Chapter 32: Deployment and spiders 1 (Jasmine)

Like i mentioned last week you guys are only getting half a chapter this week as i have an exam. Sorry about that, but at least we get new romance stuff next week. Or hopefully the kindeling from which a flame can grow.

(Pov Jasmine)

The fledgling serving as her mother's secretary led her into the office. She had gotten the meeting rather quickly, even though she arrived without an appointment. 

She entered to find her mother seated at her desk in the dimly lit room, holding an iron headband of some kind and staring at it deep in thought. It was almost as if she expected it to grow teeth and bite her.

As she walked over to the desk, her eyes roamed the office as they always did when she visited. Her mother had always been in the habit of collecting photographs and trinkets from the things that happened in her life. Not all were good; some were nightmarish. Though the latter, she kept just for herself. 

Jasmine's gaze halted on one of the photos on the wall, the one it always stopped on. The woman it showed was recognizably her mother, if barely. Sitting in the sun on some ruined building, leaning heavily on a sword. She wore a full harness of black plate armor. Not that you would know it was black from the color it had in the image; no, that was the deep reds of arterial blood and the pinkish color of viscera. The small bronze plate on the frame read “Otta 1999”. A date that placed the event firmly during the Scandinavian consolidation wars, or as her father had called it while he was still alive and deigned to mention it in passing, the Dawnbringer Wars. A name most of the thralls, noctians, and other people attached to the clans who came over from Scandinavia as anything more than children still used. Including her mother, when she mentioned them at all. It also meant that the blood was, in all likelihood, human. 

“Jasmine, darling! How lovely of you to drop by; please have a seat.” Solveig tone was filled with motherly warmth as she gestured offhandedly to one of the chairs in front of her desk. All without taking her eyes off the circlet in front of her.

Now that she was closer, she could more clearly see the thing. The circlet was etched with runes, runemaal runes at that, set in complex circular and geometric patterns inlaid with various metals. Jasmine knew an enchanted item when she saw one, and something about the weight of her mother's gaze on the thing sent an ice-cold shiver down her spine. 

“What is it?” She asked, keeping her voice casual.

Her mother set the thing down on her desk with a dull thunk. Her voice was now heavy and guarded as she spoke. “A weapon, or the control system for part of it, at least. One I dearly hope Washington doesn't force me to use.” She hesitated for a moment, as if weighing what she was about to say next. “Having been on the receiving end, I can tell you it's particularly nightmarish.”

Jasmine's eyebrow arched. A million questions ran through her head. What kind of weapon could her mother have tasked the theurgists with making? Especially concerning was the fact that her mother didn't seem especially willing to say what might force her to use it. Even if she pushed, she knew the centenarian in front of her wouldn't let anything slip. 

Solveig finally looked up from the thing, giving Jasmine a warm smile. “But my dear, that's not the reason you dropped by now, is it. So what can I help you with?”

Whatever her mother had planned, it could wait. She had more pressing issues to discuss than a weapon that might never be used. Her mother would tell her when the time was right; she always had.

Jasmine leaned forward in her chair. “According to Linda, there is some talk going around that I might be redeployed after I have set up the depot in Fairvern. Are there any plans for that?”

Her mother leaned back in her chair. Her eyes searched Jasmine's face for a second before she sighed heavily. “It seems some people need to be reminded that loose lips sink ships.” She took a sip of the cup in front of her. “Well, there are worse things they could have talked about. Yes, there are plans for that.”

“May I know more, or isn't it time yet?” Jasmine asked, her eyebrows drawing closer together as she studied her mother. She had said it wasn't the worst thing someone could have talked about, but still it wasn't supposed to be known yet. There was a very real chance she wouldn't be told. She also had a sinking feeling she might not like it.

“I can tell you, though I know you aren't going to like it.” Her mother hesitated, seeming to gather her thoughts. “We will be redeploying Josefine from Billings to the coastal front. We need someone reliable to take her place in command of the noctian contingent of the forces operating around Billings. Your name has come up, and it made the short list. If nothing drastically changes over the next few weeks, it's yours."

Well, I did want to see combat; guess I am getting my wish. Jasmine's chest tightened slightly. She glanced over at the picture of her mother on the wall. How had she felt when she first went to war? It wouldn't be the first time Jasmine had killed someone; it certainly would be her first proper fight. It would be her first war. Had her mother felt the same dreadful excitement? 

It wasn't that she felt ill-prepared. Inexperienced, certainly, but her mother had placed logistics, leadership, and combat ability very high on the list in her education. She had as much preparation as anyone could get without experience. Though her marksmanship was still atrocious, even if it had improved drastically. It simply didn't matter when you could close the distance, and most dangers to her were better countered in melee anyway. All that was left was to actually put her training to the test.

She did wish her mother had said something about it. Though if it meant significant changes to troop deployments in Billings, she understood why they hadn't told anyone yet. “Why the sudden change in deployments?”

Her mother tapped the desk with her fingers rhythmically. “Because in about three weeks significant elements of the first, second, fourth, fifth, and seventh fleets will have reached the Pacific coast or near enough to it. What's left of most of them, anyway. That includes a large portion of the armor they have left and personnel being shipped in from overseas. Most of which is being amassed around san fransico. Though, given the number of Marine landing craft, we suspect they will be landing along the coast where they can.”

Jasmine nodded slowly. Most of that wasn't news to her; she was involved in the logistical headache of planning for it after all. The change in Noctian troop deployment, however, was new. “And Josefine is amongst the most experienced combatants and commanders for Noctian forces we have. So you want her helping to protect the long-range artillery emplacements and jammers in Medford, then, I am guessing?”

Her mother smiled at her, a warm and proud smile. “Just so, darling.”

Jasmine was missing something. There was nothing to like about the feds intensifying their attack on one of the fronts, but it was hardly something her mother would comment on Jasmine disliking. She had only been posted in Spokane in logistics because of Jason's injuries. It certainly helped the people who normally did it, but it wasn't where she was originally intended to be. The only problem would be if…

Jasmine straightened in her chair. “Mom, how long would each rotation be?” If they were redeploying clan forces, there was a severe risk of them having to prolong each rotation and shorten leave. Of course, the Noctian forces mostly handled heavy shock and assault operations. They didn't really do rotations as such, but they did need to be available in case someone broke through their lines. 

Solveig winced. “Yeah, I see you caught on to that. They won't change too much from normal. But it's enough that it will be a problem for Jason's conversion.”

Well shit. While she personally would love to get the process done. To bind him to her and her to him through blood and magic, forging a marriage that would last the rest of his natural life. To have the responsibility for someone for the rest of their life, to be the pillar someone could lean on and have someone to lean on in turn. 

That wasn't the only reason she wanted Jason converted as quickly as possible. Thrall's blood was empowering. A strategic resource to any clan, and the Noctian a thrall was bound to.

“How much degradation would I have to fight?”

Her mother's lips pursed as she briefly studied her daughter's face. “More than you could undo before you had to leave again. While that isn't the end of the world, I know it destroys months of work for you.”

Jasmine could feel the pit forming in her stomach. She could probably prevent the consequences by keeping him closer to where she was posted, but she had no desire to put him in extra danger to convert him. If he was thrall and they truly needed the extra power, that would be one thing, but he wasn't. No, all her work would be undone, slowly degrading as the magic imbued into Jason withered and faded. It hadn't been hard work, but that wasn't the point. It was the symbol of the thing. The relationship it created. All of which she would have to start anew.

“Don't look so glum, dear.” Jasmine's eyes met her mother's gaze, an apologetic smile plastered on her face. She probably should just get over it. There were bigger things to worry about after all.

“Sorry, I just wasn't expecting…” 

Her mother waved a hand dismissively, her lips twitching upwards with a barely contained, almost self-satisfied smile. “That's not what I meant. Gods know I know how important it is to you. To us.” She opened a drawer and pulled out a glass vial. “There are ways to slow the degradation. They taste like shit, but he will just have to get over it.” She pulled out a box filled with herbs and a knife.

It didn't come up much in Jasmine's life, so she rarely remembered it. But Noctian blood, and other body parts, for that matter, could be used as the magical component in alchemy. Though she knew that in reality it was the parasite that was the magical component, there simply wasn't a reason to separate the two. 

Solveig cleared a space on her desk. “Come on, I'll teach you how to slow the degradation.”

Jasmines scoffed. Her shoulders lowered as the weight that had settled on them lifted. She wouldn't have to start anew. No one would demand that of her, not yet at least. 

Her mother gave her a wink. “Who knows, you might even slow it enough to actually make some progress when you're off the front.”