With the Commander-General and Captain Monroe returning to what they were doing before they were interrupted by the news of the attack on us, and the team that had brought us here transporting Terry Lundburg to the prison, Vice-Commander Carpenter took charge. Karen had been released from her containment bed at some point during the introductions and brief conversation with the Commander-General, but she didn’t look very happy. I guess I couldn’t really blame her though since she was pretty messed up, missing an arm, and now had to share air with the person responsible as we were all transported to a very familiar hospital complex with an armed escort.

Now we were in a private hospital room, waiting for someone to look over Karen, see what could be done for her injuries, and inject her with a tracking implant to monitor her. I guess that being bitch, under those circumstances, was understandable, but I was pretty sure she didn’t need a reason to be a bitch. I didn’t like her, especially after seeing her blow a large hole through my best friend.

Ainslee was quiet for the whole trip to the hospital and since we arrived, I think that she felt pretty bad about Karen’s arm. She was reacting to a perceived threat, and we were both told that the first use of special abilities, especially offensive ones, could be dangerous and uncontrolled. Still, as my friend glanced at the Dark Elf keeping her distance on the hospital bed and as far from us as she could manage, she turned to me to whisper hopefully, “Lily, is there anything that Moonlight can do to heal her?”

I had been against healing her before, but she wasn’t quite as much of a bitch as she was pretending to be during the attack if what the Angel had seen in her mind was true. She was just a garden variety bitch. “What do you think, Moonlight? Can you do anything for her?”

Vice-Commander Carpenter raised an eyebrow as she too turned her attention my way at Ainslee’s request. “Can she? The Vanguard does have access to new, state-of-the-art magitech cybernetics, but I can’t speak about how well such a replacement limb would work with her special ability. Usually, it is standard procedure to keep severed limbs on ice, in hopes they can be reattached, but from the report that we received when you were inbound, what remained of the limb that Miss Mackenzie removed was in no condition to be reattached.”

Ainslee looked at the floor, a pained look on her face as I raised a hand to let them know that I was discussing things with the Unicorn in question. Moonlight hummed pensively in my mind for a moment before replying, -I am uncertain, Lily. I have never attempted to heal something like that before. I will try if you wish it though.-

“Moonlight says that she’s not sure what she can do, but she’ll give it a shot,” I informed them.

The Angel nodded and led us from the doorway of the room to where Karen was sitting on the only bed and looking very uncomfortable as she watched us approach. I flitted along beside the Vanguard’s second in command while Ainslee followed a few steps behind. A look over my shoulder showed that my best friend looked as awkward and uncomfortable as the Dark Elf, not to mention a little guilty.

Once we were close enough for conversation without shouting, the angelic woman in charge motioned for me to get the ball rolling. I let out a sigh, but complied, a little nervous as I said, “Hi, Karen. We… uhhh… weren’t properly introduced in all the excitement. I’m Lily and my friend back there is Ainslee. This is probably gonna sound crazy, but I’m… umm… bonded with a Unicorn and I… she’s gonna try and heal your injuries.”

Of course, she didn’t believe me until Moonlight materialized in front of her, but even then, she covered her surprise well and managed to keep that frown on her face as she looked away. Ainslee’s jaw dropped though and she couldn’t look away from my Unicorn companion as Karen snapped, “Fine, whatever, tell your little pony to hurry up and do its thing. My arm fucking hurts.”

“You could at least say ‘thank you,’” I grumbled.

“Riiight, for trying to heal me after your friend fucking maimed me in the first place,” she snapped back with a sneer.

I was fuming as I got right up in her face. “Ainslee only attacked after your friend tried to kill us and you threatened me, bitch! And she didn’t cut your arm off until you blew a hole through her with that nasty fuck off beam of yours!” Was it too late to refuse to heal her? Moonlight wouldn’t be happy if I asked her to take it back or half-ass the job though and I was doing this because Ainslee asked. I was hoping this might ease some of her guilt over what happened if Moonlight could actually heal her.

I could see a brief flash of guilt on Karen’s face before she turned it away. “I didn’t know that Terry was going to actually try to kill someone, I thought he was just going to mess with her. When she came at me, I panicked. She looked like she was going to fucking kill me!”

“Ladies, calm down,” Vice-Commander Carpenter said in a commanding tone that stopped us both cold. “Mistakes were made on both sides, but you’re all going to have to learn to get along and work together. Now let’s see what Moonlight can do for Karen, so I know whether I need to take you all to the testing room or get Miss Smythe fitted for an artificial limb first.”

-Please have someone remove all her bandages, especially on her arm,- Moonlight calmly requested. -They might get in the way.-

I passed that message on and the Vice-Commander quickly got to work removing all the bandages. The bite wound on Karen’s neck looked relatively minor, but the wound on her cheek, and the cauterized stump where her right forearm used to be, looked nasty up close. I had to look away while Moonlight got to work.

Moonlight started with the less severe injuries first, and the bite wound took only an instant to heal up. The burnt gash on her cheek took a little bit longer, but soon the only indication that she had ever been injured there was a slightly paler line in her blue-grey skin, it didn’t even look like it had scarred, it was just new skin. The arm took much longer, and Karen was screaming in pain the whole time as it slowly grew back before our eyes.

When the Unicorn was done, the new part of the arm was again a little lighter in skin tone than what was above it, but it looked whole and healthy. Karen had passed out sometime during the affair, which wasn’t surprising since that looked like it hurt like hell. Moonlight was breathing heavily and wobbled as unsteadily on her legs as when she was a newborn as she finished the job. Even her mind voice sounded tired as she told me, -It is done. That took a lot…-

“Moonlight!” I called out, my heart racing as she collapsed to the floor beside the bed in an unconscious heap.

Thankfully, Moonlight was only unconscious, and we were able to revive both her and Karen with some smelling salts. My Unicorn companion was exhausted and in need of a good meal after her efforts though. Vice-Commander Carpenter arranged for some pillows and a blanket to be brought in to make her more comfortable while she rested for a bit and for some food to be brought for her as well, including some apples, which Moonlight had shown a fondness for.

I heard a very quiet, “Thank you,” from Karen as she experimentally flexed the fingers on her restored hand, though she quickly looked away when I turned toward her. I let it go and didn’t ask her to speak up, mostly because Ainslee looked so relieved. We had done this for her, not Karen, and I was glad that this worked and relieved some of her guilt.

Still, I told the Vice-Commander that Moonlight would not be trying to regenerate limbs like that again, at least not anytime soon or on full-sized people. That was only half an arm, and if regenerating it caused her to collapse like that, I didn’t want to know what trying to do so for an entire limb or more would do to her. The Angel seemed to understand and accept my reluctance about it and said that the Vanguard would continue to offer cybernetic replacements or cloned transplants for limbs, despite those means taking significantly longer, until a more practical form of regeneration magic could be discovered.

Soon, Karen was injected with her new tracking implant, somewhere between her shoulder blades and then she and Ainslee were being escorted to the abilities testing rooms by the armed members of the Vanguard that had escorted us to the hospital. Vice-Commander Carpenter decided to stay and watch over Moonlight with me after making the arrangements for the immediate testing of both girls. After a couple of minutes of silence, I couldn’t take it any longer and asked, “You wanted to talk with me? About what?”

“Various things,” she answered with an enigmatic smile. “Perhaps we should begin with Moonlight though.”

Moonlight’s head wearily turned in our direction, but I mentally urged her to rest as I addressed the Angel. “What about her? I just told you I don’t want to try that thing with regrowing limbs again anytime soon with her. She can barely move right now.”

The Vice-Commanded kept that soft smile on her face as she nodded, seemingly not put off by my words. “I agree with you completely on that matter, Lily. I do not want to endanger Moonlight’s health any more than you do. This is about your request to have her recognized as a personal mount. That, I’m afraid, I cannot agree with.”

I blinked at her in surprise. “What? Why not? Not that I mind, it was really just an excuse for Moonlight to stay close to me since she doesn’t want to join the Vanguard herself, and Captain Monroe didn’t want someone not associated with the Vanguard following me around everywhere.”

“I don’t like the precedent it would set,” she said simply before deciding to elaborate. “We have no issues with her staying in the stables if that is what you both wish, but as you have pointed out before, Moonlight is not some simple animal. She is a sentient being and deserves to be recognized as such, and properly compensated, when she assists the Vanguard with her abilities, as she did today. You have said that she does not wish to officially join the Vanguard, but perhaps she could be a consultant.”

“A consultant? What exactly do you mean by that?”

“We would ask that she assists with healing sometimes, mostly during emergencies or whenever she is present and wishes to lend a hand, or hoof in her case. We wouldn’t order her to do anything, but her assistance would be appreciated, and she would be paid fairly for her efforts on a case-by-case basis,” the Angel explained.

Moonlight weakly snorted. -I do not care about, nor do I have a need or desire for human money.-

I quickly passed that message on, but Vice-Commander Carpenter merely continued to smile and shook her head. “If Moonlight wishes it, those consultant fees could be paid to you, as her representative. You could use the money, in part, for costs associated with her care. The rest could be used for your needs and desires, which I suspect is something that Moonlight does care about.”

Moonlight snorted again but didn’t argue the point. -As long as I am free to stay at your side, my Maiden.-

“I… uhh… think she just agreed to your terms,” I said with a glance to Moonlight, who tiredly bobbed her head up and down in a nod.

“Good, I’ll have a consultancy agreement drawn up for the two of you by our legal team,” she replied, her smile widening. “For the next matter, we would like you to help deliver first response teams and resources, whenever possible, should there be an Incursion in urban areas where we can get camera access for you to use.”

“To be honest, I was kind of expecting that anyway,” I told her with a shrug of my tiny shoulders. Besides, I wanted to get close to Breaches, so I could eventually rescue my mom.

The Angel nodded, seeming happy with that answer. “You’ll likely be one of the first on-site for many urban Incursions going forward, Lily. With that in mind, we would like you to take officer training at the university. Most of the university students we sponsor are Cadets, and once they officially join the Vanguard, they start as Privates. If you take the officer route, you would be a Cadet-Major and start your Vanguard career as a Second Lieutenant, and the pay would be significantly better.”

“You want me to be an officer? I’m not really officer material,” I quickly protested.

“I beg to differ,” she immediately countered. “Going by your psyche evaluation and what I’ve seen of you so far in person and on that stream, I think you will make a fine officer. You’re intelligent, care about people, and you’re not afraid to go up against a potentially superior opponent in a crisis. When you were attacked, your first instinct was to evacuate your friend, who you thought was in danger and when that didn’t work out, you took charge to keep her from getting overwhelmed, distracted the potentially more powerful attacker, and then took him down with the most efficient means at your disposal.”

“I don’t know if…”

She did not take that for an answer as she quickly cut me off. “It’s an order from your superior officer, Cadet-Major Pierce. I have already contacted the university about adding the officer track courses to your schedule when the semester begins. Now, let’s talk about your training team.”

I already knew that all cadets at the university had a sort of basic training on weekends, bright and early in the morning. I figured that it was probably a necessary evil. There were plenty of regular students too, who didn’t plan on joining the Vanguard and were paying for their education out of pocket, but cadet students were a major focus for the university since it was largely funded by the Vanguard.

On the first day of classes, there was supposed to be a big gathering of all the new cadet students, where they would form training teams of anywhere from four to eight people. Training teams were just what says on the can, teams of people who train together. I wasn’t really sure how those teams were chosen though.

Vice-Commander Carpenter thankfully decided to explain that bit. “We usually allow people to form their own teams from friends or people who they think they might click with during the meet and greet. We want teams who are going to work well together and support one another when we push them to their limits and beyond. Most of the time it works out and those groups end up serving in the same units when they enter the Vanguard. Sometimes there are skill and talent gaps that need filling in such groups though, and we choose people to fill them from people who can’t find teams on their own.”

“That sounds like it could get complicated, throwing some poor sap into an established group of friends,” I said, frowning at the thought.

“It doesn’t always turn out well,” she admitted, “but well-rounded training teams are preferable and sometimes there are good reasons for doing it. Speaking of which, I am assuming that you would want to have your team officially consisting of yourself, your Fire Sprite girlfriend, your sister, and Miss Mackenzie? With Moonlight as an unofficial member, of course.”

“Yeah,” I replied, still not certain about this officer thing at all. “That sounds good.”

“Good, but we will be adding Miss Smythe as well. And you are, of course, free to add another team member or two at the meet and greet if you find a good fit.” She was smiling but her eyes were daring me to argue.

I took that dare. “What?! You want me to have that… Karen on my team?! She almost killed Ainslee!”

“And Ainslee maimed her,” she said with a nod of agreement. “Neither action was intended and there are several reasons why this is a good idea. First, Karen will need to be in close proximity to Ainslee for feedings. I believe that she deserves a chance, she just needs to be away from the negative influence of her former social circle and with people who will be a better influence on her and bring out the best in her. She will also provide a solid ranged attack ability to your team, from what I saw on the video.”

I had a sinking suspicion that this was also supposed to be some sort of test of my leadership abilities, but I didn’t say that out loud. I was still grating at the thought of having Karen put on my team, but I knew there wasn’t anything I could really do about it either since the orders came from the top. So, I muttered the only thing that I could say right then. “Understood, Ma’am.”

We had to wait several hours for Karen and Ainslee to finish their testing. At least when I was tested myself, I had been doing something, but now I could only sit and wait. The time to rest and the food that was brought helped Moonlight to recover her strength though, so I guess it wasn’t all bad. Still, it was the same boredom for me as when I had to wait for Kelly’s testing to be over.

When my sister was tested, they didn’t let me into the lab since they were going to be throwing a lot of dangerous shit at her. They tried everything short of weapons of mass destruction but couldn’t find anything that would hurt Kelly physically. There were ways to attack her indirectly, such as gasses and such, but she just shrugged off most magical and physical attacks.

I thought the waiting was bad, but afterward, Vice-Commander Carpenter wanted to go over the results of Ainslee’s and Karen’s tests with me, so I knew what I had to work with. Yeah sure, it was probably good to know, but the reports were so dry and boring. How can someone make an acid beam or magical plasma sound boring?

Karen’s special ability was pretty straightforward, she could fire blasts of magic with acidic properties. The blasts packed a punch and could melt through solid steel and had a maximum range of about 75 feet or so. It could even eat away at magical barriers if she kept the beam going long enough.

As for Ainslee, my best friend could summon weapons made from the magical equivalent of superheated plasma. That shit could cut and burn through just about anything and she seemed completely immune to its effects. She also seemed to have developed a natural affinity for close-quarters combat, especially bladed weapons, and was able to summon weapons ranging from as small as daggers to huge ass claymores longer than she was tall.

They were both going to have to be very careful with those abilities, weren’t they? And, just my luck, I was the one in charge of both of them. By the time we finished going through the reports, it was dinner time, and I could feel a massive headache coming on as I prepared to teleport myself, Moonlight, and Ainslee back home. Vice-Commander Carpenter was taking Karen back to Vanguard Tower, where she would be staying until she could be moved to the dorms.

I tried to ignore the mounting migraine making me miserable as I mentally tagged both Moonlight and Ainslee and teleported us back to the living room of the Mackenzie household. It had been a long day, I was hungry, and the only reason that I hadn’t collapsed like Moonlight did earlier was because I had a snack and several cups of flower nectar while I was waiting for the testing to be over and bored out of my mind. I had also called my sister to let her know we were going to be late, but now we were going to have to explain everything.

Oh well, at least it smelled like dinner would be ready soon, and it smelled delicious. “Small victories, Lily,” I told myself. “I can deal with all this other shit later. For now, I’ll enjoy a nice dinner with the family, Ainslee and I can tell them about our horrific day out, and maybe after I can snuggle with Poppy in one of Kelly’s tails to relax.”