Chapter Seven: Farewell To Home

The next morning, Ren woke up on the Lister's living room couch and ate some leftovers from the previous night. He then showered and changed his clothes in the guest bathroom downstairs, putting on his military academy uniform with his black tie. This would be the last day he wears it after all since on the ship, unless you're in your room or have the day off, you have to wear a military outfit. Ren then left the bathroom and waited for Scarlet and Lily to get ready.

"Oh, hey Ren, sleep well?" Rose asked as she walked into the kitchen.

"Oh yeah, thanks again for letting me stay. Did you want any breakfast, Mrs. Rose? I can make some real quick." Ren asked Rose.

"No thanks, Ren; you and the girls have to get ready; I'm just going to make some coffee." Rose said.

Ren looked at Rose, and he couldn't help but admit that she was very beautiful for her age. She had a mature look, and her body left a lot of potential for Scarlet as she got older.

"Do I have something on my face, Ren?" Rose asked.

Embarrassed by his own thoughts, Ren looked away, his face blushing. "No ma'am." Ren said on the side.

"Oh really?" Rose said, smiling. She knew Ren was looking at her. She wasn't stupid or vain; she knew how beautiful she was. It was pretty obvious what Ren was thinking.

"Hmm, in my younger days, he would've definitely been my type." Rose thought to herself. "Now that I think about it, no wonder Scarlet likes him the way she does; she got her tastes from me."

"Hey Ren Hey Mom!" Scarlet said walking into the kitchen with her uniform on.

Both Rose and Ren jumped, as both were in their own thoughts.

"Hey honey, where's Lily?" Rose asked her daughter, putting aside the thoughts she had.

"Oh, she's still having trouble brushing her hair; bad hair day." Scarlet explained. Anyway, what are you two talking about?"

"Oh, just usual morning talk, you know." Rose said trying to steer clear of what happened earlier.

As the two continued to talk, they heard the front door open and close quickly.

"Seems Robert just left..." Rose said with a sigh on her face.

"Are you okay, Mrs. Rose?" Ren asked, seeing the sigh on Rose's face.

"It's....nothing. Anyway, I'll go help Lily with her hair; you two make sure you're packed and ready to go.

Ren and Scarlet went and made sure their bags were fully packed while Rose helped Lily with her hair and packing, and eventually it was time for them to head off to the UNS Eternity for the recruit check-in.

Rose hugged Lily before she left, then hugged her daughter.

"I'm going to miss you, honey." Rose said to Scarlet.

"I'm going to miss you too, mom; don't worry, we'll be back by Christmas." Scarlet said.

"You act like that's right around the corner..." Rose replied.

"It'll be fine, mom." Scarlet said back.

"Just be safe, please?" Rose asked.

"Of course, mom, I always am." Scarlet responded.

Then Mrs. Rose turned to Ren and said to him, "Keep my girls safe, okay?" 

"Always do, Mrs. Rose; take care. When we get back, we can all go out to dinner. My treat." Ren said.

Rose laughed and said "I'll hold you to that."

Rose hugged all three of them before they started to head to the spaceport in the city to prepare for their new journey on the UNS Eternity.

As they were walking, Tyler joined the group in heading to the massive spaceport filled to the brim with other students who had been recruited along with officers, soldiers, and supplies. The spaceport was the hub of the solar system, where trade comes through from the colonies and spaceports around the system.

"Where is the Eternity docked?" Tyler asked the group.

"Port 1-D, if I remember correctly." Lily said, pointing in the direction of the port.

"Alright, let's start heading there; we need to check in soon." Ren said.

The group headed towards port 1-D, where they saw the veteran officers talking to the recruits that had already arrived. 

When they got to the port, a woman with long silver hair and blue eyes greeted them.

"Oh, are you guys some of our new recruits?" she asked the group.

"Yeah, my name is Scarlet, and these are my friends Lily, Tyler, and Ren." Scarlet introduced everyone.

"Oh, it's you guys! Well, my name is Eleonora Millescent, and I am the Squad Leader of Fireteam Epsilon on the UNS Eternity, and I am also now the Squad Leader of you four." Eleonora introduced herself.

Her introducing herself as a squad leader shocked everyone; after all, most squad leaders are veterans who have been fighting for nearly a decade, but she doesn't look like she's even in her mid-20s.

"Now, any questions?" Eleonora asked the group.

"Uhm, no offense, but you look very young, and I thought most squad leaders were a lot older, so how old are you?" Tyler asked.

"Well, Mr. Lawson, you know you shouldn't ask a woman about her age, but to answer your question, I'm 22." Eleonora stated.

"That's a hell of an accomplishment." Scarlet said.

"Well, thank you, Ms. Lister." Eleonora said. "Now back to business, you four will be joining my squad, Fireteam Epsilon. Now that each squad has fifteen members, sometimes temporary members are sent to squads when they're needed. There are currently 12 fireteams aboard the UNS Eternity, each with fifteen members, or soon to have fifteen members after recruiting, making 180 current sentinel pilots on the ship. Now here's the truth..."

"The truth?" Lily asked.

Eleonora took a deep breath as she started to explain. 

"Who among you has heard of the Battle over Pluto?" Eleonora asked as she started to walk to the USN Eternity's entrance ramp.

Scarlet and Tyler looked clueless, but Ren and Lily knew exactly what she was talking about.

"I have." Ren and Lily said.

Both Ren and Lily studied military history, so they were always up to date on recent battles.

"Good that you two are up to date, but I'll explain for your friends here." Eleonora said. "The Battle Over Pluto was a major defensive effort against the Centauri Empire. Six Centauri ships entered our territory, and we had to respond quickly. We gathered four ships as fast as we could and met them head-on in a battle that lasted five days. In the end, we not only lost Pluto to the Centauri Empire but suffered over three thousand losses as one of our ships was destroyed and the other suffered severe damage. The UNS Eternity took part in this battle, but we took...losses. Nearly the entire Fireteam Epsilon was wiped out, with half of our people dying, including the veteran officers. Making me the new squad leader."

The four were shocked at Eleonora's story, even Ren and Lily, who knew the battle was a massive loss for the United Nations of Earth but didn't know Eternity was involved in it. They only mentioned the two ships: one was lost, the UNS Sacramento, and the other was damaged, the UNS Polaris.

"That's the truth about how the squad is currently looking; if you want a transfer to a squad with a more veteran leader, I would understand. Eleonora told everyone.

The four looked at each other and agreed.

"We'll stay with your fireteam." Ren said to Eleonora.

The group made their way into the hanger on the UNS Eternity and saw the near 200 sentinels being worked on by the mechanic crew. 

"I'm going to introduce you to some people you will need to know while you serve on this ship." Eleonora said.

Eleonora walked up to two girls talking in front of a sentinel.

"Lena! Zoe!" Eleonora yelled out to the two girls.

Lena was a girl who looked to be the same age as Ren and the others and who had long purple hair and similar-colored eyes. She was very beautiful and had a graceful air about her.

While Zoe had a darker skin tone with black hair and brown eyes, she had a grease mark under her eye, which, oddly enough, added to her beauty. 

"Oh, hey Eleonora, who are these four?" Zoe asked.

"Well, these are the newest recruits to Fireteam Epsilon. Guys,  may I introduce to you the youngest but one of the best mechanics on the ship, Zoe."

"Hello Zoe, I'm Scarlet." Scarlet introduced herself.

"It's nice to meet your four, but I have something to get to. I'll talk to all of you later, promise." Zoe said before leaving, but not before yelling at a mechanic.

"That's a socket wrench, not a hammer. Stop trying to break the tools; it comes out of your paycheck." Zoe yelled at a mechanic using a socket wrench like a hammer.

"Well then, you guys will get to know Zoe as time goes on, and this is Lena; she will be the squad handler." Eleonora said, introducing Lena.

"Hey guys, as she said, my name is Lena, and I will be your handler. Meaning I'll be giving you tactical advice on the field as well as information when you need it." Lena introduced herself.

"Well, Lena, my name is Ren, and these are my friends Lily, Scarlet, and Tyler." Ren introduced everyone.

Lena smiled when she heard their names. She then reached into her bag and pulled out four little cases.

"Now it's a good thing I brought these; they are communications devices you will wear at all times. These will give you a direct communication line to me, so whenever there's something I need you for, I can quickly just talk into it. These also help you communicate with each other as needed. Don't worry about me or someone hearing something privately; your voice will be muted unless you tap this button." Lena pointed to a microphone button on the side.

Lena then continued "Now let me show you to your sentinels."

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