Chapter One Hundred and Sixty-One: Sing a Song For Singapore (Patreon)

Ten minutes later, I was on my way to London.

Fun fact, Windsor had arranged for an Army truck to be parked near the factory, just in case a day like this came. As we sped past intersections and ignored traffic lights, I opened a channel to Anne.

<Belessar>: Did you get the alert?

<Nanocloud>: Affirmative. Agni and I are on the way to the assembly point. We’ll see you in Singapore.

<Belessar>: Phoenix Company? Doyle’s troops?

<Nanocloud>: Alpha Platoon won’t be able to make it, and only six Phoenixes are in town. Donna’s bringing them.

<Belessar>: Where’s everybody else?

<Nanocloud>: Agni says don’t interfere. They have things of their own to do.

<Belessar>: Okay. I’m bringing twenty Hellfires and ten Starfalls.

<Nanocloud>: Are they as powerful as you say?

<Belessar>: I hope so. Not looking forward to another Ehu-tu-Vettorak without them.

<Nanocloud>: Understood. Good luck.

The truck braked suddenly. “We’re here!”

“Thanks.” I took in the sea of green around me - the British Army was certainly assembling in force to support Singapore. “Who’s in charge?”

“That would be me,” a new voice spoke up. The speaker was a grey-haired officer with two stars on his shoulder. “Major-General Devlin Heath. Belessar, I presume?”

“Yeah. Any relation to Edward Heath?”

The general quirked an eyebrow. “Usually he’s the one being asked if he’s related to me. But yes, Edward happens to be my son. I take it you’ve worked together?”

“At Gragareth… Uh, you might be knowing the details.”

“Indeed. You will be joining us for Singapore.”

“That’s why I’m here, General. Also a few colleagues will be joining us directly in Singapore.”

The general’s expression twisted. “Nanocloud and … others, I presume. Very well. You will join the next group through the portal.”

As the familiar black haze of the portal disappeared, I caught my first glimpse of Singapore.

We were in the middle of a golf course right by the sea. In the distance, I could see a statue of a half-lion-half-fish creature.

“That’s Merlion Park,” the sergeant next to me said. “One of Singapore’s biggest landmarks, you know.”

I glanced down at the man. “You know this city?”

“Honeymooned here. Sergeant Dunham, at your service. I’m to take you to meet Roundtable.”

“.... Roundtable?”

The sergeant pointed at a group of familiar-looking suits.

Twenty suits of Boar Class Powered Combat Armour, to be exact. The same twenty I’d sold to the Royal Army not too long ago.

One of the armoured soldiers stepped forward. “Belessar. Good to see you again.”

I smiled. “Major Donald Green. Nice to see you using your suit.”

“Thanks. Been a while since you came to fit us all out, so we thought we’d hop in for this fight.” He brandished a wicked-looking weapon which buzzed with electric blue lightning. “Special weapons too, actually.”

“Just remember the suit doesn’t make you invincible.”

“No worries. We’ve had enough training accidents to get any such foolishness out of our system.”

A message blinked in my interface.

<Nanocloud>: We’ve arrived. Where are you?

<Belessar>: A golf course somewhere.

<Nanocloud>: Wait one… Okay, the Singaporean officer says that the British forces are being assembled at the Marina Bay golf course, we’re at the Indoor stadium which is about a kilometre away.

<Belessar>: Come to me. I’ve got a truckload of special munitions.

<Nanocloud>: No time. The Singaporeans are mobilizing at top speed but the attack’s expected in less than ten minutes.

<Belessar>: Are they ready? The aliens could land anywhere.

<Nanocloud>: It’s worse than that. Stratospheric Guard HQ says they’re coming in at high speed and will probably land somewhere in the middle of the city. There’s no major open spaces.

<Belessar>: They could crash-land amid civilians?

<Nanocloud>: There are seven million Singaporeans packed into a city smaller than Tanisport. No farmland, no fresh water. Agni says that if they hit the desalination plants, the electric grid, the port or the seawalls, the city’s finished.

<Belessar>: So we have to protect the people and the infrastructure. Shelters?

<Nanocloud>: Some people are going there but most are getting issued weapons. Everybody here serves a couple of years in the military.

<Belessar>: That helps, I suppose.

<Nanocloud>: Don’t be too sure. How long do you think these folks would last against a Sarnak? I’m scaling up my swarm as fast as I can right now.

“Belessar?” asked Green. “We’re getting updates. Alien craft inbound.”

“Any orders?”

“The overall defence is being handled by General Lee Chen Yong of the Singaporean army. British forces are … to operate independently and engage targets of opportunity.”

I frowned. “That seems vague.”

“Until the enemy pokes its head over the horizon, we don’t really have much to go on in terms of tactics.”

Green had a point. Still, I couldn’t shake off a niggling feeling of unease.

Where were the remaining ultras?

And then, the sonic boom! of incoming strikecraft drove all other thoughts from our heads.

Spherical shapes zipped across the sky, leaving trails of white vapor in their wake.

I remembered Anne’s descriptions of the alien craft that had hit Tanisport. True to form, these let loose with green rays of light.

Light that blasted holes in the buildings they passed.

A rumbling sound, and the front of one of the buildings collapsed.

“Dammit,” swore Green. “We’re sitting ducks out here. Where’s the Air Force?”

The screaming sound of jets roaring in from above seemed to answer his question.

Dozens of fighters swooped in, trying to get a lock on the alien craft. To no avail. Instead, more green beams lashed out, and aircraft fell.

In the span of less than a minute, more than a hundred human pilots were swept from the skies.

The troops around us scattered, seeking cover as shoulder-launched SAMs sought to find the enemy. Missiles streaked into the air, most missing, and the few that hit did little damage against the shimmering force fields of the enemy.
I could see one of the enemy craft approaching.

Observe.

HIERARCHY STRIKEFIGHTER

LEVEL 65

HP: 2,000,000 / 2,000,000

SHIELDS: 200,000 / 200,000

SHIELD REGEN: 2,000/SECOND

THE STANDARD COMBAT FIGHTER OF THE XERANAI HAS BEEN UPGRADED INTO A FORM SUITABLE FOR ALL HIERARCHY RACES. WITH ITS GENETICALLY ENGINEERED PILOTS, THE STRIKEFIGHTER IS A DEADLY AIR AND SPACE SUPERIORITY MULTI-ROLE FIGHTER.

WEAPONS:

X-RAY LASER BEAM: +12,000 DAMAGE/SECOND, MINIMUM RANGE 100 METRES, MAXIMUM RANGE 15 KM.

ANTIMATTER BOMBS: +150,000 DAMAGE AGAINST A SINGLE TARGET. MAXIMUM RANGE 1 KM.

<Belessar>: They can be hit from close range. Their weapons don't work at close quarters….

<Nanocloud>: Fantastic, and how are you going to get close to them exactly?

In response, I started counting the alien craft.

Thirty Strikefighters. A lot more than my Starfalls could handle.

Two shuttles, which were significantly smaller than the Carnotaur vessel had been… so no kaiju this time. Hopefully.

The Strikefighter was three hundred metres up and closing fast.

I used Teleport.

Space rippled open in front of me, and a portal opened above us.

Right in the path of the Strikefighter.

The craft braked, slowing down. Perfect.

Standing in front of the portal, I fired. The Hellfire-XII missile flew through, collapsing the portal in its wake. Undeterred, it accelerated and smashing into the alien craft a thousand feet above our heads in less than a second.

ALIEN STRIKEFIGHTER -200,000 SHIELD STRENGTH!

ALIEN STRIKEFIGHTER SHIELD COLLAPSED!

No damage to the craft itself? Too bad.

A new portal, and the next Hellfire-XII flew through  barely missing a beat.

ALIEN STRIKEFIGHTER -800,000 HP!

CONDITION INFLICTED: FLIGHT CONTROL SYSTEM FAILURE!

The craft lurched around like an epileptic rabbit. I snapped off a third shot, this time without a portal…. but with the benefit of Sniper Shot.

The third missile hit the Strikefighter square on.

ALIEN STRIKEFIGHTER -800,00 HP!

CONDITION INFLICTED: ENGINE FAILURE!

ALIEN STRIKEFIGHTER DEFEATED! +100,000 XP!

With a whistling sound, the strikefighter fell towards the sea, leaving a trail of smoke.

YOU HAVE DEFEATED YOUR FIRST AERIAL FOE! AND FROM THE GROUND TOO!

SKILL UNLOCKED: FLAK LIGHTNING.

HARNESS THE POWER OF YOUR LIGHTNING TO STRIKE INSTANTANEOUSLY AT AN AIRBORNE ENEMY.

REQUIREMENTS: EQUIPPED POWER ARMOR, LIGHTNING LEVEL 2, ENERGY SYSTEMS LEVEL 8, 25 PERCEPTION, SHOOT DOWN A FLYING ENEMY.

LEVEL 1: +500 ELECTRICAL DAMAGE, CONDITION INFLICTED: 25% CHANCE OF SHIELD FAILURE, 50% CHANCE OF ELECTRONIC SYSTEMS FAILURE. RANGE: 500 METRES.

COST: 1500 MP.

<Nanocloud>: Belessar! You’ve got incoming!

<Belessar>: Where?

<Nanocloud>: Six - no, nine - strikefighters headed on your position. What did you do??

<Belessar>: Shot one down. ETA?

<Nanocloud>: Radar officer says less than a minute. Get out of there!

Nine strikefighters, eh?

No time for half measures, then.

Boost Capacity activated, four times in succession. For the next five minutes, my Inventory could hold an extra 450 kg without slowing me down.

Into that space went nine Starfalls, and the tenth slotted into the Greyhound’s missile launch pylon.

I bounded forward, taking cover under a nearby tree, as the whine of antigrav engines announced the arrival of the first Strikefighter squad. Green and the other Boar Armor equipped troops followed, each taking cover.

Four ships. Spread out in formation, as if they were on parade instead of in combat.

The first Starfall missile streaked out from my arm, guided by the unerring accuracy of Deadly Shot.

DEADLY SHOT! ALIEN STRIKEFIGHTER -5,000,000 HP!

White light blossomed in the middle of the alien formation, obliterating the target and sending the other three craft tumbling.

SHIELDS OVERWHELMED!

ALIEN STRIKEFIGHTER DEFEATED! +100,000 XP!

ALIEN STRIKEFIGHTER: CONDITION INFLICTED: TUMBLING! +50% EVASION, -99% ACCURACY!

ALIEN STRIKEFIGHTER: CONDITION INFLICTED: TUMBLING! +50% EVASION, -99% ACCURACY!

ALIEN STRIKEFIGHTER: CONDITION INFLICTED: TUMBLING! +50% EVASION, -99% ACCURACY!

Hot wind blew across the golf course. I darted forward, setting my sights on the next target.

The second Starfall missile slammed into its target, vaporizing it with the same effectiveness as the first.

ALIEN STRIKEFIGHTER DEFEATED! +100,000 XP!

The shockwave from the second blast flipped a third Strikefighter over, sending it crashing into the top of a building.

ALIEN STRIKEFIGHTER DEFEATED! +100,000 XP!

The fourth strikefighter was struggling to stablilize, as another missile - this time from a Singapore Air Force jet - slammed into it. The human pilot raced towards the alien craft, trying to finish with his gun what the two missiles hadn’t been able to do.

Unfortunately, he was too close for me to use a Starfall…

I equipped a Hellfire-XII and fired, knocking down the target’s shield. The SAF pilot’s cannon began to chew holes in the strikefighter hull - too slowly, unfortunately, but enough to keep the shields down.

The second Hellfire-XII tore a chunk of armor off the side of the alien craft.

ALIEN STRIKEFIGHTER -800,000 HP!

CONDITION INFLICTED: BURNING! - 5000 HP/SECOND!

CONDITION INFLICTED: CONTROL FAILURE!

Smoke began to pour from the side of the strikefighter. The SAF pilot - no dummy, evidently - spun his plane in a maneuver that I’d have called aerodynamically impossible and fired a barrange of shells into the damaged side.

In seconds, the burning wreck of the strikefighter had crashed onto the beach.

ALIEN STRIKEFIGHTER DEFEATED BY ALLY! +100,000 XP!

Unfortunately for the SAF pilot, that wasn’t the last enemy. The second wave of five Strikefighters had arrived.

They made a beeline for him.

Green beams raced across the sky, X-ray lasers at full power seeking to end their foe. The unknown pilot ducked and weaved, but to no avail. A grazing shot ripped off his jet’s tail, sending him plummeting downward.

“At that angle he can’t eject,” one of the men said.

Could I save him, I wondered?

A portal from here to a … moving point….

TEST OF INTELLIGENCE PASSED.

TEST OF PERCEPTION PASSED.

TEST OF LUCK FAILED.

The portal opened amidst the jet, ripping through the fuselage. With a scream, something fell through.

A pilot’s seat, a man strapped in it, and a mass of ripped-apart electronic gear flew forward, smacking into the ground with a crack. The portal shimmered shut.

Eleven hundred MP gone, and the man was lying on the ground…

I could see right then that I’d made a mistake. The pilot’s seat had been half sawn through, and the aviator was missing … his legs. Right above the knee, the portal had amputated them cleanly.

Focus. Panic later.

FLIGHT LIEUTENANT PARK HUN-LEE

CLASS: FIGHTER PILOT

LEVEL: 12

HP: 35/120

CONDITIONS: AMPUTATED LEGS, BLEEDING (-12 HP/SEC), UNCONSCIOUS.

The blue light of Heal restored Park Hun-Lee’s health to max, and stopped the bleeding. No time for more now, the strikefighters were turning towards us.

<Belessar>: Where’s the rest of the SAF?

<Nanocloud>: They’re battling it out with the rest. This jet was delayed from launching by a snag.

<Belessar>: I’m going to engage.

<Nanocloud>: Don’t do anything stupid….

Shutting out my sister’s advice for a moment, I focused on the leading fighter. Still a kilometre away.

My third Starfall of the day raced out, the homing ability of Deadly Shot driving it into the heart of the enemy.

For the third time that day, the skies of Singapore lit up with artificial fire.

ALIEN STRIKEFIGHTER DEFEATED! +100,000 XP!

This time, the survivors responded.

Green beams smashed into the ground around me. Trees, turf and troops burnt.

Ignoring the screams, I activated Powerjump. A hundred feet above the ground, I fired again.

ALIEN STRIKEFIGHTER DEFEATED! +100,000 XP!

The three craft veered off, trying to hit me from different directions. Green light streaked by me, missing only by virtue of the peculiar properties of Dodge Bullets.

FOR DODGING MULTIPLE SHOTS IN MID-AIR THE SKILL DODGE BULLETS IS UPGRADED TO LEVEL 2!

Not now, power!

Tumbling in mid-air, I had less than a second’s firing window to shoot at the next strikefighter.

In combat, a second is a long time.

My Starfalls claimed their fifth victim of the day, as I crashed into the ground with all the grace of a drunk driver.

236 FALL DAMAGE TAKEN! ARMOR: 4764/5000.

An alien craft closed upon my position, only to lurch as a shoulder-launched missile smashed into it.

Followed by another. Then another.

A dozen missiles hammered into the Strikefighter, each leaving its mark in tongues of flame by its side. The ship jerked abruptly, then careened downwards as systems failed.

The last strikefighter seemed to decide discretion was the better part of valour, turning tail to run. It roared outwards across the sea.

Unfortunately, I wasn’t in a forgiving mood.

A missile streaked out, and the skies of Singapore lit up once more.

ALIEN STRIKEFIGHTER DEFEATED! +100,000 XP!

YOU HAVE LEVELED UP!

1 ATTRIBUTE BOOST AVAILABLE!

Given the usefulness of AP so far, I decided quietly to push the boost into Perception. As my maximum AP shot up to 1560, I messaged Anne.

<Belessar>: We got ten of the strikefighters.

<Nanocloud>: Yeah, I know. They’re cheering your name here.

<Belessar>: They’re what? This isn’t a football match.

<Nanocloud>: And the alien shuttles haven’t even landed yet, so calm down. The rest of the Strikefighters are being overwhelmed, and the flying ultras have decided to put in an appearance.

<Belessar>: How are the casualties?

<Nanocloud>: Surprisingly light. Supreme took down two strikefighters, Jetstream got one, and the remainder are being shot down one by one. You tore the heart out of their main strength.

<Nanocloud>: Alien shuttles are landing now, and Agni’s going to be part of the welcoming committee. She’s suggested you join up.

<Belessar>: On my way.