[USS Charon, Holodeck]
Looking up she watched the silhouette grow until it now dominated the doorway and then it happened. The door open and with lightning quickness the figure leapt towards her but Shiarrael was ready. She lifted one of the swords and caught the attacker by surprise. At that moment shouts echoed from all directions "Daimyo! Daimyo!"
He was tough. It was strange- the scenery was so realistic, the sounds, the smells, that for a moment she forgot it was a simulation and her heart beat wildly as the assassin fought her. She pushed back and knocked him through one of the walls- they struggled and tussled through several more rooms. Finally Shiarrael's blade found its way into his gut and the man was dead. As she stood there painting lantern light filled the hallways and soon surrounded her. Dozens of other men accompanied the lanterns and they held their own swords high. One of them stepped forward examining her "Daimyo, are you unscathed?"
It was a foreign world but even so it was enthralling and unique. She smirked and kicked at the corpse "I am fine, who is he?"
One of the men kneeled down and pulled the body over. It was entirely dressed in black "ninja" he said disgustedly "one of your enemies failed today."
Who are my enemies? Shiarrael wondered. She left the room and moved down the hallway, three of the men followed. The other started to repair the damage. Obviously these three were vassals of sorts, or maybe even generals?
"Daimyo we must be more cautious. Imagawa still holds claim to Totomi. They will send more ninja."
The other nodded his head "we must bring more Samurai into Hamamatsu!"
Shiarrael studied them, they were strange fellows. Short, somewhat stocky, both had bald heads save for a sliver of a pony tail. It was somewhat amusing but she held her laughter in. 'Diamyo' am I? This is truly interesting "gather all the Totomi Samurai- we will march on Imagawa in the morning." All three looked shocked, and she smirked "ninja? No honor- we will slaughter them all when the sun rises it shall be emer-" she paused remembering terran biology "red, bathed in their blood, now go!" Two of the men departed after bowing deeply. The last remaining Samurai looked at her. She glanced at him "assemble a war council. I want to see my chief generals."
The man nodded and left her. As soon as he departed her side Clavell reappeared "when you have made your decisions you can move time forward. Think of it as managing your turn. Since you have decided to attack Imagawa, you can now lead your forces towards Kanagawa. You may chose to continue to the war council or skip ahead to the battle. What is your choice?"
Shiarrael studied him and then smirked "what is a battle without a plan? I will go to the war council."
Twenty minutes later…
The war council was outside. Stone benches and tables illuminated by torchlight was where Shiarrael sat. Five other men sat with her. The one directly next to her was Tamori Katsuo, general of the left as she had discovered. He was young, stocky, and brazen. On the other side was Tamori Shin, father of Katsuo, Shin was regal, patient and quite knowledgeable. His brows and hair were still pure black but his face was carved by years of experience, he was the general of the center. Across from her was another elderly gentleman who was nearly as brazen as Katsuo. His hair was peppered but his brows were white, he was general of the right Kasaya Yori. Standing behind her was Inoue Takeshi, her right hand. Takeshi was overall commander, he was young and handsome. Taller than her by a few inches with a chiseled face covered by several scars, if he had been a real person she might have been attracted to him. The final person was an advisor who Shiarrael found as bothersome as Lamont and thus did not ask for his name "his forces will be sparse. He will not expect a brazen assault. The barricades are wooden and easily broken. If we are quick he will not survive the night."
The group studied the map. It was a crude thing, much less descriptive then a holographic diagram, but it served its purpose. She had drawn a line with a piece of bark leading from Hamamatsu castle to the gates of Kanagawa. There was no certainty that her plan would work. If this were a real battle situation she would have taken time to learn about her enemy, but, since it was a game she felt a little added excitement towards reckless abandon. The general looked at her and bowed "we will attack" they all agreed.
"Computer, account for events and move game forward five hours." Shiarrael waited as the scenery blurred for a moment. When it stopped she was atop a horse riding along with her generals. Surrounding them were three thousand Totomi Samurai. She could see them carrying their rectangle shaped banners in the soft blue moonlight. The country side was beautifully bathed in the blue, fields, rice fields as Clavell had informed her seemed to stretch endlessly in distance. It took about fifteen minutes to reach Kanagawa but when they did chaos broke loose for the Imagawa clan. Not expecting the attack the Imagawa Samurai were flustered and were quickly defeated by the organization of the Totomi forces. Shiarrael watched from a distance as her foot soldiers cut down their opposition easily. Finally riders from the Imagawa fortress broke through the lines in an attempt to escape. Shiarrael and the other Totomi rode to intercept. A cool breeze enveloped her as the horse broke into a gallop. Shouts were echoing through the darkness as part of Kanagawa burst into flames. The center rider had to be Imagawa Keiji, the clan heir. She pulled the reins urging the horse to run faster. In her hand was a long spear they called a 'Yari' as she neared she aimed it at him, her fellow riders took on his escorts leaving her with a direct line of sight.
"Captain, the USS Guardian will arrive shortly."
The message caught her off guard and pulled her back into reality. "Computer pause simulation." As the horse lifted it head the creature froze, the scenery froze. She slid off the riding beat and took a moment to admire her audacity. It made her think of the old battle stories her grandfather would tell. It was a time when warfare was much simpler- for the most part at least. She smirked deciding to put in for some holodeck time after all "computer end simulation."
[End]
Captain Shiarrael Rehu
Commanding Officer
USS Charon
