Shadow Slave novel Chapter 1024

1024 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."

Her voice sounded as laid-back as usual, but Sunny could sense a bit of strain in it.

"I'm sorry."

Winter smiled.

"If you're really sorry, Little Devil, make sure to stay alive. You're too young and cute to die. Reaper, you too... I mean, you too try to stay alive. Not that you're young and cute..." Master Jet laughed.

"Well, if you insist, I'll have to give it a try. Might be a bit problematic, though."

They remained silent for a few moments, enjoying the 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, if nothing else.

Soul Reaper sighed and glanced at her datapad.

"I'll update you on the current state of things. Most of the information has been sent to your communicators, so take a look at it later. The important stuff is... the wall 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 catastrophic happens, though."

Winter raised a hand, interrupting her.

"What's the point of talking about it? Let's just get to the actual business. 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 by you, Sunny, and Mongrel. That's great news. What about the other three, though?"

Master Jet lingered for a bit.

"Actually, that's why I called you in today. The Heart of Darkness seems to have disappeared, so we don't have to worry about it yet. Maybe that... thing... 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 to arrive tomorrow, or the day after that."

An uncomfortable silence settled in the underground office.