V10 - Chapter 114 The Horrors of War

***

--- Sadera City ---

December 14th, 2025

James Garcia is sitting there as he eats some warmed-up soup. Right now, his team is gathering intelligence on the changing of leadership. They found a tower that has a great view of the Royal District of the city. A good place to keep an eye on things.

They tried to sneak into the district many times, but each was a failure. While they figured out how to blend in within the city thanks to their friend Nelisia, an orange Neko(1), the NATO term for Cat-People. With her help, they have been able to move through the city far easier.

The security in the Royal District went up dramatically. Before the attack(2), the guards were mostly Humans but now there are now more mix races. That made it more complicated to infiltrate, these other aliens have abilities that his team does not fully understand yet. Do there stuck doing long-distance recon until a better plan can be made.

"What the hell is that?" Sean Miller asked as he looks through his spotting scope.

"Haven't you been keeping up with the recent updates with the FFAM(3)?" He asked.

The military created the FFAM to help the troops understand what they see on the field. To be fair, it has had mix results so far. The information is updated as they learn more, which means some past information gets changed. That means what the troops know yesterday does not mean it is correct or apply tomorrow. Much of the information comes from a seventeen-year-old girl Lelei.

He takes his can and drinks the remainder of his soup.

"Yes," Miller responds. "Because I know that is a Minotaur doesn't mean I am used to seeing one."

"If I recall, you are not used to anything," Tycen Taylor said with a chuckle.

He chuckled too as he looks to Taylor. Taylor is looking down at a laptop, recording everything Miller sees. Just another standard recon mission.

"Hey," Miller said shocked and looks to Taylor. "What does that mean?"

"It means you're a virgin," He responds, and he puts the can down.

Miller looks to him and then at Taylor. "What the fuck is wrong with you two? I have a family. You… been there… I have a picture right here."

Taylor chuckles. "I don't know man, it could be photoshop."

"Fuck you all," Miller states and looks back through the scope.

Everyone laughs.

"You people are strange."

Hearing that he freezes. He looks to his two fellow agents and they are frozen in place too. They all then go automatic and aim their pistols behind them.

What he sees is this small girl that is very well dressed. Her hair is wavy and in a twin tail hairstyle. She does not look like the other poor kids in the area but looks like some nobleman's daughter. The confusing thing is, they are not inside the Royal District so what is she doing here?

They lower their weapons, not about to kill a kid. "What are you doing here kid?"

"Better question, how did you find us?" Miller asked.

"You people don't stand out as much as you think." The girl said with a big smile. "It was not hard to figure out the paths you take. And that you are based in Akusho. And those soldiers guarding that warehouse and how you guys took over the criminal underground."

He just looks at her, shocked how much she knows. It makes no sense to him because he has been careful. He begins to wonder in their cockiness, he made a mistake somewhere. Does this mean the Empire is coming for his team right now? But if that is true, why send a child? These people are backward bastards, but even they would not send a nobleman's child.

About the criminal underground, that was a loud event, and he expected an attack after that, but nothing ever came. It made him realize the city Elites and politicians do not care about what happens in Akusho, which explains on how bad the situation is. Something he has been exploiting for his work.

"I can see the worry look on your face," The girl said. "None of you have anything to worry about. My father and his friend are the only two in the Senate who know about your presence. He has no interest in telling the others."

Hearing that he looks back to his team. Them look at him with the same confused look. He looks back at her. "Who are you?"

"My name is Sherry Tyueli. My father and his friend Casel El Tiberius want to meet you." Sherry said.

None of this is making sense to him. All of this is confusing but out of everything he has seen in this world, maybe this makes more sense after all. "How do I know this isn't a trap?"

"We know that you have been watching us for months now. Since the attack." Sherry said. "And I assume you know about the recent change of leadership?"

"Ahh, yeah?" Taylor replied.

He remembers seeing how Prince Zorzal replaces his father as Emperor. This was big news as Zorzal is an evil man just like his father but dumber. He does not know what is worse though, an evil dumbass or an evil intelligent leader. Being smart means, you usually take the logical path but a dumb man, well that opens doors most never would consider and for good reason.

"That is what my father wants to talk about," Sherry said. "If you don't mind following me. Emperor Zorzal is a threat to all of us."

"Kid…," he said before she holds out a figure.

"Sherry please," Sherry correct.

"Sherry," he said. "We have tried to sneak inside. Somehow, they know what we approach and why would I anyway. I don't trust you, people."

"Because we kept your secret," Sherry said. "And my father wants to learn more about your people. If Princess Pina feels like she can trust you, maybe he can. That is what he said."

He looks at her even more confused. He has worked in the CIA(4) SAC(5) division for years. Going to flashpoints all around the world. Supporting or suppressing insurgency ground, overthrowing, or installing governments, the usual works.

In all those years, this has never happened. "For…"

"Wow, with all your advance might, your clueless. Do you really think everyone here agrees with fighting a superior enemy? He wants to find a way to secure peace," Sherry states with a big smile. "While most of the population supports the war, that is only because their leader said so. If someone said we are at peace, they will support it. The peasant class is kind of dumb like that."

Miller sits up, rubbing his head. "Well, when in Rome I guess."

***

--- Italica, NATO Temporary Staging Ground ---

December 14th, 2025

As Princess Pina sits there looking at her long-time servant Hamilton. She cannot help but smile seeing the American Ranger Andrew Steele sitting across the makeshift bed.

Those two have been chatting a lot recently. As she walks up, he was reading her a story from that strange device called a phone. It was so adorable. She must admit, it seems like they really like each other. When she gave Hamilton permission to see be with Andrew(6), she didn't expect it to go anywhere, not that she has an issue that it did.

"Hi Princess," Hamilton said softly as he lays there in the bed. "I am sorry that I can't help you right now. I screwed up."

She chuckles and smiles by that. "Na, everything is fine. There isn't much to do and besides, you got hurt so rest."

She looks down the mid-section of her chest and sees the sword wound on her side. There are fresh bandage wrapping around her.

During the battle(7), Hamilton fought someone who is bigger and better trained than her. The other Rose Knights could have easily killed him, but Hamilton has always struggled to keep up. Being a little to gentle heart but that is why everyone in the Roses loves her. Brave and gentle.

She was able to save her friend, but his sword goes through her side. The only reason she was able to move one was because of their Gel injection*. It stopped the bleeding and prevents her insides from tearing apart more.

The medic Jerry, their version of a healer said it was only temporary. While on the flight back, she started to go into pain as the Gel(8) wore off.

"The healer said I should be fine. I just need to rest, she said," Hamilton said with a tired voice.

"Yup," Andrew said. "The Brass said we will be here for a few days."

She has learned what Brass means, their leadership. She has found that these people have a nickname for a nickname for a nickname. They are a very confusing people.

"And once you are ok and get back to Alnus, we will try out those artificial hot springs that we been hearing about." She said with a big smile.

Both giggle and Hamilton look to Andrew. "You should join us when we get back."

She looks up at him, thinking nothing of it. She sees his blank stare at her and his face slowly gets red. The then glances away, clearly embarrassed.

"You ok?" She asked, noticing he is embarrassed for some reason.

"I think I will pass," Andrew replied. "Regulations and all."

"I see... Men," She replied and crosses her arms. "Shy about the opposite sex." She then looks down at her friend and both giggles together, ganging upon him.

"What is going on here?" Sharpe asked as he approaches.

Andrew looks up behind him. "Hi boss, you don't want to know."

"I will take your word on it, Corporal," Sharpe said and gets on his knee, looking down at Hamilton.

She is shocked to see him here. During the battle, both got in a fight, because they did not trust of each other. She ordered an attack against his will and in result got Hamilton hurt. But she knows in war, there is always a chance someone might get hurt to die, like her Knight Elbera(9) who died saving the American slaves.

"Hello, Major. What are you doing here?" Hamilton said softly.

"Just making sure you are keeping Andrew here out of trouble," Sharpe said.

"What did I do?" Andrew asked.

Hamilton chuckles but feels pain from her wound. "Sorry that I got hurt."

"It is all good," Sharpe said and looks at her wound. "I have seen worse."

"I bet you have," She said. Without hearing any stories about him, she can tell that he has.

"Major," Hamilton said. "Have you ever got hurt before? Like this I mean."

She looks down at her friend and looks up at Sharpe, interested in what he has to say.

He sits up a bit, thinking about his response. "Yes, I have. Far worse than what happened to you." He said in a serious tone.

Sharpe then holds up his index figure from his right hand and holds it out, like he is about to make a serious point.

She can see his right hand all bandaged up. She was told that during the tight with Taylin he cut his own hand to lure him into a trap. Something she cannot imagine doing. She wonders if he is going to talk about that nasty cut, he gave himself.

Sharpe takes a breath. "You see, this one time I got a nasty papercut right here on the tip of the finger. You still can see the cut today. It was the most painful experience in my life."

"Papercut, you mean the cut on your pam?" She asked.

"No," Sharpe responds. "I mean a papercut. The side of a piece of paper that cuts your finger. It hurt. To this day I am convinced there is no greater pain than that. Nothing at all."

Sharpe then points to Hamilton. "You are very lucky that you were only just stabbed by a sword. I still feel the pain to this day. Got a medal for it too by the way." He then ends his story with a smirk.

She just looks at him, amazed how he keeps a straight-faced after saying papercut. She knows he must be joking but his reaction makes her think that it might be true. She looks over to Andrew and sees him rolling his eyes smiling, showing that what Sharpe said was not true.

She then looks down at Hamilton and sees her laughing from that.

"A papercut… really?" Hamilton asked not believing his story but smiling from it.

"Yes. I never joke about such things." Sharpe said in a half-serious tone. During the quick pause, he gives her a wink.

"My god sir, I can't believe no one has Section-8 you" Andrew comments with a chuckle.

Sharpe looks at him. "Once or twice. Never put superglue in your CO coffee. It doesn't go down as well as you think." He said joking.

She cannot believe it. After everything they all been through, she never thought she would hear that. But she smiles, glad he is not always this uptight man.

"All serious," Sharpe begins to say. "Good job Hamilton Uno Ror. You took the injection like a champ. It is very painful, trust me, I know."

"Did you take it before?" She asked. She remembers as she followed Sharpe, hearing Hamilton scream in so much pain when they injected the gel into her.

Sharpe looks to her. He takes his figure and puts it on his left shoulder. "I was shot here in North Korea. The only reason I am alive is because of that stuff."

She is surprised to hear that but notice something else. The joking side goes away into his usual neutral seriousness. Like there is more to the story.

She has seen that look with Grey Co Aldo before. The memory of past battles, people once have known but are gone.

She then remembers her fight with Herm. She is proud that she defeated him, a stain on the Rose honor. The reason she beat him was that she fought for it while he took the easy path. While it was a major achievement for her and her honor, she needs to remind herself that she is still young and has a lot to learn. So, she does not make the same mistakes that Herm did.

"Princess," Sharpe said. "Mind following me for a bit. I got something to talk about."

She nods, knowing this was coming. "Yeah."

As Sharpe stands up, he looks down at Andrew. "Keep her safe Staff Sergeant. That is an order."

Andrew gives him a thumbs up. "Got it, boss. I'm going to introduce her to some card games. Then once she is discharged head into the city. I ran into some cool dudes from last time who likes to play cards."

Hamilton looks directly at Andrew. "I told you no more gambling!" She said with much energy. "You keep losing money."

Andrew looks to Hamilton and then back to Sharpe. "Boss, mind helping me."

"Sorry man, you are on your own on this one," Sharpe replied with a chuckle.

"But boss. You were in Delta. You won so many insane battles and is one of the most respectable commanders I have seen. Help me." Andrew said, nearly begging.

Sharpe looks at Hamilton and then back at Andrew. "Look man, I fought a Flame Dragons(10), hordes of bandits, Taylin, twice, and Rory who tests my nerve every second of the day. When I go into battle, I am confident of victory each time. But one thing I learned, when the lady decided, it becomes your will vs hers and we both know who's going to win that."

Sharpe then looks back to Hamilton and give her another wink. He then walks away.

She cannot help herself but chuckle from that. She looks down at Hamilton.

Hamilton looks up at Andrew. "I like him."

"You are saying that because he sided with you," Andrew states.

"I know," Hamilton said with a relaxed but tired smile. "Can you read me another one of those picture stories? Manga?"

She shakes her head and then follows Sharpe. As she follows, she knows what this is about.

After some distance and passes more of their healers treating soldiers, he stops outside the tents.

She was about to speak but he spoke first.

"I think you already know what this is about," Sharpe said.

"Yes, I know," She said.

"Good, we need to sort this out," Sharpe responds and crosses his arms.

She takes a deep breath, getting ready to get chewed out again. She cannot remember the number of times he has chewed her out, lost count. A big reason is that their cultures are different, and they have been clashing because of it.

"During the battle, I am not accustomed to people ignoring my orders," Sharpe said. "Here is the thing. I pulled you aside to apologize to you for how I acted. So... I sorry. How I reacted was over the line and it won't happen again."

She looks at him, shocked to hear that. It was the opposite of what she expected. "I… I don't…"

"Look, I was pissed. I can get angry quickly once I lose control of a situation. Especially when someone gets hurt when I feel like I could have prevented it. I do my best to keep myself in check. When your comrade got wounded, I lost control and I should not have grabbed you and ramped you into the pillar. Especially a woman." He said, glancing down not happen on what he did.

She tilts her head hearing that. She can see he is upset about how he handled the situation. She smiles and nods her head. "None of that would have happened if I just trusted you. I let my ego get the better of me. I didn't want to be on the sidelines and be in the fight. Part of the team."

Sharpe takes a deep breath. "This is going to be harder than I thought. But we need to trust each other if this is going to work."

She nods thinking on that. While their relationship has gone far, clearly there are still improvements. She didn't trust him to include her, and he didn't trust her Knights to be effective. "Let's say we both made mistakes but for now on, let's do this together. I must admit, I am still not used to taking an order. It is natural for me to listen to Grey because he is a father figure to me. But being a Princess, I guess it can be hard to listen to anyone below that title. No offense."

"Oh, I am offended but you know rule number one," Sharpe said quickly, crossing his arms.

She looks at him baffled. "No…"

"Oh… it means everything honestly. But in this case, don't listen to me," Sharpe said.

"…you people are strange," She said with a chuckle, understand the context. She holds out her hand, signaling that she ready to put all this behind them.

Sharpe looks at her hand and reaches out to take it, agreeing to the offer.

Right before he takes her hand, right in front of her eyes he disappears. She blinks her eyes as her mind tries to figure out what just happened.

She slowly looks to the left and sees Rory sitting on top of Sharpe, hands holding him down. "You people are very strange."

"That is correct Princess."

She looks to the right and sees the blue hair girl Lelei. "What is happening?"

"Rory and Tuka want to go shopping in Italica. To celebrate the victory," Lelei said.

"Silly, it was your idea," Tuka said, elbowing Lelei as she blushes.

"Ok," She responds and looks back to Rory and Sharpe. Rory is shaking his vest hard, begging him to join them. To this day she cannot believe how the Apostle of War and Death acting like his child to a mortal from another world. Grey is right, things have changed. "I think I will go. Have fun."

***

--- Italica Markets, an hour later ---

December 14th, 2025

Sharpe is walking down the streets of Italica. It has been a long time since he was here. Around him are the girls of the team, Rory Mercury, Lelei La Lalen and Tuka Luna Marceau. While Rory and Lelei look natural as they walk around, Tuka looks more amazed by the place.

"Wow, this place looks so different," Tuka said.

"What do you mean? It looks like any other city," Rory states.

"I disagree, I have noticed many changes from the last time we were here," Lelei said.

"That is?" Rory asked, looking at Lelei.

"For example, this place doesn't look like rubble anymore. It looks all fixed up," Lelei said.

He looks to Rory and sees her glaring at Lelei. Of course, the city has been repaired.

"During our eight-year travels, we stayed in many towns like this," Tuka said. "Where are the slave stations?"

He stops and takes a quick look around. He remembers when he first came here, one of the first things his team noticed of people standing on these booths, being auctioned off. Now, it looks more like Alnus than before. Even the second time he came here there still was slave booths.

"Italica wanted to be under the American Security Umbrella. To do that they needed to make some changes like ending slavery. How they did it and when was up to them." Sharpe explains.

"Security Umbrella?" Tuka asked.

Lelei looks to Tuka. "The United States provides military security to many weaker nations on Earth. It has been a custom to maintain order and peace and to prevent other powers from bullying others. Usually with little in return."

"Someone has been doing her homework," He replied. "It isn't as simple as that but close."

"Yeah," Rory said as she looks around, now noticing. "This place feels civilized now."

"Civilized," Lelei said, thinking on that. "A few years ago, we thought that was a civil act."

"… don't correct me Lelei," Rory mumbles.

"But you make it easy Rory," Lelei said with pride. "You contradict yourself all the time."

As he listens, he looks around. He has noticed a lot of changes. People seem friendly and the streets seem more cleaned up. The place does not feel as barbaric compared to the first time.

So far everyone has been friendly to him and the girls. The citizens saying hi and welcoming them, all remembering what they did during the siege.

Aso those two go on another fight, Tuka looks to him. "Is this like your world Sharpe?"

"You saw it," He responds. "But don't let Philadelphia fool you. Not everywhere on Earth is like that."

He thinks about that for a moment. It is easy to think of how much better they are compared to the people of Falmart, their technology is so far more advance. But a lot of things he and everyone from Earth see were only common a few hundred years ago. Something like Slavery is still common in certain places in the world.

"I found it," Lelei said as she stops and looks at this place.

He stops and looks at the building. He sees clothes, glasses, jewelry, fancy pottery, and other luxury goods. He then looks over at them and notices taking an interest at everything. That is when he begins to wonder if he prefers to shop or go fight in some battle.

He feels both of his arms bring taken. It is Tuka and Rory each grabbing an arm and start dragging him into the store.

---

"What do you think?" Lelei asked as she looks to the other two.

The three are in a changing booth that is inside the store. For about an hour they have been trying on many different high-class outfits, goofing around more than shopping.

"You look great, go ask him," Rory said.

She looks away from Rory and to Tuka, looking up. Tuka is trying out a new outfit. "Tuka, what do you think?"

"I told you already, it is good," Tuka said.

She feels nervous for some reason. She takes a deep breath and walks out of the room.

Sitting in front of her is Major Sharpe. She never had issues before around other people, but she never tried to impress anyone before, she just preferred to be alone. She thinks that is because of her father back in the Rurudo Tribe.

They are nomads so she learned at a young age to not plant roots. The reason is that within days or week the tribe would already be heading to a new location. Her father turned out to be a vicious tyrant who would yell and physically abuse them when they were kids. Either because he was drunk or because he felt insecure.

Only being a child, the only real lesson he passed down to her was his insecurity. When he was drunk and angry, she remembers him hitting her when she cried. Because of that, she learned to lock down her emotions and see this as they are. She learned not to cry and keep herself in check. It has helped her with her studies with Cato El Altestan but also made it hard to make friends.

Being with Vanguard-7 and making a home in Alnus, even in Philadelphia, all these new feelings have been flowing through her. She never had a place to call home until recently and more importantly, someone to look up as a father figure.

In the beginning, she joined them to learn more about them. To learn their knowledge, apply it to her magic and leave once she thought she had enough. It never dawned on her that she would stay this long. While that is still true, now she wants to help because she feels like she has a place worth fighting for. Friends and family worth staying for. And she wants to become confident and brave.

She thinks that is why she is nervous. Since when they first met, Sharpe became what her father should have bee, a father figure. Not like what he and Selina have, she is too old for that. No, what she wants is someone to look up to, an anchor to grow.

She sees Sharpe on his phone, probably texting someone. He heard her coming and looks away from it.

"So, what do you think? I think it won't stand out as much compared to my blue dress," she said.

"Well, I am no fashion expert…," he starts to say.

"We all know that!" Rory yells over the fitting room.

Sharpe shakes his head, use to Rory outbursts. "As I was saying, it looks good on you. I think it would be easier to move around."

She smiles and nods, then looks down at it. She is wearing this renaissance style cloth. There is a dark blue one-piece over this brown tied together dress. The shoulder part buffed up with large slits between them.

"Thank you, that is what I thought," she said and then smiles, enjoying the positive review. "I picked the top layer because of the enchantment attached to it."

She looks at him and already sees that she lost him.

"Enchantment clothes…?" Sharpe asked, trying to understand.

"Correct," she responds and walks around. "You see, I been learning more about your science. While they made my magic stronger it uses up more of my mana. This should help me build up more mana to do my magic."

"I have notice that myself," Sharpe responds. "So, this is supposed to help you?"

"Well, it doesn't fix the problem. It will take some time to make those spells more efficient. But this should help me not exhaust myself so quickly." She explains. "I can go into the science if you like?"

"Maybe later over a beer," Sharpe replied. "Why doesn't everyone have things like this?"

She looks to him and sees he is thinking of the military use for it. She walks over and sits down next to him.

"Let me try to find an easy way to explain this," she said, placing her figure under her lip as she thinks.

Sharpe nods as he thinks on the matter. "I understand, dumbing it down. You should write a magic for dummies book."

"Hmm…," she thinks about that. "That is not a bad idea."

She then looks back at him smiling, "anyway, the reason why you don't see things like this employed by the Empire is that it is expensive and hard to mass-produce. You need certain materials and the right alchemist with the proper skill. You also need the right enchantments. Only a few places in Falmart can do that on a large scale."

There is a short pause as Sharpe takes what she said in. "A few places, like where you're from, Rondel. And an alchemist like your sister."

"You remembered." She smiles, seeing that he remembers past conversations they had. She has always enjoyed private talks, the one time she can just ramble on about what is on her mind. It has been a plus that they have similar interests her magic and his science. She feels like she does not have to hide behind her staff.

"Of course, except for your sister's name. That is a hard one," Sharpe said.

She smiles and giggles, "yeah, in your tongue it probably is."

---

After some time of watching the girls do these things. He sees Rory talking to the storekeeper about this purchase. Tuka trying out other outfits and Lelei is looking at books.

He quickly learned to be careful with Tuka clothes choices. Being a nature people, she seems to prefer less clothing. He already had to so no to many outfits but that only seems to encourage her. She has explained to him before is that the main reason her people even wear clothes is that to respect the other races, that is why she sleeps in the nude. That was a conversation he ended there and since then has been careful talking about her people's culture.

"Multicultural at its finest I guess," he mumbles after thinking on that thought.

He takes a deep breath, his body feeling exhausted. But he can see that the three are happy and having a good time and that is what is important. If they are enjoying themselves and his team is taking the break they earned, he can go without sleep.

While they were doing this short fashion show, he found something for Selina. A small shrine that she has been wanting and this religious white dress that the storekeeper said that goes with it. It is related to her god and figures she might like it for his apartment. He does not fully understand what use it has but it makes her happy.

That is when he hears his phone go off. He grabs it and sees it is Sarah. The Diplomatic Outpost here put up a cell tower and each outpost on the Roma Highway has a tower too. Still, reception is spotty as most of the highway is a dead zone.

"This is Major Sharpe," he answers.

"This is Captain Rose reporting in," Sarah answers. "Sorry for the delay, there was a traffic accident at Check Point seven. I figured you would be in bed by now."

"That is fine, the girls are keeping me busy." He said and looks up at them. "Tell me you are close though."

"About thirty minutes sir," Sarah replied.

He takes a light break, happy about that. Not just because she is bringing Selina, a little piece of home but that means he can call this shopping spree off and get some rest. Right now, he really wants to see that excited glow in his daughter's eyes. Trying to impress him with every little thing, which he has grown to like.

There is another reason, he is enjoying the sound of her voice, it being relaxing.

"How is the little princess?" he asked.

"Sound asleep. She snores just like you by the way," Sarah said.

"I don't snore," he answers.

"Yes, you do," Sarah responds in a baffled tone.

He smirks seeing that she took the bait. He knows she is overthinking this and trying to figure out why he said that.

"I don't hear it," he said, preventing her from continuing.

"Because your asleep Major," Sarah responds shocked by the conversation.

"Exactly. All I have is your word and that's not enough in this chase," He said chuckling. He loves to be a smartass when he can. It helps keep him in check and calm.

"I… I have nothing to say to that," Sarah responds, not knowing what else to say. "By the way, when we get there Selina wants to show you something," Changing the subject.

"Ok…," he said. He listens to her as she explains that Selina read this new manga book from Noriko. That she likes it and wants to show him it.

Right now, he is simply happy to listen. Not just glade her his daughter finally found something she likes. He understands her struggle in this subject, he was not a strong reader in school. His mom told him do not bother to learn to read when she was drunk. He took her advice literally during both elementary and most of the middle school until he got his act together. By the point, it was too late, and it took going into Officer School to finally get decent. But he never quick and that is why he does not want Selina to make the same mistake he did.

But he remembers back at the fortress where he was stuck in the same room with Taylin(11). It might have seen to her that he had the situation under control and confident of victory, but the truth is he was scared out of his mind. It took every idea he has just to slow him down and they mostly backfired. His cocky attitude was more of a reaction to prevent his fear from controlling him in battle.

As he thinks back, he knows what helped him get through that was knowing he was not alone. While not in the room Sarah was right there with him, talking to him. It helped stay focus on the task at hand and knowing if he missed something, she would catch it.

As she continues to talk, something catches his eye. He looks to the right and sees this interesting looking blue dress. It has gold color lacings all around but not too dominating. For some reason, he finds it interesting. He wonders if that might be a good thank you gift or something like that.

"Do you like blue?" He asked out of nowhere, interrupting her.

"That is a random question, what does that have to do with what I was saying?" Sarah asked. "But yes, I do like blue. Reminds me of the sky back home I guess..."

His eyes widen realizes he spoke out loud. "Ah, nothing. I saw something and Rory was asking me a question."

There is a short pause on the line. Right after he said that he realizes none of that made sense.

"Ok," Sarah responds.

"Yeah," he responds. "I got to go, will meet you at the East Gate. I don't want Selina seeing the wounded as your drive up."

He then hangs up after she acknowledges his order.

He looks down, pissed at himself. He looks down at his right hand and seeing the bandage around it. It is where he cut himself so he could trick Taylin that he was wounded by smearing blood on the wall. He did that without a second thought no problem or regret, so he does not understand why he feels like crap right then.

"Sharpe, can you come over here?" Rory asked.

He looks up and acknowledges her call. "We need to hurry. Sarah and Selina will be at the east gate in thirty."

Reference:

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(1)Neko is the Japanese anime term for Cat-People.

(2)Chapter 45-46

(3)Falmart Field Assist Manual (FFAM)

(4)Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)

(5)Special Activities Center (SAC)

(6)Chapter 68

(7)Chapter 107

(8)VetiGel is a real company developing something like the Bio-Gel. We should be expecting this in the near future. Bio-Gel is my version of it.

(9)Chapter 68

(10)Chapter 6

(11)Chapter 111

Discord: https://discord.gg/xe7nNHS