Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy X-2, and I do not own any of the characters that are in this story.
The Djose Chocobo.
1: In which Tidus sees the pieces set in place
"Lord Ject honors us, sending his champion to our aid." A voice called out as Tidus reached to entrance to the encampment. Looking around, Tidus saw none other than General Lulu waiting to greet him. Tidus gave the famous commander an onceover, and found himself agreeing with his father; despite the unprofessional way she dressed, and the lack of military muscles, she was still intimidating.
"Father thought you'd be offended if one of my junior officers were sent in my place." Tidus responded.
"With the Warrior Prince of Zanarkend here, this siege should be through by the next lunar cycle." Lulu mused, though Tidus couldn't tell if she was being sarcastic. "Please follow me."
Tidus did as he was told, and followed Lulu from the entrance of the camp to the near center. There, a tent rose, the white and blue banner of Besaid Island. Tidus stayed close to Lulu as the General entered the tent. Lulu motioned to a vacant chair between two men, while she took her position at the head of the oversized the tent was housing.
"Now that all our forces have arrived, we can get down to planning. First, I think it would be best to paint a picture of what resources we have at our disposal." Lulu said. "I command six thousand solders, eight hundred archers, and a fleet of thirty Trireme ships."
"Well, I'm admiral of the Besaid Navy, ya. So I've brought sixty-five Trireme ships, and forty Ballista Siege Ships. That's about it, ya."
"One moment" Said the blue haired man sitting to Tidus' right. "General Lulu, you claim to have sixty-eight hundred troops, but neither you nor your admiral have any transport ships. Why is that?"
"At the moment, they're headed back to Besaid, where they with pick up supplies, such as food and lumber, which we'll serenely need."
The blue haired man pondered this for the briefest moment, then nodded. "I understand."
What about you, Seymour? What have the Guado to offer in this conflict?"
"I have at my disposal three thousand archers. I have also brought five hundred stoneworkers, architects, laborers. As we speak, they are building watch towers around this camp." Seymour said.
"And what comes from Bevelle?" Lulu asked, looking at the man to Tidus' left.
"I bring eight hundred men armed with bows, and fifteen hundred armed with swords. I also, as a show of good faith, bring with me six transports full of domesticated Coeurl, to provide food for the troops."
"What has the Warrior Prince of Zanarkend brought?" Lulu asked, turning her gaze on Tidus.
"I bring six thousand solders, six triremes, and four transports."
"And you, Commander Lucil?"
"I personally command a cavalry of twenty-six hundred Chocobo Knights."
"Well then, to summarize, we have at this camp a total of twenty thousand, seven hundred troops. We also have at our disposal one hundred and one triremes, forty Ballista Siege Ships, and ten transports. In addition, we have five hundred Guado working to fortify our camp." General Lulu paused, waiting to see if anyone had any questions. When, after a moment, no one indicated that they had questions, Lulu extended her left hand.
A mixture of shadows and black flame began to coalesce around her arm, and slip through her fingers. The energy fell, like a miniature waterfall, from Lulu's hand to the tabletop, where it expanded till it covered the surface completely. Slowly, with great care, the shadowy flames rose from the table, forming a diagram that displayed a good portion of Bikenel Island.
"Djose Stronghold is here." Lulu waved her hand. The diagram rippled, changing its scale so Djose Fortress was the prominent image. "The Stronghold is our target. If we can capture it, we'll have completed our objective. However, Djose has fortified settlements to the north, west, east, and south. These settlements proved food, troops, stone, lumber, metal, and Gil to Djose. And, above all, they serve as an early detection system, making sure Djose knows of any attack well in advance."
"Then why not capture these settlements?" Tidus reflexively asked.
"The Southern Settlement is the closest fortress to our camp. Our reconnaissance indicates that it's walled in, and houses over thirty catapults along its wall. A direct attack would be futile, and as long as it has access to the other fortresses, it won't be possible to starve them out."
"Perhaps we could patrol the roads leading to and from this settlement, to stop any incoming supplies." Seymour suggested.
"Djose has enlisted the aid of mercenaries. At the moment, they have camps along the road from the Southern Fort to Djose. They're building guard towers and walls, to help protect the roads."
"Then should we not act to prevent the completion of these protective measures?" Lucil asked.
"That isn't our biggest concern. Djose Stronghold also has a port to the northwest. As long as they control their port, they'll be able to bring in supplies and reinforcements."
"Then we can lunch a naval strike on their port, while attacking their southern fort by land." Tidus suggested.
"The Djose harbor is defended by massive walls, and long range Ballistae. They could take out half our fleet before we had the in weapons range, ya." The Besaid Admiral said.
"I notice, no offence intended, that you are listing all of the problems with this campaign, and simultaneously explaining why we are unable to rectify the problems." Bevelle's representative said, slowly. "I think it worth mentioning, since you brought up the subject of ships, that the Grand Armada of Yevon is, and has been since I received General Lulu request for assistance, on standby."
"You…have an armada on standby?" Lucil asked, stunned by this revelation; Bevelle was landlocked; it's only sources of water coming from the aqueducts throughout the city.
"Yes. Recently, by mutual convinces of course, Killika Port joined Yenon. With their position, and our, both natural and superfluous, resources, we began developing our naval forces."
"So, you have a fleet, ya? Then why's it on standby, instead of here?"
"When I received word of General Lulu's request, at the behest of myself, funds were allocated for Bevelle's involvement. However, most unfortunately, the Gil that has been permitted for this…conflict is inadequate to bring the Grand Armada of Yevon into battle."
"You want us to pay to use your ships?" Tidus asked.
"No. I'm saying that if you want to use my fleet, you'll have to pay the crew's wages."
"Let me guess! They get paid some obscene amount, ya?" The Besaid Admiral asked.
"Not at all. The rowers are given four Gil a day, archers are given three Gill, except on days when they're in battle; when in battle, their pay is increased to fifteen. And the men who man the Ballista are paid eight Gil a day. Altogether, it costs one thousand four hundred and seventy Gil to keep a ship in nonbattle service, per day. It would only cost nine hundred forty thousand and eight hundred Gil to bring the Grand Armada from Killika Port to here. Not even a full HiGill. Well, you would also have to feed the crew. But that won't cost much."
"We will consider your offer." General Lulu said, before her admiral could cry out in protest. "Until then, I would like to speak with Commander Lucil. In privet. This meeting is over, you are dismissed. May Valfor's blessing be with you."
Tidus stood, as did the others, and walked out of the tent. He headed back to his ships, wondering if he was doing the right thing, listening to his father; Tidus didn't understand why Zanarkend should involve itself in a war such as this, when other matters were more pressing. Tidus mumbled a prayer to Ifrit, the Patron God of Zanarkend, before stepping back on his ship; he prayed that Djose would fall quickly, and Yuna would be rescued swiftly, so that he could return to Zanarkend as soon as possible.