“Not yet,” Trinity replied as she increased the magnification of her battle helmet’s visor to get a better look at the hovering troopship. “I need to analyze the amount and type of supplies so Liz can make a reliable estimate of how long our soldiers can remain alive on Estos.”
As Trinity watched, the troopship continued dumping crates of supplies out its side and rear doors. She looked past the hovering ship to see other troopships in the distance making similar drops at other camps.
“I don’t understand what they are trying to accomplish,” Trinity said, making the same old argument to her battle computer. “Why give the prisoners supplies if they want them dead? It makes no sense. Maybe we should make contact with the POWs and see if they know what’s going on?”
“Negative,” said Jennifer in a surprisingly firm tone. “We have had this discussion before. Our orders were not to interact with the POWs. I calculate attempting to make contact with the prisoners will only expose you to an unacceptable level of danger while providing no useful data.”
Trinity wished Jerad were with her so they could discuss options together. Beneath her battle suit’s gloves, she sensed the warm presence that she associated with her husband in the blue-gemmed wedding band on her finger. Jerad wore a matching ring on his hand. The rings had been given to them by Richard on their wedding day. She was tempted to try and communicate with her husband using emotions but refrained. She didn’t want to distract him.
He’s got his own mission to worry about, Trinity thought. I’ve got mine.
“Very sensible,” said Jennifer. “Now what do you want to do, Wizard Scout?”
Before Trinity could answer, a stream of plasma rounds shot out the side door of the nearest troopship. She spotted one of the bat-winged Crosioians in the doorway with a rifle raised to his shoulder. Another burst of plasma rounds shot out the barrel of the bat’s weapon, toward a group of POWs frantically running for cover. The stream of plasma rounds slammed into the chests of two men, knocking them to the ground.
“That bat’s shooting them for sport,” Trinity said as she aimed her M12 toward the troopship’s door.
“No,” said Jennifer. “You will give away your position. The ship’s primary weapons are not firing. I calculate the door gunner is not authorized to—”
Trinity didn’t care if the bat in the doorway was authorized to fire or not. He’d just killed two unarmed prisoners for no reason other than pure bloodlust.
“Assistance,” Trinity said using command voice as she aimed the M12’s sight at the still-firing door gunner.
“Compliance.”
Trinity felt the left arm of her battle suit move slightly as the index finger on her right glove pulled the M12’s trigger. The weapon bucked against her shoulder as a single ball of plasma energy left the barrel and streaked toward the troopship’s side door. When the round hit the Crosioian firing the rifle in the chest, the bat fell back into the ship, dropping his rifle in the process.
“The ship’s primary weapons are traversing in your direction,” said Jennifer. “I highly recommend you find another location to plan your next move.”
Jumping to her feet, Trinity leaped off the rim of the rock outcropping just as a stream of heavy plasma rounds smacked into the rocks where she’d been hiding. Pieces of broken stone and jagged chunks of ice filled the air around her as she fell twenty meters to the ground below. Wrapping herself in Power, she slowed her rate of descent before making contact with the frozen ground. Tucking the chin of her battle helmet into her chest, she summersaulted once before rising to her feet and running for all she was worth.
Balls of plasma energy blew ice and frozen dirt high into the air.
Trinity drew Power from her reserve in preparation for forming a defensive shield, but she only kept it at the ready. A glance at her heads-up display showed sixty-nine percent Power in her reserve.
I’m far from empty, Trinity thought, but I’m not going to use Power unless it’s absolutely necessary. I don’t know how long this little skirmish is going to last.
“There is a ravine located a thousand meters to the west,” said Jennifer. “You might be able to break contact with the gunners if you can make it there before they get in a lucky shot.”
A shrill whine behind Trinity told her she probably wasn’t going to get lucky. Reaching out with her passive scan, she noted two sets of life forms leaving the troopship and heading in her direction at a high rate of speed.
“Fighter-shuttles,” said Jennifer. “Based upon the energy signatures, I calculate they are Furgerson class shuttles modified with phase auto-cannons and anti-personnel rockets. You can’t outrun them. What are your orders, Wizard Scout?”
Skidding to a stop, Trinity turned and began firing a steady stream of plasma rounds from her M12 at the left-most of the approaching fighters.
“Range is eighteen hundred meters,” said Jennifer. “By the time the fighters are within our effective range, they will already have fired their rockets and auto-cannons.”
“Good,” Trinity said still holding down the trigger of her M12. “That’s what I want.” She noticed four rockets leave the right-most fighter’s wing pods and streak in her direction.
“Well, you have got your wish,” said Jennifer. “The left-most fighter is keeping its shields up to avoid your small-arms fire. I fail to see what you hope to accomplish.”
Drawing Power from her reserve, Trinity sent a line of Power toward the fighters. She split the Power into four separate lines the way Richard had taught her. Touching each of the incoming rockets with a line, she used telekinesis to shove the missiles into the path of the phase rounds coming from the right-most fighter’s auto-cannon.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
The balls of fire from the exploding rockets combined to form a single giant ball of burning plasma. Both fighters banked in opposite directions to avoid the flying shrapnel and plasma energy. Trinity held the trigger down on her M12, spraying plasma rounds into the bottom of the right-most fighter.
“It’s too heavily armored for your M12, even without a force field activated,” said Jennifer. “You are going to have to come up with another plan.”
Reaching toward the fighter banking left with another line of Power, Trinity sought out the pilot. Locating the bat-creature, she reached into the left side of the bat’s chest cavity and wrapped Power around the heart.
“Crosioians have two hearts,” said Jennifer. “Just a friendly reminder.”
Splitting off another line of Power from the main line, Trinity sought out the second heart. She found it and wrapped it in Power before jerking hard on both organs using telekinesis. The fighter-shuttle wobbled in the air, rolled onto its back, and dove into the ground where it exploded in a massive ball of fire. Plumes of flame and smoke billowed into the air.
“Shield,” said Jennifer.
Throwing up a defensive shield, Trinity turned to see the second fighter lining up for a strafing run. Balls of phase energy streaked out, hitting her shield dead on. The first three balls of phase energy were absorbed by the shield. The fourth and fifth balls found weak points and penetrated. Trinity twisted to avoid the first of the two rounds. The last phase round caught her on the right shoulder, throwing her back a dozen meters with blood spewing out of the double-finger-sized wound, onto the snow. Trinity’s M12 flew out of her hand as she went tumbling across the snow and ice. Rolling to a stop, she heard the fighter roar past overhead.
“You should have angled your shield,” said Jennifer in a chastising tone. “The good news is that you were knocked out of the field of fire before additional rounds hit you. I recommend that you request an emergency teleport out before the fighter can line up for another pass.”
Doing her best to ignore the pain in her right shoulder, Trinity mentally yelled, “Drugs!”
“Compliance.”
A cool liquid shot into Trinity’s right arm, traveling up to the wound in her shoulder. The worst of the pain disappeare
d. She tried to focus on her surroundings, but tears made everything a blur. Reaching out with her passive scan, she located the remaining fighter. It was halfway through a turn five hundred meters to her rear. Probing the fighter with her mind, she located the rockets underneath the fighter’s wings. After wrapping the warhead of one with Power, she squeezed inward with telekinesis. Nothing happened. She squeezed harder.
Boom!
“The fighter is destroyed,” said Jennifer. “I have the emergency teleport code ready to go. Do I have your permission to signal mission abort?”
“Negative,” Trinity said as she picked up her M12 and used it to leverage herself to her feet. “If I leave now, that troopship will take its wrath out on the POWs. I’ve got to draw it away somehow.”
“I highly recommend against that course of action, Wizard Scout. Your best bet is to teleport out now. You are down to forty-two percent Power in your reserve. The Crosioians’ tactical computers are bound to know you are a wizard scout based upon the way you destroyed their fighters. I calculate a ninety-one percent probability the troopship will request a nuclear strike on your current location from one of the orbiting destroyers. That will kill you and all of the POWs. You need to escape while you have the chance. Let me send the emergency teleport code.”
The last thing on Trinity’s mind was bugging out and leaving the POWs to their doom. She dropped her stealth shield and began running as fast as her battle suit would go in the direction of the ravine her battle computer had mentioned. With the hole in her battle suit’s right shoulder, the suit’s integrity was gone, but thankfully all the hydraulics were in working order. She drew in a deep lungful of the cold Estos air and immediately regretted the action as her lungs started to freeze. The Power from her self-heal repaired the damage as fast as it came, but breathing still hurt.
“Why did you drop your stealth shield?” said Jennifer. “The Crosioians will be able to track you easily now.”
Despite the pain in her shoulder and lungs, Trinity smiled. “That’s what I want. I’ve got to draw them away from the POWs. That’s their only chance. I’m not going to make them pay the price for my actions.”
“That is not logical. I told you there is a ninety-five percent probability the Crosioians will request a nuclear strike on your location.”
“I thought you said ninety-one percent.”
“That was before you dropped your stealth shield. By the way, you still have six hundred meters to go before you get to the ravine, not that it will do you any good. With only forty-two percent Power in your reserve, your self-heal will be unable to keep you alive from a close hit by a tactical nuke.”
Trinity had no doubt her battle computer was right. She’d survived a couple of nuclear attacks before, but they’d always been at a distance. Making a quick estimate of the time required to request a nuclear attack from the orbiting ships and the time it would take for a missile to get to her location, she knew she’d never make the ravine before the weapon exploded. She sent a feeling of love to Jerad through the ring on her finger. It was the best she could do to say goodbye.
Continuing to run at max speed, Trinity saw the ravine drawing closer. With each step, she waited for a telltale streak of energy to come out of the sky in her direction. The ravine was four-hundred meters, then two hundred, then only a hundred.
What are they waiting for? she wondered.
* * *
The commander of the Crosioian troopship spread her wings as she turned to her communications officer. “Denied? What do you mean denied? The wizard scout will be able to escape if the ravine is reached. I need that nuclear strike now.”
The communication officer tucked her wings tightly against her back as she turned the sonic tablet toward her commander. She touched an indentation on the tablet’s side. “You can hear for yourself, Captain. Our orders are to let the wizard scout escape. The orders are from the admiral herself. We are to take no further action against the wizard scout. We are to finish dropping our supplies and return to the supply convoy to refill our ship for another run.”
The troopship’s commander lowered her wings. The sonic transmission from the tablet backed up her communication officer’s words. Although the skin around her upper chest turned a darker gray, she did the best she could to hide her irritation from her crew. Orders were orders.
Turning to her bridge officers, the commander said, “You heard the admiral’s orders. Finish dropping our supplies and prepare for orbit. The sooner we get off this Creator-forsaken planet the better.”
Chapter 8 – Diajor’s Moon
_______________________
The Defiant came out of hyperspace a quarter of a light year from Diajor. The dull light reflecting off the planet formed a dim halo around its moon, which was the Defiant’s actual destination. Richard stared out the front windscreen of the cockpit from his position in the navigator seat. The teenage elf Asquan sat in the copilot’s chair while Sergeant Ron occupied the pilot’s seat. Jeena was located at the communication officer’s station across from Richard.
Glancing over his shoulder, Asquan said, “Margery told me only the most dangerous prisoners are kept on Diajor’s moon.”
“Most dangerous indeed,” said Nickelo over the external speakers of Richard’s battle helmet. “The prison on the moon only consists of thirty-five cells. Only one prisoner is being kept there at the present. The information in my databanks indicates the other prisoners were transferred to maximum security cells in the main prison on Diajor. The transfer was accomplished as soon as the warden received word a Crosioian scout was headed his way. From what I can determine, the central computer’s escape algorithm determined the scout’s odds of breaking out of her cell were too high to keep other prisoners or even guards nearby. Everything’s been set on automatic. As an additional precaution, the moon’s prison has been wired with a nuclear weapon containing energized flakes of titanium, just in case the warden needs to activate a self-destruct.”
Richard whistled. “Creallium? Why?”
Jeena spun in the communication officer’s chair to face him. Her silver eyes sparkled as she flashed him a smile. “For someone so powerful, you occasionally fail to put simple things together to form a logical conclusion.”
“That’s our Rick,” said Nickelo. “He normally prefers acting first and thinking about what he’s doing later.”
Richard frowned. He wasn’t fond of criticism, especially when it came from his battle computer. The feeling of loving tolerance coming down the link between his bondmate and him softened the blow of her comment.
“Hey, what can I say?” Richard said, ignoring his battle computer and speaking to Jeena. “My mind can be a screwed up place sometimes. So what am I missing?”
Jeena nodded toward the moon. “I am assuming the Crosioian scout imprisoned on yonder moon is as skilled as you. If the situation was reversed and the bat-creatures had you locked in their prison, I am more than confident you could eventually break out of your cell. If you did, you could shift into the void. The Holy Metal, or creallium as you call it, that is in the nuclear self-destruct weapon would ensure you would be so damaged in the blast that your self-heal would be unable to keep you alive.”
Richard was surprised. “You figured that all out by yourself? Considering we’ve only been in the physical dimension a couple of weeks, you’ve picked up a lot. I’m impressed.”
Jeena gave a wink and laughed as she raised her left hand and flashed the red-gemmed ring on her finger. “I’ll admit I have been talking to Danny. Battle computers can be quite informative if you pay attention.” She winked again. “I am sure Master Nick does his best to keep you informed.”
A laugh came out of the external speakers of Richard’s battle helmet. “I try my best, but sometimes it’s a losing battle.” Nickelo laughed again before taking up a more serious tone. “Danny and Jeehana are right, though. If the situation were reversed, you could break out in nothing flat. If the Crosioian scout is a shifter lik
e you, she can do the same. Assuming she is a shifter, I calculate the only thing stopping her is the fact that she’d still be stuck on the moon with nowhere to go.”
Sergeant Ron turned over the ship’s controls to Asquan and spun in his seat to look at Richard. “From what the prison’s warden told me, they aren’t sure whether their prisoner can shift into the void or not, but they aren’t taking any chances. As Nick said, the entire prison on this moon has been fully automated. There are a lot of automated weapons stations, but no guards.” After scratching his beard, Sergeant Ron said, “Are you really sure you want to go down there, buddy? Why take the risk?”
“Why?” Richard said. “To be honest, I’m not sure. I just have this feeling that I should do it.”
Sergeant Ron frowned. “Well, at least let us land the ship and send a security detail along with you.”
Richard shook his head. “No. I think I need to go alone.”
Molten-silver eyes flashing, Jeena crossed her arms and shook her head. “Then think again, because I am going with you.”
Proving he was as stubborn as his bondmate, Richard said, “No, you’re not. That’s final.”
A flash of fire in his bondmate’s eyes was accompanied by a feeling of defiance through their bond link.
“I mean it, Jeena,” Richard said trying to sound firm. From their short time together, he well knew the elf had a temper when pushed too hard.
“Look who’s calling the kettle black,” said Nickelo in their shared space. “You’re not exactly Mr. Congeniality yourself.”
Ignoring his battle computer’s poor attempt at humor, Richard locked eyes with his bondmate. “I need to do this alone. When you voted to elect me leader, you promised to obey my orders.”
Jeena shook her head. “Do not put words in my mouth, bondmate. That is not exactly what I said.” An emotion of determination passed through the link from Jeena to Richard. “I am going with you. You may as well accept it and stop wasting precious time.”
“Perhaps you should try talking to another prisoner instead of the scout,” suggested Margery over the ship’s intercom.
Wizard Defender (Intergalactic Wizard Scout Chronicles Book 8) Page 9