Alive || 86: Eighty-Six [ vers. ENG ]

nameless soldiers

In the north-west, the confrontations with the Legion were becoming more difficult. Requests for reinforcements were piling up, but the number of soldiers available was getting insufficient for some part of the front. Between two difficult missions, whispers – some of which were not afraid to speak out loud – echoed through the corridors and rest rooms. Gossip in the base was along the same lines. A Republic monster had joined the base last night. For those present, the performance demonstrated aboard this iron monster was beyond belief. How could a human drive these things? It speed was far greater than that of the Vánagandr. However, none of these stories shared the most important information: who was leading this platoon? Yesterday's survivors didn't have time to catch a glimpse of this person's silhouette. All they knew was this person rank. Second Lieutenant. As for the members of the platoon concerned, they remained silent. And nobody seemed to want to force them to talk, knowing that they themselves had just lost members of their group during the recent clashes.

In the midst of all this, a young woman took the time to listen. With a stack of documents in her hand, she pushed open the door to the outside with difficulty. The air that greeted her smelt strangely of cigarettes. She turned her head and met the culprit. The soldier immediately hid his hands and apologized before slipping out of her sight.

She sighed. She couldn't even block the smell because of the documents she was carrying, so she continued on her way at a brisk pace. There, at last, she found the person she was looking for. Standing there, her eyes fixed on the sky, Charlize seemed to be deep in thought. So she waited a moment before approaching. When she finally called her name, she turned round... but not before mumbling something.

"Marguerite?"

Charlize waited for her cousin to join her. She then reached to replace her headband correctly. Since her hair wasn't perfectly styled, she guessed that she must have had a lot of work to do.

"It looks like you're working hard. Colonel Arenberg should go easy on you."

Marguerite smiled faintly. Not because Charlize had been right, but because she seemed at least concerned about her well-being.

"You're wrong, she's the one who's rightfully exhausted. I'm trying to reduce her workload as much as I can."

"Ah. Looks like she got you."

"Maybe. Underneath her strict noble attitude she's really kind... She knows how to take care of her subordinates."

"Hm... I find it hard to believe... seeing you all tired."

"It's my natural face."

Her lie was followed by a frown.

"Yes, of course it is. Sorry about that."

Charlize continued on another subject.

"By the way, what are you doing so far from headquarters?"

"I've been asked to pick up some documents."