So, we meet again. In the last chapter, where we witnessed a failed attempt by SoS to take over a bridge crossing in Lacinta Hill. One could say, that this was their biggest failure since the start of the invasion. So no quick crossing of Jotun River for them. And how that will influence the rest of the conflict? Let us see.
But before that, reviews.
To Supreme Supra: Indeed.
To DevilEmperorDragon: Thank you.
So, without further extending, let's go.
Chapter 4
June 28, 2166
06:45
Imperial Palace, Sura, Ereca, Erecan Dominion
High ceiling, from which decorative chandeliers were hanging, pulled an eye. Light reflecting of them lit up the darkness in a giant meeting room. Paneling from dark wood and almost completely black furniture made the room look more like an antique shop than political center of the biggest empire in Andromeda. Only thing lighting the inside was a giant, purple-white flag with double-headed rosion, a kind of reptile native to Ereca.
Government of Erecan Dominion, sitting on both sides of the table, awaited their leader. Whispering talks were referring to various news, rumors and gossips. Even they, people ruling over almost all of the galaxy, couldn't go without them.
In the doors silently opened by the Palace Guard, emperor appeared. As always dressed in his ornate robes, he came up to the table and sat at it's top. Thick carpet suppressing all sounds caused not everyone to notice it.
Looking at the ministers of energetics and agriculture, Jikai cleared his throat. He put his hands on the tabletop and after a while, silence which nobody dared to interrupt fell in the room.
Minister of Foreign Affairs spoke first:
"Let us begin with things related to the approaching visit of Alliance's secretary general. In three days, we'll be hosting him in these walls…"
Jikai interrupted the MFA.
"Everything it ready. Their secretariat confirmed the arrival. Which is strange, considering the latest events."Carefulness with which the MFA moved was impressive."I bet they will start pressuring us about Zorzal."
Probing his ministers and inner circle members, Jikai knew they won't evade this topic, which already caused him headaches. Events at the frontline foreshadowed success, but not as quickly as Zorzal and Mayo promised. Emperor poured himself some water from a crystal decanter and took a sip.
"I see that everyone is more interested in the events there. If so, then please."
Dersen straightened in his seat and looked at the double colored flag.
"I would like to inform about recent successes by our Human allies. In the last day, they made some progress, although some local counterattacks. It's true that the operation aimed at taking a crossing through Jotun River was a setback, but it's only a matter of time."
"Let's say it straight: it was a disaster."Chief of Erecan MIF, so Ministry of Internal Affairs, was blunt as always."They lost two out of three attacking battalions and additionally, they failed to get the main target."
"True."Dersen agreed."If I didn't know them, I would say they are amateurs."
"Hos is the situation in their lands?"
"It's calm in cities and countryside."Dersen replied."They mobilized eighty five percent of their both non-clone and clone soldiers, what already started taking it's toll on their economy. If the war continues, in a few weeks, they can expect first serious unrest.
Listeners gathered at the table listened to MOD's every word with caution. It was also important for them how the rest of the conflict will go.
"As of now, thirty brigades and legions landed on Taurus III and another thirty on Emloy. It's almost twice as much as the enemy has on these planets. The help they counted on so much did not arrive, due to the closing of Intergalactic Gate by Laconians in Milky Way. So there is little to no risk of them receiving a military help."A kind of relax could be felt among the gathered. The fear of Zorzal's mess spreading was quelled.
The only one unmoved by everything was Jikai. He was well aware of how all of this could end. Another rise of tensions between Dominion and the Alliance or worse. Resources the Alliance bought from them were the main driving force for Erecan economy, and although Dominion was self-sufficient, their economy could take a huge toll from the lack of trade. Not to mention, that the money was going straight to the accounts of Jikai's associates. Bigger and smaller scandals with their participation were being swept under the carpet by Hands of the Crown, which didn't allow any of this to get to the media. Giant spires and structures being built on Ereca had to be the symbol of Dominion's power, so what? If you left the capital, you would witness indescribable poverty and backwardness of the province. Army, made to be a postcard of the empire, was hungry, ill equipped and made mostly of other races, which hated the Dominion like nothing else.
It was true that he wasn't in charge of the war, but the conflict could also hurt him. Sooner or later, someone will pick up arms and help the defenders. Alliance and their sense of justice was like that.
"From what you're saying, it seems that some things actually go according to Zorzal's plan."
"In fact, yes, my lord, but I have to say that in some places, the progress is bigger than expected."
Jikai indifferently nodded his head, as if absorbed by other thoughts.
"Alright, after getting to know the situation on the frontline, let's take care of other pressing matters. Yes…We started with the planned visit of Alliance's secretary general, I would like to know, if Allies won't back off from the planned economic treaty."
One more thought got into emperor's mind. Maybe it will be a test of how many concessions can Alliance's administration do. Money or justice? Only now he allowed himself for an ironic smirk.
June 28
13:33
Near Regard, Skandian C.Z.
They were being tracked for a few hours. They felt the manhunt's loop tightening around them and pushes them North-East. Losses taken during the attack on fuel depot seriously thinned their ranks. From twenty five people, they had seventeen left. Three wounded were hidden near the point where they left most of their equipment. Two of them had leg wounds, the fourth was hit in a lung. They couldn't take them with them. If they were found by SoS' patrol, according to Geneva Convention, they had rights to medical care. But there was one problem.
Sons of Sadera never signed the Geneva Convention.
Corpses of five dead colleagues were put to rest in an unnamed grave, maybe they'll come back for them later.
The worst started only after. Two Figue-C dropships appeared in the sky, searching for them. Sooner or later, they'll find the tracks of the platoon and then what? Lieutenant Vincent moved forward like a precise, never tiring mechanism. From time to time, they left behind explosive surprises aimed to slow down the chase, at least for a short period of time.
Vincent lifted his hand. They stopped behind him.
"Five minutes of rest. First team, guard duty."
Lieutenant sat on the grass and started studying the map. Maddie alongside Simon and Fenis, leaned against a tree. Chocolate bar, which Maddie pulled out of her vest's pocket, was supposed to calm her hunger. She never liked chocolate, but after food started running out, she had to literally swallow it.
"We kicked those fuckers' asses well."Fenis returned with thoughts to the events from six days back.
"Yeahhhhh. I bet the heard the noise back wherever they came from."Simon rolled his eyes."And the mushroom was like after a nuclear explosion. Never seen more beautiful in my life."
"True."Maddie agreed.
"First 'boom' and now we're getting the fuck away."Fenis said, shaking his head.
"That's our life."
"You are a true philosopher, buddy."Simon summed it up.
"Sure I am. I read a lot about such things and wanted to learn about it…but then I thought 'Hey, why won't I try being a Royal Ranger?'."
"True genius."
Hunger in the stomach was not easy to lose and soon, everyone's thoughts returned to the food.
"I miss some coffee and bread."Maddie murmured, hiding a packaging after the chocolate.
"Wait a bit, sir, and when we're back, the cook will give us a gallant dinner."
"Fried rise with greaves and noodles. Screw him."
"I would drink some coffee."Fenis started dreaming."And you?"
"I drunk the last one last week. Thank you."
"Hey, intellectuals!"Vincent exclaimed at them."Move your asses. Altman, come here."
Maddie might have been a princess and heir to the Araluenian throne, but military hierarchy was more important than in which noble family you were born.
"Look here."Commander's finger pointed at a spot on his hand's terminal map."You'll check if here we can cross the Iot-Polis road. If everything goes right, we'll meet in this point within four and a half hours. You see?"
"Yes, sir."
"Now go. Good luck."
Maddie saluted and went away. It seemed, that the next few hours will be busy.
Three hours later, everything was clear. There was no way to cross the road. SoS' military formations moving through it did in long columns. Trucks and troop carriers, engineering vehicles and command vehicles were driving without end in Maddie's field of view.
Fifty meter wide gaps between vehicles, just in case of air raid, were not always applied. Grouping instinct of the drivers tried, although the struggles of officers and traffic control units, to keep few meter gaps.
In the surrounding fields, anti-air guns were placed, just in case some UTDF pilots got into the area.
"No way, not even a frog will jump through."Simon said, moving his MG's barrel across the visible technical company.
"We're going back."Maddie decided."I wonder what will Vincent come up with now?"
High above them flew a dropship, flying in the direction they were going to go.
"You think they found the others?"For the first time, Maddie heard fear in Fenis' voice.
"Everything possible, but I don't think so."Her words were not convincing.
"Middle of the day. Everything visible clearly."Pulling his MG after him, Simon seemed gloomy.
When the road and marching columns vanished from their field of view, they stood up and quickly marched to the contact point.
Hands of the watch showed that they had only forty minutes till meeting. Clamor of riffles and grenade explosions made them freeze.
"Fuck, they got ours!"
Fenis went forward like a rhino. Maddie and Simon followed him. The chase didn't last long. When dropship's engines hummed over them, they quickly fell to the ground. Machine was now flying no higher than thirty meters over the ground, searching the area. Chocking fear filled Maddie's throat. Lungs demanded oxygen, but it didn't want to go through shrunken trachea. Fighting for control over her breath, Maddie started groaning and spewing.
"Are you hurt?"Simon got scared.
Finally, life giving oxygen got inside. Wild pulse started slowing down, and the waves of adrenaline vanished.
"Gods, how sweet is the air."Ability slowly returned to Maddie.
"Can you speak, sir?"Apprentice's face was read as a face of a Native American.
"I'm alright. Let's go, but slower."
Sounds of fighting got significantly closer by the last few minutes. Cannonade didn't want to quiet down even for a minute, only getting more one-sided, grim character.
They have covered the last meters in silence, finally reaching the sandy duct. The shadow of Mastiff APC flashed beyond the corner. They flattened on the fresh, fragrant grass, trying to be invisible. It was no accident that they ran into a Sons' platoon.
They watched the vehicle and waited for them to pass. It was not to happen. First of them stopped sixty meters from them and soldiers started getting out. Cautious and concentrated. You could immediately see, that they are a trained military, not just a gathering of cloned cannon fodder. Commands, given by a silent, but firm voice, barely reached them.
"We're screwed."Fenis murmured.
"Shut it."
Maddie remembered, what lieutenant Vincent told her. There were twenty minutes left until the meeting time. Looking at the map, Maddie noticed, that Vincent, instead of getting close to the contact point, he was going between trees. Sounds of fighting were the signs of it. If so, Sons either cut off his way, or he wanted to specifically turn the attention away from Maddie's squad. Meanwhile, the platoon on the road stood in a loose tyralier and started searching the forest. APC's stayed on the duct. It seemed, that they had no intention of leaving. They waited.
"We can try going around the motherfuckers."Simon said, this time with initiative in voice.
"Where do you want to go? You know where Vincent is?"
It was true. The echo of shots, not too long ago clearly heard, now went silent. Seconds and minutes flew by. Maddie could not bring herself to make a decision. Everything she wanted to do seemed to be a bad idea. She didn't want to leave the apprentices, but she also didn't want to die.
Sudden grenade explosion shook the forest around half a kilometer away from them. Gunfire and screams of people quickly joined them.
"Okay, get ready."As it often happens in situations like this, fate decided for them."We're striking from the back, when ours appear. Wait for my sign."
Simon patted his MG1-56 as if it was his best friend and reloaded it. Fenis, which long ago got rid of his missile launcher, now tightly held captured PEKS riffle.
"Our firepower is pathetically small."Maddie thought, but couldn't do anything about it.
First of the Mastiffs came to life, moving forward and firing series after series of tracer rounds from it's 16,2 millimeter machine gun, which cut through the forest's undergrowth with the speed of one thousand kilometer per hour, carving tunnels in it and throwing up fountains of dust. The noise of MGs was so powerful, that it made Maddie look at her weapons-they had no chance. Without the launcher, their sacrifice would be meaningless.
"Look, there they are."Simon was the first to notice the Rangers breaking through.
One hundred meters from them, clear figures in Araluenian uniforms tried to break out of the encirclement. They fell and rose up, running fire, six meters at a time. Maddie could not believe it. Just like before, fear chocked her throat and burned her face. Caught in a crossfire, Royal Rangers fell to never stand up again. From one side, APCs, infantry from the other didn't gave then any chances. It wasn't even a fight anymore, it was a massacre.
The intensity of combat slowly melted until the bodies of last three Rangers were torn apart by grenades. Fear and terror, which until now dominated Maddie, now changed into pain and despair.
June 28
18:45
Skandian C.Z.
General Kerrel sat inside a dropship, which flew over a burning city. On the ground, his forces methodically moved through the said city, eliminating the resistance of Skandian forces. He smiled, watching as enemy crumbled before him and his troops. They might have slowed them down by almost a month, but this was no to last. Only a few more days, and they will finally reach and capture Erak City. After all, Skandians couldn't defend forever.
"General?"pilot said from the cockpit.
"What is it?"Kerrel asked.
"Maybe we should go back?"pilot asked."It's dangerous here."
"No."Kerrel said.
"But…"
"No means no. We're gonna do another round. I want to see their suffering from the first seat."
"Yes, sir."
Pilot turned the steering joysticks and started doing another flyby over the city. Kerrel loved this feeling. Feeling of standing on the top over his enemies and watching them scream and die painfully. Hearing them beg for their lives. And the look on their faces was always precious. Fear and horror, which stayed on them forever, when the light in their eyes vanished after he executed them.
And it was like that ever since he became the soldier in the Imperial Army. Always serving the Empire and winning many campaigns for it. Never before have he lost a battle. Even when it seemed that he was losing, in truth, he was just fooling the enemy before crushing their hopes of victory.
Yes. Everything he had ever done in his career as a military commander, was in service to the nation he loved. All the wars, all the massacres and all the lives he took. Everything so Sadera could prevail and live on.
And then, the Gate opened. He was unlucky enough to fall terminally ill at the time, what didn't allow him to partake in any fighting during the opening phases of the war. And when he was finally cured, Otherworlders already had their presence on their planet, starting to slowly chip away the Saderan power. He couldn't even count how many times did he demand Emperor Molt to allow him to go and retake Alnus. And every single time, he was denied. After time, everything seemed to be lost.
Well, it was before the Alantians appeared. At the beginning, Kerrel, along with Margas, were suspicious of these mysterious people, armed with weapons beyond their comprehension. But with time, as they started arming and training the Imperial Army in how to use their weapons, he started seeing them as actual allies, although he was still reserved. And when Gate was destroyed, he led relentless efforts to vanquish all that remained of the Otherworlders. Ultimately, his efforts were in vain.
Otherworlders survived, managed to beat the Alantians and reactivated the Gate. With that, even Kerrel knew, that there was no way the Empire could survive. He was readying himself for the fall and for whatever the enemy would do with him. Although, he was not going to easily give himself to them.
And then, he received news from Margas about how Crown Prince Zorzal was gathering people that still believed in the Saderan victory to launch a counterattack against the enemy and retake the capital. For Kerrel, it was like a gift from Flare. He immediately decided to join them and save the Empire from fall. The rest was just history.
Erecans turned out to be more trustworthy allies than the Alantians. And for the last fifteen years, they helped to turn Sons of Sadera from a simple rag-tag group, into an actual army, equal in might to the Imperial Army at it's height. Secret help from the so-called 'Laconian Republic' in Otherworlders' home galaxy was also a great factor in all this. If not these two powers, there was no way to tell how the history would go.
General sat like that, thinking about all this, before the scream of the pilot tore him out of his thoughts.
"MISSILE!"pilot shouted.
Kerrel's eyes widened.
"What?! How?! Where?!"he exclaimed.
"Does it matter?!"pilot exclaimed back.
Normally general would get offended by how the clone pilot replied, but not now. Not, when his life was at stake.
Pilot quickly dropped flares, but there was one thing he didn't know. The missile chasing them was not heat or electromagnetic led, but laser guided. So the one who fires it, just had to keep eyes and laser on the machine. Which was actually pretty easy in current situation, when everyone and everything was taking care of something else.
So the missile continued flying towards the dropship, which desperately trying to escape it. And without any results.
"SHIT!"pilot exclaimed.
Missile hit the place where one of the engines connected to the machine's hull. It was blasted off and flew away, hitting the ground after a while. At the same time, dropship, now with a giant hole in it's side, started spinning out of control and plummeting towards the ground. General Kerrel quickly grabbed the edges of his seat, trying to hold onto it in addition to the belt that held him in place. Looking at the screens imitating windows on the door of the machine, he could see the area around spinning around, without control.
And it was at this moment, that general realized, that he was scared. Never before have he felt fear. Even when enemy assassins tried to catch him off guard. Not even when during his campaigns, he actually found himself in the vicinity of the danger. But now, he was truly scared because he knew, that there was no way he could come out of this alive. He knew it was possible to survive a dropship crash, but probably not in the situation like this. And the most terrifying thing about it?
It was basically his own choice to not come back to the staff. And now, he was paying the price.
Pilot still tried to regain control over the machine, although it was pointless. The thrust of the three engines was too weak to lift up the machine and set it on course. So it continued to spin and spin, trailing smoke behind it. Pilot finally gave up and just like general Kerrel in the back, he closed his eyes, preparing for what was about to come.
Dropship smashed into the ground, erupting into a fireball, making a nearby building collapse onto it.
June 28
21:43
Skandian C.Z., East of Erak City
103rd Mechanized Brigade was currently stationed several kilometers from the city of Yurion, a Nakatan town that was set up in the first wave of colonization. As of now, Yurion could be seen from the distance, thanks to numerous fired that currently eaten the city, courtesy of SoS. It was the last bigger settlement before Erak City and everyone knew, that now, everything was soon to decide.
Erika stood on top of her tank, watching the distant fires. Honestly, she wasn't phased by anything like that anymore. The last month was full of sights like these. Sons of Sadera were literally blind firing at everything that moved. They especially loved using incendiary ammo. Probably because all the flames that it caused made it harder for the defenders to actually defend their positions.
She didn't know what will happen further. They managed to defend for a month. It was already a big achievement. Everyone actually expected the enemy to smash them within few weeks. And yet, here they were, still slowing down their progress and stopping them from capturing Erak City. But it was not to last after all.
"Why are you standing there like that?"Uger asked, looking out of the hatch."Want some enemy sniper to get you?"
"They are still far away."Erika replied.
"I know, but it only applies for sure tot he mainline units."loader noticed."What about their special forces?"
"True. But I just need to think some things through."
"Things like what?"
"Like what will happen in the future?"
"Wanna know my opinion?"
Commander looked at him, rising her eyebrow.
"Knowing your pessimism?"she asked."You will say that probably in the future, we will be either few feet underground, or simply prisoners."
"Exactly."Uger stated.
"You know, you're not helping anyone."Erika stated back.
Uger just threw up his arms.
"Whatever you say. Anyway, we got a call from the command."
"What do they want?"
"Colonel wants all the officers to come to his command tent. Apparently, it's something important."
"Alright, I'm going."
Erika jumped off of her tank and quickly ran to the command tent, where the colonel in charge of the brigade was currently. On the way, she could see other soldiers of the brigade, trying to keep everything together. Most of them were already veterans. Even some of them, which joined the brigade recently after finishing the training. But with the war currently ongoing, it was not surprising so many of them already got their taste of fight.
Although they all knew, that the whole brigade could fall apart at any moment and nobody knew how was it still holding together. But either way, it was still good that it was still a thing. This only showed, that even in times like these, Skandians would not simply give up. They were the warrior people, with their culture shaped by centuries of coastal raiding in wolf ships. And even when from raiders they turned into sea guards, their warrior nature never disappeared. And it will never disappear.
After a short run, Erika reached the command tent. There, she could see other officers, all except of her.
"Second lieutenant Erika Laghar, reporting in."she said.
"Good that you came, lieutenant."colonel Terdon, Shakayan commander of the brigade, nodded towards her."We were about to start."
Erika nodded and stood among other officers.
Meanwhile, Terdon activated the screen that was placed in the tent. On it, everyone could see a map of Skandian C.Z. Erak City was marked on it, with several other bigger settlements, including Yurion. The red part of the map was dangerously close to the city, although it was still around one hundred fifty kilometers away.
"Alright."Terdon started."As you know, recently enemy forces finally taken over Yurion."
"Yeah, we can tell."one of infantry officers said.
"But"colonel continued, not paying attention to the comment"the fight wasn't a complete loss for us. Yes, we had to withdraw from the city and leave it to the attackers, but there is one positive about it."
"And that would be?"Erika asked.
Smile appeared on Terdon's face.
"You are aware that our intelligence is constantly listening to the enemy communications?"he asked.
"Yes."some replied.
"Well. Then, according to these communications, one very important enemy commander died in the fight."Right then, the picture on the screen changed from map to a photo that seemed to be taken from a larger distance."General Olo Kerrel."
Silence fell inside the tent. Everyone knew the name of the already infamous commander of SoS' 2nd Armored Legion, which POWs described as one of the greatest strategists in all of Sons of Sadera. He was the one in charge of all Sons' forces that were currently pushing into Skandian Colonization Zone. He was the source of all the suffering they were currently experiencing.
And now, he was dead. Just like that.
"That's…actually kinda disappointing."Erika said.
"How so?"Terdon asked.
"At least I hoped he will be brought to justice."
"So did we."
"But how did that happen?"commander of medical company asked.
"According to the messages we intercepted, general Kerrel decided to fly over the city and watch the battle from bird's eye view."
"That's stupid."
"Exactly. And apparently, one of our AA teams got lucky and shot him down during his flyby. His dropship then crashed and exploded."
"Is it confirmed that it's dead?"
"Yes, by SoS themselves. Their reports are saying that additionally to exploding, the wreck was crushed by a collapsed building."
Officers whistled.
"Serves him right."some said.
"True."Terdon agreed."But that's not all. We already gave the news to our command in Erak City. They are already designing a plan of a counterattack."
This brought out some whispering from the officers. If it was true, then maybe they actually had a chance of winning. They knew this might not fully end the war, but maybe it will make it closer to the end. They had to live and see.
"Can we know more?"Erika asked.
"Of course. But as of now, what I'm about to say, cannot leave this tent. Got it?"Terdon asked.
"Sir, yes, sir."officers replied.
"Alright. Due to the death of one of enemy most important commanders on our operational direction, we expect the enemy to hold their advance and find a new commander to replace Kerrel. We will use this time to reorganize our forces and gather troops to try and smash into unsuspecting enemy. All preparations are already ongoing and orders are being sent to the other units."
As he said that, symbols representing the brigades, regiments and other units of Skandian military on the planet setting up along the frontline on it's full length. Erika noticed the symbol representing 103rd moved a bit North, while their current position was taken by 1st Motorized Infantry Regiment from Erak City.
"We are going to trike the enemy on the whole length of the frontline."Terdon continued."With all forces at our disposal."
"But how are we supposed to do it?"one of recon commanders asked."We had, how many, twenty five thousand soldiers before the war? And now? We surely have less."
"Actually, since the start of the war, recruitment offices are literally under siege. Already seventy thousand people applied to join our forces, not to mention the reservists. As it turned out, we have more people willing to fight than weapons. Does this answer your question?"
Recon commander just waved it off.
"Yes."he replied shortly.
"Good. And there is another thing."
"Which is?"Erika asked.
Instead of answering, colonel pressed something on the screen and soon, the entirety of Taurus III's map appeared on it. And on it, they could see more units setting up along the frontline, also in Nordian Colonization Zone.
"Our plan is not just a local counterattack."Terdon replied."After the information about our plans was given to the Unified Staff in Leender, the command there saw it as an opportunity. And this is how the idea of Operation: Axer came to be."
"That seems ambitious."
"Indeed. We plan to hit enemy troops all along the frontline, all across the planet. Opened by an aerial attack and then followed by ground offensive."
Once more, everyone started whispering among each other. This plan was really ambitious. To hit all enemy forces along the frontline all across the planet with such small forces? Only time would tell what would come out of it. But everyone hoped, that it will at least slow down the enemies more.
"And what is the goal of this operation?"came another question.
Terdon looked at them all.
"I'm not gonna lie to you. The only goal of Axer is to simply make the number of enemy losses grow. We do expect to, at least temporarily, cripple their offensive capabilities, what would allow us to fortify our positions better. But that's currently the best we can do, especially in our current position."he admitted.
"Nothing else expected."someone whispered.
But colonel heard that and only could nod in agreement. Next, he looked straight at Erika.
"Second lieutenant Laghar."he said.
Erika immediately tensed, stood up and saluted.
"Yes, sir?"she asked.
"There is a vacant position someone needs to take."Terdon replied.
"What do you mean?"
"As you might be aware, my deputy, lieutenant colonel Svengalsson, unfortunately isn't among us anymore."
Everyone was aware of that. Lieutenant colonel Svengalsson acted as a rear guard during the retreat from Yurion, alongside his company. Due to the fact that they were not seen ever since, and knowing he would not simply give up, one could expect the worst.
"And what does it have to do with me?"Erika asked.
"Isn't that obvious?"Terdon risen an eyebrow."Lieutenant colonel Laghar?"
Hearing this Erika felt both fear and surprise at the same time.
"B-But sir…I can't…"she tried to say.
"Yes, you can."colonel said firmly."You are one of the best officers that are still left in the brigade and Svengalsson himself praised you and your command talent. So you either decide to take this position, or simply leave the brigade."
With things put that way, Erika had no other choice.
"Understood, sir."she said.
"Good."Terdon nodded."So now, get ready, soldiers. Soon, the offensive will begin. Dismissed."
And with that, officers, and newly appointed deputy commander of the brigade, left the command tent.
June 29
00:23
SoS' Underground HQ
Silence hanging in the air between Zorzal, Havenius, Herm and other officers in the staff was heavy. They just sat at the table, not knowing what to do and say, thinking about the newest reports from the frontline.
"How could that happen?"Zorzal finally asked.
Generals Margas and Firius, who were present as holograms, just threw up their arms.
"We would like to know ourselves."Margas admitted.
Firius just threw up his arms.
"According to the reports from his staff, Kerrel decided to just watch the battle from the sky."he said."Rest is just a history."
"I can't believe we lost one of our main commanders in such a stupid way."Havenius stated."Really? Shot down by a lucky enemy missile?"
"Life and war is unpredictable."Margas simply stated.
"I have to agree with you on this."Herm said.
"This still doesn't justify the fact he got killed by sheer luck."Zorzal stated."But I guess we can't do anything about it, can we?"
"No."everyone replied.
"Who now commands the 2nd Armored Legion and the entire front in Skandian Colonization Zone?"Emperor asked.
"General Kerrel's deputy, colonel Torud."Herm replied.
"Promote him and make him the new general."Zorzal ordered.
"It will be done."chief of staff said, bowing.
Emperor looked at the other officers sitting with him at the table.
"And the other news?"he asked.
"Legate Cassius reports."Herm said."Dark Vengeance managed to stop another enemy attempt at space counterattack."
"Good that Erecans equipped that Dreadnaught with this hyperspace field detector."Havenius whispered.
"Good. Without the fleet, they have no way of resupplying and rearming."Emperor stated."But this doesn't change one thing."
"And that would be?"Herm asked.
In response, Zorzal looked at him with eyes cold as ice.
"We were supposed to be done with this by now."he said.
Immediately, all eyes turned on both Herm and Margas. Both general exchanged glances, thinking of what to say. Finally, Margas found something:
"As you already know, enemy resistance and devotion to their cause turned out to be even more hard than we thought. They fortified their positions well and are slowing us down more than expected."
"We expected the populace to welcome us as heroes and liberators."Herm admitted."But I have to say it out loud: we miscalculated."
"In what way?"Zorzal wondered.
"Population on these planets are mostly people and aliens from Milky Way, who settled after the war there ended. And the population on Flare Prime got used to the goods and other things that came from Milky Way. In short, populace simply won't listen to us, unless we beat them into submission. And that is not what we should do."
"Why?"Havenius asked.
"Because it's true that this could make people listen to us, but at the same time, this could make the rebellious elements grow in both numbers and devotion. And if I'm honest, if it led to a full-scale rebellion on controlled territories, this could not end well for us."
Zorzal squinted his eyes.
"Are you doubting our forces' ability to quell a rebellion?"he asked."Or rather, do you question my decisions?"
Temperature in the room immediately dropped by a few degrees. All eyes this time turned only on Herm. Chief-of-staff looked all around, trying to find any form of support in his fellow commanders, but found none. They all just sat there, looking at him, waiting for what he had to say about it.
"Of course not."Herm finally said."I'm just stating the fact."
Emperor scoffed.
"You know what I think about this."he said."Every attempt of rebellion or uprising is to be quelled with force. If the populace won't submit peacefully, they have to learn their lesson."
"As you wish, my lord."general Maio said.
"Good that we agree on this one."Immediately, a smile crawled onto Zorzal's face, but it only made everyone shiver."Now, where were we? Ah yes. The frontline situation. Let's continue."
And so, the late night meeting continued, as Zorzal and his inner circle continued to discuss the situation in Andromeda Branch's space. They also touched the subject of the upcoming Dominion Summit on Ereca, where all main politicians within Erecan Dominion's government were supposed to meet and discuss the state of the Dominion and what to do next. When all of this was said and done, all of them returned to their duties.
XXX
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