Both Ways (20181228)

CH55

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    Nasaug sat quietly as he was jostled around in the back of the truck as the diplomatic mission returned to a newly built AAF base near Molvar. He, Varg, and Tavi sat together in the covered bed of an eight wheel cargo vehicle, nobody said a word. The Shuaran Warrior who had ridden with them to Shuar had remained in the city for it's defense, making the truck bed very spacious, and very lonely. The return journey would obviously be much faster than their arrival, with the truck's wheels driving them along the rocky Shuaran landscape at an impressive fifteen miles an hour. One downside of the speed, however, was the unbearably rough ride.
    The Shuaran roads were little more than rocky ruts formed in the dirt, and were far more accustomed to the lone tauruga rider or thin wheeled wagon. The massive tires of the AAF trucks had no way to use the smoother surface of the tracks, and thus had to settle with driving over them.
    Throughout the drive Nasaug heard a multitude of aircraft pass overhead, from the thudding of the AAF helicopter dual rotors to the roar of fixed wing attack aircraft. Sometimes, by looking out of the uncovered back of the truck, he could see the low flying aircraft laden with bombs, heading to the West where Shuar's great walls held off the Vord onslaught. They never flew East with any.
    After a short three hour journey, the convoy pulled into Camp Molvar. Even after just barely eight hours of existence, it was a fully operational military installation. Camp Molvar was now occupied perhaps a mile radius of the Shuaran plateau, and consisted of hundreds of prefabricated metal buildings, mostly standing only one or two stories high, creating a sea of short steel structures. However, there were dozens of military cargo towers standing out hundreds of feet in the air overlooking the camp and surrounding landscape. Marksman were posted along their roofs and open windows, scanning through their sniper scopes for suspicious activity.
    As they drove slowly through the base, as busy as the one in Alera had been, perhaps even more so. Thousands of AAF soldiers occupied the area, patrolling in small groups of various sizes the streets and alleyways between the structures. Occasionally, Nasaug would spot the occasional group of Shuaran refugees making their way to the soup kitchen for lunch or Narashan warriors reporting for duty in the crowds of soldiers. It was somewhat odd seeing Narashans and Shuarans in such close proximity, especially considering that they weren't fighting each other for once.
    As he watched the Narashans and Shuarans minding themselves, Nasaug reasoned that the AAF was correct in it's estimation that the Canim would be more willing to come together in the presence of a common enemy, at least for now. Of course, only Shuar and Nasaug's own contingent of Warriors had joined the coalition; Narash as a whole remained autonomous, not to mention the other ranges.
    There were six Canim ranges in total. Aside from Shuar and Narash, there were Irgat, Kadan, Maraul, and Rengal, all of whom were now under direct assault from the Vord.
    Geographically, Narash sat latitudinally center in the Canean contenant, directly West of Alera. It's temperate climate had blessed it's land with plentiful deciduous forests, which, complemented by its considerable coastal area, allowed Narah to control the Canea waters with a fleet of sturdy warships. Directly North from Narash lay Shuar, it's borders clear by the foot of the Shuaran Plateau, a bleak, planar, rocky landscape with sudden crevices and cliffs. A massive fjord held it's sole harbor, Molvar, with defenses constructed to protect that valuable assets from the Narashan fleet.
    To the South of Narash sat Kadan, and further South, Rengal. These two smaller realms were almost identical in climate, and together a quarter larger the size of Narash. At one point long ago it had been whole, as a single range. However, a schism between the Ritualists and Warriors caused considerable civil strife, and the range was split in half following a long and dreary civil war, with the Warriors occupying Rengal and Ritualists Kadan. Topographically, they held plentiful meadows and rolling hills, which fostered the growth of dozens of respectable cities. To fuel their economy the two import metals heavily from Shuar, in exchange for food and other agricultural products. Nasaug considered the terrain similar to what he had seen in Western Alera, at Elinarch.
    To the West of Narash was Maraul, it's primary enemy. Maraul occupied a far larger landmass than Narash, but much of it is swamp and marsh, especially it's Eastern and Northern borders with Narash and Shuar. The difficult terrain is one of the main reasons it hasn't been invaded outright previously; it's swamps are hard to navigate, and even harder to survive long enough to do so. Considering it's area, it held far smaller of a population, due to the its isolationist nature and focus on individual self-sufficiency. Most of its inhabitants live either alone in a swamp hut or in small towns erected on wooden stilts. Due to its smaller population and minimal resources, Maraul cannot afford to build and maintain a standing army. Therefore, all of its citizens, male and female, are expected to train in basic soldiering and respond to the call of duty. This allowed Maraul to previously hold its own against mixed forces of Warriors and Raiders. While a Marual Warrior was not as skilled as, say, a Narashan, they were significantly better than a Raider conscript, which would inevitable make up the bulk of an invading force. While the results spoke for themselves on the battlefield, Nasaug knew that on the home front what little production Maraul had would almost certainly grind to a halt. After all, one hundred percent conscription is an interim, and potentially fatal, measure.
    Lastly, there was Irgat. While Maraul occupied much of the Western Coasts of Canea, it did not hold the Southwesternmost tip of the continent where Irgat lay. Irgat was the smallest of the Canim ranges, and one of the most densely populated. Irgat's capital city of the same name sat squarely on the inside of a small mountain range forming a peninsula jutting out of the Southwest corner of the continent. These mountains surrounded it entirely, save for a several large passages that led out to seaports positioned all along the peninsula, and out to the inland area of the continent. Irgat's defenses rival that of Shuar's, and are strategically more valuable due to their concentration around points of entry to the capital. Most would consider Irgat's technically and practically superior to Shuar's, but inferior by virtue due to the spectacle of Shuar's literal enshroudment. And significant bonus to such concentrated defenses was the feat of compartmentalisation. While the outermost gates and walls are impressive, and daunting to any potential invader, it is even more so he would have to fight through several -sometimes dozens- of defenses of equal or even greater fortification.  Irgat also occupies a relatively large area of farmland it managed to cleave off of Rengal and Kadan during their civil war, which now finely supplied its mountainous capital with a second source of food; the first being the ocean around the fortified capital.
    Six ranges, each alike in pride, power, and quite possibly misconstrued belief that they have a fighting chance against the Vord even on their own. Five ranges that have not yet pledged allegiance to a united flag: the Combined Forces of Carna. Four of which would have unknown reactions when given an ultimatum on that topic; Varg more or less would already have Narash in the bag, so to speak. Three diplomats, Tavi, Exek, and Varg, each with their own agenda and objective, and designated to develop the coalition. Two choices for each of the Canim ranges: Join, or be compelled to join. One mission:
   
    Destroy the Vord.