Soldiers watched the skies with solemn stares. Some were somber, some trembled with fear, others held onto their weapons with white hands and clenched jaws. Around the village, a silence settled over the abandoned houses. No one spoke, some barely moved, holding their weapons as if to ward evil.

News of what happened to Killeen had spread amongst the soldiers. Phones had been buzzing all day as family and friends of the soldiers made contact with them. Eric allowed a brief moment for every soldier to call or text family members so that they could let loved ones know they were safe.

After that, he and Michael had gone around collecting the soldiers phones. The names of each man or woman was taped on the phones before being placed in a container and secured in Eric’s vehicle.

Michael stood against the truck after the last phone was collected. "We should have done that before moving out." He murmured.

Eric didn’t respond.

The agonizing pain in his head from earlier had lessened after the attack from the Arks main cannon, but he still felt residual bursts of pain. He was doing all he could just to think straight and remain standing.

As Night fell, Eric called the leaders of each element for a meeting. The Ark had slowed after destroying Killeen, so the Task force had a small window to rest and plan.

Justin, Felicity, and Jessica were all trembling as they felt the mana in the air weakening. Their bodies trembled and Jessica had to lean on Felicity to stand up. Felicity’s face was pale, and her usually obsidian tinted horns looked dull. Justin leaned against the truck, supporting himself on it.

Eric narrowed his eyes at Justin. "Why are you here?"

"General Milano sent me here, Master Sergeant. He said that every strike force we can muster right now will join the battlefield."

Eric softened his glare. "Alright. Be careful, and bear with the weakening as well as you can." He murmured. Tryasche stood off to the side, his eyes burning fiercely as he studied the skies.

"The ship draws near, Master Sergeant. What do you propose?"

Eric blinked. "You can see that far?"

Tryasche arched his eyebrows. "Master Sergeant, the time for battle draws near. Forget whether my eyes can reach the vessel or not. Inform us of the plans for battle."

Eric took a deep breath, trying to settle his nerves. "You’re right, your majesty. I apologize."

Eric began with pointing at an area on the map to the east. "Justin and Jessica, you will be in charge of the east. You will each have two companies of Armor, and one platoon of artillery. Do not engage the Ark until after the B-2 strikes. Felicity and Dragon King Tryasche, the signal for your engagement of the Ark will be red smoke. I will throw red smoke out near the river. When you see that red smoke, engage the target."

Tryasche looked at the map, his eyes holding sorrow that Eric understood very well.

"Master Sergeant, I believe your plan has one flaw. Did your commander consult with the elves before coming up with it?"

Eric shook his head. "No, your Majesty. Due to the time constraints, we had very little time to consult with any of the allies. Riemskin had barely enough time to send their own soldiers."

Eric pointed to a unit of Riemskin soldiers who were setting up mana cannons.

Tryasche shook his head.

"Master Sergeant, this current plan will cause the deaths of many. We cannot afford to tarry."

Eric tilted his head in confusion. "What do you mean, your majesty?"

Eric’s chest tightened with dread as he felt the effect of the Dragon Kings words. He pictured Jessica covered in blood, or having to tell Erica that Justin had died. His face darkened.

"Please tell me how to avoid such a fate, your majesty."

Tryasche grabbed the map from Eric.

"You are assuming that your first strike will weaken the barrier enough for our power to work on it. That is not the case, Master Sergeant. After reviewing what the Dwarves sent us, our Dragonsmith understood one key component of the shield..."

Tryasche looked up with a grin.

"The Ark will repel any and all mana, but your weapons will ignore the shields completely. I assume the Strike from earlier was a simple test shot from a smaller bomb? The Ark was designed to be able to absorb Brios fire should the Mana shield fail. That is why your earlier strike failed to produce much damage. Do you see these blue cores illuminated on the front and sides of the ship? Target those with your weapons. Destroy them, and then in conjunction with your forces..."

Tryasche tapped on the map.

"The riverbed will be the Ark’s grave."

Eric tapped his chin and looked at the map.

"Okay. Let me make a call."

He walked back over to his truck, and Michael joined him. "What do you think?" The captain asked as Eric grabbed the radio.

Eric sighed and looked up at the night sky. The green and purple lights were now visible just past the treeline.

"I think we have a fighting chance." Eric murmured before turning the radio on.

"HQ, Chaos one. Urgent report."

The response came immediately. Milano’s tired voice came over the net. "This is HQ. Go ahead Chaos one."

Eric sighed, looking at the ground before responding. "Sir, Dragon King Tryasche informed me that our kinetic weapons can effect the Ark because they do not rely on mana. Our original plan will not work, but I think plan Delta will."

Milano’s voice sounded clearer with his next response. "How sure are we of this?"

"Sir, the Dragons have a Dragonsmith. He is the one that told Dragon King Tryasche of this weakness after reviewing video of the B-2 strike. If the shield repelled our weapons as well, the strike would never have been able to penetrate the barrier. Furthermore, the Dragon King said that if we target the blue cores on the outside of the Ark, we can take it down."

Milano didn’t answer for a few minutes. Eric assumed he was in contact with the Carrier.

Michael opened his notebook and turned a few pages before looking at Eric with eyes wide. "You can’t be serious." He grumbled.

For the first time since the start of this week, Eric laughed. He felt some of the tension he was carrying release off his shoulders.

"I am, Mike. That thing took out a city. Our aircraft fly higher and faster than it. A few bombing runs and it is retired from the air permanently."

Michael sighed and looked up. "You’re a mad man."

Milano came back on the net before Eric could respond.

"Chaos one, this is HQ. Move all forward troops back to Phase Line Delta. Strike package Zulu is confirmed."

"Roger. Chaos one out." 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

Eric walked back over to the leaders of each element. "Alright. Here is what we will do. All fighting positions will be moved to Phase Line Delta. We will wait for the signal, then attack the Ark with every asset we have."

Justin looked up, his eyes narrowed. "For what reason?"

Eric pointed towards the riverbed.

"Broken arrow. Danger close. Every aircraft, attack helicopter, and drone with targeting capabilities will attack the Ark."

Justin stood up from the truck, his body swaying lightly. His face went pale as he studied the map. To his side, Jessica shivered. She had never heard the words "broken arrow" in person, but she had seen movies with it. She retreated a few steps before shaking her head and coming to her senses.

"Justin, let’s go." She murmured.

"We need to move our troops back... and move them now."

Tryasche studied the young soldiers with a grave demeanor. His eyes shined with a gold light, reflecting the stars. "I see." He murmured.

Michael simply smoked a cigarette, he could do nothing but shake his head as he thought about plan Delta. "Phase Line Delta might be too close." He murmured.

Red lights shone throughout the forest, with the load roar of tank engines mixing with the hum of most of the other vehicles. The forest was an orchestra of soldiers gear clanking, and orders being rushed. Soldiers clamored into vehicles, and equipment was being packed up as quickly as possible. Most of the teams had already vacated the area. Tryasche and the other Dragons remained in the central clearing with Eric and Michael.

"Aren’t we too close?" Michael murmured. They were only around half a mile back from where the Ark would come into contact with the Task Force aircraft.

Eric shook his head. "Maybe a little." He said. "But, we need to be close so that we can overlook the battlefield. This is the only vantage point."

Michael slumped against the truck.

"I swear, by the time I’m forty I will have stress related ulcers because of you."