Back of the Freezer [Olivier]

[Ashur Grey]

Much to the annoyance of Colonel Ashur Grey, he found himself trudging along the road that led to Fort Briggs in the center of a blizzard. Obviously there were a great deal of places he would rather be than the wasteland set before him, but orders were orders. . . what was more he had asked for this, to some extent anyways.

After two years of doing odd jobs, routine inspections and alchemical research, Ashur had finally reported in to Central for new orders. Obviously he was no longer to work directly for the Furher as he had for Furher Bradley, but he had hoped they would at least make some real use of him. . . or at least give him the dignity of just killing him. No. . . instead they had decided to send him to Fort Briggs where his orders were to 'observe the Drachman border.' Which in reality translated to they were sending him to Briggs until they could figure out what to do with him or until they needed him. Officially he was to assist in anyway possible while at Fort Briggs so long as it did not interfere with his duties. Seeing as how his only listed duties were to stare like a mouth breather at the Drachman border that meant he would always be available.

With a faint sigh Ashur checked the violet luxin lines that were keeping his cloak from flapping like an Amestrian flag and helped to keep some of the heat he failed to keep in with his use of the sub-red luxin. Utilizing that was the only reason Ashur had been able to survive in this blizzard, at least survive without losing his toes and fingers. Utilizing the sub-red spectrum Ashur continuously trapped his own body heat underneath the cloak and prevented the howling winds from leeching it away.

It took nearly another hour of fighting trudging through the knee deep snow before he arrived at Fort Briggs. With the winter storm still in full tilt it took the soldiers of Fort Briggs a moment longer to spot him and that meant it took them all of an additional ten seconds before Ashur had several rifles aimed at him and a soldier was likely running for the General. With nothing else to do save wait, Ashur remained standing in the snow, the snow beneath his feet slowly beginning to melt due to the heat trapped by his alchemy.

[Olivier Armstrong]

The wolves are at my door
Waiting for my empire to fall

Olivier was getting very frustrated with Central thinking they could just ship off soldiers to her whenever they felt like it. She was perfectly capable of selecting and training her own men, thank you very much. "Look I don’t need another soldier here,” she snapped on the phone when she received the call, tapping her fingers in annoyed fashion on her desk, “I have enough men to look after at the moment. No I don’t care you have nowhere else to send him, that just gives me more reason to send him away. Why? Because it means he’s useless.” She groaned as the man on the other line explained how wrong she was, and blabbed about she needed to serve her military. Finally she just snapped, “Fine, send him. What do you mean he’s arriving today?!” Enraged she slammed the phone down, fuming. It was one thing to send someone here, she could deal with that without being too annoyed. But to only inform her the day of? No, they were purposely pushing her buttons to annoy her. She didn’t care as they claimed they had given plenty of time, it was a decent amount of hours, she was still furious with them. 

Grabbing her phone again she quickly called her second-in-command, knowing she needed to inform someone about their new, recruit. And tell him to make sure the troops would give the newcomer the same treatment they gave all other intruders to the fort. “They’re sending another solider up here,” the annoyance in her voice was clear through the phone line, “today. Yes they just told me.” A smirk came across her face as her second-in-command came up with the same plan she had, “Yes tell the troops to give our guest the Fort Briggs’ welcome.” With that she hung up, somewhat satisfied for the moment being. Getting up she went about her daily rounds, though she still held some annoyance from the call it was subsided enough for no one to notice. When the alarms did eventually go off, there was no surprised expression on her face. She glanced over when one of her soldiers ran towards her, quickly explaining their visitor had arrived. “I trust you welcomed him well?” She asked as she began to walk towards the gate, glancing at the gun in his hands briefly. “Yes sir!” Was the reply, and she gave a satisfied nod. “Good, return to your regular post.”

With that she headed towards the gate, keeping one hand ready near her sword in case she needed, or simply wanted to pull it out in a split second. She gave a brisk nod at the salutes the men gave her as she passed by before marching to the group. “Documents from Central,” she ordered holding out a gloved hand to him, “if you don’t have the proper documents, you will be considered a trespasser and dealt with accordingly.” Of course she knew this was the soldier, no one else would be dumb enough to come to the front of Briggs. Still that didn’t mean she had to let him in before she saw the paperwork.

[Ashur Grey]

Ashur could not say he was surprised by the treatment he was being given. If anything he was actually glad for it to a small degree, because at the very least the soldiers of Fort Briggs treated everyone like this and as such were treating him like a normal individual. In all it was a pleasant relief from being stared at or having conversations abruptly end when he entered a room in Central. Rather than try and seek admittance to the fortification, Ashur merely waited calmly, following the orders to remain still until the Major General appeared.


The Major General was a striking woman who seemed to radiate confidence and dedication in waves with just a hint of the vast lake of strength that laid beneath. Ashur quickly ceased his usage of the sub-red branch of his alchemy upon seeing her to kill the sudden lust he experienced due to it. With slight regret Ashur also destroyed the ultra violet lines that had kept his cloak closed so as to raise his right hand in a curt salute as she stopped before him, asking for his documentation.


"Of course Sir."


In short order Ashur reached under his cloak to the small bag hanging from a strap on his shoulder, removing the sealed folder that contained his orders, personnel record and the transfer paperwork. This folder he placed into the outstretched hand of the Major General, after which he allowed his left hand to rest behind his back while his right rested atop the handle of his cane, the tip of which was rested upon his foot to keep the inside of the hidden barrel from meeting the snow.


"Colonel Ashur Grey, I am here to observe the Drachman border until Central orders otherwise. While here I am at your disposal."


While Ashur did not need to give his name and orders verbally it was the proper course of action in such a situation. While Ashur did not like the idea of being pushed into a corner of Amestris to be forgotten he would not allow those feelings to affect his attitude towards a superior officer.