Day 16: You never realize just how creepy your surroundings can be until you're assigned to daywatch patrol. One of the damn sergeants said I hadn't groomed my coat to his satisfaction…frankly I think he's jealous considering the generous sprinklings of bald patches on his left wing. Each watcher is instructed to describe a circular pattern around their group (the platoons split into small groups of fifty during rest periods, thus if one group gets hit we'll hear their bloodcurdling screams and be able to mount an attack-of some sort )

I had the luck of being forced to run a low altitude pattern, Xavier had gotten lucky and been assigned to treetop watch, lucky bugger. Each watch is two hours long, and you get to the point where if you haven't had your retinas burned out by the sunlight you're lucky. On the plus side I got to taste a new sort of moth, one of the squad mates says it's a Monarch Butterfly. Not half bad.

To top it off my relief watch was late, so I had to wait for his sorry rear to show before I could head back to the main group. After about fifteen minutes of fuming he showed.

My anger dissipated when I saw how young he was. Probably managed to skip through on the entrance checklist because of his size. I left him with a wave then ran into Xavier on my way down. Apparently our watches ended at the same point-which isn't supposed to happen, the owls would pick up on this as a security flaw in an instant.

We both decided to roost away from the main group, bats sleeping together is just a target for any prying birds. He and I were both completely wired, and spend half the day looking around half crazed from lack of sleep. Eventually we did so. I awoke before he did. Actually Xavier isn't half bad looking when the moon hits his face just right…

Day 17- You'd never expect to hear these words from a bat but here they are- I am sick of flying. We are on a very strenuous flight plan, apparently our entire platoon has fallen behind the main body and we've got 7 hours to reach the Convergence point, a pine forest 43,000 wingbeats from here. I've been flying at full speed for the past three hours and am currently considering assaulting my sergeant (yes the balding one) who keeps yelling 'Faster you lot' incessantly. Does he not realize that all beings have their limits?

I swear I've developed muscles that I didn't know I had. Which has the added benefit of causing Xavier to look at me in a kinder light. Not that I'd even consider…that. I look for intelligence in males, not good looks and heavy build, (although Xavier posses much of this. ) I'd best stop talking and conserve my breath, that sergeant has started up again. Did I mention he's in the very END of the column? Until next time…

Day 21- We reached the Convergence point three days ago, and I'm still amazed that the area can support this number of bats. Supposedly they scouted the area beforehand. Our group's being split up so we said our goodbyes. I'll miss Xavier…to a point. Xena's staying with our group however. We've pretty much become friends.

Later in the evening I was registered with the combat strike team: "Echo Squadron Zeta." Apparently someone in the upper brass thought I did a damn good showing in the trials and sent me to the front lines. Great…I can almost feel my life expectancy dropping.

The squadron is composed of about 15 bats, apparently combat efficiency is dependent upon a few skilled team members rather than hundreds of idiots. That is all that I can say at the moment…

Day 23- ECHO TRANSCOM- 3.2234.4 GHz: All units report Combat ready. Scouting parties have sighted enemy troop movement to the southeast. Large force heading toward the general vicinity. 3 nights distant. All troops prepare for engagement according to pre-determined parameters.

Day 25- How in the hell the Owls managed to find us is beyond me. Supposedly they had Intel on our movements for three days. We've been upgraded to combat ready status. Current mission is to utilize one of our Special-ops members, Cassiel's sonic blanketing ability to mute our troops movements as they spread down the valley ridge. We'll not be alone, as we've got fifteen other groups working in tandem, wiping all sonic traces of wingbeats from the air.

Day 25- We're on patrol at the moment, covering our tracks. I caught sight of Moonbeam Platoon moving just a few hundred wingbeats from us. Surprisingly enough when bats are scared, they instinctively fly much quieter. Xena and I watch each other constantly, she's always at my wingtip. Apparently she grew up in a much colder climate than ours, and is having trouble due to her winter coat. Odd how seasons can vary based upon region. I groomed her fur during the morning hours, and she swears it reminds her of how her mother treated her before she left.

Day 28- ECHO TRANSCOM- 3.2234.4 GHz:Owl Force composition is light, 15 owls flying in a rigid delta wing formation. Possibly a heavy scouting party. They haven't noticed our presence yet. Have settled into area. High possibility that they stumbled across main troop body location by accident.

Recommend immediate elimination of group. Terminate with extreme prejudice.