"Major, now that you are no longer indisposed, you will follow me. We will talk about your attitude later" came the voice of Sembak from behind him and Travos scowled even as he realized the commander was speaking quite angrily. Travos could practically feel the man's anger it was that bad. But Travos had no regrets. Instead he turned to look at Sembak, seeing Lesha as usual a bare step behind him, and next to her one of Sembak's other aides, Keu Hayes. He was the man that looked after the intelligence side of Sembak’s forces. Travos scowled, wondering why he was present.
"Well commander, I will be free shortly. I just need to make sure Belford gets medical attention as soon as possible" Travos said, his voice hard and devoid of emotion as he gestured a hand at the covered stretcher behind him. His eyes flicked to Lesha briefly and he saw her eyes go wide. A flicker of alarm went across her face before being quickly hidden by her mask of professionalism. Looking back to Sembak he saw a frown on the man's face even as a doctor stepped forward from behind the group.
"Please step aside Major, I need to check the severity of the wounds. You said this was Private Belford correct? From the medic’s report, he had burns I believe" the man asked as he slipped around the bed and grabbed the sheet to pull it away from the top half of Sain’s body.
"Yes, it is" Travos stated and closed his eyes briefly as he heard the rustle of the sheet being lifted and pulled back. He opened his eyes when he heard a gasp from Lesha and a muttered curse from the doctor.
"Nurse's Mahony, Ricker, we need to get this man to the burn ward's isolation room now!" the doctor exclaimed loudly and two nurses, a man and woman rushed forward, looks of horror on their faces as they saw Sain. Travos just kept his eyes locked on Sembak now and felt a shiver of satisfaction as he saw the man blanch. Sembak lifted a shaky hand and stroked his short beard somewhat.
"Right Major. I see why you were not in the mood for talk before. Now that Belford will be looked after, you must come with me" Sembak stated and turned away. The man made his way out of the ward with Hayes, leaving Travos to follow as well. Travos turned his attention to Lesha who was staring wide eyed at Sain's body, a hand covering her mouth. Travos felt a stab of pity for the woman. He did not know the extent of the relationship Lesha and Sain had shared, but it must have been somewhat close. Stepping up beside her he lifted a hand and dropped it onto her shoulder, giving her a brief squeeze before continuing on his way.
"Come Lieutenant. Gotta see what the commander wants" he stated. Walking past the other wounded members of his platoon he made eye contact with all those that were conscious and received grim nods in return. He swallowed hard as he left the ward and saw Sembak waiting a dozen or so meters up the corridor. Making his way to the man, he was ushered into a small room off to the side of the corridor.
Stepping inside he saw Keu Hayes opening a folder and placing it on a small table with five chairs around it. Seeing the room was a small kitchenette Travos made his way straight for the coffee machine and started getting himself something to drink. Hearing the door close and a few shuffled steps followed by the scraping of chairs Travos cast a look over his shoulder, seeing Lesha had arrived and all three were now taking seats at the small table. So Travos just turned his body to face them and leant back against the kitchenette counter as he waited for his coffee to boil.
"I guess I will start then" Keu stated and shifted his sitting position somewhat so that he could see Travos straight on.
"Not long after the mission started Major, I received news of a leak in our command. The leak came from a mole back on the base and it was related to this operation, particularly that your platoon had been summoned for duty. At the time of the leak however, there were very few people who knew about the reason for which you and your soldiers were mobilized" Keu stated. Travos just stared at the man even as he heard the coffee machine behind him click as it finished brewing. Travos ignored it.
"That's it. You want to talk to me about a leak. A mole. You people look after that. It's your business, not mine" Travos growled and lifted his arms to fold them over his chest.
"Well, normally yes. But the leak was not that your platoon had been mobilized. It was that Sain Belford was going to be on the mission" Keu answered and Travos blinked in surprise. he stared at Keu a while and then snorted.
"And? Is that it?" Travos asked as he turned around and picked up a mug, pouring the coffee into it.
"Basically yes. I was intending on bringing up other information, but it seems invalid now when looking at Belford’s state" Keu stated and Travos felt a surge of anger. He gripped his mug hard as he turned back to the group.
"So Major, give me your thoughts of the mission as it happened. I will look over all the footage as soon as I can" Sembak piped in and made a gesture to the body camera still on Travos' chest. Still feeling that anger coursing through him, Travos looked at Lesha, seeing no hint of that distress from earlier. Shifting his weight somewhat Travos took a sip of his coffee and tried to collect his thoughts and crush his anger. The other's seemed to wait patiently as he did so. After a minute or so he got his anger under control and he sighed before he started speaking.
"Well, the mission started as we all expected it would. We were scattered around the deck. Sergeant Rahswa met up with some pirates and neutralized them with some others. Kurt, Sabbah and Belford I believe. Belford was left to guard them" Travos stated and took another sip of his coffee before continuing.
“I joined up with the Rahswa and others at the below decks entrance. When I arrived, a fight had started, and Kurt had been struck down by a mage. The mage retreated below decks. We followed, and it turned into a shitstorm. Fifteen of us went in. It was tight, but against a dozen pirates, of which a couple were mages, what could go wrong right?" Travos asked the last few words bitterly. He looked up at the other three and noticed an impassive look on the faces of Lesha and Keu. But the eyes of Sembak held a savage gleam and Travos shuddered. He remembered stories of the mage commander Sembak Fuldhouser during the unification war. They were not pleasant stories. Swallowing hard Travos dismissed those thoughts and turned his attention back to his tale.
"Well, we piled into the mess hall and found ourselves against dozens of enemies. There were I'd say fourteen mages give or take. In the fight we struck down a few but we suffered badly. Protecting yourself against a similar number of mages as well as bullets from dozens of soldiers isn't easy. It seemed to me as well that the enemy mages were not intent on killing at first. They struck our helmets, and when they saw our faces, they attacked even harder. And they were strong. Really fucking strong. If I had to hazard a guess, I would say that they had had proper training, and they sure as hell were not Cassar as I expected. Many were mixed race" Travos said as he settled into a glum silence and drank yet more from his mug. As the seconds dragged by Sembak seemed to get restless and scowled.
"And that's it? Don't you have any more to say? What about Belford. A person doesn't end up with third degree burns or worse guarding pirates" Sembak spoke out, obviously expecting Travos to continue. So, he did with a shrug.
"What the fuck do you expect me to say Commander? If you really must know, I thought I was going to fucking die. We were completely outmatched. We were sent into a trap for fucks sake. My people dropped like flies around me. There were four of us left huddled in a corner unable to do anything. Then Belford burst into the room and that was it" Travos stated angrily and shrugged once more. Looking down at his mug he felt a queasy feeling in his stomach and he cringed, putting down the half empty vessel, thinking he would not be able to stomach the rest of the drink.
"At least I didn't know it was Sain at first. It was just an unrecognizable bright blue figure, energy rippling from him, and what looked like electricity sparking everywhere. Everything he touch melted. He fought the mages and destroyed them. That’s the best description I have. He used magic and their bodies simply exploded into red mist. I cannot even explain what I saw properly. Just watch the video for that. Anyway, the fight
ended quickly, and Belford collapsed. Whatever he had done to himself had burnt away all his flesh, even his lips and eyes. We found his dog tag, half melted into his body. After that we started clean-up. We found what was left of the crew, and the pirates Belford had been guarding. Three of them. and there was a corpse cut in half there as well. Belford did some pretty amazing, yet terrifying shit" Travos finished with before settling into a slump, feeling like he had just run a marathon and come dead last. He could feel a depression setting in, similar to when Annabelle had passed away, and that wound was still fresh.
"And well, I guess Belford won't live much longer anyway" Travos muttered under his breath.
"Well, if it comes to it, I'll arrange for him to have a decent funeral" Sembak stated and Travos looked up sharply, anger surging through him again.
"It sounds like it actually was a trap. But how did all those people get onto the ship? Ever since the pirates took the vessel, the navy had eyes on them. There weren't even any other boats or dinghies tied to the vessel" Sembak mused out loud and Travos felt his anger fade somewhat, only to be replaced with confusion. He looked at Sembak and noticed the man held a thoughtful expression. Sembak turned to Keu and nodded.
"Keu. Organize for the captured pirates to undergo interrogation. I want to know everything" Sembak stated and Travos felt a chill run down his spine. The look on Sembak's face was dark. Way too dark. Those stories of the unification war started to bubble back up in his memory and he just shuddered, a stab of pity actually running through his body at the thought of what those pirates may suffer.
Chapter 32
* * *
"Where are they? Wasn't there supposed to be an incursion here?" Niall asked before opening his arms wide and doing a slow spin as if to encompass the entire region he was in. He was currently standing in the courtyard of a destroyed supply depot, and not more than a minute’s walk to the east stood the destroyed wharves that ran alongside the river. And just south of them was the destroyed bridge that once spanned the forty-meter-wide river.
"Well, we were told Federation soldiers were here by the garrison before contact was lost" Phidel stated as she stood nearby, a look of dismay on her face. She was most likely thinking about all the scenario's that could have played out.
"Well they certainly were here. That much is certain from the dead Imperials and destroyed structures" Niall stated, turning to watch some of their own soldiers carrying bodies towards the parked drop ships.
"No need to be sarcastic Lord Belford" Phidel softly chided Niall as she started to pace, a hand coming to hold her chin as if in thought.
"Perhaps, perhaps they saw the size of my force and withdrew without contesting the territory? Maybe they didn't expect such a strong response so soon?" Phidel asked no one in particular as she mused out loud to herself. Niall gave a small sigh and watched her, his own minding mulling over options as well.
"Well my Lady, perhaps it had something to do with our guerilla hunt. And the failure of General Harriet's advisor. Or maybe he did more damage than I thought" Niall stated and Phidel shot him a look of confusion.
"What failure? Have you submitted your report yet? I haven't seen one come through" Phidel asked, her pacing stopping as she looked headlong at Niall. Niall froze as well, forgetting for a moment that he had not filled her in yet on Captain Razmus or his actions. Now was as good a time as any he supposed.
"Well, General Harriet sent us an advisor as you requested. A Captain Razmus. A Krat defector of some years” Niall stated dryly, his distaste quite evident.
"Captain Razmus brought his own platoon of Special Forces soldiers, refused any assistance from Colonel Godeslas and I apart from intelligence. He then proceeded to attack a group of guerillas and got his ass soundly handed to him" Niall replied, giving Phidel the short and sweet version of the story. Phidel just frowned and then snorted quite loudly, causing Niall to blink in surprise. Quite a few of the soldiers around them shot Phidel bemused looks as well before scurrying off to complete their tasks.
"That would be right. Harriet is that sort of person, so it's only right that one of her subordinates acts just the same. Does everything herself and micromanages like you would not believe. But her brother is on the noble council so that's all that matters I guess" Phidel stated and looked up into the sky, completely unfazed by the looks she was getting because of that noise she had made a few moments earlier.
"Well, if none of my subordinates died, then it doesn't bother me. I'll have a word with Harriet if I get a chance, but it's doubtful that old crone will listen to a thing I say" Phidel continued as her eyes wafted over her airships hovering far above their heads. Niall smiled, somewhat surprised at Phidel's reaction to the failure. He would make sure to share it with Godeslas back at the base.
Hearing a noise to the left Niall turned his gaze sharply and saw Rella and Mark had stepped forward, their mouths moving just barely as they used magic. The two did not seem worried as more of Phidel’s guards appeared, coming from places that they had been keeping watch. Niall stepped up beside Phidel, quite unworried himself.
As Niall watched, a small group of people approached, quite disheveled and wearing beaten up Imperial army uniforms. There were five people in the group and they were surrounded by soldiers under Phidel’s command. Seeing them Phidel stepped forward.
"Captain, tell your guards to stand down" she stated as she made a calming gesture with her hands. Mark did as he was ordered but kept his eyes locked on the group even as his own subordinates melted back to their hiding places from earlier. Rella came to stand behind Niall, silent but watchful just the same.
As the guards stood down, the five disheveled Imperials dropped to their knees, heads facedown. Looking them over Niall swore they were shaking.
"Who leads you? Please step forward and tell me what happened here. You are part of the garrison correct?" Phidel asked and an older man looked up, tiredness in his eyes. He stood up slowly and nodded.
"My Lady! Please, you must leave here at once" the man stated, tired and drawn. There was a hint of urgency in his voice though and Niall raised a brow slightly. Mark started muttering again and Niall saw a shimmer of light in the air as a barrier formed once more. Phidel seemed taken aback by the man and just looked at him in a confused manner.
"But I just got here. I need to get this place up and running again" she replied, quite confused by the man’s words and sense of urgency.
"My Lady, the people that attacked this place with all the barges, they did not stay. There were dozens of barges, all with skeleton crews. They were all nearly empty. And the airships, there were a dozen small ones and that was it. They bombed us and then left straight away!" he exclaimed, the urgency in his voice seemingly only getting worse.
"We have been hiding in the forest and tried to get here as soon as we saw you, but your soldiers stopped us. Please! Every moment you waste here means something happens elsewhere" the man continued, a frantic look appearing in his eyes now. Niall just felt cold all of a sudden, as if an ice bucket had been tipped over his head. Had this been a diversion? Phidel seemed quicker on the uptake herself and flew into motion.
"Get everyone back on the ships now! Lieutenant Hamish get a cleanup crew organized and leave behind some drop ships for transport and logistics" Phidel yelled out, her attention focused on a staff officer of hers. Damn, Niall needed to organize some of his own as soon as he could. For now, he would just get back to his ship and get ready to set off where ever Phidel ordered.
* * *
Staring out of his bridge at the eleven airships arrayed against him Danzig chewed the inside of his cheek anxiously. Right now, he and his fleet were only a few hours northwest of Pagua, and around a full day from Jamiche isle. These Federation ships had ventured much further from the isle than Danzig thought they would. They were confidant.
"I don't like this Commander Danzig. I don't like this at all. Even if Prince Harald lost most of his ships before retreating, these Fed's must h
ave known we would act" Saska stated and Danzig turned to look at the video screen connecting him to his co-commander of this twelve-ship fleet. Saska was less experienced than he, and it showed on her face. Danzig rolled his jaw somewhat and then stood up from his seat, clutching his hands behind his back.
"Yes, it is quite unnerving Commander Saska. I think we should change our formation somewhat until we receive orders from the Princess" Danzig stated as looked up at the woman on the monitor. There was no denying she was attractive, and Danzig smiled at her, getting a nervous one in return. Saska was relatively new to her position as a Commander and had only been a Captain for less than a year prior, and it showed in her manner. She was not sure of herself.
"I am inclined to agree with you Commander Danzig. What would you suggest" she replied as she lifted her hands and worked them at her hair, tightening the bun holding her brown hair in place. Danzig moved his gaze out to the view of the eleven Federations ships in the distance, noting their own formation.
"The Fed's are in a loose single line formation. They may try to envelop us. I suggest a double arrow formation. I will head up the right arrow, you the left with a distance between us. That should give them pause" Danzig stated and received a nod from Saska.
A New Beginning Page 32
