[b][i]Collab between [@Sniblet], [@Aisede], and [@Letter Bee][/i][/b] [b][i]Flashback, Sison Auditorium Barracks, September 26 2022[/i][/b] Noel woke up to a bad day, having had only a few hours of sleep. They had won, and the Government of National Salvation had given him a rank up, but the latter were currently trying to hold back Chinese attacks on the Philippines' meager and shoddy infrastructure; it didn't help that China had [i]owned[/i] a lot of the Philippines' power plants, enough to shut down access to electricity for a couple of months remotely. Nevertheless, in his improvised office once reserved for the auditorium's manager, the sixteen-year old was willing to see whoever insisted on a private meeting with him. [I]Okay, Kaitlyn, you can do this. He's your superior, he's obligated to hear you out.[/I] Technically, Corporal Castro is her superior officer, who answers to the Sargeant, who answers to the lieutenant... But he'd entertained her request for a meeting, and that's all that matters. Accepting his invitation, she entered the office, giving it a cursory look over before directing her attention to... A child. [I]A god damned child.[/I] She stared at him for several seconds before remembering herself and standing a little straighter. "Private Kaitlyn Price, sir! I... I have a request."`` Noel looked at her, bags in his eyes evident, and said in fluent English, "Second - No, [i]First[/i] Lieutenant Noel Alonso here; what is the request, Private?" She hesitated. "... I would like to request the immidiate military discharge of Hannie Cavalet, sir. [I]please.[/I]" Noel blinked and said, "Not my call; the Australians 'volunteered' her. But I can get her assigned to a noncombat role in the rear lines or find a way to exempt her from future missions or delay her participation in them. Would that be enough?" [i]Don't appear to be too eager to help. You do want to help, but remember, these are your subordinates and we're in a war; we need everyone we can get.[/i] He then sighed and said, "I'll just work harder to fill the shortfall; I know what it's like to be a kid who fights. There's this other kid, Nemo, even younger, sent by the Americans or some rogue branch of their 'CIA'. I don't want him hurt either, but here's the thing; both of them have useful powers so I can only do what I offered to do just now. But point is, she's not the only one who's gone through horrors, not today, not before." She paused at this, a pained expression flashing across her face. [I]He's right. If I do this, how many lives will be lost that she could have saved?[/I] [I]No! You can't save them all. And this is a war, people are going to die. What matters is helping Hannie. You can figure the rest out later.[/I] "Thank you, sir," she says in a measured tone. She thumbs the needle in her air, soldering on. That's her thing, after all. "I'm sure she could be of some use in the rear lines... What... What exactly does that entail? What would she be doing as a noncombatant?" She needed to know, before she signed Hannie up for a horror of a different kind. Noel sighs again and says, "Helping the medics by carrying small or small-ish items, sewing uniforms, helping the [i]mechanics[/i] by carrying small items, oh, and refrigerating food and other supplies with her Noble Arm. Do any of those sound traumatic?" "No sir." That all sounds rather tame, actually. "Thank you, sir." [I]Okay, so how do I excuse myself now?[/I] "Um... That was all... Sir." Noel nods, "One more thing. If you care about Hannie, you should know that the Australians - Or rather, their own rogue branch of their Government - have forwarded me a dossier. Said dossier reveals that Hannie came into their custody when her Noble Arm manifested and there was an accident which killed her father and crippled her mother." He then looked directly at her and said, "They can reveal that to her mother at any time; you get the picture? So be ready for anything. Now, Private, you are dismissed; sorry." [I]So they have... Blackmail material on her?[/I] Frowning, she excused herself, and made her way back to Hannie. She'd have been excited to give her the good news if it wasn't for that last part. [I] Will they threaten to release that information if Hannie doesn't fight?[/I] They had volunteered her, after all, but do they even know what she's doing down here? Do they actually know if she's fighting or not? Maybe it doesn't matter... So lost in thought was she, in fact, that she barely noticed she'd completed her trip until... Well... She was there. "Haaanie ~" She slipped on a smile as she saw her little Hannie, right where she left her in the waiting room. "I have good news for you!" Wow, she wasn't gone very long. Hannie didn't even have time to get bored. She looks up at Kaitlyn's face, and realizes that it must be very good news. "Mm?" she says. "What'd you do?" Her smile widened, and she knelt down In front of her. "I went and talked with First Lieutenant Noel, and you've been reassigned to a noncombat role in the rear lines!" She wasn't sure if Hannie actually understood enough of that, so she followed up with a clarification. "It means you don't have to fight anymore. You'll just be helping out the medics and carrying some stuff around... Does that sound good, Hannie?" Hannie's reaction is immediate. It starts as a small exhale at "don't have to fight anymore," and her eyes quickly well up. "Wha... what? Really? Not at all?" A hissing voice in a deep part of her tries to insist that this is a bad thing, that she is giving in to weakness... or something... but she's not in a position to listen. "Nope!" She's flat out beaming now, and can't help embracing the little girl in a giddy hug. She hasn't been this excited since she signed up for the army. "Not at all ~ it's over."