Chapter 7 – The Calm Before the Storm
After only two days, word of the tragedy in Teschellberg had quickly spread throughout the members of Squad 7 and Edy found herself receiving condolences from almost everyone, including Rosie and even Salinas. All of the overwhelming support she was receiving, however, did little to ease her of the pain from her recent loss. Outwardly she appeared to be the same confident Edy Nelson that everyone knew, but on the inside it was a completely different story. The loss of her family and essentially her entire hometown was mentally crushing her and there had been a few times when she had hidden herself in order to cry alone. Only Homer knew about this, and had not told anyone else due to her requesting that he keep it a secret. On the fourth night after their return from Teschellberg, Homer discovered Edy sitting behind the female barracks, crying to herself.
"Edy, are are you alright?" asked Homer as he sat down next to her.
"Y-yeah," she said as she wiped the tears from her eyes. "I just had a really bad nightmare, thats all. What are you doing here at this hour?"
"Oh, I was helping Kreis and Leon perform some maintenance and upgrades to the Shamrock," explained Homer. "We just finished up and I was heading back to the barracks when I heard the sound of someone crying."
"Ugh, I hope no one else heard," sighed Edy as rested her head on Homer's shoulder. "I don't think I could bear to have anyone else see me like this."
"But it's not good to keep everything inside you like this Edy," said Homer. "A lesser person would have gone insane by now."
"I don't have a choice Homer," said Edy. "I still have my team to lead, and with the battle at Naggiar coming up, I can't look weak."
"But..." Homer's sentence was cut off by another voice.
"Well, well. I thought I heard someone out here, and look who I find."
Edy and Homer looked over to see Rosie approaching the two of them.
"What are you doing up..." sighed Edy. Rosie was the last person she wanted to see right now.
"Well I couldn't sleep after hearing you tossing and turning all night," explained Rosie as she stared at the pair. "Then when I saw you get dressed and run outside...Of course I had to see what was going on."
"She just had a bad dream; that's all Miss Rosie," said Homer. "A-and I just happened to be passing by, I swear!"
"A bad dream? Hmm...That would explain it then," Rosie said. "It was about what happened at Teschellberg I take it?"
"It's none of your business," fumed Edy. "Why would you care anyway?"
"Hey, calm down kiddo," said Rosie. "We may not be the best of friends, but if one of my fellow squad-mates is hurting, I want to help."
"How can you help?" demanded Edy. "Do you know what it's like to have everyone you know killed?!"
"As a matter of fact I do," Rosie shot back. "Back in EWI, both of my parents and most of the people in my village were killed during an Imperial Darcsen raid. I was only seven back then, so I'm sure you can imagine how fun that was for me back then..."
"Oh, I'm sorry..." gasped Edy. "I never knew..."
"It's fine," sighed Rosie as she sat next to Edy. "Not a lot of people know about that besides Welkin, Alicia, Largo, and Zaka."
"How...did you handle your loss as such a young age?" asked Homer.
"Well, like any seven year-old would do I cried my eyes out for literally weeks," began Rosie. "In order to rid myself of the pain I began to blame the Darcsens for my parents' death; after all if there hadn't have been any in my village, we wouldn't have been attacked. So for twenty years, that's what I believed. And if it wasn't for you, Edy, and Isara...well I might still be thinking that way today."
"Me?" asked Edy, unsure of what she meant.
"What you did in Fouzen made me do a lot of thinking later on when I saw the aftermath of what the Imperials had done to the Darcsens that you couldn't rescue," explained Rosie. "Welkin never told you this, but it was I who told him to report what happened between you and me as a mistake in orders."
Edy and Homer looked at each other for a moment and then at Rosie in complete disbelief. Rosie simply laughed at the reaction.
"Surprised?" she asked with a smile. "Well, hopefully it'll help prove that I'm not completely heartless."
"It's a start," giggled Edy.
"Oh, it looks like you're feeling better already!" said Rosie.
After a short pause Edy realized that her rival was right. "I...I don't get it...I thought if people saw me like this, they'd just think I was too weak or something."
"That's just being stupid to be honest," said Rosie matter-of-factly.
"Uh, that was kinda blunt Miss Rosie," said Homer, now worried that she was going to wreck any progress the two shocktroopers had made.
"I understand you're trying to be strong," clarified Rosie. "There's nothing wrong with that, but you can't keep everything inside you like you have been these past few days. If you have another breakdown, it might not be in a place as convenient as here; imagine something like this happening in the middle of a battlefield."
Edy took a moment to digest what she had just heard. What Rosie said did indeed make sense, but Edy wasn't about to admit it just yet.
"There's a fine line between pride and stupidity," said Rosie. "And I'm saying this as your friend; don't be on the wrong side of that line."
Edy remained silent as she continued to take in Rosie's advice.
"A lot of us in the Squad have lost one or both our parents," Rosie continued. "Welkin, Freesia, Largo, myself, Juno's mom died in the first war...And Alicia never had the benefit of having parents. So you can talk to any one of us if you feel the need to, we won't think any less of you I promise."
"I guess I could..." trailed Edy. "It's just that I'm not used to people I know dying..."
"It's not something you should really ever get used to either Edy," said Homer. "That's part of what makes us who we are."
"Pretty good observation there, Homer," said Rosie. "I couldn't have said that better mysel...wait, how come you don't call her Miss Edy like you used to?"
"Um..." Both Homer and Edy were unable to come up with anything to say. Rosie looked completely dumbfounded at their reaction until she looked down and saw that they had been holding hands the entire time.
"Oh! I'm sorry I didn't know you two were um.." she gasped.
"It's not been for very long so not a lot of people know I guess," explained Edy. "I've been in my own world the past couple of days it seems..."
"Well, good for you two!" said Rosie, giving the two a thumbs up and a wink. "I always thought you guys made a good fit, even if she is always beating on you all the time..."
"Well, I don't mind it," laughed Homer.
"You know, I envy you Edy..." sighed Rosie after a moment.
Edy gave her rival a surprised look. "Huh? Why me?"
"You found yourself a decent guy," answered Rosie. "The only guys that ever have an interest in me are the drunk old men that stumble through the bar I worked at before the war."
"Really?" asked Edy. "I thought you'd have a line of guys waiting to ask you out."
Rosie let out a small chuckle. "Yeah, that's what everyone thinks..." Suddenly she stood up and stretched. "Well, that's enough of my life story. Think about what I said okay? Welkin is going to need us more than ever with the Naggiar battle right around the corner, so if you ever need someone to talk to don't hesitate to come to me."
Edy nodded and waved goodbye to Rosie.
"To think I would get the advice that I needed from her..." said Edy as she watched Rosie leave.
"So, are you really feeling better Edy?" asked Homer, still unsure if she was being sincere or had just been faking it to get Rosie to leave.
"I am," answered Edy, giving Homer a smile. "It still hurts inside, but not as bad you know?"
"I'm glad then," said Homer, putting his arms around Edy as she rested her head on his shoulder. "I don't think I could bear to see you like you have been for much longer."
"I'm sorry to have worried you," said Edy as she looked up at the star filled-sky. Suddenly she spotted a shooting star. "Hey, did you see that Homer, dear?"
Homer nodded. "Wanna make a wish?"
"I wish..." Edy thought for a moment before giving an answer. "I wish that we can be with each other just like this...for a long time."
"Sounds good to me," agreed Homer as he continued to hold Edy while looking at the stars.
__
The following day Captain Varrot had called all of Squad 7's officers in for an emergency meeting. Rosie was already in Varrot's office when Edy arrived and gave her a smile and a nod upon seeing her. Edy did the same and then turned and faced the Captain.
"As I'm sure you've all guessed by now, General Damon has ordered the Militia to deploy to the Naggiar Plains," Captain Varrot explained.
"About time..." said Largo. "The whole Squad's been gettin' ansy waitin, you know?"
"Lieutenant, prepare your troops to move out in three hours," ordered Varrot.
"Ma'am!" saluted Welkin.
"Corporal Nelson and Corporal Stark, report to R & D," said the Captain. "Leon has informed me that he has...something for the both of you."
"Yes Ma'am!" the shocktroopers saluted.
"If there are no further questions, you are all dismissed."
__
Arriving at the R & D building, Edy and Rosie were greeted with Leon's never-ending enthusiasm.
"Hey ladies, just in time!" he said.
"What's up Leon?" asked Rosie. "You guys make us a gun that can blow up tanks in one shot yet?"
Leon laughed. "Not exactly, we're still working on that. But what I do have for you might just be the next best thing!"
"This I have got to see!" said Edy as she and Rosie followed Leon over to a workstation.
"Feast your eyes on this!" announced Leon as he gestured towards a small metal device that was bolted to the bottom of a Mags gun.
"Uh, what is it?" asked Rosie, who was genuinely unimpressed.
"We call it the Flame Flail," said Leon. "Watch this!" He then pressed a switch near the bottom of the device. Instantly a huge spout of fire spewed out of the end of the device.
"Woah!" shouted Edy, not expecting such results. "Pretty cool!"
"Y-yeah..." said Rosie, equally impressed.
"Glad you like it!" beamed Leon. "We only have two completed at the moment though so you two get them."
"Anything we should know about this thing?" asked Rosie. "After all it seems kinda...dangerous."
Leon nodded. "Well the Flame Flail isn't without its drawbacks. There's only enough fuel in the cannister for a ten second stream. Also there's the problem with the fuel itself..."
"Which is..." asked Edy, unsure if she truly wanted to know.
"Well, its unstable," said Leon. "Wendy concocted the mixture, but it's the only thing we've got to go on right now."
"I'm not so sure I want this thing now..." trailed Rosie.
"Oh but there's no chance of the fuel exploding unless the cannister is breached," clarified Leon. "So, um don't get it damaged or shot."
"Ha! You make it sound so easy," scoffed Rosie.
"Sorry I'm just an engineer," laughed Leon as he scratched the back of his head. "But with this you can easily take out any enemy that might be hiding behind sandbags or other types of cover without destroying the cover itself; useful for future use. Also if you're crazy enough, you can fry anyone inside a tank if you can get close enough to spray the inside with it."
Rosie looked at Edy and shrugged. "Well, I guess that's good to know."
"Anyway, I'll be going to Naggiar with you guys to help with tank repairs, so I'll have your weapons ready with the Flame Flail when we arrive." said Leon.
"Sounds good Leon," said Edy. "Thanks."
"Don't mention it ladies!" said Leon as the two shocktroopers left.
__
The trek to the Naggiar Plains took seven hours and Edy spent the entire trip with Homer and Rosie by her side, the three of them talking about various subjects. Night had begun to fall when they had finally arrived at their designated camp, and Edy and Homer parted ways with a kiss, which drew a few whistles from nearby squad members.
"Yeah go Edy!" shouted Vyse Inglebard, a fellow shocktrooper. The scout next to him punched him in the arm.
"Don't be mean Vyse," sighed the scout as she saw Edy blush.
"Aw, I didn't mean that in a bad way, Aika baby," laughed Vyse as he adjusted the glass eye patch that was over his right eye. "Ain't nothing wrong with being in love."
"Eh sorry Edy," said Aika Thompson. "Vyse can be a bit...stupid."
"Hey I heard that!" fumed Vyse.
"That's what you get then," said Aika, giving him a wink.
Edy laughed. "It's okay, I don't mind. It helps take my mind off other things, actually."
__
Marina Wulfstan was standing atop a recently constructed watchtower, surveying the vast expanse that was the Naggiar Plains. She couldn't see a lot due to the fact it was nighttime, but what she did see was nothing but dirt, dust, and trenches dug from the first war. Tonight this place is nothing more than a silent, barren wasteland. But come tomorrow, it will be a battleground once again. I wonder how Father felt as he stood here... Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of someone climbing up the tower. She didn't bother to see who it was; only one person would dare approach her without saying anything first...
"Again Catherine?" sighed Marina, still looking outward.
"Indeed," nodded the sniper. "I saw you up here and couldn't help but wonder: what are you thinking about right now?"
"Right now I'm thinking about how much I hate you," said Marina.
Catherine sighed as she pushed some of her reddish-brown hair away from her face. "Is that the only feeling you have towards me?"
Marina turned to face her. "What else should I be feeling?" she asked. "The woman who broke my dad's heart twenty years ago came waltzing back to him right as he was dieing and tried to be my friend then. And ten years later the same thing is happening. You tell me Catherine. What should I be feeling?"
"Is...that what you think?" asked Catherine.
"It's what he told me, at least before he became sick" said Marina. "I didn't get to talk to him when he was near the end, since he died when you came to see him."
"Then I suppose it is time you learned the truth," said Catherine. "About everything."
"What truth?" asked Marina, glaring at the older sniper suspiciously .
"Twenty years ago, near the end of EWI your father, Gustav, and I were indeed very much in love," began Catherine after a deep breath. "True, I was only sixteen and he was twenty two, but that's not really all that rare you know. I knew he had a four year-old daughter and that your mother had passed away when she gave birth to you, I was fine with all of it."
"So what's the point?" asked Marina. "Sound's pretty fairy-tailish if you ask me."
"I'm afraid that's where the fairy-tale ends," said Catherine. "During a battle, here, of all places, I watched my best friend, Pamela Coren, die because we had run out of ammunition. She told me to escape while she held the attacking Imperials at bay. I was so scared at the time I did exactly that. I didn't want to look back but the one time I did I saw her being shot to death."
"Pamela Coren? Wasn't that..."
Catherine nodded, wiping away a tear. "Yes, she was Juno's mother. Juno was only two at the time, so she knows nothing of this."
"So then what happened?" asked Marina.
"I suppose you could say I never stopped running since that day," said Catherine. "After witnessing her being killed...I began pushing everyone away from me, not wanting to ever experience the pain of losing someone close to me again. This included your father. When the war ended, I left without even saying goodbye to him. I guess that left him somewhat bitter, from what I'm hearing from you."
"..." Marina closed her eyes, trying to take in what Catherine was telling her.
"I regret doing what I did to him, I truly do," said Catherine, looking away from Marina. "When I received a letter from him ten years later asking for me to come see him because he did not have long to live, I decided to do so; I owed him that much at least. I told him everything right then and there. Imagine my surprise when he simply looked up at me and smiled, saying 'I understand' and 'to please take care of Marina'. And then he died..."
"Catherine..." Marina saw that Catherine had begun to cry, something she had never seen the older woman do.
"So if you still want to hate me, you can," cried Catherine, still looking away from Marina. "I won't blame you."
Marina picked up and held Catherine's right hand with her own. "Yeah I still hate you...Just not as much now.."
Catherine closed her eyes and hugged the younger woman. "Thank you for listening Marina."
"..." Marina remained silent as the two snipers embraced. Looking up at the night sky she began thinking to herself. I wonder what you'd say right now Father...What should I be thinking?
"...After this battle can you...tell me more about what Dad was like when you two were together?" she asked.
"Of course," said Catherine as she regained her composure. "It's a promise."