“They will not try to push through all of these,” Zac said.

Janis nodded, trailing a finger over the map laid out in front of her. The Cernlian-Nerlian force had attacked a relatively large line of fortifications and outposts in the south and primarily southwest of the county, though not with the same strength everywhere.

“They’re trying to force us to keep our defenses spread out, keeping us guessing where they will try to push through,” she analyzed. “Their army is fast enough we might not cover everything if we guess wrong and concentrate our forces, at least not by conventional means.” She was pretty sure they were underestimating the hive’s mobility, but for Whitor’s soldiers, that was definitely true.

“We can still make reasonable guesses based on their current position and heading,” Inu noted.

“Will this pay off for them?” Zac asked.

“I still believe they are not going for the earl, they are aiming to get back into Nerlia,” Janis muttered. She glanced up, faintly touching the sense she had of Ben watching silently in the psychic link. “Our job is not to defeat them, but to slow them down, stop them.”

They were still limited in what they could bring to bear. Regina had ordered them not to use their contingencies, echoes of more modern warfare, unless it seemed like they would lose the war. Janis didn’t feel entirely happy with that, since she suspected it would actually lead to a higher death toll by dragging out the fighting. But Regina was looking at an even longer view. She didn’t want them to become the kind of threat other nations united to put down. Not to mention what certain other parties might do.

Sometimes, remembering that Deirianon was clearly trying to bury Regina, and the hive with her, still sent a faint shiver down Janis’ spine. Not that she would let it stop her. She had come too far and the hive meant too much to her to let anyone force them down, even a god.

Janis had spent her life in the mud, she would not stop trying to climb out of it and meekly go kneel back down, not even if it was just about her. Definitely not when it was all her people pressed into the mire.

“We need to be on guard,” she murmured. “There may be more than just regular Cernlian and Nerlian soldiers we have to face, before this is over.”

The others were silent for a moment, and she felt sober agreement from Ben. He’d stayed quiet so far, mostly letting her run things here, but the reminder of his presence was both reassuring and felt a bit restrictive.

Regina herself wasn’t currently attending to this discussion, even through the psychic link, since she had other things to do. Janis assumed at least a summary would reach her quickly, though. It was so much easier to coordinate within the hive than with Earl Whitor.

"The earl’s men are going to be what slows us,” Zac continued, moving the conversation along. “They’re simply slower to move, not because of their marching speed, but organizing and setting off.”

Janis nodded. They weren’t dealing with a huge army here, at least on their side, so she knew it was actually comparatively simple and quick. But you still couldn’t just send off a detachment of human fighters like you could drones. They needed time to transmit the order, get everyone organized, especially the supplies, and make camps. At least they were good about fortifying their camps.

“We may have to take the brunt of it at first,” she said. “But remember that we want to avoid direct confrontation. And when it comes to irregular warfare and skirmishing, we’re hard to beat.” They just had advantages other armies would die for. That’s the plan, anyway, I guess, she thought with a dash of dark humor.

The meeting trailed off after they discussed some practicalities and deployments. A lot of this could and would be adjusted on the fly, communicated through the psychic link. The more time passed, the better they could narrow down where they’d have to face the enemy, after all. Janis finished the meeting by sending several of their Workers and support specialists south, though, to join the swarms gathering there.

She’d need to move them out of danger before the real fight began, but they could get started with preparing the grounds and some fortifications to use. With an eye to the tactics they were going to employ, though. She’d call on Tia and get her to help out. If she knew the other girl, she’d be eager to take on the challenge.

After that, she called on Earl Whitor. They needed to coordinate their efforts, even if it was inconvenient. And she knew that she’d been sent here in part because she was a human face he might feel better talking to, so she couldn’t just push all of this off on someone else. The walk didn’t take long, and she was ushered into his presence immediately, his attendants clearly expecting her. She supposed they’d started something of a pattern already. The earl’s office was decorated sparsely, but well-lit, and from the amount of paperwork on his desk and the creases on his face she could tell he’d been busy here for a while.

“Lady Janis,” he greeted her, courteously standing up as she entered.

“Lord Whitor,” she replied with a smile, taking his silent invitation to sit down across his desk. “Keeping busy, I see.”

“Always, these days,” he replied.

Janis nodded, then decided that was enough small talk. “I just came from a council with our commanders.”

“Then I would assume you have more current news to offer than I,” he said with a sardonic tone, cocking his head.

That was generally the case, and expecting it to be different would be stupid, in Janis’ opinion, given what they had to work with. She didn’t mention that, though, and instead just dove into the subject at hand. “There have been half a dozen attempted raids,” she confirmed. “All of these failed, although the attackers managed to hit the outpost at the old hill fort hard enough to rout the defenders and held it for a brief while before it was retaken. The army has not changed its course or speed.”

Whitor sat back in his seat, frowning. “My thanks for your aid,” he finally said. “It appears they will attempt a push, then.”

“That was our conclusion as well,” Janis said, then briefly recounted what she had discussed with the others.

“No need to put it delicately to spare my feelings, Lady Starlit,” Whitor said. “Your mobility is much greater than my own men’s. I would slow you down were we to march together, and will not be able to cover as much of the line we must as the Hive.”

“That’s true, Lord Whitor. Your men are still needed, though.” Janis hesitated for a moment. “I would advise gathering them at several strategic points close to the southern border, ready to react and deploy when we give the word. The hive’s drones will be further out, functioning as scouts and skirmishers, as well as preparing grounds for potential ambushes and to slow them down. Also, more of our forces are on the way. My contingent of Winged Drones is already doubled, and a small army of War Drones is on the march as well. One of our commanders is also preparing to face the enemy in battle. We hope we can arrange for that to happen on favorable grounds.”

His eyes narrowed and she saw him consider what she just said. “You will not attempt to suck them deeper into Nerlia before facing them on the field?”

“It’s a possibility,” Janis said. “We are preparing for several eventualities.” She shrugged. “Our forces are never in danger of routing, Milord, and we do not take as long arraying ourselves for battle. Even if they have an absolute advantage in mobility — which I am not certain is the case — we can slip away from them if needed, I am confident of it.”

He cocked his head and Janis saw his eyes widen after a moment. She hid a smile. It was one tactic they’d discussed, with Ben and the others: slowing the enemy army down by pretending to face them in a field battle, forcing them to spend time stopping and getting the army in order, then retreating without actually engaging them, except probably for some skirmishing, and doing the same again later. Rinse and repeat. Obviously, they’d wise up eventually, but the nice part was that the hive could always decide to actually turn it into a battle. Like if the enemy just stayed in a marching column. Combined with the advantage the Winged Drones gave them, and a few tricks of psychological warfare to top it off, they could probably bog down and bleed the enemy while suffering limited casualties even without reinforcements.

Well, that’s the hope, anyway, Janis reminded herself. Let’s not get too optimistic. No plan survives first contact and all that.

The effects of their ritual might also help their enemies to sort themselves out faster. Janis tapped her fingers against her leg at the thought of it. What she wouldn’t give to have seen that ritual! It was really frustrating that the Hive hadn’t gotten a closer look. She’d scoured the psychic link for impressions from the drones they’d had watching the army, but they’d been too far away and not alert enough, so she hadn’t gotten much. She definitely needed to talk to Galatea about it at the first opportunity, though. Hopefully they’d meet again soon. It was really a shame the AI wasn’t part of the psychic link.

"I don’t suppose you have any more information regarding the ritual they used?” she asked hopefully.

“Unfortunately not,” Whitor replied. “I expect Thaumaturge Zephyr was involved, he’s known to have cast rituals before, but aside from that, I haven’t the faintest idea.”

Janis nodded. “Well, then I suppose that’s all. We’re sending people to look at what remains of the enemy camp, which may yield some clue. In the meantime, we need to prepare to face its results.”

They discussed tactics and practical details for a few more minutes, although Whitor had to remain vague on several points, saying that he needed to consult with his commanders further. Janis herself just asked a drone through the psychic link when she needed to know something or get an opinion. They got a proper plan hammered out, though. Under normal circumstances, it would have been discussed in a war council, she suspected, but they were pressed for time and many of Whitor’s commanders weren’t present, since they’d hurried to get their men and defenses prepared.

As their conversation wound down, Whitor hesitated for a moment. “Do you intend to take the field yourself?” he finally asked.

Janis cocked an eyebrow. “I do, yes. In fact, I will be departing for a position closer to the fighting soon, although I’ll leave a senior drone behind to coordinate.”

She was still one of their best mages, definitely the best one in this area. She was needed. She also wanted to get some Experience, of course, but she honestly believed it would be best for the Hive this way. It wasn’t like she needed to stay in a command center to be useful as a leader. The Hive had proper lines of communication everywhere, with the psychic link.

Whitor seemed to accept her answer with equanimity, bidding her goodbye courteously. Janis didn’t linger, but left to get back to the hive’s current camp. She still had quite a few things to oversee, and she preferred to use her own eyes instead of just the psychic link for that.

She made sure the camp was taken down properly, the tunnels they had dug collapsed properly and the War Drones - those who still remained - were ready to march out. Even for Hivekind, that involved a lot of trudging back and forth shouting orders and giving directions to other people, and also took longer than she thought. Janis was exhausted by the time she felt everything was in order, and looking forward to catching some sleep in a tent or maybe taking advantage of Whitor’s hospitality.

She almost missed a small knot of order at the center of the camp, just past where the command tent had been. Two Winged Drone Mounts, Janis realized, being fitted for harnesses with saddles and the experimental armor the Hive was testing. It was only a few plates of metal, but enchanted to catch some hostile magic as well. They didn’t have a lot of that, since enchanting Class Skills or Spells were rare for even Attendants to get.

“This seems like something I should have known about in advance,” she commented.

“I took the liberty of making preparations, since you’ve been so busy,” Dan grinned as he stepped out from between the mounts.

Janis sighed and fixed him with a hard look. “And you’re going somewhere with this, I assume.”

“With you to the front, obviously,” he said cheerfully. “Wouldn’t be much use otherwise.”

Janis folded her arms and glared at him. “I don’t need a babysitter, Dan,” she said tightly. “If you think you need to come along just to keep an eye on me —“

“You’re a mage, Janis,” he interrupted. “You’re vulnerable in close-up fights. I can cover your back. And you can cover mine. You know I’m only good in melee.” He shook his head. “They’re going to attack us, we’re obvious targets. But this way, we can at least put up a solid team against whatever they throw at us.”

Janis gritted her teeth, then sighed. She still didn’t like that it seemed like getting her a bodyguard, but he was right. “Fine,” she said. “Get some sleep, Dan. You need it.”

He’d only just come back, after being sure their enemies’ first attacks had stopped. She could tell he was tired even without the psychic link.

“Aye, aye, ma’am.” He jerked his hand in a gesture that couldn’t quite decide which version of a salute to be but was definitely exaggerated, gave her another quick smile and then turned away.

Janis looked after him for a moment, then decided to take her own advice. She would not find much time for rest in the coming days, she suspected. She’d be fighting too much, trying to turn back or slow the enemy army. Marquis Lyns’ own army was too far away and not really the equal of it anyway, and the Hive couldn’t just abandon its push into Nerlia. That means it’s on us, Janis mused, and to her own surprise found herself smiling slightly as she headed to bed. It was promising to be an interesting challenge, anyway.