Lanna's War

62

Temp retired to his bedroom chamber for several hours. After a brief rest he sat up in his bed to readjust to reality. He stood up and let the blanket slip off him as he walked across the room. He placed his palms on both sides of a window frame and looked down at the jagged mountain peaks piercing through the mist.

    "Do you always do that without clothes on?" a voice from behind said. He turned his broad shoulders away from the window. On his right shoulder blade was a detailed tattoo of a black dragon poised to attack.

Narcene Lang had woken and sat upright. Her lower half was beneath the covers, unlike her bare upper half. She gazed at him with a lustful stare.

    "You've broken my concentration." He said.

    "I'm sorry." Narcene replied unapologetically. "You're difficult to ignore." Temp analyzed her calmly but chose not to reply. He walked toward a closet on the left side of the room.

    "Where are you going?"

    "I should return to work." He said as he opened the closet. It was full of an assortment of uniforms and other attire. He chose a crisp, white shirt and pulled it over his back. "Will you be returning to your father to continue your research?" He asked.

    "Yes. Later this morning."

    "Good." Temp said as he fastened his navy-blue uniform coat. "I'm very interested to see your findings. Take the stealth ship for now. Perhaps it will be of some use." He added. Narcene rose from the bed and walked to Temp. She reached past him and picked his silver chain from of a velvet stand inside the closet. She draped it over his shoulders and centred the circular pendant to his sternum. The pendant portrayed a starburst with a closed first in the centre.

"Congratulations on your victory last night." She said as she finished.

"We're not done yet." Temp replied.

"Still, you dealt a serious blow to the rebels."

"Hmm." Temp made a noise inside his mouth.

"I have to ask, how did you sneak your army into Last Fjord so successfully?"

"Most Lunarian ships can't fly through heavy thunderstorms, and they were too preoccupied during the bombardment to detect us coming. The attack was always going to coincide with storm season, but your father convinced us to accelerate our plans to focus on your retrieval." Temp said as he finished buttoning his cuffs. "Now I need you to find that particle as soon as possible."

    "And your wish will be my command. But, I have other matters to attend to as well."

    "Your husband."

    "That's right." 

    "What are the matters that you have to attend to with your husband?"

    "His betrayal. My father wants to have him executed." She said. Temp was conflicted.

    "I have to admit, his sentence comes across as a little- barbaric. Send him to a penal colony." 

    "He was captured with the enemy."

    "It's not unprecedented to spare a spouse their life in these circumstances."

    "He was caught firing on my father's forces." Temp smirked.

    "Your father's forces." He mocked. Narcene gave him a mild glare. 

    "Why do you care about my husband's life so much?"

    "I don't care about your husbands life. But it's more appropriate to send a family member who has committed crimes of this type to a colony as opposed to death. He'll clean up dead Blight in eradicated Viiridan cities, anyway. That'll eventually kill him."

    "So? What's the difference, then?" Narcene turned and walked away from him. She began to dress.

    "We're Atrayeans, not cold blooded murderers like the Lunarians, or Viiridans. We have restraint, order and compassion. We're more civilized."

    "Then you can come with me and pardon him yourself." Temp laughed again. 

    "I've got two continents to reclaim. I have to ask though, out of shear curiosity, why must he die?" Narcene stared at the floor for a moment.

    "I hate everything about him. He's weak, dull, and stupid. The only thing he knows how to do is farm work, and four years into this war my father's people can perform his tasks almost as good as he can. It's pathetic. He's served his purpose, and until he's gone he's a rotten sore on my life. And then I'll to kill his sister." Narcene had finished dressing in her brand new captain's uniform. It was half as ornate as Temp's, but the gold stitching around the collar and cuffs shone with luster. She scanned herself in a mirror and placed her hair into a tight bun. 

    "She's the rebel lieutenant." Temp said as he watched her. He somehow found her more attractive dressed in uniform. He felt like seducing her again.

    "She is. She is what Bryce would have become had we not saved him from his father's lies. I will stop her, and utterly destroy her." 

    Temp made a noise through his mouth. 

    Governor Temp, this is Emerate. Please respond.

    Temp walked over to a control panel. "What is it?" He replied.

    "Major Adams has reported that the army broke through the rebel frontier line with scattered resistance. All remaining anti-aircraft cannons have been destroyed or rendered useless. He wants to demand the surrender of General Haste, the rebel army general stationed in Coulee Town."

    "No, not yet. Signal the Tirpitz. Initiate phase-two of Operation Wildfire."

    Narcene walked to the entrance of Temp's suite.

    "Where do you think you're going? I haven't given you permission to leave yet." He said. Narcene smiled in the corner of her mouth and walked back to him.