by Tony Corden
He simply bobbed his head and continued to direct the men. The next two hours continued in the same way, and neither side was gaining the upper hand. At times the Tempest would run, slightly battered and seeking to get above the foe. At other times they would be attacking and inflicting damage on the enemy. Three of the enemy were out of the fight. One had exploded when it was struck amidships. Leah assumed they had reached the powder room. Another had been holed too many times through the balloon, and the wreckage had been left far behind where it had ploughed into the ground. The third was still aloft but damaged sufficiently that it hung, powerless, being blown at the mercy of the wind. Until now the smaller craft had hung back, but suddenly they all swarmed toward the Tempest.
This was what Leah had been waiting for. She’d identified Catherine’s fighter and assigned the two best gunners to bring it down. They weren’t to use missiles but the harpoon. She wanted the craft and pilot, alive. She hoped the flag would convince Catherine to attack along a particular vector to get a good look at it. Her two gunners and their teams were ready, one on either side of the expected attack.
For ten minutes Catherine’s craft attacked the same as all the others. Five had been destroyed, and they’d inflicted some minor damage to the Tempest, killing six airmen. As Leah watched, the fighter with a hangman’s noose suddenly changed direction and began a run along a line to get a good view of the flag. Leah lent down and picked up the bladder of liquid prepared by Delores to put Catherine to sleep and then made sure the rope and harness she had on were fastened tightly. Ian came close and said. “Let me do that, Captain.”
She smiled and said, “No. This is on me. We still have the battle to finish, and you have more experience than I. I just hope this works.”
Catherine was several hundred paces from the ship and would normally have been turned away by return fire, but she was being left alone. As she made to turn away, before reaching the magnetic barrier, one of the gunnery teams fired a harpoon toward her craft. Catherine subtly shifted the small fighter out of the path and directly into the second harpoon. It travelled most of the way through her fighter, destroying the flight mechanism and causing the fighter to go ballistic. Leah was on her feet in an instant and running for the cable which connected the fighter to the Tempest. She was wearing thick gloves and grabbing the cable leapt from the Tempest to slide along the cable. As she slid she hooked her harness to the cable and then using the thick gloves began to slow her speed, hoping she’d timed things right so as not to plough into the fighter.
Suddenly the fighter was brought to a stop as the cable reached its full length. On the Tempest, the effect was fairly minor because of the difference in mass between the huge ship and the fighter. The jar almost ripped the cable free, but it had been designed for this purpose, and large barbs on the harpoon caught on the metal of the fighter, preventing it from sliding off. The effect on Leah was extreme; she was thrown about and lost her grip. Her head was rocked back by the vibrating cable, and it took her a few seconds to grab hold of the cable again and then using her gloves and boots she tried desperately to slow her descent. And she almost made it.
She slammed feet first into the fighter and let her legs buckle to reduce impact. She was just going too fast, and her hips hit hard. Momentum forced her upper body to spear toward the fighter’s surface when the harness caught, turning her on her side, so she hit the aircraft with the left side of her face. She was not only dazed but felt a searing pain from her temple and along her left jawline. She tried to blink, but only her right eye seemed to be working. Before she could check on her wounds, a hand reached around and pushed her onto her back.
It was the pilot; she’d climbed from the cockpit and had a knife ready to cut the cable. Leah couldn’t tell if it was Catherine because of the flight mask, but she could see it was a woman. The pilot’s orders were to make sure she wasn’t captured. It was kill or die—nothing else was permitted. But kill always came first. Keeping one hand on the cable the pilot knelt beside Leah. With one hand hooked around the cable, she leant down to cut Leah’s throat when Leah said, “Hi Catherine, Sharon said she wants you to come home.”
At that Leah broke the bladder she’d got from Delores. It was supposed to be for Catherine only but as the liquid inside turned to mist it rendered them both unconscious. Neither of them were aware when Ian arrived with harnesses to bring them back onboard the Tempest.
The next thing Leah knew was when Delores woke her on the deck of the Tempest. Leah said, “Did I get her?”
“Yes Captain, you got her. Ian brought you both up. Now lie still. I’m not happy even waking you but Mr Wilks said a decision needs to be made that is the Captain’s to make, and that’s you.”
Leah tried to turn her head but Delores held it tight. “Keep still, Captain, or you’ll do more damage. Here, Mr Wilks come over to her right side so she can see you.”
Leah was considering that statement when Mr Wicks appeared in her vision. He knelt down and said, “Pardon me, Captain, but we’ve reached an impasse. It seems both sides are out of armament covered with Maxwellian Bronze. They are unable to pierce our shield, and we can neither outrun them nor attack. What are your orders? Do we head for Aeolipile, to the Nest, or have you another destination?”
Leah thought for a moment then said to Delores, “Please let me up. I need to see to the Tempest.”
“I’ll let you up, but insist that you heed my advice.”
Leah nodded and was slowly helped to her feet. She gave a small wobble and it was only then that she noticed that something was blocking half her vision. She lifted her hand to move whatever it was out of the way but Delores caught the hand and said, “Don’t touch that Captain, I’ve wrapped it with the nerve preserver and that’ll keep it until you can have a repair done.”
“Keep what until what?”
When no one answered her, she moved Delores hand out of the way and gently touched the side of her face, only to feel a bandage covering her eye and around to her ear. Delores said, “Captain, it seems that when you struck the fighter you came against a jagged piece of metal which pierced your eye, destroying it completely. While it is true that Aether-Worlders heal overnight, these wounds also heal, but they are not made whole. You will require the use of a prosthesis should you wish to have the use of both eyes. Artificial eyes and limbs are readily available in Aeolipile, for a price. I’m sorry.”
Leah swallowed and said, “I see. Well, I suppose the truth of the matter is, I only half see. But enough of that. Mr Wilks, please explain the situation.”
The pirates still had four larger aircraft and sixteen of the fighters. The Tempest had lost two upper masts and one of the lower ones. They still had full use of the Lorentzium Engine but had lost thirty sailors and over half the guns. Leah was about to order the crew to head for Aeolipile when Mr Wilks said, “It looks like they have had enough Captain, they are coming about and look to be retreating.”
Almost simultaneously Ian said, “Captain, a fleet of privateers has been sighted coming from the north.”
Leah considered her options and said, “Mr Wilks, although I would appreciate the opportunity to remove the pirate scourge I believe it best to leave the remainder to the Privateers. Return to the Nest if you will.”
“Aye, Aye, Captain.” Mr Wilks began shouting orders and the Tempest got underway, heading back to its base.
Leah said subvocally, “Gèng, is Tesfaye ready?”
“He is. Wilson is ready to check her identity, you will need to remove her flight mask to be sure.”
Leah had Ian remove the mask and Gèng said, “We have checked her identity and it is Catherine Thang. We have her address and Tesfaye has ordered a team sent to her locale. Tesfaye also says he’s being queried over how he obtains the information and not to be surprised if he loses his access after this.”
“Does she need to be awake?”
“No, they’ll log her out remotely as soon as they verify the compulsion code.”
Leah’s body was starting to rebel and whatever had prevented her feeling the injury before was wearing off as the left side of her face started to throb. She staggered to the rail and used it to prop herself up as she pondered the day. She’d achieved her purpose, defended her people, but in the process had lost almost a fifth of her crew. She was still in the same position an hour later when they set down on the landing pad at the Nest. She was surprised to see that the base had not been evacuated. As she made her way off the Tempest she was approached by the same older lady as the day before who said, “Come with me, Captain, and we’ll get you squared away in the Captain’s villa. It’s taken us most of the day but we’ve finally got it set up, just for you.”
As Leah followed she asked, “What happened about the evacuation?”
“After you left, we decided that those pirates hadn’t a chance against our Captain and we decided to await your return.”
Leah had just stepped into her new rooms when Mr Wilks approached.
“Captain, shall we raise your standard above the Nest?”
“My standard?”
“Aye Captain, the “Bleeding Eye”. I’ve put some of the better seamstresses to work on a better quality version than the rough job the sail master did.”
Leah sighed and said, “Aye Mr Wilks, please have it raised. I look forward to seeing it when I return from the Aether Worlds.”
“So you shall Captain. We’ll have it at half mast till you return.”
With that Mr Wilks walked off to arrange matters.
Aching in every part of her body, but lighter with the knowledge that Catherine was free, Leah closed the door and logged out.
Leah arrived in the Tower and was pleased to be seeing with both eyes again. She asked Gèng if they had heard anything from Sharon about how Catherine was.
“She contacted me three and a half minutes ago to say that Catherine was found in a warehouse with four hundred others. The authorities are working their way through the facility one Pod at a time, but so far all of the residents have one variety of compulsion or another on their chip. Initial investigations have yet to provide any clear evidence that the facility is owned by either the Emersons or the Kodomans. None of the Pods is registered, but they have sequential serial numbers. DMR is assisting the authorities, but their records apparently show that those particular Pods were a part of a recall ten years ago and were sent for recycling. Catherine has been admitted to a clinic for evaluation. Sharon was on her way to visit but says the medical personnel said Catherine is unresponsive and is staring at the wall muttering over and over the name ‘Sauron’.”
“Let her know that if she needs anything, that she only has to ask. And please thank Tesfaye.”
“He sent a short message earlier as soon as the number of victims was known. He said, ‘Ignore my previous pessimism. I am the flavour of the month all of a sudden. I might even get a promotion.’”
“That is good news. Has John been in contact with anything more about mum?”
“Nothing.”
“OK, well I’m going to have an early dinner, and then I’m looking forward to the deep sleep.”
She logged out of the Tower and made herself a bowl of chilli pork ramen and then head for the Pod to sleep. After the two hours of NREM3 she felt refreshed and ready for another day in Dunyanin, but first, she headed for the kitchen for a sandwich and hopefully a chance to see her dad or Conner.
Unfortunately, the kitchen was empty, so she sat there thinking through her options. So far she’d playing in Dunyanin for two and a half months and while she still enjoyed playing the stress of the Merkize Odyssey was tainting the experience. Yesterday had been great because she’d been able to forget, just for a while, that people were watching her every move and that the game was, in fact, a big business that funded much, if not all, the things she was involved in. Her conclusions were scattered all over the place, but all orbited the idea that she needed to play as herself. Not in any narcissistic or selfish way, but rather, she needed to be able to look back on each day without regret, without any feeling of doing something she found distasteful, pointless, or wrong.
Finally, rested and fed, she entered the Pod to see what Dunyanin would offer her today.
Mìng was waiting when Leah appeared. The dragon had already fed and was ready to keep moving. Leah said, “I want to explore the valley in more detail, and I particularly want to find another of those Armoured Mimic Leopards and a Forest Amphisbaena. I need the practice in beast-walking.”
Leah had thought through what Dr Roberts had said and decided that she needed to expose her mind to an increasing number of sensory environments to prepare for her attempt in the morning to set Akia free.
Leah changed into a razor-tailed rat and studied the scent patterns from downwind. She could smell at least five different species, and she noted their directions. With a word to Mìng, she headed for the closest, one she thought was most likely the Leopard. When she could sense it was only a few hundred paces away, she transformed back into her human-elf form and was surprised at how vulnerable she suddenly felt without the additional information offered by heightened senses of smell and hearing. It was an Armoured Mimic Leopard. This time, Leah made sure to feed as she completed the kill.
Atherleah, you have taken the form of Çevik Taklitçi, the Leopard King of Dark Elf legend. Çevik Taklitçi took this form to hunt the Wraith King in retribution for the destruction of House Solmos. The vambraces have each added 100 A to your statistics. Your clothes and belongings will be restored when you return to your human form.
She then spent an hour learning how to live in the leopard’s body. She’d believed she was agile and flexible, but the sheer fluidity of movement offered by the feline body took those qualities to the next level.
After the leopard, she and Mìng killed a Forest Amphisbaena.
Atherleah, you have taken the form of İki Tarafda, the last Queen of Yılanlar whose disappearance brought the Amphisian civilisation to an end. Legend says she was either killed by her jealous consort-to-be or rescued from the prospect of a loveless marriage by her divine lover. The vambraces have each added 50 S and 50 I to your statistics. Your clothes and belongings will be restored when you return to your human form.
Leah struggled with this form and still hadn’t mastered the creature after an hour. It wasn’t the need to use her whole body to push against the different small rocks and crevices that covered the ground, nor the constant contraction of the body muscles to move in the serpentine slither. It was the process of dividing her mind into either end of the snake. This particular species had a separate brain at either end and each controlled half the body. Leah had to partition her mind and then have each partition control different aspects of her motion while working together. It was twenty minutes before she could do more than fling herself back and forth with jerking motions while dragging along the unresponsive half-body controlled by the other half of her brain.
Altogether she fed from three of the amphisbaenas before the outline turned silver on the vambraces. When she finally returned to her elf-human, she found she had to sit down for a few minutes to reset her mind; standing up made her slightly dizzy. As she sat, she leant against Mìng’s side and rested her head in her hands and said, “I think that’ll do with the beast-walking today. I’m sure my brain is a little fried after that.”
Her comment was forgotten as a flash of light and a passing shadow of darkness covered her. The being before her was obviously one of the Gods and a quick check revealed his identity.
Geckiş - God of Transitions (Level 18452) 340476304 HP (922600 EP)
He had two faces, and somehow both looked at her and yet neither did. She wondered for a moment how the programming achieved that, but before she could complete the thought or greet him, he said in a deep, soft, loud and high voice, “Greetings Atherleah, Counsellor to the Gods. I have come to set thy feet upon a path. In other words, I’ve a job for you that’s important. It shal
l bring thee through a necessary metamorphosis. You’ll be a different person after you do what I tell you to, in a good way I think, for thy journey shall bring thee from where thy hast been to wherever and whatever you could be, so, you know, reach your potential and all, capice?! Thou art chosen by virtue of thy mastery of my beloved’s truest form. So listen up, you need to hear this next bit if you’re gonna understand what the heck is going on.
“Know that her struggle was the opposite of thine. She found it really hard to get both her brains to work together. My beloved’s other-self despised immortality and sought a finite existence with her people. So, what I want is for you to go and do what you’ve done before, go have a chat with a demigod.
“İki, as a result of our great love, gave birth to twins, and oh yes indeed, suddenly I was a daddy to two little darlings, one of each sort. Now, during a time of solitude following the birth, my beloved’s other-self took control of my beloved and fled my Realm. Yep, I needed a break from all the noise, the poop and the hormones, and she up and stole my son. Now, it so transpires that I am long overdue my own metamorphosis and am required to appoint an appropriate heir because I’ve got a new job lined up, but I’ve had to put it on hold for a bit. And while I’m ok with my daughter taking over, it is most unseemly to consider that the feminine mind can understand the complexities of transformation and transition. Personally, I’ll also admit that I’m in two minds about the whole thing and thus I require my male issue to return and contest his birthright with his divine sister.
“Thy task is to enter the realm of my beloved and return with my boy in tow. I think I should warn you that his sister has shown some disquiet at the proposed reunion with her sibling. Her countenance has been darkened, and her most temperate disposition has been blown to pieces. She just keeps losing it, and I think she may become less than civil in her dealings with anyone who might assist me in my endeavour. That's you, so I suggest you keep an eye out for her.