by Lee Watts
"Bring us up," Balin shouted.
Rising from the clouds like a dragon emerging from a smoke-filled lair, the giant United Realm ship broke through the mists of the gaseous planet with its main cannon blazing. A blinding azure beam of energy forcefully poured from the battlecarrier, hammering the unprepared Hateeg war cruiser. In two seconds, the powerful beam completely penetrated the ship then swept over the rest of the emerald-hued craft. Minor explosions erupted from the fatally wounded ship then the entire vessel blew apart in a billowing surge of flame and wreckage.
Quickly calling to the Indomitable to avoid a repeat incident of friendly fire, Colonel Ortiz informed the admiral of the situation. Hastily, the shuttle and two fighters docked. Vizier Wasi informed Balin of the king's destination, and immediately the Indomitable leaped to lightspeed after the Realm's sovereign.
***
(1,000 years ago)
As Koraden mercilessly attacked Pipaluk, Shania tightly gripped the rope tied to the wall near her, severing it with one chop. Connected to a heavy wooden chandelier that immediately began falling, the cable propelled Shania over the fracas toward the other end of the ledge-like second level of the desert temple. Raising his arm for another vengeful hack at the cowering Pipaluk, Koraden caught sight of the Guardian hurtling toward him. With no time, he couldn't move before Shania's kick slammed against his head, sending him crashing against the stone wall. Staggering back from the impact, he lost his footing and slipped over the side of the ledge, falling hard to the ground level. Shania loosed her grip on the rope, dropping herself to the floor then sprinted to finish the baneful Dridmor overlord. Again, Koraden saw the female Guardian rushing him and so scrambled to his feet. A whirling torrent of slashes, Shania sliced at the dark warrior. Koraden blocked as best he could, but for every two strikes, he parried the Guardian penetrated his defenses with a deep cut. By far the fastest opponent he'd ever faced, the woman was quickly slicing Koraden to shreds.
"I-HAVE-HAD-ENOUGH-OF-YOU," Shania shouted, continuing her intense assault.
A raging storm, she slashed furiously at her enemy. Stuck time and again, Koraden was bloodied and dazed. Slicing down hard with a shout, Shania severed his right hand. Howling in pain, he backpedaled. Not pausing an instant, she advanced, relentlessly slicing him from every angle. A deep gash across his left hand caused him to drop his remaining weapon. Leaping in a forward spinning kick, she nailed him hard in the chest, sending him toppling backward and to the floor. Beaten, Koraden shook his head to try and clear it. Surrounding battles nearly finished, the few surviving Dridmor fled back through the wall of flying sand. Noticing their retreat, Gareth shutdown the engines of the ship, ceasing the artificial sandstorm. Noise fading, Shania stomped toward her fallen opponent. Drawing back, she prepared to pierce the dark overlord's heart, ending his loathsome mortal existence. Thrusting forward, her sword was deflected by a swift-moving battlestaff from her left. Turning to see who it was stopping her, she called out the protector's name in astonishment.
"Merrick?"
***
"AAHH," Jaiden shouted noticing the oversized sea snake darting in the flooded cargo bay with him. Activating the rocket pack of his environmental suit, he jetted upward out of the water. His panicked flight sent him slamming into the pipes and girders of the bay's ceiling. The creature leaped at him, but with uncontrolled flight of his still flaming rocket pack, Jaiden accidentally managed to avoid the powerful, snapping jaws. As the serpent fell back in the water, preparing to jump again, Jaiden focused enough to direct his flight and dashed for the largest pipe of the bay's upper wall. With great force and speed, the creature reached for the morsel. Jaiden barely made it to the narrow gap between the thick pipe and bay's roof an instant before the monster slammed hard against the bottom of the heavy, metal conduit.
"Captain we have a problem," Mei announced on the bridge.
"I don't like problems," Sosimo answered.
"Correction, we don't have a problem."
"Good."
"We have two problems," the first mate declared and explained about the sea creature in the bay trying to eat Jaiden.
"What's our other problem," Sosimo asked, dreading what she might say.
"Pressure."
"Pressure?"
"Yes," Mei explained. "The ship is designed to operate in a zero-pressure environment, but now it's under all this pressure from the water. I'm reading micro hull fractures all over the ship. If we spend much longer down here, we'll spring a leak."
"Pressure, hmm," Sosimo mused with a lopsided grimace then mumbled, "I hadn't thought of that."
Switching on the intercom, he asked about the torpedoes he had instructed Byron to load into the engine compartment. Word came back that each projectile was now highly radioactive. Delighted with the news, he voluntold some of the crew to put on protective suits and load those torpedoes into the launch tubes. Switching off the intercom, he returned his attention to the bridge crew.
"Well, I think we've overstayed our welcome down here. Prepare to raise the ship."
"What about Jaiden?" Mei asked.
"If we open the outer bay door, we'll take on more water and not be able to surface," Sosimo reasoned, "but if we open the inner doors it'll flood seawater throughout the ship. That could short out everything. What's going on down there right now?"
Checking the security camera feed, she answered him.
"Jaiden's hiding behind some pipes on the ceiling."
"Can the thing get to him?"
"Uh… not right now."
"Good, keep an eye on him," Sosimo instructed. "Our immediate priority is to lift the ship. Byron, take the helm."
The long-time crewman hurried to the helmsman's position, taking a seat.
"All right, my Good Man, take us up," the captain instructed.
"Uh… how do I do that, Cap'n?"
"How indeed?" Sosimo replied while thinking about how the thrusters kept fizzling out. "I was planning on finding a way to pump the water out of the bay. That would reduce our weight, and since air's lighter than water I figured we would lift right to the surface, but I guess that option is out now, isn't it. Let me see, I've only got so much air, but I need something lighter than air to lift us up…"
After a few moments of contemplation, a broad, wicked smile crossed the captain's face. Seeing the look too many times before, Shen Mei became justifiably concerned.
"Captain?" she asked warily.
"Fear not Mei, I have… a plan."
Jaiden nearly slipped off his rounded, slick bit of protection as the creature rammed forcefully into it again. It was only a matter of time before he fell, and he knew it - so did the monster. Weaponless, and with no viable exits to try and make a run for it, Jaiden was stumped for how he could survive much longer. The sea creature slammed the pipe again, causing Jaiden to nearly drop the mobile battery back. A thought occurred to him, it was a far shot, but he had nothing to lose. Quickly, he began ripping off the coverings of the positive and negative power cables. WHAM! Another hit from the living battering ram. Working frantically, Jaiden finished stripping the insulating wrappings of the two wires. WHAM! Activating the pack, he let it drop into the water. Splashing into the liquid, the battery pack popped and flashed like a strobe light. Flailing wildly, the enormous serpent thrashed great buckets of water into the air. In a few moments, the motions subsided, the lights and crackles ceased, and the sloshing water began to ease. Venturing a look from around his dented pillar of protection, Jaiden saw the electrocuted beast floating lifelessly on the water's surface.
On the bridge, Captain LaRouche laid out his plan.
"Mei, I want you to bring the auxiliary fission reactor online, but instead of venting the exhaust I want you to pump it into the ventilation system."
"What?"
"It's all basic science," he explained as Mei carried out his orders. "Fission creates helium as a byproduct. We normally vent that over the side, but by keeping it we increase our buoyancy.
Air would push us up, but helium is lighter than air so should create a greater lifting force."
Byron turned around regarding his captain with an unmasked accusation of insanity.
"Hey," Sosimo croaked, the helium making his voice high and unnaturally squeaky, "it could work." He smiled in unconvincing optimism. "After all," he continued, sounding more and more like a chipmunk. "Stranger things have happened. Offhand I can't think of any examples, but I'm sure there must be something."
"It's working, Cap'n," Byron reported, sounding much like an elf.
"Excellent," squeaked Sosimo. "Soon as we hit the surface you should be able to fire the thrusters. Get us airborne quick as you can. Mei?"
"Yes, Captain?" she replied in a voice several octaves higher than usual.
"What's the status of those torpedoes from the engine compartment?
"They're loaded and ready," Mei answered, sounding like a recording played back to fast.
"Good," Sosimo said. "Keep an eye out for the Fame; we don't want her sneaking up on us. He he he he," he squeaked.
"What's so funny?" Mei asked.
"Nothing, I just like this sound."
That settles it, Mei thought. He is a lunatic.
Breaking the surface, water rolled off of the starship and the Fortune's maneuvering engines flamed to life. The ship propelled upward, away from the water, and into the atmosphere. Detecting Crimson's ship, Sosimo had Byron bring the main engines online, giving the ship a burst of speed.
"CAPTAIN," urgently called out a Fame crewman. "I've spotted the Fortune. It's right above us!"
"Above us?" Crimson puzzled. "What are they doing, making a break for it?"
"Negative. They're lowering. They're almost on top of us!"
"SHIELDS," Crimson shouted.
Over the radio in Jaiden's suit came a high, squeaky voice.
"Jaiden, hold on to something, quick."
"Uh…. Okay," he answered back though a little puzzled at the voice.
Sosimo smiled and signaled Shen Mei. She nodded and hit the switch blowing the outer cargo bay door open, which sent thousands of liters of seawater crashing down on the Fame's energy screens. With a brilliant flash, the Fame's screens, popped, fizzled then completely short-circuited as the salt water washed over them and then splashed onto the Fame's hull. Dumfounded by what was happening, Crimson and his crew were totally unprepared for what happened next. THUMP!
"WHAT WAS THAT?!" Crimson demanded, but no one could explain how or why a heavy, twenty-meter long sea serpent had fallen on them.
Sosimo smiled as Mei reported the Fame's shields were down.
"Fire," Sosimo ordered in a high voice then three torpedoes leaped from launch tubes. Hammering the top of the Fame, the torpedoes lodged deep into the stolen Hateeg ship.
"WE'RE HIT," came a report to Crimson.
"You said there wasn't any weapon spike in their energy readings!"
"There wasn't. Those torpedoes weren't charged!"
"What an idiot," Crimson remarked about his nemesis. "He's launching inert hunks of metal at us."
Immediately, a warning alarm sounded from the central computer.
"Report," Crimson ordered.
"Radiation levels just went off the scale. It's those torpedoes; they're highly radioactive. We have to evacuate half the ship or-"
The Fame jolted.
"WE'RE LOSING ALTITUDE," came the panicked voice to the Fame's navigator. "The radiation is shorting out systems all over the ship. We're going down!"
As his ship plunged to the surface, Crimson cursed vehemently while staring at the Fortune that was swiftly climbing for the black of space.
"LAROUCHE!"
CHAPTER 51
"Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do…" – Luke 23:34
Crossing the narrow pathway from the tunnel to the ziggurat with flaming staff in hand, Imenand's chuckle echoed loudly in the massive chamber.
"What have I done?" Alexander lamented aloud as the gloating Dridmor approached. Confused, Alexander turned to Tycon. "But this doesn't make sense; he's killed many of the Ramillie."
"You don't truly understand, do you?" Tycon said while keeping a steady eye on the approaching Imenand. "The Dridmor don't care about the Ramillie or any human. They want to destroy your entire species, and now you've brought one here to destroy me."
Alexander pleaded, "Guardian, I- I didn't know. Forgive me."
Heart heavy, Tycon regarded the mortal and gave him a silent nod of absolution. Weight partially lifting, Alexander knew he must attempt to right the wrong. He clipped the translation device to his belt then retrieved his battlestaff. Pulling it apart, he took his stand against the Dridmor.
"No," Tycon told him. "This isn't your fight. You need to get away from here. On the opposite side of the ziggurat is a way inside, take it and follow the passage until it ends at a door like the one you came through to get here. It leads to a tunnel running nearly all the way to the surface. Now, go."
"But what about you?"
"We have to keep the remaining keys separate for as long as possible. Go, GO!"
Reluctantly, Alexander sheathed his weapon and headed for the doorway in the mega-structure.
"RUN, ALEX," Imenand shouted.
Reaching for the fangblade concealed in a sheath at his back he withdrew it then stretched out his arm and loosed two bolts of fire from the weapon. Leaping from the fangblade after the fleeing mortal, the balls of fire whizzed past Alexander but were close enough to singe his skin.
"RUN," Imenand repeated in crazed delight. "IT WILL DO YOU NO GOOD, HUMAN! WE'LL FIND YOU! NO MATTER WHERE YOU GO, WE'LL FIND YOU!"
Imenand roared in laughter as Alexander disappeared inside the doorway. Across the bridge, the Dridmor turned his attention to the waiting Guardian.
"You know the prophecy Tycon, all the keyholders will die. Your time is at an end."
"Maybe," the Guardian replied, "but nothing says you will survive this day either."
With that, he lunged at the Dridmor who parried with a lightning-fast move.
Alexander's broken rib made it difficult for him to hurry as he raced through the alien structure toward the door Tycon mentioned. He didn't know how long the Guardian could hold off Imenand, or if Imenand would win the contest at all, but something in Alexander told him the Dridmor would soon follow. Reaching the door with the handprint panel, he opened it and began the long ascent to the surface.
Swinging as he sidestepped, Tycon sliced his opponent across the left shoulder.
Imenand yelled in pain as he backed away to pause the combat.
"I see you haven't lost your skills," the Dridmor hissed.
"A thousand years alone gives one a lot of time to practice," Tycon replied then the two re-engaged in a flurry of strikes, breaking when Tycon was cut deep across the thigh.
"You've gone too long without a real opponent," Imenand mocked then renewed his attack with fervor.
Holding his wounded side, Alexander made slow progress. He continued up the passage toward the surface until reaching a collapsed section. A mound of rocks all but completely obstructed the way forward. With too narrow an opening between the mound and the rocky top of the tunnel, Alexander climbed up a few of the boulders and began budging the rocks out of the way. Each strain of his muscles sent shooting pains to his side. The oven-like air of the cavern taxed his strength all the more.
At last, he believed he'd slid enough stones aside to crawl through the slender opening. He was grateful there was an opening at all. Fully prone, he squeezed himself between the rough, rocky opening, the jagged stones lacerating him as he progressed. Finally though, he stood and noticed how this passage was accessible from other tunnels. He knew it was a perfect place for an ambush. Pulling the battlestaff from the sheath on his back, he kept the blades inside each other, but ready to draw in case he ran into another pack of the crazed primates. Sweat-drenched, bloodied, and bruised, he continued his slow climb
to the surface but progressed only a short while before hearing the howls of a rapidly approaching pack.
With a scooping sidekick, Tycon stuck his opponent forcefully in the chest, knocking him backward. Losing his footing, Imenand tumbled over the side of the ziggurat, bashing against the hard edges of the steps as he fell. His staff loosed from his grasp, but, with effort, the Dridmor was able to halt the plunge. Coming to the edge of the flat-topped structure, Tycon saw his battered foe getting to his feet so hurried down the steps to finish him.
Bellowing as they came, the group of raving primates ran toward the wounded Alexander. Unable to backtrack to escape, he had nowhere to run. Drawing his blades, he steadied himself as they approached. Shouting, the lead animal leaped at him. Alexander dropped to one knee, letting the beast fall onto his extended blades. Rolling the dead creature to the side, he quickly withdrew his weapons and turned to face the others.
Imenand rushed to his battlestaff, its blades flaming back to life at his touch. Since the Guardian had the higher ground of the ziggurat's stepped slope, Imenand pressed an attack to try and regain momentum. He sliced Tycon across the arm, but the Guardian countered with a burst of speed from his own blades, which once more rid the Dridmor of his weapon. Imenand staggered back and stumbled down four or five steps before regaining his footing.
"It's over Imenand," Tycon threatened. "You've lost! You passed yourself off as Merrick's mentor to that mortal, but you and I know you were the pupil. You may have deceived the mortal, but in the end, your lies are not enough to save you. Your weapon is gone. You never did fully master the way of the sword, did you?"
"You forget something, Guardian," Imenand sneered.
"What's that?"
"The way of the gun," Imenand answered, quickly drawing the pistol holstered at this thigh. In rapid succession, he repeatedly shot Tycon. Though the blasts couldn't kill the Guardian, they did inflict massive pain, and the fury of shots hammered him to the ground.
Rage burned within the Dridmor as he climbed the steps to where the Guardian lay and continued blasting his enemy with energy bolts. Bending down, the Dridmor clutched Tycon's throat, strangling him. The combination of the shots and lack of oxygen made Tycon too weak to break free, he struggled but eventually collapsed into unconsciousness. Enraptured with spiteful delight, Imenand ripped the rope necklace from Tycon's neck. Clutching the stone key tightly, Imenand looked down on the Guardian and spat on him. Filling with anger, he hefted the Guardian and roared in hatred as he tossed him into the lava pool. Immediately, Tycon's body burst into flame and sank into the molten rock. Retrieving his battlestaff and turning to the doorway in the side of the ziggurat, Imenand set off after Alexander, the last keyholder.
