Sergeant Yimt Arkhorn and most of his squad. Missing…

… his mother, Chayii Red Owl; his father, Jurwan Leaf Talker; Tyul Mountain Spring; and Jir, his bengar companion. Missing…

Visyna…

These names, these people, would mean little to someone back home, except for a very few for whom these names would be everything. No doubt the masses would show appropriate concern at the frittering away of valuable resources in such a far-flung place. Konowa suspected they would be satisfied that the losses suffered offered the requisite sense of drama and the all-important Imperial motif of the few overcoming the many. No one, not even an empire, wants to be viewed as a bully.

Konowa knew celebrations would ensue, albeit without the guests of honor that had made it possible. Still, it was everyone’s patriotic duty to hoist a pint, shout brave slogans, and remind all those within earshot that if not for “this bum knee” or “a wife and six young children to feed” they, too, would be over there, instead of quartered safe in here. Smiles would abound as revelers congratulated one another, winking as they nodded their heads and said with gruff pride, “Damn right, we showed them, eh?” If a twinge of embarrassment caught in their throats as they pronounced “we,” it would be quickly washed away with the next round of drinks.

For now, however, the “we” were confined to a few small acres of ravaged land so far from home that home seemed more like a fevered dream than something real. There was no backslapping, no loud shouts of martial prowess or Imperial superiority. Quiet sobs of those trying to understand that the “we” were now fewer were studiously ignored by those fighting to keep it together. The tenets of diplomatic doctrine and the flush of Imperial pride found no purchase here. Later, perhaps, Konowa thought, they would see themselves as victors. For now, it was enough to struggle to comprehend that they were survivors.