The Dark Edge Chronicles - Clan War

Naples

Naryan frowned, arms folded over her breasts, as she watched Vulcrum's tactical operators, House Lash's equivalent of Force Recon, hammer their way into Giovanni's main courtyard. It was the most recent of the decisive moves the operators had made since arriving via helicopter on the scene nearly a half hour ago. And the attack had started with a heavy, unrelenting assault on the defense perimeter, which was quickly shattered in several places by precision use of portable artillery followed by sledgehammer assaults.

That had drawn out the White Flames, present in the form of three full companies of hardened combatants. Despite that, the tactical operators quickly cut them apart with superior tactics and placement. And as for the Giovanni Nestari, they shouldn't even have shown up. They were being scythed down as if they were cardboard cutouts. Nearly half of their numbers were already on the ground, bleeding out.

"Makes you glad they're on our side, yes?" Dru said from where she was standing beside the Force Recon officer. "I knew they were effective from having seen the action reports of some of their operations against Nosferatu assets. But, to actually see them in action ..." The Nosferatu lilith fell silent, shaking her head in amazement.

"If Ventru's enemies knew what kind of fighters House Lash could field, they would've attacked them first in an attempt to take out the biggest threat," Narcist noted on Naryan's other side. Having been involved in familiarizing herself with Vulcrum's operations for the last several hours, she was finally free enough to come up and observe the action against Giovanni.

"Maybe," Naryan conceded. "Attacked and got themselves obliterated." She looked over at the vampiress with the mobile nanite dragon tattoo moving over her face.

"I think that's why the traitor threw nestari from Houses loyal to the council at Lash's borders to keep them occupied. Because they knew it'd only be a holding action until council loyalists, or the Hand killed, or captured Lash."

"Did you know House Lash was this powerful while you were living on the estate, Narya?" Meredith, sitting on the edge of the ledge overlooking the bullpen, asked over her shoulder.

A quick breath in and out and Naryan shook her head. That was a secret kept from everybody, including Lash, by Lash's father and his closest advisors. No-one was allowed to know just how powerful they were. Just in case something like the pogrom happened and they needed to roll out and catch their enemies by surprise.

Which was what they were currently doing.

"Extraction team has penetrated the main keep," one of Vulcrum's team announced down in the bullpen. "Resistance is light."

"They've moved their defenders to the perimeter, thinking the tactical teams were the only threat," Vulcrum noted from where he stood in the middle of the bullpen, his tablet in his hand as he made notes on how his teams were moving. "Time to extract?"

"Team leader estimates five minutes," his comms vampire reported. "Tactical drone still has the target locked in his armory and mobile."

"Sir, Auxiliary has reported they've secured the human-made guided bomb and are standing by to launch from altitude," another one of his team reported.

Vulcrum nodded in acknowledgement even as he made another note.

"And comms traffic?"

"Heavy, sir," a vampiress in the front row reported. "I have two primary targets now identified. Cadiz, on Spain's southern Atlantic coast. And Budapest."

"Narvaez and Demaskieros," Narcist said with a thoughtful nod. "Giovanni is calling in help directly from his allies. Not from Romanescu's team, like we thought he might."