Our Legacy - Episode 3

"Lieutenant Vohn, sir." There was a knock on the door to a concrete office. It was temporary but it did the job. Demigods were still building structures in their base of operations and his office was yet to be finished.

"Come in." Officer Ulyssa walked in, saluted, and then stood with her hands behind her back, shoulders high and confident. Lieutenant Vohn had been in Arcadeus's army for some time now, having gained a crooked reputation for punishing the lower ranks as a hobby rather than discipline, yet still a respected voice in the military. The man was foul but had his uses.

"I have the documents you requested on Operation Starfire." She took forth a memory stick and placed it on his desk.

"It's always great seeing you, Ulyssa."

"Thank you, sir." The Lieutenant chuckled and took a sip of his coffee.

"You say thank you every time you hand me something but I have yet to hear it back from you."

"Pardon, sir?"

"Is it not great to see me too?" He tried to ask innocently. "I have helped you come all this way, given you responsibilities and high praise in the council."

"I am well aware, sir, and I have always thanked you..."

"I don't want your thanks. I want you to light up when you see me." He stated with arms wide open.

Officer Ulyssa tried to hold it together. It had already taken her half an hour to muster up the strength to walk from her office to his. The walk itself took less than five minutes but it felt like five seconds. The man was a hard-working machine when it came to war but a sick bastard when in the presence of women. He would have been gutted a long time ago had it not been for an active war. There was always chatter among the lower ranked, that Arcadeus only kept him for his mind. Rumour had it, Arcadeus planned to rip his head off once they had won the war.

She looked at him, trying to understand how a man could be so foul. But then again, his mind was all about war. The dirty deed. The necessary evil, so to speak. She hated to think it but it was a good thing to have him on their side. She also hated the fact that he was a handsome man. Had he not been the victim of a vile personality, the body itself was quite attractive. But that's how they got them. Some people use what they have, God-given or not, and used it for their own benefits.

"Sir, the operation needs your expertise on two runner-ups. We have our eyes on two new Demigods who have the will to fight and to survive. We believe they'll be perfect for the protection detail." Vohn smirked. It was a good power play by Ulyssa, changing the subject to something he couldn't refuse. After all, he was all about war.

"You'd think more people would be happy about the gifts they've been given but we keep finding out that more and more people are scared of themselves." He grabbed the memory stick and inserted it into his table. A holographic screen woke up beside him and the ID's of both Maha Azim and Keyla Verbeke were presented to him. "These two ladies? They don't look the type."

"They never do, sir."

"What did they do?"

"They both have remarkable powers and showed how to use them well to survive. They still need training under our supervision, but we believe we can get them ready in time for the operation."

Lieutenant Vohn stared at the screen. He began to pop his knuckles as he swayed lightly from side to side in his chair.

"You couldn't find anyone better for the job? We need to go with these two recruits? Don't we have anyone else?"

"General Arcadeus is utilizing everyone he can for the coming attack. We're left with very few options."

"Son of a bitch. He thinks he can move her out of harm's way during an attack. It's risky. And he's already lost his son."

"Sir, I'd recommend watching the videos linked to their bio's. You might change your mind about them."

The Lieutenant reached into the top drawer below his desk and took out an envelope and a piece of paper. He began scribbling something quietly. Officer Ulyssa patiently waited with her hands behind her back. She kept checking to read what was being written but with his handwriting and reading it upside down was impossible. Vohn finally began to sign it off with his signature and stamp and enclosed it in an envelope.

"This letter is a formal complaint," he chided. "but also a letter of approval. You may go ahead and pass it on to the mission leader."

"You won't watch the videos, sir?"

"I trust you, Ulyssa, but you know as well as I do how important it is for this mission to be successful. It won't be my head they'll put in the guillotine if it goes sideways." He smirked. "After all, we all need to take risks to get somewhere in life, do we not?"

Officer Ulyssa left his office, letter in hand, in a hurry.

"I'd rather fight this war on my own than enter that office again." she murmured under her breath. She could feel her blood boiling under her skin but she was fighting off the bad vibes. Happy thoughts, she thought to herself. She began to think about Maha and Keyla. A smile began to form. She was happy. Those two women could help lead the way for many others to take a stand for themselves in this war. A lot of good could come. If the mission went successful, which it almost had to, they could become heroes to thousands of women.

She entered her office and immediately popped open a bottle of wine. She carefully poured the wine into a black canteen and stared at it. After a minute of silence between her and the canteen, she picked up the bottle of wine and began drinking directly from that instead. On her right side was a button which she pressed. Her desk began to slightly glow as a holographic keyboard formed in-front of her and a screen was projected. She began to type fast while looking at the screen, accessing mission reports and files. A notification window on the top left popped up with the title 'What do you think?'. Curious, Ulyssa quickly clicked the window and was presented with the latest rumour being passed around at base.

A Strange man was spotted outside La Châtre, France. Strange as in he was breaking into that one building that resembles a small castle or fort. Definitely not a Demigod civilian but not one of our military men either. Knew how to work his powers and with great ease. Scouts saw him enter and leave the build around two hours later, carrying something bigger than his head. Unsure of what it was as it was covered in a blanket. One scout has been sent to tail and report back. Some think it's one of those vampire folks. Other's believe it's a rogue. Bets are being placed, so you in? And if it turns out bad, don't worry, we'll do an official report and send in a squad.

Hope all is well. Did the girls make it?

Love, L.M. 

Ulyssa drank the wine like it was water and closed the window, getting back to the mission details. The mission was due in three days, just when Arcadeus would round up some of his troops and fight back towards Germany. Spain and Portugal were working together from the south to try and split his focus but Demigods were everywhere. There were still thousands coming towards France every day to aid Arcadeus and wreaking havoc on the Human territories on their way. Victory and defeat was a blur for everyone.

She scrolled down the mission details and came across the name of the VIP. She had already read it before but after talking to Lieutenant Vohn it felt like she was reading it for the first time. The VIP was Arcadeus Mara's daughter, Alexis, and she was being transported further west to a secure location. She was the mission. She was what had to be protected. This mission had to succeed. If it didn't, a lot more people would die that day.