A VERY TENACIOUS ENEMY
Vre'kais waited with his brother warriors in the forest, knowing the Gue'la would be passing this way soon.
He almost felt sorry that they would have to destroy them. Foes with this kind of honour were rare. But they stood in the path of the Tau's destiny, and for the Tau'va the Gue'la must be destroyed.
A Kor'vesa slowly floated back to the position of the Shas'la, informing Shas'el Sa'cea Shovah that the Gue'la were nearing their
position.
The Shas'el then murmured something into his commlink, presumably to give advance warning to the auxiliaries. The Kroot would provide the first stage of the ambush.
In minutes, Vre'kais heard the
chitterling whistles of the Kroots' attack. The Gue'la were caught unaware, but they were disciplined warriors. Obviously the Gue'vre must indeed be intelligent and very experienced in the ways of war.
The chattering of Gue'la weapons and the noises of the Kroot stopped not far from the Shas'la position. They waited for a few more seconds.
Shovah gave the word, and the Shas'la came out of their position, firing at the Gue'la with all of their weapons. Vre'kais wished he could take care of these Gue'la now, rather than later. But Shovah had informed them that they were to try not to kill the Gue'la. They must escape and warn the Gue'o.
Predictably, the Gue'la ran rather than face the mighty weapons of the Shas'la. None turned back.
Vre'kais again felt respect for these particular Gue'la. So unlike the ones with the blue outfits. This Gue'vre knew that to stay and fight was to die, and there was no dishonour in retreat from a foe you cannot beat.
But they would die anyway. The ambush at the place they called Kyrn River would ensure that.
* * *
Shas'el Sa'cea Shovah stood amongst his Shas'vre and Shas'la, proud of their accomplishments. He was most proud of what they would do the next rotaa.
"Shas'la!" he called out. All attention turned to him. "This is a rotaa that will live on in glory, as the rotaa on which we planned the first steps to removing the Gue'la from our world.
Ú
"For too long, they have stayed on this world, against the wishes of Aun'mont'yr. This is in direct defiance of the Tau'va. They spit in the face of our destiny. For this reason, they must be destroyed.
"Our plan is to draw the enemy into a massive trap along the
Kyrn'Por. They will not expect a large force, but they will find one when they arrive. In this region we will destroy the
Medis'Gue'la. Once we have finished them, we will move to arrange an ambush of the Pentoris'Gue'la on the slopes of
Fio'or'es. These are the only two hunter cadres the Gue'la have left on this world. Once we remove them, this world will be claimed for the Tau'va for good."
Shovah saluted the Shas'la. "Victory! For the Tau'va!"
A chorus of cheers sounded around the room. Shovah felt proud. He would lead them to victory the next rotaa, and for that he would be forever remembered.
* * *
Vre'kais turned to his left and right, making sure Ui'vior'la and Ui'or'es were both in position. He lowered his chin to press the comm button.
"Are you ready, brothers?"
Two eager affirmatives came in return. Vre'kais smiled. This rotaa would be glorious indeed.
Kor'vesa came back at regular intervals, informing the Shas'la of the position of the Gue'la. They were getting very close now.
From both sides of the Shas'la, Gue'la weapons opened fire, cutting down some of the Shas'la. Vre'kais winced at the loss of brave Shas'la, but that was the signal for the rest of the force to attack.
He activated the jump pack on his Crisis and dropped into the midst of the Gue'la force,
exhilarated at the terror they had on their faces when they saw the emerging force. Hundreds of Shas'la emerged from hidden locations. Shas'ui jumped into the battle from hidden positions, in trees or anywhere else their Crisis suits would not be detected.
Vre'kais,
Ui'vior'la, and Ui'or'es were all armed with a burst cannon and missile pod. These weapons were turned on the Gue'la with devastating effectiveness. Dozens of Gue'la were cut down. Dozens of Shas'la were also cut down. But such was the cost of
ensuring the Tau's destiny.
A group of Gue'la began falling back on the right of the Tau force. Vre'kais sought to pursue them and cut them down, but a Shas'la in front of him began frantically pointing toward the sky.
Vre'kais looked up, and what he saw terrified him. A rain of fire was falling from the skies, directly above the battle.
He moved his hand to try to activate his jump pack, but it was too late. Vre'kais had not even the slightest chance as a massive plasma driver round slammed into him, incinerating him and his brothers in an instant.
* * *
Aun'mont'yr watched the bombardment of his forces, and his heart sank. The Gue'o was a madman. He had sent his most skilled Gue'la to fight the Shas'la, and rather than trust them to bring victory he chose to destroy the area, including the Shas'la and the Gue'la.
The Gue'la had honour, but not this Gue'o. Gue'o Oswald was a dangerous man. He had no regard for the lives of enemy soldiers, but he seemed to have less regard for the lives of his own.
Aun'mont'yr turned slowly to his aides and spoke
softly. "This is an enemy we cannot defeat. The Gue'o is determined to slaughter us, no matter how many Gue'la lives he loses. This world is not worth the bloodshed it has caused."
With a heavy heart, he added, "Inform Kor'vre T'eldi that we will need the Mantas on the planet for a withdrawal, not a counter strike. And let him know that we must be swift. Once the first Manta lands, they will know we are here, and they will come for us with everything they have.
"Let the Shas'la know as well. They must pack their gear and have this compound stripped of everything so that it can be loaded onto the Mantas quickly."
The aides nodded in affirmation, then ran to perform their assigned tasks.
Aun'mont'yr turned back to the window, watching the continuous barbaric bombardment. "Kolmar has the blood of too many Shas'la and Gue'la on her. Somebody must end this madness."
* * *
The evacuation was hectic, but it has gone without a problem for the most part. The Mantas were coming in, loading up hundreds of Shas'la and their gear, and leaving quickly.
The past few Mantas had had to run the gauntlet of Gue'la missiles, though, and the Gue'la were getting closer. Too close. The Kor'vesa returning from the front of the compound had been damaged by Gue'la fire.
Aun'mont'yr held up his comm and spoke into it, "Kor'ui, we need you to hurry and get away so Kor'vre T'eldi can come load up the last of us!"
"I am almost finished, Aun. Nay, I am now finished. Lifting off now."
The heavy whine of the Manta's engines straining to lift from the ground and quickly accelerate was significantly loud in the enclosed hangar. It was like the scream of rage from some ancient bird of prey. The swoop-winged ship slowly turned its nose toward the sky, and with a heavy blast from its engines was soon on its way to space.
Aun'mont'yr had little time to watch it, for T'eldi's Manta
swooped into the hangar and did a turn that was very quick for the ship's size. It touched down and its ramps were already open. Shas'la began running to get on board.
The door to the hangar exploded in a shower of shrapnel. The Shas'la nearest Aun'mont'yr turned and began firing their pulse rifles and pulse carbines at the Gue'la entering the hangar. A fierce firefight began to rage. One of the Shas'ui grabbed Aun'mont'yr and screamed over the sound of weapons fire and whining engines, "You have to get on the
Manta, Aun! If we do not survive, it will be as nothing compared to your loss! Go, for the Tau'va!"
Aun'mont'yr turned and ran onto the Manta, but stopped on the ramp and cried out, "Shas'la! Try to get aboard! I will hold the Manta for you as long as I can!"
The Shas'la began walking backwards, laying down a curtain of fire. Many of them fell getting to the Manta, but many more reached the ship. One Shas'ui gave his Shas'la the task of giving covering fire while the other Shas'la got on the Manta. When they were all loaded up, he and his Shas'la came as well.
The Manta's ramps began to lift almost immediately. Bullets came flying into the ship as it began to take off, some ricocheting around until they lodged in something, sometimes a Shas'la. The Manta's engines kicked in with a full blast even before the ramps were closed. The heat on Aun'mont'yr's face was horrible, but the fire from the engines washed over the Gue'la below, burning many of them and kicking the ship out of the hangar and toward the sky with great speed.
Aun'mont'yr made his way to the front of the ship. From there, he stood behind the seat of Kor'vre
T'eldi. The large crew piloting the Manta were doing their best to get the ship into space while keeping Gue'la fighters away with the ship's weapons.
Ahead, a Manta was unsuccessful in its evasion, drawing the fire of hundreds of missiles. Great holes opened in its armoured skin, gouts of fire erupting from the wings of the ship. As gracefully as a bird swooping down to grab its prey, the Manta slowly began titling toward the earth, slowly falling back down as gravity overtook it.
"More power to the engines!" T'eldi called. His crew worked to obey his commands, the Kor'la quickly shifting power from
the weapons into the engines. The Manta shuddered as its engines strained with all the new power. But it would make it.
Aun'mont'yr looked back down toward Kolmar one last time before the ship was too high to see anything. An explosion told him where the downed Manta hit. Gue'la flyers swarmed like locusts down below. The world, from this high up, looked far uglier than it had ever looked before.
He shook his head and moved to the back of the ship, finding himself a place to sit. It would be a long ride back to the Empire.
THE END
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