Claude Wallace glanced down at the papers on his desk, then looked back at the girl sitting on the other side of the desk. They were in the small room he'd been given as an office for the moment. The Federation being in a rather bad spot in the war meant that anyone over sixteen who could hold a weapon was being accepted. He'd already ha some unusual recruits thus far, and this one was no exception. She was short even for sixteen, with short, unruly blonde hair and big, shining green eyes. He was debating with himself as to what, exactly, he was going to do with her.
"Private Emery?"
"Yes, sir?"
"Before we go any further, I want to ask you some questions."
"O-okay! What is it you need to know?"
"When did you decide to join the army?"
"It was the day after… that incident." Claude did his best not to wince. The massacre of a few nuns was hardly the deadliest incident in the war, but it was one all the newspapers had been eager to talk about.
"Have you ever used a gun before?"
"I've been hunting before, sir."
"How often?"
"…Just one time, sir. And I didn't really hit much. Except for Mister Ilbert's foot." That wasn't an issue in itself. She was hardly the only person under his command with no combat experience. He didn't even have any himself.
"What are your plans for the future? What do you want to do when the war's over?"
"I… haven't thought much about it." Again, not an issue by itself. She was still young. Not everyone her age had much of a plan.
"Are you sure you want to be in a combat unit?"
"Well, it's too late to back out, right?" Not a strong answer, but not an issue by itself.
Claude shook his head. "You don't have to serve in combat. I can put in to have you transferred to a support unit instead. It takes a lot more than just soldiers to fight a war, you know."
Nico nodded. "I know, sir." Her voice sounded serious. Grim, even.
"So you want to fight?"
"Yes, sir."
"Why?"
"Um, well…"
Claude shook his head. "Let me put it this way: You lost your family to the empire. Are you looking for revenge?" Nico didn't respond. She seemed lost in thought. "It's not necessarily a problem if you are. I already have people fighting for a lot of different reasons. What I need to know is-"
"That's not it!" Nico blurted out, before adding "Sir."
"Alright then. What is it?"
"After… that, I had a lot of time by myself. I realized… this is what war does, isn't it? It's not just people dying in battle. People die in the chaos, and a lot of people are left behind who have to deal with that pain. And it's… How many people are going to die? How many will have to mourn? And the only way to stop it is…"
"Are you saying you want to end the war? It's good to have ambition, but I doubt our squad is going to be ending the war on it's own."
"I know. I may not make much of a difference…" Nico fidgeted in her seat. It looked like she was trying to scratch her back against the backrest. "But I have to do something. I have a duty"
Claude nodded. "I think that's all I needed to hear." He stood up, and offered her his hand. "Welcome to Squad E, Nico. You'll need to see the quartermaster about your uniform. We're to be starting basic training tomorrow, so I advise making the most of your downtime today. Try to get to know the rest of the squad."
"Yes sir!" Nico said, giving him a salute.
"That… wasn't an order."
Author's Note: I thought this chapter would be longer than it turned out to be. It feels a little short to be it's own chapter, but it makes for a natural breaking point. I'll admit upfront that I've never been in the military, and I don't know a lot about military life, so I can't make any promises as to how accurate this will be. Next up, we meet our supporting cast.