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The original was posted on /r/hfy by /u/lucasAK2004 on 2025-07-01 02:36:54+00:00.

Hey, this story is not dead! I feel like a broken reccord at this point, but a lot is going on in my life and it has made writing hard. I can’t say for sure what the future holds, but I don’t plan on dropping this series any time soon. As usual, come say hi in my discord and I hope you all enjoy the chapter!

P.S. Your support means the world to me, none of this would be possible without you guys!

Chapter 22

It was already getting dark even though it was barely past four. Patrick looked at his clipboard, taking stock of the supplies his squad had unloaded for the day. “Eight pallets of civilian rations, so that’s eight hundred boxes.” He circled around each pallet, verifying that they were all there. “And, twelve crates of medical supplies.” Patrick counted each of the crates carefully, it would be his ass if one went missing. Satisfied with the count, he signed his name at the bottom and nodded towards the Da’Karen soldiers who were patiently waiting. They were quick to get to work, loading the supplies onto wagons to be taken to the other side.

“How many truck loads was that, today?” Tanner groaned.

“Seven, only seven today.” David answered as he took a seat on a rock that was protruding from the ground.

“We have ten tomorrow, so make sure you get some rest tonight.” Patrick said coldly. After the marines left New Hope, only a skeleton crew was left behind. So they had called some of the Canadians to help with unloading supplies for the Da’Kar. Patrick’s squad was one of the “lucky” few to get selected for the task. It’s not like they were doing much anyways, not after the incident on the other side.

“Wait, tomorrow?” Teer asked. “Aren’t the Americans getting back today? Shouldn’t they take our place?”

“Have you not heard what happened?” David said, looking up at Tanner. “They butted heads with an entire Veek army. Some were even encircled for a couple days.”

“I heard it was the biggest fight they’ve been in since Fallujah.” Martin added.

Tanner’s eyes widened. “Holy shit, no wonder just about the whole battalion went in after the first couple days.”

“There’s no need to be spreading rumors.” Patrick said with a sigh. “I’m sure we’ll all find out what happened soon enough through the proper sources.” He tucked the clipboard under his arm. “Now go and get some rest, we’re starting at 0900 tomorrow and I don’t want to be out here past dark.”

Tanner and Martin were quick to leave to go do whatever they had planned for the night, but David stayed back. “Sergeant,” he started, “do you think Campos and them were over there in Eathlond?”

“I don’t know, but it seems more than likely. Why do you ask?”

“Well, we haven’t seen them since we left with the envoy. I guess I’m just wondering how they’re doing.” David lamented.

“I’m sure they’re fine, David. Campos is a smart guy.” Patrick reassured him. “Now get going, the sun will be below the horizon in about an hour or so.”

David nodded, silently thinking it over. He then stood up and walked towards the tents. Patrick couldn’t help but think about Campos since David mentioned him. He quickly brushed the thought from his mind. He hadn’t seen the last of him, he was sure of that. Patrick started to stroll back to his tent, wondering what was for dinner.

Hartoskh strained his eyes at the bright lights, an antiseptic scent filled his nose. Everything was blurry and his eyelids almost stuck to his eyes. He blinked repeatedly to clear his vision. As it came to him, he made out a figure standing next to his bed. The pale and slightly pink of its skin and the dark mass atop its head clued him into the fact that the figure was human. “Goodmorning, fuzzball.” The human said. “Welcome back to the world of the living.”

He recognized the voice instantly, it was unmistakable. “C-Campos?”

“Who else? I did say I’d look out for you, didn’t I?” Campos’s grin became clear as Hartoskh’s eyes focused on him. The scout looked around the unfamiliar room. The walls and ceiling were a drab white, and machines he couldn’t identify were placed everywhere. It was clear he was in some kind of human facility, possibly medical in nature.

“Am… am I on Earth?” Hartoskh asked cautiously.

Campos scratched the back of his head as he answered. “Yeah, you are. It’s somewhat of a long story.”

Hartoskh looked around once more, it was just the two of them. “Where is Laturin?”

He tried to get out of the bed, but Campos stopped him. “She’s safe, don’t worry. I made sure of that.”

Hartoskh began to relax after hearing she was safe. After all they had been through, he trusted Campos’ words. “Why are we on Earth? What happened in Eathlond?”

“That’s a bit of a long story. You’ve been unconscious for about five days now. The doctors have been easing off the meds to try and wake you.”

The scout dropped his head back and stared at the ceiling. “Five… days.” He lost almost an entire week, it was mind boggling.

Campos dropped his head and looked to the floor. “Yeah. Like I said, you missed a lot.” He presented a stack of folded fabric, placing it on the bedside. “I brought you some clothes. Why don’t you get dressed and I’ll explain everything?”

Hartoskh was still processing the fact he had been unconscious for so long. It took him a moment to understand what Campos had said. “Huh? Oh, yes of course. Thank you.”

The squad leader nodded, then stood up. “I’ll be waiting outside, just come out when you’re done.” He then stepped outside of the room, closing the door behind him.

Hartoskh sat up, the pain in his wounds was dull from whatever medicine he was on. He craned his head down into his hands and massaged his face. Tiredness wasn’t particularly gripping him at the moment, but it still helped with organizing his thoughts. He pulled himself out of bed and stood with some difficulty. Some pain still lingered from his injuries, he placed a hand on his bandages. His legs felt weak and dumb, he guessed it was probably just stiffness, so he began to walk.

After some pacing around, Hartoskh looked at the clothing Campos had brought him. They were strange, unlike anything he had ever seen before. He remembered that he never really saw what the average human civilian wore. Hartoskh figured Campos knew what he was doing when he gave him these clothes, so he began to pull them on. First he slid on the grey, hooded sweatshirt.

He then grabbed the denim pants, but he stopped. Human pants wouldn’t work for him on account of his tail. Hartoskh went to toss the pants on the bed when his fingers slipped through an unexpected hole in the pants. After a quick inspection, he realized that a tail hole had been carefully added for him. He couldn’t help but laugh about it, Campos had clearly put some effort into this. He put on the rest of the clothing, including a new pair of boots. It all fit well enough, though it wasn’t what he was used to.

Once dressed, Hartoskh stepped out into the hall where Campos was waiting. “Does everything fit alright?” The marine asked.

“Yes, it does. I can tell you put a lot of effort into getting me these clothes.” Hartoskh tugged on the sweatshirt. “The material is high quality as well, at least by Da’Karen standards.”

“Well that’s good, glad you’re happy with it. Oh, and one more thing.” Campos handed over a paper bag that made a rattling sound when moved. “This is for the pain, just start taking them when your wounds start hurting.”

Hartoskh looked at the bag in his hand, before stuffing it in his pocket. “Much appreciated.” He then looked up at Campos. “So, about what happened in Eathlond…”

“Yeah, of course. Let’s walk and talk.” Campos started down the hallway waving for Hartoskh to follow, to which he did. “So, I guess I should start the day we went in. Our incursion into the city stopped the Veek advance in its tracks almost immediately. They really stood no chance, even against our relatively small force. However by the end of the day, several squads, including ours, had been encircled; many lost radio contact as well. All that caused the higher ups on the human side to call in reinforcements. After some pressure on your matriarch, the rest of the marine battalion went in.”

The two turned into a stairwell and made their way down. “They had arrived in Eathlond the night before we got rescued, starting operations that morning. A large medical station was also set up to assist Da’Karen forces. By that point the Veek force had been all but neutered from assaulting the encircled squads. Believe it or not, we didn’t even get the worst of it. By time the others went in, it was all but a sweep. Casualty estimates put their losses at nearly eighty percent.”

Finally, they reached the main lobby and walked to the front door. “Anyways, that’s all that happened while we were there.” Campos concluded as they stepped outside into the cold air.

It was dark, but Hartoskh couldn’t tell if it was early or late at night. There was a large concrete field filled with vehicles of all shapes and colors. “Where are we?” Hartoskh saw several buildings not too far away. “Is this one of your cities?”

“Well, kind of.” Campos led him into the concrete field. “We’re currently on a military base, just outside the town of Fairbanks. The base is called Fort Wainwright. Which all of this is a couple hundred miles West from New Hope.”

“I see. Is that where we are headed now? Into town?” Hartoskh asked.

“Yeah, the guys are out e…

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