"I was training in the Remnora Cluster, doing maneuvers with the Royal Army of Remnora. It was some sort of joint exercise. The Empire had kept Remnora autonomous to ensure an ally of a sort that wasn't directly under Imperial control. Therefore, the Imperial Army trained with their Royal Army from time to time. These were usually war games with the Imperial Army training as an opposing force. The idea was to train the outmatched Remnoran forces to combat a technologically and militarily superior force. Sometimes it wasn't exactly a conventional exercise. We always feared an attack during these exercises, because, let's be honest, who is going to trust an animal, regardless of the how many legs they walk on?"

Glory 10, 960 ISY
Algagi System, Algagi III
Camp Noble Spear

Corporal Isaiah Welhan

I sat on a ridge along the edge of the maneuver zone. The Imperial Army had set up Camp Noble Spear, named for the exercise in progress, to house the division of soldiers participating in the training. He had just gotten geared up for what would be another day of maneuvers under the blazing stars on Algagi. Even though my Warfigher armor had internal cooling systems for the wearer, it was still almost unbearable. But then again, this was what I trained for; to be deployed across the Empire to fight on countless different worlds. Algagi was the exception, meant to be difficult. The high temperatures made the exercise difficult for both sides.

Unlike most modern forces that trained internally, the mandate of the Act of Sovereignty meant ensuring that the Remnoran Royal Army was up to a standard. It was expected that the Royal Army would be a decisive force if the Empire was ever threatened by an outside power. Thus, they had to be trained to resist a military force greater in power and technology than their own. For the sake of the exercise, the Imperial Army acted as the opposing force to the Royal Army. This would be the first time the better trained Drop Troopers would be participating, though without the pods. They were trained to get behind the lines and cause issues there.

From the ridge I sat on, he could see what would be the battlefield of the day. Apparently, they were doing a Code Gamma exercise today. That was simply the detonation of a 20-kiloton fission device over the battlefield, provided by the Royal Army. It was a simulation of the Royal Army resorting to nuclear weapons to hold off an attacking force. As such, the Empire would be simulating a now broken and scattered force as the Remnorans advanced. To say it was a safe exercise would be false. This was one of the more dangerous ones of the whole operation.

"Isaiah!" Masako said, getting my attention. There were relatively few female soldiers in the current exercise, and Masako was one of mine. I stood and up and headed over to her. "We're heading out. We were chosen for the exercise."

Private Masako Tijerina was polite enough, and seemed happy enough. To go with the feline trend of the squad so far, she was a black leopard. As the squad's marksman, and a damned good one at that, she would be covering everyone's ass if the environment worked for it. She, like the entire squad, is from the Core Worlds. When I had the chance some time ago, I checked her records. Apparently she was born and raised on Sphereworld Alpha, one of the ancient superstructures not too far from Haroma. She was a core worlder, and probably one of the more loyal soldiers.

I just followed her as she kept walking. "So we get to sit in a trench and wait for the Remnorans to show up while we all pull our punches? Outstanding."

This would actually be the first exercise of my squad during the whole operation. It was likely intentional, to send a royal under the risk of severe radiation sickness and death. My father wasn't liked by High Command, or most of the military for that matter. For the past several centuries, no Welhan in the royal bloodline had joined the military, and instead had their citizenship granted to them by imperial order. To break that trend, as a secondary reason at least, my brother and I joined the Army.

"It could be much worse." Raimo said as he ran up to Masako and I. Whatever he was doing, at least he was almost on time.

Private Raimo Greymane was probably the only person that I'd call a friend that I made in the Army. A cheetah from Haroma, he joined the Army just so he could earn his citizenship. At one point his name had been accurate, when the Greymane family were primarily wolves, but hybridization and intermarrying mostly changed that. Like me, Raimo was at least in the aristocracy. Greymane-Knighthold Manufacturing built most of the Empire's weapons and most of the military's vehicles. I couldn't figure out why Raimo was in the military, and the cat seemed intent on avoiding answering that. Either way, he served as a heavy weapons specialist. He always carried a rocket launcher and light machine gun.

I just got a promotion to Corporal due to Bravo Squad needing a leader of sorts, and someone of proper rank being unavailable. Something about being short on staff to move around in a timely manner. It sounded about right. Despite being the upper class, I stand out only in being a prince, but thankfully not the crown prince. That's my brother. I am not comfortable with the title, especially when officers choose to salute me first sometimes. Regardless, service to the Empire is still honorable. Unlike the other two, I am the only human, which leads to an interesting dynamic.

All three of us were given the latest set of armor; the Warfighter Mk. XII-D. Unlike the regular variants of the armor, the XII-D had almost complete bodily protection in some form, and made use of various microgenerators within the armor to power its electronics. The helmet, unlike most other standard designs, was fully enclosed. It was a highly advanced piece of equipment by any standards, though it wasn't rated for vacuum. Those same generators powered the temperature control systems of the armor, and the sand was hell on the fans and other intakes. Being painted black by default didn't help either.

I climbed up first into the open-top transport truck, and helped Raimo and Masako in right after. They were the last soldiers in, the rest being regular Army. Unlike the Drop Troopers, their armor at least had been hastily painted with a tan color to somewhat blend in with the environment. This was the fourth day of the exercises, and there was still another week or so scheduled. I just hoped that this would be the only one that he was assigned to.

The truck carrying Bravo Squad stopped at an intersection in the dirt roads, allowing more trucks to pass by. "Any idea what we're doing?" Masako asked.

"Sitting and waiting." I said with a chuckle. "Unless you mean us specifically. Then we're probably going to be out of the way and waiting for the detonation. Or placed behind the front. I have no idea yet."

There were a lot of unanswered questions about this exercise. Of course the average soldier doesn't need to know any of it, but I almost had to know. I don't want to be leading the squad into a death trap if I had the choice. It may be an exercise, but it was always good form to distrust the Remnorans in these things. The Royal Army operated independently of Imperial control, and swore its allegiance to the Queen of Remnora, whom also didn't take orders from the Emperor except in some policies. With the increased racial tensions in the Terminus, which started to creep into the once peaceful Rim Worlds, there was an unease about going into a combat simulation with a foreign force.

Ultimately, I don't care about the politics. I'm not going to be the Emperor, and my father was doing the politics. He is just the soldier that obeys. But at least my brother won't be getting a nuke dropped on him. My brother, also a drop trooper, had an easy assignment out in Haroma. It was part of keeping the heir to the throne safe, while the other prince gets a nuclear weapon dropped on him. That was still astounding me. The Empire never used nuclear weapons, and yet they were training to fight immediately after detonation.

Operation Noble Spear
Gamma Operational Zone

It took nearly two hours before the trucks arrived at the Bravo Squad drop off. Unlike the bulk of the troops for the exercise, we were dropped off in the middle of the desert, in the foothills of a nearby mountain range. The flats below were for the actual simulation. The foothills would be for the secondary operations involving the Empire's scout units attempting to relay information to the forces on the ground, as well as cause problems for the Republic's soldiers by attacking supply lines and other essential functions. According to the information Isaiah had as they arrived at the site, the Remnorans were unaware of this.

The command center of the exercises sent Bravo Squad their destination. The helmet showed the marker, set about a mile away and up along a line of cliffs. It would be a bit of a walk, which wouldn't be exceptionally difficult so long as the armor didn't get too much sand in it. After looking around the surroundings, and checking for anything out of the ordinary, I started to head in the direction of the marker. The NCO model of the armor had a neural connection with the electronics, and I gave the order to follow with a thought.

Since we were likely not to be doing any fighting, even simulated, I slung the rifle over my shoulder and kept moving. The sand below was soft, and each heavy step caused me to sink slightly. This was why the sands of Algagi were so frustrating for the logistics teams. The light, fine sand was hell on electronics and machinery. Whenever a good enough wind stirred up the sand, it would block vision and get into vents and joints of armor and wear it down. That's why these exercises were rare to begin with.

A crackle over the general squad communications got me attention. "Bravo Squad, this is Major Trovato." Major Trovato is the company commander for the exercise. The lupine was set up in the Camp Noble Spear command center, and had authority over the Drop Trooper elements of the exercise, though he is regular Army. "I've received clearance from Brigadier Mestrat to inform you of your mission. The Navy reported that there has been an abnormally large number of supply ships coming in the last week. It's likely nothing, but you're being posted in the cliffs overlooking the operational area to observe any unusual patterns in the Remnoran forces."

This all seemed a bit unusual. The moment I had a chance, I was quick to ask, "Sir, why not have the dedicated recon forces do this?"

Without missing a beat, Trovato said, "Because they're not supposed to be there. Bravo is understrength, and less people means at least a little less suspicion. Get to the cliff and report if anything is abnormal. Most likely nothing will come of this. Be aware that there's a sandstorm incoming within the next two hours. Visibility will be obscured for at least half an hour. Trovato out."

Without another word, the communications to the command center were ended. I really wondered if this was something worth investigating. Algagi was a world where water and other supplies would be needed. For the Remnoran troops, their fur likely made it difficult to operate in the triple digit weather for extended periods, and they didn't even have the benefit of the basic powered armor that every Imperial soldier had.

"What would supply ships mean anyway?" Raimo asked. "Extra weapons? Food and water? It seems like command is making a big deal of this for no reason."

"They always do." Masako said. "Remember the exercise just the other day? Command thought that the Remnorans being late was them planning something."

I just toned out Raimo and Masako and walking. Their talking about what the generals were doing was pointless. They rarely ever seemed to know what they were doing themselves. The average soldier would never be able to figure out the seemingly arbitrary way that the generals worked. While they spoke, I also had to pay attention to my surroundings. Something did feel off, as if there was something that was going to happen. That thought was foolish though. Of course something was going to happen. We were about to get a nuclear weapon dropped on us.

It took us a good hour of walking before we reached the top of the cliffs. As I figured, it gave us a wide view of the exercise area. The Remnoran earthworks, which they had been working on for the last day, looked exactly like the typical earthen fortifications built on Remnora. They were effective at stopping armored vehicles - as tested several times - and could absorb most artillery. For this exercise, it's only for the sake of realism that it was built up. Opposite the earthworks by about eight miles were the Imperial trenches. Those trenches, like the earthworks, are just to protect the soldiers against the effects of the nuclear weapon. The weapon would be detonated in the middle, dangerously close, but nonetheless effective in the exercise. We are standing about 12 miles away. Still close, but not as dangerous.

"How many are participating in this exercise anyway?" Raimo asked as the three of us stopped at the edge of the cliffs.

"Only about two thousand Imperial, and a few thousand more Remnorans." I said. It was about that number, I think. "It should be over pretty quick regardless."

"All personnel. Nuclear detonation will occur within the next five minutes." Brigadier Mestrat said, using a command band that reached all soldiers participating in the exercise. "Reach your safe locations or pull out from the area if you are not involved."

That was easy enough. With the incoming detonation, I led Raimo and Masako to an area just a small distance away from the cliff edge and sat down. There was no reason to be staring at an explosion, especially one that could very well blind us even through the visor tinting and protection. Once I sat, Raimo did the same. Masako, however, only dropped to a knee while scanning to the east, toward where the Remnoran positions would be.

"Something happening?" I asked while I sat there.

"Probably nothing, but I thought I saw something." Masako said while she peered through the scope of her rifle. I wasn't going to question her eyesight. If she was no good in that, she'd never be a marksman. I waited for about a minute before she spoke again. "There. Movement. Looked like a Remnoran patrol."

"What the hell are they doing up here?" I said as I stood up. Of course the moment I said that, I realized the same question could be asked of my squad. "Let's wave them down." The exercise hadn't officially started, and it was doubtful that they would open fire ahead of time.

I walked forward, up a small incline and saw the Remnorans a couple hundred feet away. They had some cover behind another dune, but the camouflage pattern that they were using didn't quite fit into the surroundings. That coupled with their dark fur made them stand out. I raised a hand and gave a wave toward them.

"Looks like they looked at each other." Masako said. "Looks like some confusion. Hold on." I couldn't tell what she was seeing, so I looked back at her to judge her expression. As I turned my head, she shouted. "Isaiah, get down!"

I didn't have the time to react to that beyond starting to kneel down. As I did, I felt the impact of a bullet on my chest plates. Ultimately it didn't penetrate, but it was definitely a live round. With being hit, I jumped back behind the incline. Another bullet struck my shoulder and ricocheted to scrape over the top of the helmet.

"Those were live rounds." I said, more in surprise than anything else. I had expected the shooting of course, but if it were the exercise systems then it would have put me down as a simulated death or wound. Live rounds though? That didn't bode well.

"Permission to return fire?" Masako asked once I was behind some cover. I just gave a nod to her when she looked back at me. She flipped a switch on the side of her rifle, taking it off the exercise mode and setting it to kill. After just a moment, she fired, the laser blasting out. Shortly after that another shot was fired. "Both targets down. Looks like RRG, judging by the markings."

The RRG, the Remnoran Royal Guard, is a multirole special forces unit of the Republic. They rarely deployed outside of the Remnoran space, and never in an exercise. "Bravo-5 to Command." I said into the NCO channel as I started to get my bearings again. While waiting, I said, "Masako, keep eyes all around us. Raimo, do the same. They'll probably send someone this way if they find out they lost a few."

"Command here. Go ahead Bravo-5." Major Trovato said.

"Corporal Welhan here. We are in position to observe." I said. "We also came under attack. Private Tijerina reported movement, and we took some fire. No injuries, but two Remnorans - RRG possibly - are dead."

There was a long silence from the other end as they likely took in that information taking fire from anything was certainly not planned on. "Major Trovato again. Corporal, I need you to confirm the identity of the Remnorans and their unit."

I looked over the dune. "Masako, I am heading out to see what you shot." I said while I climbed over. I figured Masako knew to keep my covered regardless. Only about a hundred feet now were the Remnorans, both in about the same area, though one was still moving. I moved quickly up to them, watching for other movement. Getting shot at again wouldn't be all that surprising now.

The one soldier that was still moving was doing so slowly. I'd let him keep crawling. While he moved, I kicked the other soldier over to check the markings on the armor and uniform. As expected, the markings were clearly RRG. The unit emblem - a wolf's skull with a few inconsequential embellishments - was on an arm patch. Why they were here, and targeted us for simply waving them down were both questions for another time.

"Confirmed." I said. "We came under fire from a pair of RRG troops. One is dead, the other is attempting to flee. What's your or-" A great flash of light cut me off as I stood there. It had definitely been about five minutes since the announcement. Off to my left the intense light coming off the detonation cut through the visor and forced me to raise my arm to shield my eyes. It faded quickly after some time, and I let my arm drop.

Despite having seen the location that it should have detonated at, the blast was far to the Imperial side of the exercise. "Attention all troops, the Republic has detonated the nuclear weapon over our troops." Brigadier Mestrat said. "Multiple units have reported live fire incidents against them. Presume all Remnoran forces as hostile, but do not engage unless necessary."

That seemed to answer my question about whether or not to capture this surviving soldier. The answer was simply a no. He didn't seem to hear me speaking, or if he did he just ignored me, so I walked off back to Raimo and Masako. They had ducked behind the dune as the detonation occurred, so I walked calmly enough up to them.

"Get up you two." I said as I got closer. "We're going hunting." When Raimo and Masako stood up, I looked back toward where the exercise would have taken place. Of course the Remnorans were moving across the battlefield. It's sad it definitely was a battlefield now, and not an exercise. However, we were trained as a force to operate independently, and so we would.

"Where are we going?" Raimo asked as he walked toward me. I glanced over to him. Despite the fact this was supposed to be an exercise, he still carried a rocket launcher and several additional rounds for it.

"We're going to launch some attacks." I said while I looked around. The Remnoran base was still too many miles away to make any sort of movement there within the day possible. "The Remnorans probably started a war, so let's go ahead and be the ones that cause them some damage. They'll be moving to attack our camp I am sure. Let's try to intercept them." I walked over to the cliff and looked down. It would be quickest way to drop to the bottom here, but the sheer slope meant that we'd hit the ground hard and either end up too injured or dead. "Alright, we're backtracking. Let's move."

Someone had to do something, and this was probably the stupidest thing I could do. I should wait in place and stop any Remnorans I see. Given that the RRG came this way, they probably were planning something. Still, if most of our soldiers were dead from the nuclear blast, then I was obligated to do something to try to prevent the death of too many Imperial soldiers. More than likely the camp would be reinforced, but we could cause some issues for the advancing Remnoran soldiers at the very least.

Despite the desert heat, the three of us moved at a quick pace across the desert, down toward where we had been dropped off. We cleared that distance in just under an hour. During that hour, comms had been in a blackout. I stopped Raimo and Masako as the road came into view, along with three Remnoran armored vehicles. We'd be easy targets in the desert, I knew, with our colors. To the north a dune would give some cover against the vehicles, which had stopped along the side of the road. Knowing the Remnorans, they were stopped because of the sand and the dust in the air from everything moving.

"Raimo, can you get a good shot from here?" I asked while we were laying in the sand.

"Probably." He paused and I think he looked at the vehicles. "I'd need help getting the launcher loaded two more times to take out the other vehicles."

"I can do that." I stopped to look back to Masako. "Masako, can you cover us while we destroy the vehicles?"

"Will do. Let's get this done." Masako said as she pulled her rifle up.

Raimo and I both pushed ourselves up to a knee. While Raimo put his rocket launcher to a shoulder, I grabbed the two spare rockets off his back and opened that case. "Fire whenever you're ready Raimo. I'll load it as soon as it fires." I said while I took one round in hand.

"Firing." Raimo said. Moments later, the rocket fired and streaked toward the Remnoran vehicles.

I didn't waste the time to check if there was impact. While my mind registered a nearby explosion, I was pushing the next round into Raimo's launcher. While I reached down for the second one, he had already adjusted his aim and fired the one I just put in. The moment I had my hands on the round I was getting it into the launcher. The second explosion rang out as soon as I had the round into the launcher. Just as before, he had the third round fired almost as soon as it was in the launcher. Finally I heard the explosion. Thankfully there was no shooting in our direction yet.

"Let's move." I said into the squad communications so it would be heard over the noise. "Follow me." With that I stood up and moved quickly toward the dunes to the south to provide some extra cover. Away from the smoke of the rockets, it was clear that the all three vehicles were destroyed, leaving the now burning husks and a few soldiers scrambling. The Remnorans probably didn't expect any other resistance out here.

Our camp was still ten or more miles from our present location. We had limited supplies - none, really - since we expected a one day exercise before returning. Heading south, we'd head into the foothills of a nearby mountain range. That would give us some cover from attacks at least. In a day we should manage to get back to the Camp, assuming that it hasn't fallen by then. That is, unfortunately, a realistic possibility.

As we climbed up the first dune away from the road, I had to look back. Remnoran soldiers were converging on the position, probably to help their wounded and dead with whatever they had. If I had the weapons to do it, I'd just fire on them from here. Still, there was nothing that could be done other than get back to base.

Night fell fairly soon as the three of us walked across the desert. With the night falling, so too did the temperatures. It was, thankfully, more comfortable when the stars finally dropped below the horizon. Even with night falling, and visibility dropping to effectively zero even with our helmet and gun lights, I kept Raimo and Masako moving. I wanted to cover as much ground as possible before stopping.

I finally stopped when I realized that we were drawing close, and the sounds of battle could be heard further out. There was no reason to take the risk of setting down too close to the fighting. When I turned around to see Masako and Raimo, they had both clearly given up for the day. I couldn't blame them for that. "Alright, we're stopping." I said, acting like I only just saw them and was going to make their lives easier.

As soon as I said that, Raimo and Masako both slowed down and sat in the sand. I stood for just a moment to shake my head and laugh. It felt almost good to laugh. I knew I needed it a bit after today. Despite my better judgement, I went as far as to undo the clips on my helmet and pulled it off. It was still hot out, but comfortable. Even the suit's cooling system was keeping it far colder than it had to.

"You two get a bit of sleep." I said while I kneeled down. "I'll take the first watch. In a few hours, Raimo, I am waking you up and you'll take us to morning. Understood?" Raimo just nodded to me. "Good. We're moving on at sunrise."

Glory 11
Camp Noble Spear

True to what I had said, Raimo woke us up as the sun was rising. In the distance, smoke rose from the general direction of the camp. It was hardly encouraging to see that, but I expected it. With the little equipment we had, the three of us were packed and ready to keep moving. Nothing got close to us the night before, and even in the rising light it was clear that we were alone out here. That was good. There was no need to risk going too far out into the desert without the provisions, and it was clear that the Remnorans knew that.

Within a few hours, we were approaching the camp. I stopped us behind a dune and a rock formation, using that as cover as I had Masako check the camp. "Bravo 5 to Command. Is anyone there?" I said. I was laying down next to Masako with my own rangefinder, while Masako was looking through her scope. If there was no response that would be alarming. I just hoped someone was awake.

Around the makeshift walls of the camp, there were still a few bodies and destroyed vehicles. The camp as a whole had significant damage to it, but ultimately didn't look like it had fallen. That was a good sign. If it did, this would be much more difficult. We'd have to locate somewhere to evacuate from, and it could still be days of walking away unless they'd land a transport in the camp.

"Command here." Major Trovato said. "I trust you all are safe?" He asked.

"We're at Noble Spear." I said. "Is the camp clear to approach or did we lose it?"

The Major actually laughed at that. "Against the Remnorans? Obviously we're clear. Come on down. We could use the troopers, if you're all outfit to keep going."

"Of course sir. We'll be in shortly." I said as I stood up. Masako and Raimo took that as the cue that it was safe. "Should I come in to see you directly?"

"That'd be preferable. Command out." Trovato said as he cut the communications.

I moved quickly down the dune, even sliding slightly, eager to get back behind safety. I could also get something to eat and prepare for whatever the Major had in mind for us. Obviously this was going to be a fight, but it surely wouldn't be too major. Only a few thousand Imperial and Remnoran soldiers were even on Algagi, and the world had no strategic value. It only served as a location to train on.

The soldiers at the entrance to the camp let the three of us through without a question. I got a salute from a private that didn't know any better, but I didn't respond to that. We had work to do and I'd be damned if I stopped for a salute. "Raimo, Masako, go ahead and get rearmed and something to eat if you have the time. I am meeting with the Major." I said as I took my helmet off once again.  They broke off as I kept walking.

In the camp, the command structure was the only truly permanent structure. Since the training exercises were usually on Algagi, a large bunker was built to house the command structure of the exercises, while the rest of the camp was temporary since the number of soldiers involved always varied heavily year by year. However the camp always had a bit of a town layout to it. One main 'road', which was really just a wider dirt path, ran through the camp to allow the heavier vehicles through.

As I approached the bunker, the soldiers outside simply gave me a nod and let me in. I wouldn't doubt that Trovato had sent word ahead that I was coming in. I had also been here earlier in the deployment, though that meeting was inconsequential. Still, I knew where I had to go. As I walked through the dim hallways of the bunker, I realized that it was far busier than it was the other day. That made sense, but it still felt unusual to see everyone running around. Is this really what it was like to be in a command center during a conflict? I really hope that I didn't have to be in the middle of this in the future.

I made a turn to walk into the actual command center, and the soldiers didn't stop me. That confirmed that Trovato said I was coming. Inside the command center, the lights were brighter as they lit up a table with a variety of maps on it. Major Trovato and a number of other officers were all gathered around the table while the Major was going over different possible deployments  and actions. The maps had markers on them to designate our soldiers and known and presumed Remnoran movements and positions. The map covered the area between our camp and the Remnoran camp - a distance of really only about 400 square miles, and less than a quarter of that was even relevant.

Major Trovato looked up as I walked in. I shouldn't be surprised of course. He, being a psionic, would have sensed me coming. Given that I have some sort of empathic ability - or so the testers are saying - he'd pick that up. "Corporal Welhan. Good." My name got the attention of a few officers, much to my chagrin. I had hoped to just walk in and get a briefing and go. This meant I was probably going to be involved with this whole meeting now. "We're reviewing the strategic situation. I won't bore you with the details, but we're going to be making one hard offensive. Materials are coming down from the Navy and with it we'll be able to beat the Remnorans back."

That should have gone without saying. "So what's my part in this, sir?" I asked. Let the officers deal with the strategy. I just have to follow orders.

"Your squad will be participating in the first phase of the offensive. There's a Skirmisher set aside. Make sure you're all rearmed and restocked for an extended fight. We may be out there for a week or more, but we're not stopping once we start." Trovato said while looking back to the maps. "Your squad is going to be on the front edge of the fighting after we push the Remnorans back today. You get a day to do some recuperating, then you're going back out. The small squad and vehicle should be able to gather and send positions back to us without being detected."

That was assuming that Raimo was able to drive of course. Knowing him, we'd crash the truck half an hour in and then I have to take the fall for that. Of course I also won't vocalize that particular issue. "Of course sir." I actually said. "I'd just need to know which Skirmisher and I'll get the squad ready to move."

Trovato glanced over at the other maps and plans and was quiet for a moment. "Skirmisher 04. It's marked over in the motor pool. Just grab it from there tonight and be ready to move. Understood?"

"Yes sir. I'll have it done." I said.

"Good. Dismissed." Trovato said.

I gave a quick salute and left the command center quickly. Why he had to bring me in to tell me all that, I have no idea. Still, he entrusted my squad with an assignment that would be at the front line of the fight. It would be dangerous, yes, but that was the glory of the assignment. I didn't sign up for glory, but I would sure as hell accept it when it meant that we'd secure a victory against the Remnorans.

Once outside the command center, I checked my HUD map to locate the motor pool. Trovato would likely send the requisition down to them in my place. The structure was only a short walk, and according to the scans, it was rather busy with vehicles leaving it constantly. I just hoped that the one vehicle reserved for my squad was still there. I kept to the right side of the road as I walked toward the motor pool. Like every structure, as I drew closer, I saw it was just another tent, but it had additional barriers to separate its area from the rest of the base. Several tents were set up to be used as makeshift service areas.

I checked both directions before crossing the road, barely missing another Skirmisher that had decided to not slow down. Wouldn't that make for an amazing news report? 'Prince of the Anean Star Empire killed by negligent driving', while in a warzone. It would certainly be something, yes. Ultimately, it wasn't my concern though since I am alive. If something happened, it'd surely have been just an accident.

Inside the motor pool tent sat a single supply sergeant behind a desk. On the desk were a variety of datapads and papers, as well as a radio. Not being an idiot, I know that the radio is to coordinate the motor pool. "What do you need, trooper?"

'Trooper', rather than 'Soldier', was generally the term used for us, for obvious reasons. We're the Drop Troopers. "Major Trovato told me to pick up Skirmisher 04, sir." I said. As odd as it was to have others call me sir, it was also odd for me to do the same.

The sergeant went through the datapads, taking only a few moments. "Here." He said as he reached into the desk and tossed a set of keys onto the desk after checking a tab on it. "Skirmisher 04. Should be in the back. Don't damage it, if possible."

I picked up the keys and headed past the desk out the back of the tent. Now properly within the motor pool, I could appreciate the amount of equipment that we had. While a lot had been taken out, a wide variety of war machines sat, awaiting their crews. Unlike the more front line units, we had more treaded tanks rather than the so-called "mechs" that the front line fielded. Over open ground though, the tanks were more useful.

The Skirmishers were easy to find. The one I got the keys for was one of the light variants. The front sloped rather gently down with an almost continuous angle. At the front, a 90-degree angle sloped the front down and back toward the front axle. Two doors behind that axle opened forward and outward, and are armored to provide limited protection in a firefight. Behind those doors another two doors opened, but these opened in the reverse direction, for protection in a firefight from the rear. The center of the back row of seats had a raised, flat area for the turret gunner to stand in. This particular Skirmisher had just the standard heavy machinegun mounted into a turret that gave protection to almost all sides when standing in it.

Ultimately, the Skirmishers are a cheap, though cost-effective, vehicle that transports small squads across most terrain without an issue. The Skirmisher-Ls, like this one, are ideal for scouting. The heavier, six-wheeled, and far bettered armored Skirmisher-H was built for moving into areas of heavy fire where IFVs weren't necessary. Greymane-Knighthold Manufacturing had the sole contract with the Army to produce and upgrade the Skirmishers. With the GKM logo on it, I knew it was... well, it wouldn't kill me immediately.

I climbed into the driver's seat on the right hand side of the vehicle. Remnoran vehicles drove on the left side of roads on the Remnoran worlds, and Greymane Automotive before the merger built the vehicles, so that annoying trait carried over to all of the vehicles built by GKM. Once in, and buckled in - safety first, I guess - I inserted the key and the engine rumbled silently to life. The electrical revolution in vehicle production made the engines quiet, without sacrificing power that old electrical engines were known to suffer from.

Knowing Raimo and Masako, they had already gotten their equipment, and they were likely getting something to eat. The Skirmisher is mine for the duration of this operation, so I pulled out of the parking spot and made a hard right to turn toward the exit road. The flow of vehicles from early seemed to have died down, since I didn't have to stop when I made the left to head out of the motor pool and back onto the camp roads. The tent that the three of us were assigned to had space to park a Skirmisher next to, if only barely.

It took several minutes of maneuvering through the tight roads before I came to a stop at our tent. I needed to get some sleep, so I'd just send a message to Raimo to tell him to pick up my extra equipment as well. I know he would do it, though I'd owe him later. He wouldn't let me forget that. I climbed out of the truck, dropped the keys into a pocket, and stepped into our tent. Despite being, well, a tent, it was comfortably sized for a normal sized squad - which is usually five soldiers. The three of us therefore had quite a bit of room. For the last few days, we've had a relatively comfortable stay.

With no reason to work my way out of my armor, I left it on as I climbed into my cot after setting my rifle and helmet on the dirt ground. Eventually Masako and Raimo would get back, and we could get into position for the offensive. Once I laid down and got somewhat comfortable, I used my phone to send the message to Raimo about grabbing my supplies for me. If we were going to be out for at least a week, we'd need to be almost independent. So we'd absolutely need extra water. I let the logistics of the situation finally make me fall asleep.

Glory 12

As the sun just started to appear on the Algagi horizon, I had moved my squad to the Skirmisher, and parked in a position that overlooked what would be the battlefield for probably the day. Raimo and Masako were getting sleep, and I was driving. Such was the reality I found myself in. I trusted myself driving more than I trusted either of the other two, and I had a better eye for anything that looked good. The location I chose for the time being are the same cliffs that we had started on just the day before, when the exercise was supposed to go on normally.

I stopped the Skirmisher and turned off the engine. The new silence was eerie as I stepped from the vehicle into the sand. I could see the vehicles in the distance moving, and the first shots being fired from the west toward the Imperial lines. Raimo had the foresight to grab a rangefinder for me, which would be invaluable. With it, I zoomed in as close as I could on the Remnoran lines in the distance. Despite the nuclear detonation recently, the battlefield is set on the same location.

"Bravo Five to Command. I am seeing..." I said as I started marking the various vehicles that the scans didn't already get. "Looks like we have an extra company on the field. Armor."

Moving west at a very quick pace, the Remnoran tanks weren't marked by orbital scans or the other recon teams. In the night, they were probably hidden, and in the day they probably had cover to protect against most visual scans. That was smart, but it's certainly not flawless, as I see here. Of course, I expect nothing more from these animals. They made a mistake and they are going to pay for it in blood.

"Understood Bravo." Trovato said. "Keep marking and calling out what you see. Move up with the front. Try to maintain comms silence."

All of that is rather simple to do. I simply kept the rangefinder to my eyes. Nothing was standing out. Thanks to the Battlenet, a large amount of the known Remnoran soldiers had a marking. Those that didn't... well, that's my job. All I have to do is hit a button and it will mark the moving target, coordinated with the orbital platforms, and then the network updates to everyone. It's, arguably, the Empire's greatest military asset. The Battlenet is a real time strategic and tactical aid from the squad leader up to the generals.

The first rounds exploded in the distance, the artillery rounds blasting away from a good 20 miles. It's old fashioned weaponry, but it still had an effect against an older force. I didn't care about that beyond it maybe waking Raimo and Masako up. I had my doubts about this though. Remnorans are notoriously hard to wake up. I pushed the thoughts that deviated from the task at hand away, and went back to marking targets - or at least looking for such. The Navy looked like it did an excellent job at pinpointing the Remnoran formations and positions. As the infantry, I could make a remark about it being the only thing the Navy did right, but unlike most of the Army, I had some reliance on the Navy to get my squad and I into  a combat zone, usually.

A half an hour passed according to my helmet HUD as I laid in the sand, scanning everything that I saw. Within that half hour, the Army had pushed a good distance. It probably wouldn't be the end of the day's operations, but it's a good start. And it certainly isn't the end of the day for me since we had to reposition for tomorrow's excursion. Further east are actual desert flats. For the purposes of the now ended Noble Spear exercises, the flats were supposed to be the majority of the exercise area. With a real combat scenario underway though, and a need to deal a decisive blow, it's the only safe axis of advance. Anything else would need light vehicles and infantry, and that would prolong the fight. It does make me wonder why we can't just bomb out all of their positions.

I will blame that on the Navy.

"All clear Bravo. Reposition." Trovato said. That, obviously, is my cue to get up and move.

Once the Major told me to move, I was on my feet within seconds and climbing into the Skirmisher shortly after that. I wouldn't doubt that there is someone watching me, and I really don't want to be their target, whether Imperial or enemy. I am sure there'd be a new recruit that would open fire on my Skirmisher not knowing that we were friendly, simply because we were here and they didn't know about us being here.

With Raimo and Masako both asleep in the back still - damned cats - when I turned the Skirmisher on again I resolved to make this a very rough ride for them. I was nice getting up here, but something should have woken them up. Now my patience had worn thin. At the very least they would get guard duty for tonight. Without a care for their comfort, I put the Skirmisher into reverse and pushed the pedal to the floor, shooting the Skirmisher backward with force. At the risk of ruining the components of the Skirmisher, I pushed it into drive after letting off the pedal and sped forward over the dunes and such. If it weren't for the tires being replaced with ones for the sand, I am absolutely certain I'd have lost control.

As I passed over a dune, probably getting just a bit of air time in doing so, I heard a loud clunk of metal hitting metal. I knew immediately it was probably Raimo's helmet hitting the roof of the Skirmisher. I had to smile a bit at that, since I still had no intention of slowing down. We have places to be and things to do. A war won't wait on its soldiers to wake up when they wanted to.

"God damn it." Raimo growled out. He sat in the passenger seat, to my left. "Isaiah, what the hell are you doing?"

"Impolitely waking you two up." I said as I made a hard left turn to start down a relatively safe decline toward the desert flats. "First phase of the operation is complete. We're proceeding to the next location."

"Already?" Raimo asked. I looked ahead and knew where I'd have to turn to avoid any obstacles, and simply looked over at Raimo to glare at him. 'Already?' is one of the stupidest questions he had ever asked me. I think he realized that fairly quickly after I started glaring, and he looked forward again without another word, and so did I.

This drive continued for several hours more, as the sun began to set once again. I slowed down as my helmet warned that we were entering a "red zone". In this case, that red zone is simply where the Remnorans had a solid grip on the territory. In these desert flats, it was risky to draw too much attention. The dust clouds I had kicked up at full speed were dangerous enough. Even slowing down, I got lucky and managed to avoid two Remnoran patrols, even while sticking to the far south of the defined operational area. Tomorrow I could take risks in moving, but not now. I'd be failing the commanders if I did that, and of course Raimo and Masako. It wasn't worth the risk.

When we finally stopped, I chose a depression in the flats, one that likely was used at one time to test a bomb. The turret of the Skirmisher sat just above the rim of the depression, allowing some protection for the Skirmisher and not making us too obvious, if anyone was trying to look for us. While we had the material to burn for a fire, we couldn't light one. That would give our position away entirely.

I locked the truck and dropped its armor shutters down over the windows and other openings, making the inside dark. Raimo at least had a flashlight to spare, and the way he set it up illuminated the entire inside fairly well. For three people, it was comfortable in size. A normal squad would be cramped though. At least the back of the Skirmisher had enough room to stretch out and sleep in.

"What do you think is going to happen now?" Raimo asked, breaking the silence as he sat in the back seats.

Propped up in the back, with Masako laying next to me, I had my notepad out and I was spending time writing the notation for a piece I wanted to perform whenever I left the military. It's rather difficult to write anything without a real idea of what I wanted it to sound like. And this little bit written on a scrap of paper I am sure I'll end up losing long before I ever get the chance to perform it.

"I doubt the Empire will make a big deal of this." Masako said. That broke the silence she usually had. A thought did occur to me. Are the skilled marksmen always so quiet? It seems like that's usually the case.

Raimo scoffed at that idea. I would have too, if I wasn't intentionally toning them out. "This is the war the Emperor has been looking for. Now we can retake Remnora with a legitimate reason." That got my attention, but I still wasn't going to say anything. It's one thing to speculate on government policy, but Raimo knows that the Emperor is my father.

"I doubt it's anything like that." Masako said. "The Reps dropped a fission weapon on our soldiers in what was supposed to be an exercise." Raimo started to open his mouth to retort, but never got a word out. "And you can't say it was an accident, because they followed it up by attacking and pushing us back to the camp, knowing the whole time they were using lethal munitions. We were fired on, if you recall."

"The Remnorans as a whole have been oppressed." Raimo said. I just rolled my eyes at the remark. 'Oppression' is such a funny word when it gets used wrongly. "The reality is that this is part of their retribution for centuries of being treated as a subject of the Empire, and nothing more." And that was a stupid remark too. I always thought Raimo was better than that.

"Oppressed?" Masako said. Her neutral tone took on a bit of disgust, and it made me laugh internally. It was always interesting to see political divides within a species over something they should agree on. "Oh yes, the Republic has been so oppressed; freely living without the Empire micromanaging their space, and freely being able to trade and travel about the Empire while the average Haromian welcomes them to the rest of the Empire. Let me tell you about how all those Remnorans on Haroma are treated as second class citizens."

That, also, was very true. The Remnoran Stellar Republic is very much semi-independent. They aren't even required to fly the Anean flag over their worlds. Meanwhile, the Remnoran lords and aristocracy actively works to prevent any Haromians from setting foot on Remnora with intent to permanently settle. Meanwhile a good ten percent of Haroma is Remnoran, and about fifteen percent is Vervortian. They are both welcomed with open arms. It always annoyed and amused me that Remnorans could have such a double standard. They'd call Haromians the oppressors, and then do worse while claiming the high ground. Such was the reality of those animals, I suppose.

"There are ghettos on Haroma for them to live in. Gods forbid they set foot in the human districts. Don't delude yourself." Raimo said, his voice growing finally in intensity. I don't understand how he can be a soldier if he is actively supporting the Republic's ideas, it sounds. "How about you respect the fact that the Republic is willing to risk it all for independence?"

This time, Masako scoffed at that. "By ripping up a charter that has existed for a millennium and breaking the trust of the Imperial government. Yes, that sounds like something that's entirely respectable. Say what you will about Haromian politics, but at least they uphold their deals and treaties. For that reason, I am sure there will be tensions, but the Emperor won't authorize force against the Remnorans."

"Isaiah," Raimo said. I knew something bad was coming, so I could only close my eyes, take a deep breath, and prepare for the stupid question. "Isaiah, do you think your father would do that? You'd know the government better than either of us."

I really didn't. Politics and the government is the domain of my brother. I dabbled in music, journalism, and apparently shooting rifles on backwater desert worlds in my spare time. I have zero interest in the government or politics since if I let it, that'd be my entire life, and I'd rather die before that happened. I tried to keep myself as far from the government as I possibly could, but it'd take a miracle to make Raimo and Masako understand this. A miracle that I won't try to make happen, and thus I'll just let them think what they want.

"I think this argument is foolish." I said while making sure my fatigue with the current discussion was plainly obvious. "Remember that we lost hundreds of good soldiers at the hands of the Republic. Regardless of who you think has the moral high ground, it's why we're fighting here today. This war may not go past Algagi, but we may be marching into Espica in a few weeks. Stop arguing inane bullshit and get your heads back into the fight." I allowed my tone to lighten, slightly, here. "We're all soldiers here, and we swore to defend the Empire. Let's make sure we do that. We follow orders, not question them, regardless of what happens."

That last line didn't sit right with me, even as I said it. It sounded exactly the kind of justification that war criminals used. But it also wasn't wrong. We're just grunts, no matter if we're "special forces" of a sort. If we get an order, we're supposed to listen and carry it out. Questioning that order means that discipline and confidence in command will deteriorate. Obey; that is what we were all trained to do.

My remarks, thankfully, had the advantage of shutting Raimo up. Masako I could deal with, but she also was quiet. She at least had a good mind on her shoulders. Raimo? I wouldn't be surprised if he ended up turning on the Empire. But would he turn on me? I don't know, and that is what scared me as I tucked my notepad back into a pocket and laid down in the back of the truck. If I couldn't trust my own squad, then nothing good could come of the future.

Glory 13

As the suns rose again, I realized that the desert flats are, indeed, very flat. Even the depression I chose to stop in was little more than a slight dip. We were very obvious to anyone that would have looked with the proper equipment. Thankfully, we'd be moving soon, and I'd be able to find a new, better location to report locations from. Unlike yesterday, I got Raimo and Masako awoken first, and even told Raimo he was driving today. I would take the chance to just sit and relax a bit, allowing more attention toward everything around us. And, if nothing else, chances are that Raimo wouldn't be as prone to crashing on a flat, empty desert plain.

I flipped the switch that pulled the shutters back up, opening the windows of the doors and windshield to allow the light to flood in once again. Masako, since she would be the only other person, had volunteered to climb into the turret and watch from up there. I knew she had the eyes to handle that, and she'd probably tolerate the surroundings better than most. As I sat in the passenger seat, I finally put my helmet back on and allowed the computer to boot up. Overnight, Trovato had sent a waypoint for me. With a thought, I sent that along to Raimo and Masako. Hopefully Raimo knew how to drive toward a single point.

"Let's get going." I said as I relaxed in the seat. Immediately after, I saw Raimo put the Skirmisher into drive, and then manage to inch forward as he had a foot on the accelerator and one on the brake. If I didn't have my helmet on, I'd be rubbing my forehead to try to soothe the rising headache. This was going to be a long ride. But this time, I won't say a word yet.

"Bravo Five, hold position." Trovato said, getting my attention immediately. I stopped Raimo - probably before he broke the engine or something. "The Remnorans are surrendering. They had attempted an evacuation overnight, but we blew away every craft that tried to leave. They're going to surrender within the hour in exchange for passage from Algagi."

"Understood sir." I said. Nothing like being in a battle, and never firing a single shot, but still ultimately winning the war. It's... actually kind of nice. It certainly feels right at least. "Should we begin heading back for camp?"

"Hold position for now. I'll send a shuttle to pick your squad and the Skirmisher up if this surrender isn't a ruse. Otherwise there will be new orders. Command out." Trovato said.

I could only laugh a little, but I did notice Raimo and Masako looking at me and wanting answers. "We won." I said as I sat there. "Battle is just about over. Let's hope we won't be fighting another battle."

Glory 14
IAN Liberator
Algagi, Orbit

As expected, the Remnorans had signed the surrender document within the hour when the order came down from Trovato. The next day was spent packing all our equipment and assisting the logistics teams in making an orderly withdrawal back to our ships. For my squad and I, that is the IAN Liberator. The Liberator is an old troop transport, dating all the way back to the Haromian Intervention on Remnora - about 1000 years ago - but constantly refit and upgraded. Still, it's comfortable. Now in its last years of service, the ship has been refit to deploy Drop Troopers while avoiding as much combat as possible.

I made sure my squad got a comfortable place on the ship, without it seeming like outright favoritism. Each cabin on the ship is made to hold a squad, and sections of the ship are separated for the larger formations. Newer ships are outright organized on unit sizes, but these older ones - ancient, even, in the case of the Liberator - are much less organized, and smaller due to the technological limitations of the day. Still, I got my squad the cabin with windows into space. One would argue that windows reduce structural integrity. That's true for warships. This transport really shouldn't be in combat though, so it's not as important.

It felt good to be out of my armor after the few days on Algagi. You never realize just how heavy it is - mostly because it's powered - when you're wearing it and how much it restricts movements in some directions. Once I got the chest piece off, there was a sense of relief, other than in the legs where it suddenly started to weigh me down even more. Still, it was made for one person to get in and out of without much effort.

With the armor off, there was nothing to do other than wait around for new orders. I had a chair brought up, and sat next to the large window that overlooked Algagi below. There is some talk going around the other soldiers about the fighting on Algagi. There are just too many ways for the fighting to go once we leave here. Since we're in the Remnora Cluster, we've been given orders to pull out and head back into the Core Worlds. We'll be docking at Haroma within a few days, and we'll probably have a few free days unless something happens while we're making the jump.

I closed my eyes while I sat by the window. There is something soothing about the rumble of the engines as a background noise while on a ship. Anything else can be silent, but anyone that spent time in space would know that that rumble is just a sound of everything going right. If it's absent... well, that means bad things obviously. I only opened my eyes after I heard the doors to the cabin slide open, and heavier footsteps than normal approach.

"Corporal Welhan?" The deep voice asked. That definitely wasn't Raimo.

I looked to my left, toward the door and the new person. What I saw was a large male Vervortian. He wore the Drop Trooper armor, and carried a sizable duffel bag with him. However, he had the rank of a lance corporal. I knew he wouldn't be here to take command, thankfully, but it meant he'd probably be a second in command, which I am not entirely thrilled with the prospect of if he was sent to fill out my squad ranks.

"That's me, yes." I said, and the Vervortian gave a simple nod. "New transfer?" I asked after a short silence. He gave another nod. "What's your name, trooper?"

"Lance Corporal Branislav Bogomolov." The bear said after staring at me a moment. Something told me I did something wrong, but, well, he was in the Empire, not the Armada now. I did notice he didn't salute, which was interesting, but I was also thankful for it.

"Good." I said. "We have an open bunk, yes. To your right." The Vervortian looked down at the bed and gave a grunt. "It will do."

This was going to be difficult. Of course, I welcomed the idea of a Vervortian in the squad. While they are large, they are also usually very strong. He probably would be my actual heavy weapons soldier. Still, if this was his attitude, then I would have to find a way to work around that. And I'd probably have to get advice in dealing with Vervortians from my father. He knew them best, since he pioneered the extremely close relationship between the Vervortian Armada and the Empire.

"So, where are you from?" I asked. I had no idea I was getting the transfer, so I had no time to review his record. May as well get it directly.

"Octantis." Branislav said. Octantis would be one of the larger Vervortian dominated colonies in the Empire. I should have guessed, but I assumed he came from the Armada. "I would ask you the same," he said after interrupting me before I could say a word, "but all Welhans come from Haroma." I kept a silence for a moment, but again as soon as I opened my mouth to speak, he would speak again. "Haroma is a fine world for my kind. Cold. Harsh. Much like our homeworld was."

I started to open my mouth again to speak, and he caught it, but I wasn't being stopped this time. "Yes, it's a good planet." I said, confirming that. I did notice a slight grin, or what I thought was one. It was easier to read Remnorans and especially Haromians than it is a Vervortian. "Octantis then. What made you join the Army?"

The grin faded a bit. "I trust that isn't a serious question. I would hope a child of the Emperor would know just why I would join the Empire's army."

It was definitely a challenge, of a sort. I could sense that much from him. Being an Empath was good for some things, though not much. To be honest though, I know very little of Vervortians. Never had to know much of them. I do know that most people see them as brutes, though they do have a somewhat intricate warrior culture. In that sense they are not too unlike Haromians. Beyond that, I don't really know for sure just what he wanted me to point out. So I'd take a risk. We're in the Army. He can't really do much, and I am sure there will be plenty of time for me to get some respect back.

"I don't know." I said, giving a shrug. "You wanted to play soldier and got more than you bargained for? Lost a bet? Joined with a friend and realized it's not what you thought? Am I on to something yet?"

Branis- No, Bran, that's what I'll call him. Bran's eyes narrowed at the remarks and he did growl. "Are you truly that ignorant?"

"Call it willing." I said. "I am not the heir to the throne. My brother gets to do the politics."

"And what do you do?" Bran asked. The emphasis on 'you' even made me chuckle a bit.

"I play the piano and shoot guns, and act like those are useful traits." I said.

"Ah, so you're an... artist. That explains so very much about the Welhans." Bran said.

I knew he was trying to start an argument now, and his smile only emphasized that. Good. Maybe we were getting somewhere. Still, my curiosity was piqued. "Then tell me, what did you join for?"

A long silence followed where he just stared at me, and I back at him. I wasn't going to back down from the question now. "Duty. Honor. Exploration. And called upon by the Gods to fight, so said our local bishop."

Great. So not only is he a bit grating, he is also religious. Usually this doesn't bother me. After all; the Empire's state religion is rather dominant in everyday life, so it was part of the upbringing. I didn't buy into such things though. Religion placated the masses. I am royalty. As such, I don't need it since I know the truth in everything.

"I see." I said, leaving it at that. Religion is not something to delve into with strangers.

"And what of you then? Why would a royal be in the Army?" Bran asked. There wasn't any malice that I could sense.

"I ask myself that every day." I said. I laughed a bit, though Bran didn't. "In reality, I just wanted to do something. Earn my citizenship instead of having it granted like so many others in my family before me. And playing a piano isn't that lucrative, even if my name draws in crowds. So here I am, a Drop Trooper because my father forced me into the damned training, and a corporal because people decided I should command a squad with only a few months in. The pianist turned soldier. Can't say I enjoy it."

"It truly doesn't suit you." Bran said. This time I knew it was meant as an insult. Vervortians are odd like that. "But I can respect that you are out here trying." I'd deal with that, I suppose. Better than nothing. I gave a simple nod toward him, reciprocating the same treatment of earlier. "We are going to Haroma, yes? May as well settle in. Where are the other two?" Brain asked.

That is a good question. "I have no idea." I said. "Knowing them, finding a spot where the sun is shining in and taking a nap there."

"Felines?"

"Yeah, and with all the baggage that comes with dealing with them." I said.

Bran just shook his head. "You dislike them as well?"

"Dislike? No." I said. That's a partial lie. I really do dislike Remnorans of all kinds, but I had to play this question safely. "Are they hard to deal with? Absolutely."

"Good. Then maybe we share something, even if minutely."

I think I could deal with Bran. We exchanged a few more words between each other before deciding it was enough for the day. Or, rather, he decided such and I was fine with it. The shutters came down over my window, and that meant my view was gone. We'd be making a first warp jump to the edge of the system, then the hyperdrive would take us to Haroma. Given our distance, it'd probably be two days in real space. Almost instantaneously on the ship. I would never understand why these things are that odd.

Since it would make it go by slightly faster, I decided to lay down on my bunk and take a bit of a nap. It would pass the time and we'd be at Haroma by the time I woke up. Then I get to see what will happen. Further war? Peace? Hopefully the latter.