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Matt Ritter, sweating with all the effort of building the defensive wall, took a break and peered at the castle again. He was surprised when he saw a human walk along the wall.
“Major,” he yelled.
“What is it, Mr. Ritter?” I said.
“Is the General Conbor you spoke of a tall guy with sort of an oval face, pointed nose and chin?”
“If I remember correctly that sounds like him,” I said.
“He’s on the wall, sir.”
“What?”
I stepped over and raised the binoculars to my eyes. When I focused the lenses, General Conbor came into view. It had been a long time since I had seen him, but I recognized him. He hadn’t aged much. Obviously, he wanted to survey the battle. What surprised me even more than seeing him were the two plump lizard men walking beside him. I had forgotten what he called his alien allies on Vanodor, but as I watched them walk, the name came back to me. Kollaws. So how did they fit into the picture with Soltarians?
I was not going to make the mistake of allowing him to escape again. I’d put him in chains and take him back to face Federation justice or kill him. The latter option was easier, but the Federation would probably prefer him in a courtroom. He stopped, turned and looked toward the forest. That is him, I thought. The same beady little eyes.
“We meet again,” I said aloud.
A half-dozen Raiders saluted as they walked up. They held their long laser rifles.
“You’re going to be our snipers. Climb up the trees. When the Soltarians get in range, fire on my order. And keep firing. Looking at their physical shape I’m guessing our enemies can’t run that fast. I’m guessing they’re very slow on the ground. I’m also guessing they haven’t seen any ground fighting. Those two things will be deadly for them.”
The soldiers nodded and started climbing the trees. With the barricades up, the other Raiders checked their weapons. The first squad had sixteen men and women, so we were considerably outnumbered. But with our weapons, those numbers shouldn’t mean much. General Conbor had an extremely high IQ, but he was not a military man. Even a very intelligent man, if inexperienced, can make mistakes. Conbor, I hoped, was about to make such a mistake.
“Major Ryvenbark! Major Logan Ryvenbark!”
I looked through the binoculars again. The general had some type of megaphone he spoke into. Had to be a powerful one.
“I know you can hear me, major. So I will make you an offer. Your command can be wiped out in a few minutes. But I have another option for you. You will die here and I will kill you. The defeat on Vanodor was humiliating and I have planned vengeance for ten years. But if you meet me on the field of battle I will let your soldiers leave. One against one. Knife against knife. Your squad may return unhindered to the future. Only you will be left here. Think about it for a few minutes, major. I have a messenger who will bring a means of communication to you. When he arrives, give me your answer. If you don’t, my armies will attack.”
I checked the scanner. The three forces marching toward us were black dots on a green screen, inching closer.
“Don’t do it,” Astrid said. “Not that you wouldn’t mind stabbing him.”
“I wonder if he would actually go through with it. The only people he knifed on Vanodor were prisoners tied to a stake. Besides, we’re not here for my personal convenience. Mr. Ritter, how close are our adversaries?”
“They should be within range in about six minutes, sir.”
“You know, brilliant people are not brilliant in every area of life. They can make mistakes just like anybody. Conbor is not all that wise in wanting a battle. From what I can tell we have better weapons than his forces. But I do like his ploy. If I go out and play swordsman with him, his armies can creep closer to our positions; close enough they could overwhelm us in an attack. But I’m not going to play his game. We fire as soon as the Soltarians get in range.”
I looked up. Our snipers nestled comfortably in the branches. They had clear shots at the advancing armies. The Soltarians to the east could be seen clearly now without binoculars. Tall and ugly. Not exactly a trained military either. The columns were ragged. They did not march in precision. I doubted they would stay calm when we poured fire and lasers into their ranks. I smiled at Astrid.
“I think this shows that Conbor doesn’t think on his feet well. He expected us to materialize in the valley, where his shooters could pick us off without danger to themselves. I don’t think he had a good backup plan.”
“You have a backup plan?” Astrid said.
“I sure do. But my backup plan is the same as my first plan. We win. They lose,” I said.
The Soltarians broke ranks. Soldiers spread out. Soon they could link up with the Soltarian force from the south. When the group from the castle arrived, they could easily surround us. I forgot the name of the general in the Korean War who faced the same situation. “They have us surrounded, boys. That’s great. We can fire in any direction!” That’s a paraphrase. But he said something very similar.
A horseman – Conbor’s messenger – rode toward us. He wasn’t in a hurry. He rode slowly. No doubt commanded by the general to go at low speed. The more time he took getting to us, the more time the armies had to surround us. The Soltarian messenger didn’t look too comfortable in the saddle; he probably hadn’t ridden too many horses back on his home planet. I like riding, but horses are not ubiquitous across the galaxy. The bear-like rider almost fell twice. His hand grabbed the horse to steady himself. His feet were too big for the stirrups. With their size, the Soltarians weren’t graceful creatures, but the rider looked more awkward than most. When he slowed for a stop, he pulled the reins too tight. The horse neighed and reared up, knocking the rider to the ground. He hit with a solid bam on the hard earth. He stood up, growling, and started to walk toward the horse.
I stepped out from the forest.
“Climb on your horse and get back to the general. Tell him that no matter how much I would enjoy a one-on-one with him, his deal is unacceptable.”
The Soltarian’s cold, green eyes stared at me. He growled again. Two large incisors showed when he pulled back his lips.
“Then you are a coward,” he said.
“Yea, that must be it. Getting edgy in my old age. Should retire and play golf. I know Conbor’s gambit and it won’t work. I’m not going to have your armies creep up on us while I’m fighting the general. But tell him not to get impatient. I’ll come for him later. Tell him also I know the connection between the lizard guys and the Soltarians. That was a very creative idea by him. A stroke of pure genius. But it won’t work. Tell him he’s going to die here, along with his armies.”
My words didn’t make the messenger look any happier.
“We will see,” he said, as he mounted his horse.
I turned and hastened back into the cover of the forest.
“How much time do we have Mr. Ritter?”
“The enemy will be in range in two minutes, sir.”
“Then in we fire.”