Fireflight

Chapter Twenty Three

Rockets pounded the shield, leaving burst of bright colored light against the rippling energy field. White smoke arced from the city walls and surroundings as they came, cutting up the nighttime sky into strips of black velvet. On the walls men worked around the clock loading and firing shells at the sieging army. Plumes of fire rose from the southern side of the city, and thick grey smoke formed a large cloud that hung over the entire city. 

Every once and a while a new plume of fire would erupt when the defender's shells found their mark on an enemy rocket artillery. Two days had passed and the besieged had weathered nonstop bombardment from the first minute. On a balcony overlooking the palace's main entrance, the captain of the guard stood beside a soldier sitting before a field computer that was hooked up the the shield generator. 

"Shield strength is at eighty percent sir. Those rockets are chipping away at it." the soldier said. 

"How long do we have until it buckles?" the captain asked. 

"It depends on the kind of ordinance. "If they have something stronger, or can resupply..." the technician let his sentence hang. 

"How long?" the captain asked. 

"Worst case scenario, three days, best case, five." 

"Let's hope for five." 

The technician nodded. "All I can do is monitor the shield strength. I'll keep you updated on its stats." 

The captain nodded. "Thank you." He stifled a yawn and shuffled back into the palace. He had only gotten perhaps four hours of sleep since the siege had started forty-eight hours ago, and was feeling the effects. 

Seeing his second in command speaking with several other guards, he walked over and got his soldier's attention. "Have you seen Prince Stolas or Princess Stella?" he asked. 

"No sir." the lieutenant shook his head. 

The captain nodded. "I need some sleep. Wake me in four hours or if something important happens." 

The second in command nodded. "You get some sleep sir, you look terrible." 

The captain gave a short bark of laughter. "I'm sure I do." 

With that he left the group of men and rather than go up several floors to his room, he threw himself down on an ornate sofa and was out the second he went horizontal. In the nearby kitchen Octavia sat before a bowl of steaming stew. Across from her, Loona sat with her own bowl in her hands. The two young women had sat in silence for some time, listening to the continuous rhythmic pounding of missiles on the protective shield. 

"How's Brenden?" Octavia asked finally. 

"He's fine." Loona answered. 

Octavia nodded. "He's a tough guy. I'm glad to hear that." 

Silence reigned again, as the two girls ate. They gazed down at their food as they ate, lost in separate thoughts. A larger explosion echoed off the shield and through the palace, startling the two of them. 

"What was that?" Loona asked looking around nervously. 

"Probably a larger missile. That can't be good." Octavia said shaking her head. 

"You ready if they break through?" Loona asked her friend. 

"Yeah, I'm ready. You?" 

Loona nodded. "Yeah. We've got this." she said giving her best friend a reassuring smile. 

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