Chapter 17 : Fire from heaven
Harrigan gave the helm station controls a quick going over. They seemed reasonably simple – this was good. All he needed to know now was where the enemy was. "Chi!" ordered Harrigan "Get over to the comm desk and send the Ithlin lieutenant here". The young Nebari immediately scampered over to the comm desk, tapped the lieutenant on the shoulder to get his attention, and pointed to Harrigan.
"What's up?" he asked when he arrived. "Get on the nav station and bring up the sensors. We need to find exactly where the enemy is, so I can bring the ship in and Talannah can target them". He walked over and looked at the nav console. After a few perplexed moments trying to figure out the controls, he punched half a dozen buttons in quick succession. A low hum from the console announced that the sensors had come back up from standby. "Done!" he said. "Got them!" yelled Talannah from the gunnery desk "Harrigan, our ideal firing point is now at 000 dash 025, range 100 kilometras". "Copy that" he replied "Crew, stand by. I'm going to be a little rough at this until I work the kinks out of the system".
The Cry Havoc lurched as Harrigan fed in a little too much throttle. "Oops!" he apologised "Sorry about that. These engines are set up nice and tight. Only need a little tweak..." before he pulled the lever back a little. This time the ship moved off more smoothly. The commercial shipping in their way scattered quickly out of the way, surprised that the ship was underway again. Harrigan did his best to thread the Cry Havoc through the mass of transports and private vessels, and did surprisingly well. There were one or two close scrapes, but the transport captains so narrowly avoided apparently assumed the ship was still under Scarran control and quickly got out of the way.
The change of course had been noticed back in the Ithlin war room. "Harrigan's on the move" a tech announced "He should be in optimum firing position in approximately five momens or so". "Pass that along to Sub- Commander Sun" the chief of staff replied "Five momen warning!" When Aeryn received the call, it put her in a slightly better mood. "Got it" she replied hastily, ducking a volley of enemy pulse fire. "FIVE MOMENS!" she yelled over the all-forces frequency "Ortillery bombardment in five momens! Dig in!"
Harrigan was quickly learning the quirks of piloting such a large craft. "You're doing very well, my love" assured Talannah emphatically "Most newer pilots would take some days of constant duty and traing to get even half as far". Harrigan kept his concentration on the controls, replying with "Thank you, dear. But I was already a military pilot of several years experience when I first got to fly the Harbringer. But the only time I'd ever heard of ships this big was purely in the realms of fiction". "One more momen..." the lieutenant warned.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------- The Charrid armour had pulled clear of the wall so sapper teams could place demo charges. Their progress was not as quick as they would like – every so often, Royal Guard sharpshooters would pick off the charge-carrier, often by hitting the explosives they were carrying. This usually took out any comrades that were close by as well, and induced an understandable reticence to move forward. Charrid officers had to constantly stand over their troops to make sure anything got done. "We can do this without that overblown lump in orbit!" one infantry Captain shouted harshly to his troops "But not if you sit around like little children". A few started to mutter about snipers before the Captain thumped one on the temple. "IS THIS A KALISH SEWING CIRCLE, OR A GROUP OF CHARRID WARRIORS?!" he screamed at the top of his voice "GET ON WITH IT!" Then he toned the volume and went on "We need two more charges. Not too much to ask now, is it? Get out there!"
A Royal Guard scout slithered behind the sandbags to where Aeryn was to deliver his report. "They've got demo charges over about fifteen metras of wall" he explained "If that goes they can get tanks in". "How long before they're ready?" Aeryn probed, knowing she wouldn't like the answer. "A little over one momen" the scout replied. "Frell!" Aeryn groused "Harrigan better be on time, or we've had it!" Then she turned to her command staff. "Keep the sharpshooters out there" Aeryn ordered "We have to keep those sappers from placing their charges. We absolutely can not allow them to create a breach in the walls big enough to get armour through. In about one momen, we'll be getting close-support fire from Harrigan in orbit. We just have to hold on that long".
"STORM SQUAD!" yelled a teenager from the militia. "Incomi---" before a blast from the Charrid sergeant's pulse pistol blew his head all over the rubble. The rest of the Charrid assault team had sprinted through a small gap in the wall opened up in the last ortillery strike, and ran to catch up with their leader. Aeryn drew two pistols of her own, yelled "Follow me!" to the nearest squad, and leapt into action. The Charrids had killed approximately fifteen militia when Aeryn's first shots took the head off one Charrid about to butcher one helpless private with a tokkra knife.
"Peacekeepers?!" growled one Charrid in surprise, seeing Aeryn's black uniform "We were only supposed to be facing rag-tag militias and a few soldiers whose leaders are hamstrung by chivalric traditions". Four Royal Guard had caught up with her, and started laying down fire from their heavy rifles. One was taken out by a grenade, but in no more than thirty microts the last member of the assault squad was dead.
Back on the Cry Havoc, Harrigan was coming up on their firing point. "Start easing off the throttle now" explained Talannah "It'll take a little while for this beast to slow down". Harrigan did so, and brought the Cry Havoc to a geostationary position over the King's Palace in Ithlin. "Very good. Very, very good" she replied with approval "Even I didn't think you'd learn this fast. You're a natural. Now just lock in the station- keeping thrusters..." When Harrigan looked a little mystified, she added "Those small blue buttons by your left elbow" before continuing with "...so I can get to work".
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------- Harrigan spent a few microts reading the labels before pressing four of the nine small buttons. The ship slowly stopped swaying and settled into position, pointing nose-first at the city walls far below. "Targeting view, on screen" Harrigan commanded the AI. A view of the battle raging by the shattered walls came into view on the forward viewscreen. "Magnify 300%..." he added, which caused the view to enlarge to the point where they could distinguish between the types of Charrid vehicles and see the activity outside the walls.
Chiana saw one small group attempting to move through another hole on the opposite side to the last one, and called the sighting through to the nearest commanders on the ground. When the unsuspecting Charrids had penetrated the breach, they found forty militia waiting for them. No Charrid made it more than three steps before death.
"Tal" Harrigan ordered "Turn those guns up to max standard power. Then target the armour and buggies. Not one is to escape unharmed. You may fire when ready. Chiana..." he said, turning to face her "Send a 'strike incoming' action message to Aeryn and get her to bunker down". Aeryn acknowledged with a curt "It's about time" before signing off. "Fall back!" Aeryn yelled to her squad. When they looked at her in surprise, she just pointed up at the sky. The squad soon caught on, and the rest of the company followed their commander back to the nearest buildings.
"Ready" stated Talannah "Guns on standby at full power. Awaiting your order, sir". Harrigan cringed a little at the sound that. "Talannah, my love" he pleaded "YOU don't have to call me sir. We know each other too well already for that." Then he continued in a firmer tone "But go to it anway, dear. Frag 'em all". She immediately fired the first salvo at a large concentration of mark-5 tanks, battalion strength, about three hundred metras outside the wall.
Aeryn had just leapt through the open doorway of her latest hidey-hole when the clammy feel of superheated air and a loud hiss told of the incoming fire from orbit. "Get me visuals!" she ordered the nearest comm officer. He patched into the still-functional satellite network and handed the monitor back to Aeryn. "Cholak's hairy mivonks..." she breathed in astonishment. The first salvo had smashed almost forty five tanks and their crews to steaming craters in the plains.
"Preliminary BDA would indicate one less battalion of mark-5s to worry about" Harrigan said in praise to Talannah at her efforts "Only four more remaining. Then, hmm..." he continued, before asking the computer how many buggies there were "Estimated four hundred and fifty. One third armed with tak-7s, the rest with pulse cannons" it replied. "OK, four-fifty buggies. Correct me if I'm wrong..." he asked "But the missile buggies appear to be in two separate groups, on each side of the remaining armour formations".
"That seems about right" Talannah replied. She checked her panel again, then added "Charged again! Gotta go..." she told Harrigan, blowing him a kiss over the bridge "Those tanks won't wait!"
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------- Down on the ground, the senior surviving Charrid officer was getting the nastiest surprise of his life. When his own comm operator had given the news that the ship was moving in, he had assumed it was going to deliver a punishing barrage on the walls and Ithlin militias, allowing his tanks to press the attack. But no! he raged to himself. An Ithlin commando team assaults their ship, takes it, and then turns it right back at them! How the frell they managed that I haven't a clue. But if that Captain isn't dead, that'll change fast when he gets back to High Command – or even the nearest diplomatic outpost.
His angry thoughts were cut short by another salvo hitting home. This time the fire marched through 2nd Battalion 1st Regiment, and didn't even leave any pieces large enough for razor blades. "Dispersed formation!" he ordered his rapidly-dwindling number of battalion commanders "Spread out fast! Try and get a shot near the charges the sapper teams planted. If we're lucky, we'll set off a chain reaction and be able to force our way in with what's left of our forces. Whoah!" he exclaimed. That last blast had dissipated barely a metra from his tank. "Fire control's out!" his gunner shouted "That last blast fried it. No backups either".
"Driver!" he ordered "Fall back! Get us back to Rathlaas, now!" The driver was only too happy to obey. He'd just seen his entire regiment stamped flat from orbit the same way a child would step on an insect, and with the same likelihood of retaliation as well. The rest of the armour and buggies attempted to spread out, but the outer edges of the formations strayed within extreme range of some south-east sector wall guns, which were not disabled. Eighteen smashed buggies later they tightened up their formation safely out of range.
"Keep it up, Tal!" Harrigan urged, as the fourth blast swept across another frantically retreating tank unit. The AI estimated only three and a half battalions of mark-5s remained, and only one of those was still at full strength. Buggy forces were down to 300 as well, as the missile-equipped portion of their number was close to the tank formations, and perished with their heavier brethren. However, the tension of combat had caused Talannah's shoulders to cramp up, which made her hiss in pain.
Harrigan's sharp hearing heard the edge of this, and he immediately got out of his chair and rushed over to her. "Shoulders..." she grimaced "Really bad cramping. Aaah!" she groaned as the pain hit her again. Harrigan started kneading her shoulders softly but insistently, easing her pain and tension away. "Ohhh, yesssss...." she moaned slowly, leaning into his ministrations. "So niiiice....Moorrre, please?" she pleaded, tipping her head back to look up at his face. This never worked so well before, Harrigan thought, delightfully surprised. He concentrated a little and brought a light crackle of electricity through his fingertips and into her shoulders. This caused her to squirm slightly from side to side as the jolt raced though her muscles. "Moorrre!" she pleaded again. Harrigan, though very pleased at her response to his efforts, remembered that now was not the time for this.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------- "Not now, hon" he replied, smiling to take the sting out of his words. When she looked at him with that slightly pained look on her face, he almost succumbed to his desire to just hold her close, but shook the feeling off reluctantly. "There's still a war to fight down there. Aeryn and the others down there are depending on us".
"I know" Talannah replied softly "But it just felt so good – not just because the cramp was gone, but just because you were here" – she kissed him slowly for several microts, slipping her tongue between his lips, before breaking off – "with me. But we'd better get back to work". Harrigan ran one finger down the back of her neck and just under her collar before returning to the helm station.
A momen or so later, the guns had charged again. "We'll have to slack off the firing" Talannah reported "Nothing's failed yet, but the temp gauge is rising steadily. I'd say we've got about an arn of constant firing before we'll have to stop". "Well, don't wait for me!" Harrigan replied "Get stuck in! If you run out of vehicles, start on the infantry formations". Talannah replied by firing again at one of the tank battalions. All tank formations were falling back now – they didn't want to stay out on the open plains and die. The buggies were a little more reluctant, and darted back and forth firing at whatever presented itself. While there had been losses amongst the Ithlin forces, these were within tolerable limits for now. The infantry units had dug fox-holes, jumped in, and thrown camo-tarps over the top. They would have to be dug out the hard way from the ground, Harrigan decided, as Tal's too busy to reconfigure the sensors and the Ithlin lieutenant can only grasp the basics.
Back in Ithlin, down in the gun pits, the Royal Guard engineer corps was just finishing repairs to the power conduits for the wall guns. "You'll only have power for half the guns" an exhausted chief engineer explained to Aeryn over the comm as his assistant was packing his tools "We can't get you any more without a full strip down and rebuild of this sector's entire power grid. Which can't be done while there's a war on". "You did well to get even that much back for us. I thought the wall guns were history. Go back home, now. We've got a whole bunch of unsuspecting targets to test these on..." Aeryn replied nastily. She grabbed a set of oculars and trained them on the forces still encamped on the plains before them. Thanks to the combination of the demise of the hover-fortress and the orbital bombardment, as well as the rout of the remaining armour, much of what was left was infantry. Some buggies were left, but one or two salvos should take care of that.
At the safe house, there was a lot of angry growling and promises of inventive and painful punishment for the leaders of this debacle being thrown about between the various members of the A-Team. "This just proves that those politicians never get things right" growled the electronics specialist "They should have put a professional in charge-", they all knew he meant a Scarran professional, of course, "-then there would be less chance of this whole op going totally - " and finished with the Scarran equivalent of FUBAR.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------- "The ship's Captain is probably dead already, along with all his officers" opined the XO "That one is a strong leader. He would have locked down the bridge as soon as he saw the intruders. They would have had to fight their way in dench by dench. There is no doubt in my mind that he and the command group have been killed in action". "Nor mine" interrupted the team leader "I trust that we will all give as fine an account of ourselves if the time comes?" he questioned his troops, glaring at them. All responded in the affirmative. The recon specialist spoke up in his usual whisper "We may have to resort to the emergency back-up plan, sir. The frontal assault has clearly failed. It will be down to us. Permission to speak freely?" he asked.
The other team members turned at that. "Yes..." replied the team leader, already fairly sure what he was going to hear. "I don't feel exactly right about this op. If I just sit back, I can almost feel the ghosts of the old King's guard admonishing me for acting towards this king as the junta's Praetorian did to them". The demo specialist spoke up from the sleeping bag where she was resting. "Me neither" she added "But we have to deal with this the way it is, not they way we want it to be. Perhaps this so- called War Commander may grant us amnesty. It would be good to see if he is the one that helped our scout-runner escape". "Perhaps he may" agreed the team leader "But then again, he may not. We must go ahead with the orders we were given, until an alternative presents itself. Prepare you weapons. I want everything ready to go at a microt's notice in case we have to move. In extremis, we can steal a ship at the spaceport and leave that way. But let's hope it doesn't come to that".
"Gunners! Are you ready?" called Aeryn over the comm. "Aye!" they replied in unison. "Open fire!" she ordered "Any vehicles within range! From then on, it's all up to you. Targets of opportunity". The eight working wall guns let loose, sending a total of sixteen large explosive shells streaking towards the remaining buggies. Some heard the whistling noise that marked incoming shell fire, and were so surprised that the wall guns were back online that they just sat in their buggies, staring up at the sky. Not for long, of course – the incoming shells obliterated an average of two buggies each when they hit the ground and exploded. "RETREAT!!" yelled the only remaining Charrid buggy commander "Back to Rathlaas!"
The few buggies left spun round and headed back to their home city as fast as they could. "We've got all that recorded, ma'am" said Aeryn's comm officer "That Charrid's given us all the proof we need that Rathlaas had a part in this". "We were already sure of that" Aeryn replied "But it soon became clear that a hostile power was using the Rathlaas' leader's grievances for their own ends". "Who?" asked the comm officer, making the most of his superior's revelatory mood. Aeryn turned towards him, saying "Tall..." stretching her hand to a height almost four hentae taller than the com officer "Heavily muscled, tough skin, brutally unsubtle, get the picture?" she finished, leading him to the answer. He mulled this over, figuring the answer out for himself. When he did, he went almost deathly pale in shock. "Sc-sc-sc...." He stuttered. "Deep breath" soothed Aeryn. He did as suggested and continued. "Scarrans?" he exclaimed "But we haven't seen a single Scarran yet..."
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------- "And be glad you haven't" responded Aeryn bluntly "Because if you did, they would most likely be marching over the burning ruins of the outer suburbs of Ithlin to capture or kill the king, taking control of the city". Harrigan has seen them here, Aeryn knew. But if I tell this comm officer that, word will spread and a witch hunt will start. Such civilian Scarrans as are present here, plus their diplomats, could be lynched in the streets – and then real Scarran military forces would turn up to finish the job their Charrid allies started. Even Harrigan's good luck won't stretch far enough to save you then.
Aeryn took the comm, ordering all forces to remain in place. "Stay put" she ordered "Let those buggies take word of their loss back to their masters. It may encourage a peaceful solution to this whole situation. Get yourselves resupplied and grab some food and rest. You may well be needed soon". Just when she thought that they may indeed escape unharmed, another orbital salvo smashed every last one to kindling. Two more worked their way over the tank battalions still within range before Aeryn hard a call from Harrigan coming in. "That's it" the scratchy voice stated "The ship will stay over the city. I'm going to let the DRDs get on with cleaning the place up, while Talannah and I come down and take care of business down there. We'll bring the surviving members of Lord Aranak's boarding party, plus Dargo and Chiana, back with us". Well, well, Aeryn mused. He's coming back down. So he's not going to wait for the remaining infantry to be recalled or to leave of their own accord – someone like him will want to lead an assault against them personally.
Nor was she wrong in her assumption. "Pack up, people!" Harrigan ordered, stepping away from the helm station. "We're going back planetside to finish the job properly. I want everyone over at the forward portside launch bay, outside the Harbringer, in ten momens. Move!" All the remaining Ithlin troops heaved themselves up off the floor and staggered into bridge lift two; while Harrigan, Talannah, Dargo and Chiana went down in bridge lift one. Before leaving, Harrigan locked the ship down. "Don't let anyone in. That means ANYONE" he instructed the ship's computer "Unless Talannah or I are there. If we appear to be under duress, kill them". "Acknowledged" replied the computer "Launch bay doors will open for the craft you arrived in and none other".
When Harrigan arrived outside the Harbringer's drophatch, he found the half a dozen Ithlin troopers slumped against the landing legs. "Come on, come on..." he urged "Get up! Get in! Back to the bunkroom!" After Harrigan punched in the access code, the Ithlin troops ran up and into the bunkroom before collapsing onto their beds. Chiana collapsed onto the bridge floor in a lump, huffing and puffing. "If I never do this again" she exclaimed loudly "It'll be too frelling soon!" Harrigan and Talannah laughed at Chiana's relief, before Harrigan went on. "Yes, Chiana, your part is done" he revealed "But you did very well indeed. You can be justifiably proud of yourself. You too, Dargo".
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------- "We'll drop you back off at the palace, Chi" Harrigan continued "I'm sure you'll enjoy yourself there. I'll need Dargo for a while longer, though. There's still Charrid infantry out there". Once Chiana had strapped herself into her tailgunner's seat, he turned to Dargo. "I'll need you with me for this. We'll take the war to the enemy. It'll do the morale of the Ithlin militia to get stuck into the enemy, instead of the enemy getting stuck into them". Dargo grinned nastily. "A full-frontal assault" he replied "Very good". Talannah, listening in to the conversation, immediately contacted Aeryn and told her to prepare for a full infantry assault on the enemy position. "Make sure everyone's ready smartish. We're on our way down now" Talannah explained "The attack begins as soon as we get to the front lines".
Talannah and Harrigan quickly brought the Harbringer's systems back online. "I'm going to HAVE to take a good look around here!" he exclaimed happily, looking over the flight deck's complement of small craft. "There's a bunch of ships I've never seen before. It'll be fun testing them all... But the fun will have to wait". He lifted the Harbringer off the deck and headed for the launch bay doors, which opened slowly as the Harbringer approached. Harrigan, unhappy with their rate of progress, rolled the Harbringer on one side and shoved the throttle forward. The ship shot through the widening gap and returned to level flight on the other side. This almost caused vomiting of a level unreached even by Harrigan's old corporal, but the Ithlin troops just managed to hold their last meal down.
"I hope everyone's still OK back there" Harrigan called back, laughing "You'll be glad to know we'll be taking the rest of this trip a little more sedately. You've got about twenty or so momens before we reach the spaceport, so relax for a while. There's some rations and water in there for anyone who wants any". "Uhhh....don't think so, sir" the Ithlin lieutenant replied, a little unsteadily "We'll wait until we're back on solid ground". Harrigan was going to pull a tight barrel roll just to wind them up, but decided not to at the last moment. He just aligned the autopilot with their landing pit's beacon and lay back against his chair, letting his breath out slowly.
"Something wrong, John?" asked Talannah from the copilot's seat. Oh, how well she knows me in just this short time! thought Harrigan happily to himself before replying. "No, dear. Not at all" he said quietly. "It's just that it doesn't seem quite...." she said haltingly. "Yes?" he prompted, turning to face her. "Well... just doesn't seem quite 'you' to let the machine take the ship down" she finished. "Don't worry Talannah, my love" he replied reassuringly "I'm not going either soft or senile. But we're all going to need to be on top form when we get dirtside again. If a few momens rest will give those men back there an edge, then I'll let them have it. We've been up for a fair few arns ourselves. A short nap will do us good". He finished that staement by leaning back in his pilot's chair and closing his eyes. Talannah looked over at him, and smiled softly while running one finger slowly over his cheek. This brough a happy sime to his face, and Talannah's too, before she leaned back to get some rest herself.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------- When the Harbringer did reach the spaceport, the computer brought the ship in sdslow and smooth before settling down on the pad and a small cloud of dust. But it had to sound an alarm in the cockpit to wake Harrigan and Talannah, who had succumbed to post-combat exhaustion and nodded off to sleep. "Uh...oh....frell!...What's up?" Harrigan asked blearily. "We have landed" replied the Harbringer's flat monotone. Harrigan quickly flicked the interphone on and rousted the Ithlin trroops from their napping. They qickly grabbed their gear and ran down onto the spaceport tarmac. Harrigan leaned over and gave Talannah a long, lingering, kiss. She woke up and stared longingly into his eyes for a microt or two before returning his kiss just as intensely as it was given.
"We'd better be off" stated Harrigan, reluctantly breaking away. "The enemy won't hold off their attack for us to indulge ourselves. Strap your swords back on, get your Viper and G8C, and let's get out there". The sound of tightening webgear and the clanking of weaponry marked the next few microts as the pair of them put their battlegear back on. "Better get more ammo..." Harrigan remembered, and ran off to the armoury. He loaded his own harness, adding a few tarvek grenades for good measure, then brought back enough ammo for Talannah as well. She slid these drums into pouches one by one as Harrigan threw them across the cockpit to her, then stood up. "Ready" Talannah stated, shrugging her shoulders to settle the load. Harrigan held out his left hand to her, while gesturing towards the door with his right. Talannah took the proffered hand gladly, and the two of them strode out into the afternoon sun.
A crowd of locals were jostling and shoving, trying to get close enough to see him. The crowd was held back, barely, by the Royal Guard; though the crowd was not violent in any way, their enthusiasm for Harrigan's return after his recent commandeering of the Scarrran warship and thus preventing the enemy from penetrating the breached walls threatened to overwhelm the Guard lines several times. Harrigan looked over the developing situation and squeezed Talannah on the shoulder. "I'll have to at least answer some questions" he explained to her reluctantly "Or we'll have a riot on our hands. Oh, how I hate the press! Always sticking their nose in where it's not welcome..." Talannah just smiled up at him and leaned into his shoulder as he turned to the gathering of local citizens and journalists.
"I don't have much time" he stated loudly "The war continues. But I can answer a few questions". He fielded the usual few from the direction of the journalists, but their monopolising of his time was rapidly eroding his patience. Talannah caught on, and turned the press away before one of their number ended up bleeding to death on the taxiway. "That's enough" she explained politely but firmly "There's time for one or two from the people before we have to be off".
One old woman stepped forward. "When" she howled "Are you going to bring our young men and women back to us? We want them here! Their children want them here! When will that happen?!" A grizzled old man a hundred metras or so away yelled back "Someone has to stop those savages from taking this place, old hag! My only regret is that I'm too old to lend a hand myself!"
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------- "That's the way!" yelled Harrigan back at the old man in question. Then he addressed the crowd as a whole. "Your younger people out there at the front need you still!" he continued "There are enemy troops out ther still, beyond the walls! You can assist the war effort with your maintaining your businesses and your encouragement and support of the troops. Those of you who have the right skills would be welcome in the medical corps, and any who can still bear arms would be welcome in the militia units for the final push! We make one more good shove, in order to drive those Charrids back to Rathlaas. Everyone has their own place in the overall plan. I, your War Commander, depend on you all to carry that out. Go to it, and good luck!"
A loud roar of applause came back from the crowd. "That's better" murmured Harrigan "The soldiers need their families behind them. We can't have them worrying about their relatives back home. That sort of thing degrades fighting effectiveness and loses us the war". Talannah turned her gaze full on his face, holding his head straight with one hand either side. "They do that for you, my..." Talannah urged, adding the word for 'matchless one' for him this time. Harrigan heard that and just pulled her close, almost crushing her in his enthusiasm as he kissed her long and passionately. As the crowd saw this, the applause and cheers only got louder again.
Talannah broke the embrace slowly. "We'd better go" she said, bringing Harrigan back to the here and now "Aeryn will be wondering where we've got to". A grocery truck was swiftly commandeered from nearby, so Harrigan, Talannah and eight or so aspiring militia recruits jumped on the back for the trip to the front lines. Harrigan waved to various locals on the way, encouraging them to keep their spirits up and support their fighting men and women.
They made their way swiftly through the city streets to the breach, where Aeryn and the surviving front line troops and militia units were dug in and waiting. "He's here!" yelled one of Aeryn's current squad. "About time too" she grumbled, walking out to meet him. She arrived in time to see the locals helping him and Talannah off the truck. When they turned to help Harrigan down, the five trying to help almost collapsed onto the street as his staggering weight transferred itself to the ground.
"Get up, you lot!" Aeryn laughed "You can't shoot Charrids from down there, can you?" Then she turned to Harrigan. "Orders?" she prompted. "Get everyone ready to move" Harrigan stated bluntly "I want everyone who's still alive and able to to stand up and carry a gun ready to fight ASAP. There's still a few thousand Charrid troops out there who need a kicking. Send Lord Aranak's PA units over to me as soon as you can dig them out from wherever they've got to. I'll lead the heaviest infantry myself. Find a suit for yourself if you like. How about you, Dargo?"
Dargo just patted his qualta, freshly recharged. "I've got everything I need right here" he assured Harrigan "A Luxan warrior doesn't need that kind of help! I'll just grab a few tarvek grenades, and I'll be ready". "What about me?!" said Chiana. "You still here?" said Harrigan in surprise. He yelled for a Royal Guardsman to come over. "Take her back to the palace" he instructed the trooper "Make sure that she has everything she needs when she's there, and DON"T STOP UNTIL YOU GET HER THERE!" ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------- "Yes Sir!" he replied. Chiana leaned up against him, whispering her plans for what she wanted to do once she got there. The spring in his step increased markedly the closer he got to his car, and as he spun the wheels and took off at high speed Aeryn remarked "Chiana's made a new friend, I see".
Harrigan and Talannah spent the next twenty momens walking up and down the lines, encouraging the battle-weary militia and Lord's retinues. Whenever he found a PA trooper, he directed them to the HQ position to resupply and wait for him. When they returned, Aeryn and their recent boarding party were just pulling the helmets on their PA suits down and arming their guns. "What the frell are you lot doing here?!" Harrigan yelled in surprise "You're too strung out! You ought to be getting some rest!"
"With all due respect, Sir..." the helmeted lieutenant replied "You're still up and about. If it's good enough for you, it's good enough for us as well". A chorus of "Yeah!" and "That's right, L-T!" and similar other remarks came back from Lord Aranak's PA troops. Harrigan just shook his head sheepishly. "They're doing to me just what I've done to my superiors several times" he revealed to Talannah "If only Captain Lazarus could see me now..." Ten minutes later, all unit commanders had reported in.
"Get everyone up and ready!" Harrigan yelled over the comm "All unit commanders, form up and move out! Lord Aranak's PA will be with me. Militia units will assemble around their respective Lord's retinue. We move outside the wall now. Let's go!" As soon as Harrigan moved off, first Dargo, Aeryn, and the PA troops pulled in behind; then some militia units, then Lord Brathal's infantry, then more militia units, Lord Rahjan's infantry, and so on until all Ithlin's fighting forces were moving towards the enemy. Harrigan immediately picked up the pace to a fast jog, and the PA troops effortlessly kept pace. The other units not so lavishly equipped had a little more trouble keeping up, but followed along a little further behind.
Several media organisations attempted to place reporters with the fighting units. This caused some animosity with the NCOs until Harrigan stepped in. "They can come along" he decided "As long as they stick to filming the combat and stay out of the way". "Most of us are properly equipped" one replied, raising her rifle "We've got helmetcams. All the mixing and stuff is done back at network headquarters". "So" Harrigan replied "Reporters can be useful..." Up ahead, the city gates were being hauled open. The mass of troops surged through, and out onto the plains and their standard predeployment positions.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------- The A-Team were watching the live newsfeed on the TV set in their safehouse. When the TV view shifted towards Harrigan, they got a better idea of just how big he was, and how he was equipped.
"He follows the pattern for how the old War Commanders were always equipped" stated the recon specialist "Twin swords. They even appear to be of the correct style, though I can't quite tell. Pistol under the armpit. Some kind of unidentified long-arm though – I haven't seen one of those before. Numerous grenades as well". "What about that woman with him?" hissed the electronics specialist "That uniform she wears looks suspiciously like a Deadhead field uniform! That same slate grey, the same equipment being carried" Then he peered a little closer "The same kind of unusual weapon as her giant comrade as well, it seems. Correct me if I'm wrong, but both appear to be carrying Vipers as well".
The XO peered over his shoulder at the screen. "Good spotting" he replied, confirming his underling's guesses "They are Vipers. But notice how that woman conducts herself around him. No Deadhead would lower their guard like that. They suspect everyone, even their own people". Even the demo specialist turned to look at the TV after that. "Whatever their personal life may be" interrupted the team leader "One thing is clear. That man has foiled the main attempt to take the city. It's up to us. We make our move tonight".
Harrigan moved up to the front of his unit and gazed out over the plains. About four hundred metras away, having backed off after the rout of the armour, were a number of lumps that marked the camouflaged Charrid positions. Normal sight would find it almost impossible to pick them out, but the lorelli pits implanted with Harrigan's alterations detected the heat patterns given off by the concentrations of Charrid bodies. "Come out, come out, wherever you are!" taunted Harrigan "I can see you! About four hundred metras from the walls, cowering in those holes! I can see you, my elite troops can see you, and when we heave you out of those pits the rest of my troops will see you! And then we'll kill you all! This is your last chance!" he stated more calmly "Leave in peace, or stay in pieces! We move on your positions now!"
"Siganl to all units : 'General Advance'" Harrigan commanded one of the PA troopers. The signal was quickly passed on to all unit commanders, and the entire force, militia included, moved as one behind Harrigan towards the Charrid positions. "Spread out! Maximum coverage. Don't let them get round us. PA troopers, with me. You too, Dargo!" Dargo drew his qualta, swung it once round his head, and kept on moving forward.
Up ahead, the Charrids saw the approaching Ithlin troops. "Mostly militia" the Charrid XO stated, looking through his oculars. "But some of the local Lords have contributed their own forces to this outing-" he said pointing out Lord Brathal's and Lord Rahjan's forces "- and one strong looking powered-armour unit up front there. Wait! There are three unarmoured troops leading the assault..." The Charid commanding officer quickly put on his own oculars and zoomed in. "A Luxan, a SCARRAN!" he spat "and who or what the other one is I don't know. But that Scarran female wears a very familiar grey uniform".
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------- "Deadheads" replied a comm operator. "Exactly. I've been watching the local newsfeed, sir. That giant out front is the enemy leader. Their so- called War Commander. He leads the assault personally. He was responsible for the execution of our agent in the city as well"
"Well, whatever we think of him we'll have to move out now" the leader decided "Whether we go back to Rathlaas or fight it out here, if we don't move out now we'll die in these foxholes". "I doon't know about you, sir" replied the XO hotly "But I say fight! We show them what real fighting men are like! With those militia, they may outnumber us now, but we are all seasoned troops; at least half of them are farmers and shopkeepers. We will win".
The A-Team used the chaos in the city to their advantage. Moving slowly and nonchalantly, they insinuated themselves into a supply convoy bound for the palace. Most of the palace guards were concentrating on the newsfeed from the front, so didn't notice the faint smell of Scarran from the back of one of the trucks coming in. "Sir..." one young private said "Something smells a little strange by that third truck, sir". Since he hadn't fought, or even seen, Scarrans before he wan't accustomed to this smell; if he was he'd be shouting "Raise the alarm!" instead. "Hah!" one corporal laughed "You're just caught up in the newsfeed, private. Those guys won't make it this far. That giant Harrigan will see to that!"
"Will he now?" pondered an A-Team private, scratching his chin "He'll find it harder to deal with us". "Button it!" ordered the team leader "One problem at a time. We have to get ourselves stowed away in a supply room and get a little rest. I suggest you go over the floor plans and make sure you've memorised the route to the king's court – and our escape route to the spaceport as well. Those Charrids may want to die in place, but I intend for us to survive and fight on some other day on some other battlefield. Now keep quiet, before they find us!"
The truck pulled up to the palace supply elevator. Forklifts quckly unloaded the supply crates, including those with the A-Team in them, and sent them on up to the main larders. Once the crates were unloaded, the A- Team grabbed their equipment and shifted several rooms down the palace corridors to the cleaning supply room. The strong smell of disinfectant and strong cleaning agents permeated the room, covering the slight, but distinctive, smell of Scarran bodies. "Get some rest, if you can" the team leader ordered, crinkling his nose at the stink. "We've got about three arns before we'll need to move. One of us must remain on watch and keep up with the local TV – we'll need to co-ordinate our move with what's going on out there. Private, "he ordered, turning towards him "since you were so eager earlier, you get the first arn's watch". The rest of the team found what comfort they could amongst the sacks and boxes while the private kept one eye on the TV and the other on the door for approaching enemies.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------- Outside the walls, the Charrids came out of their holes to engage their attackers. They grouped into small teams around a heavy weapon; then this weapon would begin laying down fire into the approaching militia forces while the infantry covered the gaps. This was causing heavy losses amongst the militia, who had no heavy weapons to fire back with. Both Lord Brathal's and Lord Rahjan's did – but they would need to stop to set up their weapon, which would ensure their deaths.
"DISPERSED FORMATION!!" yelled Harrigan "Far enough that one burst of pulse fire or one rocket can only take out one man! NOW!" The order was passed along, taking effect as it made its way from unit to unit. The casualty rate slowed but didn't slow quickly enough for Harrigan's liking. "PA, follow me" he said, picking up the volume of his voice "All units : Draw weapons for close-quarters combat!" A forest of clanging metal echoed over the battlefield as the Lord's retinues stowed their guns and drew their swords. Harrigan drew his own two swords and watched Talannah do the same. "Ready, love?" he whispered. "For you, always" she replied. The Harrigan turned to the PA troops, howling out "For the glory of the king and his guard! Victory or Death!" A loud response of "Victory or Death!" came back from the throats of the Ithlin force. Then Harrigan crossed the tips of his swords over his head, tapped them together once, then swept them forward. "CHARGE!!" he yelled, in Scarran, and took off for the enemy lines ahead of him at top speed.
Harrigan and his powered-armour elite force crashed into a stunned enemy force, swinging their swords, without even slowing down. The regular men- at-arms held back, providing what covering fire they could with their rifles. But the fighting quickly degenerated into a massive all-in brawl, and the higher strength of the average Charrid began to tell slowly but surely. The casualty count began to rise slowly but surely, the Charrid's superior physical endurance giving them an advantage.
Except where Harrigan himself was. There the Charrid fell like wheat in a threshing machine, scythed down by Harrigan's enormous strength, Dargo's Luxan rage, and Talannah's speed and skill; it was all that the accompanying PA troopers could do to keep up. Charrids were soon trying to be anywhere on the battlefield but where they were – but were quickly caught and slaughtered. "We need to find the commander" growled Dargo "Kill him and we either send this lot running, or buy us some time to regroup and call up reinforcements. We need one or the other". Talannah nodded, reached out, and grabbed one Charrid by the scruff of his neck and dragged him before Harrigan. "Right, I'll be brief" Harrigan said curtly "Tell us where your force commander is, and you die quickly. Hold back, and you die slowly, in interestingly painful ways, over several days".
"You have no idea of a Charrid's general resistance to pain!" the Charrid spat. "Oh, but we do..." explained Talannah "I myself have had much training on the general resistances of many species in that and other areas. Plus we have first hand knowledge of how much a Charrid can stand before failing. Harrigan..."
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------- Harrigan nodded, then unleashed a punishing blast of electricity into the Charrid's body. This caused the Charrid to convulse like a fish out of water as white-hot pain filled every part of his body, and a loud scream of anguished pain was ripped from his throat. "Well?" Harrigan prompted "Where is he?" When there was no answer after four microts, Harrigan gave him another go. The tortured howl rose in pitch even higher as the Charrid flapped around on the hard-packed sand. "There!"he screamed "Over there! The big one with the two radio operators! That's him!" "Thank YOU!" replied Dargo, beheading their captive.
Harrigan led Lord Aranak's PA troops on again, hacking their way bloodily through any that stood between them an their goal. Soon, their travel route could easily be discerned by following the trail of Charrid corpses as they smahsed their way through the Charrid infantry. A short break occurred where their path was free of any Ithlin forces. "GUNS! SWEEP AND CLEAR!" Harrigan yelled over the PA comm frequency. The PA troopers brought up their right arm cannon and swept a short blast of pulse fire oveer a 45 degree arc in front of them for a few microts. This gave them just enoug breathing space to charge oveer the remaining space between them and the senior remaining Charrid officer. He was on his comm unit, frantically trying to call Rathlaas for reinforcements. Talannah and Dargo swept the area clean of enemy interlopers while Harrigan pinned the Charrid officer to the ground around his neck by two overlapping swords (and one giant foot on his chest, just to make sure).
"You will direct your forces to retreat to Rathlaas, where they will stay" ordered Harrigan, dangerously quietly "or I will take my people straight back to my new superdreadnaught and pulverise the lot of you from orbit. You won't be able to hide yourselves again. Talannah here can reconfigure the sensors to find you whatever you try, and General Ka'Dargo here is an excellent gunner who will hit the targets presented to him without fail. None of you will survive. Not one".
The Charrid, deciding it would be extremely unwise to nod, waved his left hand frantically. Harrigan wiped his swords clean of Charrid blood and entrails and resheathed them, but left his foot planted firmly on the Charrid's chest. "Radio" he croaked. His radio operator passed him the mike. He pressed the transmit button, and ordered "All forces : Full retreat. Best speed to Rathlaas. We have been guaranteed safe passage if we are not hostile towards the Ithlin forces". He dropped the mike and fell back on the sand. "I don't remember offering safe passage" pondered Harrigan "but that was a good addition of yours, thinking of the welfare of your troops as well as your self. You will have it". Harrigan relayed the bargain to the rest of the Ithlin forces. He explained that the remaining Charrids were to be allowed to pass unmolested back to Rathlaas, under his authority as War Commander.
"Since you have treated me fairly" the Charrid revealed "You shall receive one favour in return. Do you know of a Scarrran Special Forces squad at large in the city?" Talannah spoke up. "Yes, we do" she responded "They have probably been killed or driven off by now". Harrigan, having had experience of this sort of thing, added softly "They haven't, have they? They're still in the city". "How did you know?" the Charrid replied.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------- Harrigan tapped his chest, replying "Because that's what I'd do. It takes one to know one" Then he leaned forward, asking "Their plan?".
"I don't think we were supposed to know, but the Scarran A-Team have a contingency plan to force the capitulation of the Ithlin leadership by kidnapping the king. They intend to ensure that you either submit to Imperium rule, or lose your king". Harrigan growled nastily, almost getting to screech level. "Thank you for that little pearl of wisdom" he told the Charrid leader "You'd better catch up with your men before you get left behind".
As the Charrid officer left, he called his friends together. "Aeryn, Dargo" Harrigan decided "You stay here and see that the Ithlin forces stand by my bargain. The get them safely back to the city and see to their safety. Make sure the city medical corps gets a heads-up to prepare for combat surgery. Talannah and I will take care of this new problem ourselves".
Harrigan stared off back at he city walls, fancying that he could see the A- Team scurrying about. Trying to fulfil their mission. Well nuts to that! Harrigan cackled. You've picked the wrong side this time! This time, he thought, you face another spec-ops man. And I don't hold back for anyone!
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------
Harrigan gave the helm station controls a quick going over. They seemed reasonably simple – this was good. All he needed to know now was where the enemy was. "Chi!" ordered Harrigan "Get over to the comm desk and send the Ithlin lieutenant here". The young Nebari immediately scampered over to the comm desk, tapped the lieutenant on the shoulder to get his attention, and pointed to Harrigan.
"What's up?" he asked when he arrived. "Get on the nav station and bring up the sensors. We need to find exactly where the enemy is, so I can bring the ship in and Talannah can target them". He walked over and looked at the nav console. After a few perplexed moments trying to figure out the controls, he punched half a dozen buttons in quick succession. A low hum from the console announced that the sensors had come back up from standby. "Done!" he said. "Got them!" yelled Talannah from the gunnery desk "Harrigan, our ideal firing point is now at 000 dash 025, range 100 kilometras". "Copy that" he replied "Crew, stand by. I'm going to be a little rough at this until I work the kinks out of the system".
The Cry Havoc lurched as Harrigan fed in a little too much throttle. "Oops!" he apologised "Sorry about that. These engines are set up nice and tight. Only need a little tweak..." before he pulled the lever back a little. This time the ship moved off more smoothly. The commercial shipping in their way scattered quickly out of the way, surprised that the ship was underway again. Harrigan did his best to thread the Cry Havoc through the mass of transports and private vessels, and did surprisingly well. There were one or two close scrapes, but the transport captains so narrowly avoided apparently assumed the ship was still under Scarran control and quickly got out of the way.
The change of course had been noticed back in the Ithlin war room. "Harrigan's on the move" a tech announced "He should be in optimum firing position in approximately five momens or so". "Pass that along to Sub- Commander Sun" the chief of staff replied "Five momen warning!" When Aeryn received the call, it put her in a slightly better mood. "Got it" she replied hastily, ducking a volley of enemy pulse fire. "FIVE MOMENS!" she yelled over the all-forces frequency "Ortillery bombardment in five momens! Dig in!"
Harrigan was quickly learning the quirks of piloting such a large craft. "You're doing very well, my love" assured Talannah emphatically "Most newer pilots would take some days of constant duty and traing to get even half as far". Harrigan kept his concentration on the controls, replying with "Thank you, dear. But I was already a military pilot of several years experience when I first got to fly the Harbringer. But the only time I'd ever heard of ships this big was purely in the realms of fiction". "One more momen..." the lieutenant warned.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------- The Charrid armour had pulled clear of the wall so sapper teams could place demo charges. Their progress was not as quick as they would like – every so often, Royal Guard sharpshooters would pick off the charge-carrier, often by hitting the explosives they were carrying. This usually took out any comrades that were close by as well, and induced an understandable reticence to move forward. Charrid officers had to constantly stand over their troops to make sure anything got done. "We can do this without that overblown lump in orbit!" one infantry Captain shouted harshly to his troops "But not if you sit around like little children". A few started to mutter about snipers before the Captain thumped one on the temple. "IS THIS A KALISH SEWING CIRCLE, OR A GROUP OF CHARRID WARRIORS?!" he screamed at the top of his voice "GET ON WITH IT!" Then he toned the volume and went on "We need two more charges. Not too much to ask now, is it? Get out there!"
A Royal Guard scout slithered behind the sandbags to where Aeryn was to deliver his report. "They've got demo charges over about fifteen metras of wall" he explained "If that goes they can get tanks in". "How long before they're ready?" Aeryn probed, knowing she wouldn't like the answer. "A little over one momen" the scout replied. "Frell!" Aeryn groused "Harrigan better be on time, or we've had it!" Then she turned to her command staff. "Keep the sharpshooters out there" Aeryn ordered "We have to keep those sappers from placing their charges. We absolutely can not allow them to create a breach in the walls big enough to get armour through. In about one momen, we'll be getting close-support fire from Harrigan in orbit. We just have to hold on that long".
"STORM SQUAD!" yelled a teenager from the militia. "Incomi---" before a blast from the Charrid sergeant's pulse pistol blew his head all over the rubble. The rest of the Charrid assault team had sprinted through a small gap in the wall opened up in the last ortillery strike, and ran to catch up with their leader. Aeryn drew two pistols of her own, yelled "Follow me!" to the nearest squad, and leapt into action. The Charrids had killed approximately fifteen militia when Aeryn's first shots took the head off one Charrid about to butcher one helpless private with a tokkra knife.
"Peacekeepers?!" growled one Charrid in surprise, seeing Aeryn's black uniform "We were only supposed to be facing rag-tag militias and a few soldiers whose leaders are hamstrung by chivalric traditions". Four Royal Guard had caught up with her, and started laying down fire from their heavy rifles. One was taken out by a grenade, but in no more than thirty microts the last member of the assault squad was dead.
Back on the Cry Havoc, Harrigan was coming up on their firing point. "Start easing off the throttle now" explained Talannah "It'll take a little while for this beast to slow down". Harrigan did so, and brought the Cry Havoc to a geostationary position over the King's Palace in Ithlin. "Very good. Very, very good" she replied with approval "Even I didn't think you'd learn this fast. You're a natural. Now just lock in the station- keeping thrusters..." When Harrigan looked a little mystified, she added "Those small blue buttons by your left elbow" before continuing with "...so I can get to work".
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------- Harrigan spent a few microts reading the labels before pressing four of the nine small buttons. The ship slowly stopped swaying and settled into position, pointing nose-first at the city walls far below. "Targeting view, on screen" Harrigan commanded the AI. A view of the battle raging by the shattered walls came into view on the forward viewscreen. "Magnify 300%..." he added, which caused the view to enlarge to the point where they could distinguish between the types of Charrid vehicles and see the activity outside the walls.
Chiana saw one small group attempting to move through another hole on the opposite side to the last one, and called the sighting through to the nearest commanders on the ground. When the unsuspecting Charrids had penetrated the breach, they found forty militia waiting for them. No Charrid made it more than three steps before death.
"Tal" Harrigan ordered "Turn those guns up to max standard power. Then target the armour and buggies. Not one is to escape unharmed. You may fire when ready. Chiana..." he said, turning to face her "Send a 'strike incoming' action message to Aeryn and get her to bunker down". Aeryn acknowledged with a curt "It's about time" before signing off. "Fall back!" Aeryn yelled to her squad. When they looked at her in surprise, she just pointed up at the sky. The squad soon caught on, and the rest of the company followed their commander back to the nearest buildings.
"Ready" stated Talannah "Guns on standby at full power. Awaiting your order, sir". Harrigan cringed a little at the sound that. "Talannah, my love" he pleaded "YOU don't have to call me sir. We know each other too well already for that." Then he continued in a firmer tone "But go to it anway, dear. Frag 'em all". She immediately fired the first salvo at a large concentration of mark-5 tanks, battalion strength, about three hundred metras outside the wall.
Aeryn had just leapt through the open doorway of her latest hidey-hole when the clammy feel of superheated air and a loud hiss told of the incoming fire from orbit. "Get me visuals!" she ordered the nearest comm officer. He patched into the still-functional satellite network and handed the monitor back to Aeryn. "Cholak's hairy mivonks..." she breathed in astonishment. The first salvo had smashed almost forty five tanks and their crews to steaming craters in the plains.
"Preliminary BDA would indicate one less battalion of mark-5s to worry about" Harrigan said in praise to Talannah at her efforts "Only four more remaining. Then, hmm..." he continued, before asking the computer how many buggies there were "Estimated four hundred and fifty. One third armed with tak-7s, the rest with pulse cannons" it replied. "OK, four-fifty buggies. Correct me if I'm wrong..." he asked "But the missile buggies appear to be in two separate groups, on each side of the remaining armour formations".
"That seems about right" Talannah replied. She checked her panel again, then added "Charged again! Gotta go..." she told Harrigan, blowing him a kiss over the bridge "Those tanks won't wait!"
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------- Down on the ground, the senior surviving Charrid officer was getting the nastiest surprise of his life. When his own comm operator had given the news that the ship was moving in, he had assumed it was going to deliver a punishing barrage on the walls and Ithlin militias, allowing his tanks to press the attack. But no! he raged to himself. An Ithlin commando team assaults their ship, takes it, and then turns it right back at them! How the frell they managed that I haven't a clue. But if that Captain isn't dead, that'll change fast when he gets back to High Command – or even the nearest diplomatic outpost.
His angry thoughts were cut short by another salvo hitting home. This time the fire marched through 2nd Battalion 1st Regiment, and didn't even leave any pieces large enough for razor blades. "Dispersed formation!" he ordered his rapidly-dwindling number of battalion commanders "Spread out fast! Try and get a shot near the charges the sapper teams planted. If we're lucky, we'll set off a chain reaction and be able to force our way in with what's left of our forces. Whoah!" he exclaimed. That last blast had dissipated barely a metra from his tank. "Fire control's out!" his gunner shouted "That last blast fried it. No backups either".
"Driver!" he ordered "Fall back! Get us back to Rathlaas, now!" The driver was only too happy to obey. He'd just seen his entire regiment stamped flat from orbit the same way a child would step on an insect, and with the same likelihood of retaliation as well. The rest of the armour and buggies attempted to spread out, but the outer edges of the formations strayed within extreme range of some south-east sector wall guns, which were not disabled. Eighteen smashed buggies later they tightened up their formation safely out of range.
"Keep it up, Tal!" Harrigan urged, as the fourth blast swept across another frantically retreating tank unit. The AI estimated only three and a half battalions of mark-5s remained, and only one of those was still at full strength. Buggy forces were down to 300 as well, as the missile-equipped portion of their number was close to the tank formations, and perished with their heavier brethren. However, the tension of combat had caused Talannah's shoulders to cramp up, which made her hiss in pain.
Harrigan's sharp hearing heard the edge of this, and he immediately got out of his chair and rushed over to her. "Shoulders..." she grimaced "Really bad cramping. Aaah!" she groaned as the pain hit her again. Harrigan started kneading her shoulders softly but insistently, easing her pain and tension away. "Ohhh, yesssss...." she moaned slowly, leaning into his ministrations. "So niiiice....Moorrre, please?" she pleaded, tipping her head back to look up at his face. This never worked so well before, Harrigan thought, delightfully surprised. He concentrated a little and brought a light crackle of electricity through his fingertips and into her shoulders. This caused her to squirm slightly from side to side as the jolt raced though her muscles. "Moorrre!" she pleaded again. Harrigan, though very pleased at her response to his efforts, remembered that now was not the time for this.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------- "Not now, hon" he replied, smiling to take the sting out of his words. When she looked at him with that slightly pained look on her face, he almost succumbed to his desire to just hold her close, but shook the feeling off reluctantly. "There's still a war to fight down there. Aeryn and the others down there are depending on us".
"I know" Talannah replied softly "But it just felt so good – not just because the cramp was gone, but just because you were here" – she kissed him slowly for several microts, slipping her tongue between his lips, before breaking off – "with me. But we'd better get back to work". Harrigan ran one finger down the back of her neck and just under her collar before returning to the helm station.
A momen or so later, the guns had charged again. "We'll have to slack off the firing" Talannah reported "Nothing's failed yet, but the temp gauge is rising steadily. I'd say we've got about an arn of constant firing before we'll have to stop". "Well, don't wait for me!" Harrigan replied "Get stuck in! If you run out of vehicles, start on the infantry formations". Talannah replied by firing again at one of the tank battalions. All tank formations were falling back now – they didn't want to stay out on the open plains and die. The buggies were a little more reluctant, and darted back and forth firing at whatever presented itself. While there had been losses amongst the Ithlin forces, these were within tolerable limits for now. The infantry units had dug fox-holes, jumped in, and thrown camo-tarps over the top. They would have to be dug out the hard way from the ground, Harrigan decided, as Tal's too busy to reconfigure the sensors and the Ithlin lieutenant can only grasp the basics.
Back in Ithlin, down in the gun pits, the Royal Guard engineer corps was just finishing repairs to the power conduits for the wall guns. "You'll only have power for half the guns" an exhausted chief engineer explained to Aeryn over the comm as his assistant was packing his tools "We can't get you any more without a full strip down and rebuild of this sector's entire power grid. Which can't be done while there's a war on". "You did well to get even that much back for us. I thought the wall guns were history. Go back home, now. We've got a whole bunch of unsuspecting targets to test these on..." Aeryn replied nastily. She grabbed a set of oculars and trained them on the forces still encamped on the plains before them. Thanks to the combination of the demise of the hover-fortress and the orbital bombardment, as well as the rout of the remaining armour, much of what was left was infantry. Some buggies were left, but one or two salvos should take care of that.
At the safe house, there was a lot of angry growling and promises of inventive and painful punishment for the leaders of this debacle being thrown about between the various members of the A-Team. "This just proves that those politicians never get things right" growled the electronics specialist "They should have put a professional in charge-", they all knew he meant a Scarran professional, of course, "-then there would be less chance of this whole op going totally - " and finished with the Scarran equivalent of FUBAR.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------- "The ship's Captain is probably dead already, along with all his officers" opined the XO "That one is a strong leader. He would have locked down the bridge as soon as he saw the intruders. They would have had to fight their way in dench by dench. There is no doubt in my mind that he and the command group have been killed in action". "Nor mine" interrupted the team leader "I trust that we will all give as fine an account of ourselves if the time comes?" he questioned his troops, glaring at them. All responded in the affirmative. The recon specialist spoke up in his usual whisper "We may have to resort to the emergency back-up plan, sir. The frontal assault has clearly failed. It will be down to us. Permission to speak freely?" he asked.
The other team members turned at that. "Yes..." replied the team leader, already fairly sure what he was going to hear. "I don't feel exactly right about this op. If I just sit back, I can almost feel the ghosts of the old King's guard admonishing me for acting towards this king as the junta's Praetorian did to them". The demo specialist spoke up from the sleeping bag where she was resting. "Me neither" she added "But we have to deal with this the way it is, not they way we want it to be. Perhaps this so- called War Commander may grant us amnesty. It would be good to see if he is the one that helped our scout-runner escape". "Perhaps he may" agreed the team leader "But then again, he may not. We must go ahead with the orders we were given, until an alternative presents itself. Prepare you weapons. I want everything ready to go at a microt's notice in case we have to move. In extremis, we can steal a ship at the spaceport and leave that way. But let's hope it doesn't come to that".
"Gunners! Are you ready?" called Aeryn over the comm. "Aye!" they replied in unison. "Open fire!" she ordered "Any vehicles within range! From then on, it's all up to you. Targets of opportunity". The eight working wall guns let loose, sending a total of sixteen large explosive shells streaking towards the remaining buggies. Some heard the whistling noise that marked incoming shell fire, and were so surprised that the wall guns were back online that they just sat in their buggies, staring up at the sky. Not for long, of course – the incoming shells obliterated an average of two buggies each when they hit the ground and exploded. "RETREAT!!" yelled the only remaining Charrid buggy commander "Back to Rathlaas!"
The few buggies left spun round and headed back to their home city as fast as they could. "We've got all that recorded, ma'am" said Aeryn's comm officer "That Charrid's given us all the proof we need that Rathlaas had a part in this". "We were already sure of that" Aeryn replied "But it soon became clear that a hostile power was using the Rathlaas' leader's grievances for their own ends". "Who?" asked the comm officer, making the most of his superior's revelatory mood. Aeryn turned towards him, saying "Tall..." stretching her hand to a height almost four hentae taller than the com officer "Heavily muscled, tough skin, brutally unsubtle, get the picture?" she finished, leading him to the answer. He mulled this over, figuring the answer out for himself. When he did, he went almost deathly pale in shock. "Sc-sc-sc...." He stuttered. "Deep breath" soothed Aeryn. He did as suggested and continued. "Scarrans?" he exclaimed "But we haven't seen a single Scarran yet..."
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------- "And be glad you haven't" responded Aeryn bluntly "Because if you did, they would most likely be marching over the burning ruins of the outer suburbs of Ithlin to capture or kill the king, taking control of the city". Harrigan has seen them here, Aeryn knew. But if I tell this comm officer that, word will spread and a witch hunt will start. Such civilian Scarrans as are present here, plus their diplomats, could be lynched in the streets – and then real Scarran military forces would turn up to finish the job their Charrid allies started. Even Harrigan's good luck won't stretch far enough to save you then.
Aeryn took the comm, ordering all forces to remain in place. "Stay put" she ordered "Let those buggies take word of their loss back to their masters. It may encourage a peaceful solution to this whole situation. Get yourselves resupplied and grab some food and rest. You may well be needed soon". Just when she thought that they may indeed escape unharmed, another orbital salvo smashed every last one to kindling. Two more worked their way over the tank battalions still within range before Aeryn hard a call from Harrigan coming in. "That's it" the scratchy voice stated "The ship will stay over the city. I'm going to let the DRDs get on with cleaning the place up, while Talannah and I come down and take care of business down there. We'll bring the surviving members of Lord Aranak's boarding party, plus Dargo and Chiana, back with us". Well, well, Aeryn mused. He's coming back down. So he's not going to wait for the remaining infantry to be recalled or to leave of their own accord – someone like him will want to lead an assault against them personally.
Nor was she wrong in her assumption. "Pack up, people!" Harrigan ordered, stepping away from the helm station. "We're going back planetside to finish the job properly. I want everyone over at the forward portside launch bay, outside the Harbringer, in ten momens. Move!" All the remaining Ithlin troops heaved themselves up off the floor and staggered into bridge lift two; while Harrigan, Talannah, Dargo and Chiana went down in bridge lift one. Before leaving, Harrigan locked the ship down. "Don't let anyone in. That means ANYONE" he instructed the ship's computer "Unless Talannah or I are there. If we appear to be under duress, kill them". "Acknowledged" replied the computer "Launch bay doors will open for the craft you arrived in and none other".
When Harrigan arrived outside the Harbringer's drophatch, he found the half a dozen Ithlin troopers slumped against the landing legs. "Come on, come on..." he urged "Get up! Get in! Back to the bunkroom!" After Harrigan punched in the access code, the Ithlin troops ran up and into the bunkroom before collapsing onto their beds. Chiana collapsed onto the bridge floor in a lump, huffing and puffing. "If I never do this again" she exclaimed loudly "It'll be too frelling soon!" Harrigan and Talannah laughed at Chiana's relief, before Harrigan went on. "Yes, Chiana, your part is done" he revealed "But you did very well indeed. You can be justifiably proud of yourself. You too, Dargo".
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------- "We'll drop you back off at the palace, Chi" Harrigan continued "I'm sure you'll enjoy yourself there. I'll need Dargo for a while longer, though. There's still Charrid infantry out there". Once Chiana had strapped herself into her tailgunner's seat, he turned to Dargo. "I'll need you with me for this. We'll take the war to the enemy. It'll do the morale of the Ithlin militia to get stuck into the enemy, instead of the enemy getting stuck into them". Dargo grinned nastily. "A full-frontal assault" he replied "Very good". Talannah, listening in to the conversation, immediately contacted Aeryn and told her to prepare for a full infantry assault on the enemy position. "Make sure everyone's ready smartish. We're on our way down now" Talannah explained "The attack begins as soon as we get to the front lines".
Talannah and Harrigan quickly brought the Harbringer's systems back online. "I'm going to HAVE to take a good look around here!" he exclaimed happily, looking over the flight deck's complement of small craft. "There's a bunch of ships I've never seen before. It'll be fun testing them all... But the fun will have to wait". He lifted the Harbringer off the deck and headed for the launch bay doors, which opened slowly as the Harbringer approached. Harrigan, unhappy with their rate of progress, rolled the Harbringer on one side and shoved the throttle forward. The ship shot through the widening gap and returned to level flight on the other side. This almost caused vomiting of a level unreached even by Harrigan's old corporal, but the Ithlin troops just managed to hold their last meal down.
"I hope everyone's still OK back there" Harrigan called back, laughing "You'll be glad to know we'll be taking the rest of this trip a little more sedately. You've got about twenty or so momens before we reach the spaceport, so relax for a while. There's some rations and water in there for anyone who wants any". "Uhhh....don't think so, sir" the Ithlin lieutenant replied, a little unsteadily "We'll wait until we're back on solid ground". Harrigan was going to pull a tight barrel roll just to wind them up, but decided not to at the last moment. He just aligned the autopilot with their landing pit's beacon and lay back against his chair, letting his breath out slowly.
"Something wrong, John?" asked Talannah from the copilot's seat. Oh, how well she knows me in just this short time! thought Harrigan happily to himself before replying. "No, dear. Not at all" he said quietly. "It's just that it doesn't seem quite...." she said haltingly. "Yes?" he prompted, turning to face her. "Well... just doesn't seem quite 'you' to let the machine take the ship down" she finished. "Don't worry Talannah, my love" he replied reassuringly "I'm not going either soft or senile. But we're all going to need to be on top form when we get dirtside again. If a few momens rest will give those men back there an edge, then I'll let them have it. We've been up for a fair few arns ourselves. A short nap will do us good". He finished that staement by leaning back in his pilot's chair and closing his eyes. Talannah looked over at him, and smiled softly while running one finger slowly over his cheek. This brough a happy sime to his face, and Talannah's too, before she leaned back to get some rest herself.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------- When the Harbringer did reach the spaceport, the computer brought the ship in sdslow and smooth before settling down on the pad and a small cloud of dust. But it had to sound an alarm in the cockpit to wake Harrigan and Talannah, who had succumbed to post-combat exhaustion and nodded off to sleep. "Uh...oh....frell!...What's up?" Harrigan asked blearily. "We have landed" replied the Harbringer's flat monotone. Harrigan quickly flicked the interphone on and rousted the Ithlin trroops from their napping. They qickly grabbed their gear and ran down onto the spaceport tarmac. Harrigan leaned over and gave Talannah a long, lingering, kiss. She woke up and stared longingly into his eyes for a microt or two before returning his kiss just as intensely as it was given.
"We'd better be off" stated Harrigan, reluctantly breaking away. "The enemy won't hold off their attack for us to indulge ourselves. Strap your swords back on, get your Viper and G8C, and let's get out there". The sound of tightening webgear and the clanking of weaponry marked the next few microts as the pair of them put their battlegear back on. "Better get more ammo..." Harrigan remembered, and ran off to the armoury. He loaded his own harness, adding a few tarvek grenades for good measure, then brought back enough ammo for Talannah as well. She slid these drums into pouches one by one as Harrigan threw them across the cockpit to her, then stood up. "Ready" Talannah stated, shrugging her shoulders to settle the load. Harrigan held out his left hand to her, while gesturing towards the door with his right. Talannah took the proffered hand gladly, and the two of them strode out into the afternoon sun.
A crowd of locals were jostling and shoving, trying to get close enough to see him. The crowd was held back, barely, by the Royal Guard; though the crowd was not violent in any way, their enthusiasm for Harrigan's return after his recent commandeering of the Scarrran warship and thus preventing the enemy from penetrating the breached walls threatened to overwhelm the Guard lines several times. Harrigan looked over the developing situation and squeezed Talannah on the shoulder. "I'll have to at least answer some questions" he explained to her reluctantly "Or we'll have a riot on our hands. Oh, how I hate the press! Always sticking their nose in where it's not welcome..." Talannah just smiled up at him and leaned into his shoulder as he turned to the gathering of local citizens and journalists.
"I don't have much time" he stated loudly "The war continues. But I can answer a few questions". He fielded the usual few from the direction of the journalists, but their monopolising of his time was rapidly eroding his patience. Talannah caught on, and turned the press away before one of their number ended up bleeding to death on the taxiway. "That's enough" she explained politely but firmly "There's time for one or two from the people before we have to be off".
One old woman stepped forward. "When" she howled "Are you going to bring our young men and women back to us? We want them here! Their children want them here! When will that happen?!" A grizzled old man a hundred metras or so away yelled back "Someone has to stop those savages from taking this place, old hag! My only regret is that I'm too old to lend a hand myself!"
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------- "That's the way!" yelled Harrigan back at the old man in question. Then he addressed the crowd as a whole. "Your younger people out there at the front need you still!" he continued "There are enemy troops out ther still, beyond the walls! You can assist the war effort with your maintaining your businesses and your encouragement and support of the troops. Those of you who have the right skills would be welcome in the medical corps, and any who can still bear arms would be welcome in the militia units for the final push! We make one more good shove, in order to drive those Charrids back to Rathlaas. Everyone has their own place in the overall plan. I, your War Commander, depend on you all to carry that out. Go to it, and good luck!"
A loud roar of applause came back from the crowd. "That's better" murmured Harrigan "The soldiers need their families behind them. We can't have them worrying about their relatives back home. That sort of thing degrades fighting effectiveness and loses us the war". Talannah turned her gaze full on his face, holding his head straight with one hand either side. "They do that for you, my..." Talannah urged, adding the word for 'matchless one' for him this time. Harrigan heard that and just pulled her close, almost crushing her in his enthusiasm as he kissed her long and passionately. As the crowd saw this, the applause and cheers only got louder again.
Talannah broke the embrace slowly. "We'd better go" she said, bringing Harrigan back to the here and now "Aeryn will be wondering where we've got to". A grocery truck was swiftly commandeered from nearby, so Harrigan, Talannah and eight or so aspiring militia recruits jumped on the back for the trip to the front lines. Harrigan waved to various locals on the way, encouraging them to keep their spirits up and support their fighting men and women.
They made their way swiftly through the city streets to the breach, where Aeryn and the surviving front line troops and militia units were dug in and waiting. "He's here!" yelled one of Aeryn's current squad. "About time too" she grumbled, walking out to meet him. She arrived in time to see the locals helping him and Talannah off the truck. When they turned to help Harrigan down, the five trying to help almost collapsed onto the street as his staggering weight transferred itself to the ground.
"Get up, you lot!" Aeryn laughed "You can't shoot Charrids from down there, can you?" Then she turned to Harrigan. "Orders?" she prompted. "Get everyone ready to move" Harrigan stated bluntly "I want everyone who's still alive and able to to stand up and carry a gun ready to fight ASAP. There's still a few thousand Charrid troops out there who need a kicking. Send Lord Aranak's PA units over to me as soon as you can dig them out from wherever they've got to. I'll lead the heaviest infantry myself. Find a suit for yourself if you like. How about you, Dargo?"
Dargo just patted his qualta, freshly recharged. "I've got everything I need right here" he assured Harrigan "A Luxan warrior doesn't need that kind of help! I'll just grab a few tarvek grenades, and I'll be ready". "What about me?!" said Chiana. "You still here?" said Harrigan in surprise. He yelled for a Royal Guardsman to come over. "Take her back to the palace" he instructed the trooper "Make sure that she has everything she needs when she's there, and DON"T STOP UNTIL YOU GET HER THERE!" ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------- "Yes Sir!" he replied. Chiana leaned up against him, whispering her plans for what she wanted to do once she got there. The spring in his step increased markedly the closer he got to his car, and as he spun the wheels and took off at high speed Aeryn remarked "Chiana's made a new friend, I see".
Harrigan and Talannah spent the next twenty momens walking up and down the lines, encouraging the battle-weary militia and Lord's retinues. Whenever he found a PA trooper, he directed them to the HQ position to resupply and wait for him. When they returned, Aeryn and their recent boarding party were just pulling the helmets on their PA suits down and arming their guns. "What the frell are you lot doing here?!" Harrigan yelled in surprise "You're too strung out! You ought to be getting some rest!"
"With all due respect, Sir..." the helmeted lieutenant replied "You're still up and about. If it's good enough for you, it's good enough for us as well". A chorus of "Yeah!" and "That's right, L-T!" and similar other remarks came back from Lord Aranak's PA troops. Harrigan just shook his head sheepishly. "They're doing to me just what I've done to my superiors several times" he revealed to Talannah "If only Captain Lazarus could see me now..." Ten minutes later, all unit commanders had reported in.
"Get everyone up and ready!" Harrigan yelled over the comm "All unit commanders, form up and move out! Lord Aranak's PA will be with me. Militia units will assemble around their respective Lord's retinue. We move outside the wall now. Let's go!" As soon as Harrigan moved off, first Dargo, Aeryn, and the PA troops pulled in behind; then some militia units, then Lord Brathal's infantry, then more militia units, Lord Rahjan's infantry, and so on until all Ithlin's fighting forces were moving towards the enemy. Harrigan immediately picked up the pace to a fast jog, and the PA troops effortlessly kept pace. The other units not so lavishly equipped had a little more trouble keeping up, but followed along a little further behind.
Several media organisations attempted to place reporters with the fighting units. This caused some animosity with the NCOs until Harrigan stepped in. "They can come along" he decided "As long as they stick to filming the combat and stay out of the way". "Most of us are properly equipped" one replied, raising her rifle "We've got helmetcams. All the mixing and stuff is done back at network headquarters". "So" Harrigan replied "Reporters can be useful..." Up ahead, the city gates were being hauled open. The mass of troops surged through, and out onto the plains and their standard predeployment positions.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------- The A-Team were watching the live newsfeed on the TV set in their safehouse. When the TV view shifted towards Harrigan, they got a better idea of just how big he was, and how he was equipped.
"He follows the pattern for how the old War Commanders were always equipped" stated the recon specialist "Twin swords. They even appear to be of the correct style, though I can't quite tell. Pistol under the armpit. Some kind of unidentified long-arm though – I haven't seen one of those before. Numerous grenades as well". "What about that woman with him?" hissed the electronics specialist "That uniform she wears looks suspiciously like a Deadhead field uniform! That same slate grey, the same equipment being carried" Then he peered a little closer "The same kind of unusual weapon as her giant comrade as well, it seems. Correct me if I'm wrong, but both appear to be carrying Vipers as well".
The XO peered over his shoulder at the screen. "Good spotting" he replied, confirming his underling's guesses "They are Vipers. But notice how that woman conducts herself around him. No Deadhead would lower their guard like that. They suspect everyone, even their own people". Even the demo specialist turned to look at the TV after that. "Whatever their personal life may be" interrupted the team leader "One thing is clear. That man has foiled the main attempt to take the city. It's up to us. We make our move tonight".
Harrigan moved up to the front of his unit and gazed out over the plains. About four hundred metras away, having backed off after the rout of the armour, were a number of lumps that marked the camouflaged Charrid positions. Normal sight would find it almost impossible to pick them out, but the lorelli pits implanted with Harrigan's alterations detected the heat patterns given off by the concentrations of Charrid bodies. "Come out, come out, wherever you are!" taunted Harrigan "I can see you! About four hundred metras from the walls, cowering in those holes! I can see you, my elite troops can see you, and when we heave you out of those pits the rest of my troops will see you! And then we'll kill you all! This is your last chance!" he stated more calmly "Leave in peace, or stay in pieces! We move on your positions now!"
"Siganl to all units : 'General Advance'" Harrigan commanded one of the PA troopers. The signal was quickly passed on to all unit commanders, and the entire force, militia included, moved as one behind Harrigan towards the Charrid positions. "Spread out! Maximum coverage. Don't let them get round us. PA troopers, with me. You too, Dargo!" Dargo drew his qualta, swung it once round his head, and kept on moving forward.
Up ahead, the Charrids saw the approaching Ithlin troops. "Mostly militia" the Charrid XO stated, looking through his oculars. "But some of the local Lords have contributed their own forces to this outing-" he said pointing out Lord Brathal's and Lord Rahjan's forces "- and one strong looking powered-armour unit up front there. Wait! There are three unarmoured troops leading the assault..." The Charid commanding officer quickly put on his own oculars and zoomed in. "A Luxan, a SCARRAN!" he spat "and who or what the other one is I don't know. But that Scarran female wears a very familiar grey uniform".
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------- "Deadheads" replied a comm operator. "Exactly. I've been watching the local newsfeed, sir. That giant out front is the enemy leader. Their so- called War Commander. He leads the assault personally. He was responsible for the execution of our agent in the city as well"
"Well, whatever we think of him we'll have to move out now" the leader decided "Whether we go back to Rathlaas or fight it out here, if we don't move out now we'll die in these foxholes". "I doon't know about you, sir" replied the XO hotly "But I say fight! We show them what real fighting men are like! With those militia, they may outnumber us now, but we are all seasoned troops; at least half of them are farmers and shopkeepers. We will win".
The A-Team used the chaos in the city to their advantage. Moving slowly and nonchalantly, they insinuated themselves into a supply convoy bound for the palace. Most of the palace guards were concentrating on the newsfeed from the front, so didn't notice the faint smell of Scarran from the back of one of the trucks coming in. "Sir..." one young private said "Something smells a little strange by that third truck, sir". Since he hadn't fought, or even seen, Scarrans before he wan't accustomed to this smell; if he was he'd be shouting "Raise the alarm!" instead. "Hah!" one corporal laughed "You're just caught up in the newsfeed, private. Those guys won't make it this far. That giant Harrigan will see to that!"
"Will he now?" pondered an A-Team private, scratching his chin "He'll find it harder to deal with us". "Button it!" ordered the team leader "One problem at a time. We have to get ourselves stowed away in a supply room and get a little rest. I suggest you go over the floor plans and make sure you've memorised the route to the king's court – and our escape route to the spaceport as well. Those Charrids may want to die in place, but I intend for us to survive and fight on some other day on some other battlefield. Now keep quiet, before they find us!"
The truck pulled up to the palace supply elevator. Forklifts quckly unloaded the supply crates, including those with the A-Team in them, and sent them on up to the main larders. Once the crates were unloaded, the A- Team grabbed their equipment and shifted several rooms down the palace corridors to the cleaning supply room. The strong smell of disinfectant and strong cleaning agents permeated the room, covering the slight, but distinctive, smell of Scarran bodies. "Get some rest, if you can" the team leader ordered, crinkling his nose at the stink. "We've got about three arns before we'll need to move. One of us must remain on watch and keep up with the local TV – we'll need to co-ordinate our move with what's going on out there. Private, "he ordered, turning towards him "since you were so eager earlier, you get the first arn's watch". The rest of the team found what comfort they could amongst the sacks and boxes while the private kept one eye on the TV and the other on the door for approaching enemies.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------- Outside the walls, the Charrids came out of their holes to engage their attackers. They grouped into small teams around a heavy weapon; then this weapon would begin laying down fire into the approaching militia forces while the infantry covered the gaps. This was causing heavy losses amongst the militia, who had no heavy weapons to fire back with. Both Lord Brathal's and Lord Rahjan's did – but they would need to stop to set up their weapon, which would ensure their deaths.
"DISPERSED FORMATION!!" yelled Harrigan "Far enough that one burst of pulse fire or one rocket can only take out one man! NOW!" The order was passed along, taking effect as it made its way from unit to unit. The casualty rate slowed but didn't slow quickly enough for Harrigan's liking. "PA, follow me" he said, picking up the volume of his voice "All units : Draw weapons for close-quarters combat!" A forest of clanging metal echoed over the battlefield as the Lord's retinues stowed their guns and drew their swords. Harrigan drew his own two swords and watched Talannah do the same. "Ready, love?" he whispered. "For you, always" she replied. The Harrigan turned to the PA troops, howling out "For the glory of the king and his guard! Victory or Death!" A loud response of "Victory or Death!" came back from the throats of the Ithlin force. Then Harrigan crossed the tips of his swords over his head, tapped them together once, then swept them forward. "CHARGE!!" he yelled, in Scarran, and took off for the enemy lines ahead of him at top speed.
Harrigan and his powered-armour elite force crashed into a stunned enemy force, swinging their swords, without even slowing down. The regular men- at-arms held back, providing what covering fire they could with their rifles. But the fighting quickly degenerated into a massive all-in brawl, and the higher strength of the average Charrid began to tell slowly but surely. The casualty count began to rise slowly but surely, the Charrid's superior physical endurance giving them an advantage.
Except where Harrigan himself was. There the Charrid fell like wheat in a threshing machine, scythed down by Harrigan's enormous strength, Dargo's Luxan rage, and Talannah's speed and skill; it was all that the accompanying PA troopers could do to keep up. Charrids were soon trying to be anywhere on the battlefield but where they were – but were quickly caught and slaughtered. "We need to find the commander" growled Dargo "Kill him and we either send this lot running, or buy us some time to regroup and call up reinforcements. We need one or the other". Talannah nodded, reached out, and grabbed one Charrid by the scruff of his neck and dragged him before Harrigan. "Right, I'll be brief" Harrigan said curtly "Tell us where your force commander is, and you die quickly. Hold back, and you die slowly, in interestingly painful ways, over several days".
"You have no idea of a Charrid's general resistance to pain!" the Charrid spat. "Oh, but we do..." explained Talannah "I myself have had much training on the general resistances of many species in that and other areas. Plus we have first hand knowledge of how much a Charrid can stand before failing. Harrigan..."
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------- Harrigan nodded, then unleashed a punishing blast of electricity into the Charrid's body. This caused the Charrid to convulse like a fish out of water as white-hot pain filled every part of his body, and a loud scream of anguished pain was ripped from his throat. "Well?" Harrigan prompted "Where is he?" When there was no answer after four microts, Harrigan gave him another go. The tortured howl rose in pitch even higher as the Charrid flapped around on the hard-packed sand. "There!"he screamed "Over there! The big one with the two radio operators! That's him!" "Thank YOU!" replied Dargo, beheading their captive.
Harrigan led Lord Aranak's PA troops on again, hacking their way bloodily through any that stood between them an their goal. Soon, their travel route could easily be discerned by following the trail of Charrid corpses as they smahsed their way through the Charrid infantry. A short break occurred where their path was free of any Ithlin forces. "GUNS! SWEEP AND CLEAR!" Harrigan yelled over the PA comm frequency. The PA troopers brought up their right arm cannon and swept a short blast of pulse fire oveer a 45 degree arc in front of them for a few microts. This gave them just enoug breathing space to charge oveer the remaining space between them and the senior remaining Charrid officer. He was on his comm unit, frantically trying to call Rathlaas for reinforcements. Talannah and Dargo swept the area clean of enemy interlopers while Harrigan pinned the Charrid officer to the ground around his neck by two overlapping swords (and one giant foot on his chest, just to make sure).
"You will direct your forces to retreat to Rathlaas, where they will stay" ordered Harrigan, dangerously quietly "or I will take my people straight back to my new superdreadnaught and pulverise the lot of you from orbit. You won't be able to hide yourselves again. Talannah here can reconfigure the sensors to find you whatever you try, and General Ka'Dargo here is an excellent gunner who will hit the targets presented to him without fail. None of you will survive. Not one".
The Charrid, deciding it would be extremely unwise to nod, waved his left hand frantically. Harrigan wiped his swords clean of Charrid blood and entrails and resheathed them, but left his foot planted firmly on the Charrid's chest. "Radio" he croaked. His radio operator passed him the mike. He pressed the transmit button, and ordered "All forces : Full retreat. Best speed to Rathlaas. We have been guaranteed safe passage if we are not hostile towards the Ithlin forces". He dropped the mike and fell back on the sand. "I don't remember offering safe passage" pondered Harrigan "but that was a good addition of yours, thinking of the welfare of your troops as well as your self. You will have it". Harrigan relayed the bargain to the rest of the Ithlin forces. He explained that the remaining Charrids were to be allowed to pass unmolested back to Rathlaas, under his authority as War Commander.
"Since you have treated me fairly" the Charrid revealed "You shall receive one favour in return. Do you know of a Scarrran Special Forces squad at large in the city?" Talannah spoke up. "Yes, we do" she responded "They have probably been killed or driven off by now". Harrigan, having had experience of this sort of thing, added softly "They haven't, have they? They're still in the city". "How did you know?" the Charrid replied.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------- Harrigan tapped his chest, replying "Because that's what I'd do. It takes one to know one" Then he leaned forward, asking "Their plan?".
"I don't think we were supposed to know, but the Scarran A-Team have a contingency plan to force the capitulation of the Ithlin leadership by kidnapping the king. They intend to ensure that you either submit to Imperium rule, or lose your king". Harrigan growled nastily, almost getting to screech level. "Thank you for that little pearl of wisdom" he told the Charrid leader "You'd better catch up with your men before you get left behind".
As the Charrid officer left, he called his friends together. "Aeryn, Dargo" Harrigan decided "You stay here and see that the Ithlin forces stand by my bargain. The get them safely back to the city and see to their safety. Make sure the city medical corps gets a heads-up to prepare for combat surgery. Talannah and I will take care of this new problem ourselves".
Harrigan stared off back at he city walls, fancying that he could see the A- Team scurrying about. Trying to fulfil their mission. Well nuts to that! Harrigan cackled. You've picked the wrong side this time! This time, he thought, you face another spec-ops man. And I don't hold back for anyone!
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------