"Mono/Dialogue"
'Inner thoughts'
Narration
[Message/communication apparatus]
Date: November 1091
Location: Somewhere in the Northern Kazimierz – Western Ursus Border.
POV: Narrator
“Bst it…” Koltynz croaked through his failing lungs and gasping throat. He looked around him to see the devastation wrought about beforehand. Mercenaries and his aspiring retinues are id broken on the ground, death seeps through the earth and drenches it with fresh blood. Vehicles and shattered supporting elements dotted the road along the valley.
They are not just defeated, they are wiped out without so much of a chance to retaliate.
Ursus soldiers, not bearing the mark of the Empire are busy gathering the corpses to be then buried with an Originium shard in the hope to be used as fuel and resources. Ursus must be creative and when it comes to war some of their facets are still verily enviable by its many neighbors.
Such as now, using the guise of total communication bck out and some trickery employed to confuse Kazimierzian lookout, a detachment of disavowed soldier posing as bandit had ambushed an Adeptus’ splinter faction on their march. Their movements were much more refined with having only a single front to contend with.
A group mostly armed with swords and shields did little against their foes combined might and modern equipment. They came crashing down the valley under the staccato of mortar rounds, ballista bolts, and war cry that tore the night alight with fury. Koltynz was managing well, but it took a single well pced hit to incapacitate him.
He watched every minutia of details as his men, adventurous but untested, being felled like barleys of wheat beneath a sweeping scythe, he is infuriated that they’re nothing more than wild grasses. His group is certainly trained, but their rigid regimental adherence failed them against foe that cared little of unspoken knightly conduct and battle of chivalrous nature.
“Cowards… surprise attack… Tch… rot in hell…” He succumbed to his wound not long after. The young campaign knight’s mettle was tested in his first battle, and he was found cking by none other than fate itself.
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“This is Monique… we found the Ursus encampment.” The blue-haired Feline whispered into her communication channel. She y on the ground and was covered by heavy netting, her bows just a reach from her right in case the situation called for it.
Her mission wasn’t unique. Border incursion and reconnaissance has been a frequent situation even in peacetime. It is possible partly due to fluid border and simple dirty works needing to be taken care of from time to time.
She is not alone for obvious reasons. At least half a dozen camoufged Armorless Assassins are spread and hidden amongst vegetation, hills, and even close to a cluster of Originium; much to the displeasure of that one stationed there.
[Good, keep on monitoring them. Make sure that no one slips past your network. Engagement is ill-advised.]
The Feline marveled at the sheer disparity of Ursus’s armed forces compared to what she had on hand. She realized that no matter how hard she tried to separate herself from the past, Victoria’s might have been ingrained into her bones. She can snipe people at her leisure and when things turn to shit, Victorian Artillery Corps are just a dial away from her.
A shame, too many things she disliked of that horrid Empire made her leave. Just because she is a commoner and the like. Not to mention the many harassments that often, almost, devolve into sexual ones. She shakes her head to banish those memories.
“Is it really important, boss? The work on your side, I mean.” Her eyes darted at a group of rotorcrafts crisscrossed the borders with drones as their sentries or companions. The situation looks bad, but it is manageable to an extent.
[Do you like holding onto debts?] Monique shut up but growled at her boss's point-bnk words.
‘Ugh… never again… Better work for people who see me as useful for what I am than some noble crybabies…’
“… Understood, I’ll keep watch on them.” She grumbled and cut her communication link. If it comes to the worst scenario, she will be thrust into an even greater conflict. She cannot do anything other than curse her luck, and being an Armorless Assassin doesn’t come with any retirement pn.
Her watch was intermingled with keeping coordination as well as monitoring the way her men began infiltrating the camp. They are assassins so might as well act like one and just K.G.C.C.’s convenient p dog.
One particur report roused her from her concentration not long afterward.
[Ma’am, we found them.] One of her men highlighted using a translucent device towards an area several kilometers away. She pivots her magnified scope and sees them, Adeptus’ rangers with simir ideas.
“Affirm, keep an eye on but don’t trip them, we are ostensibly allied.” The blue-haired Feline wanted to scoff. ‘Ally’ yeah, their ally was unreliable. Monique had personally observed that Kol-something guy having his men butchered. From what papers she was given about that pompous idiot suggest, he is Roy when he tried to get in her pants but ten times more useless.
[Wilco.] Their transmission was cut as a gush of wind ruffled her netting due to a passing rotorcraft. Smaller and more agile, but no less intimidating when armed with Originium rockets.
She waited for hours and there has yet to be sign of anything happening at all. She is getting bored, and her old Victorian discipline lingered for her to focus, but she is not part of them anymore. Getting a bit interested in how her men operate, Monique tapped through her localized comms, just being silent irks her to no end so might as well listen to her men.
As expected, they’re chatting in hushed tones.
[Men and materiel are being amassed along the western border. This time they must have learned to not make a full-pronged invasion along the border…]
[Possibly a general pn of theirs is to begin offensive towards Kawalerielki by spring and pining on hope Kazimierz won’t be capable enough to resist Ursus’s army. What truly becomes the sight for sore eyes would be the Landbattleships… Man, if only those hardheaded nobles finally see reasons…]
[I heard that the Grey Serpent had been influencing reforms, but yeah it is so goddamn slow. We will probably lose at this rate.]
[Makes you wonder if K.G.C.C. can pull more money out of their asses to commission old warships from Victoria? I mean, even if they’re inferior it will be miles better than whatever Ursus had pulled out of their tundra.] The mention of Victoria made her brows twitch.
[They might be inferior to those the Victorians could build, but these would be more than sufficient to trample through this gging nation. Then you forgot how they can mass produce weapons for war is no joke. Not on the quality of Victoria, but on the robustness and cheapness of Ursus.] Don’t be mistaken, she understands their logic. She just found Victoria’s reminder distasteful.
‘No, judging on this nation’s endless bickering, Ursus will fight an even weaker foe made up of mercenaries and cutthroats on a good day. The war will be an easy one according to them, and they just need to wait until the initial part of the Civil War ends.’ Monique mused as she was getting fed up hearing it and tuned out, not before reprimanding her rather undisciplined unit.
“Use your comms as intended, not idle chatter. You cross me one more time and I’ll ensure an arrow was rammed down your throats.” The Feline didn’t bother to hear their reply, her temper back in the army hadn’t waned much. She sighed while rubbing her temple. Reliable manpower has been hard to come by, and Darksteel had been hoarding a few with them.
‘Where did Darksteel send them to any way?’ She refocuses back on her target. Soldiers bearing the double-headed eagle patch walked and patrolled the empty nd now a staging ground for the battle ahead. Near them would be a series of tents within a highly organized encampment and motor pool.
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The war on Terra has been a very taxing and rigid endeavor, but the understanding of speed on maneuver warfare soon dominated many armchair generals’ mind. Rigid line battles had long since falling out of favor ever since the first Catastrophe, but it was used from time to time.
Prime example was the Victorian Steam Knights. They were once meant to trudge slowly along the battlefield, now those fabled soldiers can take to the sky briefly and rain down deadly Arts missiles or projectiles. There were anecdotes on how they subdued smaller ndwarships by themselves.
Many nations tried to replicate their industrial prowess, but only Yan found some sembnce of success in doing so. Columbia? An exception because some deemed them to be Victoria’s rebellious province.
Theories on war in Ursus was made clearer by the mistake of downpying Kazimierz’ speed and maneuver that cost these nds to be slipping from their grasp. Many Ursine notably resented the defeat, Northern Kazimierz had been instrumental in alleviating the food crisis back in 1060s, and many owed their lives from it.
Everything so far had been a simple idea of survival. Then, Nobles and those with business interest came into py, thus the war was muddier than intended. Some say the war happened because Kazimierz refused to trade for much needed food, some say that the war happened simply for the hell of it; a vainglorius idea that has been denied, but no one truly knows for sure.
Regardless of what justification and truths on the field, effective use of propaganda and reminder of a much better time before the so-called ‘timid’ Emperor who is rgely seen as a weak puppet with radical but powerless ideas.
It doesn’t help that news of Kazimierz’s increasingly… patable… treatment of infected is a particur thorn in Ursus’ design on keeping the popution under their grip. With an excuse of keeping the Land of Knights from becoming another Leithanien or Columbia, putting them as a front for easy recruitment of capable Arts maniputors as their first line of defense.
Paranoia, greed, and thirst for glory made the Double-Headed Eagle with the Inverted Star of the Empire of Ursus be raised for a glorious war. This is a justified move in their minds because not only will it avenge their humiliation but it to send a message that the Infected, and political opponents, will have no pce to run.
Men and women that has been trudging through the tundra is preparing for the upcoming civil war in Kazimierz. Words between Warhawk nobles had cmored on that vengeance upon their defeat is close at hand.
Emperor Fyodor is very much reticent on this development, and thus a pn was concocted to make it more legitimate to conduct an invasion. As proud as they are, the war must go through the preset stage. Even if something happened to Margaret, her supporters would be outraged and guarantee a war. Of course, that’s the ideal scenario.
From there, it will be a political one. Ursus and Columbia will no doubt be eager to back Kazimierz, but not without exacting some sort of compensation. Leithania is guaranteed to follow the Land of Knights, otherwise, they could be next on the crosshair and they already have enough problems as is.
There will be no Higashi this time around, and there will be more to gain with retively little to lose. All they need to do is bide their time.
Ursus doesn’t even have to actually cim too much nd, just a quick lightning war should suffice to pave way for a ‘much better’ Emperor… at least those are what the clueless observers think.
Amidst all this preparation, the old Lieutenant General watch as his ‘colleagues’ bickered with one another on how and who shall proceed as the spear tip of the intervention. He looked on with disdain as the new 6th Army is made up of differing Warhawks ckeys, still…
‘Everything is going just as pnned…’ Nobles thirsting for war and glory with their egos will always be inseparable and insufferable, it seems. Nobles pyed realpolitik to eliminate potential haven for those they found undesirable. Nobles who are sane but powerless to do much can only reluctantly move. Nobles of many qualities are present, but when a foreign army is marching as one, they’re all complicit.
‘Emperor… please forgive me… May you pave the way to a grander future not dyed in blood.’
Ursus’s camp is alive with preparation and eagerness to set the record straight, a general mood of those assured of victory. With luck, they can perhaps do what they had once inflicted upon the Gaulish Empire. Keep some mobile cities, cripple the knights, and slowly encroach on their soil.
Aside from the obvious congregation of men, three figures draped in all bck accompanied the army but out of view. Their respiratory mask, tall statures, and darkened wisp of snowfkes raging outside the hull are enough to expin to onlookers who they are and what they are, if they can get a clear view on them.
Emperors Bdes, quite a vish preparation to dispatch more than one in the potential opening conflict. They merely stayed inside their separated mobile instaltion, a heavily armored ndbattleship to deter unwanted riff-raffs from straying too close to confgration unknowingly. Their room is both a meditation chamber and their cell.
One of them stirred from its silence and walked towards a device. They entered a set of codes before receiving a call from the other side. The device was mimicked by Columbia with their enviable advancement in electronics and Originium technology, but the Bde in question is unimpressed for such flimsy equipment.
They don’t need army behind their backs to march forth, they simply does and trounce all and every opponent in the way… Mostly, anyway.
“What is your bidding?”
[An intriguing development had occurred at the Grey Serpent’s cherished hometown.] All the Emperor’s Bdes knuckles clenched hard hearing that name; the Grey Serpent. One of theirs was quite frankly humiliated and if not for that loathsome Feline, their honor will stay untarnished in this era they deemed full of weakness. They had looked down on everyone incapable of finishing their task anything less than sublime… now they’re part of them… Raging bckish miasma seeps through the armor, but soon they rein their temper.
[My men had reported how an unknown actor had pyed the part in dousing the earth with blood. I want you to investigate the location and perhaps gain further insight into the matter. Then, I want this particur individual to be captured.] The device lights up to show a photo of none other than Lina Nyxelia.
Unlike with the faulty and misleading one being spread publically, this one is accurate and complete with a full 3 dimensional model. The Emperor’s Bde take into account all of her features, and they think it will be of no problem.
They listened every details fiven as their comrades began stocking up on equipment and supplies. With how poorly defended the border has become, it will be a child’s py for a small elite infiltration unit to penetrate undetected.
“Understood, we shall begin our infiltration.”
[Good, as usual, eliminate those deemed unnecessary in a ghastly manner. The war while not all that important to me, is still a war worth fighting for. Ursus’ dream and strength can and will be rejuvenated through war.] The communication was cut, and the three figures headed towards a secret exit point beneath the nd battleship’s hull.
Sounds of boots trudging on past the border heralding that the time is nigh to prove how Ursus’s new golden age is ripe for the taking.
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“Get the wounded treated! Open the reserve medical storage, don’t dawdle too long! Keep away from the field while we sweep the area from hostiles!” Liam barked command after command, he hardened his heart at the sight of the devastation wrought so quickly and swiftly. His brothers and sisters-in-arms could be seen helping move over debris and depositing Originium contaminants away from the vilgers.
The park boulevard had been turned into makeshift tent for medical. Hundreds are wounded with varying level of injury. No one stands idle, they could not afford to let more tragedy to befall them. Jan is probably the busiest among them, he feels responsible and wrecked by guilt for this massive disaster. He doesn’t even expect any sort of forgiveness from Nyx, and he doesn’t care about that.
Children who lost their parents can only sit still in numbed silence, weeping in horror, shouting in helpless anger, or mostly left there with their gazes hollow as corpses are id side by side with many others. They wondered just how could this happen. One moment they are spending time frolicking by the meadows, the next they see the world they always knew burn.
Some had been told about the war and tragedy that had once befallen this vilge, but seeing it firsthand can never be made justice. This is hell on earth and there is none they can do other than accept it, no matter how long and painful it will take until their hearts accept it.
Normally, Lina and Immanuel will be the first to offer help and assurance each time tragedy strikes, but they are absent. No one knows where they had gone off to, but other than saying that Nyx had needed them. Yes… Nyx… It was unthinkable to the younger popuce; how someone they deemed a perfect guardian requires help.
Those older however, they know that some things cannot be solved with mere contest, especially when it concern strength of arms. For all her mighty preposition and galntry, she is just one person in the sea of many possibilities. She cannot protect them every time, and this incident solidified more of that idea.
Without Nyx’s selfless dedication to keeping them safe and protected as best as she could, more would have been dead, more tales of children being orphaned, and perhaps added another yer in a growing motivation for the vilge to relocate. Everything about it stings, but sometimes you can do everything right and as pnned to utter fwlessness but life decides that you cannot succeed.
Men and women grow mencholic at this reaffirmation; of their perceived weakness against whimsical fate. They wonder just how devastated will she be. Nyx had spent so much to keep the vilge safe, but it appears when fate deemed it so, there’s little they can do but grit their teeth and survive through it.
[Sir Liam, we got someone coming out from the woods… he wears some kind of emblem I do not recognize. The man is standing at the edge of the vilge… What are your orders, Sir?” Liam’s eyes sharpened and a guttural snarl bled through his throat.
“Keep your sights on him, I’ll be there shortly. If he tries to do anything suspicious, take the shot.” The Silvernce Captain dons his helm and orders his second-in-command to take his pce as he walks past the grieving and wounded vilgers. They paid no mind to him, too preoccupied with ensuring no more shall die today.
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The short walk ended when he noticed a Lazurite smiling and waving at him. The gesture irks him, but if the notorious Knight Assassins are willing to show themselves so openly. He just wishes that they better have a good reason.
“Good evening there my good sir-”
“I know your kind so out with it assassin, do not try my patience. The only reason I refrained from cutting you down immediately was Nyx’s tales about your organization with us. Her understanding aside, you’re an enemy to us and will always be. Once again, out with it.”
“Of course, she will… oh well, I come in peace, and for the record, we are not responsible for this madness. Our organization gained nothing from this whole debacle other than the Grey Serpent’s eternal contempt. Believe me, we are not that suicidal. By the way, my name is Roy, who do I have the pleasure of speaking to?” Liam said nothing and Roy could feel how the man exuded the purest of contempt to his existence.
“Ok, ok, jeez… just forget about that, I’m just here to inform you that Ursus' encampment had been detected not far from the border. We don’t know when they will move, but they will if given the chance.” Roy motioned his hands towards the vilge over the yonder, battered but still standing.
“I read about that certain papers Miss Nyx had disseminated about catastrophe. It argued that high concentrations in the air can cause just that. Shouldn’t you do anything about that before giving me death threats?” Again, Liam’s silence is deafening. Roy hides his trepidation beneath his mask.
“No need to be so hostile, especially not now. We got real enemies beyond our border, and I suggest you start evacuation instead.” Roy leaned on the nearby tree, his expression a bit pensive and Liam never let his vision detach from the Lazurite.
“I don’t need a heartless and honorless cur to lecture me about propriety. I’ll reiterate this, your kindness is unacceptable here. Leave now or would you prefer a homecoming inside a casket?” Liam annoyance and hostility mounted as his arts fred alive.
Roy said nothing but his hand had been gripping the knife on his back tightly. The situation between them deteriorates rapidly. The Silvernce’s Captain was about to forcefully remove this intruder if not for snow beginning to fall around them. Soon after that, Cordelian hovercraft arrived passing above them.
Not to be outdone, a convoy of battered vehicle but also some newer ones had arrived. Roy raised his brows, he wasn’t informed about any of this, and he is smart enough to realize that. He will let Darksteel handles what happens next as usual, he is just doing his job and this is clearly above his paygrade.
“Well that’s my cue, but I must say it again, we have nothing to do with this tragedy. If you wish to confirm it with Miss Nyx, then go ahead. Her answer will be the same, and I suggest you hurry. Ursus rarely act merciful should they sense weakness.”
“Your insolence has been noted, now remove yourself.” Roy shakes his head helplessly at Liam’s unfettered hostility and he walks back into the darkened forest. His silhouette melts with the chilling wind and snowy wisp.
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“Come on… we’re almost there…” A girl uttered on a ndship’s bridge or perhaps more aptly put a mobile city. Her gaze had been pining for a vilge far in the wilderness, and the news of what had befallen it rocked her to the core.
Around her are busy and industrious personnel doing their task in traversing through the treacherous cavernous terrain, a most unusual pce for the nds to traverse but it will make do. Her mind whirled to a few hours ago, a moment where her perception of what she knows has been proven to be hideously inaccurate.
Fshback
Location: ???
“Grandpa… I still can’t believe that all of it is real… Mama outdone herself this time around." Lina uttered breathlessly as she took in the sight in front of her. A towering engineering miracle and marvel of civilization's endless ingenuity in the face of total colpse. Made of steel, concrete, ferrocrete, and even rarer materials that will cost more than her small business could ever hope to pay.
“No my dear, we are looking at the same thing. A mobile city in its infancy.” The Old Sankta’s eyes flicked from one point to the other as he watched over vehicles jolts from friction and bumpy roads. He takes in the sight as workers from all over the nd are working tirelessly to make the mobile city and refurbish it.
“I cannot believe that they managed to build a mobile city so quickly.”
“No, I do not believe they built it from scratch.” Lina curiously looks at him.
“How so?”
“Being expensive is obvious, but if it was so easy, there would have been dozens of new ones popping out of the ground each year. Smaller mobile instaltion for a mining ptform I can understand… but this one?” His hand motioned over the ndship.
“This is a small settlement, fit for thousands of people.”
“Where do you think they found the blueprint for it?” Immanuel scoffed with a smile. Yeah right, surely Columbia will give it to either Cordelia or Nyx… as if…
“Blueprint? Hah, no, I suspect that they don’t have any workable temptes… they instead have an intact ndship rusting out of view and then they build more over it. I have seen my fair share of wonder, a few times about mobile cities and their many maises.”
He compares the many older looking parts with the modules being built on top of them. It almost feels like building a jigsaw, but they have only one chance to choose on which section goes where and why. This manner of building would have been disastrous from safety standpoint, but there are times where an exception could be made.
“I see… so you suspect a forgotten ndship left to rot underground was the cause for this windfall? How could Mama find it? I doubt she is so lucky to find one on her merry outing…” Her expression turns sour. She hated how the media and public were mocking her mother. If they can choose one side, that is at least respectable.
Their flip-flopping nature irks her to no end.
“I suppose I found one of the reasons why she refrained from complete violence… we had held her back. She accedes to her humiliation simply because she doesn’t care about herself… Everything was always about us, she came second or third or whatever position she thought she deserved.” Lina spat her distaste.
“That may be so, but such is the stress of city life. People are concerned about many things, and I must say that your contempt is one of them. It is a never-ending cycle. You can end svery, you can end the age of inequality, and you might be able to cure Oripathy but the result is the same.” He stopped before chuckling, remembering a profound idea his daughter had said.
“Put three people in a room, and two opposing factions shall form. The third man becomes the third party that can pivot and tilt… hmm… everything…” That st line struck him as interesting when coupled with the view here.
Durins with their superior construction expertise stops at nothing in ensuring the mobile city shall be capable of withstanding artillery strikes. Victorian and Leithanien are arguing on how to bance look and functionality. Several Sarkaz are seen on a heated debate with its Cordelian counterpart, primarily those coming from Siracusa and Columbia, on how to manage security.
“… Hmm…” Curiously, the Retired Executor spots those with blood marks on their neck, a type of archaic bond that had bound people. A bloodmark is no simple tattoo but a price of freedom that is as sacred to even the older tribes of Sargon hailing back to the time of Padishah Lugalzargus. He sees no less than three or four hundred of them as many more worked.
Their unkempt and messy attire aside, he looked at them as shackled and dangerous men or women paying for a chance at freedom. It worries him at how many people does Nyx had grown to know over the years.
‘I’m too old to keep pying all these mind games… I hope Nyx knows what she is doing.’
“Still, it is very bold to begin construction underground. So many things could have gone wrong…” Craning his head upward, he can see it. A closed opening on the ceiling, covered by darkness and camoufged from view before being closed off by a gate.
“Yeah…” She recalled how Cordelian; or her mother’s to be accurate, hovercraft had been using it as an entry point for supply runs. It has been a few days since she departed from Wdirosa, and being underground made communication difficult. Not like she has much of a choice on the matter, this pce has been erected for years.
Of course, there are Wdirosan present to help with building project. They are being primarily tasked with designing and advising the workers to make the living space inside according to Wdirosan and Cordelian interest. It is amusing that such a convoluted scheme has been hatched by Nyx.
“By the way, how is it with your dreams? Your mother had suffered such a dream as well… but did you see anything… disturbing?” He spoke with clear concern and imagined his exasperation that his granddaughter also developed the need to bury her trauma like her mother. After a little bit of coaxing, she relented.
“It has been going fine so far… but… yes… I saw that same killing ground with Mama at the center… she is cradling someone… or is it the other way around…? I’m sorry… I cannot recall.”
“That is fine, but always tell me your concern. The st thing I want is to see you trying to toughen yourself for no reason. Your mother had learned to lean upon others' help, you should too. If that’s too hard… you still have me.” He smiled reassuringly.
“Thank you, grandpa.” Lina’s breathing was much softer and gentle while her gaze pointed towards the hovercraft her mama came with that day, it pains her that… She doesn’t really know who she is. This pce looks like a haven, a small sanctuary her mother achieved painstakingly.
“Where is Mama? She promised us that she would be here…” His granddaughter mused. When she found that letter slipped behind their family photo, Lina never expected to come face-to-face with such a marvelous and costly construct. Nyx had given her a pair of bnk art paper, but Lina understood what needed to be done.
She brought it to her Grandfather and they each infused their arts into it. An invisible message had surfaced about the existence of this project.
That letter was delivered before Nyx incarceration and apparently the spy responsible for the vilge safety has been given the go ahead to tell them this project, cssic Grey Serpent with her redundancy. Nyx also gave rights to command of the project to either Immanuel or Lina to activate it should the need arise. Otherwise Nyx plead them to help with construction and supervise in her absence.
“While I wish than nothing more than to believe that Nyx knows what she is doing, that stupid, earnest, determined, and hardheaded daughter of mine often got dragged into problems she shouldn’t have… I feel it too, she was desperate… but desperate on what?” His gaze turned around as orphans and their caretakers milling about in a makeshift house. The foundation is solid, and he had ensured that no Originium veins are currently active that shall impede the construction effort.
“Unfortunately, it is unfinished.” He mused and pointed at the instaltions and facilities that have been made and orders could be given to move it out of its subterranean factory. The cave is rge enough to allow the mobile city to surface if it comes down to it.
A subordinate of his daughter approached them.
“Father Immanuel, Sir Adenaver has returned. He brought ill news.” The uniformed dy motioned with her hand towards a convoy of vehicles… well, a lot of them has been seeing a better day, a few is also absent. The rgest truck is bore the most scars; battered with damages done by heavy weaponry and Arts equipment. Immanuel furrowed his brows, those vehicles barely held themselves together.
Once they came to a stop, the Kuranta and Sankta walked towards a man in a suit that had just disembarked from the rgest truck. Or what appears to be a man, as his body is all metal and his face cks fleshy structure.
“I take it there was no problem in my absence? And for the record, we have not suffered fatalities, I just send a few of vehicles back. Something had really gone wrong.” The man spoken in between stilted and ft intonation, but Immanuel sensed the mirth in his voice. He offer the Sankta a handshake.
“That is so, Mr. Adenaver, but can you expin what you mean by-” He raised his robotic arms.
“I understand, Wdirosa has been attacked. I received this message just as I entered the secret passage. There was also report how one of our patrol engaged a fake group of knights in a tunnel leading to one of our staging point.” Lina face morphed into fear. The memory of that war start repying in her mind again, she staggered on her feet before a PMC held her and call for medic.
“What? No one should have known about that passage! Didn’t I order it to be closed?” He pressed for information. Everyone within earshot listened silently, no one dared to say anything. Immanuel was the one most disturbed by the news. He shouldn’t have left the vilge after all. Unfortunately, there is no time to fret about what-ifs.
“Did Ursus finally make their move?” The snow-haired Kuranta uttered fearfully. Lina’s body is assailed by tremor due to her many unwanted memory. Especially those coming from 1072.
“Ursus had yet to move, our intelligence network is still silent. Our colborators assured us that everything is under control, but I cannot truly ascertain that they will keep their word.”
“Well, what are we waiting for? The hovercraft has always been on standby.”
“I-I’ll come with-“
“No, you stay here and keep watch on the process, began surfacing. Mobile cities are always meant to be built on the go once its foundation is solid.” Adenaver nodded at Immanuel words.
“That is precisely so. Our deals with an enigmatic personage from Babel had taught us that it is possible to conduct refit on the go.” They start walking towards the VTOL which is restarting its engine. A soft hum of its awakening truly gained everyone’s attention, it has been an unspoken code that every time it left the cave indicated a development that could not be ignored.
“Babel… I heard that was where she conducted her business with the King and her retainers. That was also the day I noticed a peculiar change in my daughter’s psyche.”
“Quite so, but I’m afraid our discussion is not for public ears and I have feelings Lady Nyx will give you the answer.”
“I can only hope so. I never wanted to push her past she is willing to share. But enough of that…” His eyes flicked his way.
“Is it wise to surface so quickly? I’m grateful for Cordelia’s willingness, but isn’t it hasty?”
“There will be little reason to have a city without inhabitants, and even more so if it failed its purpose…” Immanuel refrained from answering.
“You should have little cause for concern about the legalese on how Wdirosan is now… associates of Cordelia. We just have to move the timetable a little.” Adenaver boarded before him, and he ordered his men to start telling everyone involved to pack.
Lina watched them leave with several full-armed PMCs following them. Her hands csped tight in prayers, and her fellow Wdirosans follow suit. They could do nothing but watch and deep down they know there is not much they can offer other than a wish for everything to unfold safely.
‘Please, be safe… I don’t want to see her standing as our home is in ruins… not again…’
End of Fshback
The silvery-snow-haired Kuranta is back in the present. She had ordered the ship to march at full speed, and soon they would surface yet before they did, she had many things to do. Namely, the ndship’s integrity itself. Lina never experienced being a leader at such a rge scale, but Immanuel had taught her the essentials to at least understand human nature. What matters the most would be to project an air of calm since a figurehead is still a leader with a voice.
Thus she applied what knowledge she had gleaned from her mother and the vast wisdom she gained from her grandfather’s expert teaching. She divides the avaible manpower to produce and use thin metal sheets to cover the wounds.
It will be insufficient to withstand military grade weaponry, but an air of illusion and deceits are much better than an obvious gaping hole. Soon every nooks and crannies for walls and modules are cleverly being obfuscated from unwanted attention. The defensive cannons has been installed but the power source is unreliable so it must be utilized sparingly.
Lina soon forms a flexible outlying patrol reminiscent of how she watches Jan organizing militias. Of course, she was also helped by an archaic artificial intelligence currently responsible for keeping a 24/7 watch on the many corridors. Infiltration on a moving ndship is always possible, and she is not keen to make a mistake like that. All it would take to stop this mobile city is just one good hit at the city core, of which she doesn’t know its exact location.
She also takes counsel from Cordelian personnel onboard very seriously. Perhaps because of her background or a positive expectation (from certain someone), her orders were rarely challenged. Even if it did she quickly reincorporates them as best as she can. After combining their ideas, the ndship now has 4 perimeters of defense with the outermost being guarded by sentries on bikes.
There is one critical fw, this mobile city ck defensive cannon. They have one on each sides, but that’s it. Most of the defenses are handled with simir sentry turrets that were installed in Wdirosa, she just hopes that none of these measures were needed.
“Mama, don’t worry you can count on us.” Lina clenched the railing tight. Unknowingly to her and everyone on board, her hair glowed a resplendent shade of ptinum…
END OF CHAPTER]
Author’s Note:
Yo there, this is me, myself, and I, the author who is
Here we see that the situation looks bad… but was it?
Also who is that robotic fel? Well… Nyx has a lot of exosuits… and try to remember who can also access them, hmm?
Second and st update this month, handling 2 stories are hard but it is kinda fulfilling in a way.
Ciao.
