I've added a few more lines in end of the first chapter, because I've re-read it and I thought that it was ending a bit abruptly. It's nothing important, just some details for better closure.
Gallian camp, militia's war room.
Inside the war room there were fewer than usual militia squad commanders , six out of ten and their Commander, Captain Eleanor Varrot, a first Europan war veteran .
"I called you here today, to brief you about the plans of our army." Captain Varrot said in her usual formal voice. "I know the heavy casualties we, militia have suffered today in our battle yesterday; four militia squads were utterly destroyed by the enemy Valkyria, there was only a sole survivor, Lieutenant Landzaat."
"Commander, is Faldion ok?" Welkin asked.
"He's still being treated as we speak. He lost his whole squad, he was in shock when we found him. It took hours to calm him down and give him medication."
"When can I go visit him?"
"I'm sorry, I don't know, until the doctor say he's okay…I guess. What I called you here today was to inform you about our next battle plan. According to the higher ups, we should push the Imperials even further back and then go straight for Ghirlandaio."
"This is crazy, how will we do that?! That Valkyria will decimate us all." The commander of squad six answered angrily.
"I told them, several times it's crazy! I tried everything to convince them not to send more of our armies straight at her, but I couldn't change their minds; even after all these loses we suffered yesterday." Captain Varrot lost her cool for a moment, letting her emotion of anger reveal itself.
"And what do they want us to do exactly?" Welkin asked.
"They want us to take the last camp and then the regular army will launch an attack on Ghirlandaio with a train packed with explosives. The railroad from this camp continues to the second one and from there it goes as far as the fort's main courtyard."
"So they intend to blow up the main door and the front wall. Will they at least give us some of their regulars?" Commander of squad four asked.
Captain Varrot shook her head frustrated. "They expect us to go in and weaken the Valkyria as much as we can then they intend to take her down with the tanks."
"Another suicide mission!" Commander of squad six complained.
"The plan is as follows, squads four and six will attack from the east and act a decoys, then as soon as you draw their attention squads eight through ten will attack the camp from the west. And lastly squad seven will attack the camp head on, capture it and proceed to clear any remaining strugglers. Since you are the only squad with tanks now, this role falls on your shoulders Welkin. The rest of our tanks were destroyed in the battle yesterday."
"I understand, The Edelweiss and the Samrock will do their best." Welkin answered.
"That will be all, you are dismissed for today, prepare your squads today. The assault will start tomorrow at zero six hundred hours* (06:00 am)."
Welkin exited the tent and walked to his tent when he heard a voice calling him. "Woo-hoo!" It was Sinseer.
Welkin smiled at her awkwardly, as soon as she was within range she grabbed her and dragged her behind a tent. "Oh! You do like that stuff huh? Sorry to disappoint you, but I'm taken, but if Leliana doesn't have any objections, we can settle it sometime… the three of us." She smiled impishly.
"That wasn't my intention!" He said outright, blushing a little in the process. He backed away from her and shook his head frustrated. "Wasn't it enough that you two decided to stay here without asking me, don't go around the camp woo-hooing me? You do know that you stand out like a sore thumb?"
"Huh? I even wore one of your outfits to blend in. It looks good on me doesn't it?" Sinseer asked as she did a full 360 degrees turn.
"The suit isn't enough, you have to cover those ears too! They draw too much attention."
"If we were back in my world and you said that I would probably smack the crap out of you. But considering the circumstances and the fact you're helping us, I forgive you. The pointy ears are a trait of my people, we are called elves in my world. The elves of my world are pretty much what those Darcsen people you mentioned. Slaves to those in power and always mistreated."
Welkin gulped down. "I'm sorry for bringing that up then, but you really need to calm down. We were ordered to battle tomorrow. If we win, then it is Ghirlandaio next, where you said that this friend of yours might have taken refuge, though I doubt it. What was her name again?"
"Morrigan! And that's good news. I thought we would be stuck here for a while. By the way when can you get us our weapons back?"
Welkin frowned his eyebrows. "Your weapons? Since you decided to stay I have to hold on to them until the battle tomorrow. A woman wandering around the camp with a sword will draw the wrong type of attention."
Sinseer scratched her head. "Hmm… you're probably right, but I want my sword during the battle, I won't be nearly as effective without it."
"I'll see what I can do about the sword. But Leliana would probably be better off getting a normal rifle. Letting her carry a bow would make my crew nervous considering what happened yesterday to Alicia."
"Rifle?!" Oh! You mean those things you guys carry around. But that's a melee weapon, Leliana isn't used in fighting with heavy weapons. She'll be better with a dagger in worst case scenario."
"Melee?" Welkin seemed skeptical for a moment. "Ah right! You still haven't seen how a rifle works. Come with me to the shooting range." Sinseer followed him curious.
At the shooting range, much to Sinseer's surprise they found Leliana using one of the rifles. "Hey you!" She greeted them, she was too wearing a Gallian militia outfit, Welkin thought it would be better not to learn how she got, so he remained quiet. "You can't believe how amazing this weapon is. Such power, such speed, such penetration it makes my bow looks useless in comparison!" She said excited.
"Who gave you a rifle?" Welkin asked surprised.
"A sweet little girl from your squad named Aisha, I told her if I could practice my shooting skills with her rifle since mine was broken and I was waiting to be issued a new one."
Welkin sighed. "That girl..."
"Please, don't' be mad at her. I told her I was your squad's newest recruit and I wanted to do some target practice. She was looking so innocent when she gave me her weapon."
"I'm not mad, but I'll scold her….mildly, for giving her weapons to strangers."
"Enough of that? Tell me Leliana, what is this rifle doing exactly?" Sinseer asked impatiently.
"Basically, whatever a bow does, it is shooting small iron projectiles, called bullets; it shoots though with far greater velocity, accuracy and power than a bow or even a crossbow, if we had one of these in our travels, our battles would have been so much easier. And I wouldn't have rough hands from all the bowstring's cuts I've experienced." Leliana eloquently explained, chuckling at the end; her knowledge of guns surprised Welkin, considering that an hour ago, she didn't even know what those things were.
"So, how do you shoot?" Sinseer asked.
"Here let me teach you. First you hold it like this, you put your hands like this and…your finger here. Aim at a dummy target and pull the trigger."
"Ok…" Sinseer said hesitantly, anxious to see what will happen if she would pull the trigger. And the she did. Unprepared as she was, the rifle grazed her right ear as it was thrown back from the kickback force and her ears started buzzing. "What infernal thing is that?" She said as she tossed it down.
"Oops! Heh…I forgot to tell you about the kickback!" Leliana said, putting on an awkward face.
"Kickback?"
"Yes, like a crossbow…though, on most crossbows it is hardly noticeable, but all firearms even the smallest ones have kickback and the bigger the gun the more impactful it will be when it fires."
"You have learnt a lot about our weapons Leliana! Not only you shoot a rifle like a veteran, but you know terminology too!" Welkin remarked surprised.
Leliana giggled. "Thank you! Well, I have no arrows and my bow is cracked, so I have to learn how to use that thing fast; better safe than sorry, yes?" Welkin nodded.
"Let's see…" Sinseer mumbled as she picked the rifle from the ground. She took aim and did, just like Leliana had instructed her before, but unfortunately her second try ended up as a failure, missing the dummy by a lot, the third and the fourth one had similar fate and her fifth shot managed to graze the dummy's legs, then she had to reload the rifle and she didn't know how, so he threw it to the ground in a fit of rage.
"Heheh..." Leliana let out a small chuckle.
"What's so funny?" Sinseer asked irritated.
"Nothing. It's just that is the first time, I see you fail at something so miserably."
"And you feel like you should mock me?" Sinseer asked offended. "Do you think it is alright to step on me when I failed to succeed at something I've tried for the first time? And trample my hopes of success. I'm sorry to burst your bubble, but nobody's perfect, not even me."
"Oh, come on, stop trying to win Welkin's sympathy, we both know you're doing it on purpose." Leliana stared at her with a strict expression on her face.
Sinseer held off for some time, before bursting into laughter. "You were really trying to win me over?! And I was ready to step in to defend you." Welkin said as he realized her deception.
"She does that all the time for fun. At first, I even felt bad about some things I've said to her and went to apologize to her."
"Ah! Yeah! I remember that, it was just after we had left Lothering and you had decided to come with us. I had to do it to test you!" Sinseer said with a smirk.
"As you can see, it is another one of her quirks! She usually does it to people who don't know her well enough, to know that she's toying with them." Leliana complained, shaking her head in exasperation.
"Listen here, tomorrow we're going into battle, if you cannot concentrate and get serious don't even think of coming with us. I won't risk my squad's integrity just because you are an air head." Welkin said in a strict, commanding voice. Sinseer put on a sad face, implying she was offended.
"Tsk…such a hard ass. Ok, ok I get it. No more jokes. If you don't die out on the field, you'll die of boredom." She picked up the rifle she had dropped before and tossed it at Welkin. He caught it ungracefully with his two hands. "I'm going for a walk." She said and disappeared behind some tents.
Leliana and Welkin stood there watching the place where she stood a moment ago. "I didn't mean to offend her. It's just that the fate of my homeland is in our hands. I've already lost my sister and nearly lost Alicia. I can't afford any more mistakes."
Leliana took a breath and exhaled slowly, before she started talking. "We already told you that we fought a great battle before we ended up here, yes?" Welkin nodded. "As the day of our final battle drew near she had become insufferable, even for me. I believe it was from the stress which was getting to her. Just like you, the fate of a country was on her shoulders and failure was not an option. We knew what she was going through, so me and the others decided to speak to her."
"And? Did she open up to you?"
Leliana shook her head "Unfortunately no, it became worse, but only for a short time." Welkin looked at her curious. "As time passed, I think she understood our concerns and tried to improve her behavior. She even helped each of us with some of our personal affairs. That bow you confiscated, it belonged to my former mentor. Sinseer killed with her own hands, because she had sent assassins to kill me. "
"Why are you saying me all this anyway?" Welkin asked.
"I'm just trying to make you understand that she's not the fool she appears to be. She can be a nuisance from time to time and a big pain in the butt! I know that better that everyone else! But she's also fiercely loyal and one of the kindest people I've ever met and she always gets the job done. She just needs the right motivation. Last time it was me and the others, now I think it has to be you."
Welkin frowned his eyebrows. "You're saying, I should go talk to her?"Lelianna blinked her eye approvingly.
"Ok, I'll go and I'm only doing this because she saved Alicia's life yesterday." Leliana waved him goodbye and turned her attention to the target dummies before her.
Welkin went around the camp asking if anyone had seen her and after a surprisingly long time someone told him that he spotted a strange looking woman in the infirmary. He went there hoping he'll get lucky and he did, he found Sinseer looking over Alicia's sleeping body. When he entered she turned to face him.
"Hey." She greeted him in a low voice.
"Hey." She greeted back at the same tone. "Where is Fina?"
"Who?! Oh! You mean the blondie. She went to take care some business and told me if I could stay and watch over the place while she's gone."
"I see. The thing is I came to apologize. I'm sorry if I was insensitive before; I didn't mean to sound like that." Welkin bowed his head slightly.
Sinseer shook her head and let out a muffled giggle. "Nah, don't! I already know I was kind of a jerk before. It has been so long since I had a good R&R time that I needed to let off some steam. I bet you 25 gold pieces that Leliana sent you to talk to me."
"Hmm... you'd be right, but I don't have any gold to give you."
"Booze is welcome too." She said with a smile.
"I'll see what I can do after the battle tomorrow…" He made a dramatic pause. "If we survive that is, the Imperial will most certainly sent the Valkyria out on the battlefield again. And who knows how many casualties will occur this time."
"If that happens, leave her to me. I may be the only one who can fight her head on….well, maybe not the only one" She said as she looked over at Alicia's side.
"I thought we cleared this up yesterday, no talking about Alicia's…true identity. You can still be wrong, you've said it yourself."
"True, I did, but the time I've spent alone here with her reinforces the possibility of her being a Valkyria."
"Look, we'll deal with this later! For now, we should focus on the battle tomorrow. It's going to be a rough day today, I'll have to explain everyone why you two will be joining us in the battlefield. It was already bad when I told them that you'd be joining the squad. "
Sinseer smiled nostalgically. "Yeah, I know what you mean. While we were journeying I had to resolve several disputes among my companions, it took months, before they started working properly as a team. I can only imagine what the presence of two strangers would cause in your team. I'll try to keep out of trouble."
"Thank you." Welkin said as he ever so slightly bowed his head. "Ah! Now that I remembered! When it gets dark come by my tent, I will have your weapon ready."
"That's good to hear! At least, I won't have to seduce the people guarding it now in order to take my sword back!
"Hahah…that's a joke, right? You weren't seriously going to…" Welkin stopped mid-sentence when he realized that she was serious about it. "Wow! That woman is scary!"
"Anyway, I will be using my sword and as for Leliana, I don't know, she seemed pretty excited with that rifle, she will probably ask you if she can carry one." Sinseer said.
"Seemed that way to me too. Now, would it be rude to ask you to leave me alone with Alicia for a few minutes?"
"Go ahead!" She gestured him with her hand as she moved towards the exit. "I'll stand outside in case the blondie comes again." She blinked her eye at him as she exited the tent's cover.
By the time nightfall had come and everyone went to sleep, Sinseer had managed to stay out of trouble, well most of it. She had a slight dispute with that silver haired girl with the pig tails whom she first saw when Welkin was dragging her along the camp the other day. She had another fight with some guys from other squads who made fun of her ears, but the biggest event of the day was her showdown with Rosie which would have ended badly if Largo, Zaka and Leliana hadn't stopped them.
Thus another chapter ends and the first battle is about to begin.
What do you think of the story so far?
Write a review with your critique and FOLLOW the story for more content!
This would be the last chapter for 2015 in both of my fanfics,
I wish you everyone a happy New Year with health, creativity and plenty of opportunities.
Keep up being awesome !