Star Rider and the Golden Threads

by Heidi Skarie

  After the few, who had not joined the alliance, had left the holoconference Erling presented his plan of defense, drawing on the strengths of each nation. Once everything was in place, Erling returned to Central Command to meet with the generals and get an update on the aerial battle with Haklute.

  On the Coalition starship, Toemeka tested the computer virus her team had developed on a simulated Haklute computer system, then read over the test results.

  “How did the test go?” Jake asked, startling her. He placed his hand on the back of her computer chair and leaned over her shoulder. The familiar masculine scent of his cologne brought back a flood of memories.

  She pushed them aside. “I didn’t hear you come in.”

  “I just got back from a meeting with General Quintary. Does the virus work?” he asked again, impatiently. He had reason for concern—the eclipse of Jaipar’s second moon, Belga, was tonight.

  She swiveled in her chair to look at him. “Yes, it works. I’d like to run more tests, but the results so far show the virus will worm its way into Raptor starship computers, corrupting their jump drives, then move on to corrupt other major systems, such as weapons, shields and propulsion.”

  “Great. We’re going to do it, Toemeka!” He shook his fist. “We’re going to save Borko!” He addressed everyone in the computer room. “Can I have everyone’s attention?”

  The other ten team members turned away from their computers to face Jake.

  “Our starship has nearly reached Belga,” Jake said. “Our team is assigned to land six two-man fighters on the dark side of the moon. When Samrat Condor’s ships fly over, we’ll send out a fake communication that will appear to be from King Zanton. When they open the communication, the virus will corrupt their jump drive and send them into another galaxy.

  Toemeka just confirmed that test results show the virus works. The worm will also corrupt their computers, so they can’t make further jumps and return to Jaipar.”

  Jake started assigning teams, ending with “Toemeka and I will be on the lead ship. Suit up and meet in Docking Bay 6.”

  The team members rose and started talking to each other in excited voices as they filed out. Toemeka followed them, uneasy about flying with Jake. He’d been respectful and business-like for the most part, but strong feelings lingered between them and she didn’t need the added tension on this mission. Still she wouldn’t ask for a different partner because she and Jake worked well together under pressure. Besides, she wanted to be on the lead ship.

  As she changed into her flight uniform, it occurred to her that the mission carried risk, potentially endangering her baby’s life. The baby was even more precious to her now that she knew the Soul who would inhabit the baby’s body was someone she loved. Even now she was continually aware of the baby’s Spirit close by. Perhaps this was the time to tell Admiral Quintary she was pregnant so she’d be removed from the mission. But was that the right decision? She knew the schematics of the Raptor starship’s supercomputer. If there was a problem, she was the best qualified to work around it.

  Moreover, if the mission didn’t succeed, Jaipar would be conquered, and Michio and Erling would likely be killed in battle trying to save it. She couldn’t let that happen. This is what she’d trained for all these years. She leaned against the wall, shaking as an image flashed into her mind of her brother and father being killed by Raptor soldiers.

  She left her room, more determined than ever to stop Raptor starships from destroying Jaipar.

  Two hours later, Jake and Toemeka sat in the cockpit of their fighter on Belga. Five other ships from their team were spread across the moon’s large crater. The sky was dark and Toemeka gazed out of the glass canopy top at the blue and white sphere that was planet Borko. She longed to be back on Jaipar, reunited with Michio, but first she had a job to do.

  If the plan worked, Jaipar would only have Zanton and his allies’ air fleets to defeat. The Raptor fleet would be dispersed across the galaxy, incapacitated. She wondered if Michio was still in charge of organizing the planet’s defense or if Erling had returned from Kumba and taken over leadership.

  She wanted Michio and Erling to know the Coalition plans, but radio silence was still in effect. Any message ran the risk of being picked up and decoded by the Raptors, destroying the needed element of surprise. She thought of contacting Michio inwardly, but felt Samrat Condor’s dark power and was afraid he’d attack her inwardly if she left her physical body.

  She wanted to share her uneasiness about Condor with Jake, but he wouldn’t understand. He wasn’t interested in the esoteric side of life. It was part of the reason she’d broken up with him. She’d wanted a relationship with a man she could connect with inwardly and outwardly.

  All the ships were camouflaged with an elaborate mirror system, yet she still felt uneasy. Goosebumps rose on her arms as she realized what was bothering her. A sorcerer as powerful as Condor could detect their presence.

  Baymond’s inner voice whispered in her mind, “Put up a bubble of protection around your ship.” Toemeka shivered at the unexpected warning. She focused within and imagined a strong energy bubble over their fighter.

  Jake was unusually quiet beside her. On the flight there, he’d asked her to stay with him rather than returning to Michio. His proposal took her by surprise as he hadn’t brought up their relationship since the first day. Perhaps he realized this was his last opportunity to convince her to give him another chance. He said he still loved her and she believed him, but her feelings for him had changed. He was a friend and nothing more. Her heart belonged completely to Michio.

  She studied the computer monitor, waiting for the Raptor ships as the eclipse began and the moon, planet Borko, and sun began lining up. Her shoulders were tense and she took a deep breath, consciously relaxing them.

  Her thoughts drifted to her first-time encounter with Michio when he’d saved her from being interrogated. Even though she didn’t fully trust him, she sensed something special about him. She hadn’t wanted to get involved with another man so soon after breaking up with Jake, but she was drawn to Michio like a moth to a flame.

  The computer beeped. A Raptor starship flew over the crater close to the ground. She instinctively strengthened the energy shield surrounding their fighter as she stared at the enormous ship slowly flying by, daunted by its size.

  “This is it,” she said. She sent off a fake communication, then tapped into the jump drive and changed the coordinates. She held her breath. Come on, work. Disappear.

  Instead the Raptor starship opened fire. Toemeka’s heart stopped as all five Coalition fighters exploded into flames. “They’re all dead. Our team is dead,” she gasped in horror.

  “Why didn’t the fake communication work?” Jake stammered, his face drained of color.

  “I don’t know!” She frantically typed in a new communication to the starship docking deck and hit the second button. Moments later the ship shimmered as it went into a jump, then disappeared.

  “What did you do?”

  “For some reason they didn’t open the first communication we sent, so the virus didn’t have a chance to activate. I sent a new communication to a docking bay since it’s designed to open all messages automatically.”

  Jake stared at her with troubled eyes. “How did they detect our ships?”

  “I suspect a sorcerer was onboard and detected our fighters even though they were camouflaged.”

  “Why didn’t they detect and destroy our fighter?”

  “I put an energy bubble over our ship, so it would be hard for a sorcerer to sense.”

  “Why didn’t you protect all the ships?”

  Her vision blurred as her eyes filled with tears. “I’m not powerful enough. I didn’t even know if it would work for our ship.” A flash of light made her look up.

  “Jake, look! Four more Raptor starships coming in. You take the two on the right and I’ll take the two on the left,” she said, typing in another message. The first two ships beg
an to shimmer, then vanished from view, but the other two escaped and shot away toward Jaipar.

  “Two got away,” she groaned.

  “We can’t get them all. Stay focused. More are coming.”

  On the bridge of the command ship, Erling watched the aerial battle with increasing concern. Fewer Raptor starships appeared than reported and Jaipar’s allies sent reinforcements, yet the battle still raged against them. Raptor starships carried thousands of men, small fighter aircraft and powerful weapons. He should be out there fighting alongside his pilots. Surely that’s where he could do the most good. Erling turned to Michio. “I’m going to join the aerial battle. The pilots need encouragement or we’re going to lose the battle. Will you take over command of the fleet?”

  “You’re the commander-in-chief. Your skills are more valuable directing the battle than dogfighting.”

  “We’re getting slaughtered! I need to be in the cockpit of a fighter to encourage our pilots.”

  “Borko needs you alive and leading them.”

  “Borko needs me to defeat the Raptor air fleet. I’ll stay in communication.” Erling left the bridge and went to his cabin. After changing into a flight suit, he headed to the docking bay. His adrenaline raced. This is where he belonged. He itched to get on a Winged Warrior and take out some Haklute fighters.

  Onolyn and Zac had just flown into the bay with their squadron to refuel and reload weapons. Medics lifted their wounded squadron leader off his ship and carried him to sickbay on a stretcher. Erling took over command of the squadron, appointing Zac his wingman. He liked the aggressive way Zac fought. They’d been in battle together many times on Alandra. The squadron, which started out as sixteen ships, was now down to twelve.

  Erling slipped into the cockpit of the just vacated squadron leader’s Winged Warrior and checked the display on the control panel. Everything was working properly, despite the many hits the ship had taken. He started the engines, rolled toward the bay door and flew out. His squadron was right behind him, moving in formation. Zac flew in place as wingman, flying slightly behind and to the right of Erling’s aircraft.

  A squadron of Haklute ships swept in and attacked the Jaiparian command ship. Erling and his squadron engaged them in battle. He flew behind a Haklute ship, locked a missile on it and fired. The Haklute ship’s shield held. Erling switched on his oscillator, a device Toemeka developed to destroy shields. His computer screen showed a green line representing the enemy ship’s shield. When it disappeared, he fired another missile and the ship exploded.

  Zac flew off chasing another ship. Taking advantage of the opening, a Haklute ship swung onto Erling’s tail. Erling went into a nosedive, attempting to lose the enemy ship. Onolyn attacked the ship trailing him and blew it out of the sky.

  Zac rolled back into place on Erling’s tail.

  “Don’t leave formation again, Red! You left Cruiser exposed!” Onolyn yelled over the intership radio, referring to both men by their call signs.

  “It won’t happen again,” Zac said, sounding contrite.

  As they continued to fight, Erling felt an increasing sense of pride in his squadron. They fought ferociously beside him. Their courage never faltered, even when he led them into places where the battle was thickest. Anytime an enemy ship moved on his tail, it was attacked by several Jaiparian ships. His squadron’s defensive maneuvers puzzled him. They seemed more concerned about his life than their own.

  As the battle raged, Erling gave orders to the squadron leaders, directing the fight from his cockpit. From his years of experience, he knew how to outmaneuver his opponents. Despite having responsibilities of leadership, Erling felt as he always did in battle; just one of the pilots fighting for what he believed in.

  Michio stood next to General Dursky, watching the aerial battle from the viewport, wondering what to do. He could feel Samrat Condor’s dark power and knew the sorcerer was controlling the battle somehow. Focusing inwardly on Samrat Condor’s essence, he began searching the Raptor ships one by one to see where he was located. Soon he discovered Condor wasn’t on any of them and realized the sorcerer was probably safely at his fortress, controlling the battle through his generals and by using psychic powers.

  Michio extended his search, farther and farther, until finally he felt Samrat Condor’s essence in the lower astral worlds. A blast of negative energy slammed into him and he stumbled backward a step. He quickly shifted his attention off the sorcerer, realizing he’d unwittingly revealed his location to Samrat Condor. He didn’t want to fight Condor, yet he wondered if the Jaiparian air fleet and their allies had any chance against the Raptor space fleet if the sorcerer continued to control the aerial battle using psychic powers.

  Michio reflected back on the last time he was with Master Bakka. The Master said he would someday confront Samrat Condor. Was this the time? Because of his psychic powers, Samrat Condor was Borko’s greatest threat.

  In the cave, Michio had tasted the raw power that could be used if one had the knowledge and ability to draw on it. That experience made him even more wary about facing Samrat Condor. What if he wasn’t strong enough to fight Samrat Condor and was killed, or worse, came under the black magician’s control?

  Despite the danger, Michio decided he had to distract Condor long enough for Borko air fleets to win the battle. He turned over command of the fleet to General Dursky and went to his office.

  Michio sat on a chair and reached for the austra stone that hung on a cord around his neck, thinking back on the day he found it in the mountains while taking the twelfth test. The small gem radiated with light and filled the room with vibrant color. It also drew all Michio’s energy to a concentrated point in the center of his being. He focused on the chakra at the top of his head and gazed more deeply within. When centered, he opened his heart to the universal life current and moved out of his body. As he floated upward, he put his attention on Samrat Condor.

  A rushing movement propelled him through space. When he stopped, a dark energy swirled around and a heavy feeling pressed down on him. He realized he was in the lower astral hells of Avernus. He looked around, peering through the darkness.

  Gradually a scene appeared before him. Condor sat at a table in front of a three-dimensional game board made of a material that resembled glass, except it was fluid like water, and kept changing shape. On it were humanoid figurines and other sentient beings: rulers, free men and women, slaves, soldiers, pilots, officers, sorcerers, noblemen. Overhead Michio could see a view of the actual aerial battle taking place above planet Borko.

  Samrat Condor turned toward Michio. Revealing the half his face that was hideously scarred. “Have you come to join me in the game?” he asked.

  “What game are you playing?”

  “Watch.” He moved a Raptor pilot upward onto a space occupied by a Jaiparian pilot. The Jaiparian playing piece vanished. Michio gasped as overhead a Winged Warrior blew up.

  Condor moved the same Raptor figurine onto the space occupied by another Jaiparian piece, which also disappeared. Another ship exploded in a ball of red flames. Michio realized somehow there was a connection between this game and the real battle.

  Samrat Condor gestured to the empty chair across from him. “Do you wish to play? If you beat me, you will win the war. But if you lose the battle, not only will all of Borko be lost, I will own your Soul. Already I have seduced you into coming here.” Samrat Condor held out his hand palm up and a figurine of Michio appeared in it. “Shall I add this piece to the board?” he asked, toying with the figurine in his hand.

  “I was already in the game.”

  “Yes, as a player, but join the game and you will have control of Borko’s defense air fleet and make the moves.”

  Dread shot through Michio. “Why should I fight you?”

  “You have no other choice if you wish to win the war. You either fight me in this game or fight me in combat.”

  Samrat Condor rose to his feet and the table, chairs and game board disappeared. He ex
tended his arms out on either side of his body; his loosely cut sleeves hung down several feet and his brocade robe extended all the way to the ground. He stood at eight-and-a-half feet tall and weighed three hundred pounds. Fire leapt in a circle around him. “Do you care to test my power in combat?”

  Michio felt dwarfed by Condor and was painfully aware he was no match for the sorcerer’s dark, supernatural powers. Wind whipped through Michio’s hair and tore at the blue robe that cloaked his body. A stream of light flowed through his body from the austra stone and with it came renewed confidence in his abilities. “You have earned the right to use this stone”, Master Jadock, said inwardly. “With it comes the protection of the Masters of the Eagle.”

  “I’ll play your game, Samrat Condor,” Michio said.

  The fire died and the table reappeared. Samrat Condor sat back in his chair and placed a figurine that looked like Michio on the board. The board changed shape and the figurine instantly moved to another place on the intricately shaped formation. Michio sat in the seat across from Samrat Condor.

  Samrat Condor moved a soldier. “Let us begin.”

  “How do I play? What are the rules?”

  “Rules? There are none, as in life.”

  Michio spotted the figurine of Samrat Condor on the board. “What’s to prevent me from landing on your piece and eliminating it?”

  “Try it and find out.”

  Michio reached for the figurine of himself, then thought better of it and moved a soldier toward the figurine of Samrat Condor. The soldier disappeared before reaching Condor.

  “A soldier is not powerful enough to destroy a powerful black magician,” Samrat Condor said. “My move.” He moved a pilot onto the space occupied by one of Michio’s pilots and the figurine disappeared.