Chapter 16: Retribution

It had begun in silence.

In the small hours of the morning, all communications from the south of Green Earth had abruptly ceased. A pall of silence had descended over the coast, too widespread and too difficult to breach to be a mere technical malfunction, or any kind of known cyber attack. No one had even been able to speculate what the cause might be. Soon a dozen agencies and organisations had started to investigate the mysterious blackout, all exploring different possible explanations – some technical and some natural, some by accident and some by design. The response had been scattered and confused, and it had cost them precious hours. From the Central Command Centre, Jess and Drake had issued a general alert and tried to comprehend what could possibly disrupt military communications to this extent. The fact that their most secure signals had been affected at all was reason enough to suspect that something was deeply wrong. Yet, with so little information, and such limited means of investigating, there had been no way to quickly ascertain the truth. And so, as the hours passed and no answers came, foreboding had hung heavy in the air. Before long it had bloomed into cold fear.

Eight hours passed before they finally managed to make contact with their island territories to the south. By then, the first reports had already started coming in from the mainland, and the true meaning of the silence had been confirmed.

Green Earth was under attack.

At first they had dared to hope that the scope of the assault was limited. Dared to hope that this was no more than a deadly raid, or a strike against one specific objective. In those first minutes after the news broke, the scattered distress calls and rumours of Black Hole activity had been focused on a specific region along the southern coast. In response they had mobilised an army with all haste, and sent it to engage the enemy. There had been nothing Jess and the other COs in the capital could do but wait as their troops raced towards the combat zone. Communications remained virtually non-existent, forcing them to rely on secure and short range systems, and as the hours continued to slip away without further word from the south, the fear that choked the very air had only continued its cancerous growth.

It was only then that the other reports had begun to come in. The enemy was not in one place, but three, striking at multiple points along Green Earth's southern peninsula. With no small effort, Drake and Jess had organised a series of reconnaissance missions to assess the situation on the ground. Getting through to their units trapped beneath the blanket of silence had proven impossible, but by combining units from outside the affected area with those stationed just inside it, they had been able to create multiple scouting parties while they began mustering troops for a larger counterattack. This time, the wait for news had been short. As Green Earth's first response teams had scouted the threatened regions, they had found only devastated ruins. Even with the difficulties imposed by the ongoing communication problems, the situation had soon become obvious. Black Hole was gone. The enemy, it seemed, had struck without warning, and withdrawn before Green Earth's military could even mount an effective response.

Jess could scarcely believe how woefully inadequate their defences had proven. Their early warning systems had done nothing, and the perimeter guard had been swept aside like so much chaff. Black Hole had simply appeared out of nowhere and struck multiple targets with impunity. It shouldn't have been possible. That was what Jess had repeatedly thought as she took charge of of the incoming reports, and started trying to assess the extent of the damage. Hours bled into a second day since the disruption began, and muddled updates from the south had continued trickling in. That was when Jess realised that Black Hole's forces were moving swiftly west from their original attack points, and they were striking at further targets as they did. This was nothing less than a coordinated effort to cripple military sites along Green Earth's entire southern coastline.

After that, there had been no time to try and organise a fully equipped response. Once it had become clear that the enemy was attacking targets in sequence, Green Earth had been left with no choice but to try and fight back with everything and anything they could muster. Jess had raced to analyse the data points they had, and track the movements of the enemy strike forces. Establishing their position and calculating a possible intercept had been a task fraught with difficulty, but she had managed it. Meanwhile, the task of coordinating troop movements across the country had fallen to Drake, and Jess did not envy him in it. They had only adapted to the new conditions to a limited extent, and the preparations for a counterattack, already hasty, had been adapted and reconfigured on the fly as the situation evolved. The resulting operation was a total shambles, but it was the best they could manage. Jess, Angel, and Matt had each flown out to take command of one of the assembling armies, and they had rushed to war.

Almost thirty hours after the silence had first descended over Green Earth, Jess found herself leading a column of armoured vehicles towards the coast, and into battle. She rode in a tank towards the middle of the formation, watching from the turret as her army approached its destination. They were driving towards a small port city in the country's southwest, where Green Earth's naval academy was located. Jess's recon teams had already confirmed that Black Hole was attacking the city, and even if they had not, the situation was obvious from the state of the highway. The road was choked with cars as civilians fled before the enemy's onslaught, all desperately trying to navigate the mess of congestion, collisions, and breakdowns. That was just another unforeseen obstacle Jess had struggled to overcome. Clearing the traffic at its worst points had taken much too long, and trying to avoid the chaos by cutting through open fields had been a disaster. At this time of year, the ground was soft and muddy, and trying to drive across it with heavy tanks had only cost them more minutes they could not afford.

Ahead Jess could see a small encampment set up by the roadside. The column had caught up with her advance teams, and not a moment too soon. She glanced down into the tank's interior.

"Time?" She asked.

"Eight fifteen," one of the crew replied.

Jess swore. They were running later than she'd thought. She leapt from the tank and ran to the roadside, where her scouts had set up a radio station. With communications still so unreliable, she and Drake had arranged a window to speak ahead of time, and done everything in their power to make sure the connection would function. Jess had no idea if their countermeasures would even prove effective; there was simply no frame of reference from which to hazard a guess. Whatever Black Hole was using to jam their signals, it was unlike anything she had ever encountered before. This was electronic warfare on an unprecedented scale.

All lights on the instrument panel showed positive as the signal came through. Jess lifted a pair of large headphones over her ears, adjusted the microphone, and inhaled. Time for the moment of truth.

"Drake?" She said. "Do you copy?"

For several seconds there was only silence, followed by a gush of blaring static. A look of consternation came over Jess. She shook her head at the radio's operator, and he began to adjust several settings. The static became a warble, then a high pitched whine, and then –

"-you hear me?" Drake's voice came through.

Jess breathed a sigh of relief and smiled. "I can now," she advised him. "It's good to hear your voice."

"I'll bet."

Her smile faded. "Talk to me, Drake. What's the situation? Have the others reported in?"

"No word from Angel or Matt just yet, but I'm afraid I've got some bad news."

A murmur of apprehension ran through Jess, soon overwritten by anger. What now?

"By the time I could get through to the nearest air base, it was too late," Drake continued. "When the local commandant heard about the attacks, he scrambled all available jets and sent them to engage the enemy. Of course, by the time they reached the nearest combat zone, Black Hole was already gone, so they returned to base. They're on the ground refuelling now."

Jess frowned. "Drake, I need that air support."

"I'm pulling everything I can and sending it to your position," he said, "but it's going to take time to get there."

"How much time?"

For a split second Drake hesitated. "Ninety minutes. Maybe a bit more."

"That's too long," Jess decided. "We're going in now."

"Is that a good idea?"

"We don't have a choice," she said. "Black Hole is ransacking the city as we speak. They don't know we're here yet and that gives us an advantage."

"Jess…" Drake hesitated. "Are you sure about this? You could find yourself in hot water if you attack without air or sea support."

"If we don't attack soon, we'll lose our window of opportunity," she pointed out. "They'll just withdraw and hit another target. I'm not going to let that happen. They've done enough damage already."

Drake went quiet. Jess knew he wouldn't accept her decision immediately; he had never been quite as decisive as either her or Eagle. Drake's instinct was to go on the defensive, and to protect what he could rather than launch an aggressive play. It was an effective command style, but it wasn't fit for the current situation. Jess was sure of that. Black Hole was moving rapidly, and there was no time to second guess themselves. They needed to launch a surgical strike and take out the enemy's combat capability in one fell swoop. Jess was all too aware that they had few good options, but so far as she could see, this was the best one.

They had to do something to fight back. To defend their country. Ever since the news had reached the capital and the full extent of the attack had become clear, Jess had been coming at the situation from all sides, trying to find a better strategy, a better solution. There was none. Her analysis had shown that time and again. They couldn't afford to wait for reinforcements from Orange Star, presuming their ally could even spare them at all. Nor could they do nothing, and let events take their course. It was imperative to minimise the damage by any means possible, and that meant taking swift and decisive action. No, Jess told herself again, there was no choice but to fight.

"Alright," Drake said at last. "How can I help?"

Jess felt a wave of gratitude for his support. Strictly speaking, Drake did not have the authority to overrule her, but she didn't want to attack without his backing. Green Earth's commanders worked best when they could come to a consensus.

"The highway is full of civilians fleeing the city," Jess said. "I've left a handful of troops to protect them, but they're going to need a proper relief effort before long. It's bedlam out there."

"I'll see what I can do," Drake replied. "Anything else?"

She took a short breath. "Just send me all the reinforcements you can spare. We're going to need them."

"Understood."

"I'll try to contact you again at thirteen hundred hours," Jess added. "Can you have another secure channel set up then?"

"I certainly can." Drake paused. "And Jess? Be careful. We still don't know exactly what we're dealing with here."

"Don't worry, Drake." Jess said with a slight smile. "I'm always careful."

"Hmm."

"We'll speak again soon," she assured him. "Jess out."

She nodded to the radio operator, and he cut the signal. Jess returned the headphones to their place, her expression hardening as she studied the cityscape looming before her. There were plumes of smoke rising above the port, wending away as the sky grew steadily paler, but they told her nothing she did not already know. Jess had fought her way across Macro Land during the Second Great War, and she was well acquainted with how Black Hole treated cities and civilians.

Jess turned to an officer who was taking in reports at the radio station.

"Are we ready to move yet?" She asked.

He shook his head. "Almost, ma'am."

A sour twist crossed Jess's lips. She had wanted her army in position long before now, but there was nothing more she could do to accelerate the process. Instead she took advantage of the pause to try and anticipate what challenges lay ahead. Without knowing the composition of the enemy force, it was hard to predict what kind of fight they were in for. Jess's armoured column was powerful, but small. It was probable that she was outmatched. In fact, that was practically a given. In the previous wars Black Hole had demonstrated a penchant both for deploying an overwhelming amount of firepower, and for using it poorly. Jess knew that her army was almost certainly outnumbered and outgunned, but so long as she played it smart, she was was certain she could find a path to victory.

The officer Jess had spoken to earlier waved to her. "Commander, our rearguard is coming into position now."

"And are our rocket units ready to engage?"

"All except unit three," he said. "They need another ten minutes."

Jess swore again. They should have been ready by now, she thought with no small frustration. Mishaps and delays had plagued the hastily organised counterattack from the beginning, every error and mistake compounded by the communications blackout. The original plan had been to drive through the night and attack at dawn with the morning fog to provide cover. Now, however, the sun was inching steadily higher into the sky and the fog was dissipating; once it was gone they would lose the element of surprise completely. As soon as Black Hole realised they were under attack, they would shift to a defensive posture, or perhaps even withdraw from the port entirely. Jess couldn't afford to let that happen. She needed to hit them hard, and eliminate enough of the enemy force to prevent them from threatening any other targets on Green Earth soil.

Jess closed her eyes. Ready or not, there was only one choice.

"Signal all units," she ordered. "We attack immediately."

Jess left the radio operator to his task and jogged back to her tank. There was nothing more she needed to say. Her force had already been briefed on their objectives, and everyone knew what they had to do. Under the current circumstances, it was even more important than usual that her troops understood their strategic goals, and had the latitude to act on their own initiative. With communications so erratic, Jess couldn't assume she would always have a clear picture of the battle, and nor could she count on being able to issue orders in a timely manner.

As a result, she had kept her attack plan simple. Jess had split her army into two as she approached the port. Her main group would enter the city from the north along the main highway, while the second force approached from the east to outflank the enemy. By attacking from multiple directions, Jess hoped to trap and destroy as many Black Hole units as possible. Their primary objective was to sweep through the city, making their way through the streets until they reached the southwest side, where Green Earth's naval academy overlooked the ocean. Jess strongly suspected that was Black Hole's main target, and she intended to prevent it from falling if at all possible. Once they broke through to the academy, Jess and her force would have a secure location from which to assess the situation, consolidate their position, and drive any remaining enemy troops out of the city. A simple plan, but Jess was confident it would prove effective.

The rumble of heavy engines and the clanking of treads filled the morning as Jess's armoured force picked up speed, heading towards the city limits. Jess left behind small radio teams at regular intervals as they moved in. Communications were too unreliable beyond short range, so she needed to rely on them to relay her messages and maintain contact with the rest of her troops. Their progress was quick as the world around Jess turned from open space to suburban sprawl. There were still crashed and abandoned cars scattered along the road, but the northern part of the city was devoid of life. Those still inside the city were the ones who had sought shelter rather than flee, and from what Jess could tell so far, any Black Hole units were concentrated in the south side of the port, closer to the coast.

Her com device chirped once. Jess glanced at it and saw a message from her group's radio team had came through.

"Go ahead," she said.

"Beta group reports contact with the enemy, ma'am. They've encountered light resistance so far, and are proceeding as planned."

"Acknowledged. Jess out."

At least that much was going well, Jess thought as she scanned the highway. She had no direct line of sight to any Black Hole troops from her current position, but Jess knew they were there. The evidence was all around. Further towards the coast, fires burned and smoke continued to spew into the morning sky, all underwritten by distant explosions growing in volume. Jess could feel herself growing more tense as she considered that. Black Hole knew they were under attack, and what happened next would come down to how they responded.

Jess's attack group was well and truly inside the city now. The roadside was dominated by increasingly tall buildings, and parked cars were everywhere. Jess didn't like it. Everything was too quiet. The highway had reached its end and transferred to an ordinary suburban road, and still there was no sign of the enemy.

"Commander, problem!" A gunner from one of the tanks ahead shouted.

"I see it," Jess called back.

Just past the next intersection, two semi-trailers had collided, tipping onto their sides and completely blocking the road. Jess's mind raced to consider her options. It would would take far too long to move the trucks, even if she had the proper equipment. Trying to blow them up and force a way through was risky, and unlikely to work. No, she decided, the best option was simply to go around. Leaving the main road was itself a risk; her heavy tanks were not built for narrow suburban streets, and they could easily become trapped, but it was the still safest – and quickest – option to bypass the crash. Jess scanned beyond the crashed trucks. She could see another major intersection almost a kilometre ahead. With a little luck, they could circle around the crash via a side street and reenter the road there.

Jess lifted her com. "Turn right at this intersection. We'll take a side street and rejoin the main road when we get the chance."

"Understood, ma'am."

The column slowed to take the turn. Ahead, the medium tanks Jess had assigned to take point rounded the corner, moving down the next road at a crawl as they assessed what lay ahead. Then came a new sound, the buzz of approaching helicopter rotors. Jess looked to the sky. Two units of Black Hole attack copters had emerged from behind the high rise buildings of the city centre, and they were approaching fast.

"Anti-airs, forward!" Jess ordered.

Caught in an awkward position as they rounded the corner, Jess's troops had no room to manoeuvre. The first group of copters loosed their missiles and wheeled away before her anti-airs were even ready to fire. Jess braced herself as explosions rocked the armoured column. Some of the missiles went wide, but more found their mark, slamming into her tanks. The second unit moved in, loosing another wave of missiles before being met with a storm of bullets as her anti-airs opened fire. The enemy copters never stood a chance. They were obliterated in seconds, blown to pieces in the sky even as their missiles took a further toll among the Green Earth tanks.

Jess had barely acknowledged that small success when motion caught her eye at the intersection. Black Hole soldiers were emerging from hidden positions, unleashing an onslaught of gunfire and anti-tank rounds. There was nothing her troops could do. Her anti-airs took the brunt of the attack. They were exposed, and the front of the column was too tightly packed to allow any evasive movements. Rapidly Jess issued new orders, directing her vehicles to return fire while her infantry disembarked to keep the enemy soldiers pinned.

The intense exchange of fire did not last long. Jess soon brought her superior firepower to bear and eliminated any attackers, but the damage was done. In addition to the anti-airs, one tank platoon had been completely destroyed, and another three tanks were damaged or disabled. There was no time to adjust the plan, and Jess ordered her force to keep moving. She left several transports to evacuate the wounded, along with the crews of her disabled and destroyed tanks. Meanwhile the group of enemy copters that had evaded fire continued to retreat, disappearing again as Jess's troops proceeded down a side street. Jess watched them go with mounting apprehension. She was running out of tools to deal with enemy air units. First her air support had fallen through, and now the ambush had destroyed her anti-air vehicles. Hopefully the anti-airs she had sent in with the second attack force were still functional.

With that in mind she activated her com. "Radio, tell Beta group there's a unit of battle copters heading their way. We need them taken out."

"Yes ma'am."

Jess and her troops continued moving through the streets as the orders were relayed. A relative calm had descended after the deafening noise of the battle, the city returned to its former state of distant rumblings, muffled explosions, and crackling fires, all buried by the heavy roar of tank and truck engines. The armoured vehicles made slow progress down the narrow, winding streets as they moved gradually towards rejoining the main road. There was something surreal about the passage of dozens of emerald tanks down ordinary suburban streets. It was a melding of worlds that Jess's brain could not quite reconcile; a show of military force in a scene of idyllic, ordinary life, and a backdrop filled with the sound and fury of a city in turmoil.

Her com chirped again. "Go ahead," Jess answered.

"Beta group's hit a strong enemy position, ma'am. They've lost two Neotanks, and they can't break through."

"Understood," Jess said. "Tell Beta to find a secure position and take cover. We'll swing around and relieve them when we get the chance."

Jess's voice was calm and steady as she issued the directions, but she was concerned by the news, far more than she let show. Neotanks were rare and costly war machines, and she had assigned her only unit to the flanking force. She'd hoped their formidable power would allow the smaller attack group to break through any resistance; apparently, in vain. Jess exhaled in a frustrated snort. Very little had gone according to plan in the past few days, and it was beginning to wear on her.

Jess and her group soon turned back onto the main road again and continued towards the sea, fewer in number than before, but only more determined to drive the enemy from their land. The way forward was mostly clear, and there were no obvious spots for another ambush. Jess ordered her units to accelerate, and they were soon speeding down the road, rapidly closing the distance to their goal. Soon the column came to the crest of a hill. From there, it was a gradual descent down to the coast, and for the first time that morning Jess had eyes on the academy grounds, dominated by the imposing Gothic architecture of the academy's main building. What she saw was encouraging. The ships assigned to the academy were burning in the sea, and the campus was shrouded in thick smog and dotted with coruscating flames, but the main building appeared intact.

There was a more pressing problem, however. With a clearer view of the sea, Jess could see great blasts coming from an ominous grey shape lurking offshore. A Black Hole battleship. She had only just processed what she was looking at when the battleship's shells struck along the road ahead, throwing up furious geysers of flame and force as they impacted towards one side of the asphalt. One shell went wide and a nearby shopfront was simply wiped from existence.

"All units, halt," Jess shouted into her com. "Radio, tell our rockets to get a lock on that battleship and fire!"

Jess felt her stomach clench as she waited for the order to be relayed. Driving into that level of enemy fire was suicide, but to delay only gave whatever Black Hole troops were assaulting the academy more time to prepare. It was almost intolerable. Worse, what if the enemy had set up advanced point defences? Without air or naval support, her options were limited. If her rocket units couldn't disable or destroy the battleship, she was in deep trouble.

Rockets sped by overhead, little more than blurs against the pale sky. They covered the city in seconds, converging on the enemy vessel and blasting straight into its deck and hull. Jess was too far away to accurately judge the extent of the damage, and she could do little more than hope it was enough to disable the ship. A second volley of rockets hit, and this time, a colossal fireball went up from the battleship's forward gun turret, engulfing the whole ship in flames and casting an eerie glow across the dark water. The damage was more than Jess could have hoped for. Based on the sheer size of the explosion, she could only speculate that a rocket had detonated the powder magazine. Whatever the case, the results were devastating: the Black Hole battleship was visibly listing, black smoke billowing from its hull as it began to slip beneath the waves.

Jess ordered the advance. She had dealt the enemy a heavy blow, and the road to the academy was clear. It was exactly the opening she needed. Her vehicles skirted the craters left by the battleship's shelling as they drove downhill, heading straight to the end of the main road, where it entered a large square outside the naval academy. Jess's tanks were drawing closer now, and through the gaps in the nearby buildings and houses she could see glimpses of movement ahead. This was it. This was where Black Hole's troops were concentrated, and it was where the battle for the port would be decided.

Jess felt a rush of adrenaline and hope as they entered the square. It was apparent at a glance that any attempt on the enemy's part to storm the main building had failed. Black Hole's troops were caught outside, spread throughout the academy grounds, and their attention was fixed to their front. The far side of the square was filled with enemy vehicles, tanks and transports providing cover and fire support to the waves of suited soldiers. The campus's outer walls and checkpoints were in ruins, but Jess could see makeshift barricades scattered throughout the grounds, and behind them small flashes and bursts of movement. The situation was better than she had dared to expect. The enemy's assault force was trapped between the academy and her armoured forces, Jess realised with growing elation, and their rear lines were completely unprotected. They were exposed, and they were vulnerable.

Jess drew herself to her full height and waved to the other tanks. The path to victory was clear. All she had to do was seize it.

"All units, forward!" She shouted. "We press on to the academy, together!"

A cheer went up from her troops. As one they surged forward, unleashing a torrent of fire against the unprepared foe. Black Hole's tanks and infantry tried to rally, to turn and fight, but to no avail. Jess's medium tanks were already charging into their lines, blasting holes in their formation and exploiting the breaches with clinical precision. Her troops took some counter fire, but the damage was small compared to the devastation inflicted on the enemy. Grey vehicles were wrecked with every shot, and those inhuman soldiers in their pressure suits fell in droves. They had nowhere to run, no cover to find. They were completely exposed, and they knew it; as the second wave of the assault hit, what remained of the Black Hole force massed outside the academy broke and ran.

Jess scanned the square, the entrance drive, and what she could see of the academy grounds. The Black Hole infantry and support troops were deserting their positions as their armoured vehicles were obliterated, scattering in all directions through the streets. It was nothing less than a complete rout. The enemy force assaulting the academy was in tatters, fleeing towards the docks, or else towards any meagre shelter that was left. Small bursts of fire from the naval academy itself continued to take a toll on their numbers, a sight that brought Jess no small comfort. As the enemy force fled the grounds, she noticed several stacks of strange bundles left behind. Some kind of explosive, perhaps, but they did not seem to be in any position to cause a breach or bring down a building. Jess frowned. Whatever they were, she could worry about them later.

"All units, hold," she ordered. "Do not pursue. I repeat, do not pursue."

It was not a difficult decision to make. Much as Jess wanted to wipe the city clean of any Black Hole troops, she knew her position was still precarious. Her priority was to secure the academy and reinforce her army with its personnel. Once that was done, and she had an updated picture of the situation, they could move to relieve Beta group and take back the city.

Jess was about to issue new orders when a faint whine reached her ears.

"Commander," someone yelled, "the skies!"

Her focus shifted upwards. A pair of enemy bombers were descending from high altitude, and they were headed towards her position. They had been waiting out of sight until now, Jess deduced, taking advantage of the heavy cloud cover to conceal themselves.

"Any anti-airs, target those bombers, now!" She shouted into her com. "Take them out!"

It was only a second later Jess remembered that her anti-airs had been destroyed. She needed another answer. Missiles. She had long range surface to air missiles in her arsenal, further back along the highway where she had deployed them to cover her rearguard.

Jess whirled about to face her group's communications team. "Tell our missile trucks to bring those bombers down!"

The operator did not even wait for her to finish the sentence to begin relaying the message. He knew the urgency of it; they all did. They were exposed in the square, and there was no time to disperse. The roads were strewn with debris and ruined vehicles, and it would take too long to traverse them. Time seemed to slow to a crawl. As those few seconds ticked by, Jess's mind worked in overdrive, analysing the situation to determine its outcome. How long would it take for her orders to reach the missiles? Twenty, perhaps twenty-five seconds. That long again to acquire a lock and fire, plus time to target…

Jess looked back up at the diving bombers, realisation dawning in her eyes. They weren't going to make it.

"Take cover!" She screamed.

Time sped up again. Something in the academy courtyard began to flash, a small light blinking on and off. A beacon of some kind. Everything was happening at once, and there was nothing more Jess could do to change it. She heard the enemy bombers passing overhead, then the sound of falling bombs, followed by blasts in the sky as her missiles found their mark.

Too late.

Her troops had barely enough to time to arrest their forward momentum before the bombs hit the ground. A great roar filled Jess's ears as they detonated, setting off the explosives that the Black Hole troops had already planted, and the world before her was engulfed in fire. The last thing she saw was the front of the academy's main building as it simply crumbled and fell. There came a seismic rumble that overpowered her senses, followed by a wall of dust and smoke racing through the square.

And then the full force of the explosion hit her.

Jess felt a wave of heat rush over her, before she was thrown clear of the tank and slammed into the ground. Everything went black. Her head was spinning, her hearing and vision gone. She could not think, her perception reduced to the most primal awareness of her body. All Jess could feel was intense pain as she teetered on the precipice between waking and unconsciousness. A sharp, stabbing pain in her head, a throbbing in her chest. A fire in her ribs that forced the breath form her lungs. Nothing existed outside of her self, and Jess had no idea how long she lingered in that state of torment. Time had no meaning any longer.

Gradually, other sensations returned to her. The world became a blur of black and red, and although her head still spun, the ground beneath her at least felt solid again. Above all Jess could sense constant waves of vibration. They were sounds, she realised through a dull haze, sounds she could not properly hear. Explosions and gunfire, casting further tremors through the city. The battle was still raging.

The battle. Another bolt of pain shot through Jess as she tried to move. With every scrap of willpower she possessed, Jess forced herself to hold on to that thought, even as her injuries threatened to drag her deeper into the darkness. She had to act. She had to do something before the battle was lost. The sounds around her were becoming more distinct now. How long had she been teetering on the brink of unconsciousness? Jess did not know, and it did not matter. She breathed in, ignoring the ache in her chest, and did her best to blink. One eye would not answer, and Jess began to perceive that she could not see out of it. Fear struck her in that moment, fear like she had never known before. She didn't know the extent of her injuries, didn't know if the battle was already over, and didn't know if there was anything she could do to save her troops. No, she thought with rising panic. Jess cried out in agony as she tried to pull herself upright. She had to act, she had to do something –

"This one's alive," a strange voice said.

Jess froze. It was no human who spoke, but a Black Hole soldier. In desperation she tried again to move, to crawl forward and get away, but it was no use. Her legs would not respond, and even the smallest movements were excruciating. Then Jess felt hands take hold of her, and her panic turned to complete and utter terror.

The world spun again as they lifted her up. Jess blinked furiously, still trying to clear her vision. She managed to put one hand to her brow, feeling the eye that would not open. It was covered in blood, streaming from a gash on her forehead, and clotted shut. Jess gritted her teeth and focused on what she could see with her other eye.

The images were disjointed, broken by bursts of blurred vision and moments when everything spun. The burning, blackened shell of a destroyed tank. A road strewn with cars and bodies in green uniforms. The shell of a building blasted apart by cannon fire. The images were disjointed, but every one told the same story of ruin and suffering. No matter where she looked, all Jess saw was defeat. A wave of despair overwhelmed her, and for a moment she blacked out again, only to be jolted back awake as she was thrown to the ground, and every pain and hurt was set freshly ablaze.

"Lord Adder," that same voice said. "We've captured the enemy commander!"

"Have we now?" A raspy voice replied. "Well, isn't that simply delicious."

Adder, Jess realised. That was who the soldier had been addressing. He was standing just in front of her, two high heeled boots coming into focus right before her eyes. A shiver ran through Jess. Whilst she had never encountered the man before, she had studied his dossier, and she was familiar enough with his deeds to know the danger she was in.

The sick feeling in Jess' stomach rose up again. How could she have let this happen?

"You!" She heard Adder shout. "Open a line to Flare. She needs to know about my glorious triumph here."

Jess kept blinking. The swimming feeling in her head had subsided to a constant throb, and her blurred vision had almost returned to normal. She managed to crane her head back and watch as the Black Hole soldiers around Adder carried out his orders, bringing him some sort of sophisticated communication setup. A series of affirmative beeps announced that the line was open.

"What's your status, Adder?" A husky voice came through.

Jess did not recognise this new voice, but she knew it could only belong to Flare.

"My status…" Adder could not help but laugh again. "I almost don't know how to answer that. So much has happened, and there have been so many delightful little surprises…"

"Get to the point," Flare said. "Green Earth is mobilising as we speak. Flak and Toad have already encountered enemy forces. Have you been attacked as well?"

Adder sniffed. "I wouldn't describe such a pitiful effort as an attack, only the desperate flailing of the weak."

"I'll take that as a yes," Flare commented, her tone souring further.

"Yes, Green Earth has attacked me," Adder confirmed, "and they've been dealt with. My victory couldn't be more complete. I've even got a present for you… the enemy commander."

"You've captured a Green Earth CO?"

Jess wasn't sure, but she thought she heard a sceptical note enter Flare's voice. If it was there, Adder took no notice of it. Instead a smirk crossed his thin lips as he leant in closer to Jess, holding the device out towards her.

"Why don't you say hello to Flare, my dear?"

Jess tried to spit in his ugly, pale face, but she could not find the strength. All she could manage was to send a trickle of spit and blood running down her own chin.

"It seems our guest lacks the strength to speak," Adder said. "How sad."

He burst into another fit of mocking laughter, his smirk growing wider with every passing moment.

"In fact," he continued, "I think I've earned some time to myself. And I know exactly where I'll start… by wiping this miserable little city from the face of the earth."

"You'll do no such thing," Flare said.

Adder's expression fell. "But –"

"Are you questioning me, Adder?"

In an instant any remaining mirth was wiped from Adder's face, replaced by nervous alarm. Even in her current state, Jess found some glimmer of satisfaction in seeing him squirm.

"N- no. Of course not." Adder hesitated. "I – I would never question you, Flare."

"See that you don't," she said, her voice heavy with scorn. "Our liege chose me to oversee the war effort on his behalf, and he chose me to command this operation. You'd do well to remember that."

"What…" Adder swallowed. "What are your orders, then?"

"Withdraw immediately. If Green Earth forces have already made contact, then a larger army won't be far behind, and that won't be so easily defeated." Flare paused. "We've done what we set out to do. Let's not give the enemy a chance to inflict any more casualties."

"And the prisoners?"

"Bring their CO to our base in the west, and send any others to Brown Nebula." Another pause. "And Adder? The prisoners are not to be harmed."

Adder said nothing.

"Do you understand me?" Flare asked, her husky voice cold as ice.

"Yes." Adder blinked several times. "I'll do as you command."

"Then we have nothing further to discuss."

Jess heard another sequence of beeps. The connection, she surmised, had been terminated. Adder let out a long hiss like a snake, scowling like a child that had been scolded. With great effort, Jess managed to look him in the eye.

"I don't think she likes you very much," Jess said.

Adder's gaze flicked down to her, his scowl souring further. His sunken eyes turned to cruel slits as considered what she had just said. Then, with deliberate precision, he took a single step forward and brought the heel of his boot down on her finger. There was an audible crack. A moment later Jess was hit by excruciating pain, and despite her best attempts, she could not stifle a scream.

"Lord Adder…" one of the soldiers said. "We were told that the prisoners weren't to be harmed…"

Adder smiled as he stepped back, his smug air returning.

"We didn't harm the prisoner," he corrected the soldier. "She was injured during the battle. Nothing more."

Adder stopped to snicker at his own lie. Jess was barely aware of what was happening. Her broken finger had sent renewed shock waves of agony through her body, pushing her to the verge of unconsciousness again, but she could still hear that laugh, high and cruel.

"Get that filthy wretch onto the ship," Jess heard Adder say, "and tell our forces to pull out. We're leaving."

Jess felt hands take hold of her again. She was losing consciousness, barely able to distinguish between what was happening around her and the pains coursing through her body. Her grip on the world was slipping away. Jess no longer had the energy to process what she sensed or felt, could no longer focus on anything that mattered. There was only fear and darkness, laced with the echoes of Adder's horrible laughter. As the world faded to nothing and all that was turned to black, Jess found the last thing she knew was a short, simple thought, hammering itself into her mind like the beat of a parade drum.

She had failed.