“No doubt,” Richard thought as the large bat behind Sergeant Ron spread her wings.
“We would not allow any shooting at our ships,” the chief engineer hissed. “We would activate the intergalactic-drive’s self-destruct before we would allow that to occur.”
A hiss from Richard’s right sounded as the supreme leader stepped next to him. “Let us hope that will not be necessary, Chief. With the help of you and your technicians in operating the intergalactic-drive, the Defiant should be able to outrun any trouble from our patrols. We will contact you when we need you to return to Astaris.”
The chief engineer nodded her head and stepped out of sight.
Richard didn’t blame Sergeant Ron for being edgy with five of the bats on board, but to be honest, he wasn’t worried. He was more than confident Felspar and his dwarves could handle any situation if the bats tried to cause problems.
“You know, I don’t like this one little bit, partner,” said Sergeant Ron. “Jeehana and you should stay on the Defiant. I think we’d all be a lot better off sticking together.”
Glancing around the yacht’s crowded engine room, Richard noted the tight grips several of the bats’ crew kept on their weapons. He had a feeling it was all some of them could do to keep from bringing their weapons to bear on him and firing away.
“I wouldn’t worry about it,” said Nickelo. “They’re well disciplined. The supreme leader ordered them not to harm Jeehana and you. I calculate a ninety-eight percent probability they will obey. That is pretty good odds in my book.”
“Yeah. The only problem with the odds is that sometimes the other two percent happens instead of the ninety-eight.”
Nickelo chuckled. “Then I guess you had better hope that this is the ninety-eight percent and not the other two, eh?”
Richard turned to Jeena. “Are you sure you won’t stay on the Defiant? This is your last chance to get off the yacht.”
The glare from the elf’s molten-silver eyes accompanied by a determined emotion coming down their bond link gave Richard all the answer he needed. They’d had a hard hour of heated discussion earlier that night as they’d made the run to the point in the magic dimension opposite Astaris using the intergalactic-drive. Jeena had been very vocal in making it clear that she was going with him.
“Your elf is just as stubborn as you,” said Nickelo.
Richard didn’t bother answering. He knew full well his battle computer was right. Facing the image of Sergeant Ron, he started to speak.
A loud hiss to his left stopped him. An orange suited Crosioian stationed at a computer terminal turned to face the supreme leader. “A four destroyer patrol has just exited hyperspace three light seconds off our port bow, Supreme Leader. They are demanding our ships lower our force fields and power down all weapons.”
The supreme leader nodded her head. “Lower the yacht’s shields.” Turning to Sergeant Ron’s image, she said, “Leave now. They cannot catch you with our intergalactic-drive installed in your ship. No other vessel currently operating inside the galaxy is equipped with one. You can get away without a fight if you hurry.”
Sergeant Ron hesitated and glanced at Richard. “Partner?”
“Go,” Richard said. “It’s all going to work out. Trust me.”
With a nod, Sergeant Ron turned to the chief engineer and said, “Activate the intergalactic-drive. Let’s get the hell out of here.” A heartbeat later, the hologram of Sergeant Ron wavered and disappeared.
“The Defiant is now beyond sensor range,” the Crosioian stationed at the computer terminal told the supreme leader. “The patrol’s commander is demanding that we identify ourselves. What should I tell her?”
The supreme leader glanced at Richard and Jeena. “Tell her that we are all that remains of the Gaze at the Stars and her crew.” The supreme leader bared her teeth in what Richard took as a smile. “Tell her we have two prisoners onboard.”
* * *
A day and a half later found Richard sitting cross-legged on the cold metal floor of the two-meter-square room that was his cell. There was no furniture. Reaching out with his passive scan, he sensed the energized titanium in the walls, floor, and ceiling. He picked up nothing beyond the walls with his scan. He hadn’t expected to sense anything outside the ultra-high-security cell, but he was bored and it gave him something to do. As he’d found out when he’d first been thrown in the tiny cell, the creallium surrounding him was too much even for his best active scan.
He glanced around his cell. I could probably bust out of here if I put my mind to it, but I promised the supreme leader I wouldn’t. Right or wrong, I gave my word. Now all I can do is wait.
Stretching out his legs, Richard smoothed the bunched up material of the extra-large gray jumpsuit his guards had given him the first day. Once semi-comfortable, he sent an emotion of concern through the link he shared with Jeena. She wasted no time in returning an emotion to assure him that she was still unharmed.
Well, at least my cell isn’t able to block our bond link, Richard thought. Otherwise I’d be going crazy by now, wondering if she is all right. He glanced around his empty cell for the ten thousandth time. I hate not having anything to do. I wish I could contact Nick. At this point, I’d be glad to hear even some of his stupid twentieth-century sayings. That’s not possible though, so I may as well stop wishing it. The first thing the Crosioians did when the patrol ship’s security team boarded the yacht was confiscate my equipment. Nick’s probably in some high-security vault on Astaris, or maybe even off planet.
Richard leaned back against the wall and stared at the red-gemmed ring on his left hand. It was the only thing of his that the Crosioian security team had let him keep. He remembered how he’d given up the rest of his equipment to the bats’ without a fight, but how he’d balked when they’d tried to remove his ring. The point of contention had almost come to blows before the Crosioians’ supreme leader stepped in. For some reason, she’d allowed him to keep the ring.
She let Jeena keep hers as well, Richard thought. I suppose Nick was right. Their supreme leader probably does want me to succeed and prove that what I told her about the demons is true. Too bad she doesn’t just take my word for it. I suppose when it comes down to it, Crosioian politics are just as complicated and confusing as the Empire’s. Still, it would’ve been a hell of a lot easier if she’d just let me go with their recon team instead of having to go through this tournament crap.
Richard turned his hand so the ring’s red gem reflected the overhead light. At least Jeena’s not alone. She’s got Danny. Assuming we get out of this alive, I swear I’m going to see if Nick can go inside my ring instead of being in my battle helmet. Maybe we wouldn’t get separated so much. His mind went off on a tangent, thinking of problems that might crop up with having his battle computer in his ring. Nah. If Nick was in my ring, the supreme leader would’ve insisted I give it up. He scratched his head. Hmm. Unless of course, they didn’t know my ring was there. Maybe between Comstar, Jeena, and I, we can stealth the ring and make it invisible. It’s so thin it would be hard to detect by feel.
Before Richard could dwell more on the problem, a section of the wall opposite him flickered and then disappeared. A large bat dressed in a gray jumpsuit similar to his stood in the doorway.
“Red Wing,” Richard said, smiling in spite of himself. The scout’s presence told him things were finally coming to a head. “What’s the good news?”
Swiveling her ears at Richard, Red Wing said, “There is no good news, Wizard Scout. The tournament is about to start. I am to take you there and join the others.”
Richard stood and stretched. “Well, that’s what we wanted, right? I’d call that good news.”
Gesturing for him to follow, Red Wing turned and set a fast pace down the smooth-stone tunnel outside the cell. Richard trotted to catch up and took a position to the bat’s right side. Four Crosioian scouts wearing fighting-suits and carrying phase spears fell in a dozen paces behind them. Four similarly dre
ssed scouts led the way a dozen paces to the front.
Gesturing at the scouts in front, Richard said, “Are these some of the other applicants?”
With a shake of her head, Red Wing touched the material of her jumpsuit. “No. Tournament applicants are only allowed this. No armor. Our only weapon will be our Creator-given abilities and our wing-blades.”
A distant noise sounding similar to a fast moving tube train came from somewhere ahead. Is that wind? Richard wondered. He sensed a vibration in the stone floor that seemed to ebb and flow with the noise of the wind, if wind it was. He was tempted to ask Red Wing about the noise but decided against it. Although the bat and he’d grown more tolerant of each other during the last few weeks, they were far from friends, in his opinion.
After all, Richard thought. I did kill her mother. That would put a crimp in anybody’s relationship.
As they walked, the train sound became increasingly louder.
Red Wing swiveled her right ear at Richard. “Much has happened since we were rescued.”
“Uh,” Richard said, forcing a smile. “I was thrown in a prison cell. I’d hardly call that a rescue.”
“Now is not the time for humor, Wizard Scout,” said Red Wing. “There has been an attempted coup. The Blood Claw tribe was behind the pirate’s attack on the supreme leader. The coup has been put down, but there were many losses on both sides. Some of the Blood Claw leaders and scouts got away. There may be another assassination attempt on the supreme leader. I am concerned.”
“Well, I’m sorry about the coup, but at least things are out in the open now, right?” Richard said, trying to figure out how the new information fit into his original plan. He’d always been a little above average in intelligence, but even he had to admit thinking fast wasn’t one of his strong points. “I mean, at least the supreme leader knows I’m telling the truth, right? Those Blood Claws of yours were obviously working with the demons. Surely your supreme leader knows now that I’m right about needing to join forces with the Empire. We must ally ourselves against the demons before it’s too late.”
Red Wing shook her head, dashing Richard’s hopes. “The battle for Estos has already begun. Recon forces from both sides have made contact. Lives have been lost. Many more will soon die. The Empire and Trecorians have gathered a fleet larger than expected and deployed them for an all-or-nothing assault to rescue the prisoners on Estos. Our Crosioian fleets have also deployed. The supreme leader has stripped the tribes of every available warship. Our sisters in the Andromeda galaxy have also sent reinforcements. Our battle fleets are a half a million strong against your fleets of a hundred and twenty thousand. Our forces are poised to wipe the Empire out once and for all. If that happens, the tribal leaders believe there will finally be peace in our galaxy.”
A feeling of heat washed up Richard’s chest and onto his face. “There will be no peace. I tell you the demons will—”
Red Wing stopped and faced him. “You do not have to convince me, Wizard Scout. I have grown to believe you during my time on the Defiant. Fighting the demons attacking the royal yacht when all were supposed to have been returned to their own plane removed any doubts I had. I am on your side. I believe the supreme leader also thinks you tell the truth.”
Richard stared at the scout, trying to lock eyes with her, but the fur dangling from her forehead made eye contact difficult. He watched her ears for any sign of deceit. He saw none. “If you both believe me, then why—”
Red Wing twitched her ears at the scouts to their front and rear. The bat guards remained a respectable distance away, but Richard had no doubt their sensitive ears could still hear everything Red Wing and he were saying.
“Why go through with the tournament?” Red Wing spread her wings slightly before retracting them back. “Because of politics, and because of the years of animosity with the Empire and especially with humans. As I said, blood is even now being spilled between our fleets. Much more will be spilled in the next forty-eight hours. We must go into the Hole and bring back proof positive that demons are returning to our dimension through the rift without authorization. More than that, Crosioians must see this demon army of yours and the threat it poses. We must pass through the rift and return with the evidence, so the supreme leader can act to stop this war between our species.” She shrugged her wings. “Even with proof, I have serious doubts the war between our species can be stopped. As I said, too much blood has been lost.”
“Our galaxy will run red with the blood of both our species when the demon hordes arrive,” Richard snapped, allowing some of his building anger to slip through.
With another shrug of her wings, Red Wing resumed walking down the tunnel.
Richard caught up with the scout and took up his place on her right side.
“So you say, and so the supreme leader and I believe,” said Red Wing. “But without proof, our paws are bound. I tell you truth, Wizard Scout. You must remain alive during the tournament so you can guide us through the rift and show us your demon army. Nothing else will suffice.”
“I’m going to do my best, about staying alive, I mean. As for the rift, I’ve never seen it, so I’m not sure how good of a guide I’ll be.” The noise ahead became louder than ever, rising to a crescendo before calming down to a muffled roar. “Sounds like a train or ocean waves ahead. What is it?”
Red Wing hissed a laugh. It was not so much a humorous laugh as it was of someone accepting a bad situation and choosing to deal with it as best they could. “That, my friend, is the sound of twenty thousand Crosioians screaming for your blood. You have been responsible for the deaths of many of our kind.” She turned her head and bared her teeth in what Richard took as a bat smile. “A hundred and fifteen scout applicants will be in the tournament. A hundred and thirteen of them will team up and try to kill you in the first few seconds. If they have their way, you will be scattered from one end of the arena to the other in a hundred bloody pieces of meat before this day is done.”
An image of his body cut up by scores of wing-blades all striking at once crossed his mind. No matter how good my self-heal, he thought, it can’t heal that kind of damage fast enough to save my life. He looked at the scout and nodded. “Uh, you said a hundred and thirteen. What about the other two applicants?”
Red Wing swiveled her ears to the front and picked up the pace. “One is you. The other is me. I have spent many hours this past day talking to your elf. She is an amazing creature. She has convinced me of the need to forget past transgressions for the good of our species’ futures. You helped kill my mother, Wizard Scout. My kind helped kill your father. The high priestess convinced me that what is done is done. We cannot bring back our kin by holding a grudge. When we enter the arena, I will fight by your side. What good that will do against a hundred plus scouts, I do not know, but I will do my best to keep you alive while my two hearts beat.” She spread her wings slightly in a show of defiance. “So, Wizard Scout? What is your plan?”
Richard gave a tightlipped smile and shrugged. “My plan? I’ve got nothing. I was kinda hoping that you had one.”
Stopping abruptly, Red Wing turned her head and bared her fangs. “Ah. You joke. We Crosioians also laugh at certain death. Alas, my only plan is to swing my wing-blade until my limbs are cut off and I can heal my torn body no more.”
Richard forced a chuckle for the bat’s benefit. “Hmm. I was hoping for something with a slightly better chance of survival than that.”
Red Wing lowered her wings and puffed out her chest. “We will die with honor.”
“Well,” Richard replied. “If it’s all the same to you, I’d prefer to live so I can fight against our real enemies another day.” He glanced at the guards to their front. They had also stopped. The way their ears twitched told him they were impatient, but he didn’t care. He needed some information before entering the arena. “I assume you’re familiar with the other scout applicants. If you could pick the six scouts for our two quads, who would they be? Just out of curiosi
ty.”
“Does it matter, Wizard Scout? I doubt either of us will be alive ten minutes from now.”
“Humor me.”
Shrugging her wings, Red Wing said, “One would be Rip-Out-The-Heart-Of-My-Enemy. She is from the Bent Wing tribe. If I had not returned, she would be the best of the scouts that are here. She has a broken tip on her wing, so she will be easy to spot.”
“You said that are here,” Richard said, curious how many active scouts the Crosioians had. “Are you saying there are scouts that aren’t?”
“Yes, a few. They are on missions and could not return for the tournament. Plus, the thirteen scouts in the Blood Claw tribe are missing. Once the supreme leader’s loyalists put down the coup, Spear-Through-Your-Heart and twelve of her tribe’s other scouts disappeared. We do not know where they are now.”
Politics, Richard thought. It’s always the same whether a human, a lizard, or a bat. Someone always wants to be a little higher in the pecking order.
Richard glanced at their guards. The scouts’ ears were beginning to twitch at a furious pace. “All right, we’ve got one for our team. Who else would you select if you could choose?”
Red Wing’s ears also began to twitch. After a second they stopped, and she shrugged her wings. “I suppose Spear-From-Below. She is deadly in a close-in fight. Not only is she fast, but she’s stronger than she looks. Then there are Crush-Your-Skull and Eat-The-Flesh-Of-My-Enemy. They are sisters.”
“Uh, great names. What mother could resist a baby with names like those?” When his companion snorted, Richard said, “All right, bad joke. That’s four for our team. We need two more.”
Red Wing’s ears swiveled in the direction of their guards before returning to Richard. “Are you seriously trying to pick out our team? You almost make me believe you expect to live once the tournament begins.”
Richard nodded. “To be honest, the other applicants don’t worry me at the moment. The demons are the ones who frighten me. I can’t fight the demons if I’m dead, so I’ve decided not to let that happen, at least not today.”
Wizard Defender (Intergalactic Wizard Scout Chronicles Book 8) Page 34