Chapter 20

In preparation for the upcoming castle, designated the “motte”, Convoy Commander Dandridge reorganized the convoy into an offset I-formation with Crusader C362 serving as the offset limb of the convoy. A variation of the stack formation employed up to this point; the offset I-formation positioned its middle Crusader adjacent to the frontal and rear positions who’d maintain a predetermined amount of space large enough to allow the offset Crusader passage between them as the situation demanded it.

Though seldom used, as it required a skilled pilot to pull off reliably, the offset I-formation bolstered both the front and rear Crusaders while limiting the amount of contact the offsetting Crusader would have with enemy forces. The latter being the primary reason behind Commander Dandridge’s decision to tweak the formation. As not only did it afford the convoy’s most skilled deck officer freedom to roam the formation, but it also doubled as a means to make up for the lack of proven manpower onboard C362. Namely Faust’s current injury status and the presence of first-time field officers Esma and Gliel.

Further cementing Crusader C362 into this dynamic role was the considerations taken towards the captive it had acquired during the previous dust up. If by chance the party did seek to rescue or take advantage of the foreign presence onboard they would find it exceedingly difficult to time an approach for a target moving laterally. C362 could also just as easily reposition itself into a spot where either the front or rear Crusaders could provide assistance in stalling efforts made towards this objective. But for all its benefits the formation did present its share of shortcomings.

One distinct disadvantage that came with this formation was that it would slow the median speed of the convoy over the course of the stretch it was employed. An especially undesirable downside for Galen Runs that prioritized haste above all else. Although in the event pace did become an issue, they could easily revert to a stack formation to regain speed.

In a similar vein both Cloud Nine and the LCF would need to start considering the shelf life of the specimens being transported as the specialized crates could only maintain the necessary internal temperature for so long. Assuming the raiding party didn’t have a comparable accommodation prepared for the specimens, as thermosensitive cargo was quite expensive, they would need to account for the amount of time it would take for them to get the raided cargo into a suitable environment. Something that worked in favor of the LCF as it narrowed the window for instances in which visits and approaches could take place.

Put simply Cloud Nine would need to throw everything it had at the convoy in the timeframe of the next few castles to necessitate a profit. And with the “gatehouse” offering the greatest strategic advantage, the preceding “motte” would likely serve as a litmus test of sorts for the party as it condensed its remaining forces in anticipation of a final confrontation.

Expecting as much the LCF would do its best to preserve resources in the meantime, ranging from ammunition to personnel. Which is why it had already been decided that Officer Faust Warren would sit out the “motte” in favor of conserving energy for the final castle.

It should be noted that this level of discretion with respect to a single Crusader’s crew often fell to that Crusader’s security representative as they possessed a better understanding of each individual's condition and readiness levels. The injury report submitted by each respective CO serving more of a logistical purpose than a practical one. That’s not to say the CC didn’t have the right or authority to make personnel decisions based on said injury reports. Though in many cases it would be viewed as meddling from the perspective of the crews.

Nevertheless, in the case of the current Galen Run headed for Mennarouple, such intervention on Lautnor’s part would have been seen as sensible in light of the open discontent being displayed by Crusader C274’s newly appointed security representative. But regrettably the commander remained ignorant of the growing defiance of his authority, owing to CO Kircher Swarek’s hesitance to relay his misgivings about the veteran Rohner. Largely in fear it would expedite the splintering of the convoy’s unity heading into what was shaping up to be the most perilous stretch of the route.

Fortunately Crusader C362’s Jericka Katsurn had shed those misgivings and alerted her own security representative of the tension onboard its sister Crusader. And while she too decided against raising any immediate alarms, Lux did advise her CO to send a text-based message to Riga. A message that both women had no way of knowing would take a back seat to the growing debacle at said station of arrival.

*

“Now that is where you put a fucking castle.”

Lautnor had stepped out onto the front deck hoping to get a better view of the castle they’d christened the “motte”. But what he and the deck officers found equally striking was just how drastically the topography had cleared without warning. The stone forest receding to create what could best be described as a natural highway. A highway blanketed by the formidable silhouette of the hill housing one of Lamella’s champions.

“Are we sure there’s even one up there...?”

One of C471’s deck officers craned his neck in an attempt to make out the supposed structure on top.

“Oh it’s there alright. Cause here they come.”

They heard them before they could see them. The talking drums and their translators rallying the forces of Cloud Nine for battle. The CC promptly assessed the convoy’s formation from their position at the rear, noting that Crusader C274 was a bit further out front than he would have liked. A consequence of its pilot being unfamiliar with Redcliffe’s reputation if he had to guess. It was for this reason he’d briefly considered having Cade pilot C274 in lieu of serving in C362’s engine room ahead of departure. But Lautnor also knew better than to mess with a winning formula. The very same he’d be counting on to get them through this stretch of the route relatively unscathed.

“Sumi, do we have any eyes on the approaches?”

He directed the inquiry into the headset as he tried to brainstorm countermeasures for their hampered visibility, courtesy of the motte’s shadow. These Crusaders, being older models, lacked built-in lights along the sides, and the ones fixed to the front wouldn’t offer much of a solution on their own. It was possible some of the storage compartments would have the tactical flashlights usually reserved for poor weather conditions but keeping that sort of equipment stocked fell to the engineers as part of their maintenance checks. Something they would have passed over in the chaos of preparing a Crusader for a Galen Run.

“Still working on it. The SOA failed to mention anything about a small mountain eclipsing the sun.”

“We’re partially to blame for developing tunnel vision on the castles. But seeing as it’s temporary we’ll just have to wing it. No sense in scrambling over solutions to a fleeting problem.”

“I suggest you return to the bridge before hostilities open. Part of the reason we’re in the rear is so you can monitor and direct the convoy after all.”

Lautnor directed a thumbs up towards the bridge behind him before descending the stairway enroute to the back deck.

“If I were to bring up one point of contention it would be that Cloud Nine are the ones directing this production. We’re just identifying the beats and responding to them in kind.”

As was the objective of the I-formation. For the offset Crusader to watch and react to the movements of various approaches. Cloud Nine’s leadership was aware of this and would attempt to circumvent the formation by synchronizing multiple approaches from multiple sides. Leaving it up to the convoy to butcher that timing and sow chaos. In that regard the shadow cast by the motte might serve as beneficial.

“Enemy contingent spotted at 11 o’clock running parallel to us. Initial observations suggest the force is dividing into three distinct groups.”

“How much you want to bet that number increases?”

“Do we give the green light to engage or wait for a more definitive picture of their attack strategy?”

“Weapons free. Shedding some ammunition here will be borderline therapeutic for the crews at this point. Best to have them settle in ahead of the upcoming siege.”

In nearly perfect conjunction with the CC’s go ahead, the deck officers onboard C274 began pounding the closest approach with abandon. The barrage forcing the approach to split prematurely to evade. The talking drums similarly adjusted on the fly and increased the rhythm of their drumbeats. Not long after the other two detachments broke into units of various sizes as well.

Wanting to keep up, Sumiye crossed to the other side of the bridge to get a better angle with the binoculars, only to stumble into Lautnor who’d materialized suddenly. He wore an uncharacteristic frown as he observed the movements of the raiding party. Not the least bit concerned about the Head CO cradling her nose beside him.

“I wonder if the drum majors are watching from the rear as well...?”

“Unlikely, it would be tricky following the course of the visit from so far back. And if they crept forward to change that it would only bring them within our Crusader’s critical distance.”

Lautnor tapped his piercing and flicked his gaze in the direction of the castle’s supposed location atop the motte. Meanwhile Sumiye continued to monitor the situation in front of them.

“C362 is on the move.”

The pair watched as the offset Crusader left its starting blocks on the right side of the convoy and skillfully weaved its way through the opening provided. This move wasn’t intended to force the approaches off their marks like the first visit but to herd the bulk of the forces to a preferred side of the convoy. And having the motte serve as a backdrop in such rough conditions could have a detrimental effect on the aim of the deck officers.

“Anything you’d like to contribute?”

“No, it’s better for them to act independently for now. Running to the CC each time for permission to act would defeat the whole purpose of the formation. Naturally we’ll leave the comms channel open in case we see something they don’t or vice versa.”

“Hmm...cross referencing both the map and Officer Swarek’s numbers from the rangefinder, I’d say this highway extends roughly another three kilometers. Which would give the current approach a limited number of opportunities to make use of the motte in tandem with the increased operating space.”

Although he had the second headset on, Lautnor had intentionally set it to receive from the local channel. Meaning his head CO was the only one in his ear for the time being. This stemmed from the desire to keep C362 operating independently but also avoided crowding the group channel with unnecessary crosstalk. Nor did he want to come off as intrusive to interchanges between CO’s. In general Convoy Commanders often wrestled with the appropriate level of involvement when it came to visits.

Lautnor had opted for a more active role during the first and while things had turned out favorably in the end, his decision making had been a bit rash. But at the same time he wasn’t the type to scramble for an opportunity to redeem himself. Because the worse thing field service personnel could do was drag baggage from one visit to another.

“Based on the time of day we should escape the shadows within couple minutes or so.”

Alas the commander’s attention remained elsewhere.

“What do you suppose the chances are they’re capable of directing traffic from all the way up there?”

Sumiye hummed in thought for a moment, though it was entirely possible she was buying time to juggle the multiple voices in her ears.

“Slim under the current conditions. Plus an argument could be made that resources would be better utilized on the ground taking part in the raid attempt rather than up there trying to distinguish between birds and party members.”

“What? And miss a chance to live up to their namesake.”

The head CO rolled her eyes before the sound of rifle fire outside the bridge drew her attention. Nothing a quick glance out one of the side windows couldn’t solve.

“So far so good. A bulk of the detachments were successfully routed left.”

But even that update appeared lost on the CC who’d wandered over to the entrance of the bridge and stuck only his arm out the door, much the same way one would check for rain. Confused, Sumiye came over as well and went about setting the headset that had fallen around Lautnor’s neck back onto his head.

“A bit warm outside... don’t you think?”

The CO mimicked her commander’s motion to see if she could feel any obvious temperature abnormalities.

“Shouldn’t be. Limestone is a natural insulator, and we’re temporarily cut off from direct exposure to the sun.”

But the CC didn’t relent in his skepticism in the slightest, convinced something was amiss.

“Curious...”

*

“Points!”

A brief sense of panic gripped Esma upon realizing she wasn’t in the immediate vicinity of a tether point. Fortunately reason won the short-lived power struggle and the brunette made the sensible decision of simply moving closer to the center of the back deck before hunkering down. And while safely removed from the threat of being ejected from the Crusader, the sensation of the surface beneath her lurching still stirred the butterflies in her stomach.

“Try and get in the habit of relaying the callout Es, you never know whose ass you might be saving!”

Unlike Esma, Lux had hardly moved from what should have been a far more precarious position along the right-side railing. Seemingly having staved off disaster by planting her foot against it while continuing to look down sights at the approaching enemy.

“Apologies. I didn’t want to give any of my butterflies an escape route. To my understanding they serve as an important indicator for the fight-or-flight response.”

“Mhmm...”

Lux jogged to the opposite side of the deck and peered over the railing, motioning with her hand for Esma to follow suit. The rookie complied but stopped short of crossing the railing’s threshold, prompting Lux to pull her the rest of the way.

“Time to break in that rifle.”

The brunette swallowed as she tried to look anywhere but down.

“See the group being headed by the onyx bachelor?”

Esma followed Lux’s finger to the individual in question as she wasn’t yet familiar with the various bike makes employed by raiding parties.

“I think so...”

“Your homework is to take out two of them. I’d recommend a chain reaction or one on each pass.”

As daunting as the task seemed for a novice like her, Esma had to believe there was some rhyme or reason behind the assignment of these targets in particular. Something about the caliber of their riding skill or perhaps a nuance in their formation. Both facets of field service well beyond her current level of understanding. She threw away the possibility of it being distance related as there were plenty of what she’d consider closer and more viable options.

“Not to be semantic, but when you say take them out...”

“Aim for the gaps in the bike chassis. The tires are too thick. It would honestly be easier if you just shot the riders themselves, but I know your still iffy about bloodshed.”

“You make it sound as if I have some flippant reason for being so hesitant.”

Lux brought her rifle up and assumed a firing position, quickly settling on a target and firing despite being mid-conversation. Something that added an unexpected level of credibility to the blonde’s cavalier teaching methods.

“Try to follow your targets without fixating on them. The shadows will give you some leeway, but they’ll take advantage of deck officers numb to their surroundings.”

“Bachelor, chassis, shadows...I think I got it.”

“Hop in the turret bay when you’re done, I’ll meet you there.”

On that note Lux took off running and gunning down the length of the back deck, her speed consistent with someone aiming to utilize the shortcut to the front deck. A feat Esma would have gladly watched come to fruition if she weren’t wary of taking her eyes off her target pool. Speaking of which...had the group grown in number?

The stand-in security officer wasn’t sure if she should welcome this development or not. True, it might have given her more potential targets, but it simultaneously increased the odds of facing retaliation. So much for hoping any action she took went unnoticed. No, she could still pull it off. Just had to target someone closer to the rear.

Esma ended up settling on a thinner looking bike model riding ahead of the rearmost party member. She had multiple reasons for doing this. The first being that if she missed, which wasn’t as much of an if as a when, the shot had a real chance of connecting with the raider just beside them instead. As for the second reason, she was inclined to believe that a thinner bike model prioritized speed and handling. Therefore it stood to reason that applying defensive measures such as armor or plating to the bike would be counter intuitive to the advantages it boasted by way of increasing the cumulative weight. And an untouched chassis could be penetrated by rifle fire. If she were to extrapolate on Lux’s advice that is.

Esma began by crouching behind the railing, both to sure up her balance on the moving surface and provide peace of mind by creating some form of cover. Naturally the next step was confirming that the safety was off for the umpteenth time. Leaving only the most difficult parts for her, aiming and pulling the trigger.

In truth shotty aim was by no means an insurmountable hurdle for her to overcome. In fact, in terms of accuracy, Esma had consistently scored in the middle of the pack during her Federation training courses. Her current misgivings owing to the neglect of her marksmanship practice more than anything else. The consequence of naively believing that as a graduated member of the Communications Division there’d be no need for her pick up a rifle again.

Even with all these factors weighing heavily on her mind, Esma’s finger somehow managed to find the trigger. But even that small success only served to propagate more of the aimless minutiae in her head. Things such as how much force her finger would need to apply for the trigger to set off the firing mechanism. Or whether the timing on the coils was set to its default and struggling to remember how she would even check. Safe to say Esma was putting on an absolute clinic in the art of procrastination. Such was the fate of any individual inundated with homework.

But the reward for ‘Final thought before discharging a rifle in active service for the first time’ went in a direction she couldn’t have anticipated.

I’m sweating a lot right now.

Perhaps it was because that thought had brought Esma’s awareness into the current moment, but her shot, albeit vulgar, managed to connect with an unsuspecting raider’s single sided swingarm. A main component of rear suspension in offroad vehicles. And while it didn’t cause crippling damage, it still proved enough to jostle the party member out of position. Setting off a small chain reaction of raiders leaving their lines to avoid collision.

It was amid this panic that the command Crusader in the rear joined the fray and shattered whatever remained of the approach’s configuration. A success even in the absence of bodies as it stonewalled what was quietly developing into a full-fledged approach with intent to board.

For her part Esma watched this development with a frown. Not because her shot didn’t render a more adverse effect to the bike’s condition, but because she wasn’t sure if this counted towards her final number. Luckily the threat of losing track of the targets reaffirmed her priorities and she stood to follow them easier. An exceedingly difficult task due to the attending darkness that had swallowed them whole and showed no signs of abating.

Moving around the turret bay, Esma was given another glimpse of the massive form. Leaving little room to doubt whether commencing a visit here had been a sound strategy or not. But it wouldn’t be long until the sun resumed its post and exposed the machinations of the raiding party. At which time the convoy would regain the upper hand and look to put a quick end to this visit so they could focus on the next. And one would expect they’d be brimming with confidence after coming out the other side of consecutive clashes largely intact. Did Cloud Nine’s leadership not recognize the importance of momentum heading into the final castle?

Speaking of castles, Esma could finally make out the small one atop the motte now that they’d created some distance. As advertised it was quite humble in both size and appearance, but for her the more pressing takeaway was how sheer the face of the motte was from the front. She had to believe the opposite side possessed a much more gradual incline or means to ascend to the top. Which begged the question whether any party members were up there at all. The time necessary to shuttle from one site to the other surely being too cumbersome to affect. Perhaps knowledge of the castle’s existence was the only weapon Cloud Nine had required. Yet another method to tax the collective nerves of the convoy.

Recognizing the irony in her current train of thought, Esma let her musings on the subject fade along with the motte in the distance. Her more immediate concern being to relocate the bachelor serving as a gunner if she was recalling her terminology correctly. Unfortunately the bike she was on the lookout for was dark in color. As such it would be difficult to distinguish it in the shadows, but with her paltry knowledge of bike models the interim security officer didn’t have much of a choice. Wait, shadows?

“Why are we still inside of the shadow—!?”