Serial
87: Assault and battery - I
March 22nd, 32 S.D. 07:17 Binfort, Henron
Rising from the tall grass, Losha came up to one knee. She pulled out a pair of binoculars and quickly peered into the distance. Ahead of them, several columns of black smoke reached high into the air. Far off cries rang out regularly to the blasts of cannon-fire. The scene was littered with ruined remnants; earth, stone, and humans lay scattered about. Examining the fort closer, Losha saw that one entire side of the base was missing, as if something had ripped it away. Behind her, WOLFWIND crept up and joined her survey.
“Shrieks,” Yega whispered. “What happened?”
“If I had to say,” Losha began, “it looks like Govan used the serasword on Binfort. Just an hour or so ago, I felt that same sort of seras frequency, a heavy presence just like yesterday.”
“Are we too late?” Tami wondered.
“No,” Losha said, shaking her head. “The fighting is still intense. For some reason, Govan is not here. He is farther north, like he is moving towards the capital. Judging by the mass of seras frequencies following him, I suspect he left a contingent behind to deal with Binfort.”
“He only has one fourth of the Henron army under his control,” Faima said. “Either he thinks he can spare those soldiers, or he does not really need them.”
“At any rate, we need to secure and destroy those batteries. Without them, his serasword will eventually be useless,” Losha said.
“Sa, useless, but not before he does some major damage,” Yega frowned.
“Alright, we will move through that breach,” Losha said, pointing to the wall that had practically vanished.
“That?!” Tami asked in surprise. “It would literally be stepping into a warzone. It is swarming with Govan’s troops. They want to get into the fort as badly as we do. That huge opening is also where Liveta’s troops are concentrated.”
“Sa. They need our help defending it. We might as well take out as many enemies as we can before we go inside.”
“So direct and forceful,” Tami sighed.
“Park the horses here. They will be fine. Once that is done, I will take point. Stick to my lead now.”
With that, WOLFWIND advanced towards the building, crouching low as they concealed themselves in the wild brush. Nearer and nearer they came, stepping over several corpses until they were but 50 some meters away from the battle. A great number of loyalist squads were grouped together near the eastern end of the enormous breach, anticipating the moment to send in another wave. From inside Binfort, cannons on the first floor kept watch, warily waiting for the rush. Soldiers with rifles and crossbows sat behind an assortment of boxes and furniture built up into makeshift ramparts.
It looked to be a difficult siege for Govan’s forces, but the loyalists had a trick in the works. A handful of soldiers pulled out oblong canisters and tossed them in front of the massive guns. These grenades, rather than detonate, spewed dark clouds as they began to hiss. Suddenly the scene became inky and murky. Both sides were lost in the growing haze.
“Move it!” shouted a loyalist Field Lead. “Get in there! Storm the whole place!” Govan’s troops raised swords, shields, and pistols as they readied their charge.
“What was that?” Tami pondered aloud.
“Remember the battle in the Talimer Forest? They had an expert chemist, a member of TRIBLADE, Suvla the Olta Fox,” Losha said, tightening her Wolf of War pelt. “That looks like something born of her research. Devious, but effective. Get ready. We have to move too. We cannot afford to lose Binfort. Cover me while I take care of business.”
WOLFWIND sprang up from the grass and leaped towards the smoke. Losha dashed ahead with a single speed-step, diving into the blackness. Her hand, shrouded in brilliant blue, carried with it another kinetic series.
“What is going on?” One of the cannon commanders barked.
“Ah! We lost all visual contact!”
“I see nothing, d****t!”
“Where are they? Where are those b******s?”
“Range Lead, do we fire?”
“Negative! Shrieks, hold fire! Hold fire!”
The soldiers of Binfort coughed as they covered their eyes and mouths. They did not suffer long, for a burst of wind all at once swept the smoke away. The veil retreated, and in its place was a horde of enemies on the approach.
“Shrieks,” the rebel Range Lead cried out. Their foes were too close to fire the cannons in time. However, as soon as they blinked in horror, a figure appeared before them. Standing between these two opposing sides, Losha threw her arm to the side. With this gesture, Govan’s units stopped in their tracks. At the same time, both rebels and loyalists recognized her distinctive garb.
“Let me handle this,” Losha yelled, tossing her head over her shoulder for a second. “I will deal with this lot swiftly.”
Instantly, in a blue flash, her servai was summoned to her hand. Activating another speed-step, she tackled a group of soldiers to the ground. After body-slamming them, she rolled over and used her servai to cut a wide arc at the legs of several others. For an ordinary weapon, such a strike would not have been very damaging. Her servai, however, tore away their seras in a colorful display of liquid light. With their souls weakened, they fell helplessly. The loyalists collectively backed away from Losha in an effort to put some space between them all.
“What the?!”
“Shrieks, the Wolf is here!”
“This is suicide, we cannot get past her.”
“Retreat! Now!” one of their Field Leads hollered. “Leave the rest to the special operations team in there.”
Their ranks turned around to abort the mission, however, they only ran off a few meters before hitting something. Unseen to their eyes, they crashed face-first into a barrier, bouncing backwards from the impact. Losha rose to her feet, holding her free hand up. Enveloped in an azure glow, her fingers flexed as she constructed a kinetic series. Using a force-field, she essentially boxed the fleeing soldiers.
“I cannot allow you to leave. You would only become a problem for us later,” the serialist said. The trapped soldiers touched the invisible walls, pounding on them as if they could break through.
“It is useless,” Losha explained as they shouted in panic. Lowering her arm, she walked closer; with a flick of her wrist, the force-field became colorized with same hue as her seras. “This can withstand a few dozen rounds from one of those cannons. You are not going anywhere, not until this is over.”
The loyalists cursed and scowled at her, but Losha simply turned her back on them. WOLFWIND came up to her, holding their rifles level.
“Done already?” asked Faima.
“Sa. We do not have time to waste. That was the quickest way to deal with so many of them. Come on, we need to go inside.” They ran towards the exposed side of Binfort as one of the rebel officers waved to them.
“Well, I say now! Look here everyone! The Wolf of Sventa has come to our aid,” said a Range Lead. The troops around the area raised their fists and cheered loudly. “Great to have you back, Wolf. We were in pretty bad shape.”
Losha glanced up. She could plainly see all three floors layered upon one another. It were as if the building had been a cake, and Govan’s serasword had sliced right through it. “What is the current situation?” She frowned as she continued to look at the damage.
“This whole side was practically sheared away,” The Range Lead said. “It was all we could do to protect this place. As you might have noticed, we brought cannons over from the armory, but this is not the way we ever intended to use them, you know, from inside the fort, I mean.”
Losha brought her gaze back down. “That little box over there should hold them for as long as they are a threat. However, I am still sensing more of them to the north.”
“They will never get in through there,” said the Range Lead. “It is too heavily guarded.”
“What concerns me is that they said something about a special operations team. It sounds like they have already infiltrated Binfort.”
“What? Impossible. We would have known about that!” protested the officer.
“Regardless, we came here to stop them from obtaining some ordinance, batteries that Govan needs to turn on that weapon of his. If he gets his hands on them, he can continue to do things like this,” she waved a hand at the fort. “Where is the lab of Doctor Sansat?”
“That would be the second floor,” answered a soldier operating one of the cannons.
“Can you show us there?” Losha asked. The soldier looked at the Range Lead who nodded briefly. “Sa. Follow me.”
“One more question, Range Lead. How are communications with Capital City?”
“We can send a courier,” the officer replied. “But it would probably be a one way message, not until the battlefield over here settles. Why do you ask, Wolf?”
“I have important information for Core Lead Liveta. Tell her Core Lead Vitna and the Second Division of the Sventa army are on their way here. Both are on our side.”
“Certainly. Excellent news!” the Range Lead beamed.
“Come on, WOLFWIND. We have to get on with this mission.”
The upper floors of Binfort had been utterly abandoned. Govan’s forces were attacking the ground level primarily, so the soldiers here focused attentions below. Stepping down a wide hall, WOLFWIND carefully followed their Henron guide. Faima, Tami, and Yega each brandished rifles, constantly aiming them from side-to-side. Losha held her servai close at hand.
“This way,” the Henron soldier motioned to them as he rounded a corner. “I really do not think a team could have slipped in past us. We should be fine up here.
All of a sudden, Losha grabbed the soldier by the nape of his neck, pulling him from the corridor.
“W-what is-”
“Shh!!” she hissed, dragging him down as she knelt.
“I- Hey!”
“Be quiet,” Losha commanded. “We are not alone.”
They paused, hugging themselves close to the wall. For several moments they remained still. Soon, however, they heard the approach of many footsteps. Hurriedly, a group of some 15 masked soldiers stepped across a perpendicular hallway. At least three of them halted at the intersection.
“Se? You hear something?” one asked.
“Sa, it came from over there.”
“Check it out you three,” said one further down the hall and out of sight. “Get back here when you are done. We still need to wait for the Field Lead and continue the search.” Cautiously, the trio moved towards Losha’s position, but when they go there, they saw absolutely nothing, just an empty hall. At the far end, the gutted wall offered a view of the plains.
“Hmm...” one of them mused, gripping the handle of his sheathed sword. “I could have sworn I heard voices...”
“Me too. Probably just and echo from outside. Second squad will root out anyone else though.”
“Sa... Let us get going then.” They turned and ran off. As soon as they left, Losha waved her hand to dispel her series. It was the same series that had fooled Avil back at Leitis, one that projected an image at all angles. With clever use, it allowed her to appear entirely transparent. The illusion once again proved useful in remaining undetected.
“Wha-what?!” the guide breathed. “T-they did not see us... why?”
“It was a light manipulating series. Made us invisible. I do not have time to explain the details,” Losha said. “At any rate, it was better to observe than attack. It seems they too are still looking. If those soldiers are Govan’s, Sansat must have informed them where the batteries are, but from the looks of it, they cannot find them, yet. That does not make sense.”
“Actually, it does,” the guide explained. “Core Lead Liveta had us move a lot of things when she started her investigation.”
“Where are they now?” Losha asked.
“We took most of Doctor Sansat’s materials to the main research labs. He had his own personal labs, but we took his stuff into general storage.”
“Can you show us the way?”
“Sa. This way.”
They turned back and retraced their steps. Entering another hallway, they came up to a set of double doors, one of which was already partially opened.
“Hmm?” Yega stopped. “Was that open when we passed it?” he wondered.
“No seras frequencies lie ahead. The place should be clean. Switch to pistols though, in case you need that firing rate,” Losha said, pushing her way into the room. WOLFWIND tailed shortly behind.
“Alright, allow me to lock us down,” Losha waved her hand as blue light surrounded it. The door behind them closed with a soft click. “There is a force-field on it now. We will not have to worry about any intruders.”
“Sa,” Yega said, exhaling as his shoulders sagged. “Guess we can breathe easy now...”
“No,” everyone else said at once, startling him.
“Keep your guard up,” Losha ordered.
“But, commander, the door is sealed, and you just said no one is here but us.”
“Yega, we are technically right in the middle of the field of war. The situation could change in an instant. Keep sharp now,” Losha instructed.
They found themselves in a large room filled with various stations. Each post held an array of tools, charts, and racks. Numerous items sat disassembled, as if dissected. A strangely shaped cannon hung suspended in the air, hoisted by two chains. It was sawed in half at the middle with various spots circled and marked in red paint. To the left, at the next station, a long, heavy-looking crossbow spread itself out on the table. Even without the handle, it was well over a meter in length. Various pieces and sections had been removed, but its metal bolt rested right beside it.
“Shrieks,” Faima said, picking up the arrow at the shaft. “One round weighs a few kilos. Hate to be on the wrong end of that.”
Even more curiously, a sword over at another station seemed fitted with a weird, black device around the hilt.
“Se?” Tami took a closer look. “An electric sword?” he whistled, reading the notes left on the table. “I for one am shocked at the kinds of things Henron has been building.”
“That one barely works from what I hear,” their guide said. “Apparently it zaps the user too. We have not found a way to insulate the wielder.”
“I hope you never do,” Losha frowned, glancing over the lab. “These are terrible things to use on any other living being. I do not see what we came here for, however.”
“Storage is over here,” the guide beckoned them to the left and brought them to a large steel door. It had a wheel in the middle, as if belonging to a vault. “This is it,” he said.
“One moment then,” Losha raised her palm and applied a kinetic series. The wheel spun rapidly, loosening the door in a matter of seconds. With a tug, the frame swung in, creaking and groaning. Ahead of her, a long room stood filled with crates triple-stacked high above her head. The windows here had metal shutters; each angled downwards, covering the place with strips of daylight
“There certainly appears to be a lot of material here,” Losha said as she entered. From deeper inside, they heard something. “Wait,” Losha whispered, throwing her arm to block the rest.
“Sounds like something just scratched the floor,” Faima said.
“Did something just move?” Tami asked. Again, they heard the noise, as if tiny little beads were tip-toeing along the ground.
“Where is it coming from? It sounds like... everywhere,” Yega said.
“I do not detect any seras frequencies. Let me use my third-eye series to-”
Before she could finish her words, a howl rang across the room. Soon after that, others resonated with it. The cry was unmistakeable to their ears.
“Dogs!” Losha whispered, looking around. Of course she couldn’t sense them by frequency... Surrounding her, several large dogs appeared on the crates. Growling, they barked once and leaped down at her. Only one managed to land on Losha, tossing her on her back. The beast pinned her with its speed. Her servai was useless on animals; they didn’t have seras for her to attack. Quickly, she dropped her weapon and wrapped her hands around the dog’s muzzle. It struggled and slashed at her with its paws, but she managed to protect herself.
“Losha!” Tami cried, taking aim at some of the dogs. He fired several rounds, but the hounds scattered and hopped aside faster than he could track. “Shrieks!” he cursed, pulling out a long knife. He and WOLFWIND started to come towards Losha, however, one dog raced across the entrance. As it passed, carrying something in its mouth, it viciously shook its head. A large, black block fell in front of the door as the dog tossed its load. WOLFWIND immediately halted as they saw and recognized the object.
“Bomb!” the guide shouted. They dove backwards and into the labs as an explosion tore through the area. Grinding and rumbling, the ceiling around the entrance caved in. A vast pile of rubble now separated them from the Wolf. On the other side, Losha wrestled her opponent off of her. With a kick, she threw the creature to the side. It slid along the floor for a meter, shook its head, then stood up to bare its fangs. At least a dozen dogs circled her, pacing around slowly, snarling as if they meant to pounce. Losha straightened herself up, holding her arms outstretched before her.
“It looks like I might have to resort to some old tactics,” she said as electricity danced around her hands. She’d have to rely on other series to deal with these foes. All of a sudden, however, something inside her triggered, an instinct not linked to her abilities as a serialist, a premonition of danger. Losha dove to the side, slamming into one of the dogs. As she did so, she avoided the end of a pair of knives. The blades flew through the air and sunk into the debris behind her. Pulling herself up, she sensed a familiar seras frequency nearby. She frowned while she stood up, gritting her teeth. The dogs slowly backed away, howling as they receded out of sight.
“Koter...” Losha said. At that time, the Velhast Hound revealed himself, whipping around a wall of crates with his arms spread widely.
“Losha!” he said loudly, smiling. “At last our paths cross yet again.”
Losha looked at her servai. It was presently tossed away, but since it was merely a manifestation of her seras, she simply willed it to reappear in her hand. In a brief explosion of light, she came to grasp her weapon. “So, you were sent by Govan then? To retrieve those batteries?”
“Very good,” Koter said, walking about, halfway across the room from her. “Sa, that was my mission. But in all honesty, I came here for you.”
Losha furrowed her brow. “Stalling me so I cannot fight Govan himself?”
“No, no” he laughed raising his hand at her, as if presenting something. “Is it not obvious, Losha?”
She shook her head negatively. “No. I have no idea what you are on about.”
“Come now. Tell me, do you not feel that the call of battle roars between us? Do you not feel the brewing conflict in our bloods?”
“Ksh. Are you so obsessed with fighting me?”
“Exactly,” Koter said, holding his index finger up, as if to highlight that point. “The hunt has never left my mind, ever since we first met. We are two adversaries, perfectly matched by fate. As a soldier, there is no pursuit more fitting or worthy than a contest between our clashing souls.”
“As skilled as you are, Koter, I do not recall you being much of a threat at the Ganglan Pass.”
“Hmph,” Koter mused. He had two holsters, one at each side. Cross-grabbing the handles of two knives, he slowly extracted both. “That is why I went and made these,” he said, holding up the black blades.
“And what precisely are those?” Losha asked.
“Sa, do not be fooled by the color. These are much different from the other knives I had made here, not like the ones you saw in our first encounter. These are made... with serastone...”
Losha tensed up, gripping her servai in both hands. “Koter! What did you say?!”
“Sa, that look, that glare! At last, you have the eyes of a warrior,” Koter said, flipping the knives around his fingers. “Keep it while we dance.”
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