RTS System in the Apocalypse: New World

Launcher One completed its firing setup while the Hellhammers continued striking the Core.

The four enclosed missile cells had risen behind the armored cab, angled toward the open sky above Cinderrow. Unlike the MLRS beside the other firing positions, there was no rack of smaller tubes spread across the rear. Each cell carried a single precision missile, with considerably more space devoted to guidance and warhead than the rockets already hammering the Tree.

Inside the vehicle, the Fire-Control Officer received Matilda’s target assignment.

The same central coordinate appeared on his display.

"Target received."

He checked it against the current firing solution.

The Tree had not moved from the position established by the fixed Radars. Whatever its branches and roots were doing around the center, the main biological mass was still sitting on the same point.

"Fixed target confirmed. Solution valid."

Above Grefort, the Raptor pairs had reached the edge of the cleared airspace around the Core.

They did not approach the Tree directly. Instead, the aircraft split onto different sides of the target and kept their distance while the exposed growth filled their observation systems from two angles.

The information joined the rest of the System picture. The fixed coordinate had not changed.

Another Hellhammer impact rolled through the distance before the Systems and Launcher Operator answered.

"Four cells ready."

The commander checked the weapon status.

"Cell One selected."

Outside, another artillery shell struck the Tree’s upper growth. The explosion tore through part of the shielding that had begun folding back over the damaged center, while smaller blasts from the last MLRS rockets continued around the surrounding roots.

Launcher One’s crew waited through it.

They did not need the Tree exposed for the missile to know where it was going. The coordinate was already fixed, and the firing solution had been passed through the System network before the launcher finished setting up.

Matilda’s voice came over the fires net.

"Launcher One. Execute."

"Launcher One copies."

The commander turned to the crew.

"Cell One. Fire."

The first missile left the launcher. The missile climbed sharply after leaving its cell.

It was already moving considerably faster than the rockets that had crossed Grefort earlier, rising above the inner districts before turning toward the fixed coordinate in the Core.

Launcher One no longer had anything to do with its path. The missile carried the firing solution with it.

Below, the Hellhammers kept firing.

Another shell struck the Tree’s upper growth and broke apart several branches that had folded across the center. A second landed against the roots farther down, forcing more of the surrounding growth to pull inward.

The missile descended toward the opening they had created.

Raptor One and Two watched from one side of the Core while Three and Four held farther around the opposite approach. With most of the haze gone, all four aircraft had a clear enough view of the central growth to follow what happened next.

The Tree suddenly gave a new reaction. Several branches that had been folding around the trunk suddenly changed direction. They swept upward instead.

More followed from different sections of the canopy, crossing over one another above the damaged center as the missile closed the remaining distance.

It was too late to rebuild the same heavy shield.

The first missile struck through the upper branches, the explosion tearing across the center of the Tree.

Several of the branches disappeared immediately while others broke apart and fell into the surrounding streets. The blast pushed deeper into the growth than the earlier rockets had managed, throwing sections of the upper trunk and darker material across the nearby ruins.

From the tower, the explosion was visible without any help from the Radar.

Hans watched the central growth disappear behind dust and debris while another Hellhammer shell came down through the same area seconds later.

Launcher One was already preparing the next cell.

"Cell Two ready."

The commander checked the interval. Fifteen seconds had barely passed since the first launch.

"Fire."

A second missile left the launcher. By then, the Tree was already trying to close the damage.

Branches from the outer canopy bent toward the center while several roots pulled upward around the exposed trunk. The movement was faster than before, but the Hellhammers gave it little room to work.

Another shell landed against the upper growth.

The explosion tore through one of the branches before it could settle into place, and a second impact struck lower along the damaged trunk.

From above, the four Raptors watched the Tree reorganize around the same wound.

"Raptor Two. Upper center opening remains visible."

"Raptor Four confirms."

Matilda received the reports through the System network.

The second missile was already descending. This time, the Tree reacted earlier.

Branches snapped upward from several directions and crossed above the exposed center, while thicker sections underneath them continued folding around the trunk.

There simply wasn’t enough intact growth left to rebuild the previous shield.

The missile struck near the opening created by the first.

The explosion drove deeper into the central mass.

A large section of the upper trunk disappeared behind the blast, and several of the roots wrapped around its base tore loose as debris spread across the surrounding streets.

The Tree’s hum changed.

For the first time since the bombardment began, it broke unevenly instead of holding the same steady tone.

Hans heard it from the tower. "That one probably hurt. Keep the rhythm flowing."

Matilda kept watching the central marker. It had contracted again.

Outside, the Hellhammers were already sending another barrage toward the Core.

The Tree stopped trying to rebuild the same shield.

"Outer growth is withdrawing." Raptor One reported.

Branches that had been spread across the surrounding blocks began pulling back toward the center. Several damaged sections were left hanging where they had been struck, while thicker growth twisted inward and packed itself around the trunk.

Raptor Three confirmed the same movement from the opposite side.

"Roots are retracting as well. Multiple streets opening around the target."

From the tower, Hans could see more of the ruined Core appearing as the Tree gave up ground.

It was not retreating, but rather, it was concentrating.

The outer canopy thinned while the center became darker and denser, layer after layer gathering around the part of the trunk already torn open by the precision strikes.

Matilda watched the change through her Radar.

"Salvo batteries. Six-round groups. Same center."

The Hellhammers kept firing while the MLRS crews selected their remaining reserve rockets.

"Six rounds ready."

"Execute."

Salvo One fired again. This time, only half the rack joined the barrage.

Five more rockets followed the first in sequence, and the other launchers answered from their own positions while artillery shells kept falling between them.

The Tree had pulled more of itself into the center. That only gave the rockets less ground to search.

Explosions broke across the compact mass from several directions. One blast tore apart a branch that had been wrapped around the upper trunk, while another struck lower and threw sections of root across the exposed streets.

The Hellhammers kept adding heavier impacts through the gaps.

Above the Core, Matilda shifted Pair Two.

"Raptor Three, tighten your orbit. Stay outside the center."

"Raptor Three copies."

Three and Four moved closer while One and Two held their original angle. With the haze almost completely gone, the closer pair could see much farther into the damage.

"Raptor Four. Central trunk exposed through the eastern side."

A brief pause followed.

"Large cavity visible. Multiple roots feeding back toward it."

Hans looked toward the Core.

"So that’s where you’re putting everything."

The next six-round group arrived before the Tree could finish packing the opening shut. More of the compact shield disappeared under the blasts.

Matilda changed channels.

"Launcher One. Cell Three."

"Cell Three ready."

Matilda remained silent. Out through the window, something suddenly changed around the Tree.

The compact mass surrounding the trunk suddenly broke apart in several directions as branches whipped outward hard enough to smash through the buildings around it. Roots tore free from the streets, throwing pavement and concrete aside before curling back toward the center again.

The steady rebuilding they had watched earlier was gone. Now everything seemed to be moving at once.

Fresh growth pushed across the damaged trunk while thicker branches crossed above it, only to separate again whenever another Hellhammer shell came down. Several sections swung upward after the incoming rounds, sacrificing themselves against impacts that would otherwise have landed closer to the center.

One shell disappeared inside a mass of branches before exploding. Another reached the trunk.

The Tree smashed harder around itself.

From the tower, Hans watched one enormous branch sweep through the side of a ruined office block and send part of the upper floor collapsing into the street.

Johannes stayed near the window. "It really doesn’t like this."

"Well, that’s becoming very obvious. One giant angry tree."

Matilda kept Cell Three waiting.

The Tree was rebuilding faster now, but it was also reacting to almost everything approaching the center. Branches snapped toward incoming trajectories while roots piled material around the damaged trunk.

The precision missiles could still get through, but the chances had dwindled compared to before.

She wanted to know what happened when the attack came from somewhere else.

"Raptor One, Raptor Two. Strike the central growth and clear the area immediately."

"Raptor One copies."

"Two copies."

Pair One broke from its holding pattern.

The two fighters accelerated across Grefort from the northwestern side, remaining well away from the center as they built speed. Their attack path would carry them toward the Core without taking either aircraft directly over the Tree.

The pilots received the same exposed central mass through the System network.

Raptor One released first.

An air-to-ground missile dropped clear of the internal bay before accelerating ahead of the fighter. Raptor Two released another seconds later, and both aircraft turned away almost immediately after launch.

The Tree reacted before either missile arrived. Several upper branches whipped toward the approaching weapons.

One missile crashed straight into an oncoming branch. A sharp explosion burst above the canopy, scattering burning fragments into the ruins below.

The second missile came from farther to the side.

The Tree shifted toward it, but another Hellhammer shell struck the upper growth at nearly the same moment, breaking the branches apart.

The missile passed through the opening and exploded against the outer section of the central trunk.

The Tree convulsed. Roots slammed into surrounding streets while the upper canopy twisted after aircraft that had already left the approach.

Raptor One and Two were several kilometers away by then.

"That was a close one, Raptor Two."

"Close by three kilometers, Raptor One."

"Command, ready for another pass."

Hans watched the branches continue lashing through empty air while Matilda changed channels again.

"Raptor Three, Raptor Four. Second approach."

Pair Two came from the opposite side.

The Tree was still reorganizing from the first strike when the fighters accelerated toward their release point.

Raptor Three fired. Raptor Four followed shortly afterward.

The two missiles approached from a different angle while the Hellhammers continued hammering the center from the ground.

The Tree shifted at once.

Branches snapped upward from several sections of the remaining canopy. One crossed directly into the first missile’s path and detonated it above the trunk.

The second missile continued on its path. More growth shifted toward it, but the movement pulled several branches away from the western side of the shield.

A Hellhammer round struck the exposed side.

The blast tore the opening wider just as Raptor Four’s missile reached the center. The explosion struck through the damaged growth.

The Tree suddenly lost any pattern left to it.

Branches swung across one another. Roots ripped loose and slammed back into the ground while new growth forced itself across the wounds underneath everything else.

Damaged branches were already growing back while others continued snapping toward the incoming fire.

Raptor Three and Four were already leaving the Core behind.

Matilda watched them clear the area before returning her attention to the central marker. The Tree could react to the weapons quickly enough, though reaching the aircraft themselves were another matter.

She opened another channel.

"Flight Operations. Send the Phantoms."

"Roger that, Command. Phantom One through Four launching."

At the Airfields, four broad flying-wing bombers began moving toward their departure lanes.

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