Star Force: Ice Queen

by Aer-ki Jyr

  “It is good to see our Queen once again,” Timan said as they continued down the wide and gently curving staircase.

  “She prefers Duke,” the Fire Elf corrected him, “but I concur. You are welcome to mingle with us beyond ceremonies alone.”

  “Your Duke Queen has duties to attend to…many duties,” she said regretfully.

  “Is there anything we can be of help with?”

  “Not today, Timan,” she said affectionately as she looked into his blue eyes…or rather the iris was blue, an alteration that had been made during his own ascension ceremony a long time ago. All Elves were born with brown eyes and brown hair along with limited psionics unique to their breed, but it was the ascensions that increased their power greatly. There were two ascensions for each, but to date no Elf had made it to the third level, for they had their own evaluation system designed by the trailblazers…and it was damn hard.

  They continued to talk as they descended, with every Elf they passed stopping and looking at Jessica. Some simply stared, others bowed politely, but all were well aware of her presence before they laid eyes on her, for they could sense a non-Elf approaching and her closed off mind stood out like a beacon amongst the telepathic bee hive she was now within.

  Eventually Jessica was led to a modest chamber in which there were about 300 people. All were Elves save for a single Archon Mage. He was one of only three on the planet tasked with helping them train, and she knew he stayed out of their way as much as possible, letting the Elves figure things out for themselves while making sure to nudge them in the right direction. The Archon was here to learn from them as much as they from him, and had she not been available he would have oversaw the Ascension ceremony…but there was no way she was going to miss this short of a V’kit’no’sat attack.

  The three breeds of Elf were grouped separately, their clothes similar but with distinct variances between Clan and individual preference. The three ready for Ascension were waiting with them, but nude. Two were male, one female, and aside from the points on their ears they appeared to be fully Human, though naturally hairless…save for eyebrows and head hair. Jessica was the same, but by choice and medical intervention. Elves were born this way, and not a one of them had so much as a whisker of facial or body hair.

  All three had long brown hair and brown eyes, but Jessica could tell the Fire Elf because of the slits on his palms. It was a tier 4 psionic only a few elites Archons had called Choratrik, but all Fire Elves were born with it as a natural part of their bodies along with a passive Rensiek that made it impossible for them to be burnt even when asleep…save for insane temperatures. Jessica had to concentrate to activate hers, but it gave her the ability to interact with them and she was thankful for that…and jealous of the Sky Elves, for if she wanted to fly she had to find a skiff or a flight pack. Yen’mer wasn’t a psionic given to the Monarchs, and though she’d never voiced her complaint there were many times when she wanted to ask Davis ‘Why the hell not?’

  Jessica left Timan and Jorcha near the entrance and proceeded to walk out into the center of the chamber where there was a short pedestal in the center of an artificial pond. When she approached the edge a bridge formed out of nowhere, barely half a foot wide, and she walked across it carefully to get to the pedestal where she mentally summoned a control dais to raise out of the floor before her feet.

  It was pure white, as was everything else in the chamber and looking like it was chiseled from pure snow so hard as if it were stone, but the air temp was not cold like her royal chambers had been. Here things were warm, but not terribly so, and all the white infrastructure was illuminated with a slight inner glow that banished the possibility of any shadow from forming.

  Jessica hit a few buttons and three stairwells rose up out of the water and connected to the edge along the side where each of the three nude Elves were standing.

  “Those who have proved themselves worthy…step forward and claim your inheritance.”

  4

  The three Elves stepped forward, each to their own set of stairs, and slowly walked down into the water. The Fire Elf and Wood Elf held their breath as they dipped under, but the Water Elf had no need as she had the tier 3 psionic Lovo’nek that allowed her and all Water Elves to absorb oxygen through their skin, both in the air and in water. She had all the time in the world beneath the water, but the other two were on the clock as they followed the stairs all the way down to the base of the pool where there was a glowing statue.

  The Fire Elf’s statue was red, the Water Elf’s blue, the Wood Elf’s green and when they reached out and laid a hand on them the water suddenly became black in a masking field. The moment of transformation was a private one save for the Duke, who was both triggering and monitoring it through her mental link to the medical computer system.

  To the assembled Elves the three beneath the water had disappeared from their telepathy as well, for an Ikrid jamming field had been laid over the pool. Those beneath it were cut off from all around them, seeing nothing, feeling nothing of their kin or the Duke, but their statue reached out to them with a telepathic impulse once they made contact with it, giving them instructions for the last brief test of their worthiness.

  The Fire Elf held his hand against the outstretched palm of the statue, pressing flesh against synthetic stone, and sent a stream of plasma into it. Small bubbles of steam leapt out from the cracks around his hand and traveled to the surface, but nearly all of the heat was transferred to the statue itself. When a sufficient amount was reached the Fire Elf suddenly went numb, his plasma attack ending and his palm orifice closing on its own. In fact his entire body went numb as the unseen Kich’a’kat tendrils within the statue wormed their way inside his body on a microscopic level and began altering both genetics and the tissue to match.

  The same was true of the Water Elf, who spread both arms wide to match her statue and pushed the water around her in a fierce current using her enhanced Lachka that even the Archons did not possess. It had been tailored specifically to aid in swimming and other forms of water manipulation and she used it now to push enough current up and through the statue as her fingers were intertwined with its own that rendered her numb as well.

  The Wood Elf stepped into his statue, who had one hand raise before it at an angle. He push his head against that hand while placing his own against the statue’s head, connecting his telepathy to it by touch in wake of the jamming otherwise inhibiting that ability. In mind’s eye there was a massive weight that rose in response to the telepathic pressure placed on it, and once he raised it high enough he too went numb before his lungs started to ache too much from holding his breath.

  The Kich’a’kat didn’t take long to do its work, but supplied additional oxygen along with new tissue components so the alterations didn’t sap the Elves’ strength as their ear points elongated slightly, their hair changed color along with their irises, their Ikrid tissue doubled in size, and they gained the psionic Kex that would enhance their agility to almost dance-like levels.

  The blackness concealing the water didn’t abate, then almost in unison three glowing heads of hair rose from it. One red, one blue, and one green. The luminosity faded as they came out of the water but the color remained, and the formerly nude Elves were now fully clothed in body-tight ranger garb, each tailored to their Clan’s attributes and colors.

  Jessica stepped down from her control podium and across the main floor with the three Elves turning to follow her over to an adjacent chamber that held many weapons, but there were three waiting on ceremonial pedestals for the newly minted rangers. The Duke walked amongst them while the Elves stayed a respectful distance back, then she picked up a short but wide dagger.

  “Water flows and constrains,” she said, citing the ceremonial words, “both protecting and inhibiting. Those who guard must move and engage in close range, thus you need a weapon tailored for such an environment. The River Dagger moves as quickly as the current flows and can be just as lethal. It is your birthri
ght and responsibility, Sanfen. Wield it wisely.”

  Jessica used her standard Lachka that these Elves did not have and floated the foot-long dagger through the air to the blue haired Elf. Sanfen grasped it carefully and the Duke could sense she was both honored and a bit amazed by the levitation. The Water Elves’ Lachka only worked on water and a few other liquids, but could not be blocked by Pefbar jammers.

  When the Elf grasped the weapon she was able to telepathically connect with it, causing the silvery blade to glow blue and its many functions became available to her mind.

  “Fire destroys or cleanses, and great wisdom must be applied in its use. Great power and responsibility come with the sacred oath…and great peril to those who break it. You have proved your ability to discern when and how to use your limited power…now you will be granted a counter to Fire Elves’ greatest weakness.”

  Jessica floated a long pitch black rod off the center pedestal and took it in her own hand before her telekinetic strength failed and she dropped it.

  “Your ability to control fire is nearly limitless, but your ability to produce it is restricted to the amount of fuel your body carries. The Pyre Staff will allow you to recharge your biological levels almost instantaneously, granting you far greater longevity than you possess on your own. It is your strength and weakness in battle…do not let yourself be separated from it,” she said, tossing it over to the red-headed Elf.

  Jariil caught it in hand, and when he did it lit up with a script-like decoration that glowed subtly red against the black, then increased in illumination when not only the Elf’s body, but his mind connected to it.

  “The Wood is home, brother, and stranger. It cannot exist on its own and requires periodic direction and defense. The ranger is both caretaker and guardian, and while the Wood itself has great power imbued in it, it is not always enough. You must be willing and able to fight beyond it on your strength alone when needed, or alongside it when great peril threatens,” Jessica recited as she floated a bow and quiver that was almost too heavy for her across to the Wood Elf.

  “Distance is your ally, but not always yours to command. The Grove Bow will grant this when the Wood does not. Use it sparingly, for your arrows are not infinite in battle.”

  Lein grasped each in different hands. Both glowed faintly with green script, but it did not overwhelm the brown textures that looked like they had been grown from the trees themselves, though were in fact purely technological.

  “Mastery of your weapons will come with time and training, but they are now yours to make use of with wisdom, compassion, and vengeance as necessary. Before you rejoin the others a time of solitude is required for you to acclimate to your new responsibilities. Elves fight as one, but rangers must be equally able to operate alone on the frontier…so it is there you must go to hone your skills and truly discover yourselves. There is strength in unity, but also a weakness if that unity is relied upon too heavily.”

  “When one is first an individual there is no threat in it, but you have lived in each other’s minds since you were born. You have learned to operate on your own…now you must become comfortable with it,” the Duke said, snapping her fingers with a hidden door opening on the far side of the weapons chamber. “You will see your Clans later, for now you must go. I will accompany you on the first part of your journey and bid you farewell from the frontier.”

  Jessica, closely monitoring each of their minds, sensed hesitation in all three. They’d expected to rejoin the groups they’d come here with, and this was part of the reason why the details of the Ascension ceremony were kept a secret by those who had taken part in it before…and it was a secret that these three would keep as well once they eventually returned to their Clans.

  “Come,” she said, taking on a less formal tone now that the ritualistic recitement was ended. “I wish to speak with you all enroute, and I only have a few hours to do so. Bring your weapons and follow me.”

  The three Elves did as instructed, following her through the doorway that melted away back into solid wall once they’d passed through it.

  “Thank you for the personal escort, my Queen,” Lein said as he dropped off the edge of the pod-like speeder she’d been piloting to the three different locations the newly minted rangers were being deposited at, with the Wood Elf being the last of the three.

  “So few of you have made ranger that I like to get to know each of you by face and name,” she said, walking to the rim edge and looking down at him from a couple meters up.

  “It is appreciated,” he said, looking at the sparse trees around him and the grassy plain beyond where the frontier began.

  “You’re worried about what you’re going to find out there?”

  “No…I’m worried about facing it alone. I’ve gone out with others before, so I know what to expect.”

  “Supply drops will be on time, you can be assured of that.”

  “Did you have a similar challenge to face?”

  “Not like this, but in a way I am always alone. My responsibilities are not shared by any of you, nor anyone on this planet. We work as a team, but my tasks are solitary ones…despite my being surrounded by people.”

  “I do not understand. Do not others help shape your thoughts?”

  “I don’t allow that. I can connect with others telepathically if needed, but what I have to do requires an isolation of mind. In truth, others would slow me down unless they were my peers…and Monarchs do not share worlds. We are too valuable to overlap our skills.”

  “Do Kings and Queens never see one another?”

  “Occasionally, when there is a need or when we have time to spare. I have many things to do, which is why I cannot leave this world…and they have tasks of their own.”

  “The Great War?”

  “The Archons more than the Monarchs. Our tasks are delivering them what they need to fight, and in a way it is a form of combat in and of itself.”

  “I have often wondered what it is you do, and what the rest of our vast empire is like…but my path lies elsewhere. That is clear, in the near future at least. Have you any last advice?”

  “Live in the moment and do not count the days. Both the combat and isolation will teach you more of yourself…and knowledge of oneself is the key to unlocking even greater power.”

  The green haired Wood Elf nodded respectfully. “I will remember your words.”

  “Move swiftly, ranger,” she said, pointing to the frontier beyond. “And good fortune.”

  “We make our own fortune,” Lein said as he turned and began running…far faster than Jessica could. She watched him zigzag between the few trees while carrying both his bow and survival pack on his back, but he had no armor or clothing other than his ranger suit.

  Jessica went back to the control panel and raised the pod up above the trees to give her a better view of the plains as the Elf deftly ran out onto it, leaping across a large boulder as distant spots in the sky began tracking towards him. If she moved her pod just a little further the ‘bots’ would come after her too, so she didn’t let her craft drift that way. They wouldn’t cross the frontier border, but the stun-weapon bearing little drones were vicious by design and would hunt any Elf or craft that crossed into their territory.

  They were a creation of the Archons to give the Elves an opponent to face, and one that she’d been reluctant to sanction initially, but the results had proven the Archons to be completely right. The Elves responded to the threats and grew stronger because of them, with peace alone quickly turning into stagnation. Training grew boring if one didn’t have a reason for it, and self-sufficiency wasn’t enough for many Elves to drive themselves onward as much as Project Legolas required.

  The bots provided an enemy the equivalent of what the Archons called the ‘Black Knight’ that had terrorized them in their own initial training. They’d told her he would break bones without worry, trusting in the Kich’a’kat regenerators to fix them up afterward. She did not want the bots to do that to the Elves so
a different system had been devised, but one that was relentless.

  If Lein was to survive out here he’d have to keep moving and fighting them off, otherwise they’d stun him unconscious and haul his body off to a penalty area known simply as ‘EC’ but no Elf knew what those two letters stood for. They had gained a definition in and of themselves, but to the Archons they stood for ‘English Class’ and were a throwback to a time before Star Force. Such a place had nothing to do with language and was place of continual torment…thus the perfect name for the Elves place of torment…and the Archons had truly made it such.

  The captured Elves would have to effectively become slaves to work their way free of it on their own via puzzles or be rescued by other Elves…but none knew that Lein was out here, specifically, for he wasn’t wearing a homing beacon. Meaning if he got caught he’d spend weeks, if not months in the EC before breaking free onto to be hunted again.

  All three of the Elves had to spend 2 years in the frontier on their own, whether on the run or in the EC, before they’d be allowed to return…and they had to return free. If they were in the EC when the 2 years expired they would stay there until they worked their way out, then they’d be given a final destination point to get to.

  The longest it had taken a ranger to complete the Isolation was 3.4 years, but thanks to the bots Jessica and the Archons could keep an eye on them, and from what others had told her afterwards this was going to be a very difficult thing for these three to go through, and not just because of the combat. The lack of having other Elves in your mind was something they’d been able to tolerate for short periods of time, but out here they had to become comfortable with their own thoughts alone.