"Electricity will be useless. Other elementals should all be effective, with Ice our best approach. In addition to repelling projectiles, the outer side is strongly absorbent of elemental attacks. We need to force it to lift if we’re to have any chance. No apparent central brain or weak point. Status on retrievals?"
"Still working on primary group." Grif began breaking the available Setari into three groups: the main attack force, a group of close-range or electric-focused talents who would be hunting any escort Ionoth, and the Devlin handlers who would make sure I didn’t fall off the transport or get eaten by a straying swoop. Beyond the evaluation, they weren’t using me to enhance anyone yet, and spent some time on technical details of which telekinetics would be carting who about, and what the order of enhancement would be.
"Primary group retrieved," Grif said, after tote-duty was settled.
"Air support unit en route to your location," Selkie put in. "We’ve isolated an intact upper chamber with active visual feed. Placement of charges at that point should achieve considerable damage, but it’s critical that we prevent it fleeing once injured."
"Use Ice to fix it, at least temporarily?" Grif suggested.
They went with that plan, and repositioned the ship while we waited for the air support unit with its explosives. As soon as it was close the three teleporters were recalled, even though they’d not been able to retrieve four unconscious people – a thing which no-one commented on, but which I could see they hated. The escort hunters had already gone, and everyone else gathered on the roof of the one ship, positioning themselves in order of who would enhance first. The three teleporters looked completely exhausted, drenched with sweat, and Grif had someone bring them one of the horrid super-energy drinks that are all salty and sweet at the same time, and make you instantly long for a chaser of water. I watched the storm, tiny flickers playing among the blackness. It was still far away, but the wind was picking up, and I could tell by the way a few of the Setari kept glancing at it that they didn’t want to wait too long.
"Air support on approach," Grif said, moments before one of the hummingbird fliers lifted into view. "Nise, retrieve the charges to the rear of this transport." He glanced at the three limp teleporters. "Palanty, Eyse – straightforward placement and then off-mission."
Charal went below straight away – he didn’t have the strength of the younger Setari and was very grey – while Nise from Fifth whisked across to the opening hatch of the flier and lifted out two warning-plastered crates, lowering them carefully onto the roof of our transport. Mori and Bayen Palanty teleported one each; Mori first, then Palanty. That barely took a minute, but we paused again in the increasing wind to make sure that everyone’s timing was exact. The Ice talents would all enhance, and race down to the rear of the massive where it was still partially in the water. While they moved, the rest of the main attack force would enhance as the transport circled us around and down to a strike location. The Setari would attack while the transport moved on to a second point.
They expected the Ice squad to have commenced freezing as much as possible of the water and rock and massive together by the time the ship hit the strike point and the charges Mori and Palanty had teleported onto the island would be detonated as soon as the transport darted past the immediate danger zone. It would circle around to the rear to be close to the Ice squad for a second enhancement and then they – presuming the massive hadn’t broken loose – would continue their freezing from the front.
A great deal was dependant on the massive not breaking loose, which was why the Ice squad was so focused on holding it in place. Setari are far less effective under water, and the thing was so quick below the surface that there was too much chance of it getting away.
Grif was frowning, not toward the storm front but toward a flicker and glimmer some distance away which I realised was the group of Setari assigned to fighting escort Ionoth. But then he said: "At ready, Kajal."
"Commencing," Kajal replied, fingertips barely brushing my shoulder. He looked tense, and also a little hyped, but at least not interested in showing me his opinion of strays. There were eight Setari with us who had strong Ice talents, and they had two telekinetics assigned to cart about the ones who couldn’t manage that themselves. They’d barely taken off before the ship moved into a glide which forced me to change my stance to keep upright.
The second attack squad began enhancing, while Grif murmured to me: "Call a stop to the enhancements immediately if it starts to overwhelm you." The look he gave Par and Sonn underlined the order, and then he signalled for the surrounding Setari to take off and said: "Clear."
Kajal’s voice came over the interface: "Attack begins."
The transport was at the wrong angle for me to see the start of the ice, but when Selkie said: "Detonate," I couldn’t miss the reaction of the massive. The top of it bulged upward – in one or two places fragments of white stone actually flying through it – but to my disappointment it hadn’t ended up with a huge hole in the middle. For a moment it didn’t react at all, and then it started scrunching backward like a big flat caterPillar.
"Nise, use rubble to try and knock it upward," Grif ordered. "Kanato, take your group forward and target the edge to gauge effect."
Five Setari dropped down, setting the retreating edge of the thing blazing. But it was like destroying only the fringy bits of a carpet, and the thing showed no sign of lifting as they wanted. It was so huge.
By this time the transport had circled around to the rear and I could see the work of the ice. I was really surprised at how much they’d made so quickly, like a mini-glacier rising out of the water. I found out later that while Ice talents can produce it apparently out of nothing, the amount of water in the air makes a huge difference, and having an ocean to draw on is as good as being enhanced. The ice was cracking, though, as the thing tried to pull free. It couldn’t immediately manage it, and the folds began to gather and bunch up. The Ice group took advantage of that, catching the folds in the growing trap.
"Attack wherever it’s slightly raised," Grif said, and the main attack split to either side, blasting into the folds. The Ice group began to return to the transport in pairs to enhance, darting back quickly to continue to reinforce the glacier as parts of it shattered and crumbled. The transport moved around to the side as the massive changed tack, hunching down and trying to seal all access to its underside.
The nearest group took the opportunity to enhance, and then Ruuel, who was floating somewhere underneath the ship, said: "It’s preparing an offensive attack. Gain distance and circle to the front, all forces."
Brilliant blue lines were gathering on the massive’s exposed back. My attention was distracted by Sonn, telling me to kneel for balance and grip the edge of the hatch as the transport put on a sudden burst of speed, causing more than a few of the returning Setari to stagger and follow Sonn’s lead.
The massive was folding itself vertically, still trying to keep its sides sealed. I’m not sure it could even tell if the Setari had retreated as it began to produce such an intensity of power it burned little vein-like afterimages into everything I was seeing.
"After the blast, it intends to leap forward," Ruuel said. "On my signal, go low, strafe the underside with everything you have. Ice, you will have the barest chance to retrap it."