Valkyria Chronicles, the Thorwald Conflict

((Fun little fanfic I decided to write, with the cast comprising of members from this site. Spell check may be needed and I didn't reread, so just enjoy and such))

Chapter One; The Situation at Anthold

"Lequel move it we need eyes out there" A voice breaks the static from a radio, attatched to the hip of a man, a soldier going by his bright blue uniform.

"Roger Arch, on my way" Says Lequel as lays his back against a blue roofed house, closing his eyes as he took a deep breath and tightened the grip on his rifle. Sprining to a fast sprint, Lequel managed to gain some distance before the barrage of fire began to pour out from his left, it seems he caught his enemies by surprise, sliding towards some crates, Lequel took a few panic breathes and awaited for the gunfire to halt.

"Cover fire, I need to get a good look" Lequel yelled out, prompting a woman to turn away from cover, a submachine gun in hand as she began to fire ahead, spreading across the area as Lequel positioned himself over a crate and quickly surveyed the area. Moving one hand down, he held down a button on the side of his radio, quickly informing his commander of the situation. "Situation looks grim Archibald" Lequel said as he began to fire, taking out a shocktrooper, who held a similar submachine weapon as his teammate.

"How grim are we talking?" Said Archibald, an elderly man judging by the slow and gravely voice.

Lequel kept firing, his focus on the enemies ahead, although it seemed he also attempted to delay the clearly unfortunate news to come.

"Well? How bad of a mess are we in?" Archibald said as Lequel narrowed his eyes and caught a second Shocktrooper, bullet right through the shoulder as he answered.

"A couple of shocktroopers, two lancers, a sniper, probably a few scouts and..." Lequel said as he reloaded his weapon and positioned himself above the crate once more.

Taking aim, his voice seemed to leave him as he witnessed a large gray mass approach his group a fair distance ahead. "...a tank"

"...this is exactly why I keep telling the upper heads to screw the budgets, we need a tank, just for a situation like this." Archibald said, letting out a long sigh as he proceeded to collect his thoughts and prepared a battle strategy.

"Right, well we can't let that tank get in firing distance to wipe us out, so we'll need lancers ready to take it on, Sophia you're on duty, take the student Yuki with you, she'll be some use as a loader" Archibald said, his breathe picked up by the radio as he thought out the rest of his strategy. "They'll need cover, Shocktroopers will go and keep the fire off of them, Shade you're our only one for the moment so that means you, take the two scouts with you, Lequel and get simon off his ass" He said as the woman who fired earlier, Shade it seemed her name raised her hand and waved for Lequel to follow her, then reaching down to pull another scout from the floor, Simon it seemed was busy over polishing his rifle.

"Engineers, we may not have a tank, but you could still be of some use, so Adam and Grizzly stay put and restock the units as they request" Archibald said as he moved his hand to his head and scratched a particularly annoying itch, running his hands past his noticeably graying hair.

"Finally we'll keep a sniper at bay to pick off some units should you run into some trouble, however don't rely on it. Fury, keep watch on their blind sides" With that, Archibald began the opperation, Sophia taking the lead as she carried the heavy anti tank lance, displaying a great amount of strength. At her heels, the young lancer in training Yuki ran with a cache of warheads, serving as a reloader of sorts, supporting Sophia with quicker reloads.

"Move it ladies" Yelled out Shade as she ran behind the two, aiming to their sides incase of any ambush. Expressing a frown, Lequel was not amused by Shade's morale raising words, looking behind as Simon scrambled to assemble his weapon, apperantly he had taken to prepping his weapon way too seriously.

"You know? this could serve for good material as a story, granted we can change the setting and characters and maybe the weapons but it could be a great...." Grizzly, finding herself effectively on watch, began on the subject of her career as an author, expressing her excitement on new stories and plotlines, news that was almost impossible to avoid expression.

"Yeah, sounds great, i'll go see if Fury needs any extra ammunition" Adam said as he stood up and made his way towards the more grass ridden area of the Anthold harbor, looking for a house in particular as he held his rifle out and surveyed the land ahead of him. Eyes connecting with a small, mostly wooden home, Adam lightly jogged towards the entrance as he jumped and pushed the door forward, letting out a shouting whisper of surprise.

"For f**ks sake Adam, nearly made me fall out the god damn window" Fury said, turning around as he waved for him to shut the door before realigning his sniper rifle on its mount. Mouthing out a sorry Adam shut the door and walked around the small, scarcly furnished home, a set of stairs leading up to what seemed like a small attic, a window cracked open which let in the bright light of mid day.

"Another novel pitch?" Fury said, body stiff as he looked over the units ahead, attempting to catch sight of a straggling enemy scout or shocktrooper, taking out their engineer would be a big help and it seemed Fury was intent on finding him or her.

Adam took a while to answer as he fiddled around with a fork, laid on a clear white plate, it seemed the owner was made to leave in a rush. "Huh? Yeah, I like to encourage people but im not one to listen to ideas, I prefer to just see the product you know?" Adam said, Fury silent, snipers you could always count on a quiet consent.

"We get this guy to skip breakfast or something?" Adam said as the alluring smell of freshly cooked bacon flooded the house, secretly Adam wondered if thats why the sniper chose this point as a lookout.

"Uhh yeah, old carpenter, he just started building this place so I figured it would be a good spot, couldn't have him wandering around in here though so I sent him down the city with the other civilians" Fury said, rubbing his eyes as Adam nodded, his previous theory now struck down with logic, a cold and unforgiving nemesis.

A few minutes and Adam's patience shattered, tapping down on the wooden table in front of him, he wondered about the rest of the squad. "So, do you think Sophia's up for it? Militia's short on tanks and we only have her as our one lancer" He asked as Fury frowned and keeping his eyes on his rifle, pointed to his radio.

"Ask her yourself" Fury said as Adam sighed and picked up his own radio, still he figured talking to Sophia would be best, along with Archibald and Shade he got along well with her either ways.

"Sophia? Adam here just wanting to know if your hyped about taking out a tank yourself" He said, as Sophia answered a few moments later with a chuckle, she was a distance away with the rest of the squad from their destination and she didn't mind a chat every now and again in the midst of battle.

"Yeah, totally pumped, not so much on dragging this oversized toothpick though" She said, changing arms as she shook her right arm and stretched her shoulder, slowing down to a jog, the others quickly adapting their own pace to match.

"Sweet, well just know the whole squad's rooting for you, also im really bored" Adam said, a big frown placed on his face as the unforgiving blast of Fury's rifle sounded off, even partially silenced it was still rather defeaning at close range.

"Lancer down, not particularily important but screw it I shot something today" Fury said as he quickyl reloaded his rifle and aimed ahead, sure that the enemy forces would be shooken up by the relization of an enemy sniper.

"Also Fury said he'll buy us all a round if you take it down within three shots" Adam said, speaking to the whole squad now as Shade's unmistakable sound of "woo hoo!" sounded out from his radio, causing Fury to scowl, it seemed he was on line to take another heavy blow to the wallet.

"Right...can you focus on the mission?" Rubbing his head with his open palm, Archibald wondered if he was really apart of the same squad. "I had to stay in militia..." He said as he cracked a small smile and patted the patch on his right arm, the number twenty five emblazoned it as well as the clear and unmistakable depiction of the Gallian nation's national and fictional animal, the proud and noble white maned unicorn.

End of chapter one.

This was fuc%ing brilliant Yeah, Fury.... we all know you ate the bacon >__>

He was bacon slutting.

*knows he won't get that but says it anyway*

Quote :

[21:48:35 03/07/12] @ Tifa Lockhart : OHOHOHOH

[21:48:38 03/07/12] Telira : Tifa, it's a shortbread style cookie rolled in cinnamon and sugar before baking.

[21:48:39 03/07/12] @ Tifa Lockhart : FUNNYISM

[21:48:56 03/07/12] Zack Fair : ?-?

[21:49:15 03/07/12] @ Tifa Lockhart : i was on the bus going home today and I was reading shop signs because I was bored out of my tiny mind

[21:49:36 03/07/12] @ Tifa Lockhart : there was this one called BLA consulting

[21:49:50 03/07/12] @ Tifa Lockhart : But i readit as bacon sluting

[21:50:11 03/07/12] Zack Fair : ?-?

[21:50:23 03/07/12] @ Tifa Lockhart : I started laughing out loud and people thought I was mental

He'll get it now >__>

By the Tifa... I was told to tell you to lay off the drugs <_<

shoosh, ladypants. They needs to lay off me. I'M THE VICTIM HERE!

((Again I forgot to completely spellcheck and read over, just wanted to get this up before I left to the beach))

The misfit squad twenty five had made their way down the harbor, Sophia doing her best to keep out of sight as the tank's engines began to rumble, causing the ground around them to tremble uncontrollably. Her only chance was to destroy the tank before it had time to aim and fire, otherwise the squad would definitely face some serious casualties.

"There is no other way around it, I need a clear shot at its ragnite radiator" Sophia said, causing Simon to sigh, an act that was soon corrected by a quick slap upside the head by Shade.

"So you need to hit its most well guarded area..." Shade said, Sophia cracking a slightly embarrassed smile.

"Good luck you guys" Sophia said, followed by a rather awkward thumbs up. The squad was clearly not amused, Lequel attempted to smile back, however the reality of the situation had sunken in. They were against a tank, no matter which way they proceeded, someone was almost certainly going to perish. The squad stood there for a while, silent apart from the rattling of lancer missiles Yuki had been made to carry with her.

"Right, its going to have to be Simon or me, we're a hell of a lot more mobile then a shocktrooper, and Sophia can't move in until the right moment." Lequel said, looking to his left to catch Simon in thought, it appeared he had come to the same conclusion since a minute later he simply nodded.

"Simon needs to get his weapon sorted out properly, we'll miss our chance if they get any closer..." Lequel began, his speech interrupted by another shot from Fury's rifle, followed by a thud nearby, a scout who had been sent on ahead collapsed mere feet from their position. Seeing this, Lequel thanked Fury and checked his person for grenades and ammunition "Shade, cover me, i'll try to get the tank to turn, Simon and you will then sweep up while Sophia takes her shot." Lequel said, his voice shaky, he wasn't particularly happy with his plan, however time was of the essence. Looking to his right, he noticed a couple of cargo containers, that would have to suffice as cover. Looking to the others he nodded and counted down from three using his fingers.

"...One!" Lequel closed his fist as Shade opened fire, causing the tank and the enemy squad to pause and attempt to locate the source of fire, a moment that was denied as Lequel sped across to the side and hid behind the cargo containers, Shade ceasing her fire instantly. If they had played their cards right, then the ideal situation would play out.

The moment was tense as the enemy squad made its approach towards the containers, a slow breath escaping not from Lequel but from his communicator as Fury kept watch over his position. "Come on...five points for a headshot" Fury said as a gray helmet approached from the side, back against the container as he slid his way across. "Idiot" A shot was fired and with a resounding ting, the soldier's head snapped back and bumped against the cold metal behind him, slowly slumping down to the floor a few moments later.

Simon having finally sorted his weapon, aimed a shot at an approaching shocktrooper, waiting until he was in Lequel's sights in order to convince the opposing squad that it was his doing. The shocktrooper rounded the corner and in a blur of gray opened fire at the empty space ahead, his mind given no time to realize his mistake as Simon fired two rounds and pierced the shocktroopers target like helmet. "I got him, did you see that?" Simon said, as he was bumped by Shade to move up along the blue roof tiled houses.

"So you did what you were supposed to do, now shut it and move" Shade said, moving silently up the road, their presence hid only by a short stretch of similar houses. Hearing the tank approach, the situation grew tense, Shade gripping her weapon tightly, the sounds of grinding leather only further supporting the fact. "Now or never boy" She said as from the tank's left flank the sight of metal flicking towards the air could be seen, the silent chime of a grenade making contact with the floor broke the silence, with the following explosion effectively shattering any remnants thereof.

Naturally the tank's armor did nothing but slightly dent, the grenade nothing but an annoyance, except for a scout who unfortunately had the misfortune of standing by the tank's right treads. Grinding to a halt, the tank paused for a moment, before turning to face the containers. "NOW!" Shade yelled as Sophia picked up her lance and rushed towards the position she had chosen earlier before.

Dropping to a knee on the grass, the box like radiator slowly came into view, intercepting fire from the others would keep her relatively safe for a couple of seconds as she readied her shot. One short breath and with a burst the missile flew out of its container, a small shockwave pushed back against Sophia as it did. The shot whizzed by, scraping the glowing blue radiator, static spewing from the contact but nothing more, instead the missile managed to explode under the tank, taking out a portion of its treads. Just then, a small frame of a man rushed past unseen by the squad and began to work on the treads ASAP.

"The hell you will!" Fury said, the engineer caught in his sights as he fired a round and pierced the man's abdomen, causing him to stumble back, roll and remain sprawled on the ground a few feet behind the tank.

"Yuki get your ass over here!" Sophia yelled as Yuki grabbed two missiles and made a sprint towards her, Sophia resorting to blocking fire with the lance's shield like hilt. Fury's sniper sounded off again, taking out another shocktrooper as Shade kept a spread of fire ahead of Sophia's location.

"You're good, no maintenance needed, take the shot" Yuki said as she quickly prepped the missile, slid and locked it in place, the cover fire allowing her the minute or two to do so, as the tank's cannon slowly turned to face them.

Two large breaths and the missile was launched, one closed eye allowed Sophia to focus he sight on the middle of that rattling, bright blue glow. Digging into the steaming radiator, the resulting explosion erupted and blew a chunk away from its backside, fire spewing from the tanks cannon, followed by another successive explosion which took out the remaining soldiers in the vicinity. Burning in a bright orange flame, the group stood stunned for a moment, in slight disbelief that they managed to actually take a tank out themselves.

"BOO F**KING YAH!" Sophia said as she stood up and pushed Yuki towards the houses, followed by herself as she gave her the lance to work on, no doubt the second shot loosened its connecting parts.

Coming out from the side of the containers, Lequel looked to his sides and threw a hand up to the air. "Sweet, we got em" He said before the click of a gun was heard, a surviving Scout it seemed aimed his rifle straight up at Lequel.

"IM OUT, SIMON!" Shade said as Simon fumbled to attempt to reload his own weapon.

"Dammit! hes covered by the god damn tank!" Fury said, jostling the rifle as a shot was heard, causing Adam to raise his eyebrow and Fury to look right at him. "That wasn't me" He said, the sound of heavy breathing following, escaping past his radio.

A slight trail of smoke could be traced a fair distance away, atop a lighthouse as the scout dropped, allowing Lequel to fall back on his behind. "You kids are going to be the death of me" Said the voice, followed by a deep reassuring chuckle as Archibald loosened his grip on the rifle.

"Why the hell did I choose to be a scout again?" Lequel questioned as he began to laugh loudly, followed by Shade and the others, the squad sinking down and taking in a breath of fresh air.

"Grizz managed to catch one of the scouts you shot earlier before Lequel, he's better alive then dead, maybe we'll find out what the hell this is about." Archibald said, as the chuckling began to die down, replaced by Sophia's serious toned voice.

"Theres something else, this tank, its been altered by the federation but I know the overall model, that's a Gallian model tank" She said, causing Shade to raise an eyebrow, along with Yuki whose face scrunched up in confusion.

"Survey the area once more and get back to base at once, the mission was a success as far as I can tell, let the local authorities sort out the mess" Archibald said, as the team made their way to Lequel, lift him off his feet and proceeded to search the area for any straggling enemy units.

End of chapter two.

You BETTER be doing a HELL of A LOT of writing while you're at the BEACH

This was totally awesome, by the way.... One can actually see this played out like a movie within their mind while reading it. *applauds* And from the hints you gave away in the chatbox.... I can't wait to see what happens.....

((Just to keep my mind occupied. Mostly a debrief, no action in this one but it may clear up a few things))


Captain Archibald Aude, Squad twenty five, fifth regiment. Written account of the squad meeting following the incident at Anthold.

The squad slowly settled into their seats, we had made do with a small house in Anthold as our base of operations for the moment, stationed in case of any further incursions. The house owners were more than grateful for our intervention and allowed us to occupy their home for a couple of days. I looked upon my squad, these young children by comparison to me, save for some adults notably Sergeant Shade Birchard and Corporal Grizzly Bouchard. I never did ask why most of them chose to go by nicknames, but I complied. Following the Anthold situation, the squad was debriefed, and the whole picture of this otherwise pointless incursion slowly came into view.

October 4th, 1936

"So that soldier Grizz collected said they were picking up something from the port?" Simon asked, sitting on the left corner of the rather small table the squad had to gather around. Archibald nodded, stroking his trimmed beard as he paced left to right, the dimming lights of the evening causing his shadow to appear, a perfect copy of his clearly worried self.

Sophia rose from her seat, removing her armored shoulder pads as the weight began to press down on her. "We did find traces of multiple automobile tracks leading away from the harbor sir, it seems the units were only present to prevent us from interfering instead of our initial briefing of a possible attempt of the harbor's capture" Sophia said, dropping one of the plates, the cold metal landing with a loud clang as she settled back into her seat.

Archibald nodded, hand still entwined on his beard as he focused on a particularly annoying thought. "Thats not all" He said, stopping momentarily before turning and continuing his pace. "The soldier in question, his uniform showed tattered remains of a Gallian army uniform, except bleached and made to look like the other gray uniforms we saw." He said, causing most of the squad to break out in quiet chatter about the implication of this finding.

"Dissenters?" Lequel asked, causing Archibald to simply nod slowly.

"Quite possibly, as we all know, Princess Cordellia's revelation of her Darcsen heritage did not sit well with most of the nobles, a sentiment that spilled over to the military and the general population as a whole." Archibald said, his eyes now on the squad as he eyed each of them.

"I won't lie to you, the anti-Darcsen sympathies that have become so rampant in all of Europa could potentially divide the nations, even our considerably small nation of Gallia. I fear that if these dissenters, who have clearly found sympathy with the Federation get themselves established as a full fledged army, we could witness the potential of a Gallian civil war" Archibald added, causing many in the squad to shift uncomfortably, particularly Simon and Adam, both of whom shuttered at the thought.

"But a civil war will just weaken all of us, Gallians and dissenters..." Lequel said, stopping himself as he realized the endgame in his mind. "Which is why the Federation is backing them, in their blind and racist thinking, the dissenters will fight us, cause Gallia to weaken and allow the Federation to simply come in and sweep us up." He said, following a long exasperated sigh.

"Sir, im sorry but I don't quite understand what you mean by the anti-Darcsen sympathies." Yuki said, hand raised in the air as Archibald turned to face her. Before he could speak however, Adam stood up and began to stretch his back.

"I guess the academy isin't teaching much about that section of history anymore, can't say I blame them." He said, pointing at himself, Simon and Archibald as he continued. "We half and full Darcsens have been blamed for much of the current problems facing the nations of Europa, from catastrophes to the continuing shortage of ragnite supplies." Adam added, Yuki placing her hand down as she listened intently. "Ever since the Darcsen calamity, anti-Darcsen sympathies have flourished, allowing what they call us "Dark hairs" to be used as scapegoats for every other major problem that disrupts the delicate state of each nation, regardless of the tremendous lack of evidence to support such claims" Adam said, sitting down once more as he rubbed his eyes in annoyance.

"Now that the princess has come out to be one of us, even partially, dissenters may have found what they believe is a rightful cause to uphold, a coup to rid the nation of all Darcsen influence" Simon said, his face showing clear signs of discomfort, as if the words had left a bad taste in his mouth.

"So we report to the upper heads and then what? If word gets out, then there could be public unrest. The last thing we want is to help this cause along" Fury chimed in, laying his rifle on the side of an adjacent wall as he leaned back into his seat.

"Odds are we'll be sent ahead to collect added information, we are the first squad to hear of this anyhow." Shade said, armor already off as she dusted off her uniform, dust and dirt clinging to its material from the fight earlier.

"This is all still hearsay for now, we will wait for our orders" Archibald turned to face the wall as he stroked his beard, the clear signs of dark purple hair displayed amongst the white growth.

Stepping into the door, Grizz walked in, silently carrying what seemed like a cake at hand, an act that caused Adam to stand, along with the others. "So a possible civil war and cleansing of an indigenous population, and were the only thing that stands in its way for the moment, but right now theres something far more important" Adam said as Sophia began to stand up slowly, hands over her mouth as she read the name spelled out in orange frosting, Grizz placing the cake down on the table.

The sound of a familiar tune was heard as the group celebrated the birthday of one of their own, Sophia Drake. "...How old are you now?" Adam sang, causing Sophia to punch his arm, the squad laughing as he winced and rubbed his wound. The last rays of the evening sun began to fade as day gave into night, the steady glow of the squad's "base" burning straight into the night.

We didn't know it yet, but our little squad would find itself in the midst of a pivotal chapter in the history of Gallia, indeed of all of Europa. A chapter that would forever change the art of warfare, and do away with the restraints and innovations of the past. In the midst of the night, deep in the heart of the dark, our squad would be the glow by which one little nation survived the coming snowstorm of gray.

-Archibald Aude, excerpts from The Thorwald Conflict

If I get any more glued to the screen, my retinas will fry out! ><

Loving it >_>

I was actually looking for the like button ><

ITS NOT FACEBOOK, IDIOT!

Mission Briefing, Captain Archibald Aude.

The disturbing news from Anthold have caused us to conduct further investigation into these potential rebel forces classified as the "Graycoats" We have given your squad new orders following the successful defense of the harbor. You are to track the Graycoats movements and send continued correspondence on the situation. We have information gathered by units near the Gallian-Federation border which suggests possible Graycoat forces mobilizing. Your squad will head to the abandoned R&D base of Anbruch, located in Wesel and locate these forces for further surveillance. Your squad is not to enter into altercations with any Federation forces, and likewise any engagements with the Graycoats must be done carefully and swiftly so as to avoid any notice. As we are in Federation territory, any engagements could lead to an international incident, so be discreet. We will provide assistance as needed in terms of supplies and ammunition, however your squad will be for the most part on their own. Good luck, to the protection of the princess and the nation of Gallia.

-General C. Mariner

A few days later...

The squad moves cautiously, silently trekking their way into the base, having entered Wesel the other day and now arriving at said base in the heart of Anbruch.

"They said this place was abandoned..." Shade said as the she wiped her finger across the remains of a barricade, a couple of feet from the decimated entrance. The smell of ash, gunpowder and rust filled the air, with the sour tinge of iron causing the squad to cover their faces with their uniforms.

"More like burned to the ground and trampled" Fury said, tapping the remains of a wall with his rifle, causing it to break apart and land with a thud on the ground, landing on what looked like the tatter remains of an imperial flag. "Guess we don't need to guess what happened, must have been one of the first areas destroyed during the Second Europan War" Fury added, as he stepped on the flag and continued to search the area, the squad spreading out, making sure to keep an eye out for anything or anyone.

A couple of hours passed without incident, Adam had taken to exploring the hangars, most of which were empty save for some crates holding broken or rusted tools and some scrap metal. He had managed to find an old tank radiator but in its state it was better used for spare parts than whole.

"This one's closed" Adam thought as he approached a rather decent looking hangar door, scarred by fire but otherwise intact. Taking out his anti-mine shovel, Adam pryed the door open, using his weight to twist the weakened metal hinges off. Moving back he allowed the door to fall, breaking off its remaining hinge as it landed with a clang on the concrete floor. Waving the resulting dust away with his hand, Adam's eyes grew wide, the sight causing him to shout for his squad mates. The others rushed to find him, weapons loaded as they headed towards Adam's voice, concerned over the idea that they had been ambushed somehow. Once arriving though, the squad stood awestruck, their gaze rising upwards as Simon dropped his weapon, landing at his feet as Adam began to chuckle.

"What do you think Archy? Think we can spare some time?" He asked, Archibald walking into the hangar and studying the vicinity with his eyes.

"Grizz, Adam, Sophia. The three of you know better on this field then the rest of us...can you get it done within two days time? We can't risk anymore time or we'll fall behind" Archibald said, a worried expression slowly softening as he looked upon the gleeful expressions of the engineers.

"Shouldn't be much of a problem with the amount of scrap around" Grizz said, Sophia resting her lance against a wall inside the hangar as she studied what was before her.

"Similar to a type 36 medium, heavily modified by the looks of it. Were in luck, with some maintenance we may just pull it off" She said as Adam walked up, hands on his hips as his smile turned into a wide grin, quickly calling for the others to circle around as he took off his pack of tools and began to sort them out.

"Leave it to the impatient one to find a diamond in the rough" Lequel said, the final one to settle in as Adam and Grizz began to give the team directions.

Work went on for hours, at times we skipped our meals just to get things done. Even as engineers, me and Grizz had never worked on something of this caliber before. The work on the main gun was revolutionary, and it took us several hours to even figure out how it worked much less repair it. Archibald believed in us though, going so far as to send call to HQ, asking for an additional member to the squad, confidant that we would have it finished on time. I have to be honest, the work we did was arduous, but together in that one hangar we forged something powerful and for once I really felt like the squad was as one. Regardless of the hardships to come, all the assurance we needed as a team was shown during those many restless hours, as we walked on the cusp of innovation and the possible future ahead of us.

-Adam Kessler, May 1938, excerpts from The Thorwald Conflict

((Finally got this part done, another short one but something I really needed to get out of my head))

October 15th, 1936

Fury kept watch near the entrance of the base, Shade resting along with Simon, the three of them having alternated their shifts while the rest of the squad finished up in the hangar.

Adam came about, grin on his face as he called the three of them over, guiding them towards a giant object hidden behind a thick dusty cloth. Shade stretched and shook herself awake as Simon yawned the drowsiness away. "So wheres the new guy?" Fury asked, taking off his gloves and shoving them into his back pocket as he looked around. "Thought he would have been here with you guys" Fury added, finding a wall to lean against as Adam and Grizz took hold of the cloth.

"He's with Archibald, apparently he was brought a package, new clothes I think" Adam said, Sophia joining the two as she took hold of the large cloth and pulled forcefully at the count of three. The cloth sailed off a distance away as the wind grabbed a hold from underneath, the sun glaring at the bright blue metal underneath.

"The new addition to our squad, say hello to the Mohnblume" Sophia said, placing her hands out as if the squad had won a new car. Shade began to chuckle at the sight, with everyone gathering around the tank, mostly smooth and sleek with a rather unusually long cannon.

"You sure this thing fires tank rounds?" Simon asked, walking over to the very tip of the cannon, peering in to examine it more closely. "Seems a little narrow to me is all" Shade walked over and pulled on his belt, causing Simon to jerk back and hop down to the floor.

"Leave it to you to peer down the barrel of tank cannon, although I think you're right, that cannon is way too narrow" Shade said, prompting Adam to climb up, placing one hand on the cannon with Grizz carrying a rather heavy piece of ammunition.

"Yeah, we wondered about that too, but that's the great thing about this tank, its a prototype of a new long range model, designed to shoot at a distance on par with large imperial mortars" Adam said, knocking on the bright blue painted metal. "However, the side effect of having a considerably longer reach is the reduction in fire power, so it won't have the same effects as a normal tank cannon and will need multiple shots for the same results, granted its reload speed lessens that blow a bit" The sound of laughter behind them caused Adam to turn, cracking a smile himself as he jumped off the tank's treads and looked off towards the distance.

Archibald fiddled around with something in his hands, some lightweight blue cap it seemed, another man by his side, his uniform slightly different from the others with the insignia of a tank inscribed with the number twenty five visible on his right shoulder. "Squad gather around, I want to introduce to you our new tank driver, just arrived from HQ last night" Archibald said, patting the man's back as he took a few steps forward and saluted the others.

"I hear you tend to use nicknames on this squad, so call me Mystic, Mystic Hartell. I just transferred over from squad fourteen, here to drive the Mohnblume there" Mystic said, bright smile and a few short chuckles causing the team to smile as well, gathering closer as Fury pointed towards the tank.

"Why the Mohnblume? What does a poppy flower have to do with war?" He asked, causing Sophia to walk up to Archibald and poke his new uniform.

"It was Archibald's idea, he said a poppy stands as a symbol of remembrance for soldiers passed, that even though we're from separate nations, towns, colors and creeds, we're all still soldiers and we all deserve to be remembered" Shade walked up and nudged Archibald's shoulder, causing him to smile in embarrassment.

"Who knew the old man was so sentimental? I for one like it, and whoever drew the little red flower on the side of the tank, good job." Shade said, Sophia hopping as she poked a small little patch on Archibald's chest, causing Archibald to sigh defeatedly.

"Oh yeah and Sophia made me a patch of a red poppy, she said a tank commander should share his tank's symbol or whatever. That being said, its not too shabby and masculinity in question or not I think Sophia did a great job" Archibald's words earned him a smile from Sophia and the squad gathered around the Mohnblume, eager to see it in action.

"So, Arch is taking up the role of tank commander now. Sweet, means we'll get to see more of you" Lequel said, having kept quiet as he enjoyed the squad's company.

"Yeah, trained as a tank commander for a while before switching to sniper back in the first Europan war, figured I would lend a hand to Mystic, let him focus on keeping this beast from knocking into everything that moves, including you lot" Archibald said, laughing at his own jest while the squad simply stared, the captain always laughed the most at his own jokes.

"Anyways, this detour has run its course and we need to head out at night, so pack your things and gather at the entrance in a few hours time" Placing his new light blue hat on his head, Archibald smiled, happy to see some action once more with his band of youngins. "Squad twenty five, move out" A few moments later and the squad dispersed, leaving Archibald to tap on the patch Sophia made him, smiling to himself as he turned and walked away.

It's a stamp war now, Tifa >___>

Oh, its ON, baby!!!!!!