The shot rang out from the Fargulkian ambassador's gun and the air behind the Halvodis leader turned into a spray of pink mist and shards of bone. There was a subjective eternity of silence as the shot echoed through the valley and among those gathered there. It felt like hours passed in that internal moment as the gathered soldiers of The Black Palace and the Halvodis stared at each other in shock.
Then the silence broke, a collective roar rising from the Halvodis as they surged forward, and the valley erupted into violent pandemonium.
The Halvodis were still in shock when the rest of the Fargulkian diplomatic party started to fire. Shots rang out, tearing the Havodi leadership to shreds in a blaze of gunfire. The rest of us broke out of the stupor we were in and began firing. Soon, the entire field was awash in bodies as the two sides exchanged fire and either ran for cover or charged onto the impromptu battlefield.
A tiny voice in my head gibbered in panic as the fighting broke out, but I shoved it to the back of my mind and focused on survival. No one was prepared for this, but I was trained to survive. My sergeant took a blast to the chest and fell to the ground lifeless. Without any leadership in sight, I shouted, “Fall back! Fall back to the ship!”
The men and women around me began retreating, walking backward while pouring fire into the approaching Halvodis. I watched as the center of the Halvodis charged toward the Fargulkians and crashed into them. The Fargulkians stood head and shoulders over the Halvodis, but their massive forms were soon brought down under the wave of Halvodis trampling them.
My comms crackled to life, but there were so many panicked voices talking all at once there was no way to tell what the orders were or who was giving them. We continued to fall back as my mind raced, searching for options to get out of the chaos.
Over the horizon, fifty or more Halvodis riding Balakars came riding into the battle with the sun at their backs. The Black Palace soldiers on that flank, so focused on the threat in front of them, never saw the cavalry as they charged at their backs. As I reloaded, I saw Balakars tearing the soldiers apart with claws and teeth as Halvodis fired into the crowd.
We reached the carrier and I rushed inside the bay doors screaming, “Keep them off our backs!”
The survivors that had followed me retreated slowly into the carrier, focusing their fire from the protected bay of the ship. I grabbed the comm and connected to our fleet ship orbiting the planet.
“Command, this is Scout Team Outrider! The situation's gone critical—diplomacy failed, we’ve engaged in open combat. Heavy casualties, enemy forces overwhelming. Immediate reinforcements required at our location, over!”
The comms crackled, “Repeat, Outrider.”“Command! We're in roak and in heavy combat. We’re getting overrun. We need backup, now!”
There were several seconds of silence before I heard, “Copy that, Outrider. Hold for orders.”
I gritted my teeth so hard it made my jaw ache and I shouted into the comm, “We can’t wait! We need reinforcements or immediate evacuation clearance now!”
“Hold for orders,” came the coldly distant reply.
I resisted the urge to smash the comm to pieces and turned to the doors. More soldiers lay on the ground, dead or wounded, and I could see the Halvodis regrouping on the far side of the valley. The Fargulkian carrier had been engulfed by Halvodis and they were tearing it apart with their bare hands. I counted twenty soldiers left who had followed me. I doubted there was any of us left out on the field, and if there was they wouldn’t be in one piece for very long.
The comm crackled to life again, “Outrider, the situation is planetwide. Take cover. The All Father is inbound.”
To be continued…
Comments