User: Soren Delacroix
Level: Root Administrator
Status: Active
Excitement overwrote fear as he realized he was getting in. Seconds now. “You’ve got this,” he heard Krystal say in his mind. “You’re so smart,” Nathan’s voice followed.
He typed:
GLOBAL DIRECTIVE
All enforcement units:
Return to Clover Hollow Command Facility
Enter standby mode
His lungs burning, aching for air, Soren held out just long enough to see the response.
Command accepted.
Network override transmitted.
The locks clicked open. The battle scene went black.
“Why did you do that?” Sovereign asked, the instant before he passed out, a relieved smile touching his lips.
Stonevale, at the same time
“Major Williams!” Roderic yelled over the chaos. They had both shifted positions to the wall facing the city and Highcrest Hall beyond. He jogged along the damaged battlements, dodging chunks of stone and soldiers crouched to reload their guns. A blaze of light passed close enough for him to feel its scorching trail.
Williams, with a bandage around his arm and enough soot and dust to make his uniform look like it belonged to the Republic’s Army, turned his head.
Roderic shouted as he approached, pointing at the bizarre invading machines. “I’m sending Rushing to you with crates of dynamite. Have your archers bind the sticks to their arrows with short fuses, and let’s see if we can blow some of them up.”
“Yes, sir,” the major replied dutifully. He looked as exhausted as Roderic felt. The general continued along the rampart, his voice booming over the din. “Colonel Moore!”
Almost stumbling over rubble, Roderic steadied himself against a steel post, letting his gloved palm skip across the stone merlons as he hurried to the artillery commander.
“We’re trying to conserve ammunition and minimize damage to our homes by using the catapults,” Moore called back.
When Roderic reached his position, he nodded. “I doubt a cannonball would be any more effective than a stone, but I’ve got another priority for you. See that column heading up the road to Highcrest Hall?” He pointed across the city, now turned battlefield.
Moore’s jaw dropped. “No, sir. I’ve been focused on—”
“Yes, I know,” the general broke in. “Do we have a howitzer left? A rocket launcher? Anything high explosive?”
“We’ve got a twenty-first-century Javelin, but just the one. I’ve been keeping it in reserve,” he answered in a frazzled tone. Blood smeared his uniform shirt, though Roderic couldn’t discern if it was the colonel’s or someone else’s.
“You were saving it for this moment.” Roderic pinned him with a commanding gaze. “Those robots cannot breach Highcrest Hall. My father … Lord Calder.”
“Understood.” Turning, Moore yelled, “O’Connor! Get down to the bunker and bring up the Javelin—and don’t let it get vaporized by one of those things!”
“Yes, sir.” The young man spun and dashed away. A laser flash struck the wall beneath them, nearly shaking Roderic and Moore off their feet.
Roderic issued a clear command. “Don’t aim at the robots. You can’t take them all out. On my mark, blow a hole in the approach road so they can’t reachthe castle. I’d prefer to find another way to stop them. Repairing that mountain road won’t be a picnic, but they can’t be allowed to—”
“It’s OK, General,” Moore said with an affirming nod. “I know. If not for Lord Calder, my family would have perished in those bleak years after the Ruin. No scary machine will get within spitting distance of the Lord of Stonevale.”