Nico should have been enjoying herself. It was a warm, sunny midsummer day. The village, with its old-fashioned but well maintained buildings was an inviting site. And the flowers. The fields were completely covered in them, a massive quilt of colors and shapes. The wind blowing over it carried mixed their scents and filled the air with a sweet fragrance. It wasn't as if she'd never seen flowers before, but she'd never seen then quite like this. It was honestly one of the most beautiful things she'd ever seen.

If only a battle wasn't about to start.

There was a field in front of them, with a farmhouse and windmill to the right and a narrow ridge on their left. Everything in front of her was enemy territory. She could see several Imperial soldiers in the field, ducked behind sandbags and prepared for the Federation assault. There was another Imperial waiting at the top of the ridge. She could see the tank at the far end of the field. She probably shouldn't have been worried. It was just like the drills they'd done dozens of times. Besides, she could survive a hit from a tank shell. Probably. She hadn't gotten the chance to test it out yet, and she wasn't in a hurry to do so.

She was currently hidden behind a truck along the road. None of the Imperial soldiers had seen her yet. There were certain advantages to being the shortest Scout in Squad E. She got on her radio and relayed what she could see to the commander.

"Understood." He radioed back. "Nico, you, Jimmy, and Rosetta and clear out that ridge. The Hafen will be going through the field. Aulard, Curtis, and Neige will be with me. Raz, take Zaiga and Lily and make sure the farm is clear. Move on Kai's signal."

"Roger that, sir."

"Roger that, and thank you so much for letting me go with that tank. Mmm…"

"…Roger."

"Roger that. Drinks are on me after this."

"Roger that. Hehe, me and Raz… these guys won't know what'll hit them."

"Roger that. Close quarters fighting already? Just think of all the ways it can go wrong…"

"Roger that, Claude."

"R-roger that, sir. I c-can do this. I can do this. I can-"

"Don't be afraid. The lord is always watching."

"Thank you."

"Would all of you cut that out? We don't have time to shoot the breeze." Nico winced. Leena- Kai- had a point, even if she did want to help Neige out. A shot rang out. The scout nearest to Nico collapsed, a line of blood stretched out several feet behind him. "There's your signal. Get going."

The shouting of Imperial soldiers reminded her that she didn't have time to worry. The soft patting of boots on the dirt road and a quiet "Ready?" from Rosetta let her know that the rest of her team was there. She let out a breath and nodded. She had only been this scared once in her life, but at the same time her body was buzzing with energy. She glanced down at her arm to make sure that she wasn't glowing. She wasn't ready to show that to the rest of her squad. The three of them took off.

The head of the trail up the ridge was guarded by a Shocktrooper, most likely armed with a machine gun, crouched behind a barricade of sandbags. The typical approach for keeping enemies out of an area. Extremely dangerous, but right now he was still confused about what was going on. Rosetta raised her rifle and took a few shots at him. They went wide- it was hard to aim properly while running- but the fire got him to duck behind the barricade.

Rosetta counted out five shots, then had to reload. The Shocktrooper was standing back up almost as soon as the fifth bullet had passed. That meant it was Nico's turn. She took the next shot. It went too high. She noted to herself that she hadn't taken enough time to line it up.

She lined up her second shot. He wasn't trying to duck again. She had his head right in her sight, but some part of her brain pulled her hands to one side. The second shot missed.

As awful as it was to remember what she'd done in that trance, she might need it again. It might be better to be numb, if it meant that she wouldn't mess up when Jimmy and Rosetta needed her.

Or she might forget who she was again, and be far more dangerous to her companions than the Shocktrooper.

She squeezed off a third shot. Off again. He'd brought up the muzzle of his gun over the barricade. She tried to line up another shot.

The air beside her rumbled. The smell of smoke clashed with the smell of flowers. She didn't need to look back to know that it was Jimmy's. The Anti-Tank Lance he carried had the explosive power to blast through tank armor. It was also heavy enough that one had to be outstandingly strong to be able to aim it properly. The rocket hit the barricade about half a foot to the right of where the Shocktrooper was The barricade exploded, spraying sand high into the air. The Shocktrooper was knocked backwards. He tried to get back up, but never made it. Nico's fourth shot found its mark in his chest. She put another one in an inch to the left. He slumped over.

Eleven.

"Nice shot, Nico." Jimmy snapped her back to reality. They were still visible from the field, meaning they were too exposed in their current location. She could hear the sound of Squad E's tank, the Hafen, on the move, driven by Claude himself. The battle was hardly over.

They started up the trail. There were more sandbags, piled waist high, across the trail every ten feet. They weren't hard to climb over, precisely, but it was time consuming in a place where they didn't have much time. They approached the first barricade and ducked behind it. They would do what they had done in training; go over it one by one while the others provided cover fire. That plan went wrong right away when an imperial soldier rose up from behind the next barricade. Rather than raising his gun, he threw something glowing blue at them before ducking again.

It fell to the ground right next to them. A grenade. It looked like Nico was going to find out, one way or another, how durable she was.

Except that she'd spent too long thinking about it. Jimmy flopped down on top of the grenade. He was smiling, and Nico couldn't tell if it was real or something he was trying to fake. "Hello, ladies. I hope you're doing well this-" He was cut off as there was a muffled but still very loud blast from underneath him. It knocked the wind out of him and left his eyes bulging, but the fact he wasn't coated over the surrounding acre was a welcome relief.

"Well that was a pretty-oof. Oh, yeah, that's a busted rib."

"You shouldn't talk. Nico-" Rosetta cut herself off as the Imperial soldier rose up once again, trying to see how his attack had gone. She readied her gun. Nico made sure she was ducked behind the sandbags, then tried to flip Jimmy onto his back. Nico was stronger than when she enlisted, but Jimmy wasn't small and the heavy blast suit he wore didn't help. She could barely get him to budge, until Jimmy somehow mustered the strength in one arm to push himself up.

Jimmy let out a weak sigh of relief. Having the weight off his stomach was an improvement, if a small one. She unbuttoned his jacket and rolled his shirt up, concern helping her ignore how awkward the task should have felt. Much of his chest was darkened with bruising. His blast suit hadn't stopped all of the damage, even if it had kept him alive. She took the lightbulb-like Ragnaid dispenser from her belt. She held it over his chest, glass section up, and twisted off the cap at the bottom. The viscous blue liquid, now glowing, fell onto his skin.

The effect was quick. She'd seen it at work in training before, but Nico never quite got used to how rapidly it took effect. Before the last of it had poured out, Jimmy's breathing had already normalized. There was some residual bruising, but it was neither as extensive nor as severe as it had been.

"How's that?"

"Feelin' just fine, thanks." Jimmy said. He began putting his clothing back in order. Nico averted her eyes, her face suddenly feeling warm.

She'd forgotten about Rosetta and the other soldier in the commotion. Rosetta was still crouched beside them, looking none the worse for the wear. She could guess how her exchange with the other soldier had gone. Then the air of the village was filled with a loud burst, mixed with the sound of metal crunching.

"What was that?" Nico asked.

"That's the sound of one tank shooting another." Jimmy said matter-of-factly.

"Can you stand?" Rosetta asked, a note of concern in her voice. Jimmy pushed himself to his feet in response. The proceeded up the trail, Nico and Rosetta taking turns covering the other as they advanced. The sound of tanks exchanging gunfire rang out several more times.

"We're fine. We can keep going."

Nico still didn't know much about tanks. She didn't know how much abuse the Hafen could take. She did know that it wouldn't last long at this rate. She also knew that the Imperial tank couldn't stand up to both the Hafen and Jimmy's lance.

The reached the overlook. She should have seen it coming. The Imperials had already sent their own Lancer up. He was already taking aim below, most likely at the Hafen. He had a Scout as an escort, though he was currently more focused on the battle below them. She leveled her gun at the Lancer and squeezed her finger three times in succession. The first clanged off his helmet. The second hit the dent the first had made. The third one broke through his helmet. The lancer fell backwards. His lance never went off. Nico let out a breath she didn't realize she was holding. Losing their tank- and their commander- could have turned the battle into a disaster for them.

"Y-yuri? Yuri? You alright?" The Imperial scout said. He tried shaking the fallen Lancer's shoulder, to no avail.

Twelve. They were safe. But now there was someone else who was never coming home.

She shouldn't have let herself get lost in thought. The Scout turned on them and opened fire. The other soldiers had been calm and methodical. The Scout was screaming at them, loud and raw. It was one of the most disturbing things Nico had heard, but it didn't translate into him being more effective; Most of his shots went wide. He ran through the entire magazine but kept pulling the trigger, seemingly oblivious to the fact he was no longer firing. He collapsed himself after a single shot from Rosetta.

Nico and Rosetta went to secure the trail on the other side of the overlook. Jimmy took aim at the enemy tank. Even out of the corner of her eye, Nico could tell that the Hafen was damaged. There was currently smoke rising up out of it. They just had to hope that Jimmy to damage the other tank worse.

Without a view of the rest of the battlefield, Nico could only go off what she heard. Claude radioed Aulard for field repairs on the Hafen. She heard Jimmy's lance go off several times. She didn't know exactly how many rockets he had, though she knew it couldn't be many. She heard shouting from the imperials, but none of them tried to come up the ridge. There wasn't any big finale to the battle. After a certain point, the cannon on the enemy tank stopped. The sound of shouting and gunfire gradually died out. The village slowly became silent.

"Farm's all clear, Claude." Raz announced over the radio.

"The ridge is clear." Rosetta radioed.

"Do one last check for enemies. Then we move into the town center."

"Understood. Let's go." Rosetta gestured to the others. She started down, with Jimmy following after. Nico moved to follow them, until a sound drew her attention. It was faint. She wasn't sure what it was, but there was something behind her. She turned, gun at the ready.

Nothing. No reinforcements. No traps. Everything looked the same as it had a minute ago. She moved towards the trail they had taken up, steps slow and deliberate to not throw off her aim. She heard it again, a little clearer. What was going on?

She caught some movement in the corner of her eye. She turned before she realized what it was. The Scout from before. He was reaching for the Ragnaid container on his belt. He was weak. The movement of his arm was slow, strained. It seemed to barely move at all. Nico doubted he would ever be able to get to it himself.

It would probably be easier for her to just leave him be. He would die on his own. Exactly what Rosetta had been trying to do a moment ago. Exactly what Nico had done to two of his compatriots. She could simply turn and walk away. Or, if she wanted to make it quicker, she still had a few bullets left in her gun.

She remembered the way he had yelled after she killed his friend. The confusion. The anger. The loss. Why had she joined the army, again?

She reached down, took the Ragnaid dispenser, and broke the cap off the bottom. There wasn't time to get his armor off, so she carefully lined up the dripping fluid with the bullet hole in his armor. His motions grew more relaxed. She gulped as the last of it ran out. What were they going to do with him now? Take him prisoner? She hadn't actually planned anything. Her superiors would likely not be happy if they found out she had helped an enemy soldier.

"Just stay here." She whispered in his ear. Not all of the Ragnaid had actually gotten to his body. He was probably out of danger, but still weak. She could figure something else out later.

She started walking away. Rosetta and the others were probably getting worried. Her heart was pounding, and not because of the battle. She'd saved his life. She shouldn't be feeling guilty, right? How could that not have been the right thing to do? She couldn't reduce something as valuable as someone's life to what was convenient.

An abrupt noise interrupted her worrying. She'd heard the sound several more times that day. She dropped to the ground immediately. The roar of the rocket and the smell of smoke filled the space she had just been standing in. She rolled over onto her back as the headless lance crashed down where she had lain. It was the Imperial soldier she had just healed.

Restored to health, he had immediately tried to kill her again.

He brought the lance back up, readying another overhead swing at the supine figure in front of him. Nico brought her rifle back up and put three shots into his head. He collapsed, well beyond the ability of Ragnaid to bring back.

Thirteen.

"Nico? Nico!" Rosetta yelled as she ran back up the ridge. Jimmy was doing his best to follow her, but was weighted down too much to run like she was. "What happened? Who fired that?" She surveyed the view, Nico still on her back and the Scout holding the headless lance. Nico climbed to her feet, unsteady. "Was he playing possum?"

Nico tried to say yes, but it came out as more of an affirmative-sounding grunt. Her stomach sank. Another lie.

"Having trouble, huh?" Jimmy asked, having finally reached the others. "Don't worry so much. You did great." He leaned over and whispered in her ear "It gets easier."

"Please stay with us next time. It's dangerous to be alone."

"I-I will." Nico replied.

Rosetta looked down at their fallen enemies. She bowed her head and clasped her hands in front of her. Nico didn't have to ask what it was for; a prayer for the dead. She followed Rosetta's example.

So, this is war.

Author's Note: I wanted to give a sense of what a "normal" battle would be like, and how things like a blast suit or Ragnaid would work in a non-video game setting. One of my assumptions for the latter is that it temporarily lets a regular person heal the way a Valkyria does, though it has its limits.

Bonus Scene

"Alright, we'll be checking this house next." Raz said, gesturing to another nondescript house.

"Are there any Imperials left?" Lily asked. "I think we already killed them. The last eight houses were already empty."

"Don't question Raz!" Zaiga said. "If he says we need to check it out, then-"

"Nah. They probably are dead." Raz cut in. "But we got orders." He didn't bother to hide his annoyance from his subordinates.

They never actually got the chance to enter. A lance head, flying in from the direction of the battle they had just fought, hit the house and blew a deep hole in it. After a long moment filled with groaning wood, the house collapsed into a heap.

Zaiga blinked, trying to figure out what had just happened. Lily was grinning.

"Alright, that one's clear." Raz said. "Don't think we'll be that lucky with the next, though."