The military wasn�t the only ones doing their duty, though; the civilians were more than pulling their own weight. The dropships had been converted into factories and civilian barracks, and there were rumors that a few groups of them were pitching in on the war effort, fighting alongside AGF�s. The hastily planted civilian farms grew most of the AGF�s food, and they manufactured nearly half of their ammunition. N�tn�see personally didn�t like depending on them, but he took what assistance he could.
Nearly a sixth of the recruits had already �dropped out�. They were either fired by N�tn�see or were KIA. They weren�t allowed to quit. Luckily, they hadn�t been assigned any of their regular missions, or else half the squad would�ve been dead. It wasn�t that they didn�t have what it took, they simply weren�t used to the tactics that the 113th division used. With time, N�tn�see hoped, they would be molded to their style.
The door on the far south end of the Barracks opened, but N�tn�see didn�t look up from his boots. A recruit bolted to his feet off in the distance, and shouted �OFFICER ON DECK!� N�tn�see shot up, nearly coming off of the floor in the reduced gravity. He turned to face the door, and saw the vague shape of a man.
Roughly seven feet tall, he stood out from the other people in the room, almost hiding the person beside him. N�tn�see saw the scar running along his jaw, and recognized those cold eyes. His hand shot to his forehead in a salute. Everyone else in the room followed suit, forming two lines on either side of the room. David walked towards N�tn�see. William followed, walking with a slight unevenness.
�At ease,� said David. The soldiers� arms dropped down, and they got back to checking weapons. N�tn�see�s arm had dropped to his side, but he still stood straight as a board.
�Sir,� began N�tn�see, �it is good to see you sir. I assume your operations and therapies went well?� A slight smile curled across David�s face. His muscles still ached from Kyu�s training sessions.
�Yes, everything is fine, but William still needs a little time getting used to his new foot.� In a quieter voice, he added, �It�s good to see you too, N�tn�see. How�s everyone holding up here?�
�Sir, the situation is within acceptable parameters. We have had five dropouts, and Jean is trying to catch up on sleep, sir.� David cocked an eyebrow. �She just got in from an endurance mission. She and her small squad of snipers had to cover us through a canyon for three days straight. Luckily we didn�t run into any trouble, because even her concentration was starting to waiver after 72 hours of no sleep.�
David nodded. They�d been doing all right, another burden off of his chest. He had full faith in his team, but he felt that any mistakes or problems that the group ran into were his responsibility. A failure on their part was, indirectly, his fault. At least now he�d be back with his team.
�So, any news on our next mission? When do I get to test this foot in a real combat situation?�
�We haven�t received any orders from command recently� said N�tn�see. �In fact, the last information package we got from them was just for our squad get fully rested. The sun�s been down for about an hour now, and without a sniper team covering us, we�d be useless scouting at night.�
�So,� David interrupted, �We just camp out here tonight? Get some briefings tomorrow morning?�
�Affirmative sir.�
�Fine with me. I could use some sleep as well.�
David walked slowly over to his bunk. He didn�t want to admit it, but he was absolutely exhausted. His spine had finally stopped throbbing, and he felt like he finally had something in his stomach again. He sat down, and linked his wrist implant to the nearby terminal over the wireless network. An interface logo flashed before him on his eye implant, and soon disappeared to show a desktop screen.
He sent neural impulses to his implants, and with their interpretation software, they recognized the signals as the command to open his message account. The account refreshed, and he saw he had no messages. Damn. He went to his account settings, and set the server to send him a message on his implants when he received a new message from command. Satisfied, he shut down the account, severed the link, and layed down and fell into the best night�s sleep of his life.
