Confrontation

Villagers are gathered around the armored transport. They nervously chatter amongst themselves, intrigued.

“Who are they?” Asks a woman holding her child.

“Aren’t they from Litora?” Asks another.

“What reason would an armored transport from Litora have to come to Soleeh?” Asks a young farmer.

“I don’t know, but it can’t be good.” Answers a gruff older man.

A man with glasses and a receding hairline stands tall in front of the vehicle, soldiers forming a horizontal line behind him. “Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen.” He greets.

“As you may be able to tell already, we are soldiers from the Republic of Litora. I do not mean to cause a panic, but there is an illegal weapon in this village. For the safety of the people here, we must take it into our possession where it can be properly protected.” A threat hides within his words.

The chatter grows and a few gasps can be heard. Some of the villagers grow agitated from the idea of an outsider violating their home, and the possibility of their property being confiscated.

“A weapon?” The woman says in a hushed voice.

“What weapon could we possibly have?” Another woman asks, speaking to the first.

“We don’t have to give them anything…” The grumpy old man mutters, finding the statement absurd.

Baaya pushes through the crowd until she reaches the front. Mint follows, although dwarfed by everyone in the sea of limbs. He stands at the edge, watching her with concern as he clutches his staff.

She looks the taller man in the eyes, her expression more stern than usual. “Who are you and why are you here? You’re creating quite the hubbub.” She says with detached affect.

“I already said who I am and why I’m here, but for your sake, I will repeat it. We’re from the Litorian Military. You have a dangerous weapon stashed somewhere in this village. Let us through, before someone gets hurt.”

“We don’t like any military and we take kindly to threats, either. You aren’t welcome here. Turn around and leave.”

“I’m telling you this for your own good, ma’am. Get out of the way and take the people with you.”

“No.” She raises her voice, but maintains a controlled demeanor. “Who are you to come onto our land and tell us what to do?”

“It’s not about who I am. There’s an illegal weapon here and it’s my duty to confiscate it.” He counters. “If you refuse to hand it over, everyone in this village will be labeled a terrorist and dealt with accordingly.”

The crowd grows panicked.

She strikes him across his face with her cane. “You will not threaten us. Now leave.” She demands.

The village rallies behind her.

“Leave!”

“We don’t want you here!”

He calmly rights himself and pushes his glasses up with a smirk. “I didn’t want to do this, but you’ve left me no choice.” He raises his hand, signalling to one of the men.

The soldier takes out a 3 foot case and sits it on the ground. He unfastens the lid with a click. The hydraulic hinge slowly opens.

The villagers stare, frozen. Mint holds onto Baaya’s sleeve, making an indignant face.

“Is it a gun?” Whispers Mint, eyebrows creasing in concern. He’s never seen the Earth weapon before, but he’s heard stories.

“It can’t be. The earthlings didn’t bring those with them. They despise them.” She says, eyes zeroed in on the black box. She doesn’t actually know. All she has is wishful thinking.

The soldier hefts something from the case – something large, dark, and heavy. It looks like a gun, but much bigger. He places one end in the grass and supports the other end with his shoulder. He takes one more item out of the box, a power crystal encased within a glass sphere.

He slides the orb into an empty slot in the back of the weapon. A light on the side glows, indicating successful insertion.

The villagers are growing anxious and half are wondering if they should flee. The other half are determined to stand their ground no matter what. Baaya glares at the soldiers. Mint’s tough facade has fallen, giving way to a deeply worried frown, but his feet stay firmly planted.

The soldier stands and mounts the weapon on his shoulder, then points it into the crowd. People scream and run out of the range of fire. A blinding, white beam erupts from the chamber, the force of which makes him stumble back.

The beam cuts through the path cleared by the panicking villagers and hits its target, a small home at the front of town. It combusts in a fiery explosion, sending wood flying. A few people are knocked over by the blast wave. A man staggers to his feet and a woman struggles to stand, legs tangled in her long skirt. Baaya’s eyes are wide with terror.

“That was Emiyeh’s house!” Cries Mint.

The crowd descends into chaos. Adults scream and children cry. People stumble aimlessly in panic.

“Listen to me!” Yells Baaya, demanding their attention. Her face sags in defeat.

“Everyone, get out of his way. I don’t want anyone else hurt.” She says.

Mint looks up at her, eyes widening in disbelief. Villagers protest, but she cuts them off. “Go to your homes! Emiyeh, you can stay with your sister for now. We can figure something permanent out later.”

Emiyeh, a black haired woman in her 30s, gazes at Baaya with uncertainty in her eyes. “Now! Go!”

They finally disperse, retreating to their homes reluctantly. Baaya’s eyes return to the man’s, a spark of defiance within. “There. You have your way. Don’t hurt anyone else.” She demands.

“Thank you for your cooperation.” He says as a smarmy grin stretches across his face.

ꕤ

Smoke billows from the trees. “What is it now?!” Afra cries in alarm. “Is he not the only one Litora sent?!”

Asa runs in the direction of the explosion.

☼

Once they reach the eastern edge of the village, they can make out a vehicle and a few people near it on the farthest western side. As they get closer, they realize it’s an armored transport with soldiers. Mint clutches Baaya and across from them there’s…

“Douglas Inghram.” Says Asa, eyes brightening with livid recognition. “I hate that guy!”

“Who’s that?”

“He’s the commander of Litora’s only non-animaguard unit. He’s a conniving jerk with no depth he won’t stoop to and the Wolf Unit is just as bad.”

“Wolf Unit?”

“The unit he’s a commander of?”

“Oh.”

Asa stops them, wearing a sympathetic expression. “Afra, you’ll need to hide. You’ve helped so much, but you don’t have the equipment to deal with these guys. I’ll handle it.”

She gives him a half hearted glare of indignance, a look of hurt seeping through. She wants to protect her village more than anything, but she has no argument. He’s right, she’d get killed. He gently places his hands on her shoulders, his eyes glistening as he feels her fear and frustration.

“I know you want to defend your home and that’s a good thing. It means you’re a good person. But, you can’t help protect the village if you’re dead. You do so much for them as their priestess, and they’d be much worse off without you.”

Afra shoves his hand away with a stubborn sneer and tears in her eyes. She runs to a nearby house. He’s right and she’s touched by his compassion, but this is one of the worst feelings she’s ever felt.

☼

“Mint, go to the clinic.” Says Baaya.

“I can’t leave you!”

“I’ll handle this. It’s an adult's job to protect the children. So, let me protect you.” She urges, voice tightening.

Mint hesitantly lets go of her sleeve. He looks at her one last time, then runs away. Tears stream from his eyes, cheeks flushed with shame.

Her eyes follow him, waiting for the moment he’s out of view. “Well, I suppose you’ll be the one to show me the way there.” Douglas says. He approaches her as if she were an old friend.

“I suppose I am.”

He smiles. “Creed. Shepard. Come with me.” He says, walking past Baaya without bothering to meet her eyes. “Rico. Brent. Stay with the vehicle.”

“Yes, sir!”

Brent – the dark skinned man with a mustache – and Rico – the burly, light skinned man – stay with the transport, as ordered. The two have an oddly warm and familiar vibe about them.

The two blond ones ordered to follow – one taller with sharp features and a smirk and one shorter with a sturdy build and a serious frown – seem much less friendly. Both of them have the coldness and confidence of an experienced killer.

Baaya eyes Douglas’s back. Thinking that she’s only a weak old woman, he’s left it open.

In the blink of an eye, she snakes an arm around his neck and the other wraps around the front of his torso, restraining him. Before he can react, she whips him around, back in the direction of the transport and falls, letting gravity do the work.

He crashes to the ground, dragged by her weight. She wraps her legs around his, pinning him in place.

Douglas faces his men, eyes wide with terror. The moustashed soldier points the shoulder canon at the both of them. “Go ahead and shoot!” Yells Baaya, muscles tensing. “You’ll blow him to pieces, too!”

Shepard and Creed freeze with their blades drawn.

“Baaya!” Asa shouts, running to her.

Creed, the taller one, takes a step forward.

“Don’t get any closer!” She warns everyone in the vicinity, but Asa’s already at Baaya’s side.

“What are you doing here, Douglas?” He asks, glaring.

Douglas strains his neck to get a view of him. In his peripheral vision, he spots a blurry young man with red hair.

“Do I know you?” He asks, genuinely confused.

Asa ignores him, directing his attention to the soldiers instead. “Listen, I’ll get her to release Commander Inghram. He will be returned safely, but only on one condition: let her get to cover unharmed. She’s an old woman with a family, and she’s only doing this because you scared her.”

Asa hopes that by downplaying Baaya’s potential to cause harm and painting the Wolf Unit as the villain, he could get them to let their guard down and cooperate.

Baaya, who is currently holding a military commander in a headlock, is stunned by his statement.

“Who are you to her? Why should we trust you?” Asks Creed.

“Who am I to her? Who isn’t she to everyone? The entire community relies on her.” Says Asa. “She’s always had a temper and she makes some impulsive decisions, like this one, but we love her. Her kids and grandkids will be devastated if anything happens to her...”

I don’t have kids. Baaya thinks to herself.

“Maybe we should let her go.” Says Brent. “We did blow a house up…”

“Don’t tell me you’re actually listening to him!” Says Creed. “Who knows what he’s planning to do!”

“You can’t access the ruins, right? That’s why you brought that.” Asa points to the cannon in Brent’s arms. “To blow a hole in the wall.” (He’s guessing.)

The soldiers look at him, intrigued. He continues, placing a hand to his chest.

“I’m the only priest here. I can let you in. I just ask that you don’t harm the temple. If you’re going to force your way in regardless of what we say, all I can do is minimize the damage.” He slowly closes his eyes, making an exaggerated face of defeat. “I may have failed to protect the relic, but human life is more important.”

“It seems like he’s telling the truth.” Shepard assesses. Creed’s certainty in her initial impression of the young man is starting to wane.

“You can’t be serious…” She says.

“Let her go.” Mutters Douglas, under his breath.

“What’d you say?” Asa asks.