Conjured Defense (Terra Chronicles Book 4)

by J. C. Jackson

  “Ketayl,” Silver said softly, his hand on my shoulder, “we’ll figure this out. Just don’t lock me out, okay? Let me help.”

  I took a deep breath before refocusing on the screen before me. “Yeah.”

  “How fast do you think you can learn how to use the system?”

  I turned to look at Silver. What was he getting at? “I’ve got a good handle on how the system should function and the layout of the control panels at the stations, but not the individual power flows and where the triggers engage for the screens.”

  “Do you think you’d be able to match it to the system on board after lunch?”

  “Maybe. It depends how complex the power flow is compared to what I’ve read about the defense system currently in use by the Navy. I’m starting to wish I had Holly’s photographic memory.”

  “Yours is pretty good,” Silver said. “Spend as much time as you need going over it. We can go over the binder at lunch and plan from there.”

  I looked back at how thick the binder was. “I’m not sure we can get through all of it over lunch.”

  Silver leaned over and kissed my cheek before moving away. “You’re amazing at parsing information quickly. We’ll get it figured out.”

  I touched the spot his lips had been. What was that for? “Are you saying you want me to test the system this afternoon?”

  “I’d rather go first if you don’t mind. We can physically look over as much of the system as possible and decide then. If there’s something you think is missing on the plans, it likely isn’t going to be easily accessible and searching for it through the system makes some sort of sense.”

  “Hope neither of us blows it up. Jake won’t be pleased.”

  “Not our problem.” Silver grinned.

  “Will be if one or both of us gets hurt,” I reminded him.

  “Just start reading. I'm getting bored.”

  And a bored Silver was never a good thing.

  Chapter 9

  While Silver drove, I read through the binder. Not a manual, but instead the reports from the tests, which included each caster’s experience. Possibly better than a manual. I copied each page while I read.

  “You’re going through it pretty quick,” Silver noted.

  “It’s all reports from the casters. I guess an actual manual doesn’t exist, but this could be more insightful.”

  “Anything so far about how to back out of the system safely?”

  I hesitated before answering. “No, but I’ve got early tests here and so far no one has managed to trigger the camera network.”

  “Perhaps skip ahead?”

  I nodded and slowly made my way back to more current tests, copying information as I went. I skimmed the pages, looking for at least a mention of the camera network or the screens.

  About three quarters of the way through the binder, I finally found one. It was the current arcane caster from the EAC. There was nothing about backing out of the system though.

  Maybe he had not gotten far enough to matter. Should I go to the end and work my way backward?

  No, I should finish copying the information and then start narrowing down what I was looking for. I flipped through the pages faster, working my way toward the end, catching keywords as I went.

  “You don’t have to go that fast,” Silver said as he pulled into the parking lot of a restaurant.

  I turned my attention out of the vehicle. I knew we had been in the car for a while, but we were nowhere near the base. “Where are we?”

  “I thought I’d take us a distance from the base to give us time to go through the information and this place came recommended.”

  “Oh. I think I’m going to have to go backwards through the reports. I’m hoping someone has gotten far enough into the system to have an idea of how to back out of it.”

  “Jake wouldn’t know?”

  I shook my head. “I wouldn’t expect him to. He’s not a caster at all, which makes this project all the more strange for him to be involved in.”

  “But he has a fascination with Atlantis which inspired the design.”

  “That’s putting it mildly,” I muttered as we got out of the vehicle. I hugged the binder to my chest. “I think there’s plenty of evidence to point out he doesn’t understand his own design.”

  I waited until we were seated before delving into the information again.

  “Ketayl, at least figure out what you want to eat first.”

  His words made me pause and I looked up at him in confusion. Once we had moved into the temporary house in Ghost Forest, we went out to eat little and usually always to the same place. And then I always got the same thing. “Sorry, I forgot.”

  He laughed lightly. “I miss Ghost Forest. I wonder how everyone is doing.”

  “Kitteren and Rathal are still out there - you could always call one of them,” I said idly as I looked over the menu. I missed Ghost Forest also. It had become home even though it was far colder than I cared for.

  “Speaking of Kitteren, have you talked to her?”

  “I sent her a message telling her I was headed out on assignment,” I said idly as I looked over the menu.

  “Ketayl…”

  I sighed. “She’s been pretty busy with taking over the branch. It just works out that now we’re both busy. I’ll message her later.”

  Silence fell between us and I folded the menu and put it aside once I made a decision before returning to the binder. There were reports on the accident, which I planned to read later, but I needed something now about what it was like to actively be engaging the system.

  I only paused reading long enough to place my order and then returned to the best report I had found so far. The one which seemed to have made the most progress, but even then the caster had not gotten far past activating the screens. Not a mention of needing to back out of the system.

  I frowned - this was going to make convincing my partner to let me test it next to impossible. I might have to find my own way back out.

  “Nothing?” Silver asked.

  I shook my head and put the binder aside. “Unless there’s information in a different report, there’s not a mention of needing to back out of the system.”

  “Have you considered you had a different experience because you’re an Arcanist?”

  I took in a sharp breath at his use of the term. I still hated it despite my more positive experiences with it over the past few years. “It should operate under the same principles.”

  “Except that all of these casters, myself included, have to invoke our power. You’re constantly connected to yours. I suppose it would be similar to the fact the system is always active,” Silver argued, flicking his braid back and forth in thought.

  I tapped my finger on my glass of water and considered the concept. “If that’s the case then only another Arcanist or… is there a divine equivalent?”

  Silver shrugged. He had not even known Arcanists existed until he met me and his world view seemed to have been as narrow as mine once was.

  “Either way it makes the system useless for military application,” I concluded.

  “Not completely useless, but certainly not ideal.” Silver pulled my hand off of the glass and kissed the back of my fingers. “I don’t want you using the system, but I won’t break the agreement with Jake. I will do everything within my power to get you out.”

  I made a face of annoyance at him and pulled my hand away. “Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that. I’d rather avoid the lingering effects.” There was no pull from the system, but a pure desire for just one more moment of being able to breathe. The thought alone frightened me. How easy would it be to go in and not want to leave?

  “Yeah, I don’t want to deal with you having another concussion. Not to mention I’m sure if Kitteren ever finds out I caused it, she’ll have my hide.”

  I shook my head. “It was an accident and I don’t plan on telling her.”

  “Thanks.”

  The server arriving with
our food paused the conversation. An awkward silence followed.

  “Name?” Silver asked.

  “What?”

  “What your name would have been?”

  I rolled my eyes. “Name?” He asked when we had lulls like this and we ended up having the same conversation every time.

  “Not until you tell me yours.”

  I had little hope of him actually answering who he was romantically interested in, but I asked every time anyway. Silver simply grinned broadly at me from across the table. Shaking my head, I returned to my food. At least he stopped fighting me about testing the system.

  ~*~

  I scooted farther under the defense station. Unfortunately, I ended up with examining the low areas. We already went over the offense station and found no issues we could determine.

  My grip slipped while pulling on a panel - I wore gloves both as part of procedure and in hope they would be enough of a barrier to keep me from accidentally activating the system. Trying again and getting it free, I shined my handlight up into the wiring. “It’s pretty damaged in here. Looks like most of the wiring is burnt out if not all of it.”

  “Given the footage, I expected that,” Silver replied from above me. He straddled my legs and went over the control panel.

  Our escorts remained outside, not seeing any danger to us as we were the only ones on the ship at the moment. They chatted softly between themselves. Though I was certain as soon as Jake caught wind we came aboard, he would be here pestering us.

  “I might have to get under the floor. We should see if there’s a ladder also so I can get into the ceiling again. It’s going to take a while to trace both systems back to the source,” I said, “There’s a chance it started at or before the trigger. Wherever that is.”

  “Let me worry about the high stuff. It doesn’t look like there was anything off on the console. Not that there’s much here to tamper with.”

  I slid out so I could look at him which put me mostly underneath him. It was awkward being at this angle. “Do you want to test to see if this station is still active?”

  “And risk shorting it out again? No. Let’s keep searching,” my partner said. Then he turned his attention down to me and grinned mischievously.

  I rolled my eyes and went back to the wiring I had been examining. What he found amusing, I knew not nor had I cared to find out.

  Twisting, I removed another panel, following more burnt out wiring into the floor. I thought about skipping sections so I could find the end faster. Which direction from here?

  “There you two are!” Jake said loudly.

  I jumped and slammed my head on the underside of the console. “Ow…”

  Large hands grabbed my hips and pulled me out from under the console. “You okay?” Silver asked.

  I rubbed my head. “Yeah.” This trip had been a couple of blows to the head too many.

  Jonim stood with him and our escorts stood at full attention outside the door. “Jake here is saying the two of you are willing to test the system.”

  I glanced up at Silver, still nursing the sore spot on the back of my head.

  “We will at some point, but we haven’t fully determined the offense system won’t suffer from the same problem,” I said. I needed to push off connecting with the system again. I worried I would lose myself to it.

  “It won’t,” Jake said quickly. “The offense station is much more heavily shielded.”

  I wanted to remind him his material of choice was the opposite of what he needed, but remained silent. If I could get my hands on the shielding, I could see if it overloaded.

  “Do you want to give it a shot? It’s not an official test and won’t take up too much of our time,” Silver suggested. “Might give us an idea of what to look for.”

  Now he was pushing for it? Or perhaps he simply wanted to get rid of Jake. I signaled for him to go ahead.

  “So what’s the general procedure here?” Silver asked as he sat down at the offense station, pulling his rubber gloves off, but leaving on the fingerless leather gloves he normally wore. “She read the reports, I didn’t.”

  “Most of them extend their power into the system, reaching as far as they can. A couple tried to ram it,” Jonim said.

  My partner turned to me as he reached for the grips. His hands hovered over them. I nodded. Then he grabbed them fully, but nothing happened. Several seconds later the screens turned on and the main lights dimmed. A set of blue ambient lights came on.

  Jake bounced excitedly and hurried to look over Silver’s shoulder at the station. “He’s gotten farther than anyone else.”

  Then everything shifted back to the way it was and my partner took his hands off the grips. “I had a lot of resistance in there. I couldn’t get past a certain point.”

  “Same thing everyone else said,” Jonim noted.

  “Mind if I try ramming it?” Silver asked.

  “I don’t see a problem with it,” Jonim replied and looked at Jake.

  Spelltech’s owner crossed his arms and appeared to be lost in thought. “It could break through whatever wall they’ve been running into. There might be a break-in period I hadn’t realized it would need.”

  Silver grabbed the grips again and everything came on again in quick succession. Jake appeared overly thrilled at his progress.

  “I don’t think the higher-ups are going to like a break-in period,” Jonim commented.

  Jake waved him off.

  Everything switched back to normal. My partner shook his head. “Felt like I was close, but without another to measure against, it’s hard to tell.”

  “It was farther than your first attempt. Ramming it seems to have better success. I can certainly take this going forward,” Jake said emphatically.

  Silver came and stood over me. “The same?” I asked quietly.

  “No.”

  “Stay close?” Suddenly I was afraid. I wanted to feel the sensation of being balanced again, but continued to worry I would lose myself to it.

  “Intend to. Hold back and ease into the system. I don't think you'll have the same problem I did given your natural predisposition.”

  “Natural predisposition?” Jake asked, getting into my personal space.

  I backed away quickly and Silver moved to stand between us. Why was I shying away from what I was? Did he have to know?

  It would be unscientific to withhold the information, but his project so far had been anything but.

  “Please, you must explain. I need to know if I must look for a different type of caster,” Jake pleaded.

  “Jake,” Jonim said, “Need I remind you that you promised the system would work with any caster? While the information may provide insight, you would still have to figure out how to get it to work for someone like Silver here.”

  “Right, right. Shall we make sure the last time wasn’t a fluke?”

  Silver turned and put his hand on the side of my face. “You okay to do this?”

  I stared at the station, still afraid, but wanting to know. Needing that single moment to breathe. That moment to feel normal even while I was essentially out of body. Realizing I had not answered, I nodded, slowly making my way toward the station.

  Taking a seat, I reached for the grips before Jake stopped me. “Your gloves. It needs skin contact.”

  I glanced at Silver. “Just wanted to see if the gloves would stop it as a precaution for while we worked.”

  “Oh, right, right.”

  I hesitantly touched it with a finger and felt a thrum of power under it. No other connection though.

  Sitting back I pulled my gloves off, handing them to Silver. He took my hand in his and I wondered why Jake said nothing about the fingerless gloves he wore.

  Taking a deep breath, I pulled my power as tightly into myself as I could. I struggled to keep it contained like this, but it was the best option. I grabbed the grips quickly, unsure of how long I would be able to maintain the hold and it mattered none because I immediately returned to
where I was yesterday with a view of the outside no matter where I turned.

  The brief moment of perfect balance was broken as I struggled to get air, afraid I might be stuck. I needed to calm down and back out. How?

  And why could I see outside without the screens?

  I heard a faint voice, but nothing understandable over the sound of the water. I thought I heard my name, but it was as if the wind whispered it.

  The longer I wandered searching for a way out the more my panic rose. Even being perfectly balanced could not stop it. A moment of calm washed over me before it was taken away by the ocean.

  I reached for the disappearing calm, but it was too far gone. My breathing became faster as I realized I was stuck. And it was not because I lost myself to the system.

  Comfort came through again, but not strong enough to override my panic. It stayed though and pulled at me. It felt familiar. Silver?

  The pull became stronger and I held on to it, hoping it would be enough to draw me out. I made sluggish progress at first and then suddenly slammed back to the system’s control room.

  Feeling lips on mine, I pulled back and swung with an open palm. The sting of my hand told me I connected before my sight returned.

  “I’m not sure I entirely deserved that,” Silver said after a moment, rubbing his cheek.

  I still labored to get enough air, scared and unsure of what happened. I kicked at the floor, plastering myself to the back of the chair and as far away from the grips as possible.

  “You have to tell me what happened!” Jake said excitedly. “No one has ever gotten the system fully operational.”

  “Back off!” Silver barked.

  Jonim moved forward and pulled Jake back. “Give her time. It looks like this ‘natural predisposition’ of hers caused a different set of problems.”

  I held onto the sides of the chair and looked frantically around the room. I was where I should be. Why could I not calm down? Was it Silver who kissed me? Why would he?

  My chair spun away from the console and Silver got down in my vision. “Hey, focus on me.”

  I followed his breathing, slowly calming down. His hands wiped at my face.

  “We need to run a full test with her. Targets, everything,” Jake said excitedly.