The united front of humans and merpeople broke into motion. The thunderous clamor swelled, drowning out the pattering feet and rolling wheels. Dea gritted her teeth and fixed her stare on the sliver of freeway directly ahead. The mini map on her viewport displayed total chaos—massive forces clashing in the Square and spilling out onto Marine Drive.

A bright light ascended to the sky and exploded with an incoming projectile. The blinding flash lit up the clouds, and a shower of sparks rained down. The shockwave rocked her to the bone.

"What the heck was that?" someone cried.

"Antiballistic missile," Ravi panted as he sprinted right in front of Dea.

"Ravi's right," Nadie bellowed over the noise. "Several Callian AFVs come equipped with SAM."

They burst out into the open. The battlefield sprang into view.

Dea's head swiveled, eyes darting, as sensory overload hit her like a tsunami.

Charred tanks and AFVs littered the dual carriageways. They extended into the distance, where the Square erupted in a vortex of ferocity. Through the fog, blazing lights streaked and criss-crossed in a dizzying firework display.

"C'mon, people, move!" Nadie roared. "Head for the Callians on the beach!"

The beach was just beyond the guard rail, but the drop was too high. They had no choice but to advance along the freeway, past wreckage and human barricades.

Dea powered on with the rest. Her heart pounded as loud as the booms, which rattled her from skull to tail. As they zigzagged past the destruction, the battlefield gained definition. Infantry fired from behind barricades while vehicles blasted projectiles and particle beams. Rocket artillery had decimated the surrounding structures, though the stately building she thought was the secretariat stood above the rubble.

Suddenly, the human units attacked.

Dea flinched as fire flashed in her retina, and a carapace segment screeched past the viewport. Grenades flew at them.

"Duck!" Nadie yelled.

They scattered, but the explosions sent a Cypod flying. Her heart screamed.

Unfazed, the team retaliated, shooting down the enemy. The viewport blinked red as targets popped up. A merman fired a railgun and blew up the barricade—which combusted in flames and smoke. A black cloud blotted out the scene.

"Go, go!" Muda's voice shouted.

They advanced, driving back the humans. Vibrations pulsed up the Flamingo, and a stray missile glanced off the side. It would've blown off a carapace—she mentally thanked Anuk. Ahead of her, a tank loomed up, mounted with machine guns.

"Dea, take it out!"

As Endera humans and merpeople maintained their rapid-fire assault, Dea powered up the railgun. Each passing millisecond might as well have been an eternity.

Then it fired. She scored a critical strike.

In the blink of an eye, the tank's gun turret blew clean off. Fragments shot out from the mini explosion.

Without warning, a swarm of scud bots descended, twinkling like sparks of bioluminescence. They attacked the human infantry. Mora knows we're here!

The humans fired EMP cannons, the splash damage causing the nearby Cypods to crackle and freeze in their tracks.

"Dea, move!" Nadie propped her gun on a vehicle, flashes dancing on her helmet. "We'll hold them off."

Dea tuned out the violence as she gripped the joystick and targeted the guard rail. She compressed the button. A flash burned into her eyes, making her blink, and the recoil jerked her back.

The projectile had blasted through, and warped metal glared back, broken ends glowing red hot.

Eyes swimming with the afterimage, Dea accelerated towards the opening—just as a fighter plane roared overhead. She careened out of its line of fire. Her heart juddered when its path of destruction left a smoking ruin where a Callian light vehicle was. Three merpeople lay dead, Cypods blown to smithereens. Screams blended into the cacophony.

Dea hyperventilated as her eyes refocused on the gap in the guard rail. She resumed her frantic dash.

As she sped to the edge of the freeway, she witnessed Callian submarines, hulls and periscopes peeking out of the stormy grey sea. One released a guided missile, its blazing trail lighting up the water.

It arced high into the sky in pursuit of the plane and struck home.

The burning aircraft nosedived in a ribbon of smoke and hit a massive statue in the Square. Units scattered as the stone human toppled, almost in slow-motion, adding to the terrible noise that pounded her eardrums.

Dea tore away her eyes as the Flamingo flew over the edge of the road and bumped down onto the slope—now only a meter high. The violent jolt shot up her spine, and gravel popped. Then she hit the beach.

In the distance, she spotted a line of howitzers, barrels aimed high, as well as large APCs. She realized that the reason she managed to get this far was because the Callian army didn't attack. Thank you, Oomie.

Now that she was away from the danger of crossfire, Dea allowed herself a long breath and pushed the Flamingo to its maximum velocity. The thunder and lightning of battle formed an incessant thrum in her head. She hoped Nadie's team made it back to the cover of the street.

"Your Highness," a merman voice shouted.

Jolting to attention, Dea zeroed in on the dark silhouettes of Callian infantry up ahead.

"Take me to Mora," she yelled back, not slowing her pace. "Now!"

Orders barked out. Then they whizzed towards the bulk of an APC, its heavy armor cratered from gunfire. The carrier was huge at close quarters. A hatch opened at the back as she approached.

Dea rushed in. Screens, wiring and personnel met her stare. Commands and updates flew back and forth. A second later, she locked eyes with Talmus Mora.

Surprise and doubt bloomed on his face in quick succession—as well as an emotion she could not place.

The door closed, effectively muting the storm outside. She rolled back the viewport and glared at Mora. He still said nothing.

Words tumbled out of Dea's mouth, "I'll make this quick—did you really think I'm dead or you wished that I was?"

The direct accusation made him stiffen, and his features hardened. Dea met his gaze point blank and yet again glimpsed a hint of weakness she couldn't put her finger on. A boom vibrated the APC. Her heartbeat rocketed up, fueled with mounting desperation.

"Commander, sector four is now under our control," a merwoman said briskly.

"Order them to stand by," Mora rumbled.

"Sir, yes, sir."

Mora turned back to her, leaning back in his throne of a Cypod. "How did you escape from Kadol Doova?"

"I have allies." Dea held up her head. "As the queen of Calliathron and the power vested in me, I veto Hal Moray Massa's orders. We call for a ceasefire."

He blew out a breath, nostrils flaring. Then to her utter astonishment, his large shoulders slumped ever so slightly—a sign of defeat that stumped her.

"I'm sorry," he said.

"What?" Dea managed to croak.

"Massa forced my hand. My only solace was that Bull secretly communicated to me that unknown units converged to the location—including those in Cypods. I went against Massa's orders to send in another team of Stingrays to Kadol Doova, but it was swarming with human military. Is Sagari with you?"

Her brain cogs turned, trying to process the information. "She sustained a serious head injury. She's getting treated."

The battle demanded Mora's attention before his eyes switched back to her. "This is not the time for talk. Even if we stop this war, it's likely too late."

"What do you mean?"

"This battle is not all it seems—it's also a diversion."

Another bang rocked them as if to emphasize his point. She drew in an unsteady breath.

"Dea, I thought I knew Hal. But..." He rubbed a hand over his face. "I'm sorry."

"Sorry for what?" Dea asked, her voice rising an octave.

Another boom drowned out his words. Dea clutched her head and willed her heartbeat to revert to normal.

"But what Massa is about to do next—I knew it." The merman's expression contorted into a troubled frown. "I was too weak to oppose."

"What is he trying to do?"

He suddenly looking weary, lines etching deeper. "This is the humans' last stand. The administrative district would be the last to fall. Our forces have hemmed it in on all sides. Massa's orders are to head to the Prime Minister's compound and regroup with his special force."

An iceberg settled in her throat. "What's his special force doing there?"

"It's on its way as we speak—Massa and Prof. Golubel Sevaler are among them. We found out that the Goonewardanes are hiding out in a subterranean bunker. Massa will flush them out, and he will assassinate Serendiva's PM in one surgical strike—a symbolic move of dominance."

Voices and electronics receded to mere static as Dea's head whirled. "Why would he do that? All the other human nations—they'd hunt us down!"

"Massa's goal was never to negotiate or even force Serendiva to submit to our terms." His face darkened, the glow of many screens reflecting off his eyes. "He wanted to stop the humans once and for all—the final solution. The human PM's residence will be the epicenter of an airborne virus."

Blood drained from Dea's face. "Virus?"

Urgency peaked in the merman's voice as he growled, "Prof. Golubel Sevaler had been developing an airborne virus that could wipe out the humans. It was kept under wraps, even from me."

A nanosecond later, Dea revolved around, wheels clattering on metal, and barked out a string of words to Nadie. She pushed aside a merwoman as she lunged at the door. Do you know what humans do to populations that they deem an infestation?

She smacked her hand again and again on the door panel until it opened. Mora made no response, his head low, while the other merpeople went about their tasks. Her heart hammered to the percussion of raging battle. They cull them. We're not talking about euthanasia. They use firearms and poison.

As the viewport hummed into place, she glanced over her shoulder. "Withdraw the Callian forces. I will stop Massa."

Dea raced back onto the beach, which lay choked with haze as grey as the sky above. As she retraced her path to the slope, the Flamingo jounced over bumpy terrain, making her teeth chatter. Then she faltered.

The incline up to the freeway was too steep.

Dea flipped open a safety cover and jabbed a finger on the pink button underneath. The Flamingo emitted a low drone as it rose up. Wheels folded as sturdy, jointed legs pushed down. The higher vantage point improved her visibility.

The next second, she strode over everything in her path, the cockpit bobbing with the motion.

Her forehead furrowed as she connected with the Endera captain. "Nadie, I'm on my way. Reroute to the PM's residence and stop the Callian units at all costs."

Animal: Mosasaur

https://youtu.be/Xt0h0zWQEew