Chapter 38
"How long will it take to reach our destination?" Lt. Pillar asked, directing his question at the Terra, Beltar.
"On foot, four or five days, give or take. In your machines, I would imagine it would be a day or less. I've heard stories of their impressive speed," Beltar replied.
"If we use Rook transports, we risk losing the element of surprise," Milo remarked.
"At this point, Wilhelm has been several steps ahead of us at all times and given his unique new abilities, I'm not sure we would have that surprise no matter what we do. He always seems to know exactly where we are," King Rowan mused.
He looked at those gathered, trying to assess where their own opinions lie. The group consisted of himself, Milo, Fiona, Pillar, Quint, and Beltar. The rest of his command structure had been obliterated by the Blak Army and their subsequent attacks.
"I am of that mind as well, Sire," Quint responded. "The Blak Army's numbers have grown so large that they are literally crawling over all of Purga. We've been involved in numerous skirmishes with them on our way to find you. They are, at this point, unavoidable. My opinion is that speed is more of a priority than stealth. If we can reach the main body of the Terraquois army within a day, we can strengthen our numbers and our chances for survival."
"I agree. We need to get there before it's too late. Time is not on our side," Fiona replied. As the youngest one present, she realized her opinion carried little weight but she threw it in the mix regardless. She, however, had her own reasons for getting to the fight sooner rather than later. She wanted to find Darvian again. She wanted to rescue him.
"Then it's decided. Create whatever transports we have available. Scavenge for whatever water and food you can find in the jungle before we leave. We need as much as we can possibly gather. Captain, take a contingent of Rooks and Terras. The Terras will be able to help identify edible foods and potable water sources. Milo, you gather whatever engineers we have and create transports that we can use to get to our destination quickly. Fiona, I'll need you to put together a group of sentries to be on watch for any more unwelcome guests. We will leave midday tomorrow so that we have time to gather supplies and create the transports."
Rowan stood and walked away. He went toward his people to give them directions.
Milo got up too and sought out any engineers he could find. There were very little of them but he was sure they'd find a way to get the transports King Rowan demanded.
Quint and Beltar took off with two dozen Rooks and Terras. They disappeared into the denser parts of the jungle.
Fiona found a couple of Imperial Guards, some Infantrymen, and other random Rooks and even two Terras. She had them spread out in a wide circle around the group of refugees and stand watch. So far, however, things were pretty quiet.
**
King Rowan walked around, directing his people for close to thirty minutes. He helped with what he could help with and did what he could. Two Imperial Guards followed him around and kept their eyes glued to their surroundings. They both carried rifles and wore thick body armor. The Imperial Guards left wanted to stay with King Rowan, but he sent a few of them with Fiona to help guard the perimeter. They protested but Rowan overruled them.
He came to a small clear spot and his mechpaks opened. Nanos flew out and created a domed tent. He walked inside and a screen flickered to life. A face appeared on it a few seconds later.
"Good evening, Sire," Dr. Liza Taren said. Behind her was a state-of-the-art lab with several people running around hurriedly. "I've done as you requested and approached Colonel Dare's husband. He and his team think they may have found a way to negate the effects of Wilhelm's power but they won't know for sure unless we can capture someone under his influence."
"I'm afraid there's been a complication in regards to his power. It now appears that Wilhelm controls an unknown type of creature that can turn someone against his or her own people nearly instantaneously. We just encountered them. What effects will that have on the research?" Rowan asked.
"That variable can cause an enormous wrinkle in our plans. Why would Wilhelm resort to these things now? Why wouldn't he continue using the abilities he's already shown?" Liza asked. "A deviation from his previous tactics at this point in his rebellion does not seem practical."
"From what I've seen of these creatures, their control is total. I understand Wilhelm's previous powers were an insinuation of his will over others. The creatures' complete and total control of the person they attach themselves to is different. We are unsure of what they are doing but considering they attach to the base of the neck, I would assume they insert some sort of tendril that attacks the brain stem."
"Are you certain of that?" Liza asked.
"We can't be certain of anything without a living specimen," Rowan replied.
"Can you get one? Preferably still attached to its host and alive?" Liza asked.
"We haven't encountered any other Blak Soldiers recently," Rowan told her. "At the moment, it seems Wilhelm has given up on killing me."
"He must be planning something else. Something extremely worse than what he's put into play so far." Liza mused. There was a look of dread and fear on her face.
"Right now, we need to get our people back. If we can disrupt his power, we can weaken him. We'll find a subject. Be ready," Rowan told her.
"As you wish, Your Majesty," Liza returned before the screen flickered and went black.
Rowan sat on his cot, thinking. His mind went over recent events again and again. Eventually, his thoughts centered on Rone. He spent so much of his life with hatred and anger controlling him and yet Rone was able to look past all that and befriend the Terraquois. He even fought beside them.
Instead of being proud of him, he practically disowned Rone. He felt like such a fool.
Whatever it takes, I'll make things right again, Rowan thought to himself.