Chapter Text
“General! An urgent report!”
“What is it?”
“An object was sighted crashing into the desert near our base! It was suspected to be a meteorite, but after closer investigation, burnt metal was spotted.”
“Has a squad been sent out?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Very well then. Notify me immediately of any signs of movement from inside. And make sure the squad is armed, there may be Toppat Clan survivors.”
***
When I came to, I was lying on top of coarse, yellow sand.
‘The smell of smoke…’
Against my will, I began to recall some scuffles with the Toppat members, and some other battles.
There were always cases of crashes like this.
The only difference was that it didn’t happen to me.
“Ugh…”
I felt a heavy mass on top of me, seemingly some debris from my crash. I attempted to move my limbs, my body shaking with the effort.
Then, I felt a warm liquid drip down from my head.
Blood. I must be injured since I wasn’t able to secure myself before the crash.
I grimaced.
‘Henry, you…’
But I stopped that train of thought. I had seen many die before. Friends, allies, and foes alike. What made Henry’s death any different, save from the fresh wound of another comrade dead from a mission?
Suddenly, I felt nauseous and my head began to swim.
I lifted my heavy eyelids to stare into the distance.
From afar, a blur began to take shape.
But perhaps it was my imagination, since I blacked out soon after.
***
David exhaled.
From being a security guard, to being locked up by the Top Hats, and now joining the military…
He was exhausted.
However, as the designated lead of this scouting group, he couldn’t afford to show it.
“Sergeant, the burning metal in the report’s description is up ahead.”
David nodded.
“Although it looks rather barren, keep your guard up. Team 2 was recently put out of commission because the pod they investigated had Toppat members.”
The members tensed slightly.
“Understood, Sergeant!”
As they approached the crash site, a team member gave the signal: a person had been spotted.
David rushed over, preparing for battle, only to see a head of brown hair, and a heavily injured body, trapped under the flaming debris.
“Is that…”
A team member started.
David looked over, but shook his head.
“Get the guy from under the rubble, it’s too early to tell if he is from the Toppat clan, or from the government mission.”
As four members of his team lifted the metal and dragged the man from under the debris, David spotted more injuries, and got a clear look at the man’s face.
His expression became serious.
“That…is likely the agent that was sent on the top secret government mission.”
David turned to a couple of the more physically strong members, and tasked them with carrying the unconscious man back to the base.
Then, he addressed the remaining team members.
“Everyone! If one of the agents is here, we must look for the other member of the operation!”
The team saluted.
“Understood!”
After a few minutes or so, the team members reported back.
“No luck here, sir.”
Another member coming from the south also shook his head.
“We must’ve checked everywhere on the crash site.”
David sighed.
“Alright, we should report back to base.”
‘I can only hope the other agent is at another crash site. If not, then…’
David’s thoughts grew complicated.
”We’ll just have to hope he’s alive out there, somewhere.”