by Reiter
A smile had formed on his face as he slid his hand along the surface; he was happy to be nearing completion of such the construct. He had jumped when his sensor grid gave an alarm of an unknown iro-form detected in the workroom where he had left Dungias. The alarm had not lasted long enough for it to still be sounding off when Nugar reached a console. He took a reading in the room, searching for only one thing, a sound harmonic that matched with Dungias’ heartbeat. It had not taken long to find it, and Nugar breathed easy for a moment. He had entered a command and quickly went back to his work… but that had been three star-terms ago!
“At the very least you should be delighted to know there will be no tribunal,” Bothrynn declared as he walked out of the infirmary and into the large corridor. His long white hair fell around his face and hung from his jaw and chin. His steps were slow, but his body was not feeble in the least. The Vinthur High Judge simply enjoyed taking his time. His physique still showed signs of the time when he had been a Warrior, but that time was considered history now. “At least not to process any claims of murder against you.”
“I must be fading in range of my skills,” Nugar huffed as he folded his arms.
“Either that or Murgon’s incredible will to live is something your skills cannot conquer,” the High Judge returned. “In the end, it does not matter. You have not killed anyone, though I believe it is an assured fact that he will not be appreciative of your reception.”
“Receptions are given to guests,” Nugar shot back. “Guests receive invitations. Since I have distributed no invitations, I have yet to receive guests!”
“How dare you speak to the High Judge like that?!” Ulla snapped. Her normally rust-colored eyes flared orange as a signature of her power and emotional state. Nugar, however, was neither impressed nor intimidated.
“Would you prefer I sing it?” he asked without looking at the female Vinthur. Her eyes glowed brighter and Nugar looked at his nails. “Remember, there’s room in the infirmary.”
Lifting her hands, Ulla uttered words in a language Nugar recognized, though he did not know the exact translation. He extended his right hand toward her and his left toward the wall. Bothrynn put his hand to his Osamu, hoping the Traveler was reaching for his own. When the High Judge noticed lights on a control panel activate, he relaxed… slightly.
A stream of red fire flew from Ulla’s mouth and struck air just in front of Nugar’s extended hand, fanning wide and wrapping harmlessly around his body. The Traveler flashed a very toothy grin at Ulla.
“I expected so much more from an Invoker of your reported rank!” he yelled, enraging Ulla even further. She took in a deep breath, extended her hands away from her body and spat flame again. This time the fire was white and surrounded the area where Nugar had been standing. Ulla lifted her hands as she closed her mouth, directing the flames she had produced. The body of fire split with one portion continuing to circle around the shield Nugar had erected and the other drilling down from the top.
“Is this more along the lines of the power you were expecting, Traveler?” Ulla shouted. She grunted and doubled over when Nugar became visible delivering a powerful kick to her sternum.
“That was a much better effort,” he ribbed as the woman bent over, clutching at her abdomen. “But with Living Fire, what happens when the user’s concentration is broken?” Nugar spun away, becoming invisible again. The white fire roared as it turned back for its origin point. Ulla was barely able to breathe, let alone concentrate. She screamed as the flames swept over her body, dispersing the next moment, leaving a smoldering heap of shaking flesh that was now nearly bereft of clothing.
Bothrynn sighed in disgust as he turned to look at his remaining escort. He pointed at Ulla and then gestured toward the infirmary. “You heard the Traveler, there’s room in the infirmary. Place Ulla on a gurney until Murgon is done. It is a shame you only have a single regenerator, Nugar.”
“Perhaps I did not make myself clear the other fifteen times I said it,” Nugar said, becoming visible again with a pistol in hand. “… but I do not feel the need to go out of my way for those I did not invite to my domicile.”
“Consider it a matter of record, then!” Bothrynn said in frustration before he turned to the last person into the immediate area. The only one who had not spoken since they had arrived nearly two star-terms ago. She was a tall and slender Vinthur female with long, wavy, and shiny black hair that she kept in a temple-tail on her left side. She too had her arms folded, but her head was down, hiding her sapphire eyes. “Talkurra, please!” the High Judge pleaded.
“Master Traveler,” the woman began without moving. “As always, my friend, you never bore me. But we do have the Invoker Emissary to the K’Dalkian Council in your infirmary, joining one of the High Judge’s escorts for what is apparently some much needed decision-making review time for the two. You have a score of the High Judge’s people flittering about your domicile in search of… something. A good number of these people have also been acquainted with your regenerator in the time we have been here.” As if on cue from the fate of the Stars, two more men came into the corridor, carrying a third who was moaning and looking as if he had been mauled.
“And it seems my fuel storage facility has been inspected,” Nugar said as he pointed inside the infirmary. “Back left corner, tap the ceiling tile twice to lower the second regenerator.” One of the two Warriors thanked the Traveler and carried his compatriot inside. “I think that brings us up to three-quarters of my entire station as now having been inspected or at least visited.”
“And any further inconvenience will be avoided if you would just hand over the boy,” Talkurra suggested.
“Are you saying that as a matter of expedience, or as a matter of decree?” Nugar asked.
“I would never order you to give up a student, Brother Traveler,” Talkurra projected telepathically. “But the Invokers and the Sacred Osur have been moved by something that has happened here. You can recall, as well as I can, the times when mages and priests harvest the same seed of fear. They spend most of their time in disagreement and endless debate. When they agree, even the Throne takes notice!”
“And for good reason,” Nugar returned mentally. “But I wonder why the Sacred Osur did not send an emissary of their own.”
“They did, Nugar,” Talkurra said as she lifted her face to look at him. She then faced Bothrynn and sighed. “The man is a Master Traveler, which means if needs be he is also a master smuggler. For the sake of the Stars, this is a planetoid and the built facility only takes up fifteen percent of it. If you want to drive out this fledgling, scour the planetoid with an Ionized Neutrino Sweep!” Nugar’s eyes squinted as he heard the suggestion and Bothrynn noticed the flinch. The INS was a means by which to scour a ship of any bacteria it might have been exposed to, destroying anything organic but leaving iro-forms and inorganics alone completely.
The High Judge smiled at the notion and then turned to face his most disagreeable host. “You could of course disagree with the measure. Especially if you have a number of pets or livestock to consider. Perhaps even an arboretum.”
“You would only have them moved and continue with your sweep,” Nugar replied. “Just how many credits do I owe the Guild again?”
“Over seven hundred and fifty-six thousand,” Talkurra answered. “And you have failed to make the last three scheduled payments. That’s the only reason why we have province to be here unannounced and uninvited.”
“Is that so,” Nugar said, squinting his eyes again. He then nodded and lifted his arm to enter commands into his computer. His computer acknowledged the performance of the request and a few moments later, Talkurra’s the arm-top computer sounded off. The Grand Mistress of all Travelers looked at her computer and smiled.
“Congratulations, you are now up to date, with interest no less.”
“Benefits of well-placed wagers at the Threm Iro-Games,” Nugar bragged.
“I’m sure,” Talkurra replied. “You will note
these proceedings were initiated–”
“While I was still in arrears, yes I know,” Nugar interrupted. “But the moment your search is concluded, the matter for which these proceedings were called, you are required to take your leave.
“And that leaves me with a question,” Nugar said, remembering a point over which he was quite curious. “Just how did you manage the teleport? It was not by device. There was no way to get a coordinate lock on this place.”
“Which reminds me, you don’t have a license for an intra-dimensional shifter,” Talkurra noted.
“I don’t need a license for a naturally occurring phenomenon,” Nugar advised. “It’s already been said you could not find a device rendering this planetoid invisible to both eye and scanners. It was like this when I found it, and that is a matter of record.
“Of course that leaves casting,” Nugar said, going back to his earlier train of thought. “… but even then you would need something to…” Nugar thought for a moment before snapping his fingers. He waved his arm over his computer to summon a virtual console.
“You don’t have any of the three Mal-Vin trainers with you and I don’t sense the essence of them, my relations or my former trainees about you.” Nugar started typing in commands very quickly until he came to maintenance records for Gavis Station. He chuckled as he looked at certain dates; reoccurring dates with no description of what was being done. “Very interesting,” he finally said, closing the console. “… a routine, and interestingly enough undefined maintenance on all Mal-Vin ships stored at Gavis Station. It was put into action over two orbi-terms ago and discontinued shortly after its inception. You tracked the Jagged Kraythe. You’ve known my location for such a long time and only now you are coming out to visit me?!”
“Then you should easily recognize that our need is great, Master Traveler,” Talkurra said.
“Do not call me that, so-called Grand Mistress!”
“Watch your tongue, old friend,” Talkurra snapped as she took one step toward Nugar.
“And you will damn well never call me that again!” Nugar snapped, turning his left shoulder toward Talkurra, his right hand taking hold of his sash.
“Easy, Nugar!” the High Judge stressed, also taking hold of the holster for his Osamu. “Your actions are getting out of hand!”
“Are they, Judge?!” Nugar barked, his eyes still locked on the Grand Mistress of the Order of Travelers. She was one of three who knew he was much older than the earliest recordings of the Master Traveler Nugar, though she had no clue as to his true name. Like Nugar, Talkurra had also been Star-Kissed and restored by the Stars. She would be the only one he would have to keep his eyes on, but he was still very much prepared to pit his Light against hers. “We were all born from the Stars and if this is to be the star-term of my passing, I shall lead a chorus in the last song of this life-stride. Care to dance in your shadows with me, spinning compass?”
Talkurra’s lips pressed together as her left hand clenched into a tight fist. Her right hand was already on her Osamu and she was ready to pull it from its housing. Nugar was no slouch and they had never crossed paths in the realm of combat. She was the superior pilot and he was certainly the better Void-navigator. To call a Traveler a spinning compass was equivalent to calling them lost, and the invitation to dance in the shadows implied she had no touch with the Stars. The combination of insults was a sting that the fiercest slapping hand could not have delivered. But there was one more thing that Talkurra knew about the Star-Kissed Traveler: he was never one to press a bad stand.
“Lower your hand, High Judge,” Talkurra said softly.
“But he–”
“Is standing in the middle of his domicile!” the Grand Mistress reminded the High Judge. “And if memory serves, we have not seen one of his robots in two star-terms. Plenty of time for them to access any one of the eleven secured storage rooms and modify their plating and weaponry.”
“I do not need a robot to erase the likes of you!” Nugar spat. Talkurra’s eyes flared as she realized just how enraged the Master Traveler was.
“You have him, don’t you?” she projected. “The shay-spawn you left Threm with!”
“When are you going to tell me that our silent discourse is being recorded, my saytrah?!” Nugar returned.
“Perhaps when we had found what we are searching for,” a slender hooded figure said as he suddenly appeared in the middle of the corridor. The seams of his cloak marked him as an Invoker, but he removed his hood, revealing glowing white eyes. It took a moment of focus to rein in his power to where his gray-colored eyes were all that could be seen. His age could not be seen in his hair. MajiK had tempered it into a symbol of his power. It was black as the Void with four star-like streaks going from end to end. It was not bound, but it would not move into his face unless he willed it to.
“Preceptor,” Nugar said softly, nodding his head and lowering his right hand away from his sash. The gray eyes of the slender Vinthur Great Arch Invoker saw the dismount of aggression and nodded in appreciation to Nugar.
“Master Traveler,” he replied in a very light and soft voice. His attention was mostly on the state of his cloak, but he finally took the time to acknowledge everyone else in the area. Making a quick gesture with his left hand and mumbling an inaudible phrase, a bolt of green energy left his hand and arced into the infirmary. The green burst of light could be seen out in the corridor. “Ulla?” the Vinthur called out. “Ulla!”
“Yes, my Master,” Ulla groaned as she called back to Isak Dunrossi. It was not common for the Vinthur to use more than one name unless the one in question held a very important station or bloodline. In Isak’s case, he had been born with the Dunrossi name and had managed to increase its worth and power. Ulla staggered out of the room, her burnt clothing hanging from her body, but her skin was without blemish as the green light settled into her flesh.
“Ahh, there you are,” Isak said, tugging at his cloak. “Would you be so kind as to join us out here, after you have restored the escort of our good High Judge, that is?
“You have been a very busy and clever Vinthur, Master Traveler,” Isak quickly remarked to Nugar.
“By your will, my Master,” Ulla replied at just above a whisper, recognizing that the Preceptor had nothing else to say to her. She continued to stagger, but mostly from the fright of having her incantation being made to turn on her; seeing the flames coming for her, growling like a hungry demonic beast.
“Well, that takes care of that,” Isak said as he glanced over at the High Judge who quickly bowed. The Invoker made no sign he acknowledged the greeting and continued to look over the corridor. “This is no ordinary planetoid, is it?”
“I’m sure it is very ordinary to the cosmos,” Nugar offered.
“Will nothing adjust that tongue?!” Bothrynn snapped.
“Not if we consider a Traveler’s speech as property of a Traveler,” Isak stated as he walked over to Nugar. “Nothing confuses me more than a Traveler with a disciplined demeanor whenever they are docked. Think on it; we ask Travelers to face the unknown! We cast them into the Void without the slightest idea of what they will find. We are then so foolish as to think that they will always return! As if we know exactly all that is out there! Why then come up with the word unknown, if that is the case?” With a very simple gesture, Nugar’s body was seized and lifted from the floor. The besieged Traveler’s hand moved for his Osamu, but Isak’s eyes flared with light. Electricity struck in small bolts all around Nugar’s body. “Not so fast,” he said at just above a whisper. “Kindly note, insolent Master Traveler, that you are indeed within the unknown when you are in my presence! It would serve you well to show this particular spatial body a well-deserved respect!
“And what is this?” Isak questioned as he turned, lifting up his left hand, thrusting his palm away from his body. Three small doors opened, one from the ceiling and one from either wall. Automated guns popped into view and started firing on the Great Arch Invoker. Each bolt
of amplified light streaked down the corridor, stopping just in front of Isak where the energy was held and amplified. Changing his hand position from a pushing flat palm to three fingers pointing, the collected iro-form was divided into three parts and fired back at the guns, destroying them in a single volley. “Such delightful toys you have here, Traveler, but this is not my play time.
“I will come to the crux of it, Nugar!” Isak said as the field of electricity dispersed, dropping Nugar to the floor. “And I sincerely hope I have your full attention. Very significant persons have approached the K’Dalkian Council and–” Isak stopped short in his speech as Nugar began to laugh. The High Judge glared at the downed Traveler while Talkurra winced in sympathetic pain. “Something amuses you, Nugar?”
Nugar’s body shook as he struggled to lift his face and chest up from the floor. He continued to laugh as he looked up at Isak. “You say that as if I am to respect the council or the significant persons!” Nugar laughed as it seemed Isak was readying another electrical field.
“Preceptor!” Talkurra called out, receiving the ire of a glowing eyed stare from the Invoker. “Forgive my intrusion, but... while you can best him combatively… we will have to take other actions against Nugar to get him to give us the information we seek. Pain is not enough to deter him from his current resolve.”
Isak turned from Nugar, growling in disgust. “I tire of these delays!” The Great Arch Invoker began to pace to relax himself. “You people have been here over two star-terms! Have you found even a trace of this boy?!”
“We found genetic particles,” High Judge Bothrynn explained. “They were Malgovi, but they did not belong to the boy we seek.”
“And how do you know this?!” Isak snapped.
“The particles had an iro-form signature. The one we seek is shay-spawn.” Nugar had managed to roll over and sit up with his back against the wall when he overheard the explanation Bothrynn gave the angered Invoker.