Stella wrapped her two left arms around Richard. At the same time, Richard willed the right arm of his battle suit to wrap around his friend’s waist. Supporting each other with the strength of their battle suits, Richard and Stella began making their way in the direction of the scouts by using a series of shuffling hops. While not pretty, they actually made good time.
“Hand me your M12’s battery,” Richard said. “And by the way, I thought you dropped it.”
Stella extracted the empty isotopic battery and handed it to Richard.
“I wizard scout,” she grinned. “I levitate back to me.”
Richard exchanged the battery for a fresh one from his dimensional pack. He was actually surprised it worked since his Power level was barely discernable.
‘The One’ must be cutting you some slack, said Nickelo. You better speed it up. They’re going to link up before you get to them.
Richard could tell his battle computer was right. There was no way they could catch the scouts unless something changed. Something did.
A series of anti-personnel and anti-armor rockets came blazing in to blast the area around the two magic areas. The rockets were followed by a rain of plasma rounds. The Crosioian scouts were driven back by the explosions.
In spite of the firepower hitting around them, the magic users were unharmed. Richard sensed their defensive shield holding firm.
Hmm, Nickelo observed. Good shield. Too bad yours isn’t that good.
Yeah, Richard snorted. Tell me about it.
The missiles and plasma rounds continued to blast the magic user’s shield. Richard traced the incoming fire back to their source. A Leviathan U.H.A.A.V. was running full-blast from the direction of hangar 4 firing every weapon in its arsenal. The firepower of the cat was impressive. Richard had no doubt even if he’d been at a full power, the Leviathan’s fire would have overwhelmed any defensive shields Stella and he could have put up.
It must be the cat returning from the sophomore’s night fire demonstration, said Nickelo. But nothing’s getting through the magic user’s shield. It’s attuned to both physical and energy attacks. I think the magic users are getting ready to teleport out.
The thought of the ten soldiers in the security shuttle who had been killed by the magic users flashed through Richard’s mind. The anger he tried to keep caged inside him clawed its way to the surface. Richard couldn’t let them get away with it. He just couldn’t.
Richard yelled his frustration to the heavens. “I need Power, damn it!”
A rush of Power passed down the link between Stella and him.
Power reserve is at one hundred percent, Rick, said Nickelo.
“Get them, vulture,” said Stella.
Richard didn’t ask questions. He sensed the magic users combining their Power into a shimmering ball of energy. He didn’t know whether the spell was a teleport or not, but he refused to give them time to complete whatever spell it was.
The rain of plasma rounds and rockets were still landing on and around the magic user’s defensive shield. The shield continued to hold as strong as ever. Richard reached out with his mind and wrapped an incoming 240mm anti-personnel rocket with Power. He made the Power shimmer. The missile responded with a shimmer of its own as it was shifted into the void.
Help me, Nick, Richard said as he turned control of his Power over to his battle computer. He knew there was no way his human mind could get the timing right.
Richard tracked the missile as it passed through the magic user’s shield. As soon as the warhead passed within the shield’s boundary, Richard sensed his Power shift the missile back out of the void. The missile’s warhead struck the ground and exploded. Three hundred and fifty bomblets burst out of the warhead and exploded. Confined to the inside of the defensive shield, the anti-personnel bomblets shredded the magic users into unrecognizable pieces of meat and gore. The defensive shield disappeared. Dirt and magic user parts sprayed in all directions. The two remaining red dots on Richard’s heads-up display disappeared.
“Scouts,” said Stella as she sent a 20mm round and a line of plasma rounds at the two Crosioian scouts who were now charging in their direction.
The scouts returned fire. Richard threw up a defensive shield wide enough to protect both Stella and him.
“We need to take one of them alive!” Richard shouted. “We’ve got to close the distance and take them hand to hand.”
Richard noticed one of the scouts unslinging a rocket launcher of some type off her shoulder. He knew he wouldn’t be able to stop it. His shield was attuned to Power only.
“Get ready to dodge!” Richard yelled to Stella.
Before Stella could reply, the Leviathan shifted its fire towards the two Crosioian scouts. The scouts’ shields held for the first few volleys of missiles and plasma rounds. However, their shields were not the quality of the one the magic users had used. The scouts’ shields collapsed within seconds. Then the scouts basically disintegrated under a blazing avalanche of plasma rounds.
Richard and Stella fell to the ground. Tika and Snowy emerged from the ground and took a seat near Richard.
“Thanks guys,” Richard growled to the two dolgars.
Snowy released an emotion Richard associated with healing. Only female dolgars could heal, and only a few of them at that. Snowy was one of them.
Snowy bent her head over Richard’s ankle and began licking. Her tongue slipped in and out of the void as it passed through the armor of the battle suit. Soon, the pain in Richard’s leg disappeared. Richard held his right arm up to Snowy. She repeated the process with his arm.
Once he was healed, Richard took off a glove and bade Stella to do the same. Richard grabbed her hand. He wrapped the wound in Stella’s leg with Power and drew half the Power back into himself. He was still recovering from healing Stella’s wound when the Leviathan rumbled up and stopped near them.
The cockpit of the cat opened and two heads popped out. Richard glanced up as the visors of both pilots disappeared. Richard smiled. The lizard features of one of the pilots were unmistakable. It was the mechanic, Charlie. Richard recognized the other pilot as well.
“You guys okay?” said Sergeant Ron with a big grin of his own. “I ain’t had this much fun since I left the military.”
Chapter 36 – Draken
_____________________________________
Brachia was in a hurry to leave the lab. His sister had told him in no uncertain terms she wouldn’t put up with him missing another supper meal.
“Girls,” Brachia said as he opened the lab door. “That’s why girls can’t be pirates, Omar.”
As soon as Brachia stepped into the corridor, he stopped. An old Veturnian was standing in the corridor not two meters away.
“Ah, Master Brachia,” said Draken. “I’ve been hoping to get a chance to speak with you alone.”
“I’ve… ah… been busy,” Brachia said.
Brachia didn’t like Draken. Although the old Veturnian had been Keka’s friend and associate for decades, Draken just rubbed Brachia the wrong way. Brachia wasn’t sure why.
“Yes, you have,” said Draken with the equivalent of a Veturnian smile. “I’m sure I could help you if you’d let me. After all, my specialty is Crosioian military equipment.”
Brachia noticed Draken leaning to one side as if trying to get a better view of the inside of the lab. Brachia stepped completely into the corridor in order to let the door shut behind him. He didn’t reply to Draken until he heard the high-security lock click in place.
“So you’ve said,” Brachia muttered. “But I’ve almost completed my project. I don’t think Dren and I will need any help. Thanks anyway.”
Brachia took a step in the direction of the cafeteria. Draken sidestepped to block his way.
“Ah. So you’ve decrypted the Crosioian’s battle computer?” asked Draken.
Trying not to let his nervousness creep into his voice, Brachia said, “No. Not yet. But we’re getting close.”
“All the more reason you need me,” said Draken.
“We’re fine,” Brachia said impatiently. Dren would be irritated if he was late. “Please move. My sister is expecting me.”
“Is she now?” said Draken.
Brachia didn’t like the tone coming from the Veturnian’s translator. He didn’t understand Draken’s persistent desire to help. Brachia had complained to Keka about it, but his adoptive father had dismissed his concern. Keka thought Draken was practically family.
“Yes, she is,” Brachia insisted. He was used to adults thinking they could boss him around because he was only seven. However, Draken’s actions were different. Brachia began to wonder if Keka’s friend might be dangerous. He’d heard about adults who liked little boys of other species.
“Well, we wouldn’t want to keep your sister, would we?” said Draken as he edged closer.
Brachia took a step back. He glanced nervously around gauging his chances at dodging past the old Veturnian. They weren’t good. Draken was old, but the four appendages he used for arms covered most of the corridor.
“What’s wrong, Master Brachia?” said Draken as he reached into the pocket of his lab coat. He pulled out a dark, hand-length rod. “Don’t be frightened,” said Draken. “I have a gift for you.”
The rod looked familiar to Brachia for some reason.
The tone of Draken’s voice hardened. Brachia became even more nervous. He was a pirate. He wasn’t scared. But even pirates got nervous.
“Let me show you how it works,” said Draken as he reached out with one of his clawed appendages.
“Brachia!” came a sharp voice from farther down the corridor. “Just as I suspected. I knew I couldn’t trust you to make it to the cafeteria on your own. Keka is waiting to talk to you. Let’s go.”
“I’m on my way now, Dren,” Brachia said. He’d never been so glad to see his sister.
“Excuse me, Draken,” Brachia said has he edged past the Veturnian’s outstretched appendages.
“Of course,” said Draken in a more normal tone. “I’ll give you your gift another time.”
Brachia tried his best to walk normally, but by the time he made it to his sister, he was almost running.
“What was that all about?” said Dren as she turned to head in the direction of the cafeteria. “And what was that about a gift?”
“I’m not sure,” Brachia said. “But I don’t want anything from him. I don’t like Draken.”
“I know,” said Dren. “I’m not fond of him either. He seems less friendly than he used to be.”
“I don’t like the way he’s so interested in the Crosioian scout’s battle computer,” Brachia said. “Don’t you think it’s strange?”
“Not really,” said Dren. “Crosioian equipment’s his specialty after all.”
“So he told me,” Brachia said. He hated being seven. No one ever took him seriously. A thought hit him. “Has Draken tried to help you?”
Dren laughed. “No. I’m currently running an experiment on combining cross-dimensional teleportation with time displacement. That’s so far out of Draken’s area of expertise it’s not even funny.”
“You never told me you were working on time displacement,” Brachia said growing interested. It sounded like something similar to the way ‘the One’ sent his Uncle Rick on missions.
“Well, you don’t tell me what you’re doing half the time,” said Dren with a smirk. “I guess turnabout’s fair play. How does it feel to be in the dark?”
“Fine,” Brachia said. “I’ll try and keep you in the loop more. For starters, I just finished modifying Uncle Rick’s battle suits to resist attacks from the void.”
“Brachia,” said Dren as her voice grew stern. “You’ve got to stop monkeying around with Uncle Rick’s equipment. You could get him killed. Have you talked to him about it?”
“I won’t get him killed,” Brachia said stubbornly. “And this is exactly why I don’t tell you what I’m doing. If you must know, I was going to try and talk to him tonight. I just need to get Nick and Jonathan to set up with a communication channel. Satisfied?”
“Not really,” said Dren.
“Whatever,” Brachia said dismissing the conversation. “Now, I told you something. So, tell me what you’re doing.”
Dren seemed to think for a minute. Finally, she said, “I’ll tell you what, little brother. I’m busy tonight. However, if you come to my lab tomorrow night, I’ll show you what I’m doing. I think you’ll like it. I’m trying to contact the Oracle.”
“On Portalis?” Brachia said. “That would be cool. How are you going–”
“Tomorrow,” said Dren with a grin. “It’s time to eat now.”
“Fine,” Brachia said. After a moment, he took off running and shouted, “Race you!”
“Cheater!” yelled Dren as she hurried after her brother.
Chapter 37 – Sergeant Ron’s Plan
_____________________________________
“Ten good soldiers are dead because of you,” said TAC Officer Myers.
“Sir. How is–” Richard started to say in an attempt to defend himself.
“At ease!” said TAC Officer Myers. “I don’t want to hear it.”
Richard wanted to say more, but he knew it was no use. No one felt worse than him that the magic users had killed ten security personnel. That the soldiers were coming to save Stella and himself made it even worse.
“If Sergeant Ron hadn’t been returning the Leviathan to hangar 4 to be de-armed, you’d both be dead along with those ten soldiers,” continued TAC Officer Myers.
Stella said, “Sir. Yes, sir.”
Richard said nothing. Surprisingly, TAC Officer Myers ignored his silence. “Get out of here. Both of you,” said TAC Officer Myers. “Join your cohort.”
Richard snapped to attention along with Stella. They both did an about face and left the office. Once they were outside the airfield’s headquarters building, Stellar stopped and looked at Richard.
“Now what we do?” said Stella.
Why’s she asking me? Richard wondered. I don’t have any answers.
No, you don’t, said Nickelo. But for starters, you could thank her for sharing Power with you last night. She reduced her own chances of survival by doing it.
Richard didn’t have to think about it long. He knew his battle computer was right once again. He didn’t understand why he seldom thought of those kinds of things. Of course he appreciated the sacrifice his friend had made. He’d just forgotten to mention it.
“Stella,” Richard said. “Thanks for giving me Power when I was out.”
“Team,” said Stella.
Richard waited for more from Stella, but nothing else was forthcoming.
“Well, I appreciate it,” Richard said. “And the first chance we get, I’m going to show you how to block the link so Power will only be transferred if and when you want it. I don’t want you to worry about me sucking you dry without your permission whenever I get into a desperate situation.”
“Trust, vulture,” Stella said.
Again Richard waited for his friend to say more, but she remained silent.
“Nevertheless,” Richard said after an awkward silence. “I’m doing it the first chance we get. In the meantime, the cohort left three hours ago for the spaceport. I’ll bet Myers hopes we’ll miss so much training we won’t qualify for a DNA baseline at the end of the week. He probably expects us to waste a couple of hours trying to catch a hover-tram to the city plus the time to get to the spaceport. The cohort will be almost finished for the day by the time we can get there.”
Richard wasn’t an expert at reading Sterilian expressions, but he thought Stella looked surprised.
“How else we go?” Stella asked. “Teleport?”
“No,” Richard said. “The techs at the backup teleport center would never do that for us without official orders.”
“Then how?” Stella said.
“I don’t know,” Richard admitted. “But, I do
know the hover-tram isn’t going to hack it this time. I think what we need is somebody who’s not above breaking the rules once in a while. Let’s take a walk over to hangar 1.”
“No walk,” Stella said. “We run.”
With those words, Stella took off at a fast trot for hangar 1. Richard was hard pressed to keep up.
Intense training kept all the wizard scout cadets in top physical condition. Unfortunately for Richard, his occasional weeks and months long absences on missions for ‘the One’ allowed his body to get out of shape by wizard scout standards. Richard was still in great shape, but even he had to admit his stamina was less than it should be.
About halfway to hangar 1, Stella looked over her shoulder at Richard. “You grow fat.”
“I’m not fat,” Richard huffed between increasingly labored breaths. “Give me a break. You’re setting too fast a pace, that’s all.”
“Vulture fat,” said Stella with a rasping sound Richard had come to associate with her laugh. “You need me to carry?”
Richard put on a burst of speed to catch up with his friend. “I’m in great physical condition.”
“We’ll see,” said Stella with another laugh.
To Richard’s dismay, Stella picked up the pace. Richard increased his pace to match. His male ego wasn’t going to let a female beat him even if she did have longer legs.
You’re so competitive, Rick, said Nickelo laughing. Why don’t you just let her carry you and be done with it.
Richard burned red with embarrassment. It’ll be a cold day on Sirius when I let someone carry me while my legs are still working.
Stella started pulling ahead, but Richard forced himself to catch up. Apparently, Stella took that as a sign she was going too slow. She picked up the pace again. Richard increased his pace to match. That went on for several iterations until both Stella and he were running full out.
She’s pulling ahead, Nickelo observed with a snicker.
Richard didn’t waste time replying. Every bit of concentration was needed to suck fresh air into his burning lungs. Myers had confiscated their battle suits and weapons naturally. Or that is to say, Myers had taken Richard’s dimensional pack after he’d deposited his summoned weapons and battle suit back into it. With each snide comment from Nickelo, Richard began wishing Myers had taken their battle helmets as well.
Wizard Scout (Intergalactic Wizard Scout Chronicles Book 3) Page 38
