Smoke and Mirrors

(Hold up the Spear of Destiny)

Chapter Summary: The Ancient Egyptian Navy was a vital part of the military of ancient Egypt, helping to transport troops along the Nile River and fighting many battles such as the Battle of the Delta against the Sea Peoples.

MEMPHIS

By the time the latest reports came in, Massika and Het were ready to tackle everything that came their way. There were already several strategies ready depending on the actions of these men, and with the help of all the generals of the army, both the land forces and the warships were ready to be deployed at a notice time.

Still, they would wait to see how they were intending to approach, and if they would first attack or if the would-be invaders would try to sneak up on them before invading. They were hoping for the latter, considering their fame as overconfident and cocky warmongers and even if they were armed to the teeth, they would present a friendly facade just to deceive.

And so, the charade began with their disembarkment on Djanet, one of the cities on the delta of the Nile. The governors of all the cities in Kemet had instructions on how to act in case they were the ones to have first contact with the Sea People. They were to receive them as friendly as possible, asking them about their ruler, representative of whoever was in charge of the "expedition". Then after treating them with the most hospitality they were able to, they would invite them to move to Memphis, where the Queen was eager to meet them.

Meanwhile, they should alert the towns nearby so they could start a silent evacuation of the cities and take refuge on the designated places where they would wait until the queen told them it was safe.

Then, the army was to start surrounding the would-be invaders so if they tried anything strange, they would be ready to react.

It was not an infallible plan, but it was flexible enough for them to adapt and maneuver.

Three days after their disembark in Djanet, the cities near the Delta were already deserted and the intruders were traveling to the capital city, where the queen herself received them with some fanfare and a small festivities.

But it was also when hell started to break loose.

Upon first glance of the invaders, Massika could tell that they were not an organized nation nor people that wanted prosperity through the conquest of lands. Just by looking at them, she could see that they were a huge mixmatch of people that wanted to be warmongering on other people's lands. She could imagine that several of them were actually exiled from their original countries and were now wandering aimlessly.

The sentinels and their web of spies reported that their leader, who answered to the name 'Zidanta' was a man covered in heavy lower clothes that resembled those from Persia, but that his chest and arms were covered in strange patterns of body ink. They reported that he was always accompanied by two other men whose origins were uncertain, but that seemed to be a mix of Hittites, Hyksos and Babylonians.

Those were the men that were currently seated at the same table as Massika, watching some of the ladies from the old harem, move their hips to the tune of their most alluring dances. They were being offered refreshments, and lots of beer. They were also being fed the most delicious food that Kemet had to offer. On the other side of the table, her Commander in Chief, and one of her advisors, who usually posed as just a regular scribe were trading somewhat suspicious glances. They just knew that the apparent peace the other men were offering was a temporary one and that they were at a moment's notice to shatter it in the worst way possible.

Thankfully, everybody in the room knew exactly how to react.

"Your ladies are lovely, your Majesty," one of the men suddenly offered. His face already a bit red from inebriation, and his tongue just lose enough for him to start talking more that he should have. "But you know who would be lovelier? You, sprawled on Zidanta's bed!" the man slurred words were barely understandable, especially since they were followed by a boisterous laugh. However, they were clear enough to stun everybody on the room momentarily.

Maybe not reading the mood correctly, or just ignoring the hostility that could be felt all around the place, Zidanta toasted to the air before affirming "well, it will happen eventually, so, what's the matter?"

"I don't recall my hand being promised to anyone."

"Oh but my dear Anukit, nobody is talking about marriage! I was merely planning to use you until I tire of you. Besides, I am not asking your opinion on the matter. You will be with me either willingly or by force."

Indignation coursed through Massika's body, her blue eyes slightly flaring with light but before she could react, a sword was shoved under Zidanta's neck, while Het's low growl threatened, "Never, never talk to my queen like that again, or you'll get to know just how sharp Kemetian irons are."

The man just laughed, before standing up and motioning to his companions to do the same. "Well, by force then. Just don't cry when all of your cities are burned to ashes, queenie."

Guards all over the hall had drawn their swords and spears, but a subtle signal from the Commander in Chief prevented them from actually attacking. Once the men were out of the palace, several pyres were lit, signaling the troops near the city to start deployment.

Two hours later, all ships were ready and the soldiers on land were ready for the attack.

THE DELTA OF THE NILE

The thing about centering their operations in Memphis for the upcoming attack was that, since the Sea People were used to traveling everywhere on their warships, they insisted on traveling to the capital city by navigating the Nile. Het was almost sure that they did it as a strategic move, since that way they could gauge the currents. They also thought that posting their ships in their docks would act as an intimidation technique in case things went south sooner than expected.

Because everybody knew that they would go south eventually.

Yet, in Het's opinion, they committed a major miscalculation while doing so. They forgot that, even if Kemet was not a warmongering country, bent on expanding and conquering lands beyond their borders, they were somewhat used to defending what was theirs… and they were not the first invaders that thought they could use the terrain as an advantage.

They thought that as the ones who knew almost all that was to be known of navigation and naval warfare, they could be unbeatable while on their ships… and Het was determined to prove them wrong.

He ordered his generals to post their ships on some of the river banks hidden from view, especially those near where they would be going through so they were unable to see them when passing nearby. The rest of the branches of the Nile would be waiting for a sign to engage or move, while also observing the happenings on the capital city.

The soldiers posted on the ships to overwhelm the enemy ones,making them unable to move before boarding them as fast as possible; they knew that naval warfare was not their forte, but they knew that they were excellent land warriors… so they would move their fight to the land one way or another.

On the ground, the rest of the militia were disguised as civilians going about their lives in a simple way. Their patrols would be disguised as making errands from one place to the other, and they would be reporting on plazas or markets where their superiors would receive and send information for the Commander in Chief.

By the time the pyres were lit that night, everybody got in position and, before the invaders were able to launch their offensive, they found themselves already under attack on multiple flanks.

VALLEY OF GIZA.

The Sea People were also not counting on the sudden shifting nature of the Nile, that one moment was being calm, and the next it behaved quite aggressive, making them struggle to get hold on ropes and weapons.

Some of the ships were exploded from the inside, others were used to confuse the enemy, getting rid of the entire crew first and launching attacks against them from what seemed a friendly fire. It was not long after that the Sea People realized that, if they wanted any chance of actually defeating them, they would have to fight on the ground.

For a moment they smirked, since they were used to dirty tactics, such as holding hostages and causing as much civil disturbances as possible. What they were not expecting was that the entire city was deserted and that the tactic used against them resembled guerrilla warfare.

They were soon driven out of the city, to the open fields of the Giza Valley, where the real battle would take place. The Sea People's army was already decimated, but was still big in number. They were, however, quite shaken from their previous attacks and had some difficulty in reorganizing themselves. Either way, they were able to give their all in the fight, sometimes even thinking that they were gaining ground against the Army of Kemet.

However, with a literal god of war in the midst of the battle, they never really stood a chance.

Het's fighting style was quite vicious, extremely aggressive and with a deadly precision that could almost be labeled as an art. His troops were trained in the same style as his and even if they were not as refined, they were a force to be reckoned with.

They were also well trained to hear and to notice the different instructions given by their superiors, or in this case, since he was leading the offensive, by Het himself.

The Sea People thought they were gaining territory. They never noticed how they were slowly being driven to a rather high cliff… that is, until there was nowhere else to move but down.

The Sea People were surrounded with only the cliff behind them. And at Het's signal, the Kemet Army charged against them, slowly making them fall from the cliff.

The Nile was still behaving in a strange way, and once all the Sea People fell, they were engulfed by its turbulence, not allowing them to come back to the surface.

Het's satisfied smile quickly morphed into a cry of victory, that was soon echoed by all of his soldiers.

MEMPHIS

While the actual battle was being fought outside, the palace was bustling with activity too. Couriers, messengers, informants, spies, everybody was gathering information and reporting to the queen and some of the generals left behind on how the battles were going, if they needed to adjust any strategy or if they should send any kind of supplies, especially to the ones fighting in the river.

So far, everything was going according to plan, save for a couple incidents of sea warriors that went astray or were left behind to cause havoc in the city while the others were led elsewhere for the actual battle. Until that moment, damage to the city was reduced to the destruction of a few buildings and the wreckage of the Dock area.

It was more than what they wanted, but still within range of what was expected.

The arrival of one of the sentinels posted near one of the cliffs overseeing the battle of the Nile, announced its end. The sentinel recounted everything that happened, even if with previous reports, they were already aware of most of it. Still, he told them how the enemy retreated, that at least a couple of ships were able to escape, and that those ships were damaged almost beyond repair.

Almost everybody relaxed with those news, feeling that victory was imminent.

The only ones that were still not completely relaxed were the queen and one inconspicuous scribe. In fact, they were even more tense at knowing that just the battle of the valley of Giza was left, because even if they knew that victory was almost a given, they also knew that in those kinds of battles, even the smallest detail could tip the balance to one side to the other.

A few hours later, when a battered soldier appeared in their presence, announcing their complete victory over the enemies, but recounting the numerous deaths that the army suffered, everybody was able to sigh in complete relief.

Hugs were exchanged, several messengers were sent to the other cities housing the displaced citizens of Memphis and surrounding places, and plans to honor the dead were laid on the table.

Among all that ruckus, nobody noticed how the queen left the room in search for some quiet and solace. Which in the end proved to be a horrible mistake.

After hearing the primary report from the battle of the Valley of Giza, Massika decided that she needed to have a moment to herself without disturbances. She took advantage of the fact that everybody was distracted with post battle arrangements to slip away unnoticed.

She headed to her quarters, knowing that even if someone were to notice her absence, it would be the last place they would look for her. She was feeling tired, all the stress of the last few days finally taking a toll on her, but she was feeling unable to relax even for a bit. She was just too wired with adrenaline.

All the way to her quarters, she had been trying to calm her mind, to stop worrying about her friends and subjects that were fighting outside while she was just directing the battles from the safety of the palace.

For a moment during the initial battle discussions, she cursed herself that she never learned how to actually fight beyond some moves of personal defense. She as a ruler was supposed to be there with them, not hiding behind a desk. Thankfully, both Het and Seker were able to make her see some sense before she got herself killed by stubbornly marching to the middle of a battle.

"You're more useful to your subjects alive than dead, my Queen." Seker told her in a rather serious way; Seker had never called her that, which only served to drive home the severity of the statement.

But now everything was over. Their planning was effective, the invaders were out of their lands, hopefully for good and they just needed to reschedule that failed trip to Punt for everything to be over.

She needed solace and she needed the quiet of her chambers. "It will be just a few minutes, and then I'll be back to matters. Nobody will even notice I'm gone"

However, the moment she closed her doors, she knew something was wrong.

But by the time she turned around to see what was it, she found herself pinned to a wall by the throat, a dagger to her side, and Zidanta's horrible breath and crazed eyes over her.

She remembered some of the earlier reports, where nobody could get a hold on the man, where everybody assumed that he had fled inside some of the ships that had escaped...

They were wrong… they were horribly wrong and now, because she wanted some solitude, they would never know. Or at least, not before it was not too late for her.

"If I had known I would lose this much because of a pretty face, I would have attacked your lands without warning… I should just kill you to get back at least some of it… I should, but there is no joy in that…" he shifted his hold on her, moving the dagger to her stomach and squeezing her throat a bit tighter. His face got even closer, in a more threatening manner before spitting "I am fulfilling my promise to you. You will be mine, either willingly or by force. You decide."

Massika was trying really hard not to panic in the face of her attacker, trying to breathe as deeply as possible while revisiting her meager classes on self defense. she knew that Zidanta could easily overpower her, no matter what she tried. still, she knew that with just a minor distraction, she would be able to make his hold on her lessen enough for her to try to escape.

She started to look for something to cause said distraction, but it seemed that Zidanta took even that in consideration, as they were quite far from almost anything.

"What about neither?" two pairs of eyes got wider in surprise. Zidanta's as he was not expecting someone to have found them this soon, and Massika's because it was a voice she had longed to hear for the last past months.

Zidanta's hold on Massika just got tighter, her hands instantly flying to press Zidanta's arm while gasping in an attempt to get even a bit of air down her throat.

"I suggest that you release her this instant or else…"

"I won't! I'll kill her! I'll kill her even before you can….." Electricity cursed through Zidanta's body, forcing him to release Massika before falling to the ground in an agonizing heap. A few seconds later, a group of guards blasted the doors open, arms drawn and ready to attack. One of the guards posted outside of the war room noticed her leaving, and decided to follow her. When he heard that she was in trouble, instead of rushing alone, decided to go get some help.

The guards quickly took notice of the third occupant of the room, giving him a curious glance over before dismissing him as unimportant for the time being. They all moved to gather the by now unconscious invader, one of them going to their Queen's side to see how she was faring. She weakly assured them that she was alright, though nobody really believed her. The guard was about to press for her to seek aid or for him to escort her to the healing halls when the stranger stated that he would make sure that the queen got the necessary care.

"I only ask you to please send someone to inform Commander in Chief Het about this incident."

With a nod of acceptance, the group of guards move outside the room, prisoner in tow.

The silence between them felt oppressive as It had been literal months since they had seen each other; their farewell had not been a fond memory, and both had been resigned to never hearing from the other for much longer than had actually passed.

Still, before her, Khaba was standing clad in one of her favorite black cloths, using some of the jewelry she gifted him over the years and looking at her as if she was the best thing this world had to offer. His gaze was displaying other emotions too, Massika could discern some regret, some sadness and so much love that it made her feel a bit uncomfortable.

She could not deny that she was feeling almost the same, and that at the same time, she was not really sure if she should act on her emotions.

He was the first to break the silence, asking her to move towards the halls of healing, going as far as offering her his hand for her to lean on until they reached their destination.

The trip was made in silence. Both having an infinite amount of things they wanted to express, but neither willing to be the one to say them first. When the healers got hold of their queen, they fused over her, examining her thoroughly while her companion simply watched. Once they were done with her, they made her lay down for a bit until they prepared her something for the sore muscles of her throat.

Just as Massika was about to close her eyes, a sudden "I'm sorry" made her open them wide in surprise. Her eyes fixed on his, watching him fight with his words and making an effort to express what he was currently feeling.

"I'm sorry. For not coming back to you earlier. For attempting to pretend that you did not exist so I could hurt less. For not being here when you needed me the most." She watched him take a deep breath and close his eyes. It seemed that there were a lot of things he still wanted to tell, but when a few minutes passed and there were no more words coming, she tried to answer.

"I'm… sorry… too" Massika tried to speak, having thought that the damage to her throat would not affect her that much. Still, every word she tried to utter hurt her horribly.

It was a bit ironic, she had wanted to talk to the man/god in front of her for months now, and when she finally had him with her, she was unable to speak.

Her frustrated face must have told him everything, because with a small smile and a fond gaze, he told her to wait until she was feeling better. "Don't worry, I won't be leaving your side anytime soon."