The Borrelly had brought the rest of the bomb team down to the surface: Kaiden, Zelda, Titus, Thorne, Dawson, and a few free wardens. Kaiden didn’t know them, but he focused on them to recall their names.
Eqokkhabone
Free Warden
Class: Shield Warden
Faction: Unaffiliated
Level: 55
Credwin
Free Warden
Class: Power Warden
Faction: Unaffiliated
Level: 53
AxeJacton
Free Warden
Class: Power Warden
Faction: Unaffiliated
Level: 60
Friends of Dawson, Kaiden recalled. And part of the much larger free warden force the former sergeant had raised to help them. They would form the core of the ground force, but these three had been singled out to stay with Dawson as personal guards to make sure Kaiden and everyone else could do what they’d come to do.
Kaiden activated the command module and looked forward to the reinforced gate of Warden HQ. Getting through that was the next step. Then to navigate the maze that was the base – fighting the whole while, no doubt – and get to the AFBS control room. Then broadcast the database to everyone, then bring down the Party and—
Kaiden stopped himself. None of that would be happening if they didn’t get through that gate.
One thing at a time, dude.
“Odditor,” he said through the command channel again. “We’re dug in down here. Ready for the gate busters.”
There was silence a long moment, then Whenstone’s voice came over comms.
“Afraid that’s not going to be possible—”
What?
“There’s too many of them up here. Far more resistance than we expected. The cruisers will never make it down there to take down the gate.”
“Shit.” Kaiden looked up toward the battle raging above. It was thoroughly impossible to tell how things were going, aside from violently.
“We need cruisers to blow open the gate and get us inside,” Kaiden said. “That was the plan.”
“We’re losing cruisers left and right. Most of those still with us have less than half their hull integrity remaining. Anything we send down there is going to be picked apart—”
Whenstone was cut off as something exploded on his end. A moment later he was back, sounding considerably more desperate than before.
“I’m sending all we can spare. They’re going to have to do.”
“Understood,” Kaiden said, feeling dread creep up inside of his chest.
He drew his focus to the ground troops around him. It looked like most of them were landed now. His earlier order to take cover had apparently reached the right ears. As he watched, the players and NPCs that made up the combined army were taking shelter wherever they could find it; in the various craters across Custos’ surface, the rubble of destroyed ships, or just huddling up behind the nearest shield warden or tank-class player. But they couldn’t stay there forever; they needed to break through the gate, needed to take the fight to the Corps inside.
Two large streaks of light broke from the fleet-on-fleet battle above – heavy cruisers, Kaiden knew from the size of their contrails. The gate busters, or what was left of them. They’d planned to have far more make the dangerous run to blow open the gate.
They made it all of halfway to the surface of the asteroid before a wing of Warden Corps corvettes intercepted them.
“No!” Kaiden shouted, but there was no stopping it. The cruisers took down a fair few of the attackers, but there were too many. They hadn’t planned to meet so much resistance. It wasn’t supposed to have been here. The first heavy cruiser exploded and the second went dark, losing power apparently and spinning off to one side. A few moments later it slammed into a smaller asteroid and spun away.
The gate... the gate has a health pool, just like everything else in Nova, right? Kaiden thought, desperately trying to piece something together. That means we can destroy it. With ships or with the ground forces. Whatever it takes.
Kaiden took a moment to swallow his own doubt. His fear that they’d come so far only to fail so early.
No. There’s no room for that. Not now.
“Odditor, Whenstone, whoever’s still alive up there, we need anything you can get down here to attack that gate. But if you can’t, we’re going to do it ourselves.”
There was no response and Kaiden didn’t have time to wait for one anyway.
We need to get inside as soon as possible.
“All right, everyone,” Kaiden said through the commander-only comm channel, his direct line to the ear of everyone fighting on their side. “We’re on the ground. Now the fun begins.” He stepped above the rim of the crater and gestured with his hammer, jutting it toward the reinforced gate three hundred or so yards away. “The Warden Corps thinks that little thing’s gonna keep us out. Let’s show them how wrong they are, yeah?” He shouted that last part – partly to convince himself and partly to convince everyone else. As he did, above the explosions of downed ships, the roaring of engines, and the endless screams of firing weaponry, he heard a general, if faint, cheer go up from his forces.
They’re ready for this. They want this fight.
He smiled to himself.
So let’s do it. Whatever it takes.
“Stage two, then, everyone. Let’s get that door open!” He gestured with his hammer again and the command module adapted, marking the gate as an area to focus fire – an order all of the troops in the force would see in their HUDs. As it appeared, the pockets of troops, huddled into cover all across the battlefield, burst into motion.
The gate towered in front of them like a boss at the end of some epic quest. Its health bar was the largest
