Sergun's Mission

by Paul A Jones

  The victory was slender but the ships of Tharne remained in blockade over the island. It was a desperate attempt to break the encirclement and within ten days of further barrage the city sent up the flag of truce. This time a ship of theirs approached the fleet with terms. The destruction inside the city and the loss of hope of being saved from the blockade had broken their spirit. Slaves were freed and to Sergun’s delight, Lord Arconis was handed over. Sarish was triumphant and eager to kill him personally. Sergun explained once he was in military custody she would not be able to kill him. He’d be hung quickly after confession. ‘Can I at least be the one who makes him swing?’

  ‘I’m sure it can be arranged.’

  Lord Arconis looked as well fed as he had at the house. He was still dressed in fine clothes and was proud. He neither cowered or asked for mercy and freely admitted to owning slaves. He recognised Sergun at his tribunal. ‘Happy now, you have wrecked so many lives? You invader, murderer, and robber of homes.’

  Sergun did not reply. There wasn’t anything of consequence to say to the man. He smiled when he saw the Lord and realised how happy he was going to making so many people, Yurul especially. He’d have enjoyed strangling the man with his own hands for what he did to her alone. Sergun’s smile infuriated the Lord who thought Sergun was laughing at him.

  ‘Happy so many people have lost their jobs and had their homes blown up? Happy so many males have lost their lives? How can you expect me to accept the authority of this tribunal? Everything I did was legal in the City. I committed no crimes!’

  ‘Lord, we are not punishing everyone who once owned slaves. But those who misused and murdered them with impunity. We will make an example of several high-profile villains. Your life went far beyond owning a few slaves. Mutilation, murder, molestation, torture. We have numerous testimonies and witnesses.’ The military judge explained.

  ‘Killing me won’t bring back anyone who is no longer here. You won’t find out my contacts and where all of the other slaves went to. I will help you greatly if you let me live.’ He finally pleaded.

  ‘A generous offer Lord, however unnecessary. Your friends in the city have provided many names for us to investigate. They too wish to save their skins.’

  Arconis no longer looked so proud, and the lines on his face evident. With no one to protect him, he grew quiet. He was once all-powerful with no one to hold him back. He performed the cruelest actions on his victims. His only future was to return to dust.

  The tribunal was short and the death sentence was announced. Watching a person hang was an acquired taste. Sergun was happy to watch it for Yurul’s sake. He could not bring her the head of the man but at least confirm he’d witnessed him die.

  Arconis needed to be assisted to the scaffold. There was no cheering or jeering at the man’s fate. The area was screened from sight and few witnesses were present. He had no final words to say. Sarish was permitted to be the one who lifted the trapdoor beneath him. She stared at the former Lord for a long time. ‘This will make me and many others happy. No one living will regret your loss. Die slowly and suffer before you rot!’

  He slowly dropped and slowly died. Sarish watched every moment with fascination. His body was disposed of in the sea for fish to devour. Sergun was content. He doubted if Yurul really wanted to see a mouldy rotten head in a box. Sarish smiled and looked satisfied and relieved. Jehran agreed their aim was now completed and the rogue was destroyed, his home and possessions were given to the needy and all slaves freed. Sergun wondered if Yurul would have enjoyed watching the sight of her abuser and tormenter swinging. He suspected she would have looked for a moment before hiding the sight from her mind. She never wanted to discuss any battles or brutality with Sergun. He hoped she was safely at home being cared for. If all these deaths were for something, it was so fewer innocents would be hurt or murdered.

  He was contented. The world was surely a better place with the falling of the two cities and the death of the corrupt Lords. He had not expected Tharne to expand its power so far so swiftly. He hoped the city’s inhabitants would see them as liberators and not oppressors. He was a soldier and not a legislator or politician. The future of the captured/liberated cities wasn’t in his power.

  Jehran smiled contentedly. He wondered if Sarish really was capable of living a normal family life and was he? Only time would tell. Her long dream to kill the man who harmed her and many others was fulfilled. They put their arms around the other and smiled watching the hated man swing. He didn’t look so tough hanging from the scaffold. He knew from his partner's thoughts if she had her own way she would have tortured him to death for several hours minimum. With the Lord despatched he expected a good night in his tent with a little word of the dead man. He was bored of hearing it. It was like an itch she could not help scratching. He believed they would never catch the man, he was an elusive creature they would track, see the shadow of but never the real person. If Sergun could really overturn his banishment perhaps he and Sarish would live a life in Tharne running a bar or a shop? He was no farmer and preferred town or city life.

  Both were pleased that night as their bodies lay entwined. There was no talk of the dead man and in the morning Sarish reported she had not dreamt of him either but only of Jehran. It was a good change from her nightmares and sweats. More than once he’d held a crying Sarish screaming that she thought she was back in the room with her tormentor. It was a side no one else saw. One she protected so well. Would she be able to focus on an ordinary life? Growing up as an assassin and becoming a business owner was sure to be awkward. Could the killing partners stop murdering? Only time would tell. The killing was a habit as old as life to him. He would have to employ people to do it for him and become respectable.

  Jehran was happy and contented. They had travelled so far together, she had his life three times, no four. She gave him hardship but also tenderness and fun like he had not enjoyed for free for a very long time. Any plans for after the man’s death were nothing but vague dreams and hopes. Suddenly retirement loomed large more quickly than expected. But from the man’s home, they uncovered no treasures. How was he to give up robbing and be respectable again?

  Sergun felt relieved that Arconis was dead. Being alone in the room when he was prisoner was bad enough: it was only for a brief time. To have been the man’s prisoner for hundreds of days, powerless and a victim was an impossible, terrifying series of thoughts. Thinking of it made him realise how strong both Jannesse and Yurul were after surviving the man's ways. Jannesse he had found annoying and interfering, overbearing, sarcastic. He wasn’t used to being talked to in such a way by a young woman yet he smiled now, glad she had not been so bitter and traumatised she became a victim only. With the Lord dead any sense of personal revenge was now gone. They’d managed to break two of the four cities and taken control of perhaps a quarter of the Raider’s lands. Tharne was in the ascendancy and he wondered who would be able to stop them. If the Raiders joined their tribes together or if the Keratha intervened their lives would become precarious. Their civilisation would be at risk.

  The bridge was only a third complete to Roche and to Sergun’s surprise few of the released slaves left by boat. He asked one of his officers to find out why and was disappointed but not surprised to find most had been captives so long they retained few memories of their homes, others loved the island and wanted to stay and earn money. They were not coerced but their minds were altered by their lives. The most recent captives were the ones most likely to leave. Raider women and young girls were the most prevalent. Unlike the tattooed men of their tribes and once clad in local clothing and washed they were indistinguishable from local females. Nearly all requested to return home, a few offered their services as maids and cooks to the army of Tharne. Sergun wondered how many of the women would be welcomed by their tribes or would they be sold to the Keratha instead? They could not change the Raider culture. He hoped it wasn’t the fate of those he saw. To have been a prisoner for years and then to be given
hope of freedom only to be sold to the aliens instead would be horrific.

  With the capture of the second of four cities, the remaining ones decided to surrender. The leaders voluntarily freed all slaves, saving their cities from destruction and ransack. As with the City of Roche it seemed most former slaves were contented to live in the city which they felt was home.

  Sergun didn’t travel to the surrendered cities. He was confident their leaders were finished, weapons confiscated, their naval warships which had not fled were now under Tharne’s control and slavery was abolished. He trusted his fellow Generals in their control of the cities.

  This was the limit of the aims of Tharne that Sergun knew of. It was impossible to suppress all of the Raiders as their territories were all the way up to a thousand kilometres north and they were too numerous to subdue and to conquer such a large area would require more men and Galls than Tharne possessed. The oracle’s ideas were excellent and had been put into brilliant practise. He wondered where the creature was now and if it was contented. He wondered what new ideas it would be able to give to Lord Chromosol and others from his peoples. War was changing, had become technical and skilled. No doubt cavalry charges would still happen but against guns they would be suicidal.

  He returned to his temporary base at the City of Dreams. Lord Arconis once owned several hotels and one was now the headquarters of the 3rd Army of Tharne. He spent what felt like a long time in the city hunting the man and now peace was restored to the place and the hated Red Militia had gone while the black one's faces were uncovered. Even children were now visible on the streets and none tried to rob him. Sergun was warmly greeted as a hero for his victories over the Cities and the Raiders by his troops. It was a good feeling to be in the pretty city. Kall was still in the City of Roche. He was very glad they did not need to destroy the City of Dreams. It was far more enjoyable to eat a meal there knowing he wasn’t trying to find Arconis and there were thousands of troops with him. It was relaxing knowing no one was left in slave pens.

  He saw some poor wretches on the street and discovered they were former slaves now who were homeless. He wasn’t surprised. They had outlawed a system of ruling which was in place for generations. From their history and experience, he could not expect everyone to forget the past and live a new life without memories.

  General Vorn showed him a message from the government instructing Sergun to return to the capital. He wasn’t displeased as the battles were over. Ruling over an occupied city wasn’t to his taste. He was permitted to ride on horseback but it was insisted he was accompanied by a large escort as befitting an army commander. Another base had been constructed between the city and their first fort. He wondered how permanent this expansion would be. Would the Keratha intervene? They said these lands were theirs, so where were they? They were sure to notice the lessening of availability of slaves. The guns his side now controlled were sure to be able to destroy many Keratha warriors but against their hordes and their flame cannons, his side still had no chance.

  Unable to answer these questions and hoping he was just worrying too much he returned safely to Northtown. From there a carriage took him to the capital. It was greatly expanded and grown beyond even the giant walls and original constructions they inherited.

  It felt safe in the capital, well away from the Keratha and Raider lands. It was too crowded, but no masked militias patrolled, the majority of people looked well fed and dressed. He didn’t feel afraid. There were streets best to avoid if you wanted to keep your money. There was good food to be eaten in the capital and mighty temples and Government Palaces to admire which almost matched the original mammoth buildings.

  As a child the first times he travelled to the capital of his lands he believed it was a monstrous place full of buildings too huge to comprehend and too many people. He was more familiar now with the city’s main thoroughfares and places to visit. He’d been stationed in the city twice in his army years, once for rest and once for discussions at a high level. Travelling through the city in a military convoy in a sealed carriage isolated the person from the noise, smells and bustle of the place. This wasn’t a place he wanted to live in but it was one of safety and there were lots of attractions.

  No one accosted his carriage. There were fine looking women in the city, showing bare legs and long hair was the fashion it seemed. Both reminded him of home. Some peered at the carriage, most took no notice.

  41. The Secret

  Sergun was called to see the Minister of War and escort was provided. He was accompanied not to the Minister’s Palace but an obscure library to his confusion. It was well hidden and behind strong gates. He noticed armed guards lurking among the trees and bushes and from the people outside he guessed many of those as well were security officials not in uniform. Something of critical importance was kept here but the aim wasn’t to reveal it.

  There were rumours of secret prisons. This would be a good place and there would be no way out without an official release or a large well-armed gang who could get you out of the city. He wasn’t alarmed but curious. The library contained many books on shelves. Through these, there was a wide staircase to yet additional books. Two of the large shelves swung outwards to reveal large doors behind.

  The following sign was displayed. ‘Only permitted persons may enter.’ They were expecting Sergun and he was allowed in while his escorts were dismissed. There were men inside the hidden library room reading and talking. They didn’t wear uniforms but he believed them to be soldiers from their build and from the knives they carried. Some kind of subterfuge was occurring. He did not believe the Minister of War was going to meet him after all. Instead, Minister Thorne greeted Sergun. He was the highest-ranking Minister responsible for matters of security.

  They greeted one another respectfully. The Minister was enthusiastic about the battles and struggles Sergun had taken part in.

  ‘We’ve a problem though.’ Thorne explained. ‘You’ve been asked for.’

  ‘By whom?’ He asked.

  ‘You have met them before.’

  Sergun was puzzled. The huge doors were too strong to be opened by anything other than a massive explosion. They were stronger than the ones Arconis once hid behind. There were armed black-clad guards inside. He was required to sign a book to pass through the first doors and his weapons were removed at the third. He felt curiosity but no danger. He was in a safe place. Who feared him with a weapon though?

  There was a long corridor and a final group of guards with a large cannon ready to fire at anyone approaching. Minister Thorne spoke to them and Sergun was allowed to pass once the final door was opened.

  Inside the room beyond there was only a single person visible and he was hunched over a desk writing. Sergun introduced himself and asked the man what he was here for.

  ‘It’s you. The, err creature wants to speak to you.’

  The man was introduced as Professor Laytol. He was older than Sergun and slim. His hair was an unruly grey, his nose sharp and he gave the impression of not liking Sergun who knew the man was a famous inventor and scientist. Out of sight of anyone within this final room was the oracle. That’s where they had taken it to! Right under part of the capital, guarded like the rarest find in the world. The level of security guarding it was proof of how vital it must be to the government. From a swamp buried for centuries to now buried under the city.

  ‘Oracle. This is Sergun. I’m told you wish to speak to me. I’m honoured. What’s wrong?’

  You must convince these fools to act as soon as possible.’

  ‘Act how?’

  The Keratha lands here must be conquered and your southern ports defended. Send scouts at least fifteen kilometres ahead of the artillery. They must use coloured flares to inform the artillery of directing fire or where the enemy is. Bomb their city first with explosives and then with the poison shells I’ve told them about. They’re fatal to the aliens and harmless to us.’

  ‘I know the Keratha are not allies but is attacking t
hem like this wise? We’ve potential problems both against the northern independent cities and against large elements of the Raiders. We’ve won several excellent victories.’

  ‘I wish only to promote the safety of Tharne.’

  Sergun wondered if the creature within the box had gone mad. Of all the suggestions for increasing danger to Tharne attacking the Keratha was the worst. He was unsurprised the creature hadn’t been listened to. It couldn’t expect the government to act on whatever it said.

  ‘Without my help, you will be crushed inside the next thirty years at my best prediction, at worst inside five years.’

  Sergun was stunned by the information. The extent of his peoples’ lands had increased by near double recently. They had subdued four powerful cities and gained ports on the east coast. Many guns protected against the north now and Edge City was sure to have the new superior weapons. Tharne was at the peak of its power. Could it really be true that like many in the past Empires fell quickly? If they were being given excellent advice it would be best to follow it no matter how dangerous it seemed.

  The oracle gave clear advice. He trusted it and realised why it was named so. It had aided his people well so far and given no indication it was false. To think in thirty years or sooner his people would be crushed if they did not fight now was a terrible shock. His young son should be settled and the child within his wife would still have a good life ahead in a stable world. To picture their home and future burnt to the ground, his children dead or enslaved was no future he could endure contemplating. He would remain in the Army until the enemy was crushed with the guidance of the oracle.

  He listened as the creature patiently explained its findings. If true, they were most worrying, but he did not make government policy. The oracle explained it only wanted long-term peace for Tharne but in order to achieve this war was inevitable.