Raelik stood in the command room of his star tree, watching the battle play out on membranous screens. The Republic was making mincemeat out of their calvary and infantry, but the two massive star trees were in perfect order, and the Republic was caught, hiding in its shield like cornered vermin.
A screen switched from a feed of the battle to Prince Jylik’s face.
“Raelik, your top knight is dead,” he said impassively.
“Yes, I saw,” said Raelik, equally unmoved. “He was an impetuous fool. It appears to have cost us the cylinder for now.”
“I want to hear no more about the foolish trophy you have lost so many resources over!” shouted Jylik. “You came here to seek after some myth, and I am sick of hearing about it! We will take this world from the Republic’s grasp on principle and for its natural resources, but we will not take any more unnecessary risks in an effort to chase a ghost.”
Raelik’s face soured for a moment, but he recovered quickly. “As you say, Crown Prince Jylik. We will snuff out the worms where they lay.”
***
Vanbrook felt pretty good about his shooting. The high-powered rifles were able to take out void wasps at long distance, and he had managed to take out a few. He was reloading when he looked up to see a fresh wave of wasps rising from the star trees to advance. The bombers had done a good job so far of keeping the ground troops at bay, but the wasps just kept coming, the main body of the swarm coming closer and closer to the fort itself.
A shadow passed overhead, and Vanbrook looked up to see a massive, winged beast flying above them. Not including the tail, it was about twenty feet long. Its silver-gray body was like that of a muscular cat, its feet had talons like a raptor, and a massive feathery mane adorned its lion-like head. Its wings, which stretched out over thirty feet from tip to tip, were a bold silver-blue. Admiral Jasken was astride the beast, reveling in the glory of flight.
Vanbrook smiled as the Republic soldiers erupted into cheers. Ol’ Blue, the war griffon, was on the prowl, and no enemy of the Republic was safe. With a roar, Blue slammed into a group of void wasps, grabbing one and tearing its head off with his jaws. Wasp and rider fell to the ground, a hundred feet below. He expertly fended off one stinger with his hind feet as another glanced off his fine scaly coat.
Jasken spoke into the fighter squads’ comm channel.
“Alright, folks, these wasps are going to swamp the fort if we don’t thin them out, but the sheer number of star trees threatens to overwhelm our shields. I want all fighters to advance, focusing on thinning out the wasps while simultaneously getting the bombers in range to destroy some of these trees.”
“You heard the Admiral!” said Drixen. “Let’s put the hurt on these guys!”
Jasken and Blue continued to tear wasps apart, avoiding fire from the star trees and thinning out the swarms. The fighters joined in, picking off the wasps at the edges of the fray and making sure Blue was never overwhelmed.
Cowgirl weaved between trees and swarms, firing volleys into the smaller star trees. With the fleet’s lone surviving bomber focusing on the wasps and trees, the Astralbian infantry was able to advance closer and closer to the fort with minimal losses. Captain Fenrick ordered the fort’s artillery cannons to focus on the star tree skiffs, but their numbers were too high.
When the skiffs got close, the Astralbian soldiers leapt out and charged the fort, firing shoulder-mounted eye cannons at the gate. The fort was well-defended, but had not been built to withstand an all-out assault. Fenrik thought about all the things he’d have liked to do for the fort with enough time and resources, but it was a moot point. The Astralbian’s strategy of charging the fort directly certainly fit their modus operandi, both in terms of willingness to sacrifice troops and in its sheer boldness, but it was going to be extremely costly for the Republic. He looked mournfully at the armored troops bracing themselves at the gate, rifles and shotguns at the ready. So few of them would survive.
A blast from behind shook Fenrik from his musings, and he turned to see a plume of smoke rising from the far side of the shield. Another missile slammed into the same place a moment later. The Ramshackle Collective had returned.
“Admiral,” came Fenrik’s voice over Jasken’s comms. “The Collective is back, attacking from the rear as predicted. Their fleet is led by the Reaper and consists of three gunships and a support vessel of some kind.”
“Captain Hunt,” said Jasken, bringing him into the conversation. “Focus the Wingspan’s fire on the Ramshackle fleet, and try to take out any landing parties before they reach clay.”
“Yes, sir,” said Hunt.
Jasken frowned. They were spread too thin. If they didn’t take the fight to the Astralbians, they would be sitting ducks when the shields cracked; if they did they were leaving the fort ill-defended.
He looked at the Astralbian fleet, standing tall and imposing in the distance. The fighters had managed to take out a couple smaller star trees, but Raelik’s star tree, the royal star tree, and three smaller star trees still stood.
“Cowgirl,” he said as Blue crunched down on a void wasp, biting it in half. “What’s the situation with the star trees? Can you take any more down?”
“The Astralbians generally don’t have powerful EM shielding, but the larger a star tree is, the more impervious the bark gets. My missiles can do some serious damage to the smaller trees, but I’m no more than a little gnat to the big ones.”
“Keep focusing on crippling the small ones, then,” said Jasken. “Hunt, keep focusing as much fire as you can on the Collective fleet, but utilize any long range cannons faced toward the battlefield to attack the star trees themselves.”
***
Back at the fort’s entrance, Vanbrook leapt down from the wall to face the incoming Astralbian infantry alongside the soldiers guarding the gate. Half the heavy guns along the wall had been taken out and they could no longer keep the Astralbians at bay. The enemy was close, so he slung his rifle over his shoulder, pulling his revolver and saber as he activated his shield.
His pistol barked loudly as he fired into the oncoming horde of Astralbians, all armed with thorn guns and gleaming metal swords. A group of Republic soldiers carrying shotguns and wearing heavy armor knelt like statues, waiting for the enemy to get within range. The lighter troops behind them fired rifles at the enemy, picking off too small a percentage of the enemy for Vanbrook’s comfort.
Then the skirmish erupted in earnest, as the first volley from the thorn guns tore through the air, answered by a hail of buckshot from the heavy troopers. The light trooper standing by Vanbrook died where he stood, killed by a thorn gun blast. He set himself to the task at hand and kept firing on the enemy, keeping his shield up. He crouched back by the wall to reload, and had to stop to block an incoming sword with his own. The fight was up-close and personal now.
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D’Jarric leapt from the wall, crushing an Astralbian soldier on his way down, and rising to punch at his enemies, his fists glowing with golden energy. Metal helmets crunched as he delivered blow after devastating blow.
Doc and Reclan continued firing from the wall, trying to thin the advancing troops, and Raivyn pushed panic into the minds of the enemy. She focused on a large Astralbian who exited a tree skiff carrying a shoulder-mounted eye cannon. She wove through his defenses and gripped his mind, taking control of his body and firing the cannon into his allies. His fellows quickly turned on their maddened comrade and Raivyn’s connection was lost, but she had managed to take out a number of enemies in the interim.
Triflin and Kiflin charged in, wielding shotguns and wearing hastily-fitted Republic armor. Vanbrook looked at them worriedly for a moment. Triflin opened fire and took out an Astralbian soldier who had tried to take advantage of Vanbrook’s distraction.
“Fenrik said we needed all the help we could get,” said Kiflin.
Vanbrook nodded. “And he was right. Glad you have you.” He turned his attention back to the battle, happy for the well-timed reinforcements, even if they weren’t enough to turn the tide.
It soon became evident that they could not hold the gate, even with the twins’ help. They stood in the midst of an increasing number of bodies and death crystals, the dwindling force at the gate barely holding the tide of the enemy back.
***
Fenrik was keeping an eye on shield stability while he directed his troops. It was holding for now, but fire from the Ramshackle Collective fleet was depleting it quicker than anticipated. A second great eye bolt erupted from the royal star tree and Fenrik winced as he watched the stability of the shield plummet.
“Jasken, this is Fenrik. The shield will probably survive one more blast from that great eye, but two is out of the question. The eye will be able to fire at least four shots before resting for a day or two, and we’ve taken two direct hits already. We’re also losing troops defending the gate. The Astralbians are just throwing bodies at us, and it’s more than we can sustainably handle.”
“Understood,” said Jasken. “We don’t have many options until the Halberd gets here, I’m afraid.”
“Yes, sir,” answered Fenrik. “We’ll do what we can.”
Jasken pulled on Blue’s reins and brought her around. He flew to Fort Bog Iron and wheeled around, swooping into the crowd of Astralbian soldiers pressing into the gate. Blue picked one up in each of his taloned hind feet, throwing them up into the air and roaring proudly. Tough as the griffon was, she couldn’t stand up to a constant barrage of thorn guns, so Jasken took off back towards the star trees to continue harassing the wasps, satisfying that he’d interrupted the gatecrasher’s rhythm.
“Admiral Jasken, this is Captain Kesht of the Halberd. We got our folks in ripmed operations to cut loose and get us here a little early.”
Jasken was shocked to hear the Captain’s voice on his comm.
“Kesht! We certainly appreciate the extra effort!”
“It's our pleasure! ” said Kesht. "Just point us towards the enemy and we'll start shooting."
“Engage the Ramshackle fleet. Coordinate with Captain Hunt aboard the Wingspan and take up a position between the fort and the Ramshackle fleet, high enough to stay out of the Wingspan’s line of fire.”
“Will do, Admiral.”
The arrival of the Halberd pulled the Collective's attention away from the fort, thankfully, but the Astralbian front remained difficult. Vanbrook and the others took advantage of Jasken and Blue's swooping attack to retake the front gate, pushing back the disordered Astralbian forces. He knew the chaos wouldn't last long, so he fought to take advantage of it while he could.
***
On the other side of the battlefield, a fighter craft went down, finally succumbing to the constant barrage from the eyes of wasps and star trees. Drixen's brow furrowed as the craft smashed into the ground and erupted into a fireball. That was the second fighter downed since the battle began, but they hardly seemed to have made a dent in the swarm of wasps streaming from the star trees.
"Cowgirl," said Drixen. “How are the bombing raids going?"
"Not great," she answered honestly. "We took out the easiest targets first, but these bigger trees are really tough. Between that and trying to ward off the wasps we're not getting much accomplished."
"Okay," said Drixen. "Just utilize your foreguns and focus on the wasps. Keeping the pressure off the fort is our first priority."
As he spoke, a third blast from the great eye slammed into Fort Bog Iron's shield. Fenrik was standing by the primary generator that fed the shield when it happened, and the arcs of energy that crackled out from the feedback nearly singed his feathery crest.
"Jasken!" he called out. “Our shields can't take another blast like that!"
Jasken sighed. Ol’ Blue was holding strong, but the rest of the troops were not. Another of the precious few fighters exploded in the air nearby. The troops fighting at the gate were back to being swamped again.
"Fall back!" ordered Jasken over the universal comms channel. "Everyone, fall back to the Wingspan immediately. Fighter squads, clear out the enemy troops at the gate to give our people an opening. All Fort Bog Iron personnel have fifteen minutes to gather up sensitive materials and information and get to the Wingspan."
Having barely recovered from his last attack, the Astralbians at the gate were once again slammed into by the massive silver-blue griffon as Jasken rode her back to the Wingspan. The attack was quickly followed up on by the remainder of the fighter squads, and remaining Astralbians scattered and ran. Talon Squad saw to the wounded and directed the other troops to get medical teams with stretchers immediately.
The fighters continued to fight off the wasps as much as they were able, but Raelik had released a squadron of the larger void wasps typically reserved for space battles. If they reached the fort anyone caught outside would be a goner.
“Everyone head for cover now!” shouted Jasken when he saw the five wasps barrelling over the battlefield. “If you can get to the Wingspan drop what you are doing immediately. That’s an order, people!”
Jasken led the charge as the beleaguered fighters rounded and shot towards the massive wasps. Cowgirl fired a barrage at one of the wasps, taking it out of the fight. The other fighters’ weapons didn’t pack the same kind of firepower and their shots were less effective.
Ol’ Blue slammed into the lead wasp with a mighty roar, and the two creatures tumbled towards the ground with their riders. Blue used his rear talons to keep the deadly stinger at bay and his fore talons to grapple with the six spiny legs of his enemy. The wasp attempted to fire its eye beams, but Blue ducked his head out of the way. The wasp’s rider took aim at Jasken with a thorn gun, but was crushed between its mount and the ground as they slammed into the clay. With a triumphant roar, Ol’ Blue lept from the wasp’s carcass and took to the skies.
The fighters had killed two of the other wasps, and Drixen had looped around the last one, unleashing a hail of lead on the wasp and rider, finishing the creature off with a well-placed laser beam to the back of its head.
“Okay, folks,” said Jasken. “Everyone fall back to the hangar!”
Shooting and clawing their way through the smaller, remaining wasps, Jasken and the fighters returned to the Wingspan, the fighters to their hangar and Jasken to the stables. Landing inside as an attendant closed the door, Jasken dismounted and patted Ol’ Blue as high up on his shoulder as he could reach.
“Good job out there, old boy,” he said gently. “Good job.”
The Griffon yawned, revealing six inch long canines and a mouth that could all but swallow Jasken whole. In the quiet of the hangar, the griffon flopped to the ground with a mighty thump and began to groom himself like a cat. Jasken smiled, wishing his part in the battle could be over as well.