The Gods of War
Page 28
The war god turned to face his opponent. To Tek's amazement Loki still smiled. It took a moment of calm reflection to understand why. The god of modern, calculated warfare was embarrassed to realize that he had been caught up in the joy of battle.
"One last lesson," he acknowledged.
"My pleasure," Loki answered in the voice he had used as Mentor and giving the young god a sweeping bow.
"But now I must be gone," replied Tek. He was rewarded by Loki's expression changing from superiority to frustration as Tek willed himself to finally answer the call of his faithful.
In the Persian Gulf, the face of the war changed almost instantly. Where for the first few days the Iraqis had been able to do as they willed, now the entire nature of the battle changed. The jets and missiles sent by the U.S. began to take their toll. Scuds fell to countermissiles and laser guided bombs found their marks with what one officer described as "miraculous precision." It had taken a while, but Tek, the new god of scientific war, had at last arrived.