Gone

34.

A week after the incident was reported as a gas pipe bursting, Stone gets three letters, one reinstating her back to Granger's service, the second says Tuscany's Armshall Branch is now her home base and the third letter was from Alphonse.

'Amoura your Sterling heirloom ring has found its way to me, if you like I can return it to you, none the less it will be here, well taken care of, waiting for you to return to it.

-Alphonse Sterling

What good does this letter do now? They went back to get revenge on Alzack and now they're dead. If only they'd stayed away. Stone destroys the letter as she makes her way across the base.

She meets with her squad in the live-action city obstacle. "Alright, today you all start learning how to work with my tactics, before we start I will explain the objective of today."

Stone goes on to layout the drills and tells them each of their job and they must respond with how they'd react. One of her rooks sighs and she looks at him uninterested, "you don't have any right to be annoyed, you've died four times already and we haven't even started the drills." He looks at her, "I don't see the point in talking it through if its different in the field."

"Exactly and if you don't give your brain options when the time comes you will hesitate and in your case die. If you don't want to be here go ahead and go, join another squad."

Stone looks at him seriously before shooing him with her hand. "Go. Anyone else?" No one else moves, "good then lets continue." She starts from the beginning, they spend the last thirty minutes of their time in the drill site setting up positions benifitial to the success of their mission as Stone tells them the pro's and cons of their positions.

Her squad joins the other Captains squad at the track, "Alright, obstacle course six minutes go!" Row yells as he starts the timer and the rooks all take off. "He does know their best time is seven and half minutes right?" Stone comments to Coon.

"Yes, but its easier to get them to seven minutes if we tell them they failed a few times," Coon replies as Amoura shrugs in agreement.

"How's your day been?" Coon asks as Stone sits down. "Uninteresting," she raises her leg to retie her shoe, "almost dying on day two not interesting enough?" Coon looks at Stone amused as she shrugs, "nope, near death experiences don't do it for me anymore." Stone mutters as she leans back.

"That sucks." Stone nods, "does it help if I say I haven't felt homicide today," Coon quickly counters with 'the day is still young.' Stone smirks and points her eyebrows and nods in agreement.

Coon approaches her as Row comes back with the half the squad obstacle, "drink and rest while the others finish," Stone catches Row and Coon smiling at one another.

"What's up with you two? You guys have been real smiley and upbeat the past few weeks?" Coon turns to look at her, "we all don't impersonate the dark side Stone."

Stone quickly retorts, "one of us has to be realistic." Coon gives her the side eye.

"There's a difference between realism and pessimism," he comments before refocusing on the rooks who just finished the course.

"So you're just going to pretend I don't see you two google eyeing each other."

"Yes. Just like you pretend to not being sleeping with a man when we were in Texas," drills end with the squad members making it to seven minutes two seconds.

"Told you," Coon mutters as he shows Stone the timer, "Alright lackies you all failed to make it to six minutes but you shaved of twenty-eight seconds of your personal best. Tomorrow it better be thirty-two seconds shorter. Take a rest while we set up the drills for live action." Williams says as Stone grabs a new water bottle.