Cannoneer

Pop. Pop. Pop.

Bix shook her flare pistol to dislodge the stuck casing and then hastily stuffed it back into its holster once the spent case landed with a soft thud on the ground. Above, a trio of flares slowly fell back toward the earth under little parachutes, each burning brightly with a different color. It was the third series of flares she’d sent up and these last three would be the final signals for the artillery battery miles away to get their firing solutions set. She brought her binoculars up to her eyes, knocking her hat off in her haste, scanning the terrain in the distance until she caught sight of the enemy Colors. It was so strange to see Northi Mage and Spear Corps forming up alongside Westrian Cavalry and Knights. And all of it being organized by a Westrian paladin.

She could see skirmisher elements already rushing toward her position, the flares she was using to signal the artillery obviously pointing directly to her own position. But it’s what was needed. Out of habit, she reached back over her shoulder and unhooked the handset for her radio and pressed the stud to send.

“Comm-check, comm-check. Bix, three-three-seven-one-four. Comm-check, comm-check.”

She could feel the whir of the crystal core spin up in the pack but there was only faint static when she released the transmit stud to wait for any reply. Something the catfolk were doing had been disrupting communications ever since they’d crossed the border in Jav. Combine that with some new type of air magic that had taken out entire flights of aerial mages and…well, there was a reason she was stuck miles out in front of the lines using a flare gun of all things to give basic ranging details. Blessed Kari, signaling in shell fall and corrections was going to be the worst.

Behind her, the deep throoms of Helena’s heavy battery sounded as the first guns began their ranging shots based on her flares. The shells shrieking overhead rattled her bones and the trailing energy of the condensed mana leaking from containment made them look like shooting stars. They hit the ground like them, too. Ground shattering explosions behind the enemy formations. Overshot. And the enemy started moving to make the ranging even harder. Smart, but she knew what she was doing and it’s not like they could move very far and in ways she couldn’t predict.

Binoculars stowed as she began pulling out flare cartridges, laying them in the dirt in front of her to compose her message.

“That should do it. And a little bit of lead for that redeployment,” she said with a pleased smile. Then she began loading and firing the flares in sequence. Pop. Pop. Pop. Pop.

By the time she had fired the last flare, a gleaming crimson that indicated ‘full barrage, fire for effect’, she was about to have her own problem and little war to fight. A skirmisher unit was finally getting close, the catfolk spearmen rushing toward her in a distance devouring four-limbed sprint. Well, they wouldn’t be able to get close enough to be a threat. She was an artillery woman after all.

With a grunt, she hefted her cannon from the ground. It was massive, nearly as tall as she was. In some other life, something like it had probably been mounted to a gun carriage. But this one was specially designed to be carried and fired by one person. She gripped the handles tightly and angled the barrel toward the approaching catfolk. Her cannon roared just as the battery behind her unleashed its full fury. Huge mana explosions silhouetted her targets as her shells landed among them, spraying dirt, stone, and red hot metal fragments in all directions. She watched for a moment as the dust settled and nodded in satisfaction. Direct hit. They were either dead or too wounded to be her problem.

She set her cannon down and pulled out her binoculars again, to examine the damage of the main barrage. Looked like it had ripped through the Westrian lines, scattering their knights and cavalry. She took out her flare pistol and signaled ‘good hit’ ‘adjust right 3’ ‘fire for effect’. That should take care of those Northi units nicely.

She would make these invaders regret coming into her home and threatening her family.