It's nice to get such extensive reviews! You guys are really helping me out. I usually get only 'good jobs!' and 'please write more!' type reviews. It's nice to have such responsive readers of this series. Hopefully, I can continue making this series stand out... I don't know how I have, but I'm glad I've managed to do so. Also, about the battle scenes. I personally don't see units able to attack only once per day, like what the games show. I've actually gone ahead and made it so that the battles take far less time- several hours, really, is all that's needed to make a battle scene in 'game-time' take place.
And now, to those who reviewed the previous chapter-
Taekmkm: Did I get the spelling right for your name? Anyway... you may have a point about my not revealing much of anything early on. In fact, I've simply been setting the stage with the story and such. With this chapter, I will be giving a much closer look into Silver Mountain's past and their previous dealing with Black Hole. One thing I'm not about to provide hints to, however, is Net and Sheila's rivalry- we all know it's there, from the first chapter. Who knows? It might be about the same lines that there is a rivalry between Max and Grit! Which is not likely, by the way, but you won't know the details until much later! When I know that the readers are interested in the story by the number of reviews I receive, I should be ready to pull out the main stops of the storyline. We're about at that point, actually. Don't worry, I'll reveal more soon enough.
Kronik-Spoon, Student: No need to worry about slacking with the reviews- you're not obligated to review my fics, though I do appreciate the reviews you have provided already. And no, I'm not stingy. Take your time to review, if you feel like reviewing this fic or any others of mine.
Keeper of the Scarf: Thanks for another review.
Genocide: Thanks for another review as well.
Maybe I should actually write these responses after the story itself? Ah well. Now, on with the fic!
---
On the beach was an assortment of military machines and troops, the likes of which had never before been seen on Orange Star soil before. Indeed, hover tanks, copters, and APCs of different types littered the sandy area, of designs that were somewhat familiar to the CO's that were drawing close. None of the machines on the beach moved, though many people could be seen wandering about the vehicles, effecting repairs while they still could in case this meeting went ugly. The troops wore still the gray uniforms that they had been issued, as part of the Silver Mountain army, and the ships that had been part of their fleet had move in much closer to land, as close as they dared to come to the shore without running aground.
It was in the center of this that Sheila found herself, surrounded on all sides by her troops. She had effectively finished off the Orange Star troops in this area, thanks to her Blitzkrieg attack. Indeed, the sudden devasation wrought by her bombers and copters had demolished almost all of their tanks, anti-airs, and infantry units that had been dispatched to deal with the invaders. The entire battle that had been waged lasted less than a day, to tell the truth, and now here she was, waiting for the CO's that she had fought against. The one named Jess that had contacted her... seemed amiable enough. The opponent was obviously not Black Hole. They would never simply come in for negotiation, and rather attack when they least expected it. That was why Sheila had sent her copters to provide air cover, in case of some sort of Black Hole attack.
She wouldn't put it past Black Hole to try and disrupt any meeting that she might be planning to have with this Jess, after all. For all that the Silver Mountain CO knew, Orange Star might simply be a front, or worse, an ally with their enemy nation. She gazed at her watch and sighed, shaking her head. Dammit... only a few more minutes and the hour deadline would be up. Sheila was uncomfortable on land. She much preferred the skies or the sea to being land-bound. There wasn't a sense of freedom here- land eventually ended. The oceans continued on, moving around continents and islands, and the skies? The skies never ended, and there was no place one could not go, up above cities and mountains. Continents, and land itself, made her nearly claustrophobic.
"Arik, you better be alright." she muttered to herself, so low in volume that her aide who was standing behind her couldn't even hear the comment. And it was just as well- she enjoyed teasing the young man that had volunteered to make his way onto land to meet with whoever he could to see about peace. The average officer in their army would have said it was suicide, she had heard rumors to that extent the evening that it had happened when she had gone to the mess hall on the carrier. The pilots were angry as well, much to her surprise- she had no idea what her own men had thought of the newest CO.
What she had learned was rather astounding. Arik was a man that they respected, it seemed, one that didn't wage war but waged a war against war. He did not care to attack, but to protect his men as best that he could. It didn't matter what type of troop he commanded, or the damage that the unit had taken. He would protect them as well as humanly possible, and he would even join his troops out into battle. He had been a man that had taken the brunt of attacks at the front before, and each time he would cause his men to counter attack with a ferocity that belied his relative inexperience as CO in general.
Sheila glanced at her watch and closed her eyes shortly afterwards. Dammit. Time was up. She stood up from where she had been sitting on the sand- sand, at least, felt nice every so often. Landers lined up along the beach, containing no troops- they had been emptied during the assault, and many of the troops that had disembarked would not be returning. "Prepare to evacuate the beach. This Jess is taking her time. We shall wait a few more minutes to give them what time they require to make it here, but I want off of this soil within 10 minutes, got it?" she told her aide, who nodded and turned, giving out the order that she had just given him.
She worried about her comrade- indeed, though she was quite well respected among the Silver Mountain Army, she was still just a CO that would do what was needed to win. Nearly all CO's required that duty, in order to do what they did. To order their troops into battle, unsure of victory against a foe, be they known or unknown, required nerves that the average person did not possess. She possessed such nerve; all CO's did. Save for the most naive ones, she thought to herself, remembering once more about Lash.
---
"We're running late! Driver, get us to the beach right now!" Sami's voice called out from the back of the recon vehicle, where she stood behind the machine gun it carried, that they had commandeered. She had been in this vehicle for nearly an hour- did the driver even know where the beach was? Dammit all, Andy needed help but this meeting with the enemy CO had been in the making for a short while now, and was very important. Nell had said that this sort of meeting was unprecedented in the history of Orange Star, especially when the lone transport copter had attempted to make landfall.
Sami looked down into the back seat of the vehicle, where Sonja was sitting. Andy sat beside her, no longer unconsious but in a bit of pain. And with a sling on his right arm, no less, the mechanical wonder would not be effecting his repair abilities on anything anytime soon. She sighed softly- why had she called out to him? It was all her fault now, why Andy had been hurt like that.
She'd cried out to him, after noticing the large monitor had been about to fall. The strange thing was, it wasn't about to fall on her- from where she'd been standing, it was Sonja who'd about to be crushed by it. Why had she cried out to him? Sonja wasn't an enemy, not anymore, but she wasn't really a friend. A rival, perhaps, a competitor, absolutely. She would have gained a lot, should Sonja have been knocked out for a while. But...
Then it was clear to the specialist. She didn't hate the woman. Like it or not, Sonja was a vital CO in the world today, and she had become even more crucial as a result of the second Black Hole war. She no longer saw her troops as people to use as shields, to hide behind while attacking her enemy. She was a wonder on the battlefield now, hidden troops unable to remain that way while she was around. Sami found herself as a simple second-best on the field as a result- her own intelligence group a modest second-rate compared to Sonja's.
They really weren't all that different, to tell the truth. Both loved their countries and both wanted to protect their friends and family, after all. Sami sighed softly, and that caused both Sonja and Andy to look up to her as the young CO looked to the gun she had in her hands. "What's the matter, Sami?" Andy asked, obviously in a little pain. He looked up to her- damn, how naive was her friend, really? Sami shrugged and then smiled to the CO that she had helped out one several ocassions, and had been helped by on a few as well.
"Nothing, Andy... I'm sorry about your getting injured like you did, though." she said, and watched as Andy just smiled a little. Sonja shook her head, looking back towards where they were reaching the beach now. What was going on in Sonja's mind, she wondered, as she looked back to Andy and saw the smile he gave her.
"Come on, Sami. Nothing to be sorry for. I'm just glad you got my attention so I could help Sonja when I did, ya know." he told her, and then they all bucked up as they crossed onto the sand. The landers of the new army were still in place, and they were joined by another recon vehicle after a moment longer. All three CO's looked over, and saw Jess standing in the same place on that vehicle that Sami was standing at on theirs. "Besides... I'd do the same for you, too. You know that." he finished, watching Jess as she waved over to them. In the back seat, there was a gray uniformed young man that was laying on what looked to be a stretcher.
"Well, so that is the face of the man who tried to meet with us yesterday..." Sonja said aloud. Did she realize she said that thought out loud, Sami wondered, as she looked at the uniformed man. There were several bandages along his legs, as well as his arms and sides- she could spot some red stains on there even from where she stood, and she winced. It was rare that there was a survivior from a transport copter crash. This man was extraordinarily lucky, she considered, as she looked ahead. Sonja and Andy were watching the man as Jess' vehicle came up close enough to where she could be heard.
"Sami! We're late! We gotta be there soon, before it's too late to meet them!" came the older woman's voice, over the sound of loud engines as they sped down the beach towards the army that had landed to meet them. Sami nodded to the older red-head and sighed softly, wondering just what they were doing coming out here to meet someone from a country only Jess had ever been to or heard about before. Ah well, she thought to herself. Perhaps this CO would be able to keep them from attacking one another again. I sure hope so, she told herself, as she managed to smile a bit finally.
---
"Commander, they're here! And, they are definitely not Black Hole." the subcommander informed Sheila, who shook her head. Right when she was getting comfortable on the Lander, too, she thought, and then chuckled softly. They were certainly fashionably late, she told herself, as she stood up and walked towards the lander's bay doors that were still open. She had decided to make use of the lander's open area (the units that had been assigned to it had been destroyed by the onslaught of shells and tanks) as a place for the wounded to get treatment.
"Alright, thank you. Close the doors after this, and make sure everyone in here gets medical treatment as best we can provide here." she told the subcommander, who saluted and went out to give the orders again. What a bother... treaties had never been in the job description for a CO! Certainly not meeting to keep from warring with another country, either. Then again, there had been no contact with outside nations other than Black Holes in, well, many years. Certainly, longer than she could ever remember. "This had better not be a trick." she told herself as she stepped down the ramp and onto the sand once more. She looked to the fore, and found two vehicles that were not from her units, but quite similar all the same. Recons, she told herself, even as a red-haired woman got out of the vehicle on the left.
From the other vehicle, a younger red-haired girl in nothing more than a tank top and khakis jumped from the machine gun position. A pair of youngsters, one a black-haired boy with a sling on his right arm, and the other a girl with black hair tied back into a tight ponytail, came out as well. The boy wore an orange jumpsuit- obviously Orange Star, she thought. The other wore a yellow uniform, almost the same color as the sand but a much richer yellow all the same. Sheila smiled a little- trusting fools, she realized, but then remembered the battle plan that they had utilized before the battle had begun in earnest.
They were not fools- their forces had been destroyed, after all. They came with no guard, however, and that made her relax. Two recon vehicles against several tank units, bombers, battle copters... Sheila knew that they came with good intentions. These four that had come from the vehicles walked side by side toward her as she stood in front of the ramp of the lander, which was now drawing upwards like a drawbridge back towards the hull of the ship. The doors soon slowly began to close around the ramp, and as they shut with a loud clang, the four before her stopped. One boy, two girls, and the woman. The woman came forward first, and did something that no one could have expected.
The red haired older woman came forward, and bowed to Sheila before saluting her in the same way that all Silver Mountain soldiers saluted a CO. Her right hand, fingers aligned with thumb, pressed against her forehead. Her left hand was set the same way against her left side, finding purchase against a green-uniformed leg. In response, Sheila saluted the green-uniformed one with a small smile. Then, finding that none seemed to care to speak, she did the only logical thing she could think of. She began the meeting.
"My name is Sheila. I am a commanding officer from Silver Mountain. We are seeking out Black Hole. The other commanding officer that was with me attempted to meet with you last night, but his transport was shot down by your missiles. Your act of aggression triggered this battle. What have you to say?" she said. She knew that negotiations were not her forte. Indeed, she thought to herself, she had never foreseen a scenario like this one. Sheila wanted desperately to ask about Arik, if he was alive still, but not yet. She could not show an ounce of weakness in her resolve towards these people that had attacked them first. She stood face to face with the red-haired woman now.
The boy winced slightly, the movement catching the Silver Mountain CO's attention. Had he been with the troops, perhaps? Or, most likely, he had been near where the missiles that her submarines had launced had hit. That was probably the case, she decided, as she looked at the four again. The yellow-uniformed young woman was helping to support the boy- obviously, he had a hurt arm, perhaps shoulder, and maybe even his right leg, from the way he was being supported. "My name is Jess. I am a commanding officer of Green Earth." the red-haired woman said to Sheila. She turned her attention back to Jess, and nodded slightly. That meant nothing, yet, to her. But, why was she here, on what was obviously Orange Star land? Had Green Earth taken over Orange Star?
"My name is Sami. I'm a CO here in Orange Star. This is Andy, a fellow CO from Orange Star, and beside him is Sonja, a CO from Yellow Comet." the younger red-head said now, and Sheila looked to her. A CO from yet another country? Very unusual... Most peculiar, she thought to herself. Why were there CO's from three countries in a single one? Unless it was because they wished to meet the newcomers, she told herself. Arik had been right. To introduce themselves first would have been neighborly, after all. And perhaps, the bloodshed between their two countries could have been avoided! After all, these countries must not be at war with one another, if they were able to co-exist like this. "As for Black Hole... we beat them months ago, all of our countries combined. Sturm didn't stand a chance."
Sheila's eyes went wide in shock at this. Sturm had been defeated? The man known for his Meteor Strike attacks had been defeated by a country other than Silver Mountain, before her homeland could deal its revenge? "That does not, however, excuse your attack on a lone transport." she replied now. Now was a good time to let her grievance out to air with the four CO's before her, an obviously captive audience. Unless Orange Star had intel that she didn't, it was quite obvious that the missiles that had hit the transport had come from their units. And even if they denied it, if any of them denied it, their denial could still be a fabrication.
---
Jess was surprised by Sheila's demeanor. She was pretty sure of herself, Jess thought to herself, even as she listened to the woman's claims. At the sound of her blaming Orange Star for the initial attack, she couldn't fault the woman, obviously. The shrapnel at the site of the downed transport had confirmed the fact that ordnance from an Orange Star missile launcher had taken it down. However, she knew the Orange Star CO's fairly well by now, and also knew that Orange Star in general never started a war. They ended them, as had been obvious in both of the Black Hole wars.
"At the time of that copter coming in, Sami, Sonja, and Jess were asleep, miss Sheila." Andy said now, stepping forward to take the center of attention away from Jess for at least a short moment. "I was working on that recon vehicle that we got out of. I was the only commanding officer awake, and I gotta tell you, I never gave an order to attack to a single unit at that time. But, as I was the one in charge..." he said slowly now. He was telling the truth, Jess could tell. The boy didn't lie. It wasn't that he couldn't, but that he knew when to do so and when not to. This was obviously one of those times. "I take full responsibility for the attack, and though I can't apologize enough to you for the attack and the battle that began this morning, I do apologize wholeheartedly."
Sami and Sonja were looking at Andy in surprise, and Jess smiled slightly. Oh yes, she considered. The boy was a good kid, definitely CO material. It would have been interesting to have matched up against him during the first war, she thought to herself, as the boy shifted slightly as he stood, his left hand hanging at his side as he looked to the sand. Andy sure seemed to be taking it hard, she mused, even as she shifted her gaze back up to the Silver Mountain CO again. Sheila seemed to be dismayed at this display, perhaps wondering what she should do? There was a flash of anger in her eyes, it seemed, and Jess had to think it must be because of what happened just last night to her comrade.
"And your comrade is alive, commander Sheila." Jess said, and waved her men forward. Two men carried a stretcher between them, moving slowly towards the small group that remained just outside the lander, but in its shadow that was cast onto the beach that they stood on. A slight breeze made Jess shudder a little. The beach was an awful place at times, she considered. It left one open to the elements... and to attacks. "I found him in the wreckage of the copter, as I told you earlier. He was pretty badly hurt, so we treated him as best we could while being bombarded by your battleships. I don't know how well he will recover."
When Sheila saw the young man that had been rescued, she ran over as the pair of men set him down on the beach. She was in awe that he hadn't been hurt more seriously than he was, though even now he was in bad shape. The uniform had been set over his body, Jess knew- because of his left arm, which was now in a sling, he wouldn't be able to wear it easily. And the bandages that were around his midsection also had been in the way. She had helped to prepare his body for moving, and that had been part of the reason why she had been so late in arriving, earlier.
"I am glad to see that you CO's are honorable, it seems. You have kept your word, Jess. I shall not go back on mind, though to continue this battle is something I would like to do at this point, seeing as you began all this. But, for my comrade's sake and for peace between us, which is what he would want, I will let you aboard." the woman said, kneeling now beside the boy she had flirted with just early yesterday evening. She'd just been playing with him, after all- something that she knew he hadn't had to deal with since he had been a kid. After all, she knew his past. Jess watched this, oblivious to the thoughts of the younger woman, and smiled a little. At least she showed concern for a fallen friend. Sheila took out a communicator and spoke into it quickly. "Open the door and let down the ramp! We have Arik out here, and he's been badly injured. Have the medics ready in there!"
"We would be honored." Jess replied, smiling a little as she watched the exchange. So, Silver Mountain retained the compassion that they had once been known for, years ago. Of course, there were only a pair of CO's that would remember such that were still around today, but neither were here at this little meeting.
---
With that, the bay doors opened and the ramp slipped down from where it had been set within the hull of the ship, and a medical team quickly made its way down to get the stretcher with Arik on it. From there, Sheila led the four CO's into the ship, and then details were exchanged between them. All the while, Arik was taken into surgery, and for hours, the young CO was in the care of the ship's doctors.
Several days passed...
---
"Excellent..." Adder said to himself. He had a croissant on the table beside him, along with his newest blend of coffee. But, it was neither the taste of his snack nor the coffee that he had just sipped that he commented on. He had sent Hawke the latest news, of Silver Mountain's emergence from the oceans of Wars World and to Orange Star. He had even managed to pull up satelite images of the short meeting that had taken place outside the Silver Mountain landing ship. Adder had pulled up what little information that had been obtained from Silver Mountain's military data, and managed to locate some news on the female CO that had met the four he had met before from the most recent war.
"Sheila... my, what an interesting girl." he mused, speaking to himself once more. These days, it was rare that he personally gave a command to anyone. He had a small dossier on the young woman, which had been accumulated from the time she had been noticed by Lash to when she had led an attack on the Asciral region of Silver Mountain and drove out the subcommander in charge there. She had then gone on to join the Silver Mountain's growing army under the command of Lance, and from there information was sketchy at best until this most recent sighting.
It was something that made him frown, disgusted by his operatives' lack of tact. Indeed, they had repeatedly been unable to infiltrate Silver Mountain's army or intelligence network. They were always found out, somehow. His operatives in other countries had been having so much success that a failure left a taste as bitter as... and he sipped his coffee, only to spit it back out onto the cold floor. Carpet had turned out to be too much of a luxury here- a good thing in this case. "Damn this coffee!" he exclaimed loudly, rather surprised by the now very bad taste of it, as well as the cold of the liquid in the mug. He had enjoyed the first sip, but this time it was too cold. "Minions, get in here and clean this up! And get me another cup of coffee!" he called out, and a man in a black uniform with a clear helmet came in with a mop.
"Yes sir! Right away, sir!" the man said quietly to the lanky, near-albino looking man as he got on his knees to use a towel that he was always equipped with these days to wipe up the mess. Adder smiled slowly as he watched his 'slave' at work. He'd ordered several guards that remained outside his office to carry cleaning supplies so that they could clean anything that spilled, either outside the room or inside of it. Another man was soon inside, and carried a steaming mug of coffee that was soon presented to the commanding officer, second only to Hawke himself.
Without a word of thanks to the 'slave' that brought him the new cup of coffee, Adder took the mug and took a sip again from it. Then he gave out a startled yelp and threw the cup against the soldier's helmet, the ceramic mug crashing and breaking against the helmet. The lethal projectile that had contained coffee shattered and cracked the helmet of the man that had worn the helmet, even as Adder got angry and started in on the man. "That was too hot! Can't you fools get anything right at all? Hurry up, clean this up and get me a new cup of coffee... or I'll send you to Lash's R&D department!"
The two soldiers glanced at each other, and each inwardly sighed as they dreaded -that- particular department. They'd known people to be sent there before... and never heard from them again. Wordlessly, they hurriedly began cleaning up the spilled coffee and shattered mug that once contained the commanding officer's favorite drink. The first soldier in was soon heading out with the remnants of the coffee mug, and the second left soon afterwards to get a new cup of coffee for their commander. Adder's voice sang out after the second one, too, after he finished a bite from his croissant. "Bring me a danish, too! On the double!"
---
Sheila had had printed off packets that detailed Silver Mountain's war to drive off Black Hole for the four CO's about Black Hole's invasion of Silver Mountain as best as their military knew it to be. Around ten years ago, the leader of Black Hole, Sturm had invaded with his entire military force. Silver Mountain, at the time, had been known as being the most peaceful nation in the world. Though it retained many resources, no other countries were close enough to Silver Mountain to be able to mount an offensive attack on it. Relations with other countries had always been strained, thanks to this distance.
Nothing, however, could have saved them from the attack that Sturm had mounted. No one knew where he had come from, but when he came he brought three promising young CO's and a fourth CO that he counted on more. It was in Silver Mountain that he took his people, enslaving the population of the country to do their bidding. It was here, also, that the CO's that he had brought were put into extensive training. Lash, Hawke, and Flak were all sent to do his bidding, destroying any and all resistance that was created by the once peaceful nation.
Eventually, five years ago, Sturm left the country to do something that not even Silver Mountain had been able to discover. It was after that, that the three CO's began to double their training, a force behind them driving them to continue their work upon the citizens of the country that had been conquered. Massacres were created. Flak had dealt death to many cities in Silver Mountain in his reckless zeal to destroy and conquer. Lash began working on an advanced tank unit that carried a powerful cannon and machine gun, and yet be as maneuverable as a normal tank. It took a few years, but the prototypes were created and slaughters began anew with the Neotanks.
Of Hawke, little could be said. The man remained behind the scenes, mostly, manipulating the populace and using his troops to quell any uprisings. Of the three, he was the one who did the least damage, and never killed without, to him, just cause. However, there was always someone behind the bunch- someone pulling the strings. Whoever it was had a sick mind and was a quick thinker. But then, Lance took command of a few rag-tag rebellion cells, and began to strike back. Lance was a thinker more than a leader, and had from the start made his few friends that had ties with the old research and development of weapons in the nation begin work on new designs.
The first battles had gone poorly- Lash had commanded the troops they faced, and the new commander lost again and again. It was after a changing of the guards that they had been able to win a single victory, after a year of preparation. Subcommanders were left in charge, for some reason. Lash, Flak, and Hawke had left the country, and no one knew what had happened to them or where they might have gone. That was when Lance began to really build the Silver Mountain military. Their power grew, support for their land bringing uprisings so large in the cities that the Black Hole controlled that they needed to use infantry to quell them. But despite this, the fledgling army grew. Sheila and Net joined up after their resistance cells were offered the chance, and from there the army began to defeat the commanders.
It took almost a year to defeat the Black Hole army that had remained. The last year before the order to reach Orange Star was spent in rebuilding fallen cities and bringing their land from the brink of death itself. The army grew, and trained hard. New weapons had been made: Cruise missiles, such as the ones that had been launched from the submarines and had targeted around the Orange Star field HQ. Hover tanks, which could carry a squad of infantry, equipped with a normal tank's cannon and a light machine gun and yet be deployed while they were still at sea. Aircraft Carriers, capable of servicing and deploying four air units. Tankers that could act like APCs, while at sea. Even more were being thought up, but none were anywhere past the prototype stage as of yet.
A few weeks ago, Sheila and Arik had been given a message to reach Orange Star, in an effort to find the Black Hole's army. According to Lance's intelligence and information recovered from Black Hole's computers and notes after their defeat, the Black Hole had gone this way to try and take over the remaining continents of Wars World. What happened after that, they did not know, but now they had to deal with the fact that Black Hole still existed, somewhere.
---
This information was very disturbing to Sonja... So, there had been another country that was conquered by Black Hole, before even the first war had begun! She had thought the notes she found during that war to just be some sort of diversion. The Yellow Comet CO sighed softly as she picked up the packet that had been printed out for her. So much information, so little time... and there was still the problem with Sheila. She didn't trust any of them, and Sonja couldn't bring herself to blame the woman. After all, her comrade had nearly been killed by missiles from one of Orange Star's units.
Too confusing, she thought, considering just how lucky the four CO's were to be alive. If Jess hadn't found that young man, then it was quite likely that they would not be alive right now. Sheila was hot-headed and obviously wired to attack if provoked. And if attacking a friend or fellow officer wasn't enough provocation, then no one would ever fight. This little cease-fire couldn't last forever, at this rate. Eventually, Sheila would either withdraw or begin to invade the land in an effort to provide ground support for her troops. Dammit. And with the firepower she could bring to bear... well, there were only a few CO's that she knew of that would be able to keep an onslaught from such a fleet from doing as they wished.
Why had Black Hole left Silver Mountain? It had been a very good base, far enough away from the other four continents to stay hidden from them. Of course, they couldn't reach the main continents of Wars World from there unless they had used tankers as well... So strange. So, during the first Black Hole War, she thought to herself. Those four other CO's had been in training. Wait! She blinked and looked through the papers one more time. No mention of Adder anywhere in them? So, the other three had beenin training. Where had Adder been during this time? A memory tugged at the back of Sonja's mind, attempting to surface. But no, she was too busy concentrating to bother with a memory that was threatening to come up for who knew what reason. She sighed softly, and then shook her head.
With a look to the gray ceiling, the CO from Yellow Comet closed her eyes. What would father think of all this? And Sensei, she wondered, looking intently at the metal surface above. Surely they would have some sort of wisdom to impart to her... but what?
For once, the queen of intel was unsure of just how this could proceed.
---
In the intensive care unit of the landing craft, the CO that had gone down with the transport copter stayed in a deep slumber. Asleep or unconscious, the young man was being watched by not only the other CO of Silver Mountain, but also by all the troops within the ship as they passed by. This was a new sight to these troops- only his own would remember his ever being at their side during combat.
"So... this is Arik, eh?" came a quiet voice, as Sheila sat on a chair beside the medical cot. She looked up and saw that Orange Star CO, Sami. Sheila nodded slightly, having to suppress a flash of anger that threatened to make its way onto her face and into her eyes. How dare this girl come so close? Did she wish to finish the job she had made her troops begin? She watched as the young girl stopped moving closer, and then just stood not too far away, watching the other CO for a moment. "I am truly sorry that this happened, Sheila." she said to the woman.
Sheila's rage flared once more and she glared at the girl. Sorry? She certainly would be, the Silver Mountain CO thought to herself, coming to her feet quickly. Her breathing came faster as she shivered a little, restraint clamping back down on the emotion that she felt within her body that was making her act too quickly for her mind to keep up. Sami stepped back as she watched the other CO do this, and though she had no doubts that she could beat Sheila hand-to-hand, it was unlikely anyone would bother to think of it as self-defense here.
Then, a voice only Sheila knew came from nearby, and a slight groan marked the turning point of the other Silver Mountain CO's slumber. "Where's... the tank? The one that hit me?" he muttered lowly, and Sheila turned, her rage forgotten now as she smiled slowly. Sami just had to grin- the man's words had disarmed the woman, just like that!
Sheila chuckled softly and shook her head slowly. Somehow, this CO had a way to disarm those who were around him. Very strange... but also very welcome, too, at this time. She stepped over and set her hand on the young man's shoulder, giving a little pat after a short moment and looking over to Sami again. "I... I am sorry. Once he feels better, he will be dealing with you commanding officers. I'm afraid that I am not the negotiator that anyone expects me to be. Though, you did shoot him down- it is possible that he might be a bit biased as well." she told the red-haired CO. Sami just nodded to her and walked back towards the hallway that led to the quarters that Sheila had provided them.
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Author's Note: To tell the truth, this fic was, and still is, an experiment in storytelling for modern-era writing for me. I'm working on several different fanfics right now: MML-based, a sci-fi fic on Wing Commander 1 (not the movie!), a small three or four chapter series for Fire Emblem, and I'm toying with the idea of writing my own original medieval fantasy fic. Basically, those would be the reasons (along with work, that is) as to why I probably won't be updating much more often than once a week or so for this one. Again, all reviews are welcomed, including flames, but if you are anonymously reviewing, please only review once for a single chapter. And if you review once per chapter, please don't make the reviews the same thing.
Hmm... Another muse-less chapter. I think Tron must be happy or something. I know I am! lol