Tales from the Coalition

[Jeremy Hunter]

Jacob Forge felt the tiny bump as the Damascus touched down on Volgograd. Wounded in the Marcion Coup, he was now unfit for fighter duty. He had to pick one of his best to fill in his spot; Reluctantly, he chose his acting-XO Sasha Kirov. With the loss of Torres, and now with Sasha in the old KSDs, Forge needed an XO.

Too bad Villers was barely able to fly; Hell, she barely managed to lift off without problems. Forge sighed, stepping off the ramp of the Damascus into the flurry of Volgograd. He limped over to a waiting jeep, taking the passenger seat. Soon, he would be home. He sighed, toying with Lachina's message. it seemed a lifetime ago when they had met on the landing pad. He was happy she had found some joy, and was ready to stand with her as she got married. But then the Commissariat of Truth got involved, which Forge was not happy about but wasn't going to speak against. Not even Rhade could protect him if His Watchful Eye wanted him gone.

"Sir."

Forge was snapped from his thoughts. Thanking the young Private, he climbed out of the jeep and entered his home. Sparsely furnished, the only real decoration was the aged Vindicator battle rifle, and a portrait of the Stormfall with the Shield of the Hammer award next to it. Stormfall had, well, fallen defending the Tsiolkovsky. He sighed.

"So many have died...for the same damn pieces of rock. Just like Sol, eh Torres?"

Forge sat down and took a swig of vodka straight from the bottle. He shook,his head and doffed his trademark black beanie, and then stood and made his way to his bed, falling into the matress.

"Maybe I should call Sasha over."

Forge fell asleep.

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May you ever walk in the Light, Shizune.