by Mimi Riser
* * *
Coordinated by the Mage mind-links stationed across the system, the surprise strike surprised even Freyden with its initial success. All seven planets simultaneously launched attack ships armed with ion-missiles and raw nerve. The giant view-screen in the Council Hall showed it all.
Blast off and blast in!
The nearest enemy warships exploded on the spot, cluttering space with countless jagged bits and pieces. The Gaean ships sped onward, dodging through the debris, heading for a crowd of battle cruisers that held their positions in hover-mode, sitting like stunned beasts, hemmed in by each other and apparent disbelief.
Evidently, the Federation fleet hadn’t expected a sudden hard hit. With vastly superior numbers on their side, they probably hadn’t expected any kind of attack at all.
“We caught them napping!” The red-robed Rajeed pumped his fist in the air.
The other command-reps cheered.
Tao stood silent, staring at the view-screen.
Freyden stood near, staring at Tao.
The old woman wore calmness like a cloak, her face an inscrutable mask of serenity, but he knew this couldn’t be easy for her. Of all the races of Gaeas-7, this rebellion had been hardest on hers. Mages, by nature, were pacifists who hated killing. Yet they’d fought tirelessly from the start because they hated oppression and injustice even more.
“You never did tell me why you left the Temple,” he said softly.
“Because I sensed my services would be needed here.” Her eyes never left the screen. “And because the Temple cavern is gone. Destroyed almost two weeks ago by a Federation raiding party.”
Freyden’s spine stiffened. The Federation rarely sent raiding parties, preferring to do their dirty work from space with long-range weapons.
“They dared desecrate a sacred place of learning?” Even as he said it, he realized how lame it sounded. To the Imperial Federation, nothing was sacred.
And everything would soon be gone.
Tao chuckled, a raspy wry sound. “They also dared to capture my prize pupil, an orphan of mixed blood, only half Gaean, but a true Mage nonetheless. A most unique girl.”
Freyden felt sick. “Temple-Mother, I…I’m sorry.”
“So are the soldiers who captured her, I should think.” Tao chuckled again. “Zen’s powers surpass even my own—although she does not yet realize that. Regardless, she is quite capable of freeing herself. In fact…I cannot be certain…but I sense she has already escaped and is returning to us. I only hope we will still be here when she arrives. Somehow it feels…important that we last that long at least.”
“I promise you, Temple-Mother, we’ll last as long as we can.”
“Look out! They’re rousing!” Rajeed yelled at the screen as though the fighters he watched could hear him.
The enemy ships had recovered their wits and fired a heavy barrage of plasmic torpedoes. The Gaean ships barely escaped. Some didn’t. But most dove clear and rocketed back to the dubious safety of their respective worlds.
“Activate shields!” Freyden bellowed.
And not an instant too soon.
The Gaeans’ surprise hit had, apparently, blown a big hole in the enemy’s collective ego. Never mind the cruisers the Feds had lost—they had plenty more—but their infamous reputation was at stake. Instead of demanding “surrender or else,” they skipped straight to the “else” and began a brutal retaliation, beleaguering all seven worlds with heavy megacannons.
Heavier yet was the stoic stillness in the Council Hall. No one said a word. The rebel system had made good use of their chance, but against such odds they had barely dented the opposition—and that chance had been their last one. Gaeas-7 was outnumbered in the extreme. The planets’ deflector-shields were holding for the moment, but wouldn’t withstand the bombardment for long. There seemed little more the Gaeans could do.
Except wait.
