by Reiter
Wraayna smiled as she looked at Amosse who was being loaded on the troop transport. They held each other’s eyes for a fleeting moment and Wraayna turned back to her own transportation and looked at Brattle. “Did I sound surprised?”
“Aye, ya did, Mother,” Brattle smiled. “Very surprised.”
“Well, I am surprised,” Wraayna admitted. “Your estimation of the man was spot-on, Son Brattle. It may be time to add a male to the upper ranks.”
“That estimation was not from me alone,” Brattle quickly added. “’N, it if it’s all tha same to ya, I’d rather keep the place I got.”
“You needn’t fear promotion, son,” Wraayna said, stepping into the transport. “When it’s been earned, it’s a thing of beauty!”
** b *** t *** o *** r **
J’Raldri looked back once, just to make sure the troop transport was underway. She then put her focus to piloting the air-car for the Governor’s Mansion and allowed the two gentlemen in the back to converse in private.
“I suppose now you believe me,” the gentleman said, keeping his head back far enough so that it was not in the light.
“Before I answer that, you have to tell me how you knew every word would pass the way it did,” Gundryss demanded.
“I’ve had dealings with the Bowels before. Everything eventually goes through Mother. Even Ruukar was just a front for her position.”
“Just when you think you’re informed,” Isaiah sighed. The man seated next to him chuckled.
“Indeed. Anyway, once you know who her sons are, the ones that are always bickering over a corner of turf, you can see who her favorite of the moment is. Once he gets too high, as Brattle is approaching, one of the others will knock him off and vie for her attentions.”
“Tight knit family,” Isaiah remarked.
“Don’t let the name Mother fool you the way it fools them,” the man replied. “Can we have the partition raised, please?”
“Whatever you want to say to me you can say to J’Raldri,” the Governor stated.
“I could give a flip about your driver,” the man snapped. “We’re coming to a lookout point and Mother will definitely have her eyes out and about!” Without being told, J’Raldri lifted the partition high enough to block vision, but enough of a gap remained so that she could hear. Looking out over the skyline, she could see activity on several rooftops. The couple engaged in heavy petting seemed to be the most suspicious. One man was on top of another, kissing the neck and chest of his lover, but the recipient did not close his eyes. Reaching up to the console of the air-car, J’Raldri took a sensor sweep. Electromagnetic waves had been beamed at the vehicle… in the X-Ray and Ultraviolet spectrum. The air-car was shielded against both, but it was clear the man in the back knew what he was talking about. “That must be a good feeling,” the man said, “… having a smart bodyguard.”
“The warmest of soft blankets,” Isaiah remarked. “… and it helps a great deal that she is a trusted friend. Now, back to the–”
“I knew Mother would be reaching out for information. With the recent loss of her Jockeys, she’d have to go the old fashioned route. I simply arranged to be one of the contacts Brattle got in touch with.”
“Clever,” Isaiah replied. “You want to tell me why you went through the trouble?”
“You could say we have a mutual friend,” the man replied. “He doesn’t like many people. When he does like them, he tends to go out of his way to make sure they have the very best… whether they deserve it or not.”
“Was that some sort of back-handed compliment?”
“Only to myself, Lord Governor,” the man answered. “But keeping that mutual acquaintance happy is only half of my fee.”
“Aahhh, here comes the bottom line… finally!”
The man produced a data pad. “My ship was in need of repairs. You take care of the costs and we’ll be square.”
Isaiah Gundryss took hold of the pad and looked at the information listed in the viewport. “Doesn’t look like there was too much damage done. I tell you what, I handle this bill and you’re out of Black Gate in twelve hours.”
“Governor, if you take me to my docking slip, I’ll be out of here in twelve minutes!”
“J’Raldri,” Isaiah spoke up as he put his thumb to the data pad to clear the bill and release the ship.
“Public Docks it is,” she said, turning the air-car. “Which slip?”
“Seven,” the man said softly. “A-Seven.” He could feel the vehicle accelerate as she completed the turn. It was clear to him that he was not welcome company, and he decided to remain quiet for the rest of the ride.
When they landed, the man reached for the door but Isaiah laid a soft touch on the man’s shoulder. “Who are you?”
“I thought you’d never ask,” the man said as he struck Isaiah in the forehead with a palm thrust. Something was applied to the skin and before Isaiah could put his hands up to his head, the ion pulse was delivered to his brain, robbing him of all voluntary movement.
“Aah, aah, aaaahhhh,” the man said as J’Raldri turned around in her seat, gun and blade drawn. A spark of light was emitted from the choker the man was wearing. It was simple light… but focused through the opaque glass of the partition, the refraction had a powerful hypnotic effect and J’Raldri dropped her weapons, gazing into the light.
“I know you can hear me, Lord Governor,” Nulaki said, removing his mask and beginning to change his clothes. “And since I knew, at our last meeting, that something was up with your boss, I didn’t think you’d take to working with me on this one. Well, now you know that I’m a scoundrel but not a liar. Not when there’s a job on the line. I was telling you the truth, by the way. I was dismissed from JoJo’s crew, but Amosse was left in the Bowels during the Tide. Can’t say for sure, but I think he was supposed to die! And I wouldn’t be a bit surprised if the missing Jockeys have all of a sudden made themselves a big blue friend.” Nulaki held up his wrist-com and projected the image of the notification he had received from the First Officer of the Xara-Mansura that Amosse was no longer a crewman. “But you see, Z sent this out in the last newsletter, so I was already kind of on the lookout for something screwy. The moment the Grid-Sign of Z’s wrist-com popped up, I expected the worst and damn if I wasn’t right. I don’t know what that kid’s up to, but I think we both know it has to be foul.
“Now, if you’ll excuse me, since I have your bio-signature, I’ve got forty-one minutes to get to the fleet docks and relieve you of the ship I came here to steal. Please tell your bodyguard I appreciate her driving so damn fast, because it’s a thirty-minute jaunt.
“Speaking of jaunts,” Nulaki said, taking hold of the choker. “Engage auto-drive,” he said, sounding exactly like Isaiah Gundryss. When the Governor heard the console respond to the verbal command, he knew it was more than the sound of his voice the thief had managed to copy. “Countdown from twenty and then proceed to the home address, activating full security measures, and travel at cruising speeds.” The computer started counting down from twenty and Nulaki took out one of his shuriken. He tossed it so that it landed flat in Isaiah’s lap.
“By the way, what good is it to have a yacht that is never meant to be touched?!” Nulaki asked as he got out of the air-car. “That kind of thing just drives me up the wall!” Nulaki stepped outside the vehicle and waited for the engines to engage. He then turned and started running. When he reached the wall, he ran down two decks and jumped to the rafters of the third. He smiled at a job well done and the one that awaited him in the Terran Triangle.
Gods always behave like the people who make them.
Zora Neale Hurston
(VI)
(Rims Time: XII-4203.16)
“Does anyone know why we always have to meet at these uber-nature sites?” Teyan asked before skipping a flat stone across the water. “The woman’s a sword maiden, not a conservationist!”
“I like these rendezvous,” Jashana defended from her reclined positio
n at the riverbank. “We spend so much time in man-made places. It’s good to get back to regions that were crafted by nature. What do you think, Wesley?”
“You’re kidding, right?” Wesley returned, standing knee-deep in the waters. His ring of water was nearly fully formed and several fish had opted to swim inside of it. “You’re asking an ElemenatisT how he feels about getting out into the elements. You know, now that you ask, I can’t stand it! There’s no smog, no machine noise, and no dir–” Wesley frowned. He was distracted, but he maintained the ring.
How different things were now. Such a formation a year ago would have made him dizzy and utterly exhausted. Now he could feel the sentience of the waters and only called upon those that were in the same playful mindset. They jumped at the chance to spring above the surface of the waters and fly up in a loop of flowing fluid.
“Dirt?” Teyan quickly pressed, flashing a grin, “… were you about to say there’s no dirt?!” Kicking his feet into the ground, moving small stones and grass out of the way, Teyan pointed down at the exposed earth. “And what do you call that?!”
“A good place to bury you,” Wesley replied as he restored the condition of the ground. “I meant no filth.”
“Wrong again,” Teyan argued. “I wouldn’t call the lump of stuff on the north side of that willow tree soap.”
“No,” Quantil added as he played with some of the small rocks, “… but given the right culture, it could be jewelry.”
Jashana laughed, making it hard to maintain the face of annoyance. “You know you’re not helping, right?” Quantil smiled for a moment. His attention, however, was suddenly drawn to the river.
“So glad I don’t have to be the one to say ‘here she comes’,” Wesley whispered as the ring of water slowly returned to the river. Just a few meters from where he had been working his mutual ElemahntiA, the waters stirred and Vrelsha emerged from them. The sunlight caught the largest of her five bronze streaks just over her left ear. It also sparkled off of her armour. The bodysuit, arm guards, and shin guards were nothing new, but the chest plate and battle tiara were items the young students had never seen before. “And she looks like she’s ready to give a much different lesson.”
“Students of the Great One,” Vrelsha said, smiling brightly. Jashana rose, holding up her left hand, signaling Vrelsha to stop her approach.
“Cut the crap, Vrelsha!” she barked. “You’re not that big a fool. Quit making us female entities look bad.” The demigoddess lost her smile and stared intently at the young Vohlbred SorceresS who was ever so much more accomplished than when the sword maiden had last laid eyes on her. “Yes, we invited you here, but you can’t be that blind.”
“What you know is what I have taught you,” Vrelsha clarified. “It is not all of the knowledge or ability I possess!”
“That goes without saying,” Teyan inserted. “We’re just curious as to who you report to, that’s all. You see, our problem is that while you are noted as an entity, there is no official placement of a pantheon in the records of the Convocation of the Church. Seems you’re something of a free agent, which is of particular interest to us nowadays. Among us mortals there’s a saying: a man cannot serve two masters. We’re just wondering who you’re serving… and who you’re serving up!”
“Aside from us, that is,” C’Zaddrus added through clenched teeth. He was beginning to lose his resolve, yearning for retribution for Vrelsha’s treachery.
“Your hold on your emotions tells me all that I need know,” Vrelsha said. “Power you have attained, but you lack the sentience to wield it with any certainty.” She looked at C’Zaddrus and chuckled. “And now you’re thinking that since you have numbers to your advantage, you can force me to answer your questions.”
“Actually, I was thinking that my hand is getting heavy,” Jashana said, allowing her hand to drop to her side. “Care to wager if we got the range of your senses just right?”
A black arrow streaked just over Jashana’s left shoulder and into Vrelsha’s right shoulder. Her chest plate shattered like a fine glass figurine as the head of the shaft tore into the demigoddess’ flesh. She spun from the power of the shot and stumbled across the surface of the water.
“Allow me,” Wesley said, releasing the power he had held at his casting threshold. He drew his left hand up into a fist, sweeping it across his chest to his right shoulder. A column of water exploded behind Vrelsha, launching her from the water toward the river bank. “Serve!”
“And volley,” C’Zaddrus hissed as he bent at the knees. He sprung forward, skimming over the water, crossing Vrelsha’s flight path. He landed in the river, nearly thigh-deep in the waters, with his sword held tightly in a pose often taken at the end of a masterful swing. Vrelsha landed on the riverbank, bracing her weight on her knees and her left hand. C’Zaddrus smiled, releasing his feigned anger. He looked back to see that he had scored a perfect swipe against Vrelsha’s girdle. It was sinking into the water, taking with it all of the armour and power it provided its wearer.
“No!” Vrelsha panted, trying to focus through the pain. It had been so many years since she had felt such anguish. Her body burned from the touch of the black steel, and the wood of the arrow charred her palm when she tried to rip the shaft from her shoulder. “DarkeSteel?! Impossible! None of you are of the demonseed!”
“And you’d be right about that,” a young male voice called out from the tree line. Stewart Campbell stepped out with Jacob behind him. The tall, muscular young man carried a Blackwoode and Greybone recurve bow that had whispering voices and black vapors coming from the hasp and string. “But after what I had crawling around in me for years, the work-around to handling anti-KaA material is non-issue.” Waving his hand toward Jacob, the ornate bow became smoke and faded away; the arrow remained. “As you already know, while it’s feeding, that stuff’s not easily dismissed.
“You see, there’s one place where me and the old blind fart actually agree. We both like the word entity over immortal. Not to say there aren’t immortals… you’re just not one of ‘em. You don’t have a pantheon supporting your existence, do you Vrel? Not directly, at any rate. But if you come clean with what my new friends want to know, we can get that out of you so you can replenish your KaA.”
“You think my armour and my swords are my only power?!” Vrelsha growled, triggering a power she had not used in nearly as long a time as she had not felt such driving pain. Her eyes twinkled with a soft light as brighter light exploded from her body. “I am more than a sword maiden, boy! I am Living Steel!” When the light faded, Vrelsha was just shy of three meters in height and shined like a well-forged sword. She pulled the arrow from her shoulder, screaming in pain and rage.
“Yah-huh,” Stewart said, looking as if he was underwhelmed with the transformation, despite the surge of energy everyone could feel flowing into Vrelsha. “Oh, Wes?” he sang. “Rinse cycle, if you please.”
“No problem,” Wesley huffed as he thrust both his hands toward the female colossus.
The young entity had not relinquished his threshold from when he had crafted the water cannon. The river fired another blast, but the particular shell of ordnance had been changed. It was water, but omnaic in nature. Energized water, possessive of sentience and ambition, blasted into the back of the steel figure, wrapping around her, allowing the water to do what it normally does to metals, only at an incredibly exaggerated pace. Before Vrelsha could take one step toward Stewart, her skin had been turned to rust.
“All that knowledge and can’t remember First Semester Chemistry,” Stewart remarked. “There’s all kinds of reasons why we chose this setting for the meeting, woman. That river already holds an enchantment to it. One that was veiled, and quite well I might add,” Stewart said, nodding to Teyan who smiled as he bowed back to the latest addition to the Dark Pawns. “… but the combination of majikul water and an elemental kick… just the sort of thing one needs to rust even so-called divine steel. Especially when you consider that the Dar
keSteel had me and my power inside you before your transformation. But this lesson is over,” Stewart declared. “And quite frankly, I’m not partial to your company. So, with that, I hand it over to you,” Stewart said as another pair of entities arrived at the riverbank. “This was your idea after all. Damn fine one too.”
Huynh Chau Thao smiled at Stewart as she walked by him, Reginald no more than one stride away from her at all times. “So, how does it feel to be on this side of things?”
“Look, I already agreed to stay with this outfit,” Stewart snapped. “Igs-nay on the ‘I told you so’s, if you please.”
“Fair enough,” Thao agreed as she stopped walking. “… for now. We will talk more once we get back.” Thao looked up, keeping her smile. “And here he comes!” Thunder punctuated her statement as the entire scene was struck with a heavy rain falling from a cloudless sky. Reginald erected a dome shield over the group. “Don’t bother, Wesley!” Thao shouted. “It’s a trap. It’s water, but not the sort you can commune with or control. Taking you out is a priority for our latest guest.”
“And I shall not be thwarted!” a booming voice shouted as lightning blasted into the area, striking the ground, but not dispersing. Instead it formed into a large fist that pounded down toward Wesley. Two hands caught the fist and kept it centimeters above Wesley as the young ElementalisT crouched low.
“Way to go, Big Jake!” Reginald shouted.
“Just… getting… started!” Jacob grunted as his eyes burst with white light. He started growing, quickly reaching the height of ten meters. He pushed against the lightning fist; a feat that became easier the larger her grew.
“It’s just so pleasing,” Thao joked, “… watching someone who enjoys their work.”
