Chapter 4
"He was so desperate he acted on a stupid plan." Minerva said.
"And you let him go?" Leena asked.
"Because he was that desperate."
Her words echoed in the dry air, quickly turning a cheerful reunion into a somber deliverance. Riley clutched the arms of her wheelchair, feeling whether the chair or her entire body quivered. She appreciated Leena gripping her should as if to calm her down, only to realize Leena's hand soon joined the rhythm. Overflowing waves of fear, anger, disgust crashed into each other, flooded a little through her eyes.
"So why are you here? Asking for forgiveness?" Leena gritted.
Minerva glanced at them, removed her glass and took her sweet time to wiped it clean.
"If I'm being honest, I let him go partly because I sympathized with him. But I come here because there was another reason why he left. He's a changed man. He has become obsessed with saving Raz. The Claude that we know would do anything to save his friend. But the Claude that has gone see nothing but saving Raz. He was willing to risk sabotage the ceasefire treaty and his friends. So I've come here to see what happened to him and how to fix that. Don't worry, he's in good company for now. I didn't just send him away alone." Minerva said. Perhaps Riley glared at her a bit too long.
"What do you expect to find here?" Leena asked.
"You two, of course. The root cause and the solution, all in the same."
"Are you trying to play us fool?"
"No, I'm just stating my observation. You may not realize it, but the war has changed all of you. Claude isn't an idealist anymore. You're not the cool, calm, collected deadeye Kai anymore. That's why you're here and Claude's halfway across the continent. I can figure what's wrong with Claude. But what's wrong with you Kai?"
Riley unconsciously reached her hand to Leena's, still resting on her shoulder. But Leena left Riley's side.
"Conversation's over."
And Leena left the room. Riley couldn't even turn her head around to look at Leena's leaving.
"I'm sorry I've come bearing bad news." Minerva said. Riley slowly adjusted her wheelchair and faced Minerva.
"No, thank you for coming. I appreciate any bit of information."
"How long until you can walk?"
"Two weeks, if I'm fully rested. But with Angie starting school and Kai not around the house, I have to walk around quite a bit. It's okay though. It's part of rehabilitation. The doctor said to avoid muscle death." Riley added after receiving a pitiful look.
"Why did you let him go? Do you believe that Raz is still alive?" Minerva asked.
"… I do. But he left. Not that I could follow him."
"I'm sorry. I don't mean to offend. But, I really do mean this. You need to go after him. Claude's in a tough spot right now. He needs you. Whether Raz survives won't matter if Claude dies in the end. So here's what I can do. I contacted captain Morgan. He can sail through the Crystal Sea again and land you inside the Empire, wherever Claude might be. But he told me that the ice will melt soon. The Imperial Navy will control the sea lane tighter when that happens. Time's running out."
Riley felt her body sunk further into the wheelchair. Her long blonde hair glued to the back of her shirt, fused into the thin space between the chair and her back.
"You don't have to decide right now. Claude has a decent team with him. Zaiga, Vancey, Mabel, Teresa, all top-notch veterans. What I'm worried about is his state of mind. Here's how you can contact captain Morgan. And here's mine, but I won't be able to help any further. I'm stuck to border patrol now."
"Thank you, Minerva. I'll talk to Kai."
"Don't mention it. I'm sorry I couldn't help more"
Minerva stood up and prepared to leave when Riley called out once more.
"I just want to say thank you, again. And you've changed, too. In a good way." Riley added awkwardly.
"We've all changed. It's just war."
Minerva nodded her head slightly while on her way out as Riley saluted her.
The convoy was only one truck. Zaiga drove it through the no man's land, flying a white flag and an Imperial flag as a signal to the Empire troops. When the convoy picked up Claude, he was given an outfit to change and forged documents for the border crossing. The crossing was so smooth that Claude almost felt stupid for wasting time at the Federation military base. And the ride north to Ardaha was nothing more than a school field trip. They avoided the cities and any routes that could have checkpoints, fearing coming across an Empire soldier who could have recognized their faces. They ended up taking the scenic route, bypassing the Federation warpath's months ago and visiting countryside villages for resupply instead.
The mood had dampened, for lack of alcohol and other things. Only Claude and Zaiga knew how to drive, surprisingly, so they spent almost all the time at the front seat taking turns driving. All that Claude could hear was the ragnite engine, the wind flapping the tarps covering the back of the truck, and his fingers tapping on whatever surfaces they found. The silence was deafening and heavy. It made him realize he had nothing to do besides thinking, being reminded of troubled times.
The heavy mood wouldn't lift until Zaiga stopped the truck in the middle of the road one evening. Even before the truck's light shone on the makeshift roadblock made by two large trunks, the sounds of explosions and gunshots echoing from afar gave Zaiga the same expression that Claude wore on his face. In that moment of transition from one kind of tension to another, Claude felt guilty for being happy.
"Ambush. Get off the truck. Zaiga take Mabel and push fifty yards back to set up a fallback line. Weapons tight. Go."
Claude got off the truck, leaving the door open for cover and circled to the back of the truck to meet up with the rest. Zaiga and Mabel headed off quickly and Teresa laid on her stomach, aiming her rifle through the gap beneath the truck.
"What are we looking at Claude?" Teresa asked.
"Keep your eyes open. Scan your sectors." Claude said.
"Are we being shot at?" Vancey asked.
Claude looked around and kept his ears perked. The gunshots were sporadic and coming closer, but none of them landed near them.
"Teresa, go check it out."
She nodded and made her way around the truck. Claude tracked her as she dug behind the trunks and looked beyond it. Then she headed back.
"There's a city about two hundred yards up ahead, in flame, and heavy fighting. Gunshots must have come from there."
"What's happening here? Isn't the ceasefire in place?" Claude mumbled to himself. Vancey and Teresa looked at him, equally confused.
"What now?" Teresa asked. Claude stared right back at them. He had a few thoughts in mind, the first of them was getting back on the truck and going around the city. But then it was Ardaha right in front of him, if he still remembered from the map. Loweholm flashed across his mind. The chance to save Raz burnt rapidly as well. He stood up and rallied Zaiga and Mabel on him, then gave the order once they returned.
"We need to get down there and figure out what's going on. We'll hide the truck in the tree line and proceed on foot. Mabel will be overwatch. Vancey with me, Zaiga, Teresa second team. We'll leapfrog forward. Weapons tight. Question? Contact!"
Everyone kept their heads down as bullets started ricocheting off the truck. The sounds of metal met metal rung in his ears, followed by a succession of fire from his own squad. Without looking up, he shouted out orders.
"Spread out. Zaiga, suppressing fire. Mabel fall back and give us a base of fire."
"Ceasefire, ceasefire. Help us."
The shouting began to overwhelm the shooting and by the time Claude's ears stopped ringing, he looked up to see a tattered group of wounded limped toward him. One of them carried a flag with a blue rose.
"Help us." The man seemingly leading the group pleaded.
"Are you the resistance? The Blue Rose?" Claude shouted back.
"Yes. The Empire is coming after us. Help us." The man's voice weakened. Claude looked at his friends.
"Vancey, Zaiga, disarm them and help them on the truck. Everyone else keeps watch."
His caution was unnecessary. Besides their leader, no one else had a weapon. And no one was unhurt. They leaned on each other, arms over shoulders, all covered in blood. Claude watched in silence as his friends helped them onto the back of the truck, listened to their groaning as they laid down on the floor and squirmed in pain.
"Claude."
"Right. Coming."