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He flew, for hours on end, with millions of users nibbling bits and pieces of the illegally uploaded data off of him. In the air, he thought about where this journey began, about how high he had hung his hopes and how far he had fallen away from them while never dropping altitude. Now, it was only a matter of seeing how far he could drop, hoping there was an answer at the bottom instead of his own fiery wreckage.

Yes, Preddy struggled to find his spot in the sky once he came home, but his skills had not been forgotten by the country he once served. The United States needed Preddy's services for a valiant mission to protect the homeland from its enemies. This, Preddy thought, is exactly what he needed.

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Unbeknownst to him, since his victorious time on the battlefield ended, the identity of his foes had changed. No longer was he tasked with fighting combatants overseas; Preddy was to fight his own, his fellow countrymen. Forgoing due process and casting aside the need of proof to intend harm, the United States had authorized the use of lethal force upon its own citizens if one were even suspected of villainy. Preddy was back on the front lines but could no longer recognize the battlefield, nor could he tell apart the enemies from the compatriots. The world had smudged into inky, indecipherable blots; friend and foe oozing into one. Preddy would cry if not for the fact that he'd be grounded for leaking coolant ...