The deadly tragedy at Norhold festered in Terra's mind, demanding answers. She resolved to put on her agent hat, and go up there to find them herself.
After mounting her motorcycle, Terra unfolded the colorful drawing Benjamin gave her earlier in the morning, depicting yesterday's outing. Smiling stick figures stood among tall green trees next to a winding blue steam, all under a bright yellow sun. The simple joy that radiated from his art melted Terra's heart yet again.
Returning the drawing into a saddlebag, Terra switched on the motorcycle and took off on a two-hour ride to the north and east. Will, who left after breakfast to his own work, had tried to talk her out of the journey, but she would not be deterred.
The grasslands and tree groves near Freehold gave way to higher altitude pine forests as she rode on, then to lush meadows as she descended into the valley surrounding the small town. The wind in her hair and pleasant sunny day further brightened Terra's mood.
Both the Dynasty and Blue Uprising vied for control of the Highland Provence, leading to periodic skirmishes. If a full-scale war broke out, Terra deduced, it would probably start here. Norhold had the misfortune of strategic location, being at the crossroads of major highways and a rail line.
Terra wondered why Freehold had been spared — why no Dynasty military were stationed nearby, and why the Blue Uprising showed little interest. Perhaps nobody thought it worth fighting over. She feared that may change in the future.
After cresting a hill overlooking the small village, she pulled over to a stop. Terra's heart dropped at the devastation before her. Not a single building remained untouched, most little more than smoldering piles of debris. What would be a pleasant town was little more than ruins. There was little sign of activity at the moment.
Like two toddlers fighting over a toy. Once they broke it, neither wanted it anymore.
She shifted into the aura and observed several people in and around the village. They might be soldiers, so she needed to be careful.
Terra dodged debris in the road as she rode into the village center and dismounted. The devastation looked even worse up close. Norhold had indeed been shelled. It was a common war practice for sufficiently powerful Talents to telekinetically throw either high-velocity slugs or explosive ordinance at the enemy from a distance. Terra noted the extensive shrapnel marks and cluster slug holes in the walls still standing.
Gritting her teeth, anger boiled up within her. Anti-personnel loads, intended to kill the people of this village!
The stench of smoke and death fouled the air. In a field just outside of town, broken bodies laid in an orderly row while a white-haired man with dirty ragged clothes dug graves. He stood hunched over, making slow, deliberate moves. Dark, nearly vacant eyes displayed a deep despair on a weary, wrinkled face as he methodically spaded the dark soil in a thankless task.
Terra addressed him from a distance. "Sir, may I speak with you?"
The old man nodded without looking as she approached, continuing with his grim task.
"What happened here?" Terra asked.
He released the shovel, letting it plop down on the fertile soil, and turned toward her, his face expressionless and eyes distant. "Death rained down from above. Twice it did. There was no warning."
"From what direction?"
He pointed east and then west. "There and there."
From two directions?
Terra put a gentle hand on his shoulder. "Let me help you, sir. I could take you to Freehold. Maybe we could find someone from your family there?"
"No," he replied without inflection, lowering his head. "There was only my wife. Hers was the first grave. This is my home and I will not leave. I do it this one last service."
"Are there others here?"
"No one from Norhold. Only soldiers."
Terra gulped. Soldiers! Now would be a good time to leave.
The old man returned to his grim task as Terra paced back toward her motorcycle. Rounding the last shattered building, she came face to face with two soldiers wearing the blue uniforms of the Blue Uprising. She froze and raised her hands as they pointed their rifles at her. Two more soldiers searched through the saddlebags on her motorcycle. One scowled at Benjamin's drawing and threw it to the ground.
A soldier challenged her. "Who are you, and what are you doing here?"
"I was just passing through when I saw all this destruction. Do you know what happened?"
The soldier ignored her question. "Let me see an ID."
"It's right here." Terra tapped the right cargo pocket on her pants and carefully withdrew an identification card, handing it to the soldier. It was unwise for an agent to reveal herself, even to others of the Uprising, unless absolutely necessary. She was glad she thought to pack the fake ID.
"Laura Green, you are coming with us," the soldier barked, removing hand restraints from his belt.
No. I am not going with you.
With no outward sign of action, Terra shifted into the aura and pinched off the blood flow to the brain of the soldier before her, causing him to crumble to the ground, unconscious. The other soldier widened his eyes and raised his rifle, only to have it knocked away by a telekinetic sweep, sending it skittering across the ground. She then sent him to the ground in the same manner as the first.
With a growl, a soldier unloading her saddlebags snapped up his rifle and fired. Lifting her hands, Terra raised a shimmering shield to block the projectile darts, then with a wrist flick, slammed him hard into the wall behind. He slumped to the ground.
The remaining standing soldier, slight in build and probably only eighteen years old, stood frozen and raised trembling arms. With a raise of a hand, Terra used her power to lift the rifle off his from his shoulder and toss it aside. After she waved her fingers in the sign of goodbye, the frightened soldier scurried off. She picked up her fake ID, and repacked her items strewn on the ground into her bags, then sped off with a whir, flinging gravel behind.
Once again, at the vantage point overlooking the village, she stopped. Something the old man had said, that the attacks came from two different directions. Terra might have discounted his assessment, but she recalled that the high-velocity slug damage patterns supported his observation.
Rage pulsed through her veins. Both the Dynasty and the Uprising shelled this village!
After several deep breaths to calm herself, Terra transitioned in the aura, checking one last time for danger. It came.
Multiple projectiles slashed through the air in a ballistic trajectory, streaking her way from the west. A cluster slug. Some powerful Talent must have noticed her aura and pushed an attack.
The group of spikes already had too much kinetic energy to block, and there was not time enough to jump out of the way. The best she could hope for was to divert them. Concentrating, Terra telekinetically pushed them hard to the side, but whoever sent them resisted the diversion. She increased her effort — a few degrees off course would be enough. The short spikes hissed as they pelted the ground just behind her in a shotgun-like pattern.
Terra yelped at a sharp burning pain in her left upper arm. "Damn it!" she cursed. A hand to the wound came up red, and crimson dots painted the ground at her feet.
Ignoring the bleeding, Terra called on the full power of her motorcycle and sped away before another attack.
Far enough away to be out of danger, Terra stopped to bind her arm gash and mop up the blood. She sighed, recalling Will's earlier warnings. He is going to give me a major 'I told you so' lecture when I get back.