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A.R.Yngve DARC AGES Book Three _________________________ |
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Chapter 36
As the fires were spreading uphill across the area north of the harbor, Tharlos's troop carriers came down to land -- firing wildly at the ground. As their thruster jets cushioned the touchdown, huge clouds of dust covered them from sight. From his hiding position just a few hundred meters away, Dohan turned over several plans in his mind. Should they charge forward, while the dust covered from laser fire, and engage in hand-to-hand? No, the islanders would be slaughtered. Their only hope was a scorched-earth tactic: to keep the distance, burn the ground between them and the advancing enemy, and try shooting as many soldiers as possible. His only aircraft, the Sunray, was still safely hidden uphill; it had to remain as a last escape route. Then there was Mechao's secret weapon, in the cages the islander army was carrying, which Dohan put little faith in... Dohan said a hasty prayer, and gave his troops their new orders. The dust quickly drifted away; the noise of opening steel hatches and the trample of soldier's boots echoed across the open place. The first row of enemy troops came into sight, advancing slowly on a wide line, aluminum shields held side by side... a gleaming, walking metal wall, a hundred meters wide. Overhead, a remaining part of the armada was circling -- many of those ships were already moving west and east toward the other nearby islands. Dohan turned to one of Mechao's oldest sons, who sat huddled down next to Meijji. "Spread the word: cover your shields and let loose the animals!" Dohan whispered. The word was passed, and islanders in hiding opened scores of small cages. There came a great flutter of wings across the area, when Mechao's latest creations took to the sky. Tharlos's soldiers gasped, then laughed in relief. It was only a flock of scared birds, they thought. But the birds seemed to be attracted to the advancing line of gleaming shields. They flew closer, flapping their wings frantically. The marching soldiers saw what the birds looked like -- and panic ensued. Each bird was a brown-feathered little monster, with a hissing cobra's flat head and long, saw-toothed claws on its feet. The foremost line of soldiers broke up, as the birds attacked their own reflections in the shields. Laser rifles were fired at random; a few birds fell dead to the ground. The other bird-mutants dove on the soldiers' necks and faces, and sank their poisonous fangs and claws into any exposed flesh. Horrifying screams rose from the beach; poisoned soldiers died in spasms, with the flying cobras locked to their throats. These monsters were not built to last, but they served their purpose. The attackers retreated, yelling "Witchcraft! The island is cursed!" -- scaring up their comrades. |
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Tharlos witnessed the scene from inside his parked flagship, surrounded by the bulk of other vessels.
"No, you fools!" he shouted in furious frustration, "don't break the chain!" Tharlos went over to the back of his flagship and stepped into his own mechanized battle armor -- and ordered his own two lower knights to do the same. Then he lumbered out down the ramp, and headed for another parked aircraft. At that moment, Dohan ordered his volunteers to open fire. A flickering display of laser-beams danced across the beach, felling dozens of Tharlos's panicking footsoldiers. Most of them were hit in the legs – the islanders were placed at level with the enemy's feet, and aimed with relentless precision. The surviving attackers rapidly put up their shields, but Dohan had already spotted the parked ships in his binoculars. He shouted to the twelve female snipers in his line: "Sniper batallion! Aim at the foremost, blue ship! On my command... fire!" A supply ship belonging to Lord Orbes -- it stood out from the cluster, being the only blue-colored ship in the front -- took twenty hits in two seconds. In a flash of light, heat and cascading metal fragments, its fuel tank and cargo exploded. A full platoon of riflemen was blown sky high; burning jet fuel rained down over the area. Soldiers caught fire and ran screaming toward the shore. Above the beach, the circling fighters tried taking potshots at the unseen defenders, but their fire missed -- with a few exceptions. Three female villagers were hit by burning splinter and screamed for help. Their comrades continued firing, and more enemies fell. Their advance had been halted, but would no be for long. Down on the beach, while the fire fight went on, a pneumatic launch-tube was unloaded and erected behind the cover of the aircraft. The first charge was launched -- it missed Dohan's line of people and exploded on the burning hillside. He looked up, and saw that the raging fires were approaching his camouflaged aircraft on the plateau above. He ordered Meijji and her brothers to come with him, and they began retreating uphill. Lasers flickered and bombs exploded everywhere around them. As the party made their way upward, another person left her post and sneaked after them, unseen: Alchaia. She ducked behind a shrubbery, and took aim with her rifle. One hit in the back, she thought, and everyone would believe the invaders had killed Meijji. With his wife gone, Alchaia imagined, the grieving Dohan would seek comfort in her sister... The opportunity vanished in a moment; Meijji disappeared from view, moving too fast for Alchaia to lock onto her target. She turned around, stood up and peered through the smoke -- and an enemy lookout spotted the movement. A grenade was launched at her position; Alchaia glimpsed a projectile whizzing through the air. The girl was gripped by panic, ran away – and the bomb detonated next to her. Meijji's group heard the explosion, without knowing that she was dead. Dohan glanced back down at the smoking beach, where black, rounded spiderlike shapes were emerging from the circle of enemy ships. He ducked down when projectile whistled down nearby; the ensuing blast made him forget what he had seen. A drop of fire hit Meijji's skirt. It spouted smoke; she panicked and screamed. Dohan threw himself forward, grabbed the burning skirt and tore it off her. She had only a minor burn, and moved on without a of complaint. The group continued climbing uphill through the shrubbery; meanwhile, the shootout at the beach intensified. |
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