Chapter V

Year 8 of the reign of empress Lim-Kiririsha, 5th day of the month of Tebetum

After king Pratipa was killed, his body was delivered to Asandivat and the ECSS agents told Pratipa’s family and other ruling members that he was kidnapped by the KIA and was about to be used as bait for the OFK’s attack on Kuru’s capital, before being poisoned by the Egyptians once the KIA ship was intercepted by the ECSS, so that the EC could not get him back alive. The leadership in Kuru accepted this as truth, thanking the ECSS for at least recovering the body, while also denouncing the OFK for doing this to their ruler. The KIA, the Commonwealth of Kemet, Kush, and Retjenu, and the OFK leaderships in turn denied having any part in this and claimed that the ECSS was fully responsible for the king’s death, but their version of events was not accepted in Kuru. The kingdom’s ruling council agreed to begin talks about joining the EC once the war would be over, though even then they factually already were a part of the faction in most ways.

While some in Pancala hoped that news of Pratipa’s death would break Kuru, the opposite happened and it only strengthened the resolve of the soldiers, who now did not have to worry about the king’s fate and about finding him, instead only having to focus on one thing – the destruction of Pancala. Resheph’s Blades were also sent back to the east in full force, continuing to disrupt Pancala’s supply routes and doing other important tasks. One such, taking place two months after the death of Pratipa, was the ambush and capture of Pratiswan, one of Pancala’s kings, as he was trying to reach the neighboring kingdom of Kosala, to try to get a new ally for the failing state or, if that did not work, to simply escape the wrath of Kuru. Yet Pratiswan succeeded in neither, as his unit was eliminated, and the king himself was delivered to Asandivat, where he was publicly executed by being trampled by an elephant. The ruling council of Kuru was enraged at the OFK and, believing that Pancala had been in league with it and helped it kidnap king Pratipa, wanted to punish one of Pancala’s kings accordingly in retribution. This left Mudgala as the only remaining king of Pancala, holed up in a small town in the northeast of the country with the few remaining soldiers and supporters of the state.

King Mudgala was sitting in his new makeshift throne room, discussing military plans with his remaining commanders. As they were talking, a guard rushed in from outside.

“My lord!” the guard shouted. “The palace has been breached. We have… intruders…” he slowed down as he realized that he now had a dagger to his throat.

Behind him was Nidintu, ready to kill him at any moment. The other four ECSS field agents emerged momentarily as well, armed with daggers, swords, and guns.

“So, you have come to kill me as well. My brothers were killed one after another in the previous months by you, and I was wondering when my turn would come up,” Mudgala said slowly.

“Believe it or not, that’s not our intention,” Uktannu, holding a gun to one commander’s face and a sword to a guard’s chest, began and was translated by Anshar. “At least, that’s not our primary intention. Also, we didn’t kill all of your brothers. Only one. Though the actions of Resheph’s Blades, acting on our intel and our orders, did result in the deaths of two more. But that cannot be changed. They can’t be resurrected. The only thing you can do now is decide whether you want to join them right now, or live to see another day.”

“I am not afraid of death. But I would rather my death had some meaning, and this war doesn’t seem to have that anymore. It was started by my brothers, I never really supported it. But I couldn’t abandon them, so I stuck by them.”

“Well, you are not bound by them anymore, you can choose your own destiny now. And that of your kingdom.”

“What do you propose?”

“There are two ways out of this war. Either we kill you, maybe get a few bruises while doing it, and fighting continues for some months. But Pancala will be leaderless, with few soldiers, and low morale. It will inevitably lose. Thousands more will die, from your side and ours, but it will lose. The other option is that you surrender and tell your remaining men to surrender. Pancala will become part of Kuru, but retribution will not be as harsh. I can promise you that. In addition, you will be allowed to serve as a local governor for one of the new provinces under the king of Kuru. Not the entirety of Pancala, naturally, but maybe a fourth of it or so. I and my team would certainly prefer the latter option, since we would like to finally leave this place before the Babylonian New Year. But, ultimately, it’s your choice. Here are the exact terms. They can be negotiated further, but I’d advise not pushing your luck too much.”

Anshar carefully handed the king the document detailing the terms of Pancala’s surrender, written on a dried palm leaf, as was most common in India. Mudgala read it over and placed the leaf on his table, turning back to Uktannu.

“I do not have much of a choice. I never liked this whole ruling a country business. Never was one to enjoy politics, diplomacy, and war. Those were my brothers’ spheres. I was mostly a philosopher, a sage, sitting in the capital, meditating, and writing about the gods. Not a warrior or a king. I am no leader, I shouldn’t be sending my people to fight in this war. I will only get more of them killed for no reason.”

“Wise words. Are you ready to end this war then?” Uktannu asked.

“I am. Forgive me Indra, forgive me Agni, and forgive me Vishnu, but this is what I believe I must do. Not for myself, but for my people, thousands of who would be killed otherwise, despite being innocent. I surrender. I will sign your treaty. Just, please, cease this fighting and destruction. Tens of thousands of people, soldiers and civilians, men and women, children and the elderly, were killed by your soldiers, chariots, elephants, and substances and weapons of Rakshasas-”

“What’s that?” Uktannu asked Anshar as he was translating.

“Some sort of demons of theirs. He’s referring to our guns and biological weapons,” Anshar explained.

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“Fair enough.”

“As they ravaged our fields, villages, and towns,” Mudgala continued. “Of course, it was us who started this war, and we must reap what we sowed. But this has gone far enough. Please, let us conclude to this conflict.”

“I would be more than glad to. Just sign the treaty, open the gates to let in a detachment from Kuru, and we will be on our way.”

“So it ends.”

As agreed, the king signed the surrender agreement and opened the city gates, ordering his men to stand down. A small unit from Kuru entered, officially proclaiming that this area was now part of the Kingdom of Kuru and that the Kingdom of Pancala was no more. After making sure everything was settled, the ECSS agents left the town and headed back to Asandivat.

By the time they reached the capital of Kuru in about a week, stopping along the way to meet with some officials and pay their Resheph’s Blades mercenaries, most resistance in Pancala had ceased as everyone had been informed of the surrender and saw no reason to continue fighting. Mudgala was, as promised, spared and made the governor of a province in the conquered region, though he now had to answer directly to Asandivat. Pancala was now truly disestablished and fully subsumed into Kuru. The whole of Northern India was now seen as Kuru’s sphere, with the small kingdoms of Matsya and Kunti already pledging their allegiance to it, while the realms to the east argued on whether to do the same or try to make a desperate last stand.

In Asandivat meanwhile, the succession issue was finally resolved. After the former king was given a funeral ceremony, his third son Shantanu was officially crowned as the new king, though his mother and the high priest remained as regents, pledging to give full power to Shantanu once he would come of age in five years. The second son, meanwhile, Bahlika, was to be made the new official army chief, as the previous one had died a month prior after catching a disease in eastern Pancala. Devapi, the oldest son, was agreed to be sent to Elam, as the locals did not want him to remain in Kuru due to his illness.

The ECSS agents arrived in Asandivat and met with Barekbaal, the leader of Resheph’s Blades, for the last time and made their final payment. Some of the mercenaries went home, but some stayed in India, and some new arrivals joined them, as they expected many more conflicts to flare up in India in the near future, and so wanted to be in the area to get the jobs and the associated rewards first. Afterwards, the ECSS met with the regents, who thanked and rewarded them, sending a few treasure chests to their ships, mostly to be delivered to the Elamite empress Lim-Kiririsha. The regents also reaffirmed their loyalty to the EC and said that they were ready to begin talks of joining the coalition.

“Leaving already?” Bahlika said in Akkadian to the group as they were in the harbor of Asandivat, making final preparations for departure.

“We are,” Uktannu replied. “I didn’t know you spoke Akkadian, chief.”

“Something I picked up in my spare time. Heard that Mesopotamia is a land which was home to many empires and witnessed many wars, wanted to study your ways of how to fight such wars, and what mistakes to avoid.”

“That’s rather wise. Our libraries are full of works on warfare. If you are interested, just let us know, we would be more than happy to help. Especially if that gives you an edge over our enemies.”

“Thank you. I believe we will need this edge. We won one war, but many more are to come. This continent has been at war for centuries, ever since the destruction of the Indus Valley civilization, and it will take some more before it is at peace again.”

“Not if we can help it. What are your next targets?”

“Depends on who submits to us and who resists. But you do not need to concern yourselves with it. These remaining kingdoms are small fish, we will take care of them easily. It will take time, but it will be done. We appreciate the help, but we need to build up a respectable army ourselves anyways, can’t always rely on allies and mercenaries.”

“I understand that. We can still send you some weapons though. They would be more useful in your wars rather than sitting idly in our stockpiles.”

“That would be most appreciated, commander. So, tell me, are we now officially allies?”

“Well, you need to wait for our envoys and diplomats to arrive. They will formalize this alliance. We, the ECSS, were never here, if you get my meaning. But yes, we are allies. If you are in some trouble, the EC will come to your help. We made quite an investment in your kingdom, we wouldn’t let it go to waste.”

“That is good to hear. I am looking forward to working with your faction more closely.”

“As are we. But that will be the job of our armed forces and diplomatic corps. The ECSS is done here, for now.”

“I see. One last thing before you go commander – take care of my older brother. I know he is diseased, but he is still my brother, and I don’t want him to suffer more than he already has.”

“Don’t worry, we will place him in the care of top Elamite doctors. Maybe they will even be able to cure him. If not, they will at least try their best to give him a decent life.”

“Thank you. That is all I ask.”

“As for the journey – we have our own doctor who will take good care of your brother,” Uktannu turned to Warad-Sin.

“A diseased specimen. And a royal one! Do not worry, your highness, the plaguedoctor Warad-Sin will treat you of your affliction. Let me just take a sample right there…” Warad-Sin said as he was poking Devapi with a needle.

“He is a bit… weird. But I trust him. He treated me and my comrades of wounds and prevented us from catching many diseases while out here. He knows his stuff.”

“If you trust him, then I will trust him as well,” Bahlika said.

“And don’t forget your position. You are the army chief, your younger brother is the king. Keep it this way.”

“I intend to honor my word. It will stay this way.”

“Good. You had the chance to take the throne, but you gave it away, so now don’t try to take it back. Your kingdom couldn’t afford such instability. I really would rather not have to return here myself, or send some other agents, for an assassination mission. Because that is what would be ordered if a usurper took the throne and we were called to depose him. Don’t betray our trust like that.”

“I assure you, I never had any aspirations for the throne, and I still don’t. My destiny is in the field. To lead armies and crush our enemies. I am more than happy to let my brother and the regents sit here in the capital and deal with politics, trade, and all that, while I am out there campaigning with my troops.”

“Then I suppose we have nothing to worry about. Good talking to you, chief. Nergal bless your campaigns.”

“And Agni bless yours, commander. Have a safe journey home!”

The two parted ways and Uktannu boarded his ship, which had been repaired since its last encounter with the KIA vessel.

“Are we good to go, commander?” the captain asked.

“Yes, captain,” Uktannu said once the final supplies were loaded, and the final passengers and crewmen boarded the ship.

“Well?” Nidintu came up to Uktannu once the ship was away from the harbor.

“Well what?”

“Are we finally done with the mission?”

“Yes, now we are. You wanna write the report?”

“Absolutely not. Have the new guys do it. By that I mean Anshar, because I still doubt Murdus can read, let alone write, and Warad, well… you know.”

“Fuck you, Nidintu!” Murdus shouted from across the ship.

“Anyways, wanna head to the lower deck?”

“Thought you would never ask,” Uktannu smirked.

“Not if you are going to scream like a little girl, like last time.”

“Hey! I had told you to not touch that part, my bullet wound was and is still healing. You try getting shot.”

“I’d rather not. Come on now, if we’re gonna fuck, let’s do it before Warad-Sin creates another biological weapon and poisons half the ship.”