Act 1, Chapter 5: Bad Omens
THE IMPERIAL PALACE,
SADERA.
"Home...", Piña thought to herself as she stood before the grand doors to the Main Imperial Palace.
It was a surreal experience, almost as if it all had been some strange nightmare and she had only recently woke up to realize that. In her mind, she truly thought she would have been dead, enslaved or worse by now, yet here she was back home in Sadera like nothing ever happened.
The reality was that she had been allowed to return home by the COG to convince her father, Emperor Molt, to cease any continued hostilities with them. The 'Coalition of Ordered Governments', abbreviated to COG, as she came to eventually learn, was the force that so easily defeated the Imperial invasion force and gained a foothold on Alnus Hill, and shown her and her allies acts of mercy that not even the least barbaric forces in her world would have even considered. The deal that allowed her to stand where was now sounded good, almost too good.
Deceit, especially in deals struck up between opposing factions, was not uncommon and those that benefited from the deception did everything they could to hide the fact that they didn't intend on honoring the deal or compromise in question for ultimately a greater gain. However, the COG had been very transparent with her and gave her no reason to suspect any deception and given how well they had treated her and the others as prisoners, she warmed up to the idea that the COG truly intended on upholding the deal she had proposed to them. While she still very much intended to establish peace between the COG and Empire, it still felt daunting for her to even propose for peace to be made but she had to try, for the Empire's survival.
"Your highness, it pleases us greatly to see you return alive and well, but are you sure you still wish to enter?", asked one of the guards stationed at the entrance to the Main Imperial Palace.
"Yes, I am sure", Piña replied as she brought herself back to the present.
Almost without hesitation, the guards opened the grand doors to the Imperial Palace for her to enter. Once opened, she made her way to the throne room at a steady pace to finally see her father again.
"I am afraid that I may have to accept that Piña may never return...", Emperor Molt Sol Augustus thought to himself as he sat in his throne.
"Your majesty, the evening feast shall commence shortly", Marcus, Molt's royal retainer, stated.
"Yes, yes, I shall dine soon. I am just deep in thought..."
Just before Marcus was about to say anything, the loud and echoing sound of the throne chamber doors opening took the retainer and the emperor's attention.
"Your highness!? It is a great relief to see you return safely!", Marcus stated upon seeing the Imperial Princess.
"Piña?", Molt simply asked aloud as he set on eyes on the very person he had feared he would never see again.
"Your majesty, I have returned", Piña stated as she kneeled before her father.
"Hmmm...Perhaps I was correct in my assumption that you were ready to face the rigors of war. Nonetheless, it relieves me to no end to see you return alive and well", Molt stated with a faint smile.
"I managed to narrowly escape with my life when the enemy defeated the legions I accompanied across the Gate", Piña stated convincingly as she stood up from kneeling. She wasn't pleased with lying to her own father but she couldn't afford to reveal that she was cooperating with what was technically the enemy.
"I see. Have you uncovered anything about this enemy?"
"The enemy we face call themselves the 'COG'. They are human just like us and they possess military might that far surpasses the Empire's. As such, I believe it would be wise to establish peace with them"
"No"
"Father, I don't think you understand. This enemy is unlike anything the Empire has faced before. The large scale destruction that they are able to rapidly inflict is something we can't hope to counter within a reasonable time span"
"Hesitating or doing anything that can possibly give the enemy time to recover will take away any and all chances for securing victory. Fortunately, a plan to swiftly defeat this 'Kaug' is already in motion"
"A plan to defeat the COG?", Piña uttered in a façade of calm curiosity shrouding stomach pit forming dread. She was convinced that another attack on the COG would destroy all present and future trust that the COG had for Piña and in turn make establishing peace with them practically impossible.
"A few weeks ago, in the most recent senate meeting, I had sent out messengers to relay my orders for the vassals to purge Alnus Hill of this Kaug. The vassals will be destroyed in their attempt to purge the Hill and this will exacerbate the exhaustion of the Kaug from previously dealing with the expeditionary forces and our initial 'hill purging' forces in quick succession. This exhaustion from the overuse of magic will become so severe, they simply will not be able to fight back and victory can be claimed with but only a handful of legions. No matter how powerful this Kaug may be, they are not exempt from the clutches of exhaustion"
The pit in Piña's stomach felt even heavier when she heard this. She knew her father's plan was not going to succeed since she, with confidence, concluded that the COG relied on enchanted equipment and weapons rather than mentally strenuous sorcery. So, she assumed that as long as the COG could keep producing their magically enhanced weapons, equipment and supplies, they would be practically unstoppable and every observation she had made of the COG would strongly imply they weren't going to run out of resources anytime soon.
At this point in time, she estimated that the vassals were only a few days worth of marches away from reaching Alnus and that the surviving Imperial legions were ready to move out as soon as word of the vassals' defeat came. The only chance she had now of salvaging whatever trust that was about to be destroyed was to reach Alnus before the vassals could and warn the COG of the vassals' attack and the Imperial attack that would follow. She knew she would be pushing her luck with the COG's capacity for mercy and leniency to the limit, but it was better than allowing the Kaug to have a legitimate excuse to outright destroy the Empire. She knew she had to get moving immediately if she were to preserve any hope of establishing peace.
"I'm sure you are famished from making the journey home, so won't you join me for this evening's feast?", Molt asked.
"My apologies your majesty, but I have important matters to tend to. I shall return within a few days"
At this, Molt sighed with slight disappointment.
"It cannot be helped I suppose. Very well then, be safe my beloved daughter"
Piña made her way out of the Main Imperial Palace at a brisk pace, breaking out into a full sprint to her mount once she had left her father's sight. Quickly mounting her steed, she headed off for Alnus at full gallop. Every second counted, especially when the Empire's continued existence was at stake.
Unbeknownst to her, the COG had watched and listened in on the entire exchange.
MEANWHILE,
OMEN KEEP.
"You said you've got something important for me?", Landry asked Mia after he entered the comms center.
"Yes sir, here", Mia said as she pulled up audio and video files and played them. The audio and video files were recordings of the conversation Piña had with the Emperor and her stated intention to warn the COG of the coming attacks, all recorded by a cloaked Watcher that had recently and successfully infiltrated the Imperial Palace. With a wide network of cloaked Watchers between Sadera and Alnus, Piña's location was being tracked and indicated she was heading for Alnus alone and at great speed.
"Hmmm...So she really is trying to keep up her end of the deal, that saves us a bit of trouble. Alright, once she gets here, let her in. I need to speak with her", Landry ordered.
"Yes sir"
THE MAIN ROAD ALONG THE ROMA RIVER.
Under the midday sun's heat, the Imperial Vassal Armies marched in formation along the beaten and well-worn wide dirt road that ran alongside the Roma River. Leading the force of roughly one hundred thousand strong was King Duran of Elbe along with the Kings of Mudwan, Alguna and the Duke of the League Principality. The rhythmic footfalls of hundreds upon hundreds of men and horses and the sound of the rushing currents of the Roma were all that could be heard among the organized force that slowly but steadily made its way towards Alnus.
"The Empire needing assistance to purge Alnus of an enemy appearing from beyond the Gate? That's certainly a first...", The Duke of the League Principality stated.
"Such circumstances would make one wonder what sort of enemy we shall be facing then, would it not?", the King of Mudwan said.
"Would it matter? I doubt whoever it is we will be facing can stand up to the combined might of the Empire and it's vassals", the King of Alguna stated arrogantly.
"What about you, Duran? Do you have any thoughts on the coming battle you'd like to share with us?", The King of Mudwan asked.
"I cannot help but feel uncertainty for the coming battle"
"Oh? Is the Lion of Elbe letting his confidence slip?", The King of Alguna remarked.
Ignoring the remark, Duran voiced his thoughts and subsequent concerns.
"Think about it, we will be facing an enemy from another world. For all we know, this enemy could potentially fight in a way we are unfamiliar with and it will be difficult to adapt on such short notice. We don't even know if whom we will be fighting are human. Molt should have told us more about this enemy..."
"Duran, if this enemy really is as much of a threat as you say they could be, Molt would have at least given us some basic but critical information on the enemy. If this enemy used magic or used some kind of powerful weapon we are unfamiliar with, he would have told us so we can prepare ourselves accordingly", The King of Mudwan stated reassuringly
"By the sound of things, a foe with similar arms but great numbers will be what we are most likely to face. It would only make sense for Molt to call upon us if he needed to compensate for a simple number imbalance", The Duke of the League Principality stated with confidence.
"I still stand by my initial thoughts. I strongly feel that having a deeper understanding of your enemy can be just as important as having superior numbers or superior skill", Duran firmly stated.
"As you have once said yourself Duran; 'All you need to win any battle, big or small, is an unfaltering resolve and the will to utterly crush all opposition'", The King of Mudwan reminded the Lion of Elbe in a hopeful manner.
"I wish I knew for certain if those are truly the only things we need for what is to come..."
"Duran, once we have won, you'll be back to your old self, trust me", The King of Mudwan reassuringly concluded.
Duran remained silent as he continued to lead the Allied Vassals towards Alnus, towards a battle he truly had no idea how it could go, much less how it could end.
SEVEN DAYS SINCE DEPARTING FROM THE IMPERIAL PALACE IN SADERA.
"Yes! I can see it!", Piña exclaimed to herself as she pushed her steed to the limit.
Besides stopping by a few villages on the way to get much needed rest and acquisition supplies, she did not slow down. Every second she spent riding towards Alnus, she would ensure her steed was going the fastest it could without causing harm to it. She knew her efforts paid off since the COG stronghold was in sight while the Allied Vassal forces were not. However, she knew just because they weren't in immediate sight didn't mean the vassals still had a ways to go. For all she knew, they could've been just mere minutes from coming into sight on the horizon somewhere, which was all the more reason for her not to relax just yet. Time seemed to drag on painfully slow as she approached her destination at a speed she would've only seen in chariot racing.
Reaching just outside the fortress's colossal metal gates, she pulled back hard on the reigns, causing her steed to grind its hooves as it drifted to a complete stop, kicking up a small dust cloud in the process. Coughing and waving away the dust, she looked up at the great metal gates, wondering how she could get it open since there wasn't any COG soldier or guard in sight who could get it open for her. Without warning, the great metal wall-like gates began to part to the sides, allowing her entry. She hesitated to go further but a loud, booming, metallic sounding female voice nearby said otherwise.
"Please come in", The voice said.
Accepting the convenient situation as it was and not pondering on it further, she rode through the entrance and she once again found herself in Omen Keep. Once inside, she was met with about a dozen COG soldiers who lead her to a place to hitch her horse and afterwards, escorted her to see the Colonel.
"Good to see you again, your highness", Landry greeted after gesturing her to take a seat.
Not wasting time with formalities because of the current circumstances, she immediately said what she came to say.
"Colonel Landry, I came here with the utmost urgency to warn you of-"
"The Allied Vassals imminent attack here?"
"What!? How could you have possibly known!?"
"We have eyes and ears everywhere, in a manner of speaking, but just be glad we are aware. I was surprised that you genuinely intended on upholding your end of the agreement. I thought you might've just used the agreement as a way to escape"
"How did the COG manage to get spies in Sadera!? Security in the capital has been made extremely strict since the failed attempt to retake the Holy Hill from them!", Piña thought to herself but she knew she couldn't do anything about it, so she remained composed as she responded to the Colonel.
"No, even if I did and shared what little I've learned about your people, what hope does my father have of even standing up to the COG? I know a war against your people is nothing but an exercise in futility, to say the least. I came here to warn you of the Allied Vassals' attack, thinking that you were unaware since you could've taken the attack as a gross breach of the agreement I made with your people. I came here to deliver the warning to assure you that this was something I absolutely had no part in or ever intended to be a part of"
"We know, Princess. While we maybe technically enemies now, you chose the right path in helping us, I assure you. Your devotion to helping us to bring peace will save thousands upon thousands of lives. I cannot stress this enough: we don't want nor need a war; my people have got bigger problems to deal with on our side of the Gate"
"Bigger problems?", Piña voiced out in confusion. She could not begin to imagine problems more serious than preventing a war between the COG and the Empire.
"Don't be concerned about that; they're my peoples' problems, not yours"
A sharp sound sound and a red light came from a small black box on the Colonel's desk, followed by a voice speaking from it.
It was Mia, and she spoke in a tone of professional urgency.
"Sir, the vassals are five klicks out and are approaching the Keep!"
Landry sighed.
"Speaking of problems, this is one that will need to be dealt with immediately. Come with me, your knowledge and understanding of the vassal armies can help to resolve this", Landry stated as he rose up from his seat to leave the room to head to the comms center.
Not having any time to further ponder what the talking black box was and how it knew of the vassals' approach, Piña hurriedly followed the Colonel.
GENERAL'S COMMAND TENT,
ALLIED VASSAL CAMP/STAGING AREA,
THREE MILES SOUTH OF ALNUS HILL.
"What do you mean you could not find the Imperial camp?", The Duke of the League Principality asked in confused outrage.
"Milord, The other scouts and I have thoroughly searched the areas surrounding the Hill where they would have established a camp. We found nothing, not even a single tent"
"Impossible, the Imperials should have already established a camp nearby since they would have gotten here much earlier than us", Duran pondered aloud in concern.
"We cannot afford to wait for them, night is approaching very soon and the enemy could launch a surprise attack on us while we sleep. We can at least weaken the enemy by the time the Imperials get here", The King of Mudwan stated.
"I agree, we need to strike at the enemy while we still have light", The King of Alguna concurred.
"Very well, let us discuss a suitable course of action", Duran responded as he proceeded to lay out a hand-drawn but very detailed map of Alnus Hill and the surrounding area.
MEANWHILE,
COMMS CENTER,
OMEN KEEP.
"Colonel Landry, how are you spying on the vassal leaders in their command tent?", Piña asked in shock as she saw a large monitor displaying the vassal leaders discussing amongst themselves.
"We have small, floating constructs at our disposal called Watchers. They act as our way of seeing and hearing things in places where accessibility is limited. What you're seeing now is what a Watcher is seeing and hearing"
"Is this how the COG knew of the imminent Vassal attack?...", Piña thought to herself.
"How are the vassal leaders completely oblivious to its presence?"
"It's cloaked"
"Cloaked?"
"It's made itself invisible"
"Invisible?...", Piña uttered in disbelief as she continued to look at the Watcher's live feed. For her, there was no other way to explain how the Colonel found out about the imminent vassal attack than what she had just learned. It sent a chill down her spine, knowing that the COG could listen in on and watch sensitive exchanges with such ease.
"Verlaine, is this all being recorded for later review?"
"Yes, sir", Mia responded.
"Princess, do the vassals possess non-conventional means of warfare?"
"Non-conventional?"
"Magic, Princess", Landry clarified, thinking back to the report he read about Recon Team Delta's encounter with a confirmed anomalous human and an interview that was later conducted in the Keep with said person.
"No, all state militaries do not employ mages in their ranks since combat capable mages are extremely rare and should they perish in battle, replacing them quickly enough is practically impossible"
"That simplifies things then"
"Colonel, is there any way you can ward them off without spilling blood?", Piña asked in great concern as she wanted to minimize unnecessary losses among the Empire's subjects.
"We do have non-lethal ways of dealing with our enemies, but those ways are not practical for dealing with large numbers simultaneously. I will issue a clear warning to them, but should they choose to ignore them and attack, we will have no choice but to defend ourselves"
"I, understand..."
AN HOUR LATER.
"With that, the planning is complete and there is nothing more to do but execute it. Gentlemen, shall we get started?", Duran said as he rolled up the Alnus Hill Map he was using and stowed it away.
All the other vassal leaders nodded in agreement.
"Come now, we have a hill to purge", Duran said as he exited the command tent with the vassal leaders in tow.
With all the vassal leaders once again under the light of the soon-to-be setting sun, Duran turned to them to do a quick recap of the plan before sending messengers to relay the plan to the cornicen.
"Gentlemen, to summarize, the attack will begin with-"
Duran had suddenly noticed the look utter shock on the faces of the other vassal leaders, with their gazes averted to something behind him.
"What are you all looking at?", Duran asked in confusion as he turned to see what caught the other vassal leaders' attention.
"What in the name of Elange?...", Duran uttered in bewilderment at the 'thing' hovering before him.
"Attention vassal leaders, this is Colonel Herschel Landry of the COG speaking. I am the leader of the force that is currently located on Alnus Hill. I am aware of your imminent intentions and so, I highly advise that you all cease further action of your plan and return home or we will use lethal force in self-defense", the 'thing' said in a booming and echoing voice.
The 'thing' in question could only be described by the Falmart nobility as a small floating metallic being that had a single glowing blue eye but no mouth from which it could have spoken from.
"Metal demon, if you truly are the leader of the force on the Holy Hill, it was most unwise to come out here, exposed and vulnerable", Duran stated as he and the other leaders unsheathed their swords, ready to strike should the metallic being at any moment.
"What you are looking at right now is nothing more than a metal construct, I am merely speaking through it. I am currently located at Alnus, in a fortified location, well away from all of you"
"Coward!", The King of Alguna exclaimed in indignation.
Ignoring the comment, Landry stated his ultimatum.
"Cease your hostilities with us immediately and return home or we will have no choice but to use lethal force to defend ourselves. This is your final warning, I will NOT repeat myself"
"No, we have come here to uphold our duty and that is what we will do or die trying", Duran stated clearly and adamantly.
"So be it", Landry said with finality as the Watcher he was speaking through cloaked and made its way back to the Keep.
"Verlaine, bring the Tri-Shot and Salvo turrets online and issue a base-wide imminent attack warning. We're on high-alert until they're all eliminated or go into full retreat"
"Yes, sir"
"May the gods have mercy on you all, because the COG won't", Piña thought in pity.
"Princess, I'm afraid I can't allow you to leave the safety of this base until the vassals have been eliminated or retreat"
Piña simply nodded in compliance as she looked down at the Vassal forces in the distance from behind the reinforced glass walls of the comms center, the highest positioned part of the Keep, which provided a clear 360 degree view of the surrounding area of Alnus and beyond, as far as the eye could see.
"Forward!", ordered the King of Alguna loudly and clearly. The formations of soldiers and mounted knights of various colors and coats of arms began to steadily advance on the enemy upon hearing the cornicines' relayed orders. Alongside the ground infantry, the Elbian Wyvern Corp took flight and proceeded to rush their way to the enemy stronghold in order to strike first and cause chaos, allowing their ground counterparts to come in and make short work of the enemy, at least that's how the plan was meant to play out.
"What?! No! It cannot be!", the Duke of the League Principality exclaimed in utter disbelief as he watched the most elite Wyvern Corp in the realm be knocked right out of the sky in rapid succession by hundreds of streaks of light emanating from the enemy stronghold and by what he could only describe as 'tiny shooting-stars' aggressively following the Elbian wyverns and exploding when they were close enough. However, the ground forces remained untouched since the enemy were so preoccupied with dealing with the wyverns and so despite being an extreme blow to his military pride, Duran took the slaughtering of his wyvern corp to be an adequate enough distraction to allow the ground forces to rush the enemy.
"Charge while the enemy is preoccupied! Now is our chance!", Duran ordered. Cornicines relayed the order and no sooner did all the ground forces of mixed colors and flags broke away from their formations and charged the enemy en masse. The stampede of steeds and other war beasts along with the war cries of men and beast men alike was almost deafening. Duran, the Duke and the Mudwan King charged towards the enemy together on their steeds and all seemed to go well as the charging ground forces remained unimpeded, that was until the last Elbian wyvern was knocked out of the sky.
The moment the skies were purged of the winged cavalry, the enemy atop the hill redirected their wrath to the ground forces and it was redirected so abruptly, many had their bodies torn asunder before they could even begin to comprehend the slaughter they suddenly found themselves in. Countless scores of men, beasts and beast men once clad in proud colors, flags and coat of arms were now reduced to pitiful piles of shredded meat, metal and cloth. Duran's misplaced optimism dissipated as quickly as any hope for survival, let alone victory. However, despite this, his will to fight to the bitter end pushed him on.
"While we may not survive, we shall not go down without a fight!", Duran exclaimed as he, the Duke and the Mudwan King continued to ride on, knowing at the very least that should they die, they would die a warrior's death and not a coward's death.
It almost seemed as if Emroy himself began showing favor to the Kings' for their valor in the face of certain death as the instantly life-ending streaks of light and metallic shooting-stars missed them and simply flew past. They felt invincible, but only for a few moments.
Before Duran could realize it, the Duke of the League Principality and the King of Mudwan had their armor-clad bodies and mounts perforated by Tri-Shot rounds and ripped apart and by the time he realized he was the last vassal king left alive on the battlefield, a Salvo missile air-bursted in front of him then suddenly, everything turned to black.
He lingered in this darkness for moment before his eyes opened once again and a deafening ring was all he could hear. He found himself laying on the dirt next to what remained of his horse, having no feeling in his body except his eyes and ears. The deafening ring still dominated his hearing and all he could see was blurry flashes of light passing by, the gray lifeless sky and the dark green and red haze of the bloodied grass cushioning the side of his head. Slowly, the ringing began to became quieter and the colors began to fade until he could not hear or see anything and when he could no longer perceive anything, a deep and comforting darkness overtook him.
Flashbacks of the failed invasion flooded her mind as Piña once again witnessed the destructive capability of the COG. Despite being merely a spectator of the carnage, she couldn't help but feel horrified at how effortlessly but mercilessly the Omen Keep's strange-looking defenses were shredding through the allied vassal forces.
"Colonel, there is no doubt your ballistae are powerful but how are they working without your soldiers manning them!?", Piña asked in great confusion.
"They're automated"
"Oto-may-tid?", Piña worded in further confusion.
"They have a mind of their own and fulfill our needs as instructed, so to speak"
Piña didn't know what to say. She knew the COG possessed nigh-incomprehensibly powerful weapons and that they still needed at least some form of interaction to be effective. Now, she had to accept the fact that the COG have weapons that don't even need to be touched to be used effectively. She simply could not fathom how the COG are able to create anything at all that could 'think' for itself, which raised another question for her.
"Your men and beasts of metal-"
"You mean our DeeBees?"
"Yes, your 'Dee-Bees', are they not beings you have subjugated?"
"Subjugated beings? No, the DeeBees are created by us"
"So, does that mean they are 'otomaytid' too?"
"Yes"
She already knew it was impossible for the Empire to even stand up to the COG in any meaningful way but she began to seriously wonder how the COG, as powerful as they are, could possibly be experiencing any sort of problem on their side of the Gate, as the Colonel had mentioned before. She was convinced, beyond any shadow of doubt, that no mortal army could possibly defeat the COG since they effectively have unlimited soldiers because of their ability to make perfectly obedient and exceptionally powerful warriors on demand, on top of being able to recruit.
With this in mind, she mentally added it to the list of otherwise impossible things that the COG apparently have, which includes but is not limited to: a never-ending supply of immaculately clean water and food fit for nobility, the means to travel at speeds no living thing could hope to rival, the means to communicate at extreme distances near-instantaneously and the ability to construct grand structures of the finest marble, stone and glass or impenetrable fortresses anywhere in an absurdly short amount of time.
Of all the things that had been presented to her by the COG, the one thing she simply refused to believe was the claim that they possess absolutely no sorcery of any kind.
Still, she was at a complete loss of words at the sheer totality of everything the COG has done and can do, so she continued to wordlessly watch as the allied vassal forces were being mercilessly butchered for daring to challenge the COG. There was no honor, no pride, no glory, no heroes and no hope in the massacre she was witnessing. There was only death and destruction, both being dealt efficiently and indifferently.
Fifteen minutes, this was the amount of time it took for the one hundred thousand strong allied vassal forces to be reduced to practically nothing. In fifteen minutes, the automated defenses of Omen Keep had gone through a few tonnes of high-caliber rounds and explosive ordnance to create thousands of tonnes of dead organic matter that now littered the outside of Omen Keep. The soil surrounding Omen Keep was once again stained heavily with blood and viscera, but among this sea of rotting flesh and opportunistic scavengers enjoying a feast, only a handful still drew extremely labored breaths and even fewer that would live to see the next sun rise, and among the latter was the Lion of Elbe.
Opening his eyes suddenly, Duran found himself still in the same spot he had found himself in when he was struck a mortal blow by the enemy. Much like before, he couldn't feel or move his body at all but now his hearing and sight were somewhat functional, functional enough to notice that several unknown armored figures were going around and executing the mortally wounded with strange weapons that issued a loud crack when used. He knew there was nothing he could do, so he laid there motionless as one of the armored figures approached him. Duran never took his sight off the approaching figure and when he and the armored figure made eye contact, he summoned enough of what little strength he had left to utter one barely audible sentence.
"Finish...it"
However, the stranger did not put an end to his misery. Instead, the armored stranger seemed to put away his weapon on his back and knelt down to inspect the wounded Lion of Elbe, all while retaining his neutral but curious expression. After a few moments of inspection, the stranger called over for his similarly clad companions and it was then the Lion of Elbe once again slipped into a deep and comforting darkness.
"This guy looks important and he's still breathing", Del stated after assessing the condition of one of the very few survivors.
"Can you get him to the infirmary?", JD asked one of the Gears with him on recovery of surviving individuals and objects of interest.
"Yes sir", the Gear complied as he called for a few other nearby Gears to help him carry the injured Person of Interest.
"Control, this is Delta, we and Bravo have only found a few surviving officers and a noble so far, everyone else was beyond saving"
"Copy that Delta, and I heard what happened to Kait, I'm so sorry..."
"Thanks Mia, but it's war, people die, even the ones you don't want to and it's something I have to accept"
"We have on-site psychiatrists. If you ever need to see one, don't hesitate"
"I know Mia, I know..."
"Captain, if you can't do this anymore, I can have another officer fill in for you while you go see a psychiatrist"
"No, Mia, I'm still fit for duty"
"If you say so, Captain. Keep me posted on whatever else you find out there"
"Wilco"
"Come on, JD, drop the tough guy act. If you're really not up for it, I can take over for you while you go get some help", Del suggested out of concern.
"Look Del, I said I'm fine, alright", JD adamantly stated.
Del knew deep down that JD wasn't fine but nonetheless remained silent for a while to not further aggravate him and let him calm down.
For the next two hours, Delta and a few other squads continued to recover anyone or anything of interest that could still be recovered and putting an end to the suffering of those beyond saving. Aside from their own footsteps, the Gears out there could only hear the sounds of hundreds of vultures flying around and feasting on carcasses. Much to the relief of many Gears, the corpses were fresh enough that they didn't give off a foul smell yet and so with this in mind, they picked up pace as to get the job over and done with. Soon, the Gears found themselves searching around the periphery of the recent massacre, where the corpses and destruction end and the untouched and lush green grass started. For JD, it was somewhat refreshing to not be surrounded by only corpses in all directions. He took a moment to appreciate the untouched and peaceful area beyond the recent carnage behind him, but something in the distance caught his attention.
"Huh?...", JD uttered as he took out his binoculars to determine what was in the distance approaching the Keep.
"What's up?", Del asked, wondering what JD was looking at with his binoculars.
"It's the Koan Forest Elves, and they're looking really worse for wear", JD assessed in confusion.
"What are they doing here?", Del asked.
"Let's go ask them. Come on", JD suggested, jogging over to the elves.
The two Gears had a barrage of questions going though through their head; Why were they out here and heading for the Keep? Why were there clothes in tatters? Why did they look so terrified? What happened to them? With the officers nearing them, they would get answers.
When the Gears got close enough to recognize individuals in the group of elves, one of the elves broke away from the group and rushed over to the two officers. JD and Del recognized this elf as 'Hodor', the one who had clearly shown distrust for Delta when they first entered the Koan Forest village.
"Hodor? What are you and your people doing out here?", JD asked.
"The Flame Dragon!", Hodor exclaimed
"Flame Dragon?", Del uttered in confusion.
"Yes, it burnt down our home and killed many of us! When we escaped, we had nowhere safe to go to, so we came here", Hodor explained with despair very much present in his voice as he held onto his daughter.
"How did you know we were here?", JD asked
"I remembered you saying that your people had established a fortress here", Hodor explained, still in great distress.
"Okay but-"
"I beg of you! my people have nowhere else to go!"
The COG Captain took a few moments to deliberate before making his decision.
"Fine, come with me", JD asked firmly.
COLONEL'S OFFICE,
OMEN KEEP.
"Fenix, I understand but I don't recall ever giving you the authority to allow any refugees into the Keep"
"Sir, with all due respect, leaving those people out there would-"
The Colonel held up a hand for silence.
"Captain, I'm not saying to turn these people away. Given their unfortunate circumstances, I'll allow them to stay but you will be responsible for them, that means setting up accommodations for them as well as allocating food and water to them and dealing with any minor issues they may be experiencing. Do I make myself clear?"
"Yes sir"
"You're lucky I'm the one in charge here, others of my rank would've not been so lenient. You're a capable captain, Fenix, but that doesn't excuse you from operating under the chain of command, keep that in mind. You're dismissed"
With that, the COG Captain saluted and exited his superior's office.
"So, what did he say?", Del asked.
"He said they can stay but I'll be responsible for them and hey, I didn't get yelled at, demoted or anything, which is a bonus"
"Come on, let's give them the good news", Del said as he and JD made their way to the elves.
When Hodor took notice of the approach of the First Lieutenant and Captain, he eagerly walked up to them, wanting to hear the news.
"I got good news, you can all stay here for the time being. I'll get those under my command to set up some tents and arrange for some food, water and clean clothes for all of you", JD stated as he gestured to Del.
Del understood and went to go relay JD's orders to the rest of Delta.
"In the mean time, you all need to stay here. I'll call over for you all when everything's ready so until then, these Gears will watch over you", JD stated as he motioned to the nearby Gears who he had ordered to supervise the elves since they entered the Keep.
Just as the COG Captain was about to leave, he noticed Hodor and the other elves knelt down towards him with their heads bowed forward.
"Sir Jaydee, we are forever grateful to you for providing us salvation in our darkest hour", Hodor stated solemnly.
"You're all very welcome, now, uh, could you all get up?", JD asked, feeling a little awkward at the sudden show of deep gratitude.
The elves promptly rose from their kneeling position.
"I also want to apologize for being so unwelcoming when we first met", Hodor said with great shame present in his voice.
"Don't worry about it, I would be on guard too if people I didn't trust just suddenly showed up at my home. Oh, and it's my superior, the Colonel, you should be giving thanks to since he had the final say in whether you all could stay or not. Anyways, just stay here for a little while, I'll call over for you all soon", JD said before leaving to get his squad to get the basic necessities ready for the elves.
"Those remains outside...He really was speaking the truth", Hodor thought to himself as he thought back to the remains of the allied vassal forces outside. He knew that death and destruction were inevitable in large-scale battles but what he saw was not the aftermath of a battle. For him, 'battle' would imply both sides struggled in their efforts to emerge triumphant and the only evidence of struggle he saw was the vassal forces just trying to reach ideal arrow shooting distance and that clearly didn't succeed. What he saw wasn't the aftermath of a battle, it was something that the words 'merciless slaughter' couldn't even begin to describe adequately, and judging by the looks of his fellow elves, they were probably thinking the same thing. While the elves were more or less independent of the Empire, some elves still silently wept and some barely containing their panic from what they had seen outside, just before being let into the immaculate fortress of stone and metal.
"Why would the Emperor send them here to die?...", Hodor pondered grimly.
"Father?", Tuka called for Hodor's attention.
"Yes?"
"How are we going to repay them for allowing us to stay here? We have nothing now except for the clothes on our backs"
Hodor was suddenly hit with a sudden and extremely unpleasant pit-in-stomach feeling. He was so caught up trying to find a safe place for himself, his daughter and his people that he forgot that such an act of kindness would simply not be given free of charge. His mind wandered to dark scenarios where they all had to pay their debts through slavery and with their women being obligated to serve as concubines, his daughter becoming a concubine and other nightmarish thoughts.
"I-I do not know..."
"The Kaug are a people of reason and compassion, as they have shown us, so I believe it is not out of the question to negotiate the terms of our stay with them. Many of us here possess skills and knowledge that should be of value to them, perhaps we can discuss the possibility of employment to repay them", a surviving village elder suggested in reassurance to Hodor after overhearing him and his daughter.
"If it means keeping my daughter safe, then so be it", Hodor firmly and sincerely stated as he held his daughter close.
(Achievement Unlocked)
(20G - Sending a Message)
(Read Chapter 5)