Shadow Slave

The Fall of Falcon Scott (42)

The second week of the siege was over.

A few days ago, the Devouring Cloud had been eliminated. The Terror of L049 had been slain on the same day, as well. More people had been evacuated. More people were being evacuated, still.

The siege capital still stood, firmly in human hands and mostly unbroken.

Sunny was in a familiar office in the underground government complex — the same one where he had met the rest of the Irregular officers before the siege started. The office was much the same, with only the image projected on the false window changed.

It was still showing the view of the city, only now, there were fewer people on the streets. The blizzard was picking up again, too, so the visibility wasn't great.

There was also one more vacant chair.

There were currently only three people inside — Sunny, Jet, and Winter. The three of them were not enough for the large room, so it felt painfully empty.

Winter's eyes were hidden behind her sunglasses. This was the first time Sunny saw her after the day of the battle with the Devouring Cloud... he hesitated for a while, then forced himself to say:

"Dale, he was... a good man."

She turned her head slightly and stared at him for a while. Probably. Sunny could not really see where she was looking.

Eventually, Winter sighed and briefly touched her forearm, where an edge of a tattoo could be seen peeking out from beneath the rolled sleeve of her bodysuit.

"It's alright. I knew that the fool was going to get himself killed, eventually. There were six of us at the start, you know?"

She grew quiet for a bit, then shook her head.

"Back at the Academy. Then, there were only two of us left after the Second Nightmare, and now there's just me. I'll probably be dead soon, too. No regrets, though, as long as it's for a good cause."

laid-back as usual, but Sunny could

"I am sorry."

Winter smiled.

make sure to stay alive. You're too young and elite to die. Reaper,

Master Jet laughed.

give it a try. Might

relaxed atmosphere. All three had been fighting with very little rest in between combat shifts for the past few days, so this meeting was a bit of a reprieve,

sighed and glanced

is still holding, but just barely. Three breaches have turned into five, as you must know. Army Command expects that we won't lose control of the defensive barrier unless something

a hand,

The priority targets... hey, two out of five are dealt with. Sunny killed the Terror, while the Brood Mommy and Brood Daddy of the Devouring Cloud were done in

lingered

won't reach Falcon Scott before we retreat. Goliath, on the other hand, was supposed to show up yesterday. He has been moving very slowly recently, however, for whatever reason, so the time window changed. We should expect the big bastard

settled in the underground office.

Are you sure we can

Reaper lingered

out of the water to assist, too, if we need him. He's not as powerful on land, but a Transcendent is a Transcendent. Overall... it seems like the situation is not entirely hopeless. The First Army has suffered heavy

in

is she

a long look and thought before answering. Her voice was a bit

Sky Tide is doing fine. White Feather lost a lot of people during the battle with the Devouring Cloud, but her husband and immediate family survived... Roan will be out of commission for a couple more weeks, sadly. Coincidentally, the House of Night lost

out a sigh of relief. He had been somewhat worried about Saint Tyris and Master Roan... it was good to hear that

on the table and

is that project of yours

her for

gotten those Memories

Jet winced.