Operation Honey Trap vs The Emperor of the Apocalypse-Chapter 200: Stupid, Dumb, Brave Girl

[Suggested song for this Chapter: Dance For Me Wallis by Abel Korzeniowski]

Delphi looked around the Commander’s cosy office, complete with a stone fireplace and messy piles of books everywhere. It looked more like a home study than a command post. No wonder his men were in such disarray, she thought.

She studied the Commander warily. He was an older gentleman, but he still looked like he could handle himself. He looked back at her with interest.

"Commander Andrew Seaton," he introduced himself to her. "You seem to have caused a big ruckus here this morning, young lady. I understand you want to talk with me. What do you have to say?"

She looked pointedly at his Sergeant. "It’s confidential, Sir," she told him.

"Commander, she’s armed with a dagger. I wouldn’t recommend you being alone in a room with her," the Sergeant advised his leader.

"It’s fine, it’s fine," said Commander Seaton dismissively. "If I can’t handle a chit of a girl like this, I should retire tomorrow."

That did seem like a good idea, thought Delphi with approval. Then he could read his books in front of the fire to his heart’s content, and not have to worry about his soldiers running amok.

"Sir," the Sergeant saluted lazily and left them alone.

"Sit down, miss... what shall I call you?"

"Delphi," she said, "Delphi Chastain..."

---------------

Alton was the first to wake when he realised the sun seemed higher than he had expected it to be before Delphi was due to wake him to take over her shift.

He cracked his tired eyes open, but they quickly flew wide open when he realised what time it was, and he leapt to his feet, striding off to find Delphi. He hoped she hadn’t decided to take on his shift so he could sleep in, the crazy girl.

She wasn’t anywhere in sight, but he didn’t panic, she was probably checking the perimeter or going to the bathroom. He waited a few minutes so as not to surprise her.

But as the minutes ticked by, his concern started to grow.

He decided to check on the horses. He counted them, once, twice, three times...

Each time he counted his panic started to rise. There were definitely only nine horses.

As he scrutinised the herd more carefully, he realised that Delphi’s black stallion with the white star and socks was definitely missing.

Fuck, fuck, fuck! Stupid, stupid, dumb, brave girl.

He knew exactly where she had gone... It would be the nearest barracks to trade herself for the folk of Squeaking Point.

If only he’d taken the time to talk to her last night! He had wanted to let her sleep before they made rescue plans. He should have realised that she would already be planning without him!

God girl! Can’t you even wait one night and trust me enough to plan this together? he thought with frustration. Of course they wouldn’t leave the innocent people of Squeaking Point to die! Why couldn’t she trust him enough to know that?

His heart clenched with fear. She had six or seven hours head start on them, which meant she had probably already arrived at a military barracks, and it was beyond their ability to retrieve her with the current team.

The Emperor would send a whole Company to protect her as soon as word got through to him, if not a Battalion.

The thought of her in his Uncle’s clutches after their attempt on his life was unthinkable.

He swallowed back a mouthful of bile that rose with the panic that threatened to derail him. There was no time to panic. All of his energy had to go into saving her before she was beyond saving.

He had no doubt that his Uncle would not kill her. But there were fates far worse than death, and although she was strong, even Delphi could be broken beyond repair.

"Everyone Up!" he roared, and the young rebels scrambled out of their swags, rubbing the sleep from their eyes and staring at their General with concern.

There was no time to soften the news.

"Rutherglen has been discovered, and Delphi has been identified," he spoke rapidly, the crisis making him clipped and sharp. "Rutherglen fled Squeaking Point before he could be captured, but the Emperor, in his wisdom, has laid siege to the town and is killing one innocent every day until Delphi is returned to him. General Chastain and I found this out last night over the radio from Squeaking Point with Casey," he pressed his knuckles between his eyes in frustration.

"Unfortunately, the news hit General Chastain hard, and she left during the night to hand herself over to the Emperor before there are any more deaths..." 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

"What the fuck?" yelled Niko.

"Jesus Christ," growled Baer.

Arrie started to cry, and Wolf pulled her to his chest.

Loveday clasped Indy’s hand without even thinking about it, and Indy squeezed her hand in an empty gesture of comfort.

"What can we do, General?" asked Brenner urgently. "Is she still recoverable?"

"Yes. But time is of the essence because every minute she spends in captivity with that bastard is a risk we can’t afford to take. She’s been gone for hours. She was on shift and didn’t wake me for my shift, so she could have been gone for six or seven hours..."

"Bloody hell! Well she’s already made it to a barracks then. She could even be at Deloraine," Brenner made the exact same calculation Alton had just done.

Alton nodded. "Exactly! I want you and Niko to follow her tracks. Find out where she went and gather as much intelligence as you can. We’ll meet back here. I’ll leave you a message if we have to leave before you return. I need to get on the radio with Han now. We’ll work on her rescue at the same time as we plan an attack on Squeaking Point. Niko, you may end up having to lead that campaign without me."

Niko saluted, "yes, Sir!"

"Brenner, Niko, get going now. The rest of you will be supporting mission planning. Pack your things so we can leave as soon as I’m done with Han."