Richard Tuttle - 13 Day War

Colonel Ednor raised an eyebrow when the Aertan general asked Rut-ki for an hour to think about it. She quickly agreed, but the colonel knew that General Gertz did not have the authority to surrender. Only General Kolling could do so, and Colonel Ednor knew that was not going to happen. When General Gertz turned and started back towards the camp, the colonel raced after him.

“Surely you aren’t thinking of trying to persuade General Kolling to surrender?” asked the colonel. “You must know him well enough by now to understand that he will never surrender.”

“What point is there in continuing the fight?” asked the general. “We will not win. Everything Rut-ki said is true. The 9 thCorps demonstrated that yesterday. Men cannot fight when they are weakened by fatigue and starved for lack of food. Our morale couldn’t get any lower than it already is. What is the point?”

“Even if we lost,” posed the colonel, “we would take a good deal of the Lanoirian army with us. That would leave the way open for the other teams.”

“There are no other teams, Colonel,” retorted the general. “We are all there is in Lanoir.”

“I know that you and General Kolling have been speculating about such a situation,” frowned the colonel, “but you cannot know for sure.”

General Gertz stopped walking and faced the colonel. He frowned deeply as he stared in the colonel’s face.

“Kolling really has kept you in the dark, hasn’t he? Team Elmor and Team Chi have surrendered, Colonel. That is not a rumor or speculation. It is a fact. We learned that the very first time we saw Rut-ki.”

“But you cannot take the word of the enemy on such matters,” protested Colonel Ednor.

“I am not taking her word,” replied the general. “I am taking the words of Generals Somma, Ruppert, and Hanold. They were at the first parley. General Franz couldn’t make the meeting. He was already dead.”

Colonel Ednor gasped loudly. “Then we have known about this for two days already?”

General Gertz nodded.

“All of those men who died in the last two days have died for nothing?” scowled the colonel. “How many Lanoirians are up there waiting for us?”

“Over fifteen-thousand,” answered the general. “They are the army that accepted the surrender of Team Elmor. The smaller army that defeated Team Chi is what we have been battling so far.”

“We are doomed,” sighed the colonel. After a moment of thought, the colonel’s eyes narrowed with suspicion as he gazed at the general. “Why are you telling me all of this now? You and I both know that General Kolling will not surrender.”

“I agree,” replied the general, “but I will.”

“You can’t,” balked the colonel. “General Kolling is the team leader. He will not allow you to surrender.”

“And how will he stop me?” asked the Aertan general. “Will he order the 9 thCorps to attack the 25 thCorps?”

The colonel gasped in horror and nodded. “You know that he will.”

“I have seen the state of the 9 thCorps, Colonel,” stated the general, “and I have seen the numbers of the Lanoirians. Which army do you think I would choose to engage if I had to pick one?”

“The 9 thCorps is but a shell of its former might,” sighed the colonel. “The 25 thCorps would destroy us easily, but I cannot believe that you look forward to us fighting each other.”

“I most certainly do not,” agreed the general. “Enough Federation blood has already flowed into the Lanoirian soil.”

Both men walked in silence for a long time, their troubled thoughts centered on the possible battle between two allied forces. Neither of the men was happy with the situation. When they finally reached the Federation camp, the soldiers were preparing for battle. None of the men seemed eager to engage the Lanoirians who were now visible to the entire camp. The two officers halted outside the large command tent.

“It would seem that your sword will be bloodied today,” the general said softly to the colonel. “You have a short time to decide who its victim will be.”

The colonel turned and looked at the Aertan general and saw him looking at the tent flap of the large command tent. He clearly understood the Aertan’s suggestion to kill General Kolling.

“You cannot be suggesting what I think you are suggesting?” gasped the colonel. “That would be treason.”

General Gertz smiled thinly. “I know nothing of what you are talking about, Colonel. I know nothing about it now, and I assure you, I will know nothing about it later.”

The four guards posted outside the large command tent watched the two officers whispering to each other. They could not hear the words being spoken, but they could easily sense the furtiveness of the conversation. The colonel bit his lip as the internal conflict tore through his mind.

“Either way you must enter the tent,” the general said softly. “You either enter it to save the lives of your men, or you enter it to inform General Kolling that the 25 thCorps is surrendering to the Lanoirians. I do not envy your task, but there is no other who can perform it. Good luck, Colonel.”

General Gertz turned and walked away leaving the colonel standing before the large command tent. The colonel turned and glanced at the four guards. Each of them immediately averted his eyes. Colonel Ednor knew right then that the guards suspected what the conversation had been about. He turned slowly and watched as the Federation soldiers prepared for battle. The men moved sluggishly as if preparing for a deed best avoided. The whole camp knew that they were going to die. He could see it in their faces and their movements. He turned back to the guards and nodded his head to one side, an unspoken order to leave their post. Not one of the men hesitated. They silently moved away from the tent and never looked back.

Colonel Ednor inhaled deeply, drawing on his courage to attempt the most vile of deeds. He straightened and marched towards the tent, throwing the flap back as he entered. General Kolling glanced up with a glare.

“What do you want, Ednor?” scowled General Kolling. “Have we so few men left that you have time to dally while they prepare for battle?”

The colonel smiled slightly. “I have a thought about the upcoming battle,” stated the colonel. “We might be able to save thousands of lives if things are handled correctly. Do you have the map of this area handy?”

The general raised an eyebrow in surprise and nodded. He bent down to pick up a map that was resting on the floor. When he straightened up, a knife flew across the table and struck him in the chest. The general gasped in pain, and he stared down at the knife sticking out of his chest. His face filled with rage, and his hand grasped the hilt of the knife. The colonel quickly drew his sword to finish off the general, but it proved unnecessary. As the general pulled the knife from his chest, his body tumbled to the floor. The battle for Lanoir was over.

As the sun rose over Duranga, King Arik and his advisors met in the common room of a deserted inn.

“What have the fairies reported, Prince Midge?” asked the king.

“Colonel Tamora leads the men of the 2 ndCorps of Barouk,” answered the fairy prince. “They are moving on Tagaret as we speak. Colonel Hershey leads the Aertans of the 24 thCorps. While they are also moving towards Tagaret, they appear to be operating separately from the Baroukans. The two armies are separated by at least a league.”

“They have had a falling out,” mused Alex. “I am not surprised.”

“Do you think they will band together to fight against us?” asked Mitar Vidson.

“That would be most unfortunate,” frowned Alex. “I think we should plan to attack them separately, but only one league of separation will make things rather difficult. We would have to gain a quick surrender from the 2 ndCorps and disarm all of the men before the 24 thCorps arrived. Should we fail to do that, they will most certainly join together, and the battlefield would be too chaotic for our purposes.”