He shook his head. “That was a clever trick, Earth-woman. But your magic has been revealed.” He stood back, making a grand gesture with his right hand. “I assume you have come for the Sword? I hoped you would.”
Hickory screwed up her eyes. Why would he hope that?
Jolphyr brought his other hand from behind his back and pulled off a glove. “You see what your precious sword has done?” His hand was scorched black with cracks of red peeping through the crust.
“You tried to wield the Sword but could not hold it because of the pain.” The Sword didn’t do this. The energy particles did their job of protecting the Sword.
He replaced his glove and grimaced. “You will tell me what I did wrong. You must assist me.”
“Or what, Jolphyr? Stand aside. I don’t have time for any of this.” She strode toward the casket. The Sword of Connat lay there, surrounded by swirling energy particles. She drew upon her empathic power and calmed them, settling them in one corner of the pod.
CHAPTER 24
Warlord
Jolphyr’s pupils grew to twice their usual size, and spit flew from the slit that was his mouth. His blaster shook in his good hand. “I must have the Sword.” He fired but Hickory turned to one side, and the laser beam flew past her arm. She continued her momentum and landed on hands and feet behind the casket.
Jolphyr fired again, and the blast went over Hickory’s head. “Why did you come to Auriga, Hickory Lace? Did you think to find your dead lover?” He laughed. “Yes, Sikona told me how besotted you are with this Kar-Sèr-Sephiryth. You, a precious Earthling together with a filthy naur from Prosperine. I find it hard to comprehend. What do your comrades say—are they not embarrassed for you?”
Hickory knew she should ignore him, but she was stung, nevertheless. She had to disarm the Bikashi if she was to get to the Sword. “You are not fit to speak his name,” she fired back.
Such taunts from the Bikashi would have caused her to doubt herself if she’d heard them a week ago, and she knew this was precisely what he wanted, but he was too late. She’d already looked deep within herself and found the truth. Kar had been a friend who showed her what was possible in her life. He’d led by example. It was time for her to do the same. I may not achieve everything I set my mind to in this world. But, the least I can do is make a difference, and when all is said and done, that’s all anyone can do, all Kar would ever expect of me. “Jolphyr, I don’t want to hurt you. Put down your gun and I will leave you in peace.”
His cackle was madness. “You really think I would let you go? The Sword is mine.” He fired twice in quick succession. The bolts went either side of the pod.
The S.F. knife flew from her hand straight and true and struck the Bikashi high on his chest. He staggered backward and dropped the gun then plucked the blade free and stared at the blood spreading across his tunic.
Hickory knew the wound wouldn’t stop Jolphyr for long. She vaulted over the pod and threw herself at him.
They grasped each other in a bear hug and fell to the floor, rolling over and over.
#
Neither saw the Warlord until it was too late. Kabutai strode toward the pod, reached in and grasped the Sword of Connat. He lifted it high and admired the gleaming weapon. “This is a weapon worthy of a Warlord.”
Jolphyr stood, paralyzed by the unexpected presence of his master.
Hickory rolled away from the Directorate. The Warlord has the Sword. She sagged against the pod and hauled herself to her feet. A feeling of dread overtook her. I have failed. There’s no way I can win the Sword back now. All her planning, the trust placed in her by Sikona, Sabrina, Anyar, her hopes of a better Earth, all the lives that had been lost… and all for nothing.
Jolphyr broke free from his trance. “Lord, see what the Earthling she-devil has done to me.” He held his scorched hand against the flow of blood on his shoulder. “I was about to alert you the sword had reappeared when this one attacked me. Luckily, you arrived—”
“Save your whining, Directorate. It does not become a Bikashi and dishonors you.” He turned the Sword back and forth. “The edge is so keen. It would slice through iron.”
Hickory had never seen a Bikashi in such mortal terror as Jolphyr. His plans, too, had come to naught.
She felt a tingling in her hands and glanced down. The energy sparks had left the pod and now crawled halfway up her arm.
Hickory, where are you? Jess broke through Hickory’s astonishment, bringing her back to reality. The sparks had disappeared.
In a helluva mess. The Warlord has the Sword of Connat, and I’m being attacked by a swarm of energy sparks. At least I think that’s what’s happening, although it’s a strange sort of offensive that makes me feel so good.
Are you all right, Hick? You sound, I don’t know, strange.
No, I don’t think I am all right, Jess. The sparks, they’re more than protection for the Sword. I swear I can hear them speaking to me.
Jess didn’t respond straight away. She must think I’ve lost my marbles. Hickory thought Jess would definitely believe she’d lost her mind if she told her the sparks spoke in the voice of the Teacher.
All right, I have your location, but I can’t bust in there with my jet. You need to come to me. I’ll create a distraction.
#
Hickory couldn’t see the point of escape. He had the Sword. She had to leave, but she couldn’t go without it. I can see the weapon working on him, teaching him already, linking to his strengths, marking his weaknesses.
The blast of a distant explosion caused the room to tremble.
The Warlord’s eyes gleamed. “Jolphyr, find out what is happening and report back to me. Immediately!” The Warlord took his eyes from the Sword for a second and glared at his Directorate.
Jolphyr left the room at a run.
“So, Hickory Lace. Have you ever held the Sword? What a marvel it is. I can feel strength flow into me.” He swished it through the air.
Well, I have to try to dissuade him. Why else am I here? “This Sword changes people, but not always in the way you’d expect, Kabutai. Your new-found strength is the first and least of these. Soon you will want to acquire knowledge and understanding of how the Sword works. But the Sword of Connat was made for a different race of people. With other kinds, whether human or Bikashi, it strives to fulfill its purpose, but ultimately it will fail in this impossible task.
“In essence, the Sword of Connat is a sophisticated machine, a machine with an immutable goal. It will persist, even though its subject becomes less and less perfect with the passage of time. And you will change. Vogel became monstrous. He grew bigger, faster, stronger, but in the end, his mind was no longer Bikashi. He forgot about the culture he was born to. He lost honor but was unconcerned. He relied on the Sword, and it let him down. Just as it will do to you.” She backed away from the Bikashi.
She didn’t question where her knowledge of the Sword’s nature came from; she only knew it was a machine constructed for a single purpose. To protect the ancient Segniori from invasion by even more powerful beings. She shuddered to think there were such in the universe. Yes, the Sword was a key to unlocking galactic travel, but it needed to be used in the right combination of locks to be effective. The Ark and the Teacher together provided the mechanism for the Sword to perform its magic.
She realized it was hopeless trying to persuade the Bikashi to give it up. She could tell by the light in his eyes and the un-Bikashi-like smirk touching the corners of his mouth. The Sword held him.
Hickory backed up to the doorway. The Warlord paid her no heed, so intent was he on the marvel of the Sword.
#
Jess. I’m on my way. Can you wait for me? Her heart pounded in her chest as she sprinted along the almost empty corridor.
Civilians had run for cover on hearing the explosion, and Jolphyr had rounded up any Bikashi security he’d come across. She glanced over her shoulder. Two rifle blasts whistled past her head.
Hurry,
said Jess. We’ve got our hands full.
Hickory dashed around a corner and came face to face with the Science Directorate and two of his guards. He started in surprise, then grunted a laugh. “Auriga is good. I felt sure the Warlord would finish you, but that will be my pleasure. And it will be slow, Earthling.” He nodded his head in glee. “Excruciatingly slow.”
“You always talked too much, Jolphyr.” Sikona emerged from a doorway behind them. He slashed at Jolphyr’s two guards with his sword and sent them sprawling.
The Directorate gasped and clutched his disfigured hand to his chest as Hickory advanced. He struggled to free a knife from his belt, but Hickory knocked it away. “Please,” he began, then straightened and drew himself upright. “You will not see me beg. If you will kill me, if I must die, I will die a Bikashi.”
Sikona moved behind him and put his knife to his throat. “You do not know the meaning of the word. You are a disgrace to your family and to all those you rule over. Hickory, we need to move. I will kill this one, and we can be on our way. Jess can’t hold out forever.”
“Let him go, Sikona. He’s not worth the trouble anymore. Jolphyr’s dreams lie in tatters. His hopes of becoming a great Warlord of the Bikashi people have vanished.”
Sikona’s mouth gaped. “What’s that to me? After what he’s done to my family, to my name? He must die.” He grasped the knife more firmly, intending to slit Jolphyr’s throat.
“Sikona?” Sabrina materialized beside her brother. “Wait.” She placed a hand on his arm. “I have learned many things from the Earth people. They do not look like us, it is true. They are a mixture of good and evil, of different beliefs and cultures, but they have taught me life is too short to be spent in nursing animosity or registering wrongs. Jolphyr did a hateful thing when he murdered our parents.” Her shoulders drooped and her eyes became dull. She shook her shoulders. “But we should not emulate him. We cannot build the foundation of our new Auriga on revenge.”
Hickory smiled. Here was the real future of the Bikashi people.
Jess’s harried voice came through her SIM. Could you guys get a move on? If we don’t leave soon, we won’t be going anywhere.
Sikona swung Jolphyr to face him and pressed his face up against his. “You’re in luck today, controller. My sister has a persuasive tongue.” He cracked Jolphyr’s skull against the wall and he slid to the floor. “Through here,” he said, opening the door leading into the hanger.
Jess’s aircraft was in the middle of the runway facing the spaceship doorway. It was under attack from Bikashi forces located at various points around the perimeter. Their fire was being returned from a swiveling dorsal turret on top of the jet that kept the troops pinned down. Gareth crouched at the door ushering them forward. He grinned as he helped them on board. “That’s Anyar. Makes a helluva gunner, eh?” He closed the door, and Jess took off vertically then applied the forward thrusters. Hickory and Gareth squeezed into the cockpit beside her. “Welcome aboard. Don’t make yourself too comfortable. The Bikashi air force will be after us as soon as they clear the runway.”
Hickory looked back and could see three jets preparing for takeoff.
CHAPTER 25
Escape
Jess took the jet aircraft into the upper atmosphere at top speed. “I’m going to drop Anyar off at the fern forest and then hightail it for the Czirpitz.”
Hickory unbuckled her belt and made her way to the dorsal gun turret. “Anyar, is there room for one more?”
The Yatzi grinned and nodded, bearing the fruit of Jess’s lessons on sign language. She made space on the bench seat beside her, and took Hickory’s hand, placing it on her cheek. <>
You’ve had quite an adventure, haven’t you? You would never have imagined what our first meeting would lead to. Hickory projected pride at the Yatzi and watched the pleasure she took from it. You will miss flying, I think.
The Yatzi’s eyebrows drooped. <>
Hickory nodded. I think you will be safe for a while at least. The Warlord will have other things on his mind.
She worried about that. He had the Sword of Connat. Sure, he’d need to learn how to work it to his advantage, but maybe the Sword would burn him out like Vogel.
Anyar looked at her from the corner of her eyes. <
Hickory didn’t respond right away. How could she explain she truly had changed. She didn’t yet know the extent of it. The energy sparks had swarmed over her hand, traveled up her arm, past her neck, and dissolved through the skin of her face. It wasn’t an unpleasant sensation; it had felt like a splash of cool water. And she was imbued with a calmness of soul that had eluded her since the Teacher had gone. She was still Hickory, but without the harsh edge of her woundedness. Gone was the pain of being abandoned by an unloving father; the adolescent struggles to contain the use of her neoteric skills; her need for love and affection dashed by poor choices until she’d met the Teacher…all of these remained, but as lessons learned—no longer as regrets over a life unfulfilled. She knew where she stood now. She was Hickory Lace, Captain in the Alien Corps. That was what she was born to be.
CHAPTER 26
Failure
“So, the mission was a failure.” The Admiral drummed his fingers on the boardroom table. “The Bikashi have the Sword despite your foolish efforts.”
Hickory regarded her adoptive father through new eyes. He tried to hide the concern, the panic he was feeling, but to no avail. “We saved the Lakedwellers and the Yatzi. You may not agree, but I think we did all right.”
“No, no, no!” He slammed his fist down. “The one thing you had to do was get the Sword. Instead you let your altruistic do-good weakness defeat you.” He shook his head, his eyebrows squished together in disbelief. “Do you know—do you have any idea what you’ve done?”
Hickory didn’t feel intimidated by the Admiral’s bluster, and she wasn’t about to admit to being at fault. “I did what I could, but in the end, it wasn’t possible to take the Sword once the Warlord had it in his hand. And I warned you I wouldn’t bring it to you unless you agreed to resettle the Mitanni. Is that why you stopped us?” The Prince of Wales had popped out of hyperspace within half a parsec of the Czirpitz, and the Admiral had demanded their presence on board.
Gareth and Jess waited for Hickory to speak. “There is little doubt Kabutai will attempt to use the Sword to launch an attack on Earth.”
The Admiral’s fingers continued drumming, but Hickory noted his slight tremor. She continued, “How, or when that will be, I don’t know. He needs to master the weapon first. But I do know the Sword is not an enabler of interstellar flight, not for any save the Segniori, so it will be some time yet.”
“That’s something at least,” said the Admiral. “Earth’s ships will be faster. Perhaps we can choose the battlefield.”
Gareth coughed. “You shouldn’t underestimate the power the Sword will bring him, sir, but with their current FTL capability, it will be several months before they reach Earth.”
Hickory nodded. “You’re right on both counts, Gareth. We need to remember the Warlord already has strong leadership skills, and he is ruthless.”
“Surely, the Sword will drive him mad like every other pretender,” said Jess.
Hickory shook her head. “With someone of the caliber of Kabutai, that’s unlikely to help. Our own history is peppered with egocentric tyrants who spread fear and death over our planet. And Kabutai will not die unless he is met and killed in battle. That will be no easy feat, sir.”
The Admiral opened his hand, pleading with her. “Is there nothing you can do to stop him before he wreaks havoc on Earth?”
“I think you know, Admiral, that is no longer my concern. I begged you for help, and you wouldn’t give it. Your association with the politburo is what pu
ts Earth’s liberty most at risk. I don’t like what they are turning my home into, and I intend to do everything in my power to stop them.”
The Admiral gaped at her, lost for words. “Hickory…you must not, you cannot. These people are too powerful, and they will cut you down in a blink. If they suspect—”
Something clicked with Hickory. The Admiral hasn’t reported my refusal to obey orders. There was still hope for him, but he needed to be in no doubt what she intended. “How did you become involved with them? No matter.” She waved his protests away. “My cause is not totally forlorn.” She reached for her backpack. “When I couldn’t get the Sword of Connat, I took this instead. It’s the Ark’s black box. It was with the Sword in the lifepod.” She placed the object on the table. It was a cube, nine inches to each side, and it glowed golden.
The Admiral rose to his feet, placed his fists on the table and stared at the box. “How do you know this is the black box?” A blood vessel throbbed on his temple.
Hickory stood to face him. “I know what this is because I am linked to it.”
The Admiral glanced at Gareth and Jess, who stared back unmoved. He looked back to Hickory. “What do you mean ‘linked to it’?”
Jess intervened. “Hickory, are you feeling all right? You have been acting a little strange since we left Auriga.” She tilted her head to one side as if to see her more clearly.
Hickory smiled. “Quite all right, Jess. In fact, better than all right. You see, I brought back another gift from Auriga.” She held out her hand, and a group of energy sparks danced on her palm. “These also were with the Sword. They are…complicated. Initially, their role was to protect the Sword of Connat from harm, but they seem to have transferred their allegiance to me as soon as the Warlord grasped the Sword. I can feel them. They live peaceably in me, and I can summon them at will. They have intelligence and seem to be waiting. I believe they may be the key to Earth’s future.”
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