middleofsomewhere | Blue Team Onward!

Initial Guarding

Once the other teams fly off it is quiet once more at the military base. Blue team will be allowed to start patrolling, though there will be some areas such as the main command floor that are off limits. Any medically-inclined Void treckers will be welcome in the med bay and the guards will happily have some volunteers to do outside patrols.

But for the first day or so it is quiet, Hitrinto works as a liaison between the void treckers and the command staff, relaying messages and keeping them informed of the progress of battle.

Attack!

Late on the second day there is a break to the peace, alarms blare and lights flash red. "Enemy ships approach. Enemy ships approach."

Anyone who can get to the hanger quick enough will be given ships and sent off to fight. There aren't many enemy ships, four or five and hopefully they are beaten off easily.

But this becomes a semi regular occurrence. At least twice a day there are attacks. Patrols are stepped up, extra people are put on standby to man ships as quickly as possible.

Sabotage

Perhaps the attacks are a distraction. Because it is clear that something isn't right. Power goes down in one section or other. Equipment is messed with. Emergency doors are tampered with or left open. There aren't many people on this base but sometimes they will get the feeling of being watched. Of not being alone.

It soon becomes clear there are enemies inside the station and they are clearly biding their time. It is not known for what purpose. But finding them is probably a priority.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"Stick with me, kiddo." Gladio had stepped up to Naminé and grinned down at her. In his right hand was a hell of a big sword, bigger than Naminé was tall. On his left was a shield that looked like it weighed three times as much as the girl. And Gladio wielded both effortlessly.

He'd been keeping an eye on her during the attacks, he'd been doing that with all those fighting, he didn't really want any of his team to get hurt. But Naminé seemed to be unsure of herself. So he had stepped up to her to offer some added protection while she worked it out. "You don't have to sit around here. Iggy could use some help." His smile widened and he winked. "But if you wanna stay, just do your thing, I'll keep you safe."

Gladio was impressive but her uncertainty caused her to waver. She didn't want anyone to get hurt and this was a way to avoid that... all she had to do was change their enemies memories but it wasn't that simple. She got to know each person she manipulated, each creature, and those memories stayed with her.

Not everything they fought was evil. It wasn't like the heartless and the Nobodies. They had both good and bad inside of them. It was a choice.

"I know but I can help. I'm just-" Naminé looked up and met the conflict with those hopeful crystal blue eyes. "I wish we didn't have to fight." One of the enemy ships entered the hanger and she set her eyes on him. Her magic was subtle but it reached out from her as she released the chains of her targets memory and after a brief shutter, the pilots body went limp. She flinched at the sight but the conflict wasn't over.

"Hey, I get it. You don't want to fight, you don't have to. Can't say I like it much myself." But he was damn good at it. That, he believed, was a side effect of his training. He was a Shield first and foremost.

Gladio's eyes turned toward the enemy ship and watched as the pilot just suddenly went limp. His gaze fell to Naminé at his side. He had no idea if she had done that, it could have been coincidence. But he had a feeling it wasn't.

"Do you want me to take you back to Iggy and the others?" He asked then. "Out of the way of the fighting." There was no judgement, just a reassuring smile and then a playful wink. "My shield is yours, Princess. If you need it."

"I don't want to hurt anyone but I want to keep those I care about safe." She was staring at the limp form of the enemy pilot while the ships around them mobilized and rocketed out into space. Soon there wouldn't be anything she can do from this position.

Maybe it was best to go back.

"Ah." She looked up at him, her lips slightly parted as his nickname roused memories of her other half. "I'm not a princess. Not like she was." She was a shadow of a princess, of Kairi. She didn't think that name suited her. Princesses didn't do bad things.

"I can't use my magic on the ships." She's never done it while moving and while it was probably possible, Naminé was unpracticed. "I should head back." Terra would be worried about her.

A puzzled frown chased away his smile for a brief moment, until it returned and he made a gesture for her to follow him. "Sticking with Iggy and the others will let you do that. Help without hurting." Since that seemed to be the sticking point for the young girl. He also made a mental note to strike 'princess' from his vocabulary when around her. It has just popped out without his really meaning to. But if it made her uncomfortable he would avoid it.

"So that was magic?" He asked, curious as he lead the girl away from the fighting to take her where she would be safe and where she would be able to help others. Gladio knew Ignis had set up outposts to help heal fighters and support them. Maybe that would be something Naminé could do if fighting was upsetting her?

"Thanks. I just... wish I could protect the people I cared about but all these people. Well, they have people they care about too." She was silent for a moment and then thoughtful. Naminé didn't know the best way to explain what she was and she was suddenly worried that Gladio would have the same reaction as Tony.

"Ah. Yes. I am a witch. I have power over peoples memories. I can alter them or scatter them." There was more to it than that but it was hard for her to put into words. She'd never been formally trained and a lot of what she knew she'd learn from the Organization that had kept her locked within the Castle.

"I used it in the last world but I rewrote the memories then. I convinced a snow bear that I was its cub and it needed to protect me. So it fought the other creatures and guided me to safety. I told it to return to its home and not to hurt anyone but in the end... the snow melted and it was gone. When I do this, I see into their hearts and minds. I see everything and- it hurts. Shouldn't we all be allowed to live?" She looked up at Gladio, asking him for an answer to a question that was both obvious but also complicated.

Honestly Gladio had no idea what to expect when he had questioned Naminé, but being told she was a witch was something of a shock. And the shocks just kept coming. It didn't show much in his expression and his steps didn't falter, but it was there. She could alter memories or... scatter them? Did that mean what it sounded like? Make people forget? Or break their minds? Gladio wasn't too sure. But what he did know was that he didn't like it. It was a power he didn't think should exist. Then again, telepathy was something that bothered him. Knowing someone could just pick through his memories and thoughts like that made him uneasy.

But that was the power itself. Not so much the user.

Naminé hadn't chosen this power, he assumed. And based on what she said next he felt safe in that assumption.

He looked down at her when he felt eyes on him and smiled. He took a risk then and moved a hand to rest it gently upon her shoulder and offered a reassuring smile. "You're right. Everyone deserves to live. And it hurts when that's taken away. Unfortunately it's a risk some of us take. Take me for example. I want to live. But my job, my duty, means that there's a chance I could die. I'll do what I can to avoid that, I can't do my duty if I'm dead. But I've made my peace with the prospect it could happen. These guys we're fighting? They're coming at us knowing they'll either win or lose. It's the risk we take when we pick up a weapon and go to war with someone else. Is it fair? Heck no. Wish we didn't have to do this... But if we have to, if we don't have a choice, I'd rather be the one to win. I'd rather take their lives than watch the lives of my friends be taken from me."

Gladio gave Naminé's shoulder another gentle squeeze. He had the strangest urge to hug the girl, but not knowing her well enough he resisted. His smile softened though, as did his expression. "You shouldn't have to hurt to protect people, Naminé. But I appreciate you're help. You can stand down now. There's no need for you to suffer any more than you already have. We'll get you to Iggy and you'll be able to help him." And, he hoped, maybe being able to help in that way would ease some of the sadness in the girls eyes. He could understand how much it would pain her to see into someone's heart and mind like that, and then take it all away. It was a burden she shouldn't have had to deal with. And if he could protect her from that, he would.

Blue Team Onward!

Attack!

Attack!

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