Operation story: 13-4

Operation

Story

Previous 13-3	Next 13-5
Characters
Ermengarde Hoederer Hoederer (flashback) Ines Manfred W Sarkaz Traveler?
Backgrounds
1 2 3 4

Before operation

Summary Hoederer, Ines and W intercept the Lich Ermengarde, but all four find themselves sucked into a bizarre mirage, one which offers them a view of a fragment of Sarkaz history from seven thousand years ago.
<Background black>
Honestly, since coming to Victoria, my drafting work has been at a standstill.
Back in my mercenary days, I spent most of my free time writing them. One book filled, a new book empty. Really, I had more to write than I physically could. And yet, since joining the Military Commission, I haven't given those notebooks a flip-through in forever by now. I obtained what seemed like a higher position and power. I wasn't directing a squad or two of mercenaries any longer; now they put the sand table of the whole battlefield before me. And I grew more and more sick of what I'd written about. I used to believe the most important test of an archivist's character was loyalty to their accounts. Yet bit by bit, I came to discover these books had turned into echoes of wave after indistinguishable wave, reproductions of scene after scene of the same tragedy. I'd been through this all with my own flesh, felt it all with my own soul. Why even make all this... vacant language and empty summary out of it? I'd had enough.
<Flashback starts here>
<Background 1>
When did it happen, again? I remember. Last year in September... last year, where the summer was exceptionally long.
Hoederer	General, the Mayor is dead.
Manfred	Your saber still drips with the blood. If only the blades of the Military Commission and the mercenaries could be as swift.
Hoederer	As long as it's a weapon, there's no real difference.
I remember the look he gave me in that moment. But I'm still not sure what he really meant by it.
[Hoederer receives a call.]
Hoederer	...Roger.
[Hoederer signs off.]
Hoederer	News just came from the mercs. The fourteen MPs in the plot to assassinate the Regent have been apprehended.
Manfred	And what stance are the other MPs taking?
Hoederer	They don't have one.
Manfred	I thought you'd be more direct about your methods.
Hoederer	If the Military Commission requires, I can execute every MP straight away.
Manfred	With our current situation, this will suffice. The airship is still under construction; we need just a little extra patience. Pull your men out. The Nachzehrer King's legion has arrived.
Hoederer	...Legion?
My voice shakes a little. The Nachzehrer's legion. Of all the "military powers" I'd met in war, the vast majority paled compared to that one name. The difference was heaven and earth.
Hoederer	When? How? Whatever direction a Kazdel army enters Victoria from, they'd have to pass through major duchies. It wouldn't matter how they conceal themselves, that large a force could never—
Manfred	His Majesty has arrived at Londinium's suburbs. Two reorganized Royal Court units directly subordinate to him have been stationed outside the city.
Hoederer	...... I understand. I'll order the mercs to withdraw.
Manfred	That Lt. Colonel Lettou had his talk with the Regent. He and his Defense Forces will soon be assuming control over all of Londinium's administrative affairs. On the surface, Londinium will enter a state of semi-martial control led by the Defense Forces, owing to the "garrisoned rebellion".
Hoederer	Don't think that'll fool the Grand Dukes... their intelligence networks are well developed in the city. They'll definitely start mobilizing for war within the next few months.
Manfred	It won't take that long. It's exceedingly likely the quickest army will show up beneath Londinium's walls within twenty days. But no fear. No matter who arrives first, they won't be hasty to act. Any duke that dares march alone will become the common enemy of all, just as in the Duke of Windermere's failure of a raid two years ago. Her high-speed warships didn't even succeed in launching from their berths before her own men obstructed her. It was ridiculous.
Hoederer	The Duke of Windermere... She's clever. She's been warning Parliament since the day the Regent first made contact with Victoria.
Manfred	Cavendish didn't just invite us to enter Londinium on his lonesome. Each and every duke was hoping to make a "military vassal" out of the Regent, an assistant to the thorns in their sides. Understand? This Duke of Windermere is no exception. Behind the guise of the iron-fisted soldier, she obeys the game logic of aristocrats as much as the rest. She was just the one most impatient to place us back in the toolbox.
Hoederer	From what I hear, Victoria's legendary Steam Knights don't exist anymore.
Hoederer	I'm a mercenary, General. The Regent and Military Commission's scheme was a huge success. Pretty crazy. Somehow, the Sarkaz have a firm hold on Victoria's capital. The dukes need an easy-to-cut-up army to put down dissidents, and Parliament is desperate for an "appropriate" defense, to avoid any more action like those two stupid dukes' adventures.
Manfred	You do have a nose for sniffing, Hoederer. Not a good quality for a serviceman.
Hoederer	In their eyes, the Sarkaz came fresh out of civil war on a silver platter, table ready, disposable. Now, we've taken the industrial sector, leashed Parliament, and even The Shard will be under our control any day now. The Regent's taken Londinium, for real. But we can't shunt this city off. We can stir up conflict, but then what? We end up buried together with Londinium under a coalition of foreign militaries? What is the Commission planning?
I know I'm being a little too forward. But you draw suspicion by being too obedient. Yet Manfred doesn't even turn to look at me. He's... flipping through a book. Untitled.
Manfred	Do mercenaries have so many problems, Hoederer? Have I given you too much leeway?
Hoederer	I only need to know what the goal I'm serving is.
[Manfred sifts through the book's pages.]
Manfred	The mercenaries I know have other tastes. Inquiring as to the more loose-pocketed employer, or mulling over how to waylay a Sankta caravan.
Hoederer	...I just have different personal habits.
[Manfred closes the book.]
Manfred	"Personal habits".
The Military Commission general before me pries his gaze away from the book. I hear his position here isn't just for his service rank; I hear his relationship with Theresis is very special. Which means, I have to be extra cautious. I dip my head slightly, working to ensure I express enough respect and humility.
Manfred	Is your eye alright?
Hoederer	...It affects my depth perception in sword combat. I'll get used to it ASAP.
Manfred	I received your interrogation records. The assassin was an Ines woman, a mercenary alike.
Hoederer	We sure didn't expect a Sarkaz like Ines to get bought out by Parliament, especially for a hit on the Regent.
Manfred	Ines is dead, and you lost an eye for it. You'll receive commendations from the Military Commission.
Hoederer	No commendations necessary.
Manfred	Then you'll receive payment, in mercenary fashion. After all, you and Ines, and that lunatic with the W callsign, led an active mercenary unit for quite some time. The old Sarkaz of the Scar Market, their commendations for you are blinding.
Hoederer	......
Manfred	Very decisive of you to kill her.
Hoederer	It's the only way a mercenary lives. We'll do anything to survive.
Manfred	Even gutting your own colleagues?
Hoederer	Even gutting our own colleagues.
Manfred	Then I'm sure one day you'll come to dispatch me. Won't you?
Hoederer	......
Manfred	You asked me just now. What could the Military Commission be planning? Our plan is only drawn up to the point war breaks out. As for what follows, that would be... their plan to make. This place is the heart of hatred, and it will be buried by vengeance. Just as you wrote in those booklets. Just as every war we've been through.
Hoederer	So you were...
Manfred	Never mind that. Carry on writing. You've a heavy mission. Bear that responsibility.
<Flashback ends here>
<Background black>
Now, the Military Commission's duty in Londinium is fulfilled. With a single activation of The Shard, the tempest of war will be unstoppable. In which case, what more could Theresis want to do? What more can we do?
<Background 2>
Ines	Done with your notes?
Hoederer	No, I wasn't writing anything. Just giving this sword another polish. The mercenary claymore... I haven't used this thing in forever.
[Hoederer had changed to a new attire and just finished cleaning his greatsword.]
W	You're so heartless.
Hoederer	If you want it, you can have it. A present from me to you.
W	A sword? Low efficiency, zero interest.
Ines	*sigh*... And you found the time to fix your hair? Can't blame you, I guess. We're not going to have the time for hair gel like you did back in Londinium.
Hoederer	It's just more convenient this way.
Ines	You should've kept that outfit. Maybe you could keep acting the merc leader, treasure of the army?
W	What's that thing army guys say? It's your calling to serve?
Hoederer	A mercenary's calling is to get paid, not get bereavement. Knock it off and save your spittle, you two. Defense perimeter, scouting radius. Is this the opening?
W	Until they started fighting, yeah. As for now... they're marching. No matter how much the dukes hate each other's guts, this front's gonna close in sooner or later. You're sure your guy's gonna pass this position? You can literally see The Shard's Catastrophe clouds from here.
Hoederer	The Catastrophe's landing point is the line of fire between the Duke of Wellington and the Nachzehrer King. Chances are the Iron Duke will retreat his front. As for Windermere, she probably won't have the spare energy to deploy her own forces until she gets her daughter back inside a nomadic fortress. My "guy" doesn't have a lot of exit routes from Londinium.
Ines	Wait. Incoming. The shadow's very fast. It's like... Er, a polygonal... yarn ball?
W	A what?
Ines	The overall shape is polygonal, but highly irregular. It's Arts. High chance the naked eye can't follow it, or else she wouldn't make it here.
Hoederer	Target confirmed. We can only afford a little rough play.
[Hoederer runs after the object.]
Hoederer	W—
I turn back, and she's gone. A second later, deafening explosions.
Hoederer	*sigh*... After her!
<Background fades out and in>
The scale of the dust cloaks the entire surroundings, but we're not blind to what's either a sizable witchcraft vehicle or a bizarre aircraft. As ever, W kicks off without restraint. If we did graze a Lich... I brush away the smoke, but surprisingly, I feel myself hit something. What is that? A wire? Silk threads. Hanging crisscrossing from the void, then pressing into it again.
[A familiar Lich lady reveals herself.]
???	...Mercenaries? What a coincidence. Come at me, then. This is where the strange sensations truly start.
Her figure snaps into formlessness in an instant, threads swirling and fading. I thrust an arm out with all my strength, but grab at nothing but dust.
Ines	Did she run? I told you, you can't blow a Lich up with bombs.
Hoederer	No. She's still around. We have to catch her.
[The trio goes after the Lich.]
<Background black>
[The trio stops.]
Ines	Something's not quite right. We never passed by any area like this. Nothing here casts any shadow. Is it an illusion?
W	I think there's a bunch of big guys over there, right by the mountain. Those are some crazy swords. How do they lift 'em?
Mountain? Wasn't this a plain? I follow where W's looking. The haze gradually thins, and the scene becomes clear. I gulp. Practically everything about the battlefield leaves my mind.
<Background 3>
Sarkaz Traveler?	(In ancient Sarkaz) The ash-bleached city lies ahead. Let us hasten. (In ancient Sarkaz) It will admit us. The children of the soil and stone have built city walls on Sorrow's Ground. (In ancient Sarkaz) Kazdel. Each syllable is a bitter journey unto its own. (In ancient Sarkaz) Where is it? From dreams we have departed, seeking to this day. (In ancient Sarkaz) The age of exile has come to an end—
W	What are they saying?
Hoederer	It's an ancient Sarkaz dialect. "Sorrow's ground". "Ash-bleached city". I'm having trouble with the rest—I can only guess.
W	I think they mentioned Kazdel too? Which one?
Sarkaz Traveler?	(In ancient Sarkaz) Diαblo Balor'sača of the Condemnor Clan and Qui'lon the Errant Overlord will meet us on our way. (In ancient Sarkaz) Oh, and he is here too... (In ancient Sarkaz) Gul'dul, "The King of Sarkaz"—
Hoederer	—
I couldn't know these names better. I could almost recite their legends from memory. The first line of Sarkaz I ever read was from the tale of these people, the epic transcribed time and time again, still handed down in Kazdel's slums to this day.
???	What these shadows tell of is the second Kazdel that could be called a city. After the very first Kazdel was laid to waste by the Elders and Ancients, there passed over a thousand years where Kazdel was no more than a tiny hamlet, a mass of thatch and wooden fencing. Frail, easily destroyed, it was ravaged by the wills of colonizers again and again, and again and again the Sarkaz were sent into exile. Until this moment, where the Sarkaz had once again accumulated strength, once again rebuilt... a true city. They left the wastes that we now call Columbia, and came to the heartlands of Terra, and there they lived, and there they died. And then... a betrayal. Another migration east. And before they'd gone far, the blue flames of fury were again betrayed. It seems as if Sarkaz history were cursed from that moment on. History's waves have rolled on, to this present day, where citadels are incessantly scrapped and rebuilt and still amble about in arm's reach. But the names they speak, those are that city's first Kings of Sarkaz.
[The Lich lady reveals herself to be Ermengarde.]
Ermengarde	The Kings of Sarkaz, seven thousand years ago.
When did this Lich appear before us? How does she have this power? I draw my sword, across my chest. The Lich lifts a hand.
Ermengarde	How— How did you produce these things?
Hoederer	......
Ermengarde	Considering this Kazdel's historical significance and its impact on the generations to come, the legend of the Kings of Sarkaz have found such wide spread in song. But these vagabonds? Even we lack for such trifling... er, accounts This is scarcely even witchcraft... it is absolutely not. No Originium Arts could attain this degree of effect. Oh, or perhaps it could, but at the very least a historian would be needed. Is it a trick of physics? A projector that forms images from the mist? When did our brother and sister gain such technology? How rude not to share! Hm... no, it's off. These pictures are too close to the recorded truth. Be it a technological feat, whence came the material...? So this is some kind of Arts, then...
Her hand sways gently in the air, like she's feeling something, studying the colors before her and leaving us to our devices.
Ermengarde	But it's of no known category of Arts... it's highly likely, even, that it isn't Arts. How very strange—a Feranmut? If Victoria wanted to tame a Feranmut for battle, it should've started long ago...
W	What's this bitch even doing?]
Ermengarde	It seems you are not Artists. You are simply and purely the ones who blew up my beloved cube. It was very comfortable sitting in it.
Hoederer	Messenger to the Lich's Court, Lady Ermengarde, we deeply apologize for using such a method to contact you.
Ermengarde	...I don't know what misconception you have of Liches, but honestly, I'm not that old. Stop kowtowing.
Hoederer	I fear this is not your Arts, either.
Ermengarde	I certainly don't have the knack to conjure a band of seven-millennium-old vagabonds. Hm... what if I use Arts to stimulate it? Just the most basic, tiny tiny amount, of energetic irritation...
[Ermengarde channels her Arts.]
<Background black>
A squall whips up. The vision before me recedes like the tide. The twisted scene returns to normality. A bloodied boulder abruptly appears before us all.
<Background 4>
Ines	What is this? I checked this area three days ago. There was nothing like this here. Guys, we... Hey, Hoederer, W, snap out of it.
Ines is fine, thank the stars. My blood is boiling.

After operation

Summary After the mirage fades, the four find a bloodied Arts Circle. Hoederer learns the Liches are preparing a piecemeal evacuation plan for Kazdel, then proposes to Ermengarde that he'll seize the "Lifeline", and use this transport method capable of vast ranges to help bring the Sarkaz back home.
I've never felt my blood flowing so clearly through my own veins. It surges about like crazy, shooting out through my limbs, then finally converging on my heart again. At Rhodes Island, when the Medic operators were examining me, they wanted to inject me with... what was it called? I forget. I sure gave them hell about that. I've got the Originium—I didn't want more random junk around in my body. Well, fine. I get the message. We need all this blood to live. It carries oxygen and yadda-yadda, whatever, Hoederer told me once. But right now, I'm sick of it. You're my blood, you little shit, so listen to me. And if not, you can get the hell out of my body. I feel for the dagger on my waist.
<Background 4>
W	*sighhhh*—
Ines	W, what the hell is wrong with you?!
W	Nothing. Just some bloodletting.
Hoederer	*sigh*...
Ermengarde	—
Hoederer scrunches his brow. That Lich is giving her hat a death grip. The racket finally dies down. No, actually, I guess we hardy bunch just got used to it.
Hoederer	Ines, are you alright?
Ines	Absolutely nothing's wrong with me. YOU guys explain.
W	I get it! These rocks don't work on chilly old hags. I bet Kal'tsit could dance a whole jig here.
Ines	I'd believe it. I'd also suggest you bandage that wound.
W	I cut surgical. Avoided the arteries.
Ines	So, this is an anti-Sarkaz installation? Something to do with the blood? Sarkaz. Blood. Heh, there's a difficult guess.
Ermengarde	This witchcraft device... hasn't properly activated yet. Hm... I drew past this area on the uneasy feeling I had. Here lies the main offender. Little wonder the tutors are always so cautious with matters of Londinium.
W	So what if it does activate for real? All Sarkaz explode and die? And then the Sanguinarch throws our blood all over the Victorians?
Hoederer	No vehicle tracks in the vicinity... No signs it was transported. They took these giant crystals, crossed all these miles, and then set them down here directly? Somehow... this wouldn't be the first time I've heard of something like that. Lady Ermengarde... I'm guessing you have nothing to do with this either.
Ermengarde	Naturally. Liches can't accomplish this sort of thing. The "space" we research isn't this one.
Hoederer	Also, if I'm not mistaken, you recognized me just now?
Ermengarde	Hoederer, was it...? I've had an eye on your books before. Some of your manuscripts are even in circulation among Leithanien's Sarkaz.
Hoederer	Do you have any leads for us?
Ermengarde	Why should I be helping you? You just blew up my little cube.
Hrmph. The bitch just shot me a glance.
W	Hey, you don't know how much I'm holding back from stuffing a bomb in that chest cavity of yours.
Ermengarde	Mm-hm. Are all Sarkaz mercenaries so eager to die these days?
If she says one more word, I'm seriously gonna do it.
Ermengarde	Forget it. Let's talk about that illusion just now. That was a vestige... a spatial one, a temporal one. Were you looking for vehicle tracks just now? That illusion was it. Some kind of special Arts is affecting this place.
Hoederer	But that wasn't Originium Arts, and it wasn't Sarkaz witchcraft.
Ermengarde	These Arts Circles are related to the Vampires, and the illusion was definitely related to the Arts Circles, but there's no direct line connecting them. Perhaps... these are leads you can use?
Hoederer	What position are the Liches taking?
Ermengarde	The same as ever: we've made no promises.
Hoederer	But we have an informant telling us, Kazdel has... had Liches showing up too. You usually never make appearances in Kazdel.
Ermengarde	...Oh? You left Babel, joined an Infected organization, then ended up in Londinium, and you've still kept an intelligence net up in Kazdel? Are you really just a mercenary? I feel like with your competences, you could get hooked up as a Gesatzswächter in Leithanien, relatively speaking. Oh, except your Arts is a little mediocre.
Hoederer	Personal habits.
Ermengarde	Mm-hm... "Personal habits." In a battlefield this extensive, how do you think you'd stop me if I did want to leave without a whisper?
Hoederer	You were... looking for us too?
Ermengarde	Technically. I'm a little interested in you. Specifically you.
Ines	Do you Sarkaz always have to talk in riddles?
Score one interruption from Ines. She's getting impatient, nice. Let her draw everyone's attention while I kill this son-of-a-Lich dead.
Ermengarde	Given you get news from Kazdel, that naturally means our siblings act's just been feigning ignorance. We need, mm, to give Theresis some... flex room. We're taking control of Kazdel right now. Everyone's come to Victoria, so someone's got to look after the place.
W	What flex room? Are you gonna hold a celebratory feast?
Ermengarde	Yes, that's the first part of the plan. Then we declare national foundation day, and so on.
W	......
Ermengarde	Haha, no more jokes now— —That is just the first part of the plan. Theresis and Theresa have no plans for evacuation at all. It seems they really do want Londinium to be the battlefield for a face-off against all the lands. We have no idea what's giving them so much confidence, but if it's their plan, brother and sister, then they must have some means in place already. So, if they do succeed—then that means we'll have to rebuild Kazdel, rebuild the Sarkaz's haven.
Hoederer	...And if they fail? If the Sarkaz fail here, then we'll lose an entire generation of youth, and maybe every youth that was to come. After the expedition of two hundred years ago, most nations had no clue about the present state of Kazdel. They weren't even interested. Until all this, a lot of Victorian worthies believed Kazdel was just a pile of ruins. But before the civil war, with Her Highness Theresa's establishment, Kazdel had a nascent nomadic city.
W	Until Theresis messed the whole thing up. Now Kazdel's just this supergiant witchcraft tractor, the kind that's got bolts and parts popping off it while it trundles along.
Hoederer	Kazdel wouldn't stand up to anything you could call a war, but the Regent just so happens to be starting one. Once it begins, every spy will have made contact with Kazdel. How will those nations sitting on the fence... regard the Sarkaz within the territory?
Ermengarde	Alright, you're a pessimist. Good, so am I. So, part two of the plan—the Liches hanging back in Kazdel have formulated the plans to break the place up. If Theresis fails, Kazdel will immediately be split into pieces, maybe a dozen or more... Taking their affiliated residents, as per the apportioned, er, "clan" units, off to hide deep in the barrens. Route-planning, balanced production, and ensuring Kazdel becomes a nomadic city isn't without meaning. To the Sarkaz, the enmity of the rest of mankind is a Catastrophe. Kazdel will greet another age of exile.
Again with the exile. What kind of crap is this? As if we're not exiles already? Did I miss some nomadic city where we all live happy lives sipping afternoon tea, watching the Catastrophe clouds roll by?
Hoederer	...... The Sarkaz are strongly united at this point. Not at all the way I hoped... but purely in terms of endpoint, Theresis has done it. But unity could mean more than just another vengeful massacre.
Ermengarde	Despite that unity being founded on hatred and war? That's no easy ask, Hoederer, my brother.
Hoederer	......
Ermengarde	Kazdel is more than a city. It's every person who calls it home. In the original plan, Kazdel didn't need that many inhabitants... and they wouldn't let us take that many away, anyway.
Hoederer	We have to end this war in Victoria. The sooner, the better. If we can't take back hate, then the least we can do is turn it to fuel, to cast the supports of Kazdel. And every life, to the Kazdel of the future, may well be vital.
Ermengarde	Easily said for you—
Hoederer	We just touched on a method for moving supplies and people over long distances. That might be what we've been after this whole time—what serves as the Military Commission's "lifeline" in Londinium. I'll find it, and seize it. It was able to bring us to Londinium, so... it can take us home too. Before everyone's buried six feet under.
Ermengarde	...Mm. I... You aren't certain to succeed. You're just a mercenary.
Hoederer	"A place to call home: somewhere you can always return to."
W	......
Theresa. All this time, I've been trying to keep that name separate from this war. Her Highness... How can a war just like before let anyone rest in peace? Haha, I bet it's just some diversion by that Theresis bastard. He killed Her Highness, and he's still blaspheming her. I'll make him beg forgiveness on his hands and knees. And once he's done, then I'll turn his skull into fireworks.
Ermengarde	Finding you was the right choice. I'll take your plans as the stance of... Babel's survivors, and inform the Liches.
Hoederer	Thank you.
Ermengarde	But you blew up my cube! How do you want me to get back, on foot?
Ines	Eight kilometers northwest, there's a Sarkaz transport camp. Go and steal their car. Need us to help?
Ermengarde	Forget it. I don't want her catching me again and finding out I've been making deals with you on the sly. So, good luck to you, and may you... still be alive to make good on your promise after meeting her.
[Ermengarde leaves.]
"Her"? Hold on.
W	Are you guys getting this... familiar feeling?
Ines	What are you talking about?
<Background fades out>
What AM I talking about? I have no idea. Dammit, Hoederer should be the one saying moody crap like this. But still, what's bugging me?
<Background fades in>
Not far off, there's someone sitting on a mountain peak. Just on the edge of where that original illusion vanished. She's just sitting there, like she doesn't have a care in her heart. Her long pink hair draped over her shoulders, as it always was. And that look in her eyes, that... sorrowful... I look away.
<Background fades out>
How is this happening? How, how, how...? No, that's no illusion... The moment I saw her, I knew it wasn't. That's her.
<Background fades in>
W	...Your Highness?
She's gone. No, forget it. Maybe I should save it for next time. Besides... she couldn't have been real anyway. She just... really, really looked like her. An indistinguishable forgery. Able to fool almost any pair of screwy, messed-up eyeballs.