Author's Notes.
Hi to everyone!
I hope you spent some fine Christmas Holidays.
I promised you a new chapter before the end of mine, and so, here I am with the 6th chapter. This time it will be a less action and more introspective one, but don't worry that a lot of action will come from now on, starting from the next chapter already.
Enjoy it, and once again, have a nice 2019!^^
See you soon!^_^
Cj Spencer
6
«Are you sure you want to go?» Giru asked to Dante while the others of the Falcon-9 were finishing storing provisions and ammos aboard the VLM
«We have to.» the Major replied. «As I told you, we still need to recover our soldier and return the Centaur princess.»
«It could be really dangerous.»
«I know it. But our guide says there's a secret route to reach the southern borders of Arlea while staying relatively far from the Plains. Reich and its allies are unlikely to have arrived so far to the west.»
«I hope it's true. Anyway, the radio system is almost ready. It will be fully operative in a matter of days. At that point, you'll be able to stay in contact with the HQ safely.»
«You think we'll be able to find Lunardi and his squad with this?»
«I don't know. Theoretically, the signal will be strong enough to communicate almost everywhere in the north till the Empire's northern borders. We can only pray that one of their radios still works. And of course that they're still alive out there somewhere.»
It was true.
Right now, there was nothing they were able to do; and more important, both of them still had their own proper orders to obey, and for now they had the top priority above everything else.
«If I know Flavio, I'm sure they're still alive.» Dante said «We trained together to become Falcon leaders. He knows these lands and its dangers more than anyone else. If he really managed to escape the siege, then we can be sure that he'll find a way to come back alive.»
«We just have to pray that it will be the same even for his men.»
Not all of the Falcon members were first-class soldiers.
On contrary, the sole active role for most of them before reaching the Special Region had been mounting guard around the secret base built around the Italian gate, in a further attempt to prevent if possible "common" units from learning too much things during the first steps of the mission, when the successful birth of a true colony was anything but certain.
Fortunately, for the third Country on Earth most involved in military missions around the globe it was not difficult to find expert soldiers with and enviable state of service and an over ten years long experience in its armored forces.
Like many others of his same age and rank, Sergeant Rocco had been assigned to the Falcon-1 as Lunardi's second-in-command due to his long-time career in almost every dangerous warzone of the globe, in order to help his comrades earn as much experience as they needed to survive as soon as possible and provide good and trustworthy suggestions for the units' leaders at the same time.
However, despite all his experience, it was the first time that Rocco seriously feared for their survival. Alone and even farther from their allies, lost somewhere behind enemy lines, probably hunted by their enemies, with no options apart keep on running waiting for a radio signal that might never come.
He had already faced something similar; in Afghanistan, during his sixth mission oversea. During a common patrolling, his entire squad had been wiped away together with a US Marines small unit in a Taliban ambush. As the only one left alive, he had spent almost one week running and hiding from the hunt launched against him, at the point of being decorated after being able to turn back still miraculously alive.
But that time it was different. He was alone, in a foreign but still familiar land, unable to receive support but still on contact with the HQ. Now instead they were a team, alone in a land they knew almost nothing about, and all he was seeing around him were quite scared and confused little guys; the siege had made them men and true soldiers, but in his mind they were still too young and inexpert to face something like that.
And then, there was Lunardi: the only one with a clear idea in mind about what to do in that situation, at least to listen his words.
Even after so much days, Rocco was still unable to understand if Flavio's strong will to bring them back home was motivated by a pure and honest care for their lives, or maybe just a way to prove to himself being still a good and trustworthy leader, even after so much deaths and losses.
As a Petty Officer, the Sergeant had already met in his life a certain number of officers more interested to satisfy their own ego than absolve their duties and protect the sake of their squad, and even if he was still having trouble in seeing Lunardi as a such despicable person, his yeas of service were telling him that even the most respectable soldiers had their own breaking point.
They walked for days and nights in complete solitude, always looking behind their backs in search of the minimum sign of danger and resting no more than three hours per day; if Lunardi's prevision was true, the enemy had recovered half of the downside already, and the border was still quite far.
According to the usual schedule, they had to march mainly on night, when it was far difficult for someone unused to those lands like the Reichians to move nimbly, while at the opposite the maps printed by the locals for the Italians had proven being incredibly accurate, not to mention that stars and moon were more than enough to provide necessary light.
But now, they were all exhausted.
And right when even the same Lunardi seemed at the verge of losing hope, a merciful God finally decided point his eyes to them.
Sun was about to descend once again, when after climbing a low hill Cassetti unexpectedly noted a light not too far in front of them, on the bottom of a nearby valley.
«Sir, look!»
Lunardi pointed binoculars to it, and just a glance was enough to discover a small but still well-built wooden building, protected by quadrangular walls and surrounded by a bit of humble homes, stabled and a bit of camps. The banner he noted waving on the top of the central building was quite a surprise, even if not completely unexpected to him.
«What's that, Flavio?» Tymlin asked
«An Imperial fort. And some colonists.»
«But we haven't crossed the border yet.» Wang said
«These lands have become unofficially part of the Empire since when the Warrior Bunnies had been repelled north after the last war. Probably the Empire is using these forts to gain influence and create a safe zone between them and the Plains.»
That was an unexpected luck, and Lunardi immediately had an idea to make their escape smoother and less difficult.
«Give me all local coins you have.»
Rocco and the other obeyed, and once emptied their pockets they were able to collect a respectable amount of money.
«Good. This should be enough.»
At that point, Lunardi took all his weapons off, covering the uniform under a cloak and trying as possible to settle hair and clean face with the few water left.
«Wait me here. If I'll not be back in an hour, just leave without waiting for me.»
«Dear God Captain, what are you planning to do?» Valenti asked.
«You'll see it.»
Then Lunardi left, and for the following sixty minutes Rocco and the others seriously worried for their Commander's safety: he was probably the best man on Earth in dealing with almost every civilization of the Special Region, –which was the best reason for his being appointed as leader of the fist Falcon unit– but dealing with the Empire was still quite risky.
«This is crazy.» Torrisi said with empty and unusual scary eyes
«Not again, Torrisi.» Amato scolded him
«Why shouldn't he?» replied Stefanini in angry «Look where we are. We're stuck in this fucking hell, with the Empire in front of us, the Reichians behind our butts.»
«Every step we make is one more step away from home.» Wang said. «I have no intention to die in this fucking land.»
«The Captain is clearly losing his mind.»
«Don't say such thing, Flavio is not mad!» Tymlin protested
«Shut up, you brat. That's not of your business.»
«She's right, Valentina.» Cassetti said. «The truth is that Lunardi knows this world and his culture better than anyone else on Earth. If he says that we can survive to all this doing as he says, we can be sure about it.»
«Maybe that knowledge he thinks to have is his main problem instead.» Valenti said
«Giada, you too…»
«Don't misunderstand me. I swore to follow his orders, and I'll do it.» then she turned to Rocco. «But honestly, I'm starting to fear that maybe the Captain is overestimating his knowledge. I mean… who among us has ever faced something like this?»
«I did it.» Rocco said with a bit of pride. «And here I am, once again sinking in a sea of shit. But even while starving in that goddamn desert, drinking my same piss, I have never doubted of my superiors' judgement.»
«That was different, and you know it.» Wang said. «You knew what to do and your enemy. We're in a fucking other world, you understand? All we can do is pray that the Captain's previsions are right. But who says that the Reichians following us will stop once crossed the border, admitting that we'll live long enough to reach it?»
«Not to mention that people dressed green and speaking a strange language are not exactly welcomed in the Empire right know.» said Valenti
«What if we should find ourselves in trap?» Stefanini said with mounting rage. «What if the Empire should find out who we really are? I have no intention to die so that those bastards in Rome can keep their beloved secret safe!»
«Same here. My family has paid an high enough price to the national interest already.»
«You should take his place, Sergeant.» Wang finally said.
«What!?» Rocco replied with his eyes wide-opened
«You said it. You found yourself in such situations already, so you know what's better to do more than anyone else.»
«Marco, this is going too far.» Cassetti said
But the young Chinese-Italian soldier kept on talking instead, almost ignoring the same Rocco threateningly walking to him.
«You could take the Captain's place. Me, Giada and Stefanini, we would support you. And of course we would be ready to approve you in case of an investigation. What you t-»
He was unable to go further, because Rocco's powerful hand closed as a bear's paw around his neck, leaving him breathless for a second.
«Now listen to me. Just say another word, and I'll personally drag you in front of the martial court for insubordination.»
«But… Sergeant…» said a stunned Stefanini
«We're not a fucking Fellowship of the Ring! You have your orders and a Captain, and as soldiers it's your duty to obey both of them!»
«But you too have discussed his orders!» Wang shouted totally ignoring grades for a moment. «You too think that he's leading us to death!»
«I did it! Because as Senior Sergeant, it's part of my duty do question the Commander's decisions, as much as suggest him a better solution if necessary! But right because I'm a Senior Sergeant, I would never, ever think to disobey his orders once given!» then he turned to the rest of the squad. «And that's the same for everyone! If I hear just a single word of insubordination, the Empire or Reich will be the last of your problems!»
Everyone at that point remained silent, pointing with shame eyes to the ground, even the few ones for whom Lunardi's authority had never been in question.
«Have I been clear?» Rocco said again to Wang.
«Y… yes sir.» and finally he was left free.
Less than two minutes later Lunardi finally came back; and he was not alone.
«Horses!?» Cassetti said looking at the four nags the Captain had taken with him, one of them with even a couple of jars of water on its back.
«I hope you know how to ride, guys. Unfortunately, I was able to buy just these four. I bought also enough water to sustain us till the border.»
In truth, apart for the Captain, Amato was the only one among the squad with a bit of experience in riding horses, but at that point all was good to go faster.
Splitting a pair for horseback, everyone quickly jumped onboard.
«We're going to make a little deviation.» the Captain said. «I've heard there's a shortcut through the valley to reach the border. If we take it, we can spare almost one third of the road.»
«Master Lunardi…» Tymlin said while mounting behind him. «I…»
«It's ok.» Flavio replied with an enigmatic glance. «Come on, we lost enough time!»
The same method the spies in Alnus used to communicate with their embassy was the same one used by the said embassy to send the secret messages at Rome.
In a secret room in the underground of the Farnesina, a couple of experts in Morse code and codes decryption were constantly listening; on average, two messages arrived per day, and for most they were common advertisements regarding the state of the mission or secondary information about the Japanese movements, nothing important.
However, in certain circumstances, the information was so important that only Minister Scoleri was allowed to see it: in this case, the message was marked ad "Top Secret", and a special computer was charged to decrypt and print it; all the operators had to do was to close it into an envelope and send it directly into Scoleri's office.
But there was an even higher grade, which was "Urgent". In such case, orders were to contact the minister in any case or circumstance, and keep the message in the secret room until Scoleri was able to see it personally.
The message sent that night had been marked as urgent over three times, so the operators immediately called Ivana, which arrived in half an hour right from her hotel room.
«So?» she said closing the locked and well surveilled door of the room. «What's so important?»
«This one has arrived an hour ago.» one of the operators said giving her the closed envelope.
Ivana took it and read it, and almost immediately, her eyes filled with the most complete shock.
«Shit.» the woman said, and she immediately grabbed the room's phone, calling Rigamonti's office. «Call the Prime Minister.» she said when someone finally answered despite the late hours. «I don't care if it's two in the morning, you just call him. RAI affair. High Priority.»
«Yes, I understand.» Rigamonti said from his home's study in Milan's outskirts. «I'm coming right now.» and once closed the phone he turned to his attendant. «Call the airport. Say them to prepare my plane.»
«Yes sir.»
The moment the attendant left, Rigamonti noted his daughter Maria watching him from the opened door of the room.
«Sweet angel.» he lovingly said while caressing her long blonde hair. «What are you doing here? You should be at bed?»
«Are you leaving again, daddy?» she said with sadness
«I'm sorry, sweet angel. Daddy has important things to do. You understand, right?»
«But you promised me to be at my school play.»
«And I'll be there, my angel. You can count on it.»
«Promised?» she asked, half pessimistic and half hopeful.
«Promised.» he said kissing index finger and passing it on her forehead, in her common way to seal promises. «Come on, now just come back to sleep. I'll say Fabiola to prepare your favorite meal for breakfast. You have to be full of energy for the play.» then he smiled like the best father in the world. «After all, you're the protagonist.»
Little Maria tried to protest a little bit, but at the end she surrendered and came back to her room, leaving Sergio free to dress.
Minutes later, a caravan of cars left the mansion heading to the airport, and while climbing the stairs of his personal plane, Rigamonti called Scoleri.
«So you heard it?» Ivana said
«I'm on my way. Call for an immediate council of ministers.»
«Done it. We're waiting for you. There will be even the chiefs of the other parties.»
«Nice. I'll be there in a couple of hours.»
Before sunset, the Italian's council of ministers reunited in the main office of Palazzo Chigi, together with ambassadors of all other main parties of the Republic and even some military elite, as usual when the argument was the mission beyond the Gate.
Rigamonti arrived for last, completely ignoring the anger and lack of enthusiasm of his ministers, called in the middle of the night and forced to meet without warning, some of them even forced to cross half of Italy.
«And so?» the Chief of Staff, General Delneri, while Rigamonti was taking place. «What's so urgent that you cannot wait until morning?»
«This.» Sergio said literally throwing him his tablet.
Giovanardi read it, and so did the others, and all of a sudden, protests and grumbles turned into an astonished and shocked silence.
«Christ.» said the Minister for Economic Affairs
«You said it. The Japanese and the Empire are officially on war again. A paratroopers unit has attacked the capital and broken the siege at the Jade Palace, taking in meantime out of prison all of their supporters previously jailed by Prince Zorzal. Right now they're bringing them to Italica.»
«That idiot boy.» said the Defense Minister Giovanardi. «I told you it was better to take care of those supporters of the Japanese for our own.»
«It would've been too dangerous for our agents in the city.» Scoleri answered. «It's been really difficult to plant a strong and well covered nest of spies in the territories under Japanese control, we cannot afford to put them at risk.»
«Not to mention that there was no one we could have pushed them to blame for the murders.» Rigamonti said
«What about the Emperor and other two heir, Diabo and Pina?»
«According with this report, Emperor Molt is still comatose and in Zorzal's hands, exactly like Pina. About Diabo, we have no information, even if some rumors report his presence in Italica no less than five days ago.»
«What if he tried to speak with the Japanese by himself?»
«We can exclude it.» Delneri replied. «According to our spies, he's quite skeptical about the possibility to see the Empire too much involved with the Japanese. It seems he has very less consideration of their customs and policies.»
«How can we blame him?» the Interior Minister jokingly commented, giving rise to a general chuckle
«There's nothing to laugh at.» Rigamonti severely silenced them. «We have to thank God that they've not been able to retrieve even the Emperor or Princess Pina. But now that their local supporters are safely under Japanese control, who says that they'll not try to establish a new government to support in case of a civil war?»
Such eventuality scared most of them to death, wiping away any trace of fun.
«All the Japanese want is to gain control of the heart of the Special Region, no matter who commands. On contrary, whenever they should succeed in overthrowing the Imperial family and replace it with a puppet nation ruled by their supporters, it would be even better for them.»
«So, what you think we should do?» Scoleri asked. «Try to negotiate with that prince, Zorzal?»
«Out of question!» Giordani asked. «Why in the world should we trust such incompetent and crazy bastard?»
«His idiotic behavior will lead to a new war against the Japanese sooner or later, it's out of question.» said General Delneri. «And this time, I fear it will not end smoothly. They have local supporters and the support of the public opinion, all they need to seize total control of the situation and win the conflict.»
«I don't think they'll act in such way, not immediately at least.» the Prime Minister observed. «The mission has already cost hundreds of billions yen, and wipe away Zorzal and the rest of the senate supporting him would be really expensive. Whenever they should find themselves unable to gain control over one of the other princes, they will probably avoid moving further. This may grant us a bit more time to prosecute with our initial plan.»
«Plan? What plan?» shouted Maurizio Foscari, the rules of the second most popular party of the country and Rigamonti's main opponent in year. «Are you joking us? Or maybe you think we're idiots? Your precious plan completely depends on the mission in Calibria, and we're still not sure if it will succeeds or not.»
«The mission in Calibria is proceeding as planned, Honorable Foscari.» Rigamonti answered. «Our best scholars are at work even right now, and sooner or later we'll find all we need to move the Imperials to choose our support over Japan's.»
«Maybe I'm wrong, but somehow I have the very unpleasant feeling that you're not telling us the whole story. And I'm sure I'm not the only one to think this.»
Then both Foscari and Rigamonti turned to look both the other parties' leaders and even the same ministers, and judging by their eyes, Foscari's hypothesis was anything but unshared by most of them.
«The agreement we made when everything started is still valid, Maurizio. Why in the world should I lie to my own government? I've already filled the chests of this nation like no one else in history, and you have my word that when this operation will succeeds, a whole new world of new conquers will open for all of us.»
Sergio's speech seemed to calm most of his ministers, but the other leaders on contrary seemed still sharing Foscari's skepticism.
«Watch for you, Sergio. We accepted to let you do as you wanted at first, but only at condition to see you kick the Japanese out of the Special Region. If this should not happen, then I don't know if we'll still be so well disposed to follow you.»
And said this, Foscari left, taking all other leaders out with him.
«Arrogant bastard.»
«Sergio, we've always been loyal to you.» said Giovanardi «Then, you have to be honest: is there really a problem with the operation in Calibria?»
«No, absolutely not.» Rigamonti replied almost immediately. «You know what I know.»
The other ministers looked each other, but at the end, no one else objected, and the rest of the meeting was spent to inform the council about other minor events occurred both between the Japanese and in the same Castria.
At the end, the meeting ended just before eight, and everyone came back to their offices to prepare the next day of work.
«You should've told them, Sergio.» Ivana said while closing the door of Rigamonti's office.
«Tell them what?» Rigamonti replied while leaning discomfortedly at his desk «That we've probably lost once and forever our only hope to gain the upper hand with the Empire at Japan's expenses?»
«I think there's no need to remind you that our position is dramatically weak and precarious right now. All polls are still on your favor, but public opinion didn't appreciate some of your most recent choices, to Foscari's benefit.»
«He's just an old and arrogant idiot living in the past. Times change, and the ones like him think to live still in twentieth century. It's their fault if this country has lost most of its reputation, turning into the laughing stock of the world.» then he looked Ivana right in her eyes. «I swore to use the Special Region to get Italy back to the place it deserves, remember?»
«And you think that lie at your own government will help you to do it?»
«As long as there's even the smallest possibility that our mission will be successful, I have no intention to give them reasons to stab me behind. As you said, I need them. For now.»
The, Rigamonti started collecting his things.
«Fuck discretion. Tell Pedersoli to search the Falcon-1 in every corner of those fucking Plains. The Japanese are less than one step from the target, but maybe we can still try a desperate vamp.»
«You're planning to side with Prince Zorzal, am I right?»
«The important thing is to gain control over the Empire dominions, no matter the side. Indeed, since Zorzal is such strong supporter of Imperial tradition of never making peace with the enemy, he could be more than happy to cooperate to save his royal butt before seeing it burn.»
Ivana had known Sergio for many years, but every time she was unable to remain speechless in front of the young Prime Minister's incredibly skill to remain calm and rational even in front of the most unexpected and complicated situations.
«Where are you going?» she asked seeing him take the coat.
«Back to Milan.» he answered while smiling. «I promised Maria to be at her school's play.»