Jacky

~ Valkyria Chronicles - Changing of the Guard ~

Luke Godfrey

Luke couldn’t help but arch a brow in confusion as Diana apologized to him. ‘I-is this real, or am I just drunk as hell?’ he thought to himself as she finished her apology. He couldn’t remember the last time someone other than his little sisters actually apologized to him. Not knowing how to react Luke rubbed the back of his neck and chuckled. “It’s all good, probably wasn’t the smartest thing to say on the first day anyways,” Luke muttered before feeling his mind explode in realization. ‘DID I JUST FUCKING APOLOGIZE!?’ he barked within his mind in utter shock before clearing his throat, deciding to silently blame the booze before he actually acted like a nice person. Hell, thanks to her mentioning her sister made Luke remember his. He kept the joyful smile as few quick memories of the two twins gave him a brief moment of soberness. Normally Luke wouldn’t worry about them to much since he knew they were with good people and a good community, but he couldn’t help but wonder how they were. How were they doing in school? Were they getting along alright without him? Did they even miss him? He fought the urge to shake his head and simply pushed the thoughts from his mind. ‘Damn it, this isn’t the time to worry,’ he thought to himself as he moved on from the topic.

As the new face shared the story of her scar and gave a rather fitting name Luke silently thanked the change of direction and laughed in amusement. “Slasher eh? Better not piss you off then! Or at least keep anything sharp away from ya!” he laughed before feeling his grin grow even larger as his two new drinking partners joined in his toast. Before he went to down his drink he noticed Victoria down her drink with ease and felt his bad, competitive habit return to life before taking a quick breath and chugging his beverage down. He slammed his mug onto the table before shooting a quick glance her way with a cocky smile, letting her silently know he wasn’t about to slow down if she wasn’t. Luke heard Diana complain about her helmet and looked her way as she fixed her hair. Luke arched a brow since this was the first time he’s seen her without it on and smirked in amusement. “Huh, would you look at that, there really is woman under that helmet. A small one, but a woman nonetheless!” he laughed as he took his own light hearted jab towards her.

Luke’s laughter was cut off though as Victoria bragged on about being able to out drink the two of them without much trouble. A snicker escaped Luke before he turned to her and leaned in closer onto the table with a spark of confidence in his eyes. “Oh yeah? You think you could beat me? Her?” he jabbed a quick thumb towards Diana with a nod. “I can see that, but I’m no light weight,” he declared before smacking the table with a bark of laughter. “Bring it on then, let’s see if that big mouth of yours can keep up with that shit coming out of it!” he stated before stopping a young waitress that just passed by. “We need a bunch of rounds coming this way, the champion has another challenger,” the young waitress looked around the table and let a small smile of amusement come to her face as she shook her head.

“You’re really an odd one you know that? Fine, I’ll let my grandpa know,” she said with a light chuckle of amusement before making her way back to the bar. Luke watched on as she talked to the old bartender and snickered as he looked mildly annoyed before sighing in defeat and allowed her to take a tray of freshly poured mugs back to their table. As she delivered the drinks Luke grinned and nodded in gratitude as he took a mug.

“The old man is a godsend ya know that? Thanks, uh…” the girl smiled before holding the tray under her arm and clearing the long blonde hair from her face to let him get a good look at her bright emerald eyes.

“Emily Pavol and don’t mention it. My grandfather may have a bit of hard personality, but he’s a real softy,” she said before her smile grew a bit more sober as a small glint of happiness shined in her bright eyes while her small innocent smile widened just a bit. “Even when we’re surrounded by so much sadness he’ll offer whatever he can to whoever needs it. I think he’d even give up his own bed if it meant helping someone on their last leg,” Luke felt himself freeze for a brief moment, finding it difficult to look away from the young waitresses almost breathtaking eyes and feeling a strange feeling in his chest. Soon she caught herself and waved a hand. “Anyway don’t worry about that, just enjoy yourselves and drink up,” she chuckled before looking to the other two with a smile. “If you need anything then don’t hesitate to ask, things are quieting down a bit anyways,” she said before leaving the table to return to her work. Luke felt his eyes following her for a few seconds before he accidentally spilled a bit of his drink into his lap. He jumped slightly, but quickly got his head together and cleared his throat, unaware that is cheeks were a bit more red than before talking to the waitress.

“A-anyway, where were we?” he asked before looking to the other two while wiping away the spilled beer on his pants. He glanced to the beers and let his usual grin return to his face before leaning forward with a excited chuckle. “That’s right, I was about to drink ya’ll under the table!” he laughed before holding up his mug and gave a final glance between the two. “Down that hatch then ladies, let a man show ya how it’s done!” he declared before knocking back his head and beginning to gulp down the beverage with ease. As he finished his first mug he let out a gasp of satisfaction and held up his mug in joy. “Thanks old man for the drinks!” he shouted in true gratitude while not noticing Emily smile and giggle in amusement in the drunken soldiers cheering. The old man shook his head as he cleaned a few glasses, a small smirk of amusement spreading onto his face.

"Damn light weights."

@Smike@Landaus Five-One

~ Valkyria Chronicles - Changing of the Guard ~

Luke Godfrey

“T-that all ya got, Imp?” Luke slurred before knocking back his head to gulped down another mouthful of his next drink, tying him and his opponent at their eights mug. The Imp named Tiny slammed his mug onto the table and scoffed as the two reached for their next round.

“Y-you think this all I got? I’m j-*hic*-just getting started!” he declared with a confident grin that matched Luke’s own. The crowds cheers only grew by the second, a few more soldiers and civilians joining the audience and watching in amazement as the two men battled in a test of will. As Luke gulped down his drinks he could hear his fellow squadmate Diana shout out her demands to win no matter what, even though she was ripping on him not to long ago. As the two chugged down their ninth round and slammed their mugs onto the table before gasping for air, Luke clicked his tongue in annoyance before slamming his hand onto the table.

“Damn it, this is getting us nowhere!” he complained, his cheeks beginning to get a bit flustered as the alcohol did its job. Tiny sighed and nodded in reluctant agreement.

“I hate to say it, but I agree. We need something stronger,” he suggested before looking to Hendricks who only nodded in understanding. The skinny Imp looked towards the bartender with two fingers pointing down to the table. The old bartender rolled his eyes before going under the bar and taking out a bottle of whiskey and two shot glasses. The crowd cleared a path for the old man, all sporting the same eager smiles to see the two change up the pace. As the old man approached and placed the shot glasses in front of them he shook his head and looked between the two.

“I swear you two are gonna run me dry,” he grumbled before pouring their drinks and leaving the bottle in the middle of the table. Luke laughed and held up his glass towards the old man as he walked back to the bar.

“This one’s for you grandpa! Down the hatch!” he cheered before knocking back his drink along with his opponent. Luke cringed as the satisfying, yet burning taste of the whiskey traveled down his throat and laughed in between coughs. “Man it’s been awhile since I had something this strong!” he laughed before looking to Tiny who was already pouring his next shot. Luke could only chuckle in amusement as he passed the bottle. “Not bad Imp, thought you’d be down for the count by now,” he chuckled as he poured the dark liquor into his glass. The Imp gave a deep chuckle, a hiccup in between his amused chuckle.

“And let some puny Fed like you win? Ha! Keep dreamin!” he slurred slightly, Luke just noticing him sway side to side just a bit as he spoke. He held his tongue and aloud the Imp to continue blathering on before the two of them down their next shot with eagerness. They were tied between two, then three then finally before they knew it gulped down their sixth shot. Luke wouldn’t admit it but his head was beginning to swim a bit, the whiskey definitely working its magic as the two were now leaning upon the table, both staring at one another with defiance. Both glasses remained empty for a few seconds, the two of them waiting the other to make their move. Finally, with a deep breath Luke gripped the bottle and slide it his way with a grin.

“Tha mattar Imp!? Not givin up yet are ya!?” Luke questioned in a slurred voice as he poured his next drink. Tiny sneered at Luke before holding out his hand, silently demanding for the bottle. The Imps cheered for their comrade to keep going while Luke’s fellow Feds roared in encouragement. As the two poured their glasses they let out a heavy sigh, glared towards one another and knocked back their drinks. Luke gritted his teeth and hissed slightly before letting a small sigh of relief as he managed to get over his hazy mind. “Thank god alcoholism runs in the family, I can keep going for the whole-” Luke was cut off as a loud thud reached his ears and looked up towards an empty seat that was once filled in with his opponent. A moment of silence filled the Inn for a few good seconds before a thunderous roar erupted from Luke’s fellow Feds. He leaned to the right to see the massive, unconscious form of Tiny, the fallen Imperial. The rest of the Imps let out groans and sighs of disappointment as Hendricks helped his friend up off the ground before letting a few others take him off his hands. The skinny Imp stood tall upon a chair and pointed to Luke with a small smirk of bitter defeat.

“It is a sad day for the Empire, but the winner of this drinking duel is none other than… I don’t know his name, but the Federation wins!” he declares with a few good claps before being drowned out by the whooping and cheering of the winning side. Luke grinned from ear to ear before snatching the almost empty bottle of whisky and climbed up onto the table, just barely keeping himself from falling face first onto the hard wooden floor. After balancing himself out on the table Luke held up the bottle and looked to his fellow soldiers who awaited his words.

“Today is not just a victory for the Federation, but for all of the generations of alcoholics, past, present and future! Let it be known that I, Luke Godfrey, am the drunkest bastard in the country and will take on any bastard that dares challenge me!” he shouted before knocking his head back and downing the rest of the whisky. As the last drop left the bottle he tore himself away, gritting his teeth and holding the empty bottle even higher. “For the Federation!” he boomed with a hardy laugh before the rest of the surrounding Feds lifted up their mugs and glasses.

“For the Federation”

Luke’s smile grew even large before he arched his head back and raised his fist in the air. “Whooo- oh shit!” he yelped before falling off the table and slamming onto the hardwood floor. The cheering and laughter fell silent once more as the drunken champion fell and awaited for any signs of life. After a few quiet seconds Luke jumped up with a silly smile while brushing himself off. “I’m good, I’m good, just wanted to lay down for a sec,” he lied as he rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment. The crowd only laughed in amusement before returning to the celebration of their recent victory. With his pride slightly wounded, but his morale soaring Luke stumbled to the bartender who only shook his head as he already knew why he was coming since he already had a freshly poured mug waiting for him. Luke gave the old man a wink and nod of gratefulness before turning around and scanning the Inn. His smile only grew as both sides continued on with their fun. Honestly he thought the Imps would look a bit more sour about their loss, but they continued to laugh and enjoy themselves, some even mingling with some Feds without any problems. He spotted Tiny as he recovered from his defeat and saw him nod, a good sign of sportsmanship. Luke chuckled and nodded back before taking a quick sip of his drink and smacking his lips.

Soon his eyes drifted upon the table that Diana was sitting at, noticing a rather large stranger with her. He arched his brow for a moment in curiosity, but soon a cocky grin spread across his face. Luke ordered another drink before he began to walk towards the table, stumbling a few times and almost spilling his drinks. Finally he reached the table and plopped down into an empty chair with a heavy sigh, slamming two mugs onto the table. With a joyful chuckle and his cocky grin only growing by the second he looked to Diana. “Whatcha got to say now my dear Diana? I think I’m more than ready to take on your mother, don’t ya think?” he asked in a slightly slurred voice. He laughed a bit more before clearing his throat and glancing over to the rather large nameless woman, arching a brow and inspecting her before slinging his arm around the back of the chair and leaning back in his seat. He noticed her fresh wounds and cracked a smile as he gave her quick nod.

“Good to see I’m not the only one getting my pretty face abused out there,” he joked as he pointed to the right side of his face that was currently covered in bandages, hiding his wounds that traveled from his lower jaw to his whole cheek. “Names Luke, but beside that I see a crime unfolding right here,” he said before pointing her with narrowed eyes and letting his grin widen. “You’re missing a damn drink!” he laughed before sliding her the extra mug of beer before snapping his attention back to Diana with a finger. “And you, stop pussy footing around and down that damn drink already! Nothing matters outside this Inn right now! Today we drink our worries and fears away!” he declared before holding up his mug over the table in a toast. “Besides, being the only one drunk off my ass is no fun!” he laughed as his mug stayed over the table, awaiting for the other two to hopefully join in on his toast.

@Landaus Five-One @Smike

~ Valkyria Chronicles - Changing of the Guard ~

Luke Godfrey

Luke’s laughter was cut off once Jean ordered him and Gwyn to take care of the injured and sighed in defeat before spinning around. “Will do sir,” he muttered in disappointment in the fact he wouldn’t be the first one to the bar, but as he walked to Michals side and helped him along he cracked a smile. “Come on best buddy, let’s get you somewhere a lot more cozy. Who knows, we may be able to get you a fine lady to help keep your bed warm for the night,” he chuckled, his voice a bit more hushed as he mentioned helping him get some company for the night. Luke chuckled again before they reached the inn. The smell of good booze, warm food and the welcoming atmosphere was truly a nice change from the depressing war torn city. After finding a room for the injured Luke decided to washed up a bit in a nearby bathroom, cleaning any dirt from his face and hands, changing his bandages and even used his bayonet to shave the little bristles of facial hair that was gradually growing on his face. Luke thought about taking a bath, the mere thought of the relaxing warm waters washing his worries was undeniable, but a small voice in the back of his head barked at him to go on without it. This may have been a neutral zone, but the fact was that there were still Imps down stairs. He tightened his grip on the edge of the sink while the rest of his body tensed up at the thought of lowering his guard too much before shaking his head clear, feeling satisfied enough with the clean shave and quick wash up.

After freshening up Luke made his way downstairs and felt a grin spread from ear to ear as the sight of the bar was finally in his view. Though his grin dulled slightly as he saw a few Imps nearby, laughing and drinking it up with no worries. Luke tensed up a bit, but he noticed his squad near the bar and quickly made his way to them, adjusting his loaded rifle slung over his shoulder. As he approached he managed to catch Ines gesturing his way as she ordered drinks for everyone and laughed in joy before he reached the bar, leaning on the table with an excited grin. “Ya heard the lady, let me get a drink,” he demanded with a quick slap upon the table. The bartender looked a bit annoyed in Luke, but only gave grunt in response and poured his drink. Luke mimicked his grunt right back as he snatched his drink and holding it up in the air with a bark of laughter. “Down the hatch lads! For the Federation!” he shouted with the largest grin he could muster before beginning to chug down his beverage.

A few dribbles of alcohol ran down Luke lower jaw, a couple of droplets falling to the floor, but Luke continued on without a care in the world. The taste of his freshly poured beer was almost heavenly, no… it was indeed gift from god for all Luke cared. After gulping down a few good mouthfuls Luke finally tore his lips from the rim of his mug before letting out a gasp of satisfaction. He chuckled as his parched throat was finally quenched and looked down into his mug, frowning in slight disappointment to see a bit more of his beer was left. “Damn, I used to be able to down it all in one go,” he muttered in even more disappointment in himself before finishing it off and slamming it back down onto the table. “Another round, keep em coming!” he cheered before leaning forward, his voice lowered for only the bartender. “Put my tab on the Federations bill,” he grinned. The old bartender simply arched a brow before pouring him another drink.

“You really think they’ll pay that tab?” he asked in gruff voice before he slid the freshly filled mug back to Luke. Luke shrugged with a chuckle before taking a swig of his beer.

“Hell if I know, wishful thinking I suppose,” he responded with a smirk. The old bartender scoffed in bitter amusement before shaking his head.

“You young pups these days, thinking just because you hold a rifle and kill each other means you get to have whatever you want without having to pay for it,” he mused aloud as he poured another drink for another patron. Luke chuckled and snatched up the drink with a grateful nod.

“Glad you understand!” he laughed before returning to his drink with glee. After some time had passed and Luke had managed to down a few cold ones he began to feel some of the tension of the day be washed away after every drop of alcohol ran down his throat. As he began to feel a small buzz and grabbed another drink from the bartender he heard someone began to sing. With curiosity he spun around in his seat to see the surprising sight of Ines singing and to his even greater surprise she was doing pretty good. He laughed in amusement as she finished and held up his mug. “Would you look at that, who knew such a ball crusher could sing! It’s a miracle!” he declared and gained a few chuckles from a few soldiers nearby, though he noticed some of the women in the crowd rolled their eyes and shook their heads. He couldn’t help but laugh some more before his attention was taken by Isaac as he grabbed the whole rooms attention. Luke listened to his speech with an arched brow before feeling his smile grow in amusement towards the end of his toast.

“Cheers!” he shouted in amusement before gulping down another mouthful. After finishing off another round and returning to the bar to get a new one a rather skinny Imp soldier leaned against the bar next to Luke and ordered his own drink before looking to Luke who was currently downing another drink.

“Geez, you’ve been downing those drinks ever since you got here. Are all Feds such alcoholics?” he asked with an arched brow and amused smirk. Luke gave a small sigh of satisfaction as he pulled himself away from his beverage and looked to the soldier with grin.

“Only the unstable ones,” he joked before jabbing his thumb over his shoulder. “I doubt anyone else in the place can hold their liquor like me,” he declared with confidence. The Imp laughed as his drink was delivered to him and arched a brow.

“Is that so?” he questioned before taking a moment to think. Soon a grin spread onto his face before grabbing his drink and leaning in closer. “Wanna put that to the test?” Luke paused mid drink and fully turned towards the man with a smirk, his interest clearly caught in the Imps question.

“You think ya can out drink me Imp?” he asked, the excitement clear in his voice. The Imp quickly shook his head.

“Me? Ha! I’m to much of a lightweight!” he laughed before pointing to a table of Imps and aiming his finger towards the biggest man Luke has ever seen in his life. Talk about steroid abuse. “I bet my friend there can drink you into a coma without even trying,” Luke chuckled before downing the rest of his mug and standing up with a large grin, slightly stumbling since he got up to fast.

“It’s on then! Let’s see what you Imps got!” he barked loud enough for the whole room to hear, earning several concerned eyes on him as it seemed a fight was ready to break out. The Imp laughed and smacked his hand on the bar before rising to his feet and calling to his large ally.

“Tiny, come drink this damn fed under the table!” the room visibly let out a breath of relief as they avoided a bar fight before all cheering out in excitement as a table was cleared for the twos challenge. The massive Imp soldier, Tiny, sat down with a sigh and looked to his comrade who set up the challenge for him.

“Again, Hendricks, you sign me up for something without my say so,” he complained with a smirk. The Imp gave him a quick wink before standing upon a chair and addressing the the audience that now surround the table.

“Alright folks listen up! This is a test of will and determination between men on different sides! The pride of both the Empire and the Federation rest on the shoulders of these two soldiers!” a round of cheers ring out around them and Luke couldn’t help but join in with a large grin. Hendricks gave them all a few seconds before continuing. “Now to make things even more exciting and to encourage our find young contestants to victory, we will place bets on the winner! So come on up and place your bets on the table by my side, come on now don’t be shy! The pride of our countries depend on it!” he laughed before making way for a young waitress carrying a tray of freshly poured mugs, the foam leaking from the top and making it all the more delicious looking.

“Good luck gentlemen,” she chuckled before leaving the table with a smile. After a moment of people shouting and placing their bets on the table Hendricks held up his hands.

“All bets are in and our brave contestants are ready to begin the duel of all duels!” he declared and managed to get a quick cheer from the audience. Luke smirked towards his opponent and grabbed his mug.

“Hope you’re ready Imp, I’ll show you what we Feds are capable of,” he stated with complete confidence and determination. Tiny simply chuckled and grabbed his own mug.

“Then I’ll show you Feds what we Imps are capable of!” he barked back with his own grin, a determined spark in his eyes that only clashed with Luke’s own spark.

“Bring it on!”

“Bring it on!”
They both shouted before knocking back their first rounds and earning another loud cheer from the audience. As the two drank their hearts out they could hear people cheer them on in encouragement. The Feds cheered for Luke to hang in there and the Imps cheered for Tiny to kick his ass. It was truly a match of the ages. As the two finished off the last of the drinks they both slammed their mugs onto the table and glared at one another.

“Another!”

“Another!”

They both demanded with determined glares, neither of them were willing to go down without a fight. The roaring of the crowd only increased as another tray was brought and the two returned to their intense battle.

~ Valkyria Chronicles - Changing of the Guard ~

Luke Godfrey

A long, drawn out yawn escaped Luke as a new day in the field began and let out a small sigh as he rested next to the entrance of their crumbling shelter, his rifle laid out upon his lap with an eager round just waiting to be fired. As the small piercing rays of the sun finally peaked through the window and assaulted Luke’s tired eyes he couldn’t help but wince in annoyance as the sudden light gained an irritated grumble from the young exhausted soldier. He attempted to rub the blurriness out of his eyes and just now realized how heavy his eyelids were, finding it to be a challenge to keep them open. With a huff of irritation Luke silently regretted staying up all night before pushing himself onto his feet and rotating his neck, a small sigh of satisfaction as a few cracks reached his ears and helped loosen up his body for the start of the day. He winced slightly as his face wounds were still a bit sore from yesterday. Since he had a plenty of time last night Luke used some of the basic first aid he’s learned from training to bandage up the right side of his cheek. With cheap bandages he’s at least insured that nothing would fall back into his open wounds. After a few more stretches and pops from his limbs Luke peeked out the front door and got a good look at the depressing looking streets, frowning at the heavy fog that seemed to be consuming the war torn city. “Lovely, this day is just gonna be a fun one,” he muttered, the sarcasm just oozing from the tone in his voice. Well at least this foggy morning wouldn’t be helpful for any snipers, though they’d be just as blind.

Luke’s mumbled curses of the day was soon halted as he heard the rest of the squad finally waking up to face the fantastic day. With a small sigh he began to put on his gear before noticing Jean coming in to get him for a briefing. “Already getting ready boss, hold your horses,” he smirked before gathering the rest of his gear and following after his superior to hear the briefing for the day. Luke entered the room with a heavy groan and cracked a grin as everyone gathered for Jean. “Well that night sucked, but at least no one's throat was slit by some sneaky Imp,” he chuckled before looking around one last time with an arched brow before seeing everyone’s throats were indeed still intact and nodded. “Yep, no slit throats,” he chuckled again before ruffling his messy brown hair and waiting for Jean to begin. After mentioning the shots from last night and giving an order to move out in case the Imps from yesterday wanted to go for another round. He nodded in agreement, for the first time actually, and strapped on his helmet. “Let’s get on with it then!” he declared before moving out with the squad.

After pushing out of the complex and continuing on through the abandoned streets of Amone, marching deeper and deeper into the heavy fog that enveloped almost every inch of Luke’s vision. He would never admit it aloud, but it was a bit unnerving. Any second now they could catch a hot piece of led and become more bodies upon the pile of corpses that are scattered around the city. So far though they remained hot led free and moved through the streets with caution. Luke glanced up front now and then, noticing that Jean was leading the team with care and couldn’t help but frown that he was taking point. If he went down then they’d be down a Corporal and put them all in a world of hurt. It was clear he cared for the team, but Luke silently wished he’d hang back just a bit and let someone else take point. He soon brushed off those concerns and simply moved with everyone else, ready to jump into action and kill anymore Imps that want to test their luck with them. Maybe he’d get to test his new grenade on a few, feeling a bit eager to see it in action and silently hoping to find a room filled with the bastards.

His hopes to test his new toy though vanished as Jean halted his advance and singled everyone to get down. Luke quickly fell to his knee and raised his rifle towards the heavy veil of fog that lingered before them, hiding god knows what that could probably kill them. He began to feel that same uneasy feeling from yesterday return to the bottom of his gut as he began to hear noises from up ahead. The grip around his rifle tightened as he swallowed a bit of nervousness as he swore he could hear voices speak out in the distance without care, as if they weren’t in a damn warzone. Though what really began to make him feel uneasy were the rhythmic footsteps that continued to grow closer to their position. “Come on, come on, come on,” he muttered quietly as his finger caressed the trigger of his rifle, ready to send off the first round of the day. Luke’s heart skipped a beat as a voice soon called out to them and arched a eyebrow as a bit of confusion washed over him. Soon a stranger finally emerged and Luke’s rifle quickly snapped to the mans head, his finger ready to squeeze the trigger, though before he could he noticed that the man never showed a shred of hostility towards them. In fact he looked rather calm for guy with a full squad of soldiers with their weapons drawn on him.

To Luke’s surprise Jean left his position to confront the fancy looking Imp. He clicked his tongue in annoyance before lowering his rifle slightly as he walked between his sights of the Imp. Though this was all very confusing and frustrating, Luke listened as the Imp began to explain the neutral zone they were about to enter. His eyes widen slightly as he explained the area and rules before scoffing in amusement. “Seriously? That’s just… odd,” he stated before rising to his full height with a small smirk. A neutral zone where both sides can gather and rest, just to head out later and slaughter each other? That was either brilliant, or the most dangerous idea anyone could come up with, especially if a bunch of civilians were mixed in here. Luke rested his rifle onto his shoulder and arched a brow as the Imp threw out the fact that he was part of an Imperial Marksman squad like it was no big deal. Luke’s gaze hardened upon the man after learning what he was. A sniper? Knowing that made Luke feel a bit more uneasy as his thoughts returned to the Imperial sniper lurking around the city on a head hunt for soldiers like them. He definitely didn’t look like an amateur, in fact he looked like a seasoned pro. It was honestly a shame they couldn’t just kill him here, it’d be one less pain to deal with in the future.

Soon Jean and the fancy Imp finished talking, Jean seeming a bit excited as fresh beds and warm baths awaited them in the inn. They sound nice indeed, but he could hear the distant clinks of glasses and cheerful laughter. That could only mean one thing! “Looks like we’ll have plenty to drink tonight!” he laughed before marching on ahead with a happy pep in his step and pleasant humming tune. He noticed Gwyn began to move up before him, offering to check it out and chuckled as he stated to not avenge him if he never came back. Luke grinned before slapping a hand onto his fellow rookies shoulder and chuckled. “What, ya trying to steal the first round of drinks mate? Not if I have anything to say about it!” he laughed as he walked happily beside him. As the inn came into view Luke couldn’t help but laugh some more, his thirst for a good drink almost overwhelming. “Come on then, if we can’t kill the Imps here, we can at least drink them under the table!” he shouted with excitement, hoping the Imps ahead could hear him. If this was a no kill zone, then Luke was gonna have a field day with the bastards.

@Brithwyr

~ Valkyria Chronicles - Changing of the Guard ~

Luke Godfrey

Luke let out a tired sigh as everyone gathered their thoughts and prepared to get out of this damn building, but as Franz entered the room with the bag full of goodies Luke couldn’t help but grin in joy. He snatched a few smokes for later and pocketed one of the beers. The urge to down it right there was almost maddening for Luke, but with a reluctant sigh he decided to save it for later. “Good find, gotta thank the fine people of this fine city for leaving us these goodies,” he chuckled before rising to his feet and checking his rifle one last time with a satisfied spark in his eyes. Sure his first engagement in this war was a bit of a shit show, his face getting torn up, his first kills, almost getting killed and the unnerving feeling from that one Imperials last words, but for some reason Luke had to hold back a feeling that he thought was odd to have in this situation. Thrill. He actually felt thrilled after that whole encounter and honestly couldn’t wait for the next one. Luke understood it that it was insane to think like that and decided to keep it to himself. Hopefully it was just the leftover adrenaline making him think like that.

He shook his head clear of those thoughts, taking a quick breath to get his head in the game before listening to Jean give his orders. Luke found himself frowning slightly from his orders, not only are they taking the long way, but they’re prolonging their objective and letting those tunnels stay in working order for the Imperials to use against the rest of their allies. They had a job to do and now here they were dragging it on longer than it had to be! He tightened his grip around his rifle and hardened his look towards the Corporal, not agreeing with his plan in the slightest. He knew of course that he had no say in it, even if he didn’t agree with it, and held back his tongue just as he went to speak up. Luke was aware his words wouldn’t do much since he already rocked the boat with the squad earlier so he had to keep his frustration to himself. He couldn’t help but remember his friend, Jack, telling him that one day his mouth would get him in trouble. He scoffed with a bit of amusement towards the memory before letting out a small sigh of defeat and put his helmet back on before setting out with his team once again, once again remembering how much he hated the rain as it poured down upon them.

As the day went on and they pushed through the streets of Amone, the cold unforgiving rain cruelly battering them without mercy. Luke would admit that his gear was heavy enough to be carrying around this damn city, but now thanks to mother nature being the bitch she is it weighed two times heavier than before, making the march through the cities streets even more annoying. He could handle the extra weight though, it’s what he’s been trained for after all. What really was getting on his nerves was being out in the open, just waiting to get a bullet in the ass. He felt better once nighttime rolled around, hoping the darkness would give them a slight advantage in creeping through the streets. The distant crack of a few rifles made him a bit tense though, forcing him to remember that whole Green Fox bastard who was gunning for bastards like him. The only thing he found positive was that he’d be going after his higher ups first, giving him a chance to duck into cover. He chuckled bitterly at his dark humor, hoping it didn’t come to that. He may not be on the best terms with most of his team, especially the Darcsens, but he hoped they’d all be able to make it out alive at least, him included as well of course.

Soon after crossing another corner they all came across a battered and crumbling complex. Honestly he hated the look of it, but anything was better than staying outside in the damn raid. Hell, he’d stay in a dog house if he had to, just get him out of the rain. Jean was the first one in, which seemed a bit odd to him, but Luke set up on the corner of the street keeping an eye out before his Corporal returned, giving the all clear. Luke was the last one in and let out a heavy sigh of relief as he pulled his helmet from his head. “Fuck me mother nature sure is pissed,” he groaned with a small smirk before unloading a bit of his gear in the corner of the room, keeping his rifle and some ammo on hand just in case. After getting a bit of that weight off his back he looked to Jean as he gave instructions and declared he’d take the night watch. He shrugged as he said they’d have to take the floor, he’s honestly rested on worse. Besides, the others needed it more than him. Luke stretched his arms until a few satisfying pops filled the air and made his way to the corner with gear, taking a seat on a pile of rubble while leaning his rifle against the wall before pulling out the beer he had snatched earlier when Franz looted the building. A grin slipped onto his face before opening bottle and taking a sip.

“Dear god that is bliss,” he chuckled as the taste of blood and dirt was washed away by the alcohol. He watched as everyone began to fall in for the night and wore a tired expression on his face. It was true that getting some sleep would be good for him, but he couldn’t bring himself to lay down and close his eyes. What if something happened? He needed to be ready just in case. Taking another sip from his beer, savoring every last drop of his drink and making sure it last, Luke remembered the smokes and smiled a bit before beginning to fish for one. He pulled one out and began to look for a light, but soon felt his heart sink as he couldn't find one. Not even a damn match! “Shit,” he muttered in disappointment before ruffling his messy brown hair and looking around the room to his fellow teammates. Would they lend him a light? He shrugged, it couldn’t hurt to ask. “Hey, anyone got a light?" he asked with a bit of hope in his voice. He really needed that smoke, it'd help him forget his exhaustion and stinging pain that still slightly pulsed through his face.

~ Valkyria Chronicles - Changing of the Guard ~

Luke Godfrey

A groan of frustration escaped Luke as it grew more and more complicated to tend to his wounds, his bloody fingers slightly shaking and messing up only made the stinging pain a hundred times worse. After another failed attempt he heard Diana ask about Ines smacking him, who was quickly answered by Ines herself as she and the others regrouped in the building. Luke scoffed with a small smirk glanced between the two. “Where’s the compassion for an injured comrade?” he asked with a small chuckle, wincing in regret as it only made his wound flare up again. “Damn it,” he muttered in annoyance before preparing himself for another go at his injuries, though before he could Luke paused as Ines knelt down in front of him and arched a brow in confusion. He grew even more confused as she gently held the bottom of his cheek without any words. For some odd reason Luke felt a bit flustered in the sudden invasion of personal space and felt his good cheek heat up a bit.

“H-hey what the hell are- OW OW OW!!” he yelped from the sudden sting pinch of Ines having a firm grip on one of the splinters stuck in his face. She was careful as she removed the splinter, but before Luke could speak she stated, or more like ordered, Luke to hold still or she would mess things up. Not wanting to make it worse he slightly nodded in agreement. “A-alright,” he muttered before letting her return to his wounds. Luke eyed her curiously, not expecting her of all people to help him, especially since they didn’t have such a great first impressions. He winced slightly as she carefully removed the splinters and shards of glass from his wounds and couldn’t help but remember his friend/ foster sister, Sarah. He would have smiled to the memories of him and his other friend/foster brother, Jack, getting hurt after some stupid stunt they would get into as kids, but the small stinging of Ines removing the splinters held back his smile. The scolding she’d give them, her reluctant agreements in joining in on their new schemes, hell he even remembered when she would save them from their stupid slip ups.

He glanced back towards Ines as she held a focused glare on her work and felt a small smirk fall onto his face as she reminded him of Sarah a bit, though she looked a bit meaner it still felt the same. His smirk quickly disappeared as another splinter was removed from his face. Soon she finished and Luke let out a small sigh of relief. His wounds still hurt a bit, but they sure as hell felt better without all of that crap in his flesh. She warned him not to say anything smart and he couldn’t help but smirk and point to himself. “Me? Now Ines, how could you ever think so low of me?” he asked with his smirk spreading a bit wider in amusement not realizing this was the first time he actually said her name without thinking about her being a Darcsen. He would have found it odd, but his attention was quickly grabbed by Diana pointing out how his mug was already a mess. He chuckled and held his chin before looking off to the distance with a chuckle. “Oh come now, how can anyone hate this magnificent mug?” he questioned before pushing himself up onto his feet with a grunt.

Gently he touched his injured cheek and frowned slightly, both from the dull pain and bloody mess from the open wounds. He let out a small sigh and rested his rifle onto his shoulder before looking around the room to see the rest of the squad finally getting together. He felt a bit of relief to see that no one was dead, but he wished he could help the injured. Unfortunately he was not the best at tending to others wounds so he would leave that to someone else more qualified. With yet another small sigh he glanced over to the girl, Lucia, and felt his curiosity of the girl rise again. She seemed like a good girl, but thinking back to the Captain giving a direct order to keep her safe at all cost was what made Luke curious of her. Was she really that important? He decided earlier to let it go for a bit, but now he couldn’t help but wonder about it again. He eyed her with an arched brow for a few brief seconds before looking off into the distance with a furrowed brow, deep in thought of what could make her so important. It annoyed him slightly, the Captain putting her life above theirs, but it also interested him a bit. Hopefully he could find the answer to his questions when they had a bit more breathing time. For now Luke would relax in the corner, check his ammo, weapon and the stolen grenade from the dead Imp and prepare for the next set of orders from Jean. As he waited though he felt a slight urge to have a smoke, silently regretting not grabbing one when Franz had offered earlier.

@Yam I Am@Landaus Five-One

~ Valkyria Chronicles - Changing of the Guard ~

Luke Godfrey

“Son of a whore!” Luke hissed in pain as his torn apart cheek exploded with an intense stinging pain that blurred his vision for a brief moment. After the wave of pain finally came to end, though a dull pulsing sting remained, Luke examined the newly cleared room with a small frown before glancing to two dead Imps they managed to get the drop on. Poor bastards were too preoccupied arguing with each other and by the time Luke and Franz bursted into the room it was to late. Ever since the first few rooms were cleared resistance had been a bit dull with at least two or three soldiers holding up in a few rooms. Luke and Franz managed to drive them all out successfully without either of them dying so that’s a plus, though he was concerned with the other members of his team as the gunfire and sudden explosion reached his ears and shook the building. There was an almost overwhelming urge to go help his allies, but he couldn’t just leave Franz to clear the rooms alone. Darscen or not he needed to stick with him until their job was done. He shuddered as he silently came to that conclusion, but quickly got over it as they breached the final room.

Luke kicked in the door and let Franz swiftly enter first before following him with his rifle raised, ready to eliminate anymore Imps. Once they both entered the room Luke felt a wave of relief wash over them as the ruined room was void of anything that would want to kill the two of them. With a sigh Luke leaned against the wall a spat out a bit of blood that leaked into his mouth from his wound. “Well that was fun,” he chuckled bitterly before pushing off the wall with a reluctant grunt and hurried to the window with a furrowed brow. He peaked out of the window and arched a brow as the surrounding gunfire, along with the the rumbling of the trucks engine, began to fade away until finally an unnerving silence surrounded them all. “Where the hell that truck go?” Luke muttered to himself as the uneasy feeling in his gut grew more and more upsetting. Within the unsettling silence Luke felt as if he would go mad with frustrated curiosity. Was everyone okay? Did they hold their own? What about everyone in the other building? Where the hell was that damn truck!? To many questions filled Luke’s mind as he impatiently waited by the window frame, waiting for anymore attacks before his patients finally buckled under the pressure.

“Fuck it, let’s get back to the others,” he said before hurrying out the room and jogging down the hallways. Once he turned the corner Luke was met with an almost welcoming sight of Jean. Almost welcoming. Luke kept it to himself, but the Corporal looked like shit. He silently wondered what could have happened, but the irritating stinging in his face reminded him that they’ve all been through a bit of shit. He glanced into the room where the injured were and felt a bit concerned for them, hoping they would be on their feet soon. At least there weren’t any dead on their side. Yet. Luke let out an exhausted sigh, spitting out a bit more blood to his frustration before hearing Jean give out his order to signal the others. “I got it!” he quickly blurted out before making his way towards the front of the building, though as he pasted Jean he couldn’t help but give a concerned glance towards him and that battered look in his eyes. He would have said something, but decided against it since he thought it’d be better if someone closer to him was better off helping him out.

Putting aside his concerns for his teammates Luke made it to the buildings front doors and carefully opened the doors just enough to get a good look at the building the remaining members of his squad were held up in. After looking both ways and thankfully not seeing anymore Imperials, Luke leaned out of the doorway, exposing himself a bit before spotting Isaac in the window. Feeling relieved to see him still alive he waved to get his attention. “It’s clear over here! Make your way over!” he called out before double checking the streets and falling back inside the building with a sigh. “Fuck,” he muttered as he walked back to Jean who was talking with that Freya girl who also looked a bit rough. He patted jean on the shoulder and jabbed a thumb over his shoulder. “They should be here soon sir,” he muttered before walking past him and falling onto his rear with a tired grunt. “Man I need a drink,” he complained before leaning against the wall and winced as his bloody face exploded with pain again. “Son of a bitch, can someone help me with this?” he asked to anyone willing to help as he cringed in frustration while he plucked a rather big splinter from the open cuts on his cheek. With a groan he removed his helmet and ran his bloody fingers through his hair before returning his attention to his wounds. Once he plucked out another splinter with a hiss he sighed and cracked a small smile. “Well, the right side of my face may be a bit uglier, but at least the left side is still as beautiful as ever!” he chuckled with a large grin before wincing again in pain and spitting out a bit of blood.

@CFProxy@LetMeDoStuff @FalloutJack

~ Valkyria Chronicles - Changing of the Guard ~

Luke Godfrey

Luke gritted his teeth and tightened his grip on his rifle as Jean gave his orders to secure the building, the stinging pain in his cheek only growing by the second and adding more fuel to his frustrated anger. As Jean finished his orders with the order to kill their enemies however they could Luke only nodded in approval. “Sounds good to me, I’ll use my teeth if I have to!” he spat before looking to Franz as he called for him to move with him. He narrowed his eyes as he was called a swine and quickly moved beside him. “Just don’t get in my way, I’m not about to waste any bullets,” he stated before the two of them engaged their first enemy. It felt like it happened so fast as Franz dispatched the first Imperial that was unlucky enough to be in their path.

Without sparing any time on the collapsed body Luke looked to Franz who just barely avoided a flying bullet from around the corner and smirked in amusement at the look on his face. “So close but just no- hey!” he blurted out just before Franz charged into the room head first with an enraged look in his eyes. “Son of a bitch,” Luke muttered before following in after him just in time to see a larger Imp soldier lung at him with a knife to his throat. Falling into action Luke raised his rifle, took in a deep breath and pulled the trigger. His round flew through the air and tore through the man’s throat, earning him a quick yelp of pain before he collapsed to the floor choking on his own blood while clasping his throat in desperation. Luke’s eyes widen at the sight of his deed, but his mind was quickly torn back to reality as the sound of gunfire from outside snapped him out of it.

Leaving the Imp soldier to bleed out on the floor Luke stepped over him and followed Franz into the next room, rifle at the ready as Franz called out enemies to the left. “I see the fu-GAH!” he yelped as he was yanked down next to Franz behind the flipped table. Just as he was about to complain to his comrade a hail of bullets silenced his mouth and gritted his teeth just as the fire dulled. As Franz returned fire, taking down an Imp on his side, Luke peaked out of his cover to see a decent group of Imps pushing on his side. Not wasting a second he fired a few rounds just as Franz fell back into cover to reload and rolled his eyes as he called them out. “Yeah I see the bastards! KInda hard to miss em!” he shouted back before firing another round towards the four on his side, forcing them to fall back into cover a bit and slowing their advance slightly. As he fired his last round and went to reload he watched as Franz charged out of his cover to take on the Imps on his side. “Yeah no that’s cool, just leave me here!” he called out just as a bullet crashed into the side of his cover, earning a growl of anger from Luke as he loaded a fresh round and popped out of cover. “Four against one is totally fucking fine!” he barked before pulling the trigger, planting his bullet within the chest of an Imp as he tried to advance. With a cry of pain he crumpled to the ground and was officially out of the is fight.

“Okay, three against one is better I guess,” he mused aloud before quickly changing targets and letting another round tear through the air. To his annoyance though his shot missed slightly and the Imps began to return a hail of fire onto him. He ducked back into cover just in time and gave a quick shout of frustration. He was always a great shot in basic, but now that he had to dodge someone else's bullets it wasn’t so easy to land a hit. As he emerged from his cover again he saw one of the Imp rifleman attempt to move to Franz’s side to help on the right and knew that wasn’t an option. With a quick breath he fired his rifle and winced as the soldier let out high pitched cry of pain as Luke’s bullet blew out his right knee cap. He tumbled to the ground and tried to quickly scramble to cover, but with another round to the side of his dome he fell motionlessly to the floor.

“Bastard!” an Imp soldier roared before he rose from his cover to fire frantically at Luke, the thirst for blood clear in his eyes. Luke gritted his teeth as he felt a bullet whizz by his head and quickly set his sights on the man before releasing another round into his shoulder. He gasped in shock before falling to his knees grasping his wounded shoulder. Just as another round was ready to put an end to him Luke’s attention was taken away from the fight and to Franz as he barked orders towards the Imperials to lower their weapons. A flash of annoyance mixed with anger covered Luke's face as his comrade demanded for them to stop and unknowingly lowered his rifle for a moment.

“Eh! Are you stupid!? Just kill them a-” before he could finish an Imp threw a bloodied knife at the bottom of Franz’s feet before charging forward with intent to kill. “Damn it!” he spat in annoyance as he turned his rifle onto the man, though before he could take him down two enraged shouts from his left remind him of his owns threats and snapped his rifle back towards his opponents who were now only a few mere feet away. Franticly Luke fired his rifle and widened his eyes in surprise as he managed to hit his target, making a new hole between a young Imps confused, dull eyes. As the enemies body crashed to the floor his motionless corps rammed into Luke cover, clearing it from the remaining Imp soldier he had failed to finish off. “Bastard!” he cried as he frantically attempted to load another round, but unfortunately his efforts was met with his enemy barreling into him and sending the two crashing to the floor, sending his rifle sliding across the room and out of reach.

Luke’s mind became a bit cloudy as he hit his head against the hard floor, but his senses were brought back as the intense stinging pain from his face was brought back to life by the Imperial soldiers enraged punch. As the pain of his wound only grew worse by the second, small cuts from the glass now widening and the splinters being smashed even deeper into his flesh, Luke let out feral like growl of rage as he Lunged upward and smashed his head against his opponent. It did little but cause even more pain since both of them wore helmets, but within that second as the two met each others gazes nothing else needed to be said. Both wore enraged expressions, their teeth clenched to the point they would surely crack from the pressure and their veins ready to burst from the adrenalin and finally their eyes that could only belong to bloodthirsty, wild animals.

“Die!”

“Die!”

With both demanding for the others death they begin to deliver several savage blows wherever they could land them. To the ribs, gut, jaw, they even began to bite any kind of flesh that was close enough. Though both soldiers were dealing great damage, Luke was still in trouble as the Imperial soldier above him wouldn't let him get up. With an enraged grunt Luke managed to get his leg free and kicked his opponent off of him, sending him falling backwards with a gasp. Not wasting a beat Luke ripped his bayonet from its holster and lunged for the man with a guttural cry of hatred and exhaustion. Imp nearly managed to pull his knife free to defend himself, but froze in shock as cold metal slipped through his flesh and punctured his heart. Luke, now above his enemy, stared down at him panting in exhaustion. The two kept each others gazes as they both knew this was the end, but with whatever strength the nameless Imperial soldier could muster he did something that will forever boggle Luke's mind. He smiled. “W-well, that’s u-unfortunate,” he weakly chuckled before the last bit of light left his eyes. Luke stared at the lifeless body for a few silent seconds, paralyzed in confusion and left over adrenaline.

Now with his victory official Luke tore his bayonet free from the man and took in huge gulps of air. Luke's eyes were finally taken away from his fallen opponent as Franz spoke up about the windows and nodded in agreement before running to the door of the room, snatching up his rifle in the process. Sticking out of the doorway Luke took a deep breath and shouted his report. “Report! Room secured, no casualties! Will be pushing on to clear the remaining rooms!” he shouted before falling to his knee as a bullet from outside crashed into the doorframe above him. “Son of a bitch!” he cursed in anger before quickly making his way to Franz. He almost slammed into the wall next to him before sliding down to the floor with his head hung low. “Shit, we got more rooms to clear don’t we?” he muttered as he took off his helmet and ran his fingers through his short, messy hair. “What a pain,” he complained before looking to Franz as he offered a smoke. He thought for a moment, it sound nice for the moment, but knowing their was more fighting in the nearby rooms he shook his head and scoffed. “I can barely breath now as it is, I’ll choke to death before we even get in the next room,” he chuckled weakly, wincing at a sudden sting of pain in his now bloodier cheek.

Luke let out a small sigh as Franz finally began to speak again and nodded as he flipped over a dead Imp rifleman, digging for ammo. He looked over to the dead shock trooper and spotted a nice little treat on his belt. “Well, well well, looks like this Imp knew about my birthday!” he chuckled as he made his way to the corps. With a smirk of satisfaction he freed a grenade from the Imperial and held back a laugh. “Three days early, but hey I’m not complaining,” he stated before gathering a little more ammo. As he dug within a young Imps pockets for anything else useful he spotted something shiny on his finger. A golden ring with three diamonds rested on the man's wedding finger. With a brief moment of sadness for the man's poor luck Luke pulled the ring from his hand and dropped it into his back pocket. Might as well get something valuable out of all this.

With enough ammo for another breach, a new Imperial grenade and a bit more air in his lungs Luke was ready for the next room. As Franz patted his shoulder and declared ready to move on Luke nodded and fell in behind him. “Lead the way Darcsen,” he stated with a chuckle. Though before they left the room Luke spared the last Imperial he had killed a look and furrowed his brow, an uneasy feeling gripping him as he remembered his final moments. With one final shutter he moved on, ready to put more Imps down.

@CFProxy

~ Valkyria Chronicles - Changing of the Guard ~

Luke Godfrey

“Here we go,” mumbled Luke as a pissed off Jean began to make his way towards him, anger clear in his eyes from Luke’s comment on Darcsens, a comment he stood by even when he was yanked up by his uniform to meet Jeans gaze. Luke kept his eyes locked with Jeans as he poured his anger onto him and arched a brow when it was mentioned that someone could grab a rifle. Though he didn’t finish his sentence, Luke knew where he was going and couldn't help but smirk in amusement at the idea. Out of all the things that could have killed him by now it would be his big mouth that finally caught him a bullet, from his own squad members no less. Though as the once enraged Corporal let him go he only arched a brow in confusion, especially after he muttered out an apology that only confused him even more. As he left Luke without even throwing a punch he rested his rifle onto his shoulder and sat back down, still a bit confused. “Huh, well that’s a first,” he said, used to at least getting slapped when he pisses people off.

As Jean’s outburst towards him came to an end Luke heard the other Darcsen, his superior sadly, begin to speak and looked towards him as he only grew more confused when lions came into the conversation. His confusion though was cut short as a familiar sting slammed into the side of his face, sending his senses a bit haywire for a second before he looked over to the person responsible for the surprise smack to the face. The Darcsen, Ines, only glared at him from above. He couldn’t see the full extent of her glare, but he caught enough to know she wasn’t toying around. Rubbing his stinging cheek and rotating his jaw Luke rose to his feet and chuckled as he met her eyes with his own glare, keeping his grin. “Cheap shot, Darcsen,” he muttered before he began to follow the squad deeper into the breach.

It seemed like more people had something to say to him, like that Diana woman who only said something about him being an asshole and how he should crawl back up his mother's womb, which was a nice touch. Nothing he hadn’t heard before honestly, though just even thinking of his mother for a second made him feel disgusted towards her, not even wanting to waste of second to think of her. Brushing off the backlash from Diana Luke then heard Isaac speak as he walked up besides him, telling him to stow the hate and shut it. Luke only scoffed and held up a hand in defense. “I wouldn’t exactly call it hate, just the truth. Besides I could have been a lot more colorful with it if I was really in the mood,” he chuckled as he flashed him a grin.

With his fellow teammates just loving him already Luke continued on marching with them through the breach. Once past the breach Luke took in the view of the ruined Amone and felt his breath escape him. “Damn, now that’s a view,” he muttered towards how destructive this war has been. He didn’t have much time though to think on it as they went deeper into the city, taking to the streets while being pelted with rain. “Real miserable place,” he commented as the rain became more heavy, battering them with rain and sending a chill down his spine from the cold waters. ‘Real miserable,’ he thought before they had finally come to a stop, letting Jean talk with someone who looked a bit higher in rank. He couldn’t hear what was being said, but honestly he wasn’t concerned at this point. His attention was directed towards the many improvised weapons being handed to them. He arched a brow, but shrugged as he grabbed hold of a hammer that would belong to an engineer and nodded his head in satisfaction as he liked the feeling of it in his hand. “This looks good enough to crack some skulls,” he chuckled before putting his new weapon away and awaiting the go ahead to move on.

Luckily that didn’t take long as Jean returned with the order to move out and began to lead the way. With a happy smirk Luke fell in line, keeping up with his team as they made their way through the streets. This was it, they were getting closer to it all. Closer to the action, closer to the glory, closer to Luke’s goal of a new life of greatness. Either he falls in this city as just another body, or he’ll finally set his name in history and insure- Luke’s thoughts of greatness and glory was soon cut off as the distant sound of rapid gunfire and screaming quickly gripped his attention. Gripping his rifle tightly Luke quickly followed Jeans silent order by rushing to the side of the streets and fell to one knee, keeping his rifle raised towards the their rear. After what felt like hours to Luke the gunfire had ceases and was replaced by an unnerving rumble of an angry sounding engine growing ever closer. “Well shi-” before he could finish a heart stopping crack filled the street and all he saw from the corner of his eye was one of the girls falling over screaming.

Luke snapped around, his rifle raised and eyes wide in shock as the fighting finally began. “Fuck!” he barked with a mixture of anger and shock before pulling the trigger, sending a round towards the charging Imperials. Sadly his first shot missed and earned a hiss of annoyance as he loaded his next round with slightly shaking hands. Just like that the gunfire rang through the streets and the chaos began. Through all of the gunfire, rain and shouting Luke heard Jeans orders and quickly bolted to the other side of the street where he was, hearing bullets fly over his head and bounce off the ground below him. He practically slammed against the wall and fell to a knee just in time to see the Imps dragging a body to cover before another one of them fell motionless to the hard, cold road. Luke spotted another one attempting to grab the other fallen soldier, but with gritted teeth he raised his rifle and fired his next shot. There was a short yelp of pain before the soldier fell back to cover, leaving his comrade behind in the open.

“Try it again ya damn Imp! Next one’s going between your- FUCK!” shouted in frustrated anger as even more gunfire rapidly flew over his head from behind. He looked over his shoulder and growled even more curses upon seeing the damn armored truck lay into them with machine gun fire. Not feeling so confident in his rifles ability to pierce the tin can he quickly making his way into the building, being one of the first ones in and clearing the left side of the room they entered before taking up a position at the windows. With another round loaded Luke began to return fire and barely hearing someone call out for help. The urge to find that voice help whoever was in trouble was almost maddening, but as another round from the enemy crashed into the frame of his window, sending splinters and remaining shards of glass flying into the side of his face, Luke shouted in rage as he held the side of his face. The stinging pain of splinters and glass tearing at his skin was almost blinding, but he managed to get his senses together and took a deep breath.

Thankfully his eyes remained undamaged, but the right side of his cheek was on fire as a bit of blood ran down his face. Hissing towards the pain Luke gritted his teeth and looked to Jean with a few splinters and cuts riddling his cheek. “What’s the damn plan now!?” he questioned as loaded another round into his rifle, ready to take whatever pain he could offer onto the Imps.

@LetMeDoStuff

~ Valkyria Chronicles - Changing of the Guard ~

Luke Godfrey

Luke wrinkled his nose once the foul smell of death continued to grow stronger as he marched with his squad, getting a closer view of the horrible scene left behind by the Imperials machine guns. He cringed as his eyes scanned the bullet torn bodies and felt a horrible shiver run down his spine as he would meet the unnerving, lifeless gazes of a few of the poor saps unlucky enough to take part in this pointless charge. Just knowing that every one of these corpses once held the same spark of life that he has was enough to drag Luke’s recent declaration of readiness and optimism through the cold mud. Clearing his throat and peeling his eyes from the bodies, Luke decided that there was no time to spend thinking on something he had no part in, or could control. He felt pity for them, but at the same time grateful that he wasn’t lying among the dead. ‘Better them than me,’ he thought grimly to himself.

Once the dark and foreboding clouds from above began to shower the destroyed lands below them Luke could only scoff with a bitter smile before lowering his helmet slightly. “Oh well that’s always a good sign,” he muttered as it began to look like even mother nature was going to give them a hard time. She always seemed to know when to make things worse. With a small sigh Luke began to inspect the ruined lands around them before noticing just how close some of the people in his squad were. He couldn’t help but chuckle and rolled his eyes. “Geez, of course I get put in the one squad filled with sexually frustrated teenagers,” he said to no one particular, simply speaking his mind aloud as he marched with everyone and letting out a small sigh. “I guess it’s better than nothing. At least I didn’t join the Cavalry, saw where that got them,” he muttered before resting his rifle onto his shoulder. “Though those sabers looked pretty cool,” he admitted before looking forward towards the breach.

He couldn’t help but let his mouth hang open for a moment as they grew closer to the massive walls that surrounded the city. He knew the walls were already big enough in the distance, but now standing right below them made him feel so small. This was the first time he’s ever seen anything like this in person and could only gaze in amazement at such an incredible feat of construction. Though there was one thing even more awe inspiring than the massive walls themselves. The breach within the wall. Just thinking of what kind of firepower caused that massive wall to crumble like that was almost exciting, making Luke hope he’d get to see such destructive firepower in action one day. “Damn, imagine seeing that wall crashing down towards you,” he chuckled before letting a grin spread onto his face. “Wonder if any of the Imps are buried under all that,” he wondered, his grin growing just a bit.

Luke was soon torn away from the impressive display of destruction as a new face join the squad. From what he could tell she looked to be a Darcsen. This brought a small frown to his face since most Darcsen he’s met in the past have left Luke with a rather sour taste for the people. Lying, stealing, causing trouble, it's all he's ever seen from them. It's like they're annoying bugs that keep showing up to make trouble. Luke even remembered when a string of break ins came over his home town and how they had ransacked his foster parents shop, breaking more things than stealing them. Luckily they were caught by an angry mob and it was only then revealed to be a small group of criminals that were mostly made up of Darcsens. Luke never did find out what exactly happen to them, but last he saw of them was when they were being dragged out to the edge of town after getting a nasty beating, never to return to cause trouble. They’ve always either caused bad luck or just been a real thorn in his side. He shook off the thought and gave a small sigh, knowing he’d have to get use to it now that they were fighting together. He’d fight and die with them like any other soldier in this war, but he didn’t have to like them.

She looked like a mean one thanks to that glare in her eyes, but Luke didn’t feel intimidated since he’s seen scarier looking people in boot camp. Just remembering the look of death his drill sergeant gave him everyday sent shivers down his spine. With a final shutter from his nightmarish training Luke watched as everyone made their introductions with the new girl now known as Ines and arched a brow as she began to laugh with what seemed to be joy, or eagerness from their surroundings. Luke couldn’t help but chuckle in amusement as he sat down on a pile of rubble and looked to Ines with an arched brow. “Well at least you feel at home, that’s what’s important,” he grinned before resting his rifle onto his leg and let out a small sigh. “Though if you’re homes as much of a shit hole as it is here than it must be a real mess of a place,” he stated with another chuckle as he glanced in another direction, his smile dulling slightly as his tone grew a bit colder. “The perfect place for you’re kind really,” he muttered, not caring if his almost venomous statement was heard by her or anyone else.

@Yam I Am