Chapter Nine
With his partner Hallen taking the western sector, Tad took stock of the changes to the east of the gate. He was glad to be among the first few servicemen sent Outside to assess the damage, report on the changes to the geo-environment, and see if any resources could be gleaned from the destruction. Tad was also getting a close-up look at the land that had birthed Hector.
Tad often found himself revisiting his memories about what had happened that night when the supplicants had arrived at the perimeter. There was a lot his memories didn’t tell him. Where had the supplicants come from? What were they doing at the fence? How could anyone, human or not, think that the Pale would offer any kind of shelter from ferals? Anything trying to escape ferals in this part of the land was
