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, 2068 (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 his officer's openness. The room was more significant than his chambers. It was intentionally designed to prevent loitering within one chamber and production within a chamber if it was worth it. The walls were filled with books, grimoires, codexes, scrolls, and terminals. Decorations from his family line stretched back centuries.

There was a time he had a sizable antikythera mechanism sitting at the center of the room. The device held models of the Goddess Tekali and her children that orbit around her. It was a live animatronic that had the models creep. While most used this device to track where the moons were for religious and calendar reasons, Kallem always enjoyed its mechanics. It is not the device itself but the representation of how the otherworldly bodies orbit their host world precisely and in an orderly fashion. He found it distracting enough to help with deep thinking. More importantly, having 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 as he believed sibling bonding was more critical.

The spot was laid bare as part of his allegiance to The Unity and their state religion, one of the many sacrifices that must be surrendered for what they call a better-changing world. The Katra does not allow room for other beliefs outside their own, so the Priestess forces him to destroy the animatronic. He had always found their fear of the Tekali Goddess strange, as strict loyalty isn't one way. Other regional, tribal-like beliefs follow their path, and their Goddess allows it. However, it was one of many hard choices he had to make on a long list over the years.