[color=0072bc][h3]Lilly's Post[/h3][/color]
Lilly sighed quietly as she slumped back against the wall of the APC. The skirmish with the imperial squad went far better for her than she expected. No hysterical freak outs occurred, she didn't run away in terror, and her shakey aim (due to nervousness) aside, Lilly's performance was reasonably competent this time. ... But the relief and satisfaction she should have felt at (temporarily) conquering her fears had been overshadowed by a melancholy that was weighing on her. When they had set upon the imperial soldiers, they were in the middle of digging a grave for one of their comrades. She had just attacked them while they were in the middle of saying farewell to their dead... Watching the sergeant walk around and retrieve the tags from the bodies of Private Durandal's squad only helped to intensify this depression as she contemplated death and mortality. 

They had been the victors of this skirmish, but that might not always be the case... What would happen if the imperials ambushed them next time? What if they ran afoul of a tank? Their lives could be taken just as easily as the imperials they had killed. Somewhere deep in the pit of Lilly's stomach, she felt that not everyone in her squad would make it home alive.

[i]'What are you doing, Lilly? Get a hold of yourself.'[/i] Lilly shook her head and and mentally berated herself as she tried to purge the unpleasant thoughts. No, she couldn't dwell on this. What would her father or servants think of her if she remained in this state? [i]'It might not be a pleasant fate, but you chose to be here. Now it is your responsibility to carry through with your duties. If you cannot, then you must change to become someone who can. That is your duty as a soldier and a Jatmoore.'[/i] 

She smiled slightly at this thought. Yes... Yes that sounded exactly like something her father would have said. But what could she do to become someone who was more able to handle the fear and sadness of war? ... That, she did not know. For now she would have to fight her way through it and try to help any of the other squad members that were suffering from it as well. Lilly looked over at Private Durandal, frowning in sympathy as she did. Poor girl still looked distraught from the loss of her squad, and rightfully so. She hoped she would be able to come to terms with the loss and continue on in time. Fortunately, [i]most[/i] of the squad seemed to be acting friendly towards her, so that should help. Lilly made a mental note to talk with her after the battle was over, anyways. 

***

[b]"Alright Ladies and Gentlemen! Here's your stop!"[/b]

A few hours down the road, Lilly was shaken out of her daydreams by a certain muscular driver shouting back to them. The Sergeant had ordered the APC to pull over and once it came to a stop, ordered several scouts to well... scout the route ahead. Lilly had been one of the group selected, so she quickly hopped out the back and sprinted after Private Hunt. 

Lilly had always prided herself on her running ability but Hunt almost had her beat. The combination of his head start and her nearly tripping over a bramble bush meant that he got to the edge of the woods a dozen seconds ahead of her. A steady stream of curses guided her final approach as she ran up to Hunt and crouched to observe the field ahead of them. His curses matched her sentiment towards the field that stretched out ahead of them, albeit in a much coarser fashion than she would have put it. [b]"There is not a lot of cover out there, Mr. Hunt. I brought smoke grenades with me, but they would not help in a field this large."[/b] With that, Lilly leaned against a tree and waited for the remaining scouts to arrive.

[color=0072bc][h3]Evan's Post[/h3][/color]

[b]"ALL ABOOOAAAARD!"[/b] Grinning as he shouted, Evan eased the APC back onto the road and towards their objective. He had taken over Bons' roll as driver for the remainder of the trip, partially due to how the kid had panicked upon hearing the gunshots. Kid still looked distraught about it, his face was flushed red from embarrassment and he had completely withdrawn when Evan berated him for his mistake. Reaching behind him and poking Bons when they hit a relatively straight section of road, Evan whispered in as quiet a voice as a boisterous person like him could muster. [b]"'ey don't worry about it, kid. You'll get the hang of this bucket of bolts eventually. Just don't fuck up like that in combat, eh?"[/b] Evan laughed to himself as he tried to lift Bons' spirits, but his intended effect was probably reversed by his blunt way of speaking.

***

[b]"Pull over up here, Carn."[/b] [b]"Right on, Darcsen."[/b]

After a couple hours of driving, the Darcsen called for him to pull over and let some scouts out so they could get an idea of what lay ahead. Parking the APC in as hidden a location as he could, Evan yelled back to the rest of the squad. [b]"Alright Ladies and Gentlemen! Here's your stop!"[/b]