A Game of Chance

The drive to Warsaw began uneventfully. The captain had warned that Soviets could attack them at any moment, but wherever the EIF forces went, they found nothing but ashes. The NSR wanted them to gain nothing from the retreat. It was unlikely, Wilhelm thought, that they had anything there worth gaining in the first place, if they could evacuate so quickly. For an hour or so, he busied himself by staring outside of the transporter’s window. Large enough to house a dozen people, and fast enough to match any standard vehicle, the Cyberitters’ transporter was but one in a long line of armored vehicles, marching through the wasteland.

Wilhelm found himself bored of doing nothing. Levin, and the rest of Squad Azure, were in a separate transporter; Mathilde said that she hadn’t gotten much sleep and went to rest in her room. So, begrudgingly, Wilhelm left his cramped room and entered the common area of the transporter. Like much of the rest of the vehicle, it looked less like a car interior and more like a military base. Stainless steel tables populated the room. On one of them, three figures sat: Damian, Florent, and… Aurelia. Just as he turned around, Wilhelm heard a voice.

“Yo, Wilhelm! We need a fourth. You in?” Florent asked.

Well, shit. Wilhelm turned back. “In on what?”

“Florent wants to play bridge, and we need pairs for that,” Damian said.

“...Sure, why not?” Wilhelm sat down, across from Aurelia who gave a quick wink.

“You don’t have to if you don’t think you can handle it, Wilhelm,” Aurelia said.

“What do you mean, handle? It’s just a game of cards.”

Florent laughed. “We’re playing with money on the line, pal. It’s not just anything.”

“Oh, I didn’t mean that. It’s just, you know, being partners with me might be…”

Aurelia trailed off, but her mouth contorted into a wry smile. “Well, he might not be over how I put him in the dirt, back in the selection exams.”

“Huh, that’s not how I remember it. Last I checked, I had you beat until Storm butted in.”

“I played matador with you so that she could do that, duh. It’s not a one-on-one game, Wil… Can I call you that?”

“No.”

“Can you two shut up? I’m dealing,” Damian said, tossing cards to each player.

“My bad. Only your sweetheart can say that, huh?”

“Huh? Levin’s not my-”

“Aurelia, he’s your teammate. Let’s keep it chill, alright?” Florent said.

“Relax, Florent. Anyway, I meant Mathilde, but… Hm, I can see it. Still, I’ll admit it, Wil. You really impressed me back at Fort Ackermann. Either you've got more stones than I ever expected, or you're a lot dumber than I ever imagined.”

“Better hope it’s the first, or we’re both losing our money tonight.”

Aurelia laughed. “I win either way: I’m right, or I’m rich... Say, Wil. You don’t think you actually belong here, do you? You’re just a half-assed sub-”

“Shut the hell up, Aurelia.” Damian’s voice echoed through the room. “I’m serious.”

For once, she did. Instead, she looked over her cards and gave a slight grin.

“Cool, all the cards are dealt. Wilhelm, you know how to play bridge?” Florent asked.

“Yeah. We didn’t have much to do as kids, but Levin always had a deck of cards on hand.”

Wilhelm looked over his hand and saw a near even split of each suit. Not my lucky day, huh?

As the night went on, Wilhelm and Aurelia preyed on Damian’s openness; whenever his face curled up into the lightest of smiles, they’d pass immediately, leaving him to his meager earnings. They had no other choice, as Florent was completely unreadable. His easy going grin never left his face, even in rounds where he sat back and did nothing. Surprisingly, Wilhelm worked well with Aurelia, and her antagonism before the game melted away. Money really brings people together, huh?

By the end of the game, neither team had gained much over the other. Aurelia and Wilhelm walked away with twenty dollars for their troubles, to Aurelia’s chagrin.

“You should’ve let us fleece you more, Damian. What am I supposed to get with twenty bucks? That’s barely a decent bottle of wine, these days.”

“I’ve got a better idea,” Florent said. “How about you two buy us drinks in Warsaw? You know, once we’ve taken it.”

“That sounds great, Florent,” Damian said. “It’s the least we deserve, after having to hear your petty arguments before we could begin. Drinks, on these two!”

“So you can get drunk again?” Wilhelm asked. “...Wait, do you even remember that?”

Damian looked back with a raised eyebrow, then caught Wilhelm’s meaning.

“It was a day off! Can’t a man get drunk on holiday without being judged?”

“Man or woman, it’s a soldier’s right,” Aurelia said. “I’m with Damian on this one.”

“Mathilde hasn’t let me hear the end of it, either. Ugh, I shouldn’t have let you two see me like that… Ah, Florent’s different. He’s seen worse.”

“Wait a second…” Aurelia turned to Wilhelm. “You two saw him, together? Ha, I knew it!”

“Knew what? That we hang out, sometimes?”

“You’re downplaying it a little bit, pal,” Florent said. “No hate though, I’m rooting for you!”

“...Nothing I say will get you guys to stop, will it?”

“Nope. The more you deny it, the more insufferable I’ll get,” Aurelia said.

Wilhelm sighed, then turned to Damian, who’d gotten up from the table and walked over to the window. Out in the countryside, the night sky glittered with white diamonds. Damian’s eyes seemed lost in them. Wilhelm hesitated, then placed his hand on Damian’s shoulder.

“I should’ve said this earlier, but… I’m sorry about Camila. She deserved to be here, instead of me. Aurelia’s right about that. ”

Instead of the crowing he expected for admitting this, Aurelia said nothing. Florent looked down and scratched his head, unsure of what to say. Damian shook his head, then smiled.

“I appreciate it, but I’ve thought about this a lot. More than you have, I’d bet. And what I came up with, is that it doesn’t matter who deserved to be here. What happened… happened, and nothing in the world can change that. You stepped up and became a Cyberitter, just like us.”

Wilhelm could say nothing, nor could he match Damian’s gaze.

“And when you saw an opportunity to save others, you decided to put everything on the line. Sure, it wasn’t clean, but who else would’ve stepped up to the plate? Not me. I couldn’t.”

“Sorry, but I’m not that nice a guy,” Wilhelm said. “I didn’t do it just to save people. I…”

“Unlike the captain, I care about results. And your insane charge led to some pretty great ones, no matter what he said. Imagine if we kept fighting. How many people would we have lost? Hell, how many would we have had to kill?”

“What, you a bleeding heart?” Aurelia asked.

“No, but…” Damian trailed off.

“I’d rather have a bleeding heart than one made of stone,” Florent replied. “If I ever got to the point where I felt nothing… That’s when I’d be worried. You there already, Aurelia?”

Aurelia shrugged. “Maybe? I’m a soldier. I do my job, and I get paid. That’s all I care about.”

“My point is, everyone has their own motives,” Damian said. “My father fought against the NSR, so I joined the Federation's military to do my part, too. And now, I want to honor Camila’s memory. But Wilhelm… Whatever your reasons are, so long as we fight shoulder-to-shoulder, you belong here, with us. That's what I believe.”

“I feel the same way,” Florent said, drawing both of them into a hug. “Plus, you’re good at cards, which I always respect. You two had Damian sweating the whole time, y'know?”

Then, he looked at Aurelia with expectation in his eyes. She groaned.

“Seriously, of all the mushy crap…” She leaned into the hug next to Wilhelm, reluctantly. “Look, I still don’t like you much, but you got me twenty bucks, so that counts for something, right? Just... Don’t eat shit in Warsaw, alright? We need to settle things between us before you bite it.”

Despite himself, Wilhelm smiled. “Wasn’t planning on it. Seriously, though… thanks. It… means a lot to me, your trust. All of you. I promise, I won’t let you guys down.”

“Better not, after making me say all that,” Aurelia said. “Welp, I’d better get to sleep. We’ve got a long day tomorrow, with whatever the captain’s got planned. See you later, suckers.”

The group split, and Wilhelm returned to his room. As he stared out the window and saw his own smiling face, he thought of the reason he was here. Wilhelm's expression fell immediately, his eyes hardening. Tomorrow, it all starts... No matter what happens, I won't leave it up to chance. It's time to get even.