>>5238924Static except for one. It moves, slowly, almost unable to be perceived. It goes on and on, to a goal it can reach but never really be done with. Many cultures would have many words for it. Most would attribute it's strange behavior to one God or another, some divine fiat explaining the inexplicable. Many would explain it away as a trick of the eye. But the world is not what it was. There are more than one now who can name exactly what the light is.
Geosynchronous Satellite.
Miles away a man looks at the display attached to his wrist. ALTCON 1 has given him all the telemetry he needs, and he is in place. This mission is pure reconnaissance, and that is all he is here for. Yet, he brought his rifle anyway. Better safe than sorry. He takes out his binoculars, and zooms in on the tower indicated by the IR targeting ALTCON sent down. He sees them immediately. Two figures, leaning into each other. Kissing, if he were to guess. A moment of melancholy fills him. Not something he will ever do again. He reaches for his SVD.
No, Nykolai, not yet. This is not what you are here for. Let them have their moment.
“ASSET 01, WHY ARE YOU REACHING FOR YOUR WEAPON”
As always the voice sends pain lancing into his head. “Nothing, Control. Just a passing thought.”
“SUBJECT 2 HAS ONLY JUST BEEN DEPLOYED. DO NOT INTERFERE. WE TOOK YOU OUT. WE CAN SEND YOU BACK. THERE ARE OTHERS.”
The pain is nearly unbearable. But Nykolai knows this is his only choice. “Understood, Control.”
“SUBJECT 2 REQUIRES A REPLACEMENT DEVICE. DELIVER IT. GO DARK AFTER.”
Wincing, he covers one ear. “Acknowledged.”
Without a word, he collapses his rifle, and fades back into the night, his tracks slowly covered up by the falling snow. Far away, the two figures fade back into the tower, one carrying the other, their bodies locked together like a tight knot. As for what else, there is no one to see.
>THREAD 1: THE BEGINNING OF AN END: FIN 