"Quick – what time is it?" asked Dario.
"Almost ten in the morning, why?" asked Lucan. Dario nodded, but did not answer the question. He flipped three more pages until he found the section he was looking for. He reached under the side of his desk and pressed something. They heard a small click, then suddenly, the entire top of Dario's desk slid back to reveal a large panel of buttons and dials.
"Why, you sneaky nimber," said Xander as he watched the governor go to work.
Dario drew his finger down the page and stopped when he found the numbers that he was looking for. He then turned to the panel in his desk. The panel consisted of three rows of dials. The top one was labeled “morning,” the middle one “afternoon,” and the bottom row read “evening.” Dario went to the “morning” row and found the dial marked “10” and turned it until it pointed towards a small label that read “3rd St. warehouse windows – outer rim.” Dario then looked up toward the windows. A minute passed, then, far off in the distance, toward the western wall of the city, there was a flash of light as the sun reflected off of one of the few buildings that was not currently under the shadow of the sun shield. Dario smiled and went back to his binder. He slid his finger down to the next line on the page, then turned back to the panel and rotated the same dial to a mark that read "church façade – outer rim." He looked up again. This time, so did everyone else. They waited for two minutes. Then, once again, far off in the distance, sunlight reflected off of a building that had been in shadow just a few seconds before.
Xander's jaw dropped. He slowly walked toward the floor-to-ceiling windows of the governor's room. Regan joined him. Lucan remained at the governor's desk, transfixed by Dario’s calculated process. Again and again, Dario found a number on the page, then turned the dial to a corresponding city structure. Each time he did, a minute or two passed before sunlight was reflected off a new building. As Dario progressed, he selected buildings located closer and closer to the center of the city. In fact, now surfaces underneath the sun shield were reflecting light.
"How is he..." whispered Regan as she watched out the window. Then she saw it. A semi-transparent ray of light bounced from each reflective surface to the one before it. The ray’s brightness intensified as it moved along the chain of buildings toward the center of the city. "He's banking the sunlight off of the buildings," said Regan in awe. "But how is the light getting stronger?"
“Each reflective surface contains a hidden lens that I had manufactured,” answered Dario without looking up from his panel. “The lenses amplify the light.”
Dario turned the dial until it read "Zone 2 Apartment Roof." Regan followed the pattern of reflected surfaces to guess the location of the next structure. She stared at a five-story apartment building a few hundred yards away. Just as she began to think she had guessed wrong, a Reysene worker emerged onto the roof of the building and quickly trotted over to a small, glass shed. He entered the little building and began to crank something. As he did so, a large solar panel that encompassed the majority of the roof rotated slightly until it was ablaze with reflected sunlight.
Xander was in disbelief. He turned away from the window toward Dario. "All this time you had this?"
"Of course not. It took me almost ten years to build this," said Dario without looking up from his page. He rotated the dial again and the column of sunlight bounced off a building just a hundred yards away. "You didn't think I just sat up here twiddling my thumbs all day while you idiots ran things, did you?"
"So you've taught the Reysene to angle their windows, solar panels—"
"Pretty much anything shiny," interrupted Dario without looking up.
"All so that they reflect the sun toward..." Xander stopped himself. He looked admiringly at the governor. "You sneaky nimber."
Dario arrived at the last number on the page. He found the corresponding label and then looked up at Xander. "You're going to like this," he said as turned the dial toward “Lotus courtyard.” The entire western side of the building next to the capitol building slid down, revealing a giant mirror. The mirror rotated slightly to the left and then—
"Aaaahhh!" yelled Adem. He shielded his eyes from the rush of sunlight that flooded into the governor's quarters. Even Regan, whose eyes were used to the sun, had to squint against the reflected light.
"Quick!" yelled Dario as he ran toward the windows. "Help me with this!" He jumped several feet into the air and pulled a handle out from the ceiling. Hanging from the handle with one arm, with his free hand, Dario pointed across the room at another notch in the ceiling.
"Don't look at me," said Xander. "There's only one other person in this room that can reach a fifteen-foot ceiling."
"Regan!" yelled Dario, still hanging from the ceiling, "Grab the handle and pull with me!" Regan ran beneath the notch in the ceiling that Dario had pointed to and jumped. She came up a foot short. "Come on! You're a Reytana! Jump!" cried Dario.
Regan looked up at the ceiling and clenched her fists. She let the sunlight streaming in through the windows energize her. Then she bent her knees and jumped. She almost hit her head on the ceiling.
Frantically, she grabbed at the handle before she fell back to the floor. At the last moment, her fingers found the notch in the ceiling. She pulled hard, and a thin, thirty-foot-long sheet of metal came rolling out of a slit in the ceiling. Dario and Regan pulled the sheet of metal all the way to the ground. Motioning for Regan to move, the pair walked back slowly, changing the angle of the metal sheet so the light it reflected bounced into the courtyard.
The open petals of the Lotus gleamed as thousands of circular receptors began to illuminate. Each petal began to pulse, pumping golden light through twisting veins and into the giant globe at the center. A thin trickle of glimmering liquid dripped into the bottom of the globe. Then the trickle increased to a steady stream and finally, into a strong current of solar energy. The glowing liquid swished back and forth at the bottom of the orb, throwing beautiful golden reflections across the courtyard.
Dario kicked a tile in the floor, and a notch – the same size as the one in the ceiling – appeared under his foot. He pulled the metal sheet's handle down and inserted it into the notch then motioned for Regan to do the same.
"That... is... amazing..." said Lucan. "But how did all of the Reysene know what angle to turn their surfaces? The calculations had to be exact and always changing."
"Each one of those buildings has a binder like this one," said Dario pointing to his Sewer Schematics binder. "Granted, they aren't all named the same thing. Some of them are reference manuals for light tube repair or water purification – all subjects that would have been of no interest to prying Gartune eyes."
"Who did all of the calculations?" asked Regan.
"I did," replied Dario.
"That must have taken you ages," exclaimed Lucan.
"Fortunately, I had a lot of free time," said Dario as he joined the rest of the group in staring out the window at the filling energy orb. The liquid was now about a foot deep and steadily rising. But none of the liquid was entering the pipes which sent the energy throughout the city.
"But you forgot to open the pipes," said Lucan.
Dario walked back over to his desk and shook his head. "Only one pipe," he said. “And not until it's ready.”
"Which pipe?" asked Regan.
"The one that leads to the cannons," said Xander. Dario nodded.
"Our only job right now is to help the army on the ground. The solar cannons can reach Octavian’s Pass. If we can force the Gartolians back to their camp, the Reytana should have time to get up here – if they have any ships left."
"Can we control the cannons from here?" asked Lucan.
Dario shook his head. "They have to be manned, and they haven't been used for many years. I can't even guarantee they all work."
"Well, that's comforting," said Lucan. "And I'm betting they can only be fired by someone of your size?"
"Yes," said Dario. "I would do it, but
I need to stay here to open the pipe when the orb has been sufficiently filled."
"I don't suppose Adem over there is much of a shot," said Xander. Adem looked back at the Gartune blankly. Everyone stared at the prince, expectantly.
“You expect me to fire on my own people?” said Xander.
“Are they still your people?” replied Lucan. Xander stood thinking in silence, a frown on his face.
“Lucan’s right,” said Dario. “If you’re with us, then you’re against them. This is part of the deal.”
Xander looked around the room as he struggled with his decision. He stopped when he met Regan’s gaze.
“I don’t even know what you’re debating,” said Regan. “You made this decision a week ago when you saved us from Septa in the forest. Then you made it again when you killed Belkore, and again when you freed Dario and Lucan from the prison. Face it – you’re with us now.”
"Well, when you put it that way…” said Xander. “Oh, all right." He began to head for the door. "Truthfully, I've always kind of wanted to fire one of those things. I just never thought I'd be shooting at the guys in purple."
"Do you know how to get to them?" asked Dario.
"Of course, I know how to get to them," said Xander indignantly. "I didn't spend all of my time twiddling my thumbs either, Governor. I know more about this city's defenses than you do, and unfortunately, so does my father. I told him everything. He knows the exact range of those cannons. As soon as we fire the first shot, he'll know how far he needs to move out of the way."
"That's fine," said Dario. "We just need to give the Reytana time to get up here. With any luck, we can hold off the Gartolian tanks from firing on our ships while they fly up to the city."
"There aren't any tanks," said Regan. "We could see the Gartolian basecamp on our way over here. Other than the tanks holding up the sun shield, there weren't any."
"Yeah, about the tanks..." said Xander.
"There's no time!" interjected Dario. "If there are tanks, then you fire on them after Hadrian retreats. Understood?"
Xander gave a mock salute. "I'm on my way!"
"I'm coming with you," said Regan, chasing after Xander.
"No!" said Lucan. "It's not safe for you out there. What if something happens?"
"That's exactly why I have to go," said Regan. "What if something happens to Xander? There's only one other person here that can fire that cannon."
"But you've never fired a weapon in your life!" said Lucan.
"I'll teach her on the way," said Xander, giving Lucan a wink. "It's easier than you think."
"Let them go," said Dario. "You're wasting time." Lucan frowned but did not offer further protest. And so, Regan joined Xander as they ran down the hall, no longer taking care to remain silent. A few seconds later, Lucan looked out the window and watched as the two Tormada crossed the courtyard and disappeared into the city.
Chapter Thirty-Three: Standoff
Regan and Xander quickly trotted down the sidewalk, making sure to stay in the shadows as much as possible. But as it turned out, stealth was not needed. Xander was right – everyone was at the wall. In fact, they were almost to the outer rim of the city before they spotted a single person – an old Reysene woman who quickly darted back into her house when she saw the pair.
"There's something that's been bothering me," said Regan as they turned down a side alley.
"Only one thing?" asked Xander.
"It's about that parental bond you spoke of on the hovercraft, the one between a Tormada and his parent."
"What about it?"
"Well, you said it's like an unseen power that pulls on the child and makes him do whatever the parent wants?"
"More or less," said Xander.
"And yet here you are, about to attack your own father? Don't you feel his pull on you?"
"Oh, I feel it. I’m just choosing to ignore it," replied Xander.
"You can do that?"
"Well, it helps that we don't like each other very much."
Regan thought about that for a moment. "So if you can ignore him, maybe the Fallen Reytana can ignore him as well?"
Xander shook his head. "Perhaps in time they could. But right now, he has complete control over them. Unless..."
"Unless, what?"
"Unless they had someone else to follow; someone whose pull was stronger."
Regan considered this, then increased her walking pace to a brisk jog. "Come on!" she said, "We need to get those Reytana on the ground up here!"
Xander and Regan jogged through the empty streets of Reysa's outer residential zone. They stopped when they reached the warehouse that Dario had first selected when he began reflecting the sunlight toward the energy orb. Regan looked up and noticed that a mirror had slid down behind the glass of each window, amplifying the reflection of the sunlight. Unless you were looking for it, you wouldn't have noticed anything strange about the warehouse windows other than the fact that the sun was shining rather brightly off of them.
Xander inspected the windows too. "I've got to hand it to old Dario. He's a clever one."
"How long before you think he will have enough energy in the orb to fuel the solar cannons?" asked Regan.
"At the rate that thing was filling, I'd say not long. We need to be ready when he opens the pipe."
"How far to the cannons?" asked Regan. It had just occurred to her that she had never actually seen any of the city's defenses. Xander pointed down the street. The outer wall of Reysa was a hundred yards away. The massive stone structure rose thirty feet in the air. Several thin slits were interspersed throughout the base of the wall at a torman's eye-level. A large crowd of Reysene gathered around the holes. At the top of the wall, several Gartune soldiers stood leaning on their eürocs. They were all looking down at the ground below. Some were smiling and pointing. One Gartune was actually laughing. Regan's heart dropped.
"We're too late," she said.
"Listen," whispered Xander.
"To what?" answered Regan. "I don't hear anything."
"Exactly," said Xander. "Battles are loud. The fun hasn't started yet, although from the looks of it, it's about to. Come on." Xander led Regan across the street toward a small, square building. When they reached their destination without an alarm sounding, they both exhaled.
The squat building stood innocuously in the shadow of several larger structures. It had a flat roof and no windows, only a single door large enough for one Tormada to enter. Regan stood in front of the building, confused. "This can't be it," she said. "There is hardly enough room for the both of us to fit in there, let alone a solar cannon."
Xander ignored her. He inspected the door.
“Why don’t you try the handle first this time?” said Regan.
“Good thinking,” said Xander. He tried the handle. It did not budge. He tried turning it again, but it still would not move. He looked at Regan as if asking for permission. She stared back at him, waiting. Xander smiled, then stepped back and kicked the door, but it still wouldn't budge. A frown replaced the smile on Xander's face.
"Oh for Gods' sake," said Regan as she walked over and stood next to Xander, facing the door. "On three... one... two... three!" This time, both Tormada kicked the door at the same time. It did not fall backward, but it was jarred slightly from its frame. Two more kicks, and the door gave way. Regan pushed through the doorway and almost fell forward. The room had no floor. Instead, the entryway immediately gave way to stairs that descended beneath the city. She looked warily down into the darkness below.
"Follow me," said Xander. He took Regan's hand and put it on his shoulder, then led her down the stairs. Thankfully, the stairs did not descend very far, and soon Regan found herself walking along a flat corridor. The air in the corridor was cold and musty, the result of not having been vented in several years. Darkness surrounded them. Regan reached out her free hand and touched a wall. She slid her fingers across it as they continued on.
"How can you see where you are g
oing?" asked Regan.
"I can't," said Xander. "But I've been down here a couple of times before. It's just a straight shot. Keep ahold of me. We're almost there."
"You'd think they would have put some lights down here," said Regan.
"Oh, it will be plenty bright here shortly. Ah, we're here," said Xander. He stopped abruptly and Regan walked right into his back.
“Sorry,” Xander said. Regan grunted.
She heard a handle turn and a latch click. A vertical crack of dim light appeared, widening as Xander pushed open the door. The two Tormada walked into a long corridor that curved to both their left and right for as far as they could see. Sunlight spilled through small slits all along the corridor’s outside wall. In front of each slit was a large chair – one meant to fit a Tormada. Attached to the front of each chair was a long cylinder roughly ten feet long and four feet wide.
"The cannons," whispered Regan. "We're inside the wall."
"Pick a seat!" said Xander as he climbed into the nearest chair. Regan walked to the cannon on her left and almost tripped on a small pipe that connected the bottom of the chair to the wall. She noticed that each chair had a similar pipe connected to it.
"When those pipes light up, it's show time," said Xander. He wiped the dust off of a couple of dials on the face of the cannon in front of him.
"Wait – how do these things work?!" shouted Regan. She kept staring at the pipe on the ground, just waiting for it to light up.
"The wheels on your right and left are how you aim." Xander pointed to two large wheels on either side of Regan's chair. "The one on your left moves the cannon up and down. The one on your right moves it sideways. Try it out."
Regan pulled on the wheel to her left. It did not move at first, but then with a rusty creak it gave way and spun freely. The cannon in front of Regan tilted upward and nearly tipped her out of the back of her seat. Xander laughed as he tested the wheels on his own cannon. "You're a natural!"
Hyperion's Shield Page 31