Richard Tuttle - Island of Darkness

The general’s head fell to his chest. “You are right,” he said softly. “I am doomed. I might as well cut my own throat now.”

Cherri’s head popped up and her eyes instantly cleared. “No,” she said emphatically. “You cannot do that. Do not even think of such a thing. I forbid it.”

“Forbid it?” echoed the general. “Why? I have no life left, and I will not allow myself to face the punishment of a debtor. You said yourself that you would run away from it. Oh, if only I could run away.”

“But you can,” Cherri said excitedly. “You can run away.”

“I cannot,” the Minister of Defense shook his head. “I cannot run from the Katana. He will follow me everywhere I go.”

“You are not thinking clearly,” smiled Cherri. “There is a way to do this.”

General Kapla’s eyes brightened a bit as he saw the enthusiasm in Cherri’s face.

“You have thought of something, haven’t you?” asked the general.

“I have,” beamed Cherri.

“Tell me,” urged the general. “Do not hold me in suspense.”

“You are the Minister of Defense,” grinned Cherri. “As such, you get to determine who goes to Fortung. All you have to do is order General Didyk to remain here in Okata. You take his place at Fortung.”

“Do you mean I should take over command of his army?” frowned the general. “How will that help?”

“No,” replied Cherri. “You go to Fortung with your army.”

“How will that change anything?” asked the Minister of Defense. “All that will do is require me to destroy my own farms, and as a result, ruin myself.”

“Not true,” explained Cherri. “Let’s assume that the Sakovans have already taken Fortung. I think that is safe to assume, isn’t it?”

“That is a safe assumption,” nodded the general. “My orders would be to attack Fortung and destroy my own farms.”

“But you won’t,” grinned Cherri.

“I won’t?” echoed the general. “But that is what will be demanded of me.”

“So what?” asked Cherri. “Who is going to know that you have not retaken Fortung? And if someone does find out, what are they going to do about it? You will have ten thousand men protecting you.”

“That would be treason,” protested the general.

“It might be,” shrugged Cherri, “but you will still be alive, and your investments will still be good.”

“I could not do it,” the general shook his head. “It goes against everything that I have ever sworn to.”

“Do you want to be publicly dismembered?” posed Cherri. “Do you want to lose all of your money, everything you have saved from your long years of service?”

“Absolutely not,” replied the general, “but I have sworn to protect and defend the Katana. That is what I do. I have given my word.”

“Just like Larst gave his word to the Sakovans about peace,” retorted Cherri. “Why is all right for him to lie, and not for you? Or is there no lie because Larst died before this Katana was chosen? If that is the case, who are you really sworn to protect?”

“You are making my head spin,” the general shook his head. “All of this makes no sense. You are asking me to defy the Katana, but this war will soon be over. When it is over, I will have to face the Katana.”

“Not true,” countered Cherri. “You are assuming that Omunga will win because they always have in the past, but this time is different. The Sakovans have never really fought back before. This time they have already taken half of Omunga.”

“You think the Sakovans could really win this war?” asked the general. “That is preposterous. It just can’t happen.”

“But it can,” replied Cherri. “Who is going to stop the Sakovans this time? General Romero is heading out to fight at Alamar. The Sakovan army will not be there. That is one fourth of the Omungan armies neutralized.”

“That still leaves thirty thousand men,” argued the general.

“Another fourth are wandering around the Sakova,” Cherri continued. “They are searching for the elusive Sakovan army. Will they find StarCity? How long will they be gone looking for it? Will they turn tail and run like the smaller army did?”

“How do you know about that?” General Kapla asked as his eyes narrowed. “Surely you did not learn that from a rumor?”

“Then there is your army,” Cherri continued while ignoring the general’s questions. “Your army will be blocking the road south from Fortung. That leaves only General Didyk’s army. The mighty Omungan army is now down to ten thousand men.”

“You present a plausible scenario for the Sakovans to win,” shrugged the general, “but it won’t happen that way. For one, I cannot toss my obligations away to go to Fortung.”

“Can’t you?” posed Cherri as she thought about how Kapla became to be the Minister of Defense. “Haven’t you ever put your own life above your duty?”

General Kapla’s mind automatically locked onto the dead face of the previous Minister of Defense. He had allowed First Minister Alazar to talk him into murdering his predecessor to gain a seat on the Katana’s Council. He soon realized that Alazar had used him to get rid on an obstacle. His whole body shivered as he wondered if there was any way that Cherri could know of that. She seemed to be more informed of what went on in Omunga than any of the member of the Katana’s Council, but surely this one thing could not be known. If anyone discovered his secret, the general knew that he was worse than dead.

“You have a decision to make, General,” stated Cherri. “You can stay here in Okata and lose everything you have, your money, your position, your life, even me.”

“Don’t say that,” protested the Minister of Defense. “It is bad enough to contemplate losing my own life. I do not want to even think about losing you.”

“Then you have no choice but to go to Fortung with your army,” declared Cherri. “There is nothing more to discuss.”

General Kapla stared into Cherri’s blue eyes and sighed. “And what am I to do there?” he asked. “I cannot crush the Sakovans, or I risk losing my fortune. I cannot return here unless the Sakovans win the war. How do I get out of this mess?”

“Are your men loyal to you?” asked Cherri.

“They would die for me,” blustered the general.

“Ah,” smiled Cherri, “but would they defect for you?”

“Defect?” gasped the general. “Do you mean to the Sakovans?”

“Why not?” shrugged Cherri. “Already most of the cities of Omunga have defected.”

“But those were small regional garrisons,” protested the general. “I lead a major army.”

“That is true,” nodded the Sakovan spy, “but are they loyal to you? The only way that you can come out of this with a fresh start is if the Sakovans win this war. Do you really care if the country is ruled by a false Katana or the Star of Sakova?”

“The Sakovans would round up all of the generals and hang them,” argued the general. “How is that winning?”

“Nonsense,” smiled Cherri, “I am willing to wager all of my gold that you would be welcomed by the Star of Sakova. You could remain a very important person in Okata. Think about it. She will not want to live here. She will depend upon those Omungans who were wise enough to defect. You could be more important than you are now. There would be no Katana after all.”

“Do you really think she would still let me lead troops after defecting?” asked the general.

“Of course she would,” insisted Cherri. “I will tell you how to prove it. When you reach Fortung, go into the city under a flag of truce. See if the old general is still in control. That will answer your question before you even mentioning defecting.”