“What did you do?” Mencari yelled.
Anrik’s face shriveled as if smelling something unpleasant. “Making sure his mind games are kept out of play. I’ve been ordered to bring you before our leaders.”
“What does the Coalition want with me?”
“Who said they were in charge?”
A memory caught fire in his mind. In the final battle against the Nukari, their agents had infiltrated the ranks of the Coalition. He assumed they destroyed the infestation when their stolen ship exploded. But, if others stayed embedded and didn’t flee in the ship, the entire Coalition could still be compromised. Things were finally adding up. How else would they have found Anaka? And why else would Anaka’s mind have been touched, somehow involving Kajlit’ga? Had his entire family become pawns of the Nukari?
Anrik waved forward and said, “Let’s not keep them waiting.”
“I’m not going anywhere—”
“Without Anaka? Don’t worry, she’s coming with us. And you’ll do what I tell you or Anaka will be the first to suffer. Then your friends. Should I let this sink in a little? You’re looking dumbfounded.”
His mind raced. What could he do?
“Remember, without Katen, you can’t stop us all before we get to them.” He motioned back to Anaka, Allia, and the unconscious Katen. “Don’t you wish you had super speed, or some other, more useful ability? It would be a shame to lose Anaka again, after just getting her back.”
A smug expression crossed Anrik’s face. Who was the man before him? Anrik was nothing like he remembered.
“You’ll never get away with this,” Mencari snarled.
A gleam of superiority flashed in Anrik’s eyes. “Keep telling yourself that, Rhysus.” He turned to his fellow warriors. “Bring them all along, including Anaka. One wrong move from Mencari—kill them all.”
Mencari’s jaw clenched. There had to be a way out of this. But how to make a move without endangering Anaka and the others?
A cluster of Anrik’s forces walked ahead of them, clearing the way through busy corridors. Mencari looked back at the troop that followed. They carried Katen’s unconscious form, pushed Anaka on a gurney, and shoved Allia along, weapons held at her back. Anrik’s forces seemed larger than he remembered. Perhaps they used more of his own DNA to create more enhanced Humans?
His frustration grew. None of this made sense. How could Anrik do this after all they’d been through together? He’d even saved Anrik’s life more than once! The fire of betrayal ignited within him.
He felt a hand smack his back, followed by “Keep moving.”
Desperation mixed with anger before devolving into a sick and familiar feeling. He’d felt it back on Naldes, when it looked like he and his team weren’t going to make it out. Memories looped in his mind. Naldes. The power eruption. His new ability … But it happened by accident—unintended. Could he summon the ability at will? If he could, Anrik’s forces would provide more than enough power for him to protect those he loved—and make Anrik pay for his treachery.
“Here,” Anrik said. They stopped before a large and ornate door, marked with the compass star, the same one as on Anrik’s uniform. Musclebound men in the same uniform stood guard. “They’re expecting you,” one said to Anrik.
He didn’t care who was on the other side of the door. When the moment was right, he’d attack with everything he had, and it didn’t matter who got in the way. He looked back to Anaka and saw her dazed expression. Hopefully she wouldn’t remember any of this. More trauma was the last thing she needed. He forced his gaze forward, stoic, masking his growing rage.
The doors opened, revealing a large chamber. A wall of glowing glass partitioned the space about a third of the way into the room. Beyond it, a host of silver-skinned beings, wearing ornate robes of white and gold marked with the star emblem, gawked.
He felt a shove on his back, which knocked him into the room. The oldest among the robed aliens approached the glass, face twisted in a dark mania. Golden wing-like ornamentations jutted up from his ears. His red, beady eyes skittered back and forth, inspecting Mencari. Cocking his head like a curious lizard, he grinned manically. “The mighty Mencari. My, have you caused us some trouble.”
He motioned with his head toward Anrik and snickered. “How ironic that one of your own would devise your downfall. Well done, Anrik.”
The traitor bowed in appreciation. Disgust filled Mencari. The Nukari scum was right. It did take one of his own to plot this out.
“Oh but don’t worry, this isn’t the end. No, it’s rather just the beginning I’m afraid. You see, you have a great deal of information that is of use to us. That, and your abilities. Did you think K’pec was the only place we conducted research? You’ll make a fine source of material to study.”
Was that supposed to scare him? It didn’t. Quite the opposite. A seething, vitriolic rage engulfed him. Clearly the coward thought he’d be safe behind the glowing glass, whatever it was. How typical of the Nukari, smug in their superiority, never daring to face their foes with honor, co-opting others to do their bidding!
They even trained Anrik to use Anaka for bait in their trap! Did Anrik have no soul? Surely he knew the torture she endured as a Nukari prisoner. Yet, he still did this. He looked back to Anaka again. In her gaze was an empty hollowness that made his heart lurch. That beautiful spark of life in her eyes, one of the many things he loved most about her, extinguished.
They did this to her. One more thing to add to the heaping list of atrocities the Nukari inflicted. And the best part, to add to everything else, they not only took his son but made him into a beast warrior—one of their commanders!
His hands quivered as pure hatred blighted his heart. Perhaps he should thank Anrik? In bringing him before the Nukari leadership, his enemy was now delivered directly into his hands. A twisted darkness erupted inside, wanting to tear through his skin and strike. Like a lava flow racing to the surface, there was no stopping it. His body flushed hot, and the air around him distorted. Gone was his peaceful golden aura, replaced by a hellish bloody glow.
“Don’t do anything stupid, Rhysus,” Anrik said, watching his expression change. “Anaka would get hurt.”
Oh, she won’t get hurt. He felt the words blast from his mind telepathically. The look on Anrik’s face showed he got the message.
An explosion of power coursed through him. The reddish aura flicked off his body like flares from the sun. Raw instinct commandeered his senses. In a flash, Anaka and his allies were blanketed with radiant red energy. The foes holding them were launched into the air, repulsed by the protective fields.
Pain ripped through him, as if a bomb had exploded inside his body. He saw a wave of energy blast outward from him, washing over the protective red auras around his allies. Flashes of silver auras sparked from Anrik and his teammates, who attempted to defend against the blast. Some didn’t make it, vaporizing as the blast passed through them.
The glowing glass absorbed an instant of power before fracturing then shattering into glittering shrapnel. Those beyond were tossed like rag dolls, riddled with glass shards, then vaporized as the blast met them. Those Nukari never had a chance.
No one would hurt Anaka again, and he wouldn’t forgive those who collaborated with the Nukari. He looked across the glowing silver radiances. Despite the blow he landed, Anrik’s forces still outnumbered his. He needed to act now, while they were weakened. They also needed to be taught a lesson they would never forget.
His eyesight blurred and a sense of protraction from his own body dazed him. With cosmic sight, he looked down upon the burning space. Milky-white shells outlined the living. The ones with silvery glows drew his attention. It was all happening again, just as on Naldes. He could feel their life-forces, and D’mok energies.
He saw Katen stir on the floor. A flurry of golden light swirled within him. He seemed to be all right.
“Stand down!” Anrik yelled.
Bloodlust coursed through his veins as
he retorted, “I’m going to enjoy this.”
With spectral tendrils of energy he reached out and gripped Anrik, then continued around others of Anrik’s team. Their protective silver auras shattered as his tendrils squeezed them like a python would. With twisted glee he began to rip power from his new foes. As their energies flowed into him, a sense of invincibility and irrefutable dominance danced within him. Like a sadistic child taking pleasure from breaking his toys, he watched their ravaged bodies thrash. Their screams enthralled him.
RHYSUS! Katen’s shriek echoed in his mind.
* * * * * *
RHYSUS! Katen shrieked, pushing into his leader’s mind.
Things were happening too fast. This wasn’t what they planned. He needed to reach Mencari’s mind, but he was resisting. It felt like standing in the winds of a hurricane. He needed help if he was going to punch through.
“Fia’ra, Fio’tro, I need you!”
A barrier formed in front of him, splitting the oncoming winds. Flanking on either side, the pair appeared. Locking hands, the three flew forward into a blighted portal.
A dark mindscape met them. Nothing but blackness spanned endlessly in every direction. Floating above them, donned in a suit of light, a radiant Mencari looked down, enraged. “Once a traitor, always a traitor!”
“No,” Katen started.
“You don’t have all the information,” Fia’ra said.
“Let us show you,” Fio’tro added.
Katen stood and didn’t move. If he moved before Mencari sanctioned it, the action would be seen as an attack. Right now, they all needed to be perfectly still.
“Show me? You mean distract me so you have time to attempt something more.”
“Rhysus, you know us. We are on your side,” Fia’ra implored. “Everything isn’t always as it seems. Think of Anaka and your son.”
“Restrain us while we show you, if you must,” Fio’tro said.
A crimson light encapsulated the three. The sheer rage inside Mencari’s mind was stunning and spectacular. Who knew Mencari had this in him? Despite the danger, the twisted world of the Mencaris fascinated Katen.
“Show me. But test me, and I will end you.”
“Before Anrik struck me, I entered his mind,” Katen transmitted. An engram appeared of Katen, Fio’tro, and Fia’ra talking to Anrik. “‘I knew you’d attempt this,’” Anrik had said.”
“Then you know you don’t have a chance against us,” Fio’tro taunted.
Anrik pleaded, “I need Mencari, using him is the only way.”
“For what?” Fia’ra asked.
“The Nukari have compromised the Coalition. They’re running the whole thing, and they want Mencari.”
“With your abilities, you shouldn’t have a problem taking care of them,” Fia’ra said.
“They have our families, and are using them to keep control of us. That, and some of us have control collars on. One wrong move and they’ll blow them. They also appear to have some defenses against our abilities.”
“What’s Mencari supposed to do about it?” Fio’tro said.
“The Nukari don’t fully understand what we can do—much less Mencari,” Anrik explained. “We need his power. He can get close to them and then take them down. Believe me, we’ll back him up.”
“What about Anaka?” Fia’ra asked.
“I’ll keep her safe, I promise.”
Katen pushed away the images, letting them fade into a soft, billowing cloud.
Mencari looked down, conflicted.
Fia’ra implored, “Anrik let us search his mind, verifying this plan. He did use you, but not in the way you thought.”
“Then why did you let him strike you?” Mencari said.
“If I were conscious you would have asked me to mentally attack everyone. Your surrender needed to look genuine—as well as your hatred.”
“I can’t allow you to trick me. I won’t fail to protect the ones I love again.”
“At any time Katen could have disabled every one of you—even you now,” Fia’ra said. “But he didn’t, and he’s not. We can save them, Rhysus, all of them. Together.”
“We will make the Nukari suffer,” Katen said with a sneer of confidence.
Behind Mencari, the darkness filled with twinkling stars, and the red binding energy evaporated around them. He descended toward them, still donned in the armor of light, and said, “What do we do about their families and the control collars now?”
Fio’tro stepped forward. “Minea can create a signal-dampening field. It should prevent the collars from going off.”
Fia’ra added, “Anrik mentioned in his mindwalk they have forces waiting for the command to save their family members.”
“The Nukari are the ones to be dealt with, not Anrik and his team,” Katen said.
The armor around Mencari flashed and disappeared, revealing his black-and-tan New Eden uniform. “I … I didn’t know,” he said, stunned.
“That’s why we’re here,” Fia’ra said.
“Together,” Katen said.
Mencari nodded as the mindwalk collapsed.
Katen looked at Mencari with his own eyes; the deep golden color replaced the hellish hue. The spectral tendrils vanished. Anrik and his team crashed to the ground.
Mencari called out, “Minea, I need a signal-dampening field around everyone now!”
“You got it!”
* * * * * *
“You’re going to be okay,” Mencari said, gently stroking Anaka’s hair as she rested on a makeshift bed. Soon they would leave the Coalition station. There were just a few loose ends to help Anrik tie up. A nurse had offered to take Anaka back to the medical ward, but he didn’t want her out of his sight. Instead, the nurse set up a makeshift bed in the corner of the room and dimmed the lights in that area. Would all the commotion shake Anaka further?
Looking across the room, people scurried about checking displays, coordinating efforts, starting repairs. Allia and Ichini, and Katen and Decreta, were filling in where they could. Minea floated beside Anrik, who held a handful of the control collars taken from their necks.
He noticed Katen gaze his way. His ally’s voice echoed in his mind. I’ll work with her, but it will take time. She’ll need a place without all the distractions and alarms.
Maybe he needed to take her to Argosy first, have Cogeni check her out? Though medically, the nurse already went over how Anaka was physically. She needed tending, but her body was stable. Her mind was the biggest concern. Answering Katen, he thought in return, Our asteroid base doesn’t have much activity these days. I should bring her there.
A wise choice.
It still felt odd for him to speak with another via telepathy. He couldn’t do it with others yet, certainly not like Katen or Cerna could, or how Speru did with Naijen. It didn’t seem to work easily. In fact, it seemed more likely Katen was simply reading his thoughts more so that his own mastery of broadcasting his thoughts to Katen.
Minea floated beside Anrik as he approached. He reached out a handful of the control collars taken off the necks of his team. “Nothing went like I thought it would, Rhysus. I’m sorry—for everything. I didn’t want her to suffer more.”
“You did what you had to. But I nearly ended the lot of you.”
“You came close.”
In the awkward silence that followed, Minea spoke up, her voice heavy and timid. “Ano … I don’t want to bother you, but did you want an update?”
Mencari found his hand still stroking Anaka’s hair. Now that he was here with her, the drama and urgency of his duties seemed so unimportant. He could just stay with Anaka, maybe doing nothing else but stroking her hair, not moving until she was better. He imagined what it would be like: no duties, no crisis, no drama. Just time with his wife. The fleeting moment of happiness faded as his son came to mind. Rhyiel—Jask—was still out there. His job wouldn’t be finished until his entire family was back together.
“Ano … Rhysus?” Minea said, timider
than before. In fact, her tone reminded him of Toriko when they first met.
“Yes, go ahead,” he said, pulling his hand away from Anaka and forcing his focus to Minea and Anrik.
“The Nukari leadership within the Coalition has been removed. Many Nukari died in your attack, a few fled in ships. Coalition destroyers are tracking them with instructions to take prisoners or eliminate them. Surviving members of Anrik’s team have had the control collars removed. It took some hacking to get them to release without triggering them, but I worked it out.”
“Good job, Minea. Toriko will be proud.”
“Repairs are underway on the station,” Anrik added.
“Is there anything else you need from me then?” he asked.
Anrik shook his head. “No, you’ve done so much, Rhysus. I’m in your debt—the entire Coalition is.”
“Thank you. Just remember that. Someday I might need a favor.” He tried to crack a smile, but found his mind drawn back to Anaka. He needed to get her out of here. “Then we’ll go. Let me know if anything changes here. No more blackouts for months.”
“I promise.”
CHAPTER 24
The HoverDome
“Just a few hours before the big race,” Nikko said, running her hand over the leather seat of the hoverbike. “You excited?”
Excited?
“Not the word for it,” Kiyanna said with a wide grin. “Been too long.” She couldn’t look away as Nikko’s hand caressed the gleaming metal. Was it possible to be jealous of her bike? The thought of Nikko’s touch was intoxicating. One way or another, she wanted more alone time together. “Wanna go for a ride?”
“Now?” Nikko said, equal parts intrigue and apprehension.
“We have time.”
“What about Narrik?”
She shrugged. “He’s still prepping for whatever Eyani wants him to do.”
“And he won’t need us?”
“He wears big boy pants, he doesn’t need us.”
Nikko chuckled. “Okay, fine. Let’s do it!”
“Really?” Kiyanna said in disbelief. Could this mission get any better? Not once did it cross her mind another team member would be interested in hoverbikes, much less Nikko. Maybe she’d want her own, and they could go riding together? Her conscience chided. Hold up. Don’t get the pickup truck yet.
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