The Caphenon
“Well, perfect,” Helmor said. “We can’t even get in there when the damned thing’s disabled.”
He looked at Kylinn, who had no idea how she’d become the ranking scholar in this group. But she nodded, closed her eyes, and pushed herself into the Voloth’s mind. It was a black hole of gibbering terror, and she quickly pulled out again. Swallowing hard, she said, “His mind is shattered. He’s not going to bother anyone ever again.”
“That’s good enough for me.” Helmor waved the Guard back in. “Let’s go.”
Chapter 56
Battle of Alsea: Miron
“Come on, come on!”
Miron raced toward the skimmer with rest of his unit. They’d watched the ground pounders dropping all over Redmoon and had gotten to their first before it even landed. He and the other three scholars did what they’d been told to do, and the ground pounder simply fell out of the sky. It hit so hard that the leg sections broke up, and he knew that his alien was dead. The other scholars reported varying levels of pain and agony, so it seemed pretty certain that this ground pounder was out of commission. They hadn’t even had to get out of the skimmer.
The second one was harder. It was already on the ground and firing shells toward Redmoon, lighting up the early morning sky with explosions. They’d gotten almost within range of it when something moved on the side facing them and a laser pulse hit the ground right in front of their skimmer. Somehow the Lead Guard managed to keep it upright, veering behind a small hill. He yelled at them to get out, to run up the hill and get in range, and they managed. Dropping to the grass atop the hill, they projected into the invaders’ minds. The effects were horrific. One Voloth opened a hatch in the floor of that blocky top and fell out, and the ground pounder stomped on him. Then it stopped moving, and two more Voloth dove out, breaking their necks when they hit the ground. The last one never appeared, but Hil, the young woman who was in his mind, said that he’d just…broken.
Now they were running back to the skimmer, the Lead Guard shouting at them to hurry. Every tick that passed meant more shells being lobbed into Redmoon, more buildings being destroyed, more Alseans dying. Not everyone had evacuated. But even if there hadn’t been a single soul left in the city, Miron would have given his last breath to save it.
They piled into the skimmer and moved off, the Lead Guard hardly waiting for the vehicle to fully lift up on its thrusters before putting it in gear.
“We don’t have decent cover,” one of the warriors called over the wind rushing past.
“It doesn’t matter; we can’t wait.” The Lead Guard drove straight ahead, slicing across the fields toward the monster that was stomping ahead of them. “Start projecting now!” he called over his shoulder.
It was too far out. Miron knew it was too far, but he tried anyway. He could feel their minds, but he couldn’t grasp any of them. And then he was flying through the air.
He hit the ground hard and rolled some distance before coming to a stop. Coughing the acrid taste out of his mouth, he sat up and looked around.
The skimmer was a burning hulk of metal, and all around him were bodies. Some of them moved; others didn’t.
He felt the thumping, the vibrations going through his legs as they rested on the ground. One of the scholars screamed.
“It’s coming back! It’s coming for us!”
Miron twisted around and saw the giant block of tubes and wiring moving toward them. He was mesmerized by the sight, unable to do anything but watch their impending death.
“Stop them!” someone else shouted. “Come on, stop them before they kill us!”
Jolted into action, he reached out and slid into an alien mind that was now within range, reeling when it immediately snapped. His own terror must have amplified the effect. Reaching for a second one, he shoved his fear at it, mentally screaming for it to die. It snapped as well.
The ground all around him sprayed upwards as projectiles ripped up the land, and something tugged at his leg. When he glanced down, everything seemed to slow.
His leg was lying half a body length away, torn and bloody at one end. A shard of bone protruded from the place on his body where the leg had once been. His ears filled with a dull roaring sound as he stared at it. The bone was so white that it didn’t look real…and maybe it wasn’t real. After all, it didn’t hurt. He couldn’t feel a thing.
He looked up at the ground pounder, now standing motionless on its giant legs. Some sort of gun was still pointed at him, but it had stopped firing. Still wrapped in that strange, slow calm, he reached out and found nothing left of the Voloth. At least one of the other scholars had been able to get to them. This ground pounder would never fire another shell at Redmoon.
He watched the blood pouring out of his leg and remembered reading somewhere that when it spurted like that, it meant his heart was pumping the blood out.
“I guess that’s it, then,” he murmured. Then he smiled. “But we got three of you.”
Chapter 57
Battle of Alsea: Lanaril
Lanaril had bolted awake when her temple’s bells began ringing. Throwing on her clothes, she’d grabbed her reader card and run straight out of her private quarters and into her garden, looking up for the first signs of the Voloth. When nothing was immediately apparent, she activated her reader card and checked for Lancer Tal’s announcement.
It took another tick to appear, and stated in short, terse sentences that two invader groups had arrived, which meant one thousand ground pounders and four hundred fighters. The ground pounders would be dropping in from orbit somewhere between one and one and a half hanticks from now.
Which meant it was time for her to work.
As she’d expected, her temple quickly filled with worshippers, some of whom she knew well and many more she’d never seen before. Never had Blacksun Temple shone with so many bowl offerings. Every single rack was fully alight, and her staff were kept busy refilling them with oil. She moved among her people, offering what comfort she could, and the time passed all too quickly. Then she heard the first explosion and rushed out the door, along with almost everyone else in the temple.
It took only a moment to see that the explosions were far overhead, so far that the sound reached them several pipticks after the light did. The Caphenon was doing exactly what Captain Serrado had promised. It was protecting Blacksun, and Lanaril was suddenly certain that they were safe. She put an arm around the shoulders of the small child standing next to her.
“We’re going to be all right,” she said.
The little girl smiled. “I know. Isn’t it pretty?”
Chapter 58
Battle of Alsea: Ekatya
Ekatya watched the ground pounders on the Caphenon’s bridge display and reflected that she’d never before fought a battle with only half the display active. There was no reason to activate the floor panels. It was disquieting, as if she were fighting half blind. On the other hand, it also felt a little too easy. Their targets were moving at relatively slow speeds and falling toward a distant location, rather than flying straight at them. They were also far larger than any missile or rail gun projectile. The Caphenon’s sensor grid had no problem tracking them, and the Alseans were doing an excellent job of firing when the grid told them to. There were a few blank spots in the grid, due to nanoscrubber or crash damage, but Roris and her team were covering most of those sections. Their manual targeting was the best in the Fleet.
In fact, she really didn’t have much to do. All of her work had been in the preparations, and in steadying her new crew when their nerves began to show. Even the most trained and hardened warriors could falter when an overwhelming alien force appeared in their skies, but they’d shaped up nicely. None of the ground pounders were getting through.
No sooner had she thought it when she saw one slip past.
“Target entering grid alpha-four-two,” she said. “Manual fire.”
“I can’t!” The warrior sounded frantic. “There are three more in my grid, I
can’t get them all!”
“That’s all right. Get the ones you can; our backup will take care of the rest.”
It was a good thing she’d been in so many battles. She no longer had to fake her calm the way she had in her younger days. Half of her job right now was simply projecting serenity, assuring the sensitive Alseans that everything was under control. If she’d been faking it, they would probably have imploded by now.
The ground pounder was on the other side of Blacksun, too far for Candini or Baldassar. She tapped her earcuff, activating the pre-coded link.
“Lancer Tal, you’ve got one coming your way. Sending coordinates now.”
“We’re ready.”
She checked the grid against the map of Blacksun Basin spread out on her lap and punched the Alsean coordinates into her wristcom. “Here you go. Good hunting.”
“Finally, something to do. You’re putting on quite a light show here. We were beginning to feel useless.”
“I can hardly think of a word less likely to describe you. Be safe.”
“Don’t worry, we will.”
Ekatya signed off and returned her attention to the display, not quite as calm as before. It didn’t matter what Lancer Tal said. She was going to worry.
Chapter 59
Battle of Alsea: Tal
The ground pounder had already landed by the time Tal and Gehrain got there in the cargo transport. Tal set them down as close as she dared, behind a hillock, and it took them less than two ticks to run to the cargo hold, lower the tailgate, and drive out in the skimmer. No sooner had they swung around the hillock than they saw the bloom of light, followed by a streak arcing toward Blacksun.
“It’s already firing! Speed it up!” Tal shouted over the wind.
Gehrain pushed against the throttle to no avail. “I’m going as fast as I can!”
“Damn, damn, damn!” Tal reached out, but the Voloth were too far away. They needed to close the distance.
Gehrain went from cover to cover, never letting up on the throttle but always seeking to keep something between them and the ground pounder. Tal tamped down on the temptation to tell him to shek it and just go straight. He was doing the right thing; she needed to calm herself. But watching that ground pounder shell Blacksun was firing her rage like nothing had ever done before. Five ticks ago she’d still been conflicted about what she’d have to do, but not anymore.
Her senses brushed against alien minds.
“We’re there,” she called and focused hard, trying to find one of the weapons specialists. She felt a burst of concentration just as another mortar launched and latched on to that mind.
Betrayal! Spies, threat, they’re going to kill you, kill them first! Kill them! Kill them! Betrayal!
Gehrain pulled to a stop just past a large boulder and focused with her.
The ground pounder kept moving, but it was no longer firing. Tal dug deep and pushed out the rage and fear as hard as she could.
Kill them now! Before they can kill you!
The ground pounder took two more steps and stopped. Tal pulled back and extended her senses in a wider net.
“There are only two left,” she said. “One of them is my weapons specialist.” She prepared herself to break his mind.
Gehrain nodded, then stopped. “Wait—”
“One,” Tal finished. The mind she’d been in a moment ago was gone.
They looked at each other.
“Now what?” Gehrain asked.
“Take us in.” Tal wanted a closer look at this thing. And with only one Voloth left alive—either the pilot or the engineer—there wasn’t much it could do.
They pulled up near one of the gigantic legs and Tal hopped out, keeping close tabs on the remaining Voloth mind. Based on the feel, she thought it might be the engineer.
She leaned down, scooped up a stone from the ground, and tossed it toward the leg. The shield lit up, flashing into existence for half a piptick before vanishing again, and she felt a brush of wind past her ear.
“Damn. I think I almost put a rock through my skull.”
“Could you not do that again, please? Colonel Micah will have my head if I let you get hurt.”
Tal leaned down again, choosing a stick this time.
“Lancer Tal—”
“It’s just a stick. It won’t hurt me.”
“This is such a bad idea,” Gehrain grumbled.
Tal ignored him and slowly pushed the stick toward where she thought the shield was. Slowly, slowly…
A faint blue glow appeared around the tip of the stick, but nothing pushed back at her, and the rest of the shield stayed dark. She held her breath and pushed her stick forward at a glacial pace. The blue light traveled down its length, marking the exact boundary of the shield.
“Look at that,” she marveled.
“How is that possible?” Gehrain was next to her now, staring in fascination.
“Captain Serrado said the shield reacts to both kinetic and electromagnetic energy. So I was thinking, what if the kinetic energy is too low? This thing is designed to absorb huge impacts, like rail gun projectiles, and capture the energy for itself. I thought maybe if something moved slowly enough, the shield wouldn’t be able to respond. It wasn’t designed with such a low kinetic energy in mind. It’s not enough to power the shield, and it’s not enough to be a threat. Who could ever get close enough to a ground pounder to stand here and gradually push something through?”
“Nobody, unless it was already disabled.”
“Exactly. It’s a design flaw that nobody can take advantage of. No Gaians, that is. But we can.” Holding the stick with one hand, she pulled her disruptor from its holster with the other. “The night we destroyed the first ground pounder, Captain Serrado sketched out a schematic for us. If I remember correctly, that box right up there is the shield generator.”
“Be careful, Lancer Tal.”
She took a deep breath, then exhaled slowly as she touched the tip of her disruptor barrel to the shield. Another faint blue glow appeared, but that was the only reaction. She pushed it through, angled it upward, and fired.
The box exploded in a shower of sparks, but the blue lines remained around her disruptor barrel and the stick.
“Shek. That wasn’t it.”
Gehrain lifted his wristcom and tapped it. “Captain Serrado, this is Gehrain.”
“Are you all right?”
“Yes, both of us. But could you tell us exactly what the shield generator looks like on a ground pounder? And where it’s located?”
“Where it’s—what in all the purple planets are you doing?”
“Breaking into a ground pounder.”
There was a short silence.
“It’s a rectangular box high up on the inside of one of the legs, just under the floor of the cabin. Gray, with one thick cable going in at the top and five smaller ones coming out at the bottom.”
“Got it,” Tal said. She’d been off a little; it was the box just above the one she’d destroyed. She fired again, the box exploded, and the blue lines vanished.
“Holy shekking Mother,” Gehrain said. “I think you did it.”
Tal moved her disruptor forward and back. Nothing. She waved the stick in the air. Nothing.
“Tell Captain Serrado thank you,” she said as she dropped the stick and walked forward, her mind focused on the engineer.
Get out. You have to get out, it’s not safe, it’s not safe, danger!
A hatch clanged open near one of the other legs and a female Voloth began climbing out. Tal waited until she cleared the hatch before shooting her and was already jogging over as the body hit the ground with a sodden thump. She holstered her disruptor, found the first rungs, and began to climb.
At the top of the leg she poked her head through the hatch and recoiled at the gore. The three dead Voloth had been hit so many times with weapons fire that the cabin walls were splattered with blood and brains. Wrinkling her nose, she pulled herself through.
&n
bsp; Gehrain was right behind her. “Ugh,” he said, looking around. “We overdid it.”
“Tell that to the dead in Blacksun,” Tal said. “These shekkers got off six mortars before we could stop them.” She looked around at the dizzying array of controls covering all four walls.
“We can’t operate one of these,” Gehrain said.
“No. Damn, I was hoping it would be simpler.”
They looked at each other.
“We have to find another one,” they said at the same time.
Tal nodded. “If we can do a forced Sharing with the operators, we can put one of these in action.”
“And then we’ll have the weapons to shoot down those fighters when they come,” Gehrain finished.
“Or other ground pounders. This could save a lot of lives. We need to get the word out.” Tal lifted her wrist and punched in the all-call. “This is Lancer Tal with an emergency message.”
Chapter 60
Battle of Alsea: Kylinn II
“Hold up.” Helmor stopped and read something on his wristcom. The other four warriors did the same.
Kylinn sagged against the skimmer in relief. She hadn’t wanted to get in, because getting in would mean rushing off to their next ground pounder, and the one they’d just killed had taken everything she had. It had also cost them three of the warriors and the two younger scholars, whose bodies were being left behind. Plenty of time to collect the dead later, Helmor had said as he’d tucked a small beacon in the chest pocket of one of his fallen warriors. Kylinn thought that of all the horrors she’d seen this morning, those abandoned bodies were the worst.
Once the ground pounders had landed and were on the move, they were an entirely different thing to deal with. They had eyes on all four sides and fired awful weapons in all directions. She didn’t see how her unit was going to survive this day. She didn’t think they’d even survive the next half hantick.