Iris couldn't help but sigh as she looked down at the medal that Gabby's aunt, Lieutenant Kristen Kramer had just presented both her and Gabby with during the award ceremony that had just taken place at Fort Davis just outside Central City in front of her family, meaning her parents, Wally, Barry, Henry, Carla, Caitlin and Cisco, along with Gabby's brother TJ, since the rest of Gabby's family had chosen not to attend watching their daughter receive a medal of valor.

Though Iris couldn't help but feel like a fraud as she looked down at this medal, since in her mind, she didn't deserve it. Not when she'd failed one of the primary goals of every soldier and squad leader. To protect her people and make sure they all made it home safe. Her body may have been healed thanks to the arm Carla had built for her and Gabby's magic necklace, but her mind, that would likely never heal. And the guilt of leading her teammates, her friends, that would probably never fade. Those soldiers should've been up on that stage with her and Gabby, but they weren't. All because she'd failed to make sure her team was safe. She'd failed to bring them home.

"I know what you're thinking and don't go there." Kristen said as she walked up to Iris.

"How can I not? I was their squad leader and I got them killed. I led my team into an ambush and for some reason, I was the sole survivor." Iris said.

"Which happened to me five years ago." Kristen said.

"Wait, what?" Iris asked, since that was news to her.

"Have you heard of Operation Griffin?" Kristen asked.

"No. I'm assuming that was an army operation, not a marine one?" Iris asked.

"It was a joint operation, but also likely above your clearance level, which is why you can't tell anyone what I'm about to tell you, since the only reason I'm telling you any of this is so that you know that it wasn't your fault and you'll believe me when I say that." Kramer said.

"Okay, say your piece." Iris said, since she'd heard it from everyone else already. From Gabby, Barry, her parents, Wally, Caitlin, her therapist, everyone told her it wasn't her fault, but she didn't believe it.

"5 years ago, I was leading a joint operation between the army and the marines called operation griffin. The task force was very similar to the Wild Dogs. We handled missions that weren't exactly what you'd call normal. But then a few years ago, we were doing a routine op, nothing we hadn't done before, but suddenly, we were ambushed by about 5 claymore grade mines." Kramer said.

"What? How did you survive that?" Iris asked, since she knew how deadly those kinds of mines were.

"I'm still trying to figure that out myself. But what I do know is that it wasn't an accident, since my unit was led into an ambush by one of our own. A man I called my best friend, more like a brother to me, Adam Creyke, sold us out to the enemy. He's the only other man who survived the ambush, though it's pretty easy to do that when you're the one responsible for it." Kristen said.

"Creyke sold out your unit?" Iris asked.

"And laughed while he watched our brothers and sisters in arms die. It took a long time to convince the top brass that I had nothing to do with the ambush and I still have issues convincing myself that it wasn't my fault. I was their leader, I should've known that something wasn't right. Especially since Adam tried to keep me from going on the mission in the first place. I just thought that he was being overprotective. But instead, I led my men into an ambush and was powerless as I watched get blown up by a traitor." Kristen said.

"Sounds like what happened to you was even worse, since Eiling was just my commanding officer, but it sounds like Adam was more." Iris said.

"I've known him since we were kids, we were two native kids off the reservation, we were both bullied growing up. Which is why it was so important we had each other." Kristen said.

"What happened to him?" Iris asked.

"I don't know. The last time I saw him, he was grinning at watching our unit die before the world went black. When I came too, Adam was long gone and I have no idea where he is now. I've been searching for him ever since and it's part of why I'm so invested in the hunt for Eiling. But anyways, my point is that you're not alone in thinking that you failed. I still have trouble believing that what happened to my team wasn't my fault, but it wasn't. Neither of us knew that we were leading our teams into traps. All we can do is be thankful that we're alive and focus on getting justice for the people we lost." Kristen said and Iris actually smiled.

"Thank you Kristen. Hearing that from someone who actually knows what I'm going through, it helps a lot." Iris said.

"I'm glad to hear that. And remember, you've got a great support system. Use it." Kristen said, but before Iris could respond, the ground began to shake.

"What's going on?" Iris asked, right as they heard a loud roar was heard as suddenly, a huge, dark, grotesque looking monster smashed its way onto the base.

"What the hell is that thing?" Iris asked, grateful that her fiance was still on the base.

"I don't know." Kristen said, since that beast looked familiar to her for some reason she couldn't place it.