Wizard Defender (Intergalactic Wizard Scout Chronicles Book 8)

by Rodney Hartman

  In a feat that should have been impossible for a horse-sized creature whose skin resembled plate armor and solid stone, the charging demon twisted nearly in half and bit down on First-Out-Of-The-Nest’s arm. Since they were both already in the void, the demon dove down into the tunnel floor, dragging the blonde-furred bat with it. In the blink of an eye, both the demon and bat disappeared from sight.

  Richard didn’t need to see them to know what was happening. His passive scan told him exactly where they were. Wrapping himself in Power, he shifted into the void and levitated downward using telekinesis.

  “The demon is dragging the scout into the deeper levels of the void,” said Nickelo. “That’s not good. The deeper the shift, the more Power it takes. Your reserve is only at thirty-seven percent. I recommend you go back to the surface and help the others. I calculate the blonde bat is not going to survive. Neither will you if you try going any deeper in the void.”

  Ignoring his battle computer, Richard forged ever downward, levitating as fast as he could in the direction of the descending life forms. One glance at his passive scan told him that the bat’s Power reserve was even lower than his, and his reserve was very low. It didn’t matter. Richard had been a Marine, and Marines didn’t leave a teammate behind. Even if she is a bat, he thought.

  Sending an emotion of need to his bondmate, Richard hoped she would know what he meant. Before he got a chance to find out, he drew even with the two life forms. Striking out with his phase rod, he aimed for the top of the demon’s head. Since the demon still clutched the scout in its mouth, Richard was forced to slow down his swing in order to avoid hitting the bat. As his phase rod drew close, the demon jerked its head and easily avoided the brerellium and creallium rod. Although it avoided his blow, the demon exposed its neck for a brief moment.

  Still clutched by the arm, First-Out-Of-The-Nest shoved the end of her phase spear into the demon’s throat. As the monster opened its mouth in a cry of pain, Richard shoved his left arm, phase rod and all, into the fang-rimmed opening and down into the depths of the demon’s bowels. Waving the end of his phase rod back and forth, he did his best to strike as many vital organs as he could. As the miniature lightning bolts of phase energy tore at the insides of the demon, he sensed the creature’s magic healing it as fast as the damage was created.

  First-Out-Of-The-Nest drew her phase spear out of the demon’s neck and shoved the arms-length tip of phase energy directly into the demon’s left eye and into its brain. Twisting the shaft of her spear back and forth, First-Out-Of-The-Nest scrambled the demon’s brain. Between the damage to the brain and that to its insides, Richard sensed the demon’s Power reserve draining rapidly. Then the creature’s reserve ran dry. The demon’s soul was ripped out of its avatar body as it returned to its home plane.

  Speaking over the communication channel Red Wing and he had set up for the recon team, Richard said, “We’ve got to get out of here.”

  First-Out-Of-The-Nest didn’t bother replying. She jerked her spear free and began levitating toward the upper levels of the void as fast as she could go. Desperate as she was, Richard doubted she was going to make the surface before her reserve ran out.

  “You have to get a move on yourself, Rick,” said Nickelo. “You only have twelve percent Power remaining in your reserve. I told you that the deeper you go the more Power it takes.”

  Richard didn’t need his battle computer to tell him the obvious. He’d known it was a risk to follow the demon and scout, but something in the back of his mind had told him it was important to save the bat. To be honest, he wasn’t sure he’d actually saved her. The scout’s reserve was only at five percent and falling fast. A rough calculation told him she wasn’t going to make it. At only twelve percent Power in his own reserve, he wasn’t sure he was going to make it either.

  An emotion of hope came down the link from his bondmate along with half the Power in her reserve. With a reserve significantly larger than his, Jeena’s donated Power filled his reserve to thirty-five percent. As her Power merged with his, more Power was created.

  “You now have seventy percent Power in your reserve,” said Nickelo. “That is more than enough for you to get out of the void, so move it, Marine.”

  Making a snap decision, Richard attached a link to First-Out-Of-The-Nest and sent half his Power to the scout. His Power arrived to the scout just in time. The bat was just starting to shift out of the void and into the solid rock beneath the tunnel’s floor when the first of Richard’s Power flowed into her link. First-Out-Of-The-Nest renewed her dimensional shift and remained in the void. A dozen heartbeats later, she shifted out of the void and back into the tunnel with Richard close on her heels.

  As Richard levitated out of the tunnel floor, he sought another enemy with his passive scan. He found none. Only Jeena and the six bats stood amidst the gore of dismembered demon avatars.

  Sensing his bondmate’s reserve was low, Richard sent her half of the Power remaining in his reserve. Within two heartbeats, she returned more Power than he’d sent. He traded Power back and forth with his bondmate as he summoned a new isotopic battery out of his dimensional pack for his M63. After loading the fresh battery into his rifle, he attempted to summon reloads for the scouts’ weapons. Unsure whether it would work, he was pleasantly surprised when he pulled fully loaded batteries for the Crosioian weapons out of his pack. As he began handing out the batteries, he noticed Red Wing pulling additional batteries out of her dimensional pouch and passing them to the scouts nearest her.

  By the time everyone finished reloading their weapons, Richard and Jeena’s reserves were both at a healthy eighty percent. Before he could decide what to do next, something touched Richard’s arm. It was First-Out-Of-The-Nest’s gloved hand. The blonde bat said nothing, but she did nod her head. Once he returned the nod, she let go of his arm and returned to her position among the other scouts.

  “Wasn’t much of a thanks,” said Nickelo in their shared space.

  Richard shrugged. “It was enough, more than I expected actually.”

  Kicking aside a detached demon leg with her booted foot, Jeena moved closer to Richard. “We cannot remain here. The demons know where we are. What do you want us to do?”

  Turning to look at Red Wing and her grandmother, Charge-In-The-Face-Of-Great-Odds, Richard said, “Is this enough to convince the supreme leader that the demons are our real enemy? You saw for yourself that they’re working with the scouts from the coup.”

  Charge-In-The-Face-Of-Great-Odds shook her head. “It is not enough. It is not nearly enough. We must go through the rift and see this demon army for ourselves. And…we must know beyond a doubt that the demon army, should it exist, intends to attack our galaxy. Nothing else will suffice. Nothing else will stop the war with the Empire.” The old bat pointed down the tunnel in the direction of the orange glow. “We must go through the rift.”

  The animal that was Richard’s temper rattled its cage again. He fought down the urge to let it out. “I told you before that you’re asking the impossible. How are we supposed to prove their intent? It’s not like they’re going to tell us. It isn’t possible, I tell you.”

  After swiveling her ears at Red Wing for a moment, Charge-In-The-Face-Of-Great-Odds turned them back on Richard. “If that is what you truly believe, Wizard Scout, then we should withdraw now and go back home. You and the elf high priestess have fought bravely by our side. I will appeal to the supreme leader that you not be killed out of respect for what you have done. You will remain as guests of my tribe for the rest of your lives. The rest of the humans in the galaxy must die. I have come to the conclusion that is the only way our younglings will be safe. I fear that there have been too many deaths between our species for there to be any other way.”

  The old Richard would have argued or done something foolish, but centuries of missions for ‘the One’ had changed him. He looked at Jeena. She nodded. Without taking the time to look at the old bat, he began walking toward the orange glow that wa
s their destination. “The rift’s waiting. Let’s go.”

  Charge-In-The-Face-Of-Great-Odds shrugged her wings and bared her fangs as if she’d known Richard’s decision before he’d even announced it. Waving a paw in the direction of the orange glow, the old bat spoke to the other scouts. “You heard the human. Let us go.”

  As Richard moved forward, Jeena caught up and kept pace with him stride for stride. The six Crosioian scouts followed with Red Wing and her grandmother right behind Richard and Jeena. They traveled in silence for five minutes. The orange glow ahead grew brighter with each step. Richard stayed on the alert for any sign of danger. He formed an active scan and attempted to probe ahead, but the overwhelming demon stench grew stronger the closer they got to the rift. The stench drowned out any signs of other life forms. It got to the point where he even had trouble detecting the scouts right behind him.

  “Save your Power and shut down the active scan,” said Nickelo in their shared space. “That’s just a suggestion, by the way. You’re the wizard scout, and I am just the humble and never-complaining battle computer.”

  “Sure you are,” Richard said as he cut off the Power to the scan. “You’re about as non-complaining as I—”

  An orange glow bright enough to activate the automated filter on the battle helmet’s visor came into view as they rounded a bend in the tunnel. Richard saw Jeena cover her eyes with one arm before waving her other hand and saying a word he heard but quickly forgot. When she removed the hand from her face, a silvery glow covered her eyes. Richard stopped and focused on what was ahead. Jeena and the others stopped as well. A hundred meters to their front, blazing with the brightness of a noonday sun, was a ball of orange ten meters across and as high as the ceiling.

  “I take it that is the rift,” said Jeena.

  Charge-In-The-Face-Of-Great-Odds and Red Wing walked up next to Jeena. Charge-In-The-Face-Of-Great-Odds pointed her paw at the ball of light. “That is it. The supreme leader and I once stood in this very spot.” She sighed. “I never thought I would have to return. This time I must go all the way through the rift.” The old bat swiveled her ears at Red Wing. “I am honored that you are going through with me, Granddaughter. We will see what is on the other side together.”

  Red Wing nodded, baring her fangs. “The honor is mine, Grandmother.”

  No one moved for a full minute. They just stood there staring at the orange sphere. The swirling gas and orange flames were hypnotic in their effect.

  “Those are not flames that you see,” said Nickelo over the battle helmet’s external speakers. “If they were, all of you would already be burnt alive. As it is, the temperature in the air around you is your normal body temperature, which is strange since each of your bodies have a different temperature.”

  His battle computer’s voice broke the semi-trance. Richard glanced at Jeena, wishing he could look into her molten-silver eyes one last time. His helmet’s dark filter prevented even that.

  “Well,” Richard said speaking to everyone, but mostly to his bondmate. “I guess we didn’t get all dressed up to stand around and gawk. Shall we go in together?”

  Jeena sent an emotion of deepest love down their bond link. “Always, my bondmate. Human and elf, who would have thought?”

  “Who indeed?” Richard said matching the elf’s emotion.

  As one, Richard and Jeena stepped into the orange sphere of flaming gas. The six scouts followed close behind led by Red Wing and Charge-In-The-Face-Of-Great-Odds. Once they were gone, the tunnel remained empty and all was still.

  Chapter 50 – A Plan

  ____________________

  The bridge of the Conglomerate flagship Planet Buster was packed with a bevy of ensigns, lieutenants, techs, and security personnel as they scurried back and forth while putting their admiral’s orders into effect. Mathew sat in an out of the way chair tucked into a corner of the bridge’s main level a dozen meters from the admiral of the combined Conglomerate fleet. He felt out of place and totally useless just sitting there.

  They don’t even need me as a figurehead anymore. My part in Rick’s plan was to get the Conglomerate back into the Empire fold. I’ve done that. I’m no admiral or general. All I’m doing now is taking up precious space on the bridge.

  As if to confirm his thoughts, a harried ensign with an electronic pad in one hand trotted over to stand in front of Matthew. When he looked up, she pointed at the computer console behind his chair. “Do you mind, Sir?”

  Wasting no time in getting up, Matthew moved out of the way.

  The ensign took his seat and began dragging fleet icons around on the screen without giving him a second glance.

  Matthew took another look around the bridge. This is ridiculous. I need to be doing something productive, and it obviously isn’t going to happen here.

  The green-gemmed ring on Matthew’s finger grew warm. He sensed excitement, fear, and determination all at the same time through the link to Tia. He also felt an emotion that almost seemed to be saying goodbye.

  “Tia,” Matthew whispered. He’d felt the same emotion once before when she had gone into a fight she hadn’t expected to survive. Without taking time to ask, he sprinted across the bridge, past a set of open blast doors, and into the corridor beyond. A shuttle-tube was just closing its doors as he squeezed inside along with a dozen others.

  “Where to?” asked an orange-suited engineer standing nearest the controls.

  “Flight deck,” Matthew said as he grew more confident in what he needed to do.

  The engineer pushed an icon before looking back at him. “You a pilot?”

  Matthew smiled. “Today I am.”

  * * *

  When Tia finished the two-minute burn of the split-wing’s ion-drive, she found herself in the middle of a patch of asteroids so thick she could’ve cut them with a knife. A drop of sweat dripped down her forehead barely avoiding her eye. The hastily conceived flight had been a close call. How I managed to avoid all of these floating rocks during the trip here is beyond me. She glanced over to her right. Sandy was in Yankee Kilo Six a hundred meters off her starboard wing.

  She’s almost as good as I am, Tia thought appreciatively. That’s good to know. I think she’s going to need it.

  “Well, that was interesting,” said Sandy over the ship’s short-range communicator. “Now I’ve got something to tell my grandkids in my old age. That is, assuming I get old. The only question is what good did it do, Lieutenant? I see a lot of pretty rocks, but that’s about it.”

  Tia smiled. A little joking during times of stress could be a morale booster. “What good did it do? We’re alive—that’s worth something. Our long-range communications is jammed, and our hyper-drives are on the blink. I doubt there’s anything we can do to fix our hyper-drives, but if we can locate the jammer ship and take it out, then we’d have a chance at warning the fleets about those dreadnaughts.”

  Nothing came over the intercom for five seconds. When Sandy did speak, her voice wasn’t exactly filled with enthusiasm. “Uh, how do you propose we do that? I’m picking up the line of cruisers and dreadnaughts with my instruments now, but I can’t say I see anything that looks like a jammer. Plus, even if we find it, a ship that important is bound to be surrounded by heavy security.”

  Tia had no doubt everything her fellow pilot said was true, but it didn’t change matters. They had to take out the jammer. Reaching out with her passive scan in the direction of the dreadnaughts, she sensed a group of ships in a tighter cluster than the others. The smallest of the ships in the tight group was emitting energy many times higher than that of the ships around it.

  Tia smiled. I’ve got you.

  Glancing out her left-side window, she stared at the nuclear-tipped missile still under her split-wing’s left wing. Her smile grew wider as an idea popped into her head. Sealing her pressure suit, she reached over and made sure her phase pistol was in its holster, locked and loaded.

  Tia turned and looked out the right windscreen at Yanke
e Kilo Six. “Sandy, I need you to come over and pick me up. Make sure your fighter’s stealth shield is at max. I’ve got a plan.”

  * * *

  I need a plan, Matthew thought as he walked onto the flight deck of the Planet Buster. The place was a mad house of hustling bodies and equipment. The few fighters and shuttles left on the flight line appeared to be either damaged or stripped for parts in a desperate attempt to get other fighters flightworthy. Most of the remaining fighters were surrounded by orange, blue, and red-suited technicians attempting to replace parts or reload empty gun magazines. A lone two-seater Octarian fighter-bomber sat fully loaded on the far left of the flight deck. Shoving the flight helmet he’d confiscated onto his head, Matthew headed in the direction of the Octarian ship.

  I’ll have to be fast, Matthew thought. If anyone recognizes me, they’ll report me to the bridge. There’s no way the admiral will let me leave, figurehead or not. Matthew picked up the pace while trying to blend in. Tia’s in trouble. I’ve got to help her. That’s all there is to it.

  As it turned out, getting to the fighter-bomber was the easy part. Everyone was so busy with their tasks that they paid no heed to a lone pilot. As soon as Matthew reached the twenty-meter-long ship, he made for the already lowered rear ramp and prayed no one was inside. The moment he boarded the spacecraft, he found out his prayers were for naught. A short pilot wearing an ill-fitting pressure suit and helmet sat behind the flight controls. The pilot spun around, holding a wicked looking phase pistol. The pilot’s face was barely visible behind the helmet’s visor, but Matthew could see the pilot’s frown change to a grin.

  “Matt, it’s you,” said the pilot. “You scared the living daylights out of me.”

  “Brachia? What are you doing here?”

  The young boy removed his helmet as his grin grew wider. “Apparently the same thing you are, trying to steal a ship.” He held up an electronic pad. “Only I’ve got written authorization from the admiral. I forged his signature myself.” Turning the pad so Matthew could see a scribble that looked amazingly like the admiral of the combined Conglomerate fleet’s writing, Brachia laughed. “Pretty good copy, don’t you think?”