AN: shout out to Peake the Cat for pointing out that transition error. I have updated the chapter and made the necessary corrections.

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Question after question raced through his mind at break-neck speed as the man trying to make sense of what was going on. One moment he was wondering what to do with his life now that he was not part of the army, and the next….. He was suddenly in a forest.

He was equally concerned about the girl infront of him and what she said.

His mouth slightly opened, ready to ask one of the many burning questions on his mind but another volley of cannon fire dismissed the idea entirely. Instead, his mind, one honed from multiple military drills and exercises took over as a list of objectives and priorities formed in his mind, which took precedence over everything else.

Protect the civilian.

The man raced forward, grabbing the beret wearing girl in his arms before she could say anything and darted through the dense forest. Given, how some of the shots were close while others were too far away to be a concern, the second objective in his to-do list was automatically achieved.

Do they know where we are?

The sound of the shelling said that the enemy was guessing their location. The noise produced also told him that they were on an island or were somewhere near the sea. The enemy must be comprised of a few cruisers and two destroyers. Standard military procedure dictates that after a period of shelling, they would send out a strike team to comb the area and neutralize the hostiles.

Running through the ideas and objectives in his mind, the man failed to hear the cries of the girl he was holding. Deciding that she had to take a more forecful approach, the girl took in a deep breath before yelling out to him as loud as she could.

Hearing her, the man stopped and asked "What's wrong?"

"We need to head back," said the girl "we have to go back and save Hood."

Aside from the question of why someone would name themselves Hood, the man agreed that no one should be left behind. He asked the girl which way her friend was and she pointed southwest.

Gather all allies

During his training in the Navy, his Commander drilled the idea that his crewmates were his family and family always watched out for him. It was an idea that took some getting used to, but the man did indeed see that way. As a result, whenever he was sent on an operation with his team, he would always be the last one on the escape boat or plane in an effort to ensure that his entire team was present and accounted for.

The motto 'No one gets left behind' was not just a string of words he spouted from time to time. It was his mantra, words that he lived by and was why nearly everyone on the base had great respect for him.

As he kept running through the dense forest, he noticed the shelling had stopped. Tactically this was when the ground forces would come in and it was also the ideal time for an escape. Although his knowledge of the area was minimal at best, the man was able to get a general idea of where the ships were firing from. Conventional wisdom dictated that once he found this Hood person, the three of them would head in the opposite direction, hopefully to civilization where they would regroup and figure out what to do next.

Soon enough, the pair came upon a woman lying in a ditch, blood on her face, her right leg and arm.

"Alright, we don't have much time," said the man, putting the girl down.

"First off, what can you tell me about this place?" asked the man.

"We're on an island, with a dense forest on the west side and a beach on the east. Hood and I came in from the west."

"Which means that's where the enemy is," said the man "any chance you have a radio or way to get in touch with your allies?"

But the girl only shook her head.

"Are there any other small islands nearby?"

"There is," said the girl nodding her head.

"Alright here's what we're going to do," said the man "you crawl on my back and I'll carry Hood. We'll head towards the beach and then swim out to the nearby island. There, we'll wait for the enemy to get bored and leave. Hopefully by then, your friends will realize something's wrong and send some help."

As the girl was about to get on his back, the pair heard a light groan. They turned to see Hood, stirring, followed by her rising up and rubbing the scratch on her head.

"Hey don't scratch it or it'll get infected," said the man, moving her hand away.

"Wait…" said Hood, looking dumbstruck at the man "you're the…. The otherworlder."

The man paused for a moment, the woman's statement answering the one burning question in his mind.

"I know you have questions and believe me I have a lot to ask as well," said the man "but we can do that when we're all safe and sound."

Hood nodded in agreement and said "my name's Hood, the girl behind you is Z23."

"Right… intros," said the man, slightly taken aback by the woman's need to follow decorum at a time like this. "I'm….."

But he could not finish his sentence as the sound of an explosive shell landing close to them, causing everything else to take a back seat. The girl, Z23 got onto his back, while the man put his arms around her legs and then picked up Hood.

Making sure that the two of them were safe, the man quickly started running in the direction Z23 pointed towards.

"Um, sir," said Hood in the middle of the running "I know this might be a troublesome time to ask you this but…"

"Hood I'm sorry for sounding rude but you can ask me anything you like after we're out of the fire."

"Then let me ask," said Z23, resting her head on his shoulders "aren't you finding it difficult carrying the two of us?"

"Not one bit," said the man, smiling. Compared to the times he's had to carry his tactical gear in basic training or the times he waded through swamps and beaches or the times he's had to carry some of his injured squadmates through active battlefields, the two of them were as light as a feather.

Escape plan

Any military officer worth their salt will tell you the most dangerous of an operation is the escape. Once an operation is carried out, extracting a team from a hotzone is monumentally important. It is during this time that any number of problems or 'hiccups' might occur. These problems range from having the escape vehicle late, a particular road being blocked off at the last second and most of all, the team getting lax. When an operation commences, the strike team is in a state of total awareness. Even the slightest change in their surroundings is quickly noticeable and taken care of. However, that awareness is not fully present during the escape. This lapse in judgement is the line that decides whether everyone is coming back home in bodybags or not.

The man noticed how the sound of gunfire started getting fainter as well as the forest also getting a little easier to run through. Feeling a short sense of relief, he slowed his pace down a little in an effort to catch his breath

Soon he saw a clearing and feeling more relieved, the man came out of the forest, stepping out of the frying pan….

And into the fire

"Oh no," said Hood, her voice trembling in fear at the sight before her.

It turns out the enemy was shooting at the forest, not to try and find them but to try and force them into a clearing, where half a dozen destroyers and heavy cruisers lay in waiting. But the sight of these ships and their weapons trained on the trio was not what concerned the man at all. No, his attention was focused on the fact that the ships were floating high up in the air.

What's more was that the ships were flanking a woman with pale skin, light purple hair and glowing yellow eyes. The cherry on top of this crazy cake was that the woman had what looked like ship cannons and other naval weapons on her side.

'Yep,' thought the man at the realization that the escape plan just went down the drain 'I don't think there's anything else that'll surprise me.'

What any soldier would also tell you is that things rarely go according to plan. It is during these times that a leader's ability to adapt and keep a level head are truly tested.