The Regent eyed the gathering forces as they marched into the massive structure. He could see their eyes yearning to get back out to where their friends were dying as the fighting seemed intensify for bit.
Friends that were buying the few precious moments of time they had left with their lives.
Friends dying because they knew no higher cause, because they had nothing left..
Because I ordered them too.
Leantre's aging eyes seemed to harden on that fact. A hardening born of experience.
Sentimentalism had no place in war.
Not if the goal was to come out alive in the end.
But was mere survival worth it?
"Sir, two squadrons of X-wings reported enemy reinforcements gathering!" The man turned from his comm station.
There is going to be another push." he stated flatly.
But Leantre only grunted.
"That would be the last of them. They have been gathering reserves while their advances pressed our defenses. Softening us up. And our fall back is just the signal they need to tell them that we are ready to crumble."
Leantre's advisor turned to him, his eyes darkening. "We ARE ready to crumble."
"Then let's take as many of them down with us as we can .. as we crumble!" Leantre snapped back.
The seventy year old man stood up and walked to the platform that overlooked an empty construction berth, many soldiers getting organized down below. Almost like ants milling around.
It should be Gomorran giving this speech..
"Soldiers!" he started, his voice being carried over the public address unit he had in his hand, his emotion coming out harshly as his throat was parched.
The milling stopped.
"The enemy has received more reinforcements and they will begin another push within the hour. Already, the enemy advance is pulling away to regroup."
There was chatter down below as the news sank in.
"But we will retreat no more!"
Bold words Leantre. But tell them the truth. They deserve it!
"Because... quite frankly. We can't."
Leantre spread his arms out.
"What you see around you is what we have left."
People turned to each other and then surveyed their yard-turned-fortress... seeing the hastily repaired machinery, the patched droids and equipment.. the massive medical ward and the moans of the wounded being heard over the deafening silence.
Leantre cleared his throat and the eyes drifted back to him.
"Our armoured corps has taken the brunt of their onslaughts and the corp numbers now have dwindled to nothing.
However the creatures the invaders were using to bombard us are also silent."
There was no cheering and quite frankly, Leantre expected none. It was just a fact that he was dispensing to a tired and exhausted crowd.
"When the last of the aliens return to their own camp, the rest of the defenders will come back into these walls to rest, get patched up and rearm one final time."
The old man gripped the railing hard.
"What faces us is the brunt of the entire alien invasion ground force."
The murmuring grew.
"They drew their numbers from what they 'conquered' so all could witness our death. Some sort of ceremonial end of sorts I suppose.
They outnumber our thousands by hundreds of thousands."
The murmuring grew louder. If hope dangled on a thread, the grip was slipping rapidly.
Leantre's eyes were stone and his voice flat. "Our fighter corps ... what is left of it has been authorized to use what little planet buster bombs we have left."
People began to chatter as that sunk in. Planet busters were the strongest weapons of mass destruction Capricians had short of atomics.
If push came to shove, Leantre, would you sterilze Capricia with Atomics?
"Everyone will be given innoculations for whatever radiation residue is left but even that will pale in comparison to whatever the invaders have remaining.
Our fighters will not be able to refuel or rearm! Their shots will have to count ... and a cruiser has taken up orbit over us... It's guns, in a few minutes, will rain down what damage it can before the enemy's own ships interfere.
And yet, the enemy will still have numbers! If any enemy has the luck of the devil, it's these @#%$!"
Images of the fall of the "Line" came in... his experiences with the lonely sniper from Scipio Clan. He remembered the meetings he, Gomorran and Herridian would have.. intellectual discussions over a hypothetical second invasion.
Even an old man is a fool sometimes..
His heart felt like lead but his eyes burned.
The old dance of experience and ability! We have had the experience beaten into us! And, dammit! We have the ability to stand one more time!
"Capricians..." his eyes scanned the uniforms of Vinda Corp employees. "Friends." he amended. "We make our own fates here. No one will EVER bend us!
We WILLl meet their charge!!...Every one of us who can stand, fight and pull a trigger!
We will halt their advance or die trying!
We have no more resources... no more supplies for the wounded...
We have nothing left..."
The Regent sounded irritated but not defeated.
"Nothing left but .. us."
Leantre's Advisor walked up to him. "Sir. Fighters are entering Jak'Tol airspace."
Leantre nodded. "Bring the remainind defenders in."
As the rest of the soldiers fell back one last time, moving quickly and orderly..(surprising after the chaos of combat), large explosions were heard and the construction yard actually shook.
The Caprician fire from the sky would only last perhaps 15 minutes.. perhaps a little longer but the aliens would still come at them.
They would not come this far only to stumble at the end.
"Abolisher cruiser Penetrator firing!" and the building trembled as the turbolaser fire turned the ground to ash.
"Pray their targeting computers are working.." Leantre murmured, the irony of his comment resting alone in his mind.
Burn you alien devils! Burn!
