by Unknown
Vengeance is nigh
Lev and Kalin stood with me as I reviewed everything we had, the readiness reports from the other bases and any plans I deemed to share.
It turned out that Mikhail wasn’t the only one who doubted me, but he had been the only one to be so vocal. Several other commanders at least saw sense in my leadership, even if they doubted my capability for it, but a surprising number were actually supportive. It stunned me at first, just how respected and well-liked Corvi had been, but then I realised that these people had seen everything about her that I had - she had proven herself to be competent, charismatic and worthy of loyalty, and many people had wanted her to assume the role of Head once Sharriana had been killed.
With Corvi’s death, however, there was a severe lack of suitable candidates, and there had been arguing about that until I made one important point - we needed to actually remove Sharriana first, otherwise her replacement was irrelevant.
“So how we looking, boss?” Lev asked, that small trace of worry still evident in her eyes.
“We’re about ready to move,” I told her, ignoring the unknown concern for now. “With all the other bases reporting ready, we need to mobilise before some of them start having an inconvenient conscience.”
“Then let’s give the orders!” she cheered, looking immensely lively for someone about to plunge head-long into what was essentially open warfare.
“Not yet,” I said firmly, and took my phone out once more. “I have a promise to keep.”
“If you’ve left without me, I swear you’re a dead man,” Lori said upon answering the phone, and I grinned.
“No chance. Make sure the Op trigger is on something portable, then get over here. We’ll be leaving as soon as you get to us.”
“Thanks again boss,” she told me with clear sincerity. “I’ll be there in twenty.”
As soon as she hung up, Lev walked up to me and grabbed hold of my arm.
“Can we talk privately, D? Thanks a bunch.” Her tone was cold as she pushed me into a private side room and slammed the door shut behind us.
“What the fuck are you doing?” she hissed at me, and I just stared at her blankly.
“What? What are you on about?
Lev looked like she was ready to hit me.
“You and Lorelei, you shit!” Comprehension finally dawned on me, and more than anything I was hurt - that my best friend thought me so shallow was almost physically painful. However, she wasn’t finished with her accusation.
“Corvina, your own fucking wife, has barely been gone a week and you’re off fucking her closest friend! What in all the fucks is wrong with you?!”
I stared at her again, pain and fury twisting in my gut as unshed tears burned in my eyes.
“You cold, small-minded bitch,” I told her with quiet rage. “You know, better than anyone, how much I love Corvina, how much she meant to me.” My voice began to rise as the emotion took hold, the tears flowing freely once again. “You know that she was more than my wife - she was my friend, my soul-mate, my dark angel, and yet you have the audacity to accuse me of betraying her memory by having sex with her friend!”
Lev’s expression rapidly became one of remorse as she realised her mistake, but I wasn’t about to let it go uncorrected.
“For your information, Lori and I were grieving together, because we both needed someone else who knew our pain! I’m sure you’ve felt loss before, but she wanted someone who knew Corvi, someone she knew better than a casual acquaintance!”
“I...I’m sorry, D, I didn’t-”
“I’m not finished!” I snapped, and she went silent again.
“Corvi was everything to me. She was my entire life, and her loss is like a blade of ice rammed through my chest, every minute of every. Fucking. Day. Don’t you ever assume I have forgotten her, and don’t ever assume that what I do in my private time is in any way your business!”
There was a taut silence as Lev hung her head in shame, and it was me that broke it again.
“Lorelei is a friend, nothing more,” I said in a much calmer tone. “It’s going to take a damn sight more than a week for me to move on, assuming I ever do.”
Lev heaved a heavy sigh, not following me when I walked to the door.
“I’m really sorry, D.” Her voice was quiet, defeated. “I should’ve learned from the last time I went off on one, but...”
“Well make sure you do this time,” I answered, opening the door for her. “Now come on. We have work to do, and I want you where you belong.”
“She looked at me quizzically, and I offered her a lop-sided grin.
“At my right hand.”
As soon as Lev and I left the room, I looked to both her and Kalin, tension building inside me as I committed us completely.
“Put the word out - we’re mobilising now. All forces east of Germany are to begin leaving their staging areas and moving on the fortress, all forces that follow us in and around Germany are to begin pre-emptive strikes against loyalist forces.”
“Aren’t we technically the loyalists?” Kalin asked, and I looked at him seriously.
“History is written by the victors,” I said bluntly. “We win, we can call ourselves whatever we like. We lose...well, we won’t be around to complain.”
“Let’s not lose then,” Lev stated, and checked her Desert Eagles.
“Quite. Let’s get to it, people!”
I dressed in the same thing I’d worn to face Sharriana - my combat suit, my crimson trenchcoat and leather gloves. My swords were slung as they had been that night, and I ensured Corvi’s hair clasp had pride of place on my chest.
As soon as those items were sorted, I went to the armoury and took another small arsenal; a USP at my right hip, shotgun slung at my back and a pair of MP7s holstered at the base of my spine.
And, as always, I added my throwing knives. They were always handy.
After that, I went to the landing pad. I would be in the last Osprey to leave, because I wanted to make sure I had a chance to thank my soldiers in person.
There had been no time for big speeches, so I made sure to tell them I was proud of them as they boarded. They deserved that much.
Then at last, there she was - Lorelei, my newest friend, armed and ready for war. She’d taken as many firearms as she could, like me, but her close-combat weapon of choice was somewhat different.
She carried a Japanese naginata, essentially a katana on a pole, currently using it like a walking stave.
“Thank you for this, boss,” she told me, embracing me with one arm. “We’ll make them all pay.”
I pulled one of my throwing knives out, drawing it across my left palm and holding it out towards her.
“We’ll make them all pay,” I told her, “and I will kill Sharriana Grey. Ifal’khiyadh vel suronis.” ‘By blood I swear it.’ An oath that meant success or death among vampires.
Lorelei reached up and opened her left palm on the blade of her polearm, and we clasped wrists in an ancient warrior’s embrace.
“Ifal’khiyadh van’suro benahn,” she replied. ‘By blood your oath is set,’ effectively confirming that the oath is witnessed - and that she gets first blood if I break my vow.
“Get on board,” I told her with a smile. “It’s time to bring our fury to the Countess’ doorstep.”
She did as commanded, and the ramp closed up behind her. Once her Osprey was in the air, the aircraft Lev had boarded circled back around and hovered in place just long enough for me to get on.
This is it, I told myself. There is no going back now. All that’s left is success...or death.
The atmosphere in the passenger cabin was t
hick with tension, since the majority of my force were Omega Company soldiers - there would be a lot of vampires for them to face, and they couldn’t stand against them all. I had several Sentinels spread among the squads, but it would still be a messy fight.
I stood by the boarding ramp, intent on being the first one out. Lev stood next to me, checking over her Desert Eagles for what was probably the fifth time. I think she was still tense over our disagreement.
“D, can I ask you something?” she said in a light tone, speaking up to make herself heard over the engine noise.
“Sure.”
“When this is all over, can I take your sister on holiday?”
I chuckled at her, relieved to have something pleasant to think about.
“Only if it’s ridiculously amazing,” I told her, and she nodded.
“I wanted to take her to Mexico, for the Day of the Dead. Maybe see some of those ancient ruins too.”
“Day of the Dead?” I asked in mild confusion. “That’s nearly a whole year away!”
She just shrugged at me.
“Well, I want it to be a long holiday.”
I couldn’t help but laugh, and it felt as if the sound diffused some of the tension my people were feeling.
“Fine, fine. Most of us will be too busy arguing about who will take over, anyway. Just don’t go having a secret wedding or anything.”
Lev looked at me in shock, which I chose to ignore.
“I mean it! If my sister’s getting married I want to be there.”
“It’s a little early to think about that, isn’t it?”
“It wasn’t for me,” I told her, and began making my way to the cockpit.
“It isn’t going to be easy, sir,” the co-pilot told me, a man named Paul Keeler - he had been one of the crew on my flight back from threatening Sharriana, and I specifically requested the two of them again for this flight.
“How so?” I asked, and he pointed at the radar, the numerous blips appearing on the screen.
“We have incoming, and I don’t think they’re here to welcome us.”
“Vek’shai tavahs,” I said under my breath. “How many exactly?”
“A lot, ahead of us and coming in on our flanks, closing fast. Looks like they’re going for a definite kill-shot this time.”
Just then a saw several streaks of fire enter our field of vision from our right...and the obvious missiles arced away from us.
A group of fighters tore in from our left, taking up position in front of our aircraft and unleashing their own volley of missiles. Several additional blossoms of flame indicated the newcomers had hit their marks, and the group that was somewhere on our right went after any survivors.
“Shield leader to Deimos Black,” a voice said over the radio, in a clipped South African accent. Paul passed me a spare headset and connected it for me, and I keyed the mic.
“Deimos Black here,” I said, uncertain if this was simply a ruse to take us out when we were vulnerable. “Are you here to escort us?”
“Affirmative, Mister Black,” Shield Leader told us, and I closed my eyes in relief. “A lot of us at Pretoria knew Lady Delacore. All of us offer our condolences...and our loyalty.”
“My thanks, Shield Leader. That means a hell of a lot.” I meant it. These people had never even met me, but they gave me their loyalty based on my marriage to Corvi. “You guys think you can keep the skies clear for us when we make the approach?”
“That’s the plan, Mister Black. Let’s show this bitch that we won’t be manipulated any longer.”
“When we’re done, you’ll have to let me buy you and your people a drink,” I told them with a laugh. “See you on the other side, Shield Leader.”
“We’ll hold you to that, sir,” the pilot replied. “Shield Leader, out.”
I passed the headset back to Paul, and both pilots smiled at me.
“Nice to get some good news for once, eh guys?”
As I made my way back into the passenger cabin, my nose started bleeding again. Someone, somewhere sent a powerful psychic message out, in order to reach me wherever I was. It hurt like hell, but the message made it through.
We are approaching attack range. If you have anything planned, now is the time to enact it.
I didn’t know who they were or where, so I couldn’t send a reply, and I doubt they wanted one - their psychic voice was tinged with disgust, as if they really didn’t care to be working with me.
I didn’t care. I just needed them to do their jobs.
I focussed on where Lorelei was, and sent her the message she was waiting for.
Lori, time for Lights Out.
A moment later her reply came back, echoing in my mind as lazily as her normal speech.
Lights Out, aye. Sending now.
I like to imagine that somewhere at Sharriana’s base, some poor technician suddenly started panicking as every automated defence shut down at the same time, because a not-very-subtle computer virus suddenly convinced them it was a very good idea. At the same time, their radar system would have started screaming in electronic torment, as a separate virus started dismantling everything that made them effective.
That was the drawback of modern technology - everything is run by computers, so anyone with a certain amount of technical knowledge, such as Lorelei, could do some very horrible things with a few hours and a laptop. Lori had been given several hours and all the technology The Order had to offer - what she had achieved was almost witchcraft.
I took a radio that Tavoy passed to me, tuned it to the channel we had agreed on for us ‘Insurrectionists’ to use, and arranged the earpiece and mic comfortably.
Immediately I could hear a tumult of voices, people I had never met, as they began to land and see Lorelei’s work - the defences were down.
However, Sharriana had still drafted in every loyal body she could find - we were still in for a pitched fight, and we were still going to be fighting our own.
“We’re landing in five,” Paul announced over the crew intercom. “Everyone brace, we’re coming in on a hot LZ!”
“This is it people,” I told everyone over the radio, “let’s get in there and make Corvina’s sacrifice worthwhile. Mikhail, take your contingent and approach the south, Seraph you take the north side. My people will drop at the east main gate and draw the defenders back. Everyone, prep for drop.”
Already the soldiers around me were getting out of their harnesses and readying weapons, going over their final checks, with Tavoy keeping out of the way to let his sergeants to do their jobs.
“One last thing,” I told everyone who was listening. “Thank you. All of you. I know this isn’t ideal, but I swear I won’t let you down.
“Nahdis’ka nera vashae!” I shouted down the radio, adding the translation a moment later for those who didn’t speak vampiric. None shall deny our wrath.
As the people I now led roared their approval, I slapped the ramp release and pulled my MP7s free.
It was time for a storm of vengeance.
I leaped out of the Osprey into a brutal firefight.
With Sharriana’s paranoia encouraged by my threat, she had pulled in what seemed like every member of The Order loyal to her from across the world. That couldn’t have been true due to the simple logistics of such an effort, but it must have been close.
Armoured vehicles of varying nationalities were arrayed outside of the fortress walls, providing mobile firebases for the troops. These same vehicles turned their armaments to my other Ospreys in an attempt to bring them down, and sadly some of them succeeded. One of my aircraft flew overhead at an awkward angle, its left engine billowing smoke and flame even as her p
ilot wrestled for control.
As soon as it was low enough, the embarked troops jumped for safety before the Osprey finally ploughed into the ground, its stricken engine hitting first and exploding in a shower of blazing debris. The rest of the ‘plane slammed into the ground hard, the impact snapping it in half, before the surviving propeller’s weight and thrust caused the front half to cartwheel suddenly.
The crew were as good as dead, to say nothing of the casualties among the troops of mine already on the ground.
Arrayed against Sharriana’s loyalists were all of the forces that Corvi managed to pull together - all the bases that were sick of Sharriana and her manipulative rule of The Order. They too had a supply of armoured vehicles and additional aircraft to draw on, moreso than we had at Oxford - by comparison with some of the European or Russian bases, we were tiny.
Plumes of dirt and smoke were thrown up among the loyalists as our tanks and light artillery began trying to punch a hole through the defenders, although the artillery was sporadic as their target zones rapidly became clogged with friendly forces.
I sprinted across the cratered ground, heading for the closest knot of embattled forces. A white crow daubed across our armour distinguished the insurrectionists from the ‘loyalists’, in honour of the woman who had drawn us all together. Even Lev, running at my side as always, had adopted the insignia, having it painted on the back of her jacket.
I didn’t need to. I wore the original.
I opened up with my machine-pistols as I closed on the group, putting down four of them as their blood misted the air. Lev’s immense pistols roared their defiance to the world, each massive shot finding its mark and dropping a further five. Distracted by the new threat, several others turned to face us, only to then be blind-sided by the people they had been fighting.
Lev and I were upon them fast, using our superior strength and speed to finish the fight, draining any survivors to sate our hunger.
