You force your eyes open, seeing a blur of colors. The gentle wind on your skin informs you that you must be outside and alive, but the smell of smoldering metal in the distance does not inspire confidence. 

As you regain your hearing, the first thing you are able to pick up is the sound of gunfire. You wipe the dirt from your face, standing up on your wobbly legs.

You clench your teeth. It hurts like hell, with your entire body sore and bruised. 

"Lieutenant!" Finally, a familiar voice. You turn towards Unit 22, seeing her discarding a magazine from her Viper. "All auxiliary personnel are dead. Mission status critical. What are your orders?"

You try to formulate a plan, yet both your mind and legs fail. Experiencing vertigo as you begin collapsing, you are stoped only by the shoulder of 22. Despite applying a lot of pressure on it, using the woman to hoist yourself up, she remains perfectly still. 

"Lieutenant, you are suffering a severe blood loss." 22 shows you the palm of her blood-soaked hand which she used to help hold you up. In all the chaos you have failed to realize how much blood you have truly lost, with your uniform turning a dark shade of violet as the crimson liquid mixes with the blue fabric. "This unit is not equipped with any medical equipment. I will escort you toward the extraction point."

Unable and unwilling to object, you continue leaning on the bot as she slowly hobbles you toward safety. She wraps one of her hands tightly around you, making sure to still be gentle enough to not crush your ribs. 

You hear the dull sound of bullets hitting against metal as 22 shields you with her body. Looking down to ensure that you weren't grazed by shrapnel, you notice a side of her face covered with miniature bullet wounds, the synthetic skin breaking in a few places to reveal the metallic machinery underneath. 

Finally, you make it to the old shopping center. This place has been abandoned long ago, with every single shop twice-looted judging by the condition of the broken windows. The sky above is littered with different assault vehicles. In your conditions, you can't even begin trying to guess what faction they could be associated with.

All that you know is that they are not friendly.  

22 carefully places you down against the building’s wall before slumping down by your side, her head tilted to the left.

You nudge her gently. 

There is no response. 

Forcing yourself up, you inspect the damaged bot. Looking down at her makes you almost sad. You understood that Valkyries get destroyed - after all, that's what they are built for - but there is something profoundly depressing about seeing a destroyed shell of what was once a woman.

"Yeah, yeah. I am falling back. Tsk. I said that I am falling back already!" 

You hear an unfamiliar voice arguing with somebody over the radio as they bolt toward you. Standing up, you reach for your pistol, grasping it until your knuckles turn white. 

The figure finally runs into view. With a wide smile on her face and a submachine gun in her hand, she stops in front of you.

The armed girl is wearing a bright blue uniform - the color of the Great Kingdom of Alba. Her long red hair is tucked neatly underneath a more sophisticated targeting visor. Without a doubt, she must be a Valkyrie. 

Turning towards you, you can hear the click of the weapon as the woman finds a new target. You. She swiftly lowers the gun, raising her eyebrow. 

"Aurora Federation soldier? What are you doing here? Fuck me, it's a long way from your HQ. Aren't you boys supposed to be neutral?"

"Yeah, we are. I am not exactly thrilled to be here." You cough out, wiping your bloody hand against your stomach.

"Name's Amber. I will escort you to my commander. At least this gives me an excuse to not do the patrol route again." She grumbles under her breath.

"Oh, and you can lower that pistol." You notice your trembling hand continuing to hold onto the sidearm. "It wouldn't do anything against a high-grade model such as myself. It's another story when you are dealing with cheap trash…"

Squinting, you can see Amber kicking the thigh of Unit 22 as what remains of her topples over, her cracked face landing in dirt. 

"Let's get going before they decide to carpet-bomb this place."