Battlefield 2042

Chapter 3

The team continued to sing the Sea Shanty, except for Rao and Irish who had to return to the bridge. James felt a sense of comradeship that he had missed since his service.

The entire canteen however soon fell silent when the TV on the wall was turned on to reveal the latest BREAKING NEWS.

"What's it this time?" Maria sighed. It was always bad news these days.

But this one was different, if nor equally frightened: It was speaker of the Kremlin, addressing reporters in the United Nations Headquarters. It was about the Battle in Doha. Now everyone on the team was glued to the TV.

After explaining that the Kremlin first tried to cover up what happened, leaked videos and audios acquired by the UN made it impossible to deny it any further. "No fucking way." James muttered as he saw what was going on. The speaker openly admitted that US and Russian backed No-Pats had fought each other. It was pointless to deny it anyway with all the leaks. They openly admitted it was a battle between russian and american backed No-Pats but assured that, as long as the two superpowers do not fight each other directly, the nuclear threat seems unlikely. An uproar among the journalists followed, but the speaker left. Rao turned off the TV.

"I'm sure the Captain wants to hear about this. Anyway, I will continue to work on that data we collected from the satellite. We'll give you a call." He then left the others. If he was shocked by the news he did not show it. James on the other hand excused himself and went outside for some fresh air.

Once at the railing, he asked a guard for a cigarette and the guard obliged. Just as he was about to light it up, Maria emerged next to him took the cigarette right out of his mouth then throwing it into the ocean. James felt the instant urge to punch her but his brain overrode the instinct. "You told me to stop you." she said, looking apologetic.

"Right... right...." James muttered. "I just wanted to calm my nerves after.... that. It is one thing to think about World War 3 but now that it is actually here..."

"This will not start a World War. M.A.D. , remember? They will not attack each other directly and risk nuclear annihilation." Her reasoning was sound, but reason was not going to calm James down. Not after these news.

"Yeah right, they just use the slightly less evil means of using innocent people, who have lost everything and sending them to die for a country that does not give a shit about them!" James began to rage, he needed to calm his nerves and looked around as if there was something here that could actually help. "Don't you understand, Maria? We FAILED!"

Very abruptly and to his surprise, the medic took his head in her hands and locked eyes with him. "Look me in the eyes. Look at me and listen to my voice." she said in a soft yet also firm voice. And James soon found himself lost in her eyes. It was like staring right into her soul. Her hands were warm and soft, giving him a feeling of comfort amidst the cold and salty air. "You are NOT alone. We have each other. And by god we will bring Oz to justice."

James took deep breaths and slowly calmed down in her arms until she released him 10 minutes later. „That was... surprisingly good. Thank you. Where did you learn that?"

Maria looked sad. "I often used it to calm my son. When he was younger..." she trailed off. This topic hurt her far too much. She wasn't ready to talk more about it.

"I'm sorry I shouldn't have asked."

She waved it off. "I do consider myself a strong woman but when it comes to my son... I just feel so powerless knowing he is out there somewhere and I cannot protect him."

"It's not a weakness. It makes you human."

She groaned. "Sometimes... I just wish I could turn a switch in my brain, shut off all the emotions and feelings."