Ryle had been spying out the control panels and believed he could guide the ship. Seizing his chance, he ran to the navigation console and tried to access the system. He punched button after button but nothing worked. A wave of energy dragged him away from the console and slid him across the bridge.
“You can’t turn the ship. Aqtal controls it from Amethyst,” said Jez.
Rez pulled out his short sword. “Then we’ll be forced to take you out.”
“Idiots. You kill me and the ship still goes into Topaz’s core.”
“Not if we destroy the ship after you’re gone,” said Rez.
Jez smirked. “You’re outnumbered.”
Rez clutched his ear and buckled over in pain. The bridge’s doors opened and six brown-garbed Qesem entered, brandishing their staffs in a show of ostentatious hostility. Rez breathed deeply, whistled, and leapt high in the air.
Rez ascended above Jez and came straight down with his sword. Jez side stepped but Rez’s sword slashed downward, piercing into Jez’s artificial metallic foot. Metal and sparks squirted out. Jez backhanded Rez knocking him against a control panel, denting it.
One of the wizards spoke. “Is that Rez Gelibor?”
Rez climbed to his feet. “Indeed it is, slaves of Aqtal. Come out of your blindness.”
The wizards sang a low, haunting chant. Two of them leapt forward, spun their staffs, and smacked them on the floor blowing a vile wind toward Rez. With a high-pitched whistle Rez deflected it away from him and toward Jez. The wave slammed into Jez, flipping him backwards over the console and flopping awkwardly to the deck.
Two other wizards lunged toward Rez, but both of them were entangled with C-Wires courtesy of Ryle who was crouching near the smashed viewscreen. The wizards fell to the deck, paralyzed by the electrified wire coiled around them.
One of the other wizards shouted, “Kill the puny soldier!” Three Qesem rushed over toward Ryle and were met with a hail of automatic blaster-rifle fire. They swung their staffs which deflected the shots away, hitting control panels around the bridge and blasting more instruments apart.
Jez pulled himself up and shouted. “Stop! The bridge is damaged enough. This ship must stay on course.”
The doors to the bridge parted again and a purple-clad wizard entered. “Your family is quite troublesome, Gelibor. I question the Master’s trust in you,” Nawrosh said as he pulled out from his robes a long, sparkling sword with its blade glittering of diamonds.
“I don’t care what you question, Nawrosh. This mission is of the highest priority,” said Jez. “Besides, you were in charge of keeping out intruders, were you not?”
Nawrosh hissed at Jez from under his hood. “Let’s just finish them.”
“Take them prisoner if possible.”
“In this scenario, death is best.”
Jez nodded.
Ryle ran and dived under a hologram projector while dodging a blast from a Qesem. Definitely outmatched, he wasn’t sure how to get out of this yet, but he had at least one ace up his sleeve. Rez may have to fend for himself, but that was understood going in.
The projector hiding Ryle suddenly lifted up in the air and crashed against the wall. A brown Qesem stood there. “Surrender or die, Gelibor.”
Before Ryle responded, Rez landed in front of the dark wizard and jabbed his sword into the wizard’s neck. The sword’s tip did little damage but stuck there long enough to distract the wizard. Rez lifted him over his shoulder and threw him into a control board, breaking off a series of levers.
Ryle jumped up. “Guess your strength is back.”
“For now.”
“How are we getting out of here, by the way?”
“I thought we were going down with the ship, brother?”
“That’s not my plan,” said Ryle. “We don’t need to worry about the ship if we can just take out the diamond drill.”
With his diamond sword Nawrosh sliced off the C-Wires from the two paralyzed wizards and they climbed back to their feet. Two brown wizards approached from Ryle and Rez’s left. Two others approached from their right.
Jez checked the bridge’s primary systems, making sure they were still functional, and stood next to Nawrosh. “Ryle, Rez, it’s over. You know you can’t win this. Even I can’t change the course of this ship. If I have to take you both down, I will. You know I’ll do it.”
Based on their earlier exchange, Ryle had no doubt Jez meant it. Without looking at Rez, Ryle said, “Measles. Left Leg. A bad strain.” He grabbed his space helmet off his belt, unfolded it, and put it on. Rez put his on as well.
Ryle reached into his backpack, pulled out his DLS, flicked the power on, and tossed one of the cylindrical bombs to Rez, just in case. Rez gingerly caught it. “Send up some fireworks first,” said Ryle.
Rez sang a low song, waved his arms, and sent a flurry of a sound blast toward the wizards to their left. While the wizards were deflecting the blast, Ryle aimed his DLS to his left and fired.
The bomb struck a window viewport, shrinking its molecules into nothingness, leaving a hole in the ship for a full five seconds. The vacuum sucked the two brown wizards, along with debris from the fighting, out into space. Ryle ran and let himself be swept out. He fired his leg boosters just in time to propel back toward the ship before it sped away without him. He grabbed onto a loading handle and reversed his boots’ anti-grav to suction mode. Ryle held on and peered down the side of the Chironex but didn’t see Rez anywhere. The viewport’s emergency force field must have kicked on before anybody else was expunged.
He took a deep breath. Let’s find this drill.
Chapter 50
Jyssa, Mitchett, Semo, Rostov, Tara, and the three children hunkered down beside a supply depot, not that there was much reason to hide. Nearly all Archon troops had fled. Since the finding of the children, escape ships had continuously risen into the skies over them and disappeared.
Jyssa spoke into her comm, “You reached Qusam? Great! My comm wouldn’t go off-world.”
“Yes,” said Lygalia. “He is trying to send help. Are you on your way? The path should be clear.”
“We’ll be there soon.” Jyssa closed her comm. “Let’s move,” she said to the others. They trotted back toward the base’s entrance.
Malaiya jogged up next to Jyssa and kept pace with her. “So I hear you’re a pilot, one of the best.”
Jyssa smiled. “Thanks. I don’t know about the ‘best’ part, though.”
“I’m gonna join the air force as soon as I’m old enough.”
“That’s great, but I hope the war’s over before then.”
“Eh, that would be boring.”
The top of the guard tower where Lygalia had been stationed came into view. A wave of relief swept over Jyssa. If only they could find an escape ship, this might turn out okay—at least for her team. What about all the children in the mines? She couldn’t wrap her mind around a good plan for that yet.
The final set of double doors stood in their way to the guard tower stairs. They stopped. “Lygalia, you got these doors?” said Jyssa, but she heard nothing in return. “L-1, do you copy?” Nothing.
“Where is she?” said Mitchett.
“She’s not responding.”
After a tense minute, the doors parted revealing a purple-robed dark wizard holding the body of Lygalia curled up in his arms like a baby. Jyssa nearly dropped her rifle in shock and a lump hit her throat. “Wha...”
Mitchett aimed his blaster at the wizard. “I know this one! Farash is its name. What’d you do to her, you bastard?”
Jyssa held up her rifle and aimed, preparing to fire, but Mitchett reached over and pushed her rifle down. “Wait, she could be alive and we don’t have a clear shot. That thing holding her is tricky. He’s the one who told me you were dead.”
“He did?” said Jyssa. A feeling of dread—coldness—enveloped Jyssa. At the same time, her face grew hot from anger mixed with confusion. She couldn’t believe the mission would end this wa
y. It just can’t.
Semo and Rostov trained their blasters on the wizard, but at Mitchett’s words eased up their trigger fingers.
Farash stood quiet, and a calm song emanated from his hooded face. It was not the usual unbalanced noise typical of dark wizards. The song had a melody. The coldness around Jyssa dissipated.
“This is rather abnormal,” said Tara.
Semo pulled out a scanner and held it up, pointing at Lygalia. “Jys, she’s definitely alive.”
She glanced at the scanner and back at Farash. “Put her down.”
Farash finished his song and gently laid Lygalia to the ground. He tapped his staff on the ground and sang another song. He touched her injured leg.
Jyssa looked over at Mitchett. “What...do you think we should do?”
Mitchett shook his head. “That looks like the wizard I met, but...”
Lygalia gasped and opened her eyes. Jyssa and the others all gripped their weapons tighter but still unsure whether to fire.
Farash lowered his hood. Tattoos covered his pale bald head. “How does it feel?”
“What?” said a befuddled Lygalia.
“Your leg.”
She couldn’t bend her leg because the tree-limb splint was still attached, but she was able to move it up and down. With both hands, Farash broke the splint and pulled it off of her. Lygalia bent her leg a couple times and massaged parts of it with her hand. She pushed herself up to a seated position. “Who are you?”
Farash stood and addressed everyone. “May we talk?”
* * *
Mitchett urged Jyssa not to follow Farash, but she insisted. This was too out of the ordinary to pass up. Mitchett couldn’t dispute the uniqueness of the situation, but he knew the Archon and their dark wizards were notorious deceivers. The sight of Lygalia walking normally—with no limp—beside them was pretty persuasive to all.
Farash slid open the doors to a recently deserted Archon officer’s bunker. The group gathered around Farash as he took a deep breath and spoke. “I am not sure how to best describe this.”
“Well, hurry up. The whole planet’s leaving,” said Mitchett.
Jyssa shushed him.
“Hey, you’re not the one he tortured.”
“Sorry. Just let him talk.”
“Commander Mitchett’s anger is not unreasonable,” said Farash.
“Aww, that’s nice,” said Mitchett.
Jyssa elbowed him in the gut.
“But I...owe him my life,” said Farash.
That definitely took Mitchett by surprise.
“For decades I have made the study of wizarding and death one of my chief interests. It was claimed that in ancient times when the Supreme Archon’s great ancestor Aydin Aqtal was slain, his blood was heard. It chanted. But the claim was attributed to the slayer, Raydin Gelibor, the sworn enemy of the Order of Qesem. Many of our kind rejected it as enemy propaganda, but that explanation did not satisfy me. Why would Gelibor concoct such a story about his enemy? It did not make sense.” Farash sat on a metal desk, crossed his legs, and seemed to meditate.
Mitchett’s edginess had calmed a bit, but he kept glancing at Jyssa’s wrist-timer.
Farash continued. “Over the centuries, reports surfaced of strange occurrences surrounding dying wizards. My kind explained them away as magical tricks of the enemy wizards of light. Of course, Qesem barely bleed when we die. Our hardened bodies break apart, leaving little blood except for our cardiac organs, so the research was inconclusive.”
“I’ve heard the stories too. Many of them,” said Lygalia.
“Then Commander Mitchett appears and claims his blood has been altered to send out a signal to his allies when he died. I thought it was absurd...at first.”
Mitchett’s attention perked up.
“But the commander was right. I was afraid to test it.”
Jyssa looked at Mitchett with more approving eyes than before.
“My life had been built on fear. Fear of death. Fear of light. Fear of weakness. The Qesem Order had made me powerful beyond my aspirations but at a cost. When the Light on Chrysolite was lit, I reacted with disgust. But truly, it was fear. When the Light on Onyx burst forth, my soul was thrown into doubt. When I beheld the diamond, found by the young one here, shining in its glory, I saw the truth reflected within it.”
Arlo’s eyes nervously darted around.
“When I saw Jyssa Gelibor and her companions here on Topaz, having come through myriad dangers to foolishly try to rescue this one, I...I...,” Farash put his head down into his hands.
Everyone glanced at each other. Should they comfort him? This was an odd situation.
Farash muttered, “For what it’s worth, I believed she was captured and likely dead. So I did not intentionally deceive.”
The words hit Mitchett, but he did not show much response. He looked away, ostensibly to avoid saying something he shouldn’t.
“Farash,” said Jyssa. “Do you know why they’re evacuating?”
“I do not. Aqtal keeps things secret until he deems us ready to know. That is the truth, though I am certain I will hear from him soon.”
“Hmm, okay. Can you get us and the kids out of here?” asked Jyssa.
“I am not sure I have the strength anymore, but I will try.”
“Not good enough,” said Mitchett.
Farash eyed him curiously.
“He’s right, Farash,” said Lygalia. “It’s time to conquer those fears.”
The faintest crease of a smile punctuated Farash’s cracked lips.
Chapter 51
Seconds after Ryle’s escape, the bridge’s force field activated covering the implosion hole. Rez’s leaping body bounced backward off the force field and slid across the deck, reshuffling pieces of debris. Facing several Qesem, including a diamond sword-wielding purple one, not to mention his intractable brother, Rez concluded returning to concealment was the best option. He jumped onto a control console, bounded across the tops of several others and leapt high up toward the main air duct. He busted his way in and fired his anti-grav boots, propelling him rapidly through the vent system. He turned a corner, spotted an exit duct, and crashed through, coming to a stop in the engine section where there should be a way to hack into the guidance system.
Beelzer’s handprint enabled access to the ship’s restricted areas. Rez opened a narrow titanium door and entered the area powering the Chironex’s central computer system. He knocked out two armed troopers before they knew what hit them. Thankfully, no wizards were present—yet.
Rez found the manual entry station and, with Beelzer’s handprint, entered the system. After a successful start, penetrating several cyber-security levels, he hit a major roadblock. He could not access any flight plan data as it was locked by Aqtal’s personal signature code. Jez wasn’t lying—absolutely nothing and no one could get past that. Not only did it come from Aqtal himself but was doused in his wicked magic. Time was slipping away and Rez’s frustration mounted. The Qesem would certainly find him here soon.
Rez closed his eyes and hummed a soft tune, helping himself to stay calm and focused. He needed to determine his next move. What about the DLS cylinder Ryle tossed him? Probably wouldn’t help. It would merely destroy this control panel and the flight guidance would reroute to the backup system connected to the bridge.
Rez’s comm buzzed. “Yes, Ryle! You’re alive, I take it?”
“Barely. Didn’t mean to leave you back there.”
“Not your fault. I got out of the bridge and am trying to hack my way into the system. Where are you?”
“Port side hull, trucking along slowly. Suction boots still working great. I located the entrance to the diamond drill’s encasing chamber but I might need help getting in.”
“I’ll see what I can do here before they catch me.”
“Great. Wait a sec.” Ryle paused. “Can you access weapons?”
“If and when I get into the system. Why?”
“The escort ships
are heading my way.”
* * *
The Gak Destroyer swerved dangerously close to Ryle’s position. Ryle crouched against the hull, wondering if the Gak would actually fire on him. They wouldn’t dare harm Aqtal’s precious ship, would they? A bulky black object detached from the Gak’s underbelly and traveled toward Ryle. Several spindly robotic legs unraveled in a spinning motion. An Octo-Ripper…
The menacing tree-killer launched at Ryle, its legs whipping around in a frenzy. Ryle dodged its first lunge, reversed his boots’ suction, and launched himself sideways across the hull. He grabbed onto an antennae and re-suctioned his boots to the hull. The Octo-Ripper swerved to make another pass at Ryle. He pulled up his rifle and opened fire. The gangly legs’ bottom claws absorbed most of the shots.
Ryle switched his rifle to grenade launcher function. As the Ripper came at him, Ryle took aim and fired at its head-section, but one of the accursed legs swooped up and batted the grenade away and it exploded in space.
The Ripper lunged again. Ryle tried to launch himself out of the way but a tentacle caught him and wrapped around him with a painfully tight grip. Ryle pushed at the tentacle but it would not budge. Another tentacle wrapped around his arms, pinning them against his body. His eyes bulged under the squeeze.
From the ship’s starboard side a purple laser blast flashed, and was followed by several more blasts until one finally struck the Octo-Ripper’s head-section. Its grip loosened and Ryle wriggled free, latching his boots to the hull again. Another blast tore the head off the Ripper, and its remaining pieces drifted into space.
“Was that you?” said Ryle into his comm.
“Gun turret, yes. Otherwise, I’m blocked. Stay low,” said Rez.
Ryle crouched as the Gak Destroyer drew close again. Purple blasts from the Chironex sprayed the area. A few shots struck the Gak’s left wing, sending it retreating to the rear of the pack.
“Nice work,” said Ryle.
“They’re going to find me any second. In fact, I think they’re here.” A burst of static closed the conversation.
The Topaz Operation Page 24