Sorcerer… Cyborg???

Chapter 143: The Nighthawk Unit

Anteris' fleet was currently moored just off the shore of what the Multas natives called, unimaginatively, Outpost Island. It had only been mere hours after the initial invasion, when the diminutive yet densely muscled natives of the islands had come to negotiate with their new overlords.

From these ambassadors, the Ursten forces had learned much about the islands, they had learned that the islands formed a large archipelago, and that the largest of them, named Multas, the namesake of the people who lived on the islands, had on its coast a large natural harbor.

This revelation had put an enormous smile on Anteris' face, and he had returned to his flagship vessel, and was preparing for the fleet to go and moor in the calmer and safer waters of the Multas harbor. 

The ambassadors, clad in the finest Imperial silks, tailored to fit their oddly broad frames, had left dejected. Tam demanded far more in the way of their natural resources, and he wanted them to give up their forges and mills to his own carpenters. 

"But how will we eat?" They had asked, in stilted and uncomfortable Imperial, clearly not familiar with the language.

"How did you live before the Imperials?" Was Tam's only reply, after which the ambassadors had a dejected and deferent expression on their faces. They knew well that they could live well, but these new masters had many more troops than they had ever seen the Imperial brings, and the burden of feeding these men alone would ruin them, no matter how much gold they traded.

For gold was only worthwhile if there was someone to trade it with, otherwise it was nothing but a useless lump of metal. 

After the ambassadors had left, Kothar, who had observed the evening's proceedings, along with Docara and Pony, all of whom had been called to the relatively untouched dining hall previously, were left alone with Tam.

Tam was sat at the head of an enormous table of polished wood, and all around the room there were Magical Lamps at regular intervals, as well as fine portraits of unfamiliar faces that could only be famed individuals of the Empire. All the figures in the portraits wore colorful silks and had extreme slim, long oval faces. 

"Surely it wasn't necessary to demand so much from them, after all, we have brought our own supplies, and Anteris' ships were also laden with supplies." Kothar asked, after the ambassadors had left.

"Of course, the situation is not dire at all. Our men can easily extract what we need from the islands, and Anteris' vessels can easily double as fishing vessels. But letting the Multas know that we had no use for them whatsoever would have triggered a seed of rebellion. How could they trust an invading army that didn't need anything from them, they would do all they could to come back under the boot of the Empire. This way, they'll think twice before they even think about rebellion." Tam explained, and Kothar slowly nodded. Though he had little experience with politics, he had been familiar with negotiation in his past life, even if that negotiation had been limited to showcasing the awesome power that he had at his fingertips.

"Now, back to the matter at hand. You three dealt well with the outpost, and Docara, good job on carrying out my orders to the letter, I'm impressed." Tam nodded at Docara, who rubbed at the back of his head awkwardly. All of the men had thought that they had some say in who would become the leader of all the unitless soldiers, but it seemed as though Tam had been a step ahead.

"From now on, you and your men shall be known as the Nighthawk unit, I will inform the rest of our forces of this, but I want you all to maintain your anonymity when carrying out anything as members of the Ursten army. Understood?" Tam's voice grew serious, and he gave each of them a piercing stare, even Kothar, fully communicated the magnitude of what he was commanding.

"Understood!" The three of them saluted, behaving for once like good soldiers of the Ursten army.

"Very good. Now, remember this well, I will only issue commands to any of you personally, Rufus and Pony, follow Docara's orders as if they were my own." Tam smiled slightly at the sight of their salute, surprised that his son was so familiar with the etiquette of the army. 

"Rufus and Pony, I may issue you independent missions of your own, on those occasions, so long as they aren't needed for an essential mission, you may tackle command of up to five soldiers from your own Nighthawk unit, or up to twenty soldiers from any unit other than my personal guard." Pony's eyes widened as he heard Tam, he had served Tam for years, and this sudden increase in responsibility was enormous for him.

"Alright, head on out. Rufus, I need to talk with you, stay behind." Tam dismissed Docara and Pony, and they left, Pony still dazed from what he had just been told, was a little dazed and Docara had to guide him out.

"Seeing as though your mentor decided to betray you, I'll do my best to fill you in on some of the things you should've learned." Tam gestured for Kothar to sit, and Kothar took a seat at the massive dining table. 

"Come now Kothar, there's no need to disguise yourself for now, why don't you remove that helmet." Tam said with a kind smile, he was proud of his son, especially after he had heard of his battle with the Water Element Warrior. 

"Of course, Father." Kothar removed the helm, setting it down on the table, pulling down the mask from the Multi Planar equipment also. For the first time in a while, he felt the cool air against his face. He had kept the mask on since they had left the camp on Kalun, and from then on it had been one thing or another. Going from the rafts, to the ships and then on to an invasion, all of them, Tam included, had been getting by with short naps. 

For the first time in days, Kothar felt able to relax.