The Sarenjek were the worst enemy of the Wind Blades, and the city. Many times had they attacked the city, and many times the Wind Blades and other squads repelled them, but the Sarenjek, and their wheeled fortress city prowled the desert looking for them, and they had found them again, but the Sarenjek were carrying a secret weapon in the bowels of their fortress this time, and this time, this time, they would not lose as easily as they had last time.
With the sighting of the fortress of the Sarenjek everyone onboard Sihn Baran sprang into action, the weather measurements were checked and triple checked, the control staff filed onto the bridge and took their places. Barankan, in the centre of the main bridge, gave the order to circle in, and prepare their secret weapon for attack. The emergency bells were rung on the drift deck, and the corvette pilots got to their vehicles and prepared for launch. Great doors opened in the side of Sihn Baran and ramps were pushed out for the craft, a bay on the underside of the city slid open too to allow the heavier classes of craft out; the dreadnoughts, Juggernauts and the Kraken.
"What is happening?" asked Barankan, seeing a strange sight unfold on the Sarenjek fortress
"I…I don't know my liege" replied one of the spotters as the sides of the fortress opened, and they saw battle craft inside
"They have battle craft?! Launch waves one and two of the cruisers, one heavy chass and two strikes of corvettes" Roared Barankan "and ready the scorpions and the Kraken"
The orders were yelled down a transmitter on the bridge and blared out of the receiver in the craft bays as the Sarenjek launched the first waves of their craft. Jason and his Strike were Strike three and ended up right at the launch ramp as the first two strikes were winched along the deck with the hand cranked fans blowing air into their sails. Jason could see the Sarenjek craft, ugly, squat things, with blades on the side and ramming spikes up front, and a pilot lying down on their front, steering with two levers infront of them.
The first two Strikes sped off down the ramp towards the enemy craft, other doors swinging open above them and scorpions, giant crossbows, swung out. These were an invention of Jason's, the head of the bolt was hollow and the front was packed with francium, there was a thin paper divider and some water on the other side so when the bolt was fired the water would be pushed to the back of the head, and when it hit it's target it would fling the water through the divider and make contact with the francium, destroying it, and blowing a sizeable hole in anything.
As the two cities circled each other the strike craft sped across the gap towards each other the Sarenjek unveiled their secret weapon, two, gigantic, steel spikes, each one easily 25m long, slid out of the front of the fortress, ramming spikes!
"Oh Ska-rit!! Launch all craft, aim for the wheels, take that fortress down!" yelled Barankan, tightening his hands into fists and getting to his feet
The command was barked down the command tube, "Launch all craft, Launch all craft, Aim for the fortress' wheels" and the decks came alive with activity, every pilot got to their craft, all corvettes were placed on the tracks, the cranes readied the heavy Chasses, the under decks prepared to drop the two Destroyers, the three Juggernauts and The Kraken, the heavy battle dreadnought.
Jason's Strike was first out, his corvette, Strike 1, was first in the group of corvettes that made up his strike. Jason's corvette was tipped down the ramp, and he was out of the bay, dashing across the sand towards the giant, and ever growing, Sarenjek Fortress. Jason looked out of his cockpit and saw an enemy heading in his direction, he pointed one of his crossbows at the face inside, and squeezed the trigger. His eyes widened in horror as he saw the man's head jerk back and the window became covered in the pilot's blood
'You did what you had to, now concentrate, fight now, grieve later' came Ruth's voice in his head, snapping him out of his decent into shock
Spinning his corvette to face the fortress, and to avoid the spinning wreckage that was the Sarenjek craft, he opened full sail and hurled himself and his corvette towards the Fortress readying the scorpion mounted on his corvette. He approached the Fortress at blistering speed…and let fly his scorpion bolt, it sailed through the air almost in slow motion for Jason, this was his design's big début, and then it crashed into the prow of the fortress, exploding and causing a sizeable hole to appear. Jason wheeled round and ran alongside the fortress, curved away from it then turned back towards it, this time facing the side, and mammoth wheels. Jason pulled a lever and activated a final weapon he had installed secretly, and the two barrels slid into place as Jason accelerated towards the fortress' wheels, he was 50m away, 35m, 15, 10, Jason had unstraped himself from the chair and braced himself…He Deamanad and smashed out of the top of the corvette as it ploughed into the wheel, it exploded as the barrel-load of water came into contact with the francium in the other barrel, the wheel was totally destroyed, and the wheels on either side got great chunks blown out of them as Jason sailed into the air and began to chill the water particles in the air around him, little droplets of ice were forming before him as he continued to soar upwards, he then let loose a flurry of flying ice towards the fortress, hundreds of tonnes of ice smashed into the side of the Sarenjek city, destroying a path up the side of it, at the same time the scorpions on Sihn-Baran loosed their bolts as did all the craft that had been upgraded with incendiary scorpions. The fortress buckled and fell to the desert, ploughing a furrow up to Sihn-Baran, destroying it's own craft along the way.
As Jason walked back towards the city in Deamana form, he felt someone detect his presence and so split himself from his spirit form. He climbed back aboard the now non-moving city to applause, along with all those who returned. When looking at the MIA/KIA lists Jason saw J'mes' name on the list, MIA, as did C'rrol. Jason heard her sob and saw her run off, up to the observation deck, he saw her walk to the edge of a platform nearest to the edge, by now most people were looking at her, and dive off, someone shrieked (maybe C'rrol) as C'rrol plummeted to earth. Jason acted with speed befitting his Deamana form, he re-fused with his spirit form and dove off the side a dam sight lower to the ground that C'rrol had been, and snatched her from her dive, landing on the sand and breaking a few ribs and his left arm, Ruth bellowed as the pain shot across his mind link to Jason, and both of them passed out.
Jason came too when he felt something dig him painfully in his broken ribs
"Ey, J'son? What are you doing with my girl?" demanded a familiar voice
"Hello J'mes…I have just saved C'rrol…from killing herself…here, take her" replied Jason in snatched gasps of breath, handing out C'rrol to J'mes
"Yeah, you keep telling yourself that, get up, Get Up! You've had your eye on C'rrol from the beginning haven't you?" yelled J'mes
"No…I don't want C'rrol…don't fight me" replied Jason, gasping for breath
"Oh, so C'rrol isn't good enough for you eh?" Shouted J'mes pulling Jason to his feet
"That's…not…what…I said" replied Jason, and got a punch in the face from J'mes. It was only then that either of them noticed the red stain spreading across the front of Jason's uniform
"What the? Ahh, PRIEST!" screamed J'mes to the crowd of people above them in the city
Jason was picked up and borne away on a stretcher by two Priests, and then he passed out as they passed through the gates to the temple.