Orange Star: A seed of destruction... a tree of hope
Commanding Officer Mel
Disclaimer: I still don't own the company that made Advance Wars but I do own a copy of the game as usual. However... I own my dossier style in Orange Star: A revised history and the characters I have created. As well as any concepts/ideas for the stories.
Note: If something is said in full italics like this, it means the characters aren't speaking in English
Chapter 3: It's all history
Time: Dawn - a few weeks later
Place: Green Earth HQ
After two long arduous battles, Mel and Andy arrived at the entrance of the Green Earth HQ. They approached warily, only to find Eagle, standing alone grumbling about something.
"Grr... how did I lose?" Eagle muttered to himself. "To them of all people?"
"Hmm? That's 'cause you weren't careful!" Andy said, a bit too loudly.
"Wait... It's you. Andy!" The pilot commander realized as he turned around.
"Do I know you?" Andy asked, confused. "I don't think we've met, I'm Andy! Nice to meet you!" He was about to offer his hand to the enemy CO. He was abruptly cut off.
"Don't act dumb boy!" Eagle pointed accusingly at Andy.
"Hey! I'm not – mmph!" Andy was cut off by Mel's right hand over his mouth.
"Eh... don't mind the kid, Eagle..." Mel said. '...what's this guy's problem?' He thought.
"You! Who are you!?" The pilot demanded. "I've never seen you before!"
"Commander Mel. Now if you don't mind, we were about to go on our way, until you showed up. Let's go Andy." He dragged the younger man along.
"Okay. Fine..." Andy reluctantly left with Mel, no questions asked.
"Hmm... I'll let you two go for now..." Eagle grumbled.
Time: Later
Place: Transport
"Who was that guy Mel?" Andy asked.
"That's Eagle, master of the skies, blah, blah, blah. I think he's the world's biggest pain in the ass right now. I don't like him." Mel answered almost too bluntly.
"Why?"
"I'm really not so sure. I just don't." He rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Hmm... but... no, it can't be."
"What is it?"
"Nothing... nothing." Mel was realizing something as the war continued. Things were slowly starting to make more sense... in a bad way.
"No! Tell me!"
"It's nothing kid. Let's go!" Mel ran a hand through his hair and stood up. "We're almost done clearing out the country. Let's keep moving! There's a small force waiting for us anyway."
"Hey! Tell me dammit! I'm old enough to know! Hey! Don't ignore me! Hey!" Andy chased after Mel, who was ignoring him.
Time: 3 days later
Place: Blue Moon territory
The troops arrived and were waiting for something. Mel and Andy walked out of their transport and kept an eye on the soldiers setting up HQ.
"Well... we're here." Mel said, looking around the HQ.
"Yeah... where's our back-up?" Andy groaned.
"I dunno, being stuck in a transport convoy for the last few days really bites." Mel muttered, pulling out another lollipop from his pocket. "Want anything?" He offered a candy bar to Andy.
"Nah, I'm good."
"Hey! I'm here! Now where are the two COs I'm supposed to find?" Said a loud voice.
"Hmm? Who are you?" Andy asked, looking up at a rather large muscular man.
"I'm Max, and I'm here to give you guys a hand." Max answered.
"Hmm, Commander Maxwell Douglas of Orange Star I presume?" Mel asked as he followed Andy.
"Who might you be pal?" Max offered Mel his hand.
"Commander Mel of White Sun. I know you're a master of direct assault. Specialized in it right?" Mel shook the large man's hand.
"You're good kid." Max chuckled. "Urk!"
"Never... call... me... kid." Mel said, his right hand had a death grip around the front of Max's shirt and he pinned him against the wall. "I'm twenty-two dammit."
"Gah..." He gasped. "What... where'd... how'd he..." Max was in shock as to just how quickly Mel had grabbed him and pinned against the wall. 'Where... how does this guy have so much strength? He's half my size!'
"Hmph." Mel let go. "Surprised?" He asked as Max hit the ground with a thud.
"Yes..." Max gasped from his spot on the floor.
"Another thing. I'm going to let you deal with this battle instead of Andy. Remember, I'm in charge because Nell said so..."
"... Huh? Sure thing. I'll take care of Olaf's troops." Max said, trying to get out of shock. 'God damn this guy's scary!' He thought.
"What about me then?" Andy asked.
"You can take a break or something."
"Cool! I need to catch up on my sleep anyways! See ya!" Andy dashed off to his bunk and that was that.
"... crazy kid." Mel muttered, as he held the lollipop between his teeth.
"Are you smoking?" Max asked bewildered.
"Does..." Mel pulled out the candy. "...this look like a cigarette?"
"Oh... candy."
"And does it look like smoke is streaming outta my mouth?"
"Nope..."
"Good. Now let's see what Olaf has pitted against us..." Mel handed over a file to Max. "See to it that he's taken care of..."
"Huh? Oh right. Beatings. No problem. Will do." Max sputtered as Mel walked away. '...this dude is SCARY.'
Time: Meanwhile
Place: Blue Moon HQ
Olaf was on a power trip. As usual. His 'superior' forces were going to crush Orange Star. Or at least he thought so.
"HAHA! Orange Star can't outmatch me! I have battleships at sea and tanks on land! GAHAHAHA! HOHOHO!" Olaf was laughing maniacally.
"Uh... but boss, them subs can dive and then we're screwed." Grit said, putting a huge damper on everything. "Did... well... I'm guessin' you didn't think this through..." He scratched his head.
"HAHA! I DON'T CARE! GO MY MEN! CRUSH THEM LIKE BUGS!" Olaf roared as he continued his ranting, ignoring Grit completely.
"He's gone out without listening to me again. Shucks, won't he be disappointed when that advisor and his officers wipe the floor with the bearded one." Grit said to himself. "Ah well. He'll get what he deserves eventually. I hope." The lanky commander sauntered off.
Time: 12:00 pm
Place: Orange Star HQ
Klaxons blaring, the Orange Star officers were dashing about trying to get a grasp on the situation.
"Move those tanks! Tell the sub crews to dive and attack!"
"Is the enemy is range?"
"It's no good! We're not in range!"
"Gah!"
The headquarters was in general chaos, in the midst of it stood Max and Mel...
"So, what are you here for k – I mean Mel?" Max caught himself, and avoided a well deserved (or undeserved) beating. "I mean... why would a neutral commanding officer be involved with us anyway?"
"I had... an unfortunate run in with one of the Orange Star officers a few months ago..."
"One of our officers?" The large man raised an eyebrow. "Really...? Who?"
"Yes... I was on a reconnaissance mission to check whether or not you guys were screwed."
"Hey! It's not that bad!" Max said indignantly. "Okay... it is, but that's past the point."
"Ahem... anyway, the patrol ship there thought I was Blue Moon and shot me down."
"And?"
"I shot them down right after." Mel replied. "Well... sunk them, whatever."
"... EH?" Max's jaw dropped.
"Uh... let's just say it wasn't a very good start. I destroyed the entire naval force that was on patrol there..."
"WHAT?" More jaw dropping.
"It was just a cruiser. And as luck would have it, the survivor that I ran into was the Orange Star CO. Lucky me..." Mel said dully.
"But if they shot you down..."
"There's a reason why I'm the Commander in Chief of White Sun." Mel replied, shrugging.
"Why's that?"
"I can destroy a unit in a matter of seconds. That includes bombers and battleships."
"WHAT?"
"Classified Information." Mel said, annoyed. "And... stop saying 'WHAT'. It's getting annoying. Fast." Mel grabbed a passing intelligence officer and tried to maintain conversation with Max. "Get me a status update please."
"Ah, yes sir."
"What did I say about calling me sir?" Mel glared at the intel officer.
"Uh... I mean Commander Mel."
"Better." Mel sighed. 'They'll drive me to my own destruction at this rate...'
"Here you go." The intel officer handed over the printouts in a folder to Mel.
"Thanks." Mel took the file, leafed through it and frowned. "To hell with this. Here you go Max." He handed it to the big man. "Anyway, if you need me, I'll be in my office..." He walked off and headed upstairs.
Time: The next few missions; within a few weeks
Place: Blue Moon HQ
Grit looked out the window through his binoculars, but couldn't see a thing. He checked on the screens and wondered what was going on.
"Damned fog. If'n I could see a thing, I reckon I could shoot down Mel and Andy's forces easily." The cowboy muttered to himself.
"Commander!" A Blue Moon intel officer said.
"Yeah?"
"We've got a report that an Orange Star battalion has shown up and is headed straight for us!"
"Heh, I bet that they're after me." Grit smirked.
"They probably are sir!"
"Well let's give them what for!" Grit said, settling into his seat. "Battle stations men! Class 3 engagement! Fog of War!"
Time: Meanwhile
Place: Orange Star HQ
"What's this black stuff?" Andy asked squinting as the recon unit drove to the headquarters.
"Fog of War kid." Max said gruffly.
"What's that again?" Andy asked Mel.
"Eh? You're askin' ME?" Mel said incredulously. "Well I'll tell you one thing. It doesn't mean squat to my troops. The only thing that bugs me about Fog of War is when there are way too many forests and reefs to be healthy."
"Why's that?"
"Any mountain, plain, road or whatever the heck else can be identified by my men and my monitors." He lied about his ability to cancel out fog. "Too bad none of 'em are here, or else we could have gone on a blitz straight to the HQ." Mel said rather indifferently. "Anyways, it's a 'phenomena' caused by clashing En, and creates this... 'blackness' which makes it difficult for us to see a thing. It lets units 'hide' and perform surprise assaults. Especially in forests and reefs, it's a pain."
"Wow." Andy looked at Mel in awe.
"Looks like you do know your stuff Mel." Max grinned.
"Look, I didn't become Command in Chief of White Sun by goofing around and not studying." Mel made a jab at Max. "Or by just 'working out' you know."
"Grr. I graduated ya know!" The big man muttered.
"Look, let's just get this over with, the faster we bust through and catch up to Olaf, the faster I can get home." Mel shrugged. 'Have paperwork to catch up on...'
"Let's rock and roll then!" Max said. "Let me take the lead!"
"Sure. This'll be easy." Mel said, easing back into his seat. "Too easy. I hope."
Time: 5:00 pm
Place: Orange Star HQ Quarters
"Mel?" Andy knocked on Mel's door. The door was open and Andy poked his head in.
"Yeah?" Mel said.
"Did ya really study all that stuff to be a CO?" Andy asked.
"What do you think Andy?" Mel asked in response.
"Yeah?"
"Exactly. I mean... what's the point in not studying? Or... studying and not remembering it if you don't use it?"
"Wow, you must have had honors or something!" Andy was trying to suck up. Or attempt to lamely. Or maybe he was just being Andy.
"Nah, I did enough to make my way through. But if you want, you can go through all my rank stripes. It's on my other coat." Mel said, pointing to the long military jacket hanging on a wall hook. It appeared to be a formal jacket.
"Cool! There's like every rank badge from Orange Star here!" Andy said, running his finger down the various pins. "Even the... Dragon!?"
"Yeah... that one took way too long to get." Mel yawned. "I wonder why I'm even here... I'm not doing anything except sitting around drinking coffee. Speaking of which... I need to get some." Mel walked out of his room and to the mess hall.
"Cool beans! I want some of these badges! I wonder if I'll get any?" Andy said to himself.
"Work hard enough and they might consider promoting you!" Mel shouted from the hallway.
As Mel strode through the hallways, past the busy soldiers and officers, he passed by the supply store.
"Eh?" He noticed an old man was staring at him from the back of the supply counter. At least it looked like the geezer was staring, but Mel couldn't tell because he couldn't see the man's pupils properly. 'How can he see if his eyes are closed like that...?'
"Hmm? Oh hey! It's you, that new guy right?" Asked the shop keeper.
"Yeah... who're you?" Mel asked back.
"I'm Hachi, and I run a map making business for the war rooms. That and I'm here to supply you with stuff you need."
"Like iced coffee?" Mel asked hopefully.
"Yeah, got loads of the stuff. Anything you need, I've got." Hachi said.
"Great. I was gonna have to import from White Sun." Mel grinned.
"White Sun eh? Judging from what I've heard, you're the strongest bunch around."
"Uh huh... kinda... sorta anyway." Mel nodded as he opened his wallet. 'Who's this geezer and why does he know so much anyway...?' He thought.
"Well that's enough for now, what do you want?"
"Let's see... anything with the words 'iced' and 'coffee' in it."
"A case enough for you? Twelve pack right here!" Hachi asked grabbing one and placing it down in front of Mel.
"Well... will you be following us around from base to base?" Mel asked.
"Yep!"
"A case then. And what do you mean by war room maps? Missions you made up or something?"
"Yep, it's to test you on your commanding skills. Great fun really."
"Uh... I'll pass this time around. Thanks Hachi."
"That'll be 10 G soldier."
"... kay." Mel pulled out the money from his wallet. "Wait a sec, how come I gotta pay?"
"It's for convenience's sake. I gotta make a living ya know." Hachi laughed. "Supply and demand!"
"...fine." He sighed.
"I'll be seeing you often won't I?" The old man asked.
"... yeah. Lucky that my wallet's pretty thick..."
"Nice doin' business with you then!"
"Yeah... I smell a gyp." Mel mumbled to himself. 'Old coot must've ripped me off...' He thought bitterly. 'Or he knows I'm willing to pay for the stuff...' He sighed.
Time: The next morning
Place: Blue Moon HQ
Grit snored loudly in his seat as his men were running around frantically.
"COMMANDER! COMMANDER! COMMANDER!"
"Zzz... zzz... shu'up pa, I don't give a rip if 'em hens are drownin'." Grit mumbled in his sleep. He was having a dream about his days back on the farm.
"SIR! THE ORANGE STAR ARMY HAS FOUND OUR ROCKET BATTERIES AND ARE BLOWING THEM TO KINGDOM COME!" The intel officer screamed.
"Zzz... I told ya, zzz... it don't mean a cat's whisker to me."
"COMMANDER GRIT! SIR!"
"Zzz... ah told ya, shaddup." Grit reached sleepily for his pistol and fumbled at the hammer. "Damn chickens, I'll show y'all." He stretched out his arm and shot out the window.
'BANG!'
"Better... stupid chickens. Gonna be damn tasty..."
"Uh... what the hell are we gonna do!? He's out cold!" One officer asked another.
"Poke him or something."
"He's got a GUN dammit!" The officer gestured.
"Well... take it from him?"
"He's got a death grip on that thing. And I'm afraid he might cap me instead!"
"Then let's just dump water on him."
"Good plan!" The intel officer ran out and handed the other officer a glass of water. "Here goes..."
'Splash!'
"WHAT IN BLAZING TARNATION!? WHERE'S THE FIRE!? WHERE'S THE FIRE!? WHY AM I COVERED IN POSSUM SPIT!?" Grit's arms flailed wildly as he woke up, sputtering.
"Uh... good morning sir." The officer said warily.
BLOODY TARNATION SOLDIER! YOU NEVER DUMP WATER ON YOUR COMMANDING OFFICER!" He grabbed the soldier and shook him rather violently.
"Uh... sorry sir, but you were rambling on about chickens. Again, as I was saying, Orange Star has commenced attacking us and is taking out our units as we speak."
"Damn. Damn. Damn." Grit swore. "Ah well, just let them come, we'll get 'em yet."
"Uh sir, they're attacking with battle copters." The intel officer said.
"Well that's what them anti airs are for."
"But the anti airs were just crushed by tanks." The officer replied yet again.
"DAMMIT SOLDIER! WHAT THE HECK ARE THEY DOIN THEN!?"
"Getting killed sir?"
"Gawd... if'n I didn't know better, I shoulda stayed home." Grit groaned. "Who's commanding those boys?"
"Ah... Commander Max."
"Maxie eh? I haven't seen the old boy since..." Grit wandered off to go dry off his coat.
Time: A few days later
Place: Orange Star HQ
Max and Andy cringed as they saw rocket shells rain down on their troops. Fortunately, they managed to keep their copters safe and it was soon to be smooth sailing as they reached the Blue Moon territory.
"Who's commanding the Blue Moon troops?" Max asked.
"Judging from the En bursts that were emitting from those missiles, I'd say it was Blue Moon's resident gun man." Mel suggested.
"Gun man?" Max looked a bit confused. "Who now? I'm not even sure who's in the Blue Moon army these days."
"Didn't ya know? That's Grit." Mel said.
"GRIT?" Max's jaw dropped.
"Uh... yeah?" The younger man shrugged.
"What's he doing in Blue Moon!?" The big man demanded.
"How about we capture the HQ then find out?" Mel asked.
"Grr... I'll tear him a new hole." Max growled. "Fucking traitor! Make that a lot of new holes!"
Time: 3 more days...
Place: Blue Moon HQ
Another easy victory for Orange Star, thanks to Max's high-powered offense. Standing inside the Blue Moon HQ, the three Orange Star officers stood in the command room with Grit and his technicians surrendering.
"Howdy Max... how y'all been? Junior too?" The tall man grinned.
"Don't call me Junior!" Andy yelled.
"GRIT!? THAT'S WHY I HAVEN'T SEEN YOU LATELY! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING IN BLUE MOON YOU DIRTY PIECE OF – " Max stormed towards Grit, only to be held back by Mel and Andy. "You two! Let me at him! Let go! I need to give him a piece of my - "
"Easy now Maxie, I didn't mean any harm, and I have my reasons, ya reckon? Either ways, I'm getting' outta here before you start yapping." The cowboy ran off into the back exit and disappeared.
"Grit! Dammit! Shit! Why is he... why'd he..." Max swore.
"What'd you expect? A complete turnover and comeback?" Mel said, watching a recon unit drive off into the dust. "He's long gone. And it's probably not a good idea to pursue right now..."
"Grr..."
"You have a lot of history with that guy, or what?" Mel asked, squinting as the fog of war constantly shifted outside. "Damn fog... I really wonder how the heck En affects this crap." He tried to change the subject and failed.
"Grit..." Max said bitterly. "What the hell's goin' on?"
"Whatever, now that the cowboy's gone, I'm guessing we're off to off Santa." Mel headed out the exit. "Hmm... snow." He noted as the white powder drifted in the air. "...not a good sign..."
Time: Two weeks later... 'A history lesson'
Place: Blue Moon/Green Earth border
After blitzing through and taking over Blue Moon territory, the current squad shook off the chill of snow and ice and prepared themselves for another bout with Grit.
"Well... we're getting closer I guess." Mel said, peering at a dark fog forming. "Dammit, fog again. Definitely not good."
"Well..." Andy nodded as he watched the sky darken. "Darn. What's going on?"
"Say... it's Grit again." Mel noticed as he spotted numerous artillery batteries on the map screen.
"Grit? Mel, Andy, you've gotta let me go and take this one." Max said firmly. "I've got to do this."
"Eh? You mean the guy that calls me Junior?"
"Yeah, that's him alright. You forgot already?" Mel said, sipping his coffee.
"Uh..." Andy blinked. "Kinda."
"Whatever. Ah... lovely, we have a naval battalion again. This'll be fun." The advising officer looked at their unit deployment.
"Yeah. I wanna go stomping through, but that'll be more of a problem... there are reefs everywhere!" Max groaned. "This isn't my strong point."
"And to make that worse, Blue Moon's HQ is on the other side of this... area." Mel said, checking the map screen. "It'll take a bit of lander movement. Great... we're sitting ducks."
"Yeah."
"And I'll bet you every can of my coffee that he's got a couple naval units there too." Mel pointed out. "Or more."
"He probably does. There's no way that he wouldn't go without a battleship or two." Max sighed.
"That and his range is two to seven spaces for those things. It's like trying to outrun a recon on foot... or something."
"Well, let's use those reefs to our advantage and get to the Blue Moon HQ ASAP." Max said. "Forget about pummeling him to death, we'll have to be... more... subtle."
"Works for me." Mel shrugged. "But can you pull it off?"
"Not like I have any choice man. Let's do this."
"Very well."
Time: At the same moment
Place: Blue Moon Field HQ
Meanwhile, at the Blue Moon Field HQ, the tall man readied himself to face his former comrade yet again.
"Maxie... Nell, darlin. Ah, I miss the good ol' days." Grit sighed to himself.
"Grit! Don't screw up this time! I've given you what we have left to protect the capital!" Olaf shouted through the com system. "If we lose here, then they've got a straight-line to the capital! I'll have your hide if you foul this one up!"
"Yeah, yeah. I'll do it." Grit put down a framed photograph of him and his former cohorts back in their academy days. There he was, slouching lazily, clean-shaven, cowboy hat hanging about his neck, grinning widely, standing next to Max, who looked the same as ever, constantly working out and exercising, and Nell, who was wearing a sun dress and hat, smiling shyly as she leaned against to the two men. "Dang. I wonder if it really was worth it..." He sighed, pulling on his hat and drawing his gun. "Well, its high noon and high time we settled this like men."
Time: Fifth day into the battle
Place: Blue Moon HQ
"Dammit Max, you've done gone riled me up!" Grit yelled through the com-link to Orange Star. "Take 'em all down!" He shouted, activating Snipe Attack.
Place: Orange Star HQ
"DIVE! DIVE DAMN IT!" Mel shouted, shaking the intelligence officers furiously.
"Mel! Calm down! You're not the one who's supposed to freak!" Andy said, trying to hold back the white clad officer.
"GAH! I DON'T CARE! MAX! MAX FORCE HIM NOW! CRUSH HIM LIKE A BUG! GAH! GAH! DIE! DIE!" Mel flailed around the control room madly, dashing about causing a general commotion. "This was NOT according to plan!"
"Quick! GET HIM A COFFEE!" Somebody shouted.
"COFFEE? Where?" Mel stopped dead in his tracks and looked around, then ran off. One of the female officers had ended up upside down lying across the monitors. "...oh my. Apologies." With that, he left in search of his coffee and to get away.
"Ooh..." She moaned. Another one was lying face down with his legs strewn across one of the rolling chairs and his face in the ground.
"Ouch..." Others were in various awkward positions that Mel had thrown them into.
"Weird... and I thought he was constantly calm." Andy said to Max.
"Probably didn't get his morning coffee."
"Or too much of it." Andy said, rolling his eyes.
"Yeah... right. Alright battle stations everyone!" Max shouted.
"... yes sir... as soon as he stops looking up my skirt." The intel officers were arguing amongst themselves.
"Shut up, it's not my fault that his leg is pressed against my face as he's stuck in his chair causing me to look that way."
"Get outta my skirt!"
"It's not my fault! Honest! I can't move!"
"... uh... I think we'll have to call Mel in to untangle them all after..." Max said, staring at his awkwardly positioned subordinates. "...how'd he do that anyway...?"
"Yeah..." Andy said, walking out, until one of them on the ceiling fan fell off and landed on him. "... ouch. How'd that... okay... seriously... how? Ugh..."
"Sorry for landing on you Commander Andy..." He apologized.
"All good... owowow..."
Time: Final day of the battle.
Place: Blue Moon HQ
Orange Star scored yet another victory by capturing Blue Moon's HQ. The commanders made their way into the enemy base with their troops.
"Grit!" Max yelled as he approached his former comrade.
"Sorry 'bout that Maxie..." The gunslinger said laughing softly, as he took a step back. "Heh... really."
"What are you doing in Blue Moon?" Max was closing in on Grit, but Grit kept on backing up.
"I've told ya, I owe her a lot... I can't tell ya really." Grit continued stepping backwards. "Really... sorry. Look... I've..."
"Hmm..." Mel had a grave look on his face. "But why?"
"I have my reasons. Anyways..." He turned to leave, as the com screen started to crackle. "I need to leave."
"Hold it cowboy." Mel had caught up and firmly grasped the tall man's shoulder and stood between the two. "Looks like someone wants a word in edgewise with you."
"... Grit." Nell said glumly from the screen. "Max, could you...? The rest of you as well."
"Sure..." Max stepped out of the room, along with Mel and Andy.
"Howdy darlin'." Grit tipped his hat to her.
"What are you doing?" She asked with a hurt expression. "Aren't... why?" Nell stumbled with her words.
"I can't tell you darlin..."
"Is it because Max started to show feelings towards me and you decided not to put our friendship on the line, so you left?" Nell asked worriedly.
"Hahaha! No such luck darlin, it's not like that, it's just that Blue Moon's gotten me outta a lot of trouble, so I owe 'em big time." Grit laughed.
"But Grit..." She started. "That... that doesn't make..."
"I'm sorry darlin', I'd love to chat, but I'm off." Grit turned around and headed out the back exit. "C'mon y'all, let's get outta here!" He shouted to his men.
"Eh?" Mel said, hearing a general commotion in the room they were standing outside of. "Wait a second."
"What?" Max said, rather annoyed.
"If I didn't know better... I'd say Grit just turned tail and left. Again."
"... WHAT!? What's goin on!?" Max said angrily. "You... we let him go!"
"Let him go. We're lucky he didn't cap us when he had the chance." Mel shrugged. "Not that I'd let him... but whatever."
"Whaddya mean?"
"We all know that Grit carries a gun. That's a gimme." Mel said with an agitated sigh. "Where are we off to next?'
"Continue our pursuit of Olaf into wherever he's headed." Max said.
"That sounds good." Andy said, jumping back into the discussion.
"Well, we'll find out once we get back to HQ. We'll start fresh in the morning, no point getting there with exhausted troops and low supplies." Max sighed.
"... if that'll even work." Mel shrugged. "I'll agree with that, but... is it just me or is this fog just getting worse?" He looked around outside. "Yeesh."
"... looks like it."
"Hmm... I wonder if I can get my men on it... a quick scan might do it." Mel headed to the communicator. "Gonna... borrow this here now..." His fingers flew over the keys as he typed in the frequencies and encryptions to the White Sun Headquarters.
'Bzz... bzz...' The device crackled noisily.
"Damned piece of shit Blue Moon machinery." Mel gave it a swift kick. "Better."
'Bzz... bzz.'
"Son of a..." He kicked it harder, reconnecting the frequency. "THERE. Much better."
"Eh? Whazzat?" Came a voice.
"You! Pick up damn you!" Mel shouted.
"Huh?" A young man with long dark hair streaked with gold looked up from the book he was perusing. "Hey! It's Mel! Yo! Gary! It's the boss!"
"What the heck are you rambling about? The Commander is MIA." Answered a second voice. "Or at least not answering his communications. Or... something else."
"What are you a nut job? He's right there. And I thought Alice was just saying crazy talk." The first young man said.
"Huh? WHOA! He is alive! Quick! Alice! Eriko! The Commander!" The second young man had glasses similar to Mel's and wore a jacket and tie. He had a more professional look than his friend, who was wearing a black shirt that was unbuttoned three buttons from the neck, a chain and had his legs kicked up on the console.
"I told you he was alive." A female officer said, brushing aside stray hairs. "Baka. Stop reading and pay attention already." She took the book from the black clad officer and smacked him across the face with it.
"Ouch! Sorry. Geez. Ah, Mel! We were looking everywhere like mad, until Alice told us you were alive. We didn't believe her, but decided to hold our positions until you called."
"Well you're an idiot." Mel sighed. "And... really, you could've tried harder. Like... just a little bit."
"Well of course Gabe's an idiot." Gary laughed. "Or at least lazy and inattentive."
"Like you're any better Gary." Mel said, raising an eyebrow. "Neither of you tried the spec ops line."
"... sorry. My bad." The bespectacled officer nodded.
"Whatever, it's all good. I'd like you to meet Max and Andy. The Orange Star Officers that I'm tagging along with." He pointed his thumb at the Orange Star commanders behind him.
"Hi." Max said, examining the rag tag looking bunch on the screen. "Nice to... meet ya."
"You're Mel's buddies eh? Cool!" Andy waved. "Nice to meet you all!"
"Yeah, that's what we are. Anyways, I'm Gabe, Aerial and Direct offense specialist... espionage and other stuff too." The golden streaked man said.
"And I'm Gary, Naval and Indirect tactical unit specialist. Intelligence and hacking's my job."
"I'm Alice." The long haired girl bowed.
"And I'm Eriko." The female officer with glasses said. "The two of us are the chief intelligence officers in the White Sun military that work directly under Mel and these two here."
"Yeah. Now that we've all been introduced, I need a status report on Blue Moon activity throughout Macro Land." Mel said.
"Well judging from your position, Blue Moon forces went south. That and the fog of war in your region is getting worse." Gary said, scanning the monitors.
"Could be some more clashing En?" Mel asked.
"Most likely, or maybe it's just because you're around. Other than that, you're fine. And on that note, thank goodness you're alive." The bespectacled officer nodded. "We kind of kept it hush-hush until we confirmed you were... well, you know."
"Yeah, yeah. Now how about sending in some of my men for some back up?" Mel shook his head in annoyance. "A battalion is fine. We'll work out other details later. And send them discreetly."
"Will do... as soon as we can." Gabe said, trying to pry his book out of Alice's hands.
"It might take a while." Alice added. "No book for you." She shoved it in her coat pocket. "Mainly as we're still trying to hold back whatever... whoever the heck attacked us. We're doing okay even though you left, but whatever they are, they keep coming back for more. We'll send the follow-up reports as soon as we can."
"Damn. In her shirt. Ahem." Gabe muttered, then cleared his throat. "On that detail... that - uh." He was cut off as Mel sent a piercing stare at him, telling him to 'shut the hell up'. "Oh... I see... never mind then. We'll discuss this further later. We'll be seeing you soon?"
"That'll depend on how long it takes for me to get through all of this. And how long it'll take to get back to our territory."
"Well, however long it will take you, good luck Mel." Gary said. "We'll be in constant contact from now on. White Sun army signing off."
'Buzz... zzt.' The screen flickered off
"That's WHITE SUN!?" Andy was aghast.
"Yeah... what'd you expect a couple dried up old geezers?" Mel asked.
"They... they look like some sort of Mafia." Max noted. "Military mafia... triad... gang... something."
"Couldn't you tell just by looking at me!?" Mel asked, bewildered.
"Not really. Well... at least we didn't want to assume things." The two of them said.
"Gah... whatever. Let's go back to base and get some rest." Mel shrugged. "It's the least we can do get before Santa makes his great escape." He turned and headed back to the Orange Star camp.
Time: 8:00 pm
Place: Southern Blue Moon region
Sami's battalion was edging through the area, and she had finally established an outpost just around the southern region.
"Ooh, this is soo boring." She groaned to herself.
"It's not that bad is it commander?" An intel officer asked.
"No... but I'm supposed to join up with some rag tag squad of Orange Star commanders with Max. I wonder if it's Rush or Squall. Or even that scary Hikagi."
"Well, no, it looks like we're receiving the status reports as of now, and it's none of the officers you've named." She replied.
"Hmm... let me see that." She took the papers and scanned through them quickly, the photos of a young dark haired boy, and the large blue haired man were on the dossiers. "Andy and Max. Hmm. Is there another report?"
"There is one, but it appears to be blanked out... blacked out... crossed... you know."
"Blanked out? What on earth?" She took the third one and looked at it. There was just a jumble of text and a square of static interference where the photo should have been. "It shouldn't be messed up like that... unless it's some weird joke."
"Can you see anything? It might be one of those top-secret-y things."
"I can make out one letter... an M? Weird." Sami's brow creased.
"I'm not sure, could be another new officer." The intel officer shrugged. "Not sure why they scrambled the data though. That is weird. Or maybe it's just a prank from the higher ups."
"I wonder..." Sami said. 'Nah... it can't be.'
Time: The next morning
Place: Sami's Field HQ
"Aah... that was nice." She yawned, sitting up on her bunk. "A nice... damn, foggy morning." She peered out the window and squinted, seeing a dark fog covering the landscape. "Fooey. I hate fog of war." She groaned and plopped back onto her bed.
"Commander Sami? May I come in?" Came a voice from behind her door.
"Hmm? Just a sec. Need to get decent first..." Sami said, pulling on a pair of pants. "Okay. Come in."
"Ah... good morning commander. We've received orders to proceed and meet up with the incoming Orange Star forces." Her intel officer said, saluting her.
"Great! Let's move out as soon as possible! Get everybody ready and let's go!" Sami started to pack up her things. "We'll move out once everybody is good to go!"
"Yes commander!"
Time: Meanwhile
Place: Main Orange Star Field HQ at the border Orange Star/Blue Moon border
"This is absolutely the worst place I've been in." Mel muttered. "Fog to the left, fog to the right, I swear, if it were any worse, I probably couldn't see my own bloody hands out here. Well... except I can, but that's past the point."
"Yeah. It's getting worse. But we don't have any orders yet." Max said, sipping coffee from a foam cup.
"Geez, you two are really tense!" Andy said, diving into his bowl of cereal. "Crunch... crunch..."
"Tense isn't the word Andy. It's called 'prepared to unleash my furious unholy wrath on anything that moves'." Mel said, crushing his empty can of iced coffee in his fist, then he lit it asunder with his En.
"Yikes!"
"Hmph." He tossed the hunk of smoldering metal away into the steel trash can. "I'm gonna call up Nell or something. There is no way in hell we're gonna sit here and fart around, while letting Olaf get away. Not after all we've been through in the last while."
"Yeah, that's true."
"Well, whatever, I'm going." Mel got off his seat and headed to the control room.
"Creepy guy." Andy said. "Actually, make that scary."
"As scary as he may be, he might be what Orange Star needs to get us through this. His strategic command is... flawless." Max said.
"Or so it seems." Andy said, between spoonfuls of his breakfast. "Between the few cases of him goin' nuts on us."
"Either way, it's a good thing we've got a small battalion goin. But why are we even bothering to continue pursuit?" Max asked. "We've reclaimed Orange Star now..."
"Dunno. We should ask Nell." Andy shrugged, cleaning out the rest of his bowl.
"I bet she wants to have a few words with Olaf and Grit or something..."
Time: 10:00 am
Place: Blue Moon plains
Sami's battalion was making its way towards the primary headquarters.
"Careful now! That fog is still getting thicker! I'm just hoping that we'll be able to make it through without any surprises." Sami shouted to the drivers of the other recon units.
"Yes ma'am!"
"... what's our distance?"
"Approximately 50 miles from the HQ ma'am!"
'I wish they'd stop calling me ma'am... I'm not that old.' She thought to herself bitterly. "Good! Let's keep a move on! That way, we just might pass by the remaining forces! And make it in time!"
"Yes ma'am!"
"Ooh..." She groaned. 'Not again... at least call me 'miss' or something...'
Time: 5:00 pm
Place: Main Orange Star HQ
The Orange Star troops were getting prepped to move out. Mel stood in the officer's lounge near the dartboard.
"Take this, and this, and this." Mel said, tossing darts at a picture of Olaf.
"Nice... shot." Andy said, noting that all the darts had been thrown straight into Olaf's face. "...right on... target."
"Yeah, well you do what you can." Mel muttered absently. "Especially without orders..."
"What's that mean?"
"I dunno. I'm so bored..." Mel pulled out his gun and shot the picture repeatedly until there was nothing left. "Better. And... hmm."
"Dude! That's SCARY! Also... won't you get in trouble for putting holes in the wall?"
"What? Haven't fired a gun either? And... we can worry about the wall later."
"No..." Andy shook his head.
"Oi... kid you'll have to do all these things FIRST before becoming an officer. Usually."
"I didn't get squat except my officer's badges when I graduated." He pointed to the star pinned on his suspenders.
"Ah..."
"Well... unless you count my new set of tools... Does that count?"
"I dunno. This stuff aside, are we ready to move out yet?" Mel said, ripping off the bullet ridden picture and setting it ablaze in his hand.
"Yeah. Our back up should be arriving soon. Let's go downstairs and meet him."
"Sure." He scattered the ashes into a trashcan and grabbed his coat. "Let's go meet him." The two officers walked down the stairs and down the hallway to the main area.
Sami's troops finally made it to the entrance of the HQ.
"Yes! Finally!" She sighed happily. "Friendlies instead of having to put up with missiles and bombs raining on me all day long."
"We'll wait for you outside ma'am, we'll let you deal with the officers inside." Her men said.
"Good. At ease all!"
"Thank you ma'am!" The remaining soldiers scattered and went about the compound of the HQ, while Sami walked into the base.
Andy, Max and Mel were found sitting at a table, Mel was reading a small notebook, and he noted a metallic creaking noise.
"Hmm?" He looked over at the door. "The door."
"Must be him." Max said. "The new CO joining up with us."
"Yeah." Andy nodded in agreement. "Finally, somebody else to split the work up with."
"Seems to be." Mel shrugged. "One more person to boss around." He laughed
"Sorry, I'm late, I was caught up in another campaign in the south. Andy and Max right?" A red headed girl appeared in front of them. "Good to meet - "
"Yeah... wait a sec, a girl!?" Andy said, sounding surprised.
"You were expecting someone else? A guy or something" She asked. "Like... really?"
"... ?" Mel was hidden from view, as Max had stood up and was talking to Sami. 'No... it can't be.' He peeked around Max and was shocked to see her standing there. 'Fuck.'
"And where's this third officer you guys have?" Sami asked. "I received a weird intel report and - "
"YOU! WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE!?" Mel shouted, pushing Max out of the way and pointing straight at Sami.
"Huh?" Sami turned and spotted Mel. "YOU! I SHOULD BE ASKING WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE!?" She screamed. The two of them were eye to eye and whatever force that was making them stare daggers at each other, kept their eyes locked.
"I expected someone more..." Mel started, getting more irritated by the moment.
"More what?" She asked.
"More high-ranking than you!" He finished, choosing his words carefully.
"And I was expecting somebody more saner than you!"
"Grr!"
"Grr!" The two of them glared and growled angrily at each other.
"Uh... guys?" Max tried to make peace between them.
"SHUT THE HELL UP MAX!" The two of them yelled. "Stay out of this!"
"Now what are you really doing here? Is this some kind of sick joke!?" Sami asked.
"I'll give you a sick joke! I didn't know I'd end up getting stuck for the rest of this war with the bitchiest person in the whole world!" Mel retorted.
"Son of a bitch!" She raised her hand to slap him across the face, but he simply swatted her arm away. "Ack!"
"Whatever. I'll have you know, that as Strategic Advisor of this... campaign, I'm in charge, and you are all to follow my orders. Directly. And as of now, my orders are to prepare to continue our pursuit of Olaf. But there seems to be some other battalion blocking our way." Mel, trying to calm himself down. "Ahem..."
"Grr... fine." She said, regaining her composure as well. "Either way, you're right about the battalion. That's the Green Earth army out there, and they excel in air combat."
"Hey Mel?" Andy tried to make the best of the situation by getting between them.
"Yeah Andy?" Mel turned his attention to Andy.
"Don't those guys look familiar?" He pointed at the green units.
"Yeah... must be Eagle and his boys." Mel spat. "Great... just... fucking great."
"Hey, you both do know your Intel pretty good." Max complimented, trying to ease the tension in the room.
"Damn straight." Mel said. "And... that's past the point!" He realized what Max was trying to do.
"Well... that's cuz we ran into 'em once..." Andy griped. "And we barely made it out alive, if it weren't for Mel..."
"Well you survived didn't you? Even with his help." Sami said bitterly, she was still somewhat upset, and her arm stung a little after Mel had blocked her attack. 'Ow... that hurt...'
"What the hell do you mean by 'his help'? For that last comment, you're dealing with Eagle this time around." Mel spat back.
"Fine! I'll show you what I can do!" She turned around and headed outside. "All right! Everybody to battle stations! We're gonna capture that Green Earth HQ!"
End of chapter.