THIS IS WAR

"You seem unusually calm, I thought the news of "War" getting engaged would hit you harder. He did seem to be pretty chummy with the princess from Orenden too, and you didn't really react to that. You haven't been too aggressive pursuing him lately, have you finally given up on him or something?" Terica asked Margarita.

"No not at all. I just found out that I don't need to pursue him. He will come to me eventually." Margarita responded.

"Really how do you figure that?" Terica asked skeptically.

"Well a few weeks ago I asked him about what he preferred in a woman and he said that he likes strong women. Do you know a woman stronger than me? I'm pretty confident that he will choose me in the end." Margarita said.

"I guess that makes sense." Terica said, "I still get the feeling that she's off." She thought.

The 7 Elements were sent on a mission to escort diplomats to a newly conquered planet called Tesh.

"Man this type of mission is way too boring, oh well I guess it's a nice change of pace." "War" said. He was leading the caravan of diplomats with "Wolf" beside him and Toudou and Denjimi in the back. The rest of the team had the day off as it wasn't necessary for all of them to be there for such a tame mission.

"War" was talking to his younger brother when he ran into a woman wearing a cloak. As she fell to the ground her cloak fell off her, revealing her appearance.

Carletta Hart

Age: 19

Ht: 5'4

Wt: 134

Special Ability: Love at First Sight?

Carletta Hart was a beautiful woman, every man who ever saw her fell in love with her at first sight. It's unknown whether her ability to make men fall in love with her was due to a special ability or just due to her natural beauty. Carletta herself saw it as a curse. On her 18th birthday seemingly out of nowhere every man on her home planet started to fall madly in love with her. This caused the women to hate her out of jealousy and eventually she was forced to flee her home and seek a fresh start elsewhere.

"Oh no my cloak fell off now these two men are going to fall in love with me because of my curse. I need to cover up quickly and leave." Carletta thought.

As she was thinking "Wolf" said, "Hey tubby! How long are you going to sit in my brother's way? Get those thunder thighs moving already!"

"Hey go easy her. Just because she's a sloppy fatso doesn't mean you have to be so harsh." "War" said harshly.

"Wait you two aren't in love with me?" Carletta asked. She was in shock as this was one of the few times it had happened to her in the past year.

"Huh? Who'd fall in love with a disgusting slob like you? Get moving already!" "Wolf" shouted as she put her cloak back on and got out of their way. "Can you believe that big brother? Some women can be so delusional nowadays."

"Yeah that was crazy. Anyway like I was trying to say, you should take the day off. The rest of the team has already taken off, and Denjimi, Toudou and me can handle a job like this easily. Go ahead and go have fun, you earned it brother." "War" said

"Well, I guess if you say so big brother. Are you sure you don't need me to stay here?" "Wolf" asked.

"I'm sure. Go relax. That's an order." "War" said waving him off. The procession of diplomats then passed by "Wolf" as he walked off.

"He said go have fun, but I've been by my brother's side so long I'm not really sure what I'm supposed to do by myself." "Wolf" thought to himself as he walked down the busy streets of Tesh.

"Hey get out of the way! Your conquerors are coming through. You better get out of my way if you know what's good for you!" a rough voice shouted from the end of the street.

The man shouting was called "Frog" he was the captain of War Festival Team #1394. Regular War Festival teams were numbered instead of receiving unique monikers like the elite teams did. As a regular team they only took missions to conquer planets rated 3-4 stars.

"Frog" was a short and slimy man who more or less looked exactly how you'd expect a man called "Frog" would look. He wore white imperial armor and had on a white helmet in the shape of a frog's head, he was followed by his six subordinates.

"They must be the team who conquered this planet, maybe I should go introduce myself to them. We are both on the same side after all. On second thought they look a little rough around the edges, I think I'll just keep to myself." "Wolf" thought, as he was about to walk away he felt a gentle tug on the back of his sleeve.

"Excuse me, would you mind helping me sir?" As "Wolf" turned around he saw the woman in the cloak that he had met earlier.

"Eh what do you want chubby?" "Wolf" said disappointed.

Carletta went on to explain her situation with her "curse" to "Wolf". "And that's why I can't reveal myself to men, as well as why I was surprised that you two didn't fall in love with me earlier."

"I see, being forced to love a tub of lard like you does sound like a pretty vicious curse." "Wolf" said. "So what do you want from me?"

"I'm here for work and I'm a bit lost can you help me find this address?" Carletta asked as she showed him a piece of paper. "I'm sorry I'd ask someone else, but you're the only one around that I know my curse doesn't affect."

"Eh whatever, I guess I don't have anything better to do." "Wolf" said reluctantly.

After a short time "Wolf" managed to led Carletta to her destination, which was tavern in a quiet part of town. "Man that was easy to find, all that fat must be going to your brain if you couldn't find this place." "Wolf" said as they walked in. She thanked him and ran into the back to find the manager.

"Now that I'm done with that I guess I should get out of here." As he was about to leave he felt his stomach rumbling. "Eh, I guess they serve food here. I should eat before I go."

"Wolf" sat down at the counter and he was greeted by the manager, "You're the one who helped Carletta get here right? I appreciate that it's hard for her to interact with people given her condition. I'll make you one of our famous meat pies on the house as a thank you." The manager said.

As he was eating, "Wolf" started a conversation with the manager, "Wow this is seriously good stuff thanks for the grub. So how come pork chop's curse doesn't work on you even though you're a man?" He asked between bites.

"Pork chop? I suppose you mean Carletta. I suppose I could ask you the same thing. I'm not sure why it doesn't affect me, but I like to think it's because I'm happily married to a wonderful woman." The manager said pointing to a ring on his finger. "Of course the fact that I'm not affected is one of the reasons why she came here in the first place. My wife and her late mother were friends so I know a bit about her situation."

"She's been through a lot even though she's so young, me and my wife wanted to do what we could to help her. This is a pretty quiet part of town and I'll allow her to wear her cloak while she works. I don't think she should have any problems here." He continued.

"Well that's good I guess." "Wolf" said. "I don't really care either way. He just went on rambling after he answered my question." He thought.

Suddenly the door flung open and "Frog" and his men walked in. "Bring us your best booze and something to eat! And don't keep me waiting long." He demanded as he took a seat at a table.

"Wolf" continued eating and minding his business and things were mostly uneventful until he heard a woman's scream.

"Please sir let me go!" Carletta shouted.

"Now, why were you covering yourself up with that thick ugly cloak? Looks like you were hiding the good stuff barkeep!" "Frog" shouted as he was grabbing hold of Carletta, fully under the influence of her "curse".

"Please sir, let her go." The manager asked causing "Frog" to back hand him and send him flying. This in turn caused all the remaining customers to run out of the tavern.

"Oh is everyone leaving? I guess that gives us some privacy eh boys? What do you say little lady? Would you like to keep me and my men company tonight?" "Frog" asked while laughing.

"I guess a frog will stick its tongue to anything. Why don't you just let the girl go, you're making me lose my appetite." "Wolf" said while grabbing "Frog's" arm off of Carletta.

"Who the heck are you boy? Do you know who I am? I'm the man who conquered this worthless planet. That gives me the right to take whatever I want. If you get in my way I'll kill you." "Frog" said.

"Wait boss, look at the sigil on his cuff links. It's the golden unicorn of Vercheg. That must mean he's with the 7 Elements." One of "Frog's" subordinates told him.

"Oh well why didn't you say so? We're on the same side here kid. If you wanted a turn all you had to do was ask, but you'll have to go last. We found her first after all." "Frog" said.

"No I'm telling you to leave her alone." "Wolf" said.

"You have no authority to order me around boy! This is my right as conqueror, you can't stop me!" "Frog" shouted.

"I don't have the authority, but my brother does. I'm sure even a toad like you has heard of the captain of the 7 Elements, "War"!" "Wolf" said.

""War"? As in "War" the Indomitable? Boss maybe it's better if we back off you met the guy at the diplomats meeting today. We definitely don't want to mess with that guy." A lackey said.

"Eh, you're probably right. I guess the rumors about "War" being soft on the planets he conquers are true. Fine I'll let the woman go, now just leave and let us drink in peace." "Frog" said as he released his grip on Carletta.

"Fine." "Wolf" said and he turned around and walked out of the tavern.

After he had shut the door "Frog" had grabbed Carletta again. "Haha! The little fool! Did he really think he could use his brother to scare me off? I'll do as I wish like I always have!"

"Wolf" had exceptional hearing and he heard "Frog's" words from the end of the street.

"Eh, I guess I don't really care what happens to her. Plus getting into a fight with fellow officers will get me, and more importantly my big brother, into trouble. It's not worth it." As "Wolf" was talking himself out of it, he was already walking back through the tavern doors.

"What did you change your mind about having a turn boy? Ha!" "Frog" said as he and his men started laughing.

"Wolf" didn't respond, he simply shut the door and locked it.

Approximately 1900 "Wolf" was seen entering the tavern. At 0300 the next morning Imperial investigators were called to the scene, where they discovered 7 corpses.

"Looks like we got 7 dead bodies, it seems to be "Frog" and his boys." One investigator said.

"These guys are no pushovers, there's no way a barkeep and a serving girl could have killed them. There had to have been dozens of assailants involved, that or someone extremely skilled." The other investigator said.

"It was me, sorry I wasn't trying to hide or anything. I just fell asleep waiting for you guys." "Wolf" said sleepily.

"You did it? I see from your uniform that you're with the 7 Elements. I guess that explains how you killed them all on your own. It's a very serious crime to kill your comrades you know. Come with us we'll have you explain it all to us at the station." The investigator said.

"That won't be necessary gentleman." "War" said as he entered the room. "He was acting on my orders."

"That may be the case sir, but killing Imperial officers without cause is still a serious crime. We'll need some sort of explanation. Why did you order for these men to be killed?" The investigator asked.

"Insubordination." "War" said.

"I see, well if that's the case…. Why didn't you say so earlier? If these men were executed for insubordination that should conclude our business here. Sir you did file the proper paperwork for executing an officer correct?" The investigator asked.

"Oh um, I didn't have the time. Send the paperwork to my adjutants, they'll take care of it. Sorry I am new here after all. "War" said.

"Ah that's right. It's easy to forget because of your high standing, but you have only been here a few months. I suppose we can overlook it this time, but don't forget the proper procedure next time." The investigator said.

"Right, of course, thank you." "War" replied. "Wow, I just made that up off the top of my head, I can't believe that worked." He said when he and "Wolf" were alone.

"Yeah lucky I guess. But big brother, don't you want to ask me what happened? You just put your neck on the line for me." "Wolf" said.

"Not really. If you killed those guys I'm sure you had a good reason you don't have to tell me. Plus I can pretty much figure it out." "War" said. "Speaking of which it looks like a porky lady over there wants to talk to you."

"War" pointed at Carletta who was shyly shuffling towards them. "Thank you so much for saving me. No one has ever done something like that for me and you're not even affected by my curse. I'll never forget what you've done for me." She said grabbing "Wolf's" hand.

"It's no big deal, just get your fat fingers off of me!" "Wolf" said. His protest was to no avail as instead of letting go, she wrapped her arms around him. "Get off of me! Your cow tits are squishing me!"

Carletta Hart had the ability to make men fall madly in love with her at first sight, "Wolf" it seemed had a similar ability. However, his seemed to only work on one person.