“Oh,” Jade blushed, “yeah, I knew that.”
“So, what?” Loco chuffed. “We’re just supposed to sit down here and watch?”
One of the Geburah’s gun turrets rotated and blasted the camera they were watching on to smithereens.
“Apparently not,” Jade deadpanned.
Blackfriar smiled and nodded at the screens which had shown static for a moment. “Not to worry, there’s always another way.” Seconds later a fresh image from a different, higher perspective sharpened before them. “We believe in having backups to our backups,” he said with a wry smile.
Bentley, Svend, and Legba were still marching determinedly towards the Geburah’s closed landing ramp.
Olofi breathed a sigh of relief. “It’s a miracle that they haven’t been killed.”
Shango shook his head. “No, Amroth wants her alive, at least. He won’t kill the others until they’re all safely on board.”
Loco frowned, staring at Bentley in fixation. “What the hell is she doing?”
Jade wrung her hands, twisting the fabric of her shirt between them. “Is she sacrificing herself?”
“No,” Blackfriar cooed sagely.
“No,” Shango agreed, blowing a long breath between pursed lips. “Legba is with her. She has a plan.”
“It doesn’t seem like a very good one,” Loco observed. “You don’t bring a blade to fight a battleship.”
Olofi gestured for him to quiet down by swatting the air. “Look closely,” he admonished, “there’s something special about that sword, and about our girl, I suspect.”
Loco leaned forward until his nose was almost pressed against the wall, staring at the image of Bentley. He scratched his head. “How in the hell?”
“Maybe she’s going to challenge Amroth to a duel,” Jade joked.
The group responded with a tense laugh, but then went back to observing the trio’s progress over the torn-up ground.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Aboard the Geburah, Orion Sector
Amroth rose from his padded captain’s chair and strode forward, feeling as though he was walking on air. He had worked so hard to secure this victory, and finally it was within his reach. He used all of his guile, all of his cunning, and all of his resources to put that bastard Blackfriar in a corner. Just as he’d suspected, the android captain had produced the girl and the sword as soon as his precious colony was threatened.
That was the main difference between the lwa, the humans, and the androids, as far as he could tell.
“These androids don’t seem very brave,” Amroth quipped. “Perhaps the assembly line ran out of spines the day they were all put together.”
A wave of awkward laughter greeted the joke. No one dared to not laugh at Amroth’s one-liners, but they weren’t exactly enthusiastic about them either.
It made little difference that the girl appeared to have unlocked the secrets of the sword. So what? He had the most powerful fleet in the galaxy at his disposal. A few tech wizard tricks were not about to dissuade him when he was moments from victory.
It was not only a victory over the androids, but a clear victory over that departed bastard Legba. The sword had been the crossroad guardian’s legacy, meant to continue stabbing pain in Amroth’s ass even after his enemy had fallen.
“Sir,” Wiseman approached from his right side, her hands clasped together nervously. The woman was always finding something to worry about. “I have some immediate concerns. That man beside her-”
“Never mind the android boy,” Amroth said dismissively as he looked down at the pair of approaching figures ensconced in their strange little bubble. “We can dissect him, learn about what those meddlesome robots have been doing to themselves down there. Bentley is what I care about. She’s unlocked the sword. She can show us. Then all the power will be mine!”
+++
Bentley’s Bubble, Orion Sector
Their relentless pace brought them close to the Geburah, and for a moment Bentley felt a glimmer of Legba’s power over the throb of the sword. The lwa was shielding himself from Amroth’s eyes. How and why eluded Bentley, but she knew she could put that fact to her advantage.
Amroth must have believed their ruse, otherwise, surely he’d have been firing on them. He thought she was coming in to surrender like a good little girl.
He was in for a rude awakening.
Inside the bubble, she could no longer smell the burning wreckage all around them. She could still hear the fires, but they were muted to a tenth of the sound of a buzzing fly. Maintaining the bubble required all her focus, and she could not spare even a thought for the androids that had perished.
Svend could. He was moving along on autopilot, his gaze drifting haphazardly across the airfield until his eyes fell on the flaming wreck of a crashed destroyer. An android pilot, a female with big, pain-filled almond eyes, was crawling out of the shattered cockpit. Her lower half was twisted, crushed and burning, but still she dragged herself toward safety. Svend turned to move towards her, a mask of determination consuming his look of shock.
“Svend, no!” Bentley grabbed him by the back of his collar with her free hand, only just preventing him from running out of the bubble. It wavered and shuddered as her focus fluctuated between it and him.
“I can save her!” Svend shouted, “I can get to her and drag her back in here!”
“No,” Bentley gasped breathlessly. Her arm was beginning to ache from holding the sword, but still she kept it steady, pointed at Amroth’s heart. “Svend, don’t.” She couldn’t explain it, but somehow, she knew that while he might be able to exit the bubble, he would not be able to get back into it. Then he’d be stuck out there, with the fire and the blasters and every other danger.
“Let me go!” Svend protested. He pulled gently but did not risk jerking free in case he upset Bentley’s balance.
“Let him go, Bentley,” Legba put a hand on her shoulder.
“But he’ll die!”
“Not Svend… Amroth. It’s time.”
“Oh, right.”
Bentley stopped the bubble’s roll and closed her eyes a moment, and then it floated straight upwards until they were hovering at the same level as Amroth behind his protective window. The idiot wore a massive, shit-eating grin. The transparent wall acted almost like a magnifying glass, and she thought she could almost see the gray of his nose hairs.
Bentley shook her head. “Home sweet home, asshole.”
She lifted the sword above her head and then swiped it down, truly feeling it as an extension of her mind, willing its tip to cut the air. The very fabric of reality parted beneath its blade, and a tear that led to a world of color opening between the bubble and the ship. It fluttered and expanded as if stretched by an unseen wind, and then stretched out into a massive portal that sparkled and shimmered like an Aurora Borealis curtain.
Bentley could feel it emanating from the sword, but somehow the energy came through her, too. It was like she had truly become one with the blade. She wanted to throw back her head and laugh, or dance, at the feeling of power. She wanted to grab Svend and kiss him, but she couldn’t. She could only stand there, clutching the sword and quaking, as the portal shimmered before her.
+++
Android Base, Orion Sector
A wave of gasps echoed around Blackfriar’s quarters.
Jade practically pressed her nose against a screen. “Is that what I think it is?”
“It must be,” Blackfriar mused, pacing a little closer to examine the colorful explosion of light himself.
“Yes,” Shango confirmed in awe. The other two lwa in the room were dumbstruck. “That’s a portal to the Unseen World.”
“It’s beautiful,” Barnabas cooed, losing himself in what he was seeing.
“It’s more than beautiful,” Olofi said excitedly, finally finding his voice. “It’s amazing!” He turned to Shango. “We can leave. We can finally go home.”
Shango grasped his brother’s forearm and nod
ded. “It’s right there.” They both looked to Loco.
“Tempting, but no,” the third lwa shrugged and crossed his arms.
“Whoa.” Jade moved closer to Jelly Bean and whispered to her, “Is Loco actually being the reasonable one for once?”
“It would appear so,” Jelly Bean whispered back.
Shango started at Loco in amazement, ignoring them. “Why the hell not?” he asked. “It’s right there! That’s what we’ve been searching for, isn’t it?!” He jabbed a finger at the door. “This was the plan! We might never get another chance like this one!”
Olofi was still staring at the portal on the screen, extending a hand toward it. “Long have I dreamed.”
“Blackfriar,” Shango snapped, “How do we get out of here? What’s the quickest route topside to the airfield? We need to get to that portal before it fades!”
“Right,” Blackfriar nodded, “Follow me. We’ll have to go down before we go up, take the lower network of tunnels to the city’s heart, and find a working elevator to the surface there. Then I’ll be able to secure transport back to the airfield.”
Loco stepped in front of the door, holding up his hands. “Use your heads. What do you think will happen if we waltz through that portal right now? You honestly think we’ll be welcomed with open arms? No. We are in exile. We’ll be turned down and ripped to shreds by the portal itself!”
“Well, now he’s just being pessimistic,” Jade muttered.
Olofi collapsed onto his knees, one hand running down the screen as he stared longingly at the dancing colors. “Three hundred years!” he wept, “Three hundred long years living on this plane…”
Shango paced up and down the space between Loco and Blackfriar, glancing at each of them. “You can’t know that Loco, it might work. We have to at least try.” He took a deep breath. “I’ll go first. If you don’t hear back from me, don’t follow.”
“You can’t do that,” Olofi gasped, “If we’re in this, we’re all in it together. We’re not going without Loco.”
“No one’s going at all!” Loco shouted. He thumped a meaty fist into a wide palm. “Don’t make me put a beating on all of you.”
“Come on, brother.” Shango hissed. “Have a little faith. This must be meant to be.”
Loco shook his head and crossed his arms. “I cannot blind myself to the facts, and neither can you. To walk through the portal would be suicide.”
His words had a dampening effect on Shango and Olofi. Shango halted his pacing and sighed, and Olofi stopped crying and groping the wall. He wiped his eyes and turned to Loco, his gaze going from accusatory to understanding within seconds. “I think there is more than just self-preservation to your words, Loco.”
Loco scoffed. “What are you talking about? You know I’m always looking out for me, myself, and I. Hell, I could open a preserves shop with the amount of self-preservation I’ve done. Only thing is, no one would want to buy any of me because I’m so selfish, ha…” he trailed off, chuckling halfheartedly at his own bad joke.
Shango shook his head, a small smile shining through his mask of concern. “I think Olofi is on to something here.”
Olofi sniffled and nodded. “You may talk tough, Loco, but I know you. You have grown to admire these androids. You are loath to abandon them in their hour of need.”
Loco shrugged. “We are gods. We should act like it.”
“We not only should,” Shango said, turning to stand between his brothers, “we must.” He put a hand on each of their shoulders as the Three gazed longingly at the lingering portal. Tears shone in their eyes, but the emotion only served to strengthen their resolve to defend the android world to their last breaths.
“Alright,” Shango said at last, “we’re of no use to you down here. How do we get to the Chesed?”
+++
Bentley’s Bubble, Orion Sector
The energy of the sword, the shield, and her own soul combined throbbed within Bentley’s body like a second, stronger heartbeat. She felt as though the portal were radiating directly from her, as though she were the glowing coal beneath those colorful flames. She released Svend’s collar and gripped the sword’s hilt with both hands, the vibration and weight of it gnawing at her arm.
Even the pain did not feel like weakness. It was only a part of her triumph. She had come so far and accomplished so much, almost entirely on her guts and instinct. Now she needed guidance. She felt lost, and she could feel the temptation of the sword’s power threatening to sweep her away. Bentley looked over at Legba, who was watching her with a proud smile on his face.
“What do I do now?” she shouted above the roar of the fires and the LaPlacian ships above them.
Legba’s eyes twinkled. “You’ve done as Amroth asked. Now close it.”
Close it?
The portal did not seem like something that could be closed. The fabric of space-time around it frothed and wriggled between them and the Geburah. The open space between was large enough that the LaPlacian ship could have flown right in. Its morphing colors seemed to sparkle and crackle with power.
Bentley couldn’t imagine where to start gathering a corner to even fold the thing back up. She’d been so caught up in the moment, she hadn’t considered how she would put the thing away again.
And it was so big.
“What’s he talking about?” Svend asked, interrupting her thought process. “If you close it, they’ll go on destroying the city and the underground base. Please think about this Bentley. My people are at stake. All of them.”
Bentley took a deep breath, and then another. The throbbing in her veins and the vibration in the sword seemed to lessen, but the shield stayed just as strong and portal did not dim. She released the hilt with one hand, letting the other take the strain for a moment, and interlocked her fingers with Svend’s. His hand felt so comfortable, so real and natural, so right within hers.
“Don’t worry, Svend. Your people are the first thing on my mind. After I close this, Amroth won’t be around to bother them anymore.”
“You mean he’ll go away? Wait, you're not planning on going with him, are you? Bentley, you can’t do that. We need you. I need you. I… Bentley, I...”
“It’s alright, Svend.” She squeezed his hand. “I finally understand what I’m meant to do. Just watch. It’ll all be over soon.”
She lifted the sword and drew on every bit of strength in every fiber of her being. She drew on the protection of the shield, on the energy of the portal itself, and on the latent charges in the air she couldn’t see, but could feel. There was potential everywhere, and the sword had tuned her to it. She felt as though she could do anything.
But she had one specific goal in mind.
The sword slashed down and rose up, only to slash diagonally again, drawing a silver X in the air that sent a swathe of colorless light into the thriving aurora. The portal swelled then exploded into a technicolor storm that put the android lights shows to shame.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Aboard the Geburah, Orion Sector
The battle had been won.
On Amroth’s orders, champagne had been popped on the bridge of the Geburah. His officers and their selected underlings were milling around congratulating one another, while their commander stood at the window with his assistant watching the scene surrounding them.
The mood aboard the ship, which had been increasing in intensity ever since Nancy’s disappearance, had finally broken with the consumption of alcohol. As the liquor lubricated them, the crew loosened up and chatted with one another about things other than their boss’ recent behavior.
Even Fourier seemed to relax a little. He smiled and spoke pleasantly with his subordinates, wandering around the bridge shaking hands and congratulating them on a job well done.
Erin Wiseman stood behind the navigators and systems engineers watching the monitors. She knew she should feel triumphant. They’d won. They’d completed their mission. There were probably promotions and accolades in he
r future. And yet, the thought of Nancy, and how tenuous life was on the Geburah haunted her.
Any moment might be her last.
Was this really how she wanted to live?
The fires on the airfield had mostly died out, leaving heaps of smoldering metal and other materials surrounded by great pockmarks in the ground left by the LaPlacian blasters. Android emergency crews were rushing about, trying to rescue as many survivors as possible before they perished to the smoke and flames. It was a beautiful sight. And there, at the middle of it all, was little Bentley with her little android friend, waving her little sword in surrender…
Suddenly, a jet of silver light shot into the portal.
“NO!” Amroth screamed as he realized, too late, what was happening.
The portal undulated and then flashed toward them, a tidal wave of dancing fluorescence.
A cavalcade of memories flashed through his mind. For a brief moment he recalled and longed for the old days, the simpler days when he’d used his powers to ease the very wicked into a blissful, peaceful existence.
For a fraction of a second he felt regret, and wished he could have seen the chance to do just a little more good.
Then the LaPlacian commander felt and thought no more.
+++
Bentley’s Bubble, Orion Sector
The warmth of Svend’s hand in hers was Bentley’s only stability as the portal wavered and closed, sending a technicolor supernova toward the Geburah.
Her knees weakened. She felt as though the blast of light had issued from directly within her, as though it had come from her soul’s strength. She leaned on the sword and gripped Svend’s hand as the wave of color obliterated the Geburah and continued, ever upward, ever outward. For a moment it filled the sky, and then it filled the black. Distant explosions, like fireworks in the sky, resulted as it met the remainder of the LaPlacian fleet. In a way, it was just as beautiful as the portal was.
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