My Big Goblin Space Program [Isekai, Faction-building, Reincarnation, Goblins]

Attrition or no, we still had the crazed, half-dead null-whistler dragging its way to us on what remained of its shredded form. I was shocked the thing was still alive, having been separated from about 90% of its guts, and with what remained dragging across the ground behind it.

"Brace for impact!" I shouted.

The null devil slammed into the barricade below us, which was reinforced with more of the excavated dirt and rock from the drill tunnel. I swear, Promo must have dredged up enough dirt to build half of Habberport already. The fortifications rumbled underneath us, threatening the footing of the war forms, and more than a few goblins fell off onto the field of shredded nymph carcasses. Luckily, I think it must have been an adolescent null devil, because a full-size one would have plowed right through the wall. Still, I'd seen the whistler closer than I'd have ever liked, and this version still dwarfed the meteor-made-flesh that Sourtooth had been so leery of hunting. It gnashed its jaws up at the Ifrit manning the walls as its legs scrabbled for purchase.

Taquoho managed to stay standing as the creature rocked the battlements. I angled the war form's top-mounted gun down, peppering the flank of the creature with the self-cycling gun, but it was like shooting Airsoft at an M1 Abrams. Some of the other defenders had better luck with recoilless rifles or RPPs.

"Boss," said Armstrong, pointing "Wot's he thinkin'?"

"What?" I asked, turning my head to follow his gaze. One of the Ifrit war forms had thrown itself from the barricade and sprinted toward the null-whistler—much to the surprise and dismay of the goblins still onboard. I watched, certain an errant zig or zag from the creature would grind the war form to scrap. But the Ifrit controlled its vessel with stunning agility, and at the last moment they scrambled to the side, chain blades flashing in the sun. One of the many legs parted from the null devil, twirling through the air until it came to rest on the field.

I looked at the leg twitching on the ground, and then down to the chainsaw blades built into Taquoho's forearms. He must have had the same thought, because the blades started to spin.

"Taquoho, let's think about this," I said.

"Forgive me, King Apollo, but I have been 'thinking about this' since reentry."

"That's not what I mean—woah!"

Taquoho dropped into a crouch, then launched the war form off the battlement. Armstrong cheered beside me, while I just tried not to be thrown off. Several of the other war forms followed suit, and suddenly I was feeling very much like a blue, furry Peregrin Took riding a mechanical Treebeard into battle. It was all I could do to hold on.

The adolescent devil turned, sensing the natural magic of the Ifrit within the war forms. While no longer faster than a freight train, it was far from a slug. It surged forward with jaws as wide as a garage door. We twisted out of the way, and Taquoho slashed his chainsaw across the creature's right foreleg, severing it at the joint. The other Ifrit darted in, and not all of them were as nimble with the strange artifice as Taquoho. The skull plate of the null devil swept in a wide arc, smashing one war form to pieces. It's onyx jaws and grasping mandibles pulled another inside and ground it to scrap, along with a half-dozen goblins.

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Taquoho dashed in, slicing three more of the creature's legs off before dodging out of the way as it spun its bulk around. Another war form went down, speared through by the very legs it was trying to cut off. The null devil dragged it along, long after the Ifrit bailed out to the radio station.

"Boss," called Eileen through the radio. I was honestly shocked the sparker had managed to stay on the war form without dropping the handset radio. "Kinda busy!" I said.

"Oh, okay," she said.

Taquoho ducked under a crushing bite from the null devil, coming out the other side with blades whirring and smoking from the null-gunk clogging the chain and motor. Two more legs came off, and he stepped back.

"King Apollo, I believe we have done it!" said Taquoho.

I looked at the null devil thrash and chomp, but the Ifrit had severed so many of its legs that what few remained couldn't support or shift the creature's bulk. The goblins began to cheer, but behind them I could still hear the sounds of the remaining railguns firing as fast as they could charge and the gun buggy autocannons spitting rockettes. And everywhere I looked, in every direction as far as I could see, a black smudge had enveloped the horizon like fog, and at least a dozen black spots like holes in the sky marked the approach of more adult devils. The entire moon had turned against us.

"Boss, you still busy?"

"What is it, Eileen?" I asked.

"Just thought you should know, John says Spinefish is bingo on ammo."

Four bright bursts blossomed to the north and east, chased by echoing CRACKs and shockwaves of dust and debris. Those had landed much closer to the drill site than the first one.

"Taquoho, I think we ought get back behind those walls," I said.

"That course of action seems prudent," the Ifrit replied. The builders had to collapse a section of the barricade for us to scramble up. The view from the battlements was even bleaker than I'd imagined. Beneath the lingering dust clouds from the mass drivers, a sea of onyx shifted and scuttled. The gun buggies fired upwards into swarms of airborne nymphs, the missile racks were empty, and only three of our railguns weren't yet on fire. "Taquoho, it's time to get your people out of here," I said.

"King Apollo, we can still assist in the defense of the dig site."

"There's no more defending the dig site!" I shouted. "Get your fiery ass up to Spinefish and back to Rava."

Reluctantly, Taquoho descended the wall and lumbered toward the radio station at the center of the site.

"Whatever happens, King Apollo. Know that we treasured every moment we spent with you. And every union here would change nothing of our time together."

I patted the top of the war form. "I feel the same way, Taquoho."

They placed one of their guts-covered forearms on the radio platform, and Taquoho's pale blue flame streamed out of his vessel, into the radio, and was gone in a flash. More unions followed, and the long-range antenna pulsed with multi-colored flames like the world's biggest rave glow stick.

One of the Ifrit headed for the radio, then turned around at the last second and worked its way back to me, smoldering gently.

"A real whistler, twas not. But 2-1 in favor, I shall consider my score, King Ap."

I stared at the fire. "Girmaks?! Is that you?"

The fire dipped in a tiny bow. "Sunskin will know of your achievements on Raphina. May she fashion wings of wax and flap her way here in hope to best them."

I thought back to the first war form making its suicidal charge at the null-whistler. "That was you, then. The first one off the wall."

"A bit of mischief I was feeling, little brother. Begrudge an old orc not his fun."

The orc spirit streamed back across the war form and flashed up the antenna.

Armstrong waved. "Bye, Girmaks!" he shouted.

I shook my head. Unbelievable.