Soldier Keep On Marching On

You're A Soldier Now

Now I can't go on, I can't even start.
I've got nothing left, just an empty heart.
I'm a soldier: wounded so I must give up the fight.
There's nothing more for me, lead me away...
Or leave me lying here.

**********

The boot camp wasn't so bad compared to what Aiden had gone through once before. Sure she had gained a little chubbiness in the five or six years she had been retired, but during that time she had also been pregnant. And she wasn't sure how much of that weight was still left. Either way, she had little to work on besides her stamina. She was proficient in strength and martial arts, her sniping was even better. The other recruits found it strange how well she knew to do things and how easily it came to her. And Aiden earned snide comments for it as well.

The moment she graduated from the boot camp Aiden was granted the rank of Sergeant and sent off to the East. No doubt the work of Bradley to see how she would do under sudden fire and a few ranks above other new recruits. In all honesty she was lucky to have been assigned to the front lines, as strange as that may sound. A sniper like her would be no use anywhere else.

Or perhaps he hypothesized that Aiden was in fact lying was trying to take down the military from the inside. Sending her to the front lines would give him an idea of her skills and if she really was there to infiltrate the military, then it would be a pity if a gifted soldier such as herself was killed in combat. And sure, while that was her aim, it wouldn't happen for another six or seven years. And it wouldn't happen without Ed and Al or Mustang and his men.

Aiden entertained the thought of bringing down the military before everything happened, but of course, no one would know what would happen next. Plus, she had no contacts and no means of doing so. If one of the homunculi or Father didn't get to her first, Aiden was sure Truth would obliterate her for taking his fun away and damaging the timeline so badly.

Oddly enough Aiden wasn't supposed to report to a commanding officer. Maybe it was because she was an immigrant and they should go before actual Amestrian citizens. When she asked about it all she was told was that her orders were probably lost in the mail. Two weeks of the same answer and Aiden gave up, lost in the mail her butt. So she spent her time with random squads and patrols, centering herself near the larger sources of soldiers, but kept to herself.

Months passed and Aiden knew her way around the battlefield known as Ishval and was surprised when she was given a recruit to look after. Another one of Bradley's doings, probably. Luckily it was only one person. Lord only knew how long he had been tracking her down, she wasn't exactly a person to stay in one place for long. He had probably startled her to death the day he had approached her.

Aiden had been resting outside the tent they had given her. It could fit two, but her last tent partner hadn't made it back. She was supposedly being assigned a new one soon. Her eyes were closed and her arms were folded across her chest. An empty bowl sat to her left, few remnants from her stew remained.

"Private Kain Fuery reporting for duty!"

Aiden shot to her feet. "Jesus crimeny almighty!" She held a hand to her chest and another held a gun at the source of the voice. One look at the man made her put the gun away. "Please don't do that again." The frightened private nodded. "Sorry, but who are you again?"

"P-Private Kain Fuery," he stuttered, adjusting his glasses.

"You can't be over eighteen, why are you here? And I don't mean the battlefield, that's obvious. Why are you reporting to me?"