by T. C. Edge
The door swings open again at that, and Kira sweeps back in with Perses, this time, in tow.
"Ah, Perses," says Burns. "I assume Kira has caught you up on the news."
"Indeed," rumbles his thunderous voice. "It is grave news indeed."
"Might we ask for your take? What is the thinking here?"
He looks around. "I imagine it's obvious, isn't it? To disrupt this standing force before the main army arrives."
"Yes, that's what we thought," nods Burns.
"It will," Perses goes on, adding more insight, "likely be partly a reaction on the part of Herald Kovas. The Prime will have counted him largely responsible, whether fairly or not, for the failed siege of New Haven. He will be desperately seeking to make amends. We must consider him extremely dangerous."
"We saw Herald Gailen too," I say. "Yesterday, on our way back from the west. He'll probably link up with the army as it comes."
"Herald Avon will be there as well, I imagine," Perses says. "They will likely have some very powerful agents with them. I would advise that you bolster this fort as much as possible in the hours to come..."
"We will," says Burns. His eyes turn to Hendricks. "Glenn, would you please pass on the message to our construction units."
Hendricks doesn't look best pleased with the order. "I still don't know if it's smart to stay here," he says. "A force of that size will have us quickly surrounded. And if they have siege weapons they will bombard us from a distance. What exactly will we do against that?"
It's a fair point, and one I believe that everyone seems to agree on. The last thing we want to do is get ourselves trapped in here. This isn't Olympus, or even New Haven. It doesn't have high walls and powerful defences. If they have siege weapons like those they used on New Haven, they will be able to roll those up and obliterate us from a distance. This fort, then, would become nothing but a tomb for five hundred men and women.
"Perses?" asks Burns. "Are we likely to see the same energy cannons used here as on New Haven?"
"If they bring those cannons," Hendricks cuts in, impassioned, "then they'll bomb us to smithereens. Building up the walls will be a waste of time against those. We may be able to shoot some of the projectiles down before they hit, but if any get through they'll deal significant damage."
Burns nods along patiently, before looking to Perses again. The huge Olympian takes his time before answering, evidently mulling on Hendricks' words. "It's safe to assume that they will bring siege weapons," he says. "And Commander Hendricks is quite right in his assertion. Herald Kovas will be able to bomb us from a distance and weaken us before advancing. This," he says, "is something we cannot let happen."
"And what do you suggests, Perses?" Ares asks, his voice equally commanding. The two enormous men stand to face one another. Oh how I want to see them lining up, side by side, in battle. "You seem to believe fortifying this place is a waste of time."
"No," Perses says, shaking his head. "Not a waste of time at all." He looks around. "In fact, I would focus your attentions on the northern walls and palisades. That will be the direction in which they march."
"But you just said the walls will do little to deter them?" Hendricks says. "Then why..."
"A diversion," Perses says swiftly. The room falls silent, looking at him interestedly. "This fort has been lying in a state of partial ruin for some time," Perses explains. "Kovas will know that. When they arrive and see the northern wall has been fortified, they will assume we are hiding within and seeking to defend it." He looks around. "We won't."
"An ambush," Ares says, nodding.
"Yes, Ares," says Perses. "I know Kovas's mind. He will be drawn here like a moth to the flame. We will leave some troops here, upon the walls, to strengthen the deceit. We will create the illusion that the entire fort is manned. Then, we attack."
"From where?" asks Hendricks, growing more interested. "These lands are extremely open. Where can we attack from that we cannot be seen?"
"These lands are open, yes," Perses nods, "but scratched my multiple fissures and chasms. They will provide us with ample coverage in which to hide and lie in wait. We will build ladders to use to climb them, and come in behind the Olympians, and from their flanks. Turn the hunters into the hunted."
"Yes," Ares says, nodding, his eyes narrow as he thinks. "It might work." He looks up. "We will try to target their siege weapons and cannons. Destroy those and it will provide us with a fallback plan if we need to retreat to the fort."
"We have some of our most powerful soldiers here with us," Kira adds. "They may outnumber us but they won't outmatch us. Not from what we've seen of their soldiers so far."
The occupants of the room appear to nod with varying states of haste. They appear to be unified now in their thoughts, a strategy being swiftly formulated and agreed upon.
"Then we must continue to bolster the northern wall" Burns says. "And build these ladders." He looks to Perses and Ares. "Perhaps it would be best for you to scout possible locations. Perses, you know Kovas's mind, as you say. Do you think you could work out where he's likely to begin the siege from, given the range of his cannons?"
Perses nods.
"Then do it. And plan our ambush points accordingly. How many men would you advise we keep here at the fort?"
"Enough to provide resistance," Perses says, "if things go ill. You have five hundred good men. I would say leave at least fifty of them here."
"If that's the case, then you should head for Hunter's Station, Leyton," says Hendricks. "We'll need to guarantee your safety. If things go ill, it'll be essential that you link up with Emperor Domitian and update him on what has happened."
Burns mulls it over for a second before shaking his head. "I understand your sentiment, Glenn, but I'm not going to abandon my ship. I trust that you will all get this job done."
"I'll protect you however well I can, if it comes to it," Perses says, standing near the man.
Burns frowns up at him. "You're not going to engage?" he questions. "You made it sound like you were, Perses. We could truly use your help."
"And you're getting it right now," Perses says. "But I've made my positions clear, Leyton. I will not kill Olympian soldiers. You have plenty of others who will see to that."
I see Burns turn his eyes to me. Does he want me to step in now, to try to convince him otherwise? I don't see why I'd make any difference.
I consider what I might say, though imagine it'll be better done in private. And then, unexpectedly - or, is it really unexpected anymore? - my grandmother intervenes.
"You are in a difficult position, Perses," she says, demanding the man's attention as she moves a little ahead of him. "I understand that. But if you are truly committed to deposing the Prime, you will do everything you can to make that happen. There are tens of thousands of innocent Fringers gathering in Hunter's Station. If we are defeated here, they will be slaughtered or taken to Olympus in chains. Are you really willing to turn your back on them, so long subjugated and oppressed, because of some misplaced loyalty to a handful of Olympian soldiers?"
She slowly steps towards him as she speaks, no longer ogling his frame but looking up into his square, powerful jaw and face with a flame lit in her eyes. More than anyone else, this is a battle she has been fighting for many, many years. And she is more impassioned, more heartfelt, more fervent in her persuasions than I, or anyone, could ever hope to be.
I stand, quite taken by the force of her words, as the others seem to be. They look on in silence as my grandmother looks up to Perses, the two standing in the centre of the room, tiny flames flickering and rising from her frame. "Will you fight for us, Perses?" she goes on. "Are you willing to kill a few...to save many."
Silence. A long, drawn out silence.
I stare on, transfixed, my heart shy to beat should it interrupt the quiet. And then, slowly, Perses turns his eyes down.
And begins to shake his head.
"I'm sorry, Alberta," he says. He takes a breath and lifts his eye
s. "But I just...cannot do it."
With that, he moves towards the door and steps away, leaving us all in silence.
154
Eventually, the room thaws and an urgency takes hold once more.
"We don't need him," Hendricks says, shaking his head and looking at the door. He turns back to us, defiant in his posture. "We can manage this on our own." He looks to Burns. "I'll see that the construction teams focus on the northern walls," he says. "And shall inform the troops of what is happening. They will need some time to prepare. Thankfully, they're well rested and well fed. They'll be ready when the time comes."
"I'll come with you," Ares's voice rumbles. "My men will wish to hear this from me personally. I know that they've been itching for a fight. This will satiate their appetites nicely." He draws an almost fiendish smile. Along with his words, it gives me a great deal of confidence. A fired up Ares, with a host of Neoroman Imperial Guards at his back, is a force that surely cannot be bettered anywhere in the world. "Once I'm done," he finishes, "I'll leave with Perses and scout outside of the city. We'll set plans and return here with them as soon as possible."
He nods to Burns, who does the same in return, and the two men step away.
Another short moment of silence proceeds to fall upon the room, before anyone speaks again.
"What about you, Elian? Will you fight for us?"
The question is posed by Kira, looking at Elian as he stands in one corner, barely engaging at all. He looks to Burns - a lot of people tend to do that - and then shakes his head. "I have no powers," he says quietly. "I'd be more of a burden right now."
"And if you were given your powers back?" asks Burns, peering at him. "Would you fight for us then?"
Elian glances at me. The conflict remains clear in him, his expression shouting it to the room. Then, he turns his eyes up, and finds my grandmother's.
"Your words inspired me, Alberta," he says. "They really did. But I understand why Perses cannot do what you ask. I...I don't know if I'd be able to either. I'm...I'm sorry." He dips his eyes, as though ashamed.
"There is nothing to apologise for," Burns assures him, speaking with a soft tone. "We are asking a lot of you all, and you have no easy choices. You can stay with me here, Elian, if you wish, or return to Hunter's Station before Herald Kovas arrives. The choice is yours."
"I'll stay," he says sharply, looking towards me. "I'm not going anywhere."
Burns smiles. "Good. I thought you might say that." Then his eyes turn towards my grandmother. "I'm afraid," he says to her, "I won't be able to provide those Stalkers after all. We will need every soldier we can get if we're going to hold this fort and repel this army. I hope you understand."
"I do," she says. "We will make do on our own."
"And you, Alberta?" Burns goes on. "Will you stay here and fight?"
"I'm an old woman, Leyton," she says. "The battlefield is hardly a place for me."
"Oh, you're no ordinary old woman," Burns returns. "I'm sure you can hold your own."
"I'm not one for blowing my own trumpet," she says, with a sly grin, "but I think you're probably right. I was once quite formidable, you know, once upon a time. I did a great deal of dirty work for the Prime in my youth, and am well acquainted with death and the horrors of battle. Yet, I am not sure I am right for this particular job. My powers have only recently flourished within me again. I do not yet know how long they will last before I find myself spent."
I listen to her, a little conflicted. From what I've witnessed, I'm certain she could be of great value on the battlefield. The fires she spread through the alley in Hunter's Station. The great flood of flame she unleashed on the camp at the base of the quarry. She clearly still has access to a great well of power inside her, and could certainly use them to great effect.
Yet, despite all that, I don't try to persuade her otherwise. The truth is, she is my grandmother, and I love her dearly. If we're to march out and face this army, I'd rather not have to worry about her safety while I'm there.
"Then, will you stay here with us?" Burns asks. "Or will you return to Hunter's Station?"
"I will stay," she says. "If I'm needed to fight and help defend this fort, I will. But I fear I may be more of a hindrance on the field." She looks to me at that, as if knowing my thoughts. Knowing that this fight, perhaps, is one I need to be able to focus on alone.
"You'll fight for us, though, won't you, Amber?" Kira delivers the question, looking at me with a raised eye.
I don't really have to consider the answer as I nod. A few days ago, yeah, I'd doubted whether I'd be willing to kill Olympian soldiers. Now, my mind has shifted having seen all that I have. I'm not so disinclined as Perses and Elian are.
But, there remains some niggling doubts. What if I meet Gailen out there. Or Avon, or Dianna, or even someone like Krun, presumably now recovered from his injuries. What if I meet Hestia? She became my friend on the road, someone I trusted, whose company I enjoyed. How could I fight and kill her? Or any of them, for that matter?
I suppose, for someone like Perses, there are many, many more people like that. Soldiers who have fought for him for years. Men and women he has trained and led. People he knows well. Travelled with. Battled with. Bled with.
Oh, I can understand full well why he cannot bring himself to fight. And even thinking about it as I am, I find my own mind wavering too.
I shut those thoughts down to prevent that from happening, and think only of the people we are trying to save. In the end, the bigger picture is all that matters. As my grandmogther said, it's better to kill the few...to save the many.
With my answer coming as a nod, however, and my expression evidently displaying the conflict inside me. I find Kira stepping a little closer. She peers in, those eyes so penetrative I feel they're looking right into my soul. "Are you sure, Amber?" she asks me directly. "When it comes to it, we cannot have you in two minds. We need to know you're completely committed."
I fix my gaze on hers and nod again. A single time, this time. A single nod to cement my position. "I'm sure," I tell her. "I will not waver, Kira."
She inspects me a moment, before stepping back. I see a light grimace on her face as she does so.
"And you?" I ask, turning my eyes down to her left leg. "Are you sure you're in good shape to fight?"
She casts the grimace away, as if ashamed anyone saw it, and straightens her posture. "Of course I am," she tells me firmly. "It's nothing but a minor sprain, that's all."
"You're...sure?" I ask.
She doesn't need to answer; her expression does that for her. I realise quickly that questioning her will get me nowhere.
"You're sure," I repeat, more lightly this time, and nodding along as I do. I raise my eyes and draw a breath, keen to escape that penetrating gaze of hers. "So, I guess talking to Perses is going to be a waste of time?" I say to Burns. "His position is pretty clear."
"As clear as spring water," Burns nods. "Perses is helping us enormously as it is. His knowledge of the enemy and these lands is more valuable than his strength. It's greedy to expect more of him."
I breathe out a slight sigh of relief, preferring not to have the responsibility of trying to convince Perses otherwise. Frankly, going into great depth on the topic is more likely to have him turn me, than the other way around.
"So, what do you need from us, Leyton?" my grandmother asks. "Is there anything we can do to help right now?"
"In terms of active preparations here?" Burns asks, stroking his chin as he considers it. "Well, possibly, yes," he says. "It depends on how hot your fires can burn."
"Hot enough to melt just about anything," my grandmother says. "Depending on the Fire-Blood in question, of course." She turns to me. "I suspect Amber's fires burn brighter than anyone's, from what I've seen. What do you have in mind?"
"Well, I'm just thinking of bolstering the defences," he says. "If Amber here can use her fires to melt and weld the stone, it may make it particularly durable and speed up the enti
re process. We could possibly raise the walls higher, and make them thicker. It will be useful if they do begin their bombardment, or else try to breach the fort itself."
"I'm sure she could help," nods my grandmother, speaking for me. "So long as you have the materials, that is."
"We have managed to bring some in from a nearby quarry," Burns says. "And there are unused sections of the fort itself that we could break down and use if necessary. Amber, would you mind heading down and seeing what you can do?"
"Of course," I say. "Are you coming too, grandma?"
"I will soon," she says. "However, I think it's best if I return to Hunter's Station first. It's important that they know about all of this so that they can prepare accordingly should they be targeted as well. Leyton, would you mind providing me with a driver?"
"I'll do it," Kira says. "I'm interested to see this place."
"Perfect," says Burns. "Then it's settled. Elian, if you don't mind, I'd prefer it if you stay up here with me for the time being. I wish to further pick your brains on what we're facing."
"Certainly, Secretary Burns."
The meeting concludes there, the rest of us now filing out and leaving only Burns and Elian behind. I sense him watching me through troubled eyes as I depart, knowing he'll have no chance to help or protect me when the fighting starts.
I return outside with the others, Kira escorting my grandmother towards the jeeps and selecting one to take to Hunter's Station. I notice a large gathering just dispersing down there, Hendricks and Ares completing their update to the troops. I see few frightened eyes among them. The Stalkers, I know, don't have the capacity for it. The Neoromans are too enticed by battle to feel fear at all, seeming more excited than scared to test themselves again. The remainder - the more powerful City Guards and Havenite hybrids - are far too battle hardened now to display any weakness around the others.
It's the sort of group I'd happily fight alongside. I imagine that the combined fighting time among this troop far, far outweighs that of the much large force marching our way.
