He woke up staring at a tiled ceiling. Yes, he had made it. He looked around the room; it was still a little dark, with morning light beginning to come through via the two windows to the side. He must've slept through the night. At a glance, there didn't seem to be anyone else in the room. 

There was something warm next to him underneath the covers. Of course, it was Cily. She tended to cling to him whenever they went to sleep. He panicked the first time she did it, but eventually he got use to it, and besides, her warmth was useful during the cold desert nights. He gently tugged his arm free, causing her to wake. She looked at him and frowned, pointing at his chest, which was now covered in bandages.

"No, I'm good now. Good. This," he said, pointing at the bandages, "good."

She smiled in return. She was really quite endearing. Probably. He couldn't really tell.

Opening the door, he found another student, sitting in a chair and about to doze off. When he noticed Syme, he jumped a little. 

He stared at Cily, specifically at her horns. "It's true then..." he said with a hint of wonder. Then, he shook his head. "Anyways, Eran told me to bring you to the council room if you're rested and all. Are you?"

"I'm fine now, thank you," Syme replied.

The boy led him to the same room he was in before. Eran was there in his usual seat, with Sue next to him as usual, but there were another two there, a short, lanky boy, and a tall, grim-faced boy.

Eran, noticing his entrance, gave a quick greeting and introduction. "Syme," he said, indicating towards the new faces, "this is Saul and Nime. Saul was the treasurer at the time, and Nime was the secretary," he explained. "Though, really, it doesn't matter anymore," he added on the end.

Syme gave a quick nod towards them, and they replied in tow.

"I'll fill you in on what's going on," Eran said. "We've already had an announcement about the new information regarding the hostile native species. Currently we were discussing our future plans."

"We obviously need some sort of armed forces to defend ourselves," Nime said. "But we are currently in disagreement about the amount. I'm pushing for a larger force, but Saul wants a small one."

"Have you had a census done?" Syme asked.

"Yes," Saul answered. "It was one of the first thing's we did. Currently there are 463 students still here. 138 students are missing from the roster. No alumni or staff are here. There is no one older than 18 or younger than 14. Additionally, half of the Seniors are missing. Gender wise, it is roughly equal, with 23 more males than females."

"Syme, pardon me from bringing up bad memories, but you are the only one with first-hand experience. What do you suggest we do in terms of arming ourselves?" Eran asked.

"Dedicated armed forces numbering 200, standing army of 100," Syme answered.

"Is it that bad?" Saul asked, shocked. "That is quite a lot."

"If I am to be honest, they are not. Their arms are primitive and they seem to have no strategy with their attacks. It would not take much to fortify a building like this."

"Then why?"

"Because we need an offensive force."

"But—" Saul protested.

"I can understand your dissention," Syme interrupted. "However, you must understand, we will die if we are so passive. How much food do we have left?"

"From food leftover in the cafeteria, we can probably last another week. If we ration heavily, then two," Nime answered.

"There you go. Do you see food around us? Nor can we farm in such short time either. But, there are civilizations already here. Primitive ones, with primitive armaments."

"I apologize for any offensive," Saul said, "but perhaps the desire for revenge is clouding your decisions."

"He does have a point, however," Nime interjected. "We really can't survive for much longer with our current resources."

"Additionally, an offensive military presence can allow us to protect any other transported schools that we find," Syme added. "Imagine finding others like us, then being forced to do nothing but watch as they are slaughtered."

"Couldn't we try to talk to them?" Saul asked. "The Imps I mean. Negotiate for food."

"I can tell you they're in no mood for negotiating," Syme said dryly. "And how exactly do we communicate with them? They don't speak our language."

"What about the little girl that's following you?"

"Cily? She doesn't speak our language either. And even if she did, I don't know how much of her language she knows either. Besides, are they going to trust a child with negotiations?"

"Still—"

"I see," Eran interjected. "It seems we're in disagreement. It comes to a vote, then. Let's pretend we're a government committee. Ayes for an offensive plan, Nays for a defensive plan."

Saul eyed Eran suspiciously; he was cutoff before he could present his side of the argument after all. But given the flow of the conversation he couldn't object.

"Aye."

"Aye."

"Aye."

"Aye."

"...Aye," Saul said reluctantly.

"The ayes have it," Eran said. "Let's get to the details then."

"We shouldn't have our militia be haphazard. I doubt we will ever have the numerical advantage, so we need to focus on what advantages we do have," Syme said.

"Which are?" Eran prompted.

"Technology, the history of human warfare, and greater order."

"I see. What do you have in mind, then?"

Syme thought for a moment. "Do you know any history buffs?" he asked. "Given the level of weapons we can reasonably make, it would be best to take from our ancestors."

"Viz," Eran said after a moment thinking. "I can't imagine anyone in the school knowing more about ancient history. He was the President of both the history and the Latin club. Sue, could you go get him?"

"What, am I your servant?" Sue rebutted. She rose out of her seat regardless, however.

"I'm sorry, I'll go then."

"I didn't say I wouldn't do it," Sue sighed. 

A moment later Sue came back with a lanky, disheveled fellow with messy black hair that partially obscured his eyes. He sauntered in, clearly disinterested.

"You called?" he grunted.

Eran nodded. "We'd begun military preparations. At the behest of Syme here, we'd like your input given your knowledge of ancient warfare."

Syme could see a glitter in Viz's eye when the words "ancient warfare" came out.

"Why, I'd be honored," he replied, trying but failing to hide excitement in his voice.

"So, what army to model ours after?" Eran prompted.

"I remember your announcement, but I need to know more of how our opponents work." Viz asked in return.

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Syme spoke up. "From what I saw, they're not particularly organized. They wield relatively primitive weapons. Mostly wooden spears, no shields or armor. When they attacked us, they simply rushed in as a horde."

"It's a knee-jerk reaction, but Roman," Viz replied immediately.

"What's your reasoning? Why Roman over, say, Persian, or Greek?" Syme asked, curious.

"We don't have the numbers for Persian light infantry. We need soldiers that will trade efficiently with the enemy; that means heavy infantry," Viz answered.

"And Greek? I'd say a Macedonian phalanx qualifies as heavy infantry."

"I had thought of a phalanx at first as well," Viz said, rubbing his chin in thought. "For one thing, phalanx training is difficult, and even one solider who messes up will break the structure and the effectiveness of a phalanx."

"But at the same time, legionaries were well known for their discipline," Syme interjected.

"Yes, but the legions were more fluid, which gives a larger margin for error. The largest con, however, is the lack of cavalry. We don't have any horses or camels, do we?"

"You are correct," Saul said dryly. "Our horse and camel stock is lacking for whatever reason."

Undeterred, Viz continued. "You mentioned the Macedonians before. Heavy cavalry was a large part of their success. Infantry was used as a sort of wall to position enemy infantry for the cavalry to break. And after the enemy broke, the cavalry would chase routing opponents. Without cavalry, we'll be lacking the anvil for our hammer, and have no chasing power.

"Since we essentially only have infantry, the versatility of a legion-style army will be essential. We can afford a longer line, which will help with our numerical disadvantage. We won't be as weak to flanking attacks. Our units will be far more maneuverable. With a slow phalanx, a single mistake in positioning can spell doom, and our generals will certainly be inexperienced."

"What about equipment?" Syme asked.

"A large wooden shield and a short sword," Viz replied. "What else?"

"Ah, yes, the Gladius Hispaniensis. The Roman army after the Marian reforms were one of the few in history to arm their soldiers primarily with swords and not spears," Syme murmured. "I have no issue with the shield, but I'm not sure we have the materials for each soldier to have a full sword. Spears are much less taxing, partly the reason for their popularity."

"A compromise, then? The Gladius was used primarily as a stabbing weapon. A short spear, then. Like the Iklwa of the Zulu."

"What about armor?" Eran asked.

"If we can't afford a sword, then I'm afraid armor is out of the question," Viz said.

There was a short silence after that, as no one knew what to say. Eventually, Eran interrupted the silence and dismissed Viz.

"It seems we are done, then, with the basics at least," Eran announced. "I'll have Sue write down the details discussed," he added, causing her to glare at him. "Thank you, Viz. If we need you later, we'll call."

"No, no, it was my pleasure." He moved closer to Syme. "You are Syme, correct? It was good to meet you," he said, reaching out his hand.

"Likewise," Syme replied, shaking his hand.

After that, Viz nodded towards the rest and took his leave.

Eran coughed. "Now, if there's a military, there needs to be leadership."

"That's beyond me," Syme said. "I don't know the people of this school. But I do think students who have displayed leadership capabilities, clubs, teams, should be considered."

"Indeed, I'll compile a list myself. But ahead of them all will be you," Eran said.

"Me?" Syme replied, incredulous.

"You spearheaded this, you get to control it. You're the general now. Congratulations."

He wanted him to refuse. Accepting could be disasterous, but refusing would set him back significantly. Damn, Eran wasn't fooled after all. He would have to gamble.

"I... see. I will humbly accept, then," Syme said. 

"Anything else?"

He needed some ammunition for his unexpected promotion. Best to sow your seeds early. "About the food supply, there is a way to extend our time. Cily taught me that a certain type of cactus-like plant grows naturally in the environment outside and is edible. I would not have been able to make it here without it."

"We'll have parties search out and begin gathering them immediately," Eran replied curtly.

"...additionally, if I may be so rude, I'd like to use my authority now to request for the students best at engineering and carpentry to meet me later on," Syme added.

"Consider it done," Eran replied. "Sue will get to it."

"Why me?" she mumbled in response.

"Anything else?" Eran asked.

"Just a little thing, if Sue doesn't mind—"

"—I do mind," she interjected.

"...if she didn't mind, I'd want some spare clothing for Cily. And maybe some books to help her learn our language."

"Oh! For her? Sure. Come on, follow me," she said, standing up.

"I'll take my leave, then," Syme said. 

Cily, who had fallen asleep against his leg at some point, woke up groggily as he rose, then followed him and Sue out.

"...uh, I'll leave too," Nime said. He'd noticed that Saul had been glaring at Eran for a while now.

"What the hell are you doing?" Saul asked after Nime had left.

"I realize," Eran said, sighing. "I was caught up in the flow."

"Caught up enough to just handle him a position?"

"That actually was my way to gain back some control. You can tell by his reaction that he genuinely didn't expect it. It caught him off-guard."

"You expect him to flounce, then?" Saul asked.

"Maybe, I don't know—look, the only reason we're in power is because when everyone had no idea what to do we did. And to be frank, we don't know what to do anymore. If he does, then hell, I don't care"

Saul banged his hand against the table. "Look how quickly he brings up war! I cannot believe that this is a good idea. He clearly has ulterior motives."

"Maybe, maybe," Eran mumbled. "Saul, for me, just wait on it. Wait and see."

Saul didn't say anything for a bit, debating internally. "...fine," he said eventually, rising to leave. "But damn you if it's too late," he added.

Eran called out to him as he opened the door. "Maybe we're being too serious about this. Do you think every highschooler has such a Machiavellian heart? What if he's genuine?"

"It's life or death here, Eran. There is no such thing as too serious," Saul said as he slammed the door behind him.

"Oh Saul," Eran murmured, shaking his head, "in times of change you have to be flexible if you want to profit."