The Dark Edge Chronicles - Clan War

Magnar's Legacy

Lash made a dismissive wave of his hand.

"Don't second guess yourself now, Narcist. Unless Magnar also knew Topinov's true identity, then we'd be right in the same spot regardless."

"Scanning for that now," Narcist said, eyes narrowed as she refocused on the text now scrolling fairly quickly from top to bottom across the screen. Lash watched as she did so, knowing she was better at scanning text than he was. Then:

"Meshak on a mountain!" she breathed in astonishment. "Magnar was tracking Romanescu and his rogue former Qos Viran!"

"What??" Lashed moved closer to look over Narcist's shoulder at the holographic screen. Feeling him do that, Narcist pointed at the spot where Magnar detailed his efforts to not only track the renegades, but take them out as well.

"Night Father's grace!" the big vampire breathed in astonishment as he stared at the data. "He has it all here! Transponder codes, safe houses, and favorite hangouts."

"He was using his Lord Commander access to gather intel on not only members of your former team." The veteran tech pointed at several locations on the screen.

"He was watching twenty former Qos Viran that were turned."

"And another seven still in the ranks." Lash's expression darkened upon seeing that.

"According to Magnar's notes, Giovanni approached them while you were still teamed up. He didn't think anything of it until he started seeing unusual patterns of behavior emerge shortly after. Patterns that included anti-lilith and anti-council ..."

Narcist abruptly stopped reading with a gasp, her eyes flying wide.

"Narcist?" Lash looked over at her with a raised brow.

"There's another slave market!" she exclaimed in dismay.

Lash's expression grew grim in an instant.

"Hunter! Get Kingsguard, Kassidy, and Darktower in here. Now!"

The three commanders stood silent as a map of Poland resolved in front of them, Darktower looking thoughtful while Kassidy and Naryan both looked almost as grim as Lash did.

"So Magnar gave the traitors a reason to kill him." That from the thoughtful Dragon's Own commander. "They bought his silence with the lives of his family and his blood."

He looked at Lash.

"They deserve to be avenged," he noted, his matter-of-fact tone saying much more than a blistering tirade ever could.

"Agreed," Lash said. "Romanescu and his crew will face retribution. Just tell me how you're going to do it."

"Krakow is highlighted because that's the location of his slaver compound, yes?" Kassidy asked tautly.

"Correct," Narcist confirmed. "Using a number of Ventru listening posts in the city, we've penetrated Romanescu's cloaking tech and confirmed via implant that he, and a number of his former Qos Viran colleagues are here."

The image zoomed into Krakow, a city in the southern part of the country. A location that put it within easy travel of Budapest in Hungary.

A city map then appeared when the image was close enough before the viewpoint zoomed in even further to the southeast of the city center. Here, in an ramshackle industrial section in the midst of being transformed into living space, Romanescu's compound hid inside a cluster of old warehouses built when Poland was under human communist rule.

As the three commanders carefully studied the location, Narcist went on.

"We reached out to Master Vulcrum to see if he had assets in the city, and he indicated observers only. And those were tasked with keeping an eye on the local Vorinov Houses with a presence in the city, which is currently in territorial dispute between Vorinov and Nosferatu."

"How will either react if we begin a major operation there?" Kassidy asked.

"That's why you're here, Colonel," Lash said. "We go in with a heavy Ventru presence and we'll find ourselves looking at both Vorinov and Nosferatu nestari blockading our every move, suspecting that we're there on a territory grab. But if we move the Silver Legion in, tasked with rescuing any liliths still in the slavers' hands, and bringing those slavers to justice, you'll be perceived differently. You're a neutral entity, with no bias towards any one clan or House. If they don't outright assist you, they should at the very least, stay out of your way!"

"I have enough vampiresses in my ranks that I can put together a Valkyrie support unit of Dragon's Own to bolster your units, Colonel, if you wish," Darktower indicated, looking over at her. "They'll strengthen your efforts while letting the Silver Legion engage in the major operational opportunities."

"My Force Recon legionnaires have some experience in this kind of operation," Naryan added, looking from Lash to Kassidy with a nod. "We can certainly spearhead any effort against the traitors and get our queens back."

Kassidy nodded first to Darktower, then to Naryan before looking at Lash.

"And you, my lord? Will you be joining this operation?"

Lash smiled wryly.

"Not this time, Colonel," he said, pausing just long enough to hear Darktower's quiet sigh of relief. "Again, if either Vorinov or Nosferatu catch wind that I'm directly involved, it'll taint the Silver Legion's efforts to appear neutral in the clashes between clans. But I will have oversight from the command center's bullpen. So I'll be available as a resource, should you need me."

"Ah." There was no mistaking the disappointment on Kassidy's face, and in her voice. A disappointment that momentarily raced across Naryan's face as well before she managed to school it back to neutrality.

"Unfortunate. You would've guaranteed our victory, Lord Commander." Squaring her shoulders with resolve, she turned to Darktower. "And on that note, I gladly accept your generous offer, Lord General Darktower. A vampiress-only unit to join the companies of Silver Legion and the Force Recon squads that I will use in battle."

Darktower bowed his head.

"Of course, Colonel. I will begin assembling the unit immediately. I should have them ready in less than an hour with the appropriate changes to their kit and uniforms."

"Very good, Lord General." She paused to look at the ceiling. "Hunter, what's the estimated flight time to Krakow, Poland from this base?"

"Approximately two hours, Colonel Kassidy," the base AI replied.

The Silver Legion officer glanced at the chrono on the wall, which showed four in the morning.

"Okay, this is going to be an early morning operation. So, Captain Kingsguard, please prepare your Force Recon for a daylight operation. Lord General Darktower, the same." She then looked at me.

"You'll have my battle plan within the hour, my Lord Commander. And we'll go wheels up as soon as we have your approval."

Lash nodded in acknowledgment.

"Within the hour," he echoed. "Hunter, all available resources to Colonel Kassidy and her command group. Okay, vampires, let's make this happen. I want the traitors either ash, or in our holding cells in six hours from this meeting." And, with a final nod, he turned and began to walk towards the door, intent on leaving the war room to the officers for their planning to begin in earnest.

"My lord," Kassidy called out. "Where will you be in the near future should we require you to call upon your expertise?"

"I have Embraced liliths recovering from injuries in their quarters," he said over his shoulder. "I'm going to check in on them to see how they are faring." Then he was through the door, letting it close behind him.