Val gazed at the man in horror. He was a fool.
And there was no time.
He sensed the specter of death just a heartbeat away, roaring through the atmosphere behind him, the entire laboratory on Earth turning white in an eyeblink.
Psiblade catalyzed! 100 Psion reserved.
He activated his blade the instant he pulled it free of its sheath, striking his target less than a split second before oblivion claimed them all, even as screams and panic filled the suddenly darkened chamber as machinery crackled and sparkled madly, the brilliantly flashing gate unleashing a massive surge of energy before seeming to twist out of existence entirely, Val crying out and stumbling to the ground.
Perception check made! Insight check made! Why rupture a 4-dimensional warp-gate and risk inconceivable destruction? No dreadnoughts here! Just cut the massive power cord instead!
Power surge suffered! Save versus oblivion made. Cardiac arrest avoided! They don't use divalent current here, Val. You have suffered 50 points of electrical damage and moderate radiation burns! Noble of you to crash into your lover. You're lucky she's not spasming next to you!
Hidden Quest: Marked For Death completed! Experience earned. You survived Felix Mordare's deathtrap, catalyzed a jump gate, and fled between worlds. Too bad you're totally unprepared for the Highlord anxious to kill you even now!
Val hissed even as he picked himself up, limbs still trembling, dismayed to see friends and loved ones groaning and wincing. He knew they normally used electromana currents in this world, but he still had no idea if it behaved precisely like electricity or not, and perhaps it wasn't the exclusive form of energy storage and transfer, the way that electricity was on Earth. Val could only wonder at what exotic energies had been used to power that gate.
Everyone was covered with what looked like massive sunburns, though thankfully it had caught none of them in the face, all of them save Val caught staring at the idiot even now approaching them in a fury. The sudden surge of Psionic force and a crackling hiss made it clear that another Psiblade had been activated, even as the Highlord's Psionic Blast sent everyone save Christine crumpling to the ground with agonized groans, Val included, having been as far from Shadowmind as he could possibly have been, utterly caught off guard.
Save Versus Psionic Blast failed! You've been hit at point blank range and have taken 60 points of damage to Mana, Health, Psion, and Fatigue! The night might care nothing for a tyrant's roar, but it certainly hits you like a ton of bricks!
Val fought against crippling nausea, forcing himself to look up at the furious golden gaze of the Highlord now just feet away, the man's Psiblade raised to strike. It was all Val could do to lift his own. Bruised, injured, and recently fled for his life, Val's psyche was as caught off guard as it had ever been. A single attack and he would be helpless before this roaring Psionicist, and the cold snarl made it clear the man knew it as well.
"You appalling wretch! You dare to destroy a priceless jump gate? To ruin property of House Highblood? There is no end to the suffering I will extract from your agonized soul, once I cleave your head free and put it in my own personal pain vat!"
He blinked in surprise only when the crackling hiss of a third Psiblade made him remember who else was there. "You will do no such thing, nephew," Christine said, her voice cold as death. "Our clan owes him a debt we can never repay. He is betrothed to my daughter and has saved the lives of everyone in this room. Including yourself!"
The arrogant young noble turned his icy gaze to Christine. "Explain."
Christine glanced at the inert portal. "My home was the target of a kill strike. The backwash would have blasted through the portal and killed everyone in this room." Her tone hardened. "Since your only response to my demand that you turn off the gate was dithering over protocol, you left my son-in-law with no choice but to break the connection between our worlds in the only way available to him. And the gate was not destroyed, merely rendered inert! Look closely, beyond the sparks, nephew. The power cords were cut, not the gate itself!"
Her nephew's aristocratic features furrowed before he allowed himself the tiniest of nods. "Very well, Christine, but the cost of repairs is coming out of your disciple's pocket." He frowned, as if only then appreciating the fact that Val was holding a crackling Psiblade of his own and all that signified. His lips quirked into a smile laced with bemused contempt. "The fool has potential if he can catalyze that ancient relic, but his defenses are appalling." He then gazed at a trembling Julia, shocked and traumatized by all that had occurred, staring back at him with wide, disbelieving eyes.
"And I thought your experiment had been given special status? Free rein upon Earth since Jordia might prove... unsuitable, considering the injuries she had received?"
Julia flinched under his pitying gaze. "Really, Christine. Infertility might be a problem for our people, but even after studying the data from your psionifuge, I cannot help but think that interbreeding with apes will have limited success at best." He ventured a smirk. "Not that your hybrid isn't a pretty thing. Quite fetching, really. Fertile stock for loyal house servitors, but not really one of us, I'm sure."
"You will take back those words, Philip, or you will challenge me here and now."
The young lord flinched and paled as Christine, radiating cold fury, catalyzed her shield, sword no longer raised solely to protect Val, but ready to strike and kill.
Philip's beautiful golden eyes widened as the scientists and assistants in lab coats gazed on, none of them daring so much as to blink. He immediately flowed backward and lowered his Psiblade. "I do not accept challenge," he formally declared. He took a deep breath, swallowed, and bowed his head to a speechless Julia. "Get of Christine Highblood. For any offense my words may have wrought, I do offer my most sincere apologies."
Julia blinked and swallowed, at a loss for words. Even Val was surprised by how quickly Christine's demeanor changed, her Psiblade and forceshield active no longer, gazing fondly at Philip while cajoling her daughter. "Well, precious? Philip has just apologized! Accept, so we may get past this misunderstanding and you may greet your cousin properly."
Julia gazed at her mother in speechless disbelief.
Even Val was thrown off, his attempts at achieving icy control disrupted by bemused disbelief at the eccentricities of a people utterly unlike those of Earth. At least in this era. Perhaps when European nobles fenced for sport and blood centuries ago, quick offense and even quicker forgiveness via formal apology were the way of things when duels were the common means of settling disputes, and a hot temper could easily lead one to a fearsome reputation, or a sudden end. It was a time and place where a humble apology could quite literally save one's life, even if one became the subject of a few condescending smirks from brash youth at the next gala, though older heads might give odd nods of approval.
"Julia, acknowledge your cousin!" Christine cajoled, patting her daughter's hand affectionately.
Julia gasped, gazing at the carefully blank-faced Philip, before slowly lowering her head. "Apology accepted."
Philip flashed a suddenly welcoming smile. "Thank you for your understanding, cousin. I do regret the confusion. You must understand, your dear mother never emphasized the, ahem, personal importance of her research! So dry her recordings were, one would hardly realize what a precious jewel you were to her." He flashed a bemused wink, as if sharing a confidence between friends.
Julia swallowed and nodded, too flustered to say a word, her hand reaching desperately for an anchor, and Val forced himself to rise, pushing past all pain and dizziness, determined to be strong for the girl who needed him.
Philip's handsome features hardened as he gazed at Val. Val squeezed Julia's hand even as he grabbed ahold of icy control at last, filled with sudden potency.
He was one with Jordia, sensing at last the forces and fields all around him. And though it had thrown him off for some moments until he could center himself; confusion, horror, and terror for Julia had all fused to an icy de
termination as implacable as the chilly darkness he sensed all around.
He would let nothing hurt her. If anyone tried, he would strike them dead.
Shadow smiled at Philip. The young nobleman frowned, rubbing his temple. "Where did he..." He gazed down at where Val's hand held Julia's own. "How odd."
Philip turned to the others who had arrived. "Are these your mercenaries, Christine? And is the exotic a pleasure-maiden? Please inform me if any have titles of any significance. It would be poor form for me to inadvertently offend my aunt twice in one evening, no?"
Christine gazed fondly at the rest of their party, most still stunned by Philip's Psionic Blast. "It is good of you to ask, Philip. The man you see beside me is my chosen on Earth. A brilliant tactician and as fine a father as I could want for my Julia. Terran frailties aside, he is one of the strongest of his kind. Johnathan here is the sire of my daughter's chosen, and is to be treated with the respect and courtesy due any sire or dam of one favored by our house. And the lass is not a pleasure-maiden, though she is a fetching thing, no? She is actually quite the gifted apprentice arcanist and a valued addition to our house. The other men are effectively mercenaries, but they are loyal to my daughter, and so to be honored by our house. Further, all of them are particularly gifted at claiming the potential and power of their enemies and growing in ways marvelous and grand. As you know, it is a strength inherent to those apes that can actually port in via quantized resonance channels and serve our people."
She stroked Julia's cheek with maternal pride. "And my hybrid darling is perhaps the deadliest mage our house has seen in centuries, Philip. Centuries!"
Philip blinked and paled. "For heaven's sake, they must not cast any spells in here, Christine!"
Christine's bemused laughter washed over the room entire. "Of course not, Philip!" She turned her soft gaze to her trembling daughter. "You do understand, right, love? This precious laboratory is where Mother finalizes her research and findings. It is far more sophisticated and susceptible to electromana surges than Terran technology. And since you can actually use magic here on Jordia, let us confine all castings to the training grounds, just like you and Dirk used to do when you practiced in-game, alright, my love? With time, once you begin to learn the basics of Personal Resonance Mastery, then of course we can lift some casting restrictions."
Julia swallowed. "Believe me, Mother, casting magic is the last thing on my mind."
Christine nodded. "Thank you, darling," she said, before carefully touching the neck and temples of those only then coming to. "Good. No serious injuries, just exhaustion. Come, Val. Carry Yin. It has been a very long day. Now let me show you to our personal wing. I believe you will find the quarters more than adequate."
Val nodded, gently squeezing Julia's hand before letting go, carefully lifting up a still unconscious Yin while exchanging a nod with his only now awakening father. His dad flashed the strangest smile.
"So it's all real, then. We really are in another world."
Val sighed, nodding once, surprised at how feather-light Yin felt in his arms. "We are, dad. We really are. Culturally, we are in the equivalent of a high-tech feudal Japan or 18th century Europe, so please be careful. The one thing we don't want to do is offend our hosts who are like as not to challenge us to duels over simple misunderstandings. Should anyone take offense at anything we do, just apologize profusely. Since our family's never been big on false pride, we lose nothing showing humility when needed."
His father's eyes widened. He slowly nodded. "High-strung, and willing to duel under almost any pretext. Not so uncommon a trait in the powerful clans of any conquering empire."
Val kept an eye on his surroundings as he followed Christine, who was enjoying an animated conversation with Philip as she gently led her dazed daughter along hallways as opulent and luxurious as the grand chateau they had visited in-game. The others were stumbling along just behind Christine, Val taking the rear with his father walking by his side. "Not uncommon at all. Hell, practically universal. Multiversal."
His eyes glanced over paintings of beautiful rustic countrysides and young lords and ladies dressed in exquisite finery, very reminiscent of Baroque paintings of a bygone era, though with some striking differences. They were all in a series, for one thing, every lord having either a blaster and saber or Psiblade and forceshield on his hip. The first scene would always be either a picnic or a gathering by a stream, or some similar bucolic social gathering comprised of two lords and a half dozen beautiful women. The second portrait in the series would show some sort of conflict, a single scene somehow capturing grave offense and a challenge given. Then a handful of exquisitely rendered scenes would be displayed, all of them looking very similar to the instructional sequences of plays seen in old fencing treatises including strikes, counters, and a final victorious blow. It was never fatal, the following portrait always showing one injured duelist formally bowing before the other who would graciously accept, one maiden tending the injured, the other maidens all gazing raptly at the victor, followed by a strikingly graphic depiction of the most erotic of orgies, all save one of the girls being ravished by the victorious duelist, the other loser and the girl who had tended to him coupling in the background, and a final picture would show the two men holding hands and smiling with six very pregnant naked women clasping their hands as well. In some series of paintings there would be further scenes of dozens of children dining together in a domestic setting, but not always.
Val couldn't help smiling at the paintings, eroticism aside. The values of honor, victory, brotherhood, and fertility were all strikingly prevalent themes, easily understood by Val who was not even a native to the planet, let alone the culture.
Before long they found themselves within a grand wing of apartments, Philip giving them all a courteous bow and assuring that servitors would be up to see them and take care of all their needs shortly.
"Thank you, Philip. I will see you in the lab first thing tomorrow."
He bowed his head. "Of course, Christine." Then he left.
Christine turned and smiled at everyone present, all of them in the central foyer of their apartments. "It has been an exciting day, my dears, but we have survived it, and that is truly all that matters. Now I encourage all of you to bathe yourselves and change. The servants will bring up a delicious repast shortly, and suitable attire for all of you. We shall eat, celebrate our survival, and then rest in preparation for whatever adventure or challenges await us on the morrow."
All of them were staring speechlessly at Christine for some moments.
"Are you serious?" Yin asked. "We're just going to pretend that everything's normal? We just jumped through a gate to another world!"
The Highlord's eyes widened. Her glare caused Yin to tremble. "Watch your tongue, child. Disrespecting nobility can have fatal consequences, did you dare speak so to those less forgiving than I."
"Mother!" Julia hissed, holding a terrified Yin close.
Christine's ire instantly turned to bemused laughter. "Fret not, children. I sometimes forget how different our cultures are, that the role I played was your reality, that status and station are far more... compressed and fluid on Earth than they are here. Allow me to explain why celebration and fresh starts are in order, not dwelling on our past! Our enemies have attempted to strike us dead, but only after we achieved victory, felling them with a killing blow of our own!
"It is true, all our former Earthbound allies have been gently brought into the Dominion fold even as we speak, and by the most fascinating of enticements, incorporating Earth, of all things! But now that we have escaped to Jordia and are in the heart of Highblood lands, that matters not in the slightest. It is quite possible that Inquisitor Mordare was acting on his own initiative when he hunted us down, simply trying to secure a prime dwarven ruin for himself that was actually safe to explore! And living inhabitants, dwarves or no, would virtually guarantee stability. You have no idea how rare this is, darlings. Terrible things happen to most J
ordians who hunger for the wealth that comes so easily to Terran adventurers.”
She gave a trembling Yin a conspiratorial wink. "And even if we had somehow offended the powers-that-be on Earth, so what? It means nothing on Jordia. There are no extradition treaties in Dominion territory. Commoners who offend nobility are simply put down by bounty hunters, and nobles are simply banned from ever returning to a realm they are banished from. And that is if anyone besides Felix Mordare had us in their sights in any case. Save for bogus charges his pawns seek to accuse you of, Johnathan Hunter, the odds of that are actually quite slim. With Felix gone, I would not be at all surprised if our troubles simply disappeared, even if we were to return to Earth."
Her brow furrowed in a slight frown. "Of course, that is utterly impossible for now, perhaps for the foreseeable future as well. All things considered, though, it's actually good to be back home for longer than it takes to compile my data in the lab."
Dirk frowned. "Are you sure we're safe, Christine? If anyone finds out how Felix died, if our enemies even suspect who we are, wouldn't our faces be flooding every computer screen in the system?"
Christine shook her head, eyes twinkling with odd mirth. "Considering the kinetic strike that utterly destroyed my Terran home, all that is left of Felix is an atomized smudge making up the massive dust cloud that will no doubt send the neighborhood property values crashing for quite some time. No one will ever know how he died. For all they know, a faulty signal and the kinetic strike were responsible for his death. Besides, Dirk, there is no world wide web in this universe. Killian's Seven Sacred Laws prove the sheer impossibility of coordinating all that information without using the power of a neutron star. So a Bourne-type scenario where every enemy agent instantly knows who you are, where you are, is nothing more than the deluded ramblings of the paranoid, or perhaps a really good audiotale. I believe they even made some movies along a similar theme, but it has been a lifetime since I last attended a proper cinema!"
Oblivion's Peril Page 3
