Guardians of Eden by Matt Roberts

live with your conscience.”
    Owyn’s anger was intensifying. Letting himself release his fury now was the worst thing he could do. Miller wanted an excuse to paint a target on his back and this was exactly that. Owyn knew it yet he wasn’t about to back down – not a chance. “I didn’t have any friends there. If I had then you’d have killed them anyway.”
    Miller shook his head. “You aren’t the victim.” His voice rose sharply. “Don’t dare act like you are. You don’t have that right.”
    “And you do? What we did was unforgivable, yet you never questioned it; not once. You enjoyed it. I’d rather have died than lived another day as XION’s puppet. And as for my country, it died a long time ago. A country that allows its people to be slaughtered in their own homes isn’t my country.”
    “No one wanted to do it, not even me, but we had our orders. It was our duty. You never understood duty, did you Carter? You didn’t belong there, and you don’t belong here.”
    “You’re right,” Owyn said softly. “I didn’t belong there, but it’s you who doesn’t belong here.” He brushed past Miller’s shoulder and strode briskly down the hallway.
    “We’re on the same side, Carter.” Miller called, not bothering to turn to face him. “You’re the one who wants to go to war, not me.”
    Owyn and Miller had never seen eye to eye. Miller had no remorse. No compassion. He was as cold and empty as a person could be. Even through the famine and the war Owyn never knew anyone like him. He would torture civilians just to leave a mark. He didn’t care whether or not they were guilty or if they had any information to give. All that he wanted to do was instil fear, even if he had to wield the knife himself.
    Shaw never had any issue with him. They always got along, as did the rest of the team. Owyn was the only one who ever stood against the Captain. The others followed him blindly, and always took his side when Owyn raised his voice. All that mattered to them was survival. As long as they had food and shelter for themselves and their families they didn’t care what they had to do. Whether it was murder, torture – it didn’t matter.
    They were the kind of soldiers that XION appreciated. Soldiers who were willing to do whatever necessary – in return for survival. That bargain never applied to Owyn. As Ambrose had said, survival wasn’t a problem for him. He wasn’t bound to XION like everyone else, yet he stayed, keeping faith that it would all be for good in the end. Perhaps, he wondered, he ought to have joined the other side. Perhaps that was where he belonged.
    The following weeks were just as gruelling as Owyn had expected. Miller barely allowed the team an hour of rest. Every second they spent away from the field he either had them locked in training or poring over their previous performances, scrutinising the tiniest errors in their every action.
    On the positive side – at least for the time being – he appeared to be keeping to the code. All assignments were undertaken just as they would have been under Ambrose, and collateral damage was kept to a minimum. Owyn wasn’t going to be so quickly convinced, but perhaps he had changed after all.
    Still, Owyn himself kept a low profile. He didn’t feel too much better about it all yet. Following their first encounter Miller had an eye peering over his shoulder at every turn meaning he was better off playing it safe. Shaw, on the other hand, could hardly wipe the smirk off his face. Now under the safe protection of the squad leader he persistently tested Owyn’s temper, and though he wished desperately to be able to fight back, it was out of the question. Miller heard everything. He had the team under constant watch at HQ and kept comms open at all times during missions. A single word out of line – especially after Owyn’s outburst – and he’d have taken pleasure in exacting punishment. It was Sully, however, who was hit the