Ak'Aria, Hegemony Entrenchment
Anya Mulo, Konscript Blok 4.7.9
Anya forgot how to fire a rifle.
She learned this as her death bore down on her in the form of Jalaryian infantry; the previous hour or so had been the most high-intensity moments Anya had experienced in her life, and from her position she could act as little more than fodder to stand in front of enemy gunships. She had watched in horror as those in front of her were horrifically cut down and the lines re-shifted to fill the hole the corpse left. Her unwillingness to move had been the only thing keeping her alive, and now there was little she could do to prevent her death as the emotionless husk of a Volossian raised her rifle weakly. The stand-in that served as her new Corekeeper barked some order, but Anya only understood one.
The boom of the powerful rifle made her ears ring and there was a satisfying reverb as the shots continued down the line. They did little to make her feel any better, however. She'd see her whole Blok fire and only make one or two enemy corpses per volley. Why must they fire in this way? Wouldn't it make more sense to fire as they willed? But Anya knew they could not. To fire out of order would require swift and lethal punishment from the Corekeeper, who "thought of the grand scheme of strategy." Sometimes Anya thought of firing out of order, at least only to be killed by someone from the Hegemony, rather than by its enemies.
They were close, now, and Anya knew her dwindling Blok wouldn't last long against their opposition without their trench, which they had apparently been ordered to move out of. She wasn't allowed to question orders, but she had security in her own thoughts, and right now she was thinking the Corekeeper was a traitor.
But then she heard them- the Halfbores. The great Volossian guns. The loud thud made the ground quake and loose sand around her feet jumped to her knees. She didn't see or hear the shell land, but just hearing the terrifying machines made her soon-to-be-death feel meaningful. Form a wall to prevent the enemy from getting to the guns, that was her duty. And she had done her part in full. But why did only one go off? Weren't there more?
She was shoved to the front of the Blok as the man before her crumpled from subsequent shots to the chest. She was ordered to fire her rifle again.
She never heard the other Halfbores.
---
Somewhere in Ak'Aria
Nikodem Ajnacy
Niko was a traitor. One confirmed kill, and it was one of his brothers of the Hegemony. Though to Niko, he no longer belonged to the Hegemony. They would hunt him, but he did not care. He was as good as dead here on Anuria, anyway.
It wasn't his plan to enact any sort of heresy today, but an opportunity presented itself that he knew wouldn't happen again. Earlier in the morning his position had been attacked- when ordered to fire, Niko called the retreat for him and his crew. It took some lying and "explaining"- they were needed elsewhere on a less fortified front, and this attacked seemed such a sure-fire win for the Hegemony that they weren't going to be needed- but they eventually came around. A shame, that they were going to be labelled as traitors as well on Niko's behalf. One of them started to catch on, Niko had to make sure he "accidentally" stumbled under the barrel of the Halfbore as the barrel lowered. The sound and screams still echoed in Niko's mind.
But it was too late to turn back or feel remorse. He was already far away from the battle, travelling with his Halfbore and crew to who knows where. He'd eventually have to explain to his crew- they were the only thing Niko almost cared about anymore, but for now he was more concerned with distancing himself to someplace hidden. He knew there were some canyons off in his current path, and he had deemed that there they could find a nice crevasse or something to park themselves in. From there, he wasn't sure. Maybe he'd take his own life. There's no getting off Anuria, not until you die.
"Ay' Niko, where'd you say we was goin' again?" Asked the new one- the young man that had approached Niko earlier. He was young for a Grenadier, must be strong.
"We're heading back into the canyons some miles away, there'll be a contingent of guards there to escort us the rest of the way."
"And where's the 'rest of the way'."
Niko was quiet for a few moments. No prolific fronts came to mind.
"Didn't say."
The young Grenadier butted the bottom of his shield against the roof of the cabin to the truck he sat atop of. The driver- Hector- cursed at him, but the Grenadier laughed it off. Normally Niko didn't like his crew to ride on top of the Halfbore, even with the cannon down, but he didn't really care now. Didn't care about much anymore.
"Shame about Juri. Of all the ways to die on Anuria."
Juri was the man Niko had shoved under the barrel. Niko gave no reply.
Everyone on the crew was delightfully silent, and remained that way until the sun began to hide behind the dunes. This was the only place Niko was worried about, these dunes that separated his crew from the canyon beyond. Their height and number made it difficult to see one's surroundings, not to mention the hassle of moving a massive Halfbore over them.
With his crew in tow, Niko was nearly out of the dunes after a few hours. The light was waning now and the temperature was steadily dropping. Niko felt the ground shift beneath his feet, and at first he thought he had mindlessly stepped into a sinkhole of some sorts- those were fairly common in Ak'Aria. Hegemony Artillery were probably responsible for making many of them.
Niko leaped back when he realized something was shaping in front of him- coming out of the sands. He hadn't stepped
in something, but rather
on something. Hector hit the bright headlights on the Halfbore and a round of gasps were had as a fatigued artillery contingent tried to become alert. Before them stood some foul fusion of man and machine- a black metal beast of somewhat human form. A voice called out from behind Niko.
"That's the Butcher of Ak'Aria! We're screwed! We are all screwed!"
Niko had walked into an ambush, and he knew it. Within seconds the crew found themselves all at gunpoint, the uniforms baring resemblance to the Höllefeuer Empire, as if the Butcher hadn't given their identity away. Niko felt chills go down his spine just contemplating how
silent they had been. This was no common troop- these men were elite.
One of the Ambushers called out, but the artillery commander was admittedly less-than-fluent in their language. Not that it was difficult to discern what they wanted. Niko linked his hands and placed them over his cap, and getting down on his knees, told his crew to do the same.
With a motion from the Butcher, they all complied.
---
The Blokhouse- Hegemony Headquarters on Anuria
Piotr Kazmerz
"Inquisitor? Since when did Enigma squads get dished Inquisitor work?" Piotr's voiced was firm but not harsh as it echoed in the cold and windowless concrete room. There was but a single table with two chairs- one occupied by Piotr himself, the other by Benji, his "boss", one could say. Enigma squads didn't
technically have leaders, but there was a rough hierarchy most ended up drifting to, and that meant one man or woman often was the one the Hegemony went to to issue orders.
"Since this morning, apparently. What's it matter, Piotr? You're one of the best agents our squad's got, if not
the the best. Besides, there's no debate here. You have your orders, follow through with them."
"And what of Yuri?"
"He's staying here, up North. I've decided to take him into our squad, he makes a good fit. Nice find, by the way."
Piotr nodded in appreciation.
"Anyway, Yuri will have his own assignments but keep in close contact with him. I wanna know how things are going while you're down there. You seem to be more pliable with information towards him, and he seems to trust you. Now, away with you, Piotr. You've a job to do."
--
Inquisitorial work never sit well with Piotr. It was one thing to paint symbols or make elaborate staged battle sites and trenches to go with a propaganda story, but it was another thing entirely to hunt down the unloyal to the Hegemony. He understood well that they could divulge information to the enemy, but weren't they just as likely to be killed anyway? Piotr's orders were to bring the traitor back alive, if possible, but everyone knew that Inquisitors were just glorified assassins. They were told to bring back queries alive, but it wasn't
expected they come back alive.
Piotr shook the thoughts away and ran a hand through his hair; white, though Piotr is young. He needn't dwell too much on these things, Benji was right, he had his orders and he had to follow through with them. However, that meant it was going to be a long, quiet flight.
Ak'Aria. Never thought I'd walk on those bloodied sands.
