The God Warriors (11 page)

"An amazing adventure, that last one, and you are indeed an old soul, but tell me, why were you declared Warlord of the West? Wouldn't it be more apt to say, Warlord of that Continent?" John was already shaking his head.

"No, Sir, I conquered four of the six continents on my world. The entire western hemisphere of the planet was under my domain, leaving only two continents in the eastern half, thus the title."

"I see two things wrong with that. Why did you not declare yourself king instead of taking a protector role, and why not conquer those last two continents?"

"Two questions and both insightful. So let me ask you this, Sir. We are both fighting men. Would you yourself, wish to be king? Spending each and every day solving the people's problems? To entertain an endless stream of dignitaries, no matter how boring or ill-mannered they were? To remain cooped up in your palace, rarely allowed out and never without a huge escort. To have no privacy, or even the expectation of such, your every move monitored?" John quirked one eyebrow at the general and waited for an answer.

"No!" laughed the general, shaking his head in amusement. "I would not wish that horror on any man. You have given me a new appreciation of our King, Sir John. Please continue with my last question." Now this powerful man was grinning openly.

"The answer to that is even easier knowing what those continents are. One is a frozen waste, covered with a sheet of ice a mile high, with nomadic savages roaming its surface, living off fish and penguins, which are small animals that have no value other than possibly meat, and I'm not even sure about that. An aboriginal tribe that also has no value other than curiosity populates the other continent, which is entirely covered by desert. I pride myself on taking care of those people under my control, or my protected, if you will. Since neither of those continents produces anything of value, they would have been a major drain on my overall resources. Once under my receivership, those other peoples I'd conquered expected me to act responsibly with the wealth and resources I'd been given. So, no, there was no strategic or economic reason to take the last two."

"An amazing answer and one I agree with. I would have done the same if placed in your boots. I will admit, I am feeling a lot more relieved about you, Sir John. Frankly, I was worried I was handing command over to a dullard. You have set my mind at ease in that regard. Now, let's discuss our current strategy and how you would conduct a war campaign, given what we know."

"All right, but first, let me be clear on one very important aspect. I am not taking your command from you. If your alliance supports me, I have no intention of looking over your shoulder every moment. I would simply issue directives. Outline what needs done, offer some basic solutions, and let you go about it within the guidelines and timeframes I set. In war, it's all about getting your assets to the right place at the right time. Well, there is also slowing down the enemy with the least number of casualties. Honestly, I cannot count the number of campaigns where I wished I had one more day to prepare, or better yet, one month. But you make do with what you have, where you have it, and plan accordingly." John finished, waiting on the other man's response, and it was not long in arriving.

"Truer words have never been spoken. You indeed have the mind of a warlord. Now, please tell us your thoughts."

The general was kind enough to include everyone in the room for they were all listening in rapt fascination. John's adlibbed stories had impressed and captivated his audience, and now it was time to outline a basic strategy. Pulling out his notes, he started.

"Remember, our goal would be to conserve as many of our assets as possible, while bleeding the enemy steadily. I hope that to the point they give up. I would keep most of your strongholds where they are for now, with one notable exception. I would actually add one to the southeast corner within a half-day's ride of the Kuthari border. You did indicate if the north attacked, the Kuthari would probably side with them. There is a rock quarry very near there. Using the soldiers to help build, a fortress could be created quickly. If you don't, and the Kuthari do attack, you've major trouble on your hands. They'll destroy every village and city between there and the capital. You'll be forced to pull troops from either the capital or the northern outposts to drive them back and then defend your southern reaches. You really should have one there already." John pondered the thought for a moment, and the general spoke up in the silence.

"Actually, that's been planned for several hundred years. We've simply not received the funding for such a project."

"Use the soldiers. They are just sitting around anyway. Give them an incentive if you feel the need to. Perhaps extra food, or a few pennies extra a month, or whatever inexpensive incentive there is," responded John promptly. "You could also solicit suggestions from the troops. Get their input. It will make them feel important. After all, you don't have to follow the suggestions, only the good ones, but I would bet they would work harder with less grumbling if you did so." Now he grinned and waited.

"By the Goddess Hera, that would work. I'm sure of it!" A murmur of agreement ran through the two dozen men standing around them.

"Okay, second easy thing. I understand the Jordachian's have women in their ranks. Why don't you?"

"Actually we call them the Jordache, even in plural form. However, the answer is simple, and that is because we have never had the need. The Jordache do what they want, and we do what we want."

"Bad answer. Let me ask you this. Did women fight for Korath in the last great war?"

"Of course! They had to. We were losing. Too many of them died during that time, also."

"Uh huh, and would that be why the Jordache still have women in their ranks that are properly trained and can fight as good as any man, given the situation?" John saw those around him looking at each other in realization, so he pressed his advantage. "And, would it be fair to say that a substantially less number of women would have died during the last great war if they had been properly trained?" A long silence ensued, and John sat back while whispered conversations erupted around him.

"Of course, you're correct, Sir John, but it's simply never been done but for that one time. I doubt any woman would want to join the guard."

"Oh, I would put good money down that they would, General. I think you'll have more volunteers than you can handle. My advice is this. Find a Jordache ex-military man or woman and get a copy of their entrance requirements and training regimen. Not all women will make a good soldier. Use the Jordache example because it obviously works!"

"All right. I agree because it's a good idea that will save lives in the event we have another great war. I will have a proposal drawn up and sent to the King. What else?"

"Guerrilla warfare! There were many wars won on my old planet using just guerrilla warfare, with no heavy engagements. It may not win this war, but it could sure bleed the enemy badly when we finally do clash. Bleeding the enemy means fewer deaths for the Korath guard."

"What type of warfare is that?"

"It's a form of irregular warfare, and it's simple. You divide a portion of your guard into much smaller groups of combatants. These small groups typically operate behind enemy borders using tactics that include ambushing supply columns, raiding small villages, killing or capturing livestock, destroying crops and bridges, and interrupting water supplies. Basically, hit and run tactics that bleed the enemy. I will give you an example. Let us say you find the location of a large body of enemy troops. Maybe they are too big to take on with your forces at hand, so you've sent for reinforcements, but it could be weeks before they get there. In the meantime, you pray to the gods the enemy will not attack before additional help arrives, and if they do attack, your only option is to retreat or suffer massive casualties. Right?" Everyone looked shocked at his latest suggestion, but all nodded. John continued. By now, John was in his element. He thrived on irregular warfare. He paced back and forth and waved his arms for emphasis as he warmed to his favorite subject.

"Right, so you infiltrate their line with several small bands of specialized troops trained to fight in silence and make little noise. You send these and have them ambush the supply caravans, raid, and kill all the enemy troops in a few of their villages. Burn some crops, perhaps drive a few large herds of their cattle through their main encampment. Before you know it, those infiltrators will have siphoned off half of the enemy's main body of troops, because they will not let their fellow warriors just die or their livelihood be destroyed. That provides your main body of guards with the perfect opportunity to attack in force. The roles reversed, causing them massive casualties. Just remember to retreat to a more defensible location once the enemies’ reinforcements arrive." By now, the general was simply looking at him.

"Can you tell me where the honor is in fighting that way?"

"Can you tell me how it is honorable to show your enemy more honor than you show your own people, General?" John shot back instantly.

"What do you mean?"

"Honor is everything, but it is a two edged sword. Do you accord honor to an enemy that attacks without provocation? Do you accord honor to an enemy that kills innocents of your people and uses their own children to fight their battles? Is it honorable to allow your women and young daughters to be raped and enslaved, forced to breed? You give the enemy more honor than you give your own people.

"But is it honorable to stoop to their level?"

"That is not a well thought out question. Let me answer with this. A famous general of my world once said, ‘The goal of war is to win. Otherwise, you are dishonoring your family, your friends, your fallen comrades, your country, and your people. The object of war is not to die for your country with honor, but to make the other man die for his, thus preserving those you hold dear to your heart.’ So, really, the question you all need to ask yourselves is this: If you show your enemy more honor than you show your own people, or the enemy shows you, is that not an act of dishonor to your people? Those you love, care for, and cherish? You know they will kill all of us: men, women, and children, except for those few they keep as slaves. They do not want you subjugated; they want your land with you dead and rotting in the fields for crop fertilizer."

"This is a fight for survival, General. Do not dishonor those you swore an oath to protect and serve by showing the enemy more honor than you would your own. Well, unless all you really wish to do is hang out in heaven and clap each other on the back, telling stories about how honorable you were while getting your entire race and everyone you ever loved destroyed. How your daughters were brutally raped, then slowly murdered because you gave the enemy more honor than you did them. I do not know about all of you, but I am a father of a daughter, a little older than the King’s oldest, and I'm also a grandfather. I would do anything to keep my daughter and my grandson safe, anything at all, honor be damned. Because when my daughter, my precious little girl, was growing up, sleeping in her tiny room with her stuffed animals and girl things, monsters came to her in a dream. She woke up screaming for her daddy to save her, and you know what, gentlemen?"

"Daddy came to her rescue, and held her in his arms and drove the nightmares and bad things away. Daddy held her tight and swore by all the gods in heaven to protect his little girl or die trying. It was the only way to stop the nightmares, to make her feel safe, because she trusted me and knew I would protect her. I meant those words. Think about it. What will you do for your family, when you're lying dead on the battlefield being honorable to an enemy that doesn't even understand the concept, and the nightmares come for your children?" With that, John turned and walked out the door, taking his notes with him, the Lorr wolves and Alvaldi following closely behind.

[I think you went a little overboard there, John.] Ares sounded apprehensive in his thoughts, but John had a low tolerance for stupidity.

Nope!

Little did John realize that the debate his words created would last for days…

[Mother, I feel we should have a talk about our joint champion. I feel some of his…exuberance, should be suppressed. What are your thoughts?] said Ares in a worried tone.

[I think Shianna should be part of this conversation, and now that she has been updated, what are your thoughts, Shianna?] The warm feeling of Hera came through calmly.

[I think it is about time we had a champion that knew what he was doing. Before I witnessed his conversation with the Korath General, I was confident you had made the right choice, Hera.  I heard just a small part of his plans, and trust me, I'm in his mind right now, and it's buzzing with potential possibilities. I feel that not only will this champion prevail, but he will not stop at simply driving the enemy back across the border with the least number of casualties. He will take the fight to them, while completely destroying their ability to wage war in the future, even if it means putting all of them to the sword. There is no mercy in this champion, and right now, we need that. He also values life, which is a good trait to have in a leader. Ares, if you try to tamper with his mind, you will answer to me!] responded the cold and very hard voice of Shianna.

[I concur with Shianna. No tampering, my son. Simply support where needed,] said Hera.

[I just hope his actions do not jeopardize what we hope to accomplish,] grumbled Ares.

[So far, they won't. It might behoove you to look into the minds of the general and his men. I think you might be surprised,] replied Hera.