"Hah, the count doesn't matter. Always more where they came from. Getting back alive, that's all that counts. Save the counting for after the war, not during it. Or if you're gonna count, count how many days till the next shore leave. Prime's not the same as Nepleslia but it sure as hell is better than any warship!" The ID-SOL laughed, dreaming of the next shore leave.
It was a strange part about being a Marine. The dream of being accepted into the fraternity of warriors switched, amongst the veterans, to dreaming of what to do in their down-time. It was recognized that those itching for combat were the ones likeliest to never have seen it. The old hands all knew it would come to them, no need to seek out the inevitable. Mother Nepleslia had many enemies and it was up to the Navy and Marines to destroy every last one.
And it was a point that Private Ben Linzer left unsaid. Either the newbie would learn the hard way or he'd be dead. No two ways about it. He had learnt from experience that even if he did try to warn them, they'd still be chomping at the bit like the overeager young colts that they were. So Linzer saved his breath on that regard.
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"I will but I don't expect Suzuki-san to take you up on that offer. It's not how ... we do things. For us, there is only one field of honor - the battlefield. Please don't think badly of her. Her fiancee died a week before they were due to get married. She watched his armor explode as the underground shelters sealed themselves off. But, I suppose, who hasn't lost a friend or loved one in this madness, eh?" Fujisawa smiled weakly as she left. The melancholy in her voice was palpable.
From the same door, a moment later, an ID-SOL walked through looking a little unhappy. He was as tall as Hardman and every bit as well-built, if not more so. Like Fujisawa, he had short jet black hair which he kept spiked.
"Okay, who just said what? That girl just ran by me with a wet face! I'm gonna pound whoever made her cry!" he smacked a fist into his palm threateningly. "Was it you, bro?" the ID-SOL named Butch demanded of Ben Linzer. The blonde-haired ID-SOL shook his head, and replied, "Nah bro. I got nothing against Fuji, its you and the Sarge who don't like 'em. So I dunno why you wanna pound whoever made her cry."
"If I make her cry, fine! But you know what Brick says, no one outside the squad messes with the squad. If they're with us, no one messes with them!"
"Geez, calm down, bro. No one said anything bad, right you two?" Linzer asked Ice and Francis. He wasn't going to let Butch start a pointless fight. The man looked for any excuse for a brawl and, as much as Ben loved the moron, he wasn't going to let two innocent newbies get thrashed for Fujisawa's emotional distress.
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"Two words. Operational security. Don't matter what you or it thinks it is or isn't. You're a greenie and its an AI. Anyone higher ranked than you says it goes, it's gone. Bring it back and you could face a firing squad. It was an AI that let the squids hit Nepleslia." While not entirely true, the fact was that the Drei system was, in some ways, suspect. A Neko had deactivated the Nepleslian capital defense grid, allowing the NMX to attack the heart of the Imperium. Savtech's security AI had resolved the security issues regarding the Drei but the damage to its reputation was done.
The promised replacement AI was already being installed on stuff back home but with the need for the fleets to grab territory, it would be wasted time trying to install and tune the new AI. But it wasn't like the boy knew this.
"I don't give a rat's ass about your girlfriend but it's going on my report that you're bringing an unsecure AI into 4th Fleet. You're 4th Fleet's problem and I hate dealing with other Fleets' problems. And keep your eyes front, not on my ass. Unless you want to lose your balls."
They passed through the doors into the armory where Francis, Ice, Ben Linzer and Butch were. And Ben had just finished telling off his squadmate when they arrived. "You're with these bastards. Now sod off and be their problem," the Corporal snarled as she left the armory.
