[b]“The undead Navy?”[/b] screamed the Commander his face having grown darker still, something that seemed impossible minutes ago [b]“Are you listening to the nonsense that you are spewing Sergeant? do you seriously think that our fleet was attacked by ghost ships? Did anyone saw skeletons manning the stations of those vessels or perhaps someone else saw something I did not because the shots the Vitalia Valore fired on the enemy produced gaping holes that sunk several of them and unless someone blessed every single one of munitions when I was not looking then I find this notion out of order and enraging!”[/b] it seemed that his one eye would pop out of its socket from how his veins were pulsing and the ruin of his face acquired a warm color to it.

Sergeant Pirlo felt like a fool now that the Commander put it that way [b]“Its just that, the men are shaken by the recent events sir, they get superstitious with - “[/b]

[b]“Sergeant you are in a position in which you are required to get a grip on the men, they look to you for leadership and orders you cannot entertain notions of a goddamned undead navy being responsible for our loses!”[/b] The Commander was in a black mood, no answer could be correct so Pirlo naturally opted for silence and held his breath a lecture was to follow

[b]“We must stick to the facts here Sergeant “[/b] The commander inched his way towards the window leaning heavily on a cane, the past fight had seen him wounded lightly after a piece of wood dug deep into his leg following a shot from their enemies, the officer staff too displayed some marks of the battle, some had been already scarred deeply a lifetime of war leaves its marks on a man, one just had to ask One-arm Faris or get a good look upon the naked face of the commander to see that there was nothing glamorous or stylish about this profession when one dug too deep
 
[b]“The fact is that while we crossed the sea a storm of the likes which has not been seen in ages suddenly made itself present.
The fact is that despite the best council of our astrologers nobody predicted that the intensity of it would be of such proportions.
The fact is that while outstanding navigators led our vessels across the sea, only a god could have come out of such a typhoon unscratched
The fact is that an unknown enemy that had no regard for their own self preservation chose this very moment to attack us, making any attempt to escape an already outlandishly hard situation a task of a magnitude which has not been met by the company in its whole history
The fact is that anyone else would have sunk in that nightmare, but we ultimately prevailed by the unparalleled talent and capacity of our men, their resolve the only thing that saw us through”[/b] done watching whatever it was on that window, the commander turned to his staff of officers [b]“The fact is that the Vitalia Valore despite its damage is still fully able of functioning as our flagship, can anyone tell me the conditions of the remnants of our forces?”[/b]

[b]“The Holle Hund suffered some penetrating shots but it will be easily repaired”
“Brave Bastard is ready to fight at your command sir”
“Star Sentinel came out untouched in that last battle”
“Fosse du Feu did not sustain any major damage, fully operational ”
“Rabia Roja is being worked upon as we speak sir it will be ready on the morrow” 
“Corta Caminos would require too much time to be salvaged, the crew considers it a lost cause”
“Dread Daliah needs a wharf to be repaired and is too damaged to make a trip”[/b]

[i]A mighty fleet reduced to this… what sorry days have we fallen into [/i]

Ecthelion took a deep breath, the frustration in him swelling like an infected wound threatening to expand and consume him whole. How had these bizarre circumstances came to pass? 8 months ago he had been putting the final nail on the Abyssian Rebellion, Shunketh was trapped in his stronghold and the Coals had blasted him and his pyramid into rubble, they had been labeled as heroes and preservers of order, the population rushed out to meet their liberators many of them almost got trampled or killed in their enthusiasm offering snacks, elaborate clothing, heirlooms, relics, gold, wine and their daughters.

A parade in Ardjet had been organized, the God King going so far as to building a monument of black marble in the honor of the bravery and steadfast determination of the Coals to crush the rebellion, a majestic mythical creature that was a combination of a crocodile, a bat and a scorpion was on the base of the steps of the temple of Mephis, standing over the corpse of another mythical creature favored of Kasus 

[i]And now… a sorry leftover of those days of glory, how had it come to this[/i] [b]“Any word on Oscar?”[/b]
[i]Allow me to keep my champion damnit [/i]
[b]“He was on the Piedra Palida and none of the fleet managed to catch any of its survivors” [/b]
[i]Fate is a fickle bitch[/i]
[b]“Well gentlemen, the Company has suffered worse in its history- “[/b][i] I can't remember when[/i][b] “- but despite the efforts of the world to clean our dirty smear all it does is serve to propagate the stain more and more the reality of our situation forces me to manage our staff in ways that might put men in positions they are not comfortable in, but we are built in a way that ensures that the officers above will impart wisdom to those below and that those in turn will carry out the orders reliably and professionally”[/b]

There was some tension as the Commander reorganized the command chain based on the losses, sergeants became lieutenants, squadrons were split out from the remnants of units, others were mashed together under the authority of the captain that remained alive of those involved.

Overall it was a change that nobody really felt comfortable with, men where trusted into positions that saw them skipped of the necessary experience and formation or under the command of figures they did not fully knew, familiarity was shaken and it was not that the coals had been deprived of a mentality regarding change and losses… it all boiled to how fast and unpredicted it had been.
There had been no moment to brace to it, no comission in a bloody struggle, no horns blown, no formal declaration, no rousing speeches just an unwelcomed storm followed by a foe that was determined to see them brought down no matter the cost

[b]“Now that the command chain has been restored that brings me to the next issue, currently we are unemployed and bereft of resources to get back in shape without a contract, several offers had been sent to me even while the campaign on Abyssia was being fought and I only see one as a valid candidate taking into account all of the factors in play and that is someone within the mainland”[/b] Ecthelion had no qualms about naming it but there were people in this very room who had an emotional attachment to it, left overs of many of the demolished armies stuck to the Coals yearning for clear orders and an organization that valued the life of those under its command but did not baulk when hard choices had to be made. And the rout of Vercelli heights had seen many of the ranks of Valania embrace the oaths to the Coals and bolster their ranks with fresh recruits that had proven themselves on the battlefield, many of those fresh recruits had seen years of warfare at the Company, could these men who had grown at Valania be relied to not be led astray by some weird sense of patriotism? 

[b]“Conqvist has extended an offer that is simply too good to pass”[/b] Lieutenant, previously to the meeting Sergeant, Zanta would have been less shaken if someone had struck her with a sledgehammer [b]“ Richter, sir?”[/b] Ecthelion nodded [b]“The very same Lieutenant, I know the history you have with Valania, the history we all have but much has changed since and the offer remains only as an invitation, it could be that he turns us down once he sees the sorry state in which we are left, if Conqvist is expecting the same army that defeated the Slave Soldier Revolution at Abyssia he will be sorely disappointed I believe, but I trust completely on your abilities to control our soldiers many of them will not speak the native tongue and find the cultural clash hard to swallow and they will look to their officers to lead them”[/b] He did not know enough of the woman to be able to judge her truth be told, he suspected some things about her but it was an unspoken rule on the Coals to never dig too deep in a man, or woman history the only thing that you needed to know about them was that they were your family in arms and they would trust you with their lives as much as you would trust them. Still he had his share of leads about her, they had found her and others holed up in a Valanian city back then, the Sarife forces had them sieged for the better part of a year before the Coals had arrived and pulverized the Sarife besiegers.
[b]“Well then, the course, orders and means are clear let us make way to Voltas”[/b]

******

Alone in his cabin aboard the Vitalia Valore Ecthelion could not help but to think back to their employment under the Valania nobles back when… he was not a praying man by any stretch beings of that magnitude could not realistically be expected to bother with the plight of lesser beings but just in case he asked for whatever higher forces might exist to not allow anything like the disaster that they had previously been part of to repeat itself.
It always amazed him how detached from reality people could get, most of the Valania noble houses were desensitized to the realities of war they saw it as a chance to hog glory and outdo each other and look dashing. If the money they had wasted on their continued ransoms had been spent on fresh supplies, trained levies, aptly located reserves and better mercenaries then without a doubt perhaps Sarife would not have been defeated but Voltas would have maintained its sovereign for another decade.
He had insisted and shouted and shaken about the importance of clear orders, the respect of authority and the idea of putting the right men in the right positions.
Yet for all his troubles it seemed that the only got the contempt of the nobles, how could he dare to talk to his betters like that? how could he suggest such unchivalrous methods of engagement? the enemy was to be faced head on and God would will them victorious

[i]Fucking fools[/i]

They could have poisoned wells, make pitfalls in key locations, disguise soldiers as merchants and break havoc behind enemy lines… but no, that was not very honorable for them… no glory to be had there.

It all culminated to a disastrous and shameful defeat at Vercelli… that was supposed to be the turning point in which the Sarifen dogs would be whipped back, but again the wrong people on the wrong spot made the worst calls.

How does one lose to a force that is outnumbered, on familiar territory and while holding the higher ground? by ignoring any sensible option and giving stupid orders thinking that a front charge from the cavalry will crush the enemy morale somehow.

[i]Nothing as hazardous as ignorance[/i]

In any case, this was their best bet… who knew, perhaps by the end of their contract they would have another statue somewhere in Voltas 

[i]Commemorating our victory or our bloody sacrifice I wonder?[/i]