Tikimaken stared at the map spread out before him on the table, tracing the border of the current front line. It was tentative; entirely possible that it had already moved and several villages had been taken by the enemy in the time after this had been drawn. Still, they tried to keep the map updated as best they could. It had become obvious rather quickly that the Hive’s access to information by using flying drones and their damnable psychic connection gave them a great advantage. The Confederation couldn’t afford to be entirely shown up in that respect.
Not that it was doing them much good, currently. The Hive kept advancing and taking more of their territory. Currently, the war was still largely confined to the western and north-western borders of the Gnomish Confederation, but it might not remain so.
“Tiki?”
He startled, sitting up and blinking. It only took him a moment to recognize his commanding officer, General Aliekin. The man without whom they would likely have lost a lot more than they had already.
“Sir.” He stood up, straightening his jacket.
The other man shook his head. “I didn’t mean to startle you,” he said. “I simply wanted to know if we had the new reports from the western expansion.”
“Not yet, General,” Tikimaken reported. “I’ve been waiting for them. The last new intelligence we got was the update I’ve just put down here, two hours ago.”
The general glanced at the map with the lines drawn in pencil and nodded. “Alright, I’ll just have to do without then.”
An aide stopped by to bring him a steaming cup, and Tikimaken used the opportunity to straighten out the map again, before he stepped back from it. He liked Aliekin, the man spoke his mind, didn’t care much for politics and was a much better commander than anyone he’d served with before. But he was still much more of a soldier than Tikimaken. His own status was rather ambiguous, with his odd role as a liaison to the faction as well as Aliekin’s senior assistant. He wasn’t even officially a military officer, at the moment, though.
“You should go home,” the general said now. “This will still all be here tomorrow morning, and I’m sure your partner misses you.”
He hesitated, then admitted to himself that it was getting rather late. “I don’t like feeling like I’ll miss something,” he confessed.
Alilekin shrugged. “Something is always happening, but the Hivekind have slowed down recently. They won’t move too much this night.”
“It won’t last,” he said. “It can’t. Maybe the war in Cernlia distracted them, but it’s over now, isn’t it?”
“That is what our information indicates, though reliable or detailed news is hard to come by.” The general frowned. “It might cause them to start another major push, that’s true. Certainly, we’ll have to be prepared for the possibility.”
Tikimaken nodded. That was what he’d been thinking.
“We will not be ready to fight them if we’re running on fumes, though. Get some sleep, Tiki. You’ll feel better in the morning, and we can go over our plans again.”
Tikimaken hesitated. He was feeling tired, and he looked forward to seeing Eli. But he still didn’t like the idea of leaving, it felt like running away.
And, perhaps, he wasn’t looking forward to the trip home.
"What about … our project?” he asked. “Is it going to be ready in time?”
Aliekin was quiet for a moment. “I believe so,” he finally replied. “Perhaps not quite to the extent that we’d wish, but I’m certain we’ll be able to defend ourselves from the Hive. I’m looking forward to giving the Hivekind pause.”
Tikimaken smiled slightly. He agreed with the sentiment. “Indeed. I will turn in for the night, then. Until tomorrow, Sir.”
Aliekin returned his goodbye, seeming already distracted by whatever had caused him to come here originally, and Tikimaken got his coat before leaving. Their rooms were in a convenient, central location in the military base closest to the center of the city, for which he was especially thankful on evenings like these.
He stepped into the corridor, followed it down a flight of stairs and then to the door leading outside, returning salutes of the soldiers waiting there. He paused for a moment, looking around, before he turned to head for home.
Then his steps faltered slightly. He had forgotten the wooden platform raised at the corner. In a central location, right outside the military base and across from some of the important administrative buildings of the city on a major thoroughfare. Tikimaken straightened himself after a moment. Don’t show any reaction. He continued on, but he couldn’t help glancing at it, his eyes drawn to the forms of gnomes swaying in the wind.
They’d been hanged, this time. The bodies were still there, most likely to be taken down later in the evening. He wondered what they’d done. Treason of some sort, most likely. Unfortunately, that did not narrow it down entirely. Less as the war progresses.
There seemed to be more executions every day, although he knew it was not as bad as it seemed. He just saw a disproportionate amount of them. Still, they have to be running out of powerful political opponents speaking against the faction by now. But he chided himself for the thought immediately. Of course, the Historicals were consolidating power, that was necessary. They could not afford to be weakened by internal divisions now. But the rule of law still reigns, doesn’t it?
These two men did not wear particularly elaborate or expensive clothing, from what he could see. They could be minor merchants or tradesmen. Perhaps they’d tried to sell information to the Confederation’s enemies or sabotaged the war effort. He could perhaps find out if he asked, but he was not about to do that.
A few soldiers of the city guard patrolled at night. Too old or wounded to be of much use in the war, most likely, but still useful for upholding order in the city. They recognized his insignia, if not himself, and saluted or nodded respectfully as he passed. He returned their gestures, forcing himself not to speed up slightly.
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Finally, he reached his home. Tikelikel and he had moved recently to a better located apartment close to the base. She’d been largely working in the city, helping the administrative side of the war effort by raising funds for the faction and the war, but had also managed to keep their own business at least mostly alive. He knew it wasn’t easy and he didn’t envy her the work. Under other circumstances, he would probably have been doing it, but he couldn’t give up his current job for it.
“Tiki!” She greeted him with a smile and a hug, like most days, before grabbing him a plate with some of the food she’d clearly just warmed up. He should cook again soon. He took off his coat and sat down, too hungry to talk much before eating.
After they were both done, he leaned back, looking at his partner. He could tell she was troubled, but then, she usually looked like that these days. It was a troubling time.
“Did you see the executions?” she finally asked, voice quiet and solemn.
He shrugged and shook his head. “I passed by the bodies as I was leaving for home.”
Eli sighed. “It’s getting worse. The Historicals already hold eighty percent of the executive council, Tiki. Does all this really need to happen?”
“I’m not in the faction’s leadership. Even if I thought otherwise, there’s not much I could do.”
Tikelikel just looked at him for a moment, before she sighed. “Of course. Neither can I. It’s just that —“ She put her head in her arms. “I don’t think I like where this is taking our country, Tiki.”
He didn’t say anything to that. What could he say? She wasn’t wrong. He didn’t like what it was doing to the Confederation, either. But we’re at war. Long-term damage doesn’t matter if there’s no country left, does it? They sat in silence for a bit.
“People are already calling it the Second War,” Eli finally said again.
Tikimaken snorted. “It is a bigger war than we’ve fought before, perhaps since the beginning. Even if a few people still don’t want to admit it.”
“I guess.” She smiled wryly. “Who would have thought, at the beginning of all this?”
“Perhaps we shouldn’t —“ Then he cut himself off.
They stayed silent for a moment. “At least the Hivekind don’t seem as murderous as they were before,” Eli finally said in a tone barely above a whisper.
He sat up and looked at her sharply. “That sounds like it’s coming close to the kind of thing we shouldn’t say in public,” he warned her.
“I’m not an idiot, Tiki. I know. But still. You remember them just as well as I do. Does it really seem like this was well handled at all?”
He stayed quiet for another second. Then he frowned harder, not able to stop it. “Do you mean to say that our records of the First War might not be reliable?”
“I don’t know. Does it seem possible to you the records are not exactly entirely objective?”
He stayed silent, but the look they shared told him they both knew it was entirely possible. More than possible, really. He’d seen the power of propaganda recently. The faction was not telling the people the complete and unvarnished truth of everything. Unfortunately, that seems to be obvious to most people by now.
He wasn’t stupid enough to think that they were responsible for what happened. If he and Eli hadn’t, someone else would have encountered the Hivekind first. Since they’d showed up nearby, it was inevitable. Their nature would have been revealed sooner or later, probably sooner, and war would have broken out. Still, he couldn’t help but wish he’d been able to do things differently.
After this, neither of them was in the mood to talk. He cleared the table and washed the dishes in silence, glad that at least they had a faucet close by, while Eli lit another oil lamp. Then they settled down on the bed together. He held her close to him, taking comfort from her warm presence. Neither of them was in the mood for activity, but he found it soothing. If only all his troubles could disappear this easily.
Unfortunately, it was not to be for long. Their quiet reverie was interrupted by a pounding and crash from the corridor outside of their apartment.
Tikimaken jumped and sat up straight. He exchanged a look with Eli, then quickly scrambled to put on a long jacket and went to the door. Opening it cautiously, he looked outside.
It was not for their apartment, he realized with a surprising flash of relief. Instead, it seemed their neighbors had visitors. A group of young men in uniform had opened the door and were going in and out of it. He caught a glimpse of the middle-aged couple living there cowering against the back wall.
Eli brushed his shoulder and he glanced at her to see her raising an eyebrow inquiringly, before she looked back at the men in front of them.
He cleared his throat. “What is going on here?”
The soldier currently standing by the door whirled around, his hand dropping to the musket strapped to his back before he seemed to catch himself. He noticed the pin of a corporal on his lapel. “None of your business, citizen. Go back inside and mind your own affairs.”
Tikimaken frowned. “How about instead, you answer the question before I write you up for insubordination?”
The soldier bristled, but still hesitated. “Who are you?” he asked.
“Tikimaken, senior assistant to General Aliekin of Strategic Command. This is my partner Tikelikel. We’re members of the Historicals faction in good standing,” he added unwillingly, but suspected it might get them, and especially her, more respect.
The young man’s eyes widened and he straightened up, saluting him. “I’m sorry, Sir.”
“No harm done. But why are you interrupting our sleep this night?”
The soldier hesitated, his eyes darting to the two others who’d come out, but they clearly weren’t higher ranked than him. “The pair living here has been accused of treason, Sir, we’re conducting a search of the premises to gather evidence.”
“Treason?” It really is a catch-all term these days.
“The citizens have been overheard spouting subversive propaganda at a gathering in the old miner neighborhood and might have been involved in a plot to assault a military supply shipment.”
“I see.”
Tikimaken glanced at Eli and their eyes locked. He could see exactly what he was feeling reflected in them, the reluctance and anxiety, the knowledge that they couldn’t do anything.
“Carry on, soldier,” he finally said, trying not to seem like he was forcing the words out of his throat past clenched teeth. Without waiting for a response, he turned to leave.
Before he entered his apartment again, his gaze caught on someone else watching. A head was peering up from down the stairwell. In the dim light, it took him a moment to recognize the younger man as a downstairs neighbor, whom he’d chatted with a few times. Now the young man’s gaze moved from the soldier to him and back. There was only hate in his eyes.
Tikimaken suppressed a shudder and went back inside, firmly locking the door behind Eli.
“You think you know someone,” he finally said after a moment.
She gave him a sideways look, and he ducked his head. They were both quiet for a moment.
“Do you think they did it?”
“If there’s evidence, the soldiers will find it.”
He didn’t voice the following part that lurked in his thoughts. If not, then what? But soldiers weren’t just searching people’s homes at random, there had to be reasonable suspicion. And if they didn’t find any evidence, then there wouldn’t be evidence. Not that he was sure what it would look like. If they really had planned some attack — he’d heard protestors had stopped wagons of food and weapons before — maybe, but what about subversive speech? Speaking against the government?
He shook his head and trudged into the bedroom, taking off his jacket again and climbing into bed, determined not to think about it so he could go to sleep. He needed to be well-rested for work tomorrow. Eli joined him and cuddled into his side, so he let his eyes drift close and his breathing deepen.
As he started to fall asleep, the face of his young neighbor haunted him, the hate in his eyes. He’d never felt unsafe here before, but now he was starting to wonder.