A Dance of Two Worlds

The Meeting

Chapter Forty-Nine

The Meeting

Fear has a much everlasting impact on people's minds than all the acts of nobility

Aden

6L 1/1/1/7

"That was one hell of an attempt to wipe out all the opponents in a single blow."

Joseph said with a roll of his eyes. All the prominent members of the United Force, an amalgam of David's army and John's supporters, had assembled in the courtyard of Paul's burnt house.

"Where did all that fuel come from?" David asked John.

"Agar lies very close to one of the oil fields which once catered to the fuel needs of this world. There are a couple of defunct refineries nearby. Agar prospered mostly due to these refineries. Once we switched to Star-Rocks as our primary fuel, the refineries were shut down. But still, hundreds of barrels of nift lie there unattended."

"And somebody decided to put that useless fuel to some good use," James quipped. "Did you find out who leaked the oil?"

James shook his head. "There are thousands of people here who don't belong to this town. It is difficult to ascertain who is on our side and who is not. But one thing is clear that our enemy is keeping a close eye on us and won't deter from trying out hideous tactics to wipe us out."

James saw the lighter side of things. "That would have been such a distasteful way to die. I mean who gets killed by burning water? When I meet Marcus I'm surely going to ask him from where does he gets such innovative ideas?"

"Can't expect anything better from a person who allegedly strangulated his father in his sleep," David said. "We must get moving. The enemy might have got the news that we survived this attempted massacre. We don't want to give him too much time to further strengthen his defenses."

"How many troops does he have inside Aurae?" Jennifer asked.

"Seven thousand latest recruits. Four thousand old recruits who returned from Elisium during the last Crossing, have all been called back on duty. There are around one thousand Resident Guards of Aurae. Furthermore, in these so-called turbulent times, Marcus has passed an order that all those retired soldiers, who are still fit enough to fight, must rejoin the army to defend their city against the Rebels. Though not many people voluntarily signed up for this cause, about three thousand or so were forced to do so."

David quickly made the calculations. "That is fifteen thousand. After leaving just about enough men to look after the captured base in Elisium, we were able to bring eight thousand soldiers. We are still outnumbered two to one."

"We have many others." Joseph hinted towards something.

David rejected his proposal. "They are here for other reasons. As decided before, civilians are not be used in combats."

"I can provide you with a couple of thousand retired personnel of Aden's army. They have served in your world and now are ready to fight on your side." John reminded them about his supporters.

Shaun diverted their attention towards another problem. "Apart from the extra men, they have secured walls and heavy fortification all around Aurae. They have spent a fortune in the last seven years to secure that city."

Arnold came up with an idea. "We can try the tactics we used in Elisium. Sneaking under their defenses and catching them by surprise. If the two worlds are indeed identical, that option should be open here as well."

"When we attacked the Ruins, that was an army base, with no commoners within the range. We try something like that in Aurae, with their whole army present there, and hundreds of thousand people residing within those walls, that will lead to a bloodbath. Thousands of unsuspecting people will be in danger." David dismissed that plan of action