by Vance Moore
The barge was small, and the upper wooden shield was open. Eight of the runners unleashed a barrage of bolts into the interior, killing whatever crew remained inside. Boxes of cargo shattered as the runners' projectiles smashed through the vehicle and impacted against the walls of the house. Four scouts dismounted, drawing weapons and throwing themselves into the barge to secure it. Rayne and the scout commanding the ants swept around the Keldon vehicle.
The enemy warriors converged on the stone and timber farmhouse, diving through the door as Rayne unleashed her bolts. Retreating warriors sprawled in sliding falls as they died at a full run. The League scout drove his steel ants before him like a pack of hounds. The war machines piled onto the warriors, mandibles tearing at limbs and weapons. A Keldon held off an ant as his fellows struck off its limbs. The ant had its revenge as it amputated the man's arm. Two ants worried at a warrior like dogs with a toy, leaving a trail of blood and gore as they grappled with the corpse. Rayne and another scout brought their runners into the melee, triggering metal wings. The blades cut through armor and flesh as the Tolarian machines circled. The Keldons outside were dead, but their sacrifice allowed their companions to complete their retreat into the house.
The door slammed shut, and the sounds of furniture being piled in a barricade could be heard. The ants shifted in front of the building, and a few circled around the sides, searching for access. The house appeared stout, and Rayne could see movement through a few narrow windows. She rode back to the Keldon vehicle.
The rest of her party surrounded the small land barge. They had captured the craft with no losses, and Shalanda examined the interior and its cargo. The other scouts had remounted and stood ready to continue the attack. Rayne considered what to do. She had achieved her primary objective, but there was still a party of armed enemy warriors to deal with. Storming the house seemed a bad idea as sounds of barricade building continued.
"Can you move the barge farther back from the house?" Rayne called to Shalanda.
"I don't think so," she replied. "The Keldons have turned off the motivating force. This isn't going to move an inch without their cooperation."
A crossbow bolt shot from the house and imbedded itself in the upper shell supports. Shalanda hopped out of the vehicle and crouched behind the barge's legs. Another shot skimmed along the ground and rebounded off a runner's leg.
"Apparently, they aren't going to cooperate," Rayne said as she signaled the other scouts to crowd against the barge and crouch their machines so the Keldon vehicle blocked shots. "Call back your ants," Rayne ordered the ant handler.
The steel ants still circled the house and dug at the walls, but the scout called them back with a whistle. They came at good speed, but one collected a bolt that crippled its rear legs. It dragged the dead limbs as it continued on the other four.
"We need to see if the Keldons are exiting the rear of the house," Rayne said and pointed to a League soldier. "Circle around and check if our reluctant friends are doing anything. Keep your eyes open for enemy reinforcements." The scout looked apprehensive as he turned and raced away. He stopped and began riding in a circle to stay out of range of the crossbows.
"Reload weapons," Rayne ordered. The scouts paired off. Leaning far to the side, a rider could just feed fresh bolts to another person's runner while keeping behind cover. Rayne guided her machine to her aide who was popping her head up to look inside the barge in quick glances. "What do you think?" she asked.
"I need only a few more minutes to examine the barge," Shalanda replied. "There are crates of vegetation and a few sealed boxes that seem related to the blight but somehow different. If only I could open the crates. Perhaps if I am quick enough?"
Rayne shook her head. "Without heavy shielding it's just too dangerous," the scholar said. "If we can't move the barge, we'll have to clear out the house."
"If I lie on the floor of the barge I should be safe enough," Shalanda insisted.
"Eventually the Keldons are going to realize that we want the barge and its contents," Rayne said. "I expect a barrage of burning crossbow bolts will soon follow. We need to move now. Save your energy for healing and investigating the barge. I don't know how soon Keldon reinforcements might arrive."
Rayne turned her machine toward the other scouts who gathered around her. They crouched lower as another crossbow bolt sailed through the barge and off into the distance. A scout began feeding bolts into Rayne's machine.
"We need a plan of attack," she said.
"We could send in the ants to open up the walls," offered one scout. "It would take time, but we could drive them out." The ants could chew through heavy walls, but it was slow.
"We need to end this fast so Shalanda can finish examining the cargo," Rayne replied.
The ant handler reached into a saddlebag and drew out a metal cylinder.
"If I could get some covering fire, I could burn them out." The scout was carefully taking the container apart. A fragile pottery vessel lay inside. "The other scouting parties captured a fire barge last week. I and a few others decided to test some of the munitions. This should start a fire without Shalanda expending herself."
"Everyone go around the right side of the barge and fire your bolts into the windows facing us," Rayne ordered and then pointed to the handler. "Go around the right side of the machine and run up to the right-hand corner of the house. Stay clear of the front windows or you might be shot."
The scouts quickly jockeyed for position, and then Rayne gave the signal.
Eight runners darted out and unleashed a steady barrage of bolts. Two crossbow bolts came from the house, one sinking into a scout's arm. Blood spurted out of a cut artery, and the man sent his machine back behind the barge. Shalanda pulled him out of the saddle and in seconds was locked in a healing trance.
Meanwhile, the ant handler's machine reached the house. One ant followed, like a dog after a horse, trying to keep up. The scout paused at the corner and threw the captured Keldon munitions onto the building. The pottery broke, and a thick, oozing molasseslike liquid slowly coated the wall. The scout and the accompanying ant raced back for cover.
"Back behind the barge!" Rayne called, and the scouts retreated. The ant handler dismounted and crawled onto the deck of the barge. He creeped forward, dragging his launcher behind him. Then he sat up and fired a light rocket toward the house, aiming at the liquid soaked into the timber and coating the stone base. The projectile blew a hole only a hand's breadth wide, but it ignited the fluid. Within seconds the fire caught and spread over the house. The hole left by the rocket seemed to suck the fire inside, and Rayne could hear Keldons screaming inside. Smoke poured from around the barricaded door and windows. Warriors threw shutters open and tried to breathe and then crawl through the small openings.
The handler rolled to the backside of the barge and whistled the ants to him. The war machines milled below, and then, at his direction, ran toward the burning building. The warriors inside forced open the door, kicking the remnants of the barricade into the yard. They exited coughing and crawling. Each warrior must have been nearly blind from the smoke and many waved swords wildly against attackers they could not see. Like helpless kittens they died under the implacable jaws of the war machines. Ants hauled the bodies away, tearing at the dead flesh.
"Circle and pick off anyone on the other side," Rayne ordered. "Keep an eye out for that crossbow." She sent her machine toward the house, swinging wide to see around the building. The ant handler remounted and accompanied her. Shalanda was already searching through the crates.
Rayne watched the house burn. The smoke poured out so thickly it was hard to see the building. A Keldon and servant tore out a window frame and stumbled clear, coughing and teary-eyed but both carrying loaded crossbows. The ant handler bolted them, and they dropped, twisting as they fell so they lay against the wall.
"They came a long way to die," Rayne said. Burning pieces of the shutters fell onto the bodies, igniting their clothes.
"W
ell, I didn't invite them," the handler replied. The building was totally engulfed in flames, and the roof collapsed into the building's interior. The handler whistled the steel ants together and headed back to the captured barge. Rayne smelled the roasting flesh and wondered how many more lives would be destroyed in the war. At last, she turned her machine and started for her aide to see just what they had captured.
"I found the source of what I sensed earlier," Shalanda said. She kicked open a crate, and out poured dead ground squirrels. Each tiny corpse had been covered with a layer of preservative, and the bodies stuck together like melted hard candy. "The animals all died without a mark. The other special crates contain other species of dead animals and samples of dead vegetation."
"So animals are being targeted now as well as plants," Rayne said. "How are they spreading the disease?"
"I can't tell without doing more research. I can use these samples to complete my own investigation." She looked at the crates with a more speculative eye. "Rayne, they may not be spreading the blight at all."
"There is a connection," Rayne said. "They are driving people off the land, and the war is destroying what's left." Rayne looked to the burned-out shell of the farmhouse. "They are a disease that is killing this land."
Chapter 16
"An army on the march is a terrible sight to behold," Barrin said. He peered through the glass at the mass of Keldon barges slowly advancing toward Arsenal City. The Kashan blimp he rode was high and miles from the Keldons. The fire barges accompanying the enemy force provided an umbrella of protection that he dared not violate. He could see the huge transport barges, some of which must have been just constructed, judging from their simple decorations and the almost pristine superstructures.
"I see targets, not an army," Alexi said as she watched the forces snaking along the hills. "If it wasn't for those cursed fire barges, I'd be killing Keldons right now." She pointed, and Barrin focused his sight back through the glass. The barge was low slung and trailed smoke from secured braziers. The craft scuttled forward rapidly and then froze in a new position to provide cover to the column. Other fire barges could be seen dashing forward as the troop transports continued their advance.
"If we could, I'd have you fighting now, but the new bombs aren't ready and won't be for weeks," Barrin said as he looked for the Kipamu League scouts who lay in ambush. "The design was finalized last week, but we are only starting construction. I don't know how long till we can get you the ordnance you need." A blimp swung out of a cloud ahead of them high in the sky. "Maybe that Mushan will have some luck."
A dozen bombs began falling toward the ground. Every fire barge in the line cast flame upward in balls and streamers. The more distant vehicles sent skipping streamers as the Mushan dumped ballast to soar out of range. When Barrin reached out with his senses he could feel gas generators on full bore as the ship tried to generate extra lift.
"He has blowers on, and the fire suppression is off," Barrin said with disbelief.
Smoke clouds and particles of fire rose from the barges, and bombs fell into a space that cleared as the barges flowed away from the impact zone. One small barge was close to the drop site and shuddered to a halt before continuing after a few moments pause. Alexi turned back to Barrin.
"If you drop from that high the Keldon mages will simply push your bombs off target. He should have dropped from a lower altitude." Alexi didn't condemn the Mushan pilot for taking a chance; she only thought him too cautious.
"Alexi, you're not thinking of a low altitude run?" Barrin demanded.
The Jamuraan mage only laughed. "Things will have to get a lot worse before I can talk the rest of the crew into a suicide run," she said and then sobered and considered the forces converging on Arsenal City. "I believe that by next week I will be ordered to do so if the city falls."
A group of Tolarian runners and steel ants rushed from cover at a fire barge. The ants unleashed their rocket attacks en masse on the vehicle. The light loads that the ants carried didn't do much damage individually, but their collective damage shattered the vehicle's legs and smashed the catapult in the open interior. The secondary blast as the barge blew only knocked a few ants down as the League forces retreated at high speed.
"Not much of a return for the risks they took," Alexi said as their blimp began to turn and fly at maximum speed toward Arsenal City.
"No, but the fire barges are moving closer to the transports." Barrin was looking back at the Keldon forces. "If we can keep them bunched up so they can't dodge, maybe a high altitude attack will work before they reach the city. The other benefit is in making them angry. We need them to attack the army immediately."
Alexi only nodded sadly, accepting the fact that whatever the result of the coming battle, the flying navy would only deal with the aftermath. The army would have to fight on its own.
The city and its defensive works appeared before them, and Barrin got into a transport chair. The seat was a board on a sling and was attached to a rope dangling a few hundred feet under the blimp. Ground troops grabbed the rope to steady it as Barrin slid down. When he disconnected, the blimp jumped up, and its fans were shrill as it climbed. Mageta and Shalanda were among the ground crew.
"How does it look?" General Mageta demanded.
"The scouts are attacking the stragglers and going after the catapults," Barrin explained, waving Shalanda toward him as he saw her walking through the camp. "If the scouts obey orders and continue their hit and run tactics, the Keldons should perform as expected and attack immediately."
Armorers set additional reloads outside the perimeter to load returning scouts and the steel ants. The marines were loading mantises with the heavy war rockets that filled their main weapons module. Barrin planned for the machines to cripple the transport barges while they were unloading. The men servicing the war machines seemed confident, but the infantrymen were nervous. Crates of rockets were moved out of supply dumps as the battle approached.
"Shalanda, any sign of the contagion spreading from the eastern forests?" Barrin asked. If things went badly and there was a siege, illness could destroy the League army as brutally as a Keldon attack.
"There seem to be just a few small pockets of influenza but no mass kills of animals or infection in the fields," Shalanda replied. "I've isolated the flu carriers and those who may have been exposed. Hopefully there won't be any problems." Rayne's aide still looked troubled.
Barrin pressed further. "Can you do anything if there is a flare-up of disease?" the wizard asked.
"We've curbed outbreaks of disease before, but I'm still uncertain about this one's true nature, and I can't pinpoint its source," Shalanda said candidly. "The blight and death of wildlife could strip the League as surely as the Keldon army." Barrin waved for her to withdraw, focusing on the problems of fighting the immediate enemy and allowing others to deal with the blight and wildlife deaths. Mageta moved closer as Shalanda made for the runner depot.
"How many do you make the attackers?" Mageta asked. The general seemed filled with nervous energy, and Barrin wondered if it was fear or anticipation that fueled Mageta's emotions.
"I would estimate the numbers of Keldons and war manikins at between ten and twenty thousand." Mageta's face fell as Barrin stated the size of the attacking army. The wizard tried to curb the blow.
"We knew that we would be outnumbered. That's why we decided to dig in and engage the enemy here." He pointed out to the defenses that did not look quite so substantial now. "Make them assault fixed positions and prevent them from surrounding us piecemeal. And we've learned that the hollow warriors can be deployed for only a short time. We will win if we hold fast and force them to exhaust themselves." Mageta only nodded and ran to oversee the issuing of additional ammunition. The Kipamu League would be outnumbered at least four to one, and the infantry's lack of experience might be a blessing. Perhaps most of the men did not realize how truly desperate things had become.
Barrin went to talk to his wife. Followi
ng in Shalanda's footsteps, he neared the runner depot where Rayne readied her runner for the press of battle. The runner was being carefully reloaded, the normal complement of war-bolts replaced by enhanced models that would do more damage at the sacrifice of range.
Rayne was part of the regular army now. She had more experience than most of the current riders in using the machines. Jolreal and Shalanda still tracked the extent of the blight and the animal kills, but Rayne convinced Barrin that her skill at maintaining and managing the runners would be better employed in combat.
"I still wish that you could stay within the walls," Barrin said to his wife. She finished securing loads for her personal weapon, so they would be at hand during the coming fight. "The light runners and the steel ants that we use are speed machines. Fighting in fixed positions would limit the damage we can do. Besides, this city is a trap if you don't win the initial battle. Out there I can reform and retreat far faster than the enemy can follow. I know your plan is based on exhausting the Keldons, but I would rather have room to maneuver."
"You're right, of course, but I still can't help how I feel," Barrin explained. "If things go badly, I want you to withdraw west at your best speed. The other coastal and river cities have raised massive armies and are slowly working their way east. I think if we can just hold the city against this attack, the League will be able to fight for the conquered lands instead of waiting for attacks." Barrin gripped her shoulders and drew her into an embrace.
"Your troops will be at the heart of any actions east." He paused for a moment. "You must be willing to accept our defeat if it comes to a choice between preserving your forces and saving the city."
Rayne kissed him and mounted up. Her mixture of Tolarian and League soldiers followed her out of the defensive works to link up with the hordes of ants stationed in hidden depots far from the city. Barrin hoped that he and the city would survive the day but felt better that his wife was sure to survive.
