Universe of the Soul

by Jennifer Mandelas

  Giselle's delicate eyebrows furrowed into a frown. Her short hair swung at her chin. “I was not sloppy. She sleeps like an undarian.”

  “And you're sore about that officer who threw your grenade back at you,” her sister teased.

  “That was truly some amazing reflexes,” Giselle replied, almost approvingly.

  Hildana's communicator crackled to life. [Control to Kobane. The Advance Force has passed the fourth checkpoint. Waiting on your orders.]

  [This is Kobane. Prepare for the pincer movement. Standby for my arrival with Sergeant Kobane. Out.]

  ***

  [We have a visual of the barricade,] Gray reported from the head of the squad. They had ceased to run, as the enemy had fallen a good distance behind them. He peered around the corner fast enough to ascertain how heavily the barricade was being guarded. [I've spotted five to ten troops behind the barricade. A handful of sensor bombs have been planted on the floor.]

  [Affirmative, Grayson. Clear the hallway to prepare for an assault. The Belligerents have fallen behind for a reason; I think they're expecting a big explosion.] There was a pause as Adri directed the soldiers beside her to keep up the cover fire as blaster beams shot out around them from snipers around the corners. [I'm expecting good results. Rael out.]

  Gray flexed his fingers to keep them limber as he took a moment to assess the situation. When a solution presented itself, he smiled grimly. [All troops, increase your personal shielding! On guard for shrapnel!]

  With that warning, Gray pressed the release on one of his rationed grenades, set the timer, and with a silent prayer to any deity that was listening, raced around the corridor into the main hall and hurled the grenade for all he was worth. Falling with the momentum, he rolled through the corridor intersection and into the hallway across from the one his squad huddled in. The grenade flew over the sensor bombs, setting them off. A tearing explosion rent the corridors, expelling waves of superheated gas and shrapnel in all directions. Gray's grenade, propelled by the explosion, hurled farther than Gray could have thrown it, landing right behind the barricade. There was a brief, barely heard shout before a smaller detonation rent a large hole in the middle of the barricade.

  [That was effective, Lieutenant,] Adri said dryly over the officer's link.

  Gray's ears were still ringing from the sound, despite his helmet which protected him from most overbearing audio. [Thank you, ma'am.]

  [Any injuries?]

  [No, but I would be happy to refrain from any more tumbling for the rest of the evening, if at all possible.]

  Adri laughed softly. [We'll see what we can do. How does the hall look now?]

  Gray peered around what was left of the corner and into the corridor. [The bombs took out most of the hall, its black and smoking now. There's too much smoke to scan the barricade adequately.]

  [Roger that.] Adri switched to the open communication channel. [Black squad, advance with caution. Visual is low, and heat sensing is unadvisable. We don't want any more surprises, so keep alert. Rael out.]

  Gray moved back out into the hall to take the lead once again, picking his way carefully over the scorched walkway as steam and smoke swirled around him. He listened carefully as he moved, wary of another trap. Behind him, one of the soldiers commented that the enemy that had been chasing them was once again advancing within firing range. Despite the rising need to rush, Gray took his time. It was a relief to arrive at the barricade and find that those who had survived had already fled the structure. [Grayson to Rael. It looks like nobody's home.]

  [Then get out, we need to evacuate as quickly as possible before our pursuers catch up.] Adri replied. Gray could hear the muffled sound of her ATF going off as she spoke. [I'll stay back and try to give you time.]

  [Understood. Grayson out.]

  The door was coded, and looked to be been sealed in case the code was overridden. Gray ordered one of his men to begin the task of prying the door open while he tore off the protective plate to the passcode box and began finagling with the wires. He wondered idly why people bothered with such measures as electronically locking a door when they knew the opposing side was always so good at unlocking it just as quickly.

  [Sir,] one of his soldiers announced suddenly, [there are sounds of approaching troops!]

  Gray continued to carefully rewire the passcode. [The rest of the squad?]

  [There is no visibility at this time, sir!] The soldier replied.

  [Keep alert.] He continued to recode calmly as the sound of blaster and ATF fire echoed loudly in the corridor. With a small grunt of satisfaction, the passcode light blinked unlocked. Seconds later, the soldier prying open the door managed to heave the mangled barrier open several inches. [Get that thing open!] Gray commanded, still calm although a stray beam of blaster fire whizzed past his head with alarming proximity.

  Another soldier pushed forward to assist his comrade. Between the two of them, they managed to shove the door open wide enough to accommodate one man at a time, if he squeezed through sideways.

  [Lieutenant Grayson, the L.C. is approaching with the rest of the squad at a rapid pace!] The lookout announced. [It looks like the Belligerents are hot on their tail!]

  [Grayson, how's that door?] Adri demanded at almost the same time.

  [Open, I'm evacuating the troops now.] Gray replied, giving the order to the troops surrounding him.

  Adri eyed the corridor behind her as she made a controlled retreat at the rear of her squad. The smoke from the damage was dissipating slowly, leaving the passage hazy at best. The approaching enemy proceeded carefully, not making any rushes against their position. In Adri's estimation, that made them either understandably cautious (Grayson's grenade skills had surprised even her), or intimidated. The whole operation certainly didn't hint at intimidated, so they were dealing with a well-organized enemy that didn't have a death wish. Pity.

  She followed her troops as they proceeded to squeeze through the doorway. When there were only two men left, it happened. Her adrenaline, already racing, picked up as something in her head started screaming in warning. [Get down! Get down!]

  The sudden onslaught of blaster fire from all directions was deafening as both Adri and Gray dove down against the remnants of the barricade. One of the soldiers managed to dive sideways through the door, but the other was not so lucky. The body blocked the doorway and the blaster fire hindered any other movement.

  They were pinned.

  ***

  Hildana raised the blast shield on her helmet and smiled fiercely. “Got them cornered.”

  “Big sister, do you desire to speak with them, or shall we proceed with the operation?” Giselle asked.

  “Oh, I think we can allow ourselves to gloat a little bit.” Hildana signaled to her troops to cease fire before opening the main communication signal that would be picked up by the two Commonwealth troops pinned behind the barricade. [This is Lieutenant Commander Hildana Kobane of the Coalition of Planets’ Advance Force! Surrender now and you will be dealt with leniency. Resist and we will be forced to remove all opposing body parts. Is that understood, Lieutenant Commander Rael?]

  Lying in an incredibly awkward position against the barricade ruins, Adri clenched her teeth in barely restrained fury. [It appears my reputation has preceded me,] she replied flatly.

  [Oh, indeed it has. Your exploits both in the void and on the ground are legend among the Coalition.] Adri could hear the smirk in Kobane's voice. [You would not believe what an honor this is for me to actually speak to you this way. And in such an…interesting position, too.]

  Beside her, Gray nudged her leg and tilted the point of his ATF in the direction of the right side hallway that joined the main corridor at the door. Adri shook her head, nodding in the direction they had just come from, circling her finger to hint that the enemy had them completely surrounded. [Sorry that I can't say the same. I'm afraid I'm in a rather irritable mood at the moment, having had my sleep disturbed by one of your little cohorts,]

 
[I'm very sorry, for both our sakes, that she disturbed you, Rael.] Hildana replied. [If she had had the courtesy to be a little bit quieter, we would have been having this conversation last night instead of right now.]

  [If she had been a little bit slower, we wouldn't need to be having this conversation at all, now would we?]

  [Now, that wasn't nice.] The amusement had dropped from Kobane's voice. [I'm sure that was a very unpleasant thing to say to me, given the circumstances Lieutenant Commander Rael.]

  Adri nodded to Gray and pointed to the ceiling. Many of the wide plates were sagging due to the explosions. [If you had wanted me to be civil, Kobane, you should have left me and my men alone.]

  [Well, if you put it that way. Parlovi, move the troops in and collect our prisoners!]

  Adri listened as the Belligerent troops began to move forward, a little too recklessly in their assertion that they had her and Grayson pinned. The sound echoed off of the scorched ground, sending her an eerily accurate picture of their location. [Gray, now!]

  In tandem, both Adri and Gray aimed their ATF rifles to the ceiling and began firing. The stressed materials shrieked as they lost their precarious moorings to the ceiling beams and fell, taking down the rest of the ceiling with them. As the roof above their heads began to whirl through the air, both Advance Force troops rolled to the right, firing at the enemy soldiers that had stopped in confusion as the ceiling above them cracked and fell, raising a black dust of ash and debris that was nearly impossible to see through. Blasting down all those in their path, both Adri and Gray dashed down the corridor.

  [That was a close call, Adri,] Gray gasped as the raced around another corner towards the exit used by the other half of the squad.

  Dang it, did he just call her Adri again? [You know, I'm pretty sure I told you not to call me that, Lieutenant.]

  [Why not? You called me Gray just now.]

  [I did not.]

  [I beg to differ.]

  [Can you differ later? Enemy troops behind us. You take the rear.]

  [Yes ma'am.]

  As Gray began firing at the approaching enemies, Adri faced the front. They were almost there, just another turn…

  Dead ahead, blocking the exit, stood an enemy soldier. She was a tall woman, with long dark hair hanging down past her shoulder and no helmet, dressed in the fatigues of the Belligerent Coalition. Her face showed a bright smirk.

  “Caught you.” Hildana said.

  Adri saw the beam of the blaster fire as if everything were in slow motion. There was no way to avoid it. If she moved a little to either side, it would hit Grayson as he defended the rear. But they couldn't end here. They wouldn't. In that instant before impact, Adri felt something shift inside of her, as though some other entity was stretching, wishing to break free. The corridor shifted and changed somehow, as though the colors had all faded, leaving only the blaster beam in clear focus. Her mind started screaming block it! Block it!

  Gray turned just in time to see the beam streak across the corridor straight at Adri. Yet, just when it should have hit, the beam flashed as though hitting a shield and vanished. Gray blinked in stupefaction, but Adri was still moving, not having lost any momentum, and was now firing on Kobane, forcing the enemy to retreat. Gray followed, keeping up a steady fire as Adri worked with the passcode on the door. [Reinforcements are coming,] he warned.

  [Got it.] Adri shoved at the door, prying it open several inches. [You first.]

  Gray squeezed through the narrow opening while Adri provided cover fire.

  Down the corridor, Adri could see that the reinforcements were armed with much larger weapons than handheld blasters. She dove through the door just as the enemy fired a lightweight blaster cannon at the door.

  [Oduran to Rael. We have your cover. Please proceed to point oh-six.]

  [This is Rael. Nice job guys. Let's get out of here. It's an Army problem now.]

  Climbing into the transporter, Gray let out a long sigh and removed his helmet. The rain drizzling on his head was a refreshing relief. “I must say, moving to your division has certainly put a lot more action into my life, Adri.”

  Removing her own helmet, Adri raised an eyebrow. “I'm sure I said numerous times that you couldn't call me that. And we are still in a danger zone, Lieutenant.”

  Gray smiled winningly. “Well, we won't always be fighting, now will we? You're going to have to have a better argument than that soon. I'm a persistent kind of guy.”

  Adri leaned back and closed her eyes. “So I've noticed.”

  ***

  “Did you see that?” Hildana asked softly as she watched her troops reorganize for the retreat. “I shot her, and the beam disappeared, like she reflected it somehow,”

  “Now you know how I feel, big sister.” Giselle replied.

  Hildana was not amused. “That was not simple reflexes, little sister. She completely deflected it, head on. There's no way her personal shielding is that good. Was it some trick she's got?”

  “Hildana?”

  Hildana continued frown. “What is she?”

  My Dear Riordan,

  Things on this mission have more or less gone according to plan. My sister seems hopeful that while our priority mission goes smoothly, with average casualties, we will have a chance to achieve our secondary mission while Lieutenant Commander Rael is still on planet. But if not, there will be other opportunities. Enough about work, now, how are you?

  I was finally able to kick the cold I had gained from this endless rain. I'm afraid it made me a little punchy for a while, and I foolishly tried to ignore it and went on a mission that almost ended in a total disaster. But how is your health? I almost envy you, getting to stay indoors so much, but I'm afraid I would find it stifling after a while, don't you? I'm sorry all I seem to talk about is fighting, but that is all I know, having been raised in an army camp. I wish I was with you now, and you could tell me some wild story of when you were a boy on your farm. The pictures I see in my mind are so beautiful.

  My sister believes we will be returning in another forty-eight hours for a rest before heading back to the ship. I know many of us are looking forward to the respite, once our comrades from Edia come in to relieve us. I look forward to seeing you there.

  I send my thoughts and love ahead of me. May all that is holy protect you until my return.

  With all that is in me,

  your beloved,

  Giselle

  Chapter Seven

  “Did you feel the change? It was like a ripple through the air, a stirring of something…more.”

  Freya looked up from the view of the wide valley, the wind blowing her long golden hair across her dainty face. For a moment the only sound was the air rushing through the tall grass, ruffling her long white dress. “Yes, I felt it. Like something brushing up against my heart.” She smoothed her hair away from her face absently, revealing eyes the shade of fresh lilacs. “Did you have a vision, Ayane?”

  The young girl sat down beside Freya, smoothing the long skirts of her own white dress against her legs. Like Freya, whose twenty years sat beautifully on her, and whose build was small and delicate, Ayane at sixteen held great physical promise. Silver eyes peeked out of an oval face framed by long brown hair that danced playfully in the breeze. “That is what I wished to speak to you about, sorja. There is something strange going on. I don't understand it. It is like a dark cloud around the convent.”

  “Yes, I know what you mean.” Freya turned around to gaze back at the large structure that sat on top of the green hill. “A lot of us have been sensing something abnormal. But no one I've spoken to knows what it is.”

  There was another long silence as both women watched a bird soar off in the distance. “Freya, I'm not remembering my visions.”

  The older woman turned to gaze fully at her companion. “What do you mean, Ayane? Your strength as a Talented rests in your ability to see visions. Have you stopped having them?”

  Ayane stretched her slender arms and traced the s
crolling sapphire markings on her left hand with her fingertips. “No, I can recall the residue of a vision, like the tail end of a bad dream. All I can recall is fire and fear, but nothing else. I know there is more than that, but I cannot see it. Even my sessions with ada Sergei haven't been successful. I spend hours with him in meditation, but in the end, I cannot recall even being there, much less any visions I may have had.”

  “I thought you said that being with ada Sergei was uncomfortable for you. Why do you keep going?” Freya asked.

  The young Talented shook her head. “He insists, and really, how can I refuse him? He is head of the convent.”

  “That is no reason to capitulate if he makes you uncomfortable.” Freya insisted.

  Ayane smiled shyly. “I wish I had your confidence, sorja. It probably comes from living with a family for so long before coming here.”

  Freya smiled and stroked the younger girl's head. “Perhaps. My brother could be so bossy sometimes, I had to assert my independence!”

  Some of the worry eased out of Ayane's face. “Do you still keep in contact with him?”

  “I try, but he is a very busy man.” Freya turned to look back out over the valley. “Actually, I'm a little worried about him right now.”

  “Why?”

  “I'm not sure, I suppose it's just a feeling I have. You know me and my premonitions.”

  ***

  “That seems a very primitive means of repair,”

  Zultan continued to stare through the glass partition at Floyd. The human was lying back on one of the lab's infirmary beds, an old fashioned IV stuck into his arm as he slept uneasily. “The infirmary was out of the appropriate medication in a simpler form, and they had some of the archaic IV packs as emergency backup. That information should be stored in your database, Cassie.”

  The small, female formatted humacom frowned back up at him from her lesser height. At first glance, one could easily mistake her for a teenager. Her short crop of dark hair accentuated a face that spoke of attitude. The gray uniform that both humacoms wore looked out of character on her, although the pair of ATF pistols did not. “Of course it is. I was only making an observation. I'm functioning just fine, thank you.”