BXBX NOVEL Chapter 114 - Debriefing
In Cole\'s house, the situation was tense. Del and Anna were sitting down at the dining table. Across them were Hubert and Cassandra. Cole and Alina were in the kitchen, cooking dinner. It had been two weeks since the accident in Halivaara\'s front line.
The dinner was a celebration for both Hubert and Alina\'s discharge from the hospital. However, due to Del\'s responsibility to report back to Cassandra about the current situation, it was better to report to her about the gas attack. Cassandra should have had the idea about what gas was there, but she might want to know about the event preceding the gas attack.
"So, Del, do you have something to tell me about the gas attack?" Cassandra asked.
"Yes. I have some questions first, would you mind answering the questions?" Del asked.
"Go ahead."
"Do you have any information about any imperial experimental weapon?" Del asked.
"I don\'t. I only heard rumors about it."
"Do you have any idea that the imperial military has any chemical weapons in their arsenal?" Del asked.
"Yeah, Chlorine and Mustard Gas. Though, I heard about the experimental gas that the Imperial used in Halivaara. The codename is "NGF-21". Other than that, I don\'t know much about it, sorry," Cassandra said.
"Why didn\'t the military warn us about the possible gas attack?" Del asked.
"Because it was once thought to be impossible. If we know that there is artillery capable of shooting straight into Halivaara, we would have informed you. The thing was, no known artillery was capable of attacking Halivaara, not until a week ago anyway," Cassandra explained.
"Basically, there\'s no weapon capable of attacking Halivaara until a week ago?" Del asked.
"Yeah, even though Halivaara is close enough to the frontline, there is no artillery capable of reaching it. The closest artillery unit to Halivaara is around thirty miles away from Halivaara. I think the imperial military has super artillery at this point," Cassandra said.
"Well, this is quite a shitty situation we are in then, but tell me, where would you think a super artillery will be stationed?" Del asked.
"Maybe in the northern region, the elevation should increase the range of even regular artillery. That region is treacherous though, the only thing that can enter the region is a plane and a bomber. The imperial military controls most, if not all of the northern region," Cassandra said.
"Wait, what? How\'s the federal military status right now?" Del asked.
"Not good, we have a shitton of problem. The intelligence agencies aren\'t listened to by the generals. The generals are too stubborn to listen to the intelligence agencies and it resulted in the accident in Halivaara. The intelligence agencies aren\'t really appreciating the treatment so they aren\'t so keen on looking for information," Cassandra explained.
"I see, how much territory did we lose?" Del asked.
"We have lost more than 30% of our former territory since last year. More than twenty of our generals have been killed, and the "Opera House" incident damaged the military reputation even more," Cassandra explained.
"Opera House incident?" Del asked.
"Yeah, that incident that killed thousands of people," Cassandra said.
"What happened?"
"I\'d rather not talk about that," Cassandra said.
Then a voice came from the kitchen. "Dinner\'s ready." Cole came to the dining table with a pot filled with and Alina was carrying a big bowl containing the mashed potato. They put the dishes on the table and they sat down.
The aroma of the stew filled the whole room immediately. The aroma interrupted the conversation. It was time to eat the food. It was a celebration, after all, maybe a little bit of relaxing moment was rather needed.
"Ah, the food has come," Anna said.
Alina grabbed her a plate and a scoop of mashed potato alongside the stew. She then gave the plate to Anna. "Here you go, Anna."
"Thanks, Alina," Anna retrieved the plate.
Del grabbed a plate for himself and he started eating. Suddenly, he felt the warmth inside of his heart. It was indescribable, but it had been a very long time ever since he ate with something called a family. Cassandra and Hubert were the parents while the rests were the kids. Del would say that it was rather pleasant.
They were eating and drinking. Del brought expensive alcohol from the liquor store down the road. The alcohol itself was an expensive red wine that he bought for ten gold coins. At first, the others were reluctant to drink it, but they eventually drank it.
After dinner, Anna and Alina went to the kitchen to wash the dishes while Cassandra, Cole, Hubert, and Del were in the living room while listening to the radio. The tragedy that the gas attacks created was broadcast nationwide. People were questioning the competency of the military.
"I fear that we will have a coup d\'etat inside of a coup d\'etat," Cassandra commented to the news broadcast.
The formation of the Ilbistirum Federal Government was a product of a coup d\'etat against the royalty. Cassandra\'s fear was justified. If the military couldn\'t show any progress, there could be a risk of another coup inside of the federal government. If that happened, it would be disastrous for the current war.
The federal government would certainly lose in the war against the imperial government and it would mean that they would return to monarchy. Well, it was not really an expected outcome to be entirely honest. It could mean that only the privileged people could have educations and public services. It was the opposite goal of the previous revolution.
"What can we even do? We\'re just ordinary people with various backgrounds, there is no way we can do anything that will change the course of this war," Del commented.
"To be honest, Del, there\'s something that we can do. You know, if you can destroy several high-value targets, we might have a chance to strike back. Right now, it\'s just what it is. Still, I heard that one of the oligarchs is looking for personnel for his private security," Cassandra said.
"Oligarch?" Del asked.
"You know, the powerful people. They are the ones who have a lot of power in the government. If you want to work with one of the oligarchs, I can hook you up with one of the owners of an investment company, do you want to?" Cassandra said.
"How does working with an investment company and turning the tide of this war connects?" Del asked.
"It doesn\'t. However, this person, in particular, owns private security which takes part in this war against the imperial military," Cassandra explained.
"Oh yeah?" Del said.
"Yeah, they are a special security unit that also participates in special operations in the Imperial Military area of operation. These guys are former special force units or veteran military contractors that have seen and gone through multiple combat operations. Long story short, these guys are the elites," Cassandra said.
"Elites? If they are the elites, how can you convince him to let me enter his "club" consisting of military personnel and contractors?" Del asked.
"Easy, they are looking for a reckless person and you fit the proposition. It was not like I am the only one that can vouch for you. You are still the person that destroyed an entire company of tanks," Cassandra said.
"Why should I even join that private security? What will be waiting for me at the end of my career?" Del asked.
"Well, first of all, that private security company is connected with the intelligence agencies, and unlike the military, they actually follow the directives that the agencies give to them. As a result, most of their military operation ends up in total success. Second, with that kind of connection, you will have an upper hand in this world, especially if you\'re looking for work in the future," Cassandra said.
Well, if Del needed wet work to be done, he might be able to use the private security accordingly. After all, any allies that could hold a gun would change the overall tactics that Del could adopt in that world. Right now, most of his problems were caused by the lack of personnel in the field.
The personnel that he had in his group were himself and Anna only. Wolfie was also counted, but he was more of a support unit rather than the main combat unit. In short, if he could create a connection with the private security, he might be able to gain a leverage in the future against his own enemies.
"I understand. So you want me to work for them so I can use their services in the future?"
"Exactly, and with you onboard, the relation between the private security and the intelligence agencies will increase exponentially. You\'re close to them and I\'m close to the intelligence agencies. With taht kind of combination, we can easily help the intelligence agencies to convince the military to actually listen to them," Cassandra said.
"Sign me up then," Del answered.