Both Ways (20181228)

CH64

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Natuk stabbed yet another Vord warrior as it tried to scale the Shuaran wall, sending its body crashing onto the ranks of monsters below. It was an easy process, considering that the Vord was being constantly bombarded from AAF artillery positions miles away, as well as from fixed and rotary wing aircraft that constantly made passes, dropping bombs, launching rockets, and strafing the ground with rapid cannon fire. Also, the Shuarans had essentially covered the entire wall with their own warriors, which made preventing breaches a breeze.

As they held the wall, more and more AAF soldiers came to reinforce their position, bring with them an assortment of heavy weaponry. From mortar tubes to machine guns, recoilless rifles to grenade launchers, they brought it all. The soldiers created dozens of emplacements all over the wall, both in areas that were vulnerable as well as those that provided excellent fields of fire. The weapons took out a great portion of the Vord before they even had a chance to reach the wall. All Natuk and his Raiders had to do was mop of the rest that got through.

Natuk stood idly by, lazily leaning against the wall as he watched the devastation unfold in the fields in front of him. Just behind him were several of his Raiders, who were actively patrolling about, vigilantly searching for any signs of the Vord. They had become far more wary with their first foray into combat, and Natuk was relieved that these were the circumstances they encountered. They were rather safe, since the AAF was doing most of the heavy lifting. Had they been fighting against the Alerans, Natuk was certain that more than half of them would already be dead.

Every once in a while, one of the Vord would make an attempt on the wall, and he would simply stab it down with his sword. Once had had finished that simple duty, he would return to watching the mesmerizing tracers erupt from the machine guns, arc over the fields, and decimate a small group of the Vord. Occasionally, one of these tracers would strike the rocky ground and, if the angle was just right, bounce back high into the air and go soaring over the hills. It was a rather odd and amusing spectacle.

Perhaps the most terrifying of the AAF infantry weapons he saw was the grenade machine gun. Natuk was by no means possessed any real understanding of the AAF weapons' operation. He did, however, deduce what the machine gun was. If the small weapon that soldiers carried individually was the 'gun,' then the larger version that fired constantly and with great frequency was the 'machine gun.' All the GMG added to that mix was a much larger round- one that Natuk could actually see without a tracer!- that detonated on impact with a great explosion. In seconds, the weapons would obliterate dozens of Vord, evaporating them in a cloud of smoke and dust. The thought of being on the receiving end of the weapon unsettled Natuk deeply. He was far more appreciative now of the restraint the AAF had shown the Canim in Alera.

Other than the occasional Vord to chop off the wall, there really wasn't much for Natuk and his Raiders to do. A trio of younger Shuaran warriors strode up to Natuk's part of the wall, and casually joined him in observing the devastation before them. They were far less apprehensive about the AAF armament than Natuk was, only appreciating it for its effectiveness against their foe. Instead, they simply sat along the wall, watching with starry eyes and eager expression as the Vord in the field were obliterated.

Natuk's senses were alerted by the behavior of one of the Shuaran warriors. He detected that the warrior was glancing in his direction, a considerably aggressive communication. Since Narash and Shuar were still technically at war, the only time it was appropriate for Canim from the two ranges to look at each other was in combat. Natuk knew that only a fool and an idiot would attack him now; he was surrounded not only by his own raiders, but also miles of new AAF fortifications and emplacements. As Natuk felt his gaze once again, he started to become annoyed. What, then, did this Shuaran want?