The old axiom about military life, that it is all ‘hurry up and wait’, is a true one.

I was out of the hospital the next day, even though they wanted me to do some physiotherapy like regular people needed after such injuries. It took me a few days to convince them that I was fine. My training continued as we worked towards being more prepared for our next encounter with an entity.

In that time, only a few weeks since the battle of Charlottesville, there were three separate incursions. Two were in North America, and one was in Europe. Even though these were predicted by the Seer division, we were not allowed to mobilize to attempt to counter them. We were not ‘operationally ready’ yet. Kemi and I were both chomping at the bit to have another go at an angel, and Marcus wanted to have a shot since he was not involved in the last one. That did not matter to the higher-ups who wanted us to lay low, in hopes of seeing us better prepared for the next encounter.

At least they attempted evacuation of the North American targets. Mostly that was successful, but the first time they tried it saw people slow to react and so not everyone was gone by the time the incursion began. Only fifty-four people died at the hands of an eagle-headed angel. That attack, so recent in the collective mind, spurred the second evacuation on, and only ten people died.

I tried to message Alec, but his replies were terse and perfunctory. He said that it was just because they had the Seers working double-time, but I couldn’t shake the feeling he was avoiding me.

After all the waiting and nothing real to do, it was something of a relief when Sergeant Major Bishop called me into his office.

“Private Delaney,” he said once I was standing at his desk, “Thank you for coming. How are you feeling?”

“Fine, Sergeant Major.” I hoped he was talking about my physical health.

“Good, good. I’m glad to hear it. Something has come up recently and we need volunteers for a mission.”

I blinked. It was a bit surprising to hear this from him, but I was intrigued. I nodded, waiting for him to continue.

“Seer Division needs escorts for a retrieval op. You would serve as bodyguards and escorts for the Seers while they complete their objectives. This is considered to only be a Marginal Risk Level and we will be looking for others to accompany them, so you won’t be alone. This is strictly a volunteer mission, you understand, but August Riley put your name at the top of the list.”

“Really?” I asked, taken aback. I had not spoken with August since my debriefing. Part of me was glad about that while the rest of me was a bit concerned. I was worried he did not want to have anything to do with the torturing murderer anymore. So this was a bit of a surprise.

Bishop just looked at me for a moment, as though I’d vomited on his desk. “Yes, Private, really. Now, the question is, do you wish to volunteer for this mission or not?”

One important lesson they teach you in so many ways once you join the army is never volunteer for anything… ever. It’s a subtle lesson taught with the most unsubtle methods. But I did not want to pass this up. How difficult could babysitting a bunch of Seers be? If I was really lucky, Rebecca would come along too, and we could spend some catch-up time together. That would be ace.

“Yes, Sergeant Major, I would like to volunteer for this mission.”

His eyes narrowed a bit, probably as he wondered how I had missed the all-too important ‘no volunteering’ message. Then he smiled, that warm genial smile the man always had, and he said, “Thank you Private. You’ll receive more information later today. Dismissed.”

The rest of the day was the typical drudgery of military life till the afternoon rolled around and I was summoned to the briefing room. When I arrived, I saw Kemi had volunteered as well. Marcus was there as well, sitting next to her. He looked far less granola than when we had first met and much more hard and muscled. Like most of us, it looked like he’d grown into military life since accepting the invitation to join. His longish blond hair was gone now, replaced by fuzz, and he had bulked up tremendously.

There was only one seat available so I sat next to Kemi. Things were still a bit tense between us since Charlottesville, but I was fairly certain she wasn’t going to try and kill me. She eyed me as I sat by her, but didn’t say anything.

After a bit of awkward silence, I said, “Hey, know anything about what we have to do?”

She looked me over a moment before saying, “Sounds like we have to take a vacation. Honestly, I could use one from this boredom.”

“Amen sister,” I said.

August and Bishop walked into the room and the chatter died down. “All right everyone,” Bishop said, “I need you to all pay attention to Mr. Riley. He will give us the parameters of the mission you will be undertaking. Again I would like to remind everyone that this is a strictly voluntary mission. Anyone can leave at any time.”

Why would they though? He sure was banging on about that.

“Ladies and gentleman,” August said as he took the podium, “I appreciate your willingness to join us on this task. I believe it has important implications for Project Aegis as a whole. You are all familiar with our recruitment techniques so far. We are not perfect: we miss lots of Changed. While there are some who are undoubtedly aware of their abilities, we’ve been lucky that no one has caused any major incidents. This would add to the chaos of an already turbulent situation and for everyone’s sake, we would like to avoid that.”

Yeah, I imagine finding out that if you possibly survived an encounter with an angel you might get superpowers could have some real negative results for the police and national guard who try to clear an area before an incursion. Worse would be the fear and hostility that the Changed would undoubtedly face if people knew how different we were.

“However, a large group that we have up till now failed to identify has apparently begun to gather in Colorado. We do not know who they are or what they are doing, whether it is a support group for survivors or something similar. We wish to approach this group and attempt to recruit its members as we recruited all of you.”

Ok, nothing stunning so far. I waited for the other shoe to drop.

“We’ve asked that you accompany us mostly as evidence of what they can expect if they do come with us. However, there is some small concern that this group may be indifferent at best and hostile towards us at worst.”

Oh, well that changed things a bit.

August let that sink in before continuing. “Due to the way our powers work, we have little idea what we are walking into. It is most likely nothing to be concerned with, but the ‘powers that be’ want us to be prepared due to the sensitive nature of our work. The army is providing us with a squad as an additional escort and I have been told to allow you the opportunity to select the individuals you will be working with on this mission. So… any questions?”

We looked at each other. I certainly had a few questions and my hand shot up in the air.

“Private Delany?” August said.

“Um, hi. Yeah, Ok, just a few questions.” I held up my fingers as I counted the questions off. “Why aren’t the FBI or somebody else handling this if they are potentially dangerous? We can select the squad we want to work with? What if they outrank us? How ‘potentially’,” I asked, making air quotes, “hostile do you think these people are?”

August nodded. “Good questions. For the first, we in Project Aegis have been given Presidential clearance in all matters involving the Changed. As you yourself saw not too long ago, there is no higher authority in dealing with these matters, locally or abroad.”

Ah, I’d wondered how it was that he walked me out of the grasp of the FBI. I guess that made sense though. And it was damn handy.

“As to your next question, yes, you may select enlisted soldiers who outrank you for this duty.”

Whoa. That was… unheard of. And I saw about a million ways that could bite us in the ass later if we were not careful how we handled it.

“For the last question, we honestly do not know what to expect. We are going with the assumption that there will be no danger what-so-ever. But others above me are concerned with the recent upswing in terrorist activity. They think that some zealous terrorist groups might try and sway Changed if they discovered them.”

That seemed a bit… far-fetched. But the waves of crazy fundamentalism were only made stronger by the repeated appearances of angels, so maybe there was something to that. I shuddered, imagining such a group with Changed soldiers to do its bidding. That’s the last thing any of us needed.

“If I may, Mr. Riley,” Bishop said, interjecting into the conversation. “Privates, it has been decided based on your individual records to give you the equivalent of Field Promotions to the rank of Specialists, considering you are among the ones with the greatest experience in your… situation.”

That news shocked all three of us. We turned to each other to share our surprise. This was not how things typically ran at all. We were all smiling.

“It seems congratulations are in order,” August said. “Now, are there any other questions?”

“Yeah,” I asked, “When do we leave?”