***This excerpt is from an advance uncorrected copy proof*** Copyright © 2018 Taylor Anderson Prologue Grik Persia The sun was falling toward the distant western end of the narrow land bridge--barely three miles wide in places--connecting the convoluted coastlines of Persia and Arabia. Colonel Enaak of the 5th Maa-ni-la Cavalry (composed entirely of Lemurians from the Fil-pin Lands) was intrigued by the very different reflections the sunset cast on the great Western Ocean to his left, and the equally endless (from his perspective) but more placid Lake Sirak to the right. Enaak made a trilling sound and Aasi, his viciously protective me-naak mount, ambled forward to lap water from the lake. It was a bit salty but fresh enough to drink, and despite the land bridge, it served as the boundary between General Regent Halik''s Persia and the various Grik vice-regencies of Arabia. The border north of the great lake wasn''t as well defined, but few Grik lived that far from the coast and borders hardly mattered. A dozen troopers accompanied Enaak on this jaunt, not really a scout, just an opportunity to get away from his HQ for some air and exercise and see the sights for a while. Even for that, however, in this land, nobody went alone. His guard detail moved up and allowed their me-naaks to drink as well.
Superficially, me-naaks, or "meanies," were like giant, long-legged crocodiles with thick hides and long jaws full of razor-sharp teeth. They also wore an almost impenetrable, semisegmented protective case covering their spines and vitals. Large eyes on the sides of their heads and narrow snouts allowed excellent forward vision and depth perception. They were fast, too, as fast as the horses Enaak had heard about, serving as cavalry mounts for the Repubs from southern Africa and for the Second Fleet AEF far to the East. Having never seen a horse, Enaak could only guess which animal had greater stamina. But with their claws and teeth, a well-trained meanie had to be a better battle mount. And at least here, against the Grik, the enemy had nothing like them, and Allied cavalry enjoyed a mobility Grik could only envy. The troopers sat their saddles, shifting and looking around for threats while their animals slurped cloudy water.
Enaak trusted their diligence and allowed himself to contemplate more general matters. Arguably, he commanded the most precariously extended land force in the entire Grand Alliance. A few ships at sea might be more isolated, he reflected, but we''ve still got the weirdest, most indefinite aassignment, on the most aam-biguous front in the waar. Originally detailed to observe the Grik General Halik''s retreat from Indiaa into Persia and make sure he kept on going as promised, the 5th Maa-ni-la and Colonel Dalibor Svec''s Czech Legion, as his Brotherhood of Volunteers still called themselves (despite retaining few actual human Czechs or Slovaks--whatever they were, and wherever they''d come from), had shadowed Halik far longer and farther than ever expected. And they hadn''t just watched him. On numerous occasions now, they''d actually scouted for him and occasionally even fought the same Persian Grik. That happened most recently when Halik''s army conquered the dead Persian Prime Regent Shighat''s capital at Sagar. Enaak and Svec used their mounted agility to harass attempts to reinforce the city, and lobbed exploding case shot over the walls with their stubby mountain howitzers to break up concentrations of troops behind the gates.
Despite that, Colonel Svec still vigorously rebelled against any notion they were "allied" with Halik--or any Grik. Enaak couldn''t blame him. Svec''s Czechs and their still-mysterious continental Lemurian brothers and sisters had been fighting a guerilla war against the Grik in Indiaa for decades, the ''Cats having been driven out centuries before. But as long as their vague "treaty of nonaggression" with Halik held, Svec was willing to be selective about which Grik he killed. Enaak was glad. He technically commanded the combined force, but Svec''s people hadn''t joined the United Homes and even their connection to the Grand Alliance was tenuous. Enaak sensed a palpable paranoia on Svec''s part about alliances in general, based on a very old betrayal. But until they reached Sutkag, on the extreme southwest coast of Persia, and Enaak''s 5th Maa-ni-la was finally reinforced (and resupplied!) by ships from Madraas, he''d been significantly outnumbered by Svec''s detachment of the Czech Legion.
If Svec had chosen not to honor the treaty, there wasn''t much Enaak could''ve done. Now the 5th had swelled to almost four thousand troopers--brigade strength for a regiment--and combined with the Czechs (human and Lemurian), Enaak practically had a division. But that still didn''t make Svec any easier to handle. Enaak glanced northeast, back in the direction of their large, isolated encampment several miles away. Field fortifications surrounded the neatly ordered lines of tiny tents. The laand here isn''t thaat different from places in the Fil-pin Laands, he mused wistfully, taking in the tall-grass savanna, interspersed with large clumps of high, narrow-trunked trees. There were hills nearby, and hazy purple, snow-capped mountains brooded in the distance. Closer, a small column of Svec''s troopers could be seen; one of the official scout details.
They were angling closer, the lumbering gait of their tall kravaas belying how quickly the big herbivores could move. Kravaas and me-naaks didn''t like each other, but given their size and power, and the long horns kravaas wore all over their bony heads, the outcome of any duel between one of them and a me-naak was always a toss-up. Since most of those present had been around each other a while, few such altercations occurred. They remained wary, cooperative adversaries. Kind of like us and Haalik, Enaak mused. He resumed daydreaming of a home he hadn''t seen in two long years. I''m told it''s more thaan six thousaands of miles away, he thought. And though I''ve certainly traaveled it, I caan''t even imaagine such a distaance.
He gazed back at Lake Sirak, its waves glistening under the dimming rays like those of Maa-ni-la Bay, and stretching beyond the horizon to the northwest. Svec says this lake was paart of the ocean where he came from. Something caalled the Persiaan Gulf. He sighed. He''d seen a lot of the world in the past two years, a world infinitely larger and more complicated than he''d ever suspected. Particularly when informed by the perspectives of those who''d seen another one entirely. Aasi raised her head and snorted, water dripping from long teeth. Snorting again, she stepped back from the shore.
Preoccupied, Enaak assumed she''d had her fill. Few things frightened me-naaks, but no land animal tarried needlessly long near water on this world. Virtually everything beneath it was dangerous--as were some things that had adapted to hunt from it . "Col-nol!" came a cry from Enaak''s right. He spun to look at one of his troopers and immediately realized his mistake. The cav-''Cat already had his carbine up and was pointing it at the water. Aasi crouched, jaws agape. None of the 5th burdened their mounts with muzzles anymore; their meanies had grown too attached to them to eat them, so why sacrifice one of their best defenses? Fully half of Enaak''s troopers fired at the sudden explosion of spray in front of them, proving they''d remained more alert than their commander.
Dashing out of the splashing cascade up on land was what looked very much like a me-naak--only it was easily three times as big and had eyes on top of its head. That''s how it crept so close unseen. It had also just shrugged off half a dozen hits from .50-80 caliber Allin-Silva carbines as it lunged with open jaws for one of the troopers. As quick as the monster was, however, the meanies'' reflexes were faster and they bolted from the attack. Apparently even less attentive than Enaak, though, one trooper tumbled from his saddle and dropped to the ground in front of the beast. It began to stoop. A second flurry of shots distracted it--and the trooper''s own mount slammed into it with the force of a torpedo, jaws snapping closed on a longish neck.
To survive in the water, however, the creature''s hide must''ve been at least as tough as a me-naak''s case, and it batted the smaller attacker away. It hit hard and rolled, knocking down another me-naak and its rider, who screamed when his leg was crushed. Enaak now had his own carbine up, aiming at the thing''s eyes, but they were relatively small and in constant motion. "Baack!" he roared. Fall baack!" "But, Col-nol!" First Sergeant Liaa-Binaa cried helplessly, firing again. They had people on the ground in front of that thing! "Fall baack fifty tails. Thaat''s an order. Then keep firing.
" Enaak insisted. He finally fired himself, missing the eye, but probably hitting the thing somewhere in the head. It screeched and turned to face him. The .50-80 cartridge the Grand Alliance adopted for its standard Allin-Silva "trapdoor" infantry rifles and carbines was a potent round; very accurate out to 200, even 300 tails (or yards) in the hands of any well-trained troop. Many soldiers could double that, and a talented few could triple it. Its big, heavy bullet would normally get good penetration on large, dangerous beasts and often killed multiple Grik in massed formations. But this thing seemed particularly well armored, quickly flattening the slugs on impact and preventing them from going deep.
And its head must be extra haard! Enaak thought as he flipped the breech of his carbine open, ejecting the spent shell over his shoulder and quickly inserting a fresh one. He cocked the hammer and aimed again. Aasi stood rigidly beneath him while the rest of her kind and their rider.