Chapter 124 – The Idea

"We can't keep this up much longer."

The lieutenant colonel placed a sheet of paper in the center of the table and slid two more beside it.

One listed transportation costs. The other two listed the equipment they had lost and the supplies they would need delivered if the operation continued.

The colonel in charge of the mission lowered his gaze to the documents.

On his other side, the major responsible for planning military operations shifted in his chair, as though he already knew where this conversation was going.

There were seven people in the room.

Besides the three officers, there was a representative from the Ministry of Defense, a scientist sent by the private company that had explored the vampire territories, and a delegate from the mage regulatory agency.

The last of them had nine stars on his uniform.

At one end of the table sat Mara Velasco, the civilian analyst responsible for organizing reports on the vampire kingdom.

She looked about thirty, was professionally dressed, and had been listening for a while as she jotted a few things down in a small notebook.

The lieutenant colonel pointed to one of the documents.

"We lost a combat aircraft. We abandoned several forward camps and destroyed communications and surveillance equipment we couldn't get out in time."

"To keep it from falling into enemy hands," the major reminded him.

"I know why. I was the one who had to calculate how much replacing it would cost."

The colonel raised a hand before the major could answer.

"Continue."

"Every day we stay here, we need fuel, ammunition, food, medical supplies, and spare parts. All of it has to be transported from Earth. And now we have to do that while replacing what we just lost."

The Ministry of Defense representative looked at the list.

"There are still funds available."

"Money is only part of the problem."

The lieutenant colonel picked up another folder.

"We have thirty-two mages assigned to this operation. Twenty-seven assigned to combat and field deployment. The other five fill specialized roles."

"Medical support, communications, and facility security," the colonel added, checking the sheet.

"Among other things. Those five can't just leave their posts to cover every need that comes up either."

The man with nine stars stopped reviewing the contracts in front of him.

"And none of the thirty-two can stay here indefinitely."

Everyone turned their attention to him.

The mages' representative straightened the documents before continuing.

"Several of these professionals work for companies with protection contracts in urban sectors. Some cities are already rearranging their shifts because they're short-staffed."

The major crossed his arms.

"Replacements were hired."

"In some cases."

"Then..."

"Not all replacements have the same capabilities."

The rank-nine mage placed a finger on one of the sheets.

"A city can have enough people to cover a shift and still be unable to respond to a particular threat. If we pull out the only specialist who could handle it, filling that position with someone else doesn't solve the problem."

The colonel stared at him.

The representative continued:

"Our mages aren't just soldiers who can be moved from one conflict to another without affecting anything else. Many have obligations to private companies, local authorities, and sectors that depend on them when monsters appear."

"Not all of them belong to your organization," the Ministry delegate pointed out.

"They don't have to belong to the same organization to be subject to certification requirements and certain obligations."

The answer came calmly.

"Our agency certifies their ranks, oversees the terms of their contracts, and establishes responsibilities related to city security. That's why I'm here."

The man lifted one of the sheets.

"We have companies asking when their employees will return. Cities paying for replacements. Sectors covering shifts with a reduced ability to respond."

He paused briefly.

"If one of those sectors suffers an attack it could have contained with its usual personnel, someone will have to explain why those personnel were still here."

The lieutenant colonel nodded.

"That's why I propose suspending the operation. We go back, review the information, and decide how to proceed."

"No."

The Ministry of Defense representative had answered before the lieutenant colonel had even finished setting the folder down.

The lieutenant colonel looked at him.

"We can't return without achieving our primary objective," the man added.

"We've spent days trying to do that."

"The boy is still missing."

"We don't even know if he's alive."

"Then we need his body. Or verifiable evidence of what happened to him."

The room fell silent for a few seconds.

Mara finished writing a line and looked up.

The Ministry delegate leaned toward the table.

"We're talking about the Minister of Defense's only son. His disappearance had already prompted a considerable investigation before any evidence emerged linking it to this kingdom."

"We all know who he is," the mages' representative said.

"Then you also know how important it is to come back with something."

The man turned his gaze to the colonel.

"The minister used his influence to secure resources for this mission because the initial evidence suggested his son might be here. We can't go back after everything we've used and tell him we know nothing."

The lieutenant colonel looked at the accumulated expenses.

"Spending more doesn't guarantee we'll find an answer either."

"This operation doesn't have the same public authorization as a conventional deployment."

The delegate lowered his voice a little, though no one outside the room seemed able to hear them.

"Some of the funds and resources were allocated through classified channels. Very few people know the full cost. If we return without the boy, without his body, and without evidence of his fate, every one of those decisions will have to be explained."

The mages' representative closed one of his contracts.

"The abducted boy's political importance doesn't change the obligations of the professionals here."

"No one is saying that..."

"The minister has influence over budgets and protection programs. That doesn't mean cities stop needing protection while we try to recover his son."

The colonel raised his hand.

"Enough."

He waited until both men were looking at him before continuing.

"We're not going to solve this by arguing again over who should take responsibility if it goes wrong."

He moved the expense records aside and picked up one of the reports on the vampire kingdom.

"First, I want to return to a question we still haven't answered clearly enough."

He looked at the scientist.

"Why are we so certain the boy is inside the castle?"

The exploration company's representative straightened his back.

"Our teams have been investigating disappearances linked to those creatures for some time."

"I know that."

"We've sent several expeditions. We gathered testimony from people who managed to return, records of travel between worlds, and samples that allowed us to study certain properties of vampire blood."

The scientist moved a folder toward the center of the table.

"The information used to prepare this operation came from those investigations. It didn't come out of nowhere."

The colonel still didn't touch the folder.

"I'm asking you about the abducted boy's location."

"And I'm explaining that we've had teams working on it since long before this mission was organized."

The man opened the document and pointed to several pages.

"Besides, our research has produced results previously considered all but impossible."

The mages' representative turned his gaze toward him.

The scientist continued:

"One of our teams developed an experimental countermeasure against certain effects of blood from one of the royal families."

The major leaned forward a little to look at the documents.

"I remember."

"Then you'll understand the importance of the discovery. For a long time, it was assumed that certain properties of that blood couldn't be reliably counteracted."

"And the discovery still has limitations," the rank-nine mage interjected.

The scientist stared at him.

"Naturally. It's still experimental."

"I mention it because I don't want us to end up treating that result as a guarantee of our teams' safety."

"No one said it was a guarantee."

"Interfering with a mechanism associated with royal blood under specific conditions doesn't tell us what will happen when a powerful vampire decides to attack us."

The mages' representative rested a hand on the table.

"Much less if she's a queen."

The scientist pressed his lips together slightly.

"There are still aspects we haven't been able to study. That's stated in the documentation."

"Good."

"But our expeditions have provided enough information to justify this operation."

Mara waited for the colonel to finish reviewing the page in front of him.

Then she spoke.

"Does the evidence regarding the abducted boy's location come from independent sources?"

The scientist turned his head toward her.

"What do you mean?"

"Was it verified separately? Or were the different reports based on the same expeditions conducted by your company?"

The man took a few seconds to answer.

"We submitted the documentation we were responsible for providing."

"Yes. What I'm trying to determine is..."

"The procedures used by our researchers are confidential."

Mara kept the pen between her fingers.

The scientist continued:

"You're here to organize and assess the reports. The decisions that led to this mission were already reviewed by people with the proper authority."

Mara watched him for a moment. Then she lowered her gaze to her notebook.

"Understood."

The rank-nine mage didn't do the same.

"It's a reasonable question."

The scientist turned his head back toward him.

"We have several reports."

"We could have several documents based on a single account. We need to know how many times the information was verified."

The colonel closed the folder before the argument could escalate any further.

"We'll request clarification. For now, let's move on to the status of the operation."

The major took the opportunity to bring the bombing records closer.

"The strategy wasn't designed solely to damage the castle."

The lieutenant colonel exhaled through his nose.

"Good thing, since we haven't managed to get through the barrier."

"The objective was to provoke a response."

The major pointed to the company's reports.

"According to the information we received, vampires are extremely territorial. They react violently to incursions and rarely tolerate provocations within their domains."

The scientist nodded.

"We have accounts of entire groups of explorers being wiped out for approaching certain areas. Also of abductions and clashes with very few survivors."

"We expected them to come out," the major continued. "We'd study the fighters who responded and engage them with mages prepared to face them. If we managed to capture or eliminate one, we'd have information about their capabilities and something to use as leverage to recover the boy."

"But they didn't come out," the lieutenant colonel said.

"They barely responded," the major corrected.

The colonel studied the attack records.

They had sent planes, used up ammunition, and scheduled the same flights all over again.

The barrier was still there.

And the vampires hadn't reacted the way the reports had led them to expect.

"How many fighters does that kingdom have?" he asked.

The scientist shifted in his chair.

"The accounts mention numerous warriors."

"How many belong to the queen's army?"

"We can't confirm a number."

"Then we don't know how many she could send if she decided to respond either."

"No."

The lieutenant colonel leaned back.

"Maybe the stories about their aggression were exaggerated."

"Or perhaps they don't want to show us what they can do," the Ministry delegate replied.

The major looked at both of them.

"In any case, the situation may have changed."

He picked up one of the most recent reports.

"A vampire located the forward camp we just evacuated. This time, there was a confrontation."

The colonel nodded.

"Diana and Alfred."

"Two rank-seven mages. Both returned."

"One of them is seriously injured," the lieutenant colonel reminded him.

"But he survived."

The major placed the document in front of him.

"Until now, we've been acting as though a direct encounter was practically a death sentence. Two mages managed to make it out of one. That has to mean something."

Mara looked up.

"Was the vampire's death confirmed?"

The major turned toward her.

"Both mages returned. Considering the circumstances, that's a fairly favorable outcome."

"Did anyone recover the body?"

"No."

"Did another team check the site of the fight?"

"We haven't sent anyone yet."

Mara looked at the document.

"Then we don't have confirmation."

"We have two respected professionals who returned from fighting her."

"And preliminary reports from an evacuation."

The major began to frown.

"Both have experience and reputations to uphold. They wouldn't put their names on the line by making up what happened."

Mara kept her voice calm.

"Surviving a fight doesn't necessarily mean defeating the enemy..."

The mages' representative nodded.

"One of them returned unconscious. Before we draw conclusions, we need to know how the fight actually ended."

"I didn't say we don't need more information," the major replied. "I said they survived. Something that, until recently, we considered extremely unlikely."

The colonel watched him.

"What do you propose?"

"A ground incursion with several higher-ranked specialists."

The lieutenant colonel closed his eyes for a moment.

The major continued before he could interrupt.

"A group capable of facing several vampires, gathering information, and approaching the kingdom's facilities. We can't keep waiting for them to come out when it's clear the bombings aren't provoking the response we expected."

"And you're proposing we risk the very specialists who are hardest to replace," the lieutenant colonel said.

"I'm proposing we use the people with the best chance of completing the mission."

"They're also the ones responsible for much of this base's defensive capability."

"I'm not proposing we send all of them."

Mara finished writing down Diana's and Alfred's names.

She noted their ranks, the condition they had returned in, and the lack of confirmation of the vampire's death.

Then she spoke again.

"How many professionals would remain to protect the facilities?"

"Most of them," the major replied. "The incursion would require a small team."

"Would we retain the same defensive capability with the highest-ranked mages away?"

"We'd still have mages."

The rank-nine representative looked up.

"Numbers alone don't answer that question."

The major turned his head toward him.

"I'm aware of the differences between ranks."

"Then you know some of them can be enormous."

The man pointed to the personnel list.

"And simply choosing the highest numbers isn't enough either. We have to consider their abilities, specialties, and the conditions they'll be facing the enemy under. A team well suited to protecting these facilities could perform poorly on an incursion."

"That's precisely why we're discussing how to plan it."

The major placed both hands on the table.

"If we keep waiting for the perfect opportunity, we'll never get the boy out of there."

The lieutenant colonel began pointing out the posts they would have to reinforce if they withdrew certain specialists. The major responded by indicating which sectors he considered priorities and which could be covered in other ways.

Mara kept writing.

She recorded the deployment proposals, the names they mentioned, and the areas the officers considered most important to defending the base.

The mages' representative let them argue for a few moments before closing his folder.

"I won't authorize a new offensive using contracted personnel without first reviewing the terms of their contracts."

The major stared at him.

"We're still putting together a proposal."

"Then include that condition from the start."

The rank-nine mage looked at the colonel.

"We'll also have to review their obligations to cities on Earth and how much longer we can keep them here."

The Ministry delegate shifted in his seat, but the man wasn't finished.

"And to avoid another misunderstanding: my presence here doesn't mean I'm available to take part in any operation you decide to organize either."

The major watched him for a few seconds.

"You're the highest-ranked professional at this meeting."

"That doesn't change my responsibilities."

The representative gathered the contract documents.

"I'm here to oversee the safety of our magical personnel and ensure that certain expedition facilities remain operational. To have me take part in an offensive, you'll have to make the proper request."

The colonel ran a hand over his face.

An incursion required information they still didn't have, mages whose availability they needed to check, and resources they continued to consume while they argued.

"Let's consider other alternatives," he said.

The lieutenant colonel answered immediately.

"Negotiation."

The major turned his head toward him.

"What?"

"Trying to negotiate the boy's release."

The Ministry delegate looked at the colonel.

No one seemed particularly comfortable with the proposal.

"Our objective is to recover someone who's been abducted," the lieutenant colonel continued. "Not conquer that kingdom."

"We also need them to still be willing to return him," the major replied.

"First, we'd have to find out whether they are."

"After bombing their territory for days?"

The lieutenant colonel looked at the reports covering the center of the table.

"Continuing to do so doesn't seem to be getting us any closer to him either."

The major slowly shook his head.

"We don't know how they treat their enemies. We have stories of abductions, expeditions being wiped out, and attacks on anyone who gets too close."

"And very few reliable records of direct negotiations with the kingdom's authorities," Mara interjected.

The scientist turned toward her.

"Our researchers have already had some very unpleasant experiences with those creatures."

"The documents describe expeditions, clashes, and disappearances."

"Exactly."

Mara placed a finger on one of the pages.

"Were any of those teams sent specifically to establish diplomatic contact with the authorities?"

The scientist fell silent for a moment.

"Our explorers were instructed to gather information and avoid unnecessary risks."

Mara nodded.

"Then we still don't know how they'd respond to an offer to negotiate."

The major looked at the colonel.

"They could kill whoever we send."

"They could kill the incursion team too," the lieutenant colonel replied.

The Ministry delegate rested his elbows on the table.

"If there's a chance of recovering the boy through an agreement, we'll have to consider it."

"We'll need to know what they'd ask for in return," the scientist said.

"For that, we'd have to talk to them."

The colonel remained silent for a few seconds.

Then he looked at the bombing reports, the expense lists, and the contracts the mages' representative had put away again.

"All right. We need to reconsider our options."

The major leaned back in his chair, though he didn't look convinced.

The colonel continued:

"Suppose we decide to negotiate. We still have to contact someone who can speak for the kingdom."

Mara raised her pen slightly.

The colonel looked at her.

"After everything we've done, how the hell are we going to get a vampire to agree to come here and talk to us?"

Mara opened her mouth.

WEEEEEEEE!

The sound of the alarm cut through the room.

WEEEEEEEE!

WEEEEEEEE!

Everyone froze for a fraction of a second, until a voice came over the loudspeakers.

"Alert! A vampiric presence has been detected inside the main base!"

WEEEEEEEE!

The colonel stood and picked up the communicator beside him.

"Confirm the threat's location."

The major was already pushing his chair back.

"Mobilize the available mages. Have them secure the command facilities."

The scientist looked toward the door.

The Ministry delegate stood so quickly that he banged a knee against the table, while Mara set her pen down on her notebook.

The mages' representative had also stood. His expression, however, shifted from surprise to annoyance.

"Inside the base?"

The colonel was still waiting for a response over the communicator.

"What do you mean, inside?" the rank-nine mage demanded. "What were the detection systems installed for?"

"We don't have that information yet," the major replied.

"We allocated resources to surveillance devices and specialists precisely to prevent this."

The man turned his gaze outward, as though he could see the people responsible through the walls.

"It's one thing to detect a presence approaching. It's another to wait until it's inside the facilities to warn us."

The colonel asked for the location again.

Several overlapping voices came through from the other end.

None gave him an immediate answer.

The rank-nine mage made a small sound of disgust.

"I'll check it myself."

He extended a hand.

Mana gathered around his fingers before spreading through the room and passing through the walls. His spell reached toward the nearby facilities, searching for concentrations of energy moving between the buildings.

He recognized several mages.

Some remained at their posts. Others were moving quickly, responding to the alarm and the orders beginning to circulate through the base.

He could make out their locations, the intensity of their presences, and certain traits of the energies he had already sensed during his stay.

He searched for something different.

A presence that didn't match any of theirs, and he found it almost immediately.

The man's frown faded.

His hand remained extended, but his fingers went still.

He didn't need to expand the spell's range any further.

The vampiric energy was much closer than he had expected.

He slowly turned his head.

The colonel noticed the movement.

"Did you find her?"

The mage didn't answer.

He was looking at the door.

The vampire was standing just on the other side.

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