Dewey Deftones

Ashes Beneath the Burning Sun

Angela smiled and nodded her head, affirming the plans Fareeha spoke of. The Swiss woman knew she'd be very busy here. She'd likely help the medical unit while she was here on this base, and be busy with the wounded when she followed Fareeha's soldiers into battle against the omnics.

"If you do not mind, I would prefer to stay with you instead of the medical personnel. We have talking that we need to do in privacy." She said, sliding her empty tray aside. Once they were ready, they went to the medical unit and introduced Angela to the various medics, nurses, and doctors.

She was polite and calm, and even checked on a few of the patients that were from Fareeha's unit. The one that had been missing a leg was one she spent a little extra time talking to. He praised Angela for helping him gain some hope. It had been what had pushed him to complete that two hour trek from the caves to the base.

Angela smiled, humbly accepting his praise. She was used to being thanked for ehat she felt was her duty. Some would say she was a miracle worker, but she wasn't. She had limits to what she could do.

She exited the room the man was recovering in and looked to Fareeha, who had been waiting. "He is doing much better. His leg could easily be fitted with a prosthetic when it heals... He could even return to duty if the prosthetic is strong enough." She informed. It was only right that the Captain know of the condition of her soldiers.

"Where to now? Is there anyone else important that I need to meet?"

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Angela quietly took her hand back. She couldn't ever say that she understood the pain that Fareeha had gone through and was clearly still going through. She wanted to be empathetic, however. Wanted Fareeha to know that she wasn't alone, that she has support from Angela.

"I apologize, this discussion should have been kept private." She said, sitting up straight. "I would be grateful to be introduced, thank you. I don't think it would keep anyone from staring at me though... These soldiers must not see anyone not from their own home at all."

She gave a quick glance around and sure enough there were peering eyes upon her. She tried to ignore it as she focused on finishing her food. It was a tad unnerving, but she could endure. After all, it wasn't hurting anyone.

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Angela smiled apologetically at the other woman for embarrassing her in front of her peers. She'd just gotten too caught up in memories. It wasn't all that bad though. To see Fareeha smile at a time like this warmed the Swiss woman's heart. She was fighting so hard for her country, she deserved a few moments to feel at least a little happy.

Angela couldn't help but glance down as Fareeha asked about her mother. Truth be told, she hadn't seen Ana in years. It was a shame. Her skills and prowess with her sniper rifle could easily come in handy at a time like this.

"I'm sorry, Fareeha, but I haven't seen or heard from your mother in a long time... When she disappeared early in the conflict, that was the last I saw of her. I'm sure she's still out there. She is like you, in the way that she is stubborn and wouldn't ever give up."

Angela reached a hand over and place it upon Fareeha's strong forearm, giving her a comforting look in the eyes. Her voice was soft and gentle. Speaking to the Captain about her maternal figure was a tough endeavor, and an emotional one.

"She did not want to ever hurt you. This I know."

Ashes Beneath the Burning Sun

Angela took a few bites of her meal while Fareeha spoke, listening to what she had to say closely. On the matter of the rest of the world, Angela could report on what she knew, though she doubted it would bring any relief whatsoever.

"I can't say much for Asia. I know Genji is in Japan, so they have him. I can imagine that at least they are decently protected, being an island nation and all. But I cannot confirm anything for Asia as a whole. I know Russia is... well, falling apart at the seams. But it is such a large country, the civilians must've fled into unpopulated areas to hide while the soldiers do battle. I've seen a few videos, and none of them have civilians... I don't know if that is because they died or if they escaped."

She paused to take a sip of her drink before continuing.

"Europe is locked in war in most countries. Switzerland barely took any brunt of the omnic attacks. Italy, Germany, and France have received massive casualties, but continue to fight. The French are employing guerilla tactics to fight. They realized that head on attacking and defending wasn't working. Moving constantly is exhausting their forces however."

She sighed. "Germany is just as bad. From what I've seen and heard, many Crusaders have died in battle... They're reinforcing key points in cities and defending 'til the last man is down. I can only hope that Reinhardt is still alive and kicking. His body is not what it used to be... He's in his sixties now. Knowing him, he's probably still fighting, shouting nonsense about glory and Hasselhoff."

"You are right about South America, that's for certain... I don't know the details. I suppose it's a bad sign when you don't see an news cominf from a whole continent. As for the US, since they've always had the strongest military force in the world, they are using every last bit of it to protect their people. Jesse actually made contact with me a few weeks ago, wondering if Overwatch still existed. So I know he's over there, helping where he can."

"The only person I've had consistent contact with throughout the crisis is Torbjorn. Scandinavia is working together very well to defend their nations as a whole. He has built hundreds of turrets, and continues to work as hard as ever, even though he's a few years shy of sixty years old."

"The only people I can't say I know where they went are Jack and Gabriel. It worries me. They simply up and disappeared... but there is nothing I can do, and I know both of them can handle themselves."

"All I can say for certain is that Egypt has the worst fighting I've seen. Even the nations surrounding Switzerland look better than here. It just goes to show how brave all of you are and have been, continuing to fight despite all that has happened. I really must commend all of you for your hard work. Especially you, Fareeha. You have grown into an excellent leader. I still remember when you were just a sweet little girl playing with dolls."

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Angela shook her head, laughing at the prospect of her leading like Fareeha did. She wasn't that type of leader, if one at all. She could instruct other medics and give people hope, but she was not nearly as brave as to bear the burden of possibly sending soldiers to their deaths.

"Oh no, no, no. I am not soldier, I cannot lead soldiers into a fight. I assume that the Colonel will either send a Commander with them, or put them under the ESF's jurisdiction. My only responsibility is to keep them healthy, as it is with your soldiers."

Angela looked around the table at the expressions of the other officers. The relief was practically palpable. Sure, they would have wanted more, but this was a great boost in morale. Angela was happy that she helped their pysche.

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Just as the eyes boring into her back began to bother her, Angela was both relieved and pleasantly surprised to be approached by Fareeha, and followed her to where the officers were eating. She supposed she would get to see the reaction from the others when they heard about the reinforcement companies coming from Switzerland. She took a bite of her food first, smiling at the banter between Nero and Ansaf. She looked to Fareeha as she attempted to persuade her to stay behind.

"I have made my decision, Fareeha. I am not scared of the battlefield. And it is where I can do the most good with what I have. And besides, I won't be completely estranged from my people. In fact, I'll be responsible for some."

She paused to see the confused looks on the other's faces. "I made contact with the Swiss Armed Forces. They hold high respect for me, being one of the elite of Overwatch and a top doctor of my country. I appealed to the Colonel's sense of duty and peacekeeeping. Two companies of infantry are being sent to aid the ESF. It's as much as he could spare. He originally wasn't going to give anything, but I can be convincing."

Ashes Beneath the Burning Sun

Two hours, the people of this company suffered through paranoia and exhaustion, fighting against their own bodies just to make it to safety. When they arrived, Angela introduced herself to the leadership that received them. They granted her permission to tag onto Fareeha's unit and go with them in two days when they were to be deployed again. They didn't seem pleased that they'd only received one doctor from Switzerland.

However, when she had the chance, she attempted to establish communication with the soldiers that had brought her to Egypt. She wasn't going to ridicule them. no, she was going to ask for them to request troops to aid these crippled forces. By the looks of the soldiers who were here, they were accepting just about anyone who was able-bodied and could aim with a rifle. Old, young, it didn't matter. They were desperate. They needed help.

Borrowing a long range two-way radio, she managed to get a hold of the Swiss Armed Forces. She spoke calmly and waited for the right person to come to the radio to talk with her. She got a hold of Florian, who desperately apologized for leaving her behind. He'd made it back to Switzerland, and was on base. When she told him she wanted him to request troops, he suggested she do it herself, and got up to route her to the Colonel who was in charge.

"Doctor Ziegler," A gruff sounding man spoke. "This is Colonel Haener. I command the 3rd Infantry Regiment. The Lieutenant you first spoke to said you needed to discuss sending troops to Cairo. I need you to understand that I can't just throw troops around at the will of a doctor."

Angela furrowed her brow in frustration. "Colonel, the fighting in Switzerland is nothing compared to what is here. This is not a conflict the Swiss can just stay out of. This is worldwide, and if one nation fails, the rest will only get weaker. You must understand that; you're a Colonel, after all. You mission as Swiss soldiers is peacekeeping, and those efforts must often be made outside of our homeland. I beg of you, find it in your heart to deploy troops and show selfless actions in a time where hope is scarce."

There was silence for a few moments before Haener replied. "You do have a point, but I cannot spare much... I can send two companies, but that is all that I can do. All others are remaining on guard and protecting our borders. The weight of any of their deaths will be on your shoulders for making this request, Doctor Ziegler. If you weren't part of Overwatch, I wouldn't have even bothered talking with you. I will contact the ESF and get the troops ready for deployment as soon as possible."

Angela breathed a sigh of relief. Perhaps this would help with the dwindling morale of this country's military. "Thank you, Colonel."

With that, she decided she'd see about getting some food. She had two days to rest and prepare to be deployed alongside Fareeha's unit. She made her way towards the mess hall, and as she walked, many turned their heads to watch her. To them, she seemed out of place. Her pale skin and blue eyes, hands clean and body lithe; it was so strange to them. She wasn't tall like the jumpers, whose spines were decompressed from the weight of gravity pulling down on their soaring bodies. She wasn't muscular like the grunts, she was quite the opposite, really. It was intimidating to know so many eyes peered at her as she walked by. She wondered where Fareeha was, and hoped that she was resting. Angela imagined that it would bring much relief to Fareeha know that the Swiss were sending two whole companies to assist in the fighting. Her arrival to Cairo wouldn't be a disappointment after all.

Ashes Beneath the Burning Sun

@Ambiguity

I have the Rapid Discord achievement unlocked for Zen. I was pretty happy when I got it. Strangely enough, I can't seem to get his other achievement. I never have my ult when more than one of my allies is critical.

I used to (and still occasionally) play on an ASUS laptop that's a few years old. It's a cheap one, with HP Integrated Graphics, so as you can imagine it has a hard time running just about anything. I can barely run Overwatch on it, and even then I get such bad graphic lag that it takes up to a whole match for everythimg to render properly. Thankfully I only use it when I'm away from home.

I work Friday-Monday, four ten-hour overnight shifts. Very, very boring job. I work for a financial company, sorting through personal data of political campaign donors.

I mostly make sure that the duplicate data (aka someone donating multiple times with the same information) gets merged together in the database, while different donors with the same names (ex. John Smith from Ohio and John Smith from Idaho) get separated. I have two buttons to click. For ten hours. You can imagine how boring that gets.

But my company pays for food, so I get free dinner every night I work. It's not healthy in the slightest but I love it. I can't tell you how many cheeseburgers I've had.

Ashes Beneath the Burning Sun

Angela shook her head and got to her feet, steady on the ground as she was in the air. She was tired, yes, but she would more properly rest when the time wasn't so dire. They needed to keep moving, and she wasn't going to slow them down.

"I can rest when we are safer. The wounded take my highest priority. The closer we get them to safety, the better their chances of recovery. Don't worry about me." She insisted. "Whenever you're ready, I'll be right behind you."

With that, she made a quick check over the wounded to make certain everyone was holding together. One soldier in particular was sitting against the wall, shivering and crying. He was a young man who'd suffered a leg wound. His left leg from the knee down had been blasted off.

Angela knelt down by the man. "Are you alright? What's the matter?" She asked. He hid his face from her, stammering something about not knowing if he could make the final stretch on crutches. His underarm was raw and starting to blister from the makeshift crutch that had been fashioned from wood and twine. Angela reached her hand forward and pressed it to the raw skin, focusing her healing on the area.

"You must gather your strength. Just one more trip and you'll be able to rest. Is your leg in pain?"

The young man leaned his head back against the wall, breathing shaky and resisting sobs. He was terrified, the poor thing. The atrocities they must have witnessed broke Angela's heart. She knew the cost of conflict like this.

"Let me take a look." She moved to check the half-limb, undoing the bandaging enough to check how it was healing. It didn't look well. It hadn't been amputated precisely, and the stitching that the others had done was a mess. Likely that they'd been rushed, with shaking hands and spiraling minds. She quickly rebandaged the wound. She didn't have time to sit and mend this.

"Come on, get up. You can do this." The blonde encouraged. "I will be here, if anything happens. I will protect these people with my life."

She stood up, and grasped the young man's hands, helping him up. Once he put the crutch under his arm, he looked her in the eyes.

"Why come here? Why assist the ESF? Our battles are all lost, our homeland is destroyed... Your talents are wasted on the doomed." He despaired.

Angela frowned. Just one of what were likely many that had lost all hope in this war. She placed a gloved hand on his shoulder.

"So long as no one gives up, Egypt will live. Cairo will live. The soul of a country lives not in its buildings, but its people. Remember that." She said before turning and walking away from him to check on others. She hoped that this ragtag group could survive the trek. Sure, she could do it. But she hadn't been through hell like they had. She hadn't had limbs sheared off by bullets, hadn't watched friends and family die.

Angela glanced to Fareeha. The Captain was putting up such a strong front. What suffering was she in? How was she holding up through all of this?

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Angela looked out the mouth of the cave and smiled knowingly. This wasn't the first time she'd seen Egypt, though it was the first she'd seen it in flames. The ancient sands were no doubt soaked with blood.

"I came here with your mother once. It was a recon mission. Just scoping out an area. There wasn't much danger at the time, which is why I wanted to come along. You see, I hadn't been to Egypt yet. I wanted to see this land's beauty. The ancient temples and pyramids... It's a shame what this war has done to it. I don't think the ESF could have prepared properly, regardless how much time you had."

Angela brought herself to sit down next to the younger woman, reaching over and placing a gentle hand on the shoulder of her armor.

"If C-COM calls you cowards after you have held out for so long, risked your lives for the safety and preservation of others... They are fools, Fareeha. No one here has a speck of cowardice in them. Switzerland didn't need me. And I know Reinhardt went back to Germany... Overwatch has become a ghost. A shell of what it was. Everyone split up, and we can barely call ourselves a functioning organization anymore. Jack and Gabriel both disappeared... Following in the footsteps of your mother, I suppose. I needed to be somewhere where my presence would matter."

The Swiss woman sighed, looking down at the ground. She too was exhausted. This small break was something she would relish in.

"I am glad to be here, Fareeha. I am shocked that I found you. Though I suppose you're easy to spot. Blue stands out against the warm tones of the sand and dirt." She tapped the metal of the other's armor with her fingernail, smiling.