to hear a Chaktaw speaking his language, albeit in a rough fashion. The Chaktaw-or Vikings-he had fought at Five Armies used translation devices to communicate.
'You speak my tongue? Now this is interesting.'
'Yes. Some us learn you words so we can order you around when you defeated.'
Nina pulled one of her twin pistols and put it to the creature’s head.
Trevor held his hand up to stop her. 'No. No. Wait a moment. This is very fortunate.'
'I didn’t think you liked prisoners,' Forest said and appeared eager to do the dirty work.
'Oh, I live and learn, sweetheart. I’m sure our friend here-our buddy who can speak our language-I’m sure he would be happy to tell us about their main base, wouldn’t you?'
Nina holstered her gun and said, 'We have people, I mean, the old Trevor…he sometimes had people interrogate prisoners. I’m sure they’d be happy to do it again.'
'Good. Take our friend back to Thebes and discuss the matter with him. See if you can find out who beat us to the punch here, too.'
As the soldiers dragged the prisoner away, the Chaktaw said, 'Fromm will destroy your city! He is coming for you. He is coming!'
'Did you say, Fromm?' Trevor stopped them. 'Force Commander Fromm? I remember that son of a bitch.'
Fromm had been the name of the Viking commander at Five Armies; the one Trevor had killed then held his body toward the heavens to announce humanity’s resurgence.
'He will destroy you.'
'I’ll tell you what, buddy, what’s that tradition of yours? Oh yeah, if you tell me where your main base is, I’ll allow your people to surrender and die peacefully. How’s that?'
The Chaktaw did not reply, but the look in its eyes suggested surprise at Trevor’s knowledge of its customs as well as indignation at the idea his people could ever be defeated.
'Take this thing away,' Major Forest ordered. 'Turn it over to Intel.'
Trevor watched them go and said, 'I think I’m starting to like this. This is almost fun.'
– According to Major Forest, the 'old' Trevor placed an emphasis on decoding the languages of the enemy factions. This resulted in a certain number of translators capable of understanding-to some degree-enemy conversations and transmissions as well as providing for the vigorous interrogation of prisoners.
As a result, Nina’s people knew that the three-legged duck-billed aliens Trevor called 'Plats' or 'Platypuses' actually went by the name 'Duass.' And as they had discussed when planning the spring offensive, those aliens had established a colony along the coast of a lake Trevor named 'Erie'; the name it held on his Earth.
Trevor did not know if the town the Duass occupied was of their creation or had existed prior to the invasion, but from aerial reconnaissance photos he saw more conventional buildings-not sprouting from mountains or built into cliffs-made from a variety of materials and surrounded by a network of cobblestone streets.
A few weeks ago white snow covered those streets and the huge lake sported a sheen of ice. However, a rise in temperatures eroded both, leaving puddles on the streets, and the countryside a shade of soft muddy brown.
Based on his experiences back home, Trevor did not expect the Duass infantry to pose a challenge but he respected the capabilities of their War Skiffs. The vehicles resembled wooden, motorized boats on wheels with an energy-firing deck gun capable of melting through the toughest armor.
To take the town, Trevor marched west with a small, mobile force that he split into three groups totaling two hundred soldiers.
Major Forest commanded Combat Group One with three squads tasked to draw the garrison out and to the north. The land along the banks of the lake in that area was covered in forest and brush which would help hide her numbers and limit the Duass’ War Skiffs.
Combat Group Three included five more squads, some fast-moving armored vehicles, and five Skippers under the control of General Gronard to act as a reserve.
Trevor decided he wanted to conserve aviation fuel and air-to-surface missiles for an all-out assault on the Chaktaw main base once located. Therefore, the Skippers should remain grounded except as a last resort.
Combat Group Two, under Trevor's command, would lead the main assault with eighty men once Nina created a diversion to the north, which began on a warm but overcast March morning with her order, 'Mortar teams, open up.'
Explosive shells lofted from their positions inside an evergreen forest then crashed down on the outskirts of the town Trevor had designated 'Erie Coast.' The first volley crashed into a short perimeter wall constructed of a plaster-like, tan material that existed more for style than defense and easily shattered.
More shells hit a yard area as the shots walked closer to and then struck a two-story rectangular house made of the same material as the wall and topped with a terracotta-like roof that splintered and collapsed on impact.
A gaggle of unarmed Duass ran-or, rather, wobbled on three legs-from the structure and an alarm sounded across the villa.
– Trevor and his squad commanders remained hidden on the far side of a ridge to the east of Erie Coast. The returned Emperor lay on his belly and surveyed the town through a telescope-like device. A distant thump-thump… thump-thump drifted to his ears from Nina's bombardment.
Built on a well-planned grid, the Duass town-more like a villa-stretched a good mile and a half north to south along the shore and another half mile inland. Four north-south streets served as primary thoroughfares. Additional connecting streets and alleys made moving from one end of town to the other easy.
Along the lake stood a series of docks with bubble boathouses. The Duass maintained a small fleet of rectangular fishing vessels with most in port when the attack began.
Trevor consulted an aerial photograph and then looked to the center of town. There he saw a four-story building with battlements and guard towers holding heavy gun emplacements. Bordering this citadel were what reconnaissance suggested to be a barracks and the Duass’ version of a motor pool.
Check points covered the main approaches to the town and he spied a few Skiffs parked on the streets. As Nina's bombardment continued, more of the war vehicles appeared as did soldiers, all moving toward the northern perimeter.
'Good, good,' Trevor mumbled to his officers.
The man at his side, Captain Pickering, said, 'They’re taking the bait.'
Trevor counted more than one hundred enemy fighters and a dozen War Skiffs through his spyglass.
'Too bad for them.'
– A War Skiff rolled past a collapsed building on the northern side of town. Its big, thick wooden wheels clunked and scraped as they rumbled through the debris of the destroyed house. Duass infantry fanned out to its flanks in preparation for a counter-assault.
'Rocket teams! Forward!' Nina Forest ordered.
Two teams of two men hustled to the front of the woods with bazooka-like launchers.
Plasma spat from the gun on the War Skiff's deck. The stream of energy hit the tree tops above the attacking humans. Several big limbs fell and crushed two soldiers.
Cries of 'help' and 'medic’ were drown out by swooshing rockets as the anti-armor projectiles raced toward the target. The missiles hit, but at maximum range. They scratched, even splintered, the outer hull but it remained in action.
Major Forest commanded, 'Damn it! Fire! Open Fire!'
Three more War Skiffs appeared from the city. Those wheeled vehicles joined the first and served as shields for three dozen enemy infantry creeping toward the human lines. At the same time, Nina saw more Duass soldiers attempting to flank her position.
– Trevor’s force faced a handful of infantry on the east side and one War Skiff blocking the primary entrance, but the perimeter wall was low enough to jump easily.
He purposely held his short-ranged artillery in check to conceal the strength of his assault. Instead, his troops moved forward with four attack buggies leading the way followed by two transports with one squad each and the rest following on foot.
The War Skiff saw them coming over the ridge. It fired and blasted the buggy next to Stone’s. It flipped and
