[IC] Valkyria Chronicles: Lions of the South

[caliban22]

Paul reloads after emptying a mag into an on coming Imperial. "Damn! I need a... Paul stops his thought in mid sentence as he hears a boom of cannon and the explosion of the shell landing right into the floor above him. fragments of stone,wood and what little remained of the shop's inventory rained down through holes and cracks in the floor. "Screw this!" he said as he locked his mag into his weapon, " I need to get out of here..." he said as he moves to the door. thankfully this store had a lot of powders stocked into the upper floors now covered the building in white powder "Damn...I don't...Well screw it!" Paul said as he sprinted out using the cloud of powder. As Paul sprinted bullets impact around him. The impact of a big tank shell impacted in the door of the building Paul had just been in.

[Raven_Operative]

Brenna was quiet, almost eerily so, when Lilly told her what she saw. "W-what should we do, Brenna?" Lilly looked to her partner, back at the officer, and back to Brenna again. She was thinking, planning, but Lilly was getting antsy. Brenna was no doubt trying to think up a plan that would let them attack and flee with as little danger as possible, but she was taking far too long. Back at the base, the officer was beginning to wind down and wrap up his briefing. They were running out of time! While she waited for her partner to make a move, Lilly crept back to the car so she could get a better look. The officer was folding up his map. They were out of time! This was their best chance! Lilly looked back at Brenna for confirmation. Upon receiving a nod, her shaking hands gripped her rifle tighter and lined up a shot. The officer and the scouts snapped to attention, saluting each other as Lilly took aim at the barrel. "I'm sorry..." *Crack* *CrackCrackCrackCrack* Lilly fired as fast as her rifle would allow her. The first shot went wide, but the second one punctured the barrel, leaking out a stream of ragnoline. The third shot missed again, and the fourth only caused another hole. Why?! Why wasn't it working!? If not for the speed of her shots, Lilly's rising panic would have made the fifth shot completely inaccurate, but luck had apparently blessed her with another boon. The fifth shot skipped off the edge creating a small spray of sparks - sparks that quickly ignited the ragnoline vapors and fuel. The officer and his scouts recoiled, first from the shock of being fired upon, then from the explosion breaking them apart. A brilliant blue fireball engulfed the trio and tore them apart from the pressure of the blast wave. Had Lilly stuck around to watch, she might have seen an arm or a leg go flying in a random direction, but she was far more interested in scrambling down an alley to safety. Brenna had apparently taken the opportunity that the explosion created to make a few pot shots, before running to the alley that Lilly entered via gaps between a few of the buildings. Lilly didn't have time to great her, and kept running. Behind them, the camp was getting organized again, with one of the tanks swiveling it's turret towards them and firing it's machinegun. "AAAAAHHHHH!!!" Lilly screeched in terror as she covered her head and rounded the corner, getting sprayed with dust and debris from the bullets hitting the wall just above her. All around her, she could hear footsteps: from the roof, from the alleys, from the houses. That explosion was loud enough that any imperial soldier in the vicinity was responding. As she followed Brenna, she frantically tried to reload her rifle. It was this distraction that nearly killed her. While Brenna had made it across a small intersecting alley with no problem, Lilly crashed head first into an imperial who had apparently been trying to get ahead and cut them off. How he knew where they were, she didn't know. She didn't have time to wonder, either, as this soldier was clearly not inexperienced. While they both tumbled to the ground, the other soldier was quick to seize the advantage, lunging at Lilly and pinning her to the ground. Lilly struggeled to free herself as she saw the man pull out a combat knife with practiced speed, and start to stab it towards her. *Crack* "...W-What?" The soldier's head exploded from a sniper round, spraying Lilly in blood and bits of flesh. She lay there in complete shock as to what happened, eyes wide as saucers. The whole process of falling, getting pinned, and nearly stabbed took less than five seconds, and she still had not processed what had just happened. Bringing a shaking hand up to her face, she wiped off her eyes and looked at her glove. It was covered in blood. "Oh..." A voice called out to her, calling her name, but it sounded distant and muffled. With shaking hands, Lilly pushed the body off of her and slowly got to her feet. A bullet bounced off of her thigh plate, and another wized by her ear. Over in the alley, she saw Brenna yelling at her and shooting at a group of imperials advancing up the alley. ... I should be moving... Lilly staggered the remaining few steps towards the alley as quickly as she could. A bullet grazed her back deeply as she did, drawing blood. "Oh... Something hit me..." Strangely, she didn't feel much in the way of pain. She picked up her rifle and followed Brenna as quickly as her disorientation would allow. Eventually her partner lead her into a house, clearly intending to use it as a shortcut, but what they found inside may have been even better. A fully armed and armoured Gallian shock trooper was scavenging through the cupboards of this house, no doubt looking for supplies. Had he heard the explosion? He must not have. Brenna, not being one for socializing pressed on, and Lilly was still in a state of shock, not being in much of a condition to talk. Still covered in blood, with a blank expression frozen on her face, she managed to speak a few words, though. "The explosion... We have to leave. ...Please come with us." With out saying anything else, she turned and followed Brenna, feeling something warm dripping down her back. Maybe she was wounded? It didn't hurt. It didn't matter. They had to leave. In her shocked state, she didn't even bother to check and see if the man was following them. She simply continued after her partner towards the outskirts of the town - towards their squad - towards salvation.

[The Silver Paladin]

Aaron was shuffling through the house, opening drawers, looking for things he could use. He had found some water, some gauze, some rope, and some cheese. He grabbed the items. He heard the door open, and Aaron turned, expecting an Imperial. Instead there were two girls wearing Gallian armor. One of the girls said something about an explosion. Aaron didn't know about any explosions. Well, except for the Gallian tank. And the earlier minefield explosions. Aaron decided to follow the two girls in case they lead somewhere or to someone. "Excuse me, where are you going? My squad was recently killed, may I join you?" Aaron spoke up.

[Lennon79]

'Sir, we're running out of time! He'll get awa-' Bons' plaintive voice was cut short by the distinctly warped sound of ragnoline going up; a barrel the officer had been using as an adhoc table had combusted and Meulemann wasn't entirely convince that he hadn't heard shots fired. From their vantage point a hundred metres away, he could see the remaining soldiers scatter in confusion, convinced that they were under attack. The Valkyria must have answered his prayer, leading another Gallian team to the same objective as himself; in that case, he had a duty to assist his mysterious comrades. 'Ten rounds, rapid fire.' The four soldiers opened up at the same time with two semi-automatic rifles and two sniper rifles raining death upon the remaining Imperials. As the enemy dropped like flies and melted back into the buildings surrounding the CP, Meulemann cast his gaze in the direction the remaining tank was firing, spotting a pair of blue figures sprinting haphazardly down an alley; must have been their mystery allies. One stumbled into an Imperial soldier, leaving the Captain seconds to line up a shot. Tarquin allowed himself a moment of grim satisfaction as the soldier's head exploded in a pink mist, before tracking back up the alley behind him to put fire on his squadmates. By the time he ran out of targets the other Gallian troops were well out of sight, leaving him with a lone Imperial tank shelling every possible sniper nest. He would have stayed in the hopes of getting a lucky shot, but soon found himself dragged to his feet and hauled from the wrecked house by Krauss and Varrot, with Bons leading the way northward to Squad Four's rendezvous point.

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It was hard to hide his childish grin as Harald claimed the radio kit before him. As the others policed the bodies of the artillery spotting team, he went to work on their maps and binoculars; they would only get one, maybe two salvos before Imperial command figured out what was going on, so he had to make it count. 'Monitor Four here, heavy fire support needed at... grid reference five seven four by three three nine, fire for effect.' Thank the Valks that he had taken the time to listen before cutting the team down or else they'd be lost for what to say. After a long moment, the radio crackled. 'Confirmed Four, sending in three, two, one... Ordinance sent.' The three of them paused, listening for the telltale shriek of incoming Imperial rockets... it didn't take long. The way the missiles arced high up into the sky on a trail of silver would be beautiful if he didn't know how bad life was about to get for those at ground zero. Four dozen rockets landed across a kilometre square of the inner city, vaporising entire streets with the unquenchable fires of pure ragnopalm. Harald tried to take solace from the knowledge that sacrificing half of Darktown had wiped out a company of enemy armour, but even empty, the place was like a part of his soul. It hurt to leave it, let alone see it burn to cinders. The radio crackled again, the clipped voice of the unaware artillery officer coming through. What would the poor barstard think when he realised what he just did..? 'Monitor Four, I've got reports of Gallian troops in your area; assess damage to target, then withdraw, over.' Toying for a moment with the idea of giving another set of coordinates, Harald abandoned the idea; too risky. If the officer realised his error he could just as easily drop those missiles on Harald's own position. Behind him the others had started up their stolen APC, draping a spare blue shirt over the Imperial insignia as a token attempt at an analogue IFF. The three of them drove off at speed, leaving the radio squawking the increasingly worried voice of the Imperial officer. It was getting dark by the time the last of Squad Four reached the rally point at the northern grain silo. The Sergeant had set a tight perimeter around the building, guarding every avenue of approach; when Meulemann and the rest of the squad arrived, they were greeted first by suspicious pickets and raised guns. It didn't help that two of their number were from other squads; Bons, last survivor of Squad One and Private Dresner from Nine. Once everyone was assembled, the Captain called them all together at the squad's stolen APC. 'Well... Good evening ladies and gentlemen. Let's see, we have... eleven souls. Eleven from one hundred and twenty... I pray that others were able to effect a retreat as we were.' Meulemann paused for a moment, a deep weariness showing through his otherwise stern countenance. '... We must reach Fort Breda before noon tomorrow. The rest of the regiment will be massing there for deployment and it would not do for my company not to be present, even in our... current state. I... I must rest. Sergeant, please take over...' The Captain turned away uneasily, before settling down inside the APC to sleep. His actions confused Harald for a moment, until he realised that Meulemann must have been in his fifties at least; with all the minor injuries he had suffered and the stress of the day, it was a wonder the old man was still on his feet. 'Well.' Harald cleared his throat, getting back to the task at hand. 'There's enough space in the APC for all of us, so nine will rest while one drives with one on watch. I'll take first watch, Sykora you're driving. We'll switch out after three hours. Questions? Good. Get some rest, I think we're going to need it.'

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0430 March 22nd 1935 EC Fort Breda, Seven miles south of Randgriz, Gallia The APC finally trundled into Fort Breda in the early hours of the morning, flanked on both sides by Gallian troops and escorted directly to the command area. The Captain was the first to dismount and meet the delegation awaiting them, all high-ranking officers and their attendants. The Sergeant watched from a distance as Meulemann saluted crisply and was marched into the command tent; from the other officer's body language it was clear that they were the first survivors to reach the camp. With the officers doing the important bits and the escort wandering off, he took it as meaning that he and his men were dismissed. After interrogating a stray soldier about the camp, he roused the remaining sleepers back in the APC and he gave them all a tired but genuine smile. 'Well, we made it. Captain's dealing with the paperwork so I think we're stood down for the moment. Come with me, all of you; the mess isn't open, but there's a NAAFI over there. My treat.'

[Raven_Operative]

Through out the ride back to base, Lilly barely moved, much less slept. She just sort of sat there in a trance, barely even noticing when one of the more altruistic squad members used their ragnaid and some bandages on her wounded back. "Thank you..." Was all that she managed to choke out in response. The shock of having to kill, nearly being killed multiple times, and then running for her life across a city had reduced her to the shell of a person, her personality having withdrawn to avoid further mental damage. She was exhausted, terrified and shaking, hugging her knees as she curled up in the far back corner of the APC. The only thing that jolted her out of her catatonic state, was when Sergeant Harald nudged her and informed her that it was her turn to take watch. Nodding slightly, she stood up and slowly staggered to the front of the APC, barely avoiding tripping over her sleeping squad mates. Despite her withdrawn state, she was still able to act as an effective lookout, even if she was quiet when she voiced concerns about possible sightings. Fortunately they were all false alarms. ... or maybe she imagined them... Her lookout shift was coming to an end just as they pulled into Fort Breda, so Lilly remained perched in the hatch until everyone else started to dismount and gather around the Sergeant. When he offered to buy them all something from the NAAFI, Lilly tiredly pulled herself out of the hatch and landed heavily on the ground, nearly collapsing from the impact. Dragging her feet as she slowly followed after them into the squat little building, she secured them a table in a corner, while the rest of the squad went with Harald. When they returned, she asked in a shaky voice: "I-is that it, Sergeant? ... Are we safe?" Upon receiving confirmation of this, she slumped back in her chair, leaning her head against the wall. "Thank the Valkyrur..." It looked like the weight of the world had been lifted off of Lilly, and her nervous shakes died down to allow her to resume her usual, much more serene appearance. Within a minute, she was fast asleep in her chair, the exhaustion from the past 24 hours catching up to her.

[Slypheed]

Brenna had been assigned to drive. And the drive itself wasn't all too eventful, most of the passengers sleeping, the only sounds being anyone snoring, dirt hitting the hull, and at one point, slight shuffling of feet. The drive was somewhat relaxing, all the chaos in the town had just about exhausted Brenna. She only hoped she'd be getting some shut eye once they got to the base, and maybe some food. Once they got to the base and were parked, Brenna slouched back and sighed tiredly. Rubbing her eyes before dismounting. The Sergeant said something about the mess being closed, but he would treat them to the NAAFI that was setup. But the moment she had dismounted, she had lost all desire to eat, she just wanted to sleep. Once in the small building, she had noticed Lilly had secured a table. Walking over, she sat down and quickly fell asleep. She was a quiet, but heavy sleeper. Someone would need to work a bit to wake her up, or carry her when they squad was leaving the building.

[Lennon79]

The NAAFI was little more than a small diner with a handful of chairs scattered around, but to the exhausted militiamen it was downright homely. As the rest of the squad settled in around the room, Harald approached the counter and the little old man behind it. '... You kids seen some action then? You're lucky we're still open; normally shut by twelve.' His voice was gruff but not unkind. As Harald set about ordering a series of simple meals, the old man reached back to turn on the building's heaters and rouse the other staff. With nowhere else for the soldiers to go, they were kind enough to let them sleep there for the night. As they settled down to eat their meals and get some sleep, Harald cast a surreptitious eye over them to gauge their mental states. Tired, he decided, but not overwhelmed. 'Yeah, that's it lass. Breda's safe.' Watching the two girls drift off peacefully was comforting, but at the same time a deeply saddening sight. None of them had any way of knowing what the next day would bring, but their war had only just begun. And it would get worse before it ended. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1100 March 23nd 1935 EC Parade Square, Fort Breda, Gallia 'Parade, attention!' Standing in line with the rest of Squad Four, Private Alonso Bons fought to keep his expression professional as the remnants of the 12th Company braced up for inspection. From a total of twelve squads raised in Rinneheim, only seven remained; three had been completely wiped out and the rest folded into the remainder. Bons had only been with Squad One for a matter of hours and their deaths still didn't feel real, as if what little time they had spent together was only a dream. There were other new faces in the squad he realised, both the survivors they had picked up on the rout from Rinneheim and other recruits poached from the latest troop trains. But there had been losses even here; several of Squad Four's initial members had washed out, some through injury or shell shock, others transferred to where their skills required more. Corporal Helfer's transfer was a heavy blow, especially to the young Darcsen Sergeant. Without a reliable and experienced 2iC, he would find it difficult to earn the squad's respect. Bons himself had reserved judgement so far; despite his inherent distrust of Imperials, he had found himself traitorously impressed with Helfer and the Captain. Perhaps Harald would surprise him too. Three officers paced slowly along the line of soldiers, inspecting their newly issued equipment and conversing in low voices. Meulemann was there too, he noticed, clearly the junior of the three despite his age. When the three stopped in front of him, Bons felt the hair on the back of his neck stand up as he realised that he would be the only man on the square with an Imperial weapon. Their stolen APC had carried a small cache of rifles and lances, so he had taken his pick - with the Captain's permission of course. Whether it would pass muster with the higher-ups was another matter. From his position at the end of the line and one step forward, Harald watched the proceedings out of the corner of his eye. Private Bons' unorthodox choice of equipment caused a minor argument, but the officers soon moved on without rancour. The rest of the inspection passed slowly and without incident, until finally the Captain stood alone in front of his men. '... Soldiers. We are all new to one another and many of us, to the Militia. You are young, but... many of you now know the true face and realities of warfare. I will not lie; this is only the beginning. Every moment of suffering and fear you felt in Rinneheim will be relived a thousand times before this war is concluded. But Gallia demands that every man and woman do their duty. A minute's silence then, in honour of those who yesterday did theirs and made the ultimate sacrifice for their country.' Standing stock still at attention, the Captain drew his sword and lowered in a slow salute. While he hadn't lost anyone under his command, Harald nevertheless held a crisp salute for the longest sixty seconds of his life, staring into the fluttering flag of Gallia at half mast on the other side of the square. Across the entire base silence reigned for that minute as every soldier paid tribute to their fallen comrades... except around one building to one side, emblazoned with the words Enlisted Quarters. The Sergeant had heard of the Gallian Army's contempt for Militia forces, but had yet to experience it first hand. It wasn't easy to ignore the sounds of laughter and loud conversation floating over on the wind. '... Squad leaders, see to your men and report to my tent at 1900. Parade, dismissed!' As the Captain marched off the square with his adjutant in tow, Harald and the other Sergeants stepped forward to marshal their squads. 'Ahem. First off, I would like to welcome our new members to Squad Four. I'm Sergeant Harald and until we are assigned a new Corporal, we shall have no second in command. That said, Lance Corporals White and Meyers will temporarily be taking over as section leaders. Come to them or myself if you need anything.' Fidgeting in his badly fitting armour, Harald decided to have a second go at getting the squad to socialise. 'Now I've seen your files, but I don't know fuck all about you. So... introductions, where you came from, what you do etc. Starting from... you.' He pointed at a random squad member, hoping to get some momentum going.

[caliban22]

Paul sighed softly, Frankly he was exhausted. Having escaped barely from several firefights only to link up with other stragglers and making it to the rear guard positions only to reinforce the rear guard units until the rest of the regiment had escaped was exhausting. During the fighting Paul had received several minor injures including a projectile that had smashed one of his armor plates that cut him when it broke apart.. It was only thanks to single brave driver and her transport that he escaped to the fort having arrived earlier today. He had barely an hour of sleep before he was issued with new papers to fill in loses in the 4th squad. Paul Saluted sharply"Private Paul Dresdner sir." he said as he tried to hide his exhaustion. "I'm From the south in a little town no one has ever heard of." Paul said quickly "I'm A transfer from 1st squad 8th company...couple of you boys picked me up when we pulled out of the city..." he said softly as he looked slight down at the ground. -------------------------------------------------- As a transport arrived Sam jumped off ready to join her new squad. "Squad four...." she muttered as she looked down at her assignment papers. all around her she saw fresh recruits as they got off their transports. on order of an NCO they were ushered to the parade area. As the area came into view Sam saw the remnant of the unit she was assigned to. fresh faces and the faces of stoic soldiers who had seen combat mixed as the NCO looked at the recruits assignment papers and sent them towards the direction of their squads. Sam quickly found what looked like a more "seasoned" Soldier, still in armor covered in dirt,dents,and blood "Hey where is 12th company fourth squad?" She asked briskly as she tried to not seem as scared as she felt. The soldier looked at her and chuckled "Over there" the soldier said with a grunt jerking a thumb in a direction "You a replacement?" The soldier asked annoyed with a very angry look. Sam nodded and said with as much confidence as she could muster. "So what if I am?" The soldier laughed at her as he saw through her false bravado " first lesson rook.... and learn well before I ain't so nice...Stay the fu..." The soldier said before being cut off by an NCO "Hurry up Trooper!" He called as he eyed the soldier "Come on recruit...lets see if we can find your squad..." he said quickly. Sam was shocked, She knew war would be tough, but to see such hostility. Sam Thought about Sev and Paul, She prayed they wouldn't turn out like that soldier. As the NCO guided her she soon found her squad. nervously she blurted out with a quick and awkward salute "Corporal Samantha Meyers reporting for duty!" she said without taking a single look at any of the members.

[Raven_Operative]

Lilly's nap had left her feeling much better. Still nervous, still scared, but no longer in her catatonic state of half-consciousness. She was about to speak up after Private Dresdner, but nearly jumped as she was startled by a loud and gruff voice behind her. "Private First Class Evan Carn! Best damn mechanic on the east side of Randgriz!" The mountain of muscle behind her said, as Lilly recovered from her shock. Just how did someone that big sneak up behind her? Evan chuckled as the lass in front of him tensed. He didn't mean to sneak up on her, but the reaction was amusing none the less. Nudging her after the group descended into silence again, he whispered in a not so quiet voice. "I believe it's your turn, little lady." This was certainly a quiet squad... oh well. With him around, it was about to get much louder. "Oh! Right." Lilly took a moment to compose herself, before looking up and speaking to the group. "I am Private Lilly Jatmoore. I come from an estate near the town of Eindon. My father is an arms manufacturer, and I am to inherit his business." She straightened her posture, and stood at attention, hiding the underlying emotions of fear behind a shield of calm professionalism. It would not do to have the others think of her as useless. They would not have been wrong in the last battle, but Lilly wanted to have a chance to redeem herself. She slowly looked over the group, waiting for the next person to speak up. She had already met Brenna, and the other shock trooper that they encountered on the way out of the city, but everyone else was new. It appeared that she would not have to worry about her previous... disgraceful actions affecting her standing just yet.

[Kitsune]

That silence was one of the longest moment of her life, though Alex only arrived after the event that they were talking about she felt it was only normal to pay ones respects so she had remained silent throughout the whole ordeal. After she took a good look around at the others in Squad 4 her body could not but help give a shiver as she saw the Darcsens. It was much different here that much she could tell, or they were that desperate for soldiers that they brought the dark hairs along for the ride. Alex gave an audible sigh at that fact, as either way she would have to work alongside them no matter what given she had joined up now. She went back to focusing on what her higher up was saying to everyone, but by this time the other new people to the squad started to speak up one by one to introduce themselves. Soon enough a clear pause came after the last person where she could do the same, so she stepped forward. “Private Alex Glaive reporting for duty, I come from a place near the frontline. I will be scouting out areas and getting explosives where they need to be.” She spoke in a powerful tone of voice as she took a moment to look back around at all the others in the squad, basic eye contact was a big part of being a good solider and talking to one in turn, or so she was taught. “It will be a pleasure to work with you all, and I am sure it is the same for all of you.”

[Slypheed]

Celeste watched from afar. "Are they sure that's squad 4?" She thought aloud. Quickly taking a look at the papers she did have. "It seems that way, the squad leader is a Darcsen, the other squads don't have a Darcsen squad lead." She sighed. She didn't hate Darcsens, was good friends with one during the Mandatory military training. She sighed at the possibility that some in the squad would disregard what ever orders he gave them. But still, it was her squad now. She was the Corporal, a weird decision by Militia command, which halted her arrival till after the parade. Hastily bumping her up to Corporal from Lance Corporal. The position just about forced on her, leaving no room to argue or reject. She doubted her abilities to be a normal, everyday citizen, how could she help manage a squad in a warzone? Celeste moved towards her new squad regardless of all the thoughts trying to holding her back. She stopped next to the squad leader, silently waiting for anyone else to speak up. Celeste leaned towards Harald "Introductions?" she asked in a whispering tone. "Guess I'll introduce myself here shortly, but I'm your squads new Corporal" she left it at that, waiting for any further introductions. Once everyone else had done their introductions, Celeste did a slight nod and stepped forward. Taking a deep breath before speaking. "I've only just arrived, and it seems I've already learned some backgrounds. But lets get onto my introduction. I am Corporal Celeste Stichler, your squads new second in command from what I understand. And I'm sure the Sergeant has already said something like this, but you can come to me if you need anything." She looked at all of the faces of each member before stepping back. --- Brenna watched as other members did their introductions. She felt obliged to do an introduction, but at the same time, couldn't do it due to her anti-social personality. So she stood there quietly, hoping the sergeant wouldn't pick her out and tell her to introduce herself. But with the newer members and Lily introducing themselves, maybe the Sergeant would forget about her. And once they were done, the mysterious woman who had approached the squad and stood silently next to Harald, stepped forward and introduced herself as the squads new 2ic.

[Lennon79]

Despite the growing sound of engines behind him, Harald stayed focused on his squad. Most NCOs could walk into their role with the full respect and obedience of their men without much effort on their part, but his racial heritage hung over like a cloud, ensuring that he would had to work to earn his squad's approval. Paying close attention when they were talking was the first step. 'Good to have you, Dresdner. We've been short on solid assault troops so far, but I think you'll do just fine.' Sykora had been the only Shocktrooper in the squad at Rinneheim and the lack of close quarters specialists had shown. With his broad shoulders and sheer size, Dresdner would make an excellent vanguard for future urban combat. Harald's gaze moved onto the next soldier, another imposting gentleman, older and gruffer than before. It took the Sergeant a moment to click why they needed a dedicated mechanic, remembering the memo the Captain had forwarded him that morning; due to the lack of armour assets on hand, Regimental Command had seen fit to assign the captured APC to Squad Four. It was hardly ideal, as none of them had access to the Imperial supplies needed to keep her in fighting shape. PFC Carn would need to be an exceptional mechanic or else they may end up subsisting on salvaged gear... The buck soon passed onto Jatmoore and while she didn't reveal anything Harald didn't already know, he was mildly surprised that she had mentioned her father. Knowing that someone had rich family was second only to knowing they had riches on their person. Only in the back alleys of Rinneheim, he corrected himself. No man would be foolish enough to try a kidnapping for ransom on a member of their own unit... he hoped. 'Useful connections to have, Private. I'd get a few business cards knocked up if I were you; I hear each Militia regiment has to source its own equipment. Rumour has it that the 17th has tractors instead of tanks, poor bastards.' Despite his determination to give the recruits his full attention, Harald couldn't ignore the steady stream of soldiers linking up with the other squads around them. The Captain had warned that more transfers might be made when the next troop transports came in, although the exact numbers were uncertain; that uncertainty did little to ease the Sergeant's sneaking suspicion that Regimental simply didn't know what it was doing. It therefore didn't come as much of a surprise when a handful of new boots lined up with the others. He was about to launch into yet another welcome when a small voice at his ear almost made him jump out of his skin. Harald stared, nonplussed at the girl, unsure of what to make of her sudden appearance - or her assertion that she was his new 2iC. On one level it made perfect sense; Meulemann would have known what Squad Four was lacking and so would have assigned a replacement for Krauss ASAP, but on the other hand wouldn't he have sent a runner? The mystery would have to wait though, as one of the other new boots spoke up, clearly agitated. 'Meyers? Oh yeah, of course. As I said earlier, Lance Corporal Meyers.', he said, addressing the rest of the squad. 'Since we now have a Corporal,' Apparently... 'White and Meyers will be your go-to people if you have any issues. Fall in, LCap.' Within seconds of silence falling, another young man stepped forward, his Imperial rifle and unique hairstyle immediately recognisable. 'Private Alonso Bons, sir, Engineer and Lancer.' Bons spoke stiffly, his eyes locked on a point far into the distance. 'I served in the Schulzgarde Town Watch for three years and have extensive knowledge of Imperial weaponry.' Stepping back into line in a well ordered fashion, Bons was clearly proud of his service and military skills, though from what Harald had heard of his contributions in Rinneheim, the lad hadn't fared well in actual combat. 'No need to call me sir, Bons, I'm no officer. But welcome to Squad Four all the same.' Suppressing a sardonic grin, Harald cast his eye over to new woman in the line. So far every soldier had projected their own unique character and personality, something that Harald took great joy in breaking down for analysis, a vestige of his former profession. But when Private Glaive stepped up and gave her introduction, he found himself stumped. Perhaps it was her complete confidence or her general demeanour, but something about her didn't quite fit in with the rest of the militia. Still, he wasn't one to judge and confidence in the face of the unknown was hardly a negative trait. 'Welcome aboard, Glaive. I look forward to seeing you in action.' He tried to return her solid eye contact, but privately admitted that it wasn't easy. With the last introduction done, Harald was about to move on when the girl beside him stepped forward. He would have to apologise to Stichler later, he thought ruefully, as he had completely forgotten her in the wake of meeting Glaive. Funny how some personalities could dominate the area while others just... faded into the background. He chided himself mentally, aware that he was being unfair to the Corporal. 'Well... that just about wraps it up, aside from myself... For the third time, I am Sergeant Harald. I was a beat bobby in the Gallian Police Constabulary until three days ago and policing is just about all I know. From my mandatory training, I know how to shoot, command a section and set up various forms of demolitions. Nothing too fancy.' Gazing from face to face, he wondered if any of them had received specialist training during their mandatory military training; a few lucky souls would have undergone the armoured vehicle courses or learnt how to use heavy weapons, but the vast majority of Militia recruits had barely undergone the basic infantry course. It occurred to him that they didn't even have a medic. But there were ways around that kind of deficiency and Harald had planned the squad's first day of training accordingly. 'Right then, today's festivities. First off we're spending two hours at the firing range. Squad Four, right face and move out!'

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

2100 March 23rd 1935 EC Squad Four Barracks, Fort Breda Water poured down his tired and aching bones, washing away the dirt and grime of nine hours solid training. That darkhair bastard had forced them to go through everything, from basic marksmanship and fitness batteries to a full on practice skirmish against Squad Six and their tank, which had gone about as well as one might expect. And he planned the same for the next day, and the next for as long as he could. A part of Bons understood why the Sergeant was pushing the squad, even understood that he hadn't pushed them that hard. But the screaming muscle pains said otherwise. If Harald hadn't gotten down in the dirt with the others and joined in, he might have had a one-man mutiny on his hands. Leaving the male communal shower butt naked, Bons quickly towelled himself off and donned his off-duty uniform. The Squad had already had dinner and it was at least an hour until lights out, so he headed to the shared common room to see if the others were still about. Once the last of his squad had filed into the shower blocks and he himself had locked the door to the Squad Leader's private room at the end of the barrack hall, Harald collapsed into the nearest chair with an asthmatic wheeze. He hadn't worked himself so hard in years, not since his training at least. Chasing a perp halfway across the town was tiring, but that two hundred rep fitness circuit had nearly killed him! And it was made a damn sight worse by the fact that he had to look in control and unphased before his men... Harald eventually dragged himself off to the shower, before heading outside into the night time air for a cigarette and to write up the next day's training regime.

[Raven_Operative]

Lilly's Post

*Thud* Lilly collapsed to the floor in the communal showers, leaning up against the wall and just letting the water pour over her, cleansing her of the accursed chalk and dust that covered her body. The exercise circuits, followed by their mock battle had left her with barely enough energy to move, much less stand to clean herself. After waiting for a few moments to regain some of her energy, Lilly started to scrub herself down from the seated position, paying particular attention to her hair which was absolutely filthy. "Disgusting. Dirty. Filthy. Guh..." Lilly muttered to herself angrily, as she cleaned up. Why was it that the neat freak was the one that ended up getting the dirtiest... Lilly smiled wryly to herself as she remembered: -------------------- *Crack Crack* *Crack Crack* *Crack* *Ping* "Ah! Reloading!" Lilly ducked behind the sandbags of her and Private Glaive's makeshift foxhole, as the two of the took turns popping up to fire a few chalk rounds at the advancing Squad Six. Fumbling for her ammunition as she tried to reload her S1 as quickly as possible, she both thanked and cursed the fortifications. They provided her with protection from the bullets, but every time a round struck it, it showered her with dirt and sand - something she was immensely displeased with. At the start of the practice skirmish, she had followed Alex and the two had stumbled upon a small depression in the field that held several partially broken sandbags and pieces of wood. Due to the fact that it overlooked a good portion of the battlefield, and that they were both equipped with the long ranged variants of Gallian rifles, they had decided to hold up and fortify this position while they waited for the slower members of their squad (shock troopers/lancers) to catch up. Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on who you asked), they had only just finished propping up the last sandbag when Squad Six began their assault by sending a group of shock troopers charging towards them, ducking from cover to ditch to cover as they rapidly advanced. *Crack Crack Crack* As Alex ducked down to reload, Lilly spotted a shock trooper trying to sneak around to the side of their position, and quickly remedied that situation by two rounds into his chest plate, and one into his leg. They were doing well. Lilly, while still nervous and shaky, was infinitely calmer than her first time in combat (a reassurance brought by the fact that the chalk rounds they were facing were non-lethal). Though she missed all of her shots at the start of the battle, she was beginning to get the hang of it, and was now actually able to fire somewhat accurately. Through their combined efforts, the two of them were able to halt Squad Six's advance with supressing fire for just long enough for the rest of Squad Four to arrive. (Lilly had only managed to eliminate that one trooper) Unfortunately for Lilly, though, her participation in the battle did not extend much longer. When she stood up to fire at another soldier she saw attacking them, she was suddenly assaulted by a massive cloud of smoke and chalk that erupted from just in front of her. *POOF!* "Ack! Hack! What was THAT!?" Lilly did not have to wonder long as she spotted Squad Six's medium tank rolling out of the woods to their left. She fell back and lay down, both from needing to play 'dead' in accordance to the rules and also from a feeling of resignation. They had been out witted. The shock troopers in the front were just decoys to allow the tank to sneak around to their side. She resolved to be more vigilant in the future, as she waited for the battle to end. Fortunately Private Glaive had not been hit by the smoke round. -------------------- Despite her best efforts in the shower, Lilly was still a mess. She was no longer covered in chalk and dust, but her hair was matted and she doubted she would get all the grit out from under her fingernails for some time. The amount that she had been able to clean up, though, was somewhat satisfactory and it improved her mood a great deal. As she walked to the common area, she spotted Corporal Stichler in the hallway, covered in a fair bit of dirt, and probably on her way to the showers Lilly just came from. Straightening her posture (for it seemed improper to look at ease when addressing someone of a higher rank), Lilly nodded in greeting. "Good evening, Corporal. How did you fair on the battlefield?"

[Raven_Operative]

Evan's Post

*Scrub Scrub ScrubScrubScrubScrub* Evan was standing outside their barracks, scrubbing down every last inch of their APC. He had missed most of dinner, and was set to lose almost all of his free time from the disciplenary action the Sergeant had given him, but any misgivings he had about his punishment were immediatly forgotten, when he remembered his time behind the wheel of the squad's APC. All the punishments he garnered from his actions had been well deserved, but the amount of enjoyment he got from doing what he did could only make him think: "Worth it." -------------------- "AHAHAHAHAA! NOW THIS IS MORE LIKE IT!" Evan laughed as he deftly maneuvered the APC around the various trenches and obstacles that littered their battlefield. "MOVE ASIDE EVERYONE, ARMOUR SUPPORT IS ON THE WAY! AHA!" The steering mechanism on the Imperial APC was almost exactly the same as it's Gallian counterparts, so he had little trouble adjusting his driving style to fit it. The gearshift was another story, being almost completely different, but that didn't matter at the present when they were busy pushing their way forward at a relatively constant speed. *Rattatat* *RattatatRattatatRattatat* The machine gun on the roof sounded, as Sergeant Harald provided fire support for the rest of their advancing infantry. Said support was horribly inaccurate, though, both from a combination of their speed and the constant jostling as they drove over the uneven terrain. "I say, Darcsen, it's a good thing you're our commander and not a sniper, because your shooting SUCKS! WAHAHA!" Evan couldn't resist the jab at his commander, despite knowing full well that extra pushups would be in store for him after this battle was over. Following Harald's directions, he drove the APC in a wide arc to the left, as they approached the foxhole that two of their scouts had managed to fortify. The change in angle gave Harald lots of targets, as the shock troopers hiding from their scouts had much less cover on their sides. *Rattatatatatatatatata* *POOF!* As Harald let out a long burst, Evan saw a flash from the woods, followed by the blonde scout getting absolutely wrecked by a tank smoke round. If that hit her directly, that was going to leave a few broken bones. He did not envy her. "Tank! 9 o'clock!" Evan heard Harald frantically yelling the tank's position, and after peering out one of the armoured slits in the appropriate direction, he spotted and confirmed that yes, there in deed was a medium tank advancing from their left. Harald tried to shout out orders - Retreat, pull back, use that hill as cover from the tank - but Evan would have none of that. His competitive spirit and passion for all things vehicle sparked, and he completely disregarded the commands, instead yelling: "AHA! ALRIGHT, YA METAL SONUVABITCH! WE'LL SEE WHO'S THE BETTER TANK MAN!" Flooring the accelerator Evan sped the APC towards the tank as it came out of the woods and onto the open field, with Harald protesting all the way. "Not now, Darcsen! We're gonna get this bastard!" Grinning fiercely, Evan swerved as the tank lined up a shot on them. *FWOOM!* The tank fired, and the shell just narrowly missed the side of the APC. "AHAHAHAHA!! NOW YOU'VE FUCKED UP!! NOW YOU HAVE FUCKED UP!! YOU LOSE, YOU RICH, FORTUNATE, PROPERLY EQUIPPED SONUVABITCH!" That was a medium tank, renown for their flexibility and solid firepower, but they had one serious flaw. Evan remembered studying that specific weakness in his armour courses. That particular model's turret was very slow to turn. By keeping the APC at full speed, Evan was able to close in fast enough that when he did drop down to a lower speed to turn, they were able to remain ahead of the tank's rotating turret. Speeding behind the tank, Harald was able to put a long burst of MG fire into it's exposed radiator. Excellent! Another pass like that, and the tank would be considered knocked out! It was only after they circled around the opposite side of the tank that Evan encountered a problem. There was a wide infantry ditch ahead of them, and this APC couldn't get across a gap that large. Slamming on the breaks, Evan frantically shifted into reverse and floored the accelerator again, hoping to get enough speed to zip across the tanks field of fire before they could act. Nothing happened. The engine revved, but nothing happened. What was wrong?! Why weren't they moving?! Evan looked down at the shift lever, as the tank finally lined up a shot. The Imperial gearing had foiled his plan. So used to the Gallian shifters was he, that he had reverted to his muscle memory and had accidentally shifted into neutral, rather than reverse. "Fuck." *POOF!* -------------------- Evan grimaced at the memory. With the loss of their APC, he could almost be held responsible for their squad's loss. The amount of yelling, cleaning duties and pushups he had gotten from the Sergeant had made it obvious that others knew of that fact as well. ... But they almost had the bastard... Almost. And he did it in an APC. Finally finishing the cleaning, Evan sauntered into the common room and spotted Private Bons sitting in one of the couches. Taking a seat opposite to him, he waved in greeting. "Hey kid, how'd your fight go?"

[caliban22]

Paul was exhausted, after no sleep and the training and the mock battle Paul was happy knowing he could sleep soon. Paul was also very happy, He enjoyed the tough work, it had helped take the thoughts of his former squad mates out of his head. As He laid on his bunk Paul recounted the events. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "We got one down!" Paul Yelled as he said as one of the forward scouts was taken out by squad six's tank. Paul had been slower due to his armor and exhaustion. Paul had run up just in time to see Lily lay down as a casualty and saw her companion Alex holding the line. With his fathers training Paul fired in quick short bursts and slowly made his way to the other scout and took cover as a shower of chalk rounds impacted on the sandbags above his head. As Paul looked out from his cover to see the number of enemy contacts he noticed one of squad six's in coming shock troopers hit square in the helmet as a round exploded into powder all over his face. A slight smile crossed his face " thank you sniper" he said quickly as he looked around to see where the shot came from. Slowly Paul fell asleep -------------------------------------- Sam's Post Sam sat in the common area on one of the arm chairs.her mind recounting the first meeting of her squad Paul... she thought He looked a wreak, Blood, dented and torn armor...He looked like he had been through hell. On one hand she had wanted to greet her best friend, but the empty look in his eyes kept her from saying hello. "Damned Chalk..." She said as she leaned back in her chair "But Damn if I don't love a comfy chair" She said as she looked at her hands. her mind slowly drifts back to day. Sam had done excellent at the shooting range, but the running was grueling. Unlike the scouts who were quick and used to running, or the shock troopers endurance and ability to endure a lot of pain and not complain. at the very end She was exhausted, but during the mock battle was the one point where she proved to herself the usefulness of a sniper. After the mock battle commenced Sam Followed the Plan and moved to a position where she over looked the High ground. As she set up Sam heard the boom of squad six's tank. As soon as she was finished setting up She saw Lily as she laid down covered in chalk. Not much later Sam saw paul move up and take position behind a sandbag wall. Suddenly as she watched she noticed a squad six member rushing up. quickly Sam aimed and fired hitting the man square in the head. As Sam looked back on the events she noticed some one come up to the door and the sound of some one greeting the person behind the door.

[Kitsune]

"Reloading!" *Whoosh* Within mere moments the clip of her rifle was empty which ceased her suppressive fire, allowing the enemy to cover their fortification in a hail of chalk rounds once more. Falling onto her back she reloaded her weapon like a well oiled machine, getting ready to get back into the fight within moments thanks to her training. Though she had hit a few people so far it had been harder than she expected, truly moving targets were .. *Crack Crack Crack- Ping ping pumf* The sound of gunfire and connecting hits awakened Alex from her musings as the Scout beside her called Lilly downed a Shock Trooper that had gotten close enough to flank them. Gritting her teeth Alex couldn't believe she lost herself for a moment, this may not have been real battle but she had to try her hardest! Turning back onto her knee she took aim, taking a deep breath before unleashing a round towards one of the oncoming Shock Troopers, nailing her in the helmet and sending her falling to the ground in surprise. Alex took aim at her next target when-, *POOF!* A plume of chalk smoke hit near by, covering the poor girl Lilly, though her body was a very effective shield to protect Alex from it and she was thankful even giving a small bow as if she was at the girls funeral... Not that she would ever think that if this was real combat but still. *Crack* Facing back to the dissipating plume of chalk her eyes went wide as the barrel of a rifle burst from it followed by a Squad Six Scout. She only had a moment to think, her body working off muscle memory from her training as she reached out and grabbed the rifle, 'Remember, almost no solider will ever let go of their weapon. This is both a strength and weakness because...,using the rifle as a lever she pulled the scout in to grab his uniform, flipping him over her shoulder and onto the ground where she placed a knee onto his chest before chalking him. Looking back up she noticed the charging troops advancing on her and she knew she could not hold them alone, though she didn't have too as a hail of bullets both from behind and the side started to cut down their numbers! A shock Trooper joined by her side and the Squad's APC came up to catch them in the cross fire. "Could you... Get off me?" Looking down she gave off a small relaxed sigh, then removing her knee from the guys chest, he was 'dead' anyway. At the order to retreat the girl got up with rifle in hand and started to run towards the APC, planning to get a lift back, though in her sprint a chalk round barely clipped the back of her leg causing her to stumble as she got onto the APC. Thankfully it did not hit her directly so she was still good to fight, right? "Wait, what are you doing?! Commander?" However, what she didn't expect was the APC to charge the enemy tank! Looking to their commander for confirmation, she soon found it way too late to turn back now as tank shells were already flying towards the APC, one barely missing the side that she was on! As they neared the tank it could barely keep up, but she knew a good opportunity when she saw one and decided to do something a little dumb. As the APC was passing the tank she nodded to the commander before dropping off the side, falling to the ground in a roll, though it was not a soft landing the tank was not paying her mind and the trench was on the other side so she went unnoticed! However it was not the same of the APC as a cloud of chalk singled its fate, though she hopped that at least some got out before it was tagged. "Now then..." Sneaking around to the back of the tank she placed a few fake grenades to mimic a demo pack and had a long wire attached to her hand, before backing off to a safe distance. "Halt!" She turned around to see a few of squad six moving up to her with weapons draw, they knew they had caught her off guard thanks to her lack of experiences with trying to sneak... *Click, POOF* The chalk detonated on the tank, and thanks to the shots from the APC before it was called out! Though that was only one of their tanks most likely but it was a big win in Alex's books who closed her eyes to await to sting of the chalk rounds... ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ "Gah..." Alex grunted as she pulled the bandage tight around her arm, covering up the rather bad scrape she had gotten while doing a very stupid move on the battlefield. She had also cleaned up when she got back, now sitting in the barracks and fixing herself up from before. Those Chalk rounds left some nasty bruises as well. Though she at least got a feeling she would be remembered for what happened, even if she had just been going with the flow at the time.

[Slypheed]

Celeste

Celeste let out quite an audible sigh as she worked on getting the loose dust and dirt off of her skin and clothes. She looked up at the sky briefly then started walking to the showers. Recollecting everything that happened earlier. ------- Frantic. The only way she could describe everything that was happening. It didn't help that she had little experience in commanding. Everyone was everywhere and a few seemed to be doing their own thing. And with carrying a Lance, she was the slowest, luckily a shocktrooper had volunteered to stay back with her and escort her in. Brenna Sykora, from what she remembered in the documentation. Celeste was still capable of doing something in this Skirmish with the sudden appearance of Squad Six's tank. But that's when things went from being described as frantic, to hellish. First the tank took out a scout, it was hard to tell who it was exactly at her range, but they seemed to stop any harm from coming to the other scout in the same foxhole. Whether was intentional or not was unknown. But she noticed something out of the corner of her eye, it was moving fast too. It took her redirecting her attention to this object and let out a sigh. It was the squads APC, while the tactic it did was impressive, it was when it ran into a trench that was depressing. Needless to say, it was quite the distraction, which allowed someone to get behind it, and take it out. Celeste was ready to set down her lance when suddenly a pair of scouts approached them. Reacting quickly she quickly aimed at fired the lance at them, overkill yes, but it the only weapon she had quick access to as her rifle was slung on her back. Needless to say, the round connected to one, taking that one out and knocking the other back, who was swiftly taken care of by Brenna. Celeste ran over to the one that the chalk lance round impacted. "You alright?" she asked. She knew the boy was considered dead, but the rounds weren't live ammunition, and the impact of a chalk lance round was one only rivaled by a direct hit from a tank chalk round. So she wanted to make sure he wasn't too seriously injured. He nodded with the look of surprise on his face, the impact site was in the chest, and had not cracked a rib, but the boy must have had all the wind knocked out of him. Celeste was just glad she hadn't killed someone in a training exercise. And when she turned her attention back to the battle, she found a few shocktroopers with their guns trained on them. Closing her eyes so the chalk didn't sting, and once her eyes closed, they opened fire. At least they waited. She thought as she lay there, playing dead. ------- That was all she could remember. That's when she realized there was chalk in her nose, and taking a deep inhale through her mouth, she blew out the loose stuff from her nose. Which caused a little internal giggle. And after a little more walking, she was met by Lilly. Who saluted her and asked how she fared in the battle. Returning her salute, she responded "Only got one person. Poor kid, he never expected a lance to be fired at him. Tank was taken out before I could get one shot on it." She noticed Lilly's hair "Need some help with that?" Celeste's hair was covered in chalk and dirt, but was still fairly straight. She had straightened it shortly after the skirmish came to an end.

Brenna

Brenna sat on bench outside. Staring at the sky. It wasn't much, but she'd still like to sketch it. Just a sketch, pencil lines and a little bit of shading. Just something to do to pass time, maybe document cloud coverage during the course of the war? Brenna's actions in the Skirmish wasn't too exciting. She had stayed with the Corporal as a bodyguard/escort. And only took out one person. Maybe she could do something more exciting tomorrow. After a few more minutes of staring at the sky, she stood up and began to walk into the common room when she stopped a few feet short. She had already taken a shower, ate something prior to taking a shower, and relaxed outside. Something had stopped her, it was a tingling feeling on the back of her head. She spun on her heels. She had a feeling it would rain sometime tomorrow.

[Lennon79]

The average performance of the squad was pretty good, most got at least one kill. But their teamwork... It was chilly outside, the last gasp of winter slowly giving way to spring's warmth. Still cold enough for Harald to see his breath crystalise in the air before him, although granted, that may just be the cigarette's fault. He had gone over the reports from the day's mock battle, faithfully recorded by a dozen marshals dotted around the field and he wasn't sure that he liked what he saw. Annoyingly, there had been a plan, one he had taken the time to explain to his troops before the exercise began; regardless of whether they simply forgot their parts in the excitement or didn't give a damn in the first place, it didn't bode well for the future. The next day's work would need to emphasise teamwork and basic unit cohesion... And Carn could learn to drive that damn APC properly while they were at it... Presently, Harald became aware of another presence outside the barrack halls, of soft breathing just around the next corner. He tiptoed over to the edge of the wall, unsure of why he was being so stealthy and found Sykora messing with a notebook. An artist perhaps? Or a writer? Harald would be the first to admit to being a philistine and had trouble reading at the best of times, but nevertheless he held a certain respect for people with such talent. Melancholic wistfulness perhaps, or just benign jealousy? It didn't matter. After a few moments of silent observation, Sykora suddenly stood. Panicking that he had disturbed or upset her, Harald pulled himself back around the corner hurriedly. The long silence that followed only grew heavier as Sykora stood staring at where he had been and in the end, Harald felt sufficiently guilty that he strolled around the corner with a nonchalant air, trying his damnest to pass it off as coincidence. 'Evening PFC. Getting some air?' He took a long drag from his dying cigarette and stubbed it out into a nearby dustbin. 'Never really had a chance to talk to you, Sykora. Mind if I ask where you're from?'

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Alonso's quiet coffee break came to an abrupt end as the squad's wall of a mechanic plopped down opposite. He wasn't in a great mood, but Alonso tried his best anyway. 'Hey. Pretty bad to be honest. A sniper got me before I even saw them coming; barely got out of the flag area.' His expression made it very clear what he thought about that. 'It ain't fair, they shouldn't be able to do that. And why were we, understrength, matched up with a full squad with a damn tank?' He could accept that the exercise was meant to simulate a real battle and those were never fair, but the weakness of Squad Four irked him. It wasn't the people, it wasn't the equipment... it wasn't even the darkhair, as much as Alonso would love to blame it on him. The unusually large number of non-Gallian nationals might have played a part though; one of the guys was a Fed and he was damn sure that two of the others were Imps in disguise. Fucking foreigners... 'I dunno, maybe tomorrow will be better. What about you? Heard you went one on one with that tank.'

[Raven_Operative]

Lilly

Lilly winced in sympathy when she heard about the man being hit directly by a lance. She felt the impact in the ground from the tank shell, and knew that something similar in power to that must hurt a lot to be hit by (even if the round was non-lethal). "Was the man unharmed? A lance would shoot a very large projectile, if I'm not mistaken?" Upon ascertaining this, she nodded her head. "That is good... It would not do to have someone critically injured in a mere training battle." When Celeste offered to help her straighten her hair, Lilly was taken aback. Someone superior to her offering to help her with her hair? Back at home, this never would have happened. The maids and the servants tended to their masters, and in return, their masters provided them with pay. No one would have ever thought of an aristocrat volunteering to help a common maid. It would be improper on both their parts! "B-but you are my superior..." Lilly shook off the awkwardness of the faux pas quickly, remembering that not everyone had been brought up in the same lifestyle as her. Switching back to her usual calm voice, she politely declined. "I am sorry, Corporal Stichler, but I must decline. It would be improper to have one such as yourself assisting me with my personal appearance. I thank you for your offer, though." Lilly stood at attention and remained, though she didn't really know of what else to talk of. She was curious about Celeste's background, but did not want to drag her into a long conversation, and Corporal Stichler looked like she had been heading somewhere important (probably to clean herself). She didn't want to run off if the Corporal had something else she wanted to say, though, so she decided to remain for a few moments longer.

Evan

Kicking his feet up on the coffee table in front of the couch, Evan shrugged as Alonso told his tale. "That's rough kid, and yeah I get where you're coming from about the unfairness..." Evan punched his fist against his other palm before smiling, leaning back, and putting his arms behind his head. "But! We're soldiers. We'll have to face even more lopsided odds out there in the real war, so we might as well get used to it. Just got to buckle down! Get mad! Get angry! Show those sons of bitches who they're fuckin' with, and that we can kick their asses even with OUT a proper tank!" Evan rocked back and fourth, tilting the entire sofa as he did, before closing one eye and continuing. "Though... Well, we didn't do so well this time,... but next time! Next time we'll get them! And if we don't, then we keep practicing until we DO get them! And then we keep right on going! Fighting bigger and better squads, until we've proven ourselves to be the best damn unit in the whole militia! Those imps wont know what hit them once we're through with this!" Evan kept grinning right up until Bons mentioned going head to head against the tank. At that point, he became flustered, waving his hands in front of him as if to deflect the blame of what happened to the APC. "HeyHeyHey, That one wasn't me. Fuckin' imp piece of shit doesn't have any of the gears in the right place. That stall was not my fault. ... but I almost got that tank... almost... His grin reappeared when he said the last bit, and he leaned forward, pulling his feet from the table to the floor as he did. "Someone else finished the job though, didn't they? I thought... uhh..." Evan snapped his fingers, trying to remember the girl's name. "Engineering girl. That combat engineer. I thought I saw her doing something to the rear of the tank just before we got shot. I think she might have been the one to take it out. If so, bravo to her." Evan looked around, for a moment, an odd expression on his face. "Wonder where she is. I didn't see her come in by the front... Must 'ave snuck by me."

[Slypheed]

Celeste

Celeste was taken back a bit when Lilly declined her offer. And her reasoning made some sense, but Celeste didn't want to be in some air-tight unit that basically left its members to themselves, where the only talking was combat communication. She wanted to get to know the members of her squad. While some might hint at the more perverted things in that sentence, Celeste knew where to pull the stops. She had a feeling that any relationship deeper than best friends might bring some complications to the squads functionality. She did have to admit she did find some of the squad members attractive, she'd wait till after the war to try and date any of them. Bringing her attention back to the scenario in front of her. "I understand what you're getting at. But it doesn't hurt to get to know each other anyway. Everyone's papers gave a vague idea on their backgrounds, would be nice to get a more detailed picture of where everyone comes from." She looked at Lilly's posture "Also, when you're around me, you can be more relaxed. But I'd say get into attention should the Darcsen be around, don't know how strict he is with that stuff." She began walking towards the showers "You can come along if you wish to chat some more. If not, then you're free to go where you wanted to."

Brenna

Brenna was caught off guard by the Sergeants sudden appearance. She quickly got into attention, saluting the Sergeant. She did find it weird that the Sergeant had come from behind a corner. She felt that someone might be watching her stealthily, but didn't expect to be the Sergeant, she had expected it to be one of the Privates, or even one of the two Lance Corporals. But the Sergeant?! She had a few ideas why he might be sneaking around, she just hoped it wasn't any of the reasons related to helping the Imps. He had asked her if she was getting some air. Brenna shook her head, she was there to avoid any social interaction, but it was obvious it had found her. And with the person talking to her being the squads Sergeant, she couldn't just casually dismiss it and walk away. Then he said they never had a chance to talk, and asked where she was from. Brenna had no idea where she was born, but knew where she had lived for most of her time growing up, then the town she moved to once she was old enough. "That town" she simply answered, hoping the Sergeant knew she was mentioning the town that the militia was meeting in and was now under Imp control. "I was a baker". Her heart started to beat faster and heavier, caused by both the social interaction and the thoughts of Imps burning her writings and paintings for fun.