A New Beginning

by Alexander W Meurant

  "Sergeant. Ghost's will have it hard. They have to advance past that tower into open ground within the foundry. I'll take my Foxtrot's into the building and see if it leads into the foundry. Whilst we do that, I want you to wrap around the south part of the building and then enter the foundry. I once worked in this sort of place, and these types of foundry usually have a foreman’s officer in the middle. Usually in the shape of a giant U. It has a small central courtyard thing. I'll meet you there yeah" the man stated and Sain frowned, wondering who the man was, not being able to make out any distinguishable features.

  "Got it Lieutenant. On my way" Luto replied and Sain blinked. This was obviously one of the two Lieutenants of the platoon. Sain really should have remembered their names but he couldn't. He would make a point of memorizing them later. Sain turned and followed Luto without a word as the man led his unit along the eastern road, passing by a few windows. Sain peeked inside as they went but couldn't make out any movement inside. Before long they came to the end of the building and a dirt path veered off to the left, going between the building and the eastern most building of the village.

  “Alright lads, get ready. This could get heated. We don’t know what will be waiting for us in the foundry after all” Luto stated and looked back at the group, his expression hidden by his mask and goggles. Sain just gulped, feeling a fresh wave of nausea washing over him.

  Chapter 17

  * * *

  "She was walking around in trousers again Mehrbad! And a revealing shirt! Is she trying to tempt the men of the village? You have to do something" a voice said and Mehrasa scowled as she lay on her back in her bed, staring up at the dark ceiling. She listened though, pricking her ears up at the conversation going on out in the entrance to her home. A conversation that was going on between at least three people and her brother was one of them.

  "I know, I saw. But she doesn't listen to me Rami. That's why I want her married off sooner than later" sounded another voice and Mehrasa recognized it as belonging to her brother. She smirked at it though. He was right about the fact that she did not listen to him.

  "Then you need to discipline her Mehrbad. Give her the strap like a child. It is the only way. You are the head of the house. She needs to learn her place" Rami hissed low, Mehrasa only just catching the words. She pushed herself up on her elbows and strained her hearing, a slow burning anger starting to well up inside her.

  "Do what Rami is telling you to do Mehrbad. Or by your ancestor's spirits, some of the villager's may decide to take things into their own hands" the third voice stated, a much gruffer one and Mehrasa felt her heart jolt. She didn't recognize that voice, but the words spoken by the owner sent a slight shiver running through her.

  "I will, I will. Don't worry. I'll speak to her again then" Mehrbad said, his voice strained. A shuffle sounded and an exchange of goodbyes sounded, muffled quite low and Mehrasa focused, trying to catch the words but they were too low. A creak sounded and then she heard the front door close before soft footsteps approached the door to her room. She tensed slightly as she heard an exhalation of breath and then a light knock on her door.

  Mehrasa swallowed and looked over at the door, seeing a thin strip of light beneath it, as well as the outline of two feet. She stayed silent though and waited, wondering if her brother would go away. The knock sounded again and Mehrasa waited still. After a few moments there was a sigh and the feet disappeared, the dim light disappearing too. Mehrasa let out a slow breath and then looked up at her room’s ceiling again, letting the overheard conversation mull through her thoughts even as her anger slowly ebbed away.

  Mehrasa supposed it would only have been so long before the villagers said something. She had already had a few altercations with a few of the men already, cross words being spoken. She sighed and sat up in her bed, swinging her legs from under her blanket, instantly feeling the cool air around her bare calves. She planted her feet on the dirt floor of her room and looked down, staring at her bare feet. She felt tired, mentally more than anything. The last couple of weeks had been trying on her. Even more so since that merchant had left town and headed towards Khulabhar.

  Mehrasa wiggled her toes a little and then sighed, standing up even as she wrapped her blanket around her shoulders and thin nightdress for a little bit of extra warmth. She shuffled across the dirt floor, figuring she should talk to her brother, even if she knew it would be unpleasant. Opening her door, it creaked a little and she looked into the small common room of the house. She saw her brother sitting across the room on a stool, a small oil lamp next to him on a cupboard which cast only a small amount of light. Mehrbad looked up and Mehrasa frowned, seeing an almost weary look on her brother’s face.

  "Brother, were you knocking on my door? I was trying to sleep" Mehrasa stated and then yawned widely before tugging the blanket around her shoulders that bit tighter and feeling the rough fabric pull across the skin of her neck.

  "Yes, I was. I didn't want to wake you so I left" Mehrbad stated, his voice low and strained. Mehrasa raised a brow though, thinking she heard a hint of anger in his voice. She came to a halt a few paces from Mehrbad even as he stood up and puffed out his chest, standing slightly taller than her. She looked up at his eyes, noting a hard expression. She knew that expression and she usually found it comical. But not in this case because she knew why he was angry.

  “I was just talking to Rami and Seraf. They have made accusations against you. They are saying that you are acting out and causing problems. And I have seen you doing that. You walk around the village, wearing men’s trousers and revealing shirts! That’s not allowed! You need to dress proper so as not to anger or tempt the men of the village. Or things will get bad and you will smear my family name" Mehrabad said, his voice taking on a near whining tone. Mehrasa just stared at him, feeling that slow anger rising up like earlier. She had known this was not going to be a good idea when she got out of bed, even if talking to her brother was unavoidable. He only cared about himself, his image, and not her.

  "Where does it say I am not allowed to wear such clothes Mehrbad? Go on tell me where! And why should I dress the way others want me too? Can they not control themselves? Or are the village men just a pack of animals!" Mehrasa demanded angrily, a scowl on her face now as she lifted a hand to point it into Mehrbad’s face.

  "And why should I listen to you! You don't give two shits about me! You have been trying to marry me off to fucking anybody for years! You are an asshole!" Mehrasa continued, her voice rising up and shaking slightly in anger. Mehrbad took on a shocked look at her words and seemed to be lost for words himself, his mouth hanging open slightly. Mehrasa scowled deeper as she watched him try to formulate a response. He was like all the other men she knew. They had their opinions, and they always fell apart when she questioned them.

  Mehrbad suddenly seemed to gather his wits and lifted his right hand and hesitated slightly as he stared at Mehrasa who just glared at him angrily. Then he backhanded her right across the left cheek, a dull sound coming from the impact. Mehrasa stayed standing, her head only turning slightly and she looked straight back at Mehrasa defiantly.

  "You can't speak to me like that! If you do again, I swear I will take the strap to you, and teach you your place in this household!" Mehrbad shouted now, his voice loud and shaky, his eyes still open wide.

  "I'll damn well speak to you however I want" Mehrasa practically snarled at him and lifted her right hand fast and socked her brother straight in the face, rather hard. His head snapped back and he staggered backwards, his right hand going out behind him and splaying out on the wall even as his left hand went to his now weepy left eye where he had been punched. He recovered a little though and just stared at Mehrasa in evident shock, like he had not expected such a response from her.

  Feeling her knuckles twinge from the pain Mehrasa brought her hand back and moved it behind her even as she stepped up close to her brother. She leant in close, her face bare centimeters from Mehrbad’s own face, to the point s
he was practically breathing on him.

  "If you ever hit me again Mehrbad, I will end you. And if you think I am going to sit quietly whilst you try to marry me off to that fisherman Darga din Bruhman, then you are sorely mistaken" she hissed and actually felt a twinge of satisfaction as she saw her brothers eyes widen even further.

  "How do you know about that?" Mehrbad asked his voice low and shaky even as his hand remained cupped against his left eye. He actually seemed quite afraid right now and Mehrasa just felt a sense of disgust replace her satisfaction. She leant back from her brother, her bare feet nudging rough fabric on the floor. Mehrasa looked down and saw her blanket on the dirt floor and realized it had slipped from her shoulders during that scuffle. She squatted to pick it up and curled it around her shoulders again like earlier.

  "Do you remember all those years ago when father said he wished I had been born a boy?" Mehrasa asked, ignoring her brother’s question even as she stood up again, hiding her right fist beneath the rough fabric of the blanket.

  "I do" Mehrbad replied softly as he slowly dropped his left hand from his face, revealing a dark bruise under his eye. It would be a hell of a black eye come morning.

  "Good. He said that because I am smarter than you. I am more courageous than you. And I am apparently far more rebellious than you" Mehrasa stated in a low voice as she stepped back again.

  "I'll say this now brother. Only tradition dictates you own me. And I reject that tradition. I am my own person and will not do what you want. I will not marry Darga, for I looked into him and know of his crimes and will not be a victim of his. When we finish that job for the Rehani pirates, I will not be returning to this village. I will go my own way, and damn you if you try to stop me. I owe you nothing, especially after you sold my inheritance for a pretty wife" Mehrasa stated angrily before she turned fast and walked away, leaving her brother still leaning against the wall and not giving him an opportunity to offer a retort.

  Mehrasa stepped into her room and closed the door gently, not about to slam it despite the anger she felt. She squatted down next to her bed and pushed an arm under it, finding that box that had held her knife. Pulling it out she flipped it open and saw the glint of metal in the low light cast by the moon through her open window. She stared at the metal object within and after a few moments picked it up, looking it over. It was what looked like a revolver and she remembered her father showing her one years ago. Working her fingers over it she opened the chamber and looked at the six bullets fitted snugly in there.

  Smiling softly Mehrasa clipped the chamber back in and stood up. Pushing the box back under her bed with her foot she leant down and lifted up the pillow on her bed, pushing the revolver underneath it and placing the pillow back down. She didn't think her brother would try something in the night, but seeing as there was not a lock on her door, she was not ready to completely write such an action off. She knew her brother was a vindictive person.

  Sighing softly Mehrasa hopped into bed, feeling her anger fading away quickly, only to be replaced by a deep weariness. Now she just wanted to leave for the job with the pirates. She wanted out of this place so bad. She wanted to leave this shitty little village by the sea full of suffocating traditions and patriarchy. She simply wanted to explore the world, and see all the things her father had told her of as a child.

  * * *

  Luto peered around the corner and snorted. The eastern most building was a ruin. Sain looked it over as well and could see numerous body parts sticking out from the rubble. The entire structure had collapsed in on itself and was smoking thickly, a fire raging through it. The smoke was thick and was billowing into the sky, yet a large amount of it hung low, somewhat blocking vision through the path that led into the foundry proper. Sain guessed the Delta unit had hammered the structure with fire magic before they had been ordered into a defensive position. Looking over its smoking ruin Sain could just see the outline of the south eastern corner of the foundry.

  "Foxtrot to Echo, building adjacent to western foundry wall secure. No hostiles inside. Building leads into foundry. Over" came a voice over the radio and Sain recognized the voice of the Lieutenant he had just met. With that Luto started forward and hugged the left wall of the building, his unit coming in behind him. They disappeared into the smoke and Sain sucked in a deep breath before following the rest of his unit. Breaking through the smoke he looked up and saw the edge of the foundry roof passing over him. Once inside Sain stared wide eyed at the interior.

  The place was a maze of platforms and walkways, and was filled with work benches and what looked like massive bowls. The place reminded him of the factory he had worked in back in Rindai, yet this place was clearly not in use any more.

  Looking back to his front, Sain saw Luto jogging ahead, aiming for a building close to the left wall, with what appeared to be an alcove taking up its eastern side, causing the place to look like a giant U. Luto turned sharply and went into that alcove and stepped into a small courtyard, the rest of his unit following. As Sain stepped in as well, he found the Lieutenant waiting. Coming to a halt, Sain waited quietly, noticing that both the Lieutenant and Luto also seemed to be waiting for something and were quiet. Sain just stood there nervously, shifting his weight from foot to foot idly.

  "Alpha to Foxtrot, all units in position outside the foundry. What is your position. Over” crackled a voice over the radio and Sain recognized it as Travos. Both the Lieutenant and Luto seemed to relax even as the Lieutenant pressed the button on his radio and spoke.

  “Foxtrot to Alpha, unit’s Foxtrot and Echo in position, inside south east portion of foundry. Center of foundry is filled with walkways, inactive machinery and storehouses. Over” the Lieutenant replied and silence enveloped the group again.

  “Copy that Foxtrot. Advance to north east portion of foundry. There is a large building that takes up the north foundry entrance. Enemy controls this. All units commence attack" Travos ordered over the radio and new bursts of gun fire sounded in the distance, slightly muffled by the things filling the foundries interior.

  "Lad's, this is the last push. It's going to be gritty" the Lieutenant stated grimly.

  "Foxtrot will move through the center of the foundry and taker a firing position directly south of the north foundry entrance. The Ghost unit should be advancing from the west, so Sergeant, take your Echo's and loop around from the east wall. Hit the main building hard from the north east. Now go. Can't leave the Major to have all the fun" the Lieutenant stated grimly and turned back to his unit, waving for them to follow him. Then he jogged away, heading out of the alcove they all were in and disappearing into the foundry proper.

  Luto just looked around at those in his unit and nodded to each of them in turn.

  "Give it everything you got boys. Magic and bullets all the way. Hold nothing back" he stated and then turned, starting on his way back east, angling slightly south into the smoke still drifting from that direction. Sain exhaled sharply and then dragged in another long breath before he started to jog after Luto and the others. They were all silent as they moved through the smoke. Turning to the left now, they continued up a path that seemed to gradually make its way north through the foundry, and then quite suddenly there was no more smoke hindering them. Sain let his breath out and then blinked in surprise as the east entrance of the foundry came into view.

  The entrance was completely blocked off by a wire fence, with concrete blocks stacked against its base, numerous others strewn around, like the people who were here had been in the process of building a bunker inside the foundry.

  Hearing gunshots suddenly erupt to his left, Sain turned his head fast, seeing a large building appear to his left, taking up a large portion of the north wall of the foundry. The building itself sat inside the north entry, completely taking it up.

  The building actually seemed to be perfectly attached to the metal and concrete walls of the foundry on multiple levels. Its bottom floor was completely surrounded by what looked like a wooden verandah an
d it had a waist high fence extending along its edge. The fence had sandbags and random overturned tables pressed against it to form makeshift barricades and defenses. Behind those defenses were at least twenty hostiles, all pointing their weapons outwards. The defences looked rushed and haphazard, like they had quickly moved them from elsewhere.

  . Behind them was the building itself, all lit up by interior lights and it blinded Sain somewhat, not being something his night vision could easily cope with. He gasped and reached up to turn off his night vision even as he felt bullets start to slam into his barrier. He hadn't even realized he had kept it up. It was almost like second nature now and he did not even have to think about it.

  Grunting he staggered a little and dropped his rifle once more, letting it fall against his side and he felt panic set in somewhat as the bullets pelted into his barrier. He felt harder than usual hits which caused him to stumble backwards even more and swear in surprise.