“Please, I beg of you,” he was saying. “Please, let us have order.”
“Where is the army?” one woman demanded. “Why have they not come to protect us? Why are they letting our town be destroyed?”
“I haven’t been able to raise anyone in the government or the military on the radio,” he responded. “The telephone lines are down. Probably cut by the Dommies. We don’t know how bad the situation is, but there is a good chance that the army has set up its defensive line to protect the capital and the cities to the south. Sending those of you who are unable to fight to the south is probably the safest thing we can do.”
“And what if they have cut off the road to the capital?” a middle-aged man demanded. “I would be sending my wife and daughter to their deaths.”
“The Dommies couldn’t have made it that far, could they?” another commented.
“It sounded pretty bad on the news last night,” a woman said. “The whole country could have been taken already.”
The crowd started bickering and clamoring to be heard with Beaurigar trying to shout them down and failing. Alex took a look at Dag, who simply shrugged and gave him a “What are you going to do?” expression. Alex knew exactly what he was going to do. Without another moment’s hesitation, he jumped up on a nearby park bench, set before a statue of Valdic Harren, founder of the town.
“That’s enough!” he shouted loudly enough that he managed to catch everyone’s attention. “The fact is we don’t know anything about what’s happening in the rest of the country and that isn’t going to change anytime soon. But we do know what’s happening here,” he added as he locked eyes with Beaurigar, looking for some acknowledgement that Beaurigar might approve of the dissemination of information he was about to engage in. The captain’s expression was blank and unreadable.
Undeterred, Alex continued, “We know that the force we defeated last night was but a small contingent of what’s headed through the Crest right now, that’s headed for our home.” This caused some whispers of panic from the group assembled around him. “But we have an opportunity to deal a massive blow to the Dominion’s attack on our lands if we possess the courage and we act quickly.”
“What can we do without an army?” the same woman asked. “Shouldn’t the military be handling this?”
“If we are at war, then I am in the military,” Alex responded. “As is every able-bodied man and every woman willing to volunteer for service. We are an army.”
“The Dominion will kill us in a heartbeat,” a man offered. “We can offer them no resistance.”
“Oh no?” Alex asked. “Less than a dozen of us defeated them last night and we are poised to defeat them again. Join with me, with the captain, with all of us, and fight for your homes,” he implored. “Those who can’t or won’t fight, should leave now. If we should fail, Harren Falls will be destroyed as will everyone left in the town. If we succeed, we can send men to bring you back to your homes. Please, you must trust in us and most importantly, you cannot succumb to fear.”
The crowd seemed to consider this for a moment, before one voice shouted, “I’m with you!” This was followed by another and another until it was a loud chorus that had morphed into, “Miraval! Miraval! Miraval!”
“Those of you who are with us, report to the National Guard Headquarters for armaments,” Beaurigar shouted. “Those of you who are leaving town, please do so as soon as possible.”
The throng started to break up and for the first time, Alex and Dag noticed a silver-haired woman with a pair of sisters several years apart. Elissa was clinging to her mother’s leg, while Vara stood to the side with a certain aloofness. She still held the pistol that her brother had given to her. Dag smiled at her though and she rushed forward into his arms. He lifted her off the ground and carried her over to where their mother was standing.
“Thank all the gods,” Alex said as he bent to kiss his mother on the cheek and the ruffled Elissa’s hair.
“You didn’t come home,” Mrs. Dagenham said in a quiet voice.
“We’ve been busy, mother,” Alex replied. “I’m sorry. We should have seen to you three before…”
Alex was interrupted by his mother slapping him across the face. “I lost my husband to those thrice-damned Dommies, and you let me go this whole time without knowing if my two boys were alive or dead!” she hissed. Her cold stare bore hard into Alex. “I expect this type of nonsense from your brother. He vanishes into the woods for days at a time, and I never know if he’s coming back. But you’re the sensible one, Aleksian. You’re the smart one.”
Dag and Vara exchanged glances. He wasn’t certain if he should defend himself or not. Opening his mouth would just encourage a similar berating the likes of which Alex was currently receiving. That, he did not need. Besides, his mother looked like she was winding down. No sense in riling her back up.
“Now, I assume that since this hubbub has concluded that you will be escorting me and your sisters to safety,” she said.
“Mother, I am a lieutenant in the militia,” he said.
“And that matters what?” she demanded, crossing her arms across her chest in a gesture that did not promote civil discourse.
Alex was at a loss for words. He never knew what to say to his mother. Dag had observed her keep him close to her and under her heel for a long time. He had long suspected it was some misplaced notion of keeping him safe after what had happened to their father. She had never tolerated from Alex what she put up with from Dag. There were times when he had resented her for clearly not being the favorite son, but this was not one of those times. All the same, Dag realized that it was going to be up to him to rescue his brother.
“You may have noticed, mother, but there’s a war on,” Dag said. “Alex is a military officer and he had a duty.”
“And what of duty to his family?” she demanded.
“They hang deserters,” Dag pointed out. “Are you going to kill Alex for leaving you to defend his country?”
“That is not the point,” she argued.
“No,” Dag agreed, his voice rising. “The point is he is doing his duty to his family by fighting the enemy. What safety do you think you’ll find if men like Alex don’t halt the Dominion advance? You think you’ll be safe under a Dominion occupation? That’s assuming they don’t murder all of us if they take this country.”
Mrs. Dagenham glared daggers at her eldest son. “Fine then, you’ll come with us then, Raslan,” she said. “You’re not your brother, but I won’t have this entire family ripped apart by the Dominion.”
Dag shook his head. “I’m staying with Alex,” he said.
“You’re no soldier,” she sneered.
“Oh no?” Alex intervened. “He saved all of our lives last night. Yours and the girls included,” he added. “If it weren’t for him, the Dommies would have leveled Harren Falls or razed it or burned it to ash.” He stared at his mother equally coolly. Dag was amazed by how much they looked like each other, staring angrily at one another.
“Universal conscription will be announced soon or has already been announced,” Dag continued as calmly as he could. “We wouldn’t know since the communications blackout began. I’m going to be asked to fight either way, and I would much rather fight with Aleksian than be shipped to the gods-know-where.”
“I suppose I can’t change your mind,” she said.
“Someone needs to keep Alex alive,” Dag replied with a smile. “The gods know that he can’t do it on his own.”
“That’s not funny,” she said.
Alex ignored them both and said to her, “Mother, start heading toward the capital with whatever provisions you can carry. A couple of people are organizing trucks to take people there. Be on one.”
With that, he walked away headed back toward the National Guard Headquarters. Mrs. Dagenham watched him go and looked like she wanted to say something, but simply set her mouth in a grim line and said to Elissa, “Come, child. We’re leaving.”
D
ag set Vara down on her feet and knelt down next to her. “I’ll need you to keep an eye on them,” he said.
“I want to stay here with you and fight,” she said stubbornly.
“I know you do and I would have you fight at our side,” he said. “But now’s not the time.” She looked disappointed. “Not yet anyway. Soon enough, it may be. For now, keep your mother and your sister safe. Shoot any Dommies you see,” he added with a wry grin.
Vara smiled and gave her brother a hug. “Vara!” Mrs. Dagenham called. “Hurry up, child!”
Vara ran off after their mother who was headed in the direction of those milling about, waiting for someone to organize their evacuation. Not everyone in Harren Falls had vehicles, but most that did had trucks. A decent number of people could be crammed into the back of one for the day’s journey to the capital. Dag stood and watched until his sisters and their mother were given a hand up into an old jalopy with more rust than paint on it. A dozen other people were sitting in the back before the old truck lumbered off. Dag threw a wave as they left, which only Vara returned. Without trying to read too much into what his mother had just said to them, Dag turned and headed in the same direction his brother had. It was hard not to wonder if he would ever see his family again.
13
Aria was standing outside of the headquarters entrance as Dag approached. “About time,” she called as he walked over. “My fath- that is, Captain Beaurigar wants to see all of us in his office.”
Dag nodded and followed her into the building. It was hard to believe it had only been a dozen hours or so since he and Alex had come through this building scavenging for weapons. Aria led him into the captain’s quarters, which apparently doubled as his office. A small bunk bed apparently served as his billet and a map of Miraval covered most of one wall. His desk had been dragged into the center of the room and several folding chairs had been stationed around it. Another map lay on the desk, this one a more detailed map of the Crest and the area surrounding Harren Falls. Seated around it were Captain Beaurigar, Alex, Tangrit, and Torrace. Aria and Dag took the remaining two chairs.
“Good,” the captain began, standing up and grabbing a long pointed stick as he spoke. “Now that we are all here, we can begin the briefing.”
Dag gave an apologetic look to the captain and then met his brother’s eyes for a moment. Alex’s face gave no indication as to what this meeting was going to be about.
“I’ve been unable to raise anyone on the radio back at command, no civilian ham operators are answering, and the telephone and television lines have apparently been cut,” Beaurigar began. “As such, we have no orders from anyone higher up in the chain of command, no idea if any reinforcements are coming our way, or if there is even a government left to issue commands.”
“It could nae be tha’ bad,” Torrace protested. A stony look from Beaurigar was the only response he received and Torrace fell silent.
“Standing orders in any wartime situation for a commanding officer are to assume that you are the highest ranking officer in the area until proven otherwise,” Beaurigar continued. “As such, I’m taking command of all forces in this area.”
Everyone seated around the desk looked at each other. “No offense intended, sir, but what forces? The only military officer left besides yourself is me,” Alex said.
“We have the volunteers outside and universal conscription has almost certainly been ordered,” Beaurigar replied. “As such, I am commissioning you as my executive officer for all operations in this theater, Lieutenant Dagenham.”
“I take it you have an operation in mind then, captain,” Dag led as Alex took in the news he had just been given.
“All in good time,” Beaurigar responded. He crossed his arms behind his back and began pacing around behind those seated. “Donovan Tangrit, you have the most battle experience of any man here and I considered making you my second, but Alex has been through Officer Training School and I need you as a Specialist in charge of the bombardier division.”
“Was never officer material,” Tangrit replied. “Blowing things up is more my taste anyway.”
“Torrace Gravely,” Beaurigar began as he stopped behind the larger man.
“I am nae a fighter,” Torrace said.
“You acquitted yourself just fine last night, but an army isn’t composed entirely of fighters,” Beaurigar responded. “We will need supplies: food, clothing, ammunition. I am making you a Specialist Quartermaster.”
“Aye, food I can handle,” Torrace responded.
Aria was next in line and she was not about to let her father send her away. “I’m not leaving,” she insisted.
“Aria, I’m putting you in charge of the commandos,” he said plainly. “I’m loathe to put my own daughter in harm’s way, but I know that you wouldn’t leave no matter what I said.”
“Glad to see you got that right,” Aria responded in what was supposed to be a calm, detached voice, but she could not contain the wide grin that was spreading across her face.
“Let me guess,” Dag said before Beaurigar could get to him. “Latrine duty?”
“I could add that to your duties,” the captain said with a grim smile. “But based on what you showed me last night, I think I would do better to commission you as a sergeant-major and to put you in charge of the snipers and scouts.”
“You’re making me a sergeant-major? That would make me third in command, yes?” Dag asked.
“Right under me,” Alex pointed out.
“That’s going to work real well,” Dag said flippantly.
The captain ignored them both. “Now, that you have your assignments, it will be your duty to divvy our volunteers up into fighting units. You all know the people in this town well and know their strengths. Make good use of that knowledge for the battle ahead.”
“So, we have a plan then?” Alex asked.
Beaurigar nodded and pointed at the map of the Crest with his stick. “If the information that you and your brother obtained is reliable, then we know that in the next day and a half, a large armored column with infantry support will reach the gorge here,” he said. “The bridge there is of vital strategic importance as it is the only connection between the north and south divisions of the region. Holding that bridge is going to be key to delaying whatever designs the Dominion has on the interior of the country.”
“Before the televisions went dark, it sounded like the Dominion was running roughshod over all of our forces anyway,” Dag pointed out. “The interior of the country may already be captured.”
“That might explain why we haven’t heard anything from command,” Aria added. “There may be no command left.”
“Even if that were true,” Beaurigar interjected. “Controlling this bridge is going to be of vital importance to defending the Crest. In our hands, the enemy would only be able to approach us from the south as we have the cliffs to the east, the gorge to the north, and the Rock Maze to the west.”
Everyone seemed to consider this for a moment. “Permission to speak freely, sir,” Alex announced suddenly.
“This is a war council,” Beaurigar replied. “Say whatever the hell you want.”
“How in the world can we be expected to hold this bridge, sir?” he asked. “Even if we can dislodge the enemy, our small force couldn’t hold it against multiple armored and infantry divisions.”
“We blow it,” Tangrit said suddenly. “We get there ahead of the Dommies and blow the bridge to hell.”
Beaurigar nodded. “That is the mission objective,” he agreed.
A smile of pure machination suddenly appeared on Dag’s face. “There’s a small improvement we could make to this end objective,” he said. “It would require employing a bit of camouflage.”
“What do you mean?” the captain asked.
“I’m sure the Dommies would be disappointed if they got to the gorge and the bridge was no longer there,” he said. “I think they’d find it worse if it blew up as they were going across it.”
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“The bridge is pretty long,” Alex agreed. “If we timed it right, a sizeable amount of their force could be on the bridge when it goes.”
Captain Beaurigar shook his head. “It’s too dangerous,” he said. “If the charge fails, then the Dommies will have made it over here.”
“It will take them two days to get back down the Crest,” Dag pointed out. “After that, those forces can be redeployed against our army elsewhere.”
“A loss of an entire segment of their army may cause the Dommies to pause and regroup,” Alex added. “In addition, it might demoralize the war effort. I’m with Dag on this one. I think this is a chance we can’t afford to pass up.”
“I’ll consider it as an option once we have eliminated the enemy bridgehead,” the captain said. “We shall discuss it then.”
Dag looked like he wanted to argue further but a sharp shake of the head from Alex caused him to bite back the words.
Beaurigar continued as he pointed on the map to the wooded area surrounding the gorge near the bridge, “Sergeant Dagenham’s chosen scouts will make their way to the forest ahead of our main force and see to their picket lines as well as confirm what the status of the enemy is. I will also need you to find an unmined approach for Aria, I mean, Specialist Beaurigar and the commando division,” he said. “Specialist Tangrit and his men will see to destroying the machine gun nests.”
“Mortar will come in handy there,” Tangrit said.
“After the volunteers have been drafted into their units, make sure they are appropriately equipped and we will need vehicles to get the men as close to the front as we can,” he said to Torrace. To everyone, he added, “I wish we could have tonight to rest, but that’s just not going to happen. If all goes to plan, we attack the enemy bridgehead tonight under cover of darkness.”
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Partisan (The Invasion of Miraval Book 1) Page 6