Owen set his jaw and glared at the army ahead of them. Their arrival out of the dunes had gone unnoticed, shrouded by the low-hanging storm clouds that shadowed the battlefield, and the sight of the black hoard swarming across the desert and the hard-packed compound was like ants on a pavement. The engines of the bikes purred, metal baking hot after the drive from Luxor despite the shade.
King Kiron turned his bike towards them, and Owen flipped his visor down again, seeing Athene do the same out of the corner of his eye. They had gone unnoticed so far, and now was not the time to be discovered. The king rode past them, surveying his troops, and called out orders to the squadron leaders. When the charge came, Owen and Athene's group was to go straight down the dunes, into the centre of the melee.
"Never thought I'd ride into battle on a dirt bike," he muttered to himself. All around him and through the ranks, soldiers were tightening their gauntlets, adjusting their helmets and taking a firm grip on their weapons. They waited for the signal, poised just behind the crest of the dune, eyes fixed on Kiron.
It came, and they rode up over the hill and opened fire on the hoard below. They were falling before they had realised they were under attack, and beset now on two sides. The narrow entrance to the besieged fort didn't allow for them to adapt their strategy, and the army was divided inside and out. The Okrani turned and rushed towards the mounted army, but the loose sand trapped them at the bottom, under fire and unable to escape.
The sand started to shift under them, and Kiron gave the order to charge. The bikes' wheels bit and span through the sand, and they skidded towards the army, who fled before them.
Just in front of him, Athene's bike lost its grip on the sand and slid from underneath her, sending her tumbling down the dune without protection. Owen veered towards her and threw himself from his own bike, helping her to slide down the hill between the bikes, diving into the sand to slow their fall. They landed in an ungainly heap at the bottom, separated from the battle by a field of carnage.
A shadow fell on them from the top of the hill, and Owen rolled onto his back to see one of the Lashimi bearing down on them with sword outstretched.
# # #
A sandstorm whipped up out of the desert, driving north towards Marsam and blowing the heavy storm clouds ahead of it. Orlando had his scarf wrapped over his face, but he found that as long as they kept up a good pace they didn't need it. The eye of the storm travelled with them, and inside it was utterly still and calm.
They passed abandoned settlements buried under sand on the way, some of them showing signs of recent abandonment. Martin pressed closer to him and they shared a worried glance. Rick was behind the wheel, and had grown intense and distant since they had passed out of the Sudan into Egypt with the dust cloud around them.
He dropped his hand onto Martin's leg and leaned forwards to look at the Sat Nav. "This thing's completely on the blink," he muttered. "There's no way we can have got that far that fast. It should have taken a week."
"The Djin have aided our journey," Rick explained, the first time he'd spoken since he took over the wheel that morning. "That's why they're pressing us for speed - they know we can go faster."
"Not without wrecking the Bobcat, we can't." Martin sighed and turned to look out of the window at the wall of sand. "How did Top Gear do this in an Opal Cadet?"
"By having excellent support teams and not driving through the dunes." They hit another and Orlando grunted as he was thrown into Martin's lap. "Hi again."
"Hi." Martin righted him and kept an arm around him to steady him. "Do you think you could avoid the rocks, Rick?"
"Doing my best." He wrenched the wheel, and this time Martin went crashing into Orlando. "Sorry."
"Appreciate it." Orlando reached out for the sat nav and checked it again. "It's saying we're nearly there. That can't be right."
"We are. Can't you hear them?"
"Hear who?"
"The Djin." Rick glanced at them, and shrugged at their looks of alarm. "It's not like I can see where we're going anyway."
Orlando was about to respond and return conversation to the Djin when a sound outside their world of wind and dust caught his attention. A moment later the storm battered at the car and then swept on, leaving them becalmed and skidding onto the edge of a battlefield.
# # #
Owen tugged on Athene's arm and pulled her back away from the dune. "Don't let it touch you," he hissed. "They got our boss."
The Lashimi seemed to have no problems with the loose sand, and descended the dune even as they struggled away. Its sword flashed in the sunlight and swung between them. In contrast to everyone and everything else there, the Lashimi was dressed only in the shimmering, lightweight clothes that they had worn in Wales, and stood out even in the alien surroundings. It was icy cool and collected as it bore down on them.
"Your rebellion will fall," it hissed. "Bow before your new masters and you will be spared."
"Not a chance." Owen raised his gun. "Eat lead."
The bullets glanced off harmlessly, as they had before, and the Lashimi swept down on them with sword raised. Athene dove towards it and was brushed off easily. She screamed as she fell, but Owen was too hard pressed defending himself to see to her. He swept a solid metal bar from the ground and used it to deflect the Lashimi's blows. Its superior skills, though, drove him back over and over again, back towards the fighting and the increased danger.
And then it stopped. Athene had dragged herself to her feet and struck at it from behind with one of the Okrani's crude swords. The blow, as crude as the weapon was, with sheer blunt force behind it had driven in against the neck, between two of the protruding bones, and driven the bones apart with a sickening crack. The Lashimi swayed once more and crumpled to the ground, and then Owen had to dive forwards to catch Athene as she too tipped forwards.
# # #
The dust storm rolled across the battlefield, filled with chittering laughter. It kicked up into tornadoes that hurtled in pursuit of fleeing Okrani, and formed protective barriers around UNIT troops. The sand gouged at everything in its past, scouring the battlefield clean of the Okrani stains.
Within minutes the battle was over and the wind died to leave an eerie calm, and the bodies buried under a covering of sand. Dazed UNIT troops picked their way through, searching among the bodies for fallen colleagues and friends, no one seeming to dare to raise their voices.
Orlando slid out of the car and followed Martin out into the open. There was such carnage, it was impossible to know where to start. "So much death," he breathed. "How do you stand it?"
"War?" Martin reached for his hand and shrugged. "You don't."
A gust of wind tugged at them and they turned back to face into it. Rick was peering up into the sky, where a glimmer of light danced high above them. "The battle is not yet won," he called. "There is much still to be done before the Earth is safe."
The light danced and whirled, diving closer to them as the wind increased. Orlando tightened his grip on Martin and turned his face away. He heard Rick call out again. "We will recognise your part in this fight, and we will recognise your residence here. All I ask is that you do not abandon us now when the battle is only half fought!"
But the wind died and the light vanished, drifting away with the shadow of a laugh.
"Rick!" They turned towards the fort again. Tosh was hurrying towards them, hair whipping around her face freely. She threw herself at Orlando and Martin first and hugged them tightly, then released them and turned on Rick. "I was so worried about you all," she sobbed. "The battle and..."
"We're safe," Rick assured her, holding her just as tightly. "We stayed out of it, stayed safe."
She pulled back and looked around. "What about Owen, is he with you?"
"No, we left him in Athens," Martin told her. "He was told he couldn't ride with UNIT, so he'll have stayed."
Tosh gave him a disbelieving look and turned back to the battlefield. "No, he'll be here. I hope..."
They all exchanged looks and, without another word, set to combing the battlefield for their friend.