Sam

## Synopsis

Paige Bixby is a Sergeant in the U.S. Army, who is serving in Afghanistan. Everything goes well for her and her squad, until on one particular mission they get ambushed by Taliban forces.

## Story

Sergeant Paige Bixby had served in Afghanistan for almost two years, and she'd gotten along with her squad (Smith, Taylor, Brown, Williams, Davis, Jones & Sanchez) pretty well - they felt like a family to her. During those two years, they had been in some engagements, but this had usually been with other squads and thus they were in no real danger at any given moment. Safe to say, their time in the army had done them good.

One day, General Bell gave Paige and her squad an important task - to go to a nearby village and rescue the civilians there from impending Taliban forces. Their squad - the 29th Infantry Division - was supposed to go into the village, while the 148th and the 12th were supposed to secure the village surroundings. Shortly after starting the evacuation, the 148th and the 12th were attacked by the Taliban and were forced to retreat. That left the 29th, still in the village, cut off from the other two squads. Taliban forces surrounded and entered the village. The 29th fortified at the town square and fought the Taliban. However, the forces were too much and the squad got overwhelmed.

The soldiers were scattered and Paige hid in a nearby house, hoping that the Taliban wouldn't find her and waiting for an opportunity to get out of the village, safely. While she was in hiding, she saw how the remaining soldiers of her squad - her family - were found, rounded up on the town square and executed. When it was dark, she snuck out the village through various alleyways, barely making it out without being detected. The 148th and the 12th had abandoned the 29th, assuming they were completely wiped out when the shooting stopped, so Paige had to make her own way back to base.

When she finally got back to base, Bell did not celebrate her return, but instead interrogated Paige on what happened, how she could have lost her entire squad. After telling him the truth, he almost court-martialed Paige, as abandoning her squad on the town square was considered desertion. She was dishonorably discharged from the army and returned to the United States. Due to the dishonorable discharge, Paige didn't receive a pension and thus soon ran out of money. She decided to leave the U.S. and move to the newly-found Republic of California to make a new life for herself.

In the epilogue, Daniel 'Dice' Miller goes through Paige's military files, learns about her leadership skills and decides to try to recruit her.

## Characters

* Sergeant Paige Bixby: Leader of the 29th Infantry Division. Her leadership skills and quick thinking had quickly promoted her to Sergeant and not much later, she was in charge of her own squad.
* Corporal Peter Smith: Paige's second-in-command and part of the 29th Infantry Division. Smith got wounded during the battle and was later executed.
* Corporal Amy Taylor: Part of the 29th Infantry Division. Taylor was one of the soldiers who were executed.
* Private Stephen Brown: Part of the 29th Infantry Division. Brown was one of the soldiers who were executed.
* Private Matthew Williams: Part of the 29th Infantry Division. Williams was killed during battle.
* Private Angela Davis: Part of the 29th Infantry Division. Davis was one of the soldiers who were executed.
* Private Elizabeth Jones: Part of the 29th Infantry Division. Jones was killed during battle.
* Private David Sanchez: Part of the 29th Infantry Division. Sanchez was one of the soldiers who were executed.
* General Jimmy Bell: Paige's superior, who gives her the assignment. Later, he dishonorably discharges her after the incident.