Taylor Anderson - Iron Gray Sea

Grik Madras

“We have achieved a great victory!” General of the Sea Hisashi Kurokawa loudly proclaimed as he met generals Niwa, Halik, and Muriname in the heavily guarded field north of Madras. The sky was utterly black and only the fires of the burning city hinted at the huge bulk of the black-painted airship that had brought the other leaders, besides Niwa, to him there. He knew it must have been a harrowing flight, because even Muriname’s personal craft, heavily armed as it was, required only a spark to roast them all alive as they plummeted to the earth. Kurokawa felt a chill. He would never ride one of the terrifying things. There were already reports that many of the enemy aircraft had escaped to a lake west of there. Surely some of them would be on the prowl?

The two Japanese generals saluted him, followed a moment later by Halik, who mimicked the gesture. “Come, my friends,” Kurokawa boomed, still for the benefit of the many onlookers. “I have a large tent, captured from the enemy, that we may relax within while we discuss our ultimate reconquest of my regency!”

Halik and Niwa looked at each other. Kurokawa ’s regency? It occurred to both of them then that N’galsh was nowhere to be seen, nor had Niwa seen the vice regent since Muriname arrived in the south. Niwa didn’t know Muriname well. The scrawny former NAP 1/c seemed older than his years and was already losing his hair. Niwa barely recognized him. Together, they moved toward the tent. Once inside, Kurokawa’s temper took a profound turn. Never did he raise his voice to a level that might be overheard by the guards some distance away, but Niwa recognized an old, almost fanatical intensity.

“Why, General Halik, was the enemy not destroyed in the pass? With the numbers at your disposal and the new warriors you were sent, it should have been simple enough!” Kurokawa demanded.

“The enemy is not a stone that one may overturn at will,” Halik replied evenly. His words were carefully enunciated to be clearly understood, and Kurokawa almost recoiled in surprise. Halik had been “just another elevated Grik” when Kurokawa saw him last. He’d been talented, certainly, and clearly had great potential, but that potential had not yet been realized. “His discipline is better than all our warriors but the hatchling host, and his tactics more flexible. They have better weapons-I understand you have seen the examples we captured? — and he uses them well.” Halik continued, his crest rising. “Ultimately, we could not force the Gap because our air power was taken from us-and we had not enough artillery when we needed it most.”

Niwa was proud of his Grik friend. Never had an underling stood so straight and spoken so forcefully to Kurokawa before. He hoped it wouldn’t cost Halik his life. He prepared for Kurokawa’s explosion. Instead, to his amazement, the general of the sea merely stared. Eventually, he nodded.

“You make sense, General Halik. The enemy has better weapons than even I believed possible,” he admitted. He glared at Muriname. “As the travails of my own Grand Fleet can attest. I suppose you did well, under the circumstances. You did not take the pass from the enemy, but you denied him the open plain beyond where I fear his flexibility would have been far more difficult to counter-and where he might have interrupted your only secure line of supply.” He fumed, looking around. “We have no other as yet, and will not until we control the sea and sky!” He glared at Muriname again.

“In all honesty, my Grand Fleet was savaged,” he confessed. “We have more ships on the way, but nothing faster than theirs, so the matter of supply and reinforcement remains. If the new bombs had been used sooner, I would not have lost so many ships-including my own flagship!” The rage threatened to spill over again, and Muriname shifted uncomfortably.

“General of the Sea,” Muriname said, “I ordered the attack as soon as I received word-and it did succeed in the likely destruction of one of their carriers…”

“For the loss of nearly every airship under your command!” Kurokawa snapped. “And you would not even know what they accomplished if I had not seen it myself! All that attacked were lost!” A troubling thought resurfaced in Kurokawa’s mind. He’d been too distant to see what did it, but something destroyed the last of Muriname’s airships before they could finish the big enemy carrier, and something else wiped out the second force with equal ease. Or could it have been the same thing that destroyed both? he wondered.

“More airships are on the way,” Muriname soothed. “But they remain at a disadvantage in speed and maneuverability-not to mention other inherent risks.” He straightened and looked strangely at Kurokawa. “Ultimately, they are all we have for now. We must make do, and devise better tactics for their use.”

Kurokawa nodded thoughtfully, oddly quick to halt his attack against Muriname, Niwa thought. What is that look? Is there something better than dirigibles taking shape at the Japanese enclave on Zanzibar? Suddenly, Niwa was sure of it. But why keep it secret? Then it was clear. For the same reason they kept communications secret-from the Grik. He remembered Kurokawa’s ways well enough to know the madman doubtless still plotted and schemed.

Finally, Kurokawa turned to Niwa. “I have missed you, General, more than you know. You have accomplished much and made me proud.”

For a moment, Niwa could only stand in shock. “Uh, thank you, General of the Sea,” he managed at last.

Kurokawa smiled for an instant, then a frown creased his face as quickly as if a switch had been thrown. “Your exemplary actions to this point leave me particularly surprised that you did not seize the opportunity to destroy the forces that retreated from Madras. They were strung out, drawing supplies, helpless. Now they have established a strong defensive position that cannot be ignored.”

“I…” Niwa stalled. How could he describe how difficult it was to launch any kind of coordinated attack through that dense jungle south of the road the enemy took? He had attacked, and the fighting had been fierce-it was still going on-but most of the enemy had reached its new defensive perimeter. He simply hadn’t been able to bring sufficient force to bear at any one place to scatter the column. “I have no acceptable excuse, General of the Sea,” Niwa finally replied. “I tried, but was not successful.” He glanced at the others. The same could be said of all of them.

Amazingly, Kurokawa’s expression softened. “Never mind,” he said. “You and General Halik will have a chance to redeem yourselves. You have the enemy surrounded now, do you not? It should be a simple matter to coordinate your forces now and utterly destroy these… refugees. I leave the planning and execution to the two of you.” He held up a hand. “I will require some thousands of your warriors to assist in the refitting of my ships. Also, some of the local civilian population, including many artificers, that fled the enemy are with you, General Niwa? I need them back. See that they are sent here immediately.”

“Of course, General of the Sea.”

“Very well. Then if you have no further questions, I shall leave you to your task.” He turned to Muriname. “You remain a while longer before you fly away. I have other things to discuss with you.”

Niwa turned to leave, but noticed Halik hadn’t moved.

“You refer to your regency, General of the Sea, but what of Regent-Consort Tsalka and his vice regent, N’galsh?” Halik asked.

Kurokawa swiveled his head and rested his eyes on the Grik general. An odd smile twisted his lips. “Lord Regent Tsalka was given the traitor’s death,” he said bluntly, watching Halik’s crest flatten with horror and disbelief. “Vice Regent N’galsh died leading the airship attack against the enemy fleet, and I will have to replace him. But by the express wish of the Celestial Mother herself, I am Regent-Consort of Ceylon and All India now, by conquest!” Kurokawa paused, and actually giggled. “Perhaps not Consort,” he said, “but Lord Regent? Oh yes! I have reconquered the bulk of the lost regency; Ceylon will come in time. This land is mine, by promise of the Giver of Life!”