Atlantis - Return of the Nation

by Steven Cook

  ‘Second Unit, attack.’

  Immediately a section of the Atlantian lines charged forwards with a roar. The fleeter warriors quickly caught the Minoans and started cutting them down.

  As the Minoans turned to fight they were quickly cut down until the retreat became a route. Tinereaus called his men to order before they entered the passageway.

  The detachment returned to their lines and held their positions, only shifting slightly as medics moved within their ranks to carry the injured and dead to the rear.

  Atkinson was shocked to see the cost at which the line had been held. Over a hundred bodies were pulled back through the lines. An additional eighty were carried or assisted towards a hastily cleared area for medical attention.

  The bodies of the Minoans were also pulled clear and piled together. Their numbers were lower than those of the warriors.

  Atlas strode up to stand beside Atkinson.

  ‘Your words were timely. If my warriors had not been facing them they would have struck us down and Atlantis would be leaderless.’

  Atkinson turned to look up at the warrior.

  ‘Can I make another suggestion? No matter what your aspirations for Atlantis in the world are, you need to close the gates of the city, make peace with the other factions and clear the Minoans out.’

  Atlas looked at the Ranger.

  ‘Our circumstances have forced us to become allies. My beliefs about Arcanadia have not changed. However, this treachery by Minotaur can not go unpunished.’ He turned to the attentive group of aides standing to attention.

  ‘Send the signal to close the gates, seal Atlantis.’

  The aide ran off. Atlas turned to another aide.

  ‘Send runners to the other factions. Inform them that hostilities between factions are to cease and that the Minoans are now the enemy.’

  The second aide signalled his acceptance of the orders and ran towards a group of lightly armed warriors.

  ‘General,’ Atlas called, ‘prepare the First for battle.’

  Immediately the command centre became a hub of activity.

  Atkinson pulled Ilissus to one side.

  ‘I think it would be wise to get back to our own forces.’

  The General nodded her understanding. She caught Gravioran’s eye.

  ‘I am returning to the Fifth to coordinate our response. I will contact you later.’

  Together the two different officers left the marshalling area. Both collected their weapons and began jogging through the city streets.

  Around them they could see the signs of warriors relaxing as they no longer had to fight their colleagues, but would be facing a long held enemy.

  *

  Chapter Nineteen - Battle of Arcanadia

  Atlantis Western Gate 26th May

  Gate Captain Jurian looked down from his position on the wall with barely contained disgust as the ranks of Minoans continued to pass through the gate below. The ones now passing through were different to those that had originally entered the city.

  Instead of being over eight feet tall the new ranks were shorter by nearly two feet. They made up for the lack of height by being even broader in the chest and body. Instead of the widely flared horns adorning their heads they had short curved ones that would be useless as a weapon but did give better protection to their eyes.

  They also carried different weapons. Instead of axes and swords they carried heavy bladed spears and long shields. Heavy headed hammers and maces were hanging from their broad belts.

  The Minoans had been massing outside the walls since early morning, creating a small town of tents and shelters as they waited to enter the city. Jurian had no idea of how many of the creatures were out there.

  ‘Sir.’

  Jurian turned to his sergeant.

  ‘Yes?’ He gagged as the earthy smell of the beasts rose up to him.

  ‘We are being signalled by command to close the gates immediately.’

  Jurian turned to look towards the centre of the city several miles away. His keen eyes picked out the sequence of flags hanging on the relay of communication towers.

  After quickly deciphering the signal he leant over the low parapet and called down to the small group of guards standing to either side of the twenty foot wide opening.

  ‘Close the gates.’

  The guards quickly moved to the windlass that controlled the mechanism for the gate and laid their spears to one side. Their corporal stepped forward to stem the flow of Minoans.

  ‘Stop. We are closing the gates.’

  The Minoans looked vaguely at the corporal but continued their march into the city.

  ‘I said stop.’ The corporal held his spear across his body and stepped into the flow to block the path.

  The stunned Minoans stopped in their path, blocking the gate.

  ‘What is going on?’ Asked a guttural voice.

  A tall Minoan with wide flared horns strode through the gate to stand before the corporal.

  The corporal took a step back and looked up at the creature.

  ‘I have orders to close the gates.’

  ‘I have orders to enter the city,’ countered the Minoan.

  There was the click of a ratchet as the guards threw their weight against the windlass.

  ‘Stop,’ bellowed the Minoan.

  Both the Minoan and the corporal looked up into the air as the sound of trumpets could be heard in the distance.

  ‘To arms? Defend the city?’ Mused the corporal as he recognised the calls.

  The Minoan heard him and reacted instantly.

  ‘Attack!’

  Before he had finished they cry the Minoan turned on the corporal. In one quick movement he reached out to grab the warrior. Finding purchase in the links of Orichalcum the creature dragged the warrior to him then pushed out and up, sending the corporal smashing into the warriors trying to close the gates with the windlass.

  The corporal fell to the ground stunned. He heard the sounds of the warriors being cut down by the Minoan warriors who had spread out to protect the gates.

  From his position above the gate Jurian watched in horror as more and more Minoans began moving towards the gate from the makeshift village of tents. Within the city he could see the enemy warriors pounding on the stout doors that protected the stairwells leading up to the battlements.

  ‘Drop the portcullis,’ he ordered.

  A warrior leapt towards a lever set in a protective alcove. Bracing himself he hauled back on the lever. There was a moment of resistance before the lever became free.

  In the depths of the outer wall the retaining mechanism for the heavy portcullis was released, allowing several tonnes of razor sharp Orichalcum to drop down to seal the entrance to the city.

  The dropping portcullis scythed through the Minoans rushing through the gate at that moment. The fortunate ones ended up face to face with the gleaming barrier, whilst those who were immediately beneath the blade were sliced in half.

  The Minoan Officer turned at the sound of the blade crashing into place then looked up at the ramparts of the wall.

  ‘Find the mechanism to retract the barrier,’ He roared at every Minoan within hearing.

  On the ramparts Jurian gathered his small force of warriors.

  ‘We need to whittle down their numbers and make sure they can not reopen the gates. Gather your bows and keep them away from the doors to the stairs.’

  As the men moved away Jurian caught the arm of the youngest warrior.

  ‘Pelopidas, run along to the next gate and get them to send reinforcements.’

  ‘Sir, I would rather stay and fight.’

  Jurian looked at the young man, hardly more than a boy.

  ‘Pelopidas, there will be plenty of time in your life to gain honour and trophies through battle. Now is the time to save the lives of our citizens. G
o quickly.’

  He turned the young warrior and pushed him along the ramparts in the direction of the next gate guarded by the Eighth Realm.

  Pelopidas took one look back over his shoulder before breaking into a run. Jurian looked down to check the situation below. It was more desperate than he had previously believed.

  The Minoans who had already entered the city had set up a perimeter at each of the four streets that lead into the area in front of the gate. The heavily armoured warriors were refraining from retaliating against the attacks from Atlantian Warriors. Instead they struck out when a warrior came within range of their spears then held their shields steady to protect themselves from the sporadic arrows and stones launched at them.

  Inside the perimeter several of the creatures were slowly hacking through the heavy doors that protected the stairs leading to the battlements. Once the doors were removed they would have free access to the battlements where Jurian and his small detachment protected the portcullis mechanism.

  Jurian turned as his remaining men came up alongside him. They each held a short recurved bow and a sheaf of arrows. He accepted a bow and looped a sheaf of arrows over his shoulder.

  ‘We can not do anything about the Minoans cutting into the building. However, if we can cut down the numbers near one of the streets we may cause a breach. Take care not to waste arrows.’

  Jurian quickly bent the bow and hooked the string over the notched horn. Drawing one of the long arrows he looked at each of the streets, assessing his chance of aiding a breakthrough.

  ‘That one there.’ He pointed with the arrow.

  Each of the archers nocked an arrow to their bowstrings and drew the feathers back to their cheeks.

  ‘Concentrate your shots around the one with the strange shoulder markings. Shoot as one.’

  Calmly Jurian breathed in and let the string slip from his fingers, as he pulled further back on the string. The heavy arrow sped down across the gate yard and slammed into the base of his targets neck.

  Further arrows struck the Minoans, catching them unawares. As the bodies fell to the ground the Atlantian Warriors facing them surged forwards to exploit the weakness in the line.

  ‘Keep shooting as fast as you can pick a target.’

  Jurian pulled another arrow and searched for a new target.

  In the roar of the battle below he failed to hear the crash of the door below being breeched.

  *

  Atlantis Inner Island 26th May

  Atkinson finished his conversation with the task force commander and signed off. He gladly took back his weapons from the warrior who had been keeping them for him and quickly reloaded them. He smiled at the warrior as he racked a round into the chamber of his carbine. Looking around he saw Chick and the rest of his squad jogging towards him in the company of a phalanx of Fifth Warriors.

  ‘What’s the score Slim?’ asked Chick.

  ‘It’s open season on the Minoans. Atlas was a bit undecided until they attacked his command centre.’

  Atkinson waited for the rest of the Rangers to gather around him.

  ‘The bad news is that one of the gates was opened to let the Minoans in. The gate has been closed but it is under attack. As soon as the gate is open there will be thousands of Minoans flooding into the city.’

  ‘We won’t be able to hold off that many,’ said Chick.

  ‘We will have to rely on the Atlantian forces to mop up the Minoans already in the city. Our task is to keep them out.’

  ‘How do we do that? Throw stones at them?’ Asked Topper.

  Atkinson smiled at Topper.

  ‘Almost, although we’ll be doing it indirectly.’ He ignored the strange looks. ‘But first we need to get to the walls near the gate.’

  ‘That’s six miles away,’ pointed out Jazzy.

  ‘Then we better get a move on,’ said Atkinson, ‘Chick, commandeer those carts.’

  He pointed where a team of four horses were pulling a pair of wagons holding spears and bundles of arrows. Chick motioned to two of the Rangers to assist him and moved towards the slow moving transports.

  ‘What do you reckon Cowboy?’ Chick asked one of the Rangers.

  Allan ‘Cowboy’ Planer looked at the horses. He was notorious within the 75th Rangers as being motion sick whenever he travelled on any mechanised transport. This didn’t affect him when he rode his beloved horses back in Fairfield Park Texas.

  ‘I think that we dump the wagons and could have you, me, Mud and Slim riding whilst the rest hang onto the harnesses.’ He walked to one of the horses and stroked its soft nose. ‘Otherwise we might as well walk to the wall.’

  ‘OK, you get the horses ready.’ Chick strode back to Slim and the other Rangers.

  Atkinson was talking to General Ilissus and several of her officers, updating them on his plans.

  They all turned and watched Cowboy as he unhitched the horses and lead them from the traces. The Rangers gathered around the horses and one mounted each horse. The remaining four handed their weapons up to their colleagues and gripped the harnesses securely.

  ‘May Zeus go with you Lieutenant,’ called the General.

  Atkinson waved from atop the horse.

  ‘Take the lead Cowboy,’ he ordered.

  The Ranger gently kicked his heals into the horses flank and pulled the reins around to direct it down one of the alleys. Slowly the horses filed out.

  They quickly manoeuvred away from the milling soldiers and started to increase pace. Soon the Rangers on foot were jogging alongside.

  ‘Hang on, here we go.’ The squad turned onto the main thoroughfare leading towards the outer city.

  ‘Ha!’ cried Cowboy, urging the horse forward into a gallop.

  The horse leapt forwards, pulling Topper alongside. The Ranger used support of the harness to increase the length of his strides to keep up with the horse, using less energy than he normally would have.

  The rest of the horses followed, powering down the surprisingly clear main route. The noise of their passing echoed from the buildings along their path.

  The reason for the deserted street soon became apparent. As the horses clattered along a Minoan stepped out of an alley several hundred yards ahead. It was followed by another couple of the bovine creatures.

  Their eyes opened wide as they spotted the Rangers mounted on the horses and they quickly brought their weapons up.

  Running at full pelt alongside Cowboy, Topper released one of his hands from the tight grip on the harness and drew his sidearm. Continuing to run he aimed at the Minoans and prepared to fire.

  ‘Topper, you better hit or they’re gonna skewer us.’ Yelled Cowboy over the noise of the horses.

  The Minoans had huddled together and were presenting their heavy spears towards the approaching horses. They braced the weapons and hunched down to absorb the attack.

  Topper smiled as the Minoans clustered together. With a nice compact target he had a better chance of hitting them. He sited down his M9 and began squeezing off slow shots as the horse came within fifty metres.

  The first two shots went wide, but the third and fourth hit their target. The high velocity 9mm rounds caught one of the Minoans in the neck, tearing open the artery and releasing a stream of blood across the faces of his colleagues.

  They flinched as the hot liquid splashed over them. The distraction enabled Cowboy to guide the horse past the Minoans. As the horse raced past, Topper unloaded the remaining rounds in his handguns magazine into the Minoans flank.

  The Rangers rode onwards at breakneck speed towards the Outer Walls.

  *

  H.M.S. Daring 26th May

  Commander Gorton turned to Lieutenant Bardsley.

  ‘Sound General Quarters, prepare the main gun. Take us in to station a mile off shore.’

  The mixed crew of the Dari
ng efficiently made their way to their stations as the ship slowly manoeuvred closer to shore.

  ‘Range to target?’

  ‘Twenty Four thousand metres,’ came the quick, efficient reply.

  Gorton did a mental sum. It was close to the maximum range of the 4.5’ Mark 8 Mod 1 gun located on the foredeck.

  ‘Sir, the gun crew are in position.’

  Gorton acknowledged. It wasn’t essential that the crew were in place for the initial ranging shots as the weapon could fire fourteen rounds before they were in position.

  ‘Now we just wait for the spotters.’

  He looked at the closing shoreline and waited.

  Fifteen miles away Cowboy pulled back on the reins of his horse and dragged it to a halt. Topper extracted his hand from the harness and flexed it to get feeling back into it.

  He reloaded his pistol as Cowboy and the others dismounted.

  ‘OK, it’s through that door, up to the top and follow the ramparts around to the right. Follow me.’ Atkinson hefted his M4 and led the way.

  The eight Rangers ran up the spiral stairway, taking them two at a time. At the top they turned to the right and took up a loose arrowhead formation with Topper in the centre with his M249 Squad Automatic Weapon. Beatbox flanked him on one side and Mark ‘Mud’ Tennant on the other armed with their M4’s.

  The three led the way with the rest of the squad shadowing them. Ahead they could see the gatehouse where the Minoans were attempting to break through.

  On the ramparts they could see a small squad of Atlantian Warriors attempting to protect the mechanism from an increasing number of Minoan warriors who were pushing through the door.

  ‘Jazzy, start picking them off.’ Atkinson called back.

  The Senior Sergeant stopped and rested his M4 against the inner parapet before swinging around his Barrett rifle. As the rest of the squad continued along the curved walkway he pulled down the bipod legs and rested them on the top of the wall.

  Dropping to one knee he flipped open the protective cap on the telescopic site and flipped off the safety.

  Captain Jurian took another step back as another of his men fell victim to a sweep of one of the Minoans spears that lifted him from the parapet and dropped him screaming over the wall to drop the fifty feet to the courtyard.