Captain Erica Romele wondered to herself how it was possible for her driver to be able to see through the the plumes of dust from the cracked desert floor kicked up by the sandy tire of the convoy truck in front of her. The silence in the truck was only disrupted by rumbling of the truck's equipment. Desperate for some kind of communication from the completely silent ride from two hour ride from the furthest northern settlements in the empire's grasp. The soldier beside her began to speak up.

"Hey capt'n!"

Started, Erica's head jerked up from her wrist, which she was resting on the side of the door.

"Huh?" erica 's eyes were wide with shock and terror, thinking that there was some kind of ambush, which she had on her mind. "W-What, what's going on?!" Erica stuttered

"Sorry about that, i didn't mean to surprise you." The soldier replied, he adjusted his yellow helmet, a signature uniform part of the shock troopers. "Say Capt'n, ya know why we're this far from the capital?"

"We are looking for something, a special material something that would win us the war against the rebels." Erica studies the soldier's reaction before continuing "it's something that's called urium, or something like that" Erica replied.

"Oh, that thing that does something, that help us win by doing something to the rebels" the soldier chuckled at this own little joke.

"That isn't funny" Erica replied, flashing a annoyed glance at the soldier. "I'm sorry that not a freaking chemisist." Erica shot back to the soldier

"No need to be so feisty" the soldier commented

"Pardon me?!" Erica snapped back "did I hear what you just said? " erica's eyes glared at the young shocked trooper. "Are you trying to made a statement to me as your commanding officer?" Erica give the trooper one more chance.

"I meant um...you're beautiful and you're the best commander in the world?" The soldier dodged between the road and his commander. Erica gaze eased as she rolled her eyes "come on, your can do better than that, soldier" Erica chuckled.

"Well then, capt'n do you really think that this material that the empire order us to get is going to really win the war for us." The soldier pries.

"What do you think? The empire promised us a bomb that would end it all, a bomb so destructive that it it could level an entire settlement in one blow" Erica inquired

"Ya, so can war itself" the trooper replied causally. "I'm sure that they are only using those urium things to make those plasma weapons that was rumored out there"

"You think so?'

"It's probably what they want you to think, after all it is supposed to be a 'top secret' project that I'm supposed brief your sober form of our lieutenant'

"HA!" The trooper laughed "have fun, you'll never catch that man sober, not even when he is asleep"

"I guess that's true…" Erica sighed "maybe the more rational Sergeant Ramsey, he feels like a more reasonable man, plus, he is well respected in our ranks."

"Or maybe even Mr. Purrface" the trooper smiled jokingly mentions the sergeant's cat.

"How about we make you brief everyone? I think that would be excellent choice."

"Why? Because I'm so handsome and manly?"

"No, because you're ugly as crap, and your face is perfect for me to stick a notice on it"

"Ouch capt'n isn't that a little harsh"

"Well I guess, maybe you would like to be transferred into the navy and have all those seamen surround you, and maybe sooth your burns from out here in the desert?" Erica smiled cheekishly.

The soldier sighed and give a chuckle, changing the topic back to the objective of their mission out in the frontier. "I don't think that a bomb can end a war, no matter what it ends up doing."

"I would think otherwise." Quoting a general, Erica gave a wise look to the trooper

"If you kill enough of them, they'll stop fighting."

"Sure, whatever you say ma'am" The trooper gives up debating with the officer as they pull into the clearing surrounded by mountains.

Years later, the first test of a bomb detonates over a desert in the southern frontier with material found from a military outpost in the northern frontier, a bomb enough to level a city.

"I told you so."