Chapter 13 - Major Debrief

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15th April 2310 08:12 EST - Jason couldn't believe that it had only been a couple of days since he originally left the USM Athena to retake the planet Loki. It felt like it had been a couple of weeks since he crash-landed on the planet and took his first command. That command resulted in a heavily fought engagement against a far superior foe. The resilience of the Crazy Tigers proved enough to withstand the enemy until orbital support was provided.

He felt angry and betrayed when the medevac, which he repeatedly asked for, didn't arrive straight away especially after clearing the area of anti-air support. Private Gisseux and Lieutenant Daniels were both in critical condition and only kept alive by the medical pods they were sedated in, while his closest friend Aurora's condition had got steadily worse as they returned to the outpost.

General von Striken was more worried about securing their position than the medical requirements of the Crazy Tigers, therefore it was another hour of unit deployments before the injured were taken away.

Jason had to be forced onto the eventual medevac because of his broken rib. He had rather stayed to help the remaining Crazy Tigers get organised. Instead, he was hounded off while Westwood took charge.

It was a bitter blow, due to their rivalry, but it was made worse when he spent the whole journey holding Aurora's hand as her speech became more incomprehensible. The feeling of helplessness was consuming him and the further they went up into the atmosphere towards the USM carrier Athena the more he could feel her slip away.

As soon as they arrived on the carrier, she was quickly whisked away by the onboard medical staff and Jason had not heard anything since, despite asking several times.

Now he sat outside Major Greenwood's office as part of his debrief, but also to gain valuable information on Aurora.

With the outpost now secured the Crazy Tigers had been returned for much-needed rest and relaxation. Westwood had preceded Jason and had been in the debrief for a good hour. This didn't sit well with Jason as neither had spoken to each other since the moment Aurora got injured and with Westwood taking temporary charge, there was a mist of uncertainty about the whole situation.

He frowned to himself, questioning the decisions he made and whether they were the correct ones. Did his ego get them into this awful situation and did his arrogance put Aurora's life in jeopardy?

The door slid open as Westwood briskly exited, not even making eye contact with Jason.

"Corporal Scharn!'' A stern voice from the Major's office called.

Jason stood and straightened his uniform, still feeling the ache from the repairing ribs that cracked those couple of days ago. He didn't realise, but he had actually cracked three ribs, but the operation had mended them easily. It would be a couple more days and then he would be back on active duty.

He marched into the office standing a few feet away from the Major's desk. Quickly saluting, he held his pose until instructed.

"At ease Corporal, take a seat." Major Greenwood said, not even once glancing at him but looking at some notes embedded in the screen on her desk.

Jason sat uncomfortably. Was he about to be reprimanded for his actions?

She swiped away the content on her screen before standing and grabbing a drink and staring out the window.

Jason continued to sit uncomfortably but refused to move in order to display the necessary respect to his superior.

"What a mess this has been!" She eventually spewed. Major Greenwood continued to look out of the window, not displaying a hint of emotion while she thought of her next sentence.

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