Mountaineer

Dearest Sister (And, to a lesser extent, Dad),

I can't say anything that might be of military value, including where I am, what I'm doing, or who I'm with. Even if I did, it'd be censored, so this's just a note to say I'm still alive and not hurt. It's weird...I never knew there was so many nice people in the army.[Office of the Galbadian Military Censor :)]

Anyway, I've no news and even if I had I couldn't tell you. See you soon,

Z.

Thrustaevis looked up.

"He wrote?"

Marcus shrugged. "See a wire,cut it. Basic military tenet nowadays."

"There's no date. How long'd this take to get here?"

"Depends on how stable the front is. He could be doing anything right now."


Trevor's vertical slash impacted hard with the Dollet's shoulder, knocking the man to his knees, and then three of them were on him, clubbing with their flats.

"Don't kill me! I have kids!" the soldier shrieked, shielding his face. The Galbadians hesitated. Briefly. Trev smiled.

"We're Galbadian. Country's full of orphans. Nothing to be ashamed of. And using kids as bargaining chips doesn't say much for you."

Dell reached them.

"Stop torturing the poor bastard. We have work to do." They disarmed him, broke fingers, and moved on. A regimented sweep of the mountains was close to impossible so now they were back to working in squads of twenty. Escorting prisoners would diminish their numbers, but it was hard to kill Dollet soldiers. They were almost cute. The attempted Dollet retreat ran right into monsters displaced from other parts of the mountains, and had dissolved into chaos. The Galbadian units, prepared for concerted resistance, had instead walked into a mess of Dollet military fighting Geezards and Anacondaurs. Dell was cagey about why, but there had to have been some battles up here to stir things up so much.

We don't have junctions, but we have some good generals.

Their orders were to continue disabling Dollet troops until they met a serious counterattack, but well into their third day in Dollet, nothing had materialised. The Dollet Generals had poured soldiers into the monster ridden mountains, sacrificing a great deal of personnel in order to create inhospitable conditions for an organised offensive. Despite inflicting massive damage and gaining control of the city, the Galbadian momentum was slowing. Dollet was most likely using the time to fortify positions, and the Galbadian army could do very little about it. Towards noon, a squad member called Jeremy stepped on an Anacondaur, which instantly coiled around the offending leg. Between them, they saved his life, but not without multiple broken bones, which resulted in four squad members escorting him home. Dell could heal most things, but breaks needed to be set first.

Their personnel were rapidly diminishing. One of the messengers, Sam, had taken a bullet in the shin while running messages, and while he'd been healed, he retained a limp and hadn't been able to keep up with them. Dell had ordered him to guard the fountain in the Central Square, in the now almost entirely pacified city. It'd keep him out of danger.

So now, their squad of twenty was down to fourteen. Not as bad as it could have been, and everyone was still alive, but as luck would have it, Dellian Harris was an officer that liked to lead the charge, and his patrol in the thick of what little action there was. Most of the other units had deployed quick, needle strikes and withdrawn to let the monsters do the work, but Dell wanted more than that. If two of his closer underlings hadn't been willing to argue, they'd have walked right into the mess, but instead, they were crawling through rocks, having circled the melee to find the boundaries of the Dollet territory. Downside being that there was no easy retreat. Presuming the Dollet army could muster up something that fourteen annoyed soldiers couldn't deal with. So far, there'd only been a handful of snipers in their path.

It was Trev who first spotted something big and metallic, and waved the rest of them over. The soldiers had been crawling through boulders left over from a landslide, and it took some time for them to quietly join him. The trail through the mountains which they had been following from the fringes was blocked by a bulky military mortar, twelve to fifteen feet high, vertically pointing barrel almost three wide. Three Dollet soldiers were manning it, under metal canopies extending from the frame. Zephon could tell at a glance that a thunder spell would hit the canopy and earth without damage, and the machine's bulk itself protected the operators from the front – they were only visible to the Galbadians because the soldiers were slightly higher than them and at an acute angle. The main gun was idle, but two soldiers were operating machine guns set into the sides, barrels tracking the trail. The Galbadian were close, but not level with the gun, and there was no easy way to get there from where they stood. Between them, they could probably destroy the mortar, but not without taking casualties. Signalling Trev and another soldier to keep an eye on the machine, Dell slid back to confer with the others.

"We've reached the edge of the Dolletian fortified positions, boys and girls. And..."

They waited.

"There's not much we can do. We can sit here and do nothing, or we can try to annoy them a little and see what the reaction is like. In these rocks, none of the weapons we can see can target us, so they'll have to bring out something more, it's a good way of seeing what they have in reserve. Once they know we're here, they have to deal with us quickly and decisively, so we'll be hit hard. It's an opportunity, but we could take heat for doing it. Who's a fast runner?"

Never, ever volunteer. Principle of survival for all foot soldiers. The silence stretched, punctuated by creaks from the mortar.

"Fine." He picked two soldiers, apparently at random.

"Once Dollet reacts, the Major needs to know what kind of response they've got. I might not get the chance to give the order, so you two hang back a bit, and once the rest of us are engaged, and you have a clear idea what we're up against, bolt." The selected soldiers slid away from the others.

Twelve G-soldiers, about to try bring a Dollet counteroffensive down on themselves.

Zephon slid over to Trev. The other soldier looked up.

"Hey. How're you feeling?"

"Pretty good considering. You? How're you finding the grand life of the Galbadian military machine?"

"What I expected, although I could've wished we weren't at war on my first da−"

The mortar creaked, and their heads turned.

"...ready to take on that thing?" Zephon.

"Um, we won't be running up the firing line... I hope. "

"You never know, maybe we're the sacrifice to test its capabilities."

Long silence.

Zephon sighed. "Card game?"


Into their third match, Dell made his way over.

"Time's up, boys. Zephon, let them know we're here."

"Me? Again?"

"Yup. Rookie mistake, kiddo, you showed me you were useful."

...Shit.

"I'm not going to do any damage, you know. They're under an earthed canopy."

"Who cares? We're just trying to get their attention."

"Fine. Thunder!" He hadn't bothered to aim, ended up hitting the peak of the mortar, sparks running down the side. Two Dollet soldiers looked up, guns swivelling, and Dell opened up with his wrist mounted machine gun. A lucky deflection nicked a Dollet soldier's hand, but it was just a scrape, and the enemy soon responded in kind. Their machine guns were focused on the trail, not the scree to either side, and it was an awkward angle to shoot at. Dell Protected himself, before having the others retreat and lazily exchanging fire with the machine gunners, standing up to display his armour before lying down behind the rocks again.

Zephon went back to his cards as bullets crackled around them. Five fanned in his left hand, his right touched his sword hilt. Time passed, and the crackle of gunfire thinned out, and then stopped. More and more soldiers began playing cards, until only Dell and two others were even paying the Dolletians any attention. He'd stopped wasting ammunition long since, and even the Dolletians stopped bothering to pointlessly shoot rocks. Eventually, Dellian slithered back to his squad, leaving the two footsoldiers to keep an eye on the machine.

"Something's wrong, boys. We should be fighting half a regiment right now. For all they know, there's a full army up here, they can't just leave us alone. It's insane not to counterattack."

"Maybe they don't have enough soldiers left. We shredded the units in the city, and they know we'll destroy whatever they react with." Paul, one of the other soldiers, was smiling as he spoke, well aware of the response but seeking clarification for the others.

"Tactics are good, boy, but sometimes you just have to say 'Chaaaargee!'. The longer they leave us be, the more we dig in and the harder it'll be to root us out. We'll slaughter the counterattack, but while we're slaughtering them, we'll be occupied, so we can't fortify positions or gain territory. What are they waiting for? I want sentries on all sides, and don't forget to look up and down too. Anyone left over, how dare you start card games without me. We need a proper tournament structure."

More time passed. Zephon lost a Geezard from his deck, gained a Thrustaevis and a Creeps. The quarter finals had just started when the sentry beckoned. The mortar had gained a new gun crew. Zephon didn't immediately recognise their uniforms, until Dell softly cursed. "Seed..."

A great deal more cursing ensued, from various squad members.

There were five of them, each appearing decidedly...ordinary... to Zephon's eyes. A tall, moderately muscled man had a warhammer slung on his back, but moved lightly for his size. Another carried a handheld machine gun, and he was scanning the trail, ribbons of ammunition rattling when he moved. A dark haired girl had a whip wound around her waist, inch long barbs glinting along its length. Another man carried an ordinary sword, a touch thinner than the Galbadian military issue weapon, while the last girl carried no visible weapon at all. All of them moved like soldiers, but there were no filed teeth, tattoos, or badges denoting their allegiance. None of them looked over twenty five.

The empty handed girl spoke. "Are you sure they want us to shell the city, Al-"

"No names! And yes, I'm sure. If Dollet soldiers shelled a city full of civilians, there'd be an outcry, but if we do it, they can pin it on us." Sword shrugged.

"And...are we going to?"

"Orders are orders." Hammer. "It's intentional. It's either make the entire city hate us, or break our contract. We can't afford to be seen as disloyal."

"...Our... commanders will teach the Duke the error of his ways later, but for now, we've a job to do." Whip. "I won't let our Instructors down."

Instructor?

Sword smiled. "And you have a particular one in mind, right? Geez, T-13, you're a qualified Seed. Let go of Teacher, you're older than she is!"

"Shut up. Now."

Sword raised his hands. "Well, I don't want to incur the wrath of the mighty cult of T, so I'll shut up now. Although I am your commander by the way. Let's do this."

"Drama queen." Machine Gun.

"What do you want me to say? 'Let's mosey'? Just do it!"

"...fine."

Machine gun reached for the stack of shells, and Hammer and Unarmed began helping him operate the mortar. Whip and Sword manned the machine gun positions. Dell beckoned the soldiers back around him.

"And here we have the Dolletian's trump card, boys and girls. SeeD. They may look harmless, but those guys are fucking lethal. No more messing, boys, if we give them the slightest opening they'll tear us apart."

"We're taking them head on!" Four veteran soldiers would have shouted had the Seeds not been close by.

"We have to. Messengers, once you get an opening, bolt like Cerberus is on your tail. Because he could be. Tactically, stay spread out as much as you can, we don't need to all be taken out by an area effect spell or GF."

Ahead, the mortar roared. The soldiers spread out, ten feet apart, crouched at the fringes of the scree. Dell extended a shaking hand and fired.

Unarmed yelped as a burst of machine gun rounds punched into her ankle, but she didn't even fall, Protect spell sliding into place almost instantly. Screams of surprise rose from the Seeds, and the machine gunners opened up. But the Turrets fared no better than they had when the Dolletians used them. Those soldiers who had Protect spells stocked shielded themselves.

But the Galbadians were no longer fighting Dollet soldiers. These were Seeds, and once Protection was in place, Hammer stepped into view. Nine Fire spells and a Thunder directly struck his head, knocking the Seed to his knees, but Unarmed sent a Cura his way, immediately followed by a Shell. The Galbadians continued to pour on magic and bullets, but he didn't fall, standing firm until he suddenly faded from view. A cylinder of flame took his place, and then a huge demon was floating above them with small fires burning across its skin. Barrel chest, horns, disproportionately small legs. The shockwaves from the thing's weight hitting the ground staggered the few soldiers who had gained their feet, as the red monstrosity leapt back into the air, ball of molten rock twenty feet across forming in its wake as Galbadians scrambled in various directions – somewhere, anywhere, so long as it was away from that thing and its lavaball.

The demon was not unscathed. Some of its fur was charred and brittle, accepting as it had the spells aimed at its handler. Nonetheless, none of them were inclined to challenge it in full manifestation, and Zephon turned his back on the thing as it reached the peak of its arc, until he was blasted off his feet. Rolling down the haphazard pile of rocks, he felt bruises being to form under his armour as he came to a stop.

Where the scree had been was a crater twenty feet across and four deep, cooling rock hissing in the air. As he watched, the sides caved in, steam and smog rising into the sky. Of the demon, there was no sign. Of Paul the G-Soldier, only a glint of molten metal at the bottom of the crater hinted that he had ever existed. The Seeds had reappeared, but in the instant it took for them to orient themselves, the Galbadians were in full flight. Hindered by their own crater, the Seeds did not pursue.

Dell managed to halt them before they scattered into the monster filled mountains. He wouldn't have, if a soldier hadn't fallen, and three more soldiers tripped over him, causing the rest to skid to a halt.

"I will shoot the next man to move." Well, that was one way to get their attention.

"Bullets or fire? At least this way there'll be a corpse to bury."

"Did you see that? That little spark..."

"Captain, come on, there's no way can take on that thing." The Galbadians, many of them bearing minor burns or shading their eyes, were almost screaming, but they weren't reaching for their swords.

"We have to end this here, boys. You heard them, they're going to shell the city. The G-army is garrisoned there, and Dollet's civilians. We don't have to kill the Seeds, just mess up the workings of that mortar."

"Playing the hero, Captain? Fuck that." Gillian

"Listen to me! The Galbadian army are sweeping the mountains, and we have orders to withdraw into the city once we meet resistance. If they start shelling the city, our retreat will be disrupted, seriously slowed down, and you've seen what happens in direct conflict with Seed. If we end up trapped in the city that's being shelled, fighting Seeds in close quarters, the casualty rates will be phenomenal. We could lose the entire fucking army. Messengers, are you still here? Bolt. Head home, tell every G-Soldier you can find that we have Seeds up here; it's time for a full withdrawal. We're probably the unit that's deepest in Dollet territory, which makes us the rearguard. We're the sacrifice so that the rest of the army can get out of here. I'm not going to abandon you; I'll be leading the fucking charge, on my own if I have to be. But I am not letting any of you walk away."

Hahaha...awesome career choice, Zephon. Fan fucking tastic.

...Oh well, at least Dad and Sis'll get the payout. I wonder what my life's worth to the Galbadian army? I'm not a veteran, but I'm in the vanguard, that should count for something. Posthumous medal, maybe. That's gotta be worth a few grand. Private life insurance, that's 100K for a death, minus the cost of my gear and training, so that's 92 or 3. My first month's wages'll make that ninety six, and the state funeral, if there's enough left of me to bury, that'll be a spared expense. But then there's whether they'll charge to ship me home. Thrustaevis'll pay it, she can be sentimental like that, sorry Sis, but it's true. And then...

Trev poked his shoulder. "You okay? What're you thinking?"

"Maths."

His jaw twitched. "Uh...right. Been nice knowing you."

"Thanks. Likewise."

Dell looked at them. "Time to go boys." The Galbadians began walking up the slope. They weren't running, but neither were they bolting in the opposite direction. The mortar roared.

Just short of the peak, Dell stopped, gestured his two favourite soldiers to follow him. "The rest of you, stay back until you hear the bang or me screaming. I have one last trick to help us out."

He stepped up to the peak and they heard him shout "Quake!" The magically inclined among the soldiers smiled. That was a powerful 'trick', rarely issued even to officers. He'd probably had the spell tucked away in the back of his head for years. The crash of clashing rocks pounded in their ears for an instant, and then Dell screamed at them to join him. "And stay fanned out!"

They took the 'ten foot apart' formation and ran up the slope, running directly down the path the machine guns had been covering five minutes ago. The mortar had been knocked on its side by the Quake, and enough fresh rock had fallen into the crater to make it passable, if cautious travelling. The Seeds were gone. When they reached him, Dell beckoned them on into what appeared to be the mouth of a tunnel set into a cliff wall, big enough to drive a military vehicle into.

"One of them's hurt, mortar fell on him. This's our chance!"

Hang on, weren't we just supposed to−

"Hurry it up, kid!" Zephon put on a burst of speed, bypassing most of the squad until he and Trevor, as the youngest, were running in the van. They passed through an open heavy oak door bound in iron, and confronted a suspiciously empty corridor with an ominous corner ahead. Trev broke stride, Zephon kept going at full speed.

Had he slowed to turned the corner, he would have been skewered by Sword, who jabbed hard as he came into view, but his momentum carried him past the strike and he spun and slashed his attackers throat before Sword could attack again- a killing strike for someone who wasn't junctioned. Sword hit his knees, and Machine Gun drove his shoulder into Zephon's stomach, a hard impact even through armour, knocking the G-Soldier onto his back as the Seed tried to level his weapon. Had Trevor, coming behind, not rammed his swordpoint into the Seed's armpit, Zephon would have been riddled. The momentum enhanced thrust should have punched through the ribcage and emerged under the Seed's other arm, but his junctions prevented total penetration, and no more than six inches of blade was buried in the Seed. It seemed to have penetrated a lung nonetheless, as the Seed collapsed, gasping.

Whip-girl cast a Protect across the width of the corridor, repelling the Galbadians' next attacks as Unarmed tried to heal the others, Hammer having suffered a crushed ribcage under the fallen mortar before the others had dragged him out. She followed up with a Fira, forcing the Galbadians back around the corner, following them a heartbeat later after casting a shell. Standing out from cover, she regarded the Galbadians before her, and...stood still.

"She's summoning! Run!"

Zephon never found out who had made that call, except that it hadn't been Dell. Again, speed borne of youth, light armour, and terror had them outstripping their fellows, and he and Trev were the first through the door. They skidded to a stop to find a sudden chill in the air, and turned to find a lance of ice bursting up from the ground where Whip Girl had been. With a woman with long blonde hair and blue skin inside it. It was clear that none of them would outrun the attack...two Galbadians were down just from the shards of the Blizzara. As Ice Woman gathered her power, Zephon lunged for the door and slammed it shut, wedging his sword into a flagstone behind it. Screams of rage from trapped G-soldiers reached their ears. The heavy door shivered under the weight of the attack, and then...silence.

Zephon turned to Trev. "Shit. That was close. Let's go."

Trev looked at him. "Go?" He was still holding his sword, and now slowly moved it into an attacking stance. "You shut them in, to face that, and now you're just going to leave?"

Zephon, swordless, backed away. "Trev, wait. Think about this. If I hadn't done that, that attack would have caught us all, I had to do it. I had to!"

"Maybe...but you're just going to bolt now? Leave them?"

"Leave them? You really think any of them are still alive? Even if they are, what can we do? Those're Seed in there! Seed! What exactly do you think we can do?"

He slipped one hand behind his back, allowed Fire to gather in it. "I'm not staying. Back off, Trev, I really don't want to hurt you."

The door shivered in its frame. Trevor took another step towards his friend.

"Maybe we can't do anything. But I can't just walk away, and I'm not letting you just wash your hands of this, you cold blooded bastard."

"Come on, I can't drag you with me. Put down the sword, PLEASE!"

"Do what he says." The voice came from beyond the door.

Trev glanced sideways. "You enjoying this, Seed?"

"Not really. Now, I can't tear this door off its hinges without bringing down the ceiling too, so I'll have to wait for my friends to heal. That gives you about a minutes' head start, so no matter what you do, we'll catch up anyway. Do whatever you like, it won't matter. But if you're going to die, at least let us do it, and you'll do someone a favour by raising our ranks a little."

Trevor turned to fully face the door, literally spitting in his rage, and Zephon's Fire Spell hit him in the jaw, knocking him backwards into the wall. Zephon was already running by the time the spell impacted, and didn't see whether Trevor Martin got up again or not.

And thus concludes the battle of Dollet, folks. Please review, compliments not compulsory.

Author's notes:

I'm taking Ifrit, Shiva, and Quezacoatl to be the 'standard issue' GFs of Garden that every graduate has. Every student has to go through the Fire Cavern, right?

Zephon and Trevor were in front, but they escaped first. They're fresh from training, young, and not all the soldiers heard the call, so they still got out before anyone else. I know having to kill your best friend is a cliche, but I did it anyway. Oh well. This chapter didn't at all turn out the way I intended it.