by JenesisX
Even without my enhanced hearing, I still would have felt the blast. The sound was deafening as it filled the quiet night, the sheer force of it shaking the ground beneath me. I practically jumped out of bed, my heart racing, and immediately recognized the disturbance for what it was. A grenade... We were being attacked. I felt sick as the color drained from my face and my heart began to pound. We weren't ready! They couldn't attack us yet, not before we had a chance to prepare!
Fighting down a rising panic, I grabbed the large rifle I'd claimed after a raid from its place in the corner of my tent, then quickly threw on a shirt and my shoes before running out the door. Outside, I looked about as I telepathically scanned the area as well, trying to figure out exactly what was going on. Off to my left, clouds of smoke rose from a raging fire that tore through the Northernmost buildings of the camp, leaving everything in its path in ruins. My people were running in terror, screaming, and I could already see the injured lying about on the ground. Another explosion rocked the ground beneath me, nearly throwing me from my feet as I watched another grouping of tents explode in the distance.
"Dayspring!" a familiar voice called, footsteps hastily crossing the ground behind me. I turned to find Tetherblood there, fully armed and bleeding from a small gash across one cheek. "It's the Canaanites! They came from the North, with no warning! They were shielded somehow!"
"The North," I repeated, feeling ill. We had never expected an attack from that direction, leaving it almost completely vulnerable and unguarded. The new defense wall built at the opposite end of camp would do nothing to help us now. "Oath, I should have known better!" It was my fault, for not thinking of all the possible methods of attack and better defending the camp. The guilt rose in my chest, making it difficult to breath as I desperately tried to figure out what to do.
"There's no time for that now! They're storming the camp!" Tetherblood exclaimed, pointing desperately over my shoulder to get my attention. I turned and found that he was right, spotting Canaanite soldiers both on foot and riding in mechanical transports heading closer to the Northern boarder. I took a deep breath and set my expression in stone, then nodded sharply and tried not to think of all the people who were undoubtedly getting hurt, or worse.
"Assemble a defense force," I told him grimly, shouldering my weapon. "We're going to show them what happens to people who attack our camp."
"Are you crazy?!" Tetherblood exclaimed, his dark eyes wide. "They outnumber us at least five to one! We'll only get ourselves killed!"
"And if we turn and run, you don't think they'll hunt us down until they've killed every last one of us?!" I shouted back at him, having no time for an argument, especially not with the person who was supposed to stand behind me. I watched as Tetherblood thought over what I had said, then sighed heavily as I stood and glared at him.
"Fine, have it your way! We're just wasting time!" He turned without another word and ran off through the camp, gathering our best fighters together and preparing them to head to the front lines. I watched helplessly as yet another fire began, this time a bit further into the camp, sending more people running off into the woods as we'd practiced. In the event of an attack, all children and those who were not able or skilled combatants were to flee the camp and take shelter elsewhere until we came for them. I was relieved to see that, at least, was going according to plan, a group of men with guns covering their escape. I was also relieved that I'd placed Aliya in charge of that particular group, both because I trusted her with the lives of the others and because I knew she'd be safe, away from the battle. It was selfish, maybe, when so many other people's loved ones were left to fight, but I couldn't help it, not after how far we'd come.
It only took about three minutes for Tetherblood to prepare our small army for battle, and we quickly met in the center of the camp for a quick strategy session, the sounds of gun fire and explosions filling the air. "All right," I began, shouting over the noise and fighting to keep the shaking out of my voice. I had to appear confident as I faced my people, no matter how nervous and afraid I might have been. There were fifty of them, both men and women, mutants and humans alike. They had come a long way in their training, but I knew in my heart that we were still far from a match for the Canaanites in both number and power. Still, we had spirit, and more than a few surprises for our enemies. "The North end of the camp is completely evacuated now, and it's a total war zone," I said, relating the information I'd gained through a telepathic scan. "Don't worry about damage... It's already destroyed. Our mission is to force them out of the camp and into retreat! Understood?"
A loud rally of cheers went through the group, and I was again disturbed by their loyalty to me. Even Tetherblood, as reluctant as he had been, now appeared ready to give everything he had to defend our land. Here I was, possibly sending them all to their deaths, and they were hailing me as their savior and chanting my name as if I were some kind of hero. My stomach tied in knots, but I quietly turned and led the way north into the heat of the battle.
It didn't take long for us to reach the site of the Canaanite attack. They were already spread throughout the northern end of the camp, searching every tent and building and destroying anything they couldn't use against us. I tried not to be intimidated by their number or the advanced armor and weaponry they had, which made us appear pathetic in comparison. I had to be brave for the others and do my best to defend our home, though, no matter what the odds.
"Nathan, the Canaanite army numbers two hundred and thirty-two men and twenty transports, while ours consists of only fifty-three soldiers. The odds are not favorable," the Professor informed me, the first he had spoken since the attack's beginning. For once, he had realized that I needed to think things through without interruption.
"Good," I replied absently, looking in disgust and anger at what they had done to our camp. We worked so hard for everything we had, and now it had been destroyed in under five minutes. I forced myself not to look at the dead lying on the ground, knowing I would have plenty of time to grieve their loss later. "I'm at my best when the odds are hopelessly stacked against me..."
"Tetherblood may have been correct. A retreat would seem to be--"
"Not an option! If we give in now, we'll never get ahead! We're fighting this one out until the end!"
"If you insist."
It was then that the Canaanite soldiers spotted us, their leader shouting out to his followers through an amplifying device. He hovered in the air on the back of a transport, out of the range of anyone on the ground and most of our weaponry.
"Canaanites, destroy these filthy rebel dogs!" he shouted, aiming his own energy weapon at my group. I paused, saluted him with the rudest gesture I knew, then turned to my own army with a defiant smirk.
"Attack! Let's take our camp back!" I shouted, watching as the group skillfully split into formation, using everything in site for cover and strategic positioning. I dove behind a fallen tent as the Canaanites fired in unison, narrowly dodging a red beam of energy. It flew over my left shoulder, so close that I could feel the heat, and slammed into a tree behind me. I winced at the wide gash left in its trunk, thankful that it hadn't been my head.
I immediately began firing my rifle at the soldiers who came within range, ducking their shots every few seconds to avoid being hit. There were a lot of them, too, and it seemed as if half of their army was concentrating on taking me out while ignoring the rest of my people. I realized with some fear that I was now the hottest target on the field, and taking my head off would probably make someone very famous. It made sense, after all. I was their leader, their savior and the one for whom they risked their lives, and with my defeat the others would go down more easily. A good plan... So good, in fact, that I decided to borrow it.
I watched as my people stormed into battle with all they had, taking out an impressive number of enemy troops right away, especially given how outnumbered they were. Many of them had only short range weapons such as spears and knives, too, since we were still low on supplies. Against the advanced energy rifles of the Canaanites, that they did any damage at all was nothing short of a miracle. But they loved their camp, and they were loyal to me and to each other, and that was enough.
Under the cover of the rest of my people, one half led forward by Tetherblood to cut off new arrivals while the rest stayed firmly in position to prevent any further advances, I began inching my way forward, trying to get as close to their hovering leader as possible. I wasn't sure exactly what I had planned, but I knew that the only way we'd survive the night was by taking him down. The explosions continued all around me as the night air lit up with energy beams and explosions, and I tightened my mental shielding against all the pain and strong emotions around me. Slowly, I began to crawl forward, gaining more ground inch by inch while trying to keep my head on my shoulders. Rocks and thorns dug into my skin as I crawled along at a painfully slow pace, but I didn't let it stop my advance.
As I gained more ground, I decided that I had to risk using my powers if I planned to get any closer to the leader. What was it Aliya had been beating into my head... 'Always use everything at your disposal.' That was it. I wondered vaguely if she'd be proud of me for remembering. Looking ahead, I noted that the leader was tightly guarded on all sides, and the most direct path to reach him was firmly blocked. They'd see me coming the moment I left my cover, though, and I'd be nothing more than a stain on the ground in mere seconds as every person in range concentrated their fire on the Askani'son of legend. I tried not to roll my eyes at that thought as I quickly formulated a plan.
As the battle raged on around me, I blocked it out and carefully accessed my telepathy. I doubted any form of mind control would work on the soldiers, since Tetherblood had said they were shielded, but maybe a simple illusion would do the trick. Besides, it was about all I could manage given my limitations.
Pausing in battle and hoping that I'd be safe for a moment, I concentrated and tried to focus my mind as Aliya had taught me. I briefly closed my eyes and pictured the image I wanted to create, then decided on a location for its appearance before opening them again. When I looked ahead a moment later, I couldn't help but smile in the midst of the battle. Now, just behind the Canaanite army, a group of fifty more Clan Chosen soldiers appeared, charging forward and ready for battle. They weren't real, of course, and I telepathically informed a few of my own men to pass it along to each other so there wouldn't be any confusion. I watched with satisfaction as half of the men surrounding the leader turned to face the new group, but knew that it wouldn't be long before they discovered the trick. Gritting my teeth, I stood from my hiding place and charged forward, hoping my brash movement wasn't equivalent to suicide.
I was joined by about fifteen others from my camp as I made it to the center of the battlefield, just ten feet away from the Canaanite leader. Still, he was far above me, and I didn't think I could hit him with my weapon due to his transport's speed and all the men remaining close to him.
As I tried to figure out how to reach him, I ducked a sword attack from the side and delivered an uppercut to my attacker using my techno-organic arm. The soldier's head snapped back and he crumbled to the ground, unconscious. I flipped a second soldier I had sensed coming from behind over my shoulder and onto his back a second later, knocking down three of his friends in the process. Trying to find an opening to gain more ground, I fought to defend myself as I was swarmed by Canaanite troops, all shouting for my blood.
"It's him! The Askani'son!"
"Kill him!"
Roars of approval went through the opposition, and I swallowed down on a rising panic. I could see the hatred and blood lust in their eyes, and despite my shielding I could still sense how badly they all wanted to hurt me. But it was nothing new. I'd had to fight to live all of my life, and I wasn't about to lose so easily.
My aim with a weapon had always been quite good, thanks largely to having a techno-organic right eye. I took the time to perfectly line up each shot despite the rush of men coming at me, easily picking off most before they even got close. My clansmen helped a great deal as well, desperate to keep me safe from our attackers. For once, I was grateful. I managed to dive behind a tree to catch my breath a moment later, and when I looked up at the leader again, so arrogantly riding on his transport and laughing as he fired down on my clansmen, I felt an intense wave of anger wash over me. I was very close to losing my temper, seeing what the Canaanites had done to my home and my friends, and I had had nearly enough.
Realizing what I had to do, despite the risks and the odds against my success, I peered out from around the trunk and prepared to make a run for the leader. Once I got directly beneath him, I would attempt to telekinetically shove him off of his ride, bringing him to the ground where we could deal with him on more equal terms. I took a deep breath, tensed myself for what was going to be a dangerous and exhausting risk, then began to charge forward.
I was stunned when a strong arm wrapped around my throat before I took even half a step, halting me and instantly cutting off my air supply. I struggled desperately even as I wondered how he had managed to sneak up on me, trying not to waste my breath. A male voice boomed with laughter behind me, obviously enjoying watching me turn blue and fight to break free. I could feel his breath on my skin as he held me in an unforgiving grip, and before long I couldn't find the strength to struggle any longer. Feeling light headed as my eyes began to close against my will, I tried weakly to send out a telepathic cry for help.
"What's wrong, boy?" the gruff voice taunted, his grip around my throat growing even tighter as I struggled to remain conscious. "Your adoring followers can't help you now, 'Askani'son!" He spoke my title as if it were an amusing joke, laughing cruelly to punctuate his words. I could see through the haze of lack of air that the rest of his companions were blocking my people from reaching me to help, just as he had informed me. No matter how hard they fought, they were unable to make any progress forward.
"Nathan, if you do not receive oxygen in 27.1 seconds, you will lose consciousness. That will surely result in your death."
"Well... Thank you... But... I can't... get free!"
"I believe that if you wait another 3.6 seconds, you will no longer have that problem."
"What?! You said I had 27--"
As I hazily reflected on the Professor's words, I felt a sudden, sharp impact from behind that knocked any last air I had saved from my burning lungs. It took me a moment to realize that it wasn't me who had been hit, though, as the arm around my neck loosened and fell away. I stumbled forward to the ground, clutching my throat and gasping for air as I heard my assailant lose his footing as well. I coughed as I struggled to breathe, blinking to clear the fog from my vision. As I knelt on the ground, trying desperately to recover enough to rejoin the battle, a warm hand came to rest on my shoulder. I immediately jumped forward and struggled to my feet, spinning and raising my weapon.
"Get away from-- Aliya?!" I paused in disbelief, staring at her and momentarily forgetting about the battle raging on just ten feet away. "What are you... doing here?" I stumbled, still trying to catch my breath. "I... told you to lead the retreat!"
"I left Dawnsilk in charge," she said calmly, keeping her eyes on the man she had taken down. He was tall and powerfully built, I noted, impressed that she had been able to knock him unconscious. She clutched her weapon tightly, but didn't look the slightest bit afraid. That worried me... "I thought you might need me back here. And, apparently, I was right."
"But you were supposed to--" I didn't have time to finish my shouted statement, though, as the Canaanites spotted us and began firing again. We both took cover behind the closest tree, crouching side by side as shots rang out in the night. Still breathless, I quickly turned to her and informed her of my basic plan. When I finished, she slowly shook her head in doubt, but finally sighed in reluctant acceptance.
"It's dangerous, Nathan, and I don't like it," she said even as we returned fire from where we hid. "But at this rate, it may be our only chance... Just give the word. I'll cover you."
I nodded sharply, trusting her to watch my back, and prepared to make a run for the leader. He was still only ten feet away, and about twenty feet in the air, but the soldiers covering him were now far fewer, otherwise occupied with the rest of my people or already having fallen injured or dead. Unwilling to wait any longer, I muttered a hurried prayer for my life and ran out from behind my cover.
"There! There he is!" someone shouted almost immediately, and a beam of energy nearly hit me in the leg a second later. I leaped over it, though, only to narrowly avoid a second shot, this one aimed at my chest. I saw Aliya take down both attackers out of the corner of my eye, though, and paid them no further attention. A moment later, well-covered by the rest of my group, I stood directly beneath the Canaanite leader. He looked down at me with cold, amused eyes, leveling his weapon at my head.
"You foolish gene waste! You will pay for your insurrection in blood!" he shouted, then prepared to pull the trigger. I knew I had under a second to react before he fired. Gritting my teeth, calling on every ounce of strength I'd ever had in my body, I focussed my mutant power and fired the largest telekinetic blast I'd ever managed directly at the fuel tank of his transport.
I heard an explosion as if from a great distance a moment later, having fallen backward after my attack. I struggled to breathe, unable to open my eyes as I felt the virus within my body struggle to expand. I had momentarily rerouted my power from its control, and it now planned to take full advantage like a hated enemy. I never intended to fire such a large blast, but my anger and desperation had won out, causing me to take a far greater risk than I should have. Hearing the continued sounds of war around me, surprised when no one took advantage of my situation and ended my life as I lye helpless, I fought to relax and clear my mind, focussing all of the power I had left to regain control of myself. Slowly, as I concentrated, the pain lessened and faded, and my breathing began to slow to a normal pace. A moment later, I opened my eyes, looking up into a sky filled with shining stars. And no more Canaanites. It was almost the most beautiful sight I'd ever witnessed.
"What... what happened?" I stuttered as one of my soldiers helped me to my feet. I looked around in surprise as I saw a large number of enemy troops running off into the night, obviously retreating. "They're leaving? We won?" I asked dumbly, still feeling shaken and unfocussed.
"Of course they are!" Tetherblood shouted, running over to my side and clasping my shoulder. "That was the damn biggest TK blast I ever saw! It scared the living pipe out of them!"
"I... I got the leader?" I asked, looking around in disbelief at the destruction surrounding us.
"You sure did. You hit the fuel tank of his transport, and it exploded. We can't even find anything left of him!"
"Oh..." I took no joy in having killed a man, but a slow smile spread across my face. We had won. "What's our status?" I asked, watching as the rest of our troops celebrated and ran to assist the injured, dousing the remaining fires when they could.
Tetherblood frowned, shaking his head a bit sadly. "The northern half of camp is completely destroyed. And at last count, we lost seventeen men, in addition to twelve serious injuries."
"Seventeen..." I repeated, dumbfounded. Seventeen deaths, all to defend our home from invasion. I felt sick, knowing I had sent them into battle and damned them to die. Swallowing hard, I bit back angry tears as I looked around, still trying to accept what had happened.
"It could have been a lot worse," another voice said from behind me. I turned to see Aliya, cradling one arm in her other, looking around with the same horror and fury that I felt. I studied her, noting that the burn wound on her arm didn't look too serious, but realized that she could have very easily been killed while trying to help me. The thought scared me more than anything ever had before, and I felt my face growing hot with anger. I had told her to lead the retreat and stay out of the battle for just that reason! Well, partially anyway... Folding my arms across my cheat, trying not to show my concern for her injury, I glared at her and took a step closer.
"Why did you come back here?" I demanded. I must have surprised Tetherblood with my angry tone, because I heard him mutter something and take a few startled steps backward. "I told you to make sure the others got to safety!"
"They did get to safety!" Aliya shouted back indignantly, her eyes shining with annoyance. "There was nothing else to do there, so I came back to help defend our camp!"
"You abandoned your assignment and went against our agreement!" I exclaimed, not caring about how loud I was shouting. She had disobeyed me and risked her life, and I knew with certainty that I couldn't take losing her. Seeing her injured was bad enough. I was only vaguely aware of the crowd that gathered around us as we faced off, low muttering going through the group as their eyes remained glued to the scene before them.
"I saved your life!" Aliya yelled back. "Would you have rather died?!"
"It doesn't matter! I told you not to come back here!"
"Since when are you in charge of me?!"
"Since you and your Sisterhood made me leader, that's when!"
"Well, I didn't count on you being so arrogant and chauvinistic!"
We stood only inches apart, shouting at each other, each of us flushed with anger and refusing to give in. I tried to ignore that I wasn't really angry, telling myself that I had a right to be even as I knew the real reason for my shouting. I was afraid. I wanted to protect her, and she was refusing to let me by coming into the fight despite my orders. My chest heaved with tension as I studied her, the fury in her eyes unwavering.
"Look at you," I said in a quieter tone, gesturing to her arm. "You're hurt. Which is exactly why you should have stayed away!"
"A lot of people got hurt!" she fired back, gesturing at the destruction around us. "Why should I be different? You were out here fighting!"
"That's different! I have to fight! I'm their leader! And you're... You're..." I paused, unable to find the proper word to describe what I felt.
"I'm what ? A woman? Your helpless teacher?" Aliya took another step forward, challenging me to answer her. As she stared into my eyes, I felt my anger slowly melting away, even as I tried to stand my ground. There were streaks of dirt and small cuts and bruises along her face and neck, and I found myself wanting to reach out and take away her pain. Swallowing hard, tuning out everyone around us and focussing only on her, I allowed a slight smile to replace my angry glare.
"You're someone I love and I don't want anything to happen to you," I said, feeling my cheeks flush as I forced myself to maintain eye contact. I watched the surprise cross Aliya's face, the fire instantly cooling in her eyes as she bit her lip. Before I could say anything more to explain myself, she had thrown her good arm around my neck and firmly kissed me. I blinked in shock, then closed my eyes and gave in, returning it and pulling her closer.
I was so relieved that she was all right and thrilled by the closeness of the moment that I had completely forgotten where I was, though. From all around us, loud cheers and whistles filled the air, causing us to hastily break our passionate embrace. I flushed and looked at my feet in embarrassment, noting that Aliya did the same. I distinctly heard Tetherblood tell someone else that he had known it all along, and decided I'd have to find a proper method of revenge once we had cleaned up. I shook my head in annoyance with myself... Two telepaths, and we had resorted to a loud verbal argument in front of everyone, then made matters worse with our display of affection. Still, I supposed there were worse fates.
"Umm..." I stumbled, taking a hold of Aliya's uninjured hand and facing the smirking, amused crowd around us. "Great battle, everyone! Now stop staring and let's get this camp back in order!"
My statement was met with more laughter and wider grins, but slowly the gawking crowd did obey, even Tetherblood, who insisted on throwing me sly grins over his shoulder as he walked away. Finally, Aliya and I stood alone in what remained of the northern end of our camp, facing each other awkwardly. Hesitantly, I reached out and touched her cheek, careful not to touch any of her wounds.
"You ought to have your arm looked at," I said quietly, filled with concern for her. She shrugged, looking away as if unused to such concern.
"It's fine, Nathan. I just need to wash it out. And what about you? I thought you were going to kill yourself, using your powers like that..." She met my eyes again, this time leaning in to rest her head on my shoulder. It was startling at first, to have her so close and allowing me to hold her protectively, but I quickly decided I liked it. A lot more than I cared to admit... It was strange to have her coming to me for comfort, something she'd never have allowed even a day ago, but I revelled in it and did my best to make her feel safe. I ran a hand through her hair, momentarily forgetting all we had lost that day in favor of what we had gained.
"I had to," was all I said, trying not to give in to my exhaustion as I briefly closed my eyes, feeling as if I could fall asleep right where I stood. "And I was only doing what you taught me to."
"Oh?" she asked, raising her head to look up into my face with curiosity.
"I was 'using everything at my disposal'," I said almost proudly, smiling as I recalled all the times she had sworn I would never learn anything. I watched with satisfaction as she, too, broke into a grin.
"You really were listening..." she said almost proudly, finally pulling away and taking a firm hold of my hand. "Now come on. There are a lot of people who need us right now, and then we're all going to need our rest. We've got a lot of work to do tomorrow, and a lot of decisions to make about our future."
I nodded, stifling a yawn and too tired to argue, and allowed her to lead me through the camp. Still, I knew that I'd have a hard time resting when I finally did have the chance, thoughts of those we had lost dampening my mood. But at that moment, those who had survived needed my help far more, and as their leader I would not let them down.
to be continued...