Not a whole day had passed since Camille’s short course at the library. Without knowing it, that night had been the last moment of peace for the trainees. The next day had started at a frenetic pace. Sibelle woke up the barrack one hour earlier and threw them into the pit since sunset. None had any idea of why, but the witch had turned crazy. The difficulty had risen like crazy, and their result plummets like leaves in autumn. When noon came and the long-awaited break, Lesskov and Kiel paid a visit to the agonising trainees. The two instructors started to talk with Sibelle; every trainee could already see the end of their ordeal. The fall was abrupt when all of them agreed in unison. The P.E and shooting instructor had the same relation as water and oil, and something managed to mix them, something dramatic. Camille believed it too and died to know why. The moment Sibelle free them, she rushed to catch up with the man, all her friend behind her.

“Major!” She yelled to make him stop. “What is happening?”

The man turned to face the small group of trainees, his calm eyes narrowing over them. He stopped some time on Karin before switching back on his protege.

“The Dincer is coming. She wants to review the trainees.”

All the hight born reacted at the same time, Gwen the most by far.

“No! No! No! That’s not possible! Why would she come here!” She grabbed the instructor by the arm. “You are lying! Please?”

“I would love to trainee Devos.”

“Who is that Dincer thing?” Karin exploded, “I don’t understand. Why is the twig so scared?”

“As expected of you,” Tavis spoke with a roll of his eyes. “Anatera Dincer is the right arm of Consul Solar. She is the second most powerful human in the federation. How can you not know that?”

“I don’t care about puny human. They are all weak, anyway.”

“If you had seen her, you would not say that.” Spoke a trembling Gwen. “She is a monster.”

“Don’t worry, trainee Devos. She can’t do anything to you.” The man moved his large hand over the girl’s shoulder. “You are a member of B.D base now. While I have you there, Trainee Osder and trainee Weiss are awaited at the pit in forty minutes. Get to the canteen fast if you want to eat.

“Only us?”

“Yes, the others don’t have points to catch up. May dust stay in your blood, trainees.”

If none were surprised by Camille having to catch up point, they all turned to the tall valag simultaneously. Karin tanned skin turned red in a go. Her defence ignited at the same time, and she had to control her breathing to stay calm. She turned a straight face to Camille, grinding her teeth, she spoke.

“I—I might miss some point in duty because I don’t follow orders. Valag needs at least a twenty, or they are failed.”

“You don’t have twenty? How?”

If Camille would have loved to see the valag punch Tavis in the face, she was amazed by her self-control. The girl was doing her whole to stay civilised when she itched to teach a lesson to the nerve-wracking kid.

“I might have shot some friendly by accident. Not my fault!” She raised her hand. “They were bloody retards. Even Sevos is smart in comparison.”

“They called you Ogre?” asked Camille straight to her face.

The tall girl pinched her lips before answering with a firm nod. She hated the nickname and hearing it was enough to ignite her wrath. Yet, despite knowing Camille was only asking, she had to maintain her composure.

“Don’t listen to those people. You are just proving them right.”

“But you can’t just run out of conflict. They must learn to respect the strong! That the same for you, Maggot. If you punched the shit out of those calling you useless Weiss, you would have less problem.”

Camille ignored the advice; she had no time to waste on useless conflict. Becoming an M.E.A pilot would be her revenge. She knew Karin could not understand that. Valag only viewed strength as a way to evaluate people. It was also the reason she respected Sevos, Mijuu and Gwen. All three were excellent fighters. On those words, they rushed to the canteen and wolfed down their plate before going back to the pit. Camille was quite excited to discover who would be there with them. She expected quite a few trainees, but only one other guy was present when she passed the door with Karin. The blue-skinned Sul’doth turned a shark smile to the newcomers. His head was covered with tattoos, a part destroyed by a long scar going from his right ear to the back of his neck.

“Osder! Long-time no see! How have you been, Ogre?”

Karin stared right into his black pearl of a gaze; She was not at her first strife with him.

“Why are you here, Madz? Wants me to make more scars on that shiny head of yours?”

The sul’doth walked up to the tall girl, both judging each other like two beasts about to fight. Then, his smile retracted, and he turned to the young noble who had stiffed up. Only Karin proximity prevented her from running away from the ocean-blue trainee.

“Useless Weiss, is it? I am a great fan of yours.”

He bowed exaggeratedly, a hand on the chest, the other offered to the girl. Camille’s noble instinct kicked in, and she allowed the boy to take hers. With utmost delicacy, he pushed his thin lips on her soft skin. The dry contact sent a shiver through her arm. She didn’t like the boy at all. Karin watched the show for a moment before deciding it was enough. She shoved the boy away and stood next to the noble girls.

“Don’t touch her, blue-boy.”

“Sorry, I didn’t know she was with you. You have a nice little pet here, miss Weiss. Does she bite?”

“I’m going to crush him.”

“Karin stops! He is trying to provoke you.”

Crazy Madz giggles were like an old wooden door creaking. If tormenting others was a sport, Madz was the undeniable champion. The boy had everything to be hated, but the smile of row pleasure over his face was the most disgusting. The two girls made the perfect target for his skill; he carved for more. He was about to go at it again when something caught his eyes.

“What have we here?”

Behind them, the last member of their squad had finally arrived. As Madz eyes widened, the two girls turned to face the apparition. Gasps of wonder left their lips as they laid eyes over the last member of their little squad.

“So—So—Sorry. I’m a bit—bit late.” The girl chopped with an increasing volume. “It—we—this is the pit, right?”

None answered, all fully focused on their study of their last comrade. Her tiny arm crossed over her frail body, she tried to hide away from three intrusive gazes. Her training boots kicking in pace the soil, she waited for them to stop. Foliage of fiery hairs cascaded to the middle of her back, wrapping her in supernova fire with each move. Trimmed in childish bangs, the silky thread enclosed an alabaster doll-like face. The girl regretted it much as it allowed the three teenagers to stare at her eyes. A nebular deflagration of colour, running from the emerald green to a lovely pink, met their gaze. Twelve stars pulsed within the miniature sky, typical of her kind but quite the number. A shame the ethereal stare was filled with anguish as it veiled all her face.

Undoubtedly, the young vlin’ns was not of this word. More, like an angel given life by the universe itself. Camille felt jalousie spike for a moment. How was this fair? The new girl had crushed Gwen without even trying and robbed her place at the top of Camille’s cute girl list.

“Whoa!” vocalised that last when she got back to her sense. “You are gorgeous.”

The girl’s snowy complexion turned pinkish as fire ignited her round cheeks. She muttered some words but couldn’t manage to answer. Camille offered a kind smile and moved toward her.

“I’m Camille Weiss.” She extended her hand. “Please to meet you.”

“I—I—I—The same. My name is Viel—Vel—Vielsin thy Elderis.”

She observed the hand with a frown before taking it. The young vlin’ns still had some problem with humans’ manners. During the handshake, Camille realised how tall she was compared to Vielsin. The little vlin’ns was a solid five centimetre smaller than her, and the noble girl was not tall already. Vlin’ns were petite by nature, but Vielsin took it to another level.

“Me who thought Maggot was weak. This girl looks about to snap.”

“Damn right, Ogre! But she has more flair than all of us until she spoke at least.” The sul’doth started while moving close to her. “She looks tasty, a shame there is so few meats.”

Madz moved his head to her height and opened his best predator smile. Vielsin internal scream was heard by Camille, and the girl moved between them.

“Stop that, Madz. You are scaring her!”

“You give me orders now? I had not expected that from you, little Weiss.”

“What if I do? You don’t scare me.”

The boy large abyss-black eyes glimmered with pleasure. The tiny noble had more teeth than he had anticipated. His interest bitten, he stepped back while licking his lips.

“Fine, little Weiss. You can have your new pet.”

Camille drilled through him with the coldest gaze she had before turning back to the girl. Vielsin was getting down from her emotion, taking long breaths after the other to calm down.

“Don’t worry, he was not going to hurt you. I think he likes to torment people.”

“You—You are so courageous.” She said with her small voice. “Thank you for helping me.”

“Don’t worry, we are here to stick together. Right, Karin?”

The valag nodded, her amber eyes fixated on the two girls. She couldn’t understand why Camille was so dedicated to the new girl. The vlin’ns was cute but weaker than a butterfly. Compared to herself, Vielsin had done nothing to deserve the noble girl attention. Karin kept ruminated until Lesskov finally decided to show up, lacking the eternal punctuality he was so proud of. Their instructor’s face was wrinkled by anger; his lunch break had not gone well. The four trainees stood in lines, and even Madz was not showing off in front of the base’s tyrant.

“At least none of you are late. Do you all understand why you are here?”

They shook their head at the exception of Karin. When Lesskov artic glare fell on her, the girl became paler than her vlin’ns neighbour.

“Good trainee Osder.” He spoke. “Now, try not to waste this exercise. You need ten more points in duty, and you can get them all in one go. Madz, same thing for you. I don’t want to see a single tag on friendly this time.”

The sul’doth agreed, teeth clenched. Already the grey-headed human was a bother.

“Now we have Weiss and Elderis. You two have an idea why you are present?”

As Vielsin didn’t budge, Camille turned to the Major.

“Because our militaries are low, Instructor?” proposed the girl.

“Low would be a compliment, trainee Weiss.” He turned to the small vlin’ns. “And a lie for you, trainee Elderis. You are the only one that is not supposed to be part of our delightful catch-up program. “

“Why that?” spoke Camille before thinking. “Instructor?”

Her three comrades turned tiny eyes to her, thinking her already dead. Lesskov narrowed his eyes, freezing the girl on the spot. A hint of a smile cleaned his face from the imbued anger. It had been a long time since the girl had the guts to ask him a question.

“Only people who get recommended by instructors get access to the bonus exam. They also need to present high quality who offset their lack in another subject. Trainee Elderis is the only exception as she is only there because of her status.”

Vielsin lowered her head, twisted her finger together and stared at her feet.

“I—I’m—sorry.”

“Why would you be.”

“My comrades—They all deserve to be here. They have a reason, while I’m just me.”

Lesskov closed his eyes. He had expected this kind of reaction from the tiny vlin’ns, but it was much worse than he could imagine.

“You three, get prepared. I need to talk with trainee Elderis.”

They left the rank as one, walking for the changing room and turned right away to listen.

“Hey! Why are you following me!” Camille complained in a mutter.

“We want to know too! Now shut up, Weiss!”

Sticking one to the other, they hid behind the corner, all ears out.

“I—I know I’m not supposed to be here.”

“You are more than any of them.” Lesskov stopped laying a hand on the girl’s shoulder. “I don’t keep you with the same exigence the imperial family does. I know being born princess never served you right.”

Camille hiccup of surprise made her two comrades flinch. Karin grabbed the girl and hand on her mouth, prevented her from moving anymore. How could she have not recognised the imperial family name?

“I know everything has not been easy since your first day here. This place is a chance, and you need to seize it while you can. The trainees with you today are not the best, but each has his own strength. Try to learn from them. Now, no more looking at your feet like a grounded kid, head straight and a clean face. You represent the vlin’ns empire and this base. Make them proud.”

The girl showed her more valiant moue to the man, who responded with a clean smile. He pushed her toward the hallway.

“Get back to your squadmate.”

The trio rushed back to the changing room before getting caught. They all changed in silence, not without fugitive gazes to the princess. The girl cowered in a corner. It was her first moment spent with another species than her own, and she found the teenagers highly disturbing. Vlin’ns had the luxury to be separated in their own barracks to help them adjust to their new life. Most young vlin’ns were seen as shy and silent compared to the other species. Leaving them together had proven to help them integrate better. This system had shown his worth until Vielsin joined the base. The three members of the catch-up squad had met a nervous kitten, not aware she had spoken more with them than any other teen. To the vlin’ns, the Elderis family was sacred, and none dared to talk with the girl. Vielsin was the only one to find this usual; it was always like this in the past. Was it better than the crude interest of other species? She was not sure.

Once prepared, they returned to the main room, where Lesskov had installed four M.E.S for the trainee. If the armour shared the same grey colour, the second had distinctive orange stipes over the pauldron.

“Weiss you will be number one, then Elderis, Osder and Madz.”

“Why Vielsin’s M.E.S have orange stripes, instructor?” asked Camille.

“It’s the imperial family identification. It symbolises their hair.”

The trainees looked again at the girl fiery mane. With the tiniest movement, the light reflected like fire. Nuance from a pinkish sunset to the roaring red of the flame moved over a thread of gold. Camille had never seen hairs like that, even on Earth where her friend loved extravagant perma-colour. All the girl she once hanged with would look blend next to the imperial princess.

Karin pated the girl’s head, wanting to touch the supernatural hairs. Vielsin whole body turned to marble at the same time. With a frown, the tall valag turned to Lesskov.

“What’s up with them? It’s just hair.”

“They are considered sacred by the vlin’ns, like the member of the imperial family.” Explained the instructor.

Karin retracted her hand at once with an apologising smirk to the vlin’ns.

“But this is not the question. You will have all your time to speak after the exercise. Into your M.E.S trainees!”

The metal plate moved out of the way, calling the trainees inside. All sharing the same thrill, they slipped into the metal frame. Camille felt her ankle connect, and delight took over her. With a giant smile, she waited for the helmet to light up. The technological marvel displayed her surrounding with information about her and the squad. She briefly checked her gun and knife before moving to the departure zone. They stood at the ready in front of the door.

“Good luck, trainees.” Wished Lesskov as he started the sequence.

The veil blocking the pit shifter and another one spawned behind. They were now split from the real world, ready to enter the coliseum.

“What are we supposed to do?” asked Karin.

“Extract unit one.” Read the noble girl while deploying her map. “It is supposed to be near the city centre.”

“That’s all?”

Clenching her teeth, she nodded. They all looked around, sharing the same feeling. Lesskov was again greedy on information. Their grades and future were deeply linked with this exercise. They needed to succeed if they wanted to have a chance to get into the confirmed trainees. Each one could frown upon their comrades for one reason or another, but they needed each other to complete the mission.

“So, what are your order, squad leader?”

Madz sarcastic tone didn’t help her to feel assured. She knew the sul’doth tendency for team killing and could only pray for him to stay in check. Karin was also complicated to handle, but the valag had tried to remain friendly since she started helping her with her academic. The true enigma was Vielsin. What was she supposed to do with her?

“Karin will take the lead of the column and handle the frontline. Madz follow right behind, but your main goal will be to keep Vielsin alive. We can’t allow losing anyone. I will cover our rear.”

“Finally! An S.L who understand!” laughed Karin whose blood was already boiling.

“Is it smart to do that?” asked Madz.

“Do you have a better idea? Karin is the strongest trainee I know. Whatever comes, she can handle it.”

The valag shoved the sul’doth away, not without a proud smile. Even if the compliment came from the Maggot, she always liked people to remind her of her unmatched abilities. Indeed, Camille played on this soft part of her ripped comrade. Fighting insubordination was the last thing she needed right now.

“And—and—me?” Vielsin pointed at herself, taken by the situation.

“You will be our navigator. Keep an eye on the road and on our surrounding. If you notice something, tell it right away.”

“Engagement rules?” Madz followed, biting into the game.

“No friendly should be in the O.Z. Let’s try to keep it silent. Only shoot if the target spotted you. We can’t fight every homunculus. Also, always shoot to kill.”

“Check.” Answered both trainees together, followed by the high-pitched voice of Vielsin.

“You are more direct than I thought, Weiss.” Madz reacted, “What if we met friendly?”

“Avoid any contact. The mission goes first.”

“Cold as death kiss could be.” He singed in the com while cocking his gun, which Camille answered by a silent roll of eyes.

As the two were speaking, Karin turned to their new burned. As the valag came near, Vielsin reacted by gripping her gun. Karin removed Vielsin’s safety and set her rifle to single fire mode with a flick of the finger.

“It will work better like this.”

“Th—Thanks.”

“Damn. Me who thought Maggot was a lost cause.”

“Don’t bully her, Karin!” The squad leader scolded before grabbing the vlin’ns by the arm. “Come! We are about to start. Forward Squad!”

The squad jumped forward together, crossing the veil limiting the pit. The team landed on dry dirt, raised their gun, and surveyed the surrounding. A wave of dust lashed at their cameras, a giant sun floating slowly over their head. Just looking at the world around them made them sweat. A luck their M.E.S protected them from the heat. The landing zone was in some sort of park, surrounded by houses made of dry clay. From the soil to the roof, everything shared the same dry brown. The place was empty of any water, and everything to the last weed had dried under the drought.

“Perfect, I hate this place already.” Commented the Sul’doth. “What are we supposed to do?”

The little squad started to move as one toward their first objective, a house on the other side of the park. Sibelle had taken a lot of pleasure burdening the trainees with endless drills. Reloading their tracky, moving correctly and covering one another had become a piece of cake. Finished the kid playing war in their backyard, even the most incompetent trainee could act like a real soldier.

Their first minutes in the pit were clad with silence. It would not hold for long once the blues, the homunculus, would spot them. They reached their first target, a house designed by Camille, who wanted to survey their surroundings. In harmony, they closed to the door—Camille on one side, Karin on the other. The first flick her finger to tell her comrade to get ready before kicking the door. Helped by her M.E.S, the wooden barricade didn’t last and exploded in wooden splinters. Karin rushed inside gun at the ready, followed by Madz.

“Clear!”

As the shoot came out, both remaining girls followed inside. Even Vielsin was getting into the game. She moved across the room, gun at the ready and a hint of a confident smile on her face.

“Karin and Madz, make sure every room are empty. I don’t want to live the same thing as yesterday.”

“I think we all got through it,” Madz noted while waving his gun around in the nearby room. “Hidden blues are the worst.”

As the two warriors made their way through the house, Camille took her time to review the troops. For the moment, she was confident in her decision. Finding role suiting to everyone was often challenging, especially when you didn’t know them well. Karin was facile to handle; keeping her in action did the trick. Madz was playing along nicely, but Camille could feel his gaze on her. The sul’doth had something in mind and took his time to evaluate the squad leader. The real problem of the day was Vielsin. She had given her a mock role but was trying hard to get her inside the squad.

“Viel, cover the door.”

“Yea—Yes, Squad leader!” she strangled herself, not prepare to be called by a nickname already.

Leaving the girl to her watch, Camille walked upstairs to join Karin. The Brunette had finished her cleaning and was crouching near a balcony, looking at the streets nearby.

“Nothing inside. We have a good view from here.” Karin spoke.

“Yes, that why we came here.” The squad leader explained.

“You want to reconnaissance the city?”

“Yes, moving blindly through an Erin is dumb.”

“An Erin?”

“This kind of map represents the desolation, the abandoned continent of Erin. Lesskov created quite a few like this. They are tough.”

Vielsin let slip an astonishing gap before putting her hand in front of her mouth. She was supposed to keep watch after all.

“I can see some blue but nothing harmful. Nothing we can’t kill.” Informed Karin from the shadow of the balcony.” Something is wrong.”

Camille nodded while looking back at the map, rough and lacking any detail, cast by her armour. Then, with the tip of her finger, she started to draw the route she wanted to travel for the moment.

“I send you our travel plan.”

“I always wanted to do a safari.” Commented Madz, “A shame we only move through tiny road, I would have loved to see the big blues.”

“You would like to fight them?” asked the girl.

“Really?” jumped Osder. “I bet I can take them easy!”

“Stay calm, Karin.” Camille prompted back. “You will get us all eaten.”

“I got movement!” She barged in, not listening at all.

Everyone turned toward her, and moving closer, Camille joined the valag at the balcony. She watched over her shoulder the streets. Following the brunette finger, she found a group of ESM walking in the middle of the road. Their movements were erratic, lacked confidence, total amateur. They were also totally out of cover.

“One is wounded!” Karin pointed out.

Camille understood why the five targets were moving in disarray. At the centre of the group, one was limping. Also, their armours were covered in blue blood. Clearly, they had faced resistance to get there. That made fewer blues for them to kill, a one-day deal.

“Friendly?” asked a cautious Madz.

“Unknow for the moment.” Responded Camille. “The mission info says, no friendly on the field. Can we shoot them from here?”

“Obviously, yes.” Laughed Karin. “Not so sure about you, though.”

“You think about—about killing them?” asked Vielsin, climbing an octave.

“Let’s do this!”

“No! Can you all stay calm for ten seconds? I’m just considering our options.”

The two talented warriors turned their head toward her, looking for a final answer. Camille understood her comrade would not tolerate half an explanation. Sharing her video flux, she outlined one of the soldier legs.

“Not a single drop of blue on it, and if you look carefully, you can notice burn marks.”

“You have a good eyesight, maggot.” Congratulated Karin with a thump to her back. “Those guys fought other trainees. Let’s destroy them!”

The three young took their time to study the threat. The soldiers were not equipped like them; coil-gun recognised Camille. An assault version of the well-known railgun, packing the punch to damage someone under an M.E.S.. Camille glared at her own gun, remembering her courses about weaponry. Laser weapons were excellent in their own category. The azure beam overheated the skin, evaporated water and blood, bursting flesh in a carmine drizzle—a perfect fit when your foes were made of meat. However, the laser pulse couldn’t damage armour as efficiently. Only M.E.A carrying a far more powerful gun could match solid ammunition or particle. Just by looking at the squad, they knew they were not hunting the same kind of game.

“Lesskov sent us against other M.E.S?” Madz outraged. “With only tracky to defend ourselves? This guy is a lunatic.”

“You abandon already?” laughed Karin.

“You think we can kill them with our toys? Everyone carries solid ammo while we are stuck with those crap! Lucky us, this is not real.”

“I knew you were a mongrel the first time I saw you, blue boy.”

“Of course, I carry a brain in my head!”

“Stay put, trainees!” Yelled Camille to make them shut up. “Yelling doesn’t help. Just follow my lead for the moment!”

If they couldn’t see the fierce eyes of the teen, they could feel it through the layer of steel. The pressure had just steamed up, but Camille had to keep a cold head at this moment. She had walked through a sea of noble, stand up to Lesskov, and was leading a squad composed of the most troublesome trainees possible. She was not about to waver for so little.

“Let’s avoid them, I—We will move to point alpha, confirm the coordinate. Slowly and stealthy like a—”

The whirring of lasers made her jump. Vielsin, who had kept her position, had just emptied half her clip. With a quick glance, Camille saw the vlin’ns cardiac rhythm jump over the hundred.

“Sorry!” She says without stuttering. “A blue just entered and—I think I killed it.”

Camille’s mouth ran dry in a go. From the corner of her eye, she saw the squad turn toward them. Karin reacted fast and pushed the girl out of the way, a frame before the accelerated bullet shattered above her head. A shower of brick and metal felt over her as the building got chipped away by the fire.

“Bloody arsehole!” Karin swore before returning the shots.

“Madz, Viel, made sure the exit gate is clear.” Yelled the squad leader while arming her gun to support her tall friend. “Karin, try to kill the wounded one.”

Everyone responded at the same time and moved to their task. The shower of blue laser made the opposing squad think twice, and they jumped undercover. It didn’t last when they realised their opponent only had lasers. Even if Camille was not the more precise, and her target at a hundred meter, she managed to land some shot. Nothing extraordinary, her foes didn’t even budge. Karin was far more efficient and burst after burst, she kept touching. If the damage were light at first, the opposing squad realised they were piling up fast.

On the other side of the building, Madz and Vielsin rushed in the street. Right away, a pack of blue came from a corner, all teeth out. If the war dogs were terribly creepy, Madz didn’t care. Aiming his gun, he started to take them down one by one with the maximal support of Vielsin. Scream of pain echoed in the narrow passage as pure energy burned down their skin and made them explode in a sheaf of blood. Everyone knew it was not real, but reality would have not felt any different. Pushed by the true adrenaline in their veins, they made quick work of the blue threat.

“I killed a second one!” Told Vielsin to her blue comrade, “Have you seen that!”

“Amazing princess!” Ironized the boy. “Keep up with me and reload your weapon now! Back is clear for the moment, squad leader.”

Camille taped on Karin’s shoulder, but the girl kept still. She had stopped shooting and, with utmost carefulness, aimed for the leader of the other side. The returning fire grazed her, yet the warrior didn’t budge. With calm out of character for the ruthless girl, she waited for the right moment. The dot in the middle of her sight found the target throat. Her finger compressed the trigger, followed thy the whirring of her gun. The E.S.M reached for his throat as a red stench started to drip over the cold steel. The girl felt a shiver as she saw the blood. Again, nothing was real, but knowing she just executed someone intoxicated her mind and froze her blood in place. Standing still, she witnessed her work when Camille's hand shook her.

“Come on!” yelled the girl while pulling her up.

Coming back to her sense, she followed the girl only to be intercepted by a bullet. Pain shot through her arm, deforming her face and made her fall on the smaller girl. Karin grunted, holding herself on Camille, determined to swallow the pain until she made it to safety.

“I’m sorry! I’m sorry!” Kept yelping the squad leader while trying to ease the Valag’s burden.

“Keep walking, Weiss! I’m not dying!” She shouted, “Why is it so painful?”

In times of war, the exoskeleton was capable of dwindling pain to allow soldiers to keep fighting. However, during training, the exact opposite was used to prepare the trainee for potential wounds.

“It’s not good! You are bleeding a lot!” diagnosed the girl by looking at her subordinate info. “We need to get to safety A.S.A.P and heal you up.”

“Walk or die, Osder, but don’t bring us with you!” Madz giggled as the two girls passed near him.

The girl glared at the sul’doth but kept her teeth clench. Vielsin closing the way, they started to run. The number of dead blues had grown during the ending of the skirmish. From all quarters of the city, the war dogs were rushing to the feast. They swiftly accelerated the pace when the sul’doth shot down another wave of blue monster with the same ease. They crossed the narrow passage between the house before falling on another central street. Vaulting between abandoned cars and ruined buildings, they made their way across the highway. Their goal was three hundred meters away, and joining it seemed almost impossible. The squad burned through their magazine in the most intense fight of their life. When they reached the alley, no one could believe it. Camille plan had worked perfectly. In the narrow passage, the weaker blues could only come one at a time and became effortless to dispatch. Even Vielsin had an easy time pushing back the few coming from behind. However, facing the monster remained hard for the heart, especially when they popped out to their face from windows or dark corner.

“You hold on, Karin?”

“You own me a drink Maggot, or is useless Weiss better?”

“Call me by my name, or I drop you here.”

The valag laughed, lacking any shine, and betraying the terrible state induced by her armour.

“Contact in front!”

Camille threw herself on the floor, bringing Karin with her, as a bullet bounced on her helmet. The ringing sent a chill up her spine; death’s nail had just run over her armour. The girl didn’t worry over it and pushed Karin under cover before returning fire. A lucky shot pierced her aggressor helmet, he fell to the ground. Proud of herself, she turned a smile to the valag, who was grunting in pain on the floor.

“Yeah! Nice shot, Maggot.”

Camille pinched her lips but helped the girl up. Together, they threw themselves in a nearby store. Hiding in a small room with only one stair leading to them. Karin sat down in a corner, Camille and Vielsin over her.

“You are going to do the first aid?” asked a distressed Karin when the squad leader approached.

“Yes, why?”

“How many at the last first aid test? Even if it’s not real, I rather not take risks.”

“Who here has more than twenty-five?”

Madz laugh echoed, but it was Vielsin who reacted.

“I got sixty-one. Sho—Should—Should I try?”

Camille threw the girl on Karin before laying against the wall. Jumping out of her M.E.S, Vielsin started to treat the wound. Between the two girls, a holographic replica of her arm appeared. The vlin’ns traced the bullet which had lodged itself between the biceps and the shoulder.

“It—It’s ugly.” Muttered the vlin’ns, her face twisted by disgust.

“Thank you, princess.” She grumbled back, “Can I have the bloody anaesthetic? I don’t enjoy the hole in my arms.”

While the vlin’ns prepared to extract the bullet, Camille took her time to ogle the princess. Her tiny face was butchered by dread, and the nebula in her gaze was filled with more anxiety than the noble had ever felt. Camille started to wonder why every prominent species looked quite the same, but the girl curiosity was cut short when the wall next to Vielsin began to break. Not time to think, the girl reached for the knife hanging at her thigh and stuck it to the wall. Her quick reflexes came right, the steel never struck the wall but a war dog’s jaw. Vielsin stood like a statue as the jaws snapped right in front of her face, only stopped by Camille intervention. That last work up all her strength and threw the beast back before atomising it with a long blast.

Camille turned right away to the vlin’ns princess, who was still looking at the body.

“Viel! Snap out!” Camille shouted while shaking the girl. “Are you okay?”

Vielsin turned a blind gaze to her squad leader, absent from her own body. Camille felt her mind buzzing as her psylink decided to make its own way. She reached for the girl, grazing her mind. The vlin’ns eyes widen as she felt the foreign presence.

“Viel? Are you here?” spoke Camille via the link “Ouch! That’s strange.”

“What—What—What are you doing!”

Camille was pushed back by the rising anxiety, and a light headache pulsed in her skull. Vielsin had returned to herself, looking straight at her squad leader, fire over her cheeks.

“Why—why would you do that?”

“Did you realise what just append? You were standing in the middle like a corpse! I was scared!”

“I—I am fine.”

Camille hesitated for an instant before telling her to get back to work. Karin was still in need of repair. Vielsin returned to the wounded while Camille turned to Madz. The blue-skinned boy answered her silent question with a roll of the shoulder. They had all seen the same thing. For a moment, Vielsin had broken. Why? was the question.

“Damn it, Maggot. I was about to ask you why you stared at princess like that, but I will thank you instead.” Karin said as her arm was given back. “Feeling alright, princess?”

The girl gaze moved back to Karin, tears silently running along her cheek. The tall girl didn’t comment as the vlin’ns erased them.

“Ye-Yes. I-I am sorry.”

“Good, get back in you M.E.S. You did a nice job, Viel.” Complimented Camille, her throat tightening. “Let’s get the hell out of here— don’t get reshot, Karin.”

Camille ignored the scandalised face of her comrade and jumped into the stair. The goal of the mission was further away, the spirit of the group still high. And if incertitude followed them, for the first time, Camille had a great feeling.