Pirates!

“Pirates?”

“Yep. Looks like a few dozen ships.”

“Wait, ships? We're nowhere near an ocean.”

“She appears to have them floating. Could be antigrav pylons. Might be magic, if she bent things enough.”

“That would be just great if she brought magic into it. Gods, I don't know she'd sustain it, though.”

“You have to remember she's not above sacrificing sapients.”

“Right. Damn. So what does that bring the list to?”

“Pirates, ninjas, vikings, tanks of various eras, some sort of hybrid-mechanoid things, and...”

“And what?”

“It's either dragons or dinosaurs. The reports are unclear.”

“So what is she even playing at? How is she keeping this lot coordinated?”

“No sign, which means it's invisible. Could be something from far future, like gravity waves or, again...”

“Magic, right. I really hope it's not magic.”

“Why? We've worked countermagic ops before.”

“Yeah, but last time we had Higgins. He's still with the stitches after the last fight.”

“I'd forgotten. Maybe he's good enough to at least run strategic scenarios?”

“Last time I saw his mouth was missing and half his body was displaced into the Bedlam.”

“Oh. Scratch that, then.”