Chapter Twenty-Four

The Peace Deal

Sometimes one has to sacrifice his present for the sake of the future

Elisium

The Fifth Loop, Year 391, 1st January (5L/391/1/1)

"How long before we start moving?"

Olivier was getting restless. He wanted to reach the Ruins and start the next phase of his plan.

Henry frowned. "Oh! HighMinister is getting bored. Just for your information, we need to install the machines, tow the containers, get the vehicles ready, collect our supplies and load them into the vehicles. We will be docked here for a couple of days at least."

"Get it done as quickly as possible. We don't want to give our enemies time to prepare for an attack."

"What about the dead?" Desmond asked.

"What can we do about them?" Henry shrugged. "They are gone."

Desmond looked at his commander with wide eyes. "We must give them a proper burial, at least. They gave away their lives for our cause."

Olivier decided to interrupt before Henry said something more stupid. "Commander Desmond, dig a large grave. We will pay them our last respects and bury them all with proper honors. That is the least we can do for our brave men."

Desmond went away to prepare for the funeral and Olivier walked over to Henry and glared at him. "Don't be a heartless fool, you idiot. If we don't even bury our dead, what kind of a message are we sending to our remaining troops? A couple of extra hours here won't be as dangerous as an army full of disgruntled soldiers."

It took them three days to complete their tasks due to the severe weather. Finally, they began their journey on the fourth morning of the Crossing.

The northbound road towards the Ruins was built for carts and carriages, so the vehicles moved at a sluggish speed. The next day, Aden's military had to halt their charge a few kilometers outside the Ruins. Hundreds of men blocked the road. An officer rushed to inform Henry and Olivier about this blockade.

"It seems we have a situation here, HighMinister," Henry said. "Let us go and have a chat with these folks."

Olivier shook his head. "I was the only person from the last touring party who left this world with his head still on his shoulders and I am in no mood to give them a chance to correct their mistake."

"So what are we supposed to do?" Henry asked.

"Believe me, it is useless to talk with them. Just shoot a few rounds in the air and disperse them."

"What if they don't budge?"

"Why are you asking me? You decided what to do with the captured soldiers at the riverbank, so do the same here. Do what you think is the best for Aden." Olivier didn't give a direct answer, but he quite skillfully gave Henry the license to go on a rampage.

Henry stroked his beard. "We have to give them a chance or at least show our troops that we tried to knock some sense in their brains before we take any drastic step."

"Then you go ahead and bang your head against these stones. My coming with you will only hamper the chances of any fruitful negotiations. Take Malcolm with you and see if they agree to our demands. They won't abandon their homes and hand over their city to you on a platter but of course, go and please your conscience."

"And what do I offer them?"

"Ask them to peacefully exit the Ruins. Assure them that we will inflict no harm and even help them build new settlements. Repeat the promises made by the previous delegation. Give them three days to wrap up their things. After that, we move inside the city and take over."

Henry nodded and got out of his vehicle. He and Malcolm, surrounded by heavily armed soldiers, walked towards the crowd. "Send five authorized people from your side. Our ministers want to talk with them."

Five men from each side gathered in the middle. Soldiers on both sides kept their weapons ready to attack if anyone went out of the line.

Nicholas did the talking on Elisium's behalf. "Why can't you people let us live in peace? Tell me, why have you brought this large army?"

Henry sneered. "Ten years ago we sent a delegation with a peace proposal and you sent back their heads. We couldn't have come here unarmed."

"Peace proposal? Your people killed tens of our men. They treacherously shot my father and commander Richard. Your people first ventured into our world and started this cycle of animosity."

Malcolm, who was better skilled with words, signaled Henry to shut up and decided to do the talking. "We both have our versions of that story. We can't change what has already happened but we can surely determine what will happen. We can do things differently this time around."

"Ok, what do you want?"

"Look, those severed heads scared our administration and they think that you people will attack us. Just to make sure that no such thing happens, we want to make an army base here and guard the whirlpool. To do that, we want your people to evacuate the Ruins."

"Evacuate the Ruins? Is this a joke?" Nicholas asked, feigning to suppress laughter.

"I am afraid it is not. We give you three days to leave the city. I know three days is a short time but some of us have to go back to Aden. Your people can take all their possessions with them and settle anywhere they like. We won't bother them anymore as long as they don't bother us. Our troops will even help your people build these new settlements, provide them with our technology, and assist them in raising their living standards. If you accept this deal we will set your world on the path of development."

"Path of development?" Nicholas smirked. "You are asking hundreds of thousands of people to leave their homes, where will they go? Have you lost your mind?"

Henry had heard enough. "You don't have any other options so cut the crap."

Nicholas clenched his fist. "This isn't about defending your world. This is all about getting your hands on that cursed Star-Rock. Right?"

Malcolm looked into Nicholas in the eye. "You can think whatever you want, but believe me we genuinely want both our worlds to co-exist harmoniously. Once we make the base, I assure you we will comply with all the promises that Andrews had made to your people. We will help you rebuild."

"Rebuilding comes after destruction," Nicholas hissed in Malcom's face. His every word was filled with anguish and hatred. "You want us to trust in your hollow promises. You murdered two hundred men on the riverbank after your commander had promised to spare their lives."

"So you know about what happened at the riverbank?" Henry asked.

"Yes, my scouts saw how you mercilessly slaughtered those unarmed men."

Henry dropped the pretense and broke into a chortle. "This should serve as a reminder that we don't spare the insects that bite. We crush them under our feet."

"Yes, that slaughter confirmed that you are going to kill us even if we surrender. We have to fight, till the last breath."

Malcolm tried to salvage the situation before Henry could blow everything up. "Believe me, what we did at the riverbank was to protect our soldiers and end the fight. We still give you a day. If you accept our terms by tomorrow morning, I swear by the Almighty, the Supremes, and everything I hold dear, not a drop of blood will be shed. You have to trust us. This is your only chance for survival."

"Trust you? Embracing a venomous snake, in the hope that it won't bite, is committing suicide. We will not give away our city. We will not leave our homes."

Henry smiled. A spine-chilling smile filled with hatred and malice. "Then I will have to use force and you will be responsible for that. This is the second time we are reaching out to your people offering peace but you have turned us away."

"Thanks for your generous offer but we will not give in to the demands of some tyrants and become their slaves."

"Go and talk to your people." Malcolm turned around to walk back toward his troops. There was no point in dragging this meeting further. "You have a whole night to decide your fate."

Nicholas glared at his enemies. He had already sealed the fate of Elisium in his mind.

***

Olivier, Henry, and Malcolm were lodged inside a tent and discussing their plan of action.

"You gave them a night to think. So very generous of you." Olivier taunted Malcolm.

"You wanted Henry to start shooting at them straight away, right?" Malcolm shot back.

"What difference will a night make?" Olivier asked.

"First, it will exactly do that—create differences among them. With all the promises I have made some of them will want to accept our offer while others will stick to their decision of not trusting us. Creating differences in the enemy camp is always a very effective strategy. Second, it will also give us a moral high ground that we tried for peace and they chose to fight. Third, our soldiers will think that we wanted to avoid this war and will support our stand."

"Wow! Someone has started to use his brains. Never thought of you as a master strategist."

"You are too obsessed with yourself to look at the qualities of others," Malcolm said, crinkling his nose. "Someday someone will trump you in your own game and you will be left wondering. Now shall we have a little sleep? We might have a long day tomorrow."

***

"I had warned you all to recruit more troops and prepare more weapons, but none of you listened to me," Nicholas shouted in the meeting of the Council of the Ruins. "Now the enemy is at our doorstep and we neither have enough men nor enough weapons to fight them off."

"We lost hundreds of men at the riverbank. We can't win this battle." One of the Elisian fighters expressed his view.

"So you suggest that we hand over our city to them and become refugees?"

Matthews was present there. He knew mindless aggression would only worsen the situation. "A day will come when we will be able to fight back, but this is not the day. Their heavy weapons will lead to a massacre."

Nicholas sniggered. "I expected nothing better from a cowardly traitor who allowed a spy to gather information about our world. Do you understand, we are in this situation because of you?"

"Mind your tongue, Nicholas," One of the elders warned, "Matthews is playing his part by providing us all the knowledge he acquired from Andrews."

"What use is that knowledge when we are being driven away from our own homes?"

Matthews hung his head. He swallowed hard and spoke in a heavy voice. "I regret every day what has happened because of me, but no one can see the future. Andrews and I never knew that our vision would lead to this. Nicholas, when the time comes this knowledge will help us develop weapons using the Star-Rocks and show us the way to recapture our lost city."

Nicholas brought his face close to Matthews. "You already call it the lost city. Tell me, when will our time come?"

"I don't think any of us will be alive to see that time. The turn of the Loop is still a century away."

Nicholas started to laugh hysterically. "I thought you had a plan but all you have is some legends. Our enemies have given us three days, not a hundred years, to vacate our homes."

Matthews sighed. "I had feared this situation since the day you threw those heads in the Abyss. I knew they would come hard at us. Sometimes one has to sacrifice his present for the sake of the future. We have to give our future a chance."

"You want us to surrender and live like slaves in our own world?"

"A fight for honor will push us towards extinction. Our enemy will get a chance to wipe out every one of us. It is a choice between committing suicide or choosing a life of hardships with hopes of a better future and I think we should give hope a chance."

Glenn, the eldest member of the Council, stood up. "We don't want to leave our homes and subject our families to a miserable life. However, an uncertain life is better than a certain death. Homes can be built again, but the dead can't be brought back to life."

Most of the Council members agreed with Glenn. The Council of the Ruins voted to surrender. Matthews was relieved that common sense had prevailed and another Catastrophe was averted in Elisium.

But Matthews was bad at predicting the future.