"My life has known nothing but war," Booker said. "Krieg had no sunlight, only flashes of thunder and lightning from radioactive clouds during periods of high activity. Krieg had no flowers, only trenches, rusted barbed wire, and shell craters. The rain that fell was black and heavy. My mother said it carried the sins Krieg's people could never atone for."
"The Big Canteen was a paradise, a paradise no Kriegman could imagine even if you kneaded them all together. Peaceful, advanced, unlike every Imperium world I had seen before. There were no shadows in the corners of its cities, only people faithfully doing their duty. No one would shoot at you there, and you would not point your gun at your comrades."
This was the first time Booker had spoken to White, Jon, and the others about his homeland, about himself. Even among the taciturn Kriegmen, Booker was among the quietest. Soldiers who spent time with him often thought the thing beside them was a corpse rather than a living man.
Now, holding a poison that could erase a soul, Booker instead showed a trace of calm and relief. It did not comfort Jon. It only made him more nervous.
"Listen, Booker... reinforcements are on the way. Put that damned thing down. I won't write your report." Jon looked at Booker with sorrow, trying to stop the tragedy that was about to unfold.
Booker slowly unscrewed the vaccine, revealing its tiny needle. The fluid inside carried an unsettling blackness, like a dark night sky utterly devoid of light.
"Do you remember our motto during the expedition?"
Jon froze for a moment, then quietly replied, "We were going to end the war once and for all, and return peace to every corner of the universe."
"That's right. Those things were never