Chapter Text
The concept of boredom was something familiar to the Processors of the Eighty-Sixth Strike Package. Back in the Republic, the days leading up to a mission left them with nothing to do, thus they had to find their own ways to entertain themselves. They crafted a variety of shooting games involving different materials and objectives, and oftentimes they would also wander to nearby ruins and ransacked cities in search of rations or entertainment. Kaie once found an old board game in a dilapidated house, and since none of them knew how it was played, they simply created their own rules and played along.
Those days were spent in idle enjoyment. After all, if they didn’t manage to stay preoccupied, the boredom—and the dark, spiraling thoughts that came along with it—would threaten to kill them before the Legion ever could.
So, when the higher-ups of the Federacy announced a long recovery period between two operations, the Eighty-Six found themselves facing off against boredom once again.
It wasn’t as though there was absolutely nothing to do—the Processors still had training exercises, meetings, battle reports, and test runs for new equipment. However, the repetitive cycle of each day left them wanting more, until one particular soldier found unused buckets of paint in a storage room…
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“Why would Shin ask us to meet behind the base after lunch?” asked Annette as she took a bite of her sandwich.
“No idea,” replied Lena, chewing thoughtfully.
It was lunch time in the cafeteria, and the Processors—Shin, Raiden, Theo, Anju, Kurena, Rito, Michihi, Shiden, and Dustin—were nowhere to be seen. Lena wondered why, but since Shin had asked them to convene after eating, she guessed that it might be something important. She also doubted it would be related to their next operation, since it wasn’t happening anytime soon and she was not informed of any sudden changes. Apparently, they even spent their entire morning working on whatever it is.
“You’ll see,” Frederica snickered. She had likely used her ability to discover what the Eighty-Six were doing, but she would not reveal it to Lena and Annette, insisting that it would be a pleasant surprise instead. With a frown, the latter two continued to eat their meals, their minds wandering as to what this “surprise” could possibly be.
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“What…”
Lena and Annette’s mouths gaped open in surprise. Behind the base, in the large open field often used for training, was a maze-like structure divided into winding paths by tall planks of wood. In areas where these paths converged into open space, there were stacks of tires, crates, and other things that could be used for cover. Although there were several open spaces spread throughout the area, the one in the center was the largest, almost dividing the entire field into two perceptible sides.
It resembled a sort of battlefield, the type seen in video games or the type used in military schools for training students in armed combat.
This is definitely not what Lena and Annette were expecting. At the side, there was a rack of guns and buckets of paint, and the Processors were grinning proudly at their makeshift battlefield, their uniforms littered with bits of dust and scratches. Fido was also there, the Scavenger waving its crane arms at them joyously. It now made sense how they were able to create all this in such a short amount of time.
“Theo found buckets of paint in a storage room,” Shin explained as he approached Lena and Annette. The two were standing at the top of the stairs leading to the field, Frederica beside them looking excited. “So, we decided to have a paintball war.”
“A paintball war?” Lena cocked her head. It was the first time she had ever heard of such a thing.
“It’s exactly what it sounds like! We shoot each other with guns, but instead of bullets, the guns are loaded with paint,” said Theo, grabbing a pistol and shooting at the floor. Like he said, a splatter of paint was shot rather than a bullet.
“So what, we’ll just go around shooting each other?” asked Annette, a grin on her face. The notion did sound exciting, and although Annette had never been on the front lines, she at least knew her way around a gun, as did Lena.
“Yup,” confirmed Theo, cocking a mischievous smile.
“How did you guys manage to put all this together?” inquired Lena as she marveled at the sight. It was arranged rather cleverly, and with just a glance, a number of battle strategies and formations came to Lena’s mind. There were suitable points for sniping and several blind spots on either side, which would surely make for an exciting match. In short, it was evident that this battlefield was made by soldiers adept at the intricacies of warfare.
“Theo brought the idea up to Shin, who liked it and got permission from Colonel Grethe to use all this stuff,” explained Anju, who approached them with a jar of sticks. Lena’s look of concern vanished upon hearing that they had gotten clearance to do this, and then she seemed excited at the prospect of it. “Now, grab a stick so we can play already!”
They descended the steps and joined the rest of the Processors. Everyone present gathered around Anju and picked a stick one by one. The ends of the sticks were painted with either blue or red, and the two teams would face off in a free-for-all paintball war where the last team standing wins. Lena, Shiden, Theo, Anju, Raiden, and Rito were part of the blue team, whereas Shin, Annette, Kurena, Michihi, Dustin, and Frederica were part of the red team.
Lena looked nervously at Shin, knowing he wouldn’t show any mercy; Shin merely smirked at her in response. Anju winked at Dustin while he begged her to go easy on him , which made everyone laugh. As Shiden yelled her usual profanities at Shin, the latter merely rolled his eyes.
“Should Frederica really be part of this game?” Raiden asked dubiously, stealing a glance at their little mascot.
“Of course I should!” cried Frederica despite the doubtful look Shin gave her.
“Works for us anyway, she’ll be an easy target,” snickered Theo.
“You fools! That is no way to treat a lady,” Frederica pouted as she hid behind Annette, pointing an accusatory finger at the three boys.
“Well, too late to do a thing about it now,” Annette sighed. “Stay close to me, squirt.”
“Hey–”
“Argh, this is taking too long. No rules, just grab a gun and start; once you’re shot, you’re out!” Shiden shouted, sprinting for a rifle of blue paint.
Everyone followed suit, wanting to get the best guns and find a good hiding spot. Thus, the paintball war began.