Stargate Atlantis: Emerald Isle

Chapter 19 - The Raid

John looked left and right along the dune.  The warriors lay silently in the moonlight, the tips of their spears glinting.  As well as the weapons they held ready in their hands there was a forest of spears, stuck butt-first into the sand.  They were made according to Rodney's suggestion, along the lines of Roman pila, with a wooden shaft and a long, narrow iron head designed to bend on impact so it could not be thrown back.

They were well-prepared, but still John was worried.  Coll had told him that usually there were twenty-five to thirty men on each ship.  Last time seven ships had sailed; that was potentially two hundred and ten raiders.  John's forces numbered fifty.  They would have to use to the full the first few minutes when the raiders landed on the shore.

Wind vibrated the tough grasses on top of the dunes; the waves washed up over the beach, pulling shingle back into the sea with a rushing sound; spears clinked together gently as the warriors shifted position.  Then the sound of the sea changed; a slow, rhythmic slapping from several directions; and then a subtle splashing of carefully dropped anchors.

Then they came; seven ships and the raiders flooded over their sides in a great, determined stream.  They charged up the beach, axes in hands, but the warriors knew to wait.  They waited until the raiders were crowded onto the sands and then, when John's P90 burst out, then they released their storm of spears.  John sprayed the beach in a wide arc, taking down as many as he could; this time was crucial if they were to survive and John felt no compunction in using his weapon against primitives armed only with axes and swords.  They had terrorised this island for years, carrying off goods and people alike, slaying and burning as they saw fit; it was time for them to pay the price.

John's weapon and the deluge of spears cut a swathe through the raiders, but then, as John had known they would,  groups of raiders began to break off to either side, trying to outflank the defenders.  "Fall back!" John called, and the warriors retreated behind the next rows of dunes, orienting themselves to repel the attackers coming from their sides.  They would continue to retreat, skirmish-style, toward the farmland,  too few in number to continue to repel raiders from the beach and defend the farms simultaneously.

oOo

Rodney watched from the shadows further along the shore.  He heard the P90 shattering the silence of the night, he heard the roar of attackers and defenders, he saw many of the raiders fall.  But then the battle began to move inland and that was the sign for the swimmers to move. 

"Now," said Rodney, "Go on!"

Vorra looked at him and nodded, determination in her eyes.  She led the way down to the sea and the four swimmers slipped silently into the waves and then began pulling with strong overhand strokes out through the breakers and then turning to follow the shoreline, aiming to come from seaward to fix their explosives to the undefended ships.

oOo

John crept along the line of the sand dune, head low.  He could see shapes flitting amongst the trees, a large group which would soon intercept a small group of John's warriors hidden further inland among the farm outhouses. John decided to improve their odds.

The group made a break for it, running across the open land towards the farmsteads.  John, down to his last magazine, stood and taking careful aim, began picking them off one at a time.  The group scattered and he couldn't cover them all.  Some made it to the farm-buildings where John heard the clash of hand-to-hand combat begin, some headed back to the trees for cover, some, marking John's position, zig-zagged toward him.  The P90 was out of ammo.  John let it hang on its sling and drew his Beretta.  He aimed and fired twice, but the moon had gone behind a cloud and he wasn't sure if he was on target.  He dropped behind the dune again and, running low, made his way further inland.  Sounds came from all around him, whether friend or foe he couldn't tell.  He ducked down next to a stand of sea thistles and froze, motionless.  Now would be a good time for an explosion or four, he thought.