Chapter Three:
The Poker Game, the Orders and Reflections
"Would you like a cup of Java Levana, O'Connell?" The blonde Captain asked when his two best friends walked into the new base of operations; O'Connell looked like he was sleep-walking, while Levana just looked like she needed some caffeine.
"Yes, thank you sir." The tired Lieutenant murmured before taking the steaming cup of coffee that was offered. He really looked like he hadn't slept for several days, but as soon as he took the first sip of the straight black coffee; he immediately brightened up into his usual self.
"No thank you, sir. I still haven't acquired the taste of Coffee yet." Levana told the blonde man politely, with a small tired smile, before she walked over to the Captain and took the offered cup, which to her surprise held cooled tea, her favorite. With a thankful smile, Levana took the cup and followed the two elder men to the large table and sat down beside the teal haired man, while the blonde Captain pulled out some maps of the entire mountainous area of Red River.
It had been two days since their arrival at the Red River base and so far things were going smoothly, almost too smooth in everyone's mind. Seeing as how part of the Imperial Army was on the other side of the ravine, probably more than ready to fight and enter the Republic Capital, against the cease fire agreement. Right now, the three friends were tired from a long day of work and all they wanted was to sleep away the days stress, but their duties came first and a good game of poker was long over due.
"You know, it's been too quiet around here these days. You'd figure that the Imperial soldiers would have done something since we got here." O'Connell voiced his thoughts, while laying down a pair of Jacks and three tens: a full house. Not a bad hand, but not the best, his chances of winning were fifty-fifty, but knowing his two comrades, he was more than likely going to loose. Poker had never been his best card game, but he was decent enough to get by with a few wins against his Captain.
Playing poker was an old tradition between the two men and when Levana joined their group, it was only right that she would join in their game and much to the two men's surprise; Levana was a damn good poker player. It was always hard to tell what the young woman was thinking when she pulled on her serious mask.
"Yeah, I agree. But what can we do, they're the ones who will make the next move; much like my self." The blonde man muttered before laying down his hand, which consisted of a pair of deuces, a nine and two sixes. A crappy hand, if he did say so himself, with his current hand, he wasn't even going to try and bluff his way through, so with a sigh he folded, "Well, it looks like it's between you and Levana, O'Connell. I'm out."
"Yeah, so what do you have, Ms. Henley?" O'Connell asked the younger woman with a cocky smirk. He just knew that he was going to win this hand or rather, he hoped he would. He had only won three games since Levana had joined them and they were few and far between now days.
"Well, Mr. O'Connell it seems like you…" Levana trailed off before laying her hand down, "Loose." She finished with a smile, making both of the men's eyes widen, before the young Lieutenant hung his head in shame and defeat. Levana had clearly won; there was no way around that fact. Levana looked down at her winning hand and smiled, she held three Aces, and two Kings: an Ace high full house, one of the better hands that a player could ask for.
"Ugh, not again… man, when is lady luck going to shine on me?" The teal haired Lieutenant whined, giving the lucky woman a mock glare. Was he never going to beat her at this game? Probably not, he mused silently. Levana was extremely good at this game, but he knew that if it was any other game than poker, she'd loose every time. It was actually quite a funny thing to watch.
Levana laughed lightly and replied, "Lady Luck would be with you, but she favored her own gender this time." With that said, both of the men burst out laughing and O'Connell handed the young woman the rest of the deck, so she could reshuffle them for another round.
"I'll beat you this time, Levana. I just know it." The Lieutenant promised just as the said blonde haired girl passed out the cards for the next round, which was surely not to be their last.
The young woman laughed lightly and smiled at the young Lieutenant's comment. The Lieutenant really was stubborn at times, but he was still her friend and no matter what she knew that he was as loyal as they came; she was thankful that she had friends like him and Captain Hermann. Things just wouldn't be the same if they weren't around and without them she doubted that she would be able to stay in the Republican army at all. It wasn't that she didn't believe in the Republic's ideals, in fact she rather like their plans, but she had been born in the Empire and had taken on her late Father's Imperial ideals as well.
Levana's mother had been born and raised in the Republic just like all of her family that came before her, while her Father had been born and raised in the Empire. From the very day that she was born her heart had been divided in to two different directions, for two very different reigns of government. She couldn't betray her Mother or Grandmother, but she could never betray what her Father had fought for either, nor could she betray Thomas, Karl and Mrs. Schubaltz or the memories that came with them.
It was heartbreaking to see the two places that she loved and called home, fight for complete control so often. At first, she had called herself a neutral in the war, not favoring either side as she was only a nurse, but she knew that if she was ever caught by the Imperial troops, she would be labeled as the enemy. In war, she soon came to realize that it did not matter if you chose a side or not, because one way or another someone or something would choose one for you. So here she was now, a nurse and hopefully a soon-to-be Doctor and best friends with the only child and son of the Madam President of the Helic Republic and his best friend a Lieutenant in the army. Her life had certainly taken a strange path, but her loyalties would always remain true to her friends both Republican and Imperial, though they warred against each other on both planet Zi and in her heart.
In the shadow of a cliff face, a lone figure stood observing the base below. A sly smirk crossed his lips when he saw that there weren't any guards watching the ammunition trailer. This would be too easy, all he had to do was sneak in and "borrow" some ammunition and leave, clean and easy. The Republican army wouldn't even miss it; after all, his trusty Zoid partner needed the ammo more than theirs did. The Republican army had a lot more Zoids that he had previously thought they would, but with the lack of soldiers standing guard, it didn't really matter.
"Well old friend, we'll wait up here another two hours and let the guards get tired, and then we'll get you some ammo. How does that sound?" The young man asked his partner, a deep black and red Command Wolf. The wolf growled lowly and quietly as if replying to the man's question.
"Good." The man smiled before kneeling down beside the front claws of his dark Zoid and resting; all he had to do now was wait a little longer and this would be the easiest snatch-and-grab of his life.
Back in the base, almost an hour and five reshuffles later, O'Connell had managed to win one hand, while the Captain had won two and Levana was currently working on her second win for the night. Their final game was almost over, and then they would retire to their rooms for the night, but the game was still on.
"Man, after this I think I'm going to hit the sack." The teal haired man said while yawning widely. He had consumed seven cups of coffee and still he was tired and his hand was again, not a winner, but he was trying to bluff his way through this final round; though by the looks of things, even a convincing bluff wasn't going to save him.
"Hmm, I agree." The blonde captain nodded in response while shifting his cards around. He had another decent hand and he could even win with it, if Levana didn't have any cards higher than a Jack. Subtly he glanced over at the young woman and tried to assess what she might be holding, but it was all in vain. She never let anyone know, not one sign… unless there was something that he had missed all of this time, but how could that be? The tired blonde captain just shook his head, Levana-no women in general were just extremely complex and very hard to understand. Not too many things had ever vexed Robert Hermann, but women had always been a different matter all together and he seriously doubted that any man would ever completely be able to understand them.
"Well, gentlemen are you ready?" Levana asked, after taking a sip of her cool tea. This game was actually rather interesting tonight and she was glad that she hadn't left early for bed, but right now she was tired and really needed sleep, so this round was going to close quickly.
Both of the men nodded their heads and laid their cards down. O'Connell had a duce, two fives, a seven and a four. He had lost completely. The blonde captain had three Jacks, a duce and a nine, while Levana had three tens, an eight and a six. She had lost, but only by a hairs breath.
"Congratulations Captain, you won the game and the pot. Now if you will excuse me Captain, Lieutenant I'm going to retire to my quarters for the night. Good night, guys." Levana smiled at the two men, before leaving the room; their polite biddings of departure causing the young blonde haired woman to smile happily to herself, as she headed of towards her room.
She was quite tired and being sleep deprived wasn't a good thing for her to be, especially when they were so close to the Empire's forces. If a battle broke out and someone was enviably injured, with her lack of sleep and sluggish mind it would greatly increase her failure for helping the troops. But she couldn't den her friends a few games of poker, it just wasn't in her to do so. Her grandmother had always said that she was a little too nice and loyal for her own good and that one day it would cause her a lot of problems. But Levana had always though otherwise, thinking of others health and happiness above her own.
When she was finally alone in her quiet new room, Levana's thoughts immediately returned to her childhood memories. It wasn't unusual; it had happened every year since she left her old home in the Empire, strangely enough it mostly only happened on the anniversary week of her departure. As much as Levana wanted to forget the bad memories sometimes, she couldn't and wouldn't let herself, because it would mean that she would have to forget her mother, her childhood best friends Thomas, Karl and Mrs. Schubaltz, who had practically been her second mother. Even after almost twelve years, she still never forgot them although she imagined that they didn't look exactly how she had always remembered them in her dreams and memories. But that was to be expected; she didn't quite look the same either.
Ten minutes later, Levana lay down on her bed, after changing into a comfortable sleeping shirt and shorts, within mere seconds of lying down she was fast asleep. Only to be immediately transported back in time through her memories, back to a war free place and a much happier time.
"Major Schubaltz sir, there's a call for you from Minister Prozen. He wishes to speak to you immediately, sir." The young soldier saluted his superior, as he nervously shifted his feet while in the presence of the strict blonde haired Imperial Major.
The young man couldn't have been more than nineteen-years-old, with his dusty brunette hair and light grey eyes, which shined with uneasiness and immaturity. If Karl recalled correctly, the boy had just graduated from the cadets only a week ago, with a dozen or so other recruits. Not one of the new soldiers even surpassed the age of twenty-one, they were all just boys and all of them were extremely fidgety. But some of them had notable skills in different areas of warfare; it was all marked in their profiles that the Major had looked over two days ago.
"At ease, Soldier, I'll take the call in here. You're dismissed." The blonde Major calmly dismissed the obviously nervous young soldier, who saluted his superior once more before leaving the Major's quarters in a faster pace than was customary.
The blonde haired Major always seemed to have a very commanding and firm presence, which made all of the younger soldiers nervous. The Major was always professional, clean cut and commanded respect wherever he went and with his straight and steadfast posture and attitude, it was hard not to feel just a little intimidated. The Major was a rather young man to carry such a superior rank and his reputation was first-class, plus his mysterious and always stoic demeanor caused many to feel diminutive and slightly uneasy when he was around. Yet, despite all of this the soldiers followed him loyally; perhaps it was because of his confidence and reputation that people trusted him to such a great extent.
With a quiet irritated sigh, the blonde Major walked over to the large black screen and paused for just a second, contemplating weather or not he really wanted to listen to the silver haired bureaucrat, who ordered him around like he was the Emperor of the Guylos Empire, instead of the pencil-pusher that he truly was. As much as Karl detested taking orders from the man, he knew that it was his duty to protect and serve the Empire and if it meant dealing with the bureaucratic nuisance, then he would do it. Though taking orders from the Minister was one thing he was very careful with, something about the silver haired man was just off and more than a bit untrustworthy in Karl's mind.
Brushing away the ever nagging thoughts to the back of his mind, the blonde Major flipped on the screen. Only to immediately face the stern features of the silver haired bureaucrat Gunther Prozen. The crimson eyed man did not look pleased, yet Karl could never remember a time when the man had ever looked happy while in his presence. It was possible that the Minister disliked him as much as Karl always had. Actually it was more than just "probably", as the two men seemed to always find conflict with one another, especially when they were meeting face-to-face.
"Major Schubaltz, you have been given the order to head to the Red River Base. It seems like the rebel forces have begun to congregate and the troops that are already there will need backup. So you will take twenty Molga units to Red River and lead the combined units against the rebels. Disperse from your current location, immediately. That is an order Major." The silver haired Minister commanded in a business-like tone, not even giving the blonde Major a moment to talk until he was finished speaking.
"Yes, Sir." Karl saluted frostily, before the connection was cut off rather quickly. Apparently the Minister didn't want to waist his time conversing with the blonde haired man. But with these new orders to head out to the Red River Base, something about it seemed too rushed. The Republic couldn't have that many units at the base so swiftly, things were just not making any complete since. Sure, a new batch of troops had arrived at the Republican base only a few days ago, but there were not very many in the unit and mostly what the spies had told him of was that the unit consisted mostly of Medics.
'Just what kind of game are you trying to play here Prozen?' Karl mused to himself, as he pulled off his hat and laid it on the small table, before seating himself in one of the chairs. In the dim light of the Major's personal quarters one could see just how youthful the Major truly was, with his shaggy dusty blonde mane and his sharp, yet weary bottle green eyes that shined with the dignity and maturity of someone who had seen many battles, despite his age.
With all of the recent happenings between the Empire and the Republican forces as of late, Karl hadn't been able to write to his mother and see how she and Thomas had been doing lately. He had been wondering if Thomas was still trying to find out about whose care Levana had been placed in, twelve long years ago. Ever since that horrible accident twelve years ago, Thomas had been nothing short of adamant on finding Levana and bringing her back to their home, so adamant in fact that Karl had to tie his younger brother to his bed when he found out that she had been taken away.
Karl had never seen his younger brother so angry and heartbroken before, until Karl told him that Levana had been taken away by her mother's family. Thomas truly cherished Levana like no other, she was his only childhood friend and probably the only one who believed in his dreams; she was so much more than a friend to Thomas, she was his baby sister as well. Karl had once called Thomas selfish for wanting the young girl to stay with them forever. When she would be better off with her own blood kin and yet, when he saw how his mother had reacted to the young girl being gone from their lives, he then truly realized just how much of an imprint that she had left on his family and himself and just how much she truly belonged with them.
He had missed her a lot more than he had let on throughout the years and maybe when the war was finally over and he wasn't needed in the army any longer, he would use some of his contacts to find some information on Levana's whereabouts. But right now, his duties to the Empire were resolute and with the impending threat of an all out war brimming just over the horizon, he had to delay his investigation. At least for just a little longer.