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A.R.Yngve DARC AGES Book Three _________________________ |
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Spider charge |
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Chapter 37
The Sunray, to Dohan's great relief, turned out to be undamaged. His beloved jet aircraft lay covered by protective canvases and camouflage nets; but the fires were rapidly creeping up the hillside and would reach the ship any minute. It had to lift off. At the foot of the ship Dohan's group ran into Darc, who had been waiting for them. "Have you seen Shara?" Darc asked, but got no answer. Dohan entered the ship and started up the engines. None of the people present had seen Shara or Eye-Leg since they left the mansion. It was assumed Shara was still hiding inside with Eye-Leg and Amada's family. Mechao was not to be seen, and Darc asked the witchdoctor's sons where he was. They answered that Mechao had gone off somewhere, carrying a pouch with unknown content. Darc pondered the possibility to assist Dohan as rear gunner -- but then he recalled that the rear cannon had been dismantled before the Sunray left the Leper tribe in Amrica, months ago. His best way to help Dohan was on the ground, by guarding Meijji for him. Then, the Sunray's jet tubes whistled into action. From the cockpit window above their heads, Dohan waved to the others to help. They pulled away the camouflage nets and blankets, and cleared away from the area. The craft rose on its thrusters, clearly exposed as it ascended from the hillside plateau. Darc, Meijji, and the others looked first downhill to the flickering battlefield on the beach, then to the dark, ashy sky. A black, very sleek enemy craft emerged from the northeast, and closed in on Dohan's ship: it was Kamo Yota in his Roaring Wind. It suddenly occurred to Darc, that his own side might rapidly be losing the battle... |
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On the southern beach, Tharlos's twelve spider robots were advancing on a wide line. Their heat-seeking sensors spotted the hidden snipers within seconds, and fired rapid green bursts of laser light. Several of Dohan's volunteers were burned, blinded, or killed. Their homemade metal shields stopped most of the pulses, but the islanders were too few and too far apart to form an effective shield wall.
And yet the islanders kept firing, until their rifles were overheated and depleted of energy. One, then three, then four of the twelve war robots were destroyed. The remaining robots marched on -- and panic broke out in the island's defense line. Those volunteers who could stand, retreated back to the hills. Some were trapped between enemy fire and raging bush fires, and died fighting. The sixty-plus unharmed volunteers helped the wounded and blinded retreat. Lucijja and Faluti, miraculously unharmed, covered the retreat with their shields and rifles -- only much later did they allow themselves to weep for those friends who died in the trenches. Tharlos saw the tide of battle turn, and caught the opportunity. He took a jet-induced leap through the air, landing heavily on his armored boots before his footmen. The black-orange-yellow Pasko flag was tied to the blade of his broadsword, which he waved toward the hill. "Follow me!" he urged at the soldiers who were still standing -- most of them his own. The forces of the other families were scattering across the surrounding islands. "Did you see the Damon ship flee away? Our flying forces are taking him out as we watch! Now we find the witchdoctor's lair and smoke him out. No monsters of his creation can pass through me!" He banged the chest of his armor with his metal fist. The soldiers roared a hoarse cry of support, and their officers ordered the remaining companies into formation. Tharlos hurried to catch up with the spider robots, afraid that they would get lost without his guidance, and commanded the troops. "Launch the flag ship to escort the Yota fighter! Knights in armor! Companies two, three and four! Behind me and -- CHARGE!" His electronically boosted voice signaled a screaming onslaught. Ninety soldiers and two knights ran across the beach on a wide front, joining the spider robots up the smoldering hillside. The flagship took to the skies, piloted by Sir Devis. |
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