Beneath the Dragoneye Moons

Chapter 484: The Han Civil War X

Katerina’s guards were tripled, and harsh Radiance bathed nearly every inch of the camp-fort. Everyone was on high alert from the raid today and Yang Duan He’s army of raiders clearly circling around, sniffing for weaknesses and opportunities.

Never before had I been so thankful that we spent hours every day building a fort just to sleep in for a single night. I would never dare to think that we were safe, but we were a tougher nut to crack than the main army next to us, who continued their haphazard way of just… settling down wherever.

If - when - the Lady of Death sent raids in the night, they’d be targeted at the much more vulnerable camp.

Bunny would be stuck with her line.

Dawn could go out and help.

I knew which one I wanted.

I kept a careful distance from the steely-eyed guards and saluted.

“Legionnaire Bunny here to see the Legata!” I crisply announced myself.

“There is a chain of command.” One of the guards informed me. “The Legata isn’t seeing anyone that she hasn’t summoned.”

Perfectly reasonable. I eyed the heavily patrolled intersection - the Legata wasn’t going to put the command building out of the way to easily get decapitated - and thought through my options.

In for an obsidian, in for a diamond. The best way to not get noticed was to be discreet. Not call attention to myself. Not do big flashy moves. I was just another soldier on the road.

I lifted part of my tunic up from my chainmail’s neck hole and quickly wiped my face down, dislodging the putty around my cheekbones, eyebrows, and nose, completely changing my face.

“Dawn for the Legata.” I strolled past the stunned guards, who didn’t try to stop me. “You’re under orders to keep quiet.”

I paused and remembered some of the rumors flying around the camp.

“That includes betting pools, you hear me?”

I didn’t turn to see the guards salute or acknowledge my order, but I could tell.

I got eyes and whispers from a few of the [Scribes] and [Messengers] I passed, but most were so absorbed in their work that they didn’t properly register just another soldier passing through on business. The best way to hide at times was in plain sight.

I paused outside the Legata’s office, another pair of guards snapping to attention at my approach. I could see that a meeting was in full swing through the walls, and I wasn’t going to barge in on it. What I wanted wasn’t that important.

“At ease.” I told the guards, then leaned against a wall to wait.

We built a new fort every evening, but it was sparse and spartan. We didn’t bother with fancy things like benches, and there were three whole wagons dedicated just to carrying around command’s desks, chairs, and other supplies.

I waited for a bit as various people went in and out of the meeting, until Leonidus, the second in command, caught me waiting outside.

“Bunny. Do you need anything special?” He asked.

I gave him a Look, hoping to silently communicate things to him. I wasn’t sure if he was stressing my name because I hadn’t gotten to talk with the Legata yet, he was reminding me of the deception, if he was trying to politely maintain it, if he just didn’t like me, or something else. Trying to find the right words to communicate my intentions was hard.

“I am hoping to have a word with the Legata soon.” I said. “The matter isn’t urgent, nor is it particularly private.”

Leonidus, to his credit, seemed to properly divine what I was saying after a moment’s hesitation.

“Come join us.” He invited me in. “You might as well know what’s going on.”

I nodded and resolved to shut up in a meeting that I had no background knowledge on.

Katerina, most of command, and quite a few fancy dullahans were standing over a table, an intricate illusion detailing a few mountains, a river, a walled city, and quite a few tiny armies with various emblems on it.

The rumors were true. We were about to get into a fight.

Katerina’s eyes flickered to me as the fancy silver dullahans kept talking, the illusion moving as he explained.

“... in the Rat variant, you are ordered to hold the bridge.” His tone was haughty and commanding, and as he waved his hand, one of his subordinates changed the illusion. All the different little flags and soldiers moved to different positions, a little emblem marking the Ironside Brigade moving to block the bridge.

Katerina grunted.

“Easy enough, that’s one of our better strengths.”

The dullahan was clearly looking down on her, and I wanted to roll my eyes at the puffed-up [Strategist] not even half her level trying to look down on the Legata.

“The first Rat variant has the bridge destroyed as you arrive, or shortly after. In which case, you are expected to ford the river and take up position here, where you will await further commands from Lord Wang.” The dullahan commanded, and dismayed looks all around told to the impossibility of the task. Fording a deep, rain-fed river in full armor during a fight? Might as well ask us to touch the sun. It was suicidal, but the dullahan didn’t seem to care, happy to order the ‘mercenaries’ to do the impossible.

A realization hit me as he started to talk about Tiger formation, and the completely different role we’d have there. I was pretty sure it was extra-offensive that we were being dictated to after the fact, and Katerina wasn’t at the main command table, offering her insights into what the ‘Ironside Brigade’ could and couldn’t do.

In some manner of potentially small blessing, the dullahans didn’t even glance at me, their noses too high in the air to care about one of their mercenary’s underlings. Better for me I guess.

I kept an eye on the various formations and plans, briefly mulling them over with my utter novice-tier level of tactical understanding. I was no [Strategist] or [Tactician], and I’d never been trained in anything larger than small squad tactics, but from my novice glance, even with the occasional impossible orders, we were never placed in the thickest part of the fighting. The Ironside Brigade was never mentioned as a potential sacrifice to lure in Meng Ao’s army, nor were we placed without support.

Surprisingly generous? Then again, maybe the ‘you get sacrificed in plan Ox’ happened earlier, or maybe I was just misreading positions and the flow of battle.

The meeting wrapped up, and the visiting dullahans left with a bunch of bowing and scraping from our side.

The room went still once they’d left, and every head turned towards Katerina, who was intently staring at the map, her fingers moving a few times as she thought.

“I need the rest of the tribunes here to go over Monkey and Pig formations. There’s something in them I don’t like.”

A gesture had three [Messengers] running out the door to grab the needed people, and another one of Katerina’s assistants recreated the Mirage on the table.

“Now, see with the planned army layouts, I expect this wing to be hit here by that group, which would cause them to retreat. At the same time…”

Katerina started playing the most complicated game of chess I’d ever seen, and something clicked as I recognized that it was basically Iona’s wargames from the School - except this time, instead of the loser buying the winner a beer, the loser was going to be buried 6 feet under.

Welp, I was going to be here for a while.

While my interaction with Katerina didn’t have to be private from a security standpoint, I was getting back into the Sentinel mindset and realizing it did. Not complete ‘throw everyone out of the room’ private, but from a mystique standpoint, the smoke and mirrors that Sentinels were invincible.

Even explaining the situation, the hanger-ons would just get ‘Sentinel Dawn can’t hack soldiering’, which would be a real kick in the nuts to the Sentinel reputation. It wouldn’t be true, but it’d sound enough like it that I had to be mindful of how I approached the situation and framed it.

The entirety of command went over strategies, made plans, and generally burned the hours away with the occasional eye flickering to my silent presence in the corner. I suppose in some ways, by complete fucking accident, I’d done something right - shown up, quiet and unassuming, on the eve or two of a fierce battle.

Sentinel Dawn showed up in the nick of time.

Sentinel Dawn unveiled herself right when we needed her.

There was still a layer of plausible deniability, but it was thinner. Then again, they were probably in the know in the first place and…

I was so glad I wasn’t a [Spymaster] or anything like that. I sent a prayer up for Leonidus’s and Katerina’s good health, so I wouldn’t have to play these games with lives at stake.

An endless amount of boring waiting later, and Katerina issued her orders to the tribunes, messengers and scribes, the command room rapidly emptying of most people. Still staring at the map in front of her, Katerina spoke to me.

“What’s the name now?” She asked. I approached and saluted, noting the room was empty enough.

“Ma’am. Sentinel Dawn. I found after the raid today that I’m unable to act as a member of a line with the restrictions imposed on me, and not get someone killed. I believe it’s best if I am removed from the line in question, and return to normal duties as a Sentinel. I’m aware that it’s going to interfere with the plausible deniability, but on the balance I believe the long-ranging impacts of me staying a member are worse.”

Katerina’s fingers drummed on the table as she thought.

“Can you pretend to be in a line during a battle?” She asked. “If you’re not near the front?”

I thought about it, trying to imagine it.

Battles often didn’t get too far from the frontlines. At the same time, Legion doctrine dictated that we often rapidly rotated who was in front, letting wounded soldiers get out or get healed before they were worn down, and letting fresh troops with full mana fight for a time before rotating them back, continuing the cycle.

“My issue with that is I’d end up at the front soon enough.” I answered.

Katerina waved a dismissive hand.

“I’ve got plans to keep your line in the center of the cohort, just like some other ranged specialists.” She said. “We’re going to have most centuries keep a line permanently at the back to hide one line not shuffling. Mostly the artillery mages, since setting up a standard encampment for siege weaponry won’t work with the Ironside Brigade deception. Can you operate like that?”

I nodded.

“Yes ma’am.” I hesitated, another thought crossing my mind, but sure that Katerina wouldn’t say yes.

“What’s on your mind?” She asked, far too perceptive.

“Legata. After the battle, I’d like to heal any wounded members on the field, regardless of army.” I took a deep breath, knowing I’d never get what I wanted if I never said anything. “And I’d also like to visit the opposing armies after the battle to cure and heal anyone I can. I know they’re supposedly our enemies, but -”

“Granted.” Katerina interrupted me. “I don’t care about their side getting healed after the battle, this isn’t our war. As long as the Sixth is prioritized, please, go ahead. It’s more fodder for the Sixth to level against, it’s more experience for you, I just have a request.”

I tilted my head, curious. Katerina knew she could give me orders and I’d listen - a request was optional.

“I don’t have full details on your third class, but it’s clear you have powerful perception abilities. Would it be an issue if you went before the battle? Tomorrow night would be a good time for an unaffiliated Oathbound Healer to visit Meng Ao’s camp in a flashy way not tied back to Dawn. While you’re there, if you can pick up on as many plans, papers, and any scrap of information you can and bring it back, that’d be lovely.”

I narrowed my eyes at how accommodating Katerina was being. Healing people the day before the anticipated battle?

“What are you not telling me?” I asked.

“It’s need to know.” She answered.

I crossed my arms and stared at her.

“Katerina, I’m third in command. Two armies are about to clash. We both know I’m - ah.” I said as it clicked. “You need me to be flashy to cover for the -”

Katerina’s glare boring into my eyes told me clearly to shut up.

The Legata wanted a distraction for the black ops group Grizzly thought I was part of to do their work. I wasn’t going to be the only one crossing sides and trying to cause mischief. Members of Meng Ao’s army would also try their own hand at sabotage, assassination, and theft before the fight, and that was before Yang Duan He’s wolfriders tried to fuck with both sides.

Unless she’d been hired or turned coat since the last intel we’d gotten, and fuck I hated the fog of war.

I refocused down to what I wanted, and what I was asked to do.

Everyone wanted me out, about, and healing people. Great! I could happily make that happen.

“Would you like me, in order to best preserve the idea that I’m a neutral healer, go through Wang Jian’s camp as well and heal people? Might as well get our side fully fighting fit first. Plus… practice gathering information.” I suggested.

Katerina mulled the idea over.

“Yes and no.” She said. “Do it, but don’t be flashy, and don’t gather information. If Meng Ao captures you and attempts to execute you as a spy, I have full faith in your ability to fight clear of the situation. Similarly, I have faith in your ability to escape from Wang Jia’s grasp, but not in their inability to trace you back to us, and we don’t need to be brushed as traitors. It’s good thinking. With that said, if you could fly high over our camp once with your butterfly wings out, that’d be great. Don’t tell me when.”

I saluted my understanding.

“The timing is awkward, but can we discuss how I’ll move and live in the Legion going forward?” I asked.

Katerina shook her head.

“Take it up with Camp Prefect Robin.” She said. “Let her know you’re entitled to a private tent, and you’ll be taking over Auri.”

I wanted to jump for joy at the last part. I could only grin like a madwoman.

“Anything else I can do for you?” I asked.

“Not unless you can get your Valkyrie friend’s wyvern to weigh in on the battle.”