The Swan's Song.

Chapter 17

"Based upon our intelligence, we are able to see that..." As she continued speaking on her briefing regarding the Furled Fist, she noticed Swan come out of his corner and bend down to whisper in Phantom's ear.

The arctic fox leaned back and listened intently before shrugging and nodding, turning to look at the human. The fox began to nod and Swan spoke more.

She couldn't hear the conversation and she carried on speaking, stealing glances to look at the human and the fox.

Phantom had also been one of her closest confidants, alongside Benny and Callie. And Swan had been one of the biggest thorns in her sides for the past half decade.

She paused for a moment to clear her throat and take a sip of water from a bottle, realizing she never once expected this sort of thing to have a probability of happening when that first shot was fired.

Swan said something that caused Phantom to squint and then turn to look directly at the human.

"These soldiers should be considered peer to peer adversaries on a lower part of the scale than... human forces." Said Brixley. She continued looking at the two, noticing that Swan glanced her way when she said the word 'human' and then focused back on Phantom.

After a quick word was shared between the two, Swan leaned back to stand up straight and raised his hand. This action caught her attention, and more so, Phantom scrambling to reach back and get the human to lower his hand.

Brixley made a small pause, yet continued the briefing, trusting that Phantom had good reason to 'batten down' the human's question.

XXX

"As per the briefing you all were just in, we are in very interesting times which are rapidly changing."

Callie sat in a meeting room with a large wooden table in the middle. Turned off screens surrounded them on the walls, and a few plugs for laptops and other devices sat on the table.

Brixley sat at the head of the table, and Callie sat next to her but to the other side of the table. Sako also sat to the sides of the table in front of their General.

And at the other end of the table quietly sat Swan. He had been called to that room and immediately sat in the chair unmoving and leaned back as far as the chair would allow.

"Now, what this means is that everyone will have a role and every role must be done effectively and efficiently." Said the General. Callie nodded, already having an inkling of where this conversation was leading.

A pit formed in her stomach when she noticed that the only people in the room was her, her squad, and Swan.

And based upon Brixley's previous conversations regarding him and Sako...

"Sako... you have been operating at a reduced capacity for three years." Said Brixley. Callie felt her neck run cold. Rita glanced up at Brixley and Echo leaned back in her chair.

"There is no need for you to run at a reduced capacity. I have found a new soldier to be assigned to your squad. He will act as your designated marksman." Said Brixley. Callie glanced at Swan to see that he was frustratedly rubbing his eyes with a hand.

"You gotta be kidding me." He grumbled. Callie watched as Ava sighed and put her arms across her chest while Ana looked down at the desk.

"Seriously?" Asked Ava. Brixley nodded.

"Effective immediately." Replied the General. Callie nodded and blinked, still taking in the news that was presented to her.