Sunset ^beta

A series of laser blasts struck the orange chest armour and metal grey helmets adorning three training dummies - nondescript sandbag torsos stuffed with straw and fixed on wooden poles - leaving blackened scorch marks.  The barrage had been fired by Royal Guard officer Lieutenant Dian, wielding her sidearm blaster. She was standing on a dais, set up in the Palace training yard, while twenty members of the Royal Guard Cadet Corps stood in a school circle.  She was wearing the new uniform for women officers in the Guard, recently co-designed by her and Teela.  While the Captain wore white and gold, Lieutenants would wear a mix of one primary colour and silver accents.  Dian had chosen the standard green of the Eternian Guard as her colour; in honour of her prior service.

Having impressed both Man-at-Arms and King Randor by bringing her combat experience to bear in training her own Guardsmen, the commanding officer of Item Company had been invited to give a special demonstration for the next generation of Eternian defenders.

Dian holstered her blaster and addressed her audience.  “Standard Royal Guard body armour and helmet, issued to you when you graduate.”

She walked over to a table set up with a selection of melee weapons.  “Photanium sword, mace, halberd or laser trident.  Issued to you if you graduate.”  Dian picked up the trident and fired its laser tip at a target set up on the back wall, scoring a bullseye.

Replacing the trident, she walked over to where a Royal Guard Engineer sat on a familiar machine.  “Single-seater Sky Sled, primary vehicle for aerial reconnaissance and low-altitude combat.”  Dian nodded to the engineer, who tapped the Sky Sled’s accelerator button.  The flyer roared to life and rose in the air a few inches, before a sputtering sound came from its engine and the Sled’s emergency anti-grav failsafe lowered the Engineer safely down to the deck.

Dian gave an irritated look to the engineer, who responded with a sheepish shrug before dismounting to open up the Sled’s front-end assembly, searching for the problem.  The officer shrugged in resignation.  “Issued to you if you can ever get it to work.”

Some brief chuckling from the young trainees, but quickly stifled in the presence of this imposing veteran.

“As you go through Cadet training, your instructors will teach you to master these things and much more.  Remember though that armour, weapons and vehicles are only tools.  What you will need to make it through this program and become full-fledged Royal Guards are the correct attitude and the correct mindset.  That is what I intend to instill in you today.”

Dian slowly paced up and down on the dais, looking over the rows of young, impressionable faces.  “Can anyone tell me what is the supreme virtue of the Royal Guard, what single attribute allows us to function as a fighting unit?”  A hand was raised, and acknowledged.  “Cadet Garda.”

The son of Eternia’s Master Farmer forced out his answer in an unconvincing, rehearsed manner.  “That we are brave, that we are ready to give our lives to defend Eternia, to defend His Majesty, The King.  Long may he reign.”

Dian was not moved by his prose.  “That answer is not only incorrect, Cadet, but dangerous.” She addressed the wider audience.  “If any of you boys and girls harbour romantic notions about winning the day by making a grand, heroic sacrifice, then get rid of them.  The Guard has no place for martyrs or gloryhounds.  While there are some circumstances where your actions may turn certain death for two into survival for one, these are rare and you will know them if the moment comes.  More often than not, all you will do by sacrificing yourself is buy your protectees a couple of seconds before the thing that killed you, kills them next.  When we are in combat, we fight like mad grazzlers to live.  Not because our lives are precious and must be protected, they are not.  We fight to survive because a dead Trooper is useful only to the Realm’s enemies…especially if they practice necromancy.”

Some of her audience were unsettled by such a morbid scenario.  Garda looked visibly embarrassed at having his answer so coldly shot down while another Cadet, the burly Krill, smirked at his classmate’s failure.

While Dian was aware that her talk of life and death was unnerving to these youths, the battle-hardened Lieutenant’s goal was to drill the realities of soldiering into them, not to sugarcoat the dangers they would eventually face.  “I repeat the question: what is the Guard’s supreme virtue?”  Another hand raised.  “Cadet Rose.”

The young woman was one of six in the class, looking to prove themselves in what was still a male-dominated profession,  While the Guard held no prohibition against long hair, provided it was kept clear of the face.  On the first day of induction, Rose had made a point to cut off her blonde locks, leaving her hair “high and tight” like the men around her.  

“Uh, teamwork, ma’am?”

“Teamwork,” Dian considered.  “Why do you say that?”

Now that an officer had put the spotlight on her, Rose suddenly became nervous.

“Uh well, about three years ago, my village of Pax was raided by the Space Pirates, ma’am.  They came to steal all our food.  His Highness Prince Adam and Captain Teela, they brought our village together, showed us how to fight back.  With some help from He-Man, we defeated the Space Pirates.  Trapped them long enough for the Royal Guard to come and arrest them…ma’am.”

After a moment, Dian gave a slight smile.  “Outstanding answer, Cadet.”

Rose breathed a sigh of relief.  From three doors down, Krill sneered out of the corner of his mouth.  “Teacher’s pet.”

“Stow it.” hissed Cadet Cynda, stood next to him.  She had stood by Krill and their friend Tager through thick and thin, from their unintended visit to Snake Mountain years ago to now joining the Cadet Corps together.  But where she once found his confident swagger attractive, even dating him for a while, he was getting on her last nerve.

Krill replied. “What?  She your girlfriend or somethin’?”

At this moment, Cynda wished Rose was her girlfriend, if only to spite the arrogant loud mouth standing next to her.  A close second was wishing Dian would punch him in the face.  He was going to ruin this for all three of them.  “Just shut up!”

The Lieutenant thought she heard talking in the ranks, turned sharply and glared at the front row of Cadets.  Krill and Cynda stood rigid, eyes forward, trying to be as expressionless as possible.

Satisfied that discipline had been reasserted among the group, Dian continued.  “Yes, teamwork, that is the core of how the Royal Guard functions.  You follow the orders given by your instructors because, though it may not be immediately apparent to you, they are to aid your teammates.  Your every action should contribute towards helping them, and they, in turn, will help you.  Only by working together, as a well-oiled machine, will you succeed in your task of keeping the Realm safe.”

“Before you leave this class today, I want you Cadets to understand what true discipline is.  You all think discipline means making sure your boots are polished, your uniform pressed and you stand to attention.  Make no mistake, my words are not an excuse to slack in your presentation.  But you can teach any old rabble how to do that and call them an army.  No, real discipline is when your squad is out there, in the wild.  Whether it’s the Ice Mountains or the Vine Jungle or the Sands of Time.  You’re cut off, leagues away from help, starving, either being hunted by your enemies or at the mercy of the native predators who want to make you their next meal.  There’s no transport, no radio, no armour, no weapons, just the uniform on your back.”

Cynda raised her hand.  “Lieutenant, what if we don’t even have that?”  The question prompted snickering from Krill and Tager.

The officer gave a nonchalant shrug.  “Do without.”

A majority of the class began laughing.  Dian quickly moved to squash their frivolity.  “Alright, knock it off.” Silence immediately followed.  “You think I’m messing with you?”  She shook her head.  “I am not messing with you.  No matter how dangerous it gets, no matter what gear you’re short on, remember you have three things you can always rely upon…” She placed a hand to her chest.  “Your heart.  The bravery and daring you have displayed in youth, that earned you the privilege of joining the Cadet Corps.  Your drive to protect those around you, to defend those who cannot defend themselves.”

Next she tapped her forehead.  “Your mind, the greatest weapon you will ever have.  To think logically in the face of danger, to maintain your poise under fire.  To keep your wits when all about you are losing theirs.”

“Last but not least, your body.  Your hands, your feet and whatever else is attached.  You lost your weapon?  Sharpen a rock and tie it to a stick.  You just made a spear, the same way our ancestors did.  You’re starving?  Set a trap and catch an animal, that’s your dinner.  You’re freezing?  Build a fire.  The man next to you is hurt?  Bind his wound.  He can’t walk?  Carry him on your back.  And yes, when all else fails and your enemy is coming at you, a well-aimed punch will often do the job.”  

She marched slowly back and forth on the stage, drilling her message home.

“As long as you are alive and awake, these three tools will always be available to you.  When you are shorn of everything else, they are all you need.  Use them to help your team, and your team in turn will use them to help you.  All of you must work together with the same mindset.  That way you will not only survive, but prevail against all the evils this world will throw at you.”

Dian came to a halt in the center of the dais and looked out at the sea of impressionable faces.  “That is real discipline.  That is what makes the Royal Guard the greatest fighting force in all of Eternia.  All of these?”  She gestured to the table of weapons and the malfunctioning Sky Sled.  “They are luxuries.  Understand?”

The cadets responded in unison.  “Yes, ma’am!”

Dian bellowed.  “UNDERSTAND!?”

“YES, MA’AM!”

Dian saw that her audience was pumped up and proud of their profession.  Backs were straighter, chests puffed out and fire in the young aspirants’ eyes.  Perfectly primed for the next part of her lesson.

“Now, let’s see what you people are made of.  We’ll have a round of sparring.  I need three volunteers.”

None were forthcoming as nervous eyes darted back and forth, the would-be warriors intimidated by the muscular frame of their guest speaker.

Dian reassured them.  “Don’t worry, you won’t be facing me.  It is not proper for officers to spar with Cadets, which is why I have enlisted some help.”

Out stepped on to the stage a slender, athletic blonde girl in a red armour dress and a winged headdress.  She exhibited a shy, unassuming nature.  Seemingly intimidated at being the centre of attention.  She weakly held a hand up to wave at the audience.  “Um, hi.”

Dian explained.  “This is my friend Ileena, she will be your sparring partner.  Now, any takers?”

A voice came from the crowd.  “Aww come on, this has got to be a joke!”

Immediately, Dian was scanning the crowd for the offender “Who said that!?”

His arrogance overriding common sense, Krill raised his hand.  “I did, ma’am.”

The cadets around him wished they could turn invisible as their livid Drill Instructor, a veteran of the Horde Invasion, stormed over to the recalcitrant recruit and got in his face.  “How dare you speak to an officer out of turn!”

Dian called him off.  “As you were, Sergeant.  Normally I would say ‘have at it’, but I think this young man’s outburst will prove instructive for his teammates.”

With stoic discipline, the Sergeant did an about face and saluted the Lieutenant, before marching back to his post overlooking the proceedings.  Not seeing Krill’s self-satisfied grin, thinking he had put one over on the old warhorse.

Dian addressed him directly.  “Alright Krill, speak your piece.  You think this lesson is a joke?”

“Yeah, I mean, look at her.”  He gestured at Ileena, whose shoulders were hunched, trying not to be noticed.  “I signed up to fight the toughest warriors on Eternia, and you give us this skinny little girl!”.  Cynda, Rose and the other women in the class were all staring daggers at him.

Dian egged him on, a gleam in her eye.  “So you think you’re tough, huh, big man?”

“I’ve been to Snake Mountain, I’ve seen Skeletor’s Evil Warriors.  That waif up there would probably faint at the sight of them!”

“We were there too, Krill.” Tager meekly reminded him.  Seeking his friend’s approval, as always.

“And it was your fault we were there in the first place.” Added an irritated Cynda.

“Shut it, you two.”  He whispered back.

Dian seized her opportunity.  “Well, since you’re apparently ready to take on all of Eternia, you shouldn’t have any problem putting my friend here in her place.  So get up here.”

His ego super-charged, he didn’t see the trap that had been laid for him.  “Sure thing, ma’am.  I’ll teach blondie a lesson.”  He turned to his cohort.  “Come on, Tager.”

Cynda could see where this was going and whispered a warning.  “Don’t.”

Their friend hesitated for a moment, before shrugging at Cynda and following Krill on to the stage.  She felt a pang of sympathy for him, but only briefly.

The burly braggart turned to her.  “Cynda, you comin’ or not?”

“I think I’ll wait and see how you two fare.” She resolved that if she was going to make it as a Guardswoman, it would not be by letting Krill lead her off a cliff.

“Figures.  You wouldn’t beat her, anyway.  Got too much of a soft spot for blondes.”

Cynda shot a surreptitious glance at Rose.  More than you think, meathead.

Dian interrupted his taunting.  “I don’t intend to be here till moonrise, Krill.  Get a shift on.”

He turned towards the stage, boasting.  “Yes, ma’am.  Just proving my superb leadership and getting you some more volunteers.”   

The two Cadets marched on to the dais and stood opposite their opponent.  “Well alright then.  That’s what I want to see, some initiative.  I need one more.”

Cadet Chad raised his hand to object.  “Uh ma’am, are you sure this is right, fighting a girl?  When I was growing up, my father always taught me I should never put my hands on a woman.”

Dian shot him a withering look.  “Look around you, gentlemen.  Look to your left and right, what do you see?”  The male cadets did so, confused.  “You see the women who are your teammates.  Who endure the same trials as you, for an equal chance to swear the same oaths and face the same dangers.  Women are also among the ranks of the Realm’s enemies, vicious and without mercy.  Enemies who would subjugate or slaughter everyone you care about without a second thought.  Whether meeting an army on the battlefield, or preventing an assassination attempt at the Palace, you will likely meet such women in combat one day.”  She spread her arms wide to indicate the entire class.  “I will say this to all of you and I will only say it once: if we think for a second that you will put your teammates or your protectees’ lives at risk, because you are too chivalrous to act at the moment of truth…then you will be out of the Cadet Corps.  Understand?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“UNDERSTAND!?”

“YES, MA’AM!” 

Before Dian could utter another word, Chad bounded on to the stage, not wanting even the slightest perception that he was not committed to the Guard.  While the Drill Instructor and the Engineer cleared the weapons off the table and returned them to the nearby racks to avoid any fatal mishaps, Dian put herself between the cadets and Ileena as an impromptu referee.

“Now boys, keep it hand-to-hand and one-on-one.  Krill, you’re up first.”

“Don’t worry, ma’am.  I’ll go easy on this little flower, make sure there’s something left for the others”.  Caught up in his bragging, he didn’t see Ileena’s fists clench by her sides.

“Stand to, Cadet.”  Dian then walked up to Ileena as if to reassure the timid-looking blonde, whispering something in her ear.  She then walked over to the edge of the stage and set the contest in motion.  “Combatants ready…..?  Begin!”

Krill and Ileena squared up to each other.  The burly young man was confident, the blonde girl seemingly nervous.  He did a couple of mock lunges to intimidate her, asserting dominance as she flinched.  He then reached out and shoved her.  She threw her hands up, pleading off.  “Please, don’t hurt me.”

Krill guffawed loudly; this was priceless.  He turned his back on his opponent to look at his friend.  “Would you get a load of this, Tager?”  He pantomimed in a mocking, sing-song voice.  “Ooooh, please don’t hurt meeeee!”

A voice behind him responded.  “Alright Krill.”

As he looked back, Ileena lashed out with an open-hand strike across his face.  The blow sounded like a whip being cracked.  The assembled Cadets gasped as Krill staggered back, thrown for a loop.  Ileena had dropped the act and was now poised, her guard up.  Looking every bit the trained fighter she had worked to become over the past months.

Krill recovered enough of his wits to look at her in astonishment, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth and his nose.  She sneered derisively.  “I won’t hurt you…much.”

Incensed, he surged forward to grab her.  Ileena calmly sidestepped him, tripped him with her boot and elbowed him in the back as his momentum carried him forward.  Crashing face first into the dais.

She then turned to the other two volunteers and gestured for them to try their luck.  Dian stood behind them, offering her own brand of encouragement.  “What are you waiting for, Tager?  Get in there.”

Momentarily more afraid of the officer than the girl who just laid his best friend low, Tager squared up to the challenge.  Closer to Ileena in stature than Krill was, he threw desperate punches that were blocked at every turn.  Ileena exploited every opening she saw to take jabs and leave painful strikes all over his torso.    

As Tager reeled from this assault, Dian loomed next to the nervous Chad.  “Remember what I said about teamwork?  Give your buddy some help.”

He tried to protest.  “But that’s two-on-one, that’s not fair!”

“Neither is war.  You’ve got the numbers advantage, now use it!”

Chad gulped and joined Tager.  The two Cadets threw everything they could think of at the blonde warrior, but couldn’t land a hit.  Finally, Chad attempted a thrust kick and quick as a flash, Ileena went low and took him down with a leg sweep.  As Chad struggled to his feet, Tager attacked again.  Ileena gave him a knee to the gut and as he doubled over, pulled his arm into a hammerlock, grabbed him by the collar and used him as a human battering ram.  Sending his shoulder into Chad’s stomach, knocking both of them to the deck once more.

Breathing hard with fire in her eyes, Ileena stood in a combat stance, watching to see if either of her opponents wanted more.  She was seemingly oblivious as Krill rose to his feet behind her.  Letting out a guttural war cry, he charged towards her back at full speed.  The watching cadets were wide-eyed with horror, but Ileena could hear him coming a mile off and spun around.  As Krill put all his might into a running haymaker, she ducked, then immediately jumped.  Delivering a roundhouse kick to the back that sent him crashing into the other two volunteers and putting them all down for the count,

Dian intervened.  “Combatants, stand down!”.  The blonde complied immediately, standing to attention and bowing her head in acknowledgement of the officer.  Dian casually glanced back over her shoulder and bellowed  “Mendor!”.  The Palace’ magical healer immediately began tending to the three battered and beaten young men.

The audience were simultaneously shocked and delighted by what they had just witnessed.  Rose, Cynda and the other four women were in awe.  Some of them had met Captain Teela in years past and her heroics had inspired them to become soldiers.  Now they looked at Ileena as their new idol.

Lieutenant Dian joined her on centre stage and revealed the ruse.  “Oh, didn’t I mention?  Ileena here is currently being trained to officer standard by the Captain of the Guard herself.  She has played no small part in saving lives, capturing powerful sorcerers and defeating murderous street gangs.  Her bravery has earned her the Eternian Medal of Gallantry and Goddess willing, she will one day command a full company of the Royal Guard, just as I do now.”  She looked over at the dazed and bloody Krill.  “Not bad for a ‘skinny little girl’, eh?”.

If the formerly boisterous bully had heard her comments, he gave no response.

Dian continued.  “There is an important lesson to be learned here.  These three men underestimated their opponent and fell into her trap.  They are lucky though, Ileena only gave them a few love taps.  Out there, a real enemy will do far worse.”  As she spoke, Dian drew her sword from the scabbard and offered the hilt to Ileena, who carefully took it in hand.  “Deception is one of the greatest weapons in warfare.  Don’t be afraid to use it, but don’t allow yourself to become a victim of it.  Your enemy may feign weakness, hide his strengths, try to get you to take him lightly.”  Dian swiftly backed up to a safe distance at the edge of the stage.  “You should always be realistic about the threat an enemy poses, but never underestimate them.  For the moment you do…”

Suddenly, Ileena took a running start towards the training dummies and leaped into the air. performing a full flip and as she landed, brought the sword down to slice the ‘arm’ off the first dummy at the ‘shoulder’.  With no wasted motion, she delivered a spinning slash that cut the second dummy in half below the chest armour.  Before the bisected construct even hit the ground, she spun again and cut through the ‘neck’ of the third dummy, ‘beheading’ it.  The helmet clattered off the stage and rolled up to the feet of Cadet Rose.  Ileena stood with the sword in a double-handed grip.  Focused, poised, the picture of a true warrior.

After a moment of stunned silence, the watching Cadets began applauding and cheering.  Even Lt. Dian clapped as she walked back on to the stage and Ileena carefully returned the officer’s sword.

She let the applause die down before asking the crucial question.  “Now, show of hands: how many of you would follow her into battle?”  All of the Cadets, barring the three receiving medical attention, instantly raised their hands.

“Good.  One day you may get your chance.  But until then, you will train until you’re ready to drop, and then keep going.  You will listen to your Drill Instructors.  They will teach and you will learn.  You Cadets will show us effort, discipline and loyalty.  In return, we will mold you into warriors fit to take on the forces of Snake Mountain itself.  Sooound good?“

Her audience was well and truly fired up.  “YES, MA’AM!”

Dian nodded to the Drill Instructor.  “I think that’s all for today’s demonstration.  Carry on, Sergeant.”

“Aye, Lieutenant.”  The old veteran stepped forward and loudly addressed his charges.  “Cadets, atten-shun!”

As one, seventeen pairs of boots clacked together.

The Sergeant continued.  “Cadets Krill, Tager and Chad…”  He looked over at Mendor, who shook his head.  “Excused duties for the remainder of the day.  The rest of you, assemble in the training enclosure for P.T. at eleven-hundred hours.  Class dis-missed!”

The Cadets stood at ease, before heading back towards the barracks.  Some of them assisted Mendor to move their healed, but shaken teammates.  Feeling bold, Cynda sought out Rose and soon the two were in animated conversation about the amazing blonde warrior they had witnessed in action.

Once the group was out of sight, the Cadet Corps Instructor approached Dian.  “Permission to speak freely, Lieutenant?”

“Granted.  What’s on your mind, Sarge?”

“I just wanted to thank you for providing this demonstration.  I served with your mother in Able Company during the war.  One of the finest Sergeants I knew, then a brilliant officer.  I’m sure she left that part of herself behind in retirement, we all do.  But as a leader, you are so much like her it’s uncanny.”

Dian did her best not to blush.  Living up to the legacy of Lieutenant Sherrilyn, hero of the Battle of Perpetua, was an aspiration that weighed heavily on her mind.  “Thank you, Sergeant, that’s good of you to say.  Was there anything else?”

“Just one thing, ma’am.  Before Miss Ileena over there chewed up my lads, you whispered something to her.  Pardon an old man’s curiosity, but what did you say?”

“Oh that, I said ‘He’s just a dumb kid, take it easy on him’.”

The old-timer’s grey mustache twitched.  “Dare I say, ma’am, if that’s her idea of going easy, she must be quite handy to have around in a real scrap.”

Dian looked over at the destroyed remains of the training dummies and smirked.  “You better believe it.  Now if that’s all, Sergeant, best attend to your students.  Ileena and I have lit the fire in them, now it’s up to you to turn those kids into heroes.”

He curtly saluted.  “Yes, ma’am.” and marched towards the barracks.

Left alone with her good friend, Ileena let out a deep breath and relaxed, the adrenaline of the fight having worn off.  Dian put an arm around her shoulders.  “Rest easy, girl.  You did good.”

Despite her gradual transformation from timid maiden to confident warrior, Ileena was still somewhat critical of herself.  “I didn’t go too far, did I?”

Dian reassured her.  “Nah, I would have been the first to say something if you had.”  The pair headed across the courtyard, back to the Palace proper.  “So what did you make of your opponents…other than mincemeat?”

Ileena felt awkward.  “I don’t know if I should be passing judgement on people going through a process that I bypassed.”

Dian would have none of it.  “Don’t sell yourself short.  The only reason why you’re not wearing this uniform already is because of your respect for the process.  Far as I’m concerned, you’ve more than earned the right to give an honest appraisal.”

Ileena looked at Dian, gauging her reaction.  “Very well…that Krill…he’s got a bad attitude.”

The officer nodded gravely.  “That he does.  The Sarge told me about him, warned me that he might run his mouth during the presentation.  Hence why I suggested you put your acting skills to the test.”

Ileena shrugged.  “I’m no Man-e-Faces, but I certainly have experience sounding weak and scared.”

“And a fine job you did, too.  But you’re right about Krill.  I’ve seen his kind before, when I was in training at the Royal Academy.  He’s big, he’s bold and he backs up his words with deeds.  But he needs to learn some respect and show some humility.  That’s what this zoo is for: either it will make him an asset to the Guard or break him and send him home.  There’s no middle ground.”

Ileena shot her a wink.  “Well, if today’s lesson didn’t stick, there’s always Round Two.”  

Dian smirked.  “You enjoyed that, didn’t you?”

“I don’t enjoy hurting people, but getting the better of some arrogant fool who thinks he can push me around and insult me because I’m a woman?  I did get a kick out of that.”

“So did he.”

The pair chuckled, before Ileena noted.  “Plenty of women in the class, that was good to see.”

Dian nodded.  “Don’t know if you saw how they were looking at you.  By the time you got done with the sword, I think they were all signed up to your fan club.”

Ileena stopped in her tracks, looking off into the distance.  Dian was concerned.  “Ileena?  You alright?”

“Hmm?  Oh, I’m fine, I just needed a moment.”

“What’s eating you?”

“It’s just…for years, I looked up to Teela.  She was my idol, my hero…still is, even with all that I’ve been doing to catch up.  I wanted to be like her so much, to follow her path.  To know that there are others who think of me that way…it almost doesn’t make sense.”

Dian patted her on the back.  “Makes sense to me.  You won Teela’s heart, and my respect.  Neither of those are easy to achieve.”  She gestured to her green and silver battledress.  “When soldiers look at this uniform, they should be inspired to follow the one who wears it into Subternia itself, because they know she will lead them out the other side.  That there are some who are already inspired by you without even putting on that uniform?  That’s something to be proud of.”

Seeing that Ileena was still doubting herself, Dian put her hands on both shoulders.  “I know what it’s like to look up to someone else, and doubt that you can live up to their legacy.  But hear me, Ileena, you are going to be every bit the leader Teela is.  I am proud to call you my friend, and when the time comes, my fellow officer.” 

Buoyed by the pep talk, Ileena smiled.  “Thanks Dian.  I’m proud to be your friend too.”  Talk of her beautiful girlfriend reminded her.  “Speaking of Tee’, she’s going to be coming back to the Palace today with Sibyline and Celice.  We’re bringing the full Sisterhood of Eternia together for the first time.  Spending a couple of days out in the wilderness on a team-building exercise.”

Dian raised a flirtatious eyebrow, recalling some fond memories.  “The same kind of team-building exercises you, me and Teela have been on?”

Ileena played coy.  “Could be.  There’s one member of the team who likes to test the waters with every woman she meets.  Certainly she persuaded me and Teela to become…more open-minded with our relationship.”

Dian briefly chewed on her lip.  “Hmm, in that case, I ought to thank her if we get a chance to meet in person.”

“Oh believe me, if you choose to give her an invitation, she will happily give you some new reasons to thank her.”  Ileena switched gears.  “Meanwhile, I better get back to our quarters and start preparing.”

Dropping the hard exterior she normally showed in public, Dian stepped forward and wrapped her friend up in a big hug.  “You take care of each other out there, you hear me?  And come back safe.  This world of ours has a habit of springing nasty surprises on you when you least expect it.”

Ileena returned the hug, knowing all too well the kind of dangers Eternia had in store for the unwary.  “We will, I promise.  After all, we’re not just a team…we’re a Sisterhood.”