Operation story: 13-8

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Hoederer Ines Ulšulah Cheering Sarkaz Worker Fleeing Sarkaz Worker Slyly Smiling Sarkaz Worker Spine Guardian Tired Sarkaz Worker
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After operation

“

Hoederer and Ines encounter a familiar face from the Scar Market, Ulšulah, now serving as commander of a Feranmut skeleton. The three old hands cannot reach an accord. Hoederer and Ines manage to escape after a bloody battle.

”

<Background 1>

Bumping into an old friend isn't necessarily a good thing for a Sarkaz. I may not be a Sarkaz, but I know to come prepared. When you're a kid, you're naive and stupid. A little camaraderie is enough to get you handing over your heartfelt trust. Even if the place where you built that camaraderie stinks as bad as Kazdel. Eventually, at some point, you grow up. Maybe it's the first time you kill someone, maybe it's the first time you almost bleed out, or maybe it's the first time you crawled out from under a pile of corpses. You start learning how to live in the grown-up world. You can be ruthless, you use any means necessary, you can even throw your friends under the bus just to live on, and nobody will hold it against you. And then, that contrived plot comes around, and you bump into an old friend. Honestly, after all these years apart, even if you're old friends, do you really have that much to talk about? It's just... when you were young and stupid, you handed over that trust, you built a "friendship". But when you're at that age, you have the unique opportunity to talk about "friendship" in Kazdel without being laughed at.
Tired Sarkaz Worker	Ulšulah, we're done unloading. They're counting everything in at the warehouse. Same as before: steel, pure gold, Originium, stuff like that. There hasn't been a personnel transport in weeks. Sounds like most of the forces from the Royal Court in Kazdel are already here. That makes things easier on us. Back when the Royal Court guys were floating around, they'd come down here and complain to us, made all sorts of trouble.
Ulšulah	Stop. That's enough for now.
Tired Sarkaz Worker	Oh, sorry. Hey, uh, Commander, I've been posted to the waystation for six months now. According to the rotation schedule, it's about time for me to—
Ulšulah	I haven't received any new orders for you. But... your performance speaks for itself. I could approve three days of leave for you.
Cheering Sarkaz Worker	Ohh♪ Our Ulšulah♪
Ulšulah	But don't let it go to your head, make sure to stay grounded. All your life in Kazdel, you were a cobbler. Your greatest accomplishment is nailing soles together. What are you in the running for, unless you're prepared to blow yourself up?
Cheering Sarkaz Worker	Ulšulah♪ You're no fun♪
Ulšulah	Get outta here, kid.
I watch Ulšulah's profile, the corners of her mouth curling up. Thinking back... back to then. She carries herself the same way, at least. The young Sarkaz cobbler approaches Hoederer and slyly hands him a flask.
Slyly Smiling Sarkaz Worker	(Whispering) Hey, brother, hold onto this for me. Ulšulah can't go a day without the stuff. (Whispering) You're really something, man, walking around with this piece at your side, and still—
sigh.
Ines	Watch your mouth, cobbler.
Fleeing Sarkaz Worker	What's sweeter than honey♪ What's toxic as nightshade♪
Looks like he hasn't even had his coming-of-age yet. Those years with Her Highness Theresa did a lot to see these kids grow up nice and sheltered. And now, he's in a war out here by Londinium. Hah, brother and sister joined hands to create the worst joke in history. If only it wasn't a joke.
Ines	If you open that notebook, I'm setting it on fire.
Hoederer quietly tucks away his notebook.
Ulšulah	You two haven't changed. That's nice. It's been years.
Ines	Since that operation. Me, Hoederer and W... the old W, got ourselves into trouble, killed some people we shouldn't have killed.
Ulšulah	It's not just the Scar Market, showing your faces in Kazdel would be trouble for you. I see your names there a lot... on the bounty lists. You're famous.
Hoederer	I've never been a cheap date.
Ulšulah	Sure enough. Ines's investment paid off well. We were all so young.
Ines	Getting old now?
Ulšulah	I'm a Sarkaz, you're a sheep. In theory, I'm gonna live longer than you, Ines.
Ines	We're all Infected, so this isn't about racial lifespans.
Ulšulah	Good point. I'll drink to you and wish myself good health.
[Ulšulah takes a sip of her Captain Morgan's Wine.]
Ulšulah	——ahhh.
Ines	I remember you used to say that if a Sarkaz wants to live long, she needs to keep a clear head, before somebody else trades it for coin.
Ulšulah	Whoever wants it can take it. Victorian, Sarkaz, doesn't matter to me.
She leans in close, sizing me up, then glances at Hoederer.
Ulšulah	You've got wrinkles, Ines.
Ines	I died three times and only got a few wrinkles to show for it. I should thank the myriad souls.
Ulšulah	You don't thank them, you're a sheep. As for Hoederer, you're missing an eye.
Hoederer	Wanna see the socket? It's all thanks to the fine Caprinae woman right here.
Ines	Lose an eye, or lose your head. You had a choice.
Ulšulah	I guess Ines broke her heart when she made the move.
Hoederer	...Drop it. We're old friends getting together again, can't we get back to a nice atmosphere of sentimental nostalgia? Talk about days gone by, muse on the passage of time...
Hoederer	We could talk about how you became the youngest major in the Military Commission, the driver of this skeletal Feranmut, Commander Ulšulah.
Ulšulah	Yes... we should talk about that. Otherwise, we being who we are, we shouldn't be so warm and friendly. And we could also talk about you, these two Sarkaz... One Sarkaz traitor, and one sheep. Why are you popping up at a secret Military Commission site? I know you were detained by General Manfred, Hoederer. And you and Ines, who disrupted our operations, together with an obnoxious little girl planting bombs all around, stole into my territory, in broad daylight. As an officer of the Military Commission, I can't very well let that go.
Ines	It's two against one here, Ulšulah.
Ulšulah	Is it? Remind me, where are we again?
[A group of Kazdelian Sarkaz soldiers show up.]
Huh, since when? The girl wasn't like this before.
Ulšulah	You're welcome to try, Ines.
She's wearing a smile, but she's dead serious.
Ulšulah	The most important thing I've learned over the years is to be true to my decisions.
Ines	And Theresis is your decision?
Ulšulah	No, the Military Commission is. You decided to go with Babel—Or what is it called now? Rhodes Island? And I decided to stand with the Commission. We decided our paths a long time ago.
Hoederer	Ulšulah, we can still—
Ulšulah	No. I know what you want, Hoederer, you haven't changed a bit. But we're not those kids who strutted around cheery for a whole day on the back of a single bounty anymore. We don't get to relax after our missions these days, no idle afternoons on the streets of Kazdel. We are Sarkaz... or at least we're citizens of Kazdel. It's our responsibility to make those streets and alleys a better place.
Hoederer	Kazdel is the main issue here, Ulšulah!
Ulšulah	Then you've gotta admit, the Military Commission is the best choice we've got! Even Her Highness Theresa wouldn't disagree! It was the two royals who made Kazdel into a nomadic city, the both of them who made it possible for us to even talk about the future of the Sarkaz here! It was the same two royals who promoted me, giving a poor girl from the slums a chance to stand in the sight of the Royal Court, among those pure and ancient bloodlines. Once trapped by naivety and compromise, the Sarkaz lose our chance at a true homeland. There's no room for me to hesitate here. The Military Commission, it's... it's the foundation for Kazdel to become a nation.
Hoederer	Will there even be a Kazdel once this war is over?
Ulšulah	All I know is I'm no traitor.
Ines	......
Ulšulah	......
Hoederer	......
[Ulšulah slashes at Hoederer and Ines, who barely dodged it.]
Sure, we were prepared to bump into this old friend from the beginning. Hoederer tacitly crosses from my side to confront this stupid girl, the Major of the Military Commission.
Hoederer	Ten minutes, that's my limit. Get as much intel on that thing as you can.
I bypass several Sarkaz blocking my way, shadows entwining their ankles. I leap up, climbing the nerve clusters of this terrifying creature, the slippery feeling making me slightly sick. Is this a Feranmut? I've never seen one before. Show me the secrets hiding in your mind.
<Background 2>
[Ines runs through the titanic skeletal Feranmut's spine.]
This isn't a good section to walk on. My luck has been pretty bad lately, always ending up in the body of some kind of monster. Last time it was the revenant, this time it's whatever this is. Ugh, I hope I don't have to jump off it this time.
Ines	...... These "nails" piercing its spine must be some kind of witchcraft device. Are those nerve clusters trembling? Does this thing still have a will of its own?
[Several Kazdelian Sarkaz soldiers guarding the skeletal Feranmut shows up.]
Spine Guardian	She's here!
Ugh, how are they so quick? They climb up the skeleton in hot pursuit. The sinews between the bones become something like a ladder for them, with the splinters of fallen bone serving as their weapons.
[The guardians fire at Ines, who easily parried the shots.]
Ines	Hm, they know war. Ulšulah's trained a real elite unit. But they could stand to work in some variety.
[Ines cuts down the guardians.]
Ines	All they've got on me is numbers—
[Part of the skeletal Feranmut's nerves fell off.]
A foreboding instinct pops into my head and I instinctively dodge to the side. A huge cluster of nerves comes crashing down, and the bone fragments I have been standing on shatter and crumble.
Ines	It's so hard on itself.
Hmph, looks like every bone fragment, every bundle of sinew here could be a deadly weapon. That's a pain. The nerve cluster wraps around again. I sink my dagger into it so hard that it recoils violently, carrying me high into the air. Alright, so it has the most basic of reflexes. Good enough. There's a cabin up ahead.
[Ines cuts down more of the skeletal Feranmut's guardians in her way...]
Ines	Right there!
[...before jumping off the collapsing spine.]
With all my might, I grab the dangling bundle of nerves and leap away.
<Background 3>
[Ines drops into what appears to be the skeletal Feranmut's nerve center.]
Ines	cough, cough cough! Dust everywhere... from wind-weathered bone. This should be the center. Hm, no clear interface. Is it driven purely by witchcraft? A willing slave? Or a marionette controlled by strings?
[Ines is attacked by Arts, who managed to dodge...]
Ines	Hmmm...
[...as the attacker reveals herself to be Ulšulah.]
Ulšulah	You dodged my Arts, Ines. That should've gone right through your heart.
Ines	You still haven't fixed that old habit of yours, your casting always deviates a little to the left. Lucky I've been on the bad end of that enough times.
Ulšulah	Hmph...
Ines	You in a hurry? Did Hoederer make a fool out of you?
[The skeletal Feranmut rumbles.]
Ines	It's fragile, isn't it? Not as honest as it seems.
Ulšulah	You're welcome to guess. If we get the chance, I'd really like to hear about those three deaths you mentioned. Must be a thrilling story.
Ines	You wanna try once?
Ulšulah	No, I'd rather us live. If you can make it through the chaos and live on, that is.
A tremendous force flips me over, the nerve bundle sweeps away, trying to tug me with it. The Feranmut is gradually swinging its body. They've built a lot of cabins here. And the thing tends to drift in the space. What if the Feranmut wanders when I'm not in one of the cabins? I really don't want to find out. I'm not Hoederer, I'm not into becoming history. Shadows, like blades, sweep through the hall of bone.
[Ulšulah strikes at the distracted Ines.]
Ulšulah	Save what's left of your dignity, Ines, there's no point. Your shadows can't protect you from the might of a Feranmut.
Weathered bone dust takes flight again, filling my vision.
Ines	Thanks for the reminder. Hoederer—!
[An explosion occurs nearby, and...]

Oftentimes, even I have to admit that Hoederer makes a pretty good partner. I'm actually glad we didn't betray each other. It's hard to find a Sarkaz like him. The past was tough, and the future's gonna be tough too. The dim firelight rises with the dust, twisting. His figure emerges from the embers, sparks in the wind singe his cloak and my hair. And sometimes... only sometimes... I'm willing to tolerate his obnoxious Arts.
Hoederer	We're well past the age when we can talk about friendship. But I'd rather live in a future Kazdel that keeps the "silly" naivety we always laughed at.
The turbulence is intensifying. I grab his hand.
<Background 3>
Ulšulah	Sigh... I forgot to tell you, Hoederer. General Manfred gave me your book. It's pretty good, I have to admit. You gathered up the bits and pieces, arranging them in chronological order, thinking you found the thread. But you've been running all this time. Do you plan to do this forever?
Ines	Drop it, Ulšulah, time to say goodbye. Hoederer, you're jumping with me this time. Don't get swept away by the turbulence of history. Never forget the present... the life that you're living.
Hoederer	You're the boss.
[Ines and Hoederer runs outside...]
<Background black>
Boiling shadows point the way for us, scorched dust carrying us along.
<Flashback starts here>




The illusions shift before our eyes. When I'm falling fast enough, I suddenly realize that history really does look pretty fragile and hypocritical. I see a vast, and familiar battlefield. One of the war zones from Kazdel, where the flames are still burning. I recall the past. Hoederer always wanted to steer clear of the war that tore apart his people. I force myself to turn my head, while he's single-mindedly focused on finding a suitable landing zone.
<Flashback ends here>
<Background black>
Run away from the war? Heh. We weren't at Babel when Her Highness came under attack. We could have left Kazdel straight away. Why did we go back for W? Why join Reunion? Why lay low in Londinium all this time? What is Hoederer fighting for anyway? What am I... fighting for?

We break through the earth, the illusions vanish, and we see what was always there. He grabs my arm, telling me to be ready. Arts envelop us and my vision clears. Shadows rise from the ground. Maybe we stopped running a long time ago.