and contact, violent acts, and some gore.

Background Synopsis
Attempting to relocate Jacinto’s remnant from Port Farrall to the island of Vectus, the Frost starts to take a toll on an array of insurgent camps surrounding Port Farrall. Several “groups” or clans of Stranded begin to clash amongst themselves over food and supplies, pockets of Locust begin to pick at Port Farrell’s defenses, while amidst the chaos, a nomadic faction of mostly females, known as the “Feral,” come into conflict with their new neighbors.

Just within a few weeks, deployed squads begin to discover the brutal repercussions of the clashes between the Feral and the Stranded, however, as the hostilities between the factions start to spread to the outskirts of the Port as dispatched squads, investigating attacks on their outposts are being ambushed and decimated. This forces the COG to fight on several fronts while trying to protect what is left of Jacinto’s citizens and their own armories.

Fate, however, gives the COG the upper hand as they manage to somewhat find allies within the Feral faction. The Feral have taken some major blows in the past year as a result of Locust attacks, losing a quarter of their clans, although, remnants of those clans were later found by dispatched squads. They were given sanctuary in exchange for assistance of their insight into the terrain and location of the Stranded insurgencies. Though the Feral seldom ally with anyone, the renegade Feral agreed in hopes that this alliance will protect what is left of their clans by destroying the Locust.

To quash the hostilities on land around Port Farall, the COG enlists the assistance from the renegade Feral to guide deployed Gears through the “badlands,” since their extensive knowledge of the land is crucial to locating the insurgent camps and Locust outposts as well as avoid potential hostilities with the other Feral. With the Frost becoming more unforgiving, the COG must quickly relocate the rest of Jacinto’s last remnant to the Vectus Naval Base, before the other factions and the harsh winter obliterate them.

During this time frame, the COG outpost north of Port Farrall, known as Fort Block, becomes a central outpost for squad placement, drafting, conscription, and supplies. It is here where all the squads gather to receive reinforcements and intel. To get ahead on the offensive, Colonel Hoffmann makes the decision to send out ten squads into the mountain areas surrounding Port Farrall to eliminate Locust outposts, and locate the Stranded insurgents gathering in the area. With the squads mostly consisting of new recruits while the more “experienced” Gears are running thin, Hoffmann decides to reform Sigma One, employing veteran Gears Corporal Damon Baird and Private Augustus Cole.

With the winter conditions becoming more problematic for the infantry, the Gears must now rely on the navigational wits of the renegade Feral. The squads, including the newly reformed Sigma One are dispatched in King Ravens to be dropped several miles outside of Port Farrall. Among the members of Sigma squad are veteran Gears Augustus Cole and Damon Baird, the rookie, Sven Dunrich, Sergeant Barker Milane, and their Feral guide, Raven McNight, a.k.a. Feral.

Along the way, they encounter almost calamity after calamity of unseen events that force the group of to rely on each other to stay alive and keep to the mission at hand. This story entails their little venture through the thick and thin of the hostile environment around them and their clashing personalities as humility and hilarity ensue.

Conflicting Factions:

The Stranded are the remnants of civilians left after the orbital beam attack in a last ditch

effort to destroy the Locust. Scattered throughout the land, the Stranded

have adapted to their new surroundings, while others formed organized

groups and factions. As a result of the attack, friction between the Gears

and the Stranded has been escalating, all the while, the Stranded have often

clashed amongst themselves and have come under hostilities with the Feral,

not to mention, the Locusts.

The Feral are a rouge faction, made up of mostly women in response to

the sad circumstances that are all too often, common with war. After so many

years of exploitation, starvation, rape, and murder, a group of women with

some military background formed the faction, later nicknamed as the

“Feral.” Little is know about the Feral since the faction typically keep to

themselves, with exception to breeding “seasons.” What is know is that

they are extremely organized and self-sufficient, amassing in numbers

recruiting survivors of destroyed settlements. With their strict

kata, and vigorous training, the Feral have developed techniques of guerilla

warfare that have enabled them to survive the COG, the UIR, and even the

Locust on E-Day. The Feral are nomadic and do not settle in a place for too

long to avoid being detected and hiding their numbers. This strategy has

worked for years, however, after the attack from the Hammer of Dawn and

the Lightmass offensive, the Feral began to run out places to hide and

started their offense against pockets of Stranded, Locust, and even Gears.

Gears of War: Snowblind
In a violent world where deceptions free

Things I can’t control taking over me

Did they try to take my identity

So what the hell have they done to me

I will take your thoughts away

And I’ll ignite your fear today

Well I can take you far away

With my mind.

Cold

Preface

The cold, thin air feels like breathing a sodden robe, as a Gear struggles to keep a steady pace, running through a dense conifer forest as if he was a deer being followed by a pack of hungry wolves.

He is what is left of Theta Four, sent to investigate a disturbance at an outpost, located north on the outside of Port Ferrall. Since the incidents on the Vectus Naval Base a few weeks earlier, outposts all around Farrall have been attacked, struck down one at a time, testing their defenses. By whom, they didn’t know, until recently. Although the Locusts attacks have been few, the others were staged by the Stranded insurgencies, gathering on the outskirts of Port Farrall.

As he runs, he can feel the collection of moister in his helmet, beading and then sweating down the side of his face and his neck. He dodges the trees, kicking up snow on the ground with only a pistol still in his holster as his only means of defense. His shotgun was dropped a ways back, after he tripped falling forward down a slope, not looking back as the snow falling in the air, mixed with the fading afterglow of the setting sun is making visibility difficult. He wasn’t being pursued, he was being hunted.

They took out his squad, strategically one at a time, as they fired their weapons in vain, already trapped in the ambush. It was apparent that someone was expecting them, but before they realized what had just happened, it was too late.

As he attempts cautiously gallop down an incline when suddenly, a shot rings out in the dense forest, whistling through the trees as he senses a sharp pain burst into the back of his thigh. He comes crashing down, tumbling down the rest of the incline, bumping into trees and brush along the way down, until he comes to a stop, landing on his back. His body starts to shake from the sudden rush of adrenaline that has been pumping through his body while his heart rate beats even faster, forcing him to pant for more oxygen.

The area is silent as he looks around, trying to stable himself, but he couldn’t move. He then heard the footsteps of his pursuer, walking slowly with care as a dark figure proceeds to move around the trees on the incline, and then disappear. The Gear tries to reach for his pistol in his holster, trying to pull it out, but the pistol wouldn’t budge.

Slowly, the footsteps were coming closer as the sound of crushing snow under someone’s boots became even more clearer, and the dark figure came out of the shadows, right out in front of him. It stood there, as if it was glaring at him, although he couldn’t readily tell what it was, a Locust perhaps, but it’s demeanor suggested otherwise. It took a few steps closer to him and then it carefully kneeled down in front of him. Immediately, the Gear could tell it had a Lancer in hand, the metal teeth glistening in the dim light, as he watched it, noticing the warm air seeping from the dark, cloaked figure’s breathing. He was petrified as it started to speak with perfect clarity.

“So…tell me Gear…what has Chairman Prescott done for you?” the figure asked, in a low voice that almost resembles human. He could see the warm air coming from it as it spoke, slowly moving and seeping into the air as it quickly dissipated. The figure then cocked its head and then turned it to the side as more footsteps begin to become audible.

Oh, no.

Other dark figures began to emerge from the trees as they all stood in their place, watching for the one who is kneeling in front of him for it’s next move. It slowly turned its head back as it stood up and then roared out, revving the chainsaw mechanism on the Lancer as the phantom bellows out.

“I…have…responsibilities, to my fellow citizens…I…shall…be loyal to them…” reciting the words of the "Octus Canon."

“I…shall…remain…vigilant and unyielding, in my pursuit of the enemies of the Coalition….” the dark figure continues to recite the oath, an oath the Gear suddenly reckognizes.

“I…am…a…Gear!”

The crowd behind him shouts and rants as they raise their weapons in the air, while the figure slowly looks back at his menagerie. As the crowd begins to simmer, he slowly turns to the fallen Gear as he revs his Lancer again, shuttering the silence with it’s violent noise while the Gear can see it’s teeth, bristling in the smoke coming from the drum.

“Here is the message we will send to the enemy of the Coalition,” the figure rants as he grips the handle on the Lancer, raising it over the defenseless Gear as he let’s out a blood, curdling scream, echoing throughout the woods. The noise of the saw, cutting through armor, flesh and bone can be heard outside the thicket shortly after silencing the hideous shriek. Then the woods become silent as night and snow blankets the sky, gently falling, concealing the blood that drenched the ground beneath it.

Chapter 1: The Shit Starts Here
FORT BLOCK, Recruitment Staging Area

A sign frozen to the utility post, hangs high, scouting over makeshift buildings and garages, looming with fuel heaters and generators, as the scent of exhaust mixed with the winter aroma fills the air with bliss and promise of food, shelter, and possibly a warm shower for a group of grimy grunts just stepping out from their APC’s from a long ride.

In the distance, King Ravens land in an open, snowy area just outside of the camp, their clamor heard all across the fort as the pilots do their routine maintenance before being deployed later in the afternoon. Fuel trucks camp along the makeshift roads as civilian volunteers shovel snow and ice to make way for gravel.

More APC’s start to pull into the fort, carrying reinforcements, as they slowly drive over the grimy, icy roads. Coming to a halt, the gears exit the vehicles and march their way to the fort mess hall, where Col Hoffmann awaits for everyone to enter the mass for debriefing.

As the Gears take their seats, the air in the vicinity takes a turn as several, unfamiliar women enter the mess hall, wearing familiar armor, attire that resembled what the Locust horde had, made of Reaver hide and other, unknown leather materials that were light, but hardy. Three of them are wearing what appears to be black war paint, possibly used to help them blend in with their environment; an alternative camouflage. The other two wore similar attire, but their faces were clean of cover, and appeared just as intimidating. As the four, wild women, lined up behind Hoffmann, the Gears could sense the Colonel was awkward within the presence of the rogue faction, only known to the Gears as the Feral.

As the group stands at the front of the makeshift tented mess hall, Col. Hoffman makes his way on top of a table that he intended to use as his podium. He looks around his fellow Gears as the crisp air around them sets the atmosphere of apprehension, as he can see the battle scarred demeanor of his mentally exhausted men, shrouding their self-assurance. The fact that they lost their place of refuge only made the men even more hardened to the bleak future that awaits them, but nevertheless, the fight for survival still runs deep in their blood, as if they we’re hardwired to wage war so they can exist. Col Hoffman has seen these faces before, more times than he will probably want to admit, though he himself is an old warhorse, still bucking against the odds as the barbwire drives him even closer to insolence. He still had some fight in him yet.

“Men…listen up,” he begins as the air around him hung onto him like a wet napkin.

“It has been confirmed that we have a new menace. Despite recent events at Vectus, we are still under threat, here on the apparent home front of some other Stranded insurgents that are rumored to be located in the mountains. We also have reports of Locust outposts, scattered all over the terrain outside of Ferrall, that are going to have to be dealt with if we are to protect the remaining citizens, here. Therefore, we have orders to deploy squads out into the uncharted territory to search for and eliminate the Locust outposts, and locate the Stranded settlements.” Hoffmann takes a few seconds to collect his thoughts as he looks over his shoulder to glance at the five women standing behind him.

“To accomplish this objective, we have allied ourselves with the Feral clans. They have volunteered to help guide the squads through the terrain, as they have extensive knowledge of the territory. With the Frost coming down hard on our asses, we must rely on their insight for the mission to be successful.”

Hoffmann takes a deep breath before he continues.

“Men, we are going to deploy the Ravens to the drop point in thirteen, hundred hours. Use this time wisely. Dismissed.”

Hoffman slowly steps off of the “platform” as he glances at the five women standing before him. He finally breaks the ice as he reluctantly speaks to them.

“Ok…which one of you can understand the words that are coming out of my mouth?”

They glare at him with startling eyes, peering through their warpaint, as they turn to each other and then they glanced over to the smallest of them.

“That…would be me, Colonel, “ the Feral on the far right speaks out as she steps forward to make her presence known, somewhat apprehensive as the crowd of Gears moves around them.

She was a little shorter than the others, although just as menacing.

“So what do I call you, Feral?” Hoffman turns his glance to her.

“My “birth” name is Raven McNight,”

“McKnight, huh,” Hoffmann responds in astonishment as he recalls several officers that went by that name, wondering if there was a correlation between the two, but dismisses it for the sake of the purpose of his conversation at the present.

He sighs, "I’ll keep it simple…how bout I just call you “Feral,” says Hoffman.

“Whatever will make you comfortable, Colonel.”

“It has nothing to do with comfort, ma'am.”

“Did you…need me for some reason?” she asks in annoyance.

“As a matter of fact, yes I do…Control,” Hoffman demands as he speaks on his com.

"Yes Colonel?" A female voice replies over the com.

“Have Sgt Fenix report to me please…ASAP!”

"Affirmative Colonel, control out,"

Chapter 2: Splitting Up
Raven sits by herself in a chair, outside of Col Hoffman’s, makeshift briefing room, as she hand sharpens a pencil with her “bowie” knife, occasionally looking up as she senses others walking by, and then goes back to her journal, ignoring the on looking Gears and recruits as they casually pass by Hoffman’s office.

It has been awhile since she has been within a crowd of people. She recants the days, almost weeks at a time, when she would survey along the territory surrounding Ferrall, alone, watching, waiting, and stealing. She has snuck around outposts, even forts, without being noticed, including this one. She looks up to look at the facility as she recalls it’s arrangement in vivid detail, only to look past the crowd, getting a glance at someone approaching directly to Hoffman’s door, but then goes back to her business as the Gear proceeds to the entrance of Hoffman’s office.

Sgt Fenix knocks on the door, for the most part, keeping to himself, but occasionally takes notice of Raven’s attire that closely resembles a Theron elit. He suddenly turns his attention to the door as he looks through the window to see Col Hoffman motioning him to come in.

Fenix steps in and shuts the door behind him, not in the best of moods but not feeling for the worst either. He wasn’t too crazy about their alliance with the Feral, but their other options where quickly thinning as the winter conditions worsened within just a few weeks. The Feral knew the territory pretty religiously while the COG satellites had difficulties just pin pointing their own outposts. All this technology and resources the COG have at their disposal, and they’re outfoxed by a bunch of primeval, eccentric women. What the hell where we thinking?

Hoffman takes a seat in his chair as he gestures Fenix to do the same.

“Have a seat, Sergeant…this may take several minutes.” Hoffmann sighs as he removes his cap and sets it on the desk while he rubs his head.

“How are your men, Sergeant?’

“Cold, tired…for the most part, cold.”

Hoffman lets out a light chuckle.

“Are they coping?”

“Depends,” Fenix replies matter-of-factly.

“On what, Sergeant?”

“Which one do want to hear about,”

“Well…I’ll go ahead and just cut the shit, Sergeant.”

Fenix looks up at Hoffman with anticipation.

“I’m going to reform Sigma One, so I’m putting Cole and Baird back to be deployed.”

Fenix starts to slump in his chair, frowning after hearing the news.

“I need some experienced Gears on this one, Fenix, we have way too many recruits. Plus, I need you for another objective for the same exact reason.”

“I take it we’re short.”

“That’s just scratching the surface, Sergeant…and on top of all this, I have to depend on those wild bitches to guide them out in uncompromising conditions.”

“The Feral, sir?”

“Unfortunately. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t underestimate their capabilities but these women have been amassing arms and intel from COG outposts for years, so needless to say, I don’t trust their alliance, but circumstances have pitted me between these Locust outposts and the Stranded insurgency and we need to act on this now before the Frost hits us even harder in the next few weeks. We can’t relocate the rest of the citizens to Vectus until some of this is resolved. It’s going to get worse before it gets better.”

“With all due respect sir, how can we be sure they know what their doing?”

“About six months ago, Gamma Ten came across a decimated Stranded settlement, south of here. During the investigation, Gamma was ambushed by some “mysterious guerillas.” There was only one survivor, out of six! We lost five, able-bodied men by a pack of vindictive bitches! The Stranded apparently lost fifteen rebels, including their leader. Other squads later found those Stranded rebels of that same camp, mutilated Sergeant!”

“Mutilated, as in,”

“The leader was found, hung from a post, ass end up, disemboweled, with his genitalia removed and apparently, shoved in his mouth! Now, granted, that was an isolated case, but the fact remains those bitches were able to squash fifteen armed men, relocate them and gut them, and then turned around to take out five, highly trained soldiers. We still have yet to figure out which “clan” was responsible!”

“What was the motive for their attack?”

“Well, apparently, the settlement was using Stranded women for profiteering, and well to make a long story short, they rounded up some ladies against their will for their operation. Obviously, the Feral found it to be debasing, and decided to wipe them out and take the women to amass their own numbers. Since then, they have been rivals over territory. Now why they attacked our men, was never known…not that it matters since it has been rumored that they may all be dead now, according to these renegades, they lost several clans since the Locusts have been spreading out recently, scavenging the territory.”

“Sigh…permission to speak freely…”

“Be my guest, Sergeant.”

“I believe this whole thing to be fubar sir…we ally ourselves with a faction that we don’t even fucking understand, we’re sending men out to quash the hostilities without any intel on the terrain except that from what we gather from these bitches, and now you break up my team to spread out the numbers of experienced Gears along with recruits who don’t know their ass from a hole in the ground, well sir, I see a list of bullshit directives that’s going to put a lot of unnecessary amount of resources and lives to waste!”

“Dually noted, Sergeant…but keep this in mind…I have over three thousand and counting, civilians to relocate to Vectus island. Our primary objective is to move them and our armories safely to our new place of refuge at all cost, but how can I do that Sergeant if I have Locusts and the Stranded, getting closer to testing and eventually penetrating our defenses?”

The recent events that took place at their outposts just outside of the fort have nearly caused a widespread panic among Jacinto’s remnant. Marcus, of all people, knew that the insurgencies where getting bolder and that it was not going to stop. He groaned, realizing that time was working against them. Shit, everything was working against them.

Although he was not happy about the situation, he knew that there really was no other option. It was going to be a long day for all of them. Marcus finally succumbed to Hoffman’s orders.

“Sigh…understood. You want me to bring in Baird and Cole, or do you want me to tell them?”

“It may be best if you tell them Sergeant. I am going to have to sit and talk to their linguist to iron out some details. Only one of the five, out there, can speak fluent Tyran, the rest have some crazy dialect, I can’t understand a word of it.”

“Shit…Understood. Was there anything else sir?”

“While we’re on the subject, I am going to assign a Feral guide with Sigma, so if you would, you tell Cpl Baird to keep his sassy flak to himself before he pisses off our only means of keeping friendly relations with the Feral.”

“Are you sure you want Baird to have that responsibility?”

“He’s an admirable soldier and I believe he can pull his foot out of his ass when shit hits the fan, but he needs to be thrown in the fire every now and then to redeem himself. He’s done it before, he can do it again…besides, I’m tired of them two running rowdy with idle hands, “dicking” around like two little boys who just discovered daddy’s firework and porn stash.”

Fenix laughs to himself as he sits back up in his chair.

“Your dismissed,” says Hoffman.

Sgt Fenix stands up from his chair as he proceeds to exit the room, before Hoffman stops him.

“Oh, and by the way, tell that little Feral girl in the front to come in here for me please.”

“Sigh, yes sir.”

Fenix steps out, leaving the door open as he reluctantly turns to Raven, still seated in the chair. She could tell right away that he decided he wasn’t going to like her. Hell, she could sense same vibe from other Gears, not to mention, Hoffman. This whole idea was sour to begin with.

Marcus finally motions her.

“The Colonel wants to debrief you,” he says in his low, rough voice.

“Right now?” she responds with sarcasm, not the least bit intimidated by his demeanor, or at least she attempted not to show it.

“Yea…now.”

Chapter 3: Two Peas In A Pod
“This so, sucks balls, I can’t even begin to tell how much sucking we are in for before someone finally realizes, oh hey, wait, this really does suck balls,” Damon Baird rants to Augustus Cole as he fiddles with the motor on Cole’s Lancer, trying to loosen up the chain on the saw bar while sitting on the floor with his tools placed in between his straddled legs.

The two sat in a makeshift locker room in their bottom fatigues and undershirts as their armor was laid out on the floor, “airing” out. The scent in the vicinity was typical for a men’s locker room, filled with aroma of stale air festering with the stench of soiled clothes that’s been sitting in a locker for a week. The atmosphere was rather warm as the window unit pushed out the cold air, leaving the musty, humid air inside.

Cole sits on a bench while fiddling with his Cog tags, ignoring Baird’s ranting as he watches him intensely removing the chain off of the drum to replace the worn teeth with newer one’s. Baird suddenly breaks his concentration.

“Shit, Cole, this is the third time I had to replace this…the hell are you cutting with this thing anyway, fucking boulders?”

“Man, them Locusts feel like it…” Cole says as he turns to peck Baird on the shoulder,”…oh hey, Marcus says he wanted to talk to you.”

“What for…oh, fuck, what the hell did I do this time?”

“You think you’re in trouble?”

“I’m always in trouble,” Baird starts to rant, again.

“I swear, you and Dom can go run amuck, doing all sorts of shit while I’m minding my own business and some how, some way, Marcus finds some implausible reason to blame me for it!”

“Hehe, that’s because if we mess up, we just say you did it.”

Baird drops his wrench as he sits up and turns to Cole.

“So that’s why I’m always in trouble…because of you fuckheads!”

“Nah, I think Marcus is still pissed for what you did to him on his birthday.”

“For what…oh…wait, you mean when I tipped him in the portable potty? Oh, c’mon, that was hilarious, even Dom was laughing his ass off on that one, and you were laughing so hard you nearly wet yourself.”

“No, I was laughin at the part when he came after you once he got out, heehee…I’d never seen two white boys run so fast! I’m just ticked that I missed yo ass beatin when he caught up to you”

“He didn’t beat my ass because he never caught me! He’s almost as slow as you are.”

“Yea, whatever…” Cole mused while Baird completed the maintenance on Cole’s Lancer.

“Sweet, I can’t wait to try this out,” Cole beams as he picks it up carefully, trying not to bump the bayonet on himself.

“You’ll need to run it a few times to get the grease going or else it will stiff up, especially in this weather…we can’t be running around with a stiffy now, can we.”

The two exchange laughter as they continue to maintenance the rest of their weapons, all the while, Sgt. Marcus Fenix walks into the room, after spending the past half hour looking for them, while carrying some of their laundry.

“So there you are,” Marcus bellows out as Cole chuckles even more.

“Uh oh, you busted now!”

“Oh, hi Marcus, I mean, sir,” Baird replies with a sarcastic grin.

“Dipshit,” Marcus scoffs softly, as he approaches the two, informing them,

“Listen up, Hoffman is going to put you two back on Sigma to be deployed out this afternoon.”

Baird starts to sulk. The idea was already starting to suck balls. Speaking of sucking…

“Sigh, with who else,” he moans.

“You’ll find out when you get to your Raven, but I do know that you will have a Feral guide in your group, so try not to piss her off, please.”

“Now what makes you think I would do such a thing like that?”

“Don’t even start to patronize me, Baird.”

“Yea, yea, I get it…follow the objective without making the Feral chick mad.”

“I mean it Baird…this is an opportunity to redress your sorry ass, so try not to fuck it up…and Cole, watch and make sure he doesn’t fuck it up.”

“You got it, Marcus,” says Cole as he slaps his big hand on Baird’s back while Marcus watches Baird cringe from the sting. For the most part, Marcus could normally count on them for whatever calamity may come their way. Hell, the two have saved his ass on more than one occasion. They all have walked into hell and back, cheating death more times than they could shake a stick at. It was a sobering notion to suggest that they were “breaking” up, again.

“So I take it you and Dom are going,” Baird grimaces, still flinching from the sting.

“We’re to be deployed after you guys…you’re going to be dropped off with nine other squads to spread out in pairs and comb the area.”

“So who are we pairing with?”

“Gamma Four…and your assigned Feral is going to guide you through the region…they have scouted the area earlier this month, locating Locust camps and Stranded settlements.”

Cole gets excited,

“Ah, sweet…we get to hang out with Gamma...”

“Whoopie…” Baird mutters sarcastically, while Cole tries to cheer him up.

“C’mon, Baird, it’ll be fun! We’ll get back out on the field, hang out with those Feral cuties, be back in time for supper…”

“Their not “cuties,” Cole, their a pack of ornery wenches…” Baird groans, "…did you ever hear what they did to Omega Five, a few years back?”

“What could a handful of little chickies do to an entire squad?”

“Control lost contact with them, and they were MIA for a week.”

“So where did they find em?”

“All over…a leg here, an arm there…it took the coroner a month to piece them together.”

“Oh,” Cole’s excitement dwindled down. If Marcus ever agreed with Baird on anything, the fact that their mission is going to depend on the insight of the Feral was unsettling at best. They are just as reliable as they are malicious. Not exactly the best combination for a couple of guys who for the most part can’t seem to keep their idle hands to themselves. Marcus attempts to prepare them a much as he can.

“I doubt you’ll be back in time for supper Cole, so grab some food before you leave” says Marcus while Cole pouts, “…and here…” Marcus sneers as he hands Cole his freshly laundered undergarments. He then turns to Baird with his clean undergarments and throws them at him,

“…change your damn underwear before you leave.”

Baird manages to dodge his undershirt, but gets face planted with his boxers, as Marcus shoots a satisfying grin.

“Hopefully…you should be back by dark. Now get your shit put together…they want you to report in an hour, ” Marcus informs them as the two change their clothes and put on their chest plates.

“Oh, and guys…” The two looked back up as Marcus’s expression turns solemn, "...be sure you come back alive…you hear me?”

“You know it,” Cole blasts.

“Yea…we hear ya.” Baird responds in a more serious tone.

“Good luck, fellas.”

Chapter 4: We Are Sigma…Again
Cole throws his gear into the Raven before he climbs up into it while the pilot and copilot do their routine, radio tests. He quickly realizes that the cabin was a bit warmer than the outside, as he shudders from the two air masses intertwining. Two other Gears are already sitting inside, as they wait anxiously for the rest of their squad mates to come on board. Cole finds a place to sit, opposite of the other two Gears in the cabin. One of them finally speaks out.

“Welcome back to Sigma…you must be Pvt. Cole.”

“Yes sir, in the flesh,” Cole responds with enthusiasm.

“I hear you we’re part of the Lightmass Offensive, with Delta squad.”

“Yea, that’s right, baby…we blew those bitches sky high, hehe.”

The other Gear started to beam with zeal.

“Holy shit, it’s really you…the Cole Train,” he bursts out.

“Yea, that’s right,”

The first Gear turns to the other,

“Ok…give him a break…I’m sure he hears that all the time,”

”Nah…it’s all good…everyone wants to see The Train, baby,” Cole grins, giving him a thumbs up.

The first Gear introduces himself.

“My name is Sgt. Milane…and this is Pvt. Sven Dunrich.”

“Yea, but everyone calls me Vin, or Vinny…it’s just easier,” says Sven, trying to break the ice.

“You got it, Vinny,” Cole recants while Milane continues,

“I understand that we have a technician with us,”

“Yea, Cpl. Baird…he’s loading up some equipment…he’ll be here, sir.”

“Great…we are also waiting for our Feral guide…her name is Raven McKnight, but everyone just calls her Feral. She should be with us shortly.”

“Sweet, can’t wait,” Cole gestures as he turns his head outside the chopper to see Baird making his way to the entrance.

“Hurry up Damon…time to get this show on the road,” Cole yells out.

“Yea, yea…working on it,” Baird responds as he tosses a medical box and his equipment into the cabin. He jumps in and picks up the med box to strap it down near the bottom of the hull. He then proceeds to take a seat next to Cole.

“Sorry I’m late, but somebody insisted that we take some additional medical supplies, and nobody else, but me, was apparently informed about it.” Baird griped as he tried to get comfortable, while Cole taps him on the shoulder.

“Oh…hey, this is Sgt. Milane and Pvt. Vinny. They’re on our team.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you Corporal,” says Milane as Baird extends the same courtesy, trying to be nice.

“Likewise,” Baird gestures.

Sgt. Milane was rather cordial than most officers Baird has dealt with, not to mention younger. Although Milane looked rather young for an officer, he was not near as young as the rookie, Sven.

Sven still had a “baby face,” as his short, light brown hair was slicked up into a short faux-hawk, making him look even more “juvenile” while Milane appeared to be more professional as his dark hair was shaved close to his head, but dark enough to still give him a hairline.

Milane turns his head, looking out of the cabin.

“Here she comes.”

Cole leans out to peer over Baird as he sees someone approaching the Raven to what, appears to be wearing Locust dressings.

“What the…is that a Feral?” Cole blurts out while the other three turn to face the same direction, as Milane responds.

“Yep, that’s our Feral.”

Raven walks up to the chopper as she dismounts her equipment backpack and places it in the cabin while standing on the tips of her boots, trying to push it in. The three just sit and watch as the petite woman jumps up into the cabin, using the frame of the threshold to climb in. She attempts to catch her footing when Sgt Milane extends his hand to catch her arm, but she whirls around at him as she retreats her arm back, avoiding contact. Milane shrinks back in response to her reaction, as she proceeds to place her equipment bag next to everyone else’s. Feral then scans the cabin, looking for a place to sit, but finds most of the area taken. Sgt. Milane stands up to give her room, feeling the atmosphere around her to be antagonistic, but nevertheless motions her to have a seat. She looks around with her wide, icy blue eyes and then takes up Milane’s offer to sit down in his spot.

“Thank…you,” she hesitantly says, realizing she may have made everyone uncomfortable with her demeanor, so she tries to be as polite as she understands to be. Feral was not used to being around men, much less Gears, and she didn’t like flying, period. The others could tell that she was restless.

“Your, welcome,” says Milane, attempting to make her more comfortable, although it probably didn’t help. He tries to introduce the others to her,

“Just so you know, this is Pvt. Cole, Cpl. Baird…” Milane points as the two acknowledged his introduction,” …and sitting next to you is Pvt. Vinny Dunrich. We’re all part of Sigma squad.”

“Of…course,” she says shyly as she looks at the three individually and nods while she slowly slumps into her seat, trying to be discreet. She did not like being the center of attention.

As the five get settled, the gunners take their positions while the engine on the bird begins to roar.

“This is it,” Milane yells out over the noise, while Sven sits up against the cabin, trying not to encroach on Feral’s personal space.

Baird turns to Cole.

“Did you take that pill I gave you?”

“Yea…what you say it was suppose to do?”

“It’s suppose to help your nausea, so I won’t have to wipe your chuke off of my armor again.”

“Oh, yea!”

Milane grabs onto the handle as the rotors start to spin faster and louder. Feral becomes tense as she closes her eyes and grabs the edge of her seat. Her pale face began to flush in the cold air, accented by her short, black hair as she curled her lips in anxiety. Cole could see she was nervous, which made her look even “cuter.”

Cole nudges Baird with his arm as he quietly giggled.

“Heehee…she’s pretty, isn’t she.”

Baird rolls his eyes as he subtly responds,

“We’re not going there, Gus.”

Cole starts to laugh,

“Oh, and by the way, I’m supposed to remind you not to fuck this up.”

“Son of a bitch, am I going to have to listen to this crap during the entire mission,” Baird blurts out while Cole snickers.

“You bet your white ass!”

“Fuck,” Baird scowls.

In the cabin they can hear the pilot on the radio.

"Welcome ladies to KR Four-Three, and we will be taking off very shortly, if you have not already noticed but just so you know, my name is Cpt. Nigal Jonas and I will be your pilot today, along with my co-pilot, Lt. Samus Frank. Our gunners are Pvt. Devon Fargus and Cpl. Merl Jammacia, but we all just call him “Jimmie,”

Jimmie waves his hand as the Gears acknowledge back.

"And just so you know, if you have not read the passenger manual for this flight, I am required to inform you that this is a non-smoking craft and that if you are caught smoking, it better be because your ass is on fire, which brings me to also inform you if in the event, the cabin, or your ass, is on fire, the extinguisher is located to the back of the cabin, next to the red label that says “in case of an emergency.” Thank you for your audience and enjoy the flight."

“Yea, right,” Baird grumbles while the bird suddenly jolts, as it starts to lift, slowly from the ground.

“Let’s do this, Captian,” Fargus yells at the cockpit while Jimmie gives the cockpit crew a thumbs up. The bird lifts farther from the ground as it follows three other birds, ahead of their position, while four other Ravens begin to lift after them. The crew in the cabin can see the ground turn, feeling the cold air rush around them as aircraft picks up speed and forms in position along with the other birds.

Cole closes his eyes, trying not to look down.

“Ah, man…I hope this shit you gave me works.”

“Getting airsick soldier?” Milane notices, as Cole places his head in between his legs, while Baird rubs his hand on his back.

“Motion sickness, sir. I gave him something before we arrived to take the edge off…that, and I’m tired of cleaning up his barf.” Baird responds while Milane chuckles, looking over at Sven and Raven.

Sven looks out the cabin in awe, as he savors the moment of being in the sky, looking down since he doesn’t get to fly all that often. Raven, on the other hand continues to cling to the edge of her seat as her brow sits heavy over her deep, set eyes. She was not enjoying herself at all.

“Feral, here, doesn’t like to fly, either.” Milane informs the others as he grins, while Raven conveniently ignores him. Baird turned his gaze at the little woman, noticing her vaguely familiar attire that complimented her minuscule figure. She had oddly shaped shoulder and back armor, made of some dark hardy leather-like material. A piece of cloth, similar to that of a Kantus robe, hung below her waist like a loincloth as it dangles between her legs.

Baird couldn’t help to wonder how the Farel manage to get these dressings, much less custom them for their own personal use. He then notices right away a Boltok pistol in her left holster and a Gorgon pistol on her right, both strapped to the outside of her thighs. Although the rest of her leggings were unfamiliar, her boots, however, were definitely Gear material, although they were black in color rather than brown.

Cole carefully picks up his head as he slowly opens his eyes, taking a deep breath and then slowly exhaling.

“You alright, man,” Baird asks.

“I think so…I don’t feel too shitty,” Cole responds.

Shortly after Cole’s comment, the group feels a sudden bump, as the five jerk inside the cabin.

“Oh shit…I take that back!”

The craft shook violently as it suddenly, jolted again.

“Ok, now what the fuck was that?” Baird busted out, while Cole grabs his seat, holding on fast. Blast sounds become audible around the cabin as Sven looks out to find other birds taking evasive action.

“Ah crap…I hear gunfire,” Sven yells as Feral clenches the seat even tighter, next to him.

Milane turns his head to the gunners as they ready their chain guns, and then looks towards the cockpit. The radio begins to sound off.

"Hang on ladies…we got turbulence."

“Aw, shit…turbulence my ass, we’re being shot at,” Cole groans as the Raven tilts to the right, forcing the crew to lean as the bird bumps a few more times, more violently than earlier. Cole’s dark face starts to turn green as he places his hand over his mouth, while Baird looks at him in horror, trying to hang on while shifting his body away from Cole.

“Cole…don’t you do it, man…or I swear,” Baird warns as he tries to avoid the possibility of “comet vomit.”

Capt. Jonas turns over to face the gunners from the cockpit.

"Jimmie, Fargus, fire at those bitches!"

The gunners fire their chain guns while Milane peers out of the cabin to see a Reaver passing by.

“We got Reavers…shit,” Milane barks as he starts to make his way to the middle of the cabin and hangs on as the bird starts to shift to the left. They catch glimpses of the flying, mounted beasts, as their bird attempts to fire at them.

Looking down, they could see the fire blasts, coming from ground infantry as the other birds try to dodge them. Suddenly, they see one of the birds get pummeled on the top of its hull as smoke starts to seep from its rotor. The Raven slowly starts to drop as the blades fall apart and then gravity finally clutches it, pulling it down fast, crashing it to the ground.

“Oh shit, oh shit,” Sven panics while the others look out in shock. All of a sudden, they receive another strong jolt, but this time the warning signal, starts to sound off.

“Ohhh…That doesn’t sound good,” Milane grumbles, as the others second the notion while they can hear the pilot cussing over the radio.

"Fuck…our fuel pressure is wavering guys…your going to have to brace yourselves up because I’m dropping you, now!"

“Wait…were not at the drop zone yet,” Milane protests facing the cockpit.

"We’re not going to make it to the drop zone Sergeant. Get your men ready!"

“Fuck…alright, grab your gear.” Milane orders.

The men attempt to collect their gear, all the while the aircraft begins to tremor. They could feel the bird starting to drop as the warning light continues to flash.

Cole grabs on to the cabin wall, trying to brace himself as the bird drops in short bursts, getting closer to the ground, while Baird props his foot against the hull and pulls out his Lancer. Milane prostrates himself on the other wall as he too, pulls out his Lancer, carefully looking down, as they get closer to the tops of the trees.

"Ok folks, this is it. When I tell you to jump, you jump! Don’t hesitate, don’t think…just do it! I am going to drop this thing as low as I can but it will not stay stable for long…good luck Gears," the pilot announces, trying to keep the Raven steady.

The bird hits the tops of couple of trees on the way down, trying to dodge ground fire at the same time. The forest finally clears into what used to be a small town surrounded by boulders and meadows, covered in snow.

The bird slows down close to a hover, about fifteen feet from the ground, trying to keep the rotor moving as they feel the craft starting to idle.

"Go, go,go! Move out!"

“Shit, that’s a long fucking drop,” Sven complains.

“Get out, soldier,” Milane barks as he grabs Sven by his collar and pulls him towards the exit.

Baird goes over to the exit, grabs the side of the door and leaps out. Cole makes his way to the exit and looks down.

“Aw…shit,” he bellows, watching Baird make landfall as he jumps and rolls in the snow. Cole then jumps out, feeling the crisp air sting his bare arms as he hits the ground while gravity pulls him forward into a roll in the slushy snow.

The Raven continues to move forward, while Feral is the next to leap out of the craft, dropping down into a snow trampled grassy meadow.

“Shit, I’m not going to…” Sven panics while Milane cuts in.

“You’re jumping, now get your ass out!”

Milane pushes Sven out of the door, watching him plummet in the hay bales below. The Raven begins to teeter.

"Get out Sergeant, we’re going down!"

He could feel the Raven idle even more as the bird starts to shift on its side. Milane finally leaps out, blinded by the upheavaled snow stirred up from the churning blades above. Milane becomes blind by a bright white light as he slips in and out of consciousness.

Chapter 5: Trial By Fire
Baird runs over to Cole, helping him up from out of the snow.

“Shit, that’s cold, WHOO,” Cole blasts as he brushes off the snow from his armor.

“C’mon…get your ass moving, we need to find the others,” Baird persists as he lifts his goggles to his forehead and starts running with Cole following behind.

“Hey Baird…slow down man,” Cole complains, trying to keep up in the heavy snow, while he sees Baird prostrated up against a barn and runs up over to his position, catching his breath in the thin, cold air.

“Well…what took you so long,” Baird muses with a laugh.

“Jackass,” Cole mutters as he breathes heavily, supporting his weight with his hand up against the barn wall.

Baird looks around the corner as looks out into the meadow. He scans around, hoping to find the others, and then he sees Feral nearby trying to pull Sven out of a bale of hay.

“Hey…Cole…I found them.”

Baird quickly looks to see if it was clear and then suddenly darts off into the meadow.

“Hey, HEY…wait…shit,” Cole yells as he tries to follow Baird through the field.

Feral continues to pull Sven by the shoulders, while the rest of his body is still chest deep in snow and hay.

“Shit, I’m stuck,” Sven gripes, trying to wiggle out.

“Hold still, damnit,” Feral torts, trying to pull him out by his shoulder guards, but ends up slipping and losing her grip from the snow, falling backwards.

“DAMNIT,” she yells in frustration, only to suddenly whip around with her pistol in hand to the sound of someone running towards them, while still on the ground.

“NO…wait…it’s just one of our guys,” Sven blurts out as Baird makes his way towards them.

“Yea…friendlies…don’t shoot me please,” he scoffs. Feral groans as she puts her pistol down while Baird puts up his Lancer and extends his hand to help her up. She hesitates at first, but then cautiously accepts Baird’s civility as he lifts her up from the grass and snow.

“I…can’t…get him out,” she says as Baird turns to Sven.

“Alright kid…give me a minute,” he says to Sven as he grips him underneath his armpits and pulls. Cole comes panting in as he leans over to catch his breath.

“Ok…I made it…so what’s up?”

Cole looks over as he sees Baird trying to pull Sven out of the bale.

“Shit…what the hell, Vin,” Baird gripes as he struggles to pull Sven out. Feral climbs up on the hay bale and tries to push Sven from behind, but to no avail.

Baird looks up at Feral,

“Ok…on my count, you push, I’ll pull, got it,” he said.

“Yea, I got it,” says Feral as she braces herself on Baird’s count.

“Ready, one, two, three…”

The two manage to budge Sven at least a foot, but he stops suddenly as if he was caught on something.

“Aw, man…this sucks,” Sven whimpers while Baird releases him and wipes sweat from his face

“Aha, you see Cole…I told you this whole thing was going to suck balls, and it’s only been the first, fifteen minutes.”

“Let me try that,” says Cole as he wraps his arms underneath Sven’s and starts to pull. He manages to get part of the way but then something jerks Sven into a standstill.

“Aw…shit, he’s got to be caught on something,” Cole mutters while Baird grips one side of Sven’s armor while Cole grabs the other side and the two men slowly pull Sven out of the hay while Feral jumps back to give them room. She peers around the men as she catches a glimpse of something wrapped around his boot.

“Wait…I see what’s holding him down,” Feral blurts out as she runs over to take a look while the two hold on. She wiggles through the two Gears, up onto the hay bale to get a better look at Sven’s boots.

“Geez, Vin…you got a loading strap, wrapped around your boot…give me a minute,” Feral says as she pulls out her knife.

“Aw, man…I hate knives,” Sven whines as Cole and Baird, struggle to hold Sven out.

“Quit yer whining, boy,” Cole winces.

“Hurry…Feral,” Baird moans.

“I almost got it, Corporal,” she says as she finally cuts through the last nylon thread. As soon as she cut it through, the three Gears go flying backwards as Sven plows right into Cole and Cole collapses onto Baird, forming a pile of Gears.

“Oh…wow, that’s much better,” Sven relaxes while Cole groans.

“Vinny…your…crushing my jock, kid!”

“Oh…uh…sorry,” Sven quickly dismounts while Cole clutches his groin and cringes. Cole then feels a jab in the back as Baird yells out.

“Will you get the hell off me…please?”

“Sorry Damon…hold on,” Cole squirms as he rolls off of Baird.

Baird continues to lie in his spot, groaning as he takes a few deep breaths, watching the warm air seep from his mouth and nostrils. While the three slowly gather themselves up, Feral keeps a watch out, scanning the field for a few minutes and then leaps back down from the top of the hay bail.

“I believe Sgt. Milane may be further down, towards the town,” she says as she points in the town’s direction.

“Ugh…alright,” Baird winces as he slowly gets up. Cole helps him up while Sven pulls out his Gnasher shotgun, brushing the snow and hay off of it. Baird and Cole pull out their Lancers, brushing the grass and snow off the handles.

“Follow me,” Feral persists as she started to roadie run while the three Gears follow Feral to the other side of the white meadow. They roadie run through the frozen grass, feeling the snow and ice crushing beneath their feet, while Feral staggers in different directions, hiding her trail. She suddenly halts at a sitting, rusty bailer, just outside the thicket. The others make it to her position as they hide themselves behind the massive tractor, covered in snow and ice cycles.

“Do we even know that Milane got out of the Raven,” Cole speculates.

“I saw someone jump out of our Raven while it was still sky bound,” Feral replied.

“Well, whether he did or not, we still have to locate our ride…there might be survivors,” Baird informs him as they look around the bailer, scanning for Milane or Locusts. They could hear the fire fight from a distance as the sound of flying Raven’s was still in earshot, but it soon dissipated.

“Man…I hope the others get there ok,” Cole ponders.

“But what if they don’t make it…” Sven says.

“There is nothing we can do for them now…the Corporal is right, we must help those in our immediate vicinity,” Feral quietly responds.

“Do you even know where our bird went,” Baird asks.

“I know it went this direction, but I will have to get up high to tell you where it landed,” she acknowledges while Baird nods and moves into the thicket, slowly.

“Let’s go…keep an eye out, and keep it low,” Baird advises as the others march behind him.

They walk around the tall, conifer trees, stepping over bundles of pine needles and cones, mixed in with the snow. Feral gets ahead of the group, quietly as she wisps around the trees making faint noise with her feet on the snow covered ground. The scent of pinesap tainted the dry, crisp air, as flakes of snow fluttered around the forest, making visibility faint. Feral slows down her pace, taking larger steps over piles of forest foliage gathered in heaps on the ground.

Suddenly, Feral halted and then crawled behind a brush, while the others stopped in their tracks. Baird could tell that something spooked her, and motioned the others to drop down with his hand. They waited, watching Feral for a motion or a glance but she doesn’t move, keeping her hands on her pistols.

As they peered through the air ahead of them, they could softly hear footsteps, closing in their direction. They quietly ready their weapons, waiting for the moving presence to reveal itself behind the frosty curtain.

As the dark figure moved closer, they suddenly recognize the figure to be Milane. He carefully, stepped one foot at a time, peering through the dense air.

“Friendlies,” he spoke out, as Sven, Baird, and Cole stood up.

“Yea…friendlies,” Baird responded while Milane walked over to them.

“You guys made it, that’s a comfort,” Milane continued as he loaded up his Lancer.

“We didn’t know if you made it sir,” Sven stepped in as Milane addressed him.

“Barely…our bird managed to go a few more kilometers, but I lost sight of it before it went down.”

“We was looking for our ride, hoping to find you first,” Cole said.

“Well, thanks for looking for me, but I’m afraid you’ll have to turn back around…the Locusts are coming this way.”

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Baird griped.

“I wish I was, Corporal…we need to move, now.”

Just as Sgt Milane finished speaking, an earsplitting thunderous voice, blasted through the woods.

“BOOM!”

“GET DOWN, NOW,” Baird hollered, as the men scattered in all directions. A loud explosion pierced through the trees, as the noise rang in their ears behind the debris of snow, pine needles, wood, and blood.

Oh God, someone got hit. Baird started to crawl on the ground, keeping his head down while trying to peer through the debris, still hovering in the air. He then looks up in front of him to see a massive figure, stepping around the trees up ahead as he hears that thunderous roar, again.

“BOOM!”

He quickly moves behind the tree as a shot rang out and pieces of branches and snow, scattered into the air. Baird flanks to the left of the massive creature as he rolls behind another tree, only to roll on top of a bloody,strewn corpse in the dense thicket.

Ugh…damn. At first he couldn’t tell who it was, but he knew it was a Gear. He pushed the distorted corpse over to see if he could find the COG tags, but the corpse was so mangled he couldn’t tell if the part was a torso or a leg.

“BOOM!”

Baird looks back to his right to find the colossal Locust, standing not too far from him, as he could feel the ground tremor beneath him with each step the beast took. He remained concealed behind the tree as the Boomer scanned for him, breathing heavily while his raspy breath gurgled in irritation.

“Over hear, sucka,” a voice rang out from a distance.

Cole…damnit, get down.

“BOOM!"

The beast roars as he fires his Boomshot towards Cole’s voice, distracting it from Baird’s position. Behind the thicket, Baird pulls out a Bolo grenade and proceeds to flank the Boomer from behind.

Baird could hear Cole taunting, as the Locust fixes his concentration in Cole’s direction.

“Haha…you missed…you can’t hit shit!”

The beast fires his Boomshot again.

“BOOM!”

Just after the Boomer launches his gun, Baird sneaks up behind the creature and plants the Bolo grenade on the Boomers rump.

“FRAG OUT!” Baird yells as he leaps into a nearby ditch behind another tree.

“Get down,” Cole busts out as the creature turns toward Baird’s position.

“BOOM?!”

Before the Locust could react, the grenade goes off, tearing up the brush around it while the Boomer let’s out a chilling scream, flailing it’s arms around the chaos. The Boomer’s rump was in bloody shambles as it tried to turn around on one functional leg.

As the beast turns around to fire another round at Baird, a shot rings out in the thicket as it echoes through the woods. The enormous brute let’s out a gurgling growl, dropping it’s Boomshot to the ground as its large body slumps down, laying motionless with it’s blood spurting into the white snow.

Baird carefully stands up, brushing the wood chips and debris off of his armor as he looks over the massive creature to find Feral stepping around it with Boltok pistol in hand, putting it back into her holster. She covers her nose and mouth with her hand, trying to block the stench coming from the Boomer’s fresh corpse.

“You alright, Corporal,” she asks.

“Yea…damn,” Baird gestures, trying not to inhale the stink.

“I didn’t realize how tough these one’s are…I thought the nade would have taken it out for sure…oh, and by the way, you’re welcome.”

Baird gives her a sour look while at the same time, trying not to inhale the stench.

Cole shouts out,

“Baird…you alright man?”

Baird could hear Cole from a distance as he shouts back, “Yea…is anyone with you?”

“I got Vinny with me!”

''Oh no…Milane. It got Milane.''

Baird turned around to locate the rest of the corpse. There were pieces scattered around the brush as he looks around, trying to make sense of the body parts. Feral steps down towards Baird’s position as she looks upon the bleak picture.

“Who is it,” she asks.

“I think it’s Milane, but I need to find his tags, just to be sure.”

“Are these it,” Raven lifts up her arm, holding a set of COG tags as Baird comes over to get a better look. She hands them over to Baird as she watches him analyzing them. She could tell from his expression that it was not good.

“Sigh…it’s Milane’s…fuck,” Baird mumbles, “…how well did you know him?”

“What do you mean, Corporal,” Feral stares at him in puzzlement.

“Well…it sounded as if he knew you so I figured you two…I don’t know, got to know each other?”

“Yea…during the debriefing, along with the Sergeant from Gamma, but that was only for twenty minutes…so, to answer your question, no I didn’t really know him,” she replied, rather vaguely.

“O…kay.” Baird looks in astonishment.

Cole and Sven carefully walk towards the Boomer’s blood trenched body, still pointing their guns at just as a precaution.

“You can relax guys, it’s dead,” Feral yells out, and then turns to Baird as he looks up at her.

“We need to go back,” Baird begins. “Boomers normally come in pairs…the other one will be close by, so we need to leave, now!”

She nods as Baird looks around to see Cole and Sven coming towards their position. They slow down as they get a glance of the sprawled body parts in the white snow.

“Aw, man…we’re fucked now,” Sven panics as Cole starts to shake his head.

“You were right Damon…this is starting to suck,” Cole groans looking at their bleak situation. They have only been on the ground for thirty minutes and they were misdropped, lost, and without their Sergeant.

Suddenly, they hear Feral coming down the ground from above, panting.

“You were right Corporal…another one is coming this way, we need to go!”

“Groan, I hate it when I’m right…get back to the barn, hurry!”

Feral and Cole take off back the other direction while Baird grabs Sven by the collar, pulling him forward.

“Move, Vinny, go, go, go!”

“BOOM!”

“Shit…not again!”

Baird and Sven hit the ground as fragments of wood and ice scatter a few meters to their right.

“FUCK,” Sven screams while Baird stands up and grabs Sven, pulling him up.

“Move your ass, Vinny,” Baird yells as the two dash through the woods, running back to the meadow, trying to keep their heads down.

Cole and Feral were already at the barn, waiting for Baird and Sven to come out of the woods. As they peer through the falling snow, they see Baird and Sven hauling ass through the meadow, motioning to the others to get away.

“Move, move…get back!” Baird hollers as he runs towards them. Suddenly, form the outside of the thicket, the massive Boomer peers through the brush, growling.

“BOOM!”

The beast fires blindly in their direction as the rocket passes them up several meters ahead of them.

Cole and Feral duck back behind the barn as Sven and Baird hit the ground, rolling a few times, kicking up the snow as they try to move quickly to the barn.

“SHIT!” Sven yells as Cole runs up to grab and yank him behind the barn, while Baird is crawling over as fast as his legs and hands will take him. The four were hunkered down behind the barn out of the Boomer’s sight.

“Now what the fuck do we do,” Cole rants as Baird crawls up the wall.

Feral turns to the others.

“I know a way out, but we’ll have to run towards the boarding houses further down over there,” Feral points behind them.

“How we going to get there without getting all blowed up.” Cole barks as they can hear the Boomer blindly looking for them.

“BOOM!”

“He’s having trouble seeing through the snow…I can run out and draw his fire away from the barn,” Feral again suggests.

“Hold on a minute…you mean, run back out into the meadow…you won’t last long, Feral,” Baird argues.

“I’m the faster runner…and I am also the smallest. He will have a harder time trying to see me than you guys. No offense, but you Gears stick out like a blinking, traffic cone…he’ll definitely see you.”

Baird was about to snap back but he caught himself as the beast roared out again.

“BOOM!”

Baird grimaced as the other Gears looked at him for direction, realizing he had nothing to at the moment to stand on but Feral’s suggestion. So he bites his tongue as he rubs his eyes then peers around the corner, seeing the Boomer walking around aimlessly in the snow.

“Ugh…alright…but you haul your ass back to the boarding houses, we’ll wait for you there.”

“Got it,” Feral acknowledges.

“I mean it Feral…you better be there within fifteen minutes.”

“OK…I heard you the first time!”

Before Baird could retort, Feral peers around the corner, then lightly darts off into the meadow while the Boomer continues to scan through the snow. Baird carefully watches the Boomer as she darts effortlessly through the meadow.

“What a bitch!” Baird mumbles to himself.

“Damn…she can move fast,” Cole notices while Baird snaps him into focus.

“Get ready, Gus…you too Vinny.”

Feral slows down out into the middle of the field when she slowly stands up, pulls out her Gorgon pistol and fires it at the Boomer.

The Boomer whips around to find Raven waving her arms as she braces herself for an assault.

“BOOM!”

The shot misses her by a few meters as she ducks down into the snow, trodden grass. As the Boomer turns and walks over to her direction, the Gears run out towards the boarding houses nearby.

“Man, I hope she knows what she’s doing.” Cole whispers.

“Yea…me too,” Sven agrees.

“Hurry up guys, we need to get over there to provide some cover,” Baird reminds them, trying to keep them focused to the buildings.

Raven continues to move across the meadow as the Boomer slowly scans the area, firing another blind shot.

“BOOM!”

The three can hear it roaring as they finally make their way to the first house.

“C’mon…over here,” Baird insists as they round up inside one of the houses facing the field. As they stroll into the back room, Baird takes his Lancer and knocks out a window.

“What are you doing, man,” Cole protests as Baird kicks out the rest of the glass still clinging to the window seal.

“Vin, I need your Longshot…hand it here,” Baird orders.

“Uh…sure,” Sven obliges as he grabs his Longshot from his back and hands it to Baird.

Baird quickly loads a round into the chamber as he sets it on the window seal, bringing his goggles over his eyes and starts to focus in on the large Boomer across the field.

“The snow is too thick Damon…you can’t get an accurate shot,” says Cole.

“Yes I can…just watch.”

The Boomer continues to fire blindly, while standing in the middle of the field, growling. Baird zeroes in on his head and then takes a shot.

The beast suddenly steps back as it shrieks hideously, banging its head with its Boomshot. Feral looked up see the irritated beast turn around as it snarled in fury.

Geez, they have a hard head.

“Aw, Baird…you just pissed it off,” Cole gripes.

“One more,” Baird says to himself as he loads in the next round. He aims again, carefully focusing on the beasts’ head.

“Just…hold still…for a sec.”

He could see the monster looking right at him as he peers into his scope, looking right in between it’s eyes.

Baird fires the round, right into the Boomer’s forehead as the skull collapses and brain matter splatters onto the snow. The rest of the body stands perfectly still while the rest of the pieces of its folded head rolls onto the shoulders. The corpse stands for a few more seconds as it slowly starts to lean and then topples onto the ground.

“Hehe, look at that,” Baird muses to himself as he pulls the Longshot back into the house.

“Yea, it’s cute how they fall,” Cole snickers as Baird hands the rifle back to Sven.

“Wow…I didn’t know you were a good shot, sir” Sven says in amazement while Baird pulls his goggles back onto his forehead.

“That’s just the tip of the iceberg, kid,” Baird responds while Cole rolls his eyes.

“Uh hu, now you dunnit, Vin…now your giving him a big head,” Cole whines while Baird turns to Cole and sticks out his tongue while he pulls out his Lancer.

Feral get up from the ground as she noticed the Boomer was lying headless on the white ground. She then makes her way towards the houses, running through the snow covered grass until she gets to the main road near the boarding houses as she slows down and starts to look for the three Gears. She scans the ground to look for their trail. They have feet the size of a bear, their trail should be here somewhere.

Seeing fresh footprints, she follows them inside a house since the door was already wide open. She walks inside carefully, trying not to make too much noise with her footsteps as she peers into a vacant room. Sighing, she turns around slowly and then was suddenly startled by the sound of a gun being cocked back.

She jumps back against the wall only to find the three Gears with their weapons ready, pointing at her. She whips her head to her right to find Baird two feet from her as he lowers his Lancer.

“Gotcha!”

She gives him a sour look and steps back glancing the other three with the same expression as they relax their weapons. She was not the least bit amused.

“What the hell, Corporal,” she hisses.

Oh, and by the way…you’re welcome,” Baird scoffs.

“For what?”

“Oh, for taking out the Boomer and saving your ass. You see, Feral, we’re not a bunch of clumsy, incompetent meatheads,” Baird scowls as he continues. “We’ve been pulling our weight through all of this shit for the past fifteen years, so don’t you think for a second that you got anything on us, that would deem inferior to the Feral, or anybody else for that matter.”

The Gears could feel the heaviness in the atmosphere as Feral’s expression turned spiteful. They waited for a moment to see if she would retaliate. Instead, she steps away, irate as she marches towards the door and nudges anything in her way, while the other two step out of her way, putting up their weapons.

“Damn…she looked peeved,” Cole notices.

“She’ll get over it,” Baird mutters. “I’m not putting up with that kind of crap!”

As the three marched out of the house, they could see Feral nearby, as they made their way towards her. They could tell she was still miffed, but Baird continued to move on as if nothing happened.

“We need to make contact…where can we go to get a clear signal,” Baird asks Feral. Without saying a word, she points toward another array of trees, just ahead as she turns around and starts to trek there.

“Heehee…she’s giving you the silent treatment,” Cole quietly snickers at Baird.

“Whatever, I don’t care,” Baird shrugs as he continues to follow her, keeping the established distance she put between them. She then stops to turn around as she yells out,

“This way!”

The Gears follow her lead as they head out of the boarding community.

Baird turns over to Cole,

“See…she won’t keep a grudge for long…we’ll all get along just fine.”

“Yea, like cats and dogs,” Cole snickers.

“Rowr…fft, fft,” Baird gestures while Cole start to laugh.

Chapter 6: Lost With A Broken Horse
“Gamma Four, can you hear me, come in.”

Baird attempts to make contact with the other squads.

Deep in a forest, what is left of Sigma squad sits in wait, hoping another squad may be nearby.

“Epsilon Six, can you read me, over.”

Cole and Sven stare, hoping Baird would get an answer, while Feral starts to climb down a tree she crawled up earlier to pin point their location.

“This is Sigma One, anybody, respond…shit!”

Baird finally gives up as he sighs looking around their location while Cole gripes.

“Man, where the fuck we at?”

Sven rubs the back of his neck, shaking off the snow as he mutters to himself.

“Man, I miss my hot showers.”

“Yea, I know what you mean,” Cole agrees.

Feral is seen, jumping form a nearby ledge, keeping her pace as she slows down and reunites with the group, brushing the snow off her shoulders.

“We’re at least six miles from our drop off point,” she says.

“Well that doesn’t make any sense, we should be in contact range,” Baird analyzes as he brushes snow from his equipment.

“Somebody should have made it to the drop off point, hell, there were eight Ravens, two Reavers couldn’t have taken them all down,”

“It may be the terrain,” Feral responds.

“Or they could be in trouble,” Cole adds in, getting antsy.

“Or maybe their just busy,” Sven jumps in while the others turn to look at him, “or…not…I’ll… shut up now,”

Baird turns to the others as he continues.

“At any rate, we need to first find our ride, just in case somebody might be alive.”

“I saw smoke nearby to the north, it’s just a kilometer or two,” Feral reports.

“Then that’s our objective…let’s go ladies,” says Baird as the others gather up their equipment, following Feral through the woods.

They move carefully around the tall, conifer trees, as the cool air entices the scent of sap and pinecones. Snow starts to fall again, floating down in the air, making the air dense.

“Damn, does it ever stop snowing…I can’t see shit in this, man…” Cole complains, “…how we suppose to make out Locusts in this,”

“I can see pretty good with these goggles,” Sven beams as he takes them off to lend it to Cole.

“They even have night vision, pretty awesome, huh?”

“Well it’s not night time Vinny, besides, they may be hiding in the snow, setting up an ambush…what good will those goggles be then?”

“I doubt that,” Feral remarks as she proceeds through the dense forest, making little noise while the Gears seem to brush up on everything, making a racket.

“If the Locust do find us, it will be because you guys make way to much noise…also, their visibility is just as bad as yours, if not worse.”

“You mean ours,” Baird attempts to correct her.

“No, I meant yours…I can see just fine.”

“Uh huh,” Baird mumbles to himself, not wanting to get into an argument at the present. Feral returns a cold glare as she moves slightly ahead of them. Baird quietly grumbled as he turned to Cole,

“I can already tell this is going to be a long fucking day.”

“Whatever you do, just don’t fuck it up,” Cole reminds him sarcastically.

Baird scowls, making childish gestures while quietly imitating Marcus,

“Whatever you do, don’t piss her off…whatever, fucking piss her off my ass…” Baird continues to inaudibly ramble while Cole conveniently ignores him.

The four continue to make their way around the outside of the town as they eventually approach a stream of black smoke, coming from the nearby distance.

“Wait…hey, do y’all smell that?” Sven blurts out as the scent of burning metal seeps into their nostrils.

“Shhh,…geez Sven…you’re the worst of the three,” Feral sneers from the top of a fallen tree nearby. Baird moves up to take a look as he could see the smoke smoldering in the woods just ahead of them.

“It may be our Raven, we’re getting close, so let’s pick up the pace, ladies” Baird persists as the other two begin to move faster, while trying to make less noise, but it doesn’t seem to make any difference. They were not near as subtle as Feral was.

They peer through the forest as they see a collapsed Raven, resting on its side over a fallen log while smoke rises from its chassis. The numbers on the side were clearly visible, KR, Forty-three.

“Shit, everyone is going to see this smoke if they haven’t already…we need to hurry this up,” Baird stammers as Cole begins to climb up on top to get inside the cabin. Sven follows behind, attempting to pull himself up by the frame until his foot slips from the snow on the metal. Cole quickly grabs him by his belt, before Sven falls off completely.

“Easy kid, I gotcha!”

“Whoe, thanks,” Sven says as he holds onto Cole’s massive arm while Cole pulls him into the cabin.

“Don’t mention it, kid…the “Train’s” always gotch yo back!”

Baird starts to make his way to the front of the bird and climbs up to the windshield to get a better look, but the smoke mixed with the cold air fogs the window, not to mention blood splatter.

That’s not a good sign. He attempts to wipe off the frost as he peers into the cockpit, and sees the pilot, impaled into the cockpit door, while the co-pilot was hanging from his seat, motionless. Damn.

“Cole, anyone alive in there,”

“Nah, Jimmie’s gone…Fargus too,” Cole yells from the cabin.

“I think Jonas is gone too…damnit, he’s got a door where his chest used to be...check Frank, just to be sure.”

Baird sees Cole through the windshield, as Cole tries to carefully climb into the cockpit. He looks around and as he looks upon Jonas’ mutilated corpse, he covers his nose from the nauseating stench.

“Ugh…damn, Damon, you guessed right…ugh,” Cole moves over to check on the co-pilot. As he moves, he notices a pile of what appears to be bowels, sprawled on the cockpit controls.

“Oh…shit…is he dead?” Sven peers over Cole, trying to retain himself from vomiting while getting a look at Frank, still strapped to his seat. Cole reaches over to check for a pulse, while trying to avoid inhaling the stink, reeking in the air. Cole’s face turns sour as he looks at Baird through the window and shakes his head.

“Ah, damnit to hell…you alright Cole?”

“Yea…I just need to get some air.”

“Alright,” Baird laments as he hung his head for a minute, rubbing his temples.

“This shit’s getting old,” he mumbles to himself as he starts to make his way down from the Raven. After nearly countless years of fighting Locusts, any potential hopes of reaching normality is nearly exhausted, when he can’t seem to meet comrades without finding them maimed shortly later on. Pictures of faces, people he knew, ran through his head, lost to one calamity or another. How much longer will Cole last? How much longer can he last, not to mention Sven, who’s just a kid.

Cole and Sven start to make their way out of the cabin when they see Feral walking along the side.

“Any survivors,” she yells out.

“Natta, their all dead,” Cole responds as Baird moves to join Feral as she turns to him,

“Then we need to detonate this craft,” said Feral.

“Wait…what,…did I just hear that right?,” Baird looks up in protest.

“Take out what you might need and then detonate it,” Feral presses on as she sees the look of disapproval in Baird’s expression.

“Look Corporal, you said so yourself, that smoke is going to draw attention to itself. The Stranded are going to find it and their going to salvage it for their own ammunitions. We can’t let them do that.”

“So we just blow it with everybody in it, I don’t think so!”

“Listen, there is a rocky ledge not far from hear near that mountain. We can take the bodies there for cremation.”

“Cremation?”

“We can’t bury them, the ground is too frozen, their graves will be shallow and the animals will dig them up…and even if we could, we don’t have the time.”

Baird turns away for a moment and sighs. He didn’t like it, but he knew she was right, but he wasn’t going to admit it. He stares at the chopper for a minute and then turns to Feral.

“How far is the ridge?”

“About a fifteen minute hike.”

Baird looks up at Cole and Sven, whom were apparently ease dropping on their conversation. Cole could tell that Baird was irritated, as he looked up at them.

“Get what you can, and get Jimmie, Fargus, and Frank out. We won’t be able to move Jonas, so you’ll have to get his cog tags. We’re going to blow it up,” says Baird.

“So what are we going to do about Jonas…we can’t leave him,” Cole protests.

“Damnit Gus, we don’t have a lot time to try and yank him out of that door…at least not on one piece.”

Cole turned to look toward the cockpit then dropped his gaze to the ground, as he muttered.

“Your right man,”

“Look Gus, I don’t like this either, alright…you may be right, the other squads might be in trouble, but we won’t know for sure until we find them, if we can. Use the tarp to cover him.”

“You got it,” Cole replies as he slaps Sven on the shoulder,

“C’mon kid, Let’s get this over with.”

Chapter 7: Funeral Pyre
The fire burned brightly in the winter air as the smell of burning pine branches accents the cremation’s aroma. The three Gears watch the last remnant of their fallen comrades, burning into the funeral pyre made of rocks and tree branches.

Raven watches from a nearby ledge and then turns away, looking out for anyone that might interrupt their eulogy. She can see the smoke coming from the fallen aircraft they detonated with explosives, earlier that afternoon.

The fire picks up the pace as the smoke begins to lift further in the air, giving the Gears a final closure. They we’re going to have to move before the fires draw Locust attention, if it hasn't already. They start to pick up their equipment as they turn to see Feral moving towards them.

“We got a problem,” she says.

“A problem, imagine that,” says Baird with a hint of sarcasm, but suddenly turns serious when Feral gives him a foul look.

He responds, “Alright Feral, what is it?”

“We have a snowstorm heading this direction,” she reports.

“Your shitting me,”

“Go see for yourself, Corporal,”

Baird steps around Raven as he proceeds up the ledge to where Raven was looking out and sure enough, a dark horizon in the distance moving closer to the valley ahead of them.

“Fuck!”

“What is it Baird,” Cole blurts out as Baird quickly jumps down from the ledge.

“We need to find shelter, and fast. Now I don’t suppose you have anything in mind that is preferably nearby.” Baird says as he turns to Raven.

“We follow the river to the Hurl Damn.”

“But that takes us away from the drop point, Feral, and away from our objective.”

“There is no shelter near the drop point, and even if there was, we wouldn’t make it there before the blizzard does. You said preferably nearby, and besides, there is a major Stranded settlement on the other side of mountain near the glacier lake…”

Baird lifts an eyebrow as Raven continues,

“The dam also has a long range radio…you may be able to contact command with it.”

Baird’s turns his eyes to Cole and Sven as if he was looking for any other suggestions, until he finally looked back at Raven,

“Well…I’m sold…how about you two?”

“Sweet, let’s go,” Sven busts out as Cole joins in,

“To the damn, baby.”

Raven quickly turns around as she starts to hike,

“Hurry, this way,”

The others start to follow as they climb up through the rocky ridge into another thicket, as a light wind startles the stagnant air, a precursor of things to come as the storm slowly moves closer, and closer.

Chapter 8: Head Deep
Is it bright where you are

Have the people changed

Does it make you happy you're so strange

And in your darkest hour

I hold secrets flame

We can watch the world devoured in it's pain.

Smashing Pumpkins

The Beginning is The End is The Beginning

Sigma squad continues to follow the winding frozen river from the woods nearby, as they trek through the trees, keeping their whereabouts invisible to whatever groups may be nearby.

Feral moves around the terrain like a cougar, carefully planting her feet lightly as she conceals her trail, while the husky Gears just plow through snow and foliage, leaving tracks that resemble a migration of sasquatches.

The wind picks up slightly as a cold breeze starts to ventilate the atmosphere. To pass the time, as well as take they’re mind off of the obnoxious cold, random conversation becomes inevitable.

“Shit, it’s getting cold,” said Cole.

“It’s been cold, what are you talking about,” Baird muses as he looks over his shoulder, getting a glimpse of Cole, rubbing his massive arms, even though he was wearing an extra fleeced fatigue under his armor that extended to his elbow.

“That wind is chillin my ass off,” Cole complains.

“I’ll say, it’s like a meat locker with a giant fan in it,” says Sven as he strategically takes routes where the trees block the wind from hitting him.

“C’mon wusses, a little cold won’t hurt ya,” Baird mocks.

‘Yea, easy for someone who dives bare ass in glacier lakes,” Cole sneers back.

“You better believe it. I made a lot of money doing that.”

“How’d you do that sir?” Sven looks up in interest.

“Damn, Damon, you jumped in icy water on a bet…Marcus was right, you are bat-shit crazy!” Cole muses.

“I needed the money, besides, it’s not that bad…well, at least the first five minutes of it,” Baird says as he looks ahead trying to find Feral. He finally stops as he peers around the trees with Feral nowhere in sight, muttering to himself.

“Well…where the hell she go?”

“Right here Corporal.”

Baird whips around to find Feral perched on a fallen log, just beside them as the other two also turn to the sound of her subtle voice.

“Shit, Feral, don’t do that,” says Baird, taking his hand off his pistol, nesting in his holster, strapped to his thigh.

“Do what, Corporal?” Raven responds as she leaps from the log and rolls on the ground to ease the impact of the shock absorption, and uses her momentum to stand back up. She brushes the foliage and snow off of her arms while Baird stands nearby with his hands on his hips.

“Calling me Corporal. Don’t do that!”

“Well then, what would you like me to call you?” Feral responds with some sincerity in her expression as she adjusts the holsters strapped on her thighs.

“It’s Damon Baird. You can call me Baird…”

“Or Dickhead, or Jackass, oh, and Asshole,” Cole snorts, jumping into the conversation as Baird turns around, raising his arm and extends his middle finger while Sven tries to refrain himself from laughing.

“What did Marcus call you that one time…oh yea…Dipshit! That was a good one.” Cole snickers, followed by laughter while Sven gave up trying to save face at Baird’s expense.

“Ha ha ha. Yea, laugh it up, smartass,” Baird sneers.

Feral finally cuts in and breaks the ice.

“Sigh, so…Damon Baird it is. I don’t know if I should even attempt to use the other suggestions.”

“Give it time, baby…before you know it, you’ll be calling him a jackass too.” Cole responds.

“Uh huh,” Feral grunts as she turns to look at Baird, watching him roll his eyes.

“Anyway…” she continues, “…the area ahead appears to be clear up to the edge of the forest, but I wouldn’t let your guard down just yet.”

“Sure…whatever,” Baird mutters as she gives him a nod and continues to move ahead, leading them through the woods. The three pick up the pace, trying to keep up as they start to close the gap between them and Feral.

“Damn, are we getting any closer to this place?” Sven complains while trying to keep up. Baird intentionally bellows, sarcastically dragging his feet like a defiant child,

“Yea, are we there yet?”

“Almost,” Feral remarks as her face was still focused on the trail ahead of them, ignoring their sarcasm. Sven moves up hoping to pass the time by making conversation.

“So…Raven is it…or do you like to called Feral?”

Feral turned and looked at him with astonishment, never giving it a thought that a Gear would ask her about anything other than the mission at hand. But then again, I guess it would be natural for someone to ask another for his or her name.

“You call me whatever makes you comfortable, Vinny,” she responds, as the other two divert their ears, eavesdropping on the conversation.

“Yea, like psycho bitch,” Baird mutters to Cole while Cole tries his hardest not to laugh.

“You know, these ears do work,” Raven snorts as she keeps her head forward.

“Otay…” Baird retorts as he staggers sarcastically, “…at least we know she’s not broke!”

Cole begins to chuckle.

“Man, you really do need to mature,” Cole suggests while Baird gives him a sarcastic look.

“Then you need to stop laughing at me when I act immature.”

While trying to save face, Cole moves up closer to the front to walk beside Raven.

“So why did your folks name you after a chopper, anyway?” asks Cole.

Sven butts in from behind, trying to stay into the conversation.

“Yea, I hear people name their vehicles after chicks but I never heard of people naming their chicks after vehicles.”

Raven looks at the both of them with a burrowed look, as if she didn’t think the question was relevant. As she recants the words of her clan leader, an aged woman of insight, Raven remembers being told that her solitude is merely a temporary walk of life that will one day end. If Raven was to ever enter the right of passage for procreation, she must understand man’s plight. Yea, the epitome of idiocy, but she figures if she is ever going to maybe one day, reintegrate back into society, she’ll need to be more hospitable, especially when it concerns answering irrelevant questions.

“My…foster parents didn’t name me after the craft, they named me after the color of my hair…like a raven, the bird,” she says.

“So…wait, foster parents? So…you we’re adopted? I thought you we’re a Feral.” Cole buzzed, trying to make sense of it all.

“I am, I joined them later on.”

“But you’re not a natural born Feral?”

“My biological mother was a Feral, my foster parents eventually informed me,”

“And yo real daddy,”

“Don’t know…she didn’t get much of a look at him I guess,”

Cole looked perplexed as he tried to make sense of what Raven was telling him.

“You guess!?”

“She was raped Private,” Raven reveals coldly while Cole’s eyes widen as if she let a big cat out of the bag.

Raven continued, “...which…consequently, led to my conception. All I was told was that he was a soldier, so it would probably be safe to assume that he is most likely dead.”

“Oh…sooo,”

“And my real mother abandoned me shortly after birth, so I was adopted shortly later by a COG officer.”

“So your foster parents were citizens of Tyrus...now that explains why you can speak our language so fluently,” says Baird, putting the pieces together.

“Yes…you would be correct,” Raven responds, trying not to be impressed with Baird’s insight.

“Which means you probably grew up in a COG school, went to a COG church...”

“You got it.”

“So when did you become an official Feral?”

“When did you become a COG soldier?” Raven turns as she peers over her shoulder to see Baird exchanging glances with Cole as he grinned. Baird then sighs,

“I was nineteen…when I “volunteered.” Baird responds, signing quotation marks.

“Isn’t the recruitment age for a Gear seventeen? Why so late?” Raven responded as she turns to face him, walking backwards. Baird didn’t respond, instead he just smiled as he lifted his chin up, looking down at her. She then turns back around, looking forward.

“Ok, so when and why did you join the Feral?” Baird pressed on. Raven was silent for a few moments, wondering if she should even amuse him with an answer, but for whatever reason, she decided to entertain Baird’s curiosity.

“I ran away from home when I was fourteen.”

“So why did you run away?” Baird insisted, hoping to get into her head.

Raven suddenly came to a halt as she stood still, glancing at the ground, resting her left hands on her holsters. The others also stopped, wondering what she was doing. She then broke the awkward silence as she turned around to face him.

“Because, I refused to be bred like some horse, producing stallions for the cause. I ran away so the COG couldn’t take me to some “breeding farm” where young girls we’re being exploited, molested, and raped.”

The atmosphere suddenly went from friendly to tense, as accusations filled their heads of what truly went on at the “breeding camps.” Although the details of those incidents where still unclear, the truth eventually bled out, but how Raven knew about it at the age of fourteen was even more unclear. Raven continued,

“I hiked into mountains outside of Ephyra, where a Feral clan was just passing through, and I was taken in from there.”

Raven turned back around and picked up the pace, putting distance between her and the Gears, consequently ending the conversation.

“Damn…that was an earful,” Cole said quietly as he turned to glance at Baird.

Baird just shrugged his shoulders and continued forward, while Sven was just dumbstruck by the info overload, following the other two as best he could.

So much for their “friendly” chat.

They eventually catch up to Raven as they see her perched up on a boulder up ahead, looking out. As they move near the edge of the woods, the wind bristles through the branches, causing them to flap. Peering out onto the river ahead, the Gears look out into the scenery, only to find their destination, at last. Hurl Dam.