The Red Frontier: Wrath of the Vanquished

Chapter 38: Reclamation

The Graxir surged with alarm as the first sniper shot rained down from the ruined building, a bright burst of light that turned dutiful pride into wretched, seething agony as the Xan-Klar soldier's body was blasted open. Lothrak jolted in shock, then gritted his teeth as he felt his kindred's anguish. And, as more shots began to rain down from that distant structure, Lothrak felt emotion rush through his body, from his tail to his horns.

Alarm. Anger. Rage. And then courage. Sudden, blind courage.

"Protect our charge at all costs!" Qolvar's voice echoed through the Wardens; communication systems, booming over the sounds of gunfire. "Knights, forward!"

The elder knight vaulted the diplomatic procession in a single jet-enhanced leap and landed in front of the Xan-Klar troops. There, he raised the shield on his left arm, looking to protect Lady Taneera. In the tail of his three eyes, Lothrak saw Kathonir do the same, and so he followed suit. Gripping his armour's thrust controls as he had done in countless simulations, Lothrak pushed forward with legs and felt his innards lurch upwards as he jumped fifty feet forward and landed with a heavy thud beside his fellow Fireheart Wardens.

Looking up, Lothrak saw the flashing beams of light pouring towards the envoy from the top of the building. Lifting his shield as Qolvar and Kathonir did, he heard the hissing and crackling of lasers boring into the slab metal tied to his left forearm. Peering over the top, Lothrak saw the building, and with a flick of his right eye, he commanded his HUD to zoom in.

As it did so, Lothrak saw them. Sirthon, carrying stolen blast-sniper rifles, hunkered down in the empty windows at the summit of the half-finished construction project. A deep desire to rip flesh from bone thrummed inside his soul, but he dared not break formation. They still had to protect Lady Taneera after all.

But the distance between the building and the knights was enormous. How were they supposed to attack from this range?

Uncertainty welling inside him, Lothrak turned his head towards Qolvar and Kathonir, their relentless confidence and unwavering determination burning like beacons in the heart of their armour.

"Arm rocket pods!" Qolvar barked. On the exoskeletal plate surrounding his body, the elder knight's shoulder-mounted multi-launch systems shifted into position. Adhering to his commander's orders while shots continued to ping uselessly against his armour, Lothrak turned his gaze back to his HUD. With his middle eye, he looked at an icon, and the retinal control system confirmed his selection. A thud pulsed through his back, and he heard a clunking noise followed by a voice.

'Missile launcher systems armed,' a synthetic and monotone voice stated, and was quickly followed by a command from Qolvar.

A command of "Paint targets!"

Lothrak immediately looked back up at the building, his middle eye selecting to point targets while his right eye scanned the building ahead. As he did so, the Sirthon snipers were marked with glowing crosshairs that tracked their movements, even through walls. There were ten of them, and they were attempting to flee from their vantage points.

But they could not flee from what was about to come...

"Fire!" Qolvar bellowed. In that instant, a barrage of swarming rockets hurtled from the Knight's rocket launches, speeding through the air amidst trails of smoke and smashing against the top of the construction site. As they did so, blazing clouds of white-hot fire burst outwards through the windows, turning stone to ash as the resonating boom of several explosions rocked the air like a thunderstorm.

Raskota incendiary missiles. White phosphorus explosives perfect for burning opponents out of cover.

Sudden, brief panic lurched in Lothrak's heart as a thought of the building collapsing flashed through his brain. But, as he saw that only the top of the building was hit, and remembered that the shockwave from Raskotas was comparatively low, his mind swelled with relief.