D. MacHale - The Soldiers of Halla

“This way,” Courtney said, and left without waiting. She was on a mission, after all.

She led us out onto a narrow, wooden walkway that had been built along the uppermost ridge of the mountain range. It was like walking along the top of a long triangular prism. The steep mountain fell off to either side of us. On one side was Black Water, on the other was the green valley of waterfalls, where Kasha and Boon and I crashed the gig. My palms were no longer sweaty. They were dripping wet. My knees felt like rubber. The walkway was a ribbon with no handrail. A sudden gust of wind would have blown us off. Compared to this, slipping down the outside of that Lifelight pyramid on Veelox was like monkeying around on a playground slide. It didn’t seem to bother Courtney. She walked quickly and confidently, as if she were on a sidewalk. I didn’t risk looking back at Kasha and Boon to see if they were okay. I had to focus.

We walked for maybe fifty yards, until we came upon a platform that was built firmly into the rock. There was a rail around the outside that looked solid enough. To me it felt like a safe oasis. When I stepped onto it, I looked back to see that both Kasha and Boon had been walking on all fours. It gave me a little bit of satisfaction to know that they may not have been scared, but they were cautious enough not to be walking on their hind legs.

Courtney went to the edge of the platform that overlooked the green valley and gazed out over the vast expanse. The sunbelt was about to creep up over the horizon directly in front of us. That meant if there was an aerial attack, the klees would be coming out of the light-a typical tactic. Her eyes were trained on the mountain range on the far side of the valley, occasionally looking through a small pair of binoculars. I could still hear the whooping horn below, though it was far away, down in the village. Looking to my right and left, I saw other platforms like ours that were built along the length of the walkway. I’d guess they were a few hundred yards apart. Too far to yell to each other, but close enough to see that there were people on them. Everyone’s gaze was locked on the horizon. Toward Leeandra. Toward the direction that the attack would surely come from.

“What’s your job up here?” Boon asked.

“We have spotters all through the mountains,” Courtney replied while still keeping a keen eye ahead. “If there’s an attack, we can view the movement of the klees below and relay it everywhere.”

“Who sounded the alarm?” I asked.

“The spotters in the front range. The side facing Leeandra. We figured that if an attack came, it would be from that direction. These stations back here are only manned if there’s an attack. The front stations are constantly on alert. They’re the first line of defense. My guess is that the spotters up there saw the klee army nearing the pass.”

“There is only one path through the mountains,” Kasha said. “That does not seem like a practical avenue for attack.”

“It isn’t,” Courtney answered. “We have armed gars stationed all along the route. If the klees are dumb enough to try and march through, they won’t make it.”

“That means an attack from the air is more likely,” I said.

Courtney nodded. “That’s what we figured. We have spies, you know. Gars have been cautiously observing Leeandra for years to try and learn of their plans. Many have paid for the information with their lives.”

I thought of Mark and his band of rebels outside the conclave on Third Earth. Courtney’s life wasn’t much different from that. They both lived outside the privileged world of the Ravinians and did what they could to help the rest of the people survive.

“That’s why we developed the radio cannons,” she continued. “Black Water is naturally protected by these mountains, which makes a ground assault difficult. If they send in gigs, we punch them out of the sky. I think they know that, which is why they haven’t attacked.”

“Why do you think they’re attacking now?” I asked.

Courtney squinted and continued to scan the far mountain range. “I don’t know. It’s the one thing that has me worried. I’ve heard rumblings that they were working on a new plan, but we never could figure out what it might be. It’s the one wild card today.”

“Maybe it’s the dados,” I offered hopefully.

“I hope so, because the radio cannons should handle them.”

Boon asked, “Suppose large numbers of real klees get through somehow? Not the dados, the living ones. Are the gars able to defend themselves?”

Courtney looked back to us and gave a sly smile. “If any klees get into the valley, we have our own surprise waiting for them.”

“What kind of surprise?” Kasha asked.

“If I told you, it wouldn’t be a surprise,” Courtney answered playfully. “Let’s hope it won’t come to that.”

The sound of an explosion echoed across the green valley. It was huge, and was quickly followed by another, and another. I felt a slight vibration rattle the platform. It was subtle, but unnerving. More unnerving was the surprised look on Courtney’s face.

“What?” I asked.

“I don’t know” was her shaky answer. “Is it a weapon?” Kasha asked.

“No,” Courtney said quickly. “The klees don’t have anything that can deliver a punch like that. I don’t think.”

Kasha looked to Boon and asked, “Do you know of anything the klees have that could create such a sound?”

Boon shook his head in confusion. “No, but the Ravinians are very secretive about their work. You saw how they put the door on the gig hangar. Everything used to be open. Now there are secrets.”

“Secrets like… creating powerful weapons?” I asked.

“Em sorry, Pendragon, I don’t know,” Boon said, his voice wavering.

Courtney reached into her pocket and took out a small, amber cube that I recognized as one of the link radio devices that the gars had developed. That cube represented the turning point for Eelong-the first radio broadcast on that world. Courtney put a finger to her ear where I saw she had a small earpiece. She touched the cube. It glowed. Courtney was listening. She frowned and closed her eyes.

“Is it a weapon?” I asked.

Courtney dropped her hand holding the radio. I saw the tension on her face.

“I don’t know. If it is, they aren’t using it to target us. At least, not yet.”

“Then what are they shooting at?” I asked.

Courtney turned to me and said, “The mountain. They’re blasting open the pass that leads from the outside into the valley. Whatever device is shooting is too far away for the gars to hit with the radio cannons.”

The explosions continued. They were incessant. One after the other, each as loud as the last.

Courtney continued, “They’re blasting a road through the mountain.”

“Can they do that?” Boon asked. “Are those weapons powerful enough?”

As if in answer, the explosions intensified. The sounds tumbled on top of one another; the rumbling echoed across the valley like the finale of some monstrous fireworks show. Only it wasn’t the end. It was the beginning.

“The spotters say they are blasting through the mountain like it was made of bread. The gars are fleeing for their lives. If the klees cut a path wide enough, we won’t be able to prevent them from marching through.”

“Won’t that take a long time?” I asked, desperate for some little bit of good news.

I saw the first billow of smoke rise up over the mountain. What seemed so far away suddenly was in sight.

“Apparently not” was Courtney’s sober answer.

We watched for a few minutes as the billow of black smoke grew larger and mixed with the dust of pulverized rock. I felt as if we were watching the approach of a monster that was eating through the mountain on a quest to find prey… which was exactly what was happening.