Arknights - Ground Zero

Chapter 14: Moving On

After Lungmen cleaned up the East Gate, I gazed on the ruined remains of the encampment.

I thought about that one Reunion soldier and remembered how that he wasn't fighting a war based on prejudices, but one of survival. It was easy for much of these cities to paint Reunion as a Terrorist group, hell, even I did. But perhaps reality is much farther from the truth we want to believe to be true. 

I walked amongst the rubble of collapsed structures and littered corpses.

As I gazed down, I saw a corpse grasping onto a charred book, the results of Lungmen flamer troops. I knelt down and picked up the book.

The front was un-readable, but when I opened it, surprisingly, the contents were still intact.

In shock, I read the first page.

"In the beginning, God created... "

(A copy of the Bible?) I thought.

Again my mother's faith comes to me once again. Perhaps what I consider to be a vision or a dream, could've been reality. Either way, given everything that has happened to me, a little faith can go a long way, or at the very least, to honor her memory, I owe it to her and myself to try.

I tucked the Bible into my coat and continued back into the city leaving the corpses abandoned outside Lungmen.

"Good work back there you two," Ch'en spoke up.

"With fighting like that, and commanding on your part Doctor, we can push back Reunion soon enough," Ch'en congratulated.

"Now then, the East Gate has been cleared, time to move on to the next Reunion regiment." Ch'en continued, "We've received reports of movement in the residential districts and are planning to make our move there."

Ch'en paused for a moment and looked at me.

"What of Rhode Island's recon squads?" Ch'en asked.

"Amiya, anything from Kal?" I asked.

"Meteorite's squad has reported back several encounters with reunion forces and of unusual temperature changes in an area back in Chernobog." Amiya retorted.

"Chernobog?" Stated Ch'en confused.

"Its highly likely that they are using Chernobog as a temporary base to feed their forces into Lungmen as they have already taken the city." Started Ch'en, "But my question is why send in a recon squad if they have already taken the city?"

"Kal'tsit believes if we can gain information about Reunion forces and their capabilities before they reach Lungmen, it could give us a tactical edge by the time they reach Lungmen." Amiya responded.

Ch'en nodded, "Yes, that could be useful. I assume then you didn't tell us before as you haven't gained any important information other than this temperature change?" Ch'en asked.

"Yes." Amiya responded.

"Alright then. Doctor, what do you think we should do next?" Asked Ch'en.

"How dire is the situation in Lungmen currently?" I asked.

"Given that we have already taken care of one Reunion commander, CURRENTLY, we have control over the situation. But we still don't know what Reunion's next move is." Ch'en stated.

"I have a feeling it would be good to back up our recon squad if this temperature change becomes a problem, but at the same time it would be good to have extra forces here in Lungmen to back your troops up." I suggested.

Ch'en thought over the proposal.

"Alright, that should work. If anything, your extra forces in Chernobog could slow down the flow of troops into Lungmen. I approve of this proposal."

I nodded and Amiya and I went back to Rhode Island.

A few of our Operators greeted us a welcome home as Amiya and I got back to base.

"Doctor, a word please." Kal'tsit called me.

I went with her to her office.

"What is it Kal?" I asked.

"Amiya reported back to me what happened at the East Gate of Lungmen." Kal started.

"Ok, what about it?" I asked.

"I felt that your hold on the situation was terrible." She responded, "Not only did you fail the objective but you also put Amiya at risk. You know what could happen to Amiya in an heightened emotional state with her arts."

"Anything else?" I replied.

Kal took a step back.

"Did you not hear wh..."

"Does it look like I care? Amiya is a lot tougher than what you give her credit for plus Reunion was one step ahead of us. With her on their team of course they would be." I responded.

"Her, who do you mean?" Asked Kal.

"W," I responded.

Kal turned away clenching her fist.

"Of course she would be with them, given with what happened to Theresa." She replied.

"I'm... sorry." Kal stated.

"I just don't want anything to go wrong with this joint operation with Lungmen or Amiya," Kal stated.

"I know. But, I was hoping that given what has happened to me recently, perhaps we would've moved on by now from back then." I stated.

Kal looked away from me.

"A mere claymore and a comatose state isn't going to be enough to forget, but forgive I can do." Kal stated giving me a weak smile.

"I'll take what I can get. But at the very least we are working for the better of Rhode Island," I explained.

Kal nodded.

"Just so you know, I never hated you after all of that. Just, upset." Kal stated.

"I know, so was I. But hopefully, now, I can make up for everything I've done to not only you but everyone here at Rhode Island. As long as I live, I'll spend the rest of my life making sure that everyone at Rhode Island can live better lives here." I stated.

Kal looked at me with a smile.

"With an attitude like that I'm sure your better now then back then."

I nodded.

"Now then," Kal started, "Rest up. You and your squad have a big day tomorrow. We need to make sure Meteorite's recon squad get the back up they need to explore Chernobog for enemy forces."

"Alright then," I stated moving toward the door and headed for my chambers.

I took out the Bible I found in the ruins when I reached my room.

I took off my gear, sat down on my bed and started reading from the first page.