TNL 42 – Company Part Two
With new guards at the doors and the soldiers of the New Legion at attention in front of the Empress, Brandon begins to talk to the Empress. Soon they are convinced that the empress hasn’t received any reports from the legion in a long time, apart from complaints and the really bad investigative report from the generals.
"The regular army is still making a lot of effort to make it difficult for us. Apparently, our reports are intercepted by the generals before they reach you. This way they can pass on whatever they want themselves. I'm guessing it often doesn't even come close to the truth. Furthermore, they also try to hinder us in our tasks wherever they can. By refusing support when we need it, for example."
"I see the problem, Sergeant, but it is difficult because all communication goes through the army headquarters. The generals indicate that they have accepted you, but that you are not doing your job. This makes it difficult for me to take measures. Especially now that you have suffered such heavy losses with little to show for it."
Brandon looks at the Empress incredulously.
"Little to show? What do you mean?"
"The report I received a few days ago about your functioning. As you know, there has been an independent investigation."
"Independent my ass!" says Brandon angrily before he can hold back. "Sorry, ma'am."
"Doesn't matter, Sergeant, but then tell me why the investigation is wrong."
"That researcher was even more biased than General Colling, madam. I had to accompany him for some time when he was in Aran. You can hardly imagine a slimier man. That research wasn't worth it to wipe your ar..".
Brandon can barely hold back this time. "In any case, the report was not exactly accurate, ma’am. The only point in that whole report that is true is that we had a high percentage of deaths and injuries. But even there, not everything was told. It did not tell us that in the battle in which that happened we faced a huge odds. There were more than five hundred pirates that we defeated and that was not the only thing the researcher did not tell in the report. Like this, all his points can be refuted."
"I think that we should talk about this in detail once more. Unfortunately, I don't have much time left at the moment because I have an appointment soon. Talk to Captain Cervik when we’re done, and he will arrange an appointment for tomorrow. Then you can tell me everything that has happened since the last report that I actually had in my hands."
Over the next three days, Brandon has several meetings with the Empress to discuss everything. Fortunately, he has brought evidence and is able to convince her that there are no problems with the New Legion.
On the third day he has one last meeting with the empress.
"I have decided to expand the New Legion. In the coming days, Captain Cervik will find more people to join the legion. He will also ensure that more people are sought in the following week who will follow as soon as they can. Both groups will be the size of a platoon of the legion."
Alyena looks at Brandon emphatically. "In addition, you get permission to take in more people. As many as you want as long as it's within your budget. I think you still get the same budget as the old garrison of Aran, don't you? Furthermore, I will ensure that there is better communication between your unit and the palace. How I'm going to arrange that, I don't know yet, but I'll figure it out. What is also important is that from now on you only communicate directly with me or Captain Cervik. We do not tell the generals how many of you there are or what your positions are. From this moment on, we completely separate both armies from each other."
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Then comes the big shock.
"There will be something I want from you in exchange, Sergeant."
The Empress begins to talk about the course of the war and what she expects from the New Legion.
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As the walls of Aran loom in the distance, Brandon knows they are almost at the end of their journey. Fortunately, because the return journey had taken almost twice as long.
A little later, Brandon is just about to shout at the gatekeepers that they have to open the gate, when it swings open on its own. As Brandon closes his mouth again, he sees Raidon smiling and waiting behind the gate.
"So, so you came back again? It is that you have been recognized by the patrols of Fort Alpha, otherwise I would have set up a search. I had been expecting you aged ago..."
Raidon stops talking halfway through his sentence. Because Brandon and his squad of soldiers are not alone.
"Brandon! Who did you bring? Do you still have friends in the capital? Or are they all here!?" shouts Raidon in amazement.
"Madam Empress thought my report on the legion was better than the fabrications of the generals, captain. As you can see," Brandon points out the men behind him with his arm, "we got a few recruits. We also have permission to look for more in other provinces. Unfortunately, I had to tell her that we have found more things from the old legions on the island. But even the Empress doesn't know exactly how much. I got a platoon of recruits from the capital and there is even a new platoon being sought and then sent here under the leadership of squad leader Ice."
A little later, Raidon and Brandon are in consultation. Brandon explains that it was quite a job to speak to the Empress about the report.
"In the end I managed to speak to her, but I had to tell everything. This includes raiding the pirate camp, but also finding another legionnaires camp. I didn't tell her what state Centurion is in, or how big it is. I did tell her that we still found a lot of harnesses."
"Actually, that works out quite well. In the entire province of Aran we have only found four other recruits. There just aren't enough people to join. Everyone has work for two. Now that the raids are a thing of the past, much more land can be farmed, new shops are being set up and who knows what else. Then there is Arana and the recruits who have joined us, all in all there is more work than there are people. If we can also look for people elsewhere, expanding the legion will be a lot easier."
"I agree, but first let me tell my story. The Empress understands why we have not reported everything to the generals and the investigator. Especially after I explained how the researcher behaved. As far as she is concerned, the losses are by no means high, even though the generals may think so."
With a grin, Brandon tells that the Empress said that none of the generals' troops would have done as well, and certainly not new warriors with less than a year experience.
"All this also means that the Empress will once again personally stand for the New Legion. Which means that whatever the generals may find, she ensures that the New Legion is allowed to continue. It also means that her position will deteriorate greatly should the New Legion fail.
That was the good news. The bad news is that the war with Chakra is going worse. The Chakras have now deployed slave armies. They just conscripted everyone they could find into the army, gave them a weapon, and then sent them towards us. With the numbers they have, the regular army simply could not stop them. The fact that they have been stopped for now has more to do with the fact that they are plundering the area they already have than that our armies are doing so well. The generals have sent every available warrior to the north. Chakra has already taken half the land between the old border and the capital, so now the generals really have to stop them. Fortifications are being built all over the north."
Brandon looks at Raidon seriously.
"This also means that the south is virtually unprotected. The row of forts near the city of Linh are manned by skeleton garrisons. All in all, maybe a tenth of the normal number. It's one big bluff over there.
And then our orders. The Empress has asked if the New Legion can train the additional recruits as soon as possible, as it is possible that the New Legion will have to be deployed in the south. Should Chakra attack in the south, the entire area up to Borna, which lies on the edge of the ancient forest, could be lost. Because the only place where the few soldiers in the area can hold out is where the distance between the wilderness and the forest is getting smaller. Small groups of soldiers might still get through the wilderness, but not entire armies. But if we lose those provinces, it will be almost three times the size of the province of Aran. That would be almost a quarter of the empire. The Empress has given us orders to expand the legion. She also asked me personally if all of us could do our best to prevent the loss of the south. If we fail, the New Legion will be placed under the generals to hold the defenses of the south. And that won't be to the legion's advantage."
Raidon silently hears Brandon, after which he sends the sergeant out to make sure the new recruits get a place to sleep.
The story Brandon told indicates that the New Legion is well on its way, but the information about the war puts a heavy damper on the positive news.