Pt.1: Inferno
[font=tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif]Dum sidera caeli confidunt in vigilia[/font]
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[font=tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif]Three Years Later[/font]
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[font=tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif]Looking at the TV screen, Bradford winced audibly. The area displayed was ruined, trashed beyond all belief. One end of the battlefield had held a monsterus, alien machine capable of wrecking untold destruction at the drop of a hat.[/font]
[font=tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif]On the other end was an Angel.[/font]
[font=tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif]The Operative laughed, and brought his right hand to the center of his sweater, right over the Seal. There was only one Seal, as far as he was concerned, and one Motto.[/font]
[font=tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif]Vigilo Confiedo[/font]
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[font=tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif]Subic Bay, Sunset.[/font]
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[font=tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif]Inside the rather well-appointed cabana, a man snored in his chair, safe in knowing that he had done his duty. In the kitchen, his housekeeper worked on putting together a simple dinner, while her boss took the traditional siesta before going back to the closest thing to work he ever did anymore- organizing the local musical program down in the ex-American high school. It relaxed him, and helped keep the old meddler busy in his retirement.[/font]
[font=tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif]The housekeeper screwed up her face and frowned. That man sounded distinctly like an American. The man who owned the house normally used Spanish- he was certainly more fluent in it than she in English- but she did know a bit.[/font]
[font=tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif]Again, there was a muffled roaring and confusion by the other end of the line. Finally, a different young man answered the line. He, at least, spoke Spanish well enough to communicate. Aparently, they needed to speak to the owner of the house as soon as possible. Sighing dramatically, the housekeeper went to get the owner, only to realize he was already there. As he took the phone, the housekeeper watched him listen carefully, the years slowly falling of his face. He might have come here to rest and relax, but he also grew older and calmed down.[/font]
[font=tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif]When the phone call was done, the Commander rolled his shoulders and sighed.[/font]
[font=tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif]Nodding, the housekeeper went off. The Commander had long ago left a list of instructions in case he got reactivated, and it was time to get to work. As she watched the man leave in the odd plane that came down in the back yard, she sighed faintly. There was no rest for good men in this world, and her happy musician was unfortunate proof.[/font]
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[font=tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif]Inside the Skyranger, the Commander looked at the videoconference screen in front of him. This was a familiar feeling, harking back to the beginning of the Long War.[/font]
[font=tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif]The teleconference shifted now, to an unfamiliar logo of another organization- NERVE?[/font]
[font=tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif]Finishing, the man from the Council looked up.[/font]
