"Get Juno! We gotta get out of here!"

The sounds of artillery fire and the shaking of the house woke the young Juno from her sleep. She groggily opened her eyes to her mother bursting through her door.

"Mommy?" Juno sat up from her bed and rubbed her eyes. "W-What's happening?"

"We have to leave sweetheart." Juno's mother quickly picked her up into her arms and headed out of the room and towards the kitchen. Juno's father was grabbing canned food and tossing it into a backpack. "I got her."

"Good." Her father zipped up the backpack and put it on before reaching for his rifle and revolver on the counter.

The three of them moved towards the front door, which Juno's father carefully opened. Fleeing civilians ran past with friendly soldiers trying to hold back the enemy advance and help with the evacuation at the same time. Juno looked out one of the windows and watched a group of civilians get hit by some sort of explosive. The grisly remains and burnt corpses left behind in the aftermath terrified the young girl.

She quickly turned away and buried her head into her mother's shoulder, sobbing into it. "I-I don't want that to happen to me!"

Her mother tried to calm her down. "Shhh, don't worry sweetheart. Nothing will happen to you. Daddy and I will make sure of it."

Her father looked back at her mother. "Hold onto her tight. If anything happens to me, you keep running. Got it?"

Her mother nodded. "Got it."

"Alright, on three." Her father took a deep breath and held his rifle tight. "One. Two. THREE!"

Juno's eyes shot open, but she was no longer in the house she lived in as a kid. Instead, she was in her room at the base with her head against Kalina's chest. She felt her heart pounding against her chest and her breathing was rapid and shallow.

If she had to be honest, sleep terrified Juno. To the point that she would work until she was completely burnt out in hopes that her mind would be too tired to dream, but that never happened. Every time she went to bed, she was a broken record, reliving the same day over and over again.

Juno looked up at Kalina peacefully in her sleep. Wanting to calm down, she gently rested her head back onto Kalina's chest and matched her breathing with the adjuntant's, taking it one breath at a time. She felt her heartrate slowing and her nerves calming down as she held onto Kalina.

"You might suffocate me if you hold me any tighter," Kalina said.

Surprised that she was awake, Juno lifted her head to see Kalina looking at her with a smile on her face.

"Sorry." She didn't realize that she held Kalina so tightly and unwrapped her arms from her. "Well, then I think we should get ready for the day."

Kalina pouted. "Can't we stay in bed a little longer?"

Juno tried to check the time on the clock, but without her glasses all she saw was a black mass hanging on the wall. "You're lucky that I can't see what time it is, but since Miss G36 hasn't come in yet, I guess we can stay in bed until she does."

"You're not afraid of G36 seeing us together?" Kalina's smile turned into a smirk. "She might think we're a thing."

"Of course not. Even if we were a thing, she respects my privacy." Juno explained in a manner of fact tone. "But she is fully aware that I intend to maintain a professional relationship with everyone. So, you don't have to worry about Miss G36 getting the wrong message."

"I see…" Kalina seemed disappointed at what Juno had said, but her superior was clueless about her reaction.

"I will say, it was nice to have someone to sleep with. Makes sleeping less…"

"Lonely?"

Juno wasn't going to say that but decided to go along with Kalina. "Yea… Lonely."

"Well, if you need a snuggle buddy, you can always let me know." Kalina patted on the mattress. "Besides, your bed is ten times better than mine."

"I might as well buy a body pillow."

Kalina rubbed her chin. "Hmm, Kalina Body Pillows. That could be my side hustle."

Juno scoffed. "Good luck finding customers."

"What about, Commander Body Pillows?" Kalina has a mischievous look on her face. "Those would definitely sell like hot cakes."

Juno gave her a playful glare. "I didn't know you wanted to do so many reports on our first week of operations."

Kalina gulped as the mischievous look on her face vanished. "I don't think I did."

"How unfortunate." Juno rested her head on Kalina's chest and closed her eyes. "Now get as much rest as you can, Miss Kalina. We do have a busy week ahead of us."

…

Day 10: July 15, 2062 | 1030 Hours | The Commander's Office

Juno and Kalina stood in front of the video screen as Helian's transmission came through. In person, Helian was a very intimidating woman, but the large screen amplified that aura. G36's intense gaze paled in comparison to the strict and stern look that Helian had in her eyes.

However, despite this hard exterior, she did take care of those under her command. Juno remembered the times where she served as a temporary adjutant and would have to be ordered to stop working and go to sleep by Helian. Out of every superior she came across, Juno looked up to her the most and strove to be just like her.

Helian adjusted her monocle before addressing Juno. "So, how are you doing, Commander Itsuki?"

"I'm doing well, Ma'am." Juno responded.

Helian's eyes moved over to the adjutant standing next to Juno. "And you, Miss Kalina?"

"I'm doing great. How are the mixers going?" Kalina said with her upbeat attitude.

Upon hearing the word "mixer" being brought up, it seemed a vein was about to burst on Helian's forehead as her grip tightened around her tablet.

Helian cleared her throat. "Commander Itsuki. As you know, Sangvis Ferri has occupied the territory in Sector Nine for the past four years. While Griffin has managed to hold back their advance, we've been at a stalemate for the past few months, but we have high hopes that you will change that. From here on out, S09 will be left in your hands, and you'll be deciding what to do against SF. However, you will also receive orders from me when command sees something of high priority. I also expect you to give me a monthly progress report. Any questions?"

Juno nodded. "Are there any orders you have for me now?

"Not yet." Helian looked at her tablet and swiped through it. "But AR team will be going on a mission deep into enemy territory."

"On their own?"

Helian could see the worry written on Juno's face. "Don't worry, Commander. M4 is outfitted with an advanced command module and AR team is capable of operating on their own for missions."

"I understand." Even with Helian's reassurance and confidence, Juno still didn't like the idea, but it wasn't her place to question the order. "That's the only question I had."

"If there is nothing else, I shall leave you to your own devices. Good luck out there, Commander Itsuki."

"Thank you, Ma'am." Juno saluted Helian before the transmission ended.

Juno let out a sigh of relief and turned to Kalina. "Looks like we're official now, Miss Kalina."

Kalina nodded enthusiastically. "Can't wait to see some action!"

"Me too…" Juno bit the bottom of her lip. "But I'm not too fond of the idea of sending AR team out there by themselves."

"You've sent them on recon ops. by themselves. What's the difference now?" Kalina pointed out.

"I didn't send them deep into enemy territory." Juno told her.

"I've known them for quite some time, commander. They'll do just fine." Kalina tried to ease Juno's concerns. "Besides, if something bad happens to AR team because of Griffin, Kryuger will get quite the earful from Persica. Those girls are like daughters to her."

"That would be a sight to see." Juno imagined the researcher berating the much more imposing Griffin director.

Kalina grabbed her tablet. "I don't know if you saw, but I sent some notices to you earlier."

Juno picked up her own tablet and looked through the agenda. "It seems to be quite a busy day today. New units arriving, Springfield's ingredients are due for delivery, and…" Juno stopped upon seeing the last thing on the agenda. "Trying out clothes?"

"I bought you some new clothes." Kalina looked at Juno from head to toe, "You can't wear that all the time, so I picked out workout gear, winter clothes-"

Ok that seems reasonable. Juno thought to herself.

"A bikini."

That word felt like a truck hitting Juno. "A what?!"

"A bikini." Kalina repeated.

"Why on Earth do I need a bikini?"

"For the beach, duh."

Juno pinched the bridge of her nose. "I know what it's for, but do I really need one?"

"I don't know, but ya never know when ya need one."

"I don't think I'll ever need one." Juno mumbled to herself. "But since you bought the clothes already, I'll give them a try.

"Alright!" Kalina could barely contain her excitement.

Times like this made Juno forget she was a commander of a private military base. "But the next time you want to get me clothes, you better let me see them before you order. Is that clear?" Kalina nodded. "Good, if that's all settled, I'm going to meet with the new dolls coming in. Call me if you need anything."

"Aye, aye Commander!" Kalina saluted as Juno headed out of the office.