AGNOMAKHOS

by Ulquiorra9000

Chapter 9

Alex's insides squirmed and he felt like he would be sick. Still, he fought to keep his face impassive as two hoplites escorted him into the city hall's primary court room. He wore a simple tunic and leather sandals, a far cry from his armor and battle-wise mage robes.

Alex was surprised to see so many faces in the large room. Six of the twelve council members sat on a dais (since the council direclty controlled the Army), and all five Reverent Army colonels sat nearby, along with a few selected captains. They had been chattering amongst themselves, but they fell silent when Alex was escorted through the double doors.

Silently, the hoplites shoved Alex down into his wooden seat, and Alex stared up at the councilors, aware of how they loomed over him. Kulla sat in the prosecutor's booth, his cold eyes carefully watching the defendant. Not even the afternoon sunlight that poured through the tall windows could lift Alex' spirits. This was no doubt the low point of his young career. He didn't even have a lawyer!

"Now that the accused is present, we may begin," announced a blue-robed councilor. "I am councilor Rinax, and I will oversee the proceedings. If there are any objections, voice them now or be forever silent."

No one spoke.

"Very well," Rinax said. "The accused is Alex, battle-wise mage of the Reverent Army's First Battalion, fifth platoon. The commanding officer and prosecutor, Kulla, will now address the charges."

"Thank you, councilor." Kulla stood and lifted his chin. "During the city hall demonstration last week, Alex disobeyed a direct order from me and assaulted me. I defended myself and subdued him."

"I see," Rinax said. "What, exactly, was your direct order, colonel?"

Kulla didn't miss a beat. "I said, 'By order of the council, anyone who defies me will be arrested and questioned'. This order was not only for the rioting citizens, but anyone in my battalion who resisted me. What is more, I ordered Alex to obey his captain's orders. I have been told that he disobeyed then, too."

The councilor and colonels muttered at these words and Alex felt himself sweating. Already, he was busted for disobedience twice? He couldn't see a way out of this. His mind raced for a solution, anything.

"Captain Jaina, please stand," Rinax said. "You are Alex's platoon commander, correct?"

Jaina got to her feet. "I am. I directly ordered Alex to stay in position, and he defied this order by confronting colonel Kulla."

Alex noticed that unlike Kulla, Jaina didn't recite the facts with military precision. She spoke earnestly, and not unsympathetically. She was angry at the situation, not at Alex, and that gave him a spark of hope. If the Sun Champion stood for him, that was definitely good news.

"Alex, are these charges true?" Rinax asked, looking down at the redhead. "Speak now."

"They are," Alex called up, trying to keep his voice smooth. "I stood in the defensive formation that captain Jaina had set up, then moved to confront Kulla and defied him with violence."

The colonels and captains babbled indignations at this until councilor Rinax silenced them. "Why did you do this?" Rinax asked sharply. "Such acts are almost unheard of in the Reverent Army, as the colonels tell me."

And this much bravado for one insubordination case is unheard of, too! Alex thought. He had learned all about Reverent Army protocol while in the academy, and having all these people here was not supposed to happen. Half the council and all the colonels? Something was very wrong here.

Then, it hit him. These were difficult times, like nothing that Army protocol had ever expected. Any disobedience to the Army or council, however slight, would be punished heavily.

Alex cleared his throat. He felt himself sweating more. "I have reason to believe that colonel Kulla himself was out of line, and I took matters into my own hands. I wanted to remind him what our duty really is."

"What a spunky kid!" the colonel of Fifth Battalion howled, amused. "I like this one."

"Mulos, that's not what this is about," the colonel of Third Battalion, a woman named Pierra, reminded him. "That was not how a model soldier behaves."

The colonel of Second Battalion, the bald mage named Elias, spoke over his fellows. "Alex, what was your reason to believe that colonel Kulla was 'out of line'? Please, tell us."

"He used brute force and intimidation against the people we swore to protect!" Alex declared, desperate to defend himself. "I saw him use crowd control attacks against many unarmed people. He even seized a man and broke his arm."

The officers and councilors muttered again, until Kulla spoke up: "It was in self-defense. The man had attacked me first, and I used non-lethal force. That is protocol."

"Protocol demands that we act like thugs?" Alex spat.

"Watch your tone, boy. That's not how soldiers talked to their commanding officers in my day," snapped the Fourth Battalion's colonel, Teilos. By what Alex had heard, the old man had retired from the Army, then come back into service after the Shadow League's invasion five years ago. He had short gray hair and a moustache of the same color, plus bulging muscles under his uniform.

"Thank you, Teilos, but I think that Alex has no choice but to accept my view," Kulla said calmly. He glanced at the older man, then back at Alex. "Is that correct, Alex, or will you keep trying to paint me as a monster?"

"I... no, colonel," Alex said, defeated. He lowered his gaze, feeling deflated.

"Councilor Rinax, I move that we proceed to the vote," Kulla said. "The boy clearly has no further arguments to make. Judgment is all that's left."

Rinax nodded. "Then let the vote begin. Those who find the defendant guilty of all charges, raise your hand now."

One by one, hands went up. Kulla, as the prosecutor, was exempt.

First, Elias raised his hand, Pierra raised hers, Teilos put up a fist, and Mulos casually raised his meaty hand. Then, the captains put up their hands as well, even the brothers Milo and Ulga. Looking reluctant, Jaina put hers up as well, and then, it was down to Olivia. She seemed close to tears as she slowly raised her hand.

Finally, the six councilors put up their hands as one. "The vote is tallied," Rinax said. "Those in favor of absolving the defendant of all charges, raise your hand now."

It was only a formality; Rinax didn't expect any hands to go up, and none did. Olivia met Alex's eyes and mouthed something that looked like I'm sorry. Then she looked away and shut her eyes, pursing her lips. For her part, Jaina stared down at her feet, her eyes inscrutable.

Rinax stood. "It has been decided: battle-wise mage Alex of the Reverent Army's First Battalion, fifth platoon, is guilty of two counts of insubordination. He is therefore sentenced to a term in prison and is dishonorably discharged from the Reverent Army's ranks."

Alex jolted. What? How can they do that? He expected to be tossed into the Reverent Army's prison facility, or "the slammer", as some called it. But to be discharged and put into a civilian prison? He choked for a second, then forced his voice through his throat. "Permission to ask a question?"

"Only one question," Rinax said flatly.

Alex swallowed. "How long will my prison term be?"

Rinax hesitated and glanced at his fellow councilors. "That will be determined later and discussed with Perisophia. I will confess, Alex, that these circumstances are highly unusual. When a time length has been decided, you will be informed. Meeting adjourned."

Alex silently stood and let the two hoplite guards escort him from the room, his mind whirring. He felt like his insides were lead, and mixed shock, guilt, and dread filled him. The court martial had been just a charade; no one was going to let him go, and instead, had publicly humiliated him and made an example of him. So this was how things were with the council and Reverent Army, huh?

Maybe Valerie was right after all. Alex had seen the corruption from the inside, and saw things for what they really were.

But what could he do about it?

*o*o*o*o*

The moon shone bright as Lakram, the self-proclaimed explosives expert, navigated Meletis' streets. Personally, he was itching for some real action, not just the raids that Valerie was launching here and there. It's been so long since I really blew something up! Even though Lakram's mundane eyes were useless, the lingering heat from the day's sun let him see everything perfectly, even at night.

Evading the Reverent Army patrols wasn't too difficult. There were a lot of hoplites and mages scouring the streets, but they had predictable routes and as the night wore on, they became less attentive. So, Lakram casually hopped onto a shop's roof and laid down a single coin. He pressed a finger to the metal and flooded it with his red mana, and didn't stop until the coin pulsed cherry-red.

I don't get it. What's so interesting about this place? Lakram's eternal smile faded a bit as he tried to figure this out. He had been excited when Valerie sent him on a mission tonight, but he could see no pattern here. No explosions tonight, no mayhem; just coins placed on certain buildings. As a master at disrupting the order of things, Lakram could think of much more fun ways to do this. But what could he do? Valerie would only pay him if he obeyed her precisely, and besides, she had assured him of a great deal of fun later. He'd just have to trust her.

Down on the street, four hoplites marched past, armor clanking and spears tight in their hands. Lakram crouched and waited a moment for them to round a corner, then he leaped to the next building in a flash of red robes. He liked the Agnomakhos uniform; he was usaually a loner, but since the rebels stood for tearing down the council's dogmatic contol, he could put up with it. It was a bit of a paradox: let us cause disorder together!

Yellow light from citizens' candles glowed from house windows, but Lakram still wasn't worried about getting caught. He was nearly done with his assignment, and once he scaled a three-story temple to lay down another coin, he saw it: the massive prison. Five stories high and built like a brick, it could house hundreds of inmates. A sheer wall surrounded it while guards patrolled between that wall and the building. No way could anyone escape that place.

Unaided, that is.

After laying down another coin, Lakram fueled his legs with red mana and sprang, cat-like, across several rooftops until he crouched on the prison's wall. He jammed three mana-infused coins between the wall's bricks, waited for the guards to pass, and leaped onto the prison itself. Quickly, he placed the last of his coins into the structure's wall and retreated to the outer wall, then fled to a shop's roof.

That was close. Lakram felt his heart race and knew that even with his skills, he had barely gotten out of there in time. But still... mission accomplished. He turned and made his way toward the warehouse in the abandoned district.

Halfway there, though, a fellow rebel found him: Argyros, the elderly weapons master. The beefy man waved to get Lakram's attention.

"What do you need?" Lakram asked urgently. Had something happened?

"Valerie sent me to escort you. Didn't want to take chances," Argyros explained. Like usual, he had various odd weapons attached to his back and hanging on his belt. "Besides, I fancied a walk."

Lakram scowled. "Sure you did. Look, I'm not an amateur. I've never been caught."

"This is bigger than your pride," Argyros reminded him. "So, you got all the coins in place?"

"I did. Including several for the prison," Lakram said, his usual wide smile returning. "I can't wait to blow that place. Having all those angry prisoners on our side will really help."

Argyros folded his arms and shared Lakram's smile. "I hear that a Reverent Army soldier got kicked out and sent in there. Valerie's spies said so."

"Really? Who?"

"Valerie's own brother, some kid named Alex."

Lakram fought not to laugh. "Sounds great to me. If he joined us, he'd be a real symbol to the rebellion."

"That's what Valerie is thinking."

Lakram switched topics. "Please, oh please tell me that we're launching the assault soon?"

"Pretty soon. We're nearly ready. Valerie just has to finalize the plans."

"Good. Let's get back to base, then."

"Right behind you."