“We don’t know that Michael.” Asanee had a warning note in her voice. “That’s true in the fighting so far but it all took place away from their city. This time, it’ll be on their home ground, in their sacred city. We can’t be sure they’ll fold. Where have they got to run to?”
“That’s a good point Asanee.” Petraeus looked at the great model again. “They’ve nowhere left to go. We can’t assume they’ll fold. Anyway, another point we have to think about. Yahweh’s palace, here in the center of the city. Right in the middle. It’s in what amounts to a park, 200 kilometers square with that lake beside it. We have to advance through 650 kilometers of urbanized terrain before getting there. That’s more than the operating range of our tanks. We’ll need every heavy truck we can get to keep the front line forces fighting. We can open portals of course, move the stuff directly in from Earth but it’s still going to be a massive effort just to keep the troops supplied.
“Anyway, there’s something else I wanted to discuss with you.” Petraeus pressed the keypad on his desk and the electronic displays that dominated the wall behind his desk flickered into life. The map showed the square of The Eternal City with great blue arrows beginning to coil around it. “We’ve got all three Army Groups moving into place now. Combined with air operations, we’re methodically cutting supplies into the City. So far, we haven’t actually moved into sight of the city. Not officially anyway. Unofficially, we’re picking up communications that suggest a number of countries have moved covert forces into observation points around the city.”
At that point Petraeus became aware that Jackson and Asanee were both looking shifty. In fact, they looked downright evasive. “Let me guess, you two as well?”
“We have a couple of reconnaissance units near the city walls.” Asanee sounded apologetic. “My government insisted we move them up to check on the data we were getting.”
“I can honestly say that Her Majesty’s Armed Forces have no covert operations groups stationed outside The Eternal City.” Sir Michael Jackson sounded positively righteous. Asanee’s head snapped around to look at him and one of her eyebrows was raised.
Petraeus smiled. “I see the SAS are living up to their reputations then. I suppose it was to be expected. A coalition this big doesn’t exist without this kind of thing going on. Just make sure that these groups don’t start stepping on each others’ feet. Asanee, Michael, I don’t care how you do it but set up some sort of system so we don’t get mutual interference between these groups. By the way, somebody better talk to our friend Gaius Julius about that as well. He’s hired enough deceased special forces people to have something going. And he’s not the kind of leader who’ll miss a trick.”
The Ultimate Temple, Heaven
A single phrase hammered through Michael-Lan’s mind. The Issue Is In Doubt.. Who actually doubted it was a good question. The clouds of static lightning that filled the Throne Room had stabilized, more or less, but there was no clear advantage to either side. Sweat was running down Michael’s face, not just from the intense effort that he and his allies were making but from the rising temperature within the room. That was inevitable with the sheer amount of energy that was being discharged. Even with the immensely thick marble walls acting as a heat sink, that energy had to go somewhere. He and his circle were getting nowhere fast and it was questionable how long they could hold out.
On the other hand, it was also questionable how long Yahweh could hold out. What was happening was unprecedented. Yahweh had been fought to a standstill and his own resources, once capable of overwhelming even the most determined opposition, were now depleted. Michael consoled himself with the thought that his day was done. Even if Yahweh survived this battle, there were those who had watched and learned from Michael’s mistakes. Yahweh would go down eventually. The problem was that if Michael won, the same assault could be used against him. Whatever happened, today’s battle marked the end of the old ways in Heaven.
It was getting harder to hear the music being transmitted from the Montmartre Club. The energy battle that was being waged interfered with the broadcast. The constant crackle and hiss of static drowned out parts of the program and that was a problem Michael hadn’t anticipated. His whole plan depended on the musical broadcast keeping his allies minds in synchronization with his own. That meant their mental energy was transferred at maximum efficiency. As the music was lost in the interference, that synchronization would be lost and with it much of his edge over Yahweh.
Through the crackle, Michael heard the music had changed again. It took him a few bars to recognize it but when he did, it was with the pleasure of meeting an old friend. It was the theme tune from the film Zulu. One of his favorites, Zulu was a regular feature in the cinema attached to the Montmartre Club. Michael’s mind went to the end of the film, when the British redcoats were making their last stand and pouring fire from their rifles into the mass of maddened Zulu warriors before them. He could hear the Sergeants giving the orders. ‘Front rank fire. Middle rank fire. Rear rank fire.’
That’s what humans would do in a situation like this. The realization dawned on Michael-Lan in a flash of understanding. He had the answer he was looking for.
“People, get ready to push together. Every bit of energy we have. But don’t hold it. We’ll just push as hard as we can and then relax a little. Then push again. In time with the music.” So far they had been maintaining a long, steady, maintained pressure. But if they started pulsing the pressure, if they used their energy in bursts instead of a continuous effort, it might work. “Get ready and… heave.”
Michael-Lan threw every bit of energy he had into the pulse. He felt his allies doing the same and the sudden effort forced the flickering wall between them and Yahweh back. Not far, a foot or more at most, but a definite push. There was a curious strip on the wall where bleached white stone and blackened jewels met that showed the result. His team relaxed and Yahweh started to regain the strip but the music struck another chord and his team threw another pulse. This one worked as well and the bleached and blackened strip of wall grew wider.
“Come on friends, it’s working.” Michael was caught up in the battle, orchestrating the pulses of energy with the rhythm of the music, emitting the massive pulses that were slowly but surely having their effect. Each one gained just a little more ground, each respite between them lost just a little less. “Heave!”
The strip down the wall was wider by far and Michael’s team stepped forward, feeling the heat of the stone under their feet. The jade floor was hot enough to be uncomfortable even through their sandals but that was of little importance. Michael knew, every member of his team knew, that they had Yahweh on the run. The battle was slowly swinging in their favor.
The change, when it came was sudden. The defensive wall of energy that Yahweh had maintained between him and his enemy collapsed. Where once there had been a solid barrier that kept Michael’s allies away from the Peerless Throne, now there was a bubble of energy around it. That was not a final loss. At the start of the fight, it was Michael who had been trapped within an energy bubble but he had fought his way out of it. With the help of his friends, who had cast their lot in with him beyond any means of withdrawal. In a part of his mind that was not involved in this battle, Michael still wondered at that. They could have stayed clear and had a chance of survival if things had gone badly. But they had given it up to stand beside him. That thought gave him much to think about but one thing stirred uneasily in his mind. I don’t deserve friends like these.
The energy pulses from Michael and his team struck at the sphere of energy protecting Yahweh from all directions. He could see the colors rippling in it, saw the surface of the sphere rippling under the impacts. Above all, the sphere was shrinking. Each successive onslaught left it smaller and weaker, its colors dimmer and more familiar. His team were losing energy also, but slowly, they were gaining dominance over the defense in front of them. Their pulses were still multi-colored even though the spectrum was one familiar to those watching. In contrast, Yahweh’s screen showed glowing areas of white.