I Have Returned, but I Cannot Lay down My Gun

"…Is everyone okay?"

"We believe there are no casualties, thanks to the missile hitting a high-rise area densely populated with buildings, but the situation is far from resolved."

"Alert the entire northeastern air defense network. A missile was fired at our forces. There’s no guarantee the second missile won’t follow."

"We can't contact the rocket brigade stationed in Manchester!"

"Did it come from Albany?"

"We are currently verifying!"

Late at night, in northeastern Boston.

Except for a few on duty, everyone else was asleep when suddenly, a deafening explosion, sirens, and screams filled the air. A missile weighing around 4 tons, traveling at speeds similar to bullets, collided with a building, starting the chaos.

Over a thousand soldiers, including high-ranking officers and staff who were still in dreamland, were abruptly woken by the air raid warning, and they scrambled half-dressed toward the shelter.

When they reached the temporary shelter, an Iskander missile came tearing through the air, intercepted halfway by the S-500 system, but still crashing into the side of a high-rise building.

That was the moment the high-explosive warhead detonated.

The deafening explosion didn’t tear through the ears, but the shockwave from the Iskander’s high-explosive warhead spread like a heavy, blunt impact throughout the body, scattering hundreds of thousands of pieces of debris from the buildings in all directions.

Soldiers, having retreated to the shelter, were still on alert in case a second or third attack followed, but several minutes passed without any additional missiles.

Once it was clear there were no further threats, the senior commanders emerged from the shelter and quickly returned to their command posts.

"...What’s the latest intel?"

"We’re in contact with the air defense brigade. It will take a few more minutes to get proper data, but…"

"These bastards wouldn’t even notice if a missile fell on the command center, would they? Get me the details now! Before I go down there myself and turn everything upside down!"@@novelbin@@

"Understood!"