anything from Waterloo at all.”
The Director stares at Eli for a moment.
“When did you last see them?”
“Nine days ago.”
She glances at Adrienne.
“Tonight, we’ll have to reopen the communication lines. Not just radio. We need to re-activate the digital connections between all the bases to see who else we can contact. Find out who made it to their rendezvous points and who didn’t.”
And who didn’t.
How many did we lose? How many were caught in the Wilds by drones, or worse? How many made it to safety, and how many will never see their families again? I count myself grateful that I can sit and hold my father’s hand and that Eli is at my side.
I thought that about my mother, once, too.
Without warning, the Director stands up.
“We’re all grateful to you here at Normandy for the food you’ve prepared, and tonight, if it’s alright with Adrienne, I’d like to take an evening to rest and celebrate that those of us who made it here are safe and sound.” She looks down at Adrienne next to her, who nods a silent assent. “But we must temper our joy when so many others might be in need.”
“It sounds like the situation in the Wilds is getting more dire,” a woman at Adrienne’s table says. “Eli’s group was attacked by drones, and you had no easy time getting here, either.”
The Director shakes her head. My father’s hand tightens around my own, and when I look at him, his mouth sets hard and his brows furrow.
“Rhinehouse’s group was supposed to rendezvous with Ellijah’s team, Team Red, at one of the safe houses outside of the city. But his group and mine were intercepted by Sector drones as we left. They tracked us through the woods and cornered us into a firefight with the remaining Black Ops in the city. We were outnumbered and outgunned.” There’s a heavy silence. “We lost three team members that day.”
There are whispers about the room, like the scattering of distant stones.
“They said our release,” the Director continues, “would be guaranteed as long as we gave them the information they wanted. The exact location of our bases, the names of recent Sector traitors, and the whereabouts of Jeremiah Sayyid and Valerian Orleán.”
A collective intake of breathe. The whole room goes silent.
“What happened?” Eli asks finally.
“We got lucky.” She shrugs, fatalistically, as though the matter was out of her hands. “I thought it was over. None of us would talk, of course. Corine’s soldiers were prepared to make the kill. I closed my eyes and accepted my fate. But then I heard a remarkable sound—the thwang of a bowstring’s release. When I opened my eyes, Corine’s soldiers were dead, arrows sticking out of their backs.”
“We stood there gaping,” my father says, quietly.
“We’d been bound and all of us but Gabriel gagged—they didn’t recognize any of us but him and James, thankfully.”
It always sounds strange to me to hear Rhinehouse referred to by his first name.
“I heard an explosion in the distance, and it took me a moment to realize it was their airship.” the Director smiles. “I still don’t know how they blew up a shielded airship, but they did.”
“Who’s they?” Soren demands.
“Outsiders,” she responds.
“They killed all the Black Ops?” Eli raises his eyebrows in curious surprise.
“And then untied us and disappeared,” my father adds. “One minute there, and the next gone, with fifteen dead soldiers in their wake.”
I glance at Soren across the room, where he’s sitting next to Rhinehouse. He cocks his head to the side slightly, toward me, and I know we're wondering the same thing: Could Chan-Yu have been there? Or that Osprey person?
“Why would they have done that?” Adrienne asks.
The Director shakes her head. “I don’t know. They didn’t stay to explain. We know they harbor no love for the Sector. They’ve taken their own actions against Sector incursions into their territory. And
The Director stares at Eli for a moment.
“When did you last see them?”
“Nine days ago.”
She glances at Adrienne.
“Tonight, we’ll have to reopen the communication lines. Not just radio. We need to re-activate the digital connections between all the bases to see who else we can contact. Find out who made it to their rendezvous points and who didn’t.”
And who didn’t.
How many did we lose? How many were caught in the Wilds by drones, or worse? How many made it to safety, and how many will never see their families again? I count myself grateful that I can sit and hold my father’s hand and that Eli is at my side.
I thought that about my mother, once, too.
Without warning, the Director stands up.
“We’re all grateful to you here at Normandy for the food you’ve prepared, and tonight, if it’s alright with Adrienne, I’d like to take an evening to rest and celebrate that those of us who made it here are safe and sound.” She looks down at Adrienne next to her, who nods a silent assent. “But we must temper our joy when so many others might be in need.”
“It sounds like the situation in the Wilds is getting more dire,” a woman at Adrienne’s table says. “Eli’s group was attacked by drones, and you had no easy time getting here, either.”
The Director shakes her head. My father’s hand tightens around my own, and when I look at him, his mouth sets hard and his brows furrow.
“Rhinehouse’s group was supposed to rendezvous with Ellijah’s team, Team Red, at one of the safe houses outside of the city. But his group and mine were intercepted by Sector drones as we left. They tracked us through the woods and cornered us into a firefight with the remaining Black Ops in the city. We were outnumbered and outgunned.” There’s a heavy silence. “We lost three team members that day.”
There are whispers about the room, like the scattering of distant stones.
“They said our release,” the Director continues, “would be guaranteed as long as we gave them the information they wanted. The exact location of our bases, the names of recent Sector traitors, and the whereabouts of Jeremiah Sayyid and Valerian Orleán.”
A collective intake of breathe. The whole room goes silent.
“What happened?” Eli asks finally.
“We got lucky.” She shrugs, fatalistically, as though the matter was out of her hands. “I thought it was over. None of us would talk, of course. Corine’s soldiers were prepared to make the kill. I closed my eyes and accepted my fate. But then I heard a remarkable sound—the thwang of a bowstring’s release. When I opened my eyes, Corine’s soldiers were dead, arrows sticking out of their backs.”
“We stood there gaping,” my father says, quietly.
“We’d been bound and all of us but Gabriel gagged—they didn’t recognize any of us but him and James, thankfully.”
It always sounds strange to me to hear Rhinehouse referred to by his first name.
“I heard an explosion in the distance, and it took me a moment to realize it was their airship.” the Director smiles. “I still don’t know how they blew up a shielded airship, but they did.”
“Who’s they?” Soren demands.
“Outsiders,” she responds.
“They killed all the Black Ops?” Eli raises his eyebrows in curious surprise.
“And then untied us and disappeared,” my father adds. “One minute there, and the next gone, with fifteen dead soldiers in their wake.”
I glance at Soren across the room, where he’s sitting next to Rhinehouse. He cocks his head to the side slightly, toward me, and I know we're wondering the same thing: Could Chan-Yu have been there? Or that Osprey person?
“Why would they have done that?” Adrienne asks.
The Director shakes her head. “I don’t know. They didn’t stay to explain. We know they harbor no love for the Sector. They’ve taken their own actions against Sector incursions into their territory. And
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