For a week the tachyon field remained stable, and the Gaians were able to beat back the sledgehammer of the Spartan advance. During those seven days, hundreds of civilians and soldiers gave their lives freely in a selfless sacrifice to stay the advance of Santiago and her forces.

As the week ended, Deirdre became more and more bitter, and plunged into a pit of black despair from which she could not escape. She had contacted all the faction leaders on Planet, begging them for aid. The reactions had varied: Morgan laughed at her and said she was a foolish girl with no real idea of how the world worked; Miriam called down God's blessings upon her, yet would not commit herself and Yang was unconcerned, his territory was on the other side of the ocean.

Therefore, New Glasgow stood alone against the tides of Spartans that swarmed around the perimeter; hungry, rabid wolves waiting for the guard to be dropped so that they could eat their fill.

Every day Deirdre would wake, and stand before the window, staring at her city. It was impossible then to stop the tears. Although the bombardment had ruined a good amount of the groves, she knew that when the Spartans broke through, her city would be destroyed. More than a lifetimes work, doomed.

Her generals were becoming desperate, and now, on the morning when the tachyon fields were due to fall, everybody was sinking into the same despair that held Deirdre. The army had withdrawn behind barricades erected in the streets. Ancient artillery models had been pulled out of storage, anything and everything, Deirdre had decreed, must go towards protecting the city.

It had been done, and now everybody in the city bore some sort of weapon, though most were outdated guns brought from Earth that had lain in vaults all these years. The aircraft had left the city, aiming for Memory, where they must plan the next defence. Although Deirdre knew that if New Glasgow fell, her faction would be doomed, she would make it so that Santiago would be severely bled before she eradicated the last Gaian.

"Lady! The field is down! The Spartans are through!"

Deirdre dropped her head, fighting down the sudden icy sheet of terror that ran through her. Until now, she had convinced herself that the city would never fall. Now, however, she realised it would. In addition, when it did, the leader of the faction would be tied nicely in a tower, ready for the pleasure of Santiago.

General Marco looked at her with worry, and said: "My lady, there is a plane ready for you. You can flee the city. Please, lady. You can fight another day, but do not throw your life away needlessly."

Deirdre opened her mouth. There was a slight weakening within her, and she began to weep. "Oh, Marco.my whole life, I have been building this faction from the ground up. What is left if I am killed? Nothing. Planet will be destroyed, and it will be left to masochistic monsters like Corazon."

Marco held her to him, and she felt the love he held for her. He was her oldest and most loyal supporter, and had been with her all of her life upon Planet. Whispering, he said. "Leave then, Deirdre. If you survive, so can our faction."

Deirdre shook her head. "No, Marco. How can I ask my people to fight, if I run and leave them to their fate? No. I must stay here, and may Planet forgive me. I have failed."

Marco bit his lips, and hugged her tighter. "No, lady. You have not failed. People will remember this day, when the leader of the Gaians stayed with her people despite the danger. Your memory will remain, and so will the motivation for our people to fight. You know that is the most important thing, lady. Motivation."

Deirdre blinked away the tears. "I am ready to face my fate, Marco. Assemble the Guard, I wish to go into the city for one last time."

Marco opened his mouth, but something in her eyes must have told him she would not be argued with. He bowed, and was about to walk away when Deirdre's gasp made him turn.

Something was clutching at her mind, almost clumsily. Deirdre groaned, and fell to her knees. Planet was trying to talk with her. "Planet, not now, please.not now."

earthdeirdre. talk must we. danger grave you are in. fear not. we help. wait small time. help we give. help

The grip on her mind loosened, and finally disappeared. A sudden, wild soaring of hope surged within her heart, and from that, she pulled strength enough to stand. Marco looked at her, and when he saw her smile, he spoke:

"My lady, Planet spoke with you?"

Deirdre nodded, and tried to speak. The experience of talking with planet left her mouth dry. Marco turned, and gestured to one of the aides. "Water, and quickly."

The aide looked astounded, but he shrugged himself out of the reverie, and dashed off. When he returned, he carried a large metal flask, filled with water. Bowing, he handed it to Deirdre, who took large gulps of it, revelling in the cool feel of it trickling down her throat.

"My thanks." She said to the boy. "Marco, Planet will help us against Santiago. We must wait a small time." She laughed suddenly. "By Planet, the more it talks to me, the more I begin to sound like it. Yes, we must wait a short time, and I believe we shall receive help."

As she spoke, she felt once again the fierce pounding of hope, and she sniffed. Wiping the tears from her eyes, she turned to Marco.

"Summon in the generals. Santiago will be stopped, no matter what the cost. Move! We have very little time!"



The Spartans surged through the barriers, halting shortly as a storm of laser shots, bullets and shells blasted around them. Hundreds of them died for every step they took, but there were far more Spartans than there were Gaians.

Approaching the barricades, the Spartans fired. The shots struck the Gaian forces, and shouts of pain formed a strange music when combined with the screech of the weapons. More Spartans entered the city, and the Gaians continued to fire their weapons at the enemy.

Eventually, the sheer press of the enemy forced the defenders back. The lines broke, and to a man, the Gaians fled. When Deirdre saw this on screen, she smiled. The plan was working well.

The army appeared to be running, and it looked scattered. The small groups of fighters fled into the narrow streets of the city; entered the tall towers; anything that offered protection from the Spartan army was filled with Gaians, who struck like hornets when the enemy entered their territory.

The fight for New Glasgow became a bloody affair, with both sides striking without mercy. The Gaians, despite being driven back, were falling onto better defended positions, whereas the Spartans were forced to fight against troops on higher ground, protected by more barricades.

Deirdre glanced at Lindly, who smiled, and nodded. A sigh of relief escaped Deirdre's mouth, and she settled back. There was no use fretting anymore. The city would either fall or not. This compound where she sat was in the centre of the city, and would be the very last building to fall.

"My lady, look!"

The Gaians had stopped firing, and now only Spartan shots rang across the city. There was a strange silence over the Gaian lines. Deirdre looked at Lindly, whose forehead was creased in concentration.

She was contacting the Empath Guild, who waited with the mindworms beneath the city, in the sewers. Once again, Deirdre gave thanks that she had decided to fund the Empath Guild. It gave her an edge over all the other leaders, who were still years behind her in psychic research.

"Lady, the mindworms!"

The mindworms were writhing through the drains. From above, mindworms dropped upon the Spartan forces, the strange psychic calls draining them of their will to fight. Agonized screams split the air as the worms began to embed themselves into the brains of their victims.

More worms dropped from above, and now yet more were oozing in a great white mass along the streets. Once, Deirdre would have turned her head and wept at the horror of such a death, yet know her eyes were bright, and she smiled when she heard the screams. If the Spartans dared to fight her, let them suffer the consequences.

The Spartan lines began to collapse, and they scattered. The Gaians advanced then, driving the enemy back out of the city. Struck with terror by the worms, the Spartans didn't even attempt to fight back. For one more day, New Glasgow was safe.