A string of bright, glowing pearls travelled across the screen, approaching a line of red icons in front of a field of slowly tumbling and coasting polygons.

Technicians and instructors sat in front of monitor stations, keeping an eye on all aspects of the battle underway. Behind them, a handful of observers sat, watching their own monitors as the line of pearls began to shift and stretch out longitudinally.

"Everyone's eager to get the first kill," Callie observed with a nostalgic smile. "Same as always."

Marie lightly flicked her right hand. "It's the easiest way to get noticed and if you get there first you have a chance to earn points. Ultimately, everyone here is competing against each other for slots in fighter training."

As most of the pearls surged ahead, a few lagged behind and Marie's eyes picked out three of the pearls moving together towards the right.

"That's a little more interesting."

Callie reached out with one of her long black tentacles to the monitor, manipulating the controls to zoom in on the trio. The bright pearls changed form, resembling three of the stubby winged, FF-4 Toriares fighters. They were arranging themselves in a staggered formation both vertically and horizontally, each one behind providing cover for the one in front.

"Someone's been studying," Callie observed. "They must be friends."

"Friends usually try to work together in these simulations," Marie agreed. "But at the end of the day, they're still competing against each other. We'll have to see if they can maintain their cooperation. Zoom back out and let's see what the rest are doing."

The view drew back, showing all the pearls again, the lead ones now very close to the line of red icons, each representing a target. A few started to wink out of existence as the pearls that had rushed forward took them out. Unfortunately, they found themselves drifting into the debris field, unable to arrest the momentum from their hard charge.

Marie sighed. "It happens every time. There are always ones who rush in forgetting about their momentum. Even if they avoid crashing I bet they won't have enough fuel left to complete the exercise."

As if to prove her right, two pearls winked out of existence, the activity log indicating they crashed into debris. One managed to avoid the debris, showing superb piloting skill navigating through the debris field at such high speed while simultaneously slowing their momentum, but they were so occupied with that they failed not notice the red icons now swarming around them. Seconds later, the pearl vanished.

"I'm striking all three of them from the list," Callie said, bringing up her tablet and swiping three names off the screen. "Looks like the others have a few more brains, but only a few."

Most of the remaining pearls had slowed before reaching the wall of red icons in front of the debris field. They flashed subtly, indicating they were firing their weapons, and the red icons began to vanish. But it soon devolved into another race as they sped along the line of icons, trying to catch the easy targets before their peers, and as they went for the same ones, they moved perilously close together, many of the pearls merging into glowing blobs.

Another pair of pearls winked out, having collided with one another. Another pearl vanished a moment later, leaving another with an orange tint, indicating damage.

"Four more strikes," Callie sighed. "Looks like that trio is still together though, but they're not going for the first line of targets."

Marie flashed green and rubbed her chin thoughtfully. "No, they're going for the targets on the right side of the debris field, the higher value targets. It's riskier since they shoot back but they're worth a lot more points, and with nobody else around they have those targets all to themselves. Zoom back in on them."

The screen moved, showing the three fighters once again, their formation shifting as they neared the debris field. The first one in the formation didn't shoot at the first target however, instead, drawing its fire and allowing the second one in the formation to shoot it while it was distracted. And any targets focused on the first two were then set upon by the third. The one in the lead moved to the back of the formation, taking the place of the third, and they continued this cycle throughout their attack.

"Their coordination is a little rough and their piloting is pretty unrefined, but that's good teamwork, overall."

Marie glanced at the scoreboard. "They're climbing pretty quick. At this rate they'll get to the top in no time. Highlight them."

Callie grinned. "Already done. Actually, I wanted to talk to you about one of them."

Callie zoomed out to show all the pearls again. The action log indicated one more collision and one instance of friendly fire had taken place. Callie struck them from the list with a few flicks of her finger.

"You found something interesting?"

"Yes, actually." She tapped one of the names she'd highlighted, bringing up a personnel file.

"Sahna Starburn. Enlisted this year at age seventeen, fourth in class at Camp Triggerfish, admitted to OTS where she remains in the top ten overall. She's top five in piloting skill and a top five in unarmed combat. She's also received some interesting comments from the OTS commander, complimenting her leadership and initiative."

"Sounds promising, but that's not what you want to talk about, is it?"

"Nope. Turns out she originally applied for the CSF, not the Marines, but got rejected at the table."

Marie drew her gaze from the simulation and looked Callie in the eye, her mantle turning dark orange. "Rejected? Why?"

"That's the tricky thing. I did a little digging and found out that there is a Fiera Starburn listed in the CSF records with a relation named Sahna Starburn listed in her record as her daughter, but if this girl is the same Sahna Starburn, then why is Fiera Starburn not listed as a relative in her file? I asked Colonel Argent to check the civil register and there's no discrepancy there."

"Odd. Why was she rejected?"

"That's where things get really interesting. Apparently, she was blacklisted by the CSF and has been almost since Fiera was declared KIA about five years ago. Haven't been able to find details of that yet because they've been classified, but I can't find any justification."

"No criminal record?"

"Not that I've been able to find." Callie grinned like a serpent with a secret. "I think someone's trying to cover up some dirty little deeds."

"Which is the kind of baggage we don't need," Marie said. "Our situation is already a little precarious and the CSF isn't super supportive of us. I doubt Colonel Argent would want to drag her mess in on top of everything else."

"I already told you I had his help looking into this, didn't I? He said we shouldn't factor it into our decision. Reeks of military politics, he says, and that we should bring on whoever will get us results." Her mantle pulsed grey. "Honestly, Marie, it might be nothing more sinister than a clerical error."

"But you don't believe that."

"Doesn't matter what I believe. Are we going to consider bringing her on or not?"

The pearls were now dancing amid the debris field, dealing with the simulated enemy fighter craft and mines. The three they'd highlighted were well on top of the scoreboard now and were continuing to rack up kills.

"I think we need a closer look."

#####

Sahna eagerly dug into her lunch of mushroom sauce and fried chicken strips. Not the fanciest or most well put together of meals but she would take what she could get for the moment.

"Another exam done," Chaser sighed, rubbing his forehead. "I can't believe it's almost over."

"I can't believe I made it this far," Vita remarked from Sahna's right. "I definitely wouldn't be in the top ten in the class if it weren't for you two."

Vita Deepcoast's bright blue eyes shone with hope and gratitude. Sahna disguised her embarrassment at the other cadet's adulation with a huff, and said, "easier to keep your eyes on your studies when you're not having to keep them on your back. After four expulsions I think everyone got the message."

Chaser lifted his fork. "Expulsion was the only punishment we heard about. There's probably worse in store for them wherever they went."

"It's their own damn fault," Sahna grumbled. "And I think the Marines are better without them."

Two days after she had been attacked, Vita was transferred to their platoon. As they promised, Chaser and Sahna tutored her and got her up to speed, finding her to actually be a good student and her marks soon helped boost the overall score of the platoon rather than bring it down. While she'd been shy and nervous at first and the platoon had been tentative around her, she'd more or less integrated well with them by now.

"What's our next exam?" Vita asked.

"Our last one," Sahna answered with an eager smile. "Basic pilot exam. I heard it involves taking a Fanfan through a tricky course and even shooting a few missiles. Probably simulated though."

"Bring it," Chaser said eagerly. "We score good in that we're a sure to get accepted into the Fighter Training Academy."

"I'm nervous about it," Vita admitted, her webbed tentacles pressed against the sides of her head. "I know I can fly well enough but my shooting accuracy hasn't always been the best."

"You'll do fine," Sahna assured her. "I'm more worried about the tournament than that exam. I'm a lot newer to fighting than I am flying."

"Oh right." Chaser grinned. "Just the thing I needed to fill my free time on a Sunday afternoon."

Sahna scowled, her mantle turning scarlet. "No, you two should be studying. Every little mark you get will help you get into the academy. You shouldn't sacrifice some of that precious time just to come and see me."

Chaser rolled his eyes, not buying her argument. "We're near the top of the class. We can spare a few hours."

Vita giggled. "I think she's just embarrassed."

"I am not!" Sahna insisted, a little too loudly.

Chaser snickered, his eyes gleaming with mirth. "No, Heaven forbid our resident, Flagpole, get embarrassed by something as simple as a local inter-service tournament."

"Don't call me that, and I'm really not embarrassed; I just think you should spend your time doing something more worthwhile."

Vita patted her on the shoulder the way one might a pouty child. "Whatever you say. Of course we'd never ignore your advice."

Chaser's cocky grin returned. "Of course not; there has to be some rule against it."

They both laughed. Sahna couldn't see what was so funny.

#####

The Mukrock Community Centre was bustling, an excited crowd of civilian and service members coming to support and observe the fighters of today's tournament.

Callie and Marie managed to remain discreet, going up to the small box they'd reserved ahead of time, giving them the privacy they needed.

"Quite a crowd for such a small town," Callie observed as she took her seat.

Below, the stands were packed as everyone piled in, talking excitedly. The two could see the signs of bets taking place, civilians expressing their gratitude to the service members, and small crowds of uniforms around a couple of old veterans as they paid their respects.

"As isolated as this place is I imagine they don't get a lot of live entertainment, and with all the satellites gone I doubt it's doing their televisions any favours either."

The main floor of the arena was occupied by four sets of mats forming the combat squares. Each had its own referee and medic. The setup allowed four matches to happen at once, which would help keep the tournament rolling. They were only interested in one of the participants, however.

"There she is." Callie used one of her tentacles to point her out. The girl was garbed in marine PT gear, with all the protective fighting gear on top of that. Her first match was just starting and almost the second the referee signalled to begin, she attacked.

"Feisty little thing."

Marie frowned. "Overly aggressive, bad economy of movement. All the opposite of what we're looking for."

"Maybe, but her fighting style looks pretty unrefined overall. We could teach her to fix that, she just needs to learn. Besides, it looks like her attacks are pretty effective. Look, she just forced her opponent out of the ring."

"She's just brute forcing her way through it. Her inexperience is really showing. She showed a lot more technique during the simulation."

"Obviously. She didn't join the Marines to be a fist fighter, she wants to be a fighter pilot. I think she'd make a good one." Callie paused for a moment, considering the other girl thoughtfully. "What's bugging you?"

Marie compressed her lips. "Something about the way she's fighting. Every time she takes a hit, the way she fights back… it's as if she were just insulted, and she starts putting more emotion behind her movements. I don't know, she fights like someone who has a chip on their shoulder."

Callie hummed thoughtfully. "True, but it does seem to focus and motivate her. If only she didn't tunnel vision."

"Exactly. She's clearly shown a killer instinct and she's clearly got the drive we need, but seeing her now I'm questioning her maturity. There's something in there, beneath the surface that might cause problems."

"Baby still hiding in mommy's shadow?"

Marie cracked a small smile. "That's actually not a bad way of putting it. If she is trying to follow in her parent's footsteps, and a lot of military brats do, then that might also be what's holding her back."

"In other words, she probably won't be too happy if we transfer her."

"Probably not. I think we could work her through those issues, eventually, but I'm not sure we can spare the time. The fact that her communication and interpersonal skills are marked so far below the rest of her scores isn't exactly encouraging in that respect. Cooperation and flexibility are key to what we're doing, and I'm not sure she'll be able to fit into that environment."

They watched as Starburn fought her last opponent, the two of them punching and kicking each other relentlessly, but failing to land any hits as they each blocked the other nearly perfectly. As the match stretched on and the two started to tire, red began to creep into Starburn's green mantle.

"She's getting frustrated," Callie observed.

"Which means she's on the verge of lashing out again." Marie's mantle showed red. "I don't think it'll work out for her this time."

Starburn's opponent blocked her next strike and then managed to give her a shove. He followed it up with a strong punch but Starburn ducked between his legs and came out the other side, picking him up by his ankles as he spun around and spinning him off the mat.

The scene was so odd and unexpected it made Callie laugh. "He was so surprised he was actually stunned."

"Lucky for her," Marie said. "I suppose that move was better than her lashing out anyway, but it's the kind of move you'd see on a playground, not a martial arts tournament." Her frown deepened, her mantle turning blue with blotches of red. "I just don't know, Callie; she's got a lot of question marks attached to her."

"She still gets my vote. Look, I know she's not perfect but we knew from the start we couldn't expect perfection, and she may or may not have mommy issues, but we're almost out of time to choose our Marine candidate, and whatever flaws she may have she also holds the most potential and it's up to us to bring that potential out of her. It's the whole reason we've been looking for rookies in the first place."

"I know, I know, it's just…"

Callie smirked. "She reminds you of a certain someone?"

Marie flinched and her mantle turned red.

"Well she certainly reminds me of a certain someone. Someone else with a mom in the CSF."

Marie gave her a hard look. "Don't make me pull rank on you."

"Oh, look at that, her friends came to see her." Completely ignoring Marie's comment, Callie gestured out the window to where Starburn was meeting up with the two she'd been with during the simulated space battle.

"In case you needed to be reminded she can cooperate with others."

She looked at Marie, who was still uncertain.

"Another closer look?"

Marie flashed green. "Might as well. Just so we can be as sure as we can be."

#####

"I thought you too were supposed to be studying."

"I thought you were supposed to be too smart to believe us." Chaser shook his head in mock disappointment. "I think this helps highlight why your communication marks are as low as they are."

Vita giggled, her webbed tentacles and fleshy spines undulating with amusement. "We couldn't sit back and not come to cheer you on. Aren't we friends now? Besides, you'd do the same for us. You've already done more than that for me."

"And you can't say it was a waste of time, 'cause you won!"

Sahna's face flushed slightly and she unconsciously pressed her new gold medal against her side as if to hide it. "It was a close thing. It could have gone either way."

"Can the modesty, will ya? We should all go out and celebrate. What about hitting the bar after dinner?"

"We're still underage," Sahna reminded him.

"Oh, right, I forgot I was dealing with a couple of kids – ow!"

Vita jabbed him in the side, her pleasant smile unfaltering. "Well the 'kids' are telling you off. Besides, you know they put that temptation there as a test for us. Test our integrity."

"And my integrity should need no introduction to you," Sahna said with a pleased smirk.

Chaser rubbed his side painfully. "Yeah yeah, I know. Killjoys."

"Maybe ice cream instead."

Vita frowned. "Now? It's almost winter."

"Ice cream isn't seasonal," Sahna insisted. "Besides, I haven't had it since our last day at Triggerfish. I want to have some before it starts getting rationed like everything else. Anyway, I have to help put things away. I'll see you guys later."

"Fine fine, just don't expect us to study. I like my days off."

Sahna rolled her eyes and ignored him, heading back to the middle of the arena to help put away the mats and equipment while the audience shuffled out of the building.

By the time she and the rest finished putting everything away, the arena was effectively deserted. Leaving the officers and organizers to close up the community centre, she picked up her bag and made her way towards the main exit. As she left the arena area and entered the foyer, two familiar figures emerged from the stairway and one of them called out to her.

"Excuse me, could we talk to your for a sec?"

Sahna froze, eyes wide in shock as Callie and Marie, the military idols everyone seemed obsessed with, approached her. Despite being garbed in trendy civilian coats, it was as if Chaser had brought his collector cards to life just to annoy her and she had to blink and do a triple take to make sure she wasn't imagining things.

She took a cautious step back and looked around, wondering if she was being set up for some kind of prank. She had to be. What would these famous figures be doing here? Surely they weren't doing a concert or everyone at Fort Mukrock would be talking about it. Did nobody know they were here?

"What do you want?"

Callie laughed, as if her wariness amused her. "Just wanted to congratulate you on your victory. It was pretty impressive. How long have you been studying martial arts?"

Sahna frowned, again checking around if anyone else was watching. "Since I enlisted, I guess. Standard military training."

"Well, I'd say you're a natural. You were pretty vicious out there."

Sahna's face flushed slightly at what seemed like a backhanded compliment. "I wasn't being vicious, I was just fighting as hard as I could within the rules."

"Oh? Would you have fought differently if there were no rules then?"

Sahna suppressed a scowl. What was this booty-shaking bimbo getting at?

"We both would have fought differently, but that would risk serious injury or death, which is a stupid thing to do in a friendly contest."

"I noticed that 'competitiveness' of yours was a bit selective," Marie interjected. Her voice carried with it an air of superiority and aristocracy that nagged at Sahna's nerves like a bad itch. "You were only like that with opponents that hit you or otherwise gave you a hard time."

They were watching me? For how long? Again, she looked around, conscious of anyone who might try to leap out and surprise her.

"I'm sure she's just competitive," Callie said with a dismissive wave of her hand. "By any chance to you have a role model for your military career? You know, someone from history that you admire or maybe a relative that you want to emulate? Were they also a Marine?"

Sahna's mantle flared to red, her anger boiling over. "That's none of your business! I'm busy and I have to go back to base. Talk to a recruitment officer or something if you have questions."

She pushed past them and headed briskly for the door.

"One last thing."

Sahna stopped, her hand gripping the door handle tightly. She could just keep going. She didn't have to answer anything to a couple of civilian poster dolls. And yet, a stubborn, prideful part of her thought that doing so would be childish and petulant and unprofessional.

She slowly turned her head and looked back at Marie, who continued.

"Would you be willing to do whatever was necessary to do your part to help win this war? Would you be willing to sacrifice your own dream for the sake of your comrades, the Marines, and the Federation as a whole?"

Sahna stared at her, taken aback by the seriousness of her question and tone.

"Of course I would," she said automatically. "Duty comes first, always, even over our own personal wants and desires. That's what it means to wear a real military uniform. Good-bye."

#####

Callie and Marie watched Starburn storm off back to Fort Mukrock. Clearly, she didn't have a very high opinion of their public image.

Callie turned back to Marie with an amused smile. "And what do you suppose she meant by that? I'm sure I heard it from someone else too."

Marie ignored her, still staring out the transparent doors. "She's firm in her convictions, I'll give her that, but I wonder if she can put it into practice."

Callie sighed, exasperated. "Marie, we need to choose our Marine candidate. We can't delay any longer. I'll go with whatever you choose but she's the one I think is best. So, what's it going to be?"

#####

Sahna didn't think it was possible to be prouder than she felt graduating from Camp Triggerfish without getting her fighter pilot wings, and yet she was experiencing exactly that as she stood with the rest of her graduating class of new Marine officers, the silver diagonal band across the epaulettes adorning her shoulders identifying her as a second-lieutenant.

In addition to her new rank, her uniform sported a medal of excellence over her left breast, her first real citation and a glowing sign of the promise the instructors thought she had. It all amounted to an almost guaranteed slot in the Fighter Training Academy.

They all stood in line in the main hallway of the administration building to receive their assignments. Some would be going to active duty units and some further training. The latter was what Sahna was hoping for.

Ahead of her, Chaser and Vita both received their orders from the clerk behind the window and hurried outside. They weren't supposed to read it inside the building lest they hold up the line and block traffic. When Sahna received her orders it took all the discipline she'd worked up in her Marine career to that point to not open the paper immediately.

She got outside and found everyone else excitedly sharing their assignments. Many were emotional, some crying as they hugged and said good-byes to comrades and friends they'd been training with for months, or more than half a year if they'd known each other since basic. She heard some would be staying at Fort Mukrock for armour training, others were being transferred to Scylla for space training, and more were being assigned to brand new units.

She found Chaser and Vita waiting for her, their orders still sealed.

"I thought we should do it together," Vita said. She was bouncing on the balls of her feet.

Sahna couldn't help but laugh a little, feeling giddy. "Alright, who should go first?"

"Vita, definitely," Chaser said. "Before she bounces all the way to Charybdis."

Vita flushed and ceased her hopping. She gave Chaser a petulant look but cooperatively opened her orders. Almost immediately, her face lit up and her tentacles flared out like a blooming flower.

"I got in! The Fighter Training Academy!"

Sahna felt a huge sense of relief. She was glad for Vita. And if she got in, it boded well for the rest of them.

Chaser went next and proudly displayed his very similar looking orders to the other two. "Guess we'll be together again. Looks like things are all working out. Go on, Flagpole, get the formality over with."

"Don't call me that," she said, but she was smiling.

She popped the seal on her orders and unfolded the crisp white paper… and frowned. Right away, she could tell her orders were different, just from how much shorter the paragraphs were and the different format.

The other two looked at each other with concern and Sahna began to read her orders out loud.

"Second-Lieutenant Sahna Starburn is hereby ordered to report to Colonel Cobbler by sixteen-hundred hours for special assignment."

Chaser seemed to relax. "Ah, I get it. Because you got a medal of excellence they probably have something extra for you to do before you get your real orders. You know, pose for cameras and stuff or ask people to buy war bonds. Or maybe it's some kind of weird tradition around here."

"Oh…" Vita nodded. "That kind of makes sense. It does seem to lack a lot of the formality of our orders. Look, it's not even signed by anyone, while ours are signed by the Department of Personnel. These aren't official orders."

"Maybe the commandant just wants to give you a pep talk," Chaser suggested. "Either way, it's thirteen forty-five. Better not keep him waiting."

Sahna nodded and quickly folded the paper before hurrying back inside the building. She'd never been to the commandant's office before, but she knew the way. She took the stairs up to the third floor and followed the signage to one of the centre corridors, where she found a large, brass trimmed oak door guarded by two sentries. Probably a precaution against anyone who thought there was a mistake with their orders.

Sahna came to a stop in front of the sentries. "I was given these orders from the office downstairs to see the Colonel." She offered the Marine corporal the paper and he examined it, frowning. She shared a look with her partner then told Sahna to wait there while he went into the office to check with the colonel. He returned a moment later, motioning for her to go inside. Gathering her courage, Sahna did so.

Colonel Cobbler was an old squid, nearly in his nineties, old enough to have lived through the last war with the Octarians, back when they'd been a monarchy. His large office was festooned with memorabilia from a long career in the Marines, and he'd been the camp commandant at Mukrock for the past decade.

Sahna halted a metre from his desk and saluted. "Sir, Second-Lieutenant Starburn reporting as requested."

The Colonel looked up at her, his dark blue eyes showing more vitality than his age would suggest, yet there was a kind of weariness in them. His mantle had lost some of its colour with age, making it difficult for her to read if he allowed any emotion to show through it.

"At ease, Lieutenant. I appreciate you coming so quickly. This is something I'd like to get over with."

The Colonel's voice sounded tired and not the least bit enthusiastic, putting Sahna further on edge. There was nothing ceremonial about this at all.

She watched as the Colonel reached into his desk and pulled out a sealed envelope. Sahna's hearts beat faster. This was it; her official orders.

Cobbler pushed the envelope towards her but didn't withdraw his hand. "These are official sealed orders, Lieutenant."

Sahna's excitement vanished, replaced with caution and apprehension. "Sir?"

"I don't know the details. All I know is that there's going to be a transport arriving at our airfield in three hours, and when it leaves you have to be on it." He tapped the envelope. "You're not allowed to open this envelope until you're above the clouds. Am I understood, Lieutenant."

Sahna's confusion grew, and a horrible feeling began twisting her guts. "Y-yes, Sir."

He withdrew his hand and Sahna tentatively picked the envelope up, holding it in both hands and feeling its thickness between her fingers. Her chest tightened, her stomach feeling very sick.

"S-sir, am I not going to the Fighter Academy?"

For a fleeting moment, Sahna thought she saw sadness in the old inkyar's eyes. "No, Lieutenant, I don't think you are. It looks like the Marines have something else in mind for you."

Sahna's soul sank, tearing up like an owl's talons on a set of living room drapes. It was happening again. After she'd worked so hard, after half a year of blood, ink, and tears working her way through Basic, then Officer Training School, earning top marks to get her basic wings, she was being robbed of her dream yet again.

"Lieutenant!"

Sahna snapped from her noxious spiral and found herself staring into the angry eyes of the commandant.

"Sir!"

"I've been working here a long time and I don't recall anytime we taught new officers to lose their cool just because things didn't turn out the way they wanted. Last I checked, duty came first. Am I wrong, Marine?"

"N-no, Sir."

He walked around his desk and came closer to her. His voice hadn't lost its bark after all.

"If you're wearing those bars on your shoulders, Lieutenant, a certain amount is expected of you. I'm pretty sure we made that quite clear to all of you before you ever got them."

Sahna swallowed. "Y-yes, Sir."

"Are you a Marine, Lieutenant?"

"Yes, Sir."

"I CAN'T HEAR YOU. I ASKED IF YOU'RE A MARINE!"

"YES, SIR!"

"Then whatever those orders are go out there and carry them out like we've come to expect of an honour graduate of our Officer Training School. Don't pout about it, just get on and do the job. You be flexible, you be strong, you be a marine. Am I clear?"

"Yes, Sir!"

"Then I want you at that airfield ready to board this mystery plane by seventeen-thirty, and I want to hear no excuses."

"No excuses, Sir!"

"Then your dismissed, Lieutenant, and do make us doubt our faith in you again."

Sahna saluted sharply. "Yes, Sir."

The colonel returned the salute, then she turned on her heel and marched out of his office.

She didn't look at the sentries or anyone else as she walked down the corridor. Instead of taking the stairs, she found an elevator. Fortunately, there was nobody else inside.

She stood at the back of the elevator, waited until the doors fully closed, and then screamed.

Author's Notes:

Yeah, major oof for poor Sahna, seemingly having her dream ripped away from her again. Even if we know what's coming, she doesn't, and even if she did, do you think she'd accept it any more readily? I definitely think the colonel's pep talk helped put her head on straight.

Nice to see Vita Deepcoast doing better isn't it? Shows what a little positive reinforcement can do, eh? Chaser is still him but he's somewhat turned over a new leaf. At the very least, Sahna doesn't seem opposed to being associated with him in any way.

Also, I'm no expert in hand-to-hand combat so I had to base all the moves of the characters based on videos I've seen on the internet and apply them to their personalities as best I could.