The halls of the Dark Division Headquarters were quiet, which was not normal. Sanae Yaktine walked through with slow, even, purposeful strides.
Beneath her composed exterior, something was breaking.. She walked with a slight intensity to her movements, a budding frustration that hadn't been fully released. Overall, this entire mission has ended in complete failure on a large scale.
As she rounded the corner, she noticed a dark silhouette waiting in the hallway ahead of her; she didn't observe them for very long; she walked past them.
"Is this how you treat your superiors…after losing all of your men? That's quite sad, really. Or am I incorrect in my assessment of the situation?" the voice said in a light-hearted and entertaining manner.
Sanae stopped momentarily, then continued walking; the speaker was Geng Xuefeng, 3rd Squad Commander of the Dark Division, wearing a smile on his face.
"So that's the way you wish to act…fine, let's play."
A soft laugh escaped her lips.
She drew her blade in a single, fluid motion the steel cutting through the air as she stepped forward. With another step forward, Sanae didn't react when her foe made an attack; she was not startled by the attack's proximity to her back. There was nothing more than a determination to continue walking.
Xuefeng mustered every ounce of energy to stop her sword by mere inches; however, despite her efforts, she could still hear the "swoosh" of her weapon, clearly.
"Impressive composure," commented Xuefeng in a hushed whisper; "I'll rate that a seven out of ten".
Then, her tone shifted sharply.
"However, that same calmness you showed for the duration of this engagement is the reason why your men are dead."
An icy silence filled the room. Xuefeng continued, disgraced by the comparative nature of the way she spoke to Sanae.
"I've stated this numerous times prior to today, and again today - you are not qualified to hold command."
Sanae stopped her forward progress.
"Do you actually think you deserve that position of squad commander just because you are a scion of your late father?"
Upon finishing this statement, she slowly turned to regard her opponent. As she began to amplify her rage from within, using her heart as a basis for emotion, tiny veins became visible on the sides of her head.
In addition, her features became ghastly pale as all colour left her entire body. In response to this attack, Xuefeng's facial expression widened. With this additional information, Xuefeng adjusted her stance once again.
While she was giving her thoughts, Sanae's body turned fully sideways toward her opponent, and her left hand began to move toward the sword at her right hip. Three years of harassment burned beneath her skin and there was that side of her that wanted to take retribution of Geng Xuefeng.
This time, both commanders are willing to go to the death in battle. As the two regal women strike their poses of war readiness, the echo of hard-booted feet fills the hallway with sound.
"Enough."
That voice thunders from above in command. Each lady went from their war pose to a straight back and fell to their knees.
"You should both know by now…fighting in these halls is forbidden."
"Forgive us."
As they kneel and apologise, the Grand Commander of the Dark Division first command squad stands in front of them, glancing between the two women before finally settling on Sanae.
"Walk with me."
The instant the Grand Commander spoke, the other woman looked at Sanae as if to declare war, wishing death to her enemy.
The two women walked through the hallways in silence, flanked by portraits of every great fallen leader of the Dark Division displayed on the walls like trophy's, their beauty transfixed on the paper-like portrait with ink and colour. Between these portraits stretched stone murals of wars, sacrifice and eventual victory.
Finally, they reached the Grand Commander's chamber, and as he entered it, he was silent.
As he motioned for the woman to follow him in which she did.
When the Grand Commander entered his room, the atmosphere changed; the room was vast and made from black lacquered wood and black stone, with fading red and gold banners hanging above from the ceilings and soft lantern light dimly illuminating the corners.
Ink painted war screens lined the walls of the command center, while the racks of katanas, dao and other blades offered evidence that these weapons had been used for centuries before the founding of the Empire.
In the center stood a large command table depicting a coiling dragon and providing the basis for military maps. Mentesh took his seat and Sanae remained standing.
"You requested a private audience with me; now speak," said Mentesh.
Sanae considered an upright posture by keeping her hands clasped behind her back.
"Sir,the information that I bring you… will be difficult to believe."
Mentesh's expression remained unchanged.
"Go on."
With a slow breath in through her nose with an even slower release through her mouth, she stated.
"As you are aware five hundred soldiers were deployed, yet only a small number returned alive. However, we have reason to be glad we returned alive."
"And, what would you say is the reason for your survival?"
"We were being hunted by a sandworm, and it was only a matter of seconds before we were going to be killed. My efforts on leading what was left of my men to fight back are insignificant compared to what happened next,"
Mentesh became even more interested in listening to the story he was hearing from a distance.
"The sandworm stopped chasing us and just stood there staring at us. We were all confused because the sandworm wasn't doing anything until we saw that it was dying. Instead of panicking, the sandworm stood still until the decay or withering reached its neck before starting to panic. It died a slow death from decay," Sanae explained. "Then we saw a female with no mask who appeared from nowhere. She was looking at us, and she said that was close. That concludes, my report."
Just as an awkward conversation would end, the room fell silent for a moment. In an attempt to comprehend what he had just heard, Mentesh blinked slowly.
"Pardon?"