by Reiter
“I will say this much for you, Vu-Prin,” Danatra said, patting Dungias on the back. “When you say you’re going to the Throne… you mean it!”
“We should reach Quantia Prime in eleven s’tonki,” Dungias estimated. “Which is plenty of time for everyone to get some rest. Then we must make sure that Felrus and your young recruit are as well situated for the events to come as the two of us are.”
“Jamille has a suit just like mine,” Danatra said. “… and Felrus, I have a few things aboard that just might surprise you.”
“If they actually do surprise him they will be of excellent use to us,” Dungias said, taking his leave of the bridge.
“And what are you making preparations for?” Danatra asked.
“Freedom and futility,” he replied. “Now that I have thought about it, they are not really that much different. Felrus, make your selections from my Vi-Prin’s inventory and load your choices into the computer as soon as you make them. You should be done within the s’tonki.
“And some time before Quantia Prime is in visual, you will all receive your instructions,” Dungias stated, stopping at the archway of the chamber. “You must follow them to the best of your ability.”
“We will do our best, Master!” Felrus replied.
“If that is all you have, my friend, we are dead already. I task you to find the Warrior Felrus of your dreams… find him… and exceed him! That is the only way we can hope to succeed.”
“May the Stars guide us,” Danatra said, clenching her fist.
“Damn the Stars!” Dungias replied, shocking his Chief Engineer and Exemplar. “I am a Star Chaser and I will say by which glittering child of the cosmos I will chart my course. It is the Light of Dungias that shines my way. If the Stars wish to assist us, tell them to shine brighter because right now, all I can see is us!” Danatra and Felrus looked at one another in the wake of Dungias’ departure and the same words could be gleaned from their glares. What the young Traveler had done in his speech was nothing short of sacrilege, but neither one of them could find the ground from which to voice their argument.
“How ironic!” Danatra remarked. “The only one on board this ship that cannot manipulate iro-forms and yet we are caught up in his Light!
“Come with me, Felrus,” she directed, gesturing for the Warrior to follow her. “Let us see if I can impress you with the stores below.”
“Forgive me for taking the position of one who assumes,” Felrus said softly as he walked. “… but given what I have seen what a so-called shay-spawn can do, I doubt I will be impressed.”
“Then I won’t take it personally,” Danatra said, agreeing with the sentiment, but still very much concerned about an event that was unavoidable. She had yet to tell Jamille the truth about her Vu-Prin. She had considered it to be a wise precaution at the time. While her protégé was indeed a true believer in the movement, she had already noted that the position he had taken toward the shay-spawn was one of a protective master to a pet, not a Malgovi who looked upon them as equals. His depth of power and skill had made it near impossible to ignore him as a potential ally, and several attempts to get him to see things differently had failed to alter his resolve. The next approach would be no slight attempt or guiding hand; Jamille would have to come to terms with his perspective or contend with the terms of the Star Chaser!
Action and reaction, ebb and flow, trial and error, change - this is the rhythm of living. Out of our over-confidence, fear; out of our fear, clearer vision, fresh hope. And out of hope, progress.
Bruce Barton
(VI)
For one who had lived so long that it demanded deliberate reflection to put a number to the years, Freund found himself in an interesting and most surprising place. He scratched his chin and smiled at the premise; due to the actions of an adversary, he had been pressed to think – really think. He could not be sure that his standing strategies would be enough to secure victory against what had become a most perplexing opponent, and the time for the first movement on the chess board was drawing closer. Freund had led himself to believe that he had the advantage in the measuring of both time and resources. It was a belief based on the trappings he had assembled around Neve. The mortal-turned-entity had been reminded how the folds of time were stretched or compressed by perspective. In the number of days since he had decided to bring Neve to consciousness and engage with her, several lifetimes had passed.
“Serves me right,” he thought as the smoke, steam and mist continued to roll off his body. It would be a little longer before his body temperature lowered to the point where he could walk about inside his castle without melting the stone tiles or setting fabrics aflame. He remained afloat over the floor. “I assumed that I had a full understanding of Neve. And to think, it is one of my more favorite lessons to give young and aspiring minds: the lack of knowledge. Have I grown old and desperate? Oh, don’t be silly, of course you’ve grown old!
“I was well-seasoned with time before I looked my last on this universe,” Freund whispered, clutching tightly to his staff. It had become more than a standing or walking aid, and Freund was amused once more at how fate had twisted and turned in his life. The staff had been presented to him as a simple gift by the man who would eventually become his son. That too had been lifetimes ago, and now the staff was a living standard of power… and a lifesaving friend to the Grandmaster PsyondaR and Guardian of Humanity.
“With each day that passes before these cold, dead holes where my eyes used to be, I only age that much more,” Freund continued, feeding the power into the staff whereupon it would be sent to pre-arranged storage facilities inside the castle... and a few that were beyond its walls. “And when I think of what I have become, how can I fall short of the task of providing the same opportunity to my fellow man?” He recalled the last use of his eyes, looking upon the woman to whom he had given his love and seed. How perspective haunted the entity. He was the man who had been an artist at Spell-Casting with an insatiable need to attain greater power and skill… at any cost… that was the most common phrase that fell from his lips – at any cost. It was a most painful irony which had arisen to disprove the assumption. “I wonder what my student would say were he to look upon his so-called mentor at this moment.”
“Something along the lines of ‘damn, Freund, you’ve held up pretty well over the years’ or something to that effect,” Tolarra said as she flew in from the outside. She landed just inside the balcony doors, quickly casting her eyes on the chessboard. While its physical dimensions had not changed, she could tell the board was heavier and it looked to be breathing. “And that thing is actually starting to freak me out.”
“Don’t let it disturb you, Lark,” Freund managed to say in one breath, surprising himself.
“What the hell happened to you?!” the Star Lark asked as she started toward him, stopping before he could lift his hand to prevent her. “And MAN, are you ripe with heat! I take it that’s why you’re suspended above the floor?”
“That would be why,” Freund replied. “And would you tell me of your successes?”
“I think we need to address how y–”
“Lark, I was pushed through the heart of a star,” Freund snapped in an aggravated, matter-of-factly tone. “While one was being passed through me. It is exactly the sort of reward one should expect when dealing with Gravity incarnate. Now can we please get on with it?!”
“First, watch your tone, old man,” Tolarra shot back, squaring her shoulders. She set her feet and readied herself to receive a massive amount of energy. “I’m not putting my life on the line just so I can be yelled at! Second, take a breath and recognize someone gives a damn about you… and with two of us standing in the room, I get the feeling that I’m kinda lone-gunnin’ it here!”
“Lark I–”
“And third,” she interrupted, drawing off of Freund as much energy as she could, sending it outside the castle. The heart of the star was only the beginning of the trap. Lark could detect a g
ravity lock on the star’s core and it was still inside Freund! Somehow he had set up an energy flow system whereby the power which was meant to kill him actually sustained both the cooling measures he had taken, and his life. “… you should expect just a little distraction when you’re floating buck-naked in the corner of the room with the stones of the wall around you sweating!
“Chiaro, you never mentioned anything like this happening,” she thought before she remembered. “Dammit! Yes, you did! ‘Try not to be too surprised if he just up and blows your mind’, you said and I just nodded it off like sure, no problem. Wrong on both accounts; ‘cuz I’m not sure of a damn thing and dealing with cosmic entities is a very big problem!”
“Received and understood,” Freund said, returning his hand to his staff. It sparked light from the touch and Freund started to breathe more easily. “And you are quite correct, my friend. If anything, my uneasiness is beginning to show. This campaign of mine–”
“Of ours,” Lark corrected. “Fission isn’t combing the constellations looking for you! He’s looking for me!”
“Of course,” Freund replied, feeling his body temperature dropping quickly. He sighed in relief as the worst of Xaythra’s attack and trap had been resolved. “This campaign of ours is not going as well as I anticipated or as well as it should, given the advancements Neve has made most recently.”
“What’s our next play?”
“You certainly don’t lack for courage, my dear,” Freund said with a smile. “I will give you that.” Stepping from the corner, Freund stirred the fabric of the dimension that was immediately around his body, emerging from the twisted reality groomed and clothed in new robes.
“Damn, that was all kinds of sexy!” Lark thought as she watched a body that should not belong to anything using the word ‘aged’ in its description. “And how long has it been there, Tolarra?” Lark wondered. “Here you are, able to make things out of light and you still haven’t found… bah, it’s no use… I can’t get past the thought of a glow-in-the-dark vibrator up inside me. Lady’s got to draw a line somewhere! And you better do something soon, girl, cuz the eyeless relic’s looking better and better!”
“As for our next move, I’m afraid I can no longer allow you to be so short-sighted, Lark,” Freund said, taking a seat. Lark moved quickly to get him a glass of water, handing it to him in the time it took light to flash from where she had been standing. “Thank you,” Freund said, taking the glass before his face grew stern. He extended his senses and found reason to smile amidst a sea of worries.
“What is it?” Lark asked.
“You moved at near the speed of light to fetch this water, but it didn’t splash. It’s barely moving inside the glass. Manipulation of the water itself?”
“It’s a lesson I learned trying to clean up my room before Chiaro could see the mess,” Lark shared. “It was easy enough to move fast, but I had to learn the whole lesson about how every action has a reaction. It gets pretty hard trying to clean up loose papers when you’re making a wake-drag effect that is supersonic. Chiaro used a method that I could never wrap my mind around. He said he would delay the expression of kinetic energy and let it take hold at the end of the action – in this case when I stopped moving as fast so I could give you the glass. For me, it was easier to make a capsule that would absorb the kinetic energy and momentum. As far as the glass and water are concerned, they aren’t moving at all.”
Freund smiled as he nodded. He lifted the glass to his lips and drained half of it before lowering it away from his mouth. “Everyone has their own methodology,” he remarked. “I have to say your approach is very creative.”
“Thank you,” Tolarra smiled. “Now, about me being short-sighted.”
“You asked what our next move was,” Freund said, putting the glass down. “My dear, if we were to approach this contest one option at a time, we’d be undone before the first piece was ready to move! As it is, we are woefully behind our opponent with regards to preparation. So we must be engaged with our own preparations and the derailment of theirs.”
“Sounds all kinds of Saturday Morning Cartoon diabolical,” Lark remarked.
“The wiser chef samples many cuisines before initiating their gourmet masterpiece,” Freund replied before giving a theatrical cackle. Tolarra’s brow lifted in surprise as she too started to laugh. She shook her head and took another scanning look over Freund’s body. The heart of the star was still burning, trying to kill the body to which it had been adhered. Lark had no idea what Freund had done with all of the power, but he was definitely ‘out of the woods’ and ready to get back in the game.
“Why do I get the feeling I should be feeling bad for the other guy?” she thought. “Cuz if you’re going to open up on this guy, you’d better be ready to go all the way! Hurting him just makes him dangerous.
“Okay,” Tolarra said, walking over to stand closer to Freund. “Sounds like someone is ready to show off. Should I sit down?”
“That depends entirely on your constitution,” Freund replied, wanting to say more, but decided not to. “Still, I must remember that I am the only one here who cannot see. One moment, dear,” Freund said softly, taking his staff in both hands before thrusting it down to the ground. The sound was muffled, but the room shook as light burst from the point of contact. Streams of light ended in sparks that became thousands of tiny stars.
“Not a bad beginning to showing off,” the Star Lark whispered as she took a seat. The stars started to move together, quickly becoming the image of a man’s face. Tolarra again lifted her brow at how comely the man appeared. There was fierceness in his eyes and his features seemed to be chiseled into his face. Freund’s herald wished the image was in full color. “Well, hello there, handsome!”
“You’re rather fetching yourself, milady,” the man replied and Tolarra jumped in her seat.
“Colonel Krensteele,” Freund said with a slight smile, giving the man a bow.
“Grandmaster,” Zurkor Krensteele replied. “It is good to see you again, sir.”
“From all accounts, Colonel, I would say you’re looking equally well.” Both men chuckled as Freund decided to move things along. “I trust you received the last of the parcels?”
“Yes, Grandmaster, the parcels were just received, and it looks like you’ve made up your mind on this gambit of ours. My weapons engineers have already commenced the augmentation process, per your instructions. The parcels should be fully assimilated to our weaponry momentarily and we are already in position,” the Lieutenant Colonel reported. “I have even received clearance from the Council.”
“Forgive me, Colonel, but I did not want the Black Assassin’s High Council involved in this endeavor,” Freund quickly said.
“Watch this,” he projected to Tolarra’s mind.
“Then you should have enlisted the aid of another officer, Grandmaster,” Zurkor quickly replied. “Not that I can say talking to their choice of liaison officers was an enjoyable experience, such a point is moot. The Black Assassins cannot afford a lack of protocols at the Command Level. News of our victories against the Halabriun Pirates has yet to reach the Terran Triangle, while our disagreements with the Inner Rim remain common knowledge. Perhaps after the eradication of the pirate fleet is well known, we could more afford what is an obvious lapse in judgment.”
“Of course, Colonel,” Freund agreed, gesticulating that they move on. “And what was the ruling of the High Council?”
“The matter has been researched,” Zurkor started, recalling the report he had received fifteen days ago. “… and the crimes against humanity, which you reported as being anything but happenstance, have indeed been witnessed, recorded, and reported,” Colonel Krensteele stated. “Once the High Council reviewed the digital logs, their response was swift.”
“Oh my,” Freund remarked.
“Even without the by-laws of Alphexeous pledging at least twenty percent of our standing fleet to your service, Grandmaster, you should know you still have
friends with the High Council.”
“I am more interested in the Black Assassin friends I can call on, Colonel,” Freund returned.
“How fortunate, then, that you are still talking to one.”
“Then allow me to suggest that you may wish to look further into the report, Zurkor,” Freund advised. “You will find the operative who logged the verification report with the Council. I believe she is the same liaison officer who gave you such a memorable experience. Believe her name is Wilasi, isn’t it?”
“It is,” Zurkor returned with bitterness in his tone. He rose up on his toes and settled back down to his heels.
“She has a high regard for life and the application of her skills, Colonel,” Freund advised. “I am also quite sure you will find it interesting to know that her report was sent from a location that you are now approaching.”
“She’s still there?!” Zurkor said, his hands coming from around his back.
“It would appear the two of you share the same love for your ranks,” Freund remarked. “Wilasi did not want the Black Assassins falling into a more problematic relationship with the Empire, let alone your standing in the Rims.”
“Damn them both!” Zurkor said as he turned to address his First Officer. “Ready my fighter!” he commanded. “Make sure the emergency boosters are fully fueled.”
“Permission to take on that mission, Colonel,” a voice replied in the distance. “Need I remind you that if you are planning what I think you are planning, the window for success is already down to minutes?”
“Understood, Deck Officer,” Zurkor replied as he donned his weapons belt. He turned to face Freund just before remembering that such measures were not necessary for a blind man. “Grandmaster, the count for the launch is already set and–”
“You have work to do, Zurkor,” Freund interrupted. “Go about your duties and… try landing in the fields east of the largest city of the second moon.”
