Losses

“Where the hell’s the rest of my squad?” demanded Corporal Palmer as she stepped forward. “The Wraith?” “Affirmative,” John replied flatly. “They were killed in action.” “Then we’ve gotta go back.” “We’re going forward.” “No we’re not.” Palmer’s brow furrowed. “We are not just gonna leave them lying back there in this goddamn sewer!” Cortana spoke to the entire group over their helmet-integrated comm units. “They will be left behind just as the other twenty-three billion that preceded them were left behind. Because they could not be saved, and carrying them with us will only make us vulnerable.” They looked at John like he was a monster; like an alien. In some of their eyes he could detect something deeper. Not horror; astonishment? Betrayal? Of course it may have just been hearing Cortana speaking through his comms.

Palace Hotel pg. 351