The Celestial Way

Chapter 22.3 - Defending the Way

He flew to the highest spot on the battle platform and stood upright, arms crossed, observing the war theater spread all around him. Warned by Arcolant's fate, Captain Riley had managed to raise impressive resistance, recalling all field units and concentrating them in one spot. Landcruisers and tanks had dug themselves around the cosmodrome, creating a fortified barrier. ACUs patrolled around the city's perimeter, their large, lumbering forms ready to turn into deadly machines of destruction at a moment's notice. Spread in a strategic grid, the Radiant Knights kept themselves aloft, primed for battle. Kryoon's dome was charged with some sort of protective field, glowing with a faint blue aura.

Airo hoped there was enough veronite and serefi to go around for a protracted combat, otherwise all these defensive measures were meaningless. He asked Yeoman Cloud to check the data. They were barely covered; still, a battle of attrition wouldn't be good, as the Revenant could replenish their losses with every life they take.

The transport shuttles flew without pause, taking passengers from the cosmodrome and carrying them to the H'raal sphereships waiting high above. The worst part of this scenario was the fact the alien fleet wouldn't fight at full strength. Each loading or loaded sphereship had to stay away from the action, since the H'raal couldn't afford to risk combat engagements while their already packed-to-capacity sphereships were further crowded with masses of half-panicked civilians. Which meant the longer this battle continued, the less orbital support the defensive forces would have, while the Revenant would have more opportunity to wear them down.

Airo sighed. He had done what he could. The rest now lay within the will of the Great Cosmos.

And his own hands, when he got to Ferrtau.

He ignored the occasional chatter of the commlink's command channel, clearing his mind of all thoughts. He let tranquility fill his being, waking his warrior spirit. He stood ready, watching the horizon, and waited.

Hours passed. The twin suns advanced across the sky. The warpstorm continued to twist local vicinity. The Reality Vortex loomed far distant, threatening as ever. The evacuation continued with all haste, with nearly a third of all refugees safely aboard already.

Then the Revenant came.

They shimmered on the horizon, rushing toward the city with tremendous speed, swelling and surging, like a giant wave of golden light. As soon as he saw them, Airo leapt and flew upward, until he soared high above the battlefield. He examined the approaching Revenant. Their faint energy signatures and the warpstorm's interference made it impossible for sensors to provide accurate numbers, yet combined telemetry estimated there were around a hundred thousand enemy units present. It was an army.

The Revenant crashed into the first line of defensive forces, and the battle began. The battle platforms opened with a barrage of heavy projectiles made from veronite, hammering the Revenant's center. The apparitions cast their deadly energy rays, yet thanks to the serefi protection the armored frames of the platforms withstood the attacks. Thousands of Revenant went into the air, attempting to storm the battle platforms, but the Radiant Knights descended upon them, repelling their charge. The Knights split into two groups, one remaining to guard the platforms, while the other went to keep the airspace around the cosmodrome safe.

Down on the ground the clash was furious and bloody. Much of the Consortium forces were engaged point-blank with the enemy, and only the serefi fields prevented them from being utterly overwhelmed. The Revenant kept pressing relentlessly, more and more apparitions joining the fray as their army pushed forward.

Airo stayed above the raging action, carefully searching for Ferrtau. Below, the battle was like a strategy game, units and squads moving, firing, and taking casualties, the illusion enhanced by the AR overlay which displayed status data when focused on a particular detachment. Yet the difference was that events were real, not part of some simulation.