“This is Captain Magami of the Star Gazer Squad, I was to report two days earlier but we've come across a problem. We are late but the Star Gazer Squad bears no casualties.”

  [R]: “You have permission to land in the hangar.”

  Claude sighed, parking the shuttle in the hangar. They were in Soul-Core's main space station after having a small respite in Blackstone Station. It was a smooth park as well. You would often forget how good of a pilot Claude is when he's being an idiot.

  No words were exchanged among the Star Gazer Squad throughout the trip to Blackstone and from Blackstone to here. At least not any productive ones. All Nanasu did was weep quietly and Mikael was trying to avoid eye contact.

  Bad blood was high.

  “We're here. Mikael, come help me unload this stuff.” Claude ordered.

  Mikael nodded and followed Claude out of the shuttle. He looked back at Nanasu, who was still sitting in the corner, cradling Kleine. He opened his mouth to say something, but closed it again.

  He thought he shouldn't.

  Nanasu kept eye contact for just a second, seeing them unload crates that Blackstone Station provided them with. They looked heavy but she did not care at all. She knew what was next. A mountain of paperwork. That would usually keep the whole squad busy.

  But the next paperwork she will fill out is her resignation letter.

  It felt as though a burden has been lifted off her shoulders. At last, she is free from the constant death, fear, and pain that has been haunting her for years. She wouldn't need to fight, and most importantly, she wouldn't have to knock on death's door.

  And yet, she couldn't smile. The very thought of leaving the Star Gazer Squad behind made her heart ache.

  Mikael carried a crate out of the shuttle, ignoring Nanasu actively. Nanasu had a crate next to her, instinctively carrying on with the order that wasn't even directed to her, but realized that now that she had that fight.

  She shouldn't even look them in the eye.

  “Hm.”

  Claude looked back, tossing a small bag to Nanasu and smiling.

  “Make yourself useful!”

  Nanasu, with her teary eyes, looked at Claude, who now had a cheerful look on his face.

  Is he serious?

  Mikael and Nanasu both thought.

  “I'll grab our bags in the front.” He smacked his chest with a fist to Mikael.

  The weight of the bag in her hands felt like a lead. It was full of medical supplies and leftover rations, mundane things from a mission that almost killed her. Surprisingly, that didn't let Nanasu weep in the corner anymore. It only made her stand up and help out with taking things out of the ship.

  To Claude, Nanasu was still a member in heart. She then hoisted the bag over her shoulder and took a crate to carry it outside.

  As the hangar door opened, a woman furiously approached Nanasu out of nowhere.

  “E...Eh?” Nanasu dropped the crate, stumbling back in surprise.

  “Excuse me- Is Claude here by any chance?”

  “E... The ship...” She pointed toward the inside of the ship.

  “CLAUDE MAGAMI! YOU GODDAMN IDIOT!”

  The woman shouted, stomping inside the shuttle.

  “Y-You might want to get away...”

  Mikael's eyes widened. “Oh, no...”

  “Oh crap... MIKAEL HELPP!!!”

  Claude comically hid behind Mikael, trying to use him as a meat shield in case his death was written now.

  Mikael was tall, towering over the woman at around a feet more. His size made the woman freeze, but she managed to maintain her angry aura.

  “TWO DAYS OF DISAPPEARANCE! WANNA TELL ME WHAT HAPPENED, HM!?”

  “L-Lena... I...”

  To the surprise of Nanasu and Mikael. The woman named Lena is actually Lena Magami, the wife of Claude Magami. They long thought that Claude wasn't able to score a wife so they weaved it like it was a fairy tale. However, this Lena Magami was real.

  Nanasu had seen her a couple of times but never had she opened up to be Claude Magami's wife.

  “Sorry, sir... You're on your own...” Mikael walked away, absolutely flabbergasted at the scene.

  “Claude... Answer me...” Lena was just inches away, looking down at the soon-to-be no longer Captain Magami.

  .:. Aiiii... I've really done it! .:.

  This was the first time that Mikael and Nanasu saw fear written on Claude's face. A comical sight but a scary one. The Claude Magami they knew as fearless, unstoppable and unbeatable.

  Is scared of an angry wife.

  “You're coming with me, Mr. Magami!” Lena grabbed his arm and dragged him out of here.

  “W-wait, where!? G-guys! Help me! Soldiers! Your captain is in distress!”

  If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

  “Nuh-uh. You dug your own grave, boss.”

  This was a perfect opportunity for him to take a shot at the captain's antics and make up for the earlier fight. But this is a fragile topic for Nanasu.

  Nanasu's tears were still visible but she was laughing. The laughing ceased in an instant when Mikael entered her vision. She looked away, feeling like she didn't deserve to laugh. Not after all of that.

  .:. Aah... .:.

  “I'll take the rest out, you can leave.” Mikael said directly. Not in a demanding tone but a tone of neutrality. His voice was low and gravelly with exhaustion and the fight he just had. The anger turned into tiredness.

  Like come on. You have to be really petty to still hold a grudge after helping each other out. It's stupid, isn't it? Mikael thought. But he still couldn't bring himself to apologize.

  Mikael still felt like the words he'd said were true but also felt like he disregarded his own emotions that he wanted to speak to her about. Nanasu was a crybaby at best and a coward at worst, but deep down she was a good person. But her crying... it felt so genuine.

  You have to be insane to not fear Death's door.

  If you fear death in it's most raw form. That is sanity. That is the sign you want to live. If you don't fear death... Are you truly alive?

  Nanasu answered this with a puddle of tears under the hangar. She hugged Kleine and walked to the barracks, leaving Mikael alone with the rescue team to do all the work. He didn't mind at all, he thought it was the least he could do.

  If this is how Mikael apologises, maybe it's not over after all. This thought gave Nanasu somewhat of a faint hope but she pushed it down, the shame from the fight was too much to bear.

  -

  “NOO! NOONONO! WAIT! JUST A MINUTE! PLEAASEE!”

  “Captain Magami- just calm down, please! I promise the shot will be quick!”

  The nurse held a rather small needle compared to the size of Claude. But Claude was still trying to struggle out of his seat.

  “I CAN'T! I CAAAN'T! IS THERE ANY OTHER WAY!?!?”

  Claude was squirming like crazy, the restraints risking to break off.

  “Fine! I'm fine! I am perfectly healthy! Okay? I have no scratches- I'm strong!”

  “Sir, a piece of shrapnel ripped a hole clean through your shoulder.” The nurse gave him a reality check.

  “Impossible!”

  “C'mon you idiot! You are not coming home until you get this shot!”

  “RAH!” Claude broke free of the restraints and crawled into the corner of the infirmary. He was brimming with fear. This marked a second thing that scares Claude.

  Needles.

  Is he for real?

  Lena grabbed ahold of Claude, putting him in a headlock with her legs wrapped around his waist. Her firm and strong hold on him immobilized him, which gave the nurse enough window to plunge the needle into Claude's shoulder.

  “PLEAASSE! PLEAASE!”

  What a coward.

  Vonnie, the nurse, inserted the needle into Claude's arm, prompting an insane reaction from him.

  “AH! HISSS! NOOO!” Claude's legs kicked around as if trying to kick her away from him.

  And within a couple of seconds, it was over. He went limp.

  “... That was it?” Claude's expression changed from pained to relaxed in a matter of moments.

  “Yes. Now about that piece of metal in your shoulder...” The nurse prepared for another injection.

  Claude scrambled to a sitting position on the floor. “Awwwhhhhhhh...”

  He then screamed again for everyone in the station to hear.

  -

  Claude, fully bandaged and looking like a mummy, was being dragged by Lena through the corridors. His dramatic groans echoed off the metal walls.

  “You're being absurd, Claude.”

  “I'm being martyred! Betrayed by my own wife and the medical establishment!”

  Lena stopped dead in her tracks. She turned to him, her eyes blazing. “My 'establishment' just patched a hole the size of my fist in your shoulder! And what do I get for saving your life? 'Boo-hoo, a little needle!'“

  She pinched his cheek, hard.

  “I'm sorry.” Claude squeaked.

  “And another thing,” She continued, starting to walk again, though at a slower pace. “I heard you and the squad got back yesterday. I get one, one message from Central Command that says 'late, no casualties' and radio silence after that. Do you have any idea what that does to a person?”

  “I was going to call! I swear!” He protested, trying to free his arm from her iron grip.

  “After you cried about your shot, maybe?” She smirked.

  “Never! My pain is silent and dignified.”

  They both chuckled.

  Their walk paused as they reached a junction, one path leading toward the officer's quarters and the other to the main administration wing.

  -

  Mikael was sparring with some of the training bots, taking his anger out about their current situation: Nearly dying against the UoK, being imprisoned by Eukaronic Pirates on their way to Blackstone Station and now losing a squadmate? He was getting annoyed.

  Annoyed and worried that something worse could happen.

  Claude's scream could be faintly heard down the corridors, making Mikael chuckle at how much of a coward he was against needles.

  He went back to sparring, jumping upwards and swinging his spear down and creating a shockwave, knocking back the ungodly amount of bots he activated.

  Getting up, he bashed one in the head with the pommel of his spear, deactivating it. He ducked under the swing of a melee-bot, slashing it with the cold steel tip and shutting it down.

  Jumping further into the center of the training grounds, he stabbed a bot through the chest and then threw his spear into the crowd of bots after him- detonating it and creating a chain reaction that shut down all the remaining training bots.

  He stood upright, sighing and panting.

  “...”

  He retrieved his destroyed spear, disintegrating it and walked out of the training grounds. He didn't get much of his anger out. He wanted to do more. As he walked out, he saw a familiar blue-haired girl walk away from the windows by the entrance.

  It irks him already.

  “Nanasu.”

  He felt like he was going through a midlife crisis early.

  -

  Nanasu went to the reception in the main office to submit her letter. But as she held the crumpled paper in her hand, she couldn't bring herself to walk through the automatic door.

  She stood in front of the reception for what felt like an eternity. The cold, metallic floor seemed to reflect a version of herself she no longer recognized. Her finger hovered over the small, red button that would summon the receptionist.

  She pictured her life outside Soul-Core. Peaceful, quiet. No alarms blaring at odd hours. No blood-soaked uniforms to wash. No faces of dead comrades haunting her dreams.

  Just a life sitting 9 to 5 behind an office doing receptionist work in Ainzite City. Her home.

  She'll go back to her family and friends that aren't soldiers.

  This is the life she craved.

  Yet, the image was hollow. Behind the peaceful scene, she could see Claude’s stupid grin, Mikael's rare, genuine smiles, the comforting weight of Kleine purring in her lap.

  Her throat tightened. Was this cowardice or self-preservation?

  “...”

  No.

  It was time to resign, to live her life as a normie.

  She doesn't want to leave her squadmates and her current position, but with her chances of survival diminishing every mission, she had to do it for the sake of self-preservation. I'm sure her Soul doesn't want to die too.

  .:. Is it really okay for me to do this? All those years I've spent with those two freaks. It would all be for nothing. But, how much longer can I fight until my luck expires? They'll die like my squad died. Everything can happen and everything will be for nothing in an instant. I can't go back there and risk my life for some stupid mission that Soul-Core doesn't get any satisfaction out of it. .:.

  She covered half of her face with her resignation latter, headaches occuring.

  .:. I can't bear to see my friends die before me again... It would break me. .:.

  She pressed the button and the door slid open.

  “One moment!” A feminine, cheerful voice said from inside.

  .:. Ah... I can't do this. I'm being ridiculous. .:.

  She was about to walk away but the receptionist called her out.

  “Yes! How may I help you!”

  She turned back around. Trying to be as normal as possible, she submitted her resignation letter. “I would like to resign...”

  The receptionist was visibly shocked but started typing anyway.

  Sighing, Nanasu waited as she leaned forward against the counter ,watching the receptionist putting the paper on hold and calling someone of the higher-ups to validate her resignation.

  There's no turning back now.

  The door to her soldier life is closing.