Papers slammed onto the Doctor's desk with great force, causing him to look away from his computer screen then up at the source: an angry lynx barely concealing a scowl of pure disdain. Looking back down he noticed the files were essentially personnel logs related to the transport, and highlighted in bright yellow was the codename Bagpipe. Instead of answering what was obvious, he decided to look at his ex-wife and tilt his head as he did when he usually didn't understand something, or pretended not to.
"Explain, now."
The Doctor sighed then pushed back from his desk and crossed his arms. With a big breath he began the explanation, knowing that Kal'tsit wouldn't be satisfied with what he had to say.
"Bagpipe volunteered to escort the convoy. You know how high the demands of the CC system can be, and considering Bagpipe has experience in the field as an active duty soldier of Victoria's Tempest Platoon, she was among the most qualified volunteers I could send out."
"This places her outside our supervision in the same place as Reed, and she already suspects who and what Reed is. Allowing them anywhere near each other is dangerously risky, if Bagpipe were to discover Reed's identity, she could-"
"Could what, Kal?" Doctor interrupted sharply and harshly, throwing the medical director off guard before her eyes narrowed dangerously and the crystal housing Mon3ter began to shiver and twitch. "After all Bagpipe has done for Reed, after all they had borne witness to at County Hillock, what do you think Bagpipe would realistically do to Reed? She's not even an active duty Victorian soldier anymore. Sure, she's not disillusioned the same way Saileach is, but the idea you would believe Bagpipe would go running back to the Victorian army in its current state is just downright silly."
"Still, we can't rule out the possibility that she could change her mind. You should know that more than anyone."
"And you should know by now that trying to control everything down to the last detail is exactly how we landed in this mess. Listen, Reed needs to face reality one day."
"And what reality is that?" Kal'tsit asked, crossing her arms.
"That County Hillock, Dublinn, and all the tragedies of her life are not her fault," he answered. Based on the fact that Kal'tsit's ears twitched into a more relaxed position and her expression shifted, he finally saw a sense of open curiosity and he was going to capitalize on that. Instead of using words though, he opened a locked compartment of his desk, and pulled out a binder with Reed's name printed on it. Below that was a classification code indicating only he had access to it. He took it out and placed it on the table. In a rare moment, Kal'tsit was silent, and he realized she was waiting for him to finish. "This is Operator Reed, Loughshiny's Therapy File. The reason they're classified under my personal clearance is because even I believe in Patient-Doctor Confidentiality."
The message was clear to the old lynx and she sighed. in a rare moment of weakness, looked down and let her emotions show, letting go of the professional mask she always wore.
"Kal'tsit, it was a joint decision, it was made when Rhodes Island was formed from the remnants of Babel. We would not repeat the violent mistakes of our past, but we would not abandon the fight to preserve Terra."
"Therefore we would seek to heal the land, not divide it further. We are Rhodes Island, this is our mission. I remember, we were all there that day."
"Amiya's been a wonderful leader, if she trusts me, that's enough for me to move forward."
"But don't you ever wonder if it was enough?"
"Always. Kal'tsit, I will always regret my failures as I'm sure you do yours. I realized that we were all consumed with grief, but Amiya kept moving forward. If she trusts me, then maybe that's enough."
"You're a fool then."
They just looked at each other, unspoken words flowing as they both let go of their inhibitions, and then Kal'tsit turned her head.
"Kal'tsit, it needs to be addressed. I'm not asking for forgiveness, but one day we have to learn to move on. We don't need to forgive ourselves or each other, but we need to stop letting this whirlpool drag us down."
Kal'tsit didn't move and Doctor stayed silent. After some minutes had passed, he put the file away, prompting Kal'tsit to answer, "I just don't know yet…"
"Alright, but remember, I am ready to listen if you need it. Just as you did for me."
She shook her head, a little bewildered and pleasantly surprised. Kal'tsit then walked to the door without a word, simply done with their exchange. She also had a bit to chew on from this. Normally he had never been the type to let others confide in him or vice versa, but this was a reminder that despite all they knew of each other and been through together, even Doctor could change.
She felt envious of that.
A simple knock on the door pulled him out of sleep, but almost as soon as it did a throbbing pain echoed in his head, forcing Evan to hiss violently. The knocking began to increase and his head throbbed harder in response.
"I'm up, just wait a second!" he shouted a little uncharacteristically, causing the knocking to stop. After practically rolling out of bed, Evan brought himself to the door and opened it.
As soon as he saw Grani, she cheerfully responded, "Someone had a rough night it seems."
"Too much drink, REM sleep is screwed and I have a hangover…" he groaned before walking out and down with the singular mind of grabbing some water. Grani simply followed her light, prancing footsteps providing a sense of companionship that helped reassure his head, which felt like it was going to split.
"Well I just came to tell you, breakfast is being made."
"Thanks…" he groaned while holding his head in a vain attempt to control the throbs knocking on his cranium. They continued walking, and once they reached the first floor he walked up to and behind the bar so he could get himself a glass of water as soon as possible.
"Hey, watchya doin' back here?" a familiar voice with a scottish accent called. Shortly afterwards, Bagpipe materialized through the doorway to the kitchen and noticed Evan chugging water like his life depended on it. "Oh, Evan. Mornin', seems ya woke up on the wrong side of the bed, eh?"
After finishing his first glass, he answered bluntly and with shortened breath, "You have no idea…"
"Well…" Bagpipe tried to chime in as she watched him down water like a fish. "Just don't drink too much. We have limited water as is."
"Two full glasses and I'll be done," he admitted as he took a break from his second. Between the fact he seemed out of breath and he just realized he wasn't breathing through his nose properly, he was starting to wonder a bit if this was just a hangover.
"Look, why don'tcha sit down, and I'll whip up somethin' good for ya."
Evan obeyed silently and walked off to find a table or booth to sit in, leaving Grani and Bagpipe to give each other a silent nod before the smaller of the two trotted over to his side and sat down with him. Almost as soon as he was at a table, he slammed his head on the table and wrapped his arms around to deprive his senses from the world around him.
"You okay?" Grani asked with genuine concern in her voice.
"No," his muffled voice called out.
"Should I go…grab Folinic?"
"Yes, and tell her to bring some ibuprofen or something, I feel like my head's going to split…"
The only assurance he got was the hurried, galloping footsteps of the former officer, and then he just chose to focus on not losing his sanity as his mind threatened to break him with each throb. Time swiftly lost meaning to him as he failed to count, much less care as the world moved around him.
That was until the clink of a plate drew his attention. After looking briefly at it, then up at Bagpipe, his gears finally began to turn. His head didn't like the sensory shift of going from darkness to light, but he did notice that enough time had passed that the throbs had dulled a good amount.
"We're a little tight on food, so I made ya some rumbledethumps with some of the leftover potatoes."
"Sure, I love most potato dishes," he said before pulling the plate to him and picking up the fork. He eyed the dish a little, to him it seemed like a mashed potato casserole of sorts topped with cheese and what appeared to be an egg. Regardless, he didn't really hesitate to put the first bite in his mouth. A few chews and the lingering expectant gaze of the cook, and he gave his judgment. "It's good, really good."
"Can't go wrong with my family's recipe. Sure, we grew all sorts of things on the farm, but potatoes have always been a staple of ours. We vouivres tend to like em for some reason."
"Potatoes are nutritious and delicious, so I don't exactly blame you there."
In response to that, Bagpipe gave a little laugh before laughing her way into saying, "I here ya there. Can't go wrong with some tatties, aye?"
"Good to see you two getting along," Grani's voice interrupted as she trotted on over with a bottle of pills in her hand. Once she came over to Evan she handed them over then said, "I talked to Folinic. She said if you need help, you'll have to go visit her yourself or wait until the end of the day if you need another checkup."
"Got it. Thanks a ton."
"Happy to help!" Grani exclaimed with a beaming smile. "But…I do have some other duties to attend to, you gonna be okay on your own?"
"Yes."
Grani gave a smile and a salute before trotting out the door, leaving Evan alone with Bagpipe, but she had to go back to the kitchen, leaving him alone again. Actually having a proper conversation with the redheaded vouivre, he couldn't help but think of Reed's reaction to her. Grani had also mentioned it being their second meeting since some kind of incident, but he still didn't know what.
Either way he had a far busier day ahead of him, but first off, a meeting was due to take place at the Rathaus, a meeting he just realized he was going to be late for.
With no time to waste, he scarfed down his meal then ran back up to his room to grab on some slightly more presentable clothing before sprinting to the Rathaus until he entered the meeting room door suddenly, then immediately leaned over to take several deep breaths before looking up at everyone in the room, who were giving him varied looks.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," he began apologizing before he noticed where he was undoubtedly supposed to take a seat, which was with his team. "Bad morning…"
"Now that everyone necessary is here…" the familiar voice of Severin spoke up from the side representing the Gendarmerie, away from the council. "Let's begin the meeting, but first I believe the council would be prudent to speak on any confusion in the last couple days regarding the leadership of Wolumonde."
"R-Right…" one of the city councilmen nervously acknowledged before coughing into their sleeve and standing up. "The Wolumonde City Council, has decided to keep Schultz Severin in his current position, despite his newly discovered status as an infected. We agreed that changing leadership now is not appropriate, and we trust Schultz Severin's experience."
"Thank you," Severin said before taking the spotlight again. "As the council has just stated, I will remain in charge of the city, at least until the crisis is truly over. As it stands, we're still in a state of emergency, but that's why this meeting has been called. We will be discussing the logistics and plans for the further preservation of the city. Before we begin discussing logistics, I would like to announce that I have given the Mudrock Squad and any who still associate with them a pardon, as well as a stay of punishment for any who have surrendered and laid down their arms."
A few whispers from the council members were heard as Severin paused to allow everyone to take in what he said. Once silence set back in he continued.
"First, we'll get the logistics out of the way, then we will reconvene in the early afternoon to discuss the state of the Nomadic City Plate. Any questions?"
Once silence was his only answer, Severin sighed wearily then sat down and prepared for a long meeting that would take up the remainder of the morning. After that though, Evan decided that his best course of action would be to catch up on sleep and went to shut himself in his room for the remainder of his lunch period. Of course, he set timers on his phone to make sure he didn't miss anything important. He only managed to get an hour in before a knock on his door woke him up.
While the door had no way of showing him who was behind it, he was genuinely surprised to come eye to eye with the visage of Reed. Instinctively she darted her gaze away from his and at the same time he took notice that she was holding a paper bag with the unmistakable aroma of food in it.
"May I come in?" she asked softly.
"Sure, sorry for the mess though," he casually responded before moving out of her way. Reed stepped in and looked around briefly, before settling her gaze on his desk and walking over. She stood there for a while, and even picked up a piece of paper.
After she set it back where it was, she didn't turn as she asked lightly, "If it would suit you, I could assist you with organizing your papers."
"I…" Evan started before stopping to try and formulate a response. "I'm not sure, I don't really want to make any of you my secretary or anything…"
Reed picked up another paper and looked at his desk briefly before retorting, "I don't mind. I'm far more comfortable performing clerical work such as this." Soon, she began picking up similar papers and stuffing them with the one she found. She soon slowed down and asked, "Do you…find it strange?"
The question carried a little quiver, carrying with it her unease. Somehow though, there was a little cry for understanding past that, as though it was inviting him to see her in a more human light. A strange feeling he had been getting more and more used to as he spent time where he was.
"I don't enjoy fighting either, so I understand a little."
Reed looked back to him, slightly bewildered, but she soon turned her head away from his gaze again.
"Thank you. Truth be told…I much prefer writing…"
He really didn't know what Reed's deal was, but this newfound trust she seemed to have of him warmed his heart to an extent. Yes, it was ultimately a minor form of trust, but he felt it showed he was doing something right.
As the mild-mannered dragon finished clearing space for him to use the desk properly, she pulled out a sandwich from the bag and placed it on his desk. Afterwards, she stopped, staring at it for a while as she contemplated something. Seconds slowly ticked by before she finally found the courage to ask, "May I…ask your opinion on a matter?"
"Sure," Evan affirmed, curious as to what she wanted help with.
"I'm considering…apologizing to Bagpipe for my behavior earlier…"
Evan thought back to the interaction briefly before asking, "Are you sure you're up for it?"
"I was…" she started, squeezing her arm before sighing. "...caught off guard. I hadn't expected anyone I knew to be here."
"Are you sure? I don't exactly know what the history between you two is…"
"...We met at County Hillock…" Reed explained. When silence returned she looked at him, waiting for her to continue before she squeezed her arm harder and said with a quivering voice, "I-I'm sorry…I don't wish to revisit that day…"
"Are you sure it's something you want then?"
"...I don't know…" Reed almost whispered.
Evan thought for a moment, thinking about why Reed was asking him before answering, "If you just want to clear things up from when we first saw her, I think it's a good idea. Just don't force yourself."
"Thank you…" Reed almost muttered before turning back to him. As she looked at him, he could see a sad look in her eyes that he normally didn't see behind her regular poker face.
Then she left without a word, leaving behind a cleaner desk and a sandwich to accompany his thoughts.
The meeting on the nomadic capabilities was both uneventful and surprisingly short. This was really because until Rhodes Island probed the area with special equipment, they couldn't determine the state of the power plant, so the city remained dead on the ground. Then there was the fact that only Wolumonde's Gendarmerie had returned, nobody acting for Leithanien in any official capacity had come out to Wolumonde yet, and word from Leithanien had yet to arrive, but the returning Gendarmerie had assured it would arrive.
The best they could do was see if they could somehow repair the power plant, or wait for the Leithanien government to start the process of towing the plate. With most of the catastrophe moving or fizzing away and the aid sent by the CC Organization and Rhodes Island, things were at least stable. That didn't mean things were wholly easy or peaceful, but at the very least any problems that were popping up were being smashed down fast.
Before all of them could leave, however, Severin held back all those in the meeting who had been directly involved in the crisis, including Mudrock, to discuss something in private.
"Due to new information presented by the Mudrock Squad, we have determined that there were indeed five individuals from Mudrock's camp, and only two from Wolumonde…at this time, we don't know which of the presumed dead is still out there, or if they're even alive. Since Biederman is now confirmed dead, only one remains at large. I've already notified the Gendarmerie to keep a lookout for Eckehard, Kevin, and…my son, Thorwald. Due to your involvement, you all have a right to know."
"Thank you for listening," Mudrock thanked. Severin nodded in acknowledgement.
"So…where does that leave us?" Evan asked, a little concerned about what was just said.
"In the end, it's just a courtesy. It doesn't change anything yet," Severin explained in his usual flippant way.
Realizing that this was almost certainly all the old deer man had to say, Evan thanked him and they all parted ways. The words of Severin, however, weighed heavy on his mind. It didn't do much to disrupt his work, but it still sat there in the background of his thoughts. Ultimately, Severin was right. It changed nothing at the moment. They still had to supply and distribute aid along with the looming specter of diving into the powerplant.
And then there were the more secondary problems he had to or promised to nip in the bud.
Someone he regrettably would have to involve, was currently standing with an amazed, if a little slack jawed, gaze to the Mudrock colossi which had been made to now assist in transporting heavy loads across the area.
"Hello again," he casually said while walking up.
"Heya Evan," Bagpipe said rather blankly as she stared at the colossi. He walked to the side of her and looked at the expression on the vouivre's face. Her eyes were wide with wonder, but her brows seemed to knit itself in an uneasy way. Evan looked back at the colossus she was looking at and watched it carry a several ton load through the area, walking slowly which allowed people to maneuver around and away from it. He could kind of imagine her feelings in a way. Seeing the colossi for the first time was both awe inspiring, and dreadfully unnerving due to the nature of his first sighting. Bagpipe clearly knew he was there, since she pensively stated, "Incredible to think that Sarkaz Witchcraft allows for feats like this one…"
"Well it certainly was an intimidating sight when they appeared, but they aren't invincible, which helped a lot."
Bagpipe's head turned in some shock, "Wait, you fought these things?!"
"Me personally? No, I was too busy helping Suzuran control the gramophones."
"I see…" the former soldier acknowledged. After putting some of her thoughts at ease, she turned to him with a smile. "So, what'd ya need me for?"
Evan took a deep breath before flatly stating, "I was talking to Reed earlier, she seems to want to apologize to you for her reaction earlier."
Bagpipe blinked, slightly bewildered, before her smile returned, but clearly faltering as the rest of her face failed to match the expression. She seemed to catch herself and looked away before responding, "I see…thanks for lettin' me know..."
Feeling a little awkward due to not comprehending the situation, Evan decided to ask, "So…if you don't mind me asking, she said you met at County Hillock…but she refused to say anything further."
"Ah…" Bagpipe expressed before taking a deep breath herself, her smile fading as she thought about it. "It's true, we did meet there…durin' its destruction…"
Evan failed to find any words to respond, so he simply sounded, "Oh…"
"I'm surprised more people don't know…"
"Sorry, I'm…not really knowledgeable in current events here…but you don't have to talk about it, it sounds like a lot."
"No…I'm fine…" Bagpipe said before taking a deep breath. "The events of that day deserve to be told…"
Bagpipe turned her gaze to meet him again, a resolve glistening in her eyes as she steeled herself.
"As a Victorian soldier, I was assigned to a regiment known as the 2nd Tempest Platoon. We were sent to County Hillock to investigate who was stealin' from the supplies depot at the garrison. We also had a secondary objective to investigate the Spectre Force in the region, special operatives of a faction known as Dublinn who had been striking various countryside counties. What we didn't know was that Colonel Hamilton, the commander in charge of the garrison, was the one siphoning weapons-grade originium from the depot. He led us to believe it was the Spectre Force and the local Tarans. A right stubborn oaf he seemed at first, but the signs started to show when he refused to cooperate with the investigation and executed someone we caught red handed before they could be interrogated by the captain. We received a lead from an Honor Guard stationed there, Jane Willow, about a group of Taran aristocrats holdin' a meetin' possibly related to the Spectre Force. Using the invitation, we infiltrated the meetin'…only for Hamilton to show up so he could arrest and execute everyone there he could. That's when the Spectre Force attacked. Afterwards Hamilton would use the originium he had stolen to bomb the whole county…countless deaths followed and many survivors became infected…one of those survivors was Reed."
Evan couldn't even find words to respond with. Bagpipe had laid out a tragedy that would shake almost any nation to its core, but Bagpipe wasn't done.
"In the end, almost all of the Tempest Platoon died, leaving Captain Horn and I to deliver the message and complete our mission…after an ambush at the county's communications relay, I was the only one who escaped…and Dublinn used the tragedy to galvanize their rebellion. All of this happened about a few months since Kazdel's Military Commission and the Sarkaz Court began their occupation of Londinium…both of which are still happenin'…"
Evan hadn't read much about Victoria yet, but he had read enough to understand what Victoria's place on Terra had been. For the first time, he thought about Bagpipe's statement about her status as a Victorian soldier when they first met.
"Is it correct for me to guess that County Hillock was also when you became a 'former' soldier of Victoria?"
"Yeah, while trying to escape, I came across Jane again. Durin' the crisis, she had joined up with the Rhodes Island branch office to save as many people as they could…I was inspired to join them. While I see it as me fulfillin' my oath as a soldier of Victoria…I also know what I did constitutes desertion."
"If it's any consolation, I believe the decision to serve your country that way is the right one."
Bagpipe gave a warm smile to that and gave a proper salute. Afterwards, she stated, "I'll always be proud to have served my home."
In a moment led by a little playful cheekiness, Evan returned the salute. The gesture led to Bagpipe bursting out in laughter after briefly struggling to keep a somewhat straight face. He didn't hesitate to join in a little.
As twilight fell on the city once again, people gathered outside at the foot of the mountains. Many wore black clothes and carried candles. Everyone watched in silence as one by one, the bodies of the deceased were piled into a hastily dug mass grave. Each thud was a reminder of another soul lost to the senseless violence the catastrophe had brought upon them. No one was turned away, as per Severin's request. Some threw trinkets in, mementos to the loved ones that had lost their lives, to be buried deep within the earth. Whether it was to move on, forget, or a tool of bargaining, the ultimate message of goodbye was the same. No matter what one throws into the grave, the recipient will never return or reciprocate.
Yet, it brought some comfort to Evan when he saw Folinic throw in Atro's badge with the body of her friend. Some familiar with burial rites came and performed little ceremonies. Whether they were Leithanien, Winterwisp, Sarkaz, or even Higashinese, everyone played their part in giving one last goodbye to the departed.
The weight was not lost on Evan. He had been there, helping Suzuran and Folinic, and he had seen so much death in such a short time. Even then, somehow, he knew deep inside him that the overwhelming loss before him was only a drop in the larger bucket of what could have been and probably already was. He may not have had words to give or songs to sing, but he felt the overwhelming sorrow that filled his chest and the air around him.
As the hole was prepared to be filled, Suzuran shuffled beside him and he felt her tiny hand squeeze his. Gently, he squeezed it back as the mass grave was steadily and carefully filled. Quiet sobs sounded through the silence, and the sorrow in everyone's chest grew as though the dirt filled their hearts as well.
Those who had defended the city in its time of need may have had no regrets to their actions, but the loss still overwhelmed any feelings of pride. As the mound of dirt continued to pile, so too did the volume of a few sobs.
Once the hole was filled, a moment of silence was called for. Deep down, everyone knew that the deaths would inevitably increase as more succumbed to various little issues. Infection, wounds, personal fighting, and many other methods would undoubtedly lead to more, but everyone could feel a sense of bittersweet catharsis in the fact that most of the dead had hopefully just been buried.
For the first time since coming to Terra, Evan finally realized something.
No matter which world, the human condition remains the same.
Author's Note
Seriously, thank you all for the congratulations, welcome backs, the support, and everything else.
Personally, I'm still figuring things out with my life, but I feel like I'm moving in the right direction. Anyways, as a note to what's to come, and maybe to stamp out any confusion I'll state one thing first.
The in universe year here is...1096. While yes I have moved a few events around, I do have a reason for this. Theresis still occupies Londinium towards the end of 1094. If you haven't noticed, I've moved County Hillock close to that time. This is for a very specific change: Once Londinium was taken over, much of the Victorian Dukes' attention shifted to it, and that's when Dublinn would begin mobilizing. Eblana decides that the time is right and makes preparations in County Hillock in order to orchestrate a tragedy to galvanize Tarans across Victoria and openly start her rebellion. I did this because it makes sense, while the Dukes and everyone else is distracted in the capital, that would be the perfect time to strike the countryside.
The other change in Hillock County is more minor, but part of it has already been revealed. I will add, just for the sake of keeping things consistent. Horn and Bagpipe managed to use the comm towers before being ambushed. With the mission a success, Horn in this telling ordered Bagpipe to flee and live, before making what should have been a valiant last stand. Until a certain war criminal feline took her prisoner.
I keep saying this, but this story really has no true roadmap. Some of the stops and destinations remain the same, but for the most part this is really up to my discretion what gets shuffled around.
Thanks to all of you for the support and understanding on this long journey, see you when I get the next chapter made.