Chapter 44

Vasiliy came back with a lot of tired but still excited people. He came into the study and stood at attention.

"Hello, Vasiliy. What do you have to report?"

He guessed or figured out what I was going to say and said, "We travelled far enough to be sure that the city of Sadieea in Corinthium is the source of the radio transmissions."

"That's good to hear. I sent a message a while ago to Dimitri to get a camera for photo reconnaissance." The interpreter this time had to do his job.

"I will be happy to do that for you, Sir."

"I know you would. What did you think of the way the plane flew?"

"It is hard to describe. If the plane was strong enough, we could have gone much faster but would have torn the wings off. The skin on the plane heated on the way back but not beyond anything dangerous. If I learned how to control one of those devices, I am sure I could fly a rocket plane into space and back again."

"So you want to be a space jockey on Bejek?"

This took a while for the idiom to get translated but Vasiliy said, "Yes, I wish to be a pilot of a space craft. It was always my goal ever since I was a boy."

"Well, when you go to Bejek you would be an alien, Vasiliy. I promise you that if you can tidy up all of Dubkova's empire then you can design a ship and fly it into space. Be warned that it better be big enough for a lot of Section M or you'll be in trouble." Everybody perked up then and I figured the boys and the girls would be drawing up plans for spaceships within minutes of leaving here.

"Vasiliy, there is a boat used in the swamp with an automobile engine mounted on it. It has a large shrouded propeller used to push the vessel. Are you familiar with this?"

"Yes, Sir."

"Make a design and get people in Tula to make a framework to support an engine and propeller. Section M will find a large flat rock in Bejek. Mount the engine to the rock. Section M will provide lift and control."

"You wish me to fly a rock, Sir?" I could see he was very flustered.

"The mass of the rock and its inertia doesn't matter. You may well need a rudder for turning but I want you to try this."

"I will do as you wish, Sir."

"Don't look so depressed Vasiliy. The rock can just be a test for your space craft. I want to see how well one or more people can control such a vessel as it goes forward. Stability is very important. Talk to Section M to get their input. This will be another interesting job."

The transmitter was shut down and the plane returned to Tula to be fuelled. The log entry had to be falsified to explain the hours on two of the engines.

With Dimitri's help and a lot more from Dubkova's managers we found more war materiel that we could use in Bejek. We bought old tanks and a lot of spare parts, especially the treads and the bogies. This meant tank repair equipment, too.

Dimitri said on the phone, "I've found all the sailors we need and I picked out those that are the most likely to not miss Mother Russia. The Snezhnogorsk is ready for trials. The politicians don't want me to take out both ships even though we outnumber Lobodin's men by a wide margin. I can't see the logic but that's the way they want it."

"Then I'll phone and blister your ear for being incompetent. I'll get more than a few jabs in at your bosses. Do you have any suggestions, Dimitri?"

"You may not be able to budge Admiral Slava. He is an old man that should have gracefully retired years ago. He holds onto his position tenaciously while trying to drag us back into the way things were done in the past. I expect him to want to use black powder some day."

"I've met people like that but I haven't been in the military to appreciate the nuances of the situation."

"Nuances? I'm a career soldier. I have been through the full gauntlet from young officers wanting to make a name for themselves to the old ones that are secure in their positions. Admiral Slava is one of a kind. We also suspect he was far more into the black market than most. It would not surprise me greatly if there was a connection to Lobodin."

"That may be bad. Your admiral could warn Lobodin of the investigation."

"My superiors are aware of that too."

To get the topic back on track, I said, "Lobodin will only give some fuel and he wants a deposit on the ships leaving even if he has armed men on them."

"Did he come through with all his commitments?"

"The navy had to allow him to steal some parts. They were not pleased. Possibly because Admiral Slava had not been able to make any money from this."

"I have a new plan to spirit the ships out of the Sea of Azov and then out of the Black Sea."

"You can't do that unless you put wings on them."

"You take all the fun out of this, Dimitri!"

"Why?"

"That's what I'm going to do."

He was sceptical in the extreme but agreed to mount used jet engines on the sterns of the two ships. This could only be done after I made a more or less public phone call demanding that this happen. Dimitri was supposed to argue strenuously but then give in. The Russian admiralty would like to see what this would do and as a matter of fact, so did I.

The camera was finally delivered along with the equipment to make large positives for easy viewing. The negatives were thirty by forty centimetres. The camera and its frame were mounted in an executive jet in Tula by Russian technicians. The craft was then ported through to Woodland that night.

I made my call to Dimitri. My conversation to him was to his superiors. I called him a poor blind leader with no insight at all. We argued about the engines and how they were to be mounted but Dimitri could only say that he would look for surplus engines.

Next morning I was in Woodland to see the launching of the small jet. We had to time this so we were over our target at the equivalent of nine in the morning. The air was supposed to be clear then and the shadows long enough to see details on the ground.

Caiti and Camsa were on board as crew but the camera was automatic. Vasiliy planned on taking off from Woodland itself. This was what I was after for a space ship or a flying frigate.

The fast executive jet hovered because Camsa wanted to show off in front of his friends in Section M. The nose went up to the vertical position before Vasiliy took the engines out of idle. Caiti was only feeding Camsa data from the gauges to keep the plane trimmed. This is what I hoped would happen. The process was further complicated by the wings that were not really needed except to compensate for torque of the engines. The plane climbed rapidly into the sky. It was only Caiti that had the time for me to wish them a safe trip.

Mantoya and Artlam were pulling front line units back to let fresh units take their place. The crack units included my wives. We would need all of our expertise to win this coming battle.

The Church was impatient, though.

A few hours after Vasiliy left, we saw hundreds of Anguy assemble in the Church so we knew something was up. We scrambled to get ready no matter what happened. Five minutes later a priest went to one side of the portal and in a second the device energised. Another priest and a seven man Anguy contingent came through. Our people ran around for a while and it helped slow us down. Dubkova's people would have to get their boss to greet the visitors. This time it was Baich that did the greeting along with a calculated risk. We sent five members from Section M with him to take the places vacated by the trainees left here. They would be expected to attend. At least the youngsters looked like those that had been here and also know how to act properly in front of a priest.

The priest demanded in accented Russian, "Where is Dubkova?"

"I am sorry, Master but Mr Dubkova is currently talking to our President. He had no idea when you were going to arrive."

"He was to have a shipment delivered days ago. Where is it?"

"If it is the cargo I think you mean, it's being delivered tomorrow. We were only able to find seven units but they are now properly converted to your requirements."

The priest stared at Baich for a full minute then said, "You are one of the men I met years ago. You have done well to raise so high."

"Thank you, Master."

The priest asked, "What about the rest of our order?"

"There have been difficulties in finding suitable goods and then transferring them here. Obtaining the materiel of war means that we are watched closely. My country has a history of armed rebellions and they are usually suppressed quickly and brutally. Mr Dubkova seeks to allay any fears so he may gather more supplies."

With a casual face, the priest said, "Where are the people I left here? These boys are not them."

I thought the shit had hit the fan. We were not ready but we had to go with our backup plan and then hope.

The floor and walls of the Church room were studied in detail. Thankfully one of the young men heard my orders and said, "I can open a gate. I'm close." He concentrated on the floor on the other side of the silver frame and the terminus of the chain gate materialised.

APC's raced through the energised chain and popped onto the Church grounds. I was in the third vehicle.

The machine guns in Tula could not be heard because we were using our own. The Anguy were all wearing energised shields and only the machine guns could harm them with kinetic energy to their shields.

My mental connection to Tula was cut and I turned to see a priest starting to run from the side of the shield. He was the most important person here and we opened fire on him. He was hit many times and I know he was hurt but he made it around a corner.

My driver turned the APC and followed. My hand was on the door and I rolled out and fired my lightning weapon. I caught the man's foot as he turned another corner. I moved the beam to hit more of him even if I set this place on fire.

I got up and ran down the corridor but when I got to the corner, the man was already gone. Security was right behind me but now we had to reverse course. Raw plasma was seen ahead and I blocked the flashes with my arm even though I wore polarised glasses.

The Anguy could not stand up to this sort of punishment. They raced in only to be turned into boiled meat. I ran to one of the entrance ways we had seen from the portal. More Anguy were racing our way. I crouched down and fired as did those of my security detail that could control these weapons.

The soldiers died by the hundreds. They had no thoughts of self preservation at all. They only saw us as a threat that had to be destroyed. This was not new because we had seen this in the early portions of our war.

The air was full of small caliber lead and steel but this didn't effect us much. Soon they would bring up their own heavy weapons and we would then start to die.

Our plan was to spread out because if we stayed, we would die. It also allowed us room to fall back. We would hold the portal long enough for our reinforcements to arrive.

With no visible enemy I took stock of our situation. There was six APC's that made it through, along with an ammunition truck and two troop carriers. This should make about seventy people.

I raced into the area now filled with dead Anguy with my vehicle. I opened the compartment with Loca's portal and energised it. Instead of the customary clear view I saw what looked like snow on a television set with a weak incoming signal.

I called out, "Can anybody see or hear me?"

A face of a young girl came in front of me. "I'm here, my King."

"Hi, Sweetie. Will you try to form a gate to me?"

"That's easy."

It turned out to not be easy at all. More people came and they didn't have any better luck. We were being blocked by a device I never knew about. The opposition was dead and I had to fall back to plan three before more came.

I removed the ring from my portal and carried the deactivated unit to the larger Church portal. This side of their portal was set into stone. There was a cleared area where the key would be set. It took a determined effort to remove enough of the stone to make a contact but in ten minutes we put our portal in contact with the other. I crudely wired them together and then backed up the APC so I could remove the globe from the top of the larger frame.

Renewed bolts of lightning were directed our way, not just outward. I climbed on top of the APC and removed the globe for Earth. Moltatas energised the smaller portal and I popped in a globe for Bejek. The large portal came to life but it was covered in snow too.

The scene before me was of Woodland and there were a lot of people in an electronic snowstorm. The chain portals didn't work. Our portal was shut down and opened to Earth. I could see into the room in Tula and found a lot of activity. The priest and his people were down but they had not gone willingly or without doing damage. The interference continued.

Fighting was getting too close and I had to get down and lead my security to push back the Anguy.

For a while I ignored the portals as I fought to preserve our lives. The only good part of this was that the Anguy could do nothing but die. It was the priests and now the trainees that were fighting us. They didn't have as many weapons either though our weapons would begin to lose their power soon.

Mortars opened up on our positions but these were not good weapons for an urban type of warfare. We retaliated with Law rockets and RPGs. The enemy would be killed with these weapons, too. Only the youngsters that were pushed forward braved this fire.

It hurt me to the quick to shoot girls and boys that were trying to kill us but this had to be done. Women were also pushed into battle by the priests and each one reminded me of Jonna or Matra. My own troops were all women and they didn't have the same feeling I had about shooting women.

The priests should be opening portals to get behind us. We had been trained for this eventuality. It then came to me that the priests could not form a portal either.

We were taking casualties and those that were still alive were moved back to where we started. A large bubble was in place to protect those inside. A lightning weapon would kill them all if it was able to come to bear.

I came prepared this time because we had lots of tie wraps and a few slingshots. Coins flew out and landed behind the piles of rubble. We tried to opened our own portals behind the enemy but the interference effect prevent it. The priests were hidden further back and out of range. A chance detonation of a RPG against a wall got me to shoot at other buildings to bring stone and brick down on those hidden below.

The roofs were made of slate but some were of silver. When one of these roofs crashed to the ground I saw the sheets of silver fall and briefly fly out. The fact clicked into place for another problem.

"Moltatas, we need silver sheets for shielding."

"What for?" There was no formality now.

"Maybe we can make the portal work if we can get around the interference."

"We better do something quick. A third of our people are dead or wounded."

We made a quick plan and fourteen of us pushed forward with fresh weapons. Moving from crumpled wall to crumpled wall through the city we fired at those who were trying to kill us and hating what we had to do. Sadieea was beautiful in its way but it held a disease that we had to remove. It hurt to excise flesh that could be made whole with just a little effort.

The lightning weapons struck nearby buildings to bring them down on us and we shifted to new positions as quickly as we could. Moltatas was hit in the torso and three of us hit her attacker. It was a girl even younger than Caiti and I knew the youngster would die.

To reach our objective we destroyed anything and everyone in our path. We especially looked to higher vantage points but also to hidden places in the rubble. There was a great deal of civilian deaths but most of those tried to stop us even if they had to use their bare hands.

The silver we found was thick and heavy. It was still attached to wood beams. I simply used a fulcrum to drag as much back to our starting point as I could. The pressure on us didn't weaken even when we retreated.

Security reinforced the perimeter as I ripped the roof apart to gather the silver. The Church portal was grounded but also hooked up to conductors for lightning rods. My weapon severed the latter connection. With the silver grounded by touching the gate, I tried to shelter my own small portal but the snow was almost as bad. I tried to make the gaps between the silver sheets smaller. The snow lessoned but not enough to allow the gate to open.

I tried everything again but this time it was inside the metal APC hull. The snow was a bit less again but still not enough to form a portal. I tried to calm down and think of a solution but nothing came to mind.

The building we were in was hit again and again and we had to vacate or die under the rubble. The port sounded good but if we found a ship, we would be an easy target. We pushed west through the city where the buildings were not as high. By finding a way of putting a bubble around our vehicles we made it to the city walls. We were using our ammunition up in an attempt to stay alive.

The wall of the city had to be breached. This structure was nearby and we finally managed break portion of it. We made a hole with less rubble to get over to gain the other side.

What was before us made me lose what little hope we had. An army was camped out there. It took a moment to notice that it was just the buildings and not the men.

We raced forward taking fire from out rear. Here the APC's took the brunt of the lightning bolts. The other vehicles couldn't stand up to this.

We raced down roads and into the camp itself, taking small arms fire. I called a halt and I checked my portal. It still had static. At some time the priests would want to gain their own mobility and would stop this blocking.

By the time we got to the camp, the effect of the silver deposit was lost. The priests and the Anguy were trying to cut us off but we continued on. The lead unit was taking a lot of fire and when we joined up, I found out why. There were bunkers here.

With our vehicles now protected by shields, we advanced quickly. Our machine guns were nearly empty and we had brought a lot of ammo. The Anguy died by the hundreds with no effect on us.

With almost no ammunition left, we broke into the bunkers. There were mortar rounds which fit our units. We used these like there was no tomorrow. The truth of the matter was that this was probably the case.

The priests started using portals now and we could also, but we did it on a much smaller scale. The last bunker had heavy calibre machine gun shells but they didn't fit the American APC's' guns.

We basically set up our own perimeter around the bunkers and did nothing but run for ammo and shoot.

It was near night time when the fighting grew to a lull. The seventy two people that had come with me had suffered. Half were dead and twenty two of the latter were seriously wounded. The hearts that all of us wore was probably the only thing that saved us.

We were all deaf from the fighting but I heard my name called mentally. I called out as loud as I could and I could feel elation that matched my own. The thoughts were jumbled and indistinct but my wives had come for me.

I told those around me what I knew and this cheered them up. It was an hour and a half later that a gate opened with a flag on a long stick pointing through.

I could hear Jonna's tired thoughts as she raced through. She took hits from our own people. We were just too tired to think and could only react. Jonna wasn't hurt and I pulled her to where I had been staying. I just hugged her to me. I think we both cried then.

More people came through the gate and reinforced our perimeter. The American APC's were loaded with machine gun ammo and autocannon rounds. I tried hard to tell the people that we had found a way to put a shield around the vehicle ands they seemed to understand. In a few moments the first one gained a shield and the rest followed slowly.

We fought all night long. Mantoya and my wives had somehow brought up our heavy weapons. The Russian ammo worked in them and we had lots of it left.

It was well after noon the next day that I could not stand anymore and just had to sleep. My thinking had dropped to almost nothing and I was making more mistakes than not on decisions.

When I woke up, I knew the battle was still going on. My hearing had improved but it was the heavy thuds I could feel through the ground. I was in a camp hospital. I managed to find something to eat and drink before healing those I could. Other people were in charge of the battle and they could just carry on for a few more minutes.

I was shocked to see Jonna in a bed. She had serious burns and I worked very hard to do what I could for her and our child. She was too far along to be fighting in a war. I finally had to pull myself away. Other were being assisted. I found Moltatas and she was in even worse shape. I looked to help but her body was doing the best it could at the moment.

Tiffany was here, too, but not all of her. She had lost a leg and her right arm. Her face was blistered and I almost cried at what I saw. Others had been hurt worse but they were not my wives. Her body was doing its best but I looked for any way I could to help. I was thankful now that she had not caught. The chance of another of my children dying unborn was difficult to bear, never mind the death of their mother.

Much later it was Caiti that found me. She was the one that had to pull me away to eat.

"Hugh, snap out of it. We're still in trouble and we need you."

I looked at the girl and knew she was right but I didn't want to lose Tiffany or Jonna. I was seated at a table and given black coffee.

It took a moment before Caiti said, "We're trying to take the city. Some of our units have breached the walls but we don't have enough people. The Church is pressing our country and we can't take more troops from there."

"Did you come through the portal?"

"No. The interference is still being put out. We dropped coins from the plane. Osston and Stofan opened portals and we chased them until they got here. The Church was so busy with you that we were able to get pretty close. Its good that we did because they had gathered a lot of people and were ready to attack."

I didn't want to know but I had to ask. "Did any of my family die?"

Caiti didn't smile but she said, "None died, just hurt."

I began to relax now and thought. "I might have some raw recruits."

"King Randalk?"

"Yes. I figure Buseland has not had as much troubles since we were being pushed so hard."

"We can get you there in an hour or so."

"How?"

"We still have the jet."

"Got enough fuel?"

"Not lots. We keep it up now and it goes a long way with the engines idling."

"The portal — oh yeah. It's still closed."

"We brought up the trunk and the replicators. We could make more fuel if we needed to."

A tanker truck had to be summoned from the airport in Tula. The driver didn't like to be away from his truck but it wasn't gone for long. The truck had already made many trips because it had to fill the APC's and the tanks used against the city.

Lauren found me when she came back for a break. She was weary and just held onto me. When she learned what I was going to do she said, "I'm going, too. We better bring some toys for your friend Marto."

Caiti said, "We have to drop coins."

"You're right, Caiti."

Vasiliy had been fighting but came when called. The remnants of my security detail and quite a few replacements arrived. Camsa came, drenched in blood but none of it was his own.

After we checked on Jonna and Tiffany, we boarded the jet. Caiti now controlled the mass and inertia. Camsa called out the details from the chair of the co-pilot. We shot forward into the air and tried to gain distance from the city as opposed to altitude. Fifty kilometres away, we headed north to Soot. The plane was comfortable and quiet. The noise was even less because the engines were not putting out much power.

Lauren and I monitored Caiti to see if she had any tricks to doing this. Everything looked straightforward. She and Camsa were linked closely to keep the plane flying at just below its rated airspeed. Lauren and I had to release the coins through a gate every twenty minutes. On the ground, Osston was keeping up to us. We could talk to him for a few minutes until we got out of range again.

We buzzed Soot an hour and a quarter later. I dropped three messages on parachutes over the palace. I didn't want to get shot, shot at, or Osston shot either. We could hover with Camsa now controlling the fulcrum. When three flags started to wave over the walls Camsa and Vasiliy took us down like a Harrier but better.

Nobody came near us but there were a lot of nervous people with muskets around. Caiti and Camsa got out first and waved. I hoped this put those that had guns at ease.

A troop of men came charging at us and pulled up. Marto was at the lead. "Hello, Hugh. Is this how you travel in Mendab? How are you doing?"

"Hello, Marto, I'd like you to meet some of my family and friends." I made the introductions and said, "There are some weapons on the plane you might like."

Only one box was opened and Marto was happy to see the well made weapons. "Tell me about these."

"I'm pressed for time, Marto."

"Why is that?"

"It appears that the militant arm of the Church is in the city of Sadieea in Corinthium. They opened their gate to me and we raced through. Not many of us got through before the gate closed. To make a long story short, we made a string of portals from Mendab to Sadieea. Half of our army is trying to take the city and half to defend our country. We could use some help. In return I will give you a lot more weapons like these. One for each man that comes and one more for your army that stays here."

"That could be many thousands of weapons, Friend."

"I know, but I promised them to you and just let's say that I've been busy."

"You must have been busy because we have not been bothered at all."

"I have something more to give you. Is Jassik Worrl with you?"

"Yes, he is. Why?"

"Let me show you." I had a big smile when I said this.

Jassik was summoned. He stood in front of his king and me and said, "Yes, my King?"

"King Hugh has a test of some sort. He wishes you to help him."

"I will help willingly, my King."

I said, "Thanks, Jassik. Remember these medallions we took off the stigga?"

"I do, my Lord."

"Let me put this on you first." I put the medallion around his neck and then actuated it.

Jassik said, "It feels odd."

"You are now protected by an invisible shield. I am going to test it now." I whispered, "I am going to punch you. Don't flinch." The man just nodded.

I took a step back and punched Jassik three times, giving it all I could. The man just rocked back on his feet and stared at me in amazement.

The guard detail went rigid at the unprovoked attack but soon relaxed. Marto had his 45 and I asked him to use it on Jassik.

"I will take your word that the bullets will not penetrate. I'm sure Jassik will take your word too."

"Stone or wood will not penetrate either. A cannon ball will kill but not penetrate the suit. I offer one of these to each man that comes to assist me."

"We would be invincible!"

"I'm sorry, but that isn't true. I have a weapon that shoots lightning. The priests have many of these too. The energy goes through the shield. Only a few of the Church's allies have this shield so muskets or AKs will kill them."

Marto thought for a minute then said, "How many men do you want?"

"All I can get to take the city. I'll be able to continue the war with fewer people and many can come home after the city has been taken. A friend of mine is currently only a few hours away on horseback. We can open a chain gate like the priests but as yet our range is limited. I would like to have him come here. This means he has to open a gate."

"Why doesn't he just come?"

"He wears a shield but nobody likes to get shot at."

"Does he come to provide passage for our men?"

"That is the reason."

"Then have him come."

"Let's have the gate near your barracks. You can monitor the end and your troops have less distance to travel."

"I like that idea."

Vasiliy gave a small tour of the plane and then we got on horses to go into Soot. Vasiliy had a lot of training but he had not been on a horse before. The crowds in the city cheered us and the family waved to the crowd. We came to the fort and entered the grounds. Jassik gave some orders and we waited. In a few minutes, the gate formed. The soldiers were nervous but only Osston came out. He looked around then came to me.