The Albrook Reports

by espritduo

Like Strago and his book of monsters, Cid made a great many reports on the machines and human threats to be found across the FFVI world. As an Imperial scientist, he had inside knowledge of such things, and now I present that knowledge here in a series of confidential reports from both before and after the Collapse, known as "The Albrook Reports".

2. The Guard

Report 999-01: The Narshe Guard

Reconnaissance missions indicate an increased training regiment has been recently instituted for the basic Narshe guard since the last annual report on this subject. Typically these soldiers were from the rank and file of the Narshe citizenry, no more trained in war than a farmer. Many of them were former miners disgruntled at the overly neutral stance the city has taken on Imperial affairs, but not prone to outright violence without provocation. There was a time a few years ago when simple Imperial soldiers of the lowest class would have been sufficient to subdue any rebellious threats they posed to our envoys. Those days of lax peace keeping are over, I am afraid.

Now, a new element has begun to creep into the Narshe mindset, and the new breed of guard is a volatile, ill-tempered malcontent with nothing better to do than play at war. I fear there is a distinct possibility of Returner involvement in these new opinions towards the Empire. Even worse, they have begun training with weapons far more dangerous than the usual axe or pick. I have reports of guards actually wielding guns that look suspiciously of Figaro make. Several Imperial messengers have even been brutally beaten for merely setting foot onto Narshe territory. This is unacceptable, and we must look into sending stronger forces in response to them.

I do not wish to see more Imperial soldiers senselessly endangered by these brutes, and suggest sending either mechanized envoys via Telstar technology or at most three Magitek Armor units. Less than this and I feel the threat posed by these new guards is too high. More, and I feel we are falling into the same trap as the Narshe City Guard. Now is not the time for overkill, and we must not bludgeon the Narshe City Guard over the head with overwhelming power.

That being said, one must consider the limited battle capabilities of these guards when dealing with them. Slightly better armed and slightly angrier they may be, but they are still just simple miners, farmers, or even boys barely into adulthood. They wear no armor besides an iron shield and the basic tanned vomammoth hide typical in the north, and besides a few isolated reports of guns, most still wield nothing more than a single melee weapon such as an axe, pick, or morning star. Simply put, they are not so much a threat that we should send an entire battalion every time we meet with them, as some foolish high-ranking general may have suggested at our last assembly. They are just men trying to defend their homes against what they feel is an unfair war.

I must remind our forces at this point that the Narshe City Guard is not merely comprised of human guards with limited battle experience, but routinely uses Silver Lobos and Vomammoths as support animals. While a trio of Magitek Armors will not find such a battle taxing, a single soldier, or even a small squadron, may find themselves overwhelmed if they attempt to force their way through an angry group of these hybrid battalions. The guard may yield and run, but the wolf and mammoth will fight to the death, and must not be taken lightly.

My suggestion for the coming effort to enfold Narshe into Imperial territory is to take no further action at this time. They have remained neutral thus far and continue to trade on a limited, but manageable level. The more we push them with our excessive shows of force, the more they will side with the growing Returner element that I feel has most likely taken a solid foothold within the city. The Narshe guard is small and relatively weak at this time, but we should not take that as an excuse to bully them into submission merely for bragging rights.

One disturbing detail I feel I must report is the rumor of Narshe guards appearing here in the Imperial Capital, as spies for the Returners. I assure our forces that no such thing could possibly have occurred, and the very moment a Returner element might attempt any sort of espionage effort here in Vector, it would be flushed out and eradicated. That is all for this annual report for the year 999 PW.