Disclaimer:\u00a0 See part 1<\/p>\n
by AJ Marks<\/span><\/p>\n Part 7<\/span><\/p>\n Tess walked into the office quickly finding Russell studying a map at the table. He glanced up and offered her a smile, obviously glad to see her. Usually her generals disliked seeing her.<\/p>\n \u201cAh, Empress, welcome,\u201d he said with a bow. He stood as tall as Becca, but had blue eyes and his hair had gone white some time ago. Tess noticed he still had his neatly trimmed beard, white like his hair.<\/p>\n \u201cGeneral, any change in the situation,\u201d Tess asked, hoping that perhaps something had changed for the better, like the Grunts had realized their folly and retreated.<\/p>\n \u201cNothing, they are blocking communications at the moment,\u201d Russell said. Tess felt no surprise, she would do the same thing. Prevent your enemy from gaining any information and you held a slight advantage.<\/p>\n \u201cAny idea of their numbers?\u201d Tess asked.<\/p>\n \u201cHad our battle-mages scan the area, we lost two in the attempt but gained some information,\u201d Russell said, returning to the map. \u201cIt appears they have two main forces, one here by Navatown, the other further away right here.\u201d<\/p>\n Tess looked down seeing the position of the Grunt forces. They were well located to counter any attempt she made to help the city. She realizing that she either had to fight that force, or go a long way around and take a lot of time to help Navatown. She applauded the simple plan. She looked at the map for several more minutes going over all possibilities.<\/p>\n She finally reached a conclusion and nodded to herself, looking up at Russell, waiting for her to speak. \u201cAssemble the captains,\u201d she told him.<\/p>\n \u201cAt once Empress,\u201d he replied. Tess wished she had Becca with her, but she needed her back at the capital in case something happened there. She also needed someone to gather the 1st army and lead it.<\/p>\n She turned to look at a few aides, standing nearby waiting for orders. \u201cAny word from the Grunts?\u201d Tess asked them getting a quick answer no. She sent off a message to the king of the Grunts this morning, but expected nothing back so quickly. Lycos was to inform her immediately if anything came back. She expected nothing for a while but anything could happen.<\/p>\n \u201cEmpress, all captains are gathered,\u201d Russell said surprising Tess a bit. She expected it to take longer but went into the room taking the map with her. She looked at the room assembled in the area. Some thirty men and women, representing the armed forces she had for the mission at hand. She mentally went over her plan hoping she had enough soldiers.<\/p>\n \u201cAll right, first off we\u2019re going to split up into two groups. The diversion mission will be led by me, the main group by General Russell. Both groups will have different missions. According to information gathered we have two groups of Grunt troops. We cannot reinforce Navatown without fighting our way there. I hope to avoid that,\u201d Tess told them watching as they all listened to her.<\/p>\n \u201cGeneral, your group will wait here,\u201d Tess said looking over at him. \u201cMy group\u2019s job is to lure the Grunt forces waiting to attack any group from here away, allowing General Russell\u2019s group to advance and free the town.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cUm, Empress, how are you planning to do that?\u201d Russell asked, his tone calm as normal, but she heard his worry about the plan.<\/p>\n \u201cSimple, my group will invade the Grunt Empire,\u201d Tess replied, looking up to see shocked faces on many of the men in the room. A few seemed ready to go, Tess made a mental note to include those men. They would work well with her plan, ready to attack. She spotted a few with the same look as Russell, and put them with his group, they would work better fighting to free a town. She knew they would do as ordered, but emotions played a bit part of any battle as well. Any advantage she could find, she would use.<\/p>\n \u201cEmpress, are you sure that\u2019s wise?\u201d Russell said, finally voicing his concern.<\/p>\n \u201cThey invaded us, I\u2019m returning the favor, something they should have prepared for by invading my Empire. If I pull those troops away with this then you\u2019ll have a clear path to Navatown. If not, I return and call up the 1st army, then it will be a full scale invasion,\u201d Tess said, hoping plan A worked. Plan B became too complex. \u201cAny spies in the capital will have noticed a small force sent out to help you. They will expect this force to head directly to the town, not to attack Grunt land.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cEmpress, me and my men will go with you,\u201d a young blonde-haired officer said.<\/p>\n \u201cOkay, how many squads do we have?\u201d Tess asked.<\/p>\n \u201cI have assembled twenty-two squads,\u201d Russell said.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd I brought five regular and four royal guard squads, so I\u2019ll take ten squads with me the rest will go with you when the Grunt troops move out,\u201d Tess stated. \u201cI\u2019ll be taking the royal guard squads with me and six of your squads.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNot your troops?\u2019 Russell asked.<\/p>\n \u201cNo, this way any spies will think that the reinforcements are here, and not doing something else until I attack them,\u201d Tess answered. She wanted to keep some surprises. She also did not want to announce where she would attack until she left. But the knowledge that she might attack the Grunt Empire might cause some of the enemy\u2019s troops to move early weakening his position already. Either way Tess had a plan of action to carry out. She only hoped nothing strange came up while she was out invading some Grunt town.<\/p>\n \u201cVery well Empress, I\u2019ll have the squads ready to move out, Eric, your squad will be one of them,\u201d Russell said to the blonde guy. Tess quickly picked out her squads, recalling how captains reacted to her plan. Dismissing the men they left to prepare their men.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat do you think of Eric?\u201d Tess asked, after they all left.<\/p>\n \u201cA hot head, but loyal to the empire,\u201d Russell said. \u201cHe rushes into things without thought, so you might want to keep a tight leash on him.\u201d<\/p>\n Tess mused about that for a few seconds. He might be the type of person she needed for this mission. Someone who went in with every spell they had flying. There was something to say for that type of person in such a battle. Usually she such soldiers were fools, but she had a use for him.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m going to gather the Royal Guard then talk to my servant, treat her kindly and with respect, she represents me,\u201d Tess said to him, waiting for his nod his head before finally heading out.<\/p>\n She walked along the busy men and women who were preparing to move out and those setting up. She found her tent set up. Walking in she noticed everything seemed in place, spotting Ami by the back of the tent looking at something. Tess walked up putting her arms around her startling her.<\/p>\n \u201cOh, wasn\u2019t expecting you so soon, so, is everything okay?\u201d Ami asked, recovering quickly.<\/p>\n \u201cYep,\u201d Tess answered looking around the tent. \u201cIt\u2019s a shame I won\u2019t be here for long,\u201d she said getting a strange look from Ami. \u201cI\u2019m heading out this afternoon into battle probably. You are to stay here, I\u2019ll leave a guard with you for protection.\u201d<\/p>\n Tess watched Ami\u2019s face for a moment seeing shock appear in the green eyes. The thought of a guard came to Tess at the last minute. She quickly went thought the list of members of the Royal Guard. One came to her mind right away, Janice, an older woman who Tess knew had been with her during the conquest. She injured her knee in the last battle, and despite the woman\u2019s protests, Tess knew it limited her movements. Tess could already heard the arguments from the older woman and thought of several counter arguments.<\/p>\n \u201cHow long will you be gone?\u201d Ami asked.<\/p>\n \u201cNot sure, depends on how well the plan works,\u201d Tess said.<\/p>\n \u201cI guess I don\u2019t have a choice then,\u201d Ami replied.<\/p>\n \u201cNo you don\u2019t, and neither do I. I have to protect my empire,\u201d Tess said. \u201cThe price of a being a ruler.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t know anything about being a ruler,\u201d Ami said to her.<\/p>\n \u201cNeither did I, and some days I wished I never conquered this land,\u201d Tess replied honestly, seeing a bit of shock in the green eyes. \u201cWell, I need to pack light for my part in this mission.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou will return safely?\u201d Ami\u2019s voice said, stopping Tess in her tracks and looking back over into worried green eyes.<\/p>\n \u201cI will do everything in my power to make sure,\u201d Tess said.<\/p>\n \u201cGood, I\u2019d hate to lose one of my best friends,\u201d Ami said in a small voice.<\/p>\n Tess knew she would do everything she could to get back and then return to the palace. She would keep that promise for sure.<\/p>\n *****<\/p>\n Ami walked down the street with Janice right beside her. The brunette guard took her orders very seriously and had yet to leave Ami\u2019s side since the Empress left. She knew Janice argued with Tess over the assignment. But she also knew that Tess had said something, that Ami did not hear, which seemed to end the discussion. It left her wondering what that Tess said. Janet\u2019s all business attitude made breeching the subject difficult.<\/p>\n Ami looked at the market stands, which seemed out of place despite the large numbers of soldiers all around. She had heard that markets went with the army everywhere they went. A supply train of sorts that handled everything from food, to weapons, to other unmentionable things. Ami questioned Tess about that, and learned that there were tents that did nothing but prostitution, a position she could relate to, but only had to service one person.<\/p>\n Ami stopped at a stand selling a few interesting looking trinkets but she had no idea what they did. She looked at them while the merchant tried to sell it to her, before Ami moved on.<\/p>\n \u201cWise, those are nothing but a waste of gold,\u201d Janice said, causing Ami to glance over at the guard.<\/p>\n \u201cReally?\u201d Ami asked before she could stop herself.<\/p>\n \u201cYeah, cheap magic, they last only once or twice before breaking,\u201d Janice said.<\/p>\n \u201cOh, well it\u2019s not like I have any gold to buy something with anyways,\u201d Ami replied with the truth. She never had much money even before coming here. She did love to shop though, and continued browsing finding what appeared to be a perfume stand. She sniffed the fragrances a bit before the merchant said anything.<\/p>\n \u201cHow about a nice lavender for you lovely lady here,\u201d the merchant said, talking at Janice who appeared shocked at such a thing.<\/p>\n \u201cShe is the Empress\u2019,\u201d Janice said, causing Ami to blush slightly at the wording but the merchant quickly turned pale before apologizing to Ami.<\/p>\n \u201cUm, it\u2019s okay, really, I\u2019m just looking,\u201d Ami said, when he tried to force a bottle on her.<\/p>\n Ami left the stand holding a bottle of perfume, which she had taken reluctantly. She had no desire to take advantage of her position. Ami did wish for a bag or something to put the bottle in as she continued to walk through the merchants. She felt a bit hungry and looked over at Janice wondering if the guard also felt hungry.<\/p>\n \u201cLet\u2019s go back for a while and grab a bite to eat,\u201d Ami said watching Janice.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you so desire,\u201d Janice said. Ami felt weird having a guard tell her that. She thought that she would be the one saying such things.<\/p>\n \u201cWe could stop here at this stall if you want?\u201d Janice said, as they approached a baker\u2019s stall full of food. Ami noticed several rolls and some meats which she could use to make a sandwich.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t have any money and I don\u2019t want to mooch off you,\u201d Ami said.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat?\u201d Janice replied looking slightly confused.<\/p>\n \u201cUm, sorry, I don\u2019t have any gold, and I don\u2019t want to force you to buy anything for me,\u201d Ami replied, forgetting they did not use the word money in their vocabulary, but instead used gold. It sounded strange to her but she felt she could get used to it.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s okay, the Empress said she would pay me back if you wanted something,\u201d Janice said.<\/p>\n \u201cWell, only if she pays you back,\u201d Ami said, as they detoured to the stall. They picked out some food and then went over and sat down on a bench nearby that was empty. Ami noticed that Janice constantly scanned the area. She looked around seeing nothing out of the ordinary. \u201cExpecting trouble?\u201d Ami finally asked, about halfway though eating.<\/p>\n \u201cI always do, the one time I didn\u2019t, well, it didn\u2019t end well for me,\u201d Janice said, flexing her knee. Ami felt something happened to Janice.<\/p>\n \u201cSometimes it doesn\u2019t matter how well you look around, being in the wrong spot at the wrong time can be even worse,\u201d Ami said speaking through experience. She ended up on trial for killing ten thousand simply because she picked the wrong job to apply for that day.<\/p>\n \u201cBut if your careful then things don\u2019t sneak up on you,\u201d Janice said. \u201cIf I had paid attention I would have seen that soldier coming up on me.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhere were you?\u201d Ami asked, wondering if Janice would tell her. She watched the older woman take a breath before replying.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was the end of the battle of Praxxi, we had won, and were cleaning up the last of the enemy, I thought the area was secure,\u201d Janice said stopping for a second. \u201cI relaxed for a bit only to have a squad of enemy men run into the area, catching my men off guard. I lost three good men and took an injury to my knee putting me out of action for months.\u201d<\/p>\n Ami looked down at Janice\u2019s knees spotting one knee which had a lot of scars on it. She quickly looked back up not wanting to make it seem like she was staring. Ami could not imagine what it felt like to be in charge and lose someone who counted on her.<\/p>\n \u201cSo they were hiding?\u201d Ami asked.<\/p>\n \u201cPart of a counter-strike,\u201d Janice said.<\/p>\n \u201cSo you were not the only ones who were attacked,\u201d Ami stated trying to make sense of it.<\/p>\n \u201cNo,\u201d Janice replied. \u201cBut I should have seen it.\u201d<\/p>\n Ami thought she heard something else in her voice but decided not to say anything. Her experience never covered anything like this. Instead she finished off her sandwich before deciding to change the subject.<\/p>\n \u201cSo, what did the Empress say to end the argument?\u201d Ami asked, wondering if the guard would tell her.<\/p>\n \u201cYou heard us?\u201d Janice said, her face showing shock and a mixture of sorrow.<\/p>\n \u201cWeeell, it was hard not to, I mean being in the same tent as both of you, I could not help it,\u201d Ami replied honestly.<\/p>\n \u201cShe reminded me of something I could not ignore,\u201d Janice replied a bit cryptically. Ami eyed the woman for a few seconds seeing a mask fall over the woman\u2019s face. She knew Janice would say nothing else of the conversation.<\/p>\n \u201cI see, how long do you expect them gone?\u201d Ami asked. She had asked the same question to Tess but got no answer, perhaps Janice might know.<\/p>\n \u201cA couple of days, at least, depends on the terrain and the enemy,\u201d Janice said. \u201cBut the Empress, she\u2019s one of the best in tactical decisions, especially during the heat of battle. I never understood her ability, like some strange magical power.\u201d<\/p>\n Ami thought about the answer, realizing she would have to figure out something to keep herself occupied for a couple of days.<\/p>\n *****<\/p>\n Tess looked at the map, then over at her two head captains. She had divided her forced into two. Her royal guard and the locals each with a captain to lead them. They were now standing with her looking at the map which showed both where they were and the surrounding landscape.<\/p>\n \u201cAre you sure Empress?\u201d Eric, the captain of the local forces asked. She had appointed him hoping that he showed the same courage and determination during the meeting.<\/p>\n \u201cYes, the scouts reported a lightly defended town,\u201d Tess stated.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd civilians?\u201d Lisa, the captain of the royal guard unit asked.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019d like to avoid any such fatalities if possible,\u201d Tess said. \u201cHowever don\u2019t put anyone in danger by trying to avoid them. Its combat, not an exercise. I want as many of my troops coming back as possible.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cUnderstood empress,\u201d they both replied.<\/p>\n \u201cGood, now Eric, your men will be in the main charge which I\u2019ll lead, Lisa, your objective is once the battle has started to come around from this point in the town,\u201d Tess said pointing to the map which had changed to a layout of the town. \u201cThe militia is located here, so expect them to come out. They either don\u2019t have anyone here or they don\u2019t know we\u2019re here yet based on their movements.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAre we taking the town?\u201d Eric asked.<\/p>\n \u201cYes, I want them to think its an invasion, not the diversion,\u201d Tess said.<\/p>\n \u201cYou really think this will work?\u201d Lisa said.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Grunts will come flying back if their home is under attack,\u201d Tess said. \u201cTheir one fatal flaw. Usually we would to, but I want to know why they are attacking, and this will be the most direct way to end this war, I hope.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMy men are ready, when do we attack?\u201d Eric said.<\/p>\n Tess looked up at the sky, taking into account the time of day and how much daylight they had. She wanted to attack as soon as possible to relieve pressure on Navatown.<\/p>\n \u201cAny word from the scouts on the army near Navatown?\u201d Tess asked.<\/p>\n \u201cThey have not moved, we have arrived undetected,\u201d Lisa replied back, leaving Tess slightly nervous about the situation. Something seemed wrong to her and she could not figure out what that might be.<\/p>\n \u201cThen we\u2019ll attack the moment the royal guard is in position,\u201d Tess said. Both captains nodded then took off to tell their men that the attack would happen now. She now had to wait for her men to get into position. When that happened the attack would begin.<\/p>\n Tess looked back down at the map wondering if the town\u2019s militia left to attack Navatown, or stayed behind. The villagers would not allow her to walk into the town. The walls were in disarray, and in some areas almost non-existent. Had the Grunt kingdom neglected their defenses so much to the point of decay? If that happened then her intelligence needed some work, especially for missing so much.<\/p>\n She folded up the map, tucked it away, and headed over to where Eric stood. He appeared ready but Tess could read his body language, the soldier was nervous.<\/p>\n \u201cYour first action?\u201d Tess asked.<\/p>\n \u201cYes Empress, I joined after you finished conquering the land. I originally wanted to join to defend my village against you, but I was away at the time. Then I thought about revenge, but after studying you, realized you were the best. If I wanted to grown and win, I had to serve under you. So this will be my first actual combat\u201d he said in a rush to her.<\/p>\n Tess took a moment to study him, almost feeling sorry for him. He looked calmer than most though. She knew he understood what would happen, confusion, pain, and sorrow. Living for the moment to live, not for the glory of the empire or anything like that. Tess hoped he lived as he would make a good general someday in the future.<\/p>\n A small flash appeared beside them indicating that the royal guard had moved into position.<\/p>\n \u201cThat was quick,\u201d Eric murmured.<\/p>\n \u201cThey are the best,\u201d Tess replied, knowing that she had trained all of them. \u201cCome on,\u201d she said to him as her wand transformed into a sword. The others followed suit. Tess used a bit of magic and her sword changed slightly from a normal metal sword to one bathed in flames.<\/p>\n \u201cNice,\u201d she heard someone say as a few others did the same. She spotted a few with ice. She saw a few maces which were probably filled with earth magic. She raised her sword, then motioned for them to move forward, into the town.<\/p>\n Tess watched as civilians fled from the attack, but did not bother to pursue. She continued her charge right through the open doors of the city, quickly making her way towards the militia fortification. She slowed down a bit as she closed in, looking around for anything that might indicate a trap. She saw nothing out of the ordinary and walked towards the building. She looked all around, seeing that the civilians fleeing from the attacks and out of the city. Lisa attacked from a different direction allowing a safe path for them to flee.<\/p>\n She heard the sound of fighting from inside the fortification and headed inside seeing a scant few resisters, trying to hold off her forces. The few defenders were quickly defeated leaving Tess in control of the town. Now she made her way into the main building, hoping to find someone higher up in the Grunt military who could answer some of her questions.<\/p>\n She met the first guard who never hesitated to attack, a wind element magic user. She quickly attacked using a combination fire and wind shattering his weapon, using the fact wind was weak against fire against him.<\/p>\n \u201cYield!\u201d Tess ordered, watching the guard hesitate for several seconds before lowering his shattered weapon. Looking around she noticed a few others in combat before turning back to her defeated foe. \u201cWhere is your commander?\u201d<\/p>\n She glared at him for several seconds before he finally cracked and pointed to the doorway. Tess motioned for a few men to head through telling them she wanted the commander alive. The sounds of a scuffle came through the doorway causing Tess to talk though. The commander was a tall Grunt, about five and a half feet tall and very muscular. He was fighting off her men using earth attacks. Tess shot fire across the room followed by a massive wind sheer tossing everyone in the room before using her full elemental power and causing even her armor to glow with fire.<\/p>\n \u201cSurrender,\u201d she said, pointing her sword at the commander. She hoped to minimize the casualties for future negotiations.<\/p>\n \u201cI yield,\u201d he finally said, lowering his weapon. Tess returned to normal taking a seat at the desk motioning for him to do so as well.<\/p>\n \u201cI have a few questions for you that you probably can answer, or give me some clue about the answer,\u201d Tess said, watching the commander swallow slightly before sitting down.<\/p>\n \u201cYou won\u2019t get away with attack us,\u201d he finally said in defiance.<\/p>\n \u201cMy dear commander, I had so many other plans but I had to suddenly change all of them, do you know why?\u201d Tess said glaring at him. Eric chose that moment to enter the room but waited by the door. She motioned him inside the room.<\/p>\n \u201cThe town has been taken, we lost four men, ten enemy were killed and no reports of civilians, but most fled so we don\u2019t know,\u201d he stated.<\/p>\n Tess nodded, not liking the fact that with superior numbers she had lost four men. Turning her attention back to the commander she continued. \u201cNow, I want to know why there is a Grunt army attacking my empire?\u201d<\/p>\n Tess watched his reaction carefully. He showed no surprise at the fact they had invaded the town, only by the fact she was here.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t know, only that the orders came in five days ago by the king himself,\u201d the commander finally replied.<\/p>\n \u201cI see, well you\u2019re going to write a new report telling him that you\u2019ve surrendered to me,\u201d Tess said, watching as his eyes went wide in shock at her casual tone about it. She needed them to think that it might be a full-scale invasion to pull the Grunt troops out of her empire. \u201cOf course I\u2019ll be watching what you write so don\u2019t mention too much, only that the town has fallen.\u201d<\/p>\n Tess watched him pulled out a piece of paper and began writing a very simple message. He wasted no words saying that a human force had attacked and captured the town.<\/p>\n \u201cVery good,\u201d Tess said, watching as he send it off. After it vanished he looked at her.<\/p>\n \u201cNow what?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n \u201cSimple, we wait for your counter attack, if not, well I\u2019ll just have to attack and conquer another town,\u201d Tess replied. \u201cI figure while I\u2019ve got your forces tied up in my empire I can easily take a chunk of yours before you even know what happened.\u201d<\/p>\n She tried not to smile at his shocked expression.<\/p>\n \u201cSeems like you got some wrong information,\u201d she said, realizing that the commander knew more than he said earlier.<\/p>\n \u201cBut you\u2019re about to go to war with the Soulviers,\u201d he said. \u201cYou don\u2019t have the soldiers to fight us both.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHmm, that information is incorrect, I just had an ambassador from them, and we reached a deal,\u201d Tess said, thinking about how the Grunt king could have been convinced of something like this.<\/p>\n \u201cYou have forces near the Soulvier border, our mages know about them.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNope, that is a large human mercenary force, but I will do nothing if the Soulviers attack them,\u201d Tess replied honestly. She had no desire to go to war with them now. It served no purpose for her empire.<\/p>\n \u201cThen you have the full weight of our army to come after us,\u201d he said. Tess realized he understood their folly. He gave the information of why they attacked. Though the king could have different reasons for such an attack. Were he and the some other force planning a split attack? Tess felt a bit relieved she had ordered the 1st army to assemble. Next she would have to order Becca to be wary of any new attack. For now she would wait to see what the Grunt\u2019s response would be.<\/p>\n End Part 7<\/p>\n Continued in Part 8<\/a><\/p>\n Comment below or send to AJMarks01@aol.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Disclaimer:\u00a0 See part 1 Fortunatus Light of Dark by AJ Marks Part 7 Tess walked into the office quickly finding Russell studying a map at the table. He glanced up and offered her a smile, obviously glad to see her. Usually her generals disliked seeing her. \u201cAh, Empress, welcome,\u201d he said with a bow. He […]
Continue reading…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[24],"tags":[3,40,38,39,28,5,12],"class_list":["post-720","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-original","tag-aj-marks","tag-dark","tag-fortunatus","tag-light","tag-original","tag-sci-fi","tag-story"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/ajscifistories.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/720","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/ajscifistories.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/ajscifistories.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ajscifistories.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ajscifistories.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=720"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/ajscifistories.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/720\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":736,"href":"http:\/\/ajscifistories.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/720\/revisions\/736"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/ajscifistories.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=720"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ajscifistories.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=720"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ajscifistories.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=720"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}