Star Chaser- The Traveler

by Reiter

  “Stunning?!” the commander asked.

  “Nice try kid,” Beta-Alphexeous thought. “Here comes the request for verification. I really hate being around a bunch of smart people!”

  “I will need the priority code,” the commander said and Dungias was able to conclude the attack he had leveled against the Savanté had been reported through the ranks and alternative security measures had been implemented. Salvigaron had thoughts regarding priority codes, but what they were and how they were created had been entrusted to another.

  “Disregard this imposter!” a voice called in and Dungias lost the picture of the cruiser commander.

  “There went another brick in the road,” Beta-Alphexeous said as he checked the straps of his chair. “We’re getting closer.”

  “Men such as you and I do not fear the approach of hell,” Dungias said as he began to remove his straps. “Our calling does not stop at the approach of hell, we are often called to walk right in and make our demands to the Keeper of Death.

  “I need to get into the throne-room!” Dungias declared. “The Palace defenses will not allow me to phase through.”

  “One throne room entrance, coming up,” Beta-Alphexeous said as he hit the controls for an automated landing sequence. He then opened the partition between the seats and held up his left hand. “You might want to reach that stick of yours up here, kid, and then hang on!”

  Not hesitating, Dungias drew Alpha and extended it toward the Soul Fighter. An instant after taking hold of the end of Alpha, Dungias could see members of the Royal Court being thrown to the floor as others recovered from a blinding light. The landing point Beta-Alphexeous had chosen was basically the only place on the floor left to him: the steps approaching the throne. His first time in the chamber, Dungias knew he did not have the time to appreciate the architecture of the vaulted ceiling or the taste of the crystal chandeliers suspended in air by Force Energy. It was a life and death moment, appreciation of artistic impression was best afforded when the ‘and death’ component could be removed.

  “Anything else?” Beta-Alphexeous asked.

  “See what you can do about the cruiser’s gun decks,” Dungias said softly as he looked toward the throne. The flash of light told him Beta-Alphexeous was well on his way to the task Dungias had given him. Two armoured Malgovi were quickly descending the steps with Power Lances drawn and leveled at him. “I must speak with the Queen!”

  “Kill him!” Sryla commanded as she stood up from her seat, pointing at Dungias. Both her Vi-Zai and Vu-Prin were surprised to hear such a command come from the mouth of the First Princess. The First Prince slowly rose, believing he recognized the Malgovi that had just been sentenced to a public execution.

  The closest guard decided not to stop and fired his weapon. His flank, however, opted to use their two-prong attack form to its best advantage and leaned to his left to increase his chances of missing his partner. Dungias moved forward to meet the charge of the closer guard and absorbed the iro-form blast into his body. He caught the end of the lance with one hand, lifting it away from his chest and over his shoulder. His other hand took hold of the chest armour of the guard and hurled him toward the second guard. He could hear other guards coming from their positions, and without looking around to count, he heard ten sets of armoured boots against the fine floor tiles of the throne room.

  Rolling to avoid the flying body that had been hurled at him, the second guard fired again. He was surprised to see his target deflect the blast with the appropriated Power Lance. One of the approaching guards fell as the deflected blast caught his leg.

  “That was excellent!” SonBa exclaimed.

  “It was… unusual,” the Queen added as she closed her eyes.

  “Stop shooting!” one of the guards called out. “Go to blades!”

  “Wrong option,” Dungias whispered as he jumped toward the guard barking the orders. He had three or four movements of augmentation left to him; the jump cost him one. Holding the lance between his hands and across his chest, Dungias thrust the lance into the faceplate of the guard who was drawing his sword when he attacked. Dungias could tell the man was stunned before his body hit the floor.

  “Too eager,” Dungias thought as he dropped to his right knee. A sword passed over his head. Dungias pushed against the floor, ramming his shoulder into the chest of the off-balance guard who flew into two more, taking all three of them to the floor. SonBa had seen enough and turned to his Vi-Zai.

  “No, First Prince, I will not be leaving my throne,” BaKedia said without looking away from the fight.

  “He is too fast and too strong for the guards, your Majesty. I must insist!” Reaching to take hold of her arm, the First Prince stopped as sparkling green eyes stared fear into him and caused his body to become like stone.

  “Yet with that strength and speed he has yet to attack this throne,” she pointed out. “Take to your seat, First Prince… that is my insistence!”

  “He is shay-spawn!” Sryla yelled at the guards. “His armour protects him from iro-form bursts. Use another form!”

  “How do you know this man, Vi-Prin?” SonBa thought.

  “I have him!” one of the guards called out, directing a crystal blue beam toward Dungias who caught it with his left hand. His right extended out in an arc around his body and the energy he was absorbing was emitted. Ice formed on the floor reaching all the way to the main doors. The attendants of the room that were not stuck to the floor started to slide and fall. Dungias smiled coldly up at the First Princess and bolted for the icy floor. He collided with three people and rolled over them as they fell. When their backs met with the ground, he was gone.

  “That is some armour,” BaKedia said as she put her hands to the arms of her chair and leaned forward. “I think we have all seen enough.” Seeing her move in that fashion, SonBa was quick to rush to her side and help the Queen to stand. “I will need everyone’s attention, Vu-Khan,” she whispered. SonBa lifted one hand over his head and created a photon that exploded loudly overhead. Cringing from the power he had generated, BaKedia patted SonBa’s hand. “Excessive, as always.

  “Stand down!” BaKedia commanded and three of the guards looked to Sryla. Without showing any signs of concentration or preparation, the Queen held up a single finger and fired beams of Force Energy that drove the three guards to the floor. Each of them was struck in the chest, and each struggled to remove their suits so that they could breathe. “I will remind you who is heir to be your Queen… and who is the current Queen. Need I repeat my command?!” For the guards that could move, they lowered their heads and returned to their places.

  “And you will note that I gave that command to the entire room,” BaKedia turned to face Sryla who looked dumbfounded. “Or do you consider yourself above this position?”

  “I do not,” Dungias said, lowering his stealth field. Sryla nearly screamed, realizing he was standing well within striking distance of her body. Dungias dropped the Power Lance as he put his knee to the floor tile. “Forgive my insolence, your Majesty.”

  “There is little insolence in self-defense,” BaKedia said, making a gesture in front of Dungias. His cloak was made to move from in front of him, and the Queen smiled at the symbol she had thought she viewed at the beginning of the conflict. “… good Traveler!”

  “With the simplest of gestures, my Queen restores my faith and in the throne and my people,” Dungias said as he stood up. “But we have no time for pleasantries. Your Majesty, your ships are killing our people!”

  A cry of anguish echoed through the chamber. Some jumped, some screamed, some did both, but the young Traveler and the Queen turned to see one of the guards, who had removed his armour, scream as his body began to glow with an incredible amount of iro-form that he could not control. His eyes opened and light shot from his eye sockets as it shot from his mouth when he screamed a second time. He exploded and Dungias nearly collided with SonBa as they both stepped in front of the Queen. SonBa was closer, but he felt nothi
ng as Dungias absorbed the power and fired it out of the window. He staggered from the amount of power he had channeled, and blinked his eyes to regain clear vision. He looked at his smoldering hands as the feeling returned to them.

  “No,” Dungias whispered. “It’s more than iro-forms… it’s essence. I can feel the Grenbi, and I can feel the Malgovi… I can feel them both!”

  “Good Traveler, what are you talking–” a flash of blue light interrupted the Queen as the First Prince wailed in agony. Electricity coursed through his body, underneath his armour, and started to literally cook the Malgovi man. BaKedia turned to the source of the iro-form and gasped, watching the blade of the First Princess thrust into her body. She grabbed the hilt of the sword as Force Energy was emitted from Sryla, pushing everyone off the platform of the throne. Since Dungias was approaching from behind the Queen, Sryla did not see the wave pass through his body.

  “Goodbye, Vi-Zai!” Sryla yelled, releasing pure energy into the blade and thusly inside the Queen. The crystal hair of Galvasti Thuuna BaKedia glimmered before her body burst into bright white light. The onlookers were blinded until the light dimmed, revealing Sryla standing atop the platform alone. She was staggered by the effort, but she possessed all of her faculties. She looked down to where her Vi-Zai had been standing and the ground was charred, save for the outline where her feet had been. Behind that area was another set of footprints, roughly the size and shape of Dungias’.

  “I did not have to see you to feel you, interloper,” Sryla hissed. “Where the Savanté failed, I have succeeded!

  “Stand and recognize your Queen!” Sryla commanded, holding up her sword which still glimmered with the power she had channeled through it. There was little hesitation. SonBa was on the ground, debilitated, and the most powerful Malgovi in the two regions had been destroyed. No one would challenge Sryla’s assumed authority. The Queen was dead and the First Princess was not. Sryla had taken the throne! Reluctantly, heads bowed and knees were slowly lowered to the floor. Sryla smiled in triumph, sheathing her blade and turning to face the lead guard. “Summon three of your best and follow me,” she commanded. “We will see to the matter of this Grenbi attack! Leave the First Prince to his fate.” Looking up, Sryla took to the air and flew out of the throne room, followed by four royal guards. Another attendant, an economist, screamed before he too started to glow, exploding shortly after that. The incident provided all the necessary motivation for everyone to leave from the throne room quickly. They left the throne room doors open, but there were no guards or attendants left behind, just the moans of the First Prince who was slowly dying from the iro-form pulse that was only now beginning to subside… though not because it had run its course.

  With BaKedia in his arms, Dungias descended from the ceiling and lowered his stealth field as he channeled the energy he had absorbed into the Queen who was nearly without a wound that he could see. She took the energy from Dungias and healed her downed child.

  “Your Majesty, I knew not the extent of your power–”

  “Sometimes telling everyone everything works against you, Traveler,” BaKedia said as she was put down.

  “A wisdom I shall take with me, my lady,” Dungias said, bowing. “But what I meant to inquire was whether you can affect the blocks that must have been placed on your son’s mind by the Savanté?”

  “Interestingly enough, my Vi-Khan’s choice of killing stroke was the very thing needed to remove the blocks to SonBa’s memory. And if I may be so bold with the young man who has saved my life and that of my Vu-Zhan?”

  “I am a servant of the throne!” Dungias attested, bowing again.

  “Your deeds make that statement unnecessary,” BaKedia replied. “And let us dispense with all formalities until time is not a factor.”

  “Yes, your Majesty.”

  “Argh!” SonBa cried as he sat up, his eyes taking on a powerful white glow. “Vi-Zai, tell me you are well!”

  “As well as I can be, given the time this body has seen,” BaKedia said, lightly laying her hand on the side of the First Prince’s face. “But your Queen has need of you. How do you fare?”

  “I shall answer that inquiry once I have worked to complete the task set before me!” SonBa said as he quickly stood up. BaKedia smiled with pride and love and then turned to Dungias.

  “That makes two in your army, Star Chaser,” the Queen declared. “I apologize for the condition of your troops, but you will find us to be no less than stout!”

  “You will need to be more than that, Your Majesty,” Dungias said as he walked to stand beside SonBa. “You will need to go to the Royal Fleet and give the order to stop using destructive iro-forms, and then you will have to contain the Grenbi… keep them from the Palace for as long as you can!”

  “And what of me?” SonBa asked.

  “You and I will follow the First Princess,” Dungias answered. “We will see what can be done to not only solve this dilemma, but understand why it is happening.”

  “Then we must part,” BaKedia said, taking hold of SonBa and kissing him on the forehead. “If the Stars allow, our Light will shine together once these shadows have passed!” BaKedia then reached for Dungias, whose arm came out to take hold of hers. He was surprised to feel her strength as she pulled him forward. “In some strange and very dark manner, I have lost a child. But as the Vi-Zai of this kingdom, I have gained another! Trek Well, my Vu-Khani!”

  “And you, my Queen,” Dungias said as he turned and started running. SonBa watched him run a few strides before smiling back at his Vi-Zai.

  “Well, at least he runs fast!” SonBa jested before taking flight and picking up Dungias before increasing his velocity.

  Dungias moved the grips of the First Prince to his shoulders. Surprisingly, the cloak did not give there, and it was easier to carry the large Malgovi. SonBa looked down to see Dungias looking at his computer.

  “What do you have there?” SonBa asked.

  “The power signature of your Vi-Prin’s body,” Dungias replied. “Turn right at the next intersection.” Looking at his display, Dungias could tell they were getting closer, but the left turn led to a dead end. SonBa set Dungias down and started building power.

  “Spare your reserves, my Prince,” Dungias said as he approached the wall.

  “These walls are very thick, my friend,” SonBa argued. “You’ve been no less than impressive so far, but this will take true power.”

  Dungias stepped in front of SonBa and touched the wall, recalling the memories of Salvigaron. He was not a telepath, but between his Vi-Prin’s lessons and his exposure to the Savanté, communication via thought was within his realm of capability. The door would have never opened for Dungias, but it became apparent that no one had taken the time to tell the semi-sentient doors that the Boniface was dead. The door slowly receded back before it ascended.

  “Quite right, my Prince. And how often knowledge is equated to power,” Dungias said before walking inside. “We must be on our guard, my lord.”

  “Is she close?”

  “In these chambers, my tracking computer cannot see,” Dungias explained. “But a Traveler who cannot trek is a dark Star indeed. I have her direction.”

  “How is that?” SonBa asked as he jogged to keep up with the young Traveler.

  “Five people engaged in flight leaves a discernible trail.”

  “I am glad then,” the First Prince said. “… to be in the service of a worthwhile Traveler.

  “We are definitely entering into the mountain,” SonBa stated after a while. “There are many who think the palace is built on the side of the mountain, but it is actually built into it.”

  “That explains the duration of this trek, but it leads to another inquiry: how deeply into the mountain does the construct reach?”

  “That I cannot say,” SonBa replied. “Until just a few moments ago, I thought the in-mountain passages had been sealed. Now I am remembering several visits, but none of them moved beyond the chambers of the masters
.”

  “The Savanté,” Dungias stated.

  “Exactly. I even recall watching you combat them, Vu-Khan of House Z’Gunok.” Dungias stopped and looked at the First Prince. He had never been called a family member of his own house before, and his ears did not know how they should receive the words. He shook his head and pressed on, focusing on more important matters. At least for the moment there were more significant circumstances he needed to resolve… but the family issue was something he promised himself would only be delayed.

  “Let’s improve our pace,” Dungias suggested as he started a slow run. SonBa left the point of the trek to the Traveler and set himself to cover the rear and the flanks.

  The duo made several turns until they came upon a stairway leading down into a very large courtyard. Dungias started to pose inquiry to SonBa, but he looked to be even more confused. Dungias let his eyes pass over every surface, marking the cut stone and the vines that made this place seem very old.

  “Vegetation that grows in the dark?!” Dungias thought, giving himself room to believe there may be more to the small vines at some point in the future.

  “What is this place?” SonBa whispered as they came to the bottom of the steps. Feeling a buildup of energy, Dungias quickly reached for the First Prince and grabbed his arm, pulling it down.

  “What?!”

  “The light you are about to make will help you to see and be seen!” Dungias stressed. “Besides, we need only get around the next bend, there looks to be plenty of light there.”

  “Then lead me to it,” SonBa suggested, taking hold of the hand that had grabbed him. The two continued to talk and Dungias navigated the floor, though it was without obstacle, just cracks in the floor and loose rocks he preferred to avoid.

  When the two of them could see again, they stood at the foot of a statue standing over five trams tall. The figure had been cast in clothing that seemed more suited to the Founders than the Malgovi or the Vinthur. It was at that moment that Dungias realized that the only substantive difference between the Malgovi and the Vinthur was their skin color and how they wore their hair. The stone was a soft rust color, blending toward orange and brown. The standing figure wore clothes that reminded Dungias of Beta-Arrjeeh. He even held a short staff with imbedded stones carved into it.