(OOG: Erp, sorry if the date is skewed... but because I've had to switch addresses, I've been having problems receiving - and sending - to both lists. ^^)

/Damn/ the military.

Victoria shoved another extra uniform into her carry-on, forcing it into the small space with the force of her irritation. She could almost imagine it was the Board she was stuffing into the bag - or rather, their smug faces...

There was no other military organization she hated more than that damned group of so-called 'veterans'. They weilded more power than they should have, every one of them believing age gave them precedence over even a full Commander... It had been days and days since she'd first resolved to set out after Shaina, and what had happened? They'd overridden her codes and forced her to attend the yearly function.

A /function/. A stuffy, inane event created by the very same old men, meant to torture Gebler's leaders and make them regret their decisions in making military careers... or so everyone thought of it. And she... she felt no different. Her time had been /wasted/ by a group of skin-and-bones dignitaries, and she couldn't help but entertain the fantasy that she could retaliate... just once.

But the chain of command could go to hell for all she cared, right now. Shaina was her only concern, and it had been /far/ too long since she'd received her last report. If one more day passed without word... If anything had happened to her...

Another article of clothing was stuffed into the travel bag, and Victoria paused, running her hand through short, ebony hair. //She'll be fine - much as I hate to admit it, that Darius was... somewhat capable.// Of course, he was still a Lamb... and it had been fairly obvious that the only reasons he was helping were Elanore and his ignorance as to their identities.

What... what would happen if Shaina was somehow revealed? Perhaps Darius might not care, as long as he found precious /Elanore/, but... not all who knew of Solaris were kind to its operatives. And although the instances were rare, Gebler elite had been known to die at the hands of Lambs... every once in awhile.

//No.// She shoved the thought from her mind, adding one more thing to her bag before she zipped it and tossed it to the chair with her sword. //Shaina will be fine. She'll be FINE...//

Two weeks without contact...

Conflicts in the desert...

/Gods/, she hated the military....

Victoria breathed a sigh and sank down onto her bed, fingering the edges of the knitted blanket she had always been so fond of. It felt so /lonely/, without her friend there to talk to... The apartment was so quiet... Even in silence, Shaina had her share of habits, and sounds that she would make as she moved about, or studied or...

It was just too quiet without them. Too empty. She /missed/ them...

They were always together. They'd been teammates in Jugend, squad members in Gebler... They were a team now, still together after so many years. It was just... strange not to have her there. Her presence had become second nature, and without it, everything seemed so... dull.

She just wasn't as quick with her wit, either. Shaina had a clever comment for everyone... And that certainly had something to do with her 'presence'... Intense personalities tended to do that, it seemed...

//What am I doing to myself? I'm such an idiot.// This was ridiculous - she was going to find Shaina, after all. Delayed she might have been, but now that she was free of her obligations, nothing was stopping her from leaving. And that was the way she liked it -- she wanted to get things done, not sit around and wait for the proper channels to be cleared. She'd never pretended patience was her strong point.

She stood again, pressing her gloves more tightly onto her fingers. All of that work, all of that waiting... and now she was just standing here, staring at her luggage. Why?

//What if I don't find her?// Victoria pressed her lips together tightly, hands falling to her sides. //Aveh is huge... what if I can't find her? If she needs my help...// Then what? If Shaina needed her help, and she wasn't there to give it...

Or worse, if she wasn't strong enough...

What were they chasing, a pirate band? The renegade ship, Yggdrasil... a group at least one hundred strong, perhaps more, and that was the ship alone, not counting reinforcements from elsewhere.

Two - no, three, she forced herself to admit - against one hundred? For one stupid girl? They could all very well end up /dead/... or worse, prisoners. Solaris's policy on prisoners... did not exist. They were either killed, or abandoned, and...

... And she would be damned if she allowed that to happen.

"Oh hell..." Victoria strode forward and grabbed her gear, turning her back on the chaos of her room and walking into the hallway. It was time to go - any longer, and she might lose her nerve. Because there was, deep down... that fear. Fear of what she might miss...

Or rather... fear of what she might find.

"I'm coming, Shaina... wait up for me, will you...?"

(Summary: Victoria worries over Shaina's fate and finally leaves on her way to join her fellow Element in Aveh.)