by Reiter
** b *** t *** o *** r **
“Would you care for another glass of wine?” Dungias asked.
“Sure,” Jocasta said, grabbing her glass and holding it up. Her head was still wet from the shower, but she liked the feel of the gray silk gown against her skin. She looked up into Dungias’ gold eyes as he poured. “You must be some kind of pleased with yourself.”
“Captain?” Dungias returned, setting down the nearly empty bottle. It was not the drink of his homeworld, but it was one of the finer wines he had sampled during his time in the Rims.
“You,” she said, pointing at her First Mate. “You swoop in to rescue the damsel in distress.”
“You are hardly a–”
“I am what I am, Z,” she interrupted. “It’s a damn cycle. Top of the month, I rescue you. Bottom of the month, you rescue me. Given my choices for a potential deliverer, I can live with that. I just wish my rescues were as clean as yours.”
“You have yet to read my report, Captain,” Dungias returned.
“Did you lose any of the crew on your run?” Jocasta asked.
“I did not lose anyone.”
“Great! Another mouth to feed and a cleaner rescue.” Jocasta forced a smile as she held up her glass. “But that’s not a reason to stop our sendoff party. Because unless you have another miracle in your cosmic stick, I’m done. Who the hell puts star-fighters and spaceships in the same category?”
“The same person placing sky-vehicles in the same form slot as hovercrafts,” Dungias answered.
“Agreed. Oh, speaking of surprises, I forgot to share something with you,” Jocasta said, looking at her brace-com on the table across the room. She sighed and let her head collapse to the sofa. “Satithe, access my logs and share the scans I made tonight.”
As Jocasta put her feet up, she drank her wine and looked around the room. She was going to miss these surroundings, but her mind quickly went into how she was going to address the matter with the Field Marshal. Cut and run seemed like a good approach, but she frowned at the idea of leaving yet another enemy in her wake that could initiate what she now called the Sylgarr Effect.
“Most interesting,” Dungias muttered, looking at the logs regarding a very powerful source of directed ThoughtWill that he had not detected. It was indicative of an incredibly specialized delivery system, as the readings did not show Fonri Banomoore as one who possessed a guarded mind. “And you were moved to make these scans because of how well Shuriken piloted the hover-car?”
“Who?”
“Fonri.”
“Oh… him. Yeah. That thing seemed to find a whole new gear all on its own.”
“No, Captain, not seemed,” Dungias said, reviewing the information aside from the scans that were made. “That make of hovercraft cannot normally attain the speed you experienced.
“This reminds me of the N’Yon,” Dungias thought, recalling one of his side-treks during his voyage from the Deku System. “Though for them it was acquired skill, not an assisted ability. Still, their transit-lines lay between the Rims and the Deku System… the very path the Founders took. If memory serves, the N’Yon were in greater numbers thousands of years ago, before the Varsariquian Hordes.”
“What are you trying to tell me, Z?”
“At this moment, I cannot say,” Dungias replied. “How open are you to using a loophole?”
“That’s what’s made when I make a loop,” Jocasta replied, finding reason to sit up.
“Then perhaps we should investigate this energy source you found,” Dungias suggested.
“Uh, Z, you do remember that the trials are over tomorrow, right?”
“And do you remember how quickly measures of ThoughtWill can be exchanged?” Dungias inquired. “An entire age can be viewed in the blinking of eye!” Dungias got up from his seat and walked toward the large living room area. Alpha moved the furniture to give him more floor space, and Dungias took a seat in the center of the room. Jocasta got up from her seat and walked to the edge of the room.
“Happy hunting,” she said before taking a healthy sip of her wine.
It did not take Dungias long to focus thoughts; maintaining his awareness of the world around him, but removing it from the view of his consciousness. His body came up from the floor as Alpha started to float above his lap.
“Show off,” Jocasta said before she closed her eyes, sensing an increase of ThoughtWill moving through her First Mate and the room. “Or not. Whoa!”
Knowing the direction and distance of the dedicated source, Dungias was able to direct his thoughts in his search for the source of the ThoughtWill Jocasta had scanned.
“Greetings, Traveler,” a voice projected. The source of the energy signature was not hiding from detection, because it had no fear of being found. The sentience reached out for Dungias and the two made contact with one another. As the Traveler had mentioned, both minds engaged in an exchange of information inside an instant and Dungias felt at ease in the embrace of the intelligence that had come to greet him.
Outside his body, however, the reception was not so harmonious. At least not according to the itch Jocasta felt on the back of her neck. She looked in the direction where her weapons were: her bedroom. She turned, diving for a chair at her dining room table where her coat and cane were around the back and against the side respectively. She landed on a floor of solid rock. She had missed her cane but had hold of her coat. Her brace-com rolled to a stop in front of her face and she grabbed it as she put it on.
“Z, might want to wake up, baby,” Jocasta said, looking around the cavernous chamber that had no doors. “I think we just got pinched.” Dungias’ eyes opened as he lowered his feet to the ground.
“Fuck me running!” she thought, quickly donning her coat. “Just the coat and bracer. Beats a blank, but not by much. Need to work it in to where I do all my whogee-poogee shit with my best weapon across my lap!”
“Envy does not become you,” Dungias commented as he took in whiff of air. Scents, in great numbers and very potent.
“And mind-reading is a prick move,” Jocasta argued.
“If anything, I was eye-reading,” Dungias said as he twirled his Osamu. “Your retort, however, confirms my suspicions.
“And that is MannA,” Dungias thought as he looked over to one side of the room.
“Confirmation is a task we share, alien,” a voice declared as a man appeared. He was slightly above the ground when he entered the area, but landed with no trouble. He was dark-haired, his eyes were aglow with red light and not at all Terran. He was joined by three more glowing-eyed men. “Now it is our turn to confirm you and your business.” Jocasta gave a wolf-whistle.
“Man, if you gotta be taken, let it be at the hands of a bunch of fine-ass, half-naked hunks wearing silk capes!” Jocasta exclaimed as she looked at the men. “Brunette, blonde, bald… and brunette again. Okay, you missed redhead, but then again, you probably didn’t know we were coming. Gods know I didn’t,” she muttered as she continued to get the measure of each man.
“What were you doing with the Eye?” the first man who appeared asked again in a louder voice. Jocasta started to speak when Dungias lifted his hand.
“It is difficult to be honest with those who openly engage in dishonest practices,” Dungias stated.
“You think you are in a position to bargain here?!”
“We are all in one sort of position or another,” Dungias returned.
“The word ‘doggie’ comes to mind,” Jocasta added, growling at the bald man.
“You ask a question, assuming that we recognize your unspoken and undeclared authority,” Dungias said.
“Then perhaps we should make a few clarifications,” the man hissed before lunging forward. Dungias lifted his arms into the wrists of his attacker, moving them to the outside of his body. Leaning forward, Dungias’ forehead struck the middle of the man’s face. Dungias had hit softer walls, and both combatants staggered back from the exchange.
“That’s
not a good sign,” Jocasta whispered as the bald man, who stood the closest to her, swung for her face. She ducked the attack and kicked up into the man’s stomach. He barely budged and the instep of Jocasta’s foot burned from the impact. She hobbled back as her opponent smiled.
“This is some serious Kot! Real hard bodies!”
“And you are quite soft, aren’t you?” the bald brown man spoke in a voice much deeper than the leader of the foursome, and Jocasta moaned.
“Okay, serious business,” Jocasta notified. “You guys win this fight and none of you take advantage of me, all I can say is that there’ll be nothing but disappointment on this end. Thought you should know.”
“Noted,” the large man said, reaching again for Jocasta. Jocasta caught his wrist and spun around, twisting and pulling. The smile on the man’s face faded as he was thrown to his back.
“Of course, handsome, you do have to win the fight,” Jocasta said, tilting her head and adjusting her coat. She smiled, feeling the injector daggers, housed in scabbards on the back, were still there.
Dungias recovered from the head-to-face collision first, feeling the approach of the remaining two men. He lunged toward the stunned man and a gravity field formed around his hand as he thrust his palm into the man’s face. The dark-haired man’s head snapped back and Dungias dropped down, sweeping the feet of all three men. Finishing his spin, Dungias threw Alpha, striking the bald man in the back as he was trying to get up. Alpha bounced off his back, trailing a thin light of a soft blue color.
“Nice meeting you,” Jocasta said, waving at the man.
The Traveler caught his Osamu and pulled hard, snatching the bald man from the ground. He flew across the chamber, striking two of the three downed men. Only the first speaker was missed and he got up to his feet, summoning and hurling a spear at Dungias. The Star Chaser lunged toward the weapon and spun, catching it while tossing Alpha over to Jocasta.
“Behind you,” Dungias whispered as he swung the wooden end of the spear into the man’s jaw.
“Gotcha,” Jocasta said as she caught Alpha. She crouched down and leaned to her right, swinging Alpha up and over her left shoulder. A clawing hand passed over her before she struck the face of a female. “You gotta watch those surprise attacks, sweetie,” Jocasta said as she stood up, landing a sweeping back hand swing to the woman’s face. Her opponent was spun around, but she did not fall.
“Because you never know who’s going to be surprised, right?!” the woman asked as she turned and moved at a blur, placing an iron grip on Alpha.
“Baby, you have no idea!” Jocasta replied, slashing the woman’s forearm with her dagger. Sparks fired from the blade, surprising both women. The woman released Alpha, grabbing her forearm.
“You hurt me!” the brown-haired woman hissed. Jocasta smiled, swinging Alpha into the woman’s face, knocking her to the ground.
“I have never seen this make of weapon before,” Dungias thought as he swept the planted leg of the blonde man, putting him back down on the ground.
“Light of the Stars!” Dungias gasped as the bald man leapt from a prone position just by pushing off from the ground with his hand. He traveled at a speed that made him hard to see. Dungias moved at a blur to sidestep the attack, and, using the spear, he carried the man into the wall, clubbing him across the temple before he had an opportunity to reach the ground.
“Switch!” Jocasta yelled, tossing Alpha blindly over her shoulder. She felt for and caught the spear, feeling a strong gust of wind behind her.
“Now what is this little thing,” a second female said as she landed on the far side of the room, holding on to Alpha. She had on as few clothes as the others, but the headband she wore was jeweled and sat upon her head like a sort of crown.
“That is my construct, creature,” Dungias said as he lifted his hand. Alpha made an attempt to fly to its master, but the woman was too strong.
“I think I want to keep it,” the woman said as her red eyes turned black.
“Alpha, you are free to make your point,” Dungias said calmly, despite the amount of MannA he could feel approaching the many thresholds in the room. The woman flashed white as electricity coursed through and around her body. The current ran throughout the room, around Dungias and Jocasta, and into every other assailant. When Alpha finally ceased his attack, the woman fell to her hands and knees. Her crown came away from her head and rolled along the ground.
“That was a nice move, blue man,” Jocasta said as she started to smile. Her face broke into a twisted frown as she twirled and threw the spear. It sailed over Dungias’ head, lodging into flesh that only became visible as the spearhead pierced it. A brown and black hominoid form with leathery wings fell to the ground. The spear protruded from its back as black, sparkling blood fell to the ground, hissing against the stone like acid.
“That was a better move, my Captain,” Dungias said, nodding at Jocasta. She returned the nod, drawing her second dagger from the back of her coat.
“Was wondering when I’d get the chance to use these bad boys. Half-naked and without my weapons is as good a time as any.”
“They took a life!” the formerly-crowned woman screamed. “We need not keep the veil! Breathe my brothers!”
Jocasta took a look at the winged man gasping what looked to be his last breaths and her eyes flared wide. “Z! Here!” she commanded, taking off her coat. Jumping up to the side of the wall and bounding over the recovering bodies, Dungias landed behind Jocasta as she held up her coat. “Do what you can with it!”
“You have some sort of instinct about this?” Dungias asked, touching Alpha to the inside of the coat and using gravity to augment the armour. He knelt down and leaned back into the cave wall. Jocasta put her knee on top of his and tried to fold her body into his.
“Gods know I hope I’m wrong,” Jocasta muttered just before the first of their opponents opened their mouths and breathed out fire. “Kot, why can’t I be wrong?!”
“Master, if I may suggest,” Alpha projected as a door along its body opened, revealing a button.
“By all means,” Dungias replied, recognizing the button and pressing it. He took hold of Jocasta as both bodies phased through the floor. Suddenly, there was nothing but air and they fell through it – out of darkness, into darkness.
“He’s going to have so many kids!” Jocasta thought, noticing she now wore a bodysuit of armour.
“If I can sense her room at Sky Stone, or even the ship,” Dungias thought as he stretched out with his feelings. He did not know where they were, but he could not see beyond the walls, and risking a blind Jump-Stride while they were moving was too great a risk.
“Lean into me!” Jocasta yelled. Her First Mate did not hesitate to respond. A large body passed by them and the song of steel passed just over Dungias’ head. “Now’s not the time to drift, baby. I need you here!”
Using what he had gained from so many lessons taught at The Campus, Dungias handed his Osamu to Jocasta, called for his cloak, and placed Jocasta on his back. With his Osamu making her weightless, Dungias started gliding. “Guide me.”
“Dive!” she commanded and Dungias threw his head forward, focusing his attention on his Chi and the wind currents. He quickly found out the latter was easier to find and he increased his speed. Two bodies crisscrossed over their heads, scoring a few strands of Jocasta’s hair as they continued to fall.
“Quick left!” Dungias engaged the techniques of the Pax’Dulah and pushed Chi from his body. His turn was sharp and abrupt, avoiding another attack. “Ah, the hell with this!” Jocasta said, placing Alpha on Dungias’ back and jumping off. She landed on the back of a creature that could have only been called… a Dragon! Her blades pierced his skin just inside his shoulder joints.
“Now if you can handle acid inside your body, keep messing with me!”
“You have one of ours, we have one of yours!” a gargled voice cried out as a blurring body took hold of Dungias, receiving a kick to the eye for its tro
ubles. Losing its vision for a moment, the creature did not notice when Dungias took hold of the clawed hand that had taken hold of him. Striking the joints and twisting, Dungias fell free of the creatures grip, landing on the back of another dragon.
“HOLD!” a female voice commanded. “Stop this needless conflict. I will not lose any more of my children to such foolishness! Stop I say! Escort these humans to me.” The Dragon Dungias was standing on top of slowed down and looked back at the Traveler.
“Will you come along, human?”
“I am not human,” Dungias replied as he looked up. “And like you, I answer to someone else. Captain!”
“I’m good, Z!” Jocasta called, waving down at her First Mate. “We didn’t come here to fight, so I say let’s see where this takes us. Besides, did you hear that sexy-ass voice?!” Dungias closed his eyes, shaking his head in disbelief. “I just gotta see if there’s a set of curves that go with that bedroom growl!”
“You may proceed,” the Traveler said as he sat down on the back of the Dragon and verified Alpha’s status as the Osamu was sheathed. The contact with the tiara-wearing female had been most helpful, and somewhat intimidating. Their attackers had been Dragons… but they had been very young; fledglings actually… less than two years of age. Dungias marveled at the memories of lessons the female had received and breathed deeply, reaffirming that he too still had a great deal to learn.
The two of them were flown through a network of caves that eventually opened out into a chamber that the Xara-Mansura could have called a comfortable home. Dungias looked over at Jocasta who was lying on her back and eating something, deeply engaged in a conversation with the Dragon upon which she rode.
“We are here, Grandmother Queen,” several of the creatures reported.
“Manners, my fledglings,” the voice called out. “We have guests about!”
“I must put you down now, JoJo,” the Dragon said softly.
“No problem, Cloudscar,” Jocasta said as she slid down the creature’s back, causing him to giggle. “Whoops, sorry.”
