All quiet on Remnant

Chapter 16 - You Can't Always Get What You Want

6 months after The Fall

Kropp sat in his bed whilst looking out the window at a dogfight happening far away. Over the night sky, he could see multiple yellow dots moving around and performing various maneuvers, to avoid the red dots. It wasn't uncommon for one of the yellow spot to go dark, and then becoming a ball of fire, that descended onto the already destroyed city of Vale. Over time, more and more yellow dots began appearing, as the number of red dots decreased significantly.

He eventually got bored of watching the battle, and looked to his side. The various candles that illuminated the room gave just the right amount of light to see what his teammates were doing. He saw Tjaden cleaning his pistols, Kat sleeping, and Himelstoss was laying down on his bed, burying his face on his pillow trying to sleep. One would've thought that after 6 month of living with them, Himelstoss would've gotten used to Kat's hellish snores, but that wasn't the case. Albert looked at his watch, and it read 9:35PM. Before the war, he would've considered this time to be "too early" to go to bed, but when he was forced to wake up everyday at 3AM, he began to sleep at earlier hours.

He decided it was time to sleep. He told Tjaden in a whisper to blow the candle when he's done with his pistols, and then tucked himself into bed. Not 10 seconds had passed, before someone knocked on the door. Himelstoss led out a loud, angry groan. Tjaden cursed before getting up and answering the door. On the other side, stood a boy. Tjaden had seen him before. He was an errand boy that was orphaned during The Fall. He was too young to fight, but for some reason, they kept him around. Tjaden found it incredible how some people stood so low as to send a boy to do their chores this late at night.

"Excuse me sir" The boy spoke "Is there an Albert Kropp in there?"

"Yeah, he's sleeping" Replied Tjaden in an annoyed tone "Why do you ask?"

"Well they told me to hand him this" Said the boy as he handed Tjaden an envelope

"Vhat is this?"

"I don't know sir, they just gave it to me along with the other mail"

He handed Tjaden the envelope before apologizing for bothering them at this hour

Tjaden walked back inside and was going to give Kropp the letter but he was already sound asleep when he got there. Tjaden left the letter on Albert's beside table and went to bed.

The next day, Kropp opened the letter and it read:

Dear Mr. Kropp,

We hope this letter finds you well. We are writing to extend an invitation to you for participation in our distinguished program designed to support veterans who have experienced limb loss due to their honorable service during the Fall of Beacon.

Our program is dedicated to assisting veterans in regaining their independence and adapting to the challenges associated with limb loss or other injuries. The aim is to provide comprehensive support, encompassing medical and prosthetic care, vocational training, and the establishment of a strong, supportive community of veterans who share similar experiences.

Given your remarkable resilience and unwavering dedication to your service, we believe your unique perspective and experiences would be an invaluable addition to our program. Your capacity to inspire and motivate others aligns with our mission, and we believe you could make a significant contribution to our community.

We would like to formally invite you to consider becoming a part of our program for injured veterans of The Fall of Beacon. Your presence in our program has the potential to facilitate personal growth for you and others while collectively making a positive impact on the lives of those who have made significant sacrifices for our nation.