Chapter 289 (2/2)

Explosions filled the air and Ko'olmo'o looked up in time to see fire light up the sky in streamers of color.

”Did someone get here before us?” Lowenmo'o asked, frowning.

”I don't think so. I saw crowds in the street. The sun set during our approach,” Ko'olmo'o said. More detonations, with colorful explosions in the sky. ”How many men do we have?”

”Roughly two thousand per drop ship, we made it down with 170 dropships, so almost 350,000 ground troops,” Lowenmo'o said. He waved at the city. ”We're in what looks like an industrial section, maybe. The City Center, where the defensive system coordination should be is that way about a mile or two through crowds.”

Several warmechs tried to get out of the ship but caught on fire, the armor burning fiercely. All of the pilots punched out, ejecting even as flames managed to get under the armor and set the internal systems on fire.

”What is going on?” Lowenmo'o asked.

Ko'olmo'o noticed that the Most High Drop Master's sidearm was smoking and looked down at his own weapon.

His gloved hands had sunken into the plassteel and the frame was starting to smoke.

”CHECK WEAPONS!” he bellowed out over the command channel, overriding the other Most Highs, even interrupting the Task Force Grand Most High.

In the time it took him to finish the sentence his plasma rifle burst into flame.

He threw it away from himself, toward the burning dropship, then reached down, grabbed his pistol, and threw it afterwards.

The pistol burst into flame in midair.

”GET OUT OF YOUR ARMOR!” the Infantry Great Most High screamed. Ko'olmo'o looked around and saw that more than a few of the armored Lanaktallans were bursting into flame.

Ko'omo'o hit eject and the armor fell into two pieces, both pieces smoking. He trotted back and stared as his armor caught on fire.

It took almost twenty minutes to get everything under control. By that time all of the dropships, the tanks, the warmechs, the armored personnel carriers, the power armor, the weapons, even the power assisted frames, were all burning away.

Ko'omo'o realized it was hot, not just from the fire, but hot and humid.

And he was standing outside naked.

The nearly half a million strong Lanaktallan force had gathered instinctively into groups, the smaller males in the middle, the larger on the outside. There was a lot of nervous whinnying and clattering of hooves as the fires burned.

”Great Most High, there is a Terran here,” the Most High of Recon Forces said.

”Then kill him!” the Task Force Great Most High said.

”Um, he's armored and armed, I don't know how I'd kill him, Most High,” the Recon leader said. ”He says he wants to see someone in charge.”

”Ko'olmo'o, you will see what this Terran wants, since your usefulness came to an end when the dropships all caught on fire,” the Task Force Most High said.

Ko'olmo'o felt his hearts sink. Still, orders were orders, and he followed the directions to the north side of the big area where the ships had set down, weaving between the piles of burning equipment. Finally he saw the Recon Most High standing next to a brown skinned human in a colorful outfit that almost hurt the eyes.

”I am Ko'olmo'o, Orbital Drop Most High,” Ko'olmo'o told the human.

The human, who had brown hair twisted into braids and some kind of brown tube emitting smoke from one end as well as bright amber eyes, smiled, showing a lot of white teeth.

”I'm Eugene Santos, Mayor of Rio de Janeiro, Nation State of Brazil,” the human said. He gave a bigger smile. ”Well, looks like all of you have a problem.”

”Surrender and be destroyed!” the Most High of Warmechs said, trotting up behind Ko'olmo'o.

”Shut up, you fool,” Ko'olmo'o snarled.

”Well, you're naked, but with the Carnaval do Brasi going on, it's not illegal,” the 'Mayor' said. He squinted and looked up at the smoke in the sky from Ko'olmo'o's entrance. ”Looked like you guys were pretty desperate to make it in time for the festivities, so once you were disarmed, I figured I'd extend you an invitation.”

”We're here to destroy your world, you fool!” the Warmech Most High repeated.

”Man, you need a drink and to get laid,” the Mayor, Eugene, said, shaking his head. He looked back at Ko'olmo'o. ”Once the 'soup' disarmed you, since we chose non-lethal because all the blood and screaming and death might bring down the party, I figured I'd invite you to the End of the World party.”

”Soooo, you're not taking us prisoner?” Ko'olmo'o asked.

”My cops are busy with the carnival,” The human Eugene laughed. ”The jails are going to be full of idiots, I don't have the space for cows from outer space.”

”What is happening?” the Great Most High asked over Ko'olmo'o's datalink.

”I think we're being invited to a party,” Ko'olmo'o said.

”Tell whoever it is to surrender and be destroyed!” the Great Most High insisted.

”Tough boss, huh?” the human Eugene asked.

Ko'olmo'o nodded, not surprised the human's datalink could eavesdrop.

”Wanna see what you're missing?” the Terran asked, turning his hand palm up. Before Ko'olmo'o could answer a startlingly clear hologram sprang from his hand.

There were dancers, giant animated colorful animatronics on hover platforms, people drinking intoxicants, others smoking intoxicants. Many beings of nearly two dozen races were obviously taking part in a huge public celebration.

”You don't have to fight, you know,” Eugene said, slowly moving his hand so that everyone gathered could see it. ”It's much better to enjoy life.”

Ko'olmo'o stared at the image and linked back to the Great Most High.

”I'm going to take some men with me, make sure it isn't a trap,” Ko'olmo'o said.

”I”m not giving up. We're here to destroy them,” the Task Force Great Most High said.

”Well, I suppose we can keep trying but either our forces are going to planet crack this place and we'll be unable to get away because, oh, I don't know, our dropships are on fire, or...” and he paused for a second, ”We're going to lose and either be killed or put in a prison camp.”

”So you might as well enjoy the party till then!” Eugene said, making sure they could see the hologram again.

”I am the Great Most High of the Infantry, I'll send two platoons with you,” one of the Most Highs said.

”All right,” Ko'olmo'o looked at Eugene. ”I will accompany you. No tricks.”

Eugene laughed. ”Oh, there will be tricks, but not the kind you are thinking of. There's deception, perfection, enjoyment, and debauchery, all awaiting you.”

Ko'olmo'o just nodded as nearly a hundred Lanaktallan jogged up. They all looked nervous about the fact they were completely naked, but the human Eugene didn't seem to care.

”Let's go. It's only a few blocks to the edge of the partying. I had them clear the parking lot for you,” Eugene said, turning and walking away while making a motion for Ko'olmo'o to follow.

”Come with me, my friends, to where the show and feast your eyes where the laughter never dies,” Eugene said.

Ko'olmo'o glanced up, to where he could still see pinpricks of ships exploding in orbit, then back at Eugene.

”And we won't be harmed?” he asked the human.

”Not intentionally. Someone always gets drunk and passes out face first in a puddle,” Eugene laughed.

Ko'olmo'o followed.

Either way, despite what the Great Most High thought, either they'd die when Terra was planet cracked, or the Terrans would win.

He agreed with Eugene.

It was better to party in your last moments than weep.

Over the next few hours the Carnaval do Brasi swallowed the entire Lanaktallan force.

Most of the Lanaktallan didn't remember till over two weeks after the invasion was all over that they were supposed to be invading, not shotgunning alcohol, smoking intoxicants, dancing with nearly or fully naked lemurs, or prancing about the street completely naked.

If they'd asked, they would have found out that they weren't the first to be devoured in such a way.

And they wouldn't be the last...