The Celestial Way

Chapter 13.2 - Warrior's Way

Instead of starry night, the purple-tinged sky of Terra Para was visible in broad daylight on the ceiling. The crystal orbs were miniature suns and the command room seemed more like a large open terrace rather than a domed chamber. Magus, Mentoria, Lylana, Kiana, and Zuckeroff were already present when Airo and Stamat arrived. Airo approached the wide circular table and commenced the meeting.

"Today I will explain the general strategies we will pursue in the war against Ferrtau," he told the others. "We have three essential objectives. Our first objective is to provide active opposition. Our second objective is to starve the enemy's supply lines. In order to do these, we must know what enemy force we face on a strategic level. How does Ferrtau deploy new Revenant?"

"From the souls of those he kills," Mentoria stated with a bored sigh. "Each victim of the Revenant becomes one more aberration Magus' protege can call upon at will."

Airo nodded, remembering the carnage at Dragon Retreat and how the Revenant had been tearing out the inhabitant's life essences. "So every individual is a potential enemy combatant," he concluded. "This means our top priority will be to evacuate as many unprotected civilians as fast as possible."

"Evacuate people?" Stamat asked, confused. "To where?"

"Here," Airo said, pointing at the floor. "Like you did with the survivors from Dragon Retreat."

"You are talking about hundreds of thousands of people," Mentoria objected. "You cannot seriously expect to house them all here."

"Yes, I am aware of the limitations," Airo replied. "Yet for now this place will suffice, as it is nearly deserted, and if I am not mistaken, its operating capacity is close to six figures." He glanced at the giant Knight elder, Lylana. When she confirmed his claim, Airo continued, "Which brings us to our next objective: providing active opposition. You cannot keep hiding and evading the Revenant as you have done until now. We have to engage them and strike in turn, especially when Ferrtau is out there leading them himself."

"Uh... excuse me, sir," Stamat chimed in, "but is it certain the Lightbringer has taken the field? I mean, you told us he wasn't at the Shard, and we fought him at Dragon Retreat, but what if he really used some sort of image projection, and wasn't present at all?"

"Our expert systems reviewed the battlefield data from Vorzii, Terlokhi," Lylana said severely. "I myself was skeptical, but the analysis confirms it: the Lightbringer indeed was physically present at Dragon Retreat."

"There you have it," Airo added. "Also, do not second-guess my orders in the future. I have no patience for that."

"Uh... sir?"

"What, Knight Stamat?"

"You said we have three objectives, but elaborated only on two."

"Our last objective," Airo said in a calculated tone, "is to raise an effective fighting force. Without sufficient personnel and infrastructure, we will not succeed at the other two objectives. To do so, we need to secure the support of the Consortium and the Union."

"Yeah, and how we'll do it?" Lylana asked, folding her massive arms. "I thought your diplomatic mission to the Consortium was a complete failure. I doubt the Union will receive you any better, Commander."

Airo's lips stretched into a thin smile. "Adaptation, Elder Darkovitz. That is the primary rule of wartime sustainability. If things do not develop as planned, change the active strategy, or reiterate the initial plan. This is an important principle in both psychological warfare and espionage.

"In our case, we will scale down the operation by moving lower on the chain of command, and use field officers to act as intermediaries and double agents. Once we have enough of them, we can influence the entire military structure – or even take it over. We shall win over the Consortium and the Union from the bottom up, by recruiting those directly on the frontlines. And there are few better ways of recruitment than saving one's life."