Then, Threnosh World
“You must focus the aerial drones on Designation: Hierophant,” Caretaker said.
“I have seen your attempted attack halted by a shield. The drones’ weaponry is significantly weaker,” Senior Commander Saldin Flats 326 said. “I will not waste ammunition. Exit the command center. Your presence is not authorized.”
“Attacking the hierophant directly will force it to maintain the shield. My calculations indicate that this will force it to divert its efforts from the fire currently burning our defenses and soldiers.” Caretaker sent a wordless command to Primal to continue raining arrows down on the hierophant. They would’ve preferred to have hard data to show the senior commander. Unfortunately, the magic the hierophant was performing was interfering with the scanners. Whether this was intentional or a byproduct was undetermined.
The senior commander hesitated.
“We need the wall and the automated defenses. If the cragants breach our base we will be at a disadvantage in close quarters combat.” Caretaker pushed. They were understating the projected outcomes. If the cragants got into the base in numbers then the Threnosh would lose and end up in the hierophant’s basin.
“Negative. The drones are needed to to thin down the enemy numbers before they do reach our walls.”
The senior commander gestured and two soldiers appeared at Caretaker’s sides. They grabbed their arms and tried to pull them away. Caretaker had upgraded their spire-made exoskeleton several times. They didn’t budge. Not even a millimeter.
“Senior Commander Saldin Flats 326,” Caretaker said flatly.
“I order you to leave.”
“Acknowledged.”
Caretaker didn’t have a choice. They left the command center. The senior commander’s words took precedence on all military matters. They couldn’t simply take control. The soldiers obeyed the chain of command and Caretaker was not part of it.
“Primal, maintain barrage on target,” Caretaker spoke into the comms.
“That is the only thing I have been doing.”
Primal sounded annoyed, which was to say they sounded like they usually did. Caretaker ignored them.
“Resplendent Zabriium, Whoosh, Tynk, Silver Wolf. I have a task for you. Proceed to the armory with haste and gather as many explosives as you are able to carry without negatively impacting your speed. Inform me when you are ready and I will provide your orders.”
“Acknowledged,” they chorused.
“The rest of you prepare to engage in close quarters combat with the enemy.” Caretaker pinged a location on the map. “We will set up an ambush here then commence a fighting withdrawal to our aerial transport.”
“Are we to flee?” Shira sounded displeased.
“Necessity dictates our tactics. The senior commander ignored my suggestions, which necessitates this action plan. Temper your concern. We may be required to retreat from this battlefield, but that does not preclude creating a new one.”
Caretaker rushed back to their smaller base within the base camp. The cragants were tough opponents able to soak up tremendous amounts of projectile fire. They were extremely strong, able to smash through the protection provided by the baseline infantry power armor, which was similar to their own. Fortunately, they were prepared. It was time to test out the new weapon they had purchased from the spire marketplace with the cragants in mind.
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Whoosh felt like they were moving in slow motion. They skated across the plains on a multitude of small balls on the bottom of their soles with weak pulses of the jets at the back of their legs. They didn’t even need to use the jets on their back and arms. They felt exposed out in the open, even though Caretaker had them traveling on a route that skirted well out of the missile weapon range of the cragant army. The giant humanoids were focused on the fortified base camp anyways.
Their speed gauge fluctuated around 64 kilometers per hour. Whoosh felt an urge to go faster. They had been impatient at the start and it had only grown over the last few minutes, which to them felt like an hour.
No choice. Caretaker’s orders specified that they had to stay together. That meant that Whoosh was limited to the maximum speed of the slowest member of the their assault team.
It wasn’t Resplendent Zabriium. Their four legs were capable of hitting over 320 kilometers per hour in a straight line. They could do this even when loaded down with weight, which they were now. They had Tynk clinging on their back along with the team’s most powerful explosives.
Whoosh blamed Silver Wolf. Their teammate’s power armor was in its four-legged, beast-like form, which ran faster than their two-legged, combat form, but still wasn’t up to Whoosh’s standards.
The foursome had cleared the halfway point between their base camp and Cold Plains City. Whoosh zoomed their vision to the target. They had a clear view of Designation: Hierophant as the giant humanoid was in the process of dismembering a Threnosh soldier and placing them into the basin. An arrow, Primal’s arrow, struck overhead and shattered on the red-colored shield. The loud bang echoed across the entire plain. Whoosh was glad for the automatic auditory protection measures built into their helmet.
It didn’t escape their notice that a grimace of pain flashed across the hierophant’s face. As always, Caretaker’s plan was going to work. As long as they could perform it properly.
Seconds passed and the team was three-quarters of the way to their target and the city walls.
Whoosh unconsciously pulled ahead. They widened the gap between them and their teammates. They saw the cragants that protected the hierophant gesturing toward them. A sizable detachment ran to intercept them. Their long legs meant that they ran at a surprisingly fast pace for their massive size. It was still a fraction of what Whoosh was capable of.
“Team. I will go ahead and scatter their defenses. Follow in the confusion. There will be gaps you can exploit.”
“Acknowledged,” Tynk’s voice came in through the comms.
All of Whoosh’s jets fired. They took off like a missile. Their arms and legs pumped in a blur to the unaugmented eye. The thousand meters between them and the cragants were eaten up in seconds. The only thing the giant humanoids saw was a small, yellow-colored blur coming straight at them.
Cragant javelins and arrows fell behind Whoosh. They weren’t even close. The Threnosh was amongst the giant humanoids before they could form a defensive line.
Whoosh was glad that Honor had made them practice moving quickly through the forests around their home base. Weaving through the cragants was just like that. If the trees could move and attack.
The cragants moved in slow motion to Whoosh, thanks to their power armor’s perception enhancing systems. They could’ve sliced the giant humanoids at their leisure with their bladed weapons. They didn’t go with that option. They had better weapons.
Whoosh left the grenades at the cragants feet or at their backs. They left dozens of explosions in their wake.
The cragant formation was in total disarray. Resplendent Zabriium and Silver Wolf had no problem running right through them.
Whoosh continued toward the hierophant. This time they faced a proper defensive line. A wall of enormous rectangular shields loomed ahead of them. Five and a half meter long spears bristled in their direction.
The hint of a smile teased at the corners of Whoosh’s lipless mouth. They were down most of their grenades and only had one of the more powerful explosives that was reserved for the hierophant.
“Prepare for maneuver AD-12,” Whoosh said into the team channel. It was uncanny how Caretaker predicted things. They truly had a plan for everything.
“Acknowledged,” the other three chorused.
“Please try to keep up,” Whoosh said.
“I have never been able to determine if they are merely reckless or simply a fool.” Tynk spoke directly to Resplendent Zabriium.
“It is not a binary choice. Whoosh’s behavior indicates that they are a mixture of the two,” Resplendent Zabriium said.
They thundered toward the line of cragants several hundred meters behind Whoosh.
The yellow-colored power armor stood out in stark contrast to the black of the cragant’s shields.
Whoosh cut a sharp angle toward the right side of the line. As they drew closer they cut back to the left, aiming for the center of the line.
The cragants held their ground. Their spears were lowered down to Whoosh’s level.
The Threnosh shifted their legs and feet perpendicular to their line of travel and skidded to a stop right in front of the spears. Dirt and grass showered the cragants. Whoosh kicked back into speed. This time they skated parallel to the cragant line. They went lower, ducking under the spearheads. They raised their arms, bladed edges at the back of their gauntlets out. They locked them into place. The impacts reverberated through Whoosh’s body, but their power armor’s physical protections held up.
The sharp blades cut right through the thick spear shafts with ease.
Whoosh’s daring gambit, threw the center of the cragant line into confusion. Their weapons were destroyed and their focus had been turned to the small, yellow, pesky thing that was moving too fast to catch. The cragants had lost their focus. The center portion of the shield wall was no longer braced.
“Go go go go!” Whoosh urged. “Smash them, Zabri!” They whooped.
Resplendent Zabriium thundered across the plains at over three hundred kilometers per hour in their heavily armored centaur-like power armor.
The cragants were gigantic. Their armor was thick and heavy by virtue of sheer size. All things being equal they might’ve stood a good chance of absorbing the charge. However, they were off-balanced.
The collision set off a sound like an explosion. Metal crumpled metal. Giant bodies were knocked back.
Resplendent Zabriium emerged from the cragant forest, barely slowed. They and Tynk, who was clinging to their back, had a clear fifty meters to the hierophant.
“We have eyes on the target,” Tynk said. They couldn’t quite believe that they were still in one piece. “Status, Zabri?”
A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
“I have suffered damage. Inertial dampeners were nearly overwhelmed. Trueskin damaged. I feel pain, but I will continue the mission.” Resplendent Zabriium ignored the flashing warnings projected in their faceplate. The overall operational status of their power armor was at 73% and dropping.
“Then let us complete our Task. Beginning attack on priority target. Whoosh, Silver Wolf, keep the rest of the enemy off our behinds,” Tynk said. A soft sound, like chimes in a light breeze, emanated from the small, rounded shell-like pack on their back. Four delicate-looking, gossamer wings unfurled and buzzed as they came to life.
Tynk took one hand off the handle built into Resplendent Zabriium’s back and grabbed the large explosive from the detachable protective compartment at their teammate’s side.
Tynk had several smaller explosives, different types of grenades in the pack at the front of their torso, but the special one in her hand along with its twin in the compartment on Resplendent Zabriium’s other side were what the plan hinged on.
A pair of cragants sprinted in their direction. These were the last of the hierophant’s protectors. They were armed with enormous shields and impossibly large swords.
Tynk engaged their power armor’s anti-gravity system. They jumped off Resplendent Zabriium’s back. Their wings fluttered and they soared above the cragants’ slashing swords. They didn’t waste any time. They flew straight for the hierophant. They went higher to stay well above the magical shield.
The hierophant screamed something as it gesticulated at them.
“Too late,” Tynk said with satisfaction as they dropped the explosive and flew back toward Resplendent Zabriium for the second explosive.
The explosive bounced and settled on top of the shield. Strange ethereal symbols appeared where the explosive came to a stop. The glowing reddish things felt wrong to look at. Tynk grew nauseous from the brief glance.
The hierophant stared at the explosive. Confusion was on its face. Its question was answered three seconds later with an explosion that deafened those whose helmets weren’t equipped with automatic auditory safety measures.
When the smoke cleared the shield still stood. Except now there was a spiderweb of cracks radiating out from the explosion site.
The hierophant looked pained.
Tynk reached out to Resplendent Zabriium for the second explosive, but one of the sword wielding cragants forced them to flitter back to avoid a slash that dug a deep furrow into the hard soil.
Resplendent Zabriium thrust their poleaxe at the cragant. The second one intercepted it with their shield. The giant humanoid slashed out with their sword.
The Threnosh jumped back and reared up on their hind legs to just barely avoid the strike. They lashed out with their forelegs. Metal clashed on metal as their hooves left deep dents in the cragant’s shield.
Tynk spied more cragants coming out of the city gate. The shield wasn’t down and they were in the middle of the enemy. They needed to get that second explosive, but the two cragants kept them away from Resplendent Zabriium. They were all in trouble.
Then a deep howl reverberated through the crisp, cool air.
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Silver Wolf loped on all fours into the gap that Resplendent Zabriium had created. They leapt on top of a distracted cragant. Metal jaws opened wide and clamped over the giant humanoids neck. Metal teeth tore out its throat as Silver Wolf violently shook their head from side to side.
The Threnosh bounded free of the dying cragant and dodged spear thrusts from every direction. One lucky thrust caught them in the flank and knocked them aside. The spear tip dented their power armor, but didn’t pierce through. The inertial dampeners kept Silver Wolf safe inside the body.
They sprang up and transformed. Limbs lengthened. Paws turned into hands and feet that ended in long, clawed digits. Their power armor shifted from a quadruped to a bipedal monster, nearly three meters tall.
Silver Wolf was still a meter shorter than the shortest of the cragants. They weren’t that much lighter, but they were significantly quicker. They moved with ferocity as they dodged spears. They struck at vulnerable points. Throats, the backs of their legs and the insides of their arms. They slashed once or twice per cragant then moved on to the next one.
A yellow blur dashed past Silver Wolf. Grenade explosions boomed in its wake.
“Do not get carried away. Tynk and Zabrii look like they need some help. I am heading over. Try to keep up, if you can,” Whoosh said over the comms.
“Acknowledged. Do not get smashed.” Silver Wolf let out a howl and chased after the speedy Threnosh.
The shield was cracked. It just needed one more explosion.
Silver Wolf saw that Tynk was desperately flittering around a cragant. They tried to get around it to grab the last explosive from Resplendent Zabriium, who was locked in combat with a second cragant.
The cragant’s sword swings were too slow to catch Tynk, but the blade’s enormous size proved effective in keeping them away.
“Help them. I will distract the rest, but make it quick. I do not have a lot of grenades left,” Whoosh said as they skated away with bursts from their jets toward the large group of cragants sprinting out of the city gate. They were forced to give the hierophant and its shield a wide berth.
The cragant was focused on Tynk. It didn’t see Silver Wolf as the Threnosh leapt onto its back. Their claws latched into the giant humanoid. They bit down on the back of its neck.
The cragant roared and dropped their shield to reach back.
Silver Wolf bit down. The servos in their power armor’s jaws strained to their limit, but eventually there was a loud crunch.
The cragant dropped like a puppet with its strings cut.
Silver Wolf pushed themselves off the body and launched themselves at the last cragant. The giant humanoid was hard pressed to fend of the furious assault. Claws slashed across its metal shield. Jaws snapped at its face.
Tynk was free to retrieve the explosive from Resplendent Zabriium. They didn’t waste time. They took it straight to the top of the hierophant’s shield and dropped it.
The hierophant screamed.
Its last hopes were delayed just enough by the last of Whoosh’s grenades.
The explosive boomed. The shield cracked then shattered like glass. The pieces dissipated as they fell down over the hierophant and the handful of remaining prisoners.
The hierophant’s wail was suddenly cut as its eyes rolled up to the back of its head. It toppled over and remained still.
“Hierophant is down. Positive life signs. It is merely unconscious,” Tynk said into the team channel.
Caretaker’s voice came back immediately. “Fires are gone. Task accomplished. Well done. Commence egress at all haste.”
“Easy for them to say,” Whoosh said to the other three in their immediate vicinity. “We are the ones in the middle of an army of giants.”
“Our other teammates have the same problem,” Resplendent Zabriium said.
“Enough. We head to the north as planned. I will slow the cragants.” Tynk fluttered away toward the line of cragants that they had bypassed earlier.
The remaining three ran after them.
Silver Wolf led the way. Resplendent Zabriium was injured and their power armor was damaged, so they trailed behind.
Whoosh brought up the rear. They had no desire to be in the front this time.
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Now, Earth
Remy had half an hour to spare for the meeting with Officer Lawrence. It was only day two of his daughters’ hell week and he needed to keep the intensity and pressure on them. He couldn’t let them think their sad glances and pouting faces were getting to him. That’s because they weren’t. Nope. Not one bit.
“Tessa mentioned that the lead cultist, the one that escaped, kept mentioning Scions of the Deep Azure. He also summoned a fishman out of thin air. Deep Azure? Fishman? The Bay Area? The ocean? That’s an obvious connection,” Remy said. “I was surprised that wasn’t mentioned yesterday.”
“We’re not stupid, Cruces,” Office Lawrence said. “That’s one of the first things we singled out. The only problem is we can’t follow that thread. We’re not at a point that I’m ready to risk lives on that. Besides, I don’t have anyone on the force that really has the experience or skills and Skills that I can use. No one has a Spy class or anything similar.
“There are a few rogues, aren’t there?”
“Practically kids and untrained in the way something like this calls for.”
“What about that detective Cal worked with a few years back?”
“The mauler thing…” Officer Lawrence grimaced. “I saw the pictures. Never properly thanked your brother for handling that. Did you know I had nightmares about that thing crossing the bridge? Kept me up for weeks.”
“Yeah, well it cost him.” Remy didn’t add what Nila had told him. That Cal’s nightmares lasted much longer. His brother didn’t say it outright, but he suspected that it was one of the reasons that pushed Cal into going to the next world.
“She might work, but I think she’ll stand out too much. If we assume that cultists were scouting you and Chen out then there’s a good chance that they did the same to the notables in Sac.”
“Obviously I’m not an investigative expert, but when a cult-type guy mentions something like that right before they bring a fishman over…”
“Can you breathe underwater? Maybe you can scrounge up a submarine?” Officer Lawrence frowned. “We can’t touch them if that’s where they are, which is why we need intel.” The watch leader paused. “There is one guy I’m willing to try on a scouting mission to the Bay Area.”
“Bennett?”
Officer Lawrence nodded. “He’s right up there with Chen when it comes to physical stats.”
“We have a deal with Bennett. He’s kept up his end of it. He’s been valuable to the research team and he’s even helped out a few times with tougher monsters. Despite the fact that he is… conflict averse.”
“He has the perfect abilities to sneak in, gather information unseen and get out.”
“Also, since he’s a Vampire you’re willing to risk his life.” Remy’s tone grew cold.
“Don’t look at me like that, Cruces. Bennett can heal just fine as long as he’s got blood. We’ll load him up. The estimate is that he can run there in about four hours. If he leaves at sunset then he can get there around midnight.”
“What kind of information can he get in the two hours he can stick around until he has to run back before the sunrise kills him?” Remy said flatly.
“We’ve already got a map to the sewer system with potential hiding locations. He can wait out the day and come back the next night. I know what you’re thinking, but this isn’t a half-assed plan. We need the information, therefore we need him to come back.”
“And you want me to convince him to risk his life. To go above and beyond the deal we all agreed to?” Remy spoke his words slowly and clearly.
“Yes.”
“Fine. Give me everything you have on the plan.”
Officer Lawrence looked like she was about to refuse.
“Bennett’s a smart guy. He won’t be convinced unless you have an airtight case why he’s the one that has to do this. He definitely won’t go along if he doesn’t think your plan is worth anything. And, I’m going to preempt you. I’m not going to bully him like my brother did.”
“I need to gather all of that together and write it up in a fucking proposal, like I’m trying to request more supplies, instead of trying to get ahead of a possible war,” Officer Lawrence spat. “It’ll take time to get everything properly done. I’ll have it delivered to Bennett by sundown tomorrow”
“Thank you,” Remy said.
Officer Lawrence put her head down as she scribbled in her notepad. Remy felt that it might’ve been a purposeful slight to keep him in her office for as long as possible when she knew that he had limited time.
“You have the map of the spots you want me to check out?” Remy didn’t want to take up more of his lunch break.
Officer Lawrence had it ready on her desk. She pushed it to him.
“Thanks.” Remy unfolded the map. “Not bad. I like clear instructions and legible handwriting.”
The spots they wanted him to investigate were marked. The optimum search order was already plotted out. Remy liked clear directions. He liked writing them even more than he liked following them. Things were better when they fit in a logical order. If he stayed up all night he could cover everything in one go, which meant he could devote the rest of the week to his girls.
“One more thing. The colonel wanted to know if you had any thoughts on how to deal with fishmen potentially hiding in the nearby waterways.”
It never ended. Remy stifled a sigh.
“Don’t people fish with dynamite?”
“Morons do.”
“Okay… but it sounds like a good idea for hidden fishmen. Even if there aren’t any you’d still get the mutant fish and amphibians. Should be worth some Universal Points. At least for your lower level people.”
“Can’t you just shower the water with metal bits?”
“Tessa said the fishman’s scales were armor-like. Hitting it with nails and bolts might not be enough to kill. Besides, I’d need way too much metal to get full coverage for the just the creek, let alone the river. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but blowing up the water is probably your best option.”
Office Lawrence waved him away. She could only contain her general irritation of everything Cruces-related at bay for so long.
Remy was happy enough to get out of there and get back to what was his main priority at the moment.