Mud. Light brown mud. Dark brown mud. Mud mixed with grass. They've seen it all. The landscape looked the same no matter the direction, the only variables being some wild animals that decided to look for their feast in the brown puddle. Rain mercilessly poured down, as if some higher power had decided to finally end the human race by flooding every corner of the Earth. The swamp slowly was becoming a shallow puddle, making the journey difficult even for high mobility Reginleifs they were piloting.
"I hate the rain." Kurena mumbled, having nothing but talking to her companions to keep the boredom away. She was the only one without any pastime, so each hour was especially unbearable.
"I hate brown even more." Theo spoke with a deadpan voice, while repairing the old radio, so far unsuccessfully. Those Feldreß had the automatic march function, so their hands were quintessentially free.
"Guys! We are only a day away from the Republic, there are even a few caves at the end of the mountain range, so we may finally stretch our legs without getting wet!" Anju remained optimistic, as their meeting point got almost palpable. The journey was so uneventful, that their fuel reserve was way above what was necessary to meet with the convoy. She managed to finish a set of gloves and planned to add a scarf soon.
"This weather is so awful that even Eintagsfliege are nowhere to be seen."As Raiden noticed, the sky lacked the usual Electronic Disruption type Legion, which didn't happen very often. "I wonder if the Column is dealing with similar flooding. Any news yet?"
"Colonel reported that the situation is better than on the ground, but they have to move slowly, as the slippery slope could be deadly, especially with how narrow the road is." Shin, who was in constant contact with the main branch knew, that they encountered a few technical difficulties. Still, no real fights with Legion – the reconnoiter units were easily slayed by Shiden and her Squadron. Lena even chuckled yesterday that maybe they saw how bored the Cyclops was, and decided to run away on their own.
"How long will we be stuck waiting on them..." Kurena seemed even more annoyed at this perspective. "I've already finished all the good snacks, and only the bland food is left."
Just two years ago, the perspective of being able to linger about lack of action or no tasty foods was unimaginable, but now, after being treated as fellow humans by the Federacy of Giad they knew how quickly a person can get accustomed to amenities. Kurena, who developed a sweet tooth during her stay there, knew deep inside that their treatment inside the Republic was going to be way worse than a few days of bland boredom.
"That's weird." Shin mumbled under his nose, forgetting for a second about the call.
"What's going on Shin?" Anju asked with a worried voice, knowing the emotional turmoil her friend was feeling, but unable to talk about. He may have thought that he was discreet, but Para-RAID communication often conveyed more than words, even if the participant didn't intend to share. She picked up the subtle clues about what was worrying him and even discussed privately with Raiden if they had any way of helping him. Sadly she knew, that unless he decided to open up first, any attempt to initiate the conversation would scare him away. Anju felt hope, that maybe that was a clumsy start to this talk about what was tormenting him.
"I don't know if you picked up on that, but I'm hearing a lot more voices of the Legion. But it's an unreasonable amount, with how flat the plains are, we would've already seen some signs of them on the horizon." Shin trusted his ability completely, but no matter how he tried to make sense of the screams inside his head, the location stayed the same.
"Isn't it somewhere in the general direction of the mountain range's end? Anju said that there were some caves in the region." Theo noticed, still fixated on the old device.
"That would mean that with only a slight alteration to the route, we may do the reconnaissance into the Republic, and later check out that area. Besides, it overlaps with the planned end of the convoy's route, we have to make sure it's safe for them to pass without a direct attack." Raiden kept his head cool and stated the facts. It was not something they could just ignore, so they had to locate the entery and notify their superiors. Undertaker, like a proper soldier, first tried to reach Colonel Milizé, but when she answered, he realized he made a mistake.
"...uhm...Shin...? Is everything alright?" He could've heard the tiredness in her voice, indicating that he might just have woken her up from her nap.
"Sorry, were you sleeping? I'll contact another officer, it's nothing to worry about." He tried to reassure her, flustered that he didn't consider that her workload managing the convoy was taking a constant toll on her.
"Don't worry about it, I was about to wake up anyway. How is the mission going?" Lena responded in an exaggeratedly energetic voice, trying to cover up the lack of sleep. The deceit failed, when a small yawn broke free.
"Nothing happened so far, the puddle is locked to any heavy unit. There is issue, the high concentration of Legion's voices in the North-West area, we suspect an underground base as the horizon stays clear." Shin gave up on trying to persuade her to go to sleep and decided to lay out the situation as her subordinate.
"Can you send me the map with approximate numbers and location?" Colonel asked.
"You should already have it on your monitor. It's not an army that would decimate us, but not a size that we could ignore. If I had to pinpoint the location it's as I've shown on the map, near the mountain range's end, but still on the field's territory. There are no woods or other obstacles to hide behind. But we have yet to locate the entrance." He continued to explain why confirming the existence of a cave-base was so important. If it was proven wrong, worst case scenario, it would mean the enemy has found a way to become invisible, but Shin's thought were more bothered that there might've been something wrong with his ability. He and his companions relied on it a lot during a battle, so any errors could mean death.
"For now continue your original mission, but change the return route. Try seeing the area of the noise from up close, but if there are any physical signs of an army I command an immediate retreat. I hope it won't come to this, but there may be a need to leave supply units hidden and go all into the battle. We can't back down when we've come so far."
"Roger that. I'll contact you when we know something." Captain Nouzen felt deep down the importance of what they might discover with the hidden voices. He knew that ignoring this abnormality would be a mistake. For now, however, he didn't want to worry Lena with the ominous feeling. "Lena. Sleep tight."
"...thanks Shin, but I probably won't be able to. Stay safe." Lena said her goodbye tiredly, but he knew that she was telling the truth. With the possibility of a battle in sight, there was a lot of preparation that the 1st Tactical Commander had to do. He only hoped, that what they will discover will render them unnecessary.
March 21th Republic Year 368 (Stellar Year 2149)
156 days until the Legion's Large-Scale Offensive
The last few weeks were extremely busy for Lena, as she tried to pack three lives into one. She spent her days fulfilling her duties as a Handler, a heiress, and a planner. Not long after the drunk encounter with Nicholas, contrary to her worries about him blacking out and forgetting everything, an official courtship inquiry had arrived from the Pivot family. She had expected her mother to be elated, but the same evening Lena was stunned by the opposite reaction.
"Lena, baby, I know you had promised to act like a successor, and I am partly to blame for the constant pressure for the engagement, but you truly don't have to put up with such a man. I know the Pivot's family prestige, but darling, your happiness will always be my priority. This man is twice your age and a known scoundrel! I've wanted for you to experience love, dating, or at least fun with people your age, as you had shut yourself out from the social world. I've never meant to accept any promiscuous rascal just because of his family name..." Margareta Milizé hugged her daughter, dumbfounded by her mother's unexpected burst of emotions. The usually poised, elegant woman looked distraught, sloppily put on a bathrobe and her eyes watering uncontrollably.
"Mom..." Lena, still taken aback, had no idea what to say. In her wildest dreams, she had not assumed that her mother might be against her engagement, so she hadn't prepared any arguments or excuses. Their relationship was quite distant, so this was the first time she had seen her mother in such an emotional state. "It's not like that... I mean... I do want to accept, but..."
"Oh, honey! Did that man hurt you in any way? Are you being pressured or blackmailed? I know I had been a useless mother, but baby, I would do anything for you." It was rare for Lena to be lost for words, but this was one of those times. She had regretted not asking Annette how to deal with opposition from family or not putting on para-RAID. In a state of confusion, she decided that a half-truth would be the best option.
"Mom, I've talked with Annette a lot, even with other girls at the parties, and they all taught me something new. I do not plan to marry this man, but what I need is a business partner. In high society, there is no better way of sealing a deal than joining the families, even temporarily. I know Nicolas wants to use me, but Mom, it's the same for me. I promise I'll back down as soon as I can, but please, could you give me your blessing for now?" It sounded colder than Lena intended, but she knew such a practice was common in the upper classes. If she wanted to outsmart them, she had to play their games, accept those vicious rules, and twist them to her advantage.
"Lena... I can barely recognize you... I do not know if this is pride or remorse inside of me, but I see how hard you are working to change. Mom will do anything to help you in your new ventures. If you want to get involved with business in the Republic, I can support you financially, as we've set aside a hefty dowry with Vaclav. You were supposed to get it after getting married, but I cannot allow you to depend on that middle-aged alcoholic." The adamant voice stirred up a warm feeling in Lena's chest, who did not expect her mother to become her ally. Auxiliary funds would make a tremendous difference in getting the non-combat resources, needed in case of the production plant impairment or demolition.
"Thanks, mom. I... did not expect that." Lena felt that now her eyes were getting wet. "I know we have our differences and I don't say it much, but I love you, mom."
"I love you too, my sweet child." Margareta responded.
For the first time in years, the two women living separate lives in the same house snuggled together, with tears of unspoken affection flying out from both of them. They fell asleep on the couch, exhausted by the emotional turmoil of today. The older maid, who covered them in a blanket smiled, recalling how years ago the same pair, accompanied by the late Master, dozed off in the same spot after the exhausting play in the pillow fort.