I briskly marched into the commanders office with nothing but a shot of cheap vodka and some plates stuffed down the back of my armor to help protect me from the ass-chewing I was about to receive.

"Come in Commander BioPlague...at ease."

Ease was not within reach due not only to the circumstances but also the very nature of our enviornment...chipped bricks and bullet holes everywhere scattered about what few creature comforts could be afforded a battlefield of this magnitude...how could these damn Titans love this rock so much?

"I understand your troops took a big trouncing today...what happened?"

The ranking commander was a thin man with a barely perceptible smile constantly working it's way around the corners of his thin pale lips...but I saw no smile of any kind now.

I took a large steady breath and began..."Well sir...it was the usual at first, we had a sal bracketed and down and the grizzlys on the run...I honostly am not sure exactly what it was they had sir...but I swaer it was big as this building."

The usually stoic commander flinched for a brief second...and something I had never seen in a man of this position seemed to creep over him...was that fear?

"that big eh? did you see any other details?" He opened a desk drawer and pulled out a notebook and pen...flipping the book open about midway and searching for a blank page he looked up at me with his pale grey eyes.

"Well sir...it seemed to have a forward firing plasma...thing...on the front...and the last I saw it had turned its stern towards us...I saw what I THINK were some really large artillery...rockets or something...it fired one shot at us and the resulting blast kinda mucked up my line of sight...we ra..retreated at that point."

The commander scribbeled hastily in his book for a moment...then nodded.

"I see...come over here Bio...ket me show you something.

He turned facing a table behind his desk in the corner where files were piled about in unorderly fashion and pulled one of the folders from the top. Opening the folder he pulled several hard-copy photostats...ariel shots by the looks of it.

He pulled some reading glasses from his froont pocket and donned them then gazed intently at one of the pictures. He layed the photo on the table and pointed at a spot in the middle with his pen.

"Look anything like this?"

I scooted closer to the picture and peered down...I could see something as big as a building but sitting flat in the middle of a road.

"I dunno...could be...was that big at least though."

Nodding he scooped up the photos and placed them back in the folder which he unceremoniously tossed onto the pile of other secrets.

"You must keep this sighting to yoyrself commander BioPlague...I cannot stress to you enough how badly we must keep moral up. If rumors of this thing leak out, we'll have a very hard time getting the troops to move on the city when we are ready to take it." He said looking sternly at me.

I nodded "Yes Sir. Anything else sir?"

He sat back in the chair behind his desk and folded his hands in front of him.

"Yes a couple of other issues...one is that you need to remind your troops to please if they are going to die....get hit with as much ammo as possible for the recycler...and also you may need to do some refresher training on "What to do after you have died and been recomposed"..you know...some of these young ones are still asking for summon so close to the recomposer and I don't want to hear anymore sargeants complaining about it. That will be all."

"Yes sir." I sharply saluted, did a right face and marched briskly out of his office.