Military Headquarters Courtyard, a short distance from the Royal Palace
Hundreds of Titanian soldiers gathered around a single man who was clad in a prisoner uniform not dissimilar to those worn by the Terran slaves that worked the mines of Titan. But he was, by all means, a Titanian just like the men and women who had come to watch him be handed his fate. He silently stood in a cage that was built to just accommodate an adult Titanian standing upright. He did not even have the room to bend his elbows more than a few degrees.
“Any last words, Colonel Kirchner?” General Karesti asked, standing about 10 feet away wearing a black version of the uniform she typically wore.
“I did as you asked… he said in an exhausted voice. “I carried out the mission in Marius… we dispatched 200 of its population, we destroyed most of its amenities… we blew out their fuses of hope. That was exactly as you had ordered us to do, General. This sentence is… baseless! You’re killing the son of a late Central Council member!”
“Yet you failed to find any signs of the Angel Slayer or the asset,” the General countered calmly. “That takes precedence above all. You’ve done our military a great injustice. Your only choice is to accept your sentence. Oh, and for your information… your father was not in the Council under neither my leadership, nor Emperor Halsten’s by whose name I preside. Using your dead father to save you is meaningless.”
“Not being able to find some child and a wannabe Titanian is injustice? How will two Terrans benefit our nation in any way? Your father Emperor Henrik would never have even thought of this! General Karesti, you’ll have innocent blood on your hands…
The General walked away, having already given the disgraced Colonel the chance to and listened to his final remarks. Anything after would’ve simply been noise to her ears which she had no reason to hear. The sea of Titanian soldiers split to make room for her as she made her way back into the headquarters, walked up a short flight of stairs and onto a balcony, where a youth in regal attire barely out of his teens had waited for her.
Standing straight with broad shoulders and his hands folded in front of his stomach as he stood just behind the railing of the balcony, he did not break eye contact with the scene before him. His tied-up brown hair bobbed ever so slightly in the subtle Titanian wind under a dark orange sky. Two soldiers in executioner attire moved forward to the condemned colonel. One forced his mouth open. He squirmed and struggled, but his pointless coping was hampered by the strong and tall soldier of Team Zero, the most elusive and respected unit of the Titanian Military. Executions were only one of the specialized tasks they were trained for. The other soldier, who had been carrying a small, thumb sized glass jar of purple liquid, opened it and poured its contents down Kirchner’s throat. The man’s body began to noticeably tremble after a few moments. A black-purple sludge spilled from his lips, the quantity of which increased until it disgorged in heaves. Kirchner grasped the bars of the cage tightly that they nearly bent.
“Is there any particular reason you made me come here to watch this?” the young royal asked the general, the coat of arms embroidered on the breast of his service dress matching the one stitched onto Rhona’s as well as her beret. “I’m a member of the royal family, not a soldier.”
“You spent your 16th, 17th, and 18th years at Heimat Academy, and graduated. You normally should be a private… but you’re a corporal—a soldier regardless, whether you choose to be in active service or not. You have the right to be here.” Rhona answered.
“Even then, I’m only a common soldier. Why am I privy to something only high ranks are present at?”
“Times are changing, Silvan,” Rhona said. “I’ve gathered men and woman of all ranks to be here. They must all see what happens when someone doesn’t put the effort their Crown and nation need them to put in.”
“Uncle Henrik is probably rolling in his grave right now,” Rhona’s cousin sighed, younger than her by a difference of 14 years, making him 19 years old. “Who knows what Halsten would think of this?”
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“I know they would both agree that the second-in-line to the Titanian throne should be exposed to the ins and outs of our government and military. That’s why you’re here, and I hope you do learn something from this.” Rhona said.
“Second-in-line? Rhona, aren’t you the second-in-line?” Silvan asked, remembering that she was Halsten’s younger sister and Henrik’s only other child.
“I gave up my right to the throne when I became general,” she said. “I still am technically a princess, the same way your father was a prince when he was still general.”
Bitterness pulled the corners of Silvan’s mouth down at the mention of his late father. The younger brother of Emperor Henrik had died in a mysterious accident on Mars nine years earlier, but it was certain there was more to it than that.
“Uncle Gunnar would’ve wanted you to be here,” Rhona said, rubbing Silvan’s back with her gloved hand. “You might not become general, and maybe not even Emperor, but you will see greatness. It runs in your blood.”
Maybe? Gotta love being second-in-line. Silvan fretted.
“Wouldn’t it make more sense for the first-in-line to be here as well?” Silvan asked.
Rhona shushed him as clattering and rattling from the cage in the courtyard became louder and louder. Snarling noises emerged from Kirchner’s mouth.
“You hear that, Silvan?” Rhona asked with a delighted tone. “That’s the sound of nature taking its course.”
The pupils and irises of his green eyes had faded until they became the same tint of white sclera. He shook the bars so hard that the cage spun around on its circular base. Four members of Team Zero rushed at him and struck him repeatedly with prods that discharged beams of electricity, causing him to screech animalistically.
Lieutenant General Salomon, Rhona’s righthand man emerged from the crowd after the thing that used to be Colonel Kirchner finally passed out from the electric shocks and plummeted against the front side of the cage.
“Take him to a transport vehicle,” he ordered. “The second portion of his sentence begins immediately.”
The four members complied and lifted the cage as well as its occupant out through a set of tall, marble double doors. He then dismissed the remaining soldiers.
“That,” Rhona said, looking on as the audience she had gathered filed out of the courtyard. “Is how us Karesti’s deal with insubordination.”
“Halsten never did that, though.” Silvan remarked.
“He never got the chance to.” Rhona responded. “There’s only ever a handful of inadept scum that warrant a punishment of this level. Do you know what they used to call generals in years past?”
“What?”
“Caretakers of the throne. While Emperors sit on it, it is our duty to keep it held together and ensure that it doesn’t fall apart. That’s what all this is about.”
“Interesting,” Silvan said without much vibrance. “Can I return to my residence?”
“You may,” Rhona answered. “But do give some thought to what you saw today. It’s important.”
“Of course, Rhona.”
Silvan gave his cousin a salute before leaving the balcony, tilting his head down so that their eyes could meet.
“The sooner we retrieve the asset,” Rhona told herself as she stood alone on the balcony, gazing onto the empty courtyard. “The sooner things go back the way they should be.”
-
The sun had waned considerably by the time Gareth, Anwen, Vi and a fraction of the Iris’ sisters had turned onto the final road before Marius. 30 had started the trip, but throughout the six-day journey, 20 of them had decided to either return to their homes or settle in settlements looking for barmaids, brewers and farmhands. Iris was one of the ten who decided to make it all the way to Marius. Gareth pulled his cart of Utrium for about half of the time, sharing the task with no less than five girls as well as Anwen and Vi.
“Gareth, have you noticed it?” Anwen asked.
“Hmm?” the man acknowledged as he pulled on his cargo.
“All these people… carpenters, stonemasons, roofers, blacksmiths, even doctors… there’s been a lot more than usual coming down this way.” Anwen noted.
It’s got to do with Gareth's traps going off.
Gareth shrugged, actually doing something more than simply ignoring for once.
“We’d better hurry up.” he said, increasing his pace. The road became more congested by the perch, accumulating with coaches and carriages carrying craftsmen and woman and merchants. This was the first time Anwen had ever witnessed a jam in traffic.
“This seems troublesome…” Vi noticed. They moved past Gareth, who was the second last person in their convoy, went by Anwen and moved in front of the girls from the Church of Hugo. “Make way for the Black Shield!”
Upon hearing their bombastic voice and seeing the ebony covering over their face, the travelers immediately moved to the side of the roads, allowing Vi and their party to enter town without obstacles. It didn’t take long to see why so many tradesmen were coming from out of town to Marius.
Anwen’s brown eyes grew into wide circles, seeing the incomplete wooden and stone buildings which still smelled of ash, many of which were little more than skeletal in form. Breaking off from the rest of the group she ran straight towards the town square, hoping to see a face that was familiar.