Eventually the couple moved into the very apartment they woke up in that day. Liam argued against Anna moving out with someone he didn't entirely trust but Anna's feelings for Florian were unbreakable, as was her desire to eventually marry and live with him. The couple had plenty of money to live off, Florian worked during his teen years and had plenty of money saved up to last him at least 3 years if he decided to live unemployed. Anna's relationship with Florian flourished, the continued to have fun around Vogtland while doing their best not to get caught doing anything that would get them killed. The couple barely argued, everything seemed perfect. She had fulfilled her mother's dying wish and found happiness in a place she could only conceive as hell when she first arrived.
For her 20th birthday Florian had yet again acquired some fancy liquor and the couple spent the night drinking, laughing, and sex. With every night of drinking and making love Anna confessed more about her personality and her past. Anna had confessed every detail of her life to Florian, she trusted Florian with her life and everything that could possibly be worked against her. Her true nationality, her real accent, and the things her father exposed her too as a child. Florian has trusted Anna with just as much, Florian stole quite a bit, but only from people he claimed to be "bad people" already. With every kiss, every "I love you", every "middle of the night nightmare comfort", Anna placed more and more of her cards on her future with Florian.
A about 2 weeks after her 20th birthday Anna awoke to find Florian out of bed early, probably going to fetch some food. She yawned several times, and shut her eyes repeatedly for a brief period of time before mustering the strength to sit herself up. She stretched some more, flexing her muscular arms and feeling her shoulder blades press together. She moved her lower jaw around in a circle and herd a strange cracking noise. Her jaw must've been out of place, "owell" she though. Her hands collapsed on her thighs and she looked out the window, the city looked beautiful but it became a reoccurring sight of lights projecting the same words. Anna looked over towards her left, a half empty glass of water, a lamp, and a note were all the remained on the the small table. She pressed the bed sheet up against her chest with her right hand and stretched her left arm over to the table and grabbed the note.
Anna, I ran out to get some food and some more drinks... and something else meet me by the Vienna Restaurant in about 3 hours, look decent too, the restaurant is part of the surprise.- Florian
Anna looked at it curiously for some time, and then put it back on the table, she worked her way out of bed and over to the restroom. The hot water felt like a relief, she leaned against one of the walls as the hot water engulfed her body like a shield. She closed her eyes, leaning against the wall trying to think of something happy. She eventually zoned out, she saw her mother lying on the table where she died, and she saw herself as a little girl crying. She blinked and the setting changed, she saw a woman leaning against nothing, invisible as if it was a reflection only not facing her. She walked over towards the woman, as she approached she saw a large scar running down from her left shoulder blade to her right hip. Among her back were other cuts and some strange marks as if she had suffered grenade and gunshot wounds. Her body appeared more muscular, her shoulder blades and arms were lean but the muscle mass was definitely visible. Her thighs were large, as if she was lifting weights every day. Her body seemed as attractive as it was wounded, her hair was short and black and was as low as her neck -just like Anna-. As she got closer, she muttered. Who are you? The woman turned around slowly, her eyes glowing blue, her face had some minor scars and left her oblique had a large scar stretching down to her waist, she looked like an older, stronger version of Anna. I am you. The woman answered as she grabbed Anna's throat and in that instant she snapped awake. She breathed heavy, "it was just a dream, nothing more" she thought to herself. She looked out at the time, nearly an hour had gone by. She shut off the shower and dried herself off.
Anna threw on some slightly more attractive clothes, she knew Florian wouldn't mind. She left her hair as it was, she thought it looked better that way. She sat back down in bed and grabbed her sketchpad she got for her 5th birthday. She had some natural talent that developed overtime. She looked through the pages, in it were pictures of her with her family, her fathers ship, the star in Omega-41, and lastly a drawing of her and Florian kissing. She felt uneasy, she wanted to see Florian, another hour passed and she ran off to go meet him.
Anna walked over near the restaurant where Florian asked her to meet. She looked around and saw him running down an alley towards her.
ANNA RUN!
He was being chased by some thugs, one of them drew out a gun.
Florian watch ou-
*Bang*
A gunshot rang off and the round ran through Florian's chest and grazed Anna's shoulder. Florian dropped down instantly.
NOOOO!!!!!!!
Anna screamed as she ran over towards Florian, she saw the faces of the men before they turned back for some odd reason.
I-I'm sorry Anna I couldn't. He was in shock and choking on his own blood.
I love you, don't- ch-
Florian's neck dropped back, he died right then and there.
NO NO NO NO NO NO! Anna slapped his face a few times. SOMEONE HELP! No one answered, she cried while Florian's blood spilled all over Anna's shirt. FUCK. She slammed her head against his chest, sobbing and crying. Her heart was shattered, her one chance at leaving Vogtland, the man she placed all her cards on had just died right before her eyes in the same manner her mother did. She looked through his jacked and saw a small box. "For Annabelle" it said, she opened it and inside was a ring with a ruby attached to the front.
Florian was going to propose to her. She leaned back, heartbroken and in tears. Eventually Army soldiers came by and took the body from her, she sat against the wall in the Alley with tears running down her cheeks and blood stained all over her clothes. Her eyes turned to a sharp blue the sadness began to turn to anger.
She rushed over to Liam's apartment and told him what happened, Liam knew if anything would serve as motivation for her to join the Army it would be what had just happened.
After arriving at Liam's apartment Anna informed Liam of what had happend. He of course went to comfort Anna but wasn't in a drastic state of pity as Anna was. Liam saw it as an opportunity flush Anna into Army, however the means would change Anna forever. After talking for some time Anna got herself together, she made a necklace attached to the engagement ring Florian got her, threw on a jacked with a hood masking her face and went back outside. She made her way with her hands in her pockets clenching her brass knuckles, she walked over to the Alley where Florian was shot and retraced his path as far as she could.
She sat at the other end of the Alley for hours, looking for the faces of men that killed him. The anger built up with every second of her clenching her hands together in her pockets. She leaned against the wall and waited patiently. After hours of waiting 3 men exited from a factory and walked down the street. 1 of them looked cautiously down the alley, he seemed shaken, when the others turned their heads as well she knew it was them.
Anna's mindset was on straight, she was going to kill them.
She walked back to Liam's apartment, Liam was sitting down reading over in the living room of his apartment. He didn't pay any mind to Anna for the first few minutes, Anna searched through several drawers and finally found Liam's gun. She studied it for some time, she knew how to use a gun but she never killed anyone before. As she grabbed several magazines stuffing them in her pockets she kept looking back at the gun. She picked it up, her mothers dying words came to her mind, but it didn't matter. She wasn't there when Anna needed her the most, Florian was and now he's dead at the hands some scumbags. I'm sorry mama. She said as she holstered the gun to her waist and covered it with her jacket.
As she turned around she herd Liam speak up.
Don't hesitate, because they wont either.
She looked back at Liam in a sinister manner, she kept silent, turned around and walked out the door.
She went back to her apartment and waited a few hours before walking back to the factory then men came out of. She saw all 3 of them working inside among several other people. After sitting and waiting the men walked out. She followed and watched each of them enter different apartment buildings, one of them deviated he went over to a young boy buying some food. He stopped boy near an alley, he pressed his hand up against the boy's chest. He was going to rob the boy. Anna walked up behind him, before he could make another move Anna kicked the joint of his leg causing him to fall to his knees. She wrapped her arm around the man's neck, locking him in a choke hold and pulled him over into the alley. She held on for a few more seconds and let him go as he choked out. As he gasped for air Anna fitted on her brass knuckles. As he turned around to speak, she jabbed him in the cheek with the knuckles on. His head spun in the other direction and collided with the wall, he sat on the ground trying to regain awareness Anna struck him again in the nose. After realizing he was so disoriented he couldn't react, she repeatedly punched him in the head with the knuckles on. His nose eventually broke, as did his skull. She punched into his head as pieces of his brain followed by at least a pint of blood spilled out on her hand. She kept hitting his head in until it was nothing but a mashed head, groaning with every blow. Her eyes lit up blue as she stood back with her hand coated in blood. The boy that was being robbed looked at her, he cried and ran off in fear as she turned her head.
Anna felt slightly shaken after killing someone for the first time and in such a vile manner, it didn't matter though. Her anger and determination to see the others pay outweighed it tenfold. She made her way into the apartment where one of men that killed Florian was apparently residing. She walked up to the quatermaster.
There was a man walking in here with a black coat just a moment ago, he asked me to meet him up at his apartment. He was uhh Mr...
Schmidt! He's up on the 3rd floor second room down the hall on your left.
Anna didn't reply she walked over to the elevator, she loaded the gun as the elevator took her up to the 3rd floor. She exited walked over to the door, she knocked, holding the gun behind her waist. A woman opened the door, she seemed to be in her 30's and behind her stood the man she saw along with another one of Florian's killers.
Who're you?
Anna didn't reply, she drew out her gun and shot the woman point blank in the forehead. The man screamed out as Anna entered the room and shot the man in the leg. He collapsed, grasping his carpet pulling himself away from Anna as fast as he could. The man looked over to his right towards the kitchen, there stood a young girl watching her father crawl his way away from Anna with a trail of blood following. He cried out, begging his daughter to run and hide, before she could move Anna shot the little girl. The little girl dropped dead with a large hole that stretched from her eye socket to her cheek. The man cried and stopped moving, before he could turn to face Anna, she shot him in the back of the head. Anna went out to the fire-escape and headed to the next apartment. As she walked over several Army soldiers ran past her to the apartment where everyone had just herd gunshots. She ignored the soldiers and walked down to the next apartment, she pulled the same trick with the quartermaster only pretending she was running from the apartment where the shooting took place. The quartermaster took the bait and gave her the location of the man that had gunned down Florian. She reloaded the gun, made her way over to the door. She didn't bother knocking, she kicked down the door and looked around inside. She saw 3 women, hookers, with the man in bed. She saw Florian's bag, she knew it was him. The man panicked and reached for his gun, Anna shot each of the prostitutes and shot the man's arm.
Why?She asked the man. Why did you kill him?
Fuck you.Anna returned the favor and shot him in the forehead. She walked out of the room as quickly as she entered grabbing Florian's bag, her lit blue eyes didn't fade. Her mother's warming personality was gone, and the cold-hearted villain that would rule the Hessians was born.
The street flooded with Army soldiers as Anna walked out the fire escape back to her apartment. She looked over her shoulder down the alley out to the street, she could see dozen's of people some children crying. She didn't care though, those bastards killed the man she loved, the man she was placing all her bets on for a better life than that of one without him. Now, because of them she has no means of leaving Vogtland quickly, nor having a family. The melted warm heart that kept burning from Florian's love had frozen cold, and the seemingly loving young woman was bent on killing everyone responsible for hurting those she loved, that meant service in the Army.
Anna walked into Liams apartment, the blood on her hands from killing all those men had dried out but was still noticeable. Anna's hands were covered in red with a vile stench, Liam looked up at Anna his expression remained blank as Anna walked into the restroom and washed the blood off of her hands and the brass knuckles. Anna walked out of the restroom and dropped the gun on the table and all the magazines. Liam walked over towards her cautiously.
I take it they answered for their crimes mm? He muttered slightly optimistically. Everything snapped into Anna's head in that instant. Liam wanted this, he wanted Anna to join, that's why he moved to Vogtland. What sense would it make for a father to put her daughter through such pain?
She played along with his optimism but didn't sound very optimistic herself. Not the ones that killed mama.
Anna looked over at Liam with a very angry facial expression. Her deep and imposing tone became more noticeable.
I'm going to apply for the service, I need you to recommend me.
Are you sure it's what you want?
Anna looked over at him and spoke up with a vile tone. She was wright.
Oh don't act as if you really care, this is what you've wanted since we moved here! Don't ask me to reconsider and play the victim card now when this is what you've WANTED SINCE THE FUCKING BEGINNING! I AM JOINING, MY MIND HAS BEEN MADE UP AND I WON'T SLEEP UNTIL EVERY ONE OF THOSE DISGUSTING CREATURES THAT KILLED YOUR WIFE AND MY MOTHER, ARE WIPED FROM EXISTANCE! She turned around smashing everything in the kitchen out of anger.
YOU WANTED THIS!
I'VE LOST EVERYTHING AND YOU STOOD BY AND WATCHED FOR YOUR OWN SELFISH DESIRES! YOU'RE NO BETTER THAN THE PEOPLE YOU CLAIM TO HAVE FOUGHT AGAINST!
She screamed at Liam, she was sweating, her face was red as a peach. Her eyes glowing blue, tearing up at the same time. She drew the gun from the table and pointed it at Liam's head.
She was in a dire state of pain and anger. Her father knew it, but rather than potentially changing the setting right then and there, he made a mistake that would cost him his real daughter forever.
Liam leaned back in astonishment, he was too afraid to make the right decision, he gave into Anna's deranged attitude. I'll write the letter tonight... you'll need to put on quite a show to have the power to do what you want. Don't expect too much of yourself, I never did. Liam still spoke trying to cover his guilt, but it was already apparent to Anna, she didn't much care though.
If I need to be in charge to kill them, then I'll take charge by force. She lowered the gun, turned and walked to the door, as she opened it her father spoke up one last time.
There's never been a woman in charge before. He said, nervously.
Anna kept her head turned away and paused briefly before speaking up. That remains to be seen.
Anna walked out the door back towards her apartment on the street, Liam leaned against the wall, he felt guilty. He felt he had lost everyone, Anna and his wife, half of which was his fault. It would be the last time he would ever see his real daughter.
Even with Liam's recommendation and his background in the Army, Anna was quite reluctantly accepted. Females in service were generally frowned and discriminated against, just as they were as civilians living on Vogtland Station. The officers and instructors during basic training were the real cruel ones, most of the other applicants cared too much about learning how to keep themselves alive to be bothered to actively hate against someone else in their ranks. Hand to hand combat training took time for Anna to get used to, but she certainly was not bad at it from the start. She was aggressive, her anger and deranged attitude gave her focus when she was thrown in life or death situations. Her dignity essentially hung on each round of boxing or sparring. If she won, she walked away, if she lost and went unconscious, she'd likely awake in the "company" of the officers. Knowing this, Anna's grit and persistence took hold of her in every fight, backed by her anger. With every won fight, the next got easier, eventually to the point where she could preform take downs in less then 3 minutes. Firearms training was a challenge for long range weaponry, but mid and close range weaponry wasn't very challenging. Shotguns and high caliber pistols fit Anna's liking, knowing if she would ever end up in a gunfight, it would be in close quarters on a spaceship or installation. Pilot training for Anna was a joke, the flight suits women wore looked more like some fancy getup than a serious outfit. Anna humiliated the officers with her father's Sabre, her marksmanship skills in a fighter as well as her general maneuvering skills surpassed the officer's wildest expectations as well as their own abilities. Anna was allowed to keep and fly her father's Sabre, after making her case in the cockpit and face to face with the officers about whom it belonged to, they allowed her to keep it. Due to her expertise as a fighter pilot in basic and advanced training she was given the rank of Gefreiter. With that rank she was recognized as an asset, but not given charge of any fighter squadron. Carrying her hardened rage for months as well as months of training Anna was motivated and ready to put her skills to use and start butchering the people responsible for her loved one's demise.
Anna was scheduled to be shipped over to Omega-5, where most of the recruits went. The Army was under the impression that more soldiers flooding into the system would provide them with a victory to the endless stalemate in the system. Thousands of people from both sides had been slaughtered tying to take control over the strategically valuable system. With the recent supply of fresh pilots, the Army was planning to make a push through the center of the system to break one of the Corsair defense lines. Hoping that with shier numbers they could overwhelm their enemy while the capital fleet advanced behind them.
Anna felt her Sabre shake as she flew through the minefield, the explosion radius had minimal effect while her shields were active, but it was enough to rattle the ship slightly. Anna appeared to be zoned out, and muscle memory took over the Sabre piloting it to Ronneburg. She was sweating, the sweat built up in her helmet drenching her hair completely. She was anxious, anxious to kill. As the wing made their way to Ronneburg Anna could see the large opening in Omega-5. Her wing had cleared the mining feild and Anna took off her helmet, and felt her sweaty hair stick against her cheeks. Her heart was racing, her eyes lit up with a bring blue as she gazed over towards the opening of the asteroid feild. It had the scene of a WW1 battlefield. Both sides were dug in on either side of the opening. The destroyed fighters and explosive shells going off in the center painted out no-man's land. She sent the ship into autopilot and took a long glance at the battlefield, she seemed hypnotized by the explosions going off. Arriving at Ronneburg base, sector-F4. The computer's voice snapped Anna's head forward, she could see the medium sized rock that blended in perfectly with the rest of the asteroid field. Several wings of Odins flew by, and a few Heimdall gunboats could be side positioning themselves behind asteroids. Red-7 you're clear to dock at docking port-5. Anna pitched the ship up towards the docking port. She took a quick glance out towards the opening of the system, before the docking tunnel cut off her line of sight. Anna got out of her Sabre and walked in line with the ranks, several damaged Odin's and Sabre's made up the bulk of the hangar bay's ships. Some wounded pilots could be seen making their way out of the ships, some had lost arms. Others had brutal shrapnel wounds, one man worked his way out of his ship with a large piece of shrapnel stuck through his chest. As Anna looked around some more she began to realize she wasn't invincible. The Corsairs shot back, and they left some brutal marks, the fear of ending up like a wounded soldier only sunk in to a short extent. Anna's anger and desire to kill outweighed her fear of dying herself. If she died, she wouldn't have to suffer anymore. If she lived, she would keep killing until there was nothing left.
Anna arrived with the rest of the pilots formed up in ranks, all the other soldiers had grouped up near the exit of the hangar bay. A large projection of a map of the Omega-5 system illuminated over half the wall. Anna starred up at it along with the rest of the soldiers with her arms extended behind her back.
Zhis will be a quick prezentation, soldiers of the Army and of the Volksrevolution listen carefully. The man spoke with a strong Rheinland accent. His voice echoed throughout the hangar catching everyone's attention. The projection of the map zoomed in on the opening of the Omega-5 asteroid field near the eastern half, near Ronneburg. Az per order of zhe Oberkommando, tomorrow, Red, Gold, Omicron, and Omega wingz will press zhe attack at zhe foremost Corsair defense line here. A red blinked over the area the speaker was referring to. Should you succeed with minimal casualties capital vessels from fleets A and B will advance to the captured position, and we will further advance the line."Should you succeed" this obviously wasn't his first time giving this briefing. Your objective is simply to capture and hold the foremost Corsair defensive position, a full on offensive toward Cadiz is not yet possible until more reinforcements arrive. He was sending her and the other pilots to what was likely their death. Anna didn't feel reassured putting her life in the hands of some miners and engineers that had decided to fight Imperial soldiers, she felt SHE would be the liability. Do this in service to your fallen commrades, LONG LIVE THE VOLKSREVOLUTION! The ranks repeated after the officer, and dispersed. Anna made her way to her quarters, she had a long week ahead of her.
After managing to sleep for just a few hours in her bunk with some of the other female soldiers, Anna woke up to the sound of roar footsteps outside their room and above. Several pilots were dashing towards their ships, prepping them. Anna quickly threw on her flight suit, as she was getting dressed one of the officers spoke over the intercom. Pilots to your stations! Prepare your vessels, zhe attack will commence in 2 hours time! The sound of his voice woke up everyone else in the room, Anna walked outside into the hall towards the elevator. Several other pilots rushed by her holding their gear, and some officers ran by with documents in hand. Anna walked in the elevator, slightly drowsy still, all of the other men in the elevator looked at her with disgusted faces. Anna didn't really pay much attention back to them, they all had more important things to think about than a woman flying alongside them. As she exited the elevator she glanced over at her Sabre, which was still just fine, no one had tried to steal any parts or components luckily. Anna pulled out a clipboard, paper, and pencil. In the paper had a checklist her father taught her to use whenever prepping the ship. The Hessian engineers were thorough, but she still preferred to go through everything herself. After about 30 minutes of inspecting the ship she knew it was ready. She turned on the engines and warmed them up, the weapon systems appeared to be just fine. Her ship was loaded with mines and cruise disruptors, though Anna wasn't fond of the idea of using high radius explosives in a fighter. If someone hit a stray mine with the ships shields down, she'd be finished.
Anna sat inside to cockpit, her helmet on. She was sweating and angry, about ten minutes before hand her squadron leader contacted her and the rest of her squadron on a private comms channel. This is Red-1, red squadron check in now. The squadron members spoke up in order. Red 2 standing by. Red-3 standing by. Red 4 standing by. Red 5 standing by. Red 6 standing by. She spoke up with a casual tone. Red 7 standing by. After all the squadrons checked in there was silence on both the private and open comms. "5 minutes" the commanding officer muttered over the private comms. A red light went on in the hangar bay, and the hangar bay doors came open, after a few seconds the light turned green. RED SQUADRON LAUNCH AND FORM UP ON ME. A horde of Sabres and Odins launched from Ronneburg swimming through the asteroid field like a school of fish in the sea. Anna was sweating, her bright blue eyes were a result of both the anxiety and the anger rushing through her veins.
As the fighter wings emerged from the minefield and into the open space, the rock like asteroids turned to chunks of shrapnel and destroyed fighters. Corsair fighters dead ahead, Red Squadron, break formation and engage. Anna dove down beneath the fighter wing, as the Corsair fighters closed in to clash with the vast amount of Hessian fighters.
For you mama. Anna closed in on the Corsair fighters from below.
This is Red-4 I can't shake them I'- *Screams* The sounds of screams and yelling rang as the fighters clashed in space. Mines were detonating about the battlefield like artillery rounds clashing in no-man's-land, Anna was moving her ship about in a pattern to compensate for any hostiles that might be lucky enough to flank her. As she flew in through the swarms of Hessian and Corsair ships she could make out pieces of shrapnel whizzing by as well as body parts and destroyed escape pods. She moved around behind two corsair fighters, she lined up a shot at one of the fighters. There was no delay, no second guessing, her conscience went out the door completely. She pulled the trigger and watched the ship ignite, the impact of the rounds to the ships hull sent the pilot out the cockpit and into a piece of shrapnel. His body splat against the shrapnel as she lined up a shot at the second fighter, the fighter was aware of her however, and started maneuvering about in an attempt to lose. As she closed in on the fighter, she saw the mine dropper open up. Shit. She pushed all power to the forward shields and shot the mine. The explosion sent her ship down to the left as she moved out of the way, and the Corsair fighter was destroyed.
She quickly diverted power from the forward shields, she kept the ship moving about in a smooth pattern. She glanced down at the radar screed, the sweat from her hair dripping all over it, blurring the projection. She wiped the sweat from the radar screen as she felt the ship violently shake, her head was sent forward onto the dashboard, it made a violent crack. Her vision was fuzzy as she desperately moved the ship about until she could fully make sense of what was around her visually, again. Once she could see clearly she glanced down at the radar screen, she had 4 fighters up her ass. Argh She reached over to press the button to open her comms link, but it was broken from her helmet slamming against it, with 4 fighters up her ass, she couldn't make time to fix it. FUCKING WORTHLESS! She screamed out of anger. Dying due to lack of communication? She didn't want faulty comms to be the reason for her demise, she flew the ship about, still desperately dodging projectiles as she looked for cover. She glanced over to her right, it was the wreckage of a Praefect, she hit the afterburner and gunned over for the wreckage.
As Anna approached she could make out a small tunnel from one end of the ship to the other, the capital ship must've been destroyed by a Light Mortar round. As she gunned through the tunnel 2 of the Corsair fighters didn't enter the tunnel and collided with the wreckage. The other two flew around the ship, looking to cut her off. Anna pitched the ship up upon exiting the wreckage. As she saw the two Corsair fighters make their way towards her, she banked to the left around a small piece of wreckage and released a mine. The mine impacted with the shrapnel, and the radius sent the Corsair fighters into disarray. She drifted in a straight line, rotating the ship around, as soon as the ship was facing the two disoriented ships she impulsed forward and shot them both down easily. She turned back for cover as she looked at the comms raido on her dashboard. She pulled the radio out and adjusted the wiring while using her knees to steer the ship. After re-adjusting some wires the comms radio started working. Red Squadron, reinforcements have arrived! Pull out now! We've done our job here.They weren't advancing? Why? With reinforcements they could maybe push the line towards Cadiz. Whatever, Anna had no idea how much ship her damage had sustained. She impulsed back towards the asteroid field while several Heimdall gunboats gave cover.
Anna set down her ship in the hangar bay, upon setting the ship down she took out here comm's piece, unbuckled the seat belt, and leaned back in her chair. She wasn't in shock, but she was certainly filled with adrenaline. She knew her skills outmatched that of the Corsairs and even her colleagues, if she was leading an attack, she could do much better. She gazed off into space for a second before finally getting out of the ship. She popped open the cockpit door and crept her way out, she stood up, pushing her sweaty hair behind her ears as she turned to look at the ship. Her ship had taken a slight beating, one of the Corsair rounds had grazed the bottom engine of the ship, and there was half a countermeasure dropper left on the ship. There was no way she could repair it herself in under a week, but as she walked over to the stairway she saw 4 engineers walking over towards the ship with equipment. Before she could even get their attention they began unpacking and organizing their tools, it seemed the Army provided gratis repairs, luckily for her. As she made her way down the stairs she began to feel a throbbing pain on her forehead, she reached up and felt a sting as her hand made contact. She looked at her had, it was covered in blood, likely from her head colliding with the dashboard.
Sit down, over here Flieger. One of the nurses rushed towards her, she was shorter than Anna, with blonde hair and dark brown eyes. She appeared to be in her early 30's if not her late 20's, she had an white apron covered in blood, and her was exchanging her used gloves for a new pair as she jogged towards Anna. I'm fine. Anna replied, but the nurse was persistent, she walked in front of Anna. If you keep bleeding you'll go unconscious, getting out of an infirmary is much harder than walking away from me treating you here. She had a point, it wouldn't look very good if Anna was badly injured on her first day in the field, especially if there wasn't really anything heroic about her actions. She sat down on the floor leaning against one of the pillars standing up the balcony to enter her ship's cockpit. Her back arched slightly as she made contact with the cold metal beam, she sat back, sweating, shaking, tense, trying to let the nurse do her job. After seeing that so much sweat had infested the wound, potentially infecting it, the nurse went to press a cloth against her forehead with hydrogen peroxide. Try and relax. The nurse put her palm against the left side of Anna's forehead as she moved to press the cloth against the wound.
Upon feeling the burning pain on her forehead, Anna's teeth snapped shut, she gripped her flight suit and tighten up hard as the pain settled in. Her entire face turned red as an apple, just as she felt like her head was going to explode the nurse took the cloth off her forehead. Anna relaxed in relief, her bright blue eyes opened wide and looked dead at the nurse. Breathe. The nurse reassured Anna as she breathed heavily for a moment. I'm going to bandage the wound now. Anna sat with her arms relaxed at her sides, her legs extended, staring over at the wing leader giving his verbal report to one of the officers. What's your name? I haven't seen too many female pilots around. Anna remained silent, she wasn't really in the mood to be friendly after what had just happened. Alright then. The Nurse wrapped the bandage around her head, the cloth tugged her hair, making it pretty uncomfortable. She looked up at the nurse again, it might be useful to have at least one nurse willing to treat her in the event of anymore accidents, Anna changed her mind. Annabelle. She spoke up looking forward as her blue eyes faded away to her natural eye color. My name's Freja, if you ever need anything from, well, you know, another woman. Her expression kept changing, Anna looked at her strangely. I'm just over in the infirmary, try not to hit anything against your head for a while. She got up and walked away, Anna stood up, before she could walk back over to her barracks she was stopped by her wing leader.
Selfish flying, but you did well, and you're not dead. Anna gave him a disgusted look. My comms channel was out and we scrambled back when we could've advanced forward. Anna spoke up with a hostile tone. Relax, that's about how every fight has gone around here since the local Brigadegeneral is to afraid to make any risky pushes forward, I'm not here about that anyways. He paused for a second and pulled out a piece of paper. Annabelle Heinrich you are being given the rank of Gerfieter under my personal recommendation and a decision from the Oberkommando. You're also being given charge of Red wing. He handed her the paper, that wasn't right, he would just give up power? Why? Are you putting potential embarrassment on me or is this genuine? He looked at her, turned and walked away. Fine, she would be better anyways.
Anna's promotion was in fact for pressure relief on the previous squad leader. Anna spent the next 3 years leading countless offensives in the Omega-5 system. Operating under the direct command of the Omega-5 Brigadegeneral, her desire to make more aggressive missions and offensives was shunned by a few words. Anna wasn't met with much respect from other pilots, most of the pilots she didn't frequently encounter ignored her solely based on her gender. Her squadron however, red squadron, showed her an extensive amount of respect as a leader. Anna was a brilliant pilot, and her conscience had completely faded in the face of combat. Anna turned unyielding, refusing to take prisoners or accept surrender from the Corsairs, or any foreigner unfortunate to cross paths with her in space. While most hated the constant sight of wounded soldiers and the redundancy of the Omega-5 campaign, Anna took pleasure in it. The adrenaline of combat and her skills met with the deaths of hundreds of Corsair pilots. Even with so many dead however, she was still unable to satisfy her unquenchable desire for revenge, she hadn't killed them all.
Realizing she could never kill so many people within her lifetime, she needed to move up in the ranks. Unfortunately, the Lieutenants nearby were quite greedy with their positions, everyone wanted to be seen as a larger figurehead in the Revolution. Knowing this, there was only one way for Anna to really "rank up", killing a Lieutenant and ensuring she would be the next to fill the spot.
Anna leaned back in her cockpit, relaxed, it seemed like any other day on patrol through the southeastern region of Omega-5. Anna flew about through the asteroids before seeing a number of contacts appear on her radar. Several friendly contacts were closing in towards her, fast. Guten abe- *Bang* she felt the the ship shake violently into an asteroid field. Being shot by friendlies? What the hell? Fuck. She turned the ship to the right, moving around an asteroid to take out one of the vessels. As she turned around the vessel was closing dead on the front of the asteroid. Anna hit the button to release a mine, the mine impacted with the asteroid, destroying two of the ships, and sending Anna's ship into another asteroid. Anna's head slammed into the sides of the cockpit like a pinball, she couldn't see and her ship was spinning out of control. Just as the ship slowed down in space, Anna could see the remaining fighter's callsign, it was a Hessian officer. Anna's hand reached for the comm's channel, before she could press down on the button, she went unconscious.
Anna opened her eyes, she was back home on Vogtland, in bed and undressed. She heard the sound of breathing very close behind her, she rolled over and looked. It was Florian, he was sound asleep, she knew she was either dead, or it was a dream. Florian? She muttered as he opened his eyes. Hmm? He replied, still half asleep. She was speechless, she didn't care that it was a dream. I love you, she moved over to kiss him. As she pressed her palm against his cheek she noticed blood on his shoulder, he started bleeding rapidly. I'm sorry he muttered as his head turned lifeless and fell against the pillow. No! No please not again. Before she could say anything else she snapped awake, she was laying in the infirmary on Ronneburg Base. She made a sad, heart-melted face, as a nurse turned towards her. She was in a slight state of shock from the nightmare, her eyes partially blue. Jesus you made it. You were barely alive when the response team picked your ship up. It was Freja, she and Anna had become -friends- to an extent, she didn't talk to her everyday, but Freja had seen more of Anna's insides than anyone else. Having stitched and operated on Anna's body more times than she could count, it wouldn't be a surprise if Freja had memorized the locations of Anna's major arteries and all of her veins. What happened? You've never been shot down before, everyone else flying with you has given you praise for being untouchable. Anna's face turned serious and cold, she glanced about the room for a second before exhaling. I was attacked by a Hessian officer and two of his guards. Freja's expression changed, she seemed interested, but not surprised in the slightest for whatever reason. Do you know who it was? She replied with curious tone. I't doesn't matter, because as soon as I can walk he's going to die. As she attempted to sit up her head began to throb and she could feel a violent pain in her neck. Don't move, your neck muscles are barely in check as it is, you're lucky you didn't get a concussion. Just some minor tissue damage from the shrapnel impacting your thigh. Anna laid back, frustrated. How long? She replied. Maybe a week and a half before you can walk, your neck should feel better in just a few days if you don't move too much. Anna didn't like the idea of laying in bed forever, but a week wasn't too long anyways. How bad is my ship? She muttered. I didn't see. Freja replied. Do you mind keeping this between us? Anna gave her a serious look, she didn't want anyone spoiling her plans. You've survived more combat wounds than anyone I've ever seen, you've killed more people here then most of the intelligence pilots that have come by. I'm not going to try and stop you from anything. Whatever, it could've been love or fear for all she cared, as long no one was in the way of her getting revenge.
By the way, who's Florian? Anna's eyes brightened up blue as her pulse began to spike out of anxiety. It was the first time she had a nightmare reminding her of Florian in a long time. No one. She forced herself to calm down, Florian was dead, there was no changing that. She couldn't wait years to blame herself for what happened.
The nightmares of Florian's death didn't stop after that one night, every time Anna so much as tried to fall asleep she saw him sitting on the bed where she lied. The dreams were a mix of either him showing affection, or distaste, either way they all had one common ending -he died-. It gave Anna a sense of misplaced guilt, but she didn't dare mention Florian to Freja or even show the slightest expression that she felt somewhat guilty. Anna got almost no sleep during the week in the infirmary, partially because of Florian, partially to make sure whatever men wanted her dead didn't get a second chance to surprise her. Within 4 days her neck had healed, she was able to sit up and stretch. The bed where she laid was sweaty and distasteful from previous pilots being treated and lying upon it, she didn't draw any bit of comfort despite Freja's numerous attempts to keep her comfortable within the first few days. After 7 days of waiting, she got up and found she was able to walk again, the shrapnel would had healed -to an extent-, she couldn't run for long without internal bleeding rendering her immobile. It didn't matter, she wouldn't have to run to catch the person she was looking for. Anna had memorized the call sign of the ship which shot her, it belonged to non-other than another lieutenant looking for a fighter wing to command, likely to better his career. At this point, Anna didn't care if it was Meisnerr himself, that officer was a dead man.
Ironically, her first instinct after being released from the infirmary was to go see the damage her ship suffered, she was expecting the worst. Anna walked out to the hangar bay, her coat made her stick out from the rest of the pilots sprinting to their ships in flight suits. She looked about before spotting her ship, which wasn't in nearly as bad condition as she had predicted. The lower wing and beams connecting it to the belly of the ship were damaged heavily, the bottom engine was practically totaled. However, the top of the ship was untouched except for the mine dropper -which was missing-. Anna walked over to one of the engineers. How long?The engineer had his head stuffed into his toolbox looking for something, upon hearing Anna's voice his head snapped in her direction, after realizing she was the pilot he spoke up. Likely two weeks, unless the fresh supplies we were promised from Wolfsberg arrive any faster. She was ready rip the officer's spine out. Two weeks in some dumpster made by Hessian rekruts? No way. Well what am I going to fly for the next two weeks since we both know you aren't getting those supplies. She replied with a snarky tone. The Engineer twitched his head up in the direction of another fighter, it was an Odin. Anna had never touched the controls of an Odin before, Liam said they were more advanced but Anna still didn't like the idea of flying something she hadn't adjusted and customized. Whatever, she didn't have to touch the ship until called upon by the Omega-5 Oberkommando, which would be a while since she was presumed dead until very recently.
Anna made her way back to her barracks, everything was still in place surprisingly. No one had touched anything, not even her engagement ring Florian had bought her. The nicely cut blood diamond on top might've gone for a high price in some parts of the Omegas. Anna shifted through her belongings to make sure she had everything. She pulled out a small notepad, jotted down the officer's name "Lt. Amand Beltz". After looking through the station's records she saw who he was and the location of his quarters. Killing him out in the open, or with a firearm would make it too obvious, unless...
Anna headed back to her quarters, threw on some gloves, and her jacket. Anna went up to the officers quarters, as the door opened she walked in gripping her brass knuckles, ready to punch his skull in if he was home. The room was empty, nothing but a desk with some documents, some closed drawers, and his bed. Anna went through the drawers quickly, she found his gun loaded in one of the drawers. She looked through some of the other drawers, trying to find a suppressor if he had one. After shifting through the drawers for a short while she found nothing and decided to kill him in another fashion. Anna turned out the lights, and waited by the door, about 30 minutes had passed when she snapped awake to the sound of chatter outside in the hall. Her heart began to race as she herd footsteps just outside the door, just as she reached for her brass knuckles in her pocket the door opened. She stood back against the wall, the darkness concealed everything but her iris, which were a rich blue from her racing heart. Anna kicked the door shut. Miss me? Before the officer could react to the sound of her voice, she threw her left arm around his neck. She grabbed her left hand with her left tricep with her right hand, tightening the choke hold. The officer struggled, he tried grabbing her face, but Anna's grip didn't let up. Her muscular profile and height worked to her advantage, she towered over the officer standing at 5'10" in comparison to the officer being only 5'6". With his lack of endurance he was choking on death within the next minute. His lifeless body collapsed as she loosened her grip on him, now all that was left was to paint out the scene. Anna took off the officers jacket and tied one end of it around his neck, she tied the other around a ceiling light, framing the scene to be suicide. She didn't pay him any attention, he got far less than what he deserved, she left the room for her barracks.
Almost a day had gone by before the Army realized one of its Lieutenants had undergone a "self inflicted" demise. With the military "police" or what passed for it focusing its efforts to manage Vogtland with the day to day chaos, getting away with any sort of tedious act seemed as easy as breathing. With Lieutenant Beltz dead some of defensive squadrons were in disarray. Under such circumstances the Army needed someone willing to fill the rank, that someone would turn out to be Anna. Unexpectedly she was likely to take the rank anyways, the front line needed more aggressive people, some of the Majors in Omega-5 disagreed with the Brigadegeneral's decisions. Earning the rank of Lieutenant showed a sort of "seriousness" with Anna. The Oberkommando realized they had more value for skilled pilots looking to climb through the ranks, even if it meant putting others under their heels. With Anna being one of those skilled individuals she was re-assigned from Omega-5. At first Anna didn't like the idea of leaving a war zone to sit behind a desk all day, but when she realized the task at hand was a field task, and a means to gain more power, she fell in line with the re-assignment. Anna didn't have too much of an attachment with anyone on Ronneburg, other pilots felt they had made families among their comrades but that kind of "friendship" didn't pass with female pilots. The only person she had any remote attachment with was Freja, who she decided to visit one last time. Anna walked into the infirmary to quickly say goodbye, she was a changed woman, no longer the lost depressed young woman that had joined the ranks. She was starting to turn cold, and Beltz's assassination was just the beginning of her misdeeds. Physically she had changed as well, being a bit more lean from lack of exercise, she appeared as a giant -for a female- at 5'11". She might've been a bit more lean but that certainly didn't make her look weak. Her skin was more pale, her shoulders, abdominals, and thighs bared numerous scars from shrapnel wounds. The impact wounds from the asteroids left bruises on her knees and shins from colliding with the bottom of the dashboard, as well as one on her cheek while she was being shot down. Her hair was still short, tied in a bun behind her head due to the Army's dress code from lesser ranked pilots, her eyes still bared the same angelic look whenever she showed some emotion. Walking calmly through the beds of amputated and dead soldiers Anna found Freja sitting down eating.
I'm not going to have to rip that uniform off of you to help you am I? She glared up at Anna with a curious look, she knew something was going on. No. I came by to tell you I'm leaving. Her voice had deepened, it was impossible to mask her Bretonian accent. Freja smirked at Anna for a second before responding. It's nice to know I have some place in your heart. Sit down I want to make sure you're leaving here in half decent condition. Anna almost felt the urge to say something sweet, but she couldn't find the words nor the emotion. She sat down while Freja ran over and got some medical equipment. She wrapped a the end of an inflation pump around Anna's arm. Well your blood pressure is a lot better than it was, but that happens with everyone. Anna laid back in the chair, not exactly the most ordinary "goodbye". Freja examined Anna a bit more, moving her arms and legs about slightly uncomfortably. She pulled out a sethoscope, the earpieces at the end were behind her so they were concealed. She unbuttoned one of the buttons on her uniform. Upon hearing the button snapping her eyes snapped blue. What the hell are you doing? Anna snapped. Your heartbeat? She reached under her uniform pressing the end of the stethoscope against her chest. Have you ever had-. Freja attempted to break the awkward silence. Just tell me I'm fine. Anna interrupted her mid sentence. Freja resisted the urge to laugh as she removed the end of the sethoscope. You're fine, try not to lose a limb. Anna got up out of the chair while buttoning up her uniform, nodded, and looked back at Freja. I'll let you know if I need anything. Anna spoke up suddenly before walking out of the infirmary, she didn't look back.