Early morning dawned over the Republic of San Magnolia. A new day came, with all her challenges.
The Sun of a chilly early Fall day beat down upon the Capital's streets, where the jubilant and reinvigorated population raised glasses of wine and banners high for the New Republic's rebirth. Gathered in large crowds in front of major stops where lines of buses waited to cart them to their future training areas, the youthful and proud of the Republic's Alba population, dressed in uniforms and carrying bags of supplies, prepared for their departure for the first six months of training.
Families hugged and kissed their eldest children, those who volunteered for the duty to defend their motherland, while even adults who'd served in the Army and Air Force had signed up once more. Men in their thirties and forties kissed their wives and younger children goodbye, some departing with their oldest sons and daughters to receive retraining in the hopes of defending their land and atoning for the mistakes of the past regime.
Among some of the newcomers, fresh Eighty-Six recruits that had returned Planet-side from the ship watched with awe as the very Alba they'd once regarded with pure hatred bowed, asking forgiveness that they knew they could never get out of the youth whose lives they stole. Still, some of the Eighty-Six, finding their former unknowing oppressors repentant for letting them suffer through inaction, regarded the Republic's Armed Forces recruits with a degree of brotherhood, even giving them salutes.
Above, Pelican transports flew high and low, carrying supplies and equipment meant to assist in building the Fortresses within the borders of the Republic's Eighty-Five sectors. Just yesterday, the Eighty-Sixth had been recognized as a genuine sector of the Republic's territories, one where so many young and old lives of their citizens had been lost through malicious hatred or negligence, but still a sector of the Republic. One that even the Alba would now defend proudly.
As Colonel of the Armed Forces Vladilena Milizé marched down the sidewalk, still clad in her azure and white uniform of the Republic Military, she regarded the gathering crowds with a small sense of patriotic pride. Lines and rows of buses departed down the main boulevards, toward the camps within the Eighty-Fifth Sector, for training and rearmament of the new recruits, their hybrid engines whirring silently as they trundled forth down the massive boulevard to the cheering and weeping of mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, wives and husbands.
Republic Research and Development had also begun looking over the Juggernaut's old design. Annette had told her as much. It'd take a while to redesign into something worthwhile as a fighting vehicle with survivability, but the UNSC assured them they and their newly-acquired Allies, the Federal Republic of Giad, the Alliance of Wald and the United Kingdom of Roa Gracia would be cooperating in its design.
Above Lena, banners of the Republic, raised at half-mast, fluttered in the wind. She passed by a newly-modified building, a place where Processors' names were being added. A memorial Hall, just down the road from the Palace Blancneige. She didn't want to go into it... In her ears, meanwhile, rung the drums and brass of the Republic's old anthem. Though once sung in San Magnolian Standard, after the formation of the Republic, it had been adapted to the commonplace language of today.
"Come, children of the Motherland! The day of Glory has arrived!" Sang a proud choir-girl of the Republic's Military Fanfare, a smile on her face as the massive screens broadcasted her. Lena cracked a small smile at the sight, listening as the short-haired girl in a San Magnolia uniform continued, "We shall fight the old tyranny as our blood-soaked banner is raised! As our blood-soaked banner is raised, fluttering over the emerald fields!"
Lena chuckled. The lyrics had always been one of the points of contention by the more 'progressive' Alba, but even they realized the necessity of a song to galvanize the people once the UNSC and President Monet's new Cabinet took power. The young girl continued singing, with Lena finding herself murmuring the lyrics along, "Behold, the wrath of our old enemies! They come to our land, seeking to subjugate us all, so..."
"To arms, citizens! Form our Battalions! We march! We march! So that we might beget their bloody Fall!" The girl sang, her voice reigning throughout the Republic's streets, joined by a choir of proud voices which somewhat included Lena, as well as the brass section of the orchestra. The chorus of the song repeated as Lena marched forth, entering the Palace Blancneige within minutes.
She ascended up the stairwell, getting the salutes of a dozen officers as she passed through the halls. She quickly replied to all of them, dismissing them with simple nods, her aim focused on the R&D section of the Headquarters once more. As she entered it, about a foot in, she realized just how much it had been expanded in such a short time. Several wider rooms within this section of the Palace Blancneige, formerly meeting halls and an officers' club, had been refit as both classes and actual research and development rooms meant to help study and prototype better equipment to combat the Legion.
Several scientists, UNSC, of course, were teaching Republic ones about the benefits of some of the new equipment that they were bringing into the fold planetside, including the EM cannons and bombs that had been used to defend Spearhead during their last outing under Republic command. She squelched the thoughts of them, lest she burst into tears in the middle of the HQ, then stepped forth, pride in her step.
Entering the R&D room, she was greeted by the scent of freshly-baked muffins and coffee. Not just any coffee, though, one with a scent powerful enough to cause her to do a double take. She looked over to the coffee maker on the right, next to the fridge, to see a bag of one of the UNSC's most infamous coffee archetypes. It was called the 'Death Wish' Coffee and it was said to contain at least five times the normal caffeine of a normal espresso.
She narrowed her lips, then looked ahead, to see Annette, Matt and Sam engaged in a game of cards. While the idea of drinking a coffee with that much caffeine in it somewhat shocked Lena, she was more surprised by the sheer amount of cream that Samantha had chosen to douse hers in, seeing the cherry on top of a mound of whipped cream as well.
Annette moved her eye from her cards to see Lena, then smirked and saluted, "Colonel on-deck."
The others both turned and saluted, stating coyly, "Ma'am..."
Lena sighed, shoulders sagging, "I take it we're on a break...?"
"Yep," Annette nodded, "C'mon. Made chocolate muffins. It's sadly the Synth-stuff, but the supply's been tasting more like normal chocolate thanks to the UNSC actually providing nutritional value to the damn thing."
"Heh," Lena smiled, though it wasn't her usual bright smile her friends had gotten used to. Instead, it was the smile of a jaded young woman whose only goal had somehow slipped through her fingers for now. She knew that the UNSC would find Spearhead, clearly, seeing as they'd accomplished the nigh-impossible and changed the Republic. Still, it was clear to all three members of her little friend/officer circle that things weren't so clear-cut in the young woman's mind.
Annette offered, "Your tea's getting cold."
Lena looked to her, a bit surprised, "You made tea?"
"For you, yeah. I know you're not big on coffee, but me, Sam and Matt have to keep ourselves awake for long hours because we're apparently the new main R&D section on the planet... Should see the kind of stuff the UNSC and our allies have been sending to us," Annette remarked, then motioned to Lena's usual seat and said, "C'mon. Hurry up, before it cools down completely."
The girl nodded, taking her seat and watching as her friends played their game. She plucked a chocolate cupcake with frosting from the tray and listened to them laughing as Matt lost with the hand he'd been given. She peeled the paper covering of the cupcake and bit into it, feigning a smile and nodding in thanks to Annette. In truth, the most Lena could think about right now was her new position as member of the higher-ranking brass of the Military.
She didn't feel ready. Not at sixteen, anyways. Major rank suited her just fine and command of her own squadron was great.
She wondered if they'd allow her to command again or if the Admiral would pull something to keep Lena preoccupied for the duration of Spearhead's absence, just so that the girl didn't go into any sort of spiral into the dark. She wouldn't. She needed to be strong for them. For their reunion. To give them flowers for their dead and for the living and celebrate with them, a cup of tea in hand and some chifon cake in front of them... Speaking of Spearhead, she let her mind wonder about them. How they were doing, where they were...
If they were still alive...
She narrowed her lips. By the time the game had entered overtime(with Annette somehow winning considerably over the two siblings), she'd finished her cupcake and was merely listening to their banter, her mind filled with battle strategies, plans for future endeavors to deal with the Legion, the development of relations between them and their three new major allies, so on, so forth.
She blinked, noticing a hint of black moving to the right. Gazing toward the door, she saw Major Volkov in full ODST battle kit. He saluted her and she saluted back, then stood up and said, "Sorry, folks... Business is calling..." before stepping off. She approached the Major as they began their march down the halls and asked, "Something I can help you with, sir?"
"I've come to talk to you about a certain something... Ma'am..." He noted, removing his helmet, "Remember, you don't need to call me 'sir'. You didn't need to before, either."
Lena shrugged. She was at a higher rank than him, but that didn't mean jack in terms of combat experience, of course. "I'm not a field officer like you, major Volkov. Though I kind of wish I was. I think the entire damn military staff needs a little field training to do well in this mess..." and she saw the man smirk. Raising a brow as if to ask what had crossed the man's mind, she didn't need to wait long.
"Then, you and I are in agreement," He replied, then clarified smugly to clear the Colonel's confusion, "That the officer cadre of the San Magnolia forces requires the same training their men and women are currently undertaking... If not outright better..." and he got a nod from Lena. He stated firmly, "Well, I believe I have the solution for you, at the very least, if not for some of your friends."
"I'm all ears, Major," Lena noted, though she felt like she was about to sign her own death warrant.
He retrieved a datapad from his pocket and extended it to the girl. She calmly took it, beginning to read what was to be the crash course training program for the entire San Magnolia staff if she so desired. Of course, it had already been approved by General Karlstahl under the condition that it would be taken voluntarily. He was betting on the Republic's youngest Colonel to be the trend-setter, though.
She blinked, staring with a hint of surprise, "This looks... Brutal..."
"It is. It's a revised variation of the Orbital Drop Shock Trooper training regimen, meant to harden the fledgling officer corps of the Army that hasn't seen actual combat into elites within the span of four months... And General Karlstahl has already approved it partially," The man noted. She looked to him, slightly concerned, but he worked to alleviate it with what he said next;"Worry not, Colonel. It's a drop-in, drop-out training set. You can rejoin it if you feel more prepared at a later date, but you may be way behind the other recruits and-"
"I'll take it," She said, determination in her eyes. She thumbed her signature onto the device, then said, "I can't vouch for Annette, Sam, Matt or Dustin, but I will go through with it... Or drop dead trying," as she handed it over.
"You made a promise, so it'd be preferable if you didn't die, Colonel," The man smiled, taking the tablet and slotting it into one of his pouches, "But... Welcome to the proper training..." then he looked over to the left, stating, "I don't think you need to worry about your friends. Mathieu and Samantha already underwent similar training as ONI agents, so..."
"... Huh, alright... And Annette and Dusti-" She looked to the right, to see the two listening in through the glass door. Both of them gave a thumbs-up, which caused the girl to burst into a giggle. Turning to the Major, she stated, "Well, that's that, then... We're going to see you at the mustering field tomorrow, Major. Don't you dare go easy on us, you hear?"
"Aye, ma'am," He saluted crisply, "You'll walk ODSTs out of my class, I vow to you."
The woman saluted back and said, "Dismissed," before turning to the glass door and crossing her arms. It opened, casing the four friends she'd made to stumble forward toward her. She grinned, "I think we're in for the rough one," then looked at the Major as he left. This could help get her mind off things, honestly. Four months of absolutely hellish training helped one put things into perspective.
"Oh, you three fuckers have no idea in how bad of a situation you are," Sam laughed. Matt crossed his arms to his chest, whispering a prayer that Annette and Dustin both heard. Lena narrowed her lips. Yeah, she'd made a hell of a mistake, she felt. She'd still go through with it, though, no matter what it took. It was one of her ways of showing she wouldn't be some damsel in distress when they came back. She wanted to prove she was worthy of serving alongside them again.
After another day's work within the Palace, the girl had bid a quick goodbye to her disappointed friends, all of which had decided to go to a pub to celebrate what they called, 'their last day of freedom in four months'. She went home, instead, choosing to avoid a public outing. And her mother, when she walked in. As the sun set, Lena sat at her desk, typing away on a tablet gifted by the UNSC... Then sighed and set it aside.
She stood up and began preparations for sleep. Before that, however, she hummed and looked around her room. She narrowed her eyes, hummed again, then began to change. Once she was done, she approached her bed. Something was missing from the place, however. She tapped her foot for a moment, then nodded to herself and called out, "TP! Meow!"
Meow! The animal replied. Coming out from beneath her bed, the black-and-white kitten looked up at his new owner, tilting his head to the right. Lena smiled, approaching the cat and hefting him up into her arms. She then spoke, "There you were, you little rascal..." as she pet him. He purred, leaning into the petting and content to let her continue pampering him.
She chuckled, sitting herself down on her bed as the animal buried his face into her shoulder, purring happily. TP hadn't had a proper name before Lena had picked him up. She'd have thought the UNSC would've wanted to care for him, but it turned out that Shin and the team had specifically left the little fella to her. Her mother hadn't been too forthcoming about having a cat in the house, but Lena had pretty much decided she wouldn't even see it, seeing as she was his caretaker.
She sighed, then murmured, "Wonder what you'd tell me about them if you could talk, buddy..." as she pet the creature. She set him on the small pillow next to her, then tucked herself in for the night, trying to find a comfortable position to sleep. She knew she was going to have to wake up early tomorrow, considering the fact the ODSTs were going to swing by and pick her up to get her to the training bases.
She wondered for a moment how Shin and the others were... When they got home, they were going to get an earful from her for ditching her like that.
As morning broke over the Republic's capital, Lena and TP both marched out onto the porch of the house, looking up as a UNSC Pelican came in for landing, kicking up dust and dirt as its engines roared. Touching down in front of the house, it disgorged a squad of Marines, all of which saluted the Colonel, as well as a trio of ODSTs that included the familiar face of Major Volkov.
She picked TP up, then approached the surprised infantry force and said, "I don't trust my mom to take care of him."
"... I..." Volkov paused, then sighed, relenting, "Understandable. C'mon... Captain Iida's also waiting to join in the re-training."
Lena smirked, then nodded to him.
Past the Old Borders, former Imperial Border Town
"Well," Raiden noted, "This is... Interesting..."
The squadron marched down the narrow streets of a medieval-looking town that was once a border crossing point between the Empire and the Republic. Abandoned ubildings, their windows broken, lay off to each side of them, mannequins stripped of clothing and missing their heads waiting among the broken glass, stands with a rotten mush that must've once been fruit laying below torn tarps, their wood itself rotting.
Above, hanging from the buildings, cords with the scarlet and black flags of the Empire hanged in rows sat, the torn coat of arms menacingly greeting the Republic's former citizenry. Fido was in the middle of the formation of a dozen vehicles, with Daiya barely squeezing through in the Cyclops, thus bringing up the middle, too. Shin narrowed his lips, looking about as a sinking feeling overtook him.
The designs resembled a combination of gothic houses from medieval times, mixed with concrete, brick and other heavy-duty materials meant to help keep constructions sturdy. Still, some of the buildings were collapsed along the street, rubble littering the paved road they marched down. It was much like a Republic town, abandoned, not a sign of human corpses anywhere.
Shin had to wonder this time if it was the fault of that thing they met in the old Republic R&D base, or...
He shook off the thought as a chill ran up his spine. This was no time to remember those damn things. He spoke, "We're a few more kilometers out... I can hear a horde of Legion units that met up with Hades..."
"So, we're calling him by name, now...?" Kurena murmured.
"It's what I heard," Shin replied absentmindedly. He hummed as they entered a large town square and noticed even more food stands with rotten produce on them. He blinked, then said, "Looks like there was some ongoing festival when the Legion marched through here... Presumably before news of the Empire's collapse reached the borders..." and he continued down a path to the right.
"Wonder what the Alba would say if they saw the abandoned cities we saw..." Anju spoke in a whisper. Indeed, what would they think of the world they left behind? Of the many millions that probably lived, scattered among the outside cities before the War came. In his mind, Shin could hear it:The distant wail of an air raid siren, screaming its slow crescendo to warn the population of the incoming.
As the group made it to the edge of the town, they caught sight of a strange building. Colorful drawings lay on the walls, faded thanks to the passing of time and the elements, the windows, while dirty, remained untouched. There were playsets, swings, toys scattered around the place, a hopscotch game whose letters and lines had long ago faded.
"What is this place?" Lecca murmured as they stopped in front of it.
"Our bunk for the evening," Shin replied. The skyline glowed orange under the fading wall of clouds. Crows and ravens cawed above them, flying off in groups of three as Spearhead's staff disembarked and entered the courtyard, Fido marching in close behind them to provide them with the necessary items, namely their MREs and their sleeping arrangements.
Kurena stepped forward toward the playground and picked up a half-burned baby doll, then narrowed her lips, "I think... I think it's a school."
"Looks like one," Raiden agreed, his voice low as he scanned the place. Several bullet holes marked one of the walls, but no other visible damage lay on the inside. He drew his SMG out of its holster and said, "Daiya, Haruto, let's go... Gotta check inside for AP Mines..." to which his two friends nodded silently. Shin looked around the playground and the wider courtyard of the three-story building as the siren played again in his ears, a distant echo from a dead past.
He sighed, then crossed his arms to his chest, searching to see if he could hear any children among the Legion. He found none and was all the more thankful for it. He didn't want to sleep with that noise in his head. Sighing, he looked to the far left, to see a vehicle stuck in a ditch. An armored truck that had a rocket launcher on its back, half its ammunition spent.
He hummed, approaching the truck which had been taken by the overgrowth, then looked inside. Seven years and it still had a bit of fuel inside, but Shin imagined it must've decayed, if not outright rusted the parts inside. He hummed, jumped off the vehicle and rejoined his team, all of them moving inside the place the moment Raiden gave them the all-clear.
Rooms full of dozens of desks that were lined up in front of a blackboard, children's drawings on torn papers, the images painted on the walls. All of these gave a strange vibe to the place, like it was supposed to be full of life, of laughter, of joy. As the team set up in what looked to be a meeting hall of sorts, Fido close behind them and inside said hall, Shin sat himself down in front of a lamp they'd brought with them while Raiden warmed up their meals.
"So..." Lecca started, looking to Shin, "Anyone a little creeped out by where we are?"
Several of Spearhead's members voiced an affirmative. Except Myna. Myna was fast asleep on a row of chairs. She'd asked Raiden to wake her up when the time came for dinner to be served. Shin hummed and Theo voiced, "Doesn't beat whatever the fuck we experienced a day ago, but yeah, it's pretty odd to see an empty place where kids used to be..."
"Ruins like this litter the entire battlefield..." Anju murmured, watching as Raiden started handing out tin cups filled with some sort of baked beans and sauce. Sure, it wasn't the best dinner to have, but at least it was a rich food that would help them in the energy department. She sighed, giving a silent thanks and a nod to the resident cook of the team, retrieving the plastic spoon from one of the MRE bags and digging in.
"Goes to show just how bad this war got to everyone," Haruto noted, still wearing a small smile on his face as he plucked a piece of rye bread from his MRE and dipped it in the tomato sauce of the beans. Not a good idea to combine carbohydrates with carbohydrates, one would think, but at this point, they'd been travelling for a hell of a long while down the road at this point.
"Such is war, I guess," Daiya sighed.
"We'll recover," Shin noted, "Humanity always does."
The others chuckled as they watched their Squad Lead. The man stood to his feet, the tin cup full of still-hot beans in his hand as he marched outside. Fido joined him, trotting along and probably filming the man. Once again, above, clouds gathered as the last vestiges of light from the Sun vanished behind the school, Shin staring eastward. Droplets of water started to fall, a gentle blanket that washed the Juggernauts and Cyclops of mud and grime.
He narrowed his lips, watching as the play-place appliances like the swings started dancing in the wind. He pulled his scarf over the top of his face as a breeze struck him and chilled his nose. All the while, his thoughts wondered again, toward the Republic and how they were faring. Little time had passed since the coup, but he knew that they were all already well on their way to training. He trusted the Major would do good.
He took another spoonful of beans, then sighed as he chewed on them and his thoughts... He'd accomplished his mission. The sole purpose of him joining the Military had been accomplished two days ago, with the death of his brother in the Dinosauria. He sighed. Fido approached him, looking him right in the eyes, to which Shin put a hand onto the Barrett-class drone's chassis to 'pet' him. He chirped happily, to which Shin said, "Good..."
"I still don't know how you understand him," Raiden commented from the left.
Shin turned to meet his XO, then shrugged, "It's hard to explain."
"I bet," He replied, "Having second thoughts?"
"No," The man answered in his usual deadpan. Raiden snorted. It had been a rhetorical question. Shin never showed any kind of regret for the choices he made, mostly because he tried to make the best ones in his opinion. And he was usually right... The rare cases where he was not, well... Raiden would rather not think about. He sighed, watching as the rain fell on and on, the pit-pat of the drops striking the concrete soothing the tension he and the rest of the squadron felt.
"So," Raiden then looked out at their vehicles, "We hit the Shepherd. Then what?"
"We move as fast as humanly possible to the Federal Republic. We made a promise, after all..." Shin murmured. Raiden clapped a hand onto his shoulder and chuckled.
"At least we have a driving force behind us beside putting another person in the ground..." He quipped, then crossed his arms and stared out at the rain. The only light sources were the few lamps they'd brought with them and a small heater that had been packed by the Engineers, presumably, seeing as nobody in the squadron remembered putting it into Fido's assorted supply lockers. He hummed, then stroked his own chin, asking Shin, "D'you think she's gonna be pissed?"
"Oh, no doubt about it!" Lecca quipped as she approached, her jacket draped over her shoulders, "Pretty sure she's undergoing training as we speak to kick our asses when we meet her again."
"Hah," Raiden laughed, "I wouldn't be surprised."
"Maybe she's going to slap Shin upside the head," Lecca grinned, sliding a cigarette between her lips. Both Shin and Raiden raised brows at her.
"You smoke?" Shin then inquired, slightly concerned.
She nodded, then shrugged, "Listen... I need something to calm my nerves down after what we saw in the White Pigs' base... Whatever the hell they were doing down there, it probably isn't good..." and she took out a matchbox and match, lighting the cigarette with them and dragging deep from it. She coughed, then hit herself lightly in the chest twice and said, "Still not used to it..." her voice hoarse thanks to the smoke.
"Then stop it," Both commanders of Spearhead said annoyedly, which somewhat surprised the girl.
She narrowed her lips, pulled the cig from between her lips, threw it on the floor and stomped it out, before saluting. The stares that the two men had given her had actually sent chills up the usually-brave Eighty-Six girl's spine. She turned around, stepping off and murmuring, "Right, no doing anything without their permission again... Especially anything addictive..."
"I see they scared the smoker right outta you," Laughed Theo as he swirled the hot drink in his cup. He got a raised middle finger from Lecca as a response, to which he chuckled, leaning back into the chair he was going to use as a bed and taking a sip of his drink. He watched as their two officers continued to chat, while Lecca sat herself down next to Haruto and in front of the sleeping Myna. Around them, their friends fell asleep, rifles in hand as they prepared for tomorrow. For that final battle before they'd try to go back home.
The homecoming party was certainly going to be interesting...