Invasion from the Appleverse

10. Set Her Down

Henri was enraged.

Nothing new there, then!

The Oranges were massing over the border and it was his responsibility to bring his 2000 fighting fruits and veg to join the Army of the Apple. 

They had loaded up into flyers right enough but there had been delays when Henri stopped to discipline an insolent pear - now they were running late and Henri, resplendent in his Baronial military garb, was getting more and more anxious.

'Igor, if we don't set down and get our muster their allocated places soon, I shall be late for the meeting of the general staff!'

'Calm yourself Sir, we're going to do another flyover and find a spot to land our carriers.'

'Yes, but it will be too late!' seethed Henri. 'All the best spots are taken and if we have to walk back from the edges of camp, I won't get there in time and if I don't stake my claim in the strategists tent, we'll be relegated to the reserve and have no say in our position on the field of battle!'

'I know Master,' said Igor helplessly, but what can we do?'

'I'll flay the skin off of the pilots unless ... WAIT! Look, down there, within walking distance of the Command Pavillion!'

'I don't see ... oh ... but there are people down there Master.'

Henri glowered. 'Worthless peasants by the look of them. Damn mangos and some feeble corn stalks. Why, they're not even fighting men Igor!'

'Hangers on perhaps Sire. The non combatants that are kept around to hold the horses and fetch the wounded back.'

'Bah! Horses can be tied and what use are wounded if they can't fight the orange hordes anymore! Set her down!'

Igor turned to the Captain. 'Give orders. Our seven troop flyers shall land on that spot.'

'Roger that. Relaying the command!'

***

It was a most peculiar landing indeed - one that cost a hundred screaming fruit their lives as they were flattened beneath the metal bulks of Henri's small fleet, but on the bright side, the evil apple with a goatee made it to the command meeting in good time and was able to secure favourable conditions for his men and a good position for the morrow.

Orange juice would flow freely ...soaking the grass beneath their boots ...almost as much as that seeping from beneath his flyers. Tomorrow the pulp and the rind would make the ground slippery with the corpses of Orangemen and Henri deemed this to be good.