It didn't take long for Nico to encounter her first problem; Where, exactly, was the quartermaster? She hadn't seen much of the base, and it seemed easy to get turned around. There were people bustling to and fro; Some carrying supplies, some already in uniform and marching in formation, and a few others were still dressed as civilians and seemed to be as lost as her. She decided that it would be best to simply ask for directions.

That did not work out quite as well as she'd hoped. Some of the people ignored her. Some couldn't seem to hear her. One person didn't speak her language. One drill sergeant leading a squad in a run yelled at her for interrupting him, even though she'd barely said hey.

"Are you looking for something?" For once, someone else had approached her. He was a tall man with short, brown hair. She guessed he was somewhere around middle age, given the lines on his face. Most importantly, he was wearing a uniform. "Everything okay? You seem a little lost."

"Oh, yes. Could you please tell me where the Quartermaster is, sir?"

"Ah, so nice to meet such a polite kid. It's in the building right around the corner there. And, if you don't mind me asking, what unit are you in?"

"Squad E, sir."

"Ah, no need to be so former. I'm just another soldier, like you. Name's Jimmy. Jimmy Frank." He offered her his hand. "And by coincidence, I'm going to be in Squad E as well."

"Nico Emery. Nice to meet you, Mr. Frank."

"Just Jimmy's fine. And, from one squad mate to another, let my give you a little advice." He reached into his pocket, pulled out a well-worn piece of paper, and handed it to her. She unfolded it and took a look. It was a picture of Jimmy, with his arm around a woman. "We're all here fighting for something. I'm fighting for my wife there. Never forget what you're fighting for, Nico. You got a family back home?"

"No, si-Jimmy."

The shocked look on his face was the first time she had seen him not smile. "Y-you don't? Well, you must have some friends back home right? Maybe even someone special?

"I don't… really have any friends anymore. And, um, I grew up in a convent…"

A look of recognition crossed Jimmy's face. He put a hand on Nico's shoulder. "Well, I'll tell you what. When we're done with our tour, if you need a place to go for a while, you can stay with me and the family."

Nico stared at the picture in her hand. Somewhere out there, there was a bed waiting for her. A place she could call home. The two in the photo could be her family. "Really? That won't be too much trouble? I mean, you really don't know me well."

"Ah even if I don't know you well now, I'm sure we'll be good friends once this is all over. Just remember, you've got something to fight for, now."

"Thank you, Jimmy."

Nico started towards the Quartermaster, with Jimmy heading in the opposite direction. She didn't get far before another voice interrupted her.

"That's a pretty good racket you've got there."

Nico turned to see a man leaning against one of the buildings. He was wearing a uniform and had the dark blue hair of a Darcsen. Between the pointed goatee, the scar over his eye, and the glare on his face, he looked about as far from friendly as one could get.

"What do you mean?"

"You give the guy the cute little smile, feed him a bit of a sob story, and you got him eating out of your hand. Couldn't'a picked a better mark, either. Letting someone he doesn't know live him? How dumb can you be?"

"That's not true! I'm not trying to trick him! I was just answering his questions honestly. It was very kind of him to offer me a place in his home like that. You really shouldn't speak badly of him."

"So that's how it's going to be, huh? Great. First I get stuck under some greenhorn, and now this. I should've known they'd stick me in a squad with people like you." He pushed himself off the wall and walked over to her, slowly. "You really think it's a good idea to trust him like that? What a sap."

Nico frowned.

"You hadn't even thought of it, had you? Your head's just full of sunshine and rainbows."

"So, you think that I'm trying to trick him, and he's a fool for trying to help me?"

"Wow. You remember what I already said."

"And you think that he's trying to trick me, and I'm a fool for trusting him?"

"What are you getting at?"

"Who do you think is trying to fool who?" It wasn't even an accusation. She just sounded confused.

"Tch. I don't have to put up with this." He started to walk away.

"Wait! …Sir."

"What?" he answered, without bothering to turn around.

"What's your name?"

That got him to turn around. "You're asking for my name? After that?"

"You said we're going to be in the same squad, right? It would be a lot easier to talk to you if I knew your name."

"That's a good reason to not tell you."

"Okay, I could give you a nickname-"

"Godwin." He gestured to his dark hair. "Just Godwin." He turned and stormed away.

Nico went around the corner and found the door with the large sign that said QUARTERMASTER. She went through the open door, and was a little relieved that it wasn't too busy at the moment; there was currently only one other recruit there.

"I'm sorry, but this one didn't fit either." Said the blonde woman standing in front of the counter. Nico could see why she was having trouble; she was tall and broad-shouldered, larger than most of the women she'd ever met. If she tried wearing the same red dress the woman was, it would drag on the ground.

"I see. Well, I'm afraid that's our largest size for women. " The man behind the counter seemed to hesitate. He started fidgeting, and seemed to have trouble looking at her.

The woman sighed. "I'll take a men's, then." The man behind the counter set off into the aisle of shelves behind him.

Nico walked over to the counter. The woman turned to look at her, and her face dropped.

"Are… are you one of the recruits?"

"Yes, ma'am. Private Nico Emery, Squad E, 503- wait, no, it was 501- or 105?"

"How old are you?"

Nico frowned. Why did she seem so disappointed? "Sixteen, ma'am"

"They let you join that young?" She shook her head. "A girl your age should be finishing school, or chasing after a boy, or starting an apprenticeship. Just about anything but dodging bullets and killing people."

Nico's gaze dropped. She started wringing her hands, unconsciously. She'd told reporters about the raid, about the nuns had been killed. She told them she'd survived by hiding in a closet. What had actually happened- her real nature- was something she wasn't eager to share.

"I'm sorry." The tall woman said. "It looks like I struck a nerve."

"It's okay. It's just that… this is what I have to do."

"And why is that? If you don't mind me asking."

"Did... did you read about what happened at that convent?"

Her eyes lit up for a moment as it dawned on her. "You're that girl, then?"

Nico nodded. It was easier than saying anything.

"I suppose you do have your own reason to fight, but try to keep in mind that there are better things waiting after the war."

"I will. Thank you, ma'am."

"There's no need to call me 'ma'am'. I'm just another private. Rosetta is fine."

"Okay. Thank you, Rosetta."

"You're welcome, my child."

The awkwardness was palpable. It pressed down on everything, demanding a total absence of both movement and sound. Rosetta tried to fight it, but to no avail. Nico tried taking a stab at it herself.

"So… how old are you, Rosetta?"

"I- that- e- Not nearly that ol- No, no, no. I didn't mean it like that, Nico. It was a slip of the tongue. Something from my old career."

"Here you go." The man finally returned to the counter, carrying a bundle of clothing under his arm.

"Thank you" she said, taking the bundle from him. She turned to Nico. "Come to me if you have any trouble, Nico."

Nico nodded as she left, before making her own request for a uniform.

Finding the barracks for Squad E was easier than finding the Quartermaster, at least. She held her new uniform under one arm. It was a large, plain room with a row of cots running down the wall on either side. Each cot had a small trunk next to it, containing a few personal posessions they were allowed. Nico wasn't in a hurry to find hers. It was almost empty, anyways.

"NOOOOO! THAT CAN'T BE!"

That, and the two people who were already in the room were drawing her attention.

"Come on, that has to be some kind of mistake." The one talking was a young man sitting on one of the cots, tall and with the deep tan of someone who spent every waking hour in the sun. Part of his long black hair that fell over one eye; the rest was pulled back into a thin… was "ponytail" still the right word when a guy had it? He might have looked cool, but his current panic was not terribly impressive.

"Oh, stop worrying about that." Said the other one, a woman facing him from another cot. They were looking at something laid out on one of the trunks arranged between them. She was terribly pale, as though she were sickly or avoided the sun, and her pale grey eyes regarded the world with a faint interest. Her black hair was tied into short braids on either side of her head and each tied with a blue ribbon, likely a girlhood hairstyle she had never outgrown.

"What's not to worry about!? You drew Death!"

"'Death' isn't necessarily a bad sign, Thomas. It just means that one cycle is ending and another is starting. It could just be about you joining the army at all.

"I-it does, really?"

"Of course. It's The Tower you should be worried about. That's the card that represents calamity."

Nico looked down at the three cards laid out on the trunk. One had a skeleton holding a scythe. The second was a tower being struck by lightning. The third was a woman pouring water onto a crayfish under the moon. It was also upside-down compared to the other cards.

"And The Moon. That symbolizes illusion and mystery. Or, since it's reversed, delusion."

"A-and what does that mean?"

"Your life's going to change, something bad's going to happen, and someone's going to go crazy. Or something like that. Tarot's not always the clearest."

The man looked terrified. He was nearly pulled into a ball, and shaking like a leaf in a storm. Nico didn't even realize what she was doing until her hand was on his shoulder.

"Don't worry about the future. We don't know what's really going to happen."

"The cards really don't look good." The man said.

"They're just cards. They don't know anything. There's no reason to be afraid of the future."

"Except that we're going to be fighting in a war. I believe the last one killed a few million people." The black-haired woman chimed in.

"Okay, I could have put that better. But you still shouldn't be afraid."

"Why not?" It wasn't a challenge. The note of hope in his voice was unmistakable.

She looked at him. She'd just met him. She didn't know his name. Didn't know why he was here, or what he was trying to do. All she knew was that he was scared, and was looking for some kind of reassurance. "…Because whatever happens in this war, I'll be there for you. I promise."

The black-haired woman smiled. "Well, Thomas, looks like you've got your own guardian angel."

"Thanks, uh… whatever your name is."

"Nico Emery."

"That's Thomas Kevin. And I'm Lily Allen. It's a pleasure to meet you, Nico." Lily offered her a hand. "You seem like you'll be a very interesting person. It's a shame you don't have much luck." She sounded like she was commenting on a movie she was only half-interested in.

"I don't know if I'd say that."

"You can't be too lucky, if you got put in the same unit as me."

"What does that mean? Wait, was that a threat?"

"She's cursed." Thomas interjected.

"It's true. Everyone around me always has the worst luck. I enlisted just to see what it would do in a battle. Someone's going to be having some terrible luck."

"And I'm here because my parents wanted me out of the house." Thomas grumbled.

"And I'm here to- oh, right. I need to change my clothes. Could you guys…"

"Oh, don't worry. Thomas won't bother you. Right, Thomas?"

"I-I-I wasn't going to! Jeez!" said Thomas, as he averted his gaze.

Nico turned her back to them. She pulled her dress off, slipped out of her shoes, and began to put on her uniform, starting with the dark-colored leggings, then the brown shorts, then the heavy combat boots. She was just pulling on her padded undershirt when Lily spoke up again.

"Oh, worried about the kind of people you'll meet in camp, are you?"

Nico didn't have to ask. She knew what Lily was talking about; the leather belt running around her midsection, securing a leather sheath holding a certain stone knife in the small of her back.

There was an intellectual part of her that knew the knife meant power, and that she would likely need it soon. Another, emotional part wanted to keep it as an anchor to her old life. A devout part insisted that such a relic belonged in a church, not a battlefield. Yet another, still disgusted, thought the world might be better off without it.

"I-its not like that. It's just an heirloom."

"Wait, what are you guys talking about?" Thomas asked.

"Nothing. Just make sure our CO doesn't find out about that, Nico."

Nico pulled on her padded green undershirt, followed by her brown-and-white jacket. Finally came the metal plates for her knees, hips, and shoulders. She'd seen other soldiers not wearing them yet, but it seemed best to get used to them now. She turned to see that Thomas was still looking away, and that Lily had a different set of cards laid out in front of her; a girl petting a lion, a man dangling from his ankle, and a sun with a smiling face.

"I did a reading for you. Hope you don't mind. I think it fits you well. Especially Strength."

"Oh, Lily. Don't be silly. They're just cards. It doesn't mean anything." She wasn't starting to suspect anything, was she?

"If you insist." She picked up the three cards and shuffled them back into the deck. "I know a little card game we could play. It's kind of like Pitch."

"I've never heard of that one." Nico said.

"You haven't?" said Thomas, sounding shocked.

"Guess we have two games to teach you then. If you're interested."

Nico took a seat next to Lily.

"Okay, first we deal out the deck…"

Author's Note: Next up, training.