Emily sighed and rubbed her eyes. She was laying on the ground covered with a tarp that had been disguised so that it blended into the background. She had her M9 rifle back but only for the watch. She had to trade it off when she was relieved by the next person who would take her place. Looking at her wristwatch on the inside of her wrist she had about another five more minutes or so until that happened.

She was laying down on a small hill overlooking the southeast. She was not at the top though she was about ten feet from the top of the hill. She was part of 9 people standing guard over the cave. There were three rings of watchstanders around her. There was four on the outermost ring, three in the second ring and two in the last ring just outside the door to the cave. She was in the middle ring right in the center. Her job was to guard the cave and in the event of a retreat, she was to hold the line until both the first and the second rings collapsed back to the cave.

The watch positions were placed so that everyone had a clear line of sight to fire at the enemy. The two outer first ring watch positions closest to her were of either side of her giving her about thirty-degree firing angle. There were two more positions but they were on either side on the two that were in front of her. The reason why she was not at the top of the hill was that she would be in the firing arch of those behind her. The hill gave her cover from those behind her. If she had to retreat then she was supposed to run to either the left or right of the hill and make her way back out of the line of fire from the last position.

She looked through her scope scanning the area in front of her. She spotted nothing but brush and trees. With a sigh she let her rifle drop a little so that she could look with her naked eyes. Still nothing. She placed her left hand on the top of stock of her rifle and dropped her chin onto of her hand.

She had taken a double shift since she was not tired after she got back from the patrol. She had dropped off the sword with Brody who promptly gave it to Penguin. He had lost his superweapon at Camp No Name. Penguin was the only Secondary from the First Company who survived. His partner took a sniper round to the back and Penguin was pretty upset about it. He had carried his dead partner’s body with him when he ran.

She looked upwards at the blue sky. It was a nice day not too hot or cold. The sun was shining and there were a few clouds floating lazily above. The sky also still had geometric shapes across them. Last night when she looked it was hard the shapes but they were still there. They were there all the time so far. The Korean lady from the strip club had called it a wall and according to her if they didn’t bring it down in under two years it would be there forever.

She was distracted from her thoughts by the odd bird call again. Frowning she looked through her scope looking for the stupid bird. She gave the horizon a quick scan but there was nothing. She looked up into the trees but she couldn’t see any signs of the stupid bird. She was looking upwards with her scope when her relief showed up.

“Never!” A voice whispered to her. Blinking she lowered her gun and turned around to find Wilson standing about ten feet away from her.

“Oh, hey Wilson,” Emily said completely embarrassed.

“It's freaky but you can’t let it get to you. Especially when you’re on watch,” Wilson said walking towards her.

“You heard it oo?” Emily asked surprised.

“Heard what? I was talking about the shapes in the sky. What were you talking about.” Wilson said laying down beside her. He slid under the tarp.

Handing him the rifle and the spare clips she muttered: “I think I have a bird following me around. It hoots at me all the time but I can’t seem to find it though.”

Wilson laughed and took the rifle. “Sorry didn’t hear anything.” He told her checking over the rifle. “Hey, Warrant is looking for you. He’s getting another patrol ready. The Major want’s a long ranged patrol up north. He’s delaying it until after twelve though. I think he wanted to see if the Dancer was telling the truth.”

“The Dancer hmm? Is that what we are calling her now?” Emily said shaking her head.

“It’s better than the Stripper. Anyway, you should go see Warrant.” He told her.

“Okay. You have a good watch.” She said standing up from under the tarp. She turned to her left and walked around the hill and headed towards the cave.

Hook met her when she reached the cave. “Never, we got a patrol going out soon. Get your stuff together for at least four to five days.”

“Roger that First Sergeant. Wilson said the Warrant was looking for me. Was that what he wanted?” Emily asked him.

“Yes. Get your gear and hurry up. We leave when we get the word.” Hook said turning around and walking away.

It took Emily a while to collect everything she would need. No many people had thought to grab their rucksacks when they made a run for it so even things like canteens for water and extra clothing were in short supply. The Major had sent a few patrols out to collect food but they didn’t find all that much. Camp No Name was burnt to the ground and the APC’s were destroyed. Her patrol the day before had the most success so far and the Major had sent out another patrol to pick the house in the woods clean. They had traps and snares set up around the woods but so they had produced very little besides some small squirrels.

Emily found Hook kneeling on the ground looking at a map. Surrounding the map was the same people from yesterday's patrol. Muller gave Emily a smile when she walked up. Thompson just nodded.

“Okay. Once we get the word we are heading Daegu. It’s an Army garrison northeast of us. It's about forty miles away through mountainous terrain. It should take us about a day and a half to get there. Our goal is Camp Carroll. It’s a supply depot for both weapons and supplies. Our job is to check out the camp see if it’s occupied and if so then check if it’s open for a raid. After we check the camp we are to going to check the highways around the area for getaway routes. We are to be as a ghost on this one.” Hook said turning to Never. “If we are spotted then we cannot raid the Camp. Do I make myself clear.”

“Yes, First Sergeant.” The group muttered together.

“Warrant said we are to wait until to leave until after twelve noon. The Major wants to see if the Stripper’s information was good.” Hook said folding up the map. “That’s in about five. Stay loose and don’t wander off.”

“Is it ok if we hang out with the comms guys, First Sergeant? They have a TV set up on batteries to catch anything going on.” Thompson said standing up.

“That fine, just stick together. I’ll be there in a few. I need to talk to Warrant for a couple of seconds.” Hook said turning his back to the group.

“Come on,” Thompson said to Emily and the rest of the group. He led them to the far right side of the cave where all the communication equipment was. There was a lot of wires running from the equipment to outside. Someone had scuffed dirt over them to hide the wires but it was still easy to spot.

There were only two Communication Specialists by the equipment. Both of them were from the Second Company. Emily frowned and looked around for the others.

“Most of the comms guys got smoked. The guys from First and Third Company were in the command APC when it got hit. The people from the Fourth Company never made it out of the longhouses.” Muller whispered in Emily’s ear.

Emily spun her head around and looked at Muller in horror. He looked back at her sad. “Most of the Four is gone. The longhouse where they were staying in took a direct hit.” He told her shrugged. He nodded for Emily to pay attention to an old looking TV that a patrol had stolen from the house in the woods.

Emily was still reeling from the news that most of her company was dead. Looking around the cave she realized that she couldn’t see anyone from the Fourth. She was so caught up with survival that she never wondered about who made it out. She never noticed that there was no one around from her Company. Feeling guilty Emily looked down.

“I wonder about Yraw, Jazz, and Decan. Did they make it out?” She thought to herself. She couldn’t remember seeing them. She looked around the cave but she didn’t spot them. She didn’t even know how many people from the OD were still alive. She hadn't checked. Cursing to herself she lowered her head in shame.

The TV came to life suddenly. One of the Comms guys yelled out for the Major. “This is going out live.” The Comms guy said to the Major as he walked up.

“Try to see if you can get someone on the horn.” The Major ordered. Both Comms guys sprang into action. One went for a backpack and pulled out the Satellite comms while the other one went to his radio and started to talk into the handheld mic. He asked for someone to go outside and re-adjust the antenna.

The TV showed a statue of the late North Korean Leader, King before it switched to a new statue of the new leader the King's son. The national anthem of North Korea came on as the camera swept up from below the statue of the King’s son to focus on the statue’s face. Behind the statues was the North Korean flag. They had changed the flag somewhat and now it had a gold border around it with golden tassels.

A man and woman’s voice came on in the background talking about the past when the King had stood up to the evil empire of the west all the while focusing on the statue of the King’s son. The voices sounded upbeat and overjoyed. They went on talking to each other and the viewers about how amazing the old leader was and how much courage it took for him to stand up against the evil imperialists. Then their voices got quieter as they talked about his death.

The next few minutes was a montage of the King’s son doing a bunch of stuff. The images started with the King’s son in a North Korean Army dress uniform getting awarded for something and ended with him becoming the leader of the country. Once the montage ended the camera was now showing a street with troops marching. Across the street from the marching troops was the King’s son. He was standing in front of a gigantic North Korean flag.

The camera zoomed in on the King’s son as he stood to salute the troops. The camera zoomed out a bit and to focus on the troops again. This time the troops were not as well dress like the ones before. In fact, they looked to be in a different uniform. Their uniforms looked sloppy and unkempt. In fact, some of them looked to be in different uniforms. There were two older officers leading the unkempt troops. They looked better dressed than their soldiers that they were commanding.

Someone cursed. Frowning Emily looked around. Most of the people either looked shocked or angry. Emily looked back at the TV wondering what she was missing. The sloppy troops stopped in front of the King’s son and turned to face him smartly. It was only then that Emily realized that they were US and South Korean soldiers.

A squadron of helicopters flew over the soldiers then over the stand that the King’s son was standing on. The Camera focused in on the King’s son. He took a step forward to a microphone and started to talk. He went on to praise his troop for uniting Korea under its rightful leader. He went on and on and Emily kept wanting for them to focus on the troops again but the camera stayed focused on him.

After about twenty minutes of him talking he finally stopped. Most of his speech was on how good of a leader he was and how he finally united all of Korea under his glorious rule. In fact, he emphasized Korea was for Koreans with him as the supreme ruler of course. In fact, he gave himself a new title. He called himself Taewang which translated into Grandest of all Kings in Korean. He ended his speech by saying that his father kept the North free from imperialist while he finished what his father started. He united all of Korea freeing them from Imperialists. He made it seem that the south wanted him to invade but was just too scared and weak to ask.

He walked around the podium he was standing behind and walked down a flight of stairs. He waved to the people and the camera as he descended. A bunch of beautiful women threw flowers in front of the North Korea leader. He kept on smiling and waving to everyone as he walked down the stairs. Someone had set up a table in front of the stand and a bunch of army officers was standing behind the table.

When he reached the table all the officers bowed to their leader. He took his place in the middle of the table and sat down. The other officers sat down after him. The entire time the man and woman announcers talked in glowing terms about their leader and his amazing victory. Emily found it nauseating.

The United States officer and the North Korean officer who was standing in front of the troops marched forward. Both of the officers was wearing a sword by their side. They marched up to the table and stopped. The North Korean leader stayed seated. He looked up at both officers but didn’t move. A North Korea officer came up to the table in a hurry and put some paper on the table. He put it in front of the King’s son or as he called himself now the Taewang.

The male voice on the TV identified the US officer as General June. He was the commanding officer of all US forces. He also identified the second officer as the commander of all Republic of South Korean military forces General Gyeong. The South Korean took a step forward and bowed.

The Taewang did not bow back. The General held out his sword in surrender. The Taewang did not accept it. The General placed the sword on the table and picked up a pen. He signed the document. The South Korean Military Forces had surrendered. The General stepped aside.

The US General took his place and placed his sword beside the South Korean General’s sword. Emily looked up in horror. She saw that everyone in the cave was watching now. The Major was standing there with his arms crossed looking at the TV. He turned and saw her looking at him.

“We get anything on communications?” The Major said turning to the stunned Comms guy.

“Nothing yet sir.” The Comms guy said turning away from the TV and started talking urgently. The guy on the sat comms looked up at the Major and shook his head.

Emily turned around to see the US General take the pen from the South Korean General and lean down and signed the document. The communicators were ecstatic. The US General had just signed the unconditional surrender of all US military forces in Korea. They went on to say that all military forces were to surrender to the nearest North Korean military unit.

“Goose, please say you got someone.” The Major said startling everyone.

“Nothing sir. It looks like whatever is blocking out communications is still in effect.” One of the Comms guys said.

“Is that it?” Someone said behind Emily. “Do we surrender?”

“Hell nah.” Someone else said. “We dont….”

“Be quiet!” The Major said. “This is still the US Army. You will conduct yourselves as such.”

“Sir! I got someone!” The man on the Sat comms said. He pressed a button.

“...USS Alabama. I repeat …Forces please respond.” The man’s voice said coming from a speaker in the satcomms.

“This is OD11. We read you USS Alabama.” The stat comms Guys said. He handed the radio to the Major.

“...any US Forces please respond.”

“This is Major Clemens. We read you USS Alabama.” The Major said into the mic.

“...le...on...sist...ender….” The voice from the USS Alabama said over the satcomms.

“Clear that up.” The Major roared. Both Comms guys looked at each other for a few seconds and the one on the radio took off his headphones and ran outside the cave. The other comms Guy started to play with the switches on the satcomms.

“He saying to not surrender.” Someone said beside Emily.

“Shut it!” The Major said and tried to call the USS Alabama back but got nothing.

Emily held her breath looking at the Major as he tried, again and again, to call the Alabama back. She had no idea what she was going to do. Would she surrender if the Major ordered her too? She had no idea.

Someone cursed again and Emily turned back to the TV. The US soldiers were gone now and the street was empty. In front of the table where the Taewang sat there were a bunch of Korean people kneeling down. Lined up behind them was ten North Korean People’s Army Special Operations Force. She recognized them from their uniform. They were the North Korean Super Soldiers team. They all had swords out and pointed downwards beside them at an angle.

On the TV someone yelled out an order and as one the Super Soldiers raised their swords. Hook standing beside Emily cursed. She was unable to look away horrified. Someone yelled out an order on the TV and as one the Super Soldiers decapitated all the men that were kneeling. The headless men toppled over. More men and one woman were pulled forward and forced to kneel down in front of the dead men.

The Super Soldiers stepped past the dead men to stand in front of the kneeling people. Just like before they raised their swords in unison. They waited for the order and the swords fell again. The commentators were saying that the people who were being executed were criminals. Their crime is a crime against all of Korea. They were politicians and industrialist who worked against the good of all the people of Korea for their own greed. The identified one of the dead as the president of South Korea.

Emily watched unable to look away as more and more people were brought forward and killed. There was a lot of angry muttering all around her but she kept quiet. Unable to say or do anything as the people died. Then two of the North Korean Super Soldiers brought out the last two people. It was the South Korean General and the US General. Silence descended in the cave. Even the guy on the Satellite Comms fell silent as the two Generals knelt down on their own without being forced by the super soldiers. The order came and the Generals died together.

“That doesn't make any sense.” Someone said making Emily jump in surprise. Emily recognized the voice as Hooks. “They have to know that no US personnel will surrender now. Are they stupid?”

“Look at the Taewang. He knows. He just doesn’t care.” The Warrant Officer said frowning.

The TV commentators were saying that only the Generals and those who have committed a crime against Korea will be executed. They urged that the Armies of both nations put down their weapons and surrender to the nearest North Korean Unit. They spoke to the US military saying that they do not want them here and they would be released soon to their own country as soon as the US agrees to never interfere with Korea again. The warned that any military personnel who do not comply would be considered a criminal and will be executed on site. Anyone aiding and abetting any former military will be considered a criminal of Korea and will be executed. The even put a phone number on the TV screen for people to call in case they saw any military members not surrendering. There was even some offer for some sort of vague reward that would be given if they turned any military members who were hiding.

“Warrant, a word.” The Major said turning around and walking towards an empty part of the cave. Emily was not the only one to watch them.

“They were all Mains,” Penguin said to Emily but most of the crowd heard him.

“What do you mean they were all Mains?” Hook asked.

“How many Main does North Korea have?” Penguin asked the cave.

“Four.” G said from the far corner.

“Agreed. How many Mains did you see on the TV?” He asked her.

“All the Spec ops people. That makes twelve.” Thompson said. Emily reviewed her memory and started to pick up some of the tells Brutes gave off. Looking back she realized that all of the Spec ops people gave off a few tells in their body language.

“Anyone notice their swords? Do you think they look like this?” Penguin asked holding up the sword that Emily took off the dead super the day before.

“So they were hiding some supers big surprise,” Brody said from among the crowd.

“Why did they send a Main this far south and away from the main battle? If we take that the Stripper knew what she was talking about then there should not have been any Mains nearby. They didn’t know Never was still in the country.” Penguin said throwing his arms out.

“We can’t assume that. He might have been hunting for Never or maybe another Main. That’s not the issue right now though. The issue is, do we surrender or not.” The Major said walking up to the crowd.