by Chris Hechtl
The Queen nodded. “Or his father may have passed over the winter and he invaded to take the pressure off his own reign. We have reports of such but we weren't certain.”
The King looked saddened. “This too may be true. We'll have to find out.” He turned to his minister of spies who nodded, making a note. Perry looked over to the nondescript man and pursed his lips.
<==={}------------>
After the meeting broke up Ryans caught Perry. “Problem Lieutenant?” he asked casually.
Perry shook his head. “Problem? No,” he shook his head. “Nope, no problem,” he said equally casually, quite probably too casually. Ryans gave him an eye. Perry sighed. “Can't fool you I guess. It's just I'm not too keen about spooks and human intel resources.” He grimaced. “I was always into the maps and UAVs.”
Ryans snorted. “The old military intelligence or lack thereof? That's rather odd coming from an intelligence officer,” he teased and then smiled.
Perry glared for a moment. “No, it’s the whole spies and torture thing,” Perry explained coldly. Ryans nodded. “Bribing is bad enough,” Perry said looking away. “Kinda bad, to get someone to change sides like that, but the whole torture thing...” He scowled blackly. He'd never liked the idea. The threat of force was usually enough to get someone to talk. Gentle pressure and careful attention to detail, coupled with building a relationship of trust with the target usually got more reliable intel than torturing someone. Ryans nodded.
“It's easier and better to get small bits from many people than a load of horse pucky from someone you tortured to the point they'll say anything to make you stop,” Ryans said softly. “I heard about it before 9-11 and after. It got to the point where they were making stuff up, spouting garbage and the people at the top were taking it at face value.” He shook his head. Perry nodded looking away.
“Yeah, we ran into that over the past couple of years in Iraq and Afghanistan. I mean, the occasional use of force might get you something in the short term, but fear of it will give you more. But building a relationship with the source... gaining his trust... it's harder to do. It takes time and when time is of the essence...”
Ryans nodded. “And in too many cases things are happening fast. Or people are just too damn impatient. They move around. By the time you've nailed down something the target has been and gone and you're back to square one,” Ryans replied smiling.
“That too,” Perry chuckled tiredly. He ran his hand through his hair. “Need a trim,” he muttered.
Ryans nodded. “How are we going with the army overall? Anything I should be aware of?”
“Well, we're taking the knights and turning them into officers. Same for the squires and gentry and anyone we find who we think can handle it. Ticundus for example, that kid's damn good, he's a treasure,” Perry said. Ryans nodded. Ticundus had done an outstanding job holding the pass so far. “Men at arms and vets are the nucleus of our noncoms. It's rough though, we've had to make some compromises. The current set up is a bit like the ancient Romans had. Pendragon of course had to have it that way.”
Ryans snorted. “Roman legion you mean? Centurions and all?”
Perry nodded. Ryans had missed that meeting with Pendragon when they had set up the TOE and rank structure. “Something like that. We've got a couple of good cavalry units. I wish we could get more modern gear into their hands though. We've got two classes, light cavalry and heavy. Light is good as a feint, or scouting force. Good to plug a gap temporarily, or chase the enemy down. Maybe light hit and run raids too,” he grimaced. Pendragon was going to helm the conventional forces and trained them to his exacting standard. Which meant drilling them all day and then letting them get drunk at night, then sleep it off until damn near noon before starting training again the next day. Perry had siphoned off some of the forces to form what he thought of as a proper cavalry unit. “The animals they ride are sprinters, not good for fast runs over long distances. Funky things. I never thought...” He shook his head and took a sip of beer then sat back.
“And the heavies?” Ryans asked. He of course knew about the branacks. They all did by now.
Perry frowned. “Bigger creatures, slower, but with more endurance, they can carry more and go further than the sprinters. There was another mount, those lizard things the knights rode, they call them Titans. Predators, Paris called them rhinotrikes. They were slow and a bitch to control. Endurance runners, they were more liable to turn on their riders in some cases than do what they were told. Not reliable at all,” he shook his head at that thought. Only their ferocity was keeping them in the ranks. That and their heavy armor, they were extremely hard to kill and just plain murder on footmen. Only another titan could take one down.
“Yeah, I could imagine. Trying to stay alive is hard enough without having your own mount thinking of you as supper,” Ryans snorted.
“Yeah,” Perry grimaced. “We're getting the last deliveries of them soon. Pendragon warned me that as soon as they are here, conditioned and trained he's moving out ready or not.”
“Ouch,” Ryans said.
“Yeah,” Perry said rubbing his scalp. “Max said if we could give him about a year he could build some light vehicles. Not quite modern, but close enough.”
Ryans shook his head. “Not going to happen, we don't have that kind of time to play with.”
“Yeah,” Perry sighed, draining his drink then getting up. “It's something for the future though.”
Ryans sighed. “All things in time. Focus on what we can do for this battle, we'll worry about the next one after.” Perry nodded.
Chapter 16
Ryans stared, watching the titan beasts amble up the road. They were big, bigger then a bull elephant with six legs instead of four. They were long and stocky, longer then a tractor with a trailer, it was insane seeing something like that in real life. Each animal was decked out in a harness and multiple riders. The lead one nibbled at the foliage around it with its beak. He shook his head and made his way around to the back carefully. The last thing he would need was to be kicked by one of the damn things.
If it was eating foliage it either had a stomach ache or it wasn't one of the fabled Titans Perry had mentioned. He'd seen a few in the royal stables of course but kept his distance from them. rhinotrikes indeed.
“Supply train in I see,” Princess Deidra said catching up to him. He turned to see she had exchanged her court dress for a more modern outfit. It was brown, and from the looks of it new. Most likely an imitation of the outfits the Terran’s were wearing. It looked like modern gaijin fashion was starting to filter into the daily lives of the rich and famous more and more now that the new looms were coming online. He smiled politely to her.
“Aren't you out of uniform princess? Not to mention perilously close to flouting your mother's law,” he teased. She blushed. It was surprising to see her blush; she normally wore a great deal of makeup as well. She had kept her newly repaired tiara though. That and her belt and jeweled dagger. “Looks good on you,” he said smiling again, catching some of her blush as she ducked away to examine the carts. Men and material were being unloaded from each.
“Impressive,” he said watching one cart loaded with nearly fifty tons of gear being unloaded. Giant war lizards hissed behind them. He turned to see a quartet under a tree. They seemed to be fighting over a carcass.
Deidra looked. “They're downwind, fortunately, or the bos Titans would be spooked,” she observed. She shook her head. He studied the lizards. The royal castle had a few of course; each knight had one instead of the classic Clydesdale of Terran medieval history. Each of the centaur creatures had the four legs and two arms normal for natives of this world. They were lithe and lean, with two grasping hands instead of the usual feet. It was weird seeing something the size of a T-Rex chomping so close. Some had horns, others didn't. They had crests and cat like eyes.
He shook his head. “Just when you think you've got used to things,” he chuckled. She blinked at him. His people had b
een turning everyone's world upside down for the past several months and he... and then she smiled catching on. They ducked as a shadow passed overhead. He looked up to see a massive six winged pterosaur fly by. It climbed into a thermal and then dived toward the animal pens nearby.
“What the hell?” he said shading his eyes. Similar, smaller creatures seemed to take flight from the rooftops nearby and from the moat. The sky was covered in fluttering gay colored wings for a moment.
Deidra looked up and scowled. “Dragon,” she said shaking her head, looking a little pale. She started cursing softly to herself, measuring the distance between them and the safety of the castle walls. Men and women were shrieking, pointing or running around in terror. Soldiers armed with pikes and long bows were heading to the fields.
The dragon swooped and caught a prey animal, then beat its two lower sets of wings heavily to rise. It looked a little ungainly with the limp carcass of a sheep creature hanging from its claws. “Not good, it must have followed them from the mountains. We'll have to trap it. Kill it. If we just drive it off it'll set up a den in the hills nearby and prey on the entire area until it is killed,” Deidra said looking around.
The train master came up to her, washing his hands. “Not my fault mistress,” he said rubbing his hands and licking his lips nervously. “It circled high overhead once we got through the Brenant pass. There was nothing we could do my lady,” he bowed nervously. She scowled again.
Ryans cocked his head. “Princess,” he said softly. The man's eyes widened comically. Deidra seemed to get some humor from that... for the moment at least. The fat man bowed low then got on his knees. “Oh get up,” Deidra sighed testily. She turned away, staring at the beast. “We don't have time for this. You say it followed you?” she asked, turning back to the man.
The man nodded. “It would attack at night or near dawn or dusk. This is the first time it attacked so brazenly,” he scowled. “We could see it circling far overhead through the hills, but we could do nothing your majesty.”
He seemed more frightened of her than of the beast. “From the banshee mountains no doubt,” she murmured. His jowls bobbed in agreement. She sighed again. “We'll need a lot of nets and line, and strong lances to strike the beast. Fortunately we've got plenty of hunting arrows,” she said. She looked around.
“Going to kill it princess?” Ryans asked amused. He'd expected her to trap the damn thing and tame it.
She nodded. “It must be done, or it will set up in a cave nearby and terrorize the countryside. It will raid the flocks for food at first, but when they leave it will begin attacking people as well.”
Ryans pursed his lips in a silent whistle. “Dragon indeed,” he said. He looked around then touched his throat mike. “Angel five this is six come in.”
Perry's voice came into his earwig after a moment. “This is five. What's up boss?”
“Did you see we had company?” he asked.
Perry snorted. “Hard to miss. Want us to knock it down?”
“Might be a good idea,” Ryans said catching the princess's look. “Fifty cal may not be enough though.”
“In other words it may just piss it off boss,” Perry said nodding.
“Yeah, I'm not keen on using a missile, but if that is what it takes...”
Perry's voice cleared. “Yeah, well, I'd like to save them for a rainy day too boss, but they're meant to be used.”
“Yeah,” Ryans sighed again. “Too bad we couldn't catch the damn thing. If it could be domesticated it'd be one hell of a bomber,” he said suggestively. Deidra was staring at him in shock at the very idea.
Perry laughed over the link. “You’re full of ideas. Me, I'm all for killing it. Trying to stand next to one of these critters on the ground is scary enough.”
The princess's eyes widened. “An ancestor of mine tried many years ago.”
“What happened?” he asked amused.
She frowned. “He didn't live long.”
“Um... Oh. Okay. What about the young? Raise them up right?” he asked.
She cocked her head in thought. Her hand absently brushed through her bangs. “I believe he did that. It is possible but they tend to become mean as they grow older,” she smiled grimly. “But to get to the nest you would have to get through the parents.”
He chuckled. “Yeah, I don't suppose they breathe fire too?” he asked, hoping and dreading the answer. She shook her head in a negative. He sighed in relief. “Ah, well, that's to the good,” he said nodding. She nodded in turn.
“The mountain nomads to the north of us use a similar beast. They are much smaller and easier to handle,” she explained.
He looked confused. “They can fly one?” he asked suddenly intent.
She shrugged. “If you're small and lean. Child like. Most of their riders are female,” she said. She smiled at that triumph of the sexes. “Their beasts are the size of a...” She pointed to him then taller.
“About the size of a horse then,” he said nodding. She looked confused and then nodded when the translator finished. “Ah.” He nodded again. “Something to see another day I suppose,” he smiled.
She nodded. “Once, when I was very young the clans passed overhead. It was like a rainbow. They blocked out the sun. Father had his hands full dealing with the mess,” She shook her head.
Ryans caught on right away. “Droppings?” he asked amused.
She snorted and wrinkled her nose. “And the raids they did,” she grimaced in memory. “They didn't take much, but a few took small children,” she said looking away.
He sighed. “Yeah, Nomads live off the land and rarely recognize the claims of others,” he said. He nodded turning to the wagon master. “So men, soldiers I take it?”
The master blinked. “No um, some from the guards of Dominus Byron, but most are new to war sir.” He nodded. “A handful of knights, those out wandering or in need of good deeds to make a name for themselves with the court.” He held up a slate, “food, both for men and animals. And of course the armor for the beasts.” He waved to indicate the four fractious creatures tearing at the carcass.
“They seem to be like komodo dragons,” the corporal said coming up behind them. They looked over to him. He was carrying a missile launcher. His partner came up behind him with a spare tube. “Mornin' folks. Nice time to go hunting.” He looked up to the dragon. “As long as you’re the one doing the hunting, later.” He tipped a finger to an imaginary hat then walked off to a nearby clearing.
<==={}------------>
“You know, I always thought the reason you folks had stuck to a medieval society was due to a lock on society by the upper class, and periodic warfare,” Ryans motioned to the great beasts. “That sort of knocks that thought aside. No wonder even your villages have moats and walls.” He snorted as one of the beasts raised a frill and began to caw.
Deidra nodded. “It is much safer to be behind stout stone walls. Wood is a poor second choice,” she said, shaking her head. “Though had we your weapons...” she said ingeniously. They had all seen the corporal take down the dragon. It had been a spectacular explosion that had lit the skies around the area... and rained bits all over the clearing and the awed men and women below. Fortunately no one had been seriously hurt. Splattered yes, hurt no.
Ryans nodded. “Yeah, I can imagine. I'm glad we didn't run into many of those out in the woods. The basilisk was bad enough!”
Deidra shivered a little then smiled. “Most of the predators near a town or village have been driven off.”
He nodded. “I can't blame you a bit. Despite being on a totally alien world, your people have done wonders surviving and thriving.” He watched one of the great Titans snort then scratch at an itch. A handler hurried over with a pole to scratch it before the beast yanked the wagon it was tethered to around like a toy.
“So what do you call those anyway?” Perry asked. “The war ones not the others,” he clarified. Pendragon had only said equestrus or equestres and not named them.
The princess cocked her head. “The caravan animals are bos. The others are bestrum barrus of course. Or titan barrus as the southerners say,” she said airily. She cocked her head at them as the translator did its magic. Bestrum meant war, Barrus meant elephant. Ryans and Perry exchanged amused looks.
“Ah...” Perry looked bemused, rubbing the back of his head then tugging on one ear. “I hate to break it to you, but that's not a Terran elephant,” he said carefully. She looked at him, eyes twinkling a little. He smiled. “Honest in-jun princess, Terran elephants aren't nearly that big. And they're mammals. Four legs.” He held up four fingers. “Big ears,” He tapped his ears. “Long trunk snout and a short whip like tail. They also didn't eat meat.”
She blinked at him then to Ryans who nodded. “Call these native elephants. Or titan barrus or hex elephants or Titans, or something.” He shrugged. “Elephants for short,” he smiled to Perry who nodded.
She seemed to wiggle a little then shrug. “If you say so,” she finally replied, slightly exasperated. The gaijin loved to put names on things, names that really served little purpose. Names that set them apart from Patria animals. She cocked her head to them. A guard cleared his throat.
Ryans caught the anxious look. “I believe your escort is trying to politely keep you on schedule,” he murmured smiling. The princess sighed giving the hapless guard a dirty look. Perry rolled his eyes, fortunately out of her range of view. Still she knew from Ryans' look he had done something and turned to him, eyes glittering slightly. He froze and then relaxed. She tilted her chin upward. He seemed to straighten under her regard reflexively. The guard did as well.
“I shall be about my duties. As you should be,” she said regally. She turned a gimlet eye on each of them then left in a huff.
Perry waited until she was out of earshot and then chuckled softly. “Quite a handful, one hell of a spitfire. You've got your work cut out for you.”
Ryans gave him a dirty look. “Don't remind me,” he growled and then sighed.
