FicWad

X INFINITY

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There were infinite combinations of personalities and characteristics, but only a selected few crossed our lives. Before my return to the frontlines, I had this one question - who was I destined to meet on this particular journey?

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X1 - New Age Commander

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This was the first mission after my return to Palace. I was sent to the commander of the city where the heated battle had lasted for almost half a year.

"Hi. Let me introduce myself. I'm the commander in charge of the army here. Lieutenant Vivien Naro."//First impressions count and my opinion of her were not high.

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After much of a set of inquiries from the other soldiers, I was advised to report to the current commander in charge. I found my way to the commander's office. It was then that I was about to knock on the door when I discovered it to be still ajar. I entered to find a note on the desk. I presumed it was a message left for me.

"I'm currently unavailable. Could you buy me a pack of tampons? It's urgent. I'll meet you here at ten."

I read the note over and over again. I was an army officer. I was a soldier. What did the commander want me to buy? Did whoever it was respect the position they had? This was an army - an organised force, not a random bunch of people. I might have been a minor at this point, but I was not a slave. Even slaves should not be humiliated.

I ripped up the paper violently and into the bin it went. It must have been a joke. Turning to the clock above, I noted that there was only forty-five minutes until ten. I better hurry. It displeased me, yet those were orders and I was a soldier. As whom I was, I will have to follow commands. This was my life and those of every other soldier. We do not question the decision of our seniors, only to follow them.

Out of the office, I dashed down to the nearest convenient store. I scanned through the rows for what I needed. Although having been in a convenient store many times, I have never bought such a product before and was unfamiliar with it. When I arrived at its section, I contemplated into which brand I should buy. The commander never specified. I randomly picked one. I put it back down. I picked up another one. This will fit. I should say this will have to make do and approached the store attendant at the cash register.

"Hi there," the attendant began. "Are you buying this for your girlfriend or wife? You look young so it must be your girlfriend." He gave me a smile as he held the product.

"I wish I had. I hate to say, but it's for my boss. This is my first day at this job and this is the first thing she makes me do. I can't imagine my future life here or what type of person whoever it is could be. If it was for my girlfriend I wouldn't mind. It's...let's not talk about it."

He scanned the barcode. "Take it easy. That's life."

"It's easy for you to say." I paid the money.

I hastily returned to the commander office with my purchase in hand. I knocked on the door, acknowledging that this time around, the owner had returned.

"Come in." This was the commander's voice.

I entered.

"Hi. Let me introduce myself. I'm the commander in charge of the army here. Lieutenant Vivien Naro."

I placed the bag on the table. "What you wanted." This was embarrassing. Note that I never saluted her on my entrance.

She took out the package. "Oh! Thanks. This morning I was out on inspection. There was a minor issue with our water supply. Thanks." Out of curiosity, she did not say that I bought the wrong one. One thing with bosses was that when they tell us to buy something, we will never get the money back most of the time.

"Do you know who I am? Are you expecting me to run your personal errands?" First impressions count and my opinion of her were not high.

"Um...who are you...I've read your records." The commander searched her desk for a file. Was she trying to be funny just then? "Take a seat."

"And they put someone like you in charge. Why did they send me here..." I took a seat as she handed me my report. It was a thin file. I expected it to be a lot thicker than that.

"Are you questioning my position?" the commander retorted. "Have some respect. According to my knowledge you're ranked lower than me. Do you understand?"

I flicked through what the so-called records they had passed her.

Gary Klive

Rank: Second Lieutenant

Was an active soldier during the last war and served under Lieutenant Harolds for most of the duration until early retirement. Following the command of Harolds, their crew had been through many different types of battles. It was at the battle of Shara that most others knew them for. However Klive had demanded an early leave due to personal issues and has since disappeared. He recently reappeared at the headquarters in Kilba, submitting an application to rejoin the army.

Harolds holds high of his second-in-command with quick and smart tactics that had saved their group twice.

Following that brief summary on the front page was a picture of me in the early days. I almost forgot where I had taken the photo. I believe it was right before my first mission as a soldier and my squad took turns in taking photos as we were scared we would never return. How did they get hold of this picture? I turned to the next page.

There were a few more photos of my army commitment. They were scenes of my previous battles, though they were vaguely unfamiliar. I had visions of the cities they were taken in and even the particular events at the time, but to be honest, I think I never stood in those positions. Could it have been more of what I had forgotten in relation to the earlier years? There was a last page. This page had still more photos.

The first thing that caught my attention was the little or lack of description of who I was. It appeared as though they had purposely altered my history. I suddenly realised what was going on. As a matter of emergency Master Sky had called upon me to aid in defending the current war. On our meeting, he insisted that I was to join the frontlines here at Marok City alone. I was to assist the current commander, though he never clearly explained the situation.

Back then, I had thought the whole confusion was caused by a lack of time for explanation. I was unsure of what Master Sky had meant when he said - "Try to keep your efforts to a minimum. Avoid taking part in the battle yourself." I may now have the answer. He had wanted me to conceal my identity and hence my return for the time being. I do not understand either. I will but go along with it.

"I understand. Sorry commander," I answered accordingly. Why did Master Sky not instead allow me to take charge? What was the point? Was I to sit here and follow her commander yet try to not take part in battle or was I to give her advice which she would not be able to comprehend?

"You were said to have good tactics right? Come to the map room with me. Um...no meet me there. I've still got something to do." She took with her my delivery. I had thought she would take me to my room as of the general procedures. Were things that urgent?

Hence, I headed out to find the map room. I repeat find as she never told me where it was. Those were high expectations of me. I think I still remembered from my last visit if things have not changed. The building has not been rebuilt from my examination. Although years may have passed, there should only be the one room fit. I found my way to the big room. Within it contained a large detailed map of Marok City and its surrounding area. Props representing both sides of the army covered the map. This was often the main location where commanders and others in charge would discuss and device their tactics.

I lost track of time as I dived into playing with the soldier figurines that served as props.

"Sorry you had to wait," Commander Naro said as she entered. "I've been doing everything in a hurry these last few days."

She moved in towards the map, holding some of the figures in her hand. "From our inspection, we have predicted that the enemy will strike again in the next day or so. Our scouts have reported that they've already begun to reorganise their army." She pointed to the city, placing the enemy down at where she guessed they would attack from. "They will most likely attack from this route." She placed down the one representing our side. "We will defend their attack from this position. With the size of our current remaining forces, we can only defend. Launching a strike at the enemy now is impossible." She averted to me. "What do you have to say about it? I'd like to listen to your opinion."

It was as I had expected - her lack of experience and skill was the first problem. Her character of course might have been another. Everyone knew that if we purely defended like that we will eventually lose. Considering the battle here so far, I could not believe she decided to continue on with that.

"Commander..." I hesitated to put her off. "If we counterattacked as you said, it would make matters worse. It is a great strategy, but can't we do better? We could continue to hold off like that as you've done, but it'll mean we'll eventually lose."

"In our current situation...unfortunately, there was not much more I could do. It's not that I don't want to do something...it's that I don't know what else could be done."

I took the remaining figures off her. Let me teach this new age commander what the word tactic actually meant. "We place a set of soldiers here to begin with as lure and slowly retreat them. Back here, towards the end, we make use of the Shin Cannon to take advantage of its range and that the enemy will be chasing us from a narrow path." I placed more pieces down. "We position the rest of the soldiers on the mountain above. Up from here, we'll begin by guarding the cannon with our fire range. By now, the enemy would not expect us still to have the ability to strike back. There is a secret path that leads to their camp from within the mountain. When they realise Shin Cannon's devastating fire power, they will retreat. We take the path and strike them from behind."

The commander was obviously surprised. She paused for moments before being able to respond. "You knew we had a Shin Cannon?"

"I saw it on my arrival." Whilst she was somewhere too busy to even buy her own personal items, I had scanned the entire building and communicated with a few soldiers around. It was best to understand the situation before I did anything.

She banged the table with her hands. What had her so angry? "If we could operate the Shin Cannon then yes that would work. The problem is the cannon - we can't get it to work. I've tried to do something about it. No one could figure it out."

"A lieutenant not knowing how to operate a Shin cannon - what a joke. In my era, even ensigns knew how to use it. I've inspected it thoroughly. It was what remained of a nearby factory after an enemy raid, meaning incomplete finishing procedures."

"How...did you know?"

"There are a lot more that I know." I could tell by the state of the cannon.

"And what about that mountain path you mentioned? We've been to the mountain multiple times. There can't be a secret path. It's impossible. The maps don't indicate it."

"That's the difference between information and knowledge. There are some things that can only be experienced. Let's see shall we." I returned my vision to the map. "You said the enemy will attack in a few days. I'll trust you on that." In order for it to work I needed her to believe in me. To her, my suggestions were over-unrealistic. "How about this commander? If I can get the Shin Cannon into operation, we'll use my tactic. Otherwise, we'll go with your idea."

"You're only meant to be giving me suggestions mind you. You're not meant to tell me what to do. Remember that next time. Anyhow, I'll go along with it. I still don't believe you. We had our mechanics and engineers called in to inspect the cannon. Let's get going then. I'd like to see what you can do."

"Wait a minute commander. And if we win this battle according to my plan, you'll kiss me on the lips. That's a promise." This was my idea of repaying her actions earlier. I was embarrassed enough at the convenient store.

"That's if...you won't even...we'll head to the cannon room." I wonder how she would react when she found out my true identity. On our way out I think I heard her whisper, "He knows how to program a Shin Cannon..."

I followed Commander Naro to the store, where the cannon resided. The cannon was a huge long metallic object that spanned most of the room. She switched on the bright lights before moving to the cannon's control panel. I followed her.

"Now show me what you can do. And what if you were wrong?" She must have been anxious to prove me wrong.

"Well, if I was wrong, you can do whatever you like with me." What was all that fuss about a Shin Cannon? It was a simply matter made complicated. She had to challenge me. "Let me show you," I said. I moved into the control position. "It should be missing some final instructions. Give me a second."

She watched as I was able to get into the internal operating system of the Shin Cannon with a few simple buttons hidden beneath the control pad. I hurriedly checked the current status of the cannon. Everything seemed fine. It appeared a few extra lines of code and it would be off and running. I typed in the required details and it was good to go. Fortunately, I still remembered how this beast worked.

The full specifications of the Shin series of cannons were never released to the open public. It was a top secret project, which I took part. The internals of it was not something regular army mechanics knew. In fact, access to its underlying operating system was forbidden. The general operational procedures of the cannon were often known, but that was it. From my knowledge, this was to reduce the likelihood of leaking the details of the Shin Cannon to the enemy.

When I finished, I initiated the cannon, turning it on. The coloured lights lit up, signalling it was now active. It was in perfect condition.

"Do you know how to operate it commander?" I asked. "Should I show you? Commander?"

"Sorry. I was shocked. It's...working." I showed her the interface and the buttons. "You'd like me to operate the cannon? Aren't you going to?"

"I thought I was the only one that knew the route down the mountain." I did not consider to option of educating soldiers on the exact location of it. It was simple enough for her to operate the cannon, I hope.

"I believe I'll trust you for the next battle. Exceptional - I've never seen an operational Shin Cannon." Shin Cannons were expensive and rare. It was lucky to get hands on one in first place, though it does seem that her attitudes have changed when she witnessed what I have done.

I got up. "Would you like to have a try? Just don't press some of the buttons."

"Thanks."