“How’s the generators?” said Jerad.
“They’ll hold,” said Telsa. “Sergeant Ron’s got some of his mechanics repairing some minor damage, but they’ll be fine.”
“TAC Officer Myers and the cadets are holding the power plant at the Academy,” said Jerad. “I’m not sure for how long, but it’s still running at the moment.”
“And the DNA Center?” said Tam.
“I don’t know,” admitted Jerad. “TAC Officer Myers said the commandant went there alone. All communications with the spaceport is being jammed; even the tele-network’s access.”
“So the commandant could be in trouble?” Richard said.
“Yes,” said Jerad. “But so are we. The only reason the protective shield hasn’t succumbed to the bombardment is because Liz has drawn some of the enemy ships off.”
“We need to help the commandant somehow,” Richard insisted.
“How?” said Jerad. “The spaceport’s being jammed. Even the tele-porter couldn’t get us there. And if anything tries to leave the protection of this shield, they’ll be radioactive dust in nothing flat.”
Richard didn’t have an answer. However, he was completely healed, and thanks to Stella, he was at nearly one hundred percent Power. Even so, he felt helpless. He was worried about the commandant. He was also worried about Liz who was fighting for her life while he stood around doing nothing.
“I wish my mother was here,’ said the teenage boy who had been piloting the Warcat Richard had borrowed. “She’d know what to do.”
“And who might your mother be?” said Tam.
“Councilwoman Deloris,” said the teenager. “She had to go off planet. But if she was here, I can promise you she wouldn’t be standing around doing nothing.”
Tam looked at the boy. “Yeah. If she was here, I bet she’d be spanking your behind for trying to play soldier with one of her cats.”
The boy said something, but Richard didn’t pay attention. His mind was working furiously trying to come up with some kind of plan.
Nick, Richard said. I saw a dream while we were decrypting the security for that Crosioian scout’s battle computer.
I know, said Nickelo. I sensed you.
Who was the child? Richard said into his share space. The one who went to the orphanage.
I think you know who it was, Rick, said Nickelo.
Richard thought he did too.
And the mother? Richard said. Was that Councilwoman Janice Deluth?
I calculate a ninety-nine percent chance it was, said Nickelo.
Then that would mean she’s…she’s my mother? Richard said already knowing the answer.
Nickelo didn’t answer. He didn’t need to as far as Richard was concerned.
And…, the commandant? Richard said not daring to think. Is he…is he my…?
Your father? said Nickelo finishing Richard’s thought. That would be the logical conclusion.
Why? Richard said. It makes no sense. Do they even know?
That you’re their son? said Nickelo. You’ve been around the commandant, Rick. Do you think he’s the kind of man to ignore something like that?
Richard’s emotions were all confused. He wasn’t sure what to think. But he did know one thing. He had to save the commandant. He couldn’t lose him now. Especially not if he’s my father.
I’ve got to do something, Nick, Richard said. Help me.
Tika was at Richard’s side. She must have sensed his tension and worry. The dolgar growled, “Pack safe?”
“No,” Richard growled back. He had an idea.
“Pack is not safe. Tell Sheeta.” Along with those words, Richard sent an image of the spirit-horse.
Tika whimpered. She seemed undecided. Richard sent the image of the spirit-horse again along with an emotion representing danger.
A burst of emotion left Tika. She was calling Sheeta. Richard could only wait now and hope.
Chapter 59 – The Jammer Ship
_____________________________________
Trinity stood guard while two of her fellow wizard scouts activated the timer on the tactical nuke. She’d instructed them to set the timer for ten minutes. She doubted they could get off the flagship in a mere ten minutes, but she had to give her companions a little hope.
“Trinity,” said one of the wizard scouts in her quad as he pointed to a computer display he’d been fiddling with. “This is interesting.”
Trinity glanced at the display. It was a holographic image showing the layout of the fleet. One small Crosioian starship appeared to be boxed in by four of the Crosioian dreadnaughts.
“Kinda looks like four big brothers protecting their little sister, doesn’t it?” Trinity said.
“That’s what I thought,” said the other scout.
Hmm, thought Trinity. What’s the odds that starship is the fleet’s jammer?
Based upon readouts, said Trinity’s battle computer, I calculate an eighty-two percent probability. I suspect if you could knockout that jammer ship, the airfield’s teleporter would come back online. I still have a communication relay setup with Jerad’s battle computer.
Notify Liz, Trinity said. Inform her of the jammer ship. If she can knock it out, Jerad can teleport us out.
Trinity was going to give further instructions, but a flurry of plasma-rifle fire came from the other end of the corridor. The sound was followed by an explosion. The quad guarding that end of the corridor had been discovered.
And tell her to hurry! Trinity told her battle computer. We’ve got another squad of Crosioians heading our way.
* * *
When Liz got the word from Trinity’s battle computer, she was unsure how to use the information. Every ship in her fleet was fully engaged. Even with the added fire power of the ground-based gun systems on Velos, the battle was going against her. Both of her dreadnaughts were badly damaged as was every other ship in her small fleet. The only exception was the Blaze, of course. It irked her to no end, but she’d had to keep her flagship out of the heaviest fighting in order to control the battle.
“Commander,” said the ensign at the communication console. “The 14th Fleet has just exited hyperspace. Commodore Alden is taking command of the combined fleet. The Blaze is being reassigned to skirmisher duty. Our orders are to harass the enemy as we see fit in support of the dreadnaughts.
That was all Liz needed to hear. She knew her target. She had to take out the jammer.
* * *
Richard ran alongside Telsa in the direction of the teleporter. Tika ran at his side.
“Are they coming?” Richard growled for the tenth time.”
“Yes,” said Tika.
“When?” Richard asked impatiently.
“Soon,” growled Tika.
“What’d she say?” said Telsa. “Is that big dolgar of yours coming with your demon horse from hell or not?”
“She said they’d get here soon,” Richard said. “But that’s relative. Dolgars have no sense of time. Soon could be five minutes or five days.”
Upon being contacted by both Liz and Trinity, Jerad had dispatched Telsa and Richard to the teleporter. If the Blaze could take out the ship that was jamming the teleporters, Telsa could get Trinity and her scouts back. Telsa could also teleport him to the DNA Center.
“Why don’t you send Tika to the DNA Center?” said Telsa.
Shaking his head, Richard said, “I can’t make the dolgars do anything. Besides, I’ve already asked. Tika said no.”
Richard thought for a moment before speaking. “Tika acknowledges my friends in that she doesn’t consider you guys as food. But I don’t think she’d risk her life for any of you.”
Telsa looked at the dolgar an arm’s reach away. “Well, the feeling’s mutual.”
They hit the stairs to the teleporter building at a run.
Nick, Richard thought. Is the jammer offline yet?
No, Rick, said Nickelo. I suspect the four dreadnaughts are giving Liz problems.
Richard ha
d a moment of embarrassment. He’d been so engrossed in his own problems he’d forgotten his friends were in their own life and death struggle.
Telsa ran inside the building first. Richard was hot on her heels. Three technicians raised their heads above the control console when they saw Telsa.
“You about gave us a heart attack,” said one of the technicians. “We thought you were Crosioians.”
“Is the battle over?” asked another hopefully.
“No,” Richard said a little harshly. He didn’t have time for twenty questions.
“Get the teleporter ready,” said Telsa. “My battle computer will feed you the coordinates.”
“The teleporter’s offline,” said the first technician. “We told you it was being jammed when you were here earlier.”
“It won’t be for long,” said Telsa. “Now get it ready.”
“We can’t do that without authorization,” said the second technician.
Richard’s temper rattled its cage. He pulled his phase rod off his left hip and flicked the activate switch to stun mode. The room was filled with a feeling of hunger.
“Here’s my authority,” Richard said raising his phase rod. He pointed to Tika and added, “And here’s my cosigner.”
Tika rose off the ground until her head was even with the technicians’ throats.
She growled.
The technicians began moving their hands furiously across the control board.
* * *
“Stay in close, helmsman,” Liz said as the Blaze shook once again. “The other ships can’t fire when we’re right next to this one.”
“Affirmative, sir” said the helmsman.
Liz had to give the woman credit. The helmsman’s voice was rock steady. She can fly this ship almost as good as me, Liz thought appreciatively.
“Commander… I mean, captain,” said Liz’s first mate. “Shields are down to fifteen percent. She can’t take another salvo like that.”
“She’ll have to,” Liz said. “She has to hold on a little bit longer.”
Liz timed the maneuver in her mind. When she saw the opportunity, she said, “Hard starboard, helmsman. All guns fire as we come across her stern.”
The Blaze shifted hard to the right. As soon as the ship left the relative safety afforded by her nearness to the dreadnaught, she was engulfed by plasma beams. But the Blaze was still too close for the larger caliber guns to be brought to bear. Liz crossed her fingers the Blaze’s shields could hold off the smaller caliber weapons long enough to finish her firing run.
“Fire!” said Liz when she saw the jammer’s engine exhaust. “Give it everything you’ve got.”
The Blaze shook violently once again. This time it was in response to the dozens of torpedoes and missiles outbound from her firing tubes. At the current range, Liz knew her gunners couldn’t miss.
The starship acting as the Crosioian fleet’s jammer was not a warship. Her shields gave way before the onslaught. A bright flash signaled her demise. A moment later only pieces of flotsam and burning gases marked where she’d been.
“The jamming has ceased, sir,” said the communication officer.
A couple of hearty souls on the bridge cheered. It was short lived.
The Blaze bucked violently.
“Shields are down,” said the executive officer.
“Full thrusters,” Liz yelled. “Any direction.”
Pressure pushed Liz back in her chair as the Blaze jumped forward. But the ship wasn’t fast enough. A loud explosion reverberated throughout the ship.
“Damage report,” Liz said trying to keep her voice calm. “By the numbers, please.”
The science officer looked up from his computer screen. “We’ve lost both engines. We’re going down. Velos’ gravity has us, captain.”
The gears in Liz’s mind whirled furiously. The Blaze was no longer of use in the battle between the fleets. Liz wondered if the Blaze could make one final act of defiance before she called it quits.
The last report Liz had gotten was that the airfield was under Empire control. However, the few cadets defending the Academy were under heavy attack. The DNA Center was a lost cause, but the primary teleporter at the Academy could still be saved.
“Helmsman,” said Liz. “Track on my coordinates. If we’re going down anyway, we may as well go down in a spot where we can do some good.”
* * *
“Twenty seconds until the nuke goes off,” said Steward, the only wizard scout who hadn’t been hit within the last thirty seconds. “I’ll see you on the other side, Trinity.”
Trinity grimaced as she fired the last of her rounds. The rifle’s isotopic battery was empty. It was phase rod time now. Her selfheal was working overtime on her wounds, but her left leg was still badly mangled. Trinity used the bulkhead to brace herself as she prepared to go down swinging.
“I’ll see you there, Steward,” said Trinity. “It’s been a hell of a ride.”
“Five seconds,” said Steward.
Trinity felt her body tingle. She noticed Steward and the other wizard scouts in her quad shifting in and out of focus. Then everything went black.
* * *
“Admiral,” said the Master computer. “I advised you to leave, but you foolishly did not listen.”
“How dare you talk to me that way,” said the Admiral.
The flagship shook violently. The admiral picked himself up off the floor.
“Withdraw to the rally point,” commanded the admiral.
“The ship’s not responding,” said the helmsman.
“Of course not,” said the Master computer. “The Empire’s wizard scouts have destroyed your engines. Only maneuvering thrusters remain.”
The demon, Zenthra, was furious, but he kept the tone of the Master computer calm. He had no faith in the Dallinfaust’s pet, Lord Crendemor, to accomplish his mission.
Not to worry, thought Zenthra. I have a backup plan.
The Master computer laughed. The holographic head preferred by the Master computer appeared on the overhead display.
“The DNA gas vent must be destroyed,” said the Master computer. “Admiral, you and the rest of the heroes on this ship are going to help me do it.”
The skin around the admiral’s eyes turned deepest gray. “Helmsman! Use the thrusters to bring us back into orbit.”
“The controls are not responding,” said the helmsman as her clawed hands moved quickly from one control to another.
“Do not waste your time,” said the Master computer. “I control the ship now. I could fire a couple of nuclear missiles at the spaceport, but where is the fun in that?”
“What are you saying?” said the admiral.
“I’m saying,” said the Master computer with a vicious laugh, “that this ship will make a most satisfying missile.”
Chapter 60 – Battle for the DNA Vent
_____________________________________
A vision came over Richard as he was standing on the teleport pad. He could see Telsa anxiously looking over the shoulders of the two technicians as they tried to get Trinity and the other wizard scouts off the Crosioians’ flagship. He saw a third technician punching in the coordinates for the DNA Center as he set up for his teleport. However, Richard could see something else as well.
With the demise of the Crosioians’ hacking efforts on Velos, the tele-bots were once again sending reliable information to the central computer. The information from one such tele-bot was being forwarded to Jonathan, who then forwarded it to Nickelo, who then made it available in Richard’s shared space.
As Richard’s body started to tingle, he saw the view from inside the DNA Center. The commandant and Chief Instructor Winslow were still alive. They had the technician, John, with them. They were facing a dark-skinned elf along with six mercenaries dressed in Crosioian uniforms. Between the two groups there stood two lizard-skinned, cat-looking creatures. Richard had fought their kind before. They could shift dimensions and attack in a fashion simi
lar to dolgars. Richard noticed four more of the dimension-shifting cats climbing out of the walls behind the Crosioian soldiers.
Nick! Richard shouted into their shared space.
I see them, Rick, said Nickelo. I’m tweaking the teleport to put you behind the four cats.
Just before everything went black, Richard switched to his best stealth shield. He also sent the thought to activate the blue gem Brachia had embedded in his battle helmet. Richard felt a strong vibration in his battle suit, but that was all.
A split second later, Richard was standing in the corridor leading to the DNA gas vent. He saw four of the dimension-shifting cats to his front. Further past them was the group of mercenaries and the dark elf. They were all facing away from him.
Richard saw the dark elf point towards the commandant’s group and say, “I want her!”
Richard’s natural instinct was to attack first and think things through later. For once, his instinct served him well. Richard didn’t waste time thinking. He attacked. He pulled the trigger on his M12 and sent a spray of plasma rounds at two of the lizard-cats. The rounds passed through the cats. They struck three of the mercenaries instead. Fortunately, the rounds didn’t hit any friendlies.
The magic user has a shield to the front, said Nickelo into their share space. He wasn’t expecting an attack from the rear. Those lizard-cats as you called them are in the void. You’ll have to take them out with your phase rod.
Richard was way ahead of his battle computer. Propelled by the strength of his battle suit, Richard jumped at two of the lizard-cats. He continued firing his M12 as he switched his phase rod to destructive mode. He noticed the mercenaries flinch as a feeling of hunger permeated the corridor. Even one of the cats tried to back away. But it was too late.
A quick swing at the back of one lizard-cat broke its spine. A reverse swing with the phase rod caught a second lizard-cat on the side of the head. The phase rod’s subatomic explosions sent lizard-cat brain and blood flying through the air. Upon the lizard-cat’s death, it shifted back into the physical dimension. Its dead body fell to the floor with a thud.
Wizard Scout (Intergalactic Wizard Scout Chronicles Book 3) Page 56
