“General,” asked the colonel, “when this war is over, the Federation will need loyal people to rule over these new provinces. Has that been discussed at all in Despair?”
General Franz looked at his subordinate with a hint of surprise in his eyes. That very thought had been bouncing around the general’s mind for the last hour, but he was sure that the colonel was asking the question for reasons of his own. He was not about to encourage the young pup to vie for a position that he coveted for himself.
“I am sure that only the most senior officers would be entrusted with such provinces, Colonel, but do not despair. These new lands will open up paths of advancement that young men like yourself could only dream about a few years back. The armies of Zara will have great need for new generals as the Federation grows to encompass both continents.”
Colonel Kerk frowned deeply. He should have suspected that General Franz would want such a rich province for himself, and being the leader of Force Lanoir, he would no doubt be given preference over others. While the general was indicating that Kerk might very well end up with his own army after the war, he would rather remain a colonel in Alcea than be made a general in Zara. There was nothing in the old land that he wanted to return to. Still, there were benefits to being a general.
“My only aspiration is to remain loyal to you, General,” the colonel said with a forced smile. “Were you to become ruler over Lanoir, I would be honored to remain here with you.”
General Franz blinked with genuine surprise. He had known Colonel Kerk to be an aggressive man. In fact, it was one of the traits that Franz admired in the young officer. One had to be aggressive to obtain what he desired.
“You would turn down your own army to remain my colonel?” scoffed General Franz. “I don’t believe that for a moment, Kerk. What devious little plan are you hatching?”
Colonel Kerk reddened slightly at being so transparent. He smiled conspiratorially at the general.
“Were you to properly share in the spoils,” the colonel began, “you should be rewarded according to your station. You are the leader of Force Lanoir and as such, the victory will be yours to claim, but the reward has to be more than just being made the commanding general of Lanoir. You are already that. You should rightfully be made King of Lanoir.”
General Franz laughed. “And you wish to be my commanding general?”
“Who is better suited to serve you loyally?” grinned the colonel. “Would you accept the likes of General Somma?”
The laughter died in the general’s throat at the mention of General Somma.
“That Spinoan coward,” spat General Franz. “I curse Grand General Kyrga for saddling me with him. What did I do to deserve such a fate?”
“It had nothing to do with you,” replied Colonel Kerk. “You gained Somma on your team because you have the upcountry prong of the attack. General Somma is deathly afraid of water.”
“Is that why he is always patrolling deep in the Bloodwood?” questioned General Franz. “Are you sure of this?”
“Positive,” declared the colonel. “I am friends with a colonel in the 16th Corps. He overheard Queen Samir complaining about Somma’s fear of water. She joked about sending Somma out to patrol the Isle of Despair.”
“A fitting punishment for an officer who holds such irrational fears,” spat the general. “You are a fine officer, Kerk. Stay loyal to me. I think you will be happy with the rewards for your loyalty.”
“Speaking of ill winds,” Colonel Kerk said softly as he nodded towards the rear of the column. “You are about to have a visitor.”
General Franz surreptitiously glanced towards the rear of the column. He saw General Somma and Colonel Rotti riding towards him. Without a word to Colonel Kerk, General Franz veered away from the column and rode towards the edge of the Chi River. Colonel Kerk moved out of the column and halted at the side of the road. General Somma rode towards General Franz, but Colonel Rotti halted alongside Colonel Kerk.
“What is going on?” Colonel Rotti asked as the colonels stared towards the river.
Colonel Kerk did not answer right away. He watched as General Somma cautiously approached General Franz. The Baroukan colonel smiled as he watched General Franz guide his horse down the slope of the bank and into the river. The Baroukan general turned and waved to General Somma.
“Come on down, Somma. I wanted to ask you something.”
The Spinoan general halted his horse on the riverbank, a safe distance from the river’s edge. “I will wait until you are done bathing.”
“Don’t be stubborn, Somma,” teased General Franz. “Get down here.”
“He won’t go down there,” Colonel Rotti said softly.
“I know,” grinned Colonel Kerk.
“You know?” gasped Colonel Rotti. “Does General Franz know? Is that the point of this game?”
“Calm down,” soothed Colonel Kerk. “Franz is only having fun with him.”
“It might be fun for you and General Franz,” frowned the Spinoan colonel, “but he is terrorizing General Somma. The general questioned me at length about the size of the Chi River after our journey here last fall. I assured him that it was a large river but that the trail kept well away from it. I can now see that my recollections were faulty.”
“There is nothing wrong with your memory,” replied Colonel Kerk. “The river is much wider than it was in the fall. It must be the spring runoff swelling the river.”
“It is more than that,” Colonel Rotti frowned as he nodded southward. “Coming over the last rise I saw a huge lake downstream. I am sure there was nothing like it last fall. That lake is the very reason General Somma and I rode forward. He wanted to see if he could talk General Franz into altering our route more inland.”
“You should know better than to even suggest such a thing,” replied Colonel Kerk. “This is the only decent road in the area, and we will be dependent on the supply caches to feed the armies. Even if General Franz was wiling to try a different route, he cannot. It’s simply not possible.”
“I didn’t suggest it,” sighed Colonel Rotti, “but Somma will probably say that I did. The truth is, he is petrified. He even avoids the Blood River back home and that is nothing like this one. I do not look forward to spending the next week in his company, and Franz’s humor will not help the situation any.”
With a sudden pang of guilt, Colonel Kerk nodded sympathetically. “Let me see if I can distract Franz long enough to get him out of the river.”
* * * *
General Fortella stood in a barn outside of Mya as the soldiers of the 2nd Corps of the Empire of Barouk raced through the portal. The soldiers suddenly stopped coming through the portal and the general eagerly watched the door. He smiled as his large black stallion was guided through the portal and led towards him. Almost immediately the race of soldiers through the portal resumed. General Fortella mounted his horse and rode out of the barn. Once outside in the morning sunshine, he paused to glance around and get his bearings. He had memorized the maps of Alcea and the sketches drawn by Tauman’s men, and he knew exactly where he was.
The Baroukan general spurred his horse to action and galloped across the fields to where Colonel Tamora was forming the army. The general did not interrupt as the colonel issued commands. He sat observing his men until the colonel was done. Colonel Tamora sensed the general behind him and turned when he was done.
“Any problems?” asked the general.
“None,” reported the colonel. “We should have a report back soon regarding the first day’s cache. Once we have that confirmation, the entire army will move past the rendezvous point. I am heading there now. Will you ride with me, or should I assemble a separate protection detail for you?”
“Let us ride together,” answered General Fortella. “I am anxious to see this Targa that we have been hearing so much about.”
A squad of soldiers formed around the two officers, and the group rode off to the east. Twenty minutes later they came to a group of cavalry standing in the middle of the Mya-Tagaret Road. The cavalry patches were a mixture of the Baroukan 2nd Corps and the Aertan 24th Corps. General Fortella spotted General Whitman and he rode towards the Aertan general.