Danny sat at the top of the small rise that overlooked the market. He had removed his helmet and now revealed his messy hair where the mask ended just above his ears. He ran an armored hand through his unkempt locks and stared down at the market, the den of slavers and hate mongers. Everything he reviled and worked to destroy, he was forced to protect. He stared at his hands, the one gripping his service pistol, the other the metallic face mask and visor with The Judgeman's symbol, a blue scale on the left side and a sword crossing a shield on the other emblazoned upon it. He chuckled when he remembered how fervent and excitable he had been when he had first signed on with the ODSC. The opportunity to protect people and stand in a position respected and acknowledged by all was all he had wanted. Then, he went on his first combat patrol through the Badlands. NODs and UV projectors mounted on trucks aided the men in wiping out the remaining desert tribes of the Bloodsuckers before moving on into a small cove inhabited by a Sand Drake. The great beast had put up a fight, mauling three men, literally peeling their armor off before tearing into the soft flesh like a grisly human banana.<br/><br/>Danny had felt confident up until the they had encountered the sand lizard, and now he was huddled behind a rock, staring at the headless corpse of the squad commander whom had peeked up at the wrong time and had his entire skull boiled and burnt away by a blast of fire. Struggling to recall his survival training, he dug into his pouch and extracted one of his Tys. The thick capsule was coated in a meat scented Esther and laced with female dragon hormones. In short, it was irresistible to an adolescent male drake. Priming the charge, he set the cap for a fifteen second release before hurling it over the rock, trying his best to judge the distance and position of the drake based on its low growls, not wanting to expose himself. The charge hung still in the air for a brief moment before the massive lizard leapt up and snapped its colossal jaws about it. Danny slammed himself down on the ground before clapping his hands over his head. The drake moved to release another gust of flame when the Ty went off. Their technical name was Time Activated Extinguish and Eliminate Capsules, but the men called them Tys after the pill company that made the gel-cap centuries ago.<br/><br/>As the beast tried to expel another gust of flame, white chemical foam burst from its mouth and nostrils before it looked panicked for but a brief second before the volatile chemicals within the Ty mingled with the beasts fire production gland and the beast exploded from the inside out, showering the area with diamond hard plates and gore. Danny sat up, temporarily stunned, tears running down his face and a warm puddle of urine forming in his uniform's crotch. The survivors gave him a sedative, helped him up and together they made their way back to the transport.<br/><br/><span style="font-style: italic">It only gets easier with time bro.</span><br/><br/><span style="font-style: italic">Hey, dodged that bullet, haha!</span><br/><br/><span style="font-style: italic">So long as it ain't your ass, then there ain't nothin to be worried about.</span><br/><br/>Danny laid back and stared up at the sky.<br/><br/><span style="font-style: italic">The clouds....They seem so far away...So indifferent. Its like...They watch us, they see the torment and horror that makes up our lives...they see it all and yet they just float on...Content to watch us destroy ourselves...Destroy the goddess that gave us life and paradise to live in. Is that all there is to life? Just take and rape and destroy everything until you've either gotten all you can or you get killed by someone who wants what you got...</span>He felt his grip tighten on the Judgeman's mask.<span style="font-style: italic">His </span>mask.<br/><br/><span style="font-style: italic">NO! Someone has to stand up! Someone has to put an end to the subjugation, the death! The pain! All it takes for Evil to succeed is for good men to do nothing. I don't know who said it first, but whoever it was they had no idea how true it was. </span>He stood slowly, slipping his service pistol back in its holster before pulling the Judgeman's mask over his face. His ODSC gear stowed safely in his pack, he wore his guerrilla gear, a black hoody with bullet proof armor strapped in over it on chest, forearms and shins, his equipment harness hanging about his waist and back with thigh-supporters. He snapped his radio-headset over his mask and set it to his comrade's channel before speaking.<br/><br/><span style="font-style: italic">"This is Judgeman, Liberator, Crusader, are your units in position?" </span><br/><br/><span style="font-style: italic">This Crusader, solid copy Judgeman but no view on the priority target you mentioned before, over. </span><br/><br/><span style="font-style: italic">"Damn, she must've been moved. It doesn't matter, just prep your squads for action, Crusader  I want you and your men to diver the guards from Liberator while they get the slaves out of the cages. Me and mine will keep the escape routes open and hold off reinforcements." </span><br/><br/><span style="font-style: italic">Solid copy Judgeman, this is Liberator, waiting on your mark over. </span>Danny peered down at the market, sitting impassively as his squad arrived behind him, loading weapons or securing masks and armor.<br/><br/><span style="font-style: italic">"Mark."</span>