Tolby leaped to Okabe’s side, practically slamming him into the wall. His claws raced across the console controls, and his face filled with panic as I realized all he was doing at this point was confirming his worst nightmare.
“That signal…” he said, his voice weak. “…that signal went to Adrestia. To when it teemed with Nodari…to when the entire hive fleet was in orbit.”
A rock formed in my throat, yet somehow I managed to swallow. “You mean…we just caused the invasion?”
KN-C saddled next to me. Bright and merry, the little droid whispered in my ear. “This is the part where you run.”
Chapter Ten
MOAR™ Portals
The center of the room distorted, and spacetime bubbled outward. A crystal-clear portal formed in that bubble, much like the ones I used to create back at the museum, only this one looked far more stable and had far better-defined edges than any I had made.
The scene on the other side was concerning to say the least. What we were treated to was a metropolitan wasteland that seemed straight out of an apocalypse movie. I didn’t recognize any of the structures as being part of a culture I knew, but it was clear we were looking at a city ruined by the ravages of war. The skeletal remains of unknown aliens strewn in the streets alongside burnt husks of vehicles were the icing on the cake.
Six Nodari scouts raced into view and leaped through the portal, their bronze exoskeletons gleaming in the light of the room. Their large legs drove them forward with incredible speed, and they looked every bit as demonic as I remembered them with their half dozen compound green eyes, curled horns on their skulls, and dagger-like teeth. In their hands, they carried pistol and rifle, though them being in such close proximity to us, they probably didn’t need either. Their claws could no doubt rend flesh and fur instantly.
To the Kibnali’s credit, they hadn’t lowered their guard since entering the room. A hail of plasma fire from the group tore through the Nodari scouts. Each one was struck half a dozen times in the chest before they crossed the distance between us and the portal’s opening. The monstrous creatures crashed down, but it was clear they were far from dead. Though most of their bodies could no longer function, they all crawled their way toward us like unholy creatures of the abyss.
“They won’t die?” Okabe snorted with disbelief. “What are these things?”
“Nodari!” Tolby yelled. “They are—will be the scourge of our Empire!”
More plasma shots came from the Kibnali firing line, drilling each Nodari invader in the head. Compound eyes exploded and skulls vaporized. The smoke from the wounds had yet to dissipate in the slightest before a chorus of roars grabbed our attention.
But those roars didn’t come from the portal. They came from behind us.
Pouring out of the side rooms connected to the hall behind us, swarms of Nodari scouts rushed into view. Some ran off, but most directed their attention at us. As fast as they were cut down, more took their place. A seemingly endless horde flooded the area that had no hope of being abated.
“How many can there be?” Okabe growled.
“Their numbers are beyond comprehension,” Tolby said. “We must fight our way free. To stand here is to die.”
KN-C nudged me with his body. “Friendly concern. You really ought to use your arm now and portal yourself back to the ship.”
“My portal device is broken!” I said, backing away. “Besides, I can’t leave Jack and the others behind.”
“Rear!” someone yelled.
I spun around and saw more Nodari charge out of the portal in the command center. Three were killed in a flash. Another managed to get to one of the Kibnali and rip open his shoulder before being shot in the head. Yet another sailed its way over all the bodies and drove for yours truly.
Out of pure reflex, I telekinetically punched it right in its head. I struck him, and half of his face shattered as he flopped to the side. Sadly, that also meant I pretty much spent everything I had. My arm numbed and hung from my side. I could barely flex my fingers, which was pretty bad considering another Nodari threw himself at me.
I fell backward, screaming in fright. I knew Mr. Grimmy approached with sickle in hand and my name at the top of his list, and the moment before I hit the ground, I wished to god I could at least warn everyone else. The Kibnali might’ve been doomed at that point, but that didn’t mean Jack and the others had to stick around for it.
To my shock and confusion, I didn’t hit the ground. Instead, I fell through an all-too-familiar wormhole. I tumbled, lost my senses, regained my senses, tumbled some more, and eventually flew out of the ceiling of my casino suite.
I remember the floor rushing up to meet me, and the look of utter confusion on Jack’s face as he looked up from the couch. Then I hit the tile and bam! I dreamed of painting sunsets with oils and dancing on the deck of a luxury cruise liner.
Why? No idea. I imagine my psyche was trying to find a better place to be, given recent events.
I awoke to a thunderous clap in a deep rumbling that shook the entire building. Jack, kneeling at my side, loomed over my view. He shook me a few times by the shoulder, which helped bring me back to my senses. Sort of.
“Dakota! We’ve got to get the hell out of here,” he said, his face an equal mix of relief and panic.
“What’s going on?”
“There’s a damn war outside, that’s what’s going on!”
Several dull explosions came from outside, which combined with his last statement, turned out to be plenty to spur me into action. I grabbed his hand and hoisted myself up.
Half my brain knew I’d woken, but the other half refused to think I had. I ran to the window and looked outside. The sky had turned to a sickly green, and the area all around was filled with dust and fog. From the clouds rained seed-like drop pods, more numerous than I could count. When they hit the ground, they burst open and out crawled Nodari scouts.
In terms of defense, the Kibnali met the invading force with every bit of strength and power I would’ve ever imagined. Turrets that had popped up from the ground took shots at the Nodari as well as whatever was above the clouds. Every Kibnali I saw carried a plasma gun and fought with ruthless efficiency, and alongside them were combat robots of all sizes and shapes.
The Kibnali defenders took up fortified positions across the city and brought withering fire from mounted, crew-served weapons that had been hastily set up on balconies in every building I could see. Armored vehicles roamed the streets, obliterating the Nodari with shot after shot. But like what had happened back in the command center, no matter how many aliens they killed, more came, faster and stronger.
A loud whistling caught my attention, and I looked up in time to see several drop pods smash into the casino. Two hit the floor below us, while three more hit right above.
I backed away from the window, shaking my head. “Oh god, we’ve got to get Tolby.”
Jack grabbed my hand and yanked me toward the door. “We’ve got to find a ship and get the hell out of here.”
“No! I’m not leaving him!”
Right then, my prayers were answered. Over my comm, broken and full of static, came my best bud’s voice. “Dak…need…ASA…”
“What?”
“Thank…alive…jamming…com…cations…”
I cursed and hoped his gods favored us enough that he could understand me. “Tolby, where are you?”
The sounds of battle took over in my ear, but then everything went clear, and his voice came over the line, strong, out of breath, but strong. “Dakota, there’s a ship at the west landing pad. Okabe went for his research. It’s going to leave when he gets back. If you want off this planet, you’ve got to get there ASAP.”
“I don’t know where that is!”
“You…use…room key.”
The line filled with static again, and I cursed. “Tolby? Tolby! Answer me!”
Jack held up his room key, which had our destination clearly marked on its map. “Come on, Dakot
a. We know where he’ll be. Let’s not miss our ride.”
I sucked in a deep breath and nodded before we bolted out of the door. Panicked guests raced in both directions, hollering and screeching. A giant insect-bear hybrid sporting plaid attire bowled me over, not even slowing in the least, let alone sticking around to help me up. A few others followed right behind, practically trampling me in the process. I rolled to the side and up against the wall, which was probably the only thing that kept me from being broken in ten places.
Jack grabbed me underneath my shoulders and hoisted me up. “You okay?”
“Yeah.”
“How the hell did you fall out of the ceiling anyway?” he asked as we ran.
“No idea. Little robot guy said my arm was working right before he told me to get to the ship,” I said. “Then the Nodari attacked. I freaked out, and viola, I fell out of the ceiling.”
“You can make portals again?” he asked.
“Maybe if my arm wasn’t so numb,” I said. “I drained it punching a scout in the face.”
“God, what I wouldn’t give for you to throw us back a year from now. Hell, even a week.”
“Me, too. Tapioca brains and all.”
The building shook, and a pipe burst from inside the wall, spraying water everywhere. Jack tried to pull me through, but I rooted myself in place as an idea struck me.
“Hang on,” I said, shoving my left hand into the spray.
“What are you doing?”
“Recharging my batteries, I think.”
“How?”
I shrugged, having no other answer. I could only hope whatever ability Daphne said I now had worked like the rest, off instinct. A good dozen tense seconds passed, and Jack’s face grew more and more anxious. Mine probably did, too. I was about to give up when I realized flecks of ice covered my left hand, and I could feel my right arm again. Even better, it moved as I wanted it to.
“Hot damn,” I said, flexing my hand. “I think I did it.”
“Can you portal us out of here?”
I shrugged again. “Maybe.” I tried to form one, but nothing happened. Not even when I tried extra hard. “Maybe not. I don’t understand why it worked before suddenly but not now.”
“Something we’ll figure out later,” he said, pulling me along.
Down the hall we went. We were almost to a staircase when something heavy crashed through the ceiling ahead and plowed its way through the floor, taking with it a half dozen terrified guests. From the hole in the floor, a Nodari scout pulled himself up and raised a gun that seemed to be ninety percent barrel.
The beam that shot out felt hotter than a supernova. It seared by my head and vaporized a soda-can-size hole in the guest next to me as well as the three aliens behind him. I dropped to the ground as another shot flew and decimated two others caught in the beam. Reflexively, I shot out my hand and telekinetically punched the Nodari scout square in the face. He reeled backward and inadvertently let go of his weapon.
“Now’s our chance,” Jack said, popping back up and offering to grab my arm.
“Hang on,” I said, shrugging him off. I tuned out the panic of everyone around and concentrated on the fallen Nodari weapon, hoping that time practicing my telekinetic powers were about to pay off. The weapon rattled on the floor as I tried to get a hold of it, and right as the scout lunged for the rifle, it rocketed toward me like someone had strapped a stage-IV booster to its butt.
I should’ve taken my brother up on playing catch more when we were little. The weapon bounced off my hands, drove into my chest, and gave me a bruised cheek and split lip before flipping over my head.
“Cripes, Dakota,” Jack said, snatching the wayward rifle in the air before it sailed to the other end of the hall. He quickly shouldered the weapon and fired. The beam drilled straight through the Nodari’s head, dropping him where he stood. He then sighed with relief and smiled. “Next time you toss a weapon to us, how about a little less hot sauce?”
“You got it,” I said with a laugh.
Together we ran down the hall. Most of the guests had cleared out of our immediate area by now, but we could still hear chaos all around. Each flight of stairs we ran down, door we went through, and corner we took, I half expected to come face-to-face with an entire Nodari platoon.
Thankfully, we didn’t.
The door to the first floor ended up being blocked by rubble, and with smoke filling the air and the sounds of fires crackling nearby, we thought it best to keep going down than go back up. Thus, we ended up in the basement.
Jack and I blew through the first couple of halls with ease. We burst into an L-shaped room, which housed a number of consoles and monitors in the center and along the walls. Most of them were riddled with holes; some were even torn to pieces. Sparks flew from servers, popping as they took flight from exposed wires. The smell of sulfur hung in the air. Two security bots lay torn in half, their midsections a fused heap of metal and wire.
Across the way, there were bodies of other creatures that looked a lot like the Nekrael we had encountered on the other world. Only these looked far more evolved. They weighed twenty-five, maybe thirty kilograms. Each limb rippled with muscles, and their tails looked like they were comprised of five separate tentacles, all braided together and ending in a wicked stinger. They still had the characteristic metallic skin that the others had, but their four eyes were evenly spaced across their faces as opposed to looking like they came from a Picasso painting.
I didn’t know what their official designation was, but I named them swarmlings for my own reference. Sounded good, right?
“I hope these stay dead,” Jack said, approaching the corpses warily. “Even their teeth look more wicked this time around.”
I nodded. “No kidding. But let’s not stick around to find out.”
Jack bent down and grabbed a pistol that had fallen on the floor. He pried off the mechanical hand that was attached to it before tossing the weapon to me. “Here. Could come in handy.”
“Thanks.”
Gunfire blasted down the hall, and we snapped back into action. We raced across the room, slowing only a moment to ensure that the swarmlings didn’t come to life and give pursuit, and dashed through the gloomy basement tunnels.
“Do you know where we are?” I asked.
“Underground.”
“Very funny. Do you know where we’re going?”
“Yeah, straight,” Jack said, throwing me a glance and a wink. “I think the landing pad is this way, assuming the map on the key is right.”
“I really hope so.”
“Me, too.”
We ran a bit longer before rounding a corner and slamming into a locked security door. Jack tried a few combinations on its keypad, but the door held fast. “Try another portal?”
I did, and as with my last attempt, nothing. “Still not happening,” I said with a sigh.
Jack flashed a half grin. “Remember when I said we shouldn’t fry the portal device? Now would be the perfect time to have it.”
“True, but not being killed by Goliath was even handier.”
“I’m open to suggestions at this point.”
I looked down at my hand and tried to gauge the thickness of the door. Could I punch through it? Maybe. But if I used up all my energy trying and it didn’t work, all I’d have to show was a bum arm for a couple of hours unless I could find some more water to sap energy from.
“Do you think that gun of yours could weaken the locks?” I asked. “I might be able to take it off the hinges if so.”
“Worth a shot.”
Jack retreated a few steps, and I followed. After sucking in a breath, he aimed and fired. The superheated jet nailed the door and punched a fist-sized hole through it.
“Oh, baby, we’re in business!” he shouted.
As he took aim and fired off another dozen shots, I tried to reach the others. “Tolby,” I said. “We’re coming through the basement tunnels. Can you hear me?”
“…
nels?”
“Yes!” I said, hoping I’d correctly deciphered his question. “We’re almost through!”
A deafening cacophony came from behind, one that would have made a leviathan’s roar seem like a coo from a baby.
“Hurry!” I said, keeping my eyes on the rear.
“I am!”
“Hurry more!”
A few tense seconds later, Jack put one last shot into the doorframe and turned me around to inspect his work. The damn thing looked like Swiss cheese. “Time for you to do your—”
Before he could finish, I summoned all my Progenitor strength and slammed an invisible fist into the door. The thing disintegrated under the blow, sending shrapnel everywhere.
“That does it for me,” I said, looking down at my once again ice-cold and dangling arm.
Our flight to the landing pad continued, but it came to yet another unexpected halt when we entered the remains of the maintenance bay. The air was thick with smoke and the smell of burnt flesh. Machinery and vehicles of all sizes had been strewn about, some of the remains still smoldering. The ceiling had a massive hole blown out its center, and fires burned steadily in every corner.
Whatever had happened here, I was glad we missed it. No one could have survived such a blast, no matter how much fate smiled upon them. I had a brief fear that maybe one of the others had been caught in it, but thankfully, I didn’t see any Kibnali bodies in the rubble.
Cautiously, we picked our way through the rubble, wary of a Nodari ambush. That caution paid off, for no sooner than we’d taken a few steps, a scout popped around a piece of machinery. Jack, however, blew apart his head before he could take a shot at us.
At that point, the distinct whine of engines cut through the air. Someone was initiating a takeoff procedure, and I feared that someone had no intention of waiting till we got there.
Jack seemed to share my sentiment. Without a spoken word, we threw caution to the wind and dashed across the maintenance bay. We flew past wreckage and rubble, crossed the sixty meters that spanned the bay, and bounded up the flight of stairs at the other end.
Dust swirled about as we reached the surface. I had to duck my head and slow my pace to keep from being blinded. A spotlight from the Kibnali ship ahead found us, and I gave silent thanks right up until the drone of the engines intensified.
So Close to Home Page 8