Spirited Away was one of my favourite movies growing up, and there was a hint of river-spirit dragon in what I created: white with highlights of blue and gold, long in body, but with vast wings. And huge. It dove into view to snatch up two Cruzatch which were dropping toward me, and opening these truly incredible wings with a snap which echoed across the lake. It threw the two Cruzatch into the water as it started upward, and the gale was incredible, making me struggle to not lose focus.
I’m so glad that Taarel and Mila chose to pull free from the Cruzatch cloud at the dragon’s appearance – I’m not sure I could have lived with it if they’d been crisped when the dragon tilted down again and breathed.
Dragonzilla. It was Light, not Fire. The kind of beam which you see in mecha anime which scorches a mile-long ridge into the landscape and cuts through mountains. It evaporated the swarm of Cruzatch just as they clustered in preparation for attacking and then scored down into lake, creating a great whomping cloud of steam.
And the energy cost for that hit me like a tank. I promptly passed out and toppled into the lake.
Poor Ys. She hates so much anyone seeing her when she’s upset, and everyone on three planets has watched her frantic horror as she tries to keep hold of Siame while snatching at me as I drop. She couldn’t keep me from going into the water, and wasn’t strong enough to pull me out of it while keeping Siame in place, but she did manage to lift my head enough so that I was only a little bit drowned when Trouban from Eighth dropped down (half-fell, he was in bad shape) and joined us on the rock, while Taarel and Mila cleared up the few Cruzatch which had escaped the dragon.
I so should have yelled Expecto Patronum. Talk about missed opportunities.
I’ve been unconscious for the last couple of days, and I suspect I’ve damaged my projection talent again like I did with the Kalasa projection, but I got off a lot better than the Setari and Siame. Fourth, Sixth and the other parts of Eighth were sent back immediately, and things have been relatively quiet since – the expeditionary force digging in to work on the shielding around the new site, and the Cruzatch not as yet testing them again.
KOTIS has copped a lot of flak for leaving Pandora/me inadequately defended, which they’ve been taking a mea culpa attitude to, although the first battle at Oriath was so intense that going with fewer would have meant far more injuries, and they don’t dare pull any more squads from Tare and Kolar. The injury list just keeps climbing, and they’ve made active as many of the Kalrani as they’re willing to risk at this stage.
Kaoren was sitting beside me when I woke, looking so tired that I have extreme doubts he managed any real sleep the entire time I was unconscious. I suspect he and Sen were plagued by Sight dreams, since she didn’t look much better by the time I got back to our apartment (after a meal, another long sleep and a medical exam). I’m writing this propped against Kaoren’s arms on our couch, with Sen sprawled down one side of us. Both of them passed out almost as soon as we sat down. Ys and Rye looked pretty wrung out as well (if Sen’s not sleeping, they’re generally not sleeping either), but held out to have quite a long conversation with me about dragons and to grimace at me fiercely or blush and look at the floor depending on their inclination when I told them what I thought of their bravery.
Rye fell asleep sitting on the floor propped against the couch, after a long period of gazing up at Kaoren with unblinking devotion. Ys went and fetched him a pillow, and then my diary when I asked her for it, and actually tolerated me thanking her, and has stayed close playing with her modelling toy while I write – she’s growing quite adept at using it, and seems to most enjoy making copies of Pandora’s buildings. She’s very exacting and precise.
I’ve been amusing myself using the scanner to record this scene for posterity, and also having interface conversations with a selection of almost everyone I know on the planet. The recurrent theme has been: "That bat-surri was incredible." It certainly made an impression on the collective imagination, and the interface sites are full of discussion about it, and me. The fact that I can outgun the Setari in a suicidal one-shot kind of way has certainly strengthened the "we need to make some laws about the touchstone" brigade. On a plus side there’s a ton of positive comments about Siame (quickly identified as Kaoren’s sister) and Ys.
I’m glad I was able find a way to fight back – and OMG I can make dragons – but wish I could have just paid enough attention to realise that Lira was trying to talk to me.
Thursday, October 23
Mine
Third and Eighth have been sent back to Tare, with only two of them lacking a significant injury. Eeli’s still here, though, because the medics are worried about the impact of taking her through deep-space. Not one of Third could stand leaving her behind, and Taarel sent them off to the ship with her head high and her eyes hard.
Siame can’t be moved either, but at least is periodically conscious. I went down to see her, but she likes me even less now – or is just too ill to disguise how little she wants to do with me. Other than not being able to project, I’m feeling fine today, with my burn thoroughly medicated.
The expeditionary force is having immense trouble working through the shielding at the Oriath site – it’s on par with the shielding around Kalasa – but they’ve made a lot of progress setting up warning drones and creating a little fortress, dense with shields and bristling with weapons. Even without the Setari there, anyone inside the bunker could probably defend themselves against all but a massive attack. They’re waiting for the next Cruzatch assault (should there be one) before sending any more squads back, so they can gauge how sufficient it is, but two more of the Nuran Setari have returned.
The shielding on the talent school hadn’t been brought up during the Cruzatch attack because some of the kids were still outside and couldn’t get inside quickly enough, and that’s led to a revision of both the school and Pandora’s Ionoth safety procedures. The proposed solution is emergency shelters outside some of these outlying buildings. Shielded shelters are a seriously sensitive subject for the Nurans, of course, but for certain critical buildings KOTIS Command has decided they can’t risk leaving them open.
The question of whether there are spies for the Cruzatch here is also causing a headache. It’s obvious to suspect the Nurans – and unfortunately this suspicion seems to be focused on the Nuran Setari – but it could be anyone on Muina, Tare or Kolar. Someone, after all, told the Nurans about me after I unlocked Muina. Thankfully practically no-one knows we’ve made contact with Lira – not that she’s probably able to manifest at the moment with my talents taking a time-out. KOTIS Command hasn’t decided whether to move me, pretend to have moved me, or even use me as bait.
At any rate, the kids are out of school for the moment because their presence reveals mine, and all of us are confined to the Setari building. They’re quite happy about this. Sen because it means she spends more time with me, Rye because he gets to spend more time with Kaoren, and Ys because she doesn’t have to spend any time with the children at the school.
The Setari building feels so deserted with only Fourth in residence. Mila, Orial and Korinal aren’t tremendously social, and are often away mediating issues with the Nurans. Having the common room to themselves (windows set to be one-way) turned into a great game for Sen, who gleefully collected every cushion and made a massive mound of them, and kept climbing on top and rolling down the sides. Ys and Rye didn’t try to stop her, just made sure there wasn’t anything to hit. I sat on the table watching all three of them, not failing to notice how Ys and Rye would occasionally check the entrances of the room for annoyed adults. I’m pretty sure if someone had been mad they would have pretended it was all their idea and taken any blame.