Excerpt: Kings Cross

Joseph and his men had just reached the barrier command post when news of the second attack got to them. A smaller attack using the Victoria line tunnel had made it through the barriers there and the fighting had made it to the station it’s self.
Causalities had been light, be for an attack to have made it that far was shocking. Had this attack just been a huge diversion?
“Do they need any help with the mop up at the station?” Joseph asked the phone operator.
Joseph just wanted to get back to the station. Anna worked close to Victoria line tunnel.
“No, it sounds like the raiding party is all dead”.
Dam, thought Joseph. He would have to wait to she her again. For a few moments he had felt now she must feel every time he left for the tunnels. The station had always been a safe place for her, for every one.
“Sergeant Narellus” a voice barked from behind him.
He turned to see an officer of the intelligence unit. His black uniform so clean, so spotless. They did not dirty them selves with the realities of actually fighting a war, just with planning it.
“Sir” Joseph saluted sloppily. They intelligence officers where worthy of nothing more.
“I need to know what happened in that carriage”. Joseph sighed, this would take hours. He would want to know everything and all of his men would need to tell him the story and they would all have to do it separately.

It had, as Joseph predicated taken hours. The intelligence men had gone over the every bit the that final carriage as well as all of the accounts of the storming of it. By the time released Joseph had told the same awful story three times. Finally all of Joseph’s men where aloud to get together and say there last farewell to their fallen college. Private Harper was his name. Joseph didn’t know him that well. He knew all of his men of course, they had bonds with each that had been forged in heat of battle, but Joseph always kept his men at a distance.
Joseph lead the men carrying the body to lime pit. In these confined spaces, bodies had to be disposed of quickly to stop infection.
“We commit our glorious dead to the earth from which they came. The death of bother in the defense of his station and those ideas for which it stands will be forever remembered”. Joseph had read this standard text so many times now it had lost all meaning. It was just two sentences now. Much as the ideals for which they where fighting for had lost any meaning.
They where just words too. Where these words worth dying for? Joseph asked him self again and again.