Chapter 111

Another loud blast went off as a shell fired from an artillery vehicle exploded into an armored tank across the lines in the Spanish-America Army ranks. That damn tank had already taken out two transporters and a few of their smaller artillery vehicles. As White watched the large Spanish-American vehicle explode from a fortified bunker on the high ground overlooking the battlefield, she hoped every soul aboard died a horrible, fiery death.
The Mothers seemed to be winning, but it was hard to say. Their forces hadn’t been pushed back from their own southern border yet, but then the Spanish-American ranks seemed to fill back in whenever they took a large swath of them out. She knew the southern country was much more densely populated than Michaelanburg, and since they allowed both men and women to fight amongst their military ranks, there was a possibility they could have two or three times the number of soldiers the Mothers had available. They’d hoped their weaponry would be better, would be able to stop the invasion and push the Spanish-American forces back. So far, it was holding, but not by much.
“Mother Gray!” White barked at one of her subordinates as she surveyed the line through specially made lenses that allowed her to see everything close up and clearly, “we need more fire on that western flank! I told Coyote to move up some of our bigger artillery weapons. Where the hell is she?”
“I’m not sure, Mother White,” Gray said, her deeper voice gritty with determination. “I’ll find out immediately.”
White nodded, knowing if Gray said she’d handle something, it would get done properly. Her com device chimed, letting her know that someone back in the capital city wanted to speak to her. She prayed it wasn’t President Violet. The updates she’d been sending in regularly, along with all of the data the leader would be receiving from their devices, should be enough to let the woman know how the fight was going, but Violet wasn’t a patient woman, and she liked to bark orders at White whenever possible. After nearly two weeks of fighting, the leader was growing weary of the situation and wanted White to come up with a decisive blow that would be enough to knock the invading forces back across the River Grand. Since the Military Mothers had never expected them to get across it in the first place, the fact that they were standing less than a half a mile in front of her, fully armed and ready to invade their peaceful nation told her the Military Mothers’ level of preparedness was not quite what she had thought it would be.
If another nation decided to invade at the same time, Michaelanburg would not be able to handle attacks in more than one region. While all available men and women across the nation were churning out weapons and ammunition as quickly as possible, without the soldiers it took to operate the weapons and fire the ammo, there was a finite amount of defense the Military Mothers could mount. White had always thought their forces adequate, and for now, they were enough. She felt they could successfully force the Spanish-Americans back. But if Oklasaw, Aricornia, or especially Quebec decided now was a good time to see exactly what natural resources Michaelanburg had available, it would not be a positive outcome for the Mothers.
Putting those thoughts aside for the moment, White answered the call on the com. Thankfully, it wasn’t Violet. “Mother Jaguar,” White said, wondering when the other woman had returned to Michaelanburg. “What’s going on?”
“Sorry to interrupt you, Mother White. I can see from the data that you have quite the struggle on your hands. I thought you should know all of our forces have been pulled back from Oklasaw, the west, and northern territories. I’ve just returned to the capital city, and I have an item that I thought you might want to see for yourself.”
Frustrated that Violet had given up the search for the remaining rebels, especially the four that had gone through Oklasaw and cost them so much time, effort, and military lives, White bit her tongue on that and asked Jaguar, “What is it?”
A second later a photograph lit up her tablet. She stared at it in disbelief for several seconds before she asked Jaguar, “Where… did you find this?”
“Louis City,” Jaguar replied. “We came across an artist painting there, by the Gate, the day before we were ordered to return to Michaelanburg. Mother Yellow was looking through his paintings and recognized the figure immediately.”
Staring at the familiar face, the red wavy hair, the sprinkle of freckles and bright green eyes the same shade as her own, White knew for certain this was a painting of Rain Gretchintown. Even if the girl hadn’t written her name on the bottom near the artist’s. “Did you bring him back for questioning?”
“No,” Jaguar said. A stab of disappointment hit White right in the gut. “We interrogated him right there in the field. He was a friendly fellow, willing to talk. He told us everything he knew.”
The battle in front of her hadn’t changed much in the past few minutes, but White knew she needed to stop staring at her tablet and return her attention to the fight. Still, she had to ask, “What did he say?”
“He said that her name was Rain, that she was traveling with three other individuals when she arrived. A girl called Mist, a man named Walt, and another fellow named Seth Green. He said Seth was from Oklasaw and had volunteered to drive them to Quebec, but they were waiting for another member of their party to arrive from an errand he was running out west.”
White felt her stomach twist into a tangle as she realized what had drawn them off track this entire time. “Did he know the name of the person that they were waiting for?”
“He said that Rain called him Adam and that he’d taken a motorcycle, also belonging to this Seth Green, out west to a river. He said he didn’t know why, but that Rain was anxious for him to get back.”
“And did he?”
“Yes, right as the others were about to leave, the artist says Adam showed up on his motorcycle, and the five of them left together.” Jaguar’s voice wore a satisfied smile.
White was glad for the information, but it didn’t solve the bigger problem. In fact, considering the distance between Louis City and the Nation of Quebec, the fact that they now knew the rebels were traveling in a vehicle, that the military had wasted a considerable amount of time chasing a tracker that was being transported to draw them off track by one of the rebels, likely 24C, she’d wager, and that they still didn’t have their hands on any of them, it honestly made everything far worse. And since Violet had pulled all of her forces out of the northern area, now all they could do was try to negotiate a trade with Quebec.
At least she knew Rain was alive. That was something.
“Talk to Delegate Scarlet and see if she can contact Prime Minister Bissett to negotiate a return of the rebels. See if we have anything that would be of interest to the Quebecians.”
“Yes, Mother White,” Jaguar said.
A plume of smoke reached her and White had to take a moment before she could suck in air. Smoke wasn’t the only thing that seemed to be choking her at the moment as she considered the slim possibility that Bissett would consent to sending the rebels back. But then, Scarlet was a solid negotiator. That’s how she’d gotten that position to begin with. It was one of the highest offices in all of Michaelanburg.
Once she could breathe again, White said, “Thank you for the information, Jaguar. Good work.” While she didn’t fully feel the last part of that statement, she knew Jaguar thrived on positive feedback.
“Thank you, Mother White,” Jaguar said, and once again, White could hear the smile in her voice.
She disconnected the call and returned her attention to the battle in front of her. A barrage of explosions lit up the western front, and she was relieved to see that Coyote’s troops had finally reached their destination. Seeing that part of the battle beginning to go as planned, White turned her attention to other parts of the field, but in the back of her mind, she couldn’t stop thinking about that picture and the fact that Rain was alive. Now, she could only hope that Bissett was smart enough to send her back so that the Mothers could deal with her, and the other rebels, accordingly. As for this Seth Green person, he would be sorry he ever agreed to assist the four renegades who dared to defy the Motherhood.