The Reytana didn't waste any time. They left their defensive formation and pounced on the scattered Gartune. A shower of blunt objects came raining down on the backs of the Gartune soldiers as they fought. Plates, bowls, vases, books, and all other sorts of household items were thrown out the windows of the surrounding buildings. Some inadvertently hit the Reytana, but the majority of the projectiles struck the Gartune. Though they did not appear to be doing much physical damage, they distracted the Gartune enough for the Reytana to gain the advantage in the fight. It was not long before all of the remaining Gartune were either dead or unconscious.
Tinko had not moved from the cart since the fighting began. Now, he ventured out into the cluttered street. He gingerly sidestepped a fork as he surveyed the surreal scene. It looked as if several kitchens' worth of dishes had been thrown out into the road. He almost laughed when he saw an unconscious Gartune lying face-down with on oven mitt on the back of his head.
Tinko looked up and the boy from the window was standing in front of him, and he was not alone. Slowly, several Reysene men and women began emerging from the buildings. A few of them stooped down to collect their belongings as they walked toward Tinko.
The boy from the window stood with a wide-mouthed grin as his neighbors joined him in the street. Tinko recognized him. His name was Asher and he had been a couple of years below Tinko at school.
"What were those... bombs... that you all were throwing?" asked Tinko.
"We made them," said Asher proudly. "We've been making them ever since you and the others escaped."
"You made them?" said Tinko incredulously. "How? Why? Did they start teaching underclassmen bomb-making after I left?"
Asher smiled. "Ha, I wish. No, but they're not so difficult to make once you know what you're doing. A couple of the adults from the southern quadrant had been stockpiling these for years, apparently. Once things started to get really bad a couple of weeks ago – the shield staying up all day and the twenty-four-hour curfew – they started teaching other people how to make them. They said we had to be ready for when the Reytana returned. Somehow, they knew you were coming back soon, and we believed them."
By this time, the crowd of Reysene in the street had grown to over a hundred. They surrounded Tinko and his large, tarp-covered cart. "So, what's in there?" asked Asher, pointing to the cart.
Tinko lifted a corner of the tarp off of the orb, revealing the glowing liquid inside. Gasps rang out from the crowd. "You weren't the only ones preparing for the Reytana's return."
An older man stepped forward from the crowd and inspected the orb. "This is nearly the size of the energy orb at the capitol. With this much energy, we could re-activate the entire city's defenses," said the man.
"That's the plan," said Tinko. "Unfortunately, I have a feeling that a whole lot of their friends are going to be waiting for us." He nodded toward the Gartune on the ground. "Any ideas on how we can get this thing to the capitol building without it being destroyed first?" The older man thought for a few moments and then looked around at the Reysene surrounding him.
"I think I might have an idea," he said.
Chapter Thirty-Five: Surrounded
"Well, the cat's out of the bag now," said Lucan, peering out the window of the governor's quarters. Several Gartune had entered the courtyard below and were squinting up in his direction. The light bouncing off of the large metal sheet in Dario's room was almost blinding to those on the ground. "I'm surprised they're just sitting there. Why haven't they run up here to kill us yet?"
"Because they don't know how many of us there are," said Dario, walking to the window. "They can't see in here. It's too bright. For all they know, the entire Reytana army could be inside this building, waiting for them."
"Rey damn the army," said Lucan. "I'd take just a handful of them at this point."
"Why, Professor Lucan," said Dario with a tinge of amusement, "I never knew you had such a tongue. I think prison life has made you salty."
"I'll tell you one thing," said Lucan grimly as he watched another dozen Gartune enter the courtyard, "when they do finally decide to come up here, I'm not going back to that cell."
"Nor am I," said Dario. They both looked over at Adem, who was nervously pacing back and forth in front of the window. He hadn't blinked in over a minute, unable to take his eyes off of the scene below. One Gartune in particular had his full attention.
"It won't be long now," said Dario. "Rankin is down there. He'll send a party to scout the building and then once he finds out that it's just the three of us up here, he'll come for us. More importantly, he'll take down my reflector."
"Why don't they just destroy the orb?" asked Lucan.
Dario laughed. "Because they can't. Nobody can."
"What do you mean, they can't?" asked Lucan. "It’s just glass, isn't it?"
"Calling that orb glass is like saying a Gartolian tank is made of wood. The thing is unbreakable. You can't dent it. You can't even scratch it. The same goes for the petals and the tubes of the Lotus."
"Well then if it isn't made of glass, what is it made of?"
"Nobody knows," said Dario. "Some say that Rey herself created the orb when she created the Reytana."
"You don't actually believe that," scoffed Lucan.
"I've inspected that thing hundreds of times. It's flawless," said Dario. "But to answer your question, I have no reason to believe that it was created by a god. But I also have no reason not to believe it."
Dario and Lucan watched the golden liquid swish in the bottom of the giant globe. The few shots from the solar cannons had drained a significant portion of the energy. It was refilling now, but there wouldn't be nearly enough energy available to activate any kind of defenses within the capitol building by the time the Gartune decided it was time to breach. And so they waited, helplessly.
Minutes passed and a small group of Gartune in the center of the crowd began to circle Rankin. After much pointing and arguing, they eventually nodded in agreement and turned toward the capitol building.
"Here they come," said Dario.
To Dario’s surprise, it was Rankin, himself, leading the charge into the building. Scouting party be damned; this is a full-on invasion! Patience never was his strong suit, thought Dario. He's probably worried that someone else will come and steal his glory.
It wasn't long before they heard footsteps running up the hallway. They stopped right outside the door. There were a few indistinguishable whispers and then two Gartune rushed in with their eürocs raised. They scanned the room, but it appeared empty. Suddenly, the metal reflector fell to the ground and sunlight blinded the Gartune. Before they knew what had happened, two back-lit silhouettes ran out from behind the reflector and kicked the soldiers to the floor. One of the Gartune dropped his eüroc in the scuffle. Dario quickly pounced on it just as four more soldiers came running in through the door. Dario managed to take down two of them but was eventually overwhelmed when more reinforcements came running inside to help. Lucan, on the other hand, was incapacitated from the moment he kicked the first Gartune to the floor. He had landed awkwardly, and his knee buckled, making him essentially useless in the fight. His hands were already bound behind his back by the time the other Gartune eventually wrestled Dario to the floor.
Dario's bloodied face looked up at Lucan as his captors tied him up.
"Nice kick," said Dario as he spat blood on the floor.
"I should have stretched first", said Lucan uncomfortably as he sat cross-legged on the floor. "It's too bad," he said as he inspected Dario's bleeding head, "your face had just begun to heal."
At that moment, Rankin sauntered through the door. He grinned when he saw Dario pinned to the floor.
"I’m not surprised you would send somebody else first to do your dirty work," said Dario. “Aren’t you Gartune officers supposed to lead the charges? ‘Tip of the spear’ and all that?”
Rankin laughed. "Being governor has taught me that the key to effective leadership is de
legation. I guess that's something you never learned during your tenure."
"How many times do you really think you can cover up your cowardice before the others start to notice?" asked Dario. His comment was quickly met with a sharp kick to the ribs from Rankin.
"Oh, now he fights," said Lucan.
"Careful, Professor," said Rankin, turning to face the smaller man. "This is not your classroom."
"Dario's right. You're no leader," continued Lucan, undeterred. "These Gartune only follow you because they're afraid of what Hadrian would do to them if they disobeyed a superior. You couldn't inspire a pipken, let alone a Tormada."
"Ah, but there's where you're wrong, Professor," said Rankin as he pulled Lucan to his feet. "In fact, I have a little demonstration planned that I think you will find very... inspirational. Let's go for a walk, shall we?"
Rankin and the rest of the Gartune ushered Lucan and Dario out of the capitol building and into the courtyard. He pushed them right up against one of the Lotus petals and then forced them to their knees. The crowd of Gartune surrounded them, waiting to see what Rankin was about to do.
The newly-appointed governor of Reysa climbed atop the energy orb to address the crowd. He drew a breath, but before he could speak, something off in the distance caught his eye. Several of the Gartune in the crowd turned their heads in the direction of Rankin's gaze to see what he was looking at.
"What are they looking at?" said Lucan as he tried to see through the mass of Gartune legs.
"I can't see anything," said Dario. "But I hear something – a lot of something."
The streets surrounding the courtyard began to fill with Reysene. Ordinary common folk carrying sticks, pipes and other makeshift weapons began to stream out of buildings and alleyways until they surrounded the courtyard.
"There must be hundreds of them out there," said Lucan. He still couldn't see the crowd, but their presence was now undeniable.
"Fools! They need to get back inside their homes," said Dario. "Tormans are no match for Gartune, no matter how many of them there are. They will be slaughtered."
From the back of the crowd, four Reytana were pushing a large cart towards the courtyard. The Reysene parted as the cart moved through them. On top of the cart sat a short, stocky teenager. The cart came to a stop and the teen stood up.
"Attention, purple idiots!" yelled Tinko from the top of his cart. "We have you surrounded. Throw down your sticks and surrender and I promise that nobody gets hurt!"
Lucan groaned. "You've got to be kidding me..." he whispered to himself.
"One of your students?" asked Dario. Lucan just shook his head.
A metal projectile went zinging past Tinko's ear. He lost his balance and almost fell off of the cart. The Gartune erupted with laughter. The soldiers closest to the crowd of Reysene stamped their eürocs in front of them, causing the ground to shake underneath the Reysenes' feet. A few fell, but none ran. Tinko dusted himself off and stood back up on top of the cart.
"Maybe you didn't hear me the first time!" he yelled. Another projectile flew past his head, but this time he ducked and continued speaking. "I don't want to have to hurt you, but you are leaving me no choice! Throw down your weapons now or face the consequences!"
From the top of the energy orb, Rankin yelled at Tinko.
"What is your name, boy?" barked Rankin.
"I'm just a humble citizen of Reysa. My name is of no consequence. Why do you ask?"
"Because I like to know the name of the person that I'm about to kill," replied Rankin.
Dario rolled his eyes. "Are you sure that you could take him by yourself?! Perhaps you should delegate someone else to kill him for you!"
"Oh that's right," said Rankin, smiling down at his prisoners. "I almost forgot you two were down there." He then turned to address the crowd. "Citizens of Reysa, you are just in time! It appears that you have forgotten who your masters are. And so, in accordance with the laws of Gartol and King Hadrian himself, I have prepared a demonstration to remind you of your place. Bring the prisoners before me!"
Three Gartune lifted Dario to his feet and stood him in front of the orb, facing Rankin. Another two Gartune easily lifted Lucan and set him beside his fellow prisoner. The crowd of Gartune parted to create a clear view for the Reysene to witness what was about to take place.
"Before you, I present two collaborators who have decided, unwisely, to test the might of the Gartolian empire. The penalty for insubordination is the same here as it is in Gartol: death."
A murmur spread through the Reysene crowd. They looked up at Tinko to see what they should do, but the boy stayed silent. Rankin continued his speech. "And, to prove that we do not show favoritism when it comes to tormans or Tormada, we will begin with your former governor. We do not discriminate in Gartol." Rankin winked at Dario as he said his last line.
Once again, Dario was forced to his knees. He looked up at Rankin who pressed a button on his eüroc and two gaudy and unnecessarily serrated blades sprung from the end of his staff. Of course, thought Dario.
"You sure those will do the trick?" yelled Dario. "You don't want to drive a tank over me, just to be sure?" Rankin smiled and lifted the eüroc over his head. Just as he was about to swing the blades at Dario, a crash of breaking glass erupted from the governor's quarters above him. Rankin turned toward the sound and saw a large figure surrounded by broken shards of glass falling from the sky. He barely had time to raise his eüroc before Adem landed on top of him, flattening him against the top of the energy orb. Wide-eyed and breathless, Rankin stared up at the young Reytana as Adem's hands instinctively wrapped around the Gartune's throat. Desperately, Rankin swung his eüroc at his assailant, but before his blow could hit home, Adem released one hand from his stranglehold and caught the staff in mid-strike. He then twisted it in his hand so that the serrated blades pointed at Rankin's chest.
"Adem, no!" yelled Lucan from the ground. The crowd of Gartune stood motionless, watching the spectacle on top of the orb.
"Help me, you fools!" shouted Rankin. None of the Gartune moved.
As Rankin stared into the eyes of his assailant, a large shadow moved over the courtyard. A loud hum echoed off of the walls of the surrounding buildings as six large shapes emerged around the side of the capitol building. Everyone looked up, including Adem. Rankin saw his chance and quickly pushed the blades away from his chest and toward the Tormada on top of him. Adem moved back just in time to avoid the main thrust of the blades, but he didn't move fast enough to avoid them altogether. One of the blades sliced through his right thigh and he screamed out in pain. Just as Adem lifted his head to yell out, a solar flare shot past him and hit Rankin directly in the chest, creating a smoldering hole right through the center of the Gartune. Rankin looked down at the crater in his chest, then back up at his assailant. In seconds, purple dust covered the top of the energy orb and Rankin was gone.
Giant wings flapped slowly over the orb as one of the hovercrafts lowered from the sky. Purple dust scattered throughout the courtyard.
"Drop your staffs! Get on your knees and put your hands over your heads!" yelled a voice from the hovercraft. The Gartune did as they were told. The hovercraft lowered and several Reytana jumped to the ground and began binding the hands of the captives. One Reytana walked up to Tinko's cart with a huge grin on his face.
"We'll take it from here, Tink," said Loras to his friend who was still standing on top of the cart.
"I really think I had things under control," said Tinko. "A couple more seconds and they would have surrendered. I'm fairly certain."
"Well if you like, we can leave and you can find out."
Tinko pretended to consider the offer for a moment and then shook his head. "Nah, you came all this way. You might as well stay. Besides, these four are tired of pushing this thing." He patted the orb underneath his feet.
Loras called to some nearby Reytana and they all got behind the sled and pushed the cart toward the center of the courtyard. When they go
t there, Lucan and Dario were helping Adem down off of the orb. The young Reytana looked like he was more in shock than in pain as Lucan carefully inspected his wound.
"He'll be fine," said Lucan. "The blade didn't go too deep. You Reytana heal so quickly anyway – this will probably be gone by tomorrow." Dario smiled at Adem and patted him on the shoulder. Suddenly, Adem wrapped his arms around Dario and embraced him. Tears began to stream out of the young Reytana's eyes. Dario returned the embrace, smiling. Lucan grinned up at him. "I guess it was a good thing we brought him after all, huh?" Dario just smiled and nodded.
Loras grinned at the two Reytana embracing in front of him. Dario caught his eye. "Where is Gracien?" he asked. The smile faded from Loras' face. He simply shook his head. Dario nodded again and released Adem from his embrace. "Well, I guess we'll have to think of something on our own then."
"We've been doing that a lot lately," replied Loras. "So far, we've gotten lucky."
Dario sighed. "Let's hope that luck continues. We're going to need it."
By this time, most of the Reytana had disembarked the hovercraft and were organizing the Gartune prisoners into small groups in the courtyard. In between the mass of Tormada, Regan came running through the crowd and jumped into her brother's arms. Loras was equally as surprised by seeing his sister as he was with the sudden show of affection. He recoiled for a second before returning his sister's hug.
"I could see you!" shouted Regan excitedly. "I could see you down at the river! Was that Hadrian you were talking to? Were you scared? I was scared! They let me shoot a cannon – a cannon! I think I missed my first two shots, but then Xander told me where to aim – oh, I hope I didn't hit any of you! Are you okay? You look okay. I shot a cannon!"
"Slow down," said Loras as he smiled at his sister. "Wait – that was you who fired on the Gartolians?"
"Yeah! Me and Xander," as she said his name, Xander came walking through the crowd.
Immediately, Loras lit up his ray blade and pushed his sister behind him. "Stand back!" he yelled.
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