[b]Part One: Family, Duty, God[/b] All I could taste was stale coffee and the acrid taste of blood. [i]The things we do for Family[/i], I thought. It wasn't my first firefight, nor would it be my last. However the familiar smell of gunpowder was absent. “I still can’t get over that.” I muttered. “What was that Sarge?” The question came from a wide-eyed rookie officer who didn’t possess a clue in his head. “Nothing.” I growled as I waved dismissively. FNG's, on the other hand, are never in short supply. As I leaned against the wall in that tiny shithole apartment, I contemplated the new firearm in my holster. The familiar drone of the radio, and the bustle of officers and medics blurred around me as I considered this 'marvel of the Golden Age of Humanity'. The 'Hand Cannon', I thought, was an appropriate name for this weapon. Six shots and six low life dealers down with no chance of being revived proved this. I never understood why these drug slinging scumbags thought they were untouchable. But it always seemed to end the same, whether it was in a drug lord’s mansion or, as in this case, a tiny one bedroom apartment in the ghetto, with bodies, blood and controlled chaos. The key to winning the game was being the master of the chaos. The Golden Age may have changed our planet... well, planets now, but it hasn’t changed the heart of humanity. We still kill, maim and corrupt each other to no end, even in the so called “Light” of this Traveler. Its arrival has done nothing but give us room for expansion, room to spread further like a hungry parasite, and better implements to kill each other with. I knew three lifetimes worth of knowledge about firearms that worked with gunpowder, but these weapons based on knowledge gleaned from the Traveler, I knew little of. Sure I could maintain them, strip them down, put them back together, but other than that, it was a mystery to me. Soldiers have had these weapons for a while now, but after years of mass production they finally made it into the hands of the Peacekeepers, the warriors of the street. [i]The Traveler[/i], I thought and laughed inside;[i] My Lord and Savior is God and His Son, not some floating...[/i] “Fredrick!” I was jarred out of my thoughts by a rough familiar voice, and suddenly the sounds of sirens, a hundred voices and the steady blink of the old red and blue lights filled my consciousness. “Fredrick, you gonna do your thing so we can go? I.A. is up my ass to get you out of this crime scene and debriefed, so get a move on”. Lieutenant Dawson; now there was a good cop, and a good friend. He knew me better than anyone else. “Alright, alright, Dawson I hear you.” The same wide eyed rookie from earlier elbowed his partner and whispered, “He's going to do it, man I can’t believe we're going to see it!” I again laughed to myself. [i] I guess word of my tradition still finds its way to the ears of all the new officers in the department. But I do it for no one other than my Lord. [/i]I knelt, amidst the bodies of my enemies, and made peace with God and the departed. “God,” I spoke aloud, “Lover of souls, You hold dear what You have made and spare all things, for they are Yours. Look gently upon Your servants, and by the Blood of the cross forgive their sins and failings as well as my own. Remember the faith of those who mourn and satisfy their longing for that day when all will be made new again in Christ, our risen Lord, who lives and reigns with You forever and ever. Amen.” I stood and walked towards Lt. Dawson, who stood at the entrance to the apartment. Dawson spoke as we entered the street flooded with Peacekeeper vehicles. “This is why I don’t want you doing these drug buys alone. I don’t care how good you are, things go shitty. That snitch set you up and tipped these guys off before you got there: it was an ambush!” “The Lord guides my hands, and they lost... Today was not my day to come home to him. Plus, those assholes couldn't shoot for shit,” I laughed. “You are one strange man Fredrick. You know they have a nickname for you around the station right? Street Knight, ” Dawson said as he clapped me hard on the back. [i]Street Knight, huh?[/i] I thought to myself.[i] Has a nice ring to it.[/i] “It is true, I am a bit off, but let’s get this done. I just want to see my family.” My family... One of many reasons why I am willing to strap on a gun and do Gods work is to support my family. There is nothing I won’t do for them. The ride to the department is long, but it is only the beginning to the end of my day. I walk into the office of Internal Affairs and prepare to do the dance. Questions they have, and answers they are given. Several hours later: I walked into my home, the smell of dinner still in the air. The house was quiet... of course it was; to them 3:00 a.m. is a time for peaceful sleeping and nothing else. [i]I hope to keep it that way[/i], I thought as I put my gear on the kitchen table and crept up the steps. I carefully peeked into my twin daughter’s room and saw two small peacefully breathing lumps beneath their sheets. Two beautiful six year old girls slept soundly in their beds. I still was in disbelief that six years had passed since their birth, but when you marry the love of your life at eighteen and children quickly follow the wedding, time slips by you like an assassin. I entered my bedroom and there I saw true love’s countenance, my wife, sitting awake waiting for my return. She gathered me in her arms and spoke softly into my ear, “I knew you would be home... I saw the news vids, but I knew.” “It was His will that was done today, He brought me home to you.” I smiled as she held me tighter. It was then that our bedroom door burst open and we were assaulted by a force that could be stopped by not even God himself. “Daddy! Daddy's home!” twin voices screamed in unison. I was quickly tackled down onto the bed by two small bodies. Then a third, that of my wife’s, and here it was: [i]Heaven[/i], I thought. [i]This is what heaven will be...[/i] Part 2 found here [url]http://www.bungie.net/en/Forum/Post/67705105[/url]