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Episode 2: The Next Day; In which we meet a lolicon, and everyone hides from a scary lady
Topic Started: Feb 22 2017, 04:39 AM (13 Views)
Talonheart
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She slid her finger across the office table and brought it up, only to see a pile of dust covering the tip of her finger. ¨eww, no wonder the state alchemists always get scolded by their superiors. I better get this mess out of the way before Major comes back.¨
The young girls figure kneeled down to the floor and started drawing somewhat large circle to the ground. As it was done, she sighed and held her breath. ¨Heeere we go.¨ placing her hands on the floor, she created a series of lghtning across the room and the messy room slowly started to change. Books were placed to clean order on the shelves, the messy papers same way to the desk and the dust was swept away by the passing wind from an open window.
as the deed was done, the girl stood up. ¨phew. I bet the major will be pleased.¨ Humming a slow tune, the girl prepared some tea and waited. ¨Major Greyhound sure is taking his time today.¨



The door opened wide as Sherman stumbled in, dead on his feet for the long night of working to restore the bar he had unwittingly destroyed in a fight he had no business being in because of a man who wasn’t even suppose to be there in the first place. His eyes had huge bags under them, and it was obvious he hadn’t taken the time to shower before coming in to his office. Of course he rarely ever came here these days, and the office itself wasn’t particularly large. But he had an express need for a few books from here, and had some paper work to fill out anyway.

Walking forward, more like a zombie than a man, Sherman made his way across the floor. He walked right by the young girl, not noticing she was even in the room before he made it over to his desk. Stopping mid step, the alchemist paused, suddenly realizing something was out of place. “….” Turning back around he stared intently at the young girl, as if trying to decide if she was real or a hallucination. After a long, awkward silence he finally spoke up. “…. Hi..?”



THe girl turned instantly towards the door after hearing it being open and raised her hand to a salute. ¨Major Greyhound! Liutenant Will-¨ as the man walked right passed her, she slowly followed by turning herself. ¨Umm... moshi moooshi?¨

She felt like she was staring at a corpse, rather then a human being. Taken by a bit surprise there, she answered not so formally this time. ¨Umm. Hi.¨



Sherman stared intently at the new figure, eventually deciding she must be real if she was able to respond to him. Or at least he hoped she was real, or else all the work he’s been doing had finally driven him insane. “Uh, so…. Who are you and why are you in my office..?” He asked, thinking back. He hadn’t put in for an assistant, and wasn’t notified about any roster changes.


Avory suddenly straightened up after remembering her business and why she had come here in a first place.
¨Ah, HAI!¨ Making a salute again, she changed her expression to neutral. ¨Liutenant Avory Williams, reporting for duty Sir! I was commanded to your care for the next month by the central's academy. For more details, they asked for you to call there yourself.¨ dropping her arm, she stood straight and waited for the man's reaction.
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Talonheart
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“I was…. Assigned a student?” Sherman asked, blinking his eyes a few times. “But I… Didn’t put in for an intern. In fact I’m not even on the list of instructionary officers for new recruits. I’m just a research officer..”

After a short pause Sherman stood up straight, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly as he was now faced with the responsibility of teaching this young girl. “Right… Um… So I’m… Uh. Major Doctor Sherman Greyhound I guess… It’s good to meet you Miss Williams.” Sherman was really uncomfortable with meeting new people. Largely because he never really understood what part of his title came first, the military title or doctorate title. And the fact he was about to pass out didn’t help either.



2nd Lieutenant Kirk sat at her desk, obscured from view only by the flimsy drywall separators found between all the officer's desks. Had anyone wanted to, they probably could have kicked a gigantic hole in the dividers, and have it done with, but Colonel Evans was strict; other people in your view was a distraction from paperwork, and paperwork kept order in the military. The military was what kept order in the country, so anything that went wrong in the military, even a speck of dust in the wrong place, would affect the whole country.

Kirk thought it was dizzying to think in such a way, but who was she to question her commanding officer? As she shuffled a few papers around on her desk, her thoughts drifted to Comwell. The man was constantly out of uniform, never came in to report properly, and probably constituted the majority of Colonel Evans's stress. In all honesty, Kirk wasn't sure how the man had kept his position as a state alchemist, much less the rank of major. Yet there he was, still running about in the field, doing his job and avoiding their commanding officer at all costs. Come to think of it... She had never really met him since she had transferred here six months ago. She had seen a few photographs, and the glimpse of a coattail on his way out, but she had never spoken with him, and she doubted he was even aware that someone new had been transferred into the office. Ah well. That was a state alchemist for you, ever aloof and self-serving.

She busied herself with her assignments now, concentrating on decoding the messages sent in from across the world by their spies. As trained, she did her best not to read them too much, letting the words merely be words so she would not be intruding on an authority that belonged to her superiors. Still, sometimes there was something very interesting in among all the dry reports, and it was impossible not to be interested...

The door to the offices opened with a sharp click, and Kirk was startled out of her coded gossip column. Fearing it would be the Colonel, she jumped out of her chair and to the edge of her cubicle, saluting, remembering with a panic it might have been better to just keep doing her assigned job. Her heart hammered in her chest as she debated going back to sit down, and dreading the sharp bark that would inevitably come no matter what she did.



Zach sat on the chair with an annoyed expression like a child sulking after getting scolded. His white hair was now combed clean along his head, reaching almost over his neck. On top of it all, he was wearing a set of state alchemist military uniforms with earned labels and rank marks on it. Mumbling and whining quietly on his seat, the man still stayed his ground.
most of the past hours were still a bit hazy for the man, but he did remember the time he woke up and it had taken 6 officers to dress him in the current outfit, all in between of the apologizes for assaulting a senior officer while doing it.
The room Zach had been placed was way too familiar for his tastes. It was the colonel's office and the only place Zach wouldn't go willingly.
Sinking deeper and deeper in his chair, the man almost lied on it, rather then sat. Soon, the light steps of doom closened up and the door behind Zach was opened.

¨Well well Major... Looks like you're finally wearing something suitable for your status.¨ the sarcastic voice spoke as Zach didn't even bother to turn around.
¨Yeah... I thought a change would be in order, and so forth...¨

Colonel Evans slowly walked across the room, passing Zach, and finally sitting down in front of her desk. Staring the man for few awkward moments, the red haired woman pulled out some files and placed them in front of herself. ¨Now then.¨ Crossing her hands on top of the files, the Colonel drove Zach into corner with her mere presence. ¨Gongratulations for your mission that went accordingly. Furthemore, I already have a new task that requires your immediate attention, and this time Comwell, you better co-operate without any resistance, or you'll be guarding the Xing boarders for the next 30 years.¨

Zach nodded while watching to the side, but otherwise remained silent.
¨Other then that, I demand that this time you accept the partner I assign along with you, unlike the last one that you locked in a trash can after knocking him out cold.¨

The memory brought a sly smile of amusement to the mans face.

¨Are we Clear, Comwell?¨ the Colonel asked with a calm expression.

Zach tilted his head from side to side and imitated Rebecca's voice mockingly¨ooh, are we clear Comwell?¨

A Second later the Colonels fist broke through the office desk, splitting in half followed by spray of wood pieces. ¨ARE YOU PLAYING WITH ME MAJOR!? YOU'LL DO EXACTLY AS I TELL YOU TO DO, OR I WILL RIP YOUR INSIDES TO SHREAD SO SLOWLY YOUR ANCESTOR WILL FEEL ILL FOR IT!¨

Zach covered his eyes from the flying pieces before bringing his expression to normal. ¨I get it, I get it!¨

Colonel was all fire and brimstone as she stared at the man like she was about to burn a hole through his head with its bare power.

Zach quickly grasped the atmosphere and moved himself towards the door before sprinting to the hallway.
Ramming through various of turns, he finally pressed himself through one of the countless doors and quickly closed it behind him. Listening for awhile if he was followed, Zach let out a sigh of relief after hearing no remarkable noise.
Turning around and leaning his back to the door, the man almost smile before noticing a young woman saluting at his way.¨ o...k..¨Waving lazily his hand to the girls way, he spoke. ¨at ease or whatsoever.¨

--------------------------------------------

Avory answered quickly to Sherman's assumptions. ¨Yes, well I was assigned just this morning so there's no way you could have heard about it. That's why I made myself to come here and inform you personally. It was Colonel Evans that had it done apperantly as the doc's regarding my tutoring were assigned by her personally.¨
Crossing relieveing her hands from the salute, she took a wider pose. ¨Please major, I've prepared some tea. Please do sit down. You must be tired from all the work you've done.¨



At first, Kirk was surprised not to have heard the braying voice of the Colonel, then relief washed over her, all the tenseness leaving her muscles as she sank to the floor, tears of happiness dotting her crystal blue eyes. She was safe for another day, yet! After a moment basking in her safety, the lieutenant returned to her desk, contemplating her work. Since she had transferred, she had gotten less field work, which made her job considerably less dangerous... But at the same time, at each opened door, each loud noise, whenever yelling was heard, every mention of the Colonel's name seemed to shorten her lifespan tenfold. With a last deep sigh, she returned to the pages scattered across her desk. She picked up the one she had been translating, and finally saw that there had been another page stuck to the back. Her heart stopped.

"SHIT!" she cried, pushing things around, searching for a pen, another sheet of clean paper, her codex, anything to help. "My deadline is in fifteen minutes, I thought I only had another sentence left!! Goddamn those paper-pushing fools, not numbering these-- ...okay, I guess that one was my fault, too... GAH!! No time!!!" Her fear of her red-headed superior officer made her check and double check everything in no-time flat, her hand making the pen seemingly glide over the page and making words appear in under and instant.

By the time her assignment was complete, five minutes early, a ghost of a woman rose from her desk, extremely pale with listless, tired eyes. If one looked closely, they might've been able to see her spirit escaping her mouth as she made her way to the Colonel's office to deliver the de-coded report.



At first, Kirk was surprised not to have heard the braying voice of the Colonel, then relief washed over her, all the tenseness leaving her muscles as she sank to the floor, tears of happiness dotting her crystal blue eyes. She was safe for another day, yet! After a moment basking in her safety, the lieutenant returned to her desk, contemplating her work. Since she had transferred, she had gotten less field work, which made her job considerably less dangerous... But at the same time, at each opened door, each loud noise, whenever yelling was heard, every mention of the Colonel's name seemed to shorten her lifespan tenfold. With a last deep sigh, she returned to the pages scattered across her desk. She picked up the one she had been translating, and finally saw that there had been another page stuck to the back. Her heart stopped.

"SHIT!" she cried, pushing things around, searching for a pen, another sheet of clean paper, her codex, anything to help. "My deadline is in fifteen minutes, I thought I only had another sentence left!! Goddamn those paper-pushing fools, not numbering these-- ...okay, I guess that one was my fault, too... GAH!! No time!!!" Her fear of her red-headed superior officer made her check and double check everything in no-time flat, her hand making the pen seemingly glide over the page and making words appear in under and instant.

By the time her assignment was complete, five minutes early, a ghost of a woman rose from her desk, extremely pale with listless, tired eyes. If one looked closely, they might've been able to see her spirit escaping her mouth as she made her way to the Colonel's office to deliver the de-coded report.
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Talonheart
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Lieutenant Kirk knocked thrice on the Colonel's door and stepped inside, trying her best to look just slightly over the Colonel's head as she saluted and began making her report. She paused a moment, taking in the smashed desk. "....What happened in here..?" She almost broke her salute, but then straightened anew, catching herself.

"Nevermind. Agent 'Red's report was received by this office last night, and successfully decoded by the deadline you requested, sir. ....MA'AM. Ma'am, I meant to say. Ma'am. Did I ever tell you how wonderfully feminine your eyes are..?" She felt that he blood was frozen in her face, torn between draining completely, or rushing up to form a vivid blush, but it remained in limbo. Kirk wisely held her tongue from doing any more damage, and handed Evans the handwritten translation from over the splintered rubble of her desk.

The first page, which Kirk paid avid attention do, detailed that he suspected the nearby families to be hiding fugitive Ishvalans, perhaps other rogues that the military sought, but he had not yet gained the trust of those nearby to confirm or deny his suspicions. He also reported that those around him were slowly taking up arms, polishing old farm equipment, bringing out their old knives and other weaponry. It was slow, subtle, but not unnoticeable. The unease was growing in the southern farmlands of the country.
The second page, which Liz did NOT read at all, save for paying attention to a few individual words which required looking up, said that the agent felt uneasy around all the farmers. He wanted to return to the city, perhaps under the pretense of visiting a sick relative. If he was permitted to return to the city, and he hoped he would be, he was really hoping that the Colonel herself would make him feel welcome by accompanying him to dinner, followed by dessert at her place. If she was permitting in her beauty, grace, and command.

Usually, Kirk knew better than to hand these parts of the report in to Colonel Evans. She would burn the incriminating document, as if it never existed, and save the field agents from the wrath of a commanding officer they never saw. However, the lack of attention she gave to the meaning of the words... Today, the secret longings of agent "Red" would catch up with him, and there would be no desk jockey to cover for him.



Colonel ignored Kirk's mistake with a glance at a girls way before taking a hold of the documents handed at her.
Taking her time reading the files, Colonel didn't bother to send the girl away. ¨I see... Good wor-¨
Suddenly Rebecca's expression changed as she got to the last page. ¨what the hell is this?¨ she lifted the paper up to her eye level and shook it towards Kirk. ¨is this a damn joke, do you think I have time for bulls**t like THIS!?¨ Forgetting instantly the useful information of the documents under another burst of rage. The papers flew all around the room from the force of Rebecca's risen hand she swinged upwards before grasping her beloved katana and unsheathing it in sudden berserk. all the papers around the air seemed to "explode" simultaneously as they were torn by the wind emitted by the Colonel's alchemy. The walls were cut deep all around along with the shattering sound of glass.
The yell let out by Rebecca could easily be heard to any near parts of the town as she let out her anger in its full blossom. If Lucky enough, Kirk would get out of the storm's way without any serious harm.

------------------------------------------------------
Zach, who was sneaking around the military area's main gate heard the high voice filled with rage and glanced back the building he had just ran out from. ¨Oh you got to be kidding me...¨



Sherman studied the girl for a short while, trying to figure out exactly why he was suddenly assigned an intern. Especially at a time like this in his career. His mind drifted to how Colonel Evans had complimented his professionalism the other night, and it became a little more clear. -I see… Colonel Evans must hope my obedient nature will rub off on this one so she doesn’t get another Zach… Not that it seems necessary. This girl seems like a pretty straight arrow to me…- He thought to himself, eventually nodding toward the girl as she mentioned tea. “Tea sounds nice.. Good work.”

Moving passed his newest student Sherman made his way to the tea pot, taking out his special mug with “I <3 Alchemy” written on it. Pouring the hot tea in the mug was unusually difficult, as his hands were shaking horribly from nights of sleep deprivation and lack of eating. Just as his mug was nearly filled a loud, booming sound of a woman yelling in rage and the exploding sound of a powerful fist striking a wooden desk shot through the air. Sherman’s hands jumped, eyes widening and nearly bulging from his head as the hot tea poured over the rim of his mug and onto his hands. The steam came off his now reddened hand, a pain searing over his skin in such a way as to make most men cry. His first instinct was to drop the mug, but his love for his liquid containing item far outweighed his need for self preservation, and so he calmly sat the hot cup of tea aside and put down the kettle, the steam filling the air. His entire body flushed red, but the moment his cup was safe he fell to the ground, flailing and writhing in agony as he clutched his burnt hand. Yelling and cursing on the top of his lungs.

After a fairly brief moment of torment he stood back up effortlessly, coughed into his good hand, flushed red from embarrassment upon realizing that Williams was still in the room with him. “Right… Don’t worry, that was… Just a temporary lapse of… Complexion.” Turning back to his cup of tea he lifted it up once more, this time taking out a container of sugar and a tablespoon and beginning to take four cups of sugar and place it soundly into his tea. After shortly stirring it in, he lifted the mug to his lips and took a light sip. And yet another enraged outburst from the Colonel’s office shot through the air, sending the already shaky alchemist’s mug popping up and spilling the hot liquid all over his face. Just as before, Sherman calmly placed the mug aside, his face steaming from the heat, before falling to the ground and rolling around, clutching his face. “IT HURTS! WHY!? WWWHHHHYYYYY!?!?!?!?” He screamed, tears rolling down his burnt cheeks.



"What..?! 'Bullshit'? But I translated it perfectly, I don't know what you're talking about, Colon-- GACK!!" Right before her eyes, the work she had put her heart and soul into, and nearly killed herself to complete, were shredded, and instantly vaporized by the Colonel, the alchemic destruction fueled by her rage, which had probably been built up for weeks from various minor infractions made by her nervous team, and finally sealed by that git, Comwell. He was going to get everyone in his office killed, and he didn't care a mite about his hand in it. If she lived, Kirk vowed to wring his neck herself if she ever found him, but for now, survival took priority. All this flashed through her mind as she threw herself to the floor, covering her head with her hands in a feeble attempt to shield herself from the onslaught of cutting wind.

Tears dotted her tightly closed eyes as she sobbed desperately, trying to calm her superior, "Don't shoot the messenger, don'tshootthemessenger, don'tshootthemessenger, for the love of God, don't shoot the messenger!!!"



Lasting several minutes, the havoc finally ended.
Rebecca stood in a middle of stone rubble, breathing heavily. glaring around her, she watched the walls that were now full of cuts and holes that showed a way to the rooms around as well as to the outside of the building.
Pulling herself together like nothing happened, she stood straight and fixed the collar of her uniform after sheathing the wild weapon in her hand.
¨Liutenant, please take a hold of 1st platoons second group and ask them to gather near the eastern parking lot.¨
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Avory followed with round wide eyes how Greyhound fought against the cup of tea, trying to help several times, but only ending up as a side watcher regardless all of her efforts.
Finally she couldn't bare to watch the pain of her senior and ran to fetch a bucket of ice cold water and threw it on top of the major.
¨Umm... Major Greyhound, sir...?¨
-----------------------------------------------------

Just outside the window of Sherman's office, a sound of hammering could be heard, closening with every hit.
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Talonheart
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Sherman flailed a bit more before the cold water came slashing against his warm body, instantly cooling him and leaving his skin feeling raw and wet. His clothes were soaked now, and his greasy hair all matted down by the icy water. He lay there, petrified by the sudden temperature change before breaking out into a trembling shiver. Eventually he stood back up, reaching down a towel and wiping off his face before letting out a sigh. “Err.. Thanks Lieutenant. No need to report this to the Colonel… Or anyone…” He said, turning his gaze back to her. “Ever…”

Just after that Sherman could hear some strange noise outside his window. Like someone was hammering nails up the building. “What the…?” He set the towel down, walking over to the window to inspect the noise, unintentionally leaving a watery trail behind.



Panting, and shaking slightly, Kirk hoisted herself to her hands and knees. Her decorative hairnet had been slashed, and fell to the floor along with a few strands of hair. She also noticed a few shallow cuts on her hands that were beginning to sting. She wondered if any of the attacks had been close to severing her head? She wiped the thought from her mind, noticing how the jacket of her uniform seemed to fit differently on her now. She guessed there were cuts in the fabric as well, but she felt that her back had not been exposed, and the rest of her clothing was probably fine. She was grateful for that at least. As she finally stood, her honey-brown hair cascaded in waves just past her shoulders. She glanced at the Colonel, straightening her clothing as if nothing had happened and felt cold fear spreading from her chest to the tips of her fingers. As if through a haze, she heard the Colonel's order, but just barely.

"Y-yes, of course." She began to turn, and hastily made a polite salute before fleeing from the room. She wanted to do nothing more than run from Central and never return, but her militaristic discipline forced her to carry out her orders.

She made her way to the 1st platoon, who had been out practicing on the parade grounds, entering the area timidly. She approached the group, slouching, looking more like a ragged civilian than an officer sent on official business.
"Um... the second group needs to assemble by the eastern parking lot... official orders..." she mumbled to the platoon leader.

The leader scoffed. "Right, sure. And my underpants were ironed by the Fuhrer!" This elicited a laugh from some of his fellows who heard. "All right, boys, back to training..."

Lieutenant Kirk started as if she had been slapped in the face. The cold fear that had possessed her a second ago melted away from the hot rage building in her. She stuck her thumb and forefinger of her right hand into the corners of her mouth, and made an ear-shattering whistle that grabbed the attention of some groups that she could have cared less about.
"Look here, you bunch of lolly-gagging fools! I am 2nd Lieutenant Kirk, under Colonel Evans! The Colonel wants the second group of you lot assembled by the eastern lot, and she wants it NOW!! I say you move before I report to her that you refused orders and recruit a squad worth their daily bread! MOVE!!" Surprised by the forcefulness of which she was able to bray, Kirk stood stock still, pointing toward the Eastern parking lot, her eyes wide from shock, but the others mistook to be fury. A group assembled quietly and then trotted off to do as they were bid, murmuring that the woman here was nearly as scary as Evans herself.

The platoon leader was still in shock, but he finally managed a salute. "I apologize for the inconvenience, ma'am, and my insubordination!" Kirk wasn't sure why she was being addressed so importantly; the man was a major, and outranked her, insubordination was not a problem between the two of them. Perhaps it had been the mention of Evans, then. Speechless, she nodded, and saluted back, walking away with an air of confidence she did not have until she left his field of vision, where she allowed her knees to buckle as she sank to the ground. Some days, Kirk could swear she wouldn't make it past the age of 30....



Just as Sherman would be close to the window, Zach's head would bash through it. ¨Grey, you GOT to help me, hide me, quick.¨ babbling this very fast, not seemingly caring the wide gash that the glass had torn on his forehead, the man lockpicked the window from the ther side and slithered into the room like a snake.
CHecking the room from the ground level, Zach dared to sat against the wall under the window. ¨Phew¨
Litting a smoke and taking a deep one, Zach was about to say something before noticing the young girl standing confused in the middle of a room with an empty bucket on her hands.
Shifting his eyes back to Sherman, Major Comwell lifted a brow. ¨did I... interrupt something?¨



Sherman peered out his window curiously, when out of nowhere Zach’s head came crashing through the closed window, sending glass everywhere. Sherman jumped back, letting out a moderately masculine scream as he fell down on his ass with a loud THUD. The moment Sherman rationalized to himself what just happened, Zach was already in his office, and lighting up a cigarette as he asked to hide. “What the hell Zach!? If Colonel catches you in here she’s going to castrate me!” He yelled, standing back up and rubbing his forehead nervously. “And why are you smoking if you’re trying to hide? She’ll smell it!”

When Zach finally realized Williams was in the room and asked if he was ‘interrupting something’ Sherman gave him a confused look, not knowing what the guy was talking about at first. “Eh? Interrupting som-” He stopped, eyes turning to his young student as everything finally sunk in. He whirled back around to face Zach, giving an indignant glare. “What!? No! That’s disgusting Zach, I’m old enough to be her-” He stopped again, looking around the room with suddenly narrowed, sneaky eyes before he lowered his voice to a calm, somewhat underhanded tone. “Her older brother… Yes, that’s it..”



Kirk picked herself up after a few moments and trudged back into the building. Colonel Evans had ordered her to rally the second group, but not to stay with them. As it stood, she had no orders to work on, nor did she have any order to return to Colonel Evans. The only thing that kept her from going home was the protocol that said she could not leave headquarters unless she had been formally dismissed by a superior officer. With weary eyes, she looked at the door to Colonel's Evans' wing. She dreaded it, and found herself veering off to a side office. She clicked open the door, her eyes closed.

"Major Greyhound, do you mind if I hide out here a bit..? I'd be happy to help with some paperwork, I just can't face the Colonel anymore today..." She lifted her eyes and was greeted not by Greyhound's lofty brown eyes, but by blue ones not too different from her own. "Uh... Am I... interrupting somethi--?" she asked hesitantly, looking around until she saw Zach, cutting her question short. At first she didn't recognize him, but it all came back to her rather quickly. Her eyes widened and her ears buzzed as she debated whether or not to yell, scream, strangle, stab, or ignore....

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Talonheart
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¨Yeah yeah, well it wouldn't be my business anyway if you were towards the little ones.¨
Zach closed his eyes for a second to take another lungful before speaking. ¨Anyway. I'm in a deep one with this Colonel of ours, if you didn't get that from earlier, bu-¨ yet again the mans sentence was cut short by an interruption, this time coming from the way of the office door.
Tensing up before realizing it was the same girl he had seen earlier that day. ¨oh, you. Heya little miss.¨making a half assed 2 finger salute with a cigarette hangin in there between, Zach's attention turned back to Sherman.
--------------------------------------------------------

Avory, who had decided to sneak out from the front door soon after the weird looking officer popped through the window, was stopped by a stare coming from the recently opened door. ¨ Umm, hi...`¨ All that had happened were way too fast for Avory to put up with all at once and she politely moved to the farthest corner of the room and tried to avoid any eye contacts.



"...'Little'?" Kirk repeated the first half of the phrase softly. "You... You DISRESPECTFUL GIT!" Looking slightly maddened with rage and her loose hair flying about, Kirk lunged for Zach, grabbing his lapel and shaking him violently. "You piss the Colonel off and she takes it out on the rest of her staff!! Why don't you stop and think about everyone you're hurting, huh?! Maybe I won't give you the chance,and just strangle you! My job can't be in any more danger...!" At the mention of her job, Kirk thought about her performance today, how enraged the Colonel had been over what was probably a mistranslation. Her eyes filled with tears. It was stressful work but she liked her job. She didn't want to lose it... "Ahhh my joobbb....~" wailed Kirk, breaking down sobbing and throwing herself against Zach, forgetting the mad rage with which she had been attacking him before.


Sherman’s ears twitched as he heard his office door open. He whirled around to face the door, fully expecting the Colonel, only to see the young Lieutenant Kirk walk through asking for a safe haven from Evans. Calming somewhat, he looked around his suddenly crowded office with a sense of exasperation. Gripping the bridge of his nose with a heavy sigh, Sherman tried to recompose himself. “This is why I work at home…” He muttered before looking up. Without warning, Kirk flew into a blind, screaming rage and charged at Zach, Sherman barely managing to sidestep her attack and tripping over his desk, landing on the ground flat on his face.

Standing back up, AGAIN, Sherman rubbed his now burnt AND bruised nose, his eyes watering slightly as he turned his attention to Kirk. She had started to sob and cry, making Sherman feel less angry and more sad for her. He knew what it was like to have his job on the line all to well. -Job.. My job… Evans. If she finds Comwell in my office…- He thought, before his eyes drifted to the door. He had a feeling the woman would come barging in at any moment, so Sherman needed a plan for when that came.

He then turned again toward Kirk, limping over toward her and Zach, as he had hurt his leg on his desk just now. “Alright… Um… We need to get this all straightened out before Evans walks in and kills us.”



Compared to the rage faced earlier, Zack took the shaking with a dull expression while setting the smoke between his lip. ¨Listen, I-¨
Taken by a bit surprise for the after math for Kirk's change of mood, he stopped his sentence half way. ¨woah.¨ spreading his arms to the side while still holding his back against the wall on a sitting position, he quickly went through options what to do in a given situation.
In the end he landed his hand on top of Kirk's head and pulled her hair back a bit. ¨Take it easy now. It's not like anyone's gonna die here.¨ His tone had lost its sarcasm for the moment as he glanced at Sherman for some support to help the hysterical woman at his lap.



Somehow feeling comforted by Zach's hand resting on her head, Kirk felt the courage to look up and take part in the conversation. She sniffled a bit, trying to dab at the tears still coming from her eyes.
"Colonel Evans asked m-me to gather th-the second group of the f-f-first platoon..." she choked, "and gather them a-a-at the eastern p-parking lot." She paused for a few deep breaths. "I don't know wh-what it means... but maybe it-it'll keep her busy... F-for a bit." Although she was still uncomfortable close to Zach, she didn't take notice, absorbed in the strange comfort his hand brought. She had almost forgotten why she was crying-- almost, but not quite. She just wasn't sure whether to continue taking her feelings out on Zach now.
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Talonheart
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Sherman nodded to Zach, noting he was uncomfortable. He moved a hand to rest on Kirk’s shoulder to get her attention, and gave her a warm smile, albeit mildly burned from the tea and with a big red bruise on the center of his forehead, which unbeknownst to him made him look rather goofy. “It’s alright Lieutenant Kirk, you can hang out here for a while. How about I get you a cup of te-” He stopped himself, considering whether or not he wanted to deal with the tea right now. “Actually… Lieutenant Williams.” He turned around to glance over at his intern hiding meekly in the corner. “Could you get Miss Kirk a cup of tea please?”

There was no way in hell Sherman was going near the teapot again. Not for a long time. Now that the room was calming down a sudden feeling of tiredness came over Sherman, causing him to let out a tired yawn and stretch his back out, releasing the young girl from his grip. “So tired…” He said absentmindedly.



¨Up we go miss.¨ raising himself from the ground, Zach took a firm hold under Kirk's arms and lifted her figure up to her feet as well with ease. Nodding at Sherman he spoke. ¨Hound, I'll talk to you later, go ahead and have some rest. I have something I need to do anyway.¨
Already lighting up a new cigarette, the major walked to the nearest table and took a seat.

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Liutenant Williams shook up like she had been waked up in a dream. ¨y-yes!¨ getting hold of the tea pan, she fetched few more cups and brought them up to the table and filled them up. ¨Umm, Major Greyhound. If possible, I would like to return to my quarters for now.¨ She was still unsure what to believe from the past morning so the best decision would probably be to get some private time to clear some images.



Kirk was somewhat surprised at the ease at which Zach lifted her up and the quickness at which he left her to go sit by the table. She stood awkwardly for a moment, then joined him, and thanked the young intern as she set the tea down and scurried off to say something to Greyhound. Liz cradled the beverage in her hands, letting its warmth calm her before taking a slow, hearty gulp. Avory's tea-making skills were impeccable. She sighed and set the cup down, feeling composed for the first time all day. She chanced a glance at Zach, who sat there smoking his cigarette lazily. She reddened as she thought about her outburst at him, and timidly began tracing the rim of her teacup absently with her index finger.

"Um... Look, I-I wanted to apologize... For yelling. I'm sure you're not the only reason the Colonel makes our lives miserable." She sighed deeply. So if not just Zach, then what? What made the Colonel so cranky? Why couldn't there just be a simple, straight answer, like there was when decoding messages.



Sherman turned back to Williams, nodding in her direction as she request the rest of the day off. Seeing as Sherman had not planned on her even being here today he couldn’t think of any reason to make her stay, so he simply smiled. “Of course. Go ahead and take the rest of the day off if you need to Lieutenant.

One Williams leaves Sherman moved over and sat at his desk, leaning back in his chair. The real reason he had come to his office today was to get some sleep, since every moment he spent at his house just made him think about work. Eventually he took out a few pieces of paper and began writing out a report with remarkable speed, filling it out halfway before setting his pencil aside and leaning back again to relax. This way if Evans walked in he could show he was actually working, and not just sleeping on the job. “Hmm…” He thought to himself about what to do if Evans walked in and saw Zach. Coming to a simple conclusion, Sherman spoke out loud. “If the Colonel walks in, tackle Comwell to the ground and act like we just caught him. That’ll at least get us off the hook.”



Zach crossed his legs and stared at the cigarette that was diminishing with good speed. ¨No... If it was the reason, I wouldn't be surprised. Afterall, I've lived my life so that hers would be like hell.¨ he answered to Kirk's comment
For less then a second, the mans eyes flashed at Sherman's way with amusement in them ¨Thank you for the turst partner.¨
Not bothering to explain any more of it, Zacharty thought of his next move. outrunning the Colonel's troops in military base would be a stupid as trying to escape sharks in the water.
Greyhounds place was the last place Evans would look in this situation, which would give the man few more moments to think before acting, even if it had never been his strongest points.
Furthemore, he would have to get his belongins from the Central's quarters...
¨Which reminds me, I need to get rid of these clothes and get my own back.¨ Loosening the collar of his army uniform like he had been strangeled by it, he prepared to take off.
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The lieutenant broke into a grin. "Wonderful. In that case, the ropes that I stashed in your closet will come in handy," she added, her tone making it impossible to tell if it was a joke or not. Still, she contemplated what Zach said. Did it go beyond his constant avoiding of her commander, or was that what he meant by his statement. She couldn't be sure, and it seemed the time to ask had gone past, because the man began stripping. Not surprised or offended in the least, Kirk mulled the possibilities of Comwell's relationship with Colonel Evans and sipped her tea. Suddenly something occurred to her.

"Comwell..." She neglected his title, partly on purpose. "If you have no idea where your plain clothes are, and you're stripping your military uniform here... Doesn't that leave you completely naked running through Central?" She quirked an eyebrow at him. "I think that's more suspicious than you and I being in Major Greyhound's office together..."



Sherman’s eyes closed as he began to drift off, but he could still plainly hear the conversation. During his doze he picked up on a very key word. ‘Naked’. Zach was stripping down in the middle of his office. Sherman darted to a sitting up position, lashing out to grip hold of his stapler and hurled it at Zach’s head. “What is the matter with you!?” He yelled, scolding his friend. “What if Evans walked in and saw you naked in front of Miss Kirk like that huh? And me sitting here… Watching…”

Sherman shuddered at the thought. Evans finding Zach in his office would be bad enough, but if Zach was naked there would be no hope of salvaging any of their careers from the smoldering, nude ashes left in the Colonel’s wake. “Just keep your clothes on. It won’t kill you to be presentable for a change.” Sherman realized this was just a bit hypocritical, being the only one in the room out of uniform. But that was because he didn’t plan on staying long, and honestly had expected to get in and out in just a half hour or less after a short nap and some paper work.



¨Oi oi!¨ ducking under the thrown object, Zach returned to his position on the chair. ¨take it easy Hound. I just opened a few buttons, ok? I mean I need to change these clothes to my own WHEN I find 'em.¨
Zach shook his head and stood up. ¨Anyway, take care miss. Hound.¨ the man nodded them both slightly before making his way towards the door.¨



“Eh? Oh, sorry…” Sherman replied a bit sheepishly. “I blame the lack of sleep. Makes you irrational.” With that he let out a long, drawn out yawn and leaned back in his chair. “Seeya Comwell.” Sherman said, lazily waving a hand as his friend began to leave the room. His eyes closed as he began to daze. Turning his half attention to Kirk, who was still sitting in his office, Sherman mumbled a short sentence. “Feel free t’stay here Kirk… Just don’t… Burn anything..” With that he drifted off to a deep sleep, snoozing quietly in his chair for the first time in days.


Rebecca watched the yonder with tired eyes. The last bit of ash dropped from the end of her almost fully burned cigarette, stating that she had been standing in her place for quite a while.
She sighed loudly as the horizon opened beneath her glare from the wide hole on the wall that gave her the view where there used to be a window, and was now just a large man sized crack. Her temper had once again taken hold of her, and it could cearly be seen from the office she stood in.
Suddenly her hand made a twitch and the pair of brown eyes turned to the side, but otherwisely her figure stood still. ¨What do you still want...? you got what you wanted already.¨ her words were pointed at the figure standing on her doorstep, even her vision did not reach that far side.¨

¨Just give me the assigment files and I'll be on my way.¨ An answer was heard with a low, serious tone.
Comwell stood there with his hands tucked deep in the pockets of his army uniform.

¨Hmph¨ This time Rebecca turned her head enough to see the thin figure. ¨Why the change of heart, major..?¨

Comwell watched downwards to the side and shrugged. ¨That stupid assistant of yours has an awkwardly amateurish way with words.¨

Colonel Evans quirked her eyebrows. ¨Elizabeth? I see...¨
Zacharty took few steps closer from the doorway ¨Also...¨
The mans hand appeared from the depths of his pockets lightning fast and threw somethig towards the Colonel that she easily caught in her grasp. It was a silvery pocket watch with a frail chain attached to it. ¨...This'll be the last time Colonel... then I'm out.¨

Rebecca opened her hand and watched the clock. ¨...¨
Dropping her hand and keeping the watch, she answered while returning her eyes to the sunset. ¨Zach... When did we start hating each other so much?¨

The man did not answer right away.
¨You should know it better then anyone else.¨

The Colonel kept her neutral face regardless of Zach's referral to the past war. ¨You were a soldier back then, and I was your superior. We both did our duty according to our orders.¨
Zacharty turned around, facing his back at the Colonel.¨Maybe so, but it still didn't justify our actions.¨
Returning to the doorway, Zach placed his hand on the door handle while staring at the reflection of himself from its surface. ¨Have you ever seen it Colonel...?¨

Evans slowly turned to face the Majors back, leaving the red sunset behind her back. ¨seen what...?¨

Comwell kept staring at the reflection for few more seconds before looking over his shoulder, straight into the Colonels eyes.
¨The face of a dying child that stares at you for that few seconds when it all comes clear to her. When you know that it was you who killed her parents, siblings, friends... and by your actions She would soon die too. And you know what...? the worst is that the thing that I saw in her eyes... It wasn't that of blame, or even pain, not even when blood started coming out from her mouth as she was slowly drowned in her own blood, for once she didn't let out a sound.

...It was the indifference, or acceptance, I don't know. That cold, empty stare when she had realized there was nothing for her to cry or beg about anymore. She simply died long before her body was even touched. When you see it Becca... maybe you'll understand that small part of us soldiers that have to walk our days thinking how soaked we are by the blood of bystanders of your wars. ¨
Comwell turned away once again and lit up a cigarette. ¨You wondered why I hated this uniform, didn't you? There's your answer. This uniform of "Honor and justice" Is drenched in so much blood it weights me down more and more on every step I take wearing it.
...I'll get my stuff on my way out, I take that my assigment is there as well...?¨
Without waiting for an answer, the man walked from the doorway, to the hall.

Rebecca didn't answer to any of Comwell's statements. She stood there, staring at the way where Zach had stood as the memory of his figure slowly faded.



Kirk sat in Sherman's office for a few hours, each passing minute making her more and more aware that Colonel Evans could come in at any time. She pondered Sherman's comment about burning things, and couldn't make much sense of it, other than maybe he had some incompetent assistant at some point. She got up to make herself another cup of tea, and while she waited for it to cool a bit, she opened a closet labeled "Supplies". One would assume it was full of research or ingredients for his experiments, but in reality it held blankets and pillows. Not wanting to move the major, she picked out a fleece blanket and tossed it around his shoulders. The man was overworked as it was without a cold, after all.

Liz sighed and looked about the room. It was clean and innocent enough, aside from the fading water stains from the bucket Avory had dumped on the major. No evidence that anyone had been there remained, aside from a few ashes on the windowsill that were easily brushed outside and the blanket, which could have been fetched by Greyhound himself. The multiple teacups, of course, were a giveaway, but they were easily washed and put away. Satisfied that there was now no evidence to show anyone had been here but the major and his assistant, Kirk began the business of sneaking back to her office to grab some documents that needed reviewing for the next day.

Luckily, the halls were empty at this time of day. She strode through them with confidence that she didn't feel as her heart hammered in her chest and her eyes darted back and forth, on the look out for that short red hair and flashing blade. She managed to make it to the offices, and stood outside them for some time, going through where she had left the documents in her head, so as not to spend too much time there and run into the Colonel. She finally ran in, darting past cubicles like a cat until she got to her own. She silently opened drawers like a practiced thief, her slender fingers picking and sorting with ease until she had what she needed. With the same incredible speed, she she got back to the door, certain that no one had seen anything, the only suspicious thing being that since her report to the Colonel, she had not returned to the office, but her peers would probably assume she had been injured or otherwise incapacitated by the Colonel, which was true to an extent. Her only task now was to exit the building and get home without being sighted by the Colonel. All she had to do was take some indirect, circular routes that no one from her office would ever think to use, pop out the side entrance, and hope she was finished with her business in the lot. What were the chances?
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