Part 57: Interview 28 Bonus

Barracks 28 - Halfway Across the World

Rose looks up as a clattering sound comes from behind her office door. She gets up from the desk and walks over to the door, seeing two figures having a hushed discussion behind the frosted glass pane. Opening it, she is greeted with an excitable Khepri and a tired-out Kyril.

“Yes?”

“Hey there! Got a letter for you - I thought you’d wanna see it.” Khepri says, getting an envelope out of her pocket.

“Show me.” Rose barks, and Khepri holds it out. Rose takes the envelope with an almost feverish quickness, and Kyril glances up at her, still breathing in and out.

“Haah… sorry…” he says. “It’s a long walk from the front of the barracks up to your office, you know…”

“Thank you very much for bringing me this. Both of you take it easy, alright?”

“Oh, sure!” Khepri replies, saluting. “Want a drink, Kyril?”

“That sounds pretty good…” Kyril replies. “I wonder where Dymek got to, anyway?”

Rose chuckles to herself as she closes the door on the pair, having a discussion about Dymek and his willingness, or lack thereof, to run up to Rose’s office with an important letter.

And it is an important letter, Rose thinks. She sits back at her desk and opens it up reverentially, then begins to read.

Rose,

It was great to hear from you! I know you’ve been busy with the war effort so I wasn’t expecting such a prompt reply. Really glad it’s been going well for you - keep it up, kiddo! You’re doing great! But don’t forget, you can enjoy yourself too. Still a kid, you know? Heck, I’m an adult and I still do kid stuff sometimes.

As for me, things haven’t changed much here. The little one’s driving me a bit nuts, but honestly, can’t stay mad at her. She’s too cute for that. My other half’s putting in the work, too; he’s actually really good with her, would you believe? Got up at 4AM the other day just so I didn’t have to.

I’m also glad you’re making friends! Being an ACO is hard, ‘specially since you want the soldiers to respect you, but it seems like they do. You’ve come a long way from that sharp-talking little madam that I first met, and that makes me pretty happy. You’d better be treating your men right - and Marlon, too! That teddy bear’s been a long way, huh? Halfway across the world, from Orange Star to Yellow Comet. I wonder where he’ll go next?

That Sensei guy you told me about sounds cool, too! Bet he was an awesome CO back in the day - hell, he sounds like an awesome CO right now. God, can you imagine if my dude had fought him back in the last campaign? Heh, I’m sure I would’ve pulled through, though. You know me, I don’t go down easy!

Speaking of, I’ve really been giving it my all in the gym, I don’t think I mentioned. Now that I’ve had a kid, I wanna get rid of that baby fat, you know? I’m pretty much back to my former self - strong, sexy and goddamn jacked. Wil says I look “even more radiant than you ever have before”, but I’m 90% sure he just says that sort of thing to get me in the mood. Oh, god, sorry, too much information.

Anyway! Back on topic. I hope you’re looking after your health too! Seems like you’re eating and sleeping a lot better than you were during your stint in Orange Star. I mean, that picture of yourself that you sent with your letter looks almost unrecognisable, and I mean that in the best way! Rose, you’re blooming like a flower! Heh. Get it? Like a rose?

But yeah, glad to hear it’s all going well, and I hope that you keep looking after yourself! I’ll keep looking after myself, too. Maybe once the war is done, we can meet up sometime! I’m sure you’d love to meet little baby Lucy - she’s even cuter than the Lucy we all know and love!

That’s all from me for now. Best of luck with the war effort - though I know that luck isn’t something you particularly need, you little genius. Just remember that whatever happens, we’re all supporting you! Keep it up!

Lots of love,
Tina

The tiny eleven-year-old ACO sat in her office chair can’t help but give a warm smile as she finishes reading the letter. Almost immediately, she turns to a drawer in her desk and opens it up, pulling out a fresh pen and a sheet of smooth paper. Once the date and address are noted down, Rose begins drafting her reply.

The sound of happy - if slightly out-of-tune - whistling begins to reverberate throughout the barracks.