“O..Oh.” Rebecca rubs the back of her neck sheepishly after hearing that. “On the bright side, if we run into trouble and need to use the command seals, it will be a lot faster to activate ha ha.”
She listened to the explanation about what the command seals are able to increase. It honestly sounds like the stimulant shots that are given to the marines for combat. If she keeps that equation in mind, it might give them an advantage if they come across a Banished combat squad or armored wraiths.
But…she wasn’t expecting just how much control the command seal gave her over Nobu. Hearing that she could essentially order Nobu to end her existence with no way for Nobu to disobey the order was appalling. There was only one scenario that Rebecca could even think of and it was a very last resort. She had heard stories of what the Banished forces would do to their POWs. Stories of torture, using them as target practice, even eating them had been spread around. Unfortunately all of these stories were confirmed true. If for whatever reason they were captured, Rebecca would order Nobu to abandon her and escape.
“I would never want to give you such an order but there is only one scenario that I can think of that where that might be the only mercy that could be afforded.” She became very serious as she spoke. “If we were to be captured by the Brutes or other Banished forces then there’s a high chance that we will be tortured before we die. I don’t like the thought of it but it’s a higher chance of happening given what’s happening. Should that happen and these command seals give you a better chance to escape, I want you to leave me behind.”
Hearing about the teleportation would make scouting a lot easier, especially since she could come back if Rebecca was in danger and it could give them an edge in an ambush.
“The teleportation power sounds like it will be really useful. Especially for scouting ahead. I don’t know how you’re able to do it but I’m just glad to have you around.”
Rebecca would soon look at the watch on her wrist and then outside of the ruins. Night was soon approaching and trying to leave the safety of the ruins they were in would put them at a disadvantage. The Brutes of the Banished had a more keen smell than a human and would be able to spot the two before they spotted them.
“The best thing for us would be to stay put for the night. I can take first watch so that you can get some rest first. I imagine that you would need some rest with all of the firepower that you pulled out.”
“Don’t worry, you’ll get used to my dramatic flair with time. Everyone does!” Nobunaga adds the bit of reassurance with air that seems too casual for the situation - as if this was another adventure they’d be sure to make it out of. A commander, she’d learned in the past, must always have greater confidence than that of their troops.
Her light-hearted smile, however, drops at the mention of a type of ‘mercy’ she’d been all too familiar with in her time. Some things about war never changed, even across millennium and planets.
“No need to go into detail. I get the picture.” she replies in a lower tone, matching the seriousness of the request. Still, there were more discrepancies that needed to be corrected in a situation like this, regardless of her new Master’s good intentions.
“But you should know that running away wont do anything to preserve my life. My existence is now tied to yours. That is part of our contract. In other words - there is no 'saving myself’. So there’s no need to waste your command seals in that way. ”
She conveniently choses not to mention, however, her ability of independent manifestation - a blessing of the archer class which allowed her to exist for a few days independently of her master. That was for her alone to worry about.
“If it at all helps - I would rather end your life before I would let you fall into enemy hands.” Her head tilts to the side as she thinks of a somber joke to add “It’s actually quite a normal thing in my culture - but I don’t think I have to explain all of that to you”
Her wander for a moment at the topic of command seals, reminiscing briefly about how coinvent it had been in the past to have a master who could regenerate their command seals over time. Since this summoning of hers wasn’t during a holy grail war…maybe it would also hold true here? Only time would tell.
“Rest wouldn’t be a terrible idea” she admits, unwilling to disclose that fighting against futuristic technology like that of these 'Banished’ took a much heavier toll on her than the standard fare. She was far from the ideal servant for this situation. Again - not something she needed to burden this soldier with.
“I’ll retreat in my spirit form while you sleep to conserve my energy. I’ll still be here - just invisible to the human eye.”
Not that she would let her guard down - she didn’t know if the enemy had some way of detecting her in that form as well.
“Sleep with a clear conscious: I’ll keep an eye out.”
"Hmm. I hope that we will never have to rely on such a 'mercy' but I appreciate you doing that for me."
While there were still many things that Rebecca didn't understand and so many more question she had, now was probably not the best time for them. With Nobu keeping watch it was best to get some shut eye. Sleep was going to be a very rare commodity so she would need to get as much as she could.
"Thank you. If you need anything from me, don't hesitate to wake me up." Rebecca said gratefully.
She would soon find a corner away from the windows or doors so if anyone were to enter, she would have a chance to respond. A trick she learned from her father. Sleeping in difficult places came easy to Rebecca. From her time in the orphanage to some tricks she learned in the marines, every second of sleep counted and soon after her PDW by her side still on the sling around her chest, she drifted off into slumber.
During her sleep, Rebecca had a dream that felt like she was reliving a memory but it wasn't one she had ever experienced. Standing before her were...her parents. Her father seemed to be clutching a small child while her mother was holding her hand up with some sort of magic circle hovering in front like she was casting a defensive spell. Standing beside Rebecca was some lanky man that she had never seen before. The man and her mother were exchanging words but Rebecca couldn't make anything out. More magical attacks were thrown out by both sides and her father seemed to be covering the child to protect them from the attacks.
Rebecca tried to step in, move her body to stop the fighting and protect her parents but she couldn't. It was like her body refused to obey her. Then the lanky man turns towards her and says something to her. Again she couldn't make out what he was saying but by his posture it seemed like he was using a command spell like Nobu had told her about. Suddenly her body began to move. She tried to stop it but she got closer and closer to her mother before unsheathing a blade and driving it into her mother. Dragging the blade out, she then turned on her father and cut him down. She stopped before turning the blade on the young child. The lanky man had ordered her to return and as they were leaving, Rebecca could see the small child sitting in the blood of her parents. The child was her. She was seeing how her parents were murdered in an out of body experience.
Soon she shot up from the wall she was resting on with her left hand covering her mouth to stifle her screaming. She looked around in a panic, heart racing, tears flowing down her face. Crawling away from the wall she looked for a trash can before dry heaving for a couple of minutes then catching her breath.
The dream felt so real but how was it possible that she was seeing this from someone else's perspective? And why now? This was the last thing she needed while being chased down by alien forces.
