Chapter Forty
"Formal Talks"
"Come on Chris, wake up." Jeanne said with a shake on the shoulder causing a groan to escape as my eyes adjusted to the daylight streaming through the flap in the tent.
"You couldn't give me a few more minutes?" I asked, turning my back to her.
"No I can't, we need to get going." Jeanne said as she gripped my shoulder and rolled me back over on my side. I covered my eyes with my arm before having them yanked back and was looking up at Jeanne.
"Your face looks as grumpy as Lancer's." Jeanne chuckled.
"How'd you even manage to get her up, I figured she'd be hung over." I asked.
"She was more or less." Jeanne replied. "But she seems to hold up better than you do when it comes to waking up." Jeanne pointed out.
"I never was much of a morning person." I sat up in my cot and rubbed the back of my neck.
"It was you who said we're heading out first thing in the morning." Jeanne reminded me.
"I know…" I murmured, rubbing the sleep from my eyes. "It's one of those cases where do as I say, not as I do." I said.
"And I'm saying it's time to get up." Jeanne said sternly as she pulled me up on my feet.
"You use much more physical force than my Mom, she would just throw my blinds open and tell me to get up, but you physically drag me out of bed." I joked.
"Could you stop being such a drama queen." Jeanne scolded me. "You know as children my siblings and I would always wake at first light and be out in the fields helping till our families crops and then only afterwards we would have breakfast." Jeanne said.
"So you're saying you slept in when you got older?" I said.
"Of course not, sleeping in was a luxury for us back then." Jeanne said.
"Okay, Okay. I get your point." I said picking up my vest resting against my cot and pulling it over my head and securing the straps in place. "I'll be out in a few." I told her before picking up the bags from Chaldea yesterday and handing them to her. "Here, there's climbing supplies and some warmer clothes for Mashu and you." I explained as Jeanne accepted the bags giving me a weird look in the process.
"You know servant's can't get cold right?" Jeanne pointed out.
"...Ah, I had forgotten." I apologized. "I'm sorry Jeanne, but I had just thought since it will get colder as we ascend ..." I said before being abruptly cut off.
"No, No it's quite alright." Jeanne dismissed my comments with a wave of the hand. "I think it's actually a good idea since when we get behind enemy lines it might help us blend in better at least until we launch our attack." Jeanne said. I'm pretty sure Jeanne was just being courteous so I wouldn't feel so embarrassed, but I wasn't going to say anything. "I'll change right away and once we get set to go to combat I'll switch back to my armor." Jeanne said, something Scathach had done numerous times when switching between her casual clothes and her "armor". "I'll also give Mashu her clothes as well, but you didn't mention there being any for Lancer." Jeanne inquired.
"Oh, uh no I didn't." I shook my head. "Lancer seemingly already has warm clothes so I didn't request any for her." I explained.
"Well I hope she won't get upset that you left her out." Jeanne said and I couldn't help but snort in response.
"I'm sure she won't care, knowing her." I said and Jeanne smacked her forehead.
"I'm not going to even comment on you two." Jeanne murmured, shaking her head in disappointment at me. "Well I'm heading out, you best not go back to sleep." Jeanne said over her shoulder as she turned and prepared to leave.
"I won't trust me." I said with my hands up and Jeanne nodded her head seemingly convinced before ducking underneath the flap and disappearing outside. It was now my time to sigh in relief as I sat back down on the cot. Pulling my boots out from underneath and slipping into them and shortly after finishing up with my shoelaces I stood back up, picking up my jacket that was hanging from the end of the cot whilst doing so. Slipping into my jacket I proceeded to straighten out wrinkles before giving a slight tug and buttoning up. Patting myself down I checked to make sure I had everything before heading out and sure enough I had my pistol, magazines, knife, and everything else. Grabbing my rifle on the way out I ducked underneath the flap and headed outside to meet up with the others.
Outside I was greeted by the warm embrace of the sun's rays as I put my hand up to my face momentarily giving my eyes some time to adjust. Lowering my hands after a brief period of time I found the red headed lancer standing not far away outside Jeanne's tent with her back turned to my direction. She must have heard me because as soon as I drew near she spun around to face me.
"Never let your guard down, do you Lancer?" I asked, wearing a long face, disappointed that I never had a chance to sneak up on her.
"Not with you around, no." Scathach replied.
"I assume Saber and Mashu are changing clothes?" I inquired.
"Where else would they be?" Was Scathach's response.
"I don't know, the bathroom perhaps?" I suggested and Scathach scowled in response and was prepared to no doubt berate me. Fortunately any chance for Scathach to respond was cut off by someone's sudden appearance.
"Oh Senpai, that was you I heard talking outside." Mashu exclaimed, "Good Morning!" Mashu greeted me as she emerged from the tent. I returned her greeting as I looked over the clothing Chaldea had sent. Her outfit was nothing flashy, it consisted of a white button up coat branded with Chaldea's logo and pair of black pants. The pair of boots they had included was just your standard pair of climbing boots. "Here, I brewed you some coffee. I thought it might help to wake you up." Mashu produced what appeared to be a metal cup holding it out to me. There was a rich aroma emanating from the cup with steam rising from the top.
"Thank you Mashu, that's very thoughtful of you." I took the coffee in my hands and proceeded to pat her on the head with my free hand. "I don't usually drink coffee, but this should help me wake up a little."
"I'm afraid it's not anything great." Mashu frowned, "I didn't have much to work with, so I had to boil some water over a fire and threw in the instant coffee" Mashu explained which earned a laugh from me.
"I'm not one to talk Mashu, when I make tea I just heat some water up in the microwave with a teabag and let it seep." I said. This earned me a chuckle from Mashu, but also earned me a scoff from a Scottswoman.
"Is there a problem, Lancer?" I asked, almost grinning.
"No…" Scathach said doing her best to contain her scorn towards me as she narrowed her eyebrows at me. I hid from Scathach's gaze behind my cup taking a sip of the coffee to avoid her disgust. Luckily I would be saved from enduring Scathach's ire as another familiar face emerged from the same nea
"Chris, you dressed quicker than I expected!" Jeanne exclaimed, adding, "I thought I'd be the one to wait on you and not the other way around."
"Well I was already partially dressed so I had a head start on you." I replied, and despite what Scathach says from my experience women always take longer to get dressed than men.
"That's true enough, but I still figured I'd beat you out here." Jeanne said.
"Don't be a sore loser Jeanne." I replied.
"I'm not." Jeanne said, sticking her tongue out at me.
"You too." I stuck my tongue out in response. The brief moment of playful banner was over as quickly as it began as Jeanne cleared her throat and showed off her outfit.
"Anyway, what do you think of my outfit?" Jeanne spun around.
"I think it looks lovely on you, Saber." Mashu complimented her. Scathach per usual didn't have anything to say standing impatiently off to the side.
"Well Chris, whatta you think?" Jeanne asked. Her outfit was more or less the same as the one Mashu was wearing. The only differences between the two being the dark blue down vest she had over her jacket and the pair of climbing boots being brownish color. Something that did catch my eye however was that around her waist she still had her belt and sheathed sword. It made sense she would keep her sword close at hand, and it wouldn't weigh her down like Mashu's shield. My only real concern was that I hoped no one would spot us because of those white jackets
"I think it looks lovely on you, Saber." I said with a nod.
"Awe thank you Chris, that's very sweet of you to say." Jeanne smiled with a chuckle. "By the way I have something for you…" Jeanne said as she untucked the duffel bag from Chaldea from underneath her arm. Unzipping the bag she pulled out a piece of clothing from the bag before handing it to me. "Chaldea sent a jacket for you as well." Jeanne added. I asked Mashu to hold my coffee for a moment so I could take the jacket and Mashu gladly complied. After handing off my coffee I took the jacket in my hands where I looked it over for a brief moment. It was just an ordinary black jacket with a zipper and like the others had Chaldea's logo on the breast pocket. So they could send a different colored jacket for me, but they couldn't bother to send us another color? Like I don't know, green, to blend in with the environment? As I had these angry thoughts I slipped my arms into the sleeves before zipping up. Thanking Mashu I took my coffee back and proceeded to take a sip for my caffeine high before concluding that the only explanation was the people's brains at Chaldea must have frozen to such an extent they believe the rest of the world was a frozen hellscape like where they work.
"Senpai, you're making a scary face." Mashu snapped me out of my thoughts.
"O-Oh sorry that wasn't my intention." I said.
"Do you not like the jacket?" Jeanne asked, and I shook my head.
"No, No, the jacket's fine." I answered. "It's plenty warm for trekking through the mountains, so it'll do the job. I was just thinking white isn't the best option for remaining undetected." I explained.
"Hmmm, that's a fair point." Jeanne mused.
"Given how high up we'll be, it's highly unlikely anyone on the ground will be able to see us." Scathach interjected. "Unless of course a servant was to spot us, but of course we don't know if the enemy has any servants this close to the frontline." Scathach added.
"Well Nero said the enemy general was not seen at the frontlines and was in their capital, at least according to her reports." I pointed out to her what we had been told.
"Yes, I recall." Scathach said. "I also recall you were going to ask her about the enemy's servants' lack of presence this close to the frontline and why neither side has used their noble phantasm to overcome the other's defenses." Scathach reminded me as she narrowed her eyes at me with crossed arms. Damn this woman and her impeccable memory.
"I was, but it slipped my mind last night." I admitted.
"Then I guess we'll just have to find out the hard way." Scathach sneered at me.
"Do you think we'll run into any patrols up there?" Mashu asked, and Scathach turned her attention towards Mashu.
"Anything's possible, but it's unlikely we'll run into anyone up there." Scathach answered. "If we run into anyone it'll probably be when we come down the mountain onto the other side, I'm sure the enemy has patrols around the area." Scathach pointed out.
"Lancer's right." I affirmed. "We shouldn't run into any ordinary humans that high up in the mountains, normal humans shouldn't have access to the climbing equipment needed to get up there." I explained.
"Considering it was only just 10 years ago that Caesar crossed the Rhine in 55 BC, which in itself was an Engineering marvel, so he's right." Scathach said, which I had forgotten all about that feat. Caesar had his forces build a bridge to cross the Rhine river where they marched across into Germany unopposed before coming back to the other side and destroying the bridge. "If anything it's more likely we'd run into an enemy servant." Scathach pointed out.
"You're right, so we'll need to be extra careful." I said.
"You know when you two aren't fighting, you actually agree on quite a lot." Jeanne noted. Jeanne gave us no chance to respond as she rapidly moved on towards the next topic. "Anyway, now that we're all dressed and ready to go, let's go and grab some breakfast before heading out." Jeanne clapped her hands together.
"I agree!" Mashu raised her hand up in the air.
"Alright, let's go get breakfast then." I motioned with my hand. Jeanne and Mashu took long strides in the direction of the mess camp with us bringing up the rear.
After getting our fill at the mess tent we now stood at the very edges of the camp gathered at the base of the mountain. Each one of us checked our supplies before our ascent up the mountain, luckily we wouldn't be needing to drag any oxygen along with us. At least from the topography maps Chaldea provided it looked like we wouldn't be needing to go up very high to get over the pass, I had charted out a path in advance that would take us over the passes and out on the other side undetected. Now all we had to do was actually scale the damn mountains. Can't say I did a whole lot of rock climbing in my free time, can't say I had a lot of free time to be honest. I checked my gear one last time, climbing harness, ropes, stakes, food rations, water bottle, spare magazines, rifle, pistol, it was all there and accounted for. Slinging my rifle over my back along with my bag I prepared to tell the others to head out, but not before someone stopped me.
"Praetor!" A voice called out behind me. Turning around I found the Roman Empress coming up to me from behind. Nero was wearing her usual red dress with its translucent bottom portion, along with her gaudy knee high armored boots. I couldn't make heads or tails of Nero's fashion sense, but I suppose her outfit matched her eccentric personality.
"Your Majesty, what do I owe this great honor?" I greeted her with a slight bow.
"Why to see you off myself of course!" Nero replied.
"That's very gracious of you Empress." I nodded my head. "Well as you can see we're just checking our gear one last time before we head out." I gestured to the others. "What about yours, you still have the walkie talkie I gave you, right?" I asked her.
"Umu, of course!" Nero answered. She produced the walkie talkie out from behind her back before bringing it up her mouth and pressing down on the side button. "Can you hear my voice radiating through to you?" Nero spoke into the walkie talkie.
"It would be if mine wasn't off." I replied, earning me a slight pout in return. "And you should turn yours off as well your Majesty, unless of course you want it yours to be dead by the time we launch our attack." I explained.
"This thing can die!" Nero exclaimed.
"Well no, not literally." I said waving my hands. "But if its battery goes out that means the device will no longer be functional." I explained.
"Oh, well in that case I'll turn it off then." Nero said, twisting the top cap turning it off.
"Anyway, we're just preparing to head out." I said. "It should take us a few days to traverse the mountains and get to the other side, so turn your walkie on two days from now and I'll contact you when we're ready to make our move." I explained.
"Right." Nero nodded her head. "Meanwhile we've managed to muster all the horses that we can for our cavalry, we have six hundred riders ready to storm the enemies defenses. It's not as many as I would like since we usually get most of our calvary forces from our other lands." Nero admitted. "But we have several legions ready to move in after the cavalry forces and reinforce them if necessary." Nero added.
"Well attacking enemy defenses is generally always more costly to the attackers, which is why you usually need a six to one advantage or more." I said. "But hopefully with the chaos we cause in their camp and your Blitzkrieg attack…."
"Blitzkrieg?" Nero tilted her head.
"Err, I meant to say calvary attack. Don't worry about it.." I shook my head. "I just meant to say that hopefully with our surprise attack on their camp and the rush of your cavalry troops we can catch them by surprise and overwhelm them without taking heavy casualties." I explained.
"Umu, it's vital we take as few losses as possible." Nero agreed. "Once we break through their defenses and take Massilia we must not get bogged down and sweep to the North towards Gaul!" Nero proclaimed. "If we suffer too many losses it will be a lot harder to keep the momentum going." Nero added.
"I know, I'm hoping to avoid that outcome as well." I nodded. "If we were to lose here it would mean a major setback, one that we might not be able to recover from. As much as I hate to say it, this is a dangerous gamble we're playing." I admitted.
"The stakes are high, my Rome is the line after all." Nero pointed out.
"Yes I know, but if we can break them here we can hopefully keep the pressure on them like you said." I said and Nero nodded in response.
"A bountiful harvest if we succeed." Nero chimed.
"Right, so we'll do our best to make sure we succeed on our part." I said. It's not like we had any other choice of course, if we failed here humanity might as well be done for.
"And I've come of course to wish you all success in your mission." Nero said.
"Thank you, your Majesty. We won't let you down." I bowed.
"I wish you'd quit being so formal you know, just Nero is fine." Nero pouted.
"Sorry, I'll call you Nero from now if that's what you prefer." I apologized.
"I do." Nero affirmed.
"Very well then Nero." I said. "Since we're being informal with each other, there were some things I wanted to ask you about." I stated.
"Umu, go ahead." I said.
"Well I wanted to ask you about the enemy." I said. "If the United Roman Empire doesn't have any of their servants stationed at the frontlines, why haven't you just ordered Spartacus or Boudica to tear through the enemies defenses?" I inquired.
"I don't think Boudica would be able to defeat thousands of soldiers on her own." Nero tilted her head.
"O-Oh right, sorry I didn't think about that." I said. I had forgotten that Boudica was keeping her servant status a secret from Nero. "But what about Spartacus, he's a servant, he could easily tear through the enemy's defenses on his own if unopposed." I pointed out.
"Well I still don't entirely understand the whole concept of servants, but I have seen how strong they are from witnessing your companions fight. I've also seen Spartacus fight while defending our fortifications, and I understand he's really strong as well." Nero said with ruffled eyebrows. "However like I've said in the past we don't have any solid information on the enemy's strength or whether or not they have any servants this close to our frontline. As I've said all the scouts we've sent out have been killed or not returned so we have no real way of knowing what we are up against." Nero explained. "So in light of such limited information I've been very cautious to send Spartacus or any of the servants under my command against the enemy for fear of losing them." Nero admitted to me. "Boudica has also told me that Spartacus can become rampant if left on his own and that sending him off on his own would be unwise as we could lose him." Nero added.
"Well when you take all of that into consideration it makes sense you'd want to be careful about using any of the servants under your command." I scratched my head, that also lined up with what Scathach had suggested, damn that woman always being right. "That still leaves my question as to why they haven't used any of their own to break through the defenses you've built up." I asked next.
"That, I am not sure of." Nero admitted. "We have not seen any signs of enemy servants this close to the frontlines as I've stated before, nor can I say with any certainty that they don't have any close by." Nero told me. "All I am certain of is that their enemy commander is currently in Gaul as we speak, which should work in our favor." Nero said.
"You're being unusually upfront about things Nero." I said.
"Well you four are undertaking such a dangerous mission, it's important you know what you're up against." Nero stated. "Since we can't tell you what you'll be up against once on the other side, I want you to know that things could b
"Fair enough." I said. "Thank you for answering my questions, those were all I had for you." I gave her my thanks for being upfront with me about things. Although undertaking dangerous missions wasn't really anything new for us in the grand scheme of things.
"You're welcome." Nero said.
"Just one last thing, what if we encounter your Uncle on the other side?" I asked and Nero seemed surprised for a moment before letting out a sigh.
"I'm still gripping with the idea that my Uncle is back, and my enemy at that." Nero confided in me. "But as my enemy I can show him no mercy, so all I ask of you is that you make his death a quick one." Nero told me.
"Understood, we'll do our best." I nodded my head.
"I expect nothing less from my Great Generals." Nero said. I'm unsure how I should take that given Nero's personality, either her expectations of us were high or she wouldn't tolerate anything but our best. Either way if we did run into Caligula, I don't imagine defeating him would be an easy task, so a quick death wouldn't really be possible. No point in mentioning that to Nero though.
"Ahem." Nero cleared her throat. "Was there anything else you wished to know?" Nero inquired.
"No, that was it." I replied.
"Don't worry Chris, once our campaign in Gaul is concluded we'll return to Rome where we shall feast to our hearts content and drink only the best wines Rome has to offer…" Nero proclaimed as my mind wandered. "... If you want I can also offer you some of the best women in Rome if you're interested. Excluding yours truly of course!" Nero whispered with a smug look, raising her brow up and down rapidly.
"Huh? Oh err…" I stammered, caught off guard by Nero's straight forward offer.
"Nero-san!" Mashu exclaimed as she rushed over to us. Thank God for Mashu. I really didn't want to have to deal with that situation, I feel like I'd be damned no matter how I had handled that situation. Damned by an Empress or Damned by a Director.
"Mashu-san!" Nero exclaimed with the two exchanging greetings. It seemed as if Mashu had taught Nero even more Japanese words since the two were using honorifics. The two quickly got to chatting as I made my way over to the others to check on things.
As quickly as Nero exchanged greetings with everyone in the group we exchanged our farewells as Nero bid as goodbye and wished us good luck on our mission. I reminded Nero to turn her walkie talkie on in a few days and keep an ear out for my word, in which she responded that they'd be ready and waiting when the time came. I affirmed to her that we wouldn't let her down and so did the others, well except Scathach but what else was new. We checked our equipment one last time before proceeding to head out into the woods going our separate ways with Nero as she waved goodbye from the edge of camp as we made our way towards the hills that would lead us up into the mountains.
Hello there Readers. I'm not dead and neither is Fated Destiny, whether or not that's a good thing or not is up to you. I know this isn't my usual time for posting chapters, but this is just one of those times Im getting it out late, again. As always leave a favorite and follow the story to be notified when the next chapter drops. If you want to keep more up to date on what's happening with Fated Destiny you can head on over to the Discord using the Invite Code below. I usually try to get one chapter out per month and it usually drops on a Friday, Saturday, or Sunday so just check in on those days.
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