When War Calls(158)

Even with the added help of the people from Ceahlin and Waikor and the already superior force the Resistance possessed, the Alliance were proving almost unstoppable, and Ryan was beginning to feel they were fighting a losing battle. There was only so long they could hold on against such ferocity, but he had to remain strong, as much for the city as for the people who fought for him.

‘What are they doing?’ asked Yahtai, waving his hand past some of the display screens that showed the Alliance moving backward.

‘They’re retreating,’ offered Lendon.

‘That is as unlikely as us surrendering,’ said Ryan, and then he turned to the operator next to him, a young man named Aaron. ‘Aim the eighteenth and nineteenth sets between their lines, we’ll try to separate them as much as we can. The thinner their lines the better.’

‘Yes, sir,’ said Aaron.

Outside, heavy Resistance artillery fired in quick succession, sending deadly rain down upon the Alliance lines as the battle continued. Tanks were left as smoking shells as they were hit, and several groups of Alliance soldiers hid the best they could in the dust as they moved forward. The Alliance rearguard responded with artillery of their own, as well as accurately placed missiles that slammed into the mounds and destroyed many of the Resistance defensive establishments. The groups of soldiers moving forward took cover in newly formed craters, barely able to see through the smoke and ash filling the air. Gunfire boomed incessantly around them as they deployed their weapons, using mortars to divert attention from themselves until they were able to achieve their mission.

They began placing rounded objects the size of a man’s chest on the ground ahead of them, aiming them in directions where the ground was still mostly untouched. The objects looked almost like giant water droplets with their smooth casings, and as they were sent racing forward, the polished metal on top reflected the sky and ground alike, making them appear almost invisible. They remained mostly undetected by this stealth, and the soldiers that had sent them retreated to their lines with the others and waited patiently.

Several of the droplet-like things fell victim to Resistance fire, while others fell in craters, out of which they could not escape. By the time they had reached the Resistance lines at the mounds, only nine of the twenty that were sent were left. The Resistance instantly began to fire upon them when they were noticed, but for many it was too late. The droplet-like things proved to be bombs and exploded like missiles upon impact.

The Resistance troops panicked and retreated to higher ground as more of the droplet bombs were sent, but now most of the Resistance guns were trained on them, allowing only a few to get through.

The droplet bombs kept coming as the two sides traded devastating blows, with hundreds perishing in the blazes that lit the fields. The droplet bombs soon showed to be a distraction for the next attack. Alliance bombers swooped down through the smoke, crossing over the heads of Resistance soldiers before rising high into the air again and releasing the bombs they carried. The bombs exploded like no others, creating craters in the ground and holes in the mounds so large that dust began to fall even in the command rooms deep below.

‘What was that?’ asked Lendon, looking up as the already dull lights dimmed even further before coming back to full power.

‘I don’t know,’ said Ryan. ‘Bring it up on screen.’

Aaron’s fingers moved at lightning speed on the keys in front of him. ‘I can’t,’ he said after a moment. ‘They’ve knocked out our surveillance.’

‘Bring up the others,’ ordered Ryan.

‘Radar shows enemy aircraft moving back. We were bombed, sir.’

Ryan thought hard. ‘That is not their old technology,’ he said. ‘Send warning to the other zones. If they spot an Alliance bomber, it is to be shot down immediately before other targets. We can’t risk any more of those.’

‘Sir,’ said Aaron before he issued the warning. ‘There are twenty incoming bomber aircraft on radar.’

‘Twenty?’ asked Ryan in shock. ‘Call for air support, now!’

‘Request sent,’ said Aaron.

At that moment, all screens focused on the southern zones went black, displaying in bold red lettering “System Failure”.

‘What happened?’ asked Ryan.

‘The sensors, sir, they’re no longer functioning. We’re blind.’

As if by instinct, Ryan quickly grabbed a radio headset and ran out of the command room. He needed to get out into the open for the best reception.

‘You can’t!’ shouted Lendon after him. ‘It’s too dangerous!’