159 Chapter 8.14 - Pushback

Contrary to Haven's march across the northern half of the GWA, it was different for one of Haven's infiltration forces, The Echoes.

For The Echoes, it had been three days of unhindered movement across the territory held by the GWA.

Coming in along the GWA's southern coast heading east, The Echoes goal was simple. They were to recon for signs of life, habitation, and submit an immediate report should they find anything of note, especially one of the hidden temples that had to be captured. They moved quickly through towns, hamlets, and forest villages. Theirs was not the objective to abduct or to burn away the enemy's resources. Theirs was a job to not be seen.

Their squad was a fairly simple one. It consisted mostly of Lancer Gole, a few changelings and a solitary human. Their makeup was because of their skillset, as The Echoes were an infiltration unlike any other. They used the normal skills such as [stealth] just like most rogue classes, but that wasn't why they were special. They all had acquired the [greyman] perk, but that also wasn't what made them special.

What made them special was that they had all psionic classes. Although Lancer Gole this was the norm, the Changelings had all become Scions of Whispers, Changelings that were experts in extracting the memories of people from the minds of others and changing their appearance and mannerisms to match.

As for the human, he was an orphan raised by Lancer parents. It only made sense that exposure to this over his childhood had pushed him to become a psionics mage.

This was what made the Echoes special. They walked through the towns and along roads with impunity. They tended not to exist in the eyes of the common folk, and in the rare instance that they took the notice of a stationed inquisitor, they simply made him forget they were there.

Prior to the Cult's invasion, The Echoes would have been unable to move like this. They had tried several times, but the amount of stationed guards the farther in they had traveled made it impossible for them to advance so far on previous scoutings.

But now, everywhere was a skeleton crew. The Cult had sent too large of a force, and now their outskirts were unprotected. With Haven's movements North and Northeast, the Cult was unlikely to reinforce an area that has not been attacked.

It took almost three days for The Echoes to reach the first large sign of civilization. The flyovers that Haven did every few months stated this place was 'at best' a hamlet.

It seemed that Haven had a lapse in intelligence.

It wasn't their fault. The 'hamlet' they spoke of was just a few of the farm buildings. However, cut into hills and mountains was a city, hidden in the hills.

Echo-11 sent out her consciousness, and as expected, from above the city looked like farmhills.

[We have hit a snag, Seven.]

[Submit the image in via long range [message]. Our mission stays the same.]

Walking through the city, it was as if there was no violence. This city was a trade hub, bustling with merchants, and prices listed in 'stamps'. Listening to the thoughts of those around, they realized attempting to purchase with credits might give them away. So they instead just kept moving.

As they moved towards the center of the city, most of The Echoes began to feel itchy. All except fo Echo-9. He felt pulled towards it.

[Nine, stay in position. We move as a group.]

"But Cynthia, don't you hear it. It's beautiful."

The entire group looked at Echo-9. In the field, they don't use names. And the Echoes were well known for not speaking to their teammates vocally. Ever.

Something was wrong.

[Eight and Four, prepare for a wipe. Have a collar placed on Nine but don't activate it until it's necessary.]

Echo-9 did not stop them as they locked a collar around him. Echo-9 didn't seem to notice. As they followed Echo-9, they found what they were looking for, it was a Cathedral.

One by one as they crossed the threshold of the Buried Cathedral, their [system] alerted them to finding an objective.

[You have discovered an enemy stronghold known as 'The Crypt'. Other occupants have been alerted to your presence. Remove all other occupants and maintain control for 24 hours to capture.]

This was bad. They were not standing forces. They were scouts. They didn't openly carry weapons or have on the plated suits of the Protectorate.

They were meant to not exist. And here they just told a city they had invaded.

What was worse is that Echo-9 didn't stop walking towards the front of the altar.

[Six, send out an emergency message! Everyone else gears up!]

"You Fools thought you could invade my sacred space?! You thought you could hide from the eyes of Man?! I see through all eyes, and this wayward child can see you all"

It was Echo-9's mouth, but not his voice. His eyes glowed golden, possessed by some impossible force. Echo-9, the only human on the Echoes, had been instantly possessed by the power of Mephystra.

[Eight and Four, wipe and detain.]

As Echo-9 floated in the air preparing for a psionic onslaught overpowered by divine will, the collar activated, stopping the flow of his magic. Then the Echoes' failsafe was activated.

Normally, a [mindwipe] was considered a last grace upon prisoners before they were converted into Forged. It removed their sense of self. It was similar to being Snapped by Parasites, but it was not a removal of self, simply a wipe.

All of The Echoes kept numerous backups of their consciousness in multiple locations.

Echo-9 was now a drooling mess, but he would be fine. Their latest backup was done just prior to leaving Haven, so he would be missing about a week. Better than dealing with PDS, or post-death Syndrome.

[This is Echo-6 to the Nexus. We have located a temple and activated our beacon, but we are currently surrounded and the enemy is closing in. We have barricaded ourselves in the enemy stronghold…]

Echo-6 took a shot at a herald that came into view.

[request immediate backup. We will not last long. Do not send humans, as their minds are not capable of withstanding enemy encroachment.]

Echo-6 had sent out their message, and began donning armor while receiving cover.

Echo-3, their [barrier] master, had thrown up an invisible barrier strong enough to stop most everything, but the enemy had increased the amount of magic they were casting, and Echo-3 was starting to show the signs of psionic fatigue, as her nose was bleeding, and the dancing stones above her head started to fall.

[Echoes be advised, Partycrashers are twelve minutes out.]

***

Haven's Protectorate was well known for having an assortment of specialized teams of niche fighters that were good at one skill. There were the Longshots, Dawnbringers, and Red Talons that were well used in previous fights. There were also famous groups such as the Rowdy bunch and Archangels. There were even super specialized teams like The Echoes, The Forsaken, and The Watchers.

Then there were The Partycrashers.

The Partycrashers were not special as soldiers go. They looked no different than a normal adventuring party. Four fighters, two mages, a healer, two constructs, and a marksman. There were more members to the party crashers, but this team was the only one of the three that was made up of all non-humans. They were also on standby that day.

Sitting in their barracks, most of them were playing a 10 person cardgame. It was a strange game about the harvest festival, trying to get the best date, and figuring out which player was a changeling in disguise. It would be considered a bit racist of a game, if it wasn't historically, and culturally, accurate.

They all sat in their armor, as they knew what being on standby meant.

Then they heard it. They had many drills, but this wasn't a drill. This was a mission. The blinking red crystal activated over the door to their barracks.

Christine, Team Leader, shouted "MOVE MOVE MOVE!"

They did not take time to put away their game or even carefully exit. They just rushed out the door with weapons in hand. The mages were casting long term buffs and resistance spells on the team.

They arrived at their posts in less than a minute and took up positions. Two to a capsule.

"I hate this part," Christine mumbled.

The ten members of Partycrasher Team Beta entered their pods, upon which [stasis] was cast on them.

As they were being loaded, they were sent their brief via message.

[You are being deployed to an enemy temple stronghold. Primary forces are already enroute, but The Echoes stumbled into this and activated an instance of divine retribution. Your mission is to secure the area, remove all hostels, and protect The Echoes, as they are not equipped to handle this threat.]

Even if they were in [stasis], the appearance of the director made her skin crawl. Elder Lich had this effect on the living. Lord Rezzi stood smiling as he continued his brief.

[Estimated time of arrival for main forces is 4 hours. You will have no backup until then, so fight accordingly. Launch in six seconds.]

Their capsules had been loaded. The amber of [stasis] would protect them from the kinetic force of what was to come.

The thing about their barracks was it was a kinetically shielded bunker attached to Haven's Mountain Fortress artillery battery. That was why they were stationed in less than a minute. Their job was to be readily deployable to any place within range of Haven's artillery.

The Partycrashers were fired in pairs of two from five cannons located in Haven. 5 special artillery shells firing towards a beacon activated at the very range of Haven's cannons.

That was what made the Partycrashers special. Not their skills or expertise, but the fact that they were willing to get into an artillery cannon and sail into the unknown.

It took a special kind of crazy.

***