When I left the prison, I knew it wouldn't be long before I returned for some reason. With Heidi's dire warnings about what would happen if I messed up again, I knew I'd be back soon.

What I didn't know was that I'd be inside of a cell this time.

Tightening up on the cot, I stared into cracks of the damp concrete wall next to me. The smell of the place had long come and gone, fading into the background noise of hazy perceptions I was still struggling to make sense of. It must have been the third time that my eyes fluttered open to deposit me back in cold reality that I gave up sleeping. Frustratingly, unbelievably, now I could sleep. After so much time struggling with it only to be so tired and sleepy that I... shot... Ida... somehow my brain decided that enough was enough and drifted off into unconsciousness almost as soon as I collapsed onto the cot. But, now that I could sleep, I didn't want to. Guilt. Confusion. Fear. Horror. All of that mixed together in so many unpleasant ways. The dreadful reality of what I'd done and where I was... somehow it wasn't as bad as what my tired brain conjured in dreams.

Instead of shutting my eyes and letting time slip away while I scraped up a few meager hours of recovery sleep, I rolled over and tried to focus on the barred door and what was beyond. Backlit by dim, flickering bluish light stood my guards. The griffon on the left cast a disinterested glance back my way, then returned to staring at the wall with the pony on the right.

How long had I been there? What time was it? I had no idea. No food had been brought to me since I got there, but whether that meant I'd only been there briefly or that I was getting no food, I had no idea. Not that it mattered. I was far too nauseated to eat anything. I was never going to be able to eat anything ever again...

I draped a forearm over my stinging eyes to shut out the world and the two guards. What was going to happen to me? What did I deserve? The guards probably did something to earn the honors of watching Fillydelphia's newest convict, but after one or two shifts their little infraction would be behind them. That's what little screw ups got you. What did killing someone get you? What if it was an accident?

Murder I had no doubt would result in execution, and probably in a very painful way. But I had not murdered Ida! It was an accident! A mistake! I hadn't been planning to hurt anyone! This... this wasn't all my fault! Serge knew I wasn't fit for duty! He'd made me go anyway. He knew it was dangerous to send me out with Ida, but he did it anyway. Didn't that count for something? I was just following orders and this is what happened. It-it wasn't...

...it didn't matter, did it? This wasn't the frilly world of prewar Equestria where your intentions mattered almost as much as what you did. No, this was Fillydelphia where only results mattered. Ida was dead, and whether or not I meant it, it was because of me. I was going to be executed. Frankly, I wasn't sure why they hadn't done it already. Maybe this was part of the punishment. Heidi probably wanted me to suffer and stew over what I'd done before she had me shot. Probably. That would fit her.

And... you know, maybe that's what I deserved. What else would be fitting for coming to this awful city to help Red Eye build up his slave empire, getting ponies hurt and killed and ultimately killing your partner? When you spelled it out, being shot sounded about right for that.

Coming to accept that didn't have as much impact as I thought it would. Maybe it was because I was still unbearably nauseated, or because I was still unbelievably tired and sleepy, or because maybe deep down I knew it's what I deserved, but whatever the reason... I just accepted it. Poof. That was it. Fuck everything up until your partner's dead, then they'll kill you too and that will be the end of it.

“Stand aside.”

“Yes ma'am.”

I lifted my arm just in time to see a black griffoness approach the bars and bang something to get my attention. “Private, get over here. Now.”

My limbs felt heavy and lifeless, but I complied as fast as I could. The trek from my end of the cell to the door couldn't have been more than three meters, but it felt longer than the length of the old sports fields strewn about the city. My stomach found ways to tighten up into more knots and for an instant I thought I would finally throw up, but I managed to trudge over without collapsing into a heap or descending into any sort of embarrassing lack of self control. At the bars I found two sets of golden eyes glowing in the darkness, one pair behind a set of glasses.

Heidi's eyes narrowed as she tightened her talons around the bars. She stared a hole through me for an eternity before finally saying, “Private... in all of my years here... I have never had someone so difficult as you...” She looked aside and took a deep breath. “...under the circumstances I had to wait before coming. If I had come as soon as I heard what happened, it would have been much more difficult to avoid shooting you where you stand.” She took another deep breath and glanced back to her assistant. “Egon, step back.”

The little lavender griffon did as he was told, standing well away from Heidi and the cell door. From the change in lighting I could see that she was completely unarmed, and Egon was sporting two pistols that glinted in the gloom.

Heidi's talons clenched the bar again and her eyes slowly tracked up to meet mine. With obvious restraint, she said, “I want you to understand, private... that at any point I can put a bullet in your skull and absolutely nobody will care. It is only from morbid curiosity and lingering complete disbelief that I have not yet done that.” She grasped the bars with her other claw and leaned in close, almost close enough to put her beak through. “When Private Galeforce found you, Private Whiptail was already dead. She didn't see what happened. Now... I want to hear... from you... what happened. You will tell me the truth. You will tell me the entire truth. You will tell me nothing but the truth. If you try to lie or deny what you've done, so help me I will see to it that you are fed to the parasprites. Have I made myself clear?”

All of the forced apathy and rehearsed excuses I'd practiced evaporated, replaced by an icy gnawing sensation in my stomach. It... didn't mix well with the nausea. “Y-yes ma'am. Carme-Carmelita? She was the one who... who found us?” How had I missed that? I couldn't even place the face of whoever it was...

She rapped her talons on the bars rhythmically, fixing me with that piercing gaze. “This isn't about her, private. Start talking, now.”

I retreated a step and fought for some way to begin, some way to explain what had happened that didn't make it sound like Ida was dead because of something trivial. “...I... I... dropped my gun.” Shit...

“You... dropped your gun,” she began, loosening her grip. “You dropped your gun. Private Ida Whiptail is dead, because you dropped your gun.”

“...yes ma'am.”

“She's dead because you dropped your gun? Private Ida Whiptail, a veteran of six years of service with a clean record, a competent soldier and your partner, is dead because you dropped your gun!?” Heidi shook the bars with each of the last words, and for a moment I feared she'd actually rip the door free to get to me.

“It was an accident! I-I didn't mean to-”

“You don't fucking say!?” She slammed the door against its frame with all of her weight. “No, I thought you did it on purpose. That maybe you just threw it down for shits and giggles to see what would happen. Oh, and look, guns kill people!”

I doubled back two more steps and raised a claw. “It was an accident!”

“I know it was a fucking accident you idiot!” she screamed. A talon jutted between the bars in my direction. “Oh, believe me, I thought for just a second that maybe you did do it on purpose. I thought maybe you shot her and thought you'd fly away while we were still trying to figure out what happened. But you're not that stupid. You knew that no matter how bad you wanted to get out of this city that wouldn't work, so you didn't do that. You were just fucking stupid enough to drop your gun and kill somebody!” She punched the bars. “How does that happen, private!?”

“I-I was sleepy. I couldn't stay awake. The gun... it... it slipped.”

“What!?” The bars rattled from another slam. “She's dead because you were sleepy!? What in the hell have you been doing when you're off duty? How do you fall asleep while flying!?”

I fell backward into a seated position, holding my claw up defensively. At that point I had no choice but to admit the truth. “I have insomnia!” I pleaded. “Insomnia. I-I've had it most of my life, and-and it gets worse when I'm stressed out.”

Silent rage played across Heidi's face as her claws wrung the bars. “Private... Private Kasimir Longtalons... did you... did you not think that might be a problem serving as a guard in Fillydelphia?”

There was nothing I could say to that. A dry, choking sensation welled up in my throat as I avoided her gaze. No. No, absolutely not. I... couldn't...

“Egon, go pull his file. Find out who his recruitment officer was. Find out and tell them to meet me in my office in ten minutes. We're going to make sure this never happens again.”

With a quiet, “Yes ma'am,” her little assistant vanished into the darkness.

“Private, look at me.” Please no. Not right now. Please, just go way. “Look at me, dammit!” I obeyed, trying to quell the spasms in my chest and throat. “I hope you're proud of yourself. You, the least qualified griffon in this forsaken country, joined the Talons knowing you had a severe handicap that could put yourself and others in danger, and as a result Private Ida Whiptail is dead. Do you have anything to say for yourself?”

No. Not a thing. All that I could do was let the dam burst. I shrunk away from her and placed my face in my claws, failing entirely to hide the tears. The ludicrous attempt at an apology was just garbled in the sobs.

“Stop crying! Grown griffons do not cry! Talons do not cry!” No amount of willpower could have allowed me to overcome the emotional catastrophe. I didn't care how much she screamed or called me a baby or anything else. “Stop that this instant and look at me!”

I just wound up tighter and gasped for breath. I just couldn't handle the weight of it all. Ida really was dead because I was stupid. This wasn't Serge's fault. I was the last person in Equestria who should have been here in the first place. Her death was entirely my fault.

“Stop crying!” she screamed once more before pounding the bars. I guess she finally realized that she was only making it worse, and turned to bellow something at the other two guards before storming away.

There was nothing I could do but flop over onto my side and cry it all out. I couldn't care less how much I looked like a child or what my guards thought of me. I just couldn't take anything more. Whatever happened to me, I just did not care anymore.

I think it was the next day when she returned. There was no way to tell the time and the only thing brought to me was some slightly discolored but odorless water, but I figured it had to have been close to a day. Food would have been wasted anyway. I was far too sick feeling to eat anything. Even after I slept off and on for some time, I felt completely awful. My head hurt terribly. My eyes stung. My throat was parched. My stomach hurt.

All of that ceased mattering the instant Heidi appeared and ordered the warden to unlock my cell. I started awake and fell off of the cot in my hasty attempt to scrabble to my feet. She tensed her claw and popped a knuckle, staring me down for some time. At last she said, “Private... come with me.”

My heart leaped into my throat as my mind went to racing, trying to analyze whether this was what I thought it was. The warden was here with her. Was she going to have me executed now? Stalling wouldn't help regardless, so I crept toward her. After all of my bravado accepting it the night before, it was still difficult to face it down.

“Get moving. I don't want to waste much time on this.”

“...yes ma'am...” I croaked. Well, this was it. I was about to be executed in Fillydelphia and papa would never know what happened to me. Maybe Liese would spare him the truth, if she ever even spoke to him again. He'd just think I died trying to protect a merchant caravan from lowlifes. He'd never know what I'd really done. Somehow... that made it worse. I couldn't do that to him. Normally I'd have been afraid to say anything, but knowing I was about to die sort of took the gravity out of having her yell at me. “L...lieutenant? C-can I have a minute to wr-write a letter first?”

She fixed me with a confused glare. “What? If you wanted to write a letter then why the hell didn't you do that while you were in here?” She thrust a talon down the hall. “I said get moving.” Her expression hardened yet more. “Stop staring at me like an idiot and do what I said! Lieutenant Ironclaw is waiting for us and I'm not going to waste a moment more on this than I have to.” She tugged my leg to get my numb body into motion.

I was too broken to voice anything, and just followed her as we wound our way through the labyrinth of a prison. So much for that. Papa really never would know what happened to me. It was for the best...

It also seemed that the half of the building we were entering was kept up in ever so slightly better condition. The walls were all dry and the few holes we encountered had been patched over. There were even tiled bits of carpet in some of the adjoining rooms, and the lighting was good enough for me to make out the faded patterns. Definitely not where you'd be executing someone when you had the landfill we were just leaving. Did the Talons have their own execution chambers?

My heart was thundering in my chest as Heidi led us through a pair of heavy wooden doors that appeared to have survived the centuries shockingly well. I barely made out an embossed carving of a blindfolded pony holding a set of scales before we barged through and emerged in...

...a courtroom. Not an execution chamber, but a courtroom. On the left, some of my former squad members sat at a table. Serge and Carmelita. They both glanced back our way, wearing grim expressions. To the right, Lieutenant Strongclaws and Egon sat at a similar table. Lastly, in the judge's booth dead ahead, sat a crisply groomed, slate gray griffoness that I didn't recognize. Was this Lieutenant Ironclaw?

She blew on a talon and cleared her throat. “Glad you could join us, Mr. Longtalons. Would everyone stand, please? I'd like to get this done as soon as I can because I have a lot of work to do this morning.” She angled a talon toward us. “If you don't mind?” Huh? What was I supposed to do, go stand in the little booth beside her? I had no idea how this stuff worked!

As it turned out, she was talking to Heidi, who pulled me along and directed me to a spot in the center of the room. My palms and armpits were growing sweaty as she left and joined Egon at the right table, leaving me to stare with equal parts of dread and expectation at my judge. Palpable silence smothered the room until Heidi addressed us all, “This courts martial will now commence. First Lieutenant Freija Ironclaw presiding.”

Up close, I couldn't help but notice how much the lieutenant reminded me of Liese, but now wasn't the time to start thinking about that. She lifted up a sheet, studied it briefly and said, “Private Longtalons, you're facing some very serious charges here. You've been charged with involuntary griffonslaughter, criminal negligence in your duties and misuse of Talon equipment.” She set the page down. “How do you plead?”

Heidi's warning flashed through my mind, and I was under no delusions that I could deny any of that happened, if I even wanted to. No, I was doomed anyway, and I owed it to Ida at least to admit fully what I'd done. “Guilty, ma'am. To the griffonslaughter. Not guilty to the negligence and misuse.”

“Very well then. Please have a seat.” She waved a hand toward the open seat next to Serge, which I reluctantly took. I didn't look either in the eye and didn't even dare to check to see if they were looking my way. Just sitting next to them was hard enough. I couldn't possibly interact with them right now... “Lieutenant Blackfeathers, you may begin.”

Heidi pointed toward the little booth I eyed earlier. “Have a seat. You'll be there for a while.” She assumed the position in front of the booth, fixed me with her withering gaze and asked me, “So, you claim that you're not guilty of negligence and misuse of equipment, despite the fact that you admitted to me last night that you killed Private Whiptail because you dropped your weapon. How do you care to explain that?”

“I-I'm not saying I didn't do it... it's... it's just that it was an accident. I didn't murder her! It was an accident!”

“So you said.” She turned halfway to the griffons behind her and asked, “Could you then describe to everyone just what happened?”

Serge looked my way without much of any hint of emotion, but Carmelita looked like a barely contained thunderstorm. I tore my eyes off of them and fixed them on the wooden rail in front of me, which I trusted wouldn't judge me as I spoke. “...it... as I told you earlier...” I went through the whole story again, detailing how I was so sleepy that I dropped the gun. Again I answered her questions on how that happened, and admitted to everyone present that I was a severe insomniac.

“And here we get to the criminal negligence,” Heidi said, mostly to Freija. She cut her eyes back to me. “Whether or not you meant to kill her, by keeping this a secret and trying to perform a job that requires a high level of alertness, you critically endangered everyone in your unit and ended up killing Ida. What do you have to say for yourself?”

That it was mostly true? It wasn't quite so clear cut, and I really didn't want to risk throwing Serge under the cart, but at this point I was speaking mostly by reflex anyway. “It's usually... usually not this bad. Most of the time it's fine. I... I needed the bits for my family and I... well, when I'm not too stressed out I'm fine.”

“Didn't you think that working for Talon Company would be stressful?”

“Yes ma'am, but... again, not every day was so bad. It was only lately... after the Pit... that it got this bad. I'd been managing okay before that... but...” I hung my head. “I knew I wasn't fit for duty. I told Sergeant Swiftwing that I didn't think I could handle it that day. I hoped he'd let me work at the clinic instead, but... he told me I had to go on patrol.” Silence fell again, but I could almost hear Serge's shock. I definitely wasn't going to look.

“...sergeant, is this true?”

“Uh... yes, ma'am, it is. It's standard procedure. He wasn't sick enough to send as a patient, and he wasn't scheduled to work there.”

The two went back and forth on 'procedures' that I knew nothing about and was in no frame of mind to comprehend anyway. I just hung my head further. This wasn't going to change anything about my fate and all I'd done is probably gotten Serge in trouble too. Sorry...

Their conversation was reaching a bit of heat by the time something loud banged. “That's enough. You two can discuss SOPs later, after this is over. Do you have any other questions or testimonies?”

Heidi clenched her claw. “Private Longtalons, have a seat. Private Galeforce, take his place.”

My body went through the motions largely without my input, giving Carmelita a wide berth to sit as far away from Serge as I could. Pony goddesses, why did I drag him into this? What had that accomplished? In a way I almost wished this pointless 'trial' was over so I wouldn't have to dwell on that on top of everything else.

“Now, Private Galeforce, I want you to describe the scene as you found it. Does it match up with Private Longtalons' story?”

Yet again I couldn't meet her eyes. Instead, I settled for staring into the wood grains of the table in front of me. “It might. A lot could have happened. I got there long after they were on the ground. He was busy pouring potions into her mouth when I saw them...” She went into excruciating detail on Ida's state when she got there. How she was clearly dead even from the air, twisted and broken. How I was squealing and pleading for her to stay alive. She mentioned something about my destroyed gun, but the details were lost and muddled in the rest of her testimony.

I could see Ida's face in my head as she spoke. Every last little detail, from the streaks of blood to every feather that was out of place... all of that was forever and permanently hammered into my brain. I'd never forget it as long as I lived, nor would I ever forget the unbridled terror, guilt and disbelief that accompanied it. It was almost impossible to keep it all in...

The interrogations couldn't have lasted ten more minutes. I think I was called back up once again for something, but frankly, what was asked of me and what I said was lost to time. It didn't matter anyway. All that I can remember is sitting at that little table again, next to my former squad mates, when Freija stood from her booth. “I think I've heard enough. Lieutenants Blackfeathers and Strongclaws, join me in the back.” My heart skipped and fluttered. This was it. Now she'd finish the mock trial and come back with the execution order. Why they even bothered discussing it eluded me. Some kind of sham for Red Eye's sake?

The discussion in the back went long. For minutes I stewed and simmered next to Carmelita. A time or two I dared to glance over, finding her and Serge silently staring into the table just like me. She crossed her arms and flicked her tail, but stayed quiet. At the other table, Egon sat alone, fiddling with the feathers on his chest. Fine. Let him preen himself. He didn't have to worry about what was about to come out of the back room. He didn't do anything wrong. He didn't have to worry about sweating so much that he could smell himself. Let him do whatever he wanted...

By the time the old wooden door creaked open, I was shaking. No amount of accepting my fate could quell my body's natural response to its imminent end. Truly, I was beginning to wish they'd hurry up. At least after the execution I wouldn't have to feel like this anymore.

“Private Longtalons, stand,” Freija ordered as she assumed her station at the judge's booth again.

The shaking made it hard, and I had to catch myself on the table, but I obeyed. Everything was blurry from water in my eyes, but I dared not reach up to wipe it away. I just blinked them clear and let it run down my cheeks.

“After hearing the evidence, and in light of... the current circumstances... both city-wide and of your own, I'm sentencing you to three months of hard labor, to be decided by your commanding officer, Lieutenant Heidi Blackfeathers. Furthermore, you will forfeit all pay during that period, and will be removed from your platoon and squad, pending reassignment.” Freija looked down her beak at me. “Lastly, at her option, I'm authorizing up to one hundred lashes, to be distributed at her discretion and with no more than fifteen at a time.” She struck her gavel once again. “Dismissed.”

“Huh...?” I croaked. I... I wasn't being executed? With significant effort, I turned to look at the others present, finding Serge and Lita just as surprised as I was.

Heidi just looked furious. She strode my way and leaned in close. “Don't think this is the end, private,” she whispered. “Freija might be too soft to put a bullet in your head, but this isn't over. You're going to work the crater, and I couldn't care less what happens to you. Maybe you'll trip over an alicorn. Maybe you'll just drop dead from radiation poisoning and get to be one of the little treasures the ponies are picking through the trash for. I don't care.” She sneered. “But before I hand your sorry ass over, you're going to join us at Ida's funeral. Sergeant, take him back to his cell.”

I waited in shameful silence for Serge to come and get me. They might not have shot me, but I'd heard enough about the crater to know that it was a death sentence all the same. I didn't get to go out quickly and with dignity.

I got what I deserved.

It might have been an hour or so before someone came to get me. From the cot I couldn't make out who it was in the dimness, but the awkward silence prompted me to perk up and slowly rise.

“...so... you here for Kaz or...?” one of my guards asked. More peculiar silence. “Uh huh... uh, one second.” They approached and wrestled with the lock before hefting the heavy metal door open. “Someone's here for you.”

There was little question why they were here, so I slipped off the cot and made myself as presentable as was possible. I probably wouldn't be returning to the cell. For better or worse.

To my surprise, it wasn't Heidi or Serge that stepped inside, or even Leigh. Instead, Isaac strode in, wearing an irritated frown. His eyes flicked up and down, scrutinizing me for something I could only guess at, but as usual he remained silent. Did they really send him of all griffons to get me?

“Um... is it...” I began, hoping he'd do anything other than just stare at me.

The big orange griffon rolled his eyes and waved a talon for me to follow him.

“Right... okay.” Without another word I joined him and followed as we wound our way back out of the decaying prison. For the first time in two days I found myself back out in the full glory of Fillydelphia, which wasn't nearly as glamorous in comparison as my memories had painted it. Even the attenuated overcast light stung my eyes, and the acrid smell stung my nostrils even worse, but at least I wasn't a caged bird any longer.

Isaac thrust a talon upward and beat his wings, lifting off and waiting for me to do the same. Taking to the air again was a liberating feeling, although the sensation was short lived indeed. I'd already suspected we were headed to attend the funeral that Heidi mentioned, but the sight of the churning smoke from the power plant confirmed it for sure. No doubt most bodies in Fillydelphia, at least those that were found, were cremated for various reasons, and the Talons were no different. While they seemed to prefer to use their own facilities for almost everything, I guess in the end there weren't a whole lot of convenient options for cremation.

We set down inside the courtyard atop the crumbling pavement, just away from a small gathering of familiar griffons. The other members of my squad, Heidi, Egon and Yvonne were all waiting for us near the entrance. Next to the path was a covered stretcher. An occupied stretcher.

“Good. We're all here,” Heidi said, walking down the steps to meet us halfway. She narrowed her eyes at me for a moment, then said to Isaac, “Help the sergeant carry her inside.”

My eyes fixed on the stretcher throughout the entire process of gently lifting and hauling it through the narrow doorway. Reality had continuously oscillated between feeling like a dream and sickeningly real ever since the... accident... but now was one of those moments that my brain refused to accept as happening. No longer could it half believe that somehow I'd wake up and everything would be okay. This was it. It was about to be over and done.

“Private, are you coming?” Heidi asked.

I snapped to and found just the two of us still outside. She was waiting at the doors, glowering at me. I still hadn't moved. “Yes, sorry...”

Hazy memories of the pony that she and Liese killed drifted back to the surface, and a tight feeling clenched in my chest. Every fiber of my being wanted to be somewhere else, a feeling I was growing very accustomed to, but I owed it to Ida to be respectful. Bleeding pinfeathers... just... bleeding pinfeathers...

The furnace room brought with it even less pleasant memories. One of the few moments that really stood out to me was the time that Ida found me here, dazed and lost after watching the pony go on to be with his goddesses. How could I have imagined that we would both be back there so soon, and for such an unimaginably horrible reason? My throat spasmed and my heart did something strange and unpleasant. I owed it to Ida to be respectful, but I could not stand to be here long... please...

Serge and Ike took up positions at the railing over the incinerator and hefted Ida's stretcher up onto it. Despite my fears that the rickety and rusted out metal piping would collapse under the weight, it all held. Ida's body shifted slightly and I looked away, down through the slats of metal under my feet into the darkness of the power plant's guts. Cold, uncaring machinery that wouldn't judge me.

“Let's begin,” Heidi said. Her voice carried through the small room, cutting through the silence like a bullet. I looked up, finding her standing off to the side of the pit and holding a rolled up sheet of paper. “We're gathered here today to put one of our sisters to rest. Private Ida Whiptail-”

A loud thump, crunch and splat interrupted her and startled everyone present, myself included. We all jumped and scanned the room, and a few even reached for weapons before the source became clear. Dripping from the ceiling vents was the thick slimy goop of a shattered egg. Little bits of shell sloughed off and fell down into the heat shimmer coming from the burners. Wh... what? Somebody tossed an egg into the trash disposal?

Heidi slammed a claw onto the flooring and shot an acidic gaze our way. “Corporal, go find whoever is responsible for this and tell them to meet me in my office in ten minutes. If they don't agree, shoot them. Egon, go with her.”

Leigh and Egon both gave quiet affirmations and vanished through the exit, leaving the rest of us in stunned silence. Who would do something like that? Why?

I didn't have long to contemplate it, as Heidi growled, cleared her throat and resumed the funeral. “Private Ida Whiptail lost her life in the service of Talon Company, performing her duties with the skill, diligence and care that is expected of all its members. With a clean record and six years of faithful service, she was an example to all of us, and will be remembered as one of its finest members.”

My throat started closing up again, and I held a claw up to it as I fought to keep my emotions in check. The conversation we had in this very spot was coming back to me in little bits and pieces. I remembered thanking her for supporting me so much, and for being an example for me if no one else.

“Through no fault of her own, her life was cut short and now we send her mortal remains to go on with her spirit into the rest that she has earned.” Heidi gave a nod to the two at the rails, and with a fluid motion they turned her stretcher up.

Ida's body slid and tumbled off into the abyss, falling for what felt like an eternity before a soft thump sounded. The crackling intensified along with a fresh spray of filamentous embers rising up in the hot fumes. Goodbye Ida. My eyes stung and my chest spasmed again. I wasn't going to be able to keep it in and I was starting to not care. “I-I'm so-orry...” I whispered under my breath. Pus spewing bleeding pinfeathers... who could ever forgive me doing something like this? Would Ida still be so understanding?

“In all of our contracts, there are three clauses for ending service in Talon Company. Serving your tour, dismissal by the captain, or losing your life in its service. By fulfilling her contract, I now absolve Ida of all duties and leave her to rest in peace.” Heidi stretched her hand out, holding the paper in the wispy smoke. The roll dropped and unfurled, floating down into the hole to never be seen again.

And that was it. That was the funeral service. You could give years of hard labor, be shot dead by your partner, and that was what you got. I doubled over and covered my eyes with a forearm, trying and failing miserably to keep my crying to an inaudible level. Now that the speech had ended, my gasps and heaves were the only sounds aside from the tiny crackles of Ida's body burning away. They all had to hear it, and I couldn't care less right then. If Heidi screamed at me again about being a grown griffon I might shove her into that damned incinerator. Maybe then they'd shoot me and this whole affair would finally be nothing but an ugly footnote in someone's file cabinet.

The silence stretched on and I kept crying. I cried until my body hurt. Even in the heat of the burner, I felt cold and hollow. A chill ran down my spine and radiated through my body. From no discernible direction I heard faint whispers. Whether it was my squad talking about me or if I was just losing my mind, I didn't know or care.

I flinched when I felt the light touch of a claw on my back, but I dared not meet eyes with anyone. All I could see through my blurry vision was faded pink feet and red feathers. Yvonne. I guess she had the least attachment to Ida out of anyone present...

Heidi said, “Sergeant, I have to go deal with something. I'm leaving it to you to take Kasimir to the crater. When you've done that, come see me.”

“Yes ma'am.”

One by one, everyone but Yvonne filtered out through the exit. On his way, Serge stopped. “Take your time. I'll wait for you outside.”

When it was just me and Yvonne left, she gave me a little squeeze and whispered, “Stay strong.” Then she was gone too.

It was just me and Ida. I picked myself up and trudged over to the furnace, trying to think of something to say. “I-I'm sorry, Ida. I... I... I...” I had nothing else to say. That was it. You couldn't put it into words.

Another wave of deep cold chilled my body, which I took as a sign that I should go.

I couldn't stand being in there any longer... my body just couldn't take it...

It was time for me to go and meet my end.

Gain Experience – You gain 1,000 experience points for learning another hard lesson.