War Stories: Dalabaia

Shirley Davis smiled as she waved to the nearby group of pedestrians, although they couldn't see it behind her combat helmet. It had been six weeks since the war ended, but it seemed like the parades and parties were still going strong, and everyone kept treating her and the other Gears like rock stars, which she guessed they were in a way. These people had never known what a world without war was like, they had all been born into a world dominated by a brutal, almost century long conflict. Sure, it had never touched these people before, the closest it came to affecting them was if a friend or relative was drafted or joined the military. They hadn't been forced from their homes in order to avoid an oncoming armored regiment or been caught in a shelling, they had lived comfortably far behind Coalition lines.

She shook her head slightly, ''Don't think like that, these are the people you're meant to protect. It's not right to think less of them for not experiencing the war.'' She looked back ahead to notice the rest of her squad moving away from her quickly, apparently she had slowed her pace without even noticing. She jogged to catch back up just in time to hear Arthur Hendrickson complaining.

"Sarge, we've been out here for two hours, when do we get to head back to the fort?"

Sergeant Simone Kiser didn't even bother turning his head to respond, "Just another hour and then we're good, now don't ask again. You're getting dangerously close to nerves I don't have."

After the armistice was signed, ending the war, the Coalition's armed forces, including those of the former UIR nations, were given a few weeks of leave to celebrate the COG's victory. They had just come back to service, but instead of deployments into warzones, the Army's job now seemed to consist of patrolling cities for almost no reason.