The Setari (and Siame) of course weren't just sitting back while this was going on, but there were so many Cruzatch and in an enclosed space with 'civilians' about, they couldn't be very wild using elementals, and were struggling not to be straightforwardly slaughtered. The Cruzatch seemed to intend a quick snatch and grab, which kept the casualty numbers down, but also made them very hard to counter. Bryze was very badly injured trying to stop them from hauling me off, but they say he'll recover.
By this time, Kaoren, Maze and Tsur Selkie were in channel with me, which was an exercise in frustration for them, and only served as a distraction for me. Kaoren told me to try breaking individual strands of the net, but it seemed to be made of some kind of rubber (vaguely resembling the stuff they'd used to build the traps around Kalasa's platforms) and would only stretch a little – not nearly enough to make a Cass-sized hole. It was also very hard to do anything while being banged around corners.
And then we were outside, soaring straight out over the lake toward what was later determined to be their entrance point, a tear on the far bank of the southern 'hook' of the lake. Siame was the only defender who'd managed to follow straight away – she doesn't have Combat Sight, but she's a stronger Light talent than Kaoren, more on Lohn's level, and since she hadn't enhanced was able to shoot Light bolts at the Cruzatch carrying me. It was dodging very well, but one of the bolts went through the top of the net, spilling Ys and me down into the lake.
I wasn't prepared for the drop, but managed to keep a hold of Ys and was lucky to take the impact on my shoulder. After a disoriented and panicky flounder we surfaced and Ys, coughing and gasping, nearly pushed me under again. At least the water made my burned arm stop hurting quite so horribly.
Siame was just above us, trying to fend off three Cruzatch at once. I turned in the water, and saw that we were quite close to Tupal Rock – the stony cluster which is the nearest island to Pandora. I told Ys to climb on my back, and managed a sluggish breast-stroke, and was trying to angle to the lower side when Siame and one of the Cruzatch fell out of the sky.
They landed very close, the Cruzatch producing a big hiss of steam. Taarel had shown up by then, racing two more Cruzatch, and took on the pair Siame hadn't killed. Siame barely seemed to be swimming, so I detached Ys and asked her if she thought she was able to swim to the rock and when she nodded I sprinted to Siame as she started to sink. Her Kalrani uniform doesn't provide half the protection of the nanoliquid suits, let alone built-in close combat weapons, and she'd been clawed across her abdomen, deep enough to do serious damage. She's still alive, but facing a long, painful recovery.
By the time I hauled her to Tupal Rock, Mila had joined Taarel, but they were both injured and struggling, and more Cruzatch were arriving from the group which had attacked the platform: a cloud of burning black moving in for the kill. Mila and Taarel were magnificent, fighting back-to-back, managing even as the numbers grew higher to keep all the Cruzatch's focus on them, picking off any who dropped toward me. But there were so many.
During the short swim to the rock, I kept thinking that Eeli wouldn't be able to bear it if Taarel died as well, and searching desperately for the best thing I could do to stop that from happening, telling myself that I'm powerful enough that they need to make laws about me, and could surely manage a few judicious lightning bolts.
I hauled Siame as high on the rock as I could manage, and told Ys to hold her there, then found a dip I could wedge myself into. "I'm going to try to help," I told Ys as I muted my interface distractions. "Be careful not to touch me."
There's quite a few scanners stationed along the Pandora shoreline, so when I woke I could watch what happened next on the news. I didn't have much of a view of it at the time – my perception is really vague when I'm expanded and I was concentrating very hard and only had my eyes open part of the time. They keep showing the whole sequence over and over again – Siame pursuing the Cruzatch with me and Ys in the net, and then us falling into the water and Siame's fight against them (Kaoren says she did extremely well) and then the expanded battle above us while I was trying to get Siame to the rock. And then Ys desperately trying to hold on to Siame and staunch her bleeding while I'm just sitting there very still with my eyes closed – like I'd gone into extreme denial.
Then the dragon shows up.
I'd abandoned the idea of lightning bolts almost immediately – there's no way I can aim while expanded. And I've known for ages that I can create Ionoth, after all. A dragon wasn't an obvious choice – most of them are evil in stories – but my mind had frozen when trying to think of really powerful flying things who could pwn a few dozen Cruzatch really quickly. I almost did Superman, but realised at the last moment that the sun mightn't be the right sort. And then I thought of Maze toasting dozens of Cruzatch, and thought of dragon breath.
Spirited Away was one of my favourite movies growing up, and there was a hint of river-spirit dragon in what I created: white with highlights of blue and gold, long in body, but with vast wings. And huge. It dove into view to snatch up two Cruzatch which were dropping toward me, and opening these truly incredible wings with a snap which echoed across the lake. It threw the two Cruzatch into the water as it started upward, and the gale was incredible, making me struggle to not lose focus.
I'm so glad that Taarel and Mila chose to pull free from the Cruzatch cloud at the dragon's appearance – I'm not sure I could have lived with it if they'd been crisped when the dragon tilted down again and breathed.
Dragonzilla. It was Light, not Fire. The kind of beam which you see in mecha anime which scorches a mile-long ridge into the landscape and cuts through mountains. It evaporated the swarm of Cruzatch just as they clustered in preparation for attacking and then scored down into lake, creating a great whomping cloud of steam.
And the energy cost for that hit me like a tank. I promptly passed out and toppled into the lake.
Poor Ys. She hates so much anyone seeing her when she's upset, and everyone on three planets has watched her frantic horror as she tries to keep hold of Siame while snatching at me as I drop. She couldn't keep me from going into the water, and wasn't strong enough to pull me out of it while keeping Siame in place, but she did manage to lift my head enough so that I was only a little bit drowned when Trouban from Eighth dropped down (half-fell, he was in bad shape) and joined us on the rock, while Taarel and Mila cleared up the few Cruzatch which had escaped the dragon.
I so should have yelled Expecto Patronum. Talk about missed opportunities.
I've been unconscious for the last couple of days, and I suspect I've damaged my projection talent again like I did with the Kalasa projection, but I got off a lot better than the Setari and Siame. Fourth, Sixth and the other parts of Eighth were sent back immediately, and things have been relatively quiet since – the expeditionary force digging in to work on the shielding around the new site, and the Cruzatch not as yet testing them again.
KOTIS has copped a lot of flak for leaving Pandora/me inadequately defended, which they've been taking a mea culpa attitude to, although the first battle at Oriath was so intense that going with fewer would have meant far more injuries, and they don't dare pull any more squads from Tare and Kolar. The injury list just keeps climbing, and they've made active as many of the Kalrani as they're willing to risk at this stage.
Kaoren was sitting beside me when I woke, looking so tired that I have extreme doubts he managed any real sleep the entire time I was unconscious. I suspect he and Sen were plagued by Sight dreams, since she didn't look much better by the time I got back to our apartment (after a meal, another long sleep and a medical exam). I'm writing this propped against Kaoren's arms on our couch, with Sen sprawled down one side of us. Both of them passed out almost as soon as we sat down. Ys and Rye looked pretty wrung out as well (if Sen's not sleeping, they're generally not sleeping either), but held out to have quite a long conversation with me about dragons and to grimace at me fiercely or blush and look at the floor depending on their inclin
ation when I told them what I thought of their bravery.
Rye fell asleep sitting on the floor propped against the couch, after a long period of gazing up at Kaoren with unblinking devotion. Ys went and fetched him a pillow, and then my diary when I asked her for it, and actually tolerated me thanking her, and has stayed close playing with her modelling toy while I write – she's growing quite adept at using it, and seems to most enjoy making copies of Pandora's buildings. She's very exacting and precise.
I've been amusing myself using the scanner to record this scene for posterity, and also having interface conversations with a selection of almost everyone I know on the planet. The recurrent theme has been: "That bat-surri was incredible." It certainly made an impression on the collective imagination, and the interface sites are full of discussion about it, and me. The fact that I can outgun the Setari in a suicidal one-shot kind of way has certainly strengthened the "we need to make some laws about the touchstone" brigade. On a plus side there's a ton of positive comments about Siame (quickly identified as Kaoren's sister) and Ys.
I'm glad I was able find a way to fight back – and OMG I can make dragons – but wish I could have just paid enough attention to realise that Lira was trying to talk to me.
Thursday, October 23
Mine
Third and Eighth have been sent back to Tare, with only two of them lacking a significant injury. Eeli's still here, though, because the medics are worried about the impact of taking her through deep-space. Not one of Third could stand leaving her behind, and Taarel sent them off to the ship with her head high and her eyes hard.
Siame can't be moved either, but at least is periodically conscious. I went down to see her, but she likes me even less now – or is just too ill to disguise how little she wants to do with me. Other than not being able to project, I'm feeling fine today, with my burn thoroughly medicated.
The expeditionary force is having immense trouble working through the shielding at the Oriath site – it's on par with the shielding around Kalasa – but they've made a lot of progress setting up warning drones and creating a little fortress, dense with shields and bristling with weapons. Even without the Setari there, anyone inside the bunker could probably defend themselves against all but a massive attack. They're waiting for the next Cruzatch assault (should there be one) before sending any more squads back, so they can gauge how sufficient it is, but two more of the Nuran Setari have returned.
The shielding on the talent school hadn't been brought up during the Cruzatch attack because some of the kids were still outside and couldn't get inside quickly enough, and that's led to a revision of both the school and Pandora's Ionoth safety procedures. The proposed solution is emergency shelters outside some of these outlying buildings. Shielded shelters are a seriously sensitive subject for the Nurans, of course, but for certain critical buildings KOTIS Command has decided they can't risk leaving them open.
The question of whether there are spies for the Cruzatch here is also causing a headache. It's obvious to suspect the Nurans – and unfortunately this suspicion seems to be focused on the Nuran Setari – but it could be anyone on Muina, Tare or Kolar. Someone, after all, told the Nurans about me after I unlocked Muina. Thankfully practically no-one knows we've made contact with Lira – not that she's probably able to manifest at the moment with my talents taking a time-out. KOTIS Command hasn't decided whether to move me, pretend to have moved me, or even use me as bait.
At any rate, the kids are out of school for the moment because their presence reveals mine, and all of us are confined to the Setari building. They're quite happy about this. Sen because it means she spends more time with me, Rye because he gets to spend more time with Kaoren, and Ys because she doesn't have to spend any time with the children at the school.
The Setari building feels so deserted with only Fourth in residence. Mila, Orial and Korinal aren't tremendously social, and are often away mediating issues with the Nurans. Having the common room to themselves (windows set to be one-way) turned into a great game for Sen, who gleefully collected every cushion and made a massive mound of them, and kept climbing on top and rolling down the sides. Ys and Rye didn't try to stop her, just made sure there wasn't anything to hit. I sat on the table watching all three of them, not failing to notice how Ys and Rye would occasionally check the entrances of the room for annoyed adults. I'm pretty sure if someone had been mad they would have pretended it was all their idea and taken any blame.
I know they'll always be ready to do anything for Sen, but I am hopeful that one day the shadow of House Renar won't sit above them so strongly. They are improving. When it's just Kaoren and me with them, they're more inclined to show preferences in what to do each evening, and even Ys now asks questions if she can't work out an answer using the interface. Though that's becoming rarer – she's formidably intelligent.
It's so fun to watch Rye light up whenever Kaoren arrives, although today with a brief double-check to make sure that playing with cushions was allowed. It's also pretty damn cool watching Kaoren's response. I think the outright worship embarrasses him a little, but he really enjoys encouraging Rye, and says he has to keep resisting a temptation to show off for him.
It was a quiet day. Fourth had the morning free – or as free as they're allowed to be when they're the only squad on site – and Kaoren was in interface meetings, which is why I took the kids downstairs. In the afternoon we trained together. Since Halla is mildly injured, she was assigned to training with me, and Kaoren delighted Rye by having her include the kids in our training as well.
Isten Notra is coming to the Setari building tomorrow to discuss the conclusions she's come to from all the data my projections and dreams have given her. Of course, she could just tell us that over the interface, but since it appears that Lira can observe me, Isten Notra is hoping to tell Lira what she thinks happened.
Which is a cruel, hard thing, but I completely agree with Isten Notra that only the truth will do.
Friday, October 24
Planet Drac
Last night's attack on Oriath involved a full force of Cruzatch, plus a massive and attendants.
This time Taren and Kolaren technology ruled the day. Tare has tremendous problems fighting massives, because almost all their land surface is covered by buildings. Kolar has huge amounts of land surface, though all their cities are in two relatively small regions (parts of which are in permanent night, or permanent twilight, which leads to some great stories about things living in the dark), but while Kolar has difficulty dealing with small and medium Ionoth, with massives it usually just bombs the shit out of them.
KOTIS had expected exactly this tactic from the Cruzatch, and had been preparing launchers for missiles, which they promptly used to rain fiery destruction from the skies after checking that it wasn't the type which could reflect missiles. The Cruzatch plainly don't want to do any damage to this site, and hadn't brought the massive through right on top of it – hoping no doubt to lure the Setari away into battle. So a nice, comprehensive victory (which still involved a lot of mopping up work for the Setari at Oriath, but hasn't been nearly as fraught and injury-intensive).
This is by far the most protected of the malachite marble installations, and the shielding continues to delay further exploration. I'm still holding out hope for Our Secret Plan and How to Foil It, but I think it's no longer critical to find it, because we have Isten Notra.
The meeting was down in the common room, giving Isten Notra a chance to view the smoky spots and gouges on the walls which the pinksuits haven't quite found time to erase. The physical attendees were limited to Isten Notra, Tsur Selkie, me and Kaoren, with not even any of Isten Notra's minions along, but the audience over the interface surprised me. Not just Pandora's most senior bluesuits and the senior Setari representatives – Maze, Zee, Grif, Raiten, Inisar and Korinal – but about a dozen people whose names I had to look up: highest-echelon representatives from Tare and Kolar.
Isten Notra had brought one of the t
ablecloth screens with her, and started out by displaying a map of Muina with the platform towns highlighted.
"While much of what I'm about to discuss is not currently provable," she began, "we now have enough pieces that we are prepared to treat it as a working assumption. Given the increasing urgency of the situation, the recommendations I make today cannot wait for certainty, for the kind of expertise of those who built this system.
"The platform and Pillar system is a magnificent achievement, layering function upon function. The feed towns do not turn moonlight into aether, as you once suggested Caszandra. Instead they are drawing the substance of the Ena into real-space, and refining it – patterning it, if you will – so that it can be used as a power source: one so versatile it can even recognise and heal Muinans. The presence of the moon appears to be a control mechanism, to manage the volume produced, although there is some suggestion in the documentation recovered that the gravitational pull of the moon assists in safely thinning the wall between real-space and the Ena.
"The amount of aether needed to power the shielding dome at Kalasa, the teleportation platforms, and the Pillars is a fraction of the total aether produced by the feed towns, and the Pillars themselves appear to serve the dual function of stabilising the near region of deep-space and providing a storage channel for the excess aether. The whole system is integrated, and while it is likely those who built it intended to create further platforms, and to use the aether for other devices, maintaining a delicate balance would be paramount, for drawing and using the stuff of the Ena in real-space poses a monstrous risk, as we are all now well-aware."
Isten Notra glanced at the tablecloth screen and green dots appeared, showing the locations of the malachite marbles.
The Touchstone Trilogy Page 94