Snippet #1958715

It had been a brief wait under the rubble pile until the Stratian fighters had finished making their passes over the area. Finally, they had pulled out, and Aerionelle had taken her chance to escape before a search squad came in to find and capture her. She'd had some trouble getting out of the ruined city, considering the number of Stratians moving through the streets, but aside from a few small scrapes with the enemy, she'd managed to get out relatively unnoticed - just the way she liked it.

Fortunately, her squad hadn't quite made it to the evac point by that time, and it had been a simple measure to catch up with them and join them on the way to the Dracos. Then, it had just been smooth sailing away from the city, since the enemy's aerial patrols were still regrouping after the hit her squad had done on them.

And, after a few days recuperation, she, the commander of the newly nicknamed "Richmont's Hawks" - whose actions in the battle of Arcacello, while minor, had been one of the few decisive victories on the field - had been called to the office of one of the higher-ups. Honestly, it seemed to her that there was only one option for what this meeting might pertain to. After the Artomidian media had started focusing on her and her squad's efforts, latching onto it as a sign of hope amidst a crisis, she had been promoted almost immediately, and awarded with a medal known as the "Hawk's Feather," given for extreme acts of bravery and skill among the AAST corps. Sure, it was a PR measure to garner support for the military, and Aeri realized that. But the fact that she'd been given a fairly prestigious medal and a promotion still gave her at least some right to pride in herself, didn't it? Anyway, since that was all said and done, it seemed to her that this would be her next movement orders, and her objectives. They were going to move out again. While she wasn't battle hungry by any stretch of the imagination, she still had to admit that she couldn't wait.

She entered the General's office early, and, after saluting and reporting in, seated herself in silence. As the proceedings unfolded around her, she had to admit, she was curious. She had been called there amongst an odd bunch, to be sure. Raven Rookien, someone she recognized by reputation, if not by acquaintance, was a rather infamous assassin who had been caught during a botched takedown of an A.N.G. Intel agent. The murderess now worked for the Artomidian government, she understood, but she couldn't help but wonder why she, a regular soldier, would be working alongside a mercenary killer. Then, there was some weird guy named Unemori, or something, who she had never even heard of. Judging by his outfit, he wasn't a ranked member of the military, although he might have been some sort of rookie, or something. But what topped it all off was who came into the room next: Vage Leer, another person with a reputation.

His trial had been all over the news. Evidently, he was some sort of Stratian soldier who got cold feet when ordered to kill a civilian, and had gone rogue. While this normally wouldn't have been enough to exonerate a POW, apparently, the girl he rescued from his comrades had been pretty important, and he'd sustained heavy injuries while doing it, giving him both a powerful argument and a powerful ally. Aeri didn't really care how it turned out, but what she did care about was why in the hell she was apparently going to be assigned something involving a POW.

Only one way to find out, she supposed.