A/N: Please enjoy "Farther Away, Closer to Home"

The scenery was pristine, a jungle lake clearer than anything on earth. Primitive animals akin to dinosaurs walked the surface and flew above. The herbivores scattered suddenly, spooked by an unseen threat. Six human shaped figures ran out of the underbrush. They wore black and green striped bulbous armor and held rifles or machine guns. A loud crash was heard behind them as a therapod like creature clamored after them into the open. "Keith, you dumb Scottish bastard!" The human far left screamed as he ran. "If it doesn't kill us I swear to Luna I'm gonna beat you senseless!"

Another human on the right fired his rifle towards the monstrous creature. "Get to cover! Find a place we can hide from it!" the Therapod changed direction, chasing the small black thing that pelted it with rocks. Another human with a deep red stripe across his chest ran in front of the beast, drawing its attention. As it closed, it roared, opening its maw to swallow the human. The human threw something into its mouth, diving into the pond as the Therapod's neck exploded.

Over the radio, the squad heard, "Keith, you owe me a grenade." As the human climbed back onto the ground, the rest of them ran up to him. They took off their fully enclosed helmets, trying to get more air. "Thanks Cap'n," one of them said in a thick Scots accent "I thought that thing was gonna get me." The human took off his helmet. "Well Keith," Jake said. "If you hadn't fucked with it in the first place it wouldn't have chased us."

"So where are we now?" Jake asked the squad. One of them activated a device from his belt. "About five clicks from the objective." He turned around. "That way," the soldier said, pointing back the way they had came. Two soldiers smacked Keith in the back of the head. "Well then, lets get going."

Vinyl Scratch was on the bed of their apartment, laying on her stomach and listening to a recording Jake had sent her. She looked through the photos Timpani had taken of their wedding, listening to Jake talk through her headphones. It had been three month and the war effort was inching towards the Markut homeworld. Jake kept his promise, sending her Email and letters, along with the occasional recording. It helped but she still felt a deep seated sadness at having her husband torn from her arms.

"Today we took Diana 6," his voice played. "It's a planet that the bugs had light control of. We went to take out a hanger they had been launching bombers from. That idiot Scots, Keith. He tried to feed a baby therapod. I think he wanted to keep it as a pet." Scratch let a laugh out despite herself. "but, uh… yeah he didn't think about mommy being the tree next to it." He laughed in her ears. The sound warmed Vinyl's heart. She loved listening to his voice. It sounded like a bass cello. "We got chased five kilometers from where we were supposed to be. He still owes me that grenade." A Scottish voice cut in from the background. "Buy it yourself you stingy bastard!" Jake's voice chuckled again. "That's Keith if you hadn't heard before. But yeah, everything's good. That mission went well. Turns out they had ran when they found out we wanted the planet." Vinyl smiled as she looked at the picture of them dancing together.

"I wish this war hadn't happened, so I could have stayed with you. But fate's a cruel bitch, right?" she laughed slightly, the joy turning into a sob. She had listened to the recording everyday for a month. But he hadn't contacted her since. "command passed orders to our corvette, they're planning to take a heavily fortified moon soon and they want Sword to go behind lines and form a funnel for the Navy's fighters. I'm not looking forward to it. Especially the new way they insert us to the field. Did I tell you? They decided to toss a specialized box out an airlock while in orbit. It's insane, but I guess I shouldn't complain. It's the ultimate skydive, right?" scratch threw the headphones off the bed, crying into the sheets.

Sorry for the short chapter, but I foresee several of these to come. They read a little more dramatically and are easier to produce, considering I have a tale that spans multiple planets now. Please review?

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Well fuck you very much XD