By the time that the tribunal was finished with everyone they wanted to call for witnesses, it was nearly lunch, so they postponed the final two interviews with the Base Commander and the Captain for after the meal.
That cut out almost all chance of getting a proper patrol completed on that day, and that meant double the numbers of dangerous monsters the day after, as Karl’s team wouldn’t be out there to deal with them.
But more importantly, with nobody challenging them, there was a chance that the larger monsters would team up and start coming after the base.
But very few in the camp were actually concerned about the implications of stopping their clearance duties for a day. They all wanted to know how this drama was going to play out, and if there was going to be a new Base Commander at the end of the day.
If there was, then they would expect a whole new set of orders to be coming, and they couldn’t rely on routine to get them through tomorrow. Even if the Base Commander was just censured by the High Priest, the tribunal officers would be breathing down his neck for the foreseeable future, and that meant even more chaos than a new Commander.
They had all realized yesterday when the pile of monster heads was brought into the base that something was horribly wrong outside their patrol ranges, but most of them didn’t know the details.
They did, however, know about the altercation between the Captain and the Base Commander.
Lunch at the military chow hall was a dismal meal, with everything from cans and no clerics assigned to kitchen duties to bring fresh food to the mix. Karl wasn’t certain, but the ever present rice and beans might actually be better than what they were serving here.
Lotus must have felt the same way because Karl saw her sneaking spices into everything that she ate, including the tea. For such a tiny creature, the cleric ate a surprising amount, but she was still finished before the meal was over and waiting for the circus to begin.
The final decisions would be made within the next hour, and they would find out if they were going to have to patrol in the afternoon, or reorganize their team after it lost its Captain. There was a very slim chance that they would be sent out without their officer, but Karl’s group might well be reassigned to another unit while the one they were with was put on base duty until they could receive a new officer.
The Golden Dragon Nation’s Army was quite flexible with officer ranks, as they were mostly based on accomplishments, so you could end up with situations like this, where a Captain led a platoon of men, instead of a Lieutenant, but without an officer, nobody would be going anywhere.
Someone had soundproofed the tent, so everyone waiting outside could only guess at what happened after the Base Commander and the Captain were called inside, but it was an entire hour before they came back out.
The Captain, whose uniform insignia had already been changed to red to signify his punishment status, was now wearing the silver bar of a Second Lieutenant, along with the red stripes of an officer under punishment, while the Base Commander was no longer wearing any military rank at all. His coat and hat had been removed, and he was accompanying the JAG officers to the helicopter they had arrived in the day before.
The former Captain, now Lieutenant, waited beside the High Priest while he prepared to make an official announcement, waiting for the crowd to quiet before he spoke.
“Attention. Our decision has been made. The base will receive a new Commander within the next seven days. Until that time, I will remain here, and the Church Guard will take over administration of this forward post.
For the crime of instigating violence against a fellow officer, a demotion from Captain to Second Lieutenant has been issued, and this matter is now considered to be resolved. May the Dragons favour all your lives.”
That was a much shorter speech than had been expected, but they still only had about five hours before it would be dark again, and there would be a spawn sometime tonight that would increase the monster numbers once more.
The Lieutenant motioned for his team to gather, then for Karl’s group to join him. They were going to escape the base before the flood of questions began, and get some work done before they could be accused of slacking by those who were friends with the Base Commander.
There was no official word on what had happened to him, but leaving without his uniform, there was a good chance that he had either been stripped of his commission, or he was going to jail. Neither one would make the freshly demoted Lieutenant particularly popular with those who had supported the Base Commander’s actions.
They were out of the base before anyone else had really grasped their intentions, and Karl sent Hawk up to verify the location of the biggest threats.
“I don’t see any Commanders today, but we have a number of Ascended threats, as well as some nasty groups of Hobgoblins. We will have to work fast to get things done, but we should be able to clear at least the west side toward the lake before nightfall.” Karl relayed once Hawk was far enough up to give a proper report.
“A nice dip in the lake tomorrow morning wouldn’t upset anyone. Lead the way, Scout Karl.” The Lieutenant laughed.
That would be perfect for them. Gone overnight, still doing their jobs, and a nice warm swim before coming back to the base.
Hawk led them though a gauntlet of small but intense fights for the remainder of the afternoon, working his way toward the lake, while the group pointedly ignored the constant chatter on the radio as the patrol teams struggled to adapt to the orders that the High Priest was giving.
They should have known that he would have no mercy on them. He was an old man, and he had been leading battles against the monsters for decades before the Serum injections created the Elites.
Back when all they had was a cleric like Tessa to enchant their weapons and armour, during battles when they would send otherwise perfectly human soldiers up against the supernatural, he was already a High Priest, doing the will of the Gods and ensuring that the Golden Dragon Nation prospered.
Their complaints that they couldn’t defeat these monsters fell on deaf ears. The could and they would. They just needed someone to show them how, and the Church Guard was happy to be the ones to show them.
They were all from military deities, mostly the main branch of the Church, and they knew the skills to enhance weapons the same as the clerics always had.
Tessa could do the same, but other than the basic blessings of increased strength and movement speed, she mostly just enhanced Thor, as he was the only one who would be fighting up close and personal. She could do Rae as well, but the effects were limited, and the duration was short, so she had to return to the group to get it refreshed, and that was just too annoying for the spider, who preferred to hide until it was time to fight.
[The lake is right ahead, no big groups of monsters, and no monster fish in the waters. Tell them the best spot to set up camp is thirty metres from the shore and a hundred metres north of the path that leads you to the lake. There is a good spot there that isn’t wet.] Hawk updated just before the sun went down.
“Good news. We found our camping spot. Hawk says it’s dry, flat and free of monsters.” Karl informed the group, who all smiled wearily.
They had pushed hard today to get the kills in, and tomorrow they knew they were in for a lot of walking.
Karl tested the waters of the lake when he first arrived, and found that the water was fresh, and cool, though not uncomfortably cold, as well as reasonably clear, which would be great for swimming in the morning.
The clearing was a bit cramped, but he wanted to set up along the tree line anyhow so that he could have Rae construct hammocks instead of sleeping on the ground again. Their one big tent wasn’t terrible, but given the option, not being on the ground would be better.
