Beyond?

by Andur

  Oh...? So the military didn't think of that? Seems like they are still new to oceanic warfare with magic. Just don't take the credit for my idea, you...

  My thoughts get interrupted as the first wave comes across our defences on one of the outer islands. We placed some of Quinn's guns on the outer islands to make it look like we really laid claim to the whole archipelago. The images show the barrier spells of a few ships lighting up brightly. So they have that sort of defence mechanism, I wasn't sure what to expect from those strange wood and metal structures. On one hand they look like the product of a low-tech society, but on the other they can fly and were created with the assistance of magic.

  The return fire is impressive. The enemies utilize some kind of energy spell which is similar to the one which the nomads used. Explosions light up the island's barrier while some of the enemy's ships go up in flames and fall out of the sky. The analysts starts counting numbers and is giving instructions to the gun crews over the mana net.

  From time to time the barrier flickers and huge explosions punch craters into the tropical paradise. After a quarter of an hour of watching the fireworks, our guns stop firing. The analyst deemed that our barrier became too unstable and ordered the remaining gun-crews to use their stepper discs to retreat. Shortly afterwards the island gets torn apart in an impressive display of brute force.

  “Is Quinn's inhibitor still okay?” I ask worriedly after seeing the remains of the first wave wasting their energy to turn the island into a charred wasteland of craters. They are moving on towards us while doing so.

  The analyst answers me. “It's dug fifty metres under the earth and concealed. The operating crew reports that everything is fine, though they were shaken a little.”

  Chuck sighs and nods. “It seems like the first part of our battle strategy worked as planned.”

  “Labelling a lost encounter as 'worked as planned' is a good way to sugar-coat the situation. I hope that our base can hold out a little longer, otherwise the second wave will do us in and we won't even lure half of their forces into our killing zone.” Ivy grumbles, puffing out her chest.

  107. ~Bail out.~

  “Pushing buttons is fun, especially if you don't know what they do.”

  -The Great Technomagus of the Free City States of Nict.

  Stiran Archipelago, Southern Ocean, The Emperor's Flagship

  Serenzar Draco

  “The first wave is about to make contact with the enemy.” One of my officers informs me, displaying the situation with a scrying spell. The spell projects a picture of the situation onto a big white screen, but I am not really interested in such intelligence.

  I am currently taking a look at the enemy base with my own two eyes. My staff had to follow me onto the upper deck of my flagship. After having found out about the enemy forces I immediately rushed here to take a look.

  “This is fishy. No matter how you look at it. We had these islands scouted just a few weeks ago and there was nobody here. Now we return and there is a massive hostile operation here.” I shake my fist at the big ship which is hovering above the central island of the archipelago. “And how did they get their hands onto the Shield! I thought it was destroyed!”

  One of the officers bows to me. “Nict's royal family's ability has proven to be very valuable in tasks like setting up bases or increasing a country's production. Our intelligence office says that the scene in front of us is possible if Nict, Quinn and Dwem are working together.”

  The fleet's general jumps in. “If they are right, then attacking them right now is the best opportunity we get. They don't have enough fortresses in place to stop us. Striking at them now will surely stop their thoughts of invading the second continent.”

  I squint my eyes, enhancing my eyesight to get a better look at the enemy base. But all I see is a white, whirling chaos of energy. They aren't using their power sparingly down there. If they really built this base with magic, then we intercepted them just in time. “I want that ship! The Shield of the Emperor is mine!” Hopefully they don't have full control over it. If they have, then my fleet is doomed. The Shield was constructed to end the war with Quinn. Unfortunately we never managed to use it against them.

  At first my father sent it far away onto a top secret mission and it remained missing until my father retired. It returned centuries later during the great rebellion of my brother and the only thing I managed to do with it was sending it from one hot spot to the next in order to put out my brother's little fires of rebellion. Finally we lost it above Dwem because a group of rebels managed to board it. The last thing I heard from the Shield was that they were passing a mountain ridge and that the rebels took out the ship's engines. The Shield is sturdy, but it's not indestructible. So it should be inoperable after falling from such a height. “We have to get that ship!”

  Our first wave arrives at the enemy base and I watch in awe as thousands of small devices rise from the island and the surrounding fortresses. There are so many that they turn the sky around the enemy position into a grey cloud.

  “They deployed their miniature scouting devices! It seems like those things are equipped with energy weapons! They are setting our ships on fire by bypassing the shields!” The officer who informed me of the situation swears and starts issuing commands, but our first wave is already committed to a dogfight with the unmanned devices.

  Flaming ships start plummeting to the ground and here and there one of Nict's drones gets hit and is utterly destroyed. Their numbers are too high though and even if they lack proper shielding, their speed and nimbleness are making up for that. Finally someone manages to adapt our Shields to reflect high amounts of radiation, but by that point the remains of the first wave are already finished.

  The general grumbles and issues more orders, forcing our attacking waves into a closer formation and selecting targets of priority. “Get the artillery on the ground! They can't move and we have more than enough fire power to break their barriers! Focus the fortresses! Don't waste your shots on the small craft, only target them while closing in and when the firing line for high priority targets is blocked!”

  Our second and third waves also rush into battle, being torn to pieces. This time the other side suffers as well. One of the flying fortresses tilts over and falls to the ground, shattering unceremoniously into thousands of pieces on the reef in front of the island.

  I snort and touch my amulet, trying to contact the ones who are flying the Shield. Maybe I can get them to see reason about their hopeless situation.

  Stiran Archipelago, Southern Ocean, The Shield of the Emperor

  Azir

  The Shield shudders, taking another hit from the enemy artillery spells. “This is turning into a real bloody fist fight.” I scowl, looking at one of our fortresses which is swarmed by the enemy's troop transporters. They started hurling themselves into our fortresses to unload their troops.

  The analyst nods, getting the desired signal. “The fortress is evacuated. There are only a few troops left, but they can't retreat to a stepper disc.”

  I nod gravely. “Tell them that they have thirty seconds to jump off of the fortress and trust in the safety belts.” Connecting to the mana net I enter a security code to control the fortress remotely. Then I set it onto a course into the core of the approaching enemy formation. Another thought informs the whole battle group to redirect all their energy to their shields in exactly one minute.

  Another impact shakes the ship, but our barriers hold. The seconds go by like minutes and the enemy formation starts dispersing away from the fortress. They already learned the hard way that our fortresses can't be taken over.

  A flash of light turns the fortress into dust and a shockwave travels outwards from the explosion, ripping the troop transporters in its vicinity to pieces. A perfect sphere around the explosion is cleared from all enemy activities. Other ships advance into the cleared space soon afterwards, filling it immediately.

  “This is the sixth wave? How much do we have left?�
� I massage my temple, looking down at the console at my side.

  “We have to hold just a few more minutes until all engaging enemies are within our killing zone. We are down to seven fortresses and four thousand drones.” The analyst replies. “We can't make it much longer.”

  “I really want to push that button.” The annoying yellow button on the console has been blinking since half an hour ago. “What if it's asking me to activate the super weapon?”

  “Don't dare to try! What if it deactivates the shield?” Chuck slaps my hand away from the console.

  “But that compartment of the console isn't related to the shields. See?” I point out the buttons which are clearly divided into different colour schemes. “Red for weapons, blue for shields, orange for lights and other stuff. Brown for engines, but what are the yellow ones for though? And violet? Oh look! They have a big ship too! You guys didn't tell me about that one.” I point at the screen and Chuck turns around.

  “What?” Chuck turns to face the screen and I use the chance to press the blinking button.

  The screen switches the displayed scene and is filled by the face of an important looking guy. He seems to be in his thirties and his facial features bear certain similarities to a body pillow in the corner of the room. There are golden runes on his horns and his eyes are unmistakably of the Emperor's bloodline!

  His expression turns into a grin. “Finally! I thought you would never decide to talk.”

  “Mmmm! MMMh!”

  The guy averts his eyes from me, taking a look at Ivy who is resting on top of Jeremiah. “Is that Jeremiah?”

  I force myself to smile. Apparently yellow means communication. “Yes. That means that you'll kill your brother if you destroy this ship.”

  The other side squints his eyes into small slits. “And why exactly should I care about that?”

  Damn! I forgot that they have no reason to like each other. “Ah, I just thought that the bond between brothers may count for something. We aren't exactly treating him well, you know?”

  “He looks fine to me. He always liked to be dominated by weaker females. Actually his current situation isn't very different from his preferred bedroom activities.” Serenzar shrugs his shoulders heartlessly. “I just called to give you the opportunity to capitulate.”

  I try to sound as confident as possible. “We don't. Blowing this artefact up and running away to fight another day is actually totally within our calculations.”

  Serenzar's expression turns into a grin. “I don't think that you have full control over the Shield. Otherwise you wouldn't be in your current situation. My forces will exterminate you and take over the Shield. And who are you to talk like this to me? I am Serenzar Draco, the God-Emperor!”

  Sitting a little straighter I smile at him. “My name is Azir Zait, husband of Nict's second princess Stella Gejene. I'll see to it that your little game ends soon.” That's right! Keep talking to me and don't concentrate on the battle.

  Stiran Archipelago, Southern Ocean, The Emperor's Flagship

  Serenzar Draco

  I squint my eyes, trying to assess Azir's character when one my officers draws my attention to another scene. What I am showed is a view of the island. The island's barrier started flickering a few moments ago. Spells are getting through and fill the military base with craters.

  What's interesting though is what happens when a spell hits one of the trenches filled with soldiers. Dirt and body parts are thrown into the air, exactly like someone would expect.

  There is just one problem. The body parts don't belong to humans. The soldiers turn into various animals when the illusion is broken. Cattle!

  They created a huge illusion! “Pull all ships, which aren't needed to win, out of the fight.”

  Turning back to the screen I find Azir grinning at me, but I don't give him the satisfaction of losing my coolness. “That's everything you get. Put your hidden card on the table and let's see what it's worth.”

  Ah, damn! “Looks like they found out. Ok guys, time to retreat.” Azir claps his hands and leaves the control room. The other personnel hurries to follow him.

  The last one to leave is the woman who was using my brother as a mattress. She stands up and shoulders him like a sack of potatoes. My brother looks at me with tears in his eyes and I fight the urge to laugh at his fate.

  I turn to face the distant fighting. My flagship stayed safely away from the fight with the rest of the dockyards which continued on their path. Casting an enhancing spell on my vision I focus on the distant Shield, which is enclosed by a swarms of thousands of my warships.

  A few moments later all the distant noises of battle and flashes of light cease to be. My expression drops as ships fall out of the sky like stones!

  A cacophony of explosions destroys the fleet on which a whole generation of my subjects worked for. Not daring to say a word I reach for my head. This Azir! I'll put him on a fire and roast him while applying all the healing spells I know!

  Then my eyes wander to the image which is projected by the amulet around my neck. It's still there. Some instruments on the bridge look damaged and are smoking, but its still there. I look back to the distant battlefield where the Shield crashed into the shore of the main island. “It's still working! They abandoned it, believing that it would be destroyed! But they miscalculated! Now we have the most powerful weapon on this planet in our hands!” And unlike them I know how to control it!

  I start laughing and grab the general at my side. His face is white and he looks like he'll get a heart-attack any moment now. Like I care! “Land the warships and sail to that island! They have inhibitors from Quinn, so magic doesn't work. Take that big ship, it has top priority!”

  “Hmmhmmhmm...”

  Someone hums happily and I look around. Who dares to be that disrespectful in my vicinity. Realizing that it's coming from my amulet, I look at the projected picture.

  Azir enters the camera's view, coughing, he waves away the smoke around him. “This thing is really sturdy! Now it already crashed twice and it's still working.”

  “Who cares! I've the superiority here. Once I clear out the inhibitors which you got from Quinn I'll use the Shield against you! There is nothing you can do about it!”

  “Ah, that's exactly why I returned to take a look, just to be sure. We don't want such a tool to fall into enemy hands.” He scratches his cheek. “Say, do you recognize this? I wonder if it's something important?” He pulls a long metal tube with two crystals at its end from his belt and places it on the console in front of him.

  My eyes bulge as I recognize it. “The regulator for the fusion reactor's laser ignition!”

  “Damn! So it was important after all!” Azir vanishes in a teleportation spell.

  A bright light appears on the horizon. I close my eyes and block my ears, steadying myself with a fortification spell. Seconds later the shockwave and the thunder from the explosion throws the personnel around me to the deck. I open my eyes and take a look at the rising mushroom cloud. “I'll remember you when it's time.”

  108. ~Intermezzo.~

  “When the world does what it wants, do what you want.”

  -The Great Technomagus of the Free City States of Nict.

  Free City States of Nict, Capital

  Stella

  I leave the conference room together with Azir. We had to listen to the summary of the aftermath and a detailed description of the battle itself. The military analyst who was making pretty eyes towards Louise liked to present the army's and his own achievements in an especially shining light.

  Hopefully she invites him to her bedroom soon. I am not against flirting, but the brain of that guy simply shorts out when he sees Louise. And he doesn't look bad, so I don't understand why she didn't even look at him once.

  It's unbelievable that she never realized his feelings for her. I had to address her on the subject. Isn't she the one who always gave me advise in regards to love? Rolling my eyes I remember the many hours we talked about thi
s and that. Probably all her knowledge on the subject was just of intellectual nature? I never saw her with a guy... doesn't that make me a real idiot for trusting in her every word about relationships between men and women? And why did I still end up with Azir if her advise doesn't come from experience? Oh... damn! Thinking about this is really depressing! I have to talk her into accepting the analyst's requests for a date and I should start calling him by his name. What was it? Georg? Gregor?

  “What are you thinking about?” Azir asks me while we are walking down the palace's corridor towards the stepper disc.

  “Nothing important. Just about the situation with the remaining enemy fleet. I don't feel good about it.” I answer nonchalantly.

  He nods, patting my shoulder to reassure me. “We'll manage. They don't have enough forces left to think about a serious invasion.”

  I sigh. “But depending on where they attack, they can do a lot of damage. And I don't like their current course.” Their remaining fleet consists of three hundred and thirty-two flying dockyards, twelve scout ships, two hundred and eighty-three troop transports and three hundred and sixty-nine warrior class ships. Mere nine hundred and ninety-six ships.

  Even if it's nothing compared to their previous strength they are surely able to cause trouble and our fortresses are slow as hell compared to them.

  Louise got all the necessary resources to rebuild our drones as fast as possible, but it won't happen overnight. The battle at the archipelago emptied our drone reserves. We won a glorious victory in terms of statistics and invested resources, but it still feels like a defeat because the enemy is still coming at us.

  And the worst of it is that it looks like their target is Nict's capital. “Azir, can we send the kids to your mother in Tri? I don't feel well about having them here when the enemy really decides to ignore our coastal cities and heads directly towards the capital.”

  Azir forces himself to smile. “That's a good idea. My parents will have a lot of fun with the three of them.” Did I hear sarcasm in his voice?