The Plasma Master

by Brian Rushton

  Chapter 23

  The medics aboard Green Scorpion attended to Ned, and he was conscious again before the battle was over. But just barely. Though the medics were not sure what had physically gone wrong, they were certain that it was serious and that Ned needed rest in order to recover. They strongly encouraged him to stay in bed, but he insisted on seeing Jenara as soon as possible.

  It was all too clear what had happened to him. Somehow, the Shadow Master had been at the battle. Only Shadow Plasma could cut through as strong a bond as he had formed with X’s squadron. When that power had been cut off, Ned had been left to himself, and the sudden loss of power had done something to him – sort of like the effect on the eyes when a bright light is flicked on in a dark room, only the opposite. Nearly all of Ned’s Plasma had been out in space, and when it was cut off he was left with practically none at all. Jenara, on the other hand, like all people, had a healthy supply of Plasma associated with the matter in her body. When she had touched Ned he had sensed it, and he had swallowed it up like a parched man drinking water.

  There were still unanswered questions, though. First of all, what had been that look on Jenara’s face? Had she been injured somehow? And, why had Ned not simply absorbed the Plasma from Green Scorpion? He told himself that he had already absorbed all the Plasma from the inanimate objects in the area in the process of recharging. Still, that was not enough information to satisfy him. In any case, Jenara had just saved his life, and he wanted to thank her for it. As soon as he was able to stand, he walked to the room she was staying in and pressed the intercom panel. “Jenara?”

  A few moments passed before he heard her barely-audible reply. “Enter.” The door slid open, and Ned saw her standing across the room from him, glaring at him. He started to explain, but when he saw the look in her eyes he stopped cold.

  “What do you want?” she asked. She looked at Ned as if she had never seen him before.

  “Jenara? What happened?”

  “I don’t know! You tell me! First you spend four days staring off into space, not talking to anyone, and then you just lie there on that bed, barely breathing. Then you scare me to death by going into a fit of paroxysms of who knows what kind, and then the next thing I know you’re holding my wrists and some weird light comes out of me! And you’re asking me what happened? I …” She started to cry then. All of the tension of the last several days came gushing out at once. She stepped backward and sat down in a nearby chair and hid her face in her hands.

  “Jenara, I’m so sorry.”

  “Stay away from me!”

  “Jenara, I’m fine now, I …”

  Jenara leaped back onto her feet and clenched her hands into fists, heedless of the tears streaming down her cheeks. “No you are not fine! You’ve turned yourself into some kind of monster! This Plasma of yours” – she spoke the word like a curse – “means more to you than people! More than me! I don’t understand you, Ned! I can’t! I’ve tried, I really have, but I don’t even know what you are anymore! Now get out of here! Now!”

  Hearing her talk like that brought tears to Ned’s own eyes, but there was obviously nothing more he could do. “I’m sorry,” he whispered, and then he turned and left.

  X went to check up on Ned as soon as the battle was over. Ned had fallen fast asleep, and the medics refused to wake him, but Ned had already explained everything to Smardwurst, and Smardwurst explained it to X. After hearing about what had happened, X decided to go and talk to Jenara. When she answered her door he could tell she had been crying. She was glad to see X, though, and motioned him inside.

  “Smardwurst told me what happened. Either the Shadow Master was at this battle, or else when Mirana Kelar brought back Nemesis she accidentally flew between Green Scorpion and Dragon Force. See, the Shadow Master did something to Nemesis so it can become invisible, too.”

  Jenara shook her head, barely listening. “Oh X, I’ve been so stupid. When Ned showed up on Palandora I thought of all the adventures I could have with someone like him, free and outside of the nebula. His power seemed so great. I wanted to know everything about it. Then I got to know him, and he was so nice, and I guess I got carried away. I wanted to spend all my time with him, to know everything about him. But the whole time he wasn’t thinking about me, he was thinking about the Plasma force and how he could use it against the Empire. He considered me a friend, but he didn’t feel the same way I did. He thought I felt like he did, and I wanted to believe that he felt the same way I did, but we were both so wrong.” After a moment she looked up at X. “Does that make any sense?”

  “Yes, as a matter of fact it makes perfect sense. I guess you’ve both learned something from the experience, and it looks to me like everyone came out more or less okay. The important question here is, what do you want to do now?”

  Jenara looked downward and did not answer for a moment. “I want to go back.”

  “Home? To Palandora?”

  “Yes.”

  “But why? What about learning about the galaxy?”

  “Other people can do that. You can do that. I’ll come back eventually, but not until this is over. There’s nothing I can do here. There’s nothing I have done here that’s mattered at all. I’m sick of this whole business, and I want to go back to what I know and understand.”

  “That’s your decision. But there are a few things you should know. First of all, it’s not true that nothing you’ve done here has mattered. For one thing, as awful as it was for you, you saved Ned’s life back there when he absorbed Plasma from you. His had all been cut off, and yours was the only thing that could bring him back.”

  “But that situation will never happen again, so it doesn’t matter. I still want to go back.”

  “That’s fine. I’m not saying you shouldn’t.”

  She sniffled. “And what else should I know?”

  “Jenara, if you go back to Palandora, then I’m coming too.”

  “You can’t. You have a squadron who needs you.”

  “No I don’t. Not here. Ned was right to be concerned about the risk the others were taking in fighting this battle. We all made it back, but not all of us would have if it hadn’t been for Ned. I think everyone can agree that Ned shouldn’t pull that little stunt again, so we shouldn’t be here. I guess if you order me to I’ll stay, but otherwise I’m coming back.”

  “I’m not going to order you to do anything. But why? Why not at least stay with Ned? He’s your friend, and right now he needs all the friends he can get.”

  “He needs all the helpful friends he can get, and I’m not so sure I fit into that category anymore. Besides, I’m a Palandoran, and that means my first responsibility is to you. And besides that, you’re my best friend, Jenara. You always have been. I came here because you came, and now I’m going back to Palandora because you are.”

  Jenara smiled gratefully. “Thanks, X. Thanks for understanding.”

  X returned her smile. “I’ll tell the guys; I assume they’ll be coming back too. Then I’ll contact the Chelaris crew and have them pick us up the first chance they get.”

  No one ever got as angry as Dark Viper. No one. And right now Dark Viper was very, very angry. He was pacing back and forth in his throne room in the most inane conversation he had ever had, and it was all he could do to control his temper. This Shadow Master was lucky Viper knew absolutely nothing about it; if he did, he would probably have had it hunted down and shot. Or worse.

  “You mean to tell me that you armed my starship with your power of invisibility because you wanted to, and then sat idly by while my enemies stole it right from under the incompetent noses of those fools at Sigma Omicron, who will, by the way, die for their failure?” He did not change his tone of voice at the slight digression. There were just too many people to hate right now to fit them all into a single sentence.

  “It was necessary.”

  “Necessary for what? I am the Emperor. I decide what is and is not necessary. You are merely an informant. You get
me information, and I tell you what to do. And there’s another thing! You did not even tell me of this power of invisibility you have! If I had known, do you know what I could have accomplished by now? I could have had you murder Gerran Marnax, Nedward Simmons, and every other fool who dared to oppose me, in their sleep! I would have no enemies!”

  “I serve you occasionally because I choose to. I have left your enemies alive because I want them alive. For one thing, I do not trust you to defeat Marnax or Ned Simmons on your own. You have failed already. And defeat does not necessarily mean death. I have other purposes in mind for them. Be careful how you deal with me, Emperor. I am your ally, but you would do well to respect my power.”

  “I will respect you when you prove you are of some use to me. What has your help gotten me? It has helped me to win a few battles, but I would eventually have accomplished the same ends anyway.”

  “You had practically no losses at those battles.”

  “I don’t care about losses! Soldiers don’t matter! The Plasma force is the only thing that matters! You, of all people – if a person is what you truly are – should know that!”

  “Are you forgetting that I also informed you of the presence of Nedward Simmons?”

  “And because you failed to get rid of him yourself, he has destroyed my most powerful servants. Your information gained me nothing.”

  “It cost you nothing either. And I correct you on one point: I am your most powerful servant. I am prepared to prove it. I should not even have to tell you this; given my power and the fact that I am aiding you, you should trust me implicitly. But since you do not, I will tell you why I did what I did concerning the starship Nemesis. First of all, the loss of Devastator will mean nothing in the long run. Its purpose was to destroy StarBlazer ships, and my plan will assure the destruction of all of them.

  “Now, consider the weapon Marnax now has. He has immense firepower, and he can go wherever he wants without being detected. What do you suppose he will try to do with this power?”

  Dark Viper’s scowl deepened even further. “Destroying my armada would seem like a logical course of action.”

  “Don’t be ridiculous. Marnax could use Nemesis in battles, but it would still be hit by randomly fired shots. It would help tremendously, but it wouldn’t end the war as fast as Marnax needs it to end. No, there is only one thing on the General’s mind right now: getting Nedward Simmons onto Venom so he can destroy you.”

  “Is that so? And just how is he going to do that? Nemesis might be invisible, but Venom, if you haven’t noticed, is enveloped in an impenetrable shell. The entrances have two doors each. When my ships come or go, all I have to do is pump the entrance corridor full of gas while they’re between the two doors. If there’s a bubble of emptiness the size of a starship, I don’t open the inner doors.”

  “I am not accustomed to explaining myself. Suffice it to say that Nedward Simmons will be here. And when he arrives, I will be waiting. As should you be. Meanwhile, I intend to keep you apprised of StarBlazer’s military plans.”

  “I don’t mean to sound ungrateful, but if this doesn’t work I swear I will destroy you. You may think you are powerful, but you are nothing compared to me. From now on your actions will be approved by me or you will not act. Do you understand?”

  “I understand things far better than you do, Emperor.”

  “Then understand this! I am through with your games! I want Nedward Simmons and Gerran Marnax dead tomorrow! Do it!”

  The Shadow Master laughed menacingly, and its hissing voice made the sound that much more chilling. “Be ready when Nedward Simmons comes, Dark Viper.” And then the communication was cut, and Dark Viper stood alone.

  “Be ready,” he says. Indeed. I will let him play out his little game and bring Ned Simmons to me if he will. Then, once he is gone, I will show this Shadow Master the consequences of defying me.

  It did not take long to reach the Chelaris. Following the battle Marnax quickly redispersed his forces back to where they had come from, leaving enough behind to maintain the world of Moldrona Kren. Galactron and Green Scorpion retreated back deep into StarBlazer space, where they had left Jenara’s ship behind days ago. The Chelaris met up with them along the way. Jenara had told Ned of her decision to go back, and although he was disappointed, he did not try to stop her. She was probably right, he decided. After all, he had never expected to know her for very long; now was as good a time to say goodbye as any. When they met up with the Chelaris, Ned met Jenara and X in the shuttle bay to see them off.

  “Thanks again, Jenara. I’ve had a great time with you. Good luck on Palandora.”

  “Thank you too, Ned. I’m sorry if I hurt you. I certainly didn’t mean to.”

  “I understand. It was great knowing you too, X. And thanks for the starfighter. I’m sure my government will have a lovely time with the technology I sell them for billions of dollars when I get home.” X laughed. “No, I’m serious!”

  X shook Ned’s hand. “I almost wish I weren’t going, Ned. It would be great to see you when you glue Dark Viper’s face to the wall. Come back and see us sometime, okay?”

  “I’ll try, X. That seems like a long way off.”

  “I know. Well, goodbye. And good luck. Shield Master Simmons.”

  “You too, Dragon Leader.”

  Ned shook the hands of the rest of Dragon Force, trying not to meet their gazes for too long, worried he might become emotional seeing the unmasked admiration they all had for him. And then the Palandorans were aboard their shuttle and heading back to the Chelaris. Ned felt like they took a piece of him with them as they went. That’s okay, though. There’s still plenty of me left to be found, somewhere in the near future on a place called Venom.