Broken World

Broken World

He didn't know where he was. It was dark and suffocated, and his hands were bound behind his back. Somewhere in the distance he could hear men shouting and laughing. It made him angry, and the thought that they laughed at his failure swam through his mind every now and then. Though he knew it was not the case, it was difficult to believe it.

If only they could understand, he thought. But they would never believe him. Not after Lin.

He stared at the darkness of his cell for a while longer. Days seemed to pass without a sign of human life. Nothing shared the darkness with him but the rats that crawled by occasionally, and even they did not linger.

Jraden kept himself busy by thinking of the things that might transpire outside of his cell. The Old Bugger was not the type of man to rely on a single act and pray for the best. He knew better than to trust the fate of mankind to a single man, a single mission. Perhaps there were others on the move even as he lay captured. Dozens of teams moving into the mines, recovering the fuel and setting out for Sah, so that his failure did not matter.

The thought made him smile. It would be grand to have that certainty and accept his fate at the hands of his captors, but to do so would be stupid. He could not hope for the best. He had to prepare and act in order to prevent the worst. That was his purpose and reason to live. The day people no longer needed to fear the worst was the day he was no longer of use.

Voices sounded somewhere behind him.

Jraden sighed and steeled himself for the worst. If the Army wanted to get answers out of him, he would fight them for as long as he could. Still, he could not rely fully on his strength. Swiftly he reached down and grasped the collar of his coat between his teeth. He bit and ground the threads of fabric until they came loose, and a single, small pill fell in his mouth. He hid it under his tongue and waited.

Three men entered the room. Two of them were army— an officer and a guard, while the other one wore a coat so ragged and torn that it would be impossible to recognize it as that of a colonel. But Jraden knew it. He'd spent too long fighting beside the man to not immediately appreciate every rip and hole in the uniform. Here and there he saw old ones he'd been told about, while there were more than a few that he himself had seen made in some distant battlefield when they were younger and the world was calmer. A few were new.

The men stood before him in complete silence, until the Army officer turned to look at the colonel-in-rags.

"There will be no repercussions then?" he asked— gaze moving from Jraden to the colonel.

"No. Escort us to Sah and he's yours. My lord promises it." the colonel said placing a hand over his heart.

"Very well then... I will contact General Karnald."

The officer left, and at the colonel's behest, the guard did so too. Jraden was left alone with him.

The man stared at him for a while, in silence. He struggled to transform thoughts into words, but it was in vain. There was too much to say and they had no more time. Years and years were gone in the space of a few moments. Thousands of things left unsaid would soon be of no more relevance. In the end, there was too little to say that was worth hearing.

"I'm sorry." he said at last. His eyes were downcast, his hands had a slight tremble to them, and he felt unsteady. Jraden looked at him from where he sat, bound by men who could not see beyond the immediate future. He looked up at the colonel and sighed. His shoulders slumped and he spat out the pill.

"Don't be." he said and turned his gaze from him, blinking away tears. "You've done all you could. I know you. This was not your first option."

"I moved mountains to save you, Jraden." the colonel said. "By whatever force rules over our lives, I raised the men we have in Seban, the clansmen of Jahir, and the riders from Duna. I assembled them all under nothing more than my word and the hope of saving an old friend. Those men remember you, Jraden. Down to the last one of them, they have not forgotten the Savior of Shah."

Jraden smiled. He sniffed and blinked hard to clear his vision.

"Those were good days, where they not? Savior of Shah... the Maurading Janissaries of Joh... How long has it been?" his voice cracked and he exhaled deeply. The colonel's smile had turned from one of sadness to one of yearning.

"Not too long ago. Those men remember you and all you did, Jraden. They left homes and families to see you saved... but..." He stopped and sighed; ran a hand through his hair and sat down.

"The Bastard of Lin won out in the end." Jraden whispered, gaze lost, looking down at the nothing. The colonel shook his head vigorously and took both of Jraden's shoulders in his hands.

"Don't let that haunt you. You did what had to be done. Nothing else matters."

Jraden looked into the colonel's eyes and smiled sadly at him.

"It does matter. They all did." his gaze wandered once more, and his breathing grew shallow. "But the world mattered more. One or the other, my friend. Never both. The world or the people of Lin. The world or my soul..."

Silence fell over both men. Time seemed to pass slowly, until Jraden quietly asked the question he had been dreading.

"Will they kill me?" he croaked. Death. Never feared before in the field of battle, now loomed over him with its dark embrace, and Jraden felt cold.

"You know the answer to that." the colonel murmured. He turned his back to him and stared at his hands, wishing he had the authority to make things right. "The Army threatened to attack our strongholds in the North unless we let them kill you. Once they had you in their hands, they went rabid. Like dogs, generals threw themselves at the chance to be the ones to execute you. General Karnald-"

"-allowed the Old Bugger to let you witness the execution. You'll deliver the fuel as they parade my corpse around Sah. It's all part of the plan..." Jraden sighed and leaned back against the chair with the ghost of a smile tugging at his lips. "The fuel?"

"We have it." the colonel replied, turning around to smile at Jraden. "Safe and secure. We will accompany Master Corporal Pat'lestia's platoon back to Sah and make certain that the fuel powers Sah's energy cannons. It is all as planned. Do not worry."

"The Anarchists?"

"Haven't moved yet." The colonel sighed. "Don't worry, Jraden. It's all as we planned it. You leave us well-prepared for the final fight. The world will not forget you."

"It doesn't matter. As long as it lives to remember anything." Jraden said, closed his eyes, and accepted his death.

***

Adam Smith wolfed down the loaves of bread given to him. The stew was not half-bad either, and he drank it greedily. The rest of the soldiers laughed, joked, and chatted with one another, but Smith had only eyes for the food before him. It had been days since last he'd eaten. Maybe more, and only the bandits could have possibly known how long. He was not keen on asking, of course. The least he saw of those mongrels, the better.

"Hey." a voice called out from behind.

Adam turned around, and standing there was Russell. He nodded at him and chewed a little faster to be rid of the bread in his mouth.

"Hey, what's up?" he said after swallowing. Russell set down his tray of food next to him and sat down. They were both wearing army garments to replace their tattered clothes. They'd get them back, but most of them had decided to stick with wearing the army fatigues over the burnt, ragged, dirt-stained garments.

"Not much. Just I've got a guard now." he chuckled, and Adam turned to see that it was true. A trooper stood some distance away but kept a close watch on Russell as he ate. The guard was armed and ready to fire, he did not doubt.

It had been a strange ride since the mines. He had been only bothered to produce information that identified him as Army, which was simple enough, and that had been the end of it for him. He was free to roam until they reassigned him to a new unit. The others, however, had a rougher ride. Russell was allowed to roam while under guard, and only because Adam had vouched for him. The others were all confined to a cell, except for Noremac, who was kept in the infirmary until he either died or recovered. Jraden had not been seen.

He and Russell talked a while, mostly wondering about the mines. Russell told him about the othrio, and Adam shared what little he knew. They finished their meal and stood to leave, when an alarm blared from the speakers. Russell and Adam watched as the men around them lost their cheer and groaned while the sound invaded their spare time. The soldiers stood from their tables and rushed from the mess hall.

"What is going on?" Adam asked as best he could over the sound of the speakers. Russell shook his head.

"I don't-" he started to say, but his voice was soon drowned out by the sounds of an encampment readying itself for war.

Still, what caught their eye was a familiar figure, quietly making his way out the back door. Half-opened handcuffs dangled from his left hand, and he held a laser pistol in one hand.

"Is that...?" Russell started.

"...Kelly." Adam muttered, and they both watched as he slid away.

***

"Thanks, Pat!" the first of them said, "Best meal of the year right there, Patty!" went the second, and a third blew a kiss her way before dashing away, laughing as he powered on his laser rifle.

Pat'lestia beamed even as she adjusted the helmet on her head and slapped a new battery onto her rifle. The moon was shining outside and it was refreshingly cool. She was certain it would be a lovely night.

Rushing out of the mess hall, she looked around the encampment. Up on the hills, hidden from sight and easily defendable, the 'tin cans', as the soldiers liked to call the mobile barracks, were near invisible to anyone who couldn't fly, and a few mortars lined up along the ridge with stationary machine guns to protect them turned the entire place into a small fortress.

Pat'lestia reached the clearing between the barracks and the improvised arsenal they kept, and looked around. She checked the charge on her rifle, and smiled— seventy-eight percent. Still in the green.

"Pat! Good God, Pat!" a tiny, shrieking voice squeaked out from somewhere behind her. She turned around with a question in her eyes, and out into view came a short, wobbly boy, still shy of his eighteenth birthday. He was huffing and puffing as he reached her, carrying in his arms her propulsion pack.

"Thanks!" she smiled, "But you have to address me by rank, eh. We're totally in the middle of combat!"

She took the propulsion pack from his trembling hands and chuckled at the terrified expression plastered across his face.

"S-sorry, Master Corp-"

"Just kidding, Carl. Go along now. Find your corporal." she laughed and put on the pack. With a flick of a switch, the thing revved up and came to life with a low growl from its engine. She shot a quick smile at the boy, and then she was off.

The world seemed to shrink as she went up into the air, leaving the earth behind. There were others around her, all up in the sky and aiming down the sights of their weapons. With a press of a small button on the side of her weapon, she brought the earpiece in her helmet to life. Static crackled for a few seconds, but it was mostly audible.

"Popov here, sir. Section one is in the air. Over." she said. The static came back, stronger, for a few seconds, and then it was gone and replaced by a suave and cocky voice.

"Well, hello... -ere, sweet-... -art. How've you... een?"

Pat'lestia rolled her eyes and gave the propulsors another boost to keep her in the air.

"What's the problem, Roger?" she said

“Oh, it’s no-… to worry about. Just a few… -utants. You know, beautiful, the… sual.” There was a brief pause— broken by the rapid reading of several coordinates. Pat’lestia nodded and started on her way.

“Alright. Gotcha. First section moving out.” She signaled her troopers to follow and gave another boost to her propulsors. She flew off into the darkness, trailed by her men, until the position was reached.

It was a barren, desolate piece of land that looked no different than any other. Still, the closer Pat’lestia got, the eerier it became. A sound was coming out of it. From the land itself, it seemed, a high-pitched cry was resonating. It was loud and ululating, like several waves that gently crashed against her. She frowned and hovered over the plot of land for a few seconds, and then she signaled her men to spread out and surround the area, lining up across the perimeter.

She touched land some thirty meters away from the spot and changed the channel of her earpiece with another button on her weapon.

“Eyes open. Spread out and be ready to jump. On my signal, third firing team move in and investigate. Copy?” she said into the earpiece, and several voices replied over the line: ‘affirmative.’

She waited a few seconds before she gave the signal, and then she did. The two men moved in, weapons raised, and approached the center of the location where the noise was coming from. It was pitch black and the Army’s quartermaster in Sah had only issued out six pairs of night vision goggles to each platoon. Pat’s was the lucky section that got to play with them that night.

“Careful, boys.” Pat said as the men drew closer. There was a small circle of stones in the middle of the clearing, and despite the darkness, Pat was sure something was moving within. The soldiers reached it. One of them knelt before it…

“Shit.”

“What’s that, Richard? What is it?” Pat asked into the earpiece, a little louder than she wanted to. The noise came again, louder than before, and the man, Richard, stood up and scratched the side of his helmet.

“Hey, Pat. You know how you’re always playing mom with us?”

“Now's not the time, soldier.” Pat replied. “What is it in there?”

“Ah, au contraire, mademoiselle…” the second man said. “I do consider it is the correct time.”

Pat’lestia frowned and prepared to bark an order into the earpiece once more, when a sound burst forth from the circle of stones. A sound that sent a shiver down her spine.

“Maaaaamaaaaaaaaa!”

***

He had seen them locked away deeper into the tunnels. None of the others knew because he had not told them before. It did not seem to matter at the moment, and when Jraden appeared, he hadn't dared tell him. Only God knew what he would have done, if anything, to the girls.

“It’s not much farther.” he said, smiling down at the young ones that trailed behind him. Twelve frightened, skinny girls that had been kept locked away in the deeper recesses of the mines for a purpose he did not wish to imagine. The girl at the front smiled at him and extended her hand. It was a dirty, scrawny thing with more bone than skin on it. Scabs covered it and it shook slightly. Kuperjanov took it in his own and walked on.

They’d been walking for a while now, the sun glowering at their backs, braving the heat of the desert and the cold nights that came with it. Julius could have been considered mad to go down that path instead of following the Assault Troopers, but he had a certainty tugging at the edge of his mouth that caused him to grin every so often. A feeling that was more than that, and all things considered, was rather a fact.

Their steps led them to the base of a hill where nothing grew and skulls dotted the landscape. The girls huddled close together, but Julius sighed with relief. From where they stood he could see the opening of a great tunnel that led to the innards of the world. He started up the hill, leading the girls, when he felt the one holding his hand yank free.

“I won’t go in there!” she screamed, and Julius could see tears welling up in her eyes. The others were close to tears as well. He couldn't blame them, but the need was dire, and he couldn't risk losing time.

"It's okay." he told them. "No one is going to harm you anymore. I promise. I'll look after you."

The girls looked at him without certainty of anything. They had suffered much and more, Still, under the heat of the desert, they chose to follow him into the darkness.

Julius did not need to walk much further than a few meters shy of the tunnel's entrance before a pair of men approached him. They each held both a spear and a light machine gun, but they kept their distance and did not question Julius as he drew closer.

He finally reached them, and they raised their eyebrows questioningly at him. Tired and covered in dust, Julius Kuperjanov spoke.

"Tell Dingu that Julius Kuperjanov is here." He paused, drew in a deep breath, and steeled himself for what was about to come. "Tell him to make ready for war."

The men smiled.