Chapter 46: "Priority: Lost and Found"
-Somewhere in the Kark forest-
After a few hours of carefully but hastily navigating the forest, the SIFs are now close to the origin point of the fog. They are now almost out of ammo after fighting hordes after hordes of undead to get here. Ava can see the 2 mages through her helmet screen, heavily protected by a horde of skeletons while they are performing the spells. One of them is drawing the life of the children in the cages around him to release the dark fog while the other is keeping the barrier up. Unlike the barrier back in Sadera, this one is only slightly over the trees' top and flat instead of a dome.
Despite being powerful dark mages, the protective methods that these mages put up do not take advanced modern weaponry into account. While it is extremely hard to approach them directly and the trees are blocking a direct line of fire from arrows or even ancient firearms, the TAC suit could easily allow the SIFs to see through the trees and the PAS-5 bullet is powerful enough to punch through the trees and hit its mark.
Ava uses hand signals to order 2 SIFs to take a shot at the mages. One bullet to the head, each, they drop dead instantly. As soon as the spell is disrupted, the horde of undead around them also drops to the ground like puppets without strings. The Fog quickly clears up and the comms connection returns as the barrier disappears.
"…ease come in, over" the radio cracks as the link is established "Sierra 5, Sierra 5, this is Recon Four Two (42), please come in, over" a soldier of a reconnaissance team just right outside of the forest repeating while the rest of his team is keeping watch.
Thanks to the satellite network in orbit of the planet, Alnus Command has been monitoring the SIFs since they were teleported into the forest. When the barrier in the forest was up, all life sign or any reading other than visual images got cut. In addition, the situation of Rondel got worse and the only message they got from the embassy was an SOS before the barrier expanded and cut all transmission and scan. General Nguyen decided to dispatch 2 recon teams, carried by 2 D-20Bs, to the region. The 2 teams would be conducting a search and rescue mission to find the SIFs while the 2 D-20Bs would cloak above the Rondel dome and report the situation as best as they could.
"Recon 42, this is Sierra 5 lead, copy you loud and clear. What the hell is going on? TACNet intel is all over the place, over." Ava replies.
"It's great to hear from you Sierra 5. We were hoping that you were able to tell us what happened. Approximate 4 hours ago we lost contact with you and Rondel 2 hours ago. When we arrived, we could only visually observe the chaos that is happening in Rondel while none of our scanning equipment could pierce through the dome. Our order is to make contact with you and try to get you back into Rondel…somehow. Let us know what you need, over." The operative reports.
"Why does it have to be a mess everything single time?" Rob mumbles.
"What do you know about the situation in Rondel? Over." Ava asks again.
"Unknown force engaged the embassy before the dome expanded. Our recon D-20Bs observed at least 2 opposite sizes are engaging each other as well as our assets within the city, they also seem to engaging with the Imperial forces as well. We've been using light signals to talk with our people inside the city but they don't know anything more than we do. Command considered breaking the dome and sending reinforcement in, but we're not detecting any energy signature from the dome. Therefore, we don't know the appropriate amount of firepower to break it. Too much could wipe everything out including the city, too little might do nothing and risk the people of Rondel to believe we're trying to attack them. That's all we know so far. Over" comes the reply.
"Our PEAs are still in the city, have the D-20Bs signal them to wait for us at this coordinate. We'll need transport, supply and SAT8s. Over" Ava orders.
While the recon soldier was reporting the situation, Ava was already looking at the live map of the situation in Rondel, relayed by the cloaked D-20Bs. She located a spot at the edge of the dome. It's one of the rare quiet spots in the current situation, not close but not too far from the embassy with a manageable route. She hopes that Rory and Kaian with their apostle magic and knowledge of Rondel could offer a plan.
"Copy that, over" the operative replies then begin relaying Ava's requests back to Alnus Command.
-Rondel Inn, Rondel-
Being one of the largest inns in the city, the Rondel Inn is capable of hosting up to 70 guests at a time. Its storage is big enough for business to operate as normal for over a month. This is one of the reasons why the Rose Guard picked this Inn for the empress to stay during her visit of Rondel.
Traveling with the empress is a detachment of White Rose. Depending on where the empress is going and the situation, this detachment could range from half a legion of 5000 elites to as small as a single century of only 100 along with at least 10 imperial mages. Rondel is a relatively friendly city to the Saderan Empire, in addition to the lack of space, only a century and the mages are present to protect Pina at this time. This is not counting the 21 champions who were participating in the tournament before all this chaos began.
It is a chaotic mess across the city as guilds and citizens fight each other for different sizes. Those that favor the UNE annexation try to protect the UNE embassy while engaging Imperial forces at the Rondel Inn as well as other factions. There are those that want to remain neutral, those that want to align with Sadera because they took a bride or fear, and they all try to suppress all those that do not have the same idea. Then there is the city guard that is desperately trying to keep some resemblance of order to no avail. However, the most dangerous ones are those that just want to see everything burn, the people in a black hood.
Pina and Diabo had abandoned their quarters and relocated to the inn owner's quarter. It is located inside the inn, in the same section as the cheaper common rooms but more spacious. Although it has no window, it is safer than the luxurious quarters that have grand windows and a clear view of the front gate.
The sound of battle outside of the inn, sword and spear clashing against shield and armor, magic explosion, shouting and yelling, begging and whining, all could be heard from where they are. It is getting louder and more desperate as they are sitting quietly in the room. While Diabo is not showing any noticeable expression, Pina is closing her eyes and hugging her head. Her PTSD is getting worse as the battle rage on. Tears streaming out of her eyes as she is whimpering silently.
Seeing his sister is not well, Diabo approach to calm her down. He does not know about her trauma.
"It's going to be ok, sis. We will be fine" he says as he is putting his hand on her shoulder.
Just as Diabo's hand touches Pina's shoulder, she leaps up from her seat in a swift movement and pin him against the wall behind while unsheathing her dagger. Pina's eyes are red with rage and sorrow, she raises the dagger with the intention to kill. Diabo tries to dodge, but Pina's grip limits his movement and the dagger stabs right through the deltoid muscle of his right arm. The whole thing just happens in mere seconds.
"Leave my friends alone!" Pina shouts.
Diabo kick Pina away "What the h…Pina! It's me, your brother!" he shouts back.
The guards, as a reflection, rush into the room when they hear the noises and have their sword and shield ready but are unsure of what they should do. They are both royalties, by duty they must help the empress, but judging by the current situation, she seems to not in her right mind.
Pina leaps back on her feet and unsheathes her sword then charge at Diabo "Die!".
He jumps out of the way and shouts at the guard nearest to him "Shield!". The guard throw his own shield to the prince as commanded.
"Sister!" Diabo shouts as he blocks Pina's attacks with the shield without drawing his own sword "Pina! What heresy is possessing you? You must wake up!".
Suddenly, the door swings open as Grey and Hamilton rush in. "We must leave now! They're getting…Empress Pina? Prince Diabo?" Grey is confused and trying to make sense of what is happening in front of him.
"Bring a mage! Something is possessing the Empress" Diabo commands.
"Our mages are either dead or trying to buy us time to get out of here, the mob is almost breaking through our men. We must leave now, your highness" Grey replies, exhausted, hasty tone.
Diabo takes a second to look at Pina, now on stop resisting, crying and shaking heavily "Help me with the Empress. Where do we go?".
Hamilton rushes to Pina and pulls her up "Empress, it's going to be alright. We will give our lives to protect you".
"There's a section of the wall at the back of this inn that connects to a small alley. We knock it down and get out of here then we head for the UNE embassy" Grey says, he knows that idea would not be ok with Diabo, but that is the only hope they have now. He lowers his voice in a calm, almost whispering to talk to Diabo "They are bounded by their own law and honor to take us in if we request asylum, your highness, you know we have no other choice. I'm willing to die for honor, but what is going to happen to the Empress if we stay here?".
Diabo nods lightly then gives the command to move out. The 4 guards put their swords in their sheaths and then form up in front of the group with shields and compact repeating crossbows. It's a small and less powerful version of the standard repeating crossbow but compact enough to be shot from 1 hand. The idea came from UNE soldier's sidearm.
Approximately an hour after the SIFs reestablish contact with Alnus Command, now they're being deployed at the edge of the barrier where Ava designated earlier. The 4 SAT8s jump out of the 2 D-20 while they're in the process of landing and spread out to secure the landing site. Swiftly after touch down, the rear ramp lowers for the SIFs to pour out and take the crouching position. Everything took less than 1 minute before the D-20 take off and fly away again.
"Sierra 5 to Alnus Command, we're at the AO but no contact insight, are you sure they got the message? Over" Ava calls in.
"Positive they got our message, Sierra 5, recon bird is tracking 2 PEA +1 unknown female are inbound to the designated rendezvous. ETA 2 minutes, over" Chris replies.
"Plus, one unknown?" Ava asks again, sounding a little confused.
"Affirmative, Sierra Romeo is having her in tow. Seems friendly, over" Chris replies while trying to zoom in on the woman that Rory is pulling after her. However, the speed, smoke from burning buildings and movement pattern of the apostle make it hard to see clearly.
As the rest of the platoon is keeping their eyes out for any potential hostiles, Ava is staring at the city wall for any sign of Rory and Kaian. Before long, she spots them leap on top of the wall and engages a few guards. After knocking them unconscious without killing them, the 2 apostles jump down together with the woman they're bringing with them and head to the edge of the barrier.
Ava checks TACNet for updates on the situation of the area, once she is sure there is no immediate danger "Move out!" Ava orders.
As they get closer, she realizes the female is the elven councilor of Rondel, Kristar.
"Councilor Kristar?" Ava asks, turning up the volume of her suit's speaker. The barrier stops some sound but not completely.
"She said she knows how to bypass the barrier but she wouldn't tell us, said she only speaks to you" Rory says.
"I'm here, so, how can we get in?" Ava asks.
"You dig a tunnel to get in" Kristar replies.
There's a short awkward and surprised silent moment.
"That's it? We just dig a tunnel?" Ava asks, still being surprised. UNE shield dome usually covers 360 degrees in all directions, even underground.
"Yes, it's the only weakness of the barrier. It is the closely guarded secret that only the council knows about" Kristar explains.
Ava nods at Rob telling him to get the SAT8s to start working on the tunnel then turn back to Kristar "Ok, while we wait. What's the point of having a barrier only to have such a significant weakness?".
Kristar smiles slightly "The barrier existed in the Grand Library long before the first settlers of Rondel. We did not know who created it or how, we just found the spell to control it. The barrier extends when the ground directly under neat it is removed, but it doesn't penetrate through it. You see those towers?" Kristar points at one of the larger towers on the wall "Those are earth shakers, in them are massive magically enhanced hammers that when they slam down shake the ground enough to collapse any tunnel that enemy besiegers might try to dig."
"Huh, clever. But ground shaker? For something that looks some impressive, that's a lame name." Ava says.
Once inside the city, the SIFs activate their thruster and jump on top of the wall then quickly jump back down inside. Explosive sounds and flashes of magic could be seen heard and seen from where they are. It's remarkably sound and looks somewhat similar to modern battle with the sound of sword and shield clashing mixed in.
Without knowing the full picture of the situation, Ava has to quickly decide if she want to go to the embassy first or to the Grand Library and try to shut off the barrier. The order was to secure the friendly VIPs and the embassy then wait for evac. However, friendly guild leaders could be anywhere in the city right now. There is no way for her to pinpoint them without the help of specialized recon equipment, and even if they somehow manage to find them and bring them all back to the embassy, it is clear that evac won't be able to get to them while the barrier is still up.
"PSC 1 come in, this is Sierra 5 lead, over" Ava remembers doctor Jackson told her that PSC 1 team was studying the Grand Library. If they are alive, they could help turn off or shrink the barrier back down.
"This is major Samantha Carter of PSC 1, over" Carter replies.
"Major Carter? Where's colonel O'Neill is doctor Jack there? Over" Ava asks.
"Jackson was in the library when thing started, we have no idea what happened to him. Me and the colonel were outside and were forced to retreat. We're holding up in a house approximately Southwest of the library. The colonel got hit multiple time, what left of his suit is keeping him from bleeding out but he's unconscious. I'm sorry but PSC 1 is combat ineffective, commander." Carter reports the situation.
"Alright, give us your TACNet ping and stay put" Ava orders.
"Roger that, Carter out" Carter answers.
"Ash, take your squad and the councilor to link up with the major, secure the colonel then make your way to the library see if you can shrink it back down. I'm going to the Council Chamber to find the rest of the councilors and see if we can stop this madness. Avoid contact and returning fire only, last thing we need to accidentally kill someone on our side and turn the whole city against us. Move out!" Ava orders.
Ava leads the squad down the street towards the inner part of the city, where the Council Chamber is. All around them are dead bodies, rubbles and fire. Despite the chaos, the roar from the golems and the chilling shriek of the summoned ghouls, the SIFs keep advancing on.
Turning the corner, bypassing many fleeing citizens. Ava sees a group of golems are chasing after the fleeing people, smashing and killing anyone they catch. Just as Ava about to order them to turn around and find another way, a golem break through the wall of a house then slam his hand at her and send the commander flying for a few meters. Behind it are more of its kind and smaller creatures, also made of rocks and stones, and a mix of mages and warriors.
Rory immediately leaps forward and slam herself onto the first golem, knocking it down. Rob rushes out to drag Ava into cover while the rest of the squad start engaging the hostile. Their bullets punch right through the creatures but that does not kill them. There are plenty of rock and rubbles around to fill up any holes that the SIFs shot. Even the larger caliber, faster rate of fire turret on the SAT8s back only slow them down without killing them.
"Rory, how the fuck are we going to take these freaks out?" Ava asks as she rolls to another cover to dodge a large rubble thrown by a golem at her.
"You either disintegrate, grind them to dust or kill the mage who create them" Rory replies as she is trying her best to keep the big golem from getting too close to the SIFs.
"You can see mana, right? Can you trace it back to the mages and take them out?" Ava asks.
"Yes, but if I leave now these golems are going to be on top of you fast" Rory replies.
"Frag out!" one of the SIFs throw a plasma grenade at a golem. The explosion disintegrates part of the golem and the explosive force break it apart and knock some limbs of the nearby golem away. However, it quickly forms up again and the rubbles around fill any missing material.
Even though that didn't kill the golems, it slows them down enough to give Ava an idea "Rory go! We can hold for a while.
After Rory leaped up to the roof and disappear, Ava signals the rest of the squad to start retreating down the street "Use frag to slow them down!" she orders.