Chapter 28 - Almost..

Author's Notes: This one will be a far lengthier rant than usual, so feel free to scroll down to the abridged version below.

For starters, I'd like to formally apologize to any reader who is faithfully following the story. I am truly grateful for the amazing compliment that it is, the fact that you will spend some of your valuable time reading and appreciating my story.

That's what I've come to realize due to the comments from a few people whose IDs I readily recognize as regularly visiting and commenting upon these pages. It seems like they truly do appreciate the story, which was somewhat of a surprise to me.

Initially and for the most part even up to this point, I've written mainly for my own fulfillment. Thus, I haven't truly felt obliged or pressured to stick to a regular release schedule. I'd write when I had the time to spare and the drive to do so.

The startling realization that some readers may be anxiously awaiting the next installment of my story was surprising and humbling at the same time. I will thus attempt to squeeze a few more hours and an additional iota of inspiration to keep a more regular schedule.

To be honest to all the readers, and since many of you are likely aspiring writers just like me, inspiration strikes at odd times and follows its own tempo. It is truly difficult to write when you don't feel like you are giving it your very best. I'm told that's one of the dividing lines between an amateurish, run-of-the-mill writing aficionado and a professional.

Hey, I'm no professional. I know I have many, many flaws. One of those is the difficulty in forcing myself to write when I'm faced with the proverbial writer's block. It is really, really hard. By the time I manage to overcome it, days or weeks will have passed. I will attempt, for the sake of the readers, to be just a little more valiant in combating this old foe!

Real life demands, on the other hand, cannot be helped since this is a mere hobby rather than an occupation.

That said, I am not immune to praise or bribery. Thus, it follows that the more input and comments I get, not only all the better for it the overall story will be, but even the frequency of releases will follow the same upward trend.

Thus, and running the risk of sounding like a shameless self-promoting brat, I will promise to write at least one chapter on every week that a new review has been posted on my main fiction page. Hell, perhaps even multiple releases on that same week. It doesn't have to be colorful, eloquent or insincere. I would just like to see what different people think of my writing thus far. It really provides needed inspiration. Besides, it does tickle my ego, just a tiny bit.

TL: DR

Thanks for reading!

Chapters to be released more regularly!

For every new comment on my main fiction page, there will be a guaranteed chapter on that week.

Now, on to the story. Enjoy!

Glass Plateau, Shen Tien Region. Local Time: 20:22

Quadcannon laser batteries were heavy, unwieldy and near impossible to maneuver in an active field of battle. This was an unavoidable outcome given their sheer mass, added to which their internal components required careful, subtle calibrations in order to ensure operational safety. This precluded the possibility of movement and immediate operation, given the various checks and crosschecks they needed to go through to ensure not only optimal operational power, but the possibility of an overload which would result in a core meltdown and ensuing catastrophic blast.

Laser battery operators had a common motto they stood by: You kill by the cannon, die by the cannon.

Even with this obvious flaw, laser batteries were still one of the deadliest means of inflicting casualties upon an enemy force. A missile weapon with an effective explosive range ten times greater than that of a laser cannon barrage would still only be able to inflict a 50% to 75% casualty rate upon their effective blast radius. The kinetic impact and heat blast dissipated too quickly in the air, and any secondary projectiles or shrapnel had rapidly diminishing returns the farther away the target stood from the point of impact. That was without even taking into consideration the increased predominance of advanced personal protective equipment, EM fields, and the sheer effectiveness of one of man’s oldest defenses against blast impact weapons: Trenches.

In any modern army, even to this day, it was a matter of course to dig a ditch, or exploit a naturally occurring dip in the terrain, since it provided a disproportionate boost to the odds of infantry surviving a nearby explosion.

Modern laser batteries, on the other hand, provided an ideal combination of heat and radiation energy which would superheat not only the target, but the immediate surrounding area as well. The very oxygen that was vital for the subsistence of life became a deadly poison which would burn out the lungs and internal organs in a flash. The energy beam would easily penetrate most ordinary defense fortifications, and even EM fields would find their energy rapidly sapped upon direct contact with a continuous laser barrage, since the drain was constant and not instant, such as that provided by ordinary explosive devices.

The effective range of a laser cannon was much smaller than their ballistic counterparts, but that deficiency was more than compensated by three factors: First, the effective casualty ratio reached to an impressive 96%. Second, technological advances allowed laser cannons to be fused together, ushering the era of the twin, then the quad laser battery, which instantly increased their effective kill radius by a power of three and their penetration power accordingly.

Of course, it all came with a price. The cost of single quad laser battery was astronomical, well over twenty times the cost of a ballistic equivalent. In addition, the power drain of such a device made its deployment and use extremely prohibitive. Also, the inability to quickly relocate and redeploy a single quadcannon laser battery for immediate use turned this modern day weapon into a true nightmare for most field commanders. Too far, and its effectiveness would be severely curtailed, given the energy beam traveled in a straight line and could not be arched to reach fortified targets. Too close, and it risked a direct hit by the enemy artillery, effectively turning a priceless weapon into a massive nuclear explosive device.

Indeed, the volatile nature of a laser battery meant its components, no matter how well shielded they were, would be vulnerable to enemy fire and a massive, disastrous detonation of the weapon and its equally volatile fuel cells.

“Sir, target coordinates have been locked in. Laser cannon emplacements are charged and ready to fire. Beg your pardon sir,” continued the querulous captain while standing at attention before me. Good ol’ Jenkins, he had been my artillery officer for a number of years. Gruff, but rather down-to-earth and most dependable, I’d grown fond of the man. “But sensor readings taken before the radiation storm indicated no movement along that whole perimeter. The enemy will immediately target our location if they discover that we have deployed and discharged our laser batteries. Which you've ordered me to do - aiming at nothing. Forest, trees, rocks. I respectfully must protest at the tactical value of firing my babies at a pile of crap, beg your pardon for the language.”

I serenely nodded at the captain’s entirely justified and well expounded concern, then nodded almost amiably as I said casually, “Duly noted, Captain. Your concerns are understandable, and your zeal is commendable.”

In the same breath, I turned the full weight of my gaze to bear upon Jenkins, and uttered a single word in cold, deadly finality, “Fire.”

The captain’s face blanched as his face trembled with vexation, but he did not dare show any other signs of protest. “Sir!”

Turning around to face the eight quadcannon laser batteries nearby, the raised his hand and flung it down, yelling, “All laser batteries, FIRE!”

Dazzling sparks and arcs of energy could be seen coursing through the entire body of the massive devices as they channeled their energy towards a single point, condensing a blinding mass of liquid light that seemed to hang suspended in the air for a moment before four beams of supercharged heat materialized from the mouths of the impressive instruments of death, instantly cutting through the air and leaving an almost painful afterglow in my field of vision before dissipating moments later.

“That’s it, Captain. Keep it at short bursts, concentrate fire on your given coordinates,” I drawled with a contented grin spreading across my face.

The captain turned to me with that disgruntled expression still on his face, like I’d asked him to drink a carton full of piss - one sip at a time. “Sir, beg your pardon, but I still don’t understand the..”

“Captain,” I interrupted him, holding up a finger. “I would strongly recommend that you wear the spectrum shielded protective goggles as stipulated by Federation Army Artillery Safety Regulation article 12 numeral b, c and f.”

“What?” Was the only reply that the poor man could manage, before shaking his head in befuddlement, staring at me. “Sir? No one ever uses them monstrosities..”

I gave him a toothy grin, then took out my own set, which coincidentally had never even been taken out of its initial protective plastic wrap. Truly, no one ever used the unwieldy monstrosities, as they were largely unnecessary and weighed a metric ton. It was like wearing weights for your nose and ears. Besides, they simply looked ridiculous! A true eyesore indeed.

Of course, officers should lead by example, so I nimbly maneuvered mine into place, then turned my impassive gaze onto the flummoxed Jenkins. I felt the near irresistible urge to wink at him, but that would completely ruin my image. Ahem, certain properties should always be observed.

Damn, all this time with Shia and Sol had really done a number on me.

Sol, just hold on a while longer. I’m coming.

Which reminded me, it was about high time to end this farce - with a bang, of course. What better way to end things?

Well, several bangs are always better than one. Case in point..

As Captain Jenkins still took there dumbly staring at me, teetering on the edge of insubordination - either for guffawing at one’s superior officer, or for summoning the battalion medic to perform an emergency psychiatric evaluation on said man - a blinding flash of light, brilliant to the point where it would be painful naked eye, spread in the air around us from behind Jenkins’ back.

Startled, Jenkins turned around to follow the source, whereupon seven more flashes came upon being, instantly lighting up the distant horizon. Coincidentally, those were the very same spots our laser batteries had targetted.

Jenkins reeled back with a painful cry as he covered his eyes with one hand. Pity, he missed out on the ravishing sight of eight spectacular flares of light erupting from the midst of the dense canopy of trees covering the lower reaches of the Middle Wei Hao peaks. A moment later, every wisp and particule of light seemed to be irresistibly sucked in towards the center of the blasts, imploding upon themselves and creating a halo of energies that distorted the refraction of light itself around the area, sending iridescent streams of multicolored luminescence spreading outwards in a truly surreal fashion.

It had been a long time since I’ve seen fireworks as pretty as these.

“What the f..” Was the only gasp that escaped Jenkins’ trembling lips.

“Captain, fire on to the next coordinates,” I ordered lightly, my eyes still swept up in the incredible show laid out before me. Damn, but I loved to blow stuff up.

Ah, it was definitely one of several of the pleasures that kept me going throughout each day.

“S.. sir, what the f..” Any further attempts to speak were cut off as the blast wave from the explosions reached us. At this distance, it was only enough to send a curtain of fine dust and snow showering upon us. Still, we were talking about a good 10 miles or so. That had been one hell of an explosion.

At least it seemed to bring Jenkins back to his senses. He turned back to me and snapped to attention, as a fiery glow previously absent came to his eyes. “Sir, yes sir!” Came the vigorous reply, before Captain Jenkins rushed off to scream more orders at his men.

“You useless maggots, you’re still recalibrating? Get off your damn useless, lazy, overpaid asses and..” Came the stream of curses for what really had been a spectacularly well aimed shot. Well, that was in keeping with army tradition, I suppose.

The fountains of light in the distance were gone, though several chain explosions in the immediate vicinity were still barely registrable to the naked eye. Pinpoints of red intersped with black could be seen swiftly spreading as well.

Good, fire and smoke always adds some more flavor to the meat.

Speaking of smoke, I turned my gaze higher, beyond the Wei Hao peaks looming above me, and on to the dark skies above. I fancied I could still see the beautiful trails of smoke left by 48 mid-range ballistic missiles soaring in concert through the air, piercing the clouds as they rose high into the distance and beyond sight.

For long range artillery worthy of calling as such, all I had were the 8 laser batteries and 24 crossfire missile launchers. Each launcher was capable of unleashing 2 mid-range self-guided ballistic missiles with multiple warheads. The effective range on the missile launchers was much greater than that of the laser batteries, since the former were self-guided and could be launched at an arc over terrain and obstacles.

Still, it was one thing to say it was self-guided. It was another thing entirely as to whether it would actually hit its target. The probability of a missile accurately hitting its target in this kind of conditions, given the weather, multiple obstacles, and enemy missile interception countermeasures, would usually be around 20%. More than likely, they would be shot down or veered off target.

The radiation storm would ordinarily do nothing to affect the probability of a successful hit, since it would work to neutralize enemy counter-measures, but it would also effectively disable the radar and navigation technology which would allow the missile to home in on its target.

Of course, that would be in regular circumstances. The arc of the missiles I’d ordered launched had been at an unusually high angle and steep vector. It would be just enough to keep them below the stratospheric storm, but the manual coordinates that had been punched in ahead of time should be enough to ensure they would approach the proper area. Once they were there, it would be time for a whole new brand of fireworks.

Ah, I could hardly wait. I almost felt like a kid must while waiting for Santa to land from just below the stratosphere and deliver the biggest damn surprise ever - to the other kids. The evil ones.

It almost made me want to set up a Christmas tree, right here in the middle of the snow.

“Warthog, you better come through, or I will hang your head by my fireplace and use it for target practice,” I muttered, still unsure as to whether that particular gamble of sending Warthog Akatombe on that particular mission would pay off or not.

Shaking my head slightly to clear my head, I turned to a nearby lieutenant. “Prepare to fire all field guns and mortars upon my command at the pre-specified coordinates.”

“Sir, everything has been prepared. However, the allied army is still reeling and has yet to reach the designated area. Should we..” suggested the officer.

I firmly shook my head. “No, you will hold your fire until I give the signal.”

Faced with the young man’s obvious frustration, I raised my hand to gently pat his shoulder. “You will see more blood and guts than you’d ever wish, soon enough. In the meantime, you will personally make sure everything is prepared.”

A fierce fire could be seen burning in the man’s eyes as he saluted. “Yes sir!”

I nodded my satisfaction as the man moved off to comply with my orders, then squeezed my eyes as another blinding flash in the horizon followed the next discharge from our laser cannons. Furious blasts could be heard even from this distance, and more waves of dust could be seen heading our way.

“The enemy commander will panic when his own laser batteries, which had been carefully and stealthily been deployed before the battle, explode and decimate his own artillery forces,” I chuckled ruefully to myself. “It will only get worse when he is unable to contact the Ice Emperor for instructions. After all, from their perspective this battle was already won. Small man like Colonel Hong Fei, he should immediately give the order to charge unilaterally in order to suppress our position. Not only that, he also knows his own long range artillery support is almost in place. Almost.”

“Ah, Hong Fei, you will soon come to realize just how terrifying that single word, ‘Almost’ truly is. You had ‘almost’ won this battle.”

I grinned wolfishly from ear to ear, then couldn’t help but let out a few rumbling chuckles, which may or may not have sounded more like evil cackles, as I raised my head to gaze into the distance, where more rumbling explosions could be heard shaking the ground under the merciless barrage of continuous laser fire.

“You ‘almost’ survived this battle.”

My gaze moved on, beyond the mountains before me, and into the horizon, where surely one pissed off unstoppable mass of muscles and carnage should be furiously cursing my name while fiddling around with the tiny, almost toy-like polycarbonate gun in his hand.

“Almost time.”

Eh?

"Achooo!"