Dawn rose upon the nds of Atntis waking tired souls that already experienced a very long night. Stationed between Skoupa and Kapni, the South Gate soldiers took up camp. Still only light in he ranks slowly swelled in the m as messages reached further away troops. The main garrison of troops at the South Gate still had half a day to reach the base and the outer stationed soldiers even longer.

  Late in the night after assessing damage and strength, Simonides ordered messages sent out to his entire division to mobilize. He had uimated the strength and power of the invaders, figuring on only one small battalion to deal with the threat after the initial search party failed. Two failures ged his view. They already peed further than thought possible. The invaders would face the full weight of the South Gate Division.

  Sihe m finally came, one new duty befell Simohat he didn’t look forward to handling. He made no outward show of it to his men, but it ed him. Failures happened as expected, however correg mistakes happened quickly. With how far the intruders made it so far, they wouldn’t be pleased. The as he took wouldn’t set well either. He was no more pleased than his superior would be, but he couldn’t have pnned for such powerful oppos. Hopefully, they uood it as well. Pying politics wasn’t his strength.

  Simorode through the camp, still ing together. It only began to be set up a few ho as uninjured men arrived. All of the men in his squad remained uo do much more thao recover from injuries. Eusebios spent the remaining hours of night healing any damage they took, but fatigue and exhaustion, naturally, couldn’t be returned. He expected them to be ready to move out when he gave them the order. They waheir ce at settling the score as much as him.

  Arriving at a rge tent, he motioo the White at the flips. “unication Field. Link into the lines so I speak with and.” The man straightened up a little, ing to attention aowledging the request. Rippling at the man’s feet was the st thing Simonides caught before passing through the tent flips.

  He took up a seat at a simple wooden table that held a couple metal boxes and a smooth circur disbsp; No wires raween the devices, but lights began to fsh signaling power beio them. Simoill had to wait for the lio be established.

  All through the ground wires ran to all ers of Atntis. The military unication line and emergency line made use of advaeology pared to the rest of the nd. At the time, it was more advahaside world, but it had since caught up to them. But uhe rest of the world, it remained inactive and inaccessible by normal means. The lines required the use of a Meso Presecho to ect to it, granting security and ensuring the public didn’t actally use it. In fact, most of the publiew nothing about it.

  Leaning in the chair produced a creak of old joints rarely used. Dust still settled out from the cloth of the tent that hadn’t seen use in decades. The only thing that kept it iher than burned was the quality of its make. It gave an annoying remainder of how much they fell into pcy with only routis popping up. No one prepared for anything such as this to occur. Simonides hated the feeling of unpreparedness.

  Chapter 111 – Boiling Turmoil

  Ohe line finished eg and someone oher end accepted the call, the dis the table began to glow. Particles of light streamed up from the disc reag a quarter of a meter i before casg down. The effect created a fountain like surface tieal. A shape formed in the fountain taking on the appearance of Simonides’ superior.

  Simoiffened a little trying to withhold his surprise of eared before him. “General Alexander!” He expected to be addressing one of the Majors or a el statio and rather than the General himself.

  The projected head and neck of Demosthenes gave a polite knowing little grin. Age gave him crity and keener sight into reading others. “o be so surprised, Captain.”

  “…yes, sir...” He never knew pletely how to be around the General. The aging man dispyed many differeions and personalities almost as though calling upon what was needed for the occasion. It always left him feeling like he ying catch up to maintain the pace the ma for the room.

  “Your message sent in from the emergency line caused quite a stir. sidering the nature of your report I wao hear this personally.”

  The grave serious tone breaking into his words weighed on Simohe importance of what he said. “As stated in the message there has been an incursion at the South Gate barrier. Our first attempt to capture and release failed at the barrier. More than thirty of my soldiers were knocked out in a matter of moments.”

  Not even a twitch of an eyebrow came from Demosthenes. “They were not incapacitated by the barrier?”

  “ive, sir. Initial reports suggest that it had no effe them.”

  “Troubling news, indeed. You have renewed your search for them?”

  “Once I arrived I mobilized the avaible men I had to tihe searbsp; We found the intruders hiding in Skoupa. While dug a search of the vilge we were ambushed by the intruders. They wiped out my team as well as our MP.”

  “Even your MP. They must be very formidable to succeed in taking out a MP.”

  “They were very powerful. I believe them to have at least three MPs of their own.”

  “Sympathizers?”

  “I don’t know, but they were speaking a fn nguage from one of the Asian tries. They might be rebels w with outsiders.”

  Demosthenes gave a small nod taking in the information. His features still maintaihe same stone unfling expression through the report. sidering his strength as a warrior and a Meso Presecho the threat could be seen as minor to him. “How many intruders have you firmed?”

  “I’ve been able to firm from my men five all about teenage in appearanbsp; Three males and two females, if appearances are to be believed. I believe there to be more that have not revealed themselves.”

  “A feeling?”

  Simoiffened a little with the sense of suddenly being stared at with greater i. Which side the i id upon he wondered and feared a bit. “…yes…sir…”

  Demosthenes gave a grin that a grandfather would have been proud to wear. “o be so stiff, Captain! In fact, I trust someone’s gut over something well calcuted. It won’t fail you. Calcutions uimate our oppo. You won’t be uimating your oppo, will you Captain?”

  “No, sir! I know my as are highly irregur, but I believe this to be the greatest threat Atntis has faced sis founding.”

  “Indeed. Removing all of the troops off of the border patrol would normally have you before the cil for recklessness and abando of duty. However, the situation is different. I’ve already calmed down the cil, but you ot fail again, Captain.”

  “We won’t, General! The South Gate Division will stop their invasion of our nd!”

  “Gd to hear it. If you have nothing else to report.”

  “Sir!” The fountaiurned back to its inal shape. All of the tension in the room finally let out allowing Simoo let out a long sigh. He leaned ba the chair letting it groan a little from the full weight he pced on it. His exhausting night had turned into a fatigued m after his report with the General.

  Simoood up from the chair pausing a moment to let his thoughts collebsp; The sparse nature of the tent gave him the space that he needed. So much happened in a short amount of time that he hadn’t allowed his mind to process everything.

  He thought back to the night with the two teenagers he saw. They argued with each other over something that he didn’t uand. ‘What was the argument about? Was it a disagreement over their pn?’ Their fn nguage made him inally believe them to be young stists. ‘Yet the strength and reflexes the one had seems too tal. It makes more seo be exiles and not rebels. They would have training, but exiles shouldn’t be able to return. The mark should prevent them… Does it not work?’ sidering that their exiling mark failed made him swallow painfully. He decided to reserve that possibility st as he deemed the sequences far too dangerous.

  ‘Unmarked exiles would be more likely. I ’t assume our system has failed.’ The new line of thought spun him in several dires to expiruders. ‘They could be dissidents from within helping outsiders…’ He couldn’t ighe fact that signals from the barrier reported an intrusion. ‘From Kalliope and Philon’s reports the ohey faced definitely had Meso Prosecho abilities. No matter how I turuation, those are the facts. I have theories, but nothing solid.’

  He still had too many questions to feel fident to attack them in ear. Failure wasn’t an option for him. ‘I don’t know if we were fortunate or purposely spared. Or did they not sider us a threat worth killing? I must uand the way they think…’

  Simoared at the exit of the tent. A degree of certainty appeared in his eyes knowing his move. The Atntean Captain marched out of the tent giving a gng nod to the White standing guard. He passed between gaps made from his meing out small camps waiting on orders. In the distance, he found the man that he sought. Closing to meet with him, Simonides came up behind him as the man finished giving out an order to a soldier. “ander Abeiron!”

  The young man in his te tweurned around immediately reizing his Captain’s voibsp; A bit of a stiff step caught him at the end of his foot rotating around. “Captain! Do you need something?”

  “Yes, Abeiron,” Simonides said, pag out his words still finishing his thoughts. “Gather up your team. We’re moving out.”

  “Sir?” Abeiron gave him a fused look more on the part that he spoke as though the Captain was going with him. “You’re ing with me, sir? What about the men? Who would keep and?”

  The Captain sed his head about the camp. They were his men and he had trained most of them sining under his and. He trusted them. “The men will be fine. I have someone I leave in charge. It’s more important that I see our foe fight. I must uand them to pn for the final offensive wheroops have finished gathering here.”

  Some hesitation built in Abeiron hearing the way his Captain spoke to him. Abeiron never knew him to casually toss his men into certain danger. The fear ran away from him for a few moments before he mao wrestle it under trol. ‘The way he speaks sounds like he’s got some pn in mind.’ A curious expression came upon him staring at Simonides.

  Pig up on the ander’s stare, Simonides focused directly on him. “I’ve got a feeling about our enemy. I think I have a way to capture them, but I need your help. You with me?”

  “Of course, sir!”

  From the small unications room in the Military aer, Demostheood up ign the unication disc fading out. He released his Field, diseg the line, before stepping out into the hall. A raised hand to the unication officer at the dnaled him to return bato the room and his post.

  The rge stone halls of and remained as imposing as they were artistibsp; It almost seemed proud the way the stoood showing off its detailed carved curves and lines. Each curve worked extra to strut and cast the most delicate shadow possible to atuate the others form. Age only improved its appearance, much like the man that walked its hall.

  Demosthenes broke his brisk pace as the hall opened into a baly running along the hallway. Opposite to him, a middle aged man in his te thirties surfaced from shadows. The narrow steady eyes of the man said he had business with Demosthenes. His eyes fixed him with a deep stare that worked on most individuals to instill unease and a sense of inferiority within the man’s presenbsp; Such tactics failed tainst Demosthenes, as the man knew, but in a lifestyle such as his it became a habit.

  Taking up a post against the railing of the baly, Demosthenes held to a stoic expression cutting off any ce to read him. “Good m, Dimitris.”

  “Demosthenes,” he replied curtly, “Have you made your decision?”

  “My answer is the same as it was yesterday.”

  A puff of annoyed air came from Dimitris’ lips reag to the answer. Frustration from tinually failing started to weigh on his reason. “You’re stalling is going to cost the kingdom gravely. Are you prepared for that on your shoulders?”

  Threatening did as much as speaking rudely to him. Demosthenes brushed it off, maintaining his unwavering tone. “We still have ten days left. It is Atntean w.”

  “Still hung up on tradition. The King has no heirs and everyone knows it. There’s o carry on traditiohere’s no oo take up the Kingship.”

  “In ten days. Only then we begie of Succession. You know as well as I that Atntis isn’t so weak to colpse without a King after a month.”

  “Stubborn fool,” snapped Dimitris.

  Demostheilted his head over to the cil member. “My stance will remain unged.”

  Tired and frustrated with the futility of debating with Demosthenes, Dimitris turned on his heel starting to leave. While still barely in ear shot of Demosthenes he let out a final insult. “I wonder if you’re really human in the cold heart of yours.”

  Fog ba the m horizohenes spoke long after Dimitris left the hall. “More human than you…” He stared out at the vast green pins that stretched out over the nds of Atntis. His eyes seemed fixed on something in the distansee knowing with certainty that something was out there. ‘So you’ve returned Eudokia and with the child. Show me your strength… Show me that you’re worthy to be King…’