The orcanin held his tongue, but Allistor saw his eyes widen.
Allistor took aim again and waited for the gun to fire. Then he counted three seconds in his head, and fired just before he reached three. The round slammed into the weapon housing, causing sparks to fly. Allistor roared and thrust a fist in the air. Behind him, the orcanin roared with him.
“Prime! There is a gap in the shields when the ship’s cannons fire. I want you to direct three anti-aircraft batteries at a single gun. Have them fire one half second before that gun fires. They operate on a three-second interval.”
“As you command, Sire!” Prime went silent, and a moment later three of the Bastion’s batteries fired in unison. One of the guns above exploded, and the ship rocked to one side. Prime didn’t need to be told to exploit their new advantage. As Allistor and his people cheered, the ship’s guns began to explode two, then three at a time. The missing three batteries at the depository came online then, adding to the damage. In thirty seconds, the elven ship was down to two cannons, and was badly damaged. Its shield began to flicker even as the engines pushed it upward.
“Prime! Bring it down!” Allistor shouted. The general just looked at him with his usual blank face.
“I assumed that was your wish, Sire. I estimate the ship will fall before it rises out of range of our weapons.”
Just as the general finished speaking, something fell from the ship. Harmon and his warriors dove to the ground, the merchant giving Allistor a significant look, but saying nothing. Allistor took the hint. “EVERYBODY DOWN!” he shouted, hitting the ground himself.
The falling object struck the shield, and the world went white. Even through his closed eyes, Allistor was temporarily blinded. The ground bucked from the explosion, and the sound wave made everyone’s ears bleed.
When he didn’t die, Allistor opened his eyes. He couldn’t see anything but spots, so he called out. “Nigel, what happened?”
“Sire, the ship dropped a bomb. The shield held, but just barely. It will not withstand another.” Allistor wasn’t hearing the AI’s voice with his ears, which were ringing badly. The message was displayed in text on his interface.
“Prime! Focus every weapon we have on a single spot, and fire for effect! Now!” Allistor shouted, but all he could hear was a dull droning sound beneath the ringing in his ears. Still, Prime must have heard his order.
A moment later he heard what he guessed was another explosion. Blinking rapidly, he was able to regain enough sight to see the ship falling into the park outside the gates.
Already, several hundred battle droids were running toward the gate or leaping off the walls. The plasma cannons were firing toward the ship, and Sam and George were appearing with their guns on the teleport pad.
Allistor waved and shouted to get their attention, then pointed toward the gate. The two gun crews drove the Humvees, pulling the guns in the direction indicated. As the gates opened and the battle droids rushed out, George saw the ship and nodded. He shouted something up at Allistor, but Allistor just shook his head and pointed to his ears with both hands. He shouted back. “Big explosion! Can’t hear you. We shot the ship down! Kill it!”
Both George and Sam gave a thumbs-up to indicate they heard. Their vehicles whipped around so that the guns were pointing out the gate, then backed up some. The crews poured out and began lowering the barrels, which Allistor was sad to see were pointed nearly vertical. He regretted his previous order.
All along the wall, his fellow humans were recovering from the blast. They were pointing weapons at the ship, which was beyond the range of their plasma rifles. More and more were pouring in through the teleport every few seconds, and being directed onto the wall.
Allistor shouted at Prime again, even though the general was mere feet from him. “Prime! Tell your droids to stay back at maximum range of their rifles. There are antipersonnel mines out there, and I want to set them off when the elves come out. I don’t want to hit your guys. So none of them within fifty yards of the ship!”
The general looked at him for several moments, and Allistor realized he was probably speaking to him. Once again he pointed to his ringing, bleeding ears. All of a sudden he felt stupid. Casting a heal on himself, he waited as the ringing faded and muffled sounds began to return. He cast a second one, then one each on Amanda and Helen, so they’d get the hint. All of them had been rendered slightly stupid by the blast, it seemed.
“I can hear now, Prime. Report.”
“My troops have halted sixty yards from the enemy ship. So far, no combatants have emerged. I have taken control of the mines with Nigel’s assistance, and can activate them at your command.”
Allistor, realizing he was on his knees, used the wall to pull himself to his feet. He felt another heal wash over him, and took a deep breath. The ringing in his ears was almost completely gone. Pain he hadn’t noticed before began to fade from his tongue, as well. Touching his mouth, he found a significant amount of blood. He’d apparently bitten his tongue quite badly. Helen and Amanda had similar blood on their own lips. So did Harmon.
He looked out over the wall at the ship. It was just within range of the plasma cannons on either side of the gate. They were pounding away at the hull, having little effect. The ship was upright, its landing gear having been deployed before it hit the ground. There was no sign of an opening or anyone exiting the ship.
Looking around, Allistor found his sniper rifle near his feet. He bent and retrieved it, checking it briefly. The scope was off-kilter, the bracket bent either from being dropped, or from the force of the blast. Allistor removed it from the weapon and looked through it at the ship. A quick scan showed significant damage, but no openings. The rear of the ship was facing him, so he couldn’t see a cockpit.
“Harmon, it looks to me as if anyone exiting that ship would have to do so from underneath. Like maybe a ramp that extends down. Would that be a correct assumption?”
Harmon smiled at him.
“Well, if it were me, I would have designed the ramp to extend forward under the nose, or backward toward the tail. From what you’ve told me of elves, I’m going to say the front. They’d want to land facing whomever they were visiting, or attacking, and exit with style.”
Again, the orcanin grinned. A few of his warriors laughed, enjoying the game.
Allistor could have saved himself the trouble. Prime answered him. “You are correct, Sire. This model Imperial ship does indeed exit below and to the fore. That will give their troops some cover as they exit. The ship turned as it fell, I believe precisely for that reason.”
“Why haven’t they come out? They’re sitting ducks in there.” Allistor asked nobody in particular.
“They are likely attempting repairs, Sire. They are aware that our plasma cannons and smaller weapons will do little damage to their hull, even with the shield disabled. And they are too low for our anti-aircraft weapons to strike them. If I were their captain, I would complete repairs to the engines, restore the shield, then exit low and retreat, avoiding the batteries.” Prime explained. Harmon nodded.
Allistor grinned. “Well, they should have checked with the goblins before attacking us!” Leaning down over the back of the wall, he shouted. “Sam! Prime thinks they’re trying to fix those engines and run away! How ‘bout you see if you can keep that from happening!”
Sam grinned, and George bent over laughing. “Roger that! Two right up the chute!”
Both crews took a moment to adjust their aim, then Sam shouted, “Firing!” A moment later both big guns fired, and the rounds slammed into the back end of the elven ship. They must have used high explosive rounds, because the result was spectacular. There were two immediate explosions as the two rounds hit, then a much larger whump as something inside the ship exploded. The rear hull of the ship cracked open, and a shock wave knocked over most of the battle droids that were standing sixty yards away. Large pieces of the hull fell to the ground, and fires could be seen raging inside.
Ther
e was cheering from the wall, echoed by those down on the ground who had seen through the gate. Sam and George were doing some kind of odd touchdown dance that involved a lot of knee-knocking and hand-waving.
Allistor took a moment to check on his people. Several were lying on the ground at the base of the wall. They hadn’t had the warning that he’d received from Harmon, and were standing atop the walls with eyes wide open, probably looking upward, when the bomb went off. Blind, and disoriented from the sound blast, they’d fallen off the wall. Allistor pointed and shouted Amanda’s name. She followed his gaze, then both she and Helen took off. Allistor saw others converging on the wounded as well. He hoped none of them had died.
“Nigel, casualties?”
“Four dead, Sire.” Allistor’s heart fell into his stomach. “Three hundred eighty-seven wounded, nineteen of them critical. Nearly all from fall damage.”
Allistor’s interface map zoomed in as Nigel spoke, the AI displaying green and grey dots for him. Several of the green dots were only partially shaded, indicating they were wounded. Nineteen of them were orange. Even as he watched, two of the orange dots turned yellow. Someone was healing them.
“Sire, I am receiving an audio message from the ship.”
“Let me have it. In fact, put it on loudspeaker.” Allistor replied.
The voice that he heard next sounded as if it were part growl, part hiss.
“This is the vessel Opportunity, calling the human Stronghold. We surrender! Please do not fire again! We surrender!”
Harmon growled. “This is no elf. And I see no Imperial markings anywhere.” The warriors behind him were already jumping off the wall on the outside, their huge frames and muscular legs easily absorbing the impact from the thirty-foot drop. “Allow us to investigate, my friend.”
Allistor shook his head. Taking hold of his friend’s arm, he whispered, “Wait, Harmon. It could be a trick. There might actually be elves in there, and if you and your warriors make a move, you could put your whole race at risk. Let the droids handle this.”
The orcanin merchant paused, then nodded. He leaned over and shouted at his men, and they halted their advance a few yards behind the droids. “That is wise advice, Allistor. I let the heat of battle override my good sense. Thank you.”
Calling out loudly, Allistor said, “Opportunity crew, identify yourselves! You don’t sound like an elf to me.” He looked to Harmon, who grinned.
“We are not elves. We are of no single race. This is a mercenary ship. Please hold your fire. Another round will destroy this vessel completely.”
“I will not fire again unless fired upon. Drop your weapons where you stand and exit the ship. My battle droids will not harm you unless you attempt to resist or escape.” Allistor looked at Prime, who nodded his head. A moment later the droids formed a half circle about fifty yards from the ship as a ramp was lowered underneath. Allistor said, “Prime, be prepared to detonate the mines on my command. Only the ones far enough from your troops not to damage them.”
“As you command, Sire.”
Allistor held up his scope and watched as one after another the crew appeared from behind the ramp. The first one appeared to be some kind of beastkin, half woman half cat. Behind her came what looked like a humanoid iguana walking upright on two legs. Next came a couple more beastkin, one wolf, one badass looking wolverine-ish creature. There were dozens of different species, some that Allistor had a hard time accepting. In particular, a creature that seemed to be made entirely of liquid, but walked on four distinct legs, made him look twice. He was dying to ask Harmon about it, but it could wait.
Eventually more than a hundred fifty aliens were gathered together and surrounded by the battle droids. The last twenty or so to come down the ramp were clearly wounded, some with burn marks, others with broken or missing limbs, or open wounds. After confirming that there were no elves, the orcanin advanced and assumed guard duty as well, growling at the prisoners and occasionally poking a weapon at one who moved or spoke.
The moment the last of the prisoners sat on the grass, every human Allistor could see began to glow as they leveled up. He waved his own notifications aside for later.
“Prime, please have twenty of your troops search the ship for any more crew who may be hiding, or too wounded to move. And assess the condition of the ship as well.” Allistor looked at Harmon. “I don’t know what to do here. Should we execute them? Should we heal the wounded?” He took a moment to confirm that all of his people were back to green. Except the four grey dots, which were now clustered at the base of the wall.
“That is up to you. They are mercenaries. They failed in their mission. Depending on who hired them, failure may mean execution when they return. If that ship belongs to their client, its loss may also result in their execution, or they may be sold into slavery to recoup some of the cost of the ship. Their own honor code may require suicide, though I doubt that since they have surrendered. On the other hand, if they are part of one of the guilds, their masters may be willing to pay a ransom for them, and reimburse you for your own losses. We must speak to them so that you may better determine how to proceed.”
Looking around, he saw Amanda and Helen too far away for shouting. “Nigel, please ask Lady Helen to take ten healers out and tend to the wounded mercenaries.”
“Of course, Sire.”
A moment later, Helen looked up and waved. She and Amanda started toward the gate, several of his people following behind. Amanda stopped to kiss both George and Sam as she passed them near the gate. George did another little dance and made a kissy-face at Allistor, making both ladies laugh.
Allistor just shook his head, grinning. “Dirty old man.”
He took his time walking down the ramp and over to the gate. He shook hands with both Sam and George, saying, “No, I’m not going to kiss you. But good shootin’!” George pretended to be disappointed.
Both men joined him as he walked to the circle of prisoners. “Who’s in charge here?”
The wolverine-looking beastkin stood and spoke. His voice was the same that had spoken over the comms. “I am in charge, now. Our Captain was killed overseeing repairs when your last attack caused the atmospheric engines to explode. I am First Officer Gralen.”
“I am Planetary Prince Allistor, and this is my Stronghold. But I’m guessing you already knew that?”
The wolverinekin bowed his head. “I offer you our formal surrender, Prince Allistor. I was not aware of your title, or that this was your property. Though my Captain may very well have been. My compliments on a battle well fought, and your victory, your highness.” He bowed more deeply, and as one his crew got to their feet and did the same.
“We are at your mercy, highness. Our lives are yours to dispose of as you see fit.”
Allistor scowled. He found himself actually kind of liking this mercenary, and hated himself for it. They had killed four of his people.
“Before I make that decision, I have some questions. The first and most important of which is: who sent you here?”
The first officer looked uncomfortable, his feet shifting and his hands twitching at his sides. Even his whiskers twitched. “I am afraid I am unable to answer that. Our oath prevents us from revealing the identity of our client.”
“You came here in what I’m told is an elven Imperial ship. You serve the Empire?”
Gralen shook his head. “This ship belongs to our guild, highness. I believe it was purchased from the Empire some hundred years ago or more.”
Harmon put a hand on Allistor’s shoulder. “Allow me?” Allistor nodded.
“Your oath is to your guild then, and not the client directly.” he stated, not really a question.
Gralen nodded. “Indeed. We never met the client. Orders came directly from the guild.”
“Let me see if I can guess. More than half of your crew are beastkin. Your ship is top notch, or was until a few minutes ago. That shield-buster you dropped was a big one, and expensive. Yours is no small, no-na
me guild. Well-funded and, unless I miss my guess, filled with veterans of the Axalon war?”
Again, Gralen nodded. “Very perceptive, sir. And may I say it is a pleasure to see you again. You would not remember me, as I was simply a grunt back then. But your unit saved what was left of mine in one of the early battles. Hephaestus’ Ridge.”
Harmon nodded and quickly explained to Allistor. “About a hundred fifty years ago. I was a Captain then. Our unit was sent in as shock troops to push back an advancing force and distract them long enough for the beastkin units to retreat.”
Turning back to Gralen, he added, “Which would make you members of…” Harmon leaned forward and whispered into the beastkin’s ear.
“Correct, sir. And should his highness choose to spare our lives, our Guildmaster will pay a generous ransom.”
“How generous?” Allistor asked. Both Harmon and Gralen looked uncomfortable. Harmon whispered, “That is something that should be discussed in private, my friend. There are protocols for this sort of thing.”
Allistor nodded. “Gralen, please join us inside, and we will discuss your future. I believe your wounded have all been tended to. You may detail some men to remove your dead from the ship, and we will arrange a proper funeral service.” He turned to his general. “Prime, please organize that. When they’re done, make sure the prisoners have food and water. Remove all weapons from the ship, and have Nigel create a separate vault for them.”
Prime saluted, and Gralen spoke some orders to his men. Twenty of them began to walk back toward the ramp with battle droid escorts.
“Thank you, your highness, for healing my wounded. That was most kind of you.”
“On Earth we have a tradition of treating prisoners humanely. And treating wounded prisoners as well as we would our own. As long as you and your men make no hostile moves or attempt escape, you will not be harmed. We’ll feed you and figure out some shelter until we have decided what to do with you.”
Gralen bowed his head in submission as he followed Allistor and the others back through the gates. Allistor noticed him observing the interior of the Stronghold, paying special attention to the weapons batteries and the teleport pad.
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