Revelations

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

Battle of New Romonovka.

The damned Sacred Clan and their forces had been probing for nearly two days since they broke off the abortive assault that Gyada’s patrol had stopped. Even though the enemy forces were taking attritional casualties, Boris was forced to station nearly a thousand of his two and a half thousand force around the Town and Pod hanger. Additional troops had to be positioned in the cave. His patrols were also taking damage. He’d lost an entire long range patrol to a pair of Werecats, and another patrol had been injured so severely that they were effectively out of action.

The only reason that anyone had survived was Janna had been nearby and driven off the attack. The constant harassing tactics had forced Boris to move his Spartan patrols to reinforce the inner patrols. He, Alecta, and Gyada, who claimed she was fully recovered, were acting as a rapid-reaction strike force for the town and cave. Janna and Paul were out with the patrols, to give them some cover. For the first time since they had left, he wished he had the full Siberian Were pack here.

He was unconvinced that Gyada was fully recovered. Lilith refused to comment, but the injured eye, though grown back, was still cloudy. Even injured, her presence and skill on the field reduced the casualties they might otherwise have taken.

Boris hated having no good options. The attackers’ tactics made it clear that this was not a full assault, but a raid which would be harder to defend against. They had two prime targets, even if one would be more complicated than they expected. He had to protect both objectives and the town — if there was obvious damage there, then the Government might send its own forces in against it. He was spread too thin… and knew it. Some women had volunteered to shoot from fixed positions. Without that, he wouldn’t have had enough firepower to be able to send the patrols out.

He now estimated the enemy force at somewhat over two thousand, even with the hundred or so enemy casualties from successful defensive actions against their probes.

Boris decided to call Stephen. He was going to take casualties in this engagement, even more than he had now. He could prevent those casualties by calling on Black Eagle support, and he knew it. But he was unsure of Bethany Anne’s reaction. He needed to talk to someone who knew her better.

Stephen’s voice was on the line in a moment, “Boris, Good to hear from you. The fight goes well?”

“Neyt, my friend, it does not. But I have other concerns. I do not know the Czarina as well as you do. What is her likely reaction if the Government here decides that using Black Eagles after they have asked us not to is offensive and they throw an attack at me?”

There was silence on the line for a moment. Then with a sigh, Stephen asked, “Do you really think the government would do that? Be that stupid?”

It was Boris’ turn to sigh. “I give it a sixty percent or better chance. I have also thought about why she refused me a MotherPucker. She was right. Neither of us need those deaths on our souls. Besides, these are Russian lives. If I have to take some casualties to protect them, I will.”

There was silence over the connection as Stephen contemplated the issue. Both he and Boris were from a different age. The blood washed from their souls faster than it did their Queen’s. He knew it. It was obvious what Boris suspected. But there was a point beyond which Bethany Anne would tear a strip off his hide for not using all the resources he had.

“How many casualties do you think you will take, and how many have you already taken?”

Boris answered, “Twelve MIA, presumed KIA. Eight KIA. Forty-three injured. I would estimate no more than a hundred dead total. Wounded? That is trickier. No more than three hundred? Many of them walking wounded.”

Steven was silent for a moment, then asked, “Why so high?”

“They have some old Chinese Type 97 one-fifty millimeter heavy mortars.”

“Are you sure you can keep your casualties down without the Black Eagles?”

“Between the five greater weres we have here, yes. When they finally show their hand, we will be there to counter them.”

“Then yes. Decline to use the Black Eagle support. None of us want her to have caused those casualties. Ultimately, she gave you judgement over Russia, and she will respect your decision, even if she could never understand why the Russians would be… pushed to act against you after a display of the force she could release against them. We need her to keep her bright soul.”

It was Stephen’s time to sigh. “There will be more than enough dead to risk her soul soon enough. I do not believe either of us wish to rush the coming of that day.”

Boris thought about it some more. Were the casualties he would take worth it for those in government? Probably not. But for those killed around those in the government offices should Bethany Anne strike? Then yes, he and his people were Russians. They sometime understood better than westerners the concept of a necessary sacrifice.

“I thank you for your counsel, Stephen. Now I have a battle to fight. Later.”

“Just make sure you are around for the later, Boris. If you get more attackers than you have currently estimated, use the Black Eagles and damn the consequences. The people have some responsibility. They elected the government, after all.”

With a grimace Boris answered, “Clear,” before cutting the line.

He stood there a moment, thinking. What worried him most was this was obviously a raid. One with a powerful and risky support element. But with their forces roughly equal in number to his, they weren’t planning on capturing the town and its sites.

Given the political considerations, he had to defend the town, even though it now stood empty with its population evacuated to the cave system. He had been particularly worried about how they’d managed to fit a pair of 150mm mortars on a truck like that. It was a rough workaround, and accuracy wouldn’t be great from the report he’d received on how they were fitted to the vehicle.

That was beside the point.

If attackers turned the mortar fire on the town, Boris would be screwed. He’d have to call Bethany Anne down when the government decided to move in, considering the town ‘indefensible’ with the forces he had available. He could see their concerns. Hell, it was even somewhat justified.

A further concern to him was the Government hadn’t warned him. Without ADAM, this attack would have been a complete surprise. He had to maul the attacking forces so badly they would not consider trying again.

Although if another attack snuck past the government, he’d use that as justification for asking if Barnabas might be free for a few days?

Cleaning out a few incompetent people in government might sort out their problem with detecting large forces moving to attack towns. Boris knew that Bethany Anne would have to agree with that plan. Unfortunately, he did not think that she would approve, at least yet.

One of the radio techs passed on a message “Sir, they seem to be making a push to take the town. An assault force estimated to be about three hundred is forming up to spearhead the attack. Should I divert some of the reserves?”

Boris thought about it for a minute. Then he asked, “Any mortar fire on the town?”

“No, sir.”

“If there is no mortar fire on the town within the next five minutes the attackers are definitely using the harassment as a distraction. Keep reserves in their positions unless mortars start falling on the town within five minutes.”

“Yes, sir.”

It was half an hour before anything other than small unit combat chatter came over the radio. Boris had just seated himself with his earpiece in place when the next major attack report came in. “Mortars are punching a hole in our lines. Sector 12 North. Troops are vacating the path of their walk, but a force is preparing to move in right behind the mortar fire. A large one. I don’t think we’ll be able to hold without reinforcements. Estimate four hundred soldiers and a large, repeat, large, supporting force of Weres leapfrogging, using fire and maneuver tactics.”

Roughly half the soldiers would be laying down single shot covering fire while the other half moved forward. It was a common tactic, but that didn’t make it any less effective. The volume of fire would mean his defenders would have to keep their heads down until the enemy was close enough, potentially, for a bayonet charge. The Weres only added to that danger. Boris swore. Was this their primary attack or not? He simply had no idea at this point. They could be using two distractions, convincing him to put his reserves into combat. An additional report came through “Tiger spotted, repeat Tiger spotted.”

That tore it. The tiger would only be present if that were the main attack. “Send the first and second companies of reserves. Hold back the third. “The companies were made up of eighty infantrymen and forty Weres.

Another report came in “Janna is moving in on the tiger assault group. “Boris let out a deep breath. At least he wouldn’t have to send Gyada and Alecta to take out that tiger. That allowed him to keep them in reserve.

Boris kept glancing at the cameras covering both sections that were under attack. North 12 and West 5. Something felt wrong about the situation. In 5 West, the attack was petering off — it was obviously a diversion. The caves were a difficult target, however. It seemed serious, mortars were still falling in patterns of eight then a pause. Obviously, the mortar carriers were moving every few shots.

That made sense, as he had patrols out there that were zeroing in on the edges of the attack. If one of those patrols saw whatever mortar carrier was out there, it would make a high-value target. He wouldn’t like it, but if they radioed him they had it in sight, he’d designated it an ‘all costs’ target. The sacrifice of a thirty-man patrol would probably save more than double that number of lives on the defensive line.

Still, he’d be pushing harder. But then there was a tiger on the line, why would they place one of their most lethal assets on a diversion? He sent out an order for Gyada and Alecta to armor up now and link up with the third company of reserves. Maybe the caves made less sense to him as a target due to his knowledge of the caves nature. They’d be a complete FUBAR to attack, but for all he knew, they thought the alien tech was closer to the surface than it actually was.

The attack went on, drawing troops on the perimeter towards the fight at North 12 like a magnet. Boris knew combat, and he was aware that any order he gave to stop the flow of his forces would only compromise his own authority. There was no chance it would be followed. The best he could hope from giving it was just slowing the shift of forces.

Instead, he started ordering patrols back to thicken his lines. Troops that had been out for those patrols were more likely to hold the same position away from the action, due to sheer weariness. It wasn’t the best solution since they wouldn’t be as fresh as troops placed defensively from the start.

It was, however, the best one he had.

After three hours, with an extra two-hundred and fifty or so troops from various patrols bolstering his lines, the attacks on the town started again. Still no mortars, so he ignored them. Then he heard a radio message, “They’re coming right over us. They came out of nowhere. South three is being overrun. Repeat South three… “then static. Boris swore and rose from his seat. The attack at North 12 was a diversion.

“All available reserves to the hangar. Town and caves are a diversion. Repeat all available reserves to the hangar. External patrols shift towards sector south three at all speed, but do not engage until enemy is leaving.” He paused as he saw a mortar explode one of the cameras covering south three. “Unless you make contact with those damned mortar carriers. Those are all costs targets.”

He ripped off the headquarters comms and grabbed his specially-designed equipment, throwing it to one of the techs as he started to change. The nervous tech cautiously placed the comm in his Pricolici form’s ear. Once the tech stepped back, Boris ran to the door, grabbing his modified shotgun on the way past. This time it was loaded with silver backed, sharp point hardened slugs. They go through soldier’s armor like a hot knife through butter, and the silver would fall off behind any Were they went through causing them no end of pain and trouble.

Boris swore as he approached the hanger. Either by design or accident, mortars had landed near the sheet-metal hangar doors, blowing them apart.

There had to be over a thousand of the enemy troops coming through the hole in his defensive line near those doors. With Weretigers among them, he was entirely sure that they were Sacred Clan. Apparently losing their Empress to Bethany Anne wasn’t enough for those cocksuckers.

He was more surprised that they weren’t attempting to enter the caves in some way. They were, after all, fanatics who were convinced alien tech were holy objects by all reports. And extremists took risks no sane people would.

Maybe they’d convinced themselves that he’d moved some or all of the technology he’d found into the hangar. That showed how crazy they could be. No smart person would move alien tech from a highly defensible location into a far more exposed one. Unfortunately, this left the pods exposed to their attack, and they were streaming into the hangar. Scanning the field of action, Boris spotted Gyada and Alecta covering each other in their animal forms, fighting back to back against about twenty wolves. Letting the shotgun drop on its strap, he charged the group of wolves surrounding them.

With swipes of his paws, he shredded wolves, throwing their remains into the others that were still attacking the two women. Once he opened a hole in their encirclement, Gyada and Alecta went on the offensive. In less than a minute, the two or three survivors were fleeing for their lives. Gyada went to chase them down, but Boris stopped her with a growl. “Tooo thheee hanngger, “he said in the growling voice that his half human form forced on him.

As he moved towards the hanger, he heard a tiger’s attacking snarl echo from within the building. There had only been twenty soldiers guarding the inside of the hangar. If he didn’t hurry, the weretiger had a good chance of taking them all out by itself. That didn’t even account for the added opposition infantry force that was streaming in. Grabbing up the shotgun from its strap, he started firing short bursts into the crowd of soldiers streaming into the hangar. When it clicked empty, he threw all caution to the wind.

Letting the shotgun drop, Boris charged the mob of about a hundred soldiers. He caught them while they were still trying to funnel in through the breaks, slamming into the rear of the force like a furry tank. The enemy troops were caught in total surprise. They had been entirely focused on attempts to find whatever cover they could near the entrance against the withering fire from the defenders in and around the hangar.

Boris was surprised to find Gyada had kept up with him on his rushing attack. She was doing a good job of covering his flank and back from attacks as individual Clan soldiers charged with fixed bayonets. Bullets bounced and whined off the armor they were both wearing, the sound barely audible in the noise of battle.

A glance behind him showed Boris that Alecta had a large pack forming up around her, supplemented by squads of allied soldiers. Moving forward in a control advance, the group was exploiting the hole he and Gyada were tearing through the line. With Alecta’s soldiers taking positions behind fallen bodies, rocks, or anything that offered some protection against enemy fire, the Sacred Clanners would be prevented from closing the gap behind him. This would protect his rear and also keep the Sacred Clanners from stealing anything they tore from the Pods.

When Boris entered the hangar, he was surprised to find the defenders still holding. They’d taken some casualties and were forced back into the rear half of the building, taking cover behind equipment boxes and the like. The defense was still organized and effective. Boris could see why immediately since the weretiger was not attacking. It had climbed on top of one of the Pods, crouching there and looking around.

A man stood at the base of the Pod, waiting with a strange object in his hands. It appeared from the unusual shape to be some form of alien tech. Boris roared, and the man glanced over his shoulder. He shouted, “Take it, cousin, “and threw the object to the weretiger on top of the pod. Spinning back to face Boris, he raised his rifle and fired several bursts. The bullets ricocheted off the werebear’s armor and nicked his arms, but caused no significant injury.

“It’s too late, Ghost Bear. We shall take what you have made from objects that belong to the Clan. When we return with them, it shall be you and your Bitch Queen that tremble.”

Boris charged the man taunting him. Moving faster than the enemy could react, the werebear jumped. He grabbed the rifle and bent the muzzle so it would be only as useful as a club. Boris dragged the taunting enemy out from cover by the strap that trapped his arm. “Nottt todaay, you won’tt, “Boris growled as he pulled the man farther from the Pod.

“Cousin, now! “the man screamed as Boris steadily pulled his struggling body away from the craft.

There was a sudden flash of light and an explosion of force. For an instant, Boris found himself falling backward. Without more than an eyeblink of time, he was sucked forward when returning air filled the vacuum where the Pod had been. The Pod was gone, but the transport device had also taken the Clan soldiers and weretiger with it. Boris smelled burnt flesh and hair. The hair was his own, but the severed and burned hand and leg from the man that he had been dragging explained the other odors.

The limbs had been cut by whatever had taken the rest.

Whatever that device had done, if Boris had been a foot or so closer, he would have found himself severed in half. Even for a Were, such a severe injury would have led to certain death.

Bethany Anne might be annoyed by the loss of the pod, but that was a problem for later. Right now, Boris had an attack force to smash. Heading for the hanger door, he said, “Gyada, cleaar thhee Hanngger.”

Ignoring the bullets that the remaining Clanner soldiers inside the building were firing at him, Boris turned and raced toward the forces that were still fighting outside the doors. He needed to take some of his anger and frustration out on someone, and crushing the remaining attackers would provide a good target.

Battle Debrief, Cave Technology Room

For the debrief, Lilith had requested that she have access to all the video records. A strange-looking device had already been brought out from the Tech room and set up. It turned out to be a holographic projector, and Lilith was running battle recordings through it for all to see.

There was tension in the air. Bethany Anne had come down for the debrief which was unexpected, considering all the other problems occurring. She sat to one side, listening intently and with incipient thunder in her expression.

“Final casualty count? “Boris asked.

Janna answered, “Somewhere around sixteen hundred dead on their side. Fanatics don’t let themselves be taken prisoner. We have maybe fifty prisoners from NVG that were involved in the attack on the town.”

There was a grim look on her face. “Most of the captured NVG will be handed over to the government. They don’t know enough to be a danger to us, so there is very little risk to letting the government take them. Also, it is a good political move.”

Janna paused a moment, “The assistance that the Czarina provided has meant that the railguns are coming online. We have the first operational and more are active each day. If government forces move against us again, we can take out three times as many as attacked us this time, especially considering we have Weres, and they don’t.”

She continued in a grimmer tone, “There is one NVG prisoner I want to deal with personally. Ex-Sergeant Brogonovich betrayed my Intel team and is directly responsible for the death of at least five good men under my previous command. I want to execute him myself.”

Boris nodded acknowledgment, and a small smile showed his agreement with her solution. He felt that if someone betrayed you, it was best to deal with them personally. It could only add to the team’s reputation under the somewhat ruthless code established in the area. It would also be seen as justice by his own people. Which meant her solution had no downside.

“Final casualties on our side? “Boris asked.

“We have forty severely wounded still waiting for their time on the treatment table, “Lilith stated. She had taken over the role as senior medic due to her control of said treatment table. “I have complied with your request to make no modifications to critically wounded who couldn’t be told what the potential changes would be. I am in negotiations with the remaining wounded. Several of them want to become Weres and will be talking to you about that shortly, Boris. At least one was disappointed by the ruling that there be no more Pricolici. I’m not sure I understand your reasoning behind this, but I will accept it for now.”

Boris sighed, “What is there to understand? The vast majority of people who achieve that form end up dangerously unstable. They inevitably have to be put down for the safety of the population around them. That I have found a way to avoid the problem is an anomaly. I don’t want to put more people at risk, not until we find a more permanent solution than my methods of controlling that form, capisce? Any new Pricolici from our injured will result in you being in the Faraday cage for some time.”

“Continuing on, “Lilith said, somewhat chastened, if a little defiantly, “Seventy-two people were too injured to save. All of them had died at least half an hour before they reached my care. There are still fourteen missing in action. That makes a total of seventy-two KIA, fourteen MIA, three hundred and seventy-three with various states of injury.”

“All of that is important and I grieve for your losses. Unfortunately, my time is very tight and I don’t wish to seem disrespectful for the dead. However, one of the Pods provided is missing and I need answers. So, what do you know?”

Bethany Anne was upset by their losses. She hadn’t known the people personally, but they had been serving her indirectly. Considering the force that had been arrayed against them and the government restrictions on the support that Boris had been pushed to accept, the losses were actually very low. By complying with the Government’s request, it allowed them to maintain a presence in Russia more easily.

A hologram of the hemispherical hole in the hangar floor appeared on the projector. “It appears that the device took a spherical volume of space, and transported whatever was in it, “Janna stated, “The residual heat on the remaining pieces of the Pod meant they could not be handled for nearly a day afterward. Although the Clan managed to take most of the fuselage including the Etheric generator, they cut through the railguns on the roof of the pod. ADAM predicted a ninety-seven percent chance that any remaining railgun equipment on the Pod will be damaged beyond the point that it would be useful for reverse engineering.

“However, the Etheric tracker was in the nose of the pod, as were the control systems. So we have no means of finding where they transported it to if it is deep enough underground. Considering TOM’s lack of success in pinpointing it, we have no choice but to assume that it is somewhere underground in China. Those were definitely Sacred Clan that attacked us. We can only assume that the NVG became involved in the meeting between the corrupt agent, Bohai, and Brogonovich. We were incredibly fortunate that our agents lucked into overhearing that meeting.”

Continuing, Janna said, “The Russian government is currently pushing back at the Chinese over what seems to them to be a sanctioned attack by Chinese forces on Russian soil. The Chinese have made it clear that they have no interest in poking the Russian bear at this time. They even moved troops back from the Russian border to emphasize that they want no trouble.”

Janna finished her section of the report, “We have no idea if the extreme heat similarly affected both organic and metallic components at the edge of the transportation sphere. The cauterized, but the otherwise intact, arm and leg that fell outside the sphere’s radius would indicate not. How much heat did the transport inflict on the people transported? We simply have no way of knowing.”

“I have run simulations of potential methods for achieving this effect. It is beyond any technology I have dealt with before, “Lilith added. “ADAM? TOM?”

TOM spoke for both of them, “The event that caused ripples in the Etheric extended all the way to the South China Sea. There are two possibilities as to what occurred to the objects inside the transportation sphere. The first is that the effect only took place at the edge of the device’s control. In this case, the organic matter transported by the device will have survived relatively unharmed. The Weretiger will probably have burnt paws, but the large surface of the Pod will have reduced the amount of heat, acting as a heat sink.

“The second postulates that the heat is an encompassing effect. In that scenario, the only useful technology they will be able to retrieve will be the Etheric generator housed in the pod itself, due to extreme heat damage.

“Any organic matter in the radius will have been incinerated in this scenario. Every simulation we have run makes it clear that they did not truly understand the technology they were using. It is recovered technology, not something they created themselves. Nor is it something they, or we, can likely recreate. The amount of energy it used is beyond what I have records of the Kurtherians being capable of producing in such a small device. It almost certainly has to have been a single use tool.”

“It should serve as a warning to all of us, there are some things out there that we simply cannot predict. Technology beyond anything we’ve encountered. While it is unlikely there is another similar device on Earth, it is possible that others may have this technology elsewhere. You need to be wary of this Boris, “TOM finished

Boris agreed and added, “And you all need to be wary of this, also. In conclusion, there was no sign that something like this existed. That it didn’t come into the cave system can only be considered a boon. If it had… “Boris‘ face took on a grim cast.

His people were frantically working on reinforcing the unstable sections of the caves. It went hand in hand with expanding the emergency bunker areas. It was a work in progress, still far from complete even now. The combination of loss of structure and the vacuum effect could have been disastrous down there.

Bethany Anne glanced around, seeing the chastened expressions on the faces around her. With TOM and ADAM’s guidance, they had thought they knew everything and had been wrong. It was a lesson for her as well. If they could be surprised by something like this on Earth, she could be surprised out there in the vastness of space.

As she rose, Gyada glanced at Boris, who slowly nodded. “If I may, my Queen, I would like to discuss something with you?”

Bethany Anne was somewhat surprised. She had an idea of what Gyada was going to ask, though she had been sure that the Were would want to stay and protect what had been her home for centuries after the battle.

Still, with the education and knowledge that Lilith had imparted to her, Bethany Anne couldn’t be happier with the idea of Gyada joining her space force.