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Chapter Two
“What are we going to do about the front gates of the compound?” Commander Kiel asked Avahloh.
They stood out in the courtyard facing the ruble and debris that used to be the front gates. Kiel had gotten used to two things when dealing with Avahloh. First, it was obvious that this Reaper was never out of full Grim Reaper battle armor. Kiel still did not know what this man looked like. He wasn’t quite sure if anyone who wasn’t a Reaper did. Second, the long pauses of silence when speaking with Avahloh. He understood now that it wasn’t that he was ignoring Kiel, or that he found the statement beneath him. It wasn’t that he was without ideas, nor was he just thinking. His mind was coming up with, or had already come up with, something absolute. He processed information in a way that Kiel thought he would never understand.
Avahloh looked around the city and destruction. Crews were still about attending to the damage of the previous attacks.
"Look out, look out!" A scream echoed from the distance. Across the way, the top of a highly damaged building began to crumble and fall. Avahloh watched as part of the building gave way, then turned back to the wall.
“Nothing.” Avahloh finally said. Kiel was shocked, but he was sure there was more to follow. He was not disappointed. “We will leave the damaged wall as is, debris and all, and reinforce it with a new wall. The rubble already broken down in front of it will be an added defense against missile attack. We'll just have to use the rear gate as the main entrance. Being so close to the mountain range, it will keep their aircraft from mounting another assault on our gates. They'll just have to figure out another way in,” Avahloh whispered his last sentence.
"I don't understand 1st Narce. May I ask you to explain? Kiel asked.
"The rubble will absorb and disperse the energy from any direct missile attack. We simply reinforce the back of the gates. They would have to expand a lot of ordinance to break through. I’m sure it would be more than they would be willing to offer."
"I can visualize this." Kiel admitted. “The logic sounds solid. You sound pretty certain that the science will hold up."
"I'm certain,” Avahloh assured.
“But 1st Narce, we are limited on construction resources. What will we use to build this new wall?”
“We will tear down the buildings that were rendered nonfunctional from the first attack and give the material a new function.”
“That is resourceful.”
“How much personnel can we afford to pull to make this happen as quickly as possible and without exasperating the men?”
“I will have to get together with Reik to see what human resources we have available. I will let you know as soon as we have done so.”
“Thank you, Commander Kiel. Demolition and construction needs to begin today. Tell Reik that he will have about twenty-four hours.” Avahloh said.
Kiel was taken back by the time frame. He would not question. It was not his task and he would have enough to deal with the 1st Narce.
The two men began to walk away from the front wall. The genuine gratitude that this Reaper had just displayed grabbed Kiel’s mind and sparked memory of a previous curiosity that had perplexed him.
“I’m curious, Narce. You are a Grim Reaper, one who has obviously been effective in your duties. Given what those duties have been, I have to admit I find myself a bit perplexed.”
Avahloh stopped and turned to Kiel. Kiel was normally straight to the point and very efficient with his words. The circumlocutious nature of his statement made Avahloh take notice of what he was about to ask him.
“Speak, Commander. I will answer honestly if I can,” Avahloh said. For the first time, he spoke with a conversational tone to his voice, even as it came through his Grim Reaper particulate sonically altered.
“Oh, I know you can and you will. I have learned at least that much in my short time dealing directly with you. Sub-Commander Coto challenged your authority in an insubordinate manner. In my opinion, he would have never done so with Ruin Morrison. Now that a Grim Reaper is in charge, it seemed like an invitation to challenge the Grim Reapers’ ability to lead, opening the door for dissension amongst the ranks. I expected that, as a Grim Reaper soldier, you would have had him killed on the spot. Why didn’t you?”
“While you have made a valid observation, there is a reason more important than gaining simple obedience.”
“And what would that be?”
“These are Compound Officers who have never been truly guided by Grim Reaper hegemony. I need them to trust me.”
“They have to trust you because you’re the Commanding Officer.”
“No, they don’t. But I need them to trust me, and, outside my ability to wield power over them, what reason do they have to do so?”
“You are the 1st Narce, and, even though I know you will never take the title, you are technically the Compound Ruin. You give an order and soldiers react. All these soldiers should follow your orders because you tell them to,” Kiel said.
Avahloh stopped and turned to Kiel. Surprisingly, his posture and body language was not threatening, but beseeching.
“Kiel, hear me on this. Men kill and die when you tell them to, when they fear you. Elite soldiers fight and succeed when you ask them to because they respect and trust you. Learn that before this is all said and done.”