Committing
"Very well," Doctor Khalil said. "We have our destination. Charlotte-17 will attempt to forcibly relocate the enemy to Eden. Seeded a century ago, the world has grown to be even more hospitable than Earth. If Elsa Yarr survives the starvation of the Lamia entity, she'll have no trouble living off the land. Even if no Watcher survives this day, the girl won't be alone for long. A colony fleet is only a month from Eden. It feels highly unlikely that the Lamia entity can survive that long so far from its home and without access to prey."
"And even if it can survive, it would likely be powerless," Leo said. "And the arriving colonists won't be of any use to it. Even if it doesn't die, but can enter a state similar to stasis, it should never again be a serious threat."
"I like it," Charlotte said. "I'll have the best chance of success at the Dying Zone, where Watcher powers are enhanced. I'll wait until I see a disturbance in the ground, indicating that Lamia is about to come through, and I'll hurry into position. If I make physical contact as she starts to emerge from her gateway, I'll have the best chance of surviving long enough to send us both to Eden. I'll then immediately project myself to Earth, which is far closer to Eden than Elpis is. That should be within my power, unless I'm totally exhausted. But I refuse to let a little risk stop me. If Lamia injures me before I escape, Earth is my best bet for survival. Watcher HQ has the most talented doctors in the Solar System."
She rose, stood still, and closed her eyes.
"Wait, what are you doing?" Max demanded, jumping up and grabbing her arm.
Startled, Charlotte opened her eyes. "There's no way of knowing how soon Lamia might claim another victim. I'm going to project myself to the Dying Zone to save time."
"Are you claiming that projecting yourself is easy?"
Confused, Charlotte tried to pull away from Max's grip, but she might as well have tried to bend an iron bar. Giving up, she said, "Well, no, of course it isn't easy, but–"
"You're planning to do something you've never even tried, projecting yourself and an insanely powerful Watcher and her extradimensional master fifty-two lightyears. And if you're going to have any hope of surviving, you'll then need to immediately transport yourself thirty lightyears to Earth, without the power boost of the Dying Zone. Do you really wanna go into this plan already tired from having projected yourself twice in a matter of hours?"
Charlotte blinked. "Good point… but I still need to hurry."
"You can use our fastest ATV," Youssef said. "We'll instruct it to take you to the Dying Zone at top speed."
"Good enough," Charlotte allowed. "Thank you, all of you, for the work you've put into this over the decades. It has cost you, repeatedly, but today it'll finally come to fruition. We'll rid your world of Lamia, and the Unwanted will no longer need to fear her."
With that, she jogged out the door, following a line of blinking lights to the main garage. Max watched her go. So much depended on that petite thirty-five-year-old woman. She was willing to make direct contact with a mass-murdering telekinetic, take action guaranteed to enrage it, and then hope she might escape. He pondered the courage required, the dedication to strangers, from a Watcher, whose life was supposed to be safe and protected.
Then he thought through the steps she proposed for making contact, and his worry deepened. If she plans to touch Lamia when it comes through a gateway with an Unwanted… that's a bigger gamble than she let on. She can't know where Lamia will appear. If the targetedUnwanted doesn't put up a fight, if Lamia can come through right after opening a gateway, Charlotte probably won't be fast enough to get there in time. And if Lamia has even a moment to get its bearings before Charlotte reaches it…
Max found himself running, out the door and down the hall after her, ignoring his father's shouts. He didn't really know this woman. His only interactions with her had been in that one room, while aggressively-incomprehensible science was discussed. But he felt he knew enough. She had come to this world against orders, risking her life so the Watchers could have an on-site investigator. And now, she was rushing toward a confrontation that would require physical contact with the deadliest person who ever lived. Unlike Max, Charlotte was short, and weak, and fragile, and totally untrained physically. More importantly, she was irreplaceable, a Watcher of exceptional power, with only one of her colleagues capable of surpassing her.
Her plan must succeed, and she must survive.
She needed him.
Anya-28 reeled as the next layer of anti-air defense triggered. The converging ring of enemy missiles, planes, and drones had reached a series of camouflaged HPM launchers, and the effects were dramatic. Hundreds of devices shot into the air, radiating extremely powerful bursts of microwave energy. The airborne threats nearest these devices fell out of the sky as major systems failed, while drones and missiles farther away suffered impaired performance and speed.
But this defensive measure also impaired most of the Watchers. Anya's implants informed her that the others had all been knocked out of their Trances when the HPM devices activated. It might be a struggle for some to quickly resume Watching. Anya felt the disorientation and sensory overload too, but in some ways she was even more resilient than Niko. Other high-energy detonations had knocked each of the other Watchers out of their Trances more than once so far, and only Anya had endured. It might also relate to her being the second weakest Watcher: Duri, Peng, and Niko were more sensitive to some of the weapons being deployed. Only Fawzia was weaker than Anya, but at her age, the sensory overload from this battle affected her the worst.
Enemy smart bombs and missiles were wasted destroying the launchers of the HPM devices, not knowing that each launcher had only one shot in the first place. Meanwhile, planes, missiles, and drones smashed into the ice far below.
Anya couldn't really wrap her mind around the scale of this battle, but her respect for Hasina's forces grew by the minute. Not a single defender had faced direct danger yet, and the attacking forces were getting torn apart. Maybe I was wrong to worry…
Pushing through the dizziness and confusion, Niko forced his mind back into the fight. So many of these advanced weapons had the power to overwhelm his projected awareness. The sensation was too different from physical pain for him to power through it. Duri was doing a decent job of predicting and avoiding such high-energy detonations, and Anya was toughing it out, but the others were struggling.
And for Niko, the sensory overload was nothing compared to the true struggle he faced.
People were dying. Thousands of them. Missiles, EMP's, and HPM's were knocking aircraft out of the sky, HQ's rooftop artillery was starting to smash ground vehicles, and the earlier orbital bombardment had exceeded Niko's wildest imaginings. Death on this scale, unfolding right in front of him, tore at his psyche. His breathing came quickly, his heart pounded, and he teetered on the brink of a panic attack.
The only thing stopping him from totally folding, from collapsing into a useless heap, was his periodic patrol of Hasina's perimeter forces. These brave men and women were far from safety, maintaining a defensive ring that would threaten the incoming forces. Right now, the people who were dying all belonged to the attackers. They wanted to kill Niko, his friends, and his coworkers. If they weren't stopped, Hasina's soldiers would soon come under fire. Watcher security forces had never lost a man in battle, but that could easily change today. A lot of these soldiers were fairly young. Four were still in their late teens. And the attackers wanted to kill them. No matter how much it hurt to see people die, Niko had to keep it together. For his friends, and for all of human civilization, these attackers had to be stopped. The Organization must survive. He must not give in, he must not let a panic attack take hold. Hasina's soldiers needed all the support he could give. He didn't have the luxury to crack under the pressure.
Niko knew that, as a Watcher, his life was considered top priority. In the eyes of the world, and of every soldier defending HQ, it would be worth sacrificing a thousand lives to keep Niko safe. But if even one person died to protect him, Niko would carry that weight forever. And all he could do to help was observe the interior of enemy vehicles and report his findings to Hasina, adding to the ocean of data she already had to process.
Then, he hesitated. That would have been true mere days ago, but was that really still the case?
Exiting his Trance, he opened a channel to the other Watchers.
Upping her dose of pain meds and targeted sedatives, Fawzia-11 entered her Trance for the fifth time since the battle started. She was particularly vulnerable to the sensory effects of so many high-tech weapons being deployed, but she refused to drag the team down. She would do her duty. She would Watch, and report, and–
"Niko to all Watchers! At this rate, soldiers are gonna die protecting us. None of us want that to happen. And for the first time, we can do more than Watch! Fawzia, please… we need to take more direct action!"
Fawzia hesitated, torn. Her initial instinct was to shoot down the suggestion. For fifty-one years, she'd had it drilled into her head that Watchers must never be risked in any way. They were the rarest and most important people in existence.
But then she directed her Watch back to the men and women who stood ready to protect her. Those soldiers, positioned far from safety, forming a fragile ring of defenders, prepared to draw fire and occupy enemy attention. They'd spent every day since 21's death pushing their minds and bodies to the limit, driven to excel, striving and suffering.
And it was all so they'd be ready to put their lives on the line if necessary.
Watchers… are only important… because we can serve humanity. We can do things no one else can. And some of us have recently gained the strength to do more than just observe…
"Watchers: this is 11. 17 proved that we can learn to use our powers for far more than observation. I'm certain each of you has at least imagined ways you might be able to take more direct action. Therefore… I authorize you to do so. Stay safe, don't get reckless, but if you see an opportunity to help our guardians with more than intel… you may."
Fawzia had deliberately not included Chief Rakoto in that conversation. Their commander wouldn't approve of Watchers taking even the slightest risk on behalf of the soldiers who defended them. But Klaus and Charlotte had planted a seed in all of their hearts. Even Peng of all people had recently shown signs of genuine altruism. On a day when their entire Organization was under threat, it felt right that the Watchers might step up and contribute in a more substantial way.
Sadly, Fawzia knew she couldn't do the same. Even with MD-Δ flowing through her, and with her body relaxed and sedated, she couldn't even match the power Charlotte had possessed before the drug's creation. For her to attempt physical projection or telekinesis would be a waste of time and energy. But the Aurora Australis had just started, meaning she could Watch Elpis. From the moment HQ had entered high alert, none of the Watchers had checked in on Charlotte-17, and the vital intel being discussed. Assuming the Organization survived the next hour, they'd return their attention to the Unwanted crisis.
And getting a little footage from that scientific lecture will give the archivists and scientists something to do other than sit and fret. Maintaining their morale had value, for it was possible they might see combat. If they did, it wouldn't do to have them already ragged from an hour of helpless cowering.
Projecting her mind through the Alfvén waves, she centered her awareness on the Lecture Hall in Doctor Khalil's compound.
And she saw Klaus die.
For a moment, Fawzia feared she was experiencing a waking nightmare, for what she beheld was horrific to the extreme. But then the holo reset, and she realized this was recorded footage of the Dying Zone.
As she Watched, a bloody pencil levitated, and then shot through the air, puncturing the blood-filled bouncy house that had once held Lamia's trophies.
This… this footage… Khalil's people recorded 21's final moments…
Most of the scientists from the earlier lecture remained in the room, and every screen was covered in data, likely reporting everything the Watchers missed after Anya had been forced to stop observing. Charlotte-17, as well as Maximus Angelos, were gone. A prominent screen read, "Charlotte has a plan to neutralize Lamia."
Fawzia's head spun at the audacity of that, but for the moment, she had to give her full attention to the holo footage of her protégé.
Klaus-21 appeared high in the air, and he fell into the polluted stream. He tried to fight the current, but the empty little boat floated past him.
Then, the disembodied voice of a little girl asked, "Who are you? How can you see me? You aren't one of the Unwanted?
Klaus stopped treading water, but he didn't sink or even float downstream. Lamia had him in her invisible grip.
"Who are you?" Lamia demanded, her voice harsh.
As 21's longtime instructor, Fawzia could detect the subtle signs that his following words were theatrical bravado, intended to hide his fear. "I am Klaus-21, the Heart of the Watchers. I am the Light that pierces the Darkness. I am the Hope that banishes Despair. I am he who inspires all Watchers to ever greater–"
His words cut off, and his face twisted in disbelief and horror. He punched upward at an unseen assailant… and the brutality began.
His arms were crushed and pierced in a hundred places, then Klaus was yanked out of the water by the invisible foe. Needle teeth shot through the air like darts, some piercing his body, and Fawzia's student made one final attempt to fight back. He kicked at whatever held him, but then his body twisted, broke… and tore apart. The savagery was too fast to clearly make out, and there hadn't even been time for him to scream. Shredded remains scattered in every direction, and blood fell in a heavy rain. It was as if he'd been pulled through an industrial scrap grinder, and the sight tore at the elderly woman. Much of the blood, flesh, and splintered bone vanished into the river, but the violence of the killing also showered the concrete on either bank.
Fawzia's heart ached, and her stomach churned. It had been very quick… but this brought no comfort.
A little white sleeveless nightgown, now speckled with blood, lay in the boat. It shifted, lifted into the air, and vanished from sight. Lamia must have returned to its original size.
The others don't need to see this, at least not yet. One second of footage showing all of the screens and displays will be enough for now…
Klaus had been her protégé, her beloved student, for sixteen years. For today, Fawzia would bear this agony alone.
Shivering from the bitter wind, Doctor Wilma Taibei took her position on the rooftop of HQ. She'd never before been granted access to this area, but during battle there was value in having a medical presence here. Along with eight other doctors and two dozen nurses, Wilma had been reassigned to assist any wounded that might be sent back from the front line. While the soldiers' battlefield armor fully insulated them from the brutal cold, everyone else wore arctic gear. Wilma's goggles and mask protected her from the worst of the elements, but with the need to see and provide basic medical care, she couldn't be bundled up enough to actually stay warm. She wished she'd thought to suit up in the heated coveralls some of the other departments had access to, but none of the other doctors had done so either.
Massive remote-operated gauss artillery periodically fired, sending their hypervelocity shells toward targets well over the horizon. Pre-gauss weapons of such power would have produced ear-splitting blasts of explosive sound, but magnetic acceleration produced far less noise. Just the hum of the tremendous electrical output and the crack of the projectile breaking the sound barrier. Far louder, long range anti-missile rockets and anti-aircraft missiles fired in volleys, though Wilma could see how few of these remained. HQ had never before been threatened with even a hundredth as many airborne attackers, and their guided munitions were running low. Thankfully, the enemy air forces had already suffered terrible losses, and what little ammo remained might just be enough.
"The first pod is incoming!" Doctor Parks shouted, struggling to be heard over the roar of rockets launching. "Private Yong's biometrics show his life isn't in danger, so only one nurse needs to accompany him to the Infirmary!"
A streak of exhaust approached, and Wilma might have feared a missile strike if not for Doctor Parks' headsup. Every vehicle and gunship in Hasina's arsenal came equipped with an HV6 emergency medical pod, with a price tag worthy of the Interstellar Fleet. Only two of HQ's security personnel had ever needed to use them, but today would likely be very different.
The pod rocketed in, having accelerated with more than enough g-force to render the occupant unconscious. If the patient had any spinal injuries or other ailments, the pod would have been forced to travel far more slowly. Flipping around in midair, the pod fired extremely powerful retros and deployed parachutes. If the soldier had remained conscious thus far, this punishing deceleration would have finally knocked him out.
Wilma's implants presented her with Private Yong's combat log and the context of his injury. An enemy bomber had seen an incoming missile and fired off a shot just before being destroyed. Without a hard lock, the smart bomb had targeted the artillery piece attached to Squad 15. Their APC's anti-missile laser dome had hit the incoming bomb, which detonated in response. It had gotten close enough for the blast force to throw three soldiers a considerable distance, and Yong's biometrics warned of significant internal bleeding.
The pod jettisoned its parachutes, and maneuvering thrusters righted its trajectory. The medical personnel and their security detail formed a ring around the nearest landing pad, and the pod touched down. It slid open, and two soldiers moved the patient onto a gurney. One of them quickly raced the soldier indoors, accompanied by the nurse who would verify his condition. Both would return to the rooftop as soon as the Infirmary took over Private Yong's care. The pod, having served its purpose, fired one last burst from its engines, launching off the roof to clear up the landing pad for new arrivals.
Another streak of exhaust approached, even faster than the first. Wilma double-checked the current battle report, and her heart sped up. This was not an emergency medical pod…
A small, short range missile launched to intercept, speeding toward the incoming object. Two of the younger nurses looked scared, but Wilma refused to let her own worry show. Considering how many thousands of airborne hostiles had initially launched toward HQ, it was telling that this was the first threat to come within sight.
Just before the anti-missile rocket reached it, the enemy missile split into half a dozen smaller warheads.
Someone screamed, others dropped prone, and point defense gauss chainguns opened up. Three of the small missiles detonated, and soldiers were moving to shield doctors and nurses with their armored bodies. A laser dome blazed away, detonating two more missiles.
Without making a conscious decision or taking her eyes off the display of light and fire, Wilma took two steps to the side. She now stood between the danger and the only nurse who didn't have a soldier protecting him.
The final enemy missile fell to a gauss round. Pings of metal on metal warned of shrapnel bouncing off the roof or soldiers. A sharp sting caused Wilma to bring a hand to her left cheek, and it came away with a small smear of blood. Minor. No need to make a scene. The rip in her hood and mask were actually more troubling, letting in the bitter wind.
"Check in!" Sergeant Blont ordered. As everyone rose to their feet, it quickly became clear that no one had gotten worse than Wilma, and her cut required no more than a quick swipe of antiseptic.
"I thought our defenses were better than this!" Doctor Tessen hissed, unable to hide the quiver in her voice.
"That missile was of the very latest generation," Sergeant Blont said. "The sort we have. It's unlikely the attackers have many more like it. And anyway, our defenses have shot down thousands of missiles, drones, and aircraft already."
"And I'd seriously reconsider complaining," Wilma said, surprising herself at her willingness to chastise a far more senior doctor. "Our front line defenders are facing far worse."
No matter what happens, these scum will not reach the Watchers.
Second Lieutenant Eléa Blanchet took one more look to the left and right, noting the steady readiness of the men and women under her command. Lying prone at the icy ridge, they presented the smallest possible targets while taking aim. The incoming vehicles weren't visible yet, but it wouldn't be much longer.
The Sunflash-3 Battle tank on the slope behind them opened fire, its primary gauss cannon launching a hypersonic shell toward a target only visible to satellites and sensor drones. Eléa knew that shot would serve as a rangefinder of sorts, supplementing other sources of targeting data before the serious firepower was deployed.
Sure enough, the Lonna-9 mobile artillery piece half a kilometer behind the tank now fired its own monstrous cannon. Pre-gauss artillery would have produced extreme levels of recoil to hurl such a heavy shell so fast. But with magnetic acceleration and very complex design, the recoil forces could be spread out, diverted and redistributed. This allowed the automated reloading process to commence the instant the magnetic coils powered down, and another shell fired.
While both the tank and artillery cannon blazed away at the unseen foe, Eléa repeated a set of calming exercises. This will be the most important day of all our lives… and we're ready. Chief Rakoto has always inspired her troops to excel, and the Captain made us want to push through the pain. We weren't able to protect Klaus-21, but today we get to redeem ourselves. We'll defend the five Watchers in HQ, and all the non-combattants with them. We'll ensure that Charlotte-17 has a home to return to after she completes her mission on Elpis.
"Martins to Blanchet."
"I read."
"Your position will face the heaviest assault of all, and by a steep factor."
"We know."
"Until we finish clearing the skies, the Chief won't authorize me to reinforce you."
"Understood."
The line briefly went quiet. For all his personal courage and his brutal approach to training, the Captain couldn't hide how deeply he cared for his men. Blanchet loved him for it, but in a battle this important, he needed to focus on the big picture.
Finally, Benicio continued. "The kid's in your squad?"
"It would hurt him to know you called him that."
"Blanchet, he's not ready for the storm about to reach your position. He's got grit, but he doesn't have the experience to—"
"I will not order Anderson to fall back," she said, cutting off a superior Officer for the first time in her career. "Not unless the order comes directly from the Chief. More than anything, he wants to protect his squad. I will not order him to put his own safety first. Either he'd disobey me outright, or his spirit would be crushed."
"Lieutenant, he's only—"
"Would you obey such an order? Would you take cover while your squad faced greater danger?"
Silence.
"You're a good man, Sir, and the greatest soldier in a generation. Allow your inferiors to choose the same level of courage that defines you."
Rather than show the strain of emotion he certainly felt, the Captain spoke with cold, cool focus. "I'll head toward your position the moment I receive authorization. Hold the line."
An artillery shell came down a hundred meters short of her position. Sensor jamming and a focus on destroying support aircraft made enemy targeting systems less than dependable. That would gradually change as they drew nearer.
"Understood, Captain."
A volley of eleven missiles streamed toward her position. The Sunflash-3 launched a storm of rockets to intercept, eliminating seven. Gunnery Sergeant Sanders fired a cluster missile that destroyed three more. Blanchet and the five other riflemen blazed away, and a lucky shot from Anderson took out the last missile. A bit of shrapnel cracked Blanchet's faceplate, but not badly enough to disrupt her HUD.
No matter what it costs us, we will hold the line.
Duri Watched the final Wave of HQ's long-range missiles tear into the surviving enemy aircraft. Many got off shots before being destroyed, and a thin scattering of drones and missiles still moved toward HQ, but the battle in the skies was mostly over. Neither side still possessed many long-range air assets. The advanced gunships attached to the twenty-seven frontline squads would provide powerful fire support, but the rest of this battle would primarily be fought on the ground.
I've been authorized to take direct action, and I want to. Some of our defenders, especially Blanchet's Squad 4, are facing overwhelming numbers. Unless HQ's rooftop artillery can land a crazy number of hits at extreme range, those soldiers are in trouble. But what can I realistically do?
While helping Niko experiment with more advanced physical projection, Duri had tried it himself. Even over short distances, and while running simulations to trigger his fear response, Duri just couldn't muster the needed power. He hadn't even managed to "touch" an object from a distance.
But what if there's an ability that isn't so much about power, but about understanding?
His mind immediately jumped to something they'd seen Lamia do many times, but no one had discussed attempting. How does she form those short-range gateways? She always seems fully aware of her own surroundings, so gates don't require sending her mind to the destination. And if she isn't actually Watching the site of the more distant gateway, what exactly does it entail?
Even as he Watched massive artillery shells unleashing chaos on the enemy forces, he let his mind ponder just what Watching really meant. Our thoughts are generated by the electrochemical activities of our brains, and ordinary sight and sound are taken in by physical sensory organs. But when Watching, it feels like our minds, eyes, and ears are elsewhere. Scans prove our physical brains are still responsible for our perceptions during a Trance. So… while Watching, our minds are behaving as if there's no distance between the location of our brain and the place we're observing… Are Lamia's gateways an extension of this? Is her mind treating two locations as having no distance between them, but in regard to physical objects instead of mental processing?
Far below his point of view, an enemy artillery piece took a direct hit from a hypervelocity shell. The kinetic impact alone had likely cut the vehicle in half, but the followup merculite detonation made that irrelevant.
If I'm going to have a personal hand in the outcome of this battle, I'm gonna need to be very quick in trying this out…