Part Two, Chapter 13

[Arthur Talon]

Part 2

Crown Possession of Florence
Kingdom of Galena
Formerly Colorado
June 5, 2011
Change Year 13

Arthur Talon was a lean but powerfully built young man in his eighteenth year on this planet. His massive arms bulged though the layers of plate steel. His visored sallet helm was slung across this saddle horn to reveal a chiseled jaw line and stubble of red beard. A massive wedge shaped paw gripped a pair of pre-change binoculars. The binoculars looked comically small in his massive hand.

Arthur handed the binoculars to another armored warrior. The woman was considerably smaller than the man, but they still shared so many of the same features that they were undoubtedly related. Even the differences seemed negligible. Arthur’s ruddy brown to Diana’s seal brown.

“If I’m not mistaken that’s the Governor’s personal troops. Looks like the 2nd Division to me. I read banners from the 8th, 101st and 365th regiments.” He flipped through a note book and skimmed through the pages. “That puts them under the command General Ashley Walker.” He sighed, and counted the banners to get an idea of the enemy numbers. I’d say about six-thousand troops. They mostly use heavy infantry with light cavalry, but I’d guess they have a least a thousand crossbow men and women.” He didn’t have to say they were outnumbered two to one.

“My Lord,” Lady Astrid Vogler, Baroness of Highgrove, spoke, “My knights are ready. We must hold this until the King can return with reinforcements.”

Ethan nodded reluctantly, “Well, if the governor wants a fight let’s give it to her, but at least let’s make it on ground of our choosing. Let’s fall back past Needler’s Acres. Old Adam Needler just plowed his winter wheat crop in preparation to plant corn and the ground is realy soft. It should slow them down a bit, and they will have to cross an open field while we can command the high ground. I guess we’ll see how badly General Walker wants a fight.”

[Diana Talon]

Diana nodded her head and stowed the binoculars in her utility belt on her hip. "Looks like she's finally got it in her head that she wants to fight instead of negotiate." she hummed lightly. "We can try those experimental acid bombs we worked up, I hate hurting horses, but it may get them to retreat sooner than later. Save more lives than they can take."

[Arthur Talon]

Arthur sighed, "Yeah, but it's unavoidable in war. Not to mention a good destrier is more expensive than a fully kited out man at arms. This is going to be expensive, but the Governor is here to take our homes, and we must defend." Arthur turned to a military apprentice, "Get word to the Queen that we will make contact with the enemy at Needler's Acres, and we need reinforcements on the double."

The squire saluted, "Yes sire!" The reined his horse and galloped off to the south west.

The sun was high and it was already shaping up to be a brutally hot day. One of those early summer days that would have been best spent in the shade of a tree courting a young lady or swimming on the swimming hole not far from Castle Talon. Instead he was sitting his horse next to his sister in full plate armor.

Their army consisted of both he and his sister's troops along with House Vogler's and House Wallace's knights and retainers, and a sizable group of militia from nearby Florence. They had about twelve field pieces sitting atop the hill overlooking the low valley. It appeared that their enemy' had not brought any of their own, which was a surprise, but Arthur figured they were taking a more of a blitzkrieg approach to this attack. The enemy had moved fast, and that's why they weren't able to call up a full force.

Along the foot of the rise positioned along the tracks of the old Denver and Rio Grande mainline stood a thousand archers with their longbows in their hands with another hundred of crossbow militia. The lines of hand carts sitting the tracks would allow for a very quick escape if this whole thing went sideways.

The crossbows were slower to reload, but were much easier to train. A longbow took decades of daily training to be able to pull a minimum of a seventy pound war bow to create a first-rate bowman and woman, and there were no better hers than the men and women under Baron Jeremiah Wallace.

Today his unit was being commanded by his bow captain, a grizzled looking man in his mid forties who was an ex-Navy Seal and avid bow hunter before the change. His seal brown hair was already streaking gray and the deep lines on his face told the story of many years of being outdoors in every conceivable kind of weather. If truth be told the Duke of Williamshire was intimidated by the man, and Arthur was intimidated by very few people.

Standing at the edge of the plowed field was the bulk of the army. 1,500 pikemen and the militia stood shoulder to shoulder with their pikes standing like some weird forest where all the trees had been stripped of their branches. Behind them stood in their heavy armor and various weapons from war maces to halberds stood three-hundred heavy infantry. That left only just over one-hundred mounted knights which would be used to smash and break apart the enemy infantry.

[Astrid Vogler]

Valarie Gallagher, captain of Baron Wallace's archer levy stiffened and grimaced with sympathy as the Governor's light horse released a scattering of arrows into the front line of pikemen. They were unable to do anything but stand there and absorb the barrage as the light horse galloped parallel to their line.

The pikemen dutifully closed the gaps in the line as the enemy calvary turned their horses and headed back to their own lines to repeat the attack in a looping circle.

Valarie didn't want to give away her full numbers, so all but twenty of her long bow equipped archers lay hidden in the ditch on the far side of the railroad tracks. "Here they come again! Make every shot count!"

Val drew her warbow to the ear and released. The arrow had that feeling of perfection even before she'd released it. In a shallow arc the arrow slammed into her target, and buried itself halfway to the fletchings. The steel ringed mail shirt offered little protection as the bodkin had split the rings as if they were nothing more than plastic.

A half a dozen horses galloped away riderless to add to the perviousassault. The rest of the light cavalry decided that they were done getting a bloody nose and galloped back their lines. This time they didn't return.

Medics and orderlies drug the nearly two dozen injured pikemen and the handful of the enemy cavalry behind the lines to be taken care of by the force's doctors. Friend or enemy it didn't matter.

Horns blew from across the battlefield and drums started tapping out a tattoo as the enemy spear men advanced on towards them.

"Steady!" Value shouted keeping her archers from acting. She wanted them good and committed before attacking. She bit her lip with anticipation as they crossed the hallway point and long bow shot.

"Captain?" One of them asked.

"No! God damn it!"

The speatmen continued with their round shields up over their bodies. The front rank held their spears down over th top of their shields ready to stab.

"Now!" Value shouted. The full 1,300 of archers and crossbows stood with their weapons at the ready. The enemy foot hesitated, but they were committed. Their only salvation was to tangle with the Galinans.

"Wholly together on my mark!" Value shouted as she drew her bow. There was a collective creak as a thousand bow staves were drawn. "Shoot!"

1,300 arrows and crossbow bolts shot into the air in a high arc. At the top of the arc they wobbled and then fell Earth ward in a sheet of steel tipped rain that slammed into the enemy.

Most of the enemy did the only sensible thing they could do, and that was to raise their shields above their heads and keep their heads down. But, the shields only offered a modicum of protection and many of the arrows broke through the thin plywood and into the arms and faces. A few idiotically looked up just in time for an arrow to slam into their unprotected faces.

Another 2,000 arrows were in the air before the first group had landed. Then 2,000 more. Then the crossbows were reloaded and 300 bolts joined another thousand arrows. Men and women were screaming in agony, even more lay silently where they had fallen.

The enemy was in disarray now. Terrified beyond function many threw down their spears and shields and ran. Some right into the pikes of their enemy. Others started running back to their lines. A small more discipline group of about 600 closed ranks and continued marching.

The arrow storm had done its job. It broke the enemy advantage, now their job was done, and it would be up to the Galenan Infantry and knights to take care of the rest.

[Ethan Talon]

Ethan lifted his canteen to his lips. He was leading a small band of Galenians made up primarily of the King’s person troops with a large contingent of the Kinght’s Order of St. Mary. Next to him was his old friend, Father David Sackett.

David had worked for Ethan on the Rafter T until the plagues that came with the Change took his wife and kids. Grief stricken he had fled to Canon City and joined the abbey there.

CLINK!

An arrow bounced off Ethan’s plate cuirass and pinwheeled harmlessly away. “Ambush!” Ethan shouted. He reigned Jake at the exact wrong moment, and an arrow sunk into back side of his thigh that wasn’t protected by the steel cuisses. The arrow sunk to the fletchings and pinned him to the side of Jake. The horse did as any horse would do when something suddenly hurt him and bucked sending Ethan flying to the dry ground.

Rolling to his feet he swept out his long sword as a wiled eyed man charged him with a battle axe and his round shield tucked under his eye. Ethan dodged a savage blow from the Axe and stepped aside to letting his foe overshoot him and Ethan’s sword struck like a coiled snake hamstringing the enemy warrior that sent him sprawling and grabbing at his leg. If he survived the inevitable infection, the man would never walk right again.

“To the king!” Peters shouted at the top of her lungs. “Protect the king!”

Another arrow struck him in the pauldrons. The steel bodkin head pierced the outer sheet of steel, but the arming doublet below stopped it before it pierced skin. The impact nonetheless sent Ethan stumbling backwards. That gave a opening as another man with an axe charged him.

Ethan couldn’t penetrate the man’s armor with a sword so he prepared to block the axe attack and then strike the wrists, neck. The thundering of hooves negated his plans as a lance slammed into his foe and exploded into thousands of toothpick sized splinters.

Catarina tossed the remains of her lance to the ground and pulled out her war hammer which she smashed into the face of one of the attackers. She turned her horse and galloped back to Ethan and she awkwardly helped him on to the back of her charger, and they forced their way to the edge of the fighting.

The battle had ended almost as quickly as it started not thirty minutes later. The dead lay scattered about the arid landscape as the Knights of St. Mary knelled next to friend a foe alike praying for them. For those too badly injured the mercy stroke was given only after their last rights had been given. None of the attackers were left alive.

Ethan sat a new horse, a decently sized sorrel mare. But, she wasn’t Jake. Ethan avoided looking the area where the dun lay motionless. The arrow had nicked the heart. Ethan himself wasn’t feeling all that great either, but he figured he’d live. He had worse injuries int the past. He had pulled the cedar shaft from his leg and wrapped with with a bit of bandage, but it had still continued to bleed, and the blood ran down his leg and smeared his horse with mess.

Catarina approached leading her horse, “Your Majesty, of the Guard five dead, ten wounded. Three I don’t think will live to see morning. Of the Knights, Brother Sackett reports that nineteen were killed and eight wounded.”

Ethan finished his canteen. He couldn’t get enough water, “Could have been worse. Surprise attacks generally go in the attacker’s favor. The plus side is that was less of the Governor’s troops attacking Florence. We have to get going. Get those that can still fight mounted and moving.”

“Yes your majesty.” She jumped into the saddle with ease despite wearing sixty pounds of steel armor, “You should see a doctor Lord.”

“No time. We must reinforce Diana.”

[Arthur Talon]

Arthur grunted with exertion. Sweat poured down his face and stung his eyes while his lungs burned as his muscles demanded more oxygen than they could provide.

BANG!

A spear slammed into his shield knocking him off balance. He responded by shoving his long sword into the face of the Governor's spearman. It made a sickening crunch as steel smashed bone. "Hold the line!" He shouted.

A battle axe slammed into Arthur's steel clad shoulder. This time the blow caused him to lose his balance completely, and he crashed to the earth. Arthur rolled to his back just in time to see his attacker raise the axe above is head, the deadly spike pointing at him. Before the man could finish him an arrow sprouted from the man's neck.

He clutched his neck and pitched forward falling on top of Arthur. Arthur pushed the dying man off of him and scrambled to his feet. He tried to raise his shield, but his arm wouldn't cooperate. Swearing he loosened the siege strap and let the tear shaped knight's shield fall to the ground. The blow had dislocated his shoulder and his arm now dangled uselessly. He swore, but there was no pain.

TUNG! TUNG!

Two heavy throwing darts from the seige artillery shot six foot javelins overhead. The crews immediately started pumping the hydraulic jacks that compressed the heavy truck springs. As one loaded another dart the officer glanced down the sighting mechanism. She turned the elevation screw a few turns, and pulled the lanyard.

TUNG!

The dart streaked past and cut through three of the lightly armored spearman. A pair of catapults sent smoldering clay jars a napalm over their heads. That was a risky decision. Making the jars so that they didn't accidentally break when fired made them too tough to break when they hit their target. But, in this case both jars sailed through the air as desired and exploded in the center of the enemy line the sent men and women screaming in agony.

"Sheild wall!" Arthur shouted. That order would bring up their heavily armored men-at-arms to the front of the line. Their own spearman and a few women melted backwards as they regrouped and tended to their wounds.

"Push forward!" Arthur shouted

"Urumph!" The foot soldiers shouted. "For King Ethan and Galena! Long live the king! Long live the Queen!"

[Ethan Talon]

They had seen the smoke rising long before they could see the battle itself. Ethan spurred his horse faster. Both his kids had been tasked with stopping the advance until he could get reinforcements, and he was nearly in a panic.

Emerging from the trees the contengent of Galenan and the Knights of St. Mary formed into a rigid line. Ethan studied the field of battle taking in the chaotic lines.

"They've held," David said almost impressed.

"They have," Ethan replied, but there was apprehension in his voice. "Governor has a regiment of foot in reserve. David take your knights and flank those reserve troops. We'll hit the main force with out smaller force."

David nodde, and reigned his horse, and the warrior monks unfurled their banners. Ethan's own smaller group of knights did likewise. A trumpeter blew a series of short sharp notes and the the horses started to trot, canter, and then gallop full speed at their foe.

The line split. The monks in their white servants coats and red crosses veered left towards the reserve regiment. The Galenans thundered forward.

As Ethan closed in on the enemy force he lowered the visor of his sallet helm plunging his vision into darkness save for the small vision slit.

The enemy foot turned to see the thundering riders, and their eyes wide with surprise. They now had enemy on two sides, and many of them froze in fear.

CRACK!

Ethan's lance drove deep into the chest of a one of the enemy spearman. The ashwood stave bent into a steep arc before snapping and sending shards of wood everywhere.

Tossing the useless remains of the lance Ethan gripped the war hammer that hung from his saddle bow and swung a viscous attack on another enemy. His horse, while not Jake, was a trained war horse and steel clad front hooves came down on another soldier.

Trumpets from the enemy line blew and the enemy started a chaotic retreat. Some threw down the weapons and shields to run faster. Galenan archers started to pick them off one by one until they were out of range.

Cheers erupted from the assembled Galenans, and Ethan cheered with them.

A hand gripped Ethan's thigh, "Your timing was impeccable father."

Ethan grinned in relief, "Too bad I wasn't here sooner."

Arthur shrugged, "Never underestimate surprise. You are injured."

"So are you," Ethan replied. "And your sister?"

Arthur shrugged worry creeping into his eyes, "I haven't seen her since our second charge, and my horse went down."

[Diana Talon]

"incoming!!!" Diana shouted as she rode in at full speed. "Acid bombs are working like a charm... but there's a side effect, it scares the shit out of the horses with the smell... must be the glue." she said as she got her horse to pull up alongside Arthur. "Need a ride boys?"

[Ethan Talon]

"I'm good sis. I'll organize our foot," Arthur replied.

Ethan nodded approvingly, "Diana get what cavalry you can. We can't let up the attack. We have them on their heels, now we need to break them."