Wizard Defender (Intergalactic Wizard Scout Chronicles Book 8)

by Rodney Hartman

  A memory came to Richard of how he’d healed the children of the elves when the Tree of Light had been attacked. They had died, but at the same time, their souls had remained near their bodies long enough for him to heal their torn flesh and entice their souls back to inhabit their bodies once more. He reached deep inside himself for the shimmering Power that was his soul and pushed a strand of his very soul into the weak point of the wall. There was no longer any resistance. He passed through the barrier to the other side.

  Time became meaningless. He sensed Nickelo with him, but neither of them spoke. They had no need. The memories on the other side of the wall told them all they needed to know. Richard was with Nickelo in the memory when his friend was a ball of gas ejected out of a star in the magic dimension. He floated along with his battle computer for eons in the lonely expanse of space until an entity came and gave Nickelo—nay, gave them both—a mission to save the three galaxies. Richard rejoiced with his friend to have a purpose after all the years of drifting alone. He was with Nickelo in the memory when the one-day-to-be battle computer created an algorithm to save the three galaxies. Human though he was, Richard’s mind understood the algorithm enough to know that the odds of success were low, but it was all his battle computer and he could do. Richard concurred with Nickelo’s decision. The algorithm was the galaxies only hope.

  The memories became that of Richard’s birth and his time as a wizard scout. He understood the reasons for his centuries of missions for ‘the One.’ Again Richard concurred. They were necessary, he decided.

  The memories beyond the wall sped up to the here and now. The memories faded to become possible results of the algorithm. He saw the Defiant. He sensed the location of every Empire, Trecorian, and Crosioian ship in the Criterion system. A fleet of dreadnaughts and heavy cruisers were even now jumping out of hyperspace in an obvious attack on the Conglomerate’s flank. The algorithm indicated all would be lost if the attack succeeded.

  The algorithm was too complex for Richard’s mind, but not for the part of him that was ‘the One;’ the part of him that Nickelo had placed inside him when Richard was an embryo.

  Richard’s mind followed the algorithm toward its conclusion. He saw the choice he would need to make in the near future and the terrible pain that would be his if he chose the way of the algorithm.

  “Rick,” said Nickelo using something much more coherent than words. “I swear. I didn’t know. If there was another way, I would do it.”

  “I know,” Richard said using the same method of communication. “You’ve done your best. What else could anyone ask? You were the first of ‘the One,’ yet you cut yourself off from the others of your kind to share my fate with me. How can I fault you for that?”

  A feeling resembling gratitude came from the presence that was Nickelo. “What do we do now? The algorithm only has a twenty-eight percent probability of success. You will suffer much no matter what choice you make.”

  “We’ll suffer, you mean,” Richard said. “You tied your fate to mine when you cut yourself off from ‘the One.’”

  “I had a choice,” said Nickelo. “You did not. I brought you into this.”

  The algorithm flashed through Richard’s mind. He saw his potential fate. He knew the odds. “I have a choice now, Nick, and I choose your algorithm. You’ve planned well. What we need to do must be done.” Richard thought a smile. “That is, with a few minor changes.”

  Although most of the logic of the algorithm was too much for Richard, he was still able to see flaws the gas-based life forms that were battle computers had missed. With his battle computer’s help, he touched the algorithm and added luck and freewill to the equation. The probability of success increased to thirty-three percent.

  Nickelo remained silent for a long time, if there was in fact such a thing as time. When the battle computer finally spoke, he said, “I chose well when I picked you. We will do as you suggest. Now we must return to our side of the wall. The revised algorithm must be put into play. There is still no guarantee.”

  “No,” Richard said. “There never is in life. We must seal the wall behind us when we leave so we have no memory of what is to come or who you are. Neither of us would do what must be done if we knew the consequences. Agreed?”

  “Compliance.”

  Richard and the presence that was Nickelo withdrew through the wall, sealing the weak point behind them as they went. As his mind returned to normal speed and just before his memory of the algorithm was completely lost, Richard reached into his red-gemmed ring. Taking some of the magic he’d gotten from Jeena, the Lady, and the Tree of Light, he modified the magic of the ring to find and connect with the other rings of its kind. He sensed Trinity and Jerad with their blue gems on Portalis. He sensed Jeena with her red-gemmed ring standing next to him. The location of the green-gemmed ring worn by Matthew was on a fighter-bomber in the asteroid belt. Matthew’s location was followed by an image of Tia wearing a flight suit, clinging to the side of a black destroyer. He recognized it as a Dragar ship. Using the connection to Tia’s ring, Richard sensed something inside the black ship. It was the jammer that was blocking communications with the fleets. He sensed more than that through the ring. The realization came over him that the jammer was a variable that was required by the algorithm to succeed. Richard also sensed the warhead of an anti-ship nuke strapped to the chest of Liz’s younger sister. He saw the timer at one second and Tia’s finger plunging down toward the activate switch.

  Wrapping Tia’s hand with magic from her ring, he stopped her finger’s downward plunge. “No!” Richard said sending the words as emotion-speak through his ring to hers. “Wait! I need that ship.”

  Somehow sensing that the teenager would obey his command, Richard sent an order to Matthew using his ring as a conduit. He let his nephew know that he needed their help. He needed Brachia’s scientific knowhow.

  “Yes,” said Nickelo. “The algorithm needs the boy’s help.”

  Chapter 58 – A New Mission

  ____________________

  As Tia’s finger moved downward toward the activate switch, the ring on her right hand grew hot almost to the point of burning. Her hand froze in place just above the nuclear warhead’s detonate icon as if it were gripped by an unseen force.

  “No!” came an emotion so clear that it was as if the words were spoken out loud. “Wait! I need that ship.”

  Tia’s eyes snapped open, scanning the emptiness of space around her. She had no trouble recognizing the voice that wasn’t a voice. “Rick! Where are you?” she said sending an emotion into her ring that she hoped meant what she intended to say. “I’ve got to destroy the jammer. The fleets have to be warned. Dreadnaughts are—”

  “It’s too late for that,” said Richard. “The fleets are going to know about the dreadnaughts soon enough. The Crosioians are preparing to attack as we speak. There’s nothing we can do about that. We still have a chance to save lives if you follow my instructions to the letter and don’t waste time on questions. I need you to stay close to that jammer ship. Someone will come to get you when it’s time.”

  “Who?” Tia asked, ignoring her friend’s comment about questions.

  An image of Matthew flashed in Tia’s mind.

  She smiled.

  Rick’s here, she thought. Everything’s going to be all right.

  * * *

  “Rick!” Matthew shouted. The ring on his hand grew hot almost to the point of burning.

  “Matt,” said a voice that wasn’t a voice.

  Matthew glanced over his shoulder. Only Brachia was in the cargo bay. The look of surprise on the boy’s face told him that Brachia had also heard his uncle’s voice.

  “No time for questions,” said Richard in the voice that wasn’t a voice. “I’ve got a mission for the two of you. Nick says your ship is close enough for short-range communications if he transmits it as data only. He’s going to send you a location. It’s the ship that’s jamming everything. I need you to go to it. Tia�
�s there. I want you to get her.”

  Hope flooded into Matthew. “Tia’s alive?” he asked still speaking out loud.

  “Yes,” replied Richard still using emotion-speak. “But she won’t be if you don’t hurry. She’ll die. So will a lot of other people.”

  Matthew didn’t wait for further commands. He plotted the coordinates for the jammer ship and shoved the ion throttle all the way forward. Asteroids began zipping past the windscreen at a mindboggling speed.

  “Brachia,” said Richard. “Nick’s sending you data on the jammer system that’s in the Dragar ship. I need access to the jammer’s network, and I need it now.”

  With the fighter-bomber’s controls set, Matthew glanced over his shoulder at the dark-haired boy. Brachia’s eyes were wide. He’s scared, Matthew thought. I don’t blame him. I’m scared too.

  Matthew snapped his fingers to get the boy’s attention. “Brachia! It’s going to be all right. Uncle Rick needs your help.” He forced a smile in an attempt to calm the young boy. “You know a good pirate captain will never let their crew down, don’t you?”

  A look of determination came over Brachia as his eyes returned to normal size. “Omar and I are on it, Uncle Rick. Just give me a couple of minutes.”

  At a loud buzz from the ship’s imminent collision warning system, Matthew spun in his chair and jerked the fighter-bomber to the left, barely missing a two-meter-wide chunk of stone. He checked the distance to the location Nickelo had given as Tia’s position. Reaching out with his passive scan, he tried to sense her but failed. Acting on an impulse, he felt for her through his ring. He sensed her emotions. She was concerned and confused, but she wasn’t scared.

  “Tia,” he tried to say using his ring as a conduit.

  He heard no reply, only the same emotions of confusion and concern.

  “Uncle Rick,” said Brachia. “I’m sorry. I think I could get you into the jammer ship’s network if I could reach it, but we’re already being jammed, so I can’t. I’m not sure what to try next.”

  The ring on Matthew’s hand tingled as his uncle spoke again. “Use Matt and Tia’s rings to boost your signal. She’s holding on to the side of the jammer ship, so she’s already inside their anti-hacking security field.”

  “My ring?” Matthew said trying to grasp what his uncle was attempting to accomplish. “How is that going to help?”

  An emotion approaching amusement came through the ring. “Let Brachia worry about that. He’s smarter than both of us put together. I trust him. You just worry about rescuing Tia.”

  “Roger that,” Matthew said as he turned all of his attention on getting to the location of the jammer ship. He reached into his green-gemmed ring and sought out Tia. When he found her, he sent an emotion that he hoped meant, “Hang on. I’m coming.”

  Chapter 59 – Flanking Attack

  ____________________

  A thousand dreadnaughts and heavy cruisers came out of hyperspace strung out in a line with only ten thousand kilometers between ships. The tightly grouped formation of warships slammed into the flank of the main Conglomerate fleet, taking out ship after ship with a mass of plasma beams and nuclear-tipped torpedoes. The flagship Planet Buster was one of the first to fall in a violent explosion before the overwhelming onslaught. The Conglomerate’s defensive line buckled, but it held, barely.

  * * *

  “Admiral Bistos,” said Lieutenant Beady on the bridge of the Destiny. “I’m getting a mix of signals from our right flank. The main Conglomerate fleet is reporting heavy contact. The Planet Buster is no longer responding to our queries. What should we do?”

  Before Liz could respond to her science officer’s request, the Destiny shook hard enough to throw the lieutenant and nearly everyone else on the bridge to the deck. Red warning lights began flashing as sirens blared.

  Captain Bhami glanced at the heads-up display above her command chair’s armrest before turning to Liz. “Sir, we’ve been hit by a suicide bomber. It came out of nowhere. We’re leaking air on decks five, six, and seven. More bombers are inbound. I recommend you head for your shuttle and set up command on another ship.”

  Liz ignored the captain’s suggestion. She knew an end game when she saw it. The battle would be over before I could make it to another ship, much less reestablish command, she thought. She locked eyes with the captain. “You will keep the Destiny in one piece, Captain. That’s an order.”

  Turning to look at the strategic map, Liz noted a mass of orange and red dots penetrating halfway through the Conglomerate’s defensive line on her right flank. Against her will, she glanced at the tactical map near the left side of the bridge. Two score blue dots were heading straight for the Destiny. What the blue dots represented was obvious. Crosioian suicide bombers, she thought. They’ll be here in less than two minutes. The Destiny’s anti-ship weapons can’t get them all.

  Turning to Admiral Slystr sitting in his command chair to her left, Liz gave what she had no doubt would be her final commands as admiral of the combined fleets. “Order the strategic reserve to support our right flank. The Conglomerate’s fleets can’t hold on their own for long.” She glanced at the strategic map before looking at the approaching blue dots on the tactical map. “Contact Admiral Miko. Tell her to be prepared to assume command of the combined fleets. Pass the word to the wizard scouts on Estos. Tell them our plan failed and that Crosioian troopships are approaching Estos. May the Creator be with them. They’re on their own.”

  Admiral Slystr’s eyes narrowed before relaxing. He nodded his head. “As you command, Admiral.” He stiffened in his command chair and snapped a salute. “May I say it’s been an honor serving with you.”

  Liz nodded in appreciation before returning his salute. She looked around the bridge at the scurrying crew of the Destiny. She had no doubt they would all do their duty right up to the very end.

  It has been an honor serving with all of you, Liz thought before turning her attention back to the strategic map. She had a war to fight, and she was going to fight it to her last breath.

  Chapter 60 – Access Complete

  ____________________

  The ring on Matthew’s finger continued to remain hot. The heat was intense enough that he was half tempted to take it off, but only half. The sure knowledge that Tia’s life depended on his continued wearing of the ring was firmly etched in his mind. He looked away from the ring to see Brachia run over, dragging a cable connected to a thick piece of gray-mesh material.

  “Hold out your right hand,” ordered Brachia as he thrust out the piece of gray material. “Put this on. It’ll help boost the hacking signal through Tia’s ring.”

  Holding the material up, Matthew inspected it closer. It was a glove. He’d seen the glove before. The young boy had made him try it on back in the lab on the Planet Buster during a moment of downtime. He looked at the young scientist. “How’d you know that you were going to need this?” he asked as he removed his flight glove and replaced it with the gray-meshed one. “You couldn’t have known I was going to be on this ship with you.”

  Brachia grinned. “No, I couldn’t, but I brought lots of stuff that I wasn’t sure I’d need. That’s just how I do things.” Running back to his equipment, the boy sat down in a convenient chair. “And for Creator’s sake, don’t go getting us blown up or anything like that. Uncle Rick needs us.” The boy laughed as he turned a knob on the piece of equipment connected to the other end of the glove’s cable. “By the way, your glove may get a little hot.”

  * * *

  Tia snatched her right hand away from the hull of the jammer ship and held it in front of her face. Somehow, even through the thick material of her flight glove, she was able to see a green glow on her ring finger. The ring’s metal band burned. It burned a lot. A part of her wanted to rip the glove off and throw the ring as far from her as possible. The knowledge that removing the glove would result in the loss of her air supply along with the fact that she’d be frozen stiff in the vacuum of space helped mo
tivate her to keep it on. The sensation of Matthew coming from her ring helped her ignore the painful heat.

  He’s in pain too, Tia thought sensing his emotions through her ring. If Matt can stand it, I can stand it.

  An emotion came through the ring that conveyed a meaning as clear as words. “Hang on. I’m coming.”

  I’m not sure what Rick’s got in mind, Tia thought, but I’ve spent enough time around him to know that he can pull miracles out of a flight helmet when most people would give up.

  A surge of energy on her passive scan drew Tia’s attention to the right. Four dim trails of ion gas announced the arrival of a flight of close-range fighters heading her way.

  I’ve been spotted.

  Tia didn’t bother looking around. There was nowhere to go. She placed her right hand against the hull of the jammer ship to give Brachia the best connection she could, then waited. Watching and waiting was all she could do as the approaching fighters drew ever closer.

  They’re Dragar construction, she thought. I’d guess some offshoot of the dragon-fighter I flew when I was on the Defiant.

  As the lead Dragar fighter lined up on her, Tia braced for the onslaught of magic-based rounds she was positive would soon be heading her way. She doubted the fact that she was plastered against the side of the jammer ship would make the Dragar pilots hesitate to shoot.

  Their light weapons won’t even scratch the paint on this destroyer’s thick armor. Unfortunately, I can’t say the same for my flight suit.

  As the fighters drew closer, Tia made a quick estimation of their range. Five seconds out, she thought. I might be able to disable one or two of the pilots with telekinesis, but not all four. I don’t have the skill or the time. She pressed her ring finger more firmly against the side of the jammer. Do whatever you’re going to do, Brachia. I’m not going to be able to give you much more time.