BEACON- Part of the TORCH Saga

#31

Ruth, who had moved closer to Tamar, pulled up a hard light screen. "I sent a couple birds to scout out avenues of retreat," she said. "And it's not what I wanted to see. The storm that attacked us has migrated southwest, towards the citadels the other legions hold."

"What?" Lucifera shook her head. "We gotta warn them."

"We can't," said Ruth. "I already tried and that's jammed too, as is our connection to the fleet. This storm... it's like a living thing. It knows how we talk to one another across long distances and it's stopping us."

Lucifera threw up her hands. "Well, fuck! I guess we're all screwed!"

Not necessarily," said Amalek. "Remember the shape of the citadels. They have strong air defenses, our orbital bombardment barely rattled them. I've been wondering that this whole time... why did the citadel Neighbors have such weak infantry and yet such stiff air defenses? And now we know."

Comprehension dawned on Lucifera's weathered face. "The storm attacked them too. They were hiding in there from it. The dragon riders, the cult- they're the enemies of the ones we killed yesterday."

Amalek nodded. "But while the legions should be safe if they take cover inside the citadels... they can't retreat. If the storm is magic, it will simply park itself above them for as long as it takes. Any ship that tries to rescue them will be destroyed. Eventually the citadels will be worn down, and then..."

Silence. "How many legions are on this planet?" Herod asked quietly.

"Fifteen combat legions, including us." Ruth's face was pale. "And another ten support legions. 50,000 women."

"They'll all die," said Amalek. "Unless whoever is creating this storm is stopped."

"AKA we find the shaman and stick our boot down its ass so far that it tastes AEGIS," Tamar grinned.

Lucifera considered this. "You're probably right, but how can we possibly find them?" she asked. "We can't access the geolocation grid, and the shaman hasn't exactly marked itself with a locator."

"...Hasn't it?" Sheba walked a few steps forwards and pointed into the distance. "Follow the clouds and the answer is clear."

The skies of Kra-ki-wa were a foreboding jet black. They were thickest behind the mesa, before tapering off thinner and thinner in the direction of...

The mountain.

"That's where the summoner is- and the rest of cult," said Sheba confidently. "If we can get there, we can kill him."

The four colonels, one legata, and sole corporal took a moment to wrap their minds around the implications of this. "Well, it was nice knowing you all," Lucifera said cheerfully. "The 119th had a good run, but now we're screwed. I'll tell the girls to prepare their death confessions."

Hard to disagree. Between the mesa and the mountain was over 100 miles of enemy territory- and as they had no vehicles, they would have to march on foot. Most of their supplies had been destroyed with the dropships, so they'd have to rely on salvage from the Isaiah and whatever they could forage on an uncharted alien world.

Untold enemies would outnumber them many times over in every encounter, and even if some of them managed to survive the march, the mountain base was an impenetrable fortification and likely the home of an enormous force. Plus, the enemy could control the weather- who knew what else they had up their sleeves?

It was suicide, plain and simple. And all of the colonels knew it.

Amalek broke the silence. "It's... risky. And yet, I don't see any alternatives. We can't march backwards without getting caught in the storm. We can't stay here, they know our position and will keep hitting us. Our only hope is to force a march to the mountain, find the shaman and kill it. As a bonus, the mountain would also make an excellent extraction point once we've gotten to the top."

"So we gotta climb it too," said Lucifera wearily. "Great. We march in the morning."

"...That's it?" asked Ruth disbelievingly. "We're just going to... do it? Legata, it's futile. We won't even make it halfway."

"Eh. It doesn't seem that difficult." Anna materialized between Sheba and Ruth, sending both of them leaping back. God damn it, did she love scaring them like that. "Hey Loose Lucy. I'm tagging along, right?"

Lucifera looked to have aged five years in the last few minutes. "Yeah."

"Neat. It'll be fun, I dunno what you guys are so worried about. We'll make campfires, sing songs, like the old days." There wasn't an ounce of worry on Anna's face. She was either completely insane, fearless, or she knew something they didn't. Maybe all three. "Oh, don't worry about accommodating me. I'll find my own places to sleep."

Lucifera sighed, and turned to leave. "Sheba, get your girls on salvage. Ruth, set up camp. Amalek, with me. Tamar, I want you to break to the girls what the plan is."

Tamar nodded. "Sure ma'am. No problem. But, uh, shouldn't you do it...?"

Lucifera just limped off, Herod and Amalek in tow.

((AN: Lucy is #tired))