A Different Place

Chapter 49 - The Garoona Klang

"Let's go!" Teisel commanded, plopping himself into the Gesellschaft's command chair.

"All stations, report in," Number One said over the communications channel. "Battle condition one! T-minus fifteen minutes to engagement."

"Requested altitude, sir?" asked Number Eleven from the helm.

"Get us up really high," said Teisel, "around ten thousand feet or more. Glyde's little skyship can't possibly climb that far up---those smaller models don't have the same kind of mobility we do."

"Roger!" Number Eleven said, manipulating the controls.

Number One was continuing his announcements. "Miss Tron, please report to the Hangar Deck! All Servbots currently on KP, please properly secure all food items and utensils."

"That weapon of his can only aim downward," Teisel told the bridge crew. "If we can stay above Glyde, he won't be able to fire back on us, at least, not with his big gun. But we'll be able to rain fire on him! Not to mention the fact that we'll have the Draches and Tron's creations to match him as well." He clenched his armored fist. "I'd be surprised if that puffed-up popinjay even lasts five minutes!"

"Side cannons are armed, Master Teisel," reported Number Fifteen from the tactical console. "Forward cannon is charged!"

"Lock all restroom doors!" continued Number One. "Please turn off all exercise equipment in the Training Room! All brooms, mops, and other cleaning implements are to be properly stored until combat is complete!"

"All Draches are ready for takeoff!" reported Number Sixteen.

Teisel's ecstatic mood broke. Pursing his lips, he leaned his head on his fist as he thought. "Still, the underbelly is one of the Gesellschaft's weak points. Maybe we should station a few of the Draches underneath us to protect it." He considered the idea some more. "Then again, we should be high enough to be out of Glyde's weapons range altogether." He leaned on the other fist. "Of course, there's no sense in risking it. Order Drache 3 to cover us, the rest will join the attack!"

"Roger!" said Number Sixteen.

Number One still had not finished his preperatory announcments. "All gun crews, preprare for imminent bombardment! Number Thirty-Three, please ensure that all E. Bottles are correctly distributed. Number Forty, please lock yourself in Miss Tron's closet until further notice!"

"We don't really know what kind of armaments Glyde has on that tiny ship," Teisel said. "Any indications on the scanners, Number Fifteen?"

"No, Master Teisel," Number Fifteen replied. "I can see that there are some sort of...I'm not even sure what those readings are!"

"Take a guess."

Fifteen studied his display for a few moments. "Ummm...I think they might be...from a robot?"

Teisel slapped himself in the forehead. "What KIND of robot, Number Fifteen?"

"I'm not sure, Master Teisel. A...fighting robot?"

Teisel groaned. "Okay, if that's the best we can do, we'll have to hope that it's good enough." He turned on his voicelink. "Tron, are you ready to go down there?"

"Yes, Teisel. The Draches are loaded, and Bon and I are ready to go, too. We won't let you down."

"Excellent," said Teisel. He cackled fiercely as his ship drew ever closer to Glyde's. Wrecked vehicles and buildings could be seen from his current vantage point. "All right, everyone, let's get ready for BATTLE!!!"

"Roo-gerr!" replied all but one of the Servbots.

Number One, of course, was still shouting out his orders to the rest of the Gesellschaft's crew. "Remember, no weapons are to be discharged inside the ship's corridors unless we have been boarded. Please remove all non-standard articles of clothing. This includes eyepatches, bandanas, surgical masks, gloves, and sunglasses. No hockey sticks will be permitted outside of crew quarters until the end of combat operations."

Glyde looked on with great interest as his precious weapon pulverized another little building. Of course, as he had noticed throughout his pirate career, they all looked little from a skyship. Maybe he was letting the Birdbots have too free a hand with the Garoona Klang, however. No one seemed to be gathering their valuables and laying them out for his procurement; all of Kattleox Island's citizens appeared to be simply fleeing the devastating onslaught they were currently facing.

"Slow down on the trigger a little bit," he ordered. "I want some people to be left alive to gather up all the items of any worth down there. You know how much I hate having to do the work myself."

"Errererrh!" squawked a Birdbot. "All right..."

Yes, despite any overly violent methods he may or may not have been using, Glyde was pretty sure that he was facing a big payoff. He only wished that Teisel and his family had been around---so that he could give them a proper send-off, of course. Glyde rubbed his hands together as he thought of the painful chastisement he'd give those loathsome Bonnes.

Glyde heard several small detonations coming from above. "What's going on?"

Before the pilot or the gunner could answer, another Birdbot popped through the trapdoor in the ceiling. His feathers were covered in soot, and smoke rose from his aluminum body. Coughing, the Birdbot slowly got up off the deck. "Keh-kaff! Sir, we seem to be under attack!" The Birdbot coughed some more. "I thought I saw a green airship above us, but it was too far away to tell for sure!"

Glyde's eyes flashed. "Teisel! I knew you wouldn't just run off and leave our grudge match unfinished." Glyde swept his mauve cape behind him, where the breeze flowing in made it flutter in a dramatic fashion. "Let them have it with the Garoona Klang!"

Several more minor impacts gently shook the Bumblebee Stinger as Glyde waited, frozen in his pose, for the telltale rush of sound that signaled the discharge of his massive master weapon. Several minutes passed by, and Glyde's arm began to cramp up as he held it up for a prolonged period.

"What's the holdup?!"

"Err," said the Birdbot piloting the ship. That had not been a squawk, only a statement of uncertainty. "Taking into account the way the Garoona Klang is fixed on our ship's underside, and can only rotate forty-five degrees in any given direction, we would have to turn the ship almost completely upside down to fire upward, sir."

Glyde groaned in frustration. "You'd think one of us would have considered that before we hooked it on down there!" He relaxed from his forced pose and began climing the ladder. "I'll be on deck, repelling our attackers. Concentrate on evasive maneuvering. Don't worry about firing the Garoona Klang on any of the buildings unless you really have to!"

"Keh-keh, sir!" replied the Birdbots as Glyde emerged onto the deck.

There was no question it was the Bonnes attacking them. Three of their tiny skyships flew past Glyde, each firing shells at the side of the Stinger. Glyde had to step carefully, as Bonne Bombs were raining down on the deck as well, no doubt dropped from the Gesellschaft high above them. He noted that several dozens of the bombs were also falling down on the city as well.

Glyde unsealed the hatch on the Enarban Fell, which was finally once again functional. He stepped gingerly through the cramped cockpit and slid into the seat behind the command panel. He grinned savagely as the machine began moving. Those little Draches didn't stand a chance against him.

Dantz and Roll sprinted through the gate connecting the Old City to the downtown area. Piles and piles of smoking rubble greeted them, combined with a few of the buildings, including the library, which were still standing. The two looked around, searching for the origin of such destruction.

"Whoa," said the Digger, staring with disbelief at the carnage. "Who could be doing this?"

Roll shook her head. "I hope everyone's okay!" Both looked northward as they heard sounds of battle. "Look!" Roll pointed to a small, emerald green skyship hovering near City Hall. The ship fired a green blast downward, then swerved as a few smaller skyships began strafing it. "Those Bonnes are having a battle right over the city! What are they thinking?"

"I don't think they're the ones that started this," Dantz said. "They were just in the Main Gate, remember? They didn't have time to plan a major strike on Kattleox City, which means..."

"They're defending it?" Roll said incredulously. "That's impossible!"

"Maybe not," said Dantz. He hooked the Dantz Blaster back on his arm, checking all of his Digging tools and weapons swiftly. "Roll, stay here and see if you can help out the townspeople. I'm going to...do whatever I can to stop that battle."

Roll gave his hand a quick squeeze. "Be careful."

"Always," Dantz promised. He sped towards the northern edge of the city, dodging the fallen bricks, girders, and assorted rubble that was strewn about the city streets. As he neared City Hall, he noted that the small skyship was drifting steadily towards the east, which would bring it very close to the roof of the police station.

Dantz burst into the police station and pressed the call button on the elevator, darting around various city employees that seemed completely oblivious to the current crisis. Dantz boarded the elevator and pressed the button for the top floor, pacing the small lift impatiently as it moved upward. He dashed out of the double doors as they opened, seemingly into someone's apartment. No worries about privacy now, though. Dantz searched desperately for a roof access stairway.

He found one in the apartment's kitchen. Dantz ran up the final stairway to emerge on top of the very tall building with no time to spare. The skyship was passing by just overhead. The Digger pulled out his Dantz Grapple, locked it on his arm, and fired it. The grapple soared upward, then fell, landing over the railing of the skyship's deck. Dantz would have tugged on it, to verify its secure grip, but had it verified for him as he was pulled off of the police station's roof.

Dantz activated the auto-retract, and the winding mechanism pulled him higher. He hooked a leg over the railing, and swung himself on to the ship. "There we go," said the Digger confidently. "Now, all we have to do is---" Dantz trailed off as he saw the large, looming combat robot staring down at him.

"Ulp!" Dantz choked.