12 Miles Below

Book 3. Chapter 9: Into the city heart (T)

Book 3. Chapter 9: Into the city heart (T)

The undersider city gates were ancient. Slowly built up over generations, with more added to it as the city discovered occasional troves of treasure. The structure was massive, easily able to fit several airspeeders side to side through the gatehouse, when opened. Now, it was a sealed slab of metal, thicker than her sensors could penetrate through. Smaller entryways besides the main arc existed, haphazardly placed over time, small roadways leading to each. All of them sealed shut of course.

While the entrance had a large open space before it, that space was quickly eaten up by the asymmetrical mite made slabs and ground, which obscured the entrance. By the half mile point, there would be no position that had a visual on the gatehouse anymore, despite the massive scale of the building.

Around the sides, drapes of white linen obscured the rest of the structure, fluttering in the mild wind. Lined with metal dust that disoriented sensors and x-rays. The Undersiders were hiding something behind those. But ToWrathh wasnt sure what just yet.

Tamery and her Chosen were hidden deep among the city behind those gates, they might have the information. But attempting to contact them may as well reveal their locations, so the Feather would have to go in blind.

She sent a first wave of Runners to probe the defenses, and promptly found out what was behind those linen drapes.

Turrets. Dozens of them. They opened fire on her approaching swarm, peppering the metal shields and slowing the advance to a crawl.

A quick order to break formation and retreat into cover brought her forces back into safety. Her drakes were brought forward, what few of them remained, and she positioned them into visual range of the gatehouse. From there, the machines opened fire and sliced blindly into the white sheets, hitting where the turret fire had come from.

Once more she sent Runners to probe the gate. And again, turrets opened fire, from different locations now. A few places opened fire from the very same place the drakes had fired on. Which told ToWrathh the Undersiders must have a system to move the turrets, using the cloth drapes to obscure their true position.

Fine. She could play their game. The drakes began to open fire while her Runners held position. This time, the long range beams sliced through right where weapon fire came from, silencing the hidden encampments. Some tried to fire back at her Drakes, only to be out of range for accurate hits, or have Runners carrying shields intercept the errant bullet fire.

Surrender. ToWrathh announced as her drakes whittled away the turrets. Open your gates. Destroy your barrier pillar, and I will spare the city. ToWrathh said.

Youre just buying time. The comms crackled with the generals voice. Im too old to not notice a bluff when I hear it. Dramatic though, Ill give you that. Now, how about you turn around, eat shit, and die scraphead?

The line cut before she could answer. She frowned, but this had been expected after all. The odds that the city would choose to surrender now of all time were astronomically low. Still, it was worth a shot.

Enough turrets had been broken, so ToWrathh ordered the Runners to advance on the gate and begin the assault. They did as ordered, reaching the very base. Climbing up, she could see through their eyes the many opening where turrets had once been present. Armored peekholes could be opened or closed.

She recognized the chokepoints. Her Runners would not be able to breach the gate due to funneling. More holes would need to be punched through the superstructure before she could entertain swarming the defenses.

In the distance, her true plan was mobilizing. With the thickness of the walls, her drakes would take too long to slice a way through. But the weapons the behemoths were carrying could - and would - punch a hole in these walls with each fire. With enough holes, the defenders wouldnt be able to hold each against her numbers.

The only problem was getting the behemoths here. The massive lumbering giants required large terrain to move through, which the Undersiders had anticipated. Theyd blown all the bridges capable of supporting the weight.

A few miles behind, the titans lumbered onto a hanging slab of metal, half floating in the air. Serpents slithered through the air behind, hissing and snapping at one another the whole while.

The titans knelt down, large hands gripping the slab for stabilization while the serpents began to bombard the connecting edge with acid. In moments, the metal had melted away, snapping the floating structure free. It wobbled slowly, like an iceberg. Too massive to be capsized by the weight of the titans.

Serpents swarmed around the slab, and began to nudge it forward as one. Slowly, the metal land began to move forward, still floating in the air, carrying the three titans above all the ruined landscape and broken bridges. ToWrathh expected their arrival in a half hour.

More skirmishes happen on the gatehouse, her runners attempting to probe where the turrets were hiding, while the knights and soldiers within were taking rifle shots anywhere her army was vulnurable. Drakes opened fire on any located turret, but ToWrathh had no idea the true number of weapons the gatehouse hid.

The titans arrived, the slab having gained a significant amount of speed. She ordered her trio to open fire on the gate the moment it came into visual range. The lifted the heavy mite made cannons, taking aim. The cannons charged, humming with power before opening up.

Lances of white beams struck out, boiling away the metal, and destroying everything in the path. Golden age technology, pinnacle of what humans had made once upon a time. The beams were the final evolution of what her Drakes carried in their maw. And no amount of metal would stand in the way, mite made or otherwise.

Three red hot holes were neatly punched through the gates, the weapon burning straight through the first set of walls, before fading out against the other side, deeper into the gatehouse.

Again. She ordered her titans. Three holes were not enough to overwhelm the gate. She needed many more.

Tarps and white cloth drapes suddenly fluttered away from parts of the gatehouse. Hidden behind, she recognized the weapons. Six railgun turrets, silent up to now, had been secreted into the defenses. Those turrets turned, targeting the distant Titans, and opened fire. Several hundred pounds of pure metal slugs shot out far past the speed of sound, striking against her Behemoths. The titans staggered backwards, one taking three rounds, stumbling backwards with each hit until it slipped off the slab and fell down with a massive crash.

The other two attempted to return fire, the beam weapons recharging. ToWrathh didnt waste a moment, ordering her drakes to target the railguns and take them out. They begin to slice through the human defenses, but not before another round of railgun shots fire out against her titans.

The first took three shots, two in the torso, and the third neatly through the massive skull. The great beast crumpled down on the slab, no longer functioning.

The second was fast enough to raise an arm to block the strike, armor and metal shattering from the massive railgun round, but still holding together. A second round struck against the charging cannon, causing a supercritical reaction. The explosion rocketed out, throwing the towering siege engine off guard and onto the ground. There, the final railgun turret struck home, shattering through the behemoth skull, and shutting down the beast.

The curse words ToWrathh knew were insufficient for the current situation. Why would the humans have railguns to guard a city gate that was obscured within a half mile? And not even just one railgun - six of them! The Feather watched with some satisfaction as the drakes cut through the last of the exposed weapons, taking them out of commission.

The floating slab raced forward, now unoccupied by anything moving. In moments, it collided far above into the pillar wall itself, breaking into pieces, her titans falling down in the rain of bent metal.

The damage to her forces had been significant. Two of her titans were completely out of order, but the third had fallen to the ground and was still functional, albit damaged. It could shamble forward over the current terrain until it was once more in visual range of the gatehouse. From there, so long as the humans didnt have any more long range weapons, the gate could be slowly opened up.

Tense minutes passed as the titan stood back up from the ground, and began to cover the ground in search of a vantage point. More runners were sent to scour the gatehouse, searching for more hidden traps and weapons. The humans continued to rain down fire, trying to break anything that wasnt hiding behind metal shields.

The tie between both armies lasted up until the titan settled down on one solid location, charging the beam once again and opening fire. The white lance of energy struck the gatehouse, cutting another large hole into the superstructure.

What will you do now, general? ToWrathh thought. Her titan would continue to create a hole every minute. Soon, there would be too many openings and not enough humans to hold each of those chokeholds.

The response was quick. Twenty five knights swarmed out of the gatehouse, moving fast. Faster than relic armor ever should have been. ToWrathh realized why in an instant. On the sides of each knights waist, they carried two rectangle like thrusters. With each leap, the thrusters lit up bright blue, throwing the knights forward. They stormed past the runners with little effort, dodging and weaving through the metal bats and barnacle turret fire. Only three didnt make it the full way, crashing into the ground after hitting something unexpected in the charge.

At the tip of the vanguard, was a single armor different from all the rest. Red sigils on unadorned metal. Winterscar. Kidra. Theyd been holding her in reserve.

ToWrathh quickly lit up her wings, and made her way into the battlefield. Now was the time she needed to join, if only to repel this attack. She made her way to the titans side, weapons drawn, ready to tackle the speeding knights.

They didnt come her way. Instead, the knights fainted hard to the side, storming straight at the drakes. Leaping far past the limits of relic armor, up onto the vantage points the drakes were stationed at.

At the same time, one of the broken railguns was ripped off the moorings, right after her titan opened another hole into the gatehouse. A second working railgun lifted up by a crane, from behind the gatehouse. It lowered the weapon platform onto the cleared mooring. Engineers scrambled around, executing spot welds and affixing the weapon. More lifted other items and worked to hook power lines into the system.

Her Drakes had a line of sight on the assembling weapon, but no means to open fire. Not with the mass of flying relic knights swarming the defending runners and attacking the vulnerable Drakes. They broke apart one after another.

The pre-constructed rail cannon was being assembled faster than her titans weapons could charge. At this rate, they would get the first strike. She ordered the behemoth to stand down, moving away from the vantage point, searching instead for a closer location that offered suitable protection against a rail cannon. That would do for now. So long as the titan took the longer way around, it would be out of visual range of the rail cannon.

The drakes on the other hand, were finished. ToWrathh would not be able to reach them in time to save any of them. In seconds, the last of her forces were wiped out, and the knights fell back to the gatehouse, to recharge and standby, leaping from the high ground in one large arc, right back into the gatehouse openings.

This was not going according to plan. Worse, now they had Kidra equipped with aerial mobility. If they clashed again, there would be no escape if the surface savage managed to take the advantage in a duel. But ToWrathh still had her titan operational. Quickly a new plan of action was drawn out, and she repositioned the massive titan on a far off trajectory, the hobbling giant making its way, hidden from sight the whole time.

One hour left until the barrier is restored. Time was ticking away.

She waited patiently. There wasnt going to be another chance. Runners assembled, along with spiders and the serpents she had on hand. They all gathered up, hidden behind the metal slabs as they moved. The titan lumbered until it reached the position she needed it to occupy.

Begin. She ordered, drawing out a sword and pointing it at the railcannon. It spotted her just as she could see it. The massive turret rumbled on the moorings, turning to aim in her direction. She let it. Standing still.

On the other side of the turrets arc, the titan stepped into visual range and lifted the cannon up, charge begining. Instantly, the railgun operators hastily turned the weapon around, trying to lined up a shot at the behemoth.

The arial knights departed again, this time on direction of the titan. After all, ToWrathh was on the other side of the battlefield. The knights knew they had free range on the behemoth.

The railcannon completed the rotation, aiming at the behemoths head. The operators knew they wouldnt make it, and fired the weapon early. The slug flew out, striking into the titans shoulder, and punching a hole through the superstructure. But the behemoth was not out of commission. It retaliated, a white lance of light flashed out from the cannon, engulfing the side of the turret, causing a catastrophic explosion that took the weapon finally out of service.

She gave her titan one last set of orders. To keep firing on the wall until it couldnt fire anymore. The speeding knight squadron flew across the map in a direct line to the titan and the escorts it had assembled around. A small army. She hoped it would be enough to buy the titan time, but those knights were led by Kidra. And that was a human ToWrathh did not wish to underestimate ever again.

The rest of her army, she ordered a full charge. The holes in the wall would have to do. She joined ranks with her soldiers, zipping across the battlefield.

Another white lance of energy struck the wall, closer to her, leaving a perfect entrance. Runners clambered over the walls, frantic to dive into the gates interior. She dove into it with her army, blades flashing out. Inside, engineers and soldiers alike panicked at her intrusion. Some attempted to open fire with low caliber weapons. Those, she could ignore, her skin impervious to such small weapons. The knights attempting to secure the breach were a different question.

Into the fray she went, swords out, slicing a path through the resistance. Behind her, Runners of all kinds poured into the walls, attacking anything in the way and following her lead. Report feeds showed her the other breaches were being contained, too many defenders holding ground.

Another rumble shook the fortification. One more hole had been ripped into the superstructure. The titan was still alive, though the escorts and protections were whittled away to a skeletal defense. The knights were too fast.

ToWrathh sped through the structure, passing munitions supplies, ignoring running engineers, and tossing aside knights trying to block her way. The runners behind her took care of the rabble, but the feather had eyes only for one objective: To enter the city proper and destroy the heart of their resistance.

One more hole was cut into the city gates, and then she lost contact with her titan. The knights had brought explosive charges with them, using their jump packs to clamber over the titan and toss the munitions into the ripped wounds across the titan. Kidra was now returning, and ToWrathh could not afford to be stuck fighting against such an opponent.

Fifteen minutes remaining.

The feather reached a final bulkhead door. Sealed shut of course, and the electronics sabotaged to remain sealed. She sheathed her two swords, trusting her Runners to hold off the knights behind her.

Both her hands dove like knives into the doors cracks. And then she pulled the metal apart, slowly. Revealing her first glimpse into the city proper.

Ten minutes left. Kidra was halfway across the battlefield according to her reports. Shed be here, soon.

The door groaned before ToWrathhs might and finally she forced it apart. Wide enough for her and her Runners to fit through. Into the artificial golden sunlight she stepped, as if into a completely different world compared to the dark stormy grey and harsh blue landscape only a few hundred feet past the gatehouse. She walked out, stepping directly into a hail of bullets.

Swords drawn again, she lunged across the ground back into the fight.

Five minutes left. The city was utterly different from anything To'Wrathh had seen before. Tall square buildings, stacked one another, with fluttering tent-like fabric as rooftops, all multicolored. So many colors all across this city. The bricks made of warm clay, and completely different from the cold metal walls the surface clans used as she'd seen in Tenisent's memories.

But To'Wrathh didn't have time to focus on the sight before her. Instead, she went to work and cleared this courtyard of danger, giving her Runners the space they needed to fit through one at a time. They would need to sprint to the pillar heart in order to make it in time. The last sighting of Kidra had been her landing on the open sections of the gatehouse, diving down the stairs and vanishing from view into the fortress interior. The surface girl would be here soon, and she only needed to delay To'Wrathh a few minutes for victory.

ToWrathh growled, wings flaring out. Her and the small dozen Runners shed managed to bring into the city would have to be enough. Down the alleyway she went, speeding to the very center of the city. People screamed out, shutting doors and windows, hoping the machines wouldnt come for them. In that regard they were lucky. ToWrathh had only one goal in mind.

Rifle fire from all kinds of directions assaulted the attacking force. Runners broke apart as they failed to find suitable ways to dodge this many weapon trajectories. Still, the machine advance stormed through the open city.

ToWrathh was so close. Her sensors pinged wildly, more knights approaching from all directions. And behind her, one single dot on her radar was approaching far, far faster than any other signals nearby.

Runners ripped apart makeshift barricades, throwing soldiers and knights alike away from their path. ToWrathh raced through, swords only used to block and parry errant attacks before she sprinted past. Closer and closer, she sprinted through the maze of alleyways. Feet only kicking her back up and letting her wings do the rest. Soon she knew shed see the pillar.

Too late.

A pulse came out from the center city. ToWrathh could feel it in her core. It reeked of the Occult. A sensation that invaded her mind, touching all parts of her and passing through. Runners next to her flopped to the ground, crashing and sliding, as if puppets with their strings cut. Violet eyes winking out of existence with no resistance.

In a heartbeat, all friendly units around her vanished, wiped off as a wave passed through.

All except for ToWrathh.

Somehow still functioning for some reason she didn't understand yet, deep within the human city.

Alone. And surrounded.

Next chapter - Dealing with difficult neighbors