Sudero grabbed Kiyanna. “We’re going to buy you time. Run!” With that, she and her two minions charged the monstrosity.
“Una, can you get to the pickup location?” Mencari yelled through his communicator. Only static responded.
Kiyanna was about to tell the others to move when Sudero let out a terrifying shriek. The beast’s claws had raked across her body, sending her innards spilling across the floor. In moments the others with her were nothing but ribbons of flesh and spilled blood.
Kiyanna looked to where Allia and Decreta once stood. They were gone. There was no time to find them.
“Speru!” Naijen shouted. Kiyanna saw his toothy grin and wondered what stupid move the meathead was about to do now.
The boy nodded and moved behind the warrior, and extended a boosting field. Naijen’s body responded, radiating a hot white light.
“You’re my next tattoo!” Naijen bellowed at the beast. With a maddened grunt, he pushed the energy forward, unleashing a massive wave of rippling energy. The corridor moaned and fractured as the power sped toward the target. When it hit the beast, layers of hair and skin seared off and sent the creature flying backward. Naijen snorted, seemingly unhappy with the result. He began to focus again when he suddenly staggered, fell to his knees, and lost his glow. He growled and punched the ground, unable to try again.
“Cogeni, bind it,” Kiyanna commanded. “Dane—call up another round of beasts. Katen, breach its mind. Datochn, get somewhere safe.”
She saw the others spring into action. Cogeni pulled the Demas Beads from his pocket and moved next to Speru to draw from the younger man’s power. He extended a binding sphere around the mammoth creature, which did little except impede its movement. Dane sent her skittering creatures to attack while Kiyanna took aim at its eyes.
Katen cried out, “Even beasts have minds you can speak with. This thing—it has no sentient mind of its own!”
The monstrous beast quickly diced Dane’s creatures, and bellowed at Kiyanna’s pricks to its eyes. A glow returned to its hands.
“Its hands,” Nikko yelled.
She flanked Speru and projected a defensive shield around the group. The beast unleashed a new attack. The power welled inside Cogeni’s binding sphere until the creature’s attack punched through, shattering the binding energy. In the same moment, Cogeni cried out when the Demas Beads unfurled like a broken strand of pearls in his hands. Nikko gasped as the blast hit her shield, hard. She grunted, struggling to maintain her defense. With a taunting howl, the creature increased the power of its attack.
“I can’t hold it!” she cried out. “Too … strong!”
Kiyanna fought a growing sense of inadequacy, then forgot everything when she noticed the boosting glow from Speru radiating in every direction.
“Speru, your field is overextended!” she yelled.
* * * * *
Cerna watched in horror as the attack slowly consumed the protective bubble Nikko had created around them. The creature was too powerful. They were all going to die here. Ancient memories tormented her. She relived the last moments of her people, their screams, and the burning guilt of failure, watching as everything she loved faced eradication.
Once again, those she’d grown to care about faced mortality. History will not repeat. I will find a way.
She gripped her staff, focused her powers, and began to walk forward. Her silvery glow changed to a gentle violet as she drew the intense power to her. Even Nikko’s shield caved slightly toward her.
“What are you doing?” Cogeni yelled.
Cerna continued forward, passing through Nikko’s field with her own.
“Stop!” Kiyanna yelled.
* * * * *
As Cerna breached Nikko’s shield, the silvery luster around her dissolved. She shrieked before disappearing into the power of the beast’s attack. “Cerna!” Nikko screamed.
A chorus of cries rose from the group. Nikko felt an unexpected reprieve from the force hitting her shield. She looked up and saw a violet light radiating from within the beast’s blast. Small orbs of light floated around it, as the beam’s girth began to shrink. In moments, the creature’s blast didn’t even reach her shield. Instead it was wholly absorbed by a radiant violet mass floating before them.
“Cerna!” Nikko screamed again. The Amazon had transformed into her elemental form, an entity of pure energy and blurred humanoid features. Even her glaive had taken on the same nebulous shape. With each passing second, sparking silvery orbs formed around her, containing the beast’s power. No longer able to maintain its attack, the creature roared and staggered.
With glaive raised, the orbs began to swirl around her. Naijen chided the beast, “Oh ya, this is gonna hurt!”
Unwilling to be left out, Naijen began charging his own attack. His toothy grin appeared as his body finally responded, allowing his power to swell. Speru extended a boosting field carefully over Naijen.
Cerna pointed accusingly at the beast moments before the sparking spheres of light streaked toward it. Like a rail gun, the creature’s body was riddled, chunks blowing off. It staggered, shrieking in pain. As the last of the silver spheres hit, Naijen stepped before Cerna and attacked with great ferocity. The very metal of the corridor compressed outward as the blast streaked toward the beast. The attack speared the beast through the chest, picked it up, and threw it against the far wall. Dust and debris billowed.
“Gonna tattoo that!” Naijen shouted.
Dropping to the floor, Cerna returned to her humanoid form. Nikko ran to Cerna and began checking her over.
As the dust settled, they saw the creature twitching on the ground. Naijen jeered at it, “Ya! Who’s your daddy!”
Cogeni scampered across the floor, collecting the scattered Demas Beads and carefully stowing them in his pocket.
Kiyanna said, “We should get out of—”
Nikko screamed and pointed as the creature struggled to its feet.
“No,” Dane said in desperation and disbelief.
Mencari picked up Cerna and had turned to run when Datochn called out from a nearby doorway. “Kajlit’ga has … here… in here! Hurry!”
The group followed, and found themselves in a lab. They watched as a cable extended from a small box on the side of Datochn’s head and connected with a panel just inside the doorway. Reinforced doors began to close over the entrance as the creature tried to cross the chasm opened in the flooring. An alarm blared as the doors slowly shut.
“To the back of the room!” Datochn said. “Quickly!”
Kiyanna said, “What’s going on!”
“Just go!”
Rhythmic vibrations turned to violent shaking. Explosions rang out around the room. Kiyanna yelled over the noise, “Shields!”
The station lurched and gravity increased one hundredfold. They were slammed to the floor. Kiyanna’s stomach tingled in a fluttering torture. She saw Datochn fight for every inch he crawled along the floor toward the others. “Datochn, what—”
“I ejected the lab from the station.”
“What—?”
A massive second explosion rocked the lab. Nikko and Speru cried out as the room spun wildly.
“Kajlit’ga activated the self-destruct for the station,” Datochn said. “It was the only way to get you to safety fast enough.”
“Self-des … then!” Kiyanna said.
“Allia!” Nikko cried.
“Decreta!” Katen said, grabbing his head.
“We still had people in there!” Kiyanna yelled.
“Would you rather have stayed and died as well?”
“Kid!” Naijen shouted, pounding the floor.
Tears welled in Nikko’s eyes. As the spinning stopped and the gravity returned to normal, Cogeni wrapped his arms around Nikko and held her close.
Naijen gripped the Skar, wanting to slash out, but lacked a victim to hit. Speru crawled up behind him and hugged him from behind. The warrior trembled, then bellowed painfully.
; A faint beeping pulled Kiyanna from her thoughts. She reached down and activated her communicator.
Una blurted, “Thank Eudora you’re all right!”
Kiyanna grunted sarcastically.
“I got hit with explosion debris, still assessing damage,” Una said, “and the Nukari fleet is closing in. I don’t know how long the Nomads will hold out. We have to get out of here!”
Naijen looked up as a sudden fury burned away his tears. He stood and instantly radiated like a sun. Speru stood and pleaded, “Hold on … hold on … don’t do this. We work together.”
Naijen looked back at the boy. Anger and rage, sadness and confusion mixed wildly in his eyes. Not knowing what else to do, Speru hugged him and held him tight, saying, “I know. Just don’t do anything stupid. Please.”
Mencari stood. “Una, we’re coming out, can you pick us up?” He looked to Datochn. “We have an extra.”
She said, “We’re coming about your module now. Get your shields ready, we’ve traced your signal and we’ll blast a hole in the side.”
Mencari said, “We’ll be ready.” He looked across the group. “Let’s be ready. For Allia and Decreta. We’re not done yet.”
The others focused their shields. Mencari and Kiyanna stood beside Datochn and extended their shields around him.
“I’m sorry,” Datochn said.
“No,” Mencari said. “We’d all be dead if it weren’t for you.”
Within moments, the metal at the far end of the wall turned red, then white, before dissolving away. Osuto floated outside.
Mencari said, “Let’s go!”
* * * * *
“The Tunnel system’s damaged,” Una warned through the communicator. “We’ll have to retreat through normal space. Even with my best skills, I don’t know if I can get us safely through that mess.”
Nikko, Cogeni, and Datochn entered the ship as Una’s words set in.
We can’t tunnel? Mencari thought in panic. Looking into space, Nukari ships seemed to have enveloped them. Sections appeared locked in an epic battle with the Nomad fleet.
“Then we punch through,” Osuto said.
“With what? The ship doesn’t have that kind of power,” Kiyanna said, annoyed.
“We do if we combine our abilities,” Cerna said from the airlock.
A holographic bubble projected around Mencari and Osuto. Tactical data splattered across the sphere with battle zones graying out, illuminating green. “Trying to find the best spot,” Mini-T said.
“There.” Osuto pointed to a grayed-out region.
“Ano … I don’t think that’s a good location,” Mini-T said.
“It’s the perfect spot. Look at the concentration of ships. We hit that—”
“The debris field will cause chaos and create cover,” Kiyanna finished. “Smart, old man. Smart.”
Cerna floated back out of the ship. “I’m ready.”
“We’re going to need everyone out,” Mencari said through the communicator.
“Us too?” a youthful voice rang out. A brilliant flash of white emanated from the airlock moments before a manta ray-like beast soared into space. An eerie glow from its underside cycled colored light.
“Allia!” Mencari cried, as Decreta flew out from the ship.
“Nikko just told me you thought we were dead,” Allia said with a laugh. “Decreta had us retreat out after we got separated from the group.”
“Nomads just said they’re pulling out—mission’s over!” Una yelled through the communicator.
“Cry a river later, blow things up—now!” Naijen said.
“We focus together and unleash together,” Osuto said. “Speru, move to the center and boost as strong as you can. Cerna, drill as wide and deep as you can.”
“Tattoo number two, coming up!” Naijen bellowed. A brilliant aura washed over his body. One by one the others followed.
Mencari closed his eyes, his mind clear, his focus absolute. A fire ignited within him; hot tendrils of tingling power radiated through every limb. He could feel Speru’s influence coursing through his body. It was an elated sensation—he felt invincible. As he opened his eyes, each D’mok Warrior burned like beacons in the dark.
“Steady. Hold it together,” Osuto said.
Tiny crackles of energy sparked around their bodies. Gentle wisps of power siphoned toward Cerna’s blurring body. Hands outstretched, arms open wide, power streamed from her allies.
“A little longer,” Osuto strained out. Mencari noticed the old man’s tremor.
In the distance, the Nomad ships streaked away. “They’re leaving!” Una yelled.
Without a diversion, the fleet turned inward toward the group. Swarms approached like a fog rolling in.
A warm calming came over Mencari, like a soft blanket on a cold night. He noticed Osuto beamed brighter than the others, ribbons of energy dancing around his body.
“Now!” Osuto shouted. Mencari swore his mentor disappeared in a haze of light as a massive bolt of energy blasted out of him.
Cerna cried out as her body shattered. Only a vessel of pure, swirling power remained. Wings of light unfurled and crackled with a godlike might. Her ethereal form reached forward. A vortex of sparkling light pooled in ghostlike hands moments before streaking in a twisted spiral of blazing energy toward the fleet.
Unable to avoid the blast, the beam sliced through countless ships, igniting them in beautiful but short-lived balls of fire before disintegrating into comets of debris. A hole opened in the fleet.
“There it is! Everyone in the ship!” Mencari yelled.
No sooner did he say that, he noticed Osuto’s body go limp. Even the old man’s protective golden aura dissipated. He flew in a streak to his mentor, grabbed him up and headed into the ship.
“We’re all in!” Kiyanna yelled.
“I’m a leaf on the wind, watch how I soar,” Una said. “Hang on tight!”
“What happened?” Nikko said, running with Cogeni to Mencari’s side.
“He’s alive,” Mencari said, setting Osuto carefully down.
“His skin color is funny, more than usual I mean,” Speru said.
The boy was right. The chalky tone actually had a purple cast to it. “What did you do, my old friend?” Mencari said quietly.
“Maybe he just pushed himself too hard?” Allia said.
Mencari said, “He did something just before we all unloaded, I’m not sure what, but I’ve never seen him amass such power before.”
“Did you … feel anything strange?” Seigie said.
“What do you mean?”
“Before the blast, did you feel anything?”
“I did actually, a warm feeling.”
“Calming, bringing you peace.”
“Yes.”
“He did it.” Seigie sat back and stared at Osuto in disbelief. The ship rocked to one side, tossing its complement.
“Sorry! This is going to be rough,” Una yelled. “Keep strapped in, please.”
Mencari secured Osuto, then strapped in. He diverted his eyes from the forward windows, unable to stomach the waving and endless stream of near-misses by enormous chunks of ship debris. He noticed the ponderous look in Seigie’s ruby eyes. She seemed to know something. He’d ask later. Now, he had to get help for Osuto.
“Bob, can you raise Eden yet? We need their medical facilities.”
“Nega-tori! It appears the data wall is still up…. Hold one moment. I’ve detected some type of repeating signal, with a curious encryption scheme. Ponderous! I will need to crack it.”
“Una, get us home fast. Mini-T, spin up the infirmary systems for us. We need to find out what’s going on with Osuto.”
CHAPTER 13:
Paradise Lost
“How is he?” Seigie asked as she entered the infirmary. Osuto lay on the bed with projected displays of vitals above him. Mencari and Nikko stood in vigil over him.
“Everything looks normal, but he’s still unconscious,” Mencari said. “Mini-T
any analysis from the bio?”
“I’m not an emergency medical hologram. I’m an AI—not a doctor,” she said. “I mean, I guess I could be if I had access to the right information. But without Eden’s databanks, it’s just a big hole right now.”
“We’re on our own then,” Mencari lamented.
“There’s a lot to do Rhysus, he wouldn’t want to distract us,” Seigie said.
“Geezer gonna pull through?” Naijen asked. Mencari hadn’t even noticed the warrior standing in the doorway.
“We don’t even know what’s wrong with him, Naijen.”
“That was some blast he let loose. Won’t allow him to take that trick to the grave.”
Mencari looked on, surprised. First the warrior pounded the ground when he thought Allia had been killed. Now he, if obtusely, showed he cared for the geezer. It was oddly disconcerting.
“Excuse me! Coming through!” Allia said as she dodged around Naijen and barged in the room. Her hands were filled with an assortment of purple and blue flowers, each sporting long and gangly petals and bright-orange centers. She ran up to Osuto and looked for the perfect place to set them down. “Ojisan, I brought you these from my grotto—some of my favorites that you planted.”
“Gonna add my tattoo for that big mutant beast, then gonna meet some’a the others in the mines. Kid, show up if you want.” With that, Naijen disappeared around the corner.
Allia looked at Mencari and Seigie. “I don’t care what anyone else does. I’m staying here. He’s going to get better. I did. He will too.”
“I’ll stay with you,” Nikko said.
Though reluctant, Seigie was right about the work to be done. Mencari said, “I’ll go up to the command center, start planning our next moves with Kiyanna.”
D'mok Revival: The Nukari Invasion Anthology Page 89
