James let out a long, low growl. The bastards fired too quickly. Judging by what had happened with the Purifier, he would need to get close to chop them up and let Whispy eat them, but there was no choice.
He had to win here. It wasn’t just about Los Angeles anymore.
His heart thundered, and he raised his arms to again charge his beams. Two more blasts flew by, one missing him by less than a yard. One attack blew half the USC baseball building away. The other deadly energy blast made it farther, blowing off the top half of a taller building farther into the campus.
Damn. It’s like the Vax are Bruins fans.
When the Destroyers emerged from the smoke at the edge of the tennis courts bordering the baseball field, James released his beams. The twin green streams of energy incinerated the head of one Destroyer, and he collapsed to his knees. The Forerunner swung his arms, his beams tearing into another Destroyer, but the attack didn’t do as much damage. By the time he hit the third, it barely scratched it.
What the hell?
James didn’t have time to ponder how the Destroyers had adapted without even being hit. He jumped, avoiding the blasts of the three remaining Vax. The force of the explosions sent him through the half-destroyed stadium seats.
I’m guessing that fucker I just decapitated will grow a new head or some shit, right? James asked.
High probability, Whispy responded.
James shoved off the half-burnt metal and wood piled on top of him and stood. Got any ideas?
Unusually high levels of alternative background energy available, along with primary energy.
James finished shoving the rubble off him.
Yeah, I bet there’s energy, because I’ve had all I can take of these fuckers. High levels of alternative background energy? Magic, huh? That’s something we can use that these fuckers can’t.
James stomped forward, a low growl reverberating in his chest.
Is there sufficient power for Forerunner mode now? he asked.
Yes. Sufficient power for Forerunner mode, Whispy responded.
Let’s do this shit. We’ve got some cleanup to do.
James roared as energy coursed through every cell in his body. His armor regenerated instantly, and a green energy shield surrounded his body. Energy twined around his arm blades, ready to be released.
A powerful jump sent him out of the ruins of the stands and back into the field. The Destroyers didn’t immediately fire. The beheaded one already had half of a new helmet going.
Shit, James thought. This is what Forerunners can do?
No. Specialized modifications, adaptation history and high harvesting of energy have made alternative Modified Forerunner mode available.
James squared his shoulders, ready to make the Destroyers regret coming to Earth.
“I like it.”
Chapter Twenty-Six
James retracted one of his blades and concentrated. A bright aura surrounded his other blade. He didn’t even need to ask Whispy for aid. Something about his new power felt natural and right, like he had been waiting for this his entire life. All of his previous battles and every transformation seemed like a hollow shell in his memory compared to the power flowing through him.
Achieve primary directive, Whispy ordered. Destroy all Vax symbionts.
This is one time I’m happy to listen to you. Let’s fuck them up.
James sprinted toward the Destroyers, increased speed accompanying his new transformation. The three active Vax opened fire but had trouble landing a shot, their attacks leaving a series of craters in the field and clouds of dust behind the advancing Forerunner. He returned fire, no charge needed, but his attacks didn’t do more than scorch their armor.
Adaptation likely already achieved, Whispy suggested.
Fine. I like to do this shit up close and personal anyway.
James zigzagged as he approached the Vax, unsure how much damage he would take from a direct hit. The evasion difficulty increased as he grew closer. With the enemy now only yards away, he jumped right toward a Destroyer.
The enemy nailed James in the shoulder with an energy blast. Time for the big test.
There was no pain. No penetration. No armor loss. James’ shield glowed brighter, and he crashed into the Destroyer. Both armored forms crashed to the ground with a massive thud, like two mighty oaks felled by a storm.
The two other Destroyers backed away, their shoulder cannons silent. James chuckled as he grappled with the first Vax.
You afraid, or do you fuckers actually give a shit about your buddy? Why? Just because it’s hard to make you back home?
James’ victim tried to beat him off, but he caught the Vax’s arm with a grunt. He strained and bent the arm back, and it moved a few inches. James shouted and pushed harder, until a loud snap followed a sickening crunch. The Destroyer roared and rolled to free his other arm. James sliced it off.
Shit, it’s like going through butter with my powered-up blade. You’re done, asshole.
The symbiont tendrils slithered away from the separated body parts to head back toward the main body.
James smirked. It’d probably be easy to reconnect a severed arm directly, but that was hard for a Destroyer who had no arms left. His next quick swipe removed the head with ease.
The body writhed and thrashed, the tendrils accompanying regeneration making a quick appearance.
James stood and looked at his first two victims. The bizarre sight of the symbionts desperately trying to regenerate limbs and heads could only elicit one reaction from him. Although half the head had been regenerated, an opening in the back revealed the skull and brain were not yet fully reconstituted. He laughed.
The two remaining Destroyers let out bellows of defiance and opened fire. Their blasts pounded his shield, but it didn’t fail.
Additional power siphoning achieved, Whispy reported. Ranged attacks unlikely to cause damage during Modified Forerunner transformation.
James pointed his blade at one of the Destroyers. “Don’t you get it, assholes? You’ve lost. This is fucking embarrassing for you.”
The Vax stopped firing.
“That’s right,” James sneered. “You can’t even think your way out of this, because you’re just mindless meat puppets and symbionts that have never had chance to break free of their programming. That’s your problem. You didn’t have a fucking chance from the beginning.”
The Destroyers’ right arms twisted into barbed lances and they rushed James, their heavy footfalls leaving deep footprints in the grass and dirt; more craters in a field that already was starting to resemble the moon.
“Let’s dance, assholes.”
James ran forward to meet the enemy’s charge. He sidestepped the first lance with ease and flanked the Destroyer. He attempted to slice the lance in half, but his blade bounced off.
I know something that is softer than that.
James spun around the slower enemy and removed the Destroyer’s entire arm with a single stroke of his blade. The Destroyer howled and turned.
He roared back at the Vax and swung his blade. The height of the taller Vax resulted in the blade striking the alien’s waist. The Destroyer’s upper and lower body separated and fell to the ground. Tendrils shot out from both to initiate regeneration.
The other Destroyer took his opportunity to lunge forward for a stab. His lance ripped through James’ shield and chest, impaling him. The Forerunner coughed up blood and pain wracked his body, but he grinned.
Severe damage detected, Whispy reported. Enemy attempting cellular disruption. Rebalancing for maximum regeneration and organ support.
Keep me alive, and I’ve got this.
James’ shield vanished.
“You don’t have me, fucker,” James shouted. “I have you.” He moved forward, pushing more of the lance through his body.
The Destroyer growled and clawed at James’ armor with his free hand. He ripped into the armor, shredding deep grooves into the surface.
James
shoved his blade through the Destroyer’s head, and the Vax jerked.
Initiate override, James ordered. Let’s finish this fucker.
Warning, Whispy responded. Matrix instability highly likely.
What about not overriding? What about just killing the other symbiont like you did with the nanites?
The Destroyer twisted the lance and growled. James gritted his teeth and turned his sword in response.
Initiate contact sampling of multiple body locations, Whispy responded. A loud hum filled the air.
James jerked his blade out and stabbed the Destroyer in the shoulder, chest, abdomen, and thigh. The hum grew louder.
Leave blade in for next attack. Achieve primary directive.
James shoved his blade through the center of the Destroyer’s chest. “Don’t fuck with Earth, assholes.”
Green light pulsed from the blade and the Destroyer twitched.
Remove blade, Whispy ordered.
James pulled away from the Vax. The huge armored form collapsed to the ground and writhed. The armor sizzled and dissolved into clouds of greenish vapor. The missing patches started at James’ last wound, but new pieces burned away all over the body. The lance was one of the first things to go.
The whole process took about ten seconds. The armor was now nothing but an acrid cloud in the air, leaving a naked, mauled alien body and three cracked crystals that resembled the ones in Whispy when he was in amulet form.
Symbiont terminated, Whispy reported.
James marched over to the bisected Destroyer and repeated the process, starting with the top piece. A few seconds after the destruction of the upper armor, the lower armor sizzled and disappeared even though James had yet to touch it. The third Destroyer soon joined his friends.
A pulse of energy blasted from the remaining regenerating survivor.
What the hell was that? James asked.
Hyperspace transmission detected, Whispy explained.
James grunted. Great. More Vax to kill.
All active symbionts terminated, Whispy explained, beaming with near euphoria. Primary directive achieved.
James grunted and surveyed the smoke- and crater-filled post-apocalyptic wasteland that had once been a baseball field.
Achieved for now, James replied. Didn’t that guy just call for help?
Data acquired from Purifier symbiont suggests scenario unlikely.
James looked at the body.
Can you tell what he said in the message?
Status report indicating termination of Purifier and Destroyers and unusual Forerunner capabilities.
James smirked. The fucker had known he was going to lose. His helmet retracted, and he threw back his head and roared in victory. Now the entire galaxy knew you didn’t fuck with the Granite Ghost.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Senator Johnston smiled through the communications window at the blue-skinned alien commanding the Alliance fleet. The vimana could use a few more comfortable seats, rather than the control center looking more like the middle of an ancient temple, but it wasn’t bad for his first trip into space, and it had accomplished exactly what he needed.
“Let me ask you this, Commander: do you know what’s happening right now on the surface? I wasn’t sure since we have an illusion blocking everything from above.”
Commander Laralan nodded slowly. He swiped in the air, dismissing a holographic display to his side. “We’ve got a link to ground assets. We’ve been following the…progress of the incident.”
“Excellent. Then I won’t have to waste a lot of time explaining things.” Senator Johnston shrugged. “There’s no reason to continue your little mission now, is there? Our boy just killed not one but five Vax, and it didn’t seem like he had to break much of a sweat during that last part.”
Commander Laralan shook his head. “No, he didn’t, but don’t you understand the implication of that? A single Forerunner defeated a Purifier and four Destroyers with ease. That creature is the single most powerful Vax in existence.”
“I’ll take your word for that, but I think that is fortunate for Earth and Oriceran.” Senator Johnston shrugged. “Here’s the thing. If he just pulled that off, it might not be possible for you to beat Brownstone at this point, even if you turn all of Southern California into a radioactive field.” He shook his head. “There’s one important thing I learned a while ago about James Brownstone. Do you know what that is?”
“That he’s powerful?”
Senator Johnston scoffed. “No. Everyone knows that about him. No, it’s about how he uses that power. Many people one-tenth as strong as him would feel like they have a right to go around causing trouble, but he doesn’t. He wants to mind his own business, but people keep poking him in the eye because they’re afraid of him. They’re bringing the trouble on themselves, including the bounties he goes after.”
“All power is abused eventually,” Commander Laralan replied, his tone acidic. “I know enough about human culture to know you believe that as well.”
“I’m an American. I believe in checks and balances, and you see, Mr. Brownstone does have his own kind of checks and balances. Moral and ethical checks, even if they’re of a violent sort.”
Senator Johnston pointed at Laralan. “It’s simple, Commander. Damned simple. If you don’t want James Brownstone to come after you, leave him alone. First, the criminals learned that. Then the Drow learned that. The Council learned that, and it took a while, but even the government learned that, and we’re about the slowest bastards out there when it comes learning a lesson.”
A triumphant smile spread over his face. “Today that lesson’s been passed on to the Vax, and you have to ask yourself: if you have trouble beating the Vax, why would you go after a man who can beat the Vax and just wants to be left alone to play with his dog and cook barbeque?”
Commander Laralan averted his eyes. “If Brownstone ends up turning on you, by the time you ask for our help, it might be too late.”
“Then we’ll always make sure that Mr. Brownstone is drowning in barbeque and few annoyances. The whole reason for your little fleet trip was to take down the hostile Vax. Mr. Jakim already informed me that the Alliance would tolerate Brownstone, so are you ready to lose your fleet to take down a man who has never attacked anyone who didn’t have it coming or came after him first, including your people?”
The seconds ticked by, the commander’s face hardening with each. “Withdraw your people, and I’ll withdraw my fleet.”
Senator Johnston clapped once. “Excellent. Just in case you get any ideas, keep in mind we can get those forces back to your ships in an instant, or we can just throw a bomb right through. The only reason for all the elaborate boarding parties was because we were trying not to kill anyone we didn’t have to.”
Commander Laralan chuckled ruefully. “I appreciate your forbearance.”
The senator nodded over his shoulder at an aide, and the man murmured quietly into his watch. A moment later, portals re-opened in the command centers of the Alliance ships, and the boarding parties retreated back to a lower level of the vimana, their deadly nuclear devices in tow.
“This day might go down in Earth and Oriceran history as the day you made the greatest mistake ever,” Commander Laralan suggested. “It could mark the beginning of the end.”
Senator Johnston offered him a giddy grin. “No, it won’t. As far as most of the planet’s concerned, there was an artifact that was dangerous, and soon they’ll believe it was handled.”
Commander Laralan chuckled. “I can’t decide if humanity is brave or foolish.”
“We’re both.”
The Vax First scoffed. “Impossible! The Purifier and the Destroyers defeated?”
The servitor nodded. “The Forerunner demonstrated unusual power and abilities not known to be associated with any previous Forerunners, Vanguard, Destroyers, or Purifiers.”
The First folded his hands behind his back and turned away from the other man, staring off into
the distance from the stone ledge that lay outside the temple. He took in the mountains around him. A thin metal railing kept him safe from the stiff winds. “Prophecy.”
“Prophecy?”
“All Firsts must study the prophecies, but few others are allowed to.” The Vax leader’s yellow eyes lowered as he watched a large bird flying close to the ground below. “The prophecies are mostly heretic nonsense worthy of no attention—reflections of the imperfect understanding of fools who would doom our people to extinction by pushing us away from the Culling Path—but one such prophecy suggests that we must turn from the Culling Path at the right time, and only that time, to avoid certain doom.”
The servitor furrowed his brow. “I don’t understand.”
“Conflict comes from impurity,” the First intoned. “Purity breeds strength, and strength will protect the Vax. But what happens when we’re not strong enough?”
“You speak of the Heretic Child?”
The First nodded. “Yes. How many know of his defeat of the bonded?”
“A small number, per your instructions, First,” the servitor responded. “Me, you, and two others.” He rattled off their names.
“I see.”
The servitor nodded. “And the Heretic Child? Should we send more Destroyers?”
“No. His planet will be marked as culled. No one will worry about sending other forces there. We cannot risk drawing his attention to our world. The Culling Path exists to protect our people, not doom them.”
The servitor frowned and shook his head. “You speak of lies. You speak of heresy. The Culling Path can’t be supported by hiding from one’s enemies. We already know this. If the people learn of this, there will be outrage.”
“Of course.” The First placed a hand on the other man’s shoulder and guided him toward the railing. “If the truth became known, others might question our path, and now more than anything, we need to consider the safety of our people.”
War Of The Four Worlds Page 17