Points of Impact Quotes

“When the Combat Stations alert blares and everyone around you loses their head, it’s too late to be standing in line at the armory to sign out your pistol.”
― Marko Kloos, Points of Impact

“Decaf is an abomination, and serving it to someone should be considered a human rights violation,”
― Marko Kloos, Points of Impact

“Even with the immediate threat of extinction, government bureaucracies grind as slowly as ever.”
― Marko Kloos, Points of Impact

“When a drop ship pilot tells you that the flight is going to be a little bumpy, strap in firmly and prepare to lose a filling or two.”
― Marko Kloos, Points of Impact

“but this is the military, and making sense is against service tradition.”
― Marko Kloos, Points of Impact

“I take out the ancient M17 pistol and stick it into its holster on my chest, right above the magazine pouches for the carbine. I tuck the loaded spare magazines away into their respective pouches. Then I close the locker and leave my stateroom to go to the armory by the flight deck.”
― Marko Kloos, Points of Impact

“Marriage is great. It’s the one thing I have to come back to every time, no matter how shitty things get out here,”
― Marko Kloos, Points of Impact

“They have different priorities. They can’t relate to the shit that we do up here. Of course, I can’t relate to theirs, either. I mean, when you’ve seen what we’ve seen, can you still pretend like any of that civilian bullshit is a big deal?”
― Marko Kloos, Points of Impact

“over twenty meters per second squared,”
― Marko Kloos, Points of Impact

“like in that old children’s game.”
― Marko Kloos, Points of Impact

“The recruits in boot camp usually love sim exercises because it’s exciting and makes you feel like you’re in combat.”
― Marko Kloos, Points of Impact

“That would be great. As long as it’s not decaf.” “Decaf is an abomination, and serving it to someone should be considered a human rights violation,”
― Marko Kloos, Points of Impact

“The worst stress is the kind that builds up over months and years of combat ops, the low-level shit that grinds you down slowly but steadily until you find that you can’t fall asleep anymore without popping pills or having a few drinks.”
― Marko Kloos, Points of Impact

“In real war, you don’t often get a clear-cut victory. Sometimes you battle The Enemy, and you both walk away from the fight exhausted, bleeding, and mentally bruised, without any clear victory to show for it, no patch of ground or objective to point to and say, “That’s what we earned with the lives of ten thousand grunts and sailors.”
― Marko Kloos, Points of Impact

“And, Garcia?” “Go ahead, sir,” Garcia replies from the TacOps station hundreds of kilometers overhead. “Next time I tell you to let me take your spot on a drop, punch me in the crotch,” I say. Sergeant Garcia laughs. “To be fair, sir, you asked to get put on a drop ship to Shitsville if you ever got too comfortable behind this console.” “A fair point,” I concede.”
― Marko Kloos, Points of Impact

“Cream always rises to the top.” “Yeah, so do other things,”
― Marko Kloos, Points of Impact

“We’re not religious, but we’ve discussed the idea of an afterlife before, and Halley and I concluded that Valhalla is the best afterlife of all the mythologies we’ve read about. Fight all day, feast all night, and only grunts allowed. Maybe you get to go to whichever place you like best, and maybe Odin has upgraded Valhalla to include automatic fléchette rifles.”
― Marko Kloos, Points of Impact

“Never waste an opportunity for taking a leak, grabbing chow, or taking a nap while in the military—you never know when you’ll get the chance for another one.”
― Marko Kloos, Points of Impact

“He’ll get his in the end,” she says. “One way or another. Karma is a metric bitch.”
― Marko Kloos, Points of Impact

“Why do I have the feeling that every time you say ‘with all due respect,’ you don’t really mean it?” I hesitate for a moment. Then I return his smile in an equally humorless fashion. I don’t want to spend my leave time in the brig, so I moderate my reply and don’t give him the two-word answer that’s really on my tongue. “Because you are unusually perceptive, sir,” I say instead.”
― Marko Kloos, Points of Impact