Wizard Defender (Intergalactic Wizard Scout Chronicles Book 8)

by Rodney Hartman

  A sensation of humor popped into Richard’s shared space. “I thought it would,” said Nickelo. “That’s why I created the list in the first place. But relax time is over, buddy. It’s time to get busy now. Red Wing has been in the cargo bay for the last forty-eight minutes, waiting for you. I suggest you get a move on, Marine, before she decides to start practicing her combat skills on a member of the crew.”

  Richard wasn’t worried. The scout had given her word not to harm the crew, and she’d kept it honorably for the last two weeks. Nevertheless, he knew he needed to get the day started. Despite the knowledge, he hesitated to leave the warmth of the beautiful elf lying next to him. He took a final moment to enjoy the peace his bondmate gave him.

  While he enjoyed a last few seconds of relaxation, he thought back to how Sergeant Ron had fooled Red Wing. Instead of continuing on into Crosioian space, the old fox had come up with a plan to have the triplets gate the Defiant to the magic dimension and fly through friendly UGA space, to a location near a point opposite the Crosioian planet of Astaris. By doing so, they’d had two weeks of uneventful travel instead of having to dodge enemy warships. Now the Defiant was only a couple of days out from their destination. It had been a good plan, and everyone on the ship had liked it. That is, everyone had liked it but Red Wing. Richard smiled as he remembered the look on the bat’s facial features when he’d told her they wouldn’t be transferring to a Crosioian ship after all. The look had almost been worth the beating she’d given him later that day during hand-to-hand training.

  “Well, stop patting yourself on the back before you hurt your arm,” said Nickelo. “Sergeant Ron is having the triplets gate us back to the physical dimension in a few hours. The time for training the scout is nearly over. If you haven’t taught her what you wanted to teach her by now, it probably isn’t going to get done.”

  Resigning himself to the inevitable, Richard eased out of bed, taking great pains not to wake Jeena. She’d had a rough time the day before. At his urging, she’d begun participating in the scout’s training the previous week by exposing Red Wing to magic attacks and defenses against the same. He remembered how the bat had gotten a little too enthusiastic during a counterattack the day before and burned the back of Jeena’s legs and arms. Even though he’d healed his bondmate right away, he was still haunted by the feeling of helplessness as the emotions of her pain flowed down their bond link.

  I can’t risk her getting hurt like that again, Richard thought. It’s too much to bear, for her and me. As far as I’m concerned, her part in Red Wing’s training is over.

  “Well,” said Nickelo not sounding the least bit sympathetic. “I guess you know now how the high priestess feels when you get hurt. What’s good for the goose and all that, you know.”

  “Oh, just shut up why don’t you,” Richard said. “Go do whatever battle computers do when they’re not bugging their wizard scouts.”

  “Compliance.”

  Richard held his breath waiting for some wisecrack comeback, but for once, his battle computer remained silent. After putting on his battle suit and gear in the dark as quietly as possible, he slid past the curtain and stepped into the mess area. He pulled the curtain closed behind him while making sure the seal was tight. Nodding at the half-dozen crewmembers sitting at the table eating, he glanced into the galley. As he expected, Comstar was there stirring a large cauldron on the stove. When the elf looked up, he mouthed the word “stew” before turning his attention back to his stirring.

  Making his way down the stairs, past the engine deck, Richard walked down the last flight of steps to the cargo bay. As his battle computer had predicted, Red Wing was there, standing by the entrance to their makeshift halo-square. The scout turned and cocked her ears at him.

  “Is the elf okay?” asked Red Wing.

  Richard nodded. “Yeah, she’s sleeping. I healed her quickly enough after she got burned, but I think you scared her.”

  The scout spread her wings halfway out before bringing them back to her side. “One thing I have found out during the last two weeks is that your elf is tough. I think it would take more than a little fire to frighten her.”

  Richard shrugged. Training the scout was one thing. Giving her personal information about his bondmate was another. Perhaps it was the paleness of what skin he could see above her chest armor. Whatever it was, something told Richard the Crosioian was genuinely concerned. I didn’t think bats had feelings, he thought.

  “After two weeks together, you should know better,” said Nickelo in their shared space. “A lot of Red Wing’s emotions are foreign to you, but she’s got feelings just the same. I calculate Crosioians have a strong sense of loyalty. Jeena, Red Wing, and you have spent a lot of time training together. The scout may not know it, but I calculate she subconsciously thinks of the two of you now as teammates. Based upon that assumption, of course she is concerned.”

  Richard eyed the scout closer. From observing her during training sessions, he’d learned the trembling of her wings usually meant concern or excitement. Her wings are trembling a little now, he thought. Plus her skin is pale. She tends to do that when she’s embarrassed. I wonder if she’s sorry she hurt Jeena. Considering the fact that she’s sworn to kill both of us, I’d say her behavior is a little contradictory.

  When Red Wing continued to stand in the same spot without saying anything further, Richard decided to relent a little. “Jeena was a prisoner for over a year,” he explained. Before the bat could say something about the shame of being taken prisoner, he added, “She would have rather died than be taken prisoner, but she was caught in a magic spell that cutoff the link to her Power reserve and left her paralyzed. I’m sure you can appreciate that under the right circumstances, that can happen through no fault of the prisoner.” When Red Wing continued to say nothing, he said, “She was tortured by an elf named Crendemor for over a year.”

  “The elf’s name is Kreathin,” said Nickelo in their shared space. “The dark elf body of Crendemor was just his polymorph form.”

  “I wish you’d be quiet and let me tell the story,” Richard told his battle computer.

  “Compliance.”

  Concentrating on Red Wing, Richard said, “Jeena doesn’t talk about it much, but from what little she’s told me, Crendemor used a lot of fire during their torture sessions.”

  The skin around Red Wing’s neck grew even paler. “I did not know. I have not seen any burn scars during our training.”

  Richard shrugged. “Her physical scars disappeared the first time I healed her. Emotional scars are a different story. They tend to run deep. I suppose they may never fully heal.”

  The scout trained her ears on Richard for several seconds before nodding her head. “Thank you for sharing that with me, Wizard Scout. I will be careful not to use fire against the elf during any future training.”

  Looking away to inspect one of the ammo crates stacked along the wall of the cargo bay, Richard wondered at the strangeness of the conversation. For the first time, Red Wing seemed more than just a killing machine in bat form. He tried to hold onto the hatred he felt for those who were responsible for the death of his father, but the emotion kept slipping away.

  “I calculate you are beginning to think of the scout as a living being instead of an emotionless object,” said Nickelo in their shared space.

  “I thought I told you to be quiet,” Richard said, not wanting to get into a philosophical discussion with his battle computer.

  Nickelo laughed. “Actually, you said that you wished I would be quiet. You did not make it an order.”

  Ignoring his battle computer, Richard decided to get the training back on track. He reached over and patted one of the magic ammo containers along the bulkhead before turning back to the scout. “I think no more fire would be a good idea. I suspect Sergeant Ron would take it ill if we set off one of these ammo boxes and blew the Defiant to hell and back.”

  The paleness left Red Wing’s neck, and she hissed a laugh. “No d
oubt. Now, shall we get back to training? Once we return to the physical dimension, I suspect the captain will be so busy dodging Crosioian warships that we will not be able to train.”

  “Maybe,” Richard said choosing not to tell the scout that the ship’s stealth shield combined with all the magic users on board made the Defiant very good at evading enemy ships. “In any regard, let’s get down to business. We were practicing splitting lines of Power last night before we quit training. Maybe we should pick up where we left off.”

  Red Wing shrugged her wings. “I can use four lines at once now. I would prefer to do some more weapons training first.”

  Shaking his head, Richard said, “Not yet. You’re getting too good. Jeena senses it when I get hurt. I don’t want to accidentally wake her by having you cut off my leg or some such thing.”

  Red Wing hissed a laugh. “Believe me. I would not stop at one leg, Wizard Scout.” She stopped hissing. “So what do we do then?”

  “Well, let’s see. You’ve got protecting and attacking links down pat. I’ll admit your techniques can use some tweaking, but that will come with time. You don’t need me anymore for that. In fact, I think you’re good enough to teach others how to protect and attack links, but that can wait. You’ve also gotten pretty good at drilling through shields, which, by the way, I learned from your mother, so it’s almost like she taught you. As far as stealth shields go, you already had one of the best I’ve ever encountered before we started training, so there’s no use wasting time with stealth shields.”

  “Should we train on defending against magic then?” asked Red Wing.

  Richard shook his head. “Nope. Jeena and Comstar’s got you trained pretty well in that area. It would be a waste of our time for me to try and help you there.” He grinned. “Yep, there’s only one final thing I think I need to teach you before I graduate you out of our impromptu training program.” Remaining quiet, he waited until Red Wing became curious enough to ask the obvious question.

  “What?” she said gritting her fangs. “What training is next?”

  Richard felt his smile grow larger. “Demons. I’m going to show you what I know about fighting demons.”

  The scout swiveled both ears at Richard and fluttered her wings. “Good. That is something I think I am going to need to learn. The sooner, the better.”

  Chapter 22 – Teamwork

  _____________________

  Eight hours later, Red Wing was soaked in sweat even though she was wearing a simulated fighting-suit. She shoved the end of her phase spear into the chest of the last of the two-headed yellow demons and tossed the creature over her shoulder to join the stack of six bodies that had been her earlier adversaries. A glance down the long, rocky tunnel created by the halo-square confirmed the place was finally empty. She’d passed the test. She was finally done.

  The wizard scout’s voice came over the intercom inside her fighting-helmet. “You’ve got sixty seconds before the next wave hits. I recommend you make the most of it.” The noise humans made when they laughed came over the intercom. “Remember. No pain, no gain.”

  Red Wing ground her fangs before replying out loud, “My only wish is that you were visible inside the halo-square.” She hefted her phase spear. “If this wasn’t a simulated version of a phase spear, I would show you what real pain is.”

  The area to Red Wing’s left shimmered. The wizard scout appeared wearing his battle suit. A fully activated phase rod was gripped in the human’s left hand. He raised the rod slightly. “From what you tell me, there will be plenty of time to use real ones against each other when we get to Astaris. In the meantime, we’re training to fight demons, not each other.” The human winked. It was something Red Wing had noticed humans do as a sign of humor. “For now, I think it would be best to continue using these facsimiles created by Comstar. The halo-square’s tractor beams will make sure they work and feel like the real things. Now, you’ve got thirty seconds before the next scenario starts. Are you ready? If you’re tired, I suppose we could stop long enough for you to rest.”

  Red Wing was tired. Large as her Power reserve was, it was still getting low. Not that she’d ever admit that to a human. She stretched her wings out fully to show the wizard scout her contempt for physical discomfort. “I am a Crosioian scout. I do not get tired. Bring on your simulated demons. I am ready.”

  The human laughed. “All right, have it your way. Margery, I want you to set up a team training scenario for Red Wing and me. Make it challenging. I recommend doubling the number of demons in the next wave and make the types random. I’m giving you full control of the training scenario. You should probably—”

  Although the area around Red Wing was an empty tunnel, she heard the obvious click of the ship’s intercom. The voice of the Defiant’s computer, Margery, echoed in the tunnel. “Since you have given me full control of the simulation, I do not need your advice on what I should or should not do. Based upon the criteria you just gave me, I highly advise that you both prepare yourselves. You said to make it challenging, so things are going to get very interesting.”

  The tunnel shimmered before being replaced by a desert landscape. The desert floor appeared perfectly flat. Red Wing sent a sonic ping toward the horizon. The sound went out, but nothing came back.

  “Hmm,” said Red Wing’s fighting-computer in their shared space. “This is different. Your helmet’s visual sensors do not detect any curvature to the desert floor out to a distance of… Well, out to a distance so far I cannot calculate the distance. What are your orders?”

  Before Red Wing could reply, a disturbance in the distance drew her attention. She cycled through four filters of her fighting-helmet before finding one that was able to pick up the source of the disturbance. She sent the data to her fighting-computer. A sonic image of three dozen creatures, some two-legged and some with four or more legs, were charging from a distance of two thousand meters.

  “Margery,” shouted the human. “I said double the number of attackers, not increase them fivefold.”

  “You put me in charge of the training simulation,” said Margery. “I calculate an attack by three dozen demons will force the two of you to work together as a team. The battle will start in thirty seconds.”

  “Negative,” said Richard. “End the simulation. We can’t take on thirty-six demons at once. The halo-square’s tractor beams are set at fifty percent. We could get hurt.”

  Red Wing detected a strange sound in the voice of the ship’s computer when she replied.

  “My simulation algorithm determined fifty percent was too low for optimum team training,” said Margery. “I have taken the liberty of resetting the tractor beams to one hundred percent. I calculate both of you could die if you’re not careful. I highly recommend that you work together and use extreme caution.”

  “Are you crazy?” shouted the human. “End simulation. Now! That’s an order.”

  “Unable to comply,” said Margery. “You put me in charge of the simulation, remember. I have blanked out the halo-square’s exterior view so the rest of the crew does not know what is happening. I calculate a ninety-six percent probability the two of you can survive the assault if you work together. Otherwise, the odds of survival are extremely low.”

  Red Wing spread her wings and hissed. “Crosioians kill wizard scouts. We do not work with them.”

  “I calculate the ship’s computer is right,” said Red Wing’s fighting-computer. “The two of you must work together to survive.”

  Reaching for her helmet, Red Wing tried pulling it off.

  “Your equipment is part of the halo-square’s simulation,” said her fighting-computer. “Your actual gear is on the workbench next to the wizard scout’s real armor.”

  “End simulation,” Red Wing hissed. “Hack into the ship’s network and take control of the halo-square. That is an order.”

  “Unable to comply,” replied her fighting-computer. “I am unable to bypass security programs. You have ten seconds before the lead dem
ons make contact.”

  Attempting to keep the growing nervousness out of her voice in front of the human, Red Wing hissed an argument at Margery. “We only have our phase weapons. We would have our other weapons for a fight of this magnitude on an actual mission.”

  “Your logic is flawed,” replied Margery. “Nevertheless, I will make allowances.”

  The sand a meter to the front of Red Wing shimmered before solidifying into a plasma rifle. At the same time, she felt the sudden weight of a utility belt around her waist. Deactivating her phase spear, she shoved the half-meter-long metal rod into her scabbard as she dove for the ground. She came up spraying a line of plasma rounds from the rifle at the lead demon—a four-legged hound with two heads and glowing eyes. Red Wing detected energy building up in the creature.

  “I calculate the demon is about to attack with magic,” said her fighting-computer. “A defensive shield is advisable.”

  Throwing up a defensive shield, Red Wing got it formed just as two beams of light shot out from the lead demon’s eyes. The magic slammed into the invisible barrier to her front. The shield held, but she was still knocked off her feet, into the soft sand. She was up in a flash, firing a steady stream of plasma energy at the lead demon’s head. The plasma rounds ricocheted into the air before getting closer than two meters to the hound.

  The human was to her left. Red Wing sensed a line of Power reach out and drill against the demon’s shield. The demon’s defensive shield gave way in an area the size of Red Wing’s fist.

  “Assistance,” Red Wing ordered in her shared space.

  The arm of her fighting-suit moved slightly left as it directed a stream of plasma energy from her rifle, through the opening in the shield. The balls of plasma energy tore into the demon’s head, obliterating its face and eyes. The sonic point on Red Wing’s heads-up display denoting the demon disappeared.