I sure felt like the veins on my neck must have been bursting from the effort.
I sat back down. It was frustrating to be tied down with invisible strings. I closed my eyes and got inside my head, calmed myself, took a deep breath and extended my powers around myself. Visualize what you want and where you want to be I thought. Weights fell off my arms and legs and I was up walking across the floor. Eyes now opened and I was indeed headed toward the door. As if the rest of the Six got the message, they were now too getting off their chairs and following me. In the hallway, Breecher suddenly looked back down the hallway just as he was closing the door to another room and his face turned ashen. I suppose he hadn’t expected us to free ourselves and so soon.
I visualized his hand frozen tight to the doorknob and mentally squeezed. The other Six added their weight to his hand and with great effort his hands came away. Then it was forced back onto the doorknob. With a great effort he heaved his hand off and glowered at us. Ha! We showed him.
We got to the door and I piously asked, “Is this the room you asked us to meet you in Mr. Breecher?”
He said, “Yes indeed, bane of my existence! Let’s see how strong you all are as individuals! I do say though grudgingly, good work. You guys are full of surprises. I can see that we are going to have fun together.” Jongi and Choka looked like they were about to burst out with laughter but couldn’t, for fear of hurting Breecher’s ego. I even saw a tear running down Choka’s face which he wiped away preternaturally quickly. Life was fun and sometimes funny too. We sure didn’t want to deliberately antagonize any of our tutors though. We would take and we would give back!
Choka after a few moments asked us Six to squat in a circle and close our eyes. Each of us were to then lift ourselves individually off the floor while blending in with the colors of the wall so as to become almost invisible. We all eventually did it first with eyes closed then with eyes open. It took so much effort though that we were gasping from the effort. The plan was to build our tolerance to the effort. Better, quicker and for longer was the goal Choka told us. Practice took effort and we were teenagers.
Lunchtime was here on Day two. The food was above average and plentiful so we chowed in. At 3pm after a short siesta, we were back at it. Once unexplored ordinances were cleaned up and the nearby hills were swept for stray outlaws, we were doing our training outdoors. It was an experience jumping off two hundred foot cliffs and having to depend on your colleagues to hold you up suspended midair. Or having to do so yourself with your own skills. That was a true rush!
The days passed by and we were to welcome the first group coming on their ‘quest’ after us. There were no Badjans to torment and attempt to kidnap them, so it fell on us to help with their initiation. Jongi, Choka and Breecher were to help us do a good job but planned to stay in the background. We had to devise a plan and they would vet it for safety and to ensure it would be a sufficient testing. We had to make their ‘quest’ count after all.
11. Challenges
We set up the same trail that we had traveled with various challenges. Then on day nine, we got called to one of the training rooms. Jongi, Choka and Breecher were sitting at a desk with grim expressions on their faces. We were perplexed because we could feel their concern but did not know why.
Choka began, “Sorry folks but we have some very concerning news and we are going to have to lean on you heavily. There are about five areas across Toigan that have large active populations of Outlaws who have attempted to cause disruption of commerce and the social fabric. This area here near to the village of Bahoe is one of the most troublesome and taking out Gooch is helpful but we’ve learned that seven or eight Badjans were seen heading this way. They were captured on a hunter’s wildlife trail camera in thick forests 16 miles from here and they were heavily armed with what looked like shoulder missiles. Two of those seen, have reputations equivalent to Gooch. They were bad hombres indeed.
So these Outlaws heading our way were known to have access to some incredible technology. They have a history of using highly evolved brain machine interfaces that most other humans have ditched, but to deadly effect. From the information that was shared with us, our tutors concerns bled over to us. Their surveillance bots could be flying around us right now. So we will have to ramp up our state of alertness. All these days of practice with our three tutors will come in handy it appears.
We suggested pooling our powers to listen in on the likely intruders and Jongi agreed that might help but we’d have to filter out the myriad other active minds in the area. We pointed out that we would be looking for new brain patterns. We had not had new folks rotate in or out for the last two days. We would look for new and aggressive vibrations, so to speak. So we headed up to the top exit with Commander Lister’s approval. High above the hill over the control center we squatted around the entrance and with Jongi leading, we quieted our minds, some of us with eyes closed and reached out.
It was such an amazing experience to share on that level with our very much older and more experienced tutors and quite frankly it was an honor. We literally were floating in and out of scores of minds in an increasing perimeter starting from the control center outwards. Most were from Securinet forces that Breecher controlled. A few were from the Council of Science who were Jongi and Choka’s folks. Their thoughts and brain patterns were pretty obvious.
Two miles away we came across a curious zone northwest of us that was conspicuously quiet. That was strange to have just one area so close that was drained of signal totally. All brain waves were just blocked, like an umbrella cloak was placed over the area to prevent intrusion. Could it be a ruse to entice us there or a maybe tactical error, we did not know. However we scoured all the other areas but no other anomalies were found. Once we were done Breecher went into action, and scores of satellites and other lower flying assets went to work. Nothing obvious could be found.
We ran over the options in our mind. It would be a real coup to these Outlaws to kidnap some top level high profile bigwigs. It may be that they already know that the top people from the Scientific Council Jongi and Choka plus the head of Securinet were onsite. If they could draw them out or draw out the forces protecting them, it would become could be possible to capture them. We had knowledge that some of them had skills like ours so they could be snooping around too. Certainly there are lots of miniature cloaked drones that could have snuck into the very building here and be sending them information surreptitiously. Breecher had beefed up drone detection capabilities to prevent that. But there are always moves and countermoves!
Patrols that were closely monitored were sent out on foot in all directions again without giving them any info that could be plucked from their minds. Nothing was found obvious. But never underestimate Breecher I say. He had made sure that each soldier searching had cameras mounted on their helmets back and front recording continuously. Their recordings were monitored by several teams in real time. The videos from the soldiers operating in the suspicious area was particularly closely scanned by our team of Six and our tutors.
We clearly saw an area of visual distortion in the woods between the lines of advancing searchers. If was as if there was an artificial strange pattern as one would expect if a massive soap bubble were to exist and it’s surface was reflecting the neighborhood trees but much more subtle. So there was something there.
It is possible that the soldiers minds were be manipulated so that they could not appreciate the effect. Their cameras were not fooled though. We now had some coordinates. They were in a cloaked tent like structure, best that we could deduce. We had our anti missile shield deployed but the Outlaws were already well within the base’s own bubble hiding!
We remained under a state of high alert and mid morning next day we sent our troops again to do the same walk this time marching even closer to each other and in all directions. This time we saw three smaller cloaked bubbles separated from each other. Again the troops walked by without noticing anything amiss. So they’ve se
parated into smaller pods. This time we had sent out sniffers too and these reported the distinct profile of scents related to human waste plus chemical batteries that pinpointed that area. The electromagnetic leaking was also mysteriously absent coincident with the bubble locations. No heat signatures or any other energy radiation emanated from those spots. All indications pointed to cloaking. This was not as subtle as we would have done it. It was like using an axe to file down a toenail.
Interspersed through the forest we arranged for more sensors particularly within a three mile perimeter. We hoped to get pinged if they moved forward or back.
At some point we would have to take the fight to them though. We could not stay on the defensive forever. The more they split up too, the harder it would become to follow them as well. At this point we hoped that they would not know if we were onto them. We reasoned that we needed to understand what their objective were. They might be here to try to recapture some of their compatriots like Gooch or to seek revenge or to kidnap our tutors or to just blow us to smithereens. We couldn’t be sure and that made us more nervous. Even though we carried out these noisy forays all around the control center to try to lull them into a false sense of security, the frequent patrols must be making them uneasy we figured.
We were going to break up into two batches of teenagers and pretend to be hiking while keeping our eyes open. The tutors would be with us telepathically and Breecher can teleport in with ten troops in a hurry if we needed help plus air support would be almost immediately available. We would be unarmed of course. Six against seven known suspects with known weapons could be dicey. We just weren’t six ordinary teenagers though. We knew that although this was supposed to be our last day of training, it was necessary to get this situation resolved once and for all. It’s not like we had something more pressing or exciting to go home to do anyway.
We rode on two electric 4-wheelers due north out to four miles and then meandered through the woods. We were three each to a vehicle. The location where their camps were was craggy with no trails suitable for riding and the trees were too close together as well. So we left Cherese and Jessi at the wheel to meet us later when summoned, as the four of us slowly walked back in the direction of the Control Center feigning to be just some clueless young men hiking. We each had a backpack and a walking stick.
We were puffing up the hill where the bubbles were noted while talking fairly loudly, just like raucous teens might do. We had our senses reaching out around us, while at the same time shielding ourselves from too easy intrusion by other alien minds. We were careful to be open to Cherese and Jessi and our tutors. Human sweat and excrement is hard to hide with our enhanced senses and was evident as we summited the rise while tramping through between the trees. As was planned, I made sure to head straight toward where one bubble was last seen. As I grew closer, energy started to buzz in the air. I pretended to see something of interest just ahead of me that I was going to poke with my stick as I neared the bubble. There was a flash of light, a sharp tingle and there squatting in front of me two brown camouflaged swarthy men who looked to be in their thirties pretending to be playing cards.
They looked at us as if in surprise and one said, “Oh boy, you guys almost trampled us!” Each had two large camouflaged packs one large a little behind them and a small one on the side. They were smiling a little too broadly, I could now feel their anger and belligerence seething. I was milking them of information, like drinking soup straight from a tureen. Thank goodness they were easy. I had scooped up their colleagues information and locations. I knew that Jongi, Choka, Breecher as well as the rest of my team were getting fed too. It was very clear that we were all close to being neutralized permanently. Their thoughts were crystal clear. I knew that the other members in the other bubbles were mobilizing. As far as these Outlaws were concerned, we were to be neutralized.
Keeping up the pretense, I jumped back startled with a suitably horrified expression on my face and said loudly, “So sorry, you fellows were so quiet! I really did not see you. Why did you not make some noise. We were tramping through so loudly, you surely must have heard us coming a long ways away.”
The same man who spoke before, spread his arms wide, still holding the pack of cards and said, “When Jake and I play, we get into the game so deeply, you could have been a hungry bear and we could have gotten eaten. Where are you all going anyway?”
I said, “We were just going for a ride on our 4-wheelers but couldn’t get up this hill and we wanted to check it out, so we parked a half mile away and walked over. Are you two camping or hunting?” He said, “We are scoping out trails in the area and may come back sometime to do some hunting yes. How far to the village if we need to get supplies?” I said, “Three miles that way.” Pointing in the general direction of Bahoe. His non-talking partner had reached into his small pack and his right hand came out with a small blaster. I knew where this was going. We would not be allowed to leave here alive. They planned to slip into our clothing, get our 4-wheelers and get closer to the control center. I started raising my hands up with the stick dropping with a thud in between the three of us in a sign of surprise and apparent surrender. Of course my other three fellow hikers were fully clued in as they were all within 30 feet of me and had stopped too, monitoring my encounter as well as the locations where we knew the two other bubbles were located. They too were all in the acting mode, trying to appear as surprised as I had feigned. They were, like me, probing the area and expecting the other Outlaws to drop their bubble defense and emerge.
Like wraiths, a group of three and a separate group of two emerged and immediately there were explosive zapping noises recognizable as blasters. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Dillion whipped around likely from the blast and both Mader and Matt hit the ground. The Outlaws who had emerged did not plan to waste time. They’d dropped their bubbles with fingers on the trigger. I slammed power into the two Badjans in front of me as they both had weapons swinging in my direction as they were jumping to their feet. So I helped them to swing those weapons up and as they got to their feet sharply swung them to face each other with my power, then nudged their fingers onto their triggers, ‘boom’ they nullified each other, dead before they hit the ground.
The group of three were to my right and faced Matt and Mader. Those three just did not stand a chance of even triggering their weapons. Matt and Mader simply drained them of energy. Their arms flopped down like limp rags and they slumped first to their knees then flat on their faces. The other two who had shot Dillion, seeing how things were shaping, turned on their heels and ran while hastily pulling out a device from their pocket. Suddenly they had disappeared as if into thin air. Just a second after they seemed to disappear, two trees within two feet of them disintegrated into a flaming steam bath with thousands of shards of wood spraying in every direction. One of Breecher’s drones likely had shot a missile at them, succeeding in taking out two trees instead.
Cherese and Jessi suddenly appeared with a medical kit, racing over to Dillion who was bleeding profusely from his right chest. He looked grey and was obviously gasping for air. Not good I thought and simultaneously I could feel Jongi in my head saying, “Go over and combine your energies to cauterize his vessels and stop the lung leak and pressure build up. We are watching over you for danger. Help is on the way.”
Jessi had already swabbed his chest and now stuck a large needle into his right upper chest and removed the metal part. A ‘whoosh ’ noise came out of the catheter with a film of red mist. Good, that took care of the pressure build up in his chest and we still needed to stop his bleeding, heal his lungs. We could see his color turn from grey to slight pink and he started to mumble something. He was at least breathing easier now. We all focused our attention on his body and let Mader take the lead. We could feel him reach inside Dillion’s chest cavity and identify the largest leaking vessel and we pushed energy along with him into the tissues to pull the connective tissue over the jagged wound and hold it in place as clots beg
an to form. Three minutes later we could feel the patch now firming up and we slowly drew back our energies. It was holding. Next we probed him seeking out the smaller leaks, which were even easier to cauterize shut. There was still lots of blood in his chest cavity and the real medics would deal with that we felt. For now he was safe from exsanguinating- bleeding out! Once again all that information drilled directly into our brain during the Immersion was coming into good use. It would have taken years of training to have mastered all that otherwise.
Jongi, Choka and Breecher were now tramping through the woods twenty feet away. Cherese thought spoke to them, “Why are you all here, exposing yourselves to capture or injury? We can handle it.”
Breecher said, “Jongi and Choka, the young whipper snappers are worried about us old farts. We should run back to civilization and hide beneath our beds with our coffins next to us. They forget that I am the only one so far to strangle the life out of three large Zinbeests who were hungry for my flesh on the third moon of Threeme. No other human has done that yet. Both Jongi and Choka have beaten the odds against them so many times. Old does not mean weak young people, ok. We need to make sure we put that in the programming for the next Immersion. These folks are lacking!”
Were we not so concerned about Dillion and his injuries, we might have cracked up laughing at his righteous indignation. We managed a wan smile instead. We scurried around gathering the packs large and small that had been left at the different prior bubble locations fully aware that there were two and maybe even a third Badjan, fully armed with cloaking abilities somewhere on this hill; who knows, they could be making a beeline to the control center to set off demolitions.
Outlaw Badjans (Six of Toigan) Page 9