Benetos thoughts thundered through telink.We can snuff out the faeros before their fire overwhelms us.
The verdani battleships shuddered as they pulled strength from the worldforest mind, wrung it from their own heartwood, forcing themselves to endure the pain.
The flames grew hotter and more insistent in Benetos body, and he could not entirely push them away. He struggled so hard that a long crack split along his thickest bough, and the glowing golden blood of his sap spilled out into space. The flames bit deeper, jumping into the point of weakness.
Nearby in space, two more verdani treeships lost their battle to possession by the elemental fires. They weakened, faltered, and then each spiny battleship became a corona of gleeful flames.
Even so, the infested treeships refused to let the faeros possess them. Rather than becoming full-fledged torch trees, the two lost verdani battleships intentionally allowed themselves to crumble into ash. Fragments of embers sparkled and drifted apart in space.
Although Beneto kept fighting, the flames ate at him, pushing deeper into his core, and he could not stop the burning.
13
Admiral Sheila Willis
With hundreds of small EDF craft in her battle group Remoras, fuel tankers, cargo carriers, troop transports, and survey flyers Willis was able to mount one hell of a bucket brigade. This wasnt exactly something she had covered in basic training, but her people called up all their available databases on wildfire-fighting techniques. They would figure it out as they went along.
Using her own landed shuttle in the middle of a clearing as a field command post, she watched her display screens, frowning or cursing as images rolled in from recon flyovers. The Admiral activated the comm system and shouted, Id better see water dumping on these trees within the next five minutes, or youre going to think serving under General Lanyan was a Sunday picnic.
On our way, Admiral, came a crackling voice. First squadron ETA in four and a half minutes, just under the wire.
The first Remoras and fuel tankers swooped low, then opened their cargo bays to dump water onto the blazing worldtrees. Smaller ships emptied their reservoirs, releasing water they had scooped from Therocs lakes. Steam gushed into the air, rising through the dense forest canopy.
The faeros blazed paradoxically brighter as they drew energy from the worldtrees to fight off the quenching water.
Willis heard a groan, saw Celli and Solimar hunched over their treelings inside the command shuttle, both of them connected through telink. The green priests had come aboard her shuttle to act as intermediaries. Their eyes were squeezed shut, faces drawn in identical grimaces as they fought with all their hearts and minds. Celli hissed in pain and gripped her treeling. She blinked, but didnt focus on anything around her. Her words sounded hollow. That hurt them, but not enough. The faeros are ravenous.
The small ships, now empty, circled back toward the nearest sources of open water. Second squadron inbound, Admiral.
The drenching will be continuous now, Willis said. I dont care how tough these fires are. Well stomp them again and again until theres nothing left but a puff of smoke.
A second barrage of water hindered the further spread of the fire. The torch trees shuddered and thrashed as if undergoing some kind of internal conflict, an elemental battle that Willis couldnt understand.
Four more green priests have died, Solimar announced. They were unable to wall themselves off from the trees they were helping through telink.
Green priests have spread the alarm across other planets, Celli said.
For whatever good thatll do us now, Willis said.
The wentals are also aware, Celli said. Jess Tamblyn and Cesca Peroni have arrived at Osquivel. Liona has told them whats happening here.
And what can they do?
They can bring the wentals.
As the third group of EDF water tankers cruised in, the flaming trees tensed, and the fires intensified at the crowns. Celli suddenly screamed, and Solimar reeled backward. The torch trees shot out tendrils of fire that curled upward like solar flares and incinerated two of Williss ships before they could dump their loads of water. Another blast of targeted fire raged from the clustered burning trees, vaporizing a large tanker.
Willis shouted into the microphone, Scramble! Scramble! Evasive action.
Her crews responded instantly. A thick pillar of fire knocked out another Remora, but the remainder of her ships scattered. Now they were too dispersed to provide a good target for the brute-force blasts; on the other hand, they could no longer drop their water effectively.
Circle around and stand ready, Willis growled into the comm. We mustve hurt the bastards or they wouldnt be lashing out like that. Youll have to dump your water from a greater altitude. It wont be as accurate, but those flame plumes can reach only so high.
Most of the EDF pilots responded with anger instead of fear. More and more ships streamed in, released their loads from a great height, and circled back to nearby lakes to refill, relentlessly drenching the worldforest.
Finally, through the steam and rain, Willis saw several of the smaller torch trees begin to gutter and go out. She sat back, crossing her arms. Another couple thousand trips, and we might just have this thing under control.
14
Patrick Fitzpatrick III
In the belly of the Golgen skymine, shouting EDF soldiers and complaining Roamer skyminers created a remarkable din. Men dropped tools onto the deck with loud clangs; ekti tanks were rolled into clusters, then lifted with levitating forklifts. Outside, the high-altitude winds whipped and roared in a continuing storm. TheGoliath hovered nearby.
No one was able to stop the continued outrage. Patrick stood beside Del Kellum, noting the trim EDF uniforms, the determined soldiers following orders. I used to be just like them.
No wonder Zhett was always picking on you.
Once, he had believed everything that General Lanyan told him. The Hansa had been at war with the hydrogues, and the Earth Defense Forces needed stardrive fuel, which the Roamers had unjustly withheld. Therefore, when they had seized a Roamer cargo ship, the decision to destroy the witness and remove the evidence had seemed perfectly reasonable. Patrick hadnt thought twice about it: The EDF took what it needed.
Just as it was doing now. Patricks stomach knotted. Yes, he understood what drove these soldiers, and now he was ashamed of it.
A constant flow of military ships landed in the skymines open cargo bay, loaded up with ekti canisters, then returned to the nearby Juggernaut. General Lanyan followed a coterie of administrative aides; he wore a dress uniform rather than rugged combat fatigues, as if to show his contempt for any possible resistance from the Roamers.