Part 12

After three weeks of weapons training, tactics and strategy, they were ready for their first mock battle.  Greza stood in the front line next to her fellow recruits.  Across the marshy field was an equal sized force made up of Chimera soldiers.  Everyone wore chain mail armor and helmets. 

She was a targeteer.  In her hands were a large, rectangular shield that could supposedly stop bullets and a pistol in her hand.  Four more pistols were on a bandolier across her chest.  None of them were loaded with ball, just powder to make a ‘bang’ sound. 

Judges were along with each army to decide who lived and who died.  Sgt. Drakan was their leader and she was in charge of a squad of five other recruits.  Yuro was the only one she really knew in her squad of targeteers. 

They all had their shields and pistols ready.  A wooden sword was on her hip but if it came down to hand to hand, she doubted that she’d need it. 

The gunners were behind them with their matchlocks resting on the tops of their axes and the pikemen were on the flanks, ready to move in if there was trouble. 

“Well, look at that,” Drakan said in almost a whisper. 

She looked to where he was looking and saw Duke Verin and his two companions riding up to the field. 

“They come to see how amazing we are,” Hyrin said from somewhere behind her. 

Again he was flanked by the bull and raven.  None of them spoke a word, they just watched from their saddles. 

She turned back to the unit of veterans in front of her.  They had been told to go easy on them, but she wondered how easy it was really going to be.  She knew all too well the difference between a fighter who was trained or untrained. 

Greza tightened the grip on her shield and looked over the “enemy.” Chances were that these were men and women she’d be fighting along side once she joined the company.  She had impress them.

Unfortunately raw fighting ability wouldn’t do it.  She had to show them that she could work in a unit and follow orders. 

The metal helmet with the padding was hot even in the cold air of the approaching winter and the chain mail weighed her down. Sgt. Drakan said that once a person got used to it they wouldn’t notice they were wearing it.  That day couldn’t come soon enough.  She was used to fighting in significantly less. 

Then the whistle blew and the battle started.  She listened for the horn calls of their orders. 

A single long note from a horn sounded telling them to advance at walking pace.  The tall grass was damp from the morning dew and the bottom of her jacket, near the tops of her boots was getting soaked. 

Focus, Greza. 

Two short blasts from the horn told them to stop.  When they stopped she waved her squad to take a knee and plant their shields to form a wall to protect the gunners.

Behind her the gunners opened fire.  The light charges in their matchlocks didn’t have the sudden, sharp violence a real gunshot had. 

The veteran squad fired a second later and judges began running back and forth tying red cloth to “casualties.”  Orders were being shouted and guns were firing.  She aimed her pistol and fired. 

One of her squad went down with a red cloth tied around their arm creating a gap in the gunners shield wall. 

“Close the hole!” Greza called out. 

They probably didn’t hear her over all the noise, but they saw her hand gestures and moved in closer. 

Then the veteran squad charged with their targeteers in front and axes in back.

“Hold position!” She shouted out. 

Their pikemen moved up and counter charged. 

Suddenly everything was chaos.  The enemy were right on top of them and she had a man with a padded axe banging away at her shield.  The shield was huge and awkward and she couldn’t get a hit on him with her pistol. 

So, she dropped the pistol and shield rammed the man, knocking him up and off his feet. 

Without pausing she kicked another enemy soldier to her side and hurried back to into relative position.

One of the recruit axemen was tangled up with an enemy targeteer and she kicked the enemy in the back of the knee which brought him to the ground. 

Then an axe blade caught her shield and pulled hard, almost yanking the shield out of her hands.  She yanked back and pulled the man right up to her.  That was right where she wanted an enemy. 

She grabbed the man by his chainmail with her free hand and pushed him back into the men behind him.  He fell off balance and collided with his men. 

When she looked around next she was surrounded by enemy.  They had pushed her men back and she was alone. 

She could either make a very hasty retreat and hope to make it or fight.  She made a quick glance behind her and saw an axeman ready to take a swing.  She wasn’t getting out without a fight. 

There was nothing else to think about. 

Greza threw her shield at the axeman and charged.  He sidestepped the shield and was ready for her charge.  He swung with a wide overhead swing.  This man wasn’t holding back.  Even with the padding, that blow would cause serious pain if it connected. 

But she didn’t let the blow connect.  She dodged to the side just enough to avoid it and came in to tackle him in the waist.  He had thrown himself off balance with his vicious swing and left himself wide open.  Wrapping both arms around him she heaved with her legs and lifted him off the ground.  Then she slammed him into the ground on his back. 

He lay there stunned while she snatched the axe out of his hand and turned to face the enemy. 

There were three matchlocks pointed at her.  An officer stood behind them.  She recognized him as one of the officers she helped train. 

“You’re too dangerous to let loose,” the officer said. 

The three guns fired and she felt a judge tie a red cloth around her arm. 

She sighed and dropped the axe.  The veterans were looking at her but she couldn’t tell what they saw.  Had she disappointed them or did they not care?

When she looked for her unit she saw they were all lying on the ground with red cloth on their arms. 

They had been beaten that quickly?  How embarrassing. 

The veterans withdrew and left the recruits to themselves.  The veterans were laughing and patting themselves on the back as they walked back to the fortress. 

“How’d you do?”  Nika asked as she sat down next to her.

She shrugged. 

“Not good, huh?”  Nika asked.

“I guess not.” 

Then Duke Verin got down from his horse and approached their group.  They all stood and saluted with fists to their chests.  He waved them all and motioned for them to take their seats again. 

He stood there with his hands resting on his pistol belt.  He was very relaxed and held himself with a subtle confidence that she admired.  This man knew he could kill most people he met.  But he also looked like someone who wouldn’t want to. 

“You just got your first taste of what a battle is like,” Duke Verin said.  “Let me assure you that the real thing is much worse.  Instead of wet grass you’ll be slipping on your friends’ blood.  Those men went easy on you today.  Its different when the man in front of you is trying his hardest to kill you.

“You never had a chance to win this battle.  I want you to know what you’re up against.  I also wanted to show you what you can become.  In a week’s time you will graduate from recruit to a soldier in my army.  If you wish to succeed then you must learn discipline and integrity.  I don’t care what you’ve heard.  We are not brigands and cut-throats.  We are professional soldiers.  That said, we will also destroy whatever enemy we face. We do not hold back until the fighting is done.”

She listened to every word he said.  His voice was like a calm music ready to burst into a powerful explosion of sound.  Behind each word was a book full of meaning.  He was the most handsome man she had ever seen.

She knew at that moment that this was a man worthy of her respect.  She would gladly serve him in any way possible. 

When he finished speaking, Duke Verin gave them a relaxed salute and mounted back up on his horse.  Wordlessly they rode back to the fortress. 

Sgt. Drakan stood up in front of them. 

“That was our Duke. Listen to him and you can’t go wrong.  Now, let’s go over today’s action.”

She barely listened to the report of their performance.  The Duke’s words still sang through her mind and she was lost in thought until she heard her name. 

“Greza?”

“Here!”

There was some laughing. 

“Good work today.  You kept the formation as long as you could and then fought like a manticore until you were overwhelmed.  Let that be a lesson to all of you.  No one, no matter how tough, can survive on their own.  That is why you must all keep together or the whole thing falls apart.” 

But his words faded away as the sound of the Duke’s voice filled her memory once again.