Welcome back in The Will of Revenge! Last time, we've seen allies in Milky Way launching a surprise attack on Laconian homeworld, in order to capture Zack Lioni. The battle was fierce and hard, but ultimately, our heroes prevailed in their job. We also got to see the first Alvar Eriksson-class Super Carrier in action!
What will happen now? Read and find out.
Chapter 3
September 10, 2166
21:32
SoS HQ
Atmosphere in the HQ was as tense as it could possibly get. Especially after information they received a day prior.
For over a week now, they couldn't contact allied forces in the Flareian System. Everyone speculated what the hell actually happened to cause that. Did Cassius make a mistake? Was everything according to plan? Did they forces already manage to take over Flare Prime and were actually celebrating victory for so much, that they forgot to inform them? Some even assumed, that Cassius sided with the enemy. That was the thing Zorzal couldn't believe. He knew Cassius was too loyal to their cause to do that.
And when a burning, severely damaged ship that survived only by some miracle entered the system, they got their answer.
Cassius lost. Allied forces in Flareian System were either completely eliminated or were in the process of being eliminated. Enemy was in possession of Dark Vengeance. Which meant that Cassius was either dead or imprisoned. But knowing him, most likely the first one. He would never go down without a fight.
This is why a meeting was called today. With Zorzal and all remaining commanders and members of the staff.
"I demand an explanation!"Zorzal exclaimed."How did the enemy manage to not only defeat our most talented admiral, but ALSO commandeer our most powerful warship and flagship?!"
Everyone looked at each other and ultimately glanced at Havenius. The chief of intelligence almost shrunk before their gazes, trying to find an answer to the unspoken question.
"Well, uh..."he stammered."We're still…figuring it out…"
"I want answers NOW!"Zorzal shouted, slamming his fists on the table.
"It's impossible to determine what happened without having the full picture."Havenius tried to save himself."We only have the testimony of a single ship's crew. This isn't enough to determine how did that happen and why."
"Then figure something out!"Emperor ordered."Or else…"
He didn't finish. Instead, he looked at two Oprichnina officers standing by the door. Havenius did the same and shivered. Everyone knew what these sick fucks were capable of when it came to torture. If you fell into their hands, you just disappeared like you never existed. They certainly became more efficient at their job since being trained by Erecan Hands of the Crown.
"Of course, Your Highness."head of intelligence said, nodding.
Zorzal nodded back.
"Now…"he said."With our forces in Flareian System clearly defeated…"These words barely left his mouth and he almost spat them out."…we must figure out our next course of action. General Maio?"
SoS Chief of Staff pulled on his collar. Everything he would say could plunge his career into a deep dive.
"While the defeat in Flareian System is a great shame, it is…"Looking at Zorzal, he saw the emperor nodding."…but a minor setback. Yes, we lost an entire fleet of warships, including our flagship."He said it to silence a navy officer that was here in place of Cassius."But that was just a single fleet. We still have our entire navy at our disposal. Not to mention we have to more fleets in Narum and Taurus systems."
As he said that, a hologram showing three systems that were their point of interest appeared. Said fleets were marked on maps of Narum and Taurus.
"Enemy does have our Dreadnaught, yes, but it's still only one ship. We have numerical advantage on our side. We don't know what are the enemy's next plans, but we can carry out a preemptive strike against them."Herm continued.
"What do you mean?"Margas' hologram asked.
Herm pointed at Flare Prime.
"We will gather our entire fleet and send it to Flare Prime."he stated boldly.
Gasps filled the room. Even some analysts and staff workers stopped what they were doing and looked in his direction.
"Please explain."Zorzal ordered.
"General Margas, how does it look on Taurus III?"Chief of Staff asked.
Margas blinked a few times, surprised.
"Well…Our forces are continuing their operations. Leender is basically ours, but there still are enemy forces inside of it. Mainly civilian volunteers, supported by regular soldiers, but they still pose a great threat for us. They fight fiercely and to the bitter end. But looking at it overall, they don't present much with themselves. There will be problem with ratting them out once we take the city. The so-called Civil Defense can then go to the underground and hide between civilians."
"But in other words, everything is almost done?"Maio pressed on.
"Yes. We still have some enemy units lingering across the planet, but that doesn't mean much. We will take them our eventually. Other than that, Taurus III is basically ours."Margas replied.
Herm nodded.
"And with Narum Prime in our hands, there is only Flareian System left. True, we failed to take over Emloy. But we still inflicted heavy losses on the enemy by the time we blocked their movement in the system. Not to mention, they also had to spread out their forces. This leaves an open field for us to work. To strike with everything we have at their heart. With Flare Prime in our hands, the war will be basically over and won for us. We'll take care of remaining enemy elements later. Besides, our agents are still active on Flare Prime and can help us by stirring chaos behind enemy lines."
Everyone listened to his words and slowly analyzed what he was saying. And as they did so, they understood, that there was a lot of right in what he was saying.
"Sounds good."Zorzal said and his words were final."When can we start enacting that plan?"
This question was directed at the navy officer. He looked at everyone and after realizing he would not talk them out of it, he sighed.
"Yes, we can gather our entire fleet in one place."he said."But it will take time. Our ships are not only gathered in this system. Some are supporting the Erecans in their anti-terrorist and anti-piracy operations. It might be a challenge to get them to simply abandon everything and come here. So I would like to ask to withhold any offensive operations with them until they are at place."
Zorzal nodded.
"Alright."he agreed."You'll have that time of yours. The fleet is to gather at the edge of Flareian System and wait there for the order to attack."
"Understood, Your Highness."the officer replied.
"General Margas, continue your clean-up operations on Taurus III."
"Yes, sir."Margas replied, giving a Saderan salute.
"And everyone else, get ready for the big things. We will win this war. No matter what."Fire in Zorzal's eyes could burn through any material."That's all for today. Dismissed."
They all stood up or turned off their holograms. Those at place gave Saderan salutes, before starting to disperse. Zorzal sat there for a few more seconds, before also standing up and leaving.
September 11
14:05
Streets of Leender
Tim was sitting inside the Aksha 4x4 MRAP as it was driving through the streets of Leender. Looking through the windows, he could clearly see the effect war had on the city. Sons already controlled the entire Right Bank and now, they were slowly plowing through the Left Bank. The bridges were not blown up on time and soon, columns of enemy soldiers and vehicles crossed them and now were slowly taking over the rest of the city. There were still some units in the city, but only the ones supporting the Civil Defense. Other regulars that could already left with Harlen.
Surprisingly, the escape of their commander didn't actually lower the defenders' morale. Quite the opposite, now they fought even harder. And by appearing on the frontlines personally, Tim wanted to make sure it stays that way.
On the way, he saw the rubble from bombed buildings, wrecks of burned vehicles and people trying to live their daily lives. From two million people that lived in Leender before the war, there were just half a million left. Still a lot, but who knew how many already died from the fighting?
"Sir, are you sure it is a good idea to come out into the fray?"Tim's adjutant, a dwarf, asked.
"It's better than hiding in a bunker, pretending to be better than others."Tim replied."Besides, I'm not as important as general. I can do it."
"Still, if you die in the open, the morale might actually down rocket within minutes."the adjutant argued.
"Or quite the opposite."
Dwarf just shook his head.
Right then, they passed by a group of Civil Defense soldiers.
"Stop!"Tim exclaimed.
The driver floored the breaks and the MRAP stopped. Tim stood up and came out the back of the vehicle.
"Sir, this is not…"his adjutant argued.
"Oh, shut up."Tim replied.
Harlen assigned the dwarf to him right before leaving. Tim just didn't expect the dwarf would be so annoying. He knew he cared for his safety, but the major could easily take care of himself.
Honestly, the only thing that gnawed at him, was what was happening with Nina. She was most likely still somewhere in the city, but he didn't know where. He just hoped she was alright. He had no idea what would he do if it turned out, that something happened to her. He would most likely not withstand that one.
He came up to the CD soldiers. Seeing him, they quickly stood at attention and saluted.
"Sir!"they exclaimed.
Tim looked them up. A Chakdrik, a Nashini, a Human and a Dark Elf. All wearing mostly civilian clothes, but some were also wearing kevlar vests.
"At ease."Tim told them."I'm just another soldier, like you."
"Still, you were made the commander after the general left."the Human said."Of course we don't hold a grudge against him. No offense?"
"None taken. I'm sure general Ordell would also say the same thing."Tim replied."Now, what are you doing here?"
Soldiers looked at each other.
"Well, we've been actually trying to figure out what to do with this."the Chakdrik said.
Saying that, she reached behind them and picked up an object laying on a pile of rubble. She showed it to Tim, who looked at it with curiosity. It was a circular module with several cables coming out of it and connecting back. There was a small, purple light in the middle of it, shining brightly.
"What is it?"he asked.
"We're not sure sir…"the Human said."…but my experience from GGW tells me, that it's some kind of improvised explosive. It looks pretty similar to the ones used by HO operatives left behind on liberated worlds to harass the Resistance forces. I had some encounters with them back in my time."
Tim's eyes widened. Truth be told, he had no idea Sons might actually use IEDs. These things were dangerous and if everything pointed in the right direction, these were actually either plasma or energy-based ones, much more dangerous than normal ones.
"Any idea how do they set them up, especially here?"Tim asked.
"Our idea is that they are most likely dropping them from air at night. That's the most sensible option."the Dark Elf said.
"It is."Tim said.
He looked at the soldiers.
"You probably figured out one of their plans to soften us up."Tim smiled."Good job, soldiers. I will make sure to report this to the other units and tell them to search for similar devices. And to be careful with them."
"Thank you, sir."the Nashini said.
Tim then reached out to him and the Nashini took his hand, shaking it. Using the moment, the Human soldier pulled out his phone and snapped a picture of the moment. Said phone with the picture would later be found among the rubble of the city, then extracted and printed in the history books, showing the commander of city's defense meeting with his soldiers. It would also be remembered as one of the symbols of the Siege of Leender, with many others, showing the daily life and destruction that took place in the besieged urban center.
When the handshake ended, Tim returned to his vehicle. Dwarf adjutant looked at him.
"See, nothing happened."Tim said.
"Which doesn't mean, that nothing will happen next time."dwarf replied.
"Yeah, I know. But still, at least we know that enemy is trying to screw us up with IEDs. I will relay this information to soldiers, so they would be more careful."
"Then I guess something good came out of it."
"Indeed."
Next, major gave the sign for the driver to go and the MRAP was on the move once more.
September 12
07:21
Flareian System
Fleet Admiral Tyuule sat in her chair aboard the Dark Vengeance's bridge. Actually, now that she thought about it, they needed to change the name sooner or later. But that was a thing for later. For now, they were going to reinforce the Taurus forces. Or at least hoped to do that, because they had no idea, if anyone was still left there. They hoped there was. Otherwise, the whole ordeal would be for nothing.
The whole thing was additionally delayed because of some stupid reasons. Apparently, the private companies owning most of the ships that had to be used in transporting additional forces had some problems with payment and such. They demanded payment BEFORE they could borrow their ships. Honestly, Tyuule didn't understand that. They knew what was at stake and instead, they preferred to think about their personal profit. If he could, she would just kick 'em in the shins and force their hand to signing the deal. Ultimately, they agreed to receive half the payment now, and the rest after the job is done. They agreed to it so eagerly, that she had no clue why were they even demanding a full payment before. She just didn't get it.
Currently, the ships that were supposed to take part in the operation were gathering at the edge of the system. The command decided that it is the most optimal place for this to happen, as it would make things faster. And ships were just finishing to gather, only few more needed to show up and then, they would be able to safely depart the system and move to Taurus System. What will happen after that, she didn't know.
"How is everything looking?"she asked her new first officer.
"Everything's going as planned, ma'am."he replied."Allied ships report a complete readiness to depart. They just await your orders and the remaining few others."
"Good."she said."This whole thing was delayed for far too long."
As she leaned back in her chair, she wondered, how did it look out there. How was Taurus. If there were still even people fighting there. There had to be. After all, if that was not the case, then the Sons would've most likely thrown everything they had a them long ago. They just had to have hope. And hope died the last, right?
She looked at the monitor in front of her. She had to admit, whoever designed and built this ship, they had a nice sense of class. Everything seemed so well prepared for any kind of battle, with screens and monitors being so easily accessible for the commander and whenever she needed to get info about the sip status, she didn't have to ask any of the crew members, she just had to look at the right screen and all the information will be displayed on it. As much as she hated to admit it, she loved this ship.
Speaking of, she just saw on the radar to her right, that few more allied signatures appeared. These were the last remaining ships that had to go with them. They quickly took their places in the formation and after getting confirmation from them, Tyuule could clearly tell, that the whole entourage was already gathered and ready to move out. Nearly a hundred ships, of all shapes and sizes, with nearly an additional hundred thousand ground troops on board. A counteroffensive which everyone was waiting for since the start of the war.
Now, everything was in the hands of the higher powers.
"Comms, give everyone an order to get ready. We're moving out soon."she ordered.,
"Aye, aye, ma'am."comms officer replied and turned to his console.
At the same time, inside the Dreadnaught's cargo hold, soldiers from numerous member states of the Andromeda Branch were checking their weapons and gear, killing time before the inevitable. Such as soldiers from Soutland did.
"Finally, we're going to show these morons where their place is!"private Cross said.
"Don't get too excited."private Temos replied."These morons are still dangerous. And pressed against the wall, they will just be that more vicious."
"You're overreacting Tem."Cross stated."We're gonna cut through them like knife through butter."
"You say that…but I just can't see that happening…"private Jenso added.
"Could you stop being so damn pessimistic, Davos?"Cross asked."You really can't be nice at least for a second."
"I'm just a realist."Jenso replied.
Cross rolled his eyes and looked at the fourth member of their squad.
"And what do you say, Mertin?"
Private Merting looked at them from over his weapon. His face was covered by a balaclava and eyes were covered by a pair of goggles. He simply threw up his arms and returned to working on his weapon.
"Man, you really don't like talking?"Temos asked.
"Seems like he's really the silent-guy-with-a-riffle type."Cross shrugged.
"Attention!"a voice sounded.
The four immediately did as they were told, when their commander, captain Halbert, came out of nowhere to inspect them. They quickly stood in a single line, Cross, Temos, Jenso and Mertin, in that order. Captain stood in front of them eying them from top to bottom.
"Privates!"he said."Are you excited for your first true combat operation?"
"Yes, sir!"Cross, Temos and Jenso replied. They were aware of how impulsive Halbert could be, so they decided to not encourage him to do something impulsive.
Captain looked at Mertin.
"And what about you, private?"he asked.
Mertin just looked at him and nodded.
"What's with him?"Halbert asked.
"Mert doesn't talk much."Cross replied and frowned."Actually, I don't remember him speaking at all since we boarded the ship."
"He's the silent type."Jenso said.
"I think he prefers his actions to speak for him, not words."Temos guessed."But I'm not completely sure."
Halbert looked at the silent private again and tilted his head. After few seconds, he just shrugged.
"Alright then. I just hope you can comply with orders and kill enemies?"captain asked.
Mertin put his fist to his chest and nodded confidently. Halbert smiled.
"I think I like you, private Mertin."he stated."Okay, continue with what you were doing. And be ready for battle once it comes!"
"Yes, sir!"they replied.
They watched their captain walk away and once they were sure he couldn't hear them, they all let out a sigh.
"Man, that was kinda stressful."Cross said.
"Are you surprised?"Temos asked."It's always like that with Halbert. You never know what's gonna come to his mind."
"Yeah."Jenos agreed.
They all looked at Mertin.
"You really could speak at least once, you know?"Cross asked.
Mertin looked at them, shrugged and simply returned to servicing his weapon. Realizing they would still not get anything out of him, they just did the same.
Back on the bridge, Tyuule overlooked the last preparations. All ships reported their combat readiness and readiness to make the jump. They would be the first to exit hyperspace most likely somewhere around Taurus III. They didn't expect to surprise the enemy. Tyuule knew, that one of enemy ships managed to survive the battle and sneak away, Dreadnaught's sensors detected that, but before they could act, the ship was gone. Sons would most likely be already ready to receive them once they get in there.
"Tell all ships to ready their hyperdrives."Tyuule ordered."We're entering hyperspace soon."
"Understood, admiral."comms officer replied.
This was it. The counterattack they waited for. Their chance to beat back the enemy and send them packing to wherever they came from.
But still, even if they succeeded, there were questions that needed to be answered. What happens once they push them back? Where did Sons even get all that help except Laconia? Who gave them the ships? Who trained them? As much as she hoped she was wrong, Tyuule was well aware that achieving victory over Sons of Sadera will only be a small part in something much, much bigger.
"We're gonna worry about it later."she thought."Let's focus on task at hand."
All ships in the fleet have already started preparing their hyperdrives, blue lightnings surrounded all of the other ships, while purple ribbons of light surrounded Dark Vengeance. It was another thing that interested Tyuule. Whoever built this ship, they had a different way or simply power source for their hyperdrives. And while Human, Nashini, Tertan or simply Milky Way originating ships had to 'open' their hyperdrive, the Dreadnaught had none of that ability. Hyperdrive worked inside the hull and didn't risk in causing any internal damage if not opened. Somehow, the builders of this ship, managed to eliminate the problem that was one of the biggest weaknesses of the Milky Way ships. She would really have to sooner or later find a way to contact whoever did so.
"What am I thinking about?"she thought."They helped Zorzal. The only reason I should want to contact them should be to send them to The Hague."
As she sat there, thinking about what to do, something caught her attention on one of the screens. More precisely, on the radar. It was showing familiar readings. Too familiar to her liking. At the same time, her suspicions were confirmed, when the system responsible for detecting hyperdrive activity started calling out to them.
"Radar, what am I looking at?"she asked.
Radar officer looked at his radar and started analyzing the readings.
"We're detecting numerous hyperspace signatures."he replied.
"How many are we dealing with exactly?"admiral wanted to know.
Radar officer looked at the radar again, pressing something on his console. After few seconds, he widened his eyes.
"It's…!"He didn't finish.
Suddenly, hundreds of space distortions appeared several hundred kilometers from the AB fleet and after a few seconds, each turned into a ship of a different type and size. Tyuule looked as more and more ships, definitely of SoS looking at their design, appeared in the system. She could already count three hundred of them and more were still arriving. She didn't know if they noticed their fleet, and she would not find out, as right then, Andromeda Branch fleet jumped into hyperspace and was on their way towards the Taurus System.
Silence fell across the bridge, as everyone comprehended what they just witnessed. They all looked at Tyuule.
"Admiral."First Officer asked."What do we do?"
Tyuule quickly started thinking. They just saw a fleet nearly three times the size of the one that entered the Flareian System at the start of the war enter the system again. With possibly hundreds of fighters, thousands of soldiers and anything needed to perform a full-scale invasion. Sons probably learned about the fate of their forces in the system and this time, they decided to make sure they will finish the job. And if they wanted to quickly and for certain finish the job, there was one place they could invade to do that.
Flare Prime.
Fleet Admiral made a decision.
"Get me Pina on the line."she ordered.
September 12
14:12
Taurus III, South of Leender
General Harlen Ordell sat inside his command vehicle, looking over the maps and screens. It's been a few days since they left Leender and the morale was…not at it's highest, to be honest. Some people held it against him that he decided to leave the city at a time like this, but he didn't care. He knew that Tim was right. This was the right thing to do. As much as he himself didn't agree with it.
Not long after leaving Leender, they met up with remains of Falmartian 10th Armored Brigade. Seeing the once powerful and one of the most elite Falamrtian units now almost made him cry. Their losses were so high, that they could barely could be called a brigade. Hell, they couldn't even be called a battalion. The sight they presented was just…sad.
Currently, except of Harlen, there were some other officers sitting with him. Will, colonel Rad and lieutenant colonel Fegran all looked at the map that showed their current situation. Enemy forces have completed the encirclement of Leender, air recon confirmed that. Allied forces in the city were still fighting, but as much as everyone wanted to deny it, it would take a day, maybe two, before the fighting will cease because allied troops would run out of ammo or simply a will to fight. Even though they seemed to fight with their all. Meanwhile, some units of 1st Armored Legion moved South, currently taking over towns and other settlements along the coast of the continent. They were lucky to escape before the encirclement happened.
"Well. We've been sitting over these maps and reports for four days."Will said."Did we come up with any idea what to do now?"
The other three looked at each other.
"Not really."Rad admitted.
"Honestly, I don't believe there is much we can do now."Verius added.
Harlen looked at the lieutenant colonel. He could see bags under his eyes. Reddening at their edges. Fingers twitching all the time. This man saw some of the hardest fights of the war. And he still managed to say sane. Many would already give up after that. But he and his soldiers were some of the hardest and toughest Harlen saw. He was grateful they were on their side.
"I admit, I ran out of ideas as well."Harlen admitted."But I think, that our best bet is to wait for the promised support."
"You really think they will come?"Will asked.
"What else do we have left?"general replied.
This made the Ranger go silent. He had to agree with Harlen on this one. They had not many options left.
They sat in silence for a few minutes. Their small convoy continued South, as if they were trying to find any safe place on the planet where there were none. They knew the enemy will catch up with them someday. For now, they just wanted to make sure it will not happen anytime soon.
"Sir!"comms officer exclaimed.
Harlen quickly looked towards him.
"What is it?"he asked.
"We received a communication request on Andromeda Branch frequency!"
General was at the console within seconds. He leaned over it, pressing the button to accept the call before the communications officer could do it.
"Hello?"he asked.
"So there is someone on the other side."a familiar voice replied.
"Admiral Tyuule? You're here?"Harlen asked.
"Of course."Tyuule replied."And I hope you're not being held at gunpoint by Sons right now?"
"Depends if you mean at this moment or just generally?"
"This moment."
"No, I'm saying everything willingly."
"Good."
"So, you have actually come to support us?"
"We did. However, we met some…difficulties."
"Let me guess. Fleet in the orbit?"
"Among other things."Harlen couldn't see her, but he was sure that admiral shrugged."They will slow us down, but I'm sure it will take us only a day to deal with them. Hope you can hold out for one more?"
Harlen was about to answer that no, Leender needed help right now, this instant. But he stopped them. He knew hurrying them up would not work. They had to just wait.
"Yes. Yes, we will."he replied.
"Good. Sorry for making you wait this long. It had no influence on speeding things up."
"I'm still grateful you actually came."
"Of course."
With that, the connection was terminated. Harlen looked at the others.
"Told you."he said with a week smile.
September 13
13:53
Leender Metro, Leender, Taurus III
Major Timothy Albeit, commander of the city's defense, wanted to be alone at this moment. There was no reason continuing it.
All struggles, even the most heroic, could not prevent the upcoming catastrophe. Constant, unanimous thuds that came here in form of muffled storm, hovering over the parts of the city that still decided to fight. But with each passing hour, the defenders numbers dwindles and enemy pressure grew.
The battlefield now was within the city center's living areas and government district, which were methodically turned to rubble by Sons. Single snipers and small UTDF units harassed the enemy when they could. Many times a powerful armored unit fell to a mass attack with shoulder-fired anti-tank missiles, making a lot of damage to them. Many times, the harshest fighting took place on staircases, school fields and burning skyscrapers.
The last line of defense turned out to be Leender Metro. Assault units of 1st Armored Legion, when unable to break the resistance on some stations, helped themselves with flamethrowers. They didn't care who was hiding down below: defenders or women and children. Howls of burning alive carried through the tunnels to the next station. Tim tried to stop all that several times already. Through the radio he had in an underground command center, he sent numerous demands to stop the fighting, but all of them fell on deaf ears.
He also couldn't really give orders to his formations. Most of them fought with no contact with HQ and he didn't thin they'd listen to his appeals. The fighters were overtaken by madness nobody could control. From the shreds of information that reached him, he could only try and figure out their current situation, but he knew that it was over. He didn't count on any help, as well as for common sense of SoS' satrap who was putting everything on the line.
Major entered the room he occupied and closed the door behind him. The 4x5 room was his main home for the past few hours of his life. Besides, he didn't really have a real home, nor did his siblings. Their father really wanted his children to continue the military tradition, so it was the barracks, training grounds and other military facilities that Tim, Jessica, Sara and Albert Albeit lived in. Maybe sometimes, they changed them for their company apartments. Field bed, wardrobe, desk and chair was everything he had left.
He slowly approached his desk and pulled out an ancient M1911 from the drawer. This weapon was kind of a family heirloom in the Albeit family, passed down the generations from as far as World War 1. Ultimately, it landed in his hands. He still didn't know, why their parents gave it to their youngest son. But most likely, he will never learn. He sat down and reloaded it. He felt nothing in his head. Nothing came to his mind. He himself had no idea, if he was scared of death, or no.
September 13
13:37
Streets of Leender
"Fasssster, fasssster!"Lezri exclaimed.
Lezri, Nina, Fin and Gei were running through the empty, excepts rubble, streets, away from the oncoming enemy soldiers who just overran the barricade they were defending. Sons were pushing forward and forward, breaking through every inch of defense as they went. It was a matter of time, until the fighting would simply cease.
Nina helped the wounded Gei, as Nashini moaned loudly, his wounded leg making him wince with every move. As they moved, she looked back from time to time, making sure they were not followed.
Suddenly, she felt something. It felt like a stinging pain, not in her limbs or head. In something much more painful.
In her heart.
"Nina?"Gei asked."Are you alright?"
Nina looked at the Nashini and shook her head.
"No."she lied."It's fine. Let's go."
As they continued to run, Nina took one last glance towards the street they just passed. Her expression saddened.
"Goodbye, Tim."she thought."I will never forget you…"
They continued to run.
September 14
09:03
Leender
General Terion Firius comfortably stretched his legs in front of himself. There was enough of space inside the troop compartment of PI-904 to do just that. Except of two adjutants, general traveled basically alone. He liked luxury and didn't even try to hide it.
"Well."he thought."That's how the world is. Some are meant to be slaves, while others were meant for something bigger."
The last week was very busy for him. He didn't have anything against it, he really liked his job. Besides, he performed orders of only the Emperor himself. And the fact that he sometimes bent them to his liking-what about it? You can't do everything while wearing white gloves. He smiled at the memory of his deeds.
North of Utgard, Special Facility No.1 was created. Two rows, twenty wooden barracks each, meant for three thousand people held there. Everyone who didn't like the new order went through rehabilitation program. Thanks to hard work and indoctrination, they had a chance to become good citizens soon. The worst thing was, more and more such people were appearing. Most criticism came from clergy of all religions, even the Saderan Pantheon. The most rebellious ones were being sent off-world, to Erecan-Sons run facilities. Pretty similar camps, but much worse conditions.
Separate problem was with remains of UTDF forces that still lingered in the forests and other areas of the planet. For them, there existed Special Facility No.2, located on the border between Falmartian and Nordian C.Z.s. The amount of problems that grew in front of general Firius seemed large, but he knew that he could do it, as it meant an opening for new promotions and honors. He was certain of the fact that his worth was going up. The position of Commander of Leender showed it. Former capital of Soutlandian Colonization Zone was not like some backwater, even if that backwater was the historical capital of his homeland.
One of the adjutants pointed at the screen on the wall showing the view from outside cameras. Firius looked outside. Most fires were already quelled, only some ruins were smoking there and there. Communal services, under the supervision of allied forces, were already taking care of removing the damage. Rubble was being driven out of the city and bluntly thrown on large piles, not looking if the terrain was private or not. Electricity and water was not working.
Water was being given out of special tank trucks placed in various parts of the city and from the sea. But the biggest problem was caused by rotting corpses. Temporary graves could be found in most squares and plazas. Now, according to his direct order, mass graves had to be dug out on public graveyards. Invaders and victims had to rest together, joined finally by eternal secret of death.
Landing was smooth and Firius exited the machine. Black Mercedes, prepared especially for his arrival, stood a few meters away. Many officers stood at attention next to it. He started towards them lazily. He took a deep breath, taking in the smell of burning.
"Welcome to Leender."The service voice if the highest ranked one of them didn't leave an impression on him.
Not shaking hands, he got into the Mercedes. One of his adjutants passed the driver and took his place. They started. Two Mastiffs, one driving behind, second in front, were forming the convoy transporting the new governor.
"In twenty minutes, I want to see everyone responsible for this mess."general said from his seat.
"Of course, general."adjutant on driver's right replied.
Firius watched the city. He wouldn't admit it, but he was sorry for the destruction. Not because of what happened to the people, but because of how much money the reconstruction would absorb.
The path from spaceport to the Unified Staff building led through the least destroyed part. All he saw was a bunch of burned buildings. The Unified Staff itself was one of the first places to be cleaned. Burn marks after shots from plasma and laser weapons were still not cleaned, but only they were unsightly on the outside. General nodded his head with admiration when he found himself on the courtyard.
The hall was carefully prepared for the meeting. Two generals and five colonels and everything else was gathered in the spacious room. Firius kindly nodded his head, allowing them to sit down.
"Dear comrades"he started"we have a period of hard work ahead of us, because what I just saw is pathetic."
Everyone on the other side of the table looked at each other.
"I swear we did everything we could. Our men are tired and local populace not really willing to cooperate."Reluctance fought with hope in general Kalius', commander of 7th Motorized Division, voice.
"No excuses."Firius looked at the commander who's units took the city with thunder in his eyes."I'm pretty sure that when my units come, the locals will show us enough respect and will be 'full of good wills' to cooperate as possible."The word 'my' was especially accented. One of his internal forces legions was supposed to be in Leender later today."Did you manage to secure all the documents and archives?"he asked one of the colonels.
"Not all, but a large part."the colonel replied."Most of it was deleted or burned, but with what we have, we can start taking care of people who would cause us problems. From first estimations, it may be from eighteen to twenty five thousand inhabitants of the city and local area."
General Kalius looked towards the window, as if the news about incoming arrests were disgusting to him.
"Something wrong?"Firius looked at Kalius like on a bug.
"I'm a soldier, I have nothing to say about politics."commander of 7th Division replied.
"Maybe you didn't notice it yet, but right now, politics intertwine with our plans. And for the future, better keep such remarks to yourself."
Other officers looked down at the table before them. They didn't want to get on Firius' bad side.
"Next question I wanted to talk about is finding out the part of the populace that is willing to cooperate with us. This case especially interests our great Emperor. I think you know such a quasi-government would be very useful for us.
Slim intelligence major smiled slightly under his breath.
"It so seems, that we have such a willing one here."
"Oh really?"the general got interested.
"A few hours ago, he appeared at one of our block-posts."Major meant a fortified post."He immediately wanted to see someone from the intelligence. During the interrogation, it turned out he was one of our agents."
"Where is he now?"
"We're holding him locked up."
"Great, but now, bring him here."
Major left to perform the task of the new general-governor. Silence didn't last long. The next question that was moved was rebuilding of the city. The bleak explanations made by the commander of an engineering unit estimated the reconstruction to take at least a few months, if not years.
"If I give you, let's say, ten thousand workers, how long will it take to rebuild the most important infrastructure?"Firius got impatient.
"Maybe half a year to eight months"asked officer murmured"but who will guard them? I have only a cohort with right equipment. Another in the area of Utgard. The rest is repairing other cities and facilities across the planet, from time to time destroyed by either enemy actions or left after fighting."
"We'll deal with it somehow. It will be better if you talk about it with one of my adjutants."
"I just wanted to know, if this will be special prisoners or some from a round-up?"
Firius thought about it. That was a good question. Finally, he decided.
"How many POWs did you catch?"
"A few hundred. The rest dropped their uniforms and disappeared into the crowd.
"WHAT?!"the general roared.
The gathered paled.
"I will make sure the highest echelons will learn about your incompetence. Why didn't anyone report me this earlier? You thought I will not learn?"
His only answer was silence.
"General Kalius, what do you have for your defense?"
"Nothing."the asked replied silently.
The grim atmosphere in the room was stopped by the appearance of the intelligence major, who brought a man with him.
"Name."
"Antonius. Maximus Antonius, adjutant to colonel Nashi'Rad of 10th Armored Brigade."
It was clear, that the prisoner was not treated well. Dirty uniform with white shirt underneath, torn hair and the eyes of a beaten dog didn't show, that Anotnius used to be the main source of information about moves of UTDF. Even if he didn't give them everything that would prevent such failures like during Axer.
"Well…At least this case managed to figure itself out."Firius thought and looked at one of his adjutants. The one approached Antonius and started dusting him off with a friendly gesture.
"Come closer, friend. I heard a lot about you."
Bright smile appeared on Anotnius' face.
"I wish to inform you, that I spent my whole life loyally serving the Saderan Empire and the cause of Emperor Zorzal."
"Of course. You'll be rewarded for that."Firius replied.
When the former adjutant approached the general, Firius' adjutant pulled out his side arm from it's holster. He aimed at the back of Antonius' head and the hall was filled with the crackle of laser fire. Orders received from HQ left no doubts about the fate of the spy. At least this case was dealt with perfectly.
XXX
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