Chapter 7- It's Only the Beginning

The next morning, all of Galbadia's troops were called together at an army base just outside of Deling City. The newly appointed president was not with them, but instead it was General Caraway overseeing the gathering.

"Welcome, fellow Galbadians. President Deling couldn't be here with us, so I was appointed to hand out your new assignments. As you all know, we will be invading bases on the Esthar continent. A war is inevitable, so it is imperative that Galbadia makes the first move. We must keep Sorceress Adel and Esthar at bay and out of here for as long as possible, meaning this is our only option. A direct invasion of the capital is out of the question at the moment, since it will be well guarded. However, there are bases on each corner of the continent that a squadron the size we will be sending should be able to penetrate their defenses. You will be divided up by your army identification numbers and headed by a commanding officer. Once you find out which group you're in, get together with your fellow soldiers and we'll get moving. Good luck to you all."

Naturally, Laguna, Kiros, and Ward were together due to the fact that they joined the army near the same time as the other. They also managed to be placed under General Lancera again. He gave them their orders haphazardly, stuttering throughout. He was obviously very nervous about being over so many soldiers at one time and the burden of his expectations was weighing heavily on his mind.

Their enormous group was headed for an army base on the southeastern corner of the continent named Vesta. It was the smallest of the four targets, and also the longest trip from the Galbadian continent. The vessels took off from the docks for their destination. All of the troops were very nervous. They were about to take place in starting a war against a mighty and mysterious nation ruled by a sorceress. They knew many of them weren't going to make it back alive, and they would lose many close friends in the process. It had been so peaceful for many years that most did not know what to expect. All they knew was that war was a terrible thing, but a fact of life that could not be avoided.

Some of the soldiers were getting physically sick during the long trip. They had prepared for such an occasion by providing buckets for them, but the stench was so overwhelming at times that they had to dump it overboard.

"Man, this is rough," Laguna commented.

"Just wait 'til we get there," Kiros said.

"I'm really nervous."

"We all are," Ward said. "After all, this is war."

They all wondered if things were going to work out. Even though it was an ambush, they were a young squad headed by a relatively inexperienced commanding officer. They did not know what to expect from Esthar because they remained isolated for the most part. All they had to go by was the skirmish at the Estharian continent of Fisherman's Horizon. Galbadia was sure that their enemy had some information on them and would be prepared for them.

Laguna, Kiros, and Ward strolled over to the side of the boat, and stared out at the vast, expansive ocean. "How much longer do you think it'll be?" the man with the machine gun asked curiously.

"I dunno…We've been out for a few hours now. Shouldn't be much longer than an hour," the large Galbadian soldier speculated.

"Sounds about right," his witty comrade agreed.

The clumsy soldier's black hair was being blown in every direction by the strong winds. It was constantly getting into his eyes, making it impossible to see, and he tried to brush it away to no avail. Once he became frustrated by it, he tried frantically to hold it in place. "Argh…Stay still…!" The winds could easily overcome his efforts, but he continued to try persistently.

"At least it keeps him distracted," Kiros muttered.

"Yeah, but you know he's bound to freak out when we get there," Ward whispered.

"I know. I haven't known him too long, but I can tell he's just not made for these kinda things. We'll just have to keep an eye on him." The Winhill native nodded in agreement.

A short while afterwards, the rocky Esthar shoreline came into view. "It's almost time," Laguna said, pacing back and forth across the deck nervously.

The ships started to slow down as the closed in on the coast. They spread out the fleet to avoid being easily detected by the enemy. The Galbadian soldiers grabbed their weapons and prepared to disembark immediately upon landing. "You ready?" Kiros asked.

"Ready as I'm gonna get," the man with the machine gun replied.

"Gonna be okay this time?"

"I hope so."

The vessel came out of the water and ran ashore. The soldiers filed out in a disciplined, orderly manner. "Follow me! I'll lead you to our destination!" General Lancera cried out.

The troops dashed after him bearing their weapons close to them. They were searching around frantically as they ran across the desert, fearing a surprise attack by the enemy. The cluttered footprints in the sand would gather together and get mixed up as they passed through, but the hot minds would quickly blow away and remove any traces of them.

Soon, a modern-looking structure came into sight. "Halt!" Lancera commanded, and they immediately obeyed. "We will circle around the base, and then commence the invasion. So spread out, soldiers!"

The Galbadians formed a wide ring of bodies and slowly marched inward, decreasing the size of the circle as they came closer. Once they had come near it, they halted again. They could see Estharian soldiers patrolling around the inside of the base through the glass, but they didn't appear to be concerned. Either they hadn't seen them yet or they simply weren't afraid of them. They had formed the circle so none of them could escape, but it did not seem necessary with them not evacuating.

"Get ready!" The soldiers withdrew one grenade from a small pouch attached to their uniform. They had been ordered to launch them at the base and proceed to open fire at their leader's command. "Unload upon them!" Lancera shouted.

Grenades starting raining against the building from all sides and then detonated. Flames soared high into the air and the soldiers shielded their eyes from the brightness of the fire. It nearly consumed the entire building immediately, and none of the soldiers could see any part of Vesta for a brief moment. Broken shards of glass flew out from the building, and ignited bodies starting falling from the upper levels of the base.

The Galbadian soldiers sighed in relief, thinking it was already over and it had been easier than they had expected. Then the cyborg versions of the Esthar soldiers starting pouring from the compound, charging fearlessly and mindlessly at their enemies. They nervously aimed and fired at the half-human, half-robot soldiers. Relatively few fell, and the majority of them continued to come at them.

Laguna could not deny that he was scared, but he could not just remain motionless and do nothing. He had to take initiative to protect himself and those around him. Taking a deep breath, he yelled, "Come on, guys! We can take them! Remember what we're fighting for!! Charge!!!!" Then he ran into the fray, rapidly firing off shots from his machine gun.

Kiros and Ward were shocked at his boldness, but also mightily encouraged by his ability to overcome his fear. They joined their comrade and the rest of his fellow soldiers followed.

The Katal blades of the witty soldier sliced open the Esthar cyborgs, cutting their circuits and causing sparks to emit from them. Laguna had to practically fill them with holes before they would fall, which he found frustrating. Ward used his immense strength and humongous harpoon to impale the robotic Estharians. Then he would lift up the limp creations and toss them forcefully, colliding with others and knocking them down.

However, after knocking out some of them, he became too confident and tried taking on more than he could handle. As Ward's harpoon pierced a cyborg soldier, another slashed at him with the blade, which replaced their fist during a battle. It cut a long line down the left side of his face, starting above the eyebrows and reaching to the bottom of his chin. He shouted in agony, stumbled backwards, and then collapsed onto his face at the feet of Laguna and Kiros.

"Ward!!!!" they exclaimed simultaneously with extreme concern and kneeled beside him.

Author's Notes: Well, what did you think? Let me know in a review along with some constructive criticism. It'll help me improve as a writer. God bless.