“They all have our abilities,” Seigie said ominously.
“Let’s go!” Naijen yelled. He already stood before the entrance to the rear airlock.
“I’ll take you in, then stay on the perimeter,” Una said. “Use your communicator to bring me back in.”
* * * * *
Allia looked up, admiring the way Naijen bared his Scar, ready for action. She took out her Flower Blade and held it the same way.
“Let’s see who can skewer more of the beasts,” Naijen said with a gleam in his eye.
“Aren’t we supposed to catch them?”
“After we thin the herd,” he scoffed. “You think they’d just let us fly up and say, ‘Here beast-thing, come with us’? I’ma have me some fun!”
“You mean we’ll have some fun!” she said.
“Yeah, we’ll see.” He looked her over briefly before adding, “Don’t disappoint me, little girl.”
She grinned as her golden aura washed over her. “Not a chance—” The airlock burst open.
“Keep up if you can!” he yelled, boosting forward. “Playtime!”
She laughed. The man was crazy, but that’s what made him so cool. Looking around, she saw Ichini oddly lagging behind.
“Something more space appropriate!” she called out.
His eyes glowed red, and his body disappeared into a ball of light. Moments later extended, wing-like flaps emerged, along with a protruded snout and barbed tail. While the light faded, an eerie glow from his underside cycled colors as he glided with ease on the solar winds.
It was the beast they saw at the dead Eden science station. She wondered what else her companion could turn into. It seemed like any beast they encountered, he could replicate.
As he shot past her, she focused her energies and burst forward. She hadn’t forgotten about the proving she needed to do for her favorite teammate.
* * * * *
Mencari knew better than to call out to Naijen and Allia. They were headed directly into the battle, where the Nukari were. There were so many enemies. This battle would test the readiness of his team. He doubted they were prepared for such an encounter, but it was upon them.
A million questions filled his mind: how much should he push himself, and how fast? Where should he go in first? What if the others got into trouble? What happened if the silver warriors attacked them?
Let’s make sure they all know what side we’re on.
A tingling crawled across his body. Drawing ever close to the swarming fighters he reached forward. His aura glowed brighter. Plasma ignited in his hands. In his mind, he pictured a mammoth blast that streaked into the center of the swarm and exploded with incredible force.
A sudden, brilliant flash caused the swarm to scatter; the shearing effects of the blast obliterated those caught in it. He looked on in awe. A simple thought made his power manifest? There was more to this than Osuto had taught him. He’d have to explore it more another time with his mentor.
A comet of silver dashed past, with three beasts closing fast. In a flash, he boosted after them. Multiple balls of plasma streaked from his hands, but shot past his target as the beast dodged out of the way.
Simple projectiles were too easy to buzz past their mark, harmless. He recalled the persistent beams of energy seen in earlier battles between the beasts and silver warriors. Perhaps a ray attack would work better? But he’d never successfully maintained one before.
He cleared his mind and focused on the Nukari ahead. Reaching forward, his hands glowed. He visualized the energy stretching forward, much like his hand-phaser welled up before elongating into a powerful beam. In moments, a concentrated ray of light shot forth.
The Nukari creatures attempted to dodge the attack. This time Mencari needed to simply move his hands to equally adjust the beam. A shield of energy appeared and briefly absorbed his attack, before shattering. The uniform seared away to expose charred skin. The beast tumbled to the side, squawking.
The silver warrior peered over his shoulder, then squared off against his remaining attackers. With his own fists glowing, he unleashed an attack that hit true, and sent them reeling into space.
* * * * *
Yellow light poured from Seigie’s hands as she cautiously charged a few gems. She waited to feel the usual stings when using her abilities for attacks. But none ever came. In fact, for the first time in a long time she could channel energy without that sensation of resistance. She wondered if the device on her arm now stunted that effect too.
Her mind wandered, appreciative of the short work Ujaku and Toriko made of her cure. Even if it wasn’t a true cure that reversed her disorder, at least her condition shouldn’t get worse. That was the theory anyway, given what the crystal said back on Luon.
She flung the yellow gems at a group of three Nukari approaching. As they collided, a ball of lightning broke into arcs that struck the beasts and sent them into convulsions. With a momentary reprieve from danger, she looked down at the armband. The yellow gems glowed brighter than the others. Perhaps Toriko built more intelligence into the armguard than she suspected? Could it be able to tell what gem type she just used, and compensate directly for it?
Let’s test that theory.
She reached in and grabbed a handful of red gems.
* * * * *
“Stay with Una,” Toriko said, looked at Spark, then sprang through the airlock into space. She was really more of a support person, not a frontline fighter. Images of the battle at Nicia flashed through her mind, and the mental onslaught of data that flooded her neural network when Spark was struck by the beasts there, almost destroyed. Though she had installed major upgrades to his body frame and offensive capabilities, she wasn’t ready to field-test him. Not here.
“Mini-T, Bob, I need you,” she said, floating toward the battle. The pair appeared in a fountain of light.
“We’re ready, Toriko!” Mini-T shouted happily.
Toriko activated the defense matrix. “We’re going to see what Maro’s suit can do.”
The white lines of the suit pulsed then flooded with a yellow energy.
“I need you both to monitor the movements of the swarm,” she directed, still heading toward the moving masses. “Mini-T, manage my boosters to help me navigate. Bob, I need you to assist with targeting. I’ll select the weapons and activate them.”
“Let’s do it!” Mini-T cheered.
“First target acquired,” Bob informed her.
* * * * *
“Stay close,” Cogeni said to Nikko, glancing over his shoulder as she trailed a bit behind.
“Don’t worry about me,” she said.
Even with Osuto’s training, he wasn’t sure they were ready for this type of combat. In fact, he was sure they weren’t. Whatever happened, he’d make sure Nikko was protected.
“Three coming our way!” she called out and sped ahead and began to dance. With each turn her powerful legs snapped around, sending blade after blade of energy, slicing through the beasts. In moments, two were diced to bits.
Cogeni gripped the Demas Beads. “Divine Seal!” A shower of colored radiance wrapped around the remaining attacker. It struggled, attempting to use its own energy attacks to break through Cogeni’s barrier. However, each blast absorbed, made harmless.
Nikko yelled, “We got one—”
A spray of red burst from the creature’s neck. Its head was nearly severed off as its body went limp.
“What happened?” she cried, horrified.
“Divinity Release!” Cogeni let the field disappear around the creature.
Two groups with three beasts each flew up, beams focused on the dead creature. In seconds the body was vaporized. Cogeni wanted to try out another relic he’d brought with.
Changing tactics, Nikko and Cogeni teamed up and alternated between flinging curse stones and high kicks to battle back the additional attackers.
* * * * *
Allia’s Flower Blade cleaved through the beast. The whip of a clawed
hand just missed her face, making her recoil. That was close. As much as she liked her Flower Blade, she liked her face, and liked her head being attached to her shoulders even more.
Naijen said he didn’t believe she could do attacks like him. No better time than now to prove she could kill from a distance too.
Ichini guarded her back while she focused. She groaned as her power failed to make itself manifest. “Come on,” she groaned, trying to focus harder.
“Problem?” Naijen chided. “Gonna be beast bait if you don’t move!”
She would show him, and then he’d have to eat his own words. A smile broke her pruned face as she wondered if there was a tattoo for a person being an idiot. Then again, that was probably what those nasty metallic balls meant, the ones placed under the skin of failed warriors back on Naijen’s world.
“I can do this!” she yelled, clenching her eyes closed. She felt Ichini dart around her, followed by the squeal of a dying beast.
A vision formed in her mind; in the image her body radiated with light while enemies flew around her, mocking. Then her energies pooled into her hands, creating a pulsing sphere of light. She could feel the gentle warmth of the incredible power. Opening her eyes, she saw a great light before her. To her surprise, it came from a globe that swirled in her hands.
Looking up, she saw the enemies had indeed closed in.
“Hey Naijen, watch this.” She reached her hand out. The globe leaped from it, streaked toward the nearest enemy and punched cleanly through its body, sending it reeling into space.
“Not bad,” he started before his eyes grew wide. “Watch out!”
The next thing she felt was a searing pain in her back.
* * * * *
Little by little, Osuto amassed power as he followed close behind Nikko and Cogeni, keeping Seigie in his peripheral vision. Training with the team did little to drain his abilities, but being back in battle, where he had yet to master how to pace his own skills, was an entirely different thing. He was far older than the last time he engaged his enemies, much less those with his own abilities.
He marveled at the natural teamwork between Nikko and Cogeni, and was relieved by the apparent lack of effect on Seigie from her many gem attacks. Not only was it great to see the team in action and doing well, but he at last had a chance to strike back at the Nukari.
The swarm of their beasts was immense. They far outnumbered the comets of silver buzzing about, even with his team added. They needed to greatly reduce the numbers if they had any chance at capturing one. Perhaps there was more he could do to reduce that count.
He focused to summon his energies. Drawing upon a long-dormant source from deep within him, a tingling ran across his body. Skin flushed, the aura around his body flared, and a white light gathered around his hands, which now shook from the amassing power.
Carefully he observed the movement of the swarming enemy, noting where his own people and allies were. Terror wasn’t his objective, killing was. Like a predator, he watched and waited for the right moment to unleash hell.
An opportunity formed before his eyes: the right movement of the beast-swarm, the safe passing of his allies, his own team a safe distance away, all came together. With a dark satisfaction, he reached forward, calling forth a massive blast of energy that ripped from his hands.
Body after beastly body vaporized into the beam. Sweeping it in an arc, he incinerated a dozen before growing dizzy.
Overexertion. I have to be careful.
Gasping, he struggled to maintain the beam’s intensity.
“Shut it off, old man!” Seigie yelled, approaching.
Guffawing at the irony, he allowed the beam to fade. Panting, he took stock of his handiwork. Countless beasts were maimed, while others had disappeared altogether. But the swarm had changed its movements, and was now headed for him.
* * * * *
Mencari watched as entire hordes of Nukari beasts turned and headed toward Osuto, Seigie, Nikko, and Cogeni. His body lit with a golden glow as he streaked to intercept the enemies.
Then he noticed the odd convergence of his silver allies. They clustered, and the action created a wall between the approaching horde and Osuto’s group. Their light amplified as they came together. Seconds later, the wall unleashed silver streaks of fury. Powerful beams of raw energy warped through space and ripped apart the beasts in their way. Even the creatures near the blasts as they passed appeared to sear and recoil, shrieking.
An independent cluster of Nukari beasts attempted to flank the silver wall, rotating between their own version of the plasma balls and rays. Where the wall was struck, a few silver auras flickered and disappeared, as bodies and lifeless, severed limbs spun backward in space.
Mencari hit his communicator and bellowed, “Allia, you and Naijen have to hit that rogue group of beasts. I’m on my way to help.”
He reached forward and envisioned another blast going forth, exploding in the middle of the independent beasts. A mighty ball of plasma gathered and then released. Before it reached its target, the cluster of beasts abruptly dispersed. Frustrated, he noted the evasion tactics used by the creatures. Suddenly the great plasma ball flashed and broke into multiple smaller balls, which raced like homing missiles at the enemy.
He found himself in awe of his own abilities. Two new techniques in one battle!
The dirty blue auras of the beasts flickered and extinguished as they were ripped apart by the resulting blasts. The beasts that weren’t being chased by projectiles were under siege by Naijen, Allia, and Ichini.
Then Mencari noticed something. One of the beasts was struggling, deeply wounded but still alive. Three of its own compatriots turned, glowed with malevolent energy, then vaporized the wounded creature in a powerful attack.
That’s why we never found anything after an attack. They indeed clean up their own messes, eliminating even their own kind. The realization made the capture of one alive seem an impossible task.
The silver wall began a rapid maneuver forward, speeding toward the larger Nukari swarm. Both sides appeared to be taking heavy casualties as auras flickered before they were swallowed by the darkness of space.
Errant rays of energy and angry balls of plasma whizzed past Mencari. The chaos made it too risky to engage. “Everyone fall back!” he yelled into his communicator.
It was like watching a living mass contort and twist before him.
Then it began to break apart. The Nukari horde and silver allies appeared to pool and speed in opposite directions. Was the battle over? Were they all leaving?
Mencari sped toward the silver auras, desperate to talk with them. He wanted answers.
“Rhysus, the Nukari are disappearing into small purple rifts!” Osuto said through the communicator.
Looking over, he saw a phenomenon similar to the first time they encountered the beasts. Groups of three glowed brilliantly before a tear in space appeared before them. Seconds later they passed into it, and the tear healed as they entered. To Mencari, it looked like the opening of their own personal wormhole.
Then he noticed the silver auras disappear into glowing pods. Squinting, he saw what he’d thought were pods, were really large airlocks in black ships, well cloaked against the darkness of space. There were no running lights, or even the glow from engines, so it was difficult to make out the actual shape of the vessels, or any identifying marks.
Despite his speed, the ships were already moving away. The bays closed and dark pods extended below each craft. Each pod flashed with a yellow brilliance, and then the crafts were gone.
“We have a live one out here yet!” Osuto’s voice crackled through the communicator.
“A live one?” Mencari said. “Which one?”
“One of the silver guys, but he’s badly hurt.”
* * * * *
“I told you, don’t stay in the same place,” Naijen scolded while Nikko wrapped Allia’s back with white gauze.
“It was just a lucky shot,” the girl said. “An
d I made it back inside the ship, didn’t I?”
“You gotta be smart, can’t just sit there and show off.”
“That’s interesting, coming from you,” Seigie said.
“I don’t sit there all stupid.”
“That’s a matter of perspective,” Seigie said.
Allia gave Naijen a weak smile. “Well, now you know I can do what I say I can.”
“What, you did that to prove it?” Naijen said, angry. “Gettin’ yourself killed isn’t proving nothin’ to me—outside of you bein’ a kid.”
“And here I thought you didn’t like kids,” Seigie said.
Their eyes met, his burning with fury. A gasp escaped Seigie, surprised by the indignation and insult oozing from him. The meathead’s care for the girl was genuine, something the old woman would not have thought possible.
* * * * *
Mencari entered through the airlock in time to hear Eyani say, “Una has the coordinates of a remote Eden moonbase.” Her holographic projection flickered and reappeared toward the rear of the ship where Osuto, Seigie, and Cogeni stood around someone—or something—lying down. “I’ll meet you there.”
Toriko craned her head and looked toward the alien. “I feel like I should try to put some type of monitors on it or something.”
“You’ll be at the base soon, they’ll know what to do,” Eyani said.
“What did he say?” Mencari overheard Seigie ask as he worked his way to the rear of the ship.
“He said something?” Mencari asked.
“Right before he passed out. But I couldn’t make it out.”
A hologram of the bug-bot Bob appeared, floating waist-high next to Eyani. Diagrams of waveforms began to project forward from him as a sound looped over and over. Then the diagrams changed, layers of noise stripping away while a weak voice became audible. With each pass the clarity improved, yet the voice was still too difficult to make out.
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