Goddess Triamal stood up from her throne and approached the formation. Her floor length dress flowed behind her as her graceful movements belied an elegance that even the most practiced queens could never replicate. She stood in front of the leaders after she walked over to them.
"I understand that many among you are confused. Many among you are scared, and you do not know what to do next. You may all be thinking this is a dream. As loathe as I am to admit it, this is no dream. As some of you have already understood it, everyone here is dead."
After that proclamation, all was silent. Most of the formation had already accepted the results, some had given up, and some had even despaired Those that had given up, and those that had already understood what happened stood silently as they watched denial grow throughout the formation. Eric, Hammond and the other leaders stood silently as they processed the information. Eric looked at Hammond and gave him a silent look, a look that explained through somberness they knew they needed to get everything under control. Before Eric could move, though, the Goddess started crying.
Tears fell down her face as she approached a young PFC that was sobbing against an LMTV. He held his phone as he looked at the picture of his wife and daughter cuddled together on their couch. He collapsed as he fell to the floor. Every soldier in the room watched, understanding.
The Goddess approached the man and hugged him. She offered no words of comfort as she just allowed her divine presence to offer the young man comfort. Various scenes much like that took place all over the formation, the presence of the Goddess was comforting many soldiers in the same manner as the PFC that collapsed on the ground.
The leaders that were on the outside looking in had a much different reaction. Eric himself had a bug eyed look of incredulous nature. "Is she…?"
Hammond nods while lighting a cigarette. "She is." He responds, contemplating the insanity of the situation. "So… if we're here, she probably wants something from us, right?" Eric said with a sigh.
The question remained unanswered as things around the formation calmed down. These soldiers had already deployed together as a battalion. Emotional turmoil, grief, and loss were all compartmentalized while they formed back up.
"Hmph. They formed back up after all that?" Eric murmured. Thinking about it though, Eric realized it made sense. Soldiers thrived in Chaos, and this was a combined armed battalion. Each man and woman here knew they could die at any time. Aside from the few soldiers that were too overcome with emotion to function, all other soldiers formed back up.
The Goddess then walked back to her throne. Her gait was steady, but slow.
Hammond was the first to break the ice. "So, Goddess… you brought us all here and saved us from death. What can we help you with?" Eric had to hold back a snort. Here was a LITERAL Goddess, and his First Sergeant was treating this entire encounter like the battalion worked customer service at UPS.
Triamal stopped in her tacks when Hammond spoke to her. In her entire existence as a Goddess, she had never been spoken to like that. She stared at Hammond for a few seconds while collecting her thoughts.
Her explanation began by bowing her head down and looking at the soldiers in shame.
"First off, I apologize and have to tell you I could not avert your deaths. We God's and Goddesses cannot interfere in mortal life in a hands-on manner." A few moments of silence followed as the soldiers digested what she said while she continued speaking. "I have brought you all here because this world is in peril. There is a God whom has used a human proxy to wage war on this planet. He believes that humans can't rule themselves, so he wants to rule the world directly. People die every day as he gains more control over the planet."
After finishing her speech, the goddess kept her head bowed. "Please, soldiers of Earth, help me win this war. I am offering you a second chance at life, and a war to not steal oil or because your brethren died, but one to save a world. I understand that some among you may wish to return to Earth. For those that do, I will send your souls back. You will reside in your world's reincarnation cycle, and watch over your families while you await reincarnation. For those of you that wish to fight, I will give you all gifts to compensate you for your lost capabilities."
Eric ponders over all the Goddess had said while she had given them her plea. The whole speech had interpreted into something like an Operational order. She had given the soldiers a clear mission tasking, as well as who and what those that fought would fight. Eric was honestly impressed as he thought
over what she said. Eric looked at Hammond and the other leaders. He could tell that they were all thinking the same kinds of things. The goddess was offering quite a good deal honestly. Sure, there was a chance that all the soldiers here might die again, but those that did would go back to Earth, while those that lived would have the chance to live a new life.
After the Goddess had finished her speech, choices were made. The leaders began to talk to their formations about staying versus leaving. The First Sergeants kept tally of all those leaving, while remaining accountable of those that stayed. Friends were saying goodbye, and tears were shed as the soldiers who would stay remained in formation. Those that would leave congregated near the Goddess. As each individual left, the soldiers that remained gave each man or woman a salute. Finally, the last person who would leave disappeared in a bright white light. Accountability was then held once more, and the final tally? Only around 30 soldiers had gone back to Earth.
The battalion commander had then addressed the pilots separately. All pilots had decided to stay.
In a serious environment like this, one would expect conversations to be somber and serious. Every person here was dead after all, but those expecting serious conversation would be let down very rapidly. It started with one question from a private in Delta company. "Hey goddess lady, are there cat girls in this world?"
Triamal looked at the man with confusion on her face while the rest of the battalion stayed silent. The 1SG of Delta company once more face palmed. No longer able to hold his peace, and with veins popping out of his neck, he yelled at his company: "If you MORONS DON'T SHUT THE FUCK UP, ILL KILL YOU BEFORE THE WORLD WILL." That was the straw that broke the camel's back. The battalion as a whole starting a raucous eruption of laughter. They were used to Delta company and their infantry antics.
Triamal just sat at her throne shocked, a stone face of absolute confusion replaced her stoic expression.