Sparrow: In Guard's Clothing

[A m e n r i a]

Several kilometres off the coast of Sri Lanka

A VTOL flies through the air, creating downwash on the surface of the sea below. Inside it was a pilot and a team of fully-equipped Amenrian Imperial Guards, complete with ornate, red-gold armour made in the shape of medieval Asian warriors. They were all female, those guards, at least the ones that do have a gender. Those who didn't were mechanical - robots made to trick whatever intruders to their destination. Theirs was a special mission indeed.

The VTOL hovered above what seems to be open ocean. If one were to look closely, however, there was no downwash on the surface. For some strange reason, the surface of the water didn't seem to move a bit. The pilot looked back towards his passengers. "Alright, ladies, we're here. Get your abseiling gear and get down there." One by one, the armoured guards tied cords to their waists and the aircraft, all except one...

Green: spoken in Chinese

[Polish Prussian Commonwealth]

Claire "Negev" Godwinsson

Claire loathed her new armor. It was a flashy thing that drew attention, way too much attention, for what were supposedly "special operations" troops. SpecOps troops, like their footslogger counterparts used sensible camouflaged uniforms that would change depending on the area of operation; green for forests, for example, or yellow for deserts. The sole exception were parade uniforms- the US military used some sort of dress blues, while the Reichswehr used either olive-green or grey uniforms, depending on whether you spoke German or Polish at home.

Of course, she knew her cover story-she was Claire "Sparrow" Godwinsson of the 21st SAS Regiment (V). Many things remained the same-her parents, date of birth, etc. She even had been in Prussia-Poland, and was present at the destruction of that cult, according to her cover. Her nickname even remained the same; "Negev", since she was the only one on her team qualified to use the Israeli MG in question.

The sole difference was that she had been raised in Britain.

She checked her gear-a standard-issue semi-automatic rifle. Insulting, really. All her life it had been automatics; MP5-Ns, UMPs, M4a1 carbines, and at one point, a homemade automatic crossbow. Yet here she was with the weapons of a common footslogger-actually, no-Even the poor bastards who had to crack their heads against the interior of an APC had three-round-burst trigger groups.

At the moment, her only consolation was her disassembled FN FAL and Halbek device, both stowed in her pack, and her old combat knife-now reforged and remade, and the nightmare of at least a few cultists, and at least one eldritch deity.


She snapped out of her internal monologue, and began to prep her fastroping gear...which was essentially a pair of thick gloves and leg protectors. Fastroping was generally faster than abseiling, although slightly more dangerous.


Note: "Negev" was a squad nickname, "Sparrow" is her official designation as part of her cover.

[A m e n r i a]

"You alright, miss?* If you got air sick, you can get meds in the hospital once you get down. I'm terribly sorry, but I have to transport some other people." The pilot looked over his shoulder at the last passenger remaining, who failed to notice how her comrades seemed to disappear into the blue below.

Imperial Harem

Once Claire went low enough, the true nature of the place became apparent. The VTOL wasn't hovering above open ocean; it was hovering above a cloaked tropical island, more than large enough to keep the Heavenly Emperor's small number of concubines. She landed right on top of a stone walk that stretched from one side of a swimming pool to another. Fellow guardswomen (and robots in disguise) lined either side of the walk, with more decorated officers standing on the other side. From here Claire could see her fellow newcomers marching to assemble before the officers.

Green: spoken in Chinese
*The word used here is meinu, which literally translates pretty girl, but is used as a general way to address young women

[Polish Prussian Commonwealth]

"You alright, miss?* If you got air sick, you can get meds in the hospital once you get down. I'm terribly sorry, but I have to transport some other people." The pilot looked over his shoulder at the last passenger remaining, who failed to notice how her comrades seemed to disappear into the blue below.

Imperial Harem

(Image)

Once Claire went low enough, the true nature of the place became apparent. The VTOL wasn't hovering above open ocean; it was hovering above a cloaked tropical island, more than large enough to keep the Heavenly Emperor's small number of concubines. She landed right on top of a stone walk that stretched from one side of a swimming pool to another. Fellow guardswomen (and robots in disguise) lined either side of the walk, with more decorated officers standing on the other side. From here Claire could see her fellow newcomers marching to assemble before the officers.

Green: spoken in Chinese
*The word used here is meinu, which literally translates pretty girl, but is used as a general way to address young women

"I'll be fine." Claire tersely replied.

With that, she grabbed onto the rope-first with her hands, then she swang her ankles around it, and slid down, far faster than her squadmates-who had hopefully cleared the landing-zone by now.
Rope burn would not be an issue, thanks to those gloves.

A dull thud could be heard as she landed on the landing-pad, and she took stock of her surroundings-some sort of tropical island...Apparently this was the Imperial harem.
Polygyny was a very frowned-on thing in Prussia-Poland. By 'frowned on', it meant that you could receive everything from a fine to a fist to the face. Even the Lipka Tatars, who were traditionally Muslim, did not practice it.

It looked like a good place to have a vacation, Claire gave it that. But to live here day in, day out? It was a gilded cage, perhaps, but a cage nonetheless.

And she would have to be a bar in that cage...

Enough. She didn't come this far to chicken out over ethical concerns. Prussia-Poland was already in an undeclared state of war against Amenria, and she would be her homeland's Ace in the hole.

With that, she steeled herself for the start of a long deployment, and joined the other guards as they proceeded towards the assembly.

[A m e n r i a]

As soon as Claire stepped in line, the woman in the middle would start to speak. "Attention! Ladies, welcome to the Imperial Harem. I am Captain Hong and I will be responsible for this facility's security, and thus, for all of you. Here you will be protecting the crown jewels of the empire, the most valuable assets belonging to the Exalted One and our great empire. Do your job well, and Mutiara will reward you. After this your respective platoon commanders will take you to your living quarters. If you haven't already, turn on the HUD on your helmets. That should help you find the information you need. Any questions?"

If any of the new arrivals would glance a bit to the left, they might notice two women walking side by side among the staff who carried on with their usual work - trimming plants, checking inventory on the bar, and cleaning tables, among others.

One of the women had hair so long it reached her waist. Her skin was so bright it seemed similar to the white T-shirt she wore, contrasting the jet black of her hair. Her face was triangular, with thick lips covered in pink lipstick and small, almond-shaped eyes. She had black shorts on, which served to accentuate her long, slim legs, which ended in feet wearing black sneakers.

Her friend had a tiny bit more meat on her bones and a slightly shorter stature, but was still statuesque nonetheless. The friend's hair was brown in a shoulder-length princess-cut. Like the first woman, this one wore a white T-shirt and black sneakers, but her legs were covered by a pair of black leggings. She was holding her phone in her right hand, as she walked, somehow following the stone path underneath her feet without tripping or falling over.

[Polish Prussian Commonwealth]

As soon as Claire stepped in line, the woman in the middle would start to speak. "Attention! Ladies, welcome to the Imperial Harem. I am Captain Hong and I will be responsible for this facility's security, and thus, for all of you. Here you will be protecting the crown jewels of the empire, the most valuable assets belonging to the Exalted One and our great empire. Do your job well, and Mutiara will reward you. After this your respective platoon commanders will take you to your living quarters. If you haven't already, turn on the HUD on your helmets. That should help you find the information you need. Any questions?"

If any of the new arrivals would glance a bit to the left, they might notice two women walking side by side among the staff who carried on with their usual work - trimming plants, checking inventory on the bar, and cleaning tables, among others.

One of the women had hair so long it reached her waist. Her skin was so bright it seemed similar to the white T-shirt she wore, contrasting the jet black of her hair. Her face was triangular, with thick lips covered in pink lipstick and small, almond-shaped eyes. She had black shorts on, which served to accentuate her long, slim legs, which ended in feet wearing black sneakers.

Her friend had a tiny bit more meat on her bones and a slightly shorter stature, but was still statuesque nonetheless. The friend's hair was brown in a shoulder-length princess-cut. Like the first woman, this one wore a white T-shirt and black sneakers, but her legs were covered by a pair of black leggings. She was holding her phone in her right hand, as she walked, somehow following the stone path underneath her feet without tripping or falling over.

Claire remained silent, and tried to see how the hell to turn on the HUD. Was there a button or something...?

She had very little faith in that sort of thing-Memory and a good comm system could effectively replace any HUD, without sacrificing vision. In addition, the HUDs she had seen were mostly glass visors...and if the glass shattered, well, goodbye to your eyes.

The two women walking by caught her attention...Huh. She ought to know them from somewhere...

[A m e n r i a]

"Is there a problem, miss Godwinsson?" Captai Hong looked down at Claire from the stage, noticing her struggle. She looked at one of the soldiers standing in line to her right, and gestured towards Claire with her head. The soldier nodded and walked up to Claire. Her low voice addressed the foreign-born lady. "I'm sorry." she said as she reached to the back of Claire's head, before her hand moved to somewhere above Claire's right ear, pushing a button on the earpiece that connected to the faceplate.

In an instant, Claire's vision was flooded with information. Every time she looked at a comrade, she would see a box containing information on whoever she had her eyes on - name, rank, species, and a photo of how the person looks like without their faceplate. The soldier who turned on Claire's HUD asked, "Is it working now?"

If she were to gaze to the front again, she would see her superiors' information. The middle woman was Hong Jisoo, ranked captain. She had a square face and wavy hair, with proportionally sized nose and mouth. To her left was Lieutenant Võ Tâm Như, who stood next to Lieutenant Kartika Sari, who apparently was Claire's direct leader, who'll show her to her living space once they were finished.

[Polish Prussian Commonwealth]

"Is there a problem, miss Godwinsson?" Captai Hong looked down at Claire from the stage, noticing her struggle. She looked at one of the soldiers standing in line to her right, and gestured towards Claire with her head. The soldier nodded and walked up to Claire. Her low voice addressed the foreign-born lady. "I'm sorry." she said as she reached to the back of Claire's head, before her hand moved to somewhere above Claire's right ear, pushing a button on the earpiece that connected to the faceplate.

In an instant, Claire's vision was flooded with information. Every time she looked at a comrade, she would see a box containing information on whoever she had her eyes on - name, rank, species, and a photo of how the person looks like without their faceplate. The soldier who turned on Claire's HUD asked, "Is it working now?"

If she were to gaze to the front again, she would see her superiors' information. The middle woman was Hong Jisoo, ranked captain. She had a square face and wavy hair, with proportionally sized nose and mouth. To her left was Lieutenant Võ Tâm Như, who stood next to Lieutenant Kartika Sari, who apparently was Claire's direct leader, who'll show her to her living space once they were finished.

Upon the activation of her HUD, Claire was flooded with information, which she promptly memorized as best as she could. Her eyes gazed across her unit-there, a vampire, here, a human, and again, a robot.

Her eyes traced back to the officers in front of her-and her instincts kicked in.

A loud 'CLACK!' echoed through the courtyard as she slammed the heels of her boots together, while her eyes reverted to staring straight ahead-gazing not at anything, but seemingly boring into the distance, through all objects. Her right hand snapped to her brow, stopping precisely at half-an-inch from her eyebrow, thumb tucked in.

A classic European salute, once(and still) found on parade grounds all over Europe, a staple of military tattoos and the first thing any self-respecting conscript in a large, industrialized military would learn.

"Affirmative! Thank you, ma'am." she barked, the spitting-image of European military discipline, even if she was in an uparmored rice peasant's hat, with google glass taped on.

[A m e n r i a]

"Good. If there are no more questions, you are dismissed." Captain Hong said decisively, triggering the newcomers to respond with a salute and a "Yes, ma'am!"

The lieutenants dispersed, each one standing in front of one of the two paths to the side, waiting for their subordinates to stand in a single-profile line on front of them. Once the line was assembled, they would go on to march to where their squad would be staying, their individual cabins.

As they walked, they passed through green , neatly trimmed lawns, towering palm trees, as well as the occasional wildlife - butterflies, frogs, birds. On the way, there were two more separate paths, each branching the opposite way, leading to structures with a stone doorway, a hardwood door, a large window next to the door, and a table and two chairs in front of the window. At the door of one of the structures was the same black-haired woman in white from before, standing patiently as her retina was being scanned. It would take Claire just one glance to know who she was, thanks to the HUD.

Her name was Ge Ying. She was a 49-year old concubine from Weifang. While the HUD says that she is human, the "species" section of the infobox provided by the HUD seemed to glitch a bit when looking at her, with the letters in the word "human" shifting once in a few seconds, sometimes to unintelligible scribbles.

green: spoken in Chinese
blue: spoken in English
default color: spoken in Indonesian

[Polish Prussian Commonwealth]

Marie took note of the glitch, but brushed it off. Most likely, her google-glass was having issues.
She still took note of Ge Ying's name, though, as she marched past.

Once she arrived at her squad's cabin, the first thing she did was place her pack down, unzip it, and begin extracting the components of her FN-FAL. She didn't give a damn what her squadmates thought, and if they asked she would say it was a family heirloom-it was certainly old enough to be one, to be honest. The old rifle had served her well, just like it had served some other nameless soldier well, and it would continue to serve others well, onwards and ever onwards...

She shook herself from her musings, and continued to assembled it, her hand a blur as the rifle quickly took shape.

[A m e n r i a]

The squads guarding the Imperial Harem are living with notably better conditions than the usual warrior on other posts, let alone those of days past. Every guardswoman had her own room, which seems much more comfortable than the stuffy living quarters of the PLA of old, and comparable to the average college dorm room, with a bed, a table and drawer, a chair, a cabinet, and a bathroom, complete with internet connection to communicate with friends and family off the island.

Claire's duties were done for the day. She could either rest to prepare herself for tomorrow's tasks, plug in her phone and charge her armour and connect the two so she could access database anytime, or go out and explore the island and enjoy the sunset from the nearest beach.

[Polish Prussian Commonwealth]

The squads guarding the Imperial Harem are living with notably better conditions than the usual warrior on other posts, let alone those of days past. Every guardswoman had her own room, which seems much more comfortable than the stuffy living quarters of the PLA of old, and comparable to the average college dorm room, with a bed, a table and drawer, a chair, a cabinet, and a bathroom, complete with internet connection to communicate with friends and family off the island.

Claire's duties were done for the day. She could either rest to prepare herself for tomorrow's tasks, plug in her phone and charge her armour and connect the two so she could access database anytime, or go out and explore the island and enjoy the sunset from the nearest beach.

The fact that she had no orders shocked her. She had expected sentry duty or at least something...if this was how it was...Jesus Christ.
She shook off her doubts. So much the better, in case Prussia-Poland ever decided to assault this island.
The first thing she did after reassembling her rifle was to fire up a small, thin, laptop in her possession, and to hook it up to a power outlet. Following this, she would connect it to the wifi, and run a small executable.

Claire ignored all of the amenities(Prussian-Polish soldiers, even 'frontline' officers and those in special operations units, generally did not have their own rooms, much less a bathroom, and internet connection, while fairly consistent, was generally rather slow), and immediately tore off her visor, looking at it with apparent contempt.
"Can't see for shit in this..." she muttered.
She began stripping off her armor as well, and once that was done, began to change into her own clothes-a pair of trousers and a camouflage jacket.
She then fitted a small bandolier carrying a few ammunition pouches around her chest, and filled said pouches with standard 7.62mm NATO 20-round magazines.

With that done, she slung her FN-FAL over her back and headed out, whistling to herself, to the beach.

While she was gone, the laptop went to sleep, but the executable continued on it's merry way, downloading massive amounts of information off the web-primarily publicly-avalible operational/military manuals, government reports, debates, and so forth. The sort of thing that would not be unusual on a woman who was interested in the country she was working for.

---

Imperial Harem-Beach
Claire crouched on the sand, and stared out to sea.
She brought her rifle to bear, and resting her cheek on the familiar wooden stock, peered through the iron-sights at the sea, and opened fire.
The loud reports of an FN-FAL shattered the silence, as Claire began to dump ammunition in short bursts out to the sea.
Where else, after all, could one safely dump ammunition for the purpose of relaxation? There were no firing-ranges, as far as Claire could tell.

[A m e n r i a]

The soft sand sank under the pressure of Claire's boots. After a pull of the trigger, the loud blasts of her weapon sent nearby birds flying away by surprise. The setting sun peers gently at the lady, touching her with its last rays. Every time she took a little break, she could hear the sounds of the sea - the crashing of waves and the wind shaking the trees.

As the sky grew darker, footsteps can be heard - heavy ones at that. A quick glance and Claire could see a shadow approach her, one with a familiar silhouette.

"Hello, Miss Claire? Why are you firing your gun here? Are the training areas full?" a fellow Imperial Guard came to her, and realizing Claire couldn't tell who she was, she tookher visor off to reveal her face - the face of a northerner with minimal makeup and a friendly smile. "I got a call from Lady Sun. Said she heard noises. You're scaring her." the guard chuckled, awaiting Claire's response.

[Polish Prussian Commonwealth]

The soft sand sank under the pressure of Claire's boots. After a pull of the trigger, the loud blasts of her weapon sent nearby birds flying away by surprise. The setting sun peers gently at the lady, touching her with its last rays. Every time she took a little break, she could hear the sounds of the sea - the crashing of waves and the wind shaking the trees.

As the sky grew darker, footsteps can be heard - heavy ones at that. A quick glance and Claire could see a shadow approach her, one with a familiar silhouette.

"Hello, Miss Claire? Why are you firing your gun here? Are the training areas full?" a fellow Imperial Guard came to her, and realizing Claire couldn't tell who she was, she tookher visor off to reveal her face - the face of a northerner with minimal makeup and a friendly smile. "I got a call from Lady Sun. Said she heard noises. You're scaring her." the guard chuckled, awaiting Claire's response.

The guard would find her words punctuated by the grim cracks of the rifle as Claire continued shooting.
Once she was done, Claire hit the magazine release, and caught the 20-round mag as it fell, before stowing it, slapping a new magazine back in, and cycling the bolt.

This operation took her about half of a second.
"Well-" she responded, shooting off a round. "You see-" another two rounds. "I couldn't find the training centers-" Three shots. "-and I figured," Another three shots. "-that you had virtual target practice of some sort-" 5 shots. "-which cannot compare at all-" 3 shots. "-to operating an actual weapon-" 3 shots, and then the magazine was dumped and caught. "-in the slightest." She finished. "Also, the Regiment dumped a load of old FMJ rounds on me, and I've got balls-to-the-fuckin'-walls of 7.62mm NATO, 'nuff to last me to Judgement day and beyond. More than I can use, even if I ignore the new plastic thing I was just issued completely. So I'm not worried about wasting ammo."

[A m e n r i a]

The soft sand sank under the pressure of Claire's boots. After a pull of the trigger, the loud blasts of her weapon sent nearby birds flying away by surprise. The setting sun peers gently at the lady, touching her with its last rays. Every time she took a little break, she could hear the sounds of the sea - the crashing of waves and the wind shaking the trees.

As the sky grew darker, footsteps can be heard - heavy ones at that. A quick glance and Claire could see a shadow approach her, one with a familiar silhouette.

"Hello, Miss Claire? Why are you firing your gun here? Are the training areas full?" a fellow Imperial Guard came to her, and realizing Claire couldn't tell who she was, she tookher visor off to reveal her face - the face of a northerner with minimal makeup and a friendly smile. "I got a call from Lady Sun. Said she heard noises. You're scaring her." the guard chuckled, awaiting Claire's response.

The guard would find her words punctuated by the grim cracks of the rifle as Claire continued shooting.
Once she was done, Claire hit the magazine release, and caught the 20-round mag as it fell, before stowing it, slapping a new magazine back in, and cycling the bolt.

This operation took her about half of a second.
"Well-" she responded, shooting off a round. "You see-" another two rounds. "I couldn't find the training centers-" Three shots. "-and I figured," Another three shots. "-that you had virtual target practice of some sort-" 5 shots. "-which cannot compare at all-" 3 shots. "-to operating an actual weapon-" 3 shots, and then the magazine was dumped and caught. "-in the slightest." She finished. "Also, the Regiment dumped a load of old FMJ rounds on me, and I've got balls-to-the-fuckin'-walls of 7.62mm NATO, 'nuff to last me to Judgement day and beyond. More than I can use, even if I ignore the new plastic thing I was just issued completely. So I'm not worried about wasting ammo."

A deep laugh could be heard from the armoured woman, with the voice changer in her helmet making her sound like a machine man. "You want to see outdated firing ranges? Come to the Northern hills of the island, there are a few boards there marked for target practice. They don't move, but I guess you could run around while shooting them and pretend they're moving targets. If you have your phone with you I can give you the location. Come."

She stood in her position, unmoving as she waited for Claire to sling the weapon back to its resting place. After she did, the soldier would ask Claire for the QR code to add her WeChat account, after which she would add her. Upon looking at the friend request Claire would see that the soldier's WeChat name was "Serenity~" and her ID was ZYY-15-5, with a profile picture showing a bespectacled, brown-haired woman kneeling to pet a cat in a park.

[Polish Prussian Commonwealth]

A deep laugh could be heard from the armoured woman, with the voice changer in her helmet making her sound like a machine man. "You want to see outdated firing ranges? Come to the Northern hills of the island, there are a few boards there marked for target practice. They don't move, but I guess you could run around while shooting them and pretend they're moving targets. If you have your phone with you I can give you the location. Come."

She stood in her position, unmoving as she waited for Claire to sling the weapon back to its resting place. After she did, the soldier would ask Claire for the QR code to add her WeChat account, after which she would add her. Upon looking at the friend request Claire would see that the soldier's WeChat name was "Serenity~" and her ID was ZYY-15-5, with a profile picture showing a bespectacled, brown-haired woman kneeling to pet a cat in a park.

Claire slapped a new magazine in her FAL and then slung it around her back. "I...see."
She fished around in her own pockets for her phone, and then took it out-a chipped and cracked Samsung phone, and after a few muttered swears in a heavy cockney accent she would finally open up "Wechat". After accepting it, the chat would pop up.

Claire's profile picture was...uh, an extremely pixlated, low-resolution image of a cup of tea, and her name was... "voremachine".

[Polish Prussian Commonwealth]

Keeping track of this.

[Polish Prussian Commonwealth]

Keeping track of this.

Still alive?

[Polish Prussian Commonwealth]

Soon...

[A m e n r i a]

"...aand sent." the passing guard sent the location of the aforementioned shooting range via WeChat and put her phone back to its protective case on her gauntlet. "Your regular schedule is starting tomorrow, so you might wanna rest up. I'm gonna go for now, bye bye". With a wave, "Serenity" left and Claire is in the company of nobody but the crashing waves before her and the gulls overhead.

The shooting range, if one could actually call it that, was little more than sticks and planks arranged to form booths, with more sticks and planks scattered in front of them, crudely drawn to signify their purpose as targets, with some targets having smirking or angry faces as a detail.

The sun was getting even lower. Not much later it would be dark where the range was, and Claire would have to resort to her memory, or her phone, if it still had batteries, to lead her back to the dirt path that took her there in the first place, which would in turn lead to paved, well-lit paths within the usual Harem grounds.

[Polish Prussian Commonwealth]

Claire
Claire merely gave a grunt and a nod in response to Serenity's well-wishes, and set off to the range.

Upon arrival, she took a cold, contemptuous glare at the targets, and then began firing.

Two shots per board. It was overkill, honestly- one was enough to fracture them and turn them into splinters.

After a short while, she tired of popping off shots, and drew her bayonet- a long, thin, metal spike that was obsolete, but still saw issuance from time to time.


It was an act of whimsy more than anything else, honestly. There were no training dummies in sight, sadly. She desperately wished to maintain her skill at bayonet-fighting, but oh well.

She slung her rifle over her back as the sun set and darkness fell. Not that it was an issue for her; as the shadows widened, she pulled out her flashlight and made her way back to barracks little by little.

She immediately went to her room once she got back, eschewing a community meal in favor of something she had brought along herself.

From the depths of her rucksack, she pulled out a small plastic bag.

12 Hour Operational Ration Pack- Menu A- Main Meal

Spaghetti Bolognese, if she recalled correctly. Although she was Prussian-Polish, she had had a few British rations before, and they were quite decent. Of them, Menu A of the 12 Hour ORP was her favorite.
She washed her food down with some water, and tossed the bag into a wastebasket.

It would be her last decent MRE meal for awhile. The last link to home had been broken for now, and any further contact would be cloak-and-dagger.


As she prepared for bed, her thoughts turned to Elizabeth. Was she alright? Would she be able to handle her new position as the lead NCO of their squad? Was she even still alive?

No use wondering about what you can't control. she chided herself, at last. Just see it through and worry about the rest later.

With that, she turned in for the night.

[Polish Prussian Commonwealth]

h

[Polish Prussian Commonwealth]

h

H

[A m e n r i a]

The Following Week

Claire's days have been fairly overwhelming mentally. There were protocols she had to memorize, legal matters she could potentially enforce in the future, and other things to learn, especially for someone who just got into the Imperial Guard. Physically, however, her experience is what she would expect. Training, standing guard, and patrolling. Today, however, she received a special assignment. After the usual briefing and training regiments, a notification on her phone told her to go meet Lieutenant Sari.

The lieutenant stood before her, awaiting Claire to salute her - though not in the way the foreigner was used to. Due to Amenria's generally negative views towards the west and positive views towards tradition, soldiers often salute with one fist held by an open hand, a typical gesture in Asian martial arts and fictional depictions thereof.

"At ease." she said. "Lady Ge Xin has decided to go shopping today, and since Lady Sun Ziyin has other matters to attend to, she has requested a guard to accompany her and you have been randomly chosen for the task. You are to go with her. Carry her belongings if she needs you too, listen to her if she wants to confide in you. Well, that's the gist of it, any questions?"

She paused for a bit. If Claire had no questions, Lieutenant Sari would dismiss her. After Claire walked a step or two, however, the lieutenant would call her. "One more thing. Be nice to her, please. She can be difficult at times, but I assure you she means you no harm."

[Polish Prussian Commonwealth]

The Following Week

Claire's days have been fairly overwhelming mentally. There were protocols she had to memorize, legal matters she could potentially enforce in the future, and other things to learn, especially for someone who just got into the Imperial Guard. Physically, however, her experience is what she would expect. Training, standing guard, and patrolling. Today, however, she received a special assignment. After the usual briefing and training regiments, a notification on her phone told her to go meet Lieutenant Sari.

The lieutenant stood before her, awaiting Claire to salute her - though not in the way the foreigner was used to. Due to Amenria's generally negative views towards the west and positive views towards tradition, soldiers often salute with one fist held by an open hand, a typical gesture in Asian martial arts and fictional depictions thereof.

"At ease." she said. "Lady Ge Xin has decided to go shopping today, and since Lady Sun Ziyin has other matters to attend to, she has requested a guard to accompany her and you have been randomly chosen for the task. You are to go with her. Carry her belongings if she needs you too, listen to her if she wants to confide in you. Well, that's the gist of it, any questions?"

She paused for a bit. If Claire had no questions, Lieutenant Sari would dismiss her. After Claire walked a step or two, however, the lieutenant would call her. "One more thing. Be nice to her, please. She can be difficult at times, but I assure you she means you no harm."

Claire

Claire remained diligent and for the most part played the part of the model soldier, but would have in the ensuing days racked up a reputation as something of a rebel, due to two key things.

First, she adamantly refused to give up her FAL or to carry the Amenrian rifle issued to her. She could give a long list of reasons why; inferior stopping power, the glowing bit giving away her position, the superior accuracy of the FAL, ease of maintenance, the ability to mount rifle grenades, cost of ammunition, types of ammunition, and on and on and on.

Second, whenever she thought she could get away with it, she used the traditional western salute. She was British-Polish, not Asian, and at least nominally, according to her paperwork, was still technically part of the 22 SAS, and the thought of saluting with a balled-fist flew in the face of everything she had been taught. The European salute showed trust; it showed that one did not carry a weapon, and had no intentions of harming the recipient. The Eastern salute, with it's balled fist, struck her as confrontational; one never balled a fist at home unless they were about to smack some sense into someone else.

Unfortunately, this didn't seem to be a case where she could get away with it, so grudgingly she used the Amenrian salute. This time.
She resisted the urge to roll her eyes when she was given her assignment. Babysitting a chick as she went shopping should be easy enough.

She initially had no questions, but after shaking her head, and being dismissed, and then being told to 'be nice to her'(whatever the hell that meant), she halted for a second, and turned back.
"Very well. But I do have one question, actually. Will I have freedom to engage possible threats as I see fit, within the confines of the present rules of engagement?"