April 11, 2056

It took another day for the Sentinels to be able to crack the HVT into spilling everything he had in his head. Nothing ever came up about what the Flag Bearer said, and the officer we were hoping for was at the very bottom of the chain of command and most the things he said we already had knowledge of... except for one thing.

Before our raid, a truck containing documents of purchased equipment from FDOS was on its way to be checked by a senior official. Sure enough, Rambell tracked it down through surveillance and observed its movements as it entered the city of Sosontsy before entering into a supposably abandoned warehouse. Those documents could be vital to this operation if seized... and fortunately for us, that task was already taken care of.

"Good luck guys. Don't have too much fun out there." I say to the passing Sentinels.

Josh continues walking towards the vehicles but his second in command next to him turns around to face me.

"Any day is a fun day when dealing with Separatists." He chuckles. "You should come along."

"Sorry, but with a target on my back I think I'd rather stay here," I say.

"Ah right. That damn FB. If we run into him again, we'll make sure to run up the score on him."

"That... would be nice." I murmur. It's a bit reassuring to hear that after my beat down from the FB. Kinda embarrassing too... It's become a running joke among the other shards about my misadventure during the raid.

"Anyways, we'll return when your Company is in need for another guide. What would you do without us anyways?" He jokes before being called by one of his soldiers.

"Nik! Ну, двинули!"

"Shit. No free time nowadays. Catch you later..." He pauses.

"Luna. You can call me Luna."

"Alright, Luna." He says before extending his hand out to me, "The name is Nik. Hope we can be good comrades."

"Yeah... I hope so too," I state whilst shaking his hand. "By the way, how come your Captain doesn't talk?"

"Oh that?" He points back at Josh. "He's special. Like you. That's all I can tell you." Before I can respond he jogs over to his squad, waving quick goodbye, before climbing in with the other soldiers. The engine roars to life as it joins the convoy at the gate and proceed to the exit back into Rambell.

I stand there for a few minutes as the gate closes its doors and I'm left pondering about what he said. Special like me huh? I can't make any sense of it. Considering he doesn't talk, maybe that has something to do with it? Whatever the case, I can't help but feel like the sentinels aren't as bad as they're made out to be.

"Aww~ Does the frac already miss her hybrid friends?"

I turn my head to the voice and catch sight of a group of Guardians staring me down. Along with the one that bumped into me the other day with a grin stretched on her face. She must've made that remark.

"Excuse me?"

"Don't worry. They're made in laboratories, if they die, I'm sure you'll get a new batch in no time." She finishes with a grin.

Just ignore her. Just ignore her.

I begin to walk away but then she decides she has to make another statement.

"Must be hard being failures." She says and her groups snickers with her.

"...Must be hard being a bitch..." Now I've gone and said it.

They fall silent as I turn around to see the girl marching towards me. Oh great.

"What was that?" She's a couple of feet from my face but I can clearly see the fiery in her eyes.

"I said you're a bitch!" It's all coming out now, and I can't stop myself.

Her group of Guardians, along with nearby soldiers, gather to form a circle around the two of us.

"How about you and I settle this right now huh? We'll see who the bitch is after."

She's a good three inches taller than me but I stand my ground. I can hold my own, but so can she. I look around for an opening but find none, and who knows how long when a Shard finds me and sends help.

"Not in the mood. Just fuck off." I really need to work on the words I use cause this just makes things worse.

She backs away and throws off her beret and vest before rolling up her sleeves and heading back my way. I back away until I can't as the first punch comes at me. I duck just in time and move toward the center as she gets thrown into the crowd by her momentum. They help her up and she's back going at me. At least I know who they're cheering for...

"What's the matter frac? Come at me!" She taunts as we circle each other.

She comes again and I dodge her again but then suddenly her leg sweeps up and lands a blow across my face.

A cheer erupts from the crowd as I'm taken to my knees. My cheek is throbbing from her steel tipped boots, and I can taste blood pooling in my mouth.

"Pathetic." I hear her say as she waits for me to get back on my feet.

I spit the blood out of my mouth and regain my balance. I guess playing nicely won't cut out for me. I raise my fists and take my stance.

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"Finally in the fighting spirit are we?" She grins and lunges again.

I sidestep and she misses but quickly redirects herself back my way. Her leg kicks up again, but I expect the attack this time and catch it, just before flinging her across the ground.

She's back up in a flash as she continues to attack. I block the first strike as another comes at me from the other direction. Her fists make contact with my forearms, with each hit producing more pain.

After a series of more punches that I managed to block, she takes one step back before kneeling and sweeping her leg undermine, taking me down. I hit my head on the way down and I'm dazed for a second. I get my bearings back just in time as she's about to bring down her foot onto my chest and I roll out of the way.

I begin to crawl as she grabs my ankles and pulls me back. I think fast and grab a handful of sand and fling it on to her face. It work as she grunts and raises her arm over her eyes.

An opening.

I kick my leg out and it makes contact with her as she falls backwards.

I then proceed to jump on top of her and begin to bring down my fists on her, hard. I can hear every hit make contact as her face starts to become red from the blood pouring from a wound on her forehead.

I don't stop. I can't stop. A feeling inside me keeps telling to hit harder. To release it all on her and not to hold back.

To cause pain to her.

To.. kill her..

It's not until her friends finally pull me off her that I come back to reality. I may have beaten her but I doubt I'll be fighting her friends one-on-one.

As I prepare myself to get jumped by at least seven other Guardians, a shot rings out and the soldiers surrounding me get down and look towards the sound of the shot. Everything goes quiet with only the panting of my breath filling the void.

The circle subsides to reveal Nora, standing tall above the soldiers, her pistol raised in the air. Frost and Macy, along with other Shard members rush in and pick me up off the ground. They pull me back behind Nora without saying a word as the Commander finally holsters her weapon before speaking to her troops.

"Uppmärksammas! All of you!" Her voice comes out loud and pierces my ears. I can see the fury in her eyes as the soldiers face toward her with their feet together and chin up. The last one to get is the bloody girl Guardian. She struggles to her feet but can barely stand for a second before falling back to her knees in front of Nora.

The Commander stomps forward until she's inches away from the Guardian.

"Guardian Kelly! Is there a problem with you not being able to stand?" She says while leaning down on her.

She grunts with each breath as blood drips from her chin to the ground.

"C-Commander... that fra- shard... she-"

"The Shard what?! Is she the provoker?! Is that what you're telling me?" She's yelling louder now, and I can visibly see Kelly begin to quiver.

"...Ye-" She doesn't even finish her sentence because Nora grabs her by the chin and raises her head so her eyes filled with water can be seen.

"Lie to me again! Do it and see what happens." She right in her face as the Guardians breaks down in tears, apologizing over and over before spitting out the truth. Nora lets her go and Kelly crumbles to the ground.

The Commander now focuses her attention to the rest of the soldiers and Guardians.

"So, this is how we act now huh? This is what the Royal Order have become?" She looks around at the frozen soldiers until laying eyes on one Guardian.

"Does being a Guardian not mean shit to you!" She yells at him, who's actually way younger now that I look at him. Maybe eighteen or nineteen.

"Look at her!" She points at the still laying Kelly, her whimpers can still be heard all around. "How can one be honored to be a Guardian when in a state like that? Maybe I should write a report to the Chamber on all of your actions!"

That gets a reaction from them as the Guardian get out of attention to face her.

"Commander please no! I-"

"Did I say at-ease?!" Nora punches the boy in his gut as he gasps and falls to his knees. He coughs while holding his stomach.

While I would've wanted to stay and watch what would happen next, Frost grabs ahold of me and begins escorting me away. I can't think of what to say but I just know none will stop me from being scolded.

"Frost look... I-"

"Luna, we'll talk about it later. Let's just get you fixed up." Is all he says. At first, I don't understand what he's talking about but then I feel around my face and notice blood still flowing out my mouth. My arms are also bruised from the repeated hits I took.

I can hear the disappointment in his voice. He's probably thinking of what to say to me as well.

It doesn't matter anyways, and I don't care.

I look down to my palms and notice the stains of blood covering them. They've also been shaking nonstop.

I squeeze them tight before releasing and keep doing it until we make it to medical building.

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

It's gone dark outside, and rain pours down the window that I'm staring through.

We're in the medical building with other soldiers around us chatting amongst themselves. It's not like I needed any medical attention, Frost just brought me here because he knew not many people would be here.

He has his palm pressed against my cheek as I feel his surge of Divinity entering me.

He hasn't said a word, and neither have I.

He's finally finishes, and I feel good as new again. I rub the healed spot before breaking the silence.

"Are you angry with me?" I say, looking at the ground.

He doesn't reply for second. "No... No. I'm not."

I slightly turn to look to him. He's staring with a serious expression.

"I... just couldn't take it anymore." I clench my fists on my lap. I do it hard enough that my nails pierce my skin.

I've had words thrown at me before... so why did I snap this time? I guess what I told Alice was a lie.

Frost notices and snatches my hands up, holding them in front of me.

"Stop. Hey, calm down. If you draw blood, I won't be able to heal your hands. You've already drained me."

I take deep breaths and ease my hands. He lets go when I'm finally stable and takes a deep breath as well.

"Honestly, I'm kinda surprised you beat a Guardian. Gotta, give you credit for that." He laughs but composes himself shortly after seeing that I'm not amused.

He clears his throat. "No but seriously, I'm glad you stood up for yourself."

"You... are?"

"I mean... I'm disappointed in how you handled it but... it just proves to show that you are changing for the better." He stands up and stretches. "Damn, I'm tired."

"I'm sorry. I know all I do is cause you stress..." I eye him down as he walks over to a counter with a coffeemaker.

"Trust me, you're actually the least stressful part of my life."

<>

Macy's voice comes through his radio. He sighs before turning away from me.

"Yeah, I'm here."

I lean in closer so I can listen in to the conversation.

<>

"Ah, so it's my fault then?" He looks over his shoulder and notices me. He winks before moving further away towards the window out of earshot.

Alright then. It's not like I wanted to listen in or anything.

A lightning strike flashes outside which makes me jump. I go over to another window and peer outside. It's still pouring hard, and I can see more flashes in the clouds above. Another strike hits, shaking the building this time.

"Holy shit. That was right on top of us," A Tyran soldier in the lobby says.

From the corner of my eyes, an orange glow appears behind a couple of buildings.

Did it light something on fire? No... something's off. I can see multiple figures moving towards it as two more booms land nearby. They are almost deafening by loud they were.

I turn away and begin heading towards Frost, but I stop in my tracks when I hear an audible shatter behind me.

I turn around to see glass falling and a round object rolling in front of me before stopping in the middle of the room.

"Granat!" Someone yells and everything suddenly goes into slow motion.

"Divine Protection!" I'm caught off guard as I'm pushed to the side as Frost casts a golden aura around me.

A moment later it explodes into a ball of fire. Frost is thrown against a wall while I'm sent over a table and hit my head against the floor.

My vision goes blurry as I watch the room engulf in flames before going completely black.