Chapter 83 Thanksgiving

--- Alnus Community, Liberty Apex ---

September 27th, 2025(1)

"Yeah! It is another American Holiday! Food!" Rory yells in pure excitement.

"Calm down Rory," Sharpe said, looking down at her.

He looks at her as she spins around in a circle, her skirt flinging around form the speed. He just cannot believe that she is this excited about a holiday.

"Oops, sorry," Rory said as she pushes down her skirt.

"You are acting like you never had a holiday before… wait. Do people in this world have holidays?" He asked, not wondering.

"No in the manner you have," Lelei said as she holds a plate of food. "The only kind of celebration is for worshiping our gods or the session of power."

"Wow. Well, most of ours are just an excuse to have a party and get drunk." Sarah adds with a chuckle.

"Pretty much." He comments and then looks back to Rory, feeling her tugging on his shoulder. "Yes, Rory."

"So where are they!?" Rory asked, nearly demanding.

"Where is what?" He replied confused.

"The hotdogs!" Rory responds quickly, nearly about to jump with all this piped up excitement.

He delays his response after hearing that. At first, he was trying to make sure that he did not mishear her. "Rory… it is Thanksgiving."

"Soo… It is a holiday, and you have hotdogs during the holidays!" She said with a big grin on her face. "We had them on the Fourth of July."

"Rory… that is a summer food. Not a fall food. There are no hot gods here, just turkey, ham, and steak. I hope that is steak… and ham…" He commends, glancing at the table with all the food.

"But… but. Randy said you have hot dogs during holidays!" Rory said, starting to get upset.

He crosses his arms and takes a breath, thinking about this. She is not wrong, that they all said that back on the Fourth of July. It did not cross his mind that she would take it this extreme, over hotdogs.

"Rory…" He said but stops himself, looking directly at her. All he can see is her standing there leaning towards him. Her arms are together with her hands under her chin. Her eyes are massive like a cute little kitty cat.

"How is this possible? What is this, based on a manga?"

"Please…. I will cuddle with you." She whispers with a great amount of energy, now trying to negotiate.

He moves his hand behind his neck. "Alright. If you promise to be good, then I will find you a hotdog."

Right as he finishes his sentence, he feels Rory tackles him and gives a big hug with her arms and legs. From her superhuman strength, he can help but fall over to his back.

"Thank you!" Rory yells, squeezing him.

As he lays on the ground, trying to figure out what just happened and how to get her off him. He notices Lelei lean over, facing down at him.

"Can I have one to…" Lelei asked.

Then he sees Tuka on the other side peak over. "What is this hotdog you all speak of? Is it made out of a dog? Like the pets on Earth"

"Don't ask Tuka. It is just tasty, and we all agree to leave it at that." Lelei responds, still looking down at him.

"Yes! All of you can. Now get off me!" He said, getting annoyed how Rory will not let go.

Rory sits on him now, not in the most appropriate positions. She crosses her arms and thinks. "No."

"Rory, get off or not a hotdog." He said and looked at her. He told her before not to wear her gothic clothing. "And I told you not to wear that. It is to appropriate for a party like this."

"This style best suits my personality and it best represents my god Emroy. The style and colors clearly state what I represent. Everyone knows when they are facing me." She responds.

She looks down at him and smirks. She holds up a finger, telling them to shut it. "Besides, I feel sexy in it. It works well in my combat style. On top of that, it does a great job of distracting men in battle. There too 2busy looking at my glorious body while my halberd slices them in half." She finishes with much pride in her voice.

He looks up at Rory, not believing this. He understands that Rory has a strong personality, not ashamed of herself. That is one of many things he deeply respects her.

"Alright ladies, go harass someone else," Sarah said as she brushes them all away.

Once Rory jumps off her and then goes away, he stands up. "What the hell just happened."

"That happens is that you spoil them so much," Sarah said in a cheeky voice.

He looks to her with a confused look. "You try to say no to a demi-goddess."

Sarah just rolls her eyes and smirks, knowing full well that he just loves to spoil them. "How long are you going to continue that line."

He nods his head in agreement, knowing that it is just some weak public excuse. He enjoys each one of their personalities and taking care of them. It was a responsibility he never had before and is enjoying that new area of his life. Even though it can be over the top sometimes.

He takes a glance around the bar and sees his Vanguard unit mangling around. Randy and Scott are having an arm-wrestling contest, with a small crowd around them. There seems to be a game of poker happening with Alicia, Jerry, and a few Rose Knights to. Others walking around, having conversations about something, eating the boar that Andrew and Hamilton caught.

He then feels another pull on his clothes. He looks over and he sees Selina, holding a tray. On it are two drinks and two plates of food.

"Here you go, sir!" Selina said all happy.

He smiles and takes the plate and drink. "Thank you, Selina. Did you get something to eat?"

"Not yet. I wanted to see what you might eat first." She responds.

"Aww, how cute." Sarah comments.

"Knock it off." He said to Sarah and then looks back at Selina.

Taking a closer look, he sees that she is wearing a more thanksgiving theme color sweater ship and skirt. She has this small turkey sticker on her cheek. "Come on, let's go."

---

After getting pushed away, Lelei heads to this round table where a few people are as she eats her big hotdog.

She learned a long time ago what Sharpe's weak spots are and the best way to convince him to get what she wants. She has learned to sneak into the conversation when Rory is doing the same. If anything goes wrong, then Rory gets blamed while she knows she is safe.

Andrew Steele, the Knight Hamilton, Harvey Frost and Knight Beefeater.

On the table looks to be this strange game. There are dozens of these small different balls all in these slots. There are these six triangle points at each end.

"What are you playing?" She asked.

"Hi Lelei, have a seat. I am showing them how to play Chinese checkers. This version uses marbles." Steele said.

"Yup, it is supposed to be pretty hard," Harvey adds as they move this marble over five different ones.

As she watches, she ends up fascinated by what she sees. She goes grabs a chair and brings it over. "How do you play?"

"Guy, do you mind if we restart for her since there's no money at play?" Andrew asked.

"We can play for money. I do not mind taking more of it." Harvey said chuckling.

"No, he just paid off his tap debt." Hamilton points out.

She hears both Beefeater and Harvey chuckle about something. She does not get the joke but watches as the game restarts. "You said this is a Chinese game? I thought the US is at war with them."

"No, we are just in the middle of a Cold War with them," Harvey replied. "But that doesn't mean we can't enjoy the good stuff."

"Wait… you people are at war with another Empire on your world?" Beefeater asked, shocked by that.

Hamilton leans forward. "Cold War. Is that like the Artic War? Fought up in the frozen snowy north."

Andrew begins the game. "I see how that can be misrepresenting but it has nothing to do with the weather. Cold War means to opposing sides who are competing against each other but have not engaged directly in a real war.

"Each side trying to complete for control without shooting at each other," Alicia adds.

She sits there and listens to Andrew to explain what Cold War means and the backstory of the US-Sino Cold War. He also gives a brief lesson on the NATO-Soviet Cold War for reference.

While not knowing much about this other enemy of America, she knows her fatherly friend Sharpe has fought them in battle. He does not talk about those fights, saying that it is classified. However, she also believes he just struggling to move on from that.

"Wow, so there are two great Empires on your world," Beefeater said.

"Yes, I fought them before. You are lucky that the Gate appeared in the Western World and not in China. They thought they could get the jump on us." She said as she moves

"Really? You guys were attacked?" Frost asked shocked by that news.

"Yeah, they ruined a very nice weekend." She responds to him with pure calm in her voice.

"What happened?" Hamilton asked, engage in the story.

She thinks back on that battle at the resort. They were having such a loving romantic time together, away from everything and just bond. That is when she really got to see the nonwarrior side of Sharpe and she really liked that side of him. She understands why Rory been working so hard to push him.

"They interrupt our little getaway, so Rory and I slaughtered them. Now can we continue with the game?" She said in a casual voice.

"Damn, glad you are on our side," Andrew said with a worried chuckle. "Alright, here and here." He continues as he moves his marble.

She then watches Harvey move his marble, jumping over seven others. "Ha!"

"Andrew, I notice you are not good at your games." She said bluntly.

"Yeah… I have noticed that." Andrew comments.

---

Rory walks around all happy. On one hand, she has her hotdog and the other is a large mug of beer. She sees the arm-wrestling match going on. It is muscle man Randy and one of the few male Rose Knights Jalin.

Scott and Panache are standing there. Cheering on their side.

She can see Randy is holding back.

She has seen Sharpe train before, starting early in the morning. He usually is working on his fitness, maintaining a balanced approach to his body.

Randy, on the other hand, prefers to make his body into a tank. Lifting heavy weights that even impress her.

"Hello, boys." She said loudly, intentionally trying to get their attention.

The Rose Knight looks over and his eyes widen when he sees her. Right then Randy tosses him out if the chair.

She could not stop herself from laughing when that happens.

Randy bursts up from his chair. "USA, USA, USA. I won again. Five to nothing!" He begins to brag.

"Not fair, Rory showed up in her slut clothing," Jalin said as he gets up.

"Baby," Scott said.

"Slut clothes?" She asked, looking directly at the Rose Knight.

"Ahh… I didn't mean it as an insult Miss Mercury." Jalin said nervously.

"Well, in war there are distractions. You must overcome that." She said and took a deep drink from her mug of beer.

"Hey, Randy. Want to face a real opponent?" She then looks directly at him, clearly challenging him.

Randy places his hand on his chin, thinking. "You probably will beat me, but I do want to challenge you. Is it worth getting my arm ripped off?"

"Chicken." She said.

"Fuck it. Let us do it." Randy said in a confident tone. "Do not tell my wife."

Scott turns around to face the room. "Hey everyone! Randy vs Rory. Deathmatch!"

Half of the room rushes over just to see this match.

She sits down in the chair and holds out her arm. She sees Randy so the same. Both hands grip each other, ready to begin.

She finds it adorable on how much larger his hand and arm are compared to hers.

As an apostle, she was given amazing supernatural strength. She had made the strongest of men run away crying after facing her, herself rarely breaking a sweat. With all that strength, her body still the size of a twelve-year-old girl. She sizes sometimes makes her opponent think she is weaker than she actually is. A lesson they quickly learn.

"Ok, one. Two. Three. Go!" Scott said as he counts down.

Right when the match begins, she lightly feeling Randy pushing down on her hand. "Hmm, impressive. I felt that."

"What? Ahh shit." Randy said. He takes his other hand and uses all his strength to push down on her hand.

She just yawns as she watches him try to beat her. With her free hand, she drags her mug and takes a drink.

"Stop toying with me, Rory…" Randy said, annoyed.

She could not help herself from smirk. "I am not toying with you. See."

As she said that. Her arm slowly goes down. She brings her hand down until it is remarkably close to the table. "Wait… almost there."

She looks at him and decides to stop toying with his pride. With one push, she swings her hand, ramming his hand to the table. "I win." After that, she takes his mug of beer and starts to drink it.

---

Tuka is by Johnson, her father and Bozes are playing this game the Americans call Darts.

"Alright, you just take this dart and toss it at that board. The closer you get to the center, the more points you get. Whoever gets the most points win." Johnson said. "You try Tuka."

"Ok." She said as she gets into position. She holds up her arm, just like Johnson did. She pulls back and then tosses the dart forward.

The dart hits this wine bottle, far to the left. The bottle breaks and crashes down to the ground.

"Oh… sorry. This is harder than I thought." She said, looking to Johnson.

"Your stance is wrong. Stand like when you are using your bow." Johnson said, helping her get her footing.

She nods at him and then looks back at the board. She then tosses the other dart and it hits the outer part of the board; however, it did not stick.

"I hit it!" She said all happy.

"Improvement. Just need some time to practice." Johnson said.

"My turn," Bozes said, all fired up to give the game a try.

"Here you go…" She said, feeling a little uncomfortable by the presence of a Knight of the Empire.

When she hands over the darts, she walks over to her father, who is by the bar booth. "Father, why are they being so nice to the Empire?"

"Hmm? Oh. For the same reasons why, we are being nice to these American Humans." Hodor said.

She looks to the crowd of Americans and sees them having fun. She has stopped seeing them just as Humans since coming here. "Because they are good and decent people who helped us when we needed them to?"

"Hmm? O, ok. I was going to say because they have pretty women but that makes sense to." Hodor said with a chuckle.

She tilts her head, confused by what he said. "Father, that makes no sense… oh…"

She then looks over and sees him looking at this nice-looking female cat person bartending. She signs and then hits him in the head. "Father…"

After that, she looks back to Johnson and Bozes as they play darts. She can see Boze struggling to play the game. She is being to brute force with the darts, clearly not an archer.

---

Sharpe takes a drink from his mug, looking out in the crowd. He is happy that his team, both the girls and Vanguard-7 are enjoying themselves. These types of events are not his thing but as the leader, he is learning to understand that he must have a public presence.

"You don't want to join the others?" Grey asked.

"I don't want to ruin their good time. Everything seems to be flowing well, I don't need to mess it up." He responds.

He then looks over, checking up on his daughter. He still finds it strange thinking or hearing that word. Not in a bad way, he just never saw himself as a family man until recently.

He sees Selina sitting by her friend Noriko, both playing some card game. Neither of them wants to be around the Rose Knights and he does not blame them.

"So why did she do it? Pina, I mean." She then asked him, turning around to face him.

Since Pina arrived, he has been struggling to figure out why she did what she did.

"She did it because of you." Grey answers and then takes a sip from his mug.

"That makes no sense."

"Your joking, right? Pina did all of that just because she wanted your respect. Your last conversation affected her." Grey said.

"That's interesting but that doesn't answer my question." He responds.

"There was a time when the Empire was a shiny example of this land. Peace, prosperity, wealth, and safety. Many looked at us with envy. But it has not been like that for a few hundred years now. There are no more examples within the Empire for her to model off." Gray said and looked to him. "You see, you are the first man she has meant outside her family that stands for something. You do as you speak as we say."

Grey then looks out to the crowd. "People follow you because of who you are. It is not because of your rank or the power your weapon hold."

He listens to what he said. Sarah has told him something close to this, but it isn't strange hearing it from his opponent. When he looks out, he sees Rory waving at him, like she wants him to come over.

"You see Sharpe. In Italica, you went from this strange enemy force that no one trusted to the saviors within seconds. You have a mage user who can have a wealthy life in Rondel but chooses to stay by your side. An apostle who is very loyal to you. A High Elf that wants to travel with you after what she been through."

"Ok, I get it. I don't need the flattering." He responds, slightly annoyed by that.

"Point is, Pina sees you as a role model to base herself off. An actual leader that does not rely on anything but his ability. When she lost that, it crushed her. All she wanted was to regain your respect and trust. Because for the first time she had to earn it." He said.

He cannot find the words to respond to that. He is not used to that, someone trying to gain his trust. Of course, in his past units, everyone had to earn that brotherhood trust, but this is far beyond that. That night when they had that argument, all he was doing was arguing back to her. He was not trying to do anything else.

"We will have to continue this later; I am being summoned. I think they're taking pictures." He said, putting down his mug. He then walks away, heading to everyone.

---

As Sharpe leaves the booth, Sarah walks up to Grey.

"I need to apologize for him. He is not good in this setting." She said.

"I notice. I haven't known him for long, but he seemed far more natural during the siege then here."

"Yup, figures. You need to understand, the last seven to eight years of his life have been classified. That means his life has been a secret. Being in public like this is not normal for him. He is still learning to be a people person." She said.

"He is appreciated for everything your people have done. It said a lot and he values things like that. He is just stressed out." Sarah continues. "Being a new dad and recent events in the war and all." She said, showing some concern about him.

"War is a test of character. If you do not want to die by the sword, you must develop the strength to overcome anything that the gods throw at you." He said and then takes a drink.

Suddenly the lights go dim and this projector turns on.

"What is happening?" Grey asked, looking at the wall where the picture is being projected.

"It is a little movie montage. Moving images come out if that machine there and shows it on the wall." She responds, seeing how to fascinate he is by that. "The team wanted to do something silly. A small journey coming here."

Then she remembers some of the videos have Imperial soldiers being killed by Vanguard-7. She looks at him. "Hey, there are going to be some of your people getting shot. We didn't know you and your friends were coming when we planned this."

"It is ok. War is war and this will be a good insight." Grey responds, looking to the war.

The short film begins, showing the first night they came to this world. Storming out of the M2 Bradley's and engaging local Empire forces. In pure darkness but the sky lightening up from all the firepower the American invaders brought. It showed them wiping out that cavalry counterattack. Then it showed them clearing out Alnus from any remaining Imperialist soldiers.

Then the screen shows Vanguard-7 escorting the first group of Alnus refugees, showing the team medic Jerry helping patch someone. Then the film shows Scott waving and talking down at some of the refugee kids from the .50. caliber hardpoint on the JLTV. Lelei is in another scene trying to feed one of the JLTVs. Another scene with Sharpe sitting in the passenger seat with Selina by his side, in the military clothes when they first meat, watching Transformers. Rory head over the seat looking down. Another one is Randy giving candy to some kids from the MREs.

Then an image from Sharpe's point of view, on the ground facing the Flame Dragon, right before it was defeated by a team effort. Showing their first mission together.

There is now a new scene with the girls in the temporary settlement building, first discovering electricity. Rory flicking the light switch on and off, over, and over while Lelei looking at the light bolt like it is some mystical orb.

The next scene is in Italica as everyone standing there in a ground, looking up at the wall where Sharpe is standing, right before the siege. Sharpe is giving a compelling speech about history and the power of the common man able to overcome a great crisis, rallying the city to victory. Then again with Rory and Alicia standing at the city gate, slaughtering the enemy bandits. The next scene is Sharpe looking back at the city gate after the Apache killed them all. Rory has this confused look but also has these rosy cheeks. When they look at each other, she slaps him over the head. The last scene shows one of the Rangers on the city wall, looking out as an Apache flies pass, blowing up the Bandits outside the wall.

The next scene shows the Fourth of July, all of them having a blast as then interduce the girls to hotdogs. It then jumps to where Lelei dose her star magic, they are flying all over the place.

The very next scene shows Sharpe's point of view as he runs through the Empire Fort field during the Ranger rescue mission, their first time in Elies. The camera on his helmet shows some Imperialist soldiers around but he just runs pas them, rushing as fast as he could to the Striker units. The next scene is a random soldier helmet camera catching Rory flying down through the air with the large keep behind her. Another scene shows Lelei doing her sonic boom blast, showing a powerful shockwave. The scene then jumps as the American soldiers stand there watching the AC-130 gunship destroys the incoming Imperialist cavalry.

The next scene shows the team having fun at Apex Liberty, with Delilah telling at the Rangers for being too friendly.

The next scene is back in Italica and Vanguard-7 having a part at one of the taverns. The townsfolk celebrating their American heroes and giving them a massive thankyou party. One scene shows Scott winning three arm-wrestling matches but then gets beaten by this big bulky Lionman.

Then the next scene jumps to Sharpe's point of view as he goes hand to hand against Taylin. It shows him doing everything he can to just slow him down and Randy and Scott also getting into the wrestling match. After that they see Vanguard-7 and Seal Team-3 rushing through the streets of as they fight the Imperial Army. Then it is back at Sharpe's point of view as he lays on the ground. He looks to Rory as she lays beside him, both looking at each other. Then they look back at Taylin who is battle ax which is stuck in the ground. Suddenly this ballista shot rams right into him, enhanced by Lelei magic, knocking him into the next building.

The next scene is this fuzzy video, but these words appear, saying "OPERATION DONUT(2)". From a security camera point of view, it shows the full context of Rory, Lelei, and Selina sneaking into this very fancy kitchen and looking through everything. It then shows Lelei using her magic to steal a box of donuts.

The next scene shows Rory and Delilah as she fights this two minotaur's. It then shows Sharpe jumping from wall to wall, and roof to roof. The camera switches to Scoot as he fires his .50. caliber and light up the minotaur.

Then again as Vanguard-7 moves through this trench system. It shows them fighting this dirt monster and defeats it. It then shows Alicia and Andrew standing with an Imperialist prisoner between them, taking a fun picture.

The next scene shows from Sharpe's helmet camera is when he went hand to hand combat with Krysists. It shows as both appositely go at it. Tossing and punching each other, holding back nothing. The next scene shows Lelei using her electricity magical spell, lightening up that Dark Elf magic user so Rory could get the final kill.

The next scene shows Sharpe laying in the back of JLTV, head on Rory lap while Lelei using some magic to try and help the magic burn wound on his chest. Tuka doing some sleep to keep him asleep.

And last, it shows Sharpe having his arms wrap around Selina as she sits on the hood of a HUMVEE, right after getting adopted.

Right then, another message appears on the wall.

"Welcome to Sharpe's Rifles Tuka, good luck."

The lights come back on after the short film ended and she looks back to Grey. "It was nice talking to you but there is one more thing I need to do."

After saying that she gets up and walks away. She makes her up to the front of the bar.

Once there, she faces everyone. "Hi everyone, I hope you enjoyed that short film. Staff Sergeant Steele there did most of the editing while Sergeant Moore and Selina picked out some scene from all the footage."

"Now, before we wrap up tonight, I like to get the Major up here so he can share some words." She said and then looks directly at him.

She can see his confusion and an annoyed look on his face.

"Wait what?" Sharpe asked.

"Come on. Consider it punishment sir." She said with a chuckle.

Sharpe stands up. "For what?"

"Oh, you will think of something Sharpe." Rory giggled.

"I can give you a list if you need sir," Lelei adds.

Sharpe looks at both of them. "You have to be kidding me."

Selina gets up and grabs his arm. She then pulls him up upfront by Sarah.

"Thank you, Selina." She pats her on the shoulder then whisper to Sharpe. "Do your thing boss."

After saying that she takes Selina to the front tables and sits down to face him.

---

As Sharpe stands there, looking out at everyone. He feels uncomfortable, getting all that attention. After watching that short montage, he has found that it is far easier for him to do this on the field. The context of war is where he is more comfortable.

"Hello everybody, it has been an entertaining night. Good job on the short film by the way." He said as he collects his thoughts.

He nods his head and looks back. He notices Rory, giving him a small wave. Lelei sitting there, like a student excited for a lesson. "It feels like a long time when we first arrived here. During that time, we have been through a lot. Each time we came on top but not because of some fancy weapons or some crazy OP lady with a crazy weapon."

"HA!... wait… your talking about me!" Rory said, realizing he just made fun of her.

He looks at her. "Never." He then gives her a wink, knowing that will get under her skin.

He then looks back at everyone. "We have been through a lot. Been through many challenges and faced many opponents but we have always done it together. Always coming on top together."

"Thanksgiving is a day where we say thank you to each other and appreciate what we have. It was this day three hundred years ago when the old world met the new world on Earth. Two different people, two different cultures that make contact with each other. For a moment, these two groups put aside their differences and decided to come together and share what was best of themselves."

He takes a glance around the room and picks up on the mood in the room. It is warm and positive, a lot of energy flowing around.

"When we first came here, we had no idea what to expect. All we knew was that we were going to face the ones who attacked us. It never crossed our minds that we would meet some amazing people from this world. Not just the people in this room or even in Alnus but out there in the world. Am I am happy that we are continuing to meet more great people."

"Just like the old pioneers of our past, visiting the new world, we are here on a new world, meeting some amazing people. Today is a day where we show thanks to each other. To remember not what we have lost in life but to remember what we have and what we have gained."

"Since coming here, I know I have meant and worked with some of the great people and soldiers, the best I have ever worked with. Not just from my world but also from this world. We have been through and lot and we will continue to run into challenges, whatever this world has to offer. But, when we face thought challenges, we will always remember what we are thankful, we will always be able to overcome any, and all challanges."

"And on that though, we have some guests here. With all of our differences and what has happened between us, I personally want to say thank you for what you have done. Most never would have done what you did, taking great risks and putting yourself in great danger to correct a wrong. To the Rose Order Knights, I thank you for returning our people back to us. You have shown your colors and proven to be honorable warriors, regardless of whatever differences we have in this war."

"When we are out there, let us always remember what we have and let us always be thankful for not just ourselves but our fell man and women by our sides."

He then glances at Sarah to see if he did a good job. He sees her give him a supportive nod, showing that she approved what he said.

---

After the speech, Pina walks over to Grey and sits down. "These are interesting people."

"I agree, there is much we can learn from them," Grey said as he thinks.

She can see he is in deep of thought and she understands why. During that strange magical projection, showing past events in real-time. Towards the end showed exiled General, Krysist. That was a sight she did not expect to see.

"He is back." She said to him.

"I noticed. I should have predicted this. There is no way he would have passed up a challenge these Americans bring." Grey said, thinking more than speaking.

She could not disagree with what Grey said. It has been five years since Krysist has been exiled to the north. She never has meant him, but she knows he has no friends in Sadera. For some reason, the older Senators and her father despise that man. All she knows are the rumors and stories that she has been told.

She just thought the stories were more hearsay since there is a ban in public conversation about him.

"Should we tell them? He is one of us though. What side do we take?" She asked, somewhat confused about what to do.

"Your highness, that is a choice you will have to make. But if you do tell him, you need to be honest with everything." He responds.

"Honest? I only know the rumors and stories. Most of them seem ridicules, more of a joke really." She said and looks at him more closely. That is when she realizes that they must be true.

"It seems you have your answer. But I would wait until tomorrow. Right now, will not be the right time." He said.

She looks out and sees her people and the Rangers enjoying themselves.

She liked in his speech that he was willing to put aside their difference and past issues and only think about what mattered. She is happy that the man she wants to model herself has not changed.

--- Three Hours Later ---

As the party winding down, most have already left. A few people remain, Alicia, Lelei and a few others playing poker. A few others just talking or sleeping at some tables.

Sharpe is sitting at a booth thinking. He glances down o his right and sees Selina laying on the booth with her head on his lap out cold. To his left is the nosier one Rory. She is laying on the booth after having too much to drink.

"Mind if I have a seat?" Sarah asked as she walks over with two beers.

"Since I have stuck her; I see why not." He answers as he takes the beer from her.

She sits down on the opposed end. "Fun night. We should do this more often."

"Maybe. But I am glad they all had fun." He responds, placing a hand on Selina's shoulder.

"… you had fun too." She said back to him.

Truth is he did, even though he felt uncomfortable at times. If it made the girls and the team happy then that is all that matters to him.

He then nods his head to the bar booth. "Take a look."

She turns around and sees Pina and Grey talking about something. It looks professional and not party talk. She then looks back at him. "Yeah, so? She is probably just as puzzled as you are. I doubt she gets out a lot, being a princess and all."

"No, they are talking about something. And I notice the silver hair girl snooping around to." He said.

"Sharpe. You need to learn to turn off. This is not that war. There are no hidden bad guys in plain sight. No double agents or some over the top hit squad about to break through the doors. They are just having a conversation like we are. As you said before, there is no rule book for any of this. For them and us." She said, letting her thoughts be known to him.

He takes a deep breath and takes a drink.

He knows she is right, like usual. He has gotten used to always keeping five eyes out, watching everything and anything. In the old game, what you miss will be the death of you.

"Your right. Calming down." Sharpe looks at the half-full room. "I liked the film. All of you did a great job with it. How did you get the footage from the resort though?"

"Thank you. I developed some contacts with some Secret Service members there. Apparently, saving the President's life gives you some favors." She said chuckling.

"Hmm. Figures. Now I can cross that off my checklist. Well, thank you again Sarah, for always watching the team back. And watching this little brat." He said and then looks down at Selina.

"She is adorable. I have seen her getting her confidence back. I think having a friend that understands her helps and having you as a father helps to. Family roots are important." She said.

He is about to say something back but then they hear this loud snore. Looking to his left and seeing Rory making loud noises, lighting talking to herself. He thought he heard her mumble something about pink flying donuts covered in melted chocolate.

"She is an interesting one." She then said giggling at the sight. "Do you mind putting her skirt down, it is... well open."

He nods and reaches over, fixing her skirt.

"Hey, I found out one of my old teammates from Delta will be arriving for the DARPA facility. He said he might be able to help to get the girls a proper house to live in there." He said as he fixes Rory up.

"So fatherly…" She mumbles.

"What?"

"It will be interesting meeting one of your old Delta folk. But how can he help? I have been stuck in the bureaucratic circle jerk." She responds.

"I didn't get a chance to go into details with him since he is not here yet. But I figured it might help. They might like having the book worm and a demigoddess nearby. Maybe even an elf. It would be in their best interest." He said.

She is somewhat surprised by what he said. "You are not worried about them exploiting them? You treat them like they are your family."

"That crossed my mind, but I am not worried. I worked with DARPA for eight-year. I know most of them on a first name base. Some of my units retired into DARPA. And besides, if anything I don't approve of happens, they know what will happen."

"But I know Lelei would love to see all the shiny toys they have. Same with Rory. Well, I think she would like to break their stuff." He said with a chuckle.

"I am bringing this up because I don't know if I will be able to talk to him before we head back to Elies. If you don't mind following up if I am gone." He asked her.

She nods her head. "I can boss. But I get to pick furniture. You have a bad taste in style." She responds with a smile, referencing his couch.

She then looks at his chest and back at him. "It was cute seeing them around you, taking care of you after that fight." She stops for a moment and looks directly at him. "Does your chest hurt? It looked bad in the picture."

He relives that memory, turning around in the tunnel and seeing that Dark Elf appears out of nowhere. That magic blast hit him right in the chest, right where his radio equipment was. It burned right through his vest and Kevlar. "It stings a bit."

Then he hears Rory talking around, rolling around the booth.

He chuckles seeing that. "Well, I better get them home. Can you go tell Lelei that we are heading out."

"Yes, boss. Will see you in the morning." Sarah said as she gets up. She then heads over to the others, to go get Lelei.

***

--- Alnus, Girls Apartment ---

September 27th, 2025

Sharpe is in the passenger seat, having drunk too much to safely drive. He looks over to Lelei as she is in the driver seat. "Thank you for driving."

"It is ok. It is scary driving during the night."

"Good thing the military-installed the streetlights." He comments.

"Good thing indeed," Lelei said as she pulls up to their ground-level apartment.

"You go open the door and turn on the light." He said.

Back when he got them this room, he installed battery lights so they can have light during the night. He wanted them to feel more like home.

"OK, sir," Lelei said as she gives one big yawn.

He gets out, feeling a little dizzy. He opens the door and then picks up Selina into his arms. He then takes her into the girl's apartment. As he looks down, he enjoys how peaceful she looks.

When he enters, he just stops seeing the big mess their room is. There are three beds in the room and clothes everywhere. "…teenagers…"

He just walks past the mess and lays her into the bed Lelei points out. After tucking her in, he heads back out to the HUMVEE to get Rory.

He grabs Rory and does the same, putting her into his arms. As he carries her into the room, she sees her snuggle up in his arms.

She barely opens her eyes and smiles. "Proud of your jack…son…" She the yawns and passes back out.

He takes her into the girl's apartment and lays her down into her bed.

"Well, night girls. Hope you had fun."

"We did Sharpe. But you should stay." Lelei said, walking over to him and then grabs his arm. "You are drunk and tired. You need to rest."

Feeling too tired to resist and knowing that she is right, he follows, deciding to stay the night here.

Reference:

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(1)Holiday Note: Holidays will not match the story calendar. They are considered holiday specials. The events in the chapters are cannon, just the real-life dates are not. It is for fun and the special moment.

(2)Chapter 54

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you. A special thanks to for all the help:

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