War Was All We Knew.

Chapter One

Two months, two goddamn months and we're already fucked. Yeah it's been all happy happy since the Locust were killed off but now we got all this new shit about running out of food and fuel. Seriously, this fuel's from before the Pendulum Wars, before Imulsion was discovered. How the hell are we gonna get all our fucking shit to work on this prehistoric crap? Do you know how many vehicles we have to modify to get this to work? Even if we manage we've only got enough fuel in this hellhole to last us about a year, tops. God I hope we can get more.

(Private James Rankora's report on the current shortage of fuel.)

***

Traxia Video Arcade.
16 A.E.
Two months after "The Purge" of the Locust and Lambent.

"Whooo! Beat ya again Baird!"

"God dammit!" Baird yelled as he kicked the leg of the thrashball game table. Cole laughed and pumped his fist in the air in victory.

"Ain't nobody gonna stop me! I'm too good even in the game."

"Horseshit. You kicked the table towards me when I was about to score."

"Yeah but that still wouldn't have helped you," Cole said as he leaned against the Thrashball game table and took hold of the sticks, "Come on, one more game."

"No, I'm getting sick of this," Baird said as he backed away from the table, "You've beaten me three times. Screw this, I'm going to play another one of the arcade games."

"Okay, just remember that we've only got ten minutes until the power's cut."

"This sucks, we only get five hours of electricity a day, less sometimes. How the hell have we managed?"

"Come on Baird, we're all in the same boat here. Until we get more fuel for the generators five hours is all we're getting."

Baird grunted and walked past a set of old wall mounted arcade games. He crouched down, removed the cover off the front and started to pull out wires and rearrange them. No matter what it was, Baird had a knack for fixing, hot wiring and repairing anything he could be bothered to. Currently in the video arcade he had been tinkering with all the machines so that they ran without the use of coins. He was glad about rigging the machines but pissed that Cole had been beating everyone at the thrashball game that he dragged out of the back. Baird had been tempted to break it but he knew that Cole or Marcus would've made him fix it for the kids in Traxia.

"Why don't they just go to the park?" Baird thought, "Be easier and maybe we'd get power for a little longer."

He tugged on a wire and the machine hummed into life. Baird grinned and stood up to see the screen slowly light up. He took hold of the joystick and had his finger hover over the start button, just as the game started up the screen and the lights suddenly shut off, leaving the room pitch black.

"What the fuck was that?!" Baird bellowed.

"Goddamn power went out again," Cole said as he pulled a flashlight out of his back pocket. He flicked it on to see several civvies gathered up around each other, looking to the ceiling and the floor in terror. Cole gave a heavy sigh, even after all the Locust and Lambent were Purged the civvies and even the Gears were still looking to the ground whenever something went wrong. Cole waved the beam of light over towards the door. "Okay everyone, power's gone so you gotta go."

The civvies slowly made their way to the door, as the last one left Cole went to find Baird hunched over a machine hitting it with his fist.

"Come on Baird, you can play tomorrow."

"I know I know," Baird said as he picked his head up, "I'm just so sick of all these blackout curfews."

"We gotta ration whatever power we got left. You know that most of it's gone to the local barracks and police station."

"Good thing too, shame that device that Adam Fenix built didn't kill the Stranded."

Cole guffawed and slapped Baird on the back.

"Even in the dark you can still find your sense of humor."

"That wasn't a joke."

Traxia Police Station

"Yes ma'am, we'll send someone to look for your son...I know you miss him but we're still trying to get a hold of a Raven that'll run on Putionuim...Yes the old fuel...Yes we'll begin searching the plains once we have one, I promise."

Anya set down the phone and rubbed the side of her head. Another missing person already, it may've started a week ago but five missing people? Anya couldn't believe it. There weren't this many even when the Locust were still around. Anya gave another glance out of the window and then went back to the missing person report papers, the most recent one of a fifteen year old was sitting atop the other five. If finding them on foot wasn't hard enough Anya couldn't requisition a Raven to assist the local police force in the search. She stood up and went to the door, eager for some fresh air and some coffee from the break room. Another week of waiting and the engineers will have an Assault Derrick running on Putionuim. Hopefully it'll be enough to assist the search or at the least transport troops to the nearby Pre-Pendulum Wars era vehicle depot to search for fuel.

"I hope we can get another Raven or two." Anya thought as she passed a couple of Gears into the break room. She brushed past a few tables in the dimly lit room but managed to make it to the coffee machine, she looked around for the filters but didn't know where they were.

"Box on the left to the sugar."

Anya froze, she recognized that slightly hoarse and raspy voice. She kept her cool and didn't turn around but reached for the filters.

"I didn't know you were in here, Marcus."

"Hmm."

A grunt of sorts, Anya thought that mean 'Not a lot of people did'. She replaced the filter and started the coffee maker.

"You want some?"

"No thanks. I don't drink coffee before I go to sleep."

The sound of a chair scraping across the floor coupled with the sound of boots clomping across the ground towards the door meant that Marcus was leaving. Anya wanted someone to talk to before she turned in for the night.

"We got another missing person." she said. The sound of footsteps stopped suddenly. "Fifteen year old boy named Jack Hakton. Went missing several hours ago."

"Any leads on where he went?" Marcus asked.

"No, nothing."

"Just like the others."

"Think there could be a link?"

"Nothing that I can think of," Marcus muttered. Even with his quiet tone Anya could hear everything he said. "Well, I'm gonna get going. I might help out on the search tomorrow."

"Good, we could use some more people."

"How long until we get some vehicles?" Marcus asked. Anya turned around and saw Marcus standing in the light. He was still wearing in COG Gear issued boots and gray fatigue pants but his slightly dirty white shirt was stained with a mix of mud and oil from working in the garage, the only thing we was missing was the do-rag that he had worn throughout the war with the Locust. Anya managed to see the tattoo on his left arm, it was similar to Clayton Carmine's tattoo but the names on it said Carlos and Dom Santiago. She remembered when Marcus got that tattoo in memory of his two long dead best friends that were like family to him. Carlos had died in the Battle of Ashpo Fields in the Pendulum Wars and Dom...Dom sacrificed himself at Mercy so that the rest of Delta Squad could escape, even now after nearly three months that image of Dom driving into the fuel tanks still made Anya shudder. But it gave Fenix nightmares. Every few days Anya would see Marcus hunched over with his forehead resting on his fists, he'd sit in the break room for hours not talking to anyone. Anya felt for his loss but she knew that she'd never be able to connect with Marcus with his nightmares. The least she could do was help him out but until Marcus found something to rid his nightmares there wasn't much more she could do.

"We might get a Derrick or a Raven at the end of the week."

"Good, good. Alright then, goodnight Anya."

"Goodnight Marcus."

Anya watched as Marcus walked out of the break room and down the hall to the exit. She gave a long sigh and went back to the coffee machine, the liquid in the pot was bubbling and ready but Anya had lost her appetite. Anya turned to leave but stopped when she saw a familiar person in the doorway.

"Hoffman."

"Hello Anya," Hoffman said as he stepped through the doorway. He wasn't wearing his usual military fatigues or his hat, instead he was wearing a fancy suit similar to what Chairman Prescott had before Jacinto was sunk. Behind him were two Onyx Guards, Lancers ready and helmets hiding any emotion, but even without the helmets Anya knew that the faces of the Onyx guards would've been just as hard and disciplined as any other Gear. It was just the fact that they were Onyx Guard that made them more intimidating.

"Oh sorry, Chairman Hoffman."

"Oh god, don't remind me."

"I thought that you liked you new position as Chairman."

"Yeah fucking right, I can't do shit anymore, and also this suit is itchy and really uncomfortable. The only advantage of being chairman is that I get these guys as bodyguards," Hoffman said as he pointed to the Onyx Guards.

"So how's the new position of being Chairman coming along?" Anya asked. Hoffman sighed and dismissed the Guards who went over to the coffee machine.

"Boring as hell, now that the UIR's friends with us and the Locust are gone nothing's really coming to my desk."

"You miss the army life?"

"Hell yeah I do. Now that the wars are over there's nothing really going on aside from a few small riots and missing people."

"At least it's something."

"I guess so."

Hoffman sighed and accepted a plastic cup of coffee from one of the Onyx Guards. Anya walked over to him and leaned against the table. She had to find a way to distract Hoffman from his boredom.

"Marcus want's to help out on the missing person searches."

"Oh really?" Hoffman said as he set the cup down.

"Yeah, he looked like he wanted to do something," Anya said.

"You know that I was thinking of giving him a promotion, you know, now that the COG's military has been established."

"What were you going to promote him to?"

"First Lieutenant. I think he's earned it, especially after all he did during the war against the Locust."

"Do you think he'll take it?"

"If he doesn't I'll make him. He's frigging earned it."

"He might," Anya said slowly. Hoffman sighed and nodded.

"I hope so, I know that he's been through a lot and I think this what he needed."

"Chairman Hoffman?" a voice said from down the hall, "Where's Chairman Hoffman?"

Hoffman stood up and motioned the Guards to the door. Jogging up the door was a policeman, out of breath and holding a piece of paper.

"Right here," one guard said, "What do you want with the Chairman?"

The policeman sucked in several breaths and held up the paper.

"We-we found something the Chairman might want to see."

"What is it?" Hoffman asked. The policeman looked at Hoffman with haunted eyes.

"It's a Locust base. An actual Locust base."

Anya stood up.

"I thought that the Locust were all dead."

"They may be dead but that doesn't mean that their bases are gone."

"What does that mean then?"

"Well it looks like we have both a potential threat and a possible supply dump."

"Should I get some Gears ready?" Anya asked.

"Get Fenix and his old squad," Hoffman said, "I know that they're best suited for the job."