Chapter 35: Fire and Ice

Cold. It was so damn cold.

That was the first thought Marcus and Sarah had as soon as the motion sickness and nausea wore off. Despite wearing insulated winterized combat armor, the bitter cold wind seemed to go right through their bodies. Marcus, who had grown up in a climate controlled Vault, and Sarah who was born in California and spent most of her life in the desert of the Capital Wasteland, had never experienced cold such as this. The next thing they were aware of was the sound of battle all around them: gunfire, explosions and the cries of wounded men. Before his mind could register what was happening, Marcus was being picked up off the ground by a soldier wearing the same armor he was.

"Are you two alright?" the soldier yelled. "Man when I saw that mortar round go off I thought you two were goners!"

Another soldier, a female with a sniper rifle, helped Sarah on her feet. Marcus flinched when another mortar round exploded a little closer then he liked. "What the hell's going on?"

The soldier's face hardened. "What's going on is we've got about five-thousand Red Chinese crawling up our asses! If we don't hold this ridge they'll overrun our main base in the Kenai Peninsula."

Moira's avatar appeared on the PIPBOY's touch screen. "Actually there are approximately four-thousand seven-hundred and eighty-seven...no make that four-thousand seven-hundred and eighty-five Red Chinese. Four-thousand seven-hundred eighty-four..."

"Okay Moira, we get it!" Marcus snapped.

The soldier stared at his PIPBOY. "What the hell is that? Some fancy field computer?"

Marcus had to think fast. "Y-yeah...it gives us real time intel."

The soldier nodded, then picked up an M4 carbine and handed it to Marcus. "We need to find Major Williams; he's in the forward bunker. Follow me!"

The soldier and the female sniper took off running. Marcus and Sarah gave each other a wary look and followed. Sarah realized she had a 308. sniper rifle strapped on her back, and she immediately un-slung the weapon and locked and loaded it. Marcus tapped on his PIPBOY. "Moira, are you fully integrated with the simulator yet?"

"I sure am! Wow, there is a lot of room in here!"

"Can you end the simulation and override the vault's lock, or put the safety's in place?"

"Sorry, I already tried all of that. Those firewalls were surprisingly difficult. I'd sure like to meet the programmer who made them."

"So would I," Sarah grumbled, "so I can shoot'em!"

"But don't worry," Moira said, "I can help you in other ways. For starters, I have complete overview of the whole battlefield, and can highlight enemy troop positions on your PIPBOY. Here." The image on the screen changed. "Now red are the bad guys and blue are the good guys."

Marcus stared at the digital map on his PIPBOY - and immediately wished he hadn't. "I was afraid you'd say that." He whispered.

It looked as though a tidal wave of red was baring down on them. Based on what he was seeing, Marcus guessed the Chinese outnumbered them by at least five to one.

Sarah saw the look on his face. "Do I want to know?"

Marcus just shook his head.

The sounds of battle were getting louder, and they finally made it to the forward position. Marcus and Sarah ran past a make-shift hospital, and what they saw made their stomach's turn. Soldier's were missing limps. Doctors were frantically trying to save men who were bleeding out and crying for their mothers. Some of the wounded were burned over eighty percent of their body.

Quickly pushing the images from their minds, Marcus and Sarah followed the male and female soldiers into a small bunker. Inside, a tall man with jet black hair was screaming into a radio. "I don't think you're understanding me! If I don't get reinforcements and air support right now, we're all going to be eating our dinner in the goddamn Pacific, you understand me?!" Williams gritted his teeth as he listened to the reply. "Well that's just great! Tell HQ happy fucking new year!" He handed the mike to the radio operator and turned to the four newly arrived soldiers. "It's about damn time you showed up, Captain."

Marcus' eyes went wide when he realized he was talking to him. "Um...sorry, sir."

Major Williams turned to Sarah. "And where the hell were you, Lieutenant? Doing your hair?"

Sarah opened her mouth to respond, but was cut off by Williams. "Listen up! If we have any chance of holding on to this ridge we're going to have to silence those mortars." He picked up what looked like a large tablet, and a map of the battlefield appeared on the screen. "Our spotters reported they're here, just to the right of the enemy's position. Captain, you and the Lieutenant take Gunnery Sergeant Montgomery and take those bastards out!"

Marcus' throat went dry, but he still managed to give a crisp salute. "Yes sir."

"What are my orders, sir?" asked the female sniper.

"Do what you do best, Tikaani." Williams said. "Find a good spot and kill some commies."

The young Inuit woman grinned. "Yes sir."

Marcus and Sarah left the bunker with Montgomery following. "What are your orders, sir?"

Marcus' mind raced to come up with a plan. He knew a frontal assault would be suicidal, but he had no idea of the terrain or what they'd be walking into. "Moira, can you show me where these mortars are?"

The digital map appeared on the screen, and a small area was highlighted not far from their position. "Can you show me a route to the mortors with the least amount of resistance?"

"Well let me see." A few seconds later a way-point appeared on the screen. "Here you go. There's a network of trenches that should take you right to them, and it doesn't look like they're heavily guarded."

Marcus showed the PIPBOY to Montgomery. "Do you know where these trenches are, Gunny?"

Montgomery studied the map. "Yeah, they're just over this way." The Gunnery Sergeant quickly headed in that direction, and Marcus and Sarah followed.

"This is unbelievable." Sarah muttered.

"I know. Being dropped off right in the middle of a battle like this."

"No, the fact that you out rank me! Why would the simulator arrange it that way?"

Marcus shrugged. "Probably because I'm the one with the PIPBOY." He turned and flashed her one of his trade mark smirks. "Or maybe the simulator can sense how awesome I am."

Sarah rolled her eyes. "Be careful Captain! It's not uncommon for an arrogant CO to be shot in the back."

Marcus just chuckled.

They reached the trenches and carefully made their way through them, and it didn't take long to run into the enemy. "Hold up!" Montgomery whispered, and they quickly took cover.

"What've we got, Sarah?" Marcus asked.

Lyons looked through the scope on her sniper rifle. "I've got one on a small wooden bridge and three down in the trench. They haven't seen us yet."

Marcus tightened the grip on his rifle. "Okay. Sarah you take out the one on the bridge, Gunny and I will take out the other three. We'll go on your mark."

Sarah nodded. "Got it." She took aim, took a deep breath, held it and squeezed the trigger. The 308. round went right through the Chinese soldier's head, and his body fell into the trench directly in front of his comrades. The three soldier's barely had time to react before Marcus and Montgomery opened fire with their M4's, cutting them to pieces. The trio continued forward, their guns raised to eye level and ready.

"Above you!" Moira shrieked.

Marcus trained his gun up and opened fired, cutting down the two Chinese soldiers trying to ambush them from the top of the trench.

"Nice shot." Sarah commented.

"Thank you."

Marcus was now in the lead, and they continued forward for several more minutes without any resistance. They were just about to round a corner when Moira spoke up again. "Hold up! There are several Chinese soldiers around the corner waiting to ambush you."

Marcus held up his fist and the trio stopped. He turned around and whispered: "Ambush!" The three soldiers hugged the left side of the trench as Marcus tried to come up with a plan. "Moira, is the area above the trenches clear?"

"Ummmm yeah, all the Chinese are in the trench."

"Okay." He turned to his two companions. "Come on." He quietly crawled out of the trench, and soon the trio was standing above the enemy just out of sight. Each of the trio pulled out a frag grenade, and on Marcus' signal, they pulled the pins and tossed them into the trench. They could hear the Chinese soldiers scream just before the explosions tore through them. When the smoke cleared they jumped down to search for survivors, and a wounded Chinese soldier immediately went for his rifle. Montgomery fired a burst from his M4, blowing out the soldier's chest. He turned to Marcus. "Whoever that Moira girl is, I think I'm gonna marry her when this war is over, sir."

Marcus let out a chuckle, and Moira's avatar giggled like a school girl.

Soon they were within sight of the mortar nests. Marcus counted a total of six in a small clearing, and each one had a two man crew. A lone Chinese officer was walking among them, shouting out instructions.

"That must be the commander." Sarah said. "I'll take him out first, and then we'll mop up the rest."

Marcus nodded. "Alright." He turned to Montgomery. "You ready, Gunny?"

Montgomery gritted his teeth; hate burning in his eyes. "Yes sir!"

Sarah placed her scope's cross hairs on the Chinese officer's head and squeezed the trigger. The pink mist confirmed the hit, and the commander's body dropped to the ground. Marcus and Montgomery announced their arrival by tossing grenades into two of the mortar pits, killing the crews and destroying the tubes. The assault was over in seconds as the three soldiers slaughtered the remaining Chinese, and Marcus and Montgomery used the last of their grenades to destroy the four remaining mortars.

Montgomery looked at the carnage. "Out fucking standing, sir. We better report back to the Major."

Marcus couldn't agree more. "Let's go."

They made it back to Major Williams' bunker, and though the mortars had been silenced, the Chinese were not letting up.

"Damn fine work there, Marines." Major Williams said. "With those mortars down we just might hold this ridge..."

An explosion tore through the front wall of the bunker, knocking everyone to the ground and covering them with debrie. Marcus had blacked out, and when he awoke his ears were ringing and Sarah was helping him up.

"Are you alright?" she yelled.

Marcus placed his hand on his throbbing head and nodded. "Y-yeah. I'm okay."

Sarah breathed a sigh of relief. Montgomery was knelling by Major Williams and checking his vitals. A moment later the Gunnery Sergeant turned to Marcus; a grim look on his face. "He's dead."

Marcus stared down at the Major's corps. "Then who's in charge?"

Montgomery stood up and looked Marcus dead in the eye. "You are, sir."

Allied Headquarters; one mile from the front...

Lieutenant Morgan was trying his best to keep his cool as he listened to the frantic reports over his radio. As the lead intelligence officer it was his job to piece the reports together into a clear picture - and what he saw was a very ugly picture. In contrast the man standing just a few feet away was a rock of calm and confidence. Four star General Constantine Chase took a drag from his cigar as he looked out over the horizon, where just out of sight his boys were fighting for their lives against the communist horde.

Lieutenant Morgan ran over to the General and presented a quick salute. "General Chase, sir! Alpha company has been decimated, Bravo company is down below fifty percent, the Canadians and Australians are getting pounded and cannot hold, Charlie and Delta companies are being overrun!"

Chase calmly took another drag from his cigar. "What about Major Williams and EZ company?"

"They're holding but just by their finger nails, sir."

The General's eyes scanned the horizon once again. All of his training and experience told him there was only one option left, and he turned to his intelligence officer. "Send this message to all allied forces: broken arrow!"

Morgan's mouth dropped open. After quickly composing himself, he snapped to attention. "Yes sir." He picked up his radio mike and took a deep breath. "All units...broken arrow! I say again: BROKEN ARROW!"

The Gulf of Alaska; 90 miles southeast off the Kenai Peninsula...

The aircraft carriers USS Ronald Reagan and HMS Queen Elizabeth II immediately went to flight quarters once the code broken arrow was recieved. Three squadrons of F-18 Super Hornets from the Reagan (the Black Knights, Blue Diamonds and Death Rattlers), along with thirty-six F-35's from the Royal Navy, over one-hundred aircraft in all, were launched and headed for the front at super sonic speed.

3rd Fighter Wing airbase, Kodiak Alaska...

After being driven from their main base in Anchorage almost eleven years ago, the 3rd Fighter Wing made Kodiak Island their temporary home. "We'll be back!" became the squadron's battle cry, and when the pilot's heard the code broken arrow they did not hesitate. They suited up and climbed into their F-22 Raptors and headed for the front at mock two, determined to rain hell on the communist invaders. They were joined by a handful of F-16's and A-10's from the Royal Canadian Air force who were also stationed on the island.

The radio message snapped Marcus out of the shock he was in. "Broken arrow, what the hell is that?"

Montgomery picked up his rifle. "It means our positions are being overrun, and the old man's just called in all available allied air support. We're about to rain fire and brimstone on these bastards, but we need to hold this position!"

Marcus swallowed as his throat went dry. He had led people into combat before, but never on a scale like this. As his mind raced to figure out what to do, he felt the soft touch of Sarah's hand on his right arm. He turned and she gave him a reassuring nod. "I'm with you." she said.

A slight smile appeared on Marcus' face, and it was as if all of his doubts left him. He picked up his rifle and took a deep breath. "Alright, let's go!"

Lance Corporal O'Day fired another burst from his .50 caliber machine gun, mowing down another five Chinese soldiers. The red-headed Irishman from South Boston cursed as his gun went dry, and he struggled to load in another ammo belt. 'They just keep coming!', he thought as he cocked the weapon back, and unleashed another hail of fire into the sea of communist fighters. A silhouette behind the front line of Chinese soldiers caught his attention. "TANK! WE GOT A FUCK'IN TANK DEAD AHEAD!"

The Chinese T-80 tank rumbled up the hill and fired it's main cannon, and the shell exploded not far from O'day's position.

"Hold on Red, I got'em!" yelled Private First Class Lancaster, an African-American from Alabama and the squad's heavy weapon's operator. He shouldered a missile launcher, popped up over the ridge and took aim. "EAT THIS!" he screamed as the missile flew down the hill and slammed into the T-80. The uranium tipped missile cut through the obsolete Soviet armor like butter, blowing the tank's turret off and incinerating everyone inside.

Sergeant Hardison, the squads Grenadier, followed up Lancaster's attack by firing three 40mm grenades, killing seven Chinese soldiers. As the six foot, four inch tall descendant of Swedish immigrants ducked down to reloaded his launcher, he spotted his Gunnery Sergeant with two officers in tow. "GUNNY!" He waved his arm to get their attention, and the trio soon joined him.

"Sergeant, this is the new CO."

Hardison looked Marcus over and removed a satellite radio from his vest. "We've got every type of fighter and bomber stacked up to thirty-thousand feet, sir. This is danger close so we have to provide them with firing coordinates. I've got the grid right here." Hardison removed a tablet and a map of the battlefield appeared, with a grid pattern and numbers laid over it.

Marcus stared at the tablet. He had no idea what he was suppose to do with it...but he knew someone who would. "Give me that, Sergeant." He took the tablet and plugged his PIPBOY into it. "Moira, can you overlay your view of the battlefield with this targeting grid?"

Moira's avatar rolled her eyes. "Come on, Marcus, I thought you had a challenge for me." The avatar blinked out, and a second later was replaced with a map showing the Chinese positions with the targeting grid over it. "Tada! All you have to do is call out the numbers on the grid you want to go boom."

A devilish grin appeared on Marcus' face. He looked up at his squad. "Alright Marines, let's do this!"

Montgomery locked and loaded his rifle. "Let's push these bastards back to the Great Wall!" He popped up over the ridge and opened fire, and was joined by the rest of his squad. Sarah took up position next to Tikaani, and both women began picking off Chinese soldiers with their sniper rifles.

Marcus popped his head up over the ridge, and saw the waves of Chinese troops storming up the hill in almost suicidal fashion. He looked down at his PIPBOY and read the first number into the radio. A few seconds later he could hear the roar of jets overhead, and then the valley below was engulfed in a wall of fire. Marcus stared in awe as the napalm burned at over two-thousand degrees Fahrenheit, and destroyed everything it touched. Marcus continued to send more coordinates, and the allied bombers repeated the attack, until fire consumed nearly the entire battlefield. Amid the cries and screams of thousands of Chinese soldiers being burned alive, Marcus and Sarah could hear the cheers of the allied soldiers.

"FRY YOU COMMIE BASTARDS!"

"HOW DO YOU LIKE THAT, MOTHERFUCKERS!"

"DON'T SHOOT - LET'EM BURN!"

Marcus and Sarah could only watch in stunned silence. Both of them were war veterans in their own right, but neither of them had ever seen destruction like this.

That was real war. Charon's words echoed in Marcus' mind as he watched the fires slowly die out.

Lieutenant Morgan breathed a sigh of relief as the last unit checked in. After placing the radio mike down, he quickly made his way over to Chase. "General. The remaining Chinese are in full retreat, sir."

Chase took a drag from his cigar and smiled. "Out fucking standing! Tell our boys to hold position; do not give chase. I want all company commanders in my tent within the hour."

Morgan saluted. "Yes, sir!"

General Chase stared at the plumes of smoke just over the horizon and took a deep breath. The smell that hit his nostrils was horrible, but to the General it was the most wonderful smell in the world. So wonderful, he even gave it a name: victory.

Taking one last drag of his cigar, Chase dropped the stub at his feet and stomped it into the snow with his boot; all the while imagining it was the head of his Chinese counterpart General Jingwei.

Marcus, Sarah and the Marines of EZ company slowly made their way back to Allied headquarters. Reinforcements from the Marine Expeditionary force had landed on the Kenai Peninsula, and were rushing to the front to relieve the battered allied forces. What seemed like an endless stream of wounded continued to arrive at the base's field hospital, and some of the soldiers looked beyond exhausted. Most of the soldiers were American, but they could see Australian and Canadian troops mixed in.

Marcus remembered from his history class that due to cuts in it's military during the first half of the 21st century, America no longer had the ability to fight a two front war, and was completely unprepared when the Chinese invaded Alaska. America was forced to pull all of it's troops out of Europe, and though the Russian Federation officially remained neutral in the conflict, the members of NATO were concerned that the Russian Bear (who had swallowed up Ukraine and Georgia thirty years earlier) would take advantage of the void left by the U.S. forces. The decision was made to keep the bulk of NATO forces in Eastern Europe, with the exception of Canada, Britain, and Australia. The Canadians, worried that their territory would be swallowed up next, declared war on China and sent the bulk of their forces to aid their American neighbors. The Australian's sent an expeditionary force of ten-thousand men, and the British sent the Queen Elizabeth II battle group, roughly half the Royal Navy, into the fight.

Both Marcus and Sarah had been summoned to General Chase's command tent, and as acting CO, Marcus ordered EZ company to get some rest. With the adrenaline and excitement wearing off, Marcus and Sarah once again noticed the bitter cold. "So this is what winter's like." Marcus commented.

Sarah did her best to keep her teeth from chattering. "Yeah well...it sucks! Is this simulator over yet?"

Marcus shook his head. "I already asked Moira and she said no."

Sarah turned to him. "You mean that was just a warm up?"

"Apparently. Hopefully w e'll know more after this briefing." They opened the flap to the command tent, and when they saw the man in the officer's trench coat and holding a cigar, they both snapped to attention. There were certain generals from America's history that were house hold names: Washington, Jackson, Grant, Lee, Pershing, MacArthur, Patton, Schwarzkopf, Petraeus and...General Constantine Chase.

Even though it was only a simulation and not the real General Chase, Marcus and Sarah both had to keep their jaws from hitting the floor as they snapped him a salute. "Sir!" they both said.

Chase stepped in front of them. "At ease." he said with a gruff voice. "Damn fine work out there, Marines! Damn fine, work." His eyes fell on Marcus. "Captain that was the most accurate spotting I think I've ever seen. Reports are not one of our bombs fell short. You saved a lot of lives out there son, damn fine work!"

Marcus glanced over at Sarah, and he noticed the smirk she was trying to hide on her face. "Thank you, General. I didn't do it alone, sir."

"Yeah, I heard about that fancy computer of yours." He pointed at Marcus' PIPBOY. "It's nice to see those egg heads at R and D can deliver something to help us." The General walked back to the massive plot table in the center of the tent, and when the last company commander arrived, he began the briefing. "Alright everyone listen up! Jingwei may have bloodied our nose with this last attack, but we've broken his." He touched the table and a close up of Alaska appeared. "Forty-eight hours ago the 3rd fleet, along with our friends from across the pond, managed to send half the Chinese navy to the bottom and the other half running for home."

Cheers erupted inside the command tent. Once they'd died down, the General continued. "Immediately after that our boys landed at Dutch Harbor, and at 0700 hours this morning we received word that it was back in our hands."

There were more cheers and shouts of "oorah" from the soldiers.

"It was a tough fight and it cost us dearly. We lost several allied ships, including the carrier Harry Truman. Reports put allied casualties above four thousand."

The tent was now as quiet as a tomb as the soldiers and Marines hung their heads.

"But their sacrifice was not in vain. Thanks to those victories, General Jingwei and what's left of his army are now completely cut-off from the 'motherland'." He took a drag from his cigar. "His attack this morning was out of desperation. He knows he's cornered, so he threw his men at us in an attempt to push us off this Peninsula, but thanks to all of you it backfired." The General touched the screen, and a close up view of the city of Anchorage appeared. "Jingwei has now concentrated the bulk of his forces in and around Anchorage. Estimates are that he has between fifty to eighty-thousand men - and they're dug in deep."

A few groans and whistles could be heard from the men. Marcus and Sarah stared at the map in stunned silence.

"Now the pukes at R and D were suppose to send us some 'wonder weapon' that would magically end the war, but I just received word it's development has been put on indefinite hold - which is code for they can't get the fucking thing to work!"

A small chuckle escaped from both Marcus and Sarah. They both knew he was talking about Liberty Prime.

"So that means we're going to have to take this city the old fashion way: with blood and guts! I don't have to tell you boys this is going to make the battle of Stalingrad look like a cake walk, so we're going to do everything we can to make life hard for the Reds." Chase's eyes met Marcus. "Captain."

Marcus stepped forward. "Yes sir."

"Right now EZ company is the only unit that's close to full combat effectiveness; which is why I need you for this assignment." The General touched the screen again. "There's an enemy listening post located here, at Caloway Ridge just pasted this abandoned mining town. I want to know what those little commies are up to, so at first light I want you and EZ company to take that facility."

Marcus snapped to attention and saluted; quietly praying that this mission would get them out of the simulator. "Yes, sir."

Chase nodded. "Alright, you and your men get some rest; you've earned it. Dismissed!"

"Man, fuck my life!" O'Day yelled as he slapped the news paper with his hand.

"What's the matter with you, Red?" Lancaster asked.

"Ah the fuck'in Pats got knocked out of the playoffs!" He sat down on his army cot.

Lancaster took a drag from his cigarette. "Well my team is still kicking ass."

O'Day waved his hand dismissively. "I don't want to here about your University of Alabama, alright. When you guys get a real team let me know."

Lancaster grinned. "You're just mad because we beat the hell out of your 'Fighting Irish'."

O'Day rolled his eyes. "I've seen Notre Dame's team - they're not Irish."

Lancaster laughed. "Roll Tide!"

Corporal Tikaani entered the tent, and O'Day watched as she removed her helmet and let her long, raven hair fall around her shoulders.

"Man," he sighed, "you think all those Alaskan native girls are as hot as her?" he whispered.

Hardison shook his head. "Man give it up. You've been trying to hit that since we deployed here."

"Well not all of us are monks, Hardison." O'Day quipped

"I'm married!"

"What's the difference?"

Hardison threw his empty MRE bag at the Lance Corporal. "Fuck you! At least I got somebody back home waiting for me."

Lancaster laughed. "Well I just hope these Alaskan girls will give it up once we get to Anchorage."

O'Day rolled his eyes. "Are you fuck'in kidding me? You're a black man in Alaska, you're like a fuck'in unicorn to these girls! Trust me - you're going to have noooo trouble getting pussy!"

Everyone in the squad laughed.

Lancaster grinned. "Well I know for a fact those Irish New England girls like black."

O'Day nearly swallowed his cigarette. "How do you know?"

"Cause man I went to Maine one time, and I had to fight those white girls off with a stick."

O'Day waved his hand. "Alright that's Maine, those girls will sleep with anything! No I'm talking about a classy, clean girl from southie."

"Oh please!" Hardison scoffed. "You ever hear those Boston girls have an orgasm? Oh Gowd! Hader! Hader! Oh Gowd that was so good now I'm gonna go stuff my fuck'in face with Peppeidge Fahm!"

Everyone, even O'Day, busted out laughing. Tikaani had finished taking off her gear and walked over to where the rest of the squad was lounging.

"Hey Tikanni!" O'Day said with a grin. "Is Eskimo pussy as cold as they say it is?"

The rest of the squad was silent as Tikanni calmly walked over to the Lance Corporal. To everyone's surprise, a seductive grin appeared on her face, and she leaned towards O'Day, who stood frozen in place. She softly ran a finger down his right cheek, and a shutter went up O'Day's spin.

"Don't worry O'Day," she breathed, "none of us would fuck your pale ass if you were the last cock on Earth."

A loud chorus of "OH'S" and "SNAP" echoed through the tent, and the victorious Inuit woman walked away grinning.

Standing off to the side watching all of this was Marcus and Montogmery. The Gunnery Sergeant chuckled, but Marcus stood there with his mouth hanging open. He'd seen members of the Brotherhood kid each other, but the exchanges were never this...raunchy.

"Don't mind them, sir." Montgomery said. "They may dig into each other, but those guys wouldn't hesitate to die for each other."

As he watched the squad interact with each other, he couldn't help but think of the Pride.

"Something wrong, sir?" Montgomery asked.

Marcus shook his head. "No just...thinking about my last squad, Gunny."

Montgomery nodded. "I understand, sir. This war's gone on too damn long. I never got a chance to tell you, but you did damn good out there today, sir. Most of these guys are alive because of you."

Marcus glanced down at his PIPBOY. "Thanks but, I didn't do it alone."

"I know, that Moira girl did an amazing job feeding you intel like that. The guys have started calling her our guardian angel."

Marcus knew it was taking all of Moira's will power to not bust out in giggles.

"Anyway sir, loosing Williams was rough on this unit...but with you leading us, I know we're going to pull through."

As Marcus stared at Montgomery and the rest of his squad, he had to remind himself that this was all just a simulation - that these men were not really putting their lives in his hands. "Thank you, Gunny. I'll do my best."

Tikaani made her way over to the wood burning stove that Sarah was sitting next to, desperately trying to get warm. The sniper handed her a coffee mug. "This should help warm you up, ma'am."

Sarah took the mug with both hands and took a sip. Her eyes suddenly bugged out of her head. "Oh my God! What is this?"

Tikaani gave her a sideways glance. "It's hot chocolate."

Sarah took another sip - and felt like she had a piece of heaven in her mouth. "That is the most delicious thing I've ever had."

Tikaani cocked her head to the side. "You've never had hot chocolate?"

Sarah nearly spit up the liquid as she stumbled for a response. "My a...father never allowed us to have sweets."

Tikaani blew out of her mouth and sat down. "Wow. In that case here," she pulled out another pouch of the chocolate powder, "take the rest."

Sarah put the pouch away for later. "I can't believe you didn't punch that guy in the face."

"You mean O'Day?" She waved her hand. "He's a pig, like all men, but...they've all got my back and I've got their's." She looked over at her squad. "Truth is they're like my brothers. Although...sometimes I wish Hardison wasn't so damn faithful to his wife."

Sarah choked on the last of the hot chocolate and started coughing.

"Does that make me a bad person?" Tikaani asked.

Sarah shook her head. "No...it just makes you human."

The two women sat for a while not saying anything. After making a second cup of hot chocolate, Sarah decided to spur a conversation. "So do you have any family?"

The look on the Inuit woman's face immediately made Sarah regret asking the question. "I don't know." Tikaani's voice cracked. "They got...caught behind the lines in Anchorage. I like to think they're alive but...I hear stories about what they're doing to civilians." She turned and the look she gave Sarah was one of hate and rage. "Which is why I will not stop until every communist bastard is pushed into the goddamn ocean."

Sarah had to choke back her tears. 'She is so much like Dusk', she thought.

Tikaani took a deep breath, and she seemed to push the hate and pain away. "So...what about you, ma'am? Anyone in your life?"

Sarah shook her head. "No."

"What about the Captain?"

Sarah nearly spit up her coca. "What do you mean?"

Tikaani flashed her a coy smile. "It's pretty obvious. The way you two look at each other, the way your body language changes whenever he's near you."

Sarah had a look of horror on her face. If a computer simulator could see it...

Tikaani looked down and shook her head. "I'm sorry if I was out of line ma'am..."

"No, no, it's alright." After a few moments of awkward silence, Sarah decided to call it a night. "It's getting late; we should try to get some sleep."

Tikaani stood up. "Yes ma'am, big day tomorrow. Goodnight, ma'am."

"Goodnight, Corporal." Sarah watched the young woman walk away, and try as she might, she could not shake the Inuit woman's words from her mind.

Based on intelligence Moira supplied Marcus, both he and Sarah came up with a bold, yet simple plan to take the Caloway Ridge Listening Post. First they would secure the abandoned mining town, and from there Marcus would lead a small team through the mines where a small shaft (according to Moira's intel) would put them behind the Listening Post, taking the Chinese by surprise. Sarah and the rest of EZ company would hold the mining town, and move in once the shooting started.

But as Marcus and Sarah were about to learn, even the best laid plans fall apart.

"CORPSMAN!" Montgomery yelled as he and Lancaster dragged the wounded O'Day out of the mine.

Sarah and Tikaani immediately ran over to them. They laid O'Day on the ground, and they were joined by the rest of EZ company.

Sarah looked around for Marcus, and when he didn't emerge from the mine, she feared the worst. "What the hell happened?"

Montgomery grabbed a canteen and chuged down the water. "We were moving through the shaft when there was a cave in. It broke O'Day's leg and the Captain was trapped on the other side. We tried to dig our way to him, but then we could hear gunfire and yelling. Then nothing."

Panic filled Sarah, and she grabbed Montgomery by his collar. "YOU JUST LEFT HIM THERE?!"

"From what we could tell it sounded like they took him prisoner. I'm sorry ma'am, but O'Day was hurt and we had to get him back."

Sarah let him go. Her emotions wanted her to tear into Montgomery, but the soldier in her knew he'd made the right call.

"Ma'am," Montgomery began, "as the most senior officer you're now in charge. What are your orders? Do we continue with the assault, or do we go back for the Captain?"

"Fuck the mission!" O'Day screamed, and the corpsman had to hold him down. "We don't leave our people behind!"

"That's not up to you, Marine!" Montgomery yelled.

"O'Day's right!" Tikaani said. "We need to find the Captain..."

Everyone began shouting at once. Standing in the middle of it was Sarah, and it seemed as though the world was spinning. Her thoughts were back to Vault 87 and the fateful day she led her squad to their deaths. Now she had to lead an entire company, and if that wasn't enough she had to make an impossible choice: be a good soldier and stick to the mission, or risk everything to save Marcus.

The Lone Wanderer was sitting in a chair with his hands handcuffed behind the chair's back. The Chinese officer in charge of the interrogation punched him in the face again. Marcus tasted metal, and he spit the blood out on the floor.

"I'll ask again." the officer said in broken English. "How do you remove that computer from your arm?"

Marcus looked at the officer through his swollen eyes. "As I said...it's attached to my nervous system. It will not come off!"

The officer was about to strike him again but stopped. "Very well; have it your way."

Marcus heard the sound of a ripper turning on, and a rather large Chinese soldier walked into the room holding the blood stained weapon.

Moira shrieked. "Marcus!"

Marcus swallowed hard. "It'll be alright, Moira."

As the soldier menacingly made his way towards him, Marcus wished he could believe his own words.