Messages were sent out, and I sighed as my mother left me after a night of extreme activities. My attendance was needed in the new defensive fortifications for the Elder meeting. I took my time getting there, and when I did, I sighed as I had to see the dipshit Elder Redscale once more. Isabelle and the other Elders were all around a massive map that someone drew with much more attention to detail, and I was looking at the sketched-in formations of the Trenches, and I grinned. The Tina 1's were also marked, and only six had been brought to the front, which was extremely impressive. All of them were set at the weakest point of our defense, around the river.
The lines showing the trenches farther out, though, were still light, and I sighed, as it would be a weakness in the border if we did not strengthen the defense. But this meeting was called, and I had no knowledge of why it was being called. I took my seat in one of the leader positions, but I could tell already that this was no normal meeting.
"Thank you all for gathering," Elder Redscale said, looking around as he took control of the meeting. "I am excited to say that the Dragonic with the War Chief has taken the City and defeated the first retaliation of the Empire," He began, and I scoffed along with a couple of other Elders at the way he said it.
"I cannot put up with the Phrasing of your Contributions," my mother said suddenly. "You Dragonic have done little other than Isabelle to bring the Army here. The War chief did an excellent job with the Bunny-kin Supreme Commander to reach this point. But your lack of Financial and logistical support has been wearing down our war-fighting capabilities, and you come out here and say that this is due to Dragonic?"
Silence hit the meeting, and I was surprised at the strong rebuke my mother had given him. It's not that she was wrong, but a rift in the power structure would not be good. "M-"
"Adults are speaking," Elder Redscale snapped, looking at me as I attempted to interject, and my anger instantly rose. "We Dragonic are the-"
"You? You Dragonic have barely done JACK SHIT!" My mother shouted, "The weapons in the hands of the main army your War Chief leads? Over half of them, my people, the Bunny-kin people, have provided the food they eat. The Bunny kin provide that! The tents they sleep under? THE BUNNY KIN PROVIDE THAT!" My mother shouted, and I could not tell she was done with his bullshit. "No, you will not take the pride of my people in supporting this war the most. The Bunny-kin take the achievement of repelling the Empire even if you have control of the War Chief."
Elder Redscale's face turned for the worse, but he could do nothing as I saw all the other Elders start to nod. "She is correct," the honey badger Elder said slowly. My tribe is too weak to provide many services other than me. Our people must breed more. The Cat-kin and the lion-kin both have provided more in A rankers, and so I must also object to your phrasing of things."
I closed my eyes, "Elder-"
"Fine! The Bunny-kin most of all, and the rest of us have reached this far," Elder Redscale said, and I shivered as he gave ground in one respect suddenly. "But now, the Empire is open to us! The main-"
"NO!" I snapped, standing up, and pointed at him, "YOU SHUT THE FUCK UP!" I snapped, finally done with his bullshit. I felt his mana start to move, but my Mother suddenly did the same, and the room turned quiet. "I AM FUCKING DONE PUSSY FOOTING AROUND THIS!" I yelled in Elder Redscales face, "I WILL NOT ALLOW YOU TO GET THE MAIN ARMY FUCKING KILLED!" I snapped at him.
"You weak, cowardly B-ranked Bunny kin bitch," Redscale said to me, the contempt dripping from his voice. "The Empire is open to us raiding and attacking!"
"NO IT IS NOT!" I snapped, "It is weakened! They are responding and we have a much LARGER PROBLEM!" I yelled at him.
"I SEE NO ISSUE!"
"THAT IS BECAUSE YOUR A FUCKING BLIND MORON! ISABELLE RECOGNIZES IT!" I yelled and pointed at the war chief, who flinched as I pointed things out to her patron.
"Oh?" Redscales voice dropped an octave and turned threatening. "Then you have ten minutes to explain it to me, or I will kill you, Loveknot or not."
A Chill went through the room and my mother stepped up to his face, "You will never put a hand on my daughter, Elder Redscale," She spat out and spat on him with pure contempt. "We will fight to the death before I allow you to touch her."
The gloves were off, and I tossed my hands up. I knew Elder Redscale was growing more and more exasperated at the lack of forward movement. "Fine, you want to know why we are not pushing forward?" I snapped, and he sneered at me. "BECUASE YOUR A MORON FOR NOT SEEING IT. WE CANT! Look at the fucking map you stupid piece of shit!" I snapped pointing at the map, "Where else can we make a stand against the Empire? IT FARMERS FIELDS AROUND THE CITY!" I snapped, "This is the only place we can rest and set up a defense before the city. So now you're asking me, Why don't we attack ANOTHER City with more CONCENTRATE EMPIRE FORCES!" I scoffed, "THEY WANT US TO ATTACK!" I snapped, "They want us to push forward stupidly into their territory! The more we push forward, the fewer places we can set up a proper defense. Here we are on a hill, and they have to fight up into us. We can also set up a logistics base to SUPPLY US! Because I don't know if any of you know about what is happening in the backline and read the reports sent to you all BUT WERE ON THE END OF OUR SUPPLY LINE! We have HALF A FUCKING MILLION BEAST-KIN TO FEED OUT HERE!" I screamed, "DO YOU UNDERSTAND WHAT THAT FUCKING MEANS!" I yelled.
I lost it, and I was just done, "THAT IS A FUCKING NATION. I AM FEEDING OFF FUCKIGN WAGONS! WAGONS AND CARRAGES ARE MOVING ENOUGH FUCKING FOOD FOR AN ENTIRE NATION!" I shouted at him. I started to poke my head and continued, "Do you fucking think?! Do you understand how fucking hard it has been for me," I seethed, and the Elders were looking much more demure, and I noticed a couple looking away, and I realized that Elder Redscale was speaking for more than himself. He was just the leader of the elder group. "YOU WALK OFF OF HERE AND THE CHAIN BREAKS!" I shouted, "No more food! NO MORE FUCKING WATER THAN RIVER WATER!" I shouted, and I pointed at the map, "Now tell me, ELDER!" I yelled at him sarcastically, "Where can I bring forward more fucking supplies so you can take the battle to the empire. Please, I don't need any more time. Point out on the map NOW, Where can I do better?"
"I see no ships," Elder Redscale said, and I just started to laugh.
"Ships! You mean the ones we have nowhere to dock?" I asked, "Do you see a fucking harbor out here to LAND those supplies?" I asked bluntly, "When we move forward, we are going to have to make it possible to land those fucking supplies. OH! And what happens if we have to retreat?" I asked him. "We may have been winning, but what if we lose a small skirmish and we have to back up a mile or so?" I asked, "I can tell you, We burn the supplies. All that food my people worked their fucking ass off bringing to the front, we just burn them because we would have no chance of bringing them back because we tossed them off ships onto the shore."
Silence took the Headquarters again. "That was attempt number one, Elder Redscale. Please, tell me how to do my job that I have been working on with dozens of beast-kin of various tribes. Tell me a better way of doing our job so I can feed a nation's worth of mouths.
Elder Redscale looked down at the map, and I could see he was genuinely trying, and it was so fucking pathetic. It was clear he had not once looked at the reports coming his way, and I watched. "We could use ships to bring supplies to this front and move them forward with Wagons till we secure a better place." The Elder finally came to the right conclusion, and I clapped.
"EXACTLY RIGHT!" I exclaimed, making him blush, "And that is what I am doing, Elder Redscale. I am making as many wagons so I can spare some from the fucking back line, and since a bunch of the ships were destroyed in the attack on Border City. We wait here with our thumbs up our asses because I AM DOING WHAT I CAN."
Silence took over the headquarters, "Does anyone have questions about the logistics?" I asked bluntly, "You clearly haven't been fucking reading the goddamn fucking reports my subordinates have been writing out for you. So, as the Supreme Commander, you have me out here; ask me things!" I yelled at them, and the silence was deafening.
"What are those large things you have kept covered? You have been setting them up on the river sides," Elder Kitty asked, curiously.
"Those are the Tina 1's," I told her. "They are a surprise for the Empire, and I can't say much more than that because we are not a hundred percent sure it will work." I told her bluntly, "It is something one of my Lovers made, and she guarantees it. I saw it in action, and I thought it would be useful. The problem is that they are hard to move forward. So they work better Defensively."
"Thank you. How bad is the Supply line truly?" Elder Kitty said slowly. "We have not had any shortages, it seems, except for some replacements to shelter and tools, which are usually promptly replaced.
"The Recent rebellion destroyed a couple of wagons, but we had a couple to spare. We ordered more back in the Beast-kin nation and now in Border City. We need time to produce them, and it will take a year to double our current supply of wagons, and that is honestly a miracle in itself. We are also lacking bodies in the back to do things. We have started to train a lot of younger kids to fill positions that are safe or relatively safe for a class or two. They get education and a little silver, and we get some extra labor to do the small tasks that I can spare an adult doing. It is a very tricky balancing act we have in the tribes."
"What would happen if we lost a convoy of Wagons?" Elder Kitty asked.
"Let's not contemplate that, please; I would rather have an A ranker patrolling our Logistics if I could, just in case," I replied and eyes widened. "Look, if we lose more than four wagons right now? We will experience shortages, and we start cutting into food. We will have to put people on STRICT rations. If we lost more than ten? The rations will become one meal a day. We would also be digging into our supplies stockpiled here."
Their faces sobered up, and I sighed. "I think I have been too nice to you all. All of you, with the exception of my mother, discounted what the Logistics Army has been doing. Honestly, they have casualties by dropping things, and some have even lost limbs moving cargo around for you all. They are fucking Heroes of this war. They are the ones cooking your food. They are the ones digging the fortress. They are the ones that make sure you have a comfortable sleep. They are the ones that make sure you all are ready to battle the next day, and they battle EVERY DAY. They are working their fucking ASSES off. Go outside and look right now and see what the Logistics personnel are doing. I challenge you to FIND ONE that is doing light duties like the Main army is doing right now."
My breathing was ragged, and I was angry. "My people are doing their best. Did any of you notice that you were comfortable when we were marching to Border City? How fast did the Trenches get dug? The Enchantments put into place? We have food in our bellies, the best beds they can haul economically on wagons, and you all have tools and even dry soaps to help you keep clean. The outhouses and places you shit? They are the ones cleaning that shit up!"
I took a deep breath and stood, "I don't think you understand how much they are doing. No goddamn idea."
Many of the Elders looked humiliated but thoughtful, and I shook my head. "Any more questions? I am being serious. When I walk out of here, you better not have questions. In fact, I am now ENFORCING a bi-weekly meeting, if not a weekly meeting, on the state of the Logistics where you can ask me questions."
"I do have a question," Elder Lily asked, and I nodded, turning to her. "What is the state," Elder Lily continued, and for the first time, the Elders finally started to ask the right questions about the state of supplies. For hours they asked, and I answered what I knew about, and only one Elder held back from asking questions.
Elder Redscale glared with a face of humiliation on his face.
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