“Three groups of eight,” Jay said beside his superior as they stood before a group of 24 of their soldiers that they had selected earlier primarily for their ability to use long-ranged weapons. Using a sword to slaughter deer would be highly ineffective. “You certain that’s how much you’d like to deploy?”
“I’m certain,” the Anbieter answered. “I can’t have you cooking up those amazing feasts every night, now.”
“You’re right.” Jay chuckled.
“So,” the Anbieter said, turning to his men and women. “Before we send you out, I’ll be calling your names out. Please say present once your name is called, otherwise we’ll have to replace you. And we don’t hunt very often, so I’d strongly recommend you take partake in this event.”
The Anbieter spent the next two or so minutes reading out a list of names he’d handwritten on a sheet of paper he held.
“…Adrian Tillens.” he read out the one of the last eight names.
“Present.” the bearer of the name said.
“Mikael Brand.”
“Present.”
“Eli Dam.”
“Present.”
“Klaudia Nordskov.”
“Present…”
This pre-assignment briefing was not only minded to by the two main heads of the Black Shield, but a handful of subordinates who watched away from the Anbieter’s sight.
“Klaudia getting called up for an assignment? That’s not something you see everyday…” Meinrad noted as he peered from behind a gap in the door with Stefan who was unwillingly accompanying him. The youth simply wanted to take a break after a long day of arduous training.
“Isn’t she a medic?” Stefan asked, trying to convince himself that he was truly interested in his bodyguard and friend’s adventures. “Why’s she up there?”
“She is a medic, but back in our village, she was one of the rescuers assigned to help free any fishermen stranded by the sea ice. She has really good eyes, so she can spot a deer from a mile away.”
“R-Really?” Stefan said in wonderment.
“No, I’m kidding. But her vision is not a joke, and I’m sure the Anbieter knows that. That’s why she’s being selected. I’m just worried that she’ll break a guy’s nose for brushing against her arm or something.”
“What are you gonna do about that?” asked Stefan.
“Isn’t it obvious?” Meinrad said. “We sneak aboard one of the crafts that’ll take them to the hunting grounds!”
“W-W-Wait a second!” Stefan said at a nearly screaming volume but controlled it so that it didn’t reach that magnitude. “You’re my bodyguard, aren’t you? That’s a big job, you can’t just not follow your orders.”
“I’ll keep an eye on you,” Meinrad said. “But I also need to keep watch over Klaudia.”
Stefan smirked, making his own implication.
“Is she your girlfriend or something?” he asked.
“She’s my sister if anything, bud,” Meinrad said, his tone becoming defensive, completely against his typical carefree nature. “I know her the best. That’s why I need to go there, but I won’t abandon you either.”
“And how do you suppose we hide this from the Anbieter?” Stefan asked.
“He’ll find out anyway, I’ll take the blame. Detlef’s a good talker so he’ll make it smooth while we’re gone.”
“…we leave in 30 minutes,” the Anbieter announced after finishing going over a summary of mission details, including which sites the three groups would be launched towards, and how many deer they were expected to take down. “I’ll have Vigdis prepare the crafts for launch. Jay, you will be in charge of the base until our return tomorrow morning.”
“Yes, sir!” Jay agreed.
“And…” Meinrad said. “That’s our cue to head for the hangar!”
-
“Holy shit,” Stefan said in awe of the fleet of airworthy metal ships, vehicles that he believed to be of legend until not very long before. “Each of these is like the size of a small house!”
Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.
“You’ve never seen one before?” Meinrad asked.
“I’ve never really been able to see them from outside like this… man, they sure are something!”
This guy’s a phenomenal fighter, Meinrad remarked. But still inexperienced. He’s barely been through life.
“You know what’s even cooler?” the young man asked.
“Hmm?”
“They don’t even need a driver. You just go inside and a huge map of Yeupis appears in front of you. You choose a spot on the map, and it takes you there by itself.”
“That can’t be true.” Stefan said in disbelief.
“It is. Now… how do we get inside one of these things without setting off some kind of alarm?”
The sounds of clobbering footsteps suddenly echoed through the massive hangar, which was larger than even the communal hall and made the training chamber look minuscule.
“Shit, Stefan… we have to hide.” Meinrad said, pulling the other boy’s arm, curving around the corner of one of the hulking crafts to conceal themselves.
“…they’re only 50% charged… is something wrong with the Anbieter?” Vigdis’ voice groaned as she approached the crafts she was in charge of servicing.
“Well, they won’t get hurt, will they?” another feminine voice asked as she walked alongside the other woman.
“Not if they drop out of the sky midflight,” Vigdis laughed. “That’s what I’m afraid of happening, though. The Anbieter doesn’t have a lot of know-how when it comes to these things. You can try teaching him, but he’ll always try to do it his own way.”
“Wait,” Stefan said. “Vigdis isn’t alone.”
He stepped out from behind the cover of the craft, much to Meinrad’s protest.
“What do you think you’re doing? That’s the third in-command of the Black Shield, and you know damn well we’re not supposed to be here!”
“Doesn’t matter. Anwen’s here, I can talk to her about it.”
He casually strolled to the front of the craft, closest to where the two engineers could see them and waved in their direction.
“Just when one problem arises, another one shows up…” Vigdis sighed. “Are you supposed to be here?”
“I, uhm… no. I’m not.”
“I’m kidding,” Vigdis smiled. “Kallista never used to run around the place back when we were in the Free Army… but she was one of their top brass, so she could’ve done whatever she felt like. What brings you here?”
How do I explain that I’m trying to sneak aboard one of these crafts?
“I know what he wants to do,” Anwen said. “He’s trying to get inside that.”
She pointed to the nose of the craft which hovered above her head.
“H-How did you know?” Stefan stammered, astonished by how easily she read him.
“I don’t see any other reason for you to be here.” Anwen shrugged.
“Right, right. That’s correct.” Stefan rubbed the back of his head.
“I’m with him,” said Meinrad, no longer able to hide his presence from the engineering division’s two members. “He’s here because of me.”
“You weren’t chosen for the hunting assignment, were you?” Vigdis, crossing her arms. “And you want to get on board one of these craft?”
“A friend of mine was selected, but she’s very unpredictable,” Meinrad explained. “I have to see that she can behave civilly.”
Vigdis looked at the two boys, then back up at one of her crafts.
“I can get something done for you, but it won’t be comfortable.” she said with a slight tone of warning.
-
“Are you kidding me?” Stefan yelled in bewilderment, standing inside the bridge of one of the craft. “That’s not a cargo hold… that’s a broom closet!”
“Told you it wouldn’t be comfortable,” Vigdis shrugged. “The flight’ll only be an hour long, though, and if you want to reunite with your friend, you’re going to have to leave at some point.”
“I don’t want to point out the obvious,” Anwen said. "But won’t the Anbieter get mad at you for helping them disobeying orders? Not that I want to stop them, but…”
“I’m the only one who can do what I do,” Vigdis said with a flair of pride. “He can’t punish me. Otherwise this organization gets brought to a halt, quite literally.”
She’s right. She’s insanely smart.
“Ms. Maas,” said Meinrad. “I can’t thank you enough for letting us do this. But could I ask why you’re helping us?”
Vigdis smirked.
“I’m still a woman of the Free Army at heart. Unlike the Black Shield who does things passively, we never waited to act until after something happens. You’re trying to stop your friend from being reckless before it happens, and I like that. And please, do call me Vigdis. I hate honorifics.”
That last part is basically the only thing she has in common with Jay and the Anbieter, Stefan noted.
“Of course, Vigdis.” Meinrad said, offering a nod of acknowledgment and respect.
“Stefan,” Anwen said, stepping slightly ahead of her mentor. “Are you sure this is a smart thing to be doing?”
“I—”
“Of course it is,” Meinrad said, speaking in the boy’s place. It was best that Stefan didn’t continue, otherwise he likely would’ve said the truth to his evidently concerned companion. “Nothing will happen to him, that’s my job.”
“You better.” Anwen said, teasingly putting on a scornful face.
“Wait, I do have something to ask before we leave,” Stefan said. “Gareth won’t know about this, will he?”
“The Anbieter gave him the task of giving some basic Utrium training to distract him, but he doesn’t seem to be the type that would explode if he knew you were disobeying someone else’s orders. Just… come back with all your limbs, that should be enough.” Vigdis said half-objectively, half-jokingly.
A myriad of different-weighted footsteps then entered the hangar, preparing to enter three of the crafts.
Vigdis used the sudden entrance as a distraction to push Stefan and Meinrad into the tiny storage hold.
“We have to get going, and you have to stay hidden for the time being.” she said as the boys were squeezed into the space, before returning to the bridge of the craft to begin starting it up.
“Stefan, before you go… I need to tell you something.” she said in front of the still-open storage hold doors.
“Huh?”
No, not yet. It’s not a good time to tell him about what I saw from Gareth and the Anbieter.
“Stay safe. That’s… that’s all.” she stammered.
“Hey, what about me?” Meinrad frowned.
“Oh, you too, Meinrad. Take care of each other.”
“Anwen.” Stefan said.
“W-What?” Anwen said just as she was about to close the doors.
“Don’t miss me too much. It’ll only be a night this time.” Stefan said, smiling in an effort to push out the creeping anxiety within his veins.
“I’ll try my best.” Anwen smiled back, before cutting the two boys away from the rest of the world.