Activation, Part 10

Eight names. All eight names were now highlighted green. Somehow, someway, all of them were coming back. This had turned out better than he expected. At most he thought five of them would respond, and then maybe three or four might agree to come in. His planning from the preceding days had been under the assumption of only having that many of them operational, but now, now there were some real possibilities before him. Now they might not just hold the line - now they could think about going on the offensive. Other news had also been good. The facility would soon be operational again and the suits were being prepared for their wearers. He reclined his chair back slightly, savoring the moment. Victory was in no way guaranteed, but things were off to a good start. Out of the corner of his eye he now noticed a figure standing over his shoulder. Startled, his sat back at attention and turned to see that it was his superior. He gave him a status report and his superior nodded in approval. They exchanged a few brief remarks about the situation before his superior left. Alone again, he turned back to his screen. Eight names. Everything was now riding on these eight names. The first few of the eight would be arriving soon and once all of them were present it would be up to him and the others to get them ready as fast as possible. If they moved quickly there was even a slight chance that they could contain the situation before it got any worse. No, that was wishful thinking. This was going to be long, ugly, and full of death, just like everything else they had ever gotten involved in. A message appeared on his screen stating that the first of the eight was now here. Time to get started.