“Anybody have any last minute changes or suggestions?”
When nobody spoke up, he turned to Kira, who was sitting in the captain’s seat.
“Alright! Opportunity and Bellerophon, take your positions. Kira, let’s get this party started. Take us down a ways away from the edge of the mine. There’s a nice flat spot over near those towers…”
Chapter 24
Kira landed the Phoenix on a large shelf of rock that was nearly covered with water that flowed out from the nearby pit that had become a lake. The rock shelf sat just below the massive towers, which Allistor realized were closer to three hundred stories high. The mine and gravity sling had been placed just south of the mountain range that wrapped around the planet’s equator. Lush forest surrounded them on three sides.
As the ship set down, Kira lowered the cargo bay ramp. First off the ship were a company of fifty battle droids, forming a line between the goblin colony and the ship. Allistor and his raiders stepped off behind them, along with Harmon and his warriors. The moment his foot touched the ground, he and everyone else received a system alert.
Warning! You have entered the territory of a sworn blood enemy!
Quest unlocked: Kill or Be Killed
The Borzgl clan has sworn a blood oath to eliminate you and every citizen of your nation. Rather than cower in the safety of your Strongholds, you have chosen to take the fight to them. Eliminate every living member of the Borzgl clan. Failure to complete the quest will result in significant reputation loss. Reward: Variable.
Harmon nodded his approval. “Kira picked a good spot. If they charge our position, they’ll have to cross the water. And while it’s not deep right here, the water will slow them. Any that fall will be pushed downstream by the current, or trampled by their own clan.”
Allistor paced back and forth, waiting for a reaction from the goblins. They’d made no attempt to hide their arrival, the Phoenix having actually passed over top of the pit before landing. The viewscreen had showed the little monsters retreating into their tunnels while looking up at the ship. And now the raiders were making a show of marching off the ship.
Still, it was nearly five minutes before the goblins responded. At first, there were just a few scouts. Allistor had his hunters pick off about half of them with rifles, hoping it would be enough to incite them to attack.
It was.
A dull roar began to echo across the stone shelf, drowning out the burbling of the water that passed in front of them. The sound grew until Allistor could distinguish two separate noises – the thunder of stomping feet, and the battle cries of the goblin horde. The moment they came into view above the edge of the mine pit, Allistor shouted for his troops to fire.
The droids in the front rank took a knee, allowing the second rank to fire over top of them. Each of them fired two plasma rifles with their lower arms. Behind them, humans fired a combination of hunting rifles and plasma weapons. Those with hunting rifles were tasked with scoping out any high-level goblins or ones that looked as if they were giving orders, and take them down. The rest concentrated on the front ranks along with the droids. Their aim was to slow the charge, force the goblins to step over their wounded and dead to get closer.
As soon as the angry little creatures were within range, Allistor called for his casters to start blasting. Spikes shot up from the earth in a row as thirty or so Erupt spells were cast. Fireballs flew across the distance, knocking down and burning four or five of the creatures at once. The horde pushed forward, more and more of them appearing above the edge of the pit.
“Hold them back! Pour it on!” Allistor began channeling his Storm spell. He targeted a spot just in front of the goblin line, estimating they’d reach it by the time the clouds formed and lightning began to strike.
He timed it almost perfectly. Ten seconds later, a lightning storm flattened the first several ranks at the center of the goblin line. The spell’s massive damage, the bright flashes of lightning going nearly nonstop, and the screams of their comrades caused the horde to stop, and even back up slightly.
Which is exactly what Allistor and his people wanted.
Seemingly from nowhere, the Bellerophon and Opportunity came streaking in on either side and slightly behind the horde. Ship’s cannons began to fire from all three ships, and missiles flew from the two airborne ships to explode amongst the tightly packed horde.
Allistor stopped channeling, and his people continued to fire even as they backed up slowly toward the Phoenix. They wanted to draw the much-reduced horde farther from their caves and onto the killing field. Cargo doors opened on both the airborne ships, and a wave of spells and weapons fire from the raiders rained down upon the goblins from above.
Thousands of monsters perished in seconds. Some were simply blasted into oblivion, others burned to a crisp or blown apart. Many of those who’d just arrived at the lip of the mine were blasted backward by the explosions, falling into the water that filled the pit. Goblins were not good swimmers, and most of them were stunned before they hit the water. Hundreds drowned as they sank to the bottom.
Still, the tough little monsters charged ahead, pouring out of their tunnels and up the ramp toward the battle. They returned fire, both up at the ship, and toward Allistor’s group. Some had plasma weapons much like their attackers, others used spells, or crossbows that launched explosive bolts.
These were not like the horde that the raiders had fought in Rhonda’s Stronghold. Those used stone weapons and primitive spells. This colony was on a technological level close to that of the humans. They lacked the shields, plasma cannons, and anti-aircraft batteries that Allistor had purchased, but otherwise their weapons were on par with his. They were all in the throes of some kind of blood rage, and they vastly outnumbered the humans, orcanin, and droids on the ground. Despite the punishing fire from above, they continued to advance, walking or jumping over their wounded and dead, snarls on their faces and eyes red with rage.
Allistor’s people began to fall. First one or two took hits from lucky shots that got past the droid lines. Then several at a time. The healers stopped casting damage spells and focused on healing. The group continued to back up, now nearly at the ship’s ramp.
Then a lucky shot with an explosive bolt reached the open cargo bay of the Bellerophon as it hovered above. The blast knocked three humans right out of the ship, burning as they fell into the water. Allistor quickly checked his raid UI, and saw several orange dots, but no grey. Hopefully his people could swim away from the battle and survive. Healers from both ships cast a shower of heals on each of them, raising them back up to green.
Another explosive shot took the head off a battle droid, sending shrapnel back into Allistor and his people. He felt hot metal pierce his face just below his left eye. When he instinctively reached for it, it burned his fingers as well. The pain was extreme, but he didn’t have time to deal with it. He cast a heal on himself, then cast Restraint on a goblin that was forming a fireball to throw at the humans. The stunned caster’s spell backfired, exploding in its hands, burning them away even as it splashed onto several nearby monsters.
The humans and orcanin were now all aboard the Phoenix. Prime gave the command for the droids to step aboard as well. They continued firing even as they climbed the ramp backward and stepped into the cargo hold. All but three that were too badly damaged, still laying on the ground.
The Phoenix’s shield snapped into place, spells and explosions detonating inches from the ship’s hull. Allistor stopped the ramp from raising completely so that he and the others could observe the battle. As he watched, the goblins charged toward the ship, the density of explosions against the shield almost completely blocking out the view. Allistor saw the Opportunity and Bellerophon rising higher into the sky. Phoenix, with her superior shielding, would stay and keep the goblins occupied.
Less than a minute after Allistor had stepped back aboard the Phoenix, Bellerophon dropped the payload they had prepared. A bomb fell from the ship’s under
side, whistling as it picked up speed. About a hundred feet above the ground, it detonated.
The effect was devastating.
They’d used a thermobaric bomb, or what was more commonly known as a fuel-air bomb. These were home-made versions, born of a collaboration between a few of the air force explosives techs and the engineers. They modified a standard bomb design, combining home-made napalm with extra fine particles of iron oxide, magnesium, and aluminum, all packed around the explosive device in the center that was in turn wired to an altimeter. The result was a massive explosion a hundred feet above the ground, with a concussive wave that pushed the burning mixture outward a fair distance, covering everything within a hundred yards. The fuel burned at an extremely high temperature, and at the same time sucked in all the oxygen to feed the flames.
Even at a two thousand feet altitude, both the airborne ships were rocked by the sudden instability of the air below. The Phoenix’s shield was coated in the burning material even as she was rocked slightly on the ground. The spray of water that was pushed up against the shield did nothing to extinguish the flames. Gralen and his experts had done careful calculations to make sure the shield would hold.
When the smoke cleared and the substance on the shield had burned itself off, Allistor surveyed the battlefield. Not a single goblin was left standing. With so many of them blown apart or burned to ash, there was no way to estimate how many they’d killed. Some of his people leveled up, but the goblins were too low level to give him much in the way of experience. He was sure the kids, and the support people he’d brought along, had benefitted greatly, though.
The other two ships landed nearby, and all the raiders and droids disembarked. This battle was far from over. In fact the worst was likely still to come. They still needed to clear the tunnels below.
As one third of the droids formed up at the edge of the pit, the raiders and support people took a few minutes to loot the piles of bodies, and finish off any wounded goblins with swords and spears. Harmon’s warriors followed right behind, snatching up goblin corpses, or parts, and stuffing them into bags. A few of the humans gagged when an orcanin picked up a well-cooked goblin leg and, after sniffing it, took a big bite.
Allistor called his raiders together. They formed up behind the droid vanguard, and another third of the droids took up rear guard. The orcanin, beastkin, and the remaining one third of the droids were staying behind to guard the support teams and ships, and to help with the looting.
The moment everyone was formed up and ready, Prime ordered his front line droids down the ramp. When they reached the first tunnel entrance, ten droids broke off and headed inside. Four groups of five raiders followed, each small group containing a mixture of melee and ranged fighters, and one healer. Together they’d have four healers to keep everyone healthy, and plenty of dps. But if necessary they could split into smaller groups and fight effectively.
As they passed each new tunnel entrance, another set of droids and raiders split off. Each group would be able to stay in contact with the raid party via their radios, while the droids could communicate with Prime. Anyone encountering heavy resistance was to call for help immediately.
Allistor’s group was the last to take a tunnel. He and Fuzzy, along with Prime, Helen, Amanda, Nancy, Michael, Sam, Meg, and a dozen others followed five droids into the tunnel opening, with the other five droids bringing up the rear. As soon as they were out of the sunlight, Allistor cast a light globe ahead of the droids. There was no question of stealth this time, the battle above having alerted every living thing within miles of their presence.
There were some scattered bodies within the tunnel, goblins that had been burned and managed to retreat this far before succumbing to their injuries. Allistor tried not to imagine the pain they’d felt while the liquid fire burned away as they fled.
Maybe a hundred yards in from the entrance, they found the first of the live goblins. These were injured as well, some trying to limp away, some crawling. A few turned and attacked, hoping to take an enemy with them when they died. The wounded were quickly and mercifully dispatched.
Ramon was mapping the complex as the various groups proceeded into the tunnels. The droids were reporting their movements to Prime in real time, and he was sharing his updated interface map with Ramon every few minutes. Ramon was in turn leveling his Cartography as he drew out a physical map of the complex. Just behind him, Helen was doing the same. Allistor felt proud when he noticed this. Even during a raid, his people were pushing to level their skills.
They moved through the tunnel for another thirty minutes, checking and clearing each chamber as they went. The droids fended off several surprise attacks from small parties of ten or fifteen goblins, taking the damage while the humans burned down the goblins. Each time the droids tanked instead of the humans, Allistor received some Infamy Points. But the amount was small, and he was more than willing to lose some reputation if it meant reducing the risk to his people.
After a last sharp turn in the tunnel, they found themselves in an expansive underground chamber. The ceiling arched at least fifty feet above them, and the floor stretched out two hundred yards or more in a rough circle. There were small buildings constructed of wood and stone scattered everywhere, with one larger, two-story building toward the back.
Allistor noted that there were makeshift barricades between the buildings in a rough semicircle in front of the largest building. Mining carts, wagons, even loose stones were piled up to block the path of the invaders. Behind the barricades he could see hundreds of goblins racing back and forth, adding items to the piles or delivering bundles of crossbow bolts and other supplies.
He picked one at random and Examined it.
Goblin Warrior
Elite
Level 40
Health: 19,100/19,100
So the others had been correct. These would be the nucleus of the goblin clan, the original horde members who’d leveled up and increased their attributes enough to grow into a clan and claim this world.
As Allistor was making his observations, his teams began to emerge from other tunnels one at a time. He waved at Logan when his group emerged just twenty yards or so away. The growing numbers of invaders appearing around their home had the goblins yelling and moving more quickly, most of them manning the barricades with weapons at the ready.
Allistor keyed his throat mic. “Hang back until we’re all here. We’re going to need to clear the outer buildings first, make sure there are no surprises hiding inside. Check the floors carefully for trap doors or hatches that might allow them to pop up from underground.” He paused, thinking back to their last goblin fight.
“Also, if you see one that looks like a shaman, those are priority targets. Remember the last fight, that shaman did something to make the others bigger and stronger, then made them explode. So watch for that. If you can’t kill the shaman fast enough, retreat and get behind something! Better to retreat and live to fight than to try and push it.”
Without needing to be told, his people took time to check their gear, grab some jerky or other edibles that would provide buffs, and drinks. Many of them sat down to speed up their Stamina or Mana Regeneration.
Allistor heard a commotion and saw Logan’s party turn back toward their tunnel. There was some weapons fire and a few explosions, then things calmed down. “Small group got behind us somehow. They’re handled.” the man reported.
“Each group, leave some droids in your tunnel as a rear guard.” Allistor ordered, probably unnecessarily.
When the last group appeared, Allistor gave them five minutes to rest and buff up. Then he ordered everyone forward. “Stick to your zones, clear every single building. You know the drill. Stop before you get in range of the barricades.”
So they went to work. Allistor had been right to be concerned. Almost immediately they discovered goblin warriors in some of the buildings. When the sounds of fighting echoed across the cavern, more of them emerged from other buildings between the i
nvaders and the barricades. Their ambush ruined, the goblins did their best to trap Allistor’s people and cut them off.
The tactic was partially successful. A couple of Allistor’s groups got stuck fighting goblins inside a building while fending off more goblins rushing at them from outside. Four of his people went down, their icons gone grey, even as other groups rushed to their aid.
“Dammit! Double up! No less than forty in a group going forward!” Allistor shouted into his radio.
It took another half hour to fight off the goblins outside the barricades and clear all the buildings. Two more humans died to a necrotic spell of some kind when their group encountered a shaman. The healers weren’t able to counteract the damage, trying everything as their screaming friends’ bodies rotted and fell apart.
When the melee fighters reached the shaman and took him down, there wasn’t much of him left intact.
Allistor paused as Gralen’s voice came through his radio.
“Sire, we have engaged a large party on the surface. They emerged outside our perimeter and were headed for the colony ships. At least a thousand of them. My crew and Harmon’s warriors have engaged.”
“Do you need reinforcements?”
“Negative, Sire. We have the situation in hand. Just keeping you informed.”
Allistor’s heart had begun racing, and forced himself to take a few deep breaths. “Send some droids down whatever hole they came out of, and have them keep Prime updated as they go. And keep watch for more surprises.”
“It shall be done, Sire.” Gralen cut the link.
“Kira! Take the Phoenix up. If these guys alerted their other Strongholds, they could be piling into ships already. Get above the planet and shoot down anything that tries to leave!”
“Roger that, boss!” Kira sounded excited. He could hear a few hoots from the crew around her.
“Prime, I need you to send half of the rear guard droids around the outer wall to the tunnels we haven’t already covered. I don’t want these goblins escaping. Tell them to collapse the tunnels if they need to.”
Shadow Sun Rebellion Page 41