We're Losing the Battle, Commander
This a flash fiction I wrote a while ago for inspiration. I'll polish it further at a later time. Enjoy.
“We’re losing the battle, Commander!” Marshall Me announced as soon as his horse slowed to a halt.
“Really, Marshall?” Commander I returned in a calm tone of voice that contradicted the urgency of the situation. “What are our reserves?”
“Well, Commander, we’ve got an undermanned battalion of Despair, a demi-brigade of Fool’s Hope and”—Marshall Me hastily unfolded the despatch letter that had been recently delivered to him by the Chief of Staff, Marshall Myself, took a glance at it, then raising his dark, demure eyes to meet the Commander’s, he told him—“the Lucky Star regiment.”
“Lucky Star?”
“Yes, Commander.”
“But, you told me we’re losing the battle.”
“Only at the moment, Commander. We shall win the battle, though.”
“That’s the spirit, Marshall,” said Commander I, a grin taking over his face. “Aide de camps, my spyglass!”
“Here, Commander.”
The commander reached for the spyglass.The hills where the mounted commander had set his head quarter offered a sweeping, strategic view on the entire battlefield. A silence, at times appropriated by the sporadic distant sounds of cannonball and the gun fire, settled over the hills as the commander made his assessment of the battlefield situation.
“You were right, Marshall,” Commander I broke the silence. “This is quite a rotten situation.”
A brief moment of silence ensued before the field Marshall spoke, a tremor in his voice betraying him despite his best effort to appear calm, “Your orders, Commander.”
Commander I swept on in the serene tone of voice that had come to characterize him amongst his men, “Well, Marshall, I want you to send the Battalion of Despair and that demi-brigade of Fool’s Hope on the enemy’s right …as a diversion. That’ll force them to draw forces from their left flank. Then you’ll send the elite Lucky Star regiment on the enemy’s weakened left flank. I believe our beleaguered force, at the centre, will hold firm for the next hour or so...Enough time for the Lucky Star regiment to fully envelop the left flank…” clenching his fist, he added, “…and destroy it. The rest of the enemy forces will follow in a domino effect.” A heart beat. “This, my dear Marshall, is how you snap victory from the jaws of defeat,” he added finally, brandishing his hand and snapping it shut.
We’re losing the battle, Commander
“We’re losing the battle, Commander!” Marshall Me announced as soon as his horse slowed to a halt.
“Really, Marshall?” Commander I returned in a calm tone of voice that contradicted the urgency of the situation. “What are our reserves?”
“Well, Commander, we’ve got an undermanned battalion of Despair, a demi-brigade of Fool’s Hope and”—Marshall Me hastily unfolded the despatch letter that had been recently delivered to him by the Chief of Staff, Marshall Myself, took a glance at it, then raising his dark, demure eyes to meet the Commander’s, he told him—“the Lucky Star regiment.”
“Lucky Star?”
“Yes, Commander.”
“But, you told me we’re losing the battle.”
“Only at the moment, Commander. We shall win the battle, though.”
“That’s the spirit, Marshall,” said Commander I, a grin taking over his face. “Aide de camps, my spyglass!”
“Here, Commander.”
The commander reached for the spyglass.The hills where the mounted commander had set his head quarter offered a sweeping, strategic view on the entire battlefield. A silence, at times appropriated by the sporadic distant sounds of cannonball and the gun fire, settled over the hills as the commander made his assessment of the battlefield situation.
“You were right, Marshall,” Commander I broke the silence. “This is quite a rotten situation.”
A brief moment of silence ensued before the field Marshall spoke, a tremor in his voice betraying him despite his best effort to appear calm, “Your orders, Commander.”
Commander I swept on in the serene tone of voice that had come to characterize him amongst his men, “Well, Marshall, I want you to send the Battalion of Despair and that demi-brigade of Fool’s Hope on the enemy’s right …as a diversion. That’ll force them to draw forces from their left flank. Then you’ll send the elite Lucky Star regiment on the enemy’s weakened left flank. I believe our beleaguered force, at the centre, will hold firm for the next hour or so...Enough time for the Lucky Star regiment to fully envelop the left flank…” clenching his fist, he added, “…and destroy it. The rest of the enemy forces will follow in a domino effect.” A heart beat. “This, my dear Marshall, is how you snap victory from the jaws of defeat,” he added finally, brandishing his hand and snapping it shut.
posted by Eryl Ravenwell at 3:28 AM
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