Duty Report: 02/12/2058

**-WARNING-**
This page contains
**unmarked spoilers**
 for *ASTRAL CHAIN*. Proceed at your own risk.

**Duty Report: 02/12/2058** is the fifth file found in the Duty Reports, as part of the Police Database info accessible during File 06 【Complicit】 and File 10 【Madness】. The file is locked behind a password, which is 1125 - the birthday of the protagonist and Akira Howard. The file documents Maxmilian Howard's play-by-play notes from the rescue operation into Zone 09 during the Pandemic.

## Content

24/11/2058 0:29
The whole disaster response unit got called up at once. We knew right away we were dealing with something like we'd never seen before. You could hear it in the voice of the brass as they gave the order and told us we were going to Zone 09.

24/11/2058 0:46
Here we are. They tried to fill us in on the way over, but they undersold how bad it'd be. The whole zone's toast at street level. Any humans left unredshifted went upwards, they say, towards the tops of the buildings to get away.
The moment our choppers touched down, we immediately started loading people back on them to get them out. But there aren't enough helicopters. Captain took one look at the scene and immediately called for backup. No headcount or anything. He didn't need one. Not sure the backup ever came.
## It already feels like we've been here forever. Gonna gather a posse and see what we can find down below.
More aberrations the lower we go. It's not like how we do it on the outside. No clearance from the UNION necessary, no reports to file afterwards. Just kill, kill, kill through the aberrations and hope there's any survivors to be found.

I don't know how long it's been since the last time I wrote. I k now the sun came up and it felt like I'd never seen light before. Then I saw that light was glinting off a giant goddamn wall coming up all around.
## Whatever that wall is, I get the feeling we're on the wrong side of it. We hurried back up to the roofs like we were trying to race it.
The captain was the only one still there. He waited around for us, bless him.
How did he say it? "The UNION made the call, boys. They're cutting this zone off." There were still survivors down below and he knew that. But I guess orders are orders.
He said our ride out would be there in an hour. The way I saw it I had an hour to save whoever I could and I took off running. I found out later that I'd have probably died along with the captain and the rest if I'd stayed. I fought like hell but in the end, I could only save a few people including two babies who I figure must have found the worst possible time and place in human history to be born.
When I looked down from the hatch of the helicopter that finally took me out of there, the only thing I could see below me was more faces watching us fly away without them. That's all.
Truth be told (and I know maybe they're reading this, and I don't care) I don't have any more reasons to stay in this shit outfit, following orders for this shit government, except I found something I have to keep safe. Those two babies I wrote about before. As long as I have them I know there's something new and pure and just in this world that I can protect. I have a reason to keep fighting until the whole world is like that again.
(Maxmilian Howard)