Chapter 3: Squad 7, Form Up!
Response to reviews:
Alright GJO1088, let's get talking about what you have told me for this chapter.
-Oh, trust me, they both are well aware of the hypocrisy and moral ambiguity that occurs throughout the story. and they won't be the only ones that will call out Welkin's questionable views and decisions in the later parts of the story. Especially with the Final Flame incident, and especially with the black-and-white view of things.
-Well, not exactly. In this scenario, all members of Squad 7 will be trained to the point, as if they've been grinded with enough experience to make whatever battle they are about to enter be a easy battle to do without any causalities, given no stupid decisions are made. And Welkin is quite competent in this one, as if he was controlled by a player aiming for a no-death run of the game, and that means that there won't be much problems, which is both good and bad in a way. But hey, Richard and the others are there to pull their asses out of the fire if it's gets difficult, both before and after they're incapacitated.
-Good point there, and that was exactly what I was going to address, with Rain/Richard. He will basically tell Rosie to gently shut the hell up, and understand that it was Captain Varrot's decision that she assigned Welkin as commanding officer of the squad. And if they can't trust him, then by proxy, they don't trust her, which is grounds for insubordination. In fact, he refuses to let Rosie and Largo question Welkin's authority, after the fact that it was because of Welkin's work that they could save a lot more lives in the invasion of Bruhl, than they would in canon history.
-And thanks for the compliment, I'll get to working on it as soon as possible.
In Gallia's captial city, Randgriz...
The Edelweiss rolled along the roads leading to the outer gates of the large capital city, as everyone could get a good look at the places around them, as there were buildings and houses everywhere they could look in front of them. From where they were, they could also see the tall great walls that surround the city's central district, as there was a feudal look to the walls, and they could make out castle spires over the wall.
"Woah... So this is the capital city of this country?" Marisa muttered with astonishment. "I guess that this place looks pretty good for a city."
"Yeah... I guess it's as good as I have heard from travellers that came by our town from time to time." Sanae remarked as well, with a smile. "Randgriz, the beating and prosperous heart of the country, Gallia."
"Heard of? You guys aren't from Gallia, are you?" Welkin asked, as his voice came out of the open top hatch of the tank.
"No, we aren't. We actually were quite close to Gallia, but we never realised that we ended up in it, until we heard Randgriz and several other familiar names." Richard answered back. "Speaking of which, I heard about what's going to happen next."
"Do you?" Alicia asked.
"I heard that Gallia has a universal conscription policy. It's to ensure that there are enough people in the military forces to fight against any outside threats." Richard stated. "Considering that you, Isara and Welkin are citizens of the country, you're most definitely going to get drafted. However, about us... It's going to take a few things to clear over, before we can join up.
"You are going to join the Gallian militia as well...?" Isara questioned as well, slightly concerned about Rain's choice.
"You saw what the Imperials are doing to the places they invade. They have no care about the lives of others." Richard responded back with a solemn tone. "I can't just sit by and watch this tragedy repeat over and over again. We will fight to bring an end to the Empire's ruthless plans of world domination and genocide, even if we risk death."
"Rain..." Welkin muttered, before he then steeled his tone. "No, I understand why you want to do this. But at least remember what Alicia told us."
"That war isn't all about people killing people...? I understand that... which is why I want to save lives by fighting to protect." Richard replied back. "I'm not cruel, but I will take lives, if it'll save many more."
Welkin felt uneasy when hearing Richard's words, before they made their way to the checkpoint, where there were two Gallian station guards, wielding standard-issue rifles in their hands.
"Halt!" A guard cried out, as Isara brought the tank to a stop as commanded, before he and his partner moved towards the tank and its occupants. "What is the purpose of your visit to our capital, Randgriz?"
"We are here to transport our family friend, who has recently given birth. She needs to be sent to a hospital to nurture the health of both herself and her newborns." Welkin stated, as he came out of the tank, while everyone addressed the guards with the appropriate attention. "We also have a few refugees from nearby countries, that seek shelter, and conscription into the national militia."
The other guard eyed the weapons that were in the group's bags, especially the Imperial ones. "We'll have to confiscate the weapons you are carrying." The guard informed them. "Safety procedures, you know."
"Yes, We understand. We will willingly surrender our weapons, and all related ammunition. As long as we are safe, we have no need for weapons." Richard stated, as he gestured for his group to drop their weapons, as well as the ammunition that was stocked within their backpacks. Alicia and Welkin also surrendered their rifles, although Alicia was slightly reluctant to do so.
The guard then whistled at the checkpoint station, as several guards came out, as they picked up the weapons and ammunition, carrying it back into the station to be stored for safety. Afterwards, one of the guards then put a hand out. "Identification please, for those who are citizens of this country. For you refugees, you are allowed entry, but you will need to apply for citizenship, if you wish to stay here in the long-term. Otherwise, if you're joining the militia, then you will be given citizenship rights by default."
"Thank you, sir." Gus gratefully thanked the outpost guard, as Welkin, Isara and Alicia handed their hand-held Gallian passports to the guard, who took his moment to read through each and every one of them, constantly looking back and forth between the passports and the Gallian-born trio.
Afterwards, he then closed the passports one-by-one, and handed them back to their owners, as he saluted back to the group. "You're free to enter. Enjoy your stay, and may Gallia live long."
Marisa slowly imitated the salute, as the Edelweiss drove through the military check-point, approaching the city itself.
In the enlistment building for the Gallian Militia...
Welkin was finished up outfitting himself in the Gallian militia uniform, as he slowly slid the black army gloves over his hands. After he did so, he then went to the mirror, to check himself in the new outfit. He saw himself in black army boots, standard-issue blue-and-red Gallian militia outfit with shoulder-patches, black gloves on his hands, a pouch containing survival tools in it, including compass, flares and binoculars, as well as a world map strapped in front of his chest like a chest-guard. He also had a blue officer beret on his head, sitting neatly on his hair.
"Flares, binoculars, a compass and map..." Welkin listed off his tools, as he rummaged through his bag of tools to pull out each item. "Everything you need for a nice hike... or combat."
Suddenly, there was knocking at his door. "Welkin? Can we come in?" Alicia asked. "I've got Rain with me."
"Sure, it's open." Welkin answered back, as Richard and Alicia came in, before Richard closed the door behind them gently.
Alicia and Richard was both in the militia outfit as well, although Alicia had large blue faded pouches attached to the skirt of her uniform, and she had brown furred boots on her feet, as well as a white collar that went down to her chest, as well steel plating covering her back. Richard's outfit was more bulky, as there were pouches for ammo surrounding his waist.
"Oh, you're already changed too. Let's see..." Alicia hummed, as she took a closer look at Welkin in his current attire. "Not bad, not bad! You look good actually! So, how about me? Do I look all right in this? Convincing?"
"Let's take a look... Heh yeah, you look fine, Alicia. You wear it like a pro." Welkin complimented Alicia.
"Really? You're not just saying that?" Alicia asked with a surprised tone.
"Of course not. You look tough. I like it!" Welkin responded back with a nod.
"Oh... good, I was worried it looked kind of silly actually." Alicia sighed in relief.
"No way. That plating on the back? It's like a coleopterid exoskeleton! Beetle-tastic!" Welkin continued on with a enthusiastic tone.
"Ah heh heh, you might want to use another kind of compliment there, Welkin..." Richard chuckled awkwardly, as Alicia was slightly offended by her being called a beetle.
"What kind of girl wants to hear that she looks like a bug?" Alicia asked back with a annoyed tone.
"Huh? Not just any bug. A rhinoceros beetle. KING of the insects. Who wouldn't want that!?" Welkin quickly replied back.
"Uh huh... I guess I'll just try to take that as a very Welkin sort of compliment." Alicia sighed back.
"Tell me about that scarf. You've been wearing it since I met you." Welkin inquired Alicia.
"Oh, this? It's part of my uniform from the bakery." She stated, pointing at the makeshift headdress on her head.
"Is that right?" Welkin hummed curiously.
"I don't want to forget the time I spent busting my buns, baking." Alicia responded back. "I plan to keep wearing it until I can get back to manning the ovens again."
"That's great. Once you do, I'll be first in line to get some of that bread." Welkin remarked.
"Is that a promise? Well, I'll be sure to have plenty of it ready and waiting for you." Alicia promised back.
"Absolutely. Hey, if you're ready, we should probably-" Welkin stated, before he noticed that he never talked with Richard. "Oh, sorry Rain. I was caught up in the conversation. How are you feeling about your outfit?"
"More comfy than I imagined, really." Richard answered back, as he smiled. "I'm surprised that something that looks as formal and tight like this would feel soft in the inside. I can't even feel the rigid padding pushing against my body like this. In fact, don't I seem like a genuine soldier wearing this? Now I look like I'm truly ready for war now. By the way, we should get the others. We're going to see the captain, are we?"
"Yeah. Let's go and get the others." Welkin stated, as he walked over to the door, and was surprised to see that Sanae and Marisa were already at the door. Marisa was dressed with army pants, with reinforced skirt armour and metal kneepads on her legs and waist, as well as a large shoulder guard on her left shoulder protruding out. Sanae was dressed in a lightweight uniform, as she had a large knapsack of utility tools on her waist, as well as a ammo-box strapped onto her back.
"Sup." Marisa stated with a grin. "I think I'm kind of digging this uniform. Makes me look like I'm a juggernaut waiting to tear enemies to pieces."
"Sally, you're an Engineer?" Richard asked with curiosity.
"Yeah, I decided I'm better off supporting others. Besides, I'm quick on my feet, so I should be able to supply everyone in a few moments, depending on where they are." Sanae answered back.
Soon, Reisen and Gus came in, as Gus was dressed much like Sanae, except with the lack of pouches with items on it, and a small back-pack on his back. Reisen was dressed in the standard uniform, as there was a small pouch on her waist that was longer, as if to store some large ammunition in it.
"We're also done as well." Gus said, as he moved beside the others, and Reisen stood back a little. "Time to go, meet our officer, Welkin and Alicia?"
Welkin nodded, as everyone backed away to let Richard, Alicia and Welkin through, as they followed them to the door leading to the commanding officer's room. He then knocked on the door a few times, waiting for a reply.
"Come in." A mature and collected female voice was heard from the other side. Welkin took the invitation, as he pushed the door open, as everyone entered into the room, while Alicia closed the door this time.
Standing by the side of the room, in front of the cabinets on one side, were three Gallian militia men, as they all wore the same attire as Welkin himself, excluding the officer beret. They watched intently, as Richard, Welkin and Alicia formed up the line in front, while the other formed up as the link in the back. Sitting in the desk on the far end of the room, was a woman dressed in a Gallian militia outfit with white sleeves, short black hair that is tied into a bun behind her head, and piercing green eyes hidden behind her thin glasses.
"Gallian Militia, enlistee Welkin Gunther, reporting for duty." Welkin declared.
"Ma'am, Gallian Militia enlistee Alicia Melchiott, also reporting for duty." Alicia added.
"Gailian Militia enlistee, Rain Craider, saluting my superior officer." Richard saluted firmly. "I look forward to serving you, madam."
"Gallian Militia enlistee... Sally Westgale..." Sanae spoke awkwardly, with a nervous look on her face, as she fidgeted slightly while trying to stand straight and tall. "I-It's a honour to serve you... Officer, ma'am..."
"Gallian Militia enlistee, Mari Shine, ready to kick Imperial ass!" Marisa shouted with a energetic tone, as she saluted herself quickly, although it looked more like slamming the side of her hand to her forehead wildly.
"Gallian Militia enlistee, Remy Keppler, reporting for duty, as ordered, commander." Reisen coolly stated, as she stood rigidly straight like a professional soldier.
"Gallian Militia enlistee, Gus Teller, ready to serve the nation in the war, madam." Gus sounded off, as the last person to report himself to his officer.
"Hm... Quite a number of recruits as a group here." The female officer in the room remarked. "I'm Captain Eleanor Varrot, commander of this regiment."
She then fixed the side of her glasses with her hand, as she continued. "Gunther, in honour of your father's legacy, I will promote you to lieutenant immediately. You'll be the leader of Squad 7 now." Eleanor continued. "Enlistee Melchiott, you're promoted to sergeant. You'll be under the lieutenant's command. Understood?"
"Ma'am!" Alicia exclaimed back with a understanding tone.
"As for you, Enlistee Rain..." Varrot stated, before she then pulled out a folder, as she scanned the content inside of it. "Considering of your background as a Darcsen, it has been heavily contested about the fact that you should be even be allowed the right to enlist, let alone be able to be commissioned under our unit."
Richard's expression slightly drooped into disappointment, to reflect his feelings, but he still remained silent.
"However, considering your actions back in the town of Bruhl, the opinions regarding you have swayed for the better. Enough to allow you to properly enlist, although it may cause some long-term problems in the future." Varrot added, as she closed the folder. "Thus, you will be enlisted under Squad 7, as a soldier with limited rights. You will not be able to enjoy the same leisures and rights as the soldiers, so I will allow you to decide whether you will continue on your enlistment, or back out. If you choose to be a civilian, you will be treated as such. Gallia has learnt to tolerate Darcsens over time, although not everyone is truly free of that notion."
"Thank you, Captain Varrot, for the decision you offer me." Richard answered back, as he deeply bowed. "But I will enlist in the army. I don't expect to be seen as an equal to my peers, until I have proven myself worthy of such. I care not for leisures and rights, so long as I am able to fight for this country with all I have. If I have to suffer discrimination as a soldier of a blood-thirsty and ruthless race of barbarians, then I will do so, and prove those notions wrong, by fighting with both honour and fairness, and show my peers both compassion and kindness. That is my sole vow I will hold within my heart, as I walk along with the men and women who fight for Gallia."
"Then it's settled. Enlistee Rain, as proven by your actions, with testimonies given by the townspeople of Bruhl, you will be promoted to the rank of Sergeant alongside Alicia in Squad 7." Varrot said. "As for the rest of you. Enlistee Mari, Enlistee Gus, Enlistee Remy, Enlistee Sally, you will all be assigned under Squad 7 as Private 1st Classes."
Suddenly, one of the militia men by the side then walked up to Welkin, as he was a young man with short brown hair combed backwards, as well as light brown eyes.
"What do you know... it is you." The militia spoke, as he smiled.
"Faldio!?" Welkin exclaimed, turning around to face his friend. "I had no idea that you'd enlist for the war."
"Yeah. Now that there's a real war going on, I joined up. Pretty much all the officer in training boys are here just like you." Faldio stated.
"You know each other?" Varrot asked both of them.
"Yes ma'am. We knew each other at university. Welkin was in science, and I was in archeology." Faldio answered back, before turning to Welkin again. "And just look at us now. No archeology or science here. Looks like the two of us are studying war I guess, old friend."
"Looks that way. It's good to see you again." Welkin replied back, as they both lifted their arms and clasped their hands together in a brotherly gesture.
"And you." Faldio smirked, before he frowned a little, as he let go. "But I'm surprised and worried at the same time, that you found another Darcsen. Isara, your sister, I'm used to, but this new guy... He worries me a little."
"Don't worry about Rain. He's a real good guy. He really knows how to fight, and he literally ran into the battlefield to help the villagers back then." Welkin assured Faldio. "He also helped me with the Edelweiss when we got it out of the barn, as he took the gunner's seat to help cover the towns-guard and his friends with the mounted machine-gun. He was a good shot with that, I can tell you, Faldio."
"I see..." Faldio turned to Richard, who gave him a disarming smile and wave back. "I might need some time to get used to him."
"That'll be all for now. There's a strategy briefing later today." Varrot discussed with everyone in the room. "But you still have time, time for you to catch up later. You'll be spending a lot of time on the post and in Randgriz. They'll be your new home, so get to know the place and the people. That'll be all. Report back in time for the briefing. Until then, you're dismissed."
Everyone saluted back to Varrot, as they cried out 'Ma'am!' together, before they left the room in a orderly fashion. Faldio and his two squadmates then split off in another direction.
"Anyway, I got to get back to my squad. See you later, Welkin, and your friends as well." Faldio said, as he waved at Welkin, before he left with his comrades through the opposite direction.
"Well... What gives?" Marisa asked in slight outrage. "Sure, Rain's a Darcsen, but he's no way like his barbaric ancestors before. He's just protective of his friends, that's all. I mean, you must have saw him go nuts when he was protecting one of you, right?"
Welkin recalled what happened back in his household, where Richard almost killed the Imperial soldier, by smashing the weapon's stock into his face repeatedly with enough force to crack bone with the impact. He felt like if he didn't stop Richard, then he might have actually killed the soldier on the spot with how he was brutally attacking.
"Yeah... I kind of got a up-front view of something like that." Welkin stated, refusing to expand into more details about what he remembered.
"It's fine, Mari." Richard assured Marisa. "Whatever could happen? I'm sure that they wouldn't go too far with the restrictions that they might set me. Sure, they might supply me with one less clip, or missing some tools, but as long as I can still fight effectively, I can work in the battlefield with whatever I get."
"Geez... You're like making it sound like that it's only going to get worse." Sanae sighed.
"Anyway, 'leader'. Where to next?" Richard asked. "You're the leading officer of this squad, so take us wherever you like. And we'll follow."
"Right then... We'll head to the training grounds. Surely we need to see if there is anyway to prepare ourselves for the ordeal to come." Welkin stated.
"Lead the way then, Welkin." Richard smiled slightly, as he moved aside to allow Welkin to move in front of the group. "I'm sure that you have a map at the ready to take us where we need to go."
At the training field...
The group arrived at the large training field, which was situated in a large open space in a Gallian military base, as there were sheds and bunks to either sides of them. In front of them were various locations for training, such as a football field, various obstacle courses on the ground, a tightrope courses above a small lake, a running track in the dirt, and mock battlefield grounds.
At the current moment, the group watched as the training fields were put to work, as most of the places were occupied by Gailian soldiers, as they worked through their training routines. Some struggled, while others excelled, as it led to both ironically hilarious outcomes, such as a solider shaking himself in fear off the tightrope, landing himself for a cold dunk into the lake, and inspiring scenes, such as a soldier managing to complete his training routines with such excellence that the people nearby cheered for him, as he collapsed to the ground, completely exhausted.
While they were watching, they saw that the drill instructor was supervising a group of soldiers, who were doing body exercises, as they were all currently doing push-ups. The drill instructor was a man in Gallian officer gear, as he had short dark-grey hair that seemed to be styled to leave fringes on the sides. He also had a blue strapped eyepatch over his left eye, and his right visible eye was dark blue. He also had a intimidating face, and short sprigs under his nose as a small moustache.
"What are you maggots doing? Are you trying to kiss the ground!?" The drill instructor roared with a thunderous voice, as he bent down and screamed in the face of a Gallian recruit, who immediately redoubled his efforts to try and keep up, although he was only exhausting himself further. "I have seen my own mother do push-ups better than you as all are now! You better work for your improvement, or I'll make sure that you'll be paying for it dearly!"
"Um, Sergeant Calvaro?" Welkin asked, daring not to speak out loud or boldly, as if to avoid challenging the instructor's authority with those words.
The instructor, Calvaro then turned back, as he saw the group walk towards him, as he then glared at the recruit, who immediately whimpered and got back to his training, as the sergeant then looked up at them.
"Well, I certainly expected that a young sprout like you would be the new leader of Squad 7." Calvaro remarked, before he snorted and crossed his arms, as he eyed each section of the training field. The others followed his eyes, as they saw the training progressing around them. "Welcome to your worst nightmare, kiddos! I'm the guy who's going to whip you lazy blobs into shape!"
"Hey! Who are you calling a lazy blob!?" Marisa shouted back, taking offence to what Calvaro said. However, the drill instructor merely ignored her outburst, as he continued on, stroking his chin thoughtfully.
"Still, I can't work miracles here. No amount of drilling beats real combat experience." He continued. "I want you all to get out there, kick some Imp tail, and then show me what you have learned! I will use that combat experience that you have obtained from the battle, and refine into pure improvement for all of you! Make you soft-bodied brats more hardier to anything that comes your way, and to actually learn to hit your enemy properly, as well as to not get hit at all!"
"That sounds quite nice to learn." Gus stated, before Calvaro then walked right into his face, as he barked his next words right into his face.
"BUT! Don't go tryin' to hog all the glory! A squad's a team and we got no need for stars! I bet that you're thinking of that, inside that little heads of yours, huh!?" Calvaro shouted.
"...No?" Gus squeaked back in a meek voice, as Calvaro immediately took the response as something he could accept, backing away from Gus, who slowly regained his composure.
"You train as a class, and you develop as a class. You will all be trained the same, and you will always be at the same level as your peers. There might be slight difference from one person to another, but I will not accept any significant differences." Calvaro stated. "You hear me!? Any of you think he's better than the rest of the team, go home now!"
Nobody reacted, as they stood there, with their eyes intently on Calvaro, as Gus kept his mouth silent, fearing of incurring the drill sergeant's ire with another comment.
"Good. Now, let me tell you lowlifes how this whole thing works." Calvaro pressed on with his explanation, before he then pointed at a large chalkboard in the centre of the training field. "I won't be training every class at the same time, for all hours at all days. You will decide how much time you will allocate for each class within the squad to train with me, to turn their impure experience in battle, into pure improvement. If you want to get stronger, then you better devote both the experience and devotion of battle, and your time training and drilling to improve yourself. End of story. Since I know that you with the fancy beret would be the squad leader, you decide the times dedicated for each team. Change up your schedule weekly, so that you evenly distribute training for each class. Now, give it a go!"
Calvaro then left, as he got back to training the recruits, while Welkin walked up to the chalkboard, where there were several symbols on it, as well as a large table to represent the timeslots for training for each class. There were some symbols already inputted into some of the time-slots.
"I can't seem to understand the symbols indicated here." Reisen stated, pointing at the five kinds of symbols that she was seeing by the side and in the timeslots. "Mind if someone explains?"
"Of course, those are the five fundamental basic classes of the Gallian army." Alicia took the request from Reisen for herself, as she pointed at each of the symbols, and explained them.
She pointed to a symbol of a M letter with large curved ends, as it was twisted to look like binoculars. "Those are the symbols for Scouts. They're basically known for being quite mobile, and spotting out things around the battlefield."
She then pointed to a symbol of two chevrons on top of each other, as the bottom one was separated into two parts by a vertical line. "These are the Stormtroopers, which are basically both the shield and sword of the army. They have excelling offence and defence, since their weapon is meant to deal with enemy personnel from close to medium ranges."
The next symbol to explain, was a large bell-like arch, with a horizontal line under it. "The Lancers are the anti-tank units, as their lances can fire penetrating rockets that can destroy tanks with a clear shot. Not only that, they're resistant to explosives like grenades and mortars. But they are slow and vulnerable to gunfire. Plus, they only have so much rockets without anything to resupply them."
The fourth symbol was a wrench's head, a hexagon missing two edges on one side. "The Engineers are combat support. They handle supplies and ammunition, treat the wounded and even repair tanks. They also can do more things than you would think, with the right tools. The only thing is that they're not good fighters at all."
The last symbol was a circular cross-hair with three dots inside of it. "These are the snipers. They can shoot down enemies from considerable distance, with deadly accuracy. But they're also slow and weak. If they are spotted, and are in range, they'll be torn up before they could find cover to avoid being hurt."
"So, considering our respective loadouts, Welkin, you and Gus are Scouts, I'm a Stormtrooper, Sally's a Engineer, Mari's a Lancer, and Remy's a Sniper." Richard stated. "That right, Alicia?"
"Yeah, I guess so, considering how you, Gus and Remy fought before." Alicia stated.
"Alright then... Better to leave this unchanged for the moment." Welkin remarked. "We haven't meet our entire squad yet, so we can't just prepare training for them, without getting to know their strengths, weaknesses and classes as well."
"Right then... So off to the command room then?" Sanae suggested.
Welkin nodded, as they left the training hall, as Calvaro's cries of training instructions faded in the distance.
In the command room...
The group entered the command room, where Captain Varrot was waiting, as she was standing over the war table, where there were pieces over a map, representing various battalions and forces for both Gallia and Empire armies.
"Ah, Welkin. It's good to see you doing the rounds. Welcome. It is not yet time for the briefing." Varrot greeted the group. "This is the command room. Use it structure your squad. You'll have access to both drafted and volunteer recruits. Now that I think of it, Squad 7 is still short on soldiers, isn't it? I'll explain how you will enlist soldiers into your squad."
She then produced a large dossier, with many names written on the tabs on the side. "This here is the master list. The recruits have been all assigned classes based on their talents. Do you all know the five soldier classes in the army?"
Welkin nodded, as Richard answered back. "We do, Captain Varrot. When we went to the training field, Alicia was kind enough to give an explanation for my friend Sally. I'm sure that she was the only one that wasn't sure of each class, so I think we're touched up on it."
"I see..." Varrot stated, as she gave Alicia a analytical gaze, before she then smiled. "You have enlisted with several people with respectable traits and talents."
"Thank you, Captain." Welkin responded back, as Varrot handed him the master list, and he opened it. "Let's see here..."
Welkin slowly examined the list, as he checked the details of each and every recruit that is available for enlistment into Squad 7. As he read, his expression often changed into either interest, worry or even pure disbelief. When he finished reading through the master list, he then handed it back to Varrot.
"I've made my decision on who will be in my squad, Captain." Welkin said. "So, as for now, Squad 7 should be limited to 25 squad-mates, excluding myself and the Edelweiss?"
"That is right." Varrot stated. "Well? Felt like that you struck a balance between the five classes? You are free to change and substitute squad-mates with the pool of recruits and volunteers here. As time passes, if you do well, then you will have more recruits to choose from in the future, so frequently check for them. Trust in your own judgement and pick a team that will be suited for the missions assigned to you. That should be enough to get you started. You can figure out the rest as you go, Welkin. Be sure to change the squad roster with your choices."
Welkin nodded again, as he then moved to where the squad roster was, as he wrote down the names of his choices in each and every space, as Richard's group took up 5 slots, and Alicia was in one of them. The rest were names that was unfamiliar to everyone but Richard and Sanae, who did not comment at all in Welkin's choices.
"Very well. You will have your squad at the ready, when the briefing comes." Varrot remarked, looking at the list. "Is that all you wish to do here?"
"Yes, we'll take our leave." Welkin stated, as he then left with the others following him, as he closed the door to the command room. "Wow! Squad leader's a lot of responsibility."
"Of course it does!" Sanae replied back. "You got to take care of most things for the squad. You have to decide who fights on the frontlines, how everyone is trained, and how to best utilise one's talents for battle."
"Right... Come to think of it, Faldio's heading up Squad 1, isn't he?" Welkin muttered. "I wonder if he's off sorting through this stuff too. I'd better get used to this. But before that... Rain?"
"Yes, Welkin? I'm all ears for what you have to say." Richard answered back with a firm nod.
"Rain, I want to ask you something... Will you be fine having to be in the same class as someone who has a horrible hatred of Darcsens?" Welkin asked. "Brigitte Stark, or Rosie as she prefers to be called... She doesn't seem to have a good background regarding them. It could be a major problem with you, when she might try to discriminate you."
"...I see." Richard stated with a stoic expression.
"Wait, why would put someone who radically hates people like Rain in your squad!?" Marisa exclaimed in complaint. "She could end up messing up things with that kind of discrimination."
"I am well aware of that, Mari." Welkin sighed with a worried tone. "But, Rosie is a very potent stormtrooper. She is considered to be one of the top soldiers in the class, and other than that small problem, she is perfectly capable of being a optimal squad-mate. I worry about the problems that she may bring with Isara and Rain, but I think that Rain should be able to shoulder her hatred, and be a good example to help turn her opinion regarding the Darcsen race, with his actions."
"...I'll do my best, Welkin. I won't guarantee that I will be able to change her mind, but I believe that she just needs to believe that not all Darcsens are the same as before in the past." Rain responded back.
"I would be happy to hear that... but that's not the actual reason why she hates Darcsens..." Welkin continued with a grim tone. "...It was in a Darcsen hunt, that her own family and town were taken from her when she was just a child. I believe that's why she hated the Darcsens, because she believed that it was because her town held a high Darcsen population, and that the Imperial forces punished her village for it by executing every single person in it they could find."
"That's... That's...!" Sanae gasped with horror, as she covered her wide-open mouth with her hands, as Richard slightly showed a worried expression.
"So it's misplaced hatred..." Richard responded back. "...That only makes it even more important that I clear her of it."
"Rain..." Welkin stated, before he then shook his head. "Let's not talk further about this. We'll head to the R&D department next."
In the R&D department...
The group entered the large building, as there were Gallian army vehicles parked in several spots, as well as various researchers in white coats with blue collars, working hard at their work-stations, and transporting various items and materials around the place. Soon, one of them, who was a tall man, with short brown hair that hung by the sides of his head, with eyes so narrow that no-one could tell what his eye colour was with how much of his eyes was obscured, as well as red lab goggles on his head.
"Welcome to R&D, man. What can I do you for?" The researcher greeted them, before he then noticed Welkin, as he took a closer look at him. "Huh? Wait, I know that insignia! You're Lieutenant Gunther, aren't ya? I knew it! Man, I've heard about you! That evacuation at Bruhl was just... WOW! Protecting all those tiny lives in the middle of all that slaughter... Man... MAN!"
The researcher seemed to be quite excited, as he was pumping his fists, and using a overly-amazed tone in his words. "Lieutenant, you're good people! You get all my respect and then some, bro!" He shouted with admiration. "And the same goes with your friends! I can't believe that they helped you through this ordeal!"
Soon, another researcher came to where the group where, as he had dark-green short hair that covered most of his head, and golden eyes behind his brown square glasses. "What's going on, Leon? I could hear you from clear across the hangar..." The other researcher grumbled to him.
"Oh! KC! Check it out! It's Lieutenant Gunther! He's the MAN, man!" Leon shouted.
"Ha ha! Sorry about him, Lieutenant and all of you from Squad 7. He's like this all the time, I'm afraid." 'KC' chuckled, as he smiled at the group, and placing a hand on his chest. "But where are my manners? I'm Kreis Czherny, I'm training here as a mechanic."
"Oh oh! And I'm Leon Schmidt! But just call me Leon, bros! I'm your boy for R&D!" Leon chimed in.
"So, Lieutenant Gunther, what brings you down to R&D today?" Kreis asked the Lieutenant.
"We are just doing our rounds around this entire city, including the military departments." Welkin answered back. "Could you give me a summary of what the R&D department do?"
"We do work here on weapon development, making upgraded weapons and equipment for all soldiers." Kreis explained.
"And that includes rifles and machine guns! We can even soup up that old lady of a tank of yours!" Leon stated. "It's parked right inside the hangar here, being repaired and maintained by our crew of mechanics! Of course, research expenses aren't cheap."
"With rifles and other fire-arms, we'll mass-produce the new models as they're developed." Kreis continued. "You won't have to worry about making enough for the squad that way. We'll outfit them with the weapons they need."
"For tanks, you can upgrade the baseline performance of the body itself, or develop optional parts that you can add on to tweak out its specs!" Leon added.
"Is there any way that we can develop any of our weapons so far?" Welkin requested.
"With our current funding, we can develop most of the fire-arms into the next level." Leon stated. "So we'll get to work on that immediately. And we also managed to start production of improved combat-suits for the soldiers. It will be more resistant to gunfire overall."
"Thank you for your assistance." Rain stated, before he then noticed Isara. "Hm? Hey, look, Welkins, Isara is here."
"Really? Sorry Leon, Kreis... I just need to check on my sister." Welkin stated, as Leon gave him a smile and thumbs-up, as the group went to Isara.
Isara was pulling a cart that had several containers of blue glowing energy, before she the turned to the group, as she was dressed in Gallian engineer gear, with her traditional scarf over her neck, and communication headsets around them.
"Oh! There you all are! I've been looking for you in particular, Welks!" Isara replied, as she saluted to them.
"How'd your enlistment go? No problems?" Welkin asked Isara in a caring manner.
"I registered as a tank pilot and mechanic. Other than raising a few eyebrows with the Commander, when I revealed myself to be Darcsen, I didn't have much problems." Isara answered back. "Maintain and operating the Edelweiss will be my responsibility from now on."
"I think it's nice that we'll all be on the same squad together." Alicia remarked, before she then hugged by a joyous Sanae."Wha!?"
"Aww... Thank you, Alicia. That's sweet of you." Sanae stated.
"I think so too." Isara added
"You... didn't have much problems with your status, Isara?" Richard asked, as Isara shook her head no, and he sighed deeply. "Ah... The Commander might have been more concerned about me, since I'm a combat role as a active stormtrooper, so she had to do a more thorough 'interview' with me, to make sure I made my choice. Don't worry, it wasn't anything invasive."
"So what are you up to now, Is?" Welkin asked his adopted sister.
"The tank is just right nearby. I was just carrying some ragnite fuel back. It's used to power everything in the tank, including the turret-mounted cannon rounds."
"I guess I'm just more used to seeing it in street lamps and medical compounds." Welkin hummed gently.
"Seems like everything is ragnite-powered these days. This stuff is everywhere." Alicia commented as well.
Richard and Sanae exchanged sly grins to each other, with the others being unaware of the brief exchange, before they turned back to the group like they were before.
"Not enough of it for some people. It's the source of a lot of conflict." Isara stated.
"Is that so...? I recall reading from the basic information coalesced in the dossiers we had, that the likely motive of the Empire for invading Gallia was to take advantage of the ragnite-rich grounds of the country." Reisen responded back.
"Tch... I recall having a time when this happened before..." Marisa muttered under her breath.
"Oh, that's right... Welks, take this!" Isara exclaimed, as he handed Welkin a small pistol-like gun with a wide barrel and a even-larger cylindrical body. "This is father's flare-gun. It was in the barn, but I thought you might have some use for it."
"Another hand-me-down." Welkin sighed, as he pocketed the flare-gun into his hip-mounted pouches.
"I gave it a once-over. It may be old, but it's still serviceable." Isara assured Welkin, her brother, about the condition of the item.
"I didn't mean... I just can't believe I'm a tank operator and a commander now." Welkin replied back with a concerned tone, before he smiled back. "Thank you for this, Is."
"I'll do a spot-check on the Edelweiss now, to make sure it's ready to go at any time." Isara added.
"Alright then, we'll get going then. See you later." Alicia stated, as Welkin and Alicia turned to leave.
"Hope you'll be fine in your position, Isara." Richard told Isara with a caring tone.
"You too, Rain... I'm more concerned about you than myself..." Isara answered back with a slightly worried tone.
Richard was slightly shocked to hear that reply from Isara, as his mouth clamped shut, and he turned quickly away. 'Did Isara just say for me to take care...? Wow, I must be really nailing my acting down on them quite well here...'
He then turned to Welkin. "So, Welkin. What's next?" Welkin asked, as he then checked the time on a nearby clock. "Well, looks like it's almost time for the briefing. You all best hurry to the briefing room to meet up with the Commander and the other squad leaders."
"Thanks, and just a favour, Rain... Could you mind staying out for this session of briefing? I doubt that Rosie and some of the people who are averse to Darcsens would be happy to see you with them." Welkin requested.
"Oh... That's fine. Just make sure that you bring me a written copy of the briefing details. If not, just write one up as a note. Just the important specifics, like formation of enemy and ally units, terrain conditions, and all other variables to assume for a battle." Richard accepted, before he then turned back to Isara. "Hey Isara, mind if I hop into the Edelweiss with you? Welkin's going to pass me the briefing notes after it's done and dusted."
"Sure..." Isara stated, as she then pointed at the top hatch. "Climb in, it's open."
"Right." Richard replied back shortly, as he made his way into the tank, and plopped himself into the interior of the tank.
"Right then. The rest of you... With me." Welkin ordered, as everyone else immediately bunched up on Welkin. As they left, Welkin could see Kreis and Leon waving them off.
"Come again a little later. We'll do our best to have something useful for you by then, Lieutenant." Kreis told them all.
"Yeah, you better come back soon, bro! I'm all fired up to work on stuff for you!" Leon added.
In the briefing room...
"Here are the details of the current operation." Varrot stated, as she then pulled down the map of the area, as there were several markings and symbols on it, such as two circles on the south end of the area with A and B respectively in each of them, and in different positions, and coloured lines to represent the frontline of the two forces. There were also arrows indicating the suggested and estimated movements of both allied and enemy forces as well. "The Imperial force is deployed in a defensive formation around a camp within Vasel's urban centre."
She then used her metallic pointer to indicated the two teams of Squad 7 on the south end. "You will assign your squad positions, split between a city team and a riverside team. The city team will protect the base camp, while the riverside team strikes the enemy. Your objective is to occupy the enemy's main camp, in order to force a rout on their forces. Intelligence also reports that tanks may be stationed in the city area, so an anti-tank unit is recommended to facilitate its destruction. I would also recommend you to have units with high agility and mobility to your riverside team, to achieve a proper assault before enemies can fortify their position. That is all." Varrot concluded her briefing, as she folded her metallic pointer.
As Welkin looked around at the various members of Squad 7, discuss about the mission, two individuals caught his eye, as one was them were staring at him intensely, and the other merely spared a glance at him, before shaking they were disappointed.
The one that was glaring at him, with a girl with light-brown hair that was tied up into round buns on the side of her heads, as her brown eyes had a dirty look in them towards Welkin, and dressed in stormtrooper gear. The other one that he took note of, was a stocky character, that was taller and bulkier than the other soldiers in the room, that had dark brown hair with side-burns, and a short partial beard, and dark-brown eyes. He was clad in the uniform of a Lancer, fitting for someone as strong-looking as him.
"Bridgette Stark... Rosie... Largo Potter..." Welkin muttered, reminding himself of the names of the people who caught his attention, as he took extra notice of Rosie's glare at him. "She sure doesn't seem happy about me being the commanding officer... But she'll have more on her plate to deal with... Once she finds out about Rain, then Isara... Hope her hatred for Darcsens will not run too deep..."
The girl that Welkin named Rosie, scoffed, as she turned away and left the briefing room, while the other person near her, Largo, left as well, chasing after the slender stormtrooper.
"They're both officers in terms of their own classes..." Welkin further noted about them. "They could be considered to be the most reliable of the group... But what good will that do, if they cannot even trust my judgement as their CO...?"
Alicia noted the conflicted expression on Welkin's face, as she walked over and patted him on the shoulder in a attempt to comfort him.
"Alicia?" Welkin asked, noticing that his friend had a sympathetic expression, allowing him to notice what she was trying to do. "I see... I'll do my best to not let the problems that we currently have drag us down too much. I have to trust in the capabilities of everyone, and guide them using what I can discern on the battlefield."
Alicia smiled, as they were then both dragged out by Marisa, who was impatient.
"Come on, you two! You heard the Commander, we're going to the battlefield, pronto!" Marisa remarked, as Welkin managed to get a quick look at the squad roster for the mission.
City Team: Largo, Sally, Mari, Remy, Gus
Riverside Team: Rain, Edelweiss (+Isara & Welkin), Rosie, Alicia
"Right then... Time for my first battle as a squad commander..." Welkin muttered, as he prepared himself for the first of the battles to come.
