Serial
90: Moment’s reprieve
March 22nd, 33 S.D. 08:47 Binfort, Henron
Losha made her way down a flight of stairs, slowly yet evenly as she pressed her hand to the wall. Her Wolf of War pelt hung loosely around her head, shifting with every other step. Easing herself onto the first floor, she looked around, listening to the voices floating in the distance. Things had calmed down now. No more shouting, no more gun or cannon-fire, no more steel upon steel. The energy of the battle had evaporated, and now a tenuous calm spread over Binfort. This fight had been won, but the day’s conflict had yet to truly begin. Concerned with the status of her comrades, Losha tracked down their seras frequencies. As she passed by Henron rebels, many snapped to attention and saluted her.
“Wolf!”
“Thank you, Wolf!”
“We owe you greatly!”
She remained puzzled, since she hadn’t actually done much to defend Binfort, at least she thought so. Her objective had been the batteries, and she’d spent most of her time dealing with Koter rather than the other loyalists. Nevertheless, Losha smiled and nodded kindly at her allies. Winding down a hall, she came across a room where one wall had been ripped away by Govan’s serasword. Here, sitting among the debris of stone and mortar was WOLFWIND. Yega looked to be alright, though he had a large black eye. Faima’s forehead was stained with blood. Tami rested with both legs spread out; a bandage covered one of his thighs, though bits of red bled through.
“Glad to see everyone is alive,” Losha said upon entering. They all looked up eagerly at her, as if relieved by her presence.
“Losha!” Yega said excitedly, standing up.
“Let us sit down, sa? I think we are all a bit due for a break.” She took a seat on a large chunk that had evidently fallen from the ceiling. “Are you guys alright? How did you fare?”
“We fought Govan’s soldiers off. At least the ones that wanted to fight anyway,” Yega explained.
“What do you mean?” she asked.
“When they heard you were here, they panicked and morale got low. A large amount abandoned the assault and went back to Govan’s main forces.”
“Once they saw all of those lights coming from the lab’s storage, they were practically scared witless,” Tami spoke up hoarsely before coughing. “Even when that force-field of yours died, you know, that one holding all of those soldiers at the breach, those guys just surrendered. The Range Lead in charge here has them in custody.”
“Sa... I am fairly low on seras. I could not maintain the barrier anymore. It was good no one was hurt as a result.”
“What were you doing up there?” Faima asked. “Things got real noisy, and you look winded.”
“I will talk about that in a moment; Govan will not have any batteries, needless to say. Right now, however, I am more concerned with you all,” Losha said. “Yega, Faima, what happened to your faces? And Tami, your leg?”
Faima leaned back and laughed briefly. “Hey, commander, you got nothing to worry about; this blood does not belong to me.”
“Sa, you should have seen her!” Yega exclaimed. “She was, well, like beast-mode out there!” Faima scowled at the unsettling compliment, but she didn’t deny it. Yega never clarified what went wrong with his eye, however.
“I did what I had to do to save both of your asses.”
“No one is complaining, Faima,” Yega said, holding up his hands. “You were brilliant, really.”
“Ksh...”
“Tami?” Losha asked. Tami cleared his throat, tilting his head back as he winced.
“Shrapnel from one of their grenades. Nothing we could not pull out, but it left a lot of pain. You know, we do not fight in these plains like we used to. Years ago, it was all swords, shield, and arrows. Now we have handheld bombs, guns, and serialization too...” He glanced at Losha but frowned, quickly turning aside. “Sorry. I know how you feel about this war and your art. I guess this leg is making my tongue a bit careless.”
“Do not apologize,” Losha replied. “Here, let me try to heal you.” She got up a bit, reaching out to him, however, he caught her by the wrist.
“No,” Tami said.
“Just a little, to get rid of the-”
“Save it. You said you were low on seras, right? Sa, you need every bit you can get. You still have to deal with him.”
Losha looked at his hand, sighing as she withdrew her own. “Sa,” she simply said.
“So, what went on upstairs? What was that all about?” Yega wondered.
“Koter the Velhast Hound, a member of TRIBLADE, attacked me. He was sent to retrieve the batteries, but those were destroyed in our fight. We battled with each other almost evenly. He had knives made from serastone; those did quite a bit of damage. He managed to escape, but unfortunately we still face a most significant problem.”
“What is it?” Tami coughed again as everyone leaned towards her. “What is wrong?”
“When Koter and I squared off, he did not use batteries to activate his serastone. He did something else, used his own seras... Just like that, the serastone unleashed its power. Koter said it was the true means of activation. If what he said then is true, Govan does not need anything to continue using his sword. He can wield it indefinitely.”
“Wait, what exactly are you saying? That this whole operation...” Faima trailed off.
“It may have been a stall tactic on their part,” Losha said. “They dragged us over here to waste time and energy. Binfort is secure now, but we still have bigger issues to deal with.”
Yega shook his head as he stood up. “This is bad. We need to get over to Govan right away. We have to stop him before he can use the serasword again!”
“Hold it,” Tami said. “We are in no condition to start charging off. And besides, the next decision is Losha’s to make.”
“Sorry, commander,” Yega apologized. “I guess I just-”
“It is fine, Yega,” Losha said. “What we need to do first is make our way to Capital City and form up with Liveta. Delri and Vitna are a little more than two hours behind us. We will wait for them over there. I cannot fight through all of Govan’s troops myself. If I am to defeat the Prime Lead, I need all of the support I can get from everyone else. We should go now. Tami, how can you move?”
“Slowly, painfully. I can still shoot.”
“Good enough. Where are the horses? Still where we left them?”
“Sa,” Faima answered.
“Alright, WOLFWIND, let us head out."
Back in Capital City, an hour later, Core Lead Liveta walked hurriedly down a hall in yet another one of the military’s multi-level offices. In her wake followed a pack of senior officers.
“Core Lead, Govan’s units are moving away from the capital. Well, more accurately stated, their path appears to be headed north of us.”
“Sa. I already know. This is exactly as he always wanted,” Liveta said. The officers glanced at each other, all of them puzzled by her words.
“Core Lead, what is he up to?” one of them asked. Liveta stopped by a door and looked out the window for a moment.
“This way,” she commanded, turning the handle and stepping out onto a wide balcony. Poised three stories into the air, they could see above the city walls and into the far spread plains.
“Let me tell you a story about Govan. When we were just beginning our careers as soldiers, we would often stage war-games between the two of us, like chess. We would set up imaginary forces, then pit ourselves against each other. It was how we developed our young minds for strategy. Countless matches were waged. We practiced every conceivable scenario, accounting for all sorts of factors: weather, visibility, terrain, enemy position and size, everything. Some conditions were more favorable to my style. Others were his forte. One setup, however, found us equals.”
Liveta walked towards the railing, leaning on it with both hands. “The Tafren Plains are almost entirely flat. The grass is wild, but low. In terms of a battlefield, it is as close to a blank slate as you can get. There, it is a contest of pure intellect. Out of all the maps and situations we came up with, the one modeled after the Tafren Plains always had us at a draw. To him and me, it was a sign that under the best settings, we would otherwise be on the same level. I knew he would do this. He wants this battle to be the one that breaks our tie. This time, however, the combat will not be on paper; our soldiers will be more than pieces on a board.”
“This city is in no danger. He would never attack it. There are too many civilians here. Govan is not the type of man to endanger his own people like that, least of all non-combatants. I want all of our boots out there to meet him.”
“Pardon me, Core Lead,” said one of her Range Leads. “But do you mean to leave Capital City totally defenseless?”
“We need every able fighter we can muster. With my old order and Ano’s, we already dwarf Govan two-to-one. Vitna is nowhere to be seen, but rest assured, earlier the Wolf of Sventa sent word of his coming. Additionally, Prime Lead Delri of the Sventa First Division will be joining us. That is nearly four-to-one against Govan. That serasword, however, completely alters the equation. It is a tide-turner. Sa, I want everyone on the Tafren Plains. Everyone. We only get one try at ending this. Assemble your units. We head out at 11:30 sharp and get there by noon.”
The officers saluted Liveta crisply then look their leave. As they filed out, Albolt hobbled in, followed closely by Tibil. Hearing them behind her, she turned around and nodded respectfully at them.
“Gentlemen,” she said.
“WOLFWIND arrived at the city gates about a quarter of an hour ago,” Tibil spoke up.
“And their results? The message she sent told me about Delri, Vitna, and those batteries, but it was awfully short.”
“The batteries were successfully destroyed,” Albolt explained. “But it appears this serastone can be used without them.”
“What?!” Liveta exclaimed. “So, Govan can use that blasted weapon as much as he wants to? Damn...”
“Losha took a few lumps in battle; she is not at 100%. Says she needs a good meal and some time before her seratic levels normalize,” said Tibil.
“Will she be ready by noon? That is when we plan to engage Govan.”
Tibil shrugged. “My apologies, Core Lead, that is something only she can answer herself.”
“Sa, sa. Fair enough. I would like a word with her, and Delri and Vitna when they arrive. What was their status?”
“Losha said they were about an hour and some minutes away. They should be moving double-time, so they will make it in time for the show.”
“Perhaps that alone is today’s best news so far,” Liveta sighed, bracing her back against the railing.
“Tell us the truth, Core Lead,” Albolt said. “How are things looking for us, what with that dreaded weapon Govan managed to develop?”
Liveta frowned and bit her lip for a second. “You know it tore the side off of Binfort in a single blast, sa?” she asked them.
“Sa, we heard about that,” the old man replied.
“Well, that is not even half of what that serasword can do. In those documents from Sansat’s lab, the doctor came up with a very crude way of measuring the power of serastone. Essentially, let me put it like this. If we spent a year producing our best bombs, we would have about 20 kilotons of explosive power on our hands. That is assuming perfect production capabilities with unlimited resources. Govan’s serasword easily holds 20 times as much potential.”
“You must be joking,” Tibil said. “Those kinds of numbers... They just are not possible, and all of that from a mere sword.”
“That is the problem,” Liveta said, folding her arms together. “It is no mere sword. We are dealing with seras, an energy form born of the human soul. Its abilities and might are still new to us.”
“But... with that kind of monstrous strength,” Albolt began, “how could we ever hope to face off against him? The Prime Lead could simply reduce us to smithereens before we even reach him.”
“I have a plan for that actually,” Liveta grinned. “I shall explain more to you if you sit in on the debriefing. Until then, allow me to refine the details. I will say this, however. Even giants may be felled by ants. We need not rival him in raw power to win. All we need is a good strategy. Our courage will do the rest.”
Liveta looked up at the sky. The day had been overcast since dawn. Now, however, from the western horizon, darker shades of gray emerged. The clouds grew thicker, gradually piling upon one another as they traveled. A cool breeze shifted over the trio as the air seemed to darken.
“Sa. It will likely rain by the time we leave. Another storm is coming,” Liveta mused. “What will you two do now?”
“I plan to sit this one out,” Albolt chuckled. “I am not exact a prime fighter these days. I think I will grab a chair, a desk, and some paper and put my thoughts down. Today is a historic day. Whatever the outcome, our people will never be the same. I want to record the moment.”
“Would that I could fight myself,” Tibil said. “But Albolt insists otherwise.”
“He is right. We need you for the new government,” Liveta reminded him.
“I understand, Core Lead. I just wish I did not feel so useless during this time.”
“Do not worry, Tibil,” Liveta said, putting her hand on his shoulder as she walked by. “Once this is all over, I can assure there will be plenty to do. If you will both excuse me now, I have more matters to attend to.” She left the balcony, parting ways with Albolt and Tibil.
“Hmm...” Tibil said to himself as he glanced at the weather. “I suppose this is what Gandians refer to as the calm before the storm. I find it a very apt little saying actually. Seems to capture the feeling of something looming ahead, something larger than any one of us.”
Albolt nodded. “Sa, I have heard that phrase a few times in my day. Well, if the tempest is on its way, there is only one thing left to you and me.”
“And what exactly is that?”
“Young man, if you really want something useful to do while the battle begins, you had better pray.”
Koter, though battered and worn out, had marched a number of kilometers to return to Govan’s camp. By then, the Prime Lead and Core Lead Lisk had gathered their soldiers on the Tafren Plains. Though these units stood exposed in all directions, it made them very easy for Koter to spot. Upon entering these ranks, he whistled loudly once. Immediately, his little gang of dogs barked and dispersed. They’d come again, all he had to do was track them down and send the command. For now, however, he wanted them far away from this place.
The Field Lead headed straight towards Govan. As usual, he was flanked by both Sansat and Lisk. The doctor hovered over a makeshift table consisting of two boxes side-by-side with a cloth set on top. His hands busily tinkered with the mechanical innards of the serasword. He looked up first among the rest.
“There you are. Did you get them?” he asked directly, ignoring Koter’s bloodied and bruised appearance. Govan and Lisk quit their conversation and turned to the Velhast Hound.
“Ksh. The Wolf of Sventa has returned. We crossed paths, but unfortunately those batteries of yours were destroyed in the process.”
“What?!” Sansat cried, rising as he shook both hands in the air. “Do you realize what this means? I have just installed our last spare, and these things lose their charge once activated.”
“You should have brought more than four,” Koter said folding his arms. “Every time Ver Govan uses the serasword, we essentially need a new battery, sa? The first was a test. The second wiped out a Sventa division. The third gutted part of Binfort. Why you only took just four with us instead of seven or eight is beyond me if you understood how the sword works.”
“This is still a working prototype!” the doctor said loudly. “It can perform in battle, but plenty of technical issues remain. How was anyone to know it would chew through batteries so easily? I knew we should have attacked Binfort with all of our forces and seized the batteries right then and there. But as part of your suggestion, Koter, we sent a smaller force to do that job, and look how they failed!”
“Field Lead,” Govan said, interrupting the tension with his presence. “What was the outcome of the rest of the mission at Binfort?”
“Hundreds captured or wounded on our side, Ver Govan,” Koter replied. “It served as a costly distraction for my infiltration, but it was ultimately a complete failure as soon as Losha arrived.”
Govan frowned as he turned pointedly to Sansat. “What are we going to do about the serasword?”
“It is not ideal, but once turned on, you must not turn it off. Remember, the battery only activates it. The sword will stay operational until we shut it down. For the duration of our fight, this is critical. Before, we have not been able to simply leave it on full-time because that drains the seras stored within it; now, however, there is no choice.”
The Prime Lead nodded, considering the facts before him. Although Koter knew of a way to use serastone without Sansat’s batteries, he kept silent on the matter...
“The mission was not a total loss; I managed to gain some important information. Core Lead Vitna has betrayed us. While we had assumed he was busy defending the western lands against Sventa, it looks as if they have joined forces instead,” Koter said.
“Preposterous!” Lisk spat all at once. “What on the Continent crawled into that runt’s head?”
Govan remained stone-faced all the while. “It is no matter then,” he said, walking over to the serasword and picking it up. “He is simply another enemy now.”
“Sa, but now we have three-fourths of the Henron army and one-third of the Sventa army to fight,” Lisk said. "The world is against us, Prime Lead.”
“Ver Govan,” Koter began. “Do you really wish to fight now? Perhaps, if we left we could establish an insurgency, take combat to a smaller scale until we are ready and large enough to crush our foes. We have to win, but we need not win today.”
Govan looked at Koter not in anger, but briefly in sorrow. Quickly, he turned his head out towards the plains, away from everyone else. “No. Circumstance has decided upon this time and place. I shall not deny fate by leaving the war just ahead of us. You all have nothing to fear, at any rate. With this tool in my hand, we are ten times as strong as they are. Let all the soldiers from every clan come against us; we will tear down everyone who challenges our goals. Lisk, see to the Range Leads; make sure our battle plan is fit for execution. Sansat, you have made more weapons than just this sword. Check any soldier you come across and have their items in top working order.”
Acknowledging their new tasks, Lisk and Sansat went off.
“What about me?” Koter asked after the others had left. Govan walked past him slowly, casting his eye over his shoulder.
“Do as you see fit for the coming battle. I only ask one thing of you, Koter. Whatever the outcome of this day, neither despise Liveta nor me. This is just the way things are, that we would end up on two different sides.” With that, the Prime Lead turned and walked.
“As I see fit, sa?” Koter said to himself.
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