“Lieutenant General Sherman gave a surprised speech to the cadets at West Point yesterday. While the event was scheduled, he was invited because of the General task force's research on unorthodox warfare. He believed that the Pentagon had developed a tradition of using the military as a hammer against a rock, nail, bug, paper, and everything while avoiding more suitable options.
The Task Force looks at examples such as the Vietnam War, the War on Terror, and the Cartel War, where the military was used, but the wars were lost or struggled to bring a clean victory. The idea was for his Task Force to allow the military to broaden its thinking on how to approach nontraditional warfare and to find strategies that might be more fitting to win a conflict than brutal firepower.
As part of the Speech, Lieutenant General Sherman said, “During the 2nd Punic War, the Romans followed tradition by marching into battle because winning a battle meant winning a war. As we know, this philosophy led to multiple critical and unnecessary defeats. It wasn’t until Scipio Africanus who connected why we fight battles. We do not fight battles because it is part of war; we fight battles to manipulate the geopolitical situation for future victory.”
The General then cited Scipio's campaigns in Spain, which led to undermining Hannibal's campaign in southern Italy. That it isn’t enough to engage the enemy, that the battle must lead to a larger objective.
While the statement was expected by many, toward the end of the speech left many puzzled.
“You will be the generation that defines our future. This will be your moment. We describe ourselves as the land of the free, God's country, but what have we done to deserve such a title? Many would cite the World Wars, defeating communism during the Cold War. Others might cite our technological innovation, as we were first to the moon and beyond. All good examples in their own right. But, if we look into our souls, is it enough? I believe your generation and the battles to come will answer that question once and for all. Destiny is in your hands; it is up to you to grab it.”
Many consider the speech powerful, definitely looking inside over expected talking points, but others were left confused. The General surprisingly left before the Q&A, stating that he had to return to his new post in Colorado, which last most established the VII Corps that deals with Astralis warfare.” – Inide News
April 7th, 2068 (military calendar)
Hiplose Forest, the former Confederacy of Daru'uie
Nevali Region, Aldrida, Alagore
*****
Staring into the wilderness, Benjamin Ford carefully studied the terrain, using his scope thermals to determine if any hostiles or dangerous predators lurked nearby. The landmass was rocky, with a ravine heading toward the direction Comanche would be heading. Toward the left was a ridgeline with a tree halfway leading down.
"I doubt anyone is nearby," Ar'lya said.
Ford glanced at the farian woman sitting on a boulder, watching Comanche climb a ridge. "How can you tell," he asked.
"I can hear wildlife," Ar'lya said. "I do not care what world you come from, Altaerrie or Unity; all of you civil folks have annoying loud machines."
Wallace couldn't help but agree. "We like to be noticed."
Ford heard the comment coming from behind. He turned and saw the Twins helping the other members of Comanche up the cliff with Natilite hovering, just in case someone fell. The Sergeant was amazed that his comrade took the opportunity to respond with a quick romantic comment.
Colonel Hackett didn't want to wait for the enemy to find a method to remain aggressive. He sent his teams to exploit any opportunity to attack, which proved harder than expected. The Verliance Aristocracy siege of Salva had forced the Minutemen to find new paths around the blockade to strike the enemy. If they could attack their logistics with proper coordinated rocket and artillery fire, they could be weakened enough for a full-scale assault.
Ford then turned toward Charlie Higgins, sitting on the ground while holding a screen controller. When the two reached the top of this small cliff, the Airman deployed a Hornet to chart the path ahead and scout for a better path.
The point hit home as Ford recalled the other Minutemen teams that were ambushed attempting to find a path around the blockade. The Unity or Verliance Aristocracy discovered them each time, showing their determination to keep the Americans from further expansion.
Hearing that the rest of the unit made it up the cliff without incident, Comanche was displaced and advanced through the wilderness. The Sergeant took point, carefully grabbing his rifle as he expected a hostile animal to appear from anywhere.
"Calm down, Ben," Barrett said.
Ford turned toward the team's Sergeant First Class member before returning to his area of responsibility. "When you see a bear tank mull a man, you will understand."
"It is a leoursi," Fraeya said.
"I think we have enough firepower to kill any monster that dares challenge us," Barrios said.
"You didn't see what happened last time," Ford replied.
Ar'lya crossed her arms and chuckled. "We are safe. The leoursi is calling for a mate. As long as we stay away from his den, we will be fine."
"What do you think, Boss?" Wallace asked. "Should we be scared of a teddy bear?"
Everyone noticed the Comanche Captain's lack of response. Ford turned and saw Ryder staring at the tomahawk attached to the Sergeant's battlesuit. In the Captain's eyes, flashes of his experience alone in the wild appeared.
That was when Ryder realized that he had become the center of attention. However, he shrugged off the sudden attention, staring at the cartographer's map from Salva.
"All I will say is," Ryder said. "Out here, you take your blessing and don't underestimate anything."
Rommel King walked through the team now that they had finished climbing the cliff. "Alright, Comanche. Nap time is over. We have a job to do."
The unit took formation and through the rough forest terrain. There was a light breeze, causing the trees to flow. The ground was much from the constant from over the past few days. A powerful echo could be heard in the distance; artillery dualling against each other broke through the forest density.
As Comanche followed the path, Ford noticed Ar'lya stopping with her ears perked. The rest of the team continued while the team leadership stopped.
"What is the issue?" King asked.
"I do not know," Ar'lya said. "I no longer hear birds."
"I never heard any," Ryder said.
"Human ears are not as sensitive as ours," Ar'lya said. "I will admit, not the best range, but we all cannot hear like a luperca's."
"Then we need to proceed carefully," Ryder said. "I want-."
A sudden lightning strike came from underneath Marcos Gonzales, thrusting the medic against the cliff wall. At the same time, Barrett and Forest were knocked over by a second electric shockwave coming from the ground. This was followed by enemy weapon fire from all directions.
Ford rushed past his teammates and fired his M31 to provide protection. Energy bolts came from the rock formation peaks and brushed against the Minutemen team.
After Natilite explained they had walked into a rune trap, she flew onto a nearby boulder and fired her DMR. Once the Templar landed on the stone, a large worm knocked over a tree. Another one leaped from the right hill, with a tall figure pointing toward the Valkyrie.
Wallace aimed his light machine gun toward the left ridge and engaged. "We've been ambushed!" he yelled.
"We are being flanked!" Higgins said.
"Keep engaging!" Barrett ordered.
As Ford provided protective fire against the unknown attackers, Forest and Borris stood and returned to the rear as they recovered, not bearing the brunt of the rune. Barrett and Ryder grabbed the team medic, with the Filipino member limped on one leg.
Benjamin Ford saw an enemy soldier standing from his cover as the firefight continued. He quickly neutralized the hostile, discovering that the soldier was a j'avais corpse.
One of the enemy soldiers went down, probably being wounded and then instantly killed from the hostile body reaction. However, the other hostile aimed at Fraeya, who was focused on casting a defensive spell for the withdrawing Americans.
"Fraeya!" Ford charged forward and tackled the elf onto the ground, causing the enemy to miss.
The Sergeant turned toward the impact and saw the ground catch fire before seeing his teammates retreat to a boulder for protection, a large worm slithered from one of the ridges. To his surprise, he saw something riding the worm. The ravenous creature had long brown hair and pale skin. Which usually would be a job for their Templar, but he could see that she was busy with the other worm, who was trying to attack Comanche from the rear.
Witnessing the intensity of the firefight developing, Sergeant Ford saw they were cut off. The Comanche had extracted their wounded man and were falling back to a massive boulder but were still reforming. Enemy soldiers appeared on the rushes in preparation for the assault. Going along the path would make them a sitting duck.
That was when Ford saw the cover in front of them. He grabbed his elf teammate and pulled her forward, dodging enemy bolts.
Once they reached the boulders, he sat the elf mage down and asked if she was harmed. She signaled that she was all right, and he then turned around to fire his rifle at the enemy soldiers.
The enemy was mostly J'avais, wearing Toriffa-tinted blue armor, cutting them off from Comanche and occupying the pathway. That was when he realized his mistake going forward now that there was no way to rejoin his team. While they had some protection, the enemy humans could easily outflank them if they stayed.
"Okay," Ford said. "We are going to have to run and-."
That was when Fraeya tapped him on the shoulder, interrupting him. The Sergeant then saw what the elf was pointing toward: additional hostiles in a single line approaching them. But that was not what scared him. Among the j'avais was a tall creature. Pale white with black hair. Two human-like eyes but with a third on its forehead - all green. Two smaller but decently large worms slither next to the female.
"It is a Gluttony," Fraeya said. "One of the seven Harpie types."
"There is no way we would make it," Ford said. "And we will be overrun staying here."
"What do you want to do?" Fraeya asked.
Staring at the new approaching hostiles, Ford IFF from his VISOR appeared with a label on them, pointing to a marking on their shield stating that they are Toriffa soldiers, the dominant City-State within Nevali, and a puppet of the Aristocracy.
Seeing energy bolts coming from the enemy reinforcements, Ford only saw one path: going backward into the forest. He knew they would be sitting ducks, going the way they came and staying here.
Ford fired his M31 at the incoming Toriffa soldiers to provide cover, allowing Fraeya to create a small ice wall as cover. Energy bolts impacted the thick ice, blocking the attack, but sections quickly melted. A segment broke apart with each blast, causing large cracks to emerge.
"That will not hold for long," Fraeya said as the two watched the ice wall quickly be destroyed.
The two ran as fast as they could through the forest, leaving the battle. It was a feeling Ford was thrilled with, abandoning his team but saw no choice. He glanced back; the ice wall shattered from the sustained fire from the elecprobus weapons. Most of the Toriffa soldiers turned to engage the rest of Comanche; however, six were in pursuit.
One of the worms launched itself from the ground, coming for Ford.
Fraeya pointed her hand toward the demonic worm with an alg-based spear firing from the ground, impaling the animal midair.
"Thank you," Ford said.
"Where do we go?" Fraeya asked.
The Sergeant had no idea how to answer. This was unfamiliar terrain, and he didn't want to get far away from his team. The enemy knew the land and planned their trap well, blocking any obvious route back to Comanche.
With the enemy pressing, the two ran deeper into the forest. Enemy weapon fire continued to impact around them from the chasing hostiles. The tree in front of Ford was engulfed in flames from a red energy bolt. A lightning chain missed him toward the right, causing the screech to scorch the ground. However, this forced them to turn right, being directed down this path.
As they ran, Ford heard Fraeya scream. He stopped, slightly sliding from the momentum and weight of his battlesuit, and saw Fraeya had stopped.
Love what you're reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.
"What are you doing!"
"I am stuck!" Fraeya said, attempting to pull her foot forward.
That was when the Sergeant saw this black substance stuck to her leg. That was when it hit him: the j'avais were luring them into this second trap.
"I might be able to use my hydromancy to freeze the substance," Fraeya said. "But it will take a moment."
Knowing they had no time to waste, Ford turned, fired his rifle, and took a position before her. The other worm was serpentine on the ground. When it drew closer, Ford adjusted his aim and fired, killing the animal.
He then quickly checked Fraeya's status, seeing her freeze in the black substance that had her trapped. The elf girl stated that she was almost finished and would be ready to flee.
Ford grabbed his rifle and stood, aiming it at the approaching hostiles. In front of them, five J'avias and that same gluttony approaching. The two on both ends had standard elecprobus staff weapons, two with shields, and one pulled out a sword. The soldier in the center was a battle mage, holding two small blue, glowing staffs.
"What do we have here?" the J'avais mage said. "Two lost Altaerrie in the wild."
"My Lord," one of the J'avais soldiers said. "One is an elf. Female."
The battle mage leaned closer as if he were analyzing the two before noticing Fraeya's identity. "Not just any elf. The one who opened the Bridge."
He could feel how uncomfortable his elvish comrade felt. The J'avais have a reputation for aggressiveness and hostility. That treated others as inferior, which spoke much to the Sergeant after everything he had seen on Alagore. This type of human was a statement about all the dangerous animals and robust species that most people are universally concerned about.
Seeing an electric current wildly emitted from the enemy mage wand, the electricity impacted the ground like wildfire. Ford knew what the battle mage was talking about. "Fraeya. When you free yourself, I want you to run."
"I am not abandoning you," Fraeya said.
"Look into their eyes," Ford said. "If they capture you, you will wish you were dead. Go and-."
As Ford spoke, he noticed the Toriffa soldiers suddenly ignore them and look above them. That was when he heard Fraeya mumble in fear; something was behind them. While it was against his nature and training to look away from the hostiles in front of him, he turned around and stared up the hill.
To his horror, he saw another mage. Standing on the rocks above them. In a cloak, hood over the head, all the Comanche Sergeant saw was a woman with flames flowing from the magical gloves. The hateful eyes stared directly at everyone below.
"Oh, shit," Ford said.
*****
As the Comanche regrouped behind a boulder, heavily suppressed by the Toriffa elecprobus weapons, powerful lightning struck against it, causing it to crack.
Everyone fanned out to prevent getting caught in a single blast, desperately firing against the numerous hostiles, only just repelling an attack. The Minutemen team was not overwhelmed, thanks to their superior training compared to Toriffa regulars.
"They hammered us hard," King said. "How are they always able to ambush us?"
"Seekers?" Ryder responded.
"These many times?" King said in frustration.
"Forget it. Keep everyone low so they don't flank us." Ryder looked up and saw their Valkyrie dealing with the new type of harpie and its giant worms.
The Captain then accessed the rest of his team's feed, quickly glancing through their cameras to better understand what was happening. That was when he realized how bad the situation was. J'avais were everywhere with more of these harpies and their worms. In this situation, he would order a retreat to a better position. However, Ford and Fraeya are out there, cut off, and the Sergeant won't respond over the radio for some reason. The enemy mage specialized in atomacy or luxmancy magic, making him wonder if there was too much interference in the air or if their equipment could be damaged.
That was when a large plume of smoke mixed with an electric current came from behind the Toriffa-occupied hill, coming from the general direction where Ford and Fraeya went. This only made the Captain's fear worse.
Ryder turned to Natilite, hoping to have her investigate their missing teammates; as soon as she sliced the worm in half, another appeared from the harpy position.
The other pressed against Comanche's position, threatening to break their formation.
"We have to take those things out," King said.
"Cover me," Ryder said.
King entered the open, firing against the Toriffa infantry within the chokepoint. Ryder appeared behind, aiming his M31 toward the right hill. Seeing the pale harpy, looking sharply different from those wraiths he had fought before, he fired his rifle, killing his target.
The worms fighting Natilite suddenly went on a rampage, swinging against the trees. This allowed the Templar to stop dodging and land on top of one of them, thrusting her sword into the beast and killing it. However, with its sheer mass, the worm knocked into a tree, causing it to break and slam into the middle of Comanche.
The other worm, controlled by the other gluttony, rammed through the Comanche's disorganized formation. The beast crawled around, swinging its tail violently.
Barrios and Wallace surround the long monster, focusing their fire on the massive mouth.
"Ryder!"
The Comanche Captain looked up at Natilite, seeing her hand open. He then realized what she wanted: a grenade. He pulled one from his vest and tossed it to the Valkyrie.
As the large worm was distracted by the Twins, Natilite flew overhead, tossing the fragmentation grenade into the mouth. Seconds later, shrapnel was injected from the beast, with blood oozing over the skin.
The monster swung around, releasing a painful screech before collapsing.
With the current threat resolved, Natilite landed next to the Comanche Captain and asked, "Do you want me to fly over there and find them?"
While Ryder originally wanted her to do precisely that, with how horrible the situation had deteriorated, sending her off would only put the rest of the time in danger.
"No," Ryder said. "I cannot afford to split the team further."
Barrett rushed over and stated, "We need to fall back."
"We are not leaving anyone behind," Gonzales said as he leaned against a boulder, holding his burnt leg.
"We are not," Ryder said. "But we must take care of what is in front of us. Wings, find an advantage point and see if you can gain an elevation over them."
"On it." Natilite ran off before flying into the trees.
The Captain turned toward the battle and saw the enemy attempting to engulf them from three sides. The left and right vantage points have a small shieldwall that applies pressure.
It was clear that they were in a crossfire. Assaulting the enemy was impossible, and maintaining their position would result in them becoming surrounded. While he hated leaving two team members behind, they would have to retreat and form a new plan.
"Bruno," Ryder said. "Grab Marcos and head back to the."
"Captain!" Forest yelled.
Surprised by the Staff Sergeant's urgency in his tone, Ryder looked back over the boulder. To his horror, he saw an eight-foot-tall warrior-construct emerge from the other side of the hill, marching from the path Comanche had taken, heading toward them. The exterior had barrel-like armor, being module in nature, protecting the control orb within its exoskeleton. It was carrying a large war hammer.
"That is not good," King commented.
"No, it is not," Ryder replied, staring at the construct.
As the tanker construct approached, crackle sounds from the right hill were heard. The Gluttony standing behind the Toriffa shieldwall was sniped in the head from an unknown direction but was killed by a circiletum. Moments later, a loud roar could echo throughout the battlefield before Ryder witnessed two of the Toriffa j'avais' corpses slide down the hill.
A large Luperca beast leaped from the edge of the ridge and landed on the tanker construct, making it swing wildly. The beast hung on tightly and disconnected the barrel armor from the exoskeleton, causing the curved plate to drop. Then, it jumped away.
Seeing the venerable control orb, Ryder gave the order. Wallace and Higgins fired at the construct, focusing on the orb and crystal. The crystal exploded, causing the tanker to collapse in colorful smoke.
Limited weapon fire from the right hill caught the Toriffa soldiers in the choke point by surprise, causing chaos and breaking their shield formation. This allowed the Comanche to reform and tear apart the now disorganized force. Some maintained their position, attempting to regain the initiative; however, most started breaking ranks and falling back.
As the Comanche focused on the disordered Toriffa soldiers within the chokepoint, the Captain noticed a corpse collapse from the right ridge and roll onto the ground. Out of nowhere, weapon fire from the once-occupied ridge rained against the left side, causing a short but intense firefight between the two hills.
Within minutes, the weapon fire slowly stopped. Smoke filled the air with the smell of corpses littering the area. In the center of the chokepoint, a dark gray with black and brown strips of fur Luperca in a dark gray metallic armor with red lining stands in the middle of the Toriffa bodies.
Seeing that the beast was not a threat, Ryder informed his team to be ready for anything and approached the Luperca. As he drew closer, the giant wolf turned to face the Captain, instilling fear into him. The unknown warrior standing about two feet taller with fangs sticking out from his long snout.
As Mathew Ryder approached, he saw bright yellow eyes glaring at him. However, that was not what woke him up. Hearing footsteps from his right, he quickly turned and raised his rifle in defense.
He next noticed a hand on his M31 barrel, forcing his weapon into the air. That was when he noticed Natilite standing there, stating they were safe. He then looked to see who was approaching him and saw a Lat man in similar dark gray armor, standing like a statue, watching them.
The Valkyrie let go of the barrel, deactivating her translation amulet on her armor. She then directed her body toward the unknown soldier standing on the boulder. "Centurion."
Shocked by what Natilite said, Ryder turned toward the man in armor and realized the configuration was not Toriffa. That was when he noticed additional soldiers behind the unknown man on the small hill. He recalled the rank from his history books and Fraeya's journey with Orias Palatini. They had to be warriors from Hispana.
The Hispana Centurion jumped off the boulder, landing in front of the Minutemen team, and approached the Natilite. “Templar, ego sum honor Iuxta tuae praesentia. Ego sum Primipilus Centurion Alfredus Canina, Palatini de Horatius. Templar, quis sunt? Ego harve non videtur typus lats antequam."
Natilite extended her arm toward Ryder, signaling him not to intervene. “Canina, integer Altaerrie. Clientele ego Unitas," she said.
The Centurion glanced at Comanche. "Altaerrie? Vetus fabula?"
“Rectus,” Natilite said. “Posse dico sum capitaneus?”
The Centurion turned toward the hillside and waved to his fellow comrades. One of the soldiers emerged from the crowd and came down the hill until he reached the Centurion. The two chatted with the Centurion, informing the new Lat of what Natilite had said.
In the meantime, Barrios commented to Ryder that he had seen a group approaching their position. When Ryder looked, he saw more Hispana soldiers, one of whom was a Noble Elf. Besides them was Fraeya, who was waving toward Comanche with Ford by her side.
While Ryder's knowledge of Latin was limited, he understood some terms. Natilite described the earth type of humans as Altaerrie—the native word for Earth or Terra. The word was mentioned a few more times related to another word, taberna, which sounded similar to tavern, but he couldn't be sure.
Regardless, the two Lats' mannerisms showed they were cautious as if they were unsure whether to trust them, even with a Templar blessing. Natilite assured them they were friends before reactivating her translation amulet.
“Antius,” Natilite said. "This is Captain Mathew Ryder, head of his House, leader of the Comanche Palatini. Captain Ryder and Duke of Salva. Matt, this is Capitaneus Flavius Antius of the Temple of Elpidiu. Leader of the Horatius Palatini."
The Captain was about to respond but was caught off guard regarding the temple statement at the end. He was still not used to being called a Duke; however, that was not what piqued his interest. Most of the nobles he interacted with stated what House they belonged to. However, Natilite didn't agree with Antius for some reason, even though she explained his.
Seeing his confusion, Natilite leaned in and whispered, "I will explain the temple part later. Just act normal."
Ryder nearly chuckled when hearing the word normal, finding nothing had been normal since this operation began.
Thanking the Templar for the context, he decided to take her advice. This was no time for a profound cultural lecture, as he had no idea how to inquire about that. "Thank you for your intervention," Ryder said.
"We been following these barbarian j'avais for nearly two weeks," Antius said. "I did not know they were tracking you."
Hearing that this Palatini was tracking the Toriffa unit for seven days, he quickly realized the Hispana commander meant local week, which was three days, not Zulu weeks, which were seven.
Seeing the other Hispana soldiers coming off the hill and occupying the chokepoint, Ryder saw one of the lats controlling a seeker, allowing the luperca to capture the magitech drone. The others were policing the corpses of anything of worth.
"Their good trackers," Ryder said, recalling his time being hunted by those humans. "But we just got here, so I do not think we were their target."
"What is your kind doing out here alone?" Antius asked. "You do not seem like a large force."
"We are American Special Forces," Ryder said.
Natilite injected, "In Altaerrie terms, they are equal to a Palatini."
"Before we continue with the greetings, do you have any healing potions?" Ryder asked. "I have a wounded man."
Antius turned, towed his men, and whistled. A small soldier rushed over before stopping in front of the Capitaneus. Unlike the male soldiers, this legionary was a female kitsune. Her fur was orange mixed with yellow with white shades across the body and black-tipped ears. The tail was short and fluffy, between a neko length and a farian bush. The color of the tail was orange, with the top being black.
Unlike the other soldiers, the kitsune wore a lighter version of Hispana legionary armor, covering the chest area, shoulders, and helmet. The rest of her body was covered in black and red clothing, allowing her to navigate the rough terrain quickly, relying on moveability over protection.
"Rosa, they have injured. Give them one of our potions and herbs."
"What is the wound?" Rosa asked, turning toward the Comanche Captain.
Ryder turned toward Marcos Gonzales, who was leaning against a tree trunk. Barrett had the armor plating over the left leg removed. "When the Toriffa ambushed us, their luxmancy mage struck his leg with a rune."
"I can give him a healing potion but-," Rosa said.
He raised his hand, interrupting the Lat Medic. "I already know. The healing potion accelerates the healing process, but you still need to treat the wound for bacteria and remove dead skin. We have a gel that will clean and temp the burns, but he will need the boost to return to Salva."
The Horatius medic turned to her Capitaneus, who gave the approving nod. Then, the medic rushed over to the wounded Comanche medic.
As the treatment was applied, Ryder saw Capitaneus Antius carefully watching with amazement, confusion, and curiosity. He understood the feeling. Thanks to advancements in potion medication on Alagore, traditional Western medicines were left undeveloped—at least, that was the conclusion the Captain had reached from his experiences.
"Were you out of potions?" Antius asked.
"We don't have potions where I come from," Ryder explained. "But we do have other types of medicine."
“Capitaneus,” Canina said. "Besides the Noble Elf girl, no mages exist within their company."
"Interesting," Antius said. "The rumors are true then. It is not just your armor and weapons; everything about you is different."
"Welcome to the club," Ryder said. He then turned and saw Ford and Fraeya rejoining the team. To his surprise, the Sergeant's battlesuit looked beaten, implying that the man had a rough time but was physically all right.
“Capitaneus,” Ælia said. "I have brought the Altaerrie man and Elf."
“The J’avais mage?” Antius asked. "And the Harpy?"
"They were no match for the dragon flame," Ælia replied.
"Good," Antius said. "Ælia, go cleanse the bodies. We will be leaving soon."
"As you command," Ælia said.
Ryder watched the Noble Elf approach the Toriffa corpses. Unlike the other Hispana armor, her's was different. Besides smooth metal like the Legionary armor strapped together, hers looked more like scales than steel. Being a shade of burgundy over gray.
The Noble Elf cast a fire spell, burning the enemy bodies. Why, Ryder had no idea. There was no point covering their tracks as the enemy knew of their presence, but this was not the place to inquire. There were more impotent details at foot.
"Again, thank you for saving my missing teammates," Ryder said. "Now, last time I checked, Hispana was not close. What are you guys doing out here?"
Ryder saw Antius turn to his Centurion and look hesitant. He could relate; the two teams had only made contact a few minutes ago and would be cautious about sharing orders, especially in this line of work. Natilite assured the Palatini leadership that Comanche could be trusted.
"My orders were to recon this region, discover why the Aristocracy was mobilizing for war," Antius said. "Determine how serious the threat was and, if possible, discover what happened to the Palatini of Orias and if their mission was successful."
"I was working with them," Natilite said. "I regretfully to report that Orias was wiped out. Fraeya and I are the only known survivors. I promise they died honorably."
"Then our worst fears are true," Canina said. "Let the deity Orgash guide their souls to rest on the surface of Logia."
"Diety?" King asked.
"The minor moons that orbit around Tekali," Natilite said.
"What about Raegel," Antius asked.
Ryder glanced at Fraeya and noticed her half-human, half-elf ears perked. After hearing her father's name mentioned, he looked over and said, "He was captured by the enemy."
"However, his theories were correct all along," Natilite said. "You can tell the Imperium that Orias and Raegel's mission was successful."
"That brings the question," Antius said. "What was their mission?"
"I do not understand," Natilite said.
"I do," Ryder said. Given Orias's secretive mission, he figured the Hispana leadership would send a team to investigate what had happened to their missing unit. However, fearing capture by the enemy, their brass left out crucial details. "Military bureaucracy at its finest. We were their mission."
"Then the legend is true," Antius said.
As the two Lats comment on the Orc-Lat legend, Ryder notices someone else coming down the hillside. It was a male neko leaping from one boulder to another before sliding down the rock face.
When the black and coated feline reached the ground, he rolled twice before getting on all fours. The Neko then leaped onto his legs as he stood at attention in front of Flavius Antius.
Ryder had seen this before with the Aristocracy, who used nekos as scouts because of their feline superiority in reflexes and agility. The scout wore light armor clothing similar to the kitsune, but with a cloak and hoodie. His fur was black, with lighter shades mixed with brown and white. A longer barrel circiletum was on his back, implying he was a marksman.
"Kirath," Antius asked. "What is the urgency?"
"A File is approaching," Kirath said. "They will be here soon."
"Then we need to leave," Antius said.
"You can come with us," Ryder said. "We know the path to Salva from here ."