AUTHOR'S NOTE: Well...here's something I didn't think I'd do again for this story...a double update. But since this chapter seems a bit "dull", and you all already had to sit through one filler chapter I didn't intend, I thought I owed it to you all. Hopefully the chapter after this one is "explosive" enough to make up for the doldrums.
Sybenia was no more hospitable than it was last time.
The group didn't have to venture far into the city state before enough of the building skyline cleared to see the nation far in the distance. It didn't help that the morning sun was rising, bathing it in red. This far north, the days stayed redder longer at this time of year, and it seemed to dip the entire skyline in a bloody hue. Just as before, the numerous armored skyscrapers and long cannons covered it in every direction, making it look like a giant metal armored fortress more than a city, in spite of how large it was. Short range aircraft flew all around it, and Dael knew the streets were filled with security robots, soldiers, tanks, and every other type of weapon imaginable. This was infinitely worse than Leuco…and they were headed right for it.
The group managed to get close enough to where they could see the individual soldiers on the border wall with the aid of binoculars. However, that was only because all buildings between them and the border had already been leveled, creating a great deal of rubble for a group of their size to hide behind. In this "no-man's land" between the border and the last standing buildings, there were a number of sentry robots, a few marching patrols of guards, and even a tank or two. Ahead of them, about one-hundred yards away, was the entrance to the incomplete subway tunnel. It had not only been shut down, but surrounded by sandbags and barbed wire to discourage anyone from coming near. However, that wouldn't be a problem. Carbuncle was in clear sight of the other side of the barbed wire, so he could teleport them all in two or three at a time. A good thing too, because two armored turrets had been placed on either side to destroy anything that came near, and there was no way they could hope to disable them without attracting the attention of a hundred sentries and guards. Nevertheless, the group didn't move yet. They reached it after the first hour passed, and, at this point, their fleet was only coming into range. It would take a bit yet before they started redeploying the troops.
As they sat among the rubble, staying low and staying quiet, time continued to tick by. That flank was supposed to be unguarded, so even if Sybenia felt they could "take them", they should have some reorganizing of troops. That would likely mean the border opening, but how much and how long was up for debate. And if their theories were wrong, and the Sybenian Army had enough troops inside their borders already to reorganize…they might be in for some trouble.
Time slowly passed, but everyone stayed tense and ready. The two separate groups all had their own special equipment and gear, and would break off soon after they crossed the border. However, until then, they would all have to move as one. Dael's power had increased, but she still didn't think she could help teleport people inside nearly as easily as Carbuncle could. She could only get maybe six at the most before she exhausted herself, and, frankly, that was incredible for her. Yet as she sat there, Bahamut suddenly spoke up in a near-whisper.
"Dael."
Still looking forward and listening for incoming weapons, the captain responded. "Yes, Bahamut?"
"I'm fairly certain that Tiamat was only hurt last time, not destroyed. Wounded, but not taken down. If that's true…then there's a good chance by now that he's healed. And there's good reason to believe that Sybenia will call him again. If that happens, are the Sorceresses present?"
Dael slowly inhaled and exhaled.
"…Lady Veriguno is still to the south. She said that if Sybenia fails to 'take the bait' or starts overwhelming the attackers too quickly, or comes after us, she'll launch a sortie of her own with the natives to try and divert their attention again…make Sybenia think that's the true raid. As a result, she will not be present to deal with Tiamat."
"One Sorceress alone couldn't do it anyway." Bahamut answered. "Except possibly for Mianyl. What of the others?"
The captain swallowed a bit. "…Since Tiamat alone is worth a quarter of their military, and Sybenia has taken advantage of mass troops deployments like this before, they're remaining in Esthar to defend the city in case he's summoned there."
Bahamut's gaze narrowed. "…So the incoming fleet is defenseless?"
"…We're trying something experimental. Three of Esthar's ships are being used as triangulation points for an overshield using the Ragnarok's own reactor to try and protect them. It's been recalibrated and intensified to hopefully nullify a Guardian Force's ability to fly through it."
The boy remained dark. "And if it fails?"
"…" Dael didn't answer, and she didn't have to.
Bahamut exhaled. "Conventional weaponry is useless against that. And the airships are already without defenses. At the bare minimum, three of us should have been on that fleet. Then we at least could have summoned Alexander to counter the threat."
"I don't know what you want me to tell you, Bahamut." Dael answered. "Information is so hard to come by in Esthar in light of the leaks that the right hand doesn't know what the left hand is doing."
"This is reckless. Esthar knew full well of the threat of Tiamat, and yet no one in power is taking the appropriate steps against him."
"They're relying on us to succeed where no conventional team could. They'll never let Lady Mianyl lead the charge in this operation, and Lady Faerio and Lady Cybus wouldn't have been enough to make a serious difference. The fact that they could use this opportunity to take us when we're defenseless is very real. They've done it before."
Bahamut finally turned to Dael.
"…This operation, however limited, and perhaps not even a 'major assault', has been set up to maximize casualties none the less. Many that we don't know about have already been incurred." He stated. "…Don't you think that this situation is conducive for even more deaths?"
Dael paused on hearing that. She didn't answer right away…only let the words sink in.
Before she could think of a response, however, The sounds of large engines chugging became audible. The group turned and looked, and soon heard more joining the first, and the sounds getting closer. If that wasn't enough, the sounds of helicopter blades thudding against the air also rang out. The Sybenians were moving forth at last. Sure enough, looking forward through binoculars, one could see the nearest gate beginning to open to welcome them.
The young officer was at a loss now. First Leviathan's predictions, then what Bahamut said. In truth, she was still working on getting rid of her tendency to be 'compliant' at times like this. Like a true military soldier, hers wasn't 'to question why' but 'to do and die'. She was used to doing what she was told, not thinking about it. As a result, she had been ready to accept certain sacrifices and losses on any operation so long as it succeeded. But, she now began to realize, the assault was made up of a number of Black Corsairs, not military individuals. And even if they knew the risks going in (after all, they were pirates)…this didn't feel right. In all honesty, in spite of the terror of the attack on Esthar…she had nearly forgotten about Tiamat. They had fought a defensive war for so long, she only thought in terms of him coming in to attack the main city, where the Sorceresses would be waiting for them. But out here? She realized if that Guardian Force was truly under their command, there was little reason to believe it couldn't defend as well as attack…
And it had indeed had a long time to heal…
There's no turning back now. We've come too far. This is the mission that can end the war. I've got to focus on it…
But…if everything really is going the way of the person who orchestrated this…then what if even the assassination is 'intended'…?
Dael snapped that thought out of her head.
Enough. Focus.
A few seconds later, and the first of the tanks rolled into view. By the time four of them had formed a line going up to the gates, the first helicopter went by. The group stayed low, but that wasn't necessary. They were more than low enough to avoid being seen, and had covered themselves above and from the sides. By the time the next flew overhead, a line of tanks stretched from the city into the main gates, which were now fully open. They were guarded by both wall turrets as well as ground turrets, to say nothing of guards and sentries, both robotic and flesh-and-bone. Luckily, thanks to Carbuncle, they could avoid all of this.
Bahamut looked at the incoming tanks, and exhaled. "…Seems to be quite a few coming in. They're at least treating this attack seriously. It seems they took the 'bait', as it were."
Dael looked to Carbuncle. "Alright, start taking us in."
The green creature gave a bit of a salute, and immediately put his hands on Dael and Bahamut. Soon, his ruby light expanded over them, creating a brilliant flash…
And, at once, the two popped back into reality right across the barrier, within the underground train tunnel passageway. They were already stuck underneath the concrete walls rising up on either side and halfway down the set of stairs that led to the station. In short…they were already hidden, and thanks to Carbuncle's teleporting, no one was the wiser. Immediately, the green creature teleported back, as Dael activated her own flashlight and moved deeper inside the tunnel.
It took about five minutes in all, but all of Dael's group plus the rest of the Esthar's Hawks were soon in the passage. No one suspected a thing. All of the defenses were geared toward the gate openings and the individual tanks and vehicles moving through, looking for anyone who was trying to hitch a ride to get in. No one thought that anyone was coming for the train tunnel. And if they were, they counted on the sentry turrets to spot them. Never did either automation suspect that their targets were popping up right behind them. The entry was flawless…but Dael knew they were a long way from "out of the woods". All they had succeeded in doing was passing the first "hurdle" without alerting anyone. With that in mind, they descended into the shaft.
Power had long since been cut to this end of the subway, and soon they were walking into nothing more than a dark hole. Even with most of the soldiers deploying lights, either personal or on their guns, it was all but impossible to see into the area. And when light beams traced by certain dark corners, mutant rats or amorphous blobs would hurridly skitter out of sight. Not exactly the most wholesome place to be…but, at the bare minimum, it meant that the place was definitely uninhabited. That gave them a bit of an advantage…she hoped. It could still have cameras and sentry robots, after all, which didn't care how inhospitable a place became.
The group descended the stairs, went through the half-built station, and all the way to the tunnel. After that, they hopped down and began to trek north. They didn't have to worry about any "third rails"…at least, not at this juncture. They hadn't even begun to lay the track when they shut this branch down, so they could walk without worry…provided that there weren't any cameras installed. She definitely couldn't hear the sounds of any live electrical wires here…but that could be misleading.
At any rate, the group couldn't have gone more than half a mile, right under the gate itself, Dael believed, before they came to a stopping point. The tunnel up ahead was nothing more than a massive pile of boulders and rocks that had been strategically caved in a while ago. It looked rather thick and intimidating. Sure enough, even though they had to be a bit underground now, one could clearly hear through the ceiling the sound of massive, strong engines moving tank after tank across the border. No one would hear anything they were doing down there. Provided there were no hidden cameras, they could get in without detection.
Of course…that left the matter of how they were going to get inside in the first place. The rock wall looked rather formidable and impenetrable, after all. Even for Cid's tools, Dael had her doubts that he could get through this.
As the group came to a halt and looked to it, the engineer began to step forward, exhaling a bit as he raised his pack and began to shift to his drill bit. Dael decided she might as well ask.
"Think your tools can handle this, Cid?"
He gave a nod. "Yeah…but I'm not sure how long it will take. I mean…not a whole day or even a quarter of one…but I use this drill primarily for small foundation work and making holes for heavy bolts. I don't have any way of tunneling out the dirt I kick up, so the hole I make is probably going to get rather full rather quick. I might have to rely on all of you to help me get the debris out."
"Maybe we should have brought shovels…" Carbuncle murmured.
Dael said nothing. As for Cid, he took a moment to put on some work gloves, goggles, and even a helmet, and then gunned up the drill to near maximum and went forward. The others quickly spread out and back as bits of rock and mud began to flow out of the hole as Cid tunneled into it.
At first, the captain was stunned at the power of the drill. It seemed to eat through the stone as if it was some sort of ravenous monster, and although the drill itself wasn't nearly as large as what would be needed to tunnel out a full-sized passage for a man to walk through, it seemed to almost act like an egg beater, sucking in stone like batter and pressing it out on the sides, creating a tunnel just large enough for three full grown people to squeeze through. The work was fast, and in no time at all the drill had gone through twenty feet. Dael initially thought this wouldn't be a problem. By then, however, Cid's prediction came to pass. The mud and loose stone grew so thick, there was no way to wander through it. He had to pause and try to dig out.
It wasn't easy. Because of the tunnel, there was only so much room for people to go in and start digging out. Eventually, they had to settle with whoever was the biggest and strongest…and, given the constraints, it was rather like digging like a dog. Dirt and debris was flung out of the tunnel, and the others outside grabbed it and pushed it aside to make room for more. It took quite a bit of time just to clear out enough to start going again. Cid only got ten more feet before more clearing was needed. Dael only cleared out as much as needed to get the drill moving again…but this time Cid only went another five feet. That forced them to pause to work a bit harder. When the current group's hands got tired, they moved out and let others move in. Unfortunately…the group was the ones who were junctioned and had greater strength. Even the more physical Esthar's Hawks could only do it at their pace for a few minutes before they were too tired.
After getting enough cleared out, they were able to get another fifteen feet before having to clear the rubble again. This time, it was harder because the tunnel was deeper. They had to work in tandem in a sort of "assembly line" to be at their most efficient. Even so, it took quite a bit of effort to get through this. Another hour passed, and they were still trying to tunnel through to the other side of the barricade. Dael realized there was another problem as well. Assuming the worst happened, and they either weren't able to finish before the convoy had passed or that someone on the other side heard them coming and was preparing a defense…then they would have to be ready for a firefight the moment the tunnel was open. And with a narrow tunnel…that wasn't very conducive to fighting back. Cid would be pretty much out in the open if the worst happened…and neither she nor Carbuncle could teleport to the front unless they had at least a view of it. With nothing else for it, she had to hold on and hope for the best.
Finally, at long last, the drill began to break through the other side, spitting material out into the adjoining hall rather than the current one. When that happened, Cid dropped the drill speed to minimize noise as well as debris, and the relay group prepared to move out. Although no one could see all the way through the tunnel that had been made, they all waited for the drilling to cease. About a minute later, it did so, and the message was passed on from Cid through the tunnel.
"We're through, and it's dim on the other side…but there's lights on further up and rails."
With that in mind, the relay team was sent forward. After everyone, including Cid, was sent out of the tunnel, they were sent in. Aside from them, only one other sentry soldier was placed in the tunnel. There would be no more radio broadcasts at this point. Rather, if the team going for the relay station was successful, they would give clearance by making the LED for the first conduit flicker on and off three times, which was visible from here even in the dim light. Until then, they had as many soldiers as possible stay out of sight. On the chance that there was a camera looking right at them when they broke through or they tripped a silent alarm, then they at least wouldn't know how many soldiers were present.
Once again, the group was forced to play the waiting game…and only a couple minutes into it, the convoy stopped incoming. Another hour ticked by. Although Dael was well aware of how important it was to take one's time on this next phase, she wished they could have moved a bit faster. They didn't have much of a "grace period". Their "lead" had already shrunk to a mere two and a half hours, and it would take a few hours to be able to hike to the middle of Sybenia. They had no transportation this time. The rest of the trip would have to be on foot, and it was easily a distance of many miles. Probably too much for any normal soldier to hope to make it with all the gear, and even if the group went at full speed they would leave the others behind in the dust. On that note…Dael and Taraketh would be helping out again. Both of them had the capability to use Haste spells better than anyone else, and they were fairly "non-taxing" to cast. They'd have to use several of them, but if they kept them off, they could shave a couple hours off of the trip.
Dael was all for that. While underground, they wouldn't even be able to send out broadcasts or pick up radio signals telling them the fight was still ongoing. And she already felt considerably nervous to realize that if Tiamat had recovered, then it could end this battle with one stroke… She almost forgot about the real danger they were in…namely that if they were spotted anything could simply roll up the tunnel and start shooting them…versus the fact that the relay team and the attacking fleet were in danger. None of this would work if any one part failed.
Finally, at around 53 minutes after the second relay team had gone out, the sentry gave the call. The LED blinked three times regularly. They were cleared to move. Once more, everyone got up their things, and this time everyone moved through the tunnel. Once that was done, Dael and Taraketh went to work. Most of the soldiers looked a bit uneasy about this. While they might have been experienced in dealing with magic, none of them had ever had a spell used on them for any purpose. And when it was done, even the most hardened ones looked rather surprised. However, everyone moved out as one afterward.
Dael's GPS was monitoring their progress, as was everyone else's, but it wasn't doing so based on a live satellite feed. Rather, it was using prerecorded data and references that they had obtained prior to now. As such, they were only showing estimations of their current position and distance traveled, although the technology was vastly improved from earlier in history. They also made excellent time. Dael and the group still had to walk slower than the others for them to keep up, but that was only a minor concern. They were easily going three times as fast as they had before. After the first hour had gone by, the group had already gone over ten miles with only a bit of breathing hard under their respective loads. Better yet, and more preferable to Dael…they didn't encounter any resistance. It seemed the relay team had done their job.
The captain continued to watch the clock. At the bare minimum, she hoped to get to the first "branch" point, where their group would split once again. The next team had an equally difficult job, after all. They were the ones who had to not only secure an escape route, but one in connection with the capitol building. That was a hard task for anyone, and was only slightly easier than what they were trying. It was only about five more miles ahead, but, with a little luck, they could get there right as the fighting started, and then there would be enough chaos for the rest to be "smooth sailing".
Dael was still hoping for this and moving ahead…when the sounds of an engine humming in the distance became audible. Immediately, the person at the point put up a fist, and everyone else halted. At first, it sounded like it might just be a trick of the ear…a tank or large weapon rolling over a duct that happened to hit just the right acoustics to "toy" with them. However, the group kept waiting to make sure…and though the noise ebbed once or twice, overall it continued to grow both louder and sharper. After about a minute, there was no more question about it. It was some sort of large military vehicle…and it was also in the tunnel and coming that way.
The Esthar's Hawk grimaced, but didn't waste time. Neither did the other captains. Immediately, everyone spread out and ran for the sides of the chamber. There was only so many places to hide inside an enclosed tunnel like this one, but a bit of luck was on the group's side. Backtracking a bit, they were at one of the stations, and most of them could hide there. As for everyone else, they either had to take position in maintenance tunnels, behind support columns, or near debris that was in the unused tunnel. It was still dark, fortunately…which was good because they needed to take this out. They couldn't afford to let it just "roll by", because it would most certainly spot them as it made its way through. With that in mind, several of the snipers and demolition men took the front. They could only afford a couple anti-tank weapons and they needed to save the rounds, so, instead, they were going to opt for something more "direct" while the incoming hostile was still in the "dark" portions. At any rate, everyone stayed quiet. Dael herself used one of the mirrors within the standard issue gear as she stood behind a wall and spied out into the tunnel.
After a few moments, a tank did indeed roll around the bend in the path and began to come forward. In spite of the darkness, Dael quickly identified the make and model: a Gilgame. Probably the biggest tank they could squeeze into the tunnels. She didn't know why it was here…if it was regular patrol, or if they had "smelled a rat" and sent one in. She soon retracted her mirror, not wanting to risk any light flashes alerting the crew. However, as she leaned back, she could guess what was happening. This was fairly standard procedure for Esthar's Hawks, after all…right out of the "playbook" for urban warfare.
As the tank slowly rolled past the more narrow enclaves that it couldn't see inside, the soldiers quickly went to work, placing some of the same explosive compound that Dael and the group had used in the last operation within the treads of the incoming vehicle. Unlike before, however, they didn't bother with a sophisticated detonator. Just one of the pressure sensitive ones. In addition to the ones on the treads, one stepped out just long enough to slap a third one on the back relay antenna, connecting the tank's communications systems to everyone else in the Sybenian defense. This one was given a small remote trigger with short range, before the Esthar's Hawk pulled back. Using both the shadows and speed, it had taken only moments to carry it all out, and return to their hiding places. Dael herself quickly pulled back and braced herself as the tank continued to roll forward, moving into a "dead space" between the two groups of soldiers.
A moment later, she winced as she heard the explosions go off in two sets. The first knocked out the relay before so much as a boom could be heard, and the next eliminated the treads. In the enclosed underground, even the minor eruptions were enough to be deafening, making everyone wince and recoil as it echoed and reverberated throughout the tunnel. But the Gilgame immediately snapped its treads and ground into the dirt, unable to move any further and letting out a clang as it hit the cement.
Dael didn't move. She knew the main barrel was still angled in her direction, and so she wasn't going to expose herself. Neither did the others. Instead, the other Esthar's Hawks leapt into action. In moments, they popped out of the crevasses and hiding places and ran on top of the tank itself, making sure to stay out of range of the side guns. Before the dumbfounded crew could do anything, and likely while they were wasting time trying to radio that they were hit, two Esthar's Hawks were already on top of the tank. One quickly pressed their own rifle barrel against it, the grenade launcher loaded with a radioactive-tipped-head armor piercing round, and fired. The result burned a hole through the hull and pierced the interior and bounced around violently inside. But to make it even worse, the soldier's partner pulled out a smoke grenade and tossed it through the still-gleaming hole with the pin pulled.
The two soldiers immediately pulled back, and, moments later, the top of the tank popped open, belching out thick black smoke. The crew, or who was left of them, immediately tried to go out "guns blazing", and fired wildly around them…but the smoke had prevented them from even seeing where they were. It was a fish in a barrel for the surrounding Hawks, and soon they were all down. They couldn't very well afford to take prisoners here, or even to knock hostiles out.
Dael, on hearing the gunfire die down, exhaled and emerged from her corner. She looked to the tank for a moment, still smoking, smoldering, and the engine only slowly dying down after crashing. She looked to a nearby private.
"Any transmissions get out?"
"No sir."
"So much for a clean entrance." One of the captain stated. "Even if they didn't get a broadcast out, they'll wonder why there's radio silence soon and send ten times as many of these."
"Assuming this isn't the first of a grand assault." Another captain stated. "For all we know, they eliminated the first team at the relay station and now they've been watching us for fifteen minutes."
"Or it could simply be a regularly posted guard." Dael stated. The optimism was a marked contrast from the other two, even if she spoke just as darkly as them. "In any case, whether they know we're here or not at the moment, they will soon, so we need to get to the junction area. Assuming the relay is still working and under our control, at least they won't know which way we're going."
The other two captains paused, but eventually one motioned forward.
"We have no choice but to keep moving out. Everyone stay focused. We'll likely encounter more resistance soon, assuming we don't run into a strike team to eliminate us."
Dael and Carbuncle again applied the spell, and the group took off again. They moved even faster this time, all of them going into a faster gait. They needed to get to the first junction as soon as possible and start splitting up. Time was not on their side now. The lack of information didn't help either. Everyone kept their eyes peeled and their ears open. At any moment, something hostile could pop out, and they had to be ready. Given the stone tunnels, it was likely that an auditory cue would be their only hint at whatever was coming.
They had to stop not five minutes later, running into a large security bulkhead. A thick metal gate had slammed shut over the tunnel itself. It looked a bit old and unused, but there was no telling for certain if it had been there before or sealed when they arrived. At any rate, Cid went to work again, this time bringing out his blowtorch. It only took about two minutes to melt through it. Dael and the other captains only waited long enough for the resulting breach to stop dripping slag and to take a look on the other side. It was very well lit now…clearly tunnels that were in service. However, still no signs of any resistance. That was probably because they were still on the outskirts of the city, though. There would be more soon. With that in mind, the group charged out into the next passage.
The lighting made it easier to see, but also made them easier to be seen. Every camera that Dael went by was a temptation to shoot, but she repressed it. That would only create more problems for the relay team trying to cover up their presence being here, and it would ultimately be futile. There had to be hundreds of them en route. Still, they made very good time. Only a mere ten minutes later, at last they began to see a change up ahead…a fork in the pathway. It was the first junction, just where they hoped to go. And the way still looked clear. She couldn't even see any wall-mounted guns.
The group quickly ran up to the junction and halted. They looked around a bit, spotting nothing big down either corridor, and then to each other. One of the groups of soldiers was already beginning to equip fresh gear for their part of the mission, and starting to break off from one another.
As they did so, the captain of this sub-group advanced to Dael and the other remaining Esthar's Hawk captain. "Alright, now it's time for our team to go to work. How much time do we have?"
Dael paused, looking to the other captain. To be honest, if they weren't with them, they could go a lot faster. After all, they were already naturally faster and had more stamina thanks to the junctions, and with a Haste spell they could do even better than that. At last, she looked back to the others.
"…Three hours." She stated.
Both the captain breaking off, Sloane, as well as the remaining one looked to her with some incredulousness.
"Captain, do you understand that we still have to cover a distance of twenty miles to get to the capitol? Not to mention that there's a good chance we'll encounter more resistance along the way?" The captain with her group responded. "Even taking into account the magic that your team is using, that's crazy."
"I'm aware of that, Captain Vesver." Dael responded…before her own tone turned surprisingly firm. Technically, she may have been the same rank, but Vesver and Sloane had superiority. She had to defer to them unless they made a major breach of procedure. However, in a hot zone, and after everything she had been through, she wasn't much for sticking to 'the code'. She hadn't been in a task force for weeks to start doing that now.
"Now, I hope you are taking into account that the fleet that's out there is going to be facing off the brunt of the entire Sybenian navy pretty soon as well as their fortress-like shore defenses and probably a lot worse in terms of both man-made and natural weapons. Do not forget the enemy not only possesses a Guardian Force that can destroy three city blocks in seconds, but also a man who, in the naval conflict at the Lamb Archipelago, was able to disable warships by himself without ever presenting a target. Already, I think three hours might be two and a half too much. Captain Vesver…I'm sorry that we're able to run a bit faster than your men, but we really don't have time to drag our feet at this point. There's no time left."
There was a pause from both captains. Both looked rather annoyed at how Dael's tone had nearly turned sharp and cynical in response to them, but, of the two, Captain Vesver was far worse. Yet on the other hand, they seemed to realize that in Esthar's Hawks you didn't get very far by making excuses or by setting the bar lower than it already was. Every second counted now. If this operation was going to be for anything, they had to make sure it succeeded. They wouldn't get another chance after the mass redeployment.
Yet before anyone could say anything in the affirmative or negative, or argue anymore, a sound of metallic rotors began to ring through the tunnel. It soon split into multiple sources. It sounded far too small to be a tank or even a basic mech guard, and Dael, on her part, had never heard it before. However, as she began to turn her head to the sound of the noise along with the other captains, she caught a glimpse of the others in the group. And half of them looked rather nervous. Quaren, on his part, was quickly going for his rifle and moving to switch out his ammunition as he spoke nervously.
"I know that sound…"
Dael finished turning her head, and saw the empty tunnel branch for a moment. However, it bent only a short distance away, so one couldn't see that far into it anyway. Yet moments later, as the rest of the group members Dael had broken off from back in Leuco tensed and readied their weapons, she finally saw it. A storm of saucers, about twenty in all, riding on roller tripods began to shoot out from around the corner and toward the group. Some of them were apparently magnetic, able to ride the walls and even the ceiling, and they filled out the entire tunnel as they approached.
Before a captain had a chance to say anything, Quaren already interjected. "Use suppressing fire! Don't let any of them open up!"
Dael didn't argue with Quaren, especially since she saw him already bringing out the rifle. "Suppressing fire on those drones! Now!"
The other two captains were still stunned, but Dael's voice was firm and commanding…and everyone did as they were told. Jalab himself began to ready his staff, Ceja prepared her axe for a fling, and Cid brandished his nailgun. However, the other soldiers began to pull out their own rifles and automatic weapons. About half of them responded to Dael's initial call. Soon, the others began to do the same. But before the second half could fully respond, the first had already begun to open fire on the saucers.
Dael only knew of these machines by reputation, not in person, and wasn't aware of their capabilities. But when the gunfire went out, the saucers immediately stopped advancing and flushed themselves to whatever wall or concrete they were on, seeming to use their own saucer shape as a shield. It worked well. The bullets ricocheted harmlessly off of them. The first set of Esthar's Hawks continued to fire on them anyway, filling the tunnel with noise from the loud firearms. They also began to pull back, looking for cover in case these opponents could somehow counterattack. However, they could only fire so many shots in the first group, and could only keep so many suppressed at a time. One eventually got clear…and when it did, it popped open its disk, focused a moment…and then sent out a deadly beam of energy like a bolt of lightning.
The beam went down and tore through the arm of one of the Esthar's Hawks, making him cry out in agony as it shot right through the flesh and bone, burning and blasting. It would have moved onto his chest…but, fortunately, Jalab advanced and quickly forced him out of the way, taking his place while his staff was twirling. Again, it produced the golden aura…only brighter and more intense than normal. It seemed to be sizzling with electricity of its own…and it deflected the beam skyward, where it ripped a large rift into the ceiling. What more, Quaren spotted this and immediately seized the moment of weakness. Taking careful aim, he fired a shot into the saucer section with his switched-out ammunition, and soon it cut off, spasming and twitching like an overgrown insect, before collapsing.
More saucers attempted to response, popping open as soon as there was a break in bullets and firing away. However, most of the Esthar's Hawks were behind cover now, and the others quickly pulled back and continued to lay more suppressing fire. The other half was joining in now. Ceja took a moment to warm up her own axe, and then fling out the deadly cutter…slicing through three more of the saucers cleanly before the weapon returned to her. When that was done, Jalab focused his own twirling staff toward the ceiling and opened fire with a beam of his chi. The saucers immediately went flat, but that wasn't enough to help them. The beam didn't aim for them, but for what they were attached to. And since he was at an angle, it didn't take him long to knock out their fixtures right from beneath them, and send them crashing to the ground. Immediately, the Hawks opened fire on their backsides, and soon four more were down.
By now, there were too few saucers to be able to keep up the fight. There were enough people shooting to force them all to stay in defensive mode. Yet before anyone could focus on eliminating more of them, they spotted that they had reinforcements. Five more saucers suddenly shot down the tunnel. Two of them opened wide and fired again before anyone could try and get a gun over them. No casualties this time. The bolts only snaked out and hit a concrete wall. However, Quaren snapped out and put a bullet in one of them, taking that down as well…only to have three more roll up behind it.
Dael, who had ended up backing up with Bahamut near the rear and the rest of the "melee" Esthar's Hawks, let out a grimace. "This could take forever…"
"It's time we don't have, Dael." Bahamut answered. "These saucers have to be sending back messages that there are hostiles in the tunnel. The only chance we have of escaping detection now is to get by them and get into the more convoluted passageways so we can lose them…and hope they don't discover the hack of the relay and find out that we're pulling the wool over their eyes."
Captain Sloane, nearby, seemed to overhear this. He didn't have a rifle himself and was stuck on the sidelines, although he pulled out his sidearm. He beckoned onward with them.
"Captain Levinson…you and Captain Vesver get moving. We're still on a time crunch."
Dael looked to him on hearing this, a bit surprised at the statement. Captain Vesver, on the other hand, didn't waste much time. He immediately rose and motioned for his unit to fall back, and they did so, laying down more suppressing fire as they went. Ceja's axe just finished eliminating two more saucers when she turned and saw the movement. Soon, the others began to realize it as well.
"Captain…"
"We'll get by them, don't worry." The captain responded, cutting her off. "The airfield isn't as far as your target area. And if your mission fails, securing an airship will be the least of our problems. Just get moving before they send reinforcements down that tunnel and have us pinned."
Dael realized that Vesver must have already realized that. And while she didn't like leaving the other group pinned down in a firefight with these machines…she also realized they didn't have much of a choice. Just like in any branch of Esthar's Hawks…she had to know when to let some people do their job and count on them to do so. And he was right…and minute now they could be completely cut off. With that in mind, she looked up to the others and motioned for them to get on the move as well. Soon, they were taking off down the still-open tunnel.
Although Carbuncle and Dael paused long enough to reapply the Haste magic as they ran along, Dael soon was forcing the other group to keep up. She didn't want to…but they had to use every advantage they had now, even if it made them pant and wheeze. She realized, as far as they were going, that if they were too exhausted to fight when they got there that they wouldn't be any better off…but she had to give it a try. They couldn't risk being cut off now. She found herself keeping her eye on the pre-established coordinates of the GPS. At this speed, it was getting a bit confused…but she had no choice. Each time a junction went by, she looked down it, and cheered inwardly at the fact that they had evaded another threat, while also being happy that they created more confusion for the Sybenians. At least…she hoped that was the case. It wouldn't take much to be able to reason where they were going, after all…
With their speed, she had a feeling they were able to keep the enemy at least somewhat in the dark. They were moving far faster than any normal group on foot could have gone, after all. The first two miles went by without a hitch, for the most part. No more sounds of the enemy or difficulty. Yet unfortunately that was as far as they were able to go.
While running down one straightaway, with a junction just in the distance…the metal flooring of the tunnel suddenly slid aside in front of them. Four rather large and well-armed turrets popped out of the ground in response and began to take aim at the group.
"Watch out!" She called in warning.
Luckily, Taraketh was already on it. He let out a stream of arcane language so loud that everyone in the tunnel could hear it, before throwing his hands forward…and causing the ground to heave and fracture. Columns of rock burst from the ground, uprooting all four turrets and flinging them violently into the side walls. A moment later, the group charged past and kept running, heading into a branch of the junction.
"I think that means the 'grace period' is over…" Bahamut murmured as they ran along.
"We need to keep up the pace." Dael called back.
"…Think again, Dael." Bahamut answered. "You haven't been checking behind you."
The woman paused on hearing that, but then turned and looked behind her. Sure enough…the group of thirty that had gone with them was falling behind now. They were well trained and with high stamina…but they couldn't keep this up forever. They were starting to slip. Dael realized that if even she was starting to feel a bit winded, it must have been far worse for them.
Regretfully, she began to slow in the pace. The others began to slow as well, but the other group of Esthar's Hawks barely dropped enough speed to start catching their breath.
"We may not make it in time at this slow gait." Ceja called as she ran along, clearly having more stamina than any of them and not even breathing hard. "We will also be easier prey."
"I've got us covered." Cryder answered. He quickly performed a few gestures as they went ahead, and, as a result, a veil of thick mist began to condense from the air at a distance in front of them. "I can keep that going in front of us. They're using machines and targeting lasers, right? We'll hear them before they can spot us, at least."
"I'll take whatever advantages we can get." Dael answered. "We need to keep moving and use speed to our advantage. If we run into any more blockades, we need to hit them hard and fast. Let's all pray now that they don't send something we can't just 'shoot through'…"
The group soon found that the turrets were a "standard fixture" at every junction. Sybenia, unfortunately, seemed to anticipate someone would try this at one point. They were nothing to Taraketh's earth magic, but Dael knew that if they ran independently without the relay clearing them, then that meant they likely were setting off more alarms as well. Even if they ran far into the heavily interconnected area…the Sybenian military would eventually plot their "path" and know where they were going.
They only managed to put two more miles behind them before more resistance came up. Luckily, Cryder's smoke screen helped them to get a drop on it, because it was on a straightaway. But as they ran forward, the sounds of mechs moving in the tunnel began to ring out, as well as increased movement as the mist moved over them. In response, the Esthar's Hawks began to open fire into the mist, hitting some targets but mostly clanging metal. Yet as the mechs that were hidden inside began to move out, they rapidly met their end at the hands of Cid's tools and Ceja's axe, hitting them as soon as they came out with everything they had. Cryder finished up with a wind slash to at least knock over whatever else was still there, and once the way was clear the group charged onward once again.
A mile later, they ran into another obstacle…this time another sealed bulkhead. Cid nearly moved to burn through it like the others, but before he could, Jalab advanced instead, gesturing for everyone to stay back. On coming up to the metal shutters, he put his staff aside, focused for a moment, and then unleashed his power, unloading a flurry of blows against the metal bulkhead. To Dael's surprise, in spite of the metal being easily a foot thick, dents were still pounded into it with apparently no ill effect…as well as the sounds of metal cracking and groaning from tremendous strain. Finally, to "punctuate" the end of the blows…the man's fist went forward and slammed into the bulkhead so hard that it snapped off all together, and the massive slab of metal began to fall backward. A moment later…it slammed down on the other side…revealing that it managed to bury and crush several drones and defenses. A few were still standing, but they were shocked from the assault and unable to fire right away. As for Esthar's Hawks…they managed to recover quicker and fired first. The newest obstacle destroyed, the group moved on.
These were only the first of several encounters. Thanks to the powers that Dael's group possessed as well as their speed, they managed to always get around them. Yet they continued to come at ever increasing intervals. The encounters started to come once a mile, and then once every half mile. They also gradually got larger. It soon reached the point where Taraketh or Jalab had to send a powerful attack ahead of them into the mist to have any hope of stopping anything before it could get to them. After crossing ten miles, the group encountered another Gilgame tank, and this one opened fire into the mist without a target. It was only because the gunner aimed "high" that five people didn't die. From then on in, the strike team split into two groups and pressed themselves to either side of the corridor. That helped them to avoid future artillery shells…which unfortunately happened.
With about five miles still to go, and the "weaker" Esthar's Hawks barely able to run anymore, the group encountered a bend in the path that had two Gilgame tanks waiting for them and eight drones. Ceja made them pause as they neared, smelling more fuel in the air. It was only because of that reason that they didn't blunder right into the trap. As it was…when Cryder sent the mist on ahead of them, the resulting fire from the assembled group obliterated part of the tunnel corridor. In the end, Taraketh summoned Quetzacoatl to fire a bolt strong enough to cause each drone to malfunction, and the group quickly moved out and disabled the rest.
There was another bulkhead on the other side, and Cid quickly moved in to burn through it, with Quaren moving up behind him with grenades to roll them through the hole he would make. By now, Dael was beginning to breathe a bit hard herself. The Esthar's Hawks, however, were on the point of collapse. They couldn't keep up this pace much longer, and one could hardly blame them. They had managed to go a distance of fifteen miles in just under two hours…something fairly impossible for one not using magic or junctions. Yet they still had five miles to go, the fights weren't lessening up, and Dael realized by the time they reached their exit, they might have an army waiting for them. If anything, she wished they were doing even better. After all, they only gave the other team three hours, and at this rate it might take most of that time to make it the rest of the way. Slowing down now would only make things worse. Finally, as a reminder of who was buying them whatever time they were using…she began to feel periodic tremors within the tunnel…the tell-tale sign that they were actually getting close enough to feel the errant shells that might have been missing.
"This isn't fast enough…we have to go quicker." Dael finally stated.
"We can't, captain." Quaren responded. "We're already using magic, and the people who don't have junctions are on the brink of collapse. Even if we could push harder, no one would be able to move by the time we get there."
The young officer paused and looked to the other group. Even Vesver was hunched against a wall, dripping sweat and panting hard. Others were barely able to hold themselves up. Quaren was right…they couldn't go any farther.
With that in mind, there was only one solution.
"Alright…my team will run on ahead."
Vesver looked up, incredulous at that. Several of the other Esthar's Hawks did as well. "Captain, what are you talking about?"
"We're going to run out of time if we wait any longer, captain." Dael responded. "You and I both know that."
In spite of the situation and decorum, Vesver's eyes narrowed. "…Need I remind you, captain, that it was your decision to set the timetable at three hours in the first place? If we can't keep up, then I regret to inform you-"
"But my decision was the right one, captain. You know full well that no fleet we possess attacking Sybenia could hold for very long. Even three hours is essentially sending people to die."
Vesver kept looking irritable. "I did not lead a unit of 30 Esthar's Hawks onto Sybenian soil just to 'hang back' while an officer who hasn't even been a full member of active duty for 6 months leads a small task force to carry out the most important operation of the war. We've all put our necks on the line as much as you, captain. We're stuck in this situation now, and I don't want to opt out of it simply due to an arbitrary deadline that you set."
"I am doing what any Esthar's Hawk in my situation would do, captain…ensuring the mission is completed." Dael instantly responded. "Sacrifices have to be made and plans change. The longer we spend here arguing about it, the worse we'll be. You have seniority and you can overrule me, captain…but if you do, be advised that I will have to disobey that order regardless of whatever court martial you throw at me. Because even if I get taken to military court, the mission will be a success, whereas if I stand my ground back here I'll save my own neck but the mission will fail. You and I both know that…and I am not going to waste time talking to you over you thinking this is an issue of me attempting to 'grandstand'. This is the only way, and don't pretend it isn't after seeing my unit in action, captain."
Dael had flirted with insubordination multiple times during that statement, and had probably crossed the line more than once in spite of her discipline. But she really didn't have time to say anything else. They had already come too far and done too much to allow Vesver's decision to ruin everything. This would all be for nothing…the triple strike, the invasion, and everyone who died in between, if they let something as small as not being able to run any farther stop them. Although Dael never thought she'd get this far…not before a man who would have made her quake in her boots less than a year ago…but she was ready to disobey his order the second he tried to give it telling her to stand down and fall in line with him.
Luckily, that wasn't an issue. Finally, the man simply consented and motioned forward. "Just get to the site on time, captain. We've come too far to fail on this mission this time."
Dael smiled a bit on the inside to see Vesver realize the logic of it, but she didn't have time to show it otherwise. She quickly looked up to the others, who had already been paying attention, and motioned them forward. "My group…we're moving on, and we're going to be doing it running this time, so brace yourself. It's probably only going to get tougher but we need to move faster than ever."
Luckily, everyone seemed more than ready. In fact, they had been gearing up while they had been talking. With that in mind, the group turned and continued to run down the tunnel. In her mind, Dael only had one true regret about this. She hoped they weren't abandoning Vesver. He was now stuck in the tunnels with whatever other defenses were waiting for them. Although their own trip would eliminate some of it, she was sure reinforcements would follow quickly. The captain couldn't afford to rest for long either…and they still needed to be at the extraction point too. Perhaps they could help secure the airship. Dael had a feeling they'd need all the help they could get…
The next line of defense was just as strong as the last, but with fewer targets and the veil of mist intact, they got through regardless, the shells hitting nothing as they tried to tag them. And once they got close enough, Jalab unleashed his flaming image technique. While it was powerful enough in its own right, the main purpose to it was to confuse the enemy long enough for the others to quickly set on them and take them down. Dael herself finally used her new sword to cut through one of the sentries as the group smashed through. She had enough power to make it cut a vital spot…but it didn't go as deep as she was used to, and it got caught for a moment before she could yank it out. Not exactly what she had hoped for…but at least she actually had some experience with it. Now she hoped it didn't get damaged as a result…
The group continued to move, soon running into another barrier. This time, the Gigantuar was summoned to rain down its needles. The giant creature barely managed to squeeze into the tiny tunnel, but it fired off just the same, pelting whatever units were waiting for them in the mist with thousands of needles that penetrated every chink and nook in the armor plating of every mech. The next blockade was disabled, and the group kept on. Leviathan brought out Leviathan to deal with the next. In spite of the fact that they were getting tired from the summoning, they still managed to make better time than ever. Soon they passed another mile, and another after that. Cid cut through more bulkheads, and the group sent out an attack to destroy whatever was on the other side before charging on…and another mile passed.
As the group came to yet another metal wall, this one close to an actual exit point, and with only two miles until the capitol building, the tremors were louder than ever. Enough to start making dust rain from the ceiling. By now, Dael wouldn't be surprised if some of the errant cannon fire was going off right over their heads…at least, the wilder shots. Cid was already going to work melting away the bulkhead. They were getting thicker now, and, no doubt, there would be more resistance on the other side. Now that they were actually running, everyone was breathing hard and sweating. However, they still had about an hour left. Running three miles with a Haste spell while enhanced was nothing. With that in mind, Dael looked up to the others.
"How are we holding out?"
"A bit tired here, especially from summoning Leviathan, but I'm alright." Bahamut answered.
"Slice of pie." Jalab added, in spite of wiping some sweat from his own brow.
"I've been using a lot of juice this time, Dael. I'm about down to half power…" Cid admitted. "Drilling through that wall alone took about a fifth of my batteries."
"I'm just fine, lass." Cryder reassured. "Geomancy is something that never gets tiring."
"I think I'm starting to 'feel the burn', but I can hold it." Taraketh finished. "Long enough to finish, at any rate. We aren't even to the 'difficult' portions yet."
Dael exhaled and looked to the GPS again. "…Only two miles to go. This will probably be the longest two out of the bunch, but no one quit yet. We're nearly-"
The captain was cut off…by a combination of what sounded like the earth groaning, metal grinding and warping, and tons of concrete beginning to fracture. She immediately stopped and looked up to the source…the ceiling. It started off low at first, but quickly built in volume…enough to make Cid cut off his torch as well and look upward. The others did the same. As they did so, the sound "plateaued" for a moment…before it suddenly began to get louder and louder very rapidly. Not only that…but fractures began to line the ceiling…quickly.
As the first piece of rubble started to fall, Dael yelled. "Run!"
Cid, ignoring the bulkhead, quickly sprang up and bolted backward, narrowly missing getting hit by the first piece of debris. It was quickly joined by others, but by that point everyone was running away as fast as they could. A moment later, the entire ceiling collapsed in a massive deluge. Although the group was clear of the initial impact, all of them continued to run backward, as Dael felt the ground continue to tremble and heard the cracks continue to spread. She didn't look back for a second, but instead turned her gaze upward…seeing the ceiling continuing to spread and split. If it hadn't been for the junctioning, they probably never would have made it. As it was, Dael could feel ruined building materials mount around her and dust billow up and consume her even as she ran for all she was worth. But the noise kept getting more and more deafening…louder and louder… The quaking nearly shook her off of her feet as she struggled to keep running.
Dael wasn't sure when it stopped. Likely, it did so long before she ceased running. The rumbling took a while to die down, and the cloud of dust kept covering her and the others. It made Dael cough and her eyes burn. She was sure there was plenty in that dust that wasn't healthy…but she could hardly worry about that now. However, as she continued to run, the tremors died, followed shortly thereafter by the rumbling.
Finally, the woman slowed to a halt. The cloud of dust was still around them, but she had scarcely stopped, prompting the others to do the same, and begun to turn around when a breeze came out of nowhere and proceeded to sweep the cloud of dust away. She still had quite a bit on her, and she struggled to pat herself down. She didn't need to be pausing for eyedrops later. Yet she also looked back behind her as the others coughed a bit, to see what had happened.
She was shocked, to say the least. She couldn't tell for certain what had happened, especially not from this position, but from the looks of it, one of the skyscrapers in the city above ground had fallen, and the wreckage had gone all the way down into the city below. At first, she thought it had collapsed…but if that had been the case, the group would have been buried no matter how fast they could have run, as well as thrown into pitch black darkness. No…from the looks of it, it seemed the building had fallen over, and they were only getting the top or a side of it. Just that fact alone was shocking enough, but it also meant one thing very clearly.
Dael didn't try to wipe her face with her hand. Rather, still having a small water supply on her, she pulled it out, uncapped it, closed her eyes, and began to run it over her face and hands to try and remove some of the grime. It took a short while, but after getting a bit clean, she looked to the others. "Everyone alright?"
Quaren coughed a bit, but made a thumbs up while he tried to catch his breath. Taraketh was already summoning some water to wash himself out, and Cryder was merely shaking his head like a dog. Everyone else was dusting off as best as they could. Bahamut himself coughed a bit, but then looked up to Dael. "I think so…barring increased chances of lung cancer…but I don't think Cid should risk tunneling through that unless we all want to be buried…"
"Don't worry…" Cid said with a cough. "I won't."
Taraketh sighed a bit, advancing and look it over. After a moment, he looked down to Carbuncle.
"Could you teleport us over it, Sir Carbuncle?"
"I still need a line of sight." The green creature responded. "Besides…there's no telling what's on the other side of that. For all we know they had a tank division ready by now. And we've been good enough to have magic until now, but any closer and we could start running into more Eris Bells."
"We only had two miles to go, too…" Quaren groaned.
"Then there's only one thing for it." Dael stated after a moment, turning her head to the side. In spite of the cave in, the station had remained mostly untouched. And it was not in use, either. Apparently it had been shut down during the emergency. She motioned to it. "We go up there. The last two miles we'll hit the pavement."
There were a few looked of unease at that, causing group members to hesitate.
"We'll likely be right in the midst of entire enemy divisions if we do that, lass." Cryder reminded her. "And I can't hide us with mist in a wide-open spot like that."
"Frankly, staying down here any longer risks becoming a fish-in-a-barrel. If whatever firepower being used was enough to cause…" She moved her hand over to the fallen building and pointed. "…that…then my guess is most of the army has cleared out. We might actually be safer."
"Except from stray cannon fire…" Cryder muttered, but he still looked ready to go.
"We're still on a timetable, so let's not hang back any longer. Stay low once we get topside." Dael stated before leading the charge toward the station. The others soon fell in behind, and they were off and running again in moments.
Long before the group got to the corridor leading to the surface, Dael heard the sounds of eruptions coming from overhead. Distance sounds of gunfire, cannons, and even rockets rang out, and the tremors continued to shake the ground periodically. Sirens were going off signifying an air raid, but also fires and disaster warnings. The bulkhead to the station itself was partially ajar. Perhaps, as a result of what had caused the collapse, it had opened up to allow whoever was down there access to the surface. No one else seemed to be in the tunnel, neither civilian or military personnel. After ascending high enough, the sky, now thick with clouds and smoke, loomed overhead. It was tinted red again…but not from the sun any longer. It could only be fire. Seeing that, Dael continued to climb, going up the concrete stairs leading to the road up above, and finally peeked over the top and looked around.
The battle was supposed to be far to the northwest, but one never would have guessed it. The city had been damaged pretty badly in this area as well, far more than one should have expected from loose shots from the fleet that was attacking. Sure enough, one of the buildings had been knocked clean over, and was strattling the main road of the city itself. The other buildings were all shut up, and the newer ones had deployed armored plating over them as well. The cannons weren't active, though, obviously far out of range of the enemy. Not only that, but there were only a few aircraft in the sky, and most of them were keeping their distance, it looked like. Although the sounds of tanks and other artillery hung on the air with the sounds of cannons firing, none of them were visible. They were spread too far apart, and any that were gathered seemed to be far to the north. This skyscraper wasn't the only one that had fallen. There were "halves" of at least two other buildings in the immediate area knocked over, as well as bits of damage that looked like collisions against skyscrapers everywhere. Small fires had started in places all over the city too.
The others soon filed out behind Dael and paused momentarily. It didn't seem like anyone was out to stop them. On the contrary, it appeared that the errant destruction was so massive that the Sybenian army had pulled out of this block a long time ago. That was what caused them to pause more than anything. Was the fleet from Esthar really doing this much damage this far away from the target area? It didn't seem to make any sense… Dael didn't even think that Esthar's Hawks could do this much damage from this far. They were several miles from the coast, after all.
"I'm no expert on gunnery, but I'd say the Black Corsairs have to be great shots to hit from this far…" Carbuncle mused.
"Rubbish, lad." Cryder answered. "Only the Ragnarok has enough pop to hit this far, and then only by mistake. Someone or something else took a few shots at this…"
"What other enemy does Sybenia possess besides the ones we know of?" Ceja asked.
Dael had to admit, it was a bit unnerving…not to mention the fact they were currently in such a "war zone" that they might get hit at any time by stray fire. Yet she didn't dwell on it. She motioned forward.
"We're not seeing any resistance right now, but that may not mean anything. For all we know, we're still in range of a sniper or a long range drone. Let's go."
Again, the young officer led the way, and the others went in behind her.
The amount of resistance was very low over the next mile. It wasn't that easy to move now. Several of the roads and alleys were blocked with debris. However, there was little to nothing to stop them. A squad or two of troops moving, all of whom looked rather panicked and nervous, a sentry robot or two, and one single tank trying to grind down rubble blocking a road, but nothing else. Being in the middle of a major city, they slipped through and around easily, especially using their speed. Carbuncle himself got them through rough spots by simply teleporting the group one by one to the other side. Yet all the while as they worked their way through the streets to their destination, the sounds of fighting continued to rage. Dael heard the sounds of widespread destruction time and again, not just from the thundering of cannons or the roars of aircraft engines…but from something more that was larger and more destructive. Due to the acoustics of the city around her, she wasn't able to place it right away as they advanced forward. Yet as time passed, and the noise gradually grew clearer as she walked on, it slowly began to trigger her memory…and the memories were not good.
After about a mile passed, the area widened a bit. There was a break in the continuity of the blocks and the skyscrapers, leaving a new armored wall ahead. It wasn't as sophisticated as the one that was guarding the main city or the coast, definitely not as thick or as armed, but it did have guards and sentries posed on top. They were in reduced number, however. Most of the human guards had gone for cover, leaving only a few drones and turrets behind. There was little other defense, but Dael knew even that wouldn't be much. From this angle, she could clearly see a platform and flat area of ground on the other side of the wall. It would be easy to teleport across without ever giving the guards a target. From this angle, one could easily see the entire main square of the city…all of the major buildings for administration and operation spread out. And in the center, rising high and above it it…the main capitol building. Its cannons were actually active at the moment, scanning to the northwest. More than that, Dael could actually see that a side of the main building had deployed for what looked like an airstrip or landing pad…obviously where they'd bring the escape ship when necessary.
Yet she was only able to devote part of her focus to that. Her attention was farther to the northwest.
Much of that area of the city was in flames now. Few skyscrapers were still standing. Thick smoke was issuing forth from all of it. Streaks of light pierced the gloom, setting off more eruptions and explosions, and shots went out to sea as well as inland, although, from this distance, Dael could make out very little. In terms of vehicles, all she could see was a few black shapes in the sky. She recognized that those had to be the airships, but they were moving by rather rapidly, and firing as fast and errantly as they could. It seemed to be almost too erratic…but Dael soon saw the reason for that too.
Abruptly, the clouds parted…and, in spite of the distance, Dael saw him.
The hellish form of Tiamat, glowing like a red ember, ripped out of the sky…and proceeded to slice right through one of the airships completely. To her shock, and that of everyone else, the airship suddenly turned into a fireball as the sheer force of the wing of the monster cut it in two. She actually let out a bit of a gasp in response. Immediately, her heart sank and her stomach turned. The worst possible situation had occurred. Tiamat had indeed recovered…and he was being summoned to defend the city.
And yet, even as she saw this…something else shocking happened. As Tiamat spun out from destroying the one airship, its momentum was still far too fast…and it raced by to the skyline and plowed through not one but two more skyscrapers before angling back up and shooting into the heavens again. Both skyscrapers that it went through soon groaned, and then started to collapse completely on each other…no doubt killing anyone who was still unfortunate enough to be inside, whether in the main building or the basement. Dael blinked in astonishment. The Guardian Force was being so reckless that it racking up massive amounts of collateral damage. In fact, as she looked on, and then looked around herself…she realized that Tiamat must have been the one responsible for all of this errant destruction, not stray shots. To her surprise, it seemed to be doing more inadvertent damage here than the fleet alone could do, and far more than it had done intentionally to Esthar. This was shocking. Why?
Perhaps the earlier theories were correct…and it was doing as Siren had done. It didn't "fully accept" Sybenia as its master, and it was subconsciously waging destruction on the city as well as its targets, trying to kill as many of them in the process. It made sense…and perhaps Sybenia knew it. If Tiamat had been summoned at the get-go, Dael knew, on seeing it in action again, that the fleet never would have lasted this long. It had to be something more recent…something used to try and keep them at bay until the rest of the Sybenian navy could rise to defend them. Perhaps they had brought it forth due to having no other choice… Or perhaps they didn't want to expose to the entire city how they were hypocrites, how they were relying on the very magic they persecuted to defend them in their time of need. At any rate, they had to be paying for it now…
"That's…that's horrible…" Quaren remarked aloud. "Even for Sybenia…"
"Bitter irony." Taraketh added. "They thought they could so easily harness the most devastating powers in the world without consequence…"
"Worse than that, mates." Cryder responded. "He drives off our fleet…then maybe blames him tearing up the capitol on our side. He gets what he wants and he makes his people more anti-magic than ever. Consider that?"
Dael paused on hearing this possible explanation. It did have a bit of merit, after all…
"Madness." Ceja answered. "The man is soulless. He'd kill thousands of his own people just to do that?"
"Think Leuco." Jalab grimly added. "Thousands die there already."
On realizing this, Dael felt herself tighten up. Perhaps that was his goal all along… By now, his army had to realize it wasn't as invincible as he had promised them. So why not this? Use his own people to rally more support? Make it a matter of survival rather than conquest? Use this weapon to further his own agenda even if he orchestrated it. After all…none of the citizens of Sybenia had to know about Tiamat. That had happened half a world away. Worst of all…in the midst of all of this…rack up more death…more destruction…more chaos…
It solidified matters in Dael's mind. It didn't matter if they were being played on this mission or not…if they were serving someone's hidden agenda… If this world was to be saved, Rozan had to be taken out of the picture. He was a sadistic madman, and so long as he danced to the tune of whoever wanted Nyx Gaia to come closer, it was going to get here through his errant, merciless actions. This mission couldn't fail. She had to stop him through whatever means necessary.
Yet even as she came to this conclusion and prepared to order everyone to move out, Cid suddenly looked up as well. "Hey gang, check this out!"
Dael snapped out of her thoughts momentarily and looked to the engineer. While she had been staring with everyone else, Cid had deployed his personal radio receiver that he had used on their first mission to Leuco. He had a hand over one ear, covering the earpiece resting there. As everyone looked to him, he looked back up.
"I'm picking up the short-wave radio broadcasts from the compound." He told them. "Apparently, the High Dictator is still there…but that's not all. Listen."
He leaned over and switched the relay from his earpiece to speaker.
"-nding in backup to protect the High Dictator. We're inbound."
"Negative. Additional units wouldn't make a difference against Tiamat if he came too near. The High Dictator assures that the area is secure. The main priority now is securing Dr. Lindst and the files in the Database Compound."
This caused Dael to react along with everyone else. Dr. Lindst? She made it out of Leuco alive?
"Repeat: secure Dr. Lindst and all files and materials located with the Database Compound. Security is being lifted and overridden to expedite this procedure."
Cid switched off the radio at this point, but Bahamut immediately looked to Dael once it was done. "Did you hear that?"
"If they're overriding security, even file access…their entire network is like an open book." Cid reaffirmed. "And I've got gear on me that can download quite a bit."
"If there's any records of who is truly responsible for all of this, or what Rozan and the Guiding Hand are truly planning or are covering up, this is our chance to get it. Perhaps our only one." Bahamut reaffirmed.
"Hey, now wait a second…" Quaren interjected. He pointed out to the skyline. "Look what Rozan's doing right now. Obviously, he's not scared about Tiamat taking him out or he'd be leaving the city. He could probably do all he needs to do to make Nyx Gaia show up by just having Tiamat tear up everything."
"He's right. He's the priority here. Otherwise, it doesn't matter what else they're planning." Taraketh added. "Cut off the head, and the body dies."
"But we all know Rozan is not the head." Bahamut responded. "Whoever is manipulating him is. And we haven't exactly gotten that far 'sticking to the plan', in case you haven't noticed."
"Lad…er, dragon in lad's body…has a point." Cryder threw in.
"The moment we make a strike on the database building, they'll know it." Dael responded. "We can't go one place and then the other. We have less than an hour to even finish and a lot of ground to cover, to say nothing of how many are still here."
"Dael, we can't just let this opportunity go by." Cid maintained. "We may find the location of those bombs…what their research was intending…"
Ceja, frowning at all of this, finally exhaled. "This debate is costing us valuable time. There is clearly only one solution. Half of us go after Rozan Hierarch, and the other half go to that building that was mentioned."
For once, Dael looked incredulous. And not just her... The others all looked to Ceja on hearing that suggestion. Yet after a moment of silence, it was Dael who spoke first. "That's madness. We're in the heart of the Sybenian defense. If it wasn't for Tiamat, we wouldn't even have time to stop and have this conversation."
"But Tiamat is here, Dael…and I learned long ago that you have to seize whatever opportunity you can as long as the window is available." Bahamut answered. "My guess is whoever is responsible for this counted on Rozan summoning Tiamat…but not on the errant destruction. Why else is he trying to protect that data?"
"Maybe we can be quick about it?" Cid suggested. "There's got to be less security there, especially if they're loosening it up…"
"You just heard that they're redirecting troops to that location."
"Then I'll go with them." Ceja stated. "These worthless gun-wielding dogs are nothing to me. Sir Tierras can go with you. He's far more valiant and powerful than I."
Jalab, who had been keeping a bit quiet, blushed a bit here at the compliment.
Dael couldn't believe it. They were having a schism in the group now? This was something she seriously didn't need. They were already weaker for just being this few people… And she knew that Raven might very well be waiting for her inside that building…
"It'll be fine." Carbuncle stated after a moment. "I'll go with the database group. Badda-bing-bang-boom…as soon as they're done, I'll teleport them back out again."
"Dael, the longer we hesitate, the more our window shrinks." Bahamut reminded her. "Tiamat could destroy the database building at any moment. We don't have time to think about this."
The woman froze a bit longer. She felt like ordering the others to come…but, for once, she wondered if they'd listen to her. Not only that, but as time went on…she realized that Bahamut was right. Neither mission was any less important than the other. Rozan might use Tiamat and the nuclear weapons to finish his work…but even if he was gone, with no clues as to who was responsible, they weren't going to get anywhere. For all she knew, whoever was in the shadows would rebuild in some other nation with some other nationalist group…and everything would happen again.
Finally, she acquiesced.
"…Quaren, Taraketh, Jalab…you're all with me. Cid, Cryder, Ceja, Carbuncle…you're all with Bahamut. Get in there and get out as soon as possible. We'll probably need you."
"I'll be done as fast as possible." Bahamut answered. "We'll only stop long enough to download the data. We can examine it later once this is all over."
Dael paused again…considering her last chance to stop this. But then, she sighed.
"Everyone, get up and get moving. Cid, give me whatever mage bullets you managed to finish yesterday. I'm going to need them. None of us have much time, and we're in for our most dangerous operation yet…"
To be continued...
