[center][b]The Queen of Spain - Encarnacion Mariano - The Spaniard[/b]
[i]The Light of Europe[/i][/center]
[hr]
[b]Much later...[/b]

The Queen, as she was evacuated from the battlefield by her soldiers after she was saved by her allies, was quiet. As she was quiet during the long journey from Spain to Australia, she added to her silence with a prayer. Those sitting with her in the helicopter that was taking them back to the base observed that she had closed her eyes and wrapped her tired, shaking and dusty fingers around her rosary, a rare thing to have in this ruined world that did not seem to value the belief in someone higher.

She had prayed this way:

[i]Thank you, Lord for giving me and my men mercy. Thank you for a well deserved and well fought victory. Thank you...for one more day. And most of all, may you bless the ones who saved me as much as they saved my men. Continue to look after us, the living, as you would care to keep the names of the fallen in your book of life. And on the other hand, forgive me for my sins for they have given us ruin.[/i]

Then she concluded her prayer with a soft set of words

"En el nombre del padre y del hijo y del espíritu santo. Amen."

Then she, without too much worry for her own self, kissed Jesus on the cross of her rosary, gently put it away in her pockets and looked to her men, speaking to them breathlessly

"Thank you for all you have done today. You have done so much for Spain, for Haven and for yourselves. God save Spain and Europe from the corrupt demons of this world."

[hr]

When she arrived at the base, she was escorted solemnly by any available Spanish soldier to, first, the chapel of this location. She needed the comfort of Father Alfonso Céspedes. After that, she would pay a lonely visit to the bar. Although she may be a Christian, there was no ban on the drinking of alcohol. So long as she took care not to get drunk, she would be all right. She'd have to drink water too and eat something. She was shaking in the legs and hands. 

And then she worried about her AI and her NC. That was when she realized that the Havenites themselves took care to bring them back. The compartment that housed her AI was taken by helicopter while the rest of the tank was hauled by Havenite light NC carriers. 

For the news, she was glad. And once again, her eyes closed and she stopped just outside of the buildings to give credit to God.

Even though she wanted to visit the chapel first, she realized she had to pay respect to her superiors in the base.

[hr]

[i]"I won't lie and say that we all performed perfectly," Theodore spoke, "We didn't. But let's focus on the bright side; we saved the Cores and Pilots of the two NCs we lost, and we gained two defectors at the same time with their accompanying NCs."[/i]

Meanwhile, when Mariano found herself inside the room with the other pilots and their briefer, all she could focus on doing was listen to her own thoughts and the reports of her partner, the AI. She was told that the repairs would have to be done quickly. On the other hand, Mariano was encouraged to take a break and to simply focus on other things while the AI did the job on the tank. Mariano wasn't pleased at the news as shown by the frown she held on her face during the whole time she was in the room with the others.

Although she did offer some thanks to Chelsea and the others who saved her from TABRIS, the Queen felt odd. Like even though she had done something for the group, for Haven, for Spain, she shouldn't be here.

It didn't even feel great for her knowing that she was still in her dirty, ruined armor and uniform. It felt like she was insulting them. And as the din of the place took over her ears, it seemed like her mind could only push the sounds out. 

[i]"Another, unambigiously good thing is this: We bought enough time for the Haven Third Fleet to arrive, with word that they've destroyed a Red-Star force making for Perth; their wrecks now litter the Outback," Theodore then paused to allow the others to absorb the news. 

He then fixed his gaze on them and said, "This means that we now have a chance not just of survival, but victory. Their morale is shaken by the failure of their vaunted brainwashing on two valuable pilots - and to them - even more valuable Mechs. And while we've lost one Field-Captain... We have a new one to introduce to you Volunteers."[/i]

[i]"Now, you know the drill: Bar, Coffeehouse, or... Actually, no Bathhouse unless you really want to get clean; I am not Osamu."[/i]

For once, she felt...strangely angry. She felt that the Spaniards, her people, deserved to be mentioned too. That her forces had done much to defend Haven as the NCs did and as the Havenites did. Have they not done so much and traveled over so great distances to this land that welcomed them? Have they not lost as much as these Havenites did? What would they think if the Spaniards treated them this way in the defense of Valencia?

And only when she thought that it was safe to leave and when she probably got the more important things about the briefing did she decide to turn around and leave the room. She did so quietly as ever, only paying a salute and a swift set of words to let them know that she had to take her absence.
[hr]

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zjt5oCmPvPo[/youtube]

The Latin chant rolled through the air of the chapel of the Havenite base as the Queen entered it. She was the only visitor for today and she came in in her own person and clothing as she came out of this base to fight Red Star.

Dusty, dirty, ruined and torn. Her uniform was bloody thanks to wounds sustained by her body. Some trace of deep crimson was still left on the top of her lips, her neck and her collar bones. She had a nosebleed.

Her own boots too were damaged and her armor had taken a beating. Everything else about her, even her hair, was tainted by combat.

But in the chapel, the peace of the chant, the air and the solitude was enough for her. It was what she needed. What she wanted. What God gave her.

She took ten steps before the altar of Christ the Savior of the world and then she went down on one knee, bowed her head and allowed her lips to speak the words

"Holy Son of God, allow me to enter into your presence and pray before you as I pray before your Father and the Holy Spirit. Grant me this mercy."

And then she raised her head, then her body. She crossed herself and said an amen before approaching the altar where there was a tiny vessel of holy water waiting for her. There, she dipped her right hand that trembled into the cool liquid, let it stay there for a moment and then took it out, allowing some of the holy water to clean her fingers. Then afterwards, she brought the holy water to her forehead, her shoulders and her heart. Then another amen left her lips.

Then she took six steps away from the altar, bowed her head and began to pray accordingly:

"SALVE REGINA, Mater misericordiae. Vita, dulcedo, et spes nostra, salve. Ad te clamamus exsules filii Hevae. Ad te Suspiramus, gementes et flentes in hac lacrimarum valle. Eia ergo, Advocata nostra, illos tuos misericordes oculos ad nos converte. Et Iesum, benedictum fructum ventris tui, nobis post hoc exsilium ostende. O clemens, o pia, o dulcis Virgo Maria."

Then after a moment, she gave the holy Lord an amen, went on one knee momentarily and then rose up before going her way out of the chapel.

[hr]

She made her way with nobody else, hopefully, to the bar. There, she gave her order gently. It was simple.

"A Johnnie Walker Mango Crush, please. And two glasses of water with ice. I also want a sandwich with pork. That's all. Thank you."

As she waited for her order, she took the time to rest her head on the bar, her arms serving as a pillow. She sighed as long as she could, letting out the stress with the air from her lungs. Then she closed her eyes and nodded off quite quickly, forgetting for a while her order and everything else...

(End of part 1)

[@Letter Bee] [@Landaus Five-One]