When the camp next set up, they stayed for awhile—longer than most were used to at this point. For the first couple of days, Andromeda simply worked around the camp as she came out of her numb mood. Once she was recovered, she sought out Sonam, who had made himself scarce ever since the tents had been pitched.
Everyone knew where he was; a tent had been set up specifically to keep their hostage in. Andromeda learned all about him through the gossip circulating around camp: after she had run off, Sonam had decided to take the mech pilot captive while the rebels had been retreating. The pilot turned out to be the general who had presided at the large base while Dalton had been away on business in Niflheim.
She pulled her mask up over her face before she entered the tent. No one was allowed to reveal their face near the hostage, in order to keep their identities secret. It wasn't just to protect them, but their families at home as well. Sonam seemed to be exempt from this rule—the general already knew who he was from years before.
The captive knelt more or less in the center of the dirt floor. His hands and ankles were bound behind him, a rope tying the two together to enforce his kneeling. His borrowed clothes were ragged and he was a little dirty, but overall he looked unharmed, and fed. His dark hair was disheveled, yet not enough to suggest violence. Despite his predicament, the general's sharp face was proud, with some resentment mixed in.
Klahan was also present, standing slightly behind the captive. He was the only other person Sonam allowed into the tent. They had been working together on the hostage.
After a couple of seconds to take in the scene, Andromeda spoke Galahdian as she demanded, "Why is he still here?"
"I told you and Hira both to stay away from this tent." Sonam turned to her, annoyed. "I thought you understood that."
"He'll lead the whole Imperial Army to us," She pointed out. "They'll burn down the whole jungle to find him, and they don't care who gets hurt. He's seen too much already. You should have killed him on the field."
The rebel leader stepped away from the general and closer to Andromeda, to confront her with some privacy. She did not flinch at what may come.
"Don't let your emotions cloud your judgment," He warned.
"I haven't—if I did, I wouldn't be anywhere near camp," She countered.
"He has information. He knows what the Imperials plan for Galahd, what will happen when that base is complete, and how they're going to deal with the rebellion once and for all," Sonam explained. "We need that information to counteract them."
"Everything he's saying could be a lie," Andromeda said. "They're good at it. They've killed a bunch of us. I've watched three die. You should take his life—it still won't be as many casualties as the Imperials have cost us. Or at the very least, leave him stranded in the jungle to die out there."
He shook his head. "Revenge will only lead to more bloodshed on both sides, with no end. It won't gain us independence. Did you forget that? I didn't take you on just so you can enact vengeance on the Imperials. You're the tool I use against them. Your power has caused plenty of death among them, at the hands of their own MTs. Isn't that enough?" He paused, but did not expect an answer. "You're allowed to have your feelings, but don't act on them unless I say so. Do you understand that?"
She frowned, crossing her arms. "I do. But you should remember those who aren't going to see freedom."
Behind Sonam, the general leaned to one side to get a look around him. He smirked as he spoke up in the common tongue, addressing Andromeda: "Why do you hide your face? It's so obvious you don't belong here. Everyone knows who you are. General Lysander has been looking for you. Among others back in Niflheim."
She scowled at his words, then looked to Sonam. He frowned as well, but gave an acceding nod as permission.
"I have no words for a Nif," Andromeda told the general, switching to common.
"A lot of lives could be spared and violence prevented, if you just come back to the Imperials," The general went on. "We all know how important it is that you stay alive."
"You're stupid to think I'll believe an Imperial's word," She snapped.
"This isn't your fight. Do you really think the Galahdians would let you stay here without that power?" He suggested. "Wasn't that power used to kill them in the first place?"
He knew more than she would have guessed. Of course he would; he had been presiding in Dalton's place. He was inner circle.
Andromeda stepped in front of him, holding her head up high to look down at him. Her menacing demeanor only slightly dampened his smugness.
"You know my name. What's yours?" She asked, although she was indifferent to it already.
"Sergius," He answered simply. She presumed that was only his last name.
"Sonam has shown you a lot of kindness—more than you deserve," Andromeda pointed out. "Your life has been spared because he has a no-kill rule. If he gives the word, no one in camp would hesitate to slit your throat. You should keep that in mind."
The general sneered in return. "You might have these Galahdians convinced that you're helping them, but you're just going to drag them all down with you when the Empire comes for you."
She brought her foot up and kicked him hard in the side of the head, knocking him aside. Sergius fell onto his side in the dirt, sputtering.
Klahan and Sonam immediately sprung upon her. The latter pulled her away, but he only had to give a slight tug—Andromeda willingly walked away, finished.
"You are getting out of control." He warned as he followed her outside of the tent. "I don't want you anywhere near here again."
She didn't give him her word on it, but she felt finished with the hostage. Instead, she had a warning of her own: "Get rid of him."
Andromeda walked away after that to find something to do. She worried that Sergius's lies might influence Sonam. He was spending a lot of time alone with him, and Klahan might just as easily be influenced. He wasn't always enough to convince Sonam against his own decisions. Their leader might decide to hand Andromeda over to the Imperials, if Sergius threatened enough bloodshed otherwise. The Empire didn't let anything get in the way of what they wanted: not the jungle, nor the people.
When the camp moved again, Andromeda stayed as far away from Sergius as possible—she joined the scouts ahead of the group, with Hira. It was just as Sonam wanted.
When the camp was established again, the two women busied themselves with hunting and foraging, staying out of the camp and surveying the nearby area for activity. It was when they were dragging a dead chicatrice back to camp that they encountered someone in the jungle. They quickly realized that it was another Galahdian, and a familiar one: Thaksin, the tall, menacing man who often accompanied Kunzang.
The women stopped their dragging as he jogged over to them. He looked worn, yet relieved at the sight of them.
"Are you from Sonam's camp?" Thaksin asked hurriedly.
"We are," Hira said in apprehension. No one had ever sought a camp out on their own like this, with no supplies.
"I must speak with Sonam," Thaksin said.
Neither woman asked what was wrong. They gave small nods, then continued their way back to camp with bird and man in tow. They knew him, and that he was trustworthy if he was an Elder's assistant, but the fact that he had left that Elder's side to wander the jungles was a bad sign.
When they returned, Hira and Andromeda simply dropped the dead bird near the mess tent. They ignored any complaints from others nearby that they weren't staying around to finish dressing their own kill. Those complaints quickly died away as they realized the two women had brought someone back with them.
Hira and Andromeda didn't have to ask around much before they found Sonam taking stock in a supply tent. He likewise spotted them and the newcomer right away. He stepped away, his expression immediately concerned.
"This can't be good," He said once they were close enough.
"It isn't," Thaksin confirmed. The words tumbled out—not at all like the loud, measured tone he was known for. "Kunzang has been taken from his home by the Imperials. They ordered me to find you and deliver a message: they'll return to Kotun with Kunzang in a week and occupy the village, holding everyone within it hostage, until you return the general you have."
Sonam muttered a few choice swears to himself. Despite the fact that he switched languages in between, Andromeda understood every word. The profanities were among the first words she had learned in Galahdian.
Thankfully, he had already moved Bulan and the children somewhere else, but Sonam still had a lot of family in his hometown. As far as Andromeda knew, the Empire had never moved against the Elders like this. They knew the Elders had been supporting the resistance, even if the Elders had always denied the allegations. Regardless, they were innocent, and frail.
The rebel leader considered the news for a couple of minutes while the three waited for his verdict. The Empire had hit close to home for him. It was just as Andromeda and Sergius had warned him.
"We have to get to Kotun before the week is up. You two, see to Thaksin's needs," Sonam ordered, having made up his mind. He turned to the other man with sympathy. "I'm sorry, but you can't rest quite yet."
"I'll be fine," Thaksin assured.
Sonam nodded, then raised his voice so anyone in the vicinity would hear him. "Start packing up. We're moving at dawn."
Andromeda and Hira did not immediately help everyone as they started to pack away things. Instead, they led Thaksin to the mess tent for a meal. They were quite a distance from Kotun—it was likely that he had been wandering for days in search of them. With how frequently the camp used to move, there was no way any civilian would be able to easily track them down. Thaksin was very lucky he managed to do it at all.
"The general is somewhere here?" He assumed.
"Yes. He's alive," Andromeda confirmed.
"Good," He said. "The Imperials would have attacked the village if one of their generals had been killed by rebels."
He didn't know that Imperials had been dying, but not by rebel hands. She didn't explain it to him. She only shared a glance with Hira. This had taken a very bad turn.
Sonam had the camp move quickly to Kotun, not bothering with any of the precautions they had taken before. It saved them some time as they moved at a faster pace. They hardly saw any Imperial activity on the roads, and stayed away from those roads.
The Empire had made its demand, and expected him to comply. Andromeda was surprised that they had not asked for her as well. She fell into step with Sonam as they approached the village, arriving two days early. He had had the camp drop most of their gear off with another camp they had come across, making arrangements to pick it up within a couple of days. Traveling lightly helped them to get further ahead and make good time.
"This is set up to be a trap," Andromeda warned. "The Nifs are willing to occupy a whole village for the return of one man."
"I see the same thing," Sonam acknowledged. "When the Imperials arrive, I want you out of sight, and you cannot disobey this time."
"I understand."
"And you cannot use that chaos—not only will they know you're there, but it's too dangerous for something as delicate as this," He explained. "I plan to hand off the general peacefully, but I know they have something more planned. Hopefully those Lucian weapons will prove useful."
They arrived in Kotun that evening. Sonam spoke with the locals and other Elders to get the full story, then explained to them that they had to leave in the morning. They were surprised and balked slightly, but Thaksin was there to support his claim. Immediately, everyone set about packing up the most valuable belongings in the village.
Sonam, Andromeda, and a few other rebels stayed in his house for the night. It felt oddly empty without Narayan and Malai there. The cramped house was suddenly too big, despite the adults occupying it for the night. Andromeda had come to associate the house with children's games and holiday celebrations. It didn't seem like the same place without Sonam's family around.
By morning, the rebels finished helping the locals pack up their most valuable possessions and supplies. They then ushered them out of town. A couple of people who owned vehicles made a few trips back and forth to the next town over to get everyone to safety. Only Thaksin stayed, with the goal of getting Kunzang away from the scene as soon as possible. His help was gladly welcomed.
By sunset, the village had been evacuated of everyone but rebels. They began to fortify the store and several houses in the heart of the village, tearing down fences and shutters to make barricades. A large gun was set up near a window of the store on the second floor, which had been where the shopkeeper lived with his family. Andromeda learned that it was one of the gifts from the Lucians: an anti-tank rifle. She couldn't help but think of how useful it would have been in their previous attack—it could have saved Tshering's life. It would have created an entirely different mess, but he would have been alive.
Once night fell, everyone gathered in the store. The wards still remained around the village, preventing any daemons from entering. Everyone could feel it: it was the calm before the storm.
Sonam stood before them all, in front of the counter. With the last of the fortifications complete, the rebels waited for his next order, growing restless in anticipation for the morning.
"This is not a battle. We are not here to fight," He began, disappointing some. "The Imperials want General Sergius returned to them, and I will gladly do so. But I'm not a fool to think they come in peace. They have their own scheme in the works, and there's no telling what that is until it's too late. I didn't want to bring the fighting into our homes and villages, and I hope no fighting will come tomorrow. The Imperials will bring a fight, and we'll show them to regret it."
A few rebels gave a whoop at that. There could be no other way this would go down without a fight. They were prepared for one, despite Sonam's claim that this wasn't going to be a battle. Andromeda wondered who among them would be dead by the following night.
"I want most of you stationed in these fortified buildings, ready to act the moment the hand-off goes south," Sonam instructed. "The big damn gun upstairs will handle any tank or mech or whatever big hunk of metal the Imperials bring with them. We can expect a few hordes of MTs, but there will also be a lot of exposed humans. Be careful in combat—we don't want to sour this any more by killing a general. Take up your positions. Those going on watch, switch out now."
There was a lot of shuffling as everyone moved to leave. They all already knew where they were going to be positioned for this, and who was taking watch through the night. They ran the village essentially as they did camp, but with the expectation of an attack.
"Andromeda, Hira," Sonam called the two women to him before they could leave with the others. They stayed behind. "Take position with the gun upstairs. I want you out of sight, but I want to know where you are, and I want you to see when things go south. That gun is in the perfect vantage point. It'll keep both of you out of the fight and keep you from killing anyone. That gun requires two people to operate. Shoot at anything big the Imperials bring with them, but only when the fighting starts."
"Yes, sir," Hira said, and Andromeda echoed. She was glad to know she would have some task in this, other than staying hidden out of sight. If that had been the case, then why bring her along at all?
With their new orders, the women went upstairs with a couple of other rebels. They quickly organized watch shifts and rested up for the next morning.
Scouts spotted the Imperial convoy around dawn. Sonam urged everyone to maintain their positions, hidden in the fortified buildings. The Imperial vehicles entered the village without incident. Andromeda watched as a few generals stepped out of their vehicles in front of the store, and noted that none of them were Dalton. Whatever the trap was, he was the one behind it.
The generals were surprised by the empty village and its barricaded buildings, quickly finding that they could not get into the store without force. Rather than do that, they positioned their troop of MTs, watching the area cautiously.
The Imperials hadn't planned on the rebels arriving before them, nor for the whole village to evacuate. They must have realized that the rebels had taken over the village, but they did not react. They instead waited in the village center with decrepit Kunzang standing among them. They did not react to any sort of trap set for them. Their confidence was telling.
Once the Imperial ensemble was in position and waiting, Sonam, Klahan, Thaksin, and a few other rebels escorted Sergius out into the open to meet them. The rebels were openly armed and Sergius's hands were still bound behind his back; they weren't being stupid about this.
Sonam had everyone stop with just a few meters between his group and the Imperials. Both parties sized one another up. The entire village was very still and quiet.
"I thought there would be more generals," He remarked.
The general one step ahead of his group returned, "We thought there would be more rebels."
"This doesn't have to turn nasty," Sonam replied.
"I agree," He nodded.
They went silent for a moment, continuing to size one another up, in search of that slight hint of a trap. No one moved. So far, the only big things the Imperials had brought were the transports meant for MT troops. Hira and Andromeda had the gun aimed at the nearest one.
"General Sergius looks to be in one piece," The general noted.
"We aren't savages, although sometimes it was tempting to remove his tongue," Sonam said. "I can't say you generals have shown the same kindness to my men."
"Leave the past in the past," The Imperial chided. "No one has harmed your Elder."
Sonam looked to Kunzang for confirmation. The old man nodded warily, but said nothing.
"We shouldn't waste any more time with chatter. Let's get the exchange over with," The general said in a way that was not a suggestion.
With a nod, Sonam nudged Sergius forward; Kunzang began walking once he did. Neither one was unbound by their captors before being sent to their respective parties. The moment grew tense as the two captives passed each other in between the groups, but they passed one another without incident. It seemed like everyone was holding their breath—this would be the moment the trap would spring.
At last, the prisoners returned to their respective sides. Thaksin spoke with Kunzang too quietly to be heard as the old man was allowed among the rebels. Sonam continued to watch the Imperials as Sergius reported in to them.
Something flew by Sonam's head, nearly hitting him before burying itself into the dirt road. Shouting came from one of the nearby buildings.
Immediately, weapons were drawn and both sides traded gunfire, spreading out to get better vantage points. More rebels came out of hiding to engage the MTs. Thaksin and Kunzang fled for cover. Hira and Andromeda took it as the cue to start using the large gun.
The first shot was deafening, as expected. The recoil was powerful, knocking Hira back against the wall. The shot blew up the first transport, startling the fighters below. The Imperials clearly did not expect the rebels to possess such firepower. The two women hurried to aim the gun again and reload it with another heavy artillery shell.
After the second transport was blown up, an airship came over the horizon. Andromeda and Hira hurried to reload the gun. As Hira aimed the gun upwards, something flew through the window and bounced off the metal shaft. She jumped back. Another shot came through and lodged itself into the wall next to her. She and Andromeda ducked and avoided the window.
The shots were coming from the house across the street. A few seconds later, heavy footsteps were coming up the stairs. Andromeda and Hira were pinned down. Whatever rebels that had been downstairs hadn't stopped the MTs.
Andromeda led the way into a bedroom and opened one of the windows. At first, she looked down for anything that would break their fall. She might be taken alive, but Hira would be shot dead. Then she looked to the right, where a very tall trellis was nailed to the building. It was covered in vines.
She climbed out first, grabbing onto the crisscrossing wood and praying it would hold their weight. She swung her body over and started to climb down quickly. Hira looked out at her, then followed her example without having to be told.
As Andromeda neared the ground and Hira was a little over halfway away, the trellis suddenly snapped, giving and falling away from the wall.
Andromeda landed on her feet, but Hira stumbled in her landing. She was unharmed, though. As Andromeda pulled her up, an MT had looked out the window at them thanks to the noise. It began to climb out to jump down at them. They ran from behind the store and out into the village square, where all of the fighting was.
The airship had deployed a fresh troop and a mech, then flew away unbothered. Andromeda and Hira were quickly swept up in the battle, drawing their kukris as they were in close combat with the MTs. They stuck close together, often taking down the automatons together. Sonam hadn't wanted them out in the open like this.
They stayed on the fringes to avoid being noticed by either their leader or the Imperial generals. They tried to keep moving, to find some place to take cover. Andromeda noticed how difficult it was to get through MTs when her chaos wasn't driving them wild.
There was one small house towards the edge of the battle. It was a terrible point to see what was going on in the square, but a few MTs were closing in on it, as if there was something there. It only took another moment to notice Thaksin standing at the front door, defending the house.
Andromeda and Hira went to his aid, catching the MTs by attacking from behind. Thaksin had managed a few good blows, but he was not a rebel, and did not have experience with robot soldiers. If the chaos had been present, he probably would have gotten killed right away.
The MTs closed rank around the women once they registered the surprise attacks. They were a higher priority than Thaksin. Andromeda and Hira both snatched at a core each, then ran up the road, the squad following them. The explosion only took out the MTs who were missing their cores, but it did damage the remaining soldiers enough to make a difference. The women immediately turned back and charged at them with their kukris, stabbing and slashing. When they removed two more cores, the resulting explosion finished the squad off.
Hira stormed over to Thaksin, who watched dumbly. "Why haven't you gone yet?"
"We were cornered here," The man explained himself. "Kunzang is inside."
"We'll get you out of here," Andromeda said.
All three of them went into the house to retrieve the Elder, then went out through the backdoor. They ran away from the battle and out into the jungle. They couldn't run nearly as fast as they wanted to, for Kunzang's sake. He struggled to keep up with the younger people. Andromeda and Hira dealt with any stray MTs they came across, but they were far fewer outside of the village square. They easily got away, and could keep going.
Once they were about a hundred yards away from Kotun, they stopped and looked back. No MTs came out this far after them.
"You'll have to get to the next town on your own," Hira explained to the men. "Find the road and get there before dark."
"Thank you both," Kunzang smiled.
Thaksin led him onwards into the jungle. Hira and Andromeda turned back to Kotun and ran to rejoin the battle. Perhaps escorting the two men would have been a good idea, to remove them from the situation, but it didn't sit right with either of them to abandon their comrades.
By the time they were back in the thick of it, another airship had come to drop off a troop and a mech. Somehow, in the mess of it all, Sonam spotted Hira and Andromeda amid the skirmish. He was suddenly in front of them, knocking back a third MT as it tried to catch Andromeda in the side.
"We got pinned down," She shouted over the noise at the sight of him. "Imperials took the store. They have the gun."
It kept him from getting too upset with them. He relaxed towards them. "Well, take cover again. I don't want you to be seen. Lysander has arrived here somewhere."
"What about the fight?" Hira asked, slashing again at an MT's arm. She and Andromeda both wanted to take part in it—they had to, as rebels.
Sonam was about to respond when a loud whoop sounded through the rebels on the fringe of the battle. More rebels were suddenly charging in. Two camps had come to their aid, coming in from either ends of the roads they fought on. The Imperials hadn't even been paying attention to notice them coming.
The fight immediately shifted into the rebels' favor as the newcomers plowed through the MTs. The generals and mechs took too long of a moment to realize what had happened. The most immediate response was another airship making an appearance.
"Find a good vantage point with cover, if you still want to help," Sonam turned back to Andromeda and Hira. It would be more help if Andromeda didn't get captured—that seemed to be the Imperials' plan here. "You can try to take back the store and get our gun back."
That order sat better with them. Breaking free of the MTs in front of them, the two women went off to find cover. With more rebels there to occupy the MTs, it was easier to disengage and slip out of the fighting. They had just a short amount of time to hide in one of the buildings before the newest troop would join the fray.
Hira set her eyes on one house near the center of the square and charged at it. Andromeda followed behind her. A couple of MTs were positioned in the yard around the house, and had to be dealt with first. The two women stuck together to lure all three MTs to close in on them. Andromeda blocked their blows while Hira pulled the core from the middle one. They fled out of the yard for five seconds before the MT exploded, and damaged the other two. It made them easier to finish off with some well-placed strikes in the chest and neck area.
Once the three MTs were dealt with, Hira and Andromeda rushed into the house before they could attract the attention of any more. They immediately went to the second floor. Hira took position at a window that had the best view of the store across the street.
She took aim with her gun out of the window. Andromeda took watch, to make sure nothing would sneak up on them. The other woman fired a few shots across the way and into the second floor of the store. She ducked once in awhile as a sniper engaged with her.
It was surprising that a general hadn't gone into the store to use the large gun against the rebels. The knowledge that they hadn't done so was unsettling; the Imperials were making a point to not use it, and to keep it away from the rebels.
A few minutes after Hira's first shot, she looked below. "Some guys are coming. They have Sergius."
Andromeda joined her at the window to see two rebels running from the fight and towards the house. The one in the lead—Dechen—was pulling the Imperial general along by the arm. Somehow, the two had bound Sergius's hands behind his back again.
She was walking down the stairs when they came through the door. She stopped a few steps before them as they shut the door.
"What are you doing with him?" She asked, looking at all three of them.
"Sonam ordered us to take him back," Dechen explained. "The deal's off now that they sprung their trap. Is this house safe enough to hide him in?"
His question had more to do with the house's position near the battle, more than it did with its occupants.
"It seems to be," Andromeda said. "Hira's upstairs firing on the store. Imperials have taken it, and Sonam wants us to take it back."
"Two of you aren't going to get it by sniping," Dechen pointed out. "Watch him while you're doing it. We'll go round up some others and flush the MTs out of there. They should be easier to shoot then."
It was a good and quick plan. Hira's efforts weren't making much of a difference, except to waste bullets whenever she thought she had a good shot on the sniper or any other MT within the small opening of a window.
"We could really use some chaos. There's a lot of sunlight before the daemons come out," Dechen added.
"Sonam forbade it," Andromeda stated. "We'll take him."
She stepped down a couple of steps while he pushed Sergius forward. Grasping his upper arm, she led him upstairs. Dechen and the other rebel left the house. Sonam would not like this turnout at all, but it was necessary to take the store back.
Hira took another shot at the store, then looked back as Andromeda entered the bedroom again. She gave a scoff at the sight of Sergius. Andromeda positioned him against the back wall.
"If this is your master plan to get your gun back, it won't work," The general said scornfully.
"We really should have taken your tongue, if not your life," Hira commented as she turned her attention back out the window.
"I've never seen such a poorly organized counterattack," Sergius said. "Soldiers making their own calls without an order from their commanding officer. That's unheard of in an army."
"We aren't soldiers," Andromeda replied as Hira fired a shot at the store.
"Definitely not," He agreed. "You especially are just a tool."
Hira turned away from the window as a retaliation shot was returned. "Shut your mouth."
He went quiet for a moment. Presuming that he was doing as told, she turned back to look out the window, taking aim again. She and Andromeda were the ones that were armed; Sergius was bound. Even if he did manage to run away from them, someone would shoot him down.
His silence was not one of submission, however. "Was this the first time you lost a comrade in battle?" He asked after observing Hira.
"Of course it isn't," She shot the gun again.
"You play at war like children. You should know your little skirmishes will have real consequences. People will die," Sergius chided. "Niflheim does not harm people who do not resist our rule. We've mostly stayed out of the daily lives of Galahdians, and we've certainly improved the education here."
Hira turned away from the window to retort, "Niflheim attacked innocent villages out of nowhere all those years ago! And you've tried to take everything away from our culture!"
"I assume you were there during those attacks," He was unbothered. "Let me guess, you also lost family in them, too."
She crossed the room and pinned him against the wall before either he or Andromeda could move, her kukri at his throat. Sergius's hands grasped at her arm; he had somehow got out of his bindings, but hadn't had enough time to act out on it.
"You don't know a damn thing you've done here!" Hira roared. "Shut up!"
"Hira," Andromeda cautioned, stepping next to her. "Don't let him goad you like this. We need to focus on the store."
She tried to pull Hira away—there was no restraining Sergius again without her causing him serious harm. It was better to let him run off into the battle. Hira would not be budged. She shoved Andromeda back with her one free arm.
"At least one of you can keep their head in battle," Sergius rasped, the blade pressing hard against his throat. Somehow it did not draw blood. "Whoever had died had done so by his own folly. He should have known better than to get in the Empire's way. You're only making the same mistake he did, and you'll suffer the same fate. It won't make a damn difference in any of this. Would that make your parents proud?"
Hira sliced her kukri across this throat in a fit of rage before Andromeda could reach out to stop her. Sergius's eyes widened as he gave a strangled cry; even he hadn't expected her to really do it. His blood splattered across Hira's face from the deep gash she managed to make. It was the spatter that brought her back to reality, and she realized what she had just done.
Her grip on his body lessened as she came to realization. Sergius's legs twisted underneath him and he fell onto his back. She stumbled backwards a few steps into Andromeda. He convulsed slightly as he tried to breathe. He couldn't speak as his mouth filled with blood. His eyes bulged from their sockets as he tried to look at the two women without turning his neck, because he couldn't. They watched him bleed out and go still.
"Hira," Andromeda called the other woman's name quietly. They were next to each other, but Hira hadn't registered that she had bumped into her. Andromeda called her name a couple of more times and stepped into her sight before she finally got her attention.
"Give it to me," She coaxed, then pried Hira's kukri from her hand, pulling each finger off of the hilt. She put an arm around her shoulders. Hira was in shock.
Both women were only vaguely aware of the sounds of the heavy artillery gun outside, along with the whoops of rebels. They did not know what was happening; they had forgotten all about the battle outside.
Steps were coming up the stairs. Andromeda came to attention first.
"Look at me," She urged Hira, but the other woman wouldn't turn away from the body.
Andromeda dropped her arm from her shoulders just as a figure came into the room. Sonam took in the scene, doing nothing to hide his shock and fear. She stepped around Hira to kneel in front of him. She lowered herself into a half-prostration, understanding that this was what Galahdians did when they had done a serious wrong.
"I'm sorry," She said, holding the bloodied kukri out in front of herself to show Sonam. "I killed him."