Good Advice

Mt. Dakun, Rebellion-Held Aviye

Zai

Riser.

That was a term Zai had not expected to have applied to her. As much as Amri's teachings had helped her, she hadn't thought that she'd been cultivating anything in particular, just doing her best to fight, to win, to survive.

Major Riel moved quickly after Zai's debrief, assigning the squad to bunk with the 8th Platoon, 1st Company. They had quarters on the ground floor near the motor pool. Zai was assigned officers quarters on the second floor of the complex, a small, windowless room with two beds, the other bed going to Amri. The only other amenities in the room were a hot plate, a carafe for coffee, and a desk.

Zai made quick work of the coffee she found in the room, using it to fuel her as she caught up on the situation report for the Rebellion, filled out her own reports, a request for reinforcements, and letters for the families of Sh'zi and Edam.

Sergeant Lorn had no blood family that Zai knew of, so she penned the letter with the intent to deliver it to the Major. Describing what she could of each death left her crying, so after the last letter she lay in her bed with her arm covering her eyes, her sleeve soaking in the tears; letting the memories of the people she'd lost flow through her as she hardened her determination to do better.

She was in this state when Amri returned, flanked by two guards who let her into the room before remaining to guard the door.

"Are you alright, Captain?" Amri asked, closing the door and moving to sit on Zai's bed. She felt the weight of her settling on the mattress, comforting in its closeness even though they weren't touching.

"Yes. I just had to write some letters. Condolences for the people we lost. It was... difficult," she admitted, removing her arm and staring up at the stone ceiling. "With everything that's happened... I'm afraid... afraid they'll disband the Nightravens."

Amri touched her wrist with her fingers. "The Major won't do that... She seems like a reasonable woman."

Zai laughed. "If she were reasonable, she'd have disbanded the Nightravens as soon as we fell below company strength. Instead she gave it to me... and I've been slowly watching the squad die ever since..."

Amri pulled back her hand, resting it on her lap. "I'm sorry I don't know what to say about this... I'm not a military woman."

"Just listening is enough," Zai said. "I'll request reinforcements while we're out of the fight. Fight for them if I have to."

"I think the Major has other plans..." Amri said cryptically. She'd been invited to lunch with the senior officers on base. Major Riel and a handful of colonels and senior captains had attended, but Zai had refused the invitation so she could keep working, after learning the only purpose was to introduce Amri and what she knew.

"What do you mean?" Zai asked, concern for her squad rising to the fore of her mind. She had made sure to stop by the Nightraven's new barracks, ordering them to go together to the mess hall and otherwise stay together at all times. Other units had started to take notice of the Nightraven's return.

News had quickly spread that they were responsible for the remaining 38th Platoon being rounded up, disarmed, and detained, as well as the arrest of Major Qirees. Zai didn't want them getting mixed up in the rumor mill until after an official announcement was made, especially since a company was heading south to retrieve Captain Khoe and his squad.

"Everyone at the table kept debating what to do... How much focus they should give to my defection... The Major talked them into letting her protect me while I... look for others like us."

"Couldn't you just teach others? It worked for me." Zai's eyes watched Amri's blue-black hair shift as the Doctor ran her fingers through it.

"That will be part of how I search. There will be a survey as well... Anyone with a talent others consider excessive or who others consider a bit supernatural will be checked as well. We're going to have a lot of interviews over the coming weeks."

"We?" Zai braced her hands on the bed and sat up.

"As the only other known Riser, you and I are going to be working together, under Major Riel... I'm not quite sure I understand how the military works, but the other Colonels said they would vote to promote her before General Suleika arrives."

Zai didn't have the heart to tell her that the fact Major Riel was being voted into the rank of Colonel instead of promoted by general order was more reflective of how desperate the leadership situation of the Rebellion had become.

They'd lost both Central Command generals and the one Eastern Command general, a half-dozen colonels, and hundreds of soldiers... all to one woman. It was all laid out in the situation report she'd read before writing her letters.

The Second Lightning, like her predecessor, specialized in decapitation strikes, taking out enemy leadership and moving on swiftly before she could be pinned down. Both Lightnings had been so-named because of the streaks of light they left when they would leap down on their targets and dash to the next.

Her predecessor had only died because an entire company sacrificed themselves, luring the First Lightning into a mineshaft deep in the heart of Mount Lei, where they sealed him in mud and stone before detonating enough explosives to collapse the peak into its caldera... and even then they'd only been able to do so because they'd kidnapped the Hegemon advisor to the Kingdom.

The one "bright" side she'd read in the report was that the Second Lightning might have been injured, though if Zai's recovery rate as a Riser was any indication, that would not last for long. A Colonel named Wing Anxhi had realized what was happening as the radio reports poured in. He'd immediately started coordinating, pulling back troops wherever he could and designating new commanders.

Making himself a target for enemy radio detectors, he'd stayed on the line, even broadcasting a patriotic song, before detonating the command post he'd occupied. As soon as the Second Lightning entered his bunker, his last words over the radio were "For the People."

It was thanks to his orders that Major Riel had been able to assume control of the field, preserving as much of the fighting force as was possible as the Kingdom forces pushed them back behind the Lightning.

"Major Riel has deserved a promotion for longer than I've known her," Zai replied.

The Major had spent a lot of her clout pushing the needs of people like Zai up the chain until the entire understanding of the revolution itself changed. She'd made herself bear many times the weight of lives than Zai ever had under her command, until at last it was acknowledged and made a law that there should be no division within the People over something as trivial as gender or orientation.

The choice of how to represent one's self should be the decision of the individual, and to honor that choice was to honor the basic rights of humanity and the People's struggle. The Revolutionary Council, the unified representation of the People with the Rebellion - essentially the Military - had firmly committed to bringing this law to all of Aviye.

Zai and Amri continued to talk for a while longer, Zai informing her about the report on what the Second Lightning had reaped in the field. Eventually, Amri took her rest, and Zai watched her sleep for a moment before standing up and walking out the door, intent on grabbing a meal.

The guards outside the door snapped to attention as she left, reminding her they were there. "As you were," she said, before looking for the stairwell down.

The mountain base had within it a certain stark charm. Every floor in the complex was carved into the rock, with etheric lights granting a warm yellow glow to the grey, blue-grey, and brown striations.

The lowest floors walls were even polished in places, a relic from the days when ascetic monks once passed time in the cleft. All the historic artifacts had been carefully stored in the deepest parts of the complex, and Zai remembered a statue of the Iconoclast standing upon a broken, demonic mask, guarding a tunnel that led out next to the motor pool.

As she crossed the bridge, she found it strange to see the purple evening sky as a narrow band speckling with stars above her. The high mountain known as Mt. Dakun loomed enough to where the peak was shrouded in darkness, the complex only rising to about seven stories worth of carved living space.

Tunnels and stairs kept out of sight led higher, even to the very top almost fifteen stories above the highest floor, where the anti-aircraft batteries and radar station lay hidden amidst the foliage. There were even cranes for raising and lowering supplies throughout the cleft.

Zai made her way to the mess hall, which was still busy and got in line. She ended up at a table with a simple meal of fried noodles, boiled vegetables, and coffee. After a few sips she decided to save the noodles for last, biting into an overcooked leaf she hoped was cabbage. That it looked like it could be the remains of any leaf almost made her set it aside, but at least it tasted edible. Like salt, mostly.

She was ruminating on the next unidentifiable chunk of vegetable when Sergeant Ruu arrived, her overalls smeared with oil along with her hands. She was followed by Sergeant Lein, who preferred neutral pronouns when they were out of uniform.

"Sergeant Ruu, I thought I passed on the order that the Nightravens were due some R&R." Rest and relaxation was a sacred time, one that it was clear Sergeant Lein had enjoyed while Sergeant Ruu had decided to work.

"With all due respect, I choose to think that meant 'Rabbit and Repairs,'" K'le joked. "You can blame the Major for setting us up next to the motor pool."

"I'll pass on your sentiments." Zai joked back. "Just be sure to look after yourself too, alright K'le?" Zai gave her a look of concern and then a small smile. She turned towards Sergeant Lein. "How are you doing, Ezyr?"

They swallowed their bite before answering. "Can't complain. Whole base seems... tense. Did you get the report on what happened?"

"I did. The Second Lightning really has us at the edge of a cliff." She leaned in and lowered her voice. "It'll be tough holding out as well... if the Northern Army changes sides."

"You really think they will?" Ezyr leaned in to respond.

"I think Jiang wouldn't be holding back if he was entirely confident... he might be purging his ranks, since he no longer appears to be coming here. Even if he was lax on political education, I know there are soldiers in the Northern Army who believe in the People's Cause and a free Aviye... Not the boot-licking remnant he traded his honor for. Once the official statement is made, we may have to fight our former siblings, and fight to save the loyal ones."

"I think we might be dangling over the edge of that cliff if that's the case," K'le muttered, picking up a large white chunk that could have been radish and popping it into her mouth with her oil-stained fingers.

"Sergeant, do I need to order you to wash your hands?" Zai asked, using K'le's rank to get across that she was serious.

"I ate this for lunch already. Trust me, the oil tastes better." she said around her bite of food.

Ezyr emitted a spurting laugh.

"I'll let it slide for now... but don't complain if I make you do push ups after you get sick." Captain Zai smirked.

"Complain isn't in my vocabulary," K'le said.

Ezyr looked sideways at her. "You just said..."

"Said what?" K'le punched him lightly in the arm.

Zai watched the exchange with a grin, sipping her coffee. "How are Eisaf and Xan?" she asked once they grew quiet again.

"Xan's arm is fine. Small caliber in the meat will heal well enough for him to keep holding wrenches. Eisaf though... they're saying his leg's not going to hold weight as well. He'll need a cane for a long time, if not until the end. He still wants to serve though, so it would be helpful if you touched base with him soon."

"I'll see if I can get him transferred to the radio room. With all the 38th gone, I think there will be space for him."

"We're already well below critical manning for a squad, Captain." K'le said.

"I know. The Major hasn't said anything about disbanding the Nightravens, so I won't count rabbits until they appear." Zai tried the noodles. They tasted like salt and soy sauce, which was alright. She thought she even tasted meat, though it was more like some noodles were flecked with meat bits if she looked hard enough.

"Count your Ravens though," Ezyr said. They'd decided to just drink the vegetable water and toss the remaining chunks on top of their noodles. "We're down to five."

"And Rabbit," K'le added.

"And Rabbit," Ezyr agreed.

"I put in a request for reinforcements... let's hope it goes through. Major Riel getting promoted might need to happen first to make the difference..." Zai took another bite as K'le and Ezyr looked at each other with concern.

"Whatever happens, the Nightravens are with you, Captain. Everyone knows that it might have been his patsy that pulled the trigger, but Jiang's the one who's got to pay." Ezyr said with finality.

Zai contemplated their words. She wondered if she should hold back that she was a Riser now, that it might mean she'd be taken away, but then discarded the thought as she put her trust in them.

"About that..." she started. "Amri was able to identify something about me... apparently over the last few days I've become a Riser."

There was no reaction for a moment. And then...

"So?" K'le asked rhetorically. "You're still our Captain. Unless your arm's no longer shot that'll mean you still need Rabbit."

Zai blinked twice. "You're taking this surprisingly calmly..."

Ezyr finished chewing. "Can't say we're surprised. We knew something was up as soon as Amri went around asking the new medic about your injuries."

"We weren't born yesterday, Captain." K'le chuckled. "Sounds like you need some R&R if you think we don't see what's happening around us."

"Did you mean 'rest and relaxation' or 'repairs and Rabbit?'" Zai asked.

"Why not both?" K'le replied. "Walk Dr. Jeng around in Rabbit's palm, show her the top of the mountain or whatever it is you kids do nowadays."

"I don't think Dr. Jeng would like that very much." Zai said.

K'le and Ezyr looked at each other. Then at Zai.

"Ask her," they said at the same time.