The officer flinched but stayed calm. “Understood. My apologies.”
She waved the security officer away, and he promptly left the room.
“Your friends are making it harder to care for them, Kevin,” she said out loud, though for no one to hear but her.
Or so she thought. A familiar voice came from behind her throne.
“Why?” said her sister, Athala, as she walked past the throne and turned to face Kalliopy. Tears streaked down Athala’s face.
“Why what?”
“Why are you doing this? Lacuna saved my life.”
“It was a team effort. I also sacrificed a lot to get you back…And now that you’re safe, I’ll do anything to keep you that way.”
“I don’t recognize you, sister. What could compel you to act the way you do?”
“Well, if you had accepted the burden of command, as you were entitled to, you would understand what it takes to lead. I’m responsible for the safety of my people, and, like it or not, that includes you.”
“It goes beyond safety at this point. Kevin and his friends did everything to help us, and they’ve received nothing but grief for their efforts.”
“Shouldn’t you be in bed, resting?”
“I’m fine. I also don’t want to take the medicine your physician gave me. It clouds my mind.”
“We wanted to help you recover.”
More tears fell from Athala’s eyes.
Kalliopy sighed. “What is it now?”
“I don’t know or even pretend I can imagine what you had to go through on Xonax’s ship, but you…”
“Spit it out already!”
“You’re not the sister I remember.”
“Memory is funny that way. I grew up, maybe you should consider doing so yourself. Crying and feeling sorry for others is unbecoming of royal blood.”
“Father would never have approved of your decisions. You do realize that?”
“Father is dead, mother is dead, they’re all dead at the hands of the Kregan Empire, and we will also be if we repeat their mistakes. We are all that is left, and as such, we must decide on our own how to protect Arcadia and its people. Not that I expect you to understand.”
Athala slowly shook her head from side to side. “You’re right, sister, I don’t understand.”
* * *
The ground in the illusion shook.
“What’s going on?” asked Kevin.
“It’s time, Kevin,” said Myrianna. “I’m sending you a spell I haven’t shown you or taught you. As a matter of fact, I’ve never used it myself.”
“Why?”
“Because if 0-0-1 witnessed it, he would know how to parry or block the spell.”
“How am I supposed to cast a spell I haven’t learned?”
“I’ve made it easy for you, the subspace link your friend Ziron established allowed me to piggyback to him, and I’ve told him how to improve his smart armor design so it can channel the right amount of energy to cast the spell. It will also trigger the form you need to take once the smart armor is sent to you.”
“I wish we had more time. And Myrianna…I’m sorry.”
“I wish that too, and you don’t need to be sorry, you have no idea how important it is that you win this fight.”
Kevin understood all too well. He understood that after this fight, he’d have even more reason to save his planet and family. He also realized the meaning of the adage, “careful what you wish for.” At the beginning of all this, he wanted adventures, he wanted to matter, but now, all he wished for was a calm family dinner followed by hours of binge-watching movies or a TV show. Heck, he’d even take his father’s verbal aggression over all of this.
“I understand how important it is. I only wish there was another way. But I now know there isn’t.”
Myrianna softly smiled and nodded.
“How do I activate the spell?” asked Kevin.
“When the armor binds with you, you’ll automatically transform into a new form. Just go with it and put one word in your mind: Dragon.”
“Dragon? That’s it?”
“Yes, that’s it, Kevin. Good luck…and goodbye.”
“Wait…”
“I can’t, Kevin, I have to go now or I won’t have enough energy to paralyze 0-0-1 while you attack him. You’ll need to survive until you receive the smart armor. Ziron is almost finished with his modifications.”
“Understood. Goodbye, Myrianna.”
The illusion faded away, and Kevin was back on the surface of the planet with 0-0-1 controlling Myrianna who was darting toward him with death glimmering in her eyes.
* * *
Two flying spheres cut down Lacuna and Boomer’s path and opened fire.
“Watch out!” exclaimed Lacuna grabbing the beagle by the back of his neck a moment before a blaster nearly shot his head off.
Lacuna ran back behind a wall for cover.
“Phew, thanks,” said Boomer.
“Anytime, buddy. We’re almost there. I didn’t expect sentries. They must have found the guards we dispatched earlier.”
“We?”
Lacuna smiled. “Well, if you had your smart armor, you would have helped.”
“Yeah, it’s quite frustrating being helpless and just a dog at the moment. That’s a sentence I never thought I’d say.”
A laser blast impacted nearby and sent sparks only centimeters away from Lacuna’s head.
“Stay behind cover and gimme a sec, I’ll deal with these.”
Lacuna changed a setting on her rifle.
Boomer barked. “So you had set it on stun before?”
Lacuna beamed a smile at the beagle before darting out of cover.
She rolled on the ground, aimed, and shot the first sentry before it could reacquire her. The shot exploded and sent the second sentry in a spin at the exact moment it fired at her. The shot went wide but ricocheted off the wall and lodged itself in Lacuna’s right shoulder.
She dropped her rifle and cried in pain. While the sentry bounced on the wall of the corridor and regained its equilibrium, she tried grabbing the rifle, but the pain was too intense.
Instead, she tried using her left arm to grab the gun, but the sentry opened fire again and shot the weapon.
“Lacuna!” barked Boomer.
A laser-pointer target beamed from the sentry and appeared on her chest. Her heart raced as she stared at the beam and then at Boomer with fear in her eyes.
“Run!…and goodbye.”
“Noooo!” screamed Boomer as he jumped out of cover.
Boomer put himself in front of Lacuna, the targeting laser now appearing on his small chest. He barked twice.
The sentry bleeped a few times as it hovered there. The air in the corridor felt colder as time seemed to freeze for a moment. After a few more bleeps from the sentry, the targeting laser disengaged, and the sentry left.
“What just happened?” asked Boomer.
“I wish I knew, but it looks like you saved my life. I—I was certain that the sentry was going to execute me in cold blood.”
“Yeah, I had the same feeling.”
Lacuna painfully sat up and grabbed Boomer’s face. Her eyes watered.
“And yet you put yourself in front of me with no regard for your own life. That was both brave and irresponsible.”
Boomer barked.
She kissed him. “Thank you.”
Boomer licked her face. “Don’t mention it. How’s your injury?”
“I’ve seen better days, but…I’ll live.”
“Do you think you can walk?”
She grabbed her wounded shoulder, grimacing from the pain.
“We don’t exactly have a choice, now do we?” She moaned. “Let’s grab Darmak and get the hell out of this place. I think I’ve seen enough of Arcadia Prime for a lifetime.”
“Yeah, not my favorite vacation spot either.”
5
Kevin could tell 0-0-1 was furious because the AI was more aggressive in
his attacks than he had been the entire fight. It was probably a side effect from having control taken over by Myrianna for as long as she had.
And, therefore, 0-0-1 was opening an avenue in his strategy for Kevin to inflict damage here and there, especially when the AI overextended itself in using some of its tactics. A fireball and knee strike to the face, and slowly but surely biding his time, Kevin was able to keep his focus, waiting for the time to end this fight.
Kevin managed to grab Myrianna’s body and throw it, cramming it into the dust.
Kevin! said Ziron in his mind. I’m ready to beam down the smart suit.
Thanks, Zee. Did you apply the modifications Myrianna requested?
I did. It’s a strange request, and I suspect that it will fry the power source for good once activated. I sure hope she knows what she’s doing.
Oh, trust me, she does. As a matter of fact, without her help, I don’t think we’d have survived. And that means Arcadia as well.
I’m not sure I follow.
That’s okay, Zee, it’s kind of a long story. I’ll brief you later. I’m ready to receive.
Kevin blocked a fireball spell with a shielded one, focusing on returning the attack to Myrianna in order to get enough diversion time while the smart suit beamed directly onto him.
The result was instantaneous, and Kevin morphed into a new form, one foreign to him. His skin turned a grayish-green with scales, and a tremendous sensation of power filled him. He could feel wings grow on his back and claws grew from his fingers. He was transforming into a hybrid between dragon and man.
“What the hell is this?” asked 0-0-1.
“That, my friend, is the last thing you’ll ever see.”
“This is an illusion. You are still weak, and I have taught you only a subset of the tech-sorcerer spells I possess, which still makes me the stronger opponent.”
“If that’s what you really think, why do you feel the need to vocalize it? Could it be this emotion you’re now sensing is taking over?”
“And what emotion would that be?”
“Well, fear, of course.”
“Ridiculous! I do not let emotions drive me, my programming allows me to override them with logic.”
“Yes, your evil spawn 8-3-9-6 told me the same, but you know what, I think bonding with biological beings allows you to experience emotions and is part of your original programming. You just chose to focus on all the wrong ones.”
“Enough!” screamed 0-0-1.
“I rest my case. I have a planet to save, so it’s time to say goodbye.”
“You’re not going anywher—”
But 0-0-1 couldn’t finish his sentence. His motions were jerky, but his arms moved as if casting a spell. Kevin could tell that he was trying to prevent them from moving but was unable to.
Myrianna had retaken control and was about to cast the time-bubble spell on herself, forever dooming both her and the evil AI. She gritted her teeth, no doubt because of the internal struggle for power happening inside her body. Eventually, she finished the spell and a time bubble enveloped her, giving Kevin plenty of time to launch the mysterious spell.
What did you do to me? asked 8-3-9-6. I—I’m dying. . .the AI’s garbled voice echoed inside Kevin’s mind. I…I hate you.
Those were his last words, which confirmed that Myrianna had indeed sent the kill code, and Kevin was free of his own AI overlord.
Right back at ya! Hope you burn in the digital version of hell.
Now all that remained was for Kevin to rid the universe of its most dangerous being when he was satisfied that his transformation into a dragon man was complete.
Myrianna’s body appeared frozen in time as the spell engulfed her. Kevin had one last thought for his old mentor. He still had to convince himself killing her was actually an act of kindness, something that his own beliefs and values had trouble reconciling.
Dragon! thought Kevin.
Bright-orange flames formed on the surface of Kevin’s now-scaled skin. At first, there were a thousand little flames, but soon they danced like embers in the wind and combined to create a more cohesive form. Within seconds, multiple fiery dragons were dancing around Kevin’s body. They accelerated, and Kevin didn’t consciously realize when he threw his right fist forward. The dancing, flaming dragons concentrated around his arm before shooting forward, their combined roars echoing all around.
Time felt like it stopped as Kevin witnessed the multiple fiery creatures advance toward Myrianna.
Thank you, Kevin. It was Myrianna in his mind. Goodbye, and good luck with your next battles. Never give up, never surrender. That is the way of the warrior, and deep within yourself, you know what must be done!
The dragons entered the time bubble, and 0-0-1’s look through Myrianna’s eyes turned from anger to despair and then utter fear. Soon, the dragons devoured and consumed her body with fire. It first happened in slow motion, but then the spell ended, and the dragons spun around her charred body at lightning speeds, and in the blink of an eye, her body exploded into a dust cloud.
Kevin’s new form faded away, and a goop of smart armor nanites fell to the ground and turned black. The smart armor, as predicted by Ziron, had overloaded from the attack and had been destroyed. Kevin would have to count only on his wits and conviction to save the ones he loved from now on.
Thank you, as well. Rest in peace, Myrianna, you’ve earned it.
* * *
Lacuna didn’t like the fact they hadn’t encountered more resistance on their way to Darmak’s cell. Something was amiss. She was still wondering why the sentry hadn’t fired when Boomer had stepped in front of her.
She was grateful, of course, but something didn’t add up.
“It’s too easy. Something’s up,” said Lacuna as they accessed the final corridor leading to their destination.
“Hey, we can use easy for once,” said Boomer.
“Normally I would agree, but I have a bad feeling about this.”
“Well, we’re almost there, so what do you want to do? We can always try to come back later for Darmak?”
Lacuna thought about it, and while it was an option, she felt she owed it to him to get him out. If the positions were reversed, he wouldn’t hesitate and would try to get her out of trouble, no matter how dangerous it was. Though it was still to be determined if that was courage or a lack of understanding of the dangers on his part. He wasn’t the brightest soul, but his heart sure was in the right place.
“No, let’s get him and then get the hell out of here.”
Boomer barked.
They arrived at the cell, and Lacuna used the guard’s device to open the door in under a minute. It slid open, and the light in the cell flickered into existence.
In the corner of the room sat the Domdori. He must have been sleeping as he yawned and blinked his eyes multiple times.
“Hey, princess,” said Lacuna playfully. “Sorry to get you out of your slumber, but what do you say we get out of here?”
“Bothhh! Good see you.”
“Yeah, likewise, let’s go before we have unwanted visitors.”
Darmak sluggishly got up to his feet, but his facial expression quickly changed from tired to shocked. Lacuna turned around in time to see four guards armed to the teeth enter the room.
Boomer growled, and the nearest guard kicked him and sent him crashing into the wall of the cell. He yelped and lost consciousness.
“Boomer!” screamed Lacuna.
Another guard punched the one who kicked the beagle.
“You better hope he’s not badly hurt,” he whispered.
And there the missing piece of the puzzle that had earlier troubled Lacuna fell into place. They had orders to keep Boomer alive. That’s why the sentry hadn’t executed her earlier.
Now that Boomer was out of commission, what then?
“On your knees! Both of you,” ordered the lead guard.
On a good day, she could probably take care of two or even three of them. But
today, and with her shoulder wound, she’d be lucky if she managed to knock one out, let alone four. Therefore, she had no other choice but to obey, ruing the fact that she didn’t listen to her instinct earlier on.
“Do as they say,” she said.
Before both her knees had made contact with the floor, Darmak darted forward, and the guards opened fire on him. He still managed to knock them all to the floor, but he collapsed as well.
“Darmak!” she exclaimed, getting back on her feet.
Lacuna pushed through her pain and kicked the face of the nearest downed guard before he could react, grabbed his rifle and shot two other guards, stunning them both before the last guard rolled away and shot her in the leg. All the rifles were on stun, so it paralyzed her, and she nearly lost consciousness, but the amount of adrenaline running through her veins allowed her to fight and stay conscious, barely. She fell back on her knees.
She didn’t know if it was the fact that she had been shot in the leg or if the stun setting was at its minimum. She was in no shape to face the last conscious guard who pointed the muzzle of his blaster rifle centimeters away from her face.
“Don’t you fucking move!” ordered the guard.
He opened a comlink.
“Prisoners under control. Request what to do with the female?”
“What about the dog?” said a female voice from the other side of the link.
Lacuna knew that voice, she despised it, in fact.
The guard stared at Boomer. Normally, Lacuna would have taken her chance if she weren’t in such bad shape. But it was a small miracle to have her wits still at this point.
“It’s unconscious but breathing. The Domdori is stunned along with most of my team. She’s a feisty little one.”
“Well…it’s probably better she doesn’t survive the encounter then, she attacked you after all. Is that understood?”
Lacuna couldn’t believe her ears. The princess had ordered her to be executed in cold blood, and even after Lacuna had rescued her sister not so long ago.
I knew all along she was a cold-hearted bitch!
Across the Galactic Pond - Box Set: The Complete FAR BEYOND Space Opera Series Page 45
