Last Stand on Talos Seven

by Rodney Hartman

  The fur on the back of the scout’s neck tingled with excitement at the thought of encountering a wizard scout.

  I have killed three wizard scouts, she thought. If I can take a fourth head to be mounted on the Long Wing clan’s Wall of Honor, it would bring pride to my mother, Charge-In-The-Face-Of-Great-Odds. I am the best of the Crosoian scouts. One lone Empire wizard scout is no match for me.

  “Incoming,” said Mykias. “It’s coming from your three o’clock.”

  Switching her defensive shield to her right side, the scout got it into position a split-second before a half-dozen phase rounds made contact. The red tracers went streaking into the air. The scout recognized the frequency of the phase rounds as being the same type as the first.

  “I calculate a ninety-four percent probability that you are facing two wizard scouts,” said her fighting-computer. “They have you in a crossfire. Recommend you close on one of the scouts. The second scout may stop firing for fear of hitting the other.”

  The scout tried to pinpoint the locations of the scouts, but nothing appeared on her passive scan.

  “They must have their stealth shields up,” said Mykias, stating the obvious. “Too bad you activated your phase rod prematurely. They obviously know where you are. You need to locate their positions. Recommend you listen for sonic indicators. You are a Crosoian. They are probably humans. You still have the advantage.”

  Swiveling her ears to her right, the scout listened for the sound of footsteps. She detected none, but she did hear the vibration of metal hitting stone. She envisioned someone ejecting a spent magazine from their weapon as they reloaded. Wasting no time, she charged in the direction of the sound while shifting her defensive shield to her rear. It was well that she did, because phase rounds from the wizard scout behind her began hitting her shield. The rounds bounced off the wall of Power, doing her no harm. The scout drew her phase pistol from the holster on her right hip and fired at the source of the sound ahead of her.

  “Assistance,” she ordered.

  “Compliance,” came the reply as her fighting-computer shifted her aim slightly to the left.

  Green phase rounds from the scout’s phase pistol ricocheted into the air as if hitting an unseen barrier. That’s when the scout saw her opponent; a human female in black wizard scout armor kneeling beside a meter-sized boulder. As she spotted her opponent, the wizard scout raised her pistol and began firing. With her own defensive shield protecting her rear from the second wizard scout, the scout had no choice but to dodge the incoming rounds from her front. Rolling on the ground, she came up two paces to her left as the wizard scout’s rounds passed to her right.

  My turn, the scout thought. Leaping into the air, she dodged two more phase rounds as she thrust her phase spear at the wizard scout. At the same time, she reached out with a line of Power and sought out the wizard scout’s link to her Power reserve. She bared her teeth in anticipation of victory as she prepared to twist the link. It was a trick that had helped her defeat three wizard scouts on previous occasions.

  The foolish wizard scouts do not know how to protect their links. I am a time-commando as well as a scout. They cannot compete with my knowledge.

  Boom!

  An explosion flung the scout back a dozen meters as pieces of shrapnel, glowing with red sparks of phase energy, penetrated the left leg of her fighting-suit. She rolled on the ground and came up with her phase spear at the ready while doing her best to ignore the pain in her leg. She sensed a cooling liquid being injected into the flesh near her wound as her fighting-computer administered painkillers through tiny thread needles in her suit.

  “The hover-tank got a round off at you,” said Mykias. “You failed to break the link to the wizard scout’s Power reserve. The wizard scout was also flung back by the explosion. I calculate she is also wounded. Recommend you withdraw long enough for your leg to heal. You still have another wizard scout behind you.”

  Withdrawing was the last thing the scout had in mind. When she’d touched the wizard scout’s link with her line of Power, she’d sensed weakness.

  “This is one of the disabled wizard scouts we heard about,” the scout told her fighting-computer. “Assist me in closing the distance.”

  “Compliance.”

  The legs of the scout’s fighting-suit moved of their own accord, thrusting her into the air. She saw a figure in black sprawled on the ground a half a dozen meters away. The wizard scout’s pistol was no longer in the human’s hand.

  Wrapping herself with Power, the scout used telekinesis to extend her leap. She raised her phase spear in anticipation of thrusting it into the helpless wizard scout’s chest.

  A line of Power came from the scout’s rear knocking her to the side. The tip of her phase spear hit the ground a meter to the left of the wounded wizard scout. Before the scout could strike another blow, the wounded wizard scout lifted herself off the ground with telekinesis and raised an activated phase rod into a defensive position.

  The scout tried to scoot around to the wizard scout’s right, but her wounded leg buckled, causing her to fall to one knee. The wounded wizard scout thrust forward with her phase rod. The Crosioian scout barely got her phase spear up in time to deflect the blow.

  “Kill her,” said Mykias. “You’ve got a second wizard scout approaching from the rear. You also need to knock that tank out before the pirates’ scout ship arrives. If the tank destroys the scout ship, you will be stuck on this planet with no way to get off.”

  “I am trying to kill her, you fool,” the scout snapped.

  She was far from afraid, but she was not as confident of victory as she had been. Reaching out with a line of Power, the scout probed for the wounded scout’s heart. A line of Power from her rear knocked her line aside.

  “The second wizard scout is ten meters behind you,” said Mykias.

  A blip of sound on the display of the scout’s fighting-helmet pinpointed the location of the second wizard scout. The scout twisted around firing her phase pistol as she turned. At the same time, she shifted her defensive shield to her rear to block any attack from the wounded wizard scout.

  The second wizard scout, also a female, was charging toward her. The fur on the back of the scout’s neck tingled with excitement. She recognized the second wizard scout’s frequency.

  “Yes,” said Mykias, confirming the scout’s thoughts. “I calculate she is the same wizard scout you fought on Cavos two years ago. She is dangerous. You now have two wizard scouts against you. Recommend you withdraw. I can contact the pirates’ scout ship and have them rendezvous with you at another location.”

  “Crosoian scouts do not run like frightened males,” the scout said.

  “Scouts who do not run when the situation warrants have a tendency to die,” replied her fighting-computer.

  The scout spoke no further. Her self-heal had finished repairing the last of the damage to her leg. She was at full strength again. From her passive scan, she knew the wounded wizard scout’s self-heal was having difficulty healing her wounds.

  I have a few seconds to take care of this opponent before the first one poses any danger, the scout thought. I can still win this fight. If I can take the heads of two wizard scouts to be placed on my tribe’s Wall of Honor, my actions will become legend.

  The wizard scout coming toward the scout holstered her phase pistol and activated her phase rod in destructive mode. The Crosioian scout holstered her own pistol and met the second wizard scout with a two-handed blow of her phase spear. The wizard scout’s phase rod deflected the phase spear to the side. Spinning on her now healed left leg, the scout extended her right wing and thrust the joint-tip at the wizard scout’s neck. The human dodged, stumbling backwards while swinging wildly with her phase rod. The Crosioian scout continued her spin while reaching out with her phase spear in a wide arc. The tip of the spear caught the wizard scout on her left thigh. The phase spear bounced off the tough armor of the battle suit, but not before the scout sensed the spear’s
phase energy tearing apart the wizard scout’s leg muscle with microscopic explosions of phase energy.

  “Arrrgh!” came a pain-filled scream from the wizard scout.

  The scout pulled her spear back in preparation for pressing her attack when she sensed a life form closing on her rear. She turned and raised her phase spear just in time to block a blow from the previously wounded wizard scout’s phase rod.

  “Her wound is now healed, but you still have an advantage,” said Mykias. “She is one of the disabled wizard scouts. Her Power reserve is weak. If you can force her to use too much Power, her reserve will fail, and she will die. You must take her out before the other wizard scout recovers.”

  Drawing Power from her reserve, the scout sent it out as a blast of pure Power. The disabled wizard scout formed a defensive shield, but it was no match for the scout’s Power. The wizard scout’s defensive shield collapsed. The now weakened blast of Power continued on, blowing the wizard scout into the air. The wizard scout hit the side of a bat-sized boulder to her rear and slid to the ground.

  “She is still alive, but her back is broken,” said Mykias. “I calculate a sixty-seven percent probability that her Power reserve does not have sufficient Power remaining to heal her.”

  The scout took a step toward the crumpled wizard scout. She sensed movement behind her.

  “No!” came the shout of the other wizard scout. “You will not touch her.”

  Spinning around, the scout thrust out with her phase spear. The second wizard scout countered with a swing of her phase rod. Finger-sized lightning bolts of green and red phase energy erupted between the two weapons.

  Both the scout and the wizard scout swung a second, third, and fourth time. Neither weapon was able to gain the advantage.

  “You are taking too long,” said Mykias. “The scout ship is on short final for the mine. I sense the light-hover tank lining up for a shot.”

  Reaching out with a line of telekinesis, the scout grabbed the wizard scout’s phase pistol out of her holster and slammed it against the side of the cliff. The weapon shattered on the hard stone and exploded. At the same time, the scout wrapped herself in Power and shifted into the void. She was a shifter. From her previous fight with the wizard scout, she knew that her opponent was not.

  Lifting herself into the air, the scout levitated up the cliff face toward the hover-tank. She saw the lightly armored tank with the barrel of its main gun pointed in the air toward the east. A flash of light in the sky told her the pirates’ scout ship was on short approach.

  “The wizard scout is levitating up after you,” said Mykias. “You are in the void. Your trick with the phase pistol means she has to close within range of her phase rod. That buys you some time.”

  Reaching the tank, the scout swung her phase spear down across the barrel of the main gun just as it fired. The barrel of the cannon exploded. Although the scout was in the void between dimensions, pieces of shrapnel from the exploding phase round penetrated the armor of her fighting-suit. The scout was flung off the tank, landing on the ground a dozen meters away.

  The top hatch of the hover-tank popped open, spewing smoke into the air. Two humans crawled out of the hatch and fell to the ground, struggling to breath.

  The Crosioian scout tried to rise, but she was too weak.

  “You are no longer in the void,” said Mykias. “You have wounds in the right side of your chest and along your right wing. I calculate fifteen seconds before your self-heal repairs the damage to your body. The wizard scout will reach your position if five seconds. What are your orders?”

  The scout struggled to breathe. She still gripped her phase spear, but her holster was empty. Where her pistol was now, she did not know. Before she could make a decision, the black form of the wizard scout came over the mine’s rim. The wizard scout ran toward her with phase rod at the ready. The scout wanted to rise and meet her in honorable combat, but she did not have the strength.

  I need time, the scout thought. I need time to heal. I will not allow myself to be bested by a lone wizard scout.

  The time the scout needed came from an unexpected direction. Balls of green plasma energy came out of the sky blasting out gobs of stone and dirt in a direct line for the wizard scout. The human scout formed a defensive shield to her front just in time to deflect the balls of energy before they cut her in half. The pirates’ scout ship streaked past, making a hard turn in the air as it lined up for a second pass. The wizard scout turned toward the scout as if determined to kill her before the pirates could fire again.

  “Recommend you withdraw until you are healed,” said Mykias.

  Calculating the odds, the scout made her decision. She wrapped herself in Power and shifted into the void. She sunk into the stone just as the wizard scout’s phase rod came down. The scout bared her teeth.

  Enjoy your victory while you can, fool, she thought. We shall meet again one day. I swear I will place your head on the Long Wing tribe’s Wall of Honor. Nothing but death shall keep me from my promise.

  “Forget revenge for once,” said Mykias. “I detect the approach of a transport ship. The pirates’ scout ship and the transport are firing at each other. Both the transport and the scout ship have been hit. I calculate the outcome could go either way. What are your orders, Scout?”

  The scout swallowed her pride. Revenge would have to wait for a later day.

  “Order the pirates to break contact. How long can I stay in the void before my Power reserve gives out?”

  “You have a large reserve. With the Power you still have in your reserve I calculate you can remain in the void underground for two minutes and twenty-seven more seconds. If you use telekinesis to levitate away from the mine, I calculate you can go a full kilometer before you need to shift back out of the void. There is a large ravine eight hundred meters away. The scout ship could meet you there.”

  Running from a fight did not sit well with the scout, but once again she swallowed her pride. She needed to get the samples back to the fleet. Acquiring the titanium mine could mean the difference between defeat and victory in the coming battle with the humans.

  “Order the scout ship to meet me in the ravine. Guide me there. I am anxious to get off this planet.”

  “As am I,” said Mykias. “As am I.”

  Chapter 21 – Scout Ship

  _____________________

  Trinity stabbed down with her phase rod as the Crosoian scout sunk into the ground. The tip of her weapon hit the dust-covered rock a split-second too late. Shards of stone flew into the air, but the rod’s phase energy failed to make contact with the retreating bat.

  “She is in the void,” said Jennifer. “You cannot do anything about her now. There’s no way to tell where she may materialize back into our dimension. My recommendation would be to do something about that scout ship.”

  A series of booms reverberated off the cliffs around the mine. Glancing up, Trinity saw anti-ship rockets shooting out from the town’s transport ship in the direction of the pirates’ ship. The agile scout ship released a series of anti-missile missiles. What rockets from the transport weren’t knocked out of the sky by the missiles were easily dodged by the pirates.

  Changing direction, the scout ship headed straight for the transport. Two green beams of plasma energy shot out of the front of the pirate ship and gouged a double set of long black lines across the stern of the transport. Smoke billowed out of holes near the transport’s engine, and the ship began settling toward the floor of the pit mine.

  “The transport’s engine has been hit,” said Jennifer. “Her force field was being converted to a shield that could protect the town. The transport is basically defenseless. If the scout ship hits her again, I calculate—”

  Trinity didn’t wait for her battle computer to finish. She drew every bit of Power from her reserve and released it as a single blast against the pirates’ ship. The defensive shield surrounding the scout ship took the brunt of the blast, buckling as Trinity’s Power began
penetrating the force field. The pirates’ protective shield held just long enough to prevent damage to the scout ship. However, as the last of Trinity’s Power dissipated, the force field flickered and disappeared. The scout ship turned in Trinity’s direction and lined up for a strafing run.

  “Well, I calculate that was not the best idea you have ever had,” said Jennifer. “Now you are out of Power. You will not even be able to self-heal after the pirates’ weapons turn you into a piece of Swiss cheese. Fortunately, I am encased inside a brerellium steel chip deep inside your battle helmet. I should come out undamaged.”

  Trinity didn’t bother arguing. She’d done what she’d needed to do. Raising her phase rod into a defensive position, she waited for the lines of plasma beams to cut into her body.

  Before the scout ship began firing, the town’s transport ship hit the floor of the pit mine hard. The bottom plates of the ship buckled under the impact, but the transport remained in one piece. The ship’s rear ramp dropped opened and made contact with the ground. Out walked the six-legged heavy Leviathan with all guns blazing. Beams of red, blue, and orange energy shot out in the direction of the pirates’ ship followed by a stream of missiles. The small scout ship dodged both the beams and missiles without taking damage.

  Two Long Cat medium UHAAVs came running down the transport’s ramp, adding their firepower to that of the Leviathan. The sky blazed with multi-colored beams all around the scout ship. The pirate ship dove for the rim of the pit mine in an attempt to find cover.

  “I calculate they are going to get away,” said Jennifer.

  “Not if I can help it,” Trinity said.

  Deactivating her phase rod, Trinity ran to the hover-tank and jumped on top. Dropping down the open hatch, she reached for the gun controls.

  “The main gun is out of action,” said Jennifer. “So is the tank’s sighting mechanism.”

  “The 20mm auto-rifles are still working, aren’t they?” Trinity said. “Correlate the results of my passive scan with the 20mm.”