The Last Day of the War - Part 3

There are other ways, however, to kill the enemy than with weapons fire.

Prior to the development of energy weapons powered by the global broadcast power grid, the armies led by General Aidan all too often found themselves without ammunition for their inertia rifles long before they found themselves without enemies to kill. The art of bayonet combat soon enjoyed a renaissance of sorts, particularly among the armies from Varia. The Varians as a people had a love affair with their bladed weapons that extended back to the dawn of history and they took to this renaissance with a passion. As I attached the impressive length of Varian mono-steel to the forestock of my assault rifle I was certain that if I managed a powerful enough swing the long blade would remove limbs.

We encountered our first patrol at a small bridge crossing a shallow, rocky stream. I reached the halfway point, deep in the shadows of the bridge, and froze in mid-step. The Sergeant Major, the man who had sworn he had left the Path of Blood forever, looked my way in a moment of concern. I frowned and continued to make my way toward the soldiers talking loudly at the other end of the bridge. The General had asked the Sergeant Major to lead this mission and without a moment’s hesitation the Sergeant Major had taken up his journey on the Path once more.

He was very good at it, I decided as I watched him take out the first sentry. The Sergeant Major simply came up from behind the man, grabbed his ankles, and pulled his feet out from under him. The Palean soldier grunted loudly when his face hit the bridge, but made no noise at all, other than a dull thud that is, when the Sergeant Major rolled his body off the bridge to the rocks below.

"Those who leads others from the Gates of Paradise back to Path of Blood, no matter the intent, do the work of Darkness," wrote the Prophet. "For the best intentions make the smoothest cobblestones on the Path."

It was an odd sensation, pondering philosophy while running someone through with a wicked Varian bayonet. The news, and the proof, that some of my countrymen had sided with Kaarl had left me feeling numb inside. I watched, in a detached sort of way, as the twins dispatched the soldiers across from me with movements that were almost eerie in their precise coordination. They spent most of their free time practicing together. They were so effective as a team that was not a chance anyone would separate them, of course, that was their goal. We shoved the bodies under the bridge and continued on our way. We had four hours before a patrol was scheduled to pass by the bridge.

Infiltrating the base itself was child’s play compared to infiltrating the Symphony of Light. I was able to use my Talent to guide us to the gaps in the enemy’s security so we encountered no other patrols. The fence around the base was a simple mesh topped with barbed wire, and a pair of heavy cutters easily cut through it to make an opening for us. Most of the base was shrouded in darkness - the enemy simply did not have many lights.

The original plan had called for us to split up further into two more teams. One team would head to the building suspected of being the quarters of the enemy general and the other would go to the headquarters building. I knew, though, that the general liked to work alone in his office late at night. He always had, even before he became a general. The Sergeant Major needed more reassurances that that, however, and made me reach out with my Talent. A single nod of my head was all he needed to order us all to the headquarters building. Again my experience as a thief coupled with my Talent made the task of entering the building simplicity itself.