wanted was destroyed. As they approached the building it became clear that the facility was in total ruin. Many fires were still blazing within and there was no way to get inside to investigate further. It certainly appeared that the bomb had done the job adequately.
The Horva continued to lay down heavy firepower as they approached the cloning facility. Tiet and Wynn ran back toward the magnetic rail and took cover behind the safety wall as the Horva strafed the area with pulse laser fire. They were now within four hundred yards of the rail and many of the ground forces split away toward the cloning facility to attempt to rescue any of their forces who might have survived the devastating explosion.
The safety wall was crumbling around them. There seemed to be nowhere to go. Tiet ran to the nearest of the giant magnetic rings and used his blade to make multiple cuts to the support as it rose above the safety wall.
Wynn discerned his intent and sliced away at the support for the same ring on the opposite side of the rail. As the supports gave way, they both combined their mental power to support the ring and then quickly sent it up into the air in a great arc toward the forces approaching their position.
Seeing the approaching section of the ring, most of the ground forces stopped firing as they attempted to scatter. The huge section of metal came crashing down into their frontline and smashed many of the warriors as it tumbled through their ranks. Some of the war machines caught in the path of the ring were crushed and burst into flame.
RANUL continued the scans of the planet surface, trying to close in on the disturbance the computer had picked up. The sensors concentrated on one city in particular. The database identified the city as Baeth Periege There was a very intense battle being waged from within and without the city perimeter.
'Helmsman, get us to that city immediately,' he ordered.
Estall signaled for two of the other cruisers to follow them to the surface while the rest remained in orbit. The large Vorn warships began their descent through the atmosphere with shields at maximum for reentry. The sheering forces of the atmosphere beat upon the vessels but did not harm them.
As the three large battle cruisers came closer to Baeth Periege, Ranul was able to pull up a more detailed visual: several Vorn ships were leaving the city and heading away for open space as the battle raged on.
Ranul tried to locate the beacon from the Saberhawk, but was unable to locate it anywhere in the vicinity. He did however notice an old Barudii ship climbing through the atmosphere, but it was of the smaller strider class of vessel. They needed to get to the city soon; hopefully his friends could be found safe.
WYNN and Tiet stayed pinned down in the trench of the magnetic rail. The Horva had regrouped and were laying down more pulse fire against their position. Large blasts from the war machines were closing in on them. They looked at one another, trying to figure out what to do next. 'The tunnel!' shouted Wynn over the explosions going off around them.
Tiet got up and followed the elder man toward the magnetic rail tunnel they had emerged from earlier. The explosions continued all around them as the Horva persistently moved in on their position.
The tunnel was nearly eight hundred yards away from them and the enemy was tearing into the rail trench with everything they had. Pulse laser fire was shredding the safety wall all around them as they ran. They shielded themselves mentally at different intervals as large chunks of concrete and metal flew at them.
Suddenly, large beams of energy shot overhead from another direction, but the shots weren't aimed at them. They stopped a moment as the firepower coming down on them halted. As they surveyed the scene, they could see several large Vorn battle cruisers coming in over the city from the southeast. The cruisers were firing upon the Horva army.
The Horva tried to return fire but it was useless against the shields on the cruisers. After several heavy volleys of laser fire, the Horva began to retreat away from the approaching warships. Many of the Horva began to scatter into the wasteland beyond the city perimeter, while the greater majority either retreated into the tunnel of the magnetic rail or stood their ground and died.
Wynn and Tiet watched as their own escape route was being used by those trying to kill them only minutes before. They were still hunkered down in the rail trench below a section of the crumbling safety wall approximately four hundred yards from the escaping Horva going into the tunnel. They didn't dare run from their position for fear the Vorn cruisers might pick them off with large pulse cannons.
From the shuttle bay of the lead ship, they noticed a large troop carrier coming down very near their position. They remained where they were as it landed, not having anywhere else to go. To their surprise, when the back of the transport lowered and the people inside came out it wasn't Vorn military but Castillians.
The warriors filed out of the transport and took up a defensive stance around the ship. Behind them came Ranul. Tiet jumped out of the trench when he recognized them. Wynn followed behind him. The warriors took aim on him until Ranul called his name and came out of the formation to meet them.
'Tiet! Where are the others?' asked Ranul over the sound of the cruiser's cannons, still firing on the retreating Horva.
Tiet's face gave away the news before his voice did. 'Dead!'
Ranul was shocked by the news, but he hesitated only a moment; a battle was still raging around them. They entered the transport and took seats near the cockpit. The Aolene warriors filed back into the transport and took their positions inside. The ramp lifted as the pilot brought the ship off the landing platform and headed back to the Vorn cruiser.
Tiet could hear Wynn and Ranul speaking with each other, but he wasn't really paying attention to them. He felt safe again as they climbed skyward toward the waiting cruiser still blasting away at the Horva.
The tension of the fight began to be relieved somewhat, but with it came a flood of suppressed emotions. He began to weep bitterly as he pressed his head against the bulkhead. Ranul and Wynn left off their conversation with one another, but did not engage Tiet.
The Vorn cruiser received the transport and continued to clear the city of Horva combatants. They fled into the rail tunnel in droves while others continued into the wasteland on foot or in damaged war machines. They were pursued no further than the limits of the city.
A lone and injured figure watched as the Horva army retreated under heavy fire from the battle cruisers. He wondered where they had come from. All of those large ships were thought to have been destroyed by the Barudii sphere. The battle at Baeth Periege had taken a turn unexpected.
He wasn't sure how the cloning facility had been destroyed. The last thing Grod remembered was going to sleep in the cloning pod. He awoke to utter devastation, and all of his men in the cloning pods with him, were dead. Malec and the scientist Varen were also dead.
Grod could see his army was on the run without him. This battle was lost. But at least he was alive.
He spotted a personal transport vehicle near a section of debris and confiscated it. Firing up the engine, Grod climbed onto it and bolted away from the smoldering wreckage of the cloning facility toward the open wasteland beyond.
ONCE he was clear of the atmosphere, Kale scanned the space of sector 773. He quickly found the signal he was looking for. He plotted the course into the navigation computer and activated the auto pilot. The strider took off for the preset coordinates at three quarters of its maximum speed. His thoughts were returning to the surface and his fight with Orin.
He had thought the man dead for so many years now; the man who had come between him and his own father. Now he was sure that Orin was dead. But it was not at all satisfying to him. He even felt some regret.
He had not had such feelings since he saw the body of his father lying dead on the battle field near Mt. Vaseer. The betrayal of his own people, though they had rejected him, had not been as satisfying as predicted either.
He had wept over his father and mother and brother on more than one occasion, secretly. His years among the Vorn military had not been able to erase the memories he had of better times before the incident that changed everything for him.
Regret once again tried to settle upon his mind and once again he fought to push it away. After all, what was done was done. He had chosen his path and things could never be what they were again. As for Orin, he had initiated the attack on the landing platform. Kale had only been defending himself. There was nothing he could do
