After a few more hours of walking, and questioning their life choices leading up to them travelling through the scorching desert. They finally arrived at the designated point when the clock struck 1. It was just the ruins of an ancient fortification, an unremarkable place of a time long gone. Its sandstone walls crumbled to dust and leaned to one side. Sharing the fate of Ryan’s unit and his Order. To decay and be forgotten about, and all that would remain would be the husk of an idea belonging to a dead empire. A befitting end to some, a tragedy to many.

  Ryan sighed in relief. After hours of trekking through sand and stone, he finally arrived at the spot. The mission was a technical failure as he and his team were caught twice, and he decided to let the people go free without killing them. There was no need for bloodshed, and the fact that he was too tired to even bother formulating a strategy to kill another human being.

  With a wave of his hand, he got everyone to sit down to catch their breath and rest. After over 13 hours of walking, many rushed near shade to collapse on the ground. Huffing and puffing like exhausted street dogs. Everyone groaned and complained about the mission and how it was just one long walk through the desert and nothing of value or point. At that point, Ryan agreed with that notion. A waste of my fucking time! Ryan thought to himself after taking off his hat to wipe the sweat from his brow.

  Honk!

  Ryan grimaced after hearing a bird squawk from inside the fort grated on his ears. He shook his head, wanting to pretend that nothing came from there. But waddling out of the place like a confused child. A greylag goose honked loudly, as if it were mocking him and every member of his unit. Everyone glared at the goose, despising the animal with every fibre in their bodies. They were caught again, not once, not twice, but three times. This time, by an animal!

  Everyone laid down their firearms to draw their knives. They want to make this personal after a long day. Ryan joined in, laying down his arms to reach for his blade. They stalked the bird who cluelessly stared back at the prowling army of humans. No witnesses! Ryan thought to himself before jumping at the goose, narrowly missing as it jumped onto his back and kicked him away.

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  Chaos ensued as everyone chased the goose. It flapped its wings while its honks sounded like mocking laughter. All it did was further enrage the entire unit and make them more determined to catch the bird. An army of men and women armed with knives tripped and tumbled over each other, drunk from dehydration and delusional from the African sun. They chased, and chased. But the goose played them for fools.

  ‘Fuck you!’ Ryan screamed, pulling out his pistol to aim at the goose. ‘Everyone, get out of the way!’ After his thunderous command, he fired at the goose. But just like his first attempt to grab and slit its throat, he missed and struck the wall of the ancient fortification, which caused it to collapse. Ryan snapped out of a trance, shocked that he destroyed some part of human history, giving the goose the chance to fly away. Honking and taunting the humans down below, who should be effective hunters, but are incapable of killing a simple creature.

  When the chaos settled, the animalistic urge to destroy was finally put to rest. Ryan walked over to the radio set to call HQ to see what his next orders were. ‘Zero Alpha, this is Dingo Uniform. Message, over.’

  The SCL radio crackled, and after a while, a voice came through. ‘Dingo Uniform, this is Zero Alpha. Send, over.’

  After a few back and forward. Ryan finally got the instructions for what to do next. However, before he would end communications between him and HQ. They told him something that boiled his blood. The fast rope that was cut down was part of his exercise, and he was meant to carry it with him through the desert as it was Order property. They asked if he took it with him.

  Ryan promptly cut communications.

  15/11/25

  And, to do a little shout on my end.