After hunting the nhoma and getting into the car we were in our way to Kio. It wasn't a long trip as we were roughly 80 kilometers away. I don't know why, but I have some kind of bad feeling, like when you know when everything seems to be going just right so there is some surprise event that makes you want to cry. Also, the awkward silence here wasn't helping me.
"Geez...Couldn't you see that I'm on an existential dilemma right now because you're being too quiet?" I shot a glance to Jorhs.
"Cap"
"Wait!" I signaled with my hand to stop his words. "We finished the mission, so we can say that we are out of duty now...you can call me by my name." He rolled his eyes with a tired face.
"Okay..whatever, Callan. Do I look like I even care about your dilemma when you made me come here in my only free day in two years?" He was staring daggers at me.
"Yo, yo, yo dude, It's all the past, isn't it? It was also my day off, so, would it kill you to be a bit more gentle with your poor friend?" I made a depressed face trying to get on his good side.
"So...are you telling me that you also wasted your day off right?" His tone changed slightly.
"Yes, that's right." I could see some veins popping up. So with a worried face I asked him. "Bro are you alright?"
"What....do you think?"
I could feel the cold sweet on my back, I guess mission failed.
"Sigh...whatever...just treat me to something nice."
"Sure, man, I'm glad you aren't that angry."
"You're wrong." The moment he said that and stared at me I could feel some murder intent.
"But sadly, killing It's a crime."
*gulp* I could tell he wasn't joking at all, like bro it's just a free day right? Where is the problem? If you could wait two years for one, sure you can wait a bit more...like another 2 years? I didn't try to keep talking to him so the rest of the trip was quite quiet.
---Some time later---
"Seems like we arrived." I said while looking through the window the tall walls that surrounded the fortress city of Kio. Made out of alloy capable of take some heavy hits.
The gate opened for us. Usually you'd have to pass several security checks before even seeing the gate opening but as we were on a special mission and already reported it, we we were able to bypass all the hassle.
"This is a calm place, isn't it?" It was in the middle point between the center of humankind territory and the west frontline, but things were on a stalemate were no one tried attacking us and neither do we tried to attack them, so it made the place somehow peaceful.
"Indeed, it's a good place to live..."Maybe going inside the city helped to calm down his wrath but he seemed less mad.
"Hey Jorhs wanna hang out after this? We could go have drink or two."
He looked at me.
"Well, let's park this thing on the base and go home, I'm already tired enough to hang out today, let's do it another day."
"Sure thing."
We stayed silent for the rest of the road. Looking at the people walking on the streets while having fun. It was for sure a good place. It's been so long since I last saw a place like this. As a captain from a killer squad I don't usually have the chance to be near places out of the range of the raging flames of the frontlines.
"Jorhs leave me here and go park the car, I still have to report to the highers ups and wait for my next assignment."
"Okay."
Parting ways with him, I started walking to the entrance of the building.
Completely made out of alloy and more than 100 meters high, usually called command tower. Everything about the city is managed here. The building was quite simple, a typical square-shaped tower with lots of bulletproof windows. It's inside was a different story though. While it's layout is not that complex on the surface level. Every passageway is covered by defence systems hid inside the walls, if a nhoma walked inside, the scanner would pinpoint him and alarm everyone in the building at a personal level, then the building itself would started isolating the enemy and killing him. If it can't kill him, then the real alarms will turn on and a lockdown would begin.
I followed the path in my memory to an elevator. Floor....9? Yeah that was the place. It wasn't long before I was in front of a standard door of an office. Inside the colonel was waiting for me. Not even knocking I opened the door. I was welcomed by an austere looking office, with only the desk and a big holographic projector, Behind the desk looking at a computer screen was a beautiful young woman.
Her sharp purple eyes looked at me.
"Don't you know how to knock a door before entering?" Her voice was mesmerizing as always.
"Yo! It was quite long since last time, right?" I ignored her annoyance and spoke with all my friendliness.
"Sadly It wasn't longer..." Sighing. Her stern expression softened a bit.
"I'm here to report on the special mission assigned to me. The target was killed as requested."
"Good to know. How is Jorhs? If I'm not mistaken wasn't today his first day off in two years?" Crap...she knows. Well plan B! Let's show how thick human face can be.
"Don't worry! He was clearly more that enthusiastic about working a bit more, he even asked for one or more missions..." I'm not really lying, he was quite enthusiastic about killing me of course, but that are details of not importance at all.
"Yeah...Let's say that I'll buy that. Not gonna try to argue with an idiot, so let's move to the next agenda. Shall we?" Clever as always, like how did she figured out that I was trying to pull a fast one?
The air in the room suddenly became heavy and tension could easily being felt. This time it wasn't something to joke about.
"Okay, go ahead."
"The higher ups are preparing to do another assault to the nest of Neighar."
"..." I couldn't reply to that.
"And...as we are short handed they will also send the students from the military academy to the battlefield.
*BAAAANG*
I banged on the desk so hard that it broke.
"HOW THEY FUCKING DARE TO DO THAT!?" I could be sent to jail because of my behaviour while facing a superior but it didn't matter.
"I know what you want to say...And I completely agree with you. Sending those kids to that battle will likely result in their deaths." Sighing while looking quite helpless she was also sad about the orders. I couldn't blame her as I was the only survivor that didn't developed dementia after the last attack to that place.
The nest of Neighar was a quite large nest near the west frontline. Twenty years ago humankind launched an assault and was defeated miserably, ten thousand soldiers died, even after launching several nuclear bombs we couldn't even crack the secondary shield of the nest. We encountered a high tier king-level nhoma who single-handedly killed half the army. I was lucky to survive or that is was sometimes people tell me...But I know better that anyone that maybe dying there could be the best ending as the suffering after that battle even now is still haunting me.
