13 Day War (64 page)

“One that wished to slow us down,” answered General Gertz. “Rut-ki made a point of mentioning our schedule. That means that she knows what it is. She seeks to delay us.”

“Delay us?” scoffed General Kolling. “For what purpose? If the other two teams are no longer fighting forces, our schedule means nothing. We have no one to meet up with. Ongchi is not going anywhere.”

“Maybe she suspects a fourth team?” shrugged the Aertan general. “I do not know her reasons for wanting to delay us, but it is the only thing that makes sense.”

“No.” General Kolling shook his head. “Rut-ki knew far too much about us. She knows what the invasion plans are. The delay has to do with something on her side of the equation. She needs time to prepare for our arrival at Ongchi.”

“The Lanoirian force from Hun-lo Heights?” posed general Gertz.

“That is what I am thinking,” nodded General Kolling. “Ongchi stands undefended right now. Instead of bringing their men down from Chi to defend the capital, they sent them to attack us. I am half tempted to force march our men and seize the city while it is undefended.”

“Half tempted?”

General Kolling sighed and shook his head. “The men are weak and weary. If I demanded a forced march right now, we would arrive with only half an army. If that.”

General Gertz nodded in agreement. “And we would have five-thousand Lanoirians behind us every step of the way. Arriving with half of our men might be a bit optimistic. What are the alternatives?”

“There are only two alternatives,” stated General Kolling. “We can form defensive ranks which will give the Lanoirians precisely the delay that they are looking for, or we can engage the enemy completely and annihilate one fourth of the Lanoirian army. I wonder if they have horses and supply wagons?”

“Those would be prizes well worth fighting for,” brightened General Gertz.

General Kolling nodded, seeming to have made his decision. “I think we will go on the offensive by pretending to be defensive. Colonel, get to the vanguard and halt the column. I want the vanguard to set up defensive positions where they are. They are to protect our eastern exposure. As companies reach the fortifications they are to deploy behind them with the earliest arrivals preparing for an offensive attack when the enemy gets near. We have a fish on the line, men. Let’s reel it in.”

* * * *

Rut-ki rode up the hill and dismounted near Elandros. She looked down on the body-strewn road and sighed with unease.

“I don’t like this, Elandros,” she said. “Something feels wrong about it.”

“A larger army running from a smaller one?” he posed. “I know you mean more than that, and I agree, but I cannot say exactly why it feels wrong.”

“Neither can I,” admitted Rut-ki, “but it does. The Federation hasn’t pushed back once all day. All they have done is build fortifications to hide behind.”

“Perhaps you should call off the attack,” replied the elf.

Rut-ki frowned. “I could demand that Colonel Wu-sang break off the attack, but I am hesitant to do so. The plan is General Za-hong’s plan, and his colonel is faithfully carrying it out. It is accomplishing exactly what Za-hong wants. If Team Barouk remains behind their fortifications, our people will gain the time they need to reach Ongchi first.”

“If they remain behind the fortifications,” echoed the elf. “I am concerned about that. Wu-sang’s men are getting tired while many of the Zarans are resting. I know you are hesitant to overrule the colonel, but I would if it were my decision to make.”

Rut-ki nodded in agreement and woke up her fairy.

“Shall I go spy on the enemy again?” chirped Speck.

“No,” smiled Rut-ki. “Find Colonel Wu-sang. Tell him to break off the fight and retreat in an orderly manner.”

The fairy shot up into the sky and disappeared. Moments later, Speck landed on the colonel’s shoulder.

“Rut-ki says to break off the fight and retreat in an orderly manner,” the fairy dutifully repeated.

The Lanoirian colonel nodded as his eyes scanned the battlefield. The Zarans were only putting up a token resistance as the Lanoirian forces chased them along the road and through the woods. He sighed with satisfaction. The battle had gone well for the Lanoirians. He was proud of his men. He looked around for runners and saw two men standing nearby. He waved them to him.

“One of you take the north side of the road, and the other take the south. We are breaking off the attack and retreating as we had planned to do earlier. Carry my words forward to the front lines and be quick about it.”

The two men saluted and dashed off in opposite directions. The man on the north side of the road raced through the trees, seeking the most forward commander, but he never found him. As he approached the front lines, an arrow pierced his neck, his body tumbling to the ground unnoticed. The right flank continued to press the attack while the left flank began their retreat. The Zarans, seeing the confusion, chose that moment to attack.

Thousands of Federation soldiers leaped over the crude barricade and charged the Lanoirians. Other Federation units swept wide around the barricades intending to outflank the Lanoirians. Within mere minutes the controlled Lanoirian advance turned into a full-fledged rout. With the withdrawal of the Lanoirian’s left flank, the Federation soldiers ordered to go against it instead turned towards the stationary right flank and engulfed it.

Colonel Wu-sang watched in horror as the tides of battle changed against him. He dispatched runners as quickly as he could find them in an attempt to lessen his loses, but there was little he could do. The cavalry was brought into the battle, but they were only effective on the road portion of the battlefield. They did manage to shield the left flank and allow them to organize their retreat, but they were useless against the wooded battle occurring on the right flank.

Elandros and his elves swept into the forest towards the encircled right flank, but even their excellent archers could not extricate the Lanoirian soldiers. All they could do was whittle down the number of Zarans killing the trapped Lanoirians. Rut-ki took to the sky on her unicorn and flew over the battlefield. While it was hard to see through the canopy, she dropped small jars of fire glue whenever she saw large knots of Federation soldiers. Eventually the forest began to burn, and the Zarans retreated to their barricades, leaving the wounded and dying behind.

Colonel Wu-sang organized groups of men to brave the fires, rescuing what wounded they could find, regardless of uniform. As dusk arrived, the remnants of the Lanoirian army made camp a league east of the Federation camp. When the final tally was made, the Lanoirian army was short two-thousand men. Another one-thousand men were wounded. It had been a bloody day, and the mood of the camp showed it. As the camp finally settled down to sleep, three people remained around one of the fires.

“I guess I made a mess of it today,” lamented Colonel Wu-sang. “I have no right to hold my rank.”

“We Lanoirians are not the only ones capable of setting traps,” replied Rut-ki. “Besides, I am as much at fault as you are. It felt wrong to me far before I sent Speck to tell you to disengage. I should have acted sooner.”

“The two of you need to stop beating yourselves,” advised Elandros. “The trap was well set and sprung. No one can foretell what the enemy might do. The important thing is you both acted quickly to lessen the loss. If you, Rut-ki, had not started those fires, all of the men we pulled out would have died. And you, Wu-sang, your quick thinking and disciplined order allowed us to extricate the wounded before they died. Stop dwelling on the mistakes and concentrate on the future.”

“The future?” scoffed Colonel Wu-sang. “What future? I have only two-thousand men left, and I am supposed to stall the Federation march to Ongchi. How can I do that?”

“The Federation army was also bloodied today,” Elandros pointed out. “Their morale will not be any higher than ours, but they have no options open to them. They have to continue their long march towards Ongchi, and now they know that such a march will not be pleasant. They will be more wary than ever before. If you use your remaining men well, you can have a great impact on that Federation column.”

“He is right, Wu-sang,” brightened Rut-ki. “Elandros has been attacking them for over a week with only one-hundred men. We just need to be smarter in how we attack them.”

The Lanoirian colonel raised an eyebrow at the thought. “The men would look forward to bloodying the Federation again. What did you have in mind?”

* * * *

Four guards stood outside the large command tent of Team Mya. When balls of fire started streaming through the sky, they all turned towards the north and watched excitedly. While they were not close enough to the northern perimeter to see the magical projectiles strike, the shouts and screams attested to the attack. General Fortella burst from the tent, his attention immediately drawn to the magical spectacle as the darkness of the camp was shattered by the glow of fires in the distance.

“One of you find Colonel Tamora and have him report here immediately,” commanded the general.

One of the four guards took off running. The general stood watching the spectacle for several minutes before Colonel Tamora appeared with the fourth guard. The general turned and entered the tent, and Colonel Tamora followed him inside. Moments later, Colonel Tamora reappeared and ran in the direction of the disturbance. The general did not reappear outside the tent.

“I would not want to be under those falling balls of fire,” one of the guards said softly. “That is no way to die.”

Suddenly, the sound of a distant explosion shook the camp, and one giant tree screeched as if slid against another before slamming into the ground. The guards shuddered.

“There are things worse than death,” one of the other guards murmured. “The wounded will be left behind to die slowly.”

As the four guards stared off into the distance, a colonel ran towards the tent from the north. He halted at the edge of the road and stopped a passing captain. The guards could not hear the words, but they saw the colonel pointing excitedly towards the north. The colonel then pointed directly at the large command tent and then back to the north. The captain nodded and ran off towards the commotion. The colonel turned and strode briskly towards the large command tent. As he neared the tent flap, the guards noticed the blood on the side of his head, and his sleeve from the shoulder to the elbow was drenched with blood. The colonel whisked past them and into the tent.

“Who was he?” one of the guards asked softly. “I did not recognize him.”

“I doubt that his own mother would recognize him right now,” replied one of the other guards. “He has shed a lot of blood this night. Things do not seem to be going too good at the perimeter.”

Inside the large command tent, General Fortella looked up to see who had entered the tent. His brow creased in confusion just before the Lanoirian star slammed into it. The general’s eyes rolled up into his head as his body toppled to the ground. The bloody colonel had no need to check for signs of life. He pivoted towards the flap and reversed course.

”I will see to it, General,” he said loudly as pushed his way out of the tent.

As the assassin exited the tent, numbers were methodically flowing through his mind. The task had been accomplished much quicker than he had anticipated, and that meant that he had time to waste before he executed his escape. A sudden thought passed through his mind, and he turned abruptly towards the smaller command tent.

Only two guards manned the smaller tent, and even though they were also watching the fiery missiles, they caught sight of the bloody colonel coming towards them from the larger tent. One of the guards frowned as he gazed at the approaching colonel. He stiffened and his mouth opened to challenge the officer, but the colonel spoke before he uttered a sound.

“I want this guard detail doubled immediately,” the colonel ordered brusquely, “and start paying more attention to this area of the camp instead of gazing at things that do not pertain to your task. This camp might come under full attack at any moment, and you stand gazing at the sky. Get more men here immediately.”

The two guards glanced at each other anxiously as the colonel strode between them and into the smaller command tent. Unlike the alert General Fortella, General Whitman was resting on a cot in a dark corner of the tent. Alex strode across the tent without drawing the attention of the general, but when he drew his sword, the general opened his eyes wide. Alex placed the tip of his sword at the general’s throat.

“I am not here to kill you this night,” Alex said softly, “but that night might yet come. You are the leader of Force Targa now. I think you need to dwell seriously on surrendering to the Alceans. It is the only way that you will survive this war.”

“Who are you?” croaked the general.

“Some call me Colonel Belasko,” Alex replied with a thin smile, “but you should think of things more important than my name. Your colonels will balk at surrendering because they do not know how pitifully the invasion is going. Your task is to seize control of this team and surrender it before the walls of Tagaret. Failure to do so will result in your entire team being destroyed, including yourself. Close your eyes now.”

The general closed his eyes, but his body shuddered uncontrollably. Alex woke his fairy and signaled for a sleep spell. Bitsy silently complied, and the general’s body fell still.

“Back into hiding,” Alex whispered. “We still have to get out of here.”

Bitsy climbed back into her pocket, and Alex sheathed his sword. Still counting numbers in his head, Alex quickened his step as he exited the tent. Without acknowledging the guards, he turned and headed towards the northern perimeter. He had not gotten very far from the road when he heard the shouts of treachery behind him. Someone had discovered the body of General Fortella. Alex broke into a run and raced for the perimeter.

Alex reached the northern perimeter area well before his appointed time. Fiery projectiles still rained down upon the encampment, and the area bordering the target zone was one of chaos and confusion. Brush fires ran rampant, and large trees, destroyed by tree mines, crisscrossed the ground, making an obstacle course out of the camp. Moans of the wounded and shouts of others created an audible jumble of sounds that added to the confusion. Some of the able soldiers were trying to evacuate the wounded, but others huddled behind trees for safety.