Perhaps she could reason with the beasts, at least with the one called Fia’ra. “We were told they had our friend captive,” she said. “We came to rescue him?”
“Speru?” Katen said.
A jolt ran through her. With a wave of his hand, multiple engrams appeared showing ghosted interactions with the boy. The old man’s face appeared by the boy’s.
“D’abar? You’ve seen D’abar too?” she said, bewildered.
“We rescued him not long ago—a castoff from his world,” Fia’ra said. “You know him?”
She nodded. “He was cast out from Alo?” Can it be true?
So, D’abar was beyond Alo’s barrier too—and already with Speru? What could have led to his expulsion from their homeworld? Was this all a farce? Could she really trust them? They knew of D’abar, and they couldn’t have known his significance before this encounter. Maybe they collected it from Jeyla’s mind?
Did it really matter? The clawed man was right; they could just rip the information from her mind. If she willingly provided some of it, maybe there’d be some hope to survive this?
“There, can you see her thoughts?” Fia’ra said. “She’s not our enemy.”
“How did you get involved with the Nukari beasts?” Fio’tro asked.
“When we left our world to find him,” she said as engrams appeared chronicling the experience. “Raitr used his abilities to find the most powerful person. We thought it would lead us directly to Speru. But instead we found Jask.”
“Jask?” Fia’ra asked.
“One of the Beast Warrior generals, a child really,” she said, manifesting an image.
A dark aura wafted from the clawed man as he snarled. Beside him appeared a rage-filled image of an aging woman in a blue and silver uniform. The snapping of her whip echoed around them. Looking back at her own engram, Siana saw the same woman standing next to Jask.
“Kajlit’ga?” Siana said shyly. “She took us in, said she’d help us find Speru. Helped to advance our skills. She even warned us of your kind.”
“She’s a demon!” Katen shrieked.
“Where is she?” Fia’ra asked, her tone wracked with an unusual insistence.
“We have a camp, on a world,” Siana’s head shook. “We don’t know how to get there. One of the other beast warriors always transported us.”
A cold chill and rumbling of thunder filled the air. The three beasts seemed angered by Kajlit’ga. If she wasn’t careful, this would end badly for her. Looking to the side, she called forth a memory from the camp.
“There are the structures in the camp, and it’s not crowded, so there’s not many living there.” She pointed. “This is Kajlit’ga’s tent. We stay over here. Most of the training happens up in these mountains,” she said, pointing again.
Fia’ra lowered her hands, dropping the protective barrier, then approached Katen, talking in hushed tones. His lizard-like eyes glanced at Fia’ra a few times before they turned to face Siana.
“We will bring Speru to you, but we require your assistance,” Fia’ra said lovingly. “We also want to impart some knowledge about the company you’re keeping.”
* * * * * *
“Get away from them!” Raitr screamed, pounding an orange wave of energy at a child and her glowing cat-creature. The pair dodged with grace around the attack. At least it kept them away. He’d hit two others earlier, so they knew they’d be defenseless if his nullification attack struck them.
“Siana!” he yelled. “SIANA!”
Why wasn’t she responding? He grabbed her shoulders and shook gently. “Snap out of it!” he yelled.
In the distance, by the enemy ship, was an entity hovering in space, motionless like Siana and Jeyla.
Empaths! he thought, charging his nullification beam.
Using telepathy, Raitr yelled, Jask, we need help!
A small hand gripped his arm. “Siana!” he cried as her eyes fluttered open. Jeyla too stirred.
“We …” she started weakly. “Must go … now.”
First dodging around an attack, Jask dove through the hole in the hull and came to Raitr’s side.
“We should get out of here. Speru’s not in this ship!” Raitr said.
Before he could respond, Jask’s body went limp.
A beast warrior with the green aura, the one named Yezen, bellowed telepathically, We’re leaving—now!
The ship seemed to vaporize around them as the beast warriors converged their attacks on the hull, creating an unguarded exit for the group. With a swipe of a claw, Jask’s mentor Yezen tore open a purple rift in space. In moments they were traveling in a tunnel of purple energy, speckled with rays of green and yellow light. For once, Raitr was thankful for a quick escape.
* * * * * *
“DIE!” Jask screamed as the universe around them burst into light. Katen cried out as vertigo overcame him. The light spiraled into a vortex then collapsed into blackness as he was thrown out of the mindwalk.
Katen opened his eyes; his hands grappled for something to steady himself. In the distance a purple rift sparkled, then closed. They’d fled. He’d never been in a mindwalk that was severed in such a manner. Things were just getting interesting too!
From the short time in his mind, it seemed Jask was far more than they thought. That black armor wasn’t just for defense. It actually served as an encounter suit, which hid his true form. Vivid images of a murderous Mencari plagued his mind, along with the broken body of a Human female, which he called Mother. Both permeated the boy’s consciousness.
This battle was unexpected. Not only were they closer to finding Kajlit’ga, but also allies of Speru and D’abar, and a boy with some type of tie to Rhysus Mencari.
CHAPTER 22
Anaka
Mencari’s head pounded. His stomach roiled. He groaned.
“He’s coming around,” Cogeni said. “Minea, inform New Eden.”
“I’m on it,” she said back, ecstatic.
His eyes opened, only to squint tight from the light. It seemed like a thousand suns encircled him. Even covering his eyes didn’t help.
“I’ll get the lights,” Allia said. The scramble of tiny feet pattered on the floor. In moments the intensity became bearable. Cautious, he opened his eyes. Everything looked blurred, and a shadowy figure loomed over him. A stubble-covered face came into focus—Cogeni. Allia and Ichini stood beside him, and Minea floated in the air behind them. Katen waited near the door with his pet, Decreta. All he could muster in greeting was a groan and a simple wave of his hand.
“You’re okay!” Allia cried, wrapping her arms around him.
From what he could see, the stark white room had little furniture beyond the wood-framed bed. The floors looked like polished rock, and the doors a deep cherry wood covered with meticulous carvings.
“You’re on Argosy. I’ve been watching you since Kiyanna brought you and the others in. It looked pretty bad.”
Tal? The mission … The final moments flashed through his mind. His body tingled, remembering the ability to reach out and harvest energy from the others. As if reliving the experience, he felt the strange sensation of speed, and pressure too, just after. “What happened?” he rasped out.
“Everyone wants to know that,” Allia said, entering from the corridor.
Cogeni hesitated a moment before saying, “What do you remember about Naldes? The others said they felt you take their power and use it.”
“Is that true?” Allia asked. “I said you didn’t even have that ability. So how would that be possible?”
He massaged his temples, trying to piece everything back together. Everything happened so fast at the end. His body acted on pure instinct. Flashes of moments replayed in his mind. He saw the hazy, milky-white shells of the others, and the radiant energy that churned within them. He recalled reaching out to the energies, drawing the power into himself. Everything said was true. Though he didn’t understand what was happening then, what was said made sense. He nodded to Allia.
“Oh,” she said, still doubting.
“I just … a feeling came over me. We were in a bad spot.…”
“I think you’ve made a few people nervous,” Cogeni said.
Allia huffed. “Well, he saved everyone. They’ll just have to get over it.”
“Is everyone else okay?” he asked.
Cogeni nodded with a smile. “Tal and Naijen were in bad shape, but I helped them. Speru, Dane, Narrik, and Nikko are with them now.”
“Did Longtime get out?”
“Who’s Longtime?” Allia asked.
“A prisoner from the facility.”
“The team plus Tal made it back. No one else.”
He thought back, recalled the black aura that seemed to travel out of Naldes with him. Perhaps it was nothing. “How long have I been out?”
“You’ve been out for four days,” Cogeni said.
Days? It felt like hours.
“We were getting worried. As far as I could tell you didn’t have anything physically wrong with you. Katen checked on you a few times. All he said was you appeared to be working your way back. Whatever that meant. But it doesn’t matter now.”
What did you see? Mencari wondered.
Katen’s voice floated through his mind. Enough to know you were fine. That the memory of Eisah won’t leave you alone.
“A lot has happened since you’ve been out,” Allia said.
“Kiyanna’s group responded to a distress call, an attack by Nukari beasts,” Cogeni explained.
“The same ones that attacked us in that asteroid base, and a few more,” Allia added.
“What were they doing?” Mencari asked.
“Attacking a Coalition ship. They were transporting a pod keeping a Human female in a status pod—suspended animation.”
“In Coalition space?”
“No, not far from Argosy actually.”
That didn’t make any sense. “Where were they sending her?”
“We don’t know. The ship appeared to be headed back toward Coalition space.”
“So she’d been out this way initially? That makes even less sense. Who is she?”
“We don’t know. When Eyani reached out to the Coalition, Anrik responded,” Cogeni said.
“Anrik? He’s finally made contact?” Anrik and the rest of the Coalition had fallen into radio silence for months. “What did he say?”
“He didn’t give details, he just asked that we transport her back to him.”
“A communication is coming through from Eyani,” Minea said.
What was the strange look on Cogeni’s face? Before he could inquire, Cogeni motioned to the corridor. “Allia, we should give him a chance to touch base with New Eden.” Turning back he added, “We’ll come back when you’re done.”
As the thick wooden door closed, Eyani’s projection appeared before him.
“Rhysus.” Her tone relieved but weary. “How are you feeling?”
“Tired, but okay.”
“You gave us quite a scare.”
“I heard the team went on a mission, and that Anrik finally made contact.”
“Yes, and as a result we have a new mission.”
“To bring the woman back to the Coalition?”
“That’s part of it. But the second half is more important.… You’ll be picking someone up.”
Her tone left him curious. “Who?”
“Rhysus … Anrik and his team … they rescued Anaka.”
It took a moment to sink in. His disbelief turned to curiosity, then to excitement. “Are you sure?” he said, voice quivering. She smiled, head bobbing. He felt his mouth gape open.
The Coalition rescued her? A twisted feeling of elation and revulsion filled him. Certainly her freedom made him happy, yet he’d failed again. He didn’t stop her from being abducted the first time, and though he’d searched long and hard, he had nothing to do with her rescue. What kind of man was he? And what of his son?
“Was Rhyiel with her?”
“No, but we’ll keep looking. Maybe Anaka will know more?”
“When can I see her?”
“As soon as you’re ready to move. Una will take you to a rendezvous with Anrik.”
“Thank you.”
Allia peeked her head in the door. “We’re coming with you!”
“There’s one more thing,” Eyani said. “I’ve recalled Narrik, Kiyanna, Tal, and Nikko to New Eden. I have a mission I need them for.”
* * * * * *
Kiyanna couldn’t break her eyes away from the dome projected over New Eden’s war room table. “A hoverbike race? And this isn’t a joke,” she said, guarded.
“You’re a racing fanatic, right?” Eyani said.
Fanatic? She wasn’t one of the lunatics screaming from the bleachers. “I’m a racer.”
“Racer, yes, that’s what I meant. You wanted to do the HoverDome, yes?”
“As myself, not some New Eden alias.”
“Few know what happened to you after being dismissed from K’pec. You can still race—as you. Though, you’ll need to win the qualifying race first.”
“My old hoverbike won’t cut it.”
Eyani smiled. “That’s been taken care of. So you’re in?”
“Just say when.”
“The qualifier is tomorrow at the HoverDome, the big event two days later.”
“So this mission is a race?” Nikko asked, confused.
“It’s the way in. It’s the cover needed to make an exchange with an informant.”
“What type of exchange?”
“Their information for our goods, that’s all you need to know,” Eyani said, aloof.
“Where do we come in?” Narrik said, pointing to Nikko.
“You’ll escort the team meeting the informant. Nikko will be part of the support crew in the pit.”
Nikko’s face pruned. “Me? I don’t know anything about hoverbikes.”
A wide smile crossed Kiyanna’s face. “Let me teach you.”
“That would be great, but I won’t be ready for tomorrow.”
“A whole support crew will be there. Just be on-hand in case Kiyanna needs you.”
Could this mission get any better? Racing at the HoverDome and Nikko too? If New Eden missions were always like this, maybe she needed to transfer here permanently. A sudden inspiration struck. “And I get to keep the bike after?”
Eyani laughed. “Yes, fine, take it as a token of our appreciation for the mission. Follow me.” She led them from the glass war room, out of the command center, and down through side corridors. They headed down into the large cargo bay, and stopped before an unmarked red door. “Here we are.”
She gestured, and Bob’s voice rang out. “Access confirmed.” The red door slid open, revealing a room filled with crates, and tarps covering large equipment.
“What’s this?” Nikko asked.
“Just a few useful things to help on missions,” Eyani said. “And what we need is right here.” She pulled the sheet off a gleaming hoverbike. “This is what you’ll ride.”
Kiyanna caught her breath. The light twinkled off the polished white metal. She couldn’t take her eyes off it. It hovered a foot off the ground, just high enough for her to step into the rider’s seat. It looked more like a cockpit than a traditional hoverbike. Broader too. The aerodynamic design had two angled panels that stretched down from the front. Just behind the seat, panels jutted back like wings and looked as if components could attach to them. She reached out, her hands caressing the chassis like a new lover. “She’s a beaut.”
“Top of the line,” Eyani said. “Toriko made a few modifications—all within legal parameters. It should give you a bit of an edge.”
It sounded good enough, but Toriko did the upgrades? “And it still works?”
“Of course, we’ve tested it out.”
“Of course,” Kiyanna said, unconvinced.
Eyani’s communicator bleeped.
“The Coalition stasis pod is loaded,
and the transport vessel is ready,” Bob said.
“Thank you, Bob.” Eyani kept her eyes on Kiyanna. “If you’re willing, we just need to load up and head out. We’ll need some time to set up for the race, and to move things around for the informant rendezvous.”
Nothing would keep her from racing. “Let’s not keep the track waiting.”
* * * * * *
“Jupiter Station in five minutes,” Una said.
After all this time, he’d actually make it back there. Mencari found it ironic he needed to bypass the Plutaran Colony where he was born to reach Anaka deeper in the Coalition territory.
“Are you excited?” Allia asked. Ichini ran in rings near his feet.
Excited? No. What did he feel? Nervous. “Anrik said she’s been through a lot. To be prepared.” His stomach wretched. “I don’t even care what that means. And I don’t care, I just want to be there for her.”
“And you will. We’re almost there,” Allia said.
His heart pounded as memories of the past overtook him. He and his fellow crooners had just finished their set for the spring holiday concert. A woman with copper skin, wearing a simple red sundress, waited at the auditorium stage door for him to come out. From the moment she turned to greet him, he fell under her spell. A crescent of small white flowers accented her long black hair. Ocean-blue eyes sparkled with nervous excitement. And that smile. Infectious. She said how amazing he did up on stage, and asked if he had time to grab a coffee. Lucky for them the university coffee shop was open at all hours; they talked until four in the morning. It was the first of many such times together.
It didn’t take long to learn Anaka had a brilliant mind. Making short work of her assignments, she spent the extra time volunteering in the local community. Somehow she still made time for him. At times it made him feel guilty, when she could be helping others less fortunate then him. She could be with anyone, and yet she chose him.
She was that rare combination of heart and mind, and it made her irresistible. No situation seemed too difficult, an outlook he grew to rely on for inspiration and encouragement. How many times in his early military career would he have washed out, if not for her? Indeed, Anaka became the rock upon which he built his life.
D'mok Revival 4: New Eden Page 24