Page 92 of Cast By Flames (Dragon's Breath)
They quickly moved to the center of the dome to make room for the others who entered. The human coalition and shifter toriq weren’t the only ones who’d arrived recently. The Straegud had convinced two pure dragon toriqan to join them as well—the Jarkan and Tarogan. They sent over four hundred warriors altogether to fight. Those additions were currently residing along the northeast border of the Taugud territory, but they would rotate members to join in the training over the next few days for the experience.
Colonel Melvin stepped into the dome and gazed at the space with its translucent walls. “This is quite impressive. I wish we’d thought of creating something like this for training and protection. Our sorcerers have only come up with smaller versions to secure meetings.”
Aidan gestured at Morgan. “We have your former member to thank for that.”
“I couldn’t have come up with this alone,” the young man said, pushing his glasses up his nose. “Xanath was the one who showed me the spell for how to do it, and we worked together on the specific design.”
Falcon stepped closer to the commander, catching his attention. “The dome is about four miles by two miles.” He walked him through the placement of forces they’d implemented so far. “How would you prefer to incorporate your assets into the training line-up?”
The commander rubbed his chin. “The ground troops can join the ranks with the other human fighters you already have and extend it further across the line for better coverage. Our sorcerers can also be spread out alongside yours.”
Falcon nodded. He was hoping for that decision since it would make it easier to integrate everyone. They had little time, and making drastic changes would only confuse matters. “I understand you have flying crafts and vehicles that can fire weapons?”
“Yes.” The colonel looked up. “What altitude does the dome reach?”
Since the dragons flew for training, they’d had to make it relatively high. “Eight hundred feet.”
“How many training rounds a day?”
“Usually, four to five,” Falcon replied, wondering what the human man was thinking.
The commander's expression was thoughtful. Yesterday, his sorcerers finished their first batch of the fireproof potion and gave it to everyone who needed it soonest. Falcon and Sabryn flew the colonel and one of his captains to inspect the area thatwould be their front line for the war, showing them where the shield would be erected. This was the coalition leader’s first time at the dome, though.
“I would place our artillery behind everyone. They will be the first to attack since they can fire upon the enemy while they’re still miles away, but we’ll need to pull everything behind the shield before the Kandoran reach us. None of the large equipment is fireproof. We’ll want to continue using it for the duration of the war, and avoid damage, if possible,” Colonel Melvin replied.
“How will you incorporate the artillery for training without harming anyone?” Falcon asked, knitting his brows.
“We have some specially designed training rounds we brought today that will create a flash and minor damage to anyone directly hit, but they won’t kill humans or dragons. They are just enough for simulation. Those within a certain range can consider themselves dead.”
Falcon attempted to imagine itbut had to see it to understand. “How effective are the real rounds?”
He had to assume they’d used them to defend their territory before coming here.
“We’ve only begun using these versions this year, and they have magical enhancements, but we’ve found they will destroy anything within forty to fifty feet, including dragons,” the colonel replied.
Aidan gave him an incredulous look. “That could be very useful. How many of them do you have?”
“Approximately two hundred are here at present with more than twice that on the way. It won’t be as much as wetruly need, but we could only take a limited number from our defense arsenal and transport them here. We’ll disperse four Paladins along the line that can launch rounds to strike ground positions up to eleven miles away. There are the same number of howitzers to place where needed. For aerial targets, we have two patriot missile line batteries. They can cover a broader battlefield area and strike dragons in flight.”
Falcon was trying to imagine these strange weapons. “How many rounds do those have, and will it kill them or only damage them?”
“A direct hit will kill them. Modifying the systems for dragon targets took some time, but they have been quite effective since then. We only have four hundred missiles for the Patriot, so we must be selective about their deployment and six hundred each for the other artillery types. We plan to launch as soon as the enemy comes within range and then let the sorcerers and short-range weapons take over while we pull our equipment to safety.”
Falcon did his best to visualize what the commander described. “So, will you use all the rounds on the first day or at different times?”
“We will use about ten percent on the first day and then formulate a plan for the rest after we see how the battle goes. We know the Kandoran will pull back around dawn of each day, and we’ll use drones to monitor their positions where they rest. If we see opportunities to strike them there, we’ll use them, but we could also hold onto the patriot missiles for only when they’re flying toward us. Those decisions will have to be fluid, depending on their defenses. It is likely they’ll shield themselves during the day the same as us.”
Bailey cocked her head. “Don’t you have aircraft to deploy as well? I know you used them for some of our bigger battles.”
“Yes. There was a long debate on what to deploy due to the distance and fuel usage. That has limited us quite a bit. We decided on bringing five A-10 aircraft. They can use a rotary cannon to fire armor-piercing rounds at targets in the air or on the ground. We also plan to fire air-to-surface missiles and drop cluster bombs,” the colonel said.
“Wait.” Bailey stiffened. “You’re gonna use cluster bombs? I thought they decided soon after the dragons invaded that those were too risky in the long term. They can keep killing civilians for years afterward.”
Falcon was glad the slayer knew what questions to ask because he had no idea how these weapons worked, much less their advantages or disadvantages. They made him nervous. It sounded as if they could cause a lot of destruction, which was useful against the Kandoran, but ominous if the coalition ever turned it on them. They would have to be careful to stay on the humans’ good side.
The coalition commander’s jaw hardened. “That’s true. After receiving reports of several children dying in enemy territory, we stopped deploying them, but these are entirely different circumstances.”
“Why would they kill children?” Aidan asked, expression darkening as he glanced between them.
