by T. C. Edge
I ripple at the man's words, at his odious face and delivery. Dom clearly feels something similar, though has to follow political protocol. As a leader, he needs to choose his words carefully. Even an Emperor can find himself vulnerable in a city like this.
"That," he says, "is a discussion that has already concluded, Senator Tiberius. Both myself and Lucius, as well as the majority of the senate, voted in favour of the alliance with New Haven. What we need to do now is fulfil their request." He turns his eyes around the small group of senior senators. "We must send aid immediately."
His words leave a silence in the air, at least around the podium. Elsewhere, the din continues to grow as the senators continue to arrive. Lucius looks out, noticing the filling of the room as the senators gather.
"That is to be discussed," he says, "among the entire senate. The specifics of the treaty with New Haven remains incomplete. We haven't yet ratified the exact terms of the agreement with regards military support and action. This...conflict was not expected."
"And who is this army, anyway?" asks another of the senior senators. This one is a woman, late middle age, her hair suspiciously still carrying a glossy shade of brown. She has a rather more pleasant demeanour though, than the rather unappealing figure of Senator Tiberius.
"The Prime," I find myself saying. All eyes turn to me. "These are his forces."
"The...Prime?" says the lady. "This is Olympus's doing? The so-called Children of the Prime?"
"That is what we have heard, Senator Lucilla," says Lucius. "And we have confirmation from our own forces. This is indeed an army from Olympus. They are, it seems, finally showing their hand."
A sombre, rather more concerned energy engulfs the group. They know of these people, if only vaguely. That is something I've already learned, grilling Dom on what he might have heard and known about the Children of the Prime ever since my experience with Brie, encountering Herald Nestor and his troops.
Mostly, they remain a mystery, barely more than a myth to many among the city. But to others, to those who know, they are an enigmatic, and very powerful race, their lands grand and wide, their central city of Olympus a true place of wonders to put even Neorome in the shade.
That, I find hard to believe, the word of whispers and rumour, rather than anything concrete. No one, it is said, has ever ventured that far before. No one truly knows what sort of army, what sort of power, these people possess.
Now, I think, my mind racing, we might just find out.
We take our seats, the senators moving off to sit upon the stone benches, me doing the same, perching on the edge of the front pew. Ahead, Lucius and Dom remain in position at the podium, ready to lead the discussion. And, as my eyes take in the sight of Senator Tiberius again, whispering among a small group who look just as unpleasant as he does, I feel a sinking feeling that this isn't going to be as clear-cut as I might hope.
It is Lucius who quickly updates the entire chamber on what is happening.
An approaching army. A swiftly devised ambush. A successful attack that has given New Haven the initiative, and yet made war inevitable.
Like Senator Tiberius, several of the others bring up this argument, wondering why some sort of negotiation wasn't sought before New Haven resorted to an immediate offence. Dom, once more, states his position, telling them it was inevitable anyway given the situation. Lucius, thankfully, backs him up, as do most of the rest of the chamber.
And meanwhile, I think of Brie, her passionate hatred for these people, these Children of the Prime, enough to rival my own. She'd have argued, without a shadow of a doubt, that the approaching army is evil and needs to be eradicated. That they are there only to conquer New Haven and its people, subjugate them under the rule of this Prime, force them into a life of worship of this false deity they follow.
I say none of this within the chamber, but those thoughts run through my mind. If there was any debate, any doubt in New Haven about how to approach things, Brie will have turned them all to her way of thinking.
Perhaps, I wonder, by her own 'special' means. I have warned her before to keep a check on her powers, but sometimes, they can come in very handy indeed.
"The matter of what has already happened," calls out Dom to the gathering, "is no longer relevant. We have no time to debate or question the past, or whether it was correct for New Haven to go straight onto the offence. We have to remember, they have suffered greatly recently, and this is their way of trying to seize the initiative and get the upper hand. I for one will not question that choice, but either way, it no longer matters."
He takes a breath, drawing a line under that topic of debate, unwilling to revisit it again. Then, he goes on. "What we need to do is decide, right now, how many soldiers we will send to provide support to New Haven in this conflict," he says. "It has taken us all by surprise, but we cannot deliberate long. It can take up to a week to cross the ocean and reach their city, and those days are now precious." He take another breath, eyeing the room with a deliberate, no nonsense expression. "I say we send a force of thousands, immediately, to wipe out this Olympian army once and for all. We know of Kira's experience. They are a disease upon the western landmass and must be purged."
A murmuring rumbles through the room. Some heads nod, others shake. The expressions and body language show the obvious divide between the senators, some evidently moved and in agreement of Dom's plan, others entirely against it.
It's no surprise when Senator Tiberius stands, and slowly adds his voice to the room. His manner of speaking is infuriating, almost intentionally slow, intentionally disagreeable, as if to delay proceedings for as long as possible.
"It may be true what you say, Emperor Domitian," he says grandly, with the innate superiority of a man who's family has been among the highest echelons of the city for generations, "about the Olympians being a plague, and a danger to the western landmass and those who reside upon it. But my question is simple; why is it our responsibility to care? They are not our lands. I do not agree that we should spend Neoroman blood defending a city that, frankly, could never repay the favour." He looks around the room, getting a host of fervent nods from the group surrounding him. "We know my thoughts on this alliance, but until now it has never been tested. Will you vote, now, to send thousands of our own troops across the ocean, facing the dangers the route poses, let alone the threat of the Olympian army itself? Such a thing would leave us exposed here, would it not? That is a significant proportion of our own forces. We have our own borders to worry about, Emperor Domitian."
His words come out irritatingly elegantly, and highly persuasive. I can see the room turning to his side of thinking, some of the neutrals pursing their lips and nodding as he speaks. I hate what he's saying, but even I can understand it. I can see, already, that we're not going to win this vote.
I see the slight concern on Dom's face as the room begins to turn, Tiberius having several of them in his pocket, it would seem, and exerting some influence on the entire chamber with his experience and authority. Saying we'd sent thousands was probably where Dom lost a fair few of the audience.
Too audacious, Dom, I think, sighing internally.
"Well, I can understand your point of view, Senator Tiberius," Dom says, backtracking slightly. "We don't need to send such a large portion of our army. A force of five hundred might well be enough when added to the forces New Haven already possesses, and Ares's own unit of one hundred men."
"Well, wouldn't that only expose them to an ever greater chance of death?" questions Tiberius. "We know the New Haven forces are heavily depleted. To send over five hundred good men would merely set them up to fail, when facing off against a powerful force of many thousands. We could be overcome, and lose them all. Did we not just hear from Emperor Lucius that we have already lost several fine Neoroman soldiers overnight, during this ambush?"
The question sets a new hum to the room. Tiberius has Dom completely on the spot, closing in from both sides with a incisively smart argument. If w
e send too many, we leave ourselves exposed. If we send too few, they will probably be overcome, and will all perish on foreign lands. He's put Dom in an impossible position.
I look between them both, shaking my head.
Checkmate, I think.
As Dom fumbles with a new line of thought, Lucius steps in. "Yes," he says, addressing the entire room. "Several of our men perished during the fight. It should be stressed that the ambush was an overall success, but has likely only put a dent in the Olympian armour, so to speak. They will come again, and more aggressively. I fear we will lose many more Neoroman soldiers before this fight is done."
"They should return home!" comes a call. It's one of Tiberius's stooges, adding his voice, supporting his master. I recognise him from his stance the other day, when the subject of Ares's deployment came up. "Bring them back immediately. Leave New Haven to fend for themselves!"
"And then what?" says Dom passionately. "Just watch as the Olympians wipe out New Haven, take control of the entire western landmass? You think they'd stop there? You think they'd ignore us because we're across the sea?" He shakes his head. "No, they'd look to us next. They'd spread their power here. How many of our people would die if war marched on our own lands? How many might we lose?"
"It would never happen," returns another of Tiberius's sycophantic followers, his voice similarly pompous, face reddened and plumped up via what looks to be a great fondness for food and wine. "We are Neorome! War is in our blood. They are no match for us, even if they make it here."
"And how do you know that, Senator Papus?" Dom asks, staring down the old fool. "We don't know of their power. We don't know if this is their entire army, or merely a part of it..."
"Yes...exactly," slithers Tiberius's voice again, resuming his carefully cultivated control of the room. "We don't know, Emperor Domitian. We don't know if they are marching here too. We don't know that they haven't landed down the coast with a second army, set to attack us right here, while our own forces are lured to the aid of New Haven. We don't know if we're not the true target. Our city is a jewel, the light in the darkness. We simply cannot leave it undefended. We cannot send troops."
Dom bristles, another fight here lost. It is obvious enough that the majority are of the same way of thinking now, so willing to abandon the alliance as soon as things get tough.
I look around the room, a fury settling in my blood. I feel my very veins throbbing as I gaze at these old men and women, most who've probably never seen a day of war, of proper work, of proper suffering, in their privileged lives.
I see them, and all of a sudden, I hate them. I wonder, in that moment, whether I want to be a part of this city at all. Whether I can marry Dom if this is what my life is going to be.
The thoughts come, boiling towards the surface, as the debate continues to rush and flow, the waters going this way and that as the chambers fill with arguing voices. And as they do, I feel the damn bursting, my anger impossible to contain, my requirements as a nice, presentable lady abandoning me as the old me - the real me - bursts back into life...
"YOU'RE ALL GODDAMN COWARDS!"
My words spill out loudly, echoing through the chamber, silencing it, before I have any chance to consider their effect. All eyes turn to me, many of them in shock. I pant heavily, staring at them with my narrow green eyes, shaking my head.
"You sit here and debate, safe within your grand stone chamber," I growl, "while out there, people are fighting, and dying, and none of you are willing to do anything about it!" I turn my eyes around and see some ashamed expressions beginning to bloom. "I thought Neorome was a place of warriors and heroes, a warring city! But look at you. You don't have the courage to act, to stand by your treaty." I pant heavily, adrenaline flowing through my blood. "You sit, and even have the gall to tell me what to do! To order me to stay here and abandon my past. Well, let me tell you all, I won't sit here for a second longer, not while my people are dying! I am going home to fight with the! I will not be shackled in this city again!"
I stand, turn, and begin marching out of the room. The stunned silence that spreads begins to morph into murmurs, the eminent seniors of this city never spoken to in such a way.
But I don't care right now. I don't care what repercussions my words might have.
All I care about is defending my city.
I missed one war already.
I'm damn well not going to miss another.
12
Brie
I sit, sweaty, dirty, bloody, amid the furore of the debrief, the various commanders among the military providing their updates and reports to Secretary Burns and President Orlando.
Having relocated from my grandmother's new presidential quarters to the refurbished City Guard HQ, I find myself on familiar ground, and with a familiar feeling of suffocation strangling at my throat. After everything we've been through, everything this city has suffered, we have found ourselves once more in the throes of a war.
Beside me, Marcus sits, looking similarly filthy as me, yet hardly so accosted by dark and bitter thoughts. He holds a faint smile on his face that shines through the murk, the only one within the large meeting room with such an expression. I see, across the table, Adryan looking towards him, his eyes oddly vacant. As is ever the case when I go out to fight, our relationship turns cold for a time until the bloodshed is over.
"Our scouts are reporting that the Olympian army is already moving into position outside the city," says Director Burns, having heard of all our experiences out there in the woods. "The are digging in," he goes on, "and preparing a permanent base outside the range of our guns. They must have some insight into what our current defensive systems are capable of."
"Did any of our men get captured during the fight?" asks Commander Hendricks. He looks around, to Colonel Hatcher, to me, to Marcus. The other mini-leaders of the remaining teams are not present, their own reports given to Hendricks prior to this meeting. Also, Ares hasn't returned as yet, making sure that all remaining stragglers return home, and perhaps searching for injured survivors.
Somehow, no one seems to worry too much about him, even in these circumstances. The general thought is that Ares can very much take care of himself, and that if he's still out there, it's for a reason.
"Not that I know of," says Hatcher, answering Hendricks. "Lost a few, but no one captured."
Marcus gives a similar sentiment. I do the same.
"It's possible that they have performed reconnaissance on us previous to their arrival," suggests President Orlando in her usual, calm manner. She isn't sitting this time, but gently pacing at one side of the room, hands clasped behind her back in pensive posture. "We have taken on over ten thousand refugees, according to Secretary Marr. Some may have been spies."
I nod. "Sophie said the same number. Ten thousand. Though, I don't think anyone working for the Olympians would get through. They have to go through strict security to be allowed in. And they're only ever kept in holding pens and certain parts of the city, never anywhere near the outer walls and defences. I don't know how they'd find out that sort of information. Or pass it on if they found it."
"Well, regardless of how they know, they do appear to be aware of at least some of our capabilities," says Burns. "I have ordered scouts to see if they can get close enough to perform some reconnaissance on their camp. As of now, we don't know what their range is, or whether they even have long range ordnance. Either way, it might be best to begin the evacuation to Inner Haven, at least, for the time being. We can pursue the next stage when the time comes." He looks to President Orlando. "Does that sound acceptable, Madam President?"
My grandmother nods sagely. "It is following the emergency protocol to a tee, Secretary Burns. Please, go ahead and initiate phase one."
Burns nods and moves out of the room, barking the appropriate orders to an assistant outside, before returning soon after.
I shake my head as he returns. "It hasn't even been a year," I say softly. "And it's happening again. The peo
ple are going to be terrified."
"They are hardier folk than you realise, Brie," says my grandmother. "They have seen through one war, and will do so with another. This city will continue to stand. We have prepared for this very eventuality, and while it has come a little sooner than we'd hoped, we shall prevail regardless." She looks to Burns once more. "Have you heard back from Neorome yet, Leyton?"
He shakes his head. "Not as of yet, Madam President," he sighs. "Their newly formed political system can make decision making a slow process."
"We can't afford a slow process, sir," says Hatcher grimly. "We need support here now. Who knows how long it will take for the Olympians to breach our walls and close in like the Cure did. Those barbarians managed it quickly. If the same happens again, we will find ourselves extremely vulnerable..."
"Let us hope that isn't the case," returns Burns. "The Cure were a different beast. Wild, unpredictable. These Olympians are more sophisticated, more ordered. The fact that they are preparing a permanent camp suggests that a longer siege will be in play."
"And what about the alliance?" I ask, growing a little confused by the hold up. "Isn't the entire point of it to help each other out when we run into trouble?"
"That is part of the point," President Orlando says. "Unfortunately, these treaties take a long time to complete. There are details yet to be finalised. One of those concerns the provision of military support. There is nothing, as yet, within the treaty that says they need to provide a certain number of troops by a certain time. They will be discussing it within the senate..."
"And Dom and Lucius," I say. "They can't just decide for them?"
"Brie, you know full well that their political system has changed since Empress Vesper's rule. We have seen it ourselves when we went there. It is more of a democratic system now, and unfortunately, it's suffering a few teething problems."