>>5757927She was glad to see the mortar trucks surrender, as she hadn't wanted to fire another shot today. Her patchwork platoon circled around the Twaryians and quickly set to capturing what equipment they could and dismantling the rest. Seizing mortar tubes, shorting radios with their flasks, commandeering the sidearms of the crews, but all the while Freya simply watched.
It had been known but unspoken for some time what the Lieutenant had decided on for the band, so once the surrender was handled she make in clear in words. This was her last ride with the recon platoon. With any platoon at all if she could help it. Her time with them had been some of the best she'd known, but it was long overdue for her to move on from the battlefield and from her mercenary name. From here they'd ride to a planned rendezvous, and then go which ever way called to each man and woman of Recon Three. Adieu, adieu, parting is such sweet sorrow.
But there was still one thing that gnawed at the back of Freya's mind, like a loose string on her collar. An ace who had seen the battles she had, though maybe they hadn't always come face to face. She gave the okay for her platoon to carry on without her, she'd follow soon, taking a cap from one of the surrendered Twaryians and climbing into the lone Combat Car in her charge. There was mist enough to obscure who was truly inside, and none would pay much attention to a lowly BM-2 as it skirted through the tree line.
All alone at the end of it all. The tank with the red turret, its commander lying down and watching the sky above. She brough the car as close as safety would allow before stepping out.
"You there. You're the other one, aren't you? From the battle at Grabak. I'm Freya. Unter... no, Blumenthal."
The rose still bloomed on her lapel, the parting gift of the first Ace she'd faced in the war.
"I've never seen someone so sad to have lived another day. Hell, I'd say you were hoping to die with that big red target painted on... Care to share a drink and a tale or two? Look like you could use it."
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>Let the rest of the platoon vanish to wherever they please, with plans to join them in obscurity... after one more stop>Meet with one final Ace, Ivani Krasnyy 