Elsewhere

The ship arrived in what had once been a military mustering field but now stood empty. Everyone sat still around the bridge, waiting for word from Mira on what the ship’s sensors were picking up. The silence and tension grew as she scanned the system and beyond. Finally, after three agonizing minutes, she spoke, “System is clear of the Syndicate fleet but there are dozens of mercenary and hunter vessels in orbit. And there is definitely a war going on the surface.”

Duke stepped up to the captain’s chair, “Show me the war?”

Mira glanced over at him and nodded before bringing up the visual of the battle. What he saw was not anything like what he expected. The land of and around the battlefield was devastated with shattered trees, smoking holes in the ground, and even some pools of bubbling and steaming green substance. What was most striking was the forces set against each other.

On one side, there was a mix of mercenary forces in what looked like a hodge-podge of mismatched pieces of powered armor with the occasional substandard mech thrown in. On the other side was a cohesive group of soldiers wearing matching breastplates and helms with greaves. They mostly carried large shields and swords but there were a number that wielded bows, firing arrows over the heads of their allies. There also was a group of mages maintaining some sort of shielding construct that was protecting their soldiers from the heaviest of blows from the opposing force.

The front line pushed and strained at the mercenary forces and was holding its ground for now despite being heavily outnumbered. As they watched, a drop ship descended behind the mercenaries, more mechs marching down the ramps before they were even completely lowered.

“The First Legion! You have to get me there!” Aurelia had been largely absent as of late but had come out for their arrival on Teldin. Her voice was loud and strong as her COMMAND VOICE filled the bridge. Mira had launched the ship before her conscious mind acknowledged what Aurelia had said.

The trip to the battlefield took less than a minute but, in that time, Aurelia had taken over the intercom. “Steel Tusks, we are landing in the middle of a battlefield. Take out the mechs and mercenaries and don’t you dare hurt my Legion!” There was no time for a response as she charged down to the mech bay fully intending to lead the mechs out the door.

Aurelia jumped from the landing above the mech bay, flipping twice in the air before landing with her warhorse beneath her which promptly reared and kicked its hooves at the air. The echoing of the horse’s hooves was drowned out by the sound of the ship landing and the ramps lowering. She charged ahead of the mechs releasing from their in-flight restraints and took position before the lowering ramp. Behind her, the floor shook as mech after mech formed up behind her.

The ramp lowered quickly, but not quick enough for Aurelia. She spurred her warhorse on, and they launched up the descending ramp in a flash, arcing into the air as the ramp hit its halfway point and landing before the shield wall that had thinned to cover the new arrivals at the rear of the Legion’s formation.

“First Legion! Reinforcements have arrived!” Aurelia announced as she activated her INSPIRATION and cast her Commander’s Might. The entire Legion seemed to take a breath before strength flowed through their limbs as their spirits were bolstered by her very presence.

When the mechs charged down the ramp behind her, flowing to either side of her and the nearly encircled Legion the Legionnaires all cheered and pushed back harder, taking offensive action for the first time since they had to turtle up.

The reaction from the mercenaries was altogether different. At first, they wondered what new mercenary company had joined the fight and whether it would cut into their own paychecks. When the new mech force bypassed the trapped locals and charged into their ranks, weapons blazing, everything changed.

The past year had been a tough one for the Steel Tusks. Their contracts had dried up with their lack of transportation. In the past, they had dozens of ships they had contracted with to get their mechs to their contracts. One by one they had either been absorbed by the Syndicate or mysteriously disappeared. Then the Syndicate stopped playing – the came for the Clan outright. Dozens of Clan members and had been killed with their mechs in targeted hits. False contracts, double-crossed by shady transports, the list was long and inglorious. Now, they had the chance to vent their anger on mercs hired by the Syndicate to suppress these locals. They did not hold back.

Seeing the number of mechs entering the battlefield, the mercenaries rapidly grew concerned. When the titan mech took the field, they couldn’t call for extraction fast enough. Their ranks collapsed towards the extraction point as they exchanged panicked fire with the charging mechs.

The Syndicate drop ship came down on a pillar of fire, burning hot to stop its rapid descent before slamming into the ground. Its weapons fired in a suppressive arc towards the approaching enemy mechs taking a toll. Then the drop ship itself rocked sideways as fire from the Iron Reaver tore into it.

Panic flowed across the Syndicate ship. “Captain, our shields are straining under this fire. What the hell is that ship equipped with?”

“I don’t know but turn every weapon on it. This is a hot extraction. We have trained for this a thousand times!” The captain’s voice was calm but stern. He knew his ship was capable of fighting off any simple civilian drop ship. He would pick up his charges and deliver them away from the battlefield.

They never saw the blow that shattered their already struggling shields but the follow-up blow as Duke flew in on a wave of FORCE that punched a hole through their main landing ramp certainly got their attention. Structural integrity warnings blared to life as the pilot struggled with the controls to right the ship.

“Security to the mech bay!” The captain’s order sounded out clearly and set bodies to motion. Security guards raced down to the mech bay to find the entire bay engulfed in flames with a single figure floating in the middle of the conflagration.

“Bad choice signing up with the Syndicate, boys!” The figure’s voice reverberated around the bay before the flames expanded, racing to engulf them. “You would think that a ship based on fire Mana would be a bit more fire resistant. Oh well, not my problem.” Duke emerged from the flames and RESTORED his clothing that had been largely burnt away. He didn’t know what he had caught on fire, but it was blazing hot in the ship. He decided it was time to leave and TELEPORTED into the sky over the battlefield.

His first sight was of Aurelia’s mounted charge into the collapsing mercenary line with her sword drawn and shield held at the ready. Her FLASH CHARGE struck the mercenaries with enough force to send heavily armored bodies flying. She was halfway through their ranks before her charge faltered.

The remaining mercenaries pounced on her, slicing with blades, shooting with pistols and rifles and attacking with damaging Abilities. Her armor was strong, her shield even stronger, and her sword nearly unstoppable. But there were limits. Under the weight of the mercenaries, she was quickly overwhelmed and pulled from her horse.

The screaming wave of Legionnaires that followed, however, was more than the mercenaries were prepared to handle as they moved virtually as a single unit, flowing over the field and striking down anyone near their General. She was helped to her feet and immediately tended to by a pair of healers.

As she was picked up and tended to, the drop ship crashed to the ground, tilted at a forty-degree angle. It teetered for a full second before falling over sideways, it’s landing gear failing. The remaining mercenaries broke and ran. They did not get far. The Legion’s casters, now free from maintaining defensive wards, opened up with their full-power magical artillery spells. The area was quickly devastated with not a single mercenary walking away from the fight. There was one that managed to struggle through all the rain of spells only to crest a hill and be picked off by the titan mech’s cannon. He disappeared in a cloud of red mist.

While the Legion’s commander filled in their General on recent events and the status of the Legions, Duke surveyed the area from above. He could see that the area for kilometers around was a wasteland. Shaking his head, he focused his Mana and activated a massive RESTORE, pouring more than a five million Mana into it. The wave of Magic expanded outwards from him and quickly covered the Legion, the Steel Tusks, and continued to expand across the battlefield. As the wave passed, equipment was repaired, mechs rebuilt, and the landscape reformed and rebuilt. The CLEANSE that followed ensured all signs of the battle were washed clean save for the dead bodies still littering the area.

What Duke had not considered was the Syndicate drop ship being repaired. It came to his attention rather quickly as the ship attempted to launch itself from its sideways position. It had actually made it nearly vertical before Duke acted. He used his SENSE MAGIC to locate the ship’s Mana cores and simply TELEPORTED them to the ground in below him. The ship crashed back to the ground but at least it was upright this time.

“There’s still some crew on board that ship. I suggest someone go make sure they have the chance to surrender or just kill them. I don’t really care. I doubt they have anything useful to say.”

“Duke, there’s more to the story than this battle,” Aurelia’s voice had returned to the confident leader Duke had grown so used to hearing. “There have been skirmishes all over the borders with groups like these. None quite as formidable as this particular group but it seems more arrive every day. The Legions are holding, but our losses are mounting. We are being squeezed and we really have had no true allies to call on.”

“I understand. We have the Steel Tusks to call on right now and with the Iron Reaver, they are a mobile force that can react to any incursions that may occur. Whatever they send at us, we will handle. The Legion has you back in charge and the kingdom has me back for now. Let’s leverage that to rid our lands of any intruders.”

“As you say, my King,” She saluted him and returned to her troops, leaving Duke alone with his thoughts.

So that’s how it’s going to be from now on? All business. Nothing else. Can’t say I’m happy about that but her choice is her choice. I’ll respect it. Now to spend a moment with this notification that is flashing like crazy.

***Congratulations! For restoring a battlefield wasteland to its natural state, you have received Gaiathia’s blessing. For the next 48 hours, your Health and Mana will regenerate at an accelerated rate, any food or drink you consume will taste wonderfully, and you will be looked upon favorably by all of nature. ***

Fucking gods again! I haven’t even been here for an hour, and they are already meddling. I need to get to Sam and see how things are there and in Havenreach. And also get back to Cloudspire and get a full rundown on everything happening in the kingdom. First a chat with Mira and Gro’nok. And where the hell is the Syndicate fleet? I expected it to be here when we arrived.