Operation story: 13-2

Operation

Story

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Characters
Guard Nine Percival Red Talulah Angry NCO Excited Infected Injured Soldier Nervous Infected Reunion Member Reunion Soldier Sarkaz Drifter
Backgrounds
1 2 3 4

Before operation

Summary A Reunion camp is attacked by Victorian soldiers while Reunion gathers the Infected near Londinium. Guard recognizes that the soldiers are already infected.
It's hot. The sun is burning. I'm burning.
[Footsteps across surfaces of water are heard.]
Is that the exit? A few steps further. Just put one foot in front of the other. Maybe the fire, the anger, the pain, and the regret are all just figments of my imagination. ...... Or maybe the exit is. I don't know. But they're watching behind me. Those eyes... are they judging me? Or just waiting to see how I'll carry the burden of their deaths? They were great men, with tremendous accomplishments. My commander, and the legendary Sarkaz scout... and the Captain, the last pure-blood Wendigo. They're all dead, before me, behind me. All that's left is sad little me, worthless me. They died so I could live. What did they expect of me? I can't think about it... I can't. I can't let their deaths be meaningless. I have to face the sun, even if it burns me. Burn me to cinders, so that in their mighty company, I shall not be ashamed.
<Background 1>
???	Ugh...
Percival	You really do have a knack for waking up right at shift change, don't you? Is this the result of all that hard training, Guard?
[The ex-Rhodes Island Guard, now revealed to be a a Perro man, wakes up after Percival calls him out.]
Guard	...Percival.
I stretch, as much as I'm allowed to. I did not sleep particularly well. On top of that series of nightmares, the old wound in my leg aches. We almost ran straight into the Victorian battle lines in order to catch up with Nine. The Infected I'm in charge of are used to being spat on, used to not having hope, but they've never been on a real battlefield. They were scared headless. I was one of the better ones... and I hate that I'm used to it. It took a lifetime's worth of good luck for us to make it to the camp in one piece.
Guard	Just too hot, even at night. How long until the shift change?
Percival	Fifteen minutes. You can sit a while longer.
Guard	I'll go wash my face.
[Guard walks limping.]
Percival	What's with your leg? You're limping. ...Have the crystals spread?
Guard	No. Not yet. Give me my towel, Percival. It's to your left.
Percival	The floral pattern?
Guard	...Yeah.
Percival raises an eyebrow. I want to say it was a gift from the owner of that County Peninsula textile factory. Red has one just like it. The old man had creases all over his face. He was lucky that his crystals grew on his belly, so all he needs to do is wear a shirt. Hopefully, he's still hiding them.
Percival	Never mind. You brought back more hands than expected. Looks like the situation in the provinces is deteriorating, even before they turn into war zones.
Guard	The impact is bigger than I thought, the nobles are turning a blind eye. Pretty much as expected. Those towns made a living trading with the caravans. They're left hanging with the convoys to Londinium stopped on account of the war. The Infected are always the first to get hit when things go south. They used to be able to plant a few crops on the edge of town, and villagers were willing to trade with them here and there. Money is money, after all, whoever it's from. It's easy to do the respectable thing when life is decent.
Percival	Things are different now.
Guard	It's almost time for the bean harvest. These Infected spent the last season watering the fields, caring for their crops. But they've chosen to run off and join us now, abandoning the harvest that would have been waiting for them in a few months, and those to come in the future. They would rather leave. They must be desperate. We Infected may be used to this kind of "deprivation". But we can't come to the same conclusion every time.
???	Are you still resting, sir?
Sarkaz Drifter	I hear voices. You're awake.
Guard	You again. I said—
Sarkaz Drifter	Are you taking the night shift now? Supper? I have canned food from Victoria. Not the best in terms of taste, but convenient. Cigarettes, wine, a bit of a pick-me-up in the middle of the night? Pretty clean, all things considered. Razors, Arts Units, you name it. What about you, Percival? Would you like some hair cream? Not easy to find this stuff these days. It's usually only the officers who carry it, after all.
Percival	Officers don't die so often?
Sarkaz Drifter	No, just harder to dig them out from the heap. They're usually at the bottom, you know.
Guard	You need medicine again?
Sarkaz Drifter	Well, I haven't been feeling my best... a lot of pain, the occasional hallucination... I'm scared that the rocks could start growing into my brain.
Percival	It's not going to get any better if you keep digging in those dusty craters. The best we can do is basic medicine that slows the progression of the condition. Don't expect it to save your life.
Sarkaz Drifter	I know, I know, I—
Guard	I know you're re-selling our medicine. This bunch of Infected told me that they bought Oripathy meds from a Sarkaz on a motorbike, and that they "worked okay".
Sarkaz Drifter	Well, but—
Percival	Made some decent money, didn't you? How about we decide your punishment based on how many coins you have in your pocket?
Sarkaz Drifter	...... I was just, er, making sure that stuff got where it's needed... there's a war going on, after all.
Guard	You won't get another warning. But at least the meds made it to them, when we don't have enough Messengers to deliver to everyone.
Sarkaz Drifter	It won't happen again, I promise! Just a little bit... a few pills! I've been running a fever for days.
Percival	Guard?
Guard	...... Put in a form for him. Make sure he's registered this time.
Sarkaz Drifter	Th-Thank you!
Guard	Don't thank us. Thank the doctors. They went from elite to pariah when they contracted Oripathy in their labs and their companies didn't want to pay the insurance. It's not an easy change to accept. Fortunately, they heard of the Reunion and came looking for us.
Percival	What about your old stomping grounds?
Guard	I'm more than just grateful to them, but they'll never forgive me... I chose this path on my own.
Percival	We just don't have the same grade of equipment that Rhodes Island does. Well, we're not really developing medicine either.
Guard	Right... we don't take medicine to get well, just to live a little longer. There is no medicine that will cure Oripathy.
I still remember the operators hurrying around Medical, and the sight of Dr. Kal'tsit in her lab when I was at Rhodes Island. If there is hope for an Oripathy cure, then it's at Rhodes Island. I still feel a sense of pride for having been part of it... even though I have no right to, because I chose betrayal. But when will the day come when a cure for Oripathy is found? Fifty years? A hundred years? A thousand years? And what do the Infected do before then? Oripathy is no longer just a condition. It is a symbol of hatred, victimization, blame, and alienation. Everyone here has a story, and they are all alike. What good is medicine in the face of all that? It is like rowing against the tide. This land is not a glorious one of morality and kindness. That's why we can't turn away from violence, shameful as it is, it's powerful. But, maybe... no, that's something for the distant future.
Guard	What's your name?
Sarkaz Drifter	Me? Oh... Erm... "Medicine Peddler"? "Man On Bike"? I'm not the kind of guy anyone needs to remember.
Guard	That's not a name.
Sarkaz Drifter	Ok, let me think of a cool one—
[An explosion is heard outside.]
Sarkaz Drifter	Wh-What's going on?
Shouting, and the sound of weapons clanging.
Guard	Go hide in the back, Sarkaz. Percival, go and reassure the civilians that just joined us. They're scared enough as is.
I put a hand on the sword on my belt. It is always at the ready.
[Guard runs outside.]
<Background fades out and in>
Angry NCO	Hrrh— hrrh—
Red	You really want me to kill you? You men are in no shape to fight.
Our warriors surround a group of bruised and dirty Victorian soldiers. Their sergeant is panting, with fresh wounds on his body. Was this really an attack?
Guard	What's going on, Nine?
Nine	They sneaked into the village from the north. Romanich took a bolt. The doctor is taking care of him now. They're out of their minds, trying to attack our camp with just twenty-one men, including a handful on stretchers.
Angry NCO	Ha! Look at what we have in the heartland of our country, a stone's throw from our great capital! A swarm of damned Reunion Infected! Come! Kill me if you dare! Or I'll kill you all! Conspirators, agitators, rioters, murderers... a blight! You're a blight! No wonder the war is going badly! Those barbaric devils could never beat us! The real enemy is among us, behind our backs! Wherever there's disorder, you Infected are never far away!
Nine	Looks like you just came back from the front lines. Low morale, poor organization, hastily wrapped wounds, obsolete equipment... you don't look like professional soldiers. Conscripts?
Injured Soldier	We're from the Duke of Fife's Fourth Battalion... what's the name of the company again? Blackstream Squad and Eastham Squad. Do you have a doctor here?
Angry NCO	Shut up, soldier, and ready your weapon!
Injured Soldier	But Sergeant, Victor...
Angry NCO	This is an order! Ready your weapon!
Guard	Keep your voice down, Victorian. There are civilians sleeping in the camp. Victorian civilians.
Angry NCO	Civilians? Victoria would have given them the life they deserve, if they didn't join you to become criminals and malcontents! Why are all the scum in this land Infected? Why is every gangster, bandit, devil, and Reunion traitor an Infected? Why is the honorable Duke of Fife not Infected? Why was His Majesty Frederick III not Infected? Why are honest and upright folk not Infected? Do people become despicable because they're Infected... or do they become Infected because they're despicable?
Guard	What about you? Is despicability infectious too?
Angry NCO	How dare you—
Injured Soldier	Enough!
[The injured soldier tries to subdue their angry sergeant.]
The Victorian sergeant's eyes widen as he turns to one side, trying to hide his arm from my sight. His lips tremble, but no words come out.
Injured Soldier	We're all despicable scum now! ...Aren't we, sir?
Angry NCO	I... I'm different... this is an honorable...
Guard	Your arm. I can see the crystals protruding from it. Your condition is progressing rapidly.
Angry NCO	I'm fighting and killing Sarkaz for my country! I just got a bit of dirt on it... maybe devil blood...
Guard	...... What did you learn in boot camp? Didn't they teach you anything about Active Originium Zones?
Injured Soldier	The instructor just told us to aim and pull the trigger... that's what we spent our two weeks on.
Guard	I take it you weren't issued any inhibitors, either.
Injured Soldier	Er... inhibitors?
Guard	Nine, I think they're all Infected.
Injured Soldier	I-It can't be! I just got a physical one week ago, and I was in perfect health!
Nine	One week... could be a rapid onset. Or they lied to you to keep you on the front lines.
Angry NCO	Shut up!
Nine	How long have the ones on the stretchers been unconscious? They're in critical condition.
Injured Soldier	Wh-What?
Nine	Death and disintegration from acute condition is dangerous to both you and us. You were right to have the unconscious lying face-up on the stretchers, to prevent suffocation. But... did you check their backs?
Angry NCO	......
Suddenly silent, the sergeant walks towards the stretcher, as though trying to turn the man lying on it over, but withdraws his hand as soon as it touches the soldier. The sergeant looks helpless, like he's facing a deadly tuskbeast that could spit lightning and poison, one that could leap at him at any moment. But the man is his comrade. Before they were comrades, they might have been cousins, tilling the same piece of land together. I sigh and sit the unconscious Victorian soldier up. There is no need to remove his jacket. Originium crystals have pierced the clothing on his back.
Angry NCO	Heavens...
Injured Soldier	Victor! Damn it! I shouldn't have taken him along... his dad would kill him, then kill me, if he learned that his son was Infected!
Angry NCO	Those Sarkaz used witchcraft to infect us! I knew it! It's the devil's curse! It's not enough that they defiled our land, now they want to defile our souls too!
Guard	That's enough. Sarkaz are naturally susceptible to Infection, and their soldiers are overwhelmingly Infected. When you kill them, or when you get Infected and they kill you... If there's no one to clean up the bodies...
I said no more. I heard a sound. It's a familiar sound, whether in Rim Billiton, Rhodes Island, or here and now. The sound that every Infected fears most. The sound of us shattering.
Injured Soldier	I've heard... sounds... in the trenches... You told me it was artillery, Sergeant!
Angry NCO	It was artillery! Our enemy will use anything and everything to destroy us and our country, including their own deaths! Devils, bandits, Tarans... there was none of this crap during His Majesty Frederick III's reign! We... we must expel this scum from Victoria... we... We... What can we do? Can we save Victor? We... we dwell in the blessing of glorious Victoria...
Guard	...... What an idiot. I'll say this again. You're an Infected. Very Infected. In case this isn't clear to you, like us, like everyone else here... You're going to die.

After operation

Summary The Infected Victorian soldiers do not join the Reunion. Before setting out to look for an abandoned medicine factory, Reunion finds the Infected sergeant's shattered body.
<Background black>
The first time I saw an Infected shatter was in the middle of a lake. I was seven, young and innocent. It was my dream to become captain of the Miner's Patrol. I'd get to stay up late at night, wear a cool uniform, and walk around with a bright torch. Most families in Rim Billiton made their living in mining, digging, and processing ore. We did everything to prevent Infection. But accidents happen.
<Flashback starts here>
One day, the adults came home early. Mother and the other women of the house whispered in a corner. The men smoked in silence, until the entire room was filled with that acrid scent. In between coughs, I ran around the living room, pretending to be a surveyor looking for new veins in a fog-filled valley. Dad grabbed me by the collar and put me to bed. I woke up earlier than usual the next day. I think I was trying to grab a can of soda while nobody was watching. Grandma was sitting in the living room next to her luggage, She said she was going on a journey. I pestered her to let me go with her. She could never say no to me. She said I could come a short way with her, then I had to go back home.
We saw a salt lake in the distance. It was a shallow one that only appeared in the rainy season, but it rained a lot that year. We couldn't see the other side of the lake. Grandma told me that was as far as I could go. I said alright. She made me promise, like when she made me promise I would be a good boy when I first went to school. But I wasn't a good boy anymore. I quietly followed her, hiding behind a bush when she got to the lakeside. Grandma got onto a boat with a few people on it. They all had strange stones growing out of their bodies, and one of them was wrapped up in a blanket. The boatman turned on the engine. I watched from the shore as the boat disappeared into the fog. I was confused. Grandma didn't say anything to me on our way; it was like an ordinary picnic trip. I was about to turn around, thinking about where I would have breakfast before going home, then I heard a sound like crystal shattering. I turned around and saw Originium dust sprayed into the air, mixing with the fog, reflecting an eerie glow in the sun. It was like a dream.
<Flashback ends here>
<Background 2>
Red	Was that how you got infected?
Guard	No, I was lucky. That time. Maybe it really was a dream, brought about by a summer morning. But I never saw Grandma again, and my family never talked about her anymore.
Red	She...
Guard	She was always thoughtful and cautious. It wasn't like her to let a child follow her, putting him in danger. For once, though, she made a selfish choice on her journey. She wanted to spend just a little more time with her grandson. Maybe she even wanted to give me a hug. Now I remember. I didn't even get to show her my report card that semester.
It was the best I ever did in school. The sounds of the forest stopped. The flickering light shining through the shadows of the trees no longer moved. Then, came the sound of lament and painful moaning.
Guard	On your guard, Red. The Victorians have stopped. Looks like they're planning to make camp.
Red	Here? It's only a few hundred meters from our camp. They no longer have the strength to cover their tracks. Who knows if there's a scouting party shadowing them somewhere.
Red's hands never stop, even as he complains, cutting away the bothersome vines. We approach their position and see their flickering shadows through the sparse bushes. Soldiers lie on the ground in exhaustion, hopelessly burying their heads amongst the falling leaves. The sergeant sits down on a rock, silently polishing his sword, the only weapon he has left.
Guard	I guess they just didn't have the strength to go any further.
Red	These people don't have the luxury to think. They're still living in a dream.
Guard	"It'll all pass."
Red	Were they really just "separated" from the rest of the army? These Victorians are lucky. They faced a gentle exile, not the swords of their comrades.
Guard	It's not easy to accept that you're Infected. We should wait for them to understand who they are, and for them to make a choice.
Red	Do you really mean to take them in? These... "soldiers"?
Guard	We're weak. So are they.
Red	What's the plan, then?
Guard	Finish the shift, and notify the sentries. Expand the patrols to include this camp. The Infected stand together.
"Stand Together." Pretty words. Of course we had to stand together. What other choice did we have? But are the words "stand together" so simple that we fail to appreciate their true meaning? Oripathy changed all our lives equally, robbed us of our futures equally. But is what is taken from a farmer who has to pay his taxes out of seeds stored for next year's planting equal to what is taken from a wealthy merchant with a safe full of pure gold? When what we had to begin with was not equal, neither are the choices that survive deprivation. Who are we really standing together with, then?
<Background 3>
Excited Infected	You're Talulah, right?
Nervous Infected	Founder of the Reunion, leader of the Infected! They say you did great things in Ursus!
Excited Infected	All the Infected of Victoria are talking about you. Is it true that you captured a city?
Nervous Infected	A city for the Infected? Is it still there?
[Talulah solemnly answers,]
Talulah	I'm no leader. I'm just a member of the Reunion Movement. Have some porridge. We're setting out soon.
Excited Infected	Tell us more about your city, Talulah!
Talulah	...... It's...
Excited Infected	Oh, no need to hang your head! I suppose things didn't go so smoothly, if you're in Victoria now.
Nervous Infected	Of course the uninfected wouldn't let us win that easily, after trampling on us for so long.
Excited Infected	What does it matter if those scum tripped you up once? You're Reunion! We all believe in you!
Talulah looks down at the pot she is stirring, serving bowl after bowl of hot porridge. The steam from the pot obscures her vision.
Talulah	Careful, it's hot.
Reunion Soldier	They all believe in you. What do you think about that, eh? Being the hope of so many?
Nervous Infected	You're a veteran from Ursus, aren't you? What are you talking about?
Guard	Valiya.
Reunion Soldier	I know... sorry, couldn't resist. Hmph.
[Guard returns.]
Excited Infected	Is it true that there was a bit of trouble at the camp yesterday?
Guard	It's fine. All taken of. Stop crowding Talulah like that and start packing. We have a long way to go today.
Nervous Infected	Oh yeah, I still have fertilizer to load onto the truck.
Guard	And it's not "You Reunion" any more.
Excited Infected	Oh yeah, we're Reunion too. Haha! See you later.
[The Infected runs off.]
Talulah	Guard...
Guard	It's fine. No need to say anything.
I take the bowl of porridge from Talulah. She's very pale.
Guard	There are things we can't tell them yet.
Talulah	I know. It's your decision.
Guard	Reunion can't collapse again.
Talulah	I'm the banner that you rally to in Victoria. I accept that. But I'm deceiving them. I'm still...
Guard	It's no more or less than you deserve. It's none of my business whether you see this as an honor or punishment for your crimes. What the others need is hope. Are you going to tell them you were under the influence of an evil god, and everything that happened at Chernobog was an Ursine plot? I would rather our organization be built on a lie.
Talulah	We were built on a lie back then too.
Guard	I know. Payback will come, someday, but at least this time we lied for the Infected. There are no second chances for Reunion. I hope we don't go down the same path you did. What did that sister of yours say in Chernobog? "Until the day when the Infected are judged fairly."
Talulah	...... I'll wait. I'll be your tool until that day comes.
[The injured soldier from before walks toward Guard.]
Injured Soldier	Er, excuse me...
Guard	What are you doing here, Victorian?
Injured Soldier	I'm not armed. Your sentries searched me. I... I caught a whiff. My brothers haven't eaten in four days. Some of them... I don't know, they don't look good. I have a lighter here, and... d-do you want brass buttons? If you could be so kind as to trade some bread for these... I-I know, it's not enough... I have a bunch of good leather back at my home in Blackstream! Once I get back, I'll sell it and pay you back double!
The young man gazes hungrily at the pot, his hand grabbing his own uniform tightly, perhaps out of nervousness, or trying to straighten it out to look more presentable. Talulah puts a bowl of porridge before him.
Talulah	You can take what's left in the pot.
Injured Soldier	Th-Thank you! Here's the lighter. Sometimes you need to click it a few times before it lights. And the button—
I take the lighter and grab the hand trying to rip the buttons off.
Guard	It's fine. Eat.
He practically pours the food down his throat.
Guard	Where's your sergeant?
Injured Soldier	I don't know. We haven't seen him all morning. I was worried he would barge into your camp again. Say, did you hear any sounds in the night? Like artillery fire?
Guard	No reports of anything like that.
Injured Soldier	He... never mind. Everyone's gone mad. Us, them, there's no sane man left on the front.
Guard	Sound like things are rough out there.
Injured Soldier	Rough, eh...? You have no idea what the Sarkaz are using against us. They have no battleships, no armored vehicles. We thought the devils were just barbarians, fighting our armies with swords and bows. How wrong we were. Could you imagine an entire squad of Sarkaz casters, casting their Arts at the same time? It was more terrifying than any artillery or ballista fire. Get hit by a shell, and you might lose an arm or leg, the fragments digging themselves into your flesh, causing terrible pain. But the Sarkaz, they turned the battlefield to the Hell of Lateran tales. I saw armored vehicles pierced by lightning bolts of blood, my mates melted into puddles of gore... I never imagined it would turn out like this when the Duke of Fife's men dragged me out of the cystybeast pens— Forget it. I'd rather not think about anything. Thanks for the porridge. I'll bring the pot back later.
Talulah	You can keep it. We have plenty of them, and it might be of use to you.
Injured Soldier	Thank you so much. I'll never forget it. Are you leaving? Where are you going? This is pretty much a battlefield now, and it's Victorian lands all around... for the Infected...
Guard	......
Injured Soldier	Oh, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked. Forget I said anything.
The soldier hurries to leave, grabbing the side of the pot with his one good hand and supporting the bottom with the limp arm, grimacing at the heat. I reach into my pocket and dig out what I just got from the doctor.
Guard	Hey, wait!
I go up to him and put the vial of medicine in his pocket.
Injured Soldier	What's this?
Guard	It'll relieve some of the worst symptoms. You can share it with the others. I'll visit Blackstream and collect what you owe me.
Injured Soldier	I—sir...
Guard	Go.
Injured Soldier	...You'll love our village. Thanks.
[After the injured soldier left...]
Talulah	You really are like the Rhodes Islanders. I heard you were the one who found the doctors who knew how to make the medicine.
Guard	To be honest, what we're making hardly even qualifies as medicine compared to the suppressants that I knew. Rhodes Island offers low-cost treatment plans, but at the end of the day, they're a company. They need research funding, and they have corporate due diligence to deal with. Who knows how many eyes are on them in Kazimierz and Columbia?
Talulah	That's why you persuaded Nine to go north. The warriors say there's a factory there.
Guard	A tiny pharmaceutical factory. So small it's barely even a workshop. It's not even on a nomadic plate, but that one little piece of land was once the salvation of many Infected. That, is, until it grew big enough that it caught people's attention. Some of the ones driven out of there joined us, and that's how we heard the story. It's deep in the forest, where nobody's watching. We need medicine, even if it's just a pale imitation of the real thing. But more importantly— —It was once a starting point of Victoria's Reunion Movement. We have to unite those scattered across Victoria. We have to tell them that help has come. I've seen plenty of Infected self-help organizations. Kind souls helped us from time to time, but in the end, none of them lasted. When I was at Rhodes Island, I often wondered if things would get better if everyone worked harder and made more medicine. Maybe. But Chernobog changed my mind. Why do they crack down on workshops like these? Why are kindness and hard work warped by hatred and prejudice? When evil itself is fuzzy as the fog, why does everyone, even the Infected themselves, decide to wait for their own deaths in the middle of a lake?
I stare at Talulah, who hardly reacts to my words. Her eyes are calm, unusually so. Her soul is too weary, having seen too much. What has become of the woman who was once our leader? Or had she uttered the same words before, and seen what came of them?
Guard	*sigh*... You know what I mean. Oripathy is an illness, but... we'll leave the illnesses to Rhodes Island, for now. Our enemy isn't just Oripathy; it's oppression and prejudice, the truths they've tried to cover up with Oripathy. Oripathy is just the culmination of all the decay across the lands. Taking back a symbol may help the Infected of Victoria realize that and stand together with us.
Talulah	...Stand together.
Guard	That's something only Reunion can do.
Talulah	Have you told the others how you think?
Guard	Hm? Of course. I'm always talking to Nine about our—
Talulah	No. You know the one I'm talking about.
Guard	Oh... A little. I got a... gentle answer. That's why I'm here. Whatever the case, we didn't choose the same path, so I... er... It's not my place to ask for more.
Of course it isn't. Rhodes Island is a paradise of idealists. Me? A man who could only see what stands right in front of me. The gain and loss right in front of me... I heard the veteran guerilla fighters talk about the old days of the Reunion in the tundra, the ideals that everyone held. "A city of the Infected, our home." Some of them thought it was just within reach. It was almost realized at Chernobog, but fell short in the end. But I know the city of our dreams is still far, far away. And how could a single city be enough? What could a single city do?
<Background 4>
Percival	You're still limping. Maybe you should go sit in the back?
Guard	Just a little sprain.
Percival	You haven't been on a lot of expeditions lately.
Guard	My squad passed through the wilderness the other day with Infected comrades from Greewich. The earth had been torn open, with ditches everywhere. Looked like one of the turnip farms back home, except much smaller. I tripped.
Percival	*snort* What was it? I didn't think there a place like that near Londinium.
Guard	Walt said that all those trenches, hundreds of them, each one big enough to fit our entire squad, were battleship tread marks.
Percival	...... No wonder you've looked worried. It takes all my strength just to go from day to day. Don't think too much about it.
[A Reunion member runs toward Guard.]
Reunion Member	A report from the scouts, Guard. We heard sounds from the woods on the left side up ahead. The Originium zone sensor went off when we got closed, so we couldn't be sure exactly what it was.
Guard	Send word to the rest of the team. We'll go around.
Reunion Member	Roger.
Guard	Percival.
Percival	I'll come along with a few guys. Don't want you to trip again.
[Guard and Percival rushes off.]
<Background fades out and in>
There's an unsettling smell in the air. The instruments show a high level of Active Originium. Not a good sign.
Guard	Remember your protective measures. Keep your masks on.
Was that a man under the tree? No, it's a Victorian uniform, ripped almost beyond recognition, but somehow familiar. A sergeant's badge lies on the ground next to it. A tiny music box sits a short distance away, covered in Originium dust, but still barely playing.
Percival	......
Guard	...Infected confirmed dead. We should leave.
Percival walks slowly, humming along with the scattered music.
Percival	Do you know this song, Guard?
Guard	No, but I've heard it before.
Percival	...The sun on the meadow is summery warm♪♫Filling our home with euphoria♬♪ We gather together to greet the storm♪♫Tomorrow belongs to Victoria♬♪ The Victorian national anthem. Our teacher made us sing it over and over until we had it memorized when I was little—before I got sick. It's been a long time since I last heard it. I was born in Victoria. By all accounts, I should be Victorian. But what about now?
Guard	That sergeant believed he belonged to Victoria to the very end.
Percival	He was lucky. He didn't get to go through... everything he would have gone through. The reason I called myself Reunion— I was tired of being punched, being thrown out of factories before I got paid, being kept out of even the cheapest hostel rooms, no matter how much money I had on me. The Reunion Movement showed me another path, besides suffering and dying in silence. That was all I needed. Even if the price was abandoning my family, my country, and everything else I had. In fact, I had lost all of it the moment the first crystal popped through my skin. But it took me a long time to get it. All of us, Ursine, Columbian, Victorian, Sarkaz, Feline, Liberi... We are all Reunion.
Guard	...... If we have to cross every battlefront, every war zone, every corpse-laden ruin, in order for our deaths to be seen and heard... Then we'll cross them.