It was an August day in Central City, and the young man stepped off the train into a wall of shimmering heat. Even inside the station, the temperature was enough to make anyone in full military uniform pass out within five minutes, and Denny Brosh was already feeling a bit faint by the time he finally found the man who would escort him to Central Command. The blond, chiseled giant didn't look bothered by the record-breaking weather in the slightest, but caught Denny's arm as the sergeant staggered past him in search of drinking water, an ambulance, or possibly both.
"You are Sergeant Brosh, from Western Command?"
Denny blinked sweat away and stared unabashedly up at the uniformed specimen, who was positively twinkling with energy and vigor. How he managed to pull that off in the midst of a blistering heat wave was something Denny couldn't immediately wrap his head around.
"Yeah?" It came out as a hazy question.
"I am Major Alex Louis Armstrong, your superior officer. I personally volunteered to escort you to Central Command on your first day."
Major Alex Louis Armstrong proved to be a one-man whirlwind as he tucked the wilted sergeant under his arm and whisked them both into the nearest military vehicle. He crammed his huge form behind the wheel and deposited Denny in the passenger seat.
"Sergeant Brosh, allow me to express how much your service to the Amestrian military means to us. You may still be a new recruit to the Central forces, but trust me, working in this city will be the experience of a lifetime."
And Armstrong launched into a speech about all the duties of a good officer, which Denny supposed might have been intended as a useful orientation, but which ended up slipping past his ears without leaving anything behind.
As he sweated in the muggy car, Denny thought back to when he had first gotten the news that he was being transferred from his post at Western Command to Central—the city where his family lived and where he had first decided to pursue a career track in the military. Never could he have supposed that his supervising officer would be…well…whatever Armstrong was. The major was now waxing eloquent on something presumably very important that Denny didn't particularly care about, but his attention was snagged when he heard the word "partner" crop up in Armstrong's baritone monologue.
"What about my new partner?" Denny sat up and looked at the man inquisitively.
"Yes, of course—a very fine officer. Second Lieutenant Ross is going to be working with you, showing you the ropes. The lieutenant will be joining us at Central Command once we arrive."
Armstrong finally stopped talking after the brief explanation, and even though Denny wanted to ask for more specifics about the person he would be meeting, he found the temporary silence too enjoyable to ruin. Central Command was already looming in front of the car as they jolted along the rutted thoroughfare.
Once the car stopped in front of the huge building, Armstrong and Denny stepped out of the vehicle into the acrid heat, and climbed up the stairs to the command center's main entrance. Inside, the air was much cooler, and the hum of fluorescent lights mixed with faint echoes of the busy military personnel was background noise to Denny's first look inside the country's command hub. However, he didn't have too much time to get his bearings.
"Major Armstrong!"
The clear voice called from an adjoining hallway, and Denny turned to see a female officer striding towards where he and the major still stood at the entrance to the building. She was an inch or so shorter than Denny, and, he quickly reasoned, couldn't possibly be any older than he was himself. She had very short hair that was so dark it was nearly black, and bluish-gray eyes that he briefly thought were rather distinctive. Her uniform and posture were immaculate, and Denny was suddenly very aware that he had just spent the last twenty minutes wedged in a stiflingly hot car. He squared his shoulders, attempted to surreptitiously readjust his uniform, and brushed away his damp bangs, hoping to every power that his uniform didn't give away the fact that he had been sweating profusely ever since disembarking the train.
Major Armstrong beamed at the new arrival. "Second Lieutenant Ross, you're very punctual, as always!"
Denny glanced to the major at his side, then back to the woman he'd referred to as the second lieutenant, before his brain fully clicked. And then, characteristically, his mouth started making noise before he could rein it in.
"You're my new partner?!"
Lieutenant Ross looked taken aback.
"Well, if your name is Sergeant Denny Brosh, then yes, I am. Second Lieutenant Maria Ross. It's nice to meet you."
She extended her hand to him. Each of her movements seemed graceful, though she carried herself with the sharp focus of a seasoned officer.
"But you're—"
He nearly bit his tongue off, because he realized that anything about to come out of his mouth was not going to do him any favors. But she was still staring at him with those intense eyes. He kept talking, even though every ounce of his logic was screaming at him to shut up.
"You're sh-short!"
He wanted to bash his head into the nearest wall. Out of everything he could have said, he called her short? That wasn't even an accurate remark! He really did deserve to be court martialed. Maybe, just maybe, he could blame his damned idiocy on heatstroke.
Major Armstrong took umbrage on behalf of his subordinate.
"Sergeant, an officer's height is no reflection on his or her ability! I am surprised you would be so superficial as to comment on the second lieutenant's appearance at your first meeting! Even though great physical stature has been passed down the Armstrong line for generations—"
He was cut off by Maria Ross's bubbling laughter, which broke through Denny's consternation at having insulted his new partner right off the bat. Both he and the major looked at her in surprise, and in Denny's case, intense relief.
"You really do need someone to help you out, don't you?" She finally stopped giggling and wiped her eyes.
"You're lucky you didn't get one of the more sensitive officers assigned to you, otherwise you'd be on the search for a new partner."
She re-extended her hand, and this time he managed to take hold of it without putting any more feet into his mouth.
"R-right. Sorry."
She laughed again, a bell-like note that he wished would last a bit longer.
"Forget about it, sergeant. Let me show you around Command."
As she let his hand drop and turned to lead him down the hallway, Denny felt his expression relax into a smile. He looked up to see Major Armstrong's face once again twinkling with benevolence.
The two men fell behind as Lieutenant Ross led them in the direction of the mess hall. Feeling a meaty elbow in his side, Denny grunted and looked up at Armstrong, who was playing innocent, but apparently couldn't resist a last, good-humored jab.
"I told you she was a fine officer."