***Tirnanog, Aerie Flagship***

***Vanya***

“I don’t understand why they are retreating,” Juliana said while running a finger over the map. She trailed it down the line of captured settlements which the Thich had used to create a defensive frontline of fortified positions. When each night brought out Tirnanog’s monsters, having a secure base was paramount. Those settlements had been quite a bother, as they had been used as staging points for raids which delayed securing Jeng Forest.

Now each settlement marked as abandoned after Thich and Vier had abandoned them practically overnight. It smelled like a trap, so Juliana forbade occupying them except for small skeleton crews.

She shook her head. “If they had made us fight for each of those, they could have delayed the fleet for months. Maybe even till the next winter. But they aren’t even trying to set traps for us. Wouldn’t it be much more beneficial if they had tried to take engagements in their favour?”

“If they had fought for each of them, they would have also paid a hefty price. Both in troops and morale as we would have taken one settlement after the other.” I kept playing with my Rubik’s cube while I answered the question. “They are preparing to gamble it all instead of risking a drawn-out war in a series of battles. Rather than making us wary of charging after their retreating forces, they want to lure us into an engagement on a larger scale. Also, there is no guarantee they would have held those positions all too long. Magnus and Astra are frighteningly powerful if they get the time to prepare. We should try to keep them away from the frontline. Losing such artillery class assets to a stupid brawl would be vexing.”

Also, I preferred having them hanging out on the flagship. So far, they were the only ones who had proven resistance to Tirnanog’s newest psychic threat, combined with the physical abilities to fight what we dubbed a psyling. We put countermeasures in place, but as long as they were untested, I preferred having the couple close to central command.

Juliana turned to me. “Why would a drawn-out conflict be the greater risk?”

I looked up from my cube and tilted my head. “Because you have me on your side. I don’t want to sound stuck up, but as far as I know, our opponents don’t have a single commander who could equal me.”

Juliana raised a doubtful eyebrow, so I explained further. “They have tried to turn the conflict into a positional war which would negate a lot of the strategic value I can bring to the table. Speedy decisions are not as important in a slow positional conflict as on a chaotic battlefield. Enough time to consider each of their moves can compensate for a lack of mental powers. Alas, we showed them that we have a way to break their entrenched positions, so they abandoned the strategy as a whole.”

Nodding at my explanation, I returned my attention to the Rubik’s cube. Greta had created it as a final test for me, so I wouldn’t stop till I solved it – and it wasn’t like I would ever admit that the cube was a very relaxing fidget toy.

“Plus, Aerie’s ships are faster than theirs. If we put it in terms of two fighters facing each other, both of us are of roughly equal power at this point. But we have the advantage in speed and technique. So what can Thich and Vier do to even the battlefield?”

The elder’s expression darkened. “They will try to turn it into a brawl and hope they come out on top.”

I nodded. “Correct. And if my profile of Zacharias’s character is accurate, then this is what he will resort to. Though, we have to look out for the trap.”

“The trap?”

“Zacharias likes simple solutions, but if everything I read and heard about him is true, he always works with layers,” I said. “Work with a partner, but position yourself to gain the advantage if something goes wrong. Offer the opponent the obvious solution to a problem, but ensure you can flip the table at any time. There are a lot of records detailing his exploits during the great clan war and studying the way he handled the conflict before, during, and especially after Earth was evicted from Tirnanog tells a lot about his character.”

Suddenly, the cube clicked, and its elements fell apart, causing me to grin. The damned thing had taken so long to solve, I almost came to believe Greta had made it without a solution! I wanted to scream in delight and dance a little jig, but it wouldn’t have been proper to behave so childishly in front of the elder.

When I realized Juliana was still waiting, I cleared my throat embarrassedly while I tried to reassemble the mechanism. “If we are correct and the reason for their retreat is that they are amassing their forces, then they will try to choose the battlefield and what we have to look out for is the trap. And possibly decide whether we want to spring it or not.”Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

“Why would we want to spring it?” Juliana asked.

I debated for a second or two whether I should answer truthfully, but in the end, I decided to be frank. If I tried to influence the outcome of the elders' decision, the chance of it falling back on me at a later date was not worth the prize.

“This is an assumption but...” I paused for a moment, gathering my thoughts. “We don’t know what Thich’s upper brass knows. But from the prisoner interrogations and captured intelligence reports at Ingkar, I believe it is highly likely that Thich believes the fleet you have here is all Aerie can muster. They have no clue you have yet another fleet still hunting in the mountains. Am I correct?”

I observed the elder, wondering whether she would catch it.

Juliana shook her head. “We can’t mobilize those ships for at least another month until the drake territory is secured.”

“Does it matter?” I asked. “You have the ships. Whether you can mobilise them within a month or two is irrelevant to the coming confrontation.”

She sighed and looked down at the map. “You suggest if the Thich offer us to butt heads with them, we take the opportunity since we know we will get substantial reinforcements later on. If we wait, we might end up in a situation in which we have to chase them down – which can take a lot of time.”

I nodded. “They certainly won’t confront us if their chances of winning are suddenly reduced to zero after our fleet doubles in size. We could chase them down, given that your ships are slightly faster. Whether it is feasible to do so is best answered by your people.”

Juliana massaged her forehead. “I will have to talk with Skye and the Halls. The problem is that the statement of our ships being faster might be true on average, but it can’t be said for the whole fleet. The airships with the smaller frames would easily catch up to their fastest ships, but the larger designs are just as slow as Thich’s vessels. If we chase them, the fleet would have to split.”

“Which would be one of the opportunities they are assuredly looking for,” I added.

“What if they have something up their sleeves?” Juliana asked. “It’s not said that we are the only ones with potential reinforcements.”

“Not impossible, but unlikely,” I replied calmly. “We have studied the wrecks of their airships and they employ the same glowmoss you are using to create lift. I have checked the maps of the region surrounding Thich’s capital and talked to Elder Smyth. Glowmoss grows only in dark environments. If they haven’t discovered a previously unknown cave system equalling Mount Aerie’s, then the fleet we see is most of what they have. They might have more combatants hidden away. It’s even likely, given they have been preparing for this. But if we manage to cripple their transport capabilities this war is as good as over. If not this year, then next one for sure.”

Juliana snorted. “You have to forgive me if I am still not keen on sacrificing so many lives just to stick it to the Thich. If we win the war just for the survivors to be eaten by Tirnanog’s wildlife, we still lose.”

“I agree. I just thought it had to be pointed out. The opportunity is there. And who knows how many people we might lose if we pussyfoot around? Our current attrition rate is acceptable, not counting the initial clash at Jeng’s Mother Tree. We can fight on like this for another year. Maybe two. If the conflict lasts longer, taking the confrontation right now might be the better choice.”

Juliana shook her head. “I would still have to talk with the other elders. All of them. Losing most of our current troops would be a disaster. Mount Aerie isn’t as safe as it might seem, though the influx of Jeng refugees helps with manpower.”

I stopped fiddling with the parts of my cube. “Ah, I think you misunderstood me. We would not try to fight this out to the last warrior. Well, Thich and Vier would likely try to do so, but our goal would be different from theirs. Our goal would be to incapacitate or damage their ships while preserving as much manpower as possible. It would be your job to figure out how to achieve that in the best way. If most of their fleet is grounded once your reinforcements arrive, their fighting troops might as well be starfish ripe for the taking.”

Juliana drummed the table with her fingers while she thought over my words. “I will have to talk with the others, but if our priority is only to take out their airships, then it might be possible without too much loss of personnel. Nonetheless, we will have to pay a high price.”

I blinked, wondering whether I had overlooked something. She sounded like there was a way to do this. Though, I had to admit I wasn’t well-versed in running one of Aerie’s airships. “I would have to leave the details of how we engage the enemy to you. Even though I tried to educate myself on the topic, I am not one of your captains.”

The elder nodded. “What about their special assassins, the psylings? Any hint of more of them?”

I shook my head. “Not right now. But there is news from the Caravaners. It looks like they finally managed to drum together most of their families. The Northroutes are firmly on our side, as well as the Easttrails.”

Juliana nodded. “Not surprising. They are the ones handling trade between Aerie, Hochberg, and Jeng. What about the others?”

I sighed. “It looks like their much-vaunted unity was a little overhyped. The Coastliners who handled trade between Jeng and Vier are refusing to cooperate, claiming neutrality. And the Southikes didn’t show up at their meeting. Not even a representative.”

Juliana snorted. “Not surprising at all, if you ask me. The Southikes would get a lot of heat since it would have been their responsibility to inform the other great clans about what went on between Vier and Thich! With the war going on, there’s no way they would be able to ditch us a story of how they never realized what was happening at Thich.”

“I suppose so. The Southikes and Coastliners are to be seen as thoroughly corrupted if you ask me. There is no other explanation for why they kept mum. I have yet to hear about what the Northroutes and the Easttrails are going to do in regards to their brethren, but I heard Seekers Holly and Luka mention a purge.”

“Not surprising, given their failure at upholding the treaty,” the elder commented. “The Caravaners were always considered equal to one of the great clans. With this, they have lost much of their credibility. It’s as if our stratas had suddenly started infighting.”