Each of the Dakkur worlds was stretched out in a line, over great swaths of distance separating each one.
But in each location, the Dakkur and their Ejjai slaves brought havoc and destruction to all of their sentient neighbors, fighting six separate, interstellar wars, each within a diameter of several hundred light-years around every established Dakkur homeworld.
Naero gasped.
The enemy had invaded their galaxy at these far distant points, in a quadrant her people had yet to explore.
And from what she saw…their enemies were winning and gaining strength, throughout all six of those areas of influence.
When they had seen enough, Womi took her back to her friends.
“You have kept your word to me,” Naero said. “I honor you for that. I suppose you’ll be going now, Womi, my friend?”
Womi made himself about her size, and whipped his tail through the air in excitement.
“Almost immediately, Naero. I have important things I must see to. Yes, we are friends, now. As strange a friendship as there has ever been. But I shall always be in your debt. I have your marker still. You can come to me any time, if you like. Perhaps I can help train you further in dimensional traveling.”
Naero smiled. “I’d like that. My people and I would also like to remain on good terms with you and your people, Womi. Is that at all possible? We know who our enemies are now. Let’s work together.”
Womi shook his head. “I can only speak for myself, Naero. My people are not at all communal. We can’t agree on anything very often, unless it is to swarm and feed–or mate. We only wish now to be free, and after this latest disaster, I doubt if the Dakkur will be able to persuade any of us to do their bidding, ever again. I will come visit you, when I feel like it. Do the same with me. Good fortune to you and your kind. If you intend to fight the Dakkur and these dark G’lothc spirits, then I think you will need that and much more. Try not to get killed, and please do something about that nasty Cosmic energy infection of yours.”
Naero grinned. “Death is to be avoided.”
Womi smiled. “It most certainly is. Farewell for now.”
The next instant, Womi vanished.
Naero was going to miss him.
Her right wrist felt naked without the little blue dragon wrapped around it.
38
Naero attacked Baeven again, deflecting off the heavily reinforced and shielded practice room walls and ceiling. They fought in a blur of speed and strength.
She attempted to sweep his legs.
Her leg rebounded painfully, as if Baeven were made of Ur-metal.
She countered with a springflip kick to his face to daze him.
She spun and flipped away.
Baeven just missed grabbing one of her ankles.
She grinned. Not this time.
“Hold,” he called out.
They had been sparring and practicing and trying out several techniques and combinations for almost three standard hours.
Both of them perspired and breathed hard.
Baeven had a bloody lip and one ear.
Naero had taken more damage than that, bruised and bleeding in several places that she strove to ignore and regenerate.
“I’m still seeing a problem with developing your skills, Naero. You’re focusing too much on everything at once: speed, power, technique, strategy, precision.”
“So, what do we do?”
“Let’s go back to basics. Focus on developing one element at a time. You’re incredibly fast, Naero–just like your mother–and she was faster than anyone I ever knew.”
Since they were on a breather, Naero rested her hands on her hips and looked around. She snatched up a lix pak and chugged it down.
“So, what do I do?”
“Stop worrying about all the rest of it. Focus on speed. Pour all of your focus and your energies into moving faster. Concentrate solely on that. That is how I increased my speed. Power and all the rest can come later.”
“So, I become faster. But if my attacks don’t do any damage, then they won’t even matter?”
Baeven shook his head. “You’ll never get it then. You can’t think about your progress that way. Like I said, don’t worry about anything else. Speed. Focus on speed. If you can keep me from striking you, that is a victory. If you can slip in and even touch me, without me hitting you, that counts as another victory for you–just for now.”
“Okay. I trust you.”
“Don’t go that far. I’m still your opponent. Give me your hands, Naero.”
She did so. “What for?”
Baeven modified her Nytex gloves to where they glowed bright green. He did the same thing to her feet, knees, and elbows.
“There. Now if you can touch me, you’ll leave behind a glowing green nanomarker stain on contact to prove it. We can reset each time we go again.”
She grinned her fighting smile through her bloody nose and lips.
“Good. I don’t just fight with my hands.”
They squared of and sparred heavily for yet another hour.
At first she had the same problem penetrating Baeven’s formidable defenses.
She manage to slip in a few grazing touches.
But Baeven clobbered her good another time, not letting up on her at all. In fact, the fury of his attacks seemed to increase.
Then, slowly, within the last half hour things began to shift. First she began to evade his combinations with greater and greater ease.
Then she slipped in under his guard and tapped him right on the nose. The glowing imprint of her fist gleaming right between his eyes.
By the time the hour had ended, Baeven struggled more and more to connect with her, and several of her glowing touches showed themselves bright on his body–half of them in vital areas.
Naero got so excited she giggled.
“It’s working. I’m really starting to get it. Thank you for showing me how to train this way, again.” She leaped up and hugged him.
“You’re most welcome,” he said, always a little startled by her affectionate displays and outbursts.
Especially after the pounding he had just administered.
“Now…I want you to help me work on something, Naero. Something personal, that you alone know to be my own special weakness. Something that I desperately need help with, perhaps as equally difficult and definitely more dangerous.”
Naero gave him her puzzled look.
“Okay. I’ll try.” What was there that she could teach him?
Baeven almost looked embarrassed.
“Both of us know full well that our energies also feed and empower what you refer to as our Dark Beast, the Darkforce shadowthing that exists within us. This demon, beast, monster, or whatever you want to call it, is part of us and our imagination. Yet we know that it only yearns to break out and destroy everything in its path.”
Naero hung her head in shame and nodded. “Yes. I have been the victim to my own Dark Beast as well, too many times it seems.”
“Yes, killing Master Vane. That is why Khai is after you.”
Naero grimaced.
She didn’t have the heart to tell her uncle that killing Master Vane had been her fault alone. On that occasion, her Dark Beast had nothing to do with it.
“Don’t torture yourself so much, Naero. I believe everything happens for a reason. At one point, Vane was convinced that I was I was the Great Destroyer, as well. The Chaos Master’s solution to everything was the same: kill it. If it might be a threat, destroy it.”
Naero had a sudden flash of insight.
“Vane was your master too. And like me, he tried to kill you.”
Baeven nodded.
Naero rested a hand on his strong arm.
Baeven placed his hand over hers.
“I know you did not want to kill him, Naero. And I know for a fact that he gave you no choice but to defend yourself. Everything that lives has that right. Even the Mystics cannot take that away from us–whatever they say. W
e are not obligated by any right, law, or duty to allow anyone to force us to stand by while they murder us.”
Naero bowed her head. “Still, I wish with all my heart and soul that it had not happened–that his blood was not on my hands. I will always regret that.”
“I guess that’s the difference between us, Naero. Because I wouldn’t have. Perhaps that is why I need your help and advice so badly. I’m more ruthless and brutal than you are. My life has twisted me in that direction. I know it.”
“What can I do, Uncle? I don’t know how to help either of us.”
“You’re doing it right now. You seem to be able to directly control your Dark Beast, as you call it. And you can do so, all on your own, it appears, without someone like Jia to constantly calm you down and block out the madness. Something I cannot do on my own…yet.”
Baeven paced away from her, throwing up his hands in frustration. “Is it something I lack within? Is part of me truly evil or mad? Why did your artifact statue speak directly to you? It explained so much to you. I never got any of that information. Why not? I always felt that the artifact I merged with was trying to say something to me, but I could never hear it.”
Naero Shrugged. “I don’t know, uncle. I could have never conversed with mine, had I not learned Kexxian from the KDM.”
Baeven’s eyes widened. “Perhaps that’s it. Tell me again, what your artifact told you about the three ancient artifacts in general?”
Naero sighed. “The last of the three has yet to be found, on the lost world of Xanathar. Jan, Dan, Aunt Sleak, or one of her two daughters will somehow be destined to locate it, and become selected as the Champion of that artifact and its wisdom. The remaining artifact represents Order. Its tek is supposedly almost pure Drian.” She licked her dry lips.
“Go on,” Baeven said.
“My artifact represented Change Wisdom. I am supposedly the Champion of Change–hopefully Enlightened Change. The tek of my artifact was almost pure Kexxian–a fitting match for the KDM.”
“So the tek of my artifact was based on that from the G’lothc?”
“Yes, you are supposedly the Chaos Champion–and that includes the Darkforce as well. Together, the three Champions of the Three Wisdoms control the power of The Harmony, the only power that can balance out the Destroying nature of the Darkforce. The so-called Great Destroyer is the embodiment of the Darkforce itself.”
Baeven waved his hands. “I don’t care about the Cosmic Prophecies right now. If your artifact spoke to you in Kexxian, then does that mean that I have to learn G’lothc in order to speak to mine?”
“I don’t know. Perhaps. But where are you going to learn G’lothc?
A vicious grin spread across Baeven’s face. It was more than a little unnerving. “Perhaps our friend Ullogk can tutor me.”
“The G’lothc spirit that tried to attack your mind? I thought you were going to destroy it?”
“There hasn’t been time. It’s still whimpering in the prison I constructed for the vile thing. I will see how cooperative it can be, given the right encouragement.”
“Be careful, Baeven. Don’t let it know anything we don’t want it to know. If the G’lothc were anything like the Dakkur, it’s possible that what one of them knows–all of them will know after a while. We don’t know how their minds work, or their souls. They’ve managed to survive even death somehow, and still remain a threat.”
“We’ll see. I’ll keep you updated on my progress with the thing’s interrogation. I’ve broken its mind, so learning its language shouldn’t be too difficult, given time. Now, back to the present. I need you to teach me how to control my Dark Beast without Jia. It is vital that I learn that.”
Naero sighed. “I’m not even completely sure how I control mine. And I can’t always do so. I completely lost it back on Janosha. I destroyed the enemy, there–but it was only a fluke that I didn’t annihilate everyone else on our side.”
“But you didn’t,” Baeven said. “If it had been me, I couldn’t have stopped myself at all. That’s too big a risk.”
“Om helped me, perhaps in some of the same ways Jia helps you. He found a way to cut me off from the Cosmic flows so that my Dark Beast could not feed on those energies. Of course, that was much easier once the planet was gone. He cut off my oxygen as well. As I grew weaker, so did my Dark Beast.”
Jia intruded on their discussion.
“Naero, I’ve been comparing data with Om. We’ve been meaning to tell you this for some time, but we waited until our analysis was complete. You did not vaporize the planet of Janosha.”
“I didn’t? Then what happened to it? How could it just disappear? Planets just don’t do that.”
“Not usually. Yet somehow this one did. It is not entirely impossible. Baeven has told you about Ur-Jahal, the homeworld of my people the Driathans. It is an entire planet that is cloaked and hidden, as if it has never existed. What few know is that even it’s location can be changed, if need be, in order to keep it safe. But doing so would require a vast amount of Cosmic energy, almost staggering beyond belief. Only the Kexx and Drians had the tek to even attempt such things. Not even the G’lothc could perform such a feat, for their energies were always devoted toward destruction and the subjugation of others.”
Naero sighed again and held up her hands. “I remain stunned and confused by want happened, but at least it’s good to know that I wasn’t responsible for wiping out an entire planet and all of its lifeforms.”
First of all, the energy levels were all wrong, Naero. Analysis proves that you simply could not have destroyed or transported an entire planet. Even the amazing energies you unleashed at that time could not have accomplished such a feat
Naero smiled. “Well, then wherever Janosha is now, I hope it is safe and free.”
“We cannot affect that either way. Back to the matter at hand,” Baeven said. “I would like to train with you, in whatever way we need to. We both need to learn to better control these Dark Beasts within us. I want to be able do so on my own, without depending so much on Jia. She can’t keep propping me up. She will need to take up her own body once again at some point, and serve her people as she was destined to.”
Naero shook her head. “I can explain everything that I’ve figured out, but I need just as much help as you do, Baeven. But you’re right. We both need to find a way. We have to try, for the sake of everyone.”
“I agree.”
“Baeven, all of those years that you trained with the Mystics, didn’t they address stuff like this? What did they teach you?”
He nodded. “The condition we share is unique and has not been encountered before we two. Advanced meditation, mental and psyonic discipline, deep personal introspection and therapy sessions have the potential to help. Yet none of that has worked for me; I’ve tried. Once in combat, with my life threatened, the bloodthirsty monster inside me ignores any attempt to control it, and puts forth all of his efforts to break free and assume total control. I have fought it all my life, and only Jia has been able to help me control it.”
“Well, those control techniques might not have helped you, but they might help me or give me some insights. Can you teach them to me?”
“I will. Perhaps you’re just a better person than I am, Naero. Perhaps I am simply more evil and chaotic inside than you are.”
Naero frowned and paced slightly. “You are the Champion of Chaos Wisdom and the Darkforce, so that might entail special problems for you that the Change and Order Champions won’t face. We have to consider that too.”
She paced some more, sifting through her thoughts, concepts, and ideas on the matter. “I don’t think we’ve found the right angle to approach all of this. There’s something we still don’t know. Something we’re missing. Something in my intuition is telling me this, but I don’t know exactly where to look or turn for the complete answers. Right now, we just have parts of the puzzle and its answers. How about this? We need to share our insights Why don’t we both try letting ou
r Dark Beasts out just a little bit in our partial forms and study them. Perhaps then we can find a way to manage them better.”
“Their very nature seems to be devoid or all rationality and reason. How can we use that against them?”
“We don’t know yet, but both of us have developed strategies for controlling them and keeping them tamped down inside of us. Why do those ways work? We must first build on our successes, and understand them.”
“Then I suggest we wait until we train in the Astral Plane or wait until we arrive on Zoa to make such attempts. Things could end very badly if something goes wrong, and one or both of us lose control in the close quarters of a starship in space. We can’t afford to destroy one of our ships accidently, or kill any of our friends, while conducting such tests.”
“Agreed,” Naero said. “Speaking of crew, I still want to hear about all of your people and how you came across them. They seem so devoted to you. I remain very curious.”
A chime on both their coms went off, summoning them back to engineering for the first leap drive test that evening.
“All long stories for yet another time, Naero. Come, we are needed at the testing.”
They arrived at engineering on board the Darkstar to find Tyber and Zhen present.
Dr. Zhentisa already had two medbeds set up there.
Captain Ty spoke first.
“Glad you two could join us. This is just a preliminary test for the leap drive to see if we can generate enough Cosmic energy to power and activate it–even for a few seconds.”
While the teks prepared for the test, Zhen started treating Naero’s practice injuries, while Ty kept explaining.
“Even this process is going to be dangerous. Haisha, both of you look as if you’ve been in a fight already.”
Naero grinned, lifting her battered head up like a proud child. “Sparring practice.”
Zhen pushed her back down. “We’re not joking here, En. No one has ever done this kind of thing before. This tek is dangerous and experimental. If you and Baeven are going to be our Cosmic power sources, you are going to need all of your strength. You can’t just waltz in here all worn out or beaten down.”
Spacer Clans Adventure 3: Naero's Fury Page 36
