by A A Warren
Avra looked up in surprise. “Suphara, I thought you—”
The alien woman took Avra’s arm and helped her to her feet. “He’s not the only one who can wield dark energy, sister. And it will take more than tricks to escape our vengeance.” She pointed her crackling blade at Dulkar. “You have spilled Sorari blood, Dulkar. Now we come for yours!”
A bolt of energy leapt from her weapon and streaked towards the armored sorcerer. He raised a hand, and her blast dissipated into a faint ripple of energy. His head tilted as he regarded the crystalline woman for a moment. Then he twisted his arm, spinning it in a wide circle.
A cloud of purple mist rose up around Suphara. It spun like a violent whirlwind, sending Avra and Orvane tumbling back along the catwalk.
“You,” Dulkar hissed. “You are more than mere flesh. I have never seen a creature of your kind before. What are you?” He curled his fingers, and the cloud solidified into a glowing bubble. It floated into the air, carrying Suphara towards him. She pounded her fists against the energy globe that engulfed her, but no sound emerged from her glowing prison.
“Let her go, you bastard!” Avra shouted. Leaping to her feet, she hurled one of her blades at the floating sorcerer. He blocked it with a gesture of his hand, sending it careening into the side of the tower. It dug into the metal wall, and a high-pitched whine emitted from the weapon.
Dulkar pointed down, sending a pulse of dark energy towards the red-haired woman. The blast knocked Avra back again. She slammed down onto the catwalk, gasping for breath.
Dulkar’s glowing visor stared at the shimmering facets of Suphara’s body as she hovered before him. “Your organic crystalline structure… It stores and channels dark energy. You could be useful to—”
Suddenly, the dagger in the wall exploded. Sparks showered down, and an ominous hum emitted from the glowing filtration field above. A metallic groan echoed through the air, as the massive beam projectors began to lower on their tracks.
The shimmering energy disk descended towards the catwalk. It struck an antenna mounted to the tip of the aileron, reducing it to glowing particles in an instant.
“You fool,” Dulkar hissed, glaring down at her. “Your weapon severed a hydraulic line. The energy projectors are falling… And that filtration field will destroy anything it touches!”
Talon roared in fury as he swung his axe at the hulking mech. Volonte’s blade flashed out, parrying the attack. The axe hummed as it made contact with the metal blade, but it did not cut through.
Talon’s eyes opened wide with surprise.
Volonte drove a knee into the warrior’s gut. The wind exploded from his lungs, as he doubled over in pain. The mech’s free arm shot up in a powerful uppercut. The blow struck Talon’s chin like a crack of thunder, sending the gladiator flying backwards. A loud clang echoed through the air as he slammed down onto the catwalk.
“Zedrakon steel, boy,” Volonte taunted. “Every molecule of my blade is in perfect alignment. Harder than cryocite crystal.”
The mech aimed his pulse canon and fired. Panting for breath, Talon rolled sideways. The blast tore a glowing hole through the metal plate where his head had been.
Leaping to his feet, Talon charged again, swinging his axe overhead. Volonte moved his sword to intercept the blow, but at the last second Talon adjusted his swing. He dropped the fiery blade low, coming in from the side. Grabbing the shaft with both hands, he struck the mech's torso with a powerful blow.
As the attack connected, a faint glow surrounded the mech's body. Talon saw ripples of energy radiate from the point of impact. The blade seemed to rebound, and a numbing shock ran through his arms.
Undaunted, he forced himself to swing the heavy axe again, driving the plasma blade into the mech's chest. But again, the weapon bounced off the energy field. Talon staggered backwards, his arms limp and aching.
Some kind of energy shield, he thought. Even my axe can’t penetrate this thing’s hide!
The glowing field dissipated as the mech lumbered towards him. Talon narrowed his eyes, forcing himself to concentrate on his opponent. He had fought combat mechs in the arena before. But the way this thing moved, the speed of its attacks… It fought like a man, not a machine.
He heard an explosion above. From the corner of his eye he saw a shower of glowing sparks fall to the ground. The hum of the filtration field grew louder. He paid the distractions no mind, focusing all his attention on Volonte and his next attack.
Talon leapt back as the mech swung his massive blade. The weapon tore into the catwalk, slashing a jagged gash through the metal plates. As the narrow gantry trembled, Talon pressed his attack, leaping over the gap in the plates. He swung the blazing axe with both arms, putting all the power he could muster into another strike. But it was to no avail… The mech’s shields still deflected the plasma weapon.
“Talon,” Avra called out from the central platform. “Look up!”
The angry hum above them grew louder. Glancing up as he retreated along the edge of the tower, Talon saw the filtration field sink lower. The powerful energy barrier melted its way through the tip of the aileron in the center of the platform, then descended towards the catwalks that ran overhead.
Volonte ignored the deadly field and stomped towards Talon. The mech raised his sword, preparing for another attack.
“Disappointing, boy. I thought you would provide better sport. But you’re as weak as all your kind.”
Suddenly a whistling blade cut through the air, rushing between Talon and the mech. One of Avra’s daggers spun past Volonte’s head, and buried itself in the wall. The mech turned and glared at her.
“You missed, Sorari.”
Avra grinned back. “I wasn’t aiming for your head.”
The weapon exploded, rupturing a coolant line in the wall. A jet of red-hot steam blasted the mech’s armored shell. He roared in fury, stumbling backwards as the vapor engulfed his metal skull. The damage was minimal, but the hot steam temporarily blinded his thermo-optic sensors.
With a savage grin, Talon charged. He slammed his shoulder into Volonte’s chest, knocking the mech back a few more steps. As Volonte struggled to regain his balance, Talon slashed at his opponent’s neck. The fiery blade connected, but again the energy field kicked in. He stumbled backwards as the mech’s shield deflected his blow.
Volonte’s glowing eyes peered through the cloud of mist. Snarling in fury, he lunged forward. Talon grunted in pain as the tip of the mech’s blade tore into his shoulder. Before he could recover, the mech hoisted him up into the air, and the blade slid in deeper.
Talon roared in pain. Volonte’s mouth twisted into a smile. His free arm swung up, striking Talon with a vicious backhand. The powerful blow snapped the warrior’s head back, and sent him flying through the air.
Talon’s body struck the guard rail of a nearby catwalk. His flailing arms grabbed at the railing, while his feet dangled over the shaft’s dark abyss. He could feel the wind from the churning fans below. The hot breeze rushed across his skin and whipped through his hair.
Wincing in pain, he struggled to pull himself up onto the narrow walkway. The weight of his hanging body tugged at the gash in his shoulder. Hot blood gushed from the wound, spattering crimson droplets across his face.
Fighting through the agony, he managed to crawl onto the catwalk. As he staggered to his feet, he saw Volonte spin around and stalk down another gantry, moving towards Avra. The mech’s plasma canon hummed as he aimed the powerful weapon at the red-haired woman.
“Avra,” Talon shouted, his voice hoarse from pain and exertion. “Look out!”
The powerful weapon fired, but Avra ducked beneath the blast. A smoking hole exploded in the side of the bunker, as the energy bolt punched through the thick metal walls. Orvane yelped in fear, and tugged Avra towards the bunker.
Talon raced down the catwalk, his muscular legs propelling him across the metal walkway. He dove forward, landing at Avra’s feet. Planting the shaft of the axe on t
he ground, he grabbed Avra’s belt and pulled her down low, shielding both her and Orvave with the fiery plasma blade.
Volonte fired again. The powerful blast struck the glowing plasma weapon. The impact knocked Talon and Avra backwards, as the energy bolt ricocheted off the axe’s magnetic containment field. It struck another hydraulic conduit in the walls of the tower.
The hum of the filtration field grew louder as it fell faster down the shaft. The upper catwalks disintegrated, showering the platform with fragments of molten metal. Volonte spun around as the falling debris blocked the exit door behind him.
Dulkar floated down to the outer ring, dragging the imprisoned Suphara behind him.
“My Lord, we must leave at once. This field will annihilate everything in its path. The Order of the Blue Star will surely notice the destruction of this tower. Even now, their fleet moves to intercept us.”
“Then we must draw their attention elsewhere,” the mech growled back. “Give me the detonator.”
“But My Lord, the gravimetric bomb is still onboard one of our orbiting ships. It has not been placed in the proper position to—”
“These coordinates are close enough! Do not make me ask again…”
Dulkar bowed, and handed Volonte the metal sphere. As the mech clutched it in his hand, Talon staggered to his feet in front of the smoking bunker.
“We’re not finished yet, machine!” he shouted. Taking aim, he hurled his plasma axe at the mech. The weapon was a blur of orange fire as it spun towards its target.
Volonte’s mechanical arm shot out, faster than the eye could see. He caught the shaft of the fiery weapon, plucking it from the air as if it weighed nothing. Holding it before him, he examined the glowing blade. “Primitive,” he muttered. “After all this time, human technology is still so primitive.”
The servos in his arm clicked and whirred as his fingers crushed the axe’s metal shaft. The fiery blade hissed and dimmed, then flickered out. Grabbing the weapon in both hands, the mech slammed it over a raised knee. Sparks erupted from the hilt as the weapon snapped in two. He tossed the fragments back to Talon. They rolled across the catwalk, landing at the warrior’s feet.
“I would prefer to kill you with my bare hands,” Volonte shouted. “But time is of the essence. Instead, you shall share this desolate planet’s fate.”
Volonte pressed the button on the metal sphere. The gleaming orb pulsed with light. The windows above darkened, as if a gigantic cloud had blocked the sun. A tremor ran through the walls of the tower, and a distant rumbling filled the air.
Dulkar gestured with his arms, and half-whispered chants echoed from his helmet. A swirling portal tore open in the space behind them.
Volonte focused his glowing mechanical eyes on Talon. “If you are truly the last of your kind, then your people die this day,” he growled. He stepped into the glowing circle. “As you said… Victory or death, No’varran.”
He disappeared in the swirling vortex. Dulkar followed, dragging Suphara’s glowing prison along with him. The portal shrank to a brilliant pinpoint of light, then vanished.
Avra groaned, clutching a bruise on her arm as she sat up. “What the hell was that thing?”
“That was Volonte,” Orvane shouted, scurrying over and helping her to her feet. “We have to leave, now!” He grabbed Avra’s hand and tugged her towards the door on the opposite side of the platform. “Hurry, hurry!”
Talon winced as he bent down and picked up the shattered fragments of his axe. “I’ve never fought anything so strong,” he muttered. “My axe… it couldn’t touch him.”
“Talk later! No time!” Orvane hopped up and down, pointing to the exit.
Talon looked up. The crackling filtration field loomed closer. More molten debris rained down around them as it ate through the superstructure of the tower.
“You’re right, that field’s getting closer. We’d better get back to the ship before—”
“No, not that!” The little alien shouted. “Volonte set off gravimetric bomb in orbit! We have to get out of here!”
Avra followed after the alien. “What’s the blast radius when it goes off?"
Orvane looked back at her, his glowing orange eyes wide with terror. “Blast radius? Whole planet is blast radius! Everything in system will be destroyed!”
Chapter Twenty-Two
Talon limped along the corridor of the Star Claw, his arm looped around Avra’s shoulder. The wail of alarms filled the air, and orange emergency lights spun overhead. Orvane scurried in front of them, hefting a utility bag over his shoulder. After escaping the remains of the tower, he had insisted they stop on the way back to the ship to pick it up.
“No time, no time!” he shouted. “Must leave sector, quickly! Where engine room?”
“Talon, you need medical attention, we have to—”
Talon shook his head. “Orvane is right, there’s no time. You saw what happened when one of these devices went off. We have to get out of here.”
“Well, unless that magic tattoo of yours is still working, we can’t open a portal without Suphara! The Star Claw doesn’t have a—”
Orvane spun around to face them and unzipped the bag. “That’s why we stop to get this. Look, look!”
A purple glow emerged, lighting up Avra’s face. She grabbed the bag from the alien’s hands and yanked it open. A clear cylinder lay inside, about the length of her arm. A column of glowing energy swirled within the chamber, nestled between a polished metal frame.
She gasped. “By the gods... Is that what I think it is?”
Talon nodded weakly. “Aye… Consortium tech. The dark energy cell from my ship.”
She handed the bag back to the little alien. “Can you mount this into our portal drive conduits?”
Orvane nodded. “Yes, yes! Then we jump out of here. Quickly!”
Talon limped away from her. “Go,” he said. “I’ll pilot the ship."
A vibration rumbled through the hull. Talon braced himself against the wall as the deck shuddered beneath his feet.
Avra grabbed Orvane by the collar and dragged him down another corridor. “All right little guy, let’s get this done!”
Talon continued along the corridor, staggering towards the bridge.
“Utu, can you raise the Blue Star outpost on the surface?” he grunted, as a door hissed open at the end of the passageway. He hobbled through the entrance and made his way to the pilot’s chair. Utu hovered behind, scanning the consoles with its eyestalks.
“This unit has already sent a transmission. Receiving reply now. Patching through to holo-display.”
As Talon strapped himself into the low-slung chair, a glowing blue face hovered in the air before him. A battered marshal’s helmet covered the man's face, but the wrinkled frown of his lips made his displeasure clear.
“Whoever you are, this system is under Blue Star lock down, following evidence of sabotage at Atmosphere Tower 1971-A. No ships are permitted to leave this system until we—”
Talon flipped a row of blinking switches on his console. The ship’s engines rumbled to life.
“Iberon’s harem man, stop your prattling and listen. You need to sound the planetary evacuation alarm. Quickly!”
“What are you talking about? By whose authority—”
THUNK! The ship wobbled as something slammed into the dorsal side. Talon looked out the sloped cockpit window. “Orion’s blazing bow!” he gasped.
A swirling cloud of dust encircled the nearby moon. The debris pulsed and whirled through space, driven by the powerful gravity waves bombarding the region. Talon felt the vessel shudder around him. He grabbed the arms of the chair, as the window shook and rattled. A spiderweb of cracks rippled through the glass.
The hologram flickered and buzzed. “Zrrrk... What did… Zrrrk… say? Your transmission is breaking up!”
Talon ignored the sputtering hologram and narrowed his eyes at the glowing moon. Another pulse of gravity waves bombarded the area. The moon became a blu
r as it vibrated in space, sending the dust cloud radiating in all directions. A moment later, the orbiting lump of rock exploded into a storm of rubble and debris.
Talon grit his teeth and grabbed the piloting controls. He spun the ship around, pushing the thrusters to maximum power. A series of crashes rang out as debris battered the rear shields.
“Power down your … Zrrrk… engines and prepare… Zrrrk… boarded!” The marshal demanded.
“Marshal, get your people off that planet now!” Talon snapped. “The weapon has already destroyed your moon! Zakarba will be next!”
He cut the transmission, and activated the ship’s intercom. “Avra, Orvane… have you managed to connect the dark energy cell?”
A burst of static flooded the bridge. “We’re working on it,” Avra shouted back. “We just need a few more minutes!”
Utu hovered into the navigation chair and plugged his tendrils into the console. “This unit detects a micro black hole, opening within the sector. The event horizon is currently expanding faster than our maximum velocity.”
“What does that mean, mech?” Talon swung the controls, narrowly avoiding a barrage of fragments from the obliterated moon. The ship streaked between the floating debris, just as the two massive chunks of rubble crashed into each other.
“It means you have approximately thirty-five seconds to open a star-path and leave this region of space.”
Talon spun the ship onto its side, diving through a narrow gorge in the face of another massive fragment. “What if Avra needs more time to get the dark energy cell functioning?”
“Then you will be pulled into the singularity, where you will be crushed by—”
“Understood. Plot Star-path coordinates and start a countdown.”
“Coordinates to where, sir?”
Talon wiped beads sweat from his forehead as he sent the ship diving beneath more debris. “Anywhere!” he shouted. “As long as it’s out of reach of that weapon, you can take us to the Haunted Stars for all I care!”