Tangled Fate

by Grounders10

When a group of Sidereal's attempt a ritual to change the world, things go rather sideways when the ritual fails catastrophically. In the process Ranma, Ryouga and most of their company of friends and rivals find themselves scattered across creation. With power beyond human limits can they change a broken world? [Exalted/Ranma]

10. Chapter 10 -- Deals of Broken Fate

Guon Fan swallowed her saucer of sake and let out a pleased groan as it burned its way down her throat. This was far better than the pansy wine that the city Goddess had served at her party the night before. It had a fire to it that the fancy tasting fruit juice lacked.

Her drinking partner shook his head at her display of gluttony. "At least show some decorum Guildmaster." He drawled as he sipped from his own saucer.

She flipped him off and poured herself another saucer full. "Go blow it up your crack you old fart." She chuckled as she glanced out the window of her office into one of the dirty side streets of Nooji Plaza. Her. Office. It was hers' once again. She cackled and poured half the saucer down her throat, guzzling the burning liquid.

It wasn't much of an office, being little more than a single dilapidated room hanging over the main drydock, but it was hers and so was everything that came with it.

"Now." She said as she slowly poured herself another. "I got yanked out of my house, shoved in a dress, and shuffled off to a ball last night. Never got to ask how the boys are handling this mess."

The old man smiled grimly as he swirled the sake in his cup. "Reactions have been mixed to this. Realm disappears only to get replaced by an Anathema the same day? The Realm's administration might not have had too many fans around here, but most of our ship sail for the Realm." He said, "That's going to change after today. You know that."

She drummed her finger on the table and sipped her drink. She frowned. As much as she wanted to tell him he was being a worrying old hen again, she couldn't. He was right. The Realm would blacklist any ship out from Greyfalls.

"We still make the best ships in the east." She said, "That's not something that's going to go away overnight Benny."

"It's Bensworth girl." He muttered before sighing as she lazily rolled her eyes. "Outside of Lookshy and Nexus how many kingdoms actually need ships? Hm? Lookshy won't buy from us anymore either. Anathema taint and all that. Way I see it the only way we're going to keep afloat without cutting men is by somehow getting the favour of the new ah… Castellan wasn't it?"

Guon Fan smirked. "Yep. Cute as a button she is. Somehow managed to look adorable as she was tearing Bengtsson down." She laughed. "Bit of a firecracker I'd say." From her short interactions with the girl, she'd have to say she liked what she saw. Oh, the girl was rougher than a freshly chopped log, but she had style.

"Better not be more than a bit." The old man said, "I've heard what happens when a ruler lets their emotions get the better of them." He gave her a pointed look that she ignored.

Feet on the creaky stairs outside interrupted any further conversation. They both looked up as one of the young apprentices stumbled into the room breathing heavily. "Something- Something you need to see out in the square." He said.

"What is it?" Benny snapped before she could.

The boy gulped and steadied himself. "L-Lady Setarial. The Goddess is in the square. She's going to give a speech in a couple minutes." He said.

Guon Fan's eyebrows rose and she looked to her second. He looked quite flummoxed. She chuckled. "A Goddess giving a speech, heh." She drawled and stood, pulling her lazily thrown on robes into something a bit more modest. A little bit.

"Lead the way." She said to the boy. She glanced over at Benny. "You coming old man?" She asked.

He sighed and stood, his back creaking and popping as he did. "Yeah, yeah. Give me a sec." He plucked his hat from the table and nodded to the boy in the doorway. "Lead on." The boy nodded and lead the way down the rickety stairs to the ground floor and then out into the street.

The street was… not bustling, but it was busier than it had been the last couple days. Like herself, the boy, and Benny those who were out and about were making their way to the nearby square. Usually the home of criers and shady merchants. Now it was apparently host to a Goddess.

Her lips quirked into a smile. How things changed.

As they got closer to the square the number of people increased until as they finally entered they had to elbow their way through. Despite the crowds, Setarial was easy to spot right from the moment they reached the square. Standing tall and radiant on the platform that usually hosted, at most, a particularly irritated Dynast or officious ass from atop the hill, was the Goddess herself.

Flanking the divinity were those two bears, Mikorov and Ikorov. Both looked positively terrifying despite doing nothing but casually chatting with each other behind the Goddess. A chat that seemed to require large gestures with their very large clawed paws. Or it would have been, except Guon Fan had drunk both under the table. Bears were less threatening after you saw them passed out with their muzzle stuck in a tankard a time or two.

They managed to break through the crowd into the small space around the platform that seemed to only exist due to either respect or fear of the Goddess and her entourage. The moment she did the Goddess spotted her and smiled in that mysterious way that raised the hairs on the back of Guon Fan's neck. Oh, she had better not be planning something that would make her regret throwing her non-existent hat into the ring last night.

The Goddess raised a hand and the murmurs of the crowd swelled briefly then fell away. "Men and women of Greyfalls." She said in a quiet voice that carried on the breeze. "I come to you today to speak of the events that have unfolded over the last several days. You all know of the departure of the Realm, but the why and what next have been lost to rumour and speculation. Here, today, I shall dispel those rumours and correct the speculation."

She said nothing new to Guon Fan, though her way of presentation was different than the night before. You played to the audience after all. Still, its effects on the rest of the crowd were readily apparent. The apprentice who had brought her and Benny to the square was captivated as he stared up at the Goddess. Whether he was listening, or simply trying to peek underneath her dress she really couldn't say. Either way, his guileless face was shared by many people in the crowd.

Finally, the Goddess left familiar territory and came to what Guon Fan suspect had always been her goal. "So it is that I must ask that you, the people of Greyfalls, give your support to the new Castellan." The Goddess implored. The shipwright couldn't tell if the desperation in her voice was genuine or fake, but it was having quite an effect on the crowd. The boy was nodding along, a growing grin on his face. She'd probably have to snap him out of whatever fool idea the Goddess was planting in his head. Spirits, more trouble than they were worth most of the time.

Setarial held one hand out towards Garrison Heights. "If you believe in protecting this city. In ensuring its freedom and its future, please, head to Garrison Heights. The guards who have remained behind need new recruits to help them man the walls. They need your aid." Her hand shifted, pointing a little to the side. "If you seek a way to help that involves less combat please see the interim council that is assembling at City Hall under the good Duke Staedtler. With the departure of the Realm's administrators, they are desperately short staffed."

"For Greyfalls!" Someone shouted in the depths of the crowd. The cry was taken up by others and soon nearly everyone in the crowd was shouting it. It was quite the cacophony to be honest. Very loud and very obnoxious, and the Goddess allowed it to go on for several minutes before raising both hands into the sky. Silence slowly descended onto the square.

"Thank you." She said with a warm smile that even Guon Fan doubted was fake. "Thank you. All of you. Though the days to come may be harsh, I do not doubt that with the leadership of our new Castellan and your love for this city that we will get through them stronger than ever. Thank you." Setarial flourished a bow and disappeared with the wind.

The crowd was silent for a moment, then it erupted into roars of excited conversation. The young apprentice turned to her. "I'm going up to the Castle!" He shouted over the crowd.

Guon Fan sighed and clapped a hand on his shoulder, sharing an exasperated look over his head with Benny. "No, you're not." She said firmly. The boy's face faltered.

"But-" The boy started before trailing off at her firm look.

"You're going back to the shipyard. You're going to make sure it's passed around that no one is going to join the damned army and anyone who does won't have a job to come back to if they do avoid getting themselves killed in their search for death and glory. Understand?" She ordered, glaring into the boy's eyes.

The boy hesitated before nodding. She smiled. "Good boy." She said before pushing him towards Benny. "Now Benny." She said to her second.

"Bensworth." The older man sighed. She waved him off.

"Get me my horse." She said.

"Excuse me?" His eyebrows went up.

She rolled her eyes and waved at the empty platform. "I'm not letting my boys wander off to die, but staying out of this mess ain't possible if we want the Castellan's favour." She said, "Get me my horse. I'm going to head up to the Castellan and cut a deal."

"For?" He asked.

She smiled. "For what we do best." Her grin had the boy in Benny's grip shaking with nerves. "Building shit."

-0-0-0-0-0-

Tangled Fate

Chapter Ten

Deals of Broken Fate

By: Grounders10

-0-0-0-0-0-

The sound of his cane tapping the tiles echoed in the entrance hall of the Greyfalls City Hall. City Hall. Garrison heights may have been the epicenter of Realm administration, but it was first and foremost a military installation. There simply wasn't enough room to administrate both the city and the nation from within. So, in the interest of freeing up space, it had long ago been decided that administration of the City of Greyfalls would be done from a three-story building in the square at the base of the path leading up to Garrison Heights.

Staedtler craned his neck looking up at the three stories high ceiling. Balconies ran around the entire room. A staircase lead up to his left, wide enough for three people. Around the room, clerk desks were set into a fence of bronze that allowed only small openings for people to conduct their business.

"It's odd seeing it so quiet." He said to Ross. His guard merely nodded with one hand on his sword as he scanned the empty room. Staedtler looked around the room and shook his head. "This is going to be an uphill battle. Getting everything organized and running well enough in a mere couple days…" He sighed and chuckled. "Such is life, eh Ross?"

The mercenary chuckled. "Ever know anything worthwhile that was easy?" He asked.

"A few things." The merchant allowed as he walked into the middle of the room before he turned to face the entrance. "Alright, secure the building. I want an accounting of which rooms look like they've been meddled with. We need to ascertain just what we're working with."

"There's no need for that Staedtler." A voice drawled from the second floor. The merchant looked up as the owner of the voice stepped into view at a railing. Easily a few years older than Staedtler the owner of the voice was an old man dressed in the richly coloured, but simplistically styled robes of the Thousand Scales. What hair he had left was groomed as well as could be expected.

"Councilor Wei Bu." Staedtler acknowledged as he looked up at the older man. A few other men and women, many years younger than either of them, joined the Council at the railings. While it was awkward to count them from below he could guess that there probably weren't more than a dozen.

Wei Bu nodded sagely at him. "Here to take charge for the Anathema?" He asked shrewdly.

"Someone needs to re-establish the local government." The Duke responded, "That the Lady Castellan requested it of me is not important."

"Hmm." The older man shook his head. "It is very important, but perhaps not pertinent to the current situation." Wei Bu walked along the railing towards the stairs. "More pertinent is what it has asked of you."

"What she," He corrected, "asked was for me to bring together an interim council who will organize the civilian response to the upcoming siege. Fire, a town watch, etc. We will need to account for food stores and prepare for possible outbreaks of disease. That is what she asked."

The man above reached the top of the stairs and carefully began to make his way down. "That is something that I can help you with." Wei Bu said. He stumbled slightly on the stairs and one of the younger men around him quickly took his arm. He pulled it loose of the boy with a stern look and a grumble.

Staedtler watched carefully as the old man finished his descent of the stairs. Councilor Wei Bu was an appointee of the Realm and had served loyally for nearly fifty years as one of the mortal councilors of the city council. He was proud of the city but well known for his unwavering support the Realm's leadership and an outspoken advocate of Greyfalls becoming a proper principality of the Realm.

"I would have thought that you would have left with the Satrap," Staedtler said.

"Too old." Wei Bu said as his shoes clacked on the tiled floor. "Perhaps if I were younger but as old as I am? Let younger men make that journey." He stood tall, despite his back cracking loud enough that Staedtler could hear it from halfway across the room. "Greyfalls, as it stands, is currently in the hands of an unspeakable evil, and I do pray that one day it shall be freed of such evil. However, I am also no fool." He crossed the floor to the Duke aggressively.

Ross made to interpose himself between them, but Staedtler waved him off. "I would argue you are an old fool, Wei Bu. Your eyes clouded by years of propaganda and indoctrination." He replied. The conviction in his own voice surprised him.

The old Councilor snorted. "One man's fool is another's hero, as it always has been." Wei Bu replied as he stopped feet from Staedtler. "This city is my home, and while I do not agree with your… liaison with that thing. I am forced to acknowledge the simple truth. Greyfalls cannot be saved if there is no Greyfalls to save."

Staedtler nodded in agreement. "Focus on the more pressing danger first." He said, carefully weighing the risks. There was no doubt that the Councilor would do his best to sabotage their long-term efforts, but he and the clerks who had stayed could prove invaluable to getting the interim council organized quickly.

He turned to Ross. "Secure the building." He ordered, shooing his guard away before turning back to the elderly councilor. Working with the old Councilor had its drawbacks, but so did so much else of what they were doing. They simply didn't have time for other options.

"Councilor Bu, I appreciate your offer." He said, bowing ever so slightly to the older man. "Any assistance you feel like offering will be appreciated." It was like inviting a viper into your bed in the hopes it would scare away a dragon, but sometimes you simply had to work with what you had.

-0-0-0-0-0

The line stretched down the hill, wound around the square at the base, and disappeared around the corner. Men and women, many of whom Ranma suspect would be turned aside for being too young… Assuming they didn't lie about their ages. It was amazing to the new Castellan just how many people had answered the call that Setarial had put out. Even now, hours after the first few had begun tricking in, more poured in from the surrounding streets.

"I didn't expect this many people." She said to the Lily. The magistrate shook her head.

"There is a reason we normally regulate interactions between Gods and Mortals," Zeriah said. The former magistrate leaned over the side and peered down at the gate beneath them. "Their charisma is supernatural."

Ranma nodded. She had noticed that when meeting the Goddess herself. It was truly amazing just how many people were showing up. "I thought we would have issues getting a thousand volunteers." She said, turning away from the still growing line to look at the gathered mass of volunteers within the fortress.

Legionnaires and JSDF soldiers were shouting orders to new recruits, organizing them into groups of a hundred or more. Each group was led off by two legionnaires to be put through an hour of intense exercise. Those who couldn't keep up were being organized into second-line groups to aid with logistics and guard-duty. Those who could keep up were being assigned to training groups overseen by wounded Legionnaires and what healthy troops they had available.

From her perch on the wall, she could see one group that had gathered around a wounded Legionnaire who was showing them how to properly hold wield a spear. The weapons hadn't all been brought up yet so the men were using arrows as stand-ins. Hopefully, they didn't break too many.

A burst of cold wind whipped across the battlements. Ranma ignored it. Despite looking like it was thin silk her clothes were surprisingly warm and cozy, like standing in the sun. Still, she looked to the sky. The weather had been getting worse all day. It had started sunny, but cloud cover had rolled by the time she had left the temple. The temperature was dropping with every hour that passed.

"Won't be long until it starts snowing," Zeriah said as he noticed where her attention had strayed.

She nodded. "Do you think we have enough warm clothes?" She asked the magistrate.

"For the men? I wouldn't know." He responded, "With the state of things I doubt anyone knows that."

It was true. Too much to do, too little time. That was the theme of the last few days and everything seemed to take longer than it should. Not that she knew how long things should take. She knew nothing of running an army or a city.

The crunch of gravel announced the arrival of a JSDF private as she climbed up the stairs. "Lady Castellan." She saluted, "A Guon Fan of the Shipwrights Guild is here to speak with you."

Ranma repressed a groan. What did the madwoman want with her? "Did she say why?" Ranma asked, just barely keeping a plaintive tone out of her voice.

"She said something about setting terms, ma'am." The Private said.

Ranma twitched at the address. "What terms?" She looked to Zeriah who shrugged.

"The Shipwrights Guild is the third most powerful organization in the city after the Satrap's Office and the City Council." Zeriah said, "Without their ships trade doesn't flow. If I had to make a guess I'd say she's looking for a favourable agreement in exchange for her people's help."

Ranma mulled it over for a moment in her head. Shipwrights were carpenters and engineers. They needed both, badly. "How many people are we talking here?" She asked.

"While shipbuilding isn't the largest trade in the city they hold a lot of influence. You want to get your goods to either Nexus or the Blessed Isle you need their ships to take it." Zeriah said stroking his chin. "At least three thousand members directly. Their indirect influence is about a fifth of the city at least. To top it off they're also the best shipwrights in the East. Even if we weren't in dire straits making enemies of the of them would be a foolish thing."

Ranma nodded and turned to the Private. "Where is she?" She asked. She hadn't realized exactly how large Guon Fan's influence actually stretched. It looked like she really would have to speak with the guild leader herself then.

"She's been shown to the Palace for now." The private said.

"Show me," Ranma ordered.

-0-0-0-0-0-

The scritch-scratch of pencil on paper filled the quiet war room as Arai Shin, the military historian, marked the city map before him. "Circumvallation fortifications will probably be built about here." He said, "Given the expected ranges of weaponry this would put them out of range of what defensive fire he can anticipate."

The Lieutenant traced the line that encircled the city. "But still able to hit the walls?" He asked.

"The outer walls. Assuming they take advantage of the prolific supplies of timber on the far side of the river and have some knowledge of siege weaponry." The historian said.

Ryu nodded. His own military training lacked in the area of more historical methods of warfare. After all, why would he ever need to know about trebuchets and catapults? Tanks, bombs, and bullets were the kings of war, not rocks and sticks. The historian, however, knew a great deal about the traditional deployment of such weapons.

"Building those weapons on the west bank would make taking advantage of breaches difficult. What with the open ground of the river. Frozen or not that's not a good direction to assault from." He noted.

"The Realm kept the area around the city well tended." Shin said, "There's nothing that could be used for cover within two hundred meters of the wall, and most of what's beyond that is empty livestock pens. Frankly, the River's only downsides are the banks they'll have to climb up and down. There's no wall for the Docks themselves. A push there would cut off anyone in Nooji and Mist-Town. Likewise, however, a push from the east that breaches the merchant district could cut the upper city off from the lower."

Murmurs of agreement came from the rest of the people around the table. Sergeants Akiyama, Ito and Taylor were crowded around the war table along with a couple new faces. The first was Sergeant James Roberts, an ex-British Army vet nearly a decade older than Akiyama whose left eye was a milky white; the second was Benjamin Adams, a young African-American FBI agent out of Seattle. Both had proven to have useful suggestions, even if they were a bit hard to understand. Much like with Dr. Zutter both were trying to communicate with a language they had only started learning the day before. Unlike Dr. Zutter neither had the same talent for languages she did.

Ryu sighed and rubbed his eyes. "We're going to need to make a decision about the lower city then." He said, "Can we hold it?"

"We're going to have to." Sergeant Taylor said with a scowl. "If we don't they'll get into the city and I can tell you from personal experience there's more than one way to get around the Canal Gate entrance to the Upper City. We've caught more than a few criminals tunneling up from Mist-town under the inner walls. They find even one of those tunnels intact they'll either undermine the entire structure or get men into our logistics."

"Then we're going to need to build an outer wall for the Canal Gate District." Ryu sighed, "Ideas?"

Ito spoke first. "The warehouses at the dockside are made of brick. With some additional reinforcement, we could get a palisade set up down there." He suggested. "The only big issue is the section where the main road runs right past the piers. There are some stalls and covered areas, but nothing with walls for two hundred meters."

James cleared his throat. "We do have several days before the enemy arrives, right?" He prodded.

"At least two more days. Maybe as many as five if we're lucky." Ryu replied, after untangling the slightly mangled Japanese.

"Then we take advantage of what resources are outside the city walls while we can." The British Sergeant suggested. "I remember seeing a few low stone walls outside the city. If we cannibalize those and get some logs from across the river we might be able to get something basic set up."

"Depends on whether we can get the logs across the river or not." Ito said, "It might work. Some of those barges were pretty big. We'd have to get on it right away and work through the night."

"What about something non-standard?" The FBI agent asked, drawing looks from the rest. "Even with that new wall thing, it's going to be the weakest point, right?" Everyone nodded. "What have we for explosives?" He stumbled a bit over his words, but Ryu managed to parse the meaning out.

"You're thinking mines," Akiyama said, leaning over the map. "We don't have much in the way or explosives. Grenades mostly. A little C4, a box of claymores. We were planning on using them to cover the withdrawal from the lower city if we had to. We don't have enough to expend elsewhere."

Benjamin nodded. "What about black powder?" He asked, "Is there a chance we could make some for use in IEDs?"

Ryu looked to Akiyama and Ito who both frowned. "Not hard to make, but do we have time?" Akiyama mused.

"Doesn't need to be good powder." James said, "It just needs to explode. A few nails and say some glass. Rig it to a tripline of some kind. Maybe pull apart a few grenades for their mechanisms. We could make it work."

Ryu eyed the veteran who was running a hand through his grey beard thoughtfully. "What is your background specifically?" He asked curiously.

"Just army. Nothing special." The sergeant replied. "Not special forces or anything like that. I've just been around for a while."

He nodded. Somehow he didn't quite believe the sergeant's claim, but it didn't really matter. He was being helpful. "We'll have to see what we have to work with them." Ryu looked to Ito. "Send a message to Staedtler. We need to know how much sulfur, charcoal, and saltpeter are in the city. Also how much he can get to us."

"I'll go if you'll let me," Benjamin said before Ito could respond. "Probably be more use down there than up here."

Ryu glanced at Ito. "Saves me a trip." The sergeant said.

"Go, and while you're there see what security issues he's having," Ryu ordered.

Benjamin nodded and pulled on his ruffled and battered suit jack. "I'll send word once I'm there." He said before leaving.

A moment passed after he left before Taylor spoke. "Call me an idiot, but what the hell is black powder?" The legionnaire asked.

-0-0-0-0-0-

The room the servants had shown Guon Fan to was one of the sitting rooms on the fourth floor, much like the one Ranma had spoken to Staedtler in. As Ranma stepped inside and shooed the private away she spotted the rough shipwright sitting by the window which overlooked the fortress yard. She was idly spinning a nearly empty glass of wine in her hand as she looked out over the press of bodies that was trying to call itself an army.

Guon Fan looked up. "Found time to speak to me then Castellan." She said, her only show of propriety being an irreverent salute with her wine glass before she drained it and poured out more from the bottle beside her, filling another glass as she did.

"Not as much for me to do as you'd think," Ranma said as she took the seat across from the shipwright and accepted the offered wine glass with a nod. "Pretty much everyone here knows more than I do." She sighed and politely sipped the wine.

The other woman snorted. "A lot of leading involves waiting." The guild master said, "Waiting for supplies to show up, waiting for people to finish the work you've assigned, waiting for people to remember they actually have a meeting now." She snorted at the last one. "Fucking Dynasts never showed up on time. Set a meeting always expect them to show up fifteen minutes late just because they can. The last bastard I had a meeting with was an hour and a half late."

"What?" This was not the conversation Ranma had expected.

Guon Fan chuckled. "The bastard showed up making some excuse about whores and the proper timing of some shit. Probably fucking them." She said, gesturing wildly with one hand as she sipped her wine with the other. "He'd wasted half my afternoon that could have been spent doing anything else than waiting for his him to remember to put his pants on. So I broke his nose and had him thrown out on his ass." She sipped her wine. "Week later the Satrap arranged for my removal from the Guild. Didn't last more than a couple weeks before you showed."

"Okay?" Ranma said slowly.

The shipwright set her glass down and leaned towards her. "You're confused. I get it. Not the conversation you were expecting, was it?" Guon Fan said, chuckling. Ranma shook her head. "Yeah, I thought not. Look the point I'm trying to make is my people don't like the Realm and haven't liked them for decades longer than I've been alive. Assholes, almost without exception. They strut about like peacocks without a care in the world and look down on everyone else because they're more "spiritually enlightened." We're willing to give you a chance as much because you aren't them as anything else. There's just the issue of what comes next. That's the great big yeddim in the room. Our ships sailed for the Realm almost without exception and they ordered as many as we could build as fast as we could build them." She paused.

"And there's no way that's happening anymore." Ranma sighed.

"Even without the Anathema issue there's the whole 'ran away like little bitches' thing to consider." Guon Fan said dryly, getting a chuckle from Ranma. "We put up with them 'cause they fought for us and made things better than others could. Moment things got tough they booked it. Or that's the attitude most of my people have."

Her people. It was clear that Guon Fan was quite possessive of the people who made up her guild. "What do your people want?" Ranma asked, trying to finally get the conversation to the point.

The rough woman drained the last of her wine glass and poured more out of the bottle. Ranma eyed it. The label was in Realm, she'd seen enough to recognize it by now. She had to wonder if it was 'hers' or if Guon Fan had brought it with her. She sipped it. It wasn't too bad as far as alcohol went, not that she had much of a taste for such things.

Finished filling her glass Guon Fan replied. "The Goddess went by earlier today. Nearly seduced half my young apprentices out of my hands. Filled their heads with glory and foolishness."

Ranma blinked at her. "You sure they weren't idiots before?" She asked.

The shipwright laughed loudly, nearly spilling her wine. "I'll admit she might not have needed to do much, but I value those brats." She said as she calmed down, "They're the future of my Guild and I'll not have them split their minds open on a Vanehan axe if I can help it. That said, there's a desire to prove themselves I can't just ignore. Not if I want to keep them."

"You're looking for work for them," Ranma stated. It was obvious from the beginning, but what kind of work was she looking for?

"I am. With this siege coming you're going to need help preparing for it." Guon Fan sipped her drink. "My people can offer a great deal. We're the best shipwrights in the East. We're carpenters, engineers, and everything else that is needed for shipbuilding. Got a few other odds and ends mixed in. Never know when a Dynast is going to make an odd request. Like decorative stonework."

"How many people are we talking?" Ranma as she considered the offer. If there were as many as Zeriah had suggested many of their issues with manpower could to solved.

"Guild membership stands at three-thousand, one-hundred and thirty-four. Last I checked anyway. Single largest non-government organization in the City." Guon Fan said with a smile that set Ranma's nerves on edge.

It was a few more and if they were what was promised construction wouldn't be an issue, still… "What's the price you're looking for?" Ranma asked as she met Guon Fan's gaze resolutely.

"Market value for any work we do during the siege." Guon Fan began, "We'll build siege equipment, towers, walls, anything you need. Additional pay if it needs to be done under fire. Pay plus half to the families of anyone who dies while building under fire."

Ranma mused on it. She knew she wasn't a money person, but it seemed fair to her. "Payment due after the siege." She after a moment. They had enough things to worry about right now without adding money management to it.

"Of course." Guon fan nodded. She had obviously been expecting that. "Two more things."

Ranma's eyes narrowed. "Go ahead." She prompted.

"First, you don't let any of my boys sign on to your army. None of them, for any reason. You don't conscript them, you don't let them volunteer unless I've gone and dumped them on your doorsteps myself." The steel unlaying her words made it clear this wasn't negotiable.

"Agreed." She had no problems making that promise. Trained or merely apprenticed, shipwrights would be more valuable without an axe through the skull. She suppressed a wince at the thought. A lot of people were going to die in this siege.

Guon Fan nodded and sipped her wine. "Lastly, I need you to promise that the government will buy ships from us after this mess is done with." She said.

Ranma frowned and leaned back. After the siege… She hadn't decided what she'd do after the siege. What role ships would take… Did they need a navy? Could they even afford one if they did? Also… "What kinds of ships do you build?" She asked.

"Galleys, triremes, the odd merchantman. Really anything that can be built in the west we can build just as well." The shipwright boasted.

"Out of wood," Ranma said.

Guon Fan cocked an eyebrow. "Yes, out of wood." She said, "What else would you build a ship out of?"

"Steel for one." Ranma said, "We build ships out of steel back home."

"Steel?" She sipped her wine and considered it. "Take a while to hammer out. Take a while to make that much steel as well."

Ranma shook her head. "Not that long really." She said, "But I understand it takes a different skill set than carpentry. Honestly, I can't promise that we'll buy ships that we might just make pointless in a little while." She had no idea if they had anyone knowledgeable in modern shipbuilding, but they could probably work things out.

"I see…" Guon Fan sighed before grinning mischievously, "You will, of course then, promise to work with us when you decide to bring about these 'steel leviathans' then, hmmm?" Ranma blinked and leaned back as the older woman leaned across the end table.

"I-" Ranma shut her mouth and frowned at the other woman who huffed playfully and sat back into her chair with a chuckle.

"Bit of steel there. Just as I thought." Guon Fan said, "Two out of three is good enough for me. Steel ships though… The boys won't believe it 'til they see it. I won't either mind you." She leered at Ranma over her glass of wine. "Assuming we get through this, the next few years are going to be interesting." She drained her wine glass and set it on the table before sticking out a hand. "Do we have a deal?" She asked.

Ranma met her gaze for a long moment. The older woman was seemingly wild and childish, but she had the trust of over three thousand people so she was probably fairly reliable… certainly she wasn't someone you wanted against you. Reaching out she grasped the proffered and they shook. "We have a deal." She agreed.

"Excellent." Guon Fan smiled and clapped a hand on Ranma's shoulder as she stood up. "Well then, I should head off and get to work organizing these things." Ranma caught sight of the wine bottle disappearing up one of the wide sleeves of her fancy, and loose, robe.

Ranma stood up as well. "Why don't you come with me to the war room." She suggested, "I need to see what they've been concocting without me. You can find out what needs doing." And she could have this woman torment Ryu for a while instead of her.

Guon Fan smiled, "A great idea."

-0-0-0-0-0-

Kiku poked her head around the door of the Temple's forge. The room was busy as several men unloaded a pair of handcarts onto the clear tables while in the background Emily was barking orders to several more men who were setting up tables in the garden beyond onto which others were unloading more handcarts.

With her curiosity peaked she headed over to the older girl. "What's going on?" She asked when she reached her.

Emily glanced at her and spared a smile. "Kiku, good, I could use a hand." She said.

"Doing…?" Kiku prodded as she looked at closest handcart. It seemed to be piled high with metal. Pointy metal actually. A few pieces looked like they might belong on the end of a spear.

"Running the forge here." The older girl replied, "When the legion left they abandoned a lot of weapons in the courtyard." She drew a sword from the pile that ended in a jagged point after a foot. "Most aren't in any condition to be used, unfortunately. With the way things are we're apparently short on weapons so they asked anyone with smithing knowledge to pitch in." She sighed. "I'm the only person in our group that knows how to swing a hammer apparently so I've been stuck with the job."

Kiku nodded slowly as she took in the sheer amount of broken weapons that were being unloaded into the small smithy. Even as she watched another two handcarts were being wheeled around the corner of the temple, bringing it to a total of nine handcarts she could see. Who knew how many others had been unloaded before she'd arrived.

"I can help." She said.

"Wonderful." Emily smiled, "Do you remember how to stoke the fires?"

Kiku nodded. Emily had shown her earlier and it wasn't that complicated. "Yep." She chirped.

"Excellent. Get one of the aprons and start heating the forge then." Emily said.

It took a couple minutes to dig one of the heavy leather aprons out from under a pile of broken steel spearheads, then things got really busy for the next several hours. There wasn't much time to talk between keeping the flames hot, sorting the piles of weapons for the more easily salvageable pieces, and getting quick lessons on how to be a smith.

She found that bashing metal into a 'proper' shape was actually quite relaxing.

Eventually, Emily called a halt in the mid-afternoon as she quenched the blade they were working on in water. She checked the blade for warping and smiled. "No warping, good. Let's take a short break." Emily said, setting the blade aside.

Kiku nodded and flumped onto one of the handful of stools in the smithy. She brushed one sweat-matted lock of hair out of her eyes. Turned out beating metal into shape wasn't just fun, it was also exhausting. She looked around the room and groaned. "We've barely made a dent in these things." She sighed. The piles of broken weapons had actually grown since her arrival.

Emily chuckled and sipped from a water bottle. "We've dealt with the easy ones at least." She said, gesturing to the small pile of blades and spearheads that they had completed. "Quick polish and they'll be ready to go." She swirled the water in her water bottle as Kiku nodded. "So, wasn't your mom going to have a talk with you?"

Kiku rolled her eyes. "She did." She said.

"And?" The older girl prodded.

"She wanted to lecture me on what not to do in a war zone," Kiku said. Really it was a boring lecture. 'Don't leave the fortress', 'don't get in the way of the soldiers', 'listen when an officer orders you to do something, or not do something', really boring stuff.

Emily paused and cocked her head. "Why does your mom know this sort of thing?" She asked.

Kiku shrugged. "I don't know. She gets like this sometimes. 'Don't climb the house.' 'Don't throw sandwiches at girls who annoy you.' 'Don't pull the pin on the fabergé hand grenade.' It gets annoying." She sighed. Emily stared at her for a long moment. "What?" Did she have something on her face?

Emily stared for another long moment before shaking her head. "Nevermind." She said, "So she doesn't have any issues with you doing this?"

"Nope." She chirped. Which was actually true for once. Her mother seemed to think a forge was the safest place for her.

"Well, let's get back to work then," Emily said, setting the water bottle aside. "By the way, where is your mom?"

Kiku shrugged. "Somewhere. Said she had a few things to take care of. Looked kinda serious too." She said.

Emily contemplated it for a moment before she turned to the forge. "Now from here on out we're going to be doing more actual forging than just hammering things back into shape." She said as she picked up a snapped spearhead. "Come here and let's try to find a few pieces of good steel in this mess."

Kiky hopped off her stool and smile as she ran over.

-0-0-0-0-0-

Ranma pushed open the door to the war room to find a rather odd sight. A large muscular old man with one milky white eye was holding up a teacup and a string to Ryu; Sergeants Ito, Akiyama and Taylor; Shin Arai and Zeriah. The man was talking about the optimal set up for… improvised trip mines?

"What are you doing?" She asked, drawing all attention to her.

The large man hastily put the teacup down. "Lady Castellan." He bowed to her, an act followed by the rest of the room. The man's accent was atrocious, his words were nearly incomprehensible under what sounded like a Scottish accent. A really thick one. "We were just enlightening the Sergeant here," he gestured to Sergeant Taylor, "about the advantages of gunpowder."

The former Realm Sergeant nodded. "Assuming they aren't having me on it sounds quite terrifying." He said.

Ranma walked over to the table, letting Guon Fan into the room, and examined the map. "Where are you planning on getting gunpowder?" She asked Ryu.

"Making it from scratch, mainly," Ryu said.

"Do we have time for that?" Ranma asked thinking about what she knew about black powder. It could take a while to get anything made, assuming they managed it without blowing themselves sky high.

"Anything we make takes the pressure off our limited explosives stockpile," Akiyama replied.

Behind them, the Scotsman introduced himself to Guon Fan. "Sergeant James Roberts, formerly of Her Majesty's Royal Highland Fusiliers. Might I ask your name milady?"

Ignoring the conversation that had immediately devolved into a sickeningly flirtatious back and forth Ranma instead focused on the heavily annotated map. "Where were you planning on using the gunpowder?" She asked.

Ryu tapped the Canal Gate district. "Primarily in the Canal Gate area. Rig the lower piers and prep traps in any buildings we don't include in the palisade." He said, "We're also planning to prepare traps if it looks like we're going to be forced out of the lower city."

Ranma's eyes flickered across the notations absorbing the marked out palisade, circumvallation fortifications, and estimated ranges of siege weapons. "Guon Fan." She called, interrupting the increasingly debauched conversation behind her, "How far do your siege engines go?"

The woman paused mid-word. "Depends on what we build." She said, "Most galleys mount ballista or smaller catapults. Say, a thousand to a thousand four hundred for the ballista. Up to a nine hundred at most for the catapults we usually build."

Ranma nodded as she added a couple notations to the map.

"Guon Fan? You're from the shipwrights guild, correct?" Ryu said.

Guon Fan smiled and bowed. "That I am. Guildmaster of Greyfalls true pride." She said with a flourishing bow. "My boys and I have just been hired on by your Lady Castellan."

Ryu looked to Ranma and raised an eyebrow. "Really."

She glanced up at him and rolled her eyes. "She came with an offer and we need people who know what they're doing." She said.

"They know how to build siege equipment?" The historian Shin Arai asked.

"Mostly for shipboard use." The Guildmaster replied.

"Have your people ever constructed a counterweight trebuchet?" Shin asked.

"Twice. Horrible choice for a ship." Guon Fan replied, as she walked over to the table and examined the map. "Told the commissioners that when they ordered. They both insisted they had a design to fix the problem. The first one flipped the ship. The second snapped the keel in two and killed half the crew."

A few seconds of silence met her story. "I assume you can build them on land just fine though?" Ranma asked.

Guon Fan chuckled and pulled the wine bottle from her sleeve. She pulled out a pair of small mugs and poured some into both, holding one out to the Scottish sergeant. The man took his with a drawled thank you. "My boys can build on land just fine. A trebuchet is just a counterweighted catapult at the end of the day. Bigger, taller and with a wider stay the fuck out area, but really just a catapult." She said.

The Shipwright tapped the map. "Also you've got your ranges wrong. Vanehan Engineers know shit about siege weapons. They barely have anything worth being called an engineer." She said between sips of her wine.

"What should we expect then?" James asked as everyone turned their attention to the Guildmaster.

The woman tapped the circumvallations on the far bank. "They might put some ballista there, but that's it. Nothing else will have the reach to make the walls. If they tried to build a trebuchet I'd expect it to fling itself at us instead of the rocks. Won't get far doing that." Her finger moved to the southern side of the city. "Move these ones closer by a couple hundred feet. Expect catapults, but don't expect anything too big. More importantly, I'd be surprised if they're capable of flinging anything really capable of breaking the walls on the merchant district. Nooji or mist-town, sure. Merchant district walls are a different story though."

"Why's that?" Ryu asked.

Guon Fan sipped her wine. "Ignoring just how shit their siege weapons are the Merchant district walls were built four hundred years ago and intended to last forever. They've been kept in good shape and were both designed and built by some of the best the Realm could bring in. They're meant to resist essence weapons, not just a few measly rocks. Lower city walls are… eh, well they're the original walls for the entire city. They weren't built as anything more than a stop-gap. The entire lower city just got cut out of the plan when they were building the inner city walls. Probably didn't have the money, or just didn't care. Neither would surprise me." She added a few notes in Realm to the map showing where she figured the siege weapons would be built.

"Much shorter than I would have expected given what we've seen so far," Shin said, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.

"Based that on what Greyfalls seemed like, right?" Guon Fan asked. At the historian's nod, she shook her head. "Few things you should keep in mind, first, the Realm is the most advanced nation in the world. Second, a satrapy as important as Greyfalls gets the best gifts. The Realm has the best equipment and more lore from the first age than any nation other than Lookshy. Greyfalls is not a normal kingdom around here. Vaneha is far closer to the norm than we are."

"More iron weapons, less steel then?" The historian asked.

"Hmm, pretty much yeah." She replied.

Ranma took in the redrawn map. It was starting to get a bit cluttered outside the City's walls. "Does this change your plans at all?" She asked Ryu.

The Lieutenant looked at the map for a moment. "Not terribly much. We won't need to worry about a wall breach more than likely, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't prepare for the possibility." He said, getting agreement from the sergeants.

The Scottish Sergeant set his empty cup on the table. "Since your here Lady Castellan." He said politely, if in a vaguely hard to understand accent. "I've got a question that has been bugging me for the last couple of hours."

Ranma looked at him. "Go ahead." She said.

The Sergeant drew himself up. "It's just, well, what's our command structure? Whose in charge of the troops?" He asked, getting plenty of confused looks. The man continued, "I served in the British Army for seventeen years before I lost my eye and not once have I ever laid eyes on a more piecemeal showing than we've got outside. We've got one group of men with training who might, and I stress might, be loyal to you who are a bunch of abandoned enlisted without officers. We've got a bunch of NCOs from another military being led by a lieutenant, and while they're trying to organize things there's no guarantee anyone is actually going to listen. None of them own you an ounce of loyalty and officially there's no actual decision on who's in charge of what. I've seen commands fail trying to make sense of lesser fuck up than this."

Before Ranma could respond with a "Look at him, not me" and point the issue at Ryu Sergeant Taylor spoke up. "That's been a question I've been getting from my men all day." He said. He leaned forward against the table. "My men agreed to follow your lead Lady Castellan, but other than that where does everyone fall in this mess? What authority do my men have, whose orders must they obey? We've been trying to keep out of each other's way, but that's not going to work for long. We need a chain of command, officers for the men to follow."

Ranma massaged her forehead and shot a look at Ryu. They'd been so busy that they had not even considered this. That and Ranma hadn't really wanted to get involved in the war side of things.

The Dawn sighed. "We haven't talked about it yet. I've just been operating on the assumption Ryu would handle it." She said.

"Well it's not something I can just handle," Ryu said, pulling up a chair from the side of the room. As he sat down the others began brining over chairs. Ranma muttered a thank you to Sergeant Taylor as the man brought over a chair for her before standing next to her.

Once everyone was settled the Lieutenant continued. "I'm a Lieutenant in the JGSDF. My men and I have sworn oaths to defend Japan and its people. I can help you, but officially I can't do anything else. I've been taking charge of the planning because it's really all I can do."

"The Lieutenant is right Castellan." Sergeant Ito said, "we can help, but we can't lead. We're JSDF, not one of your people."

Ranma sighed. They were right on that count. She glanced over a Guon Fan who mimed locking her lips and throwing the key away before pouring a fresh cup of wine and leaning back to enjoy what she clearly considered some form of entertainment. No help would be forthcoming from her.

"We can, actually." Akiyama said.

"Excuse me?" Ito asked, "Regulations are clear on this. We're on foreign soil. Only reason we can take action is the defense of the Japanese Civilians here."

The older sergeant sighed exasperatedly and shared a look with the Scotsman. "Bit slow, aren't they?" James said with a drawl.

Ito and Ryu looked from one to the other. The Lieutenant only looked a bit confused while the Sergeant was beginning to adopt a downright furious expression. "No, no, and let me repeat myself." He said, "Hell no. I refuse."

Akiyama nodded. "That is your right of course Staff Sergeant." The Sergeant Major said.

"For those of us who aren't sergeants, would you explain?" Ranma prompted with an annoyed tone.

"He's suggesting we abandon the JSDF." Ito snarled. Ryu turned to face his second.

"Certainly one way of viewing it." Akiyama agreed easily before leaning forward with his elbows on the table. "Look, there is no JSDF."

"That statement needs clarification Sergeant," Ryu said, his attention turned fully to the older man. "I distinctly remember signing up."

"Back home there is a JSDF." Akiyama said, "There is an army of two hundred and fifty thousand people armed with the latest weapons and technologies that protects an island nation of one hundred and twenty million people. That army is the JSDF. That army is not here. It has no way of getting here, nor do we know of a way to get to it. In all practicality, we are eighty men and women who were once part of the army known as the JSDF. Once. Now, what are we? Eighty heavily armed men and women protecting one hundred and fifty scared civilians and whoever else just so happens to be here."

"There's more to the JSDF than numbers or weapons or training." Ito snapped, "We took an oath."

"An oath we can no longer fulfill." Akiyama cut him off. "Where is Japan? Where are its people?"

"Here! Out there!" Ito gestured out the windows at the seething mass of humanity that was filling the rapidly darkening courtyard. Already Ranma could see lamps being lit and torches prepared.

"Yes, here! All one hundred and fifty of them. Cowering behind walls waiting for an army that we cannot stop alone. An army that will kill fifty thousand people just because of who ruled this city." The Sergeant Major stood up, pushing back his chair. " Let us assume we win. Then what? What point do we have as an organization? Do the eighty of us dedicate ourselves to protecting those one hundred and fifty? Tell me, Sergeant. What. Do. We. Do?"

The other sergeant's mouth opened and closed a few times.

"You don't have an answer, because there isn't one," Akiyama as he began to pace. "We have continued to operate as JSDF soldiers in the hope that this will be temporary. Perhaps it is. Perhaps in an hour, we will find ourselves back home and we can pretend this as a horrible dream. Perhaps it will happen in a day, a week, a month. Perhaps we must merely defeat the army at our doorstep and we will be whisked away to our homes and our loved ones."

Ito bristled at the rebuke inherent in the Sergeants words and made to stand up when Akiyama turned and slammed his fist into the table with enough force that Ranma could hear splintering wood. "Or maybe we will never go home." He snarled into the other sergeants face, forcing the man back into his seat through sheer presence. "We know nothing about our arrival. We have no hints, no clues. We know nothing." A soft flicker of red light began to swirl around him, tickling Ranma's skin with a dull heat and drawing a frown from Guon Fan.

Akiyama sighed, his presence not deflating so much as it saddened. "We know nothing about our future. It is in our best interests to proceed as though what we fear most will happen. That we will be here for the rest of our lives. We cannot live our lives as though this is merely a bad dream that we will wake up from at any moment." He finished.

Ranma leaned on her left elbow as she waited to see what the other's reactions would be. This was a problem that she hadn't see coming, even if she probably should have in hindsight. After a few moments of silence, Ryu reached up and began to massage his forehead. "Your suggestion then?" He asked.

Akiyama turned to Ranma. "My suggestion is that we accept facts and adapt to the practicalities of the situation. As Sergeant Taylor said we're lacking a chain of command, but we aren't lacking soldiers to fill it."

"What the man is saying," Sergeant Roberts spoke up, "And in a more poetic way than he really needs to, is if you're willing to offer them commissions in this army your building Lady Castellan."

The redhead sighed. "I figured that much myself." She said, looking to Ryu and Ito.

The other sergeant looked lost before realizing that she was looking at him. In an instant his face went from slack to angry, building on furious. "No." He said, standing up. "Hell no, I'm not participating in this- this- treason."

"Then what are you going to do Sergeant?" Akiyama asked, "The people you swore to protect are here, and you aren't a man to run off."

Sergeant Ito looked angrily around the room, seeing no support from the rest of them he headed for the door.

"Sergeant!" Ryu shouted, standing.

"FUCK YOU!" Was the last thing anyone heard clearly before the door slammed shut behind the angry Sergeant.

"And he's gone," Ranma said with a groan. "We don't need this." Infighting amongst the JSDF could very well kill them.

"No, we really don't." Ryu scowled angrily before turning to Akiyama. "Recall everyone and set guards on the supplies and vehicles. I don't want him running off with anything we need. Get the Legionnaires to keep people away if you need." He glanced at Ranma who nodded her assent. "Then get everyone into the dining hall we used for yesterday's meeting. We're dealing with this now. Get moving"

"Sir." Akiyama saluted, then left at a sprint.

Ryu sighed and sat back down heavily. He shot the Scottish Sergeant a glare. "Did you have to do this now!" He snapped.

"When did you want this to happen?" The Scotsman drawled, "Tomorrow? Next Week? Perhaps when the Vanehan army is crawling through the wreckage of the Merchant district? That man doesn't like this situation. I'm surprised you didn't order him detained."

Ryu sighed. "I understand where he's coming from. Oaths are very important." He said.

"You're worried whoever you sent would side with him," Ranma observed. The Lieutenant nodded wearily.

"The last thing we need is for people to start shooting at each other. The damage that would do to morale. Gods." Ryu sighed. The Lieutenant looked at her. "What are you offering?"

Ranma blinked, put two and two together, and sighed. "The question what do we need isn't it." She said.

Sergeant Roberts leaned forward in his seat, resting his elbows on the table. "Then perhaps its time we talked about how your army is going to be organized Lady Castellan. We'd better hurry though, I doubt we have much time." He said.

Ranma nodded before glancing at Guon Fan and Shin Arai. "This probably won't have anything to do with you so if you wouldn't mind heading off. There'll be a meeting this evening. Get the time from Staedtler down in the City Hall. Also if you wouldn't mind getting your people to start scouting out appropriate places for our own siege weapons I'd appreciate it." She said.

"Of course," Shin said, standing and making his way to the door. "I'll see what help I can offer elsewhere for the moment."

Guon Fan saluted with her cup and stood up. "Of course." She patted Ranma on the arm. "I'll show myself out." She started for the door, only to stop and turn around. She produced a few shot glasses and set them on the table. "You'll probably want this more than me." She smiled and left.

Ranma stared at the shot glasses for a moment. Why did she think she would need shot glasses?

"This was wine a moment ago, right?" Ranma looked up to where Sergeant Roberts was looking over the wine bottle except it was full of an amber liquid that was clearly not wine.

"I could have sworn it was empty." Sergeant Taylor said as Roberts shrugged and pried the cork out before taking a sniff.

"Ugh, well this smells quite potent." He said before pouring out four glasses and pushing one to each of them as Sergeant Taylor sat down. "Now, let's get to work shall we?"

-0-0-0-0-0-

Sergeant Ito stomped his way up the stairs towards the fourth-floor room he had been given to stay in. His boots cracked against the marble with each heavy step. He was muttering under his breath. Curses, insults and more foul terms spilled forth under his breath.

He paused as he heard running feet. He peered over the railing and growled as he saw Old Man Akiyama taking the stairs down two at a time. He barely held back from shouting curses at the old fool. He was probably was heading off to secure the cars or armory. Not that he needed to worry. Sergeant Ito was angry, but he wasn't a deserter. Not like them.

He stomped his way up the last few steps and headed down the empty hallway to his room. The last few days had been infuriating. Taking orders from the brat had been one thing. The chain of command was the chain of command after all. However, when the damned fool had thrown their lot in with Saotome without even considering things.

A nearby vase suffered a violent end as he threw it into the wall.

He took a long, shaky breath. He needed control. He was a soldier and a soldier was in control. His rage abate ever so slightly as he continued onto his room.

The door bounced in its frame as he slammed it shut and began to robotically search his room for his rifle. He needed space to think, space to calm down, and he wasn't going to get it in the fortress He wasn't enough of a fool to head out only armed with his service pistol.

He found the rifle where he'd stored it in one of the spare drawers. Lifting it out he mechanically checked it over. Everything looked fine.

"Two days." He breathed angrily, a hitch in his voice. "Two fucking days was all it took. Damned fool. Didn't even try to find a way before giving up." He dug out the magazines and slid them into place before heading for the door.

He locked the door behind him with the key the servants had given him before heading for the stairs down. Along the way, a familiar young man clad in full JGSDF kit rounded the corner at the stairs end of the hallway.

"Sergeant." Private Tanaka called, "They're looking for you."

Of course, they were. "I know." He said, stopping just in front of the young private. "Do you know why?" He asked.

The young man shook his head. "Just said they needed to talk." He said.

Ito snorted. "Am I to be detained?" He asked. It would be the sensible thing after he stormed out. To his surprise, the private shook his head.

"No, sir." The Private said. "Orders are to inform you that the Lieutenant will be addressing everyone in the dining hall in about an hour or so."

So he wasn't hunted. At least there was that. "Thank you Private." He said before walking past the young man.

"Sir, where are you going?" The Private asked. By the sounds of the boy's footsteps he had started following him.

"For a walk." He said, "I need to clear my head."

"Around the walls?"

Ito stopped and looked at the young man. "Around the City. As I said, I need to clear my head. No going to get the chance around here." He said.

"I should go with you then." The Private said.

"I'll be fine," Ito said, resuming his walk to the stairs.

The boy continued to follow. "The City isn't secure. Orders are no one head out without someone accompanying them." He said.

Ito groaned softly. "Fine, just keep up then." He said as he stomped down the staircase.

-0-0-0-0-0-

It took an hour and a half before Akiyama came to retrieve Ryu from the war room. An hour and a half of debating the precise structure of the Greyfalls army. Also, several shots of the strongest whisky Ryu had ever had.

"Is everything ready sir?" Akiyama asked as they walked down the hall to the stairs.

Ryu snorted and looked at the small pile of papers he had tucked under one arm. "Maybe. Maybe not. Sergeant do you have any idea the shitstorm you just helped kickstart?" He asked looking at the older man.

To his credit, the man looked slightly abashed. "I do." He said, "It needed to be said sir."

"Not even two full days. Two days, Sergeant. No wonder Ito exploded." Ryu sighed. "We haven't even tried to look for a way home yet. We just haven't had the time."

The older man nodded. "I understand, but just because we're doing this doesn't mean we don't look for a way home." He said.

"Two days. This couldn't have waited a week?" Ryu asked.

"Two days of maybe seven sir." Akiyama countered, "We're operating on a tight clock. The sooner we get organized the better we can respond to the threat."

They entered the main hall and Ryu stopped by the railing before turning to the Sergeant. "I get that, but there were other ways to go about this. We might have just lost one of our most effective soldiers." Ryu said.

"I could have handled that better, I will admit," Akiyama replied, taking a moment to look down at the nearly empty hall. "But the question had been raised and every day we put off handling it we would have damaged our ability to organize."

Ryu nodded. The joint command they had been trying to organize hadn't been held together by anything more than good faith and desperation. It might have held up long enough to hold the city, but then again questions of who was in command of what could have crippled their ability to respond to rapid developments.

"I'm out of my depth." He said, leaning against the railing. "Sergeant Major I am completely out of my depth. I'm barely even a Lieutenant. I nearly got thrown out entirely before I could even graduate and now I'm expected to organize this mess." He held out the stack of papers to the Sergeant who took them and started to flip through.

After a couple minutes, the older man looked up from them. "Your handwriting is terrible." He deadpanned.

Ryu snorted. "Can you read it, or do I need to translate?" He snarked.

"I can read just fine. I've read worse scrawls than yours." He flipped through a couple more pages. "This seems rather complete to be honest. A lot more than I expected out of an hour and a half of work."

Ryu shrugged. "Everything seemed to go smoother after the second shot of whisky." He said.

"Whisky?" Akiyama asked, "You've been drinking."

Ryu shrugged. He'd only had three shots. The only person who'd had more was Roberts, and that man hadn't seemed to notice even after five. "Only a couple shots." He said.

Akiyama sighed and glanced over the papers. "I notice there's nothing in here about you. The Castellan is offering me a Colonel's commission, but nothing on you." He said.

"She offered me overall command," Ryu said.

"Congratulations."

The Lieutenant chuckled wryly. "I haven't accepted yet. Not sure if I should. Told her you should have it." He said.

"I'm a Sergeant, not an officer," Akiyama replied.

"You are now." Ryu quipped, "You don't get to use that response anymore."

Akiyama sighed. "I supposed I asked for that." He admitted, "Still, I'm not looking to take command from you."

Ryu shot him an exasperated look. "Akiyama, I'm not fit for this. I've got the training, but I never even.. This took me completely by surprise. I have the training, but I don't have the experience. You do." He said.

"With respect, that's bullshit." Akiyama said bluntly, "I have never commanded more than a platoon. I barely have more actual combat experience than you. I'm a peacetime NCO, have been my entire life. Frankly, sir, the only thing I have over you is another thirty years." He held out the stack of papers. "Besides I'm pretty sure most of them would mutiny if I tried to take command."

Ryu took the papers and gave the other man an incredulous look. "You think so?" He asked, "It's only been two days. They can't think that well of me."

"You'd be surprised." Akiyama clapped him on the shoulder. "Just have some faith for once. You can handle this. You've been handling it just fine so far."

"Two days," Ryu repeated.

"Two months." Akiyama replied, "You've been handling this for two months. You can handle it just fine."

Ryu frowned, but nodded. "We should get going." He said to change the subject.

They started back down the stairs in silence. Soon they reached the floor below, where most of the eighty-eight JSDF soldiers were waiting for them. Men and women snapped to attention as they caught sight of them.

Walking down the hallway lined on either side with saluting soldiers felt like he was either walking to an award ceremony or his execution.

"Everyone into the dining room," Ryu ordered loudly as he reached the doorway. He stepped through to find the corporals and sergeants already inside. They rose as he entered. "Everyone sit." He ordered as he headed for the head of the long dining table.

Once everyone was settled he took a quiet moment to take stock of who had attended. One person was distinctly absent. "Has anyone seen Sergeant Ito?" He asked.

"He exited the main fortress gate over an hour and a half ago sir." Corporal Kita said, "He was accompanied by Private Tanaka. Said he was going for a walk to clear his head."

Ryu sighed. "Well in the interests of time then, we're going to have to start without him." He said. "Now, who here knows what this is about? Raise your hand." Unsurprisingly the Sergeants and Corporals raised their hands. A few other joined them, notably, Kawashima's entire fireteam was amongst them.

The Lieutenant nodded. "It was brought up in a meeting earlier today that there is a rather large issue with the organization of the forces we have been assembling. Namely that it doesn't have any." Mutterings came from more than a few people, but no one spoke up. "Right now we are Soldiers of the JSDF and while we are training and helping the people organize we represent an odd conundrum from an organizational standpoint. What authority do we actually have? What is our position? Who is to obey an order from one of us and who can tell us to 'fuck off.'"

He shuffled the papers in front of him and pulled out a single piece. "Right now our forces are us, the JSDF, the Legionnaires, and the Volunteer army. At the moment we and the Legionnaires have taken the role of trainers, but some of us have also been taking control of things as needed. Corporal Kita, I would like to thank you for your work in securing the Fortress, and the same goes to Corporal Tatsu for your actions as our ad-hoc quartermaster." He said, bowing his head to both. Both bowed back.

"However, things are going to get a lot more complicated and as was pointed out in our planning meeting this afternoon a divided command is doomed to fail at the worst time." He pulled out another paper. "We are pressed for time. The Vanehan army is days away and we don't have time for half measures. As part of these discussions I have been presented two options with which to share."

He paused and set some of the stack of paper aside. He held up what was left. "In here is an offer of commission for everyone here." He said, watching the room carefully. People up and down the table stirred uneasily. Not unexpected. The soldiers gathered here weren't fools, they knew what a commission was and the consequences associated with it.

"I realize that to many this must seem rather too soon. We haven't been here a week even." He said. In his mind's eye he could almost see the flickering flames of emotion that was dancing about the room. Like with the two men from Sergeant Ito's squad. Judging by their mutinous expressions they were inclined to just walk out of the room. Or punch him perhaps. What little respect he had earned from them was probably all that was keeping them in the room.

"I've had the same thoughts. We have no idea what brought us here and we could conceivably find ourselves home tomorrow just as easily as we found ourselves here." A few heads nodded, "How many people here believe that what brought us here can so easily be reversed?" He asked, "Raise your hands."

Not one hand was lifted from the table. "Well if nothing else we are in agreement about that." He sighed. "The first of the Lady Castellan's two offers is, as I said, an officer's commission within the ranks of Greyfall's new army. Allow me to read off the specifics and then I'll get onto the other offer."

The room had settled into a tense, almost bubbling, atmosphere and grated against Ryu's senses as he started into the offer. "Starting from the top. Sergeant Major Akiyama is being offered a commission as a Colonel. Sergeants Ito, Matou, Mori and Maki are being offered commissions of Major."

The three sergeants who were there shared considering looks. Matou, at least, looked intrigued.

"All corporals are being offered Captaincies. Private are being offered positions of First and Second lieutenant, depending on experience. Anyone with at least a year of service is being offered a first lieutenant's commission." He paused as he flipped the paper over. "Pay is to be determined at a later date as are regulations and uniform. One of those things that we simply don't have time or the local knowledge to deal with immediately. As for the rest." He held out the papers to Sergeant Mori. "Please pass that around. We only have the one copy at the moment. There's something of a lack of copiers around here so please be careful." A tense chuckle went around the room. The sort of chuckle that's not so much from humour as a need to relieve stress.

"Now the second offer." He lifted up the remaining papers. "We've all taken oaths of loyalty and duty. For many of us serving in the JSDF isn't just about being paid, it's about our honour and commitment to duty. It's about protecting people and ensuring the safety of Japan." More nods, more murmurs of agreement. "That first offer, I'm sure many of you feel that the Lady Castellan is asking you to betray your honour."

"It is." One of the privates in the back, a man from Ito's squad, finally said, standing. "We swore an oath. That's not something a man can just back down from." Most of his squad nodded along, and voiced their approval. Most. The lieutenant noticed that Corporal Tatsu had remained quiet, his face a thoughtful mask that hid his emotions.

"Do you still wish to protect the civilians of who came with us?" Ryu asked the private.

The man nodded. "I do sir, but not by turning my back on my oath." He said.

"Then the second offer I have is for you." Ryu replied picking up the paper in front of him. "The second offer is that those who refuse a commission may still participate as soldiers in the defence of the city, but you will be made into a separate unit under your own command. That command being whoever is the highest ranking member to not accept a commission." Ryu paused. "Mostly likely either myself or Sergeant Ito."

"You aren't taking a commission sir?" Corporal Kawashima asked from her spot.

Ryu sighed. "I am still deciding." He said. Oaths, honour. He had so little these days to begin with. A soft murmur filled the room and many people frowned.

"And I will be taking a Commission." Akiyama said from beside Ryu, "I was the one to bring up the idea. I will follow through on it." The older man stood. "This is a grave act. I realized that when I first proposed it. To follow through is treason. But we have a duty that is greater than loyalty to a country. We have a duty to protect, to defend and to guard."

Ryu kept one eye on the rest of the room as he listened to his second speak. More than a few people were sitting straighter, leaning forward to listen to the older man. Ryu would be lying if he said he wasn't feeling the passion Akiyama was putting into is argument. It blazed like a flame that was spreading across the room, from person to person.

"We cannot continue to meet the obligation as just soldiers of JGSDF. The army out there," he flung a hand towards the windows, "needs leadership. It needs experience. We have that and we can give it to them. We can't hold this city alone, can't protect our charges by ourselves. But with their aid we can. There are thousands of men and women who have answered our call, and I will not leave them alone without guidance. Taking an officer's commission is the best way to provide that guidance. They will know that we are there with them. That we stand for them and their homes just as much as they themselves do." He slammed an open palm onto the tabletop and everyone jumped at the loud noise. "This is more than about just ourselves. This is about the future of this city and its people. I ask you to join me in making sure that this city has a chance for a future." The barest flicker of flames began to float around him and Ryu could feel a shimmer of heat.

The Sergeant-Major paused before turning to Ryu. "But I do not wish to do this without you sir. You've led us well thus far, and I believe you can continue to do so."

Ryu sat there for a long moment feeling the burning weight of eighty plus men and women staring at him from around the room. Each one watching to see which way he went. Ryu looked up at his second in command. The older man had been something of a mentor for him over the last six months and had provided quite a bit of good advice that had helped him get through the mess he had caused.

"I-" Ryu paused then nodded solemnly. "I will take a commission." He said. These people were looking to him now, and he needed to set the example he wished them to follow. He turned to the room. "But as he said, we can't do this alone. Who here will join me? Which of you will follow us?"

Kawashima stood, her chair loudly scraping along the floor. "I will." She said, "I've seen the Castellan in action and I think I can trust her to do the right thing. She has my loyalty, as do you sir."

Beside her Corporal Tatsu nodded to himself before standing. "Mine as well." He said, "We're cut off from Japan. We must adapt or be overcome."

Corporal Kita stood next. "I see no reason to change our course." She said. More people down the line began to stand as well, some voicing agreement, other's simply nodding along.

Ryu turned to the sergeants who were conferring quietly. "Gentlemen?" He asked.

The three turned to him, then back to each other, before Mori said something quiet to the other two and they both nodded. As one they stood. "We'll take commissions." Mori said loudly. More chairs scraped backwards as more chimed in their decision.

When Ryu was done counting them all he found that only six, all members of Ito's team, had elected to take the second choice.

-0-0-0-0-0-

The war room was filled once again. Duke Staedtler and Governor Sung were sitting together to Ranma's right along with the ex-magistrates, who she really needed to figure out what their job was exactly. On her left sat Kodachi, much recovered and sipping a cup of tea; Ryouga, damp from the snow that had begun to fall a couple hours previously; and the newly promoted General Kumon Ryu.

Despite her own issues with him, he was, unfortunately, the only one with both the training needed and something resembling her trust. Resembling, since really she didn't trust him all that far. Maybe just as far as she could throw him. At best.

Beside him sat the rather overwhelmed Captain Ragara Lockler, who was still wearing that stunned face from when she'd informed him of his promotion; and Captain Taylor, who had insisted on nothing higher. He seemed to believe anything higher would impede his ability to relate to his men.

At the far end of the Table were the new additions to their meeting. Doctor Zutter Elina of the Red Cross and Shin Arai formerly of the Tokyo Museum. With them was Colonel Akiyama who was engaged in a conversation with the doctor.

Guon Fan had taken a chair away from the table and was holding a chat with the very much not ordinary raven Leitleen who was perched on a convenient lamp.

Ranma rapped her knuckles on the table, drawing attention to her. "Well, today has been, eventful." She sighed. A few people chuckled.

"If things stopped happening today it would be an eventful year," Lily muttered.

Ranma nodded. "Well, it's not going to." She said, "What did you and Ryouga find?"

Lily sighed and pulled out her notes. "The woman we found dead had definitely taken Mnemmon's flying body to the back of her head while she was in the middle of a summoning ritual. What she was trying to summon I can't tell. It was demonic in nature, but the circle she was using was too damaged to make out if it was a specific being she was trying to get." She flipped a few pages and held up a drawing for everyone to see. "For those of you who can't read the writing what I can make out has a few too many references to blood and shadows for my liking." She set it down. "Judging by the bodies I'd say she summoned something, but what and when I can't say. I couldn't even tell if it was still around."

Zeriah groaned. "There is nothing so insidious as a demon that's gone to ground." He complained, "If we weren't preparing for a siege I'd tell you to make it our first priority your grace."

Ranma nodded. Her own experiences with demons and spirits said as much. "Keep looking for it. Feel free to ask Ryu for what help you need." Ryu tipped his head politely.

"As you wish." Lily sighed, pointedly ignoring Ryouga's chuckle at her discomfort.

"Now," Ranma looked to the Duke and Governor. "How're things going in the City?"

Staedtler leaned forward. "A few functionaries and Councilor Wei Bu stayed behind. He's a longtime Realm supporter, but he's agreed to help us organize our response to this threat." He said, "His men have been great help taking stock of our resources. It'll be a couple days though before we can confirm everything."

"And the candidates for the east and south?" Ranma asked.

Staedtler shuffled a few papers around. "We weren't able to come up with anyone for the south." He admitted, "However Sung did manage to speak with someone promising for the east."

"Arya Swati. A Nuri whose family is rather important in the east. With the departure of the Realm, they would have direct control of the only iron mine in the country." Sung said, "Elevating her to such a position would tie her and her families resources back to you, and they do hold quite a bit of sway in the region. Enough to raise an army certainly."

"She won't turn on us?" Ranma asked.

"I've dealt with her and her family before." Staedtler said, "They are reliable."

"Do we have another option?" Zeriah asked, "Or is this the only one you've located?"

"Unsurprisingly, today has been very busy for both of us." Staedtler said, "We had limited time to search for candidates. Unfortunately, the south is far less united than the east or north. Bengtsson held a great deal of influence and with him gone it may as well be open season. I couldn't find two of his former supporters who would be willing to agree on anything."

Ranma winced. That did not bode well. "Then we go with your pick." She said to Sung, who nodded.

"I accept any responsibility should this choice prove poor." He said, bowing his head. "There is one more matter I need to raise."

"Go ahead."

Sung toyed with something in his hands before sighing. "At the request of my daughter, I would ask if you would take her as a one of your Ladies-in-waiting." He asked.

"Excuse me?" Staedtler stared at Sung who sighed.

Ranma groaned and ignored the look Ryouga was sending her. At the far end of the table Elina and Guon Fan were both concealing their amusement badly. Snickers were leaking from the latter quite a bit.

"You realize that would require her to stay behind, right?" Staedtler asked Sung.

"I'm well aware." The normally quiet man snapped before sighing again. "My daughter insists. She wishes to stay behind. She says that if she stays people will never lose hope that help is coming since I would never abandon her." He rubbed his forehead. "Even asking this hurts."

"She wants this?" Ranma asked. A lady-in-waiting was like an assistant, wasn't it? She could use one of those, but oh god she did not want anything more to tie her to the idea of being a 'queen'.

Fate seemed to have other ideas.

"She asked me specifically, and she argued it well." Sung said, "I would normally never consider such a thing, but hope is something that can become in short supply during a siege. Even that implicit promise could do quite a bit. So I ask… Will you make her one of your ladies-in-waiting?"

"I don't exactly have a lady-in-waiting," Ranma commented as she thought it over.

"It's not a bad idea." Kodachi said quietly from her side, "Having someone on hand who can deal with things for you is never bad, and she's about our age."

Ranma nodded at Kodachi's point.

"She wants this?" Ranma repeated, eying the Governor who nodded.

"She does." He said, honestly to her eyes.

"Then I accept. I promise she will be safe when you return." Ranma promised, before returning to the primary subject at hand. "That still leaves us without a southern governor."

"The south is going to be under siege soon as well," Ryu noted. "Without a strong hand in charge, it could go poorly."

"We were already planning on sending a team south anyway." Ranma said, "Could they manage the situation down there themselves? They only need to hinder the Vanehan troops not establish control."

"Control could be established in the Spring once we've sent the Vanehan army away," Zeriah said.

"They're soldiers, not diplomats." Ryu said, "Look even if we don't send a Governor in their direction, what about an ambassador? Someone who can speak on our behalf?" Staedtler leaned over to Sung and the two began a quiet debate.

"It can't be Lily or I." Zeriah said, "Neither of us would be trusted by the south. The General is needed here. Really everyone here is either bound somewhere else or needed here."

"Perhaps," Elina said, "we should consult the other travelers? Someone with a political or business background would be perfect for this."

"Ryu, could you have someone look into that this evening?" Ranma asked.

He nodded. "We'll have it done."

"Well then," Ranma sighed, "Ito."

The General shook his head. "Came back an hour ago. Still says no." He said.

"And the rest?" Ranma asked.

"Everything from ecstatic to uncertain." He said, "They'll adapt. We'll finish the reorganization tomorrow. What I have done is assign Major's Mori and Maki along with two fire teams to accompany the Governors on their trips. They'll stay and help train our reinforcements. As for the south I've ordered Captain Kawashima and her fireteam to prepare for a long trip. All three groups are going to be making use of our vehicles. Should speed things along."

"So long as they don't crash." Ryouga said, "It's snowing out there now."

"We've taken that into account." Ryu said.

"What about supplies?" Ranma asked.

"The warehouses have been emptied and their contents have been added to the main armory. Other than that we got lucky. One of the civilians who came with us knows blacksmithing. She's been repairing or making new weapons out of the scrap left behind by your fight." Ryu said, "We should be in good straights. Even with the number of people joining up."

"How many are we looking at?" Zeriah asked.

"More than we expected. A lot more. Last count I had put it at over twenty-five hundred. The expectation is that we'll hit five thousand before tomorrow afternoon." Ryu said.

"Manning the walls won't be a problem." Akiyama said, "Training the defenders will be."

Ranma nodded. That would definitely be the problem. Five thousand or more people in a handful of days… Ideas flickered in the back of her mind for how she might be able to speed that along. She pushed them aside for the moment. It was something to consider later.

"Now," She said, "What about our other preparation?" As first one, then another advisor chimed in she lamented that she still hadn't had a chance to eat since lunch.

-0-0-0-0-0-

Ranma closed the door to her quarters with a weary sigh. She had a few minutes to herself for the first time in… Well, the first time since she woke up at least. She felt exhausted, strung out and depleted from the constant series of meetings that were involved in trying to fix the mess they'd gotten themselves into.

She walked over to one of the sofas and collapsed across it with a sigh. Her stomach grumbled and she ignored it. The Twins were bringing her food in a few minutes, it could wait. She cuddled one of the throw cushions and glanced at the fireplace across from her. It crackled merily, but she found herself thinking that a TV would have probably been a better use of the spot. Not that this place had TVs, but she wished it did. Something mindless to watch would be perfect right then.

It would have been a perfect quiet moment really, except for one thing she had noticed the moment she had walked in. There was someone else in the room.

"You can come out now." Ranma said softly.

From the shadows of the hallway that led to the baths, a woman stepped out. She was only a little taller than Ranma with long black hair that hung to her mid back. She was wearing some clothing that was clearly not local in origin, which meant she had probably come with them from Japan… She looked Japanese anyway. She bowed low.

"I apologize for the intrusion Lady Castellan." She said.

Ranma watched her through half-lidded eyes, ready to move in case the woman proved to be more than she seemed at first. Of course given how quietly she moved Ranma was willing to place good odds on 'assassin' and go from there. Well, that or ninja.

"What do you want?" The redhead asked tiredly. With a thought, her clothing shifted to a loose yukata decorated in gold-scaled dragons.

The woman rose from her bow before kneeling on the floor. "I am Hinagawa Miyu, formerly an Agent of the Chrysanthemum Throne." She said.

Ranma sat up. "Formerly." She said.

"Officially at least." Miyu allowed, "I retired to have a family. My daughter and I were brought here with everyone else."

"And this leads to you sneaking into my rooms….?" Ranma trailed off.

The woman slowly reached behind her and pulled out a folder before sliding it towards Ranma. "I am here to offer my services to you, Lady Castellan. It is the only thing I can contribute to help keep my daughter safe." She said.

Ranma reached out and plucked the folder from the floor. She flipped through the documents. What was inside was written, by hand, on a combination of standard 8 ½ x 11 lined paper and something rougher that must have been local manufacture.

She skimmed a couple of pages before counting them off. She flipped to several random pages. This… This was a lot of information. From a list of industries in the city to a list of materials and stockpiles each possessed. There were pages on the criminal underworld and even a three-page report on 'The Guild'.

"When did you start on this?" She asked. She couldn't have-

"This afternoon." Miyu smiled as Ranma's thoughts derailed.

"This is a lot," Ranma said as she sat back down.

"I felt an audition should demonstrate my skills." The older woman said, "After all, anyone can claim to be a spy. While I am a bit rusty I have done my best. Are my skills satisfactory?"

Ranma looked down at the inch and a half stack of paper and sighed. "Yes, they are. And yes we could use you…" She looked the spy/assassin/crazy-ninja-woman in the eye and added, "Why can't anyone just audition for these kinds of things without the theatrics?" She didn't even have the grace to look abashed, merely smiling mysteriously.

Ranma flipped the folder shut and put it on the table beside her. "There's a meeting in-"

"The morning, war room. Between 7 and 9 am, depending on when you get up. I know, I was listening." Miyu said.

Ranma's mouth clicked shut. Before she could say anything the door opened and Jasmine entered with a covered tray. Ranma looked towards her.

"Your dinner your Grace." She chirped as she set it down on the coffee table.

"Thank you," Ranma said, looking back to Miyu who was, to Ranma's complete lack of surprise, gone. In her mind, she added 'one crazy ninja lady' to the list of weird people she had run into since arriving.

-0-0-0-0-0-

Captain Kawashima Yuki hated the cold. Winter was her least favourite season. So, of course, they had to come to this strange place when it was winter. Cold, miserable winter.

"We're all loaded, Captain." Kawashima glanced over to Yori who was standing beside their transport. Since they were the ones headed into danger the General and Castellan had at least seen fit to give her team a pair of LAVs. They had had their mounted light machine guns removed, but they were armoured which was more than most of the other vehicles could say.

Also, it was odd being called Captain. Odd, but nice. It had been a long time since she got a promotion. "Good," Kawashima said to the young Lieutenant. "Our passenger?"

"Mrs. Hayabusa is stowed away ma'am," Koneko said from the other vehicle.

Kawashima looked over the two vehicles and smiled. It might have been cold, snowing, and miserable by the simple standard of it being winter, but at least she would have air conditioning.

She walked around to the passenger side of her vehicle and popped the door open. "Alright, pile in ladies, we're leaving." She shouted to her squad. They clambered into the vehicles and they rumbled to life. The crowds of the fortress yard slowly moved out of their way as the vehicles trundled towards the gates.

Trip down towards the front gate took a half hour as the bustling crowds that had taken to the streets slowed them down. People, animals, and carts swarmed here and there. Workmen were constructing guard posts and taking measurements of existing buildings. Men in black coats and hats with silver trim directed traffic at intersections and many of them worked to clear their path through the morning streets.

"A lot busier than yesterday." Yuri said as they reached the city gates. The guards waved them through.

"They're getting ready for a siege. If they aren't busy they'll be dead shortly." The Captain observed as she settled into her seat, a map unfolded in her lap.

"I suppose." The younger girl said thoughtfully.

"Don't worry too much. Just focus on driving for now. And keep us on the road for now. Let me know when we reach the first village." Kawashima leaned back into her seat and pulled down the brim of her hat. A nap would make the travels go quicker.