The Heroes Fall -1- When War Calls
Page 42
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As Ryan expected, the coming hours brought a force of enormous proportions across from the Quartun Bridge, with hundreds of thousands of troops occupying its full length. The defence systems taken by the Alliance at zone one were soon recaptured, enabling the Resistance to attack them as they came. But those closest to the bridge were bombarded by Alliance air strikes, causing the Resistance to retaliate with their own air offensive. The battles in the sky and on the ground continued for several hours, forcing Ryan to call for more troops from the south to help in the north. He knew this would allow the Alliance from the south to come back into the city, but an extra ten thousand Alliance troops were the least of his worries, as close to one hundred thousand were making their way up the natural dirt ramp. Many perished on the way, the Resistance defences pounding the Alliance forces from above. But the sheer number was too great, and all but a few of the Resistance defences fell within the first hour of the Alliance ascent.
When there was little else that he could think to do and the other two commanders of the Resistance had become silent over the radio, he asked them if it were time to abandon the city. When both reluctantly agreed, Ryan sent word to all zones to retreat to zone six in the east, telling them that the Daijuar would protect their escape from there on.
Hundreds of thousands of civilians made their way east first, most using the underground tunnels set up to get beyond the concrete wall guarding their escape route, followed by the first retreating zones from the south. The northern zones remained fighting alongside the Daijuarn shields that had been erected, and were the last line of defence between the Alliance and absolute victory.
Soon, all ten Daijuar present, including Multias and Quian from Waikor, were blocking the Alliance from the north and south, with Oldenwa helping at the back and making sure no stray missiles hit any civilians. Their shields held strong, even with the improved weaponry of the Alliance, and Dahla was thankful that no weapon like the one she had faced at Waikor was present.
When the last of the civilians and most of his soldiers were safely evacuated, Ryan left with the other commanders, through the tunnel and out beyond the concrete wall. He jumped up on the back of a jeep with Lendon, and watched the lights as they played out ahead. The sounds of explosions on the Daijuarn shields and gunfire was soon too far in the distance to be heard any longer, and Ryan bowed his head, as much from the shame and disappointment of leaving his city to be destroyed as from tiredness.
‘It’s over,’ he said.
‘For now,’ said Lendon. ‘But we live to fight again.’
‘How long must we do this?’ asked Ryan, now finding himself wishing he was still back at home in Callibra, and that he had never needed to leave at all.
‘For as long as we can,’ said Lendon simply, and they both sat in silence, watching as the rings faded back to a calm blue, and then directing their attention to the magnificent displays of the Daijuarn shields.
A deafening roar above woke them from their sombre daze, and they looked up to see a blue-flamed aircraft shoot past. It was accompanied soon after by close to one hundred more, all flying in the direction of Corsec.
‘What are those?’ asked Ryan.
‘I don’t know,’ said Lendon.
‘Do we fire upon them?’
‘No,’ said Lendon. ‘They would have attacked us if they meant us harm.’
‘You’re right,’ said Ryan, amazed that his fatigue had made him ask such a question. ‘B why are they flying into my city?’
‘Time will tell,’ said Lendon.
Moments later explosions lit up ahead of the Daijuarn shields and beyond. The blue-flamed aircrafts seemed to be attacking the Alliance forces. The Daijuarn shields were lowered and soon vanished almost entirely, erected only temporarily to block any stray fire still coming at them.
Ryan’s eyes lit up in disbelief. ‘They’ve come to help us!’ he shouted, and he jumped to the front of the vehicle, picking up the radio device. ‘All personnel move back to Corsec. Everyone else remain where you are. The Alliance is under attack! Go! We can still win this fight!’
Ryan turned back to Lendon with a pained smile. ‘We’re saved,’ he said.
Lendon laughed as the vehicle was turned around with the others, and all returned to Corsec to continue the fight. Together, with the help of the blue-flamed bombers, they were able to drive the Alliance forces back out of Corsec, forcing many of the Alliance troops to retreat before even making it across the Quartun Bridge.
The Diadon navy seemed to have had a change of heart, or had received word of the change, as they also returned to seek their revenge on those who had sunk some of their ships. Their full arsenal was released on the fleeing Alliance troops, trapping thousands on the bridge under the fire of the newly arrived air force. Within a few hours, the Alliance force had been reduced to less than fifty thousand in the north, who fled deep into the Tiquan continent, out of the Diadon navy’s range.
The Resistance did what they could to drive away the remaining Alliance troops in Corsec south, but Ryan quickly ordered them to go no further than the border. He wanted his force to remain behind, and for the Alliance to return to Callibra, where he would send strikes of his own in the coming weeks.
As the last of the blue-flamed aircraft disappeared on the eastern horizon, a cheer rose up from the people of Corsec. The battle had been won. Their city had been saved.
Ryan thanked the Diadon navy for returning and the Daijuar for protecting them when they had needed to flee. With all the stress, fatigue and pain of war, all were finding it hard to relax even in victory, but they did their best to show gratitude. Ryan was interrupted when a black helicopter flew overhead, its search light scanning for something on the ground. It made a second pass, returning to Ryan and hovering a moment, its search light directly on him. It then landed nearby and a man leapt out and ran toward him and the Daijuar. He gave Ryan a letter in a large orange envelope, saluted and then ran back to the helicopter without saying a word.
Ryan studied the envelope, unable to recognise the symbol stamped upon it. He flipped it over, and in handwritten lettering it read:
To the Young Sentinel,
May good fortune find you.
Curiously Vennoss walked closer to look at the envelope, exchanging a confused glance with Ryan before both shrugged and made their way into the medical unit, where Jaden was recovering. The battle was over for them, the rebuilding would begin the next day, but for now, they wished to speak with Jaden about the mysterious letter he had just received.