CONSILI
LAURA
Assets:
Derek was in an ambulance. Safe, for now.
Ling was unaccounted for, but had fulfilled her objective. Possibly injured or in danger.
Akane was also unaccounted for, likely still chasing after Kat. Low possibility of danger; more likely, she just didn't see the need to check in. She might have something to do with that smoke Laura could smell on the air, but there was no way to know for certain.
Adam and the retinue were suppressing the Nosferatu. They were holding up fine, but if the vampires didn't give in soon, they would be in danger of being overrun.
The general's troops were split between fighting the screamers who were trapped on this side of the fallen skyscraper and the Nosferatu. They were in the most danger, though they were handling themselves admirably.
Their Nosferatu allies were mostly containing their less-cooperative brethren. They were having trouble, but with the retinue's distraction they were gaining the upper hand again.
The angels were currently not engaging the enemy, and were guarding the ambulances by the light of a few portable streetlamps. Zero danger, unless something truly unexpected happened. Call it low probability.
Goal: Defeat the screamers, capturing as many alive as possible. Subdue the Nosferatu, capturing as many alive as possible. Minimize the creation of new screamers.
There were very few screamers left on this side of the fallen 'scraper. Neutralizing them quickly would free up resources to fight the Nosferatu. Seeing a hopeless situation, they would surrender or flee, possibly even joining forces. Then the screamers on the other side of the wall could be dealt with at their leisure. Any ferrets on the other side should be considered lost. They were heavily outnumbered, and melee fighters. By now, they would all be turned.
Conclusion: The solution was obvious.
Laura turned to the nearest angel. “Honored Daybreaker. I need a dozen angels, no more. Quickly, please.”
The young woman—and it was a woman, she wasn't actually a full daybreaker yet—nodded and ran off. There were enough angels here that Laura suspected it wouldn't take long at all to find the required troops.
The general coughed from his cot on the ground. “What's the plan, girlie?”
Laura didn't bother responding. After getting a slash across the face, he should have been in an ambulance with the other wounded, but he had insisted on staying to oversee the battle. She might have been able to order him back regardless, but she still wasn't quite sure how much authority she had. She was beginning to regret not ironing out exactly what rank Butler had awarded the Paladins when she had the chance.
“C'mon, Highlander. I can help.”
That was a new one. She blinked down at the prone general. “What did you call me?”
It was a little hard to tell under the bandages, but she thought he grinned. “That's what you are, right? A montañes. A Cantabrian.”
This was starting to get weird. She barely even knew that her mother was from that part of Spain. “Speak up, general. How the hell did you know that?”
He shrugged, though it clearly pained him. “Your name.”
“Medina isn't even close to unique to that region. And Laura is obviously out. How did you know?”
He laughed, sputtering up blood. “Just let an old man have a few secrets. Is that so much to ask?”
Laura frowned, but turned away. This wasn't worth her time. “I suppose not.”
“Thanks, Highlander.”
Before she had a chance to retort again, the runner jogged up with twelve angels in tow. She saluted crisply. “A dozen daybreakers, as ordered, Honored Paladin. Six Gabriels, three Michaels, and three Uriels.”
Laura shelved the general's little joke for the moment. Right now, they had bigger things to worry about.
“Have you already determined your precedence?” she asked the angels crisply. Last thing she needed was to send them into battle before they decided who was in charge.
A tall, thin, and completely naked angel stepped forward with a nod. They were the only one without any clothing at all, but most of them were wearing less than most would consider appropriate. When your skin was a weapon, any coverings were just hampering your own abilities. “We have, Honored Paladin. I'm in charge. What are your orders?”
“Take out the screamers on this side of the downed 'scraper as quickly as you can. Alive if possible, but prioritize keeping anyone else from turning. Don't melee—their blood will infect you. Once that is done, eliminate any Nosferatu who are still rebelling.”
The angel nodded and turned to the others. “You heard the Paragon. Melee fighters, we're support for the gunners. Move out!”
As the angels jogged off, Laura frowned. “Paragon?”
“Oh, you didn't hear?” the angel runner said. Laura hadn't noticed she was still around. “Ever since you baselines got 'paladins' for your honored, people have been trying to come up with a good name for your warlords. Paragon seems to have stuck.”
It was a night for titles, it seemed. “Fine, whatever. Go find that Lucifer who was in charge earlier. Adele, I think.”
She nodded. “Yes, Honored Paladin,” she said, and trotted off.
Laura sighed. Had the earliest nightstalkers and titans felt this way when everyone was first calling them by their titles? Or was she the only one who thought it was ridiculous?
Whatever. They had a battle to win. The enemies on this side would be dealt with soon enough, but the rest would present a larger problem.
“Lieutenant,” she said to one of the nearest 'sarians, the communications officer. He had brought a light folding desk with him; he needed the space for papers and tablets. “I need an update on the other side of the wall. Are the screamers spread out, or clustered?”
He listened in the headset for a moment, then nodded. “Clustered. They seem to be repeatedly trying and failing to get over the wall.”
“Well, that buys us some time. But they'll figure it out eventually. What about that air strike I requested?”
The baseline shook his head. “No luck. The nearest helicopters are down for refit, and next closest is almost an hour away. If we can wait—”
“No,” she said. Silver and gold, this was the problem with living in the middle of the ocean. The salty air corroded everything, so most vehicles had much higher maintenance costs, both in time and money. “What about the package? Can we get the sleeping gas here in time?”
He shook his head again. “An hour by ground. And that's being optimistic.”
Wonderful, Laura thought. They needed a new plan. Even with the angels, they didn't have the numbers to take out the screamers in a head-on fight. And it was only a matter of time before they gave up on their futile attempts to attack and started looking for easier targets.
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Penning them in could work, but they couldn't use Ling's trick again. One fallen building was going to be enough of a headache. Three more would be an absolute disaster.
But what other choices did they have? The fact that the enemy could fly negated a lot of options. Fire wouldn't work. Razor wire wouldn't work—if they could even find enough and set it up quickly.
Their only choice was the old-fashioned way: Men and trucks. Finding trucks wouldn't be a problem, but they didn't have the manpower to reliably keep them confined.
Well, sometimes they just had to make do with minimal resources. It was either that or lob a few bricks of C4 over the wall. Not that the idea wasn't tempting, but it would kill too many of them. Definitely a last resort.
Laura turned back to the comms officer. “Tell them to get the sleeper gas here as soon as possible. We might be able to hold out long enough. And if they can pack in some gas masks, that would be even better.”
Before he said anything, the Lucifer who was leading the 'sarian angels chose to stride up.
“You called for me, Dame...?”
“Laura.” She didn't bother telling them to dispense with the honorifics. It was hard getting even random people on the street to stop; the angels were the most traditional culture by a mile, even the defectors. She'd have better luck stopping the tides. “Adele, was it? I've already sent a few of your daybreakers to contain the threat, but I need a more detailed assessment of your forces.”
“Well, there are a total of two hundred of us here. I have most of them guarding the ambulances right now.”
“Hm. And mostly Dawn caste, I assume?”
“A few Nights as well. Less than a dozen, I think. I can get you the roll sheet if you—”
“That's quite all right.” A plan was beginning to take shape in Laura's mind, but more than anything she needed information. “Find me your best two Night caste daybreakers. I have orders for them.”
“At once, Dame Laura.”
She sighed again as Adele left. She supposed that as one of the official Paladins, she did deserve that honorific. But it was still very strange. She hadn't ever had much interest in the toy maker, so she had never expected to be on the receiving end of any honorifics more complicated than “ma'am.” Now she was a warlord. Technically. Wonders never ceased.
“I still think Highlander suits you better,” the general said.
“Is this really the time?”
He scoffed, then started coughing and spitting up blood. Laura couldn't bring herself to care. He recovered after a few moments, and grinned.
“If you can't joke during life and death situations, what's the point?”
“You do realize I have a gun, right?”
He chuckled. “You wouldn't do it. The boss would be pissed.”
Laura glared down at him. “No, he wouldn't.”
The communications officer leaned back in his chair. “Give him some whiskey. At first it gets him talky, but pump enough in him and he's out like a light.” Seeing the surprised look on Laura's face, he elaborated. “He's my uncle.”
That made her smile—silver and gold, did she need it. “Nepotism, in Butler's Necessarius? I should alert the press. This might be a first.”
Adele came back with two angels—presumably the Nights Laura had requested. Their glowing tattoos could tell her, but she still couldn't read angelic script. She didn't even know what language it was based on. Sanskrit? No, that didn't sound right.
The scouts thumped their fists to their chests and bowed slightly. Angelic salutes typically involved putting your hands together in a brief prayer stance. They must have felt that she didn't deserve that, for whatever reason.
Not that she cared. “Thank you, Adele. You two—scout the other side of the wall. Avoid being spotted by the screamers if at all possible, and stick together. If you find survivors, get them somewhere safe if at all possible. You have radios?”
“Yes, Dame Paragon.”
“That's... great. The lieutenant here can give you our comms code. Check in as often as possible.”
They bowed again, a little deeper this time, and ran off towards the base of the broken 'scraper. They probably thought it would be easier to get through on that side.
“Any other orders?” Adele asked as their people jogged off.
Laura shook her head. “Not right now. We're just waiting for the moment. Though I would like a status report on the injured, if that's reasonable.”
Adele nodded and jogged back to the medical stations they had set up. Knowing some exact numbers wouldn't be all that helpful, but Laura might be able to find some use for it.
Adam came up a few minutes later. It was still interesting seeing him like this, decked out in four different guns, some ammo belts, and a grenade he had scrounged from somewhere. He still didn't have any real armor, though. They needed to do something about that.
“The Nosferatu are dealt with,” he reported. “Most of them defected once bullets started flying. We're cleaning up the screamers now.”
Laura frowned. “Where's Kelly?”
“Shooting things. She says it makes her feel better.”
“Hm. Well. Report—let me know when the screamers are taken care of.” He spent so much time with the retinue, it was easy to forget that technically he outranked them, and was on equal level with the rest of the Paladins. He wouldn't take kindly to direct orders. “Try to keep an eye on the vampires, though. They might revolt again if they think they have a chance. Especially when they find out they have to work with angels.”
He rested his rifle on his shoulder. “What's with that, anyway? The angels don't seem so bad.”
Laura sighed. “You've only met 'sarians. Most angels are racists who will kill a vampire given the slightest provocation.”
He cocked his head. “That really seems like overkill. I mean, the Nosferatu are kinda bad, but...”
“I don't have time to explain,” she said, rubbing her forehead. “Just understand that there was a time not so long ago when the angels were hailed as heroes, and every dead vampire was considered a victory.”
He seemed to be ready to ask more, but then he realized they were in the middle of a war zone, and just shrugged. “Fine by me. But I expect an explanation at some point.”
“Ask Lily about Striga and Bloody Thirteen,” Laura called after him as he trotted back to the wall. “She'll know more than me.”
He didn't respond. She wasn't sure if he had even heard her. Though on second thought, Lily didn't like talking about all that, so maybe she wasn't the best to ask. Had he met Obould yet? He'd be perfect.
Bah, not the time. They had work to do.
“Lieutenant, what's the word on that gas?”
“Still on its way.”
“But the screamers are still clustered?”
He checked something briefly, then nodded. “So MC says. The Night angels you sent out haven't called back yet, though.”
Hopefully they were just practicing radio silence. Scouts, spies, and assassins weren't exactly the type to check in every two minutes. Still, they needed fallback options, just in case. Laura pointed to the small map of the area he had spread out on his desk, next to his radio. “Send squads Alpha, Bravo, and Charlie here, here, and here,” she ordered, indicating the three unsecured streets surrounding the screamers. “Tell them to keep out of sight, but start fortifying.”
Her phone beeped briefly. She checked it; it was a text from MC, noting that Akane was safe and Kat was secured. One less thing to worry about, at least. She sent a nearby 'sarian to check on Ling—the angels she had sent out had probably seen her, but still, she wanted to be sure. Derek would be upset if he woke up to find anyone hurt.
“I have those numbers,” Adele said as they strode up. “About a hundred wounded, but they'll mostly survive, except for a couple that got struck with some really bad ferret poison. Twelve dead. A lot better than I expected.”
Laura shrugged. “Well, with screamers any injury usually results in the victim turning.” Normally, dead allies were better than injured ones, especially in the short term. You could abandon a corpse, but you had to take care of the injured. Screamers, however, were the worst of both worlds. There was no chance to fix them—at least not that anyone had been able to find—but they were still dangerous, and they had to spend resources capturing and containing them.
Domina City did not have any long-term prisons at all, so the “containment” part was by far the biggest problem. Butler was converting old hospitals, but he was fast running out of space.
Why is my mind wandering so much today? Laura thought. Normally she was better about this.
“Gather all the angels you can spare,” she said to Adele. “I need you to reinforce the others in containing the screamers. Keep them clustered.”
“Consider it done,” they said. “Though I should warn you that we don't have enough ropes to capture more than a few of them.”
“Not a problem,” Laura said. “We just have to hold them off for an hour.”
They raised an eyebrow. “An hour? What happens in an hour?”
“The sleeping gas gets here.”
They smiled. “Well, that should get the job done.”
“Hopefully.”