The week passed in a blur of activity, from packing up and moving to meeting with all of the other camps at one rendezvous location. So much information had to be exchanged and planning done between the leaders, and then all of it had to be told to the rebels. Sonam had Andromeda, Klahan, Dechen, and Hira heavily involved in spreading the word, and making sure the other camps were prepared.
With all of the camps together, they opted to move as once force on their way to the easternmost island, utilizing strength in numbers. Who cared if the Imperials knew they were coming? They quickly dealt with any minor troops and convoys they came across and moved on. It was almost like Galahd had its militia back.
The rebels hung back in the jungle when they came across the base in the afternoon of the final day. Considering their last few skirmishes, they had to observe before charging in—even if Andromeda had already scouted the area out the day before, and found that there hadn't been any additional preparations done to the base.
Whatever preparations the Imperials had made had been last minute. A large regiment of soldiers waited outside of the base's gates. From a great distance, the rebels could see that something wasn't right about them. The rebels had arrived precisely on time—who knew how long the regiment had stood in position. It was a visible trap, which Sonam and the other leaders had anticipated. They were not afraid to spring it; they had strength in numbers.
The rebels were positioned into a massive circle around the base while still hiding in the jungle. The leaders used radios to communicate amongst themselves, speaking Galahdian so no Imperial interceptors would be able to understand if they managed to get on this frequency.
Sonam was positioned directly before the base, using binoculars to get a closer look at the regiment standing at the ready. Andromeda, Klahan, and Hira stood next to him, with a few groups behind them.
"They're all human," Sonam observed. "They wear the Tenebraen crest of arms."
He handed the binoculars to Andromeda. Surprised, she took them and looked at the regiment herself. It was as he said: the soldiers were made of flesh, not metal, standing at near-perfect attention, with the occasional listing of men who have had to stay in one position for too long. The insignia on their uniforms was nothing like the Imperial crest—she recognized the wide shield-like shape as something from Tenebrae, but from at this distance, she couldn't make it what was in the crest. The overall shape and colors telling enough.
"I never expected them to send human soldiers. I hadn't thought they still had them," Sonam said. "Maybe they don't, if they had to get Tenebraen soldiers. I didn't think Tenebrae was still allowed to have its army."
He thought to himself for a long moment. Everyone else waited for his decision. The longer he was quiet, the more obvious his conflicted feelings. There was no avoiding bloodshed.
"This throws a wrench in our plan of attack," He admitted, but did not move to radio the other leaders yet.
"It will still work," Andromeda said. "The Imperials expect me to surrender willingly rather than attack other Tenebraens. They won't go rabid from the chaos, but there must be some MTs in that base that will, and they'll kill whatever human they can get ahold of, even those soldiers. We can't expect the general to have actually given up his own troops."
Sonam shook his head. "I don't like this. We didn't come here to slaughter other humans."
"I'm not giving up without a fight," She countered.
Klahan looked to her on the other side of Sonam. "You once said your father had been part of the Tenebraen Army. You know more about them than any of us would."
"I don't remember much. It was considered shameful for him," Andromeda admitted. She thought back on what she could remember. Before she had been old enough to realize it was a shameful thing, she had been a nosy child like any other. Her father had been the only one in their village with knowledge of the world beyond the mountains.
"He did try to teach me some old military codes as part of a game, though. But I was so little, I don't remember any of it." She concluded. "These are humans, with minds and freewill of their own. They'll retreat and preserve their own lives."
MTs didn't have such a privilege.
"Do you think you can talk to them?" Sonam asked. "Maybe give them some kind of warning before we launch our attack."
"I don't think it'll make a difference," Andromeda frowned. "We can't be sure they even know why they're really here, or what I actually am. Besides, if I get too close, they'll probably restrain me with one of those magic-canceling bracelets."
He nodded. "Then you shouldn't let them get close."
"You're asking her to fake surrender?" Klahan assumed.
"It'll have to look like that. How else will she get close enough to talk to them?" Sonam replied.
"I have to go alone," She added.
"No," Hira spoke up. "It's too risky. Those soldiers will most likely get what they came for."
"It's worth a shot," Andromeda countered. "It's the only trap of ours that we can still use. I'll summon chaos before they get too close. I can hope to get it enough under my control for a moment so I can try to give myself some space again."
"We'll come for you if it doesn't work," Sonam assured.
"Whether it works or not, I want you to charge forward once I've summoned the chaos," She said. "Then there's no talking to be done, and the fighting can begin."
Sonam was pleased with her idea, rather than annoyed by the demand. "It's a plan."
He radioed to the other leaders first of what they had found, and what they were going to do about it. The leaders then issued the plan to the rebels. He ordered some of their sharpshooters to keep an eye on Andromeda while the soldiers approached her. They would give her some extra help if things went poorly.
When Sonam gave her the okay, Andromeda handed her gun over to him for safekeeping in the meantime, then stepped out into the open field before the base.
She walked about fifty yards before stopping—far enough away from the treeline that the soldiers wouldn't notice all of the rebels lying in wait, but close enough that help could get to her fast if needed. The regiment immediately took notice of her as she appeared in the open. After some quick decision-making, a small squad broke off to approach as well. They were much further away; it would take them much longer to reach her, especially at a walk. They were waiting for a trap.
When they were about halfway to her, Andromeda made a show of pulling the sheathed kukri from where it was attached on her lower back and tossing it just out of her reach. She raised her hands in surrender afterwards.
Finally, after many minutes of waiting, they were within earshot. She raised her voice to speak to them. "I don't suppose you know why you're really here."
A fifth soldier in the squad of four wore a slightly more elaborate coat—he was the commanding officer. Andromeda was glad he of all people had come so close.
No one responded to her. She tried to think over the time she had spent with her father in her childhood, and all the things they had ever talked about. It had all been over ten years ago. She was drawing a blank, unable to come up with any memories of conversations.
It was quiet enough that she could hear the commanding officer speak into some kind of radio piece on him: "She's the one we're here for."
"The forest is unsettled." Andromeda finally came up with a code that she was fairly certain she understood the meaning. "You should be careful of where you step here in the jungle."
The officer paused, understanding the code. Then he and the squad continued to come forward.
"You're a long way from home," He replied.
"It's not a home to be proud of with Nifs calling the shots," She jabbed. "I'm not a southern dog like you."
"Anyone bring a gag?" One of the soldiers asked, which amused everyone, even Andromeda. She'd probably get along with them, if the situation were different.
"I know you have something better than that for me," She said. "You shouldn't be here."
"Orders are orders," The officer said. "You shouldn't be either."
She nodded, then noticed the bracelet in his hand now that he was a couple of yards in range. It was too late for conversation. She had failed to warn them adequately.
In another moment, she summoned the chaos from within, immediately putting more into it right away than she usually did. The area darkened as a strong wing suddenly picked up. The soldiers acted unbothered, remaining focused. They were good.
Shadows flit about despite the direct sunlight overhead and the lack of objects around to cast shadows. With a little more focus on Andromeda's part, she coaxed a strong shadow to knock the soldiers back several yards. They scrambled in the air, not having expected such an attack. She lunged for her kukri and put it back in its place.
A collective roar came from behind her and all around as the rebels burst from the treeline and onto the field. The rest of the regiment charged forward as well, yet those at the rear were caught by another threat: screaming had come from within the base, and MTs were jumping down from the walls to attack the humans while the gate was not open. When the MTs clawed at some of the soldiers, the rear turned to fend them off instead of join the charge at the rebels.
The chaos was far-reaching; Andromeda was putting a lot into it, and had been saving it up since Tshering had passed. Her sorrow for that made the maelstrom even stronger, just as it had been then. The MTs could sense it over a hundred yards away, but they were slowed in their approached while the gate was not open. Andromeda needed to get closer to them.
She looked through the rush of oncoming people for Sonam. Among the front runners, he made straight for her, handing her gun back to her as the first squad recovered and began firing at the rebels. They joined the fight together, colliding with Tenebraen soldiers and knocking them away.
"How did it go?" Sonam asked over the noise of battle.
"Terribly!" Andromeda answered as she smashed the butt of her gun into a soldier's face.
There were about an equal amount of rebels to the regiment of Tenebraen soldiers. There were casualties on both sides. The no-kill rule seemed to have been lifted, since these were not Imperials. Even Sonam impaled a couple of soldiers with his kukri. Andromeda knocked one away with a shadow before he could fatally stab Sonam. She dodged most attacks and gave him cover; he likewise shoved soldiers away over outright attacking them.
Slowly, they made their way to the center of the fray. It had been clear that Andromeda's chaos had little influence on the MTs in the base so far away—she wanted to get closer. She had suggested using the MTs against the Tenebraens, forcing the Empire to kill more of them than the rebels would.
Yet in just the chaos of battle, the gates were suddenly opened well before Andromeda and Sonam made it beyond the center of the field. MTs came pouring out, knocking each other away as they ran at a full sprint. They were a problem for both sides, but especially the Tenebraens, because they had never dealt with rogue MTs. They were pinched between the rebels and the rabid robots.
After the rush of automatons, a couple of mechs came out of the base as well, but not the models that required a human pilot. The Imperials had learned something, although it took them several losses before they did.
"Fall back," Sonam ordered into the radio, and to all of the rebels that stood nearby. "Go on the defensive. Let the soldiers handle the MTs."
The bewildered soldiers were so caught up in fighting back the androids that they did not notice the rebels pulling away from the battle. The rebels still engaged a little bit, especially when the MTs came around to target them. The mechs were the bigger problem as they remained focused on rebels, although some of their jerky movements and pauses suggested that they were not functioning properly in the storm of chaos.
The Tenebraens were immediately overwhelmed and confused as to why the MTs were targeting them. They lost precious time in that confusion: many were easily struck down and clawed at by the MTs. Their coats and little bit of armor did little to protect them.
Sonam and Andromeda did not fall back as much as the other rebels did. She still had to stay in range to be most effective. They picked up their old tactic of ripping cores out of MTs. The Tenebraens at first didn't know to run away from that as they tried to fend off the MTs. The slaughter still went on. They did seem to pick up on things really fast; after several explosions, the surviving soldiers learned to run whenever a rebel was engaging an MT.
When the MTs left them alone, Sonam and Andromeda focused on the mechs with the other rebels—something they had rarely done in battle before. Sonam quickly gathered a group of rebels together to target the mechs, while they did not bother the Tenebraens. The rebels still used MTs as bombs, as they were known to do at this point, but they also made use of their kukris as well against the hydraulics on the legs. The mechs were not malfunctioning as much as the MTs were, though, and their programming did make them much more difficult to fight. It took a lot more time to take down the mechs, but they were the biggest problem as they gunned down rebels.
As they took down the second mech, Sonam commented, "We should have arrived earlier."
He pointed his blade towards the horizon. The sun hovered over the trees. Soon it would set. The rebels had never fought at night before—not with the daemons that prowled.
"We should retreat after we deal with the last one," He suggested.
"What if we don't retreat this time?" Andromeda asked.
"We'll be defeated. These are human soldiers we're facing this time," He countered. "You can't mean to slaughter them all—they're your people."
"They made their choice," She said coldly. "We've never had all of the rebels gathered in such a force before. We have to make our stand now."
As they paused to talk in the middle of battle, Sonam took a bullet in the leg and fell onto his knee. Before Andromeda could take his arm to pull him back up, her own arm was grabbed. The Tenebraen officer had somehow found them again. He was ragged, having been clawed at many times, but was still fighting.
She knew what he was about to do; thankfully, her kukri was in her other hand. She slashed at his other wrist connected to the hand that held the bracelet. The blade went deep enough into some important veins that he dropped the device.
Before the officer could retaliate, he jerked and fell as he was shot in the abdomen in a few quick and loud bursts from behind, releasing Andromeda. Sonam hadn't gotten off of his knee, but he had pulled his gun up and taken aim. He let it hang on its strap at his side as he stood, then picked up the bracelet.
She watched him as he looked over the black box and strap. He looked to her.
"Don't you want a way to keep that chaos under control?" He asked.
"Don't turn it on," She snarled. "It's a tracker."
Hearing that, Sonam tossed the bracelet back on the ground, then shot it. He cursed Nif tech.
The last mech charged at them then. He signaled a handful of nearby rebels over to deal with it. They first dodged a rain of bullets as the mech's large gun went off.
A random shadow threw some MTs against the lumbering mech. As the automatons stood again and focused, they targeted the humans. Hira appeared among the rebels, and together, she and Andromeda stayed close to Sonam, giving him assistance and fighting back the MTs. Hira reminded everyone about the cores with just that one word, and the group focused on using the MTs as bombs against the mech.
Sonam had to hang back, relying on his gun to shoot the weak points of the mechanical soldiers and mech. In the scuffle, only a few MTs were used as bombs against the mech—a couple blew up nowhere near the mech, and a few more had to be killed before they killed the rebels.
The mech either shot or jabbed at the rebels as well, although occasionally it jerked out of position and in their favor. Still, if they weren't dodging MTs, they had to dodge bullets. But the large gun did not aim close to the mech itself—some dared to get that close. Andromeda and Hira learned to use the MTs as shields against the bullets, which helped to take the MTs out as well. When the MTs were about to explode without their cores in their chests, the rebels ran underneath the mech's legs, getting a moment of relief on the other side.
The fully-automated mechs were not built as strongly as those that required a human pilot; the last mech soon collapsed through the rebels' efforts. The group cheered, then scattered to deal with approaching MTs. Sonam looked around the field, but could not spot any more mechs. No more came through the open gate of the base.
He favored his injured leg a bit. Andromeda tried to get a good look at it while they were left alone. The bullet had lodged into the meat of his leg. There was plenty of blood, but not as much as if something vital had been hit. It was a good sign, and he could last a bit longer without attention if needed.
"We need to retreat before it gets any later," He said. The sun was now behind the trees. She had to agree with him this time.
They turned towards the direction of their path of retreat as Sonam radioed to the other leaders about it. They only took a few steps before they realized that Tenebraen soldiers stood at the treeline, encircling the field and blocking the way.
The soldiers were battered and torn—perhaps moreso than the rebels—but they held firm to their line, trapping the rebels on the field. It wasn't a complete circle, but enough to block their path of escape. The rebels had been so focused on the MTs and mechs, and letting the androids deal with the Tenebraens, that they hadn't realized the human soldiers would get new orders and change their strategy.
They hadn't run, as Andromeda had predicted, even if they were still harried by MTs throughout their line. The chaos had thrown brush and debris at them like it did with everyone else, and a few shadows sometimes threw the soldiers off of their feet—all without Andromeda's will. It was very strong this time.
All of the rebels paused in their escape as they realized they were trapped. It caught them all by surprise—even the Imperials hadn't tried to trap them before. They hadn't been able to.
"Now they've sprung their trap," Sonam said.
Klahan had caught up to him at the order to retreat. "This is what they wanted: all of the rebellion in one place. The slaughter will turn on us."
"Sunset is soon," Sonam acknowledged. "We're going to have to push through that line of defense."
"The MTs will follow. They'll still distract the soldiers," Andromeda assured next to him. The chaos was not relenting—she had had a lot built up for this, and gave in too much in the beginning. It would continue to feed off of her until it was completely spent.
Sonam radioed to the other leaders, "Charge that line and break it. We just need one hole to get through to retreat—we don't need to take down the whole line."
At his order, the rebels disengaged from MTs and charged at the line, right where it blocked their path. The soldiers remained where they were, holding firm despite the rebels and MTs coming at them. Some MTs ran ahead of the rebels to attack the line—there were so many humans around, and the androids had such short attention spans.
Finally, the rebels collided with the soldiers, and the battle began anew in a mess of rebels, soldiers, and MTs. Andromeda, Sonam, and Hira stayed close together, the latter making sure the former two both made it through this without capture or death.
The line then changed as the soldiers closed in on the rebels, so that more could join the fight and block the path of retreat, while also pushing the rebels back to the center of the field. An airship appeared in the sky, lowing itself just enough to drop off a fresh troop of MTs. They went berserk before they hit the ground and ran for the humans. The Tenebraen soldiers had turned the rebels' strategy against them.
Sonam continued to rely on his gun while Andromeda and Hira fended off MTs and Tenebraens—usually by throwing Tenebraens to the MTs. The soldiers tried to keep the battle in close quarters, but their circle did expand and loosen up as soldiers fell out of rank and the MTs went after them, or a handful of rebels slipped out.
As the sun finally set and the area grew dark, the human soldiers made their own retreat. The androids pursued them, which soon led to fewer humans retreating. The rebels focused on retreating as well, although they were much further from the treeline.
A couple of airships came over the field as they fled. As they lowered themselves towards the ground and opened their hull doors, it was not fresh troops that came out.
A massive, sinewy four-legged creature bounded out of the middle ship with multiple roars. Each of its three heads had snouts, their mouths and eyes aglow with flame. It was the biggest daemon Andromeda had ever seen.
Out of the other two airships flew two hordes of large insectoid daemons. Even from a distance, they were easily larger than a human, but nowhere near as massive as the daemon hound. As soon as they all hit the ground, they ran to the humans. Whatever Tenebraens survived the MTs, did not survive the daemons.
Their loss bought the rebels a little time. They had all watched in horror as the daemons were released. Sonam and the other leaders were the first to snap out of it and order a retreat again. Yet he, Andromeda, Hira, and Klahan still remained where they were, watching the daemons attack the human soldiers.
"They unleashed daemons on Galahd again," Hira mumbled.
"They'll just follow after us, and tear the whole jungle apart," Andromeda warned. "They get strength from the chaos. It's going to be awhile before it dies off."
Sonam observed the retreat; everyone else had gotten a good headstart into the trees. "Let's go."
"Wait," Andromeda continued to watch the daemons, her mind racing. "I have an idea.
Tshering had once wondered if there was some truth to the myths and legends of Galahd. Her chaos had once stirred up old magic. They had absolutely nothing to stop the daemons. They could easily outrun humans.
"Remember the story about the monster that ate magic?" Andromeda asked.
"It's not the time for bedtime stories!" Sonam scolded.
"Trust me," She turned to look at him. "I'm a beacon to these daemons. If I stay behind, everyone will get more time to get away. My magic isn't spent yet."
Sonam glanced between her and the daemons as they picked up on the last remaining humans in sight and began to charge. He didn't have any time to think at all.
"You know more about your magic than I do," He shook his head. "Fine."
He and Klahan both had to pull Hira away. Andromeda didn't watch them leave. Instead, she took a few steps forward towards the charging daemons and concentrated deeply.
She stayed still as she focused within, feeling the chaos pull on her. She gave it everything she had to feed off of. The only way to kill off that monster in the story had been to give it exactly what it wanted, so much so that it was overwhelmed. Perhaps chaos could do that too, even to daemons. If not, Andromeda would die to daemons, and the Empire would never have her again. But she wasn't trying to die—she was trying to get help.
The maelstrom became much stronger all around her, especially as she focused so much. It was much more powerful than it had been before, lashing out violently at its surroundings, as she gave it her undivided attention, and gave into it willingly. It was difficult to see the shadows now that night had fallen, but they were everywhere, and strong.
The wind roared past Andromeda, slowing the winged daemons slightly as they flew into it. There was whispering on the wind—something she had long forgotten was there, and could never understand what was being said. She silently begged and prayed for help—not for herself, but for her comrades fleeing, and help for Galahd against these enemies.
Andromeda watched as the daemons and MTs closed in on her, all targeting her as the only human left standing in the open. All instincts told her to run, but she stayed put and concentrated. The hound quickly reached her with its long strides.
The wind suddenly felt different, bolstered by something that was not the chaos nor Andromeda. It crackled with heat and the sharp scent of ozone and smoke. Something roared in the trees behind her.
As the daemon hound lunged at her with its middle head, its maw gaping with flame, something all around cracked with a brief light. A sharp cry came from behind her. She fell to her knees as many things burst out from the trees behind her, two of which flew over her: something darker than the night, and something completely aflame.
The large flaming bird gave another cry and flew high above the daemons. The massive dark creature collided with the hound, throwing it back. The two creatures grappled: the hound on its back, writhing to get the dark creature of equal size off of itself. The latter was also four-legged, with long tendrils on either side of its head, the tips alight with white sparks. It was a dark form, but occasional flickers of light could be seen within it, similar to electrical sparks or stars.
The coeurl was much bigger than Andromeda remembered.
It hadn't come alone: there were other dark figures that came out of the trees behind her, blurred as they passed by to confront the other daemons and surviving MTs. Their shapes were hard to determine: at one instant, they appeared to be smaller spectral coeurls; in another, they looked to be spectral men, fighting with all sorts of melee weapons. The coeurl-men were as tall as the insectoid daemons, but not as large as the coeurl that was tangled with the hound.
The flaming bird had flown over it all. Its wingspan was longer than the hound, but it left that to the coeurl. It flew across the field and dived into the military base. The explosions could still be heard over the baying and snarling of magical creatures and daemons.
The old magic was reacting to the energy Andromeda's chaos brought to the area—she continued to focus on manifesting more, completely giving in to it despite having nothing left to give. It would give the old magic strength to keep fighting back the daemons. She already felt drained from using it all afternoon; giving her all felt much worse than she ever remembered it feeling before. Yet she had to keep giving.
Andromeda remained on her knees, unable to push herself up to her feet again. She watched the scene in a daze. The spectral coeurl and the daemon hound remained locked in their grapple, lunging and biting at one another. The hound used its flaming breath on the coeurl, and the coeurl shocked the hound a few times. A fire began to spread on the field from all of the hound's struggling. The coeurl-men beat back the giant insects, although both sides suffered losses. The base was engulfed in flames. The bird never rose from it.
Giving into the chaos past the point of exhaustion, Andromeda felt consciousness slipping. She glanced up into the night sky, now filled with a heavy smoke. She jerked a little as she saw three sets of eyes gazing down at her. They must have been very bright stars—no, they were eyes. The longer she looked, the more she could make out the three shadow giants that appeared over the battle, their features indistinguishable, other than the star-like eyes. They watched the creatures and her silently.
A woman's voice called her name as her vision faded, but she couldn't tell who it was: Hira, or Etro.