@Little_ninja

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A sigh escaped Aira as she relived the past. She'd didn't understand why that day had to play out the way it did. Why that even with small reminders she was pulled into those memories. It annoyed Aria to no end. Not that it showed, which fed into her annoyance. Then again there was nothing she could do about it. So had to just accept it.

It was then she heard someone knock and call look to the door to see another woman. Aria looking at her with a slightly tilted head. Shrugging when asked if she was all right. As her eyes lock onto the bottle. Nodding at the mention of needing a drink. When the other woman asked if she had a cup. Aria shook her head. Watching her soon-to-be drinking partner approached. Aria taking the bottle slowly when offered to her. Checking the label, before taking a swig. The burning feeling on the back of her throat providing Aria with a small amount of comfort. It making Aria feel a little relaxed not that the feeling showed.

"Please sit. Otherwise, I'll start to feel uncomfortable." Aria said offering the bottle back with one hand. While the other shoved her pack and rifle away from her, before tapping on the floor. Aria wanting her new drinking buddy close. So it be easier to pass the bottle.

Having been dismissed and accepted back into the squad, Andrew smiled a little before taking a moment to look around to see if he could spot if there was anyone doing the cooking yet. After all, he had some supplies to drop off with them that he didn't really want hang onto for any longer then he had to.

Of course, after taking the time to look around he failed to find a cook. Well that was an easy solution, all he had to do was ask someone. Turning towards the nearest squad member, Andrew opened his mouth in order to ask a question before he paused as he noticed something; They didn't have a face. Instead of features that would have made a person stand out as an individual, all he saw was a series of blurs that were wearing a familiar (if battered) uniform...

Shaking his head, Andrew closed his mouth alongside his eyes in order to try and stop seeing things and refocus on the world around him. He... didn't need to ask anyone where the nearest cook was. He knew how to cook after all! Maybe a little louder then someone might have found acceptable, he called out "Alright ladies and gentlemen, anyone who has anything that they want to offer up for dinner, do so now! I'm cooking!"

Lilly had re-entered the house, just in time to hear a certain PFC calling out a request for dinner fixings. Her stomach growled in response, a product of her not having eaten properly all day. Right, it was supper time. She had completely forgotten about how late it was when she was still in her panicked state, but now that she had calmed down a bit, she remembered there was still work to be done before anyone could go to bed. "I do believe most of the squad members should have at least one meal tin on their person, but those only require boiling if you want them warm." Lilly checked her pockets and pouches, before eventually coming up with a small tin for emphasis. Assault rations - not particularly filling or large, but were light and compact. They weren't expected to be out here for much more than 2 days anyway (with this being the 2nd day), so the low weight had been prioritized. They could get a nice, filling meal once they returned to base. "Do you need any help with preparing the food, Mr..." She stole a quick glance at the name tag (for he was a new soldier she had not been acquainted with yet). "Mr. Macdonald? I could help you peel and cut the potatoes if you wish. What are you planning on making?"
@Bright_Ops

Through that Ragnafire artillery attack, Colin spent most of his time resting his head against the barrel of his rifle and closing his eyes. He'd like to think he focused too long and too hard on his shots. But he knew that this battle was the most intense one he'd been in, in some time. Still, what Colin did best was shoot well and bounce back with little effect. He made it to the safe house with his signature smile and wave to whoever looked his way. He meandered about for awhile, trying to find some good food and snatching up whatever he could find with his high metabolism. But eventually he found himself two of the girls in his unit. He popped his head into the room they were in. "Hey, you girl's drinking? Got any food?"

@Little_ninja@Evil Snowman

As Hexner replied with head motions to Cecilia, Cecilia gave Hexner the bottle of whiskey. "Please sit. Otherwise, I'll start to feel uncomfortable." Aria said offering the bottle back with one hand, after taking a swig fom the bottle. Cecilia accepted the seat, "Don't mind if I do.", sitting where Hexner had tapped on the floor. Taking back the bottle, she also took a swig after putting her equipment beside her.

"Normally, back before the war, I'd codemn taking others property, but it would be even worse to let this stuff go to waste." Cecilia said handing the bottle to Hexner again, seeing if she wanted more. "So, what did you do before the war? Not sure if it was obvious, but I was part of the police, keeping the peace in town." Cecilia asked, as she reached into her pocket to grab a pack of smokes. However, the pack she grabbed was empty. "Um... you wouldn't happen to have a spare smoke would you?"

Watching Cecilia sit down next to her, Aria felt happy that her offer was taken. Giving Cecilia a tilt to the head as she said before the war she condemn taking others property. Although it would be bad to let the drink go to waste.
"Why would it matter? They are Imperials. Dead ones at that. They don't need what is on them." Aria asked taking the bottle and downing a swig.

Looking towards the wall when asked what she did before the war. Recalling her time at school, it made her feel down. Which she cured with a second swig. When asked if she had a spare smoke. Aria nodded setting the bottle in between them. Reaching into her top. Aria pulled out a half-empty pack of cigarette's. Taking a cigarette out. Offering them to Cecilia.
"I've got a pack a matches in the front of my pack if you need a light." she stated pointing towards her pack.

"Right so ... to answer your question I was an art student."

"Well, technically I found this in one of the other buildings. Most of the other bottles and other things were destroyed in it. So, not sure if it was an Imperial's or whoever used to live there before the war." Cecilia replied.

Taking a cigarette from the pack, Cecilia pulled out a lighter. "All good, something else I happened to find." Lighting her smoke, she offered Hexner the lighter to use. "Ah, an arts student. I was never one for drawings or sculpting." Cecilia replied, letting out a plume of smoke after she had taken a drag.

Reaching for the bottle, she took another swig. "It's nice having time to smoke and have a drink."

When offered Aria took the lighter. Finishing her current cigarette she put on the floor and stomped on it. Putting the new one in her mouth lighting it as Cecilia mentioned she wasn't one for drawing or sculpting.
"I can't sculpt for shit. I've tried it but it boring anyway." she said reaching into a satchel at her waist pulling out her notebook.
"I was in drawing and painting class. You can have look at my work if you like. Most of it's destroyed towns, wrecked tanks. Bodies of the fallen. My old comrades. I plan drawing this squad. I want to capture the essence of the war." Aria continued carefully setting the notebook between them.

At Cecilia's comment it being nice to have time to drink and smoke Aria nodded. Taking a long drag of her cigarette
"Yeah, it seems these days it harder to find the time and have both smokes and drink on hand. In those few moments, the time comes. This ... this is nice. Thanks for sharing the whisky." Aria said sounding almost sad for a moment as she recalled the last she had a moment like this. With her old comrades.
"So ... a policewoman. I'd of never guessed. Must have been a fun job. Must have some good stories. Care to share one"

Picking up the notebook Cecilia flicked through it. "Wow, this is some nice art. Hm... I think I've been there before. Pretty sure it was before it got destroyed with another squad." Cecilia commented, going through the drawings. "Well, these are captured moments of the war, but I am not sure it quite has the feeling of the essence."

As Hexner mentioned gratitude for the drink, Cecilia smiled waving the bottle a bit, "No need to thank me. It's nice to have someone to drink with anyway." she replied. Hexner's voice sunded a little depressed, it seemed like she had recalled something, but had decided to move on to asking stories about Cecilia's old job.

Cecilia paused, looking up and thinking. She was thinking about whether to touch upon the topic a bit, on what Hexner had recalled, but decided against it. "Hm... well, most of the time it's just patrolling and making sure kids are safe and that no-one is doing anything wrong. I guess I do have a couple of stories ..." Cecilia spoke, in a voice that seemed to be filled with a little nostalgia.

"There was this one person with a porcavian winged pig." Cecilia started her story."You see, it was their pet. And they were trying to teach the pig to fly. It was bizzare. There were a few public disturbances, one was putting the poor porcavian winged pig into a tree. I've told them that the wings do not let the ping to fly. Still, this kid does some funny stuff. Got it to do a running jump off a roof for example. I had to catch it at the time. There was even a time when the pig was suppposed to learn to meditate."

As Cecilia said her art was nice Aria felt a pang of pride. Although it faded when Cecilia said it didn't quite have the feeling of the essence. Replaced by slight unhappy feeling. Aria happy her face remind its normal self. She didn't want her new drinking buddy to think she was a downer.
"A fair comment. It's good to hear criticism. Helps me improve." she said taking another long drag of her cigarette, blowing the smoke out after holding it in for a moment.

The moment Cecilia mentioned it was nice to have someone to drink with, Aria forced a small smile. It was nice to hear and she felt the same. Someone, she liked to have a good drink and a smoke with was rare. To find someone and her squad no less was a rare treat. As Cecilia told a few stories about thing done to try and make a porcavian fly. Aria couldn't help but find it amusing. She couldn't help but laugh when it was mentioned the animal was meant to learn to meditate. The outburst surprising Aria.
"Whisky must be getting to me. I actually laughed." Aira said getting distracted by what just happened.

"Anyway sounds like you had quite a handful. Sounds like you of hated me before the war. I got arrested for drunk and disorderly more times than I'd care to admit. Some petty vandalism and even a fist fight. I really shouldn't drink ... was never good at holding my liquor. I get drunk far too quickly, but its the only way I can show what I'm feeling. But things always get blurry. Eh, in fact hand over the bottle."

With Hexner's outburst of laughter, Cecilia joined in laughing. Hexner mentioned the whisky getting to her because she actually laughed. "That's the usual response I get, but sometimes I get told I must be lying. Anyway, it's good to laugh when you have a drink. And you look much better laughing than before." Cecilia spoke cheerfully.

Hexner then spoke of how she was before the war. Being a drunk and vandal. "Meh, I don't exactly hate other people. I do get annoyed, but things happen. I mean, I look at reasons, did you start the fist fight? Was it because you simply wanted to? Things like this. Anyway, in this situation, doesn't really matter. It's good to drink and rest the night away." Cecilia took another swig before passing the bottle. With her other hand, she started to take a drag, when PFC Nelson popped his head in and asked if they had food. "At least knock. Anyway, I don't got anything. You?" Cecilia turned to Hexner asking if she had food.

Hearing Cecilia didn't exactly hate other people. Aria laughed again.
"Then you are officially a better woman than me!" Aria declared somewhat loudly. Before looking at Cecilia.
"Yes, it is good to drink the night away. Good for my muse too. I've done some of my best work while drunk. It's just a little more abstract." Aria said taking the bottle downing a rather large swig. Looking at the bottle, seeing it was nearly empty.

Aria's gaze went from the bottle to PFC Nelson when he stuck his head in the door and asked if either of them had anything to eat. Aria shaking her head.
"Yes we're drinking, gotta pass the time somehow and no I've got no food you bum. Go mooch off someone else." Aira said with a laugh. Which made her realize just how out of character she was being. Aria happy that she was expressing herself, even if it was only temporary.
"I think I've downed too much. I should stop before I get too drunk. Not that there is a lot left to get drunk off. Did we really down the whole bottle." Aria said holding the bottle up for Cecilia to see. Before offering it to Cecilia.
"Here, you have the last. It's your's and I'm too drunk to be bothered by some shitty memories now. So I'm happy."

Hexner laughed once again, calling Cecilia a better woman than herself. Cecilia laughed with her, "Ha, a better woman you say. Most guys don't consider me a woman at all. Considering how many of them I have personally kicked their butts." Hexner coninued to drink, nearly emptying the bottle, before having turned to answer PFC Nelson.

"Well, I did happen to grab more than one. But I think one is enough to share between two." Cecilia told Hexner, taking up the offer to have the last. Cecilia downed the last of the whiskey and let out a big breath. "Probably better not to get too drunk at the moment anyway. And since you don't have any food, you should probably have something to eat, to help." Cecilia got up from her seat with the bottle. "Do you want to stay here? I can bring food to you if you want. Or would you like to come with me?" Cecilia asked, offering her hand to pull Hexner up.

Hearing Cecilia laugh at her comment, made Aria punch the woman playfully in the arm.
"Who cares ... what guys think? If they don't like it means you more woman than they can handle. If I was a guy I'd be all over you in a heart beat ... er ... forget I said that." Aria said cheeks going red. Although it wasn't out of embarrassment. Aria had already had far too much then her system to handle. It was now only a matter of time.

Aria watched as Cecilia down the last of the whisky. Part of Aria wished she hadn't given the bottle back. As now there was nothing left to drink. Even if Cecilia did mention she had another bottle. She was right, it would be bad to get too drunk ... well both of them at least. Aria was sure right now she was too drunk. When Cecilia offered her hand Aria looked at it and shook her head.
"No ... I can tell, walking would be hard ... toooooooo drunk and sleeeepy. Just leave me in here ... wake me in the morning. I wanna rest my eyes." Aria said looking at her pack.

"Cecilia front pocket, my pack. Take a pack of smokes as thanks." Aria spoke falling into the space where Cecilia had been sat.
"Nice and warm ... good night world." With that Aria shut her eyes. Falling into a light sleep, seconds later.

Cecilia laughed as Aria lightly punched and said she would take Cecilia if she were a guy. "I'm not going to forget that. I'll tell guys I have I can get a woman easier than they can." Cecilia laughed.

As Aria declined Cecilia's offer to get up and get food, she told Cecilia to wake her in the morning, and to take a pack of smokes as thanks from her before nodding to sleep. Cecilia took up her offer, taking a pack of smokes from the front pocket of her pack. She also looked for anything to help cover Aria as she slept. After covering Aria in some dusty cloth, which she had tried to clean without washing, Cecilia left in search of food.

It turned out there wasn't much to do, short of boiling some water for the squad members to heat their rations and helping Andrew with the vegetables. Despite the monotony of the task, Lilly somewhat enjoyed the simple job of peeling and then chopping the potatoes. It gave her something to focus that was unrelated to war and even reminded her a bit of home. Once the supplementary meal had been cooked and distributed, Lilly boiled her ration tin for a few minutes before helping herself to a small portion of the potatoes and sitting down to eat in an isolated corner. As she chowed down, she mulled over the situation. Everyone was socializing, no one seemed any worse for wear, and the battle for the city was over. Thank the Valkyrur... She had been so worried when some of her team were wounded, but it seemed that the ragnaid had worked wonders and they were all back to normal. She hoped that the tank crew was OK, but she remembered seeing a proper medic running towards where they had been laid, so she concluded they would be fine. She let out a deep sigh. It was finally over.

Once she finished eating and set down her tin, Lilly became increasingly aware of fatigue creeping up on her. She had been running around all day, and had not eaten much in the morning. Now, with a full belly, sleep was rapidly advancing on her. She took one last look around the room, to make sure no one needed her before slumping against the wall and closing her eyes. In her exhausted state, the rough wood felt like the softest pillow and it didn't take long for her to pass out.


At around 11am on the following day, a rather familiar looking APC rumbled up beside the house that squad 4 was currently residing in. Evan had finally returned. It had taken him longer to arrive than expected, due to having to 1) Locate the Captain, 2) Get the squad's orders, 3) Navigate through the bombed out hellscape of the city, and 4) try to find their house (which looked like every other house in the neighborhood). Eventually he did make it, however, even if it was later in the day than he would have liked. After dismounting from the APC, the mechanic burst through the door and announced his presence with his usual boisterous voice. "THE LEGEND RETURNS!" Looking around, he smiled at the squad, glad that they hadn't seemed to have lost anyone, and waved to the new faces. "Eh, g'morning everyone. I see the squad's got some fresh meat. Has anyone seen Hunt around?"

It didn't take long for Carn to find him, either by searching through the rooms or by attracting him with his loud voice, but once they met, Evan thrust a document towards him. "You've got mail!" The letter was pretty ordinary and still sealed (evidence that Evan's curiosity had not gotten the best of him just yet), just orders from the Captain: Return to Fort Breda and take a day to relax. New orders would come the following day, telling them where to deploy. Make sure everyone's gear was in working order. The one unusual thing about it was that it said the squad's upcoming orders would come from Lord Barst (the lord/officer in charge of the entire Vasel operation) rather than the captain. Once Hunt finished reading, Evan addressed him. "So what's the plan, Herr Kommandant? Cap'n told me we'd be heading back to base?"
@Zarkun

James had fallen asleep in the Kitchen with his side arm in hand and facing the door. If any of the Imps had been caught in the city, he'd be damned if they got the jump on his entire squad. But despite his best efforts, the stress of the day and the lack of any further adrenaline in his body knocked him out about fifteen minutes into his vigil, only to be rudely awakened by Carn's rather loud return. Rubbing the bridge of his nose for a moment, he stands and meets the man in the living area, taking the letter and opening it.

After reading over it, the Corporal folds it up and stuffs it in his pocket before nodding. "That we are. Help me round up...let's see here...Hexner and Rousseau and I'll give a formal informative briefing." After several minutes of searching, the pair was found in a room, roused and helped downstairs where Hunt took a position where everyone could see him and started. "Alright, so here's the lowdown. Command has seen fit to have us return to base and take a day of down time. The only thing I'm to require of you is that your gear is in tip top shape and ready to ship out when the man in charge of the Vasel operation, Lord Barst, sends us our deployment orders. So, pack up and be ready to move in thirty mikes(minutes)."

"No idea at the moment. All I have are some potatoes and some onions. Was kind of banking on other people having some spare food to whip something up... But if we can find some oil I could at least fry up some chips..." before he had the chance to ask what Jatmoore's first name was... or even introduce himself properly, the call went out that they were going to be on the move again in half an hour. Granted it would be for a day off, but still.

"Bugger... not enough time to cook a meal worth a damn... but we can cook something up when we get at Base." He muttered aloud, more to himself then anyone. Turning to the woman, he offered her his hand as he introduced himself as "Andrew Macdonald. Pleasure to meet you."

@Raven_Operative@Zarkun

"All aboooooard!" With that announcement and one final check to make sure everyone was here, Evan started up the APC and maneuvered it onto the road heading back to Fort Breda. Hunt's briefing was well, brief, and getting everyone packed up didn't take long, so not an hour after he had arrived, they were already on the road again. This time, heading home. "So how was the battle, kiddos? It'll be around dinner time when we get back to base. You have GOT to tell me some stories over a beer or two. Too bad we missed it, eh Bons?" He took a hand off the wheel to punch his navigator in the shoulder. "Maybe we'll see some proper action next time, not just the skirmishes we had."

Evan's cavalier attitude towards the horrors of war did not sit well with Lilly. Referring to everyone as kiddos and to the war as if it were some big grand adventure - especially when they had nearly gotten obliterated by artillery - was not something that she was overly fond of. The noise in the back of the APC made conversations difficult, though, so she relieved that he didn't seem to expect an answer while they were on the road.


Back at Fort Breda, the sergeant in charge of the vehicle bay was ordering groups of soldiers around to organize and clean the area in preparation for an inspection tomorrow... and was clearly having a bit too much fun doing it. "You disgust me, get that grime off that tank! You! Get those fuel tanks stored properly, you ignorant pissant!" Despite his words, he was laughing as he spoke, obviously just trying to have some fun with the working party through his overly dramatic commands. Certainly he was not the model of military formality expected of higher ranking soldiers.

Just after the job was finished and he dismissed the soldiers, a new recruit came running up to him with transfer papers in hand. With most of the squads from the base deployed to combat operations, she had apparently been bounced from one end of the base to the other as Sergeants passed her around, trying to find a suitable squad to put her in. "Alright Private, let me see those papers..." He quickly leafed through them, getting to the relevant information - her name, trade and prior experience. "Veronica Callaway... That's a nice name... Hmm... Scout... previously deployed with squad 13... No prior vehicle training." The sergeant shrugged and handed her papers back to her. "I got nothing for you, PFC Callaway. You need to either be an engineer or a mechanic for me to find any use for you at the vehicle bay. Why don't you try checking with... OH YOU SON OF A BITCH!" The sergeant took off running, and it was easy to see what interrupted him. An APC absolutely covered with grime had just rolled into the vehicle bay, dropping dirt and dust all over the clean floors.


When Evan parked the APC and dismounted with the rest of the squad, the first thing he was greeted with was an angry tirade from a very cross looking sergeant. "YOU INCOMPETANT FUCKSTICKS! WE HAVE AN INSPECTION TOMORROW MORNING AND YOU DECIDE TO BRING THAT MONSTROCITY INTO MY VEHICLE BAY?! WHAT SQUAD ARE YOU?!" Evan was somewhat taken aback by the yelling, though he managed to spit out 'squad 4' once the sergeant paused. He hadn't been aware of the upcoming inspection, due to being in transit for the majority of the last 48 hours. "Squad four... Squad four. Pathfinding unit, right? More like Squad Fuck-knuckle. Alright, well you made this mess, so you're going to clean it up. Who's in charge here? PFC HUNT! GET YOUR GROUP TOGETHER AND START CLEANING THIS SHIT! I WANT THIS VEHICLE BAY SPOTLESS AND THAT APC LOOKING LIKE NEW! PFC CALLAWAY!" He swung his arm to point at the new arrival and beckon her over. "You are hereby attached to Squad Fuck-Knuckles. Help them with cleaning up this mess and then... well, they'll tell you the rest, I guess." The sergeant shrugged, before walking back to his office built into the side of the bay. Half way across, he turned around to see the majority of the squad still trying to process what just occurred. "WELL?! GET TO IT YOU DIRTY, FILTHY, FUCKING PEASANTS! UNCLEEEAAN!"
@Zarkun@Bright_Ops@Little_ninja@Evil Snowman@Musaki Hajime@CirusArvennicus@Slypheed@Kitsune@Lennon79 @Massasauga

James blinked as the Sergeant stormed off, still processing everything that had just happened. How in the hell were they supposed to know there was an inspection the next day? They just got back from the battlefield, not that the Sergeant seemed to care. Turning to the squad, he sighed quietly. "Alright, well, guess there's no helping it. Let's get this place cleaned up some then take the day off. PFC Callaway? We currently have no orders having just returned from helping to take back Vasel. We recieve new orders tomorrow so take today off. Oh, and it's Corporal, not PFC. Need to get some new stripes when were done here."

Pvt. Callaway
Squad 04

Blue Funk
Veronica had been getting the run around for the better half of the day from the other squads. No one seemed to know or care about Squad 4, until a few NCOs pointed her off to the gate to wait for them to get back. She was patient, adjusting her new uniform and looking over the "04" that had replaced her "13". She hoped she wasn't going to get much trouble for her reputation. She started when the Motor Sergeant yelled out her name and gave her assignment to "Squad Fuck-knuckles". That made her wince. Great, out of the frying pan. This was going to be a great start, if her preceding assignment was anything to base it off of.

The girl rubbed the back of her neck, her fingers moving over her scars. While the hair had regrown and most of the shrapnel in her head was safe enough for removal, there was almost no way to get out every single piece. The 85mm tank shell that took out the house next to where she had been could very well have killed it if it was just a bit closer. The back of her head and neck were spared due, but her back wasn't as lucky. No, it was just enough to keep her from losing her motor functions and becoming paralyzed. It was a miracle, really. Most of the shrapnel she caught had been only an inch in, but a lot of it had scraped across sideways. Though, she did end up with a sizeable chunk near her hip which was now one of her nastier scars. She was glad that 95% of them were under her uniform so there wasn't much to fear from that.

Veronica looked a bit confused. She was a Private, wasn't she? Oh well, it wasn't too big of a deal. She looked to PFC, "Corporal", Hunt and sighed.

"I suppose so..."

She walked over to the APC and looked at it. Yeah, this was gonna need washing. Especially if she wanted that scary Sergeant not to yell again. She hastily fetched a bucket of water and a sponge. This was going to be more than a one-man job, but only if wanted done expediently. It'd be well within military expectancy to make the newbie do stuff like this. A sort of trial for acceptance. She rolled her sleeves on her uniform up and just slapped the sponge on the side, getting to work with a slight sigh.

Having drunk too much for her system to handle Aria once she fee asleep stayed asleep all night. Snoring loudly for most of it. Every so often muttering something random as she slept. When she was awoken Aria groaned and muttered several curse words. Getting up after being prodded several times she eventually got to her feet and stretched. Several of her joints cracking loudly. Looking at the ground where she had slept she tilted her head a little confused.
"Why did I fall asleep on the floor? Where the hell did the blanket come from?" Aria muttered dusting herself off as she tried to recover the memories of last night. But after a moment her mind only provided a few blurry moments. There was whisky involved and she gave up a pack of smokes for some reason. But the rest was a blur.
"Oh well ..." Aria thought pulling out lighting up a cigarette. Leaving the room pretty sure if she dawdled much longer she'd get in trouble.

Heading down stairs, she took a spot for the meeting. Aria listened to Corporal Hunt feeling quite pleased that being sent back for a little down time. Even if she'd not really done much in that last battle. Once the Corporal ended the meeting Aria gave him a salute and headed back upstairs she was pretty sure all her gear was in place. But wanted to check and see if she could recall anything from last night Once back her pack she did a quick check to find everything in order. Although noticed her notebook was on the ground. She flipped through it and saw nothing new.
"So ... I showed it, someone ... but I can't recall who.” she muttered to herself with a shrug. It was not important as the notebook was undamaged.

Aira spent the time before leaving touching up a few of her drawings out the front of the house. All the while smoking like a chimney. It was going to dull ride back and knew inside the APC she couldn’t partake of her habit. When it came time to leave he boarded when ordered to and let her mind wonder while staring at whatever/ whoever was across from her. Trying to ignore the need for a smoke while in transit.

When they arrived, Aria was surprised to be screeching serjeant. Who apparently was unhappy with them for bring a dirty APC into what looked like to be close to immaculate vehicle bay. Aria became annoyed. She wanted to tell the serjeant to go stick a rifle where the sun didn’t shine. Clean the grubby APC she was not something she wanted to do. Right now Aria just wanted to find out where she could store her gear and have a smoke or three. However, Hunt ordered the squad to clean so clean she would do. Setting her pack down and took off the shirt of her uniform. Revealing a dirty white tank top.
"I need a shower and clean clothes” Aria muttered to herself looking at the newest member of the squad run off and come back with a bucket. Aria doing fetching another bucket and several sponges. Dumping all but on the ground. She took a spot at the front of the APC. Wetting her sponge, she brought to the vehicle hull and started to scrub.
"This is annoying and frustrating me. Is it not the job crew of a vehicle to keep it clean?” she said to herself as she scubbed.

Private Bons, Gallian Militia

In a way, cleaning a muddy APC was therapeutic after the horrors of the front line. Not that Alonso had seen much of the fighting; once the Sergeant had been hit and they had to ship him back to base, he had spent much of the intermediate hours frantically trying to patch his superior's shattered lungs back together with nothing but a needle and thread soaked in ragnaid... It was nice to be able to shut the mind off, even for a little while. On the trip to retrieve the squad, Alonso had been thinking hard about himself, his role in the unit. Maybe if he could get permission, he might have an answer...

In the end it took a good hour to get the APC cleaned up to the standards of the local Sergeant and the squad was dismissed to their duties. 'Out-fucking-standing, Squad Fuck-Knuckles! You may all piss off back to your quarters and take some moderately well-earned R+R!' After the arsehole in question had turned his attention to his work crew, Alonso turned to give the squad a thorough looking over. As was ever the case with Squad 4, a few new faces had appeared, others left. As far as he knew the sergeant was the only real casualty, but it wasn't as though he had been paying close attention... 'Well... Who wants to get some dinner before we head back? Something should be open.' Then again, maybe some of them ought to head to medical first, he thought while eyeing up the bandages a number of the squad wore.

Sergeant Harald, Gallian Militia

'Ok Sergeant, the next test is an easy one.' The nurse held up a small balloon attached to some kind of dial. 'Blow this up as fast as you can.' Sitting on the edge of his bloody hospital bed in naught but a pair of surgical underpants, Harald rather suspected this would not be as easy as the nurse suggested. The last test had had him coughing up blood after only a few seconds... 'I'm sure, ma'am. Wish me luck...' As he took a deep breath and looked down, Harald could see the implanted tubing in his lungs bulge through his chest; unsightly, uncomfortable, but at least they worked... With a single determined blow and only minor chest pains, he was able to fill the balloon nicely. The flecks of red on the inside were nothing to worry about, if the doctors were to be trusted.

'Well done Sergeant, I believe that makes you fit for duty, although it is recommended that you take a week for convalescence.' Despite her clipped professional tone, it was clear that the recommended week was not likely to be granted, especially with the dozens of other wounded being treated all around them. 'I might run that past my superior, if I can find him. Thank you ma'am; may I be so honoured as to thank you with a glass of wine this evening? Your company has been quite soothing so far.' He gave her a wink and his best roguish smile, now complemented by rather fetching scar along the cheek... 'Don't get ahead of yourself darkhair. I'm sure you'll find someone more eager to please elsewhere; someone of your station perhaps.' Her refusal was delivered with icy chill and Valk's blood, her eyes... The Sergeant sat in shock as she strutted off, unused to the sudden blatant racism. He had spent long enough with his refreshingly open-minded squad that being back in reality was a bit of a cold shower. It was something he was used to however, so it didn't hurt that much... Should really stop lying to myself, he thought bemusedly while donning his new uniform. Most of the old stuff had been binned, understandably since they were shot to shit, but he had managed to save his sash at least. The odd bloodstain and bullet hole just gave it character. Occasional pangs of sharp pain stopped him mid-way, but he managed eventually.

And so he slowly left the medical wing to wander around the base. To the best of his knowledge, Squad 4 was still out in Vasel and wouldn't be back for some time; it would probably be a good idea to check in with command and catch a ride back to the front... but before that, he had some supplies to purchase. He sparked up his last remaining cigarette and strolled painfully toward the NAAFI, determined to enjoy a few hours of relaxation before getting back to work.

Once the sergeant dismissed them from cleaning the APC, Evan stood up, wiped his brow, and took a moment to inspect their work. The APC was sparkling clean and the mud they tracked in had all been mopped up. After dumping his bucket and putting away his scrubbing pads, he voices his own congratulations. "Job well done, everyone." As the squad started to disperse, his stomach growled and reminded him that he hadn't actually gotten a proper meal since a day ago. "Ok, well I'm off to the NAAFI. Anyone else wanna come? Rousseau! I believe you said I owed you a drink."

Whatever the answer, Evan did not take long to make his way to the food. After getting a nice big plate of meat and potatoes, he found a table to sit down at and began happily munching away. The NAAFI was surprisingly empty, due to most squads still being tied up at Vassel, so finding one of the few tables that didn't wobble was an easy task. It also make it easy to keep track of who was coming and going, thus allowing him to quickly spot when a familiar face limped through the door. "Darcsen, ya fuckin' sieve! You pulled through after all!"
@Lennon79@Little_ninja


Lilly was hungry but she was also absolutely filthy, blood stained, and in need of changing her uniform. When part of the squad split off to go visit the NAAFI, she headed back to their barracks to change, shower, and maybe get this thrice-damned grime off of her. Despite her best efforts to clean herself quickly, however, her neat-freak tenancies flared up and left her in the showers for far longer than necessary, trying to get every speck and scuff of dirt off her skin and out of her hair. If there was ever a reason the base ran low on soap, Lilly stood a good chance of being the reason for that.

With the bay and APC cleaned and the angry sergeant placated by their efforts, James took time to make sure the rest of the squad was good to go and then headed over to get his corporal stripes, since he was going to need them if he wanted to avoid continuing to get treated like a PFC. Providing his field promotion proof at the appropriate location, he was soon outfitted with his new stripes and heading to the mess hall, grabbing his food and taking a seat. Spotting Evan, he decided to avoid the man for the time being, still unsure how to treat his eagerness to hear about the horrors of war. As a soldier, James was familiar with what was required of them, even took pride in how hard he fought to protect his country, but...killing was an unfortunate thing to do that. In truth, if a more peaceful solution could have been found to stop this war with the Imps, he'd like to see it, but that would likely only happen if Galia joined the Empire, and Valkyr knows the Galians are a proud people. Shortly after spotting Evan, he saw the Sergeant limp in and smiled. The lucky sod had survived after all, but he'd wait to talk with the man, letting Evan have his time with their squad leader.

"Let me see, here it says I'm assigned to Squad 04 of the Militia. I wonder, where in the world can I find them?" Eris thought as she walked the labyrinthine halls of base that housed the squad she had been assigned to while making sure that her uniform and equipment— both spotless and untarnished, proof that she had come from a group of fresh conscripts— were all in presentable conditions.

It didn't took long for the argent-haired young woman to find the office she was looking for, nor for she to find out that she had a rather nice stroke of luck. The officer responsible for handling her paperwork stifled a chuckle as he commented on the fact that a freshly Christened corporal belonging to Squad 04 had just passed through this very office to get his new chevrons, if she was fast, she could still find him without much problems.

And that was exactly what happened, to Eris' luck once again, she found the man she was looking for in the mess hall, eating. Deciding that it would not do well to startle her immediate superior (not to say about how rude it's to interrupt anyone while they are eating), Eris came to a halt a meter or so away from the redheaded Corporal and called for his attention, "Sir, I'm sorry for disrupting your meal. But, may I have a moment of your time?" The newbie soldier asked, already standing at attention.


@Zarkun

Pvt. Callaway
Squad 04

Well, first day in the new unit and she was already tasked with hard labor. But, it was done now, and this was the military. Expecting anything less would be like asking a Darcsen their last name. Racist as that was, she never held anything against the Darcsens. Perhaps they were just misunderstood. She didn't buy into the whole "sins of the father" philosophy. That was a very unfair thing about society. Life was what you made of it, not what someone else made you out to be. Veronica took a deep sigh and looked at the armor on the APC. Well, it wasn't sparkling and polished, but it was cleaner than when it got here. The Sergeant was pleased, so that was ruling enough that the work was done.

Callaway's stomach growled and that gave her the next mission of the day: Food acquisition. She unrolled her sleeves and went to the restroom on the way to splash water on her face before heading into the mess hall. Usually, squads had stuck together during meal time. It was what happened. But Veronica had only just gotten into her new squad. She sat down at an empty table and then realized that there would be no one to join her. She looked at all the empty spaces, somberly realizing that no one of her old unit that she had trained together with would show up. Squad Thirteen was no more, and she figured she was the only survivor of the engagement out in that old rural and muddy town. She looked down at her tray and started eating, resigning herself to be alone for this once since she was already here without realizing it.

James, who was busy figuring out what he was going to do with the rest of the day after he ate, looked up when someone called his name, frowning at the sight of the relatively fresh recruit. "Of course. What can I do for you, LC?" The girl looked young and probably hadn't yet seen action. "Also, please, at ease. No need to be so by the book all the time."

"Thank you, Sir," Eris said, relaxing her stance, yet the lingering stiffness of her muscles— even as she made an effort to put out her best smile— made it clear that she was nervous. Frankly, how couldn't she be? Essentially, she was going to be sent to war, how could anyone be calm in face of such a predicament?

"No, that's not the time to think about this kind of thing— Focus, I need to stay focused," Eris shook her head silently, clearing her thoughts a bit. Once she was as ready as she could ever hope to be, Eris said, "The truth is that I'm looking for a Squad 04 officer to look over my assignment papers. Would it be alright if I presented them to you, Sir?" Eris said, handing a file case to James, if he so wished to take it. She remained standing while she waited for her reply, though, kind of too nervous to remember about sitting without being told to.


@Zarkun

James took a moment to chew up some bacon he'd taken a bite of between her answers before giving a reply of his own. "I think I can do that for ya. Also, no need to call me sir, just James or Hunt is fine. Now let me see that paperwork..." Taking it when the LC would give it to him, he would read it over as he drank some coffee and spoke quietly to himself. "Lance Corporal Eris Reinhardt...officer training, complete but no promotion. Odd...decent scoring in her weapons training...advanced engineer training, medical emphasis..." This would continue for a couple of minutes before he set the papers down. "Well, seems it's all in order. Welcome to Squad 4. We'll get you introduced to the Sarge when he's done talking with Carn then the day is yours. We're set to receive new orders tomorrow." He takes another sip of coffee before continuing. "We just got back from the Battle of Vasel, so command saw fit to give us a break."