-Chapter 2-

"Try to be at least a bit civil while we're in there. I know you're still a bit ticked off from being pulled away from your leave, but this is serious business," said Mikael as he ran a hand through his hair. He and Karith were walking down the scarcely decorated halls of the High Command's HQ building, situated in the capital of Alyeska. Mikael had escorted Karith all the way from her town of residence to the capital itself to attend the vital meeting in person. They were both dressed in their formal military attire, pressed and cleaned to near perfection.

Karith glanced at him from behind as she straightened out her jacket, smelling the scent of cigarette smoke originating from the man. "I know what's at stake here. You don't need to remind me to keep my cool."

Mikael acknowledged her with a nod and kept moving at a brisk pace. When they arrived at the meeting, Karith reached out for the door handle to proceed inside, but he stopped her, placing his hand on hers.

Feeling his touch, she turned to him and made eye contact. "What is it now?" she asked in a hushed voice.

Mikael smiled and let go of her hand. "Play nice with Leena, will ya?" he said in a whisper.

Karith rolled her eyes at him with a groan before heading inside the room. Already present at the meeting were several high-ranking military members, mainly generals, and government officials, including the Council Chairman himself who was the elected leader of their country. He sat at the head of the table flanked by an advisor and two personal guards standing behind him, their pressgun rifles slung over their shoulders. The rest of the people were all seated around an oval table situated in the center of the room. All eyes were on Karith and Mikael as they proceeded silently, and a bit uneasily, to their seats. Kale and Leena were amongst the ones watching, though, one was more enthused about seeing the final guests arrive than the other. Once they had their seats, the meeting commenced.

Gen. Tulare, one of the country's top military commanders, cleared his throat and stood up to address everyone in attendance. He was an older gentleman who had seen his fair share of combat in service to his country. After flipping a sheet of paper over on the table, he spoke. "As we were discussing briefly before the arrival of captains Blackblood and Lukov, our neighbor, the Commonwealth of Athens, has invaded our other neighbor, the Kingdom of Krishna, and-" Before he could continue, Karith raised her hand as if to ask a question. Tulare signed and motioned to her. "Yes, Captain?"

"Sir, what's this talk I hear about Athens invading Krishna? I've been on leave, and a very warranted one at that I might add, for about a month and just got back from my trip, so I'm a bit out of touch regarding international politics," said Karith. Mikael shot her a sharp glare, but she shrugged it off.

Tulare, familiar with her antics since she was under his command, went easy on her and didn't bother causing a scene with a reprimand. "A few days ago, Athens officially declared war on Krishna and invaded in full force. Our reports indicate that over thirty percent of Krishna's golems have already been destroyed in the ensuing combat that followed. Athens has sent in one of their best golem battalions to take over Krishna's forward defensive fort, but have not been able to take it just yet. Also, recent reports have indicated that a small, advanced Athenian golem squad has penetrated undetected into the country and are headed towards their capital."

Karith listened intently, disseminating everything he was saying, "So what does this have to do with us? I hear rumors that we… may be going to war as well? Has Krisha requested our aid or something?"

As soon as she said that, there was numerous and disgruntled chatter amongst the people at the meeting. Leena scoffed at Karith from her seat, crossing her arms as she looked to Kale beside her. "Can you believe that woman? A captain and doesn't even keep up with current events. Alyeska could be invaded as enemy golems waltz down the boulevard and she wouldn't even notice." After hearing no response, she glanced over to Kale, but she was too focused on Karith, a concerned expression on her face.

Tulare calmed everyone down and resumed his briefing. "No, Krishna has not requested our intervention. But…" He paused to gather his thoughts, figuring out the best way to explain everything to those in attendance. "The rumors… are true. We are going to war."

Upon hearing the news, Karith felt a bit discouraged and a slight uneasiness building in her stomach. Her country had not been in a major confrontation in over fifty years, so why now, she wondered. She sighed and directed her attention towards the general. "So who are we going to war with? Athens? Krishna?"

The general paced around the table, his hands interlocked behind his back as he pondered his response. He was about to address Karith, but another general interrupted and answered on his behalf. "Both, actually." Once he spoke, everyone looked to the general that answered as he stood up. "If you don't mind, general, I'd like to continue this briefing from this point on."

Tulare looked to the individual and was slightly aggravated that he was being cut off, but after seeing the Council Chairman give his approval, he let it go. "As you wish, Gen. Lupin. It would seem best if you continue on, seeing as you were chosen to lead our forces into Krishna, while I, the more tenured general, was tasked to stay behind to defend our capital." The old and battle-weary man scowled slightly at the younger officer before taking his seat, keeping his attention on Lupin.

Despite the generals' insinuating words, Lupin smiled at his older colleague. "It only seems fitting, Tulare, to keep our more experienced and decorated generals in reserve for our homeland's defense. Surely you don't want to be on the frontlines where death is just a wrong step away. Where glory is taken and forged. A place where we defend our nation's sovereignty through aggressive force. It would be my honor to bear that burden and relieve you from such, general." His tone was severely sarcastic and his attitude was on the verge of being insubordinate, but being a highly decorated general himself, and the commanding officer of the Shadow Corps, they all let him be either out of respect or fear.

Tulare only managed a scoff at Lupin, crossing his arms as he prepared to listen to the rest of the briefing.

With a mocking nod and smirk, Lupin continued on where Tulare had left off. "As my associate was saying, we will be conducting operations against both Athens and Krishna simultaneously. I will be leading the main force into Krishna while Gen. Morrios takes his men into Athens. Shadow Corps will be with my men and act as our vanguard in Krishna while Foxhound Squad accompanies Gen. Morrios, conducting a similar mission to clear a path for his main golem force." He took a few steps then looked to Karith, making direct eye contact with her which threw her off guard. "Capt. Blackblood."

Seeing his authoritative gaze on her, Karith straightened up in her seat and cleared her throat. "Yes, sir!"

"You will be put in charge of this new experimental unit. It's been created just for the occasion, and we expect to see encouraging results from you and your unit," said Lupin.

"Uh- yes, sir! But what makes this unit so special? Are we being deployed in a new model of golem, or some new weapon system?" asked Karith, a bit curious yet excited.

Lupin picked up a folder from the table and opened it up. "Your unit, Foxhound Squad, will be designated as an independent unit, a first amongst our golem forces. You will be allowed to carry out your mission as you see fit, free from a chain of command, except for the Council Chairman of course. Now, only our most trusted and skilled soldiers were picked for the job, so that is why we chose you and your teammates. Your team will be using the Reynard golem in battle and will be required to be combat operational in less than a week. We've already begun transferring your preferences and customizations from your Requins to your new Reynards as we speak." He paused to flip through a few pages before continuing on. "Your unit will be composed of yourself, Capt. Lukov, Capt. Trilby, and our very own illustrious Capt. Lansin."

As soon as he was done reading off the members of her unit, Leena stood up from her seat in an aggravated manner. "Excuse me, sir? But why am I not in command of this new, prestigious unit?" she asked with a sneer.

Lupin looked up from his file and directed his attention towards her. "Is there something wrong with Capt. Blackblood, Capt. Lansin? She is just as qualified for the job as you are. And I'm not going to give you special preference just because you're under my command or the former captain of the Shadow Corps."

Leena scowled at him, peering at him through her glasses. "What do you mean 'former'?"

Lupin closed his file and looked to the other pilots. "Since you're all assigned to Foxhound, you've been relieved of your former positions and titles. We've already designated replacements for them, so you don't have to worry about that anymore."

With her hands clenched into fists, Leena sat back down in her seat, forcing herself to not look flustered or disappointed. Her blonde hair nearly broke out of its neat and tidy bun as she shot an irritated glare towards Karith. She kept it on her for a few moments before refocusing on Lupin.

After explaining more about the new unit, Lupin turned it over to his counterpart, Gen. Morrios, who said a few more words about the ensuing operations. Once the briefing was over, everyone was dismissed to carry out the tasks dictated to them. Before leaving the room, Tulare pulled Karith over to say a few words to her in private.

"You wanted to talk, general?" asked Karith as she stood with Tulare off to the side.

He sighed and crossed his hands behind his back again, a posture that signified his apprehension. "I bet you're wondering how you got command of Foxhound rather than Capt. Lansin. Am I correct?"

Karith thought it over for a second before replying. "Just a tad, sir."

"Well, I can also guess that you thought I had a hand to play in you taking command, right?"

"Uh, I hadn't thought about it that way, but now that you mention it, sure. I guess so."

Tulare exhaled tiredly, running a hand through his hair as he questioned his decision to make her the leader. "Yes, I recommended you for the position, and when we all voted, you won. But I did so far one main reason: I don't trust Lansin and the rest of Shadow Corps, especially Lupin."

Upon hearing his explanation for making her leader, Karith's spirit sustained a major blow as she instantly became dismayed. "Oh, thanks a lot, sir."

Tulare smiled, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Now now, Captain. You're a skilled pilot and I know that. We all do. Of course your prowess and reputation in combat speak for themselves. But I don't feel comfortable having Shadow Corps, or at least, one of their members handling this new operation. I need you to watch over her and make sure the offensive goes according to plan. Can you do that for me, Karith? I would do it myself, but the Council has found it convenient enough to put me on homeland security along with Gen. Hound. There's something fishy going on here, but I can't quite put my finger on it."

She smiled, her ego rejuvenated by his reassuring words. "Yes, sir. Of course sir."

"Good. But don't get me wrong. Lupin is a formidable commander, but hasty and ruthless in his tactics. He's better kept under the watchful eye of the capital rather than let loose in a foreign country to wreak havoc as he sees fit." Tulare paused, still bothered by the Council's decision to keep him away from the frontlines. "Capt. Lukov can help you handle Lansin. You two seem to work well together. And that classmate of yours, Trilby. With you three together, you should have no problem keeping the Shadow in line."

"Yeah. There's no way some new-blood's going to outmatch a pilot of the combat-tested, battle-worn frontline infantry," said Karith with a confident smirk.

Tulare, relieved by her returned fighting spirit, patted her on the back. "That's my Captain. I'm sure you'll do fine. You all will." He then shook her hand and wished her luck before leaving the conference room with her.

Once she left the conference room, Karith was suddenly ambushed from behind as someone leapt on her back. "Kari! How've you been!?" said the mysterious woman.

Caught off guard, Karith couldn't help but support the person on her back lest they both fall to the ground. "Hey! Is that you, Kale?"

The woman on Karith's back jumped down and smiled, her black ponytail swaying behind her. "Yeah, what's up? We haven't talked in like… ages!"

Karith turned around to see her academy friend standing before her. "It's good to see you again, Kale. How's the cavalry treating you?"

Kale shrugged, placing her hands into her coat pockets. "Eh. Being stationed in the interior is all right. A bit boring, but calm, I guess. How about you? You must be on your toes constantly being stationed on the frontlines by the border, eh?"

"It's not as exhilarating as you think. It's mostly just watching the same old scenery, walking the same old route. This new assignment will be much more exciting though."

"I hope so. Say! You wanna walk with me to the golem hangar to check out our new rides? I've always wanted to pilot the Reynard, or at least, something other than our old, standard Requins," said Kale.

Karith gave a nod and began walking alongside her friend. "Sure. I'm curious to see how much they've transferred over from my Requin. They better have gotten the paint job right at least."

"Right… because that's the most important feature of a golem," said Kale with a snicker.

Karith smiled and bumped shoulders with her. "Oh shut up."

The two continued to catch up on things as they made their way to the golem staging hangar, which was a large, open area where golems were kept for maintenance and upkeep. Upon arrival, they found their new Reynards lined up on the left side of the hangar while their old Requins were on the right.

The Reynard was similar to the Artemis used by Athens, but not an exact replica. They shared a basic bi-pedal, humanoid design and boasted enhanced maneuverability, but that was where the similarities ended. The most noticeable difference aesthetically was the head. The Reynard's head resembled that of a fox with sensors and other equipment located in the ears. There were other cosmetic differences as well, such as the shoulder armor and minor tweaks to the feet to accommodate the new enhancements. The mobility module and the flight stabilizers located on the back were, for the most part, the same, mainly because they were Alyeskan in design from the beginning. The designers of the Reynard just improved on the current version in order to incorporate it into the new golem model.

Inside the hangar, golem specialists and staff were hard at work moving parts from the old golems to the new ones, also adding in some new modifications and upgrade that needed to be tested. The closest golem to them was Kale's, so they decided to check out hers first.

Her Reynard was painted a deep-blue color scheme with the country's emblem painted on the left shoulder, just like her old Requin. In addition to the color, other aspects were carried over as well, such as her backup combat knife and control preferences inside the cockpit. Her main armaments, however, were still with her old Requin with something else being paired with her new golem.

"Wow, what- what is that?" asked Kale as she motioned to a very large pressgun being mounted to her Reynard.

"That, Lady Trilby, is the newest addition to our golem arsenal," said one of the golem specialists nearby. "It's a high-capacity, fast-firing pressgun. The ammunition is belt-fed into the weapon automatically, so you don't ever need to reload during battle. And it's all stored on a backpack unit for ease of movement. Once it's depleted, the backpack and weapon can be purged for better mobility."

"Hmm, I don't know… I'm still kinda missing the look of my two pressguns," said Kale as she warily examined the weapon.

The specialist smiled and stood beside her, admiring the new pressgun. "Don't worry, my lady. You'll be quite satisfied with the new addition. However, if you feel that you prefer your old pressguns, we'll make the switch as soon as possible."

Kale continued to inspect her new Reynard, moving closer to get a better look at the specialist's handiwork. The specialist she was talking to stayed by her side in case she had any more questions or concerns about the hardware.

"I kinda like the new pressgun," said Karith as she looked the new golem over with Kale. "It suits you."

Still skeptical, Kale began scrutinizing the new golem up close, talking with a few of the other mechanics. She wasn't as acquainted with the Reynard as much as with the older Requin, so she was going to need some time to familiarize herself with it. Karith, on the other hand, had seen some of them in action while deployed to the frontlines, so she had some idea of their capabilities.

"You don't look so enthusiastic about out new golems," said Karith with a playful smirk.

"Well you should."

As soon as Karith turned and looked up to see whose voice it was, she grimaced as she saw Leena in the golem bay next to Kale's, sitting on the shoulder of her Reynard. It was painted solid black, the default color scheme of her former unit, the Shadow Corps. Like Kale's Reynard, it also had the country's emblem painted on the left shoulder, a common practice for golem pilots. Leena then grabbed onto a mechanic hoist and rode it down to the ground, making her way over to Karith and Kale once she was on her feet.

"The Reynard is a high-performance, high-mobility golem. One of our country's best," said Leena as she lectured her fellow team members a-matter-of-factly. "Based on the joint project with Athens, the Artemis, we took the strengths of that model and addressed its weaknesses, thus coming up with our own model, the Reynard. It has similar agility and jump abilities as the Artemis, but sacrifices some of its jump height for ground speed and dash capability. There are only a few that have been produced due to the intricacies of the boosters, so you should be thankful that you get to pilot one instead of those old, standard Requins.

Kale rolled her eyes and shook her head, too busy dealing with the golem specialists working on her unit to care, so Karith dealt with confronting Leena. "So why are you using a Reynard, Ms. Shadow Corps? Aren't you all using the new super-golem, the Jaeger?" she asked, crossing her arms.

Leena scoffed, crossing her arms as well. "Personally, I was against the decision to 'upgrade' the entire Shadow Corps to the Jaeger model. The Reynard is a much more capable golem than the Jaeger, despite what everyone is saying. I would even prefer to deploy in my Requin than go in an untested, non-combat proven golem. Even though it's old, the Requin is reliable, though still not as good as the Reynard."

"Pfft. Sure you would. I bet you would be all over that fancy, new Jaeger given the opportunity," said Karith, gesturing mockingly towards her.

"Oh please. It's not the golem that wins battles…" said Leena as she looked up to Kale's Reynard. "It's the pilot."

Karith glanced at her with a bit of disdain before looking up at Kale's golem as well. "Ain't that the truth. It's no wonder why the frontline infantry doesn't need some fancy, new golem model to win battles," she said. She then looked out the corner of her eye towards leena to see if she would react, but to her dismay, Leena kept her bearing.

Leena exhaled slightly then turned her head slightly towards Karith. "Charming. But the real reason why you're not given new models is because you're all expendable, and when you all inevitably die in battle, we'd go broke as a country if you all deployed in those expensive Jaegers," she said, her tone surprisingly not sarcastic. A slight smile tugged at the corner of her mouth, but she kept her composure and didn't let it develop into a full-blown smirk.

As Leena turned on her heel and began walking away, Karith clutched her hands into fists as she looked down to the ground. "You. Wait…" she said, teeth clenched.

Leena stopped in her tracks, looking over her shoulder. "Oh? Something wrong?" Before she knew it, Karith had stormed over and forced her around, grabbing Leena by the shirt and pulling her up so that they were face-to-face.

"Listen here, you stupid girl. You can insult me all you want, but don't you DARE insult the frontline infantry!" said Karith, nearly spitting into Leena's face as she spoke. "You think you're so tough just 'cause you're a shadow, huh? Well if I wasn't in charge of you, I'd beat you senseless just right about now, you snort-nosed punk."

"Capt. Blackblood… are you threatening me?" asked Leena as she kept eye contact with Karith, her demeanor cool and collected.

Suddenly, Karith felt something sharp pressing against her abdomen. Looking down, she scowled as she saw Leena with a knife brandished and poised by her stomach. "How dare you draw a weapon on your superior," said Karith.

"In title only, captain," said Leena as she tightened her grip on her knife.

As she was walking around her golem, Kale just happened to look over in Karith's and Leena's direction. As soon as she saw the confrontation, she hurried over to them, nearly tripping over some loose parts along the way. "Karith! Leena! What are you all doing?" she asked as she got between them, pushing the two away from each other. Karith let go of Leena while Leena sheathed her knife back on her hip scabbard.

"This good-for0nithing just called the frontline infantry expendable!" said Karith as she violently gestured to her would-be assailant.

Leena brushed off her shirt where Karith had grabbed her, sneering as she adjusted her glasses. "Typical infantry grunt. Getting flustered and resorting to violent action at the slightest notion of irritation. It's a mystery as to how you were put in charge of this unit, but more specifically, put in charge of me. I'm clearly much more qualified for the job than you are, no matter what Gen. Lupin says."

Kale gave each of them an aggravated glance as she remained between the two, keeping them at bay from tearing each other's hearts out. "C'mon, you guys. We're supposed to be a team here. We're all exceptional pilots and were chosen for a reason. Karith, you deployed more times than both of us combined and probably have more experience to boot. And Leena, you're probably the most skilled pilot here, being able to take on and hold your ground against Col. Hellstrom himself."

Karith and Leena simmered down and lowered their guard, though, they were still glaring at one another with malicious intent, the mood around them still very much hostile. As they were starring one another down, the final member of Foxhound entered the hangar and saw them, making his way over to them nonchalantly with his hands in his pockets.

"Are we all getting along?" asked Mikael with a chuckle, a cigarette already lit and in his mouth.

Karith glanced away from Leena and looked to Mikael. "Glad you could show up. Now you can arrest this idiot here for brandishing a deadly weapon against her commanding officer," she said, gesturing to Leena.

Leena scoffed at Karith, also turning to Mikael. "You can't be serious. This brute assaulted me first. If anyone should be arrested, it should be her," she said, placing a hand on her hip.

Hearing their bickering, Mikael sighed bleakly as her loathed the foreseeable fights he was going to have to break up. "It's day one and you're already at each other's throats? Give it a rest already, will ya?" he said as he stood in front of the group, addressing them in a big-brotherly fashion. "Now look. We're all going to have to work together. We're part of an elite unit and High Command is counting on us to get the job done. Karith here is our leader, and we will follow her orders to the letter. Right, Leena?" said Mikael, turning to her.

Leena met his gaze through her trademark, rectangular glasses and sighed, rolling her eyes in defeat. "Understood."

"Good. Now all of you get some rest. I'm sure our leader has something in store for us tomorrow, right?" he said, turning to Karith.

Seeing him looking at her, she snapped out of her daydream and responded "Huh? Wha? Uh, yeah. Bright and early. 0700. Golem familiarization training. So bring you're A-game, team," she said automatically.

"Sounds like a plan," said Mikael, giving a nod before looking to Kale and Leena. "Any questions?" They glanced at each other then back to Mikael, shaking their heads as they acknowledged the next day's plans.

"All right. If there's nothing else, you're all dismissed. Even you, Blondie," said Karith as she made a mocking face at Leena.

Leena rolled her eyes and turned around, stopping by her golem before exiting the hangar. Kale went back to inspecting her golem while Mikael turned to leave as well.

Before he could leave, though, Karith came up behind him. "Hey, can I talk to you for a sec?" she asked, her tone a bit hesitant.

Hearing her voice, Mikael turned around to face her. "Sure. What's up?" he asked, tapping the excess ash off his cigarette.

"Thanks for backing me up there, about the whole authority issue and all," she said.

Mikael placed the cigarette back in his mouth, taking in a drag. "I wasn't backing you up. I was trying to get our team to work together. But you're welcome, I guess."

Karith drooped slightly, hearing that he wasn't exactly on her side per se. "So that's what you were doing," she said, sticking her hands in her pants pockets.

"Well maybe if you started acting more like a leader, you wouldn't have this problem."

"Oh, thanks a lot," said Karith as she folded her arms over her chest. "It's easier said than done, especially with that Shadow on our team." She sighed and scuffed the ground with her foot. "Which brings me to the point I wanted to talk to you about."

Mikael raised an eyebrow, listening intently. "Go on."

"After the meeting earlier, I talked with Gen. Tulare about some things," said Karith as she looked to him. "The jist of what we spoke about is that he doesn't trust Lupin and the rest of High Command about this whole invasion thing. And he especially doesn't trust the Shadow Corps, so he wants us to watch Leena closely and make sure she doesn't try to do anything to endanger the mission," she said, looking back to Leena's black golem. "You, me, and even Kale. The second she tries something funny, don't hesitate to cut her down. And this is me speaking without adding in my prejudice own against her and her unit."

Mikael gave a nod, blowing out some smoke with an exhale. "I know. Tulare was talking to me before I showed up here."

"He talked to you too? That's good," said Karith as she relaxed a bit. "Just wanted to make sure we're on the same page if that time comes."

"Read you loud and clear, squad leader," said Mikael with a lighthearted wink.