...
Mac to Melissa: Continue cattle ranch operations on your own schedule.
...
Only the destruction of the security transmitter and the exploding sky had to be coordinated over both battlefields. After that, Melissa was free to operate on her own time schedule. The cattle operation ended quickly. Bob, the visible dragon, appeared in the night sky over the cattle camp, lit up by eerie flaming colours all drifting to the ground. Bob drifted to the ground as well, and as he did, his body became enveloped by flames. Near ground level, he turned and flew straight at the bosses – flames coming from his snout, his body, and his tail. The bosses scattered in panic into the darkness where the slaves were waiting. Even Stu, who knew what to expect, fell to the ground and covered his head.
Bob needed only one strafing run to panic the bosses. Melissa waited to receive confirmation from Doc and Stu that the slaves were in control before messaging the group:
Melissa to all Warriors: Cattle battle is over. All bosses are in custody of the ex-slaves. We're re-locating to Ranch #3 now.
Less than 10 minutes had passed.
# # # # # # # #
The battle at the Big House was more complicated because of the larger number of bosses, and the need to get the young house slaves out of the Big House and to safety. They also needed to push the ranch's Big Momma and Big Daddy out of the house quickly so that they wouldn't stop to arm themselves from any stash of weapons they might have inside the house. Also, especially for Ranch #2, the Battle Command Group wanted to ensure that Marie's drama presentation was as close to what she had seen in her vision as possible. Here's what happened above the Big House after Wanda lit up the skies.
Out of the dark heavens and down into the flaming sky came a drifting figure. As the body came closer to the ground, her form became more visible. It was an old woman dressed in slave clothes. As she descended, she'd point her hand at something to the outside of the lit area, and it would explode in flames. Then she'd point to another side, and that area would explode in flames. It was almost as though she was keeping the spectators close, as a sort of captive audience. Certainly no audience would want to disappear into the darkness with those fireballs exploding.
When this slave lady had everybody standing still and watching her, she spoke. Her voice filled the air around the Big House. "My name is Marie, and I have cursed... " Marie went on for a while, mentioning some bosses by name, but especially talking to Big Daddy and Big Momma. Then poof. She was gone.
A lightning strike brought everybody's face skyward again. In the distance, they saw a falling flame approaching closer and closer. The flame landed on the ground and began speeding towards the bosses who panicked and fled. Those that fled too far away from where they were supposed to flee to were steered in the correct direction by a black flaming creature that would look like a panther if any of the bosses' eyes weren't bugged out beyond their noses. In case my readers didn't know this, panthers are just as adept at herding sheep-like bosses as dogs are adept at herding sheep.
At some inaudible instruction, the panther faced the Big House and let loose with some very loud and hair-raising screams. The slave girls, who by now had come down to the ground floor in fright from seeing all the lightning and flames around the house, saw the flaming panther and began running out the front door.
With the front door clear, the flaming panther pushed her way into the house and stopped – looking for her prey. Big Momma and Big Daddy were in the foyer, ready to run through the door. They saw the flaming panther, turned, and fled up the staircase screaming as they ran, No, Marie! No! The flaming panther caught them in the hallway. She chewed on them for a while, all the time that her fur was burning. By the time she had finished munching, all the bosses were dead or captured and the young house slaves were coming out of their hiding places, shaken, but safe.
# # # # # # # #
Marie's vision was identical to what actually happened in the battle. There were flames around the house from the falling light particles – but the house was never damaged because the particles extinguished themselves when they hit a solid surface like the ground or the roof of the house.
The explosions that kept the bosses close to the house? Flash bombs that William created and TG and Theo threw.
Marie's loud voice that filled the air? And the panther's yowls? They were amplified by Wolf's portable PA system that he had used many battles ago.
The panther and dragon were indeed engulfed in flames. But in the science world, there are hot flames, as when wood burns, and there are cold flames. Cold flames consume no air, burn no fuel, and create no smoke. Being cold, the flames are not hot enough to burn a panther's fur coat or a dragon's leathery skin.
William created the cold flame powder and saturated both the dragon's skin and the panther's fur with it before the battle. All they had to do was fly though any of the flaming light particles to set their bodies on fire.
Now you know what a battle looks like when it combines mystical creatures and real-life science. Just as Lucas had wanted.
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Chapter 32
Early Saturday morning, Yuri and Mike were staring out into the night sky. There was no moon, but some stars gave enough light that they could see each other's shadowy body. One body was slim and wiry; the other was tall and husky.
"You think that red glow is them?" Yuri asked.
"I dunno," Mike replied. "It's in the direction of Ranch #3. Did you hear that thunder?"
"Yeah. Very faint. It hasn't been hot enough for thunderstorms."
"My thinking too. Did that tiny girl tell Pililiani anything at all about how they planned to scare the bosses so badly that they'd run away?"
"No," Yuri replied. "She just told Pililiani that all the slaves should spread out and hide away from the house. Your idea of the poison in the water tower was a great way to get us out of the bunkhouse and up here out of danger once the killing starts."
"I come up with a few good ideas occasionally. You're smarter. You figured out what those pellets could do back in Chicago. Had your gang using them. Helped all the boys survive. Peaches too. That was a great idea."
"You found the pellets, Mike. You're braver. I'd have never gone so deep into those underground bunkers on my own. All those weapons and armaments just stacked in huge piles. You know how the ancients would have used those pellets, right?"
"Yah. Fire those big bullets into the sky over somebody you didn't like, explode the bullet, and everything electronic below would die when a pellet touched it. Whatever happened to the pellets?"
"I was opening only a few of the big bullets at a time, and bringing the pellets to the surface. One day, the Safe Haven people came and took my entire stock of pellets away. They knew how we were using them. They didn't say anything to me, just took them. The next week, they took me away too. I hope the gang kept the peach trees growing. That girl. Did she say that her people would leave the Big House alone?"
"Yeah," Mike confirmed. "Pililiani told her that you wanted the house left untouched so that the slaves could live there and help you with the peaches. Pililiani will stay afterwards and help. She'll persuade others too. Pililiani said the girl spoke funny."
"Funny how?"
"Like not from here. When she talked about the house, she'd say hoose, not house. Pililiani told me that she saw some of her face in the candlelight. Brown colour. Like somebody from the Indian tribes still living in the wilderness. I'd see Indians from time to time when I coptered Big Daddy on his drinking trips."
"The gang kid that I traded pellets for peaches – he had brown skin too. Two of his brothers had bows and arrows. They looked like they could use them. Wizard spoke funny too. I talked with him quite a bit on his second trip. He'd say aboot, instead of about. And he'd often finish a sentence with an eh."
"How do you mean?"
"The trees have to be planted deep. Do you understand, eh?"
"
Weird. Who'd speak like that?"
"Who'd speak like that, eh?"
"That would drive me crazy after a while."
"Yeah, it did for me. He was smart though. He had a little sister who sat under their wagon on their first trip."
"Do you believe that it's the same little girl?"
"Nah. Chicago is far away from here. She had a big pup. Looked like it would grow up nasty. Wizard told me it was a wolf and they bred them to kill. I tried to trade for it but he wouldn't."
"Well, keep an eye out for wolves. If you see one, you'll know she's the same girl."
"Not likely. What will you do after we're done here, Mike?"
"I'm getting away from here as fast as I can. I can't stay here. Too many memories."
"Yah. I don't blame you. I was too young to remember much."
# # # # # # # #
"I never got to ask you," Mike opened. "The day I broke your nose in front of everybody. You knew why I had to do that, right?"
"Yeah. Pililiani explained it to me afterwards. To keep me from being sold to some dirty old man when I reached Chicago. The nose really hurt at first, but the pain went away. They took me to Chicago the next day. The practice fights we had in the root cellar helped me a lot."
"Made you tough. You learned how to defend yourself. I didn't want you to have the same kind of first year in Chicago that I did."
"I still make wooden knives, you know. I gave some to the slaves tonight. I also chopped down one of the trees in the gully yesterday, cut and delimbed the branches. They'll be able to use those as clubs."
"Pililiani gave them as many kitchen knives as she could find. Hair salon scissors too. I left the tool shed unlocked so they can take the rakes and shovels."
"That glow in the sky is gone now."
# # # # # # # #
"You think everybody saw the signal on the drying line?"
"Definitely. Everybody was waiting for it."
"You know why Pililiani put that blouse on the line, right?"
"The blouse with the little red threads stitched into the pocket? Yeah, she told me how she had sewn it back together and why it would be the signal."
"There aren't too many slaves still here who would know about it."
"Everybody knows about it. Pililiani makes sure. You still remember everything?"
"Mom sewed those threads into that blouse at night with no light. It was what she was wearing when she was whipped to death."
"Pililiani put her hands over my eyes so I couldn't see it."
"Mom watched me the whole time. She even winked at me. Never made a sound the whole time."
"Pililiani helped us afterwards. She told us how Mom had prayed a lot. But not to Voodoo."
"To something else. And Mom gave us our names so that we'd know that we were destined to return to this ranch and help free the slaves."
"The names of Archangels."
"The slaves will take care of Big Daddy."
"Pililiani is going to put Mom's blouse on Big Momma in front of everybody. Then she'll give her to us."
"Do you have your whip, Uriel?"
"Inside my shirt, Michael. Yours?"
"The same."
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Chapter 33
Saturday morning, Lieutenant Bean came back into camp from the promontory she was using to pretend to talk to Jak via the walkie-talkie. "Sargeant," she bellowed.
"Lieutenant?"
"Prepare for high speed, emergency run. We'll take all possible weapons with us, plus rations for one day. All men should be in combat gear and prepared for assault as well as close in work. I want to leave in ten minutes. Transport copter only."
"Very good, Lieutenant. May I tell the men where we're going?"
"My partner found Princess Freya. We have to pick her up before the enemy discovers that we know where she is."
"And the enemy, Lieutenant?"
"We're losing time, Sargeant. I'll brief the men completely before we attack."
# # # # # # # #
Early Saturday afternoon, the Wilizy were all aloft and sailing slowly towards South Dakota. Most were still sleeping in one of the ship cabins – some with the help of one of Marie's spells. They had wrapped up Saturday's operations with five ranches liberated and no casualties among the slaves or the Wilizy. The same cannot be said for the bosses and the slave owners. Lucas and Mac flew over the Montana ranches in daylight to ensure that everything was under control, but found nothing to delay them from getting to one of the ships and crawling into a bunk.
Marie had used her panther to kill Big Momma #2 and Big Daddy #2. She told the Battle Group that for the next two nights, she'd serve as the figure descending out of the sky; Nary could use Contrary to herd bosses into the shadows for the next two nights.
"Is your heart alright?" Mac had asked. Doc had alerted her to Marie's health issues.
"Yes, I'm fine. I don't need to be in on the killing any longer. I did what I swore I'd do. Plus my panther is used to killing fleeing grass eaters. It's hard to keep her herding and not killing."
Theo was surprised that Marie had her own panther. "I thought you and Nary shared Contrary," he said to her.
"No. Contrary is Nary's companion. She won't listen to me."
That made Theo feel good, because Contrary certainly listened to him.
# # # # # # #
Lieutenant Bean ordered a ground hugging, slow copter run up a narrow river valley that wound below some mountains somewhere in southwestern B.C. "Stealth mode," she instructed her soldiers as the copter came to a quiet rest. She climbed into the back of the copter from the co-pilot's seat and motioned everybody to huddle in.
"I don't know how much the Captain has told you about this platoon's mission, so I'll give you a full briefing now. Remain quiet. Noise can travel far in these narrow valleys. Some time ago, the members of our royal family were relocated to North America to keep them safe from harm. Princess Freya was kidnapped by a group who do not know who they have. We have heard that they are trying to sell her to some white slavers who will, in turn, sell her to barbaric men of colour. I do not have to tell you what will await the princess. My partner and I have been trying to locate that group's home base. You were brought to North America to assist us if that became necessary. Your assistance is now necessary."
"Jak informed me this morning that the princess is in a compound just north of us in this valley. She has seen her. She is certain it is the princess. The princess appears healthy. But my partner witnessed her crying that she wanted to return home to her mommy and daddy. Her guard slapped the princess hard and threatened to feed her to the dogs if she kept crying. Obviously these are brutal people. But Jak has been watching their compound and reported that their compound is near empty today and they are vulnerable to a surprise attack. This platoon will be that surprise attack."
"Once we're past the exterior security fence, you should encounter little resistance. However we first have to secure the princess. After that, you can do whatever you want to the remaining survivors. I am told that you will find women in the main base. I understand that the captain has given you wide ranging latitude in those cases. I will give you the same latitude. But don't leave the women alive after you've finished with them. I will shoot any of their men who survive the initial onslaught. Nobody is to know that we were here."
"The only difficulty we will face is getting by their security fence. It is electronic in nature. That means no razor wires to cut and no land mines to avoid. Princess Freya's capturers have placed warning signs in front of their electronic fence. These are intended to scare off anybody accidentally walking through this area. They are not dangerous in themselves. You'll know that the security fence has become aware of your presence when you see one or more flashing red lights. Jak and I encountered these in Finland. For individuals trying to sneak into an enemy base, these defenses are formidable. However what they can't handle is a mass assault at a single point of attack. T
heir system tries to stop every single person that comes towards the fence but when it can't handle the volume of data, it will freeze up. We will have ten full seconds to get past that security fence before it can re-boot. There are no other security precautions behind this single fence."
"How could they manufacturer have missed that?" the sergeant asked. “How could the owners have missed that?"
"These people have close ties to Finland and we all know how poorly made Finnish armaments are. Plus Jak and I suspect that nobody has ever attacked this security fence in a mass attack. It's intended primarily to keep out riff raff. The occupants are storekeepers who are only interested in acquiring wealth. They have no military background that we can determine. Incidentally, you're welcome to help yourself to any trinkets you find lying around. But first, we secure the princess; afterwards we kill anybody still living. Only after that can you loot."
A low murmur of interest spread through the copter.
"Here are your specific orders. You will exit the copter quietly, taking all the weapons you can handle. If you can shoot with both hands at the same time, bring two weapons. We will approach the security wall in a phalanx formation, shoulder to shoulder. The sergeant will be at one end of the line, I will be at the other end. We will advance slowly until we see blinking red lights approaching us. At that point, we will stop. We will wait until everybody in the line is at the same distance away from the security fence. At my signal, we will all charge at the wall, shooting as many bullets as we can into the fence. Once we are through, we will regroup and move quickly to the enemy's home base. The noise of the shooting will have warned the occupants. Jak is at the northern end of the compound in case somebody tries to escape in that direction."