chapter thirty four: joining the battle
The attack began suddenly. One moment, all was at peace in Licknok Moor, and the next thing they knew, hell was raining down upon them. Suddenly, Panizhe troops came pouring from the forests, and the Delta Flyer came screaming out of the sky raining destruction.
Nayrn was in her room, studying the city from behind paneled windows. There was something wrong here today... she could feel it in the air. It wasn't just the impending battle at Tiuagad that worried her; no, there was something deeper inside that was wrong, all wrong. Her bones were tingling queerly. Frustrated, she flexed her wrist and heaved a sigh. The war was going badly; it shouldn't have been. A sudden uncharacteristic insecurity settled upon her. She gazed at the intricate Ring winding itself around her hand and her wrist; she watched the rising sunlight play upon its surface, sending out multifaceted reflections onto the palace walls. It felt heavy, so heavy.
There was a scream, sound of things breaking. Nayrn's head snapped up in alarm. No, it couldn't be- it couldn't be! Outside it seemed as if the city were on fire. Panizhe troops poured forth from the forest like so many ants, and one of those vessels from Voyager swooped down upon them like a blazing silver phoenix. Panicked thoughts reeled through Nayrn's head. An attack, the final assault! How could it be? They were supposed to be attacking Tiuagad, not here, not at the heart of the Eminence! Had her informant been wrong? Even as she thought that thought she felt a sudden surge of anger at herself. Had she become so reliant on her informant that she had failed to consider her instincts? Intelligence reports had hinted for a long time that the Ashkari insurgents were planning some kind of major offensive, possibly the final showdown itself. Yet she had steadfastly dismissed them as mere speculation, the result of overzealous operatives getting too paranoid. She should have trusted them, and not that little Ashkari traitor who had told her that the target of today's attack would be Tiuagad.
Nevermind. No time for that—she had to take action now. With a wild battle cry, she leapt across the room with a sudden surge of adrenaline-fuelled energy, and flung the ornamental bronze doors wide open with a single furious sweep of her arm.
The doorframe was filled with a terrifying sight, six feet of sinew, muscles and wings standing there with teeth bared. Falkner growled. "Where do you think you're going?"
Nayrn pulled her lips back in a challenging snarl. "Move aside!"
Falkner narrowed his eyes. "No."
A hot fury surged through Nayrn. She was the Eminent! How dare he, a mere servant boy, get in the way? She would teach him a lesson he would never forget, if he survived to remember it in the first place. Raising a hand, she cast a bolt of searing blue energy towards the seraphim boy.
With a feral smile, he caught her bolt and deflected it at a ninety-degree angle. The deflected bolt zipped past inches from her ear, hit the wall behind and left an angry black scorch along her favorite tapesty.
A second pair of eyes, fiery green, joined the blue-gray of Falkner's at the doorway. "It's payback time," said Falda with an unmistakeable note of glee in her voice.
The hordes were thundering forward. At the head of her battalion, Janeway ran like she'd never done before, screaming war epithets at the top of her voice like she'd completely lost her mind. Tabitha galloped forward, each of her hooves hitting the ground like a massive drumbeat, a drumbeat that Janeway's heart beat in time to. She could see enemy troops now coming from the gates of Licknok Moor, bravely surging on despite being outnumbered ten to one. Above them, a few shots from the Delta Flyer blew their front ranks to kingdom come in the proverbial blaze of glory. Janeway drew her threw her head back and cried out in victory. She felt absolutely no regret at their deaths. They meant nothing to her; she meant nothing to herself. There was only the battle, and the battle was everything.
The first of the enemy ranks had reached them, there was a flash of weapons, and the fighting began in earnest. Janeway raised her weapon and fired a lance of energy towards the nearest Maldorian warrior. The powerful bolt pierced the woman's armor and she fell, her faceplate obscuring her expression. Janeway had no time to dwell upon her death; they were coming too fast and too furious for her to tell them apart; faces and voices became a blur. Time had become relative, seconds merged and melded into one another, indistinguishable, inexorable. With screaming sounds, a group of aerial fighters screamed into the sky and were met fiercely by the Delta Flyer. Beside her, one of her battalion fell, slain by a dark-masked Maldorian. With a snarl of rage Janeway brought her weapon crashing down upon the enemy fighter; the glowing blade of the weapon sliced cleanly through her neck. As the headless body fell towards the ground gouts of blood spurted from the severed neck, splattering Janeway in its dark warmth. She didn't care; it made her feel good.
Janae rushed up to her side, bruised and bloodied, and pulled sharply on her arm. "The first battalions have already scaled the city gates! Call your Warriors and let us go into the city!"
For a moment Janeway paused and stared hard at Janae. A trap? Would she be leading her people into an ambush? Around her the battle raged: bodies fell by the hundred and harsh cries rent the air. Beside them the Flyer, having finished off the Maldorian figthers, struck a group of enemy Warriors in formation, the blast pushing them slightly off balance. From the corner of her eye Janeway saw another Maldorian charging at them. Without batting an eyelash or taking her eyes off Janae, Janeway dispatched a lance of Fire energy and cut her down.
"Come now!" repeated Janae, more urgently.
A wild fire, set off by the Flyer's assault, burned hotly in the background; Janeway saw a keening Panizhe warrior toppling into it. She had to make the decision, now: to trust Janae, or not. Everything hinged on it.
Before she could make that decision, a blast from a hidden armament on the city walls struck the Delta Flyer hard on the port nacelle. Spewing plasma, the wounded ship careened towards the ground, towards them. Janae pointed upwards. "Look out!"