The soldiers stationed at Military Base Alpha-9, those who had not participated in the mission against the Forsaken Cult, had prepared themselves mentally for the worst.
In their minds, they were braced for the sight of corpses being ferried back, of fallen comrades who had given their lives for duty. After all, missions of such magnitude always demanded their price. Thousands of lives were inevitably lost, swallowed up in the chaos of war.
But when the Last Stand aircraft descended and the soldiers disembarked, the sight that greeted the stationed forces left them utterly speechless. They were stunned into silence, their minds thrown into disarray. The number of soldiers returning was far greater than they had dared hope for. It made no sense. Their eyes, hardened by battle and loss, refused to believe what they were seeing.
Questions burst forth like wildfire in their thoughts.
