“What did you say this was called again?” I watched the aerial drones overhead as we made our way deeper into the desert.
I should have seen the act of monetizing death as cruel and unusual, but my experiences in the Metronian Arena with Gazix had nullified those notions. Now, I couldn’t see it as anything other than a great business venture for the Primal Kingdom.
“The Vetusto Desert.” Lucina replied, putting on her gear. She wasn’t fooling around this time, as she had a plethora of durable undergarments before even considering the actual armor covering her body.
She slammed her visor shut as the leaders of his troop approached, and a harsh red light shimmered to life above her eyes. “We’ll be using it as our battlefield for this war game. Remember when you were taught how to regulate your temperature when we first arrived? That was in preparation for this.”
I nodded as Reya, Akahime, Winter, Lilian, and Raiden came to a stop in front of me, and their subordinates settled at the base of the hill we were currently on.
“So, what’s the plan, boss?” Lilian yawned and stretched as he asked the question. Winter shot him a look, but Lilian ignored the gaze of the second member of my honor guard.
“First, visors up. I don’t want the Primals getting a read on us because we’re communicating normally.” The visor to my form-fitting suit of dark body armor went down, covering my face.
The others followed suit, and when we were all properly suited up, I sent a message to our chat group, ‘Primal Crusaders’. We’re all going to move over to an abandoned research facility up ahead that Lilian scouted for us. We’ll use it as our base for the next stage for the next stage of the war.
‘Which is?’ Lucina put into the group chat. I knew that she was somewhat aware of what I wanted to do, and was only posing this question to spread the information to the rest of the group.
In the first stage, both sides are required to find and mark a base of operation which will then be viewed as the objective for stage two. In stage two, both sides will try to capture the enemy’s base.
The group nodded, my information being similar to the debriefing we held almost a month ago now, when I had assigned them each to their respective roles. That being said...
Winter, Lilian, and my honor guard will start to take a flanking route to their base of operations, which should be located on the other side of this desert. Meanwhile, our infantry led by Akahime will protect the base, along with our cavalry led by Raiden.
Raiden nodded, but Akahime said nothing, seemingly lost in her own thoughts. With no objection forthcoming, I continued, Lucina and her marksman unit will use the base for its height advantage, and attempt to snipe any enemy they may see.
Lucina nodded. Reya’s unit will march on the opposite flank that Lilian and Winter take, and attempt to charge the enemy when they have an opportunity.
Reya’s smile was visible, as her helmet only covered the upper half of her face. ‘What about you?’ Winter asked, and soon, all eyes were on me. ‘I doubt you’ll just stay at the ruins and do nothing.’
I sighed, bearing the full weight of my emotions for a few moments. I was tired. Tired of being involved in political schemes, and being the target of people with massive amounts of money or political clout. I was tired of asassination attempts, and rumors that dragged my name through the mud.
Then the moment passed, and I was back to being Paladin Cole. I have my own plan to enact. Should things play out like Lilian’s intel states, they’ll be sending most of their forces this way when they realize that we’ve opted to divide and conquer. I’ll meet them head on and ruin their day.
‘That’s reckless.’ Lucina sent, and followed up with a frowning emoji in their private chat. ‘You will most certainly not walk away from their main forces in one piece.’
I sent her a smiling emoji, and my visor retracted, revealing my face to the cameras once more. “This meeting is adjourned. There will be no further talk of this subject until we get to point A. Am I clear?”
“Yes, Sir!” The leaders of my team spoke clearly and without hesitation, save for two people. One, a very flummoxed Lucina. The second, was an uncharacteristically quiet Akahime.
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“Well, since that’s taken care of,” I said, turning on my heels to face the horizon. “Let’s get a move on. Share the coordinates I just sent you with your subordinates.”
They all left, leaving me alone with Lucina. ‘I don’t approve of this plan.’ She sent through the messenger as we walked down the hill together.
“Well then it’s a good thing that you’re not in charge.” I said out loud in a monotone voice. “Please don’t worry about it. I have it all under control. The latest rounds of training that i’ve done have assured that much, at least.”
Lucina grabbed my arm and spun me around, before her visor slid upward and she leaned in, planting a kiss on my lips. Her tongue invaded my mouth briefly before we separated, drawing a line of saliva between the two of us.
She followed the trail back, and pecked me on the bottom lip. “You can’t tell me not to worry. I’m your provisional girlfriend, after all. That’s just stupid.”
“However,” she continued, “I do understand why you do what you do. My encounter with… that thing the other day assured me of that. Plus, that’s part of why I fell for you in the first place. You doggedly go after your goals.”
“Fine, fair enough.” I sighed, which caused her to smile. “So, if you’ve come to terms with that, what was the kiss for. I can’t imagine you being the kind of person to get caught up in the heat of the moment.”
“Ah, you know me so well.” Her grin grew. “My parents are watching right now. I just figured we should give them a little show.”
---
The trek through the desert was a rough one, with the elements being particularly bad around the abandoned building itself. A sandstorm was starting to kick up around us, and I would be damned if I let the Primal Kingdom get an advantage on us because of weather damage to our equipment.
We rushed inside, and the grunts set to reinforcing our base of operations. That included getting our equipment out from their storage devices, checking for damage, and setting up the weapons and espionage equipment for the supporters to use.
“That’s a little harsh.” X’s voice pierced through the soft hum of the soldiers, and immediately the A.I. appeared in front of me.
I raised my eyebrow. It’s been a week and this is the first thing you say to me outside training periods? What’s too harsh?
I began walking up to the second floor, out of sight of the people who could actually see X, with Lucina now included among that list.
“Your language.” X floated behind me, but I didn’t need superpowers to guess that she just rolled her eyes at me. “They aren’t merely ‘grunts.’ These are people you lead, and even if deep down you think of them as expendable, they can’t ever be allowed to know that. How will they buy into your cause otherwise?”
I sighed, cursing the fact that she was always right. “Fine. I get it.” I said out loud, before returning to sending messages. So? What had you all up in a twist that you wouldn’t talk to me unless necessary?
As X was wont to do, she sat down in the air, crossed her legs, and looked me in the eyes. “I admit… I was getting-”
“Joshua, are you up here?” I heard a voice call from the stairwell, cutting X off before she could finish her sentence. The program smirked and disappeared from sight.
You knew she was coming. I accused her. Contrary to my annoyance, X’s calm, soft voice chimed in my ears, “Actually no, just really good timing.”
I turned around tiredly to see Akahime standing at the entrance to the stairwell. “So, what’s this about?” I asked, sitting down by the window as I did so.
She walked over slowly and sat down next to me, caution exuding out of her every action. “Tell me why I’m guarding the base.”
It wasn’t a question, it wasn’t a plea. No, she phrased it as a demand, like it was something owed to her. I felt my irritation begin to rise, but choked it out where it started. “Care to clarify what’s so wrong with that?”
I shot her a look, which seemed to do the trick of cooling her head a bit. “You gave me the job of commanding your infantrymen. We should be leading the charge! Instead you shove me in a box and tell me to protect it!” She stood up, out out of breath from shouting her piece.
“Of course.” My reply was a wall, stopping her argument dead in its tracks. I stood up myself and met her gaze. “How could I send you out to fight for a country you have no stake in? Sure, Lucina and Reya are your friends, but you don’t owe the royal family anything.”
“That’s not the point.” Akahime sighed and threw down her arms. Her argument was visibly losing momentum. “This was my chance to show you that… that I want to rectify our relationship. That I put in the work, and that I’m someone you could trust. This was my way back in!”
“Back in to what?” I rolled my eyes. “Do you have any idea how mad your father would be at me if you died today? He may have sent you to the Metron Kingdom as a punishment, but that’s because he trusts Lucina to look after you.”
I turned and began to walk back down the stairs, but Akahime grabbed me by the shoulder, turning me around fully. “That’s not enough. Everything I did over the past month, are you telling me it was all for nothing? Bonding with my squad, doing combat practice every day in the tower, all of it?”
Akahime looked up in me, tears overflowing and distorting her warpainted face. “What am I to you right now?”
I calmly removed her hand from my shoulder, and she let it drop by her side. “You’re a soldier, and an asset. Now clean yourself up. You can’t let the other’s see you like that.”
Akahime visibly deflated as I resumed my walk down the stairs. I stopped on the first landing, and turned back up to look at her. “You’re also someone that I have enough faith in to hold our last line of defense should shit go south. Take that as you will.”
The instant that sentence left my mouth, I regretted it. Her smile would annoy me for days to come.