#jasp writes

North found himself with Theta on a planet that quickly became home. The planet was mostly populated, with a city skyline washed gray by the frequent rainstorms. North had made sure that South was somewhere he could keep an eye on, but not somewhere she would run into him. She had been stationed on the next planet over, in a job that kept her happy. North had been placed in charge of special operations training for an army that was mostly made up of blank, robot-like soldiers who followed his every command. To be honest, at first it freaked him and Theta out a little at first, but they got used to it. He put his old freelancer armor into storage as he switched to the armor designated to him. Every day was the same for years: get up, work out, train, eat, and sleep. The entire planet was in a routine that he was pulled into. Memories of Project Freelancer and his old team faded into the back of his head like a bad dream. One night, he made Theta log off and didn’t bring him back. North became part of the system that he began to know so well and adapted to it. Part of the reason he was so shocked when he heard that rebellions were breaking out all over the planet was because the repetition was broken.

The government was in panic. Officers everywhere tried to restore order, but to little avail. The ones rebelling were as organized as the ones they were rebelling against. Unfortunately, without order, neither side’s armies were very useful. As North viewed the first battlefield via video broadcast, he felt devastated. Armies were running at each other across the thick mud with no sense of direction, shooting everywhere. The yelling of the lieutenants was drowned out by the sound f gunfire. And of course, there was the screaming. The agonized screaming of wounded soldiers as they were being trampled made North cringe. At last, he couldn’t take it anymore and left the scene to be somewhere- anywhere else.

Another heavy storm washed overhead as he pulled off his helmet and headed down one of the many perfect concrete paths towards his destination, wherever that may be. “Goddamn it. God. Damn. It.” He ran his gloved fingers through his military-cut hair as he swore. Was he destined never to get a break? As the cold rain began to fall, he began to clear his mind and headed towards one of the aircraft hangers.

 Once inside, North shook his head, scattering hundreds of droplets of water as another of the many ships landed. The government, his new ‘boss,’ had ordered a shipment of soldiers from other planets they owned. They weren’t as disciplined, but they were necessary. With a flash of lights, the doors of the ship opened, and the troops marched out. North observed them with slight interest. They seemed alright, for newbies. He grinned slightly as he let his mind wander to when his old teammate Wash became a freelancer. The poor kid was so inexperienced and clumsy. Thankfully for him, North helped him out- with the help of York, of course. The smile fell from his face as York entered his mind. York had taken what had happened to Carolina very harshly. After he heard that she was dead, he refused to speak with anyone. Afterwards, he was sent God knows where. North didn’t even get to say goodbye to him. Nor did he get to tell him… Never mind. He snapped back into focus. It was all in the past. He didn’t need to reminisce. He had to keep moving forward.

He wouldn’t look back.