The Ladysmith Department of Defense had gathered that evening just as the sun had started to fall. They had been looking over the map of the town they had set up on the wall of what they had come to call the War Room, which was really the social studies room at the high school. Since the high school had no immediate plans to resume classes, also considering it was summer and there was a foreign army occupying the field, it made sense for the fledgling military branches to meet there, long with the two leaders of the Halish forces.
This was much to the chagrin of Blaine Tanner, the principal. Blaine meant well, of course, but he was very vocally anti-military. Unfortunately, he ultimately had no say. The survival of the town outweighed his political views. Goose had made that abundantly clear after Tanner had barged into his office. He might be a principal, but there was no longer a school board. Ladysmith’s district was run out of Nanaimo, and Nanaimo was literally on another planet. Humiliated, Tanner had no choice but to revert to dirty looks in Boone’s direction whenever he saw him.
Boone never liked Tanner. He was often too quick to call the police when he didn’t like the look of something. Tanner didn’t like the look of most things. It became something of a joke around the detachment after his first year as Watch Commander. Several of his officers took to nicknaming him Principal Karen. So, in response to Tanner’s dirty looks, Boone would make sure he was doing something at the high school every day.
Since the room had been repurposed by the Ladysmith Department of Defense, the pictures on the wall and quotes from historical figures had been replaced by several maps of the town showing the topography of the area, with a clear circle drawn around the town by those who had surveyed the area. The centrepoint of the border fell in the area of Woodley Range, a large hill near the base of the Ladysmith Harbour. There was a cell phone tower at the highest point of the hill, but nothing but trees and wilderness occupied the centre of the Halo. There was nothing there to suggest anything had taken place in that area during the Blacklight Event.
There were also a number of maps provided by Keltz and Syrel. Unfortunately, Halish cartography left much to be desired in terms of detail. It was a shame, but Boone understood. They were working off of map-making technology that was several hundred years out of date. They still drew mountains and trees on their maps. The idea of surveying the topography, especially of a place outside their own nation, was unheard of.
Still, it was better than nothing, and gave them a general sense of what the Disputed Lands, and the wider-ranging Pactlands looked like.
Andy sat at the table and pointed at a smaller map. A map of Ladysmith that had been placed roughly overtop of the Halish map of the Disputed Lands. “They’re not passing over the border as best we can tell, but we’ve got limited eyes. We’ve spotted them as far west as the pylons, but after that the next camera is up the logging roads at the path to Stone’s Mouth. Then there’s nothing until the border curves back toward Timberlands. Based on where we’ve seen them, we figure they’ve started to set up a new camp in this general area. But we need eyes on it to be certain.”
“Can we set up more cameras?” Luc asked.
Andy shook his head. “We’re down to trail cams, and the footage has to be downloaded onto memory cards, not to mention the cameras themselves would need to be recharged every couple of days. Best we can do is use the fibre optic cameras connected to the power grid. Fortunately, Sam Whittaker convinced those cable boys to hook up a few along the side-streets down Old Chemainus Road, but there’s too much wilderness west of us. We’re flying blind there. That’s why we have to lure them here.” He pointed to a line going up past the town. “These power lines run the span of the entire town, but it intersects with the neighbourhood right behind Davis Road. We’re going to have to evacuate everything south of the Holland Creek and draw them down to the Highway from there.”
“Are we sure it’s a good idea to draw them in there? Evacuated or not, they could do a lot of damage to people’s homes.”
“It’s either that or the main highway. I suspect we’re going to be looking at a lot more damage there. At least here, the hills act somewhat like a natural obstacle. Plus if we draw them down to the highway from there, we can hit them from both the north and south, and if we need to, we can withdraw north along the highway and blow the two bridges. It won’t slow them down for long, but it’ll buy us some time.”
“Some time to what?” Ansel asked.
Andy shrugged. “Last resort,” he said. “Full-scale evacuation toward Halen.”
Ansel looked over to the two Halish Lieutenants. “We don’t even know if Halen is going to help us if it comes to that.”
“That’s why it’s a last resort.”
“What about the subterfuge operation?”
At that, Lieutenant Syrel spoke up. “My men are ready to deploy when the order is given, but there is still some concern as to your man’s ability. He seems to be able to handle a pike well enough, but his swordplay leaves much to be desired.”
Andy sighed. “Be that as it may, we don’t really have much of a choice. The overall operation won’t work without them in place. We’ll need to send them soon. Maybe as early as tomorrow or the morning after.”
“And your other man? Boomer, was it?”
“He’s got his orders. He understands,” Andy said. “But the less he knows about the whole operation, the better. Which brings us to the next question. Aerial support.” He looked to Luc. “What do you have for us, Dreston?”
“Well, we’re short on trained pilots. Believe it or not we’ve got more aircraft than we have people who know how to operate them. Two helicopters, fifteen single-engines, two twin props and a passenger jet in operation. We have maybe seven pilots willing to volunteer, which means we’re short on personnel. Then there’s a fuel issue. The reserve tanks at the airport might keep us in the air for a little while, but it’s going to run out sooner than later.”
“But you’re ready to fly whenever we need you?”
“Not just ready,” Luc said. “Itching. We’ve been grounded since the Blacklight. Would be nice to get an aerial view of the Disputed Lands. Just a shame we won’t be able to see the looks on the Vectorans faces when we fly over.”
“In due time,” Andy said. He turned to Ansel. “And the navy?”
“Well,” Ansel said. “We managed to mount a gatling gun on the bow of a fishing trawler.”
“A gat—” Boone suddenly sputtered. “Where the hell did you get a gatling gun?”
“Let’s just say that in another time, a more normal time, there was a guy who liked to collect things. Things the people in charge didn’t like being collected. So he, uhh… well, he buried it.”
Boone waved his hand. “You know what, I don’t want to know. Just tell me you have ammunition for it.”
“And then some,” Ansel replied. “But some of the guys reported something back to me that’s… well, a little odd.”
“More odd than a planet in the sky?”
“Well, you tell me. Is a moving whirlpool more odd than that?”
“A moving whirlpool?” Keltz asked. He shared a grave look with Syrel for a moment.
“What is it?” Boone asked.
With a sigh, Keltz continued. “It sounds like a Caeden Cleave,” he said.
Boone blinked for a moment. “You gonna explain that?”
“Caedens are devoutly religious,” he explained. “A strong factor in their beliefs is that mankind was never meant to sail upon the waves. As an island nation, you can understand how that would make it… difficult for them. So when they leave Caede, they tend to do so in Cleaves. Caravans that move beneath the water. There are always several Mages among them to make it work. Air, Water, Earth. Fire for heat. Body Mages in case they get injured.”
“And what’s the purpose of this Cleave?”
Keltz shook his head. “I could not say. I know they tend to trade with many villages along the coast, but Caedens are… an unpredictable sort. They are quick to offense, and their reactions to such things vary. They could choose to ignore a perceived sleight, or they could attempt to exact justice by blood.” He turned to Ansel. “How far out is the whirlpool? To where was it moving?”
“It’s moving toward Ladysmith for sure,” Ansel said. “We tracked one for over an hour about ten clicks out. It’s moving slowly, but it’s moving.”
“If they witnessed the Blacklight, it could be that they’re coming to inspect the source,” Keltz opined. “But I could not say. With Caedens, you should always be reserved. Perhaps they are interested in nothing more than trading. Perhaps they believe the Blacklight to be some divine invitation to them. In which case, Vector may not be the only threat.”
“How dangerous are these Caedens?”
Keltz shrugged. “Depends on how many there are. What intentions they have. If you prepare for violence, they may notice and become offended, thus spurring them into it. I would recommend meeting them at first with open arms, showing them they are not feared here. But be prepared to defend yourselves if it comes to that.”
“Great,” Boone said. “Just what we need.”
“Well let’s hope they’re just coming to open a trade route,” Andy said.
“I mean, I’m pretty sure I’ve got a depth charge ready to go if–”
“A depth charge?” Boone exclaimed. “Holy hell, Ansel! What do you need a depth charge for?”
Ansel smirked. “I dunno,” he said. “Sea monsters?”
“You had a depth charge for sea monsters?”
A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.
“Well, no. It was actually for submarines.”
“Why–” Boone stopped himself and rubbed the bridge of his nose. “You know what, I don’t want to know. We need to talk about the evacuation plans.”
----------------------------------------
Night had fallen by the time Andy had gotten back to Kamper’s Korner. He nodded to the two Halish men standing guard at the main office and then stepped inside. There, Sam Whittaker looked over to him.
“I was just about to call you,” she announced.
“What’s going on?”
She tapped the monitor in front of her. “Camera nine is out,” she said.
“Nine? Isn’t that the one set up near Old Chemainus Road?”
She nodded. “Yeah, but it didn’t just go out. A minute before it went out there were a few Vectorans standing under it, looking directly at it.”
Andy’s eyebrows raised. “Wait, are you serious?” Had they figured out they were being watched?
As if she could read his thoughts, Sam responded quickly. “I don’t think they know what it’s for, but camera nine had a bunch of wires leading up to it. Here, watch.”
Sam rewound the video and played it back for Andy. Sure enough, it was a small forested area just to the south of the border at Old Chemainus Road. There, four Vectoran men were standing directly beneath the camera. He watched as one pointed to the wires leading up into the tree they had set it up in. Before long, another had pointed directly to the camera. He watched as one of them started to pull at the wire, and then the feed suddenly went dead.
“That’s only thirty feet away from the border,” Andy said. “That’s too close for comfort. How long ago was this?”
“Ten minutes?” Sam replied. “I’m pretty sure they have a Fire Mage with them. I saw one of them light a torch with the end of his finger.”
Andy turned and started to look over the map of town around the area they’d set the camera up. The area was mostly residential, with several side-streets that ran parallel to the train tracks. Thankfully, that area had been the first to be evacuated.
Suddenly, he had a thought. “Where did the wires lead?” he asked.
“For nine?” She checked her logbook. “We were getting power from the hydro box by the Seaview Resort, just south of the Lagoon Bridge.”
Andy was familiar with the resort. It was less a resort and more a small collection of single-room cabins by the seaside. “Wait, I thought we shut off that part of the grid because it wasn’t being used.”
“It was, but we still had residents over on Gait Road who were part of that grid.”
Andy looked over his map again and located Gait Road. He recognized it from the evacuation plans. Gait Road was supposed to be evacuated that night.
“That’s too close,” he said. “If they follow it to the resort that’s one thing, but Gait Road is just on the other side of the Lagoon from there. Do we have cameras on Gait?”
“Uhh, yeah,” she said. She tapped a few buttons on the keyboard and another camera view filled the screen. It showed a view of the cul-de-sac on the other side of the lagoon. There were several houses there. He noticed some of them had lights on. Looking back down at his map, he measured the distance between the two areas. The Vectorans, if they ventured into the area, would have to pass through several properties to reach it. Still, it was too close for comfort.
“Jesus, Andy,” Sam suddenly said. “Look.”
Andy turned back to the camera view. At the corner of the cul-de-sac, he spotted movement. Four distinct shapes, lingering around the edge. “Shit,” he said. “Shit.” He pulled his keys out of his pocket. “Call Boone, get everyone out of that area right now.”
“Where are you going?” Sam asked.
“To handle this,” he said, unlocking the gun cabinet near the door. “Call him and tell him to hurry the hell up.”
----------------------------------------
Burz examined the strange object in his hand. It was made of some unnameable material. Not wood, or metal. It didn't appear to be stone, and it had a rather odd shape. From one end a number of strange black cords with bits of what had appeared to be copper inside of them jutted out, and on the other a strange glass eye seemed to protrude. Inside the eye, he could just make out a few words. He couldn't make sense of them, but they reminded him of the strange metal bit that had lodged itself so deep in Mis' shoulder.
The General had been so good as to supply Burz with a troop of a thousand men, and a handful of his War Mages and instructed him to make camp less than an hour’s march away from the border of the strange settlement. The moment they had arrived at the camp, Burz had sent out scouts to survey the area. They’d returned by mid-afternoon, with news of what they’d found. Burz decided he needed to see it for himself.
Unlike the night he first laid eyes on the settlement, there were numerous bright lights. The streets themselves were lined with large standards emitted a white light brighter than any fire he’d seen before. Even Giger, the War Mage he trusted the most, seemed enrapt by the vibrance of the lights. That was when they noticed the cords leading high up into the tree. Something had been placed there, connected by the strange black cords.
And so, they took it down and inspected it. He really didn’t know what to make of it, but knew he should bring it back to camp to examine further.
Nonetheless, they saw no people, no movement in the area beyond the border. Only more buildings. Some had light, some didn’t. One of his men broke the window of one such place and climbed inside. Empty, save for furniture and light.
But to the west, Giger had noticed something curious. More buildings. They were larger than the others. Not to mention the sounds. There were people there.
Burz knew he had to be careful. These strangers were dangerous. The Crier had said it. The General had said it. But Burz could not simply return empty-handed. The General would soon be mobilizing the main force and heading to the camp. When that happened, he expected to have some answers ready, and Burz was determined to get them. He needed to capture one or more of the people there.
They climbed several fences, and made their way through brush before they came to another street of paved stone. Several buildings lined the street. Most had no lights, but two in particular did.
Most importantly, he could see several people moving around in front of one of them. He bade his men to lay low, and ordered them to surround the building while staying out of sight.
As he got closer, he realized something. The building, as grand as it was, was merely a home. A house. A family of four were carrying things from within it, and placing it in the back of a wheeled wagon. The wagon had no horse, no birds to pull it. There was a man, a woman and two children.
This would be simple. All they needed to do was nab one of the children, and the parents would do as they were told. If they had to, they could kill the father. The rest of the family would then fall in line.
Burz caught the attention of his man on the north end of the building. He pointed to one of the children. His man gave him a nod, then started to move in closer.
Suddenly, a great racket emerged from the street north of them. It was a long whine, followed by an aggressive growl. Burz suddenly lowered himself to the ground. To his right, Giger followed suit.
It was a great red beast, the likes of which he’d never before seen. It’s eyes glowed as brightly as the sun, blinding Burz for a moment as he lowered further. It growled as it came down the street. Oddly, he noticed the family did not seem very alarmed. They merely regarded it with curiosity.
The beast drew nearer, then squealed as it halted in front of the house. Burz could hear the thing speak. It sounded like a man, but he could see nothing past the bright lights of its eyes.
“Vectorans are in the area, get moving now!” the beast exclaimed.
Burz’ heart sunk into his chest. Had the beast seen them? What was it? A guardian protector of these people? Suddenly, the beast roared again.
It was angry, and it was looking for them.
Burz turned back to Giger. “We must get out of sight, lest it find us,” Giger said.
Giger nodded. Burz looked north to his other men. Both were out of sight. They were smart enough to stay hidden, at least. Still, Burz would risk being found by the creature if he attempted to inform them of the order to retreat.
The beast moved further down the street, heading toward the other house with lights on. As it passed by, its glowing eyes were no longer blinding him, and Burz was able to get a clear sight of the creature.
It was red. The sort of red that seemed unnatural. Like dyed clothing, except not. The beast’s legs were not like legs at all. They were black wheels, the same as the wheels on the wagon that the family was loading up with goods. Inside of it was the vague silhouette of a man.
Burz turned back toward the family and watched as they all climbed in their own wagon, and the wagon’s eyes, too, lit up in a blinding fashion. It roared to life, and within moments lurched forward, with all the members of the family inside.
Burz then realized it was not a creature at all. What creatures rolled on wheels like a wagon? What creature was piloted by a man?
“War Mage,” Burz said. “That is no beast.”
He turned his attention to the other beast again. He watched as it came to a halt, and a man emerged from it. He walked up to a door and started to pound on it.
“A man,” Giger said. “I can deal with a single man.”
“Wait,” Burz said. He narrowed his eyes. He’d seen that man before. He was there when Mis had been injured. He turned back to Giger. “Take care, remember what I told you of the metal bore.”
“I fear no metal,” Giger replied.
“Only a fool has no fear,” Burz said. He pointed. “Watch.”
Burz thought he could hear a second voice, a woman’s, coming from the vehicle the man rode in. Something about it seemed off. As if it were merely the mimic of a human voice. The man turned back to the vehicle and reached inside, pulling out a small object.
“What is it, Sam?” the man asked the object.
“Andy, you have two in the bush right across the street from you,” the object said.
Burz’ eyes went wide as the man turned his attention directly toward he and Giger. They locked eyes.
The man walked toward him and pointed something at him. Burz recognized it immediately. It was the thing that had shot the metal bore into Mis.
“Stand up,” the man said. “Come out of there. Now.”
Burz swore under his breath, then did as the man asked.
“Drop your weapons,” he said. “Now!”
“Be ready,” Burz said in a lowered voice to Giger. “The moment he is close enough, you know what to do.” He stepped forward, and pulled his sword from his sheath and dropped it on the grass. “I do not wish to fight,” he said. He motioned toward the weapon in the man’s hand. “I’ve seen what your bore shot can do.”
“Then you know I’ll use it,” the man said. “Your friend too. Drop your weapons.”
“I have no weapons,” Giger said.
“Where are the others?” the man asked.
“There are only the two of us. We are only curious as to–”
Suddenly, a loud crack filled the air. The man had fired his weapon above their heads. “The next one goes into your chest if you continue to lie to me. Your armour isn’t going to do much to stop it. There are two others. Where are they?”
Blast. He knew about the others. How?
“Please sir,” Giger said, stepping forward. “We mean you no harm.”
“That’s far enough. You’re the Fire Mage, aren’t you?”
Giger suddenly paused, then looked back at Burz. This man knew more than he should. Did they have a spy in their midst? How would he know so much, so quickly?
“Surprised, are we? The other two. Where are they?”
Suddenly, Burz heard something whipping through the air past him and struck the man in the shoulder. He yelled out in pain. At first, Burz didn’t know what had happened, but Giger then leapt into action, throwing a wall of flame at the man.
The man fell over, clutching his shoulder as his weapon slid across the ground, away from him. Burz took the opportunity to run up, kicking the weapon out of his reach as the man scrambled for it.
Behind him, his other two men approached. One had his bow drawn. Burz noticed the arrow protruding from his shoulder. He suddenly understood.
Giger placed his hands upon the man’s back and summoned forth a white-hot flame. The man screamed as Burz stepped over him.
“Andy!” the small speaking object called out. “Andy, hold on! Boone’s on his way!”
Burz picked up the object and inspected it.
“Shall I kill him?” Giger asked.
Burz looked to him. “We should,” he said. “But we have a mission here.” He looked to the man. “Andy, is it?”
“Fuck you,” Andy replied.
Burz smirked. “Bind him. Cauterize his wound. We should be away before this… Boone comes to assist him.” He knelt down over his captive. “We have much to talk about, Andy.”