Prologue: The Outpost

Prologue: The Outpost

A nearly frozen man paces along a narrow gravel road. He shivers as he takes his slow and steady steps. Looking off to his left he sees the snow covered road, surrounded by snow covered pine trees. He breathes out and chuckles seeing his breath plume in the cold air. He hears footsteps behind him. He sharply snaps his head to his right, he sighs as he identifies a friend.

“I’m here to replace you at the North Trail guard post, sir.”

“Acknowledged. And...drop the 'sir'. Relax. you new here? The North Fort is a little different than the city bases."

"Y-yeah. Well, kinda, this is my first rotation on the walls."

"Alright. We may be more relaxed here but don't fall asleep on watch. You're our first line of defense. Also, my new orders?”

“None. You may go back to the barracks. You’re off duty for the rest of the day.”

“Couldn't come quick enough. Try to stay warm, try to stay alert.”





The soldier walks back into the main plaza of the base. It takes a few slow strides for him to loosen his cold and stiff legs. The chill had nearly numbed his extremeties. He had sweat early in his shift, making the later hours chillier than he would have preferred. Entering his barracks, he is slightly relieved to see it’s empty. He leaves the lights off, partly because he enjoys the wintry blue midday light, and partly because the wiring is most likely shot. He eases into a chair, enjoying the warmth of the shelter. His hands dry of their clamminess as he strips his damp and frosty gloves off. He is alone for some time. Minutes pass as he stretches his legs and munches on some snacks from his rations. The door opens, he immediately notices shiny metal at the collar. He jumps to his feet to salute his superior officer, but is interrupted with a smile and a laugh.

“Officer Connor! Good afterno-”

“At ease! Don’t worry about that stuff right now. Today's been colder that a witch's teet. You must have had a long shift, relax and warm up. You've earned it. Get some lunch yet?”

“No not yet, I just came in.”

“Mess should still be servingYou should, it’ll hit the spot.”

“You’re joking?”

“The food isn’t that bad, considering how secluded we are.”

“They don’t let us starve, that’s about it. We haven’t gotten a supply shipment in almost two weeks.”

“Blame that on the blizzards.”

“I already blame them for the frost bite.”

“Weather comes with the location I guess.”

“Is there any reason we have to be left out in this frozen wasteland?”

“Well the terrorists aren't hiding in the cities.”

“Let the enemy freeze out here. Station me on the beach.”

Connor added a chuckle and a grin. “The war would be too easy then, can’t have that now can we?”

“You enjoy your work too much.”

“And you don’t?” Connor leans against the wall, listening to what his soldier has to say.

“I just don’t know. It’s hard to enjoy this shit. The days are blurring together out here. We’ve been through so much hell. I have to remind myself why I even joined. It just doesn’t seem to fit anymore.”

“Well, I joined five years ago. Don’t really know why. Pay and benefits were decent. I guess it was just nice to finally get some respect from the top dogs. Shit went downhill fast. A band of thugs with support from some scumbag corporate official led an attack on one of our warehouses, stole almost everything.”

“I remember that day, shocked the whole Republic.”

“The Republic was out for blood. Reorganization, recruitment, counter-insurgency measures taken… the war started.”

“I thought it would pass. It felt like the fighting was so far away. Didn’t even seem like a war. It was just a matter of time before the war came to me. That was when I joined up.”



Connor thinks for a little bit, pursing his lips, remembering the attacks on civilians. He needed to keep this man’s spirits alive.

“Remember we fought side by side after that though? We were part of the recovery. We fucking kicked some ass. Good times. Now that the war is simmering down, we just have to wait out the rest of the bastards.”

“And just like that, here we are.”

The man laments as he gazes around the room at the rusting structure.

Connor slowly nods, “Here we are, and the Republic has been victorious.”

“The early days were so quick and chaotic. I just hate thinking about it.”

Connor sighs. Disappointed that he couldn’t keep the topic on the lighter side.

“Were you happy at home?” Connor asks.

“I had my wife, I had my job, I had my own life. It was just...”

“Just what?”

“It was just easy…”



As the man solemnly pondered this, a soldier bursts into the barracks in a rush.

“Alarm! Raise the alarm! Rebels at the North barricades!" The soldier was gone as soon as he arrived, sprinting further into the base, alerting anyone he could.

Connor glances toward the man and moves toward the door. The man scowls as he jumps out of his chair and grabs his weapon. They both sprint out into the cold…