She looked at Harbid, her expression doubtful.
“I guess,” she said finally.
“Was there anything else Ensign?”
“No, nothing sir."
Turning on her heels she left the room.
Chapter 18
Saskill cursed as he slipped on the wet grasses that covered the hill he was climbing. He nearly lost his balance completely, but by digging his claws into the soil, he managed to keep from toppling back down. Above him, the sky was a swirling mix of black, red and purple. Rain poured down in thick sheets. Every once in a while, a gust of wind whipped across his face. Shaking the water out of his eyes, he lowered his head and continued to climb.
As he clawed his way upwards, Saskill thought of the events that had led him here. It had been over a year since the invaders came to their world. They had come from the sky and they called themselves 'humans'. No one knew much about them beyond that, but one thing was perfectly clear, they had come to destroy the shengyet. Their vastly superior technology had allowed the humans to sweep aside most resistance within a matter of days. For months the survivors had fled through the wilderness, being hunted by the humans at every turn.
Saskill shuddered slightly at the memories flowing through his mind. Food, clothing, medicine and shelter were always scarce, but even scarcer than basic necessities, was hope. Many of the fleeing refugees believed that the end had come, the spirit of death would take them all, one by one, until the shengyet were no more. Saskill couldn't blame them, he had felt the same way.
Not everyone had given up however, some still had hope, people like his father. As one of the last remaining shengyet chieftains, his words carried weight among the survivors. He had put out the word to all remaining warriors and any willing to fight. Saskill still couldn't explain it, but his father's determination had spread through the other shengyet. More and more had heeded the call to arms. At first it had been dozens, then hundreds, then thousands.
He had begged his father to let him join, but his father had refused.
“You are still too young,” he had told him.
He had told Saskill to stay behind with the others who weren’t fighting, but Saskill had followed the army from a distance. He couldn't not come, not with the future of their entire species hanging in the balance.
With a final effort, Saskill pulled himself atop the crest of the hill. He now had a perfect view of the valley below him. The hill was very steep and quite high, sloping down into a valley covered with forest, except for a large open area near its center. The ridge of the hill he was on was long and narrow. Saskill crept along it trying to stay as low and quiet as possible. After a couple dozen meters, the hill reached the beginnings of the forest to one side of the valley. Saskill flattened himself to the ground and slid forward until he could see down into the trees below.
There stood thousands of shengyet warriors, their thick armor, made of kung beast scales, glinted and shimmered as rain washed over them. Thousands of glowing red eyes were clearly visible in the forest gloom. Some were carrying metal swords or spears, most however, held captured or stolen human gauss rifles. Behind them stood row after row of kung beasts. Massive, four legged beasts, with thick armor scales covering their bodies from head to tail. Razor sharp claws adorned their four toed paws and needle like teeth, glistening from their open mouths. Atop each beast sat its rider, armored from head to foot in the scales shed by the animals. This gave them the appearance of being a kind of extension of the animal, thought Saskill.
At the head of the army, he recognized his father standing next to his own mount. He was close enough for Saskill to hear what he was saying.
“Brothers, Sisters,” he shouted.
“I thank you all for being here this day. To say that the past year has been difficult, would be more than an understatement. We have lost so much that I do not know if we can ever get it back. So many of our people, our greatest minds and leaders have been killed. Even the young and innocent have not been spared this terrible scourge.”
Saskill watched his father put a hand up on the saddle of his kung beast and pull himself onto its back. The beast turned, so that he was once again facing those assembled before him.
“I know there are those who have said we cannot win, that the humans are too powerful and that this is the end. Perhaps they are right. Perhaps I am wasting my life and yours on a fool's errand.”
He paused for a moment and a low muttering emanated from the crowd.
“But if this is so, then we are all dead anyway! And while some might cower in fear and misery, waiting for the end, I will not!” he shouted.
“If the death spirit is to take me, my family, my people. Than at the very least, they shall have company!”
A roar of approval went up from the crowd, the stamping of feet and clang of metal against armor was deafening. At that moment, as if on cue, a column of human soldiers marched out from behind the trees on the other side of the valley. The humans could detect any shengyet out in the open. Dense tree canopy or rock seemed to negate that ability however. Which meant the approaching humans couldn't see the shengyet host. Saskill was too far away to make them out clearly, but he was all too familiar with their appearance. They would be dressed in their dark blue uniforms covered with armor plates covering the chest, back, legs and arms and a helmet with a clear visor covering the face.
Although he could not see it, Saskill knew their breast plates would have a gold animal drawn on the middle. It had wings and a curved beak, with talons on its two legs. They would also be carrying their projectile weapons, he knew they were called Gauss rifles. They could throw a slug of metal to great distances at extremely high speeds. Armor made of kung beast scales could deflect the blow, but not without causing considerable bruising and even internal bleeding to the wearer.
Along either side of the column, human war machines, seemed to float over the ground. Saskill didn't know how they managed to stay up without touching the ground below them, all he knew was that they were deadly. He looked back at the shengyet gathered below him in time to see his father turn his mount to face the enemy. A shengyet battle cry, a bone chilling shriek, rent the air and the next moment the ground thundered as thousands of warriors and kung beasts charged.
Saskill leapt to his feet and charged after them along the crest of the hill. In the distance he could see the humans quickly moving into position. The human war machines moved out in front, while the column formed into a firing line in between them. Saskill estimated that the human force was roughly half the size of the shengyet. Two hatches popped open atop the human war machines. Near the front, a large turret popped up and further to the back, what Saskill knew to be a launcher of some kind appeared.
The shengyet infantry swept down into the valley, straight at the enemy. The kung beast riders however, moved along the side of the valley opposite to the hill Saskill was on. That side of the valley was bordered by a sheer cliff, several hundred meters high. Saskill's father however, road at the head of the infantry. The war machines maneuvered slightly, so that half of them were now facing the oncoming infantry and the other half, the charging riders.
At this point Saskill had reached the midpoint of the hill's crest. He was out of breath but continued to run, trying to keep up with the charging army. The shengyet were now eight hundred meters from the human force. The launchers on the human war machines fired something into the air. Suddenly the projectiles broke apart into many smaller pieces. Pieces that suddenly changed course and swarmed toward the oncoming shengyet. The humans called them attack drones and Saskill had seen the damage they could inflict.
The drones reached the still charging shengyet, they swooped and swarmed overhead, firing bursts of bright blue light that left blackened marks on armor plate or charred holes if they struck exposed skin. Some warriors halted in their charge to fire their captures human rifles at the them. A few of the drones sputtered and veered off course as they were hit, eventually slamming into
the ground. Some of the drones attaching the kung beast riders near the cliff, smashed into the cliff face, showering those below in bits of charred metal and rock.
While some warriors slowed or even halted their charge to aim at the attack drones, the majority of the shengyet force continued towards the human firing line. The launchers on the war machines fired again. This time however it wasn’t drones they fired. Saskill couldn’t see the projectiles they launched, but when they impacted the shengyet force they exploded in a blinding white flash. With a terrible sizzling sound, spheres of white light appeared in the center of the shengyet lines. Lightning discharged from the outer edges and the next second all that remained where they had exploded were charred corpses, burnt armor and melted weapons.
Saskill winced, every time one of the spheres struck, as the launchers fired again and again. The shengyet were now roughly four hundred meters from the humans. The turrets on human war machines now opened fire. They fired the same bolts as the human rifles, only they were larger and struck with considerably more force. Spiraling trails of turbulent air and water vapor followed the large super dense slugs as they struck their targets. Saskill saw warriors lifted of their feet and thrown backward by the force of the impact. Tumbling and crashing into others behind them, leaving large rents in the shengyet lines. Even the charging kung beasts were knocked off course when struck.
Saskill and the charging shengyet force were now only three hundred meters away from the humans. Both sides opened up with their rifles and a crisscross of vapor trails connected the two sides. Saskill stopped running and flopped down on his stomach, still watching the battle unfold. Suddenly it occurred to him that he couldn't see his father. He didn't have time to scan the battlefield for him though. The next second, what remained of the charging shengyet force collided with the human firing line.
Shengyet warriors leapt at the humans, who tried to back away and bring their rifles to bear, but they were too late. Using swords, spears, rifles as clubs or simply their claws, the shengyet tore into the human lines. The next moment, the remaining kung beasts smashed into the human's left flank. The beasts leapt, pounced and swiped at any human in reach. A group of riders focused on the war machines. Their beasts leaping atop the things, ripping and clawing at the launchers and turrets. The human ranks faltered and broke, they attempted to flee but were perused and cut down.
Saskill stared in wonder and disbelief at the broken remains of the war machines, at the dead humans strewn over the ground. They had done it, they had won! The warriors down in the valley seemed equally amazed. Then, a victory cry went up from those still standing. Low and quite at first, but growing ever louder until it culminated in a triumphant roar. Saskill joined in, it seemed like a lifetime ago that he had felt truly confident, proud of his race and hope for the future. They could do it, the humans were not invincible, they could be beaten.
It had stopped raining now and a bit of evening sun was poking through the swirling clouds. Saskill resumed scanning the battlefield for his father. He finally spotted him helping a wounded shengyet slowly get to his feet. Saskill was about to call out to him when a distant roaring sound made him look up. What looked like a streak of fire, flew across the sky and with a ground shaking crash, impacted somewhere in the forest from where the humans had come. Saskill could see the shengyet warriors give each other nervous looks, he too felt uneasy.
Then he felt a distant tremor, a slight vibration in the ground, followed by another and then another. It seemed like they were getting closer and stronger. Saskill heard his father shout something which was repeated through the ranks of shengyet. Suddenly warriors were gathering up weapons, checking armor straps or remounting their kung beasts. The tremors were getting really strong now; the ground shook like during an earth quake.
A panicked yell went out from the shengyet army that had been hastily reforming into lines. Several of them pointed at the forest. As Saskill looked up, he saw something looming over the treetops, moving towards them. The sheer size of what he was seeing suddenly hit him and he felt a wave of fear flow through him. It looked like, well he wasn't sure what it looked like, a human he supposed. It had a torso, legs, arms and a head, but it looked like it was made of metal. And the sheer size of it, the tops of the tallest trees barely came up to its waist.
The ground shuddered with every colossal footfall, Saskill could hear trees twisting and snapping as it made its way towards them. Bolts, like those fired by the human gauss turrets erupted from the monster's arms and abdomen. The rate at which these fired was much higher though. The shengyet warriors dove for cover behind the wreaked war machines, others attempted to flee but where quickly cut down.
Saskill just lay there, terrified but at the same time mesmerized by what he was seeing. Gauss cannon bolts impacted the war machines the shengyet warriors hid behind. With a flash of blinding illumination, a bright blue-white beam erupted from the monster's chest. It struck the nearest of the ruined war machines, which promptly vanished in a shower of sparks and smoke. Saskill blinked rapidly, his eyes hurt from looking at the beam and he couldn't see properly. He closed his eyes and a moment later he saw the second flash through his closed eyelids, it still seemed unbearably bright. He opened his eyes just in time to see the last of the smoke clear from what was left of the first war machine. It was gone, replaced by a charred smoking crater, filled with a horrible mess of half molten metal and burned skeletons.
The remaining warriors broke from their covers and ran. The gauss turrets tracked them and started firing again. Saskill finally managed to tear his eyes from the spectacle and look for his father. He couldn't spot him in the hundreds of warriors running for their lives. Then, out of the corner of his eye, he saw movement near what remained of the war machines. It was his father, emerging from inside one of them, holding something. Saskill couldn't make out what it was. His father turned to face the monster, now slowly moving forward, picking off warriors as they ran. Each thunderous footfall making the ground shudder.
With a piercing battle cry that could be heard even over the din of the approaching monster, he slung whatever he was carrying over his back and ran straight at it. After a second or two, the monster seemed to notice the lowly shengyet, apparently stupid enough to charge straight at it. Two of the Gauss cannons switched to fire at him. He broke left and the shots missed, but were immediately followed by another and another. Both of those missed as well, but not by much.
The monster halted its steady advance, it had now almost cleared the forest and Saskill could see its enormous metal feet among the trees. It brought all of its Gauss cannons to bear on the approaching shengyet, but Saskill's father was now almost at its feet. The Gauss cannons fired and Saskill's father leaped into the air. The ground exploded exactly where he'd been a split second ago. Saskill watched, transfixed, as his father collided with the monster's left leg. It was covered in small crevices and protrusions. He used these, as well as his claws, to climb up.
The monster brought up its left leg, it was obvious what it was about to do. Saskill's father seemed to have noticed as well. He stopped climbing and clung to his current position for dear life. The monster's leg smashed down, striking with such force that its foot sank deep into the ground. Saskill's father managed to hang on, but only with one hand. The monster attempted to raise its leg again for another stomp, but it seemed to be having trouble extricating its foot from the ground.
Wasting no time, Saskill's father resumed his climb. Saskill heard the straining of some sort of mechanism inside the monster's leg as it tried again to lift it. This time it managed it, but the sudden release caused it to stagger backwards a step. By now, his father had made it to the monster's chest. That was the place where the bright blue beam had originated. There was an odd circular indentation there, centered by what looked vaguely like a Gauss cannon, but much shorter and with a larger diameter.
The monster brought in its right arm to crush the annoyance now clinging to its chest. In one swi
ft motion, Saskill's father removed the thing slung over his back. Saskill could now see it was a large cylinder of some kind. He waited a moment longer, then as the monster's hand was about to crush him, he threw the cylinder in the air and jumped. He plummeted to the ground, smashing through the treetops and hitting the ground with a dull thud.
At the same time the monster's hand moved rapidly towards its own chest. Just as the now falling cylinder moved into its path. With too much momentum to stop it now, the monster's hand smashed the cylinder into its chest, which promptly exploded in a brilliant white flash. The monster reeled back from the force of the explosion. The indented circle in its chest showed a spider web pattern of glowing cracks. Suddenly, tendrils of blue-white light burst forth through the cracks, melting and gouging out sections of the beast's outer shell. The monster toppled backwards and landed on the ground with a thunderous crash.
Saskill managed to clamber to his feet.
“Father!” He shouted.
“Father, are you alright?”
He couldn't see him anywhere on the ground from his current position and began to run towards the forest.
“I-I'm fine,” called a voice from below.
Saskill's looked down and saw his father leaning against a tree and clutching his side. A triumphant roar made Saskill jump and spin around. The remaining warriors were all running towards his father, roaring and cheering.
Saskill saw a brief grin flit across his father's face, then he turned to face his son.
“And what,” he said in a mock stern voice.
“Are you doing here?”
Saskill grinned as well and cocked his head.
“I thought you might need my help.”
His father laughed, but quickly winced and rubbed the side of his chest.
“I think,” he said grunting slightly with pain.
“I might hold you to that next time.”
Imperium: Contact Page 15
