Nanowrimo Experiment, Part 2

[edonil]

So, it seemed like it was time for a new thread, the other one was getting a bit unwieldy. However, I have finally gotten back into it with writing again, and gotten back to the big cliff hangar from the last thread with the Assarians. Hope all of you enjoy this, I had fun with it! Hoping to get at least two new scenes per week, but we'll see how it goes.

Six Weeks Later[url=https://wyrd-games.net/forum/#_msocom_1]

“Commodore?”

Arias looked up from the sketchpad in his lap to see Ensign Fel standing in the doorway to the hospital room. He gestured for the young woman to wait, then stood to check on the occupant of the bed, Alexis Stormhand. It had been two months since Matthias’ death, and she still had yet to emerge from her coma. Arias had spent a great deal of his free time here, one of many friends who sat vigil with the injured woman. After a few moments of seeing that nothing had changed, he stepped out into the hall, legs shaking slightly. His own injuries were finally healing, and he was glad to be without the walking cane he had used for several weeks, but he still had trouble standing up and moving at times.

“How is she, sir?”

“No change, I’m afraid.” He sighed, brow furrowed with frustration. “I’m starting to wonder if she’ll ever wake up.” He turned to Fel and noticed the briefcase she carried. “What can I do for you, Ensign?”

“Papers from the Admiralty,” she said, handing him the case. “From what little I’ve heard, we can expect to see guests on board the Merlin next time we get sent out.”

Arias raised an eyebrow. “From what you’ve heard, Ensign?”

She flushed slightly under his gaze, making the bandages from her own injuries during the last month’s fighting stand out even more. “Sorry, sir. Just been trying to keep track of what I can. I hope you don’t mind.”

“Not at all,” he said after a moment. “Having an ear to the rumor grapevine is a rare thing. Not to mention that it’s a valuable skill for a flag lieutenant. I didn’t realize you were attempting to audition for the role, though.” The new commodore smiled as her flushed deepened. “I’m just teasing you, Ensign. Keep up the good work, though. So, what did you hear?”

“It seems that the Admiralty secured the services of a mercenary company, the Dragoons, for the next year or two. They’ve managed to rebuild since their last tangle with Drasvar, and they seem to be very interested in getting some of their own back. Apparently, they’ll be working with our Marines aboard the Huntsmen squadrons due to their experience against air carriers.”

“Really? Interesting. When will that be starting?”

“I’m not sure, unfortunately.”

“Well, maybe these papers have got some information on that. Anything else?”

She shook her head. “No sir.”

Arias nodded. “Thank you, Ensign. How’re things with the squadron?”

“We’re still patching up the damage from the attack last month. All of our losses have been replaced, although not without some difficulty. Recruitments for the air corps haven’t exactly been high. The new captains are doing well in charge of the Raven and the Merlin. We’re just waiting on you and our orders and we’ll be ready to go.”

“Good. And what about you? Are your injuries healing?”

“Yes. The doctors say that they’ll be able to take the stitches out sometime in the next week,” she said, touching the bandage on her forehead gingerly. “I still feel somewhat like an idiot, getting jumped by that Drasvarian Marine.”

“It happens to the best of us. Learn from it for next time- and try to dodge when you’ve got a rifle butt coming at you.” He grinned as the young woman laughed. “Now, I’ve got to look over this paperwork. I’ll see you tomorrow at the briefing, Ensign.”

“Yes, sir!” she said, saluting sharply.

Arias sat back down in his seat and carefully opened the briefcase. Pulling out the papers, he frowned at them. Intelligence reports from Victrix and Telios? What was the point to that information? He flipped through the pile quickly, setting the discarded reports down on the table next to him. Finally, he came to a page near the bottom with instructions on it. The Admiralty wanted him to draw up plans with his command staff for launching the open stages of a new assault against Drasvar, using the tactics he and Wintertide had developed. Arias felt a slight burst of grief seeing his friend’s name, along with a surge of guilt at how small that grief seemed to be. Time healed all wounds, it was said, but he wasn’t sure he should be over the death of his best friend so easily.

A gentle knock at the door drew him out of his concentration, and he looked up to see a doctor standing there. “Excuse me, Commodore, but a visitor would like to speak to you.”

“I must be popular today,” Arias muttered under his breath. He stood up, carefully putting the reports and his instructions back into the briefcase. That done, he stepped back out into the hall.

“Commodore Arias Falmarin?” a soft voice asked. Arias found himself in the rare position of looking up to meet the amber eyes of the woman who spoke. She bowed gracefully, one black gloved hand sweeping to the side, the other resting on the ornate pommel of her rapier. Her uniform was unfamiliar, a long-tailed black jacket with silver accenting over a pair of white pants. Something about the insignia on the breast of her jacket, a black rose on a purple field, seemed to strike a chord in his memory, but he couldn’t place it. “I am Major Kiiva Strata, in charge of the First Dragoons. I wanted to take the chance to introduce myself, and have a moment of your time.”

“Pleased to meet you, Major,” Arias said, mentally kicking himself for not recognizing the insignia of one of the most famous mercenary commanders still active. “If you’ll give me a moment to collect my things, I’d be glad to meet with you.” He turned to grab his sketching supplies and the briefcase, stopping to rest his hand on Alexis’ cheek. No response, just like the other times. With a sad sigh, he rejoined the Dragoon in the hall.

“Your lady?” Kiiva asked as he stepped out, curiously looking into the room.

“No,” he replied. “Just a good friend. Have you eaten anything yet? I know it’s a bit early for lunch, but I skipped breakfast.”

“Uh, no, I haven’t. Could you recommend a place?”

“Well, that depends. How much privacy do we need for this meeting?”

“Not much,” she smiled. “My regiment is currently in negotiations for working for Assar. Rumor has it that I’m supposed to be working with you. I wanted the chance to get to know you.”

Arias arched an eyebrow with a slight smile. “Any particular reason?”

“Commodore, I have a responsibility to the men and women under my command. The unique thing about my circumstance, is that I have the choice of who I’ll take orders from.” She shook her head. “You may be considered by your superiors to be some sort of tactical prodigy, but you are the most junior Commodore in your air force. I’d like to make my own decision on how good you are. Especially considering that you weren’t present while your squadron took part in more than a few fights over the past month and a half.”

“No offense intended, I’m assuming?” Arias asked dryly. He gave her a bemused look. “If this is a sales pitch, it’s a very strange one, Major.”

“Call me Kiiva. And, honestly, that’s because you’re the one who has to win me over. I know my skills, and those of my men. What I want to figure out, is how good are you?” She arched an eyebrow, eyes challenging in a face framed by short dark hair.

“What did you have in mind, Kiiva?”

A feral grin lit her thin lips. “Well, I’m sure we’ll think of something by the time lunch is done. Don’t you agree?”

“Of course,” Arias said, privately wondering just what in hell he’d gotten himself into.

-----

“This is your idea of finding out how good a commander I am?” Arias demanded, picking up the rapier. “A sparring match?”

“Well, it’s certainly more interesting than the alternatives. An endless game of questions or a chess match isn’t nearly as fun as this,” Kiiva said, stretching carefully, which managed to show off her athletic body to best advantage. The commodore shook his head, trying to concentrate on the task at hand.

“We already did the endless game of questions at lunch,” he pointed out.

“So? I’m still going to enjoy this more. Besides, you’re the one who told me at lunch that you were a swordsman. Did you really think I wasn’t going to test that?” She flashed him a winsome grin, then pulled out her blade.

The practice yard they were in was empty for the time being, the occupants all gone for lunch. His own lunch with Kiiva had been pleasant enough, even if it had felt a bit like an interrogation. He found the woman to be charming and smart, which, combined with her attractive features, made her incredibly distracting.

The ring of a sword tapping against the stone of the practice yards shook him out of his thoughts. “Ready to start?” she asked with a grin.

“Might as well. I have to warn you, I’m more than a little rusty.”

She shrugged, bringing the rapier up into a guard position. “I’m sure you’ll manage,” she said, charging on the last word. Arias managed to get his own blade up in time to block the attack, stepping to the side to keep her from pushing him off balance. Her follow up attacks were strong and aggressive, driving him backwards as he sought for an opening to breathe.

Arias finally managed to dodge past one of her swings and grinned, stabbing forward in a series of feints aimed high. Kiiva tried to back away, looking for an opportunity to use her longer reach, but the commodore refused to let her, drawing from the lessons of numerous training sessions with Sergeant Black. Just as he managed to sneak his blade past her guard to tap against the side of her neck for the ‘kill’, he felt her grab the collar of his shirt with her free hand. One of her legs snaked around his, and pulled, dropping him back toward the ground.

His breath exploded from him as her knee dropped onto his stomach, although he didn’t feel the expected ‘crack’ of his head smacking into the ground. The Dragoon stood up, gently lowering him to the ground, and took a step back to let him stop gasping for air. A few moments later, his breathing was under control, and he looked up to see her standing over him, grinning. Arias returned the grin- and cut his legs through her ankles, sending her to the ground.

Kiiva hit the ground laughing, letting her weapon fall next to her. “Well played, Arias!” she said finally. “You suckered me into that one rather handily.”

The Assarian sat up with a grin. “Glad you’re impressed.”

She gave him an intense look for a few moments, then nodded. “You’ll do.” Kiiva stood up, then held her hand out to him. “It seems that you and I will be working together for a while, Commodore.”

“So it does,” he said in reply, cautiously taking her hand. She helped him up, then pulled him close and pressed her lips against his. Stunned, he almost fell down again as he watched her walk away, picking up her rapier as she headed out of the yards.

As she left, the Dragoon Major turned her head to flash him a brief smile. “I’m looking forward to it.”

And there we go. Kicking things off with new characters, new intrigue, and hope all of you enjoyed Kiiva. It was an interesting bit trying to make her stand out among all the other female characters. I'm still somewhat debating the sparring scene, because I've done that gimmick with Arias and Justice, but I'll leave that opinion up to you guys as to whether something changes. As always, thanks for reading!

[SteamHammer]

Fantastic start and loving Kiiva.

[edonil]

Thanks Steam! New section:

“If I could have your attention, everyone,” Admiral Harris said. The briefing room quieted slowly, the twenty officers in the room breaking from their conversations to pay attention. Arias stood up at the front, waiting to give his report with only the barest hint of nerves exposed in the trembling of his hand. It had been some time since he had given a briefing of his own, and never had it been to such a group. Half of the officers were flag officers, the other half were the most decorated and legendary ship captains in the Assarian military.

After a few moments of silence, the Admiral nodded in satisfaction from the podium he stood in front of. “Today is the dawning of a new era in the war, ladies and gentlemen. Today, we begin the fight to force Drasvar back to their home, and make them surrender. This war has gone on for ten months, and its time for us to take the initiative. This briefing is the first of several that you’ll be receiving this week. Three weeks from that, we’ll be launching the operation.

“Drasvar has suffered a number of setbacks since their false offer of peace talks.” He gestured to a map that hung on the wall, pointing to the countries of Telios and Victrix. “In Victrix, they successfully managed to take control of the country, only to find that the citizens had no intentions of going along with it quietly. A strong resistance force has emerged, led by one of the few surviving senior officers of the Victrixan army, Colonel Lukas Faulkner. A bloody insurrection has been waged ever since, and Drasvar has been unable to gain control of the situation. In Telios, a guerilla war led by the church has been raising hell. While the Teliosan army has yet to win a stand up fight against the enemy, the irregular forces led by their priests have managed to slow down the invasion to a standstill.”

The Admiral turned back to the other officers, a feral grin showing from his sunburned face. “And, of course, the attempts to invade Assar have failed utterly, thanks to the efforts of our air corps and navy. With all this in mind, the Admiralty has been carefully considering our next steps.” He quieted for a moment, and Arias had to suppress a snort at the seemingly melodramatic pause. While Harris might be the most decorated Admiral of the Assarian Navy, he left something to be desired for charismatic speeches. “We’ll be joining forces with the Victrixan underground, to establish a supply base there. From that point, we’ll be able to launch further attacks into Drasvarian controlled territory, and attempting to outflank the enemy in their attacks on Telios.”

Harris turned to Arias and waved him forward. “This is Commodore Arias Falmarin, the leader of the Huntsmen squadrons that were at the front lines over the past month,” the Admiral said as Arias joined him at the podium. “The first part of this operation is the brainstorm of his staff.”

The Admiral stepped back, letting Arias take his place at the podium. The commodore pulled out his notes from a jacket pocket, and smoothed them out. Taking a deep breath, he launched into his task. “While the main push for the liberation of Victrix will be the province of the Navy and the Army, the first attacks will be made by the Air Force. The reason for this is that Drasvar has deployed two air carriers to the eastern continent, Ascension and Triumph. Six weeks ago, the Victrixan underground launched an air attack on Ascension, doing enough damage to cause the enemy to bring together the two carriers for mutual support and defense. Aside from these attacks, the carriers have been at full strength.

“In order for us to have a fighting chance at gaining ground in an assault on Victrix, we need to neutralize both the Ascension and the Triumph. As of our last reports, neither air carrier has left the coastal areas, meaning that the Navy cannot effectively engage them. In spite of this fact, it is the consensus of my planning team that we will absolutely require the Navy for our operation to succeed.

“When the Huntsmen squadrons took down the air carrier Destiny, we did so only by use of deception. The two squadrons came in at different angles, drawing the attention of the enemy flyers, and we were able to capitalize on that. While the carrier still had its own escort airships, without the flyers, it was nearly helpless. What our plans currently call for is for the Navy to be in close proximity to the coast of Victrix, hopefully drawing away some of the flyers, so we can get in close to make our assault.”

“Excuse me, Commodore,” Rear Admiral Elijah Travas said. “Are you seriously suggesting that we use His Majesty’s Navy as…bait?”

“Actually, sir, I do.” Arias rubbed his eyes for a moment with one hand, then met the man’s stare. “Being brutally honest, the Navy has never managed to take down a Drasvarian air carrier. We’ve never been able to even drive one off. Before the attack on the Destiny, we steadily gave ground every time an air carrier showed up. And I would respectfully remind you that Destiny was what Drasvar considers a light carrier. They were a recon unit, Admiral. Ascension and Triumph are both heavy carriers, with a full array of all of the flyers that Drasvar uses, from raptors to dragons. And there’s rumors of a third carrier joining the pacification efforts there.”

“What exactly do you expect your handful of airships to do?” one of the ship captains asked. She leaned forward, resting her chin in her hands. “No offense, but I’ve read your after-action reports from the attack on the Destiny. Even with it being a light carrier, you still lost a lot of people. Several of your ships were heavily damaged, and one lost nearly everyone on board.”

Arias nodded respectfully to her. “Attacking the Destiny, we were using two squadrons of exclusively Huntsmen class ships. A total of twelve ships, each roughly the equivalent of a naval destroyer in terms of our throwing weight. Since then, we’ve added another squadron, bringing us to eighteen ships. Additionally, we’ll be bringing for this operation two squadrons of our older and heavier armed Defender airships, bringing us up to the equivalent of a heavy naval task force. At the same time, we’ve been talking to the Victrixan underground, in the hopes that they’ll commit some of their mercenary aeroplanes to the attack.”

Arias paused a moment to accept a glass gratefully from a junior officer in the room. He took a few sips from it, then set it down carefully on the podium. “Beyond all of this, our mages have spent the past three months working on giving us a tactical advantage. Before the newer airships entered the war, we had a severe weakness against the Drasvarian flyers. Except when it came to flying in storms. It isn’t that our equipment is better in that environment- odds are we’re just as behind still. But our willingness to fly in under the cover of a storm meant that we could get at their flyers and airships in a place and time of our choosing.”

“And this is what you intend to do?”

“Yes. Our mages have successfully developed a method of creating a storm. While it is a technique that is incredibly risky, what it does let us do is launch an attack at a time of our choosing, rather than waiting for a natural one. We also have some control over the size of the storm, so that we can keep it contained and away from our naval vessels.”

Arias rested both hands on the side of the podium, leaning forward. “Even with all this, however, this is still a high risk operation. Under the best circumstances, we expect to be able to drive away the air carriers, perhaps even destroy one, but not without grievous losses. The addition of the Dragoons to our ranks does mean that we have an edge in experienced personnel in boarding actions, but I still would be surprised to find that to make a marked difference in the outcome. Without naval support, this has a high probability of being a total sacrifice of the offensive capabilities of our Air Force. With naval support, those odds go from high odds to about even.”

[Thechosenone]

Kiiva is a good character. The sparring scene is fine but i feel what I think you're hinting at. Which is that it has been done and this scene doesn't really create any juxtaposition or mirror of the previous one. It's there, it gets the story to the next scene. So yeah, its fine.

Thanks as always for more well written fiction.

[edonil]

Thanks for the kind comments as always, Chosen. Finally got back into the swing of things (January was a long month) and here's another scene. Revisiting some old friends this time!

“Your students are idiots," the new mage instructor aboard the Aegis proclaimed as she dropped into the chair in Soli's cabin.

Soli looked up from her desk with some level of astonishment at the casual way this mage came into her office and sat down without permission. She arched an eyebrow, lifting one hand to shift a strand of hair away from her face. "Can I help you, Lady Leon?" she asked politely, setting down her pen and interweaving her fingers.

Isabella stared at her for a moment, then flushed. "I'm sorry, Wing-Captain. It's just frustrating dealing with the 'best of the academy'," her voice pitched higher to a whine, "only to find that they're unteachable morons."

Soli's mouth screwed up for a moment. "I know what you mean. I've never had such problems with teaching formations to new pilots," she said finally. "Unfortunately, I can't figure out how to get them to pay more attention."

"I'm about ready to take the approach my teachers did," Isabella said darkly, brows knitted. "Nothing like breaking the arrogance out of someone with broken bones and mass scale burns. At the very least, I'll feel better." She leaned back in her chair, crossing her legs. "On the other hand, teaching you and Sergeant Jensen has been entertaining, so I suppose this isn't all a waste of time. You actually pay attention when I open my mouth."

Soli blinked a few times in astonishment. "Are you being serious?"

"Of course I am. Why wouldn't I be glad about two people who want to learn? Oh! You mean the broken bones thing? My word, no!" The mage started laughing. "Can you even imagine the amount of outrage that would cause at the academy? Especially from the wealthier families? 'How dare you break my little girl's arm, you monster!' Academy instructors get enough complaints as things are now. Although," Isabella said thoughtfully, resting a finger on her nose. "That would certainly do a good job of weeding out those who don't have the will to be good mages."

"Is that what you used to be? An academy instructor?" Soli asked, curious in spite of herself. Isabella had shown up just being the Aegis had launched two weeks ago, bearing a letter of introduction from Lord Enchanter Marx. The older woman had become the primary mage aboard, taking charge of the students and offering her advice to Soli and Jensen. She was a marvelous teacher, able to clearly explain the concepts and techniques of her craft.

Isabella shook her head. "Afraid not. I was a little too, well, 'unstable' for the academy's liking." She winked at Soli, a grin on her face. "They aren't very interested in having a teacher who so easily takes on the role of a war mage. I've spent my years since graduation serving as a consultant for the military."

"Should I be concerned about that 'unstable' comment?"

"Not at all! It's what makes me so good at my job. Besides, Wing-Captain, you'd be in the same category as I am, as far as the academy is concerned." Isabella shifted in her seat, recrossing her legs. "Anyone comfortable with living with the consequences of killing is a type of person the academy is afraid of. Not unjustly, as it so happens. Someone with no concept of horror at killing is terrifying just as they are. But give that same person the ability to manipulate reality with their mind? Well, those tend to be the worst kinds of murderers. No conscience, no remorse, and the ability to summon lightning." The woman grinned, teeth flashing as she seemed to deliberately shiver. "Well, it's just not worth the risk, so they say."

"And what about you?" Soli asked, settling back into her chair.

"Me? Well, I'd say it all depends on what do you need. In a warzone, you need a weapon, not a moralist. Which is part of why I'm here, actually. To teach your young idiots how to kill. I'm not showing them how to defend themselves, or take someone alive." Isabella shook her head. "No, I'm showing them the precise point to hit someone to make their heart stop with electricity. Or the right temperature to get clothing to ignite. And, most importantly, teaching them that they shouldn't feel bad about it. They'll have an easier time with their work when they stop thinking of the enemy as human."

Soli felt a moment of unease at that. True, she was a soldier, but to her, combat had honor to it. The life or death struggle that, at the end of the day, was a horrible necessity. But there was humanity to it. It was part of why she preferred her glaive to a rifle, so that she would never become immune to the reality that she was taking a human life. Otherwise, she knew it would be far too easy to start enjoying the act, and that was a road she didn't want to walk down. But it sounded like Isabella was working to shove her students down that path.

"Are you sure that's necessary?" Soli asked uncertainly.

Isabella gave her a searching look and a slight smile. "Don't tell me you're squeamish about this, Captain? Would you rather have them throwing up every night after a battle, or worse, getting themselves killed hesitating instead of fighting?" The woman leaned forward, her eyes intent. "Trust me, Captain, they'll thank me later. After all, they might actually be alive to do so."

The mage got out of the chair, stretching her arms over her head, then suppressed a yawn. "Well, Captain, thanks for listening to an old woman ramble. However, it's well past my time to get to bed, especially since I have a dawn session with some of the students." Isabella waggled her fingers goodbye as she stepped out of the door. "Sleep well."