PART 5 – TIME TO LEAVE

There was quite a stir when Mibreg ordered them to treat me with the utmost respect, as someone of nobility. Many disagreed and remained tense whenever I was in sight.

"The Empress wishes to see you, so I ask that you accompany us, please," his attitude had completely shifted, leaving the ego behind.

Then, he began to explain why it was necessary for me to get back on the truck. As I understood it, we were in a theater of operations, a region with an ongoing armed conflict or high risk of confrontations. He explained while guiding me to the truck that all the camps set up around were for a top-secret mission.

"Our mission was to support Lieutenant Elora in her infiltration and extraction for it to be successful," he opened the truck's door, got in, settled into the large seat on the right, and continued, "We had to steal a drakonte egg. However, it was a surprise when the egg hatched and even more surprising when it came towards us of its own volition, along with our lieutenant."

The general picked up a matchbox and a cigarette from their breast pocket, a habitual smoker.

"You don't mind if I smoke, do you?"

I shook my head from side to side.

"No? But I'll leave the door open."

I nodded again to allow her to smoke; the smell of cigarettes probably won't give me cancer; I must have enormous lungs.

"Alright, as you wish," she tucked the match and cigarette back into her pocket, a bit irritated for not being able to smoke.

"Is shaking my head from side to side a 'no'? So nodding up and down is a 'yes'? Things like this make me realize how far I am from home; I'll remember that for next time. When I was inside the huge truck, the doors closed behind me.

"I don't want to bore you with military jargon, but this is the last thing I need to tell you. The world has advanced a lot technologically since you were in that egg, although it might not seem so different because wars still persist. However, if you had realized what I'm telling you, you would have never approached our outpost, as there was a powerful magical barrier constructed by me. As you felt when you fainted, that barrier could affect you, and there are several points we must pass through protected by a barrier lesser than mine, but it would reveal our position and we don't know how it would act on you. After all, we are in a secret place built to contain you."

She ended the conversation by bringing the two fingers of her left hand to her mouth, a clear compulsive smoker's habit; it was a pity I couldn't tell her to smoke without care. The truck started moving, and I could hear other trucks following suit from outside.

"Finally leaving behind this cursed place filled with humans. They couldn't have sunk any lower, consorting with the undead. Just thinking about what awaits us if we were to lose the war makes me sick," she commented aloud.

I wished I could speak, wished I could ask many things right now. If there were a way to communicate with them beyond nodding or grunting, my stay in this world would be much more bearable; I had never felt so lonely with so many people around. I was already envisioning a boring journey of several hours in complete silence, similar to the previous one with Elora, if that was her name. I wonder if she's okay; I hope they don't have to amputate her leg; that wound seemed quite severe.

As if Mibreg knew what I was thinking, he looked at me with his large eyes and said, "Elora is fine, thank you for bringing her back safe and sound. She's like a daughter to me. Don't worry about anything; the earlier act was for the troops. Someone who saves two strangers from death can't be all that bad, especially if one of them was chasing you for several kilometers. However, the conversation you'll have with my sister will seal the fate for many people."

I was just another weapon in a war I had been forced to participate in. I collapsed onto the cold, metallic floor of the truck and closed my eyes, hoping for the best, wishing to wake up from this nightmare. A rough hand on my neck was the last thing I felt before falling asleep.

The vehicle came to a sudden stop, making me think we had reached our destination. I opened my eyes and found the truck's door open, and Mibreg was nowhere in sight. Without wasting more time, I left that claustrophobic place. We arrived at an open space with many soldiers, and as I peeked out, everyone turned to look at me, frightened. Whispering started.

"So, it's true..."

"Is he not coming with us, or is he?"

"There's nowhere to run here if he decides to attack."

"Let him try; he'll see what the soldiers of the empire are made of."

Two familiar figures came out to greet me. General Mibreg, with a cigarette in hand, and Elora, the mountain sniper, looking perfectly fine and in new clothes.

"You're awake, I didn't want to disturb your sleep; you seemed quite tired. Can't blame you, really. I even nodded off a bit while we were traveling."

I'm pretty sure she had only one thing on her mind: to smoke so much that she forgot about me completely. On the other hand, what struck me the most was Elora's perfect health, which could only be explained by the word "magic." Otherwise, on a battlefield, that right leg would have either ended up amputated at best or dead at worst.

The soldiers acted as usual, despite Mibreg's order to treat me with the utmost respect. I don't blame them; truth be told, I would have done the same. However, Mibreg and Elora seemed unconcerned about my presence, which was nice, to a certain extent, because as long as I couldn't communicate with them, everything would continue to feel abnormal.

"Thank you so much for rescuing me," she said, placing her hands on her knee and performing a slight bow, "If it wasn't for you, I wouldn't even be able to perform this courtesy bow."

Was that a courtesy bow? I thought she was just assessing the results of her operation. Anyway, I would've been glad to say I'm happy you're okay. Silence was something I tried to maintain; I didn't want to further frighten those present with growls. It was difficult to stay quiet since I used to be quite talkative and often unconsciously mimicked what girls said. Hence, more than one might have been startled.

A huge plane landed in the clearing, followed by another. Both landed smoothly. The faces of those present lit up with joy, and for a moment, it seemed like they weren't concerned about my presence. The massive door opened, and several soldiers began boarding them. At least a hundred soldiers boarded, and soon the doors closed behind them. Only a few of us were left in the clearing. Five trucks remained idle. Mine was the largest of them all; the others could easily hold between 20 and 30 soldiers inside, but where I traveled could easily accommodate 50 or 60 soldiers.

"This is the worst part of being an officer; we always have to leave the area last," the general said, taking a deep drag from her third cigarette.

If what she said was true, in the clearing, the remaining ten people were all officers or non-commissioned officers. However, only one of them seemed quite discontent with the situation, a man with a walrus mustache and dark gray hair who couldn't stop casting hateful glances at me.

When the five trucks were loaded, they all started transforming. Suddenly, the vehicles turned into large boxes, infinitely smaller than a truck. The most voluminous box corresponded to that of my truck. Was this how they transported things in this world? At the previous operations center, the structures were well-built and seemed to form a solid and striking base despite being erected near the enemy. This combination of technology and magic could provide practical results. Could it be possible that each soldier carried a part of the base in the boxes they wore on their backs like backpacks?

Inside the plane, a man secured the boxes with cables and then gave us the green light to board. When our eyes met, he immediately looked away and visibly disturbed, moved away.

"Rookies. Are we boarding or what?" Mibreg finally said.

We started walking towards the massive metal bird. It was ironic to be taken on a plane when I could fly. However, I didn't complain and walked up the huge metal ramp, always keeping my distance from the others. Nevertheless, I wasn't the last one to board.

"As I said before, the highest-ranking officers are the last ones to leave the battlefield. In fact, I should demote them for getting on before you," she joked from below while waving.

When I was finally inside the quite empty plane, except for some cables and other non-truck boxes, Mibreg climbed up the ramp and joined the other officers. I watched as the door I had entered through slowly closed, feeling quite scared about the uncertain future that awaited me.

The plane began to lift off the ground, and for the first time, I wasn't afraid to fly. Since I was a child, and not so much a child, the mere idea of picturing myself aboard one of these iron giants terrified me. However, now, I could only feel quite disappointed with the experience; I started to fantasize about flying myself behind the plane.

Elora came over to me and placed her hand on my back to get my attention, as if I were her best depressed friend, and began to gently stroke my back.

"Don't worry," she said and continued, "I know you want to go out and fly, but these prototype planes were made for this mission; they're invisible, remember, we're still in enemy territory."

I glanced at Elora, and she gave me a warm smile.

"Elora, Mr. Drakonte, please come here for a moment. I need to discuss many things with you, especially with you," she pointed at me, "Before we meet with the Empress."