Nathanial had spent the last 24 hours preparing the Truthsayers in Seitch for the fight ahead, it hadn't been long enough but he'd seen in that short time that these women were hard. They'd suffered much already shut up in this city which was designed just for this purpose, that it be held by a small force outnumbered and isolated, back in ancient times a relief force would have arrived but today Nathanial was that relief force. The Sister's had prepared brilliantly, the narrow tight streets had been turned into death traps for any invading force and stockpiles in almost every cellar meant they had plenty of military equipment. Nathanial had spent much of the day working, draining barrels of diesal designated usually for the generators that kept the water purification systems, lights, heating, radio systems and the like working. He'd had to improvise with a lot of it but he was pretty confident they'd work, after all he'd seen something similar used by the Borlanders back in East Moreland and they'd been aiming at prescision targets, meanwhile the Truthsayers had an encampment beyond their walls to nail.
"Five minutes to go" sniper
Tasha McArthur called in from her roof top vantage point. She'd seen the shift for guard begin to change as the usual areas of the camp sprang to life as those soon to go on duty headed for a wake up piss and then to grab a coffee or something before starting their own shift watching for Bene Gesserit attacks. Tasha looked down the sights of her rifle and spotted a few familiar faces among the rows of tents, people she'd seen everyday for weeks and dreamt about squeezing the trigger on but hadn't been permitted to.
"Roger that, all units call in."
Elizabeth Eastwood was manning the radio and ticked off each of the call signs, units both inside the wall and those in the rocky outcrops that were in the distance around the city, their height and the open desert giving easy shots for skilled marksman.
In the HQ basement
Joanna McNeill the leader of the Truthsayers in Kaitaine, which in effect meant the commanding officer of the whole organisation was sat cross legged on the floor, her eyes closed. "I shall not fear" she began reciting the litany against fear using its familiar words to focus her thoughts, ten women sat around her each copying her motions and words. After a minute she finished and stood. "We need to get to our positions, trust in your skills, trust in your friends and we'll get through this. Shai Halud will today find us fierce in battle and will not dare take us. Today our corner of Kaitaine becomes free. May you go with strength" she turned and left heading for her own position.
McNeill found Nathanial and Sarah already there, a patch of bare sand on concrete, the old market place. "Drop....twist...lift....twist....drop....twist...lift....twist...drop" Sarah was stood next to the metallic tube rehearsing her actions, "Drop...twist" she continued oblivious to Joanna's approach.
"One minute" Joanna said quietly not wanting to interupt Sarah's own more militaristic literny.
Elizabeth's voice came over the radio. "STANDBY! STANDBY!" it said and along the wall, in the twisting streets and on the highlands deep breath were taken to steady aims. "GO!GO!GO!" The world exploded, hundreds of rifles in the rocks opened fire, some expert marksman dispatched targets with ease while the less well equipped or more nervous pumped round after round towards the camp avoiding only two areas. Sarah had continued her words as she picked up the first mortar round and checked the attached bundle was in one piece, she twisted dropped it in the barrel and ducked as the tube almost instantly spat it out into the air and over the wall. They were all set for air bursts and as it descended over the KDF camp it exploded as the rifles opened fire. It spread metallic fragments and the thick white gel spread over the camp, five more mortars exploded in an identical fashion and the next round was antiquited white phospherous igniting the gel, an improvised napalm. Smoke was already raising from the camp as tents caught fire one after the other as more mortar shells flew towards the camp. The mortars had been set up perfectly and the operators like Sarah began almost robotic fire and reload routines.
Meanwhile the KDF ran here and there, cohesion in the camp all but gone, officers tried to rally their men but most were simply trying to get out of the fire and smoke rather than retain any true soldiarly discipline. One officer, a tall blonde haired man with dark blue eyes yelled at his men to grab their rifles and return fire but even if they'd all saved their rifle from the flames the smoke obscured the deadshots in the rocks. As he told his men just how he'd punish them he failed to notice the black shape behind him,
Kirsten moved like cat hunting, silent and softly, her cloak enveloping her like some kind of wild banshee from myth come to life. She leapt at the officer her bone white crystknife in her hand it went straight into the officers neck, unarmed men stood around shocked as two more Truthsayers stepped from behind a tent and opened fire with rifles. Throughout the less hit parts of the camp, the parts they'd agreed wouldn't be mortared or fired upon teams of Truthsayers mingled among the KDF causing greater chaos.
One small group of about twenty KDF soldiers had been rallied by their officer who was urging his men towards a long ditch that had been dug as a latrine, it provided perfect if disgusting cover, but at this point the men where just pleased to have a way out of the hail of metal. As the officer pointed towards the rocks to point out targets his men were comforted by his bravery, he was stood behind them yelling orders in full view of the enemy. "For Major Collins" one man yelled as he began to return fire blindly like the others, their gunfire hiding the sound of Collins removing two grenade pins and casually tossing them into the latrines, it was only Collins own yell of "Long live the Sisterhood" that alerted them to the betrayal. Kirsten had been closing in on the officer when she heard his yell and as one of her comrades took aim to cut down the officer she slapped down the rifle barrel instead she took his legs out from beneath him.
"Stay down" Kirsten placed her knife against his cheek. "Recite the Literny" she demanded and the man realising it was a Truthsayer relaxed himself closed his eyes and recited the Literny Against Fear perfectly, just as he had done a thousand times in his life.
"My life is the Reverned Mothers, set me to work or leave me for Shai Halud" he kept his eyes closed half expecting to feel the bone knife end his life.
"Get the fuck up" Kirsten said, as she swirled her cloak off and handed it to him "Put in on quickly" she demanded and then helped him up as he joined her little death squad in the fight. Around the camp similar acts of betrayal took place as those with, in some cases decade old hidden loyalties, switched sides to drive home the Truthsayer attack. One such example saw Lt.Col Uma Elainov hurry into General McCaul's tent.
"What the hell is going on?" the General asked still fumbling around for his boots.
"We're taking back Kaitaine" the Lt.Col said calmly as she removed her handgun from its holster, aimed it between the widening eyes of the senior officer of the Siege of Seitch and squeezed the trigger. The back wall of his tent changed instantly from white to red as she turned just as his two guards entered the tent, she shot the first killing him instantly, the second man dived for cover behind a metallic locker and blindly fired over it hitting Elainov in the stomach. She felt nothing as she fell backwards, thinking she was dead the guard left cover and the hidden Truthsayer shot him in the head. She staggered to her feet as more soldiers entered the tent wondering why the senior officers tent was now a volley of gunfire, Elainov emptied her handguns magazine and reached down for another as she felt her life beginning to fade even before the hail of fire from four rifles hastened her meeting with Shai Halud.
The camp infiltrated and many senior officers dead the second phase began, Sarah and Nathanial had left their mortar, things would be danger close now as in fire teams the Truthsayers closed on the camp. As expected a fighter jet appeared overhead, the fact McPherson had no desire to destroy Seitch, wanting it for his own trophy meant he'd not permitted bombing of the ancient sandstone dwellings. The pilot aimed in to overfly the camp but the smoke and chaos meant he had no clear target, it also meant he was low to the ground and unable to react as Nathanial pressed the trigger on the MANPADS unit and sent the missile to turn the plane into a fireball. They had to work quick now, there would be more aircraft at some point and they had few MANPADS. As the KDF ran teams of Truthsayers followed. Nathanial and Sarah however began scanning the camp, searching for intelligence and finding the tent where Elainov had made her stand they found the senior officers orders, maps showing positions throughout the nation, radio frequencies, codes and a treasure trove of information. "She was one of us" Sarah said looking down at the bloody corpse of the officer.
"How do you know?" Nathanial asked looking down unable to work it out. Sarah knelt and picked up the crystknife she'd spotted tucked into the woman's boot. "Ah" Nathanial wanted to get back to the walls of Seitch quickly, they had to keep advancing now, first down the gully that Seitch dominated the entrance too, and then to the less harsh territory of the arid grasslands that dominated the march to the coast. Seitch would need to become something more than just a city unsurrounded, it needed to be the start of something. "Sarah, they'll be time to bury the dead later. Now we need to make sure." he rolled her slightly so he could read the name on the jacket, "We need to make sure Truthsayer Elainov didn't die for nothing" Sarah nodded, removed the officers velcro name badge and took the Crystknife.
"Oh mighty Shai-hulud
Keeper of balance
Bless the Maker and His water
Bless the coming and going of Him
May His passage cleanse the world."
Sarah recited a quick prayer and headed back out along with Nathanial, the gun fire was dying down now and a handful of Truthsayers were mounting vehicles left in the blind panic by the KDF, several tens of whom where under guard.
Vitalya was already clambering in and out of the various pieces of armour that had been abandoned, vehicles completly useless for Seitch's streets but something that could become useful. She picked three and motioned for their drivers to follow her in a brand new shiny tank that trundled across the sands towards the city wall, what exactly she had in mind Nathanial didn't know but it felt good to see the victory completed, at least for today, as he, Sarah, Kirsten and
Lucy McKinnon jumped into a
BPM-97 Nathanial sat in the passenger seat with Kirsten driving, they pulled off racing towards their allocated pass through the hills that isolated the desert from the grasslands beyond, each pass would now become the front line and as the flame haired Truthsayer sped across the ever hardening desert floor Nathanial was reminded of his days in Meche with Red Legion, only this time there was no gear grinding from Olly Thomas. He found himself laughing at that thought and wondering what his old unit would have made of this day's action, he believed they would have approved and he hoped one day he could face them once more without dishonour. "Once a Red, Always a Red" he found himself saying the familiar words.