Ironically, it was a lesson Galatea had given her about physics that came to Janis’ mind right now. Heat is nothing but motion, she had said. And any types of energy we talk about are essentially illusions. You could argue everything is ‘potential energy’. And motion, she’d been taught, could be force equals mass times acceleration, while kinetic energy is one-half times mass times acceleration squared … a nice set of formulas, complete in itself, and apparently only true if you didn’t peer too closely at the particles making up all the world. For once, Janis wasn’t concerned with the details of it, she just appreciated the poetry of it.

What she should be concerned about right now was that if you had two objects traveling at distinct velocities in the same direction along intersecting paths, then the object with the higher velocity would eventually catch up to the slower one. The enemy they were retreating from was certainly still traveling at a higher speed, while the Hive’s forces had attained a steady velocity they would not be able to increase very much for more than a very short time. It was trivial to calculate where the two would meet if nothing changed, even if she could only guesstimate the enemy’s speed.

At least she hoped that any other magical effects would not mess up those trajectories. Janis had been honing her magical senses and trying to trace the difference in the mana around them. It was difficult, even if she thought she’d found the crux of it. It wasn’t a very big change, if so, but any damage would probably accumulate if Madris’ and Galatea’s suspicions were right. And even if she hadn’t been able to sense it herself, having those two in agreement on the topic should be enough reason for concern for anyone.

“Has your second spirit reached the edge of the affected area yet?” Janis asked, turning to Galatea.

The mana-form was floating beside her, an indication that most of her focus was taken up by other matters and she didn’t bother to simulate normal human locomotion. “Not quite,” she responded without turning to look at Janis.

“And you still don’t think that the area is moving with the casters?” she asked again to be sure.

Galatea sighed softly and turned her head. “Probably not, but as I said, I wouldn’t bet on it. Aren’t you using Hive drones to try and map it out, anyway?”

Janis nodded. She had asked the others to do that, but the area of effect didn’t have clearly delineated borders and it wasn’t easy to chart it out precisely. Still, it should be close enough for them to work with.

She looked over her swarm of drones again, once more feeling the lack of the psychic link which would have let her see them from multiple angles and positions. With just her own eyes, things looked to be going okay, though. The other sapient drones had managed to instill some kind of order, and the Swarm Drones were still content to march along with their fellows under their direction. She wasn’t sure how well this would hold up in combat, or if the drones might even start to ignore orders in the heat of battle, but she had a feeling she wouldn’t be able to avoid finding out all too soon.

Janis turned away and let her gaze sweep over the marching army, looking for the other figures that would stand out. Whitor and his remaining men had gathered in a knot at the front, clearly at least as uneasy and shaken as the drones, even if they hadn’t lost any ability to communicate with their fellows. Well, except for what the Hive had provided, she supposed. They’d been able to at least ask Hive members what was going on in the north of the county, how the Esemen advance was proceeding. She wondered if any of them had family there, before she dismissed the thoughts. There was nothing she could do, anyway.

And then there was Madris. The dark elf psychic seemed to bear everything with calm grace, a composure that was almost definitely a learned mask. From what she’d said and the way she acted, Janis was fairly sure that she was affected by this disruption effect, if perhaps not as strongly as the Hive’s drones. It was a bit of a relief, actually, although Janis had decided not to worry too much about Madris reading her thoughts without her knowledge, it would only drive her mad.

Still, having her full power available would have been useful. They’d have to make do with what she could do under the effect of the suppression. Which should still be enough. Janis didn’t know whether or not she was more powerful than Regina, but she was definitely a much more experienced and skilled psychic, and that had to count for something.

They were coming up on the area she had picked out now, and Janis had to stop herself from fidgeting. She’d already almost worn the edge of her shirt’s sleeve away. It’s going to work out, she told herself, then glanced at Galatea.

The ancient AI was literally centuries old, had knowledge from before the Cataclysm and was probably the most powerful mage she’d ever met, but she seemed content to follow her lead. Her presence was still comforting, although Janis wouldn’t admit that out loud. And her skills with magic would be badly needed.

“Did you sense anything else? Any red flags?” she asked.

Galatea smiled briefly. “No, Janis. I don’t think so. They’re keeping pace.”

Janis nodded, then turned and met Dan’s eyes, before she inclined her head in the direction the Hive’s reinforcements would be waiting in. Even without the psychic link, they didn’t need it to understand each other. She’d spent enough time with Dan to be confident he’d do his job well, without her having to look over his shoulder.

“We should send another message to the hive,” Galatea said.

Janis nodded. “Will you take care of it?”

She could send another Winged Drone, but Galatea should be able to pass the message more quickly. Besides, Janis wanted every sapient drone here, if possible, and even her stronger Swarm Drones would all be needed. Their flying drones were the one advantage they still had, even if they wouldn’t be as effective without the psychic link’s coordination.

With that handled, Janis turned again and took another step towards the horde of Swarm Drones following her directions. She paused for a moment to make sure she had captured their attention, then raised her hand. “Form up!” she shouted. “Prepare yourselves!”

The next few minutes were a whirlwind of activity, and Janis once more almost shouting herself hoarse. Luckily, the other sapient drones had organized themselves pretty well at this point and could take most of the work, but she was still ultimately in charge and had to make sure everything was carried out properly, and that she didn’t suddenly have holes in her formation because someone misunderstood an order.

It was certainly giving her a new appreciation for the difficulty and time it took for a conventional army to form up for battle. And that was probably still more demanding than what they were doing with Swarm Drones right now.

In the end, she had something reasonably approximating a military formation, though. Janis saw no need to stick with what was known in Cernlian culture when she had other knowledge to draw on. It was a bit of a mix in the end, using clearly delineated units - though they’d had to do a bit of wrangling to get those - with spacing between their formations, ready to form into a line of battle and to switch out with other units if necessary. It would work much better with the psychic link, but this would have to do. Usually she’d try to train the Swarm Drones to respond to set commands like whistles, but they hadn’t had much time for that.

Sapient drones were spread out, behind the actual front lines to protect them, ready to both use their own Skills and more importantly give orders to the Swarm Drones. Some of them were riding flying drones, who had also been formed into small flocks arranged in larger cohorts and were ready to fight. Their usual tactics of harrying the enemy and dropping explosives, or just anything else if they were running low, would be pretty much unchanged. Janis had also learned Galatea’s trick to help her voice carry further. It was rough and not very mana-efficient, but it would do well enough and help her direct the battle.

Once it was finally done, Dan headed to join her and Janis looked around once more, assessing their position. She wasn’t able to see the landscape from above right now, but she remembered when she had. They were on top of a low rise, with one side of their army guarded by a brook. It wasn’t large enough to really stop soldiers moving across it if they wanted to, but it would at least slow them down and disrupt their formations, so that would help to protect their flank. Besides, she’d bet on her drones over human soldiers for fighting In those conditions. Having six limbs helped a lot with rough terrain.

“Can you give us a brief scrying window?” she asked Galatea.

The AI nodded and opened another window in the air showing the Cernlian and Nerlian forces. She panned across it quickly, giving Janis just enough time to take in their arrangements. They’d clearly realized that the Hive had come to a stop and were preparing for battle as well. It meant they were catching up, but they were now slowing down as their column turned into a proper front for a field battle. They’d probably take position on the hill opposite, at least to finalize their formations.

“I wish we’d had time to mine those positions,” Dan muttered.

Janis shrugged. “It wouldn’t be worth the risk right now,” she said. “Besides, I’d rather have them where I know their location.”

The Nerlians were clearly intent on giving battle. It made sense, they weren’t going to catch the Hive in conditions like this again, with their link disabled; this was the whole point, presumably. Janis frowned as she watched them assemble on the opposing hillside. There was no scrying needed to see it from here.

“If we want to go with your idea, we should get started now,” Galatea suggested.

Janis nodded. “Yes, you’re right. Take care, Galatea.”

The mana-form smiled. “You should be careful, too, Janis, but I will.” Then she turned and glided away for a few steps, before she started to move much more quickly.

Meanwhile, Dan whistled for a flying drone and directed it to set down nearby, before he took it to Madris. Janis watched them for a moment, seeing the dark elf exchange a few words with Dan before she climbed on. She paused for a moment and then gave a nod, and Dan patted the Winged Drone Mount’s shoulder before it leaped into the air and started to ascend. It was one of their highest-level drones of this Class and smart enough to understand that it should take orders from the rider they’d assigned it, but Janis still couldn’t help but worry a little. They’d never had someone outside the Hive ride a drone while the psychic link wasn’t available. Still, Madris could take care of herself, and the mobility advantage was too great to pass up.

The coming battle quickly demanded Janis’ attention again, and she pushed other worries out of her mind. She had her own part to play, not just in any magic that needed to be cast, but as the commander of this army. If they failed … well, if they failed, she was kind of banking on Leianaleine or even the other gods intervening to stabilize the area or its mana before it could destroy everyone in some great corrupted conflagration, in the worst case. Assuming they just had to fight without the benefit of the psychic link, which was a likely scenario, her battle plan needed to work.

First, she had to wait for what felt like hours, the time dragging on as she fidgeted with the need to do something. Janis had taken position at the front of the army, where she was visible and would be available if their enemies wanted to call for a parley. They didn’t seem interested, though. When they’d finally arranged their ranks to their satisfaction, horns and drums sounded and they simply started to advance.

The Hive’s ranks held steady, neither advancing to meet them nor wavering in the face of what was coming. The drones simply stood waiting. Janis had instructed her officers to prepare to counter-charge to bleed off momentum if the Nerlians and Cernlians went with that, but they didn’t even break into a run.

Magic and skills filled the air before the ranks met. More of the latter than the former, Janis noted as she analyzed the human army’s attacks, trying to ignore the sounds of death and destruction. She was already retreating backward and to the side, accompanied by Dan, as drones opened and closed ranks around her, so she wouldn’t meet them in the front lines. Clearly, they’re avoiding magic … because their mages are tapped out after casting the ritual or because of the effects on ambient mana? she wondered. Either way, I just hope it’s a good thing.

She put two fingers into her mouth and whistled, listening as the signal was repeated. The first wave of Swarm Drones descended and unloaded their payload above the enemy ranks just before the armies clashed.

It worked, for what it was worth. She could see the ranks faltering, if only a little. The drones around her surged forward and Janis took another step back, craning her neck to watch. The number of drones in the air had dropped sharply, and she could see many of her flying drones had paid for this attack. Magical or System-based attacks and projectiles rained into the air as the Nerlians responded.

Janis shook her head and turned. The sapient commanders in the air would continue with bombardments and attacks of opportunity autonomously according to her orders. Instead, she looked at Dan and the drones she’d stationed as runners beforehand. “Thin the lines at the sides and broaden our front,” she ordered.

Dan nodded and started passing the message, making sure it was carried on properly. She was glad the enemy didn’t have cavalry in any meaningful numbers; that would have made things harder. Her own flying drones should be able to fill the gap pretty well.

While the battle unfolded, largely according to the plan she’d made before, Janis retreated a little further to the back of their lines and to the highest point they’d found on the hillside.

She took a deep breath, rolling her shoulders and clenching and unclenching her muscles in an exercise Galatea had mentioned a while ago. Janis wanted to try to contact the others, but she knew it would be a waste of time and resources. Not to mention casting magic here right now might be problematic. So, she simply waited and let the battle continue for a short time. She glanced at the others and nodded

Then Janis reached out once again, already bracing herself for the headache of trying to use the psychic link. This time, that wasn’t quite what she did, however. Instead, Janis focused on her mana sense and everything connected to it, as well as the part of her mind that let her connect to the Hive’s shared consciousnesses. She’d been quietly marking it out in the back of her mind pretty much since this disruption field appeared. It was like suddenly having a block of ice dropped in the middle of your bedroom, you couldn’t not notice the temperature changes. Or if you were on a sheet of fabric hanging in the air, to use Madris’ metaphor, where just standing there you’d be able to feel the gradient of gravity pulling down.

Janis reached out, pulled … and pushed. She focused her mind on it and struck at the barrier holding her back from her new home, from her friends and adopted family. She drew on her magic. She might not have a talent for the psychic arts, but the connection to the Hive made up for that. Now she called on the full strength of it.

Janis stumbled to the ground and bit her tongue on a scream as blinding pain erupted in her head. She groaned and tried to focus past it, letting it fade into the background of her awareness. Distantly, she was aware of others doing the same, like other sources of heat trying to burn away the coldness of the barrier further away. Their combined efforts struck against it, slid off and failed …

And then Madris and Galatea doubled down on it, Regina shoved so much power at it Janis could almost feel it from here, and it started to buckle. Madris ripped away at the fabric and somehow seemed to reach out to stabilize the rest of them. Then the ambient mana twisted on itself and Janis felt it finally rip away.

Janis fell to the ground, screaming hoarsely, as magic or pain, she couldn’t tell the difference, rampaged through her head and the rest of her body.