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A cross wind, a fucking cross wind! Two hundred of Earth's finest dropped out behind enemy lines, best equipment, best intel and best soldiers... all of it undone by a god damn strong crosswind. The 203rd Recon Infantry Unit had been sent ahead of the latest allied attack. Damn greenskins putting up a tough fight, despite being outnumbered and outgunned they were making the alliance pay for every inch of dragos land.

It was different, at first, the allied forces had been on the defensive, that's when Roe had signed up. His cousins had been on York when it was attacked, they had lost everything, but came away with their lives. The young human had signed up while they were still missing, when they turned up alive he was so happy and so in trouble up to his neck.

Now that they were on the offensive, invading dragos worlds, anger had given way to fear and doubt. He was a smart boy, he'd paid attention to his training, after all 'if you remember your training, you will come out alive'. That's what his Sergeant had promised him, simple lies for simple boys, then it had been announced they were pushing again. The polar had led a charge right through the area less than a week ago and they'd been pushed back. The god damned polar hadn't been able to hold their ground and had pulled out. This time the plan had been a co-ordinated effort, lapine sky cover, human and polar troops.

Orders had come down, a night time drop behind enemy lines, hit the enemy's communications and supply lines. Cripple their defences and allow the allied forces to make a lightening thrust right into the heart of the Dragos lines. One good breakthrough and they would cut right to Drelious, the second city of this dragos colony.

Then the gods had blown him away, away from his squad, away from his friends and out alone lost behind enemy lines. Clutching his rifle, like it was dearer to him than the love of his life, the young man crawled through the bushes. His comm was out, dragos blocking, hell even his god damned compass wasn't working.

His training told him to use the sun, move to higher ground and try to spot his squad. Not much use at night really, but high ground could be found, he was on a hillside after all, and the sun would come with the nearby dawn. However, the world erupted around him, like the most amazing fireworks display, flashes and thunder all around and yet away from him. Green flashes, allied fire and red flashes... some brave allied soldier just lost their life.

Turning away from the scene and trying not to think of the people fighting right then, dying as he scrabbled his way lost in the wilderness. The hill was steep and the undergrowth dense, the bushes seemed to be made of thorns tearing at his clothing and his skin. Terror and adrenalin kept the pain at bay, until at last he broke through onto a path.

A shout rang out from his left followed by a red flash as the ground beside him exploded. Primitive instincts overrode months of training, screaming' RUN, RUN DON'T STOP! A pair of dragos troopers chased him, their boots crashing so loudly behind him they sounded mere inches behind him, flashes of red exploded behind, beside and in front of him as they tried to terminate his fleeing form. Shooting back never even crossed his mind, he scrabbled and then rolled, as he lost his footing on the steep incline. For a moment he fought with gravity and lost, yelping in terror certain of his death as he crashed down the hillside, through the thorn bushes.

Landing with an unceremonious thump in front of a large white form, his eyes recognised polar armour. A polar trooper, still and silent, as the dead always were. Biting his lip and whimpering the human turned as the two dragos jumped down the hill after him, his hands scrabbled to get hold of his gun, his heart beating so hard it hurt in his chest.

Green shots lanced out from behind him and the dragos fell to the floor. Roe turned panting in disbelief to see another polar, laying with its back against the hill. Right paw clutched to its side where the human could see a black patch in the gloom. He knew in the light it would be red, in its left paw was a blaster, smoke still drifting from the barrel.

The small valley stank of burnt flesh, leather and fur, the disturbingly sweet stench of rotting blood and flesh on the turn. Roe stared like a wide eyed child his mouth open as his mind went blank. Fortunately the polar found her voice first, "the Twenty Second did they make it?"

The words broke the young man out of his daze, his mouth dry as ashes after a bonfire he coughed as he answered hoarsely, "they pulled out a few days ago lost two hundred." The polar Twenty Second had been an armoured infantry column two thousand polar troops, they had led the last attack.

"Do you know if the fourth platoon made it out with them?" The bear sounded desperate, her voice weak and yet he could hear a core of strength in there.

"I... I'm sorry I don't. How did you..." Roe stared to ask and the bear cut him off with a hoarse cough as it slid back to the floor.

"You have any water, smoothskin?" The bear asked, as it leant its head back against the hill.

Patting down his pockets revealed that he'd lost his canteen in the tumble down the hill. "Sorry, I don't have any."

"What about them?" The bear nodded at the two smoking corpses of the dragos.

"They're dead!" Roe exclaimed in disgust at the notion of scavenging a corpse.

"Then they ain't going to get thirsty, I am, and you owe me human." The bear snarled deeply, her breathing was slow and heavy with a wheeze at the end of each breath.

Turning slowly the human took a step towards the fallen bodies, he had hated them if only for a moment. They had meant to kill him, yet to pick over their remains like some mangy crow, he never thought he would be here. Yet he knew the bear was right, she had saved his life. Holding his nose and clenching his stomach he reached the burnt lizards and pulled a canteen off one of their belts, trying not to retch too visibly.

Then he practically ran over to the bear glad to be away from the three corpses. "Here you go, it feels full."

The bear looked up at him and grinned, her teeth were covered in blood and in the dim dawn light he could see the bloodspots where she had coughed up blood on herself. Her chin was brown with clumps of dried blood sticking her fur together. "Well ain't this my lucky day?" She asked as the blaster fell from her paw and she reached out to take the canteen. It slipped from her loose fingers as she tried to take it.

Grabbing the canteen and pulling off the top the human muttered, "here, let me help you." Cradling her head gently he tipped the canteen slowly letting the water drip into the large ursine's mouth. As he held her head his dogtags slipped out of his open shirt along with his locket with the image of his boyfriend Troy.

The bear stopped him with a grunt pushing him away a little, "enough, it's just going to leak out of me anyway." She grunted and then leaned back against the wall again. "Don't think I've got much longer left. We were ordered to hold while our plantoon pulled back. Densie and me, we put up a good fight, until they got that damn mounted gun going, they did for her and I... I did for them." As the bear talked the human's eyes picked out a dozen or so corpses and the burnt out remains of a mounted gun. Fully armoured polar troops were almost impossible to take down with anything but a heavy weapon, the dragos mounted gun was a small but powerful cannon, portable enough to be carried almost anywhere. They had become very common, among the dragos army, ever since the polar joined the alliance.

"You're gay, aren't you?" The bear asked bluntly adding, "it's ok, I know we polar have a reputation, but even if I wanted to hurt you I don't have the strength and I don't want to."

"I am and you... you should save your strength. Our forces are attacking, it'll just be a few hours and we'll be found. You just rest and hang in there." Roe said quietly, he had never felt so helpless as he muttered those empty meaningless words.

"S'ok, I don't have hours and that's ok, cause my platoon made it. Ha! Armourbound, the old bastard was right!" The bear snorted and laughed. "My old drill sergeant, what... fifteen years ago, he took one look at me on my first day and said 'you're an armourbound girl'. You know what it means to be armourbound?"

Shaking his head the human had to admit his ignorance and the bear smiled, "means I'm going to die in my armour. The old bastard got that right, only thing holding in my guts is my paw and... I'm starting to slip away. Can't say I don't deserve it, done some questionable things in my life. Killed a lot of people, under orders of course... " The bear's head dipped and eyes closed and for a second Roe's heart sank. Then she jerked her eyes opening, "I slip away you close my eyes and put my helmet on you hear? You don't let me be found out of full amour, understand?"

"I... stop saying it like that!" The human blurted out, until this day he'd never seen a dead body before. Now, surrounded by corpses, it was the most important thing in the world for him not to be alone. The bear had to live, for his sake if not her own.

A grin spread across her face and she spat a gob of blood down her own chest armour, "don't mess yerself gay boy... I've been a trooper for a long time and I know when someone is bound to die on the battlefield. I look in your eyes and you know what I see?" The bear didn't wait for an answer she just continued on, her words coming a little slower her breath laboured and painful as if she was fighting to spit out each word. "You're going to die very old in bed with your family and friends crying around you. You know, I envy you, being born like that."

The bear stopped speaking as she broke into a coughing fit blood splattered everywhere. ignoring the blood and stench of rotting flesh the human dashed forward, holding the huge ursine up, his arms slipping around the cold armour.

"I... had a fling with a gal once... " The bear muttered, her eyes were half closed and she had a vague grin on her face. "She was, so beautiful you know, looked good, smelt better. I never thought I'd ever go for a female then along she came, working that little tail and her foul mouth... ha! Damn but that girl knew how to work her tongue in every situation. Never should have let her go... still I was a career trooper girl. Life in my armour, fifteen years, another couple and I'd have been promoted."

Roe waited, it was clear the bear wanted to talk and frankly he couldn't think of anything to say, so he just listened. "Looking back... I should have lived my life in her armour, would have been more fun. Vash Morue, of Klas Van city, you find her and tell her... tell her I was wrong. Then you put your gun away, it doesn't suit you and you find that boy of yours and you make him glad you came home. You understand boy?"

"I... understand." Roe whispered into the bear's ear not daring to move, he just held her.

"You tell her Kally never forgot that night, I should have never... let go." Her words were soft whispers her huge head rested on his chest, he felt one deep breath and then stillness.

Tears rolling down his face the human stayed still holding the body of the bear he had only just met as the sun came up. The sounds of battle echoing in his ears, victory or defeat neither seemed important to him at that moment. So he held on to the corpse, his fear gone and yet he couldn't bring himself to leave her alone. A few hours later human forces found him sitting by her body, he had closed her eyes and put her helmet on as she had told him to. Leaving her had seemed... wrong, whatever his duty had been. She had saved his life and given him the courage he had needed.

After the war went on a visit to polar, he'd found a rather short tempered polar female named Vash Morue in Klas Van city and had gave her Kally's message. The bear had broken down in tears at the memory and the two had talked all night. Afterwards Roe headed back home and found Troy and then made him glad that he had come home.