John Ringo: Against the Tide

“Spoiler attack,” Conner said, lightly. “You’ve more than enough forces to hold them off.” He glanced up at the dragons and frowned. “They should be turning…”

Rachel finally quit looking out over the field and looked up at the dragons, squinting against the sun. He was right, they should be turning to attack the original force. Unless… they were going to attack the portal force. She was no tactician; she left that up to her father. But she knew something Conner didn’t and it was a balm to her bruised soul.

“Things not going exactly as you planned, Conner?” she asked, sweetly.

“They rarely do,” Conner said, still watching the approaching dragons. “That is the reason for leaders… They’re not attacking the orcs,” he said as the dragons split into four echelons and entered a dive. “They’re attacking us !”

“The legion’s moving,” General Kossin said, angrily. He glanced up at the dragons, determined that none were headed for their position and then ignored them.

“They’re supposed to!” Conner shouted as the first echelon dropped a sheet of napalm over the east gate. The gates were covered with leather against just such an attack as were the towers to either side, but he could see burning orcs abandoning their positions.

“No, they’re moving left ,” the general ground out. “Towards the archer hill.”

“What?” Conner said. “What? Impossible!”

“No plan survives contact with the enemy, Conner,” Rachel said, sweetly. “That’s why they call them the enemy.”

“No!” the New Destiny agent said as he saw what the attacking great dragon was carrying. “Noooo!”

“Right about there, I think,” Joanna bellowed, dropping the two open portals in the camp’s main boulevard and flaring out to land. She kept her wings and tail extended as she landed and spun in place, clearing out a quarter acre of land in the process. There were some defenders in the area; they stood as much chance against her as the tents that were smashed to the ground.

Herzer flared out his wyvern just north of the portals and then slid off the side, slapping it on the haunch with his sword even as he blocked an attack with his shield.

“Get out of here you silly thing,” he shouted, gutting the attacking orc and kicking him away. The wyvern got the message, took three awkward hops and was airborne.

Herzer saw Bast interpose herself between a squad of orcs and the wooden portals and he ran to do the same to the north. As expected the tide of orcs that were coming out of the New Destiny portals had been carefully drilled. They were to the north of the UFS portals, and running away. None of them so much as glanced behind and the few officers that tried to stem the tide and get them turned around were bowled over. The only orcs they had to contend with were the remaining defenders in the camp. Those that weren’t either headed for the south gate or immolated in one of the attacks.

Megan had already slid off the greater dragon and was running for them. He checked to make sure nobody was targeting her and then went to work.

Even “relatively few” defenders were far more than the UFS had for this strike. Orcs were coming at them from every side and he closed with the portals to keep them off the, relatively, fragile beams and especially away from Megan.

Bast was doing the same on the other side but the majority of the work was being handled by Joanna. Her tail flashed back and forth, hard and fast like a giant crocodile, and any orc unlucky enough to be caught by it was tossed through the air like a grain of rice. Her wings batted as well and the concussion from them was enough to stun any of the orcs.

One of the big ogres came charging from the south and she hopped over some stunned orcs to engage it. The ogre, for a change, was carrying a huge club. She dodged a clumsy swing and bit the ogre on the head, crushing the massive skull in her teeth.

“Pthack!” she spit. “Damn they taste bad!”

Megan ran through the chaos, jumping over guide-ropes from flattened tents and dodging bits of debris until she reached the open frames of the portals. Then she placed one hand on either frame.

“Mother!” she called. “Do you hear me?”

“Yes, Miss Travante,” a voice said out of the air.

“There are two portals prepared at Raven’s Mill,” Megan panted. “There should be some Blood Lords waiting. Do you know which ones I’m talking about?”

“Yes, Miss Travante,” the voice said.

“Establish link here,” Megan said. “Code Beta Fourteen. Power Authorization One-Nine-Four-Five.”

The portals blinked to life and Megan jumped between them, out of the way of the tide of elite Blood Lords that would be pouring out any second… any… second…

She waved her hands as if to shoo them through. Waved them again.

“HER ZER !”

Herzer spun in place at the scream and looked to see what had happened to her. But Megan was fine.

“What?” he shouted, taking a blow on his armor and dropping his shield to crush the orc’s foot. Then he slid his sword into its neck and turned back. “What?”

“NO BLOOD LORDS!” Megan shouted, dancing from foot to foot. “Where are the Blood Lords!? There was supposed to be a tide of Blood Lords !”

“Shit,” Herzer said under his breath. “Joanna! Cover this side!” he yelled, spitting another orc and dashing to the gate.

He stuck his head through and shook it at the sight that greeted him. The whole battalion was standing at parade rest while the colonel was haranguing someone in a cook’s uniform. He cleared his throat.

“Colonel?” he said, urgently.

“Major Herrick ?” Colonel Heiskanen said.

“Yes, sir,” Herzer replied, desperately, waving a blood-spattered sword to point behind him. “Did we forget something, sir?” he asked in a mad voice. “The battle ? The orcs? A camp to capture?”

“What orcs?” Heiskanen shouted. “What camp? What the hell is going on? ”

Herzer froze at that and then stepped through the gate. There was, precisely, no time to explain and the plan had gone straight to hell. Oh, well.

He looked at the assembled ranks for a brief moment and then raised his sword over his head.

“BLOOD LORDS!” he shouted. “BLOOD TO OUR BLOOD, STEEL TO OUR STEEL.” He spun in place and pointed through the portals. “FOLLOW ME!”

Megan picked up a broken tent pole and fended off the orc that was menacing her, backing towards Bast. Of course, that wasn’t a great option, either. Bast was surrounded by orcs. They were dying, fast, but it didn’t mean one of them wouldn’t get in a blow on Megan.

“Oh, shit,” she said. “Am I dumb or what? Mother, Personal Protection Field, please, Authorization Beta-Charlie.”

As the PPF came live the pole was cut off short. She dropped it and stuck her thumbs in her ears, waggling her fingers at the orc.

“Nah, nah,” she taunted. “You can’t get me!”

The orc raised its sword and let out a hoarse bellow of fury, darting forward just in time to be bowled over by an armored wave.

Herzer smashed into an orc and tossed him aside where he was trampled by the flood of Blood Lords coming through the east gate.

“Portals,” Herzer shouted, turning to face the groups that were running through and gesturing over his back. “Knock ’em down! Knock ’em down! Knock ’em down! Portals, portals, portals! Knock ’em down! Knock ’em down! Knock ’em down!”

Blood Lords were highly drilled but they were also taught to think . Where the tide of orcs was appearing was apparent and the groups spread out, heading for the portals. Others, though, thought of other things and turned aside, spreading a perimeter around their own portals to defend them.