A Paradox in Retrograde

by Faherty, John

  Landaus and Grunhuf seemingly found themselves alone as the men vacated the hall. There in the doorway two silhouettes stood, cast against the pre noon sky. It was Ananda and Amida, they entered uninvited. They approached and as the two sets of men squared sights on each other. Ananda drew within five paces and began to speak. "Good day gentlemen. There is something I must say before the battle begins. Firstly it is only because of the respect that my brother has in you that have put me into this position. I once again must ask you with all humility to allow us into this fight for I would much rather join now as an ally. For once the battle is joined; I will be there among you. To that you can be assured."

  "Ananda there is no reason to be so vexed. To the issue of the coming battle I have had thanks to Grunhuf, a change of heart. I am no longer opposed to both of you joining the battle under certain circumstance."

  Ananda was not used to following orders so he paused and carefully gathered his thoughts before delivering his deliberately worded response. Mocking humility his words came grudgingly. "Under what conditions shall we be so constrained?"

  "Quite to the contrary you and your brother shall be given free range over the field of battle. Tell me, have you ever ridden a horse in battle?" His mind for an instance shunted to the memory of a faraway day. He saw himself resplendent at the head of a charging line of stallion. There in his mind's eye he saw the mighty beasts fully laden in battle armor as they rushed forward. A thousand thundering hooves converged toward a weak spot on the enemy flank. A great maelstrom of dust whipped up into the sky as the line moved as one mass. The sound of a great crash filled the air as the two lines collided. In an instant the resounding roar was soon replaced by the din of battle. The furious sounds of flailing limbs and slashing weapons were matched only by the desperate cry of the dead and dying. His steed had run headlong into a pike piercing his armor. In startled panic and in pain it reared up with such force as to throw Ananda from his saddle. There the memory drew black.

  "Yes, it is not unknown to me." "Good it will be there then." Their attention was drawn back to the makeshift map where Landaus again had deployedhis pointer. In a circular arch that represented the battlefield the pointer ranged about the whole of the secondary kill zone. Here on horseback you will engage the enemy, join the fray where ever your experience dictates that our defensive lines may be faltering. When they stumble I'll need you there to prop them up." Amida who had not yet spoken now felt compelled to ask a pointed question. "Landaus you don't seriously expect only the two of us to act as a strategic reserve?"

  "I should think not. I have made available to you a contingent of thirty of the finest horsemen in all of Baldur. I have given instructions that they are to be at your disposal. Do you accept this command?"

  The expression upon Ananda's face spoke volumes. To this chance to command men in battle perhaps for the last time he would trade the world. "Yes I do accept. For this I am truly grateful."

  "I have ordered the men to assemble and await your orders at the stable. There the keeper will make ready your mounts. I have requested one for you in particular Ananda. She is a feisty mare named Brownie the fastest and smartest of the bunch."

  "I am much obliged to you Colonel. I know that all of this, well it cannot have been easy for you." Landaus with his hands made a confident gesture as he said.

  "There is no need now for such regrets. But if you must make amends you can do so by doing me a favor. Would you take as good care of Brownie as she has of me and we will call it even?"

  "It's a deal."

  He called out to a nearby guardsman, "You there Corporal, show our guests to the stables." Yes Sir."

  "Thank you that will be all." The Colonel returned to his maps and the corporal led the two guests out. They followed him out through the gate into the outer court yard. After a short walk they came across the old round brick barn that had for generations served well the citadel and its animal workers. Into the center hub they walked and were met there by those men who had been assigned to serve under him. They had been standing around in animated conversation when he walked in. Upon sight of him the room grew silent. Charlie the main keeper came forward and introduced himself. "Hello my name is Charlie I'm the keeper around here. I understand you're the cause of all our problems." Ananda did not seem to appreciate the humor in the old man's voice so he responded as only he would.

  "I am afraid that you misunderstand my situation. It is only by sheer coincidence that I find myself here at all." Upon hearing this, the men broke into a boisterous laughter.

  The enemy ships by now had crossed the great gulf of space that had existed between the two worlds. So possessed were the crews upon their mission that they had failed to notice that their own planet of Nibaru had suddenly and mysteriously vanished. Pressing onward they found themselves now captured by the tidal forces of the Earth. The manner in which things may have unfolded differently would remain then forever mute.

  From a distance of several thousand miles the light emanating from the Earth now filled the space within the cockpits of the three approaching vessels. Aaralaat who copiloted the lead ship was fixated trance like by the glowing orb as it grew ever larger before them. He was not so enamored by the sight however to forget his duty. Over the inter ship communications system he prepared the crews of the other ships of an imminent course correction. Simultaneously throughout the three enemyships Aaralaat's voice could be heard giving the order. "On my mark all stop on main engines. Mark." With his orders followed to the letter each pilot brought the main thrusters to a stop and with that the thundering sound of the rockets had diminishedto nothing. In the silence the echo of his voice now was all thatthey could hear. "Prepare for orbital insertion. Firing order of the retrorockets is being calculated by the navicomputer. Coordinates will be transferred to your system in three, two, one, and zero." Aboard the two remaining ships a graphical image representing the numerations flashed upon their control room display screens. After the long line of code had been captured a mere instant later each computer calculated and returned all vectors as nominal. With impeccable timing the three ships computers were now synced and a silent count down began again. As the clock reached zero ignitions in each of dozen or so retro rocket engines on each ship began in a specifically sequenced pattern. The silence was then again replaced by the sound of firing rockets. The ships that were caught in furious free fall abruptly altered their angles of approach and began now to spin into a semblance of controlled flight.

  As the ships glided gently into the upper atmosphere, the friction they found there caused their thin composite outer shells to glow a cherry shade of red.

  From a distance the three streaking fireballs seemed to fall in an elegant formation. To those on the ground it must have seemed quite an unnatural sight; One that was easily recognized by an acute observer. There upon a high mountain look out one of the guards there stationed had taken a keen note to the unusual spectacle. It was unlike any celestial object he had ever seen. He called out to his commander, "I see them. Three enemy vessels have entered the atmosphere." All the men there present looked into the sky off in the direction to which he was pointing. They were now easily visible with the naked eye. There they saw what now appeared as fire balls with jets of billowing white smoke trailing closely behind. The officer yelled out to the signal man, "Sound the general alarm." The signal man did not hesitate; he sprinted hurriedly to the siren box and inserted his key. He opened the box and grasped firmly onto the handle.Turning with all his might the siren's call began to wail. The sound growing slowly at first grew more intense with subsequent each turn of the crank. Soon its wailing sound could be heard throughout the citadel.

  Down in the valley below the citadel defenders scrambled to take their battle positions. There every man and woman at the front took to making ready their weapons. Xora who had taken position within the high walls looked out upon the plain made heavy with obstacles. She called out there to the children who had joined her there a
long the high promontory. Over the sound of the wailing siren she said, "Look there children." She pointed out towards the defensive positions. The children craned their necks to see what preparations were being made far below them. "There along the exterior walls the defenders of Baldur in just a few short hours have produced a miracle. To this you shall all be witness." From their vantage they could barely make out individuals as they took their places along the line. It was just then Ibsen who under order of his father to remain there within the sanctuary of the citadel made the discovery. "Look Lady Xora, up in the sky the enemy ships they have come." They all turned round to look in the direction he had indicated. There they saw three small glowing objects arching across the sky. They watched as the tiny points of light drew ever nearer growing larger in size as they did. Suddenly the crashing sound of a sonic boom resonated loudly causing the children to duck for cover. Xora sensing their growing unease spoke in an attempt to sooth them. "It's alright children, it was just a scary noise, but soon we will need to go below and seek shelter. Alright children form into a single line and follow me." The frightened children did just that. In one long linethey marched through a set of stout wooden doors then descendeddown a flight of steps, deeper into the recesses of the fortress.

  Alone there were left a pair of elderly guards who stayed to watch the bizarre site unfold before of them. Thethree glowing objects before long were floating stationary about a hundred meters above the obstacle strew field.

  Eldred, the commander of the second ship sent out over the airwaves a coded message to Aaralaat on the command ship. The ships radio man captured and decoded the message. "My Lord King, there is a coded message coming in from Commander Eldred. Do you wish it to be displayed upon the main screen?" Aaralaat merely nodded in approval. The message read as follows, "Lord King Aaralaat, it is of my opinion that this place of landing has to be some sort of trap. We are obviously being cordoned into areas where at the very least they will retain a tactical advantage. I fear however they will have something there waiting for us that will likely prove dangerous. I recommend that this landing be aborted and that the fleet be redirected to landing at a secondary position farther afield." The message was followed by a string of coordinates for the suggested landing site. Aaralaat calmly turned to the radio man and said, "Send the following coded message in response to Commander Eldred's request. The radioman readied his keyboard as the King began to speak. "Commander Eldred, Your hesitance is duly noted. I must however point out that in my opinion there is no other current viable option. Your ships will land as commanded at the pre indicted coordinates. Do I make myself perfectly clear?" The radio man typed the message into the machine. A moment later the response came back, "Yes your highness."

  All along the line facing out toward the enemy ships the long cannon with teams of horse were rolled into their firing positions and made ready. The crews began to load the twenty four pound shells into the breeches. Behind these the powder canisters were carefully placed behind the projectile. The breechdoor was then closed up tight behind it. Final adjustments for windage and elevation were being made just as the landing legs on the descending ships began to extrude themselves from the bodies of the crafts. The gunnery commanders stood silently awaiting the designated signal to proceed with the bombardment. Anxious beads of sweat accumulated upon the brows of the keen eyed gunners as they too awaited the signal.

  The droning siren that had filled their ears now suddenly stopped as its whine was reduced to no more than a whimper. This caused the defenders to take careful heed for surely something else must replace it. They would not need to wait long for no more than a moment later the noise of a tinny yet insistent horn began to sound. Just as they had been trained the gunnery commanders recognized the distinctive call to arms of the sergeant of the guard. Upon the signal, the guns having been zeroed in unleashed their first volley. In unison the twenty big guns fired. A flash of light and smoke was followed shortly after by thundering shock that seemed to shake the ground. Out across the valley an almost simultaneous concussion was witnessed as the ordinance rained down upon the prone vessels. The precision curtain of steel lain down by the gunnery crews had hammered hard into the lead ship's fuselage. Secondary explosions rang out with furious destruction. Smoke and flying debris had not yet had a chance to settle from the first round when the gunners were ready for round two. The gunnery commander called out the order to all the crews, "Fire at will."

  In those first seconds the command vessel had taken several direct hits. Though it had remained mostly intact it was severely rocked by the sheer concussions it had endured. Its composite armor though cracked and dented had not broken. It had however sustained unrepairable damage and it would never fly again. Under the continuing stress of concentrated volleys of fire the upright vessel soon was leaning heavily on to its crumpled landing gear. It would take only one more shot to knock itover. In such battered shape a direct hit squarely to the ship's mid-section was all it took to send it toppling to the earth like a great tree. With a great crash the mighty ship had fallen to the ground in a twisted heap. From across the battle field a great manly roar echoed out from the human camp. Their celebration was howeverbrief as the bombardment on the remaining targets again resumed.

  For those crew men aboard the downed enemy ship who had survived the bombardment and the impact were in a state of shocked delirium as they tried to regain order from chaos. There within a nightmare of smoke and agonizing cries were strewn about the various compartments the injured and unconscious. Most of the crew however had in fact survived, due in most part to the nature of their armor. Among those delivered alive was King Aaralaat. He awoke to find himself still strapped tightly into his pilot's chair. Mayhem filled his senses as he surveyed the inverted fuselage of his one mighty ship. His ears bled and his head pounded from the shock of the repeated concussions. These left him to contend with a dull and relentless ringing sound that played havoc with his balance. He began to be conscious of the flickering light of sparking electronics and also of small fires that had broken out here and there about the ship. Think noxious billows of dark smoke began to fill the air. These too were beginning now to cloud his vision. The primal fear of burning to death in his pilot's seat roused him to full consciousness. With the air full of smoke his instinct told him to undo his flight harness. He hit the release button and immediately slammed head first into what had been the ceiling. He hit hard but quickly rebounded and found his footing. The air down below was not so thick with smoke and he soon found his bearings. He checked himself and was pleased to have suffered only minor injuries. Others as he soon discovered had not fared as well. Looking up towards the floor there he saw rivers of gore flowing downward as a number of his fellow warriors having sustained massive injuries were dead or dying. Many had succumbed as large pieces of shrapnel were cast about during the bombardment betraying their armor. He forced himself to look away as so to calmly assay his continued fighting capabilities. The ship of course was a total loss. She would not fly again. To himself he whispered, "Let us hope the others fair better."

  Landaus had secured an observation post within the walls of the secondary defensive position. From where he stood he enjoyed an unobstructed view of the entire field before them. He watched with tempered emotion as the first ship hurtled downward. He dared not allow himself to share in the celebration. It was, he thought far too early for that. Moments later during the brief pause in the barrage, he watched as the gunnery teams re acquired their targets. He allowed himself a moment of pride in how well they did their job. Just then through the main gates of the citadel the newly minted national cavalry rode in double file. At the head of the line the two brothers rode side by side. Alone among the riders as was their tradition they each wore the set of black composite armor. It was an awe inspiring to watch as they moved En mass into position beside their commander. "Sir I present to you your cavalry force."

  "My god you do make an impressive sight." Landaus said as he saluted
the parading line of horses. Ananda unsheathed his sword and raised it up into the air in exhalation. "I swear to you upon my very life that you shall be delivered once and for all from this eternal enemy."

  During this brief pause in the bombardment Aaralaat moved quickly, ordering his men to evacuate the ships. "To you ladders men. We must break out of here and find shelter before the shelling begins again." There about the smoking wreckage his words turned to action as those warriors who were able, made ready their weapons. There was a flurry of activity as all manner of weaponry were represented. Some warriors wielded battle axes and crossbows while the majority brandished the battle standard, sword and shield.

  The main escape hatch was miraculously undamaged in the bombardment. So the crews began to swiftly deploy to the ground. Aaralaat was the last to leave the ship. As his men exited he made a mental tally of the ships remaining compliment. He estimated that twenty five, a full third of is force had been killed or severely wounded during the first moments of the landing. Inhis mind though these losses were significant he felt his wager was still a good one. Satisfied that all had exited he made hisown way down the ladder. Speaking to himself he said, "We may yet snatch a victory from defeat." As these words left his mouth his conscious thoughts were once again shattered by theconcussion of cannon fire. He reached the bottom of the ladder in time to witness the second ship sustain multiple impacts; the force of which shook him to his core and made the ships metallic skin seemed to crumple. In short order it too had succumbed to the attack, like the first ship it too would never fly again.