After the End

Chapter 2

Surveillance Footage

Analyst 218016

Sometimes I really wonder if making these commentary logs is worth doing. They handed me and the boys a bunch of these documents and made us look at them. Sometimes I wonder if anyone will really see this. If not, then what the hell are we accomplishing by doing this? Sometimes I wonder if this will even make a difference. If not, then all these lives really have been wasted.

But pondering on this won't change anything. At least if we do this, there's a chance we'll be heard. It's the best way to honor the lost. It's the best way to speak for the dead. It's the best way to pass time instead of rotting my eyes in the rec rooms watching whatever... "explicit material" they found. There's a good reason why all the women avoid this part of the ship now. Seriously though, these guys need better taste.

Oh right. The video summary. Forgot about that.

Kyle Xie probably knew he had a chance of dying today, but I don't think he expected his gun to die on him first.

"Head back!" Corporal Sam Sturges orders, just as countless CKMs surround them.

"Drop your weapons, USR unit."

The monotone, electronic voice causes Kyle to glare at the enemy for a moment, and just as he prepares to throw down his weapon, a small arc-like object is thrown from behind the two, expanding in less than a second to create a transparent barrier separating the two from the bots. The two turn around to see Hale Chin, who suddenly came out of nowhere.

"Nice-" Kyle begins as the bots begin to assault the barrier, but he's cut off as an explosion sounds nearby. The deployable shield Hale dropped down also isn't going to hold for long, so they run for cover. Sam checks his HUD and curses. "Deaths?" Kyle asks. "All but one. How cruel..." Sam replies.

"Oh. All of them are dead now. Probably activated their death dosage," he adds a second later, referring to the vials given to every one of the soldiers before they left on this mission. They would've had a much more torturous death at the hands of the enemy, so putting themselves out of their own misery and preventing capture was the wisest decision at the time.

"No other friendlies in range. The hell do we do now, Sam?"

"Why me?"
"Seniority"

"...alright. We still have the other fireteam and they should be in a pretty secure spot, although we gotta get out of the silent zone first. Let's go." He says, getting up and raising his gun.

He's referring to the area that they're in, where the enemy has severed comms. As soon as they get out of the affected area they should be fine. However, his plan also bets on the fact that the other fireteam isn't also cut off.

"Warning, intruder. Drop your weapons." A bot screeches from right behind them, having snuck up undetected. Before the other two can react, Sam slashes through it with his combat knife, causing its chestplate to erupt in a mix of cybernetics. As it recoils from the blow, he takes out his rifle and opens fire, tearing it to pieces.

"Let's move," he repeats.

That's Special Forces for you I guess.

The main reason why they're not being swarmed by a large number of enemy troops is that they're not on a battlefield, and also because their efforts to remain undetected have been largely successful, even with the loss of several members already. Although the team back there was killed by an unlucky shot, the remaining fireteam and this trio, have a better chance due to two main reasons: they're harder to track, and CORRUPT isn't willing to risk wasting munitions and possibly losing friendly units without confirming that an enemy is there.