Ad Astra - The Alagore War

AA V2 Assiaya, Chapter 9

"Actual, this is Phantom, Minutemen Recon Team," - Staff Sergeant Gabriel

"Phantom, this is Actual. We copy," - Minutemen Actual

"We have spotted Verliance Aristocracy forces leaving the town called Iriskia and heading south. We are unable to confirm the exact number but believe it is a battalion strength." - Staff Sergeant Gabriel

"We copy. Are they widening their containment or assaulting?" - Minutemen Actual

"We believe they are preparing to assault our forces within the Hiplose Forest based on the equipment they are carrying. Limited walkers and crawlers," - Staff Sergeant Gabriel

"Roger. Actual believes they are swinging down to cut off our Combat Fire Teams operating behind hostile lines and lock us down at Salva," - Minutemen Actual

"Roger. Orders?"

"Standbye.... Orders directly from the Colonel. Readjust the position east of Iriskia to spot additional reinforcement. If possible, maintain communications with Comanche, Ghost, Razorfist, and Redcoat. 5th Rangers are mobilizing to launch a counterattack against the Battalion to widen our perimeter." - Minutemen Actual

March 11th, 2069 (Military Calendar)

Fortress city of Forlace, Verliance Aristocracy

Nevali Region, Aldrida, Alagore

*****

Reflecting on the day's transgressions, Kallem sat in his oversized leather chair, staring at the openness of his office. The room was larger than his chambers, intentionally designed to prevent loitering and provide enough space for production when necessary. The walls were filled with books, grimoires, codices, scrolls, and terminals. Decorations from his family line stretched back centuries.

There was a time when he had a sizable Antikythera mechanism sitting at the center of the room. The device held models of the Goddess Tekali and her children orbiting around her. It was a live animatronic, with the models constantly moving. While most used the device to track the positions of the moons for religious and calendar purposes, Kallem always enjoyed its mechanics. It was not the device itself, but the representation of how the otherworldly bodies orbited their host world precisely and in an orderly fashion. He found it distracting enough to help with deep thinking. More importantly, he had fond memories of spending time with his children as they played and learned from such a mechanism.

He recalled a time when his son, Ere-hian, broke the device. The boy's sister, Ornnallia, covered the damage by getting some Motuias engineers to repair it. He had always known about the incident, as Roath never kept secrets from him. Still, he decided not to do anything, believing sibling bonding was more important.

The spot was laid bare as part of his allegiance to the Unity and their state religion, one of the many sacrifices that had to be made for what they called a better, changing world. The Katra did not allow room for beliefs other than its own, so the Priestess had forced him to destroy the animatronic. He had always found their fear of the Tekali Goddess strange, as strict loyalty was not the only way. Other regional, tribal-like beliefs followed their own paths, and their goddesses allowed it. However, it was one of many hard choices he had to make on a long list over the years.