Chapter 7
April 12th, 1964
City of Vicenzo
8:15 AM
“Y'know, this place kind of reminds me of the White House." Captain Rhodes muttered just below a whisper as they walked down the main halls of the gubernatorial palace. Fantastical works of art lined every wall, ranging from beautifully painted murals to simple yet detailed vases and marble statues that he knew had to be sculpted by hand in a long, painful process. Unlike those in museums back on Earth, these were painted with colorful hues that, to him, made them look almost fake even if he knew they couldn’t be.
Dennis only raised a curious eyebrow in response to his captain’s comparison. His gaze remained on the imperial guards escorting them as they walked down the halls, while his captain eyed the walls and windows with a detached expression. Their boots squeaked on the marble floors as Rhodes answered in a calm voice that was not indicative whatsoever of them about to potentially be killed for delivering bad news to enemy commanders.
"I visited a few times with the missus. Not quite like this, but there’s an air about it. What do you think?"
Dennis said "I wouldn't know much about that, sir. Ma mostly took me around Georgia in the summer. I haven’t been to DC."
He mumbled the last part, glancing at a dark-haired girl with cat ears who had been walking not far from the men escorting them. The guards themselves were almost comfortably familiar despite the nasty-looking spears and beetle-like armor that had been taken out of a Bible drama. But this creature eyed Rhodes and himself curiously, as opposed to the guards who remained stone-faced and indifferent as they walked towards the main hall of the gubernatorial palace.
The cat girl made eye contact with Dennis every so often and internally he only shuddered even as she smiled at him. Unlike the wolf hybrid he’d seen, her eerie vertical irises felt like they were peering into his soul. When her curious expression shifted to a widening predatorial grin, he wished the rest of the platoon was with him. A cat playing with a lone mouse. When her long feline tail excitedly moved to and fro, sometimes nearing him, he felt a chill go up his spine and he wasn’t sure why. She’d done nothing but observe silently and follow alongside another, relatively normal-looking female servant who remained as stone-faced as the guards escorting them. Dennis forced his eyes away from the girl and did his best to ignore the quiet giggling to his left. Or perhaps snickering.
He did his best to conceal how disturbed the non-interaction had left him, distracting himself by tightening the straps on his chin so it felt more secure around his head. He wondered just how these strange hybrid people had come to be, but figured that question would be up to the scientists that would arrive sooner or later in the area.
Captain Rhodes didn't seem to notice as he continued the quiet conversation.
"You noticed a lot of the servants here are demi-humans of some kind? If the man in charge is the fella hiring them… well, what does that say about him?"
"I’d say we're dealing with an especially perverted individual, sir." Dennis mumbled, then, glancing at the human servant who was eyeing the cat girl, added "Good God, some of them don't even look to be sixteen."
"Yes, but to us this may be good. Perhaps he is a pervert, but perhaps it’s like the wolves said and he’s a forward-thinking individual who’ll be willing to help us."
Maybe he’s both…
Dennis considered this for a half-second of silence before the guard ahead of them spoke, his voice veiled in an unspoken threat as he eyed them each.
"Gentlemen, this next room is the meeting hall. Show respect. Behave yourselves." He concluded as his fingers tightened around the large spear.
"Man says the pervert will see us now and that we should show respect." Dennis translated to Rhodes.
Rhodes nodded and said, "Let's go."
The men walked past the cat girl and regular girl who both politely lowered their heads slightly to show some form of respect.
Dennis felt something brush against his right pant leg and was quick to glare at the cat girl whose tail had indeed flicked at it, just above his knee. It could have been an accident, but one look at the girl told him everything.
A mischievous smile, shifting tail, and eerie vertical irises followed him as he walked past her.
He didn't soften his glare until the door behind them closed, and even then he was quick to put distance between himself and the entrance to the main hall.
Waiting for them behind a table were the leaders of the province. Two men sitting, two men standing, and a lone woman ahead of the table, who greeted them with a smile in spite of her covered-up eyes. The men looked older than even Rhodes, late thirties at the least, and the woman couldn’t have been too far behind, though Dennis was quick to notice her rabbit ears almost hidden amongst her blonde hair. The clothes were not much different from the servants’, almost togas, but he only made a quick note of how easily a weapon could be hidden in such clothes.
One of the men who’d been sitting down stood then and loudly said “I am Lucretius Tullius, governor of the Province of Vicenzo. This is our elected representative, Senator Marcel Dumas. Legates Sulla and Marius are military officers in this region, and Hypatia… is my wife.”
Dennis ignored the woman’s flinch at the words, focusing instead on the studious gaze Lucretius was giving him. If it was some kind of test to see how they would react, then he was probably going to be disappointed as neither he nor his captain cared the man had married a hybrid. There were simply more important things to worry about.
After translating the introductions to Rhodes, he said “Captain Thomas Rhodes and Specialist Dennis Orville.”
Dennis translated, though there really wasn’t a direct translation for “specialist” so he went with the next best term of “interpreter”. The imperials nodded.
“So, you men wish to speak of peace?” Lucretius asked as he eyed them both, eyes darting between him and Rhodes as if searching for something.
Dennis spoke as confidently as he could, “Yes, sir. Our goal here is to stop, if possible, the ongoing bloodshed. Since we have not had proper communications with your leaders, our commanders decided to try and extend an olive branch, so to speak.”
The man named Sulla huffed an angry “Olive branch, eh? Like when you offered one to General Octavius and then tried to kill him?”
Dennis did not react to the accusation and quickly translated to Rhodes, though his mind briefly considered the information.
Octavius? The guy who attacked the Berets? He’s alive?
Rhodes said “Tell them that we had no intention of killing anyone that night and that perhaps due to a miscommunication on our part, Octavius may have felt provoked. Let’s try to give them a chance here, Orville.”
Dennis internally frowned, but externally agreed and translated the message. Why squander the opportunity to take a city peacefully, after all? Especially if it was possible, they might even succeed in ending the fighting right here. His mind was quick to remind him of the corpse-riddled mountain range, and he did what all good soldiers do and forced his personal thoughts aside to do his job.
Once the men heard his translation, the Governor, Lucretius, said “I see, I see. And if we were to agree to a temporary cessation of hostilities, what would you do?”
Dennis translated to Rhodes, but he already knew the answer.
After Rhodes spoke, Dennis translated “We would contact our leaders who will ideally send proper diplomats to discuss things with your leaders, and our superiors and our troops will stop engaging your armies until ordered otherwise.”
Legate Sulla nodded, then asked “So, you men intend to do what, exactly? What are your goals for this war? Why did you come to this city?”
Dennis glanced at Rhodes.
The older man said, “Tell it how it is. Our ultimate goal is to bring those responsible for the attacks on our people to justice, and our specific mission for this city was, if met with only hostilities, to take it and begin construction of a field for our flying machines. Different ones from the ones we came in with. We would use those to attack the capital and try to force talks then. We have no intention of destroying their empire, but will if necessary.”
Dennis was about to reply when the doors behind him were thrown open, their hinges groaning as an enraged figure marched inside.
“Sulla! Lucretius! What is going on here?!”
Everyone turned to the man who stormed in.
Dennis noted the man’s purple cape was stained, drenched in perspiration as the man breathlessly approached them. Limping, scars around his legs were all too noticeable. There was a glint of madness in his eye as they darted from Dennis to the people at the table. The man’s breathing steadied for the briefest instant before he got an answer.
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Lucretius stood and politely said “General Arminius Octavius, these men have arrived with wonderful news. They-”
“Shut up! Sulla! What is the meaning of this?!”
The legate stiffened slightly but spoke firmly.
“General, these men have arrived with talks of an offer of peace.”
“Oh, have they now? And what does that peace entail, exactly? Loss of land? Subservience to you? Treachery?”
Dennis began translating to Rhodes, which the man found particularly offensive.
“You be silent! I do not want a word out of you unless spoken to!”
Dennis eyed the man in silence. The madness in Octavius’ eyes spoke of someone who had been on the receiving end of their artillery. He’d recalled footage from shell-shocked veterans of the First World War, how their eyes stared only ahead, a brokenness in them. But this man’s madness seemed to have a purpose as he eyed them in anger. After a second, he spoke again.
“Who are you, feeble men?”
Sulla quickly said “Captain Thomas Rhodes and Interpreter Dennis Orville. They are here to offer an olive branch to us in order to end the ongoing bloodshed.”
“Or perhaps trick us like they did me that night, no? You at least have the courage to show your faces this time.” the man said, his voice steadier now as he spoke to his subordinate.
Dennis did not speak, watching where the man’s hands moved. He could see the short sword sheathed, but ready for use. Easily accessible. His M16 still had its safety on and he wasn’t carrying any sidearms. He swallowed, waiting as the man seemed to finally relax.
“Well, what is it? Go on, speak up now, murderers.”
At the nod from Rhodes, Dennis spoke calmly, detached, and as matter-of-factly as he could.
“Governor, general, the mission my people are here to carry out is to bring to justice those who attacked our people some months ago. Should we have met only hostility upon arriving at this city, our mission was, and still is, to take it in order to establish a base for our flying machines which we would then use to attack your capital directly and force talks then. We have no intention of fully destroying your Empire or your people…” then, with a clear threat of his own, said “But we will if it proves necessary.”
Octavius was staring at them with what now appeared to be indifference. The man crossed his arms and sat on the table. He then smiled ever so slightly.
“Is this because your roads out of the mountains have been blocked?”
Governor Lucretius seemed to object, but Octavius raised his hands and added “This is because we’ve dealt a blow, no?”
Dennis translated.
Rhodes frowned, but said “You know what? Let him think that. We’ll leave the details for our leaders to iron out.”
Dennis hid his frustrations but said, “To an extent, but I believe our leaders should be the ones discussing such matters.”
Octavius nodded slowly, saying “Indeed, the duty of us soldiers is to obey after all. But that leads us to a problem…”
Dennis translated.
“What’s the problem?”
“My orders are to burn this city down. Today. No matter what.”
Suddenly both the Legates and the governor stood from the table. Octavius turned to them with no more interest than Dennis would turning to see a fly landing on a window pane. The other men appeared, if not outraged, then at the very least openly in disagreement. Oddly, Senator Marcel remained silent as he stayed seated, writing something on a parchment, somehow even more detached.
Governor Lucretius said, “General, a word outside, please.”
Octavius turned to Dennis in particular, scoffed, and said “Fine.”
The four men led Octavius out of the room, Dennis noted that Lucretius whispered something in the rabbit woman’s ear as they left, then to him “Apologies, we will be but a moment.”
The doors closed, and they were left there in silence.
The rabbit woman, Hypatia, finally spoke quietly.
“Would you men care for a drink?”
“No, thank you, madam.” Dennis spoke immediately, already knowing what to answer.
He noted the rabbit woman’s ears perk up, but mainly he noted something else. She wore what could be described as servant’s clothes, which hid enough of her to remain modest by his standards, but there were a few things that now stood out to him.
For starters, she had clearly been blinded by blades. The scars went just below the coverings over her eyes, and perhaps she was the victim of some horrible crime. He had read how dangerous the ancient world had been back on Earth and if this one was remotely similar to Ancient Rome, then a girl being blinded by some cruel bandit was not entirely unexpected. The signs of a scar on her right arm could also be explained that way. The slight bulge on her stomach was another point to note, but more importantly, what really got his attention was her stance.
She stood straight, and perhaps some maids or servants back on earth would act the same, but her arms, the way they stood loosely by her sides said something else.
“You noticed, too?” Rhodes asked quietly.
“Yeah, soldier’s posture.”
It was one way to tell civilians apart from veterans. Even in his relatively short time in the Army, some things had been drilled into his mind that were simply impossible to deprogram.
“Excuse me?” the woman asked, having not understood them.
Dennis eyed Rhodes.
Rhodes said “Ask her. Let’s grab some intel where we can.”
“Yes, sir.” then, to Hypatia, “Madam, a question for you if we may…”
“Yes?”
“Were you a soldier?”
The rabbit woman seemed to pause at the question. Her mouth hung half-open, as if unsure what to answer, but then she smiled slightly. Her smile faltered briefly as she spoke, melancholy lining her words.
***
Out in the halls, in spite of the beautiful paintings, the gorgeously sculpted statues, the gleaming, ancient city that could be seen through the windows as the bright morning sun shone through, the mood was as tense as a battlefield.
“What in the world are you doing?!” Lucretius demanded.
Octvaius scoffed and said “I could ask you men the same thing. We had direct orders from the Emperor!”
Sulla quickly said “Sir, those orders are based on the information that these men did not plan to spare any of us or even open talks. They seem quite willing to work with us-”
“It’s a damned trick. Look at who they sent, man! A child and some idiot who does not even speak our language!”
“Say it is a trick, we should at least inform the Emperor-”
“Inform him of what? That a few men on metal birds arrived?! No, sir, now we need to send them a message. I say we overrun them now when they think they are safe. Take their machines and weapons, figure out how they work-”
“How about we ask them of their weapons and how they work instead? I understand generals are meant to think on how to kill the enemy, but right now these men have opened the door for our politicians to do the fighting… for once…” Lucretius said, glancing at Marcel who only nodded.
Octavius said “I would think not! Right now our orders are clear, and-”
“Why not contact the emperor via the Seljuk tribe?” Sulla spoke suddenly.
The man turned and glared at him as though the suggestion offended him.
“General, surely you see how important this information is. The opportunity for a cessation of hostilities would greatly benefit our armies, Would it not?”
Octavius stared at him in anger.
Lucretius added, “And you heard them, they only wish to bring those responsible for the attack on their nation to justice. We can blame the attack on the generals who died, and-”
“Do not ever insult the men who died, Lucretius Tullius!”
“It is not an insult, sir, it is an observation! We can avoid a costlier war and perhaps even prosper if we play things properly.”
Sulla said, “At the very least, general, we should consider this possibility.”
Marcius added, “We can test them a touch if you believe they are insincere, sir.”
“How so?! How could we possibly test them for proof of sincerity?!”
Lucretius smiled slightly.
“What?”
“Well, how about we ask them to show us their weapons and equipment?”
***
“I suppose you can’t hide soldiers from each other. Yes, I was indeed a warrior at the service of our people. A lifetime ago.” she concluded with a sigh.
Dennis then asked, “You served the Iberian Empire?”
“Never. Their use of demi-humans is rare, and Lucretius is a good man. Or perhaps the correct word would be a ‘soft’ man. He took pity on myself and my sisters. Perhaps he justified it to himself as having better security. Perhaps he just likes demi-humans like me, but… no, none of us Lepus served the Empire… we have no one to serve now.”
Dennis noted how she named their race but said nothing back, turning to Rhodes to translate.
“How much do you know of our people, exactly?” she asked suddenly.
Dennis turned back to her and repeated the information he had.
“Not a lot. We knew your people existed. That there had been a short war, but little more.”
The woman scoffed, then said “A short war. Never felt short to us…”
Dennis asked, “Are there perhaps remnants of your people that would be willing to help us continue the war should the Empire of Iberia choose not to make peace?”
“Oh, I can think of a way to get any of my people on your side.” she said with a detached smile that seemed to twitch slightly as her hands covered her belly. Then, slowly, she spoke with the barest hint of hatred towards someone Dennis had never heard of before.
“Have you heard of Queen Thule, daughter of Albion?”
Imperial Capital
cheers, demands for her head, the pooling blood under her knees as her screams mixed with the crowd’s uproar.
“Help!!! Please, someone, help!!!”
The woman glared at her despite her paling features as lifeblood poured from the wounds.
This is your fault…
“Highness, please! I beg you-” she cried out, only to be pulled back by her hair. She felt her neck snap back as the fading light in the other woman’s eyes finally vanished.
Your fault…
She screamed, begged, cried, wailed, her legs kicked as she tried desperately to reject the reality she faced.
It was to no avail.
Thule’s eyes shot open once more.
Her cell felt colder tonight. Today? She sat up and craned her neck to the side, doing her best to ignore the pain it caused her. She wrapped her new blankets around herself just as a slight drop of water fell on her nose. She glanced at the dark roof above her, noting the small droplets that fell through the cracks. She strained her rabbit ears further and just faintly she heard the light taps of droplets on the roof above ground.
Oh, it’s raining…
Her gaze shifted slowly to the torchlight outside her cell.
Her memories refused to leave her, but by now she was accustomed to them. A coldness that paradoxically fueled the hate that kept her warm. As she sat there, a part of her felt that perhaps today something new would be reported. It had been a while since she’d last heard of these new invaders, after all.
And if they moved remotely as fast as it seemed even Seljuk feared, then it was only a matter of time before they got to the capital.
She relished the smile that crept onto her face as she continued to wait.