D. MacHale - The Soldiers of Halla

“Bobby,” Courtney said, suddenly sounding uncertain. “If they can blast through that mountain so easily, they’ll be able to do the same on this side of the valley and create a route directly into Black Water. We were prepared for an attack from the air. If they are able to mount a straight ahead attack of klees, we won’t stand a chance.”

As if to underline the point, we heard the loudest explosion yet, followed by an eruption of rock that spewed from the valley side of the far mountain. Even from as far away as we were, I could make out an avalanche of rock and debris tumbling down on the inside of the valley of waterfalls. In only a few short minutes, they had broken through. If things continued, it wouldn’t be long before the very mountain ridge we were standing on would be targeted, and the Ravinian army would be on the threshold of Black Water.

The klee army was only a short distance away from taking on the exiles, and obliterating the last hope for Solara. And Halla.

The barrage continued.

Courtney gripped the handrail, staring intently as a wide section of mountain range crumbled. Every so often, through the smoke and dust, I could see light creeping through where there had once been only rock. They were indeed blasting a road through the mountains.

“We had no idea that they had that kind of firepower,” she said through gritted teeth. “This is the surprise I feared.”

“When we flew in, we saw that they had a load of transport trucks,” I offered. “Whatever that weapon is, they must have brought it here in those trucks.”

“We could stop trucks with the radio cannons,” Courtney said, thinking out loud. “Unless they’re out of range. Or if the gars are running for their lives, and right now it looks like we’re dealing with both.”

Kasha said, “Perhaps it’s time to change tactics and prepare for the ground assault.”

Courtney kept her binoculars trained on the mountain. I could see her jaw muscle working. Boon, Kasha, and I exchanged looks. This was not going well. The klees had obviously played a wild card that the gars hadn’t anticipated. There were thousands of klees on the way. If there was an open highway into the valley, and then into Black Water, the gars would be done. A few archers inside of wooden huts wouldn’t stop them, which meant the exiles would be done too. Standing up there on that platform, I felt totally helpless. There was nothing I could do. Nothing any of us could do. I wasn’t even sure of what to hope for. Would the klees run out of ammunition before breaking through? Would the radio cannons be able to stop the dado klees? Was there any fallback position? What was the surprise defense Courtney mentioned? I couldn’t imagine anything that would put a dent in the oncoming army.

“Wait,” Courtney said. Her whole body went tense. She’d seen something. “What is that?”

She handed me the binoculars. I looked out over the valley to the target zone, and saw nothing but smoke and dirt billowing from the point of attack.

“What?” I asked.

“Keep looking,” she commanded. “In the sky through the smoke.”

I wished for the swirling smoke to blow away to give me a look at whatever it was she thought she saw.

“Something is moving in the air,” she said. “Something big.”

That’s when I saw it. It was only a brief flash as the smoke parted, but there was no mistake.

“It’s a gig,” I announced. “A big one. It’s hovering over the destruction.”

“The klees have gigs that large?” she asked, surprised.

“Yes,” Kasha answered. “We saw them in the hangar back in Leeandra.”

“That’s it,” she declared, as if realizing something for the first time. “They’re firing from gigs.” “So what?” I asked.

“So watch,” she answered. She grabbed her link cube and shouted at the amber radio. “Gigs are in the air. They’re launching those bombs from the sky.” She listened, then added, “Because I can see them from up here. There are definitely gigs up there. Knock ‘em down!”

She looked at us and said, “The gigs must have been firing from a distance. Now they’re in range.”

“But the gars up front are running away!” Boon exclaimed.

Courtney gave him a sly look. “Who said they were the only ones with cannons?”

Of course. There had to have been radio cannons positioned in the valley of waterfalls. That was how Kasha and Boon and I got knocked out of the sky. But using them would mean the gigs had to be inside the valley, and that much closer to Black Water. It was a dangerous tactic, but as I watched the destruction unfold below, it was clear that the gars had no choice.

The explosions continued. There was nothing we could do but watch and hope. The billowing cloud of smoke and dust grew larger. I wondered how much longer it would be before the klees blasted a wide enough path to send their army through.

“Look!” Boon yelled.

A gig blasted out of the clouds, headed our way. It was definitely one of the big helicopters we’d seen in the tree hangar. This thing was armed for bear. There were missiles strapped to either side and beneath. There was no doubt now, the klees had developed missiles and could launch them from gigs. Or maybe they’d been shipped from the helicopter factory on Third Earth. Didn’t matter. They were here, and the klees knew how to use them. My heart sank. What possible chance did the gars and the exiles stand against such a sophisticated attack from the air? I was about to find out.

The gig charged forward, high over the valley. “Why are the gars not firing on it?” Boon asked nervously.

“Hang on,” Courtney said calmly.

A quick look and calculation told me its destination. It was headed for the waterfall that protected the tunnel into Black Water… directly beneath us. This killer chopper’s mission was clear. It was about to start the second phase of an assault that would open up a highway for the klee army, giving it access to Black Water. I held on to the railing, bracing for the moment that it would launch its missiles. I feared that the faint tremor we felt during the attack on the far mountain range would be nothing compared to what would happen once the missiles starting hitting the rock below our feet. I stole a quick look at the walkway that snaked over the backbone of the mountain and wondered if it would come crashing down, with us and every gar up there along with it. I felt like this was the beginning of the end.

“Patience,” Courtney whispered to nobody.

I heard a faint whistling sound. Suddenly the oncoming helicopter spun sideways. More whistling followed. The large gig started twisting, as if it were being hit by stiff winds that came from different directions.

“He’s done,” Courtney said with total confidence.

Turned out she was a lot less nervous about what was happening than I was. The helicopter spun wildly. It was out of control and headed down. This chopper was being targeted the same way that Kasha and Boon and I were when we first flew in.

“We’ve got cannons positioned all over the valley,” Courtney explained. “This is the kind of attack we’ve been ready for.”

I couldn’t tell where the radio cannons were being fired from. The two-person weapons were portable, which meant they could hide anywhere in the trees below. Wherever they were, the shooters knew what they were doing. Their aim was perfect. The helicopter pitched and spun and finally slammed into the ground. This crash was a lot more spectacular than ours was, thanks to the unfired missiles it had on board. As soon as the gig hit the ground, ka-boom. Multiple explosions erupted from the point of impact, shooting flames and debris high into the air. As much as the klees were the bad guys here, I hoped that the pilots were dados. Seeing the huge explosion, I realized that there wouldn’t be anything left of them to figure it out one way or the other. The gig hit just before it reached the lake in the center of the crater, but the explosion was so huge I could feel the heat from as far away as we were.