Richard paced the cell three more times. Then he raised his face upward and put all his feelings in one blast of disgust at ‘the One’.
Jerk! he mentally shouted.
Nothing happened. Richard hadn’t expected it to, but he felt better nonetheless.
“So,” Richard said out loud. “Nick can’t communicate with me and apparently neither will the big jerk in the sky.”
Richard touched the security screen. His fingers tingled, but they weren’t hurt.
I wonder if the shield’s preventing communication with the outside.
Richard sent an active scan at the security shield. It had many similarities with the shield surrounding the armory, but it didn’t seem as powerful. Although Nickelo and Jonathan had found a flaw in the armory’s security field, Richard didn’t begin to compare his capabilities with those of the two battle computers. He doubted he could break the brig’s security field even if it was weaker.
I’ve got to come up with something that’s not limited to the physics of this dimension.
In desperation, Richard gathered the most intense feeling of need he could muster. He sent the feeling out into the universe. It was the emotion he’d sensed Tika, Snowy, and the other pups using when they called for their parents. Richard had tried the technique before, and he’d always failed. But this time, he was more desperate. He couldn’t do it on his own. He needed help, and he knew it.
* * *
One of Sheeta’s pups was calling him. Sheeta could hear the cry of his physical-pup, just as he could hear the cries of his spirit-pups when they asked for help. But Sheeta knew a parent who was concerned for their pups shouldn’t answer every whimsical call from their offspring. Their pups would never mature and grow into proper true-spirits if their parents did everything for them.
Sometimes, that meant a pup would die. It was just part of the process. Some would die, but others would live and mature by overcoming obstacles on their own.
So his mate, Sheba, and he normally ignored the calls of their pups. Although it pained them to feel the hurt and desperation of their offspring, they often forced themselves to resist their natural desire to assist.
That is, they normally did. But sometimes, their pups were in a near hopeless situation through no fault of their own. It was at those times his mate, Sheba, and he chose to help.
This time, the pup crying for help was their physical-pup who had been given to them by the Creator. This pup was a good fighter. The physical-pup and he had fought alongside each other often during the past.
Sometimes, the physical-pup was stronger and more deadly than other times. This had always confused him until the Great Shaman had explained that the physical-pup was bouncing through time. Sometimes Sheeta found he was with a less experienced version of his physical-pup, and sometimes he was with a more experienced version. Sheeta might have given up in exasperation and just let his physical-pup die, but the Great Shaman had told him his physical-pup was important. When the day of the great battle came, his physical-pup would either save or destroy the true spirits. The Great Shaman could not say which.
The time of the great battle was approaching, but it was not here yet. Still, the desperation in his physical-pup’s call told Sheeta his pup’s need was real.
The current version of his physical-pup was weak compared with many of the times they’d fought enemies together in the past. This version could not even selfheal.
Sheeta had introduced his physical-pup to one of the spirit-horses earlier as instructed by the Great Shaman. His pup had ridden the spirit-horse in battle many times in the past. But this version of his physical-pup had much to learn about riding.
Sheeta decided it was time to call the spirit-horse once again. The spirit-horse didn’t like being ridden. Who would? But he was beholden to Sheeta, and he would do as he was asked.
Sheeta sent the emotion to the spirit-horse that meant rendezvous with his physical-pup. Then Sheeta sent another emotion out into the universe. It was time to assemble the pack. They would come from whatever dimensions they currently inhabited. The pack would come. Sheeta had called. They would come.
* * *
A disturbance registered on Richard’s passive scan. The disturbance came from beneath the floor of his cell.
No, Richard thought. There’s another room below me. It’s not coming from there.
Richard concentrated on the disturbance. It was elusive, but he finally got a lock on it. Richard recognized the Power frequency of the spirit-horse Sheeta had brought to him a few weeks ago.
Excitement surged through Richard. Did my call work?
The spirit-horse drew nearer. As the spirit-horse rose, he began shifting out of the void. First, the spirit-horse’s head rose out of the cell floor. His fiery-red eyes locked onto Richard. As the spirit-horse continued emerging from the floor, he opened his mouth wide. Finger-length fangs dripped acid onto the floor where it bubbled and ate into the hard metal.
Richard involuntarily stepped back. The spirit-horse didn’t instill a sense of friendliness. The creature was a killing machine. Richard sensed a feeling of hunger from the spirit-horse. Being the only other living thing in the cell, Richard prepared his Power to defend if necessary.
When the spirit-horse was completely out of the floor, the stallion raised one hoof in Richard’s direction. The hoof unfurled into a vicious looking claw.
“Come,” growled the spirit-horse.
Richard hadn’t even known the stallion could speak. Richard swept the area with his passive scan, but he found no sign of Sheeta or Sheba. Richard took a tentative step towards the spirit-horse. Other than curling his claw back into a hoof, the spirit-horse did nothing.
The desperation of the time allowed Richard to overcome his natural tendency to avoid the spirit-horse. Richard mounted it. Black tendrils emerged from the creature’s back and wrapped around his waist and legs. Richard felt the spirit-horse wrap both of them with Power. They shimmered and shifted into the void. The spirit-horse moved downward and passed into the floor. Richard was engulfed in darkness. They were so deep in the void Richard couldn’t visually see anything in the physical dimension. He used his passive scan to keep track of their location. They were staying stationary right below the floor of his cell.
Richard tried breathing, but nothing happened. The spirit-horse’s Power supplied his body’s needs. There was no reason for him to breath.
Richard sensed the spirit-horse send an emotion the dolgars used when asking for directions.
Well, you’re out, Rick, old buddy, Richard thought. Now what?
The old Richard would immediately have gone charging halfcocked for the spaceport. Richard forced his naturally tendency down. By sheer willpower, he forced himself to wait for his mind to think first. If the cohort was indeed under arrest as the officer had said, he’d need his armor and weapons to free them.
Richard pictured the area outside his tent in the cantonment area. He figured it would be as safe as anywhere since the cohort was away.
Almost immediately, the spirit-horse shifted into another dimension. The stallion took two steps on a lunar looking surface before shifting back into the void. Richard’s head emerged from the ground followed by the rest of his body and that of the stallion. Richard could see again. He was next to his tent. Richard’s passive scan picked up only two lifeforms in the vicinity. The two lifeforms were at the cantonment area’s gate. Richard didn’t recognize their frequency.
Richard sent an image of him getting off to the stallion. The spirit-horse shifted completely into the physical dimension. The black tendrils around Richard’s waist and legs withdrew back into the spirit-horse’s back and sides. Richard slid off onto the ground below.
The spirit-horse shifted into the void and started to lower itself back into the ground.
Richard hastily sent an emotion the dolgars used for ‘wait’. The spirit-horse rose back onto the surface. The stallion’s hoofs were a finger’s breath off the ground. The spirit-horse sent o
ut an emotion letting Richard know he was not happy.
“Sorry,” Richard said out loud. “We’re not finished yet.”
Wasting no time, Richard reached out with his mind to the headquarters’ armory. He found the flaw in the security field and latched onto his battle helmet and dimensional pack. He summoned both items to him. It took no Power since he’d previously tagged both of them.
Rick, said Nickelo. I was getting worried about you. I see you brought a friend.
Richard was busy stripping off his clothes and pulling his equipment out of his dimensional pack. As he dressed, Richard questioned his battle computer.
Any luck breaking the security code? Richard asked.
Actually, we just finished, said Nickelo. The cohort’s lined up in formation outside the DNA Center. A couple of hundred conglomerate security personnel have them under armed guard. A dozen armored vehicles including four medium cats are there as well. The commandant, TAC Officer Myers, and Chief Instructor Winslow are arguing with the spaceport commander. The situation’s pretty tense.
Are any of the cadets armed? Richard asked.
Nope, said Nickelo. Neither are the TAC officers. The commandant and TAC Officer Myers are the only ones in battle armor, but they only have their phase rods. Their battle helmets are locked out of the tele-network. I calculate a ninety-six percent probability the commandant won’t risk the lives of the cohort under the current conditions. The situation seems hopeless.
Well, Richard said as he buckled on his utility belt, we’ll have to see if we can change the odds.
Once fully equipped with his armor and weapons, Richard mounted the spirit-horse once more.
Seal me up, Nick, Richard said.
The familiar tubes moved into Richard’s mouth and nostrils as well as his other body openings. Richard barely noticed them. He was on a mission.
Picturing the DNA Center, Richard growled the dolgar word for ‘go’.
The spirit-horse shifted into another dimension. The landscape was volcanic, but the fumes didn’t bother Richard. The spirit-horse was keeping them partially in the void. Richard didn’t need to breath.
After galloping for about thirty seconds, the spirit-horse shifted back into the physical dimension, but he kept them partially in the void there as well. They were underneath the ground just below the DNA Center. Richard sensed a hundred or so lifeforms lined up in formation about a hundred meters from the front of the DNA Center. Another two hundred lifeforms were spaced out between them and the DNA Center.
Here, said Nickelo. I’m sending you images from a hijacked tele-bot.
Richard saw an image of the cohort standing in formation at parade rest. The TAC officer for each platoon was standing in front of their cadets. As Nickelo had said earlier, the cadets were unarmed and without armor. The commandant and his entourage were halfway between the cadets and an opposing set of blue-suited security guards.
The guards had several light chain-guns setup as well as two crew-served rocket launchers. Six hover-tanks, two armed hovercraft, and four medium cats were mixed in with the conglomerate’s soldiers. Richard noticed none of the conglomerate personnel were behind the cadets.
They apparently don’t care if the cadets leave, said Nickelo. Their orders must be to keep them from entering the DNA Center.
As Richard evaluated the situation, a line of Power reached down from the commandant and touched him. It was an active scan.
Richard smiled. The others were oblivious to his presence, but not the commandant.
He’s a sharp one, said Nickelo. After a pause, Richard’s battle computer added, So what are you going to do?
Before Richard could answer, he sensed other lifeforms shifting into the void nearby. First there were two, then six, and finally a full fourteen lifeforms. Richard recognized the scent of his pack. Sheeta, Sheeba, and their pups had arrived.
Richard pictured the twelve armored vehicles above in his mind. He sent the emotion Sheeta and Sheba used when they were training their pack to flush prey from their hiding places. He also sent the emotion the pack used when they didn’t wish to kill, but only practice.
Although several of the dolgars seemed unhappy with the imposed limitation, they spaced themselves out beneath each of the armored vehicles. Sheeta and Sheba took up positions on either side of the spirit-horse.
Richard pictured the surface, and the spirit-horse rose up through the ground behind the security guard’s lines. The spaceport commander and the commandant were directly ahead of him about thirty meters away.
Richard’s passive scan flickered as the Power sources in the cohort fluctuated. The cadets and their TAC officers saw him. So far, none of the security guards had noticed the presence of Sheeta, Sheeba, or him behind them.
During his freshman year at the Academy, Nickelo had devised a game where the cadets could practice their stealth shields and scans. In the game, the attacking cadets would mark the defending cadets with the attacker’s Power frequency. Once a defender was marked, the other cadets could tell the defender had been discovered.
Richard reached out with a line of Power and marked one of the gunners in a light chain-gun crew. He targeted the gunner’s spinal cord and wrapped it with Power. He did not apply pressure, but merely kept the Power in standby mode ready to go with the merest thought. Richard didn’t attempt to stealth his line of Power. He intended for the other cadets and their TAC officers to sense what he was doing.
A line of Power reached out from one of the cadets in formation. The line of Power marked a crewman in one of the rocket-launcher batteries. Richard recognized the frequency of the Power. It was Jerad. Within seconds, three more lines of Power reached out and marked other members of the blue-suited security force. The Power frequencies belonged to Tam, Telsa, and Stella. Soon, other lines of Power reached out from both the cadets and their TAC officers until over half of the security guards were marked. The conglomerate forces appeared to be unaware of their danger.
You’ve got a situation here, Rick, cautioned Nickelo. If you make the wrong move, a lot of cadets will die. So could you for that matter.
Richard had hoped the commandant would take the lead at this point. But after an initial glance at Richard, the commandant went back to his discussion with the spaceport commander.
Richard concentrated on the group near the commandant. Using his battle helmet’s external sound receivers, Richard keyed in on the group’s conversation.
“I’ll give you another minute,” said the spaceport commander. “Then I’ll give the command to open fire.”
“We’re not exactly helpless,” said TAC Officer Myers. “You’ll be the first one to die if it comes to that.”
“Just because I’m not a wizard scout doesn’t mean I’m afraid to die,” said the spaceport commander. “But I don’t think it will come to that. I don’t believe you would risk your cadets in a hopeless battle. They could possibly standup to my infantry. However, your cadets would be decimated by my armor.”
“What armor is that?” Richard shouted over his battle helmet’s external speakers.
As Richard spoke, his spirit-horse began walking forward. The stallion’s hooves didn’t quite touch the ground. Richard activated his phase rod. He felt the familiar recoil as the brerellium rod shot out of the handle. The red arcs of phase energy crawling along its length showed up well in the darkness.
Richard leveled his M63 in the direction of the spaceport commander. Sheeta and Sheba paced the spirit-horse while walking a meter above the ground on either side of the stallion. Richard could feel the emotions of their hunger emanating from the dolgars. Combined with the feeling of hunger coming from the demon presence in his phase rod, Richard wasn’t surprised when some of the nearest conglomerate guards began backing away. Two of the guards actually dropped their weapons and began running.
At the same time, soldiers began hastily climbing out of the hatches of their armored vehicles. Richard heard the echo of several plasma rounds from i
nside a nearby cat. It was followed by the sound of a wolf howling. Shortly thereafter, a soldier exited a cat so fast he fell all the way to the ground. Richard heard the crack of a leg bone snapping.
A second later, a white dolgar emerged from the top of the cat. It was Snowy. She looked over at Richard with an expression that seemed to say, ‘Mission complete. My prey has been flushed out of its hiding place’.
It’s still dangerous, Nickelo warned. One spark will ignite a battle. Watch yourself.
Richard wasn’t sure what to do at this point. Finesse was not his strongest quality. Fortunately, the commandant chose that moment to take charge of the situation by speaking to the conglomerate soldiers.
Amplified by his battle helmet’s external speakers, the commandant’s voice carried to everyone within five hundred meters. “I’ve been patient. But this charade ends now. Those wolf-looking creatures are dolgars. They live in the void. None of your weapons can harm them.”
That’s not true, said Nickelo. Phase weapons can hurt them even in the void. It just can’t hurt them if they’re completely shifted into another dimension.
Hush, Nickelo, Richard said. The commandant knows what he’s doing. He’s just bluffing.
“And, the wizard scout on that black beast is the best wizard scout in the galaxy,” said the commandant. “On top of that, this cohort is composed of fully-trained wizard scouts. Even now, they and my TAC officers have targeted over half of you with their Power. With the merest thought, your spinal cords will be torn apart. You’ll be paralyzed for the rest of your life.”
The commandant turned to the spaceport commander. “General Williams. You were once a cadet in the pre-Academy. You know I speak the truth. Without your heavy armor, you’re outgunned. Pull back your troops. We’re on the same side. We wish your troops no harm. But…, the DNA Center belongs to the Academy until the end of the week. That was the agreement made between the members of the Imperial High Council. And that agreement will be honored.”
Wizard Scout (Intergalactic Wizard Scout Chronicles Book 3) Page 44
