Marble Falls stood in front of the Council. She was in at ease, but there was nothing at ease about it. And worst of all, she had no clue why she was here. Not after all this time.

“You have been flying,” The Chief Counselor said, opening the meeting.

Marble Falls stood there, waiting. It was a fact. There has no response to give.

“Captain Nova has been joining you,” Fourth Counselor added.

Again, another statement. Nothing to open dialogue. Not enough for her anyway.

“Lieutenant,” The seventh Counselor said, shifting in the seat. “How are you feeling. It was a difficult, trial, you faced. You were grounded for the past two months. You were hospitalized for more than the few wounds you received. You have not been, social. You have not kept to a particular schedule. I am concerned for your health on that matter.”

“What is there to keep?” Marble Falls asked. “I am one of the only two in the military who went below. Everypegasus else was killed. There are no others like me. The Fifth Squadron is mine and mine alone. I am aware that Captain Nova put his retirement in. That leaves me ans me alone, to keep the Fifth Squadron on track. We train as I see fit. At my discretion. At the needs of the Squadron.”

“But I was not brought in to talk about my training tactics.”

“No,” The Chief Counselor sighed. “We have more pressing matters to discuss. But we want to make sure that you are healthy and solid before we ask anything of you.”

“ No time like the present,” Marble Falls stated. “Ask away.”

“Its not a simple thing to ask,” The Seventh Counselor said. “Not all of us agree its time.”

Marble Falls shook her head slowly. “At least its not more pointless medals.”

“Medals are coming, Fourth Counselor stated. But it has nothing to do with that.”

Marble Falls narrowed her eyes at him. “What shit am I getting? I was barely below. I did nothing special.”

“For starters, you were hospitalized for shrapnel in your body.”

“Surface cuts,” Marble Falls growled. “Nothing more. Nothing to take me out of the fight.”

“Still enough for the purple heart, by the guidelines.”

“Fuck,” Marble Falls spat.

“Defense Meritorious Service Medal,” Fourth Counselor stated. “You went below and ended up in combat trying to map Fillydelphia. Your own reports show you fought hard and well to make the map you guys did. That one was earned. Combat classified it as Defense, not just the Meritorious Service Medal.”

Marble Falls silently took it and shook her head. “Please tell me no combat valor awards. I didn’t do anything.”

“No, we looked but despite all you did, no.”

Marble Falls let out a huge sigh of relief.

“But, you will be getting the Council’s Unit Citation award. Its no medal, but the Fifth Squadron earned it’s 9^th Citation from us for their service below. You get one ribbon because that is the only one you were apart of.”

“And you will be getting the campaign medal for the missions. Every soldier that went below during these campaigns will be better it. We just can not settle on a design.”

“That’s easy,” Marble Falls said annoyed. She regretted it.

“What do you suggest?” The Chief Counselor asked.

Marble Falls took a deep breath in. “A pure white ribbon, flanked on the sides by black. The center should be purple.”

“Significance?”

“White for the purity of the Squadrons and all that went below. We were not ready. We were untainted. The black flanking it serves as a reminder of the despair that below brings and is. The purple center is for the blood spilled. Every drop. Simple but with great meaning.”

“Unfortunately, it is just me and Captain Nova who will have the opportunity to wear it. And I am sure that he will have plenty of campaign stars on his.”

“22 missions,” The Fourth Counselor said. “Which will mean he maxes out with 4 Gold Starts on the ribbon. It is a simple, but expertly designed one. I am sure it will take nothing to get that approved. The medal will need to be designed as well.”

Marble Falls shook her head, taking the bait. “A compass. Simple, easy. We are going after information below. Mapping and learning. A compass to point the way. It takes one to know one. Even after one mission. Losing your direct location below is easy to do.”

“Do any of you disapprove of the design?” The Chief Counselor asked. “Then it shall be so!”

“I’m still not here to designed fucking medals. What am I here for.”

The Fourth Counselor spoke. “You said white stood for purity. For how unready we were to go below. It has great meaning. But now we know. Everything has been halted. All teams stood down. Scout Command was passed to Colonel Nova…”

“Colonel?” Marble Falls asked. “He was no Colonel when we went down.”

“That’s a gray area,” The Chief Counselor stated. “Colonel Relentless Blade left orders for Captain Nova and First Lieutenant Spring Jade when he went below on Forty-One's last mission. The Fifth was below at the time. They were promotions to Colonel and Major.”

“Nova has ignored them, but he knew it was coming. He never even opened the promotion letters that were addressed to them. Even before the Colonel’s death was confirmed. He won’t accept them. Despite being Scout Command’s second, he won’t. We have tried. We are not sure why.”

“Just, leave him alone,” Marble Falls stated. “Leave him at Captain. He is done. It’s not worth the fight, even if he deserves it.”

“You have done a lot of impressive things,” Fifth Counselor stated. “Although you started as an NCO and quickly reached Sergeant, you soon won the right to be an Officer Candidate, and passed at the top of the class. Your appointment to First Lieutenant was well deserved after the mission.”

“Yes it was,” Marble Falls stated, confused. “Especially with the other members down and the Fifth Squadron relying on my wings to lead it.”

“We think you can be more,” Fourth Counselor said.

They finally were getting to where they had called her in.

“The first campaign below is done. And it was named Atlas Campaign. Yes, after the last operation that was launch. We launched the campaign because our sustainability is rapidly decreasing. We need to access the raw and scrap materials below.”

“We are not ready. We need several years to recuperate and reorganize. The blood that was lost was too great. And things are not always as they seem. The wasteland has power and we must be careful and take great steps to protect whoever shall be going below again.”

“You have proven yourself to be a high quality leader, a good teacher, and have experience below that can not be replaced. We are calling upon you to take up the honorable mantle to lead the preparations and design the next program. We can not avoid going below.”

“No,” Marble Falls flatly stated.

“Lieutenant,” The Chief Counselor said. “You gave an oath to serve the Grand Pegasus Enclave, in the best way possible.”

“No!” Marble Falls interject. “I gave an oath to serve the Pegasus Race, not the council. You might think that me leading is the best, but I will not do it! It is not where I can serve the best. I did my service below!”

“Lieutenant,” The Fourth Counselor calmly said. “You have experience we can not get anywhere else. We need that. The Pegasus Race needs that.”

“I can not,” Marble Falls firmly said. “I can not do it again.”

“You wouldn’t have to go below,” The Fifth Counselor stated. “We need a Colonel to lead the project, not an officer to go below. You are that officer.”

“Fuck off!” Marble Falls spit, waving them off with her wing. “My duty is taking me to the Wonderbolts, where my skills and experience as a Scout mean something. Where I can feel good about my service and push myself to excel. I can’t do that with what you are asking. So fuck off and never ask me again! My answer is and always will be, no!”

Marble Falls turned and walked to the exit. “Testing is in two weeks. Obviously your tracking of me has failed, or else you would know I have been doing maneuvers with some Wonderbolts stationed at Mareland and I have been training for that testing.”

“Lieutenant! Stop!” The Chief Counselor ordered. “You need to know…”

Marble Falls whipped her head around, anger flaring. “I said no. Fuck off!”

Marble Falls slammed the doors behind her and trotted off to get back in the air and training. She was going to go where she was needed and appreciated.

The Chief Counselor leaned back in his chair. “I was going to warn her that the Wonderbolts have to be ready to head below at any time. All of them. She will learn that soon enough.”

“It will keep her where we need her,” Fourth Counselor stated. “I am not well versed in the Aerial Combat Battalion, but I will put in a request with the Wonderbolts that she goes to a Squad that is stationed at Fort Wind. I am sure she will help teach. And it will drop her further back on the list for those that go below. At least I can request to give her some relief. She will make a fine Wonderbolt.”

“We are just going to blow her off telling us to fuck off?” Third Counselor asked.

“We put a lot of pressure on her,” Fifth Counselor stated. “On a very delicate subject. I can’t imagine what she went through. So yes.”

“Her teaching will be good,” The Chief Counselor stated. “Maybe, in a year or two, we can hook her in. But we will play that by ear. It was traumatic enough for her. First and Last and a blood bath that she barely escaped. The reports of who she watched go down and how… well I don’t want to push it any more.”

“So, maybe in a year or two we will get lucky. She may help whoever we pick to kick start the program again. Without her leading it, we might as well take a year or two off. Disband the Recon Teams and break up the Scout Squadrons we had on deck. Shake the entire Aerial Combat Units up and rebalance them. That is the best course of action.”

“Agree,” The Fourth Counselor stated. “I will prepare orders for that to happen. And I will extend the offer to test for the Wonderbolts to all who were On Deck for Scouts and Recon. We want to keep them close.”

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