The recommended time to sleep for adults is between 7 and 9 hours a night. Lena remembered her human physiology lessons, mandatory during her education in the military academy. She always got stellar grades, finishing her studies faster than her schoolmates, and on top of the class. Reality however was far from ideal, and every theoretical information had to withstand the test of the actual life. Sadly, she had learned the hard way, that the war doesn't wait and the soldier has to make some sacrifices to keep up with it. In the case of the commanders, the first on the chopping block was sleep. In the past 3 days, all she had were a few quick naps, always interrupted by a new emergency. Usually, the urgent matters turned out to be something trivial, but she couldn't ignore all the calls, in case something important was up. With a hazy mind and an instant coffee in hand, she sat up before her monitor in Vanadis, when she got a sudden connection request.
"Colonel Milizé, the Vanadis, is there an emergency?" She said plainly, because after so many calls there was no more room for intricate pleasantries.
"Private Tanaka 2ndSupply Unit. We found a trespasser in one of the supply carriers. She is a young girl around 10, claiming to be a special Mascot for the Eighty-Six. How should we proceed?"As soon as the soldier finished reporting, Lena knew exactly who the culprit was. She felt an upcoming headache, but instead of groaning to her subordinate she took a deep breath, a sip of coffee, and said calmly:
"Private, take the culprit to the Vanadis directly, please handle her gently." During the time spent in Federacy in preparation for this operation, she came to know her Squadron's new Mascot, who had become like an adopted little sister to them. She could've sensed that the girl disliked her, but she had no idea why. The fact was, Frederica Rosenfort should not have been here under any circumstances. Lena had no idea how the girl managed to sneak in and stayed unnoticed for the few days, but the truth was, that they were too far into the mission to escort her back to the Federacy. If something had happened to her they all would've been devastated, so she decided that the girl would be safest under her watchful eyes. After a few minutes, she heard someone entering the vehicle.
"Private Tanaka reports on orders. Here is the young offender, she tried to bite me when I found her." The tall man with a deep voice carried a little girl in one hand and saluted with the other. He seemed unfazed by the whole situation, even when she started kicking in the air and yelling.
"PUT ME DOWN YOU UNCULTURED BRUTE! YOU CANNOT TREAT ME LIKE THIS!" Frederica tried to sound intimidating, but while her little body was hanging midair nothing that she could've said was able to sound threatening.
"Rest, soldier, you can let her go. You can leave the reporting to me, but please make sure we don't have more stowaways on the way out." Lena dismissed Tanaka, who saluted once more before going out and focusing her attention on the young girl. "Now, Frederica, we have a lot to talk about. Does Mr Zimmerman know that you are here?"
"Vladilena Milizé, do you think I would be stupid enough not to inform him where I go out to?" Frederica scoffed and looked at her with contempt. "I truly do not believe you should be the one leading this operation, I do not know why nobody else sees that."
Lena did not have the energy to get mad anymore, so after a deep breath, she replied.
"I'll take it as a no. He is a reasonable man, there is no way he would've let you into the battlefield. What were you thinking, if there was a battle we wouldn't even know that there is somebody inside of the Supply Unit to protect. What if we decided to abandon the unit or use it as a decoy?" She scolded her firmly, knowing that it was only the beginning. Lena had heard about how she conspired with Fido before and sneaked in on the mission, but doing the same thing twice was utterly absurd. Who was guarding her?
"Where is Shinei? I do not want to argue with you anymore, I can now ride with him."
"Shin and the whole Squadron are not here, they have a separate mission. And stop changing the subject, you won't get away with it. I'm going to call the headquarters, so this is your last chance to give your side of the story." Unlike the Spearhead Squadron members, she didn't have a soft spot for Frederica, after she blatantly showed her disdain at every chance possible. Feeling the responsibilities as this mission's main Tactical Commander Lena knew, that the Mascot's presence here meant a ton of trouble.
"I did not lie, I left a letter explaining where I am heading in my bed, although I am not sure when will they find it. It was my own decision after everyone disregarded my honest pleas to take me with you. My ability might be indispensable for the safety of the Eighty-Six while dealing with your barbaric nation." Her red eyes glared at the Colonel, fully knowing that any retribution would wait for at least the Federacy. Even if the headquarters were contacted, Ernst surely would ask for leniency in postponing her punishment until their return. It wasn't her first time sneaking out on the mission so she knew, that if the adults couldn't appreciate her insight, she had to prove herself another way.
"Fine, you can stay here. But from now on, if you don't want to end up as a detainee you have to strictly follow my orders. Do you understand, Mascot Frederica Rosenfort?"
"Yes, Colonel." She replied with a resigned voice, seeing that Lena was a step from putting her back into the Supply Unit, this time as one of the goods to be transported under supervision.
What she has kept to herself was the real reason for her arrival. Before the convoy departed Frederica decided to use her Pyrope Psychometry to give them any valuable clue she could have gotten. Her control of it was not ideal, but even fragments of someone's future were invaluable information. For the first time, she had used it on Lena, whom she had met a few times during the mission preparations. Vladilena Milizé was like a sticky gum on Shinei's shoe, annoying Frederica each time she wanted to spend time alone with him. In the first few weeks, Lena tried her best to befriend beloved Spearhead Mascot, but any attempt to do so was futile. So when the young girl decided to try Pyrope's ability on her, it was not for the Colonel's sake, but for the Spearhead Squadron she seemed so obsessed with. It didn't seem risky, as the white Alba probably spent her whole life as a sheltered Princess, commanding others from a haven guarded by the Grand Mur. What she saw moments shattered her belief. As always, the silent images appeared in no order, showing only snippets of past, present, and future, each of them unique, having unknown importance. The fragments of Vladilena Milizé's life contained an absurd mixture of posh life and gruesome scenes, not fitting together in any way. A grand ballroom with stylish silver garlands reaching the floor from the ceiling. A headless man in a uniform lying on the ground. A field full of freesias in a full bloom. A glass tank filled with cyan fluid, obscuring everything in sight. Middle-aged man caressing her shoulder. Mirror hanging on the wall, a young Alba looking at it with curiosity. An enormous unknown city was torn down by flames. Shin's smiling face. Reginleifs that are damaged so badly, that their original shape is unrecognizable. A freshly used gun was held in her hand.
When the flood of images finally had stopped, Frederica couldn't make anything out of it, but an ominous feeling in her gut made her feel like she was looking at something important. Currently, however, she was in no position to ask Lena anything about the images she saw, because of their strained relationship. She was openly hostile to the Colonel for the past few months as she felt, that Lena might take Shin away. Additionally, Lena was clueless as to her former position as the Empress, which meant that she always treated her like a stubborn 10–year–old with zero authority. Following the hunch Frederica decided to slip out again, this time, however, without Fido's cooperation. She managed to get to the supply unit during the commotion, planning to reveal herself when they arrived at their destination. During the travel, she realized, that the people guarding the unit were completely unknown, and she had no idea where her friends were. Unluckily when the tall soldier caught her by accident, they were nowhere to be seen, and she ended up with the one person she felt animosity against. She tried to tell herself that this shared journey in the cramped vehicle was a key to understanding the visions.
"Alright, I've finished talking to the headquarters. Mr Zimmerman was distraught when he discovered you were missing, but we decided that sending you away with an escort now would be even more dangerous, than finishing the mission with you here." Lena explained after a draining call, during which she had to explain how a child managed to bypass all the safeguards."But don't get you're hopes up, from now on, you are officially under my direct command. Until Shin and the others come back, you are to be at my side at all times, understood?"
"Yes, yes." Frederica said innocently, happy that Ernst acted exactly as she hoped he would.
"Oh, and one more thing. I am in charge of your punishment, as the Commander of this mission." After the Colonel said that, the child's face fell, and the girl began to wonder if trying to get to the bottom of it was truly worth it.
April 1st Republic Year 368 (Stellar Year 2149)
146days until the Legion's Large-Scale Offensive
"YOU'RE SHITTING ME! Smartypants, it's not even a funny joke, try better luck next time. I'd rather believe that the Republic plans to give me the official citizenship" Shiden burst out laughing during the strategical meeting.
"NO, I'M NOT! Lena, tell this savage that this is REAL NEWS. If you had only been here, it's the hottest gossip in all the Republic. Angelic bride snatched by the devil himself! The jerk dares to play the role of a good fiance when in reality he still spends all nights in this filthy club!"Annette, who had gotten closer to the Processor in the past month, vigorously tried to prove the rumor true.
"Girls… let's focus on the meeting…." Lena, who regretted with every bone in her body that the news of her engagement slipped out of Annette during the call, pleaded to close this topic.
"You're fuckin' kidding me! Who is that dude? Didn't you have a crush on the Reaper? I was sure you had a thing going…" Cyclops yelled in bewilderment. "Not a chance in hell we are talkin' business until you explain yourself, Your Majesty."
"You know what's the worst part? That old pervert is twice her age, and he sent her a raunchy lingerie as an engagement gift. How shameless can you get?" Annette knew, that this was imperative to their plan, but Nicolas's imprudence was beyond all limits.
"Queen, during the offensive, do you want me to 'take care of him'" Shiden said in a grave tone. She was more than willing to fulfill that promise.
"Stop it! I told you some time ago that we'll try to acquire the weapons, well, the plan went a little off rails, so we ended up here. I don't like Nicolas either, but my mother threatend him that if he lays a finger on me before the wedding, he'll understand what it means to be a Milizé enemy. Besides, I'll dump him as soon as it's over, if we survive."
"It would be a national tragedy if Vladilena Milizé died as a Nicolas Pivot's fiance, there is no greater shame. I think you should take Cyclops's offer." She joked, but the suggestion was real.
"Roger that." Shiden's murderous intent was felt through the para-RAID.
"If my plummeting reputation is all it takes to save the Republic, I don't mind. At least I won't have to worry about prospective grooms pestering me in the future." Lena came to terms with the new arrangement, aswith the help of her mom, it was much easier to keep a safe distance between the couple. All she had to do was to gain enough of his attention to push forward her goals, without risking his unwanted advances.
"Gossip aside, I've intercepted the internal communication of the headquarters. Those fools stopped caring for proper safeguards ages ago. From what I got, there is a way to deactivate the minefield, but as soon as we do that, the whole building will know about security breach. We have to leave it as it is until the attack." Annette reported.
"Mines ain't shit, we still won't cross the Gran Mur. It'll take too much time when we are basically glowing targets to climb up in this junk." Cyclops raised a valid concern, as the Republic did everything to keep not only Legion, but also Eighty-Six outside. The massive wall was as well of defense against Legion as the few sandbags against a flood of the century. It could buy them less then an hour at best, If all the units sacrifice themselves for the sake of a pile of rocks.
"It'll sound crazy, but hear me out. Cyclops, are you sure the Gran Mur is not a challenging obstacle for the invaders?" The gears were turning in her head.
"Yeah, with their numbers, thirty minutes tops, if they decide to climb. A focused fire could grind it into dust in a matter of seconds. They'll do the latter, as they do not care about maintaining the city. Our destruction is their goal." She responded frustrated. So many people died in the construction of this useless fortress, capable only of deluding the citizens of the Republic by their frail safety.
"In short, not much would change if we took it out of the picture?" Lena made sure.
"There are no people trained to fight effectively in such terrain, so no."She confirmed.
"What are you thinking about? It's not like we can create a hole in it for Juggernauts to enter." Annettelaughed at the ridiculousness of this thought.
"Why not? If force theopening ofall the gates from the headquarters,it'll allow us to regroup inside. I've got in touch with three young Handlers who seem to believe that a danger is coming, so if we organize efficiently, there may be even time to try closing them before most of them enter. There won't be much difference either way." Lena suggested.
"I've looked into that, but no one aside from the head commander has the authorization to do so with more than one gate. Trying to get there in the chaos that'll reign could be virtually impossible. I can hack pretty well, but this is beyond my ability to do remotely."
"I'll take the heat, it wouldn't be the first time. More important is what to do next."
"Don't get yourself killed, Your Majesty." Shiden said with sincerity.
"Those soldiers are usually so drunk, that they would miss if you stood right before them. No worries, I'll take care of that before anyone comprehends what had happened." Lena responded cheerfully, as this was the one time, where everyone's drunkenness worked in her advantage.
"I still don't believe the Eighty-Six will fight for the Republic when they notice how little they can gain from defending us. I mean, if I were you, I would invite the enemy right in as a revenge…"Annette remarked bitterly.
"We still have no luck in contacting other units, but trust me, most of us have our pride. Many folks would rather die in the losing battle, than give up, me included." The short explanation given by the only Eighty-Six on the call did not make much sense to the scientist, but Lena knew exactly what Cyclops was talking about. After all, it was how they lived their lives.
"In a nutshell, it's gonna be a shitshow, but our fucking shitshow." Shiden concluded.