"Quit pouting, Fie."
"...I'm not pouting." She was, and she knew she was.
Her partner just laughed at her. "Uh huh. And I'm not hungover." And that was the crux of the problem. Her partner for this day was not Rean, but Sara. How did such a travesty come to pass?
It was four days since their return to Erebonia. After some very exhausting free days where they organized their new home and contacted the rest of their friends, the pair were prepared to resume their duties as Erebonia's finest bracer duo. After a slightly longer, but not uncomfortable trip from their new home, they arrived at the Bracer Guild to find some work.
"Rean! Just the guy I wanted to see!" Was the familiar voice that greeted the pair upon their arrival.
"Hey Toval. What's up?"
The older male gestured towards the request board. "Want to partner up for the day and bang out some requests together?"
"Wait... what?" It was Fie and not Rean who responded. She wasn't sure she liked that idea much.
"Don't be like that, Fie. I know you two are together and by all accounts your work together has been exceptional, but you can't just hog Rean forever. Gotta let the rest of us have a chance once in a while, you know? I know Sara would be chomping at the bit if she were here, and Schera is pretty excited to work with both of you at some point. Some of the newbies could also benefit from working alongside you two also."
He did make a fair point, and Rean couldn't deny his interest in working alongside a person he held the utmost respect for, but he couldn't help but feel a sense of wrongness with the notion. A glance at his true partner showed a small frown and he wondered if she felt the same. Still, he couldn't just refuse because it felt wrong. "Sure, that sounds fine to me. Is that alright, Fie?"
"Yeah, that's fine. Wonder what I should do..."
"Sara should be in soon, so you can partner with her if you want. Or there are plenty of missions you can do solo." Toval turned to his temporary partner. "C'mon Rean. We've been asked to assist the Sutherland branch with some work, so we probably should get going if we want to be back this evening."
"Alright. Let's go." Rean got up to leave, but hesitated briefly. He quickly turned back to his lover. "I'll be back soon, I promise." He leaned down and sealed the promise with a kiss, which she readily accepted. With that done he followed the grinning Zero Artisan out of the building, leaving Fie alone.
Luckily she wasn't alone for long, as not ten minutes later a haggard looking Sara dragged herself through the door. Upon realizing that Fie was the only person present she groaned and collapsed into a chair. "Damnit, did Toval get him already?"
"...Hi Sara." Fie replied in her signature bored tone, already regretting her decision to wait for her older sister figure.
"Don't give me that look, Fie! Do you know how shitty my night has been?"
Fie didn't actually care in the least what Sara did the previous night, but she couldn't resist the chance to antagonize her mentor. "Let me guess, you went searching for guys, but got shot down so you spent the night drinking alone?"
"Wrong! I'll have you know that I wasn't alone... Sharon was there for some reason."
"So you challenged her to a drinking contest and proceeded to lose badly." She didn't even need to question it. It was an inevitable outcome.
"...Shut up, Fie. So I guess we're together today?"
"Unfortunately."
"Fine. Fine. Soon enough I'll get my chance to take Rean for a ride..." Her words were probably meant to get a rise out of Fie, but given who the speaker was, the girl was completely unimpressed. Gehenna would freeze over before she started worrying about Sara and her utter lack of charm. "Whatever. Let's just find something fun to do."
So here she was, playing babysitter to Erebonia's most senior bracer on a bunch of requests she could have easily handled by herself. Normally working with Sara wasn't the worst, as the older woman could easily shape up and be the reliable Purple Lightning if the situation called for it, but right now the situation didn't call for it, so she instead was playing the role of useless hungover Sara, constantly whining, gossiping, trying to get a rise out of her, and pretty much everything else that wasn't actually helping.
Case in point? Here she was fighting a trio of large monsters with big claws and lots of spikes, doing her best to avoid being skewered by the beasts. As for Sara?
"Woohoo! Nice moves, Fie!" The A-Rank slacker had taken it upon herself to deal with a couple of small fry monsters that were in the vicinity and now was proceeding to do absolutely nothing at all.
"Either help out or shut up." The annoyed girl retorted as she drove one of her blades into a monster's skull, reducing their number to two. Actually, come to think of it, perhaps her former instructor was doing her a favor. After all, these big monsters were Fate Spinners, and her first encounter with one of them ended up with Rean getting badly scratched up after protecting their stupid friends. Perhaps she should appreciate this opportunity for a little payback?
Regardless, with one of the monsters down the other two weren't enough to keep the pressure up and she dispatched them posthaste. After making an obscene gesture in the direction of her older sister figure, the girl grumpily turned and started to make her return. She wondered if Rean was having a better time with Toval.
For the two in Saint-Arkh, the going thus far had been great. Rean enjoyed the opportunity to work alongside the laid-back man again, and now that they were working in the same profession the older bracer was more than happy to share some of the little tips and tricks he had picked up during his career.
The work itself went pretty smoothly, too. Between Toval's experience and his sensing ability, the two were able to make exceptionally good time. They had just finished a request to locate a missing child and had just dropped him off when Rean overheard an interesting piece of gossip between a pair of nobles.
"It is a shame that you were unable to attend. It was a simply marvelous event."
"I wish I could have come, but there was an emergency at my family's holding. Is it true that the princess was there?"
"Indeed she was. It was a great shock at first, but it all made sense after Lord Patrick invited her friend to dance."
And with that last tidbit of information Rean suddenly found the conversation to be of critical importance. "Excuse me. But did you just say..."
"Huh? Who are yo...oh." Apparently the nobles recognized him. "That's right. Lady Elise is your sister, correct? Ah, they made such a wonderful duo as they danced across the floor all evening long. You should have seen it."
"I see. Thank you for your time." Came the monotonous reply. The two nobles couldn't help but feel that there was something off about the Ashen Chevalier's smile, and why did the air feel so cold at that moment?
Once the two members of the guild were a safe distance away, Rean turned to a nervous Toval. "I think we should pay our respects to Marquis Hyarms before we depart." While worded as a suggestion, it was clear that it was anything but.
Toval could only nod nervously, while internally he was panicking. A confrontation between Rean Schwarzer and one of the four great houses would very likely end with only three great houses remaining. It would be up to him to make sure that didn't happen, as it would be unfortunate if the Bracer Guild was kicked out of town again. If only Fie were here to reign him in...
What happens when you take two A-Rank bracers, both exceptionally skilled warriors who have fought to resolve many crisis, and put them in the same room together? Absolute stupidity. This was the realization that Fie was coming to terms with as she watched the byplay between her mentor and Scherazard Arnor. The Liberlian had been at the guild when they returned from their tasks and it wasn't long before the two older women pulled a bottle from... somewhere.
She just watched with a flat expression as the two started drinking in the most important Bracer Guild in Erebonia. It was an ugly look, and she was grateful that nobody had shown up looking for assistance. The only reason she hadn't already abandoned the two idiots was because she was waiting for Rean and Toval to return.
"Haha! Don't worry Fie! You can join us soon enough!" Sara proclaimed, somehow deluding herself into believing that the younger girl's look was that of one upset at her inability to join, and not the sheer disgust towards their actions that it was.
Schera perked up. "Is that so? Sounds like we should do something fun to celebrate."
"Absolutely. It's gonna be great. We'll get Rean and Toby and any of her classmates who are available and drink till we drop!"
"Ooooh. I know Toval's a total lightweight, but how's Rean?"
"Hard to tell. I think he's gotten pretty good, but he's always so responsible." Sara spat that last word out like it was something dirty. "So it's our job to make sure the kids get nice and totally plastered."
"...Don't I get any say in this?" Fie asked, completely unamused by their discussion.
"Of course. You get to say 'yes'."Sara must have thought Schera's comment was funny, cause she raised he free hand for a high-five, which the other woman gladly responded to.
"You both suck." Not for the first time Sylphid wondered how she turned out so awesome (in her humble opinion) when her entire life was spent around the most dysfunctional adults possible. Perhaps spending time with them allowed her to see the things she shouldn't do if she wanted to succeed in life.
"We're back!" The younger girl perked up as a familiar voice reached their ears. That voice, of course, was followed by the two men as they entered the building.
To her surprise, though, neither of the figures seemed particularly happy. Rean had a surprisingly stern expression on his face while Toval looked particularly ragged. "The hell happened to you two?" She asked, drawing the other two women from their drinks.
"Daaaaaaamn! Toby you look like you fought a tornado!"
The older man thought about Sara's words for a second. "That's... kinda accurate, actually. Luckily the Marquis is the kind of man to laugh off threats towards his family."
Now that comment earned him two pairs of curious eyes, but the third pair only widened as realization struck. "Crap. He found out, didn't he?"
"Wait. You knew!?" That revelation was enough to snap Rean out of his expression as he gaped at his partner in shock.
"Of course I knew. Elise called me so you wouldn't find out. Guess I messed that up."
"What. But... why?"
"Cause we all knew you would respond like this. You always do."
"Of course I did! This is important. Elise can't be dating Patrick. She's too young!"
"Rean Schwarzer." Fie's words took on a very dangerous tone. "She's nineteen. A year older than I was when we got together. Do I need to remind you of the things we did that first night?"
Off to the side their instructor smiled happily as she opened another bottle of booze. "Ahh.. I missed all this drama. It just wasn't the same with them gone."
"I take it this happens a lot?" Schera asked, earning a happy nod from her fellow A-Rank. "I think I'm gonna like it here."
"Toval! Come join us. You look like you could use a drink."
Said man hesitated, as normally he would shut down Sara for such a suggestion in the middle of the guild, but after the day he had... "Why not?" The two women cheered as he joined them, and together the three of them drank while watching the arguing pair.
"But... but... Is it so wrong to be protective of my sister? I mean didn't we have to fight Xeno and Leo before they accepted us?"
"No. That was just them being stubborn asses. We hooked up long before those idiots made a mess of things, and we would have stayed together even if we lost that fight." Seeing the unconvinced look on Rean's face, Fie tried a different approach. "Look at it like this. There's the normal way of doing things, and there's the jaeger way of doing things. Do you really want to be in the same group as Xeno, Leo, and Sara?"
"Hey!" Fie just couldn't resist that little shot, could she?
"I mean... Yeah but... But I..." Rean was faltering under her words and she knew she just needed one final push. Discretely she opened her ARCUS II and fiddled with the buttons.
"If it makes you feel any better, those two are prim and proper nobles. They'll be just as dull and boring as the rest of our friends. I expect nothing more than holding hands and hugs for at least a year."
Rean finally conceded the point."I... Fine. I'll give Patrick my blessing to court Elise, but if he ever does anything to hurt her..."
She rolled her eyes, but allowed that concession. "That's fine. If he does I will gladly join you." Elise was a dear friend and future sister-in-law to her, after all. With the conversation finished she focused her attention on her orbment, catching the attention of the others.
"And what are you doing now?"
Sylphid ignored her mentor as she continued pressing buttons on her orbment, until... ' I'll give Patrick my blessing to court Elise'. "Perfect."
The voice that played from her ARCUS was familiar to Rean, which makes sense as it was his voice from just a few seconds ago. "H-Hey, wait! Why did you record my words?"
'I'll give Patrick my blessing to court Elise.' "Cause I know if I didn't you would forget this conversation happened the first time you saw them holding hands." 'I'll give Patrick my blessing to court Elise.' She seemed to be taking amusement in seeing his expression sour each time she replayed the message.
"I-I won't forget!"
"Yes you will." Annoyingly, the reply came not from his lover, but from the two members of the peanut gallery who knew him the best. Scherazard was simply doing her best to not laugh too loudly at the entertainment playing out in front of her."
Fie meanwhile kept taping away at her ARCUS II. "Aaaaaaaand sent."
"Sent? Y-You sent that to Elise and Patrick?" Rean wasn't ready! He needed time to mentally prepare himself for this new grim future!
Rolling her eyes at her hopeless boyfriend, Class VII's speedster turned to engage the other members of the room in idle conversation. She was less interested in the annoying woman she spent the day in, instead curious as to the things Schera and Toval accomplished that day. Meanwhile Rean just stared at the wall, a look of abject despair consuming his features.
After a few minutes her ARCUS chimed, signaling a new message. "Oh." Fie couldn't help but scratch her cheek nervously, as the message was kinda embarrassing. Of course being in a room filled with gossiping old fossils and a lover who was just starting to show signs of life again meant that she was now the center of attention. "Elise says I should be made a Saint cause she thinks I performed a miracle."
"Aww. Isn't that cute. Our little Fie, now a saint. I wonder what they will name after you? Astraia got a school and Ursula a hospital... Maybe they will name a Jaeger Corp after you? Or maybe a brewery? Nah, I guess that one's mine."
"Shut up, Sara." Those all sounded so dumb! "Lucky us we never need to worry about that last one, since nobody will ever mistake you for a saint."
Toval thought about it for a second. "I dunno. I always thought it was a miracle how you kids all turned out so well despite having her as a teacher. Might be enough for sainthood?" The girl gave the older man a nod of appreciation for that roast.
"You guys all suck!" The entire group laughed at the irate Sara, including a certain Chevalier who finally appeared to be back in the realm of the living.
Just then, Fie's ARCUS beeped yet again. A quick glance showed her that it was a question from Alisa, not at all pertaining to the current conversation, but the act alone was enough to get all focus back on her. The sensible and kind thing to do would be to wave off their attention, but...
"That was from Patrick. He promised to name their first kid after me." Yeah, Fie wasn't feeling very sensible or kind right now.
"Kid!?" The expression on Rean's face was worth a million mira and she couldn't help but laugh at his expense.
The next few weeks passed quietly for the two. They still worked together the majority of the time, but occasionally they worked with others or even solo for certain requests. Although none of the others could compare to each other, it could still occasionally be fun. Fie could even admit that working with the junior bracers was pretty exciting, as despite being not much younger than her the newbies understood just how cool and awesome she was and looked up at her with awe. Being respected like that was pretty fun and she could finally understand why Rean enjoyed his stint as an Instructor so much.
"I see you are once again engaged in indecent activities, Instructor Rean."
"Time and place you two!"
"Daaaaaamn Schwarzer! You just can't keep your hands off your little fairy, can ya?"
"My... I wish Instructor Rean would do that to me."
"Um... Perhaps we should start class now?"
In hindsight, Rean never actually got any respect from any of his students, did he? It wasn't Fie's fault that those kids decided to come to class early on the day she thought to surprise Rean with an early morning trip to Leeves, and it certainly wasn't her fault that she thought to give her partner a hot and heavy greeting when she infiltrated his classroom that day.
Today, however, was different. They had been informed that a significant request had arrived and that all of Erebonia's most senior bracers were required. Although details were vague, it sounded pretty serious and Fie had made it quite clear that there was only one person she wanted watching her back if they found themselves working on a serious mission.
Despite the distance, they were among the first to arrive at the Bracer Guild on Alto Street, so they had to wait for the rest of their group to arrive. Once everyone was there, it was Toval, who despite not being the highest rank of the group was clearly the most responsible, who started the meeting.
"This request came to use from the Four Great Houses. Apparently, there have been many sightings of the Imperial Army making unannounced movements and acting strangely. But when questioned about it, the army has been very tight-lipped on the matter, only claiming it's an internal issue and they would deal with it themselves.
Obviously, having troops moving across their territory without permission isn't something the nobles are happy with, but since they aren't able to get any answers for themselves they've asked us to investigate for them. And yes, Jusis already asked Millium about it, but it appears that she's been kept out of the loop and hasn't been able to find out anything on her own."
Schera hummed in thought. "Olivert hasn't been able to contact Mueller these past few days, so either the army is so focused on keeping news out that they won't even tell their prince, or they have cut all outside communications."
"Well that sounds ominous."
Fie nodded in agreement to her former teacher's words, before turning to her partner. "Got any ideas?"
"I'm thinking we should visit the 4th. We should be able to meet up with Alan and hopefully arrange a meeting with General Craig."
"Sounds good. What about you guys?"
"Olivert had been talking about sneaking out and visiting Mueller in person." The Silver Streak sighed miserably. "I guess this time I'll accompany Olivier Lenheim on one of his stupid music tours across the country."
"I suppose I'll check out this so-called unusual activity myself. Want to accompany me, Toval?" She would rather have Fie with her, but it was clear the younger girl only had eyes for Rean that day.
"Right. Let's do this."
Just as Schera had said, trying to contact Alan via ARCUS was useless, either he wasn't responding or something was preventing the call from going through. Luckily, they had an alternative: Bridget. Despite the 4th Armored being stationed at Dreknor Fortress the childhood friends turned lovers still had a small house in Heimdallr, which became their destination.
Fortunately, the girl they were searching for was home and let them in when they knocked. After warm greetings where the girl welcomed the two and congratulated them on their engagement, the topic shifted to more serious topics.
"So I take it you two are here because of what's happening with the military?" She correctly surmised, causing the two bracers to exchange glances. "I figured as much." She sighed after seeing her guess was correct.
"Do you know what's going on?" Rean asked, seeing the despondent look on their fellow Thor graduate's face.
"Not really. Apparently the soldiers aren't allowed to talk to anyone about it, but whatever it is I can see he's been bothered. All I know is that whatever it is started about three days ago, and that most of the army bases have jammed unauthorized communications so that there's no chance of a leak."
This was starting to sound serious. "Any chance we can talk with Alan?"
Bridget hesitated at the younger girl's request. "I really shouldn't..." Although after saying that she allowed herself to relax. "Oh who am I kidding? After all you've done for us, there's no way I can refuse, and I'm sure Alan will say the same thing. He actually managed to secure some leave and should be home this evening if you want to return then."
"We'll do that. Thanks a lot." With that, the pair departed.
The pair spent most of their afternoon fishing for information from other sources, but found nothing of note. They also completed a couple minor requests in the city. After sharing a quick dinner in a local pub the two made their return trip. This time when they knocked they were greeted by the Warrant Officer himself.
"When Bridget told me to expect some guests I wasn't expecting the two of you." Like his lover before him, he greeted the two warmly as he ushered them into his home. "I take it this visit isn't for pleasure, though?"
Rean explained the reason for their visit, causing the soldier to sigh. "Just as I expected... I'm sure you know that I can't actually tell you anything, but I can at least bring it up with the General. I'm sure he can come up with some way to meet with you off the records."
"So we came here to meet with Bridget, who got us a meeting with you, who is gonna get us a meeting with the General? Talk about getting the runaround." Her comment earned her a gentle elbow from her partner.
Alan only laughed at the comment. "Sorry, I wish I could do more, but we're trying to keep everything under wraps. Let's just say the situation isn't great. It's probably nothing major, but we're being careful with it just in case."
"It's fine. Thanks for the help."
"Not a problem Rean. Oh, actually... I know this isn't anything new for you, but be careful, alright?" There was something ominous in his warning that caused Fie to frown in concern, but without any further information given they had no choice but to leave it be.
After Alan promised the two that he would stop by the Saint-Arkh Bracer Guild in two days to deliver Olaf Craig's response, the two were invited to stick around for dinner. It was an enjoyable evening, with with the Warrant Officer gladdened that some of his classmates were finally soon to join them in the realm of married life.
Not wanting to overstay their welcome, especially after learning that Alan's leave was only for a day, the two excused themselves shortly after the meal. Since it wasn't far away the two checked into the Bracer Guild to see if anyone else had found any success, but it appeared that none of the others had checked in yet. With nothing else to do the pair exited the city and made the return trip home.
Since they had nothing better to do the next day the two decided to focus on normal bracer requests. While Erebonia did have a healthy number of bracers at this point, there was a clear skill divide between the experienced members and the large number of recruits the guild had accepted in the previous two years, so having all five of the elites focused on a single specific mission meant that the most dangerous requests were starting to pile up.
They ended up taking on a frankly absurd number of tasks, and while they were more than capable of handling everything they took, it was a simple matter of logistics. Even with an orbal bike it would be difficult to traverse the capital quickly enough to complete everything in a timely manner. Or at least it would have been, if Fie didn't proudly proclaim that she knew a few shortcuts through the city and that she should drive.
In hindsight Rean had nobody to blame but himself for agreeing to her proposal, but even after all these years he still constantly fell prey to her brilliant smiles. It was something he apparently needed to work on, as her shortcuts mostly consisted of staying on the road as little as possible. While using sidewalks and back alleys did shorten the travel time significantly, it also broke nearly every traffic law he knew about, and he was surprised the military police never came after them.
Thanks to Fie's knowledge of the city, liberal interpretation of laws, and her absolute refusal to give Rean back his bike, the two made great time around the city and it's outskirts as they unknowingly set an Erebonia Bracer Guild record for most requests completed in a single day. It was exhausting, but quite fulfilling, and the two slept well that night.
Finally came the day they had been waiting for. One of the perks of being an officer was the ability to eat off base, so Alan had promised to stop by the Saint-Arkh Bracer Guild around lunch that day. This meant that the two bracers had plenty of time to kill, but after the exhausting workload they accomplished the previous day neither of them felt like doing anything more productive than cuddling in bed all morning.
Eventually, and regrettably, duty compelled the two to get out of bed and ready themselves for what promised to be an eventful day. Once finished came the drive to the old capital. Since they weren't exactly sure when their fellow graduate would show up the two opted to pick up a couple sandwiches from a street vendor before taking it to the Bracer Guild for lunch. They gained the attention of a couple junior bracers and the receptionist there, but the latter knew about their priority mission and made sure they had the privacy they needed for the meeting.
It wasn't long until the Warrant Officer arrived. "The General has scheduled a training exercise for 1500 today. I will be the only one watching the freight station at that time. If you can arrive without being spotted, General Craig is willing to talk."
It was all they could have hoped for, so they gratefully thanked their former schoolmate and watched as he departed. "So what do you think?" Rean knew well enough that infiltrating bases was Fie's specialty and so deferred to her.
Said specialist closed her eyes in thought. "I'll need to get a closer look, but I can't imagine this will be much different from that time we made it through the Twin Dragons Bridge." That had been a rather harrowing experience, as they had been quite exposed while running across the tracks. Although in fairness that danger had been almost completely lost on the group as they were still riding a high after being reunited after a month.
Although they still had a couple hours to kill, Fie decided it would be best to scout the fortress early, mostly to prevent her lover from getting the funny idea to visit the Hyarms and creating a big scene... again. The trip to the base was uneventful, and they made sure to park a safe distance away and hide their ride off the road to prevent any potential patrols from getting suspicious. With that completed the duo continued on foot.
Dreknor Fortress was just as gargantuan as they remembered, and it possessed high walls that made getting close a dangerous proposition. Still, it wasn't anything Fie was unused to, and she gazed at the side with the train tracks with a sharp analytical eye, noting any potential difficulties with their infiltration. After walking in a massive semicircle around the target Fie was fairly confident in their chances.
With that done the time was close enough for the two to start the infiltration. Just like the previous time, it mostly consisted of them sprinting down the tracks, while occasionally going low to evade the myriad checkpoints and guard posts they passed. They managed to pass through without incident and soon arrived at the freight station for the base.
As promised, the only soldier present was Alan, who handed each of them a bag when they arrived. "Take these and go into that empty train."
Curiously, they followed his order. Once inside they checked the bags to discover a pair of soldier uniforms. Understanding Alan's desire, the pair quickly changed, finding the uniforms to be just the right sizes for them. Once done they exited the train.
"Why did you choose these for us?" Rean sulked. The reason for his unhappiness?
"Quit your bellyaching, Private Schwarzer!" Indeed, Rean was a private. Fie? A Captain. "Don't make me put you on toilet duty for the next week."
Alan laughed as the younger girl played the role to perfection as she bossed around her lover. "Sorry about this Rean, but those are the only uniforms we could find to fit you two on such short notice. I'm sure you can put up with Fie for a few minutes, right?"
"That's Captain Claussell to you, maggot!"
"Haha, wow. She could almost pass as my drill sergeant."
Rean shook his head. "Aren't they supposed to be intimidating? I don't think cute and cuddly makes for a very good drill sergeant."
The fake captain tilted her head in thought. A part of her wanted to argue that she could be intimidating if she wanted to, but on the other hand that was a compliment from Rean... "Well, whatever. Think you can take us to General Craig now?"
With that the three of them made their way through the fortress. A few soldiers were about, but in such a large base like Dreknor it wasn't unusual for plenty of new soldiers to arrive, so nobody questioned the two unknowns, especially as they walked alongside the much respected officer.
Although it had been a while, the place they were taken to was somewhat familiar for the pair, as it's the same office where Rean had fought the general two years prior. The only other occupant in the room was the man they were looking for: Craig the Red. Although he had a stern expression on his face, he did crack the tiniest hint of a smile at seeing two of his son's closest friends.
"Warrant Officer, make sure nobody disturbs us for the next ten minutes."
"Sir!" With a sharp salute Alan turned and left the room, presumably to stand guard outside.
"First of all, I am happy to see the two of you again. It's been quite a while. The Prince's wedding, I believe?" Olaf paused and sighed. "I trust the two of you understand that this conversation never happened? If it were anyone else duty would have compelled me to refuse to talk to you, but after all the things you've done for Elliot and this country, I'm willing to stick my neck out for you."
Rean nodded. "Of course. We appreciate you agreeing to meet with us and won't do anything to betray that trust.
"So what's going on?" Straight to the matter at hand.
Luckily the General was a career military man and wasn't offended by Fie's traditional bluntness. If anything he respected it. "Right. Well. As I'm sure you're aware, things haven't been great for the Imperial Army after the war." The two nodded at that. "With the reduction in funding we had to reduce our numbers by a significant amount, and it wasn't just conscripts that were let go. A lot of career soldiers found themselves without a job. And even among those who remained there's been a sense of resentment at seeing friends go and what they perceive as our loss of honor.
Normally this isn't a big deal, as soldiers aren't soldiers if they aren't complaining about something, but recently it has gotten a lot worse. Someone, or someones, have recently started doing their best to agitate those soldiers and former soldiers, and worst of all it's been working. Although there's been nothing but grumbling in the 4th, a lot of the lesser divisions are suffering from large-scale defections. From what I've heard they've even managed to make off with tanks and soldats, too, possibly more."
"Seriously?" Fie couldn't believe that. Defections, sure, but tanks and soldats? "How do you guys manage to lose a bunch of vehicles like that? What about the Intelligence Division or the RMP?"
Realization set in for the leader of Class VII. "Unless those groups have been compromised as well?"
"Correct. Major Arundel and Major Rieveldt have been doing their best to hold things together, but there's no denying the reality that the Intelligence Division and RMP had the closest ties to the old administration, and many of their members have either defected, or remained behind to hinder our investigations."
"Well... shit."
"Shit indeed." He readily agreed with Fie's remarks. "If I had to guess, I would say there's been two thousand or so who have left, from the military alone. Maybe double that if you include civilians who were forced out of the ranks. And that number is increasing daily. We don't know what their goal is, who is leading them, or even where they are located, but rest assured we are doing everything we can to figure that out.
...And one last thing. While we don't know their goal, what we do know is that they hold a deep resentment for anything relating to the current government or the ones responsible for Osborne's downfall. That includes the nobles, the Imperial Governor, Prince Olivert, and yes, Class VII and the Ashen Chevalier are high on their lists, too."
Rean did his best to wave off the General's concern. "We've faced a lot worse and I have faith in the Imperial Army, so I am sure it will all turn out well."
"I concur. It's an ugly situation, but I swear on my honor that we will nip this problem in the bud. Now unless you two have any further questions...?" Neither of the two did. "In that case, allow Warrant Officer Alan to escort you back."
And so they did. But as they made their return trip Fie couldn't help but worry. Rean was right, they had faced far worse situations in the past. So why was she feeling a deep sense of foreboding at the moment, as if something terrible was about to occur?
