They returned to the first camp at one as Sam had suggested, making for a very drowsy Lanada. Despite trying to sleep that early, they hadn’t been successful. Their late nights seemed to be catching up with them. Sam somehow looked completely alright, getting a bit of caffeine in as they drove to the smaller camp. When they arrived, its activity had definitely died down, only a couple people awake to take watch. It looked easy to Lanada.
“Where should we look first?”
“No idea. They’re all tents. I saw inside a few though, I can cross those off at least.”
“Well, no reason to delay it. Let’s goooo.”
Despite the false enthusiasm, Lanada still barely stood and trudged over to the cliffside; they were too tired. The cliffside provided basically no cover, but Lanada saw no guards looking their way at least. Their only relief was once they passed behind a collection of boulders, giving them a hidden path into the camp.
Sam was right ahead of them the entire time, carefully placing his steps despite his speed. It was clear that moving quietly was no challenge to him. After their years of assassination work, Lanada was good at staying silent too. They made it to the camp’s fence without issue, being careful not to make noise.
The fence was a metal chain link, requiring only some bolt cutters to get through. Sam had brought some, so he got to work while Lanada kept watch for him. He was through quickly, bringing them in behind a tent.
Only one tent was lit up from inside, but the rest were dark, no noise coming from within. All that could be heard was the distant chirp of Mikoril fauna, otherwise all was still. They peeked inside the first tent only to see four people sleeping on bunks; obviously no weapons. The next couple of tents were the same, making Lanada doubt again they were Geldor at all.
The next tent looked like an eating area, a lot larger to accommodate the seating. Another was an office of some sort. They spent about ten minutes checking each tent and dodging a couple people on watch, but after sifting through the camp, all they’d found was a personal handgun at someone’s bedside.
They exited the same way they came, rather disappointed by the experience. They weren’t Geldor at all. Lanada was pleased though for that meant less bloodshed. If they were, STAR would want to pick a fight.
The couple were silent until they returned to the rover parked in the distance behind a rock. Its electric motors started quietly before Sam drove off, heading to the next camp.
“I don’t like how close these camps are. If the big one turns out to be Geldor… Who’s to say the others aren’t involved?”
“They definitely didn’t look like soldiers, Sam.”
“No one in the Geldor is a soldier, Lanada. They’re poorly trained and don’t have any structure or discipline. They wouldn’t actually be able to fight against a military force. That’s why they shoot cops.”
“Either way, no guns, no crime.”
“You’re right. It’s just a connection I thought of.”
“You’re always making those connections, aren’t you?”
“Part of the job.”
When they arrived at the camp a second time, they could barely see it through a haze of sand. Anything visible was from the lights inside, only a couple poles illuminating the sand below. The white light washed out the red soil near it, casting over a ghostly glow. A couple people seemed to still be awake, patrolling different routes through the camp. Apart from the chirping of bugs though, all was silent, no voices ringing out from inside.
Sam parked the rover nearly a kilometer away, barely finding a spot to hide it. Lanada was looking forward to hearing his plan on how to get in. He waved at them to follow then walked further from the camp, down a narrow path between cliffsides. After a few meters, he unholstered his Circle and some binoculars.
“This should be easy. There’s a dust haze in the area from the dunes which will cover us for the most part. I also got some camo from Gelt’Rel to help blend in, and some masks so we don’t have to breathe in that sand. The tents and fencing will block anyone’s view from inside, so their patrols won’t get a full view of us. I doubt they’re expecting anything either. Just follow my lead.”
Lanada remained watching the camp while Sam dialed around his Circle. The dunes in the distance were hardly visible, obscured by their own sand hanging in the air. The camp was muddy where the lights didn’t shine. Even with their binoculars, from that distance it was difficult picking out a person.
“Bofi, we’re going to need a live scan, we’re about to infiltrate the camp,” Sam spoke through his Circle, turning to Lanada afterwards. “Let’s get dressed up.”
Lanada followed Sam around back to the rover where he was unpacking a couple sand colored ponchos and masks. With Lanada’s natural sandy skin tone, they’d blend right in with the desert. Sam was unluckier with his black hair and darker skin. He pulled a hood over to cover himself better.
From there they descended a small foothill to the camp’s groundlevel, still hidden by bordering rocks and crags. The camp was only a dark spot from there, a point of light still piercing through. Sam observed his Circle, watching the Ahria’s scan.
“Once the thickest of that sand is on the camp, that’s when we run. Wait for my signal.”
“Great, better hope they don’t see us. I’m a good shot, but a hundred on two isn’t good odds.”
“Have some faith. The sand’s coming in, get ready.”
A wind from the dunes picked up again, pushing even more sand their way. It was no storm, but it reminded Lanada still of the many windy days in Ingalderin. Just like it would fill the air back then, it hid almost the entire valley in the fog. As Lanada began feeling the granules hit their armor, Sam nodded.
“Now, let’s go.”
They took a full sprint to the camp, thanking the sand for muffling their steps. With their breathing controlled, they made no sounds as they reached the camp’s similar chainlink fencing, Sam offering his bolt cutters again. They were inside within seconds, keeping eyes on their Circles and the live map they had from the Ahria. With it, spotting the remaining sentries was easy, allowing them a clear path to the nearest tent. Inside were more sleeping quarters, along with the next couple of tents. As they passed one in particular, it seemed a couple of people were still awake, chatting at a low volume.
“You’re right, I hate these tents. We should have actual roofs over us, you know?”
“We used to before all this crap. Now we’d have to kill Lactain and take over the whole government to do that.”
“You think the Geldor could pull that off?”
“At the moment? Nah, we don’t have the numbers. Yet. And even if we did take them down, we’ve still got the rich assholes bullying us. This won’t be over until we literally conquer the planet.”
“Yeah, at this rate though we’ll stand more than a fighting chance. Then we finally get to choose how to treat them. Maybe take a page out of their book, turn them into workers. We’ll only have peace when the worst are working for us and not against us.”
“You’re right. Look how good Maegiira is, people are happy there. There’s no violence, none of this bickering… It’s proof that if good people were in control, Mikoril would flourish.”
“You’re right, we…”
They continued on their conversation, Sam and Lanada hearing enough. They were definitely the Geldor, and their ideology sounded more dangerous than Lanada had expected. They thought the group was fighting to end the Monarchy through any means. Their plan instead was to completely destroy Mikoril and rebuild it in their image. They almost laughed at the irony; placing an authoritative government to combat the previous one? The Monarchy had indeed hurt the population, but it was losing power.
The people of Mikoril had learned by example from Maegiira, and had their sights set on a reformed Monarchy, granting them ever more freedom until it could be abolished. So why, if everyone was fighting for that, would the Geldor want to insert their own new state? Whatever good they wanted to bring from Maegiira, it was lost somewhere along the way. Now they used that culture as leverage on Mikoril, promising their authoritative state could bring about a stateless society. Lanada suspected the irony wasn't lost on them, however.
The next tent was the one they’d been looking for. It was a larger tent, gun racks lining both sides on the walls. They weren’t ordinary rifles either; they were clearly military grade, if not better than what Mikoril used. In addition, a stack of missiles and warheads laid in the back, a quartet of bombs in a steel cage by the side. Even more damning were enough suits of armor to outfit an entire squad, the same quality suits that Lanada and Sam wore at that exact moment. The weapons and armor looked neither saumryan or brestyrian in design, making Lanada question where all the equipment had come from.
“This is so much worse than we thought.” Sam looked horrified. Even Lanada was shocked, surprised they could source weapons that powerful.
“How’d they even get all this? They definitely have connections somewhere.”
“Well, that's what we're trying to figure out. I like Gelt'Rel's idea; probably getting shipped from off world somewhere. Maybe a factory on Maegiira?”
“Maybe. I haven't gotten a close look until now, but these are the same guns the gangs were using on me recently.”
“You sure? How recent was this?”
“Very sure. Had one in my face. But I first saw them on the last job I did. Then when they kidnapped me and tried to murder me for joining STAR…”
“Yeah. We can talk about it later. For now let’s scan a couple rifles and leave it at that. Command needs to know too.”
They were quick in scanning the rifles, leaving them so the Geldor wouldn’t notice. Sam snapped a couple more photos before leaving, making sure to capture every weapon and armament in detail. The camp was still clouded in sand, giving Sam and Lanada a clean way out. They didn’t look back as they reached the rover, taking a moment to collect themselves before driving off.
“You heard that conversation too, right?” Lanada concerned.
“Sounds like they’re planning something. You don’t get weapons like that to carry out the attacks at the scale we’ve seen. They’re going to do something big.”
“They were talking about conquering the planet.”
“That was just rhetoric, even with what they have there’s no way they could take Mikoril. That would require a focused attack from Maegiira along with them, and they stay in their own business.”
“It’s sad. Lots of people have felt abandoned here. The Geldor could’ve probably helped fix things on Mikoril, but it’s like both sides like the tension. It’s like they want their people to be fighting. What government would want that for its people?”
❂
They returned to base camp an hour before the sun rose, the early hour showing on their fatigued faces. The stresses they’d seen stuck with them, even Lanada. They still didn’t like STAR, but whatever the Geldor were planning was genuinely scary.
Commander Gelt’Rel was already up waiting for them, eating a delicious looking ham slider. Lanada was very hungry.
“I got the scans you sent over, I can’t believe they’ve stockpiled so much. I’ve been waiting for you to get back to brief Rendell, follow me.”
They walked to its command tent, watching it give a command to a scout nearby. It keyed away at a few buttons until Rendell’s face was presented on screen, looking rather tired.
“Commander Gelt’Rel, reporting in with Sam and Lanada. We got something, I’m sending over the photos now.”
Rendell didn’t say a word, instead bending her head to look closer at the weapons on her screen.
“As if I needed more to worry about. These from the shipment you were tracking?”
“We believe so, I have someone confirming it now. The camp to the south isn’t armed though, just the northern camp.”
“I doubt they’re working independently. Sam, anything else?”
“We overheard some chatter, nothing official though. A couple people in the camp were talking about killing King Lactain, conquering Mikoril… Don’t know if it’s a reflection of their plans, but either way they seem restless, like they’re planning something big.”
“Thanks, I’ll see what I can do with that. In the meantime, help Commander Gelt’Rel and its scouts with demilitarizing them. I want all those weapons out of their hands by any means. You have clearance to engage with the civilians there. Make any necessary arrests or kills.”
“We can’t support an all out fight with my troops, they’re not trained,” Gert’Rel added.
“The Geldor are also untrained, even less than your own. With Sam and Lanada's team, you should have all the firepower you need. When you’ve got a plan, send it over to Margit. Good luck.”
Rendell cut out before more could be said. Gelt’Rel looked disturbed.
“Let’s try not to start a fight. I know what Rendell said, but we would never last. I want to make sure you two are well rested though, we’ll start planning after you get some sleep.”
It walked off looking disheveled, dropping itself in front of its computer. Sam and Lanada left to their tent to catch up on sleep. They spent most of the day writing reports after they woke up, Sam forcing Lanada to learn. They had barely finished half of them when Gelt’Rel retrieved them, wanting their thoughts on the operation.
“I’ve been thinking through things,” it said at its tent. “There’s no way we can do this through a straight fight. We don’t have the numbers or the training. I know the two of you have the Ahria’s crew though, aren’t they combat trained?”
“Yes, they have a combat squad onboard. We can have them land out of sight and join us.”
“Might need the extra firepower. Good information though, maybe it can help us. As far as their weapons go, was that tent the only one you found?”
“We didn’t really have time to search the entire camp, so we’re not 100%. Given what they had stockpiled there though, I doubt they could have more.”
Stolen novel; please report.
“And they have heavy armaments? Too heavy for a scout to carry?”
“Yes, they looked heavy.”
“That means we’re going to need equipment to move them… They really left us alone out here. It’s like Rendell wants us to fight.”
“I get the impression she does that to a lot of people,” Lanada jutted in.
“We need to find a non-violent approach… Let’s look over everything again.”
Through much debate and painful foreheads, the three eventually hammered out a plan to demilitarize the camp. In order to safely remove the weapons, the entire camp would have to be distracted. Equipment would be needed to move the bombs and missiles, but it was only available on the Ahria, requiring them to land in the area. Also needed was its cargo bay as the scout team had no transportation large enough to move everything, their small rover only big enough for the team.
The Ahria’s crew were luckily combat trained, more so than the scouts. Their only option looked to be a violent distraction, drawing the Geldor out of their camp, and out of the way of the civilians. The Ahria seemed the perfect way to get their attention.
The plan was for the scout team to get close to the camp with Lanada and Sam, and the Ahira fire team about a kilometer out. Bofi had already found a way to access their communications, so they would send the camp a distress signal shortly after the Ahria landed. The canyon they would land in had plenty of cover and a perfect bottleneck for the Geldor, meaning only a few gunners would be needed to hold the position and keep them distracted.
Once the Geldor filled the valley, their exit would be blocked by more gunners, pinning them down to stop their retreat. Any remaining soldiers at the camp would surely be called in at that point. With their entrenched positions, they would be bought time for the Ahria to take off again to the camp, prepared to load the weapons with the scouting crew. Sam and Lanada would attempt to evacuate the remaining civilians onboard the Ahria, also covering for the untrained scouts.
It was a loose plan that had no guarantee the fighting would be minimized, but it was the only way to keep the scouts out of fire. Gelt’Rel still looked nervous as they went over their plan again, wobbling outside to tell its people what their next task was. They all looked just as worried.
“I’m surprised you’re okay with all this,” Sam said softly, walking up close to Lanada.
“We’ll see. But the Geldor crossed a line here. I don’t mind taking those weapons off them.”
“Really? I thought you liked them.”
“No? They nearly killed my best friend, at least traumatized him, and are literally working to make a somehow even worse version of the Monarchy. And they’re sketchy as hell. No, I don’t like them.”
“So that’s why you’ve stuck it out so long? Do you actually like being a STAR agent?” Sam had a teasing smile, like he was trying to prove a point.
“Oh fuck off, I still like the Geldor more than you guys. If they were the ones blackmailing me, I’d be shooting you.”
“Really? And blackmail is enough to keep you following orders?”
“Maybe. You already destroyed my career; there’s no going back. Otherwise, I get executed or rot in rehab. I don’t mind shooting these assholes either, so... What other choice is there?”
“You could go join them, you hate us so much.”
“Oh, I’ve thought about it for sure! But whatever they’re trying to do I don’t trust, and I doubt they’ll be successful. They’re just co-opting a movement to excuse their shitty ideology, which is somehow even worse than the neo liberal bullshit from the Monarchy. I’ll take a bland and somewhat functioning government over them, they sound like fascists. And. Why are you so damn curious?”
“I keep expecting you to just turn tail and run, but I’m glad we’re on the same page. I guess you’re really stuck with us.”
“Stuck with you Sam! Of all fucking people!”
“Yeah...”
They arrived at the camp just after the sunset, its inhabitants quiet as they began their night asleep. Their rest wouldn’t last long, however. Gelt’Rel and its troops had filled out the other edge of the basin, sending Sam a message to confirm they were ready. Although they were so far away, he gave a nod before calling down the Ahria.
The ship was barely visible in the sky as it descended, marking itself as a shadow before the stars. Its external lights were on though, drawing enough attention from the camp. A couple of the ship’s fighters twirled about overhead, out of sight and prepared for the worst. The Ahria settled down far away on a plateau, its chosen soldiers climbing down the short ladder that had extended from the airlock.
They seemed far more confident than the scouts, even from their distance. Gelt’Rel was still though, its worry hidden away for a stern expression. Sam had access to Bofi’s hacks, and sent the message to the Geldor camp, a vague ping that signified one of their scouts had been attacked.
They barely had a clear view of the camp from their position, watching it to see what force would come out. As they’d hoped, a large group scrambled to form an attack party, nearly twenty filing out of the camp and towards the Ahria. Only a couple retrieved weapons from the tent, informing Lanada that their stockpile was in surplus; they already had all the guns they needed.
“They’re on their way, we’ll wait until they call for reinforcements,” Sam muttered to Gelt’Rel.
“Aye.”
They continued to watch as the Geldor looped up around the cliffside, ascending to their trap. All the scouts seemed to be watching with Sam, Lanada, and Gelt’Rel, everyone’s binoculars glued to their faces. Only a couple didn’t bother, looking over their team.
They could hardly see the pit light up with gunfire, almost constant from the soldiers circled around. As the gunfire slowed, another few soldiers were seen exiting the camp. That was the moment they’d been waiting for.
Sam gave a sharp nod and a tap on his Circle to ping the others, sending a small vibration and a quiet beep that relayed his command. The group started sprinting towards the camp, focused only on their speed. Any looks their way would alert the camp with their size, but it was a risk they had no choice to make.
They fortunately kept watch on the lookouts the entire time, two arrows marked on their Circle. The Ahria’s scans showed them faced away the entire time, observing the firefight in the distance. Even if they turned around they weren’t visible at all through the tents, giving the scouts a clean run to the camp.
They used the same hole as before, cut by Sam the previous night. As they passed through single file, nobody stopped before heading to their next objective. The scouts went to the tent with the weapons, a few moving ahead to the camp’s entrance. There the Ahria soon landed, a couple engineers already running dollies and lifts to the scouts.
Sam and Lanada had to be quick. They moved to the first tent they saw, but it was empty. The next had a family, still asleep, unwoken from the distant firefight. Sam banged his pistol on the tent’s metal frame, waking them himself instead.
“We’re evacuating this camp. You see that big ship out there? Get in it.”
“What?”
“We’re STAR. You need to leave, it’s too dangerous.”
“I—Of course, let me…” The woman looked dazed, just woken up and told to flee. She began packing what little they had, the other woman and child there just as confused.
“Come on.”
Sam led Lanada away, looking back a few times until the family left their tent. They only had to dodge one patrol, spotting them just coming around a tent. The next one had a couple younger adults, already awake and peeking outside to find the gun noise. Sam seemed to startle them as he approached.
“STAR is evacuating the camp, it’s not safe for you. Board the ship by the entrance.”
“What?”
Sam rolled his eyes.
“You can’t just kick us out! This is our home!”
“Well it won’t be for long, the Geldor are here. We’re currently engaging with them. It’s only a matter of time before the fighting spreads here, so leave.”
“Oh yeah? Make me, asshole!”
“Bruce, come on! Let’s just go.”
The guy looked to his buddy, defeated.
“Fine. But fuck STAR.”
Sam watched to make sure they began gathering their things, leaving once they did. The neighboring couple of tents were a similar situation, a few adults easily convinced to leave. As they left the next one though, they were nearly face to face with a patrol. Sam immediately aimed his gun, scaring the guy into raising their arms up.
“Are you Geldor?!”
“What? No! I hate those guys! Look, I’m just here because I got kicked out of my old group home! Played too much tuba. They don’t mind so much here. I’m trying to make a career out of it!”
“Yeah, yeah well, you need to evacuate. There’s a massive ship by the entrance, you need to board it. Grab anyone else you see.”
“Yeah, I don’t even like the Geldor you know? Like, I was with them before when we were organizing and gathering resources, but these new guys I just can’t stand! I want an anarcho-communist global state like anyone else, and they’re not going to do it! There’s no sense in fighting to create a new state, they’ll just be fascists in the end too! Like you guys! STAR!”
“Please, just go to the ship!”
“Oh yeah! Yeah! Right. Let me go grab my tuba first! Be right back!” They hopped off looking panicked, quickly disappearing behind some tents.
“If the patrols aren’t Geldor, maybe they could help,” Lanada suggested as the tuba guy left.
“Right, see any, let’s ask them to help. Next tent.”
“Why not split up?”
“Buddy system, Lanada.”
“Ooh we’re buddies now?!!”
“Yeah, you’re my buddy, AND my enemy.”
“Oh you played that game too!”
“Wha—what game?”
“Oh. Yeah, next tent.”
The tent they checked had another family; two kids and two adults. They were also awake, the men trying to cheer their children up; distract them from the distant battle.
“We’re STAR, you need to evacuate now. There’s a ship by the entrance, get on board—”
“Sam the Geldor found us! We need backup at the weapons!” The sound from Lanada and Sam’s radios pierced the tight space.
“Gelt’Rel, on our way! Stop moving those weapons and find some cover!”
Sam started running, Lanada close behind. A few people were leaving the camp as part of the evacuation, but were quickly stopped by the gunfight. They hid to the side as Sam and Lanada blazed past, already opening fire on the Geldor. Their guns flashed behind tents on nearly all sides, shooting at the weapons tent with the scouts. They were only careful enough not to shoot the bombs, but anything and anyone else was fair game.
“Find a break and run! You, over there! All of you!”
After his convincing the people started running, hiding behind the little bit of cover offered by the tents. Lanada could see one die in the crossfire, the rest fleeing the camp safely.
“They got one Sam!”
He said nothing, just kept shooting. Lanada shook their head as they did the same. The Geldor were happy to kill who they used as human shields. They felt no remorse as they gunned down a few Geldor attackers.
The weapons were only partially gone, the larger ones still remaining. A couple gun racks were in the open from being moved, now abandoned for the fight. Lanada also had to take care of their aim not to shoot the bombs and missiles.
“Sam! The Geldor are retreating from our position! They’re returning to the camp!”
“Shit, Gelt’Rel, Geldor are heading our way! Soldiers, move in to the camp and defend the scouts!”
As they continued to hide and jump out of cover, exchanging bullets, the scouts were slowly losing numbers. Only a few remained when the soldiers finally reached the camp. The Geldor were thinning, but not fast enough. A few people were still fleeing, getting shot before most of them found a place to hide.
“Sam, we need to retreat! The weapons aren’t worth all these people dying!”
“Until they use them somewhere else? No, they can’t have those weapons! All of this would be pointless! Just keep shooting!”
“Sam, I really think we should go!”
Sam still fired his gun, but with a thoughtful face. Even more scouts had died, leaving only a couple. He mechanically brought his Circle up, not allowing it to move his aim.
“Gelt’Rel, can you arm those bombs? Anything?”
“Maybe! We don’t have long though! We’re fucking dying!”
“Sam we should just leave! There are people here! We didn't finish the evacuation!”
Sam ignored Lanada, giving his command before they could even finish speaking.
“Arm the bombs—whatever you can—and get out of there!”
The last scouts died next to Gelt’Rel as it turned to the bombs. It only pressed a couple buttons, a loud beep even making its way to Lanada. As it turned around to defend itself, one round finally caught its neck, bringing Gelt’Rel to the ground, dead.
“Gelt’Rel! Gelt’Rel do you copy?! Shit! We need to go Lanada!”
Lanada was almost in shock, but their subconscious seemed to be a good enough shot. They wanted to stop the bombs, but at this point they’d die before even getting close—from the explosion or the Geldor. Even though the soldiers had arrived, there was still a wall of gunfire blocking the exit.
As Lanada stood shooting in indecision, the bombs went off, knocking them and Sam off their feet. Their armor absorbed some of the flak, the rest digging into the tent in front of them. When Lanada crawled back up, the tent and a few close by were on fire, the flames beginning to lick up the sides.
“There’s people in those tents Sam!”
Lanada started to leave, but another round hit their armor. Winded but unharmed, Lanada shrunk back into cover. There was no way to reach the other tents in time.
Most of the camp had caught the flames, even the bordering tents on fire. A heavy fog of sand and smoke filled the air, accompanied by fresh screams from the few people left in their tents. They stopped hiding to run, burning or getting caught in the crossfire.
Lanada couldn’t even see whose rounds killed them, flashes everywhere they looked. Sam was quiet and quick as he moved from target to target. Lanada tried to watch his aim, but it was unclear who he was even shooting at.
“Watch your fire! There’s people still running!”
“I know Lanada! I’m not evil, okay?”
“How are there so many?!”
“Don’t know, keep shooting!”
Everything was moving too fast. Lanada couldn’t keep up. They could only move from flash to flash, shooting where they saw the lights.
“The Geldor are retreating!” Radio chatter came in from the soldiers.
“Get them!”
Sam chose that moment to run, sprinting to the entrance. Lanada watched for a moment in disbelief. They were more concerned about the people dying in the camp. They ran to two of the untouched tents, hopping over dead bodies strewn across the walkway. In the darkness it was difficult to see which faction they were from.
The tents were empty, and so was most of the camp at that point. The fires were calming down, just finishing their peak. Less than five people were still escaping, quickly darting out the exit. The camp was completely empty apart from the dead. Lanada stood in the middle, listening to the sound of distant gunfire. Otherwise, the torrent of fire was all they could hear.
“Ahria, they took a vehicle, we can’t catch them on foot. I need an airstrike on their location.”
Sam could be heard over the radio. Was that really his greatest concern? A rag tag bunch who’d already given up fighting? Lanada had no love for the Geldor, but couldn’t help feeling it was unnecessarily cruel. They quickly radioed Bofi on their Circle, hoping to connect in time.
“Ahria, scratch that command! They’re not a threat!”
“Lanada, it’s already done.”
Lanada dropped their arms, letting them hang without form. They stood in the middle of the burning camp, just trying to process what happened. So many people dead, and for what?
“Lanada, don’t give out conflicting commands. We can’t have that.”
Sam was walking towards Lanada, seemingly ignoring the destruction around him as he looked forward.
“What the fuck Sam!”
“We had to cover ourselves! They know our strategies and weaknesses, and they’ll only be back shooting us again. It had to be done.”
“No, that was unnecessary! All of this was unnecessary! As soon as the scouts got shot at, we should have left!”
“I already explained. We couldn’t let them get those weapons! Imagine the harm they’d do!”
“Explain all you want, it’s only for yourself.”
Sam didn’t respond, looking quite disgruntled. Lanada couldn’t tell if he was struggling with his conscience, or simply annoyed. His eyes were glazed over as he looked across the basin of corpses, not watching his Circle as he raised it.
“Ahria, the soldiers… Any of them get on board?”
“Only six. Got a bunch of campers on board too. Come take a look for yourself.”
As by Bofi’s words, the ship’s airlock opened to allow Lanada and the other crew to climb in. They were all quick, not wanting to spend another moment there. Sam was the only who remained along with another, picking guns off the dead Geldor.
The Ahria stayed landed long enough for them to finish, but Lanada had already sought out their room, needing alone time to process what had just happened. They were pissed. After the entire bullshit speech Rendell had given, the irony was even more obvious to Lanada. All their operation had resulted in was more death. They didn’t even trust Sam to count the bodies right, so who knew how many people STAR had really killed.
They heard knocking on the door… surely not. Of course it was Sam though, making Lanada only feel worse.
“That was a fucking mess. Is STAR usually that sloppy?”
“No. We’re in the dark with a lot of things when it comes to the Geldor. The numbers they had… We weren’t prepared for it at all.”
“Well, you killed a bunch of innocent people and got to watch the scouts die too, so I hope you got some happiness out of that.”
“That was never our goal. I thought of everything to make sure they would be safe.”
“Obviously not. If we weren’t so focused on fighting them, we all could have made it out alive.”
“You didn’t say anything while we were making the plans.”
“It’s not the plan that went wrong, Sam. It was you. And your shit, irresponsible, amoral decisions!”
“What were our other options then? I tried to keep casualties at a minimum, I always do. Rendell wanted our asses on the line, I had no choice. That was the best way things could have gone down.”
“With hundreds dead?”
“This job isn’t a light one. You’re going to see people die on every job.”
“And you don’t see a problem with that? How are we supposed to bring ‘peace’ when STAR is so ready to kill people?”
“Us? We stopped a terror group from using those bombs and missiles! They could have killed thousands with those! You used to be an assassin, and now you try to pull morals? It’s not right, Lanada.”
“Pulling morals?! Sam, YOU BLEW UP A VILLAGE! I saw people on fire, getting shot from the gunfight you could have ended! They had no chance to survive, it was a massacre! And for what, a few measly weapons they probably already have hoarded everywhere else? Not only that, but you put the scouts AND the Ahria’s crew in danger! They’re ship crew and now four of them are dead!”
“Lanada… I’m only human… I can’t make a perfect plan.”
“You can at least know when you’ve gone too far.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
Sam stormed out of the room, his face grim. He didn’t look angry, but was upset in some other fashion. Lanada didn’t care though. Those deaths were on his head.
They tried to call Gerry, hoping a friend could help calm them down. He didn’t answer that time though, his voicemail message taunting Lanada. They hadn’t even taken a moment to worry about him, but it was difficult when they had just seen so many faces die. The time not taken to stress over him seemed to compound as Lanada was swept with a wave of regret. They were supposed to protect him, yet they hadn’t even thought of him.
It seemed like the world wanted people to die, and who was Lanada to argue with destiny? The deaths would have come with or without them, and they imagined that any future STAR operations wouldn’t have their interests in mind, even if they did mean saving people. They used to make an effort to only kill dangerous people, but it wasn’t so black and white anymore.
Every Geldor soldier that wanted to attack Mikoril had also been disenfranchised by King Lactain, giving them a good reason to attack. But STAR did too after finding those guns and warheads; more than enough to take a town if they wanted. And after what Lanada heard from just one random conversation about conquering the planet, they assumed most of the Geldor held the same views, especially those in command.
The ship landed at the scouts’ camp before leaving, but Lanada didn’t bother getting up, allowing Sam to do the work of taking down the camp himself. Out the window they could see Sam and a few other crew members deconstructing tents and collecting supplies, leaving the valley as if the scouts had never been there. The Ahria calmly departed once again afterwards, flying to the capitol.