His mother nodded. “Computer, prepare to generate hails of large stones, and obey exclusively Prince Kahuel of Yalta's orders!”
Esperana's amused gaze brushed Kahuel. She must have read the queen's mind.
Kahuel froze, stunned. He had fought many battles, but never had his mother given him such a responsibility in her presence. After all, she was the most experienced warrior. “My orders?”
“Don't look so surprised. You know the enemy best. You fought them before.” His mother smiled encouragingly. “It's time to prove yourself, my son. You lead this battle.”
Kahuel's father, King Terek, entered the meditation deck with a spring in his step. “My old bones are eager for some action.” He smiled broadly and drew his two-handed sword. “I heard footsteps in the corridor... many of them. They are close.”
To Kahuel's surprise, Princess Esperana picked a blade from the back wall and assumed a fighting stance. Had she learned swordplay in her monastery? Then he remembered that her mother, Queen Tora, had taught the art of the sword to his own father.
On the low shelf against the white bulkhead forming the back wall, Talina lay under the metallic blanket, her teeth chattering. Kahuel regretted dragging her into this battle. But if not for her, the Estrell had no reason to come and fight.
Queen Galya drew her own blade, an exquisite Goddian heirloom of superior steel. “We are ready.” She nodded to Kahuel. “Upon your order.”
Heart beating fast, Kahuel drew dagger and long sword. “Generate uneven terrain. Snow and ice on the ground.” Both elements, commonplace in Kassouk and Yalta, would constitute an additional challenge for the Estrell.
“Create fifty swordsmen and line them up half way across the field.” If he guessed right, this would be the perfect number. It also suited the size of their battlefield.
The holographic swordsmen materialized and spaced themselves in two lines to protect the live warriors behind them, then waited. Kahuel marveled at the representations. They looked so lifelike, with light metal armor plates and each with different features. They even seemed to breathe like organic beings.
A trample of feet shook the deck as the first brigade of Estrell, shields ablaze and phasers flaring, charged through the wide entrance. When their shields and phasers fizzled and they lost their footing on the ice, they paused.
Unruffled, the enemy advanced warily on the slippery ground, plodding in thick snow, like stick men mired in heavy cream. All the while, they observed the holographic swordsmen. Did they know they were computer generated? The enemy faces showed no emotion under the hard helmets... soldiers. Did they listen to soft music while fighting?
The numbers seemed evenly matched. Kahuel had guessed right. The Estrell counted in multiples of seven. Seven times seven constituted a full team... forty-nine.
When the Estrell, as one, deployed their external gyrating blades, Kahuel realized the enemy still had strong advantages... mind-reading, and instant private communication.
“Drop the stones!”
Large stones fell from the ceiling, knocking down several Estrell. Immediately, the holographic warriors rushed to finish off the fallen and engaged into a battle so swift, Kahuel had difficulty keeping track of all the moves. He rejoiced at how easy the victory would be.
“Warriors, aim for the neck!”
The holograms obeyed and seemed to get better results. Soon, the meditation deck was strewn with dead Estrell, bristling with sharp blades, like broken insects with too many legs.
More Estrell appeared at the entrance. Another brigade. “Blast.”
“Unable to comply,” the computer voice chimed. “Blasters are dampened like all advanced weapons. Do you wish to change the rules?”
“No.” Kahuel had better watch his language. Computers were so literal. “Drop larger stones!”
A hail of large rocks fell upon the new arrivals but didn't knock down as many as the first salvo. Kahuel needed more warriors. Crowding the deck, however, would impede mobility. The holographic warriors held their line without fail, blocking any Estrell from reaching the back section of the meditation deck, where Talina lay in plain sight, pale and fragile under her metallic blanket. Could Kahuel trust her life to the protection of a computer? He had no other choice.
He glanced at his three live warriors, holding their swords at the ready, as if impatient to join the fray. But they waited for his signal. Kahuel raised his long sword. “Attack!”
He leapt through the holographic line of warriors into mayhem, immediately followed by Esperana, King Terek, and Queen Galya. But if the Estrell kept sending reinforcements, how long could his live warriors last?
“Computer, how many Estrell soldiers in their battleship?”
“Three thousand armed soldiers ready to go.”
Blast! This time, Kahuel didn't say it aloud.
Once in the melee, he let battle fever take over. Don't think, just fight... become the blade... Guided by his instincts, Kahuel ducked a flying dagger, parried a strike, then lunged into a narrow opening, thrilled to see his opponent's head tumble out of the helmet and bleed crimson on the white snow.
“This one is for Diablo!”
From the way his parents fought side-by-side, then back to back, protecting each other and coordinating every move with perfect synchronicity, Kahuel could tell the stories of skill and bravery of their youth had not been exaggerated. As for Esperana, she approached each enemy from the side, with calm, calculating poise, and her strikes had the speed and cold precision of a trained Mutant. Sneaky, clean, efficient.
Yet, there must be a better way. As he wielded sword and dagger, moving with the rapid rhythm of the battle, his mind plotted his next move. It seemed that the helmets protected not just the Estrell's bald heads, but their sensitive ears as well. Removing their helmet, however, might prove just as difficult as slicing off their heads.
As the battle raged, no matter how many Estrell they killed, more kept rolling in, each enemy brigade better prepared than the last. The piling bodies bristling with lethal blades became a peril to Kahuel's human team.
He glanced at Talina. How long could she maintain her mind channel open to prevent the Estrell from escaping into another dimension? This was taking too long. If the enemy escaped, the planet would never be safe from them.
An Estrell soldier crossed the line of holographic swordsmen and rushed toward the back wall. Kahuel raced after him. How could this happen? The Estrell soldier aimed his blade at Talina's throat.
Kahuel charged the soldier from the side. The blade projecting from the Estrell's hip sliced into Kahuel's shoulder, but he ignored the pain and followed through, tackling his enemy.
Unaware of the danger, Talina stared at the white ceiling, whispering the hatred chant as she channeled it to the Estrell.
The soldier writhed under Kahuel and gathered his feet under him. Somehow his enemy regained balance. Surprised by his own slow recovery, Kahuel now faced the Estrell squarely. This was no shy scientist, but a highly trained killer sent to terminate Talina. Kahuel shivered. How had he managed to cross the lines? The enemy was wising up, changing tactics. Kahuel would have to adapt as well if he wanted to win.
Battle fever... Calling upon his innate Zerker instinct, Kahuel leapt and kicked the enemy's head. His foot glanced off the helmet, but it also knocked it askew. The soldier flinched at the din of battle and the strident alarms. Realizing the Estrell's weakened state, Kahuel yelled, a screech as shrill as he could make it. When the soldier hesitated, frozen, Kahuel thrust with his sword and sliced. The Estrell's head flew off in a spray of blood.
The stench of blood surrounded him, but Kahuel suddenly realized that most of it came from his left shoulder. The pain struck as he noticed his left arm hung low, useless, dripping his life force in wide crimson rivulets onto the snow.
Lightheaded, he glanced back at the battlefield. The commandos at hand were almost exterminated, and Kahuel felt the floor shake with the next brigade trampling the hallwa
y. “Seal the doors!”
The deck doors closed as only three Estrell soldiers remained fighting.
“Seize the enemy... alive!”
The holographic warriors gathered around the three soldiers and hemmed them toward Kahuel. His mother looked worried and Esperana stared at his bloody shoulder, but Kahuel ignored them. He had to focus, quickly.
When the surviving Estrell realized they were only three and no help was coming, they dropped their blades. They had that scared look Kahuel had seen before when Estrell were trapped. He knew what they would do next. “Father? May we use your transmitter?”
King Terek laid a hand on his chest, over the Blood Tear of Yalta, the most powerful artifact from ancient times. “Only the rightful king of Yalta can touch it. It's lethal to anyone else, you know that.”
“I mean can you help us.”
The Estrell prisoners looked at each other, uncomprehending. Their protective gear prevented them from hearing Kahuel's words.
“When these Estrell start screeching, I want you to enhance the vibration through your powerful crystal and transmit it to Esperana.”
“Sure thing, son. What will it do?”
Esperana focused on her azure crystal. “From my mind, through Talina's channel, I can transmit the screech to all of them at once.”
“Through your mind-talk!” His father understood.
“Could it work?” His mother seemed doubtful. “Would it still be a sound?”
Kahuel certainly hoped so. That was his last resort. “They can actually hear words through the mind, so why not other sounds? It's worth a try.”
Ignoring the lancing pain in his shoulder, the weakness that threatened to overcome him, or the repeated assaults pounding the sealed doors, Kahuel staggered to the restrained prisoners, motioning for his father not to intervene. He flicked off the Estrell's helmets with the point of his sword.
Like the science team had done on the surface, the Estrell soldiers linked their arms, back to back, dropped to the ground and emitted a shrill sound.
The crimson jewel on the king's chest flashed and Esperana stood very still as she held her glowing azure transmitter and closed her eyes. If it worked, how could the Estrell resist a sound that came directly from inside their skull?
Within seconds, the ramming on the doors of the meditation deck slowed and ceased. And by the time the prisoners stopped screeching and their heads collapsed, bleeding from ears and noses, the only sounds were those of the alarms. The idea seemed to have worked!
Kahuel could barely hold his weight. “Alarms off! Training program off!”
The swordsmen vanished into thin air, along with the uneven terrain and the snow, leaving a white smooth deck strewn with bloody Estrell corpses.
“Open the deck doors!”
In the eerie silence, broken only by the moaning of the ship's metal beams stressing against the Estrell battleship, Kahuel collapsed into a black hole.
Somewhere, far away, he heard Talina's fainting voice. “Are they all dead?”
* * *
Lord Straal's head still rang from the muffled death screech. Thanks to his mind-talk protection, it didn’t kill him, but most of the Estrell must be dead. And the few survivors, trapped and surrounded by an overwhelming enemy, would promptly initiate the self-destruct sequences.
Fortunately, Straal and First Meteorologist, whom he'd invited into his private vessel, had escaped the slaughter. His small ship, the only one designed to impede mind-talk vibrations and provide serenity for overworked leaders, had saved both their lives.
“Shall we die now?” First Meteorologist's sweet face pleaded.
But Straal had other plans. “No, my sweet. We shall live.”
“We must be the last of our race.”
“Not quite... Soon, the Estrell will rise again from all the unfertilized eggs implanted into the Chosen females. Although we shall be long dead, and they will look Human, they will remember our civilization and our knowledge. They will perpetuate our spirit, our intelligence, and realize our great design to rule the galaxies.”
Straal pushed a command on the floating console of his private vessel. “Now that this infernal hate chant has ceased, we can finally escape and know happiness together.”
“Where shall we go?” There was hope in the delightful smooth face and cobalt eyes of First Meteorologist.
“How would you like the shores of Emran?” Straal had dreamed of this tropical moonless night paradise for a long time. “It's always night on the dark side of the tiny planet, temperatures are balmy, and the low gravity is what we prefer.”
“And the vapors are warm… I heard the caves are a marvel to behold. It sounds idyllic to spend the rest of our days.” Her smile turned down into a slight frown. “But I don't want to be alone, ever...”
“Promised.” Straal understood. Without mind contact with at least another, the Estrell would wither. He smiled reassuringly. “And when I'm too old to make you happy, you'll screech for me, so we can die together.”
“I will.” A radiant smile illuminated the heart-shaped face of First Meteorologist.
Straal launched his small vessel out of the rapidly disintegrating battleship. Their escape would go unnoticed among the floating battle debris. Then, with a twist of his mind, he phased the small vessel into another dimension, toward his well deserved happy retirement.
* * *
“I can't reach their minds anymore.” Talina sat up, freezing despite the thin metallic blanket. She desperately searched for the man she loved. “Black Jaguar!”
Her heart raced. He lay in a pool of blood on the white floor a few feet away. Esperana was at his side. Was he dead? She couldn't bear his death. She touched his mind, briefly. He still lived.
Queen Galya glanced at Talina then talked into the console. “Resume normal temperature.”
“How is he?” Talina rose, but the floor lurched under her bare feet.
Queen Galya ripped a wide strip off her light blue robes and handed it to Talina. “Try to stop the bleeding and bandage him with this, as tight as you can.”
Talina's throat constricted as she took the strip of cloth and rushed to Black Jaguar’s side on unsteady feet.
The queen ran back to the command console. “His bravery saved all our lives, child.”
With Esperana's help, Talina wrapped the shoulder and secured the bandages, but blood still seeped through. While the queen's six-fingered hands flew over the console keys, Talina applied her Human hands upon Black Jaguar's bandaged shoulder and sent all the energy she had left in warm, healing waves to the man she loved.
How could she ever consider living apart from him? She couldn't live without him. If he survived, she swore she would follow him anywhere, no matter the cost to her wellbeing... or her sanity. And if his duties required him to live in a city of walls, she was ready to make that sacrifice. Anything rather than be apart.
“The Estrell battleship is disintegrating,” the Queen said behind her. “Their entire fleet is in self-destruction mode. We have to get out of here, now!”
“Let me.” King Terek knelt on the other side of Black Jaguar and picked him up under shoulders and knees. He grunted with the effort of lifting his son. “Hurry.”
Talina followed him with the Queen and the Lost Daughter, negotiating her way around fallen Estrell, like metallic porcupines. Beams had fallen across the corridors. The floor pitched and rolled underfoot. Talina swayed and had to steady herself on the walls to regain her balance. The king remained stoic, hanging tight to his precious burden. Talina admired his strength and infinite compassion for his wounded son.
They raced through the labyrinth of white corridors cluttered with debris, and soon emerged into a wide bay where Talina recognized the flyer that had carried the queen and king of Yalta to the sacred clearing... the flyer that had brought them aboard the starship. They boarded the small flying machine, where King Terek laid Black Jaguar on a seat next to Talina. Then the bay doors ahead of t
hem opened wide onto black space, studded with debris, and the Mutant fleet in the distance. Soon, the flyer floated out of the royal starship.
“Are you all right, Sister?”
“Vanaru?” Talina's heart warmed at the familiar mind voice. “I'm fine. We won! The Star People are dead! I never want to see one of these dark, evil ships again.”
“I have more good news, Little Sister. Diablo is awake. The warriors are feeding him right now. He's going to be fine.”
“I hope Black Jaguar survives his wounds as well... He saved us all, but he's lost much blood.”
“Take good care of him, Little Sister. I want you to be happy. He deserves a second chance after all. I will send him healing thoughts.”
“Thank you, Brother.”
Talina glanced back through the clear dome of the flyer to see the edges of the spaceship they'd just left breaking down and drifting away. As their flimsy flying machine made its way toward the Mutant fleet, Talina saw the starship behind them erupt into flames. Then the Estrell battleship burst open in a fiery display, followed by many other explosions among the enemy fleet.
“We won,” Talina whispered in Black Jaguar's ear. “And Diablo lives.”
He opened his eyes and smiled feebly. Something inside Talina sang with joy.
She held his hand as more explosions lit up the black, starry sky. “I love you, Black Jaguar. And I'll follow you anywhere.”
Epilogue
Kahuel stepped out of the Great Hall into the crowded courtyard, almost weightless, buoyant from so much excitement. Straightening his baldric over his yellow silk tunic, he blinked into the noon suns as he took his place on the wide clear path, to wait for his promised. Standing in the cool shade of the Great Hall entrance, royal guests of the three kingdoms waited, exchanging pleasantries.
Diablo, at Kahuel's side, pranced like a kitten.
“I know.” Kahuel fidgeted, struggling to remain still. “I can't wait to see my girl either.”
Black Jaquar Page 25
