The other two lizard-cats attacked Richard. One went for his right arm and the other for his left hip. When the one lizard-cat tried to bite into his arm, it got a surprise. Instead of its teeth passing through the battle suit’s armor, its teeth were stopped by the energized titanium dispersed throughout the suit’s arm. Richard saw what he interpreted as a look of surprise on the lizard-cat’s face. It had undoubtedly expected its bite to shift him into the void so it could drag him underground.
Without giving the lizard-cat time to recover, Richard stabbed the end of his phase rod at the lizard-cat’s eye. The blunt tip of the phase rod burst the eyeball and continued on into the lizard-cat’s brain pan. The lizard-cat stiffened and released its grip. Its dead body fell to the floor where it joined its dead companion.
The fourth lizard-cat let go of its bite on Richard’s hip and grabbed his arm instead. Its teeth couldn’t penetrate the temporary creallium in the battle suit. However, the lizard-cat began shaking its head back and forth in an attempt to dislodge Richard’s phase rod from his hand. It almost worked, but Richard felt the left glove of the battle suit tighten as Nickelo took over that part of the suit. At the same time, Richard felt a ball of energy forming further down the corridor.
The dark elf’s preparing a spell, said Nickelo.
Ya think? Richard thought back.
He could do nothing with the lizard-cat shaking him around like a rag doll. Richard let the M12 hang by its shoulder strap as he pulled his right leg up. When his boot knife was within reach, Richard pulled it out and jammed its razor sharp point in the top of the lizard-cat’s head.
Although the lizard-cat was still in the void, the creallium edge of the blade cut through the skull and into its brain. Unfortunately, Richard’s aim was thrown off by the lizard-cat’s shaking. The knife blade continued all the way through the lizard-cat’s head until it met the armor of the battle suit below. The battle suit’s armor was the best that could be made by the Empire’s technicians. It was tough. But the creallium blade of Richard’s knife was the best Sergeant Hendricks had ever created. It was one of a kind. Propelled by the strength of the battle suit’s assistors, the knife was driven through the armor and into Richard’s arm.
“Arggh!” Richard groaned.
Smooth, came Nickelo’s thought into their share space. How long did it take you to learn that move?
Richard ignored his battle computer’s sarcasm. He yanked out his knife. As the lizard-cat’s body fell away, Richard ran towards the magic user. He fully expected to see the other two lizard-cats charging at him. But that was not the case. They were nowhere in sight. Instead, he sensed them underground engaged with a lifeform whose frequency he recognized. It was Tika.
She can take care of herself, said Nickelo. You need to worry about that magic user.
For some reason, the magic user’s ball of energy had dissipated without the spell ever forming. Richard saw why. The commandant was beating against the magic user’s defensive shield with his phase rod. At the same time, Richard sensed the commandant drilling his Power against the magic user’s shield in an attempt to break through. The magic user was being pressed back by the fury of the commandant’s attack.
I guess it’s a good thing you showed the commandant how to do that drill attack of yours, observed Nickelo.
Richard didn’t bother replying. Even though the transfer of information in their shared space was near instantaneous, Richard had other things on his mind.
The commandant and the magic user were trading attacks as each sought to gain an advantage. Both of them were evenly matched as far as the size of their Power reserves went. Their reserves were easily twenty to thirty times the size of Richard’s primary Power reserve. However, Richard could tell the commandant was nearing the end of his rope.
The commandant was a skilled fighter. Richard had no doubt the old man knew battle tricks he could only hope to achieve after many years of experience. But Richard sensed the walls of the commandant’s Power reserve buckling and bulging out.
His Power reserve is too damaged to take this for long, said Nickelo. He’s retired for a reason.
Richard joined the attack. He ran towards the magic user with his knife still in his right hand. As he ran, Richard reached out with his mind and did an active scan on the magic user’s link to his Power reserve. Richard discarded any idea of blocking the link when he saw the myriad number of traps protecting the link.
Richard switched his active scan towards the magic user’s chest seeking his heart. A line of Power from the magic user knocked his probe aside.
Aware of his presence, the magic user sent a probe at Richard’s chest. Richard deflected it to the side.
When he was two meters from the magic user, Richard shifted into the void. He’d used the same maneuver the previous year to get through a Crosioian scout’s defensive shield. This time when Richard hit the shield, he was thrown back.
What the hell? Richard thought into his shared space.
You still have that blue gem activated, said Nickelo. The creallium still exists in the physical world. Shut it down.
Richard shut the gem down. He felt a tingle pass through his battle suit. Richard shifted back into the physical dimension as well figuring the element of surprise was gone. Holding a shift in the void was too Power hungry to keep up for long, especially in the middle of a battle.
The magic user tried to take advantage of Richard’s momentary distraction by sending a line of Power at Richard’s heart. But a line of Power from the commandant knocked it aside before Richard could react. Richard reciprocated the favor by knocking aside another line the magic user sent towards the commandant’s chest.
How can he attack two targets at the same time? Richard said. I can’t do that.
Then I guess he’s better trained than you, said Nickelo with a chuckle. Imagine that.
Richard never understood why his battle computer chose to joke in the middle of a battle. But, it didn’t matter. The dark elf really was better trained than him, and Richard knew it. Richard doubted he could beat the magic user on his own. Fortunately, he wasn’t alone.
The commandant sent another mental attack at the magic user. Richard sent one as well. The magic user deflected them both, but he seemed rattled by the double attack. The commandant continued beating at the magic user’s defensive shield as well as continuing his drilling attack.
Your left arm’s healed enough to use again, said Nickelo. I’m returning control of that part of the suit to you. Please try not to stab yourself again. Repairing a battle suit’s expensive.
With a swing of his left arm, Richard hit the magic user’s defensive shield with his phase rod. He felt a vibration pass through the shield from the force of the attack. When the commandant landed a blow of his own, Richard felt a vibration as well.
Richard had a natural instinct for sensing lines of Power and energy. He could see the vibrations from the commandant’s blow merge with the vibrations of his own phase rod attack. Richard saw an opportunity.
Delaying his next blow a split second, Richard timed it to get its vibrations to build upon those of the commandant’s. When Richard struck next, the force of his blow’s vibrations were added to the vibrations of the commandant’s attack. The vibrations in the magic user’s defensive shield increased incrementally.
Richard noticed the commandant delay his next attack slightly in order to take advantage of the vibrations from Richard’s attack. The vibrations in the defensive shield increased even more.
Richard thought he saw the commandant smile through the visor of his battle helmet, but he couldn’t be sure. But Richard was sure the commandant knew what he was trying to do. Within three more blows, the magic user knew it as well.
The dark elf tried to form a spell, but he had to drop it before completion in order to strengthen a part of his defensive shield that was starting to buckle. The magic user started backing up as if looking for a way to escape. There was none. He was trapped.
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From the tele-bot images Nickelo was still sending him in his shared space, Richard saw the technician, John, trading shots with the three remaining mercenaries. John got in a lucky shot and hit a mercenary in the joint where his helmet met his body armor. It was a weak point, and the phase round from John’s Deloris blaster penetrated the mercenary’s suit. Richard sensed the phase round ricocheting around inside the body armor. The mercenary fell to the floor unmoving.
A burst of automatic fire from a second mercenary caught John in the chest with three rounds. A fourth caught John between the eyes. The Deloris blaster fell out of his lifeless hand.
Chief Instructor Winslow dove for the blaster and came up firing. She staggered as return fire from the mercenaries hit her in the arm and right side. The chief instructor kept firing. One of the mercenaries fell but the other kept firing.
Richard saw the chief instructor pull the blaster’s trigger again. Nothing happened. She was out of ammo. The last mercenary noticed it as well. He lined up his plasma rifle for a killing shot. Before he could pull the trigger, a dark head emerged out of the floor and bit into the mercenary’s leg.
Richard heard the mercenary screaming as Tika shifted him into the void and dragged him into the floor. A sweep of Richard’s passive scan showed no sign of the lizard-cats. There was only Tika and the struggling mercenary. Then there was only Tika.
Now, Rick! shouted Nickelo. Finish it now!
The magic user was all alone, and he was caught between two wizard scouts. Richard could sense the defensive shield failing. It was only a matter of time. The commandant doubled the intensity of his attacks. Richard did as well. He sensed the defensive shield cracking. It buckled. Just a few more blows would do it.
Not yet, came a voice full of evil and hate echoing through the room. I have need of this tool yet. You will meet again, and then one of you can die for all I care. But it shall not be today.
The form of the magic user shimmered. Then he was gone. Richard’s next blow landed on empty space. There was nothing left to fight.
“Rick, the bomb,” said the commandant pointing to a meter tall device nearby. “We’ve got to disarm it.”
Richard noticed the count on the timer. It was at fifty-nine seconds and counting down.
Nick, Richard said. Try to hack into it?
Complying, said Nickelo.
The timer stopped at fifty-seven seconds.
“We’ve done it, Margaret,” said the commandant as he turned to find the chief instructor. The chief instructor was no longer standing. She was lying on the ground still clutching the empty Deloris blaster. A small but expanding pool of blood was around her.
The chief instructor opened her eyes. “I guess I’m not much of a soldier, Thomas. I got hit.”
The commandant knelt beside the chief instructor. “You’re the best soldier I’ve ever been privileged to work with, Margaret. Just hold on.”
Richard knelt beside them. He removed his right glove and jammed it in his belt. He took hold of the chief instructor’s hand and started to wrap her injuries with Power from his healing reserve.
Wait, said Nickelo. Shift! Shift now!
In his shared space, Richard saw the reason for his battle computer’s command. A massive object full of lifeforms was heading towards the spaceport at high speed. It was a dreadnaught. Richard didn’t waste time trying to figure out the whys and wherefores. He grabbed the commandant with his left hand and shifted into the void dragging both the commandant and the chief instructor with him.
Although Richard was in the void, he could still see the room. He caught a hint of something dark, then the room and everything around it was replaced by a flash of white light. Richard sensed the force of the explosion rippling outward. Thousands of lifeforms registering on his passive scan disappeared. The world around him was replaced by a churning mass of yellow and orange flames. He felt nothing in the emptiness of the void except for the two people gripped in his hands.
A message came into Richard’s shared space. The message was from the commandant passing through his battle computer Margery to Jonathan who forwarded it to Nickelo and on to Richard.
“Margaret,” said the commandant. “She’s dying. Can you heal her?”
The commandant was not a healer. Richard was, but he’d never healed anyone while he was in the void. He didn’t even know if he could.
Nick? Richard sent the question into his shared space.
Normally, no, said Nickelo. But because your healing reserve is separate from your primary reserve I calculate an eighty-four percent chance you can.
A chance was a chance, so Richard wrapped the chief instructor’s wounds with Power. He imagined the chief instructor’s body how it should be and compared that with how it was. Richard drew the difference into himself.
Intense pain from his right side and arm assaulted his senses, but Richard didn’t let go. When he sensed the chief instructor’s wounds completely healed, he dropped his healing Power. He maintained his grip on her hand to keep her in the void.
You’re down to forty-two percent Power in your primary reserve, said Nickelo. By the way, you only have Power to maintain your shift in the void for fifteen more seconds.
Before Richard could react, he felt Power leave the commandant’s reserve and wrap around them. All three of them began moving at a rapid rate in a horizontal direction. Richard realized the commandant was using telekinesis to move all three of them. But all Richard could see in every direction was a mass of swirling flames. He felt as if he was in the center of a star.
Nick, Richard said. Are we going to make it?
I calculate less than a two percent chance, Rick, said Nickelo. You only have Power to stay in the void for twelve more seconds.
That can’t be right, Richard argued. I’m more efficient than that. I can stay shifted in the void for almost four minutes when my Power reserve is full. I should have enough Power to last close to a minute still.
Yes, admitted Nickelo, if you were shifting only yourself. But you’re keeping three people shifted in the void. You’re still going to be surrounded by flames when your Power runs out. I suspect the heat will be so intense even I won’t see the brerellium sphere encasing me melt. I’ll cease to exist along with you.
Richard concentrated on being as efficient as possible with his dimensional shift, but he sensed the Power in his reserve draining rapidly.
“We’ll never make it,” said the commandant. “I’m attaching a link to you. I’ll feed Power to you.”
“No!” Richard said. A sense of fear swept through him. He could see the weakness in the walls of the commandant’s reserve. The battle had only increased the damage to the commandant’s Power reserve and link.
“No, you can’t,” Richard said again. “You’ll die. I won’t allow it.”
“We’ll all die if you run out of Power,” said the commandant. “I’m not a shifter. You’re our only hope.”
A line of Power reached out from the commandant towards Richard’s reserve. Richard knocked it aside. The commandant sent out another and Richard deflected it aside as well.
Rick, said Nickelo. You’ve got eight seconds of Power left. You’ve got to let him do it or you’re all dead.
I can’t, Nick, Richard said. He’s my father.
You’ve got to make a choice, Rick, said Nickelo.
But as it turned out, the opportunity to choose was taken from Richard. Two lines of Power reached out from the commandant. Richard knocked one aside, but the second line connected with his Power reserve and began pushing Power through the link. Richard could have ripped the link off before it was fully attached, but that would have guaranteed the commandant’s death. The commandant’s Power would be drained through the unattached link.
Richard felt his Power reserve filling quickly. The commandant had a large reserve, and it was nearly half full. But as Richard watched, a point on the link bulged and then burst. Power spewed out into the emptiness of the void. The l
eak was small, but Richard saw other weak points showing the strain.
Their movement slowed. The commandant’s telekinesis faltered and then stopped. Richard wrapped all three of them in Power and started moving the three of them with his telekinesis.
Nick, will we make it? Richard asked. He was moving them as fast as he could, but he still sensed flames in every direction.
It’s going to be close, said Nickelo.
Just then another opening appeared in the commandant’s link. Then two more appeared. Suddenly, more Power was being lost to the void than was entering Richard’s reserve. Within seconds, the flow of Power ended. The commandant’s Power reserve was empty.
“Rick,” gasped the commandant. “I’m sorry. I wasn’t strong enough.”
“No, sir,” Richard said. “We’re going to make it. Nick’s calculations prove it. Don’t give up.”
“Liar,” said the commandant with a weak laugh. “You’ve always been a bad liar. Tell Janice and Gaston I love them, and that my last thoughts were of them.”
“Sir, no,” Richard said. “You can’t leave. Not now.”
“It’s all right, Rick,” said the commandant. “You’re going to meet me again. But when you do meet me, don’t tell me anything about the future. I wouldn’t want to know.”
Those were the commandant’s last words. Richard tried to speak to him, but he got no response. He sensed the commandant’s life force growing weaker. Finally, it disappeared altogether.
No! Richard shouted into his shared space. It’s not fair!
Nothing in life is, Rick, said Nickelo. If life was fair, the commandant’s sacrifice would save the chief instructor and you. But unless something changes, it won’t. You have twenty-one seconds of Power left. I calculate you need at least thirty.
The situation seemed hopeless to Richard, but he refused to give up. He’d been a marine. He would never give up.
Rick, said Nickelo. I calculate a ninety percent chance you can make it if you let go of the chief instructor and the commandant’s body.
Wizard Scout (Intergalactic Wizard Scout Chronicles Book 3) Page 57
