Battle's End

[cityship]

The Ohm had retreated. The various GIA forces on Lirath were withdrawn.

Refugees were being treated and dropped off at the refugee camps, and the crew that had been left there was gathered up. There hadn't been any other outbursts of Catastrophist attacks--it seemed that all of them had either been taken out or killed. Those that had been captured quickly self-detonated their neural explosives to avoid questioning, though the bodies still remained for investigation. Plenty of dead Ohm were there for study as well. Perhaps now the forces aligned against the bug menace could get some answers.

Currently, the Trans 9 was in orbit around the planet the camps were on while Stacy regenerated, allowing them access to and communication with the GIA. Several of the surviving GIA ships were orbiting, making similar repairs. It would be there only briefly before moving out.

Life went on.

Except, of course, when it didn't.

There was no time to recover the countless bodies lost in battle and it wasn't safe to stay on Lirath after the attack. The Ohm could possibly come back in greater force. Only one body was gathered up, with great respect and dignity, and carried up to the Transmigration 9--Superman's.

However, despite the people lost on Lirath--refugees, soldiers, and crew alike--the Ohm had been hurt badly this day. A full invasion force had been defeated, sent running.

They could be beaten, after all.

Comments

[helpmeleon.livejournal.com]

Ashley tried to look like she wasn't spying on the meeting that was going on inside the Precinct. She paced around the building, looking a little banged up, but none the worse for wear. She knew Leon was okay, but she needed to see him. And Nightwing, for that matter. She had to thank him for saving her. But mostly she needed to see Leon. When he was around it was okay.

She tried not to stare at the GIA guy as he left the building, and waited to the side for everyone to file out. She stepped in once she was sure Leon was the last one in there.

She peeked her head in but couldn't contain herself once she saw him. "Leon!" She jogged in to him and grabbed onto his arm. His nice, strong arms that made her safe. "We're really okay? It's really over?"

[governmentninja]

"Ashley!" He ended up putting his arm around her, and gave her a small hug. He was happy to see that she was alright, after all.

"Yeah, that battle is really over." He'd love to say the war with the Ohm was over, but this was far from it. "We're okay now."

[helpmeleon.livejournal.com]

She reached her arms up around his neck. Suddenly, all at once, all the tension from the ordeal released. "The guys in the big cloaks started screaming and blowing up, and Nightwing helped but they just kept coming--" she trailed off, burying his face into his chest.

[governmentninja]

"Hey, its all right now," he told her reassuringly. He could imagine how much something like that would've upset her, after what she had been through back on their earth. "All of them have been dealt with."

[helpmeleon.livejournal.com]

After a little while, she calmed down again. Leon's presence still had the needed effect on her. She still hung onto him, though. "Nightwing really did help. He was amazing.--Not as good as you. But if he wasn't there..." She shook her head.

She pulled away from him and pulled her arms behind her back and clasped them together. "And... Sherry.... and--Claire," she seemed to make an effort to keep any dislike out of her voice when she said her name. Now wasn't the time, and she knew it. "They're okay too? And that Spanish guy?"

[governmentninja]

"Lewis Luis," Leon corrected, filling in the name for her. "They're all fine, they all made it through all right." He appreciated her asking, even though he knew she wasn't fond of Claire. But it seemed as though she was moving on.

"So Nightwing was amazing~, huh?" he teased a little. "I'll have to thank him for saving you."

[helpmeleon.livejournal.com]

She frowned in that way she always did when he teased her. "I wasn't completely useless," aiming her face up toward him pointedly when she emphasized the word. "I tried a gun. I wasn't very good at it."

She walked a few paces to the side, then turned to look at him. "Maybe you can teach me a little better. I thought I could do it from watching you. I guess it's harder than you made it look."

[governmentninja]

Leon put his hands up in a display of mock surrender. He wasn't going to argue that point.

"Uh..." He wasn't thrilled about the idea of giving Ashley gun lessons, but she was going to need to learn how to defend herself. The thought passed through his mind that Claire could teach her, but Claire + Ashley + Firearms = Disaster.

"I'll think about it, but I've been doing this for a long time. Its all second nature by now.

"Are you sure that's something you want to learn?"

[helpmeleon.livejournal.com]

She nodded. "Yeah. I mean, I can't just hide in a dumpster all the time, can I?"

"I just don't want to get in the way," she said, a little more seriously. "And if someone tries to hurt me or something because they don't like you, I want to be prepared. But I suppose you're always really busy, since you're Captain and everything..."