I swallowed.

I'd just had a one-on-one Mindspeech conversation with a giant murder dinosaur.

What else could happen?

HIERARCHY JAMMING FIELD LIFTED.

Around me, radios crackled to life.

: They've done it!

: Done what?

: The SBS found the jammer in the Thames. They just blew it up!

: Radio communication is back online. Units are getting in touch with each other. Windsor's back on the command channel!

Voices erupted from radios and communicators around me. up.

“... Sixth Armored, moving in support of Royal Queensland Infantry…”

“... 35th Infantry here, air support sil’vous’plais ….”

“.... 12th ALA, responding to the 35th Infantry, please designate targets...”

“.. Hauraki Regiment moving to secure Wimbledon Green….”

The roar of jet engines filled the sky, as jets in the colour of a dozen nations took to the air. Rockets flew upon alien positions, guided by infantrymen on the ground, as the aliens found themselves fighting a coordinated counterattack.

: Windsor says they’re sending jets to hit the two Carnotaurs in Richmond Park. Other ultrahumans are holding them still.

: …. About ten minutes before Greater Carnotaur roars again. Any ideas?

: Maybe.

I turned to Doyle. “Major-General. I need a chopper.”

“You need a lift somewhere?”

“I need to see the Greater Carnotaur with my own eyes. Before it roars again.”

“You got in. Just don’t be in the air in ten minutes. Windsor’s ordered everyone grounded before the next roar.”

“There are jets in the sky right now.”

“Two hundred close-attack aircraft. Most won’t get away in time.”

“You have to warn them.”

“They know. They’re all volunteers.”

Every time I think I’ve seen the heights people can rise to, they surprise me. Again.

Blades whirred as an Apache heavylift chopper set down besides me. “Flight Lieutenant Agnel Grundy,” the pilot yelled out. “I hear you need a lift?”

“I need a close view of the Carnotaur,” I told the pilot.

“How close?”

“Five hundred feet should do.”

“How much does your armor weigh?”

“Half a ton.”

The pilot shook his head. “I can’t carry you in the cabin. There’s an option, however….”

Minutes later, we were off.

From the air, London looked different. The city spread out beneath me, stately homes and towering skyscrapers interspersed with wide-open parks and well-laid roads.

Roads clogged by burning vehicles, now, and ambulances racing through what remained. Explosions in orange and green marked places where humans and Hierarchy troops fought for control, and fires warred with foam in what remained.

Dangling from underneath the helicopter, held in place by hastily lashed chains, I took it all in.

: Agni’s mad at you.

: Why?

: She just heard about your little excursion. She says that if those cables snap you’ll be one flat pancake. And she’s not responsible for saving you from your own stupidity.

: Tell her I’ll be fine. There’s a dozen nanofibre cables lashing me to this thing, and each could hold the weight of an elephant.

: Agni has some suggestions for you. I’m pretty sure they’re anatomically impossible….

: Focus. How’s the preparations going along?

: Curry says you’re crazy. Windsor’s sending you a list of everything in the museums of London, just in case.

: I could use his friend Samuel.

: He says you can have him for an hour. After that he needs to be returned, apparently he’s only supposed to work for the Royal Family and its members.

“Target spotted!” Grundy hollered. “Just behind the railway station!”

“I see him,” I replied.

The Greater Carnotaur was, indeed, behind the Hampton Court railway station. For any other being, the seven-storey building might have been a perfect place to hide.

In front of Ehu-tu-Vettorak, though, it seemed a mere dollhouse.

The kaiju stood at least a hundred and twenty feet tall. Twice the height of its lesser brethren, its skin bore a deep green hue, streaked by thin stripes of purple. The left claw bore burn marks, and it seemed winded.

Below its jaw, it wore what looked like a chinstrap.

“The thing must have sprinted across the Thames bridge when the fire broke out,” grumbled Grundy. “Probably moves like greased lightning.”

“Yeah,” I nodded absently.

EHU-TU-VETTORAK

CLASS: GREATER CARNOTAUR

LEVEL 100

HP: 9,888,736 / 10,000,000

SHIELD: 10,000,000 / 10,000,000

DAMAGE REDUCTION: 150.

LEADER OF THE VETTORAK PACK, EHU-TU IS A GREATER CARNOTAUR OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOMPLISHMENT. CONSIDERED A PEERLESS WARRIOR AND AMONGST THE FINEST OF HIS KIND, HE AGREED TO TAKE PART IN WHAT SEEMED TO BE A MINOR RAID AGAINST A HIERARCHY CANDIDATE PLANET, EXPECTING ONLY BOREDOM AND DISAPPOINTMENT.

HE HAS BEEN PLEASANTLY SURPRISED BY THE DEGREE OF CHALLENGE OFFERED BY THESE PRIMITIVES, HOWEVER, AND WISHES TO TEST HIMSELF AGAINST THEIR LEADER.

KNOWN SKILLS:

ROAR OF THE CARNOTAUR: UNLEASHES A ROAR THAT CREATES SHOCKWAVES. INTENSITY CAN RANGE UP TO 300 DB.

THE SHOCKWAVES KILL UNARMORED HUMANS IN THE OPEN WITHIN CLOSE RANGE (FATAL ABOVE 180 DB) AND SHATTER THE FRAMES OF NEARBY VEHICLES.

HARDENED SKIN: THE GREATER CARNOTAUR’S SKIN IS PERMANENTLY HARDENED AGAINST EXPLOSIVE, RADIOLOGICAL OR KINETIC DAMAGE. 75% DAMAGE REDUCTION TO EXPLOSIVE/KINETIC PROJECTILES. 95% RADIATION RESISTANCE. DOES NOT PROTECT AGAINST CUTTING OR SLICING DAMAGE.

FIREBREATHER: TALENTED INDIVIDUALS OF THE CARNOTAUR SPECIES PRACTICE THE ART OF FIREBREATHING. A CARNOTAUR CAN EQUIP A DEVICE THAT ENHANCES THEIR BREATH TO UNLEASH A FLAMMABLE MIX OF PETROLEUM-JELLY LIKE SUBSTANCE, WHICH IS THEN IGNITED, CREATING A SPECTACULAR PYROTECHNIC DISPLAY - OR WHAT OTHER SPECIES CALL A FLAMETHROWER.

REGENERATION PULSE: CAN REGENERATE UP TO 10% OF HEALTH WHILE STANDING STILL. REQUIRES 15 SECONDS OF IMMOBILITY. PULSE CAN BE USED ONCE IN 150 SECONDS.

ATTACKS:

CLAW SWIPE +4,000 PHYSICAL DAMAGE

TAIL STRIKE +8,000 PHYSICAL DAMAGE

GROUND STOMP +20,000 PHYSICAL DAMAGE + CHANCE TO INSTAKILL ANY COMBATANT WITH LESS THAN 100 STR (BY STEPPING ON THEM).

FIRE BREATH ARRAY: +2,500 FIRE DAMAGE/SECOND FROM EQUIPPED FIREBREATHING APPARATUS (THAT’S THE LITTLE THING BENEATH ITS CHIN, BY THE WAY).

So not only do I have to deal with a creature which has ten times the HP of its lesser cousins, and a permanent Harden effect...

It also breathes fire.

And regenerates.

I took a deep breath.

Steady.

Remember why you are here.

OPEN MINDSPEECH CHANNEL TO EHU-TU-VETTORAK? COST: 100 CP, 1 CP/SECOND.

I pushed ahead.

: Greetings, Ehu-tu-Vettorak of the Carnotaurs.

: LITTLE BROTHER. HAVE YOU COME TO LEARN?

: I have come to speak.

: SPEAKING IS ONE WAY OF LEARNING. A LITTLE SLOW. I PREFER FASTER WAYS.

: Learning can only happen in the right circumstances. And I think we both have much to learn.

: INDEED WE DO. LET US SPEAK OF THE RIGHT CIRCUMSTANCES, THEN.

: I don’t suppose I could persuade you to take classes another day.

: THAT WOULD BE FOOLISH. THE OPPORTUNITY TO LEARN IS NOW, IS IT NOT?

: Then let us have the learning be uninterrupted. I would not wish our lesson to be cut short by the pull of duties elsewhere.

I paused.

: Alas, as long as there are civilians in danger, I may yet be pulled away.

: CIVILIANS. A STRANGE CONCEPT. THERE ARE THOSE OF THE PACK, AND NOT OF THE PACK. THERE ARE PREDATORS, AND PREY.

: Our pack is more nuanced. We have those we are sworn to protect from danger.

: I CANNOT CALL BACK THE OTHER WARRIORS OF THE HIERARCHY. THAT IS NOT MY CHOICE TO MAKE.

: That is understandable, and acceptable. However, my concern is your roar.

: AH YES. THE ROAR. WHAT ABOUT IT?

: It does me little harm, you understand. Armor protects. Yet I have a responsibility to ensure that those who do not have it - the civilians - are in safety.

As I communicated, I infused my thoughts gently with Persuasion Points.

: Until I have taken all of the civilians to sheltered places, I am afraid it will not be possible for us to learn together.

: STRANGE. OTHER DUTIES COMPEL YOU TO DELAY.

And now for the 400 PP push….

: If you were to refrain from using the Roar, then perhaps we could meet sooner.

A second passed. Two. Three.

Then the response came back.

: A SMALL MATTER, REALLY. THE ROAR IS MERELY TO INTIMIDATE PREY AND HAS LITTLE BEARING ON PREDATORS. YET I UNDERSTAND, YOU MUST PROTECT YOUR… HERDS.

: Yes.

: THEN LET US COME TO AN AGREEMENT. I SHALL REFRAIN FROM THE USE OF THE ROAR, AND IN RETURN YOU SHALL AVOID THE USE OF YOUR ARTILLERY SHELLS, TANKS AND AIRCRAFT AGAINST ME … AND WE SHALL MEET AND LEARN IMMEDIATELY.

… A counteroffer. Negotiation.

: That would be too much.

: OH? NOT SO INTERESTED TO AVOID THE ROAR NOW, ARE WE?

: You ask too much for too little. If I am to withhold my jets and artillery, then you must drop your shield.

: AND WHY SHOULD I DO THAT?

: You’d have to anyway, because I have Shield Disrupters. You can keep your shield up, and I shall use them to knock it down - and then hit you with airstrikes and long-ranged fire.

: HARDLY EDUCATIONAL.

Time to go for broke. 460 PP, here we go….

: On the other hand, refrain from the Roar, drop your shields, and face me and my soldiers - and I shall fight you within the hour. And we shall both learn.

: YOU DRIVE A HARD BARGAIN. VERY WELL. NO INDIRECT FIRE, NO AIRSTRIKES, NO INVISIBILITY, AND ONLY FOOT SOLDIERS. IN RETURN, I SHALL DROP MY SHIELD AND REFRAIN FROM THE ROAR.

: Very well. I agree. Remain where you are, and I shall meet you within the hour.

: DONE.

I cut the channel, then let out a deep breath.

THROUGH THE EFFECTIVE USE OF HALF-TRUTHS, TRICKERY AND PERSUASION POINTS, YOU HAVE DRIVEN A BARGAIN THAT PLACES YOU IN A STRONGER POSITION THAN YOU WERE BEFORE.

TITLE GAINED: THE BOOTED CAT.

DOUBLE EFFECTIVENESS OF BLUFFS, TRICKERY AND DECEPTION IN CONVINCING RIVALS AND ENEMIES.

Ehu-tu-Vettorak would keep his word.

Now, I just had to put together an infantry strike force that would be able to kill a Greater Carnotaur.