Chapter 8.15 - Crashing a Party

A bolter round pinged off of Echo-7's shield spell. It was one of twelve layers provided by the crystals that floated around his head. In response, one of the gems above his head turned to dust. Echo-7 complained on their group [message].

[I am not sure where they got access to bolter rifles, but I will be lodging a complaint with Ephraim on our merchant's security measures!]

Echo-7 was irate. He was also bleeding. Regardless of his enchantments and magics, he had still taken several shots he was unable to warp fully away from his torso. For non-physical classes like Lancers, even glancing blows hurt.

Echo-7 was a lancer, but he had not assumed the mantle of high lancer, as he still only had two eyes. However, when his psionics were active, several magic stones with enchantments floated around his head. Keeping the stones afloat and active was a racial ability that happened as thoughtless as breathing. But now they were starting to fall, either by the enchantment being lost or from his concentration being forced on the more pressing matters.

The 'pressing matters' in question being surviving the onslaught.

The Echoes were not combat troops. Their skills were to assit them to infiltrate, disappear, or run. Not to fight. Sure, they were able to overpower the enemy psionically, but that was better for individual targets, and not the entirety of the enemy's city guard. The Echoes then used their magics for defense, and depended on their less qualified [marksman] training, So they were a little less capable than the average greycoat member of the general protectorate when it came to combat prowess.

Even with years of training, the Echoes were ill suited to this task. It was as if a fish was being assessed on its ability to climb a tree. It would not end well, but they were going to try. They had to try.

When the fight started, Echo-1 had led them all upstairs to the balcony, then used her psionics to create a [mirage] over the stairs and removed them from collective reality. It didn't affect reality, and if a Forged or homunculi came over they could see and ascend the stairs naturally. However, to any organic thinking creatures that entered the cathedral, it would be as if they weren't there. And even if they told them there were stairs there, their mind would not allow them to act any different than if it was a blank wall. The mind didn't tend to accept itself as wrong, and trying to convince someone that reality wasn't what they currently saw caused issues.

It would have to hold. Echo-3's barrier was beginning to fall. Four and Eight were carrying Echo-9 who was a drooling mess.

It had only been 10 minutes since they crossed the barrier, but it had felt like an eternity.

Were there any bone flyers or flesh giants stationed in this city? Was there something worse?

These forces were bad enough. The bolter rifles thankfully were not automatic. They still fired the same needle-like projectiles.

Echo-2 and Echo-6 were down. There wasn't time to heal their wounds fully so they were stabilized and thrown into [stasis] amber.

There were only twelve members of this team, and their combat capability was dropping quickly.

[Four Black on Ammo!]

[Eight as well!]

Echo-7 was irate and he knew what was happening. They would not last long. He looked at Echo-1.

[Should I prepare it?]

[Give the reinforcements more time.] Was Echo-1's response.

Then the barrier went down. Echo-3 was done. Her nose gushed blood, and her eyes were bloodshot. If they survived it would take her a week to recover. If they survived.

[Echo-10, take over on the barrier! Echo 10?]

Echo-10 had been knocked out.

As if waiting for this, with the barrier down the city guard began throwing flash explosives. Did they mean to disorient their enemies?, Echo-7 thought.

Echo-1 was already on it, reaching into the mind of the guard captain and listened to the whispers on their mind.

No. They would throw flash explosives until we stopped fighting back. They would then switch to regular explosives.

[Whatever happens, toss anything that comes over back over the balcony. No need to be accurate. Use [tremorsense] because your eyes and ears will fail you.]

The remaining Echoes sat and waited. Then a single ruby explosive device was thrown. Echo-7 tossed it right over the balcony not knowing that it was not a flash explosive but a fragmentary, and not a moment too soon. Although they couldn't hear the screams and shouts of the enemy, they smelled an excess of iron entering the air.

When hearing slowly returned to Echo-7, he could hear a loud whistle. It was almost like…

[Artillery. Reinforcements have arrived!] Echo-1 announced.

Piercing through the roof and hitting within a meter of the beacon device, five canisters crashed into the ground.

Spilling out were 10 members of the Protectorate team, Partycrashers, who immediately dispatched the few surviving enemy forces inside the cathedral and then closed, latched, and barricaded the door.

***

Unlike the armor of the Echoes, which was woven with crystal thread to aid their magical and psionic abilities, the Partycrashers wore the more standard armor of the protectorate. Lava Serpent skinsuit, armor beast plating, full filtration system, audiovisual relay crystals.

They came to kill.

When they noticed the Echoes upstairs, they were confused. "Do you have wounded?"

"Yes! We also have run out of ammo and magic."

"Alright We will tend to your wounded. How do we get up there?"

"Take the stairs!"

"What stairs?!"

Echo-7 shook his head. The power to confuse the living affected all non-psionics. Not just the enemy.

"Hold On!"

"Wait, no, no no!"

Without much effort, The Crasher-1 and Crasher-2 threw Crasher-9, their healer, onto the balcony.

Landing with a bit of disgrace, the healer brushed themselves off and took to work.

Outside, enemy forces were now attempting to breach.

Echo-1 called down to the Partycrashers that were now making barricades and preparing to dig in.

"Crashers, you have enemy forces just outside the cathedral that are planning to breach the door within moments!"

Crasher-1 responded back. "Nothing we weren't prepared for, Echo-1."

Echo-1 then asked, "When is the main force coming?"

"The subjugator himself will arrive in four hours. Along with the rest of the Forsaken Vanguard."

Echo-1 blinked. The Lord of Haven himself was coming to their rescue.

Crasher-1 then pulled bags of supplies and small cases and threw them up to the balcony, which landed around The Echoes unceremoniously. As Echo-1 opened them, she was surprised by their contents. Plate armor rigging, autobolters, ammo, magneta scatterguns. It was a Protecorate company's arsenal all within several dozen bags.

"Although the Subjugator is enroute, they will not arrive until dawn. The enemy will breach in minutes, and although holding off a city guard is no problem for the 12 of us, We have received a report from the long range diviners that the Cult has opened a blood [gate] outside the city and is bringing in reinforcements as we speak. You will find ammo, weapons, and spare plate rigs in those bags. Heal up as best you can, as we are in for a long night."

Outside the city limits, a gate opened, spilling forth soldiers, giants, bone flyers, and large bony quadrupeds that inspired terror even in their comrades, as it was beyond understanding how such an abomination could have been born of human seed.

Mephystra would not abide unwelcome guests.