The quiet days

 The return to the lab had been a quiet one for most. Whether it was exhaustion or grief that silenced the Fallo units was hard to tell. Few spoke, and those who did kept their voices low.

Further ahead, Sear walked alongside Exitus and Bonum—the captain of Unit 17—discussing the mission. Havoc and Fallow trailed behind, keeping a watchful eye on them. Sear clutched a small notebook, jotting down names and numbers. Exitus tried to sneak a look, catching only fleeting glimpses of scribbled names.

On Sear’s other side, Bonum was on a bitter rant.

“This was a suicide mission from the start. You sent Abiit to his death—don’t pretend otherwise!” he snapped.

Meanwhile, Exitus was more self-serving, speaking over Bonum.

“Look, with Ignis out of the picture, there’s room at the top. Maybe you could… put in a good word for me, Sear? I know command listens to you.”

But their words fell on deaf ears. Sear continued scribbling in his notebook without so much as a glance up. Slowly, the color near his pupils began shifting to a faint blue. He took in a deep breath, exhaling slowly.

Then his voice cut sharply through Bonum’s complaints.

“Leave me.”

Exitus paused, nodded, and turned back to gather what remained of his unit. Bonum clicked his tongue in annoyance but followed suit.

As they walked past, Exitus and Bonum gave curt nods to Havoc and Fallow, leaving Sear alone at the front. Fallow untied the arms of her uniform jacket from around her waist, letting the cold night breeze wash over her.

Havoc lightly bumped her arm with his elbow, prompting her to glance up. He jerked his head forward.

Looking ahead, she saw Sear—SF—walking alone. She let out a sigh, then picked up her pace to catch up with him. When she finally drew alongside him, she gave his shoulder a light shove.

“Hey. If I go through the trouble of catching up to your long strides, maybe at least acknowledge my presence?”

Sear looked over, his blue-tinted eyes meeting hers.

“Sorry. I was deep in thought. But… good that you’re here.”

He held out his small notebook for her to take. Fallow grabbed it and pulled out the pen tucked inside.

“Still keeping this up, huh?” she said, flipping through the pages.

She found one labeled in rough handwriting: Marshal Fiasco.

“Very fitting,” she teased, her smile faint.

“I know.” Sear’s lips twitched into the ghost of a grin.

She started jotting down a few names beneath the heading, shaking her head lightly. Together, they kept walking into the night as the sun rise behind them.

A few days later

SF walked alone thru the labs doors and corridors looking for anything interesting to do. The past days had been spent in his units dorms and he was tired of hearing Blackouts tries at comedy and his constant bicker with most of the unit, to add salt to the injury he had finished his reading his latest book. With his unit, along with what remains of Units 17 and 9, currently on standby, there were no new missions on the horizon. So some quiet days was not out of the question. SF Eventually ended up at a split in the corridors with signs, one of which said Library and data storage.

“Hmm” I do need to learn more about the UAF while I have the time.

Their recent missions had increasingly focused on engagements with the UAF. SF knew that understanding their history, strategies, and weaknesses could prove invaluable in future battles. opening the door to the library he got hit with instant feeling of dust and the old, the room did not seem to be used allot, dust covered the shelves and books alike.

The library was dimly lit multiple lamps broken, its shelves lined with old books and data logs were a mess, no order just everything pushed in where there was space. He moved between them, pulling down every history book he could find on the UAF. The scent of aged paper filled the air as he stacked them on the nearest table.

If we’re going to keep fighting them, I need to know exactly who we’re up against.

With a slow exhale, he sat down, the weight of the knowledge before him pressing against the table. His ID card rested beside him—still marked with the title Marshal.

at the table there was an old computer, dust covered most of the screen but a quick wiped with his hand took most of it away. Sf shook his hand in the air as he tried to get most of the dust that formed a layer on his hand off. The PC fired up lighting up the table with an almost blue color from its monitor. The lock screen was multiple young people in lab coats standing like if it was a school photo shoot “Weird” Sf said out loud to himself as he opened the first book.

The Founding of the United Armed Front

The pages were thick and slightly yellowed, showing their age.

The UAF was formed from five powerful but declining nations—The Coactus Union. Each country had once thrived but fell victim to economic collapse, technological stagnation, or internal rebellion.

Varkadia led the formation of the UAFpecunia The trading empireNumeri The largest population of the craterDiurna The controller of Media outputMentes The home of the exo suits

SF traced his fingers along the page.

“The Coactus Union is made up of nations with completely different ideologies and people. So what made them into a union?”

He flipped to the next section.