“One down, thirty-five to go,” said her fighting-computer.
Before Red Wing could reply, she sensed three demons funneling Power into the second closest demon. It was a monstrous creature the width of her outstretched wings. The demon was covered with hundreds of paw-length spikes. The Power continued to flow into the spiked demon and build up at the ends of the spikes. Suddenly, the front and back of the demon exploded, sending hundreds of the glowing spikes in Red Wing’s direction. She threw up a defensive shield, angling it slightly.
To Red Wing’s surprise, the wizard scout stopped firing the plasma rifle he’d picked up and dove behind her shield. He rolled on the ground twice before rising to resume firing just as the glowing spikes slammed into her shield. The defensive shield stopped all but a few of the spikes. A sharp pain in her right leg told her at least one of the spikes had penetrated her fighting-suit. She heard a cry of pain from her left. A quick sweep of her passive scan picked up a lessening of life force in the human.
“Two spikes hit him in the left side of his chest,” said her fighting-computer. “I calculate he will be at less than peak efficiency for ten seconds.”
It serves the human right for not putting up a defensive shield of his own instead of hiding behind mine.
“That line of thinking is not logical,” said her fighting-computer. “I calculate you are going to need each other to survive this battle. There are thirty-five demons left. The wizard scout’s shield only stops energy attacks. The spikes would have passed through unhindered. It would have been a waste of energy for him to create his own defensive shield.”
Red Wing kicked herself for letting her fighting-computer get the best of her in the conversation. She knew she should have remembered the human’s shield was deficient. The day after the wizard scout had trained her how to defend the link to her Power reserve and look for weak points in others, she’d discovered a flaw in his. After weaving a sonic wave into an active scan hidden by her best stealth shield, she’d probed the wizard scout’s link. Although it was too well protected by traps for her to ever think of attacking his link, the sonic part of her scan had detected a flaw in his defensive shield. Due to a defect in the human’s Power link, a minute blockage in the flow of energy used to create his defensive shields limited them to energy attacks only. It was not an uncommon problem among Crosioian scout candidates. She’d had the defect herself until one of the diviners at the scout school had repaired her blockage. Her instructor had told her the microscopic size of the blockage made it detectable only by the use of a sonic scan.
“What are you thinking?” asked her fighting-computer. “You are keeping your thoughts in your private space. I calculate the attack by the next group of demons will occur in five seconds. Now may not be the best time to keep secrets from me.”
Keeping her anger at the computer’s insolence under control, Red Wing took a final look at the charging demons before making her decision. I cannot defeat them all by myself, she thought. Like it or not, I am trapped in this simulation. I can be killed. So can the wizard scout. That would be unacceptable. I must be the one to kill him, and I must do it before the tribal council to regain my honor. I cannot allow him to die in a halo-square simulation.
Reaching out with an active scan, Red Wing interwove a sonic scan and stealth shield together the way she’d done before. Probing along the human’s link to his Power reserve, she found the spot with the defect. Touching the blockage with the sonic part of her scan, she repaired the deficiency. A Power surge from the wizard scout’s link reached out and grabbed hold of her scan. She sensed a buildup of Power as the human prepared to attack.
With no time to speak before the wave of demons washed over them, Red Wing sent a thought through her fighting-computer, targeted at the wizard scout’s battle computer. She sent an image of what she’d done. The line of Power from the human disappeared. At almost the same moment, four demons hit her defensive shield, swinging weapons of fire and energy. Her shield buckled and bent inward.
“Shield will be down in five seconds,” said her fighting-computer. “Simulated or not, I calculate an eighty-seven percent probability the demons are going to kill you.”
A second defensive shield appeared in front of Red Wing’s shield. She sensed the frequency of the wizard scout in the Power weavings.
“Merge the two shields together,” she heard the human’s battle computer say over his external speakers. “I calculate it will triple the strength of your shields.”
With nothing to lose, Red Wing attempted to merge her shield with the human’s. For two heartbeats, nothing happened. Then she sensed the human’s shield shift and flow into hers, strengthening it by the second. More demons joined their brothers in beating on the combined shields. The merged shields did not break. They didn’t even buckle.
Dropping her now empty rifle, Red Wing pulled her phase spear from its scabbard and activated it in full destructive mode. Now it is my turn, she thought. Before she could swing her phase spear at the nearest demon, the air around her shimmered.
“End simulation,” came the voice of Margery.
The demons along with the desert environment disappeared to be replaced by the Defiant’s cargo bay. Red Wing looked down at her paw. It no longer clutched a phase spear, only empty air. She no longer wore her fighting-suit either. Only her sweat-matted fur covered her body. A movement to her left drew her attention. The wizard scout called Richard was rising from the metal deck, wearing only a pair of shorts. Blood covered his chest.
“Rick,” shouted the elf Jeehana. She rushed forward and grabbed hold of the human’s shoulders. “Are you okay?”
The wizard scout nodded his head, but Red Wing noticed him wince at the movement. “I’m fine,” he said.
“The blood—” started the elf.
“Nothing a few more seconds of self-heal won’t take care of,” said Richard. “Everything is fine.”
“It is not fine,” said the elf. “This was supposed to be a simulation.” She whirled toward the workbench where both Red Wing and Richard had left their equipment. “Now I see why you blanked out the halo-square, Master Nick. I should have known when I sensed Rick’s pain. If you ever try something like that again, I swear—”
Red Wing didn’t get the chance to find out what the elf was going to swear. The voice of the Defiant’s captain came over the cargo bay’s intercom. “Battle stations! This is not a drill. Make it snappy, people. We’ve gated into a hornet’s nest.”
The realization came over Red Wing that they were back in the physical dimension.
“That is correct,” said her fighting-computer in their shared space. “The Defiant gated back a few seconds ago. I calculate that is why Margery ended the training simulation so abruptly. We are now in Crosioian space two days’ hyper-drive distance from Astaris.”
Although the little recon ship was not Crosioian, Red Wing had to give the crew credit. They responded to their captain’s orders with efficiency and speed. Within seconds, only the wizard scout and the high priestess remained in the cargo bay with her. When Red Wing saw Richard stripping off his gym shorts and putting on his battle suit, she levitated her fighting-suit and other equipment to her and began doing the same. While Red Wing was quick in donning her equipment, the elf called Jeehana didn’t wait for either the wizard scout or her.
Running up the stairs, the elf high priestess shouted over her shoulder, “I’ll meet you in the cockpit!”
Since the wizard scout didn’t reply, Red Wing said nothing either. She finished snapping on her utility belt at the same time the wizard scout slung his dimensional pack over his shoulder. When the human ran toward the stairs, Red Wing followed, grabbing her dimensional pouch and slinging it over her shoulder as she went. Up the stairs she went, right on the wizard scout’s heels. As she ran, Red Wing reached out with her passive scan in an attempt to learn the source of trouble. The space surrounding the Defiant out to the max distance of her scan appeared clear.
“Your passive scan is limited to fifty thousand meters,” said her fighting-computer in their shared space. “According to the wizard scout’s battle computer, the human’s scan can reach out to a distance of a quarter of a light year in empty space. I calculate that perfecting your scans may be another area where you could benefit from additional training by the human wizard scout.”
Red Wing snorted. Even if the human could scan that distance in space, she was not about to ask him what was happening. I will never admit he can do something I cannot, she thought in her private space.
When the human whose name sounded like Tribal Brother reached the top of the stairs and entered the engine deck, he immediately transitioned to the next stairway that led to the floor designated for the mess area and crew quarters. An urge came over Red Wing to pass the human to prove her superiority, but she forced down the temptation. I am no longer an adolescent trying to show up my rival, she thought. Nevertheless, the desire to show who was the better scout remained. Sending out a sonic wave, Red Wing swiveled her ears and picked up the Defiant’s security team lining up at the arms room. The human called Sergeant Hendricks was hurriedly passing out a mixture of magic and technological weapons to the dwarves. Then she was past the dwarves and taking the stairs three at a time. As she ran, Red Wing monitored the life forms in the ship. Only the dwarves, the wizard scout, and she were not already at their battle stations.
“You do not have a battle station,” said her fighting-computer. “Neither does the human or the high priestess.”
Ignoring her computer, Red Wing jumped over the mess table and levitated up the final half of the stairs to the cockpit, almost but not quite passing the wizard scout. He entered a split-second ahead of her. The ship’s captain, Sergeant Ron, and the orc, Timerman, were sitting in the pilot and copilot seats respectively. The high priestess occupied the navigator’s seat.
“What’s up?” asked the wizard scout, panting for breath.
“See for yourself,” replied Sergeant Ron as he jerked his thumb at the halo-pad located between the pilot and copilot’s seats.
Since the halo-pad used visuals instead of a sonic image to display information to the Defiant’s crew, Red Wing was forced to use her eyes to see what was happening. She drew in a breath. A sleek-looking inter-galaxy ship was docked with a much larger Crosioian transport ship. The two starships were connected together by a retractable metal docking tube bridging the twenty meters from the larger ship’s airlock to the airlock of the smaller. Wedging in the inter-galaxy ship were two heavy Balorian destroyers to prevent the smaller ship from escaping.
“Who are they?” asked Richard.
“I don’t rightly know,” replied Sergeant Ron. “We gated out of the magic dimension a light-hour away from these yahoos. I’ve got our stealth shield activated, so I don’t think they’ve spotted us yet. Margery says we can go around them without being detected if we’re careful.”
“I said there was an eighty-four percent probability we could escape detection,” came Margery’s voice over the cockpit’s intercom. “I didn’t say it was a given, so don’t put words in my speakers.”
The human captain glanced over his shoulder at the wizard scout and bared his teeth. “I stand corrected. I was just about to make contact with the triplets and have them gate us back to the magic dimension. I’m assuming you approve of my plan.”
Before the wizard scout could reply, Red Wing hissed, “No! We cannot leave. We must attack.”
The two humans, the orc, and the elf turned and looked at her. The sonic waves returning from their faces registered surprise.
The wizard scout was the first to recover. “Why not? Why must we attack?”
The range to the ships was still outside her passive scan, but even her poor eyesight could see the emblem on the inter-galaxy ship in the hologram. It was the royal yacht. The signal lights on the bow heralded the presence of the supreme leader on board. Even dishonored as she was, she could not leave the ship to its fate.
“That is the royal yacht,” Red Wing said, trying to keep her explanation to the minimum. “It never travels inside the outer realms of the galaxy except in dire emergencies. We must save the one she is carrying.”
The elf rose from her seat and stepped in front of Red Wing. She was tall compared to most humans.
“That is because she is an elf, not a human,” said her mother’s fighting-computer in the shared space of their minds.
Red Wing didn’t bother acknowledging her fighting-computer’s remark. Instead, she looked directly into the elf’s eyes. The elf did not flinch.
“Who is the ship carrying?” asked the elf high priestess.
Red Wing swiveled her ears at the elf before turning them to the wizard scout. “The ship is carrying our supreme leader. I must save her.” Her chest grew warm, but Red Wing’s desperation forced the next words out despite the shame. “I cannot do it alone.”
Richard stared at her for three heartbeats. “Are you asking for our help?”
Swallowing her pride, Red Wing tucked her wings tightly behind her back and spread her paws out before her. She sent out a sonic wave that all bats would instantly recognize. It was the call for assistance. For the benefit of those around her, she hissed the words aloud. “Yes, I need your help.”
All eyes went to the wizard scout. Red Wing heard him glance at the Defiant’s captain and the high priestess before looking back at her. “Then help you are going to get. I’ve a feeling this is why you were captured, and it’s why we have all been brought together to this point in time.” The wizard scout turned to Sergeant Ron. “We’re outnumbered. I guess all we can do is go in and attack with all guns blazing.”
The cockpit’s intercom crackled. Margery said, “Uh, maybe not. Fortunately, battle computers think at nanosecond speed. Nickelo, Red Wing’s fighting-computer, and I have a plan.”
A stream of data from her fighting-computer entered Red Wing’s shared space. She nodded. “I like it,” she said out loud, baring her teeth in a smile. “In fact, I like it a lot.”
Chapter 23 – Desolation
___________________________
Telsa sat on one of the many black boulders littering the landscape while keeping watch. Her three companions lay on the rocky ground taking a much needed rest. Even sprawled on the ground as they were, she could see the glows of the breathing spells around their faces. They didn’t have battle suits. The spells were the only things keeping them alive in the land where they’d found themselves after walking through the gate.
In Telsa’s opinion, only one word fully described their surroundings: desolation. A seemingly endless supply of volcanoes dotted the landscape. The dark rock composing most of the hilly terrain was lit only by the dim glow of the molten lava flowing down the mountainsides. Plumes of poisonous gas drifted in the air in lieu of life-giving oxygen. After two weeks in the demonic plane, Telsa was more than ready for a change of scenery.
“Careful what you wish for,” said Raj in their shared space. “At least you have not had to do any fighting.”
Telsa snorted a laugh. With her battle suit fully sealed against the noxious fumes of the air around her, the snort sounded more like a groan than a laugh. “Fight what? We haven’t seen anything to fight in the two weeks we’ve been in this Creator-forsaken place.”
Raj shouted over the battle helmet’s external speakers, “Incoming!”
“I’ve got it,” said Master Jathar as he sat up and drew a symbol in the air. He mouthed words Telsa heard but quickly forgot.
A translucent shield six meters across formed around Rembis, Leethor, Telsa, and Master Jathar. A glow from above caught Telsa’s eye as a ball of molten rock a meter in diameter came streaking out of the sky. The ball of lava hit the ground ten meters away.
Boom!
The molten material sprayed in all directions, splattering drops of hot liquid across the mage’s defensive shield. None of the drops penetrated the magic barrier.
�
�Sorry,” Telsa said. “My shield only protects against energy attacks.”
“Pay it no mind,” said Master Jathar as he dropped his shield to conserve Power. “We each have our unique skillsets.”
“I suppose,” Telsa said still feeling bad. “It seems like Rembis and you’ve done most of the work keeping us alive during the last two weeks. I haven’t done much at all except keep watch while you guys sleep. I’m sorry I got you into this.”
“You are sorry?” laughed Leethor. “If you think you have not been doing much, you should try spending some time in my boots. I am no mage.” He hefted his bow in the air. “My skill as an archer has not come in too handy shooting down those molten balls of lava. At least you have your passive scan to give us some advanced warning of incoming fireballs.”
Rembis stood and walked next to Leethor. Placing a hand on the elf’s shoulder, he said, “Now don’t start that again. I’ll admit that Master Jathar and my magic have come in handy the past couple of weeks, but we’ve all got a purpose to serve. I for one am glad you are here with us.” He turned to Telsa. “As for getting the rest of us into this, Leethor, Master Jathar, and I are old enough to make our own decisions. We chose to follow you through the guardian’s gate.” The old gnome gave a half smile. “I will admit I was hopeful we’d be able to walk back out the gate as easily as we walked in, but that shows what I know.”
Telsa thought back to how the four of them had stepped through the gate into the demonic plane with the intention of doing a quick recon. They’d soon discovered the gate was firmly locked from the other side. No amount of spells from the two mages or attempts at teleportation had been able to get them out. They’d camped for a full week at the glowing sphere of green that was the gate before deciding they were wasting their time. No one was coming to rescue them. After taking a consensus, they’d decided to start walking and hope for the best. That had been a week ago.
The rocky terrain shook, followed by a distant rumble. Leethor pointed at a two-thousand-meter-high volcano fifteen kilometers away. “I think our friend over there is about ready to send a few more welcoming gifts our way. Perhaps we should eat and be moving on.” The elf scout smiled. “I think I would have a little trouble trying to go back to sleep now anyway.”
Wizard Defender (Intergalactic Wizard Scout Chronicles Book 8) Page 22