Two days later the Third Infantry Division finished their transformation into a Mechanized Division. With this, all squads on R&R are called back to Fort Amatriain.

Brooks walked out of the Armory with her full kit. She headed to the closest tent and opened the flap. Inside there are six soldiers: Two appear to be sleeping, the third is writing a letter, the fourth is reading a letter and the last two are playing cards. She sat down and started cleaning her rifle. A few minutes later, two from her regiment walked in. "What's up Brooks?"

"Nothing much Sara. Enjoy the R&R?"

She smiled, "Of course I did." She laid down in the bunk across from her.

Brooks looked at the man who had come in with Sara. "What's your name?"

"Parker ma'am."

"Parker. What squad?"

"Squad twelve ma'am."

Brooks nodded, "Good to meet you Parker."

"You too ma'am."

"You don't have to call me ma'am. Brooks is fine."

"Alright ma'am."

"Take a seat Parker. No clue when we'll move out."

He nodded and sat on one of the beds before going over his equipment. "Parker, you new to squad twelve?"

"Yes ma'am."

"Ease up Parker. You don't have to be so stiff."

He took a deep breath, "Sorry ma'am. I'm nervous."

"It's alright to be nervous. Just take a few deep breaths and relax."

He nodded and followed her instructions. A few minutes later, "All squads report to your COs."

Brooks stood up and grabbed her rifle. She followed Sara and Parker out of the tent; Parker split off to meet with his squad. Brooks and Sara found their squad gathering around a Firefly. "Hey Brooks, Sara."

"Blake, good to see you didn't get into trouble," Sara said with a smirk.

Blake gasped, "What, you thought I would get into trouble?"

"I did, especially with the ladies."

"You wound me Sara. I would never disrespect a lady."

"Looks like Jackson got himself a new tank. Hope it lasts longer than the last one."

"I heard Chase went off after the battle was over."

"Doesn't surprise me. Chase is passionate about armored vehicles."

"So, what'd you do with your R&R?"

"Nome of your damn business."

"Come on man! You disappeared the day we got the R&R! You had to be up to something."

"I was, but it's none of your business."

"Ugh, fine."

"Wonder what section of the front we're heading to."

"I hope it's a quiet section."

Jackson climbed on top of the, "Alright! Listen up because I'm only saying this once. Our division is being sent to the Northern section of the front just East of Fouzen. There has been a substantial increase in Imperial activity and incase the Imperials try something we're being sent in. Any questions?"

Silence is his answer. "Fantastic! Mount up!" The squad climbed into the M1PCs and rolled out with the rest of the division.

"Fucking hell. How much longer Brooks?"

"If you asked that question one more time, I'm kicking your ass out of the half-track and you can walk the rest of the way."

"Okay, warning received."

"Heads up, we arrive at the camp in about thirty minutes," the driver said.

"Well, that's good news. Not sure how much longer I could just sit here."

"So, are we being sent to this front because command plans to assault Fouzen?"

"No idea. Jackson only said we were being sent here due to an increase in Imperial activity."

"Yeah but, the terrain around Fouzen is the worst for mechanized, motorized, or armored units. It's all thick forest and hills."

"I don't know what to tell ya."

"Whatever the terrain we'll make sure the Imperials don't push us back."

A practically rough bump in the road caused the half-track to jolt. "Damn! You'd figure these roads would be better maintained."

"This isn't really the main road. Of course it wouldn't be as well maintained."

"Why are we taking a secondary road instead of the main road?"

"Because, the camp we're heading to isn't close to the main road. This secondary road will get us there quicker."

Another large bump rocked the half-track. "Not sure if it's worth it."

"Suck it up. We're almost at our destination."

Twenty minutes later, the first tanks from the Third division entered the camp. They headed toward the motor pool while the M1PCs and trucks dropped off their infantry before heading for the motor pool.

"Alright listen up! Our Regiment's barracks is that tent there! Grab yourselves a bunk."

"Sergeant Brooks."

"Lieutenant Jackson. What do you need?

"Come with me, General Lawson wants to see all the squad leads and their seconds from our regiment."

"Lead on Jackson."

They headed to the tent in the middle of the camp. It was the largest one but not by much. Two guards are at the entrance but they let them in. They walked past the other officers in the tent and head to the back of the tent. There is a large table and General Lawson is examining it. The stop in front of him but he doesn't appear to notice. Jackson and Brooks start to look over the map themselves. It's a map of the terrain around Fouzen and marked on it are enemy positions along with possible enemy positions.

General Lawson looked up, "Lieutenant Jackson, Sergeant Brooks. You are in command of squad fifteen, correct?"

"That is correct sir."

"Excellent. I know this is sudden but I need you to put a team together for a night scouting mission."

"We'll have a team ready sir. Where would they be scouting?"

"They will be searching these sectors. Previous scout missions have run into increased Imperial patrols. I believe they hiding assists they do not want us to find in these sectors."

"Sir, what time would this team need to start their mission?"

"20:00 hours. Dismissed."

"Sir!"

They exited the tent, "The team should be able to move quickly but have enough firepower to deal with Imperial patrols."

"Agreed. A team of four would be best. Three scouts lead by Lance Corporal Thomson."

"Agreed. I'll let them know."

Jackson nodded and split away from her. Brooks made her way to her regiment's tent. Trucks from their division continue to flow into the camp carrying infantry, anti-tank guns or supplies. She reached the tent and opened the flap. "Thomson!"

He quickly stood up and jogged to her. He saluted, "Ma'am!"

"Find three scouts. You have a recon mission at 20:00 hours."

"Yes ma'am."

Five hours after they arrived at the camp Thomson, Ellis, and two other scouts left heading to the sectors they are to recon. They enter the forest and look for anything that's out of place among the foliage. A task made all the more difficult because of the night meaning the only light they had was the pale light of the moon.

Thomson held up his hand and the team stopped, crouched, and watched their flanks. Thomson laid his SMG down and pulled out his map. He turned his torch on and blocked the light with his hand. He looked over it and nodded, "Alright. We're here. There's a hill about two kilometers to our front. We can use that to get an overview of the area." He put the map away, stood up, and waved his team forwards.

They slowly moved to the hill doing their best to avoid any leaves of branches that would give their position away. The terrain started to angle up and soon they are walking up a moderate incline. They approached the edge of the cliff and Ellis pulled out his binoculars while Thomson and the other two scouts watched for Imperials. He scanned the forest looking for signs of Imperials but the trees made it difficult. On his fourth sweep, he saw a little smoke rising above the treetops about one-hundred meters from their position. He continued the sweep but didn't find anything, he made his way to Thomson.

"I can see smoke about a hundred meters from our position. Could be a smoldering fire."

"Alright. Let's check it out." With hand signals, he ordered the team to move. They headed back down the hill and toward the smoke Ellis had spotted. As they approached, they slowed and kept their guns at the ready. Ellis maneuvered to where he could see a very small clearing with a small fire that is almost burnt out. Two Imperial scouts are lying next to the fire and look to be dead.

He looked to Thomson who nodded and he carefully advanced. He crouched down next to the bodies and looked for wounds. He didn't find any until he saw their necks. It looked like someone had strangled them from behind. "Looks like they were strangled." He started patting down the bodies.

"Yeah, but by who? We're the only Gallians out here."

"No idea. Look at this." He pulled out a map and pointed at an area of the forest that had been circled with the word 'scout' written above it. "That's not close to our lines."

"Yeah. Question is: What are the Imperials looking for?"

"Well whatever it was, it cost these two their lives. Let's get back to the camp and show this to General Lawson."