first sortie.

[unbr8kable]

[Six hours previous, everything had been so much simpler. The Eta cohort had made it to live combat training, out in one of the few areas the Tenno had claimed back from the invaders. Xia had been vibrating the whole day, grinning wide as she suited up in the boring steel training mech (hers would be blue, she decided, or maybe black, with bold red stripes on the limbs) and deployed to the field, not even cracking on Wimperson, the Support (not his real name, but it may as well have been).

The Heralds didn't come up on radar until they were practically on top of the trainees. Maybe if there'd been more lead time, it would've been less of a shitshow, but who the hell knows.

The grimy details aren't important, but they aren't great. Damage to all suits, with two damaged beyond repair; the Leader froze under pressure, the Shadow couldn't keep up with the speedy Heralds. Wimperson actually came through. Johnson the Medic went down right there, in front of them.

Xia and Jacob have only just gotten out of their debriefing, another unexpected first for the day.

She and Jacob did good, Xia knows. They kept their heads, were barely hurt, they moved together well. "You'll make a good team," Corporal Kuwahara tells them before turning towards the medical ward to check on Johnson's surgery. "Go get some rest."

But no, rest is pretty much the opposite of what they need right now, Xia thinks. She turns to Jacob, giving her best attempt at a normal expression.]

Wanna get out of here?

Comments

[crossmyheartandhope]

Well, we know we kicked its butt.

Let's get out of here.

[unbr8kable]

Don't have to tell me twice.

[crossmyheartandhope]

[Don't have to tell him twice, either. He is beelining for the door. He pauses, though, glancing at the dog still in his arms.]

What about this little guy?

[unbr8kable]

[shrugs]

Keep him. Does he have a tag?

[crossmyheartandhope]

What, he's gonna be the roof dog?

[Checking for a tag... Nope, nothing.]

[unbr8kable]

You could stick him under your bunk.

[crossmyheartandhope]

He'd be pretty cramped under there.

[unbr8kable]

You could put him in your bunk.

[crossmyheartandhope]

He'd get thrown out.

[unbr8kable]

You might get thrown out. Sounds like the roof's the winner after all.

[crossmyheartandhope]

[He is hesitating more than you'd think.]

You think he'd like it there?

[unbr8kable]

Do you like it there?

[and then, because maybe that's a bit too honest,]

I've got no idea. But there's one way to find out. It's not like we can't give him back if it doesn't work out.

[...hopefully.]

[crossmyheartandhope]

[Speaking of too honest: what happens when we inevitably die and there is a dog no one knows about up on the roof, starving to death? But he is not going to say that, because he doesn't say things like that.]

...

...maybe we'd better not.

[unbr8kable]

[...she'd just been thinking about Fielding finding it, but that's a good reason, too]

...Probably.

[she pats the dog's head, scratching gently behind its ears]

Ready to say your goodbyes?

[crossmyheartandhope]

Yeah.

[Gives the dog a final ear-ruffle and goes to set him down.]

See you, buddy. We gotta go.

[unbr8kable]

[it scruffles and licks at jacob's hands. maybe he is just too delicious to let go]

It's a tough life, being a hero to dogs.

[crossmyheartandhope]

Hero might be too strong a word. We saved him from, what, boredom for all of five minutes?

[unbr8kable]

Five minutes in dog years is a pretty long time! I say, take your praise where you can.

[crossmyheartandhope]

We'll get trophies made.

[One final scritch and he is turning to go.]

[unbr8kable]

Like, a giant bone? Or a golden dog bowl?

[crossmyheartandhope]

A giant gold bone in a dog bowl.

[unbr8kable]

--A giant bone in a giant bowl? or giant bone in a normal-sized bowl?

[crossmyheartandhope]

Normal-sized bowl would be way better.

[unbr8kable]

Put that on your coat of arms!

[crossmyheartandhope]

There's gonna be too many swords and stuff for it to fit.