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"Is there a reason why you have chosen my unit for this particular mission, Colonel?" Thomas asked.

"Do I need a reason?"

"No, sir, I..." Thomas trailed off and a still silence fell between them before he spoke up again. "You're troubled, sir... I can sense it. There's something about this mission that you're not telling me."

Kyden turned around, his steely grey eyes locked with the blue ones of his curious protege. 

"It is because of that intuition alone that I chose you for this mission..." 

Kyden approached Thomas and lowered his head. Placing a hand on his shoulder he spoke softly.

"You will see things that you won't be able to comprehend. Have questions that don't have answers. Be forced to make decisions that will risk the lives of your unit... if you don't decide carefully..."

"Yes, sir." Thomas adjusted the cap on his head and headed towards the door. "I will prepare my unit immediately."

"Captain Thomas."

Thomas looked back at Colonel Kyden.

"People fear what they do not understand. Fear leads to hate. Hate leads to violence. Do not give into fear. Use that brilliant mind of yours to see past the surface."

Thomas considered his Colonel's curious words and nodded respectfully before exiting.

~

"Captain, if I may," Merrick said suddenly snapping Thomas out of his thoughts. 

"Were you aware that Weapon 86... was a woman?"

***
This is a fantasy/science-fiction story set in a post-apocalyptic world. After the "Event" that wiped out nearly half of the earth's population, The Omery Army, based in Australia, has taken on the task of protecting the remaining civilians and fighting back against mutated enemies like the Xree. On the brink of war with the Xree, General Commander Richard Rockwell has tasked Colonel Kyden's Unit X with retrieving the one weapon that could save them all: Weapon 86.  

But what's the truth behind Weapon 86? What is General Commander Rockwell hiding from the very people he claims to be protecting?
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