And here we are again with another chapter of The Will of Resistance. Last time we saw each other, Dora prepared a little presentation for the Araluenian Royal Family and the Rangers. But as the presentation ended, princess Cassandra came up to Dora, wanting to ask her something. What will that be? We will learn at the beginning of the chapter.
But first, reviews.
To RDDash: You see, I feel better with simply using already existing companies in this story than coming up with some new ones. It's easier to remember.
So, let's get into the business.
Chapter 31
,,Chateau"
October 7, 2150
14:03
Castle Araluen
Araluenians already reached the Castle and as the expected, White Squadron members were already there. Their fighters were already parked next to the Castle's walls. The group entered through the gate and immediately noticed Dora, standing next to the horse-attached carts. She was checking something on her terminal.
"You're not bored?"Duncan asked, as he rode next to her.
"Not at all."Dora replied.
Cassandra and Horace then stopped next to her and got off of their horses and came up to her with concerned faces.
"So."Dora started."What is it you wanted to talk with me about?"
The two looked at each other and quickly gathered all their strength to ask.
"We…"Cassandra said."We have to rights to ask you this…but we would like you to save Will and Maddie."
White Squadron second-in-command stopped checking her hand terminal and looked at the two.
"Say what?"she asked.
"That Lassigny guy held them for too long."Horace stated."We simply want them saved."
"We owe a lot of things to Will. Not to mention, that Maddie is our daughter."Cassandra continued."So, what will you say?"
Dora looked at the two for few seconds and finally sighed.
"Give me thirty minutes."she said.
The two risen their eyebrows and nodded. Dora walked away and after she was out of their hearing range, connected with Egon.
"Egon, I want you to do something for me…"
Half an hour later…
As Dora said, it took her only thirty minutes. She contacted Egon to and asked him to do several aerial photos of the castle Will and Maddie had to be held in. She additionally had to ask Duncan to show it to her on the map. When she did, everything went without problem and soon, the photos started to come right onto Dora's terminal.
When this was done, she summoned everyone to the King's office. When everyone were there, she entered.
"What is it you wanted us to talk about?"Duncan asked.
"As you probably know, your daughter asked us to go and save your people held by that Lassigny."Dora replied.
Duncan looked at his daughter and her husband and nodded.
"Indeed, they told me."King said."And what will you do?"
"Of course we will help you."Dora replied."I wanted to know the location of that Chateau de Falaises for a reason. Thanks to that, we were able to perform aerial recon and made some photos."
She took off her hand terminal and placed it on the desk. Next, she pressed several button and a hologram of one of the photos appeared. It presented the aerial shot of a square castle, with four towers at each corner and one main keep in the middle. It was placed on a kind of headland, making it naturally protected from any attack. It was additionally pretty big and had thick walls.
"So this is the famous castle…"Arlette said.
"Looks like a real fortress."Yuko stated.
"Indeed it does."Aqi agreed.
Dora looked at the Araluenians, which looked at the hologram with open mouths.
"If you keep them open, flies might fly into them."Dora said.
Everyone quickly closed their mouth and looked at her.
"Sorry, it's just…"Gilan said, looking at the hologram."What is it?"
"Simple hologram."Dora replied shortly."Anyway."
She touched the hologram with pinched fingers and zoomed the photo by expanding them. Now, everyone could see the courtyard of the castle and the walls more clearly. Next, she pressed some things, marking small dots with red squares.
"Here, we have the guards."she said."Not much, but I'm pretty sure, that at night, their numbers might double or even triple."
"This can be right."Horace said."We do that."
"As expected from you."Dora said."Because we have technological advantage and they surely don't expect it, we could simply perform an attack from the direction of the sea."
Everyone looked at the hologram. It was true. Normally, no one would expect the attack from the sea on such a castle. However, with Resistance technology as the help, they could easily surprise Lassigny and his henchmen.
"But, there is a problem."Dora said.
"What is it?"Halt asked.
Dora looked at the rest of the team.
"We don't know the set up of the insides."she stated."If we had someone inside, everything would be easier."
"Easier how?"Duncan asked.
"We could simply find Will and Maddie and get them out from the inside."Dora explained."Would save us some time. Fortunately, we already have someone, who will do it."
"Who?"Cassandra asked.
As per her request, Arlette stepped forward.
"I can go there as a traveling bard."the French said."Additionally, Gallica is probably similar to France, so I could easily speak with the locals."
"You sure?"Gilan asked.
"Bien sûr, monsieur. Vous en doutez? (Of course, mister. Do you doubt it?)"Arlette replied in French.
Araluenians nodded. The language she spoke actually was almost identical to Gallican.
"It actually might work."Duncan said."But is it safe for her to go alone?"
"Exactly."Halt said, standing up."This is why I will go with her."
Everyone looked at Halt, surprised. This was the last thing they expected from the old Ranger.
"Are you sure, Halt?"Gilan asked.
"Of course."Halt replied."Traveling father with bard daughter will bring less attention that traveling young bard girl alone."
Dora nodded.
"I can't argue with that logic."she said."Alright. Before you set out for the mission, you will get quick training on using our stuff. Agreed?"
"Fine."Halt said, rolling his eyes.
"Good. Does anyone have any questions?"Dora asked, looking at the others.
Nobody responded.
"If so, then Halt, Arlie."she said and the two stood up."Get ready."
She grabbed the terminal, quickly turned on her heel and left the office, followed by the others.
Later that day…
19:43
Castle Araluen foregrounds
Dora watched everything being prepared for the upcoming mission. Last few hours were full of work, as Halt and Arlette prepared for the mission they were going on. Well, mainly Halt had a lot of work, as Arlie didn't have any trouble with something she already knew to use. Halt had to learn to use communicator, hand terminal and a handgun, just to be sure. White Squadron second-in-command smirked, remembering, how Halt was hit in the head by the weapon after firing it, because he didn't hold it strong enough. Communicator and hand terminal was easier.
After that, the two gathered whatever they needed, including an instrument for Arlie, which was a lire. Asked if she can play it, the French simply said, that she can play anything. It was true, there really was no instrument she could not play. An ability, that actually made Dora admire Arlette, although she did not say it out loud.
"We're ready."Arlette said from behind.
Dora turned around and saw the two. Arlette was dressed as a standard Medieval period peasant girl, in a white shirt with short sleeves and red skirt reaching her knees. Additionally, she had a green, hooded cloak on her.
Halt, in the meantime, had leather pants, simple, plain jacket and the same kind of cloak Arlie had. Surprisingly, his cane vanished.
"Where is the cane, old man?"Dora asked mockingly.
"I don't need it for this."he stated."Is everything ready?"
"See for yourself."
Former Ranger looked at the same thing Dora was looking at earlier. More precisely, two Resistance soldiers, from earlier presentation, were loading a wooden cart attached to a horse, with various things you could find in a cart used by traveling artists. Some food, some water, some pillows and some covers. It was not needed, but it would be more believable this way.
"I see that yes."Halt stated.
"Yes."Dora said."Do you remember the plan?"
"We have to sneak into the castle and find where everyone is held."Halt said.
Dora nodded. But she simply couldn't stop herself from saying some kind of allusion to the old Ranger.
"If you forget it with your sclerosis, Arlette will remember, right?"she asked.
"Of course."Arlette replied with smile.
Halt only grunted.
"Anyway, how do we have to get there?"he asked.
In this very moment, they all heard the characteristic sound of jet engines.
"Your ride is already here."Dora said.
Minutes later, they all saw it. Giant flying machine approaching them. It was similar to the dropships used by the Resistance, but was bigger, wider and had less weapons, in form of only one forward mounted chaingun and two unguided rocket launchers.
"What is that thing?"Halt asked, surprised.
"This"Dora said"is Russian BVL-7 Akula heavy dropship. Unlike normal dropships, which can carry smaller vehicles, such as cars or APCs, heavy dropships are often used to transporting tanks, IFVs or artillery. Additionally, they can transport a lot more troops than normal dropships and are a common sight during planetary landings."
Former Ranger sighed.
"These things are not for my nerves…"he muttered.
"Chickening out?"Dora asked.
"Of course not. Let's just go…"
The three made their way to the place where the dropship landed. The back ramp opened and a single crew member walked out.
"Are we early?"he asked.
"Not at all."Dora replied."You know your goal?"
"Of course, sir."crew member said and looked at Arlette and Halt."Are those our passengers?"
"Indeed. You will also transport the cart and the horse."White Squadron 2IC said, pointing behind her.
Crew member looked in the pointed direction and risen his eyebrow.
"I don't think it will be easy."he stated.
Dora also risen her eyebrow and looked behind her.
What he saw, was two soldiers struggling with the horse, which simply stuck his hooves into the ground and refused to move.
"What's going on?"she asked.
"Horse is not co-working!"one of the soldiers replied.
"Stupid animal!"another shouted.
The horse still did not want to move.
"Let me take care of that."Halt said, walking up to them.
"What are you gonna do, give him and apple?"first soldier asked.
Halt ignored him and walked to the horse. He leaned to his ear, covered his mouth and started whispering something. The group looked at this, not knowing what is gonna come out of this. Finally, much to their surprise, the horse started moving and walked into the dropship without nobody's help, pulling the cart behind him.
Everyone looked at Halt.
"How did you…?"Arlette asked.
"Abelard is my horse."Halt replied."I just promised him, that he will be allowed to do whatever he wants after we come back. But I think I know what will he do…"
"Huh, just like that?"second soldier asked.
"Ranger's horse always listens to it's rider."Halt explained.
"Oh, yeah, I heard that, Rangers have special bond with their horses back in Redmont."Dora said."By the way, how do you know, what he will do."
"He is a womanizer."Halt replied."I guess, that when we get back, he will go and look for a mare for himself. This is why I preferred his predecessors…"
Everyone looked at him weirdly.
"What do you mean?"crew member asked.
"Well, Ranger horses are specifically bred to be highly intelligent."former Ranger continued."But of course, we can't use one horse by our whole career. We change horse as the time passes, with the name passing onto the new one. Each horse is different"
"And why are they so small?"second soldier asked."They look like ponies more than horses."
"And this is because they were bred using special specie, used by the Temuji riders from the East. Thanks to that, they are highly persistent and have a high stamina. To be honest, I had my hand in 'acquiring' the horses needed to the breeding process."
Resistance soldiers looked at him, narrowing their eyes, but decided to not ask anymore questions.
"Thanks for the horse knowledge lesson."Dora said."But it's time for you to depart."
"Of course."Halt said.
He followed Arlette into the Akula.
"Arlie, just don't get yourself killed."Dora said, as the two sat down.
"Yeah, yeah."the French shrugged it away.
The back ramp of the machine started closing. When it did, four engines roared to life and Akula started lifting into the air. Not long after, it shot forward, slowly shrank as it flew into the distance.
20:11
Sky over Long Sea
Due to the speed and distance between Araluen and Galica, the flight of the Akula took no more than half an hour. Right now, they were flying over and body of water, which Halt told to be the Long Sea, separating Araluen's island and mainland. By the time of flight, Abelard stood calmly in the machine's hold, not moving an inch, with the cart still attached to them.
Halt looked around the hold and then at Arlette, which was doing something with her hand terminal.
"What are you doing?"he asked.
"Just checking the songs I could sing if they ask me too."the girl replied.
"And?"
"I have three good ones. I wrote two of them, the third is pretty old, but should do."
Halt risen his eyebrow.
"You write music?"he asked."Then why are you in the army?"
"Reason is simple."Arlette replied."I just heard the duty's call. I don't think that if Hollies won the war, I would be able to share my music with the Galaxy."
"Noble cause, I suppose."the former Ranger nodded."If I may ask…How did you met the others in your team?"
This time, it was the French who risen her eyebrow.
"Why do you ask?"
"They seem to be quite a bunch…I mean, that girl, Suvi, for example…Why does she like sex so much?"
"She always said, that it's because she watched too much porn…Although, she once mentioned something about walking on her parents once doing it in the kitchen…"
Halt winced.
"Forget I asked about her."he sighed."And others?"
"Everyone has their own interest, you know. Human without hobby would just be an empty shell of a being, if you want to know my point of view."
"Wise words from your mouth…"
In that moment, the door leading to the crew cabin opened and the same crew member as before walked out.
"We're approaching the LZ."he said."We're gonna let you disembark five clicks from the castle. Since then, you're on your own."
"Understood."Arlie said.
She stood up and walked up to the cart, from which she took a back and opened it. Inside, there was her uniform, helmet, a handgun and a PDW, together with several clips full of ammo. If she wanted to do some late night escapades, she would need it.
Soon, Akula approached a group of trees and landed between them. The back ramp opened and Halt led Abelard out, with Arlette following them.
"This is where we part ways."crew member said.
"Thanks for the lift."Arlette said.,
"Always pleasure."
He saluted and returned to the machine. Back ramp closed and Akula flew off.
Arlette and Halt looked at each other.
"Now what?"she asked.
"Get on the cart."Halt said, taking the coachman's seat.
Arlette climbed on the cart and sat in it. Halt shook the reins and the horse slowly trotted out of the forest onto the road and towards the castle.
The ride took them another twenty minutes and when it was nearing it's end, they saw the goal of their mission. Giant, square shaped castle, standing on a headland. If any army tried to take the castle or siege it, this task would be hard, as the supplies would probably be shipped through the sea.
"It's more impressive in person."Arlette stated, eying the castle.
"True. And somewhere inside, there are Madie and Will."Halt replied.
"Don't worry, we'll pull them out."girl stated with bright smile.
Halt huffed.
"I'm not worrying, I'm just…concerned."
"You know it's basically the same, right?"
"No it's not."
"It is."
"No."
"Yes."
"No."
"Yes."
"Alright, be quiet, we're nearing the gate."
And in fact, they were. They could clearly see two guards standing at the gate, with their spears pointed upwards and shields in their arms. When they saw the cart approaching, they immediately sprung to attention.
"Stop."first of them ordered."Who's coming?"
Halt stopped the cart and looked at the guard.
"Just a traveler and his daughter."he replied in Gallian.
Arlette smiled brightly and waved to them.
Guards looked at each other.
"What is your goal in coming here?"second guard asked.
"We're traveling for three whole days already. We still have two more days of way ahead of us. We hoped, that the host of this castle would accept us, poor souls."
As he was saying that, Arlette started looking at the ramparts over them. Even in the dark, she could see three crossbows aimed at them.
"If so, then sure."first guard said."Just don't do anything suspicious, or you might land on lord Lassigny's list."
Halt risen his eyebrow, pretending to be interested.
"What do you mean by this?"
"Last time, there was a pair, a guy and a girl, a traveling jugglers. Turned out they were some spies or something."First guard threw up his arms."I don't know."
"Don't worry, we're not anything like that."Arlette downgraded it.
"We hope so."second guard replied."Okay, you can get in."
As he said that, the three crossbows over their heads disappeared and gate started opening. When it did, Arlette smiled and waved to the guards once more when they drove through. When they disappeared from they sight, she heard them saying:
"Bet that I will take her to bed first?"
"No, I will be the first. And you will be forced to listen to me saying what I did with her."
Next, the two laughed.
"We're gonna see who will be laughing when we're done."Arlette thought with snicker.
"What are you giggling about?"Halt whispered to her.
"Nothing, nothing."she replied.
They drove into the vast courtyard and immediately were stopped by another man. This time, it was an ostler, which directed their cart to the castle's stable. When they got there, the cart was detached from Abelard and the horse was led to the box.
Suddenly, Halt and Arlette heard something, what resembled an excited horse neighs. When they looked in that direction, they saw two horses, similar to Abelard. Arlette noticed, that Halt frowned from anger.
"What is it?"she whispered.
"These are Tug and Bumper."he replied."They belong to Will and Maddie."
"I think they're excited to see you."
"Quiet! Quiet, you stupid animals!"the ostler said."Sorry, these things are really noisy."he said to them.
"That's not a problem."Halt replied, waving his hand."But…Can you tell us, who they belong to?"
The ostler waved his hand.
"Some time ago, there was this duo of jugglers."he said."A man, playing on instrument, and a girl, going tricks. But they turned out to be King's spies and we simply threw them into prison."
Halt nodded.
"And very well."he said.
"Exactly."ostler said and walked away.
The two watched him go and when he was beyond the ears' hearing range, Halt looked at Arlette.
"I think you should check this."he said.
"Only after everyone goes to bed."she replied.
They walked out of the stable, only to be stopped again.
"And who are you?"a voice asked.
The two turned around and saw yet another man. This one, however, was dressed in ornate and elegant clothes, with many gold markings and finishes. It was obvious to say, that they just found the host of the castle.
"I asked, who are you?"Lassigny asked again.
Halt cleared his throat and bowed.
"My name is Pierre Lafaut."he introduced himself in Gallian."And this is may daughter, Arlette."
Arlette also bowed to the lord. Lassigny smiled.
"At least you know your manners."he said."What brings you to my castle?"
"We just wanted to stay for some time. We have a long way before us and we didn't ate anything good for some time."Halt lied swiftly.
Lassigny nodded.
"I see."he said."But why would I give you anything? Do you have anything to give in return?"
"Of course! My daughter has a beautiful voice. She can sing for you at the feast!"
"You say so?"
Lord looked at the girl, which again smiled brightly.
"Well then."Lassigny said, nodding his head."You can go and get yourself a room. After that, I want to see you at the feast."
"Of course, my lord."Halt promised.
Lassigny passed by them and walked away. Arlette stuck out her tongue at him.
"I don't like him one bit."she said.
"Me too."Halt confirmed."But are you sure you can sing?"
"Do you really doubt me?"
"Not at all."Halt said, raising his hands in defensive gesture."Come on. Let's get our stuff."
Former Ranger and Resistance pilot returned to their cart and started taking their bags from there. More precisely, Arlette took her back with her uniform and weapons. Halt had only a lute.
"You can play this?"Arlette asked.
"I always watched Will play his. I know this and this."Halt replied.
Arlette narrowed her eyes and took the lute from him.
"You know what? It will be better, if I play. I can do both things at once, trust me."
"If you say so…"
"Besides, I doubt you know melodies for the songs I'm gonna sing."
"True."
"Now, let's go. We need to find a room."
The two went into the castle.
22:04
Dining hall
Later, at the feast, the dining hall of the castle was filled to it's very limits. There were numerous nobles, as well as soldiers and service. Lassigny, together with his wife and rest of his closest circle, sat at the biggest table in the room. Others had smaller tables to their disposal. Servants were walking around, giving out drinks and food. Everyone was singing and having fun.
Halt and Arlette were sitting more in the corner, watching all of this. After finding themselves a comfy room, with big enough window, per Arlie's request, they took the lute and went to the dining hall, where they waited for their turn.
"Nobility is the same everywhere."Arlette stated.
"It's also the same in your world?"Halt asked.
"More like it WAS the same."
Former Ranger risen his eyebrow.
"What do you mean by that?"
"Oh, you know. Revolutions, coups or simple dying out led many noble or royal houses disappear. Today, most countries on Earth are republics, with several monarchies there and there, but the social division on peasantry and nobility vanished."
"Interesting, I have to agree."
"Don't worry, I doubt your monarchy will end anytime soon."
"Like we would worry about that. Everyone loves King Duncan. Well, maybe except these few times, with baron of Gorlan or Red Fox Clan. But otherwise…"
Arlette just threw up her arms.
"I want to be a musician."she suddenly said.
"What?"Halt asked, confused.
"When the war is over and everything settles down, I plan to become a musician."Arlette replied."You know, concerts, fans and such."
"Then why did you join the army?"
"Don't worry, when everything is over, I can simply leave and do anything else."
"Good for you, I guess."
She then looked toward the table, at which Lassigny sat with his wife.
"He may be a bad guy, but he still could look for more pretty wife."she stated.
"Even I have to agree on this."
Right then, they both stopped talking, as Lassigny stood up.
"Dear friends."he said."I'm glad you gathered today here, in so big number. Especially for you, I prepared a great show. A performance by a certain young girl, which sits just there in the corner with her father."
Everyone immediately looked towards the two. Arlette sighed and stood up.
"Wish me luck."she whispered to Halt.
"You got it."he replied.
She grabbed the lute and walked forward towards the Lassigny's table, at the same time glancing at the noble.
"I see that he likes to show off. Maybe I should play bad and sing so bad their ears would fall off?"came through Arlie's mind."Nah, this would only blow our cover here."
Arlette stood in front of the table and turned to the gathered. She cleared her throat. Soon, first notes left her lips.
Tu te souviens de nos fauvettes preferees
Qui chantaient tout pres de nous
Du jour de ta declaration d'amour
Les mains pleines de pensees
Plus ma main dans ton dos pleureur
Et plus tu as pleure dans mes bras
Puis un moment de silence nous calmait tous les doux.
Right as she started singing, everyone fell silent, struck by her angelic voice and how swiftly her fingers moved on the strings. Even Lassigny himself was impressed by this. Hell, even Halt was struck by how well it sounded.
"I did not expect that…"he thought.
Arlette, in the meantime continued.
Je n'ai pas oublie
Les pansees nous souriaient
Tout en se balancat, nous dormions berces berces par ce vent d'emeraude
A ce moment-la, j'ignorais notre futur
Mais surement que nos pensees se donnaient deja la main l'une dans l'autre
Pendant ce sommeil profond
Nous peignons notre reve sur les murs
Nous etions bien surs
De notre avenir en faisant ces voeux
Ainsi que de notre passe
Elle le savait, tu ne crois pas?
Et le temps s'ecoulant m'a rappele une de ces pensees la.
Maman me disait:
Quand on me cachait la lumiere,
Essaie de faire un pas en avant, on est capable de tout.
Maintenant j'ai decide de partir braver mon destin d'enfance
Pour cueillir ces lumieres dans mes bras.
Here, she stopped singing and went for instrumental, just playing the tunes of the song. Everyone listened like hypnotized, not knowing what to say.
Et tu pleures dens mes bras ma pauvre
Lorsque nous sommes alles en cours,
C'est le meme parfum
Teinte de bleu tel l'infini qui a fini par me jouer
Tu sais si on dira un jour,
Quand nos destinees scintilleront
Que ce veritable parfum, qu'on a jamais perdu, restera au fond de nous.
With the final verse sung, she played few more notes and finished, everyone still sat in silence, looking at her. Suddenly, everyone started clapping, cheering and simply whistling, showing their appreciation for how she sung. Arlette only bowed several times and in several directions.
"Bravo! Bravo!"some guards cheered.
"Amazing, amazing!"some woman exclaimed.
"That indeed was amazing, show my dear!"Lassigny said to her."I've seen many people sing, but none could match you!"
"Thank you, my lord."Arlette said and bowed."Allow me to return to my father."
"Of course, of course!"
As she walked towards Halt, she was accompanied by clapping and cheering even louder than before. She sat next to the former Ranger.
"How did you like it?"she asked him.
"I…I'm simply lost for words…"Halt replied.
"Glad you like it."Arlette said, taking a sip from her mug.
"What else can I…"Halt tried to find more words.
"Shut up and just drink!"Arlette exclaimed and put a mug in his hands.
Former Ranger just sighed and started drinking. When everyone ended partying, they all just walked in different directions.
22:56
Arlette's and Halt's room
In their room, Arlette and Halt sat on their beds, with Arlette using her hand terminal to project a hologram of the castle. It showed everything, both on the ground and under it.
"How did you get all of this?"Halt asked.
"The scanners on our ships are very powerful."Arlette explained."They have power to reach several kilometers underground."
"Impressive."
"Technology."
They looked at the hologram again.
"So."Arlette finally said."Could you tell me, where Will and Maddie could be held?"
Halt looked at the hologram and pointed at it's lower part.
"Probably in the underground dungeons."he said."I hope you find a way to get there?"
"Do you really doubt my abilities?"
"Of course not, I'm just wondering."
"You can wonder, but nothing more."
Arlette turned off the hologram and put the hand terminal in the bag. Fortunately, they were not checking their belongings and nobody found her weapons and uniform.
"I think we should go to sleep now."she said and yawned.
"I think so too."Halt replied, also yawning.
"Good night."
Halt did not answer. He just laid down on the bed and covered himself with the quilt. Arlette did the same.
She woke up two hours later. She heard Halt snoring in his bed and decided to simply ignore it. She threw the quilt away and got up. Arlette walked up to her bag with equipment and opened it with one move.
Ten minutes later, she was dressed in her uniform, with a knife and handgun at her side. Now came the time for the hard part of their task.
XXX
And this is where we gonna leave it for now. In the next chapter, we will (probably) see the end of the Gernea Arc and the beginning of the next arc, which will be a secret for now. Arlette is preparing for her night escapade and will try to find the prisoners. We shall see how she deals with it.
Also, if you know the song Arlette sung, good on you. If you don't, you should listen to it. It's called pensées. It's really nice.
For now, goodbye and stay safe.