"I was just checking in on you Ava" Shaun said. "I just wanted to see how you were holding up after the attack."

"Yes, thank you." Shaun enterd Ava's quarters. "I just wanted to say that your one of the bravest soldiers I've ever seen, and that I'm glad your on my squad."

A slight smile came over Shaun's face. "It was nothing. I'm sure you would have done the same for me." Shaun took a flask out of his back pocket. "I've been keeping some whisky aroud secretly, and I figured you could use a drink after today."

Ember's mech seemed to have disappeared only because it was in her camouflaged hangar hovering above above the base.

Shaun took a can of beer. "Thanks." Shaun sat down and took a gulp. "So tell me Ava, Why do you fight?"

"Same reason as you." Shaun took another drink of beer. "I grew up in an orphanage, after that I went straight into the army of the union. I started as a footsoldier, and after only a few years, was promoted to mech pilot."

"All the time. I never knew my parents. Never really had a family. At times, that feeling of lonelyness can be more painful than anything you encounter on the battlefield."

((Brain Cramp >_<))

[lol :lol:]

The Empire soldier slowly reached over to the control panel before him and flipped the switch. All transmissions from HQ soon came to a stop. He leaned back in his seat and put a hand to his forehead. Ulric hadn't slept for more than a few hours before he was already dispatched.

His troop had been assigned to the north. They were to intercept two Union hovercarriers in order to rescue some POWs and retrieve any vital information about the Union research facility located in ice covered Europe. According to Empire intel, the Union is developing a satellite that can track any hovercarrier or mech on the planet. Also, they have created a nanobot system that can repair mechs while on the field.

At first, Ulric wondered how in the world his team could take on two hovercarriers fully loaded with enemy mechs by themselves but he soon found that his troop wouldn't be the only ones heading there. He would be joined by three other platoons from HQ. No hovercarriers will be joining them, however, as this is solely a mech operation. Mechs will be easier to hide than flying fortresses.

The take over had been an easy one. Small teams of mechs were used as a distraction to lure the Union soldiers out and away from the hovercarriers and into an ambush while a larger team would come up behind them and secure the Union flying forts. Ulric didn't need to worry about enemy backup this time. An ambush had been set up for nearby Union forces investigating the bomb attack in the Sahara.

Now the general sat in his silent cockpit, watching as the other soldiers quickly searched the Union hovercarriers. It would be another hour before they left. With rescued prisoners and information in tow, the Empire forces made their way back to Mazghanna, an Empire territory formerly known as Algeria. There they would rendezvous with officials from the capital.

Shaun took a drink. "Sounds like we both have had hard lives. I guess the only thing we're both good at is fighting and surviving." He said with a smile.

Shaun finished his beer. He took out an envelope and opened it. "This is an offical report from HQ." Shaun read it, then summed it up for Ava. "The Union controls the west and the south, and Empire controls the north and the east."

"We never get anywhere" Shaun said, leaning back in the chair. "Every day is the same. One side gains land, the other side loses land, and vice versa. It never changes."

"Everyone see's me as this great leader" Shaun said, pausing a moment to sigh. "But somedays, I just want to hop into a jet and take off towards the sunset, leaving all of the fighting behined."

Shaun smiled. " That's a good idea, Ava. I will do that. I'm glad to have someone like you as my squadmate."