by Bob Blink
Cheurt seemed particularly upset that the individuals responsible had somehow managed to escape, something that should have been impossible given the security precautions that had been in place. Cheurt was certain the attack had been an inside effort, and had ordered some significant changes in the command and investigations of key personnel. All of this had happened around the time of Jolan’s most recent position shifts. Shyar was convinced that the two events were linked and that Jolan had been behind the attacks. She just wished she knew how this was being done.
From the many meetings and the frequent telegrams that had been passed both directions the past couple of days, she’d learned a great deal that needed to get back to Jolan. Ale’ald was building more gliders, although a critical part shortage was limiting them to only four more vehicles. From the discussions she was certain that the unexplained death of the wizard that had been on Earth was the reason they didn’t have the parts they needed. Something from Earth was being used in the aircraft and couldn’t be duplicated here. She also knew the city where the gliders were being built.
She’d learned about the poison gas that Ale’ald was using. It was being manufactured in another city, Sisco. It appeared that Kimlelm and her people were being used as one giant factory for Ale’ald. She didn’t know just where in the city the factory was located, but if Jolan knew of the city, perhaps they could do something. Of course Sisco was on the far side of Kimlelm, all of which was currently Ale’ald territory, so maybe the information wouldn’t be of use after all.
Her wandering the previous evening had also given her a better feel for the castle and its connections to the Wizard’s Academy and the surrounding facilities. A number of factories were located right here around them. All the initial development of the guns and ammunition had been close to where Cheurt could keep an eye on the effort. While Shyar suspected much of the current production had shifted to Kimlelm somewhere, she was curious what she might find if she could get inside the factory and have a look. The facilities were all interconnected by private underground tunnels, much like those of the Inner Court in Cobalo. If things settled down enough, she thought she might be able to make her way over to the factory, hiding her identity under a glamour. She’d experimented making herself look like the stern female wizard who was responsible for her, and thought she had the woman down perfectly. She’d have to take it in stages, and keep reminding herself of the consequences of getting caught, but it was a goal to be considered.
Communication with Tishe usually originated by the girl, probably because Shyar’s ability was somewhat hampered by the cage. That didn’t need to be the case any longer. She slipped out of the cage, found a comfortable place on the floor near a window, and concentrated on the girl. Maybe she could get this new information across somehow.
Chapter 142
There was no question that they had been extremely lucky to find all of the gliders being stored at the same location. Jolan suspected that in a few more days that wouldn’t have been the case as Ale’ald had apparently been working overtime to establish themselves in Belth. Once they got facilities ready, at least some of the aircraft would have likely been stationed there. Running two successful raids would have been very unlikely. They had been lucky as it was to get out unscathed. Apparently the raids against the warehouses had also gone extremely well, and eight different storage facilities had been destroyed within hours of the attack on the airport. Not all of the warehouses had been full, since many of the rafts had been used in the attack on Belth, something that still stung Major Wylan. However, unless they had even more of the damn things stored somewhere, that threat was also removed for the moment.
The immediate pressure had been taken off of Carta. Without the gliders, Ale’ald would be forced to mount an old fashioned style attack to take the city, and the mountains presented a formidable obstacle to such an effort. Seret had also relocated a number of their forces, and significantly outnumbered the enemy at the moment. That meant a bit of a stalemate for a while.
Of course, more gliders were probably being manufactured. The pilot they had interrogated had indicated as much, but if Tishe had interpreted the last communications she’d had with Shyar correctly, the number they could produce was severely limited from this point on. Shyar had somehow led Tishe to understand she’d overhead communications that suggested they could only build as few as four more of the gliders. That might be consistent with what Gene and Buris had found when they examined the wreckage that had been brought back from the two they had downed. The electric motor for the propeller was the most sophisticated part of the design. Disassembly had shown that the motor was an AC-DC motor that used a couple of solid state inverter chips inside. Those couldn’t be made here. Jolan suspected that they had been shipped in quantity from Earth by Ryltas at some point, and with that supply link severed, no more would be available. That would mean they could only build motors corresponding to the parts they had on hand. Four more aircraft if Shyar was correct.
Four of the gliders would still be a problem, even if they knew how to bring them down. Jolan had been thinking they needed to create some large steel balls coated with copper to use instead of rocks. While their magic wouldn’t work directly on the coppered balls, they could be loaded into launching baskets and thrown at the gliders. Because of the copper, they’d be more effective than the rocks that hadn’t been able to penetrate the shields. Buris was seeing to it, and they’d have some on hand to ship to any location where one of the gliders turned up.
Hoping to be more proactive, Jolan wanted to go after the source of the gliders, not to mention the factory that was producing the gas. Shyar had managed to ferret out the cities, but no specific details about where the factories might be located. Still, it was a start, and they had agents they could deploy into the appropriate areas to start asking questions.
Kavel and Samm had voiced their own opinions that it was time to up the scale of their efforts behind the lines. There was far more they could be doing. The supply lines for many of the war goods started somewhere in Kimlelm, but others stretched all the way to Ale’ald. The same was true with the communications. It was time to put more pressure on both.
Wylan was interested, but at the moment he was totally involved with trying to push the enemy out of Seret. Without the gliders and their deadly poison, he was now free to turn loose the many troops he had been holding back. Ale’ald had been given time to build up their forces and fortify their positions in some cases, but in the long run the local troops would outnumber them and have the advantage of far shorter supply lines. At the moment, Wylan, Vaen, and the Queen were in Carta holding meetings with their counterparts on how to proceed now that a window of relative safety had been secured.
The meeting was at a level where Jolan didn’t belong, and he was glad. It had left him time to get together with Kavel and Samm for their own brainstorming session.
“I think it’s time we go after some of the command centers we have located,” Kavel suggested. “We could make multiple strikes on a given day deep into Kimlelm. By making multiple hits, they wouldn’t be able to react at the other locations.”
“We don’t want them to start thinking about how we are getting our people so deep into the country and so quickly,” Samm warned.
“I can’t see how they’d make the connection,” Kavel countered. “The war has been on going for some weeks now. I think they’d assume we have far more snipers than we do, and they had worked their way into position over the past weeks. I think the multiple hits would cause them grave concern because of their misreading of the number of people involved.”
“Is there any trouble being caused by the locals?” Jolan asked. Back on Earth occupied countries typically had a guerrilla movement that formed when invaded like this.
“There is a small movement at the moment. Our people get the sense that it is growing, but much of the activity is pretty freelance.” Kavel grinned for a moment. “One of my people came back with a sto
ry from out near Davo. Apparently some farmer was a bit too vocal against the Ale’ald forces and their stealing everything in sight. Got himself and his wife killed as an example. Probably would have killed the daughter, but she was away for a few days when it happened. Seems she is a real looker. Came back, found out what happened, and declared her own war. Finds an Ale’ald soldier, I hear she prefers the officers, and wearing some revealing clothing, entices him off somewhere for a bit of a roll. Despite all the warnings, so many men lose their minds when a bit of flesh is displayed. When her victims were engaged in dropping their pants, she had a tendency to slit their throats. By the time the command figured out what was happening, she’d gotten almost a dozen of them. Fortunately, she was able to disappear before they grabbed her, and now has a small group that is raising hell with small mischief. Ale’ald forces haven’t been able to find them because the locals give them quiet support.”
“That’s the kind of thing that could help us a lot,” Jolan said. “Especially if it could get more organized. Have you considered sending in people to train the locals how to be irregular combatants? Sometimes the people have the desire, but just don’t know how. They need to know how to elude the Ale’ald authorities as well as cause mischief. Back on Earth, the army actually got together with some of the local criminal element. Offered them full pardons for past crimes if they’d work against the enemy. They were often willing, both for the pardon and because the invaders weren’t good for business.”
“We have some regulars that are from Kimlelm, and some of our contacts who expatriated to Seret when Kimlelm was invaded could be useful for that kind of thing. Be aware, Ale’ald command is brutal towards those they catch. They try to make it very clear such activities will be dealt with sternly. In one location they took to killing five random males for every Ale’ald soldier found dead.”
“It’s a hard choice, but one that needs to be offered to the people of Kimlelm. They can decide if the risks are worth it. Maybe one thing to do is not leave the bodies to be found. Make the soldiers just disappear. That makes it harder for Ale’ald to be sure what is happening.”
“We’ll raise it with Wylan tomorrow,” Samm promised.
“There are other ways the people can screw things up for Ale’ald,” Jolan said. “Again, I’m going on things I read about one of the wars on Earth, but since Ale’ald is having the locals act as its manufacturing source, the workers can simply do a poor job. If parts are left out, or sand substituted for powder, randomly maybe, or simply poor workmanship that tends to make something fail, the effect would be cumulative. It would often be hard to trace the fault back to a particular worker. Ale’ald might still take some harsh retribution, but at some point that also becomes counterproductive.”
“What about Ale’ald itself?” Samm asked. “When do we start poking around inside the country?”
“I’m even more anxious than you,” Jolan said, “but I suspect we need to wait until Ale’ald is having more difficulties and their attention is divided between multiple problems. Hopefully soon. We should start thinking about getting more people trained. I think more of the paired teams will be required. Luzoke told me the other day that a new class of mages will be available soon.”
“That reminds me,” Kavel said. “Your friend Ronoron came to see me the other day. He wants to apply to the teams. He’s anxious to go into Kimlelm and help out. He’s got the desire, but I think he’s too weak.”
Jolan nodded. “Ronoron has been frustrated by the situation. He’s a great guy, but his powers are poor except in specialized areas. Vaen would be very unhappy if something happened to him, because he has some unique skills that are very useful from time to time. I haven’t been taking him along with me of late for those very reasons.”
“What do you think I should do?”
“Talk to Vaen. She’ll probably make the decision for you. If it were me, I’d thank him, but make it clear the mages on the teams have to have a level five ability minimum for good reason. Even that might become an issue. I’m concerned that I’ve encountered two of these wizard triads in recent weeks. They are very strong. The only thing that seems to work against them are the coppered weapons. We may need to start equipping the men with some kind of handgun or carbine that fires a special bullet.”
Chapter 143
“Ya know it’s just because we’re friends,” Morin said as he took another long pull at the cool tankard of ale. It was the tavern’s best, and on a hot day like today it was much appreciated.
“That’s not true,” Jolan countered. He, Asari, and Morin were sitting in a private room in one of the finer establishments in downtown Carta. They’d come from a meeting with Tomas and some of the court, and Jolan had arranged this time with Morin in advance. He hadn’t had much time to visit with his old friend in a long while, but this particular discussion was driven by Jolan’s feeling that Morin would be better used if he were to relocate once again, this time to Cobalo.
Morin looked at him with doubt over the top edge of the tankard he held.
“The war’s been going poorly, and even if things start to turn around, you’re thinking we’d be safer all the way over in Cobalo, far from where the fighting’s going on. Come on man, ya got to tell me that’s true.”
“Of course Cobalo’s safer,” Jolan admitted, “but that’s not what this is about.”
“I’d feel like a coward, deserting my own country when things are looking down. Besides Iart is off somewhere fighting them bastards. What’d he think?”
“You’re going to waste here,” Jolan countered. “There’s a real need in Cobalo, and there you’d be contributing to the fight. Here you’re just drifting.”
“I’ve got to admit, I’ve not been too busy of late. I thought there’d be a lot more to do when I first came here.”
“That’s because of the way we’ve changed operations,” Jolan explained. “Rarely is the portal here in Carta very active. The control is all being handled from Cobalo. Ward is overburdened and has other things he needs to do. He needs someone who’s a good organizer, and you have the skills. You are also already in the know, which means we wouldn’t have to bring someone else on board.”
It was also an advantage that Morin wasn’t a mage, so there was no worry about him learning some of the controlling spells which they wanted restricted as much as possible.
“I don’t know,” Morin said.
“Think of Ingari,” Jolan said, trying another tack. “You’d have a nice place to stay in Cobalo, and the social opportunities and shopping would be far more convenient than living out here in the country on Tomas’ estate.”
“What do ya think lad,” Morin asked looking at Asari. “Ya know ya let Yashy get away. Married that fool merchant from Jaya she did. Moved away more than a month ago. I always thought the two of ya would make a nice pair.” He sighed and took another pull.
Asari smiled. He really liked Morin. He’d liked Yashy too, but never in that way. From time to time he’d thought a lot about Ashreye, but he’d tried to look her up a couple months ago and discovered she’d hooked up with an older guy and left Carta. Whether she was concerned about the war and wanted to get away from the obvious target Carta offered, Asari didn’t know. Even if he’d been able to find out where she’d gone, there was obviously no point in doing so any longer. The news had left him free to look around, and he’d have to admit, he’d had a couple of pleasant times here in Carta the past few weeks.
“It’d be great,” he said enthusiastically. “Finally we’d all be in the same place. I could use some more company. Practically everyone I know is a mage.”
“And I’d be working for one,” Morin said shaking his head. “I used to be my own man. Led my own caravans, carried what I wanted, when I wanted. Jolan here has changed all of that for good. Even if we win the war, it’ll never be the same. Used to be a man wanted to go from Cobalo to Seret, it took a couple of weeks. Carrying a load of goods took more than a month. Now you people mak
e it a morning excursion, and the goods come through in mass via that tunnel Jolan had built. Never be the same profit to be made there. Lots of people are going to have to rethink their way of making a living once the government stops paying premium prices for the goods they need shipped.”
“And that train you got planned. I heard Tomas talking about that the other day. Thing is huge and the amount it can carry in a single load. If he’s right, the first ones will be making the run all the way from Angon to here in Carta by the end of the year. The world’s changing mighty fast if you ask me.”
“Progress is hard to stop. I realize we’ve booted it in the ass a bit with all the knowledge we’ve brought from Earth, but there is no way to stop it now. Cobalo is going to be the center of all that progress once we get past this war. That’s where you’re going to want to be.”
Morin looked at Jolan. “I remember when you didn’t even know for sure where Cobalo was. Now look at you. You’ve become a big shot, rubbing shoulders with the leaders of at least two countries. You’d best watch out. Someone is going to make you into a dragon cursed politician.”
Jolan smiled. He could tell that Morin had decided to come. It would be nice to have his company again on a more frequent basis.
“So, you’ll come?”
“Let me talk with Ingari. See what she says. If she’s game, we’ll make the move.”
Jolan raised his tankard for a toast. He already knew what Ingari thought. He wasn’t so innocent that he hadn’t asked her before approaching Morin. She liked the idea of Cobalo. Having their own place rather than living on an estate, despite all of the luxury, had appealed to her immediately.
