attend. Get to the redoubts.” She pointed outside through the transparency of the diamond armor, to make her point. In doing so, she reminded them all that her cooks were busily setting up long tables, preparing to serve the feast in the meadow far below. Vorvington made an almost sexual sound as he watched a distant mammoth haunch being basted by a cook wielding a brush the size of a broom.
“Yes, Your Majesty. The redoubts, of course,” Altin said. He’d been watching Orli lean against the smooth surface of Citadel’s outer hull, her body stretched languorously, which had transfixed him momentarily. The Queen had caught him in it. He flashed a glance back at Orli whose cheeks rounded with a smile and eyes glinted mischievously. She’d been more than aware of his persistent gaze these last two floors, and while she sympathized with his present discomfiture, she had been taking great pleasure in presenting a sinuous limb for him here and there, stretching this way or that, or just tilting her torso when some wonderful object allowed a succulent and teasing reach. He was so easy in that way, and she had every intention of having her way when it came to chasing a sequence of sunrises tonight.
Altin cleared his throat and began. “The redoubts are, in essence, replicas of my tower, a structure with which most of you are familiar, having encountered me in it when first we met. As you can see, this entire top floor upon which we stand is in fact an assemblage of redoubts, short towers with three floors and battlements at the top, just like mine, but for their being square to maximize space. Each of these has an assigned crew of three mages and carries everything it needs to function independently of Citadel .”
He looked across the crowd to see if anyone looked like they were lost. No one did, though Thadius had slid close to Orli and was peering down at her with an expression Altin did not care for. He was forced to press on, however. “Think of the redoubts as you might the small boats on a titan hunter or whaling ship, or perhaps the small ships your people use, the one you arrived in today as an example.”
Heads began to nod. Captain Asad once more exchanged meaningful glances with a few of the other captains. He made a point of moving in a way that allowed his video log to record the entirety of the expanse. “How many of them are there?” he asked.
“Two hundred and twenty-five,” Altin replied. “For the most part, we anticipate they will simply stay here, serving as the battle deck of the fortress—if Aderbury will tolerate such an analogy. The mages that man each one will function powerfully as a single unit from here.”
Aderbury wrinkled up his face. “You know I hate when you make boat analogies.”
“I know.” He winked at his friend and pressed on. “The whole set of them works as the battle stage for Citadel while it operates as a singular space fortress, but they can also serve as a swarm of combat-ready vessels that can fight alongside Citadel , whichever suits a given combat necessity. That central tower you see out there is the command center for combat operations whether Citadel fights assembled or as a swarm. We’ll be headed there next.”
A general murmur commenced amongst the visitors from Earth. Roberto leaned to Orli and, with a nudge, half asked, half speculated below his breath, “So, is he saying that all these little blocks fly around like his tower did when we first met him? Like fighters or something?”
“Yes, he is saying precisely that,” said Captain Asad, having overheard.
“Oh,” said Roberto. He looked back at Orli, then to Altin, and the genuine nature of his personality bypassed his tactical filters for a time. “We don’t even have fighters.”
It was fortunate for the swarthy lieutenant that Captain Asad’s eyes were not actually gun turrets and that he could not actually fire deadly projectiles or searing beams of high energy from them.
And
“Yes, Your Majesty. The redoubts, of course,” Altin said. He’d been watching Orli lean against the smooth surface of Citadel’s outer hull, her body stretched languorously, which had transfixed him momentarily. The Queen had caught him in it. He flashed a glance back at Orli whose cheeks rounded with a smile and eyes glinted mischievously. She’d been more than aware of his persistent gaze these last two floors, and while she sympathized with his present discomfiture, she had been taking great pleasure in presenting a sinuous limb for him here and there, stretching this way or that, or just tilting her torso when some wonderful object allowed a succulent and teasing reach. He was so easy in that way, and she had every intention of having her way when it came to chasing a sequence of sunrises tonight.
Altin cleared his throat and began. “The redoubts are, in essence, replicas of my tower, a structure with which most of you are familiar, having encountered me in it when first we met. As you can see, this entire top floor upon which we stand is in fact an assemblage of redoubts, short towers with three floors and battlements at the top, just like mine, but for their being square to maximize space. Each of these has an assigned crew of three mages and carries everything it needs to function independently of Citadel .”
He looked across the crowd to see if anyone looked like they were lost. No one did, though Thadius had slid close to Orli and was peering down at her with an expression Altin did not care for. He was forced to press on, however. “Think of the redoubts as you might the small boats on a titan hunter or whaling ship, or perhaps the small ships your people use, the one you arrived in today as an example.”
Heads began to nod. Captain Asad once more exchanged meaningful glances with a few of the other captains. He made a point of moving in a way that allowed his video log to record the entirety of the expanse. “How many of them are there?” he asked.
“Two hundred and twenty-five,” Altin replied. “For the most part, we anticipate they will simply stay here, serving as the battle deck of the fortress—if Aderbury will tolerate such an analogy. The mages that man each one will function powerfully as a single unit from here.”
Aderbury wrinkled up his face. “You know I hate when you make boat analogies.”
“I know.” He winked at his friend and pressed on. “The whole set of them works as the battle stage for Citadel while it operates as a singular space fortress, but they can also serve as a swarm of combat-ready vessels that can fight alongside Citadel , whichever suits a given combat necessity. That central tower you see out there is the command center for combat operations whether Citadel fights assembled or as a swarm. We’ll be headed there next.”
A general murmur commenced amongst the visitors from Earth. Roberto leaned to Orli and, with a nudge, half asked, half speculated below his breath, “So, is he saying that all these little blocks fly around like his tower did when we first met him? Like fighters or something?”
“Yes, he is saying precisely that,” said Captain Asad, having overheard.
“Oh,” said Roberto. He looked back at Orli, then to Altin, and the genuine nature of his personality bypassed his tactical filters for a time. “We don’t even have fighters.”
It was fortunate for the swarthy lieutenant that Captain Asad’s eyes were not actually gun turrets and that he could not actually fire deadly projectiles or searing beams of high energy from them.
And
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