"To the victor goes the spoils." -- Traditional military adage "The biggest spoil is history." -- Commander Aisha Nevenheim after the final victory over Tir Eselyn ---------- Water Dragon Productions and Rocketarian Pictures presents in association with Improfanfic [*] Suikoden: Distant Shores by Illyria and Todd Harper [*] Part 4: Tarnished Reflections by K. Jeffery Petersen ---------- Adele scraped her fingernail along the mortar between the bricks next to her bed. Little flecks of grey sprinkled down in an intermittent cascade to disappear in a crack between the bed and the wall. The falling specks captivated her attention to the point where her finger moved reflexively back and forth to drag out more of the mortar. By the time a knock on the door gave her a start, she had dug a hole almost half an inch deep between two of the bricks. She jumped to her feet and swallowed once. Her finger quavered in front of her vision and she stared at it for a moment and wondered if she should cut it off for betraying her. A second knock at the door broke her out of her reverie. "Miss?" a voice from the other side called. "Is everything well? I've brought up your food, as you did not appear in the commissary to sup." Setting her shoulders back, Adele stepped sharply to the door of her room and opened it. An attendant, non-military it seemed, stood there crisply at attention, holding out a platter of food. "Is every--" he started. "I am fine," she interrupted. "Very good." He proferred the platter. "Would you like to sup here, miss?" She caught a whiff of the food beneath the platter and her mouth started to water, but she held herself firm. "That would be fine," she answered, and carefully took the platter from him. The attendant nodded and pulled the door shut. Adele waited until his footsteps faded, then rushed to place the platter on the small table. She pulled up a chair and sat down, running her tongue along her top lip in anticipation. She removed the cover and inhaled the aroma of the freshly heated meats and vegetables. It had been a day and a half since she arrived in the capital. She still felt that intense hunger for real food that she had before sitting down for her first meal upon arrival. It was right and proper food, far better than the slop she had eaten at the academy. She wondered how she had ever survived there. But now... Now she was in the capital, where she belonged. Now she could eat the foods that she deserved and they would never, ever end. The corners of her mouth tightened upwards as she cut off a chunk of beef and placed it in her mouth. She was a hero, now. This was what heroes deserved, wasn't it? She wondered when her debriefing would happen. In some part of her mind, she felt it vital that she pass on the information she had about the attack on Barstow. The captain of the guard patrol that had picked her up seemed to think it more important than any particular thing that she had done during the attack. Until they called her, however, she would have to wait. She could hardly raise a ruckus over not being seen more promptly. Malespoirs were never impatient. [*] Her debriefing came the next day, during a lull period between breakfast and lunch. To Adele's chagrin she was interviewed by a lowly officer. A lieutenant, actually. Adele imagined that in a few short years she would be far above this man in the power structure, but she withstood the three hours of droning questions from him because of the rightness and sense of doing her duty. Afterwards, she could not quite rightly remember what it was he had asked her about, or what she had answered. It had all seemed very trivial and inconsequential. Why weren't they interested in how her unit had been accosted by hordes of brigands and how she had valiantly fought against them, but had been forced to retreat? Why didn't they see that she had risked life and limb to bring this information to the capital? Adele sat in her room later that day and pondered what had happened to Tavia and Lierni. They were probably dead, by now. A pity, really; they had been nice enough friends. If only they had been more skilled soldiers. She reasoned that if the other two girls had fought better, they would have been able to at least manage to escape themselves, if not manage to defeat the bandits entirely. That would have been a much more glorious entrance to the capital. Three great heroes of war, having turned the tide against the forces of evil from the south. As good as her effort to bring word of the enemy had been, it would have been far better to bring word that the enemy was defeated. No matter. Adele decided that she would still defeat the invaders... somehow. [*] She made attempts to inquire where her new position would be over the course of the next 24 hours. She first made her way to the ask where the commander on station would be. This brought her to the office of the dormitory in which she was staying. The landlady there was very polite, but unfortunately did not know anything about military matters at all, and had agreed to take up the young miss as a favor to the government in these troubling times. Would the young miss like a cup of tea before she went out for the day? Subsequent attempts to find anything out led Adele to the local commander's office, where she was met and blocked by a clerk. The sergeant was quite surprised by her questions, but said that without an appointment she could not see the commander. He suggested that she go and see if the Lindael City Watch could help her. Adele wasn't sure what the watch would be able to do for her, but lacking any other destination, lacking any other destination, she set out for their headquarters. The city watch headquarters were manned by a single guard. He was similarly confused as to why Adele had been sent to the watch, and suggested that she check out the local garrison. The local garrison was unmanned. Adele waited an hour until a small contingent returned. The sergeant in charge of the squad informed her that his immediate superior would be back from lunch shortly. Adele continued to wait, but it was almost another hour before the lieutenant returned, slightly inebriated, from lunch. Despite his attempts to focus on what she was saying, she had to repeat many things two or three or four times over for him to get through to him. After a grueling conversation of 20 minutes, they eventually arrived back at the beginning when the Lieutenant asked, "So what do you want, exactly?" Adele did not get angry. Malespoirs did not storm out in frustration. She thanked him for his time, made a mental note to report the lieutenant to his superior, if she could find that person, and left to figure out her next move. Her further attempts to find any answers were equally futile. Most of the places she checked either had no time for her or did not understand her. Only once was she recognized, and she was informed that her debriefing had taken place the previous day. If she had any questions, they would best be referred to her debriefing officer. She should return to her unit within a week, however, because of the war effort. And so, hours later, feet as sore as they had been when she had been on the road, Adele Malespoir realized that some things could not be surmounted in a single day. She opted to return to the dormitory for the evening so she could plan out the next day. She needed a strategy to beat the bureaucracy. [*] Adele was woken by the pounding on her door. She sat up in her bed with a gasp and looked around, her heart beating in fear. Had they found her? She'd run as fast and as far as she could! They couldn't still be chasing her. It had been days. Was it Tavia and Lierni? She was sorry for leaving them, she honestly was-- The sun was fairly high in the sky, streaming through the window to alight on her face. An instinctive gulp forced its way through her throat. Slowly, her ragged breathing slowed down enough for her to take in her surroundings. She was in Lindael, in the dormitory room they had lent her. The pounding on the door commenced again, causing her to jump slightly. "Who is it?" she asked. "We've come for your debriefing, Cadet Malespoir," a husky female voice answered from the other side. "Are you decent?" Debriefing? Again? What was this about? But Adele didn't ask the questions aloud, instead hurrying to put on her uniform and try to brush her auburn hair into some semblance of order. To her credit, the visitor waited patiently for the few minutes it took Adele to get ready. She opened the door, fully prepared to launch into a barrage of questions pertaining to why she hadn't been fully debriefed before, or at least been informed that her first debriefing had merely been an initial one. All her words caught in her throat when she opened the door and her eyes were immediately captivated by the crisp whiteness of the woman's uniform. It was glaring to her eyes, especially against the backdrop of black soldier's uniforms arrayed behind it. Adele's eyes dropped to the floor and met the gleaming black calf- high boots of the uniform. She traced her view up, taking in the crisp presses of the pants and the smart black stripe that ran down the side seams of the legs. She saw that these matched the stripes along the arms of the uniform, which terminated in supple black leather gloves. The jacket was rather dissimilar from Adele's own, lacking the golden roped epaulets and fitting slightly tighter around the waist. Instead of hanging down over the belt, it came up to a slight 'V' across the woman's stomach, which was mirrored by small tails in the rear. Four black buttons along the left side held the front closed. Her shoulders had simple red chevron epaulets, with no decoration, but that was constrasted strongly by other adornments. On the breast were four full rows of medal ribbons, a strong testament to her exploits in battle. And along the outside of her collar were a series of slanted red bars - five of them. The woman's blond hair was drawn back into a high ponytail, but short bangs hung down over her forehead. Along with the pleasant, almost kindly, smile on the woman's lips and the soft glint to her eyes, she looked barely older than Adele herself. Adele had thought that she would be taller, though, realizing the woman sacrificed a couple inches to her. Almost immediately, this struck her as an odd thought to have. "Hello, Adele," the woman said. "I'm Aisha Nevenheim. They didn't tell us who it was who had escaped from Heimdall. I apologize for not getting to you sooner." Adele opened her mouth, then shut it, fearing that she would stutter her words. Malespoirs did not stutter. Instead she brought herself to attention and performed a crisp salute. "General Nevenheim, ma'am, Cadet Malespoir reporting." The general gave her a slight smile of amusement. "Yes, apparently so. We should be off, then. The others won't appreciate it if I keep them waiting." Adele fell into step just a hair behind General Nevenheim and the other soldiers - 16 of them, Adele counted - followed in formation. What others? she wondered. "I knew your uncle," Aisha said conversationally as they walked. "Excellent commander. I consider him my mentor in a sense." She fell into silence, and Adele almost opened her mouth to say something, but then the General continued, "I'm sorry he died in the fighting." She turned her head towards Adele and gave her a sad smile. "He'd probably have this position instead of me if he hadn't." Adele didn't know how to answer that. She cast her eyes around, searching for something else to talk about. "I notice the General isn't wearing a weapon," she blurted. General Nevenheim's eyes widened in shock. She opened her mouth and cocked her head to the side. Adele could see her eyes flicking back and forth in thought. She steeled herself for the lashing she was sure would come, but did not offer an apology for her words. The general laughed. Adele faltered half a step at the sound, nearly tripping up the soldier behind her. She quickly regained her step next to the general. "Oh, that's very good, Adele," General Nevenheim said. "Very observant of you." Adele could not tell if the general was patronizing her, but kept her mouth shut. "It's true that I'm not carrying a weapon. I honestly haven't needed one in quite some time." The general shot a glance at Adele in such a way that she was sure a question was invited. "Is it because they protect you?" She twitched her head back to regard the soldiers silently following them in perfect formation. "That's part of it, yes." If the general caught the derisiveness of Adele's question, she gave no hint. "However, ah..." The general stopped. "Here, let me show you." "Show me...?" "Take out your sword and attack me." "Ma'am?" Adele could not believe she was hearing this. "You won't hurt me, Adele. I trust you on that. If it makes you feel better, you may keep the scabbard on." "But, ma'am, I really don't think--" "Do it, Adele," the general interrupted. When the girl did not comply, her voice dropped to a more steely tone. "It's an order, cadet. Pull out your sword and attack me." Reluctantly, Adele pulled out her sabre, scabbard and all, and held it in front of her in an offensive stance. "Very good form, Adele. Attack." She tightened her grip on the hilt just slightly, turning the point a quarter turn. An intake of breath, and she charged. Her feet slid forward, staying low to the ground. The point of the scabbard aimed towards the general's shoulder, but at the last moment, she twitched her wrist turning it into a slash to decapitate her opponent. Or would have, if not for the scabbard. And the fact that General Nevenheim was no longer there. She felt a slight tap on her back, which sent her smooth motion forward into an ungainly stumbling gait. She dug her feet into the ground and forced her body to turn. A bend of her knees to lower her center of gravity, and her balance was restored. Then she charged again. This time Adele did not even have the chance to try a feint. The general popped away from her attack and slid inside her sword-arm. Adele felt the general's shoulder drive into her gut, and then she was flying. Flying, then falling. She landed on the ground with such force that the wind was driven out of her. Coughing, she blinked her eyes to clear them. When they refocused, she saw General Nevenheim standing above her, holding her own family sabre, steady and ready to drive it through her throat. Scabbard or not, such a strike would kill her. "I yield," she said weakly. She had not even felt the weapon leave her hand. The general smiled and drew the sabre away, proffering a hand to help Adele up. She ignored it, choosing instead to shakily get to her feet. She wiped the dust from her uniform while she caught her breath. "You see?" General Nevenheim asked, holding out her sabre by the scabbard. Adele took the weapon from her and strapped it back onto her hip. "You don't need a weapon," Adele said. "I don't need one, but if I was heading into battle, you can be sure I'd have my sword. Here, however--" She gestured wide to take in the capital city. "--I do not need it." She glanced back at the soldiers, waiting stoicly behind the pair. "We must hurry, however. I fear the others will not be happy with me." [*] Adele resisted the urge to twiddle her fingers. Malespoirs did not fidgit. She wondered why they asked her so few questions. It was her debriefing, after all. But every time they did and she said a sentence or two, they would start discussing again, then debating, then arguing. It was a wonder that the five Governors of Heresha got anything done. "So, why aren't you mobilizing your people, Aisha?" Harran Evenweir, the Governor of Monies, asked. "It should not be hard for the army to march down there, take care of a few bandits, and then march victoriously home." Evenweir was dressed in silks and sitting comfortably in his high backed chair. To Adele, he reeked of mercantile corruption. She doubted he had ever needed to fight for anything in his life, nor wanted for anything. Still, she found herself agreeing with the man. General Nevenheim spared him a glance, looking up from the myriad papers arrayed in front of her. "It would be folly to march against an unknown foe, Evenweir. Or would you prefer to use all of the coffers to pay for more and more men fighting a fool's war?" Evenweir's jowls tightened up and he narrowed his eyes. Creases appeared in the fatty skin of his temples showing his anger, but he did not retort. "Something must be done, though," Professor Serre, the Governor of Laws, said quietly. She was a thin, angular woman who looked to be at least twice General Nevenheim's age. Her hair was bound up in a tight bun and she peered out at everyone through small spectacles seated at the end of her long nose. "You can hardly expect to keep the peace if people see brigands and such romping freely around the countryside, taking what they please." "First, I think we should find out more about the situation," the general waved a hand to indicate Adele. "Continue with your report, Cadet. You said that you had managed to sneak out of Heimdall and were moving to have a look at the bandits?" "Yes, ma'am. I felt that it would be best to get a sense of what forces were against us. Even if we could not fight them, we could get intel for a report to a higher command. We hid in the cornfields on the outskirts of town and worked our way closer to the bandits. I saw that there were too many for us to overcome, so I was ready to order a retreat..." She paused to collect her thoughts. "I hear a 'but' there, Cadet." Jasin Shaendra, Governor of Religion, had been quiet throughout most of the proceedings. He had not blinked once, always staring at her. Adele did not feel insignificant under his eyes, though, or even uneasy. "Yes, Governor. I would have given the order, and I believe my unit would have been able to get away quickly, only Lierni - er, Cadet Totorika - had readied a spell, and could not dispell it." "And you didn't order her to ready that spell?" Evenweir asked. Adele hesitated a moment before answering. "No, Governor. I did not." General Nevenheim sat back in her chair and stretched her arms up above her head. All the others at the table turned towards her. "Sorry, Adele," she said. "Please continue." "Since she had to let the spell go, I ordered her to try and take out as many bandits as possible. After that, we had to fight them in order to get away. I ordered my unit to retreat, and chose to serve as a distraction, myself. They disobeyed, however, insisting to fight by my side." "That sounds noble and brave," Lukas Harfeld, Governor of Agriculture, said. He was a homely man, almost non-descript. Compared to the other four Governors he seemed to blend into the background. "Don't be stupid, Lukas," Evenweir snapped. "It's evident that these cadets didn't learn any discipline. Isn't a soldier supposed to be obedient?" He looked pointedly towards General Nevenheim, but she did not rise to the bait. "It is a minor point," Professor Serre said eventually. "For now we must assess how damaging this banditry problem is." "The common people will worry that the gods have forsaken them," Shaendra said. "At the very least, we must send out peaceful emissaries to help them through these troubled times." Evenweir stroked his fat chin thoughtfully. "Even more important is that we need to make sure that lines of commerce stay open. If our goods from the south can't get through, then there's no telling how much could happen. Lukas, how bad is it for the farmers?" "What?" The Governor of Agriculture blinked. "What do you mean?" "What do you think I mean?" Evenweir rolled his eyes. "How many have died? How many fields have they burned? Will we have to start rationing crops from the eastern farms?" "Well, none, I think," Harfeld answered quietly. "No--none? That's impossible!" Harfeld shrugged. "I've got a message from the south just today. The bandits have taken some crops, but they've left the farmlands alone, mostly. Fight them off and we'll have it back, I guess." General Nevenheim coughed. "We can discuss this in a moment. Did you have anything else to add, Cadet?" Adele shrugged. "We tried to fight the bandits off, but they were too much for the three of us. Cadets Totorika and Reinschild repeatedly ignored my orders for them to retreat, and eventually we were overcome. I continued fighting, and eventually managed to escape." "Is that everything?" the general asked. "To the best of my memory, General." "Good." General Nevenheim gestured towards someone behind Adele. "Commander, if you would please escort Lieutenant Malespoir to her new quarters and get her situated with the quartermaster." "Yes, ma'am." An officer with blue striping on his collar stepped to attention next to Adele. "Thank you, Lieutenant," the general said to Adele. "This is my aide, Commander Davon. He'll help you get situated and and answer any questions you might have for the next few days until you're connected with your new unit. Good day." Adele blinked in surprise. She opened her mouth, but could not force a sound out. Instead, she came sharply to attention and delivered a crisp salute. "Ma'am," she said, finding her voice. She executed an about- face, and followed Commander Davon out. "You can walk next to me, Adele," he said after they had left the room and started down the corridor towards the exit. "Uhh... Yes, sir." She picked up her pace for a few steps until she came abreast with the man. He was tall and thin, with a small mat of unruly black hair cropped closely to his head. "I think the general has taken a liking to you," he said after a few minutes, breaking the repetitive clicking of their shoes on the stone floors. "You're a Malespoir, aren't you? One might say military duty is in your blood." "Sir," she agreed, not sure how to answer otherwise. "I can't say I've had the honor of knowing anyone in your family. A pity, really, the general has talked very much of your... uncle, was it?" "Yes, sir. She served under him ten years ago, until he died." "Tragic loss, really. I hope your family has taken it well." "I was quite young, sir, I don't really remember him," Adele said. "We grieved, but life moves on, and Malepoirs do not dwell on the past." "Excellent philosophy." Davon paused, then said more quietly, "You know, Adele, I think that despite our relative ranks, there is much I could learn from you." "Sir?" She looked at him in confusion. "I am the first of my family to enter service. I would like to learn more. Traditions, history and the like." "I will do my best to help you, sir." He smiled. "Thank you, Adele." [To be continued] [*] Notes: Thanks to Stephica, Todd, and Kate for pre-reading, and to Illyria for helping on some ideas.