Fallen Domain

Chapter 3

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Genna stared at the wall screens in her operations room, numb, a void within.

Authority’s warriors rushed forward, emerging from buildings and alleys, converging from all angles. The group in their sights, defenders from both Dephloren’s district and her own, raised weapons, fired as fast as they could.

Some of the shots found targets. A couple of warriors spun and stumbled. At least one fell.

It made no difference.

Genna watched in silence as the warriors destroyed the defenders, tore through them as if they were nothing.

And then they stopped.

The warriors turned to survey their work. The smiles sickened Genna, and when they slapped one another’s backs she wanted to kill them all. When one of them urinated on a casualty who lay in a pool of their own blood, who only had the strength to lift one hand, Genna tasted vomit.

The warrior zipped his trousers up, then stamped on the poor sod’s head. At least that put an end to his suffering.

Other screens showed similar feeds, more people slaughtered by the warriors. Miolar had called the location a strong-point‌—‌multiple vantage points, a possible choke-point if they could set something up. But Authority must have known of their plans, or saw the possibilities for themselves. And so, they released their warriors, annihilated this strong-point before it became a threat.

The feeds froze, the recordings reaching the end. Genna turned to her companions.

Leopold stood by the desk, working the screens in place of Lomaz‌—‌although at the moment his hands hovered over the control screens, as unmoving as his face. His mouth hung open, his eyes wide.

Vanya stood to Genna’s left, and the warrior breathed steadily as she stilled her emotions. The expression on her face was‌…‌resigned.

“How many did Dephloren‌…‌did we lose?” Genna asked.

“This site, about fifty.” Vanya’s voice was calm, almost cold.

“Fifty more to be mourned.”

“The warriors have retreated,” Leopold said, his voice stronger than Genna would have anticipated. “We should do the honourable thing and recover the fallen.”

She shook her head, even though she agreed with the idea. “Too risky. We send more people in, and that gives more targets for the warriors.”

The words sounded garbled, even to Genna, and she wondered why this was so hard. Was it the sight of so many people dead, or the lack of control over the whole situation?

“It would help,” he said. “Let friends and relatives have a focus for their mourning…”

“We need to be ready for more attacks.”

“…and help encourage their determination. Haven’t you said on numerous occasions that we can’t allow our emotions to defeat us?”

“He does have a point,” Vanya said. “You know how demoralised everyone’s getting.”

“And it’s the humane thing to do,” Leopold continued. “We’re not animals. We take care of our own, even when they are no longer with us. Those who have paid the ultimate price in the defence of others should be shown the respect they deserve. It is what sets us apart from those monsters.” His face twitched, and he nodded, almost bowed to Vanya. “No disrespect intended.”

“None taken.”

Leopold’s shoulders rolled down, relieved he hadn’t offended. But there had been a moment when Vanya’s brow furrowed, when her eyes narrowed.

The situation was getting to them all. Leopold was lapsing into his old style of talking, and even though Vanya remained as professional as ever Genna doubted she was impervious to‌…‌to everything that was happening.

“When we have a safe opportunity, we’ll bring our heroes home,” Genna said. “But we can’t allow their sacrifice to be in vain. While the enemy remains a threat, our survival has to be our primary concern.” She turned back to the screens, pointed to the one showing a map of the districts. “How are we holding elsewhere?” she asked.

“Two more sites attacked this morning,” Vanya said. She reached out, pointed. “Here and here.”

“Casualties?”

“About ten, combined. They left one alive at each location.”

“To tell the tale,” Genna said. “Spreading fear.”

“Makes us easier to defeat.”

Vanya didn’t have to say any more‌—‌this was a topic they’d already discussed. The attacks by Authority had increased over the last few weeks. Reports from the western Factory‌—‌patchy and unreliable, but better than nothing‌—‌suggested constant activity, and Genna had no doubts that Authority had enough warriors to push right through Dephloren’s district, right through to her towers. But they held back, attacked odd locations. They forced their line slowly, as if they had no urgency.

As if they had nothing to fear.

“What about the wilds?” Vanya asked. “We have any news?”

“Rannall reports activity,” she said. “More than normal.” And that meant more people fleeing the wilds, more people coming into the districts for their own safety.

Vanya nodded. “Yeah. Rodin always said they stretched too far.”

There was a moment of silence, and Genna caught the rise and fall of Vanya’s chest.

“He’ll pull through,” she said. “Didn’t you say the head meditech in the Factory was one of the best?”

“Ellya. Yeah. But‌…‌you know.” She shrugged and turned her face to the screens. “There’s only so much one person can take.”

“And not only individuals.” Leopold turned to face Genna, back straight, serious expression on his face. “I’ve already stated my opinion on this, but I fear you have yet to fully understand. We are clearly weaker than Authority. Isn’t this obvious in the way these ‘skirmishes’, as you refer to them, slowly reduce our numbers? Even if they didn’t exert a major push, these smaller attacks will defeat us sooner or later. I’ve come at the problem from as many angles as I can imagine, and our options are severely limited. To continue meeting these attacks will, eventually, leave us with nothing.”

Genna forced her jaw to relax, and took a long breath before she turned to the ex-Councillor. “I heard you, and I noted your concerns. But you offer no credible alternatives to continued resistance.”

That sounded too officious, almost like something Leopold himself would say, and Genna took another breath.

“I beg to differ, but I have many times stated my opinion that we require an alliance with a stronger force.”

Genna pulled her lower lip between her teeth and bit gently. “Allies don’t suddenly appear. I’m meeting Miolar later, though. Hopefully, he’ll have some good news.”

Vanya raised her eyebrows. “You know something?”

Genna didn’t. She’d only said it to‌…‌to keep Leopold quiet. The man’s comments grated.

“Don’t want to raise any hopes here,” she said. “And I want you with me.”

Vanya nodded. “Thought you’d want me out there.” She waved a hand at the screens. “We need to do something about those bastards.”

“Yes.” Genna stepped forward, lifted one hand to the screens, ran her fingers over the image, along the side of a young man’s face. His mouth was stretched in pain, and his stomach was nothing but a b****y mess. “We can’t let this happen again. Not if we can help it.”

The idea wasn’t new, but she’d been pushing it down, knowing it would cause problems. But she was‌…‌they were running out of options.

“Leopold. Run the footage back to the start of the attack.”

“The very start?”

“When the warriors first appear. Vanya, watch.”

The feed on the main screen blacked out, and when it reappeared there were no bodies, only the cold, damp streets. A couple of figures moved in the distance, coming closer. In the foreground one of Dephloren’s people raised a weapon. Another one stood and shouted.

“What do you see?”

Vanya’s eyes narrowed in focus. “Guard covering the area with his weapon. Figures challenged.”

“Talk me through everything as it happens.”

“Sure. Figures approach, don’t slow down. Challenged again. Another guard in place. Couple more warriors leave an alley.”

“Closer, right?”

“Yep. Challenged again. And‌…‌and now more appear, and they run.” Her mouth twitched. “There a point to this, Genna?”

Good to know Vanya wasn’t as cold as she made out.

“Stop the feed, Leopold.”

The image froze, the warriors in mid-flow as they rushed toward the defenders.

“Why are they still upright?” Genna asked.

“What?”

“The warriors. How did they get that close?”

“They’re fast. They dodge about‌—‌makes aiming harder.”

“They’re almost on us, and we’ve only just opened fire. You see, right?”

Vanya nodded, slowly, and her mouth twitched.

“I’m afraid I don’t understand,” Leopold said.

“We should’ve opened fire sooner,” Vanya said. “As soon as they were within our sights.”

Leopold frowned. “But‌…‌but when they were first challenged, there was no way of knowing if they were friend or foe. There are still refugees coming in, from the wilds as well as the districts. We‌…‌we can’t simply make assumptions without evidence.”

Genna sighed. “I understand. Believe me, I understand. But we can’t afford to let warriors come so close without retaliation.”

“Retaliation! You’re calling for‌…‌for a ‘shoot on sight’ policy!”

Genna nodded. “Anything coming from beyond the line has to be treated as a threat, and removed as quickly as possible.”

“But…”

Genna raised a hand, felt the indignation and anger rolling off Leopold. And it was entirely justified. She knew what this policy meant.

“We have to protect ourselves,” she said. “I have to do what’s right for my people.”