Eerie Silence
Outside Stuttgart - June 27
“That’s strange.” In the distance, Commander Ludolf saw pillars of smoke rising into the sky. “Nowhere near Stuttgart.”
“What do you make of it, Commander?” Sergeant Moritz said. “The enemy?”
Ludolf shook his head. “No. Moria’s men don’t operate this far west, from the latest intel. Only a couple units.”
“You know we can’t trust Eisenburg’s people,” Moritz said, “They’re heretics and heathens, the lot of them. I mean, the name Qazai...”
“I know, but we’ll deal with them after we defeat Moria,” Ludolf said, “In the meantime, we should worry about immediate threats.”
Out of instinct, he raised one hand to his temple and tapped. Just a week ago, that was how his Panopticon knew to start searching for threats. But General Dandolo had manually disconnected all of their Panopticons, so his motion was for nothing.
Sometimes, I miss how convenient that implant can be. His field of vision remained empty and barren.
Ludolf’s unit drew closer to the smoke, and now he could make out the smoldering remains of village buildings. Bodies laid face-down on the street, all shot multiple times in the back. None of them were armed. Ludolf tried directing his Panopticon to search for any potential signs of life in the vicinity, but he remembered it had been disabled.
“What the hell happened here?” Moritz said.
“Looks like a massacre,” Ludolf said.
The village was completely destroyed. Not a single building or vehicle remained untouched. The only sounds he heard were the crackling of distant fires and a light breeze brushing through his hair. Then there was the silence. That eerie unnatural silence that hung over everything. A street like this should have been filled with noises from traffic and pedestrians. There should have been the ambient hustle of people going about their day. But there was nothing. Yes, Berlin’s recent actions may have reduced the number of people out on the streets, Ludolf reckoned, but he never thought it would be
this bad.
“What kind of monsters would do such a thing?” he said to himself.
“Hey!” someone shouted. Ludolf wasn’t used to hearing people call out the old-fashioned way. “We found a survivor!”
They ran towards the voice and arrived in front of a smashed storefront. Inside, the ceiling had collapsed, destroying everything that was supposed to be on the shelves and pinning a man to the floor by his lower body.
“Don’t worry, sir, we’ll get you out,” Ludolf said.
“Crusaders!” the man shouted, wildly swinging his free arms. “Get away from me!”
“But we need to get you out.”
The man continued flailing. “You murderers!”
“Murderers? We just got here.”
“You have the same armbands they did!” the man pointed at Ludolf’s Crusader armband. To distinguish themselves from Moria’s Crusaders, they wore their armbands upside down and crossed out the eagle. “Upside down crossed out eagles! Don’t say you didn’t know!”
“Sir, that’s impossible,” Moritz said.
“I know,” Ludolf said, “The only other allied unit in this area would be Commander Stefan’s unit. And I know Stefan wouldn’t do this.”
“Typical Crusaders!” The man was gasping for air now. His movements grew more sluggish. Ludolf finally noticed the pool of blood under his upper body, slowing getting larger.
“Someone get the medic!” Ludolf ordered.
But part of him knew it was already too late.
“Typical…Crusaders…” the man gasped. “Always…protecting…your own…you’ve…left this country…to die…”
He went limp, and the light left his eyes.
Ludolf sighed and shook his head, disappointed. Seeing his commander’s discomfort, Moritz walked up to him and clasped him on the shoulder. “Cheer up, sir, he was probably a heretic, you know? I’d say he’s receiving his due punishment from the Devil as we speak.”
But Ludolf couldn’t help but dwell on the man’s dying words.
Ulm
“And that concludes my report, sir.” Ludolf’s voice crackled over the speakers. “We’ve got more questions than answers.”
“I see,” Heinrich said, “And you’re certain he was telling the truth?”
“He’s got no reason to lie. So if men in Crusader uniforms with our armbands massacred the village, there are three options. Bandits, Moria’s men, or our men gone rogue.”
“Bandit activity in the Stuttgart region is largely confined to the urban area,” Frederica said, “They wouldn’t target a random village on the outskirts when there are plenty more easier targets in downtown, at least for now.”
“Even with the radiation and all?” Ludolf said.
“Bandits are desperate enough to not care about radiation,” Frederica said.
“So if it’s not bandits, then it has to be a Crusader unit. Ours or theirs?”
“I’ve already checked with Commander Stefan,” Heinrich said, “At the time the alleged massacre happened, he was engaging Moria’s troops elsewhere. Ten injured, five dead, mostly rebels. Though without the Panopticons, I can’t be completely sure.”
“Mostly rebel?” Frederica crossed her arms. “What happened, to the best of your knowledge?”
“Commander Stefan suggested a pincer attack, by which the Crusaders and rebels would each draw apart half of the enemy force and deal with them separately. It was simply bad luck that the enemy’s drones focused on the rebels.”
Frederica sighed. “I swear…”
“Commander Stefan sends his deepest apologies, Colonel.”
“Why did he need to apologize?” Moritz appeared on the video feed. “It’s just war. This stuff happens. You can’t be a snowflake and demand special treatment. That’s how you die.”
“Sergeant Moritz, you’re out of line,” Ludolf said.
“I’m stating the facts,” Moritz said.
“You are dismissed, Sergeant Moritz.”
Moritz glared at Ludolf. Then he saluted and left.
“Commander Ludolf, your unit needs better discipline,” Heinrich said.
“I know, and I apologize for Sergeant Moritz’s insubordination,” Ludolf said, “Though I do want to raise concerns about this arrangement with Colonel Eisenburg.”
“Would you like to share your concerns with me?” Frederica leaned closer to the screen and narrowed her eyes.
“I personally don’t see a problem with it,” Ludolf said, “The intel Frau Qazai’s group has given us has been very helpful. But many other commanders and their men don’t share my views. Especially since you’re a woman.”
Frederica rolled her eyes. “Has it really only been nine years since Bloody Tuesday? Feels more like nine hundred.”
“If they refuse to take orders from a woman, I will have them shot,” Heinrich said, “I’m a Regent, appointed by God to lead Christendom. To defy my words is treason. You have my authorization to do the same with your insubordinates.”
“Y-Yes, sir.” Ludolf nodded. “I will pass that on to my men.”
“Good. Dismissed.” The video feed cut off, and Heinrich leaned back in his chair.
“So what do we think?” Frederica said. “If it’s not bandits or our men, then that leaves Moria, right?”
“It does fit his profile,” Heinrich said, “Only one problem with that. The only troops we’ve found that are loyal to Moria were fighting Commander Stefan’s unit when the massacre happened. And we don’t know any other Moria troops in the area.”
“Strange,” Frederica said, “Perhaps our intel is incomplete. I’ll have to check with Sigmund and my people.”
“Or perhaps there’s something else at play here,” Heinrich said, “Something we’re missing. It feels like the answer is staring me in the face, and I just can’t see it.”
“Or maybe it really is that simple, old man,” Frederica said, “I’ll check over my intel and see if I find anything. You just…keep your boys in line.”
“Colonel, you need to do a better job of having your people work with mine.”
“That’s on you. You
did try to murder and enslave us all.”
“That was Moria.”
“You do not get to use him as an excuse, old man. Now get to it.”
Heinrich sighed. “I suppose you’re right.”
