The night before departure never looked dramatic from the outside.
There were no speeches or final patrols, just the steady movement of a unit packing itself away.
Connex containers sealed. Gear stacked on pallets. Forklifts whining through the compound while soldiers tried to convince themselves they weren’t counting hours.
Melvin walked the gravel lane toward the outer wire because the quiet there made it easier to think.
Behind him the base still hummed with radios, engines, and laughter that came a little too fast.
A year of war packing itself into crates.
Mac fell into step beside him without a word.
Melvin felt the shift before he saw him, the familiar weight of his presence settling somewhere low in his ribs. The panther inside him recognized it instantly.
They walked a few more yards in silence.
Across the compound Barnes and Diaz were arguing with a crate that refused to close. Reynolds sat on a stack of duffels laughing at something Laird said. Someone had music playing near the motor pool, low and distorted through a cheap speaker.
The unit still functioned.
It just wasn’t theirs anymore.
“You ready?” Mac asked.
Melvin watched the gate lights flicker in the distance.
“No,” he said honestly.
Then he shrugged one shoulder. “But I’m packed.”
Mac huffed quietly beside him. “Same.”
They stood there another minute, the wind pushing dust across the gravel.
Then a truck rolled past toward the flight line.
Melvin brushed his fingers once against Mac’s wrist as it passed.
A quick, natural touch.
“Then we go,” he said.
Mac nodded.
They walked back toward the barracks without looking over their shoulders.
A few hours later the compound woke before the sun.
The aircraft waited on the runway. Floodlights washed the tarmac in hard white light. Soldiers moved in loose lines carrying rucks and duffels, boots scraping against concrete.
Melvin climbed the ramp and ducked into the cargo bay, the smell of hydraulic fluid and recycled air hitting him instantly.
Mac dropped into the web seat beside him.
Across the aisle Diaz was already leaning against his pack with his eyes closed. Reynolds scrolled through his phone like he couldn’t decide who to message first. Laird stretched his legs out and declared he planned to sleep the entire flight.
Melvin doubted anyone would.
