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Ever since I was young, I often heard a commonly repeated quote. It was repeated time and time again by fellow soldiers on the battlefield. At first, I thought of it as being annoying, unnecessary, and repetitive, but with all things with enough time and repetition, I eventually got used to it.465Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx8fQ4O8KBO
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That quote had always gone along the lines of, "Kid why do you fight so hard? Do you know that there is far more to life than mere survival." 465Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCCx6sUnqlV
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They would tell me while we were deployed to the field of war during times of break, moments in which the expectation of peace was a beautiful illusion that could break as a monotonous scene turns into a shock of war.
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Sometimes, they wouldn't survive but sometimes they did. And when the momentary battle had been over, I would approach their position and ask once more. "Why is that the case? Shouldn't life be about survival? Since life is only possible if one continues to live on."
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Sometimes I would be first met with a snare but other times I would be met with moments of ponderance by fellow soldiers before they would reply. "Well, it's because life is about more than survival as it is about prospering in the comfort of others rather than just living on for the sakes of another day. If your life is so awful and shitty, then there's completely no point in living it. So that's why you should make the best out of what life has given you because that's all that you have in the end."
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The quote was repeated time and time again, and battles would break once more to consume the peace. And by the conclusion of it all, I stood above overlooking their dead bodies once more with their battle knives in my hand before implanting it into the ground as a commemoration of their service. They have passed on and I would never be able to continue the conversation with a reply of my own, as all that I had ever known in my life was war and death which could consume everything that I ever knew. It was the hell that I lived in.
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And regardless of what people would say, or how they would say it, nothing would ever change my specific circumstances or that of humanity. No amount of belief, speculation, superstition, or worship would ever change my condition as an unwilling prisoner to the end of all civilization: As I was nothing more than a young 12-year-old girl fighting on the frontlines for the survival of our grand city which laid on the outskirts of interstellar human civilization...
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Against all foes, those cancers internal and external... Against all enemies, human or inhuman abominations... Against all horrors, demonic of alien... Against all depravities, cannibals, or cultists... It did not matter, it never did because I did not care for what stood in my way as the only thing that kept me going was the simple fact of wishing to live on to another day, it didn't even have to be a future with a single glimpse of joy or purpose in life, as it was just enough to survive... As in the horrors of war and bloodshed, there is nothing more common than the departure and destitution of all that you once knew.
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Just as with all days, my story began with the day. A day that would forever change my life despite the fact that it seemed like a completely ordinary day. Pointed up towards the sky, there stood an old middle-aged man in a suit of pure black who had pointed his signal flare. A flare designed to get in contact with soldiers, often those in times of battle. With a flick of his wrist and that of his point flinger, the flare ignited, and upon its burst, I had awoken.
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Springing out of deep hibernation, I grabbed my combat knife before jumping out of the sea of sandbags which I had hidden myself in for the night. It was an odd place to be, yet because of that exact fact it was the perfect hiding spot since no one would ever suspect such a place. Rushing out of the small gray concrete room where the sandbags had laid, I rushed out into the trenches of war. Catching a glimpse at the blight glimmer of the day dawning upon me, alongside that of the crimson flair, I knew that this had to be an important mission. Especially so as it was early in the day. About 4 or so...
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Rushing through the scene of mangled corpses which littered the trenches friend and foe, I had no time or desire to lament the tragedy of those torn limb from limb due to the pure brutality of war. Rushing through the mess and making my way out of the trenches and onto a brown hill, I paused for a moment before entering the bustling facilities of our military. it was a realm adjourned with countless numbers of men and women of many backgrounds. Other soldiers, military researchers, military commanders, military engineers, logisticians, refugees, and some elected officials had all converged upon this one singular zone where all the violence of this crooked world seemed foreign and abstract. 465Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDsui697OUf
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This particular building was called the "Command" as it was the heart of all our city's military institutions of defense, and offense. And just as the Command was the center of the heart of its military operations, it too had a heart in our grand leader. Climbing the monotony of void white concrete stairs, it was only a matter of time until I made my way up into his cold office which sat at the top of the Command as the entire seventh floor. Entering the office, I met him with a salute as he had his chair and body turned back towards a map that lay attached to a window.
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"The Common Soldier, Ruri Resti is here reporting for honorable duty in the continued service and commitment to the survival and prosperity of our metropolis. I am waiting for your orders, grand leader..."
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It was with the same cold stoic voice that I had always been known for that I greeted our grand leader, a noble veteran by the name of Sean Douglas McAffry. The manner in which I greeted him was not the product of rudeness, disinterest, or the experience of waking up so early in the morning which wasn't even an issue for me, nor was it the cold brutality of the world that caused me to speak in such a cold way but rather the fact that this was the only voice that I could speak with throughout my entire life. It was cold, disinterested, and monotone. A voice that many disliked and abhorred before coming to acceptance and neutrality. But ever since day one, our grand leader was one of the first to find great delight within my voice. Was it because he liked how I sounded, or was it because he enjoyed my company?
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"Greetings, it's been a while since I've last seen you Ruri."465Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9hdOj5ZNUN
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"It was three days since my last visit to you. So it isn't a great passage of time. Though I assume that the passage of time for you is far different from mine. As you are many times wiser than me."465Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh0shMlQoUd
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The great leader choked slightly at my remark before chuckling.
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"You can tease me all about that all you want..."
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'I never did.'
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I replied with a thought that he would never hear.
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"But let's get to the issue at hand. I am going to promote you."
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"Promotion?"
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I asked curiously, I wondered who would be getting a promotion.
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"Well let, me rephrase my words a bit since it technically isn't a promotion. Due to the command of my superiors in deciding to force one of our combat squads to another portion of the planet, we are currently unable to advance on our front... With that fact, and enough of my pleadings to military bureaucracy, leadership had recently had a change of heart and has called for the creation of a temporary squad to be formed."
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It was an interesting subject, after all, I would never expect such a development to come into being considering the vast inefficacy of military bureaucracy which resulted in delayed decision-making and its apathy towards our cause. But the possibility of a new squad was something that would surely never concern me at all. So aside from having me as a trusted informant, I saw no reason for the great leader to confront me about this change.
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"Due to the fact that we will be having a new squad, I decided to take things into my own hands and appoint you as the commander of that squad."
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I pointed at myself.
"You mean me? Or is there someone else in this room?"
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The great leader stared at me for a moment.
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"There's no one else in this room."
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