Tunnel Rat-Chapter 453: Victory is Ours!

Onyx brought the airship lower and lower, skimming low over the waves to enter the cavern that held Shadowport. Nina was with him, looking out the forward observation window.

"Things have changed."

Onyx laughed, "I got some of the story out of Milo, and it sounded crazy if you hadn't been in this town. It was one of the reasons I wanted to come back. I got bored so easily playing other games, but here, your actions can change the world."

"Oh, Bork proved that. Hard to miss the huge explosion that obliterated a slaver stronghold. But I'm so curious about how the game reacts to that. Will someone try to rebuild Fort Hopeless? There isn't a lot left. Do all the quests and storylines tied to it just go away? I don't see that happening."

"Neither do I. The Engine will react, but I think we have to look at the historical data from the early centuries when the slave trade flourished on earth. If it was outlawed in one place, it popped up in another. People made money off of slavery, and if we know one thing about the world, it's that people will do horrible things in the name of money. But you're thinking of something. Your tail is twitching." He grinned at her as she turned to look at her own tail accusingly.

"It has a mind of its own, sometimes. But I am pondering things. Firstly, we need to make slavery very costly, wherever we find it. Bork just did that. Took out Fort Hopeless and increased the cost of doing business. There's only a rocky island left, with damaged quays and a few buildings. If the slave rebellion he set up is successful, the enslaved gladiators and minors will sail away, and the slavers will be dead."

"Creating a power vacuum?"

She pulled out a chart and unrolled it. "Yes. Along with the problems of shiploads of gladiators. Some are going to sail to any pirate or scavenger stronghold they can find. Piracy is going to increase. That can affect shipping to Shadowport, and not the biggest problem for the town."

"You think the slaving cartels will come here. I agree. It's the closest port, already has a disreputable reputation, and is only technically part of the Empire."

They cleared the lip of the cavern and got a good look at the city. Foremost was the large, fortified tower a few hundred feet from the docks. It commanded the seas around Shadowport, and any ship, on water or air, was under its guns. If that wasn't enough, four dwarven-built ironclads were at anchor, two on either side of it. Their broadsides could fire at any ship trying to dock, and also controlled the beaches nearest the tower. Smoke from the four ships and the tower indicated they had boilers running, ready to power their steam guns.

"Hmm, I would guess that some people haven't been following the rules." Onyx's sharp eyes had caught sight of shadows in the water. As they passed over them, they could make out the lines of ships sunk to the bottom of the bay. "They've had pirate trouble before. I think those people were examples of what not to do when sailing into Shadowport."

"And now there may be a lot more people heading this way."

"Well, if they do try to come here and don't follow the rules, they're in for a big surprise."

Nina's tail was still twitching, "And we'll have to see what sort of other surprises we can come up with."

Signals came from the tower, both flags and flashing lights. Onyx concentrated and had the airship send back flashes of its own. There was no mistaking the airship. It was bigger than anything anyone else had ever made, with an armored airbag and powerful engines. But that didn't tell the tower who was in control of it. With signals and countersignals given, he brought the airship into a perfect position where he could deploy a set of stairs down to the top of the tower.

To his surprise, Captain Squint was waiting for him with a band of twenty Kulags and his two large cats. He grabbed Onyx in a hug, patting him on the back repeatedly, then put his arm around his shoulders. "Perfect timing! I was just telling the guys that you'd be back any month now, and here you are, way ahead of schedule. I'm sure you got everything on my shopping list?"

Onyx had, but some of it hadn't been easy. "I did. Four hundred sticks of thick bamboo over twelve feet long, a thousand six-inch-wide springs, and five hundred small, empty kegs. I found all of that in one stop at the Caravan Oasis in Nemydon. The hundred bolts of silk I had to travel to Affir to pick up, and the Amulets of an Uncaring God, were only available in Symuria."

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"Excellent. And the special assault corp?"

Onyx looked at his list, seeing nothing about that. He was about to say something when Min jumped from the open door, followed by Butch and the others. Squint clapped his hands.

"Oh my, look at them. If there was ever a rag-tag crew of misfits ready to assault a large army in a no-hope-to-win situation suicidally, this is it! I thought I forgot to gather them up, but here they are. They're perfect to send in first and keep the army of guards busy while everyone else gets there."

Min had no idea what was going on, but liked the sound of it. "I'm in. Sounds fun. What are we doing!"

Squint beamed and yelled at his Kulags. "Who brought a copy of the super-secret plans?" Several of them had rolls of parchment with them and spread them on the floor, putting coins on the corners to keep them from rolling back up. Squint walked around the plans, pointing to them randomly as he talked."

"It's a bold plan that took even me by surprise! A beach assault and parachute landing! Which group a soldier is in will depend on their aim. If they can land on the beach, the large springs on their boots will absorb the shock of the parachute landing. If they miss and land in the water, the empty kegs will keep them afloat while they swim to shore. After that, the Amulets of an Uncaring God, with their bonus to rock climbing, will help them get up the cliffs. Of course, they'll never survive if the island's defenders are shooting at them. That's where our Suicide Commandos come in. We'll smuggle them in the day before as crates of wine and food. As soon as the airship unloads them, they can spring from their crates, make short work of the guards on the loading dock, and get to work killing the gun crews and tying up the defenders. A classic plan, if I do say so myself."

Everyone looked at the plans, with Butch and his group dismissing them as the scribbles of a four-year-old, while the Alphabet, especially Bork, tried to make sense of them. Finally, they all shook their heads. Onyx approached Captain Squint, "There seems to be a lot of details missing in those plans. Just how many guards are there?"

"Oh, probably no less than a thousand, but probably four thousand. Big place."

"Ah, yes. And the guns? Are they in one place? The drawings seem to indicate they are scattered around a large perimeter at different heights."

Squint nodded, "Yep, they are. Makes it nearly impossible to take them out. But I'm certain that the crew you hand-picked can handle it."

"Right, right. And what keeps them from blowing up the airship?"

Squint was puzzled by that question. His face went from unhappy to confused, sad, and then beaming. "Luck and the favor of the gods. Can't think of a good reason why they wouldn't put some shots into it at point-blank range, so there must be something special going on to prevent that. I'll leave that up to you."

Zander rolled his eyes. "Anyone got a direct line to a god? How about a minor deity? Nature spirit? Maybe a lucky charm from a roadside curio shop?"

Squint was still smiling, "I'm sure the bunch of you has things well in hand. And remember, the lives of the five hundred Kulags who are going to parachute into that blistering hell of a drop zone are counting on you to take out those guns. They say that Fort Hopeless can't be taken, but I'm betting that were the people to do it!"

The Kulags cheered, making up for in numbers for what they lacked in enthusiasm for the plan.

Bork stepped forward. "Fort Hopeless? Big rock in the ocean? Slaver stronghold? That Fort Hopeless?"

Squint nodded, "That's the one. Glad to see you've done the research on it."

"Did more than that. Blew the cursed place up and killed all the slavers."

Squint threw up his arms, shouting loudly. "HUZZAH, Victory is ours! I knew we could do it. Go Us! This calls for a victory celebration, promotions, and handing out medals to all involved. We have vanquished a great foe and destroyed a den of thieves! Fish tacos are on me tonight!"

This time, the Kulags began shouting more loudly.

Butch elbowed Min to get her attention, "What the hell just happened?"

Min rolled her eyes, "Didn't you pay attention, little-big brother? We won a great victory, now we go stuff ourselves with tacos. Don't think about it too hard."