Matthew worked his way around several crates of electronics and made for the copilot’s seat. “I need this ship, Brachia. You need to get off.”
“Fat chance,” said Brachia with a determined look on his young face. “I’m the one with the authorization, and I put a security code on it so that only I can get this ship through the flight deck’s force field. You’re welcome to come along if you want, otherwise get off and find your own ride.”
Matthew was tempted to pick up the young boy and forcibly remove him from the fighter-bomber. He didn’t. The reason was partly because he knew the boy might look like a nine or ten year old, but he had the mind of an adult genius. Yeah. That’s part of the reason, he thought. The other part is that he’s still holding a pistol, and it’s pointed at me.
Ignoring the weapon as best he could, Matthew said, “I’ve got to get to Tia. She needs my help. She’s in the asteroid belt near section three Bravo. I’m going there one way or the other.”
Brachia had lost his smile during the confrontation, but it returned just as suddenly. The boy lowered his pistol and placed it in a holster strapped to his right hip. “Then grab a seat. It just so happens I’m also heading to the asteroid belt in section three Bravo.”
Making a snap decision, Matthew sat in the copilot’s seat and buckled his shoulder harness. “Not that I’m complaining, but why are you going there?” He jerked a thumb over his shoulder. “And what’s all this equipment for? There’s a war zone out there. It’s not one of your scientific experiments.”
Brachia touched the icon on his armrest to raise the rear ramp. “When I used the memory transversal device on the imp, I got an image of a magic-based jammer ship. The imp didn’t know much about it, so I moved on to other things that seemed more important at the time. From what I can figure out, the demons have been helping the Crosioians again by hiding their ships. I think the Crosioians have also gotten some help from the magic dimension in the form of some advanced jammer ship. It’s a Dragar design. I think the jammer ship is using magic to control the Crosioians’ communication network, maybe even their whole section of the tele-network. The jammer also has some kind of special magic-based weapon on it that the imp knew about. The little demon wasn’t sure what the weapon did, but I got the impression the weapon was going to play a major part in this battle.”
Touching the controls, Brachia brought the fighter-bomber to a hover and began moving toward the nearest exit point in the flight deck’s force field.
“Interesting, but that doesn’t answer my question,” Matthew told the boy. “Why are you going to section three Bravo?”
Punching a security code into the pad on the armrest of the pilot’s seat, Brachia brought the fighter-bomber all the way up to the flight deck’s protective force field and flew it through the shimmering wall. As soon as they were clear of the flagship and in the empty space beyond, he looked over at Matthew.
Giving a conspiratorial wink, Brachia said, “I’m going to section three Bravo and take out the jammer.” He smiled. “Since you’re here, I’ll let you help Omar and me if you ask nice.” The young boy released his grip on the flight controls. “Uh, to be perfectly honest, it might be best if you flew. I read the manual before I commandeered this bomber, but I’ve never actually flown a starship outside of a simulator.”
Hastily grabbing the flight controls in front of the copilot seat, Matthew took charge of the fighter-bomber. He punched the coordinates for section three Bravo into the hyper-drive’s navigation computer. As he waited for the flight computer to crunch the numbers, he glanced over at Brachia. “I’ve got to ask. Why didn’t you just tell the admiral about the jammer ship? He could’ve sent a whole fleet to take it out.”
Brachia laughed. “Ha! You’ve obviously forgotten what it’s like to be ten years old. No one listens to a kid, even if they are a genius. If the jammer’s going to be taken out, we’ve got to do it.” The boy flashed a smile. “So? Are you in, or are you out?”
The red light on the hyper-drive panel turned green.
Matthew smiled. “I’m all in. So hold onto your seat, Captain. This ain’t no simulator, and Tia taught me everything I know about flying, so we’re not wasting any time.”
Punching the icon for the hyper-drive, Matthew shoved the throttle full forward. Every cell in his body tingled. Then everything went black.
* * *
The controlled chaos on the bridge of the Destiny blurred into the background as Liz studied the strategic map. The huge ship shuddered under what could only be a nuclear blast. She ignored it as best she could. Captain Bhami’s job is to keep this ship in one piece, she thought. Mine’s to fight this war.
Turning to the science officer, Liz said, “This can’t be right. There aren’t nearly enough dreadnaughts and heavy cruisers on the map. Are you sure you’ve got all the data on there?”
The science officer frowned, but his voice was steady when he answered. “Everything that’s been reported is on the map, Sir. I agree that the Crosioian fleets in contact so far are light on dreadnaughts, but that’s what’s being reported. Even Admiral Donovan is reporting fewer dreadnaughts attacking around Tardis than expected.”
Liz was tempted to breathe a sigh of relief that the pressure on her husband was lighter than expected, but she couldn’t. She looked at the science officer. “Those dreadnaughts are somewhere. Find them.”
“Aye, aye, Sir.”
Liz continued looking at the strategic map. The seventh and ninth fleets are holding their line, she thought. The attack there must be a feint. The only question is where will the main attack be? I can’t commit my strategic reserve until I know for sure. What I really need is more wizard scouts. I’m lacking intel.
In a rare sign of frustration, Liz slammed her fist on the arm of her command chair. Rick, where the hell are you when I need you?
Several heads turned in her direction.
She ignored them.
Chapter 51 – On the Other Side
____________________
The other side of the rift was not what Jeena had expected. Actually, she hadn’t known what to expect, but the tunnel where they found themselves was a mirror image of the one they’d just left. If she didn’t know better, she’d have thought they had somehow gotten turned around and were heading back in the direction from whence they’d come. She half expected to come upon the two sisters, Crush-Your-Skull and Eat-The-Flesh-Of-My-Enemy, crouched down as rear guards where Richard had deposited them in their fighting-suits.
As for her bondmate, Richard was ten paces ahead with Red Wing at his left side. They were both cautiously moving down the tunnel. The orange glow they’d seen coming through the rift was even brighter on this side. In fact, the orange glow coming from the tunnel ahead was growing increasingly brighter with each step. The smell of brimstone filled the air to the point of being nauseating.
With a wave of her hand, Jeena drew a small amount of Power from her reserve and converted it into magic with a two-word breathing spell. As a dim glow of magic covered her mouth and nostrils, Richard looked back and frowned.
He sensed my magic, Jeena thought. He is concerned I will give away our position. She didn’t blame him for being worried. The residual demon scent they’d sensed on the other side of the rift was nothing to what they were being bombarded with now. At any moment she expected to turn a corner of the tunnel and come face to face with another group of demons.
Apparently seeing the glow around her mouth and understanding what she’d done and why, her bondmate faced back to the front and resumed walking.
Jeena looked to her right where Charge-In-The-Face-Of-Great-Odds walked next to her. The bat’s phase spear was fully extended, but it wasn’t activated. Neither the scouts nor Richard had their weapons activated for fear of giving away their position.
Jeena glanced at the blue gem at the tip of the Staff of the Lady of the Tree. Too bad I cannot deactivate the staff until it is needed, she thought. All I can do is place a
stealth shield around it and hope for the best. So far we have avoided detection on this side of the rift, but how long that will last is anyone’s guess.
Two hundred paces ahead, Jeena spotted another bend in the tunnel. They walked a hundred paces without incident before things took a turn for the worse.
“Take them, fools!” shouted a deep voice that grated on every nerve in Jeena’s body. The words were more a thought than something heard with physical ears. The voice burned its way into her brain, pushing all other thoughts to the side. “Keep the master’s variable alive,” said the voice. “Kill the rest.”
A mob of nightmarish creatures came charging around the bend. Two-, four-, six-, eight-, and even ten-legged creatures of every color of the rainbow formed a deadly wall of claws, horns, and teeth. The demons, for that’s what Jeena knew they were, jostled against each other in their eagerness to destroy their prey. A monstrous beast with ten legs stood three times the size of a tall elf. It charged forward, knocking over several of its companions and crushing them beneath its clawed feet. The beast roared, sending out a sonic wave that knocked Richard and Red Wing to the tunnel floor.
Jeena threw up a protective shield across the tunnel a dozen steps to her bondmate’s front. The ten-legged beast hit the shield, bending it inward. Her protective shield held for three heartbeats until the mob of demons following the great beast added their weight against her magic. As her protective shield began to crack, Jeena drew more Power from her reserve. Instead of trying to strengthen the shield, she dropped it and used the shield’s magic to cast a mass levitation spell. Two score demons floated into the air and bumped into the ceiling. Only the ten-legged monstrosity remained on the floor with its hand-length claws digging into the solid stone.
One of the floating demons braced itself against the ceiling and cast a spell.
Jeena’s levitation spell dissipated as its energy went back to where it had come.
The demons fell to the floor and scrambled to regain their feet.
Phase and plasma rounds from Charge-In-The-Face-Of-Great-Odds and the four scouts behind her flew at the demons as fast as the bats could pull their weapons’ triggers. Two of the demons screamed and melted into a grayish sludge. As the sludge pooled on the tunnel floor, Jeena caught a glint of purple and red. The ring on her left hand tingled.
“Those are gems,” said Danny. “They’re small, but they are definitely gems. I sense Power coming from them. I calculate they are the trapped souls of the demons. Hmm. Interesting. I would not have expected that.”
Interesting or not, Jeena had no time to reply. More demons were coming around the corner, adding their weight to the fray. Logic told her that their recon team had only seconds to live before they would be overwhelmed by the wave of attacking demons. Richard and Red Wing regained their feet and began swinging wildly at the ten-legged demon’s head and chest with their phase rod and spear. Other demons leaped past the larger demon and attempted to come at Red Wing and her bondmate from behind. Jeena raised her staff and sent out a blast of pure magic, not even bothering to cast a spell. It was a dangerous gamble, but the blast caught four demons in the back and turned them into a gray sludge. Four small glints of light fell to the tunnel floor, mixed in with the sludge.
As Jeena ran forward with the intent of gaining her bondmate’s side, a long tentacle reached out from the wall and wrapped around her. At the tentacle’s touch, her skin began to blacken and blister. She screamed. A wave of healing Power came down the link from her bondmate. The burnt skin beneath the tentacle returned to normal, but the sensation of burning continued. Jeena pulled the dagger from her belt and stabbed its blade deep into the tentacle. The dagger was ancient and had once been the property of her great grandmother many times over, High Priestess Shandristiathoraxen. Jeena sensed ancient magic leave the dagger’s blade and transfer into the tentacle.
A roar of pain echoed through the tunnel as the tentacle disintegrated into nothing.
Falling to the tunnel floor, Jeena hit the stone hard on her hands and knees. Ignoring the pain in her legs, she jumped to her feet. Demons were everywhere as more came running down the tunnel. Jeena spotted Richard standing in knee deep gray sludge. The ten-legged beast was nowhere to be seen, but with scores of other demons in the fray, the loss of the ten-legged beast mattered little in her opinion. Another one of the tentacles reached out from the tunnel wall and wrapped around Spear-From-Below. The tentacle raised the small bat into the air and slammed the scout hard into the tunnel floor. Even from ten paces, Jeena heard the crack of the bat’s fighting-helmet as it split apart. Blood and brain matter sprayed into the air. Jeena sensed Power wrap around the scout’s injuries as her self-heal worked desperately to restore her body to baseline. It was a losing battle. The tentacle continued to beat the bloody form of the bat against the tunnel floor, causing more damage than the small scout’s Power could heal.
A blur of blonde fur charged past Jeena as First-Out-Of-The-Nest ran to the aid of her fellow scout. The blonde bat shifted into the void and entered the tunnel wall. Jeena sensed First-Out-Of-The-Nest stab her phase spear into the heart of a massive demon inside the wall. The demon roared in pain as it died on the point of the scout’s spear. Jeena sensed the demon’s soul condense into a gem the size of the tip of her finger.
“We are in the demonic plane,” said Danny in her mind. “The demons can die here. I calculate their souls turn into those gems when they die. If we make it out of here alive, maybe that knowledge will prove useful in the future.”
Jeena doubted any of them were going to make it out alive. She caught a flash of green out the corner of her eye. Dodging back, she barely avoided the tip of a phase spear as a Crosioian scout thrust her weapon forward in an attempt to skewer her on the spear’s point.
“That is not one of the scouts on our recon team,” said Danny. “I calculate it must be one of the scouts from the Blood Claw tribe that was involved in the coup against the supreme leader.”
Jeena was too busy trying to stay alive to reply. The enemy scout thrust out her spear again as the bat simultaneously fired a phase pistol at her head. Twisting to the side, Jeena avoided both the phase round and the spear point. Still holding High Priestess Shandristiathoraxen’s dagger in her hand, she thrust it forward and caught the scout in the arm. The dagger’s blade penetrated the scout’s armor and dug into flesh. The scout hissed a high-pitched scream as the blade’s magic flowed through one end of the Crosioian’s body to the other. Jeena sensed Power from the bat’s reserve healing the damage as fast as the magic could create it. Sensing the dagger’s magic running low, Jeena pulled Power from her reserve and added it to that of the blade’s. In less than two heartbeats, the attacking scout’s reserve ran dry. Before the bat could hiss a final scream, the dagger’s magic turned the bat’s flesh into liquid fire inside her fighting-suit. Then the scout was no more.
Running low on Power, Jeena sent a feeling of concern to her bondmate. He sent half his Power to her. As soon as it mixed with hers, more Power was created. Jeena sent half of the created Power back to her bondmate. It was more Power than he’d sent.
“You are a traitor, Spear-Through-Your-Heart,” hissed a voice to Jeena’s right.
Jeena turned to see Charge-In-The-Face-Of-Great-Odds fighting a slightly smaller scout. Jeena sensed the smaller bat was younger and stronger than Charge-In-The-Face-Of-Great-Odds, but the old bat was not put off. Red Wing’s grandmother thrust her phase spear forward as she fired a steady stream of plasma rounds from a pistol in her left hand. The younger bat dodged both phase spear and plasma rounds as she swept her wing forward. The tip of the wing caught Charge-In-The-Face-Of-Great-Odds in the side and penetrated her fighting-suit. The old bat dropped her pistol but somehow kept a grip on her phase spear as she fell to the floor.
“Grandmother! No!” Red Wing cried in fear as she came charging forward, sending out a blast of pure Power.
A demon to Red Wing’s front turned into a soupy mess as
it took the brunt of the Power.
The smaller scout standing over Charge-In-The-Face-Of-Great-Odds hissed a laugh as she raised her phase spear for a killing blow. Before the spear could come down, a blur of black fur, blazing red eyes, and a fang-filled mouth came out of the floor and latched onto the attacking bat’s throat.
“Sheeta,” said Danny.
The male dolgar shook his head from side to side, tearing out the bat’s throat.
Jeena sensed Power trying to heal the scout’s wound, but she sensed the big dolgar sucking life force out of the scout faster than it could heal. The bat’s reserve soon emptied. Sheeta gave the bat a shake so violent the scout’s head and fighting-helmet flew in one direction as its body and suit went in another.
Other black shapes came out of the floor and walls as more dolgars added their weight to the fray. An earsplitting buzzing sound filled the tunnel as fist-sized red balls of phase energy swept the tunnel, blasting into demons and throwing them right and left. Glancing to her left, Jeena saw Richard holding a large-bore auto-cannon in his hands with a belt of ammunition extending from the weapon, over his shoulder, and into his open dimensional pack. A second set of buzzing was added to the bedlam as Red Wing pulled a similar weapon out of her dimensional pouch and began spraying the mass of demons with phase energy.
The demons fell back before the fourteen attacking dolgars and combined firepower from the two auto-cannons. Hope filled Jeena. She pulled Power from her reserve and shouted the words for a chained-lighting spell. The ball of magic flew into a mass of demons farther down the tunnel that appeared to be massing for a counterattack. The spell exploded in their midst as a ball of lightning began jumping from one demon to the next. A dozen demons turned to sludge as multicolored gems the size of an elf’s fingernail fell to the stone floor.
Wizard Defender (Intergalactic Wizard Scout Chronicles Book 8) Page 42
