47

The drop ship rolls to a halt as Halliday manipulates her controls. You hear the hiss of the after ramp opening and the jostle of your troopers as they begin to rise. This is your fifth mission in eleven days, and it's all becoming pretty routine.

Shah is on his feet immediately.

"I'll get the platoon sorted, sir."

At your nod he disappears aft, barking orders. Halliday pulls off her helmet, watching in surprise.

"Something up?" she asks.

"It was a mixed reaction down there," you say as you unstrap and rise. "We were able to deliver the vaccine information without incident, but it didn't go so well for some of the other platoons."

You think back over the mission, at how the locals had reacted to your efforts to educate them on the vaccine. It almost felt like a regular day at the office, dropping in on some town or village, dealing with locals and trying to get the message out.

"We did the best we could," you say.

"I know," she says with a sigh. "I like the Cerberans as a people, but some of them just don't like us. I wish we could all get along better."