The potential for post-traumatic stress disorder was the bane of every soldier's existence within the USM. It hung over every soldier like a spectre waiting to strike at their most vulnerable state. There was no rhyme or reason to why some people suffered it while others appeared to skirt around it effortlessly.

Jason had seen a few soldiers break down unceremoniously during and after traumatic events, soldiers who felt they and their friends were invincible, only to see the ones around them mowed down like cannon fodder. It broke them as if the last thread of their mental fortitude snapped under a great burden deemed not natural for a person to endure.

Even now, there was no absolute cure, only techniques to manage the endurance of the psyche, techniques that could not guarantee a continuous career on the front lines of the military.

Jason was mentally strong, capable of withstanding anything this war could throw at him, or so he thought. The cries and wails from Jacqueline Donnelly as she ended the Duchess Heissenberger's life just a few days ago tormented him every time he closed his eyes to sleep.

It was not his mind that was of a concern, he knew this was something he would resist and overcome, but that moment had broken Donnelly, snapped her seemingly sturdy mind, and that in itself had rocked Jason.

If it could happen to Donnelly, it could happen to anyone.

Every time they were together, they rarely spoke, Jason had not seen her eat and he knew her sleep cycle had been torn apart by the constant reminders of that horrible event. The woman who left the scuttled submersible was an empty shell of the woman who embraced him at the station.

Jason wanted to help her, but he had no idea what to do, and Donnelly refused to receive any help from the bewildered Raven.

Returning to Europa had been surreal, the excitement of visiting Earth for the first time had long since passed and all that was left was resentment for the capital of the Human Confederate. Lifting off in an unmarked freighter in the middle of what used to be Kazakhstan, felt like Jason had left his troubles behind, but as he had been summoned into the office of Colonel El-Hadji, he had realised that troubles are not confined to one planet, but follow you wherever you go.

Briskly walking to the Colonel's office had not eased his concerns or conscience, it was just another opportunity to reflect on them. Jason's mind was not giving him a break, and it was gradually wearing him down.

The door opened the moment Jason had reached the exterior of the office, encouraging him to enter.

Colonel El-Hadji was sat down, his face lowered towards his desk, a frown deeply burrowed into his forehead. Carefully stroking his trimmed beard, he refused to look up as Jason saluted just a mere metre away from his desk. His dark eyes gleamed as reports and data brought the desk to life, yet despite Jason's appearance, not once did they stray from their target.

Colonel El-Hadji was intimidating, even to other members of the Blue Ravens. A defector from the Eastern Regime some twenty years ago, his career within the USM had flourished, especially after completing basic SORu training. His tactical and physical attributes were quickly recognised as an asset, and before long he was assigned to the Blue Ravens.

Rumours of his past and moral ambiguities had always been present. He was one of the sons of the Sultan of the Eastern Regime and had killed his eldest brother and attempted to kill his father to gain the coveted throne of the vast empire. Yet none of the rumours had been confirmed.

The USM, and in particular, General von Striken, cared little for his past, for it was because of him that the Blue Ravens had become the most efficient and deadliest SORu unit in existence.

Jason had always felt unnerved around him, not intimidated per se, but wary about his presence, and now as he stood in front of the legend, he felt that wariness in abundance.

"Colonel," Jason commented, hoping to gain a response from El-Hadji, "Lieutenant Scharn reporting as requested."

Despite his comment, the Colonel refused to stir, frowning further as Jason's smooth but deep voice commented.

Jason knew not to press further, this was another of his intimidation tactics, and Jason refused to fall foul of it.

The door behind Jason slid open, causing the Colonel to flick his eyes up in its direction. As Donnelly stood beside Jason and saluted, Jason could partially guess what this conversation was going to be about.

"Lieutenant Donnelly reporting sir," Jacqueline commented, her voice sounding more strained than normal.

El-Hadji's eyes reverted to the screens in front of him, deliberately causing the two Blue Ravens to stand uncomfortably as they waited.

"At ease," El-Hadji eventually spoke, his voice quiet but harsh. Flicking his wrist across the table, the screens disappeared so it appeared that there were just the three of them in the room.

Despite being ordered to stand at ease, Jason felt anything but, he flicked his head around towards Donnelly who looked as pale as a ghost. She didn't return the gaze but instead continued to stare off into the distance.

"Can anyone explain to me why a simple assassination job ended up causing a massive stir in the Atlantic ocean? What was supposed to be the natural death of one woman has ended up being a massive investigation into how a Riotech underwater facility could have gone critical and caused the deaths of nearly eighty people?" El-Hadji asked, his voice coarse like sandpaper.

"It came to my attention that I had been compromised and as a result had to improvise," Donnelly responded, her voice unnatural shallow and shaky.

"I believe Lieutenant Donnelly fulfilled her task with exemption despite the circumstances." Jason encouraged.

"Shut up, Lieutenant!" El-Hadji stood to his feet, his dark eyes focused on Jason with resentment. "I'm still trying to work out why you were even there in the first place."

"He came at my request, sir," Donnelly responded.

"Surely for a task that was supposed to be a delicate one, requesting the assistance of a soldier who had not been cleared for active duty put the entire mission at risk?" El-Hadji responded, focusing his anger on Donnelly instead.

"Lieutenant Scharn acted admirably, especially in the volatile situation that we found ourselves in. I cannot stipulate how important his role was considering how late the request was." Donnelly responded with more confidence. "It was unfortunate that I had been compromised as he arrived in the station, as a result, I inadvertently placed Jason, uh, Lieutenant Scharn, in danger."

"So you're admitting incompetence?" El-Hadji retorted.

"But the mission was a success, sir," Jason interjected.

"Lieutenant, you need to learn to keep your mouth shut unless I ask you a direct question!" El-Hadji's furious gaze had now focused on the enigmatic soldier. "I'm not sure how you could call this complete cluster a success? Yes, the traitor had been eliminated, yet now investigations are taking place. Many months of fine-tooth combing the explosion and everyone involved, identifying why there was an industrial accident that claimed nearly eighty lives."

Donnelly appeared to shudder as the number eighty was mentioned. "I was meticulous in my planning, sir. The station destruction will look like an industrial accident, as will the Duchess' submersible. As it now sits kilometres deep in the ocean, even with today's tech, the investigation will not know that sabotage was involved. My report covers all that."

"Oh, I'm so glad you're here to reassure me," mocked El-Hadji as he took his seat once again.

"Sir, may I ask why the Duchess was targetted?" Jason asked.

"Jason, don't!" Donnelly whispered, her voice once again laboured and anxious.

El-Hadji slowly stood before carefully walking his way around the table until he was mere inches from Jason's face. The frown on his face appeared even more furious than before. Jason could smell mint and chamomile on his breath and the reduced distance between the two had left him flustered and agitated.

"No, Lieutenant, you may not ask," El-Hadji quipped, "you see, here, in the military, we have this thing called orders. A superior officer gives them, his subordinate does them, WITHOUT QUESTION!" El-Hadji screamed in his face before taking a long hard stare at him.

Once again El-Hadji returned to his seat, this time his gaze did not leave Jason for one second.

"I have quite a mind to reprimand you both for this disaster, however, we are being shipped off to the planet Loki in the Alpha Centauri system to assist with the final offensive to take back the planet," El-Hadji explained.

The name Loki had brought an uncomfortable feeling to Jason as he recalled plummeting to its rocky floor just a couple of years ago. To think that it was where his war started, where thousands had died to even try and reach the planet, and now he would be returning, hopefully, to finish what was started so long ago.

"Lieutenant Scharn, go to the medical wing immediately to see if you can officially return to active duty." El-Hadji ordered, "Lieutenant Donnelly, you are scheduled for a psych eval in twenty minutes to clear you for active duty."

Jason looked towards Donnelly who appeared on the verge of breaking down before switching his gaze to the Colonel once more. "Sir, may I suggest that Lieutenant Donnelly sits this one out, I believe the undercover work took a lot out of her."

Jason felt bad for speaking on her behalf, but the fact that she did not object to the insinuation meant that she likely agreed with his statement.

"You are awfully talkative today Lieutenant, almost as if you think your opinion matters?" the Colonel responded sarcastically. "You're both dismissed!"

Donnelly saluted immediately, swung around and hit Jason in the arm before he could respond to the Colonel's comment. As if it was a cue, Jason followed Donnelly to the exit.

As the door slid behind them, Jason stopped Donnelly from continuing her brisk walk away. "What was that about?"

Donnelly refused to look him in the eye, remaining quiet as Jason pressed the issue.

"Surely you can see that you are not ok to return to the front line," Jason continued.

Before Donnelly could respond, the wall to their side lit up, showing drone footage of the Kremlin with smoke plumming from a corner of its magnificent structure. As the drone continued to circle the damage, the words 'Moscow Mayhem, firefight at the United Solar Military headquarters' could be seen appear on the screen.

Both soldiers were drawn towards the news report, instantly tapping their personal devices on their wrists to hear the report directly in their ears.

"...reported that gunshots could be heard along with loud explosions in the early hours of the morning. At this time, details are minimal, however, we have reports that several military personnel were killed during the firefight deep in one of the most secure facilities on the planet. While we have requested a report from the United Solar Military, they have currently declined to comment. We shall provide you with regular updates..."

"What is going on?" Jason asked, confused by the brazen act in the heart of the Human Confederate.

Donnelly's face appeared even more white than it was before, "General Proviski," she commented, looking endlessly towards the floor.

Had General von Striken been that bold? Jason stared at the wall as he watched the drone continuing to circle the Kremlin. He desperately wanted it to zoom into the building to find out what was going on but knew it would likely be jammed or shot down at an instant if it got too close.

If Jason's greatest ally had been attacked in one of the most secure facilities on the planet in broad daylight, then how easy would it be for either himself or Donnelly, mere grunts in the scheme of things, to be removed from the game board?

As Jason's eyes snapped towards Donnelly, he could see that she too was trying to process what had just happened.

For the first time since they left Earth, her eyes landed on his, yet in them, all he could see was fear.

"You need to keep a low profile from now on," Donnelly commented, "and it will not matter what I say or do in my psych eval, I inadvertently made a mistake somewhere and they are aware of my allegiance. I will be going to Loki with you, and I am certain that I will not be leaving there."