For Nostalgia's Sake! - From Sea to Sea

[Reiko Souma]

Last night felt just right to be back at the Red Dragon Inn. My work on Earth was finished, and you bet I couldn't wait to return to Rhy'din. After taking an advanced interplanetary transport to Texas from there, I decided to test the limits of Gaia's transportation system and asked her to take me from my arrival location back to Rhy'din.

It worked! I arrived outside of the Inn in full civilian attire with a few...additions.

And, that's where the recap begins to how I ended up working alongside the southern sector border patrol at Texas to begin with.

For one, apparently my medical discharge from the military no longer means anything. Got Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder? If you haven't eaten your gun after some years and are able to function productively in society without having meltdowns and full-fledged flashbacks, then you can be put to work on some level. Have anaemia? No problem! You can still wield a gun, just as long as you make sure you don't screw up your daily regiment required to stay healthy and perform your duties.

The confusing phone call came in from the familiar number forever known to me as headquarters, two months ago. Bond had just gone to bed, and I was right behind him. Or, I had been. With that, the phone call consisted of the commander informing me of a written notice being sent to the Palazzo Estate with official orders to report to El Paso. Dear Fate, why there? Surely there were better places to go.

Nope. I was to depart for the RTS at 0400 the day after receiving the written notice. That meant having to do the farewell to Bond and the others right away, but I couldn't give my farewells to everybody without taking too long. Some sacrifises had to be made...and any homesickness had to be suppressed. Never had I been sent off with any actual support awaiting my return, all of which I'm grateful for.

As it would turn out, El Paso was simply a randevous location. I was given my uniform there, and it was from there that seven of us were taken by military transport to the location from where we would patrol. We were to stand in position several metres apart and patrol. Apparently the government has gotten tired of letting people get away with sneaking into the country, or they wouldn't have given us the order to shoot them in the leg and treat them before sending them back over the meager border.

Total number of people I've shot in the leg with a single bullet in the course of two months: 1,021

That's way too many people to shoot, if you ask me. At least I was able to leave them alive this time.

"No kids?" I asked my commander on the first day.

"We've got something gentler in mind for them, Souma." He held up a stun gun. "One button push to their thigh, and there's just enough juice to stun them without any serious injury. They will live."

Live they did. Not a single child was harmed. Sleep came unhindered each night as a result, at least until the start of the last two weeks of my patrol duty.

The distinct sounds of meowing woke me in the dead of night. No way were they close enough to be heard. It had to be imagination playing games, or so the thought was. Exploring was inevitable based on curiosity, so a flashlight became my companion as I ventured out of my tent and into the woods.

It didn't stop; in fact, they only became louder. Calling out didn't cease them, and it soon became clear that I was hearing them in my head. Why? How? Curiosity wasn't sated with the questions. Stopping now was out of the question.

On I walked. It was now clear that this was telepathic in nature. How else I would know about where to go couldn't be explained in any other way. Soon after I started, I came to a stop in front of a boulder. What in the world..?

I was still hearing those meows, louder than ever! Quickly, I knelt down to inspect the bottom. At first, there was nothing.

Then, underneath a small bend to the left, I saw it. Or them. Four of them, squirming like worms, struggled to move. I had to act, and fast, as it was starting to rain. Who knew how long they had been buried there? It had to be awhile, seeing as they were completely covered in dirt.

It took quite a few minutes to retrieve them. I had to use my telekinesis to remove the oppressing dirt as the rain quickly turned it into mud. Quicker than using my bare hands, I used my jacket to shield them from the rain. Now the telepathic meows were replaced with quiet audible hisses during the walk back to camp.

My commander saw me with four mudballs and asked, "What in sam hell did you do, pick up mud rats?" he demanded. Rather than answer, I grabbed a dry towel and started to wipe the mud from each hissing kitten. When they were dry, I left them on my blanket to toddle about and remained as I was.

"They would have been suffocated. Like a brother in arms, I will not leave these civilians to die without cause." That was my answer and, to my surprise, the commander allowed them to stay. Like it or not, I wasn't about to abandon them anyways. They were in my charge for the remainder of my stay, and it was back to Rhy'din that they went with me.

Maybe my Post-Traumatic Stress isn't as severe as it used to be. I was curious as to how Chewy might handle having four companions. I kind of still am.

Seeing my family again upon my return felt so wonderful. To hug them, to be welcomed back with open arms, and to still be loved...I couldn't appreciate these things more. To have the help and support in raising my four new kittens as my own, man am I going to need all of the help I could possibly get. Which is probably going to mean a lot more sleepovers at the Palazzo Estate...

...I think it's time for me to ask Antonio and Anya to ready that separate house.