mDuo13's Lair

I called out to him. "John? Are you there!"

A pained moan returned. "Yeah, I'm here. I guess I don't make a very good soldier, do I?"

"You make a great soldier, John. Now just hold on while we get you out of there." We shoved the N'rith'k away from the machina and the group dispatched them swiftly. I was lucky to have picked such a skilled group to help me. Everywhere else, our soldiers were trading with the N'rith'k on a very uneven basis. Only the trebuchets and ballistae seemed to be keeping us from being overwhelmed.

I finally caught sight of John under the tattered folds of the Aernavis' wings. He was still strapped in, and it looked like the machine's weight had landed on his left leg. If it wasn't broken, it would still be sore for a while. John Mackenzie probably wouldn't be flying the Aernavis again.

It took four of us to lift the Aernavis from its side, while the others held back the N'rith'k. I tried not to wince at the pained yells coming from behind me, as more and more N'rith'k turned and came backwards to attack us. Finally, we had John unstrapped and loaded into the stretcher. Then I stopped suddenly.

"How are we going to get the Aernavis back?" Vickie asked out loud.

At that moment, I had just realized: "I don't know."

I looked back. The mob of N'rith'k and soldiers was impassable, especially with a huge, heavy machina like the Aernavis in tow. Even if we could fight our way back through the N'rith'k, its wheels would not get it across the bodies strewn on the ground. I looked around at the choices we had. We could either go directly away from the city, or we could make a wide arc around the battlefield, until we came to the river. I did not know if the Aernavis would float. Or, we could just leave it to be destroyed, but I had already lost enough men and women that it would not justify this rescue if we did not bring back the Aernavis.

I made my decision: "Take it toward the river! We'll see if we can get it on a barge, or something. It'll at least be safer in the harbor than out here!" All those who remained (and weren't carrying the wounded) started pushing the Aernavis. It rolled unsteadily; it hadn't been built for uneven ground like the clumps of grass we had to push it across. A few times, it almost tipped over, but we made progress, slow and steady. The harbor just outside the north edge of the city drew nearer, bit by bit. We suffered little enough interruption by N'rith'k marauders, and after a long, tough trip, we were at the harbor.

"John, are you still ok? We're here."

"I see that," he mumbled.

"Now, how are we going to get this thing back into the city?" I grumbled to myself "Unless we leave it here..."

"It... floats," John added.

"It floats?" I asked, astonished.

"Yeah. All the beams are watersealed. And the wings ought to hold it up." Then he suddenly spouted a sharp shout of pain at the medic, who was looking at his leg.

"Sorry," she said quickly.

Ignoring her, I continued my train of thought out loud. "If it floats, then we can send it through the waterway gate to the Inner Dock." The Inner Dock was a small set of docks on the inside of the city, used primarily for the transport of royal ships. If we could get the Aernavis there, it could be safely returned to the Academia and repaired. There was only one problem: the gates were shut.

"I'll be right back," I said to the group. "Stay safe until I return." I dashed off in the direction of the city, with nothing but dock paths between it and me. I saw the edge of the battlefield, thinner on this side. A thin line of N'rith'k was engaged with a somewhat thinner line of our soldiers. I came up on it, swinging my sword with two hands. The N'rith'k I hit first was startled; it hadn't seen me coming. It whirled around, splashing saliva at my face, and brought its formiddable claws into battle.

As I drew up my sword again to deflect them, I heard a voice shout my name out in amazement: "General Kelf!"

I looked over to see who it was: just a soldier who recognized me and was probably wondering what I was doing out here. I tried to reply to him, but my command became a shout of pain as the N'rith'k I was fighting reopened the wound in my arm with a harsh swiping claw. I kicked him back and thrust at him with my sword. The blow which should have pierced his abdomen instead just slit his side, because my arm was too weak to aim. The soldier knocked him back, and I rushed past him, thanking him along the way. I did not stop to help him or fight back, because I needed to get help to the Aernavis, John Mackenzie, and the rest of the group. Even now I wonder if that soldier survived, and if I could have helped him if my priorities had been different.