[color=0072bc][h3]Lilly'S Post[/h3][/color]
[i]... What if I trip? What if I miss? What if I can't run fast enough? ... What if I die? What if my friends die? What would become of me if I am wounded?[/i] Contrary to what she told Hunt, Lilly had (despite her best efforts) been doing anything but sleeping for majority of the night. Nervousness, uncertainty and sheer terror kept her from getting a restful sleep, which caused her to worry even more. [i]What if I fall asleep? What if I'm too tired to fight? What if, what if, what if, what if...[/i] Thoughts of home, her responsibilities, the battle of Rinneheim, and her (somewhat unsatisfactory) performance in the training battles continued resurfacing. While not an especially pious woman, this was one of the few nights that caused Lilly to pray genuinely. She clasped her hands and bowed her head as she lay in bed, asking for the Valkyrur's protection and assistance in the upcoming battle. This simple action helped to calm her a little, and eventually she fell into a fitful slumber when tiredness finally won out.

The commotion of people moving around the sleeping quarters was what eventually woke Lilly up. She groaned, rubbed her eyes and rolled out of bed as the rest of the squad began preparing and assembling for the mission. Fortunately her gear had already been nicely packed the night before, so all that was required was her changing into combat dress. 

...

[i]Rifle... Check. Pack... Check. Bullets... Check.[/i] After making sure that everything was in order, Lilly slung her pack onto her back and rifle onto her shoulder before heading outside to await the arrival of the APC and their sergeant. Her preparations had paid off apparently as despite her sleepy start, she was still one of the first to be ready. Yawning as she exited the barracks, she walked over to talk with Brenna - one of the few people who were ready, and the only one who she had conversed with before. [i]Yaawwn...[/i] [b]"Good even- Sorry. Good Morning, Brenna. ... I suppose this is our second battle together. What do you think of the mission?"[/b] [i]'Terrifying.'[/i] was Lilly's own mental answer to her question. Though she didn't expect all battles to be like Rinneheim, the fact that her only experience in live combat was a frantic retreat from a massacre meant that her perception of war was far darker and more desperate that it might be in reality. She hid this fear though, not wanting to drag down her allies with her. [i]Be strong for the squad, Lilly. You cannot let anyone else be affected by your fear, and you need to prepare yourself so that your fear does not affect you in combat.[/i]

[color=0072bc][h3]Evan's Post[/h3][/color]
Evan had slept in later than he had planned. He had wanted to give one last inspection of the APC before the mission, but his exhaustion from the manual labour of the day before ensured he was in no condition to wake up an hour early. He would just have to hope that nothing had changed in the 8 hours between his inspection last night, and the mission this morning. After packing his pistol and small amount of gear, he left the barracks and headed over to the garage to bring the APC around. A quick look over revealed nothing out of the ordinary, so it appeared that everything was in place. After doing one last double check to make sure they still actually had fuel and ammunition loaded, he slid into the drivers seat and started the vehicle up.

It was about 15 minutes after everyone had been assembled that the APC made it's way to the squad. Much to Evan's delight, the rags they had used as makeshift noise dampeners were working fantastically. The wire armour still clattered when he went over a large bump, but the rags seemed to cushion it enough that it remained relatively quiet while in motion. [b]"Well within the noise limits."[/b] He mumbled to himself as he mentally compared it to what the mission required. Leaving the APC running, Evan quickly jumped out (but left his pack and weapon beside the drivers seat) and formed up with the rest of the squad to await the Darcsen's instruction.