Mirrors of infinity, p.31
Mirrors of Infinity, page 31
Once again the troopers raised their arms. Shrieking out of the MDPs was a different kind of drone, and they were faster than the previous wave. Not quite a rocket or missile, but they were shaped like the paper airplanes teen boys often made when they wanted them to fly fast and high. They were almost dagger-like. They had nearly caught up with the other drones when they began to wail, a high pitched, eerie sound.
Jenny actually smiled. This particular component actually came straight out of a favorite Bible story about the walls of Jericho. The sound was irritating, but not injurious to the ears. It was designed to start vibrating every solid structure in the city. Anything that wasn’t very strongly built would eventually shake to pieces. Like with the city of Jericho, the second wave caught up to the city and began to circle the city around and around, like wolves circling their prey.
In the meantime, the first wave of drones was flying over the city, spraying some kind of light mist as they went. Jenny knew this was a concoction of Xao Ting’s meant to make the people disoriented and slow their reaction time.
As soon as the spraying had stopped, the first wave of drones joined the second wave that was still wailing, its plaintive vibrating cry circling the city.
They flew below the second wave, protecting their loud friends from blaster fire. As a result, a number of them were downed, although Jenny noticed the shots of the Norgoth were getting fewer and less accurate over time.
The walls of the fortress were beginning to topple in places. The entrance which hadn’t been closed when the attack began so suddenly was now only partially blocked by one gate. The other hung haphazardly from its hinges, which was disconcerting considering that even from this distance Jenny could tell they were massive. Open, the gateway would allow a full platoon to march in ten soldiers across.
As she watched, she noticed ranks of soldiers forming behind the broken door. They knew they were vulnerable now and were preparing a defense. Jenny knew that the Alliance troopers wouldn’t take any more risks than they needed to. Their enemy had been softened up and, it was likely they had more than one trick up their uniform sleeves, especially those who wore MDPs.
She knew that the tactically sound thing to do was to wait for the Norgoths to come streaming out of the gate and pick them off with their blasters as they emerged from the door. The Norgoths also realized they were now vulnerable behind the walls that had seemed so safe only moments before.
Now the first wave of drones broke from the circular formation and once again began firing on the Norgoth troops below. There was return fire, but the drones were too fast, and the accuracy and speed of the gunmen had been compromised due to Xao Ting’s concoction, and they missed more often than not.
This was something that had probably never happened to them before, being attacked in their own fortress. They generally fought on their own terms, and Jenny knew that their commanders were probably scrambling at the moment, devising a strategy for this different form of warfare.
Suddenly a different type of fire started shooting up from below and behind the walls at the drones. The beam was more like what Brendan had reported in his space battle above the Groga planet. The beams were wider and more constant rather than a single shot, more like a constant stream.
One by one the drones began to come down over the heads of the Norgoth in the city. Jenny was sad to see the fruits of Bob’s labor disintegrating under the barrage of this new weapon and concerned that this same weapon could be turned on human beings as well.
“Bots away!” Gariel sent out in a mental bellow.
Out of the MDPs came a literal army of Bob’s bots. But they didn’t have the pleasant appearance of Lizziebot and Fidget. These were larger, for one thing. They could fly and they were armed to the teeth.
The air was full of thousands of them in only a few minutes. The Norgoth were still dealing with the drones that continued to dodge the deadly fire of the new weapon. The bots had some interesting camouflage, and they were hard to see unless the light hit them just right. They were completely silent and how Bob had managed that was beyond Jenny. He had obviously been given help from the Alliance scientists in the creation of these deadly little wonders.
Now that the bots were moving forward, Gariel gave one final command, “Attack formations forward!”
Jenny could see the strategy unfolding here. First the drones with their annoyances as effective as they were; not really fearsome, although she was sure there had been some casualties and there was definitely a lot of damage to the huge city. In some places plumes of smoke rose from inside the city, so they had that to deal with as well. Now the drones would cover the main attack by Gariel’s troops.
With enough drones and bots, they could have probably destroyed the entire city without the loss of a single Alliance trooper. But bots and drones couldn’t differentiate between enemies and non-combatants with any accuracy. They could only follow their programming. One of the primary reasons for this particular strategy was to limit civilian casualties. Their main objective was simply to stop the Insenium military machine before they could invade any more domains.
Once again Jenny could appreciate the objectives and ethics of the Dimensional Alliance. Protecting the members of the Alliance was important, but all lives were precious in their eyes. They wouldn’t put one more being in danger than was absolutely necessary on either side.
So Gariel and his men charged, descending from their hilltop. Intel said they were up against thousands of Norgoth soldiers in this particular training base. Of the ground battles that would be fought, this was a primary target. The other forces were coordinated from this base. Although there were military bases scattered across the capitol planet of the Great Insenium, this planet had only one purpose, the training of soldiers and launching of attack after attack on unsuspecting and unprepared dimensions.
The good news is that Gariel’s forces were also huge. Jenny had heard her father tell of massive battles in the history of Earth, but it didn’t prepare her for the real thing. Now she was charging with Gariel riding in his mind, blaster in hand. In the science fiction films Jenny had watched so avidly as a kid, the blasters never ran out of power, but Jenny knew that energy weapons, like projectile weapons, had a limited use.
Bob had explained to her that although Alliance science was well advanced from anything Earth had developed, a small portable weapon could still only go so far on whatever power source they employed. What would happen when they had depleted the power of their weapons or fighting in close quarters required a shift in the weaponry they used or the battle descended into one on one, weapon to weapon, hand to hand fighting?
This wasn’t going to be a siege. Gariel had deliberately made that impossible by destroying the walls around the city, so the Norgoth soldiers were pouring out of the now completely open gates. The noise was deafening. War cries from the Norgoth filled the air and the zap of blasters and the cries of those downed or dying ascended with a cacophony like nothing Jenny had ever experienced.
Gariel’s troops didn’t yell as they charged. Under the cover of the bots they had simply run forward, not even firing until the first Norgoth noticed the new peril. They engaged with quiet ferocity, focusing entirely on the task at hand. There was no hate in their faces, unlike their enemy. These men were here to do a job, nothing else.
In all the chaos, Jenny still remembered that day in the Amazon jungle when Gariel had addressed his troops: “We are the shield of the dimensional gateways. There will be no welcoming victory parades for us. We serve those who do not know us and who may never realize the sacrifice each of us have chosen to make for their protection.” He had told her that they would prefer to never have to harm another being, but that they also could not allow the bullies of the multiverse to harm the weak and helpless. They served and were consummate professionals at what they did.
As the clash of the two armies ensued, Jenny could see the difference clearly. Fighting had already switched from blasters to clubs, swords and other weapons Jenny could not identify. Gariel had switched out his blaster for his staff from his MDP and was applying his ample skill with vigor, cracking heads, shattering kneecaps, and breaking bones.
He was lightning fast, and Jenny realized she could never remember Gariel fighting with Arvid. That would have been a match to remember.
Jenny couldn’t see much from Gariel’s perspective at this point and so, not really understanding how she did it, she “zoomed out” to see the broader picture. The battleground looked like someone had kicked an anthill. There were no longer any clear demarcations between the two armies. Bots still moved forward, firing from their energy weapons at the Norgoth who had mounted what was left of the walls of the fortress. But they could no longer fire into the masses of battling soldiers without potentially harming their own troops.
Suddenly from the gates emerged a few hundred of what Jenny could have only described as trolls. They were a dozen feet tall and built like professional wrestlers. They held huge clubs that appeared to have been molded from metal, spikes protruding from the end at every angle.
Jenny wanted to cry out a warning to the Alliance forces, but it was not possible. This viewing was exactly that, a viewing, not the two-way communication Jenny had become used to. But the bots had focused in on the trolls before Gariel’s troops were even aware of them, targets that stood out from the crowd.
Unfortunately, their energy weapons appeared to have only a slight effect, somewhat like biting wasps. It was almost like these beings had a shell, much like a snail Jenny had discovered when doing a paper in college about endangered species. The scaly foot snail actually created an overlay of their natural shell and armored extensions of iron that they ingested from the deep sea hydrothermal vents in the Indian Ocean.
These massive beings seemed nearly indestructible. When they swung their intimidating clubs in huge sweeps they didn’t seem too particular about who they hit or what they destroyed. Jenny decided that for such a huge creature, they hadn’t been supplied with a brain to match. This random element only increased the chaos on the battlefield.
Gariel or one of his commanders must have given a new command to the drones that were left, because they stopped targeting the soldiers left on the walls. Instead, they focused on the new menace. Now each of the trolls was swarmed by the wave one and wave two drones, firing at them over and over again.
The trolls now swung their massive clubs in vain at the drones that zipped in and out around them, often passing inches from their faces. One troll actually smashed himself in the face, trying to swat the drones out of his way.
With this distraction Jenny could see that for now the trolls were not the menace they had originally appeared, but only a few of them were down at this point.
She also noticed that the Norgoths were beginning to tire. Evidently it took a while for their systems to metabolize the drugs Xao Ting had put in that spray early on in the battle. Their ferocity was definitely diminishing, and their coordination was clearly inhibited.
Gariel’s troops stepped up their efforts, encouraged by their progress. Bodies were everywhere, covering the ground to the point that the soldiers on both sides had one more obstacle to overcome. More and more often someone would trip over a dead or unconscious soldier.
Jenny couldn’t imagine how any of them kept track of much of the battle. Gariel had led a group of his soldiers up to a rise at the edge of the battlefield. From there, he could observe and issue commands.
The trolls’ numbers were diminishing, although there were still a few dozen of them standing. But the number of drones was less as well. In the meantime, the bots had also surrounded the trolls, continually pelting them with laser blasts.
Jenny faded back to Miriha’s little pool. “Have you experienced a battle like this before? How long will this go on?”
“I remember the Groga wars, in my role as the gatekeeper, but I was never as directly involved as you have been in actual combat. My role was more about helping with planning and coordinating resources. My skills are different than yours, but comparable. I, for instance, never had the necessity of using the shout although I knew someone who had.
As far as the length of the conflict, I seem to recall that Gariel and others warned you that this wouldn’t be as straightforward as their previous encounters with the enemy.
Even once the Alliance forces are victorious, there will be many months of work to clean up this mess. The focus will shift from battle to rebuilding on both sides. The goal and the hope, for now, is to be sure that the rebuilding on the part of the Norgoth is more about rebuilding their culture than rebuilding their armies.
But, to answer the intent of your question, based on what I’ve seen and our past conflicts, this particular battle could last several days, depending on how many soldiers have been held in reserve inside the city itself. Gariel’s troops must take the command center in the city, a vital part of their mission. The intel they will gain there will be invaluable going forward.”
Jenny considered this. “According to the reports I collected before the confrontation on the Groga planet, there will be reinforcements to Gariel’s troops on the way in a few hours, to allow the current troops to pull back and rest. Since I can do nothing about the situation as it stands, I would like to see how Liliath’s squadrons are faring.”
“You realize that you don’t have any personal connection with any of the dragons in any of the squadrons? Fortunately, I do. The main commander, Dryselli, is known to me. I can help you make that connection. As before, he will be unaware of you and in this case, you will not be able to hear his thoughts, but you will experience the battle through his eyes. Will that work for you?”
“Thank you, Miriha. Do you think you could teach me that trick sometime?”
“Ah, Jenny, there is much ahead of you. Before you transition to the dimension beyond, you will accumulate so much more than I ever aspired to, but perhaps I will share some new ideas about your abilities from time to time.”
She smiled gently at Jenny, the smile of a proud teacher for a prized student.
“Then let’s see what is happening on the second Inseni planet.”
Dryselli perched on the peak of a mountain, but it was puny compared to the mountains of his home world. However, this was a world that could have been made for his species, mountains, and large rocks everywhere. He had done a flyover and now was waiting. Jenny had loved the feeling of soaring over the jagged saw-toothed range. There in a valley similar to the one in Sanglarka, but not as lush, was their target. Jenny got the feeling the Norgoth in the city didn’t look up much. None of the soldiers milling around there even glanced once toward the skies.
So, they knew nothing of what was to descend upon them. Once, during one of their training sessions, Liliath had told her of her kindred and some of their history. There was a reason people feared dragons. Not so much because they were cruel or because of their size, but because of a special mental talent possessed by all mature dragons; fear. They could project it like a message from a bullhorn, but instead of hearing it, it vibrated into the emotional center of those within range. It was primarily a defensive mechanism.
Dragons were, in general, gentle creatures. They were meat eaters, but only hunted at need. Warfare had been eliminated among their own kind for time beyond memory. But nature had equipped them with weapons, whether they chose to use them or not.
Jenny hadn’t been in on all of the strategy planning sessions, but she knew that every dimension had contributed something toward the long term success of this mission. She also knew that the Alani could be formidable when they chose to.
She had watched Liliath get herself under control more than once. The one thing she hadn’t learned to control was the tiny trickle of smoke that emitted from her nostrils when she was agitated. Jenny knew that if it hadn’t been for Liliath’s amazing mental control, there would have been scorch marks on the walls of the private council chamber in many places.
What would they be like unleashed? Her family had thrilled to tales of dragons as her mom had read aloud from fantasy classics, such as The Hobbit when Jenny was a child. On the bookshelf in her home were every single book in the Dragonriders of Pern series, and Jenny had read every single one of them more than once.
Getting to know Liliath had been one of the most surprising and delightful aspects of her life as a Guardian and Gatekeeper of the Alliance.
She was seeing this all through the eyes of a dragon. Even with the urgency of the situation and her fear for these creatures she had grown to respect, and even, in Liliath’s case, to love, she couldn’t help but thrill at the thought.
Suddenly her stomach lurched as Dryselli launched himself off of the peak. From his peripheral vision, Jenny could see a squadron ranked beside and behind him. But it wasn’t just one squadron. Circling the valley, from every surrounding peak, hundreds of squadrons were launching. This would be a slaughter!
She noticed that the tiny humans who had been casually going about their business were casual no more. They scattered, running about like mice in a box under the gaze of a hungry cat, but there was nowhere for them to go. Then Jenny realized they had still not looked up. This was the power of fear, unreasoning panic. They didn’t know what they were afraid of. Even the flocks of animals penned in various places throughout the city were bleating and huddling together with nowhere to go and no idea where the danger was coming from.
Into this well of fear the dragons descended. They were flaming, but not at the scattering Norgoths. They were flaming the battlements surrounding the city, most specifically the watchtowers. Their Mookookie agents had been very specific about this compound. At its center was the command center of all the Norgoth forces. In this command center were the plans for every assault, every incursion they had made. If they could scatter the soldiers and take the command center, they would be able to transfer all the records and data contained therein to Alliance Headquarters.
