Chapter 97

“We have the breakthrough,” Mage Hermes announced at a morning meeting. “We have found, we think, the perfect form of the deceitful weapon.”

“You are sure?” Roxanne asked.

“It’s the only one that works on the adelshaut. So yes, I am sure.”

“Good. We’ll begin our diversion tomorrow. Birry, get the Shayetet Kheshig prepared. I’ll inform Crnnch.”

“Yes, Mage Roxanne,” Birry replied with a salute.

“Kordanta, have the Allied army ready to move on the echtra as soon as we get word that the diversion has worked.”

“They will be ready. We know what we have to do,” he replied with a Tuathan Nazi style salute.

“John, is your team ready?”

“We are. More time would be nice, but yes, we are,” I nodded.

“Oonagh?”

“As good as anyone without experience in this can be.”

“Keep an eye on her; she must reach the proximity of the patripures.”

“We’ll get her there.”

“I’m asking a lot here, people. I know we’re going to take losses. But we need to extinguish this threat to our Earths.”

“We will not let you down, Mage Roxanne,” Birry stated.

“This is part one, even if it works there will be other tasks, though hopefully no need for armies. I cannot tell you enough how proud I am of you and also how worried I am for you as well. But I do know, if it is possible, you are the ones I can trust to do it.”

“Aye!” Kordanta bellowed out, fist raised to the air.

“Aye!” we all followed suit.

“Word from our allies, Seeker,” Slaarg announced at the Yr’ch Council meeting. “They will move against the Vultoqi in one planetary cycle from now and request the aid of our warriors.”

“They shall have it. Inform Tenklar to ready the weapon platforms,” Crnnch replied.

“At once, Seeker.”

“I will command the rest of our forces as we aid our allies on the attack against the echtra.”

“We, the former Archimandrites, will accompany you and try to protect our forces and their allies from the psionic abilities of the Vultoqi,” Brnnt stated.

“Thank you, Brnnt.”

“It is our duty to Ar-Thenna. Plus, in this, we must win, or our races are doomed.”

“Yes, in this we must give our all,” Crnnch nodded.

“May Ar-Thenna bless us and protect us,” Seekta gave out a benediction.

“May Ar-Thenna bless us and protect us,” they all intoned.

“We have a breakthrough, my patripure,” a senior adelshaut announced.

“And this would be?” the senior patripure demanded.

“We have finally managed to set up one of our research facilities as a trap, we are preparing ghosin guards to block the enemy from retreating and should be able to destroy them in place as we have prepared multiple portals into the site surrounding it.”

“Prepare the host, it is time we taught these abominations that the Vultoqi are the warriors supreme!”

“At once, my liege!”

“We shall prevail!”

“WE SHALL PREVAIL! WE SHALL PREVAIL!” roared out seemingly endlessly from the surrounding adelshaut as well as the caveatra itself.

Maurice hung without moving, carefully observing the adelshaut as they prepared what he and Galadriel had reported as a trap to Mage Roxanne. Others of the Maraú-Uxuí were also surrounding the site and their clutter, enhanced by Galadriel, was also being supplemented by the Psiontial gestalt as everything was checked to increase the chance that it would be the Vultoqi who were trapped, not the allies.

‘They will be coming through soon, Maurice, ‘ Galadriel informed him.

‘The Vultoqi are quiescent. Their surface thoughts indicate no sense of knowing. They do expect the allies, but there is no sense of urgency and many are not in suitable defence positions.‘

‘Yes. The others in our clutter are informing me of the same. I will give the word, so prepare, ‘ she warned.

Maurice and the others had been planting inactivated, cloaked Null devices throughout the area where the Vultoqi had been working, including the approaches that any relieving force would have to take. They had also mentally prepared positions for the Battalions in order to give them the cover they needed as they dug in.

‘It is time!‘ Galadriel warned as the various Maraú-Uxuí set off the devices, catching the Vultoqi totally off guard and extinguishing the life force of the majority.

This was the signal for several hidden portals to open and for the Drow Battalions to pour through and begin to move to their assigned positions, rapidly using their mental abilities to dig out the trenches they intended to use.

‘Pull your people out now, Maurice, please, “ Birry requested.

‘We are going, fare well.‘

Other than a low-grade crackle of rifles, hunting down and taking out the surviving adelshaut with the specially adapted disrupting bullets, things were quiet if tense. Still, Birry knew it wouldn’t last and mentally urged his people along to get into position and prepare the defensive fields of fire as well as bringing in the parts to construct a defensive bunker for the Mage drone operators, along with Athena and Gregorius, who as yet were not required to make an appearance.

It was soon clear that the Vultoqi although aware of the incursion were, as yet, not that determined to deal with it, which confirmed the Maraú-Uxuí’s data that this was an intended entrapment where the Vultoqi intended to destroy a large part of the Allied Forces. However, the massive porting and portalling in of defensive equipment couldn’t go unanswered for long as the waiting increased the tensions felt amongst the Battalions.

“Detecting portals,” Birry’s aide, Mage Fiona, reported. “Out of range of the Javelins, but completely surrounding the area.”

“Looks like they’re biting. Send in the drones; let’s not make it easy for them.”

“On their way, sir.”

In the distance Birry could see large plumes of smoke erupting as well as hear the muffled crump of expended ordnance.

“Results?” he asked Fiona, who was in contact with the senior drone operator.

“Varied, we got some, but they’ve brought through some non-quantum shields and are spreading out into the surrounding woodlands where we can’t get at them easily, nor in numbers that would justify a strike.”

“Going as expected then,” Birry nodded.

“Yes, sir ... more or less. They’ve dropped a massive outbound anti-teleportation screen over the area, as well as an anti-portalling one,” she replied with a grin.

“Good, this means they want us to feed more troops into their mincer ... as you humans put it,” Birry gave a very satisfied nod.

“Let us hope so, sir,” she nodded slightly nervously.

“Re-arm the drones. The last thing we need is for the Vultoqi to think we’re trapping them.”

Yessir.”

“They have taken the bait and we now have them trapped,” the senior adelshaut reported to the caveatra.

“Build up our forces carefully. We do not wish them to escape and a mass inbound portal may make them try to flee,” the senior patripure advised.

“It shall be as you command, my liege!”

“This may be the moment we have been waiting for. An opportunity to destroy this enemy and make them realise that their doom is upon them, even if it is not to be immediate!” another patripure exulted.

“Indeed, for we are the chosen, brought forth to restore the universes to purity and we shall prevail!” the senior replied ecstatically.

“WE SHALL PREVAIL! WE SHALL PREVAIL!”

All along the perimeter there was a steady crackle and sizzle as the two sides tentatively came to grips with each other. Currently the Battalions were more than holding their own in the positions scouted out for them by the Maraú-Uxuí. The Vultoqi were not pressing home any of the attacks but were scouting out the perimeter of the Allies as they brought several thousand reinforcements through their portals to build up their forces for an attack. It was also noticeable that the Vultoqi were struggling with the new adapted ammo as they could not easily detect it, unlike Null which gave away a rough position of the attacker as it left their guns.

The Vultoqi reinforcements were also under a series of drone strikes, although they were dealing with that by scattering their forces as well as trying to shoot down any drones they spotted, though, as yet, they’d only manage to bring one down. Still the number of plasma bolts lancing upwards was steadily increasing and Birry knew it was only a matter of time before his air cover would have to be withdrawn.

“Estimate on Vultoqi numbers?” he asked Fiona.

“Seers reckon about five thousand and steadily increasing. They appear to not want to startle us into attempting a retreat,” she replied after a few seconds.

“When they reach ten thousand, send in the Yr’ch for a drive by in their largest grouping and ensure they get here after to bolster the defences.”

“Yessir.”

“Order the Fierce to begin destroying the research buildings to make it look like that’s what we’re here for.”

“Yessir.”

Birry then went back to the 3D map being projected on a table that his command group were constantly updating from the reports they were getting, trying to get a feel for what the Vultoqi would try next.

“They have begun destroying the research site,” the senior adelshaut reported.

“As we expected. Increase the numbers of our adelshaut as if we are trying to mount an attack to stop them,” the senior patripure ordered.

“It shall be done, my liege.”

“The adelshaut in the field report several probes at the psionic transportation shield. An attempt to break it, we suspect.”