"Cathy..." Garth read out from an article in his laptop, "instructor of the Novel Warfare Strategy Brigade, lieutenant colonel, graduated from..." All the detailed information of their instructor was available for them to read. He continued, "She married the captain of the Falcon Commando, Daniel Xia. They are deemed as the strongest military couple of this decade. She excels at warfare strategy, while he is a combat specialist. Together, they are invincible!"
"Argh!" Maggie roared in frustration, "Why are all the good men taken? Why do they have to disappoint me when I need them the most? Argh! This is so unfair. Fate is mocking me!"
Garth turned to Jake, who said jokingly, "Looks like Maggie had a crush on someone. Did he dump you?"
Maggie's face turned stiff. She glared at Jake and growled, "How dare you mock your senior officer? You are violating the rules!" Even though she was threatening him, it was obvious that she was just joking and having a fun conversation.
Garth smiled at Jake and drifted back to the previous topic. "Most of the wartime strategies in the army right now are Cathy's. A while back, I had participated in the international commando competition, and guess what? The team that won the final prize was also using the strategy devised by Cathy." When Garth talked about Cathy, his eyes were brimming with admiration and envy.
"Impressive research!"
They heard a neat voice from the doorway. Instantly, the four of them dropped whatever they had in their hands and stood up in attention, eyes fixed directly ahead of them. "Ma'am!"
Cathy was wearing her training uniform. With her lips curved up into a smile, she scanned the new young faces and said, "I am Cathy Xiang. In your time under my command, you will be learning a great deal from me. And of course, I would like to see you improve with time."
"Yes, ma'am!" they answered unanimously.
Grinning with delight, Cathy said, "No need to be so stiff. Relax! Let's go to the canteen first. We can talk over food."
With no prior experience in the camp, they quickly relaxed themselves when they found out that Cathy was not as strict as they had originally thought. Soon, they chattered and walked to the canteen with her.
"Cathy," Edith asked, eyes gleaming, "what kind of person is Captain Edgar?"
Cathy peeked at her and said, "Someone who is stronger than what the rumors say."
"Humph!" Maggie sneered and rolled her eyes. When everyone turned to look at her with a surprised expression, she embarrassingly explained herself, "Well, umm... I was just thinking that the rumors were quite incredible already. If he is even stronger than he is in the stories, then he must be... a legend?"
"More or less." Cathy nodded with a serious look on her face. "The Captain is more than just a legend for the Eagle Special Brigade. Only the strongest will be respected in the army."
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