Notes :
Sorry it had been a while since the last MFR chapter. I'm going to see about completing book 3.
I wonder if anyone remember the reference of this chapter title.
Oh, in other news, my eyes are getting better, but the universe appears to be determined to kick me back down, so my uncle is in the ICU.
New separator below because patreon appears to delete paragraph jumps on the app and in emails. Hopefully this'll help.
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Chapter 118
Starborn Mountains, Starfire Valley
Settlement of Astralis
Kalia shifted her weight from foot to foot, before suppressing the nervous gesture.
She was assembled with a small group of soldiers. Each wielded one of Sapphiria's carbines. There wasn't a crowd, waiting for the AI to arrive either. Everyone could feel the tension, and people buried themselves in their work, giving the occasional glance at the pass.
At last however, the snowpiercer rumbled out of the forest, and come to a precise halt at its spot. A few seconds later, the rolling fortress did likewise, though with considerably less precision, and most likely a lot of sotto voce profanity from Ramina.
Kalia watched as the door opened, and saw Sapphiria scan the group of soldiers, before their gazes met.
The AI didn't climb down, she simply jumped, and the mage-magistrate had to stop herself from taking an instinctive step back as the android landed.
"Heya." Said Sapphiria as she finished closing the distance between them. "I see you brought some people." She raised her hand as Kalia opened her mouth. "Spare me the speech. Ramina already spilled the beans."
"...Oh." Damn it!
"I'll take them."
Kalia blinked.
"You will?" She'd expected...a fight? Something.
The more she'd listened about Sapphiria's explanations and stories of the Federation, the more she'd been able to read between the lines.
Humanity had founded the Federation, but it clearly didn't control it anymore. Add to that the way Sapphiria treated them, like they were fine things of porcelain...
She'd be lying if she had said she wasn't worried.
"I will. And before you ask, no, I'm not mad. I think...I think I need to get used to some things and get over some...hang-ups I have. But I'll make one thing clear: no one is heading up to fight until and unless they are needed. Do you understand me? If you've issued orders against that countermand them now."
"I haven't." She had given some...contingencies in the past, but not this time. Talking to Sapphiria had made it clear how out of her depth she was on military matters. Yeah, she'd gotten her people through this, and into the pass, fighting off the Bane. But Sapphiria had commanded warships larger than Trunevald. If she had fought with ships bigger than the capital of the magistracy, then the mage-magistrate's military 'experience' meant squat. "But you'll have to take someone else along, all the way in."
Sapphiria winced.
"Please don't tell me you're coming with us."
"I'm not. Don't get me wrong, I'll throw myself in the line of fire if there's no other choice. But I understand that my role is in the backline. Even if I didn't, Gregor would knock me out the second the shooting started, said I got grazed by a lucky hit, and send me back."
Sapphiria smiled.
"That does sound like him. I assume he'll be the one joining me?"
"Yep. Plus, as to why I shouldn't come, I don't want to be a...distraction."
Their gazes met. They both knew she meant that if she was in danger...
Kalia saw something twitch deep within the AI's eyes.
Yeah. Best to avoid that.
"That foresight is appreciated. Now let's get everyone loaded up. I put the golems in the cargo bay, so your people should be able to use the passenger compartment. Where is Gregor though?"
"He said he had something to grab. Oh, there he...is..."
Kalia trailed off as the skeleton arrived.
Wearing full Imperial battle armor.
"I thought that if I might die there for good, I might as well show these bastards how the Empire is supposed to be." Said the old skeleton, before anyone had the time to comment.
"...You had that thing the whole time?" Asked Sapphiria.
"He did. But he preferred not to wear it." Answered Kalia.
"Yeah. Too easy to catch stray attacks from your own people when you're, you know, wearing the enemy's gear. Won't be as much of a problem this time. Also, my regular gear is a lot more flexible and easier to move in. I don't tire but these old bones can only go so fast."
"Ah, I see." Said the AI. "Well, better come aboard. I'll be with you shortly."
Kalia looked as Sapphiria spun to face her.
"Good l-mmmmhhhh!" Kalia's blessings were interrupted as she was unceremoniously yanked down by the collar, and thoroughly kissed.
After a few very enjoyable seconds, the AI let go of her lips, and stepped back.
"Don't wish good luck to a soldier heading into a battle. Wish them good hunting."
Kalia smiled.
"Good hunting then. Get back in one piece."
"I'll do my best." The AI smiled, and gave her girlfriend another, briefer kiss, before getting back into the snowpiercer.
Kalia watched the vehicles depart. Ramina hadn't even disembarked from the rolling fortress, clearly deciding that discretion was the better part of valor.
For all her other flaws, that woman could tell when it was time to keep her head down.
Hopefully she'd use that particular trait well today.
Kalia had the horrible feeling she was going to need it.
*****
The Hand raised an eyebrow as they saw the vehicles.
The one they usually used was no surprise. Gigantic, ungainly. But a behemoth meant to punch through even the toughest terrain, and almost certainly something they had taken into Icerend.
The other...it looked crude, even to their eyes. Unrefined. A simple vehicle the likes of which they'd seen aplenty, but augmented. Armor bolted onto the frame. Artillery added onto the top.
Function over form. They could appreciate that.
As much as Sarcher would have liked to go to their meeting point to greet them, there were more pressing concerns. Namely the fact that the next attack was mustering.
They turned back towards the pass, going through their totems, mentally cataloguing their spells, as the group of zombies slowly crossed the pass.
Use magic, or not? Their resources were dwindling.
There was a thud, and a whistling.
The Hand put most of the totems back in their pouch, as the shell exploded in the midst of the zombies, splattering several of them, and slicing others to pieces with the shrapnel.
Not enough to destroy the whole wave, but enough to seriously disrupt it. More interestingly, there was no discharge of energy or miniature aberrations from failing enchanted ammo or shattered crystals.
The Hand watched as the ever dwindling number of archers on the wall reduced the rest of the zombies to pincushions. Two soulless fell from lucky shots.
They felt the alerts long before they heard the footsteps.
"Hey." Said Sapphiria, as she stepped by his side. She was invisible, no one could see her from the other side of the pass.
The Risen next to her was anything but.
"Hello. I see your companion has donned the colors."
"Only for this occasion. Show you and the rest of the bastards how it's done." Snapped back the Risen, and the Hand chuckled.
"I look forward to it." They gazed at the vague outline of a person right next to them. Excellent camouflage. Not perfect. But excellent. More importantly, they couldn't sense it, even within touching distance, which meant excellent arcane masking. "Would you require an illusion?"
"Not yet." She shifted. It was hard to tell, but she was probably facing him now. "I brought backup."
The Hand blinked.
"For the wall?"
"Yes. They'll move in once the final assault starts."
"I did not think you would trust me with living troops."
"I'm not." She was probably smiling mirthlessly, given her tone. "Most of my troops are golems, the living will stay as backup at the outpost."
"I see. May I assume said golems will be similar to those already guarding your artillery?"
"Yes. And more besides."
"Then they shall be a welcome addition." Sarcher looked at the pass. "But for now, I am afraid that we must partake in the most essential virtue of all commanders."
"Which is?"
"Patience."
*****
Sapphiria sighed as she sat down, her back against the battlements.
'Hurry up and wait' indeed.
The muted her armor's speakers, and pinged Cia.
"How are we doing, C?"
A projection of the simulacrum appeared in front of her.
"Everything appears nominal so far. Ramina is currently eating some of her rations, but has refused to leave her piloting station."
Sapphiria groaned.
"Oooof course she hasn't. I should have a talk with her about that." Squishies needed to take regular breaks. Real breaks. Not just 'I am shoving nutrigel and/or a ration bar down my throat while at my workstation'. "Is the drone ready to go?"
"Affirmative. It is ready to move, at your command."
Sapphiria nodded.
"Then let's have a look."
It might not tell her much, but at least she wouldn't be blind. Plus, if they were preparing to move out, there would be signs.
Her armor's sensors pinged her as they detected the drone taking off, and she had to stop herself from moving her head to track it. Better not blow that particular advantage to the Hand just yet.
She could have ordered it to send a live feed, but if the other side indeed had jamming...they might be able to detect the transmission and try to shoot the drone down.
She had instructed the drone to try and do a com scan, looking for frequencies when it got there. Normally it was just to connect to a human handheld controller, when the planetary net unexpectedly went down during flight, but if there was a broad spectrum jamming, there should be noise everywhere, and since she had disabled its ping protocol, it should be entirely passive.
She watched through her sensors as the drone passed overhead, and moved into the pass. She was about to ask for more status reports when the Hand spoke up.
"What was it like?"
There was a short silence, before Gregor spoke up.
"What was what like?"
"Serving the Empire."
"If you-"
The Hand raised its skeletal arm.
"Peace. I mean...in your era. When you were alive. You were in the thirty-third legion, the screaming eagles. What was it like?"
Sapphiria stopped herself from standing up, and willed herself to stay still. She was actually quite interestedi n that.
"Why...do you care, exactly?"
"It may surprise you to learn, but I do not actually have much experience with the Empire beyond my era and before my...awakening." The Hand's voice became soft. "I wish to know. How all I helped build ended up like...this."
"...You're not going to like how this ends."
"No. No I'm not. But I need to hear it nonetheless."
"Couldn't you have asked the other Bane?"
The Hand gestured at the other end of the pass.
"It may surprise you to learn, but my current relationship with other parts of the Empire is not very conducive to idle conversation."
"Neither is your relationship with us. You murdered the people I swore to protect. Sarcher, I admired you. You were a hero I was told about by my ma when it was time for bed. I saw statues of you overlooking the training fields where the legion molded me into a soldier. I was under your gaze when my instructor handed me my insignia and told me to report to the logistics office to join the conquests. It was the proudest day of my life." Gregor shook his head. "No. I will not tell you anything. You, who have betrayed everything the Empire stood for. You wish to learn what became of the Empire? It's us. Right here, right now. Being mercilessly slaughtered by the Empire that was."
Sapphiria saw Sarcher's shoulder slump under the barrage. That was...odd. She'd have expected the Bane to retort, but did they seem to be agreeing? She-
Her armor pinged her again as it detected the drone.
Then her sensors on the tower pinged her when it saw the group entering the pass.
Sapphiria jumped up, and looked over the battlements.
There was a group of skeletons out there, with one of those 'observers'.
And that observer was gesturing at the sky.
Oh hell.