Chapter Twelve- The Battle of Nasrad
The morning sun vanquished the frigid night, rising to take it's natural station beside the Red Moon that held permanent dominion of Nasr. The Barrier Reef's massive rocks acted as a natural harbor for the allied fleet, which was anchored onto the perpetually floating boulders. The Rabia Desierto was at the front of the formation, alongside the Delphinus. As dawn washed over them, cries filled the air and the engines of all the ships roared to life.
Lawrence finished the engine's checklist and experimentally spun the wheel, while David armed all of the ship's numerous weapon systems and Pinata joined Vyse in looking out the enormous windows of the bridge. Aika and Fina were at their usual positions to the side-consoles, monitoring operations and the radio frequencies. Despite the hour, they were all wide-awake from adrenaline and anxiety.
"This is Squadron leader to all units," The radio crackled open in Nasrian, which Fina translated for them, "Prepare to move out as quickly as possible. To jihad, brethren! Today we claim our freedom." Answering cheers and acknowledgments filled the line.
Casting off their lines connecting them to the enormous reef, the flagship began to rise higher into the air, pressing forward as it's engines pushed then through the thawing sky. The other Nasrian ships, Grenadier-class battle frigates and Salazar-class gunboats, followed this example. Enrique, on the deck as usual, vacantly felt the wind press against him as the Delphinus accelerated, passing the moving ships and matching their speed. The rocks to one side began to slide down out of the sight, and they were underway for their target.
Luke and Rodgers awaited their orders in the lifeboat dock, having readied two of the skiffs for departure. They, along with Lawrence, Vyse, Aika and Fina were going to join the Nasr strike teams in their attack on the enemy's wall artillery. The newest members of his crew, both of them were admittedly nervous about the coming fight.
"This'll be easy," Luke spoke up, although he wasn't sure weather it was more for himself or for his friend beside him. "We boarded a Valuan flagship before. Doing this will be a piece of cake, right?"
"Right," Rodgers agreed quietly, twirling her silver moonstone daggers on her finger and feeling the balance shift as the ship's course adjusted slightly. "We should be engaging the enemy's defenses in the channel any moment. I guess there's nothing for us to do, besides watch." Stepping out, she walked down the hallway and to a window, where she saw the huge cliff coastlines of Nasr appear on the horizon. Luke joined her, intently peering for any sign of the enemy.
Leading the charge aboard his ship, Vyse squinted, magnifying with his skyglass the distant South Dannel Straight. At the mouth of the steep pass, two captured Nasr gunboats floated, more sentries than heavy defenses. As they caught sight of the approaching force, both of the airships withdraw back out of sight into the canal.
"They know we're coming," David said into the radio. "Stay sharp, get through the narrow channel at full speed. Don't stop to fire until you emerge into the harbor." He looked down into the talking-tubes. "Belle, are you ready?"
"Everything's good to go," The bouncy young gunner replied, although even her jovial tone was flecked with bits of worry and apprehension.
Turning and emerging into the South Dannel, the Delphinus and the Rabia Desierto found themselves facing all seventeen Spectre-glass cruisers along with an additional five Nasrian Grenadiers for support. A second later, their view exploded with the light from the enemy's cannons as every single one of Baker's ships began to fire their guns in unison, unleashing a hundred deadly shells that streaked in for them quicker than the eye could track.
"Evasive action," Vyse ordered, but Lawrence had already yanked the control sideways. The metal ship shivered and swung around, dodging many of the explosives. Two enemy shells hit, melting bits of the prow armor off but not managing any penetration yet. Karzhai's flagship seemed a little more nimble, and also avoided most of the volley. "Return fire, Belle! Secondary cannons!"
The turrets spun around and took aim, firing. The armor-piercing secondary shots whistled past by the dozens, while the Nasrian flagship spun around and delivered a battery from their own regular guns. Trails of flame and curtains of smoke filled the beleaguered skies within moments.
One of the Valuan Grenadiers caught fire from two lucky and direct hits to it's starboard side, shaking with the force of impact as it belched flame. Despite this, the ship's many guns continued to speak out, adding to the enormous volume of cannon fire. Another shot hit the Delphinus, snapping off one of the side maneuvering wings and shoving the ship sideways, almost dashing it against the cliff face.
"All ships, open fire!" Despite their original plans, this development forced the Nasrians to start the fight firing into the canal, which would actually prove to their advantage since the defending Valuans were boxed in by those enormous stone walls of the straight. "If they want a scrap for the door, we'll bust it wide open!" The Nasr fleet behind them turned to their sides, presenting their massive black cannons in deadly rows like the bared teeth of a predator. Lawrence, realizing their position was about to become a crossfire, spun them around and sent them soaring back for their own fleet.
It rained fire around them, the air full of sparks, flashes and explosions from a thousand sources all at once. The noise, even in the insulated bridge, was terrific and mighty, shaking the ship as surely as each enemy near-miss. Two of their own ships had already taken damage, and one of them was about to fall out of the sky, but the Spectres only had minor dents from the poorly aimed first Nasr volley.
"Belle, fire the torpedoes now!" Getting the same idea, all of the Nasr ships joined the Delphinus in sending the small explosive charges skyrocketing, placing a hundred twinkling stars into the early morning sky. The Valuans responded likewise moments later, and both fleets began to change positions to avoid the plunging bombs.
Vyse glared- the enemy had an advantage in moving combat. The Spectres, like the Delphinus, had moving turret-cannons, while the conventional ships of the allied fleet had fixed cannons like the Little Jack did. While the Grenadiers tried to set up for another broadside while dodging the streaks of flame that appeared all around them, the Spectres pounded them while shifting around.
"Lawrence, get us into position for a Moonstone Cannon shot." Even as he said this, a shot penetrated aft of the ship, and an explosion roared. Pieces of shattered, superheated metal fell away from the ship, exposing a flaming hole in the side that trailed whistling smoke.
"I'll try," He replied, and spun the wheel again. Turning sharply, the royal flagship was now soaring directly for the Spectres at their maximum velocity. Enemy fire bloomed around them, but the Nasr fleet held their fire for several seconds in fear of striking the pirates' rear armor.
"Charging now," David said, pulling the lever and watching the front of the ship open up to admit the barrel of their super weapon. Purple light began to accumulate from across the ship in a set of glowing rings at it's head, and the power continued to increase every moment until all the gages on David's control panel showed they were in the red. "Everything's ready to go, Vyse! Lawrence, line us up with one of those sons of Huskras!" Using the front fin like the crosshairs of a gun, the pilot aligned the entire ship with one of the growing black figures.
'Moonstone Cannon," Vyse said, seizing the firing lever and shoving it down into it's metal holder with a solid metallic clang, "Fire!" Everyone onboard braced themselves, and the stored up power in their prow discharged in a single focused beam. The beam cut through the air at the speed of light, cleanly gutting the enemy ship and going out the other side unabated, vaporizing entire decks of the interior of the Spectre along with most of it's front armor.
In a flash, a dozen explosions bloomed all around the armored airship, and it shook and shivered, coming apart at the same time that it's electrical motors were overheating and it's ammo cases were chain-reacting. Ravaged by the lick of the hungering flames and without the power to keep itself afloat, the twisted metal wreckage was quickly dragged by the unstoppable hand of gravity, trailing an enormous billowing cloud of smoke even as it vanished under the bottom layers.
Vyse grinned as he watched the power of his ship. "Alright. Keep on the attack. Belle, broadside fire! Cut through their formation in the hole that ship left when we gutted it." Lawrence complied with the order, and the valiant Blue Rogue flagship dove forward with all of it's might. Taking it's example, the Nasr fleet turned back and began to advance as well.
With their line of battle broken and porous, the well-ordered Valuan formation began to come apart, with many of it's ships sustaining severe hits from the powerful guns of their enemy. Beginning to pull back and regroup, they faced withering barrages of torpedoes laid in their paths that further damaged the enemy. "Four enemy ships have been destroyed. Another three are severely damaged," The radio reported. "We have lost but two ships, and many of the rest have only moderate hits. We have the advantage!"
"Hit their backsides," Vyse recommended. "Turn for a broadside." He witnessed the power of the enormous frigates as they turned around and opened fire again. Even though the Spectres were faster and better armored, nothing could match a Nasr fleet for it's unbridled firepower. The volley sank another one of the retreating Valuan cruisers as a lucky cannonball destroyed their propellers.
"We've broken their defense of the Straight, now continue the attack! Transports, move up to the left with second squad! First squad, blanket those cruisers and try to draw the attention of the harbor guns!"
"Moving in with second squad," Vyse replied, watching as they joined six gunboats escorting five rectangular floating boxes, each one containing a hundred battle-ready Nasr troopers. Scores of smaller landing craft swarmed around them. The main body of the fleet pressed right forward, emerging into the harbor with guns blazing.
The Valuans had reformed, and returned fire, going blow-for-blow with the rebel forces directly above the skies of the devastated metropolis. Desperation seemed to make them more effective, and Baker ordered a charge of his own. The Spectres' superior speed allowed them to literally encircle the larger number of Grenadier frigates and begin to rain fire upon them, but predicting their paths was easy and the return shots were no less violent upon the new cruisers.
Circling in a wide arc to the left, the smaller second group turned at an angle, to pass the battling fleet. They instantly came under fire, the powerful harbor guns lobbing immense shells for them. The Delphinus avoided any hits whatsoever, but one of the gunboats was struck by a lucky artillery crew. Crumpling up from the incalculable force of the massive object hitting it's nose, the small warship was almost totally vaporized a moment later when the shell exploded.
"As if we don't have enough problems..." David sighed. "Two Spectres are coming up from the docks, headed right on an intercept course... Vyse! Those ships will rip apart the transports in seconds! What do you want to do?"
"Move ahead of second squadron," The teenager ordered, gripping the metal console before him to steady himself as his boat rocked and buffeted. "We're going to engage both of them and damage them enough force them to withdraw." We have to be quick, or that artillery is going to slice through the transports too... "Fire Torpedoes and secondaries now, hold mains in reserve, full throttle!" Another round of armor-piercing shells rippled forth even as the torpedoes burst up into the open air. Hitting the front armor of the Spectres, they carved large spiderweb fractures into the prow armor and in some cases penetrated, but did little structural damage.
The Spectres answered back with their main cannons, a withering barrage that was surprisingly accurate. A shell exploded directly below the bridge, carving into a vacant storage room and burning up the contents within while at the same time throwing everyone aboard to the floor. Two hit the sides of the nose, ripping into that armor and super heating the frame of the battleship.
Despite this, the Delphinus would not be stopped, continuing on. They drew ever-closer to the two cruisers, and Vyse waited, counting to five. "Now! Main cannons, open fire!" At such a close range there was no way to miss their targets. Twelve explosions devastated one of the enemies, ripping apart it's front side and demolishing every one of it's deck guns. Shaking and wobbling badly as it spun around, the ship began to helplessly sink to the clouds.
The torpedoes arrived a moment later. Three of them plunged into the vulnerable top of the lone Valuan cruiser, one hitting the bridge. Now without anyone to command it, the burning hulk began to float adrift, it's engines soon beginning to fail. Lifeboats launched out from the Spectre in every direction, but unlike Ramirez, Vyse ordered his guns to spare the escaping enemy crew. I won't stoop to their level- I'll rise above it.
The artillery, which had stopped for a few moments, started up again with a vengeance, obliterating one of the smaller Nasr boarding skiffs and beginning to scatter the oncoming second squadron. The only thing for it was to press on, erratically advancing and praying desperately that the formidable weapons wouldn't strike any more of their ships.
"Now's the time," Vyse said, nodding to Aika, Fina, and Lawrence. "Follow me. Marco, Pinata, David, you three have the con. Get the Delphinus into the main fight and help the fleet. We're going to take out those guns, old school style." He unsheathed his cutlasses as he ran down the hallway, his companions also drawing their weapons and following closely behind.
They were almost over the city. The transports all aimed for the huge docks district, touching down and opening to let loose the flood of soldiers. Charging into the devastated platforms and hangars, they flooded up the huge steps and towards the city, past abandoned ships and destroyed warehouses.
Valuans emerged from the walls, sniping down at them and picking off groups of Nasrians. Some Nasrians charged on for the access ramps leading up onto the city walls, while others dropped to one knee and returned fire with their red moonstone carbines. The firefight was a furious battle for dominance, and the streets ran with blood as reinforcements came from both sides to begin the battle in earnest on land.
Reaching the hangar, Vyse said nothing, leaping into one of the skiffs and turning. Aika and Fina joined him, Aika starting up the metal engine. Lawrence opened the doors to the hangar via remote panel on the wall and then joined Luke and Rodgers. The teenager looked over at the open sky as harsh winds flooded in, roaring at them and whipping about savagely. "Everyone, good luck! Once you take out your target move on, and we'll meet up in the docks when everything's done!"
With that said, the rails onto which the lifeboats were mounted began to accumulate a small magnetic charge. Reacting to this, magnets in the hull of the craft pushed away, causing the boats to float slightly. The propellers in the back started up and they flew out, reaching the open sky above the city, which stretched out in all directions as a ruined and blackened skyline. In the distance the fleets dueled, and the walls around the city flashed each time their massive guns spoke out.
Descending, Lawrence brought their skiff away from Vyse's, heading straight for the nearest segment of wall. They received no fire, as the bigger guns couldn't track up to them, fortunately enough. However, when they drew closer enough flecks of lightning streaked to either side, enemy yellow guns and magics attempting to stop them. The armored hull of the lifeboat deflected any lucky hits, however, and the anti-aircraft fire was ineffective.
Vyse squinted against the deafening winds, watching the wall draw closer and bringing in the skiff like a glider. "No problems," He said with a big grin to the girls, who nodded tersely. He paused as the boat began to rumble and shake, and looked over to see their engine was gone. "What the hell?!" A lucky enemy small-arms shot had clipped off thin connector rods between the engine and the hull, snapping the device off and sending it flying into the air, and leaving them with no engine. "Oh, you have to be kidding me..."
They began to veer to the left, with no way to correct their course or even slow their suicidal speed, coming up on a block of buildings. "Brace for impact!" He huddled down in the center of the skiff with the girls, waiting for the inevitable crash.
Lawrence's landing was flawless, crushing a group of Valuans under the boat as it skidded to a halt. Within seconds the three air pirates had leapt out, blades drawn. Troopers encircled them, cocking their rifles. A Marine Sergeant stepped forward. "Fools," He rumbled. "You dare to attack a Valuan-held city?"
"Yes," Rodgers replied. "We're going to be kicking all of your asses and liberating the people now, if it's not too much trouble. Or especially if it is."
"You and what army?" The officer demanded with a chuckle, leveling his crackling electrical lance and preparing to crush them. Explosions behind him caught everyone's attention, and looked over to see Nasr soldiers in their brown uniforms emerging up stairways onto the wall and exchanging fire with Valuans, the air whining with stray bullets and grenades occasionally bursting around the action. A transport roared overhead, and a dozen soldiers with parachutes emerged into the open air, floating down and firing their pistols at the enemies below them.
"Libertad!" Cried an officer, using his red moonstone sword to cleanly behead a resisting Valuan trooper and leading his men forward in a crowd of death. "Muerte a Valua!" Using the momentary distraction, the mercenary charged ahead, leveling his blade for the towering Marine as the Blue Rogues began to chant attack spells in unison.
0-0
Vyse gasped, collapsing onto the tarnished marble road beside the canal that held the several surviving pieces of their lifeboat. Aika and Fina laid beside him, both of them knocked unconscious by the force of impact. He himself was feeling fatigued and pain shot through every part of his body, but he willed himself onwards. They're going to see the smoke and the crash and send a squad to investigate. I need to do something...Cupil nuzzled him. "Not now, Cupil, we're in danger!" Cupil did it again with more urgency, demanding his attention. "Well, what is it?"
The small being squeaked and dove into Fina's dress, retrieving a small crystal orb in it's mouth and floating out again, spitting it out on the ground before Vyse. He frowned and picked it up, examining it's slightly glowing crystalline surface that held flickering rainbow light within. "Is this a Silvite item?" It squeaked. "What doe this... thing do?" Cupil morphed into an arm, flexing a muscle and making a heroic noise. "It'll give us strength? Valor?" Cupil nodded. "Holy shit! This is an Aura of Valor, isn't it?" Cupil nodded again. I thought these things were just rumored... the power to make a coward into a hero, and invigorate even those who are asleep into battle... just what we need. "Perfect. How do I use it?"
In reply, Cupil became a rough sledgehammer form, crushing the sphere into glass shards with a crunch. Light flooded out from the orb, surrounding Vyse, Aika and Fina, swirling around them as Silver magics were released. An inexplicable energy began to fill Vyse, and he took in a deep breath. Power returned to his entire body, and he felt much like an enhanced Increm spell had just been cast on him. Standing up, he balled his fists and smirked. "I'm feeling awesome! That Aura of Valor really works!"
"It was intended for emergency usage, it was crafted by the Elders themselves for me... I guess this would qualify as an emergency." Fina was already standing up, drying everyone off with a very mild Pyri spell that evaporated the water that had seeped into all of their clothing. Aika was also standing, and grabbed their weapons, tossing Vyse his blades.
He caught them, attaching the holsters to his belt. "Silvite power never ceases to amaze me, Fina," He said. "How long will this effect last?"
"At least a half-hour," She replied, gently petting Cupil to calm the small silver being down.
"Are you all ok?" Several of Nasrad's citizens had been around when the crash happened, and a minor crowd was beginning to congregate. A man stepped up, and when he saw Aika and Fina he gasped in recognition. "Girls!" It was the owner of the destroyed Sunmeade Tavern, Rukil. "What... are you doing here?"
"We're kicking the Valuans out," Aika replied with a level of calm that struck the people in the crowd as completely unnecessary. "That's what all the noise and explosions are. Admiral Karzhai's forces are attacking right now."
"Nobody knew for sure, but the talk was going that way," Rukil said, looking around. "Come on. The patrols will come soon. If they find you three you will all die the death. Let's take you inside until they pass. I must say, even with your mode of arrival..." He spared a glance at the obliterated lifeboat in the clear waters of the canal, "... it is good to see you girls again."
"We thought you had been..." Fina trailed off, but took up her speech again a moment later as they walked down the street, "... in the attack..."
Rukil chuckled. "I been through plenty of stuff in my own day, Aika. I'm tougher than I look... ah, mierda. Valuans." A squad of troopers led by a captain was marching down the street, and turned the corner in plain sight of them. They spotted the group, and ran forward, surrounding them.
"It's Vyse the Criminal," One of the Valuans said. "Let's get em, boys!" The soldiers raised their swords.
"I don't think so." Rukil pulled a small object from his pocket and tossed it to the ground. The smoke bomb went off, filling the air with a sudden billowing smoked that began to choke everyone within it's large radius. He grabbed the three Blue Rogues, pulling them out of the smoke and leading them into one of the buildings, barricading the door with furniture behind them and securing the lock. "That won't hold long if they come door-to-door..."
"We should be going," Vyse said. "Are the walkway levels in this part of the city still intact?" The former tavern owner nodded. "We'll use those. We need to get to the city walls and silence the harbor artillery."
Rukil paused. "... Understood. I'll stay behind and stall these empeños for as long as I can." He put a hand on his shoulder. "Good luck. Take good care of the girls. May the Red Moon watch over you in this time of war."
Vyse was about to object, but held his tongue, and nodded soberly. "Thank you, sir. Come on, let's move!" With that they ran up the steps. Seconds later the door began to rumble and a Valuan voice commanded, "Open up in there! Open up or we'll break down the door!" To which Rukil responded with a string of Nasrian profanities.
Aika sighed, and said, "I hope Rukil's going to be ok... he helped us, now, twice when we were down." She cast a brief look back. The teenagers made their way to the top level of the bombed-out building. A door led outside, and Vyse kicked it open, revealing the open air and the set of walkways that spanned across nearly the whole marble city. Visible signs of heavy damage was everywhere, and several possible routes were demolished. Those that looked solid might collapse at any point, and they saw no sane Nasrians even trying to use the walkways.
With this careful state in mind, Vyse inched forward on the walkway, ready to leap back and try another way at the slightest sign of trouble. Pointing himself towards the flash and rumble of thunder in the distance of the enemy artillery, he got moving, forcing himself to calm down and to be very patient.
Twice the marble surface cracked and creaked when his weight was put paid to it's weakened structure, but it never collapsed, and both the girls were lighter than he, making it a relatively safe journey across several city blocks. Finally, the enormous city walls were within reach, and when the gun spoke out again the ground shook and rumbled horribly.
"There's stairwells leading up to access ramps across the walls," Vyse told them, pausing as the thunder crack of the artillery with another round of fire interrupted him. He continued, "Let's go that way. When we get to the gun, use Red Magic spells to melt the muzzle together and mess up the aiming mechanism. That'll put that gun out of commission until they can resmelt it into place at a forge." They nodded, moving out.
Two Marines stood guard at the gatehouse leading up to the interior of the wall through the access route, the massive armored troopers wielding their advanced gun-lances and looking in no mood to be intimidated. Nonetheless, the Blue Rogues walked right up to them, and Vyse said, "Let us through."
The Marine gave a throaty chuckle and coughed. "What in the name of Empress Teodora thinks we're going to admit some sailor into the wall during a battle? Access restricted to royal officers only. Now shoo, before we squash you, boy... hey, wait... you look kind of familiar... Vyse the Valiant!" He exclaimed the title of the wanted fugitive standing before him like an oath, and both of the Valuans crouched down into a battle stance.
Vyse rolled his eyes. "I guess the sketch-artists in Valua are finally getting better at doing me. Before now I hardly ever got credit for kicking your Empire's ass up and down two continents." He drew his blades, twirling them and charging.
Aika took a step back and concentrated. "Moons! Give Me Strength!" Red field lines appeared around her and a glowing runic symbol illuminated her in blood-red magical light. Suddenly a shell of flame appeared around Vyse, and when Vyse swung his blade he sent out a whip of fire which melted into the great shields of the Valuan Marines. Confounded by this unknown magic, they had no defense, but raised their weapons for a counter-attack. The bullets of both men melted in the shell of heat, useless. "I call it the Theta Flame. Neat, huh?"
"Very impressive," The teenager admitted, easily forming a fireball and sending it soaring into the air. It exploded, pushing both of the bulky figures back. They felt the heat even through their advanced combat armor. Vyse stepped forward, keeping up the attack with blades heated to glowing white, and when one raised his lance to attack, he beat down his point before the trigger could be pulled.
A wave of water slammed into him from the side, extinguishing the shell of fire and sending Vyse to the ground, tumbling over several feet of stone pavement before finally coming to a rest. Everyone looked over, to find a patrol of three Spell Wardens who were returning from their rounds, and had decided to involve themselves in the fight.
"Hey, pirate scum," The leader of the battle mages said, stepping forward and twirling his long oak staff, "Why don't you pick on someone who knows magic for once? You might find the odds a little too even for your liking, however."
The redheaded Blue Rogue glared, stepping forward. "I got these three. I just love popping huge Valuan egos like this guy. You two handle the apes." Vyse got to his feet, nodding in acknowledgment and looking up to see both Marines charging for him, their footsteps loud and metallic.
"Moons! Give Me Strength!"
"Moons, Give Me Strength!" He and she said in near-unison. Aika was summoning forth Purple Magic, an area she wasn't familiar with as much as Red or Green elements, but something she was competent in. He was using his familiar element, Yellow Magic. Lightning crackled around him, and he formed ball-lightning in his gloved hand within moments, the air crackling with ionization. Ice crystals began to form in the air above them.
Fina stepped up next to Aika and put a hand on her shoulder, closing her eyes and channeling her significant magical energies into her friend. The purple light around them intensified, and without warning the spell was finished. A dozen large ice spikes descended, impaling the Valuan Spell Warden completely. He gasped, feeling the ice, which contained more magic within it's solidly frozen matter.
Freezing up was not the word for it. His body became too cold to support life, and he limply knelt, falling to the ruined street beneath him. The gathering lightning spell faded out of existence, the ionization in the air quickly evanescing. The other two Spell Wardens stepped back, beginning their own counter-spells, which were also of the Yellow dominion.
Vyse flipped into the air, barely avoiding a powerful strike which buried one of the Marine's lances into the rock, embedding it and causing spiderweb fissures to pulse outwards from the point of colossal impact. Yellow energy flowed into these cracks, making them glow with the wasted Electres spell that would have connected with Vyse in a fatal manner if his strike had found it's mark. A yellow-charged bullet buzzed past his ear by a matter of centimeters, but he was unfaded by this, charging forward.
"Ha! Cutlass Fury!" Focusing his willpower into his blades, he made them glow a bright blue color, and began to attack the temporarily stuck enemy with all of his might. A dozen slashing blows landed on his heavy armor, and with each one came an explosion which ripped through metal and produced the blood of his victim.
Leaping back, he barely avoided the charge of the other Marine, and turned to attack his exposed back. Pulling a grenade from a pouch clipped to his belt, he primed the small cylinder and tossed it. It landed on the ground, bouncing twice and skipping over to land directly at the second Valuan's feet. The bulky man looked down, and tried to dive backwards, but he was too slow and too late to do much.
Fire bloomed upwards in a tower of destruction, blinding Vyse for a moment. When sight returned to him, he saw that pieces of high-velocity shrapnel must have stuck a fairly vital part of the man's unarmored neck or joints, because the mountain of muscle and steel was laying flatly on the ground, showing no signs of movement.
The other man had given up his troublesome stuck weapon, charging at him with arms wide open and fully ready to rip the teenager apart. Balling his gauntleted fist, he landed a punch that sent Vyse flying into the far wall with a solid thump. Aika saw this, looking back in alarm and breaking the next round of spells she had begun to summon. "Vyse!" She called out in concern. Fina also looked over, but continued her spell, sending another set of fireballs raining from the sky onto the enemy.
"Cupil, go help Vyse," She ordered. "Take him this." She reached into her pocket and pulled out a Sacrum crystal, a precious and impossibly potent crystal enchanted with one of the highest-level Green Magics known to humanity. Cupil gently swallowed the crystal, darting through the air. She looked over at Aika. "Aika. Aika!"
Aika looked over, just barely in time to duck. The lightning bolt passed inches above her head, causing her hair to smolder a little and the static to poof out the flaming orange locks slightly. She frowned. I have to focus on the fight, or we're all dead. The air pirate girl decided to take the fight to the mages in a physical way, tossing her immense boomerang at the one to the left.
Cupil passed the surprised Marine, who stared for a moment at the odd being floating without any visible source in the air. He spat the crystal like a bullet, and it landed right on Vyse's back, a single crack appearing in it's otherwise flawless emerald surface. Green light enveloped him, and Cupil determined to distract the large man, morphing into a small blade and charging for him with it's squeaky little war cry.
The Spell Wardens were not trained in much hand-to-hand nor melee combat at all, their talents in battle focused in a narrow range of skills- those relating to Magics. The man was unprepared for a direct attack, and although he raised his staff to block, found it knocked cleanly out of his hand by the force of the huge weapon, watching it fly into the bright air. With no way to cast his special magic, he was helpless as a fireball hit him in the gut, and crumpled up.
Now the last caster against two powerful foes, the Valuan mage lost none of his determination to fight, raising his staff. "You want to play real, huh? Watch this! Moons! Give Me Strength!" A sensation shot through Fina, and she knew the spell even before the familiar Silver runic circle appeared under the man's feet.
"Eternes," She breathed. "The spell of death... Aika! You must put up your Delta Shield, right away! Please hurry!" Doing as instructed, Aika began to summon magical barriers over Vyse, Fina and herself. Rainbow lights appeared in the sky, even as the mage began to finish the lethal Silver spell.
Vyse groaned, standing up. He was in very little pain, his injury having been wiped clean out by the miraculous effects of Fina's Sacrum Crystal. He grabbed his blades and went back into the fight, charging the unsuspecting Marine from behind and cleaving him straight down his spine. His weakened armor couldn't take it, splitting open. Blood sprayed over him as the man twisted, twitched, and fell like so many bricks. He watched him die quickly, looking over and finding Aika and Fina with only one standing enemy. He stepped around the bodies of his foes, Cupil in toe.
"Why can't I snap your ethereal lines?" The Spell Warden demanded in alarm, stepping back. "No shield can protect someone from Silver Magics! It's impossible!"
"Impossible? That's our forte. Moons! Give Me-" Aika smirked and began to summon another battery of punishing spells. She was interrupted, however, by the lone Valuan enemy soldier.
"Wait! Please! I surrender!" He knelt, throwing his staff to the ground at the girls' feet. "Your magical prowess is orders above mine..." He bowed his head. "Please, spare me. I'll become a Nasrian POW." I guess I got lucky... the others are dead, and if the reverse was true, Nasr's prison camps are a lot more humane than the Empire's...
A general uproar seized everyone's attention. Two squads of Nasr troopers, blood-stained and battle torn but still very much in it, were jogging along the street towards them. Upon seeing who it was, an officer stepped forward and saluted. "Sir Vyse! We have secured a dozen guns and put the rest out of commission. That one is the last one." He pointed his drawn scimitar to the gun on the wall almost directly above them.
Vyse nodded, wiping the blood from his own face. "Alright. Where's my other team?"
"I haven't heard any news about them- sorry, sir. The battle overhead is nearly even, but the firepower of your ship is tipping it our way. We've sustained forty percent casualties, but only seven Spectres still fly, plus a few smaller captured Nasr boats." He pointed into the sky, where dozens of figures intertwined in a dance of the sky, explosions blossoming all around them. Occasionally one of the figures would burst into flames or just quietly begin to sink, signaling the death or defeat of another crew.
"Hey, where's that Baker character?" Aika asked, stepping forward. "Isn't he the leader of the Valuan occupation? Don't tell me he's gonna pull an Alfonso on us. I'm really looking forward to beating the Looper-shit out of another Admiral for all the death that's happened today."
"We haven't found him yet," He replied. "Skirmishing is still going on in the streets, although our forces are on the advance and we've secured most of the wall segments but, again, that part right here. We suspect that he's hiding amongst the ruins of the old Nasultan Palace Complex in the center of Nasrad... but the enemy's lines are strong and deep there, and they have Draklor Tanks at their disposal."
Vyse scowled, remembering the stories about the Draklor Valuan Tank. It was a large metal vehicle that traveled on rubber treads, with a large gun, a powerful attack, and very bulky armor that made it deadly to regular soldiers. Some said it was a metal demon, but he doubted that was anything more than the usual human embellishment of scary objects.
"Let's deal with that gun, then we can find Baker and dig him out of his hole," Vyse said. "Sergeant, we'll take the point for this. Back us up." He went up to the dead Marines, searching both of them until he found a small key. Using it on the locked security bulkhead that they had been guarding, he was not surprised when it swung in, admitting him access to the old stairwell that led into the interior of the wall.
"I can't believe we missed most of the action," Aika sighed. "We only get to blow up one gun... Luke and Rodgers are probably kicking ass all across the city and being all heroic and stuff. Damnit, we're the main characters, they're just crewmen!"
"Do even you know what you're ranting about half the time?" Vyse asked irritably, but before an argument could flare up between the inseparable air pirate duo, they thankfully ran into a squad of Valuan guards in a darkened passageway. A short battle and they all laid slain, thanks in large part to their powerful backup in the Nasr soldiers. He sighed, looking around. "Look, that way. We just have to keep going up until we reach the top, which is where that artillery is mounted. Occasionally the ground shook as the Valuan cannon spoke out again and again, and it sickened him to think their delay was letting them send more death into the sky.
Vyse heard voices on the other side of an ajar door, and raised his blades. The voices stopped abruptly, as if they had detected him and his group. Reaching out, he pushed open the door fully, leaping up into a battle stance and crossing blades with... Lawrence. Recognition dawned on the midnight faces of the two men, and they withdrew their blades, standing down.
"Captain," He said curtly. "We were just wondering where you had touched down in the city." He nodded over to Luke and Rodgers, who also had several allied soldiers in tow.
"I'm glad that everyone is safe," Fina said happily, bowing to them.
Luke smirked. "Don't worry about that gun that's topside. Rodgers left a little present for the artillery crew manning that big time bomb... we should get out onto the street. Safer for us, and we get to watch the explosion." They backtracked, emerging out onto the street and looking up. The Valuan gun loaded yet another shell, elevating forward with the whine of machinery and firing.
It exploded. With no visible cause, the entire machine exploded, the shell detonating prematurely in a reaction with the gunpowder and the small grenade Rodgers had wired into the firing mechanism. It fell apart under the destruction, the long barrel falling forwards and splintered bits of metal and wood casing and ammo crates flew into the sky. Everyone let out a cheer. All of the guns had been silenced, leaving only the Valuan occupation fleet to contend with.
"Our job's not over yet," Vyse spoke up. "Let's get moving, people. If we can find Baker in the city and take him hostage, we can force him to call off his troops and stop the battle before we loose anyone or the Delphinus gets obliterated." Even as he spoke that, he noticed an object appearing directly above the city, climbing upwards. He blinked, zooming into the object. "It's a ship!"
"That must be Baker," Rodgers said. "Little bastard. He is going to try and run... Vyse, we can't let that guy get away."
"We can't catch them in the skiff," Lawrence observed. "That flagship's a Spectre, too. Even the Nasr airships couldn't do it if they weren't invested in battle. The only thing that could catch Baker now is... the Delphinus."
"Let me have your radio," Vyse ordered to the bewildered Nasr officer, who surrendered the hand-held back piece of machinery. Tuning it to the frequency David had offered yesterday, 34.63 hertzios. As soon as he turned on the radio, the chatter of the battle overhead blasted into him. He spoke up. "This is Vyse to the Delphinus. Delphinus, come in, this is an emergency situation."
"Delphinus here, Vyse. What's the status down there? Over." David's voice, although distorted by the radio technology and tempered by the white noise of the failed Valuan jamming systems, was more strained than usual. The battle overhead must have been taking all of his effort, especially to pilot a fairly still unfamiliar ship against Armada elites.
"Baker's running! Get after him, on the double-quick. Take him hostage, that's all that matters, and we can end this battle now." He squinted up into the shrinking form of Baker's escape ship, which was headed straight for the North Dannel Straight's location to the north. "Oh... hell... the Delphinus can't ford sky rifts yet... damn! Can you get him in time?"
"I don't think so," David replied after a second of thought. "This thing can outrun a Spectre, but not in a sprint, and he's got quite a head start on us. He should be at the North Dannel any minute now..."
"We lost him..." Aika blinked, then balled her hand into a fist. "Moons damnit! We lost him!"
"Yeah..." He smiled. "We still won the battle down here, huh? It's only a matter of time before Karzhai's troops sweep up the remaining Valuan troops, the people are rioting all over to help them, too. Although they're taking heavy losses our fleet can beat Baker's remaining ships. Looks like, official or not, Nasrad can live up to the first half of it's name again."
"Well, maybe we should-" Luke was cut off by the radio.
"The last enemy ships are running! The enemy fleet is finally in retreat! We beat them! Nasrad is ours again! Gloria a la luna roja!" At this breathless advisory, they looked to the sky. The few remaining Valuan ships were running at their top speeds away, and the Nasr fleet was forming up over the city. Cheers to either side of them from the city showed the victorious air of the people and troops there. The sounds of battle got quieter as the last of the enemy troops, seeing their hopeless situation, resigned themselves to their fate and committed suicide or surrendered to advancing Nasr battalions.
"¡Hemos alcanzado la victoria!" The officer declared, raising his blade into the air. The Nasr men around him cheered and whooped. "This is a glorious day for our country, indeed! Three cheers for the Red Moon! Three cheers for Admiral Karzhai, the Liberator of Nasrad!"
"Three cheers for the Blue Rogues!" Someone declared, and Vyse grinned widely and took a bow, Aika doing the same a moment later.
"Psst. You all did more than us," Vyse idly dismissed. "You should really be cheering Enrique and his awesome ship. That's what saved all of our bacon today." He looked up into the sky. "Vyse to Delphinus. Is everyone ok? How's the ship? Over."
"Delphinus to Vyse. The ship's a little banged and scraped up, but we're still afloat. Aside from Marco falling down a few times, and Enrique's stomach exploding a few times, the crew's all fine, too. Looks like everything went well this time. We're going to keep formation with the fleet. Karzhai's headed down there personally, maybe you should get over to the docks and talk with him."
"I'll keep that under advisement. Thanks, David." He sighed, clicking off his radio and handing it back to the Nasrian officer. "Man... what a troublesome day." He smiled tiredly. "I'm already a little bushed. Alright everyone, lets get movin'." His crew followed him as he started out.
All over the city, people began to emerge from their homes and shelter, looking around the ruined town to find a welcome sight- Nasr soldiers marching down the streets, securing the neighborhoods and raising their national flag at every intersection. People began to cheer in their native language, and when the flag was finally raised above the wreckage of the Nasultan's Palace at the center of the metropolis, the news finally began to sink into the populace. The fleet overhead, clearly visible in the sky, only reinforced this glorious information.
Nasrad was free.