Chapter 461: Ground to Stand

June had hoped, against all hope, that things would be smooth sailing once she was back on the eastern front. Sure, she had traveled to the capital and then north to observe the first clash with the enemy reinforcements from the northern countries, and then witnessed the first unveiling of powerful and threatening new magic against her people, which appeared to put not just their minds but their souls to the test. But now she was back where she’d been before, facing basically the same problems, the same strategic situation. The same uncertainty about enemy psychics she might have to counter (only now without Lianne present).

If Kiara had asked June to stay behind, she probably would have.

Her sister hadn’t asked, though. June knew she wanted to. She’d seen the way she’d pressed her lips together and stood stiffly at their parting. But Kiara understood duty and she thought that June’s was here, or at least accepted it and didn’t want to stand in her way. And maybe she also wanted at least one of them to fight, if she herself couldn’t.

She knew it grated on Kiara to stay back in Cera — or in New Anberg sometimes — instead of fighting. It would if June was in her place, too. But that was the way it went. At least it had been nice to see her sister again.

And her mentor, and everyone else. The younger psychics had made a lot of progress. June was a bit sad to have missed it. And she wished she had more time to talk to Regina. About everything, not just the war and her training; though about that, too.

Unfortunately, it didn’t look like they would be able to finish the war any time soon.

The front had barely moved in the time she’d been gone. Granted, it wasn’t that long, but still. More concerning were the reports she had received from some of her agents.

Not that June got a lot of details. Her enemies were damnably good in safeguarding some information, and even their movements, and foiling her attempts to insert agents. Clearly, it was because they still had a number of psychics, even if those tried to lay low. The only consolation was that, as far as she could tell, June was still better in protecting her own side. But she had enough hints to be confident they’d received reinforcements, and probably not just soldiers. Possibly a few more psychics. She wasn’t sure.

That was one group they hadn’t seen much of when it came to the northerners. Maybe they hadn’t recruited many psychics. Maybe they were used for this new attack technique — it did evidently have similarities to psychic abilities, even if it was apparently soul magic. Or maybe they were just keeping them back to send them in at a critical moment. That would be annoying.

Regardless, it wasn’t really a surprise that shortly after she returned, their enemies seemed to increase the tempo of their attacks against them.

“It was to be expected,” Owin said, looking calm. “They’re pressing us harder in the north. Of course they’d try to capitalize on it on the east, too. We’re still fighting different countries even if they are allied, they’re not depleting forces we can’t face now.”

“I know, but we’re getting stretched pretty thin,” June said with a sigh. “Also, why are you here in person? Shouldn’t you be back in the city? Not exposed out here?”

He pointedly cast a gaze around them, lingering on the fortifications and the army of Swarm Drones stretching out below them. They were standing on a vantage point at the top of a hill, or more precisely inside a tower they’d erected here, with windows in three directions. Thousands of soldiers and drones were spread out below them, since this was one of the most important nerve centers of the eastern front.

“It would take even longer for reports from the fighting to reach me there,” Owin said. “It’s not like I am on the front line. I simply wanted to check on things in person.”

June nodded. She could understand that, and she supposed it was his decision to make. It wasn’t like she was in much of a position to judge.

As if to punctuate her thoughts, a group of flying drones made their way back to the base, some of them dropping on the tower. June watched them absently, tallying the numbers in the back of her head. They must have been scouting. They weren’t the only group of drones coming and going. One of the sapient drones stepped out, and she distantly heard them talking to a small group of human soldiers. One of them saluted and turned to head inside the tower. June’s attention was captured by the spike of tension and faint anxiety the rest of them felt, and the urgency with which they returned to their various other duties.

Tentatively, she reached out to the sapient drone. Something important this time? she asked.

They’re sending a strike force here, they replied. At least, I’m pretty sure of that. At least a thousand of their soldiers are advancing. Maybe more. I was going to suggest updating our scouting patterns.

June grimaced. She would probably have gotten that news soon over the normal channels. Best to get a head start on figuring this out. Can you show me what you saw? she asked.

Unfortunately, it was pretty obvious they were correct. The Esemen showed all the signs of gearing up for another go at the Empire. It was actually the first time in a while that it was this widespread, she reflected. And the force they’d seen — possibly just the vanguard, but this wasn’t clear yet — was moving pretty quickly and approaching her current position closely enough to be a concern.

June closed her eyes for a moment, then opened them again and turned to Owin. “I think we should evacuate you,” she said.

He frowned. She only just noticed the other soldier at the door, who’d probably come to deliver his report. “That seems like it might be premature,” Owin said.

“This position is going to be under attack soon.” June briefly described what she’d seen. She was already searching for other familiar minds in the base. At this stage, gathering information was the most important thing.

“Then I’ll be needed here for now, and we can see about evacuation once it’s necessary,” Owin replied. “Or are you planning to leave right away?”

June paused for a moment. He had her there, she supposed. Of course she would stay right now, working to assess what was happening, coordinate their defense, and provide protection against psychic attacks.

“Fine. Someone get me something to drink,” she said to the rest of the room. “I’ll be busy, shake me if you really need something.”

Then she reached out again with her psychic senses, trying to look for enemy signatures that signaled grounds for concern. It didn’t take her long to find the approaching enemy forces. It did look like others behind them were moving as well, but that movement was still diffuse and far enough away to be tricky to pin down. There were several minds with exceptionally good psychic defenses in the group, good enough to stand out a little even in that mass of people. Possibly Champions. She made a mental note and moved on. Trying to do more than that here and now would just spend her energy unwisely.

Although the Imperial forces were more commonly on the other side of a situation like this, they moved with the efficiency and precision of long practice. Swarm Drones were herded, split into new wings and formations and repositioned, while human soldiers scurried around, preparing their equipment, checking fortifications and ensuring a robust line of information to other units. Sapient drones either joined them or supervised the swarm. Winged Drones remained on the ground to conserve their strength, except for a few with specific missions, and the scouting perimeter was pushed further outward. June checked on everyone she had marked to be of importance, then canvassed the atmosphere of the Imperial forces around her, searching for any points of concern or impressions that seemed off and signaled potential enemy activity. Then she moved on to doing random spot checks.

She had already marked a few potential infiltrators earlier, and at least this might provide an opportunity to confirm or disprove her suspicions. Though even if someone was taking money from the enemy, they wouldn’t necessarily do anything right now.

Finally, she surfaced, gulping down what remained in her water flask and then a glass of juice. She might not have the opportunity to eat or drink for a little while.

“Are you alright, June?” Owin asked, briefly looking up from his own conference with other officers. “Usually you would be moving around by now, I think.”

“It’s fine, I just had a bad feeling and wanted to be thorough in my psychic survey,” she assured him.

It didn’t help that their forces were spread out much farther than they usually would be, in case of the enemy deploying their new attacks. She didn’t think it would be enough if that happened, but it was better than nothing.

"If you’re sure,” he said, still sounding a bit concerned. She noticed the way Owin’s gaze went to the windows and the way he shifted, clearly eager to move. “Let’s get going. I’d rather see this myself.”

June accompanied him, deciding it was probably best to stick together for now. They were outside the range of the psychic link right now, so the ability for anyone else to check in on them was limited, but they had naturally sent out messengers. She expected a response from Tim soon.

The enemy advanced quickly. After inspecting their defenses once more from different vantage points, June decided to linger on a balcony attached to the tower, the highest structure here. It was shielded and should hopefully stand up to a bit of damage. That also allowed her to both keep an eye on Owin and the other commanders, who mostly gathered below, and stay in one place while she stretched her psychic senses further.

Their vanguard and that of the northern allies clashed too far from her position to see more than vague outlines, but June’s senses still let her get a good impression of what was happening. Something about their formation was odd, she noted with a chill crawling down her spine. The Winged Drones wheeled overhead for a pass over the mostly ground-bound enemies, and the fighters on the ground — the Empire still had numerical superiority due to the drones — tied them down enough for it to be effective.

June cursed as she felt the shift a moment before anyone else noticed.

A flash of something spread from the enemy lines rapidly, crested over the Imperial forces, almost like a lightning strike in her psychic senses, and then many minds suddenly just … fell dark. She’d sensed this before, but that didn’t make it easier to stomach. Some fighters remained standing, but many were affected, and even those who resisted falling unconscious were slow and drained. Even just in her psychic senses, without trying to see their souls, the effect was obvious.

It was also a wider arc than they’d shown before, a less tightly focused cone. I suppose that figures, she thought bitterly. Of course they’d try to improve it.

June quickly reached out to several other people, informing them of what she’d seen. By the time she spoke to Owin, someone had already sent in reinforcements. Mostly flying drones, again, this time even more dispersed and keeping to a higher elevation, where they’d be more difficult to reach.

It succeeded in slowing the enemy vanguard down, at least. June tried to feel satisfied as an increasing number of their minds went dark, too. But the number calculus was still too bad.

“So the northern allies did teach the Esemen how to do this,” Owin said grimly.

June had to blink, the transition to focus on her current surroundings a little rougher than normal. She saw he’d stepped closer to her to be able to talk directly. “Yes, of course.”

“Do you think we can hold here?”

She glanced around, trying to assess their forces and the lay of the land. “Yes.” If they tried to retreat now, it would only make it worse. “It will be costly, but I think we should try to stand our ground.”

Owin nodded. “That’s my assessment as well.” He paused for a heartbeat. “And no, I will not run away and leave my soldiers fighting something I’ve fled.”

June sighed. She was about to try and scramble some of her focus to argue with him, when she paused again, distracted by a new sensation. She turned, her hand absently clenching the blade at her side.

Her magical senses showed her an explosion of a familiar type of magic nearby. A number of minds suddenly appeared in her range, and everything moved very quickly.

It was a kind of gate, not mass teleportation, although June only realized that belatedly. They’d appeared in the sky, above the Imperial base, so close to the tower that someone with high physical Stats could simply jump to touch it. One of them used a Spell or Ability or maybe just a weapon, and people below them were blown back, the tower bent, and cracks appeared in its walls as if it was made out of porous clay.

Several of the enemy strike force did jump into the tower … only for most of them to be immediately struck down by three of the waiting Star Guard who June guided there right on time. Even as she clung to the balcony railing and shuffled forward, she had closed her eyes and was focusing on her psychic senses, everything else fading into the background.

A dozen attackers, give or take. All of them clearly high-leveled. This was a decapitation strike — an attempted one — not a proper front in the battle.

And they had two psychics.

June focused on the first one immediately, bearing down with all of her mental weight. Before he could adjust to the new environment, before he could gather himself and reach out to influence one of her allies, she captured his attention, beginning a psychic tug-of-war over his mental shields.

She didn’t manage to take control or do more than keep the man frozen in place, unable to guide his flying mount for a few seconds, not like this — but it was enough for a well-placed shot from an Imperial soldier to down his mount, which distracted him enough to falter. June bore down again, and kept him still long enough for another shot to get him, hitting him in the side.

Then she had to dive out of the way as another Star Guard unleashed a rain of Magic Missiles and Water Missiles where she’d just crouched. One of them clipped her in the shoulder, throwing her around. June managed to deflect most of them, but that was going to bruise. She reached out and then lost her grip on the railing, letting herself fall through a newly made crack.

Her impact on the flying drone knocked the wind from her lungs, her vision going dark for a moment. But she didn’t have time for this. She told the Winged Drone Mount she’d called to go up and away, and focused on her enemy. Not the influenced soldier she’d used for this attack, but the enemy psychic. A very familiar one.

June’s face twisted and she couldn’t even say if she was grimacing or snarling in anger. She felt everything else fall by the wayside again, the ebb and flow of the battle merely background once more, as she focused on the familiar mind. Helen.

June reached out again, trying to find her way past her enemy’s defenses. She knew they were too good and she wouldn’t be able to get past them this easily, but even if she was only distracting Helen from doing anything else for now, that was fine. Time should be on her side here; there was no way ten people could stand against even just the forces still at the headquarters for very long. Just possibly long enough to lose them the battle.

This is going to suck, June thought distantly as she prepared herself to fight for her mind and the soldiers in her care.

Only for her thought to be interrupted as she felt a very familiar net of light connecting the candles that were the minds of the drones around her snap into place … like a dim, shadowy, flickering reflection of what there should be. What they were out of range of. Like an Imitation Link, but worse.

Helen used her distraction for an attack of her own, and June cursed and fell against the back of the drone below her. A spike of pain drilled into her head, driving everything else out for a moment. But she rallied and fought back, first with pure instinct and fury, then with more disciplined movement, drawing on her training.

Her outer defenses buckled, but she managed to fight her off before Helen could see anything she wasn’t meant to. June pressed on. She already had a headache. She’d deal. She only needed to hold on.

The coward would run soon, anyway. Maybe she could track her portal or teleportation then. But she couldn’t spare the attention now.  She needed to rebuild her mental labyrinth and try to find a way past Helen’s shield.