The Academy

by Vincent Trigili

  Chapter Sixty-Four

  As we ran, I monitored the communicator that the station guards had given us. My years scanning intelligence reports for the Imperial Navy had taught me how to listen for necessary information without paying attention. The guards also gave us a data pad with a map, which allowed us to sidestep several other firefights. I knew they would be glad of our help, but I needed to save our power stores as much as I could.

  Without knowing how, I could sense that the sorcerers were behind this attack. That meant that we were likely to be forced into a battle with them soon, and for that fight I would need all the power I could muster.

  “Shadow, uh, I was wondering why we’re heading to where they are the strongest?” asked Phoenix.

  “Simple battle logic: in most cases, wherever an attacking force has the most power concentrated is where you will find their leaders,” I said.

  “Okay, I get that but, umm, how does that help?” he asked.

  “Well, these people tend not to trust each other, so only the leaders will have any information,” I said.

  “So, then you think they’ll know where Flame is?” he asked.

  “No, but they can lead us to the sorcerers, and they know,” I said.

  He seemed to ponder that for a while. I wondered what he thought of all this. He grew up in a very peaceful area and came from a rich and powerful family. Probably he had never even dealt with bullies before, much less defending a space station from an invading army.

  Then a message came over the comm that caught my attention. “Not sure how much longer we can keep the core safe. They have gotten some reinforcements,” said one voice.

  “What kind of reinforcements?” asked another.

  “Not sure what species they are; some insectoid things,” said the first voice.

  “This is Ambassador Shadow from Alpha Academy. My team is passing junction 75-APR and is en route to assist. Can you hold out until we get there?” I asked over the comm.

  “Alpha Academy, the direction you are coming from will put you right behind the enemy lines. I suggest you cross over to 71-MAR instead,” replied the first voice.

  “Negative; our intention is to come up behind them. Can you hold out?” I asked again.

  “I believe so,” the voice replied.

  “Then prep your front lines with fire-retardant gear, and we will be there as fast as we can,” I said.

  “This is the fourth district squad. If Alpha Academy can handle the core defense, we will cross over and help engineering … ” said a new voice.

  “Phoenix, listen. When we get there we are going to have to fight our way through the enemy lines. I need to conserve as much of my power as I can for the inevitable fight with a sorcerer, so I will be leaning on you. Are you fit for it?” I asked.

  “I will be,” he said.

  After another few minutes of running, the sounds of heavy combat could clearly be heard in the halls ahead. Once we were as close as we could get without being seen, I said to Phoenix, “Here is our plan: we charge around the corner, and I block their attacks while you light up their world, barbeque style,” I said.

  He did not say anything but focused on his breathing. He was shaking a bit. I reached out, put my hand on his shoulder and said, “I know you can do this, and I need your help.”

  Oddly, that seemed to help calm him. He stood straighter and said, “Let’s do this!”

  I moved in front of him and with a great yell charged down the hall, pulling in power from the station itself to build a shield in front of us. As we came into view of the enemy lines I felt a cold, sticky fear pass through me and threaten to break my focus. Before me were the creatures from my nightmares. They turned to charge us and screamed out that awful, bone-chilling shriek that I wanted so desperately to forget.

  Phoenix screamed out, “Time to burn!” and cast a wave of pure fire at the creatures, then another and then another. I was shaken out of my fear trance as the waves of fire blocked my view of the creatures.

  Over the comm I heard, “Fall back! Alpha Academy is laying down some serious firepower. We need to get out of their way!”

  We continued, and as the third wave of fire cleared the room I could see that most of the enemy was dead, but some remained behind barricades and they started to return fire. The shield wall I had erected easily absorbed their bolts, but I felt Phoenix collapse behind me. I was not sure what had happened but could not stop to check. I used my power to toss balls of energy at the remaining enemy positions, which exploded on impact. Soon the enemy were fleeing, so I called over the comm, “This is Ambassador Shadow. Enemy position at the core has been broken, but we have a man down and need medical assistance.”

  “Acknowledged. Core defense moving to assist,” came the reply over the comm.

  Phoenix was breathing shallowly but he was alive and looked unharmed. I could not risk letting down my shielding until the corridor was secured, so I just crouched over him and focused on tossing balls of power where they were needed. I was draining more power than I wished to, but I had no choice.

  Soon the station guards came charging out and overwhelmed what was left of the enemy forces. Two of them ran up to me, one I recognized as a medic. I lowered my shield, and the medic ran to Phoenix’s side. The other man approached me and said, “Greetings, Ambassador. I am Commander Tom River, head of the station’s defense force.”

  I recognized his voice from the comm and said, “It is good to put a face to the voice, sir.”

  “Yes, it is. Thank you for your help. I do not think we could have lasted much longer,” he said.

  I turned to see Phoenix sitting up, awake but dazed. The medic was putting some supplies away and said, “He has collapsed from exhaustion. I gave him a stimulant shot which will help, but he will soon need rest and food. How long have you been fighting out here?”

  “A couple of hours at most,” I said.

  “Odd. I don’t usually see a man this depleted unless he has been in extensive heavy combat for many days,” said the medic.

  “It is the price of the power we wield. It comes from within us,” I told him. I realized that Phoenix had overextended himself with that last attack; I had to remember that he was just a student. “Phoenix, you laid out one mighty barbeque there! Great work. Now rest, while I see what I can learn from the survivors.”

  I turned to the commander and said, “Commander River, we came to this station hunting a kidnapper, and we have reason to believe these boarders have information that might lead us to our quarry.”

  “What makes you think that?” he asked.

  I pointed to the dead insectoid creatures. “Those are the pets of the sorcerers.”

  He looked at them and said, “I’ll get my men to round up what is left of the invaders for questioning,” and then turned and started calling out orders.

  I leaned against the wall and tried to rest for a moment. The medic was watching me closely, so I said, “I am not nearly as drained as he is.”

  “Not yet,” said the medic. He dug around in his pack and pulled out an energy bar, which he tossed to me. “Eat that. It’s no substitute for a good meal and rest, but it will buy you some more time to fight.”

  Chapter Sixty-Five

  As I leaned against the wall resting, eating, and listening to the reports coming over the comm. I could tell that our involvement in the defense had turned the tide. The squad we had helped in the hall and another squad that had originally planned to help defend the core both moved to assist at engineering, which in turn freed other squads to move elsewhere. This created a domino effect throughout the station, and now the invading forces were on the run in most sectors.

  Eventually Commander River came back to me and said, “We could not find out much, but we did confirm your suspicion that the group behind the kidnapping also started this attack. My guess is that this is a multipronged attack, and your missing wizard is just one chip in play.”
/>   “Maybe, but to what end? They did not bring sufficient forces to take this station,” I said.

  “I don’t have any more information, but if I find out more I will let you know. Meanwhile, you get some rest. I don’t need you collapsing on my watch,” he said.

  “Commander, the sorcerers are still on this station somewhere. This is not over yet,” I said.

  “I’m sure that’s true, but they’re not attacking right now; and if my guess is right, your physical condition affects your powers the same as any other man,” he said.

  “Yes, that is true, if not more so,” I said. I looked over at Phoenix who had fallen asleep where he sat against the wall and then said, “We have to sleep in watches and, while I am tired, he is nearly completely burnt out.”

  “Understood. Just let us know if we can help. We will be keeping this area secure for the foreseeable future, at least while the fight still rages on outside,” he said and went back to his men.

  Something was wrong. We had won this fight, and station guards appeared to be retaking the station in all sectors. From all the reports everything looked positive; even the fight outside the station was going well. We were winning on all fronts, yet I had not sensed a power shift to the positive. It was as if nothing we had accomplished mattered in the grand scheme of things.

  As I rested there, I realized my plan had not worked so far: the sorcerers had not tipped their hand in any way that I could take advantage of. Even fighting here on the station had not drawn them out. Then I heard a voice in my head. I cannot tell if it was a memory or a message, but I heard it clearly.

  “Stop thinking in the physical only, and start acting like a spellweaver!”

  That helped me to realize that under the pressure of finding Flame I had fallen back to my navy ways, and those were failing me. I sat down in the corridor and began to stretch out my awareness. I felt myself becoming lighter, and I could see more and more of the station. I saw station guards fighting more of those disgusting creatures near some weapons lockers. Across the station from there I saw that the guards had successfully secured the shield generator stations near the center of the site. Throughout the station, wherever I looked, I could see fights being won or fights already won.

  As I continued to sweep the station, something stood out. The colors everywhere were somewhat muted in my mind’s eye, but in one room the colors were bright. Peering into the room, I saw Flame. Unlike the rest of the station, the image of her was sharp and clear. She was lying in a bed, unconscious and restrained by bonds of pure power. The room was dark and the door was sealed with power. I barely resisted the urge to teleport straight to her. I had no idea what I would be facing, and it would be better to have help. I pulled my awareness back into myself and saw that nothing had changed around me. Phoenix was still asleep, and the station guards were building barricades and taking turns on patrol.

  For the moment Flame was all right. That thought brought a recharging peace to me. I leaned against the wall and ate some more of the rations the guards had graciously given me. Now I needed a plan to get her out. The wise course here would probably be to call for help, but that was not the plan. The scheme was for me to face the sorcerers alone and try to discover what I could about their operations in this realm. If Grandmaster Vydor or the others appeared, the plan would fail.

  I reached out and pulled power into me from around the station and wove a wall of protection around Phoenix and myself. The commander was right; I needed rest, and this might be my last chance for a while.

  It was not long until I fell asleep also. I did not want to, but I needed to be at full strength when we attempted to rescue Flame. I had to assume that she would be unable to help in the fight, leaving Phoenix and me to fight alone. Phoenix, for all his promise, was still just a student and it remained to be seen if he would be much help in a real battle with a sorcerer.

  Chapter Sixty-Six

  When I stirred I saw Phoenix awake and eating. Food had also been left for me. After a brief exchange of good mornings, I followed Phoenix’s example and ate some myself. I do not know how long I was out for, but I felt more fully refreshed.

  As I listened to the comm, I could see that the situation on the station had taken a turn for the worse. The invaders had somehow managed to get reinforcements and were making a push to take engineering.

  “Shadow, are we going to go to help at engineering?” asked Phoenix.

  “No, it is time to come up with a new plan. I have found Flame,” I said. He jumped when I said that and started to call out, but I warned, “Do not give us away just yet.”

  “Sorry. What’s our plan?” he asked.

  “Here, let me show you what I saw,” I replied and sent him the images of Flame in her prison.

  “It’s a trap,” he said, with a level of confidence I had not heard from him before.

  “What do you see?” I asked.

  “Those bonds, the locks on the door: very advanced warding spells; but the seal on the room is juvenile at best. They want us to rush in,” he said.

  I wanted to kick myself for not noticing that. Of course he was right: we teleport in, they slam the door on us and presto, the foolish hero is defeated. “Well done. You are coming along well in your awareness. Our problem now is to find a way to beat them at this game,” I said.

  “I’m not sure how,” he said. There was an intensity about him, something that had not been there before. It was as I feared; the child in him was dying and a warrior was taking its place. It was a necessary but sad change.

  This trap was just like one of Master Mathorn’s puzzles. At first it seemed impossible, but I was sure there was a way to solve it. Then it occurred to me that there was an important difference: in those problems there were rules I could not break, but this one had no such rules. I grabbed my comm and requested a secure channel to Fleet Commander Bill.

  “Ambassador? Why didn’t you tell me about the promotion?” he asked skeptically.

  “If we had more time I would explain, but we do not have time for that,” I said.

  “Well, make it fast; I’m a bit busy, as if you didn’t know,” he said.

  “I found Flame,” I said.

  “Not that busy. Fill me in,” he said.

  “Not much to say. She appears to be unharmed but is probably live bait in a trap,” I said.

  He started to curse but cut himself short and commented, “Well, that is what we expected. What’s your plan?”

  I laid out my plan to him and explained the part I needed him to play. I would need a lot of resources from him, but I told him that we had to break the back of the sorcerers or the station would fall.

  “All right. I’ll contact the station and put the wheels in motion. Be careful, Shadow, and get her back,” he said as he closed the channel.

  “Are you ready, Phoenix?” I asked.

  “No, but it makes no difference. Let’s do this!” was his reply.

  I reached out to the station around me and wrapped both of us in power. It was a far stronger defense than I had ever attempted before, but now was the time for action and not caution. The lights in the station dimmed around us, and I saw the guards gaping and looking our way. I wondered what they saw that drew their attention, but I could not afford the time then and there to find out; I had a trap to spring.

  “Here we go,” I said and we teleported directly into Flame’s prison.

  “Quick, free her. We will need her help, if possible,” I told Phoenix.

  I hit the emergency beacon on the communicator and then tossed it under Flame’s bed. Meanwhile, Phoenix worked on her bonds. He had not got far before a massive demon appeared in the room.

  “I can handle this; just get her free,” I said.

  Reaching up in the air above me, I pulled down a sword of power. I had long mastered the art of making them, and they were very good for fighting creatures like this. I dropped into a defensive stance. If I overcame this crea
ture too quickly, they might send something I could not defeat. It was better to pretend to struggle with this creature and buy Phoenix the time he needed to set Flame free.

  To my surprise the demon did not charge; it merely moved to guard the door. Then another appeared behind us. A third creature that I did not recognize began to slither around on the ceiling. I could not watch them all at once, but my training days with Master Mathorn had taught me to see more than what can be seen. Soon I had spread out my awareness and could see the whole room at once.

  That allowed me to see that they had created a cage of power around us which would prevent our retreat. The creatures, while effective guards, were intended more as a distraction to prevent us from trying to escape. If I took my attention off them to work on the cage, they would attack and probably kill one of us. I could not do both at the same time, and either was beyond Phoenix. It was indeed a clever trap.

  “As expected, the trap is sprung. We need her awake, but I cannot help you,” I said to Phoenix.

  “Yeah, I see that. I just need a few minutes with the sleeping trance, the rest is easy,” he said.

  I continued to do nothing. I knew that if we could get Flame awake, I could then risk attacking the creatures as she would no longer be defenseless. The creatures did not know what to do with that tactic. They seemed very restless. I knew that at some point they would attack, but the longer I could draw that out the better.

  Then suddenly the one on the ceiling disappeared. Bill’s forces must have begun their counter-attack, drawing the sorcerers’ attention partly away. “That is my cue: time is up,” I said and sprang into the air towards one of the demons. I caught the creature completely off-guard with my sudden lightning-like movement after being still for so long. It was all the opening I needed, and I was able to score a death blow before it could react. I rolled off that one and cast energy bolts at the other which had moved to attack Phoenix.