Part two of the exciting; (and deadly) siege of Elberon. Are you rooting for the good guys or bad guys? Maybe there is no good or bad guys. After all, this story is called, "Morally Ambiguous." Well, enough chatter, let's begin!
Chapter 6: The Siege of Elberon (Part 2)
"Vultak…" The thought kept resonating within Dragstor's mind. That didn't make any sense to him. They both had worked together for years. Vultak had been absolutely loyal to the Horde. He obeyed orders, verbatim, even if it meant slaughtering innocents. Dragstor paced around the room, his hand on his head. Viktor spoke up,
"No way! Captain, he's lying, there's no wa-"
"He's not lying." Dragstor interrupted Viktor, "he couldn't have known about Vultak unless he was apart of their plan. But that doesn't matter right now, what matters it what happens moving forward." Dragstor then stopped his pacing and turned his attention to his second-in-command, "Viktor?"
"Sir?" Viktor replied, standing at attention.
"Go downstairs and check on the rest of our teams." Viktor nodded and headed downstairs. The rebel soldier continued to grunt and struggle under the wardrobe. Dragstor then looked at Brett,
"Brett. How good of a lie detector are you?" Brett grinned devilishly and said,
"More accurate than a polygraph, sir."
"Excellent…" Replied Dragstor, and they both looked at the soldier.
Meanwhile at the front end of Elberon,
Octavia's forces were facing heavy resistance. The Horde soldiers took positions on any piece of debris and rubble they could get behind. Once the Horde soldiers got into position, the rebels and guards started pouring out of the city towards the makeshift entrance that the tanks had created. Octavia, brandishing her rifle, ran to join the soldiers. No sooner did she join the soldiers did they come under fire by the rebels. Luminescent lines of heated light were thrown back and forth between the Rebel's and Horde's laser weaponry. Both sides began taking casualties. The fire from the rebellion was coming from the ground as well as above, pinning much of the Horde soldiers down. Most of the Horde soldiers kept their heads ducked down and fired blindly to keep the rebels from advancing. Octavia, posted near a broken part of the wall was looking for a way to flank the rebels. In front of her were a few buildings that had been damaged from the blast that some rebels were held up in. A laser blast interrupted her thoughts, and she ducked her head back behind the wall. She blind fired a few lasers towards where the shots were fired, which ceased that firing. She looked again to scan the rest of the battlefield. It was then she saw a tower off in the distance that had laser fire coming from it.
"Snipers…" Octavia thought. She then got on the radio.
"Armour 3, target that Eastern tower. We've got snipers!" As soon as she said that, the tank on the left aimed its cannon at the tower, charged it up, and let loose a big line of green plasma towards the tower. The ball of plasma caused a massive explosion, completely obliterating the top of the tower. With the snipers down, the Horde was able to get up from their positions and begin firing more earnestly on the rebels. A shout was then heard from the rebels.
"Fall back to the middle checkpoint and regroup! Release the beast!" The rebels then started retreating, firing and running, simultaneously. The Horde soldiers kept their heads down and fired at the rebels, hitting a few, but letting most escape. A cheer from the Horde soldiers was sounded. Octavia was proud of her soldiers but she had to remain phlegmatic. She yelled to the soldiers,
"That's a good job, team, but we're not out of this yet! White Wolves, Black Bulls, let's move-" Octavia's words were cut off by a thunderous roar that echoed in the sky, as though it were bellowed from a colossal lion. The soldiers stopped their cheering and looked skywards.
"What in the world…" Octavia began to say as her and the squads bore witness to a behemoth in the sky. It looked like some kind of gigantic, brown lizard with wings. Octavia and the troops, stood in awe, too shocked to move. At that moment, Octavia said, almost inaudibly.
"So.. dragons are real."
Meanwhile, back at the downstairs of the building that the Specters and Talons were recuperating in, Brittni and the other combat medic, named Jackie, had tended to all the troops that were injured. Viktor had just come downstairs to find Brittni tying a splint on one of the soldiers legs. He knelt down next to her and asked,.
"What's the teams' status?" The soldier screamed and writhed in pain as Brittni tightened the splint. She looked at Viktor and then said,
"He'll be fine. Everyone's stable, but they'll need to take it easy for a few minutes while the dressings and antibiotics settle. We've got four that weren't injured. What are our orders?"
"Captain Dragstor and Brett are getting whatever they can out of the rebel, upstairs. Once they're done, we'll know what to do. Brittni looked away for a moment, seemingly in deep thought. She took a deep sigh. Viktor noticed that and said,
"Listen, this is war. It gets ugly. That's just how it is." Brittni stood up and started walking away,
"I know. I get it. I just…" She took a deep breath and then said, "I just thought that since I had seen so many combatants at the clinic. Laser burned skin, amputated limbs, permanent scarring… But to witness it happening-"
"Listen. I get it. This is your first combat mission. The battle fatigue is getting to your head. You just need to give yourself a minute. Take a few deep breaths." He went over to her and put his hand on her shoulder. "I hate to be like this, but we're in the middle of a battle. We need you at your best. Okay?" Brittni nodded,
"Ye.. Yeah, I'm okay. Alright." She said, gaining more confidence. Viktor smiled and nodded. Just then, they heard yelling from up the stairs. Brittni immediately ran up the stairs, with Viktor following closely. They entered the room where the rebel was being interrogated, when they saw Dragstor kneeling down holding a knife to the rebel's throat, the rebel was in the middle of speaking, but the only part Brittni and Viktor heard was,
"...I… swear… that's all… I know…" Brett looked at Dragstor,
"He's telling the truth, sir."
"Good. You have been most helpful. Now, I'll reward you with a quick death." Just as Dragstor was about to pull the knife towards him, Brittni yelled,
"Stop! Wait!" Brett looked over, a little shocked. Dragstor didn't look, but stayed his blade.
"Is there any particular reason that you're interrupting us, AGAIN, Brittni?" He demanded, indignantly. Brittni stammered with her following words,
"I..I just.. Y.. You." Dragstor then pressed the knife a bit, allowing a bit of crimson liquid to trickle down the knife.
"We might need him!" Brittni yelled, impetuously. Dragstor began retracting the knife, then looked at Brittni,
"Elaborate." He said, callously.
"I mean, he's already given you all this information… But.." She thought for a moment, then quickly said, "What if he's lying? Like, if he's not telling the truth. We'll need him to get the right information. Brett spoke up then,
"He's not. I-" Brittni looked at him wide-eyed. Brett understood what she was saying and then continued, "-I mean, well, we are human, who knows. Yeah, let's keep him for now." Dragstor stood up and said,
"We don't have time for this. Viktor, get the rest of the squad mobilized. We've already wasted enough time, and I don't know how long the distraction is going to last. We need to go in five. Is that clear?" Viktor nodded and went downstairs. Dragstor then turned to Brittni.
"Get him patched up and walking, Brett, bind his wrists, then meet us downstairs." Dragstor handed him some rope. Brett replied with,
"Yeah, you got it, sir." Dragstor then went downstairs, while Brett started lifting up the wardrobe. He grunted and said,
"Geez, no wonder you were in so much pain." Brittni then pulled the rebel out from the wardrobe, all the while the rebel shrieked and writhed in pain. Brett went to tie his wrists when Brittni said,
"Hang on! Geez, I haven't even started my treatment." Brett knelt down next to Brittni and said,
"Brittni, he's a rebel, he doesn't need to be comfortable-"
"My patient, my rules!" Brittni snapped.
"He's not a patient, he's a-" Brett started but was quickly interrupted by Viktor,
"Hey! You two hurry up, we're leaving!" Brett glared at Brittni, then stood up and walked downstairs. Brittni pulled the rebel up and moved his back to the wall. She ripped the part of his pants where his legs were stuck and removed his kneepads. She quickly examined the damage. Several broken bones, deep penetrated contusions. He would need to have surgery, but she injected him with morphine and some antibiotics to stabilize him. The rebel groaned but then said,
"Th..thank you." Brittni smiled at him and replied,
"You're welcome, your armor saved you. But I'm glad to help. If I have a chance to save a life, I take it." The rebel coughed, and looked at Brittni, his eyebrows narrowed at her, and mouth wide opened.
"Save a life? Save a life?! Tell that to my family! My friends! Everyone that the Horde has taken from me!" He began coughing erratically, but his anger kept his mouth going, "and tell that to my village that was burned down just for existing!" Brittni was completely speechless. Her face was a look of somber confusion. After a few moments she said,
"N..No, the Horde doesn't burn down random villages. W..we're trying to save Etheria from the Rebellion and the Princesses!" The rebel looked at her, a mixture of horror, confusion and anger on his face,
"What?! Save Etheria?! By killing innocent people just for living their lives?! You-" The rebel was interrupted by yelling downstairs.
"Brittni! Hurry up, we're going!" Brittni switched glances between the rebel and the door. Finally she said to the rebel,
"I'm sorry." She then ran out of the room down the stairs. On the way downstairs, time seemed to pass by much slower. Thoughts raced through her head,
"The Horde doesn't attack random villages… Only strategic ones. We're only fighting insurgents… We're working towards peace." She got to the top of the stairs and looked back. Her last thought before going downstairs was,
"But he was so sincere…" Once she was downstairs, Dragstor gathered everybody around and gave the battle plan.
"Alright, we're down to half our original force so getting into the castle is going to be a little more tricky. Our original plan to scale the walls is gonna have to be expedited… and loud. Brett, you can rig up some C-4, right?"
"You're not saying…" Brett started.
"That's exactly what I'm saying, we're going to have to blow our way through. It's not ideal, and we're going to lose the element of surprise, but we've wasted enough time already. Can you make it happen, Brett?" Brett nodded, pulled some material out of his pack and got to work.
"Everybody else, get your weapons chambered, and your armour tightened, we're going in hard and loud. Jackie, you stay with the rest of the wounded, and keep that rebel docile. If he makes a move, shoot him. Jackie saluted him and said,
"Yes, sir!" Brittni then piped in and said,
"Sir, should I stay as well?" Dragstor shook his head and said,
"No, we need at least one combat medic with us. Alright, the rest of you, with me. Let's do this." With that, the remnants of the Specters and Talons followed Dragstor out of the building. They went to the last building adjacent to the field that separated the farm buildings from the wall. The squad was up against the wall waiting for Dragstor's word. Dragstor pulled out his binoculars and scanned the walls. The rebels were ducked behind the crenellation, their weapons aimed, waiting for their targets to appear. He looked to the right and saw a few more buildings and trees. Dragstor thought for a moment.
"I have an idea. Brett, you get that C-4? How powerful is it?" Brett then held up three pieces of C-4, and said,
"Enough to crumble those walls, sir." Dragstor nodded and said,
"Okay, team, here's what's going to happen. We're going to lay down some covering fire from the left of this building. That'll draw the enemies towards us. Meanwhile, Brett, I want you to approach from the right. Go around those buildings and hug the wall until you get directly under the portion where the guards are. Set the charges, blow the wall, and you'll neutralize the guards. Everyone understand?"
"Yes, sir!" Everyone replied, simultaneously. With that, the teams moved to the front of the building that was facing, opposite the city wall. Meanwhile, Brett made his way to the right. Once they took positions, one of the troops peaked around the corner only for a rebel's laser to graze the front of her helmet and melt the visor off.
"Agh!" The soldier yelled. She then ripped off her helmet and threw it. The moment it was thrown forward, it was fired upon by a barrage of laser fire, filling it with more holes than swiss cheese. "Oh, my…" The soldier commented, distressed at the remains of her helmet. Dragstor took notice of this and looked at the surroundings. He took notice of some boulders that would provide adequate cover, but the snipers curretntly had them pinned down as they kept firing at the edge of the building. Dragstor fingered around his belt and picked out a grenade. He then yelled to his squad,
"Alright, I'm gonna throw this smoke grenade. Once it's thrown, they're going to start firing." He then turned to Viktor and said, "Viktor, once they have a break between shots, I need you to take the rest of your team and run to the boulders over there, you'll have a clearer shot and it'll distract them while Brett gets into position. Understood?" Viktor and his squad nodded. Dragstor then pulled the pin and threw the grenade, allowing smoke to envelope the area. Just like Dragstor predicted, the snipers immediately took potshots at the smoke, hoping to hit some of the Horde squad. After about fifteen seconds, the snipers stopped firing.
"Okay, go, go!" Viktor shouted. He and his squad then ran towards the boulders. During this action, there were a couple of snipers anticipating this and fired into the smoke. They managed to hit one of the Horde soldiers in the leg,
"Aghhhh!" The soldier yelled as he fell forward, in between the boulder and the building. Without thinking, and trusting her instincts and powers, Brittni rushed towards the fallen soldier.
"Brittni! Wait!" Dragstor adjured her, but she didn't listen. She had studied the snipers firing pattern. She waited for a couple of shots fired near the building, then she ran forward, stopped, waited for a few more shots behind and in front of her, then moved again. Getting close to the soldier, she dove over him, simultaneously grabbing him, and rolling towards the boulder. Dragstor was speechless, but quickly regained his composure and yelled,
"Good save, Brittni! Talons, light 'em up!" At his command, Viktor and his squad started firing at the walls, mostly hitting the crenellation. While the snipers were focused on the commotion going down towards the boulders and buildings, they didn't realize what Brett had in store as he set the C-4. Once it was set, he ran like a cheetah being chased by a crystal spider. Getting away from the wall rather quickly, Brett dove behind a tree and pulled out the detonator.
"Boom." He muttered to himself. Once his thumb squeezed the button, the C-4 blew the foundation of the wall, causing it to cave in, and forcing much of the rebel soldiers to fall through. An ensemble of shouts and screams permeated the air as the rebels fell into the rubble and debris that was now in place of where the wall was. The Horde squads cheered. Dragstor yelled to the squad,
"Alright! Go, go, go!" On his command, the squads began charging and firing their lasers at the pocketful of resistance that was left, and neutralized them. The Specters and Talons then began pouring into the castle courtyard, brandishing their firearms, Brett and Brittni scanned the area and found no guards or soldiers. They gave Viktor a thumbs up. He nodded.
"Clear." Viktor declared. Dragstor nodded and then said,
"Good work, team. Now we just need to get into the castle. Specters, with me. Talons, I need you to stay posted inside the entrance. Don't let any rebels sneak up on us. Understood?" The two squads said in unison,
"Understood." Dragstor chuckled,
"Let's get that mayor." With that, they all made their way to the entrance of the castle. Dragstor kicked open the door, and the two squads poured inside, not knowing what they were about to experience.
Meanwhile, near the front of Elberon, Octavia and the two squads were awestruck by the dragon flying above them. It was making circles before it landed on a building relatively close to the wall where the Horde soldiers were. Octavia's lip quivered, beginning to let the fear overcome her. To the even greater surprise of the Horde soldiers, a magnificent development came about with the dragon.
It spoke.
"Who are you to invade this city, ravagers?" The dragon inquired, its voice deep and rugged. Octavia stared in complete disbelief. She looked at the other squads. They looked at her, almost demanding some guidance with their gazes. Those gazes reminded Octavia that she was their leader. She stiffened her upper lip, nodded at the soldiers, faced the dragon and narrowed her eyebrows at it. With every ounce of confidence she could muster, she spoke boldly to the dragon,
"We are the Horde, and we claim this city in the name of Lord Hordak. We will gladly accept your immediate and unconditional surrender." The dragon glared at Octavia, and it was then that she got a better look. It had a pointy face with horns atop its head, and one horn atop its nose. Its mouth was filled with dense, bony teeth. Thick scales covered it's entire body, while pointed scales adorned its spine. The menacing yellow eyes completed its frightening appearance. In response to Octavia's bold statement, the dragon simply let out a deafening roar. The soldiers were literally taken aback by the dragon's vocal force. When the roar ended, the dragon flapped its wings and took flight, going straight up. Octavia yelled to the troops,
"Open fire! Get the tanks' plasma cannons charged and ready!" The Horde soldiers began firing their weapons. The dragon flew to the right, dodging the majority of hits from the lasers, but got hit a few times. It let out a distressing roar, indicating that they injured it, albeit a little bit. While the soldiers were trying to concentrate their fire upon the dragon, it flew towards them. What happened next was both frightening and amazing. The dragon opened its mouth, and it seemed like a fiery whirlwind began forming in it. The dragon then roared which propelled the fireball at one of the tanks. Once the fireball hit the tank, it detonated into an explosive inferno. The explosion caused a shockwave that knocked most of the troops off their feet. Octavia was laid out flat on her back. She used her tentacles to push herself back up and growled. She looked at the destruction. As her soldiers were picking themselves up, she yelled at them,
"All infantry, find cover!" Immediately, the soldiers sprung themselves up and ran towards the nearest buildings. A couple soldiers went and hid behind the other tank that was still standing. Octavia ran to them. As soon as she ducked behind the tank, the dragon came back for another run, building up its fiery whirlwind. As it flew towards the remaining tank, the charged up plasma cannon fired, hitting the dragons right wing. The dragon roared in agony which caused the fire whirlwind to fly out of its mouth hitting the right side of the tank, instead of the tank directly.
"Dive!" Octavia yelled. The two soldiers and her dove away from the tank as the dragon's fire hit the right tread. The tank flew to the left on its side next to the other tank, but didn't explode. Following the tank incident, the dragon took a nosedive into the ground, digging up dirt as it tunneled through the grass. Between the tank toppling and the dragon's crashing, Octavia's ears began ringing. Her vision had become blurred, and she was laying on her stomach. One of the soldiers began shaking her. Octavia groaned, grabbed her head, and used her other hand and tentacles to push herself up. The other soldier spoke up and said,
"Captain, look!" Octavia looked over at the dragon. It remained motionless. Octavia started shaking her head, her vision becoming more clear. She looked back at the tank. The male soldier asked,
"Is it dead?" Octavia looked back at the dragon, then said,
"Can't be sure… It's not moving, though. We need to get back into the city. The rebels are probably evacuating the citizens, and-" A thought then popped into her head. Her voice then became agitated, "the rebels are heading back to the castle to stop Teams Specter and Talon. We need to get that tank operational." Octavia then went with the two soldiers to start pulling the tank towards them, back on its tread. While they were pulling it, they heard a weakened, yet irate roar coming from the dragon. They looked over at it and found it slowly picking itself up. Octavia then yelled to the two soldiers,
"Get this tank down!" Using her tentacles, along with her and the two soldier's strength, they managed to pull the tank down. At this point, the dragon had fully picked itself up. It looked back and glared at the Horde soldiers. Octavia in a few swift motions, jumped on the tank and pulled open the manhole leading into the tank. She found the driver unconscious, but still alive. She pulled him out and threw him out of the way. She then jumped in and rotated the turret to face the dragon. The dragon growled. Octavia charged up the cannon and fired a line of plasma towards the dragon. The dragon jumped to the left, but was too slow. The plasma grazed its right legs and part of its oblique. The dragon roared in pain, its roar sounding more somber than angry. With the little energy it had left, it began hopping into the woods, disappearing behind the trees. Octavia opened the manhole and peaked out. She and the two soldiers stared dumbfounded at the scene that just took place. The soldiers took off their helmets and looked to Octavia. They looked disturbed out of their minds. And after what they had witnessed, they probably were. Octavia hoisted herself out of the cockpit and simply said to them,
"Well done, soldiers." They both cracked open half smiles and saluted her. Her voice got more professional, and she asked,
"Now… Do either of you two know how to drive a tank?" The female soldier raised her hand and said, half confidently.
"I.. I can.. Sorta." The male soldier chiggered,
"Yeah, if you want her to hit every building before getting to the castle."
"Shut up!" Yelled the female soldier.
"Enough. Both of you get into the tank and let's regroup with the squad." They both nodded and hopped into the cockpit of the tank. All three then rode the tank into the city, barrelling over the debris. There weren't any people; soldier or otherwise that were in sight, so they kept moving to the building their squads were last located. When they arrived, they found the Black Bulls. The leader of the Black Bulls, named Lieutenant Jameson saluted Octavia.
"At ease," She said, cordially, "what's the situation?"
"Well, ma'am. Lieutenant Aisha took the White Wolves to give chase to the rebels, so I sent some of my men with them. We've been holding this position, waiting for the cavalry." Jameson looked at the tank, "looks like that's our cavalry." Octavia nodded and said,
"We need to get to the castle, I'm sure that most, if not all the citizens have been evacuated at this point, the rest of the guards and soldiers have to be heading to the castle to stop Dragstor and Vultak's squads."
"Ma'am," Jameson started, "how could they know about the Specters and Talon's mission?" Octavia stared blankly at the horizon, then sighed.
"Somebody must have tipped them off. How else could they have known to trap our tanks and have sharpshooters at the ready?" Jameson muttered a low groan. Octavia continued, "It must have been somebody that knew our plans. But only you, me, Aisha, Dragstor, and Vultak knew of this attack. It wasn't you, me, or Aisha, because obviously we wouldn't put ourselves in danger. Dragstor's the one that warned me about the traps…" She drifted off, and Jameson finished her thought by saying,
"So, that leaves Vultak." Octavia continued to stare blankly, considering what she was hearing. She didn't want to believe it, but all evidence pointed to it. She sighed and said,
"Get the rest of the Black Bulls moving, we need to catch up to the White Wolves and get to the castle." Jameson saluted Octavia and yelled to the rest of the squad,
"You heard the lady. Black Bulls. Let's move it!" The Black Bulls began heading out. Octavia stood there, gazing at the corpses of the Horde soldiers that lay all around her. The sight of such morbidity caused her to begin lamenting. Wiping away a tear, and replacing her face with an irate scowl, Octavia muttered,
"Vultak… You'll pay for this."
Dang, y'all. Octavia and Dragstor are out for blood, now. Thank you so much for reading! I hope you enjoyed reading as I did writing it. Leave a review if you can. Those are the little things that motivate me to do the best I can! The next chapter should be the conclusion of the Siege of Elberon. I can't wait to post it! Much love!
