The City of Steel

"Your majesty, I fail to see the humor in this. Your region could very well be completely destroyed." Said Colonel Robinson with a confused expression.

After the queen calmed herself down, she said, "you are mistaken sir, this attack will not even scratch this region. Instead, it will destroy that steel city."

The colonel could not believe what he was hearing, "how is it possible that by attacking you they end up destroying themselves?"

"It is quite simple really. Tell me, do you know what makes the tide rise and fall on a regular basis?"

"Of course I know. It is your soldiers practicing their attacks, the churning of the water makes it rise, and since you practice on a schedule, that is why it happens on a regular basis."

The queen laughed again, "That is not it at all. What happens is this: there is a force outside this planet with its own gravitational force. As it spins around our planet, it either comes closer to our planet, or farther away. The closer it is to our planet, the stronger the gravitational pull and the higher the tide rises, and the farther away it is to our planet, the lower the tide. Now tell me, do you know what this strange object could be?"

The colonel felt very stupid after hearing this, "so you are saying that the closer the moon is to this planet, the higher the tide rises?"

"Yes."

"And if that city launches that laser and poles the moon towards the water, it will make the tide rise so high that it will engulf the city and destroy it?"

"Yes."

The colonel was silent for a moment, and then said, "Alright Queen Zora, I thank you listening to our information and I thank you for joining our alliance. If you are in need of any assistance, like if this plan does not work, feel free to call on us and we will be more than willing to help."

"Thank you colonel. This is greatly appreciated."

The screen went blank and the connection was broken. The control room was quiet as Colonel Robinson was silent for several seconds. Finally he turned to all the workers and said, "We have 30 minutes until the attack, if what the queen said is really what is going to happen, I suggest you all find a good viewing spot for this spectacle."

As the time for the attack quickly approached, several mountaineers gathered at the mouths of several caves facing the water, others spread their wings and hovered outside, a few volunteered to stay back as emergency response teams in case something should go wrong. Colonel Robinson stood in front of the largest cave patiently waiting. Suddenly one of the young children jumped and pointed towards the city. "Mommy, what’s that?" He cried. Everyone stood up and turned towards the city where they saw a giant blue beam emerged from the center of the city and extended its reach upward towards the heavens.

Afterwards, there was silence. For several minutes the entire mountain region moved their eyes along the beam to the point where it entered the clouds. Then, the clouds were broken from their bonded formations by a monstrous, arid, gray rock. It was the moon.

The people stood in incredulity as the moon slowly moved through the sky towards its destination. Many joked about the man in the moon being very livid right about now, some children started crying at hearing this.

Colonel Robinson did not spend much time admiring the moon. He quickly focused his attention on the water. He stared aghast as a vast tidal wave swelled awoke from the sleeping waters and rushed towards the city.

Suddenly, one of the technicians ran forward to where Colonel Robinson stood. "I’m sorry to pull you away from this sir, but we are receiving a signal from the city."

"Alright," said Colonel Robinson as he walked to the viewing screen, "put it on." He stood still as the face of Captain Peacock appeared on the screen.

"What is the meaning of this attack?" demanded the captain, "I have spoken to the water dwellers and they say that they are not responsible for causing the tidal wave, so it must be you! What are you doing?"

"I assure you captain," explained Colonel Robinson, "we are not responsible for this attack, nor are the water dwellers responsible. As a matter of fact, I believe you are accountable for this attack."

"Me? What would make you think I would attack my own region?" Asked Captain Peacock.

"Allow me to explain." So Colonel Robinson explained about the tides and the moon’s role, and all through this the colonel watched the captain’s face grow more and more pale. "And there’s nothing you can do about it. So I bid you farewell Captain Peacock, and oh yes, happy birthday."

In the background, the colonel heard a cheer rise up from the crowd behind him, and at the same time, he watched a large mass of water break through the wall behind Captain Peacock. There were several screams, and then the connection was lost. Colonel Robinson allowed a large smile engulf his face, then walked off to join the cheers of his people.