Detachment

Chapter: 1

"So what do you think?" she asked.

Staring down at the scene in front of her, Edy tried to reconcile what her eyes were seeing with what her mind was thinking. The body itself didn't bother her. Lying on its back, what was left of the armored man sat motionless in the dirt and a pool of its own blood. There was nothing left of him from the shoulders up. Whatever had hit him had taken him down hard, and he wasn't going to be getting back up again anytime soon. She was alright with that. Killing Imperials was just part of the business. What was bothering her was who'd done it; or at least who'd get the credit for it. Sergeant Stark. As if her head hadn't hurt enough already. "Honestly I think I could have done better, Remy," she replied.

Within moments Edy felt a sharp strike against her arm, and when she took her attention off of the body she found herself looking into the two angry eyes of her friend Ramona. The girl just wasn't cut out to be a soldier. Too short and too skinny to ever pull off intimidation, Ramona's glare nearly sent the sergeant to the ground laughing. The dead man didn't seem like he'd mind sharing his spot. "Hey," the other girl said defensively, "that one was mine."

For half a second Edy was left speechless. She took one more look at the body on the ground before sending a glance towards the rifle Ramona was carrying. The weapon wasn't a joke, and it could kill just as well as any other firearm in the Gallian inventory, but the two didn't seem to match. That Imperial's head wasn't just gone. It was long gone. Not even tiny shreds of his armored helmet remained. Eyes widening, Edy tried to keep her jaw from dropping. "You?"

"That's right." Taking her hand off of her rifle's grip, Ramona rubbed her thumb across the weapon's rear sight. Looking at the gun instead of her friend, a smirk slowly spread across her face.

"How?"

"Rifle grenade." Ramona doubled as her unit's grenadier. The grenade rounds were formidable weapons, and they were certainly capable of killing even multiple people at once, but it took skill to get results like the ones Edy was seeing in front of her. Skill or a lot of luck. Edy was betting on luck. "I sealed that one with a kiss. Scored a direct hit to the noggin."

Luck may have cut it for her friend, but Edy didn't need to rely on the stuff to get her work done. Every shot she made was pure skill. Remy might have been able to place a shot like that once or twice in her Militia career, but given the chance Edy was sure she could do it on a regular basis. She had a performance to deliver, and she wasn't about to let her fans down. "I guess it really wasn't a bad shot," she said. She didn't mean it, but it would at least appease her friend. "It's at least the best of the bunch."

"Of course it is."

There were four more bodies scattered around the small farmhouse, each one clad in its own armored tomb. Edy didn't bother checking the rest of them. She'd only stopped by the one Ramona had taken because her friend had pulled her over to it. Given the choice, she wouldn't have stopped to look at any of them. Even just thinking of the four dead men made her stomach hurt worse than it already had – they were just four more tallies to mark down on Rosie's count; four more kills that couldn't be attributed to her. "It's a real shame though."

"Tell me about it," Ramona said slouching. "I almost feel kind of bad, what with taking his head and all. That's how people identify you, you know? How you look from the shoulders up. If nothing's there…"

"No," Edy said waving her arms. The Mags strapped to her shoulder bounced gently against her hip as the motion swung it from side to side. "I mean that it's a shame you're stuck in Stark's section." The real shame was that it was Rosie's unit that had taken the farmhouse in the first place. Imperial sniper fire had been pinning down units from Squads 3 and 4 all morning. Since Squad 7 was in the area and the artillery batteries were all tangled up for the rest of the afternoon, the task of securing the firing position fell on them. Specifically it fell on Rosie. Within an hour the woman and her section had swept through the area, cleared the enemy combatants, and called for the rest of the platoon to advance. From what she'd heard, Stark's actions secured a crucial position and cleared the other Squads to move forward again. Nobody from her section had received so much as a scratch during the assault. It was disgusting.

Ramona groaned. "That woman hates me," she said, heavily emphasizing the word 'hates'. Checking to make sure nobody was listening in the girl took a step closer. "I can't stand her myself. She's always barking orders, and she's just so uptight. Seriously, have you seen the hair?"

The hair? Could anybody really care about Rosie's hair when everything about the woman herself was so wrong? The hair was the least of her problems. More importantly, she was an impostor; a no talent hack stepping on the shoulders of greater minds. Artists. Heroes. Edy was a worker. No matter what was asked she fought to the very end. She would meet her objectives or die trying. Nobody important saw that, largely because that skanky showboat Rosie was always stepping in her way. Anytime her section had met key objectives Rosie's had met theirs. Edy just knew that the Lieutenant had to make a bigger deal out of Rosie's successes than her own as well. Ever since Isara was killed the two had grown closer. They'd become friends. Rosie wasn't making headway based off of merit – she was making it through connections. It wasn't fair. "But what about me?" she asked absently.

"What about you?" The injured look was back on Ramona's face. With a frustrated sigh she slacked her rifle, letting the weapon's forestock rest in the crook of her elbow. "What about me? I'm the one stuck with the woman. 'Linton do this.' 'Linton do that.' She's a slave driver."

"And everybody loves her," Edy mumbled. She didn't understand. There was absolutely nothing special about the woman. Rosie couldn't dance, she couldn't sing, and she certainly couldn't fight like she could. Once again she was being passed over in favor of someone with half the talent.

"You want to know what the Lieutenant said to her when we linked up?"

"I don't know," Edy said turning towards her friend. "Do I?"

Ramona shook her head. "No, probably not," she admitted.

Holding in a groan, Edy braced herself for the news. If the girl hadn't thought she'd want to hear it, why did she even bring it up? Ramona was good company to keep because she was photogenic. As long as Edy stuck close by she was guaranteed her picture in the papers. Past that though, the girl was dumb as a sack of potatoes. If she caught wind of any sort of gossip there was no stopping her from telling anyone in sight, regardless of how it would impact them. It was too late to stop her. The ditz had already thrown out the line, and it wouldn't have been possible to let go of it now. Edy had to know, especially since it involved Rosie. "Tell me anyway."

It physically hurt Edy to look at Ramona's smile. She knew that whatever she was going to say couldn't have been good, but that didn't seem to matter to girl. It made her already upset stomach roll. "Well," Ramona began, "he told her we'd done one of the best jobs he'd seen clearing this farmhouse. There was something else about setting an example for the Squad, and then something about some sort of recommendation to the Captain." As soon as the words were out her smile disappeared. "She's going to get a medal for this. I just know it." Before Edy's eyes, Ramona's shoulders sagged even lower than they'd been before. "I'm not going to get a medal for this," she said sullenly.

A medal. On Rosie's chest. The imagery was too much for Edy to handle. There was going to be a whole big deal made out of it. Reporters would show up just to take the woman's picture so they could put it on the front page of every paper in Gallia. She'd become a celebrity while the real hero was left watching from the sidelines. It just wasn't fair. "I'll show her," she said. "She's nothing special. Once people realize that the real leaders will get their time in the spotlight."

"Yeah," Ramona said raising her fist. "I'm going to be huge."

When she'd referenced leaders Ramona hadn't been included in the category, but Edy let the girl have her moment. It wasn't likely she'd be getting very many in the Militia. "We'll show them," she said. "I'll show them real good."

"That's right!" Ramona cried. "We'll show them… Oh."

After the girl trailed off, Edy followed the line of her eyes. When she turned she could see Alicia walking over to them. As the two made eye contact, the brunette smiled. She was a beautiful woman, and the red headscarf she wore certainly brought a lot of attention her way, but it wasn't as effective as the blue ribbons Edy herself wore. Her pigtails were much sexier anyway. "Staff Sergeant," she greeted as the woman approached.

Alicia smiled back. "Sergeant," she nodded. Her next greeting went to Ramona. "Private." Glancing down her eyes fell on the body of the Imperial soldier at their feet. The setting sun cast an eerie red glow across the man's chest plate. "You two aren't busy?" she asked when she lifted her head again.

"No," Edy replied. "Just waiting for orders."

"Good," the woman said cheerfully. "I've got some. Welkin wants to see you as soon as you can get over to him. Seems something's come up and we need a unit on the move."

The words were like an angel's chorus. Edy had been left out of the day's events. She hadn't had an opportunity to show the Squad what she was made of – what she could achieve. Now it was her turn. Not even Rosie could stop her here. She was the one who would have to sit and watch as another soldier got the job done, and this time it was going to be done even better. The one in charge now had real skill. She didn't win medals because she was the CO's friend. "I'll stop by right away," she said feigning modesty.

"Perfect." Still smiling, she turned to the other girl in front of her. "Linton, it looks like we're staying here for the night. Regroup with your section and start preparing."

"Yes, ma'am," the girl said.

With nothing but a slight nod to announce her departure, Alicia began to walk off. As she left earshot Edy pulled her Mags from off of her shoulder. "Now we're talking," she said. "I'll let Rosie keep her victory from today, but it's what happens at night that really counts. Before sunrise the Lieutenant will be writing me up for two medals."

Ramona sighed. "And I'll be sleeping in a slit trench next to Stark…"

"Well," Edy said in a lofty voice, "I guess we can't all be as great as I am. I'll tell you what, though. Once I'm recognized for what I'm worth I'll put a word in for…" When she'd finished turning back to her friend the girl had to pause. On her knees, Ramona was bent over where the Imperial's head used to be. Her hand was reaching down into the armor covering his chest. "What are you doing?"

"Looking for tags," the girl replied.

"Why?"

When Ramona's hand reappeared it was slick with a coating of the man's blood. It was also empty. Clearly disappointed, she wiped it off in the grass and stood up. "To find out who he was. At least a name, you know?"

"What's it matter?" Edy asked. She didn't understand why anyone would care. "He's Imperial."

"I know, but…" Raising her arm she wiped a loose strand of hair behind her ear. She still hadn't taken her eyes off of the body. "Without his head nobody will ever know who he was. He doesn't have a name. He'll just be buried a body. A thing."

"Did you kill everyone from the farmhouse?"

"No. A few ran away once we started taking ground."

"Then they'll know he's dead," Edy insisted.

Ramona shook her head. "They'll know he's dead and who he was, but we won't, and we're the ones stuck with the body. If he had a face or a name he'd at least be a person. As is…"

"As is he's just as dead as he would be in any other condition," Edy said, "and Rosie is the one getting the credit for it. That's the real crime here."

"I guess…"

"Not a guess," Edy said. "Fact." Looking down at her weapon, she tapped its foregrip before swinging it back onto her shoulder. "I'm going to head out though. See what the Lieutenant wants. I'll see you later."

"Sure." Before Edy had the chance to walk away Ramona's voice called out to her again. "Hey, are you feeling any better, by the way?"

Of course her big chance to show Rosie up had to come now. For the past six days she'd been nearly incapacitated by the pain. It was alright though, and a small price to pay. Edy didn't expect it to last more than another day or two anyway. It never had in the past. "Cramps are coming back again, but I'll live."

"I feel your pain," Ramona consoled clutching her own stomach. "Good luck, then."

Stepping off, Edy laughed. "You're the one who's going to be needing the luck tonight, Remy, not me." She lived off of skill, but spending a night with Rosie in a slit trench might have qualified as an exception to the rule.

Although it was getting darker it wasn't difficult for the girl to find the man she was looking for. Except for the farmhouse and a cluster of trees to the west the area was flat and open. Most of Gallia's eastern countryside was. Everywhere one looked it was farms or fields or pastures. Sometimes it was all three at the same time. Edy couldn't have imagined actually living there. The place didn't have any spirit. Everything was just so ordinary. It didn't suit her. Somehow the Lieutenant had seen something worthwhile in it all though. He'd grown up in the area, or at least an area like it. They were still a good two-hundred kilometers from Bruhl, but their objective was coming closer with every passing day. Pretty soon they'd be out of the fields and back into the real war.

Lieutenant Gunther was waiting near the back of the farmhouse. Using a tree stump for support, he poured over a large map along with the leaders of Squad 6 and Squad 9. As Edy approached all three of the officers looked up. It was exactly the way it should have been – the officers were recognizing her. "Lieutenant," she said as she came to a stop above the map. There were arrows and lines drawn all over it, and she couldn't tell what was what or who was where. "You have a job for me?"

"Sergeant Nelson," he said with a smile. Rising to his feet, Welkin made room for the girl to look over the map herself. "Actually I do. I hope you're alright with handling an operation tonight."

Even if she wasn't she didn't have much say in the matter. In any case, Edy was absolutely alright with being given an assignment. She didn't care when or what it was. As long as it gave her an objective and a task to complete she was more than happy to go through with it. Anything that kept her a step ahead of Rosie was a good thing. "Consider it done. What is it you need taken care of?"

"Squads 6 and 9 are going to be moving on Heidelberg tomorrow morning," he said nodding towards the other two officers surrounding the map. They didn't speak, but they watched Edy intently. Whatever she was going to be doing was going to serve them, not her own unit. That was wonderful. It meant that even more people would be witness to her success. "With the town secured we'll have a clear path on advancing forward again. However, they can't just mosey in and take the place." Edging forward again, Welkin thrust his gloved finger onto the map. Edy was still struggling to figure out where everything was, but it was slowly coming. From where their position was, his finger looked to rest a few klicks to the east, across a small river. "There's a tiny village right here," he said as he moved his finger in a circle over the indicated area. "It's not important in and of itself, but the Imperials have set up a small artillery battery nearby."

"And we're supposed to go in and secure it?" Edy asked.

Shaking his head, Welkin stepped back again. "Not secure," he clarified. "That area is 3rd Battalion's responsibility. We don't have the manpower to hold the position ourselves and carry on with our own objectives. However, they're not in a position to move on the area as of tonight, and we need those guns down by tomorrow morning."

Edy nodded. The motion brought one of her grey pigtails in front of her face. Sweeping it back, she grinned confidently. This mission was looking better and better by the second. "So we disable them then."

"That's right," Welkin said. "Squads 6 and 9 are preparing for the assault. As we're in reserve for this operation everything peripheral falls to us, including those guns. We still need most of the Squad ready and rested in case we're called in tomorrow, but a small unit should be able to sneak into the village and get the job done. You'll be outgunned, but if you keep the initiative and move fast you can slip in and out before the Imperials realize what's really going on."

"Not a problem, sir." It wasn't going to be a mission based on brute force. Edy would need intelligence to complete the objective. When she returned victorious the Squad leaders present wouldn't laud her ability to mindlessly pull a trigger; they'd be left in awe of her ability to think through the fight; to block out the fear and the death and focus clearly on the task at hand. They'd love her for it. "They won't even know we're there until those guns are destroyed."

"That's all I wanted to hear," Welkin said smiling. "I assume the rest of your section is ready to go?"

"They will be as soon as I give the word."

"Perfect." Sending a nod to the other two Squad leaders, he stepped away from the map and beckoned for Edy to follow behind him. "Gather your men and get ready. You'll be moving as soon as it gets dark."

"Yes, sir."

"Oh," Welkin said as they continued to walk. "Be extra careful this time out. We need this done, but that battery is extremely important to both us and the Imperials. They aren't going to want to give it up."

The words came straight from the officer's mouth. It was an important objective – far more important than a sniper's nest in some silly farmhouse. The disabling of those guns might very well determine tomorrow's offensive. An entire town rested on her unit's actions. Farmhouses were child's play. "Then we'll make them."

"I don't doubt it," Welkin replied. In the distance Edy could see Alicia waving towards where the two were standing. Trying to hide his own smile, Welkin returned the favor. "Looks like I'm needed elsewhere," he said. "Get your men assembled and get this done. We're counting on you tonight."

His words were a symphony. The ache that had spread across Edy's gut faded away as they reached her ears. "I understand. I'll take care of it all."

Seemingly satisfied with her answer, Welkin marched off to where Alicia was calling him from. Edy watched him go for a moment before setting off to find the rest of her section herself. They were good troops. Better than Rosie's, at the very least. More than anything though, they took orders from her. She was the boss. When those guns went down she'd be the one to take the credit. Even Rosie would have to concede she was the better soldier. Everything would be right in the world.

---

All told there were five uniformed bodies standing in front of her. That was one less than Edy needed to move out. The sun had nearly disappeared behind the horizon, and what little light remained was slowly fading. Waiting left her impatient, and what had her even more upset was who she was waiting for. Though she didn't have a say in the matter she was slightly put off that one of her two fireteam leaders was holding the entire group up. The woman in question was supposed to be setting an example for the section. Showing up late wasn't an example Edy wanted followed. "Where is she?" she growled for the fifth time in two minutes.

"She's probably just saying goodbye to Karl," Homer said.

Homer was sitting on a small tree stump on the right hand side of the cluster of assembled troops. From where he was waiting Edy couldn't reach him. She wished with all her might that she could have. The woman knew exactly where Lynn was, and it made her angry. Lynn was supposed to be fighting; proving to everyone just what Edy's unit could accomplish. Instead she was off playing wife with Karl. They weren't even married. Nearly doubling over, Edy brought her arm across her stomach. The pain didn't matter. All that she could focus on was the artillery battery that needed taken care of. They'd do that and rest later. If she didn't the job would fall to another section. She had a feeling she knew which one it would have been. "Marina," she said to the woman standing behind the engineer who'd brought the thought to her mind. "Hit him for me."

Though she wasn't looking Edy could hear the smack as what she imagined to be the sniper's palm struck what she imagined to be the back of the young engineer's head. Satisfaction was truly the world's best medicine. Holding back a smile she swept her eyes over the group of assembled troops. They'd already separated themselves into their fireteams, each one of them checking and double checking to make sure their buddies had everything they could ever possibly need – and to make sure they left behind everything they wouldn't. It was a stealth mission. Anything that rattled or shook or reflected was sacked. There was a small pile of equipment at the foot of each group, and the stacks were growing by the minute. At least they'd be traveling light.

Tossing a half full canteen onto his pile, Jann rolled his eyes and smiled. "Just relax for a moment, sweetie," he said as he gave the canteen attached to Marina's hip a light shake. Regarding it carefully, he hesitated a moment before pulling it off of her and adding it to the collection of equipment. "You said to assemble at 21:30. She's still got five minutes."

Trying not to glare, Edy instead opted to turn her back to the group and stare at the last bit of light creeping over the horizon. Along with Lynn, Jann was one of her two corporals, and the leader of her first fireteam. He was a good leader for what she needed him doing, and he kept Homer and Marina in line. She had to admit that as a unit the three were a formidable force. Better than any group Rosie had stuck together. "That's not the point," she pouted. Every moment wasted was another second they weren't advancing on those guns. Rosie had cleared the farmhouse within an hour. Even if they left now it would take Edy's group at least that long to even reach their objective. Their mission would take longer by its very nature, but she wanted to whittle that time down as much as she possibly could – one hour each direction in travel, and half an hour actually sneaking up on the objective and getting the job done. Two and a half hours total was the target. See the redheaded bitch do that. "You lot have been here for practically ten minutes already and you're still pulling things off of yourselves. I want to leave in five, not start to think about getting ready."

"Well then why didn't you tell us to meet ten minutes earlier?" Homer asked.

The voice grated at Edy's ears. Everything the boy said upset her. Why was he always talking? He knew she was just going to hit him for it anyway. Unfortunately she was still out of reach. That wouldn't be an issue. "Wulfstan?" When the only response she heard was the familiar smack of a hand striking a head, she smiled. "Thank you."

"Well I still don't see the issue," another voice said. Turning towards the noise Edy's eyes fell on Fina, the section's medic. She'd already stripped herself of everything she didn't need, and stood with her carbine strapped upside-down on her left shoulder. In the past Gallian medics hadn't carried weapons, and they'd started this war unarmed as well. That had lasted all of about a month and a half. Now she carried a weapon and wore the same uniform as anyone else. Who would have thought those big red crosses would have drawn as much gunfire as they had? "We can't leave until it's completely dark anyway, right?"

"We can't arrive at the target until it's completely dark," Edy clarified. Fina knew more than anyone else in the Squad about combat medicine. She didn't know much about tactics or operational procedure. That's why she was a sergeant and still fell under Corporal Lynn in the fireteam's chain of command. Even Susie, only a private, probably would have taken command over her if anything happened to Lynn. She'd probably even insist it herself. "That means if we were ready, we could be on our way now." Grumbling, Edy kicked at a loose chunk of dirt near her feet. The clod rolled for a few meters before coming to a stop. "We're not."

Fina merely shrugged. It was the blonde next to her that spoke up in her stead. "We've got all night, Edy," Susie said. "Those guns aren't going to be an issue until tomorrow morning at the earliest. She can spare five minutes to let Karl see her off."

The world was conspiring against her. Nobody wanted her to win. Not even her own section. Head spinning, Edy took a deep breath. It served to settle her stomach a bit, but it didn't do much to calm her nerves. "She's got two minutes," she said. Nobody else seemed to see that if they didn't act now Rosie's section was going to beat them. How could they stand that? "If she's not here in two minutes she'll wish she'd never come at all."

"Jeez," Homer said with a slight hint of awe in his voice. "What's got you so worked up tonight?" Edy spun on her heels. She was going to take care of this one personally.

"Don't worry about it," Marina said before she could make it over to the man. Coming to a halt, Edy decided to wait to see how things played out before thrusting her fist into the boy's face.

"But this isn't normal, even for her," Homer continued. "Is she sick or someth–"

His sentence ended with another thud, and Edy was privileged enough to see the whole thing play out. In the flash of an eye Marina's palm connected with the side of the engineer's head. While Edy was sure she could have done a better job of things, the strike was pretty good. He'd have felt it, that was for sure. "She's not 'sick'," the sniper growled, "so don't worry about it."

Stunned for the moment Homer rubbed the back of his head and scrunched his eyelids together. "Yeah…" he managed weakly. "Alright."

Appeased, Edy turned back towards the horizon. She didn't focus on it though. Instead, her eyes fell on a silhouette slowly breaking off from the rest of the Squad as it made its way over to where the group was standing. "Well it's about time," she muttered to herself.

Within moments the silhouette was standing in front of her. The features were visible now, and Edy glanced down at her watch before bringing her eyes back up to meet Lynn's. The woman was smiling. Disgusting. "How's Karl doing?" she asked, hiding her disappointment.

"Same as always," Lynn replied still beaming. "Had just enough time to tuck him in before we left." Sweeping her eyes back and forth, she widened them in surprise. "Am I the last one here?"

"Yes," Edy said flatly.

"Perfect." Still glowing, the woman fell in line with Susie and Fina. After a few nods and some more smiling she turned back to face Edy. "We're all set to go then."

"No," Edy said frustrated. "We're all set to go. You need to drop everything that'll get us all killed." It wasn't fair. The entire group held up by one slacker. Rosie was going to win because one woman couldn't keep her head in the game. This wasn't just failure. It was sabotage.

"Already done," Lynn smiled back. "I had Karl strip me down before I left."

Pouting, Edy took another swipe at the dirt with her toes. "Yeah, I'll bet you did," she said in a low voice.

"What?"

"Nothing." Her head was pounding again. She couldn't stand waiting around in that field any longer. If she stood there for even just a minute more she was going to explode. That was alright – there wasn't going to be any more waiting. Everyone was assembled now. They were ready. The objective was just over the horizon, and in just another hour that artillery battery was going to be her playground. Hers. Nobody could take that from her now. "Are we all set to go?" she asked her fireteam leaders.

Jann nodded his head immediately. He'd been meticulously going over his team's equipment since they moment they linked up. The man probably knew what they were carrying better than they did. Lynn took a few moments longer. Having just arrived, she wouldn't have had the time to inspect Susie and Fina. Growing impatient, Edy began tapping her feet. Before her foot struck the dirt for the fifth time, however, Lynn gave her the thumbs up. That was it. Everybody checked out. "Perfect!" Edy exclaimed excitedly. The night was young, and there would be plenty of proving to do in the coming hours. By morning she'd have Welkin and the lieutenants from Squads 6 and 9 groveling at her feet. Maybe she'd get a medal from each of them. "We're already starting out late, so we're double-timing it until we get within a klick of the river. Wulfstan, you're taking the lead. If you see anything out there in the dark make sure we know it's there before they know we are."

"We always do," the woman replied as she lifted her rifle.

"And that's why you're with me." As Marina stepped forward and the rest of her section fell into a staggered formation behind her, Edy couldn't help but smile. Looking back she could see the silhouettes of most of the rest of the Squad. One of them was Rosie. She didn't know which one, but it really didn't matter. Stark was one of them, and that was what was important. The woman wasn't one of the figures proudly walking off into the night. She was one of the bodies sitting back at the line, trying to sleep in a slit trench with an idiot who couldn't understand people couldn't sleep while she was talking. Rosie wasn't doing anything to win the war now. That was Edy's job – and she was going to do it better than the other woman ever could. Humming quietly to herself, the section leader swung her Mags from off of her shoulder and followed her line of troops into the dark. Everything was right in the world.