It was an amazing array of vehicles, equipment and assorted machinery. The diggers were steadily coming out of the mountains and raising dust in spite of the water trucks running all over. Helicopters were coming and going and several transports were preparing to depart after dark. How much of a secret was all of this? The satellite wars had cleared the space over the U.S. so no one could spy on us but who knew for sure. My brother was on permanent patrol keeping everyone away but even so, this was simply too big to hide. There were firefights everyday and some of them blew up into full scale battles. People knew we had something good going and they all wanted to be part of it. Too bad. They were on their own and the sooner they realized that the better off they would be. Off in the distance I could see a jet making a strafing run and a few minutes later the howitzers opened up in the same direction. Someone was getting pasted and I was enjoying the weather. Hardly fair but if life was fair none of this would have happened. I opened my pack and took out lunch and a beer. After that it was a pleasant afternoon once I put my earplugs in and went to sleep.

Part Two: Forsyth

Waking up I stretched and took the time to watch some clouds go by. They brought back distracting memories so I sat up and looked down on the fort. A lot had probably happened while I slept but from here it all looked the same. My watch and the sun agreed it was time for me to get back so I decided to stroll down and get ready for the flight to the corner. It wasn't much of a place, just the intersection of Montana, Wyoming and South Dakota. There was a ranch that was being used for processing people and every few days we flew down to pick them up. Trucks were cheaper but prone to ambush.

My peaceful walk down was anything but, thanks to a strafing run by some Warthogs. The first hint of trouble was seeing Hauser's team springing into action. Seconds later I saw our four Harriers fire up and lift off. One was hit by a missile and disintegated before my eyes. The debris struck another one and it made a lot of noise before landing nose first on a Chinook. I scanned the sky but couldn't see anything. A second later a Patriot battery fired in the distance and I followed the missiles until they disappeared in the clouds. One was a winner and an unlucky Warthog fell from the sky in flames.