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Interlude 2

There are only a handful of things that can manage to annoy Carmesi.

Most of them were related to social interactions and fighting, with just a few exceptions piling down the vast turmoil that was currently taking her attention away from making plans about training.

This wasn't a usual night of rest for her, but then again, this new situation was different compared to what she was accustomed to.

A fresh breath of air... this can either bring her good fortune or leave her to face the possibility of being tried for high treason if she ends up captured.

The Fox Prime wasn't too afraid of this possibility. She rather not think too much about it though, especially with the fact that nothing great occurred without a huge sacrifice.

Staying with the Empire would've been her safest route for the rest of the war, yet it didn't guarantee a decent life for her once this conflict was over.

Her thoughts on parting ways with the Emperor's cause might have originated from the first time she was admonished by General Minos.

The fact that the humiliation dented her prideful shell allowed for some contemplation to happen and... she was concerned by what that thinking session left her with.

The moment all enemies to the Empire were gone, she would instantly lose any importance within the Army.

As the Crest of Fire, being quickly disposed of wasn't doable. Death wasn't the real issue that got her feeling dreadful.

It was the possibility of being forced into a political marriage to another high officer. She couldn't see the Emperor blessing a union between her and Minos, albeit the resulting offspring would likely have the potential of being the strongest warrior.

No, he wouldn't want a possible contender to worry about.

Someone lesser in terms of combat prowess. Someone that could make her easy to manipulate and control.

Not a happy prospect for her future, and that was one of the big factors that drove her to switch allegiances to this seemingly condemned cause.

'Seemingly'. Carmesi was tempted to snort at the silly allusion of being more than enough to take on a monster like the Emperor.

She was strong, but she wasn't fighting a God-Slayer in a single match.

It wasn't just possible. If there was something that she agreed with Queen Adela's assessment, it was that the Crests had to be reunited for the leading bastard to be taken out.

And this task was far from easy, considering their current resources. In fact, the trip to reach the planet where the supposed Love Crest was being held would take about a day or two.

Sandir wasn't considered a renowned planet within the Imperial's space. A prison planet among prison planets.

These were places that were impossible to colonize for a reason or another, and Sandir's real problem was the never-ending storm of ice that kept it deadly cold.

But while it wasn't the place to spend a nice holiday with friends and family, the place did well its job to create an unpleasant place for prisoners to 'work their crimes'.

Escaping through land was not doable, and the hangars were tightly monitored and guarded by cameras and most of the guards assigned to the facility.

The data Carmesi had recovered about that place was scarce, but it's not because she hadn't put effort in scavenging this much info about it.

The Empire was rather jealous of the secrets it held from its public, armies, and enemies.

And even as a Captain, the Fox Prime didn't have enough power to get important information about the garrison on the planet.

The name of the directors, the safe code to request a landing space by the hangar- heck, she couldn't even get a precise location of where the facility was located.

Huffing in clear annoyance, Carmesi's mind decided to shift away from the mission at hand... and back to the present.

And right to the reason that saw her groaning her soul out during that quiet night spent in solitude.

That human, Theo, he was... confusing. Not that she wasn't in the mood to outright know everything about the individual that was supposed to be her newest ally- and the 'prime' reason she decided to leave the Empire.

He didn't look like much appearance-wise. He seemed focused on training and beat back that silly perception of weakness that he would offer by merely... being himself.

But Theo was far from weak, and Carmesi was more than happy to say that he was someone she could genuinely trust as a training buddy.

He didn't ask any unpleasant questions, he didn't fawn over her like the bastards back in the Imperial Training Facility did, and he didn't give her any annoying rules to follow.

In fact, the human was quite trusting despite having been recruited so recently.

What really frustrated the young woman to somehow think more of this bizarre fellow, who lacked fur and spoke of a different species than Narakhans and Primes, was the way he was so at ease around her. And how she was fine with it all by the end of the day.

'Carmie'.

The pet name came from a bet, and despite her irritation at being 'fine' with this infuriating matter, she still found it irking how she couldn't muster much annoyance out of him saying it.

The Queen and the Spirit that piloted the ship had also decided to make use of it from time to time, but with them it was easy to get frustrated at.

But Theo? Carmesi couldn't exactly ask him to not call her that nickname. It sounded so much like begging for him to forget the stupid defeat she suffered against him.

The wager had been accepted without manipulation and without any emotional influence that would've made her choice for her.

Trying to 'delete' it wouldn't just be foolish on her part, but also cowardly. And Carmesi wasn't a coward.

This was the mindset that rejected the idea of inquiring for a change about the topic, but there was also a detail that slowly and steadily left her more and more perplexed about the matter.

She... liked being called 'Carmie' by him. It just didn't feel as offensive as she had first imagined it to be as he was careful with his tone.

He wasn't trying to be mean, or even malicious with the teasing. There was a 'stop' that would become a self-imposed limit the human had yet to dare to break.

Maybe she was just seeing things right now... or maybe the scene was far too evident and clear to not believe otherwise.

A sigh left her lips as she turned to look up at the ceiling, her blue eyes slowly losing focus as the need to rest slowly eroded her interest in staying up to think some more.

There wasn't anything else left to think... for now. Maybe sleep will give her new topics to ponder about when she will finally be alone once again.

Yet she wasn't really alone, Carmesi knew that. She was alone with other lonely people... and that somehow made it soothing and pleasant to conclude that silent monologue of her.

_ And she dreamed of screams and fire, just like every single night since she was taken in by the Empire. _

d-d-d-d d-d-d-d----

AN

Next proper chapter will be uploaded this Wednesday.