As we rounded the front corner of a transport, two dozen Grotus were waiting. I managed a single shot, taking out three, before they were upon me. I dropped my rifle, pulling my maul from its back-sling with a single move. As I swung it down, the nearest Grotus dodged my blow with a roll to the right.
A second Grotus then took a swing, slicing off the top layer of the shoulder pad on my battle-suit. I countered with a jabbing hammer to his midsection. The first Grotus then took a hard swing at my head, which I dodged with a drop and roll. As I came out of the roll I swung my maul across the ground, crushing his ankle and sending him falling backwards. As he fell, Joni fired a gravity beam into his torso, sending him violently into the forward panels of the next transport behind him.
My four children stepped forward, swinging their mauls in unison, crushing the shoulder armor and the underlying bones of the next three Grotus. Two well placed GPR rounds sent half of those remaining up into the air, as the others turned and fled. I stood and gestured for us to continue forward.
We moved around another four transports without issue before coming into clear view of the inhibitor towers. Two of the towers had Grotus fighters climbing toward the top. I sprinted forward with all the muscle power I could muster.
I had only covered half of the two-hundred- meter distance when the first Grotus reached the top of the tower. A heavy axe swung into the reactor and steamy liquid spewed out. The Grotus fell backward as the thousand degree heat melted through the front half of his suit.
As a second Grotus raised an axe toward the reactor on the second tower, his arm and axe disappeared. The Grotus climbing immediately behind him quickly met with the same fate. Go had returned from the Garmon!
I stopped at fifty meters, firing several gravity beams into the horde of Grotus fighters now surrounding the towers. Go continued to take out the climbers.
I glanced back at my children, Joni, and the Talisans as they sprinted across the field behind me. I rose, turned, and once again vaulted toward the enemy.
Time seemed to stand still as I ran. Grotus fighters fell from the towers. I again stopped to fire my GPR.
Steam emerged from the reactor on the second tower as a Grotus hand axe found its mark. I turned quickly in the direction of the third. As I raced forward, a well-placed hand axe put the inhibitor shield in jeopardy—a stream of high pressure steam shot sideways into the air. Seconds later, my cohorts fired multiple beams into the remaining pack of Grotus fighters, clearing them from beneath the towers.
Go yelled in my ear: "I'm heading to the Garmon for a micro-welder! If that reactor holds for a few minutes longer, we may be able to save it! Until then, you'll need to stay clear of that steam! It's maxing out the sensors on my suit!"
As we stood in the field, defending the towers, a runner came forward from the east side. "The assault has been stopped! All remaining attackers are being cleared out!"
I gave the order: "Tell General Glaumek to return everyone to the main battle once that is done. And have everyone prepare to switch to blasters, we may be losing our inhibitor shield."
The runner was quickly away.
I said to Joni and the others, "When Go returns, if he can't keep that shield up, I want you to all head for the bunkers."
As I turned back toward the towers, the ten thousand Talisan GPR fighters came in from the Garmon to the north.
I gave an immediate order for half of them to take up positions along the ancient roadway that led toward the bunkers.
I turned back to Joni. "Plans just changed. We go back and move everyone to the northwest. If Go manages to keep the field up, we'll bring the GPRs forward. Otherwise, I want them to cover our retreat. And I want you to go with them and coordinate their placement. Let General Hurblon give the orders, you advise."
Joni nodded as she headed for the oncoming troops.
I looked back at my four kids. "You ready to get back in the fight?"
Annel and Bareta stepped forward with resounding yeses.
Go yelled in my ear. "I have the welder! But it's inside my suit! We'll have to shut down the reactor to get it out!"
I winced. "Make it happen! We need that shield!"
Go powered to the top of the third tower and blinked in. The reactor power feed was switched off. Seconds later, the last of the redundant inhibitor fields collapsed. Go pulled the welder from his suit and began the task of sealing the leak. Joni led five thousand Talisan GPR fighters to the northwest as I ordered the rest to follow me south.
As we ran, the green pulses from the Grumar and Grotus laser weapons began to fly over our heads as the blue ion bolts from our own weapons flew off in the distance. Ten minutes later, we emerged from the transports into the main battle. The fight had changed from organized fronts to complete chaos. Pulses and bolts flew and trees burned and rocks smoldered. We raced into battle around where I had left Getta. She was nowhere in sight. Thousands of Grunta bodies lay dead on the ground around me as I charged forward, firing my GPR. My arm pad was again fully aglow with power.
Three minutes later, Go came over the comm: "The leak is sealed, but the reactor won't restart. The other two are gone for sure. The inhibitors are down!"
I grabbed the closest Grunta officer. "The inhibitors are down for good! Sound a retreat. We are heading for the bunkers to the northwest!"
The officer got on the comm, replying shortly after: "The Council is meeting to discuss this, we've been ordered to keep fighting while we wait."
I fired off three GPR beams as I yelled out in frustration.
I grabbed the officer. "Get me Grunta Command on your comm!"
Several seconds later, General Naya Rethera answered. "Mr. Beutcher, the Council is meeting as we speak."
I replied, "General! The Council can meet all they want! Our people are getting slaughtered out here. We are outnumbered and can't possibly win. At least make the decision for us to begin falling back to the northwest for a regroup! Make a decision on your own, General! These are our families out here!"
The general replied, "I will order the regrouping as you suggest, Mr. Beutcher. That is an order that's within my command to make."
I nodded as I turned to fire another gravity beam. "Thank you—"
The officer standing next to me was obliterated by a Grumar laser pulse. I rolled to the side as the next pulse singed the top of my helmet. A gravity beam from one of my Talisans sent the attacker hurtling backwards. As I stood and fired, I could see the others around me starting to move back. The regrouping had been ordered. We would pull back a half kilometer, just to the west of the transports. A wide field led up to a somewhat defensible ridge.
After getting singed by a second laser pulse, a hand pulled on my shoulder. "Let's go!"
It was my son Gamial.
I replied as I moved, "Where is your mother?"
Gamial shook his head as he fired off two ion bolts. "I haven't seen her or anyone else for a while! Try your comm!"
I fired off a half dozen GPR rounds before tapping my comm.
Several seconds passed before Getta answered. "Glad to see you are still alive! Who's with you?"
I glanced around. "Gamial, Annel, Bareta, Frante, and Malot. We are all in good shape. Is everyone else with you?"
Getta's hesitation told me what I didn't want to hear. "Monely, Gark and Hendra are gone. Your mother and father as well. Cousins Mikel, Terrfin, Delimon, and Aunt Greva perished only moments ago. Zangdi and Wallus are badly injured and have been taken back. Potria, Sesshan and the others have not been heard from and do not answer their comms."
Gamial pulled at my shoulder while Frante and Malot pushed me from behind. It was news that I was not prepared for. Pain from a heavy singe to my right forearm—that burned through the layers of the battle-suit—brought me back to reality.
The six of us were soon racing through the woods as a squad of my Talisan fighters stepped forward to sacrifice themselves for their emperor. As I ran, I sent out an immediate order telling m
y troops that sacrifices for their emperor were not to happen. I was certain it would go largely ignored.
After a sprint through the woods and across the wide field, we climbed the short ridge to prepare for our defense. My mind was numb with the thought of the loss of my loved ones.
Annel applied a dressing to my burned arm. "We fight on where we can, Father. We knew this day would come. The Grotus have lost far more than we."
I took a deep breath. "We could have avoided this fight, but the Council was eager to put us to the test. Now we are less than we were. We can no longer be whole."
Annel returned a smile. "We all have a limited time in this life, Father. It has been an honor to have been born to such valiant and selfless warriors such as you and mother. Our fight with the Grotus was inevitable. Better that at least we tried to do it on our terms."
I placed my hand on her shoulder. "You have your mother's strength and wisdom, Annel. You always did."
Chapter 15
* * *
Go blinked in and joined us on the ridge. The Grumar and Grotus used the break to regroup as well.
Go said, "I did all I could with the reactor. There wasn't enough coolant left for the reactor to restart."
I replied, "You don't look so good. Your face is a bright red."
Go hesitated before saying, "When I'm blinked in, this suit doesn't offer much for radiation protection. I think I've pretty much cooked my right arm."
I pulled back. "What? Get yourself back to the med lab on the Garmon immediately! The longer you wait, the more severe the damage will be! You are too valuable for us to lose!"
Go slowly nodded. "The suit is undamaged, so there is at least that."
I pointed as Go glanced at my arm. "Move it!"
Go gestured toward my forearm. "You might want to get that taken care of too."
"I'll live. You are dying. Get it fixed!"
Go nodded as he blinked out.
Annel tapped me on the shoulder. "Here they come!"
I turned to see a mass of Grumar soldiers leading the way out of the far woods with their tall shields held high.
The first ion bolts struck the shields and were dispersed.
I gave an order to my Talisan GPR gunners. "Bring the GPRs forward and lay into that advance!"
Before the move could be made, the Grumar and Grotus fighters broke into a run. I glanced back to see that our lines were twenty fighters deep. It would hardly be enough to stop the millions that would be following behind the front of the assault. Getta stood by my side barking orders as green laser pulses skimmed just over our heads.
I reached up, jerking down on her arm, which drew a scowl. "Get out of the line of fire, woman! You'll lose your head!"
Getta knelt as she continued.
I crawled forward, unleashing a barrage of gravity beams into the onrushing fighters. Bodies, grass, and dirt flew in the air.
I said, "We are about to get overrun."
Getta pointed just behind us. The Garmon came in just above the treetops. The powerful gravity beam cannon dug deep, wide holes into the field on which the Grumar and Grotus ran. The onslaught of fighters was immediately stopped as there was no defense against the powerful ship. Ion cannons fired into the trees beyond the field as the attackers turned to flee.
Getta smiled, patting me on the shoulder as she continued to give and take orders over her comm. A barrage of orange particle beam pulses soon fell from the sky, taking out ten of the Grunta transports as they sat undefended. The Garmon turned her gravity cannon upward, driving back the first of the attackers, but more of the orange pulses rained down on the transports.
Getta grabbed my arm, pulling me to my feet. "Council has ordered us to the bunkers. I hope you were right about those. If not, we might just end up dead anyway."
I nodded as I stood and joined the others in a slow but steady run. "They will keep us safe. At least for a short while. Which is more than I can say for out here."
Our pace picked up as the frequency of the orange beams increased.
Jack came over the comm. "They've made an adjustment. Fifteen hundred ships are now firing from high orbit. They don't seem to care that we are knocking out their forward shields. We're starting to take hits up here. And they are doing damage. You better get your asses in those bunkers until we get this sorted out."
I replied, "We're on our way. Is Go in the med lab?"
Jack glanced to his left. "No, he's standing right here. And he's not looking so good either."
I yelled into the comm. "Get him to the med lab! He took enough radiation down here to kill a herd of boraks!"
Jack gestured toward one of his bridge crew. "Get him to the infirmary, now!"
As we continued our run down into the ravine, I gave orders for Joni and my Talisan gunners to proceed to one of the bunkers. The orange particle beams continued to pummel the Grunta transports. Explosions could be felt and smoke billowed into the air on the eastern horizon behind us.
I said, "What's the battle above looking like?"
Jack passed down a nav display feed. "The Moddle are down to about 15 percent of their fleet left. The Grumar and Grotus are down 60 percent. Our fleet is down fifty. The Kergans have lost 40 percent, which is why they peeled off the ships that are pummeling us right now. They could spare them.
"And more news for you—a new fleet of Kergan ships showed up about a half hour ago. The good news is they haven't joined the fight. The bad news is they aren't warships, they're transports. It's an invasion force."
I let out a deep sigh. "You have any more good news?"
Jack shook his head. "I thought that might be enough."
A groggy Go came over the comm. "Hey, just thought I'd let you know, the diagnostics on this suit are saying I will live. I'll be out of the fight for a while, but this suit has already begun pumping out iodine and a few other necessary chemicals to minimize the radiation damage. My side took a beating and I might lose the use of my right arm, but I should live."
I offered a half smile. "It's too bad you can't get those autobots to work repairs on you."
Go hesitated. "Hold on. I'll be right back."
The comm channel went into standby as I followed a Talisan officer waving us toward an open bunker door. I followed the others in front of me up a hill, stopping my family before we went inside.
I looked at Annel. "Find your mother, and you five see if you can rejoin her. She will need your support once we're inside."
Annel laughed. "She commed me about ten minutes ago. Told me to stick with you for the same reason."
I smiled. "Well, I'm here in front of you. Go to her and your brothers and sisters. They will want to see you. I want to know that you are all together, fighting as a family."
Annel leaned her forehead in to touch mine. "You know, for a Grunta male, you aren't half bad."
I patted Annel on the back. "Go, keep everyone together. I have an empire to run."
My children each bumped my forehead with their own before sprinting away. I could not have been a prouder father. My only worry was what seemed like a lack of emotion over the loss of their siblings, grandparents, and other relatives.
I had to stop my thoughts and shake my head. "You've been around Humans too long."
Go came back over the comm. "Hey, had a great idea about the autobots. They are immune to the effects of radiation. And they are made to fix and to build things. We're dropping a few dozen of them at the inhibitor towers right now. If we can keep from getting pummeled by a particle beam, we might just get those inhibitors back online."
Jack said, "I've been monitoring the Grumar and Grotus retreat. They've been getting their asses kicked by those particle beams. We've managed to push most of the ships away from you, so they've been concentrating fire on the others. They'll be lucky if they come out with 20 percent on the other side of that forest. That place is an inferno."
I replied, "Brilliant move, Go. You bring up those inhibitors and we have a good shot at
surviving this. And Jack, I can't say I'm unhappy with the status you just gave. I'll pass that along to Grunta Command."
As I moved inside the bunker, Joni came to my side and led me back to a makeshift infirmary the Talisan had set up. Two corpsmen took me to a bench and immediately began removing my battle-suit.
Joni said, "We need to get you patched up and back over to your family. I'm sorry for your loss."
I looked down. "Their sacrifices were for the greater good of everyone. They served willingly and fought with bravery and honor."
Joni shook her head. "Are Humans the only ones who get sad over the loss of their loved ones?"
I offered a half smile. "We Grunta hold those feelings internal and instead try to celebrate the life of those who have passed by remembering their actions and deeds. You dwell in your sadness while our spirits are lifted."
One of the corpsman said, "When you first walked in, I had a moment's hesitation, thinking you were a Grotus. That blue stripe isn't visible through all the caked-on dirt and blood."
I looked down at my blood covered torso. "I'm probably lucky I didn't take a maul to the back of my skull."
The Talisan corpsman replied, "I'll take the suit, clean it, and do a few modifications to it that should make it distinct."
I nodded. "Thank you, Corporal Willet. That would be appreciated."
The corporal bowed. "It is an honor to serve you, Sire."
I took a deep breath and smiled.
The burn wound to my forearm was painful, but it would heal.
Joni looked me over. "When they get that taken care of, you should hit the showers. This place has some nice facilities, kind of amazing given they are three thousand years old."
I looked around the room. "I hope to one day have time to fully explore and understand my history. And yes, this place is amazing."
Joni smiled. "Hey, probably the best part of this place is gonna be that it was built with you in mind. Doorways and ceilings are high. Beds are long."
An autobot went charging past.
I remarked, "What are they doing in here?"
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